Andy's "I swear it's not just a New Year's Resolution!" Resolution

[ducksss]

2/5/2019
Bench
160x3x4 160x9

Squat
160x10x3
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=ESWgXfgp2EM
Decided to go back to low bar since I have pronounced forward lean in HB. This set felt good, but I'm certainly open to form critique.

Lat pulldown
80x15x2 80x20

Leg Press
2plates x15x2

[ducksss]

09/02/2019

Squat
210x3x4 210x6
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=u0S0M5JyQ1E
I'm really disappointed with these squats. The video shows obvious GMing that gets worse as I get tired. Seems like my pos chain dominates my quads. I'm trying my best to stay upright and it isn't happening. I feel like I'm stronger than the weights I'm struggling with but my technique sucks. Bummed.

Bench
130x10x3

Lat pulldown
80x15x2 80x25

Face pulls

Leg press
2.5pl x15x2

[ducksss]

11/02/2019

OHP
115x3x4 115x8
Very happy with the last set.

Deadlift
210x10x3
I alternated my mixed grip each set and when I went the "unnatural" way I tweaked my lower back a little bit. I believe my grip was too wide and I've never grabbed the bar in that manner. The weight itself felt fine and pretty easy. Bracing needs improvement, I find it tough to brace well when hinged

DB Row
50x15x3
Bit of lower back pain from DLs, didn't push it

Face pulls
15 15 25

[ducksss]

12/02/2019

Bench
165x3x4 165x8
Happy with this. The last AMRAP set felt more solid than the preceding sets.

Tempo Squat
95x8x3
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=N_XibianNp4
As talked about previously, my squat is a damn mess and needs a lot of work. I've been hitting my quads with leg press and these squats are another step towards improvement. They felt really good and I was able to stay vertical and not GM the weight. There's surely still room for improvement

Front squat
95x8x2

Lat pulldown
90x15x2 90x25

[ducksss]

14/02/2019

Deadlift
270x3x4 270x10

OHP
95x10x3

Lat pulldown
100x15x3

Face pulls

BW Split Squats

[ducksss]

17/02/2019

Squat
220x3x4 220x8
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=d2vEMTCrHkA
Pleased with this set compared to previous weeks. Driving my back into the bar has helped alleviate some good morning problems

Bench
140x10x3

DB Row
50x15x3

[ducksss]

18/02/2019

OHP
120x3x4 120x5
Starting to become tough, barely got 5 reps on the last AMRAP set. Overall happy with the progress though

Deadlift
220x10x3
Easyyyy

DB Row
50x15x3

[ducksss]

20/02/2019

Bench
170x3x4 170x9
Very pleased with the AMRAP set. This was the only set I had a spotter for and getting a liftoff seems to help so much.

Squat
180x10x3
Wish I was as pleased with the squats. The just feel so mediocre and... wrong. Not sure where to focus to improve

Lat pulldown
100x15x3

Face pulls

Cable crunches

[ducksss]

[b]21/02/2019[b]

Deadlift
285x3x4 285x10
Pretty stoked to get 10 reps on the AMRAP set. It was tough but felt good

OHP
100x10x3
Happy with this set too. A real grind for me but I'm pleased to be making progress

DB Row
50x15x2 50x25

Face pulls
Cable crunches
Tricep pressdowns

[ducksss]

24/02/2019

Yesterday was pretty cool. I met up with an old-school powerlifter who still competes to this day and has put up some numbers that impress me. The reason we met up is because I knew he coaches powerlifting and my squat needs some serious coaching. He and his friend helped me out a lot. Some of my biggest takeaways is that my squat stance should probably be significantly wider, I should be doing more assistance work, my quads need work. One downside is that since these guys really are old-school a lot of their advice flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Comments like "keep your weight on your heels" might be helpful or might be hurtful, but it's good food for thought.

Overall this session was abbreviated

Squat
Lots of warmups and technique work then 225x5x2

Bench 145x10x3

DB side Bends
BB rows 135x5x4
Sumo DL technique work

[ducksss]

25/02/2019

OHP
125x3x4 125x7
Happy with the AMRAP set. Feels like I can keep adding 5lbs for a few weeks to come. The OHP volume day on the other hand... perhaps not so much

Deadlift
230x10x3
Easy from a strength perspective. I lose a bit of tightness in these higher rep sets but overall it felt good

Lat pulldown
100x15x3

Face pulls
Tri pressdowns

[ducksss]

27/02/2019

Bench
175x3x4 175x8
Last set felt pretty easy. Didn't have a spotter and I lose a bit of tension unracking solo. I think I had a couple more reps in the tank

Squat
190x10x3
These were challenging for me but I think my form is better since widening my stance.
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=lOjZsJZxScE

Front squat
135x8x2
Just trying to get in some quad work. Not sure if this lighter weight is beneficial in that respect or if I should be grinding our heavier stuff.

BB Row
115x15x3

Cable crunches

[ducksss]

28/02/2019

DL
295x3x4 295x10
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=M0A_kLNJYTA
Overall I'm pleased with my DL progress and they don't feel like they're slowing down. I notice that I squat down to the bar too much, resulting in my hips being too low at the start of each rep. I don't think this is a big problem and I will work on remedying it in weeks to come.

OHP
105x10x3
Very happy to hit three sets of ten here. The last few reps of each set were a grind but I managed to get through it

RDL
185x8 205x8 225x8
First time doing RDLs in a long time and was just feeling out the weight. Felt good and easy

Lat pulldown
100x15x3

Face pulls
Hammer curls

[ducksss]

02/03/2019

Squat
230x3x4 230x7
Video of last set: youtube.com/watch?v=4YwNL2CyEGs
I lost my bracing in the last few reps of the AMRAP set but I think this is to be expected near maximal effort. Overall squats are feeling better all the time

Bench
150x10x3

(Makeshift) Belt squat
100x10x3 (weight doesn't include bar)

DB Row
55x15x3

[ducksss]

04/03/2019

OHP
130x3x4 130x5
These sets were tough. I need to decide whether to move up in weight next week or move to the next rep scheme (2x6)

Deadlift
240x10x3
Super easy.

Lat pulldown
100x15x2 100x19

Face pulls
Hammer curls
Wood chops

[ducksss]

05/03/2019
Bench
180x3x4 180x8
Really happy with this. Had a good spotter for the last set and squeezed out 8 reps where I was only aiming for 5-6. Very pleased with my bench so far

Squat
190x10x3
Wish I was as pleased with my squat. I tended to collapse on the last few reps of these sets.

Leg press
2pl x 15x3

DB Row
55x15x3

[ducksss]

06/03/2019

Deadlift
300x3x4 300x10
Video of last set: youtu.be/fFjhDjtzUjw?t=10

OHP
110x8x3

Lat pulldown
100x15x3

Cable crunches
Face pulls

[ducksss]

16/03/2019

Squat
240x3x4 240x5

Bench
160x8x3

[ducksss]

17/03/2019

OHP
135x1x9 135x2

Deadlift
260x8x3

Lat pulldown
100x10x2

[ducksss]

18/3/2019
Bench Press
185x3x4 185x6
Felt really good. Didn't have a spotter and if I had there were 1-2 more reps on the AMRAP set

Squat 190x8x3

DB Row
55x15x2 55x16

[ducksss]

19/03/2019

Deadlift
315x3x4 315x10
Video of last set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OMkHQPNPIs

Really happy with these sets!

OHP
110x6x3
Getting near reset time

Lat pulldown
100x15x3

Face pulls
Hammer curls

[ducksss]

23/03/2019

Squat
250x2x4 250x3
These were ugly, nasty squats. Embarrassed to even post the video

Bench
165x6x3
Felt good but starting to slow down. Went in with a goal of 8 reps per set but those would have been a grind so I decided to progress to the next rep scheme in my program

DB Row
55x15x2 55x25

Leg press
3pl x 8x3
Cable xovers

[ducksss]

24/03/2019

OHP
140x1x10
These singles were tough. Last set was an AMRAP but I couldn't muster more than a single rep.

Deadlift
270x6x3
Easy enough. I dropped from 8s to 6s because sets of 8 was getting really taxing and I was taking too long between reps

Lat pulldown
100x15x3
I haven't progressed with this in a while

Machine pec fly
Machine rear delt fly

[ducksss]

26/03/2019

Bench
190x2x4 190x5

Squat 190x6x3
Tried high bar for a session. It felt decent but my squat is still pretty bad, even at this lighter weight

DB Row
60x15x2 60x25
Happy to be making progress

Pec fly machine
cable crossovers
leg press

[ducksss]

27/03/2019

Deadlift
325x3x4 325x10
Video of last set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZL3BedllxM
I'm thrilled with my DL progress.

OHP
90x10x3
I'm not thrilled with this OHP session. This was a reset week and I BARELY got the 10th rep on the last set.

Lat pulldown
100x15x2 100x12
Just didn't have it today

Cable crossovers
Face pulls
Hammer curls

[ducksss]

29/03/2019

Squat
250x2x5 250x4

Bench
170x6x3

DB Row
65x15x3

Pec Deck

[ducksss]

01/04/2019

OHP
142x1x9 142x2

Deadlift
280x6x3

Lat Pulldown
100x15x3

Curls
Face pulls

[ducksss]

02/04/2019

Bench
195x2x6 195x4
Really pleased with the continued progress on my bench

Squat
200x6x3
Also feeling pretty pleased with my squat, for the first time in a longgg time. Switch to HB and have been working more on my quads and I think it's starting to show. Squats starting to feel better and I'm pumped about that

DB Row
65x15x2 65x20

Pec deck
Leg Extension
Rear delt fly

[ducksss]

05/04/2019
Deadlift
335x2x4 335x6
I should have gone with triples for my working sets

OHP
80x10x3
Reset week, simple weight

Pullups
6x3
I should have done a total of 30 reps but I didn't know this at the time

07/04/2019
Squat
255x1x9 255x4
This was really tough for me

Bench
175x6x3

DB Row
65x15x3

Pec deck

[ducksss]

23/04/2019

I started Brian Alsruhe's "4 Horsemen" program this week. Enjoying the emphasis on conditioning work thus far. This was the second workout in the program

4 Horsemen W1D2
Conditioning (Mindset): 10 minutes of continuous plank variations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk-FrcDTPkk

Strength: OHP (Medium)
Build to 110lbs for a single then 3 giant sets of:
Pullups
OHP (100x7, 90x9, 85x11)
Hanging leg raises x 10
Burpees x 10

Assistance: Speed (3 rounds, probably should have done 5)
OHP (Speed) 65lbs x 30s
Facepulls x15
L-Raises x12
Rest 30s