Bench 185 x 14, 14, 13

Really good day today!

Had a great warmup. Got nice and warm and really took the time to warm my shoulders and back up right with just a few extra band movements. Then, got cracking on benching! Instead of the pyramid of yesterday, I decided to work up fast then do a slew of reps at 185. Hit the bar, 95, and 135, and I was feeling good. So, I loaded up 185 and took it for the first set. It went really well! I had a good groove going, kept the reps fast, and banged out 14 reps, attempting and failing the 15th! I think I might have had it, except my friend stepped up to spot me and I think I more or less bitched out knowing he was there. Anyways, rested up a lot and took the weight again, managing a second set of 14, which was perhaps a little looser. So, I rested a ton, tightened up on the final set, and hit a great set of 13. Overall, really happy with that. I'm pretty sure my PR is 10 reps, maybe 11 at 185, so I broke that pr by 3-4 reps, and hit it multiple times. That's pretty damn good.

After those reps, I decided to do some paused benching. I have been avoiding this, because I needed to prove to myself that it WASN'T what I needed to be doing, and today showed me that! After alllllll that volume, I paused 205, 215, 225, and 235 for singles! 235 was a little ugly, but even that wasn't super hard, and that's AFTER a ton of volume already! So now I can rest assured that my bench is getting stronger, period. No more obsessing over the pause.

Thirdly today, I did my "bar stars" stuff. It went well. I used the thick bar, which was both interesting and tough on the grip, and bad cause it hurt my elbows. I think I will only use it every once in a while. anyways, mostly switched between wide kipped pullups, neutral pullups, and leg raises, with some mixed grip pullups thrown in there for good measure. I would say I did like 3 sets of 20 seconds or so. Gonna try and push it on tuesday.

Next up, did some flyes. Kept em light and focused on more reps and more squeezing. Hit 5's for 10, 10's for 10, then 15's for 12, 12, 15. Felt good!

Finally, did 3 sets of one-armed rows using the trap machine with 45's on it. Hit 10, 10, and 15 each side.

So, overall a good day! Bench is certainly coming along, I just need to keep putting in work. I'm very excited for next monday and tuesday, can't wait to smash 365 and 225 for some higher reps, then probably hit even HIGHER reps thursday and friday. Then maybe hone in, and really try and push out some pr's in the following two weeks. I'm excited! Lets keep at it.

Squat: Huge pyramid up to 365 x 1, Front squat 285 x 2

Really good day today. If I have any complaints, it's that a little more focus would have resulted in a more efficient workout, with better form on every lift. However, overall it was a pretty sick day.

Got nice and warm, and paid special attention to getting my calves and ankles all warmed up. its a slow process, but I seem to be slowly remedying my ankle issue. Anyways, worked with the colored plates in my gym today, which meant I was jumping up in intervals of 40, so I decided to just basically do a huge pyramid - so I would hit a heavy single, but also a ton of really fast, clean warm-up reps. So started with the bar for however many, then did this - 85 x 15, 125 x 13, 165 x 11, 205 x 9, 245 x 7, 285 x 5, 325 x 3, 365 x 1.

Pretty happy with that! hitting 365 x 1 is pretty good period, nevermind that I did it monday, and nevermind that it was the 64th squat I did. Form wasn't perfect, but it wasn't too bad. The rep could have been cleaner and faster, but hey I made the squat after a TON of volume beforehand, so I can't complain.

After, I really felt good (way better than I had anticipated) and wanted to squat heavy more, so despite earlier plans to do either nothing or higher rep front squats, I worked up heavy with fronts as well. Used the same jumps, but much less volume. Hit 125 x 5, 165 x 3, then 205 x 2, 245 x 2 beltless, then threw on the belt and hit 285 x 2! It was pretty tough, but I didn't think I was gonna fail at any point. I guess that is technically a PR as well, so that's pretty cool - especially considering how tired out my poor legs must have been.

Finally did a slew of back extensions with a 25 lbs plate - 10, 10, 15, and finally 20 reps. s

So, great workout. Back squat is coming along (clearly), Front squat is also strong, and I'm building that back up! Can't wait to start hitting some real squat pr's soon, hopefully monday will be the day! Lets keep at it.

Stretch + cardio

Feel great after todays short but productive session. I focused on cardio and stretching, and my body is thanking me haha. Hopefully, with a good nights sleep I will be able to kick some serious ass tomorrow.

Haters gonna hate 

Started with some cardio. One reason that I am really happy to be at school finally is the plethora of options for cardio. Running for long distances just kind of blows at my size haha. I feel good running for a little bit, then I start to get joint pain and I feel like shit. Does that mean I can't do it? No. But it does mean that here, where I have rowing machines, a pool, ellipticals, stationary bikes, and treadmills with great uphills, I have a lot of different ways to do slightly lower impact cardio. So, today I started out on the bike, and honestly it sucked haha. It is way too easy and too uncomfortable for me. However, I stayed on it for a full 20 minutes - a big part of this is just going to be getting in the habit of doing 20 minutes of cardio on wednesday and saturday, no if's ands or buts. I think saturday I may do some uphill treadmill instead.

Next, did some stretching/mobility work. Basically, I loved those two movements I did sunday - really close front squat, and really wide back squat - to help with my ankle, back, and hip mobility. So, what I did is simply do 5 sets of each of those, with stretching in between. So front squat - bar, stretch, 95, stretch, 135, s, 135, s, 135. Then repeat with the ultra wide back squats. Overall, this felt great. For the first time in a couple days, my lower body feels relaxed and not sore, crampy, or tight. I definitely need to keep doing this, if I can increase my mobility just a couple centimeters over the course of the semester in both of these positions, plus slightly increase my strength in those compromised positions, I think it will make a huge difference in my squat.

Finally, finished up with some curls, just for fun. Haven't hit the biceps in a while.

So, overall a very productive day. I think keeping this cardio and mobility work in is going to make a huge difference in how I feel - last year I got nice and huge, but also a little fat and that doesn't feel good. If I keep eating a ton, training my ass off, and also am good about the cardio and mobility work, I think I will pack on some serious pounds of muscle, while keeping my bodyfat down and still feeling really good, flexible, and mobile even as I get stronger and huger. Can't wait to train the next couple days! Lets keep at it.

Bench 225 x 2, 245 x 1

Okay day today. I'm a little more angry about it that I should be.

Started with bench. Got nice and warm, then worked on my bigger jumps. Hit the bar, then 95 x 15 or so, 135 x 12, and 185 x 7, all feeling good and easy - ESPECIALLY 185, it felt so smooth and perfect. So, I made the jump straight to 225 and hit it for a really good double. The first rep was cake, second rep was just a little harder than it should have been - I think I was maybe a little bit loose. That shook my confidence a bit, but I decided to still jump straight to 245. I focused up and hit it for a single, which was pretty good but hard enough that I didn't attempt the double that I wanted. However, I decided to attempt it again, because I felt like if I was a little tighter, more confident, and aggressive I could get it. However, second attempt was atrocious. I simply didn't have it, probably for mental reasons, and got pinned pretty bad. This made me very angry. However, looking at it objectively - I made the jump straight to 225 and killed it for a double, which is really good. AND... I hit my pr! for a really good single! that's nothing to be ashamed of. Take into account the fact that this is my first day benching in this gym - new benched, bars, environment, food, sleeping conditions, new time for lifting, etc - and not getting that double is nothing to be bummed out about. But anyways, gonna definitely try to keep the reps a little higher for the next 3 sessions or so (probably for both bench and squat), then come back with the 3, 2 and 1's and try and set some new PR's.

After heavy bench switched to close grip, feet-up bench. This is tougher here, as the benches are thinner and wobblier; stability is a lot tougher. However, I managed to bench the 165 for 4 sets of 10, with a pause on the last rep of each set. I also didn't rest too much, so I'm pretty happy about that performance. And perhaps the lower stability will improve the effectiveness of this lift for me.

Next up, did something I have never done - seated dumbell shoulder press. I have to say, I really like it. Kept the reps high and just tried to work hard, without pushing too heavy or anything. I hit the 15's for 15, 25's for 15, 35's for 12, 42.5's for 10, 45's for 8, and then finally repped out the 47.5's (cause someone stole the 50's haha) for a set of 9, with a very difficult and back-cramping final rep haha. so that's a total of about 70 reps, a good chunk of which were fairly hard and heavy. Felt really good.

Next, did something that I am going to call "bar stars" even though right now it's more like "bar SARS." Basically, for 3 sets I hung from a pullup bar and did a bunch of whatever - regular pullups, wide grip, mixed grip, chins, leg raises, l-hangs, etc. The only rule is I have to hang on there for at least 20-30 seconds and work on moving my hands around after a few reps of each movement. The idea is that doing this will be a fun and very effective way of both increasing my pulling power/growing my back and improving my grip. I weigh enough that simply hnging from the bar, moving around, working on pullups both kipped and strict, trying to do some muscle ups/dips and the like will probably REALLY help both my back and my grip.

Finally, did some pullovers on the pullover machine. I love the pullover machine. MASS ON THE BACK.

So, overall frustrating bench day because my expectations were high, but I made up for it with a lot of very hard work on my assistance stuff. Lets keep at it.

Squat: 365, fail 395, Front squat 315

Really good day today. Just about one rep away from being AMAZING. Slept and ate really well yesterday, plus did some great mobility work - light front squats with my feet as close as I could get them, to work on ankle flexibility and upper back mobility, and then light back squats as wide as I could do them, to work on hip flexibility. Definitely need to keep those drills in, as I felt GREAT today.

Started with back squats. Got nice and warm, paying a little special attention to my ankles - my right ankle is still unreasonably tight and painful, so I am working hard on fixing that. Anyways, after getting super warm I made some big jumps today, which felt great. Hit the bar for 10, then 135 x 8 or so, and 225 x 5, mixing in some pause reps, trying to keep my "power stance" and my body upright, really moving the weight fast and confidently. Then, jumped straight to 315 and that jump felt great today. I unracked and squatted the weight with confidence, absolutely destroying the first rep and hitting a really solid second rep to boot. SO, I did something I have never done, and jumped straight to 365. It was a really big jump, so when I unracked I felt a little less confident, and the weight felt heavy. But I belted up, tried to imagine 135, and ended up smashing it for a single. The best 365 I have squatted in quite a while, that's for sure. I thought about loading up 385, but then I figured hell, why not go for the PR? I already made that huge jump, and I smashed 365, so I decided to just give it a go. Loaded up 395. It felt heavy as fuck with the unrack, however, and I was just a little off. It wasn't a TOTAL fail, but something was just not right - I went down and didn't really have much of a chance. I don't know if I got a little scared, moved a little too slow, was out of position, or maybe it was just too heavy today - but I think it was definitely a combination of a few of those things, because I FELT like I could have squatted that today. So anyways, no PR but I am definitely in PR territory. 405 is coming soon, I can almost taste it.

Next up, I decided to front squat up to a heavy single as well. I knew I had a PR in me today, and I promised myself I would make a statement in the gym today, so I said why not. hit 135 for a few, then 185 to just get my groove back. Then hit 225 x 2. Felt good, a little slow and I was a bit tired, but it felt good. Jumped straight to 275 with the belt and hit it for a really nice single, with just the slightest stick before lockout. So, once again I said "fuck it" and loaded up 315. First rep was SO close. A few weeks ago, I attempted 315, got like 2/3 of the way up, then failed. Today, I got the 2/3, pushed through that sticking point... then failed. But I KNEW I had it today. So, I loaded the weight back up, got really psyched, and just focused the best I could on speed into and out of the hole. I hit a nasty stick, but despite my elbows dropping and a little back rounding, I managed to push through and lock it out this time! really psyched, 315 is a huge number for me. It feels really good to finally get it, and kind of makes up for the fast I missed the back squat PR haha.

Next, deficit deads. Used a huge deficit today, stacked 3 yellow plates, which I would say is about 4.5-5 inches. Kept the deads brief - I pulled 25 x 5, touch n go, then 285, and finally, 365 with the straps. Kept the focus on keeping my back flat on the reps, trying to build of those erectors. It wasn't an easy set by any means, took some grit and some yelling to finish all those reps. But that is pretty fucking cool, to do a set of 5 from such a huge deficit at that weight. Feeling really good about that.

Finally, banged out some quick back extensions. Hit a set of 10 with no weight, then sets of 10 with 10, 25, and 45 lb plates behind my head. Nothing crazy, but every little extra bit of erector work and core training I do is gonna help.

So, overall, awesome day! Smashed a squat at... 93.5 % haha, took a crack at a PR, PR'd on my front squat, and deadlifted some heavy ass weight for reps from a huge deficit. I would say today is exactly what I wanted it to be. Tomorrow I am so pumped to bench. It's gonna be my first day training later in the afternoon, after a ton of classes, so we will see how that goes. Overall, I am very excited however If it goes nearly as well as today did, I will be happy. Lets keep at it.

Bench 225 x 2 x 3, 135 x 31

Interesting day today.

First of all, didn't feel too great from the get-go. form was a little off, I was a little achey in my shoulder and my left elbow, and I just didn't feel as strong as I have been lately on bench. Which has been very strong haha, so I guess it's not too big of a deal. Warmed up, then started working up in a lot of sets. Hit the bar, 75, and 105 for a slew, then 135 x 8 or so, 165 x 5, 185 x 5, 205 x 5 with a nice pause on the last rep, then jumped straight to 225 and hit it for a solid but tough 3 - hard enough that I racked it. I was a little bummed. Based on how I have been feeling, I was hoping to nail 225 x 5 today - that would be a pretty cool milestone. However, as I said I was just a little off today, both in strength and technique. I decided to take the weight again, and again I got a triple, only this one was more tough, less solid haha. First rep was nice, but the second I bounced off my chest more than I intended, and then the third hit a NASTY sticking point. I finally pushed through, but I wasn't sure I was gonna make it for a moment there haha, and my butt came off the bench just a tiny bit, so it was a pretty ugly rep. However, although I didn't get the heavy 5 I wanted, some things to think about: 1), I wasn;t feeling great today. 2) while 3 reps isn't a pr, I have only gotten 3 reps at 225 + maybe 5 times in the history of my lifting, most of which have been in the last two weeks, and I hit two triples at 225 today. And 3) based on yesterday/today, I feel like doing all these warmup sets is effectively "handicapping" me when I get to the heavier sets. Which is kind of a good thing! the point of thursday and friday isn't really to PR, it's to get in a ton of reps, reps with great form, great speed, and reps that will build muscle. On both yesterday and today, I didn't hit my goal - but I DID go pretty damn heavy (right around 90% both days), got in some quality reps, and all AFTER hitting 30+ warmup reps with beautiful technique and speed. Obviously, I will try and push myself towards PR's on this day, but I think that falling short isn;t necessarily a bad thing, because the point of this day is simply volume. The heavier the volume, the better, but even the light sets are productive. Then, come monday and tuesday I cut out all that extra energy wasting, and REALLY focus on hitting those PR's.

Interestingly enough, hit a PR after those two sets. I decided to drop back to 135 for a rep out, something I like to do every so often as a test of my rep strength. I remember a time when 14 reps was my max, then 17 was it for quite a while. Recently - maybe 2-3 weeks ago - I did a few sets with 135 and managed 20, so today I decided to try and beat that, seeing as how I have been feeling so great benching lately. But I didn't just beat it, I SMASHED it. I may have had some trouble with the heavier weights today, but I had no problem at all with 135. It stayed in the groove beautifully, and it was just a matter of repping as fast as I could to get through maximum reps before fatigue set in. I ended up hitting it for 31 reps, an 11 rep pr. I'm not only happy with that performance, I am really happy with the way the reps look - so fast and clean, technique looks great.

Next up, did some pec flies. These were alright today. I went a little heavier, but my left side shoulder-elbow really started acting up with these. Maybe I need to stick to lighter weight, or maybe it was just a bad day. Either way, I did 4 x 10, but they just didn't feel as good as the last few times I have done them. Less chest pump, more pain. So next week, I'll probably keep them lighter.

Finally, finished off with a huge back and biceps "chipper." It went like this - 50 cable rows with 50 lbs, 50 straight arm pulldowns with 30lbs, 50 rear delt flyes with like 10 b dumbells, 50 curls with the easy curl bar + 10's, and finally 5 sets with the wrist roller. This felt great. Blew up my back and was a lot of fun. I need to really focus on keeping back work fun, and working in as much volume as I can as often as I can. I get so easily bored with back work, and I really need to be FOCUSING on it, not slacking.

So, overall good day. Not as great as I hoped, but still some quality bench work, really cool PR on that 135 rep out, and then some cool bodybuilding stuff to finish off my summer! Back to school tomorrow. Lets hope the move is smooth, I settle in nicely, and come next monday/tuesday I can fucking DESTROY my first couple sessions in the new gym. I want to show that gym, the people in it, and myself who is running it this year. Lets keep at it.

Squat 345 x 3, 2

Today was rough. I don't know why exactly why - I don't even know how much was mental difficulties, and how much was physical. But I did my best and that's all I can do.

Started with squats. Didn't feel too bad getting started, just a little intimidated and whatnot from all the volume I was doing. Worked up in sets of 5 today. Hit the bar x 10, then 95, 135, 185, 225, 275, and 315, all for 5 and all beltless. Those all felt really good. Smooth, easy, but there was just a lurking exhaustion during each set. Finally, loaded up 345 with the goal of hitting it for a set of 5. Threw on the belt, and hit a really solid 3, but then completely blew the 4th rep. I sank into the bottom like I had no bones and didn't move up one millimeter. Just straight down and had to dump. I was very irritated, because I should have at least had a SHOT at 4, and might have even had 5, but I fucked up. Still, I couldn't leave that weight with that blatant and shitty failure, so I loaded it back up and hit it again. This time, got a solid but tough double, then attempted 3 and failed (honestly this time). SO, it wasn't exactly what I wanted but I got a total of 5 reps. And, I did a ton of quality volume before that - 30 very nice reps - so it's no wonder I was maybe a little tired when I got to 345.

But after those squats, I was DONE. I had plans to try and bang out some front squats at 205, and maybe some good mornings after that. But I did one set at 205 (6 pretty easy reps) and just could NOT bring myself to do anymore. I felt like shit, and I was angry at myself for not sacking up and just doing more. But then I realized that this is the EXACT point of the way I am training now - to be free to push on the good days and be free to break the mold on bad days. So, at the advice of Jerome, I just basically did a TON of leg extensions, some weighted situps, and called it there.


So, a very tough day, but also a quality day. A lot of good squat volume. Not as strong as I wanted to be, didn't do as much as I wanted to, but I did my best. I just hope that I can get back in the groove for monday, I REALLY want to destroy my first squat workout back. Lets keep at it.