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Monday November 11, 2019
Upper Back/Bi Accessories
Dumbbell Row
*50x8
*65x8
80x8
95x8
Wide Grip Pull-up BW 2x4
Neutral Grip Pull-up BW 2x4
Straight Arm Pulldown
30x10
40x8
Seated Face Pull 40 2x10
HS Shrug 155 3x8
Hammer Curl 30’s 3x8
Quick sub 30 minute workout. Started a cyclical keto diet today. Going to go low carbs throughout the week then a big refeed once a week (typically Saturday before my heaviest lower body session). Sick of being fat. I know keto isn’t magic and if anything can be detrimental to performance, but I’ve been 25%+ bodyfat for a long time and would rather cut more quickly than draw it out. I’ve seen Greg nuckols state he had done it multiple times while continuing to PR. Matt Wenning and Mark Bell have done it to cut a lot of weight but of course lost some strength.
Long term I’ll reintroduce carbs every workout day once I’m under 20%. If I can get under 15% I’ll try to have carbs daily again and hopefully by then I’ll have the willpower to not cheat too often. For now Saturday refeeds will be great.
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Why not try a plant based diet?
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[QUOTE=xRequiem;1591416731]Why not try a plant based diet?[/QUOTE]
I love meat. But I will say today I’ve had the nastiest headaches I’ve had in awhile. And I’m having terrible gastrointestinal problems tonight. Granted I came down with a cold over the weekend too so The headaches could be sinus related as well but my intestinal issues certainly aren’t. Definitely going to add fruit including blueberries, strawberries, apples and bananas in while taking down some of the intake of fattier meats. If I feel the need to I’ll just do oatmeal for grains. Totally different I know.
My friend had the same symptoms and actually puked by day 3-4. I’m only in day 2. My dad never had these symptoms. Could be due to the amount of fatty beef I ate for dinner versus the leaner cuts of meat I ate for lunch today and for yesterday’s meals. Either way never wanna feel this way again.
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Saturday November 16, 2019
ME Lower
Beltless Squat
*45 2x5
*135x3
*225x2
*275x1
305x1
335x1
355x1
365x1 (Beltless PR)
DE Deadlift
*135 + short monster minis x1
*185 + short monster minis x1
*235 + short monster minis x1
255 + short monster minis 8x1
Belt Squat (Narrow)
*175x6
225 3x10
Seated Leg Curl
80 3x10
Seated Calf Raise
90x12,11,10,9,8
I was sick all week and missed my 2 volume/speed workouts. Finally started feeling better yesterday. Only got 5 hours of sleep though. Surprisingly a good workout considering all of this.
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Sunday November 17, 2019
ME Upper Body
Pause Bench Press
*45 2x10
*135x5
*185x3
*205x1
*225x1
235x3 (failed on 4; crap)
Backoff sets 195 2x5
CG Bench Press (TnG) 135 2x10
Dips w/ slingshot BW 2x10
Incline DB Fly 35’s 2x8
Pull-up
BWx4 (Wide)
BWx4 (Neutral)
BWx3 (Underhand)
1 min rest between sets
Cable Row w/ MAG handle
9 plates 3x10
Seated Face Pull 3 plates 4x10
Machine Preacher Curl 60 2x6
Crap sleep past 2 nights and getting over being sick on top of missing my volume workout due to being sick. Recipe for a bad workout. Best before @235 was 5-6 reps.
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Wednesday November 20, 2019
DE Lower
DE Squat
45 + Light Bands 2x3
135 + Light Bands x3
185 + Light Bands x3
205 + Light Bands 5x3
High Bar Pause Squat (ATG)
225 3x3
DE Deadlifts
135 + Light Bands x1
225 + Light Bands 6x1
Belt Squat (Narrow) 185 2x10
Lying Leg Curl 80 2x10
Standing Calf Raise 70 2x10
Absolute garbage workout but still got it in. Need more consistent sleep. Had 9 hours last night but 5 hours 3-4 nights in a row before that. And since it’s night time I won’t drink caffeine like I do on weekends.
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Thursday November 21, 2019
Upper Body
Pause Bench
*45x10
*135x5
*185x3
225x1
225x3 (@7-8)
TnG Bench
185 3x6
Seated OHP
*45 2x6
95 2x6
Wide Lat Pulldown
8 plates x10
10 plates 2x8
Seated Face Pull
3 plates 3x12
Straight Bar Pushdown
40x20,10
30 2x10
EZ Bar Curl
50x15,10,10
Machine Standing Side Raise
50 2x10
Still feeling effects of tiredness. Tried getting 8 hours of sleep last night but woke up a few times. 225 felt lighter at least. Only did 6’s with 185 to be conservative.
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Saturday November 23, 2019
Lower Body
Conventional Deadlift
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1
385x1
405x1 (sumo)
405x1 (conventional)
Belt Squat (Sumo stance)
225x6
275 2x6
315x8
Seated Leg Curl 90 3x8
Hack Calf Press 180x15,12,10
Another garbage workout. Last month pulled 395x4 sumo. Today 405 was extremely difficult. Inconsistent nutrition, sleep and missed a couple workouts last week when sick. Need to eat more protein again. Last few nights I’ve had 7-9 hours of sleep but that was after a week of 5-6 hours of sleep a night.
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Sunday November 24, 2019
Upper Body (very good day)
Seated OHP
*45x6
*75x4
*95x2
115x1
130x1
140x1
150x1 (PR)
155x1 (big PR)
3 ct Pause CGBP
*135x5
155x5
170x5
185x5
Close Hand Push-up BW 2x20
Wide Lat Pulldown 90 3x15 (burn)
Seated Face Pull 30 3x12
Machine Preacher Curl 50 3x10
Finally a good workout. Happy with this. Slept 8+ hours (even tho I went to bed late) and had a bang again. Prob should curb my use of bang and just drink less caffeine because I’ve become reliant on lots of caffeine on weekends. Prob is what makes my mid week workouts suffer as they’re late in the evening versus around noon which I do on weekends.
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Wednesday November 27, 2019
Lower Body
Squat
*45 2x5
*135x3
*185x2
*225x1
*275x1
*300x1
325x1
365x1
385x2 (PR)
Backoff Set
275x5
Beltless High Bar Pause Squat (ATG)
225 3x3
Seated Leg Curl 70 3x10
Seated Calf Raise 70x22,16,12
Spread Eagle Sit-up BWx8,6,6
Hilarious. I’m still exhausted but grinded out a PR squat tonight days after a usual 405 pull was @10 RPE. Just felt it tonight and said screw it.
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Thursday November 28, 2019
Bench Day
Pause Bench
*45x10
*135x5
*185x3
205x1
225x1 (@7.5 RPE)
Dead Bench
*135x1
185x1
205 4x1 (each set got easier)
TnG Bench
185 3x6, 1x15 (ties an old PR)
Chest Dips
BW 2x8 (easy)
Low Incline DB Fly
35’s 2x8
This was a fantastic workout. The last time I hit 185x15 was at the very beginning of a workout; considering I did 7 working sets of pause & dead Bench singles and 3 sets of 6 on TnG prior to this, I consider this a huge PR honestly. Accessory work felt great today. This is after 5 hours of sleep last night but I’m on a roll for the past 2 days.
I basically took 85% of my maxes yesterday on squat (325 is 85%) and today on bench (225 is 85%) then autoregulated based on how they felt. This is how Jim wendler set up Beyond 5/3/1 and I did that for 8 months in 2016 which worked very well. If 85% feels light you can hit a rep PR with it or go heavier for singles or reps. If 85% is meh you could go lower afterwards for reps. I wouldn’t trust myself doing this during a meet prep, but it felt great before when I stopped competing.
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Saturday November 30, 2019
Lower Body
Beltless SS Yoke Bar Squat (Narrow)
*70x5
*120x5
*160x5
210 2x5
Rack Pull (below knee)
*135x5
*225x3
*315x2
345x1
375x1
405x5 (big PR)
Belt Squat (Narrow) 275 3x6
Barbell Row 135 3x8
Lat Pulldown 8 plates 3x12
KB Side Bend 25 3x10
Standing Calf Raise
90x10
80x10
70x10
60x10
50x10
Great workout. 11 hours of sleep and a bang had me energized. After last week’s bad deadlift session from the floor I wanted to lift heavy but not cause as much fatigue so I decided on rack pulls today. I don’t do these often as they can be an ego lift, but whenever I do them I make sure they are always at least a few inches below the knee. I used the SS Yoke bar for squats as a warmup to rack pulls.
I’ll be gone for Christmas for a week. I’m looking at setting up something linear for when I get back. Potentially hitting a top set on each big lift (the actual big 3 & OHP, not rotating variations) then doing Backoff volume @ 10x5 to start out and cycling down the volume to a few triples before a meet in April. This setup would be done once a week for each lift and then I would hit a close variant on opposite days for less volume (close grip for bench on OHP day, pause Squat on deadlift day, and maybe deficit deadlift on squat day). This would keep frequency of everything twice a week but focus each session on 1 of the big 3. This would give me an easy to follow plan heading into the meet. Just doing rotating lifts for PRs for now like Greg Nuckols does and has his clients do in their off seasons.
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Sunday December 1, 2019
Upper Body (Push Focus)
CGBP w/ double red minis
*45 2x3
*135x3
165x3
185x1
195x1
205x1 (PR)
CAT CGBP w/ double red minis
135 3x5
Standing OHP
*45x5
*95x3
115x1
135x1
145x1 (tied PR; likely could tie seated PR of 155 from last week if done first)
DB Front Raise
20’s x10
25’s x8
30’s x6
Standing Cable Skullcrusher
4 plates x10
6 plates x10
8 plates x10
6 plates x10
Seated Face Pull
2 plates 3x25 (burn)
Seated DB Hammer Curl
30’s x10
25’s 3x10
2-3 hours of sleep but still a good session. Going to try to get 9 hours of sleep tonight.
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Wednesday December 4, 2019
Worst lower body day in a long time
Beltless Squat work up to 315x1 (upper thigh/quad hurt today; 2nd time since last week during squats)
Backoff Beltless Pause Squat 225 3x3
High Bar Beltless Squat 225x5
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What causes the drastic difference in your sleep schedule? I feel like that one area I've really improved on this time around. Used to I would stay up to play that new video game I've waited on for the last couple of years. Nope not anymore, I'm getting my 7-8 hours.
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[QUOTE=xRequiem;1592950241]What causes the drastic difference in your sleep schedule? I feel like that one area I've really improved on this time around. Used to I would stay up to play that new video game I've waited on for the last couple of years. Nope not anymore, I'm getting my 7-8 hours.[/QUOTE]
There are quite a few issues. I have trouble drinking water throughout the day so I drink a lot in the evening so I don’t get another kidney stone (I got one from dehydration before). Then I end up staying up going to the bathroom several times before bed and I’m doing so a second thing is I’ll stay up to watch tv because I’m wide awake while needing to continuously go. This issue I could resolve on my own for sure.
Another issue is even when I don’t have the issues above (maybe half the time) I try going to bed at a good time to get 8+ hours of sleep and while I’m tired I can’t fall asleep.
Finally, even when I sometimes consistently (more than a few days in a row) try to get to bed at a good time while I’m tired I think way too much about work or life. Too many thoughts running through my head and I can’t turn them off (even though my life is great).
You’d think If I fix the first problem and drink more water throughout the day it could resolve my issues entirely but that’s not a guarantee because before when I didn’t drink a ton at night, the other 2 issues were present. I still couldnt fall asleep when going to bed at a decent time.
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Saturday December 7, 2019
ME Upper Body
Incline Bench Press
*45x10
*135x5
*165x3
*195x1
195x3 (PR)
Backoff sets
135 2x6
135x20 (PR)
Weighted Dip
BWx8
BW + 25 x6
Flat DB Fly
40’s x6
Neutral Lat Pulldown
*7 plates x8
10 plates 2x8
Seated Face Pull
4 plates 2x10
3 plates 3x10
BB Curl
(Warmed up DB 10’s x10)
40 2x15
Machine Preacher Curl
50 2x8
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Sunday December 8, 2019
Lower Body
Squat w/ wraps
*45 2x5
*135x3
*225x1
*275x1 add belt
315x1
365x1 add wraps
405x1 (very hard; 40 lbs under my best)
3 ct pause squat
225 3x5
Hypers BW 2x8
Donkey Calf Raise 100 2x12
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Wednesday December 11, 2019
Upper Body
OHP
*45x5
*70x5
*95x3
120x1
135x1
150x0 (fail)
Backoff sets
95 2x6
CGBP
*135x5
185 2x8
135x24
DB Rollback
20’s 2x8
Pull-up
BWx7 (v-grip)
BWx4 (pronated)
BWx3 (wide)
Seated Face Pull
30 3x20
Machine Preacher Curl
50 2x10
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Thursday December 12, 2019
Lower Body
High Bar Squat
*45x5
*135x3
225x1
275x2
Deadlift
*135x5
*225x1
*275x1
315x5
RDL
225x10
Single Leg Leg Press
90 3x6 (per leg)
Seated Leg Curl
50 2x15
Have been having hip pain every squat session at the front of my left hip for a few weeks. It’s gotten worse every time I squat. I don’t really feel it other than when lifting. Going to get it checked out.
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Saturday December 14, 2019
ME Upper Body
Comp Pause Bench
*45 2x10
*135x5
*185x3
*210x1
*230x1
250x3 (PR!)
TnG Speed Bench
200 3x3 (60-75 sec rest)
Dips
BW 2x8
Incline DB Flys
30’s x8
40’s x6
Straight Bar Pushdown
*4 plates x10
6 plates x10
8 plates x8-9
Seated Side Lateral
20’s 2x10
Rear Delt Fly
95x12,8
Fantastic workout. Warmups on Bench felt sluggish and the bar felt slippery. I gripped it tighter than ever and really zoned in on the top set of 250x3 for the PR.
My left hip has a big bruise now. I have a chiropractor appointment on Wednesday. I think I strained it. Tomorrow I’m just going to do upper Back, biceps and core work to not utilize my hips. I could perform leg curls and calves too. Worst case I take some time off from heavy squatting and pulling and really focus on bringing my bench up. This would suck but trying to look at some positives. I’ve always been a reverse Johnny Bravo lol.
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Doctor thinks I have a small fracture or strain. Bruise on my upper thigh is insanely huge now. Minimal pain though so I think it’s a minor strain. Seeing the chiropractor Wednesday but may need to see an orthopedic as well. No squatting or deadlifting for awhile. Time to Bench big and/or just lean out finally. Would be nice to get down to 180 and still bench around 275 pause (or more if possible) while also getting to 20 strict dead-hang pull-ups again.
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Well I partially tore my quad. Very minor tear though; 4 weeks of physical therapy scheduled. I can train around the injury the chiropractor said. He’s a former powerlifter. I went their since they are for sports/athletics. Figured they would help me get back to lifting and it was a good choice for sure. I can still do accessory work (will do good mornings, leg curls and calves For a lot of my leg training) for a month or 2.
I haven’t lifted since Saturday. Need to get some lifting in before the weekend.
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Thursday December 19, 2019
Upper Body
Pause Bench
*45x10
*135x4
*185x2
*215x1
245x1
260x1
270x1
TnG Bench
225x7
Low Incline DB Fly
50’s 2x6 (PR; but possibly loose form)
Wide Seated Cable Row
115 4x10
Left Leg Rehab (lying knee to chest, straighten leg, lower leg)
2x10
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[QUOTE=musclehead09;1593825361]Well I partially tore my quad. Very minor tear though; 4 weeks of physical therapy scheduled. I can train around the injury the chiropractor said. He’s a former powerlifter. I went their since they are for sports/athletics. Figured they would help me get back to lifting and it was a good choice for sure. I can still do accessory work (will do good mornings, leg curls and calves For a lot of my leg training) for a month or 2.
I haven’t lifted since Saturday. Need to get some lifting in before the weekend.[/QUOTE]
Oh ****. Is it painful? How long do you expect to be compromised from doing quad activated lifts? At least you can work glutes, hams and calves still
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[QUOTE=xRequiem;1593925981]Oh ****. Is it painful? How long do you expect to be compromised from doing quad activated lifts? At least you can work glutes, hams and calves still[/QUOTE]
Honestly it’s only truly painful when I squatted or deadlifted when I developed the injury. Other than that it did hurt a lot to get the docs/chiropractors fists deep into the torn muscle. But walking and even standing up from a chair doesn’t really hurt, I’d say minor discomfort.
I expect quad activated lifts to be compromised for around 6 weeks. In 4 weeks I expect to be able to squat and deadlift very light weight. They did state I could do light leg extensions right now (as much as he hated saying that for hating extensions lol).
He did state I could do speed work (I assumed he meant squats and deads) sooner if I feel good but I’m not taking my chances. I began this injury with an empty bar and without realizing I was injured I pushed through multiple workouts to heavy weight since it was only a minor pain, and the heavier I went the better it felt. By the third workout going up to 275 tho was pretty painful and that’s when I knew something was wrong.
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Monday December 23, 2019
Upper Body
TnG Bench Press
*45 3x10
135x5
185x3
205x1
225x1
225x8 (ties old PR)
Backoff work
135x25
Pull-ups BWx8,4,4
Face Pull 50 3x20
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Wednesday December 25, 2019
Lower Body
Warmup with rehab work
Beltless Stiff Leg Deadlift
*45 2x10
*135x5
*225x3
*275x1
315x1
335x1
355x1 (probably some form of PR)
Good Morning
*45x5
*95x5
135 2x5
Bulgarian Split Squat
BW 3x6 (felt good on 2nd and 3rd set)
Decline Sit-up
BW 3x6
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[QUOTE=musclehead09;1594232711]Wednesday December 25, 2019
Lower Body
Warmup with rehab work
Beltless Stiff Leg Deadlift
*45 2x10
*135x5
*225x3
*275x1
315x1
335x1
355x1 (probably some form of PR)
Good Morning
*45x5
*95x5
135 2x5
Bulgarian Split Squat
BW 3x6 (felt good on 2nd and 3rd set)
Decline Sit-up
BW 3x6[/QUOTE]
Happy to see you hitting lower already. Bet your DL and bench get nice boost over this rehab period.
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[QUOTE=xRequiem;1594300931]Happy to see you hitting lower already. Bet your DL and bench get nice boost over this rehab period.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! Sticking to stiff leg, core, and light single leg work for the next month but happy I can hit heavy posterior chain work. Definitely like you said I was thinking my bench and deadlift should go up nicely. Looking to actually get my reps with 225 on bench up. I’ll be following a conjugate style method tailored for raw lifting still (rotate 3-4 close variations) for max effort day; but instead of speed work I can do rep work on the bench some cycles. I can rotate or re-evaluate every 3 week cycle. But getting my bench for reps up to 15 with 225 over time would be nice. At the same time pushing my pause Bench above 300 would be nice.
