Cause when you in my position, it ain’t never easy
To do any more than maintainin’
Cause all this trainin’ and gainin’
Is hella strainin’ to the brain and
But I can’t keep runnin’ I just gotta eat clean and stop cuttin’
Can’t keep runnin’ from GainzZz
Continuing on from my log of the first 18 weeks of BBM programming where I dropped 20 lbs and just barely didn’t drop my lifts (too much). Now it’s on to HLM to make some GainzZz! I think I will add at least 2 weeks to the development block of the HLM because I need all the development I can get and I will spend the first 2 weeks reverse dieting to find out what my new maintenance is and gain a bunch of water weight. Then I will bump it up 100-200 cals at a time as needed to make some (hopefully) lean GainzZz. I never want to do a 20 lb cut ever again so I need to watch my waistline.
HLM Week 1
BW: 198.8
Tuesday, 03/06/2018:
Comp Squat:
6x45 (still hung up on 6s from GPP)
6x45
5x135
5x185
5x225
Going cautiously and making sure my weight isn’t over my toes. Knee started to hurt so I stopped before I reverse the healing process more than I already have. I don’t see how I could rehab it because it doesn’t seem to be very weight dependant. It just hurts once I’ve squatted enough and once it hurts it wont stop at any weight. I stopped before it hurt very bad today so hopefully it can keep healing. I used to have pretty bad knee pain when I was doing TM but I only had to skip one squat session because of it and it usually only hurt when I squatted stupidly (which I did a lot then). It’s new to me to have two workouts in a row where I can hardly even do anything with good form before it hurts.
Comp Bench:
5x175 @7
5x180 @7.5
5x185 @8
5x185 @8.5
E1RM: 228.5(down 4.5)
Not a strong session but I’m just coming off the lowest calorie week of my diet and it’s way too soon for my refeeding to take effect.
2 count (haha) pause Deadlift (no belt):
4x275 @6
4x295 @7
4x315 @8
Was supposed to go to @9 but I’m easing back in to pulling twice a week. This is also the first time I’ve pulled conventional with a pause. Filmed the last set and they don’t look very good. The pause which I was sure I was doing properly because it felt like an infinity was only one second. My back was also rounding moderately, not just because of the pause but as soon as I started pulling. I wonder if I just can’t do it right with no belt. I’m not sure if I should keep going and try harder, drop the weight to something I can manage without rounding or just slap on the belt.
Barbell CurlzZz:
12x50
10x40
12x40
superset with:
Rope Pushdown:
15x45
12x45
12x45
Wow, I feel so out of my element here. Used to just being in my own spot with my own barbell. I wanted to try the 40 lb curved bar but of course some dude had it and the numerous cable machines are in constant use. Bros are funny. When you think they are done doing pulldowns they will do stuff like drop the weight and continue with one arm, doing a 3" ROM and then hold it. I tried to rock back and forth to keep constant tension at the top and bottom like I learned from the super original and knowledgeable Vshred on youtube but it felt super weird. I feel so dirty after this lol.
LISS: Elliptical 30 mins @+/-140
I’m gonna keep going with a full GPP schedule but now that I added armzZz and none of the lifts are myoreps anymore I feel daunted at how long these sessions might become even with saving as much GPP as possible for one dedicated day per week. I just realised I forgot to do my 6 minutes of abs at home (which I never log) and now it’s getting too late. Oops.
Thursday, 03/08/2018:
Comp Press:
5x115@6.5
5x120@8
5x120@8 felt like an easier 8 after a slightly longer rest so I tried for more
5x122.5@8.5
E1RM: 149.5 (down 6.5)
Leg Press:
8x90 (plus sled)
8x180
8x270
7x315
Trying really hard to take care of my knee (while still getting some squat like work in ) but the 7th rep at 315 hurt ever so slightly and the descent of the 8th hurt slightly more so I bailed. I hurt it less than I did the other day, which was less than I hurt it the time before, so I’m making slow progress. The idea was not to hurt it at all though. I know this is pretty un-BBM-like, but my experience with my knee is that any pain at all is bad news and will only get worse if I keep going and if it gets bad enough then I am just back where I started. My goal is to be able to do comp squat normally next Tuesday and best case scenario I will be detrained enough that I will only be able to handle a puny volume without crippling my legs for the week.
Touch n go Bench:
8x160 @6
8x165 @7
8x170 @8
8x170 @8.5
E1RM: 236
Thought 160 was starting very conservatively to figure out the top weight but it turned out I was right on target. I can’t believe I’ve actually done 250 in the past. I’m not worried though. It may take some time to get this GainzZz train rolling but it’s gonna roll.
Chins:
26 in 3 minutes
30 in 3 minutes
Setting a strict 10 minute time limit from now on to try to prevent the sessions from getting too ridiculously long during the onslaught of volume to come.
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 4
10 minute time limit for this too including warmup and cool down.
Saturday, 03/10/2018:
Comp Deadlift:
5x315 @6
5x335 @7
5x355 @8
5x355 @9
E1RM: 438(down 6)
Pretty weak and major RPE creep for the last one even I took plenty of rest. I wonder if I’m not getting as many calories as I thought. I’m hardly even gaining any water weight. Maybe my cochinita pibil I’ve been relying on for like half of my daily fat intake this week is leaner than I thought. I hate trying to log meats.
2 count pause Bench:
4x185 @7
4x190 @8
4x195 @9
E1RM: 226.5
Went without a hitch. Not attempting any squats today. I was going to try if I made it through the leg press the other day but I didn’t. I can’t risk my knee at all because I REALLY want to do my Comp Squat on Tuesday.
Barbell CurlzZz:
12x50 Curved bar
12x40 Straight bar, curved 40 was missing
10x40
Tricep Pushdown (V grip):
20x50
20x60
20x75
Is this much easier than the rope or something? I was doing 12x45 the other day and I just couldn’t make it heavy enough to only do 12 reps today.
Abs 7 min: 3x5 rollout (started hurting lower abs), 4x20s side plank, 2x30s bird dog, 2x40s forearm plank
Lat pulldown EMOM; 110 x12,12,10,8,8,8,8
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x4
That’s all the GPP for the week so I don’t have to go back tomorrow. Figured I might as well save myself the trip since I have lots of time today due to not squatting.
HLM Week 1.33 (definitely going to do at least 6 more weeks of volume before the peaking portion now)
BW: 201
I feel like my waist has gotten fatter already. I would need at least 1lb of fat for it to increase a quarter inch but there is no way that happened because I think that would be impossible without gaining several lbs of water weight too. Maybe I have body dysmoprhia lol. I need to get one of those fancy measuring tapes that always tighten a consistent amount.
Tuesday, 03/13/2018:
Comp Squat:
5x275
5x285
5x295
I took precisely forever to do these. I was super scared of hurting my knee after all this time off squatting and having to start over. I did 3 sets of 10 assisted bodyweight under the bar and 3x10 with the empty bar before adding weight. During this time I realised that a squishy bottom position correlates with knee discomfort (thank Jordan not pain) and a wide stance with toes pointed out produced the most secure bottom position. I felt it like crazy in the adductors which not only are not used to such an adductor heavy squat, but have barely squatted fuck all for two weeks. Didn’t bother with RPE today but I was trying super hard not to fall forward over my toes and I have to admit the 295 set was pretty hard. I was planning on doing 295,305,315 today but this will have to do. I think I will do a micro LP with these and do belted squats for every squat slot. Might have to make that a light one on Thursday though, if even just this work today destroys my legs for the whole week.
Comp Bench:
5x175 @7
5x180 @7
5x185 @8
5x185 @8
5x185 @8.5
5x185 @8.5
E1RM: 228.5(no change)
Not sure why these are still down. Usually the week after refeeding both my presses go up and this time I have the benefit of still refeeding right now. Oh well. Maybe they just need some volume to get moving again. We’ll see.
2 count pause Deadlift (no belt):
4x275
4x290
4x300
4x300
Filmed all these and was able to keep my back flat for the most part, but keeping it flat for anything close to a 2 count pause took almost all my concentration so not bothering with RPE. A few times it felt like I was shooting up my hips uselessly after the pause and using just my back to lift the weight which is a problem I don’t usually have but the videos didn’t really seem to show that.
Barbell CurlzZz:
12x50
10x40
10x40
:
Tricep Pushdown (rope):
12x65
12x65
12x65
No time for any cardio today.
Thursday, 03/15/2018:
Comp Press:
5x110@7
5x115@7.5
5x120@8
5x120@9
5x115@7.5
5x117.5@8
E1RM: 148(down 1.5)
Down again. I had a long and tiring day at work yesterday and not much sleep before so I slept 10 hours last night to try to make up for it. I guess it wasn’t good enough.
Comp Squat:
5x225
5x235
3x245
Still sore AF from Tuesday’s squats. Way beyond do your warmups and you’ll be fine sore. As soon as I started squatting the bar I could easily see myself squatting on my toes to take some of the load off my sore legs and messing up my knee again. So I kept it light to avoid that and even 225 felt heavy enough. Third rep with 245 (even though I was careful to maintain good form) hurt just the slightest bit so I stopped. Did a several inch deep air squat to test it and sure enough it hurt as much as it ever has recently. Fuck. I’m pretty much back where I was a week ago now, except worse because I know that waiting until Tuesday and squatting again cautiously has already failed me once.
Touch n go Bench:
8x155 @7
8x160 @8.5 Oops I*'ll try a longer rest*
8x160 @8
8x160 @8
8x160 @8
E1RM: 216 (down 14 :()
My worst E1RM on any bench exercise since LP
Chins:
24 in 3 minutes
27 in 3 minutes
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 4
Pretty much the worst workout ever, or close to it.
Saturday, 03/17/2018:
My legs are still a little sore this morning but at least not painful to the touch. Elbows and shoulders feel a little creaky, probably because I haven’t done this much pressing volume in a while.
2 count pause Bench:
4x185 @9
4x185 @9
4x180 @9
4x175 @8
E1RM: 215 (down 11.5)
the same @7 target as last week became @9 (probably not quite since I was able to repeat it) so I did backoffs for the prescribed @7 and @8
Comp Deadlift:
5x315 @8
5x315 @8
5x315 @8
E1RM: 389 (down 49)
Was planning on doing 3 tops sets today and I hit the weight just by trying my @6 weight from last week. It probably wasn’t truly @8, but today it feels quite heavy enough. Not doing any backoffs on this one.
Barbell CurlzZz:
12x50
12x40
12x40
Tricep Pushdown (Straight bar):
10x70
15x90
14x105
Something must have been messed up with that first machine. I had to drag my bar around and set up at 3 different machines cause I kept getting swiped. All the stacks feel like different weights.
Abs 5 min: Who cares? Forgot my phone and couldn’t time anything
Lat pulldown EMOM; 110 x12,10,8,8,6,6,6
LISS: Elliptical 20 minutes
Well, that was a terrible end to the shittiest week. I understand that my legs are fucked up from squatting even just 3 sets up to 295 after hardly doing it for 2 weeks. I become “volume sensitive” (for lack of a better word) very fast when I am not training consistently. But what is my excuse for presses? Sudden increase of volume? I have been feeding well on 400c 80f 200p too. Maybe I don’t respond well to (or I’m not used to) that many carbs? When I was maintaining/bulking before I was eating like 150 fat per day instead but that just made me fat so I’m trying the high carb diet now. If things don’t improve by Tuesday I’m declaring a training state of emergency. In fact it almost seems like I’ve succumbed to the worst training sickness known to man: applying the wrong type of stress™
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dSUdzgmCik
HLM Week 1.66
BW: 200.6
BW isn’t really moving and I’ve actually lost 1/4" from my waist. I guess I’ve been doing the mythical recomp. Time to up the macros to 420c 85f 200p.
Tuesday, 03/20/2018:
Comp Squat:
5x185
5x225
5x275
Well, I’m right where I was this time last week, except with the extra experience from hurting myself again. Have to be more careful so I’m only doing one set over 225 today so hopefully I can do 2 and 3 later in the week. I don’t know if I just tried to do too much in general last week, or if I crippled myself so much on Tuesday that my tired quads couldn’t keep my knee sturdy even with 245 lbs on thursday. Not very scientific, just brainstorming. Anyway, knee was A-okay throughout squats today. Today I focused more on keeping my knees locked in place (after the initial forward travel that they are supposed to make of course) rather than keeping my back upright and it seemed to work out well. I have to admit that the 275 set kind of felt like an RPE 8.
Comp Bench:
5x175 @7
5x180 @7
5x185 @8
5x185 @8
5x185 @8.5
5x185 @8
E1RM: 228.5(no change)
Exact same weights as last week but I was able get the last set back down to 8, probably from having had lots of technique practise by then so that’s an improvement 
2 count pause Deadlift (no belt):
4x275
4x285
4x305
4x305
4x305
Sure, it’s not much weight but it feels good to power through 5 sets of beltless deads with 3-4 minute rests and not snap my shit up. I’ve only done 5 sets once before, for 6 reps with the belt. I just realised that maybe my hands were beat up (I haven’t been using straps at all) and that’s partly why my deads sucked on Saturday. They didn’t feel beat up but I forgot that can supposedly affect pulling strength without knowing it. Definitely gonna use straps when I transition to rack pulls next week. I just hate pulling off the floor with straps.
Barbell CurlzZz:
12x50
14x40
10x40
:
Tricep Pushdown (rope):
14x70
12x70
12x70
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 4
For some reason I died after all 4 the way I usually die after the last one.
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PodP-H5mk68
Thursday, 03/22/2018:
I was listening to a bunch of podcasts with Mike Israetel where he recommends having more carbs on training days. I don’t like to be so fussy but when I was cutting and couldn’t afford the calories I always wanted to try his recommendation of a carbohydrate beverage during training, so today I realised I can get two birds stoned at once by just eating normally and having the damn beverage while I’m training. He also convinced me not so sell myself short by trying to gain 1 lb per month (I will meet him in the middle with 2 lb per month, not 1 lb per week like he recommends). I was so afraid of getting fat after working so hard to lean out that I was planning on spending the whole HLM cycle slowly bumping up cals and becoming intimately familiar with my maintenance level so I can gain 1/4 lb per week during my next run of GPP/HYP. Fuck that. I’ve never trained on a program with proper volume while eating at maintenance or above so I should have some newbie muscle gains left in me.
Comp Press:
5x110@6
5x115@7
5x125@8
5x125@9
5x125@9.5
5x120@8
E1RM: 154.5(up 6.5)
The overshooting was due to not being able to obtain the 2.5lb plates. Finally starting to climb back out of this hole.
Comp Squat:
5x185
5x225
5x275
5x285
Managed to survive 2 top sets today (for these purposes top set = over 225) but damn 285 felt heavy.
Touch n go Bench:
8x155 @6
8x165 @7
8x175 @8.5
8x172.5 @8
8x170 @8.5
E1RM: 233 (up 17)
Can’t argue with that increase. I guess I had to get accustomed to doing a real (not myoreps) bench session after press.
Chins:
24 in 3 minutes
29 in 3 minutes
Was making PR level progress, got too ambitious and failed #20.
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 4
That just rekt me. When will I get used to it?
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Z9ohJ8hpk
I better see cartons of milk in all your future lift vids.
I’ve been curious about this: do you stop the clock when you’re resting? Or are you really good at chinups?
Saturday, 03/24/2018:
Comp Squat:
5x185
5x225
5x275
5x290
Legs are still pretty sore so I don’t want to risk overreaching and hurting my knee but I at least did the same as Thursday but 5lbs heavier for the top set.
2 count pause Bench:
4x185 @7
4x190 @8
4x200 @9
4x195 @9
4x190 @8.5
E1RM: 232 (up 17)
Best bench session in a while. The top one was an easy @9 too, maybe an 8.5 but I’ll take a slightly more conservative E1RM to improve upon. I think I feel a good comp bench session coming.
Comp Deadlift:
5x315 @6
5x335 @7
5x355 @8
5x345 @8
E1RM: 438 (up 49)
Not bad for sore legs and sort of squatting first. Didn’t feel like doing 6 sets though. I’ll get there eventually thanks to the extra long development block.
Barbell CurlzZz:
40lbs x18,14,12
Tricep Pushdown (Straight bar):
110 lbs x14,14,14
Things are starting to look up again. Managed to get through the week without hurting my knee. I think I feel some gainzZz coming. Gonna have a busy week at work and my sleep will probably suffer so hopefully that doesn’t screw it up again. Gonna have to do my first full GPP day of this program since this took me almost 2 hours as is.
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyx_JsRzEEk
I just heard that for the first time and I thought it must be France’s response to Mobb Deep (particularly the Hell on Earth album) but then I found out it came out at the same time. Crazy. It even has the same phrase in the chorus as this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRaZ2M7p6vE
Sunday, 03/25/2018:
Finally need a dedicated GPP day again due to actually (sort of) squatting this week:
Chins: 12 in 1 minute, 26 in 3 minutes
Abs: 7 mins, 5x5 rollouts, 2x 30s forearm plank, 2x 30s side plank - feeling lazy
Lat Pulldown: 110lbs AMRAPEMOMGWTF 12,12,12,8,8,8,8
Upright Rows (eye level): 20lbs x18, 30lbs x14, 40lbs x12
Why the hell not? Gonna have those 3D delts in no time.
LISS: Elliptical 27 min @ +/-140
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adh8F8Bb-A0 (Touch & Go Records :))
HLM Week 1
BW: 200.0
No more funny week names. I’m just starting the counter over because I’m done the extra development I wanted to do and am running through from week 1 legit now (but keeping up the volume on the upper lifts at least). Still no gainzZz. No more reverse dieting and titrating up 100 cals per week. Time for 3500 cals, 475c, 90f, 200p. I’m not gonna stress about closely following the macros anymore, just the calories. Probably gonna overshoot on the protein because with all those carbs I think I will be limiting my high quality protein too much If I keep the total to 200 (unless I eat just rice for carbs instead of oats/wheat).
Tuesday, 03/27/2018:
Comp Squat:
5x275
5x285
5x275
Knee feels kind of weird. A vague discomfort but not pain. It makes me freaked out that the pain might show up on any rep and I’m back where I was weeks ago (I know, I know). I was expecting the weights to move faster this week. Was planning on going up to 295 but 285felt like a decent @8 and I was sure the form would break down with any more weight/reps.
Comp Bench:
5x175 @6
5x180 @7
5x190 @8
5x190 @8
5x190 @8
5x190 @8.5
E1RM: 234.5(up 6)
New 5 @8 PR! 
Closing in on a new E1RM PR. First one felt like a very hard 8. Maybe 8.5 and I wanted to be confident if I’m celebrating about a PR so I decided to keep the weight across and call the first one @8 if I get through the 4th without hitting a definite 9. Then on third I remembered I could film it and the bar speed is definitely legit but it looks like I may be lifting my butt off the bench so I have to keep an eye on that. Speed barely slows at all so I’ve probably been overrating the RPEs.
Rack Pull (mid shin):
4x335 @7.5
4x355 @9
4x355 @9 (with belt)
E1RM: 413
I hate these. I don’t know if I am doing them horribly or I just suck at them but I find it harder than pulling off the floor. I’m always unsure about how close I should set up and it feel like I have to rely on my back a lot to break the bar off this pins which is harder than breaking it off the floor with my legs and building some momentum before locking it out.
Bro Block
Barbell CurlzZz: 50 lbs x 14, 40 lbs x12,10,10
Dumbell Side Lateral Raise: 10s x 12, 8s x 12,10
Tricep Pushdown (rope): 75 lbs x12,10,10,8
Did that all in 10 minutes.
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 4
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v30hFJ-T0zw
Accidentally veering towards the punk/hardcore side of things again even though they are better known for alternative rock/power pop. I can’t help it, I think it’s the best song on the album. I’ll be less repetitive next time. At least this one is shorter, sweeter and more accessible than the last one.
Thursday, 03/29/2018:
Comp Press:
5x115@7
5x120@7
5x127.5@8
5x127.5@9
5x122.5@9
5x120@8
E1RM: 157.5(up 3)
Been looking forward to the PR for days but wasn’t sure if I wanted to go for a 2.5 or 5lb jump. Warmups felt like shit and made me realise I’m still beat up from benching but the @7 felt ok so I went for the 2.5 jump. I filmed it to keep myself honest and it seems legit but the fact that the RPE crept up so much is sketchy. That often happens to me on press though so I don’t know. It looks like I am pressing the weight backwards, but when I don’t try to do that it turns into a grind even on the first or second rep and I’m able to salvage the rest of the set just by pushing it back again. Maybe I’m not starting over my midfoot but I’m pretty sure I’m ending there.
Comp Squat:
5x185
5x225
5x235
5x245
5x255
135 felt sketchy on the knee and I moped around for 5 minutes not knowing what to do and letting my being pissed off cloud my thinking. Then I realised I didn’t even use my belt yet so I threw it on and kept going. Still not recovered from Tuesday so I guess I need an advancde LP light day already.
Close grip Bench:
8x155 @7
8x160 @8.5
8x160 @8.5
8x155 @8
E1RM: 2213.5 (down 19.5 from Bridge 4 @9 days)
I guess I skipped @6. Not gonna do it as a backoff cause arms are toast.
Chins:
26 in 3 minutes
26 in 3 minutes
Accidentally rested 3 minutes in between instead of 4
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 4
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FyLcHxbSRk
Saturday, 03/31/2018:
Comp Squat:
5x185
5x225
5x275
5x285
5x295
No pain today. Took my first vid in a while to see where my form is at and to check the RPE. I’ve been trying to keep my head down but I’m looking up a little. Knees aren’t quite as stable in the bottom as I’d like but they aren’t too bad. Bar speed looks like an @7 tops so time to add some more weight if I can keep the form good.
Incline Bench:
4x145 @7
4x155 @8
4x160 @8
4x165 @8.5
4x165 @8.5
E1RM: 194 (up 5)
Felt really crappy at first. I think I didn’t warm up enough (8x45, 4x95, 4x135). Then when I got going I never hit @9 which was the target. Rippetoe would be wroth.
Comp Deadlift:
5x315 @6
5x335 @7
5x365 @8
5x365 @9
E1RM: 450.5 (up 12.5)
I was tired of these stagnating so I did a little extra intensity today rather than more volume. Top set felt hard, might have been 8.5 but I’m glad I pushed it because if I just stayed at 355 it still would have been at least @8 and then I could probably do 355 @8 again the next week etc…
Bro Block:
Barbell CurlzZz: 50 lbs x 12, 40 lbs x14,10,10
Tricep Pushdown (straight): 115****lbs x12,12,12
Dumbell Side Lateral Raise: 10s x 14,12
My 2 hour limit for the whole workout expired. I chatted and wasted lots of time today.
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o791hgNvGIg
Sunday, 04/01/2018:
Chins: 9 in 1 minute, 26 in 3 minutes
Abs: 7 mins, 6x5 rollouts, 4x 20s side plank, 2x 20s forearm plank - fml
Lat Pulldown: 110lbs AMRAP 7 mins; 12,12,12,7,8,8,9
Upright Rows: 40lbs x16,14,12,12
LISS: Elliptical 30 min @ +/-140
Going about 33% faster for the same HR compared to when I started doing this as per The Bridge. Feels good man
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx8KgA6omI0
Can’t leave out the bro block.
HLM Week 2
BW: 201.2
Tuesday, 04/03/2018:
Comp Squat:
5x275
5x305 @8
5x295
5x285
Wanted to hit 305 and also do a 4th set today so I jumped right to it after 275 so I wouldn’t be too fatigued. Felt really heavy and like I was unintentionally dive-bombing into the hole but it looked like a decent @8.
Comp Bench:
5x175 @6
5x185 @7
5x195 @8
5x195 @8
5x195 @8.5
5x195 @9
E1RM: 241(up 6.5)
Definitely slower than last week so I didn’t actually gain 6.5 lbs of E1RM strength but I think it’s still @8? I don’t know. Maybe kind of pushing it but nothing is going to stop me from attempting 5x200 next week before the goal posts are changed. Found a new way to get tighter today: arch and set my shoulders all in one quick movement then unrack the bar to pin me down before I can spring backwards. Still need a little practise getting in the right spot because I have to judge it before I arch then I only have one chance. I’m still doing my old misapplication of leg drive: trying to drive each rep up dynamically. I didn’t know until I watched Alan’s (BBM) video that leg drive is supposed to be a constant pressure.
Rack Pull (mid shin):
4x315 @7
4x335 @8
4x355 @9
4x355 @9
4x355 @9
E1RM: 413 (No change)
These aren’t very fatiguing, just hard. I’m able to do them with like 3 minute rests but it still took me forever because I tried to do them on the squat rack and I kept trying to get higher by stacking plates on a step up thing but it was too unstable and I had to switch over to the power rack when it became available.
Bro Block
Barbell CurlzZz: 50 lbs x12, 40 lbs x12,12,12
Dumbell Side Lateral Raise: 10s x14,14,14,14
Tricep Pushdown (rope): 70 lbs x15, 75 lbs x10
Fuckin’ bros keep stealing my cable machine even when my bag and my water are in front of it. I just want it to myself for 10 minutes so I can get all the bro exercises alternated in 10 minutes cause then I don’t have to rest in between.
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eje23jrXCFk
Warning: Pure evil
Thursday, 04/05/2018:
Comp Press:
5x115@7
5x120@8
5x125@9
5x120@8.5
5x115@8
5x115@8
E1RM: 149 (down 8.5)
Was planning to get 130 but by the time I hit 120 it was clear that wasn’t happening. Not sure why this is so bad today, I don’t really feel beat up from benching but I have been sleeping and feeling pretty crappy and I’ve had a headache on and off for about 48 hours since when I was benching on Tuesday.
Leg Press:
8x360 @<6
8x410 @7
8x450 @8
8x450 @8
Got Jordan’s blessing to do this instead of tempo squats (he even said he prefers this) by clicking on the “watch me” button in the template which I didn’t know existed until I saw the thread about how the hypertrophy template doesn’t have one. Was super nervous about my knee (I know) because I popped a bunch of ibuprofen for my headache beforehand. I usually never take any painkillers before I train because I’m afraid of hiding any pain I might have and lifting stupidly, making it worse in the long run.
Close grip Bench:
8x135 @<6
8x145 @7
8x150 @8
8x150 @8.5
8x150 @8.5
E1RM: 203 (down 10.5)
Retroactively upgraded 135 to a “working” warmup set since I skipped @6. Triceps are dead and my right pec feels sketchy by the armpit.
Chins:
26 in 3 minutes
32 in 3 minutes - w00t tied my PR
HIIT: Elliptical 20/100 x 6 - Did a little extra to sort of make up for skipping it on Tuesday.
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av2vgiYAlXY
10/10
Saturday, 04/07/2018:
Super shitty sleep the last couple of nights. Had to run out of the house first thing in the afternoon and lift while I was out and about without my coffee. I tried not to nocebo myself and I pictured the weights I’d been thinking about all week. Didn’t work. Strength plummeted even more than I…umm…didn’t imagine.
Comp Squat:
5x275
5x275
5x275
Wanted to do 4 sets with the top one at 315. Not gonna happen.
Incline Bench:
4x135 @6
4x150 @8
4x160 @8.5
4x160 @9
4x160 @9
E1RM: 188 (down 6)
Comp Deadlift:
5x315 @8
5x315 @8
5x315 @8
E1RM: 389 (down 61.5 LOL)
I guess I skipped @6 and 7. Even 315 felt super heavy.
Bro Block:
Barbell CurlzZz: 50 lbs x 2, 3****0 lbs x20, 40 lbs x12,15
Tricep Pushdown (straight): 115****lbs x14,12,12,12
Dumbell Side Lateral Raise: 10s x14,14,14,14
Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST1xw5mkycE