Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Bench, upper body, cardio - getting smaller and stronger?

Tues, 31 Jan 17

Bench:  135x20, 185x10, 205x5, 225x5, 245x3, 255x2, 265x1, 275x2

I'm hanging in there - the balance between the dieting and workouts is on-point so far.  I'm down 15 lbs, but likely 7 of that is glycogen - however - between 8-10 lbs of fat loss so far.  I've been using the homemade slingshot for the top sets for some time, and it really does help.  I'm up to a 225x5 without the slingshot, and I imagine I could hit a 245 for a single bare.  The plan is to keep overloading the bench with the slingshot and see if I can hit a 315 with gear, then a 300 without.  It didn't take long to get this session done, and I threw some cardio and a bunch of misc upper body crap in there to round out the session.

Monday, January 30, 2017

Squats, made 425

Mon, 30 Jan 17

Squats: 135x10, 225x5, 315x5, 365x3, 385x2, 405x1, 425x1

It's been 1 and a half years since I first hit 425.  I hit it again last year in Sept, then injured my leg the week after going for the 435 PR.  This time I'm cutting, last time I was bulking.  I'm taking my time with the cut though, and hoping that I can nail the PR finally, but I will wait until I feel the 425 is strong and regular.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Squats, you know the drill

Fri, 27 Jan 17

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x3, 385x2, 405x1
Leg press: (plates total): 6x10, 8x10, 10x5, 12x3, 12x2

The 405 was hard, but solid.  I decided not to try to go heavier, but since I was pretty fast today I did some leg presses.  As usual, my leg presses are wide apart with full depth.  None of that little shruggy crap.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Deadlifts, Plus ca change Plus c'est la meme chose

Weds, 25 Jan 17

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x5, 365x5, 405x3, 425x2, 445x1

Repeated last session.  The 445 was a grinder - the 425 was strapless with a mixed grip.  That 455 is just eluding me.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Squats.... if it ain't broken (yet)

Mon, 23 Jan 17

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x3, 385x2, 405x1

An exact repeat of my last two sessions.  The 405 wasn't grindy and felt a little less like the world was on my shoulders.  I'm going to continue along this path as long as I can.  I'm dieting, and keeping weight on the bar is paramount to prevent loss of muscle mass.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Squats: Monday redux

Fri, 20 Jan 17

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x3, 385x2, 405x1

I had originally intended to do some speed work, and was thinking of doing it at 315.  My body had other plans than moving quickly, so I decided just to repeat Monday.  I loaded up for a 425 attempt, walked it out, started to break at the knees and went nope.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Bench, heavy day

Thurs, 19 Jan 17

Bench: 135x10, 185x10, 205x5, 225x5, 245x5x3
Ez bar curls: 50x3x10

Heavy work on the bench today, had a few minutes left so I did some nice, super slow curls, elbows in.  I find if I'm not careful on the curls my elbows go outwards and it hurts the shoulders - elbows in the bar path moves straight up and down.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Deadlifts, a really good day.

Wed, 18 Jan 17

Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x5, 365x5, 405x3, 425x2, 445x1, 455xF

Sooooo close to a lifetime PR.  My best deadlift was 450 lbs in Dec 2013.  Since then I've fluctuated up and down, never getting higher than that 445.  (looks like I did it 2x in the past)

Weird how some days are just better than others, if you look at my recent sessions they've been 425-ish, with a bad week thrown in here and there.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Bench

Tues, 17 Jan 17

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

Kept it simple.  My breathing still isn't perfect, so I decided not to bother with cardio as it would probably leave me unable to do anything else.  I finished up with a bunch of upper body cable work.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Squats, not too bad.

Mon, 16 Jan 17

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5, 365x3, 385x2, 405x1

Decided to test the waters a bit today and see what was up.  I managed a top set of 405, and I definitely think that if I probably could have ground out a 425.  That being said, I did the 405, clapped myself on the back and said, "That'll do pig, that'll do."

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Just a heads up....

I haven't given up lifting - my cold from over Christmas has worked it's way into my chest and I can't really do ANYTHING without being exhausted.  Just walking is a chore.  I decided I really didn't want to risk injury with a technical skill like the squat.  I finally caved and saw a doctor today and got a couple of inhalers to get me breathing again, so hopefully not too long to wait.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Deadlifts, weaker today

Thurs, 5 Jan 17

Deadlifts: 225x5, 315x2x5, 365x2x5, 385x2x5

Really beat today, chest congestion is making it really hard to do anything.  Just dragging my ass around.  Anyhow, basically a "phone it in" workout.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Bench and cardio, meh.

Weds, 4 Jan 17

Bench:  135x2x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 245x4x5, 205x4

Did 15 mins cardio on the elliptical then bench.  Couldn't hit the last rep of the set.  Finished up with some cable flyes.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Back at it. Squats....

Tues, 3 Jan 17

Squats:  135x5, 225x2x5, 315x5x5

I've been sick since the 28th, and this is my first day back in the gym and at work.  I'm also doing a cut as I got a little too fat last year.  Not as bad as the year before, but still fatter than I'd like.  Since I ended up losing a lot of strength this year while cutting I've decided to go all in and just pound the weight off then worry about strength.  I'll lift what I feel like lifting, and call it a day.