The Flywheel Effect.

[U]November 10, 2020[/U]

[U]Dynamic Bench - Close Grip Bench Press[/U]
[B]105 pounds + 2 Chains - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]

[U]Dumbbell Bench Press[/U]
[B]55 pound db's x 12/10/10 reps[/B]

[U]Wide Grip Pullup[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 2 sets x 5 reps[/B]

[U]Hanging Knee Raise[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 2 sets x 5 reps[/B]


Pretty good workout today. It's the first time since the baby came home that I got through a full workout without any major interruptions. I adjusted the touch point on bench so it was slightly higher and felt much more explosive at the bottom of the lift. The reps moved quicker than they did with 10 pounds less last week.

My workload per workout has been lower than normal over the last 2 weeks, but that's because I've removed out a rest day. So my total weekly volume should be pretty similar to what it's been in previous weeks. After this week I'll be back to lifting only 4 times per week instead of 5, and my volume per workout will increase once again.

November 12, 2020

[U]Dynamic Lower: Paused Squat - Wide Stance[/U]
[B]135 pounds (65% of 1RM) - 8 sets x 2 reps[/B]
This was the final week of the cycle, so it's too late to adjust now, but I definitely used too much weight. The percentage is based on my competition squat. It should have been based on a paused wide stance squat, where I'm significantly weaker. There was nothing speedy about these reps at all unfortunately. Another lesson learned.

[U]Dynamic Lower - Conventional Deadlift[/U]
[B]185 pounds (60% of 1RM) + Light Band - 8 sets x 2 reps[/B]
I struggled with double overhand grip at the top of the lift, so I changed to a mixed grip on some of the sets. It felt really good. My form is improving bit by bit.


Also did some rows today, but nothing worth noting. I'll rest tomorrow and then start a new cycle on Saturday, testing out competition Bench and Squat this weekend. I'm eager to find out where I'm at.

[U]November 14, 2020[/U]
This workout took almost 4 hours from start to finish because of the constant interruptions. I can obviously deal with it since I'm not working right now, but not sure how things will go once I'm back to work. I may need to make some adjustments to my programming at that point.


[U]Max Bench: Bench Press[/U]
[B]175 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
Oh yeaaaah! Another 10 pound PR! That's 2 cycles in a row with a 10 pound increase on my max. I only increased my max bench by like 20 pounds over the previous 4 years, so to match that in my last 2 cycles is huge.

[U]Bench Press: Bamboo Bar[/U]
[B]56 pounds (6lbs bar + 50lbs) - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]
I can clearly feel the burn in the muscles that struggling to stabilize the bar. A good sign, I think.

[U]Pushup: Close[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]

[U]Kroc Row[/U]
[B]55 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]
This was probably too light, but I realized a while back that I was doing these wrong after I watched some more videos of them, so I just wanted to focus on the movement today. Think I got them right this time around. :)

[U]DB Shoulder Press[/U]
[B]60 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]

[U]Decline Crunch[/U]
[B]35 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps[/B]


Video shows the bench rep at 175. You'll see my lifting my legs off the ground near the end, because my glutes started cramping up.
Video also shows the second set of 10 with the Bamboo Bar.
[youtube]vEnPSVkWIdQ[/youtube]

[U]November 15, 2020[/U]

[U]Max Effort Lower: Squat[/U]
[B]185 pounds x 3 reps[/B]

[U]Bulgarian Split Squat[/U]
[B]35 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]T-Bar Row[/U]
[B]90 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]Pullup - Wide Grip[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]


A max attempt was not in the cards today. Sleep pattern was messed up. Had no energy. My lower back was extremely tight (seems to always be the case the day after benching, so I may need to change up my schedule to add in a rest day between). I thought a thorough warmup would get the energy going and loosen up my lower back, but it never happened.

I did quite a lot of volume as I was trying to loosen up, but didn't track it. The top set was at 185, which was a real struggle. I actually did a few sets at 185 as I tried to loosen up, with the biggest being a set of three. The tightness resulted in me leaning forward at the bottom on almost all of the reps, and made the reps much more difficult.

I have a lower body max effort every week obviously, so if I'm feeling especially good on one of those upcoming days I may just try a max squat in place of whatever I have planned for that week. I'm not going to force it though. Will just keep on the path and trust that the work will continue to pay off over time.

I’m so happy to see you not giving in on workouts even when you get called upon. That bamboo bar sounds brutal

If your lower back Is getting tight fron benching. Maybe you need to add some more core work. I have them in my warmups most days. Leg days I do one leg wall sits. Dead day is planks. Just to get some more activation. I found that has helped my lower back pain.

[QUOTE=Raigs;1622787911]I’m so happy to see you not giving in on workouts even when you get called upon. That bamboo bar sounds brutal

If your lower back Is getting tight fron benching. Maybe you need to add some more core work. I have them in my warmups most days. Leg days I do one leg wall sits. Dead day is planks. Just to get some more activation. I found that has helped my lower back pain.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, you're right. As I've cut back on volume over the last couple of weeks the core work has gotten the axe a lot of the time. I need to do it more consistently.

Stretching daily would help too. I was doing it consistently for about a month and it felt great, and I've neglected to do it for a while now.

Another easy change that should help would be to just change the order of my workouts, which I'm probably going to do starting tomorrow. I initially planned bench day before lower days thinking that the bench wouldn't impact the lower days much. It's proving not to be the case. I'll probably just swap the two. If that doesn't help, I'll add a rest day between my max effort workouts.

[U]November 17, 2020[/U]

[U]Dynamic Lower: Box Squat - 16 inch Box[/U]
[B]115 pounds (55% of 1RM) - 12 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Finally got the moving with some good speed. The two cues I focused on were pulling my lats down to assure upper back tightness, and keeping knees out to help maintain glute tension. These have been inconsistent for me, and it made a huge difference in the lift today.

[U]Dynamic Lower - Deficit Sumo Deadlift[/U]
[B]200 pounds (65% of 1RM) - 10 sets x 2 reps[/B]

[U]Glute Bridge[/U]
[B]45 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]

[U]Zercher Squat[/U]
[B]95 pounds x 8/10/10 reps[/B]
Tried these once before, but I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I was aiming for 15 reps and thought it was doable after a warmup with 65 pounds, but it wasn't happening. I got loosened up more after the first set, which is why I was able to get more reps in the following sets. I have to admit that I'm a HUGE fan of these at the moment. The pain in the crook of my elbows freaking sucks, but I love how it demands flexibility, and moves the focus of the squat to the quads. Getting strong at this lift should help a lot with being able to self correct when I lean forward to much on back squats (also should help with flexibility at the bottom of the lift so that I don't lean forward too much).

[U]Face Pull[/U]
[B]Mini Band - 3 sets x 20 reps[/B]

Solid work in here. Sorry I been out a while. It seems your journal is not bumping itself up in my subs.

Hows new baby fatherhood treating you?

Also, great work on that 20 pound increase in bench. That is a great indication that what you are doing for bench is working. Zercher squats.... gonna have to give those a shot one day lol. They do seem like they would have a lot of carry over to back squat and probably even front squat.

Yeah the kiddo becomes 1# before stretching. I just throw it in whenever I get 1 minute and just stretch throughout the day.

Great on finding a better feeling on the box squats. Messing around with one thing can change the whole lift.

[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1622896511]Hows new baby fatherhood treating you?

Also, great work on that 20 pound increase in bench. That is a great indication that what you are doing for bench is working. Zercher squats.... gonna have to give those a shot one day lol. They do seem like they would have a lot of carry over to back squat and probably even front squat.[/QUOTE]
Everything is going great with the little one. I'm thankful that I still have 2 more weeks at home. I'd for sure be exhausted if I was working full time.

Zercher Squats are definitely closest to a Front Squat. It essentially is a Front Squat, just with the bar sitting lower. It's slightly less demanding of the upper back. But I agree that it should have some real carry over to the back squat. I expect it also to have some good carry over to my Sumo Deadlift as well.

[QUOTE=Raigs;1622903651]Yeah the kiddo becomes 1# before stretching. I just throw it in whenever I get 1 minute and just stretch throughout the day.

Great on finding a better feeling on the box squats. Messing around with one thing can change the whole lift.[/QUOTE]
For sure. It gets frustrating sometimes because these cues are things that I already know, and just have struggled to make them a habit. They really need to be incorporated into my squat routine and be something I do every time, so I'll need to work on that.

On the stretching, I do some throughout the day. I've just been neglecting (forgetting) to do the lower back specific stretches I had been doing for a while, so I'll need to get back into the habit of doing those.

[U]November 18, 2020[/U]

[U]Dynamic Bench - Bench Press w/Bands[/U]
[B]65 pounds + Mini Band - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]

[U]Floor Press w/Chains[/U]
[B]65 pounds + Chains - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]

[U]Bench Dip[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]

[U]Meadows Row[/U]
[B]25 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]

[U]DB Shrug[/U]
[B]60 pounds - 15/12/12 reps[/B]

[U]Hanging Knee Raise[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 8/15/15 reps[/B]


Got in some good volume today. Dynamic Bench was flying up, probably too much because I was jumping all over the bench. Got some good triceps work in with the floor press and dips. Good upper back work with the shrugs and meadow's row. I made it through the full workout without any interruptions. :)

I'll take 2 rest days now, and then on Saturday I test out my max on Sumo Deadlift. The most I've ever done Sumo is 305. I'm hoping to hit at least 315. Think I have a good chance of even doing 325 or more.

nice session that one

That is a good looking dynamic bench workout. Glad to see you got that leave from work to spend time with the baby and take some of the load off of mom. They have to go through hell, so the least we can do is baby the hell out of them for a little while after they go through that battle :D

[QUOTE=CW47;1622937771]Zercher Squats are definitely closest to a Front Squat. It essentially is a Front Squat, just with the bar sitting lower. It's slightly less demanding of the upper back.
[/QUOTE]

I feel like you lied to me lol. Just tried Zerchers today and they played hell on the traps and shoulders! But they are definitely fun

I’m here for the max attempt on deads!!! You got it.

Nice that you got an uninterrupted workout in. Once the kiddo is a few months you should be getting all of them without bother. So that’s something to look forward to. :)

[QUOTE=WolfRose7;1622996911]nice session that one[/QUOTE]
Thank you! It felt really good. :)

[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1623005031]That is a good looking dynamic bench workout. Glad to see you got that leave from work to spend time with the baby and take some of the load off of mom. They have to go through hell, so the least we can do is baby the hell out of them for a little while after they go through that battle :D

I feel like you lied to me lol. Just tried Zerchers today and they played hell on the traps and shoulders! But they are definitely fun[/QUOTE]
Yeah, no kidding - momma deserves a break.
LMAO regarding the Zerchers! I haven't had a chance to check your log yet, but my guess would be that it's because of a difference in the amount of weight we're lifting. 95 pounds isn't going to be enough to stress much of anything.

[QUOTE=Raigs;1623005401]I’m here for the max attempt on deads!!! You got it.

Nice that you got an uninterrupted workout in. Once the kiddo is a few months you should be getting all of them without bother. So that’s something to look forward to. :)[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah!!! I'm ready to do this! I think that swapping my upper and lower days will have me coming into my max lower days feeling really well rested and recovered. It would/will be nice to do some deads and squats without a super tight lower back...
I'm looking forward to uninterrupted workouts. It's really hard to get back into a workout after stepping away for an hour...

Dude I know the feeling I’ve even taken another scoop of pre workout to get back into it. In the end I just warm up again and start where I left off once you get moving it’s gravy. Just need to get moving and don’t have negative thoughts or excuses.

[QUOTE=Raigs;1623041831]Dude I know the feeling I’ve even taken another scoop of pre workout to get back into it. In the end I just warm up again and start where I left off once you get moving it’s gravy. Just need to get moving and don’t have negative thoughts or excuses.[/QUOTE]Yeah, it's completely a mental challenge. Need to just be able to re-focus and get back into it.


[U]November 21, 2020[/U]
This workout was done yesterday. Had my parents visiting for the weekend, so I did a minimalist workout of only the main lift.

[U]Max Effort Lower: Sumo Deadlift[/U]
[B]315 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
Worked up to 305 without any issues. On the rep at 305 I struggled get into a well leveraged position at the bottom, and you can see in the video that I was fidgeting about trying to get my hips, knees, and back all into the right place. Despite this, the lift went up relatively smoothly once it broke off the floor. Felt like I had quite a bit still in me so I jumped up to 325. I failed at that twice, being unable to get it off the floor. I was not going to settle for matching my previous PR on this lift, so I dropped by down to 315. Failed the first attempt there as well, still struggling to get into a good position at the bottom of the lift. On the next attempt I was determined that it was going up no matter what. Ended up slightly rounding my upper back to get the bar moving. It went up smoothly once it was off the floor. The lockout felt good at the time, but after reviewing the video it probably wouldn't have qualified as a good lift in a competition. I got full back extension, but it looks like I didn't fully lock out my legs. I had to drop the weight quicker than I wanted to because my grip was slipping. Lucky for me this wasn't a competition, and it's going as a completed lift in my book. ;)

Anyway, I'm pretty frustrated by my struggles in getting into a good position at the bottom, and therefore not being able to get the bar moving off the floor, especially since the weight feels relatively light once it gets moving. Hopefully the Deficit Sumo Deadlifts will help with this. Not sure what else I should be doing, aside from working on my flexibility.


Video includes the completed reps at 305 and 315.
[youtube]fuvhkRx_SwQ[/youtube]

[B][U]November 23, 2020[/U][/B]

[U]Max Bench: Incline Bench Press - 45 degree w/Chains[/U]
[B]115 pounds + 2 Chains x 1 rep[/B]
[I]*Note: 2 Chains + 2 Carabiners = 35 pounds[/I]
Touch and go - I definitely tried to take advantage of some bounce off the bottom (and as you can see in the video below, I probably needed it). This one was a grinder. I moved the touch point up higher than last time, and it helped a lot, felt like a much more natural movement.

[youtube]QFd9VFv5ARc[/youtube]

[U]Bench Press: Bamboo Bar[/U]
[B]76 pounds (6lbs bar + 70lbs) - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]Pushup: Close - Feet elevated 16 inches[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]Kroc Row[/U]
[B]60 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]

[U]DB Shoulder Press[/U]
[B]65 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]Decline Crunch[/U]
[B]40 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]

[B][U]November 25, 2020[/U][/B]

[U]Dynamic Lower: Box Squat - 16 inch Box[/U]
[B]130 pounds (60% of 1RM) - 10 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Wow! Implemented a small change that MyEgoProblem shared from Calgary Barbell, and it resulted in the best feeling squats I've ever done. Essential it just entails setting the angle of your back before starting the descent. I can't believe how much of a difference this made.

[U]Dynamic Lower - Deficit Sumo Deadlift[/U]
[B]215 pounds (70% of 1RM) - 8 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Again, implemented a change suggested by WolfRose7 and MyEgoProblem to start with my hips slightly higher. In multiple rep sets, the first rep has always felt worse than those that followed. Today I paid more attention to hip height when watching the video, and noticed that my hips were just slightly (maybe 1 inch) lower on the first rep than on the second. Made a conscious effort to keep them a little higher, and this change felt fantastic also. I was much more explosive off the floor, and it felt like everything was lined up correctly and I could just push from the ground up.

[U]Glute Bridge[/U]
[B]45 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]
These seemed to hammer my hamstrings more than my glutes. Not sure if it's because I'm doing them incorrectly, or if my hammy's are just that weak right now. Both legs were cramping. The exercise felt great though.

[U]Zercher Squat[/U]
[B]125 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]
Added 30 pounds and more reps now that I was somewhat comfortable with this lift. I video'd one of the sets but for some reason I couldn't get it downloaded. Felt good though.

[U]Face Pull[/U]
[B]Mini Band - 3 sets x 25 reps[/B]


Video shows 1 set each of Box Squats and Deficit Sumo Deadlifts.
[youtube]UREiQNGBQAk[/youtube]

[B][U]November 26, 2020[/U][/B]

[U]Dynamic Bench - Bench Press w/Bands[/U]
[B]75 pounds + 2 Mini Bands - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]

[U]Floor Press w/Chains[/U]
[B]75 pounds + 2 Chains (15 lbs/ea) - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]

[U]Bench Dip - Feet elevated 16 inches[/U]
[B]Bodyweight + 10 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]

[U]Meadows Row[/U]
[B]35 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps[/B]

[U]DB Shrug[/U]
[B]65 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]Hanging Knee Raise[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]


Good solid workout today. The weight felt 5-10 pounds too light on all of the lifts except the Dips and Knee Raises. I'll gradually get them dialed in though.

Every time I reply to this thread I get an error. Testing to see if it still holds


Edit: Solid work lately. Very solid. I think your programming and the way you are approaching the lifts is paying off in both strength increases and the lift forms

Nice DL session. Its great to have this community people offer advice and most of the time its really good advice. Thats great it felt better. Probably will have a nice jump in weights going with that advice

[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1623866271]Solid work lately. Very solid. I think your programming and the way you are approaching the lifts is paying off in both strength increases and the lift forms[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I must be doing something right because you're right - I'm seeing good improvement in both areas. :)

[QUOTE=Raigs;1623899811]Nice DL session. Its great to have this community people offer advice and most of the time its really good advice. Thats great it felt better. Probably will have a nice jump in weights going with that advice[/QUOTE]I think so! And yeah, the advice I've received, and the things I've learned from following logs and reading posts around this forum has been really invaluable.

__________________________________________________


[B][U]November 28, 2020[/U][/B]
I'm changing up the rep ranges on my accessory/supplemental lifts quite a bit compared to what I've been doing over the last couple of months. They'll be ranging from 2 to 20 rep sets. Trying to gauge how my body will react to these different rep ranges. I had some 6x4's in today's workout, which I've never done before.
Overall, this workout really hammered my legs and my upper back. I'm feeling the pain now (in a good way)

[U]Max Effort Lower: Front Squat w/Bands[/U]
[B]155 pounds + 2 mini bands x 1 rep[/B]
I've never even been able to front squat 155 pounds before, much less with the extra resistance. My lack of reps with this lift really showed. Reps were somewhat inconsistent during the ramp up, with some good ones and some not so good. In the 155 pound rep you'll see in the video below that I leaned forward a fair amount, actually banging into the rack near the bottom. Still managed to complete the rep somehow. I attempted a rep at 165 but wasn't so fortunate. Weight shifted forward once again and I wasn't able to overcome it. I for sure have another 10 to 20 pounds in me if my form was decent. This is a good result for me though, and I'm happy with it.

[U]Good Morning[/U]
[B]155 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
Starting to get more comfortable with this exercise finally. However, it's still one of the few lifts where I'm still hesitant to really let it rip for fear of reinjuring my back. I'm slowly building confidence.

[U]Bulgarian Split Squat[/U]
[B]70 pounds - 6 sets x 4 reps[/B]

[U]T-Bar Row[/U]
[B]140 pounds - 6 sets x 4 reps[/B]

[U]Wide Grip Pullup[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 5 reps[/B]
5 reps doesn't seem like much, but going back a year or two I wasn't even able to do 1 rep with a wide grip because of my shoulder issues. My shoulder strength has increased enormously, and it definitely shows on this exercise.


Video shows the Front Squat.
[youtube]-II-jBfus-A[/youtube]

Your problem with your front squat is not your form. It is where you anchored your bands. The fact that those bands did not rip 155 off your delts is a pretty amazing testament to your strength and determination lol. I bet if you had those bands anchored further back towards your heels you would not have had the same issue.

That or lose the bands for front squat. The front squat is one of those lifts that seems to lend itself to speed anyway. Even the most grinding front squat rep looks fast.

Glad to see you are enjoying GMs. I would only offer a small suggestion. Try them in the higher rep range. You did 5x5. I would recommend trying 3x8-12. GMs are great in any rep range but keeping them lighter will reduce the risk of lower back injury, which you said you are afraid of, and I think most people find them more effective when used in the high rep ranges.

I know Wendler likes 12-15 reps on them. My personal preference is 8-12, although I will go heavy with them sometimes.



Great work on the front squat and GMs. But an even bigger congrats on the pullups! I know it feels good to have such a great improvement on them!

[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1623997481]Your problem with your front squat is not your form. It is where you anchored your bands. The fact that those bands did not rip 155 off your delts is a pretty amazing testament to your strength and determination lol. I bet if you had those bands anchored further back towards your heels you would not have had the same issue.

That or lose the bands for front squat. The front squat is one of those lifts that seems to lend itself to speed anyway. Even the most grinding front squat rep looks fast.

Glad to see you are enjoying GMs. I would only offer a small suggestion. Try them in the higher rep range. You did 5x5. I would recommend trying 3x8-12. GMs are great in any rep range but keeping them lighter will reduce the risk of lower back injury, which you said you are afraid of, and I think most people find them more effective when used in the high rep ranges.

I know Wendler likes 12-15 reps on them. My personal preference is 8-12, although I will go heavy with them sometimes.



Great work on the front squat and GMs. But an even bigger congrats on the pullups! I know it feels good to have such a great improvement on them![/QUOTE]
Thanks for the great feedback! I'll take all of it onboard and implement it. ;)

___________________________

[B][U]November 29, 2020[/U][/B]
I typed up more detailed comments initially, but I got an error when submitting the reply and lost it all...


[U]Max Bench: Floor Press - Close Grip[/U]
[B]165 pounds x 1 rep[/B]

[U]Bench Press: Bamboo Bar[/U]
[B]96 pounds (6lbs bar + 90lbs) - 3 sets x 8 reps[/B]
Bar was all over the place on the first set (see video below), and got much better in the following sets.

[U]Pushup: Close - Feet elevated 16 inches[/U]
[B]Bodyweight + 10 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps[/B]

[U]Kroc Row[/U]
[B]75 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps[/B]

[U]DB Shoulder Press[/U]
[B]75 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps[/B]

[U]Decline Crunch[/U]
[B]50 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]


Video shows the Floor Press max attempt, and the first set with the Bamboo Bar.
[youtube]pXDTTiXXbhg[/youtube]

[B][U]December 2, 2020[/U][/B]
Since I'm back at work full time this week, time is at a premium. Posts are probably going to be brief or non-existent on weekdays, but I'll put them up when I'm able to. Apologies to all of you who have been following along, and those of you whose logs I'm following - I'm probably going to be pretty inactive for a while.

[U]Dynamic Lower: Box Squat - 16 inch Box[/U]
[B]140 pounds (65% of 1RM) - 8 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Moved fast again. Feeling great!

[U]Dynamic Lower - Deficit Sumo Deadlift[/U]
[B]230 pounds (75% of 1RM) - 6 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Fasted reps I've had in a long time. Feeling great here too!

[U]Glute Bridge[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 20 reps[/B]

[U]Zercher Squat[/U]
[B]135 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]
Got called away for an "emergency" during the 3rd rep on the final set. My son was breast feeding for the first time in about 2 weeks, lol. Did a little dance in celebration, then went back to finish up my set. I almost fell on my ass on the fifth rep. This lift is brutal. I'll do them again, but I'm glad I'm not doing them again next week, lmao!

[U]Face Pull[/U]
[B]Light Band - 3 sets x 15 reps[/B]

[B][U]December 2, 2020[/U][/B]
Posting up yesterday's workout. Not much time to get through it, so I worked fast and had to cut out some lifts. The benching work was really solid. Bar moved quickly and smoothly on all reps.

[U]Dynamic Bench - Bench Press w/Bands[/U]
[B]85 pounds + 2 Mini Bands - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]

[U]Floor Press w/Chains[/U]
[B]85 pounds + 2 Chains (15 lbs/ea) - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]DB Shrug[/U]
[B]77.5 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps[/B]

[B][U]December 5, 2020[/U][/B]
Did this workout yesterday. Time was short, so I didn't have time to post it.

[U]Max Effort Lower: Conventional Deadlift[/U]
[B]325 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
I setup for an attempt at 345 after the 325 moved smoothly. As I was pulling the slack out and starting to push, it just didn't feel quite right so I shut it down right away. Still not confident my back will hold up. I didn't attempt to move the weight with any explosiveness at all. The reps move almost in slow motion as I focused on bracing and maintaining tightness throughout. I'm actually surprised how easily the 325 went up. Were I to throw caution to the wind an yank that sucker off the floor, I think 365 was definitely there. I'm not going to be doing that anytime soon though. I'm happy to keep Sumo as my main deadlift, and hit easy singles on conventional.

[U]Squat - Banded[/U]
[B]95 pounds + 2 Mini Bands - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
These hit my legs much harder than a normal squat. It felt great on the muscles, but was somewhat awkward. I'm hoping to get much more comfortable with these over the next couple of weeks, and be able to add on more weight.

[U]Pullthrough - Banded[/U]
[B]Light Band - 4 sets x 10 reps[/B]

[U]Row - Banded[/U]
[B]Average Band - 4 sets x 10 reps[/B]


Video shows the 325 x 1 Deadlift
[youtube]FFeZL3Cez6w[/youtube]


Also, I finally ordered a belt for some additional support when squatting and deadlifting. Never used one before, so I'm eager to see what the impact is. Got a 10mm Untreated Pioneer Cut Belt: [url]https://generalleathercraft.com/product/10mm-thick-untreated-stock-pioneer-cut-power-lifting-belt/[/url]

[B][U]December 6, 2020[/U][/B]

[U]Max Bench: Bench Press - Banded[/U]
[B]165 pounds + 2 Mini Bands x 1 rep[/B]
Making good progress on maintaining stability throughout the lift. I felt a little wobbly today, but watching back the video I can see that I was actually much more stable than I was 6 (or even 2) weeks ago. It for sure puts me in a position to better utilize whatever strength I have to complete the lift. I thinking I may be able to realistically hit 180-185 next time I max out on Bench Press, which we put me at about a 30 pound increase in 3 months.

[U]Incline Press: 30 Degree - w/Fat Grip[/U]
[B]95 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
Not sure why I programmed these to be done with Fat Grips. They really don't seem to have any benefit on lifts like this. There's a minor increase to ROM, but it's pretty minimal. I probably won't use them on pressing exercises in the future.

[U]Kneeling Overhead Press[/U]
[B]95 pounds - 6 sets x 4 reps[/B]


Video shows the Max Bench attempt from today.
[youtube]vZsvsewA1-c[/youtube]

Great work on the deadlift and max bench. Just a question, sorry if you already answered this, but why do you prefer sumo? I know you said you dont trust your lower back for conventional but you made that 325 look easy and right. Your chest may have come up a little faster than the hips, but overall that was a great looking pull!