PMW961 and the Long Road to 1700

[pmw961]

May 2, 2017 -- Week 5 Day 2 (Day 30 Overall)

• Squat: 5x215, 5x265, 2x5x320
• OHP: 5x95, 5x115, 5x135, 4x155
• Deadlift: 5x280, 5x335, 5x390, 5x445
• Pull-Ups: 2x8xBW, 6xBW
• Sit-Ups: 3x22xBW

Hit a 5RM on deadlift this week but missed on my OHP. I've seen good progress in my lower body lifts in this program so far but the upper body stuff isn't progressing quite as well. I did come into this program right out of a cut so I may have lost some more upper body strength than I anticipated and over-estimated my initial 5RM.

[pmw961]

May 3, 2017 -- Week 5 Day 3 (Day 31 Overall)

My wife and I are on a vacation to Vegas for the next couple days so I didn't do any formal workouts today. Just walking around, I logged over 20k steps so it was a fairly active day. I added in some stretching as well. Tomorrow, I'll grab a light workout in the fitness center on site.

[pmw961]

May 4, 2017 -- Week 5 Day 4 (Day 32 Overall)

I only had access to the hotel fitness center today and wanted to get a lift in since the Tuesday-Saturday break was a little longer than I'd like. I used BFR cluster sets to use lighter weights and still achieve an anaerobic effect. The rest time was 30 seconds intra-cluster.

• DB Incline Press: 2x30,15,15,15x60
• Machine Biceps Curl: 2x20,10,10,10x50
• Machine Triceps Extension: 2x20,10,10,10x50
• Leg Extensions: 2x30,15,15,15x70
• Leg Curls: 2x30,15,15,15x70

[pmw961]

May 5, 2017 -- Week 5 Day 5 (Day 33 Overall)

Total rest day today. I logged over 13k steps just walking around but no specific training. I'm heading back home tomorrow and I'm excited to get back in the gym.

[pmw961]

May 6, 2017 -- Week 5 Day 6 (Day 34 Overall)

• Squat: 5x215, 5x265, 5x320, 5x370, 3x435, 8x320
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x220, 5x255, 3x295, 8x220
• Barbell Row: 5x115, 5x145, 5x175, 5x200, 3x235, 8x175
• Weighted Dips: 3x5x70
• Barbell Curls: 3x8x90
• Triceps Pushdown: 3x8x130

It was good to get back in the gym today. Felt pretty good going through squats. The dip belt was missing so I was holding a DB with my feet - a little harder but I made do. This was a different gym from usual so my triceps pushdown weights are a little lower today.

[pmw961]

May 7, 2017 -- Week 5 Day 7 (Day 35 Overall)

Today was a complete non-training day. I did a bunch of yardwork to stay active. Other than that, just some stretching to get ready for tomorrow's lift.

[pmw961]

May 8, 2017 -- Week 6, Day 1 (Day 36 Overall)

• Squat: 5x220, 5x270, 5x325, 5x380, 2x435
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x220, 5x255, 5x290
• Barbell Row: 5x120, 5x145, 5x175, 5x205, 5x235
• Weighted Hypers: 2x12x110
• Weighted Sit-Ups: 2x12x70, 2x11x70

Had a terrible day on squat. I felt bad going through my entire ramp up and just didn't have anything going on the last set. On the flip side, I finally got my 5x290 so hopefully my upper body progress gets back on track.

[pmw961]

May 9, 2017 -- Week 6, Day 2 (Day 37 Overall)

• 10x100m sprints, minute rest
• Hurdle Jumps: 3x5
• Med-Ball Slams: 3x10x18
• DB Holds: 3x1minx20
• 4-Way Neck: 3x12x55 (27.5 fwd)
• Banded Hip Thrusts: 3x20
• Banded Palloff Press: 3x15
• Cable Woodchopper: 3x15x100
• Bodyweight Circuit
  - 15 pushups
  - 30 squats
  - 60 jumping jacks

Non-lifting day, feeling a bit better after a disappointing lift yesterday. Switched up my lower body power movement from box jumps to hurdle jumps. Only major difference is landing low instead of high so there's some more eccentric loading on the landing.

[pmw961]

May 10, 2017 -- Week 6 Day 3 (Day 38 Overall)

• Squat: 5x220, 5x270, 2x5x325
• OHP: 5x95, 5x115, 5x135, 4x155
• Deadlift: 5x285, 5x340, 5x400, 5x455
• Pull-Ups: 2x6x25, 5x25
• Sit-Ups: 2x24xBW, 20xBW

My squat felt better today than on Monday but it was another disappointing miss on OHP. Hitting the 5RM on deadlift was good though with having a terrible miss on squat on Monday. It gives me some more confidence in my continued lower body development.

[pmw961]

May 11, 2017 -- Week 6 Day 4 (Day 39 Overall)

• Med-Ball Throws: 3x10x18
• Hang Power Cleans: 3x175, 3x195, 3x215
• Reverse DB Wrist Curls: 3x15x20
• DB Wrist Curls: 3x15x40
• Frog Pumps: 3x50
• TRX Fall-Outs: 3x15
• Side-Plank Hip Raises: 3x15
• Jump Rope HIIT: 10 rounds 30on/30off

Changed up a couple of my exercises today just to try some new things. I've also been dealing with some knee and foot issues so I wanted to do some lower impact exercises today as well.

[pmw961]

May 12, 2017 -- Week 6 Day 5 (Day 40 Overall)

• Squat: 5x220, 5x270, 5x325, 5x380, 3x445, 8x325
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x220, 5x255, 3x295, 8x220
• Barbell Row: 5x120, 5x145, 5x175, 5x205, 3x240, 8x175
• Weighted Dips: 8x70, 2x6x70
• Barbell Curl: 3x8x90
• Triceps Pushdowns: 8x180, 2x8x190

I'm really happy with today's workout. After a bad fail at 5x435 on squat on Monday (only got 2), I came back and got 3x445 today. I'll also go into Monday's lift next week with a full two days of rest for the first time in three weeks so that should help me get 5x435 too.

[pmw961]

May 13, 2017 -- Week 6 Day 6 (Day 41 Overall)

Got back in the pool today for an active recovery workout. Body is feeling much better after.

• Dynamic warm up
• 2 lengths high knees
• 1 length single leg high knee forward hops, each leg
• 1 length forward bunny hops
• 1 length backward bunny hops
• 2 length lateral hops
• 1 length single leg lateral hops, outside lead, each leg
• 1 length single leg lateral hops, inside lead, each leg
• 3x15 tuck jumps
• 2x10 single leg tuck jumps
• 5 minutes lap swim

[pmw961]

May 14, 2017 -- Week 6 Day 7 (Day 42 Overall)

Today was another active recovery day. I didn't do anything formal. I worked out in the yard for an hour or so and did about 15 minutes of yoga this evening. I'm feeling fresh and ready for tomorrow's lift.

[pmw961]

May 15, 2017 -- Week 7 Day 1 (Day 43 Overall)

• Squat: 5x220, 5x270, 5x325, 5x380, 4x435
• Bench: 5x150, 5x185, 5x220, 5x260, 5x295
• Barbell Row: 5x120, 5x150, 5x180, 5x210, 4x240
• Weighted Hypers: 2x10x120
• Weighted Sit-Ups: 4x10x80

I was incredibly close to getting my squat today. I was about half way up on my last rep and I have no idea what it happened but the bar just fell off my back. I know I have enough strength to get this weight and it was a marked improvement from last week. I have no doubt I'll get it when I try again next Monday. Bench moved pretty well today and I hit a new 5RM after finally getting 290 last week. That's encouraging to hit my numbers two weeks in a row after a little bit of stall. My row technique started falling apart and I was using a lot of legs at the end so I am only counting four reps and keeping the weight the same for next week.

[pmw961]

May 16, 2017 -- Week 7 Day 2 (Day 44 Overall)

• 10x100m sprint, 1 minute rest
• Med Ball Slams: 3x10x18
• Seated Box Jumps: 3x5
• DB Holds: 2x22.5x60sec, 22.5x33sec
• 4-Way Neck: 3x12x55 (27.5 fwd)
• Banded Hip Thrust: 3x20
• Palloff Press Holds: 3x45sec
• Cable Woodchopper: 3x15x105

I had a bit of a scare today. On my last seated box jump, my toe caught the lip of the box and I twisted my ankle. It's feeling fine now but I have a nice bump and gouge on my shin. Hopefully that doesn't have any impact on my deadlifts tomorrow. I have padded socks so that ought to help but I may add some additional wrapping to it as well.

[pmw961]

May 17, 2017 -- Week 7 Day 3 (Day 45 Overall)

• Squat: 5x220, 5x270, 2x5x325
• OHP: 5x95, 5x115, 5x135, 5x155
• Deadlift: 5x290, 5x350, 5x405, 5x465
• Weighted Pull-Ups: 7x25, 2x6x25
• Sit-Ups: 3x26

This was a great workout with two new 5RMs in OHP and deadlift. I had been stuck trying to get 155 on OHP for three weeks so it's really satisfying to get that. Deadlift has progressed every week. Last rep wasn't pretty but that does tend to happen on max outs.

[pmw961]

May 18, 2017 -- Week 7 Day 4 (Day 46 Overall)

• Overhead med ball toss and sprint HIIT
  - 8 sets of 10 overhead tosses, sprinting to ball between each toss
  - 35lb med ball
  - 1 min rest between sets
• Banded Neck: 3x12
• Reverse DB Wrist Curl: 3x15x20
• DB Wrist Curl: 3x15x40
• Frog Pumps: 3x50
• TRX Pikes: 3x10
• Russian Twist: 3x15x45

I changed things up a little today by combining my power movements with my cardio. The overhead toss with sprint ended up being about a 1:1 work to rest ratio. This was actually one of the more challenging cardio workouts I've done lately as far as combining respiratory and muscular fatigue.

[pmw961]

May 19, 2017 -- Week 7 Day 5 (Day 47 Overall)

• Squat: 5x220, 5x270, 5x325, 5x380, 3x445, 8x325
• Bench: 5x15p0, 5x185, 5x220, 5x260, 2x300, 8x220
• Barbell Row: 5x120, 5x150, 5x180, 5x210, 3x245, 8x180
• Weighted Dips: 8x70, 2x6x70
• Barbell Curls: 3x8x90
• Triceps Pushdowns: 8x85, 8x90, 8x95

Squats felt great today and the 445x3 moved incredibly easy. I'm supposed to retry 5x435 on Monday but I was so close to getting it this week and today's squats went so well, I'm going to go ahead and try for 445 instead. On the other hand, bench was awful today and I only hit two reps out of three. No idea what that was about. Needs to be much better next week.

[pmw961]

May 22, 2017 -- Week 8 Workout #1

• Squat: 5x225, 5x280, 5x335, 5x390, 5x445
• Bench: 5x150, 5x190, 5x225, 5x265, 3x300
• Barbell Row: 5x120, 5x150, 5x180, 5x210, 5x240
• Weighted Hypers: 11x120, 10x120
• Weighted Sit-Ups: 11x80, 3x10x80

I made the right call in going up to 445 in squat despite missing 435 last week based on how well squats went Friday. However, bench is still a problem. I should've gotten the fourth rep but couldn't get through a sticking point about 2/3 of the way through. Upper body is still lagging behind lower body overall. As a side note, I'm only going to post my actual lift workouts on here from now on (5x5 Day 1/Day 2/Day 3).

[pmw961]

May 24, 2017 -- Week 8 Workout 2

• Squat: 5x225, 5x280, 2x5x335
• OHP: 5x100, 5x120, 5x140, 3x160
• Deadlift: 5x295, 5x355, 5x415, 1x475
• Pull-Ups: 7x25, 2x5x25
• Sit-Ups: 3x26

Really bad day. Woke up feeling poor and it only got worse through the lift. Felt slow going through a light squat day and had nothing by the time I got to deadlift. Another disappointing upper body day as well with the overhead press miss.

[pmw961]

May 26, 2017 -- Week 8 Workout #3

• Squat: 5x225, 5x280, 5x335, 5x390, 3x455, 8x335
• Bench: 5x150, 5x190, 5x225, 5x265, 3x310, 8x225
• Barbell Row: 5x120, 5x150, 5x180, 5x210, 3x245, 8x180
• Weighted Dips: 8x70, 2x5x70
• Barbell Curls: 2x8x95, 6+2 forced x95
• Triceps Pushdowns: 8x190, 2x8x200

I felt much better today than on Wednesday and it showed in the weights I hit. I made a change to my pre-workout routine. I've always been one to do a dynamic warm-up but I avoided static stretching. Today, I spent a few minutes stretching my calves and it really helped improve my ankle mobility and get depth on my squats. Definitely something I'll keep doing.

[pmw961]

May 29, 2017 -- Week 9 Workout #1

• Squat: 5x230, 5x285, 5x340, 5x400, 5x455
• Bench: 5x150, 5x190, 5x225, 5x265, 4x300
• Barbell Row: 5x125, 5x155, 5x185, 5x215, 5 x245
• Weighted Hypers: 2x12x120
• Weighted Sit-Ups: 11x80, 3x10x80

Squats felt great today and I hit a PR easily. Bench was better this week but still not good enough. It's been stalling out for a while so I'm going to reset next week.

[pmw961]

May 31, 2017 -- Week 9 Workout #2

• Squat: 5x230, 5x285, 2x5x340
• OHP: 5x100, 5x120, 5x140, 4x160
• Deadlift: 5x295, 5x355, 5x415, 5x475
• Pull-Ups: 8x25, 2x6x25
• Sit-Ups: 3x28

Big improvement in deadlift from last week when I only pulled one rep at 475. Clearly last week was just a bad day but still felt good pulling that weight today for a new PR. I'm really getting frustrated with my lack of upper body progress. I missed both my bench and OHP with only 4 reps this week. Both were better than last week's 3, but still I need to reset the weight. I'll see if that helps but I may look to change up to a hybrid program of this linear progressive overload for lower body and a periodized upper body approach.

[pmw961]

June 2, 2017 -- Week 9 Workout #3

• Squat: 5x230, 5x285, 5x340, 5x400, 3x465, 8x340
• Bench: 5x150, 5x190, 5x225, 5x265, 3x310, 8x225
• Barbell Row: 5x125, 5x155, 5x185, 5x215, 3x250, 8x185
• Weighted Dips: 8x70, 7x70, 6x70
• Barbell Curls: 3x8x95
• Triceps Pushdowns: 3x8x100

I'm excited about today's lift because I officially hit 2x bodyweight in squat for reps! I weighed in at 232 this morning and hit that triple at 465 pretty easily. I'm really happy with how my squat has progressed so far.

[pmw961]

June 5, 2017 -- Week 10 Workout #1

• Squat: 5x230, 5x290, 5x350, 5x405, 2x465
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x215, 5x250, 5x285
• Barbell Row: 5x125, 5x155, 5x190, 5x220, 3x250
• Weighted Hypers: 2x12x130
• Weighted Sit-Ups: 4x12x80

Disappointing squat day. I felt pretty good at 405 but just didn't have it at 465 and only managed two reps. It's still been a lot of progress over the past 10 weeks. I reset bench this week and dropped from my attempts at 5x300 to 5x285. I'm hoping that working back up will let me push through that plateau I've been stuck at for a while now.

[pmw961]

June 7, 2017 -- Week 10 Workout #2

• Squat: 5x235, 5x290, 2x5x350
• OHP: 5x90, 5x110, 5x125, 5x145
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 2x5x215
• Deadlift: 5x305, 5x365, 5x425, 5x485
• Pull-Ups: 3x6x35
• Sit-Ups: 3x28

I had a work emergency yesterday so I didn't get in the gym at all and felt completely fresh today. Squats felt good and I hit a new PR in deadlift. I added some extra bench work to get my total volume up since it's been lagging. I also reset my OHP this week after stalling out.

[pmw961]

June 9, 2017 -- Week 10 Workout #3

• Squat: 5x235, 5x290, 5x350, 5x405, 3x475, 8x350
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x215, 5x250, 2x290, 8x215
• Barbell Row: 5x125, 5x155, 5x190, 5x220, 3x255, 8x190
• Weighted Dips: 3x6x80
• Barbell Curls: 3x8x95
• Triceps Pushdowns: 3x8x105

I came in a little sore this morning with my adductors, quads, and traps being most affected. I didn't feel great squatting but still hit 3x475 for a new 3 rep max. Bench felt good after the reset this week. Rows are pretty heavy. I made an equipment change for triceps pushdowns. I maxed out the old cable machine I was using so now I'll be using the lat pulldown machine which is why my weights are lower now.

[pmw961]

June 12, 2017 -- Week 11 Workout #1

• Squat: 5x235, 5x290, 5x350, 5x405, 5x465
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x220, 5x255, 5x290
• Barbell Row: 5x125, 5x155, 5x190, 5x220, 3x250
• Weighted Hypers: 2x12x135
• Weighted Sit-Ups: 4x10x90

My right hip abductor was flaring up a bit today so I wasn't sure how the squat was going to go. I flirted with depth but got down to just parallel for a new 5RM. Bench is moving smoothly after the reset last week - reps were easier than when I did 290 last time. Barbell row is going to have to be reset next week.

[pmw961]

June 14, 2017 -- Week 11 Workout #2

• Squat: 5x235, 5x290, 2x5x350
• OHP: 5x95, 5x115, 5x130, 5x150
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 2x5x220
• Deadlift: 5x315, 5x370, 5x435, 5x495
• Weighted Pull-Ups: 3x6x35
• Sit-Ups: 2x30, 1x20

Felt really good today. Hips were moving well and all lifts up until deadlift felt light. Deadlift was a new 5RM but felt pretty tough.

[pmw961]

June 16, 2017 -- Week 11 Workout #3

• Squat: 5x235, 5x290, 5x350, 5x405, 3x475, 8x350
• Bench: 5x145, 5x180, 5x220, 5x255, 3x295, 8x220
• Barbell Row: 5x125, 5x155, 5x190, 5x220, 3x255, 8x190
• Weighted Dips: 2x6x80, 1x5x80
• Barbell Curl: 3x8x95
• Triceps Pushdown: 3x8x105

I got realigned on Wednesday so my squat motion was feeling good but the 475 felt heavier than I would've liked. Bench felt great today, really smooth. I'm actually going to Europe for the next ten days which times up pretty well for a deload. My plan is to do some BFR bodyweight training while I'm traveling and then come back to peak before my first meet.