2023 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[RapidFail]

Matched last week's bench press:

6 x 138lb (1-2 RIR)
6 x 138lb (0-1 RIR)
6 x 138lb (0 RIR)

Still bulking, currently 178lb, up from 171lb before Christmas. Upper abs are just barely visible flexed, love handles getting puffy, but still have striated delts and bicep veins.

[coachcalande]

Yesterday was “Flex Friday”

I put up four photos, no pump as it was my rest day and five days carb depleted but you can see what natural Powerbuilding has done for me at age 56.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CoachCalande

Youll have to scroll a bit but the photos are there. Im carbing up now and training chest, back, shoulders this morning.

[coachcalande]

Good day!

Back to back sets of 315x3 today.

https://youtube.com/shorts/GUXom7PY2WA


Posted more videos on my twitter as well.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Glad to have you back Eli! Did you get the corvette?

——

Finally feeling recovered from being sick

Workout 1 today:
Just over an hour on treadmill, every minute increasing the speed or incline. Then at about 40 mins decreasing speed or incline every minute

Workout 2 today:
Squat:
315x1
275x5
225x15

OHP:
175x1
155x5
135x8

Barbell rows with chit form:
225x5

Legs were shaking the rest of the workout after the 225x15 squats

[CW47]

Conv Deadlift
325 pounds - 5 sets x 3 reps

Bench Press
115 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps

I've still been having a slightly tender knee. It seems like it's bench press that's bothering it more than squats or deads so I went lighter on those today and used pretty much no legs during the lift. It was pretty easy, as expected.

Deads on the other hand were harder than expected even though I was never super close to failure - probably nothing over an 8 RPE.

[coachcalande]

Another fantasTic leg session

Pause squats on the smith are highly effective

https://youtu.be/e0bII3Empf0


Set rep PRs on my let press today after five sets squats.

[CW47]

SSB Squat
205 pounds - 6 sets x 2 reps

Bench Press
155 pounds - 6 sets x 4 reps

I'm removing the box on squats for now to try to get a bit closer to a standard squat. Would love to do some regular low bar squats but I'm not going anywhere near that until I feel my elbow has healed up fully.

Bench went well. Got near an RPE 9 on the last rep of the last set. Next time should be 7 sets of 4 and I'm sure that will be a real challenge.

[EliKoehn]

Glad to have you back Eli! Did you get the corvette?

——

Finally feeling recovered from being sick

Workout 1 today:
Just over an hour on treadmill, every minute increasing the speed or incline. Then at about 40 mins decreasing speed or incline every minute

Workout 2 today:
Squat:
315x1
275x5
225x15

OHP:
175x1
155x5
135x8

Barbell rows with chit form:
225x5

Legs were shaking the rest of the workout after the 225x15 squats

Thanks! Yes I did. Found a low-mileage 2001 C5 convertible in really nice shape for $19K and decided to go for it, since I typically see them sell in the mid 20s in good condition. Even if I don't keep it too long, I'm hoping it'll hold its value or maybe even appreciate if/when I sell it myself.

Got a new gym membership - the place is nice, spacious and perplexingly cheap ($7 a month with a $30 annual fee). I think it's owned by a Christian ministry because they have free Bibles at the front and the signup requested optional donations to disaster relief agencies, so maybe there's a lot of private donor money keeping the rates down.

It's been almost two months since I set foot in a gym, so I'm starting back simple and very light. Today was just warm-up tier squats to get used to doing that movement with a bar again.

Back Squat:
5 x 5 at 185

[EliKoehn]

Flat Bench (T&G):
5 x 5 at 225

Keeping it short and sweet in my old boring style as I ease back into it. Most of these were @1-2RIR, which is honestly better than I was expecting. In 2020 after the lockdown ended, I went from not even being able to do this to benching 315x1 in about three months of hard training, so let's hope getting it back fares even better.

[coachcalande]

Flat Bench (T&G):
5 x 5 at 225

Keeping it short and sweet in my old boring style as I ease back into it. Most of these were @1-2RIR, which is honestly better than I was expecting. In 2020 after the lockdown ended, I went from not even being able to do this to benching 315x1 in about three months of hard training, so let's hope getting it back fares even better.

Muscle memory is real, youll be back breaking PRs soon.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Enjoy the new car!

-----
Today:

Hour of low intensity cardio

Bench:
up to 275x1
245x4
225x5

Deadlift:
up to 405x1
315x13

Pullups
5
5


My quads are feeling it rn

[CW47]

Bench Press
125 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Conv Deadlift
275 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps

After 3 weeks being unable to lift, I've now been back at it for a month. I'm going to transition to programming that's a little different. I've mostly been doing many sets of lower rep work. I'm going to reduce sets and increase reps. Also planning to start adding in some accessory stuff sometime soon.

Both Bench and Deadlift were pretty easy - nothing higher than about a 6 RPE.

[coachcalande]

Ive had a great stretch of about 6 weeks. My routine that Im just loving is:

Torso day
Bench/Row supersets
Incline/ wide pulldowns supersetted
Flys/ narrow pds supersetted
* I mix up the order of pulling mvts each time
Then I train shoulders and traps
Seated press
Upright rows
Shrugs
Side laterals.

Then a rest day, get stuff done around house.

limbs day

Squats (lately loving pause squats) or Deadlifts
Leg press (making progress!)
Leg ext and leg curls

Then in the afternoon Ill superset bis, tris and calves.

Another rest day

Repeat.

The Anabolic diet has been fantastic. There’s nothing Ive ever tried thats more free and enjoyable with controlled gains/loss.

5-6 days of eating all the meat, eggs, cheese and greens that I want…(reduces inflammation and clears skin!)
Two days of “anything goes” to replenish glycogen and take care of any cravings.

Im loving it.

Something Im playing around with is a “rule” for refeeds. Ie dont start a refeed unless Im under a certain weight and end it when I cross a certain weight. Water/glycogen weight can be 3-5 lbs after 2 days anything goes. So like the Golden era bodybuilding guys, being all bloated until Tuesday or Wednesday following weekend party time is the norm. Takes 3-4 days to tighten up but the start of the week has powerhouse workouts and big pumps.

Typically in the beginning of the week after the refeeds, Im anxious to hit the singles, doubles, triples…by the end of the keto stretch Im more into 5-10 rep training. I do plenty of volume, 12 sets per large mucle group typically. More like 9 sets for bis/tris. Currently my shoulders/traps get the most total sets at 16. Calves get the least at 4-5 sets but soon Im planning to treat them like bis, tris.

[EliKoehn]

Is anyone getting "Bad Gateway Request" errors when trying to click on threads on this site? I've had to use incognito mode to bypass it (not even sure what made me think to try that, but it works). The problem is that I have to log in manually every time when I do it that way.

--

Thanks SJT, hopefully it'll be fun and hold its value.

Hope you're right Coach. I'm glad I found a good gym with lots of freeweights and space.


Deadlift:
5 x 5 at 315

Just easing in the same way here as elsewhere. These were somewhat hard (probably @2-3 RIR on average), but each set got progressively easier so that is a good sign that it just needs to be woken up again.

By the way, those squats on Monday, even though they were at baby weight, gave me insane DOMS lol. Goes to show how detrained I've gotten!

[SaviorSelfJT]

Still pretty sore

Today:

Squat:
325x1
315x2
295x4
225x16

OHP
175x1
155x6
135x10

Chit form rows
135x5
185x5
225x7

Legs super shaky after the high rep set. Drank some sugar and took a bit of a rest after the squats but still felt gassed

The 175 OHP press went up real fast, last time it was a grind

[coachcalande]

Loving pause squats.

Today started at 185-225-275 and then hit some triples at 315 without the pause but at full depth.

https://youtu.be/vu05mYQAYtc

[CW47]

Nice work everyone!


March 31, 2023
SSB Squat
205 pounds - 3 sets x 3 reps

Supinated Triceps Pushdown
10 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps

Close Grip Larsen Press
95 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Squats went well.
Started out trying normal triceps pushdown but felt discomfort in my elbow right away. Decided to try it supinated and there wasn't even a trace of pain or discomfort so I'll likely continue doing them that way.
Doing close grip larsen press because I don't want any pressure on my knees. Close grip is just to add some variation some I'm doing a standard grip for all of my other pressing right now. 95 pounds was meant to be a warm up weight but after doing a few reps with it I decided it was going to be my working weight.

[CW47]

Bench Press
155 pounds x 7 reps

Deadlift
275 pounds - 3 sets x 7 reps

Nordic Hamstring Curls
3 sets x 8 reps

Hit my rep goal on bench so I'll increase weight next time.
Deadlifts drained me enormously but were nowhere near failure. Next time will be 3x8.

[coachcalande]

Boooooom!

https://youtube.com/shorts/G2EjbOVpsi0

325x3 bench



275x3 incline

https://youtu.be/YU-W7s8Mi_c


Seated overhead press 185x6
https://youtu.be/H5CQvUqM7uo


Great day

[SaviorSelfJT]

@Coach, paused squats are a great exercise. For me they make my hips feel really good when they get tight and grumpy. Like some kind of active stretching or something idk

———

Bench
280x1
245x5
225x6

Awesome. 280 was a grind but so was 275 last time. I got +1 reps with 245/225 compared to last time too

Deadlift
365x1
225x6 (RDL)
225x5 (RDL)

365 felt harder than it should have, so stopped there and took it easy

Pull-ups
6
8

[EliKoehn]

Bench Press
155 pounds x 7 reps

Deadlift
275 pounds - 3 sets x 7 reps

Nordic Hamstring Curls
3 sets x 8 reps

Hit my rep goal on bench so I'll increase weight next time.
Deadlifts drained me enormously but were nowhere near failure. Next time will be 3x8.

Interesting setup. So you're doing linear progression on straight sets, adding one rep each time as long as you can?

Boooooom!

https://youtube.com/shorts/G2EjbOVpsi0

325x3 bench

Nice!

@Coach, paused squats are a great exercise. For me they make my hips feel really good when they get tight and grumpy. Like some kind of active stretching or something idk

———

Bench
280x1
245x5
225x6

Awesome. 280 was a grind but so was 275 last time. I got +1 reps with 245/225 compared to last time too

Deadlift
365x1
225x6 (RDL)
225x5 (RDL)

365 felt harder than it should have, so stopped there and took it easy

Pull-ups
6
8

Are you focusing on any particular lift? Bench and deadlift are my two favorites to pair together but only if I'll have one or two rest days until the next session, since that pretty heavily works the whole body.

--

I forgot to log my last workout on here. Went with my dad and we're both going to try to get to 315 again soon and bench together every Saturday.

Unfortunately, I couldn't even get 275 x 1, but I'm going to keep pushing the envelope, no matter where I've atrophied to in the meantime. The benches were all pretty close to maximal RPE on the final rep.

(Saturday's Workout)

Flat Bench:
225 x 8, 275 x 0 (fail, aiming for 3), 205 x 10, 185 x 12

Double-Pulley Seated Cable Row (Shoulder-Width Handle):
1 x 6 at 205, 1 x 7 at 190 (did an 8th rep but it was too cheaty to count), 1 x 8 at 175

A.S.
Hammer Curl:
4 x 8 w/ 30s
Lateral Raise:
4 x 8 w/ 25s

(Today's Workout)

Squat:
4 x 8 at 225

Treadmill Jog: 0.5 miles at 6mph

Kept it simple today but upped the intensity a little closer to acclimated working sets and added some cardio. The squats winded me and my knees felt like the rust was getting knocked off (kind of a mild strain from not bearing much weight in that movement pattern in a while, but not in a painful or concerning way); they were somewhat difficult but not as bad as I thought they were going to be. I was expecting to be barely able to do the half mile jog, but that actually went reasonably well and I wasn't completely out of breath at the end. Just starting very small with it to build consistency.

[CW47]

Nice job easing back into it Eli. That's a good, well rounded workout. I had a little over a month long break recently as well due to sickness and then a trip out of the country.

Regarding my training - For the last month I've basically been doing only squat, bench and dead, splitting each into heavy and light days. I've been using rep goals to trigger weight increases, shooting for 14 reps on the light days and 7 reps on heavy, but only attempting those when I'm pretty confident I'll hit it. Rep/set combos have been pretty wide ranging (anywhere from 3x3 to 6x8 to 10x2).

I've just recently started following a more structured format. Heavy lifts going 3x3, 3x4, 3x5, and then attempting a 7 rep max. Light lifts going 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, and then probably just increasing weight since I don't really like the idea of attempting a 14 rep max, especially on deads. The primary goal during this phase of my training has been to keep nearly all of my work in the 60-80% range. Also just started adding in some accessory work over the last week.

[CW47]

SSB Squat
165 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps

Leg Extension
75 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

DB Bench Press
40's - 3 sets x 10 reps

Still struggling to build up work capacity on squats. I was very light headed after each of the 3 sets even though they weren't very close to failure. I'll aim for sets of 7 next time.
Leg Extensions and DB Bench weren't too difficult. Focus was on getting a full range of motion and controlling the weight throughout. Weight will go up next time around.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Today:

About 45 mins of moderate cardio

Also, woke up today without a sore throat for the first time in like 2 or 3 weeks. I think my body is finally finished fighting whatever it was

Are you focusing on any particular lift? Bench and deadlift are my two favorites to pair together but only if I'll have one or two rest days until the next session, since that pretty heavily works the whole body.

--

I forgot to log my last workout on here. Went with my dad and we're both going to try to get to 315 again soon and bench together every Saturday.

Not really any particular lift, but focusing on large compounds in general

And yeah these workouts are really taxing especially cause I'm going to or near failure on almost all of these sets, grinding a bunch of reps, I feel like its easy to overtrain


Thats cool your going with your dad

[coachcalande]

Took criticism to heart.

Very methodical about working on depth and control.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ssbY0mZC4kE

Smith squats 335x3.



Total workout
Smith squats today
335x3-2-1
315x3-3

Leg press 4 sets to failure with 12 plates total

Leg ext, leg curls.


Back later today to train arms and calves.

[EliKoehn]

Nice job easing back into it Eli. That's a good, well rounded workout. I had a little over a month long break recently as well due to sickness and then a trip out of the country.

Regarding my training - For the last month I've basically been doing only squat, bench and dead, splitting each into heavy and light days. I've been using rep goals to trigger weight increases, shooting for 14 reps on the light days and 7 reps on heavy, but only attempting those when I'm pretty confident I'll hit it. Rep/set combos have been pretty wide ranging (anywhere from 3x3 to 6x8 to 10x2).

I've just recently started following a more structured format. Heavy lifts going 3x3, 3x4, 3x5, and then attempting a 7 rep max. Light lifts going 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, and then probably just increasing weight since I don't really like the idea of attempting a 14 rep max, especially on deads. The primary goal during this phase of my training has been to keep nearly all of my work in the 60-80% range. Also just started adding in some accessory work over the last week.

Sounds like a unique setup. I rarely see people do multiples of 7 intentionally, but maybe there's some advantage to that number specifically. Good luck going forward with it!

Today:

About 45 mins of moderate cardio

Also, woke up today without a sore throat for the first time in like 2 or 3 weeks. I think my body is finally finished fighting whatever it was



Not really any particular lift, but focusing on large compounds in general

And yeah these workouts are really taxing especially cause I'm going to or near failure on almost all of these sets, grinding a bunch of reps, I feel like its easy to overtrain


Thats cool your going with your dad

Yeah I enjoy being able to go with my dad, especially since he used to be very strong but hasn't trained at all in years - now he seems to truly desire getting back into it, so it'll be fun to see how much he can regain. He benched 345 in his thirties and could rep 315 5ish times or so at about 230 bodyweight. He's just now entering his late 50s but he's aged really well so far so I think the majority of that will come back.

Large compounds are the best way to go IMHO, or at least what I find to be the most rewarding. I remember your 445 deep squat from a couple years ago. That was insane.

--

I'm pretty happy today, since I got my old "par" medium volume bench spread again - 4 x 8 at 2 plates (if recently sick, cutting, tired or something, what I always made sure I could at least do since about 3 years). The last rep was definitely a grinder but I'm glad to see that I got this right after dropping 275 on myself just a few days ago, and the difficulty of last week's 5x5 at the same weight made me anticipate this being an overreach, but I decided since I did get a clean set of 8 a few days ago, it didn't make sense not to go with that as far as I could and just lower weight if I failed. Fortunately I got the straight sets! Next time I think I'll go for 275 singles fresh and see how that goes. Can't wait to get back to challenging my old numbers!

Does anyone have any insight on the elliptical machine? I'm just throwing in some light cardio at the end for general health and reconditioning, and that machine felt kind of strange. I'd never really used it before at any length that I can clearly recall. My heart rate stayed in the upper 170s for about 15 minutes, so that is beneficial for being low intensity steady state work, but I actually felt it kind of burn around my patella tendon by the knees staying partially flexed continuously, but at the same time, it didn't feel very winding the way that a jog would - to go really fast on that thing jerks my legs around quite a bit since the stride is kind of narrow, so I don't even know what the intended speed is. Glad I tried it out, but I don't really see the point over jogging.

Flat Bench (T&G):
4 x 8 at 225 each @0-2 RIR

Double-Pulley Seated Cable Row (Shoulder Width Handle):
4 x 8 at 175 each @1-2 RIR

A.S.
Supinated DB Curl:
5 x 8 w/ 35s
DB Lateral Raise:
5 x 8 w/ 25s

Elliptical Machine:
1 mile at ~16:00 (average RPM about 60)

Also, I listened again to this Arnold tribute band which I used to listen to a lot when I was first getting out of the novice strength standards for most lifts and it made me wax nostalgic and happy about the enthusiasm for being there and training. It's a Judas Priest cover but it makes me think of the simple joy of just lifting and trying to get stronger.

[CW47]

Sounds like a unique setup. I rarely see people do multiples of 7 intentionally, but maybe there's some advantage to that number specifically. Good luck going forward with it!

The multiples of 7 isn't anything special. I actually set it up that way because it aligns with the weight increases that I'll typically be making. On Deads/Squats I'm only using 25 and 45 pound plates. On Bench I'm adding in 10 pound plates. This means I'm typically taking jumps that are more than 5 or 10 pounds at a time, and sometimes quite a bit more. Those 7 and 14 rep goals on rep maxes are designed so that even if I have a larger weight jump I should be able to do at least 3 reps with it on squats/deads an 5 or 6 reps on bench. It's subject to change if that doesn't prove to be true...

I'm happy to see that your strength is coming back quite quickly. And yes, very cool to be lifting with your dad. I have little doubt that he'll at least get somewhat close to what he was doing before. That'll be fun to see I'm sure.

[CW47]

Conventional Deadlift
325 pounds x 7 reps

Bench Press
135 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps

Pretty easily hit 7 reps on deads at about a 7-8 RPE so I'll increase weight next time. First time taking video of myself in a while. I should do it more often... Noticed on deads that my hips were shooting up right away and as a result coming through later than they should be. I believe this is because of the belt limiting me in the setup. Even though I feel like I get extra support from it, I'm likely better off not using it because something like this could likely be the difference between making or missing a lift that's closer to my 1RM. I could also just experiment with loosening it more...but I don't feel like I lose much (if any) strength without the belt.

Not sure what happened on bench today, but something clicked. It felt extremely light and the movement pattern seemed to be more locked in. I probably could've done 3x10 without needing to grind, but I'm content to go slowly, especially since the weight will be increasing on my heavier bench day this week.

[RapidFail]

I haven't posted here for a while so I thought I'd touch base.

I've been working with an online trainer since the start of February and have been logging my workouts on the Strong app as well as on a spreadsheet and haven't felt the inclination to continue my training log here as well. I've been posting my weekly barbell bench press numbers, but recently had a deload week and now I'm not doing a flat barbell bench (but many other horizontal and incline presses).

I've been bulking since Christmas and am up to 178lb (at 6'1") from 170lb, bodyfat in the high teens. I'm fully recovered from the nerve damage in my neck that was limiting my pressing strength at the end of 2022. After over four years of consistent training and good diet I'm still nowhere close to 'intermediate strength standards' but I try not to focus on that and am happy with any progress I can make.

The one big takeaway I've taken from working with a trainer is that I was deloading more than necessary (previously 4 hard weeks of training followed by a delaod). Lack of consistent sleep was (and is) limiting my progress so I've been doing my best to address that. I go to bed at 8:30pm Sunday-Thursday but often wake after 5-6 hours sleep and am unable to get back to sleep. When my sleep is good, I'm finding I don't need to deload.

[EliKoehn]

@CW, yes it is fun, and that's my hope as well that he'll get a solid majority of it back. I'll never forget the 65 year old a few years ago who put up 315 again (at a bodyweight of probably around 180 or so) less than a year after open heart surgery; that example always springs to mind when people say "Oh, I'm too old for this now/I can't push anything too hard" when they're not actually debilitated from doing it in any qualifiable way from their age. If there ever was a perfect excuse never to touch the bench press again, that would be it, but this guy didn't give up.

Nice to hear you had a good stride today. Regarding the deadlifting belt, I might personally experiment with not using it anymore, but I think that's a highly individualized thing and you know you the best. (Honestly, I stopped using them originally because I could never get it to rest on the right spot, but then I found that I just ended up not needing it as I progressed, and maybe that's held me back some.) Not sure how safe of an approach that is in general, but it might be one of those things that everyone does because even if the risk is low, the magnitude of potentially permanently ruining your back with a serious injury just makes ignoring the precaution unwise.

--

I was going to do more stuff today, but I was invited to have lunch near my new gym and I didn't want to bring separate clothes or dress out, so I just did some bench singles. As my videos attest, I don't often care about non-functional athletic attire, but I want to keep my new Corvette clean and nice, so I don't want to bring my sweat or body odor into it the way I don't care when it's my beat up ol' Honda lol. (By the way, the new car is really a lot of fun!)

Flat Bench (T&G):
10 x 1 at 255

All of these unfortunately felt pretty close to maximal, somewhere between the margins of not being able to do two, but still reliably being able to do one over and over. I might have gotten two or three singles if I went up to 265, but I'm pretty sure I would have failed past that, and I need the volume to be meaningful as I get this movement pattern retrained above 225.