Martin's odyssey to become not as weak.

[martin_mathers]

Speed Paused Squats
barx2x10
135x2x5
185x3
225x9x3

Speed Deadlifts
135x10
225x5
315x5x3

Bent rows
4x15

One leg glute bridge
3x15

Ab Wheel
3x12

Routine light work for recovery/form/speed etc.

[martin_mathers]

One leg deadlift for warmup
5x5

Close Grip Bench last rep paused
barx20
135x12
185x10
225x10
235x10
245x10
255x10
275x5
275x5
275x5

Pullups
lots

DB OHP
4x12

[martin_mathers]

13 Weeks out

Squat
barx2x10
135x5
225x3
315x1
365x1
395x1
415x1 Ughh. Two weeks ago 405 felt great but this one was horrible. Back completely took over the lift which means my quad strength is not where it needs to be.
365x1 x5 sets. To make up for the shiitty 415.

Light deadlifts
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x3x3

Rows
4x10

The good news is I still have 13 weeks to get stronger. Everything happens for a good reason. I went home and wrote up a new meet prep plan which looks way better than the original one. Going to lower the weights on the squat and do lots of singles 2x a week to build. My deadlift training was already going really well but I still changed it so it will fit around my squat training better. Bench remains the same.

[martin_mathers]

13 Weeks out

Bench Press
barx2x15
135x2x10
185x10
225x5
255x3
275x10
275x10
275x10
275x10
275x5 paused
275x5 paused
275x5 paused
Cardio for my triceps.

Pullups
4x10

Lat pulldown
3x15

DB OHP
3x12

Ok bench day. Haven't done high reps on the bench in a while and it showed today. Arms were getting fatigued fast.

[martin_mathers]

13 Weeks out

Deadlift
barxmillion
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x3
405x2
455x1
455x1
495x1 x8 sets
Kept the rest periods short on these. Legs were still tired from Monday's squats but these were fast especially the lockout.

Squat
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1
355x1
355x1
Stopped there. Wanted to do way more singles than that but I was pretty tired from the deads. These weren't moving as fast as I'd like.

Bent Rows
135x12
185x12
205x20
225x12

Next week's squat training should be better.

[martin_mathers]

13 Weeks Out

Paused Close Grip Bench
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x5
245x5
275x5
275x6
275x6
275x6
275x6
225x15 only paused last couple reps

Pullups
lots

DB OHP
3x12

Facepulls
3x15

On a side note: found Fredrik Smulter's youtube channel yesterday and I've been watching a lot of his videos. The guy is such a beast bencher. I've seen his 881 singleply and 620 raw before but never looked into him.

[martin_mathers]

12 Weeks Out

Squat
barx20
135x5 x2sets
225x4
275x2
315x1 x3sets
345x1 x4sets
That's it for back squatting for the next 2 months or maybe more. Going back to just front squatting for a while. I'm 12 weeks out and my squat is going nowhere. I squatted 415 a week ago which was the heaviest I'd gone in years. And my knee and glute are still hurting from that. There's no point in just hitting singles all the time because I can't build shiit from that. But my glute won't allow me to hit reps on the squat. And it's not like I never tried to fix my injuries. Everything I've tried just either didn't work or didn't last. I would feel good for like a couple weeks and then once I start pushing my squat training a little bit, all the injuries flare back up and I'm wrecked for 2-3 weeks. This is just not fun anymore. On my deadlift and bench days I'm excited to go in the gym. I dread all my squat days, not because I don't like squatting, but because I know it's going to hurt. I mean it's just another lift. It's not supposed to get me all these never-ending injuries and pain. And also, my right groin has been hurting from squats too. I squat close stance. Go figure.

So I'm going to focus on front squatting for a while which usually doesn't hurt anything. In about 8 weeks I'll test my back squat. If I can hit at least 455 pain-free then I'll compete full power. If everything still hurts and I can't hit something around 455 then I'm just going to do push pull which I'm totally fine with. I don't see a point in competing in the squat if I don't have a chance of hitting a PR.

Light Deadlifts
135x10
225x5
315x3
365x3
405x3 x5sets
On the bright side, my deadlift form is feeling the best it has ever felt since I started lifting. Deadlifting used to hurt my glute too but for the past 4 months it's been completely pain free. Let's try and stay that way.

Bent Rows
205x10 x4sets

Ab Wheel
3x12

So the main priority right now is pushing the bench and deadlift. I'm not too sure where my bench is right now in terms of 1RM because I have been training reps for the past 8 months. But I'm hoping for around 375 before the meet and 405 before the end of the year. For deadlifts I really want 600 at the meet.

For squats I'm just going to have fun with front squats and see where I'll be before the meet. If it doesn't go well I won't sweat it. Sick of being so stressed out about something that I set out to do for fun.

[martin_mathers]

12 Weeks Out

Bench Press
barx20
135x12
185x10
225x5
275x2
285x9 PR
285x9
285x9 ran out of gas and last 2 reps ugly as fuuck
285x5 Paused
285x5 Paused
285x5 Paused
285x5 Paused
Wanted to hit 4 sets of 9 but I got no juice left in me. Still happy with it since I benched on Saturday and everything was still sore and tight today.

Pullups
4x10

DB OHP
3x12

Lat Pulldown
3x15

It's finals week(s) and all I have in my head is powerlifting.

[martin_mathers]

12 Weeks Out

Deadlift
barx20
135x5
135x5
225x4
225x4
315x2
365x2
405x2
455x1
485x1
505x1 x8sets
Easy. Some of the top sets I hit the technique RIIIIIGHT on point and they felt like 225. I'm glad that I decided to take a technical approach to my sumo deadlift instead of just pulling the shiit out of the bar like I used to. I never knew the sumo pull could be so technical. Still have to practice a lot more, but now I feel like if I can break it off the floor, there's no way I can't lock it out.

Front Squat
barx10
135x5
185x3
225x3
265x2
275x2
285x2
295x2
Haven't front squatted in a while so just worked up to some easy doubles. Back was tired from the pulls.

Rows
4x10

GHR against band
3x10

[martin_mathers]

Paused Close Grip Bench
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x5
245x5
275x5
275x6
275x6
275x6
275x6
225x12
225x12

DB OHP
4x15

Pullups
lots

Curls
3x20
Worst thing ever.

[martin_mathers]

11 Weeks out

High Bar Squat
barx10
135x5
185x3
225x3
225x3
275x2
315x2
315x3 x10sets.
The plan was to do light front squats but I was warming up with both front and high bar squats. For whatever reason nothing hurts with high bar today so I proceeded to do a ton of sets to get some light work in to practice form.

Deadlift
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x3
405x3 x5sets
Can't seem to find a balance between being fast and maintaining form.

Rows
4x10

Ab Wheel
2x15

Keep forgetting to get my entry form in for the meet. I've also decided to do only push pull meets until I can squat 500 pain free.

Edit: Entries for the meet are now closed lmao. Missed it by a day. Apparently lots of lifters registered so they closed it early. Still emailed the meet director to be on the wait list though. I'm just doing push pull so maybe he'll squeeze me in. Regardless I'm going to continue on with my training cycle. If I don't get in the meet I just won't do the 2-week deload I planned to do before the meet.

[NorthStrong]

CPF nattys @ fortis?

[martin_mathers]

CPF nattys @ fortis?

Yea Bruce said I'm on the wait list. It's not at Fortis it's a few blocks away. Oh well I can always just max out in the gym.

[martin_mathers]

So some people dropped out of the meet and I got in. OFFICIALLY 10.5 weeks out. Excited but not nervous because I don't have to squat lol.

Paused Bench
barx20
135x10
135x10
185x10
225x5
255x3
275x3
295x5 x7sets. Paused rep and volume PR's. Felt like crap though. For some reason my legs and back were EXTREMELY sore today and I felt like shiit on the bench.

Pullups
Lots

DB OHP
4x10

Facepulls
3x15

Not going to do any max rep sets anymore. Only going to be doing paused sets from now on until the meet. For me touch and go feels too different from pauses and I feel like its necessary to have lots of practice with the pause.

[martin_mathers]

Deadlift
barx15
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x1
405x1
455x1
485x1
515x1 x8sets. Volume PR. Kept the rest periods between 3-4 minutes. Back and legs were still sore but these moved fast. Form didn't feel the best today though.

High Bar Squat
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x2
325x2 x6sets. Felt great. No pain.

GHR
3x10

No time for upper back work. Two more finals then I'm done for this term. Going back to Fortis!

[martin_mathers]

Light Paused Bench
barx20
135x10
185x8
225x5
275x5 x6sets.
Today is usually my close grip day but I'm cutting out all close grip work until after the meet. For the longest time I've done one comp grip day and one close grip day religiously and I don't feel like the close grip bench has helped my comp bench much. So I'd rather get more practice with the competition pause on my light day as well.

Pullups
4x10

DB Bench
3x15

Rows
4x15

This will be my second time peaking the bench my own way for a meet. I've peaked the squat and deadlift myself for meets many times, but for the bench I've always used either Sheiko or Smolov Jr. The last time I did my own bench programming was 3 years ago and it worked out okay. This time I'm gonna try to peak properly by not having to grind anything until maybe my last couple heavy days before the meet. This also means not going nuts and doing too many working sets, stopping when it feels clean and fast, and not pushing the assistance work too hard.

[martin_mathers]

10 Weeks out

High Bar Squat
barx10
135x5
225x4
275x2
315x2
325x3 x10sets. Nice and fast. Still haven't found a consistent groove for my high bar squats yet. All these reps feel a little bit different from each other. But I'm still going to keep adding 10lbs a week.

Deadlift Practice
135x8
225x5
315x3
365x3
405x3 x5sets. I only work up to 405 every week on my light deadlift day. Not lighter, not heavier. And I plan to keep it at 405 on my light day all the way until the meet. The purpose is to practice my form and technique and make it feel better after each week. I wasn't even trying to pull fast just good form. It'll definitely pay off in the long run.

Rows
3x12

Ab Wheel
3x12

Finally done all my final exams. Moving back to Toronto next week.

[izzygrant]

wrong nationals brah

[martin_mathers]

wrong nationals brah

Lmao I don't care. I'm just doing push pull and I don't even feel like I'm actually doing a meet. Just a warm up meet for future NON-IPF/NON-CPU/NON-OPA full meets. I'll be at the OPA supershow though.

[martin_mathers]

Paused Bench Press
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x5
275x3
295x2
305x5 x3sets. Paused rep PR. Not happy at all with these. They were way too slow. 1st set was okay, 2nd set was slow on the last rep, 3rd set almost failed my last rep.
295x5 x3sets. So I decided to drop the weight down a bit. Even so these were still slow. My right arm was lagging behind a lot today.
275x3 x2sets. To practice form.

Pullups
4x10

Facepulls
3x15

Didn't do much assistance since I had a crappy day. First shiity bench day in a long while actually. I'm feeling a little burned out on the bench. Today I had to grind out some reps and I'm not happy with that especially when I'm peaking. So next week I'm going to re-do 305 but only for sets of 4 reps paused. I need everything to move nice and fast.

Edit: Changed my peaking plan for the bench. The original plan was to peak up to 365-375 for a single before the meet. But since I'm feeling burned out on the bench, I'm going to cycle back down to 285 next week and cycle back up 10lbs each week. The goal is to hit 345x3 paused before the meet. So I won't be testing my 1RM before the meet which I think is not a bad idea. Leave the heaviest attempts for the platform.

[martin_mathers]

10 Weeks out

Deadlift
barxmillion
135x5
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x2
405x1
455x1
495x1
525x1 x7sets. Volume PR. Slowed down a bit on set number 6 so I only did one more after that. Still keeping the rest periods short and I was starting to slow down a little. Form was feeling pretty good today. Was able to keep the bar close to me the whole time.

High Bar Squat
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x2
335x2 x6sets

Rows
4x10

GHR against band
3x10

Been feeling weaker lately due to a bit of weight loss from final exams/not eating and sleeping enough. Belt was feeling kind of loose today too.

[martin_mathers]

Squat
Barx10
135x10
225x3
275x2
315x2
335x2 x3sets. Supposed to do 10 triples today but left knee was hurting a lot. Been doing lots of moving and driving the past couple days and my left knee was killing me.

Light Deadlift
Up to
405x3 x5sets.

Rows
4x15

Ab wheel
3x12

Everything also felt heavy as fuuck today. Happens every time when I switch gyms. When I switch from Fortis to school gym, I have shiitty workouts for a whole week. Same thing when I go from school to Fortis.

[martin_mathers]

Paused Bench Press
Barx10
135x10
185x8
225x5
265x3
285x5 x5sets.
285x3 x5sets.
Definitely not as fast as I had hoped. Will probably only add 5lbs for next week. Also fatigued pretty quickly today. Apart from switching gym, new weights, new bars, new setting etc, I recently changed up my technique a bit. Instead of letting the bar sink into my chest a little, now I'm pausing right at the chest so that the weight is barely touching my chest, kind of like how Spoto and Sarychev bench. While I can get way tighter this way, I fatigue very fast during the set with anything over 3 reps. I think I just need more practice.

Pullups
Lots

DB OHP
5x12
While the plates feel heavier at Fortis, the dumbbells definitely feel lighter.

Curls
4x12

Facepulls
4x15

Another crappy workout as expected. Should get better next week as I get used to the setting.

[martin_mathers]

Deadlift (first time with deadlift bar after 4 months)
barx15
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x1
405x1 slow, felt confused
405x1 still slow
455x1 slow
505x1 slowest 505 I've ever pulled.
I don't know what happened today but nothing wanted to move off the ground. I'm 100% sure that the DL bar was throwing me way off which I expected, but I didn't expect it to affect me this much. So I guess I'm also a bit burned out from training? I pulled 525 for 7 singles easy last week. This is just ridiculous. I'm probably gonna go back to deadlifting heavy every two weeks until the meet. I have 8 weeks left so that gives me 3 more heavy deadlift workouts. This will also give me opportunities to work with lighter weights and practice with the DL bar since I have to compete with it.

Squat
barx10
135x5
225x3
315x2x2sets
365x2x3sets
At least these didn't feel too bad.

Back Raises
3x15

Probably the worst training week of 2015. Everything was going so well and on point. Then everything fell apart this week.

[martin_mathers]

Light Bench Press Paused
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x5
275x5x7sets. Finally got my groove back and these felt very fast.

Pullups
4x10

Rows
4x15

DB OHP
3x12

Tricep Pushdown
4x15

I hope next week's training is going to be better.

[NorthStrong]

mirin bench still tho

[martin_mathers]

mirin bench still tho

Meh, I haven't even benched 405 yet.

8 weeks out

Monday
Light Deadlift
barx15
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x2
405x2
455x1
485x1x7sets.
Got my speed back. Still a bit thrown off at the bottom due to the DL bar.

Rows
4x15

GHR
4x10


Wednesday
Paused Bench Press
barx20
135x10
185x8
225x5
275x3
290x5x5sets
290x3x3sets
Much better this week. Gotta start ramping the weights up for the meet.

Lat Pulldowns
4x15

DB OHP
4x12

Tricep Pushdown
4x15

Charly Joung came in to train today. Nice guy, strong as hell.

[martin_mathers]

Friday

Squat
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x3
365x3x5sets easy. Felt pretty good.

Bent rows
4x12

Ab wheel
2x20


Saturday

Light Paused Bench
barx20
135x10
185x8
225x5
275x5x5sets
225x12x2sets
These didn't feel that good. Upper back was sore from the day before and couldn't really stay tight. Reps moved slower than normally.

Pullups
4x10

Dips
3x20

Curls
3x12

[martin_mathers]

7 Weeks Out

Deadlift
barx15
135x10
225x5
315x3
365x2
405x1
455x1
485x1
515x1
545x1x4sets. Volume PR. These felt very easy and smooth. Definitely the fastest I've ever pulled 545. The DL bar didn't throw me off anymore.

Rows
4x12

GHR
3x12

Very happy with how easy 545 felt being 7 weeks out. I don't care what happens but I'm going for 600 at the meet.

[martin_mathers]

Wednesday

Paused Bench Press
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x5
275x3
295x5x7sets. Fastest 5's I've ever done with 295. They were so easy I thought the plates were light.

Pullups
4x10

DB OHP
4x15

Tricep Pushdown
4x15

Facepulls
4x15


Friday

Squat
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x3
365x1
375x3x5sets
380x3 the sets were so easy I did one more with a little more weight for shiits and gigs.

Bent Rows
4x12

Decline situps
3x12
Gonna start doing more of these instead of ab wheel because Malanichev.


Saturday

Light Paused Bench Press
barx20
135x10
185x10
225x6
275x6x5sets

Pullups
4x10

Dips
3x20

Curls
4x12


Finally a great week of training. Definitely got used to the gym again and the different environment.