Did hill sprints yesterday on my old haunt, Heart Attack Hill. No heart attack unfortunately.

Trained at 24 Hour today because my normal gym has a wack weekend schedule.

Overhead press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
207 x 6
> 135 on warm-up felt shockingly heavy but this came out very strong. It so flies in the face of lifters advising you to gauge how you feel warming-up.

137 x 5 x 10

Chin-ups of various grips:
5 x 10

Ton of bodybuilder-ish accessories with rowing machine, skullcrushers, push-ups, curls, rear-delt raises

Squats:
300 x 5
345 x 5
390 x 6
> 4 more than last time just from a deload.

320 x 10, 8

Deadlifts:
225 x 25
> I know it's only 225 but these were incredibly explosive today. Lots of "pop" off the ground.

Goblet squats:
50 x 50

RDLs:
50 x 55

Planks
3 x 25 seconds

Bench press:
230 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 5
> This didn't improve, and if anything has gotten even worse. Bar feels like it's going through quicksand at the very top so I'll try to concentrate on my triceps, even though it's probably just something cyclical.

It will be interesting to see if my 3 week is as strong as ever, and that I lose a lot of strength in greater rep ranges but remain as explosive as ever with 1-3. It would make sense given my genetics. I have experience coming back from inactivity to beast the 3 and 1 week in the bench press, but almost never the 5, so I'm eager to see a back-to-back comparison.

Oh, and I'm more than okay with 300x5 being a bad day.

Close-grip bench:
205 x 10, 10, 9, 7

Dumbbell rows:
125 x 5 x 10

Slow, wide incline dumbbell press:
45s x 15, 12, 10
> Amazing what you can make difficult if you want it to be.

Bilateral dumbbell Pendlay rows:
135s x 3 x 5

Might do rear-delts and biceps later. Shoulders felt a little achy while bench pressing, but pec-tendons feel fantastic.

Deadlifts:
335 x 5
390 x 5
440 x 5
> Bumper plates make this harder. Weight bounces and I have to reset every rep. But it's more fun.

Squats:
315 x 2 x 10

Second workout at night:

Goblet squats:
50 x 50

Kettlebell RDLs:
50 x 50

Planks and reverse crunches

Overhead press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
195 x 7
> A deload is totally what I needed. Two reps more than last time. In anticipation of this being a bad day I was going to reset everything by 10 lbs but I decided to go by Dan John's advice of changing only one thing at a time. Glad I wasn't afraid to fail (Emevas).

135 x 5 x 10

Chin-ups:
6 x 10

Slow skullcrushers:
40s x 10

Slow spider curls:
40s x 10, 8, 8

Rear-delt raises:
15s x 20

External rotations:
5 x 20

Deload

Bench press:
140 x 5
175 x 5
210 x 5
> New gym has no bench press stations (!) and the power rack was taken so I had to clean the bar up and lie back with it in the dumbbell area. How does a gym owned by an IFBB pro with Arnold posters on the wall have no bench press benches?

Incline bench:
145 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
80s x 5 x 10

Deload

Goblet squats:
50 x 30, 25, 25

SLDL:
50 lbs for 2 minutes

Yoga later.

Deload

Overhead press:
90, 115, 135 x 5

95 x 5 x 10

Squats:
390x1

Even warming-up with bodyweight my legs felt like lead. Been using my standing desk a lot in addition to walking a ton so I'm almost always on my feet during the days. Time for a deload, and maybe some laziness, haha.

Training at a new gym and it's pretty good. Owned by an actual IFBB pro. I can't stand the j-hooks in the rack, though. It's one attachment of 4 upward hooks and I can't lockout with the bar on my back fully until I finish walking out completely. However, it's quaint, quiet, has a trap bar (and I imagine I'd be able to bring my own bars), a heavy bag area, and $25 a month. Bumper plates as well.

Bench press:
230 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 5
> Strength is down. I wonder if infrequency, while non-consequential for a session or two, is starting to bite after too many times. That, or I'm losing weight from walking so much. Diet has been great, but I drink no milk except for breakfast before training now, in contrast to before.

Incline bench:
190 x 3 x 10

Various rows, push-ups, skullcrushers, and curls

Trained at 24 Hour. This one has no power rack, just squat racks. Don't like using the low benches to bench press.

Been doing a good deal of walking between my time hiking with Stephanie and taking advantage of our season passes to Six Flags.

Deadlifts:
335 x 5
390 x 5
440 x 4, 5
> Belt was too tight at first and my back hurt on the first set of 440. Loosening it up a notch actually felt a little too slack but my back felt better.

Squats:
317 x 3 x 10

Deadlifts:
230 x 25

GHR:
10

Overhead press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
197 x 5
135 x 3 x 10

Called it a day after that. I definitely need to deload.

Hike today up where I used to go here by my house. Went uphill for about 45 minutes at a pretty brisk pace before turning around. Legs are sore from squats but it wasn't a killer trek or anything, despite the fact that I used to be sucking air on this very same spot when I'd go with George years ago.

Squats:
320 x 3
365 x 3
410 x 3
> Last time I failed the minimum and got 2, so I repeated the day and plan on doing the same numbers next cycle. A lack of volume through accessory work has seemed to hurt my squat performance bad but I'm on the upswing.

315 x 3 x 10
> The cure for what ails.

Deadlifts:
225 x 25

Fat Gripz holds:
225

Bench press:
260 x 5
295 x 3
330 x 3

Cable rows:
200 x 15
260 x 10, 10
200 x 15

Incline bench press:
190 x 10, 10, 8, 7, 8

Bilateral umbbell rows:
100s x 10, 10

Curls and rear-delts

Trained at my old Los Gatos gym. They want $100 a month now. Looks like I'll be doing 24 Hour instead.

Been going on hikes. Yesterday I tried to sign up for 24 but it was too expensive because of initiation fees, even though I've already been a member before. I was also dismayed about not all clubs being accessible.

Deadlifts:
380 x 5
430 x 3
480 x 1

Squats:
315 x 10

Deadlifts:
225 x 20

Hurt my back doing squats somehow.

First session since the move. I've lost 5 lbs but not as much strength as I thought I would have. I probably didn't take into account all the physical labor I did packing, despite personal stress and poor diet.

Went to 24 Hour with my friend Stephanie, which I'm probably going to get a membership to again.

Overhead press:
170 x 5
195 x 3
215 x 3

135 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Chin-ups:
10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline skullcrushers:
45s x 10

Spider curls:
50s x 3 x 10

Rear-delts

Halfway through my trip. At Grant's Pass in a rest stop, feeling a little bored while I wait for my back to straighten out. They should set up squat racks here, maybe some punching bags as well.

Last day in Oregon. Diet has been poor but I've stocked up on snacks. Definitely lost a lot of weight. Spent around 26 hours packing with minimal sleep.

Spending the beginning of my last weekend with the loved one and trying my best to get my fill of things. I have been neglecting yoga the past several days. Make sure to do it tomorrow (today technically). Also didn't get to rear-delts today so maybe do some band pull-aparts along with that.

Leaving Oregon on Monday. Feeling blue about it.

Bench press:
245 x 3
280 x 3
315 x 4
> DOMS from skullcrushers. Still happy with this, despite failing a 5th. Pec-tendon hurt, but always feels better a minute or two after the heavy sets.

Incline bench:
187 x 5 x 10
> Made my pec feel much better, strangely.

Lying one-hand cable rows:
170 x 5 x 10
200 x 15 (Fat Gripz + straps)
> Wow, I should have just used straps the entire time.

Kettlebell preacher curls, unilateral:
50 x 11, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
30, 30

Goblet squats:
50 x 3 x 30

A deload, of sorts. Definitely felt harder after the high rep deadlifts.

Deadlifts:
355 x 3
405 x 3
455 x 3
225 x 25

Twinge in my back from warming-up, which is weird because it's been feeling fantastic lately. Oh well, I only just started treating it right so I just need to keep it up as a habit.

Overhead press:
160 x 5
180 x 5
205 x 6

Chin-ups:
10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline skullcrushers:
45s x 10, 10, 7
40s x 9, 9
Barbell: 14

Slow dumbbell press:
25s x 25
20s x 30, 25

Lat pulldowns

Spider curls + rear-delt work

Squats:
300 x 5
340 x 5
390 x 5
> Lingering pain in right quad, but the last time this happened coming off of frequent squatting it was able to heal with 5/3/1, so I'm not too worried. Just wanted to hit the number and get the program rolling.

SSB squats:
310 x 8

Deadlifts:
225 x 20

Leg curls:
200 x 10

At home:

One-legged SLDLs with 50 lb kettlebell, reps up to 5

Pistol squats onto couch: 5

Reverse crunches and planks

After all this my quad feels way better and I can't even feel pain anymore.

Workout 2 for the day: a bunch of kettlebell concentration curls, band pull-aparts, kettlebell skullcrushers, and a set of 30 decline push-ups.

My body is reacting positively to the higher volume and normalized frequency. I'm growing stronger and feeling less pec pain, though it's still there when I flat bench. I've also gained 2 pounds.

Bench press:
225 x 5
260 x 5
295 x 7

Barbell rows:
205 x 10, 10, 10

Incline bench press:
185 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Bilateral umbbell rows:
100s x 15, 13, 10

Goblet squats:
50 x 50, 40, 30
> Been awhile since I've done these so I was pleasantly surprised that I can still bust out 50.

Deadlifts:
330 x 5
380 x 5
430 x 5

I've found out that most of my deadlift problems last year came from forgetting how to lean back properly. Doing high reps with 225 helped me realize this. I'd adjust my form by around rep 10 or something and realize how much lighter the weight feels by changing my weight disposition.

I've been deadlifting for 10 years now so I really don't know why that happens, haha.

Squatting every other day has been aggravating my quad injury. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't normal DOMS. Additionally, my pec health is falling apart, although whether that's due to pause pressing or frequency I cannot say. I've decided to just go back to what was working for my wellbeing with 5/3/1.

I have found that contrary to popular dogma really, really long sessions make me stronger like nothing else. I've never gotten stronger than I did lifting 2.5+ hours a day. However, I'm sometimes wasted the rest of the day and it's not sustainable on a productivity level. So I have a kickass idea: I'm going to train twice a day, my "main" time at the gym and extra isolation stuff at home hours later. If need be I can easily skip the home workout and not lose too much, as well.

 Overhead press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
195 x 8
> Not too bad an effort.

145 x 10
135 x 10, 9, 8, 7
> I'm so much weaker with anything volumous. This was literally what I used to do for my deload, except I'd get straight 10s. Rest times were pretty short, though.

Chin-ups:
70

At night:

Preacher curls, unilateral:
50 x 3 x 10

A ton of band pull-aparts

DDP yoga much later.

Counting yoga I essentially trained 3 times today.

Started the "DDP Yoga" program tonight. Just from doing the introductory moves my back feels much better. I will keep this up.

My move is at the end of the month. I'll be getting a 24 Hour membership while on the go. Not sure what I'm going to do with my nars

Jogged/walked today. Only ran for about 5 minutes or so to get past the main road more quickly. I'm keeping my eye out for weight vests on Craigslist to walk with.

I'm all packed up for my move. After I take care of some apartment doings I'll be off.

Squats:
405 x 4, 3, 3
> Quads were sore. As a result the first rep would feel like air and the last two heavy. I'd have liked to do something like 10 sets of triples or something but, alas, time.

Pause bench:
292 x 3 x 5
> The very last rep was more of a rest pause than a controlled one. Not too sure if that fulfills the point of the exercise.

Chins:
4 x 10

Push-ups, rear delts, curls

SSB squats:
330 x 5
> I was originally going to do goblet squats, which have kicked ass for me, but I decided to make this a light squat day ala Madcow since I'm squatting every other day. High rep squats should be done on the first or last training day.

Overhead press:
197 x 4, 5, 5
> Felt heavy. First day of training everything with only one day of rest and everything felt a little sore. Had to rest pause on the last rep to get 5 both times.

Deadlifts:
422 x 3
225 x 20
> Back has been hurting so just did light work.

Squats:
405 x 5, 4, 4

Pause bench press:
290 x 3 x 5

Chin-ups:
5 x 10

Bench press:
225 x 12

Push-ups and curls

Feeling a little stronger. Have been eating more and gained 3 lbs in a few days.

Squats:
405 x 5

Overhead press:
195 x 3 x 5

Chin-ups:
6 x 10
2 x 8

Various assistance work

Pressing especially felt very light, but that's my goal to start with. Full-body is the way to go until I'm in a stable travel situation and have a permanent gym once again.

Did this on Wednesday.

Squats:
405 x 4, 3

Pause bench press:
285 x 3 x 5

Chin-ups:
4 x 10

Push ups

I've lost 6 pounds and am weaker. I'll be better about eating despite stress.

Having a rough night. Quick update, benched only 310x4 last night and am going to attempt to up my calorie intake as a result.

Squats:
360 x 5
405 x 3
455 x 0, 1
> Hit the safety bars and lost my groove completely, didn't even try to stand up. Second attempt was pretty easy. Strength is definitely on a downtrend, but this felt really strong after a week of inactivity and almost no leg volume lately. The 405 felt super heavy and sluggish so I focused on bracing my core more and breathing out harder for the max.

I feel pressure in my tailbone when I squat, but it's not painful. I hope this doesn't somehow encourage cyst growth. I'll continue the measures that have seemed to work for me so far: coconut oil applied dermally, Neosporin, zinc oxide, frequent heat, salt water, and using my standing desk.

Deadlift:
475 x 1
> It's nice to be continuing my 5/3/1 cycle seamlessly. Bar went up fast.

SSB squats:
320 x 2 x 10

Deadlifts:
225 x 20

Kettlebell goblet squats:
50 x 30
> No lockout. Don't feel pressure when it's this light; if I have to ditch heavy squats eventually I can at least do these.

Haven't trained for a week, except for 40 push-ups a few days ago. Yup, that's just about my max. I'm all fast-twitch.

I am better now, but still have to be careful. It's likely that this will reoccur very soon so I expect surgery somewhere down the line.

Bench press:
270 x 5
305 x 3
340 x 2
> Felt much stronger than I expected to. Failed a third but my spotter helped me out (the rack was taken so no safety bars). Very explosive today.

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 5 x 10-15

Incline bench press:
205 x 10, 8
> Probably going to replace these because there's too much pressure on my tailbone.

Dips:
9
> Felt achy, no good.

Push-ups:
10, 15, 15

Skullcrushers, curls

I'm currently on day 3 (or 4, technically at this time) of dealing with a pilonidal cyst. No infection, thankfully, but the pain is extremely debilitating if I choose not to ignore it (which I would do if it was safe). Cannot sit whatsoever today (driving the 60 seconds to and from my gym involved me basically using leg power to keep my weight off the seat) and no position is comfortable except lying in the bathtub. Trying to curb it with Ibuprofen and heat.

Training has to be completely overhauled. Here's what I did tonight:

Overhead press:
195 x 5
> Had to focus on keeping most of my body completely relaxed and not tense. Shocking how hard this was.

Overhead rack press:
225 x 0, 1
235 x 0
225 x 1
> Just trying to get some decent weight loaded so my shoulders remember they exist. This is a good exercise because the rack does most of the stabilizing.

Chins:
5 x 10

Swiss bar overhead press:
85 x 30, 25, 20

Swiss bar overhead tricep extensions:
35 x 15, 15, 20

Curls:
25s x 25, 20, 15

Decent pump. Training will be like this until I'm better. I'm also going to do a full body routine 3 days a week instead of 5/3/1 since my movements are so limited. If I'm lucky enough to do legs, they will be SSB quarter squats. If that hurts, kettlebell goblets for moderate reps without straining.

Bravo on consistency so far.

Haven't logged an entire week, so here I go.

I'm having major tailbone problems, and my strength is down across the board.

Squats:
335 x 3
380 x 3
430 x 3
> Rep 3 I got stuck on the bottom for 2 seconds, almost had to bail, and then somehow stood back up with it.

That's all, I had pain after this. I might have to change my entire routine except for overhead pressing to accommodate.

Bench press:
320 x 4

Incline bench:
205 x 10, 10, 7

Push-ups

Deadlifts:
450 x 5

Overhead press:
235 x 2

Swiss bar press:
137 x 5 x 10

Squats:
312 x 5
362 x 5
407 x 9
• Legs felt shaky for some reason. Came close to failing.

SSB squat drop-set:
330x10 240x10 150x10 60x10

Deadlifts:
225 x 20
• Really felt it in the glutes by rep 15.

Session time: 70 minutes. Felt exhausted walking out of the gym but because of the wisely-brief workout I recovered pretty fast and feel energized now.

Watched a strongman documentary tonight and it really makes me want to compete, but there's nothing in Portland. I have my eye set on a powerlifting meet in April, though, with my pec health and money situation being good right now, and I've even dug up my decade-old Bullshido account for throwdowns.

Two sessions to log. Not having a phone to use the Blogger app in the gym is making me lazy with this thing.

Bench press:
235 x 5
270 x 5
305 x 6
• Felt fine up until warming-up with 185 and then my triceps suddenly felt really sore. DOMS from pressing with the Swiss bar, no doubt.
• Despite not being fresh enough to PR my form was excellent today. The bar pathway felt smooth, I didn't touch-and-go, and my pecs felt completely pain-free. I trimmed my warm-up by discarding "mobility" stuff like scarecrows and face-pulls, and instead stuck to pressing the bar and doing more arm swings. Some light striking on the bag, too.

Bent-over barbell rows:
225 x 15, 10, 10

Incline bench:
205 x 10, 8, 7, 7

Underhand horizontal lat pulldowns:
220 x 15, 14

Dumbbell press:
35s x 25
15s x 30

Chest flyes:
15s x 30

Curls

Time was much better. Finished in an hour and 20 minutes. Sacrificed reps for shorter rests, hence the incline bench numbers. Huge pump everywhere.

Deadlifts:
425 x 5

SSB squats:
345 x 3 x 5
150 x 30

Neck work

GHR:
20

Overhead press:
172 x 5
197 x 5
227 x 3, 3
• Went in hungry and kept shaking as a result. Worse than a month ago.

Swiss bar overhead press:
135 x 5 x 10
• If I keep tension on my shoulders my pec tendon hurts, so be sure to shelve the bar on chest.

Chins:
6 x 10
• Different form here that feels better on my pecs: pulling in an exaggerated arc toward my stomach rather than literally to the chin/neck./clavicle. ROM is shorter but that may be what I need. Eccentric is gone, as well; I'm dropping down and letting my feet stop me.

Spider curls:
50s x 15

Rear delts and external rotations

Session was under an hour and a half, which is great considering I retried my max set. That was the point of changing assistance work, but I hope the drastic deload won't hurt me, even if it's a harder variant.