Bench press, ok

Weds, 28 Dec 16

Bench: 135x2x15, 185x10, 205x5, 225x5, 245x5x5

Repeated my last workout. Still pretty heavy. Will repeat again.

Squats, more reps

Sun, 25 Dec 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 315x5, 335x5, 355x4x4

Single leg extensions: 50x10, 70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x10 (each leg).

Added a rep to the work sets.  It was only another rep, but it's progress.

Merry Christmas!

Bench added 10 lbs more

Sat, 24 Dec 16

Bench: 135x2x15, 185x10, 205x5, 225x5, 245x5x5

Bench went well.  It felt heavy, but I managed it.  I'll keep the same weight next session for sure.

Squats: better....

Thurs, 22 Dec 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 315x5, 335x5, 355x5x3

I debated over benching today at the gym or tomorrow at home, decided to squat today, despite having deadlifted yesterday.  Good choice!  I was able to do sets of triples instead of doubles, so that was an extra 5 reps at 355 today over Monday.  Didn't have time for accessory work as I was a little slow getting a bench.  I kept the breaks fairly short and the reps were quite fast.

Deadlifts - similar to last week

Weds, 21 Dec 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x5, 365x5, 405x3, 425x5x1, 315x2x4 (sumo)

Did a bunch of heavy singles.  Reason:  Went out for beer and wings last night and I didn't know if it was safe to stress my lower abdominal region too much, if ya know what I mean.

Bench up 10 lbs. and cardio

Tues, 20 Dec 16

Bench:  135x10, 185x2x5, 205x5, 225x5, 235x5x5

For cardio I did 5 mins on the stair climber, 5 mins rope pull, and 5 mins (120 swings) of kettlebell at the end.  (and the walk to and from, for about 30 mins plus)

Decent day, squats

Mon, 19 Dec 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 315x5, 335x5, 355x5x2, 315x4

That's two more sets of doubles, and they were quite fast.  I only had a minute or two between the top sets.  After the 315x4 my back started to feel fatigued, so I decided to do some single leg extensions.  Did about 40 reps a leg 50, 70, 80, 90.

Better day, bench press

Thurs, 15 Dec 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x10, 205x2x5, 225x5x5

Bench went well.  I could tell my shoulder was a little unstable, but not painful.  Finished with a bunch of cable work and some slow curls.

Having an off week - deadlifts

Wed, 14 Dec 16

Deadlifts: 225x2x5, 315x5, 365x5, 405x5, 425x3x2

I upped the weight this week, but damn the deadlifts felt heavy and left me a little lightheaded.  Rather than faceplant into the decline bench press, I just did a few doubles. Finished off with a few 70 dumbbell farmer's walks around the gym.

Squats - meh.

Mon, 12 Dec 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 315x5, 335x3, 365x3x2, 335x5

My groin felt a little pulled and I just wasn't feeling the energy today.  My shoulder is screwed up a bit as well and I didn't bench over the weekend.  If I feel decent on Weds I may turn my deadlift day into a squat session - but I'll see how the next couple of days go.

Finished up the session with single leg extensions (a side) - 50x10, 70x10, 80x10, 90x3x10.

Bench press and cardio

Thurs, 8 Dec 16

Bench:  135x2x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5x5

Once again, 10 minutes cardio (stairclimber and rope pull), followed by bench, then finished with 120 kettlebell swings in sets of 30 on a 5 minute timer.  (10 both hands, 10 right, 10 left, 30 sec rest)

I love deadlifts.

Weds, 7 Dec 16

Deadlifts: 225x5, 315x5, 365x3, 405x5x5

I really enjoy deadlifting.  Something about the simplicity of picking heavy things up and putting them down under control.  I just feel very strong when I do it.  Anyhow, tonnage last week was 13,300 lbs and this week was 14,650 lbs. 

I'm torn on moving forward vs doing it another week or two.

Bench press, cardio

Tues, 6 Dec 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5x5

I started off with 5 mins on the stairclimber, then 5 minutes on the rope pull machine.  Went and did my bench presses, no problems.  Then I finished up with 100 reps of kettlebell swings.

Squats - super heavy 3x5 today

Mon, 5 Dec 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 315x5, 335x3, 355x2x5, x4

The squats felt really, really heavy and I needed to catch my breath on the top 2 sets.  I simply ran out of gas on the last rep and didn't feel like risking an injury.  Needless to say, I'll do this one over again.

Squats, hit my 5x5 this week.

Fri, 2 Dec 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 315x5, 335x5x5

So once again, no nonsense, straight into it.  I felt warm enough and was ready to go.  I was nailing the 5x5 for depth and speed, no problems.  A little out of breath, but no pauses needed in the reps.  Finished up with some leg extensions with feet turned out to focus on the VMO and front quads.  Kept the weight to a manageable x5-10 range. Tonnage Mon 13450, today 15125 lbs.  I'll add 20 lbs on Monday and drop back to 3x5.  I think this plan is working out.  I have the flexibility to do a session as many times as needed until it's smooth, and for now 20 lbs seems like a moderate increase.  I'll likely drop back to 10 lbs as I approach 405 lbs.

Bench press, upper body

Thurs, 1 Dec 16

Bench: 135x2x5, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x3x5

This is my first bench in over a month, went well - I didn't want to go all out.  My last day of benching I worked up to 255x2x5 .  I did a bunch of accessory work - chest supported row,  croc rows, machine pulldowns/tricep pushdown/seated row.  We'll see how the shoulder feels tomorrow.

Deadlifts: more improvement

Weds, 30 Nov 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x5, 405x3x5

Short, sweet and to the point. Tonnage:  9250 lbs last week 13300 lbs this week.  The 405 went up so nicely that I decided to do a second, and third set.  I'll see what happens next week.  I'll likely drop one of my 315 sets and try the fourth, and fifth at 405.  We'll see, some days are bang on, others, meh.

Upper Body: Machines

Tues, 29 Nov 16

I did a moderately heavy upper body workout today with high reps, also incorporated some dumbbell bench pressing and smith seated incline presses.  My shoulder feels good and I'm thinking that next week I should try picking up the bench press again.  I'll likely try it out on Sunday and see how my body reacts.

Squats: Building Strength

Mon, 28 Nov 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5, 335x4x5

The squats felt pretty heavy today, but I had no real issues finishing them.  I'll see if I can hit 5x5 on Friday.

Squats: Building strength

Fri, 25 Nov 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x10, 315x5, 335x3x5

I kept it simple today.  No problem with speed or balance.  Even though the top sets were heavy, I powered through them pretty quickly.  I will shoot for 4x5 on Monday.

Upper body - machines

Thurs - 24 Nov 16

Still working the upper body with machines.  I've been looking into BPC-157 as a possible treatment.

Deadlifts - improving still

Wed, 23 Nov 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x5, 405x5, 435F

Went well.  Managed to go for a set of 5 at 405 where last week was 5 singles.  I was hoping to hit the 435 single, but couldn't break it off the floor.  Still, not upset though.

Finished up with a pile of kettlebell swings.

PS - Did upper body machine workout yesterday.  Still not benching as my shoulder is still day-to-day.

Squats - building strength

Mon, 21 Nov 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 315x5, 335x3x5

The squats were heavy, and I almost failed the last rep of the second set (of 335) when I sat back too far on the descent, and started to fall backwards.  I muscled it up and took a long rest before starting the last set.  I'll try for four sets on Friday.

Squats, 315x5x5 done

Fri, 18 Nov 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x10, 315x5x5

Straight into squats today, not a lot of warming up.  The 5x5 was about a 7-8 RPE.  Snappy, good depth, but definitely left me gassed in between sets.  I then finished up with a bunch of 25 lb kettlebell swings.  My quads were pretty fried after those lol.  I do them both hands, switch to single, switch to the other hand single.  So about 15 reps first each, then 10, then 8, then 5 and could only do one leg lol.

Upper body, machines

Thurs, 17 Nov 16

Another machine day.  I'm doing a few static hangs - I watched a video that suggested it may be helpful, and without anything else to do, I have nothing left to lose.

My right shoulder has been an ongoing issue since my early lifting days.  Every so often it flares up and starts being troublesome - usually on things like bench and OHP.  I even notice pain when raising my right arm above chest level.  It's pretty sucky.  Anyhow, I find the machine work lets me use really light weights for specific shoulder motions, and I can go really quite heavy on face pulls without discomfort.  I'm definitely much better at activating my pecs.  Before long I'll be doing those Terry Crews pec bops. (lol)  Oh yeah, I'll be also interested in seeing if I have any bicep/tricep growth.  I've been doing some cable and ez-curl bar curls, low weight, slow as hell tempo, mega pump.

Deadilfts - improving

Wed, 16 Nov 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x2x5, 405x5x1, 425x1, 445F

Deadlifts went really well today.  I started off sumo, but couldn't get above 365.  So for fun, I tried conventional.  I had no trouble moving 405 quickly for a bunch of singles, then hit 425 for a single.  Decided to go for broke and see if I could hit my old max, but couldn't break free from the floor.

All in all I'm pretty happy though since on the last deadlift day - 26 Oct, I was only able to hit 375.  That's a 30 lb increase for rep singles and a 50 lb increase to my 1 RM.

Squats - slow and steady

Mon, 14 Nov 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 315x4x5
Seated Single Leg Extensions: 70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x10

Squats went well, snappy and deep.  No discomfort.  Will add another set then some weight and drop back to 3x5.  Did some single leg extensions following to get a little extra quad work.  Kept it to medium weight.  All seems well.  Going to put off the diet another week as my wife isn't quite ready to start yet and I'd rather have her diet at the same time - makes it easier on me not to have a bunch of binge food lying around.

Upper body, machines

Thurs, 10 Nov 16

Medium-Heavy upper body workout on machines today.  30-40 light reps followed by two sets of 5 heavy reps.  Went well - watching out for my right shoulder as it's being testy - the way I'm sitting on the couch and sleeping is causing me pain.  I'll be happy once I have a recliner in the new place (whenever we move) and can recline rather than slouch in the couch. 

Yay I squatted today!

Weds, 9 Nov 16

Squats:  135x10, 225x2x5, 315x3x5

I warmed up on the evil stair machine for 5 minutes, then had to wait a while for a rack.  I did a bunch of stretching and body weight squats while waiting.  I felt pretty good through the squats, although the 315 definitely felt heavy on my back after all this time.  No pain in my leg.  We'll see what it feels like in a few hours.

I should do some light benching tonight as well, I'll see how I feel.

Cardio - yuck!

Fri, 4 Nov 16

I thought I'd add some cardio into the mix since I'm getting ready to cut and still deloading.  I can't imagine what I'd do with a whole hour of lunchtime anyhow.  First I tried rowing.  Even on maximum I couldn't perceive any exertion from it.  So I tried what was recommended to me as the hardest cardio in the gym - the Powermill Climber.  After 5 mins on 10 out of what I learned was a max of 20 levels my quads were pumped to the max and I was barely hanging on.  That a machine!  To dial it back a bit and not die I went and did some 50-30-30 rep sets of kettlebell swings.  I did 20, 10, 10 both hands then switched on the fly to single hands for 10 each.  That put me in a little over half an hour with my heart rate well into the 130+ range.  I'll have to bring in my heartrate monitor next time to see the actual results.

My nemesis.

Full body, deload

Thurs, 3 Nov 16

Feeling pretty beat up this weak, left leg and right shoulder still acting up.  I've decided to take a couple of weeks to deload, light pumpy work, start some cardio.  I'm going to run a short cut in mid-Nov for about a month to drop a few pounds now that I've managed to actually carry around some extra muscle for a few months.  I've always had an issue with panicking following a growth phase where I add some muscle, and of course, being older and formerly obese, fat.  I would go from bulks right into cuts - no waiting, and no real growth.  I did some research which suggested my protein was too low and that I wasn't giving my body time to adjust to carrying more muscle and increased nutrition needs.

Lower Body

Mon, 31 Oct 16

RDL:  135x10, 225x10, 315x3x5

Leg Press: 90x10, 180x20, 270x10, 360x3x10

Single Leg Extension: 70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x10, 110x10

Adductor machine: up to 205x3x5.

Leg felt a little tender today so I took it easy.  I added the adductor machine as my adductors seem awfully flabby, and that's part of my weak area.  So this should hit the entire leg.  It's funny how I need four separate exercises to replace the back squat.  Five if I gave a crap about calves.

Bench: Building Strength

Fri, 28 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x2x10, 215x5, 235x3, 245x2, 255x2x5

CGBP: 185x5, 185x2x10

Bench was heavy.  I accidentally did 255 instead of 250.  I'm ok with that. Tried my Fat Gripz for the CGBP work at the end.  Felt good even though it adds to the ROM.

Lower Body

Fri, 28 Oct 16

RDL:  135x10, 225x10, 315x4x5
Leg Press: 180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x5, 540x4, 450x2x5
Single Leg Extension: 70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x10, 110x5 (R), 110x1 (L).

Went pretty well.  Added a set to the top end of the RDL, and managed to get 12 plates on the leg press.  (full knees to shoulders).  Single leg extensions went  well - I managed to add 10 more pounds, but was unable to get more than 1 rep from a dead stop with the left leg.  Not really a horrible thing, since my legs were getting pretty fatigued by then.

I did upper body machines yesterday, with some seated incline smith machine OHP.

Deadlifts: Building strength

Weds, 26 Oct 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x2x5, 375x4x1
Power Shrugs: 225x10, 315x10, 405x10, 455x10, 475x5, 500x4, 500x5

Went well.  I added 10 lbs to the deadlift.  Although there was less volume in this session, there were more reps at higher weight than last week.  I am using straps now, since I'm not competing I really don't care about grip as much.

Bench: light

Tues, 25 Oct 16

Bench: 95x20, 115x10, 135x10, 155x8, 175x4x8

Light day since I did a bunch of upper body earlier today.

Upper body

Weds, 25 Oct 16

Today I did heavy upper body work.  Started with seated smith machine OHP, 95x2x10, 115x10, 135x2x5, 155x3x5.  Moved onto supersetted rope face pulls and rope tricep pull downs.  Then I did cable butterfly and crossovers.  Then moved onto wide bar lat pulldowns, and finished with a few sets of low pulley curls.  For most of the cable work I went 20, 15, 10, 5, 3x5 reps.

Went well and I got some good activation in my traps.  In fact, they still feel a little pumped up 2 hrs later.

Lower body (posts are a little out of order)

Mon, 24 Oct 16

RDL: 135x10, 225x10, 315x3x5

Leg Press: 90x10, 180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x3x5

Single Leg Extensions:  50x15 (both legs together), 50x10 (remained single), 70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x3x5

As I mentioned in the title, the posts are a little out of order.  I benched at home yesterday, so lower body today.  My lifts are going up, which is good.  I added a couple of plates to my RDL and went for low, heavy reps.  I didn't bother with all the extra deep standing on plate stuff as I didn't want to fatigue myself.  Leg press went great - low reps and I was able to hit 10 plates without any pain.  I didn't realize, but the actual machine base is close to 140 lbs right off the start - so that's an actual 590 lb leg press.  (past parallel - not that nancy little calf pump crap).  Single leg extension went up again considerably, and I was able to do a few low rep heavy sets.

I'm going to hold off on the squats for another month I think.  It bugs me not to do them, but I really need to heal up, and if I can continue on this path I shouldn't lose a lot of strength. Who knows, my legs might actually grow.

Lower body

Fri, 21 Oct 16

Tried to squat today.  Managed 135x2x10.  I then tried 225, but felt a twitch in that spot on rep 2 and decided not to push it.  I did some leg press and single leg extension, but just felt a little bummed that I couldn't squat.  I actually like squatting and miss it. #wordsyouneverthoughtyoudsay

Bench: Building Strength

Sun, 23 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x2x10, 215x5, 235x3, 245x2, 250x3

CGBP: 135x10, 185x15, 185x10

I probably should have saved the close grip work to the end.  I only managed one top set.  I had to leave the first rep of the second set on the safeties.  I'll see next session if that was a one off or not.

Machine session

Thurs, 20 Oct 16

Today was a light session using machines.  Exercises were between 40-60 reps each (sets of 10-20), and weight was just heavy enough to get the heart rate up and feel some exertion.  I did the single leg extensions in addition to a myriad of other pump movements.  I managed to get the legs up to (40, 60, 70, 80) 80 lbs each side x 10 reps.  I then did a reverse pyramid back down to 60 lbs (70, 60) going to fatigue on the back offs.

The session felt good - lots of blood/fluid into the muscles, and a good gentle stretch as well.

Bench: Building Strength

Weds, 19 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x2x10, 215x5, 235x3, 245x2, 250x3x3

CGBP: 185x5x5

Top sets weren't too bad.  Hard, but not grindy. Upped the weight by 5 lbs. Upped the CGBP to 185 straight across and even managed 5 sets!

Deadlifts: Building Strength

Weds, 19 Oct 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 275x10, 315x5, 365x3x5
Power Shrugs: 225x20, 315x15, 405x10, 465x5, 495x5, 500x3x5

Felt strong today, everything went well.  Straps, belt.

Upper body

Tues, 18 Oct 16

OHP: 45x10, 95x2x10, 115x5, 125x3, 135x2, 145x3x5

Cable Butterfly: 22.5x15, 27.5x10, 32.5x10, 37.5x3x5

Cable Crossover: 22.5x15, 27.5x10, 32.5x10, 27.5x3x5

Face Pulls: 52.5x20, 62.5x15, 72.5x10, 82.5x3x5 (supersetted with...)

Rope Push Down: 52.5x20, 62.5x15, 72.5x10, 82.5x3x5

Lower Body

Mon, 17 Oct 16

RDL: 135x3x10, 185x2x10, 225x3x5

Leg Press: 180x15, 270x2x10, 360x3x10, 270x10, 180x10

Leg Extensions:  forgot.i was able to hit 70x10 single leg.

Bench: Building Strength

Sun, 16 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x2x10, 205x2x5, 225x2x5, 235x5, 245x2x5

CGBP: 135x10, 185x2x5

Still heavy. I neglected bench press this week.  Upped my close grip a bit.

Upper Body

Fri, 14 Oct 16

Cable Butterfly: 27.5x20, 32.5x15, 37.5x10, 42.5x3x5
Cable Crossover: 27.5x20, 32.5x15, 37.5x10, 42.5x3x5
Face Pulls: 47.5x20, 57.5x15, 67.5x10, 77.5x3x5 (supersetted with...)
Rope Push Down: 47.5x20, 57.5x15, 67.5x10, 77.5x3x5
OHP: 45x10, 95x2x10, 115x5, 135x3x5

Had to leave OHP to last as I couldn't get a rack.  By the time I hit them my arms were pretty fatigued, so I my top set was based on what I felt comfortable doing 5 with.  (RPE 8)  Went well, great activation and lots of pump.

Deadlifts/Leg Extensions

Thurs, 13 Oct 16

Deadlifts: 135x10, 225x10, 315x5x5
Leg Extensions (single):  40x20, 50x10, 60x10, 70x8 (r), 70x3 (l), 60x10, 50x10, 40x15

I kept the weight down as my quad is still tender today and hurts with certain motions.  (Seated carpet pull movement, going up stairs).  I did my deadlifts sumo style to minimize the effort on that area of the quad.  They went well, snappy and pain free.  Straps to ensure that I got a good workout.  I was going to do power shrugs, but couldn't get a rack, so I decided to do light single leg extensions.  I kept the weight really low, mostly for pump and range of motion.  I used my right leg to initiate the left leg sets as I couldn't even push 40 from a dead stop - I needed the stretch reflex to keep it moving.  I went as slow as I could, focusing on the medialis and the VMO.  

Upper body: Machines

Weds, 12 Oct 16

Face Pulls: 42.5x15, 52.5x10, 62.5x5, 72.5x3x5
Rope Push Down: 37.5x20, 47.5x15, 57.5x10, 67.5x3x5
OHP: 95x10, 115x8, 135x6, 145x5, 155x3x3
Cable Butterfly: 25x20, 15x25, 10x30, 35x3x5
Cable Crossover: 20x20, 25x15, 30x3x5

I've decided to focus less on powerlifting, and more on physique.  I'm not going to be able to compete anymore since I've been put on Androgel.  (unless we get an untested fed, which is unlikely).  So, I will squat, bench and deadlift as injuries permit, but with reduced frequency and load.  I will add more isolation exercises in between those sessions.  I'd like to still squat twice weekly, lower machines twice, upper twice, and deadlift once every two weeks.  I will bench at home four times a week.  I'm not really sure how this is going to pan out.

For now the lower body stuff will have to be extremely light and cautious to allow this quad injury to heal.  Obviously one week intervals was not enough.  I will try two weeks  and then go back baby weight and high reps to see how it plays out.

Lower body - not a good day

Tues, 11 Oct 16

Leg Press: 180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x5x5, 540xF
RDL: 135x3x10, 185x2x10
Leg extension: 0

I was doing SOOOOOOO well in the leg press that I tried for 12 plates.  At the bottom of the first rep I felt a pop in the spot that's been feeling tender and I couldn't hold the weight.  Set it on the safeties and moved onto RDL.  I was running out of time doing RDL and figured I got enough back/glutes/hams work so I moved onto the leg extension.  I started at 100, which is pretty light for me, and couldn't even budge it.

Bench: Building Strength

Sat, 8 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 135x3x10 (close grip), 185x10, 215x2x5, 225x2x5, 235x5, 245x3x3

Bench press went well but I think I will only add a rep rather than more weight. The weight still feels pretty heavy on my shoulders. I feel more comfortable if I could get more reps.

Friday - Lower Body

Fri, 7 Oct 16

Leg Press: 180x10, 270x10, 360x10, 450x5x5
GM: 135x10, 185x5x5
RDL: 135x3x10, 185x2x10, 225x2x5

Somewhere along the line I lost the script of what I was doing today.  I ended up doing good mornings, instead of leg extensions, and totally fried my back.  By the time I got to RDL's my back was so pumped there was no way to get the last set in.

Working around injuries: Deadlift/Power Shrugs

Thurs, 6 Oct 16

Deadlifts: 225x10(s), 225x10(c),315x2x5(s), 315x5(c), 345x5(c), 345x2x5(s)
Power shrugs: 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5, 405x2x5, 495xF

Mixed my deadlifts up so they alternated between sumo and conventional.  Went well, pretty snappy.  Couldn't get the 495 to budge.  I think I set the safeties too low, and by the time I hit that set I was pretty well toast anyhow.

OHP/GM/RDL

Wed, 5 Oct 16

OHP: 95x10, 135x2x5, 155x2x5, 165x3x5

GM: 135x10, 225x2x5, 255x3x5

RDL: 135x10 (2 plate def), 185x2x10 (2 plate def), 135x10 (3 plate def)

OHP went great.  Kept it to a point where I could get good reps without too much hip drive.  Just a touch to get the top set moving.  I played around with the good mornings until I found a point where it started to strain my left inner glute.  I then moved on to RDL - which I didn't load too much as I started to feel that in the same spot when I got to the 185.  I used two plates under my feet, then three, to get a good stretch.

I'll have to continue tweaking the leg portions of my workouts.  I may split it up into M-lower, T-upper, W-deadlifts, Th-upper, Fri-lower, with bench thrown in at home every 2nd or 3rd day.  

Lower will likely be - leg press, RDL, and some light seated leg extensions (with a focus on the inside of the thighs and VMO)

Upper will likely be - OHP, cable flyes, face pulls, and tricep pushdown.

Deadlift day will likely be - deadlifts and power shrugs.

I think this should hit enough with the 3-4 bench sessions a week to keep growing.

 

Bench: Building Strength

Tues, 4 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 135x10 (close grip), 185x10, 215x2x5, 225x2x5, 235x5, 245x3x3

Still really hard, will repeat

Machines

Tues, 4 Oct 16

Leg press: 2x15 4x12, 6x10, 8x10, 10x2x5, 12x2x5 (plates on sled is first number)

Face pulls: up to 37.5x20, 47.5x10, 57.5x10, 67.5x2x10

Db floor press; 25x20, 40x10, 50x3x10

Machine shoulder and chest flyes:  17.5x20, 27.5x3x10

Triceps press down: 27.5x20, 37.5x20, 47.5x10, 57.5x3x5

Dual pulley wide pulldown: 60x20, 70x12, 80x2x5

I started to feel some discomfort in my left quad on the last set of leg press.  I will likely reduce that to 10 plates x 4x10 instead next time.  I got some good hamstring and vastus lateralis activation. I really hammered my upper body.  Tonight I'll be benching at home.

Another setback. Squats.

Mon, 3 Oct 16

Decided to try out squats again today.  Worked my way up to 315x5 and my left leg was still tender in the quad.  I'll put the squats to bed for another week.  In place of that I did a bunch of power shrugs.

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 315x5
Power shrugs: 135x10, 225x10, 315x3x5, 405x8. 495x5

I'll try some leg press to see if I can still get some vastus, glute and hamstring involvement next.

Building Strength: Deadlifts

Sun, 2 Oct 16

Deadlifts: 225x2x10, 315x3x5, 345x2x5

Power shrugs: 135x5x5, 225x3x5

Stayed at "lighter" weights today.  Threw power shrugs into the mix.  Think power clean/ row.

Bench: Building Strength

Sat, 1 Oct 16

Bench: 135x20, 135x10 (close grip), 185x10, 215x2x5, 225x2x5, 235x5, 245x3x3

Top sets were hard.  Will repeat.

Deadlifts, what is wrong with me?

Thurs, 29 Sep 16

RDL: 225x2x5
Conventional deadlift: 225x2x5, 275x5, 315x3x5, 365x2, 365x1
OHP: 95x10, 115x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x3, 195x2, 205x1

Since I can't compete anymore I thought I'd try conventional deadlift to see where it was it.  In the toilet is where it was at.  My quad injury from the other day really didn't hamper me after the first two plate warmups, but my back was horrible fatigued.  I think it was from screwing around with seated good mornings and a bunch of other upper back work yesterday.  I'm sure I can deadlift more, and maybe I will save them for home on the weekend. 

Since my back was toast I figured I'd try some OHP to see where that lift was at.  Managed to get up to 205 - I got dizzy after racking it and had to take a knee.  I've started a new blood pressure medication and that may have been a contributing factor.  I should have hobbled over to the BP machine in the gym and checked it right then.  Oh well.

I'm not sure where I stand with squatting tomorrow - that quad injury is still present, so I may pass on it and do a bit of light pumpy work to aid recovery.  Next week I think I'll dial back my work sets in everything slightly and take another run up against the maxes.  I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to get a few injuries a week - which suggests it's too much.

Squats: Building Strength

Squats: 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x3, 355x2, 365x1, 375x2, 375x1

Goal was to hit nine reps at the new weight, but I started to feel a weird pull/pain in my left rectus femoris.  I ran through the first of the 375s and felt a little pain.  I adjusted my clothes and setup and tried the second set and definitely felt it.  I eased up on the left side and used the right side to force the weight up and racked it.

Bench: Building Strength

Mon, 26 Sep 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x10, 215x2x5, 230x2x5, 240x2x5

That went well.  I'll add another 5 next day.

Squats: Building Strength

Fri, 23 Sept 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x2x5, 340x5, 365x3x3

It was still pretty hard lol.  I'm going to add 10 lbs, but go for singles, for say 8-9 reps.

Bench: Building Strength

Thurs, 22 Sept 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x10, 205x10, 225x2x5, 235x2x5

Much better than last time.  I'll toss 5 more on next time.

Machine workout

Thurs, 22 Sep 16

Did another machine workout today, also some heavy barbell shrugs.  Played around a little to see what my OHP is - managed 175, but failed 195.  That was beltless though.  I will be benching tonight.

Squats: Building Strength

Weds, 21 Sept 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x2x5, 340x5, 365x3x3

I made it through, but that last set was a growler.  ie - It was fortunate that Slipknot, "Duality" came on in my new "Be Aggressive" mix.  Because I was growling my way through that set.  I think I'll leave the weight the same next session as it was simply an RPE of 8-9.

Machine workout

Tues, 20 Sept 16

I did a light, pumpy machine workout today to get the blood flowing.  I'll squat and bench tomorrow.

I did seated leg extensions, 45 deg hip extension, bunch of chest/shoulder cable pulls, pec deck, pec deck lat pull, and wide bar lat pulldowns.  Not a lot of leg work as I get most of that via squats and deads.

Bench: Building Strength

Mon, 19 Sept 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x10, 205x10, 225x4x4

The 225 felt really heavy at first.  I got 4 on the first set, and decided to go 4x4 as opposed to raising the weight more.

Deadlifts: Building Strength

Mon, 19 Sep 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 275x2x5, 300x2x5, 325x5, 340x3x3

Slightly less volume than last session, left leg developed bruising behind the knee after my squat session, but I didn't feel it.  I didn't notice it until my wife mentioned it.  Got a little twinge in my upper left hamstring - we'll see how that plays out.  Getting old sucks!

Squats: Testing Max

Fri, 16 Sep 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x3, 395x2, 405x1, 425x1

I felt pretty strong today, so I decided to test my max squat.  Belted, knee and wrist wraps - no stims.  The 405 went sooooo easy I was like - I'm going to try more.  Initially I started to load up 415, but I said screw it and loaded up 425.  I'm pretty sure I could have dive bombed it, but I was a little cautious and took my time - decreased my stretch reflex a bit.  That being said, it was perhaps a little shallower than I'd like (but I'd need a camera to know for sure), but it was nowhere's near being grindy.

Call me shallow, but a bro was watching me lift.  (20-30 ish years old)  He was impressed at the weight I was moving, especially when I told him I was 50.  He said I was jacked lol, and finds it so impressive when all the young people bitch and complain and I'm putting in the work, and I got two fist bumps.  It's weird, but that made me feel pretty good.  Does it make me shallow?  I don't know.  Weightlifting is really one of those things that only other weightlifters get.  My friends and family don't know what it is to move 425 lbs.  That's just a shit ton of weight - is it good, is it bad?  What is good, what is bad?  Bro's know.

Lol.  #brosknow.

Post-injury report

Thurs, 15 Sep 16

So two weeks ago today I did something to my ribs, sternum, whatever - just to the right of my sternum.  By the end of the day Thursday I couldn't even pick up our kitten.  I went to emerg that night where I was diagnosed with, "you did something to your chest, let it heal for two weeks".  I iced/heated, anti-inflammatories, and rest.  I went back to them gym Monday and Tuesday this week while I was working up in Sydney, NS.  I did squats beltless up to 365 lbs, and a bunch of non-chest upper body and arm machine crap.  I went back Tuesday and did some lighter squats and machine work.  Today I did just machine pumpy work.  I'm going to squat again tomorrow, and maybe try benching on Monday.  I'm in no rush and really want it to heal.  It still hurt to sneeze or cough two days ago - so I'm under the impression it's somewhat fragile still.

Deadlifts: Building Strength

Thurs, 1 Sept 16

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x5, 405x2, 425x1, 405x5, 365x2x5, 315x8

Felt a weird popping in my chest on the top set - might have been my belt compressing a rib or something.  Anyhow, it felt weird after, so I didn't try to go any higher than the 425.  Not bad considering my tested max was 445 back in November, before I hit top level super fat and started my cut, and since that 445 was conventional and not sumo.

Bench: Building Strength

Tues, 31 Aug 16

Bench:  135x20, 185x10, 205x10,  225x5, 240x8

I did a pumpy machine workout at lunch to get the blood flowing.

Bench presses were good. My hands started to slip outwards on the last two reps, and I was worried I was  going to lose it, but held on. I'll redo this one.

Squats: Building Strength

Tues, 30 Aug 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x3, 360x3x3

My initial calculations called for a final warmup of 335, but when I mathed it out in the gym it seemed like too big a jump.  I had good speed on the 360, even though it was hard.  I've got a bad case of bacne right now, and it was hard to get the bar in the right spot, leading me to tip forward and back and couple of times.  However, 3+ plates a side has annihilated that issue, so I should be GTG for Friday,  I'll add another 10 lbs.

Bench: Building Strength

Fri, 26 Aug 16

Bench: 135x20, 185x10, 205x10,  225x5, 235x8

Went well. Last reps were hard, so I'll only add 5.

Deadlifts: Feeling out the 1RM

Fri, 26 Aug 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 365x3, 405x1

Did all my lifts sumo, and tried (for some stupid reason) to do a conventional deadlift, to see if it would fly off the floor.  Well, I started to come off the floor and pulled my left adductor.  I tried to pull a 425 sumo after and couldn't.  I'm not terribly disappointed as this is an improvement overall, and had I not pulled that muscle I might have hit the 425.  The only *real* issue I have with sumo is that it doesn't really lend itself well to grip and rip.

Squats: Building Strength

Thurs, 25 Aug 16

Squats:  135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x5, 350x3x3

The 350 triples were heavy, but pretty fast.  I feel comfortable adding another 10 lbs.

Bench: Building Strength

Ties, 23 Aug 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x8

I did a machine upper body workout at noon.  All high rep pumpy-style stuff.  Focus on delts and triceps.

No problems with the bench press. I'll add 10 more pounds.

Squats: Building Strength

Mon, 22 Aug 16

Squats:  135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x5, 340x3x3

It's been a little over a week after my first attempt at this set of numbers.  This time I felt fine, and managed to power my way through it with ease.  I will add another 10 lbs.

Bench/Squats: Building Strength (high rep)

Tues, 16 Aug 16

Bench: 135x20, 155x2x10, 170x2x10, 180x2x10
Squats: 145x10, 195x10, 235x10, 250x2x10, 235x10

Phew!  I've been feeling crappy and out of the groove.  I decided to go hi-rep and help grease the groove/get my muscles and joints moving.

Squats: Building Strength

Sun, 14 Aug 16

Squats:  135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x5, 340x3, 1

Couldn't finish, felt awful.

Deadlifts: Building Strength

Fri, 12 Aug 16

Deadlifts:  225x3x5, 315x3x3, 355x3x2, 375x4x2

Goal was 8 reps at 375, hit it with doubles.  I'll add 10 more pounds next session as the RPE was a good 8 - and by the time I DL next I should be able to have hit that for a 6 or 7 RPE.

Bench: Building Strength (High rep)

Weds, 10 Aug 16

Bench: 135x20, 155x2x10, 170x2x10, 180x2x10

Last set was hardish - I'll do it again.

Squats: Building Strength (High rep)

Weds, 10 Aug 16

Squats: 145x10, 195x10, 235x10, 250x2x10, 235x10, 195x10, 145x10

That was hard!  The second set at 250 got a bit slower after the fifth rep.  As in - phew, pant pant, squat, phew, pant pant pant.... squat.... etc.  I'm actually sort of glad I decided to do the high rep work this way, because if I am too tired I only miss out on a 145 set, and it feels like an empty bar at 145!

Bench: Building Strength

Tues, 9 Aug 16

Bench: 140x2x10, 170x2x5, 200x2x5, 220x8

Did a machine workout at noon.  I managed all 8 reps in one set, although the last one was slowwww.

Squats: Building Strength

Mon, 8 Aug 16

Squats:  135x10, 225x10, 265x2x5, 315x2x5, 340x3x3

I'm torn on this one.  I upped the warmup weights 5 and 10 lbs to help with plate loading time.  I *did* manage to get 3x3 on the work set, but I'd be lying if I had anymore than a rep left in the tank each time.  My right hip and left quad really felt beat up by the end.  I think I'll do a machine workout tomorrow to get the blood flowing, and a high rep session on Weds.

Squats: Building Strength

Fri, 5 Aug 16

Squats:  135x10, 225x10, 260x2x5, 305x2x5, 340x4x2

Good session.  My top sets were all doubles and were an RPE of 7-8.  I think I'll leave this the way it is and see if I can hit 3 triples or 2 fours next time before bumping up the weight.

Bench: Building Strength

Thurs, 4 Aug 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 165x2x5, 195x2x5, 215x8

Super easy. Did all 8 reps at once.  I'll add 5 more next session.  I don't want to rush and hurt myself.

Squats: Building Strength (high rep)

Thurs, 4 Aug 16

Squats: 135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 240x2x10, 225x10, 185x10, 135x10

Fast, snappy and OMG is my back ever fatigued.  I imagine I can safely add 10 next session - although I might have to dial the rest up slightly, as the fatigue factor was pretty intense.

Bench: Building Strength (High rep)

Wed, 3 Aug 16

Bench: 135x20, 150x2x10, 165x2x10, 175x2x10

Pretty easy.

Deadlifts: Building Strength

Weds, 3 Aug 16

Deadlifts:  225x3x5, 290x3x3, 340x3x2, 365x8x1

I forgot to increase the deadlift top set weight.  It went quite well though, fast with good hip thrust.  I required only about a minute between reps for the work set.

Squats: Building Strength

Tues, 2 Aug 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x10, 250x2x5, 295x2x5, 330x2x3, 330x2

The foundation has been laid and I'm now moving back into doubles and triples.  The goal is to hit 8 reps at the top weight, whatever way I can get there.  Once I can hit an easy pair of triples without excessive dying I will add weight.  Today met that criteria, and I will be adding 10 lbs next day.  I had some extra time so I did a bunch of lat pulldowns on the machine. 

Bench/Squats: Building Strength

Mon, 1 Aug 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 160x2x5, 190x2x5, 210x3x3

Squats (light): 135x2x10, 185x2x10, 215x2x10, 235x2x10

Bench was good.  I hit 9 reps instead of 8.  I'll add 5 lbs next time.  Squats were brutal endurance.  Seemed like a lot more than 80 reps!

I'm now moving into a strength-based training scenario, having put a decent base back on my lifts.  So, heavy low rep days and light high rep days will now be the norm.  I will do a little accessory work if I have time.  Today I was home, so I had a lot of time to kill and put close to an hour and a half in.

Deadlifts: Back to Basics

Sun, 31 Jul 16

RDL (deficit): 135x3x10

Sumo Deadlift: 135x10, 225x3x5, 280x3x3, 330x3x2, 365x2x3, 365x2

Went well. Goal was 8 reps at the top.  Good speed, no grinding.  Belt and chalk only. 

Squats: Back to Basics

Fri, 29 Jul 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 295x5, 315x2, 325x5x5

 

I should be able to add 10 lbs next session.  I'm running into a time crunch though.  This is taking me about 40 minutes, and I need to keep it no longer than that.  I think if I drop the warmups back to one set each that will be enough to get me warm, especially while wearing my wraps "loose" - which is keeping my knees warm.

Bench/Squats: Back to Basics

Thurs, 28 Jul 16

Bench: 135x2x5, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x5, 235x2, 245x5, 235x4x5

Squats (high rep): 135x2x10, 225x2x10, 255x2x10, 225x2x10,  135x2x10

Bench weight is too heavy for 5x5. Dropped back by 10.  Squats were snappy and fast. Felt like hard cardio!

Bench: Back to Basics (high rep)

Wed, 27 Jul 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 160x2x10, 170x2x10, 160x2x10, 150x2x10

Went really well. I'll add another 5 lbs next session.

Squats: Back to Basics

Tues, 26 Jul 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 295x5, 315x2, 325x5x5

Today's session was an improvement over last weeks.  Definitely feels like max effort - I'm going to go with one more session at this weight this week and see what happens.

 

Bench: Back to Basics

Sun, 24 Jul 16

Bench: 135xx210, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x2x5, 235x2x3, 245x1x2

Failed on the second 245.

Deadlifts: Back to Basics

Fri, 22 Jul 16

Sumo Deadlifts:  225x2x10, 315x2x5, 345x5, 365x2
Conventional Deadlifts: 365x8
Deficit Sumo (1 plate): 225x2x8
Deficit Sumo (2 plates): 225x2x8

My groove got all screwed up when one of the trainers interrupted me to tell me to stop dropping the weights.  Of course, I couldn't hear her over my dropping the weights.... lol... I was setting them down under control, since I was strapped into them lol.  Anyhow, that completely messed me up and I lost my sumo groove.  I hammered out a bunch of singles and then moved onto the deficit work.  My glutes and lower back are smoked. 

Bench: Back to Basics (high rep)

Thurs, 21 Jul 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 155x2x10, 165x2x10, 155x2x10, 135x2x10

Went smoothly. I think I can add 5 lbs.

Light day, machine work.

Thurs, 21 Jul 16

Feeling pretty beat up today, mostly in my adductors and glutes.  Decided to do high rep, medium weight pump work to stretch and get the blood flowing.  I'll do light bench tonight. 

All exercises were 3x15.  Body weight 45 deg hip extension, seated leg press, seated leg extension, seated leg curl, seated lat pulldowns, one armed cable chest flyes, pec deck.

Bench: Back to Basics

Wed, 20 Jul 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x2x5, 235x2x3, 245x2x2, 255x2x1, 265xx1

Went well.  I'll take 265 with a slingshot.  On my way back towards 300 lbs.

Squats: Back to Basics

Wed, 20 Jul 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 295x2x5, 395x5, 315x2, 325x5x5

Good session.  Added 10 lbs to the bar and powered through.  The last set was hard but didn't get grindy. It was more like fast singles lol.  (enough time to take a deep breath at the top)  I will bench heavy tonight.

Bench: Back to Basics (high rep)

Tues, 19 Jul 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 155x2x10, 165x2x10, 155x2x10, 135x2x10

Forgot to post this last night.  Did my light, high rep bench workout.  No problem.  165 is just on the edge of being too much for 10 reps right now, so the weight is good.

Bench: Back to Basics (remedial)

Mon, 18 Jul 16

Bench: 135x10, 155x10, 175x10,  185x2x5, 195x2x5, 185x5, 185x3, 175x5

Phew! I decided to add some more bench today.  I'm going to see if (nearly) every day benching helps.  I'll mix it up between heavy low reps and high rep lighter stuff.

Squats: Back to Basics (and a little max testing)

Mon, 18 Jul 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 340x1, 365x1, 315x2x5

I tested my squat back on July 9, and it was 355 and grindy.  Today was 365 and smooth.  I added another 20 after that, but didn't feel confident, so I racked it and did some back off sets.  Those 2 sets at 315 were pretty "easy", so I will up the weight to 325 next.  I'm thinking of trying some every 2nd day squatting, say heavy/light, and benching at home every day or two.  I'm going to really drive the high reps on the bench and work and making 135 seem effortless again for sets of 20, and hitting reps of 8 again on the bench with 225.

Bench: Back to Basics

Fri, 15 Jul 16

Bench: 135x3x10, 160x3x10, 185x3x5

Kept it simple and snappy.  I've dropped back and will move forward. Finished with a bunch of other upper body stuff.

Bench/Pull Ups: Back to Basics

Thurs, 14 July 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 175x2x5, 205x5,5,5,2
Pull Ups: Bwx3x5

No real improvement.  I think I have to up the frequency and start benching 3 or more times a week.  I'll have to figure out a scheme that doesn't stress out my shoulders.

Squats: Back to Basics

Weds, 13 July 16


Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x5, 295x3, 315x5x5

I dropped a few sets of the warm ups, and the squats felt pretty good.  I had to take a breath on the last rep of two of the sets, but overall much easier.  I'm going to keep it the same one more session, then add 10 lbs. 

Deadlifts: Back to Basics

Fri, 8 July 16

Sumo Deadlifts: 225x2x10, 315x2x5, 365x3x2
Conventional Deadlifts: 385x6x1
Sumo 1 Plate Deficits: 225x2x8
Sumo 2 Plate Deficits: 225x2x8

Alright, here's what my last deadlift day looked like: 225x4x5, 315x4x5, 365x3x1, 315x2x5 53 reps last week (15045 lbs) vs 58 reps this week (18090 lbs).  That's a difference of 3045 lbs, or a 17% increase.  I'm pretty happy with that, especially since I was lifting sumo for most of the session.  I did some reading over the past few weeks and decided to take a more narrow stance.  Essentially a deadlift version of my squat.  This really seemed to help me get my hips into position, and allowed me to keep my torso more upright - but contrary to my past experiences with sumo - this didn't seem to be a hip only movement.

Squats: Back to Basics

Thurs, 7 July 16


Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 295x2x3, 315x5x5

Went well.  The squats felt heavy, and were very hard.  It took a good 45 minutes to finish, but I was yapping with the only guy in the gym I ever saw move 6 plates.  (deadlifting)  I may keep this another weight another session or two until it feels dialed in, then add another 10 lbs.  I'm in no rush, and I want a good stable base.  It does me no good to be able to lift a pile of heavy singles, but lack the muscles and connective tissue to move multiple reps.

Bench/Pull Ups: Back to Basics

Wed, 6 July 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 155x2x5, 175x2x5, 195x5, 205x5,4,5,3 135x2x10
Pull Ups: Bwx5x5

Started off supersetting the bench and pull ups.  This may have been a bad idea - I started to get weaker during the bench work sets, and couldn't get all my sets and reps.  Did a couple of sets of 135 at the end.  Did 35 reps on the pec deck, 40 reps on the crossover cable flyes, and 35 reps on the lat pulldowns.  It's obvious (now) I'm going to have to drop back on the bench a bit - say 195 and work my way back up.

Light day: Machine Work

Tues, 5 July 16

I decided to squeeze a light, pumpy machine day in since I've been ramping up the free weight volume.  I did between 30-50 reps of each using sets of about 10.  Weighted glute bridges, Seated overhead smith machine presses, pec deck, incline pivot row thingy, crossover cable flyes, single arm cable flyes, seated pulley rows, incline hip extensions, seated leg extensions.  Jogged to and from the gym.  About 50 minutes of total activity and I was pretty beat when I got back to the office.

Squats: Back to Basics

Mon, 4 Jul 16

Squats: 135x2x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x5,4,5,4,5

Phew!  I had a hard time hitting the reps on those squats - they were draining.  I'll redo them until I get 5 across.  There was a moment while I was saying to myself, "self, maybe we should do ramping sets leading up to two top sets..."  But then I thought to myself, really, I'm going to build the most mass and strength if I hang in there and pound away at that weight until it feels (relatively) easy.

Bench/Pull ups: Back to Basics

Sun, 3 Jul 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x4x5
Pull ups: bwx5x5

Couldn't get the last set of bench, redo next day.

Squats: Back to Basics

Sat, 2 July 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 295x2x3...

Squat walkouts: 315x3x15 (sec), 365x3x10 (sec), 405x3x10 (sec), 445x3x10 (sec), 495x3x10 (sec)...

Squats: 305x3x5, 3.

Worked out from home today. My small belt really digs into the fat below the navel lol.  Did really well in the walkouts, no dizziness.  Once I got back into the squats the belt really became painful and I ended up messing around with it and ended up stopping.  I'll redo it without the walkouts next time.

Bench/Row: Back to Basics

Fri, 1 July 16

Bench: 135x3x5, 185x3x5, 205x5x5
Bench Static holds: 225x3x15 sec, 275x3x10 (sec), 315x3x5 (sec)
One arm dumbbell rows: 50x2x10, 70x2x10
Lat pulldowns: 45x2x15, 90x3x15
Tricep pushdowns: 45x3x15

It's a holiday today so I'm working out from home.  I got pretty sweaty and had a hard time keeping from sliding on the bench, but the strength was there.  Tried a few static holds - but that's where the slipperiness really became apparent.  I didn't feel like barbell rows as I had torn some calluses and opened a blood blister yesterday, and my hands were a little tender.  I wrapped a small towel around the dumbbell handle and did some strict db rows.  Did some seated lat pulldowns.  Finished up with some tricep pushdowns.

Deadlift: Back to kindergarden

Thurs, 30 June 16

Deadlifts: 225x4x5, 315x4x5, 365x3x1, 315x2x5

Pretty gross.  My squat is better than my deadlift.  I swapped between conventional and sumo each set.  My hands are pretty delicate too - got a few torn calluses and made and broke a blood blister.

Squats: Back to Basics

Wed, 29 Jun 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x5...
Walkouts/Static holds: 315x2x15 (sec), 405x3x5 (sec), 465x2x5 (sec), 495x3x5 (sec)...
Squats: 295x5x4, 295x1x4

Changed up the order a bit - warmed up and did walkouts up to 465.  465 and 495 were static holds.  Then moved on to the work set of squats.  This definitely made it seem lighter on my back and shoulders, and my glutes got more fatigued as I dropped deeper and deeper per set.  I almost dumped the last rep of the first four sets of squats by leaning forward too much.  I managed to recover and growled it to the top.  On my last set my glutes were simply getting fried, and I couldn't break at the knees on the last rep.  I'll add another 10 lbs because I don't think missing a rep was all that big a deal, considering it's been days since I last squatted.  I'll bring my shoes home so I can squat and bench over the long weekend.  I tend to do better at home as I'm usually not pressed for time.

Bench/Row: Back to Basics

Tues, 28 June 16

Bench: 45x10, 135x2x5, 155x2x5, 175x5, 185x3, 195x5x5
Rows: 135x10, 170x2x5, 200x3x2, 185x5x5

I was on the road yesterday, and the bench needed the attention today more than the squat.  Added 5 more pounds to the bar, last rep of the bench was a grinder.  I screwed up the weight on the rows, and fixed it.  Finished off with pec deck, high pulley crossover fly, low pulley crossover fly, and lat pull downs.  Jogged to the gym and back.

Bench/Row: Back to Basics

Fri, 24 Jun 16

Bench: 45x10, 135x10, 155x2x5, 175x5, 190x5x5
Rows: 135x10, 155x2x5, 175x5, 190x5x5

Felt lighter today, although the last rep of the final two sets was a little slow.  Finished quickly so I did some crossover flyes, low pulley crossovers, lat pulldowns, 45 degree hip extensions, and seated leg extensions to pump and deplete.

Squats: Back to Basics

Wed, 22 June 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 255x5, 275x3, 285x5x5
Static holds: 315x2x15 (sec), 365x2x10 (sec), 405x3x5 (sec), 495x2x5 (sec)

Increased my squat weight by 10 lbs and managed to hit all my reps and sets.  Since I had some time left I decided to do some static holds as I've been finding the weight on my back and wrists pretty heavy, and am wondering if these will help.  They won't take any priority away from my main work, but I'd like to see if they help with my "core" strength.

Bench/Row: Back to Basics

Tues, 21 June 16

Bench: 135x2x5, 155x5, 175x3, 185x5x5
Rows: 135x2x5, 155x5, 175x3, 185x5x5

I picked a weight that was about 80% of 1RM.  It actually seemed a little heavy come the end of the 5x5, but we'll see as I go on.  I was finished fairly quickly, so I did some single arm cable crossovers flys, some seated lat rows, some seated lat pull downs.

Squats: Back to Basics

Mon, 20 June 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x2x5, 225x5, 245x3, 265x2, 275x5x5

The diet is over and my weight has stabilized at 208.  That's 45 lbs total loss since Jan 5.  I'm now going to start recovering my strength.  I think where I have regressed so far the optimal path is to simply return to basics, and while bypassing the Starting Strength 3x5, I will go to a straight set across of 5x5.  I figured out what I thought my 1 RM was today in Squats - I estimate 345 or so.  80% of 1RM was about 275 lbs, so that's my starting point.  I was able to complete the reps with minimal rest, say about 2 mins in between.  The reps were snappy - but they did feel like work.

Cutting, depletion workout

Fri, 17 June 16

I've had just about as much dieting as I can take.  Soooooo, ANOTHER DEPLETION WORKOUT LOL.  To start, I jogged briskly to the gym in my workout gear, so as to not waste any time.  Upon arrival, hip extensions bwx15, 10x15, 25x2x10. Then seated leg curls, not sure of the weight, but 3x15 reps with an increase in each set.  Then seated leg extensions for 3x15, 10, 7 reps.  Increasing weight from about 100+.  Then on to leg press sled.  90x15, 180x15, 270x2x10, 360x2x5, 450x3x4, 360x4, 270x15.  When I do the sled I go to parallel - no lying calf raises lol.  Feeling my legs were well depleted I then moved on to upper body.  Standing crossover cable flyes 25x3x15 per side.  Seated lat pulldown, not sure of the weight but I actually kept increasing it until I could actually feel my lats becoming fatigued.  Not something usual for me.  2x15, 2x10, 2x5.  Bench press 135x15 wide, 135x10 mid, 135x5 close, then out again, 135x15 wide, 135x2 mid, 135x3 close.  On to the next station - oh, in use.....   OK.  Seated overhead press on the smith.  All with 50 lbs on the bar - 15 wide, 10 mid, 5 close, 10 wide, 5 mid, 2 close.  Lastly, pec deck, 100x3x15.  Jogged back to the office.  Probably close to an hour and a half and I was BEAT.

Cutting, squats

Thu, 16 June 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x5, 315x1

Failed on my last squat, got pinned at the bottom.  I was simply out of gas.  The whole 275+ felt heavy, really heavy.  After I cleaned up the rack I went off and did a pile of seated leg extensions until I couldn't do anymore, then hit the 45 degree hip extensions until my glutes were shot.  Limped back to the change room and shuffled back to the office.  I am SOOOOO glad this diet is almost done.  Never thought I'd fail on three plates.

Cutting, bench

Wed, 15 June 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x3x3, 205x5, 185x5, 135x10

Bench went fairly well.  It's scary that I used to be able to do 225 for a LOT of reps, and now it's hard.  Oh well, I'm sure I'll recover.

Cutting, squats

Tues, 14 June 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x2x5, 275x2x5, 295x2x3, 315x3x3, 295x3, 275x5

Lots of good reps.  I was pretty beat by the time I hit the 275x5 on the reverse pyramid, had already spent an hour on lunch, and couldn't do anymore.

Weigh in on Saturday was 206.8 - another 3.8 lbs since last week.  Total loss of 46.8 lbs since January.  I'd like to hit 200, we'll see how it goes.  I'm running out of motivation after 5 months of this though, and want to start building strength again, rather than struggle to keep weight on the bar.

Cutting, full body depletion

Fri, 10 June 16

Brutal full body workout.  All machines were done 3x15.  This was the order:  45 degree back extension (last set with 10 pounds in hands), seated leg press, tricep pushdown, seated leg extension, cable cross flyes 3 sets per side, lat pulldown (underhand grip towards me, shoulder width), standing calf raises (on ball of foot, full drop and extend), pec deck, reverse pec deck for delts/back.

I kept the breaks limited to as long as it took me to go from machine to machine and a few drinks of water.  I was huffing and puffing for a while, but I definitely pushed hard.

Cutting, squats

Thurs, 9 June 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x2x3, 315x3x2, 335x1, 355x1
OHP: 135x3x5

I decided to go heavy today and see where I could single.  355 was slow and almost grindy.  I'm not used to having that much weight on my back anymore.  I'm not upset though, because it's 70 lbs away from where I was in December, and I'm almost 45 lbs lighter now.  I'm sure I can regain that strength once I stop dieting.

In regards to stopping dieting - I'm thinking I'll give it another two weeks of aggressive dieting, then go more moderate until I hit 200 lbs or less.  My plan is to add 50 grams more protein, some intraworkout carbs and leave my diet otherwise intact.  It's working out for me, and I'm not starved or anything.

Cutting, full body depletion

Fri, 3 Jun 16

Discovered I wasn't really doing GHR!  I put my knees on the pad and attempted to hinge forward.  LOL.  Rather than do an exercise I can't do for 0 reps and 0 effect I did the hip extension.  I do feel those in my glutes and hamstrings, so they're fine.  All sets were 3x15 unless noted.  Prone leg curls. Seated leg curls. Seated leg extensions, 3x20.  Tricep pushdown 3x15.  Seated chest cable flyes.  Pec deck 3x15.  Smith machine seated press (super wide grip): 20, 15, 10, 8.

It was a longish session, but I felt pretty worn out by the end and could barely walk when transitioning from legs to upper body.

Cutting, bench

Tues, 7 June 16

Incline Smith Machine Press: 50x2x15, 70x2x10, 90x2x5, 110x2x3, 120x2x2, 130x3x1, 120x2, 110x3, 90x5, 70x10, 50x15.
Bench: 135x10, 185x3,5,3.

I couldn't get a flat bench so I worked in the smith machine.  Wide grip inclined press.  It's a weird movement, and it really destroyed my groove when I finally got a bench.  I couldn't get the bar path right and I was fatigued.  Oh well, it is what it is.

Cutting, squats

Mon, 6 Jun 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3x3, 275x2x5, 225x2x5

Better than last week, more reps.  Hanging onto that third plate lol.   I weighed in at 210.6 lbs on Sat.  Down 4.2 lbs from last week.

Cutting, full body depletion

Fri, 3 Jun 16

Hip extensions - bwx3x15
GHR - bwx3x5
Leg curls - 50x2x15, 60x2x15, 70x10, 60x8, 50x7
Seated leg press: 190x3x15
Seated leg extension: 190x4x15
Single arm cable fly: 25x2x20 each arm
Pull ups: bwx5 (while waiting for pec deck)
Pec Dec: 105x3x20, 115x2x10, 125x10
Forearm pec deck: 105x3x10
Rear pec deck: 105x3x20

Pretty well hit everything.  Took close to an hour and I was pretty exhausted when done.

Cutting, squats

Thurs, 2 June 16

Sled Leg Press:  180x20, 15, 15, 12
Bunch of empty bar front squats
Wide grip bench press:  135x18, 15, 12, 8, 185x3
Squat: 135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x4x1, 275x2x5, 225x7

Couldn't get a rack right away so I some leg presses first.  Then messed around with a bunch of 10 rep sets of front squats to heat up my legs.  Still no rack.  So I decide to do a bunch of wide grip pumpy bench presses.  Finally, a bench, but only about 20 mins left.  So I did the minimum work to get me up to 3 plates, hit a few singles, then back off sets until fatigued at each weight.

While not an optimal squat day I did get some work done.

Cutting, bench press

Tues, 31 May 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x8, 205x5, 225x3x3, 235x1, 245x1, 225x3, 205x5, 185x8
Pec Deck: 100x20, 130x10, 160x2x5, 130x7, 100x12
Single Arm Cable Flys:  25x2x12 (per arm)

Pretty decent workout.  I was on the road yesterday, and will be again tomorrow, so I'm trying to spend a few extra minutes in the gym and get in some volume.

Cutting, deadlifts

Sun, 29 May 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x2x5, 275x5, 295x5, 315x3x5, 275x2x5, 225x5
Leg extensions: 90x20, 135x15, 180x2x10, 135x15, 90x20

Meh, nothing to write home about.  Focusing on "engaging my lats".  I read to imagine you had an orange under each arm and were trying make orange juice.  I didn't have any oranges, but I had two street hockey balls.  After a few lifts with this method I figured that my set up did include engaging my lats, but I may have been releasing them part-way through the lift.  I finished off with some le extensions to try to make legs ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE I LIFT!

Weigh in yesterday was 214.8, a drop of 2.6 lbs. 

Cutting, upper body

Weds, 25 May 16

I couldn't get a regular, flat bench, so I did incline presses in the Smith machine.  I feel like such a wimp, because it's hard to do the press movement with any real weight.  I tried a reverse grip with 25 first - but my shoulder hated it, and I really wasn't getting the pec activation I was looking for.  Conversely, a normal grip really allowed me to flare my lats and squeeze my pecs at the top.  I started with 25x2x20, then 35x2x10, then 45x2x10, then back off sets to fatigued - 40x10, 35x7, 30x10, 25x15.  I then did 110x2x15, 130x2x10 on the pec deck, reversed it and did pulls 130x2x15.  They were hard.  Next I hit the cable fly, single arm, 20x15, 25x2x15 per side.  Then a bench was freed up.  I tried to warm up with 135 and had to struggle from 7-10 reps.  I was so fatigued I decided that was enough.

Cutting, squats

Tues, 24 May 16

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3x3, 275x2x5, 225x2x5

Once again, holding steady at 315 for a triple.  Crappy weight loss last week - down 0.2 lbs, 217.2.  Pretty sad.  Did a little single cable cross fly afterwards 2x20, 2x25 per side.


In addition I did high rep, single plate a side bench presses on the weekend.  120 reps on Sun and Mon per day at 135x6x20.

Cutting, bench and upper body

Fri, 20 May 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x4, 225x3x3, 205x2x5, 185x2x5

Bench was slightly better than earlier in the week.  More reps.  I was considering doing a few singles at heavier weight, but decided against it.  If I can hang on to 2 plates while dieting I think that's a good place to be.  I finished up with pec deck,  dual cross over cable flyes, single crossover cable flies, tricep pushdowns (these are murder on my right shoulder for some reason), and bicep/lat pulldown.  Felt pretty fried after.  I like the way the cable flyes work - dual cable and pec deck seem to target the center of my chest.  Moving to a single cable and turning my body seems to hit the delt and anterior outer pec - near shoulder.  I did high reps while holding a hand over my pec, and you can really feel the activation.

Cutting, squats

Thurs, 19 May 16

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x5, 315x3x3, 275x5, 225x5

Pretty much a repeat of last session.  That being said, weight staying on the bar is weight staying on the bar.

Cutting, lower body depletion

Tues, 17 May 16

Lots and lots of lower body work.  GHR 4x15, seated leg curls 4x15, lying leg curls 3x15, seated leg extension 8x15, dual leg sled 90, 180, 270 and 360 for 15 reps each.  Could barely walk after lol.  Then I did a little technique work on the one arm cable fly, 2 sets of 15 each arm - this may be one of my go-to chest movements as I could certainly feel the pecs working.

Cutting, upper body depletion

Mon, 16 May 16

Did an upper body depletion workout.  Weight on Sat was 217.4, this am 219 (carbs, etc)  Pounded myself on machines for close to 45 minutes.  Tomorrow, lower body.

Cutting, squats

Fri, 13 May 16

Squats: 45x2x10, 135x2x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3x3, 275x5, 225x2x5

Managed to keep the weight on the bar.  I had hoped to do two drop sets at 275, but it felt pretty heavy and in the interest of staying healthy I ripped off two at 225 instead.  There's enough volume there to maintain.  I just have to keep fighting to keep the third plate up - because getting back to 4+ is going to be hard enough at this point.

Weight as of Sat am is 216.8.

Cutting, bench

Weds, 11 May 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3, 225x2x2, 205x2x3, 185x2x5
Dumbbell Pec Work:  20x10,  25x10, 30x10
Pec Deck: 170x15, 190x15, 215x2x5

Decided to try more of a flat bench, guillotine style today.  Very wide and no arch other than scapular retraction.  No slingshot, belt, etc, just raw.  Right shoulder still feels odd, and I couldn't get as many reps out with the increased depth from doing the flat bench, but still happy overall.  I'll have to play with the dumbbell pec work a bit - I found it quite hard and had to use very light weight.  This goes to show that either my form sucks, or I'm actually quite weak off the pecs - which I believe is the actual issue.

Cutting, lower body depletion workout

Tues, 10 May 16

Lower Body Depletion:  Grueling.  Every body part from the back down for 6 sets of 15.  All machine work.  Could barely walk after, my thighs are blown up and are touching when I walk lol, that's how much pump is in them.

Cutting, upper body depletion

Mon, 9 May 16

Upper body depletion as the diet kicks back in.  Maxed weigh in was 224 lbs as of this am.  Talked to one of the regulars in the gym about hitting the pecs and he gave me a good dumbbell based exercise that really hits it.  It's essentially a seated incline dumbbell fly, but your sitting up so that your shoulder blades are the only part touching the bench, and arms are bent a bit.  I'm unable to find a video, but the guy has one of the best physiques in the gym and a great chest.  I watched him doing cable flyes and was trying not to look like I was trying to pick him up after when I went to talk to him lol.  But I mean, would you go to me for diet advice?  Not likely, you might ask me how I squat so deep, because that is something I'm good at.

Squats at maintenance calories

Fri, 6 May 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3x3, 275x2x5, 225x2x5

Hit the same targets today as last session.  Managed two sets of 225 on the back off sets.  Diet starts back up Sunday.

Bench at maintenance calories

Thurs, 5 May 16

Bench:  135x10, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3x5, 205x2x5, 185x2x10

Good session.  Right shoulder is being a bit cranky, clicky part when rotating.  Couldn't even manage two reps close grip with 135.  Shoulder would not let me.  Did some machine work after, but couldn't get on the pec deck.  Still not noticing a lot of pec activation in my bench - I'll ask a guy who I sometimes bench with if he sees any while I'm benching next time he's there.

Squats - maintenance calories

Tues, 3 May 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 275x5, 315x3x3, 275x2x5, 225x5

Great session!  The 315 I hit for singles last week I hit for triples today.  The back off sets were effortless.  I'm hoping to get in another squat day this week - say Friday.  Then back to dieting after.  My weight has been up a bit - but that's mostly water and extra food kicking around inside me.

Birthday Squats!

Fri, 29 Apr 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 185x5, 225x2x10, 225x6x5

Weighed in this am at 217.6 - up a bit from the weekend, but not bad since I've been at maintenance and it's all water.  Birthday squats should be weight x age, but 2 plates a side was simple to load.  It didn't take long to see how poor my conditioning was after four months of dieting.  Once I finished the second set of 10 it was all sets of 5.  I did keep the rest periods as low as possible, just enough time to catch my breath and let my heart slow down a bit.  (30 secs to a min max)  Not bothering to check my weight tomorrow as I'm going out for dinner and I expect I will have drinks as well.

Maintenance diet - Deadlifts

Thurs, 28 Apr 16

Deadlifts: 135x2x5 (c/s), 225x2x5 (c/s), 315x5, 365x4x1, 345x2x2, 315x2x5

Nothing terribly impressive.  I had trouble initially breaking 365 off the floor and basically had to grip it and rip it to psych up.  The other three singles were easier.  I was pretty beat by the time I finished the two sets of 315.  All reps were reset at the floor, not touch and go.  It definitely makes it harder, but I need the practice getting off the floor - I have no problems once I get it to my knee.

Maintenance, bench

Wed, 27 Apr 16

Bench:  135x10, 185x5, 205x5, 225x2, 235x1, 245x1, 255x1, 245x2x2, 225x2x5, 185x2x5

Got in a good bench session.  Hands were a bit slippery, but managed.  I did some pec deck afterwards.  (150x15, 170x15, 190x2x5, 170x10)

Finally, squats with food in me!

Tues, 26 Apr 16

Squats: 135x2x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x4x1, 275x2x5, 225x2x5

Once again, it took a while to get a rack.  So I warmed up with a bar out of the rack, front squats, back squats, stretches, then got a rack.  Decided to get to working weight fast, then do a few back off sets.  I felt strong, not super winded or exhausted, and form looked really good.  I was quite happy with the session and don't feel too bad about the wimpy weight of the work sets.  That will come back once I finish dieting.

Maintenance, machines

Mon, 25 Apr 16

I was hoping to squat today, but once again, could not get a rack. I guess I'm going to have to go to lunch early or late to get one.  Weight was only down a bit on Sat, 215 lbs even.  I went carb crazy the day before and almost ate the whole house.  I decided it was in my best interest to take a week or two off of the diet to get my hormones normalized a bit, and then go back at it.  My birthday is Fri anyhow, which means restaurant food and cake.

Anyhow, I did pec deck, tricep pulldowns, trap/bicep pulldown, leg extension, leg curls, and GHR.  All taken to exhaustion.  I think when I do machines I should probably do leg curls and GHR first, because working my quads to exhaustion and then lying on them REALLY hurts.

Pre-weigh in super depletion

Fri, 22 Apr 16

Scale weight this morning was 215 even.  I was a little carb starved yesterday and strayed.  I spent a good hour today depleting every muscle group I could, even abs.  I was really feeling the burn lol.  I even found the pec deck hidden away in a corner, so I managed to finally get a great pec workout.  I'm hoping to stay on the as an accessory to help with my chest definition and bench.  Like I said yesterday, I don't do a lot of my benching with my chest, no matter how wide I go.  My hand position is strongest just inside the rings.

Cutting, bench and upper body depletion

Thurs, 21 Apr 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x4, 225x3x3, 235x1

Bench was OK.  Worked a bunch of upper body depletion to finish - trying to focus on my pecs as they seem to be my weak point.  I'm very much a tricep/delts presser.

Cutting, squats - birthday test

Wed, 20 Apr 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x10x5, 275x5

I wanted to see how many two plate squats I could do at once.  My work capacity is WAYYYYY down.  I kept the rests as short as possible to catch my breath, and started to get a crampy/strained feeling in my left calf.  I stopped after the set of 275.  I think if I do a squat mini-cycle I might be able to get enough work capacity in the next two weeks to do say, 20, 15, 15....

Cutting, depletion workout

Mon, 18 Apr 16

Various upper and lower body machines. 

I was supposed to bench today, but couldn't get a bench or squat rack.  Ended up just going to town on machines, feeling the burn, and did both upper and lower body.  Didn't feel like throwing up, but I was definitely feeling the muscles burning.

Cutting, squats and depletion work. (updated)

Fri, 15 Apr 16

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x5, 315x3x3
Bunch of depletion work lower and upper body.

Today's squats were better than last Friday's - that's positive.  I depleted the hell out of myself afterwards until my body was burning and I felt like I was going to puke!  My wrap was soooo good at lunch today.  I can't wait until weigh-in tomorrow morning.  I've got a good feeling.  I really stuck with the diet this week, no creep, and only grapes at bedtime for a snack.  Smoked turkey wrap with light mozzarella cheese and a chicken sausage for lunch each day.  Supper as normal, but no large second helpings.

I will be having birthday cake and a restaurant meal this weekend as it's my wife's birthday, but hopefully I've got everything else dialed in.

Just a quick update - weighed in at 215.6, so down 4.4  this week. Another inch off the belly.

Cutting, bench and upper body depletion

Thurs, 14 Apr 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x3, 225x3x3
Bunch of other machine stuff.

It took a little while to get a bench so I did a bunch of pulldowns, cable flys, etc. After I finished benching I continued to work my upper body until it was exhausted and super PUMPED!  (lol)

Cutting, deadlift

Wed, 13 Apr 16

Deadlifts: 135x10s, 135x10c, 225x5s, 225x5c, 315x5s, 315x5c, 365x2x2, 385x3x1, 405x1

At first I felt bummed out I could only manage a single at 405.   Then I looked back at my previous deadlift log and it was lower.  So, hey.

Cutting, depletion workout

Tues, 12 Apr 16

Leg Press Sled - single leg: 90x2x10 each leg
Leg Press Sled - double leg:  90x10, 180x10, 270x10, 360x2x10
Crossover Cable Flys: 30x10, 40x10, 50x2x10
Seated Leg extensions: 100x20, 130x20, 160x4x5
Prone Leg Curls: 50x15, 60x10, 70x2x5
Hammer Strength Pulldown: 70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x4x5
GHR: 2x20

My weight loss not only stalled, but it went up .8 lbs to 220.  While not earth-shattering, it's annoying to be losing strength in the gym and gaining a little over 2 lbs.  I *have* been letting my diet slip a bit - things like a piece of chocolate and a couple of oreo cookies, then some frozen greek yogurt - cause protein!  Anyhow, it's obvious that crap has to stop and I need to stick to fruit as my nighttime snack again.  I've also got to tighten up my weekend eating a bit too as I could theoretically wreck my entire week's loss with a bad weekend. 

On the bright side - only about 20 lbs to go, which isn't insurmountable if I smarten the hell up.

Cutting, squats

Fri, 8 Apr 16

Squats: 135x2x10, 225x2x10, 275x2x5, 295x3

The weight wasn't super heavy, but I was working out with some guys at the gym, and we were cycling through.  I burned myself out on the early sets.  I tried a second set at 295, but knew I was going to pass out or barf as soon as I unracked it.

Cutting, bench

Wed, 6 Apr 16

Decline Bench: 135x2x5, 185x2x5
Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x10, 205x2x5, 225x2x5, 205x5, 185x5
Cable Flys: 60x3x20

I felt pretty good today.  I didn't get on a normal bench at first, so I tried decline.  It's a weird feeling.  Although it wasn't heavy, the movement is completely foreign to me, it's like pushing in a weird sort of curl movement.  The 185 sets went really easy, but I couldn't get the 225 I tried next out of the racked position.  I just couldn't find the groove.  I then went and did some dumbbell shoulder presses - those sucked, even at just 40 lbs a hand.  My shoulders hated them!  I did a few rows at 45 and 90 lbs, then a bench freed up and I went and did my normal bench.  I was feeling pretty warmed up and strong and was happy to hit 2x5 on 2 plates again.  I finished off with a bunch of cable flys to deplete myself.

Cutting, squats

Tues, 5 Apr 16

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 255x2x5, 275x2x5, 315x1
Leg Extensions: 135x10, 155x10, 175x10, 205x10
Leg Curls: 50x2x10

I ran out of energy real fast.  Legs felt like spaghetti for the 315, which is pitiful.  I decided to go and do some additional leg work on the machines and called it a day.

Cutting, light bench

Sun, 3 Apr 16

Bench: 135x3x10, 185x3x8, 135x3x10
Leg Extensions: 130x3x20, 150x3x20, 180x3x20

Phoned it in today.  Shoulder wasn't feeling good, and all my gear was at work.  Weight was actually up this week a bit, due to all the crap I was eating.  It hit a high of 226 early on in the week, and got it back down to 219.2 by the end of the week.  (1.4 lb gain)  On the bright side, I did drop a half inch off my belly fat, so that's positive.

Cutting, deadlift

Fri, 1 Apr 16

Hex bar deadlift: 242x2x5, 332x2x5, 382x2x5
Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5
Leg Extensions: 110x20, 130x2x20
Leg Curls: 60x3x20
GHR: BWx3x10

Couldn't get a rack, and by the time I got one I was too tired to do any real squatting.

Cutting, depletion workout

Tues, 29 Mar 16

Did a whole lot of machine based, hi-rep, medium weight work.  Leg extensions, glute ham raises, leg curls, calf-glute extensions, seated leg presses, and sitting shoulder press.  I started to feel sick and faint by the end of the shoulder presses, so I called it quits for the day.  Probably about 40 mins of work.  I put on about 5 lbs over the weekend with candy and easter dinner, pasta last night, etc.  I know most of it is water, but I need to sort everything back out and deplete my carbs.  I'm off tomorrow to attend a funeral, then should likely be squatting on Thursday, bench on Friday.

Cutting, bench

Mon, 28 Mar 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x3x2
Off the bottom bench: 135x8, 185x2x3

Went well. I was able to doubles for the top set instead of singles.

Cutting, squats

Sun, 27 March 15

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 250x2x5, 275x2x5

Leg extensions: 90x3x20

Good session, lots of candy onboard. Weight down to 227.8 - that's just shy of 35 lbs.

Cutting, bench

Fri, 25 Mar 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x3, 225x4
Bench off the safeties: 135x2x10, 185x5

Tried off the bottom for a change of pace.

Cutting, deadlift

Thu, 24 Mar 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x4x1, 315x5
Shrugs: 225x4x20 (front and back, pause at the top)
Leg Extensions: 90x4x20

I wasn't really feeling the deadlifts today, so I did as many as I felt like.  I did some other depletion/focus work just to feel like I did something.

Cutting, bench

Wed, 23 Mar 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x10, 205x2x5, 225x2, 205x5, 185x2x10

Really, not bad. Plenty of quality reps at good weight.

Cutting, squats

Mon, 21 Mar 16

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 275x2x3, 305x4

Meh.  Pretty crappy.  On the bright side, I'm 222.4 lbs, so I'm getting down there.

Cutting, squats... er... bench

Fri, 18 Mar 16

GHR: BWx20, BWx15, BWx20
Low Pulley Pull Through:  50x10, 70x10, 80x10
Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5 205x2x3, 225x4x1, 205x5, 185x10, 175x10, 155x10, 135x10

So, I was supposed to squat today.  Had something to eat this morning, got my stims on, ready to rock.  No racks.  So, I decided to do a little glute work while waiting for one to clear.  Nope.  Finally I decided to bench, and did half decent.  Lots of reps.

Cutting, deadlifts

Wed, 16 Mar 16

Deadlifts: 225x2x5c, 225x2x5s, 315x3x3c, 315x3x3s, 225x2x5c

Workout was really hard today.  I'm getting weak!  Starved and shaking by the end of the workout, despite having a banana and a few sour cherry candies.  I might have to add a protein bar or something preworkout - or some sort of intraworkout drink.  I'm running out of steam after finishing my warmups.

Cutting, bench

Tues, 15 Mar 16

Bench:  45x10, 135x10, 155x8, 175x5, 195x3x3, 175x5, 155x8, 135x10
Kroc Rows: 80x10, 90x5
Cable Flies: 20x2x20

Lots of light-ish volume.  I've been having problems maintaining my back arch, due to the slippery and narrow benches at the gym.  I did some research, and picked up a dollar store no-slip shelf liner.  Held me to the bench like glue and rolls up like a yoga mat.  In fact it's like a yoga mat in feel, but with holes.

Cutting, squats

Mon, 14 Mar 16

Squats: 45x10, 135x2x5, 225x2x5, 265x5, 285x3, 315x2x1, 300x2, 275x5

It was a pretty "meh" session.  I basically went until fatigued and form broke down - which took surprisingly little.  Should be enough to start me back up.  Did a little foam rolling to start and I have been stretching.  (toe touches - tight across right buttock).  Weight is down two more pounds, 224.8 at Sat weigh in.

Cutting, light paused bench

Fri, 11 Mar 16

Bench: 135x3x10, 185x2x5, 175x5, 155x5, 135x3x5
Cable flys: 25x2x10
Some sort of paused cable fly pulldown thing: 25x4x10

Kept the bench work light, slow and paused at the bottom for 1-3 seconds.  Cable flys for the sternum area of the pecs.  (at least that's where they feel fatigued)  For the indescribable exercise - I set the pulleys up high and wide.  I pulled down with slightly bent arms until my hands met around my midsection.  Held for a pause at the bottom.  I felt this through my delts, triceps (big time), and the outer parts of my pecs.  Very easy workout.  Lots of pump.

Cutting, bench

Wed, 9 Mar 16

Bench:  135x2x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x2, 245x1, 225x2, 205x5
Crossover Cable Flys: 20x2x10, 25x2x5, 30x2x5
Croc Rows: 40x10, 60x5, 80x5

Meh, my shoulder isn't very happy with me.  I need to keep benching because I'm losing too much, but have to keep that balance of not injuring myself.  It's stupid hard.

Cutting, deadlifts

Tues, 8 Mar 16

Deadlifts: 135x10c, 135x10s, 225x5c, 225x5s, 315x2x5c, 315x3s, 365x5x2, 385x1, 315x3, 225x2x5

Phew!  My right glute is acting up, so squats are out.  I did a bunch of deadlifts instead.

Cutting, bench

Mon, 7 Mar 16

Bench: 135x2x10, 185x2x5, 205x2x2, 185x2x5, 165x5, 155x5, 135x2x5
Cable Flys: 20x10, 30x3x10

Couldn't get a normal bench today, so I benched in the Smith machine.  It's a weird feel and the bar is far thicker than any normal bar.  I did get a good workout of my chest.

Weighed in at 226.8 on Saturday. That's  26.8 lbs since Jan 4th.

Cutting, squats

Fri, 4 Mar 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 300x3x3

Felt really weak, similar to low blood sugar.  Cold sweats, weak legs. Decided not to get injured and went off to eat.

Cutting, deadlifts

Wed, 2 Mar 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5x5

Short, sweet and to the point.  I did the second and fourth set of work deadlifts using a sumo style, and the other three using conventional. I'm not terribly successful with heavy sumos, but I'll keep working them.

Cutting, squats

Mon, 29 Feb 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3x3

Gym was full and couldn't get a rack until late.  I really felt like crap and couldn't manage more than a triple, and it was really irritating my right glute.  (tight, might need some foam rolling and stretching).

No energy to lift this weekend, shoulders felt horrible.

On the bright side, weight was down to 228.4 on Sat's weigh in, which is 25.2 lbs overall.

Cutting, squats

Thurs, 25 Feb 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x3, 365x1, 315x5, 275x6

Good day.  Speed was good, no failure, did a little bit of drop sets. 

Cutting, deadlifts

Wed, 24 Feb 16

Deficit Deadlifts (1 plate, no straps, just belt): 135x10, 225x5, 315x5
Conventional Deadlifts (straps, belt): 365x5, 405x3, 425x1, 445xF
Sumo Deadlifts: 315x5, 225x5

Worked on speed today, tried a heavy single just to see where I was.  Only 20 lbs off my pre-cut max, so not too shabby, considering I'm 20 lbs lighter and still dieting.

Cutting, bench

Tues, 23 Feb 16

Cable Crossovers: 20x20, 30x3x10
Bench: 135x10, 185x5, 200x5, 215x5, 225x3x5

Bench was hard, but I got through it.  Cable crossovers were interesting - I definitely felt them around my sternum.

Cutting, squats

Mon, 22 Feb 16

Squats:  135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 325x2x2, 315x5
Double Leg Press: 180x2x10
Single Leg Press: 140x2x10, 90x10

Did not feel like squatting today.  It just felt heavy.  Did a few reps and said the hell with it.  Tried some leg presses at the end.  Before you go, "OMG SUCH LOW WEIGHTS ONLY 2 PLATES and a couple of quarters DYEL bro?", I went full range of motion on them.  Calves met hams, single leg on center of the press.  This is far different then the tiny little leg shrug with a whole two sleds full of plates.

Cutting, hex bar deadlift

Sat, 20 Feb 16

Hex bar deadlifts: 242x10, 292x10, 332x10, 372x5, 402x3, 442x1, 382x1

Worked out at home today, belt and hooks for a lot of reps.

Cutting, bench

Thu, 18 Feb 16

Bench: 135x15, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 255x2, 265x1, 255x2, 225x3, 205x2x5.

I hate being on a diet.  Getting weak sucks.

Cutting, deadlifts

Wed, 17 Feb 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 345x5, 365x3, 385x2, 405x5x1

Heavy, conventional deadlifts. 20 reps at 60% of RM+.  I used straps for 315-405.  Did 3 singles with no straps mixed grip, then last two with double overhand and straps as the bar was pretty new and the gnurls were quite sharp.

Cutting, squats

Tues, 16 Feb 16

Squats: 135x2x5, 225x5, 275x5, 300x3, 325x3x6, 4

Phew, that was better than yesterday but still brutal.  I tried to get 4x6, but couldn't crank out the last two reps.

Cutting, squats

Mon, 15 Feb 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x1

My hips weren't in it today.  I just didn't want to squat. 

Cutting, bench

Sun, 14 Feb 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x10, 205x5, 225x5x5

Done.  Down 4 lbs this week.  Almost at the 20 lb mark.  Long way to go though.

Cutting, deadlifts

Fri, 12 Feb 16

Deadlifts (sumo): 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 365x5
Deadlifts (conventional): 405x5x1, 365x5, 315x2x5, 225x5

That was hard work.  Saw stars on the first and second 405 reps.  I'm trying to hold onto my strength, we'll see how it plays out.  I'm at about 90% of 1 RM at 405, so I guess it's not horrible.  I'd really like to see 500, but man, unless I shed this weight faster I'm not going to get a chance to drive past 450.

Cutting, squats

Thu, 11 Feb 16

Squats: 135x10, 225x10, 275x5, 315x5, 345x5, 365x5x1, 315x2x5

Used EC for the first time in ages today.  I was pretty amped for the session and hit 25 reps above 75% of 1RM, with the singles being at close to 90%.  It was hard but I really concentrated on "punching with my butt".  Tried a little low bar at first, but honestly, it just doesn't feel right.  I prefer the bar to be somewhere between low and high - you can still see the top of my traps poking up through, but it's certainly not at my delts.

Cutting, bench

Tues, 9 Feb 16

Bench: 135x8, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3x5

Seemed heavy - but I was shoveling snow today. We had a storm drop 18" on us last night.

Cutting, Deadlifts

Fri, 5 Feb 16

Sumo Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 345x3, 365x5x1, 315x3x3

Going to try my hand at sumo deadlifts for a few weeks to see what happens.  I definitely feel it in my adductors and hamstrings.  (specifically biceps femoris)

Cutting, OHP/Bench

Thurs, 4 Feb 16

OHP:  95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5,4, 3, 3, 155x5, 135x5
Bench:  135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3x5, 205x5, 185x5, 135x5

Top sets were a little hard, especially since I was pressing first before benching.  (No benches again)  Lots of backup sets for volume.

Cutting, Squats

Wed, 3 Feb 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x5, 365x5x1, 315x5, 225x5

Awesome session.  I got 25 reps at greater than 60% 1RM, and 10 reps at 80-75%.  I felt pretty good at the end of the five singles so I did two speedy sets at the end.

Cutting, bench

Tues, 2 Feb 16

Bench: 135x10, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3x5, 185x5, 155x10, 135x10

Extra bench work.

Cutting, Bench/OHP

Mon, 1 Feb 16

OHP: 135x2x5, 155x2x5, 135x10
Bench: 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x3, 2, 5, 6

Couldn't get a rack, so I had to clean from the floor for the OHP.  I couldn't get 165 past my waist - so it was really a crap session.  By the time I managed to get a bench I was tired and under pressure to get through it.  Weight wise - I only lost .6 lbs last week, but was down the full pound this morning.  In addition I've lost close to 2" off my upper body and another 1" off my belly fat.

I'm not terribly worried about losing my squat/deadlift, so I may train those each once a week, but focus on the benching two or more times a week.  I need to be able to rep out 2 plates like it's nothing for ten reps again.

Light day of squats

Thurs, 28 Jan 16

Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3x5

I carbed up last night and this morning and did some light squats today.  I used my wraps instead of sleeves and kept everything brisk.  I should have worn my sleeves because my knees were totally raw.  I've forgotten what a break-in period those things had and how much they pull your hair.  It's like when someone used to twist there hands around your wrists.

Cutting, Deadlifts

Tues, 26 Jan 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 345x3, 365x2, 380x5x2

To keep the deadlifts from getting grindy I broke the top sets into doubles and used my straps for 380.  I'll be glad when people start to drop off in Feb, it's been too hard to get in all my sessions with the tons of people there.  So - no OHP again today.  I'm not terribly worried, as it's not really a competition lift, but more so for some push balance.

Cutting, bench

Mon, 25 Jan 16

Bench: 135x3x5 (W,M,C), 185x5, 225x5, 235x3, 240x4,3,3

Gym was super busy today and couldn't get much time.  Did my benches since that's the exercise that I haven't done longer than the others.  Couldn't hit five reps, so broke it out over 3 sets.

Weight went down to 239.2, so down about 2 lbs this week.

Cutting, Squats

Fri, 22 Jan 15

Squats: 135x5 (front), 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x3, 350x2, 360x3,2,2,3

Couldn't hit the five squats for 2 sets at the top - so I decided to just do as many sets as it took to hit 10 reps total.  Overall, 25 reps at better than 60% of 1RM.

Cutting, Deadlifts/OHP

Wed, 20 Jan 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 345x3,  405x2, 405x3x1, 315x5
OHP: 135x2x5, 155x5, 165x5, 170x3

Phew!  I forgot what number I was supposed to use (didn't write it down).  I just went in and lifted what I could in the time allotted and called it a day.  Still dieting.

Cutting, Squats/Bench

Mon, 18 Jan 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 335x3, 345x2, 355x1, 360x1x4, 360x1x3, 360x1
Bench: 135x5 (W), 135x5 (M), 135x5 (N), 225x5, 235x2, 240x5, 240x4

A little tired today, a lot of snow removal yesterday.  Still on track with the dieting, 241 on Sat.  (12 lbs)

Cutting, Deadlifts

Thurs, 14 Jan 16

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 345x3, 375x2x5

Nice and simple.  Straps on the top sets.  Had a storm day yesterday, but pushing my snowblower around is just like cardio - the clutch is going and it barely moves by itself, so I push it around the yard lol.  I've got a replacement rubber pressure plate ring on order.  I ate like a horse yesterday, but the scale still dropped despite that.  244 lbs.  That's 9 over the past two weeks so far.

Cutting, bench/OHP

Tues, 12 Jan 16

OHP: 95x2x5, 135x5, 155x3, 165x2, 175x2x5
Bench: 135x2x5, 185x5, 205x3, 215x2, 230x2x5

Went well.  Bench was a struggle on the last two reps, but otherwise unremarkable.  Thats 30 reps at greater than 50% of 1RM - top set was about 85% of 1RM.

Cutting, let's try again. Squats

Mon, 11 Jan 16

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 335x2, 345x2x5

The gym was busy today.  I had hoped to get in my benching, but had no time.  I'll do that tomorrow.  Plan is to shoot for a similar scheme with 2 top sets, twice a week.  Weight is around 85% of 1RM, which I believe is decent stimulus for 2 sets on a diet.  So, total of 25 reps at a stimulating weight. 

Weight loss was good last week, from 253 down to 247.  I ended up getting a bunch of sinus issues throughout the week due to the insanely high office heat with two heaters blowing in my face.  This really crippled me for lifting, and I ended up just hitting the single day.

Cutting time! First day back.

Tues, 5 Jan 16

Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 350x3
Bench: 135x3x5, 185x5, 225x3

Meh.  I should have stayed limber over the holidays.  I was severely stiff and the dieting did not help with the effort.  I'll post up measurements over the weekend, but I'm fat as crap right now.  I estimate I need to lose about 50 lbs. (Weigh in weight 253 lbs)

I'll take tomorrow off and go back Thursday and see if I can move a little more.  Do some foam rolling.