The 2022 Barbell Enthusiasts Collaborative Training Log & Hall of Fame

[EliKoehn]

Flat Bench (T&G):
1 x 1 at 315, 2 x 8 at 275 PR! Prior best was 6

Bench Negatives:
3 x 335 for 10 seconds

[CW47]

Camarija - Enjoy the bulk!
Coach - Nice grind on that press.
Savior - Super happy to hear that you're feeling better.
Eli - Fantastic benching!


October 3, 2022
Bench Press
200 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
155 pounds x 3 reps

16 inch Box Squat
265 pounds x 1 rep
225 pounds x 3 reps

It's amazing how much difference a day can make sometimes. Today I was feeling fresh and pain free, and got in some good work.

Finally made it to a 200 pound bench! I seriously doubted whether I'd ever do that at some points. Feels good. It definitely was not a competition standard lift, but it was still reasonably well controlled.

Squat is coming together. I made some additional tweaks today that felt very good. Rather than go for a heavier single I opted to do some back off work and get in a few extra reps. I'll probably take this approach on all of my squatting for a little bit because the technique work is most important right now. It's encouraging that I'm mostly keeping it together even on the heavier singles.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Interesting to read about how bodyweight affects strength. I've bulked up from 165lb to 180lb this year and seen small improvements to my lifts, except bodyweight pull ups, where my max has dropped from 11 to 8. Weighted chin ups have seen a small improvement when bodyweight is included.

My bodyweight goals have changed over time. The first time I cut I was down to 155lb at about 14% body fat and looked good shirt-off but skinny shirt-on (I'm 6'1" but very small-boned). At that time my goal was to be 175lb at a similar bodyfat and was convinced I would look huge at that weight. Now I'm thinking 185lb lean (15% or so) is a realistic goal for me.

Just my .02, but I don't even think bodyweight itself necessarily is the cause of most of the strength gain you might see on a bulk. When you bulk you eat tons of calories and carbs and spike insulin production, which is a very anabolic hormone.

Also seems like this would mean a rapid bull would be more effective than a slow bulk. Because with a slow bulk your not getting the hormone benefits that you’d get from a rapid one

Idk if this is even true, shrug

Finally made it to a 200 pound bench! I seriously doubted whether I'd ever do that at some points. Feels good. It definitely was not a competition standard lift, but it was still reasonably well controlled.

GJ, seems like you've made a lot of potential the last few months and are now taking all your chips to the table now with all these PRs

------

Today:

Deadlift:
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5

OHP:
175x1
155x18 (push press, so close to 20)

My heart rate was super high for a few mins after those presses lol

Pullups:
BWx5x3

[EliKoehn]

Uh... did I read that right? 155 x 18? Even as a push press, that's fricking insane.

[RapidFail]

Camarija - Enjoy the bulk!
Coach - Nice grind on that press.
Savior - Super happy to hear that you're feeling better.
Eli - Fantastic benching!


October 3, 2022
Bench Press
200 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
155 pounds x 3 reps

16 inch Box Squat
265 pounds x 1 rep
225 pounds x 3 reps

It's amazing how much difference a day can make sometimes. Today I was feeling fresh and pain free, and got in some good work.

Finally made it to a 200 pound bench! I seriously doubted whether I'd ever do that at some points. Feels good. It definitely was not a competition standard lift, but it was still reasonably well controlled.

Squat is coming together. I made some additional tweaks today that felt very good. Rather than go for a heavier single I opted to do some back off work and get in a few extra reps. I'll probably take this approach on all of my squatting for a little bit because the technique work is most important right now. It's encouraging that I'm mostly keeping it together even on the heavier singles.

Congrats on the 200lb bench! How long have you been lifting for?

[CW47]

GJ, seems like you've made a lot of potential the last few months and are now taking all your chips to the table now with all these PRs

Yes, that's exactly correct. This was my plan all along - to spend the vast majority of the year ramping up volume and work capacity, and then focus on maximal work for a couple of months. Seems to be paying off so far.

Great pressing work today! Glad you were able to deadlift without any issues.

Congrats on the 200lb bench! How long have you been lifting for?

Starting lifting in 2016. I made relatively little progress in my first 3 years. In 2019 my max's were sitting somewhere around 155 for bench, 200 for squat, 335 for deads. I've made pretty steady progress since then as I've gotten a better understanding of what works for me and what doesn't.



October 4, 2022
Reverse Cambered Bench Press
190 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
155 pounds x 3 reps

Deficit Deadlift
375 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

Had no idea what to expect on the bench since I've never done the lift like this before. For those that don't know what a reverse cambered bench is, it's flipping the bar upside down so rather than extending the range of motion it's being shortened by a couple of inches.

Deadlifts are going great right now. My grip started to fail just after lockout. Could've done another 10-20 pounds with straps probably. I'm trying to build up my grip strength a little bit though. It's not something I work on much, but the lift is much smoother when I don't use straps, so there's some benefit to building up my grip strength.

This was the last workout of this cycle. I have 9 workouts scheduled that I'm going to be cycling through. I've done very little maximal work over the last 9 months so it's no surprise that I've been hitting a slew of PR's. Now will be the real test though - to see if I can continue to hit a few more over the next couple of weeks.

[CW47]

30 Degree Incline Press
165 pounds x 1 rep
135 pounds x 3 reps

Front Squat
205 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
155 pounds x 3 reps

Second time through. Did 10 pounds less than last time on the Incline Press. Probably had another 5-10 pounds if I wanted it, but could feel that I wasn't going to be setting a new PR. Form was tighter today.

Added 30 pounds to the front squat. I don't even know for sure what my previous PR was on this, but it definitely wasn't more than 185, so this was a big jump up. There's still more there to be had too. The main thing holding me back is keeping the bar in position. I expect it will get easier with repetition.

[EliKoehn]

Got a PR with a 315 double today. Experimented with a two-finger pullup single which went well, and then did a set of 10 at my overweight state of 255 (probably over 260 with stomach contents and clothes).

[coachcalande]

Good stuff Eli.

The body weight pull-ups were no less impressive than the bench. Nice and strict.



Nice front squat CW.

[CW47]

Floor Press
185 pounds x 1 rep / 205 x Fail
135 pounds - 3 sets x 3 reps

12 Inch Box Squat
265 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

185 feels like a sure thing on Floor press right now. Gave 205 a shot today and got nowhere close.
Squat felt fantastic today. Another 10 pound PR. Feel like I can probably do another 40 pounds if I can manage to stay in a good position throughout. Felt like I got about a centimeter out of the groove today with 265 and the bar stopped dead. Was able to keep good enough balance to regroove it and then it went up the rest of the way easily. I couldn't even see anything obvious on the video, but could clearly feel it. It's getting better every time I squat right now.


Edit: Here's the video. Watching it back again now it looks like my torso was actually too vertical at the bottom and once I got into a stronger position the bar started moving.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Good work guys

Had 2 rest days and now back is feeling as good as new

Today

Squat
365x1
315x8

Bench
305x1 (with feet on bench)
225x12 with feet on floor

Deadlift
405x1
455x fail

I got 455 off of the floor but couldn’t finish it. I think I had too much doubt in my mind and wasn’t all there mentally

When I was warming up with 315, I was pulling it up so fast it felt like jumping up at the top.

[MyEgoProblem]

On the way back from yet ANOTHER round of dat der rona. That will teach me to pull a full weekender with the crew..

A quick 10min upper focused GPP session.

3*20@9~
close ez mag grip pulldowns.
(superset)
3*20@9~
Ez cable pressdowns

3*20@9~
Machine chest press
(superset)
3*20@9~
Ez cable curls

130kg total *3*2*1 clustery
Ng pullups

22k steps in today
Not even mad at the pullups especially at the end of the session. Done in 10 mins, so still had a big pump.

[CW47]

Cambered Bar Larsen Press
160 pounds x 1 rep
140 pounds x 3 reps

Sumo Deadlift
445 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

Elbow was feeling uncomfortable so I didn't push it on bench today. Just tried to hit a solid weight and then minimal backoff work.
10 pound PR on the Sumo Dead. Definitely was not a smooth rep. I'm getting better at pushing through when the reps slow down on this lift though.

[EliKoehn]

^^ Nice! Great PR, must feel great.

[RapidFail]

Bench day again and another PR. First set performance puts my calculated bench press 1RM up to 166lb - not bodyweight yet (I'm 181lb at present) but I'm getting closer.

BENCH PRESS
10 x 66lb
5 x 99lb
3 x 121lb
1 x 143lb, 2.5 min rest
6 x 143lb (PR!), 2.5 min rest
5 x 143lb, 2.5 min rest
8 x 127lb, 2.5 min rest
First two sets 0 RIR, third 1 RIR.

[CW47]

Thanks Eli.
Nice progress RapidFail.


October 9, 2022
3 Count Paused Bench
180 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
145 pounds x 3 reps

Low Bar Squat
295 pounds x 1 rep
225 pounds x 3 reps

5 pound PR on the paused bench. Felt strong and it was one of the cleaner pauses I've had (I tend to lose tightness and let the bar move).
Getting in a nice groove on squat now. This was 5 pounds less than my PR, but was a much better rep than that PR lift which was probably a couple inches above parallel. Feels like a new PR will likely be there within the next couple of weeks.

[SaviorSelfJT]

445 deadlift is no joke CW
—
I’m sure you’ll get your bw bench soon enough Rapid

—


Today I did something kind of random. I wanted to lift but wasn’t really sure what. I have some random workout spreadsheets on my google drive (texas method, smolov etc). So I put in my maxes on a sheiko spreadsheet and did one of the workouts today. I don’t really want to do the program, but seems like a good way to pad out these days


Front squat-
Up to 225, 3 sets of 4

Bench-
Up to 230. 4 sets of 2

Squat-
Up to 335, 4 sets of 2

Leg raises (abs) - 3 sets of 10

chest flies - 3 sets 8
(First set with 10s, next with 25s)

It’s been YEARS since I’ve done front squats. I don’t have the flexibility to use a clean grip anymore. And cross arm hurt too much. So I used the strap technique where I put straps on the bar. Even still is was uncomfortable as fuk but manageable

And front squats really seem like a back exercise in disguise. Not enough weight to workout my legs, and my back muscles are trying as hard as they can to not fold over. I used to front squat way more weight with a lower squat max. So maybe some of my back muscles are disproportionally weak now. 225 was hard and IIRC I could do 315 for reps before

[CW47]

Close Grip Bench Press
190 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
150 pounds x 3 reps

High Bar Squat
265 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

When I did these last time, I predicted I'd PR on both of them next time around. I turned out to be right.
Bench actually wasn't feeling great today, but still had a pretty good result.
High Bar Squat is going better than low bar right now, and feels more natural. I think I still have more PR's in store on this lift because even the 20 pound PR today wasn't super difficult.
I'm stringing together a bunch of really good days. I also think I've now got a decent feel for when I can push for more weight and/or reps without building up too much fatigue, and when to hold back.

[EliKoehn]

Treadmill:
1.5 miles at 6mph

Deadlift:
3 x 5 at 315 @7ish throughout

Dumbbell Bench:
100s x 8, 8, 8, 7, 1 @8-9 first three sets, failure attempting 8th rep on final; rested about 20 seconds and then popped them back one more time to finish out with a single

A.S.
Standing Straight Bar French Press:
3 x 10 at 40
Glute Extension Machine:
3 x 10 (each leg) at 100



--

Was originally going to do comp bench and go for 1 or 2 count 4 x 8 with 225 depending on how the warmup felt, but even after the treadmill jog the benches hadn't let up since I walked in, so I waited a few more minutes and the guys occupying them were mostly on their phones. At that point I just decided to do dumbbells instead, which was probably a better choice since I barely do them and was due for some variety anyway. While 100s aren't particularly heavy, it was nice to see that volume sets at respectable weight were manageable with virtually all recent pressing coming straight from the barbell with very little acclimation to something else.

Jog was relatively easy but still strenuous.

This is the first time that 3 plates felt somewhat heavy on the deadlift in a long time. I figured it would be, so I wanted to start really light and slowly work my way back up with regularity and consistency, as I don't think I've gone more than two weeks without deadlifting in nearly two years.

French press felt good and new. Had to keep my elbows anchored close to my ears but I like how it felt on the triceps, even at a really low weight just to try it out.

I think I did the glute extension wrong because it felt like it was mostly quads (it was the one where you lean forward on a support with handles and then push a bar behind you back like a kick), but still a good burn throughout the leg.

[CW47]

Cambered Bar Bench
170 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

Conventional Deadlift
385 pounds x 1 rep

10 pound PR on the bench and if anything it felt easier than the 160 I did last time.
Lower back is more fatigued than it's been in years. Wasn't going to be close to a PR on deads today.

Ended up awake half the night last night because my son decided it was time to be awake at 1AM and that nobody else was going to sleep either, lol. Going to try to sleep early today or it will catch up to me really fast.

[MyEgoProblem]

Abysmal week.

Today hit a machine shoulder session.
Boring.
No idea how people go so long just jockeying machines.

Lateral machine
5x15@f
Rev pec dec
5x15@f
Front raise
3*15@8+
Hammer strength row
5*15@9+

Boom. Sub 20 min session.

[EliKoehn]

No idea how people go so long just jockeying machines.

Probably because it's an easy way to protect a sense of being advanced without having to maintain an unambiguous litmus test of that status with free lifts. That said, I wish I'd been using them as accessories more frequently and earlier.

--

Didn't sleep well last night and wasn't feeling particularly strong today, so I just did a short lower intensity day. Squats definitely on the agenda for next time.

A.S.
Standing OHP:
3 x 6 at 135
Supinated DB Curl:
3 x 12 w/ 35s

[SaviorSelfJT]

Another sheiko workout. This workout looks easy, because it’s not using heavy weights, but it’s brutal as fuk. I was watching a YouTube video by Shane Hunt who’s being trained by Josh Bryant and he was saying Bryant is a “master of making light weights feel heavy”. I feel like that’s what these workouts are doing

———-


Deadlift up to knees with 2 second pause:
250x3
295x3
345x3
345x3
345x3
345x3

Bench:
155x5
185x3
215x3
215x5
215x7
215x4
215x6
215x8

Deadlift with pause right above knees
275x3
320x3
370x2
370x2
370x2
370x2

Pull-ups
6
6
6
6

Good mornings
95x5
95x5
95x5
95x10 (just combined last two sets together)


No straps and my hands were really hurting for some reason. It was like my fingers were puffing up a little then being crushed by the bar. I kept the good mornings light because I haven’t don’t those in forever and don’t want to get hurt

[coachcalande]

Been really struggling with discipline and motivation since illness.

Wild how 90 min workouts are effortless and exciting in one phase of life, stuff happens and lifting is the drudgery and near impossible to get excited about…yesterday I was coming off several poor nights of sleep…skipped am workout, took nap after work planning to lift…had promised daughter that I’d attend her cross country race, no time to train…had evening stuff related to work…so here I am at 3:30 am drinking coffee and getting ready to train. Mornings are my ONLY option but late nights are killing me.

See how it goes…

[coachcalande]

After chest and back , I hit a nice 215 x1 seated OHP
https://youtu.be/XkalDzAqtL8

Rebuilding that press strength!

[CW47]

Pin Bench Press
205 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
145 pounds - 3 sets x 3 reps

Yoke Bar Squat
245 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

Unplanned rest day yesterday because we had some people over for dinner. Started grilling right when I got home and it turned into a bit of a late night.
Never done a max on a pin bench before, so this was a PR by default more than anything. Definitely pushed it pretty hard though - I didn't think the 205 was going to move at all when I first started pushing.
Squats either tied my previous PR or set a new mark. For some reason I didn't have a PR recorded. Felt strong. Can definitely improve on this easily. May be able to add quite a bit if I continue getting better at the movement, which is still pretty sloppy.

[EliKoehn]

^^ Squat looked smooth and great job on that bench. Pin benches are like 50% harder at the same weight at least in my experience and you cut through that like a warm knife through butter.

--

Woohoo! I got a new bench PR!



I alternated that with pullup singles between sets (plus one set of 4 with several more in the tank, at the end), then did...

Paused CG Bench (1ct):
225 x 8, 6, 5 @9, 10, 10

A.S.
Barbell Curl:
4 x 10 at 95
DB Lateral Raise:
4 x 12 w/ 25s

The curls were a bit challenging, but the lateral raises felt really easy for some reason. The close grip benching felt like a good variation to throw in, although, while it wasn't painful, my shoulders were consistently clicking on the bottom quarter of the RoM. I seem to really want to go wide and T-grip the thing...

[CW47]

Great job on the bench PR Eli!
The pin bench is a bit deceiving because the pin is quite a bit higher than it looks like in the video. Was aiming to have my upper arm just slightly below parallel at the bottom, which put the pin/bar about 4 inches above my chest.



October 14, 2022
Bench Press
195 pounds x 1 rep
155 pounds x 3 reps

16 inch Box Squat
305 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

I figured out why my left elbow has been bothering me on bench. I've not been retracting as much on my left side as on my right. Fixed that today and even though there was still some mild discomfort it was much, much better. The pain should go away over time now.

10 pound PR on the box squat. With the recent tweaks in my squat form it's going to require some changes in how I do box squats. Didn't get it dialed in very well at all today, but I'll be doing them a couple times per week so I'll get it worked out.


October 15, 2022
Reverse Cambered Bench Press
180 pounds - 3 sets x 1 rep

3-inch Deficit Deadlift
385 pounds x 1 rep [PR]

Did 3 heavy singles on the bench today. Wasn't planning to but when I got to 180 I didn't feel up to going any heavier, but felt like I could pretty easily do multiple singles, so I did.

Did not think the deadlift was going to break the floor initially, but it did and then went up quite easily the rest of the way.

[SaviorSelfJT]

@Coach, 225 seated press coming up soon?

@Eli, thought you had hit 325 before?

———

Did another sheiko workout but I dun goofed and did a workout from the wrong spreadsheet page lol

Even the warmup weights felt heavy, I don’t think I’m fully recovering between workouts which is the whole point

Squat:
225x3
265x3
315x3
355x2
355x2
380x1
380x1
380x1
380x1

Bench
155x3
185x3
215x3
245x2
245x2
260x2
260x2
260x2
245x2
245x2

Then good mornings and tricep extensions 4x6 each, not heavy on good mornings but heavy on triceps

[coachcalande]

@Coach, 225 seated press coming up soon?

@Eli, thought you had hit 325 before?

———

Did another sheiko workout but I dun goofed and did a workout from the wrong spreadsheet page lol

Even the warmup weights felt heavy, I don’t think I’m fully recovering between workouts which is the whole point

Squat:
225x3
265x3
315x3
355x2
355x2
380x1
380x1
380x1
380x1

Bench
155x3
185x3
215x3
245x2
245x2
260x2
260x2
260x2
245x2
245x2

Then good mornings and tricep extensions 4x6 each, not heavy on good mornings but heavy on triceps

I’m planning on 245 for 1 which will break my all time PR of 235x2 behind the head (profile pic) but I always thought front press was easier than behind head due to upper pec activity. Doesn’t matter, just happy to be able to press at all! Wasn’t that long ago that I was limited to Around press of 30 lbs.

Eli will be hitting 365 with a bit more time.

Something else I’m planning to play around with is some heavy high rep partial squats with the safety catches set nice and high. Curious to see what adaptations might occur with training that incorporates both heavy partials and light full rep pause squats.