J0hn117's log to former strength and beyond

[Kameronn]

Your lower body workout volumes seem brutal

[j0hn117]

Tuesday 27th February
Upper 1

Incline bench:
60 x 12
90 x 6
100 x 4
110 x 5 - 7 sets
not great, shoulder angry but foam rolling should sort it out. ironing out form issues.

NG pullups:
x10
+15 x 10 - 5 sets

Band facepulls:
6 x 20

CG spoto press:
60 x 12
80 x 12
80 x 12
80 x 12
80 x 12
new exercise, trying to get some tri work without hurting my shoulder. pausing higher than is specified but that's just to try take as much stress off shoulder as possible.

NG high incline DB:
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12

Hammer curls:
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
slow ecc

Reverse grip EZ curls:
15 x 8
15 x 8
15 x 8
15 x 8

cut down assistance from normal, but will be interesting to see if i did too much pushing today to recover from it. Scheduling it mon-tues-thurs-sat because saturday is the hardest day for me by a mile

Your lower body workout volumes seem brutal

I generally find it quite hard to recover from squats hence the lower freq, so when I do train lower I just go a bit higher volume.. just needa try things and see if they work i guess.
switching my lower program up a bit in coming weeks so we'll how it goes lol

You are pretty damn strong.

my incline is decent at least, my squat and deadlift are poverty

[needmoargains]

I mean 200 kg box squats are pretty damn good haha. You do incline instead of flat?

[j0hn117]

Thursday 1st March
Upper 2

WG lat pull down:
180 lbs x 12
180 lbs x 12
180 lbs x 12

Incline bench:
60 x 8
80 x 6
100 x 4
110 x 2
117.5 x 4 - 8 sets

Front raises:
15 x 12-15 4 sets

Band Facepulls:
4 x 25

Cable row:
160 lbs x 12
160 lbs x 12
160 lbs x 12
160 lbs x 12

Incline dB row:
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12

Then I did some hit on the treadmill.

Again a bit easier on assistance, but bench felt pretty good today despite my CNS feeling sluggish

[j0hn117]

Friday 2nd March
Lower 2

Squat:
60 x 8
100 x 5
120 x 3
127.5 x 5
132.5 x 5
137.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
147.5 x 5

Jump squats:
60 x 4
60 x 4
60 x 4
60 x 4

Drinking a full bottle of vodka last night wasn't a good idea

[j0hn117]

Saturday 3rd march
Upper 3

Incline bench:
60 x 12
80 x 8
100 x 4
112.5 x 2
125 x 3
125 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
122.5 x 3
125 x 2 misgroove
Really inconsistent and dodgy today, since I failed a rep I just called it. Weird since bar speed was fine. Strength is there just hidden under the surface..

Pause Ohp:
60 x 4
65 x 6
65 x 6
65 x 6
65 x 8

Wider grip pullups:
+20 x 6
+20 x 6
+20 x 6
+20 x 8

Chest dips:
+15 x 12
+15 x 12
+15 x 12
+20 x 12
W/ cg pushup burnout

21s:
4 sets w/ reverse curls burnout

Hard to know how many accessories to do, but erred on the side of caution.

Remember kids.. Don't drink and lift, my cns is still not firing properly

[j0hn117]

Monday 5th March
Lower 1

Squat:
130 x 5
135 x 5
140 x 5
145 x 5
150 x 5
Beltless again nice

Front squats:
100 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
120 x 3
Man these suck to go back to

Pause squat:
125 x 5
125 x 5
125 x 5
125 x 6

Sumo deadlift:
Poor x bad
Dropping this it's more hassle than good

Incline bench:
110 - 6 sets of 6

Tiring session still body not feeling great

[j0hn117]

Tuesday 6th March
Upper 1

Incline bench:
60 x 12
80 x 8
100 x 4
115 - 7 sets of 5
Surprisingly good today. Easier than yesterday despite being theoretically harder. No doubt I'll have a terrible workout on Thursday lol

Thumbless pullups:
X 10
+10 x 10
+10 x 10
+10 x 10
+10 x 10 - wide grip. Harder but felt better on a back

Pause ohp:
60 x 4
62.5 x 7
62.5 x 7
62.5 x 7
62.5 x 7

NG lat pulldown:
150 lbs x 15
150 lbs x 15
150 lbs x 15

NG higher incline pause DB:
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
Name is a mouthful, but good for shoulders and outer head of tricep

Hammer curls:
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 10, 21s barbell curl

Passed on drinks last night and glad I did since today went pretty well. Hopefully Thurs and Sat go the same and lay me up to a good max next week.


Anyone got any advice for maxing out after I finish smolov Jr on Saturday?

[Kameronn]

Advice for maxing out? Just generally?

[j0hn117]

Advice for maxing out? Just generally?

After smolov jr I mean.
Not sure how many days to wait or what to do on the prep upper session before I max.
But general max out advice wouldn't hurt since I never do it lol

[j0hn117]

WeThursday 8th March
Upper 2

Wg lat pull down:
185 lbs x 12
185 lbs x 12
185 lbs x 12
185 lbs x 12
Some of these reps were a little dodgy, oh well

Incline bench:
60 x 12
80 x 8
100 x 4
112.5 x 2
122.5 - 8 sets of 4
This was tough

Band facepulls:
4 x 25

Front raises:
12.5 x 12 - 4 sets

Band pullaparts:
4 x 15

Cable row:
170 lbs x 12 - 4 sets
Went thumb less

Incline dB row:
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 15
Better feeling if I go one at a time

Pretty happy with this workout. Got through bench despite having pretty bad shoulder/chest doms but felt reasonably strong. Probably gonna struggle with Saturdays workout but I'll adjust the sets and reps as needed

[j0hn117]

Friday 9th March
Lower 2

Squat:
Bar, 60 x 5
100 x 5
120 x 5
132.5 x 5
137.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
147.5 x 5
152.5 x 3
152.5 x 1
152.5 x 2
152.5 x 5
Kept misgrooving the top set, even when I added a belt for the 2nd set. Need more practise with belt and its too loose now I'm cutting lol. For last set I said fk it and powered through the 4/5 bad reps of the set

3 second pause front squat:
60 x 3
70 x 3
80 x 3
90 x 3
100 x 3
105 x 3
110 x 3
115 x 3
Trunk stability and wrist flexibility are pretty limiting here. Really nasty exercise lol

Pause box squat :
100 x 8
100 x 8
100 x 8
100 x 10
Box at sticking point

RDL:
60 x 8
80 x 8
100 x 8
110 x 8
120 x 8
130 x 8 * PB *
Wasn't even max, got a lot stronger with these without even doing them¿

Called it there since that's a pretty heavy session already, but hopefully taking out full DL will minimise affect on CNS

[j0hn117]

Saturday 10th March
Upper 3

Incline bench:
60 x 12
80 x 8
100 x 5
112.5 x 2
122.5 x 2
126.25 x 1 misloaded
130 x 2 failed third somehow
125 x 3
127.5 x 3
127.5 x 3
127.5 x 3
127.5 x 3
127.5 x 3
130 x 3
Cut the sets because of the failure, but definitely had the strength for 130, just form was off on that first set and it threw me off

Wider grip pullups:
X 10
+15 x 8
+15 x 8
+15 x 8
+15 x 12

Pause OHP:
60 x 4
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5

21s barbell:
30, 2 x 20

Cg pushups:
2x20, x 15

Cut accessories to save cns. Finally finished smolov Jr without getting injured somehow

[j0hn117]

Monday 12th March
Lower 1

Squats:
Bar, 60,100 x 5
122.5 x 5
132.5 x 5
137.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
142.5 x 5
Added a belt for the 5x5, just to get practise using it. Felt a little stronger today although low back was sore. Cued in activating my glutes out of the hole and it helped a lot

Front squats:
100 x 4
110 x 6
110 x 6
110 x 6
110 x 6
Still feel disgusting, but strength coming back

Pause squats:
120 x 6
120 x 6
120 x 6 - 4s pause on last

Hip thrust:
100 x 8
140 x 10
140 x 10
140 x 10
140 x 12 - 10s pause on last
Did these deadstop with a pause each rep

Gonna call this 'volume day'.. Its bad when the volume squats are the nice bit of the workout lol

[j0hn117]

Tuesday 13th March
Upper 1

Incline bench:
60 x 12
80 x 8
100 x 3
120 x 1
125 x 1
90 x 3
90 x 3
90 x 3
90 x 3
Shoulders felt awful and weight heavy but towards last back down sets it started feeling okay. Do some pushups tomorrow, stretch and roll and I should be good to go come Thurs

Thumbless pullups:
X10
4 x 12

Band Facepulls:
4 x 25

NG dB press:
15 x 12
15 x 12
15 x 12
15 x 12

[Kameronn]

Smolov doesn't have a built in maxing scheme?

[j0hn117]

Thursday 15th March
Upper 2

Incline bench:
60 x 12
80 x 8
100 x 4
115 x 1
125 x 1
135 x 1
142.5 x 1 *PB*
think my CNS wasn't 100% just because of the heavy legs on monday, but still legit 3 plate so can't complain

WG lat pulldown:
190 lbs x 12
190 lbs x 12
190 lbs x 12
190 lbs x 12

Pause Front squat:
60 x 4
80 x 4
90 x 4
100 x 3
110 x 3
120 x 3
back was sore AF

Squat:
120 x 3
130 x 3
140 x 6
140 x 6
140 x 6
140 x 6
140 x 6
140 x 6
not too bad actually, once i put my belt on. back still pretty bad but powered through. helped my back and hips doing FS first but probs fatigued my legs a little

Oly box squat:
105 x 8
105 x 8
105 x 8
105 x 8
105 x 10, x10 higher box
from sticking point, fk this exercise

Cable row:
180 lbs x 12
180 lbs x 12
180 lbs x 12
180 lbs x 12
180 lbs x 12

Nordic curls:
3 x 8
x10

did legs today just because my back was gonna be sore today or tomorrow anyway, and i know i;d be fatigued after maxing. means i get a rest day tomorrow.

[j0hn117]

Friday 16th March

Squat:
60 x 5
100 x 5
120 x 4
130 x 8
130 x 8
130 x 10

Wider grip pullups:
3x12

Bro pressured me into gyming lol

[needmoargains]

You know , normally I see guys benching 3-4 times per week XD then there is John squatting like 4-5 times. It's rare to see.

[j0hn117]

You know , normally I see guys benching 3-4 times per week XD then there is John squatting like 4-5 times. It's rare to see.

sure feels like 4-5 but its actually only 2...
having a poverty squat is my main motivation to improve lol

[needmoargains]

sure feels like 4-5 but its actually only 2...
having a poverty squat is my main motivation to improve lol

I wish I had your motivation when it came to legs . brb trained for 2 years , didn't squat for a year got up to 95 x 5 squats then gave up .. Im at 85 kg 3 x 5-6 RPE 9-10 now

[j0hn117]

I wish I had your motivation when it came to legs . brb trained for 2 years , didn't squat for a year got up to 95 x 5 squats then gave up .. Im at 85 kg 3 x 5-6 RPE 9-10 now

I seem to get 4-6 months consistent squatting then get injured.. last year this time I had 140 x 10 @ 83kg then had ages off because of my knee, this year i've got 142.5 x 10 @ 86-87.. more about consistently training with some kind of progress than killing yourself every session

[needmoargains]

I seem to get 4-6 months consistent squatting then get injured.. last year this time I had 140 x 10 @ 83kg then had ages off because of my knee, this year i've got 142.5 x 10 @ 86-87.. more about consistently training with some kind of progress than killing yourself every session

Before you know it you will squat 180 kg! Just takes time I guess.

[j0hn117]

Saturday 17th march
Upper 3

Pause OHP:
50 x 12
50 x 12
50 x 12
50 x 12

Pause NG lat pulldown:
140 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12
160 lbs x 12
170 lbs x 12

Hammer curls:
17.5 x 12
17.5 x 12
17.5 x 12
17.5 x 12, w/ BB 21s

Straight bar tricep pushdown:
70 lbs x 12
60 lbs x 15
60 lbs x 15
60 lbs x 15, dropsets

deload day

[j0hn117]

Monday 19th March
Lower 1

Squats:
Bar,60,100 x 5
120 x 5
130 x 5
135 x 5
140 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
Clearly i hate myself with all this volume. Belt for top sets, still feel like chit but strength out of the hole feels better

Front squats:
60,80 x 4
100 x 4
100 x 4
115 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 5

Hip thrust:
100 x 8
140 x 12
150 x 10
150 x 10
150 x 12, 10s hold on last rep

Did a lil more volume to cut out pause squats today, need to remember to activate glutes out of the hole better

[j0hn117]

Tuesday 20th March
Upper 1

OHP:
60 x 4
70 x 3
75 x 3
80 x 1
80 x 1
80 x 1
85 x 1

Widest grip pullups:
4 x 12

Lateral raises:
15 x 15
15 x 15
15 x 15
15 x 15

High incline NG press paused:
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12

Rotating curls: 4 set w/ 15s, BB 21s
Tricep pushdowns:4 sets w/ 60lbs, band pushdowns + pushups dropset

Thursday 22nd March
Upper 2

Thumbless pause lat pulldown:
150 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12

Incline DB row:
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
arm at a time

DB press paused:
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12

Band facepulls:
4 x 30

Cable row:
150 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12
150 lbs x 12

WG lat pulldown:
120 lbs x 8
120 lbs x 8
120 lbs x 8
120 lbs x 8, dropsets
pre-exhaust from cable row

[j0hn117]

Friday 23rd March
Lower 2

Squats:
Bar, 60,100 x 5
120 x 5
132.5 x 5
137.5 x 5
142.5 x 6
142.5 x 6
142.5 x 6
142.5 x 6
142.5 x 6
142.5 x 10 probably a mistake
Top sets belted

Front squats :
60 x 3
80 x 3
100 x 3
110 x 4 - 3 s pause each rep
120 x 4 no pause
125 x 2 cns died

Rdl:
100 x 8
110 x 8
120 x 8
127.5 x 8
132.5 x 8 *PB *, dropset of 8 at 100

Fk this workout - was OK till I decided to do 10 in the last set of squats and pretty much shot myself in the foot. Posterior chain growth though

[j0hn117]

Monday 26th March
Lower 1

Squat:
Bar, 60,100 x 5
120 x 4
130 x 3
140 x 3
150 x 5
150 x 6
150 x 10 * PB *
Was meant to do 3x5 but yolo. Felt pretty good today just sore back as usual. Had a few reps in the tank on the top set, but I got a phone call on rep 9 so stopped it at 10 lol

Breathing pause squat:
60 x 1
70 x 1
80 x 1
90 x 1
100 x 1
10 full breaths each set. Knee didn't feel like it was gonna like front squats today

Rdl:
100 x 8
100 x 12
100 x 20

Nordic curl:
3 x 12
Superset with rdl

Posterior chain is definitely getting a lot stronger which is nice. Back and hip pain made my depth a little inconsistent and I need to use my glutes more out of the hole

[j0hn117]

Tuesday 27th March
Upper 1

OHP:
triples to 75

Thumbless pullups:
4 x 12

lateral raises 15 x 15 4 sets

Thursday 29th March
Upper 2

100 thumbless pullups for time : 12:15

NG lat pulldown:
to 160lbs x 15

High incline NG DB press paused:
25 x 12 - 4 sets

Facepulls:
4 x 20, w/ 4 x bandfacepull x 12

Cable row:
130 lbs x 12 x 4

WG lat pulldown:
130 lbs x 12 x 4

Friday 30th March
Lower 1

Squat:
Bar, 60 , 100 x 5
120 x 5
130 x 3
137.5 x 3
145 x 6
145 x 6
145 x 6
this sucked

10 Breath pause squats:
80 x 1
100 x 1
105 x 1
110 x 1
ends up being around 20s of a pause

Close stance box squat:
100 x 12
100 x 15
100 x 20
100 x 20
trying to work on the outer sweep of my quad, so messed around with the width a bit

Saturday 31st March
Upper 3

Pause OHP:
60 x 5
65 x 3
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5

Thumbless pullups:
x 10
+15 x 6
+20 x 6
+22.5 x 6
+25 x 6
+27.5 x 6
+30 x 6

High CG incline bench pause:
70 x 8
82.5 x 8
82.5 x 6 + 2
82.5 x 6
82.5 x 4 + 2, 60 x 4

BTN WG lat pulldown:
110 lbs x 12
120 lbs x 12
120 lbs x 12
120 lbs x 12

Rotating curls:
17.5 x 12 x 4

Tricep pullovers:
27.5 x 12 x 4

Reverse EZ bar curls:
15 x 12
15 x 12
15 x 12
20 x 15

Barbell 21s:
bar x 4

Straight bar tricep pushdown:
weight x 12 x 4

Band pushdowns:
4 x burnout - dropset pushups on last set

Front raises:
17.5 x 12 x 4

got a little more drunk than is probably safe on monday night so this week has been a bit of a haze.. feeling ok now but there was a rough couple of days there lol

[needmoargains]

15 sets of side laterals damnnn