JohnB's Journey

[johnblythe]

Merry Christmas!

My best to Polly and Titus as well.

thanks, man. hope you and your crew had a great one

[johnblythe]

Macenko 7.1 - December 25, 2012

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 12 reps (+43 pts)
95 lb x 6 reps (+53 pts)
115 lb x 8 reps (+65 pts)
140 lb x 6 reps (+72 pts)
150 lb x 5 reps (+73 pts)
160 lb x 4 reps (+71 pts)
170 lb x 3 reps (+67 pts)
180 lb x 3 reps (+71 pts)
180 lb x 3 reps (+71 pts)
150 lb x 12 reps (+88 pts)

macenko 7.1. ho ho ho!

One-Arm Kettlebell Snatch:
50 lb x 3 reps (+37 pts)
got one of these bad boys for christmas. took it out for a swing—heyoo!—in between some of the benching sets


notes: not much to say here. ended up getting the stomach flu from polly or titus—they had it sunday night through monday night—so i'm not sure what programming or weights look like the rest of the week. for now i just need to worry about resting and getting back to a healthy state.

[pastorpritch]

Good outlook man, and great job on the benching!
Rest up and come back swingin'

[johnblythe]

Good outlook man, and great job on the benching!
Rest up and come back swingin'

thanks, dawg.

feeling better today, much more normal. didn't eat for about a day and a half, though, and only ate some chicken noodle soup last night with a piece of toast, so need to get back on the eating bandwagon today.

in other news, unsure what this all means for my aforementioned plan to max this weekend. we'll see what happens.

[johnblythe]

Macenko 7.2 - December 29, 2012

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 12 reps (+43 pts)
95 lb x 6 reps (+53 pts)
115 lb x 8 reps (+65 pts)
140 lb x 6 reps (+72 pts)
150 lb x 5 reps (+73 pts)
160 lb x 4 reps (+71 pts)
170 lb x 3 reps (+67 pts)
175 lb x 2 reps (+58 pts)
180 lb x 2 reps (+60 pts)
160 lb x 12 reps (+94 pts)

notes: felt nice today. i was surprised. thought i'd struggle more after that bout w/ stomach flu this week. the last rep of 160 was assisted, left arm froze up about 40-50% up. must've lifted my head or something, strained something in my right shoulder area. now have a crick in my neck when turning right. lamesauce. one last week!

[johnblythe]

AWESOME END OF YEAR MAXATHON - December 30, 2012

Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
135 lb x 6 reps (+70 pts)
225 lb x 2 reps (+82 pts)
265 lb x 1 reps (+86 pts)
295 lb x 1 reps (+106 pts)
350 lb x 0 reps FAIL
335 lb x 1 reps (+139 pts)

got out of the hole on 350, but stuck halfway point thereafter. spotter tried to help, made things worse, fail. fell back to a safe number

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
95 lb x 8 reps (+57 pts)
135 lb x 3 reps (+53 pts)
155 lb x 1 reps (+41 pts)
185 lb x 1 reps (+50 pts)
205 lb x 1 reps (+58 pts)

definitely had more. and i just had a big bench session yesterday. w00t.

Barbell Deadlift:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
135 lb x 6 reps (+70 pts)
225 lb x 4 reps (+110 pts)
315 lb x 2 reps (+150 pts)
365 lb x 1 reps (+170 pts)
415 lb x 1 reps (+238 pts)
475 lb x 0 reps
460 lb x 1 reps (+323 pts)

had 475 off the ground a good few inches. felt like it was all back and moving into a SLDL so i bailed. @rithoy said my form looked good and safe. wish i had stuck it through. didn't want to risk another failure so i dropped to 460
Comment Share

notes: gets me into 1k club, but not what i wanted. weighed in afterwards and i'm 3-4 pounds down from where i was last due to the stomach flu this week. and this is after gorging the past 3 days to get back to healthy status. bad sleep w/ the sick kid (woke up at 3am with him yesterday :\). blah blah blah, not going to sit here and whine any more. point is: still not 100% health wise, so all things considered it was great to perform even this well, and 2013 is going to get owned.

will probably post some thoughts, performance progression, etc. on the year as a whole tonight or tomorrow.

forward-

[Woody-5]

Awesome work on the maxes fella!
Solid numbers especially considering your health and the bench session yesterday.

[johnblythe]

Awesome work on the maxes fella!
Solid numbers especially considering your health and the bench session yesterday.

thanks, man.

hurt to miss my desired maxes, but felt good to finally hit 1k. on to 225+, 350+, and 495+ in 2013

[HunterMC6]

Thought I was sub'd to this apparently I am not. Nice work on the 1k! Time for a new EOY goal for 2013!

[KenshinH]

Macenko 7.2 - December 29, 2012

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 12 reps (+43 pts)
95 lb x 6 reps (+53 pts)
115 lb x 8 reps (+65 pts)
140 lb x 6 reps (+72 pts)
150 lb x 5 reps (+73 pts)
160 lb x 4 reps (+71 pts)
170 lb x 3 reps (+67 pts)
175 lb x 2 reps (+58 pts)
180 lb x 2 reps (+60 pts)
160 lb x 12 reps (+94 pts)

notes: felt nice today. i was surprised. thought i'd struggle more after that bout w/ stomach flu this week. the last rep of 160 was assisted, left arm froze up about 40-50% up. must've lifted my head or something, strained something in my right shoulder area. now have a crick in my neck when turning right. lamesauce. one last week!

I had a crick in my neck when I woke up this morning. Sucks. To top it off, it interfered with my benching

thanks, man.

hurt to miss my desired maxes, but felt good to finally hit 1k. on to 225+, 350+, and 495+ in 2013

Good max day despite all that you went through man! Welcome to the 1k club!

Race to 495 in 2013?

[ngolsen]

In.

[johnblythe]

Thought I was sub'd to this apparently I am not. Nice work on the 1k! Time for a new EOY goal for 2013!

ha, well welcome back! thanks, man. yup, should have those up in the next day or so.

I had a crick in my neck when I woke up this morning. Sucks. To top it off, it interfered with my benching

Good max day despite all that you went through man! Welcome to the 1k club!

Race to 495 in 2013?

sucks, doesn't it? i still have it, three days later. crazy.

thanks, brother.

let's do it

In.

welcome back brah.

[johnblythe]

Macenko 8.1 - January 01, 2013

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
95 lb x 6 reps (+53 pts)
115 lb x 8 reps (+65 pts)
140 lb x 6 reps (+72 pts)
150 lb x 5 reps (+73 pts)
160 lb x 4 reps (+71 pts)
170 lb x 3 reps (+67 pts)
175 lb x 2 reps (+58 pts)
180 lb x 8 reps (+101 pts)
160 lb x 12 reps (+94 pts)

notes: really surprised and pleased w/ today's performance, didn't think i had that much in me in general, much less with how i was feeling. good start to the new year. one more workout then i'll max—forealz this time, sunday doesn't hardly count—the following week before starting another round of macenko's.

[johnblythe]

2012 RECAP - victory is sweet

NEW YEAR, NEW AWESOMENESS

I'm coming up on my year anniversary of working out/training/using free weights. I really had no idea what I was doing the first 3 or 4 months. I'm learning tons still, obviously, but it wasn't till I started SS the last week of April that I did any real strength training.

Here's what I was lifting with my first routine:


As of today:

squat - 270x5
bench - 165x5
rows - 125x5 (didn't do from months 2-11)
press - 120x5, 130x3
dead - 350x5

not the best numbers in the world, but certainly a good improvement. more than numbers, i've overcome a ton of form issues—still am, too. i'm very thankful i didn't give up in frustration like i wanted to at times.

i began weighing in at 175 lb. today i weighed in at 216 lb.

i'll be taking some pics and some measurements tomorrow to do a comparison there as well. looking forward to seeing the results

^my post from january 1 of last year.

here's a quick recap on 2012 for me.

squat: 270x5 ---> 335x1
bench: 165x5 ---> 180x8 (testing true max next week)
dead: 350x5 ---> 460x1

my total at the end of february '12 was 920. my total on sunday (12/31/12) was 1000.

not bad progress overall. i'm pleased with it. and all of this while losing 30 pounds.

216 then, 186 now.

so at least an 80 pound increase in 1rm tonnage* while cutting 30 pounds of fatz. not bad.



*i say "at least" because 1) i was still recovering from a stomach flu virus last week when maxing, and 2) i'm not done w/ my benching cycle so a better test of that lift in particular will be had next week

[jshaw5]

8 reps? aliens.

Nice progress while cutting man.

[johnblythe]

8 reps? aliens.

Nice progress while cutting man.

thanks, man.

couldn't help it:

[johnblythe]

Interim Squats - January 04, 2013

Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
95 lb x 10 reps (+59 pts)
135 lb x 6 reps (+70 pts)
165 lb x 6 reps (+85 pts)
185 lb x 10 reps (+109 pts)
185 lb x 10 reps (+109 pts)

easing in to a new routine that will begin next week. o. mah. gawd. i've been doing singles, doubles, and triples the past 6 weeks. i laughed when i saw the weight, i cried when i got to rep 5 and knew i had 5 more. high reps suck.

Stiff Leg Barbell Good Morning:
135 lb x 10 reps (+38 pts)

Pendlay Row:
95 lb x 10 reps (+44 pts)
95 lb x 10 reps (+44 pts)

notes: not much to say. super cold (for us), around 28 or so. that's two days after 70+ so it's a bit shocking on the body. anyway, i'm starting a new cycle of stuff on sunday (more on that in the next post) and thought i'd start off the squat portion. ol nicky boy (ngolsen) tailored it up for me—uber props to him for the help.

i was supposed to warm up (by 10s) to a 3x10x200. i was all like "200, lololol" and then i got to the 185 warm up and by rep 5 was all "fuuuuuuuuuuu"

i have worked with singles, doubles and triples nearly exclusively the last 6 or so weeks. to say that 10 reps was hard is an understatement. i don't care how light the weight was. it was rough past 5. also widened my stance big time, so that didn't help make it any easier mechanically (though it seems like it will make it easier in the long run as i get used to it).

anyway, lol with me at my little girl status on these squats. next week will blow too. and the next. then i get to go to 8s, so semi-blow.

posting more on the new routine soon.

[MatTheCur]

That looks ... painful. Very painful. But GJJM on getting this started.

How wide are you going on squats now? I brought my stance in a bit (just outside shoulder width), and it seems to be helping a tad with my left knee... Though, this is only over one session.

Can't wait to see the next few sessions

[johnblythe]

That looks ... painful. Very painful. But GJJM on getting this started.

How wide are you going on squats now? I brought my stance in a bit (just outside shoulder width), and it seems to be helping a tad with my left knee... Though, this is only over one session.

Can't wait to see the next few sessions

a real person visited my log??!

[MatTheCur]

a real person visited my log??!

[johnblythe]

12 Weeks of Awesomeness

starting a 12 week cycle on sunday. long story short: ORT/MAG deadlifting, macenko's round 2, and a pretty sweet squatting regimen that ngolsen was gracious enough to come up with for me that will help push me forward whilst simultaneously not overextending me with the other two emphases going on between bench and dead.

without further ado, [ATTACH=CONFIG]le spreadsheet[/ATTACH]

progression i'm hoping for:
squat: 335 ---> 350
bench: 215* ---> 230
deads: 465 ---> 500

hopefully all while staying at the current weight or, if moving weight, doing so in either direction by <5#

schedule will be pretty much like the current/recent one. nick helped me get some good recovery exercises mixed in as well, though, so that will certainly be helpful and make the workouts a bit more meaningful to boot.

really not looking forward to high rep squatting, but looking forward to the mental growth (as well as physical) that i know will come from it. aside from those 10s (and 8s...), i'm pretty pumped about kicking off on sunday.

[KenshinH]

a real person visited my log??!

This is the Workout Journal subforum see, and to get real people to visit your log, you actually have to work out

12 Weeks of Awesomeness

Good luck with the training cycle bro! I'll be lurking ...

[johnblythe]

Macenko 8.2 - January 05, 2013

Barbell Bench Press:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
95 lb x 6 reps (+53 pts)
115 lb x 8 reps (+65 pts)
140 lb x 6 reps (+72 pts)
150 lb x 5 reps (+73 pts)
160 lb x 4 reps (+71 pts)
170 lb x 3 reps (+67 pts)
180 lb x 2 reps (+60 pts)
170 lb x 10 reps (+98 pts)

last workout of macenko's. really wasn't feeling it. partly due to being earlier than normal, less coffee in me, and the few days of doing a paleo transition tanking my usual energy levels. did 180x8 on tuesday, the 180x2 felt near impossible today. nothing but will power on that 170x10, didn't think i'd even get to 5. would have liked to crush today more than i did, but a bit thankful i didn't end on a completely wimpy note like i was expecting from the onset of the session.

will max at some point next week then hit repeat on macenko so i can blaze past 225 once and for all!

[johnblythe]

This is the Workout Journal subforum see, and to get real people to visit your log, you actually have to work out

roasted

[MatTheCur]

For being off, a 170x10 is still huge. Good job on pushing through despite not being 100% there!

Repeat will be awesome for you. How are you going to max out?

[johnblythe]

For being off, a 170x10 is still huge. Good job on pushing through despite not being 100% there!

Repeat will be awesome for you. How are you going to max out?

thanks man.

i'll just ramp up to a 185 or 195, starting to do singles around 150 or 160, then jump up to 215. if i hit it with relative ease i'll take 10+ minutes break, throw the second plate on, and hold my breath

[MatTheCur]

This is the Workout Journal subforum see, and to get real people to visit your log, you actually have to work out

roasted

Nah. I've been posting, and nobody's in my thread any more. It's kinda sad

[johnblythe]

Ort/Mag Deads - January 06, 2013

Barbell Deadlift:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
135 lb x 6 reps (+70 pts)
225 lb x 4 reps (+110 pts)
275 lb x 1 reps (+93 pts)
315 lb x 4 reps (+202 pts)
315 lb x 4 reps (+202 pts)
315 lb x 4 reps (+202 pts)
315 lb x 4 reps (+202 pts)
365 lb x 2 reps (+210 pts)
365 lb x 2 reps (+210 pts)
315 lb x 10 reps (+261 pts)

Beginning ort/mag today. pretty awesome.

Front Barbell Squat:
45 lb x 10 reps (+42 pts)
95 lb x 10 reps (+59 pts)
135 lb x 8 reps (+75 pts)
135 lb x 8 reps (+75 pts)

gawd. i've done fronts on like two other occasions. maybe three. after a few reps that lower back/side abs/whatever sensation really sucks, ha. felt good, overall, though.

Hammer Dumbbell Curl:
20 lb x 20 reps (+20 pts)
20 lb x 20 reps (+20 pts)

dem bis

Close-Grip EZ Bar Curl:
50 lb x 15 reps (+17 pts)
50 lb x 15 reps (+17 pts)

more bis. used a kettle bell, actually. real narrow grip, obviously, so i logged it as cg ez bar.


notes: great session. wasn't sure i'd be able to do much of anything cause of a pretty bad wreck we had yesterday. thankfully i'm just barely sore from it today, polly the same, and T-man wasn't with us, so all is well. we're blessed to walk away from it unscathed.

i was huffin' and puffin' from the front squats and supersetted biceptors. o, and the 315x10. i've done 10 or 12 reps at that weight a while back, but not after doing other, higher weight/volume work beforehand. and it was a while. all that to say: conditioning wasn't there. weight wasn't heavy, came up fine, could've gotten a few more but didn't want to push it my first session plus w/ the wreck situation i didn't want to overdo it.

[KenshinH]

Woah sorry to hear about the accident man! I'm amazed you went ahead and lifted today!

Happy that you guys are not hurt, but be careful brah. Sometimes it takes a while for car injuries to show up.

Nah. I've been posting, and nobody's in my thread any more. It's kinda sad

You gotta be active in other people's logs bro if you're not already. It's give and take.

[johnblythe]

Woah sorry to hear about the accident man! I'm amazed you went ahead and lifted today!

Happy that you guys are not hurt, but be careful brah. Sometimes it takes a while for car injuries to show up.

You gotta be active in other people's logs bro if you're not already. It's give and take.

thanks dawg. ya, we're really blessed. had a lady in the lane to our right decide to make a u-turn. slammed straight into her. car is totaled according to the guy who picked it up, we'll find out more this week. no scratches, just a little headache yesterday for us both. here's hoping things don't crop up later this week.