2023 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[CW47]

I haven't been commenting because I've just been very occupied with other things, but I've been following everyone's posts. Great work all. Keep it up. I use you all as motivation to work hard in my own sessions.


June 4, 2023
High Bar Squat
165 pounds x 8/7/7 reps

Leg Extension
100 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Nordic Curls
2 sets x 8 reps

SSB Calf Raise
215 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps

Face Pull
5 Pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps

Still not used to straight bar squats and I failed to hit the planned reps for the day. Still happy with how I squatted though. The whole workout went well. I almost fell on the stairs afterward because my leg gave out, lol.

I mentioned recently that I was planning to replace dead bugs. I did Face Pulls in place of them today and plan to continue doing rear delt focused stuff in this spot since it's something I just need to do regularly. I'm almost 100% convinced that rear delt weakness has been the source of the elbow pain I've been dealing with because doing band pull aparts and other rear delt stuff is the only thing that's made it better.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Theory: the lifting gods really like us eating massive amounts of junk food

I took a couple more rest days. Was moving more stuff over the weekend and needed the rest. And now there’s a rumor going around at work that we might have to relocate to keep our jobs. If I find out I have to move all this chit again in the near future I swear I’m gonna have a stroke on the news

315 on bench again!

——-

Bench:
Singles +10lbs every rep
315x1
275x4
225x12

(Tried to get a 13th rep on 225 by racking and then waiting about 10 seconds but then I couldn’t even get it off the pins lol)

PL squat:
135x5
185x5
225x5
280x5

Rows with poor form
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x7

Feel like this form of rows is the way to go. Absolute annihilation of upper back muscles and not a lot of lower back stress. My upper back had no problem staying tight with 315 bench and I think these rows are part of it

[CW47]

Savior, can you describe how you're doing those rows?
I must have pissed off the lifting gods because junk food makes everything go badly for me, lol.


June 5, 2023
40 Degree Incline DB Press
47.5 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Rack Pullup
Bodyweight 12/10/12 reps (second set done with very little rest because I was demonstrating the movement for my 13 year old)

Triceps Band Burnouts
2 Sets

Biceps Band Burnouts
2 Sets

Situp
20 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps (DB held just below my chin)

I'm gaining a new appreciation for body building. I'm finding I struggle to work through the muscle burn that comes with higher rep work. The banded burnout sets are exceptionally uncomfortable and I've ended up stopping before I reach true failure just because it's so uncomfortable. Trying to build up a tolerance for that discomfort by pushing a little further each time.

[EliKoehn]

@CW, I'm impressed by your consistent dedication over these past few years with a newborn-now-toddler all the while. You seem to be making constant progress in the long run and that has encouraged me as well on days where I don't feel like training.

@SJT, nice on the bench work! I too am curious what you mean by "poor form rows" being preferable. I definitely know what you mean about them complimenting the bench though. It's weird considering that, for being a "chest" exercise, when doing maximal bench work, it's often the hamstrings and mid-back which cramp or isometrically fail to stabilize properly, which are the very things that a strong freeweight row build up.

--

Pendlay Row:
5 x 8 at 225
Flat Bench (T&G):
5* x 8 at 225, 1 x 15 at 135 (all @ about 9-10 - row fatigue greatly playing into this I think, given recent performance at this weight)

Supinated DB Curl:
3 x 8 w/ 45s
DB Lateral Raise:
3 x 8 w/ 30s

Track Jog:
0.5 miles ~5 minutes

*I am 80% sure that this was five sets, but I took a longer-than normal rest in the middle and forgot if I'd completed two or three already by the time I returned. I think it was actually five, but for clarity I'm caveating that I couldn't fully remember and want to be accurate in my logging. The Pendlays felt better than last time but still not up to proficiency yet (which makes sense considering I've neglected pulls for a good while), but the ability to do this caliber again right off the bat is reassuring. They sucked some energy out of me for sure and made the rest of the workout notably more difficult, but they didn't near-completely exhaust me like last time. A couple of years ago until the end of last year, two plates for eight was probably @6-8 most workouts, and these were about @9s. I'm confident I'll get it back soon!

Also the jogging went better than I thought. I'm not at all in good shape right now but I still could jog half a mile at a decent pace and I wasn't winded at the end. I wanted to just start small with half a mile for the first "real" jogging again in a long time. I had done treadmill runs in the recent past with decent doability, but that is not the same as actually propelling your body with your legs on the ground (especially when you have to turn on a track, like today). Ending every workout with some kind of cardio activity is going to be a priority of mine going forward. I know losing weight is more about controlling consumption, but this is just for health and a bonus. Even upon getting strong again, being immobile is not good, and even with some cardio effect from high intensity sets, legit sustained aerobic exercise is just important for health. I am quite glad to be able to do it meaningfully considering that I'm startlingly over 275 as of this morning. That's unacceptable and I'm taking my waist measurement and weight and going to average it every week until that's at a healthy number again. I looked pretty good and felt healthy and active in the 240s, but I'm going to aim lower.

[SaviorSelfJT]

@Eli do you track heart rate when you sleep or workout? May be worth a look

About the rows,

Good form to me means a back that’s parallel to the floor. Arms bring the bar up to the rib cage without the torso moving. A pendlay row would be the most extreme good form

Bad form is a back that is more and more vertical instead of horizontal. And may lower the torso to reach the bar instead of raising the bar. Look at babyslayer doing rows: https://youtu.be/U_JK5pY3-HQ

——

I’m starting to think barbell rows are an exercise where worse form is better (up to a limit, if you kept doing a row with worse and worse form it would eventually turn into a power shrug. Which is still actually a great upper back exercise btw)

When I did barbell rows with an emphasis on good form. I could pretty much only feel it in my lower back. It was so taxing on my lower back I was only doing them once a week at most. Usually once every other week and eventually I dropped them entirely cause of the lower back stress. Your body proportions may make it better for you, but for me it was too much. I tried doing chest supported barbell rows, removed lower back stress but it felt like it was only working out my arms and not my back

With my form. I’m trying to keep my torso at about 45 degrees above the horizontal. I let my shoulders kinda “fall” at the bottom of the rep. And at the top of the rep I pull my shoulders back together. When I get to the end of the set and otherwise can’t get any more reps, I’ll use a little body English to get another rep or two. And I only bring the bar to about my belly button, pretty low on the torso

I know muscle soreness isn’t a sure fire gauge of the effectiveness of an exercise. But when I did them this way the days after my traps/lats/rear delts were so sore it felt like someone took those muscles off of my body, fed them through a meat grinder, then put them back on my body. And no lower back fatigue whatsoever. To me it’s a no brainer to do them this way

[jademonkey]

Been staying at our friends' place in Austin. Joined them for a 45 minute group class, which was pretty good for a continuous circuit kinda thing. Continue circuits 4 reps, 6 reps, 8 reps, 10 reps, and back down (no one really had time to go back down anyway).

Circuit 1:
Incline dumbbell press (stay at 4-6 reps), something on the floor doing tricep kick backs with opposite leg up (dunno why the leg was up), reverse dumbbell flys
Circuit 2:
Barbell rows, push up dumbbell rows alternating, dumbbell curl→external rotation
Circuit 3:
L hold pull ups (or simplified version), dumbbell snatch, rainbow ball slams

Not what I'd normally do, but was able to get a pretty good workout.

It was a really pretty good for an "all abilities" thing. The instructor was also really good. I liked that we had some heavier stuff, even if we couldn't go super hard due to the circuit style. I would have preferred to not do rows and then more rows in one circuit. I've never tried dumbbell snatch, but it seemed very intuitive to me. My friend really struggled with that one though. I think one difficult thing about this for beginners is not really knowing what weight to use. And the barbells were already set up anywhere from 65 to 95 lbs and beginners I think are not as likely to adjust the weight. I just added some weight to mine but the others just kinda stuck with what they had. I would have liked to help out my friends a bit but didn't have much time due to the circuit. Although I could have just gone heavier and rested while helping.

I think the exercises could have been grouped a bit better rather than having 2 rows and bicep curls in one rotation. I also think reps could be adjusted cuz I really am not a fan of low reps for stuff like rear delts and tricep kick backs. But adding in a bunch of rep variants makes the explanation a bit more complicated and I think she was thinking if people are struggling at a weight they at least get some sets in with a few reps.

[CW47]

Good form to me means a back that’s parallel to the floor. Arms bring the bar up to the rib cage without the torso moving. A pendlay row would be the most extreme good form

Bad form is a back that is more and more vertical instead of horizontal. And may lower the torso to reach the bar instead of raising the bar. Look at babyslayer doing rows: https://youtu.be/U_JK5pY3-HQ

Yep, makes sense. I kind of thought that might be what you meant but didn't want to assume.

There are a multiple power lifters that have sworn by rows similar to this. I keep thinking about trying Deadlift Rows, but just haven't done it yet. This would obviously be aimed more at building the deadlift than the bench.



There's certainly a place for both strict and cheat variations of almost every lift.

[coachcalande]

Reduced cals by 500 plus
Adding in 30 min runs as tolerated…summer cutting is happening…see how it goes.

[EliKoehn]

@Eli do you track heart rate when you sleep or workout? May be worth a look

Do you mean like I'm too fat to safely workout intensely? Nothing seems concerning in that regard for the time being. I do track heartrate on treadmill jogs to gauge acclimation at a certain intensity, but beyond that, no.

I can't agree with you on the rows honestly, assuming your video reference is something you approve of (it reminds me of Kyriakos Grizzly's "exercise"). It still takes an insane amount of strength to rep anything with 495, but that looks like pure "ego lifting" to me. You can even see in the mirror on that video how the burden almost entirely shifts to his hips towards the end, and he honestly looks like he's having sex with the bar on the last few reps. It's just too partial RoM'd and bastardized alongside the injury risk at that kind of weight for me to get behind, not that it won't thoroughly destroy every relevant muscle.

That said, you have an insane squat and it seems to be naturally easy for you to perform that motion, whereas when I go heavy my tendency is to "squatmorning" it and I have immense trouble keeping my torso upright when I hit legal depth while that parallel back position for Pendlays feels 100% easy and natural for me. The 45 degrees above parallel might honestly be better for people whose hip dynamics don't allow them to get into that position naturally and easily. For whatever reason, for me, it fits like a glove though.



Like these last year weren't 100% strict, but that position still felt natural to challenge myself at maximal intensity.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Do you mean like I'm too fat to safely workout intensely? Nothing seems concerning in that regard for the time being. I do track heartrate on treadmill jogs to gauge acclimation at a certain intensity, but beyond that, no.

Wasn’t thinking that, but resting heart rate is supposedly a decent indicator of overall health. You were mentioning being health focused so could be good to track. I think regular cardio exercise lowered mine a bit

For a while I was tracking heart rate during cardio to quantify the workout. Like “30 minutes at 150BPM” instead of “30 minutes at this speed” if that makes sense


And your right about different people being better at certain form/movements. I feel like the “good morning” kind of squat is very difficult for me (was really struggling with just 280lbs last time). I’m not sure if this is because of my anatomical proportions, or if it’s a result of a lifetime of Olympic style squatting

[EliKoehn]

Wasn’t thinking that, but resting heart rate is supposedly a decent indicator of overall health. You were mentioning being health focused so could be good to track. I think regular cardio exercise lowered mine a bit

For a while I was tracking heart rate during cardio to quantify the workout. Like “30 minutes at 150BPM” instead of “30 minutes at this speed” if that makes sense

That's actually a good idea. I am concerned with maintaining good health, and if resting heart rate gets high, that's not a good sign. I'll probably go ahead and get a pulse reader next time I go to the store or buy something on Amazon. The fact that I can jog at a moderate speed and distance without issue is a really good sign though. That's a foot in the door of legitimately getting in athletic shape again.

[SaviorSelfJT]

That's actually a good idea. I am concerned with maintaining good health, and if resting heart rate gets high, that's not a good sign. I'll probably go ahead and get a pulse reader next time I go to the store or buy something on Amazon. The fact that I can jog at a moderate speed and distance without issue is a really good sign though. That's a foot in the door of legitimately getting in athletic shape again.

What would you think about a Fitbit? I think you can get a basic one for like 60 dollars and wear it overnight too


—-
Today:
About to go do some cardio, just brisk walking for about an hour

My pecs/front delts are so sore from benching yesterday I literally can’t bring my arms behind my torso

[coachcalande]

I’d been gaining weight back after getting sloppy about tracking. Grew back to 286 lbs, started tracking and cut 6 lbs in May. Held steady. Down 2 more here in June.

Last time I cut this hard I got Covid and lost a bunch of strength …

But another 30 min run on grass last night and a good chest/back superset session…now today I’m planning a 1 hour leg workout…knees are a little sore so I don’t expect much.

As far as easing back into running to avoid another severe calf strain I warm up and gradually add lengths…like this:

I have a 25 yard course.

I jog across, walk back
Then jog two lengths, stretch, walk back
Jog three lengths, stretch, walk back
Jog four lengths, stretch, walk back
5-1
6-1
7-1
8-1

Etc. so I just gradually add a length each set , and build the time and distance until I’m doing 20-1 with a quick stretch as needed.

I aim for a min of 30 min movement.so far it’s all on grass, flat…no hill.

Goal Weight is 250. I’m 278 right now.

[coachcalande]

My 2500 calories today. Each meal is 500 cals.
https://youtu.be/WOfFN8icxmQ

[CW47]

Back Raise
95 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Leg Curl
105 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Donkey Calf Raise
55 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps

Cable Crunch
45 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps

Banded Rear Delt Work (Face Pulls and Fly's)
A couples sets of each in the 15-20 rep range

Back Raises felt much easier this time around. I did 2 more reps per set and wasn't close to failure.
Good progress on everything else at well.

[coachcalande]

I’m almost out of school for the summer and will be , God willing, quite active and dieting hard.

I’m down to 277 already and I’m coping pretty well at five 500 cal meals a day. My main thing is hit the protein! It’s always protein I crave and it leads to overeating if meals are a low % of protein. In any case I immediately noticed brain fog and blurry Vision improved in reducing carbs. Probably type 2 diabetic at this stage in life ������

My workouts are going to be less power/strength focused and more volume/contraction focused. There’s just no way that I can run hard, eat fewer carbs and cals and continue to chase numbers. The only numbers I can chase are related to the scale and body fat %.

Training shoulders, bis, tris this morning and going to try and run *air quality warnings?*

For shoulder press I’ll be working at 185 and see if I can improve upon the 7 reps I got there.
Upright rows I tend to train 8-12 reps with using 105
I just added resistance to side laterals
I’ll pyramid shrugs

Then I’ll spend about 25 minutes doing supersets of bis/tris.

Tomorrow is a “rest” day meaning no lifting. I’ll just go for a longer run.

***
Did a 53 min lift session, ate steak and eggs, went for a 30 min jog. More steak and eggs.

[SaviorSelfJT]

The place I go to do cardio has new machines, including rowing machines they didn’t have before. Maybe time to do HIIT

——

Push-ups
25, 25, 25

PL Squats
285x5

These were really hard, and on the second rep with 285 I lost my balance a little bit and stumbled back when I was halfway up. And my belt gave me really bad carpet burn at my waist

Instead of PL squats I should call them back breakers cause that’s only where I feel them.

Deadlift
Up to 385 and called it

Pull-ups
5


I feel like I need to give my lower back a solid week from squats/deadlifts

[EliKoehn]

Conventional Deadlift (Beltless, Raw, Mixed):
135 x 8, 225 x 4, 315 x 3, 365 x 5, 385 x 3, 405 x 2, 465 x partial to mid shin @8-9, 9, null per fail

Flat Bench (T&G):
45 x 12, 135 x 8, 185 x 4, 225 x 3, 285 x 1, 275 x 5 @8, 10

Not a bad session today! Added another rep on the climb back up with 275 and got some decent groove-greasing in for the deadlift. Against my better judgment from past experience consuming protein products on an empty stomach, I had a pre-mixed protein shake for breakfast and nothing else, then had a bathroom issue all day which still wasn't leaving me alone by the time I got to the gym after work. All that to say, my hands were wet from frequent washing and so the 465 might have been in the bag were it not for that. I broke the floor with it easily but my hands just slipped once it was more than halfway up to my knees, but they actually were still damp (and let's just say the full exertion in that lift wasn't combining well with my constantly rumbling intestines). Either way, it was decently solid preparation work and next deadlift session that shouldn't be an issue.

I am really happy on the bench though. To think, hardly more than a month ago a single rep fell on me! I am glad I decided to do a supramaximal warmup, and to my very pleasant surprise the 285 just shot up and I had by my good estimate two more in the tank. A supramaximal warmup then AMRAP is a solid way to train once in a while, I think. (Of course, I know in a strict since, supramaximals are confined to partials, but from the vantage of a warmup, I just mean more than the working set which follows). I am nowhere close to the shape I want to be in, but I can tell that my chest has regained some prominence filling out my shirt.

Normally I don't log warmups but I did this time since I hadn't deadlifted with any kind of legitimate volume in a while, so that the warmups were more significant this time, and I worked in a supramaximal warmup on bench, which lends itself more towards including the previous sets. Was going to squat also, but it was taken and there was only one. Would also have jogged again but there was a formal volleyball game going on and I didn't want to get in their way.

[SaviorSelfJT]

^ Are you using whey isolate or concentrate? Isolate might work better if it gives you gastro issues

You've got to be at or near 315 bench again with 275x5

[coachcalande]

JT- I always liked rowers, great cardio with out the pounding.

Well, understand that I dropped carbs low the last three days so water weight here adding to my weight loss but already down to 276 and feel a million times better. Can’t wait to reach the 265 mark.

I’m using jogging on grass as my cardio, unfortunately I have a chronic calf issue that ALWAYS comes back…it’s a mild strain in the same spot…always returns. Started nagging me 25 min into my jog yesterday. Btw after just a few days of jogging my recovery between sets is better but power feels down.

Anyways, the foods great but 500 cals per meal is easy to throw down every three/four hours. So far easy.

[coachcalande]

Run today…no lift

[CW47]

Pin Bench Press
145 pounds x 7/6/6 reps

Wide Grip Cable Row
55 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps

Spoon Press
40 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps

Hammer Curl
35 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps

Leg Raise
2 sets x 12 reps

Trying to keep bench in the 3x6 range as a minimum right now, so I'll likely keep weight the same next time around and try to add reps.
Rows are still not too hard but I'm sticking to slow weight increases and hoping I can continue them for a long time.
Triceps and Biceps work is getting quite hard at this point. I'll bump up the weight on these but it's likely I won't hit the full number of reps next time.
On leg raises I'm focused on using my abs to get things moving rather than using arms/shoulders to get things moving.

[EliKoehn]

^ Are you using whey isolate or concentrate? Isolate might work better if it gives you gastro issues

You've got to be at or near 315 bench again with 275x5

It is actually whey isolate already. I just had another one not long ago and it doesn't seem to be causing me issues (unlike the near-immediate onset previously when my stomach was empty). This is the product. I got it on a subscription where they send me twelve every two weeks, so in addition to my regular chicken breasts, this will pad out my daily protein consumption by conveniently providing 20-25% of my daily requirement: https://www.amazon.com/LABRADA-Conve.../dp/B00166BBXW

Having convenient and low calorie high sources of protein makes eating small portions elsewhere much easier. To get enough from "regular" food which doesn't have especially high protein concentration usually requires overeating, and the concern is "oh no, I'll fall short of protein unless I eat plenty" otherwise, but with a chicken breast out of a sandwich bag and one of these, I've already got 100 grams for 700 calories, which makes getting 60-80 more out of a remaining 2,000 or so calories far easier and it's psychologically freeing to have lots of variety without feeling like every dish you have needs to be protein loaded or especially large. That's my thinking, at any rate.

Yes, I'm excited, regarding bench! I'm still notably below my peak performance last year (when I also weighed 30-40 pounds lighter), but it's been crawling back up nearly every session. Today was no exception.

--

A.S.
Flat Bench (T&G):
225 x 10, 10, 8, 8, 8, 6 (50 total) @all near maximal after first set, which was probably @8
Double-Pulley Seated Cable Row (Close Handle):
6 x 10 at 160

Squat:
15 x BW, 12 x 45, 8 x 135, 7 x 185, 6 x 225, 5 x 255, 4 x 275, 3 x 295, 2 x 315, 1 x 335 bolded @7-8, 8, 8!

A.S.
Hammer Curl:
1 x 4 w/ 60s, 2 x 6 w/ 50s
DB Lateral Raise:
1 x 4 w/ 40s, 2 x 6 w/ 35s

Treadmill Jog:
0.51 miles at 6.1 mph

--

On the bench today, I wanted to see how many consecutive sets of 10 I could get with two plates. At my peak, I could get 5-6, and this time it was only two (which matches my last attempt), so I added another set of 8 for progressive overload, and topped it off with a finishing set of 6 (which did ironically end up being about maximal) to reach a total of 50. I am more pleased by the set of 5 I got on the previous session, but making sure there's plenty of volume for the lift is important, and it's also worth noting that this is my third bench session of the week, which I think is the first time in a while I've had that frequency, even with this lift.

The seated cable rows were definitely on the easy side of the fence but still felt meaningfully effortful and worthwhile. This commercial gym I went to this time doesn't have a good place for Pendlays while my office gym does, but it's closed on weekends and I thought some variety would be healthy anyway. I know that double pulleys are mechanically more difficult so I wanted to be conservative with the weight since higher volume with straight sets was my aim, and other factors with cable machines such as the length between pulleys and such differ, making these hard to standardize for logging/comparison purposes. Either way, I've still been quite lacking on meaningful pull volume (my BW pullups are heavy and I can do them in the low rep ranges, but that's not something you can modulate without special equipment), especially in that rep range, so it surely still did plenty of good.

I was getting quite overdue for squats, but pleasingly they didn't seem to have atrophied much. The only thing that comes to mind is that my grip felt more uncomfortable and mildly painful compared to last time. When I began to squat with any kind of seriousness a few years ago, I literally couldn't even get my hands close enough in position properly and then it became easy, so that's some kind of mysterious motor skill I guess. For whatever reason though, just about everything else with the lift mechanics seemed to come back easily and I was hitting depth and keeping my torso upright enough to be kosher (since the "squatmorning" error is something I'm prone to from time to time). I only bolded the sets which were reentering territory I'd not traversed in a long time, but the way I pyramided that was something between warmup and working set on the preceding ones - definitely submaximal but still sufficiently taxing to count for more than just getting ready for the legitimately challenging sets. Really pleased to see that above 3 plates for a single was quite submaximal! 365 should be a safe current max attempt relatively soon based on this testing of the waters.

On the accessories, I wanted to go heavier today since I realized I hadn't done that in a while. Was initially aiming for sets of 6 with the 60s, but, while I got 4 cleanly, I was facing form-breakdown after that and decided to call it there on that and then mirror the laterals with a heavy set of 4, then do 2 sets of 6 on the remainder. I'm kind of surprised the 60s were so clean for 4, but my biceps weren't too worked by those cable rows. What surprised me more was that the lateral raises with the 40s were also really clean given that I'd seriously taxed a good chunk of my shoulders on bench already, and that's always been a pretty heavy lateral raise for me even at my as-yet peak, which I'm still a good ways below right now.

Was going to run longer, but at this point I was already pretty exhausted, and I stopped at half a mile. Decided to bump the speed up just very slightly over last time I began a treadmill cycle just for a slight bump in challenge.

[RapidFail]

Just finished a 4-week mini cut, down from 181lb to 174lb. Kept calories at ~ 2000 on weekdays and ate intuitively on weekends. Hunger was fine and weight loss very consistent. Here's a video from before the cut:

https://imgur.com/a/WJcLT1h

Haven't take an after pic, but I'm fitting my clothes heaps better, love handles are smaller and my upper abs are visible again. Planning on bulking back up to 182lb by October, then cutting down for summer, maybe to 170lb.

[coachcalande]

https://youtu.be/DV3Nyy4sORY

My body is changing fast too.

[coachcalande]

286-273 already. Scary fast pace but let’s just assume I’m still dropping a lot of water.

I’m training shoulders and arms this am, I’ll go for a 30 min run later. We have a stationary bike that I’m actually considering…I hate those things…

[jademonkey]

Went to a gym in Lisbon today. Apparently you are required to bring a towel and use it on the benches. I've never done that before but they did not have disinfectant wipes so I guess it makes sense. Had to walk back and get towels.

There is a big city-wide festival this month so we were not feeling the best after 3 nights out partying it up lol. But workout went well. I think my bench press has finally leveled up a bit. Still about 25 lbs off my best.
198x8 / 220x5 / 232x2 / 232x2 / 220x5 / 220x4

Wife didn't feel like doing legs after walking around Lisbon for 3 days and doing stairmaster, so we will save that for later this week. Did some dumbbell rows, Arnold press, pull downs, curls, triceps, lateral raises.

Apparently tonight is the main party - tomorrow is a holiday for Saint Anthony, the matchmaking saint. Which coincidentally is also our 15 year wedding anniversary.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Y'all. 205 OHP today, strict, standing

Back Breaker Squats:
135x5
185x5
225x5
245x5
290x5

OHP:
95x3
135x1
145x1
155x1
165x1
175x1
185x1
195x1
205x1
185x5

Cheat Rows:
135x5
185x5
225x5
255x5



I recorded some of these lifts
1. My squats are definitely to depth in PL rules, hip crease below top of knees
2. I stumbled on the 3rd rep of 290 squat when I was coming up
3. My rows are cheated, but not as cheated as that video I posted before
4. The 205 was really grinded, I felt my vision starting to black out near the end like tunnel vision. Was kinda worried I'd pass out with 205 pounds of steel overhead
5. I'm like 195 right now and look skinny as fuk when I recorded the OHP especially because I have my arms up making my torso look slender. 195 at 5'7 is still pretty stocky but I feel like I look like a toothpick

It is actually whey isolate already. I just had another one not long ago and it doesn't seem to be causing me issues (unlike the near-immediate onset previously when my stomach was empty). This is the product. I got it on a subscription where they send me twelve every two weeks, so in addition to my regular chicken breasts, this will pad out my daily protein consumption by conveniently providing 20-25% of my daily requirement: https://www.amazon.com/LABRADA-Conve.../dp/B00166BBXW

Having convenient and low calorie high sources of protein makes eating small portions elsewhere much easier. To get enough from "regular" food which doesn't have especially high protein concentration usually requires overeating, and the concern is "oh no, I'll fall short of protein unless I eat plenty" otherwise, but with a chicken breast out of a sandwich bag and one of these, I've already got 100 grams for 700 calories, which makes getting 60-80 more out of a remaining 2,000 or so calories far easier and it's psychologically freeing to have lots of variety without feeling like every dish you have needs to be protein loaded or especially large. That's my thinking, at any rate.

I'm getting really close to switching to premade shakes. I buy powder in bulk and its such a pain to clean the shaker bottle (and if you don't clean it really well after you use it, your going to be sorry)

286-273 already. Scary fast pace but let’s just assume I’m still dropping a lot of water.

I’m training shoulders and arms this am, I’ll go for a 30 min run later. We have a stationary bike that I’m actually considering…I hate those things…

Good luck on the weight loss

[EliKoehn]

Y'all. 205 OHP today, strict, standing

No way, awesome! Glad you didn't black out... 185 x 5 is also very strong on its own.

I recorded some of these lifts

Mind uploading? I'm really impressed by that OHP. Didn't realized you'd cut down recently too.

... (and if you don't clean it really well after you use it, your going to be sorry)

Yeah, no joke on that... plastic permanently ruined with a putrid smell. The convenience is worth the money in my opinion. No ensuing issues with the subsequent ones I drank either. That just always happens when I use a protein supplement on an empty stomach.

--

Flat Bench (T&G):
135 x 8, 185 x 5, 225 x 4, 245 x 3, 275 x 2 295 x 3 @10

A.S.
DB Lateral Raise:
3 x 8 w/ 30s
Supinated DB Curl:
1 x 8 w/ 45 & 55*, 2 x 8 w/ 45s

*After starting that first curl set, I thought "Why does my right arm feel less recovered than my left? That's really odd..." then I realized that I had accidentally grabbed a 45 and a 55, not two 45s lol... To balance it back out, I did the next set reversed with the left arm curling the 55 and the right one the 45. The last rep on the left arm was very cheaty, but not on the right one, and otherwise form was good. I was going to do a fourth set but my biceps got more work in with that mistake and my shoulders were starting to feel achy in a "not recovered enough" warning signal sort of way, so I stopped there.

Was going to go for three triples on that bench, but the final rep on that first set was an extreme grind (in spite of the first two reps moving nice and cleanly) so I wouldn't have realistically hit that target even if I could still do more meaningful work. There was also another guy waiting on bench so I just let him go ahead. Being able to low-rep close to 300 again is putting me fairly close to where I was last year.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Flat Bench (T&G):
135 x 8, 185 x 5, 225 x 4, 245 x 3, 275 x 2 295 x 3 @10

A.S.
DB Lateral Raise:
3 x 8 w/ 30s
Supinated DB Curl:
1 x 8 w/ 45 & 55*, 2 x 8 w/ 45s

*After starting that first curl set, I thought "Why does my right arm feel less recovered than my left? That's really odd..." then I realized that I had accidentally grabbed a 45 and a 55, not two 45s lol... To balance it back out, I did the next set reversed with the left arm curling the 55 and the right one the 45. The last rep on the left arm was very cheaty, but not on the right one, and otherwise form was good. I was going to do a fourth set but my biceps got more work in with that mistake and my shoulders were starting to feel achy in a "not recovered enough" warning signal sort of way, so I stopped there.

Was going to go for three triples on that bench, but the final rep on that first set was an extreme grind (in spite of the first two reps moving nice and cleanly) so I wouldn't have realistically hit that target even if I could still do more meaningful work. There was also another guy waiting on bench so I just let him go ahead. Being able to low-rep close to 300 again is putting me fairly close to where I was last year.

Sent you a streamable link over DM. I don't mind the people who post here seeing it, but there's some really weird people on these forums so I'd rather DM it

Its weird how a small difference in weight per side can feel so dramatic. Like a 400lb squat with only 2.5 lbs off on one side feels so different