The Flywheel Effect.

[B]Floor Press:[/B] 145 pounds 3 sets x 5 reps
[B]Cable Row:[/B] 4 chain - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Larsen Press:[/B] 130 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps

Again added 1 more rep to Floor Press and 1 more set to Larsen Press. My pressing seems to be progressing very well - both presses today felt easier than last week. The increased number of reps is helping me dial in my technique. For my next cycle I will most likely keep everything the same on my pressing days, aside from maybe increasing my training max on some of the exercises. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right...

[B]Stiff Legged Deadlift:[/B] 270 pounds 3 sets x 5 reps
[B]Situp:[/B] 3 sets x 20 reps
[B]Reverse Yoke Bar Squat:[/B] 170 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps

Thank goodness this was the final day of this cycle. This pushed me to the limit. I rely a lot on explosiveness in my squat, so they tend to look pretty easy or not go up at all. They look easy enough in the video below, but my legs were jello and body was shaking - I was right on the borderline of not finishing some of the reps (especially in the 4th set). Also felt some instability in my right knee for the first time in a long time in the 4th set. A big takeaway from this is how impactful sleep is. I got a couple hours less than normal last night and my energy level crashed much faster than expected during this workout.

Glad I got through it. Tomorrow is a rest day. That's very good because not only do I really need a day off, I also will be dropping some people off at the airport at around 4:30AM, so I'll undoubtedly be short of sleep again. I'll take an extra rest day if needed, but we'll just see how I feel. My next 4 workouts are a semi-deload for me. I'll be working up to a 1 rep max each day, followed by some dynamic work afterward. I know that working up to a max doesn't sound like a deload, but I recover from that FAR easier than I do from lower intensity higher volume work. These next 4 workouts will undoubtedly feel like a breeze compared to what I've been doing.

I'll be working on my plan for the next cycle as well. No major changes needed I don't think - just a few tweaks here and there.

[youtube]mQKmN2RkwJ0[/youtube]

You really did make those squats look easy.

You had an incredibly productive training cycle!

[QUOTE=Filmbuff81;1657778413]You really did make those squats look easy.

You had an incredibly productive training cycle![/QUOTE]
Yes, I'm definitely going to be sticking with this style of programming for a while. Very happy with the results.


[U]March 15, 2022[/U]
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 190 pounds x 1 rep [9.5 RPE]
[B]Speed Bench Press:[/B] 95 pounds + Mini Band - 9 sets x 3 reps [3 sets close grip, 3 medium, 3 wide]

Most likely could have matched my bench PR at 195. I was hoping 200 would be there today, but there was no reason to push it - been feeling under the weather the last couple of days, so I'm very satisfied with this and expect my max is higher on a decent day.

Speed work was great - honestly the best it's ever felt. Getting my setup and movement pattern dialed in has made a huge difference (I know...shocker there, lol). And the good news is that there's still obvious room for efficiency improvements on this lift, so continuing to refine it should provide some more 'easy' gains.

Here's video of both.
[youtube]j-FNbtqWnQI[/youtube]

[B]Sumo Deadlift:[/B] 415 pounds x 1 rep

Tied my PR with some to spare. I had Dynamic Deads scheduled for today also but skipped them because I'm still not feeling good and energy level was low.

Here's my first time hitting this weight near the end of last year:
[youtube]CY9GbiZd1x0[/youtube]

And from today - much smoother:
[youtube]dbRNqFhS0iY[/youtube]

[B]Overhead Press:[/B] 115 pounds x 1 rep / 122 x Fail

Current PR is 120. Tried to just add 2 pounds to that after doing 115 with some to spare. Got close but felt a twinge in my back before I could lock it out.
Honestly, I'm pretty happy just to maintain this right now. I don't think I've even done OHP at all since my last PR, so maintaining is a success at this point. In fact, I'm not expecting any notable PR's on main lifts in the foreseeable future since I'm almost exclusively focusing on other variations currently. Just throwing the main lifts in once every 6 weeks or so to avoid losing ground on them.

[youtube]Gx_RT8a-Mf8[/youtube]

[B]Low Bar Squat:[/B] 265 pounds x 1 rep

This felt more uncomfortable than I expected. Shoulders had a hard time adjusting, and it kind of felt like I may have lost some flexibility after not really doing these for the last couple months. I'll have to think about adding into my programming more often...

I'm not unhappy with my performance though, all things considered. I stopped at 265 because I lost tightness at the bottom and it turned into a bit of a squat morning, but there was certainly more there today.

Here's video of the reps at 245 and 265:
[youtube]qPRS9FUHId0[/youtube]

[B]Floor Press:[/B] 140 pounds x 8/7/7
[B]Row Thingy:[/B] 4 Chain - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Larsen Press:[/B] 125 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Well rested, but this was still a challenge. Hopefully will get easier in the weeks to follow.

[B]Snatch Grip Deadlift:[/B] 260 pounds x 8/7/7
[B]Paused Low Bar Squat w/Close Stance:[/B] 155 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Only 6 sets, but these totally wiped me out. Right knee discomfort again with the squats today. I'm wondering if it's not a result of the Yoke Bar Squats. Could also (probably more likely) just be the higher volume in general that's causing irritation. I'll have to monitor it and change things up if this persists.

[B]3 Count Pause Bench Press:[/B] 165 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Lat Pulldown:[/B] 4 Chains - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Paused Close Grip Bench Press:[/B] 115 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Good start to my bench for this cycle. I don't anticipate any issues with progressing on these over the next few weeks.

[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 345 pounds x 1 rep [8 RPE]
[B]Single Arm DB Row:[/B] 50 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Romanian Deadlift:[/B] 210 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Everything was pretty easy today. I'm still feeling fresh, but I'll most likely take a rest day tomorrow.

[youtube]NsoXhsZD-sg[/youtube]

[B]Floor Press:[/B] 140 pounds x 8/8/7
[B]Cable Row:[/B] 4 Chain - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Larsen Press:[/B] 125 pounds - 4 sets x 8 reps

Very challenging. I won't be surprised if this turns into a real grind next week when I'll shoot for 3 sets of 8 on floor press and 5 sets of 8 on larsen press.

[B]Snatch Grip Deadlift:[/B] 260 pounds x 8/8/7
[B]Paused Low Bar Squat w/Close Stance:[/B] 155 pounds x 8 reps

Deads were fantastic today. I did them without a belt and that was much better. I expect that the belt makes it harder for me to breath on the higher rep sets.
Squats initially felt pretty good. I could tell after the first set that there was no way I was completing 4 sets of 8 with that weight, so decided to drop it to 145. Before I started the second set I started getting pain in my knee (left side this time, which is very unusual for me). Decided to just stop.

Not sure what's causing it, but I guess it doesn't matter too much - I can't continue doing the same thing. I will most likely try some lower rep work next time, like around 5's or 6's and see if I can tolerate that. If not I will change exercises or go back to very low rep and high intensity for squats, probably in the 1-3 rep range since I've never had much issue with that approach. Worst case scenario I just cut squats out of my programming completely for a period of time.

[B]30 Degree Incline Bench Press:[/B] 160 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Lat Pulldown:[/B] 4 Chains - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Paused Close Grip Bench Press:[/B] 125 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Incline Press was around a 9 RPE. Definitely would prefer to keep it closer to an 8.
Paused Close Grip Bench was challenging but went well. The progression on this next time will be to do 4 sets of 8 at 115, which I don't foresee any issues with.

Got a bit of a load taken off my shoulders today - I agreed to terms on a new job and will start on April 11th. I'd been feeling a fair amount of stress over the last week or two, so it was good timing. Still have lots to do at home before the new start date, and then I suspect I'll have my hands full for a while at work since it will be all new to me. I'm expecting I'll probably adjust my training to keep stress and fatigue at a minimum for the first few months.

[B]Paused Sumo Deadlift:[/B] 345 pounds x 1 rep [8 RPE]
[B]Hybrid Lat Pulldown/Cable Row:[/B] 4 Chain - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Romanian Deadlift:[/B] 220 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

All pretty easy today. Sumo starting position is getting better, but I noticed in the video that I still wasn't sitting back quite as much as I should be. Still went up quite easily. RDL's seem to be getting easier each week, despite the increase in either weight or reps every session. That's obviously a good thing. My deadlift is feeling quite strong overall. I would typically have a rest day tomorrow, but I may skip it since I've had a bunch of extra rest days recently. I will see how I feel.

[B]Floor Press:[/B] 140 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
[B]Larsen Press:[/B] 125 pounds - 5 sets x 8 reps

Had to take my son to urgent care a couple of days ago, where they found that he has an ear infection. He was pretty miserable all day yesterday, which meant that I was basically holding him all day.

Finally got a workout in late this evening, and it went great. I made some adjustments to my grip and my elbow position and it was an obvious improvement. This actually felt quite easy, to the point that I thought I was miscounting the reps. Always feels go to make technical improvements. The one major thing left that I really need to reign in is losing tightness at the bottom. I'm fully capable of staying tight because I do it very well when doing something like a spoto press, but I just get lazy and/or forget sometimes.

[B]Paused Low Bar Squat:[/B] 175 pounds - 3 sets x 3 rep
[B]Snatch Grip Deadlift:[/B] 260 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
[B]Leg Raise:[/B] 3 sets x 10 reps

Did squats first today so I could be sure I was fresh for them. Tried out a Front Squat to start out with and I could feel the discomfort in my left knee right away with only 95 pounds. Changed to a Paused Low Bar Squat with a mid-wide stance and that felt mostly okay. Kept the reps much lower than the sets of 8 I had been doing previously.

Knee started to bother me again when doing the Snatch Grip Deadlifts. It's very possible that the extra range of motion and addition use of quads with this variant are what originally started irritating my knees. I can't be sure though right now, so I will keep them in for the next 3 weeks I already have scheduled and see how things go.

[B]Paused T-Shirt Bench Press:[/B] 165 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Lat Pulldown:[/B] 4 Chains - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Paused Close Grip Bench Press:[/B] 115 pounds - 4 sets x 8 reps

Bench is still feeling great. Had 160 scheduled for the top single, but went a bit higher since my goal was really to be around an 8 RPE. Close Grip was incredibly easy (much more than the previous weeks even). I'm going to slowly increase either reps or sets on Lat Pulldowns. Felt relatively easy even with the jump from 12 to 15 pounds.

Here's video of one of the sets of Paused Close Grip:
[youtube]CfpH638aaqM[/youtube]

[B]Deficit Sumo Deadlift:[/B] 320 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Seal Row:[/B] 4 Chain - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Romanian Deadlift:[/B] 210 pounds - 4 sets x 8 reps

The Deficit single was smooth and easy. RDL's were easy as well (I'll probably increase these more than normal in my next cycle based upon how they've been feeling lately). Another good day.

[B]30 Degree Incline Bench Press:[/B] 175 pounds x 1 rep [[B]PR[/B]]
[B]Competition Bench Press:[/B] 95, 135, 145, 155, 165 x 3 [[B]PR[/B]]

Clear progress on bench. The single on incline was a true max - had to grind it out. This was a 10 pound PR.
Wanted to get some submax work on competition bench, so I did a series of triples. The top triple was a 10 pound PR as well. May have had it for 175 if I tried, but 165 felt like a good stopping point.

Here's video of the Incline PR:
[youtube]toJyJBZPEJU[/youtube]

[B]Paused Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 385 pounds x 1 rep [[B]PR[/B]]
[B]Sumo Deadlift:[/B] 225, 315, 365 x 3 [[B]PR[/B]]

Good progress on deads also. My PR for conventional deadlift was 375, and I managed a paused rep at 385 today. I expect my conv dead max is probably around 400 now.
Sumo is looking good as well. My previous PR for a triple was 355. I did 365 today and it was a breeze - probably a 6-7 RPE.

It makes perfect sense that my Bench and Deadlift should be progressing right now. They've been my primary focus for most of this year so far, with minimal squat work just to try to maintain that. I'm happy that the focused attention is paying off.

Here's the Paused rep at 385:
[youtube]SItOmi6c4ZA[/youtube]

[B]Paused Bench Press - 3 Count:[/B] 175 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Overhead Press:[/B] 45, 65, 85, 105, 115 x 3 [[B]PR[/B]]

The touch point on my top rep on paused bench was not good (touched too high), but still moved reasonably well at about a 9 RPE. This tied a PR, and I definitely could have beat it today but there was no need to push it.
Overhead Press was a surprise. I'm basically doing this once or twice per month, and still seem to be progressing on it. It's obviously carry over from bench work. My current 1 rep PR is 120, but that's beatable since I just did 115 for 3.

[youtube]cCM30kJkUEo[/youtube]

[B]Comp Squat:[/B] 245 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Deficit Deadlift:[/B] 355 pounds x 1 rep

Today's goal was to hit relatively easy top singles. It went well enough. It's no surprise that my squat isn't at it's strongest right now. The top single was a harder than expected, but I was happy that my form stayed pretty solid and I had no knee pains.

I had planned to do Sumo Deficit Deads, but they just weren't feeling right today even at just 135 pounds, so I changed to conventional and that felt just fine so I went with it. The single at 355 matched my PR, and was still pretty easy.

I'm back to work starting tomorrow. It's a planned rest day for me, which is good. Not sure what my workouts or workout schedule is going to look like in the coming weeks as my focus shifts heavily to work. Just going to take it a day at a time and adjust as needed.

Video of both of today's top singles:
[youtube]lwtw9hQNj5U[/youtube]

I'm glad to see you're still going strong as it appears your training is really paying off.

[QUOTE=Anthony21;1659520603]I'm glad to see you're still going strong as it appears your training is really paying off.[/QUOTE]
Yes, training is going pretty darn good right now.

How are things going for you? Still getting regular workouts in?

[B]Floor Press:[/B] 150 pounds x 5/4/4 reps
[B]Cable Row:[/B] 4 Chain - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Larsen Press:[/B] 135 pounds - 3 sets x 5 reps

Solid workout. Everything was relatively easy, as is expected in the first week of this mini-cycle. Next 2 weeks will get progressively harder of course.

[B]Snatch Grip Deadlift:[/B] 275 pounds x 5/4/4 reps
[B]Paused Low Bar Squat:[/B] 185 pounds - 3 sets x 3 rep

Happy with today's session. I had just some very minor discomfort in my left knee when squatting, but it's getting better each week now and had no impact this week at all really. This was the best my squat has felt in many months. I squatted with no shoes on. Not sure if that contributed or not, but I'll probably try it again next time.

The first week back at work is wearing at me more than I expected, which is why I took an unscheduled rest day yesterday. Long days though, and much earlier than I'm used to right now, so it's to be expected. I'll just have to do my best to manage the fatigue. Plus I'm sure my body will readjust over the coming weeks.

[B]3 Count Paused Bench Press[/B] 170 pounds x 1 rep (8.5 RPE)
[B]Lat Pulldown:[/B] 4 Chains - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Paused Close Grip Bench Press:[/B] 130 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps

Went reasonably well. The close grip paused bench is going to be a challenge this time around. Had to fight a bit to get up the final rep in sets 2 & 3, and it's only going to get harder the next 2 weeks.

[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 360 pounds x 1 rep (9 RPE)
[B]Romanian Deadlift:[/B] 230 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps

Conventional Deadlift was harder than expected. Should have been around an 8 RPE but ended up closer to a 9. RDL's were easy. Definitely bumping up the training max for those next cycle.

Good three days of training man. I'm assuming you're still running conjugate?