The Flywheel Effect.

[CW47]

I missed this post entirely earlier

Anyway, as JRock said it is a good thing when you realize you are not quite "in the know" about why some things are paired up or even in a program entirely. Blakely does seem to not like speed work.... and it works for him. If you think that is where it is at for you, then keep going with that in mind. There are definitely worse powerlifters out there to take advice from lol. Blakely is very intelligent in how he sets his program up.

I like speed work because I am able to get some of the heavy weight benefits without actually having to move the heavy weight through the entire range of motion. But speed work is most definitely not a final answer. It is just another tool to use as you see fit.

I do like the addition of Kung Fu to your repertoire of physical activities. There is nothing better for conditioning, flexibility, mobility, and endurance than the martial arts. And Kung Fu is definitely one of the martial arts that requires all of these abilities. IIRC, and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but Kung Fu is a very throw oriented art form... requiring a lot of moves that use your opponents weight and momentum against him.

I really like listening to JM talk. Clearly an intelligent individual, which I appreciate. But I'm not really ready to adopt his stance yet - I want to give speed work a good thorough test before I make my mind up about it. I was just trying to explain the thought process behind why I programmed the JM Press like I did. I'll probably use it exclusively as assistance work in the future, rather than having it be the main movement on Dynamic days.

The Kung Fu is honestly just for fun, but I can definitely see it being good for overall health, for the reasons you mentioned. Not sure about the throws. It certainly doesn't seem to be a throw oriented martial art so far, since we've only learned punches and kicks during the first 2 weeks, but it's still really early on, so we'll see...

[CW47]

October 13, 2020

Dynamic Bench - JM Press
85 pounds - 9 sets x 3 reps

Dumbbell Bench Press
45's - 3 sets x 12 reps
A bit grindy on the last reps. I'll probably need to do the smallest possible increase next week.

Floor Press with Fat Grips
100 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Not really liking the Fat Grips on this lift, but it may very well be because I'm just not used to them.

Barbell Shrug
215 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Tricep Extension
Mini Band - 3 sets x 15 reps
Same sets and reps, but I had the band a little tighter than last week. I'll need to either change to an average band or increase reps/sets next week.

Hanging Leg Raise
Bodyweight - 5 sets x 5 reps


My left shoulder and elbow were giving me some grief today. I think I've pinpointed the cause to two different things. First is Chinups. Though I didn't have any pain initially, my shoulders were cracking like crazy from the first rep on these last week, and it was the same when I did them a couple of days ago. Weirdly, the other thing that I think has contributed is the Hanging Leg Raises I started last week. I say it's weird because I have my hands in a Pullup position when doing them, as opposed to a Chinup position. The discomfort was more noticable as soon as I started them today. After the first two sets I changed to an underhand (Chinup) grip, and it instantly felt better. Can't explain why these opposing grips would cause issues in one lift and not in the other. It obviously has something to do with the movement pattern. But really it doesn't matter. I just need to stay away from Chinups and from overhanded hanging leg raises for a while (maybe permanently). Not sure what the elbow pain was about. Could be some mild tendonitis. Could also be a result of the Chins and Leg Raises. Could be something else. We'll see if eliminating those exercises resolves it.

And since most of you probably aren't aware, I had an injury to my left shoulder a few years ago that prevented me from lifting at all for several months. I was lucky that it only required rehab. It's not something I want to deal with again, so I'll absolutely err on the side of safety.

[CW47]

October 14, 2020

Dynamic Lower - 12 inch Box Squat
140 pounds (65% of 1RM) - 10 sets x 2 reps
Didn't move super fast, but I'm seeing some good improvement. It definitely moved better than the sets at 135 and 145 in past weeks. Form is holding up much better overall.

Dynamic Lower - Sumo Deadlift
230 pounds (75% of 1RM) - 10 sets x 2 reps
I'm slowly speeding up the reps when deadlifting. Really happy with how it's feeling. Next area of focus for me is going to be my head positioning, which has always been inconsistent. Or maybe I should say it's been consistently wrong...

Romanian Deadlift
185 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Literally just noticed that I was supposed to do 12 reps instead of 10, lol. Oh well... It's been a while since I've done these, so I had to make adjustments as I went along. Finally was feeling it work my hamstrings on the final set.

Dumbbell Seal Row
45 pound DB's - 3 sets x 12 reps
Oh damn, I was supposed to do 10 reps on these and I did 12 instead, lmao. I guess that explains why the weight felt too heavy for the number of reps I was doing.

Barbell Curl
65 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Something about my anatomy makes any curl except a hammer curl irritate my elbows pretty severely. I tried to find a grip width that was reasonably comfortable, but it was still not that comfortable. Should be fine for a couple of weeks here and there though.


Video shows only one of the Sumo Deadlift sets (I think it was the 9th set):

[Raigs]

Nice session. The sumo dead’s are getting stronger.

Barbell curls are always tough on the elbow. I don’t think anybody feels great doing them. Try to just DB

[400Lb Gorilla]

nice work and those deadlifts looked good.

Love the combination of squats and deads on the same day. While I have realized I will never love box squats, they are a great lift. Sumo deads are also a lift I never seem to get perfect. But the combo of those two will leave the legs smoked.

Then you went a threw another hamstring/glute/low back focused lift on with the RDLs

Do you do any quad dominant days?

[CW47]

Nice session. The sumo dead’s are getting stronger.

Barbell curls are always tough on the elbow. I don’t think anybody feels great doing them. Try to just DB

Well, I guess it's good news that barbell curls hurt everyone's elbows, lol. I thought it would be good to try them since I've basically never had them as a consistent part of my program. But I will for sure do them with DB's the vast majority of the time. The movement is just so much more natural. I'll probably also try them with bands at some point.

nice work and those deadlifts looked good.

Love the combination of squats and deads on the same day. While I have realized I will never love box squats, they are a great lift. Sumo deads are also a lift I never seem to get perfect. But the combo of those two will leave the legs smoked.

Then you went a threw another hamstring/glute/low back focused lift on with the RDLs

Do you do any quad dominant days?

I'm not a fan of box squats either, but they seem to be helping my squat, so I'm going to keep doing them for now.

It's taken me a long time to get decent at sumo deads. I've been doing them that way almost exclusively for the last 2 years, and I have gotten to the point that they actually feel more natural than conventional deads.

Believe it or not, my quads are actually sorer than my hamstrings today. I tend to work them over pretty well when doing sumo deads. I do a few lifts here and there that primarily work the quads, but I've intentionally put the focus on hamstrings, glutes, and hip extensors, since those have always seemed to be weak points for me. That's the reason I switched from conventional to sumo - wanting to build up hip strength. It's also why I tend to do wider stance squats (especially when box squatting). I'm much stronger when I have my legs closer together on both squats and deads, because I can use my quads more, but I'm trying to focus on my weak points because I know that's what will make me stronger and healthier in the long run.

[CW47]

October 17, 2020

Max Bench - Close Grip, 2 Board
175 pounds x 1 rep
Today was the first time in a long time that I've felt comfortable getting into a good back arch. It felt great, and definitely helped add some poundage to the lift (about 6 weeks ago I did this lift with a normal width grip and maxed out at 170). I need to get used to it though. My legs were a bit wobbly, and need to get consistent tension going in the correct direction. It also messed with the touch point on my chest. You can see in the video at the end that I was a little out of position and had to adjust. It resulted in me failing the attempt at 180. I feel like I had 185 in me today without those issues. It's a really good step forward for me. Just need to get used to lifting from that position now.

Pushup
Bodyweight + Mini Band - 5 sets x 7 reps

Pendlay Row
120 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Kneeling Overhead Press
72.5 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Added only 2.5 pounds this week since I struggled with some of the reps last week. It was easier this week than last week. Good sign.

Tricep Kickbacks
17.5 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Planks
Bodyweight - 3 sets x 1 minute 15 seconds
I've probably said it 30 times in this thread, but I freaking hate planks. Today, I found a good way of working up the energy to do them. Before doing them I just started yelling about how much they suck, how much I hate them, how much I don't want to do them. It got me really pumped up. I probably should've recorded it, lol.


The video shows the 175 pound bench rep.

[CW47]

October 18, 2020

Max Effort Lower - Squat w/Mini Band
Mini Band+175 pounds x 1 rep / Mini Band+185 pounds x Fail
First time doing a banded squat. I'm a big fan of them. The additional tension actually helped me keep the bar path straight. The one exception is my Max Lift at 175, lol. You can see in the video below that I lean forward at the bottom and have to reign it in on the way up. Really surprised I wasn't able to do 185. I thought I'd hit it easily after the 175 attempt. And the form was actually much better than on the 175 rep. Still happy with this result.

Good Morning
145 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Tried doing this seated, like the last few weeks, but it just felt bad, so I stood up and did them. It's weird...the reps always seem to get better as I go along. Probably just a matter of gaining confidence that my back will hold up. The set shown in the video below was the first standing set. All of the following sets were better (fuller range).

Band Pulldown
Mini Band - 3 sets x 25 reps
I had Chinups planned, but I'm not going to do them anymore because of how they affect my shoulders. So I got creative and tried something new. Put safety bars at the top of the rack and wrapped a band around them, then did pulldowns. It worked pretty good actually.

Rack Pull
240 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
These felt great. I did a better job of maintaining tightness throughout all of the sets. My lower back was fried by the time I was done.

Bulgarian Split Squat
30 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps


This video shows the 175 and 185 squat attempts:



This video shows the first set of Good Mornings and Band Pulldowns:



Well boys, not sure how active I'll be from here on out. Baby is due in 2 weeks, so could arrive at any time now. And even if the little one doesn't come for another 2 weeks, I'm pretty damn busy getting prepared, and updating my log on here is going to be a low priority. I finished writing up my programming through the end of January today, so I should be able to focus on just getting in my workouts without worrying about any of the extra stuff for quite a long while now. I will certainly drop some updates if I have the time, but we'll just have to see how it goes.

[CW47]

October 21, 2020

Dynamic Bench - JM Press
90 pounds - 9 sets x 3 reps

Dumbbell Bench Press
47.5's - 3 sets x 12 reps

Floor Press with Fat Grips
105 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Hanging Knee Raise
Bodyweight - 3 sets x 10 reps


I'm thinking the max effort attempts to failure have caught up to me a bit. I started getting the shakes during and after my previous workout. I thought it was just from the coffee I'd had. But that night I couldn't sleep. Kept waking up every 90 minutes, and at one point I was awake for a couple of hours, still feeling shaky through the night (the coffee would have worn off long before that). I've been feeling sluggish ever since. It hit me hard again part way through this workout. The DB Bench felt easier than last week, despite a weight increase. But then I just hit a wall during the second set of floor press. Started shaking again and barely finished out the set after doing the first set pretty easily. I needed a good 10 minute rest before I was able to do the third set. I cut out the Shrugs and Tricep Extensions I had planned to do. I've also gained about 4 pounds over the last 2 days, despite basically no change in diet or exercise. Weird. Though I don't feel particularly stressed, I suppose that could be a factor. Anyway, I'm going to be very careful about how far I push myself over the next week or so.

[CW47]

October 22, 2020

Dynamic Lower - 12 inch Box Squat
160 pounds (75% of 1RM) - 8 sets x 2 reps

Dynamic Lower - Sumo Deadlift
245 pounds (80% of 1RM) - 8 sets x 2 reps

Dumbbell Seal Row
47.5 pound DB's - 3 sets x 10 reps

Barbell Curl
70 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps


Energy level was back to normal today. I felt great throughout the workout.
I will most likely lower the percentages for the speed squats and deads, especially the squats. Squats moved okay, but definitely not fast. Deads were pretty quick, but would be better at a slightly lower percentage.
Left out Romanian Deadlifts today. My lower back has been fatigued for the last week, and was still sore going into my workout today. I'd rather save it for other exercises.

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I had finished writing my programming through January. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards not following a pre-written program. I've also put together a template that only plans the main lifts on each day, and then gives some guidance on rep ranges and body parts for the remainder of each workout. I tend to stick pretty strictly to my programming, sometimes to my detriment. I think looser programming would/will probably be a good thing for me.

[CW47]

October 24, 2020

Max Bench - Bench Press w/Mini Band
Mini Band + 155 pounds x 1 rep
Added 10 pounds to my max in the last 6 weeks. The reps were flying up during the warm ups, so I had no doubt I'd hit this. Didn't even bother doing a 5 pound PR first. There was at least another 5 pounds there to be had, but I was happy to take the 10 pound PR.

Pushup
Bodyweight + Mini Band - 5 sets x 8 reps

Pendlay Row
125 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Was probably more of a hybrid between a Pendlay and a Bent Row.

Kneeling Overhead Press
75 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Easy Peasy.

Some Random Tricep Stuff
Figured out that I like Rolling DB Tricep Extensions.

Ab Wheel Rollouts
3 Sets x 5 Reps
Bought an Ab Wheel today. Had to try it out. Even 5 reps was a struggle. Hopefully I'm not hurting too bad from it tomorrow.


Video shows the Bench PR



I'm really, really happy with my progress since starting the Conjugate system. I was constantly hitting plateaus previously, but literally haven't hit one on any lift since changing to this approach. It's working much better than any other programming I've used. It's encouraging, because I've made good progress despite not knowing what I'm doing from an exercise selection perspective. Once I get some experience with the various lifts and know what works well for me, things should really take off.

[ECGordyn]

October 24, 2020

Max Bench - Bench Press w/Mini Band
Mini Band + 155 pounds x 1 rep
Added 10 pounds to my max in the last 6 weeks. The reps were flying up during the warm ups, so I had no doubt I'd hit this. Didn't even bother doing a 5 pound PR first. There was at least another 5 pounds there to be had, but I was happy to take the 10 pound PR.

Pushup
Bodyweight + Mini Band - 5 sets x 8 reps

Pendlay Row
125 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Was probably more of a hybrid between a Pendlay and a Bent Row.

Kneeling Overhead Press
75 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Easy Peasy.

Some Random Tricep Stuff
Figured out that I like Rolling DB Tricep Extensions.

Ab Wheel Rollouts
3 Sets x 5 Reps
Bought an Ab Wheel today. Had to try it out. Even 5 reps was a struggle. Hopefully I'm not hurting too bad from it tomorrow.


Video shows the Bench PR



I'm really, really happy with my progress since starting the Conjugate system. I was constantly hitting plateaus previously, but literally haven't hit one on any lift since changing to this approach. It's working much better than any other programming I've used. It's encouraging, because I've made good progress despite not knowing what I'm doing from an exercise selection perspective. Once I get some experience with the various lifts and know what works well for me, things should really take off.

Do you think it might be possible that the mini band has lost elasticity since you've been training with it, and it's easier now than it was in the beginning?

Just kidding you man. Good work there. I know bench is b*tchy wench, very technical and sensitive to bodyweight changes.

What's the basic idea behind Conjugate?

[CW47]

Do you think it might be possible that the mini band has lost elasticity since you've been training with it, and it's easier now than it was in the beginning?

Just kidding you man. Good work there. I know bench is b*tchy wench, very technical and sensitive to bodyweight changes.

What's the basic idea behind Conjugate?

Lmao! This is the first set of bands I've used, but from my understanding they should last for quite a while.

My bodyweight is on the rise. With a pregnant partner, I've put on some sympathy pounds of late. Gained about 5 over the last month, and I'm sure that's helping significantly. But I think it's mostly a matter of improved technique.

Conjugate is actually a pretty simple concept. It's split into Bench workouts and Lower workouts (the lower workouts can be either squats or deads, or both). I do a 'Max Effort Bench' and 'Max Effort Lower' workout once per week, where my goal is to hit a 1-3 rep PR. Then I do a 'Speed' day for each also. On these days I work with a percentage of 1RM, which ranges from 40-80% depending upon the lift. The percentage isn't really important though. The goal is bar speed. On these days I typically do 8-12 sets of 2-3 reps, with less than a minute rest between sets.

I add in assistance exercises on each day that are designed to have carry over to the main lifts. And then some accessory lifts as well (abs, biceps, whatever), usually focusing on weak points.

The other big concept with Conjugate is to constantly change up your exercises. This is to reduce the likelihood of of injury, avoid plateaus, and eliminate the need for deloads.

I change my Max Effort lifts every week. I have a basic template I'm following right now that has me doing the competition lifts every 6 weeks, and in between it's a mixture of different grips, stances, resistance types (bands, chains), ranges of motion, tempo's, bar types, etc.
I'm running the Speed days with the same exercise for 3 weeks, increasing the % of 1RM each week.
The assistance and accessories have their own cadence as well. I started out doing them for 6 weeks at a time. I've reduced it to 3 weeks now, and will probably reduce it to 2 weeks at some point. Those adjustments are just based upon how my body is reacting to the stimulus.

[CW47]

October 25, 2020

Max Effort Lower - Deficit Sumo Deadlift
305 pounds x 1 rep
This is the first time I've really pushed it to the limit on deads since tweaking my back a couple of months ago. I had to attempt it twice because my hands started slipping right away doing it double overhand, even with a hook grip. Put on straps so I could just focus on pulling. It was pretty sloppy, but it went up.

Good Morning
150 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps

Pullup
Bodyweight - 5 sets x 5 reps

Bulgarian Split Squat
35 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Left out Rack Pulls today because my energy crashed. Finished my workout about 2 hours ago, and I'm still a little shaky. Happy with the Max Effort lift today. Deficit Sumo is a good lift for me. I really struggled to get the bar moving, so it should be a good lift for me to develop more strength off the floor.


Video shows the Deficit Sumo Deadlift:

[400Lb Gorilla]

The pull looked fairly smooth to me once you got it off the floor. I am no expert at sumo, though, so taking my critique of that lift is not advisable lol. You didnt appear to have too much of an issue after you got it started though.

Love that 5x5 GM with 150, though! It is even more impressive that you can rep out half your maximal(ish) deadlift on GMs after you actually put multiple max attempts into the deadlift Solid work and I would have crashed out well before I got to the rack pulls lol

[CW47]

The pull looked fairly smooth to me once you got it off the floor. I am no expert at sumo, though, so taking my critique of that lift is not advisable lol. You didnt appear to have too much of an issue after you got it started though.

Love that 5x5 GM with 150, though! It is even more impressive that you can rep out half your maximal(ish) deadlift on GMs after you actually put multiple max attempts into the deadlift Solid work and I would have crashed out well before I got to the rack pulls lol

I swear to god those freaking Bulgarian Split Squat take it out of me more than any other exercise. Not sure why that is. The good mornings are probably more like half mornings, lol. I can't really go to close to horizontal because the bar starts rolling. Really would like to get a safety squat bar at some point...

And yeah, breaking it off the floor was for sure the challenge with the deadlift. I knew if I could get it off the ground it would go all the way up. I'm pretty sure the reason I struggled to get it up is because of poor hip mobility. I couldn't get my hips low enough to get into proper position. It's probably the kind of thing that will get better the more often I do it. I may even do this as one of the speed lifts at some point, because the numerous reps should be really beneficial.

[400Lb Gorilla]

I think it has something to do with the fact that you know you have to do "twice" the amount of work with only half the balance lol.

Goodmorning are not required to go to horizontal to be effective. If you are feeling them in the target area then they are sufficient. If you see me do them on squat day I tend to go horizontal(ish) only because that is what is needed to get lower back and glutes involved. But when I do them on deadlift day I use a more stiff legged stance and the ROM is maybe down to around 30-45 degrees because I can feel the hammies doing all the work. Any lower and the hamstrings relax, the knees tend to want to bend, and it would go back to being a low back/glute lift.

Just thought I would throw that out there. A few guys I know have shelved GMs because they cant get "full" ROM out of them and I hate to see such a great leg and lower back builder being shelved for a reason like that.

[CW47]

Just thought I would throw that out there. A few guys I know have shelved GMs because they cant get "full" ROM out of them and I hate to see such a great leg and lower back builder being shelved for a reason like that.

Thanks for that. It makes perfect sense. I definitely won't be completely dropping the Good Mornings. Even though I feel like I'm not getting the most out of them right now, I can tell that it's a good lift. I've been gravitating towards lifts that carry over to multiple body parts, and Good Mornings for sure fall into that category.


October 27, 2020

Dynamic Bench - Close Grip Bench Press
85 pounds + 2 Chains - 9 sets x 3 reps
Finally made use of my chains.

Dumbbell Bench Press
50 Pound DB's - 3 sets x 12 reps

Floor Press with Fat Grips
110 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
After doing these for 4 weeks, I think I've finally got the movement figured out. The bar path has kind of been all over the place, but something clicked during the second set today.

Dumbbell Shrugs
50 Pound DB's - 3 sets x 15 reps

Overhead Tricep Extension
Light Band - 3 sets x 15 reps

Hanging Knee Raise
Bodyweight - 3 sets x 8 reps

My biggest takeaway from this session is that I'm getting too freaking thick. I was having trouble bending over to pick up dumbbells, and holding my bodyweight on the hanging knee raises. My weight has ballooned out of control over the last 3 weeks as the temps outside have dropped and I'm no longer doing the daily bike rides, walks, skateboarding. I'm going to have to really reign in my food intake. Aside from that, it was a really solid workout. All of my pressing is continuing to get stronger. I expect I'll take a hit there as I start cutting weight, but it has to be done.

[400Lb Gorilla]

lol you can pass some of that weight my way if you want lol.

dont stress the floor press too much as far as getting in the groove. it is a very forgiving exercise solid push workout. and I love your choice of adding a core exercise into every lift day. that will have huge carry over to every lift!

[CW47]

lol you can pass some of that weight my way if you want lol.

dont stress the floor press too much as far as getting in the groove. it is a very forgiving exercise solid push workout. and I love your choice of adding a core exercise into every lift day. that will have huge carry over to every lift!

lol, if only it were that easy.
And yeah, core work always pays off. If it's called 'core', it's probably pretty important.


November 1, 2020
First workout in a while because the baby came ahead of schedule.
Just been doing lots of baby carries over the last 5 days. I took it a bit easy today, trying to ease back into things.

Dynamic Lower: Pause Squat - Wide Stance
95 pounds (45% of 1RM) - 12 sets x 2 reps
This works a couple of major weak points for me. My programming had me doing 55% of 1RM this week, but I lowered it so I could do the reps with some semblance of speed. My wide stance squatting has always been significantly weaker for me. While my form was far from perfect, I'm seeing great overall improvement. My back angle is consistent. I was keeping my weight back, instead of leaning forward at the bottom. And there was little to no hip shift happening.

Dynamic Lower - Conventional Deadlift
155 pounds (50% of 1RM) + 2 Mini Bands - 12 sets x 2 reps
The Mini Bands feel like they add 30-40 pounds on a Sumo Deadlift, but probably only half of that on a conventional (because of the setup I'm using). So in order to get up to about the 75% 1RM I wanted, I had to add a second band. It was still pretty easy, but this if the first of a new 3 week cycle for my main Dynamic lifts, so it'll get harder over the next 2 weeks.

Barbell Curl
75 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps

Yates Row
75 - 2 sets x 10 reps
Decided to superset some curls with rows, so I threw these in. Kept the weight the same as the curls since this was my first experience with this type of row. I like the way it feels. I may have been doing it wrong though, because I felt it more in the upper back than in the lats.


I would typically take a day or two of rest before doing Max Effort workouts, but if I'm feeling decent tomorrow, I may just jump right into it.

[CW47]

November 2, 2020

Max Bench: Incline Press - 30 Degree
155 pounds x 1 rep
Got my first taste of home workouts with a baby in the house. Did warmups and worked up to 145, had to step away to help momma and baby, and then resumed my workout 90 minutes later, lmao. Still really happy with the max lift on this one. I don't have any max lifts logged at a 30 degree incline, but for reference I maxed out at 160 on the flat bench at the beginning of this program. I'm making improvements on my grip that's helping me keep the bar steadier during the unrack. Also getting better at having consistent leg drive instead of kicking it into gear when the bar hits my chest. These changes mean I'm wasting less energy on unnecessary movement.

Kneeling Overhead Press
80 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
A full 5 pound increase over last time. I was questioning whether I'd be able to do this, but managed to get all the reps in. I'm doubtful about being able to do another 5 pound jump next week, but I'll see how I feel on the day.

Ab Wheel Rollouts
3 Sets x 10 Reps
Doubled up from 5 to 10 reps per set. It felt good. I put a blanket under my knees and that helped enormously.


Video shows the Max attempt at 155 pounds:



I scaled back the volume quite a bit again today, removing pushups, pendlay rows, and tricep work. Just trying to ease back into things while still being able to go all out on the important lifts.
I am fairly tight today after my first workout back yesterday. I'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow and decide whether or not I'll do my Max Lower, or push it off a day.

[Raigs]

Congrats on the baby. Workouts will be different now. Try to get what you can get in and don’t let it get you down! Just gotta keep pushing.

[CW47]

Congrats on the baby. Workouts will be different now. Try to get what you can get in and don’t let it get you down! Just gotta keep pushing.

Thanks man. Really appreciate that.
I'll for sure need to be more focused, and keep to a tighter time frame. I'm home for a few more weeks, and then the real challenge will come when I return to work. But I'll get it figured out.

[CW47]

November 4, 2020

Max Effort Lower: Squat - Paused
205 pounds x 1 rep

Yes, that was it for today. I was super tight going in to the workout. Had to do many more warmup sets than normal, along with some stretching (which I typically don't do before lifting). Once I got limbered up, the squats felt really good. All of the ramp up sets were super clean - some of the best and most consistent squatting I've ever done. The final rep at 205 got away from me. I got out of the groove, tilting forward. I'm pretty sure it was a result of going just slightly deeper than previous reps, wanting to be sure I hit a full range of motion, and I lost tightness as a result. Still had enough in me to power through it, but I called it good there. I hadn't expected to make it to 200 pounds to begin with, since I've always seen a big difference in strength between a normal tempo squat versus a paused squat. Really good day for me.

Most of my assistance/accessory work for today would have been targeting my lower back, which is where I was super tight to begin with. I just decided to cut it all out and be fresher for my upcoming workouts.

[Raigs]

That’s neat you got so much time off work.

Smart move on not pushing through the tightness. Your back will thank you later.

[CW47]

Bench keeping up with my workouts, with a lower overall workload each day. Just haven't had time to post up the info until now.

November 5, 2020

Dynamic Bench - Close Grip Bench Press
95 pounds + 2 Chains - 9 sets x 3 reps

Floor Press with Fat Grips
115 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Overhead Tricep Extension
Light Band - 3 sets x 10 reps


Video shows a set each of the Close Grip w/Chains and the Floor Press.

[CW47]

November 6, 2020

Dynamic Lower: Pause Squat - Wide Stance
115 pounds (55% of 1RM) - 10 sets x 2 reps
Working on building up hip strength with these. They look pretty ugly and feel awkward, but it's important that I keep working on the wide stance squat stuff.

Dynamic Lower - Conventional Deadlift
175 pounds (55% of 1RM) + Light Band - 10 sets x 2 reps
The light band feels like slightly more resistance than the 2 mini bands I did the previous time. This is the first time in months I've pulled with any speed at all. It felt great.


Video shows one set of each lift.

[CW47]

November 8, 2020

Max Bench: Bench Press - 3 Board
175 pounds - 1 set x 3 reps
The goal was a 3 Rep Max today. I didn't know what to expect since I've never done a 3 board bench before. I was having trouble getting any kind of back arch because of lower back tightness, and it affected my stability. I'm really happy with the 175 though.

Pushup: Mini Band
Bodyweight + Mini Band: 5 sets x 9 reps
I've worked up from 5 to 9 reps per set over the last 6 weeks. The 9 rep sets this week felt only slightly more difficult than the 5 rep sets did at the beginning of this cycle. Good progress.

Kneeling Overhead Press
85 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
I'm super happy with my pressing progress. My 10 rep max is 90 pounds. That was a total anomaly at the time, and it was for only 1 set. I'm sure I could beat that now. My pressing has never been so strong. The consistent progress overall is making it really easy to go into workouts feeling positive and motivated.


Video shows the Max Bench 3 Rep Max.

[Raigs]

Nice work on staying up with the workouts. Nice that you are trying different things with the boards even though it felt weird I bet it felt good later

[CW47]

Nice work on staying up with the workouts. Nice that you are trying different things with the boards even though it felt weird I bet it felt good later

I like using the boards. The 3 board asks much more of the triceps than a standard bench press, which I guess is pretty obvious since it focuses on the lockout portion of the lift. And that lift actually felt pretty good. I didn't realize the touch point was off until I saw it on video.


November 9, 2020

Max Effort Lower: Sumo Deadlift
245 pounds + Mini Band: 1 set x 3 reps
Another 3 rep max today. The reps can be seen in the video below. I felt sure that I could do another 10-20 pounds. Tried 265 and was only able to get it about an inch off the ground. Actually, I'm sure I could've completed at least 1 rep, but I stopped because I wasn't able to hold correct positioning. I was so convinced I could do it that I tried it two more times, lmao. The second attempt had exactly the same result. On the third attempt I held my positioning firm, but was still unable to get the bar more than an inch off the floor.

After the primary lift, I wasn't able to resume my workout until 6 hours later. I ended up just doing some band work. Came up with some really good ways of doing Triceps, Biceps, and Rows with a mini band that I'll for sure use in the future. I did a few AMRAP sets of each. Arms are still fried now, 3 hours later.