N'Suns Week 4 Day 4 - Deadlifts

Fri, 28 Jun 19

Deadlifts: 225x5, 255x3, 285x6, 270x3, 255x3, 240x3, 225x3, 210x3, 195x8
Front Squat: 95x5, 120x5, 145x3, 145x5, 145x7, 145x4, 145x6, 145x8

Deadlifts: No gloves, no belt, no shoes.  I did have two pairs of socks on though because my shins are getting scabbed up.  Front squat was actually the hard part.  I actually tipped over on 145x7 on the second rep and fell on the floor.  I didn't drop the bar though lol.  So, while still holding the racked bar while sitting on my butt I lowered it to the floor.  Once I had recovered a bit I cleaned the bar to the hooks and continued with the set.  Those 5,6, and 7th reps are pretty hard on the wrists!  I had my positioning much better though - hands are pretty close together and I am getting better at resting it on my delts.


Starting week 5

New training maxes:

Bench +10 to 225 lbs.
Squat +10 to 275 lbs.
Deadlift +15 to 315 lbs.
OHP +10 to 145 lbs.

N'Suns Week 4 Day 3 - Bench

Thurs, 27 Jun 19

Bench: 160x5, 185x3, 205x6, 195x3, 296x6, 170x3, 160x5, 150x3, 140x14
CGBP: 85x6, 110x5, 130x3, 130x5, 130x7, 130x4, 130x6, 130x8
Cable Face Pulls: 110x5x15
BB Curls: 65x5, 95x3x5, 85x5, 75x10, 65x10  (followed with 10 reps drag curls)

Bench went well.  Decided to try BB curls as an accessory as I didn't feel I was getting good overload on the DB curls.  A bit of a cheat up on the heavies and then controlled negatives.  Each set followed by 10 drag curls at the same weight.  The sets of 10 were without cheating.

N'Suns Week 4 Day 2 - Squats

Tues, 25 June 19

Squats: 200x5, 225x3, 250x5, 240x3, 225x3, 210x3, 200x5, 185x5, 170x10
Sumo Deadlifts: 150x5, 180x5, 210x3, 210x5, 210x7, 210x4, 210x6, 210x8
Glute Thrusts: 150x10, 180x10, 210x10

The session went well.  AMRAP for squats was 5 reps, I might have had 2 in the tank, and the 170x10 was only cut short because it was a lot of volume.  I cut the glute thrusts short as I was running out of time and had been supersetting them with the sumo DL sets. 

I think the hardest part about sticking to the program (or any program really) is the desire to let loose on the reigns and just ego lift.  I *know* I can lift substantially more than this, but the goal is to properly build up my base of strength and hypertrophy.  I need my tendons and ligaments to be up to the task - which means no fast jumps.  I have to take my time and get strong all over.

N'Suns Week 4 Day 1 - OHP

Mon, 24 Jun 19

OHP: 100x5, 115x3, 130x5, 120x3, 115x3, 110x3, 100x5, 95x5, 90x10
Bench (paused): 110x6, 130x5, 150x3, 150x5, 150x7, 150x4, 150x6, 150x8
Pull Ups: BWx5
Cable Face Pulls:  110x5x15
DB Hammer Curls: 30x3x10, 25x2x10
BB Rows: 135x3x10

I had planned on doing more accessory work this session, but I started late and other gym-goers interfered with my time. I still find curls hard, not sure why they aren't progressing.  I don't really think I'm hitting the biceps well enough though.  I should look at an alternative. The curl seems to mostly hit my delta and forearms.

N'Suns Week 3 Day 4 - Deadlifts

Tues, 18 June 19

Deadlifts: 225x5, 245x3, 275x4, 260x3, 245x3, 230x3, 225x3, 205x3, 190x9
Front Squat: 95x5, 115x5, 140x3, 140x5, 140x7, 140x4, 140x6, 140x8
Glute Bridges:  225x2x5, 225x2x10

Deadlifts were pretty easy.  Still not using straps.  Front squats were hard at the high reps - the last rep was a growler.  The glute bridges were pretty good, now that I have a barbell pad.

That's the end of week 3.

Increases to training maxes:

Bench: +5 lb = 215 lb
Squat: + 10 lb = 265 lb
Deadlift: + 10 lb = 300 lb
OHP: + 10 lb = 135 lb

Creeping up towards heavier weights.

N'Suns Week 3 Day 3 - Bench

Mon, 17 June 19

Bench: 160x5, 180x3, 200x3, 190x3, 180x5, 170x3, 160x5, 145x3, 135x10
CGBP: 85x6, 105x5, 125x3, 125x5, 125x7, 125x4, 125x6, 125x8
Pull Up: BWx5x5
Cable Face Pulls: 100x5x15
DB Hammer Curl: 30x5x10

Phew - it's been a few days since I benched.  It felt heavy at first - I still warm up with the empty bar and a plate a side, so there is an extra set that is unaccounted for in the program.  Pull up improvement is hard to gauge since I keep getting heavier lol.  My curls are still slow to develop - my bicep peak is there, but it's a long bicep with little visible peak.

N'Suns Week 3 Day 2 - Squats

Weds, 12 June 19

Squats: 190x5, 215x3, 240x6, 230x3, 215x3, 215x3, 205x3, 190x5, 180x5, 165x8

Tweaked my back on my first sumo set.  Decided to cut it there since the rest of the week I'll be in a conference.  I did have a good squat day though, and did some bodyweight lunges.

N'Suns Week 3 Day 1 - OHP

Tues, 11 June 19

OHP: 95x5, 105x3, 120x5, 115x3, 105x3, 100x3, 95x5, 90x5, 80x8
Bench (paused): 105x6, 125x5, 145x3, 145x5, 145x7, 145x4, 145x6, 145x8
DB Hammer Curl: 30x5x10
Cable Face Pull: 100x5x15
BW Pull Ups (dead hang): 200x5x5
BB Row: 135x5x10

First I supersetted the OHP, Face pulls, and curls.  Then I moved to bench with supersetted rows.  The OHP was getting hard at the end.  Bench was pretty easy, even paused.  The curls were a challenge in later sets as I was getting pumped by then.  By the time I had finished the rows I was beat.

N'Suns Week 2 Day 4 - Deadlifts

Mon, 10 June 19

Deadlifts:  210x5, 240x5, 265x5, 250x3, 240x3, 225x3, 210x3, 195x3, 180x10
Front Squat: 85x5, 110x5, 130x3, 130x5, 130x7, 130x4, 130x6, 130x8

annnnd that's the end of week 2.  Not terrible.  The 6,7 and 8 rep front squats were pretty hard.  I had a lot of bounce out of the hole on the early sets - totally ATG, but the top sets were an endurance competition.  It's not so much the weight as it is the bending of my wrists. 

That being said, I'm sure my body will adapt.  So, keep on keeping on.

N'Suns Week 2 Day 3 - Bench

Fri, 7 Jun 19

Bench: 150x5, 170x3, 190x4, 180x3, 170x5, 160x3, 150x5, 140x3, 130x14
CGBP: 80x6, 100x5, 120x3, 120x5, 120x7, 120x4, 120x6, 120x8
Pull Ups: BWx5x5
Cable Face Pull: 100x5x15
DB Curl: 25x5x10

The session went well.  Nothing to complain about.

N'Suns Week 2 Day 2 - Squats

Thurs, 6 June 19

Squats: 135x5, 180x5, 205x3, 230x8, 215x3, 205x3, 190x3, 180x5, 170x5, 155x12
Sumo Deadlift: 135x5, 140x5, 170x5, 195x3, 195x5, 195x7, 195x4, 195x6, 195x8
BW Lunges: BWx5x10

Squats were pretty easy.  The AMRAP sets were more about endurance than weight on the bar.  The sumo deadlift went well.  I was going to do glute raises, but until I get a pad I'm not going to bother.  It's simply too painful on my groin.  So, instead I did 5 sets of 10 BW lunges.  I don't have great balance so these were actually a bit of a challenge, and I could definitely feel a stretch - especially in the groin.

N'Suns Week 2 Day 1 - OHP

Weds, 5 June 19

OHP: 85x5, 95x3, 105x8, 100x3, 95x3, 90x3, 85x5, 75x5, 70x14
Bench: 100x6, 120x5, 140x3, 140x5, 140x7, 140x4, 140x6, 140x8
Cable Face Pull: 60x15, 70x15, 80x15, 90x15, 100x15
DB Curl: 30x15, 30x12, 25x3x10
Barbell Row:  135x4x10

Now, I shouldn't be doing back to back upper body days.  In the future I will make this a cardio day with some general fitness work.  Yesterday's workout wasn't brutal enough to make me need to take the rest day.

That being said - OHP was pretty easy.  I tried to do each rep start explosively, then controlled the negative on the way down.  Bench press was slow and deep - no bounce.  I have been adjusting my face pull form a bit to better engage my back, so I started light with high reps to work my way up and grease the groove.  DB curls became REALLY hard.  My biceps aren't terribly big, so it didn't take long for them to get filled up with pump.  Barbell rows were hard, but fine.

I switched to the 4 day program instead of 5.  This will allow me to rotate my Monday and Friday exercises a bit more.  Mondays are usually a good day for me as I am well rested and fed, so it's kind of nice to be able to put that extra on to everything rather than say, just squats.

N'Suns Week 1 Day 5 - Bench

Tues, 4 June 19

Bench Press: 140x5, 155x3, 175x7, 165x3, 155x5, 150x3, 140x5, 135x3, 135x15
CGBP: 75x6, 95x5, 110x3, 110x5, 110x7, 110x4, 110x6, 110x8
SS Pull Ups: BWx5x5
SS Cable Face Pull: 90x15, 80x4x15
SS DB Curl: 25x5x10

Week 1 finished.

Recommended Training Maxes for Week 2:

Bench: Increase by 15 lbs to 200 lbs.
Squat: Increase by 15 lbs to 240 lbs.
Deadlift: Increase by 15 lbs to 280 lbs.
OHP: Increase by 15 lbs to 110 lbs.

Week 1 review.  The load wasn't too heavy, which is good because there was a lot of volume.  Hopefully the 15 lb recommended increase isn't too much this early, but I guess I'll see come tomorrow.

N'Suns Week 1 Day 4 - Deadlifts

Mon, 3 June 19

Deadlifts: 200x5, 225x3, 250x8, 240x3, 225x4x3, 225x5
Paused Squats: 90x5, 115x5, 135x3, 135x5, 135x7, 135x4, 135x6, 135x8

This session was pretty easy.  I started getting tired by the end of the paused squats.  It took about 40 minutes to do, so I don't imagine there will be any time for accessory work once the weights start getting heavier.