Starting to get serious

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

7/19/2016

High bar squat
45x2 5 breaths
75x1 5 breaths
95x1 5 breaths
115x1 5 breaths
135x1 5 breaths
155x4
175x3 add belt
195x1
205x1 messy
185x4
185x4
185x4

Romanian Deadlift
135x8 snatch grip
155x8
165x8 add straps
165x8

Bent over row
75x6
95x8
95x8
95x8
95x8

Push press
45x5
65x5
75x5
80x4
80x3 bar hit my chin on 4th rep
80x5
80x4

Snatch Press
44x10
49x10
54x9
54x8

DB single-leg deadlift
25x8
30x8
30x8

new PRs today
95 was a new 8RM for Bent over row
95 was a new PR for 4 sets of 8 Bent over row
54 was a new 9RM for Snatch Press
49 was a new 10RM for Snatch Press

At the crossfit box. The crossfit class that was going on looked fun, maybe I'll try one on Wednesday? Squats were still meh, but much better than yesterday. But adductors are super sore now haha. Trying to learn to do push presses from the front rack, rather than holding the bar in my hands. I just don't have the technique right.

Calf felt fine through this entire workout. Probably do some power cleans tomorrow, and some bench variation. We'll see!

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

7/20/2016

Front Squat
45x5
75x5
95x5
105x5
135x2 add belt
145x1
155x1
165x1
150x3
150x3
150x3

Military Press
45x3
55x3
65x3
75x3
80x3 bit of a struggle
85x2
85x0
80x3 better than first triple
82.5x0
77.5x1
77.5x1
77.5x1
77.5x1
77.5x1

Floor Press
45x5
75x5
95x5
105x5
110x5
115x4
120x3
125x3 RPE 10 my life flashed before my eyes grinder
130x2
135x1

DB bench
35x12
40x12
45x8
45x8
45x8

Hammer Curl
15x20
20x14
20x14

Lying DB tricep extension
20x14
20x14
20x14

DB rear fly
20x12
20x12

Facepulls
35x15
35x15

new PRs today
165 was a new 1RM for Front Squat
150 was a new 3RM for Front Squat
150 was a new PR for 3 sets of 3 Front Squat
135 was a new 1RM for Floor Press
85 was a new 2RM for Military Press
35 was a new PR for 2 sets of 15 Facepulls

At crossfit box again. I was late, so no class for me. But everyone in the class looked miserable! Haha so maybe being late was for the best. Was really happy with front squats, a lot less happy with overhead. I really don't get how I can triple 80, and then a few minutes later fail 82.5? The only reason I did a double at 85 was that the first rep was so difficult, I got mad and just did a second. (Which was easier, I didn't pause it at the bottom.) But then next time I failed 85?? I will probably be happier once I resign myself to the fact that I will never improve at overheads!! :/ Anyway bad news of the day is a bone at the base of my left thumb hurts really bad when I try to bench. For overheads and floor press I was able to change my grip so it felt ok, but with bench it was impossible. Not sure how I injured myself? And definitely hoping it goes away soon!

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

7/23/2016

High bar squat
55x5 using Texas squat bar
99x10
121x5
143x4
165x3
187x2 add belt
198x1
209x1
220x1

7/24/2016

High bar squat
45x5 Wearing squat shoes w/.65 inch heel
85x5
115x5
140x5
165x3
185x3 add belt
200x2
210x1
220x1 a bit high
225x1 definitely high

Paused Bench
85x5
105x5
120x4 felt slow

Paused CGBP
120x6
125x3 RPE 7
135x2
140x1 RPE 8
145x1 RPE 9
150x0 shoulders slid back two inches on ascent
150x1
140x2 RPE 8.5
140x2 RPE 9.25
140x2 RPE 9.5

Incline bench
65x5
65x5
80x5 paused
90x4 paused
95x5
95x5
95x5
95x5

Hammer high row machine
65x15
75x10
75x10
75x10

Dips (close-grip)
10
10
8

DB pec flys
20x15
25x12

new PRs today
225 was a new 1RM for High bar squat
200 was a new 2RM for High bar squat
150 was a new 1RM for Paused CGBP
140 was a new 2RM for Paused CGBP
140 was a new PR for 3 sets of 2 Paused CGBP
120 was a new 6RM for Paused CGBP
95 was a new 5RM for Incline bench
95 was a new PR for 4 sets of 5 Incline bench
75 was a new 10RM for Hammer high row machine
75 was a new PR for 3 sets of 10 Hammer high row machine
65 was a new 15RM for Hammer high row machine

Yesterday I was driving to BBC at 4:30pm, then had the crushing realization that they close at 5 on Saturdays. :'( So just had time to squat up to a 1RM, then went home. Oh well. Used the squat bar for fun. I don't hate it as much as some people! 210 moved well, 220 my hips came up and I had to good morning it. :/ Today, went to Stanford gym and was wearing my friend's squat shoes that she just got. It felt weird at first, maybe good? I can't tell. I felt discombobulated throughout. Was planning to do backoff doubles at 200/205 but forgot to, oh well. 225 was messy and high, but it's a gym lift so w/e. Still two plates!! Benching went really well. The first attempt at 150 my shoulders slipped back 1.5" just as I came off the chest. So I added a band to the bench for some traction, and got it the second time. Also, really happy with inclines today! Felt like a big pr.

Also, injury update: left thumb feels fine now, but yesterday I was buying a standard bar at Sports Authority going out of business sale, and I dropped a bunch of bars on my right thumb and it got swollen and bruised. It really hurt yesterday, but today it only hurt a little and didn't bother me in my workout. In actual pl injury news that someone may actually care about, so sad to see Janice Finkleman's bicep tear on instagram. Was really looking forward to seeing her lift at Bosses 3.

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

7/26/2016

Squat
45x8
85x5
115x5
145x5
170x3
190x2 add belt
205x1
215x1 RPE 8
185x5
185x5
185x5
185x5
185x5

Romanian Deadlift
135x8
155x8
155x8
155x8
155x8

Bench
45x5
75x3
75x3
88x3 as fast as possible, 30s between sets
88x3
88x3
88x3
88x3
88x3
88x3
88x3
88x3

Hack squat
50x10
50x10
50x10
50x10

new PRs today
185 was a new PR for 5 sets of 5 Squat
88 was a new PR for 9 sets of 3 Bench
50 was a new 10RM for Hack squat
50 was a new PR for 4 sets of 10 Hack squat



7/28/2016

Paused Wide Grip Bench
44x6
77x5
93.7x4
110x3
121x3
126.7x4
126.7x4
126.7x4
126.7x4
126.7x4

Conventional Deadlift
209x3 no belt, no warmup, as fast as possible
198x6 as fast as possible

Military Press
45x5
65x5
75x3
80x0 apparently there is no weight so low i can't fail it
65x8
65x7
65x5

DB paused floor press
40x12
40x12
40x10
40x9

Facepulls
37.5x15
42.5x15
47.5x15

new PRs today
126.7 was a new PR for 5 sets of 4 Paused Wide Grip Bench
40 was a new 12RM for DB paused floor press
40 was a new PR for 2 sets of 12 DB paused floor press

Starting to put together a program, but not officially yet. Waffling about next meet. The one in September seems so soon, but I don't know of anything else near here for the rest of the year. I'll try to decide by the end of the week. Goals for next meet are 275/165/363, mostly for aesthetic reasons lol, but I'm not sure I have the mentality to get there in 7 weeks. My left thumb was bothering me again tonight. I think I'll lay off push presses, but I definitely don't want to stop benching!

[tina722]

For a period, I benched 'suicide grip' , the thumbless grip. It surprisingly felt just as stable; not sure if that's something you might consider with the injuries. It was suggested to me to help learn how to keep my wrist straighter.

Anyways, your training looks really impressive even with all the traveling. I'm in Connecticut, Ewa Janus...(however its spelled) trains at this gym in Derby http://gleasonperformance.com/ if you are still in the area. I try to get there Sat or Sun, but lately with my schedule it's been difficult. There's a number of other really strong people, but I think you mentioned her leg workout earlier a few weeks ago. This gym was my new find a few months ago.

How do you like high bar, my coach is going to introduce it...says my quads are weak ...I'm a little scared.

September is pretty soon, what about just building for the next 9months or do the meet, but no peaking?

[lazyaj]

Hi Tina! Hah I've never tried suicide grip for bench, I'm too scared! But one of my workout buddies uses it for ohp sometimes, and she likes it. I should probably try it some time! I did recently try reverse-grip bench, it's really weird but not nearly as difficult as I expected.

Hah I like to surround myself with strong people, hoping I will get less weak via osmosis! Have you met Ewa? She seems really cool! And that gym looks awesome.

I really loved my switch to high bar, though I'm glad to back to low bar now. But it really helped with balance and coordination, and quad strength. I think the skill-building is really going to transfer to my low bar squat.

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

7/29/2016

Conventional Deadlift
132x10
198x6
176x5
220x5
242x5
253x5
242x6
264x6

Paused Bench
44x5
88x5
104.7x4
115.7x3
137.8x2
143.3x1

Bench
143.3x2
143.3x2
143.3x1
132x3

Front Squat
45x5
85x5
105x5
130x5 add belt
135x5

new PRs today
264 was a new 6RM for Conventional Deadlift
253 was a new 5RM for Conventional Deadlift
143.3 was a new 2RM for Bench
143.3 was a new PR for 2 sets of 2 Bench



7/31/2016

Pullup
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

Bent over row
85x10
85x10
85x10
85x10

Paused CGBP
44x5
88x5
99x5
110x3
121x3
125.6x3
125.6x3
125.6x3
125.6x3
125.6x3
125.6x3
125.6x3
125.6x3

Bench
115.7x7
115.7x7
115.7x7
115.7x7
115.7x7

Hack squat
60x10
60x10
60x10
60x10

Dips (close-grip)
7
7
7
7
7
7

Military Press
45x12 behind the neck, slightly wider grip
45x12
45x12
45x12
45x12

new PRs today
125.6 was a new PR for 8 sets of 3 Paused CGBP
115.7 was a new PR for 5 sets of 7 Bench
85 was a new 10RM for Bent over row
85 was a new PR for 4 sets of 10 Bent over row
60 was a new 10RM for Hack squat
60 was a new PR for 4 sets of 10 Hack squat
45 was a new PR for 5 sets of 12 Military Press
6 sets of 7 was a new PR for Dips (close-grip)
7 sets of 3 was a new PR for Pullup


Last Friday was my first real session pulling off the floor in a few months - I'd only been doing deficits, or block pulls. It felt AWESOME and I totally ignored Dan's advice to keep it light and do sets of 6-8. In my mind, I thought "Well as long as I can do 6 reps its fine". Except I felt a little pull in my mid back during the set at 264, (on the inside of my shoulder blade, like an inch out from my spine), and then while doing front squats I took a big breath and suddenly got a big pain in the same spot. Lacrosse ball didn't do anything at the time, but it's definitely a rib problem, because it hurts the most in the morning, after I've been lying on it. So bummed! I hurt a rib on the left side last December from a nearly identical pair, block pulls followed by front squats. I love front squats, but I will NEVER do them on the say day as deadlifts again! At least, until I forget again. :/

Everything at the gym felt fine on Sunday, though I did feel more sore that night. Taking today and tomorrow off, then hoping to squat on Wednesday. Last time I injured a rib, I couldn't where a belt for almost three months, it was a total drag. Hoping that this one will go away more quickly. Seeing chiro tomorrow, will be good to get her take. Previous time here: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1409897513

In terms of actual exercises lol, all the pulls felt easy, like RPE 7 on the last set. For benching on Sunday, I stuck to 1:00 between all the triples, but then had to go to 2:00 between the tng 7's. All the tng felt kind of tough, but the last rep of the last set was a total grinder, which felt like I had calibrated things just right haha. Same thing went for dips. I rested for 1:00 twice, 2:00 twice, and then 3:00 before the last one, and that final rep was really rough. I made a new program which involves switching to weighted dips in four weeks, if all goes to plan in the mean time. Fingers crossed! Also, still waffling about the meet, what else is new!

[Partyrocking]

PRs all over the place, as usual

Hopefully your rib heals soon.

[ilovethe80s]

Damn ribs!

Excited to see what you choose to do regarding the meet.

Never improving at Overheads crew . Even when the other lifts are moving, Ohp is so stubborn.

[lazyaj]

PRs all over the place, as usual

Hopefully your rib heals soon.

Thanks! Feeling a lot better, I think I kind of dodged a bullet this time.

Damn ribs!

Excited to see what you choose to do regarding the meet.

Never improving at Overheads crew . Even when the other lifts are moving, Ohp is so stubborn.

Hah I've been using the excuse that since I've been (slowly) cutting, of course my ohp is down. Except, my bench isn't! lol

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/3/2016

Squat
45x5
45x5
85x5
110x5
135x5
160x4
180x4 add belt
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5
195x5

Conventional Deadlift
110x5
154x5
187x6
209x6
209x6

Hack squat
50x10
60x10
60x10
60x10

Chest supported row
35x15
35x15
35x15

misc
lying hamstring curl: "4.5"x12, "5"x12, "5.5"x10, x8


new PRs today
195 was a new 5RM for Squat
195 was a new PR for 6 sets of 5 Squat
35 was a new 15RM for Chest supported row
35 was a new PR for 3 sets of 15 Chest supported row


8/4/2016

Paused Bench
45x5
75x5
95x5
115x5
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x5

Wide grip bench
95x6
115x7
115x9
115x8
115x8

DB paused floor press
40x13
40x12
40x10
40x8
40x6

Hammer Curl
20x15
20x15
20x15
20x10

misc
lat pulldowns: "9"x15, "10"x15, "11"x15, "12"x10
feet mostly to bar x10
ghr situp bwx10
pullup bwx 3

new PRs today
125 was a new PR for 6 sets of 5 Paused Bench
40 was a new 13RM for DB paused floor press

So, I think this rhomboid/rib thing is well on the way to healing, phew! I did some moderate deadlifts last night to test the water. I was focusing on "squeezing" the bar off the floor rather than ripping it like I have been, so it felt slow, but very smooth and no discomfort. And I barely noticed my rib when I got up this morning! ART doc did a bunch on rhomboid on Tuesday, that definitely helped. Squats were tough, and definitely having some form breakdown there. (Mostly knee valgus, I was hipping them a bit yesterday but nothing approaching a good morning.) I'm going to move my stance in a bit, and make sure to do technique low bar squats on Saturday. The hack squats just feel completely impossible. I feel like a baby with only 60 pounds added but it is what it is. Hopefully those will start to get easier! Boss recently got a lying hamstring curl machine, and I love it. It's a particularly well-designed one, it's very smooth and comfortable, though I don't really know what the numbers mean.

Today was bench. First work set at 125 was kind of sloppy, but I got it together later. Those were mostly RPE 8.5-9, the very last rep was pretty slow but never in doubt. The wide grips moved well! Those always feel easy after regular bench, I don't really get it!?! I wish they felt easier right off the bat! Anyway, good workouts. Excited to have a day off, and then pull a little heavier on Saturday.

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/7/2016

Paused CGBP
45x10
75x5
95x5
110x3
120x3
130x3
130x3
130x3
130x3
130x3
130x3
130x3
130x3

Bench
120x8
120x8
120x8
120x8

Dips (close-grip)
8
8
8
8
8

Wide grip bench
95x16

Barbell Glute Bridge
135x8
185x8
185x8
185x8
185x8

Cable row (close grip)
100x10
110x10
120x8

Squat
45x8
85x5
105x3
150x3
140x3 paused
160x3 paused
150x5 tempo, fooling around etc

new PRs today
185 was a new PR for 4 sets of 8 Barbell Glute Bridge
130 was a new PR for 8 sets of 3 Paused CGBP
120 was a new 8RM for Bench
120 was a new PR for 4 sets of 8 Bench
120 was a new 8RM for Cable row (close grip)
95 was a new 16RM for Wide grip bench
5 sets of 8 was a new PR for Dips (close-grip)

I helped with the score table at the San Jose open yesterday, which ended up going all day so I didn't get a workout in. I'm hoping to do some pulls later today. But I did my Sunday morning bench workout as originally planned. I took preworkout (which I rarely do), and all the benching felt easy. I really hope those things are independent! Hahaha. But squats on the other hand felt really terrible so I just gave up. :/

[ilovethe80s]

How do you do hack squats? Is it a machine or do you do that thing where you hold the barbell behind your butt and squat?

Nice volume on all the benching lately. Your programing looks a little Smolov-y this week

[lazyaj]

How do you do hack squats? Is it a machine or do you do that thing where you hold the barbell behind your butt and squat?

Nice volume on all the benching lately. Your programing looks a little Smolov-y this week

There's a hack squat machine at Boss, so I just use that. It's a weird machine that you can either use to do hack squats or leg press. It's at a 45 degree angle like a regular leg press. When you want to use it for hack squats, you remove the footplate, and attach the backpad along the rails. I don't like using it for leg press, because the machine is kind of uneven, but the hack squat part works ok at the light weights I do. It basically takes my hips out completely, so it's all quads.

I've never tried the bar-under-your-butt version of hack squats, maybe someday? It looks so weird though!

I was hoping to run Smolov for bench while I was in NY, but my coach exercised his veto power! Haha. Maybe some day.

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/7/2016

Conventional Deadlift
143x5
193x5
232x4
253x4 add belt
264x4
264x4
264x4
264x4

Deadlift Hyper
75x10
85x10
95x10
95x10

Chest supported row
40x15
40x15
45x12

CGBP
145x1 (no warm up!)

Feet to bar
10
8
10

Squat
45x5
85x5
115x5
145x5
165x5
175x5 add belt, but then ran out of time

new PRs today
264 was a new PR for 4 sets of 4 Conventional Deadlift
45 was a new 12RM for Chest supported row
40 was a new 15RM for Chest supported row
40 was a new PR for 2 sets of 15 Chest supported row

So I had to go to Boss Sunday evening to start setting up the BoB3 live stream, but mostly I was just moral support for my bf (who's the mastermind behind the stream), so I could also do some deadlifts. I was hoping to do 6 work sets but I started noticing my left rhomboid during the 4th set so I cut it there. I've never done dl hypers before, but I'm sold! Allegedly this is Pete Rubish's favorite accessory. I warmed up squats for the second time in the day, and they were feeling a lot better, but then I ran out of time and we had to go.

The best part of this workout was we brought our dog, and Dan's son Daniel was obsessed with him. Daniel was eating a cupcake and the dog was standing on two legs begging to get some, then they started chasing each other all around the gym. Super cute!

[ilovethe80s]

I could never do the bar-behind-the-back hack squat version without hitting myself in the butt. And I have long arms which should make it less likely to run into my own butt. I know you have long arms too so was curious if you were able to do it without that happening. Machine certainly sounds like a more efficient way.

You just walked over and hit a 145 CG bench with no preparation? Pretty awesome

[lazyaj]

I could never do the bar-behind-the-back hack squat version without hitting myself in the butt. And I have long arms which should make it less likely to run into my own butt. I know you have long arms too so was curious if you were able to do it without that happening. Machine certainly sounds like a more efficient way.

You just walked over and hit a 145 CG bench with no preparation? Pretty awesome

There was this guy I used to see at the Stanford gym who loved doing behind-the-back shrugs, which as far as I could tell was mostly him rubbing his own butt with the bar. I couldn't really figure that one out lol. Anyway, I am curious about old-style hack squats and will definitely try it in the next few days! It will probably go as well as when you inspired me to try Jeffersons hahaha.

re: bench, thanks! Though it was tng, a bit sketchy and probably not awesome at all, but it did go up haha. I try not to indulge my stupid side at the gym too much, but sometimes it's hard not to!

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/9/2016

Squat
45x8
95x10
125x5
155x3
180x3
200x2 add belt
220x1
230x1 RPE 9
205x5
205x5
205x5
205x5
205x5

Conventional Deadlift
154x5 as fast as possible
198x5
220x5 add belt
226x5
226x5

Hack squat
50x10
60x10
65x10
65x10

new PRs today
205 was a new 5RM for Squat
205 was a new PR for 5 sets of 5 Squat
65 was a new 10RM for Hack squat
65 was a new PR for 2 sets of 10 Hack squat


I was kind of dreading this workout, as I usually dread squatting. But it went a lot better than I was expecting, except when I had some conflict with a gym-goer who decided that the best time to get a plate that was directly in my bar path was while I was squatting? And then got huffy with me about it? Lol w/e. (Actually, I was pretty worked up about it at the time - but she is young, her boyfriend is her "trainer", and she doesn't seem to have any friends at the gym, so I think she just doesn't know any better. So I'm not mad anymore lol.) Anyway I was glad to do a heavy single first, that made the 205 feel a lot more manageable. Some of the 205's were high, thought I'm not super stressed about that because I would rather do volume squats a bit high with better control, than be collapsing my knees and losing tightness in order to hit depth. (Based on recent experimenting, if I have my knees out and glute med and adductor magnus tight, I just hit parallel, whereas to get below that I have to let my knees come in a bit and relax my hips. I think I finally figured out what "losing tightness" means! lol. So now I have to learn exactly how much tightness I need to maintain.) I was also thinking a lot about driving my chest up as I came out of the hole, ie extending my knees and hips at the same time. I think that was helping, I felt a lot less like dying than during last week's 195x6x5!

Deadlifts moved well, though I always want them to be faster.

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/11/2016

Paused Bench
44x10
77x5
93.7x5
110x5
121x5
130x4 failed 5th rep
126.8x5
126.8x5
120x2
115x5
125x4
125x3
125x3

Wide grip bench
115x5
105x7

DB paused floor press
40x12
40x12
40x12
40x12

DB Incline bench
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12

Chest supported row
45x15
45x15
45x15
45x15

Hammer Curl
20x15
20x15
20x15
20x15

Straight leg situp on GHR
10x12
15x12
15x12
10x12

new PRs today
45 was a new 15RM for Chest supported row
45 was a new PR for 4 sets of 15 Chest supported row
40 was a new PR for 4 sets of 12 DB paused floor press
30 was a new PR for 4 sets of 12 DB Incline bench
20 was a new PR for 4 sets of 15 Hammer Curl

Well, bench has been feeling invulnerable, so I had a feeling the crash was coming soon. And last night was absolutely terrible! haha. I really didn't think 130x5x5 would be so out of reach. But the warmups felt heavy and I couldn't get a comfortable/consistent setup. The first work set, I didn't realize I was so close to the edge but then I lost the last rep too far down my chest. I knew I was out of luck so I just held it there and asked for help. Except it took my eventual savior a while to get over there, so I was holding the bar 1/2 way up for a good 10 seconds lol. Anyway, it was rough going after that.

So, thank god for accessories! At least I did something semi-productive in the end.

I've been going over my current program with my coach, who thinks I set it up too optimistically, and I have to agree. I'm also starting to have doubts about this September meet, it just feels too soon. I really want to hit my plate esthetic goals at next meet haha, which would be 125/75/175=375. I know that squat/dl ratio is on the low side but my body hates squatting on a fundamental (hip socket) level, whereas deadlifting just kind of feels like breathing...

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/13/2016

Pause Squat
45x5
95x5
135x5
160x5
165x5 add belt
165x5

Conventional Deadlift
154x5
198x5
232x4 add belt
248x4
265x4
265x4
265x4
265x4
265x4

Bench
77x8
93.7x8
93.7x8
93.7x8
93.7x8

Pullup
4
4
4
4
4
3

misc abs
one weighted plank, numerous attempts at dragon flag

new PRs today
265 was a new 4RM for Conventional Deadlift
265 was a new PR for 5 sets of 4 Conventional Deadlift
165 was a new PR for 2 sets of 5 Pause Squat
5 sets of 4 was a new PR for Pullup


Decent workout yesterday. I enjoyed doing lighter pause squats and really focusing on form and technique. Wearing a belt makes such a big difference in my ability to drive my upper back into the bar on the ascent. But I got some kind of pain in my right leg, I think it's my vastus lateralis. It felt like a cramp but I couldn't roll it out. It didn't bother me for deadlifts, but it was tender to the touch last night. So I made an appointment with ART for tomorrow. Pulls felt slow and a bit sloppy, especially the last set where a friend was watching me and encouraging me. I started doing a lot of weird stuff, like bumping the bar with my shins so it swung out two inches in front of me off the floor, and laughing after every rep. He said they looked fast, so that's good! Really happy about all the pullups, I was very surprised with myself I could get so many 4's.

Going to the gym to bench with my Sunday am buddy in a few minutes, should be fun!

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/14/2016

Paused CGBP
45x5
85x5
105x5
125x3
132.5x3
132.5x3
132.5x3
132.5x3
132.5x3
132.5x3

Bench
120x6
120x6
115x6
115x6

Incline bench
90x5
90x5
90x5

Leg Extension (one at a time)
50x12
50x12
55x12
55x12

Hamstring Curl (each leg)
45x12
50x12
50x12
55x12

Dips (close-grip)
10
10
10
10

misc
played squash for 20 minutes

new PRs today
132.5 was a new PR for 6 sets of 3 Paused CGBP
4 sets of 10 was a new PR for Dips (close-grip)

Good workout. It wasn't until my last set of close grips that I actually started to work hard and keep my back tight. I really need to work harder from the beginning! It would have helped me keep my technique a lot tighter throughout. The tng bench felt hard so I dropped weight on those, but I also squeezed in some inclines since my friend was doing them.

Right quads are feeling better.

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/16/2016

Squat
44x10
88x5
132x5
165x4
187x3 add belt
209x2
220x1
231x1
237x1
211x4
211x4
211x3
211x3
211x3
211x3

Conventional Deadlift
132x4
176x4
209x4 add belt
231x4 all reps as fast as possible
231x4
231x4
231x4

Hack squat
8
50x4
65x8
70x8
70x8
70x8
70x8

Deadlift Hyper
95x10
105x10
105x10
105x10
105x10

Planks
45 x 1:00
45 x 0:45
45 x 0:45

misc
Static holds with 80lb db's for as long as possible, 1x, repeat with 90's 3x
hang from a bar with shoulder retractions, 2x, about 1:00 each time

new PRs today
211 was a new 4RM for Squat
211 was a new PR for 2 sets of 4 Squat
211 was a new PR for 4 sets of 3 Squat
105 was a new 10RM for Deadlift Hyper
105 was a new PR for 4 sets of 10 Deadlift Hyper
70 was a new 8RM for Hack squat
70 was a new PR for 4 sets of 8 Hack squat

Good workout today. I miss going to the gym in the early afternoon, I get to play EDM! Until someone comes around and puts on either Nine Inch Nails or Megadeath, probably the two bands I hate the most in the entire world. Haha anyway was originally hoping to do 5x4 work sets on squats, but I was having too much technique breakdown on the 4th reps so I switched to triples. Pulls didn't feel as fast as I wanted, but what else is new lol. Absolutely love the dl hypers, those are terrific. I've been thinking about doing farmer carries but Boss is too disorganized for those right now (with the prep for Bosses 3) so I just did static holds. That's a hard weight for me.

Anyway I went to ART last night, and she basically only worked on my right leg. I scheduled another appointment for next Monday, just to stay on top of things. Hips are actually feeling pretty great right now, post-workout.

Oh, and in case anyone cares and noticed the title of this entry, I've decided to do Boss of Norcal 3, on Sept 24. It's USAPL and I'm planning to compete at 158. I was 161.8 this morning when I got up, so a few more pounds to go. Hoping to hit 157 by the 17th, then I can eat normally for the week leading up to the meet. After this meet, pretty sure I will permanently switch to USPA and stay at 165!

[ilovethe80s]

What's edm? I googled - is it electronic dance music?

I guess that girl expected you to stop mid-squat to politely duck around her impulsive self. Hopefully she learned not to do that again.

I know what you mean re the relaxing to get deep in the squat, and can definitely see the value in sometimes avoiding the relax in training. Love reading your squat notes

Glad your right quad is ok, and congrats on picking a meet!

[lazyaj]

Hah yeah "electronic dance music" - I love listening to Calvin Harris at the gym!

I'm freaked out about gym accidents tonight, between being at close range when Tee Cummins hit the platform on his third squat today at Bosses 3, and the existential terror of unloading 50kg plates from a squat bar in a mono with the hooks in, where if you don't remove the 50 from both sides at the same time and have someone holding the bar down in the middle, it tips and 110 pounds comes crashing to the floor. Yikes. Anyway, the next time I see the impatient plate-grabbing girl, I think I'll mention something to her. Nobody wants a preventable head injury at the gym!

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/18/2016

Paused Bench
44x5
88x5
104.7x5
115.7x4
126.7x3
130x4
130x4
130x4
130x4
130x4
130x4

Wide grip bench
121x5
124.5x5
127.8x5
127.8x4
121x6

Chest supported row
45x10
50x10
50x10
50x10

new PRs today
130 was a new PR for 6 sets of 4 Paused Bench
127.8 was a new 5RM for Wide grip bench
121 was a new 6RM for Wide grip bench
50 was a new 10RM for Chest supported row
50 was a new PR for 3 sets of 10 Chest supported row


Got most of Thursday's workout in before we had to start reconfiguring the gym for bosses 3. (Couldn't do any dumbbells because they moved them all outside.) Picked up and put down a ton of plates the last two days getting the warmup room ready, aside from all kinds of running around, cleaning up a pile of bloody tissues and a puddle of pee, and a lot of other stuff. Hectic time! But it was pretty amazing watching Yuri Belkin destroy the 220 raw with wraps record today, and the battle between Larry Williams and Andrew Herbert was pretty intense. (Larry dropped his third pull, so Andrew won by 2kg, with a 950 total at 242 raw.) Kristy Hawkins upped her squat record to 490 at 165 raw, and sandbagged her bench with 318. Super impressed with Chakera Holcombe, amazing lifter, forget what she totaled but she really stood out. Maliek Derstine was absolutely dominating on squat and bench, outlifting 220's from the 198's, but then bombed out on deadlift! And Amit Sapir opened - and bombed out on - a WR attempt squat. Molly Mulliken squatted 418 at 165 raw, but then bombed out with a 500 pound dl opener, which was a bummer. Her 520 from training a few weeks ago looked like she had more.

However, best lifter award in any reasonable sense goes to Tee Cummins. On his third squat attempt, his right leg shot out on the descent and he dropped like a rock. Luckily the bar fell in front of him. We had to stop the meet for 20-30 minutes while the paramedics came. They splinted his right ankle but he stayed at the meet. I was surprised when I saw him warming up for bench, but he kept going like it was no big deal, and then went on to do his deadlifts and pull over 700! Really inspiring. Secondary shoutout to Kevin Oak, who was the next squatter after Tee, and got the meet back on track on a positive note once we started up again.

Oh yeah and last but not least, Aria Attia closed things out by coming back to pull a clean 880 on his third attempt, after missing it for ramping and downward motion on his second. Great way to end the day! Video archive of both days will be up tomorrow.

Missed deads today for obvious reasons. Benching tomorrow, and may have to adjust my programming the rest of the week.

[tina722]

Getting the BOB#3 update is pretty exciting, must have been pretty awesome to be in the thick off it!

Of course I had to google Tee Cummins, and then wish I hadn't...can't imagine that type of fail and still going on to complete the other lifts. Flexibility win.


Always impressed with your volume, you must be doing short rests to get it all done.

[lazyaj]

Thanks Tina! It was exciting. But the lift that every one of my friends kept talking about was Stacia Al-Mahoe's third dl, which apparently was an epic grinder that took like 10 seconds to finish. But I totally missed it because I was too busy running around! Haha. I also got stuck right in front of the platform for a few flight B deadlifts on Saturday (adjusting a camera) and I felt so paranoid I would distract the lifters and they would fail their pulls because of me! Anyway it was really fun. Also, I think I forgot to mention but Samantha Coleman was there (helping to handle Kelli Sanders), it was pretty cool to meet her. She overhead pressed 245 recently!!

[lazyaj]

weight x reps

8/21/2016

Paused CGBP
45x5
85x5
105x4
125x3
135x3
135x3
135x3
135x3
135x3

Bench
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x5

Dips (close-grip)
12
12
12

Conventional Deadlift
155x7
205x5
235x3 add belt
255x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
275x3

Squat
45x5
95x5
135x5
165x5
185x5 add belt
195x5

Pause Squat
175x3 3-count pause
180x3
185x3

DB bench
40x5
40x5
45x5
50x5
50x5
50x5

Hammer Curl
20x18
20x17
20x8

misc
Farmer carries with trap bar, five sets working up to 185 (competition with my friend Murphy)
A bunch of light weight lat pulldowns at the end, various grips
Some sprints at the park to get the dog riled up

new PRs today
275 was a new PR for 6 sets of 3 Conventional Deadlift
135 was a new PR for 5 sets of 3 Paused CGBP
125 was a new PR for 4 sets of 5 Bench
50 was a new 5RM for DB bench
50 was a new PR for 3 sets of 5 DB bench
12 was a new rep PR for Dips (close-grip)
3 sets of 12 was a new PR for Dips (close-grip)


Combined two workouts today. I felt like TRASH when I first got to the gym, but after I finished my coffee I got it together, and then just didn't want to stop. (I finally went home after 3.5 hours.) I have finally figured out how to use my back and my lats to my advantage on bench, except for when I get lazy and don't use them. Except then it feels super heavy and impossible lol. But the "bend the bar" cue suddenly clicked for me, and it makes a big difference in the speed off my chest, especially for my regular grip. Had to fight the urge to keep doing close grip sets, since I'm supposed to start tapering basically now. Glad I got through the dips, will move up to weighted next week! Pulls felt sluggish, really no better word for them. I was at the Stanford gym, and they have a cheap knockoff of the Rogue Ohio bar, and extra-cheap bumpers. Between the bar and the platforms, I can't ever get a tight setup there. Though bar speed didn't slow down a ton between first and sixth triple, so that's good. Did a few squats for technique. Wanted to do DB floor press since I missed it Thursday, but it felt bad on the floor there so I did DB bench instead. All in all, great workout.

Here are videos! First and last sets of deadlifts, and for good measure, last squat set at 211 from last Tuesday.







eta: It's a little hard to read, but I wore my new #quadslikerobb shirt for pulls today. It was so sweet of Jess Philippus to give it to me! I don't think Bosses 3 went the way Robb had hoped or expected, but he really impressed me last year. His squat technique is really fantastic!

[itsagoodday]

Oh, look who found your journal! LOL, I'm never in the journal section over here and I'm a dope, so it takes me a while

That is awesome that you train at Boss Barbell?!?!?! OK, I am jealous now lol. BOB3 must have been amazing to see in person, though sounds like you spent a lot of time working your butt off. We don't tend to get many really high level people at the meets I've been to, I can't even imagine being at a meet that is full of the best of the best.

LOL @ 3.5 hours in the gym. Are you sure you're lazy, lazyaj?

[lazyaj]

Haha welcome stranger! Yeah, I am super lucky to train at Boss, I love it there. Honestly, I hate my username, I think I'm going to delete this account and make a new one at some point. When I was at grad school my friends called me AJ as a joke, because I was older than everyone ("ancient Jessica"). I'm really bad at figuring out names for forums lol. It was worse when I was doing online dating, thank god that's over with!