The Flywheel Effect.

Upper #1
Rough week at work. I changed positions, and have been working really long days. I finally got off work on time today and was able to lift.


[B]Bench Press[/B]: 115 x 10/9/7/6 (32)
Finally made it. I'll increase to 120.

[B]Barbell Row[/B]: 120 x 9/8/8/8 (33)
I didn't expect to make it after the first set, but I didn't lose much on the subsequent sets. Increase to 125.

[B]Military Press[/B]: 65 x 9/7/6 (22)
2 more reps that last time. I'll stay at 65.

[B]Pullup[/B]: BW-35 x 14/10/10 (34)
I've been feeling really strong on pullups. Made the rep goal pretty easily again. I'll increase to BW-30.

[B]Incline DB Press[/B]: 35's x 15/10/9 (34)
Felt super strong on the first set, but wore myself out. I probably should've saved a rep and been fresher for the next sets. Didn't matter much though. I still made my rep goal. Increase to 40's.

[B]One Arm Cable Row[/B]: 45 x 18 - 50 x 18 - 60 x 15 (51)
I decided to change from DB Rows. I way underestimated the weight, and increased after each set. I'll try 70 next time.

[B]Straight Arm Pulldown[/B]: 32.5 x 16/14/14 (44)
Increase to 37.5

[B]Face Pull[/B]: 27.5 x 16/15/15 (46)
Increase to 32.5


After an 8 day break, I was feeling really fresh today. I'll be out of town for the weekend. I should be able to start getting in a good groove next week. I'm getting settled in at the new job, and with the working hours I should be able to lift after work 4 days/week. I'm totally looking forward to getting on a consistent schedule for the first time in quite a while.

[B]Lower #1[/B]
LIfted after work today. I'm still struggled to adjust to my new work/sleep schedule. I haven't been able to fall asleep early, so I've been pretty tired. Aside from that, I was feeling okay.


[B]Back Squat[/B]: 115 x 10/9/8/8 (35)
Finally made it. I narrowed my stance and that helped keep be more balanced between my left and right legs. I'll increase to 120.

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 190 x 11/10/9 (30)
These felt good. Increase to 195.

[B]Hack Squat[/B]: 105 x 12/10/8/ (30)
Doing these after squats and deadlifts if some seriously masochistic ****. Why am I doing this? lol. I hit my rep goal, so I'll increase to 110.

[B]Lying Leg Curl[/B]: 90 x 12/11/11 (34)
Increase to 95.

[B]Single Leg Press[/B]: 30 x 13/13/13 (39)
These were painful. My legs were jello at this point. I was worried they were going to give out, but I somehow managed to hit my goal relatively easily. Increase to 40.

[B]Decline Crunch[/B]: 15 x 16/14/12 (42)
Felt strong here. Increase to 20.

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]: 65 x 6/12/10 (28)
The weight wasn't really a problem here. The problem was that my legs were cramping up. I'll stay at 65.


Good session overall. I shouid be back for Upper day tomorrow.

[B][U]Upper #2[/U][/B]
I didn't make it to the gym yesterday. Went today though. It doesn't really matter. Out of Tuesday and Wednesday I was only going to be able to lift one day regardless. Was short of sleep. Still trying to adjust to my new work/sleep schedule.

[B]Bench Press[/B]: 120 x 10/7/5/5 (27)
I felt really good on the first set, but I pretty much exhausted myself and paid for it on the remaining sets. I'll stay at 120.

[B]Barbell Row[/B]: 125 x 8/8/8/7 (31)
I'm satisfied with this. I struggled to maintain solid form, and that was what prevented me from hitting my rep goal. I'm happy with the reps I completed though. I'll stay at 125.

[B]Military Press[/B]: 65 x 10/8/7 (25)
3 More reps than last time. I just barely got rep 25, but I managed to lock it out. I'm pumped to finally be making some progress on this, since I basically didn't make any for the first several months I did OHP and Push Press. Increase to 70.

[B]Pullup[/B]: BW-30 x 12/10/8 (30)
I'm finally to a point where I struggled to hit my rep goal. Just barely got up for that last rep. I'll try BW-25 next time.

[B]Lateral Raise[/B]: 15's x 13/10/8 (31)
I finally felt like I was doing these the right way. Increase to 17.5's.

[B]Barbell Shrug[/B]: 100 x 16/14/12 (42)
Well this is odd. I did 10 more reps than I did at 95 last time. It must be a difference in the weight I was using. I was previously using the shorter barbells that a fixed weight. Today I used a regular barbell with plates. I'm guessing the fixed weight barbells weigh more than what they say... Anyway, I'll increase to 110.

[B]Barbell Curl[/B]: 60 x 8/7/5 (20)
Another strange one. After increasing the weight 5 pounds, I did 16 fewer reps. I'm going to attribute it to the equipment again. I had been using an EZ bar previously. Today I had to used a fixed weight, straight barbell since that was all that was available. I'll stay at 60.

[B]Skullcrusher[/B]: 30 x 18/16/12 (46)
I was supposed to use a 40lbs EZ bar. The closest I could get was a fixed weight barbell at 30lbs. This weight felt really easy. I've had no problem advancing on this exercise so far, so I'll go ahead an increase to 45lbs next time.

[B]Overhead Cable Extension[/B]: 6.5 x 11/11/11 (33)
I finally managed to get on the same equipment I used last time. I just came up a little bit short here, so I'll stay at a 6.5 setting next time.

[B]Cable Hammer Curl[/B]: 3.5 x 13/10/10 (33)
5 more reps than I did last time. Still didn't hit the 35 rep goal, so I'll stay at a 3.5 setting.


Good day today. The only real downside was that the gym was packed, and I wasn't able to use the equipment I wanted to on a few exercises. Otherwise it was a solid effort. Tomorrow will be an off day. Gonna enjoy some turkey and football, and plan to be back in the gym on Friday.

[B][U]Lower #2[/U][/B]
Man, it feels good to be on a somewhat more consistent schedule. I can definitely tell the difference in my workouts. I'm able to get in the groove more quickly, and recover faster.
I've been fighting a bit of a cold, which I probably picked up due to my lack of sleep lately. I was feeling pretty darn good at the start of today's workout though.

[B]Back Squat[/B]: 120 x 8/8/8/7 (31)
I probably could've fit one more rep in somewhere. I really started to lock in the movement/form on the third set, and probably could've gotten 9 reps. Last set felt good too, and I may have been able to do one more rep. I was going to keep the weight at 120 next time regardless though. I want at least one more good session at this weight before I increase.

[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B]: 185 x 11/9/10 (30)
For the first time ever (I think?) I hit my rep goal, but I'm not going to increase the weight. I made a small adjustment to my form, which seemed to hit my glutes harder than before. I actually did 10 reps in the second set, but I didn't like my form on the last rep, so I didn't count it. The last set felt really good. I'll do one more session at this weight.

[B]Leg Press[/B]: 220 x 15/13/13 (41)
No problem here. I'll increase to 250.

[B]Leg Extension[/B]: 110 x 12/11/11 (34)
One more rep than last time. Not great, but it's still progress. I'll stay at 110.

[B]Leg Curl[/B]: 120 x 13/13/11 (37)
Increase to 125.

[B]Decline Crunch[/B]: 20 x 16/14/12 (42)
I feeling really strong on these now. Increase to 25.

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]: 65 x 16/14/12 (42)
My biggest problem with calves is cramping. I'd imagine it's partially due to fatigue after demolishing my legs. I probably need to get more water in me during the day too. I haven't been drinking enough lately. I felt a little bit of a twinge during the first set, but was fine after that. Increase to 70.


I lifted on Tuesday and Wednesday, had Thursday off, and then was back today (Friday). I should be able to lift tomorrow too. That will be 4 out of the last 5 days. This'll be the first time I've lifted 4 days in a week in a couple of months, and it feels fantastic. My energy level is better both inside and out of the gym. I'm feeling stronger during my workouts. I'm hoping I can keep this up for a while, and I don't see any reason why I can't. I need to get my diet back in order though. I've been in the middle of a huge remodeling job, and I've been without a kitchen for about 3 weeks already. It's probably going to be 2 or 3 more weeks before it's usable again. It's killing me. I've put on about 4 or 5 pounds already (I was trying to be on a cut right now, but the food I'm eating isn't filling me up so I'm taking in more calories than I should be.) I can't wait to get everything back to normal. I just need to try to maintain until then. At least one part of the equation is headed the right direction now.

[B][U]Upper #1[/U][/B]
I was sick and tired on the weekend, and didn't end up getting in my fourth workout for the week. I was back at it today.


[B]Bench Press[/B]: 120 x 8/7/6/5 (26)
I wasn't able to get on bench right away, so I ended up doing this after rows and military press. It definitely affected the performance because I wasn't as fresh as I usually am. Weight will stay at 120.

[B]Barbell Row[/B]: 125 x 10/9/9/8 (36)
I feel like I'm getting back in the groove on the rows. Increase to 130.

[B]Military Press[/B]: 70 x 8/7/5 (20)
I'll stay at 70 next time.

[B]Pullup[/B]: BW-25 x 13/9/8 (30)
Still making good progress. I started out at BW-55. I'm increasing to BW-20 next time. That improvement has happened while I've also gained about 5lbs. Not bad.

[B]Incline DB Press[/B]: 40's x 12/9/9 (30)
Just barely made it. I failed my tenth rep in the second set. I actually felt stronger in the third set than I did in the second. I'll increase to 45's.

[B]One-Arm Cable Row[/B]: 70 x 15/15/13 (43)
No problem here. Increase to 80.

[B]Straight Arm Pulldown[/B]: 37.5 x 16/13/12 (41)
I completed more reps than I did last time, even with the weight increase. I'll increase again, to 42.5.

[B]Face Pull[/B]: 32.5 x 16/14/14 (44)
Increase to 37.5.


My progress is slowing, as far as weight increases. This was probably one of my best workouts yet though. Even though I'm completing fewer reps, I feel like I'm getting more out of each rep. I don't know if that makes sense, lol. I'm not leaving as many reps on the table, and I'm not doing as many bad reps. The ones that I'm doing are done right, and I'm pushing my limits as far as I can. I'll be back for Lower day tomorrow.

[B][U]Lower #1[/U][/B]
This workout was completed yesterday. I arrived feeling good, ready to go. From the beginning though, everything felt out of whack once I started lifting. I struggled to balance. I struggled to get loosened up. Most of the workout felt off.


[B]Back Squat[/B]: 120 x 8/8/8/7 (31)
This was a mess. A bunch of the reps looked and felt terrible. I'll do the same weight again next time.

[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B]: 185 x 12/10/9 (31)
I've decided to stop doing two different deadlift variants. I'm just going to do RDL's from now on. I'll increase to 190.

[B]Hack Squat[/B]: 110 x 8/7/7 (22)
Uhg. These sucked. I couldn't get into a position that felt natural. I ended up doing much fewer reps because I felt like I may hurt myself if I pushed it any further. I felt like I had the form kind of figured out after the last two times I've done these, but it just wasn't happening today. I'll stay at 110.

[B]Lying Leg Curl[/B]: 95 x 13/13/12 (38)
Made this easily. Increase to 100.

[B]Single Leg Press[/B]: 40 x 15/13/13 (41)
I'll increase to 50 next time.

[B]Decline Crunch[/B]: 25 x 15/15/13 (43)
Still feeling really good doing these. I completed almost as many reps here as I did when I started with just bodyweight crunches about a month ago. I'll increase to 30 next time.

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]: 70 x 12/13/12 (37)
Cramped up again during the first set. I managed to get my calves loosened up afterward, and the last two sets were pretty solid. I'll stay at 70.


Off day today. I should be able to lift again tomorrow.

[B][U]Upper #2[/U][/B]
I lifted much later than normal yesterday evening. I wasn't able to do my exercises in the correct order because there were no benches available. Other than that everything went well. My primary focus was on being more explosive. I've found myself being too controlled since I've been trying to focus on form, and on most of the exercises I feel like I"m at a point where I can stop obsessing about form and just go for it.


[B]Barbell Row[/B]: 130 x 8/8/8/8 (32)
For some reason, on this particular exercise it always takes me at least one working set to get my muscles working right, even though I typically do a couple of warmup sets. The 8th rep on the first set was harder than it was in sets 2 and 3. I want to do 1 more session at this weight, because I had one or two reps I wasn't really happy with, and counting them was questionable.

[B]Military Press[/B]: 70 x 10/7/7 (24)
I used some different cues that seemed to help be generate more force on this lift. I wasn't expecting this many reps after doing only 20 last time. I'll stay at 70.

[B]Pullup[/B]: BW-20 x 13/11/9 (33)
I'm continuing to crush it on pullups. Increase to BW-15.

[B]Bench Press[/B]: 120 x 9/7/6/5 (27)
Doing these 4th instead of 1st definitely made a difference. I still managed to get one more rep than last time. I'll do 120 again next time.

[B]Lateral Raise[/B]: 17.5's x 10/9/8 (27)
I'll stay at 17.5's.

[B]Barbell Shrug[/B]: 110 x 13/12/12 (37)
Felt good. Increase to 115.

[B]Barbell Curl[/B]: 65 x 7 : 55 x 9/9 (25)
I was supposed to do this with 60lbs, but with the equipment that was available I had to choose between 55 and 65. Used 65 on the first set, and realized it was too heavy. Used 55 for sets 2 and 3. I'll stay at 55lbs next time.

[B]Skullcrusher[/B]: 45 x 11/11/10 (32)
I'm finally getting to a challenging weight. Had to really push myself to get over 30 reps. Increase to 50.

[B]Overhead Cable Extension[/B]: 6.5 x 16/16/15 (47)
I have no idea what the hell happened here... I did 14 more reps than last time at this weight. I may have even left a rep or two in the tank. Increase to 7 (I have no idea what weight that translates to).

[B]Cable Hammer Curl[/B]: 3.5 x 15/14/12 (41)
Another big jump on this one...8 more reps than last time. I'm not sure I should attribute it to a bad day last time, a good day this time, or the focus on explosiveness. Doesn't really matter I guess. Increase to 4.


I felt really satisfied with this session. I'm pretty much continuing to make progress across the board. I hope to get in my Lower #2 workout either Sunday or Monday.

[U][B]Lower #2[/B][/U]
I'm not going to be breaking down the reps per set anymore. I'm already tracking my workouts both on paper and in a spreadsheet, so I'll just be using this thread to give basic updates on my progress, and anything else I feel is noteworthy.

[U]Back Squat[/U]: 120 pounds x 37 reps
Finally had a big breakthrough! Using some of the same cues I mentioned in the last post helped enormously. I had been actually focusing too much on pushing with my legs, and wasn't pushing against the bar with my upper back. Focusing on doing both simultaneously made the movement feel so much better and more natural, and improved my balance tenfold. The 37 reps was a 6 rep increase from last time, and I probably left one or two reps in the tank.
[B]Increase to 125[/B].

[U]Romanian Deadlift[/U]: 190 x 31
One more rep than last time, and it felt easier.
[B]Increase to 195[/B].

[U]Leg Press[/U]: 250 x 37
These felt fantastic today. I finally got my feet placed right, and the movement felt really smooth.
[B]Increase to 260[/B].

[U]Leg Extension[/U]: 110 x 31
I've really stalled out here. I think I can partially attribute it to the fact that I'm lifting heavier weights on the exercises I do prior to these. Could be wishful thinking though.
Anyway, the weight will [B]stay at 110[/B] again next time.

[U]Leg Curl[/U]: 125 x 33
Came up a few reps short.
I'll [B]stay at 125[/B].

[U]Decline Crunch[/U]: 30 x 40
I had to really push on the second and third sets to get to 40. Just barely made it.
I'll [B]increase to 35[/B].

[U]Seated Calf Raise[/U]: 70 x 43
Huge improvement here. I spent a decent amount of time stretching my calves before doing these, and it definitely seemed to help. I felt like I was going to cramp up a couple times, but never did.
[B]Increase to 75[/B].


This was the best workout I've had in a long time. Even though I didn't hit all of my rep goals, I felt like I pretty much crushed it on every exercise. My energy was high throughout, and I was able to work at a good pace.

[B][U]Upper #1[/U][/B]

[U]Bench Press[/U]: 120 pounds x 30 reps
I listed the weight as 120 above, but I accidentally lifted 125 on the first set. I probably would've hit my rep goal if I'd done it at 120, but it would've been close.
I'll [B]stay at 120[/B].

[U]Pullup[/U]: BW-15 x 26
This is the first time I've really struggled with Pullups since starting this program. I didn't even get close to making it.
[B]Stay at BW-15[/B].

[U]Incline DB Press[/U]: 45's x 24
Not even close to my goal of 30 reps.
[B]Stay at 45's[/B].

[U]Barbell Row[/U]: 130 x 32
Hit my rep goal. I had one or two borderline reps again, but since I've hit 32 reps the last two times I'm going to bump up the weight next time.
[B]Increase to 135[/B].

[U]Military Press[/U]: 70 x 19
Wow. I did 5 fewer reps than last time, and 1 fewer rep than the time before that. Disappointing.
[B]Stay at 70[/B].

[U]One-Arm Cable Row[/U]: 80 x 37
Made it easily.
[B]Increase to 80[/B].

[U]Straight Arm Pulldown[/U]: 42.5 x 34
Well short of my 40 rep goal.
[B]Stay at 42.5[/B].

[U]Face Pull[/U]: 37.5 x 41
[B]Increase to 42.5[/B].

My right shoulder was really bothering me today, and definitely affected my performance. I've had shoulder issues for 20 years and never had them checked out by a doctor. It hasn't really limited me noticeably in the gym until today. I'll give it a few days rest, and then if it continues to bother me I'll probably go get it checked out. I also had to shift the order of my exercises because the equipment I needed wasn't available when I needed to use it. It ended up working out already because I was able to alternate between the pressing a pulling motions. Doing Military Press, for example, fifth instead of third certainly made a difference. I don't think it was the difference in me making or not making my rep goals though. I was pretty happy with the workout, aside from the weakness and discomfort in my shoulder. Over the next two day I'll be lifting one day and off on the other. Not sure which day I'll be lifting though. If I get off work at a decent hour tomorrow then I'll lift. Otherwise I'll need to wait until Friday.

A note on my diet and weight... My weight is continuing to creep back up (somewhere around 168-170, up from about 162). I've been without a kitchen for almost 5 weeks now, and that's the primary reason for the weight gain. I've probably been eating less food actually, but the quality of the food is worse, and I'm sure that's what's getting me. I might not have a working kitchen until next year (hopefully it won't take that long). It's really not the end of the world. I was a bit unsure if I wanted to cut or bulk anyway, and I guess it's turned into a bulking phase. I know I won't have any problem cutting weight once I can cook again. In the meantime I'll just try my best to maintain my current weight.

[B][U]Lower #1[/U][/B]
This was yesterdays workout. Just got a chance to post it now.

[U]Back Squat[/U]: 125 pounds x 31 reps
I'm not sure if it was a problem with foot positioning, but the alignment of my feet, knees, and hips felt off. My right knee was cracking on each rep.
[B]Stay at 125[/B]

[U]Romanian Deadlift[/U]: 195 x 24
I really struggled to hold onto the bar today. I had to keep re-gripping. I'll give it one more try before I change to a mixed grip.
[B]Stay at 195[/B]

[U]Hack Squat[/U]: 110 x 31
After feeling like everything was out of whack on the first two exercises, the Hack Squats felt fantastic. Strange... This is the exercise I've had the hardest time learning, and suddenly (amidst a seemingly bad day), it felt great. I had been considering switching to Front Squats instead, but I glad I stuck it out for this session. I'm definitely going to leave this one in for a while, now that I know I can do it smoothly.
[B]Increase to 115[/B]

[U]Single Leg Press[/U]: 50 x 39
These felt great for the second time in a row. I feel like I can focus on just pushing as hard as possible now, and continue increasing the weight.
[B]Increase to 60[/B]

[U]Lying Leg Curl[/U]: 100 x 35
[B]Increase to 105[/B]

[U]Decline Crunch[/U]: 35 x 37
Holding a larger plate meant that the weight had to sit higher up on my torso. The difference in positioning was noticeable, and was probably the main reason I didn't make it to 40 reps. I'm still pretty happy with how close I got though.
[B]Stay at 35[/B]

[U]Seated Calf Raise[/U]: 75 x 42
Got my calves stretched out good, and there was no sign of cramping. This was a relief, since Lower day #1 has by far been the worst for me when it comes to my legs cramping up.
[B]Increase to 80[/B]


This was an odd session. For the first two exercises everything felt like a struggle. Once I got to the Hack Squats, something clicked and then the rest of the workout went relatively smoothly.
I'm still making good progress overall.

[B][U]Upper #2[/U][/B]
I took an extra day off since my shoulders were bothering me on my last upper day. I was feeling fully recovered, and didn't experience any shoulder issues during my workout today.


[U]Military Press[/U]: 70 pounds x 22 reps
3 More reps than last time is good progress.
[B]Stay at 70[/B]

[U]Pullup[/U]: BW-15 x 29
Another 3 rep improvement on pullups.
[B]Stay at BW-15[/B]

[U]Lateral Raise[/U]: 17.5's x 30
You guessed it...a 3 rep improvement. Hit my rep goal.
[B]Increase to 20's[/B]

[U]Barbell Shrug[/U]: 115 x 40
This felt surprisingly easy. I might be able to handle a 10 pound increase, but I'm happy to just continue making steady progress.
[B]Increase to 120[/B]

[U]Barbell Row[/U]: 135 x 30
[B]Stay at 135[/B]

[U]Bench Press[/U]: 120 x 29
I'm getting annoyed by how long it's taking me to hit my rep goal on this lift. I was still 3 reps short today. I'm having a really hard time even getting on a bench, which isn't helping matters. Instead of doing this lift first, it was the 5th exercise I did. The fatigue was definitely higher than it is when I get on it right away. This was about the 3rd time in a row that I've had a hard time getting on a bench. It's pretty frustrating.
[B]Stay at 120[/B]

[U]Barbell Curl[/U]: 55 x 30
This was a good weight for me. It was challenging, and I just barely managed to make it to my 30 rep goal.
[B]Increase to 60[/B]

[U]Skullcrusher[/U]: 55 x 24
I was only supposed to use 50 pounds, but 55 was the closest I could get. Not a bad result, considering.
I'll try [B]55 again [/B]next time.

[U]Overhead Cable Extension[/U]: 7 x 40
Feeling strong on this one.
[B]Increase to 7.5[/B]

[U]Cable Hammer Curl[/U]: 4 x 31
[B]Stay at 4[/B]


Pretty good day today. I struggled with the Bench Press, but performed well on pretty much everything else. I have the next two days off of work. I'll lift tomorrow for sure, and may go on Wednesday as well if I'm feeling decently recovered. Going earlier in the day should allow me to do all of my exercises in the correct order, so I'd prefer to do that even though it would mean lifting 3 days in a row. We'll see...

[B][U]Lower #2[/U][/B]
Worked out in the morning, on an empty stomach. I seem to have more energy when I workout on an empty stomach. When I've eaten prior to working out, I start out with a lot of energy, but then my energy level seems to drop faster.


[U]Back Squat[/U]: 125 pounds x 35 reps
Felt good today. I warmed up my legs a bit by shooting some hoops for about 10 minutes. I also did more warm up sets than I've typically been doing. I needed the extra prep today since my right knee was bothering me a bit. It definitely helped. I also made another small tweak to my form, making sure I really squeeze my glutes. That seemed to help also. I've seen a big improvement in my form over the last couple of weeks. Still have some more work to do though.
[B]Increase to 130[/B]

[U]Romanian Deadlift[/U]: 195 x 31
My grip has been the primary limiting factor the last two times I've done this lift. My grip help up longer today, but I ended up having to change to a mixed grip on the last set because my hands and forearms were done. I'll continue to use a normal grip for as long as my hands can handle it, but I'm not going to let grip strength delay my progress, so I'll use a mixed grip as needed.
[B]Increase to 200[/B]

[U]Leg Press[/U]: 260 x 37
I feel like I could probably lift significantly more. I'm worried that I'll get the weight lowered and not be able to push it, and that's holding me back from really pushing it to the limit. I'll bump it up another 10 pounds.
[B]Increase to 260[/B]

[U]Leg Extension[/U]: 110 x 36
Finally! This is the first time I've hit my rep goal on this exercise since starting the program.
[B]Increase to 115[/B]

[U]Leg Curl[/U]: 125 x 38
[B]Increase to 130[/B]

[U]Decline Crunch[/U]: 35 x 36
This was 1 less rep than last time. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm thinking I had the angle set steeper this time...
[B]Stay at 35[/B]

[U]Seated Calf Raise[/U]: 80 x 44
Continuing to make good progress here. No sign of cramping at all. The extra stretching I've been doing on my calves has helped enormously.
[B]Increase to 85[/B]


Really solid session today. I hit my rep goals on everything except abs. I'm glad I ended up taking yesterday off, because I wouldn't have been able to do my Upper day today. My triceps in particular are pretty sore still. I should be good to go tomorrow though.

[B][U]Upper #1[/U][/B]

[U]Bench Press[/U]: 120 pounds x 33 reps
FINALLY! Good god, I never thought it could be this difficult for me to increase my bench when I'm starting out so low. It must have been my lucky day because I was able to get on a bench right away. I felt fresh.
[B]Increase to 125[/B]

[U]One-Arm Cable Row[/U]: 90 x 37
[B]Increase to 100[/B]

[U]Military Press[/U]: 70 x 25
This was the best I've ever felt on this lift. Hit my goal with one rep to spare.
[B]Increase to 75[/B]

[U]Barbell Row[/U]: 135 x 34
I never quite know how strict to be on my form for this exercise. My last rep on each of the first three sets was less than perfect, but not so poor that I didn't want to count it. I did the most reps on my last set, with the best form, which seems odd. I might've kept the weight the same if it weren't for the great last set.
[B]Increase to 140[/B]

[U]Incline DB Press[/U]: 45's x 26
Two more reps than last time. My biggest challenge is getting the DB's in the right position for my first rep. On the first set today I struggled to get the first rep up. I was able to do the rest of the reps in the set just fine, but I fatigued myself on the first one, which left me with less energy on the later reps. In the second set I got into a good position initially, and completed more reps than I had in the first set. The third set started off well too. I feel like I've figured out how to get into a good position at the beginning now. We'll see if it carries over next time...
[B]Stay at 45's[/B]

[U]Pullup[/U]: BW-15 x 28
I completed one less rep than last time. I did this exercise much later in my session than I typically do though, so I'm okay with the result.
[B]Stay at BW-15[/B]

[U]Straight Arm Pulldown[/U]: 42.5 x 40
This was an increase from 34 reps last time, so it was a pretty big jump.
[B]Increase to 47.5[/B]

[U]Face Pull[/U]: 42.5 x 39
So close to my 40 rep goal...but didn't quite make it.
[B]Stay at 42.5[/B]


I've strung together a series of really solid workouts now. This is the first time I've ever lifted while bulking (though I wasn't intentionally bulking, lol), and even though I'm putting on some fat I'm definitely getting some good muscle growth as well. I'm seeing a visible difference when I look in the mirror, which is certainly encouraging.
I'm tentatively planning to lift again tomorrow. The weather is going to be the determining factor though. We're supposed to get a decent amount of snow. If we do, I won't be lifting, because if I lift I won't be able to shovel snow afterwards, lol. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad.

I suppose I should get back on this...

Due to life circumstances, after my last post I basically didn't lift for the 3 months. I've been pretty consistent since resuming in the spring, but was hampered by a shoulder derangement, that left me unable to do any pushing exercises, and most pulling exercises. It's healed up now, and I'm recovering my strength on those exercises at a pretty steady pace; nearly back to where I was previously.

My posts in this thread are probably going to be short and sweet. I've been working over 60 hours per week for basically the last 10 months, and don't expect that to change for at least a few more months. Which means that time is in short supply, and that's why I haven't been posting my progress, and why I won't be typing extensively now.

On to today's workout...


[B]Macro #9 / Lift #4 / Supplemental Scheme #2[/B]

[U]Core (90% of 1RM)[/U]
[B]Deadlift [/B]= 280 x 5/2/2

This was a new personal best. My estimated 1RM is now at 325lbs.

[U]Supplementals (3-4 Sets/8-10 Reps)[/U]
[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B] = 175 x 10/10/10

[B]Hyperextension [/B]= 60 x 10/10/10

[B]Leg Curl[/B] = 120 X 10/10/10

[B]Face Pull[/B] = 42.5 X 10/10/10

All Supplemental's will increase by 5lbs next time.

[B][U]Macro #9 / Press #4 / Supplemental Scheme #2[/U][/B]
[U]
Core (90% of 1RM)[/U]
[B]Bench Press[/B] = 115 x 12/2/2

New estimated 1RM is 155

[U]Supplementals (3-4 Sets/8-10 Reps)[/U]
[B]Overhead DB Press[/B] = 25's x 10/10/10

[B]Incline DB Press[/B] = 30's x 10/10/10

[B]Tricep Pressdown[/B] = 47.5 X 10/10/10

[B]Decline Crunch[/B] = 70 X 10/10/10


All Supplemental's will increase by 5lbs next time.
My pressing exercises are still in recovery mode from my shoulder injury. I started out with extremely light weights (only the bar on bench press, for example), and a plan to increase them slowly. It's definitely going to take some time to build up strength.

[B][U]Macro #9 / Squat #4 / Supplemental Scheme #2[/U][/B]

[U]Core (90% of 1RM)[/U]
[B]Back Squat[/B] = 175 x 5/2/2

New estimated 1RM is 200

[U]Supplementals (3-4 Sets/8-10 Reps)[/U]
[B]Single Leg Press[/B] = 100 x 10/10/10

[B]Front Squat[/B] = 90 x 10/10/10

[B]Leg Extension[/B] = 105 X 10/10/10

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B] = 60 X 10/10/10

[B][U]Macro #9 / Pull #4 / Supplemental Scheme #2[/U][/B]

[U]Core (90% of 1RM)[/U]
[B]Bent Row[/B] = 150 x 6/2/2

New estimated 1RM is 175

[U]Supplementals (3-4 Sets/8-10 Reps)[/U]
[B]Pullup[/B] = BW-55 x 10/10/10

[B]Cable Row[/B] = 115 x 10/10/10

[B]Hammer Curl[/B] = 25's X 10/10/10

[B]Decline Crunch[/B] = 75 X 10/10/10


Another Macrocycle in the books. Here's the progress I made on the Core lifts in Macro #9:
Deadlift: 315-->325
Bench Press: 130-->155
Squat: 195-->200
Row: 170-->175

Continuing to make steady progress on the deadlift. A lot of the improvement is still coming as a result of improving my form over time.
Bench took a huge jump up. This was the first time in a while that my shoulders have felt healthy, and it showed.
I've added 40lbs to my squat in about the last 5 months. Like the deadlift, a lot of that is just a result of performing the lift more efficiently.
My 1RM is down from a high point of over 200 on rows, but I've tightened up my form and stayed really strict about it. I feel like my muscle strength has increased despite the lower 1RM.

[B][U]Macro #10 / Lift #1 / Supplemental Scheme #3[/U][/B]

[U]Core (60% of 1RM)[/U]
[B]Deadlift [/B]= 195 x 8/8/14

I need to work on tightening up my lats on this lift. I do a pretty good job of keeping my lower back flat, but that's not the case with my upper back. I tend to let my shoulder drop. If feels like it's putting unnecessary strain on my collar bone and my shoulders, especially on the right side. This will be a good area for me to focus on and improve over the next few weeks.

[U]Supplementals (4 Sets x 6 Reps)[/U]
[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B] = 200 x 6/6/6/6

[B]Hyperextension[/B] = 75 x 6/6/6/6

[B]Leg Curl[/B] = 130 X 6/6/6/6

[B]Face Pull[/B] = 42.5 X 20/18
I had to stop doing 4x6 on Face Pulls because I'm not heavy enough to counterbalance the weight. I'm now alternating between 20x2 and 10x3. I'll probably add another set before increasing the weight.

[B][U]Macro #10 / Press #1 / Supplemental Scheme #3[/U][/B]

[U]Core (60% of 1RM)[/U]
[B]Bench Press[/B] = 95 x 8/8/18


[U]Supplementals (4 Sets x 6 Reps)[/U]
[B]Overhead DB Press[/B] = 35's x 6 : 30's x 6/6/6
30's weren't available when I started, so I went heavier on the first set. I doubt I would've made all my reps at that weight.

[B]Incline DB Press[/B] = 35's x 6/6/6/6

[B]Tricep Pressdown[/B] = 52.5 X 6/6/6/6

[B]Decline Crunch[/B] = 95 X 6/6/6/6

I'll increase the weight by 5lbs on the first 3 supplementals. I don't think I can handle any more weight on the decline crunches. I was struggling to control the weight while doing them, and I don't really want to drop 100lbs on my face, lol. I'll either change to a different exercise, or just eliminate this rep scheme for decline crunches, and alternate between 10 and 20 rep sets each time I do them. I haven't decided yet.

After running GST for the last six months, I'm changing it up. I love the program, but I've been unable to lift 4 times per week on a consistent basis. After doing some searching about for a 3 day program that I think will be effective and enjoyable for me, I've settled on the [url=https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=169993933]Beginner Powerbuilding Routine[/url], which is one of the stickied threads in the Workout Programs section of the forum. My first day is in the books.

Here's how the workouts are structured:
[img]https://s7.postimg.org/3qvex591n/image.jpg[/img]

If you're interested in understanding the progression scheme, I suggest checking out the thread because I'm not going to explain it fully here.
I'll be listing the weight used, along with the number of reps completed (Weight x Reps).

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 115 x 6/6/6/8
I'll increase to 125

[B]Pendlay Row:[/B] 115 x 6/6/6/9
I'll increase to 130

[B]Squat:[/B] 135 x 5 / 145 x 4 / 155 x 3 / 165 x 2 / 175 x 1
I'll drop to 130 because my form failed on a few reps

[B]Chin-Up:[/B] BW-40 x 10/10/9
I'll go to BW-35 next time. I'm planning to progress slowly since my shoulder is still somewhat in recovery.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 65 x 6/6/6/10
Increase to 75

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 225 x 9 / 235 x 4 / 245 x 3 / 255 x 2 / 265 x 1
Increase to 235

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 85 x 6/6/6/14
Could've done quite a few more reps. I'm starting light on this since I've not done Lat Pulldowns before. I'll be increasing relatively slowly so I have time to get comfortable with it and get my form right. I'll increase to 95.

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 40 x 20/20
Also no experience doing these. Though I completed the 20 reps in both sets, I probably should've started with a lighter weight. I felt some discomfort in my shoulder, presumably because I wasn't keeping my lats engaged. I'll drop down to 35 next time, and proceed cautiously for the near future.

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]
[B]Bench Press[/B]: 125 x 6/6/6/5
Dropping down to 120. For some reason I cannot seem to get my right shoulder/arm settled in a position that feels comfortable, and as a result my movement path is awkward and inefficient. Need to get that straightened out.

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 130 x 6/6/6/8
I'll increase to 135

[B]Squat[/B]: 130 x 6 / 140 x 4 / 150 x 3 / 160 x 2 / 170 x 1
Back up to 135

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: BW-35 x 10/10/10
Going to BW-30 next time around

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 75 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 80

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 235 x 9 / 245 x 4 / 255 x 3 / 265 x 2 / 275 x 1
Increase to 245

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 95 x 6/6/6/16
It felt infinitely better this time. I was able to push a bit harder since it felt like everything was moving correctly. I've done quite a few pullups over the last year or so, and imagining pulling myself up instead of pulling the weight down turned out to be a good mental cue for me. I was able to focus on moving the weight with my back instead of whatever muscles I was using last time, lol. Still going to proceed cautiously. I'll increase to 105.

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 35 x 20/20
Up to 40lbs next time

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]
[B]Bench Press[/B]: 125 x 6/6/6/9
For the first time ever, the bench press movement felt 'right'. I realized what I was doing wrong after reading an article about bar path ([url]https://www.strongerbyscience.com/bench-press-bar-path/[/url]), and was able to correct it immediately. There was an obvious difference in both my comfort level and performance. It felt good to finally make some progress on this lift.

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 135 x 6/6/6/7
Increase to 140

[B]Squat[/B]: 135 x 10 / 145 x 4 / 155 x 3 / 165 x 2 / 175 x 1
Took a big jump up in reps here too. For the first time ever, I tried doing squats with a lower bar position. The difference was clear, and I was able to increase my reps pretty significantly (doubled my reps compared to last time at this weight). It's not a squatting style I'm comfortable using on a regular basis though. It put a lot of stress on my wrists, elbows, and shoulders (due to insufficient flexibility, I'm sure). I may try it again at some point, but I'm not ready to do low bar on a regular basis. I'll increase the weight to 140.

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: BW-30 x 10/10/7
I'll go to BW-25 next time.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 80 x 6/6/6/7
Increase to 85

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 245 x 9 / 255 x 4 / 265 x 3 / 275 x 2 / 285 x 1
Increase to 255

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 105 x 6/6/6/14
This is the first time I've really pushed myself on this lift. I'll increase to 115.

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 40 x 20/20
Increasing to 45lbs next time


On another note, I came across a video on a concept I hadn't heard of before. It's called Time Restricted Eating. It essentially says that there's scientific evidence that if you keep the total time between your first meal (actually, the first time you ingest anything except water) and your last meal to less than 12 hours, you'll be much healthier. It says that the enzymes in your body that metabolize things you inject begin to shut down after 12 hours. Additionally, it there's evidence that it can result in an increase of muscle mass, regardless of whether you exercise or not. Here's the video, I highly recommend checking it out, and I'll be trying to adhere to this for a while and see what kind of results I get:
[youtube]m6KClPkotxM[/youtube]

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 125 x 6/6/6/7
Just realized that I listed the weight for my last bench press session as 125, when it was actually 120. Today I did 125. Increasing to 130 next time.

[B]Pendlay Row:[/B] 140 x 6/6/6/6
Cheated on a couple of reps. I'll drop down to 135.

[B]Squat:[/B] 140 x 7 / 150 x 4 / 160 x 3 / 170 x 2 / 180 x 1
Felt good overall. Increase to 145.

[B]Chin-Up:[/B] BW-25 x 9/9/8

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press:[/B] 85 x 6/6/6/4
Stuggled to even hit 6 reps on the first three sets. Dropping down to 75 next time.

[B]Deadlift:[/B] 255 x 8 / 265 x 4 / 275 x 3 / 285 x 2 / 295 x 1
Increase to 265

[B]Lat Pulldown:[/B] 115 x 6/6/6/11
Increase to 120.

[B]One Arm Row:[/B] 45 x 20/20
Increase to 50

[B]Comments:[/B]
My form got too loose on the OHP. I haven't done it enough to really get my muscles moving the right way yet. Still struggling to find a grip that feels good. I imagine I'll be increasing and decreasing the weight frequently until I'm able to get the movement ironed out and really focus on moving the weight with the correct muscles. I'm not trying to take any chances with my shoulders after rehabbing them for a couple of months this summer.
Deadlifts felt pretty good. On the last few sets it felt like my hips were firing up before everything else got moving, causing me to put more stress on my lower back to get a full extension. It wasn't too bad, but definitely something I'll have to be careful of.
Not much to say about the other lifts. They're both still really new for me, and I'm feeling them out. I'm increasing slowly on the lat pulldowns, again...not wanting to over stress my shoulders right now. It's feeling good overall though. The one arm rows are pretty straight forward. I honestly wasn't expecting to get to 20 reps on both sets today, since I really struggled to do it last time with a lower weight. They felt good though.
I'm really happy with the progress so far on the new program. It's providing me exactly what I was hoping for... A schedule that I can stick to consistently, and the opportunity to increase the load on lifts more frequently. Here's my progress since September 24th:

Bench: 115 for 8 reps -->125 for 7
Row: 115 x 9-->140 x 6
Squat: 135 x 5--> 140 x 7
Chin-up: BW-40 x 29 (over 3 sets)-->BW-25 x 26

Overhead Press: 65 x 10-->85 x 4
Deadlift: 225 x 9-->255 x 8
Lat Pulldown: 85 x 14-->115 x 11
One Arm Rows: 40 x 20,20-->45 x 20,20

It's nothing amazing. Some of the lifts have seen minimal progress. I'm really happy with the improvement on Bench, Squats, and Deads though. The increased frequency on those is helping for sure. I'm eager to see where I'm at by the end of the year.

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]
[B]Bench Press[/B]: 130 x 6/6/4/4
Dropping to 125

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 135 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 140

[B]Squat[/B]: 145 x 5 / 155 x 4 / 160 x 3 / 165 x 1
Dropping to 135

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: BW-20 x 9/8/7
To BW-15


[B]Comments:[/B]
I took a week off because my recovery was really poor and I felt like I needed a break. I haven't taken an extended break in a few months now. I'm feeling fresh and ready to get back at it.
The theme of the day was to be really strict on form. It's time for me to stop accepting sub-optimal reps, and to stop when my form breaks down so I don't injure myself. Bench and squat took a step backwards as a result, but I'm okay with that. The reps I completed felt really solid aside from 2 Squat reps, which is why only increased by 5 pounds on each set, and ultimately ended up skipping a set. I've always had a tendency to adjust my form on squats when they get heavier so that most of the stress is on my lower back and hamstrings (which are both much stronger than my quads). That habit needs to be broken. Aside from those 2 reps I mentioned, all of the other reps felt fantastic. I was doing them with a full range of motion, and felt more comfortable than I typically do. The Pendlay Rows felt great. I watched a few videos on how to do them correctly, and it was immensely helpful.
Overall, it wasn't a bad session, especially after a week long break. I'll be back in the gym on Saturday if all goes as planned.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 75 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 80

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 265 x 6 / 275 x 4 / 285 x 3 / 295 x 2 / 305 x 1
Increase to 275

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 120 x 6/6/6/10
Increase to 125.

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 50 x (Right) 11/17 / (Left) 17/16
Down to 45

[B]Comments:[/B]
OHP was okay. I was hoping to sqeeze out 1 more rep, but couldn't do it. This is the lift I've struggled to progress on most since I started lifting, and it's pretty damn frustrating.
Deads felt just okay today also. This was the first time I actually lifted over 300lbs, which is awesome. Form felt off compared to the last few times.
Lat Pulldowns felt great. Nothing much else to say. I'll continue increasing slowly since I'm still working out some tiny kinks on this one.
One Arm Rows sucked, to be honest. For some reason I'm really struggling to hold onto the dumbbells. It's not a grip strength issue, it just hurts like hell because of how the weight sit in my hand. It's an issue with callouses and the way the weight rubs and pinches them as I perform the lift. I only got 11 reps first time with my right arm, and it was totally because I couldn't stand to hold onto the dumbbell any longer. I'm not really sure if there's anything I can do about this except just fight through it. I'm sure my hands will continue to toughen up over time. Frustrating to say the least though.

Hey man,

I see you have started GST like a year ago and i'm kinda struggling to decide if i should start GST or The Vikings Bare Bones program, since i'm new to weight lifting. How much did your body change or did you only gain strength increase during the time you did all of this?

Keep in mind that you're not the only one reading this thread and keep grinding man, best of luck!

[QUOTE=kaiyrb;1523448351]Hey man,

I see you have started GST like a year ago and i'm kinda struggling to decide if i should start GST or The Vikings Bare Bones program, since i'm new to weight lifting. How much did your body change or did you only gain strength increase during the time you did all of this?

Keep in mind that you're not the only one reading this thread and keep grinding man, best of luck![/QUOTE]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm in it for the long haul, so no worries there. ;)

It's really hard for me to quantify how much my body changed, and how those changes related to the program I was running at the time. I've been on 3 programs now over the course of the last 16 months. There are clear differences in my body during that time, having gained a good deal of size. I can't really say that one program produced clearly better results than another if we're strictly talking about body changes. I never did any type of measurements except body weight. I didn't run Bare Bones long enough for it to really produce results. I could tell it was a very solid program. I just happened to have some real life things get in the way shortly after I started it, and I fell off the wagon for a bit.

My diet throughout has been pretty poor. I rarely eat really bad foods, but I hate being hungry, so I have a tendency of eating when I get the chance, even if I'm not hungry. I also have a really bad habit of eating too late in the evening, and I drink too damn much coffee. The result of this is that I've gained more fat than I want, and I'm in the process of trying to reverse some of these habits and lean out. Since I've started lifting seriously, I've put on about 15 lbs. I'm carrying a lot more muscle, but I don't really have more definition.

So I guess the primary thing I've noticed is the gain in strength. Body building hasn't necessarily been my focus. As I mentioned in the original post, my main goal is simply to be consistent. After struggling through some periods in my life where my health, weight, and activity levels got to be pretty poor, I'm really just trying to make diet and exercise a priority in my life. I think I've succeeded in that.


Now lets get to the root of the issue for you though...which program is a better fit. Having been on 3 different programs now, including the 2 you mentioned, I can say relatively confidently that any solid program that you can adhere to will produce good results. As someone who was in a similar situation, being new to weight lifting and looking to learn the basics, I saw positives in both programs. Bare Bones will give you a bit more frequency on the lifts, which is good during the learning phase. The only downside of the program for me was that every set felt like a grind very quickly, and being new to the lifts I think my form started to suffer. GST allowed me to progress slower, which gave me more time to perfect my form, while making steady (though possibly slightly slower) progress. I enjoyed having the 1 set each week where I could go all out, and I also enjoyed the other sets where I had to try hard, but not go too far out of my comfort zone and risk poor form and injury. I'm also nearly 43 years old, and had some existing physical pains/discomfort, cracking and popping joints, so I've had good reason to be cautious. Getting strong or big as fast as possible was never something that was important to me. Had I been starting at a younger age though, my priorities would've been different, and I think a different program may have been better for me than either of these two.

So I guess I'm not going to give you clear advice on which to choose, other than to say that you should choose a program you feel like you can stick to long term (minimum 6 months). The program just provides a foundation that allows you an opportunity to grow/improve. Both of those programs have solid foundations. Looking back, I think I personally made a pretty good decision in starting with GST. If I were to go back though, I think I would have taken 1-2 weeks to test out a couple of different programs, to see which of them I felt most comfortable with. I mean...we generally don't buy a car without test driving it. I don't see any harm in doing a short trial period on a couple of different programs and seeing which one you feel most comfortable with.

Good luck with everything. Do you have a log started yet? If not, you should start one. I'd like to follow your progress. I've also found it to be a good incentive to continue being consistent, week after week, after week.

[B][U]Workout A
[/U][/B]
[B]Bench Press[/B]: 125 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 130

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 140 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 145

[B]Squat[/B]: 135 x 7 / 145 x 4 / 155 x 3 / 165 x 2 / 175 x 1
Increase to 140

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: BW-15 x 9/9/7 (25 reps total)
To BW-10


[B]Comments:[/B]
I mentioned in my last post that I've put on about 15 lbs. I weighed in at 176 lbs today. I also started a cut today. Planning to drop to somewhere around 160. I haven't tracked my calories at all up to this point, but it's time to start since I think I sometimes underestimate how much I'm eating. Based on my current weight, and my goal of cutting 1-2 pounds per week, my daily calorie goal came out to 1,500 in My Fitness Pal. I ended up at 1,435 for the day. I'll continue measuring it daily, and probably report on my progress from time to time.

I had a solid session today all around. I'm not sure if it was because of the reduced calorie intake or not, but I got really light headed initially when I started my workout. It didn't go away until I was into about my second set on Rows. Surprisingly, I was able to perform pretty well on the Bench Press anyway. I'm starting to feel pretty comfortable with the bar path now. It's been a huge improvement over the last couple of weeks. The rows felt pretty okay. I need to focus on correct balance, because I'm still having a tendency to shift towards my toes a bit. Squats felt great. This was by far the best I've felt doing them. My balance and overall form felt right. I had great depth. Hoping I can repeat this the next few times I do them. The Chin Ups were solid as well. My body is moving the way I want it to on these. I'm doing a good job of using the right muscles.

Really happy with everything today. I'm glad I've taken some steps to right my form. It feels awesome to do the lifts without worrying about whether I'm going to hurt myself because of poor form. This should give me a good foundation to build from. I'm expecting my progress to be slowed, or maybe even reverse while I'm cutting, but who knows. I still have room for efficiency improvements on all the lifts, and I may be able to continue making strength gains due to that, assuming I'm able to continue refining them.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 80 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 85

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 275 x 6 / 285 x 3 / 295 x 3 / 305 x 1 / 315 x 1
Repeat at 275

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 125 x 6/6/6/80
Increase to 130.

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 45 x 20/20
Increase to 50

[B]Comments:[/B]
OHP felt strong today. I struggled to get 6 reps in the second and third sets, then made a small adjustment to my grip width and it made a huge difference on the final set.
I was happy with my Deadlift result. I pretty much exhausted myself on every alternating set. Had to push hard to get 6 on the first set, then struggled on set #2. Pushed it to the limit on the third set, then struggled in the fourth set. I expect I'll be able to hit all the reps next time.
The One Arm Rows felt much better this time around. I changed the way I held the dumbbells in my hands, and didn't have any issue with gripping them.

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]

[B]Bench Press[/B]: 130 x 6/6/6/7
Increase to 135

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 145 x 6/6/6/8
Increase to 150

[B]Squat[/B]: 140 x 7 / 150 x 4 / 160 x 3 / 170 x 2 / 180 x 1
Increase to 145

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: BW-10 x 8 / BW x 5/5 = 18 reps total
To BW


[B]Comments:[/B]
I made some more good form improvements today on Bench Press. My right arm has had a tendency to flare out away from my body. I figured out some good cue's to help keep it in the right position. Bench is continuing to feel better every time I do it.
Squats were greatly improved. The amount of weight I'm lifting hasn't changed much, but the way I'm lifting it has improved enormously. I'm now doing them will full depth. and maintaining good balance throughout the lift instead of reverting to squatmornings. I can actually feel it working my quads finally.
On Chins, I did my first set at BW-10. I realized it was basically pointless because the assistance wasn't even touching my legs aside from the very beginning of the rep, so I just dropped it and started doing them at bodyweight. I'll continue doing them at bodyweight now, and focus on increasing reps.
I'm feeling really good about my workouts right now. After about a year of lifting, I'm actually starting to feel like I know what I'm doing, lol.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 85 x 4 / 75 x 6/6/7
To 80

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 275 x 5 / 295 x 2 / 305 x 1 / 315 x 0
Repeat at 275
[B]
Lat Pulldown:[/B] 130 x 6 / 100 x 6/6/10
Stay at 130

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: Ran out of time

[B]Comments:[/B]
Everything was out of whack today. I somehow managed to forget it was Halloween yesterday. Ended up walking around the neighborhood for almost 3 hours, and then got to sleep pretty late. I would've lifted on Monday if I had remembered. Anyway, I was able to lift today. They had an open gym at my work today. They have them occasionally, and they're available to anyone who's participate in the company run fitness program. I've not taken advantage of this before because of the limited amount of equipment available. Luckily, the weather was poor and I think most people were eager to get on the road ASAP, so I was able to nab a power rack. I had had to leave work during my lunch break to help out my gf, so I had missed a meal.

My energy level felt decent, but I could tell as soon as I got to my first working set that it was going to be a rough day. I only managed 4 reps in my first OHP set at 85lbs. Rather than eke out a few reps in each of the remaining sets, I lowered the weight to 75 for the remaining sets. Deadlifts started out okay, hitting 5 reps in my AMRAP set compared to 6 last time at the same weight. In my second set, I added 10 pound plates on each side instead of 5 accidentally, and ended up not being able to complete the third rep because my grip gave out. On the 305 and 315 sets I used straps for only the second time ever. Apparently I didn't use them very well, because losing grip of the bar preventing me from hitting one more rep on each of those sets. Lat Pulldowns felt good but I think I used the wrong weight. I initially set it at 130, but it felt heavier than I expected it to compared to the machine I've been using and I struggled to get 6 reps, so I lowered it to 100 for the subsequent sets. In retrospect, I probably should've just left it at 130. I ran out of time and wasn't able to do one arm rows today because the gym was closing down. I'll pick those up where I left off next time. So yeah...kind of a sucky workout today.

Another downer... I'm going to be limited to Mon-Thurs as my available lifting days, possibly long term. I'll also have the occasional opportunity to lift on weekends. Not sure how I'm going to approach it yet. I either need to lift on consecutive days, or only lift 2 days per week. I don't like either alternative. We'll see how it all shakes out though, things could still change I suppose. For this week, since I didn't go on either Monday or Tuesday, I'm definitely planning to lift again tomorrow. I should be okay, having lifted only twice since last Thursday.

My cut is going well so far. I'm really like the MyFitnessPal app. I'm not sure how accurately I'm guessing on some of the foods I've entered in there, and not sure how accurate the calorie projections are, but the scale is going the right way. I've gone from 176.6 down to 173.4 in the last 8 days. Still too soon to say with any certainty that the numbers and the weight trend are legit, but it's looking good so far. I've been under my calorie goal 7 of the 8 days. I've been pretty far under this week so far, after changing my from Brats to Salmon for lunch, and from ground beef to ground chicken breast for dinner. Food quantity has stayed pretty level, while the calorie intake has dropped. Lifting-wise, I'll be happy if I can maintain my current weight on most lifts while I'm cutting.

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]

[B]Bench Press[/B]: 135 x 4/3/3 / 115 x 8
Drop to 130

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 150 x 6/6/6/6
Stay at 150

[B]Squat[/B]: 145 x 7 / 155 x 4 / 165 x 3 / 175 x 1
Stay at 145

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: 6/5/5 16 reps total


[B]Comments:[/B]
Attended the open gym at work again, since it was my only hope of getting in another workout this week. Still felt out of sorts. I needed to get through in an hour, so I was a bit rushed. The equipment felt awkward, and I haven't adjusted to it yet. Now that I've got the pointless whining out of the way, on to the workout...

I struggled on the bench press. I wasted a lot of energy trying to get the bench positioned right, and was never really able to find a hand position that felt right. I dropped the weight on the last set because I think I only would've been able to complete 1 rep, and I wanted to get some more volume in. The rows were okay. I had a few reps with poor form, so I'll repeat at the same weight again and try to eliminate those. Squats felt pretty good actually, and I probably would've hit all the reps had I had a bit more time to rest between reps. I actually did 2 reps on my last set, but one of them was pretty poor so I'm not counting it. I skipped the set I should've done at 185 so I'd have time to do the chin-ups. Chins felt good. This was my first time doing all of my sets without assistance, and I'm pretty happy with the 16 reps. Hoping I can get one or two more next time. I probably won't be able to lift again until Monday unfortunately.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 80 x 6/6/6/5
Stay at 80

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 275 x 5 / 285 x 4 / 295 x 3 / 305 x 2 / 315 x 1
Decrease to 265

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 120 x 6/6/5/4
Drop to 115

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 50 x 20
Stay at 50

[B]Comments:[/B]
I seem to be going in cycles where I hit my reps and increase weights, and then at the higher weight I struggle to hit the reps, and my form suffers as I attempt to hit more reps. I'm then unsatisfied with how I completed the reps and I either drop down to a lower weight, or stay at the same weight and try to be more strict in how I perform the exercise. One step forward. 1/2 or 3/4 step back. Rinse and repeat. The good news is that even when my form gets a bit loose, it's still much better than it was previously, so I'm gradually improving both my form while also gradually increasing the weight I use. Today was a bit of the same.
I tightened up my form on OHP, where I've had a tendency lately of doing something between a push press and an normal OHP. Managed 5 reps, which I'm okay with.

Deadlift produced mixed results. For some reason, I really struggled with my grip again, which is strange since I didn't really have a problem with it the first time at this weight. I got 5 reps on my AMRAP set, but would've certainly had at least 1 more if I could've held onto the bar. I used straps on the following sets, and was able to hit all the reps. The final rep in both the 3 and 2 rep sets were done poorly. The single at 315 was probably the cleanest rep I did all day. I did a really good job of setting my hips lower, and was able to explode out of the hole really well and complete the rep pretty easily with good form. Though I had enough reps in me to merit increasing the weight next time, I didn't actually hit them due to the failed grip. Plus, I'm not happy with some of the reps in the middle sets. The were sloppy, and I need to clean it up to make sure I don't injure myself. As a result, I'm actually going to drop the weight next time.

I have no idea what happened on the Lat Pulldowns. 100 felt relatively easy last time, so I increased to 120. I really struggled, missing a rep on my third set, and hitting only four (with the last being questionable) on the AMRAP set.

I only had time to do one set of one arm row's. I completed 20 reps on each arm, but the last few on each arm certainly weren't great reps. I definitely wouldn't have hit 20 on a second set.

Since I can only lift Mon-Thurs right now, I'm planning to lift again tomorrow, take a rest day on Wednesday, and then lift again on Thursday. I'll be interesting to see how well I'm able to recover.

On the diet front, my weight is essentially unchanged in the last week. I had to guess at my calories one of the days last week since I went to a buffet. I suspect I must've underestimated, because according to My Fitness Pal I was basically right at my calorie goal for that day, but I woke up a couple pounds heavier the next morning. I ended up right at, or under, my calorie goal on the other days. I'll see how it goes this week. If the scale doesn't jive with the app, I'll need to adjust my calorie goal moving forward.

[B][U]Workout A[/U][/B]

[B]Bench Press[/B]: 130 x 6/6/5
Stay at 130

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]: 150 x 6/6/6/7
Increase to 155

[B]Squat[/B]: 145 x 5 / 155 x 4 / 165 x 2 / 175 x 1
Stay at 145

[B]Chin-Up[/B]: 7/6/5 = 18 reps total

[B]Comments:[/B]
Started out with Rows, since there wasn't a rack open. They felt fantastic.
Squats were a struggle. I was really sore from my workout yesterday (this is the sorest I've been in quite a while), and it affected me quite a bit on the squats. I did six reps on the AMRAP set, but the last was done poorly enough that I'm not going to count it. I took several minutes rest afterward, and was able to hit all the reps on my following set. I then tried to pick up the pace though, since I only had an hour to complete my workout before the gym closed. I didn't have enough time to fully recover between sets, so I missed a few reps along the way.
Did Bench Press next. Once again, I was moving pretty quickly and had rest periods of 2 minutes or less. I wasn't able to complete the sixth rep on my third set, so I ended off there.
The Pullups felt good. I completed 2 more than last time.

Overall, today freaking sucked. I was super sore and I tired quickly. I'll need to make some modifications if I continue a Mon/Tues/Thurs schedule; at least on the Tuesday workout anyway. I may drop a set off of each exercise. Otherwise I might just reduce the weight on that day. I'll see how things go on Thursday and then put together a plan for next week.

[B][U]Workout B[/U][/B]
[B]Overhead Press[/B]: 80 x 6/5/4

[B]Deadlift[/B]: 265 x 5 / 275 x 4 / 285 x 3 / 295 x 2 / 305 x 1

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]: 115 x 5 / 110 x 5 / 100 x 7

[B]One Arm Row[/B]: 50 x 20


[B]Comments:[/B]
Well, that sucked. I started out on deadlifts since I didn't have access to do OHP initially. After hitting the 5th rep of the initial set, I was totally spent. It's clear that I haven't had enough recovery time this week. I need to change my approach. I'd like to come back to this program at some point in the future, if my schedule allows it and I'm in a bulking phase. It just doesn't fit well into my current scenario.

I'd rather not try to create my own program yet, because I feel like I'm still pretty inexperienced, and I have only a very basic understanding of programming. I'll have to do some searching to see if I can find something that looks like it might work. I'm certainly open to suggestions if anyone has any. Otherwise I guess I'll end up putting something together on my own.

Here's the framework my program needs to function within:
- I can only lift Mon-Thurs. Would prefer to lift 3 days; can do only 2 if that works better; I'd rather not do 4 days in a row for a variety of reason, but I guess with the right setup it could work.
- I'm currently cutting weight, and probably will be until at least the end of the year. I'm also 43 years old, and generally get 6-7 hours of sleep per night, so my energy level and rate of recovery are poor right now.

I'm pretty open minded when it comes to the details, as long as a program is focused on lifting.


The weight cut is going well so far. I'm down 5 pounds in a little less than 2 weeks. I may need to slightly increase my calorie intake, since I really wanted to keep weight loss to 2 pounds or less each week. I'll give it at least through the weekend though, and see where I'm at.

[B][U]Upper[/U][/B]

[U]Core[/U]
[B]Deadlift:[/B]
245 x 5
265 x 3
285 x 2

[B]Bench Press:[/B]
45 x 10
65 x 10
85 x 10
105 x 10

[U]Supplementals[/U]
[B]Chin Ups:[/B]
BW x 7
BW x 7
BW x 6

[B]Military Press:[/B]
45 x 10
55 x 10
70 x 10

[B]Cable Row:[/B]
55 x 10
70 x 10
100 x 10

[B]Hyperextensions:[/B]
50 x 20

[B]Face Pulls:[/B]
17.5 x 10
27.5 x 10
37.5 x 10


[B]Comments:[/B]
First time doing my own program. Went well overall. I started the weights slightly lower than what I thought my actual maxes were. A few of them were challenging on the final set. Some were pretty easy. I also wasn't able to do all the lifts I wanted to due to how busy it was, so I subbed Military Press in for OHP and Cable Row in for Pendlay Rows.

The biggest take away from today session for me was that I still need to improve my form on Deadlifts and Bench Press. I have a habit of not keeping my right shoulder retracted and tight. That will be a big point of focus for me moving forward, and I'll be careful about how quickly I increase weights on those lifts. I don't need to be rehabbing any more shoulders, lol.

I'll give a full explanation of my program in the next post, since it'll be the first one on a new page. I should be able to get it posted up either later tonight, or tomorrow.

The new program is of my own making, based upon some of the basic principles I've learned over the last year. I plan to continue my learning and tweak this as I go along, while hopefully keeping my body safe. I'm definitely open to feedback, but in taking ownership of my own programming, the primary decision on changes will ultimately need to be based upon my personal experience with it, and interpreting how I'm progressing and how my body is reacting. So without further ado, here's the program as it stands currently:

At the moment, I'm only able to lift Monday through Thursday. Since I'm cutting weight, I've not had enough energy or ability to recover to lift 3 days per week, so I'll be lifting only 2 days per week. I'll be running an Upper/Lower, with 'Core Lifts' supplementing the upper and lower lifts on each day. Set and Rep schemes are maybe slightly convoluted at the moment, but I'll describe them below as best I can.


[U][B]Core Lifts:[/B][/U]
[B]Deadlift[/B] - Performed on 'Upper' day. Will consist of 3 sets, and a total of 10 reps, with the distribution being 5/3/2 (weight increasing each set). I've really struggled to recover with higher reps on this, so I'm going to keep them relatively low, at relatively high weights. I'll use the final set to regulate my progression. If I hit 2 reps I increase the weight next time. If I fail to hit 2 reps twice in a row, I'll decrease the weight.

[B]Squat[/B] - Performed on 'Lower' day. 3-5 sets of 10 (I'll start out doing 5 sets, and adjust as needed). Squats are lagging behind a bit for me, so I want to have the volume be on the higher side. I've not had much success progress with lower reps and higher weights on this particular lift. The final set will regulate progression. I'll increase weight if I hit 10 reps, decrease if I fail to hit 10 twice in a row.

[B]Bench Press[/B] - Performed on both 'Upper' and 'Lower' days. 4 sets of 10, with the last set guiding progression (using exactly the same progression guidelines as I am on Squats). I considered doing OHP on one of the days, but decided to stick with Bench on both days for now since it'll allow me to lift a little bit more weight, and it's a lift I need to improve form on. OHP will still be present on Upper day.


[B][U]Supplemental Lifts:[/U][/B]
[U]Upper Day[/U]
[B]Chin Ups:[/B] 3 x AMRAP - I'm currently doing these at bodyweight. I'll start adding weight when I reach 30 reps (currently only at 20).
[B]OHP/Military Press:[/B] 3 sets of 10. Last set will dictate progression. I'll increase if I complete 10 reps, decrease if I fail to hit 10 reps twice in a row.
1st Set = 50% of 10RM
2nd Set = 75% of 10RM
3rd Set = 10RM
[B]Pendlay Row/Cable Row:[/B] Same as OHP
[B]Hyperextension:[/B] 1 set of 20. Increase weight if 20 reps are completed, decrease if less than 20 twice in a row.
[B]Face Pull:[/B] Same as OHP

[U]Lower Day[/U]
[B]Romanian Deadlift:[/B] 3 sets of 10 (all sets at the same weight). I'll increase if I complete 30 reps, decrease if I fail to hit 30 twice in a row.
[B]Single Leg Press:[/B] 3 sets of 10. Last set will dictate progression. I'll increase if I complete 10 reps, decrease if I fail to hit 10 reps twice in a row.
1st Set = 50% of 10RM
2nd Set = 75% of 10RM
3rd Set = 10RM
[B]Leg Curl:[/B] Same as Single Leg Press
[B]Seated Calf Raise:[/B] 3 sets of 20 (all sets at the same weight). I'll increase if I complete 60 reps, decrease if I fail to hit 60 twice in a row.
[B]Decline Crunch:[/B] Same as Single Leg Press


I'm eager to test this out, and hopefully learn a lot in the process.
On an unrelated note, I've been lifting in basketball shoes for long enough. I decided it's time to get some real lifting shoes. I purchased some [URL="https://www.maxbarbell.com/products/sabo-gym-weightlifting-shoes-black?variant=329235407"]SABO GYM shoes[/URL] as a birthday present to myself. Can't wait to get them on my feet. :)

Scrap my previous post. I decided I hate it, lol. I'm trying to build something simple and stable that I can run for a bit, while I continue to educate myself on programming. I know it would be best to run a proven program as it's written, but I can't seem to find one that I'm confident will work for me, so here we are...
My current priorities are:
1. Must fit within a Mon-Thurs lifting schedule
2. Must allow sufficient recovery (on a cut)
3. Must hit all the main muscles multiple times per week (3 would be ideal, but I'll settle for twice a week if necessary)

To satisfy priorities #1 and #2, I could:
- Run a split routine with as little overlap as possible (could be lifting all 4 days potentially)
- Run an upper/lower (would only be able to do each once per week, or U,L,Off,U,Off,Off,Off, L, U, Off, L, repeat)

Both of those options don't really align well at all with priority #3, which is primarily why I'm scrapping the routine in the post above. I feel like I can do much better. This leads me to what I'm actually going to try...

I'm going for a Full Body routine. I haven't really given one a chance yet, and I suspect I can make some good progress on it partially because it's something totally new to me. I obviously can't run a Full Body routine 3 of 4 days at high intensity, so I'm going to need to build some type of auto-regulation or intensity cycling plan into it. I'll most likely employ a bit of both. I suspect I'll continue to make some changes as I go along, but I'm feeling pretty good about the program I've put together over the last couple of days. It's going to consist of 3 days that will each be setup slightly differently. On one day I'll do 4 sets of 5 reps, with only the final 2 sets being at my working weight. The next day will be 2 sets of 15 reps, with the second set at my working weight. The third day will be 3 sets of 10 reps, with only the last set being at my working weight. Here's what it'll look like:

[U]Day 1[/U] - [B]4x5 : 1st set easy, 2nd set harder, final 2 sets at working weight[/B]
Back Squat
Bench Press
Pendlay Row
Overhead Press
Leg Curl
Hammer Curl
Seated Calf Raise
Leg Raise (This will not follow the rep scheme. I'll do as many reps as possible while keeping a few in the tank)

[U]Day 2[/U] - [B]2x15 : 1st set easy, second set at working weight[/B]
Front Squat
DB Incline Press
Chest Supported Row
Cable Pushdown
Romanian Deadlift
Face Pull
Plank (will not follow rep scheme, obviously)
Cable Curl

[U]Day 3[/U] - [B]3x10 : 1st set easy, 2nd set harder, 3rd set at working weight[/B]
Same lifts as Day 1, except I'll replace Leg Raises with weighted Decline Crunch's

This will potentially allow me to achieve my 3 top priorities. I think I have enough room to adjust to figure out a way to lift 3 times in 4 days. Doing different lifts on the second day (and also at a lower intensity level) should help. I'll have to be pretty strict on my energy management during my workouts, making sure I don't ever go too close to failure. I may need to sacrifice some reps and/or sets at times to guarantee I'm able to recover sufficiently. I can obviously also adjust the reps and/or sets on particular exercises, swap them out for others, or outright eliminate them if need be. I'll have to do some experimenting with the second day to figure out whether it'll fit better as [B]Mon, Tues, Off, Thurs[/B] or [B]Mon, Off, Wed, Thurs[/B].

I did Day 1 today. I happen to have a day off of work tomorrow, so I'll try to do Day 2 and see how my body reacts. That should give me some indication of whether it's doable.

As mentioned in my last post, I did Workout A today.

[U]Workout A[/U] - [B]4 sets of 5 reps[/B]
[B]Back Squat[/B]
95 x 5
125 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5

Increase to 160

[B]Bench Press[/B]
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5
125 x 5

Increase to 130

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5

Increase to 140

[B]Overhead Press[/B]
45 x 5
55 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5

Increase to 80

[B]Leg Curl[/B]
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5
125 x 5

Increase to 130

[B]Hammer Curl[/B]
15 x 5
20 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5

Meant to use 25 pound DB's for my working weight, but there were none available. Increase to 35.

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]
85 x 5
125 x 5
165 x 5
165 x 5

Increase to 175

[B]Leg Raise[/B]
BW x 10
BW x 15

Just a short explanation of why I chose these exercises... The first 4 lifts of the day are all high on my list of lifts I need to improve and gain strength on. The second four are much less important, but should give me a pretty well rounded workout. I've left Conventional Deadlifts completely off the program for now. I'm still in recovery mode from doing them on Monday. Doing them in combination with Squats and Pendlay rows is just too much for my lower back to handle. It's kind of disappointing, since Deadlifts are by far the lift I enjoy the most, but I think I'm better off not doing them for now.

Using something lower weights, I was able to focus heavily on improving my form, and managed to make really good progress on that on Bench Press and OHP while focusing on my should positioning and movement. Squats didn't feel great, but I don't think they ever will due to some anatomical imbalances. Although the new lifting shoes felt great, they didn't seem to make a huge difference in the amount of weight I was able to comfortable manage on squats. I'll definitely be continuing to use them though. Overall, I'm happy with how it went, but pretty spent. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

[B]Workout B[/B] - [B]2 sets of 15 reps[/B]
[B]Front Squat[/B]
45 x 15
65 x 15

[B]DB Incline Press[/B]
20 x 15
35 x 15

[B]Chest Supported Row[/B]
20 x 15
35 x 15

[B]Cable Pushdown[/B]
27.5 x 15
32.5 x 15

[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B]
115 x 15
145 x 15

[B]Face Pull[/B]
22.5 x 15
32.5 x 15

[B]Plank[/B]
30 seconds
60 seconds

[B]Cable Curl[/B]
17.5 x 15
27.5 x 15


[B]Comments:[/B]
Energy level was good, even though I just lifted yesterday evening. I'll have to try this out for a few weeks and see how it goes, but I'm pretty sure 4x5 on Monday, 2x15 on Tuesday, and 3x10 on Thursday is doable for a while. It'll obviously get more difficult as the weights increase. I started out with weights that I thoughts I could do pretty easily, and that turned out to be the case for the most part. There were only maybe only a couple of exercises where I got as high as an 8 RPE.

One of the things I'm liking about ramping up to the working weight is that it gives me another avenue for progression. On some of the lifts that I found more challenging, I'll be keeping my working weight the same, but increasing the weights I use in the ramp up. I was pretty lenient on rest times today, so I'll work on tightening that up before I increase weights too much.

With the holiday coming up next week, I probably still won't get in 3 workouts, because I'm assuming I'll only be able to go Mon-Wed. I'm not sure which rep scheme's I'll use. I'm planning to do 4x5 on Monday and 3x10 on Wednesday, but I'll wait and see how I'm feeling.

[U]Workout C[/U] - [B]3 sets of 10 reps[/B]
[B]Back Squat[/B]
65 x 10
95 x 10
125 x 10

Stay the same

[B]Bench Press[/B]
55 x 10
85 x 10
105 x 10

Increase Final Set to 110

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]
55 x 10
85 x 10
105 x 10

Increase Final Set to 110

[B]Overhead Press[/B]
45 x 10
60 x 10
65 x 10

Increase Final Set to 70

[B]Leg Curl[/B]
55 x 10
85 x 10
110 x 10

Increase Final Set to 115

[B]Hammer Curl[/B]
7.5 x 10
12.5 x 10
22.5 x 10

Increase first set to 10 & second set to 15

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]
75 x 10
110 x 10
150 x 10

Increase second set to 115 & Final Set to 155

[B]Decline Crunch[/B]
35 x 10
50 x 10
65 x 10

Increase Final set to 70


[B]Comments:[/B]
Wasn't expecting to lift today, but I ended up with an opportunity so I took it. I typically wouldn't do full body workouts three days in a row, but it's very likely that I'll only be able to lift on Monday and Tuesday this coming week, due to holiday plans.

My energy level started out pretty poor, and I really struggled with the squats. I think I'll keep the weight the same next time and see how I perform when I'm fresher.
Bench, Row, Leg Curls, and Calves were a piece of cake. The others were a bit more challenging that I expected, though I managed to get through all of them. Everything except squats will increase next time through.

[U]Workout A - 4x5[/U]
[B]Back Squat[/B]
95 x 5
125 x 5
160 x 5
160 x 4

Reduce to 85 / 115 / 155 / 155

[B]Bench Press[/B]
85 x 5
105 x 5
130 x 5
130 x 5

Increase to 65 / 100 / 135 / 135

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]
95 x 5
115 x 5
140 x 5
140 x 5

Increase to 75 / 105 / 145 / 145

[B]Overhead Press[/B]
45 x 5
60 x 5
80 x 5
80 x 5

Increase to 45 / 60 / 85 / 85

[B]Leg Curl[/B]
85 x 5
105 x 5
130 x 5
130 x 5

Increase to 70 / 100 / 135 / 135

[B]Hammer Curl[/B]
15 x 5
22.5 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5

Increase to 15 / 22.5 / 35 / 35

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]
95 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 5
215 x 5

Change to different exercise??

[B]Leg Raise[/B]
BW x 13
BW x 18


[B]Comments:[/B]
I didn't feel fully recovered from lifting Thurs, Fri, Sat. Struggled with squats. Had a couple of poor reps in my first working set, and a couple more in the second. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the Calf Raises. For the second time in a row, my feet were sliding off the bar. I'm pretty nervous about continuing to use the same equipment, so I may see if I can find an option I'm more comfortable with. All of the other exercises went relatively smoothly.

I'm adjusting the first two sets on some of the exercises, moving them closer to 50% and 75% of my working weight respectively. This should help me be fresher for the main work sets, and hopefully allow me to increase my top weight a bit easier.

My diet is going decently. I'm down 6 pounds so far, in a little less than a month. The weight is coming off slowly, but steadily, which I'm perfectly okay with. I amazed I actually managed to drop a pound this last week, since I was out to buffet's twice, and restaurants two more times for birthdays, visiting family, and other stuff. I restrained myself reasonably well, and still had some really tasty meals and a good time catching up with people I don't see often enough. It was a win/win. This week's going to be another tough one. I have Thanksgiving get together's on 3 different day. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie, oh my! Wish me luck, lol

[U]Workout B - 2X15[/U]
[B]Front Squat[/B]
45 x 15
70 x 15
[I]Increase to 45 / 75[/I]

[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B]
115 x 15
150 x 15
[I]Increase to 115 / 155[/I]

[B]DB Incline Press[/B]
20 x 15
35 x 14
[I]Repeat[/I]

[B]Chest Supported Row[/B]
20 x 15
35 x 15
[I]Increase to 20 / 40[/I]

[B]Cable Pushdown[/B]
22.5 x 15
42.5 x 15
[I]Increase to 22.5 / 47.5[/I]

[B]Hammer Curl[/B]
10 x 15
20 x 15
[I]Increase to 10 / 22.5[/I]

[B]Seated Calf Raise[/B]
35 x 12
25 x 15
[I]Increase to 35 / 35[/I]

[B]Plank[/B]
45 seconds
60 seconds
[I]Increase to 60 / 60[/I]

[B]Comments:[/B]
Really good session. I focused on keeping a steady pace, and was able to finish in about 50 minutes (it's typically been taking me around 75). It was nice to be done that quickly. I'll maintain that working pace moving forward. The only hiccup today was on calf raises. I tried out a different piece of equipment and it worked much, much better. Unfortunately, my left calf started cramping up midway through the first set. I stopped immediately, and then dropped the weight for my final set.

I have this weird thing going on with squats...both of the last two weeks the front squats have felt better than the back squats. I feel like my form is really on point with them. Today I think I figured out why. It seems like with the more upright position I'm in when doing front squats, my knees move naturally. When I stand normally, without thinking about how I'm standing, my feet tend to point out at more than 30 degrees. When I do front squats, my feet are aligned that way and my knees follow them. For some reason, when I do back squat my knees seem to be fighting against my feet. I'm not sure if it's just the fact that my torso is more bent over or what, but my knees keep wanting to move more forward/inward (maybe trying to move under my torso for more support?...I really don't know. Next time I do them I'm going to pay close attention to this and see if I can do them so that my feet and knees are placed and moving similarly to when I do front squats.

I made some more changes to my program because I wasn't happy with the exercise selection on workouts A & C. I removed calf raises and hammer curls, and replaced them with Chin Ups and Face Pulls. I added the former two exercises to workout B, which is why I repeated them today after just doing them yesterday. Also made some changes to rep ranges. Face Pulls, Leg Raises, and Calf Raises will not follow the rep ranges associated with each of the workouts. Face Pulls will always be 2 sets of 15 (both sets at the same weight). Abs and Calves will be 2 sets of 20 (again, with both sets at the same weight). This gives me a better balance of pushes and pulls on A & C days, and makes workout B slightly more isolation focused. Actually, instead of referring to them as A, B, and C, I think I'm just going to call them Heavy, Medium, and Light from here on out, since that's really what they're intended to be. Here's what it all looks like as of now:

[U]Heavy - 4x5 (Monday)[/U]
Back Squat
Bench Press
Pendlay Row
Overhead Press
Chin Up
Leg Curl
Face Pull (2x15)
Leg Raise (2x20)

[U]Light - 2x15 (Tuesday)[/U]
Front Squat
Romanian Deadlift
DB Incline Press
Chest Supported Row
Cable Pushdown
Hammer Curl
Calf Raise (2x20)
Plank

[U]Medium - 3x10 (Thursday)[/U]
Same exercise selection as Heavy day

Ideally, I'd still like to add one more pulling motion into the mix somewhere (maybe croc rows in place of the abs exercise on my light day?) Not really sure... Other than that, I'm starting to feel pretty okay with the programs setup right now. I'll try running it like this for a few months and see how it goes.

[U]Medium - 3x10[/U]
[B]Bench Press[/B]
85 x 10
110 x 10
110 x 10
[I]Increase to 85/115/115[/I]

[B]Back Squat[/B]
95 x 10
125 x 10
125 x 10
[I]Stay the same[/I]

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]
85 x 10
110 x 10
110 x 10
[I]Increase to 85/115/115[/I]

[B]Overhead Press[/B]
60 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 90
[I]Reduce to 55/70/70[/I]

[B]Chin Up[/B]
BW-55 x 10
BW-10 x 6
BW-25 x 10
[I]Reduce to BW-60/BW-25/BW-25[/I]

[B]Leg Curl[/B]
85 x 10
110 x 10
110 x 10
[I]Increase to 90/120/120[/I]

[B]Face Pull - 2x15[/B]
17.5 x 15
17.5 x 15
[I]Increase to 22.5[/I]

[B]Leg Raise - 2x20[/B]
BW x 20
BW x 20
[I]Change to Planks?[/I]

[B]Comments:[/B]
Bench felt great today. The last few times I've done it, I narrowed my grip to help me keep my elbows tucked tight to my body since I've had a habit of flaring them out. It was a bit too narrow though (about halfway between a normal bench grip and a close grip bench grip). I was able to widen my grip to a more normal distance today, and still keep my elbows tucked tight. The motion felt natural. The weight felt lighter. I'm really happy with the form improvement on bench over the last month or so. I feel like I'm finally in a position where I can stop worrying about hurting myself, and just do the lift. Feels like I'm at a point where I should start making some progress.

Squats were an entirely different story. I'm getting unbelievably frustrated with them. I honestly feel like I've made zero progress on squats since I started lifting. I've increased the weight a bit, and made some form improvements, but I've never felt right doing them. Today I tried to use some of the cue's that worked well for me when doing front squats, and it really didn't help much. I was able to keep my knees out just fine, but I felt super weak, and struggled to get through 10 reps on my first set at 125, which is really freaking sad. For the second set at that weight I tried a low bar squat. I was able to handle the weight pretty easily, but I was really uncomfortable with the pressure it put on my shoulders and wrists (which I've had problems with basically since I was a kid). I doubt I'll be able to do the lift that way on a regular basis. Even though the weight felt much lighter, my form still felt terrible. I don't really like complaining about it, but my legs are different lengths, and it really seems to mess up squats for me. I just can't get balanced right. If I don't shift my weight primarily to one leg or the other, it feels really awkward. It feels significantly less awkward if I shift my weight primarily to one leg, but still doesn't feel right, and it pretty much defeats the purpose of doing squats. Working primarily one leg when doing squats is pretty damn stupid, lol. To be honest, after almost 18 months I'm nearing the point where I'm ready to give up on squats and just move to doing leg presses or lunges, or something else for my legs. I'm not calling it quits yet, but I'm super frustrated. It's not doing me much good spinning my wheels at basically the same weight over and over again. I know I can get my legs much stronger than they are, but I'm really struggling to do it with this particular lift. I'll keep grinding at it for another month or so and see what happens. If the front squats continue to feel good, I may end up dropping back squats and just do those and leg presses instead. We'll see...

Pendlay Rows felt pretty easy, so I'll be bumping those up next time. OHP felt decent also, but I ran out of steam on the last set. I'm just going to reduce the weight on my first set slightly for those. This was my first time doing Chin Ups for 10 reps, so I kind of guessed at how much assistance I needed, and I was say off, lol. I think I have a good idea of what the weight should be next time though. Leg Curls felt great. Leg Raises went surprisingly well. I've jumped up from 25 reps to 40 reps in just over a week, and felt like I could've done a few more today. At this point, I'm not sure if I want to continue doing them, or change to doing planks or decline crunches.

I did Face Pulls at a much lower weight than I had originally planned to. I found out that I had been doing them entirely wrong previously. The way I did them today felt much, much better. I'll increase the weight slightly next time, but I'm not going to be in any great hurry to increase the weight on them. I'll just be focusing on performing the exercise correctly to make sure I'm building strength in the correct muscles. Here's the video from Omar Isuf that made me realize I was doing them wrong previously:
[youtube]HSoHeSjvIdY[/youtube]

[U]Heavy - 4x5[/U]
[B]Bench Press[/B]
65 x 5
100 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5
[I]Increase to 65 / 115 / 135[/I]

[B]Back Squat[/B]
85 x 5
115 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5
[I]Increase to 85 / 115 / 160 / 160[/I]

[B]Pendlay Row[/B]
75 x 5
105 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
[I]Increase to 75 / 105 / 150 / 150[/I]

[B]Overhead Press[/B]
45 x 5
60 x 5
85 x 5
85 x 5
[I]Increase to 45 / 65 / 85 / 85[/I]

[B]Chin Up[/B]
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
[I]Repeat[/I]

[B]Leg Curl[/B]
70 x 5
100 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5
[I]Increase to 70 / 105 / 140 / 140[/I]

[B]Face Pull[/B]
22.5 x 15
22.5 x 15
[I]Repeat[/I]

[B]Plank[/B]
BW x 60 seconds
BW x 60 seconds
[I]Change to 45/75 sec[/I]

[B]Comments:[/B]
Let's just get this out of the way... Squats sucked again. Technically I hit all of my reps, but it wasn't pretty. I'm starting to wonder if cutting weight isn't just having a much bigger impact on this particular lift. I felt like I was actually making decent progress over the last couple of weeks before I started my cut. It's gone down hill quickly since then. I'll finish this week out and if it continues to be shaky I'm just going to drop the weight significantly (15-20%) and start working my way back up again.

Everything else went well.
Bench felt pretty damn good again. I had a few reps in the tank. I don't really want to rush it on this lift, so instead of increasing the top weight, I'm just going to increase my second set weight. If all goes well with that slight increase, I'll bump up the top weight next time. I'm taking the same approach for OHP, which also felt pretty good today. Leg Curls felt relatively easy, so they'll get increased. I hit all my reps on Chins and Face Pulls, but I'm going to repeat them both again since I'm don't feel like I'll be able to handle additional weight yet. I'll increase if it feels a bit easier next time. Planks suck, lol. They're painful. I'm going to plan to do the same amount of total time again, but with one being for a shorter time period and one for longer. If I hit the longer one, I'll then increase the shorter one each session until I'm able to do it twice for the longer time period. I'll continue this way until I get up to 90 or 120 seconds twice, then I'll plan to start adding weight.

Now that I'm starting to figure out a program that I can handle for 3 workouts in 4 days, I may not need to do that schedule anymore, lol. I was able to go today, which means that this weeks schedule will be Sun/Tues/Thurs. The following week should be Mon/Wed/Fri, followed by Sun/Tues/Thurs, then Mon/Wed/Fri, and so on. Still not ideal, but definitely better than what I've been doing. It's really hard for me to predict though, and could change again at any time. I'm planning to continue running the program I'm on now. Having a light workout in the middle of the week gives me more flexibility to move around my other days if need be.

[U]Light - 2X15[/U]
[B]Front Squat[/B]
65 x 15
65 x 15
[I]Increase to 45 / 75[/I]

[B]Romanian Deadlift[/B]
145 x 15
145 x 15
[I]Increase to 150[/I]

[B]DB Incline Press[/B]
30 x 15
30 x 15
[I]Increase to 35[/I]

[B]Lat Pulldown[/B]
70 x 15
70 x 15
[I]Increase to 75[/I]

[B]Tricep Pushdown[/B]
42.5 x 15
42.5 x 15
[I]Increase to 47.5[/I]

[B]Chest Supported Row[/B]
35 x 15
35 x 15
[I]Increase to 40[/I]

[B]Hammer Curl[/B]
20 x 15
20 x 10
[I]Repeat[/I]

[B]Seated Calf Raise - 2x20[/B]
35 x 15
35 x 15
[I]Repeat[/I]


[B]Comments:[/B]
Good session today. My quads are already sore from the Front Squats. RDL's were no problem at all. On the Incline DB Press, I tried to widen my arms out a bit, similar to what I did on barbell bench press. I think I'm going to stick to doing them with my arms tucked tighter to my sides. It feels much more natural, and removes some of the stress from my shoulders. The Lat Pulldowns made my lats burn, so I guess that's good. It at least tells me I'm moving the weight with the correct muscles. I didn't hit my goals on either Hammer Curls or Seated Calf Presses. I'll repeat both at the same weight next time and try to complete more reps.

Immediately after finishing my workout, I noticed some discomfort in my left shoulder. It's the first time I've experienced that in a few months. I can't pinpoint anything in particular that may have cause it since I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary during the session. It may have just been fatigue from doing a bunch of exercises that have typically not felt totally comfortable for my shoulders. It's feeling okay at the moment. I'm definitely going to be cautious about this though. If it continues next time, I'll probably take some time off or significantly reduce my working weights for a week or so.

I'll have a day off tomorrow, and then be lifting again on Thursday.