2024 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[coachcalande]

Chest, back and shoulders today

Highlight 225x1 seated press on smith
https://youtube.com/shorts/_eiVNV2FiU8

[67Vert]

1/10/24 B-Day

Machine Hack Squat
360X5, 370X5, 380X5

OHP
95X5, 100X5,5
I should've referred to my log. Looks like lost rep. I had more in me.

RDL
205X8,8,8

Lat Pull
137.5X8,8,8

[EliKoehn]

Stiff Legged Deadlift: 295 pounds x 10 reps
Seated DB Overhead Press: 42.5's - 2 sets x 10 reps
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 25 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps

Been really struggling to get workouts in for a variety of reasons. I almost skipped again today. Had less than 30 minutes to try to fit something in. Pretty happy with what I got done in that time.
Deads were pretty easy from a strength standpoint, but left me very winded. Video of it is below.

Really nice work! That's quite heavy for a set of 10... that variation especially. Would rep but it's dumb that I'm locked out of it since it's only the same handful of people I interact with on here.

--

I was originally going to squat yesterday and rest today, but I got iced out of going into the office yesterday and rested, then decided to bench today so I can intensely deadlift on Friday without too much recent fatigue from squats, ergo benching this time. I'm pretty happy with this, actually, as I managed close to my very best work at a bit of a lighter bodyweight than previously, though it's still excessive. Even though I'm not going to focus on the lift this year like I said, I might attempt a slightly higher max soon as it seems promising.

Flat Bench (T&G):
295 x 4*, 305 x 3, 315 x 1, 325 x 1

All of these were maximal, but bar speed on 315 actually seemed unstalled whatsoever and the 325 (after having incurred plenty of fatigue from the preceding sets) stalled a bit but did not come to a proper grind, which makes me curious about trying 340 or 345 somewhat soon, without any previous working sets.

*I went for a fifth rep and got it about a third of the way up, but am only counting the reps I fully achieved.

[CW47]

Coach - That's a BIG press. Nicely done.

Vert - Really well rounded workout. These kind of days strung together over time will certainly result in good progress.

Eli - Nice benching. Looking forward to the attempt in the 340's. Also excited to see how you progress on Deads.
What I've been doing for rep is just giving negative rep to all the bots and spammers. I guess it's the 1 good thing about them - they're freeing me up to rep the regulars that deserve it more often. It still takes too long to be able to rep people though. It's a stupid system.

__________


Hatfield Squat: 305 pounds x 3 reps

SSB Calf Raise: 285 pounds x 20/16 reps
Decline Crunch: Bodyweight x 20/20 reps

Floor Press: 165 pounds x 3 reps

Third rep slowed a bit on squats, but it was probably only around a 7-8 RPE. The additional stability/support on Hatfield squats makes such a big difference. I never realized how much my depth was affected by balance/stability rather that just flexibility.

The Calf and Ab work HURT.

Floor Press was around an 8 RPE but I didn't want to push it any further because I had a little bit of discomfort in my left elbow come back today. I also skipped the pullup I had scheduled for this reason. Well...I did 4 or 5 pullups I think, but decided to call it off there.

Here's video of the squats:

[67Vert]

1/12/24
Workout A
Squat - 205X3, 215X3, 225X5,5
Bench Press - All the benches were tied up. Moved on to Pendlay
Pendlay Row - 115X8, 125X8,8
DB Press - 75X8,8,8 Benches still tied up with people I haven't seen before. Probably New Year Resolutioners. I think I'm just going to do DB for a few weeks.

Went home to see the kids off to school.
Finished up at home before eating lunch.

Face Pulls - 3 sets - using bands at home. Feels pretty nice vs pulleys at the gym.
Calf raises - 3 sets
DB Curls - 3 sets- I usually do alternating curls. Today I did each arm separately. It felt good to mix it up. I think I'll do these more often.
Tricep Ext - 4 sets w/bands - Didn't care for it. I'll set up the pulley next time.

[67Vert]

Too bad we don't have reaction emojis. I do read and appreciate all the other posts.

As noted in my first post, I haven't felt very fit since before the lockdown BS. Every time I pushed hard I'd suffer some minor injury and set back. I've been pretty cautious the last few months. But Reading the logs has inspired me to push a little harder to up the weights.

This time around I've committed to spend more time on my warm-up routine. While my focus is consistency and not getting injured, I am still looking to make gains. But I have abandoned linear progression. 2024 is looking good.

[SaviorSelfJT]

^ Yup I check the log pretty frequently, even if I'm not posting here I'm still reading all of it

---

It's looking like I can squirm my way out of relocation by jumping teams at work. I'm sure the relocation mandate will come back again to me eventually in the team I join, just a matter of when. At this point I'm just trying to stay on payroll till the end of the year cause I've got a good lump of RSUs vesting this year. After that I don't really give a chit. The past 2 years has been nothing but constant waves of layoffs, re-orgs/restructurings, potentially having to relocate, etc and I'm so goddam sick of it

I've been so stressed out the past week I haven't been eating enough, I'll be hungry but have no desire to eat

/deardiary, but its affecting my lifts so including it here


Today:

No PWO or anything cause I'm trying to chill out

DB OHP (standing):
45s x 10
65s x 12

hard to do these without stumbling back and forth

Bench:
45x10
95x10
135x10
185x22

Haven't benched in a while cause of my lame shoulder, but this wasn't so bad

Barbell Row:
185x30

Lumbar curl:
bar x 10

[CW47]

Too bad we don't have reaction emojis. I do read and appreciate all the other posts.

As noted in my first post, I haven't felt very fit since before the lockdown BS. Every time I pushed hard I'd suffer some minor injury and set back. I've been pretty cautious the last few months. But Reading the logs has inspired me to push a little harder to up the weights.

This time around I've committed to spend more time on my warm-up routine. While my focus is consistency and not getting injured, I am still looking to make gains. But I have abandoned linear progression. 2024 is looking good.

Been there. There can be a fine line between pushing hard enough and pushing too hard. I'm for sure of the mind that it's always better to be safe, but there also comes a point in time when a person can let fear of injury make them lean towards being overly tentative. It's not always easy to know when when it's the right time to change gears.

Also with you on the emoji's. I've come to enjoy using them to acknowledge posts on other forums I've used, and I wish it was a thing here.

It's looking like I can squirm my way out of relocation by jumping teams at work. I'm sure the relocation mandate will come back again to me eventually in the team I join, just a matter of when. At this point I'm just trying to stay on payroll till the end of the year cause I've got a good lump of RSUs vesting this year. After that I don't really give a chit. The past 2 years has been nothing but constant waves of layoffs, re-orgs/restructurings, potentially having to relocate, etc and I'm so goddam sick of it.

Work stress sucks. Well, any stress sucks, but there's a unique stress associated with uncertainty around your source of income.

If there's any possibility of finding another place of employment I'd definitely consider it. I moved to a different company a about 2 years ago after being with my previous company for over 25 years. I'm a loyal person and it was a tough decision, but I'm in SUCH a better spot now and much happier in both my work time and my private time. Change, of course, isn't always for the better, but a lot of times it is. Good luck with it.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Been there. There can be a fine line between pushing hard enough and pushing too hard. I'm for sure of the mind that it's always better to be safe, but there also comes a point in time when a person can let fear of injury make them lean towards being overly tentative. It's not always easy to know when when it's the right time to change gears.

Also with you on the emoji's. I've come to enjoy using them to acknowledge posts on other forums I've used, and I wish it was a thing here.

Yup, and IME a lot of my injuries have been due to muscle imbalances (especially in shoulder if you do too much pushing and not enough pulling)

Work stress sucks. Well, any stress sucks, but there's a unique stress associated with uncertainty around your source of income.

If there's any possibility of finding another place of employment I'd definitely consider it. I moved to a different company a about 2 years ago after being with my previous company for over 25 years. I'm a loyal person and it was a tough decision, but I'm in SUCH a better spot now and much happier in both my work time and my private time. Change, of course, isn't always for the better, but a lot of times it is. Good luck with it.

Did you leave for less pay but less stress? That's the decision I'll probably make soon. Living in the area where I do is probably going to significantly hamper my earning potential soon too. The price to pay for living near family/relatives/friends

For this year I'm definitely sticking it out as long as I can, no matter how much it stresses me out, at least until November this year. After that I might just rage quit

[CW47]

Did you leave for less pay but less stress? That's the decision I'll probably make soon.

I left without any job at all. My position was eliminated without notice and I had an option to stay on in a different position but was just generally unhappy with how things were trending for me. The main issue was that both my boss and I had lost confidence in each other, so that relationship wasn't great.

I ended up with higher pay and much less stress. Got lucky maybe, but even with the same pay or slightly less I'd have been happy with the change because there's a major difference in culture/mood - for the positive.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Haven't trained legs in quite a while, expecting really bad DOMS over next couple of days. Hoping the low reps on squats will alleviate some of the DOMS, but I got a feeling I'm going to be basically crippled tomorrow

Squats:
up to 315x3

Deadlift:
up to 405x3

DB lunges:
45s x 8 (3 were bulgarian style but I kept losing my balance so did the other 5 from floor)

SLDL:
225x20

I left without any job at all. My position was eliminated without notice and I had an option to stay on in a different position but was just generally unhappy with how things were trending for me. The main issue was that both my boss and I had lost confidence in each other, so that relationship wasn't great.

I ended up with higher pay and much less stress. Got lucky maybe, but even with the same pay or slightly less I'd have been happy with the change because there's a major difference in culture/mood - for the positive.

The relocation mandate basically happened without notice here too. New director, setup a meeting with everyone the day after new years and basically said your all moving lol

[coachcalande]

Great lift today.

One of the highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yngkpXcwA4


I also hit a strong 185x7 on seated press.

Really happy with both training and diet. 263-265 lbs hovering but gaining strength.

[67Vert]

1/15/24 B-Day

No work today. I got to sleep and hit the gym with the wife.
Today must be International Cardio Day. Cardio equipment was packed. I had to go off my warm up routine.
BUT when it came to lifting, all of equipment I wanted was available when I wanted it.

Machine Hack Squat
360X5, 385X5,5

OHP
95X5, 100X5,5,5

RDL
205X8,8,8

Lat Pull
137.5X8,8,8

Crunches on machine 15,15,15
EZ bar curls, Alternating DB curls
Dips 15,15,15

[SaviorSelfJT]

Nice pressing Coach, those smith inclines are killer on the chest

----

Vert - a bigger man than me, I still haven't gone into the gym yet since new years (only lifting at home), I'm too afraid of the new years crowd still...srs

----

Good workout today:

Bench:
45x5
95x5
135x5
175x5
205x25

(shoulder felt good. Also last time I got 22 reps with 185, so I'm already bouncing back on bench strength)

Row:
205x35
(had to rest-pause for maybe 5 seconds after the 30th rep, lactic acid was killing my rear delts)

Hammer curls:
65sx15

Chins:8
Pullups:8

Something I think I'm going to do from now on. Less warm up sets after the first exercise. After bench, I just went straight into the work sets on the other exercises

upper back afterwards:

[CW47]

Front Squat: 135 pounds x 8/7
Donkey Calf Raise: 130 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps

Cambered Bar Bench Press: 135 pounds x 10/8
Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip: 75 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Had a sick boy at home this weekend and spent multiple hours on Saturday just carrying him around because if I tried to sit down or put him down he'd start screaming 'help me'... Biceps are still sore now. Back got pretty fatigued as well. So that was my workout for the weekend, lol.

Really wasn't feeling up to lifting today, but did it anyway and it was fine once I got going (like it always).

Think I'm going to need to swap out Front Squats for something else because I just can't get the bar to be stable enough and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt a wrist or an elbow. I've used every known grip and am still struggling. I may just change to High Bar Squat, but maybe I'll change my mind and give them another try.

Kind of plateaued on bench, probably due my lack of consistency lately. Again - not sure if I'll swap it out for something else, or give it one more week.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Do you have lifting straps?

There’s a little trick you can do with front squats where you put the straps around your wrist, then wrap the end of the strap around your hand, with the bar being held in place by hanging on the straps. The bar is halfway being held up on your shoulders, and hallway being held up by your hands through the straps

Not sure if that description makes sense, but it lets your hands be a few inches higher, and also takes some of the pressure off of your shoulders

Here’s an article showing it https://www.t-nation.com/training/ho...t-with-straps/

That way is a little different than the way I used to do it, but either way might work for you

[coachcalande]

Chose SSB squats today. Definitely feel these in my quads.

https://youtube.com/shorts/M6B9welizDE

[CW47]

Savior - I've done sets exactly like that with lifting straps each of the last 2 weeks. It's better, but on both occasions I found myself holding up the bar only with my hands on 1 or 2 reps because it slid out of position. I realized the root cause of my struggles is my inability to stay upright enough when reps get more difficult. I'm getting better at it, but I'm basically at a point where I either need to reduce the intensity or risk injury while I work on staying more upright. I don't like either idea, so the other option is just to do something else. I'll likely just make the call on the spot next time I do this workout.

Coach - Strong squatting! It took me a while to mentally get over the difference in weight on the bar between an SSB and a straight bar, but now that I'm over that nonsense I absolutely love the SSB.

[coachcalande]

I’m definitely going to use SSB more. I feel like it’s better for the quads, less strain on the low back.

[CW47]

Conventional Deadlift: 355 pounds x 8 reps
Hammer Curl: 45 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Lateral Raise: 15 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Cable Crunch: 65 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps

Really happy to hit a set of 8 on deads today. I doubt I could've completed another rep.
Was supposed to have done overhead pressing but I cut it out because my shoulder did not feel right even on the warmup sets.

[67Vert]

I've been in some kinda funk the last few days, not sick just kinda sluggish. Work's been busy too. I woke up at 5:45 for my Wednesday workout but decided to just go back sleep. This morning I woke up feeling great.

1/18/24
Workout A

Squat - 225X5,5,5 - Modest goal. But I am super stoked to be squatting 225 for sets.

Bench Press - 210X5,3 185X5 - Bench availability has been hit or miss lately. Enough that I considered to just switch to DB for a while. But today one cleared up just as I was walking over to the area. It was a sign to stick with the barbell. My Bench Press has been stagnant too. I only got 205 for 3 reps last time. Today I decided to see how 210 felt and got 5 reps.

Pendlay Row - 135X8,8,8 - I didn't go up in weight today. But the bar moved much easier than last time.

FacePull - 3 sets
Calf raises - 3 sets

Some stuff I read imply Full Body routines should be completed in 1 hr. But this took me 1 hour 20 minutes including my warm-up (~10 min). And I didn't even hit my arms. I'll do those later at home during lunch time.

[67Vert]

Front Squat: 135 pounds x 8/7
Donkey Calf Raise: 130 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps

Cambered Bar Bench Press: 135 pounds x 10/8
Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip: 75 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Had a sick boy at home this weekend and spent multiple hours on Saturday just carrying him around because if I tried to sit down or put him down he'd start screaming 'help me'... Biceps are still sore now. Back got pretty fatigued as well. So that was my workout for the weekend, lol.

Really wasn't feeling up to lifting today, but did it anyway and it was fine once I got going (like it always).

Think I'm going to need to swap out Front Squats for something else because I just can't get the bar to be stable enough and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt a wrist or an elbow. I've used every known grip and am still struggling. I may just change to High Bar Squat, but maybe I'll change my mind and give them another try.

Kind of plateaued on bench, probably due my lack of consistency lately. Again - not sure if I'll swap it out for something else, or give it one more week.

I hope you're boy is feeling better.

As for Front Squats, Lifting shoes with the raised heel really helped me. I was able to keep my torso more upright. They helped with my back squat too. The cooler thing is that after a few months, I forgot to pack them in the gym bag and found that I didn't even need them any more.

[Camarija]

Happy to see everyone still logging workouts!

I've basically been out of the gym since early October due to an elbow injury, the bone healed up but the connective tissues got easily inflamed from tricep movements.

I was at 192.4 lbs, about 11.7% body fat, at about 6'2''


I'll be able to start lifting again VERY SOON.

I'm in the process of moving to a new country within the week and getting married in about 4 weeks.

I found a gym I'm planning on signing up for and I'll be starting back on a novice program from the ground up.

Looking forward to logging again with everyone!

->

Depending on what's available at the gym, and starting with comically light weight:

Adductor / Abductor super set
Quad Compound
Posterior Chain Compound
Lateral Raise / Facepull super set
Push Compound
Pull Compound
Bicep or Tricep
Ab or Calf

Cheers Brothers!

[coachcalande]

Happy to see everyone still logging workouts!

I've basically been out of the gym since early October due to an elbow injury, the bone healed up but the connective tissues got easily inflamed from tricep movements.

I was at 192.4 lbs, about 11.7% body fat, at about 6'2''


I'll be able to start lifting again VERY SOON.

I'm in the process of moving to a new country within the week and getting married in about 4 weeks.

I found a gym I'm planning on signing up for and I'll be starting back on a novice program from the ground up.

Looking forward to logging again with everyone!

->

Depending on what's available at the gym, and starting with comically light weight:

Adductor / Abductor super set
Quad Compound
Posterior Chain Compound
Lateral Raise / Facepull super set
Push Compound
Pull Compound
Bicep or Tricep
Ab or Calf

Cheers Brothers!

Cam, congratulations on the wedding plans! Get well. Live strong.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Congrats on the wedding!

----

Piss poor leg workout

Squats:
warm up sets
315x3
365x1

That felt like all I could do. Barely being able to squat 365 didn't give me a lot of confidence for the rest of this workout

Deadlifts-
up to 455x3
315x6 (RDL)

DB lunges-
45sx6

Just stopped there cause I was having to get a little sloppy on form


---

It's looking like there's a much much better transfer option for me at work. But I'm trying my best to not get my hopes up incase it doesn't happen

[coachcalande]

Did 10 sets of SSB squats today. 33 total squats with 315

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a59pH8pR8cY

Then four sets leg press, four sets leg curls.

[67Vert]

1/22/24 B-Day

I split split some firewood for kindling last night. It wasn't much but I felt my back strained later when I plopped down to watch some boob tube. It must just be the cold. It seems that I need to stay warmer these days. I thought I was going to have to skip my workout today but I woke up this morning feeling OK.

Machine Hack Squat
360X5,5,8 Being mindful of my back I used lighter weight.

OHP
105X5,5,5 Added 5 lbs. Felt good.

RDL
185X8,205X8,8 I felt just a little back strain and decided to skip the last set.

Lat Pull
137.5X8,8,8 I've been doing this weight for too long. Time to add some weight or switch to pull-ups.

Crunches on machine - 15,15,15
Spider curls 3 sets - I don't know if Spider curl is the right term. The preacher bench has a vertical (90*) pad on the back. I'm using that.
Dips - 15,15,15

[coachcalande]

Row to grow

https://youtube.com/shorts/LK4t9HE0cbM

[CW47]

Hatfield Squat: 245 pounds x 8 reps
SSB Calf Raise: 285 pounds x 20 reps

Floor Press: 135 pounds - 2 sets x 8 reps
Barbell Row: 135 pounds - 2 sets x 8 reps

Cable Overhead Triceps Extension: 20 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
Incline Bicep Curl: 25 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps

I ended up not doing a full workout tonight because it's getting late and I need sleep, but still got some decent work in.
Squats were harder than I thought they'd be and I would've needed 10 minutes to fully recover, so I just did the 1 set and moved on.

Floor Press and Rows were quite easy. It was probably too light, but I'm not mad about it.

[EliKoehn]

Good work everyone, and congratulations Camarija!

Also, SJT, those are some mammoth failure sets on the bench and row... That's like doing cardio work with legitimate hypertrophy weight for most people. Traps are looking especially pronounced and built-up, too.

--

I got pretty sick a little over a week ago with a nasty head cold that had my sinus pressure feeling like it was an inner tube and generally just feeling unwell, then I got iced in again, so I took some time off and today was my first lift in a while. I'd say it went pretty well!

Flat Bench (T&G):
225 x 10, 245 x 8, 275 x 5, 295 x 3 @7, 9, 10, 10

Conventional Deadlift (Beltless, Mixed):
315 x 8, 365 x 5, 415 x 2* @6?, 8, 10

A.S.
Precor Lever Pulldown Machine:
4 x 8 w/ 100 added to each arm
Precor Incline Press Machine:
4 x 8 w/ 90 added to each arm

Supinated DB Curl:
1 x 12 w/ 35s

Lateral Raise:
1 x 12 w/ 25s

I had eaten properly yesterday with rice and meat in anticipation of today, but having only had a cobb salad today prior to the workout, I was surprised to have had this much strength and stamina, especially after a fairly lengthy break. I wasn't feeling especially motivated in an emotional sense but I was determined to go in and get the work in regardless, which ironically sometimes yields higher quality workouts than when I'm especially eager or over-confident. The benching was pretty difficult after the first two sets but I wanted to hit a good spread of rep ranges on a small pyramid and I managed what I had prescribed for myself. That deadlifting felt awesome, actually (it was hard, but rewarding) and I had some friends check my back straightness and form and they said it looked quite straight throughout, except for that final rep of 415 which I got about 90% of the way up but didn't fully lockout, so I am caveating that here. (*I was very close to a 3rd rep but since I didn't lock it out, I'm not counting what I didn't properly achieve.) My mind was honed in on the form and it felt very natural and correctly executed, and I was somewhat worried I'd have to rebuild some of the motor skill for it since I've not been doing it every week like in previous years. It also was not nearly as difficult as the last time, which was going on three weeks ago now I believe, so that is reassuring as well. The machines felt pretty good and gave me a nice localized burn, though I felt like I could have loaded the lever pulldown more so I will do that next time. The incline bench felt right on the sweet spot of difficult without being too much to do properly at the desired volume. I had intended to do 3 sets of the dumbbells but my arms were really fried at that point (with imminent form breakdown detected), so I called it after the first set instead of going down and chasing a burnout.