Bench 235 x 4, 135 x 33

Two Pr's today, although I didn't get my 5 reps at 135 it was still a very good day.

Hate Demon

I did a good job recovering last night, and actually felt pretty decent today as I started benching. Back was real tight but other than that everything was okay. Warmed up really well, got the lats firing, and aside from that basically focused on my mental state. Yesterday and today, instead of "psyching up" for a lift by just listening to music, I really focused on visualization - thinking hard about terrible things, things I am afraid of, things I hate, and taking power from that, imagining that each time I went up to the bar I had the power to defeat those demons. And this visualization, both yesterday and today, made a huge difference. Never before have I harnessed that kind of adrenaline while benching and squatting. Furthermore, never before has my technique been so good that I could release myself like that and still smash reps.

Anyways, hit the bar, 95, 135, 185 x 5, then smashed 215 for a single and loaded up 235. I hit it HARD, and smashed a set of 4 with so much ease that I surprised myself haha. After rep 4, I took a second to try and compose myself, to tighten the lats and try and make sure I got the 5th rep - and I think this was my downfall. I think I simply hesitated a little tiny bit, wasn't quite as fast down because I was over-thinking. I hit my normal sticking point and, although for a SECOND I thought I was going to fight through, I failed rep 5. I was pretty angry, because based on rep 4 I should NOT have failed rep 5. However, I know that next time I need to simply be as tight as possible from the beginning, and in the middle of the set focus on nothing except SPEED. And, 4 reps is a Pr so that's nothing to be too angry about. Furthermore, maybe 2 mins after failing that rep, I jumped under the bar and smashed a paused single at 235. It was cake, which is a very good sign for me.

Next, dropped to 135 and hit it for a max set of close grip, feet up bench. After my rage at failing that rep at 235, I decided to shoot for an ALL TIME pr at 135 - despite the fact that I was doing CGFUBP instead of normal. And I got it! 33 reps is a new PR, which is awesome. I will definitely have to hit 135 normal again soon, I have a feeling I could get 40+ soon enough.

Next, did 2 sets of 25 close-grip cable rows, supersetted with 2 sets of 25 wide-grip lat pulldowns. Got a lot of blood in my back, and got my shoulders feeling good.

Finally, couldn't do bar starz so I did some deadlift holds instead to work the grip. Held 205 double overhand first, then 285 double overhand to failure, then 285 mixed grip.

So, overall a really good day. Definitely feeling beat up though. Back is sore as hell, legs are crampy, knees and elbows are hurting. But that's okay, this is the week to kick my ass. Then, next monday and tuesday I'll hammer the main lifts, but back of the assistance a bit, and then just recovery central until max days next week. Gotta eat and sleep a lot the next couple days, with a reallllll good stretching session tomorrow, because I really wanna smash a big front squat PR thursday, and hopefully have a really solid, hard, and fun workout friday because I'm getting all my friends together to train with. Should be a good time. Lets keep focus on recovery, and lets keep at it.

Great Day: Squat 365 x 5, Deadlift 405 x 3

Great day today. Everything came together and I had one of the best training sessions I have had in a while.

Started with squats. First, I should say that my mind was in the PERFECT place today. I was full of testosterone, but more than that - I was visualizing and focusing perfectly the whole workout. I would listen to my music, focus, and think about some serious, emotional things that just allowed me to ride adrenaline for each set. I was crushing the weight like never before. In addition to that, my technique, speed and strength were all on point today. The result was that I could simply release myself, attack each set with as much hate and aggression as I could muster, and smash it. Warmed up a lot, then hit the bar x 10, 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 1, and destroyed every fucking rep. Focused in, belted up, chalked up, gathered as much emotion as I could and went after 365. I smashed reps 1-3. 4 was very hard, but I fought through and took time to breathe and focus at the top. Then, I hit rep 5 and although I felt like my eyes were going to explode out of my head, I got it. Really happy with that, a bit milestone and a 2 rep PR. Honestly, I think the ONLY thing that I could have done better today would have been to take a couple more breaths between reps. I think reps 4 and 5 were only as hard as they were cause I did reps 1-4 so fast. But overall, awesome awesome squatting.

Next, decided to do some deadlifts, from a dead stop and starting fully in position, without pumping my legs the way I normally do. I decided to work up to a heavy 3, simply because I was curious what I could do, and although I don't think it's as productive as the lighter touch n go stuff I have been doing, it was fun to go heavy and I think the heavy stimulus RIGHt NOW is going to help with super compensation. So, I hit 125, 165, 205, 245, 285, 325, 365, and finally 405 for an EASY triple. I used a lot of back/ had a bit of rounding, but MAN that triple was easy. I did it from a dead stop, without my normal setup, without a belt, after HEAVY squats, and it was still fucking cake which is cool. Now, no more heavy deadlifts for a while. Just going to focus on lighter rep stuff, the stuff that has been making my deadlift stronger. Touch n go, deficit stuff, etc. That stuff seems to be working really well to build my deadlift so I need to keep on it.

Finally, hit 3 sets of 20 back extensions with just bodyweight, focusing on squeezing my butt.

So, great day. Feeling really strong, really happy. Gotta focus hard on recovery, but the rest of this week should be fun! Couple more heavy lifts, then a bigggg taper leading up to maxes in 2 weeks! Lets keep at it.

Bench press 165 x 5 x 15

Good day today. Kept the weight light, did a lot of reps. I feel like I'm on the way to healing and that is good.

Also... weighed in at 237 today. Gonna be 245 before I know it. 

Started with bench. Got warm, then hit the bar, 95, 135, and then went to 165. Hit it for sets of 15, the first 14 BB style - fast reps, higher on the chest, and then the 15th rep I paused, as I would pause a competition bench. Felt good, paused reps didn't feel great, but they were after 14 other reps haha. 5 sets felt good, not cake but not even close to hard. I think I could probably hit 20+ at 165 on a good day without much trouble.

Next, pec flies. I just went up in sets of 15 - 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, and 17.5.

Next, did some dumbell back work - basically sat face-down on an inclined bench at like 45 degrees and rowed dumbells. Don't know exactly what youd call it, but with 25's it actually hit my lats and upper back pretty hard. did 4 sets of 25.

Next, assorted gripwork - some dumbell farmers carries, light deadlift holds DO, etc.

Finally, did some straight arm pulling to make my shoulders feel nice.

Overall, good day. Pretty light and easy, wanna make sure my tender elbows and whatnot feel better for the next ME days, but I felt like ti was also productive - lot of chest and connective tissue work with those reps. I'm excited to go heavy again, and maybe go a little bit harder next friday as well, before backing off that last week in order to PR. Lets keep at it.

Front squat 275 x 6, 315 x 1

Great day for front squats today.

Started with speed squats. Didn't feel great to be honest. Not bad, but i wasn't quite as fast as I wanted. Form was good though, and speed was good. I worked to focus on it. Tried to keep everything nice and easy, athletic smooth and fast, although I have to say I feel stronger when I am a little more aggressive than calm now. Anyways. hit the bar x 10, then 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, then 275 for about 5 singles until I was feeling pretty smooth and fast. Then went to 315 and hit it for 3 singles, none of which were too hard but also not very easy or fast. Tried to focus up on being faster into the hole with each successive rep. After the 3 singles, dropped to 225 and hit it for 3 doubles, trying to focus on speed into the hole on the first rep, and doing a double bounced rep on the second. I think the double bounce might be a movement that helps me a lot - like a pause squat, except better for my style of squat (because with a pause squat my butt shifts too far back).

Anyways, next up were front squats. These didn't feel great at first. Hit 135 x 4, 185 x 3, and 225 x 2 all with a double bounce on the last rep. Then, Loaded up 275, belted up, and went after it. I knew I was gonna get an easy 5. I just had to take time between reps and focus. I smashed it for 5, then did a 6th rep with a pause in the bottom. Awesome. It felt so good that I jumped up to 315 because I knew I would make it, and I wanted to boost my confidence because I KNOW I can front squat 325-335 easy in the next week or two. And I smashed it, even easier than last time I hit it (and that's after a huge PR already).

Finally, did deficit deadlifts, using 25 lb plates instead of standing on plates. Hit 95 x 16, 145 x 12, 195 x 10, and finally a little bit of a rep out at 245 - 12 easy reps.

Feeling really good. Wasn't a great day, but I am STILL getting fucking stronger even on bad days. I need to heal up and focus up for the next few weeks, but I am getting STRONGER STRONGER STRONGER, undeniably. Lets keep at it.

Update:

Starting to feel better! Really took today to rest and stretch, and HOLY SHIT the difference some serious stretching makes. I was in the gym for an hour tops, AND I took my time.... and walking out of there, I felt the best I have in WEEKS. I don't know how I will feel lifting tomorrow, so I'm going to play things by ear, but probably I will keep things relatively light and just try and focus on movement quality. MAYBE I'll front squat heavy, if I'm feeling decent. But anyways, just wanted to note that 45 minutes of stretching = feeling the best I have felt in a LONG time. I need to be doing this every single wednesday, saturday and sunday.

Bench 215 x 8

PR today, but not what I wanted nor what I should have gotten.

Started warming up today, and just wasn't feeling 100% once I started benching. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I had to wait on a bench, so my warmup was a little out of synch with the start of my lifting, but I just wasn't feeling great - especially compared to last tuesday, when I was very clearly feeling great. Hit the bar, 95, 135, and 185, trying to both hit a few reps as singles, with my focus on tight lats, a low touch and bar speed, and hit some reps more "BB" style to get my pecs and tendons all warm and my stabilizers stabilizing. Then, went to 215 and hit it for a set of 8. Attempted a 9th and failed, after a good fight. I really wanted to hit this for 10 today, so I was a bit angry. Basically, I think there were two factors - first, I needed to be tighter. Like yesterday, each rep wasn't perfect, and I think that's probably the reason I got 8 reps instead of 9. Lats needed to be tighter so I could really spring the weight off the chest, arch could have been tighter, bar path could have been straighter, and elbows could have stayed tucked better. However, I also think it was just not a great day. I have been sick, I trained really hard yesterday, and to be honest I think I am a little over trained and under-recovered. My joints feel like shit, I am achey and sore and tired, and I think that is also probably part of the reason I didn't EXCEL today. However, a PR is a PR. I will do my best to be happy with it for now.

Next, backed off to 175 and hit it for cgfubp. This felt really heavy today, maybe cause it's just a little too heavy for this movement, but I think probably because this movement ALWAYS gives me the most trouble when I need rest. Hit it for 11, and then another set of 5.

Next, hit the lat pullover machine for 4 sets of 25 - one at 50 lbs, one at 65, and the last two at 80. Felt good.

Finally. bar starz with the fat bars that hurt my hands like a motherfucker. Did one set of 8 wide grip pullups, kipped, that felt good.

So, nothing crazy today. Not the day I wanted, don't feel great after, but it was still quality work. I think now that the heavy part of the week is over, I REALLY need to emphasize recovery for the rets of the week - that means lot of food, plenty of sleep, a real focus on stretching and foam rolling tomorrow on my off day, and if need be light weights thursday and friday. I wanted to hit some heavier front squats and some heavy volume bench, but maybe I will trim both of those workouts if I have to. I really want to come in feeling strong, healthy, fast and flexible when I try and hit 365 and 235 for reps - the hight reps were tough on form, but I'm hoping that I will be able to keep my technique really nice on these next weights, and hopefully hit some PR sets of 5-6. Lets keep at it.

Squat 335 x 8

Really solid day today. Far from perfect, but very good.

Started with my squats. I wasn't feeling great this morning. I have this nasty cold/flu thing that isn't bad yet, but I am afraid is about to get worse. Aside from that, squats thurs just didn't feel amazing, so I was a little unsure/tentative about squatting today. However, I was honest;y feeling really good. Got nice and warm, got my attitude and my focus right, then started hitting the weights. Hit the bar x 2 sets of 5, 135 x 5, and 225 x 3, all focusing on speed and form, all easy. Went to 315 and hit it for a really beautiful rep, although it was slower than ideal. But I was feeling strong and confident, so I loaded up 335. Threw on the belt, a notch lower than I normally do because I knew I was gonna need to breathe, and went at the weight. First thing I will say, is form was far from perfect. First rep I was quite a bit forward, which made the rep significantly harder than it should have been. I don't really remember reps 2-5, but I'm willing to bet at least one of them was forward too, and none of them were quite as fast as they should have been. I know that reps 6, 7, and 8 I speed up the descent (out of necessity). However, at that point form wasn't ideal either because I was tired, and form always breaks down on the last reps of a set. So, technique wasn't great on this set - I think simply a result of nerves, of knowing that I had a lot of reps to do, and therefore not treating each rep as a single, with real focus on precision and speed. However, that being said 8 reps at 335 is still a 2-rep PR. It's pretty fucking cool I could PR with my technique less than perfect. However, I really need to crack down on myself, focus on each rep as a single. I honestly believe I might have had 9-10 reps today if I had been better. The mental toughness was there, the strength was there, but I wasn't efficient enough and all that leaking energy results in lost reps. HOWEVER, I honestly believe I can squat 365 for 5 or 6 reps, without a doubt next monday. Yes, that is a high goal, but I think with my technique being perfect, I can hit a set of 6 so I'm making that the goal. I just need to focus on each rep as a single, and just breathe at the top.

Next, decided to go a little heavier on deads than normal, cause it's the beginning of a cycle and I have time to recover. Started of doing 5's, and hit 125-165-205-245-265-285-305-325, all for sets of 5. I'm pretty happy with that! Yes, 325 x 5 is nothing monumental, but it was a lot of volume, and I was pulling that first rep "Bryce Lewis" style, without my normal dynamic start, and it was feeling solid and great. And, I definitely had 2-3 reps in the tank at 325. Good stuff.

So, solid day! Getting stronger, I just need to keep focusing on speed and technique, and REALLY focus on thinking of my heavy sets as a bunch of singles strung together. I always just get afraid that I am not going to hit my goal, so I get all worried about the reps, and then each individual rep suffers. What I need is to think about each rep alone, and then I will almost certainly get more reps overall.

Also, one more small thought: I might play around on thursday with not only trying to squat each rep as fast as possible, but also squatting each set fast as well (i.e. not necessarily pausing at the top to breathe, but rather dropping back down immediately). I have had a bit of success with this technique on benching - it teaches me to better stabilize, and to make each rep consistent and precise, even without a moments pause at the top. I think that squatting like this might be really weird at first, but might ultimately teach me how to make every rep more in the groove/precise, because I will have to learn how to stabilize/stay in the groove with this much less stable technique. I might not stick with it - honestly, I think speed into/out of the hole is more important, so if the "fast reps" is affecting my rep speed, I might drop it. However, if I can train speed into and out of the hole at the same time as training myself to better stabilize/make my reps consistently straight up and down, I think it might be a really useful tool for me. We will see. Lets keep at it.