2024 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[EliKoehn]

Flat Bench (T&G):
315 x 3, 275 x 8, 225 x 14

Double-Pulley Seated Cable Row (medium width straight handle):
3 x 8 at 205

A.S.
Dips:
3 x 8 at BW
Pullup (pronated):
3 x 3 at BW

--

Dad got 275 x 2 today! He's getting his old strength back quickly.

[CW47]

Hatfield Squat: Goal = 4-6 reps
260 pounds x 6 reps
Felt a twinge of discomfort in my knee again today. I twist my feet into the floor to activate the appropriate muscles and when I did this I felt some pain on the outside portion of my right knee. I lightened up tension a bit and it was fine.

SSB Calf Raise: Goal = 15-20 reps
155 pounds x 18/16 reps

Stiff Legged Deadlift: Goal = 6-8 reps
325 pounds x 6 reps
Kind of regret not going for more than 6 reps, but I was losing tightness in my lower back. Still was a 1 rep improvement over last time.

Skiers: Rest Pause Goal = 17-21 reps
20lb DB's - 2 sets x 12 reps
Didn't do rest pause on this because it was apparent during the 1st set that the weight was too light. Still was within a few reps of failure on the second set. Should be in the right rep range next time.

Here's video of the squats and deads:

[Camarija]

Monday, March 25
10:54 AM
11:40 AM
46 minutes

Lower:
Hip Adduction (inside)
J
14 block x 20
13 block x 20
S
4 block x 15
3 block x 20

Hip Abduction (outside)
J
14 block x 30
14 block x 30
S
7 block x 20
7 block x 20

Seated Hammer Strength Pendulum Leg Press
J
32.5 kg per side x 20 - 5 + 5 double pulses
37.5 kg per side x 20 - 10 + 5 double pulses
40 kg per side x 15 - 5 + 5 double pulses
42.5 kg per side x 10 - 10 paused
S
12.5 kg per side x 20 - 5 + 5 double pulses
17.5 kg per side x 14 - 10 + 2 double pulses
20 kg per side x 13 - 5 + 4 double pulses
22.5 kg per side x 6 - 6 paused

RDL Machine - 5 holes
J
35 kg / side x 15
45 kg / side x 20
50 kg / side x 18
55 kg / side x 16
S
5 kg / side x 8
10 kg / side x 12
12.5 kg / side x 8 6
15 kg / side x 6

Abdominal Exercise
S
0 x 8
0 x 8
J
10 lbs x 15
10 lbs x 12

Leg Press Machine Calf
J
37.5 kg /side x 20
37.5 kg /side x 20
S
7.5 kg / side x 15
7.5 kg / side x 18
7.5 kg / side x 18

[SaviorSelfJT]

Last workout: I only did the bar, basically as a deload day. This was the move, cause todays workout felt great


Today:

Squat:
260x5
260x5
260x5

OHP:
185x5
185x5
185x5

Barbell row:
300x5
300x5
300x5

Dead hangs with straps (alternated between relaxing, letting my body hang down as far as possibly in my shoulder sockets, and also kind of an active hang of raising and lowering my body in my shoulder socket)

Jefferson curl:
45x5
115x5
155x5

More dead hangs

(are these dead hangs actually helping my shoulder? No friggin idea)

[Keyshade]

I loaded slightly less weight than I could (just a tad less) to balance the workload across various exercises and ensure good technique.

Heel Elevated Back Squat High Bar
5 x 200 lb
5 x 200 lb
5 x 200 lb

Bench Press With Pause
5 x 165 lb
5 x 165 lb
5 x 165 lb

Hammer Strenght Plate Loaded Iso Row
8 x 165 lb
8 x 165 lb
8 x 165 lb

Face Pull
High reps and focuse on technique.

Back Extension Romanian Bench
Also high reps and focuse on technique.

Calf Raises / Tricep Extension
I feel that tricep exercises only tax me without developing my triceps more than they're developing with presses. Does anyone else feel the same?

Thanks to everyone for the messages. I'll try to be as consistent as possible sticking to this program for enough time.

Coach
Keyshade - Do that consistently for an extended period of time and I'm confident you'll get great results. What I love most about full body workouts is that you'll go into just about every exercise being pretty fresh (from a muscular fatigue standpoint).

@Keyshade - I didn't even see your workout when I wrote my previous post but that does look like a solid workout. The thought behind such an approach is sensible across the board and it seemed well-balanced. Dedication to something like that will build up a solid core of strength in short order.

Solid program, just be methodical with your progression / load / reps / sets / intensity

[Camarija]

Tuesday, March 26
10:06 AM
11:09 AM
63 Minutes

Upper Day
S
DB Lateral Raise / 2nd smallest db x15 / x 10 / x10
Reverse Pec Dec / 3 plates x 9
2 plates x 15 / 13
J
DB Lateral Raise / 1 big plate #5 DB x 20 / x 15 / x12
Reverse Pec Dec / 9 plates x 20 / x 15 / x12

(seat top) (legs top)
Pulldown
J
30 kg / side x 10
37.5 kg / side x 13 / x10 / x8
S
7.5 kg / side x 8
10 kg / side x 10 / x12 with help / x10 with help

Chest Press (seat: 1 J / 3 S) (back: 2)
J
20 kg / side x 8
30 kg / side x 13
27.5 kg / side x 8 / x 7
S
0 kg / side x 8
2.5 kg / side x 12 / x 10 / x 9

S
DB Preacher Bicep Curl - second smallest x 10 / x 8 / x 8
J
Cable Bicep Curl
7 block x 20
7 block x 10
7 block x 8

S
Rope Tricep Extension (pushdown) - 3 plates x 10 / x 10 / x 9
J
Rope Tricep Extension (overhead + pushdown)
9 plates x 15 over 15 down
9 plates x 6 over 10 down
9 plates x 4 over 10 down

NOTES:
Overall good workout, I can feel my strength coming back slowly but surely. My muscles are pumping back up.

My wife is very petite, very low body body fat, but she's lost fat and gained muscle. She's up about 2 lbs this week, strong muscle gains.

[CW47]

Savior - That's great news that you were feeling rejuvenated for this session. Hopefully can keep this going for a while.

Keyshade - You're saying that you feel like triceps isolation work is only fatiguing you and not getting you bigger or stronger? If that's what you meant, I've found it's very exercise dependent for me. I've found a few that work really well - others not so much. The good news is that any fatigue you're accumulating from doing triceps isolation work is very unlikely to have any real negative impact on anything else, but of course it would be better to be doing exercises that build size/strength, since that's the entire purpose of lifting for most of us, lol.

Camarija - I'm so happy to hear that you're both making good progress. If there's any silver lining to being away from lifting for an extended period of time, it's that you temporarily get to re-experience a period of stead, noticeable growth across the board. Enjoy it!



Incline DB Press: Rest Pause Goal = 17-21 reps
50's x 18 reps (14/4)
I've gained 1 rep each of the last 2 times. I probably would've had at least one more rep on the second set but I mis-grooved the first rep and had to redo it. Still got somewhat close on the fifth rep. I'll take it.

High Pull: Rest Pause Goal = 13-17 reps
95 pounds x 15 reps (10/5)
Felt less dialed in then last time, and that's saying something since last time was the first time ever doing it, lmao. I'll try to remember to watch a good demo video of it before doing it next time around since that a lot of times seems to help me get mentally focused on the movement. Still wasn't bad though.

Single Arm French Press: Rest Pause Goal = 17-21 reps
22.5lb DB's x 16 reps (10/6)
An extra 2.5 pounds per side resulted in a loss of 8 reps. I probably could've squeezed out another rep (maybe 2) on each set, but I had some discomfort in my left shoulder today (felt like it was in the collar bone?) and I was feeling it here in a way I didn't like so I didn't go to total failure.

Leaning Lateral Raise: Rest Pause Goal = 13-17 reps
Left Arm = 12.5lb DB's x 22 reps (15/7)
Right Arm = 12.5lb DB's x 25 reps (15/10)
The should thing probably impacted this as well, but it's mostly just that my right side is much stronger on this exercise (I still left several reps in the tank on the right arm).


Overall not a bad session. Hoping whatever is going on with the left shoulder sorts itself out before tomorrow's workout. I seem to have acclimated pretty quickly to the the programming because I've had virtually no DOMS for the last week or so. Been giving some serious thought to eliminating a rest day and just doing 3 on, 1 off. I'll see how I'm feeling over the next couple of days and go from there.

[Camarija]

Monday, March 25
9:42 AM
10:42 AM
60 minutes

Lower:
Hip Adduction (inside)
J
13 block x 20
13 block x 15
S
4 block x 16
3 block x 20

Hip Abduction (outside)
J
14 block x 30
14 block x 30
S
8 block x 20
8 block x 20

Hack Squat Machine (+ 20 kg Band) (footplate 1 hole)
J
32.5 kg per side x 15 - 5 + 5 double pulses
37.5 kg per side x 20 - 10 + 5 double pulses
40 kg per side x 15 - 5 + 5 double pulses
42.5 kg per side x 10 - 10 paused
S
12.5 kg per side x 15 - 5 + 5 double pulses
17.5 kg per side x 20 - 10 + 5 double pulses
20 kg per side x 15 - 5 + 5 double pulses
22.5 kg per side x 5 - 5 paused

RDL Machine - 5 holes
J
35 kg / side x 15
50 kg / side x 18
55 kg / side x 16
60 kg / side x 15
S
5 kg / side x 8
10 kg / side x 12
12.5 kg / side x 8
15 kg / side x 6

Abdominal Exercise
S
0 x 8
0 x 8
J
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 12

Leg Press Machine Calf
J
37.5 kg /side x 20
37.5 kg /side x 20
S
10 kg / side x 15
10 kg / side x 15
10 kg / side x 15

Notes:
Good session, but I need to travel today and maybe head to the States on Sunday for several days for Jury Duty if I'm called up. I'm ~ 192 lbs dry in the morning right now @ 15 / 16 % body fat

My wife is really pushing herself to get back her muscle. Plan is for her to gain about 10 to 20 lbs the rest of this year in a slow bulk, so ending somewhere between 99 lbs and 109 lbs. She's ~ 5 ft tall.

[CW47]

Deadlift: Goal = 4-6 reps
365 pounds x 6 reps
Wanted to stop after 4 reps but didn't. Last rep felt like there was a fair amount of bend in my upper back. Sometimes it feels like that and I watch the video back and can't even see it. Unfortunately, my little boy decided he needed to be on camera after the first rep, completely covered the screen during the second rep, then stopped recording, lol. Anyway, I was really happy to have gotten 6 reps, but would like to tighten up the form next time.

Pullup: Rest Pause Goal = 13-17 reps
BW x 11 reps (6/3/2)
A couple fewer reps than last time, but I did them at a dead hang and a slight pause at the bottom, which I hadn't been doing recently.

Shrug Curl: Rest Pause Goal = 13-17 reps
25lb DB's x 27 reps (16/9)
This was with 5lbs more per DB than last time and I ended up with 9 more reps. Not sure how that happened. Definitely kept form tight throughout.

Reverse Cable Curl: Rest Pause Goal = 17-21 reps
25 pounds x 17 reps (10/7")
May have had another rep or two here but stopped because my wrist felt like it was going to snap. If anyone has tips on how to do these without putting much stress on the wrists then I'm all ears. I broke my wrist when I was a kid and it never quite returned to 100% after that. It's not something that affects me in day to day life, but every once in a while I get a reminder that it's not quite as strong as I like to think it is.

[Keyshade]

Workout of this morning:

Standing Press I failed before doing 3x5 maybe I went too heavy. I was trying to balance my strength across the main exercises. In this case, my press was set at 2/3 of my bench but I'm noticing that my press can't keep up with the pace of progression on my bench.
5 x 110 lb
4 x 110 lb
4 x 110 lb

Neutral Grip Chin Up
Working for clean reps.

DB Reverse Lunge Long Step
5 x 125 lb (counting both DBs)
5 x 125 lb
5 x 125 lb

T Bar Row First time doing this exercise.
8 x 110 lb
8 x 110 lb
8 x 110 lb

Lying Leg Curl
8 x 100 lb
8 x 100 lb
8 x 100 lb

Abs and Biceps Work

Keyshade - You're saying that you feel like triceps isolation work is only fatiguing you and not getting you bigger or stronger? If that's what you meant, I've found it's very exercise dependent for me. I've found a few that work really well - others not so much. The good news is that any fatigue you're accumulating from doing triceps isolation work is very unlikely to have any real negative impact on anything else, but of course it would be better to be doing exercises that build size/strength, since that's the entire purpose of lifting for most of us, lol.

I feel that my triceps work especially during presses. I feel it exhausted in the last few reps. I also feel my biceps working a lot during DB Curls. Probably more so than in Chin Up and Rows. However, when I do triceps isolation exercises, I feel that they tax my elbow without feeling my triceps working or getting tired.

I'll try to pay more attention on my form and try other triceps isolation exercises.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Really bad migraine yesterday, so didn't train

Today:

Squat:
265x5
265x5
265x5

Bench:
195x5
195x5
195x5

Deadlift:
365x5, mixed grip and standup between reps

Chins
5
5
5

Dead hang



Felt pretty good, but a little concerning that I almost couldn't hold onto 365 for 5 reps

[coachcalande]

My training yesterday:

5am - 5:30 am Arms
Ez curls alternated with Triceps pushdowns
Db curls alternated with skull crushers on the smith
Concentration curls alternated with overhead rope ext


2:30-3:30 pm legs/calves

Heels elevated smith squats *these REALLY hit the quads*
Leg press
Leg ext
Leg curls
Standing calf

4 sets each

[SaviorSelfJT]

If you are here, CW and I are here: https://www.exodus-strength.com/forum/index.php

I tried to reach out to whoever I could on youtube but couldn't find everyone

[CW47]

If you are here, CW and I are here: https://www.exodus-strength.com/forum/index.php

I tried to reach out to whoever I could on youtube but couldn't find everyone

^^^
If you decide to join us, check out this post for registration info: https://www.exodus-strength.com/foru...279868#p279868
If you're not able to register, let me know and I'll reach out the Admins. They've sometimes been known to turn off registration temporarily if they start getting a bunch of spam/bot/ai registration attempts.

[Camarija]

I think forums should be stable, but they didn't do what I understood they were going to do, so this feels more like a bandaid, rather than a surgery.

Guess I'll migrate

[paulinkansas]

Guess I'll migrate

Where you going? PaulinKansas.

[coachcalande]

I created a new forum. I do not trust this platform anymore.

Free and all welcome.

https://proboardsweights.freeforums.net/

[67Vert]

I think forums should be stable, but they didn't do what I understood they were going to do, so this feels more like a bandaid, rather than a surgery.

Guess I'll migrate

What did they do besides shutdown for 2 weeks? I don't notice any changes and there's still a bunch of spam.

[CW47]

What did they do besides shutdown for 2 weeks? I don't notice any changes and there's still a bunch of spam.

There were no improvements made.

From what I could tell there were some network related issues that caused it to go down (on Twitter they shared some pictures of what looked like new servers that they got and were planning to setup). It was apparently down unexpectedly rather than as part of a planned update/upgrade.

It doesn't seem as if there's any intent to make upgrades, but then again if there were plans they probably wouldn't tell us, so who knows...

I just know that my confidence level is basically at zero.

[EliKoehn]

Is anyone going to stay on here? I am undecided. Unless it's a security concern I don't see the harm in getting a spare means of contacting everyone and then just keeping this log going, but if everyone else is migrating I'll do so too.

I've been logging my training on Notepad in the meantime, and actually got a 345 bench (which was a spontaneous attempt without my phone, so no video) and very nearly a 350.

Today:

Deadlift (beltless, mixed grip):
405 x 1, 455 x 1, 405 x 1

I'm eating at a deficit so I am just trying to keep some stimulus on this without too much volume. The 455 went up smoothly and I gave it a solid hold for a few seconds at the top fully locked out, and it was easily one of the best executions of this I've done since I was routinely deadlifting and more proficient (managed to get "in the zone" and feel the adrenaline beforehand), though it wiped me out and I even failed a following 405 single afterwards before finishing out with another clean one to wrap it up. I'll probably take a couple of days later in the week and eat a big meal and give 350 on the bench one more try this weekend and just call it there with either outcome for a while as I focus on continuing to lose weight, which is already modestly better than at the beginning of the year. My strength has still increased alongside that so that's nice.

Here was my near-miss with 350 on Friday. I've attempted it several times since the forums have crashed, since my 345 PR was smooth and didn't even have a grind.

[CW47]

Congrats on matching your PR Eli! That 350 was for sure close to going up. Should be able to get it soon...

I'm not going to post on my standalone log here anymore, but wouldn't have any issue with continuing to post in this thread. I just feel like this site as a whole is not in a good place and it's just a matter of time before they stop hosting the forums. Could be 5 years down the road, or 5 months - I really don't know. One thing that always turns me off is poor communication, and the way the people running this site handled their recent issue honestly makes me not want to have anything to do with the site anymore. But also I want to stay in touch with this group and see everyone continue to progress. So I'm torn...

I guess what I'm saying is that I'll be here as long as we have a core group of people continuing to participate, but my enthusiasm for, and confidence in, bb.com is very low. But if we were all to continue posting here and not be able to contact each other outside of here, I feel like that would be a mistake on our part since we've seen how quickly and unexpectedly this place could disappear.

I don't want to post private contact info in a public thread, but would be happen to share in a group private message with everyone in here, if other people are open to doing the same???

[CW47]

Walking Lunge: Goal = 2 sets of 8-12 reps
25's - 2 sets x 12 reps
Not bad. Felt a bit easier than last time even with a weight increase.

Rear Delt Flies: Rest Pause Goal = 17-21 reps
25's x 20 reps (13/7)

Cable Single Leg Curl: Rest Pause Goal = 13-17 reps
Left: 45 pounds x 21 reps (14/7)
Right: 45 pounds x 27 reps (18/9)

Donkey Calf Raise (Cable): Goal = 2 sets of 15-20 reps
105 pounds x 20/14 reps

Workout was okay today. Had a good energy level and am making steady progress on everything.
I bought a used exercise bike a little over a week ago. It's an older Precor upright bike. I love it! Been trying to use it pretty much every day - doing cardio on no-lifting days and using it for warmups before lifting. I didn't use it today just because time was tight.

[coachcalande]

This is where my winter bulk placed me.

https://youtube.com/shorts/iR1Sd2cI2pg

Im now back to restricting calories to see if I can tighten this up slowly without sacrificing a bunch of muscle.

Currently set at 3200 ish cals at 275/276. Focused on bodybuilding not powerlifting for this phase.

[CW47]

Bench Press: Rest Pause
150 pounds x 11 reps (7/4)
Goal = 9-13 reps

Overhead Press: Rest Pause
85 pounds x 18 reps (12/6)
Goal = 13-17 reps
5 more pounds than last time - same number of reps. We'll call that a win.

Close Grip Pin Bench Press: Rest Pause
115 pounds x 27 reps (19/8)
Goal = 17-21 reps
Crushed this today. Will add 5 pounds next time

Bulldozer Lateral Raise: Rest Pause
Left Arm: 22.5 pounds x 22 reps (14/8)
Right Arm: 22.5 pounds x 26 reps (16/10)
Goal = 13-17 reps
I never quite know when to stop counting reps here because the range of motion seems to lessen just a tiny bit at a time. Still well above my goal rep range, so I'll continue adding weight.


Here's video of the second set of Bench (I somehow messed up recording the first one and it never recorded... Mostly just wanted to get a different angle to see if the bar is staying centered and level (looks pretty decent).

[67Vert]

4/18/24 -

Got to the gym late. I like to be inside the doors by 7:00, was in at 7:15.

Squat - 185X5, 205X5, 215X5 felt good, thought about going for 225 but I’m running late I should probably save some juice for the rest of the workout.
DB Bulgarian Split Squat - 35X10,10,10
RDL - 185X8, 8 gotta wrap it up, I skipped the 3rd set
Calve Raises - 3 X
Abs - 3X I’m suppose to do a circuit but just did crunches super-setted with the calve raises

Still cutting - I started at 176 and was stuck at 173 for too long despite being very consistent with maintaining a deficit. Today the scale showed me just under 171.

[67Vert]

If you are here, CW and I are here: https://www.exodus-strength.com/forum/index.php

Thanks. I have the link saved just in case this board goes down again.

I almost signed up for t-nation before this forum came back online.

Is anyone going to stay on here?

I like this collaborative thread. I'll stay here for now.

But I might sign up and lurk exodus-strength too.

[coachcalande]

Seated press was rocking today.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ERbI1WwkT2Y

[EliKoehn]

One final homage to pushing for raw strength on the bench for a good while for me... but what a pleasing finale!

These were the heaviest sets of my entire life, two PRs and matched two others.

Flat Bench (T&G):
350 x 1 (PR), 315 x 3 (PR matched), 295 x 5 (PR), 275 x 8 (PR matched)

I hit 350 at approximately the same bodyweight as my 335 PR last July (290), with the same ratio as when my max was 315. My physique looks slightly better than it did in the summer, but (though I've stated this before) that bodyweight is obviously far from acceptable and I won't be content until I'm back around 240-250 (where for my own purposes I looked the best and felt healthy), but I'm calling this week a success nevertheless. Many are far beyond this, but it still feels great and rewarding to know that I legitimately bench pressed "'bout 350" for real.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Good job Eli!!! Congrats


I've been travelling for work for the past 2 weeks and only got in a couple random workouts in since. Travelling is over, but now I'm either sick or just really exhausted. Time to get back in the groove

I posted those 2 random workouts in my log at exodus, but not here. Honestly it's a way better forum for this, the subscription actually works (I get email notification), there's a community of people, and its moderated. I think some of the content on the misc section makes this place a risk to be associated with.

Also kind of salty, not that this place was down for so long, but that they didn't give a status in the meantime. Nobody knew if they were shutting it down for good or not

[CW47]

Awesome Press Coach!

Congrats on the PR's Eli! You got that 350 very smoothly.


Seated Cable Row: Rest Pause
120 pounds x 24 reps (17/7)
Goal = 17-21 reps
5 more pounds. 1 less rep.

Hammer Curl: Rest Pause
35lb DB's x 23 reps (15/8)
Goal = 17-21 reps
5 more pounds. 2 MORE reps. Oh yeah! Have to enjoy these little surprises when they happen.

Lat Pulldown - Wide MAG: Rest Pause
105 Pounds x 18 reps (12/6)
Goal = 13-17 reps
5 more pounds. Same number of reps. This is the best these have felt. Definitely has taken me a while to feel comfortable doing them with such a wide grip.

EZ Bar Cable Curl: Rest Pause
35 pounds x 23 reps (16/7)
Goal = 13-17 reps
5 more pounds. 4 MORE reps. The main difference here wasn't in strength. It's just taken me a few times doing them to figure out a grip that works well. I had it dialed in from the beginning today and didn't have any wasted energy fighting myself.


Video shows the second set of all exercises (except Lat Pulldowns).