1 ct Paused Squat
315x1@8.5
295x3@8.5
265x3x3
Press
127.5x3x6@8
Sumo 2 ct Paused Deadlift
225x2x8@7.5
225x8@7
I was supposed to train yesterday but I ended up working for 12 hours. Didn’t get to the home gym until 8 pm so I did my press and skated rather than take what might have been an unnecessary dip in squat performance. Trained tonight at about 8 again. Hit about the same performance as last week which is just fine considering last week and this week have been hectic with work.
Sumo pulls instead of SLDL to get more practice with sumo. Form felt absolutely awesome and really dialed in. All in all a good session and I was nervous about having 315 on my back again but it went well. This is the first time I’ve had 315 on my back on quite some time. A few months back I had a down performance and literally failed 315 regular squat with no pause. Not an all time pr but it is certainly progress and building momentum.
Just checked my charts. Back in July 4th I was squatting 305 for a top single @ 8. This wasn’t a pr and seemed to be the end of a trend of downward performances before I switched to 2 count paused squatting. 5 months later I have not only increased the weight on the bar to 315 for a single @ 8.5 after quite a bit of work fatigue but I added a pause at the bottom. This sort of thing gives me a more optimistic outlook in regards to my progression this year. Hasn’t been what I wanted but it certainly isn’t terrible. Find small wins where you can.
Sumo deadlift
325x1@7.5
310x3@8
285x3x3
Paused Bench Press
195x5@10
180x3x5@8.5
Feet up Bench
165x10@8.5
160x10@9
155x10@8.5
Seal Row
125x13
115x3x12
Last Workout of PB1. My Paused Squat and DL improved but my bench stayed the same but that’s okay. Noticed some decent hypertrophy improvements. Especially in my triceps, neck, shoulders, and traps. I didn’t really gain much weight on this program. I’ve been struggling getting enough calories in despite GOMAD. Never thought I’d be drinking a GOMAD and actually get a slightly smaller waist.
Yesterdays lift
Comp Squat
320x1@8
290x5@8.5
270x2x5
Bench TnG
230x1@9
207.5x4@9
195x2x4
Sumo DL 2ct Pause
230x5
245x5
255x5
265x5@8
First workout of Strength 1. Everything felt great. I was super nervous about hitting sets @ rpe 9 but they went really well. I skipped the initial deload week because I don’t need a deload. I’m not going to deload at all until I have a performance decrease a couple weeks in a row or see other signs that I need a deload. That also means I’m going to continue this block until it I can’t anymore. I prefer this strategy rather than strictly following the templates as written and I think the authors would support me in this decision.
Comp Bench
205x1@8
190x4@9
175x2x4
SSB Squat
195x5@6
205x5@7
215x5@8
215x5@8
Press
105x8@6
112.5x8@7
117.5x8@8
117.5x8@8
Sumo DL
335x1@7.5
310x5@8.5
285x2x5
SS Bench
210x5@6.5
225x5@8
235x5@9
225x2x5
Easy 6.5 hour day at work. Dug a hole and a few trenches, laid some pipe and went home. This session was REALLY really good. I topped last weeks performance by 10 lbs and probably could have added another 5 but I didn’t have a ton of time. Slingshot bench moved on elk. I didn’t have any high expectations because my bench has stalled more or less for a little while so hopefully this is a sign that the ball is rolling.
I don’t like to put timelines for how strong I want to get and when but I think a 375 squat, 405 deadlift, and a 260 bench are pretty possible within the next 2 months. Maybe by the end of the year.
Training from 3 days ago
Comp Squat
325x1@8
295x5@9
270x3x5
TnG Bench
230x1@9.5
207.5x4@9
195x3x4
DL Sumo 2 ct pause
245x5@6
255x5@7
270x2x5@8
Yesterday’s training
Comp Bench
207.5x1@8
192.5x4@8.5
175x3x4
SSB Squats
200x5@5
210x5@6
220x5@7
225x5@7.5
230x5@7.5
Press
107.5x8@6
115x8@7
120x8@8
120x8@9
112.5x8@8
Huge performance increase on SSB Squats. Comp Bench and Press moved well also. Tuesday is my DL day so I’m looking forward to finding out if the momentum is still there. Probably going to shoot for 345 for a top single at 8.
Sumo DL
345x1@8
320x5@9
285x3x5
Slingshot Bench
215x5@7
225x5@8
237.5x5@9
225x5@8.5
225x5@8
Hatfield Squats
205x8
225x8
245x2x8@8
Everything moving well. Hatfield Squats instead of 3-0-3 tempo squats because I don’t hate myself and doubt I would stay consistent doing tempo squats. Hatfield squats seem super interesting and fun so far. Wouldn’t mind seeing how far I can take them during this block.
Comp Squat
330x1@8
300x5@9
275x3x5
TnG Bench
225x1@8
210x4@9
195x3x4 last set rpe 6.5
2ct Paused Sumo DL
250x5@6
260x5@7
275x2x5@8
275x5@8.5
Boy were my palms clammy going into my top single today for squat! Bench moved really really well. I took off 5 lbs from my top single which knocked off 1.5 rpe. Added weight to my 4@9 and the back off sets moved quicker and easier than last week. I’m so happy with how my training is going. I think it’s been about 7 weeks since my last deload. I don’t plan on taking one anytime soon either!
Comp Bench
210x1@8
197.5x4@9
180x3x4
SSB Squat
205x5@6.5
215x5@8
225x5@9
Press
110x5@6
117.5x5@7
120x5@8
120x5@9.5
110x5@8
Bench moved awesome. SSB…not so much. Tweaked my back for sure on the 3rd set so I didn’t do any of the back offs. It hurts to rotate my torso and sometimes to breath deeply in certain positions. I’m sure I’ll be fine though.
Sumo DL
350x1@9
305x5@9
280x3x5
Slingshot Bench
215x5@6.5
225x5@7.5
237.5x5@8.5
217.5x3x5
Well it looks like me streak has ended! After tweaking my back last workout I decided to send it with Sumo DLs. Now instead of my back being sore my left hip/glute hurts like hell. I had to limp around yesterday because it hurt so much. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few days. Once it feels right I’m going to run a deload week and restart Strength 1 because I don’t have anything else to do in the meantime. I think I’ll take this time to play with determine block lengths and what not. See if there’s any merit to that style of programming.
Day 1
Comp Squat
270x5@7
285x5@8
300x5@9
TnG Bench Press
190x4@7
200x4@8
212.5x4@9.5
Sumo DL 2ct Pause
255x5@6
260x5@6.5
275x5@7.5
Day 2
Comp Bench
175x5@6.5
185x5@8
195x5@9
SSB Squat
205x5@6
215x5@7
225x5@8.5
Strict Press
117.5x8@7
120x8@7.5
122.5x8@8
Partial workout
TnG Bench
225x1@7
212.5x4@8.5
200x4@8
200x4@7.5
2ct Paused Sumo
255x5@5.5
265x5@6
280x5@7.5
285x5@8
Lifts moved great. I’m pushing comp squat off to tomorrow because I had a longer day and work and didn’t get to train until like 8 pm.
Todays Comp Squat
330x1@8
300x5@9
275x2x5@6.5, 6.5
Comp Bench
217.5x1@8
202.5x4@9
185x2x4 last set rpe 6.5
SSB Squat
205x5@6
215x5@7
225x5@8
215x5@7.5
Strict Press
110x8@5.5
117.5x8@6.5
122.5x2x8@8
Good training. I haven’t seen this much bench progress since I was a novice. Would be cool as hell to throw up 225 for a single at 8 on comp bench. I’m also getting a bit addicted to the overhead press gains. Might focus on that lift once I hit a 275 bench.
Sumo DL
350x1@8
320x5@8.5
285x2x5@5, 5.5
Slingshot Bench
225x5@6
237.5x5@7
247.5x5@9
235x2x5@8,8.5
3-0-3 Tempo Squat (SSB)
160x8@6
170x8@7
180x2x8@8
Sumo Pulls felt nice. Most weight I’ve ever loaded on a bench before for sets of 5. I noticed my sets of 5 on tng bench and slingshot bench are like 20% apart lmao. Decided to actually do tempo squats but I’m doing them with a ssb and not low bar.
Comp Squat
335x1@8
305x5@9
275x3x5 last set 6.5
TnG Bench
230x1@8
215x4@9
200x3x4 last set rpe 7
Sumo 2 ct pause
265x5@5.5
275x5@7
290x5@8
275x5@8
All in all good training session. A lot of people were telling me my top single looked fast which is nice to hear but I’m confident in my rating. Steadily marching along which is what I like. Haven’t been eating as much this week and therefore lost weight but my lifts didn’t tank. I’m pretty happy with my bench as well. Almost at 225 for a 5 rep max which would be dope. Last time I attempted 230 a few weeks ago it was rpe 9.
Comp Bench
220x1@8
205x4@9
185x3x4 last set @6
SSB Squat
205x5@5.5
215x5@6.5
225x5@7.5
225x5@8
Press
110x8@5.5
117.5x8@6.5
122.5x8@8
122.5x8@8
115x8@7
Sumo DL
355x1@8
325x5@8.5
295x3x5 last set 6.5
Slingshot Bench
227.5x5@6
237.5x5@7
250x5@9
236.5x2x5@8