my quest to shatter the sophomore bench record

[xc_mtb]

O hai thar teen section, welcome to my workout log. I am making it to track my progress and get useful tips and encouragement. I will try to update it every time i lift. vids may be provided when i can drag my lazy bro away from the xbox.

training history: i lifted with machines until christmas of '08, because that was all i had access to. on machines i brought my bench up from 75 to 225 over about 1.5 years. also, i trained only upper body, because once again i didnt really have access to freeweights. since i got some equipment for christmas, i have started training legs as well, so i will include leg workout information in this log as well. Since i got freeweights, my deadlift has gone from 265 to 300 and my squats have progressed as well. currently, my bench max sits at 240. i will also include some running information because i am currently training for an endurance event.

current stats: 240 BP
300 dead
last freeweight squat was 145x25 lol (1rm estimate please?)
37 good form chin ups
about 145lbs smith military press
105x8 good form bb curl
172lbs @ 5'9"
just so you know, avi is kind of old

goals: must be achieved by mid june
bench 260 to break the sophomore record of 250
squat 215x12
deadlift 340
do 50 chinups
(smith) military press 155 full ROM
barbell curl 125 for reps with perfect form
get cut
cross grand canyon faster than last year

supplements: ON or EAS whey
EAS Phosphagen (creatine mono)

[xc_mtb]

I didnt write down any of todays chest/shoulders workout so i dont remember everything

bench: 9 sets lol was pissed at lack of progress lately
225x3, form was good, was pissed about this because i was expecting like 6 reps since i did 235x3 20 days ago (much ****tier form on the 235 though, bent wrists, flared elbows)
225x1
205x7
205x5
205x3
205x1
185x7
185x5
185x3

military
135x3, ROM was kinda ****ty, something to work on
120x6? good ROM
dont remember other 2 sets

incline
155x5
170x2?

DBBP
64x6
64x7 (inexplicable burst of energy)
forgot to do last set (fail)

overhead DB tri ext.
67x7 (rom wasnt great)
64xfail (fell over)
64x6? good rom

cable tri pushdown
160x8
150x10

dips
26

arnold presses
40x14
quit after 1st because shoulder felt funny

lateral raises
3 sets of 35x12

finished with pushups to failure, diamond pushups to failure, and 135x12 for fun

all in all, a kinda dissapointing chest day. since i started deadlifting and squatting my upper body lifting hasnt had nearly the same energy or progress

[xc_mtb]

leg day today. as my workout unfolds, i will keep editing this post to record the stats. ive been DL'ing for a month now and this is my 3rd or 4th time squatting


Squats:
warmup (barx20, 135x8)
185x25 depth was ok, little shallow on the first 3-4.
185x20
185x15 pussied out on this one IMO, could have pushed harder
185x10
185x6

leg curl: weights are plates only
60x12
60x12
70x12

leg ext. again, weights do not include bar
125x12
135x12
140x12

[ASU_sophomore3]

You went from squatting 145x25 to 185x25 in 2 days?

[xc_mtb]

You went from squatting 145x25 to 185x25 in 2 days?

145x25 was my first time, i was just playing around, focusing on form, not exerting any real effort. my 'current stats' section is incorrect, 145x20 was around christmas time. also, the 185x25 was fresh, 145x25 was after deads and 2 sets of ****ty squats. so it was pretty much just a month of noob gains

[EC_Muscle]

im sure alot of prior training helped increase the squat

[xc_mtb]

im sure alot of prior training helped increase the squat

im sure this is true. mountainbiking and indirect leg involvement during upper body training probably contributed a lot

[xc_mtb]

one again, i will update every once and a while between sets.

so far.. chest day
warmup:
pushupsx20
barx20
145x5

sets:
215x8 (ass lifted on last one)
215x5
215x2
205x5
205x2
205x1
185x5
185x5
185x2

smith seated military:
135x8 ROM wasnt that great, just feels so akward to go real low on the smith, i need to find a spotter to help me out with doing these freeweight
130x10
125x10
120x10
115x10

incline bench (smith)
170x4
160x?
155x?

overhead tri ext.
67x4
63x5
54x8

DBBP:
64x7
54x10

cable pushdown:
160x7
150x8

dips
27

arnold presses:
8x40
8x40

lateral raises:
34x12
34x12
34x10

[xc_mtb]

a little bicep work today, first time in a while, i was pretty pressed for time so i didnt do many sets. i was very lacking in energy because i ran 5 miles pre workout.

BB curl (i actually usually have great form on these, was slacking today though)
115x8
115x10

DB curl
74x10 (yes super cheat form lawl)

chin ups
28, massive fail! im hoping this was something to do with all the running

pull ups
18

DB hammer curls:
12x64

preacher curl machine: weight does not include bar
12x70
10x70

[xc_mtb]

was supposed to do leg stuff today, but my right adductor wasnt totally healed yet (hurt it playing basketball) so i couldnt do much. I just ended up doing a few sets of atg squats with 135lbs with super narrow stance (like normal standing width).

[xc_mtb]

chest day again today. 5.5 hrs of sleep per night is exhausting me mentally. next week i will be totally fresh (its vacation), so im gonna try some NO xplode (free samples), and if i dont hit 225x5 im going to light myself on fire.
warmup:
pushupsx20
barx20

benchpress:
215x9(last one had a LOT of help)
215x4
215x3
215x1
205x3
205x1
total fail so far.... little progress since last week
185xfail... couldnt find a spotter, lost balance, got stuck on chest, had to roll it down to hips.
185x4
185x1
135x20

i forgot to write down from here on so i cant remember much

military (smith): 135x7 poor rom
115x8, touched chest
115x5
95x?
95x?

incline bench (smith):
170x6
160x5
150x?

overhead tri ext
3x8x64

DBBP:
64x8
54x10

fly machine:
70x10
90x8
70x?

cable tricep pressdown
160x10
150x8

dips
30

pushups & diamond pushups

[xc_mtb]

im trying to upload some photos, but for christs sake how the **** do i make them 1000x1000? paint is ****ing useless, anyone want to help me out?

[xc_mtb]

heres what i look like right now (focus on the side of me not stretched out by holding the camera). i intentionally used pretty ****ty lighting because i figure its not like im always going to have perfect lighting lol so i like to make it realistic. my delts suck, but have come a very long way. IMO my main weakness is that i have the pecs of an anorexic 12 year old. any comments? what should i work on the most? what are my strengths and weaknesses?
and for the most important question, do i look any bigger than in my avi (its a couple months old)? avi is at like 162ish and this pic was taken at 172, did i actually gain any lean mass or just fail hard? also, if you saw me at the beach or something, would you think i lift weights?

also, if somebody can teach to embed that would be great

[ASU_sophomore3]

strong lifts bro, good work.

[xc_mtb]

strong lifts bro, good work.

lol thanks, you're doing pretty well yourself. also, based on my last workout do you think i have a shot at hitting 250 on bench next wednesday?

[xc_mtb]

teh bi's today again, im having trouble training legs because of hip problems

bb curl:
115x8 decent form
115x8 decent form
95x10 perfect form on the first 7, declined after that

DB curl:
74x12 (yes super cheat form who cares lol)

chins: 35

DB hammer curl:
64x14 (need to move up weight)

pull ups
20

[xc_mtb]

tommorow i will try to crank out 7 reps at 225. i will have plenty of sleep, teh NO xplode, everything perfect. theres a lot on the line, if i get it i can attempt 260 for the record on monday morning. wish me luck lol.

[lifthard72]

tommorow i will try to crank out 7 reps at 225. i will have plenty of sleep, teh NO xplode, everything perfect. theres a lot on the line, if i get it i can attempt 260 for the record on monday morning. wish me luck lol.

brah youll hit it no problem make sure to make me look bad to by not grunting and putting it up easily HA

[barrios43]

from your workouts so far id say you can hit 250 but id suggest using lower reps 3-5 they helped me on strength alot. gl on the record im trying to break my school record for my weight. its 330 i should get it before the school year ends

[xc_mtb]

thanks guys
i may not even get to lift today because my lazy sister would rather play with her ****ing little facebook than spot me......

[xc_mtb]

so i finally got a spotter.... ****ing kick ass workout.... i exerted myself absolutely 100%

warmup:
pushupsx20
barx20
145x6

benchpress:
225x7
225x5
225x3
215x5
205x5
205x3
205x1
185x5
185x1
135x15

military (freeweight): i was drop dead exhausted at this point, touched chest with each rep though
85x12
95x12
105x3
95x5
75x9
^^^wow strong bitch delts lol

incline BP (smith):
170x8 lol ROM sucked
160x5
145x6 good rom
135x12 good rom

im gonna try and work up some enthusiasm for the rest of this workout but currently im tired as hell

took a 15 minute break for dinner, didnt have a choice

overhead tri ext.:
67x8 good rom, little shoulder pain, taking it easy for next 3
54x8
54x8
54x5

DBBP: right pec felt like it was going to tear
64x1 lol strong weakness
44x12
44x8

fly machine:
2x15x50+bar

[xc_mtb]

did some bicep and back stuff yesterday, pretty lame effort lol not even worth recording

[xc_mtb]

chest today

so far...

bench:
235x5
235x1
225x5
225x3
215x3
205x4
205x1

[lifthard72]

nice dude i got sick last week and when we did maxes on monday i could only do 230!!! not cool

[xc_mtb]

just did bi's, i will write it all down in a little while, im gonna go run a half marathon.

[xc_mtb]

well, ive not been keeping up with this too well, i apologize, ive been too busy, but my best set on bench last workout was 235x7 so im going for the record attempt tommorow morning!

[xc_mtb]

ok guys, im officially reviving this thread lol
some of my recent lifts: bench: 235x9! (spotter may have interfered a little bit however)
squat: 225x9
dead: 295x2 (yes, bad progress, but i changed over to proper form thankfully)

edit: o and by the way i broke the record

[xc_mtb]

ok.... so just some updates... im doing madcows 5x5 right now. today on bench i did:
125x5
150x5
180x5
210x5
240x5 (ass come off bench on last rep, but still finished set)

1 RM estimate anybody?

i have unfortunately failed to make any other notable gains really... i started squatting ATG... my recent workout was working up to 205x5, my last deadlift workout was working up to 255x5 with good form, but my back curved a tiny bit on that last rep.

[xc_mtb]

late update today... last workout (tuesday) i benched
125x5
150x5
180x5
210x5
245x4 (was only supposed to be 3, but i got excited lol)
180x8

i think my bench max is probably about 275, what do you guys think?

sundays DL workout sucked, on my last set i only got 260x3 (program called for 5). i will repeat it this sunday to try for the full 5 reps, and if that fails im resetting my DL

tuesday's squatting wasnt even challenging, was supposed to work up to 210x3, i did a 4th, but i could have done like 10. i think i should have entered a much higher max to start off with lol

also, i havent been doing the sunday squatting because i go mountainbiking on the weekends and i feel like the added squatting would be over doing it

[xc_mtb]

today benched working up to 245x5
hang cleaned working up to 145
power cleaned 185 once just for the hell of it, wasnt very hard
didnt squat because im a retard and accidentally did my hypers and then my back was so tired i would have folded in half if i did much squatting