Nate's Log

[Nate B]

Tuesday, 9/24:

Sumo Deadlift:
435x1 @ 7.5
405x5 @ 9
365x5x4

Undershot the top single a little bit, which isn't a bad thing. I'm still getting used to rating RPE with sumo - it's a different sticking point than conventional. I feel like I have pretty strong glutes, so I can lock out pretty much anything I can get off the floor with good speed pulling sumo. I just have to pay attention to how fast the bar breaks off the floor to just below the knee. I'm still starting with my hips a little low, too, which probably doesn't help the speed off the floor because I'm basically pulling myself into position, then pulling the bar off the floor.

Bench:
275x1 @ 8
255x4 @ 9.5
235x4x4

275 felt like a true 8, which was awesome. 255x4 didn't go as great - was supposed to be a 9. Elbow flare got me, per usual, and my mid back also started to cramp up on my fourth rep from locking in my arch.

Leg Press:
+450x13 @ 9
+400x12x3

450 was supposed to be an AMRAP at 70% e1RM. I got my e1RM from leg press last week - just after I messed up my back deadlifting - so it seems to have been a little low. The backoffs at 63% were lower than actual 63% as a result, so I kind of used a bit of a tempo (maybe a 202).

EZ Bar Curls:
70x14x3

Cable Rope Triceps Extensions:
130x14x3

[Nate B]

Thursday, 9/26:

2ct Pause Squat:
245x8 @ 6
255x8 @ 7
265x8 @ 8
250x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7

TnG Bench:
205x8 @ 6
215x8 @ 7
225x8 @ 8
215x8x3 @ 7, 7.5, 7.5

Spoto Press - Myo Reps:
145x15 @ 8
145 x 4, 4, 4, 3

The time under tension demand of these was unreal. Chest was absolutely burning.

[Nate B]

Friday, 9/27:

Rack Pull, "upper-mid" shin, beltless:
355x8 @ 6
365x8 @ 7
385x8 @ 8
365x8x3 @ 7, 7, 8

The rack I used has pretty big gaps between the holes for the safety pins, so these were an inch or so above mid shin, hence "upper-mid" shin.

2.5" Block Bench:
215x8 @ 6
225x8 @ 7
230x8 @ 8
220x8x3 @ 7, 7, 8

Made a bench block out of a 3" foam yoga block. Cutting a trough for the bar to sit in took about 0.5" off the thickness.

2ct Pause Bench:
155x14 @ 8
155x 3, 3, 3, 2

Monday, 9/30:

My wife and I lost our 12.5 year-old golden retriever to cancer over the weekend. He had really started to decline over the last couple of weeks, and his clinical signs and bloodwork really started to look worse this weekend. We've both been pretty depressed over it, and while I didn't really feel like training I did anyway. Neither of us went to work, so it was just something to get me out of the house if anything else. Ended up being pretty weak, which didn't really surprise me all that much. I was just mentally out of it.

Squat:
370x1 @ 8.5
335x5 @ 9
305x5x4

CGBP:
245x1 @ 8
230x4 @ 10
210x4x4

RDL:
285x6 @ 6
295x6 @ 7
305x6 @ 8

[Nate B]

Tuesday, 10/1:

Sumo Deadlift:
425x1 @ 8
385x5 @ 9
345x5x4

Strength still a little down so far this week. Probably a combination of losing some weight recently (intentional and just bad nutrition/loss of appetite) and lack of mental focus. I'll bounce back.

Bench:
265x1 @ 8
245x4 @ 9
230x4x4

Strength about 5% down. Not too concerning. Still getting meaningful stimulus and volume in.

Leg Press:
+450x12 @ 9
+400x12x3

DB Curls:
35x14x3

Cable Rope Triceps Extensions:
120x14x3

[Nate B]

Thursday, 10/3:

Pin Squat:
245x8 @ 6
255x8 @ 7
265x8 @ 7.5
255x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5

Undershot top set. May have gone from 245 to 255 a little too fast, which made it feel harder than it should've.

TnG Bench:
205x8 @ 6
215x8 @ 7
225x8 @ 8.5
210x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5

Rounded down for the 5% backoffs to get through them faster.

Spoto Press - Myo Reps:
145x15 @ 8
145 x 4, 4, 4, 3

Low Row Machine:
+180x66 in 8 mins

[Nate B]

Friday, 10/4:

Rack Pull, mid shin, beltless:
345x8 @ 6
365x8 @ 7.5
375x8 @ 8
355x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5

Was able to set the pins to a true mid shin level this time.

2.5" Block Bench:
215x8 @ 6
225x8 @ 7
230x8 @ 8.5
215x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5

2ct Pause Bench:
155x13 @ 8
155x 3, 3, 2

[Nate B]

Monday, 10/7:

Squat:
375x1 @ 8
340x5 @ 9
310x5x4

Squat back to moving a little more normally. Now I just need to get stronger.

CGBP:
255x1 @ 8.5
235x4 @ 9
220x4x4

RDL:
295x6 @ 6
305x6 @ 7
315x6 @ 8
295x6x2

Chins:
43 reps in 8 mins

Tuesday, 10/8:

Sumo Deadlift:
445x1 @ 8
405x5 @ 9
365x5x4

Bounced back in a big way this week compared to last. Huge 20 lbs jump (10 lbs from two weeks ago) and I think another 5 lbs would've still been in the @8 range.

Bench:
280x1 @ 9.5
245x4 @ 9
230x4x4

Really messed up the single. I did 255x1 as my last warmup, and I figured an @8-8.5 was somewhere in the 270-280 range based off how that moved. My confidence may have been riding a little high from my deadlifts, so I loaded up 280, which turned into a bit of a grind. Partially a misgroove - I touched a little low on my chest and was a little out of position for the press - but mostly just misjudged my strength. Adjusted for the [email protected] and the backoffs.

Leg Press:
+490x12 @ 9
+450x12x3

I'm having a hard time finding my 1RM. The AMRAP (@9) set is supposed to be with roughly 70%, but it's been more like 65%. I guess I need to be more aggressive.

[Nate B]

Thursday, 10/10:

Pin Squat:
255x8 @ 6
265x8 @ 7
275x8 @ 8.5
255x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7

TnG Bench:
205x8 @ 6
215x8 @ 7
225x8 @ 8.5
210x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7

Spoto Press - Myo Reps:
145x15 @ 8
145 x 4, 4, 4, 4, 3

Low Row Machine:
+180x69 in 8 mins

[Nate B]

Friday, 10/11:

Rack Pull, mid shin, beltless:
345x8 @ 6
365x8 @ 7.5
380x8 @ 8
360x8x3 @ 7, 7.5, 7.5

2.5" Block Bench:
215x8 @ 6
225x8 @ 7
235x8 @ 8
225x8x3 @ 7, 7.5, 8

Something really clicked with my bar path today. All reps were very smooth. Gassed a little quickly on the backoffs, but my rest times were a little short.

2ct Pause Bench:
155x13 @ 8
155x 3, 3, 3, 3, 2

Having my wife passively spot me (not hovering over me the whole time, just standing by to make sure I didn't completely fail and drop the bar on myself) made a big difference on the sets of 3-5. I thought that I was going to be done after the third set of three but was able to get another one.

DB Curls:
35x14x4

LTE (EZ bar):
70x14x4

I'm going to try to be better about logging my arms work. I need to try to mix it up a little more often when things start getting stale, and logging what I've been doing will help me see if I've been doing the same thing for too long and not going anywhere.

[Nate B]

Monday, 10/14:

Squat:
375x1 @ 8
340x5 @ 8.5
315x5x4 @ 6.5, 7, 7, 7

Odd - weight was feeling very heavy on my back but was moving okay. May have been letting my knees travel forward a bit too long in the descent and it was making my depth borderline. I'll have to try to clean that up.

CGBP:
260x1 @ 8.5
240x4 @ 9
225x4x4 @ 7, 7.5, 7.5, 8

Felt like I overshot the top single and set of 4 by just a bit.

2" Deficit Sumo DL:
315x6 @ 6
335x6 @ 7
350x6 @ 8
320x5x2

Had an easier time with these than I usually do with conventional deficits.

Low Row Machine:
+180x74 in 8 mins

Switched these to Monday and chins to Thursday. These are getting a little easy, so I'll have to up the load or something.

[Nate B]

Tuesday, 10/15:

Sumo Deadlift:
450x1 @ 8.5
405x5 @ 9
365x5x4

Lockout speed for the single was good, but slower off the floor than what I'd consider @8.

Bench:
275x1 @ 8.5
250x4 @ 9
235x4x4 @ 7, 7, 7.5, 8

Single was a little slower through the sticking point (about 4-6" off the chest) than I would've liked for @8 - wouldn't feel comfortable if this was an opener at a meet. Bumped down about 5lbs to 250 for the [email protected] set which felt like an appropriate @9. Overall, felt like I did a little bit better of a job maintaining a solid lat shelf and keeping my elbows under the bar this week. It's a process. I'm also trying to be a little stricter with my RPE standards for bench especially, because I tend to not grind very well.

Leg Press:
+510x11 @ 9
+470x12x3

EZ Bar Curls:
70x14x4

EZ Bar LTE:
70x14x4

Probably could've gone a little heavier with these, but I was supersetting them with curls and didn't want to have to strip/add weight.

[Nate B]

Thursday, 10/17:

Pin Squat:
255x8 @ 6
265x8 @ 7
275x8 @ 8
260x8x3 @ 7, 7, 8

TnG Bench:
205x8 @ 6
215x8 @ 7
225x8 @ 8.5
215x8x3 @ 7, 7.5, 8

Spoto Press - Myo Reps:
150x13 @ 8
150 x 4, 4, 4, 3
150x12 @ 8
150 x 4, 4, 3

[Nate B]

Friday, 10/18:

Rack Pull, mid shin, beltless:
335x8 @ 6
355x8 @ 7
365x8 @ 7.5
345x8x3 @ 6.5, 7, 7

Early morning workout today (in the gym by 5:30). Usually a little weaker in the morning. My wife and I adopted a puppy with a broken leg that a client at the vet hospital she works at surrendered. It's nice to have a dog back in the house, but we're still adjusting our schedules around her needs. That means I'll probably have to do more early morning workouts, especially in the second part of the week when my wife's schedule is pretty busy.

2.5" Block Bench:
215x8 @ 6
225x8 @ 7.5
230x8 @ 8
220x8x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5

2ct Pause Bench:
155x13 @ 8
155x 3, 3, 3, 2
[email protected] 8
155x 3, 3, 2

[Nate B]

Sunday, 10/20:

Squat:
365x1 @ 7
380x1 @ 8
305x6

Finally hit 380x1 for what felt and looked like a true @8. Definitely the upper limit of what I'd rate @8, but didn't feel worthy of @8.5. I feel like I found a happy medium with my stance width. I think I had gotten to the point where I had overcorrected the wide stance, little forward knee travel squat I had before I started working with Leah. Widened my stance by just a half inch or so and felt a lot better in that position. When I go too narrow, I tend to let my knees get loose and slide forward too far in the bottom which throws off my balance a tad.

CGBP:
245x1 @ 7
255x4 @ 8
205x6

I feel like my CGBP really hasn't gone anywhere since I started training it about a month or so ago. Need to keep hitting it.

2" Deficit Sumo DL:
315x8 @ 7
325x8 @ 8
335x8 @ 8.5

Undershot top set a little - was supposed to be @9.

Low Row Machine:
+200x56 in 8 mins

[Nate B]

Tuesday, 10/22:

Sumo Deadlift:
435x1 @ 7
455x1 @ 8
365x6

Deadlift was feeling strong today. 4 plates and a 25 per side was very aesthetically pleasing and felt like a milestone. Can't wait for the 5 plate deadlift dinner soon. I had it in me for a max effort today according to the e1RM calculation. So glad I switched to sumo lol.

Bench:
255x1 @ 7
265x1 @ 8
215x6

For as strong as the deadlift felt, bench felt just as weak. Intentionally undershot a little bit (since I've been overshooting bench recently) so I might've had 270 in me, but 265 still felt right.

Beltless HBBS:
265x8 @ 7
275x8 @ 8
285x8 @ 9

Maybe a little conservative, but I have room to grow now.

DB Curls:
40x12x4

DB LTE:
30x14x4