2/2
Comp Bench - 295x1@8, 265x5, 235x5, 235x5
Squat w/chains (+90lbs) - 275x3x3
kinda tough today back to back squat/bench days, for sure will need a day off tomorrow and finish up the weeks training on friday. low back fatigue today rpe 8
2/4/22
Press - 125 x 5 x 5
some curls
-was supposed to DL but i pulled something in my upper back like a rhomboid or spinal erector, not sure. though presses would be good since ive neglected that movement my whole training career, still felt a little distracting with the back pull. should feel better come monday for my squat session
2/7
Squat w/belt - 315x5x5@7
1ct Bench - 245x5x5@7
-pretty simple and to the point today, just getting in some volume work. Pretty easy across the board, E1RMs at 405,315 respectively and thats conservative considering I hit 405x3 a couple weeks ago…however my performance varies wildly depending on my motivation levels. im logging with RTS app so my comp lifts are as follows: squat w/belt, 1ct bench, DL conv. this week will just be some volume @7, next week ill probably add in some singles@8 w/back off sets.
2/8
DL (conv) - 365x5x5 @7-8rpe
Bench w/chains - 185x4, 205x4, 225x4@8
-lots of tonnage for pulls today, thats what i need. i can tell my quads have the strength, its keeping my back rigid that is my weak point. reps 4-5 on the last couple sets slowed way down bc i was trying to keep my back in ext and not let it round too much. All pulls fly at first with the quads pressing into the floor then slow down around the knees. ive actually never failed a pull from the floor, always at the knees. i suppose heavy block pulls might be in order for that.
-really love benching w/chains. feels so explosive off the chest. will go up 10lbs next time here. trying to do less reps/sets for variants to limit the weekly stress, as 5x5 is pretty high stress already for comps.
2/10
2ct Pause Squat - 275x4, 295x4, 315x4@8
High Pin Bench - 225x4, 235x4, 245x4@8
-super easy today, probably not true @8s, but lots of fatigue from mon and tues sessions and some DOMS to go with it. still having some middle back pain as well. not sure what it is but ive had it before, must be some kind of ligament or tendon inflammation right off the spine. ate my usual 4 eggs and 1/2 cup of oatmeal for breakfast w/ a protein shake. im sitting at 225 at night which is my max weight before i start to look like shit and a few extra pounds of performance isnt worth the negative ramifications of the excess weight. id really like to be around 215 for a good balance of strength and overall health/aesthetics.
2/11
2ct Pause DL - 315x4, 340x4, 365x4@9
Press - 125x4, 135x4, 145x4@8
-Very good week of training, i am happy with it. i feel strong right now, which prob means i either need to 1. test or 2. low stress week. Sooo, probably will low stress it next week then come back with some singles after that. i am kind of following the BBM strength template although i largely ignore the supplemental slot bc i never feel like doing a third movement of the day. I will actually most likely just start the strength III template at week 1 next monday since week 1 is an intro/low stress anyway, works out perfectly.
2/14
Squat w/belt - 315x5, 330x5, 345x5@9
1ct Bench Press - 245x4, 260x4, 275x4@9
Press - 65x10, 80x10, 95x10@7
-squat was a little sluggish, sometimes that happens to me with 2-3 days off over the weekend
-bench felt fine, actually pretty strong last set, possible @8 but i always play it safe
-Hard to gauge rpe on anything over 5 reps for me. will start heavier next time for press set 1.
2/15
DL (conv) - 365x5, 380x5, 395x5@9
Bench w/chains - 205x5, 220x5, 235x5@9
-Pulls are my weakest lift, i think i have trouble keeping a rigid back and keeping the bar close to my body, which gives me the feeling of the bar slowly curling my back as i pull.
-benching went fine, i hit target@9 right on
this puts my comps E1RM at 415,320,470 respectively. I changed day 3 slot 2 to Press bc i think 3 days/wk of bench should be fine and i like press, i would like to see if i could PR my press this cycle. current best is 205.
2/17
Squat w/chains - 275x4, 290x4, 305x4@9
Press - 135x5, 145x5, 155x5@9
-squats are feeling strong, ive really got better at staying tight through the whole movement.
-155 was a true @9, which puts my E1RM at 185. Id really like to gain 25 pounds on that by week 13.
2/18
DL w/chains (+90lbs) - 325x4, 340x4, 355x4@9
Close grip bench - 245x4, 260x4, 275x4@9
-everything went well today. this week was pretty low key. i feel like i have a lot of energy still and low fatigue from not doing any back off worj all week. next week should be tougher with singles and backoffs
2/21
Squat w/belt - 405x1@8, 365x5@9, 325x5, 325x5, 325x5
1ct Bench - 315x1@8, 285x4@9, 265x4, 265x4, 265x4
- I was a little rusty on the top singles, but the strength was there. I gotta get a little more mid foot on the squats and use more posterior, and I need to get a little more arch and steady pressing (one side was stronger than the other) on bench. All in all I did this at 8am and had to rush through it so i think it went well.
2/22
DL (conv) - 430x1@8, 390x5@9, 350x5, 350x5, 350x5
Bench w/chains - 205x5, 225x5, 235x5@9, 225x5, 225x5
- single looked a little sloppy. i had some low back fatigue from yesterdays squats. i suspect it will take a few weeks to get used to pulling the day after heavy squats. i wanted a little more today, i was hoping 455 would be a baseline @8 but im not there yet. - also, i didnt eat near enough protein yesterday so that may have affected me negatively. my wife has been on a chef micheal symon trip lately buying his books/ watching his shows…so i ate vegetarian. it was really tasty i just never felt satifisfied, thinkning about adding in a pm protein shake as well from now on, but i already have substantial BW and im actually trying to lose about 20 lbs
2/24
Squat w/chains - 295x4, 305x4, 315x4@9, 300x4
Press - 145x5, 152x5, 160x5@10, 145x5, 145x5
Wide Grip Bench - 175x10, 185x10, 195x10, 185x10
-damn good session this morning. squats feeling really strong. lots of pump on the benching and pressing, im not accustomed to higher rep work but i liked it. got advice from Jordan and i will MTFU and do slot 3 from now on. really trying to push hard this cycle for a press PR and prob went too heavy. i knew on the 2nd set at 152 that was closer to @9, but stubbornly went ahead and grinded out 160 for five barely got the last one. cant believe i actually did. i will press 225 this cycle!
2/25
DL w/chains (+90lbs) - 325x4, 345x4, 365x4@10, 325x4
Close Grip Bench - 265x4, 275x4, 285x4@9, 265x4, 265x4
SLDL - 205x10, 225x10, 245x10, 225x10
- Hell of a week of training. feeling good. overshot top set on DL today, will scale back next week. DL normally about 30-40 lbs over squat movements. i guess its easy to forget the chains weigh an additional 90 lbs. bench getting strong again. would like a 365 bench by end of cycle. would like a 500 DL by end of cycle as well. now time to eat and sleep!
2/28
Squat w/belt - 405x1@8, 365x5@9, 325x5, 325x5, 325x5, 325x5
1ct Bench - 315x1@8, 290x4@9, 270x4, 270x4, 270x4, 270x4
Press (no belt) - 95x10 x4 sets
- one of the hardest sessions i remember doing in a while, felt really good though. still carrying some fatigue from last week at least lower body, can tell bc i wasnt quite as explosive on squat as usual. bench is kicking ass, went up 5 lbs on back off work. will go up 5 pounds on top single next week for bench. now i get to paint my house for the rest of the day, sweet…
3/1
DL (conv) - 435x1@8, 395x5@9, 355x5, 355x5, 355x5, 355x5
Bench w/chains - 205x5, 215x5, 225x5@9, 215x5, 215x5
High Bar Squat (no belt) - 185x10, 205x10, 225x10
-Absolutely smoked after this session, have some low back fatigue but still able to get 435 for a pretty easy top single. the rest of the pulls went really slow but steady. strength is there just a little sluggish as fatigue is hampering my explosiveness. same thing with bench, actually dropped top set weight by 10 pounds from last week but im ok with it, trying to keep with rpe rather than pushing linear progression when its not there. one thing im considering is lightening the loads on the beltless (slot 3) movements at the end of the session, minimizing rest time and making it more of a body building, mind-muscle connection than treating it like a strength movement like im currently doing. 225 for a high bar squat, even beltless, is really easy but not after 30 reps lol and im not tough enough to push hard on 3 movements 4x a week, sorry but im not baraki lol
3/3
Squat w/chains (+90) - 275x4, 295x4, 315x4@9, 295x4, 295x4
Press - 145x5, 152x5, 160x5@9, 150x5, 150x5
WG Bench - 175x10 x4 sets
-Very nice session today, weather was awesome in the garage, wasnt in a rush, felt great on squats even though i had some reservations going in due to monday and tuesdays sessions being very strenous and leaving me with some residual fatigue. press felt mmuch better this week and i included video. still a very weak lift from a technical standpoint, i have the least amount of experience with it. i forgot to look at my E1RM on RTS app but i believe its somewhere in the 185-195 range which means i somehow have 40 lbs to go this cycle…might be unrealistic but ill chase it. in other news, trying frantically to get my 2 littles in daycare this summer so i can actually get some work done and continue to lift on my schedule.
3/4
DL w/chains (+90) - 305x4, 325x4, 345x4@9, 305x4, 305x4
CG Bench - 265x4, 275x4, 285x4@9, 265x4, 265x4
SLDL (no belt) - 225x10 x4 sets
- not the greatest session, i got the work done but i lacked focus, wasnt rating rpe well, misjudged load on pulls, felt a little lower back tweak…all in all not great but at least i did it. now i can rest for 2 days
3/7
Squat w/belt - 415x1@8.5, 375x5@9, 335x5x5
1ct Bench - 320x1@8, 295x4@9, 275x4x5
Press (no belt) - 95x10 x4 sets
- this was about 2 hours, and the most amount of work im willing to do in one session. squat single was goofy looking but not “hard”. bench single better than expected, smooth.
- broke the 10k tonnage for squat volume which was almost a volume PR. total squat stress for the day was 4.5 RTS units, a PR so far. not sure if thats a good or bad thing yet.
3/8
DL (conv) - 445x1@8, 405x5@9, 365x5x5
Bench w/chains - 205x5, 215x5, 230x5@8, 215x5x2
-Went to do my 4 sets of beltless high bar squats for my 3rd slot and it felt horrible so I ditched them. This still took 90 minutes, which is pretty long for me. I am lucky right now becasue I have more free time but next week when my kids are home from spring break I wont be able to leave them alone for that long. And this summer I have them in camp on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I may be moving days around to something like training Sat,Sun,Tues,Thurs. which is totally fine. I sound like a broken record but I just hate doing the 3rd slot high rep movement, high reps have always felt like shit to me and seem to wear me down more ie: I get aches and pains and feel sluggish. I am feeling really strong right now though even with some aches like my left delt, SI joint and hips…Pretty typical with the higher volulme and frequency that Im getting right now.
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