2024 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[coachcalande]

Deadlifts

405x 8 easy
https://youtu.be/cHA92EaqJMw

475x2
https://youtube.com/shorts/Js4TSptf50E


Started a pull at 500 and rethought it…

Todays lift:

Deadlifts
Bench
inclines
rows
wide pulldowns
narrow pds
seated press
side laterals

[SaviorSelfJT]

@Coach - Nice, I think those are the heaviest deadlifts this log has seen so far this year


----

Disc golf yesterday

Really good workout today:

Bench press:
45x10
95x8
135x6
185x5
235x20

Really stupid on the last rep. It was really hard and wasn't sure if I would get it and my arms got imbalanced. My right arm locked out before my left and I just tossed the right side of the bar on the hook without knowing if I would get the left hook. Thankfully I was able to lock out my left arm

DB Hammers:
50s x 5
80s x 10

OHP:
165 x 9

Lumbar curls:
95x6
115x8
135x10

Pullups:
14


Good "pumps" on everything here and everything felt great. The bench gave me a good chest pump, OHP for triceps, hammers biceps and forearms, lumbar curls on lower back, and then pullups for lats

Also note: pretty much nothing here is done with "great" form except for maybe OHP

[CW47]

Hatfield Squat: 245 pounds - 2 sets x 8 reps

Floor Press: 135 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Barbell Row: 135 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 22.5 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Incline Bicep Curl: 25 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Added either weight or volume to everything compared to the last time I did this workout. I'll increase weight on everything next time, except for the squat where I'll try to add a third set before increasing weight.

[67Vert]

2/5/24 A-Day

Squat - Warm up -
95X5 - Holy Crap! I am still sore from Bulgarian Split Squats on Friday even though I intentionally used a light weight. I don't even get full depth.
135X5 - A little lower but still not full depth.
165X5, 185X5 - I widen my stance and get full depth (just below parallel).
225X3 - I stop at 3 and contemplate whether to go lighter. I feel strong but not recovered from Friday.
Squat - working set -
235X2 - Going against my better judgement, not only do I not lighten the weight, I increase it from last week. Bottom of 2nd My left hamstring and glute together let me know that this was absolute stupidity. This is exactly what I'm trying NOT to do. I take it as a little reminder that my main goal is to be consistent and not get injured. I move on from Squats for the day.

Incline DB Press - 55X8,8,10
Pendlay Row - 135X8, 145X8,8
FacePull - 5 sets
Calf raise - 3 sets
DB curls - 10,10,10
Tricep Ext. w/rope - 4 setss

[CW47]

67Vert - I, for one, have NEVER added more weight than I should to a lift. Yeah right, lmao! Done that so many times and regretted it afterward most of them. Luckily have never hurt myself doing that. I've thankfully gotten much better at stopping when I know I should, but I'm still not exempt from doing stupid stuff from time to time.

And yeah, Single Leg Work just hits different for some reason. Not sure why, but for me it's always been one of the most fatiguing exercises, especially considering how light the weight is. You mentioned using an adjustable ankle thing to do them last time. Can you explain more about what that is? It's not a leg roller pad?
________

Savior - That's a BIG bench set. Glad you were able to complete it safely. I've had some close calls on bench myself and it definitely shook me up a little bit knowing how close I was to potentially dropping the weight on my face/head. Not a fun thought.
________

Coach - Yes, awesome work on the Deadlifts. Especially impressive considering how infrequently you've deadlifted.
________


Stiff Legged Deadlift: 305 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Felt strong on these today. It was 10 more pounds and 1 more set than last time.

Single Leg Extension: 80 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
Strong on these today as well. Feels like there's still some room for weight increases before I get close to plateauing.

Ring Push Up: 2 sets x 10 reps
For now I'm progressing this by lowering the rings closer to the floor by an inch or two each time. I'd guess I'm about 8-10 inches from the floor right now. Eventually I'll start adding weight.

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown: 80 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Getting close-ish to maxing out on this. It's only 80 pounds added, but I'm nearly to the point that I'm lifting myself off the bench when doing reps. I know how I can secure my legs in place but I get too lazy to set it up most of the time...

Leaning Lateral Raise: 10 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps
Really liking the angled/leaning lateral raises I started doing last time I did this workout. They give a better stretch at the bottom and I don't feel any discomfort as I get closer to the top of the range of motion. Plus they just feel more natural for some reason.


I kind of regret doing the 3rd set of deads because although they felt good and I still had plenty of energy to continue with the workout, I simply ran short on time and ended up cutting a set off of each of the remaining exercises, and eliminating the Ab work I had programmed. In retrospect I wish I'd have stopped at 2 sets and got in some more accessory work, but I didn't anticipate needing to cut the workout short. Still happy with the session.

[EliKoehn]

Individual replies spoilered for screen real-estate:

Spoiler!

Nice hammers, I feel like they will blow your forearms up to the moon, especially if you overload them a bit and use some body english. Supposedly they help prevent elbow problems too

And I feel you on the alcohol, I barely ever drink anymore thanks to hangovers. In my college days I thought I was immune to them, now if I drink a single beer I'll get a headache an hour later lmao

Thanks! I used to be able to get them with clean form in the 6 rep range and that was several years ago now so I'll hopefully see that again soon. The most impressive curls I ever saw in real life were from a guy in college named Moses who quickly moved 100s for sets of 12. That was absolutely unreal, even if he was on gear.

The concerning fact for me is that I basically cannot get hung over anymore, even on the occasions when I unintentionally get truly drunk (and it takes an enormous amount to get there). I never throw up and almost never even have a slight headache the next day. I also don't have any withdrawal stopping all of a sudden, which is good, but being able to handle it that stably in the first place is not something to be proud of or push. I actually kind of wish it would make me sick if I overindulged it. Increasingly I just think putting it behind me for all but rare and special events is the right thing to do. It's expensive, a huge source of worthless calories when I'm already overweight but need to eat plenty to train properly, impedes good judgment, promotes being passive and lazy,
and is just generally a negative complication to life as a daily habit even when just getting rid of it would make all of that no longer an issue. I get the having fun when you're in college and enjoying nights out with friends, but the former is years behind me now and enjoying it sometimes with friends isn't enough to paint the same picture.

I read this when you first posted. I read it again and had to comment that you working out with your dad is super awesome.

I have no advice on your workout. It seems you're experienced enough to know what works for you.

Yes, I really value the time with him! I am also excited to see him reach up to his potential since he was quite strong when he lifted regularly in his 30s, but just mostly stopped around the time that I began to.

2/2/24 C-Day?

I'm still progressing on my current A/B full body program. So don't want to completely Abandon it. But I've also been wanting change up the work out for couple of reasons;
1) A/B repeatedly is getting boring.
2) To target some specifics.

Today was experimental. I just wanted to get a feel for movements and weights I haven't done for long while.

Bulgarian Split Squat with Dumbbells - 30X8,8,8
I used to do these with the back foot on top of a flat bench. But I saw blonde girl using the ankle support of an adjustable. I did this today and it is a game changer. It felt so much more natural and stable. I have skinny hips and no ass. I did these with a forward lean to hit the glutes.

Bench Press - 215X3,205X5, 195X? (not sure about that 3rd set)
I've put DB incline to A-Day, and moved Bench to this new C-Day.

Bent Over Row - 135X8,8,8
Last year I was doing Pendlay and Yates rows. As simple as BOR is, it felt kinda awkward today.

Side Lateral DB Raise -10/17.5lb DB
I prefer a 12.5 or 15 lb DB. Neither were available. 10 felt too light. 17.5 was manageable.
I do these with pause part way to stop an momentum. I also tried some with full ROM. I felt those in the traps.

Upright Dips - BWx15,15,15
Approaching the Dip station from the side today I noticed the handles had a slight angle to them tipping inward. I normally face the machine, facing out made a huge difference in maintaining an upright position. I definitely need to buy a belt.

Bicep Pull down - 50x10, 57.5X10,10
I usually do these with the lat pull bar. But someone had left single hand attachment on there today. I think single handed will be my go-to.

I wasn't sure how this was going to work out going in. But I think this will be my regular 3rd day full body workout.

If anyone sees anything glaringly wrong or just has some feed back let me know.

Is your A/B split specifically upper/lower? I do think that's a really efficient split and there are probably some other ways to make it more interesting. I like combining chest and back, arms and shoulders, and bench and deadlift together, usually leaving the squat and leg-specific work on its own day, so it's not always a binary choice between the exact same groups every time, but still generally follows an upper or lower emphasis. This is probably highly contingent on subjective preferences of the individual in question, however.

Conventional Deadlift: 415 pounds x 1 rep
Romanian Deadlift: 225 pounds x 10 reps

Larsen Press: 115 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Cable Row: 90 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Started this workout on Wednesday and finally finished it today, lmao! I only had time to do the Conventional single and then my son decided he was ready to go back upstairs. That's just how it goes sometimes...

That Conv Dead matched my PR and moved VERY well. No doubt I had at least another 10 pounds, maybe more.
On the RDLs I extended the weight out away from my legs to make it harder. It felt great that way - felt like it put more demand on my hamstrings.

Everything aside from the conv dead was done with pretty light weight because I'm hoping to get in another session tomorrow so I didn't want to destroy myself today.

I also enjoy seeing everyone's progress, and it seem that all of you are really dialed in and hitting new strides! I on the other hand have mostly been treading water but have a feeling I'm about to have one of my strongest years in front of me and am looking forward to realizing that.

This is something I vaguely recall asking somewhat recently, but how are you structuring your deadlifting progression? You seem to have gotten a lot stronger on it recently and I'm toying with getting on a program or experimenting with a new approach since that is the lift I want to specifically emphasize this year.

Deadlifts

405x 8 easy
https://youtu.be/cHA92EaqJMw

475x2
https://youtube.com/shorts/Js4TSptf50E


Started a pull at 500 and rethought it…

Todays lift:

Deadlifts
Bench
inclines
rows
wide pulldowns
narrow pds
seated press
side laterals

Ooh, nice! 405 x 8 is awesome, as is doubling 475. SJT is right that that holds the current record. I'll catch up to you soon.

Basic Reacclimation Split - Week One: Sunday 3/3* (Bench, Arms)

*I ended up not training on the deadlift day so that was unfortunately skipped and I threw in some heavy curls and lateral raises instead

Flat Bench (T&G):
275 x 5, 295 x 3, 315 x 1, 245 x 8, 225 x 9 all @9-10, final was true failure (pecs are fried currently so that must have hit a sweet spot somehow)

A.S.
Hammer Curl:
3 x 4 w/ 60s
DB Lateral Raise:
3 x 4 w/ 40s

Basic Reacclimation Split - Week Two: Monday 1/4 (Legs)

Conventional Deadlift (Beltless, Raw, Mixed):
1 x 1 at 455

Back Squat (Mid-Bar, ATG):
1 x 2 at 315 @8? (final warm up for following set)

Back Squat (Mid-Bar, Parallel):
1 x 1 @? (unsure, honestly; was difficult but not much of a sticking point; too heavy/not recently trained to be confident of further rep capacity)

I wanted to see where a good training max for both of these was today so simply warmed up to a single for both to structure following training around, as both have been somewhat reacclimated already and I haven't lifted either heavily in a while. Included the deadlift to make up for last week, but I still intend to do it again on Thursday as I'd structured this. Pleasantly surprised on the deadlift. The grip was a bit weaker than normal and was starting to slip towards the top but to my surprise the bar really did break the floor with some velocity, and I held it fully upright for a couple of seconds before lowering it. I was seeing stars at the end which is a good sign that it was properly intense.

The squat actually felt good to execute, which is unusual since the lift usually feels unnatural and awkward for me. The 315s were pretty difficult but it was gratifying to do them truly ATG with a solid brace (I was visibly just a few inches away from actually sitting on the ground at the bottom), and I want to make this my norm for the squat. The reason I didn't for attempting 365 was because I wasn't sure if the safety bars were too low for the previous set but I wasn't worried about having to drop the weight with only three plates, but I wasn't sure if I could get 365 and needed to be sure I could put it down and get out from under it, but also didn't want to strike them on the way down if they were too high, so I compromised and just aimed for parallel which I knew was above it as I've squatted on that rack several times already. Had a friend check depth and form and he said it passed. Weirdly the ATG on 315 was more difficult than 365 merely parallel.

[coachcalande]

Squatless leg day


Low back too beat for squats so spammed the leg press, leg ext, leg curls and calf raises.

[Camarija]

Light Reintroduction To Lifting:

Day 1

DB Lateral Raises - 2 sets
Reverse Pec Dec - 2 sets

Supinated Pulldown, plateloaded isolateral - 2 sets
Converging Chest Press, plateloaded isolateral - 2 sets

Preacher Curl - 2 sets
Tricep Overhead + Pushdown - 2 sets

Light pump, baby weights, good rush of hormones

[CW47]

Eli - How are you structuring your deadlifting progression?
The short answer is lots of volume. Obviously what works for me isn't going to work for everyone, but I've learned that my deadlift responds really well to a relatively high volume. I do best with sets of 8-10 reps, aiming for at least 6 sets per week. My training approach is a little bit different depending upon which lift I want to progress. For Sumo I just focus largely on doing Sumo and maybe add in some deficit or snatch grip deads. For Conventional I typically split the volume between Stiff Legged Deadlifts and conventionals. And in both cases I always try to keep hamstring work in the mix - typically higher rep leg curls. Single Leg work like lunges or split squats, and vertical and horizontal pulls probably help too, but I try to always have these in my programming so I'm not sure what impact they have. I use double progression on just about everything - adding reps until I hit the top of my range and then adding weight.

Camarija - Welcome back! Enjoy the noob gains and doms.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Lousy workout today, but kind of expected. I was stressed out of my mind on Sunday and Monday this week over something

—-

Lumbar curls to warm up:
45x8
45x8

Squats
45x5
135x5
225x5
315x8

Last time I could do 12. But on the plus side, I felt absolutely nothing in my lower back, and it usually would. All quads. No doubt my lumbar is strengthening up.

Deadlifts
Up to 405 and I just ran out of steam

Pullups
8? Idk

[CW47]

Stress is a major drain on the system. I've been struggling because I'm constantly short of sleep, but even that's not close to as impactful as severe stress. Sorry for whatever you're going through. Hang in there, everything passes with time.


Incline Press - 30 Degree: 165 pounds x 1 rep
This was a near max today. 10 pounds short of my PR but I'm not mad about it.

High Bar Squat: 185 pounds x 6/2/1 reps
Used a close stance for the first set and it wrecked me (just not used to this and my legs were like Jello). It took about 20 minutes before I was ready for another set. It was too long and I had cooled down - had some discomfort in my knee so I stopped after 2 reps. Stretched a bit and tried again and I didn't have any pain but I almost fell over. Figured that was a good place to end, lol. I know I've mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating that I've always struggled with doing anything other than low rep work on squats. I can do higher rep deads without any issues at all, but my body just seems to reject this kind of approach when it comes to squats. Some of my best progress has been with heavy singles and doubles, but for some reason I just keep trying to do higher rep stuff despite my complete lack of success with it. At some point maybe I'll take the hint and lower my rep range. We'll see...

DB Row: 65 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Single Leg Curl: 55 pounds x 11/10 reps
Was still feeling the effect from the squats and I'm sure this affected the curls, but still not bad. Rows were pretty easy.

Behind the Neck Press: 50 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Shrug Curl: 30 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Not sure what to call the last exercise. I had Concentration Curls planned for today, but realized that they've never felt right, and they irritate my elbows. I have this issue with EVERY biceps exercise. Hammer Curls are the only one that I've been able to do relatively consistently without irritating my joints. I just started messing around with DB's today to see if I could come up with a movement that would work my biceps without irritating my elbows. I came up with something that's very much like a DB Shrug, except adding in a curling motion. I stood with the DB's at my side, palms facing inward toward my body. Then lifted the DB's upward as if they were on a rail. Elbows extended out away from my body sideways as the DB traveled upward. Felt real nice. I may try doing these for a few weeks.

[coachcalande]

Stress is a major drain on the system. I've been struggling because I'm constantly short of sleep, but even that's not close to as impactful as severe stress. Sorry for whatever you're going through. Hang in there, everything passes with time.


Incline Press - 30 Degree: 165 pounds x 1 rep
This was a near max today. 10 pounds short of my PR but I'm not mad about it.

High Bar Squat: 185 pounds x 6/2/1 reps
Used a close stance for the first set and it wrecked me (just not used to this and my legs were like Jello). It took about 20 minutes before I was ready for another set. It was too long and I had cooled down - had some discomfort in my knee so I stopped after 2 reps. Stretched a bit and tried again and I didn't have any pain but I almost fell over. Figured that was a good place to end, lol. I know I've mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating that I've always struggled with doing anything other than low rep work on squats. I can do higher rep deads without any issues at all, but my body just seems to reject this kind of approach when it comes to squats. Some of my best progress has been with heavy singles and doubles, but for some reason I just keep trying to do higher rep stuff despite my complete lack of success with it. At some point maybe I'll take the hint and lower my rep range. We'll see...

DB Row: 65 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Single Leg Curl: 55 pounds x 11/10 reps
Was still feeling the effect from the squats and I'm sure this affected the curls, but still not bad. Rows were pretty easy.

Behind the Neck Press: 50 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Shrug Curl: 30 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Not sure what to call the last exercise. I had Concentration Curls planned for today, but realized that they've never felt right, and they irritate my elbows. I have this issue with EVERY biceps exercise. Hammer Curls are the only one that I've been able to do relatively consistently without irritating my joints. I just started messing around with DB's today to see if I could come up with a movement that would work my biceps without irritating my elbows. I came up with something that's very much like a DB Shrug, except adding in a curling motion. I stood with the DB's at my side, palms facing inward toward my body. Then lifted the DB's upward as if they were on a rail. Elbows extended out away from my body sideways as the DB traveled upward. Felt real nice. I may try doing these for a few weeks.

Yup 100% agree, be all stressed out and it’s hard as hell to train. I’ve had car problems, my son and daughter both had car problems, my wife too, all within the last three weeks. My son wrecked his van, he’s buying another and the process has been sketchy?!

Today we found a vacuum hose disconnected on my car, no wonder it’s been running crummy…anyhow, I’m pushing my session to tomorrow and maybe tonight I’ll get some sleep. This is the first unscheduled miss for me in a very long time. It’s one day tho, not a month.

[EliKoehn]

Eli - How are you structuring your deadlifting progression?
The short answer is lots of volume. Obviously what works for me isn't going to work for everyone, but I've learned that my deadlift responds really well to a relatively high volume. I do best with sets of 8-10 reps, aiming for at least 6 sets per week. My training approach is a little bit different depending upon which lift I want to progress. For Sumo I just focus largely on doing Sumo and maybe add in some deficit or snatch grip deads. For Conventional I typically split the volume between Stiff Legged Deadlifts and conventionals. And in both cases I always try to keep hamstring work in the mix - typically higher rep leg curls. Single Leg work like lunges or split squats, and vertical and horizontal pulls probably help too, but I try to always have these in my programming so I'm not sure what impact they have. I use double progression on just about everything - adding reps until I hit the top of my range and then adding weight.

Cool, thanks for the insight into your approach!

@SJT and Coach, hope the stress alleviates soon.

--

I'm probably going to start the split notation "week 1" next week because once again it's gotten disrupted. Tuesday was my mom's birthday so I skipped that and decided not to go into deadlifting without a day's rest prior, so combined those two today. Sunday (when I normally workout with my dad) is the Super Bowl and my old friend who deadlifts 6 plates wanted to lift with me on Saturday, so that's great but the timing is all awash this week.

Still a pretty good session today! Grip was massively the weak-point on these deadlifts, and I didn't even feel close to fully fatigued or failure on these hinge-wise. Here's a perfect example of why I don't believe the people who aren't competition strong and castigate refusing to wear straps as if grip is naturally incapable of being built up alongside everything else in the lift. I used to be able to raw grip for multiple sets of eight with four plates and now I could barely manage a single set of three. I am the same person so the reason for that is simply atrophy from not pulling enough, and not some implausible barrier to approaching the deadlift itself. (For the record, I'm not saying that everyone should not use straps, just that I value the lift for its capacity to train grip and develop the forearms and will defend that it is capable of doing so.)

Originally, I was going for 3x3 at 405 but my grip couldn't handle a second rep on the middle set, so I discounted that whole attempt and did the final two sets of three with 385, which was really the max of it (the final set, before I switched hand directions, was literally held by the tip of my fingers even though I locked it out and paused slightly at the top) even though my hinge strength felt greater. I still did get an honest triple with 405 first so that is progress over the last session.

The OHP was also not bad for just getting a feeler of out of the blue for capability in structuring training going forward. I have benched often but haven't vertically pressed consistently, and still managed to hit close to my maximum. The 185 was absolutely 100% of what I could do. I held a fully paused grind for what felt like at least a couple of seconds before finally breaking out of it. A friend confirmed no leg launching and I started with my knees fully extended, though my patellar head of my left quad cramped isometrically at the end much like a hamstring does when benching maximally. The AMRAP at 135 felt good but there was significant leanback towards the end. I don't think it's invalidating but it's something I want to mitigate in this lift.

Jogged half a mile for good measure at the end, not aiming to go as fast as possible but just maintain a decent pace to get my foot in the door of cardio training with more regularity in the near future. Didn't get especially winded but probably would have at about the one mile mark, at that rate.

--

Conventional Deadlift (Raw, Mixed, Beltless):
405 x 3, 1* 385 x 3, 3

Standing OHP:
185 x 1, 135 x 10

Track Jog:
0.5 miles in 4:55

[coachcalande]

Got a decent 30 min push/pull session in.

Two back moves alternating with two chest moves

Then side laterals for 5 sets


I felt weak so just embracing the reps in the area of 8-12 for the most part.

Family demands this am so had to skip the shoulder press. Never take a zero, just get a few decent sets in each week.

[Keyshade]

New here. Glad to see a space where other people are sharing their trainings.

This was my lower body workout this morning:

/ means superset
I'm 185cm and 180-185lb

Hip Adduction 3 x 20 x 65lb / Hip Abduction 3 x 20 x 65lb **Slow reps with pause

Heel Elevated Back Squat High Bar
8 x 165lb
8 x 165lb
6 x 165lb

45 Back Extension 3 x AMRAP **Learning technique / Standing DB Calf Raise 3 x 15 x 30lb each leg

Lying Leg Curl 3 x 8 x 65lb **Slow reps with pause / Hanging Leg Raise 3 x AMRAP **Learning technique

[CW47]

Hi Keyshade. Thanks for joining the thread. Looking forward to following your progress!


Single Leg Extension: 85 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
Cable Single Leg Curl: 35 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps

Lu Raise: 12.5's - 2 sets x 12 reps
Skiers: 15's - 2 sets x 12 reps
DB Shrug Curl: 30's - 2 sets x 12 reps

Golng to my in-laws this evening to celebrate Vietnamese New Year. Tried to get in a workout that wouldn't zap my energy or make me sweat too much. Mission accomplished there. The Leg Extensions were very close to failure - everything else not so much...

Not sure how much this type of workout helps in the long run, but if nothing else it keeps me in the mindset and habit of lifting even when the situation isn't ideal for it. As they say, consistency is king, don't let optimal get in the way of acceptable, and all that jazz.

[coachcalande]

So I’m in a contest and the point is to post video of your best “finishing set” on leg day. Essentially the competition is looking to see brutal leg volume with giant sets, strip sets, super sets or however you can enter the depths of hell with total failure…

The submissions so far have been entertaining but so far nothing that I feel I can’t outdo lol. One guy did do an impressive 25 squat reps at 315 but I thought another guys strip set on hacks was better.

I’m leaning more towards something like this:

315 SSB squats to form break downs- move quickly to smith front squats til failure, immediately convert to smith squats, then a complete strip set on leg ext, finally body weight Hatfield squats.

If this happens, I’ll be sure to share video. I have leg’s tomorrow.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Welcome Keyshade!

@Coach - 315x20 is something I want to do, but high rep squats are so dang hard

-----

Random workout at the gym this morning. No preworkout or anything, figured it wasn't going to be a great workout, so I was just "doing stuff"

10 min brisk walk on treadmill

Quad extensions, lat pulldown, ham curls, close grip bench, chest machine, tricep extensions

2-3 sets each, about 1 min rest. Not going to failure

Worked some crazy hours this week and next week is probably going to be the same. Felt like I was just working all day this week except for sleeping/eating. On thursday I was working more at night after coming home from the office and was falling asleep trying to finish something. Feel like since I'm switching teams my old manager is trying to squeeze as much work out of me as possible before I leave

[EliKoehn]

Welcome Keyshade! Like CW said, looking forward to following along with your progress.

@Coach, where are you competing? Those are quite advanced numbers if it's a local thing in-person (even online here, that's pretty rare haha). Good luck, either way.

--

Push session with my friend I haven't seen in a long time. It must have been thorough because even a 275 single absolutely dropped on me at the end. Nice to change the emphasis without starting on the flat bench, too.

Incline Barbell Bench (T&G):
3 x 5 at 225, 1 x 12 at 165, 1 x 12 at 135, 1 x 11* at 135 (*technically 12 but my spotter touched it at the lockout when I started to grind)

Decline Barbell Bench (T&G):
4 x 5 at 225

Flat Bench:
275 x 0, 0

The decline was fixed so I couldn't adjust it and I basically had to have my humeruses against my side and push the bar from lower than my diaphragm to avoid hitting the rack on the way up, but the weight itself felt somewhat too easy, though I still couldn't manage even a single rep of 275 on the flat at the end on two attempts (could barely even get it off my chest, in fact). I haven't done freeweight incline press in a long time and I think that torched me (that OHP was only two days ago as well), but it felt engaging and rewarding.

[coachcalande]

Welcome Keyshade! Like CW said, looking forward to following along with your progress.

@Coach, where are you competing? Those are quite advanced numbers if it's a local thing in-person (even online here, that's pretty rare haha). Good luck, either way.

--

Push session with my friend I haven't seen in a long time. It must have been thorough because even a 275 single absolutely dropped on me at the end. Nice to change the emphasis without starting on the flat bench, too.

Incline Barbell Bench (T&G):
3 x 5 at 225, 1 x 12 at 165, 1 x 12 at 135, 1 x 11* at 135 (*technically 12 but my spotter touched it at the lockout when I started to grind)

Decline Barbell Bench (T&G):
4 x 5 at 225

Flat Bench:
275 x 0, 0

The decline was fixed so I couldn't adjust it and I basically had to have my humeruses against my side and push the bar from lower than my diaphragm to avoid hitting the rack on the way up, but the weight itself felt somewhat too easy, though I still couldn't manage even a single rep of 275 on the flat at the end on two attempts (could barely even get it off my chest, in fact). I haven't done freeweight incline press in a long time and I think that torched me (that OHP was only two days ago as well), but it felt engaging and rewarding.

The competition is a Twitter thing. Folks send in video of some cool stuff, the guy who made the challenge was doing walking lunges with 225.

[Keyshade]

Thanks to all! ^^

Hi Keyshade. Thanks for joining the thread. Looking forward to following your progress!

Welcome Keyshade!

Welcome Keyshade! Like CW said, looking forward to following along with your progress.

Focused on hitting the upper body this morning. I'm incorporating some things I picked up from Camarija.

AMRAP means that I'm learning the technique in that exercise so I take a moderate weight to do as many reps as possible while I'm focusing on the form (except for pull up and dip that I know how to do them).
/ means superset
I'm 185cm and 180-185lb

DB Lateral Raise AMRAP / DB Incline Bench Face Pull AMRAP

Barbell Bench Press **I kept good form until my last set. I think I took more weight than I should. Next time I'll try with 150lb until complete 3x10 with good form.
6 x 155lb
6 x 155lb
5 x 155lb

Barbell Bent Over Row
12 x 110lb
9 x 110lb
10 x 110lb

Incline Converging Chest Press 3 x 12 x 155lb / Pull Up AMRAP (35 total reps)

Bayesian DB Curl / DB Overhead Extension

[coachcalande]

Leg day begins with squats

385x3
https://youtu.be/sQZTJfcK18M


405x2
https://youtu.be/u3GYqVaeDUA


425x1 *In workout LIFETIME PR* (had previously maxed 435)
https://youtube.com/shorts/Z0je5OcGYs0


Deadlifts 500x0, didn’t have it after squats
455x2
455x1
455x1

Three heavy sets of leg press…


The finish…
https://youtu.be/eTrvDYjiIJE

[CW47]

Keyshade - Are you focused on building strength, muscle, or a bit of both?

Coach - Hope you don't have to do many stairs today after that...


Stiff Legged Deadlift: 315 pounds - 2 sets x 8 reps
Seated DB Overhead Press: 45's - 2 sets x 10 reps

Incline DB Curl: 30's - 3 sets x 10 reps
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 25 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

I was so tired last night I laid down for a nap at about 6PM and didn't wake up until 7AM. So this was definitely the freshest I've felt going into a workout in quite a while.

All exercises were at a weight that felt hard, but was short of failure. I'm probably close to maxing out the rep ranges on all of these. At the very least I'm expecting I'll come up a rep or two short on the 2nd or 3rd sets next time around.

Here's the first set of deads:

[Keyshade]

Keyshade - Are you focused on building strength, muscle, or a bit of both?

I'm focusing on improving my body composition to look and feel better so I'd say I'm doing a bit of both. I'm also doing diet and LISS to gradually reduce fat while I'm building strength. How about you?

My lower body B workout of this morning:

Hip Adduction 3 x 15 x 78lb / Hip Abduction 3 x 15 x 78lb **Slow reps with pause

DB Alternating Reverse Lunges
6 x 90lb
7 x 90lb
5 x 90lb As I did in bench I took more weight than I should. I need more practice in this exercise

Seated Leg Curl **Not happy with my technique. I'll take the same weight next day
12 x 78lb
12 x 78lb
12 x 78lb

Hanging Leg Raise 3 x AMRAP **Learning technique / Standing DB Calf Raise 3 x 15-20 x 30lb each leg

[67Vert]

,,. You mentioned using an adjustable ankle thing to do them last time. Can you explain more about what that is? It's not a leg roller pad?

It's just the round ankle support pad on a decline bench. Being round, allowing the toe of my shoe to point down seemed to make it more stable compared to having the top of my shoe on a flat bench.
Link to pic. https://www.johnsonfitness.com/Conte.../CF-3162_6.PNG

[67Vert]

2/7/24 B-Day Wednesday - Being mindful of my left hamstring from Monday's Squat

Machine Hack Squat - 395X5,5,5 - I did not push extra reps on the last set
OHP - 115X5,5,5
RDL - 185X8,8,8 - down from 210 the previous week
Lat Pull - 3 sets
Hammer Curl - 3X
Tricep extension cables/rope - 3X

2/9/24 C-Day Friday
Bulgarian Split Squat -
Right leg was OK but Left leg was not having it. For the left side I just just did some light sets on the floor without raising the rear leg.
Bench Press - 215X3,205X5, 185X6
Cable Row - 4 sets - I didn’t log weight
Side Lateral DB Raise -3 sets
Upright Dips - BWx15,15,15
Bicep Pull down -3 sets


2/12/24 A-Day

Squat - 185X5,5,5 - First warm up sets did not feel good at all. So I did extra. 185 Felt good. No pain in the left Hammy. I wanted to add weight but was able to refrain.

Incline DB Press - 60X8,8,8
Pendlay Row - 145X8,8,8
FacePull - 4 sets
Calf raise - 3 sets
Tricep Ext. w/rope - 4 sets
DB curls - 10,10,10


Taking it easy to let my left leg heal has me thinking of programming in a Deload week.
 Or maybe lowering in the intensity of my last working sets.

Additional Note- BF% remains higher than I desire. My wife keeps baking stuff and I can't resist. I work from home using the kitchen island as my desk and there's a jar full of cookies right behind me. My plan is to eat them all so that they won't be there to tempt me.

[CW47]

I'm focusing on improving my body composition to look and feel better so I'd say I'm doing a bit of both. I'm also doing diet and LISS to gradually reduce fat while I'm building strength. How about you?

Got it. Reason I was asking is because the approach your taking with your programming leans more towards bodybuilding than strength building (even though it will do both). Just was curious if that was your intention or not. Seems to align pretty well with your goals.

What I'm doing depends upon when you ask me, lol. When I wake up in the morning my plan is to eat in a calorie deficit and drop 20 pounds. Then I get hungry and start getting the shakes and all I care about is stuffing food in my face. But my overarching goal is just to stay active and strong as I grow older, and pretty much anything I do in the gym helps contribute towards that goal.

It's just the round ankle support pad on a decline bench. Being round, allowing the toe of my shoe to point down seemed to make it more stable compared to having the top of my shoe on a flat bench.

Okay. That's pretty much what I thought.

I work from home using the kitchen island as my desk and there's a jar full of cookies right behind me. My plan is to eat them all so that they won't be there to tempt me.

Solid plan. I've taken this same approach many times and it works like a charm! Until someone buys more.

[coachcalande]

Chest back and shoulders

225x12
275x7;6;6;5

Incline 250x6,5, , 4,4

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b3YmG9SfOy8

Heavy pulls too

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WGMH5bK0Moo

[coachcalande]

I was going through my log book and found this:

Bench 335x2

https://youtube.com/shorts/qHKMthT78sY

I’d also hit 360x1 on smith.

It’s from last year and I couldn’t touch that right now. It’s making me want to go back to the anabolic diet which I really enjoyed.
I did refeed each of the last two Sundays with good results but may well go back to 5 days low carb, 2 high carb which worked awesome for me and was just plain fun.

It looks like I stopped it because I had a low back injury and had to take a week off.

[Keyshade]

Got it. Reason I was asking is because the approach your taking with your programming leans more towards bodybuilding than strength building (even though it will do both). Just was curious if that was your intention or not. Seems to align pretty well with your goals.

Thanks! I'm glad to read that my approach seems to align with my goals. I'm encountering some doubts along the way and I'm addressing them through trial and error. However, overall, I feel like I'm making good progress and experiencing positive sensations in the direction I want to go.

What I'm doing depends upon when you ask me, lol. When I wake up in the morning my plan is to eat in a calorie deficit and drop 20 pounds. Then I get hungry and start getting the shakes and all I care about is stuffing food in my face. But my overarching goal is just to stay active and strong as I grow older, and pretty much anything I do in the gym helps contribute towards that goal.

Have you never found a way to maintain a deficit?

From the video you've shared, it seems like you're making strides toward your goal of staying active and strong as you grow older. You handle those 315lb deadlifts smoothly.


Today I trained my upper body (workout B):

**With Chin Pull I mean Face Pull to my chin without external rotation.

**I'm thinking in train arms in the lower body days.

Banded Chin Pull / Banded External Rotation.

Barbell Standing Overhead Press
10 x 80lb
8 x 80lb
6 x 80lb

Neutral Grip Chin Up
10 x bw
8 x bw
5 x bw

Ring Push Up
12 x bw
3 x 6 x bw

Supinated Grip Cable Row
3 x 12 x 110lb

One Arm Smith Machine Row
2 x AMRAP