Martin's odyssey to become not as weak.

[martin_mathers]

I have a ********, but I don't use it. I only use twitter and INSTA (post lifting videos, lol). I'm actually in college now also. How have you been?

What's your instagram? I'll follow you. I've been ok. Recently started training my squat again due to injuries so im still keeping things light. Focusing more on bench and deads right now.


Friday Oct 17
Deadlift No Belt
135x5
225x5
315x2
405x2
455x1
485x5x2
485x1 <- with belt. wanted to practice with a belt. felt super awkward though.

Bent Rows
4x12

GHR
4x10

Not much assistance done. Deadlifts killed me. Warmups felt awful as hell and i was gonna just stop at 455 and call it a deload but i didnt. Still managed to get five beltless doubles. Original plan is 495 for beltless doubles next week. Might end up taking a deload i'll see how i feel. All these beltless doubles are really teaching me how to grind though.


Saturday Oct 18

Close Grip Bench All Paused
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x4x10

Pullups
4x12

DB OHP
4x12

Curls
3x15

Jact and tand day.

[DiscusKid]

What's your instagram? I'll follow you. I've been ok. Recently started training my squat again due to injuries so im still keeping things light. Focusing more on bench and deads right now.


Friday Oct 17
Deadlift No Belt
135x5
225x5
315x2
405x2
455x1
485x5x2
485x1 <- with belt. wanted to practice with a belt. felt super awkward though.

Bent Rows
4x12

GHR
4x10

Not much assistance done. Deadlifts killed me. Warmups felt awful as hell and i was gonna just stop at 455 and call it a deload but i didnt. Still managed to get five beltless doubles. Original plan is 495 for beltless doubles next week. Might end up taking a deload i'll see how i feel. All these beltless doubles are really teaching me how to grind though.


Saturday Oct 18

Close Grip Bench All Paused
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x4x10

Pullups
4x12

DB OHP
4x12

Curls
3x15

Jact and tand day.

DrakeTaylor101.

**** your bench is strong, lol

[martin_mathers]

DrakeTaylor101.

**** your bench is strong, lol

oh yea i remember you now i still have you on ********.

and nah i hit 355 over a year ago and i havent hit a 1RM PR since then.

[martin_mathers]

Low Bar Squat
barx10
135x2x5
225x2x3
315x2x1
345x5x1
Wanted to see how low bar would feel since i havent squatted low bar in a while. Definitely felt very weird and i was going way too low like a high bar. So i kept it light to work on form. Form got better towards the end.

T-Bar rows
4x10

GHR
4x10

Leg Press
3x12

[martin_mathers]

Paused Bench
barx20
135x10
185x5
225x2x3
255x1
275x5x5
275x7 <- forgot to pause first 3 reps. Kinda burned out by the time i was done the 5x5.

Pullups
bw+45x4x5

DB Bench
4x15

Side Raise
3x12

Facepulls
3x15

Curls
2x12

It was bench day and all I could think about was squats. Actually thats every day lol. My bench and deadlift training is going pretty well but all i can think of every day is getting my squat back to where it was. Goddammit.

[martin_mathers]

Busy weekend. Went to a meet on Saturday to handle a couple of my training partners.


Friday Oct 24

Deload Deadlift
135x2x5
225x2x3
315x2x1

Low Bar Squat
barx2x5
135x2x5
225x3x3
315x2x2
Thats it. Sticking to high bar from now on. Might start doing front squats if they dont hurt.

Pullups
3x12

Deload day. Right hip/glute/IT band/TFL were painful.


Saturday Oct 25

Close grip Bench All Paused
barx10
135x10
185x10
225x1
235x4x10

T-Bar Rows
4x10

DB OHP
4x12

Short day. Pretty tired from standing and running around at the meet.

[martin_mathers]

Monday Oct 27

Front Squat No Belt
barx2x10
135x10
185x5
205x5
225x5x5
I know its pussy weight but i was very happy with this. Its been over a year since i was able to squat anything for 5x5. And its been 3 years since I trained front squats. These felt great too.

High Bar Squat
225x2x3
275x2
315x2
Wanted to do more but my back was pretty trashed. Going to turn up the volume next week.

Bent Rows
5x12

[HoneyBadger300]

Nice lifting, glute doing ok?

[martin_mathers]

Nice lifting, glute doing ok?

Only on front squats. Its ok on high bar but not 100%. Jeremy suggested i should just focus on the front squat and use that to build my high bar.

Bench (last rep paused)
barx15
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x1
285x5x5
285x3 Right hamstring cramped up mid set lulz so i did 2 more sets
285x2x5

Pullups
4x12

DB Bench
4x12

Facepulls
4x15

Lots of volume today on the bench. Seven sets of 5 and a cramped up triple lol. First set felt horrendous but tightened up after and they were easy.

[martin_mathers]

Oct 31 Friday

Deadlift No Belt
up to
500x2 PR
500x1
Back was still pretty sore from front squats so i stopped there. Had no speed off the ground so i was surprised i could grind out a PR.

High Bar Squats
up to
275x3x3

Rows
4x10

GHR
4x12

Not a very good day cause i wanted to do more doubles with 500 but the first set was tough enough. Couldve just put my belt on but i didnt warm up with one so it wouldve felt awkward. Next week should be better as my back will get used to front squatting again.


Nov 1 Saturday

Close grip Bench (last rep paused)
barx2x10
135x10
185x10
205x6
225x3
245x4x9
275x2x3
Close grips were feeling real solid so i added some weight and did 2 more sets.

Pullups
bw+45x5x5

DB OHP
4x10

Curls
4x12

[izzygrant]

Doing strictly fronts and ssb for a while worked out great for my squat. Nice pulling, too

[martin_mathers]

Doing strictly fronts and ssb for a while worked out great for my squat. Nice pulling, too

Thanks. I'm hoping front squats will bring up my quads cause im pretty much 95% quads now when i back squat.


Front Squat no belt
barx2x10
135x5
185x5
225x3
235x5x5
Easy but i was rounding over a lot more than last week.

High Bar Squat
225x2x3
275x2x2
Back was tired so i stopped. Left knee was bugging me quite a bit too.

Conv. Deads
135x2x10
225x8
315x2 ew
Sumo
315x2
Tought i'd give conventional a try but it felt horrendous.

[martin_mathers]

Bench Last Rep Paused
barx15
135x10
185x8
225x3
275x2
295x7x5
They didnt feel too fast and easy but my gf filmed my last set on snapchat and it looked really fuucking fast. I was surprised and almost did another set.

Pullups
5x12

DB Bench
4x12

Facepulls
3x15

Side Raise
3x12

[martin_mathers]

Friday Nov 7

Deadlift No Belt
135x2x5
225x2x3
315x2x2
405x2x1
455x1
485x1
515x4x1 Volume PR
Wanted 5 but 4th one was pretty slow on the lockout.

GHR vs band
4x10

Bent Rows
4x12

Tried doing some high bar squats too but glute started to hurt with 225 so i stopped. Good day of pulling though considering my pulls havent been feeling strong lately.


Saturday Nov 8

Close grip bench last rep paused
barx2x12
135x2x10
185x10
225x4
245x1
255x4x8

Pullups
bw+45x5x5

DB OHP
4x10

Facepulls
4x15

Curls
4x12

Still sore and beat up from benching on wednesday.
Front squats tomorrow. Not looking forward to them at all lol.

[martin_mathers]

Front Squat No Belt
barx10
135x5
185x3
225x2
245x5x5 Easy and much much better than last week. Last set was all over the place though.

High Bar Squat
225x2x3
275x2x2
315x1
335x3x1
Glute was feeling fine so i did more than usual. Pretty sure my quads are starting to get stronger too.

Rows
4x10

Pretty good day of squatting. Front squats are starting to feel more natural.

[martin_mathers]

Bench
barx15
135x10
185x6
225x4
275x2
295x1
305x6x5 Big volume PR.
Wanted to do a 7th set but everyone told me to stop lulz.

Pullups
4x12

DB Bench
4x12

Facepulls
3x15

Side Raise
3x12

Pretty happy with benching today. I have 5 weeks left in this cycle (also 5 weeks left at Fortis before i leave for Christmas then back to school). The original plan was to peak up to a one rep PR but since im not training for a meet im thinking about maybe peaking up to a PR triple instead.

[martin_mathers]

Friday Nov 14

Deadlift No Belt
135x2x5
225x2x3
315x2
405x1
455x1
495x1
Stopped there. Supposed to work up to 530 beltless but 495 felt terrible. Went up fast but form just felt off. So I decided to take the day as a deload instead.

GHR vs band
4x8

Bent over rows
4x12

Meh. Gotta have at least one bad day in every cycle. Gonna put on my belt starting next week.


Saturday Nov 15

Close grip Bench
barx10
135x10
185x10
225x3
265x5x7
I was benching with Jeremy again so I rushed through these lol.

Pullups
bw+45x5x5

DB OHP
4x12

Curls
4x12

[martin_mathers]

Front Squat
barx10
135x2x5
185x4
225x2
255x5x5 These felt GREAT.

High Bar Squat (60s rest between sets)
up to
315x5x1
Wanted to be as fast as possible.

Deadlift
135x8
225x3
315x2x1
405x2x1
Just wanted to practice with a belt. Still felt a little awkward.

Rows
4x12

Pretty good day. Front squats felt awesome especially the last set. High bar felt great too havent squatted that fast in a long time.

[NorthStrong]

and ur butt didnt hurt?


wahoo

[martin_mathers]

and ur butt didnt hurt?


wahoo

Nope! And im hoping to pull 600 in the next 5 weeks lol.

[martin_mathers]

Bench
barx20
135x12
185x8
225x2x4
275x3
295x1
315x6x4 PR
I wanted 315x5x5 but i only got 315x4 on my first set which is still a PR. The 5th rep was REALLY close though my left arm locked out but my right arm couldnt. I couldve hit 5 reps on my 2nd, 3rd or 4th set but i didnt want to grind too much or risk missing another rep.

Pullups
4x12

DB Bench
3x12

Side raise
1x30

Had to rush through my assistance work cause i got to the gym late due to dat Canadian weather. Seems like everyone just forgets how to drive when there is a little bit of snow.
Also, i have 4 weeks left of training before i leave for Christmas for 2 weeks (and probably wont train that much). So i'm going to back down the weight and build up to hit 315x5x5 on my 4th week. I'm not training for a meet so i really want to push my 5's harder and keep getting my base stronger (at least for bench and front squats. Cant stand doing reps on deadlifts.)

[bassinyoface]

Bench
barx20
135x12
185x8
225x2x4
275x3
295x1
315x6x4 PR
I wanted 315x5x5 but i only got 315x4 on my first set which is still a PR. The 5th rep was REALLY close though my left arm locked out but my right arm couldnt. I couldve hit 5 reps on my 2nd, 3rd or 4th set but i didnt want to grind too much or risk missing another rep.

Pullups
4x12

DB Bench
3x12

Side raise
1x30

Had to rush through my assistance work cause i got to the gym late due to dat Canadian weather. Seems like everyone just forgets how to drive when there is a little bit of snow.
Also, i have 4 weeks left of training before i leave for Christmas for 2 weeks (and probably wont train that much). So i'm going to back down the weight and build up to hit 315x5x5 on my 4th week. I'm not training for a meet so i really want to push my 5's harder and keep getting my base stronger (at least for bench and front squats. Cant stand doing reps on deadlifts.)

brah don't you know the minute people see snow in the m.dot the max speed limit is 10 km/h!
We had five accidents happen last night, and one happened right in front of one we were already at!

[martin_mathers]

brah don't you know the minute people see snow in the m.dot the max speed limit is 10 km/h!
We had five accidents happen last night, and one happened right in front of one we were already at!

Speaking of firefighters, I was talking to my mom on skype last night (she lives in Hong Kong) and she was saying 12 firefighters in Hong Kong almost got killed for trying to save this guy who wanted to kill himself by having a gas leak in his apartment. He locked himself in and the guys broke in through the front door and then the whole place just blew up. 7 are still in the ICU and their faces are all burnt up. Scary stuff. Stay safe out there man.



Friday Nov 21

Deadlift
135x2x5
225x5
315x2
405x1
455x1
495x1
535x1
Pretty easy. Getting more used to the belt. I don't know why but all my pulls have been slow off the ground lately. My lockout is definitely stronger though.

Bent Rows
4x12

GHR
4x10

Ab Wheel
3x12

Haven't done abs in a while. Maybe thats why my pulls are slow off the ground?
Also Omar finally got that 585 deadlift. He's been battling some hip problems and it's good to see him finally hit a PR. Only if he would do a fuucking meet...


Saturday Nov 22

Close Grip Bench
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x4x12
Speedy.

Pullups
bw+45x5x5

DB OHP
4x12

Facepulls
3x15

Curls
3x12

Backing down the weights and building up again on close grips and comp bench the next few weeks I have left at Fortis. Goal is to hit 315x5x5 in 4 weeks.

[bassinyoface]

Thanks brah, its all good. Unfortunately its part of the job. Never know what to expect!
Its all good though! thats why I love it!

[martin_mathers]

Front Squat
barx2x5
135x5
185x3
225x2
265x5x5
Glute was bothering me a bit the entire workout. I wanted to do high bar after but training partner told me not to. Its ok cause my abs were still really sore from the ab wheel on Friday.

T-Bar Rows
4x12

Ab Pulldown
4x20

Good front squatting. The weight is still light so nothing is too challenging yet. The only tough part was having the weight on my neck and its pretty uncomfortable. But i know my quads are getting stronger every week so it'll definitely pay off when i focus on high bar squats.

[martin_mathers]

Bench Press
barx15
135x12
185x5
225x4
275x2
285x7 PR easy
285x6 dont know why i stopped at 6 stupid brain.
285x7
285x7
285x7
285x3 Long pause

Pullups
4x12

DB Bench
4x12

Facepulls
4x15

Side Raise
3x12

Very happy with benching today. Not only did I hit a rep PR I also did it for multiple sets. Rotator cuffs were still bothering me but they felt better after the warmup sets.

[martin_mathers]

Friday Nov 28

Deadlift
135x2x5
225x2x5
315x2
365x1
405x1
455x1
505x1
555x1 Tied PR. Havent worked up to this weight in over a year. It was definitely easier and much cleaner than the last time I pulled it. My gf's been filming all my heavy sets for all 3 lifts so I might upload all of them in one big video at the end of the year with some epic music in the background or something.

Bent Rows
5x12

GHR vs band
4x10

Ab Wheel
4x12

Very excited with how 555 went. Even though my glute was not happy with it. Tried squatting afterwards and squatting the bar makes my glute painful. No major pains when I was deadlifting though. Next 3 weeks are going to be the most crucial training weeks I've had in 2014.


Saturday Nov 29

Close Grip Bench
barx2x20
135x10
185x10
225x3
235x4x10

Pullups
bw+45x4x5

DB OHP
4x10

Curls
3x12

Usual assistance day.

[martin_mathers]

Front Squat
barx2x5
135x5
185x3
225x2
255x1
275x5x5 These felt awful. Fast, but awful. I've been going heavier on my pulls so my back was getting fatigued fast after like 2 reps. My glute was hurting a bit too.

T-Bar Rows
4x10

Ab Pullown
4x20

In the future when I prep for a meet, I might have to train somewhat similar to the Lilliebridge method and go heavy on squats one week, and heavy pulls the next week. My glute can't really handle heavy pulls and squats in the same week.

[martin_mathers]

Bench Press
barx15
135x10
185x5
225x4
275x2
295x6 PR
295x6
295x6
295x6
295x4 Wanted 5 sets of 6 but on this last set I kept touching too high and I fell way out of groove so I stopped at 4.
Right shoulder was hurting the whole day so I didn't push it too hard.

Pullups
4x10

Dips
4x20

Side Raise
3x15

Facepulls
3x15

To be honest I actually wanted 295x7 on my first set but I just wasn't feeling it today. I had to use another bench and that bench sits on mats that are really slippery which affected my leg drive a little. Plus there were these super bright lights shining down on the bench and they blind me every time I use that bench. I know it sounds stupid but the small details actually make a big difference. But at least I still hit a PR.

[martin_mathers]

Friday Dec 5

Deadlift
135x2x5
225x3
315x1
405x1
455x1
515x1
565x1 PR. Almost didn't go for this because my glute was hurting quite a bit with 515. No pain with 565 though. Maybe it's because I punched my forehead 3 times before I went for the lift. But either way I was definitely still beat up from last week's 555 and Monday's front squats which made the lift so much slower than it should have been. I'm taking next week light and I'm going for 585 in two weeks.

Rows
4x15

GHR
4x10

Ab Wheel
4x15

Also my gf pulled 305lbs. Extremely proud of this. She's been lifting for less than a year and she started out with a 95lb deadlift. Her squat and bench are going very well too.


Saturday Dec 6

Close grip Bench
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x3
245x4x10

Pullups
4x10

DB OHP
4x10

Curls
3x15

Sore as fuuck.