Squats
340 x 3
390 x 3
440 x 1
Quads hurt as a result of going deeper and narrower lately in an attempt to prep for the car lift (i.e. using more quad power). Gonna stop doing that and try to use more PC. This has been a reoccurring problem for 2 years now. Will try to max 460 next week and if it feels good hit 440x3, otherwise I'll just repeat this cycle next time.

320 x 10, 10, 10

Gliding leg curls
20

Abs

Bench press
260 x 3
295 x 3
330 x 3

Band rows
20, 20, 20, 20
One-handed: 10

Strict press
172 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Overhead medley -
Clean and press: 215 x 3
Keg clean and press: 160 x 5
Felt fed up with my hardware woes and stuff not fitting my weird-ass kegs and just duct taped cloth to seal it. It worked. Tried other solutions before this and any water falling out just lands on my shoulder so it's no big deal. It's likely too little too late but I'm glad to have made this work, even temporarily.

Chin-ups
20

Facepulls superset with-
Keg curls: 8, 8

Took a pump picture PWO. Well on my way to being a contender for Miss Canada.

 

Stopped by Home Depot after work (which has been going well) and picked up two 2-inch rubber caps. Didn't fit over my kegs, which was my fault for not measuring myself and assuming tutorial recommendations would cover every keg shape. I'll go back for a third time this week.

Yesterday:
Mat pulls (4)
495 x 8
-2 reps at my problem height, I'm OK with that.

345 x 5, 5

Was feeling burnt from lack of sleep and training hard last week, so just did minimum.

On unrelated note, saw Tom Green live on Saturday and worked my abs out by laughing.

Strict press
177 x 3
205 x 3
227 x 3

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 15, 15, 12, 12, 12
No weight: 20

Close-grip bench press
247 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Facepulls

Curls
155 x 12, 10

Slept 3 hours last night after attempting 5. Wasn't too tired and ate well before coming home to nap. Made a weightgainer to last me until lunch.

Squats
320 x 5
365 x 5
415 x 5
Took video to check depth (don't make fun of me, Jared). Seems okay.



320 x 10, 10

Deadlifts
405 x 10
Whew, gas tank felt low. Once I took a rest pause I just had no power to break the weight off the floor again.

Kept volume streamlined. Have work early tomorrow and it'll make two days I haven't gotten a lot of sleep. It's an office job so training shouldn't be impacted like it had been with manual labor. Will increase food consumption until schedule and sleep pattern are in order.

Bench press
240 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
Good progress. Have done this before but not at this bodyweight.

Band rows
20, 20, 20, 20, 20
One-hand: 10
I should clarify that these are my old Iron Woody bands that have the thickness of a mammoth intestine, not EliteFTS jump-stretch bands. They give pretty good resistance.

Strict press
170 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Clean and press
205 x 4 (clean every rep)
x 5 (clean first)
Used a pool noodle to increase the thickness. It doesn't really simulate an axle at all, it just makes the bar way easier on my wrists when I catch it.

Curls
155 x 15
135 x 10

Facepulls

Job interview tomorrow. Friend of a friend got me one. I'm almost cringing at the amount of strength toys I'd blow my money on with some deeper pockets.

 Hill sprints 3.5 times, then a jog after.

I've lost some weight. Down to 217 in the morning. I can also wear my belt over my shirt now (had gone down a notch several weeks ago, but had to wear it on bare waist to fit - I was in a weird spot where the notch up was too loose and the notch below was too tight).

Why am I still cutting when I have no weight class to make? I find I get a surge when I start eating a lot after a calorie deficit, and I'm already getting stronger even when getting lighter. Since I have a separate goal of body composition, it's a win all around.

I also plan on starting creatine this week and that always gives me an extra 5 lbs of water. I'm not really worried about it but it would sure suck to find out I'm over 230 from not being scrupulous after eating a large breakfast on the weigh-in day.

Mat pulls (5)
495 x 6, 4
Done with about a minute of rest. This is my best bad day ever. Good to know I'm more consistent than before and can handle 500 anytime.

Did the rest intermittently throughout a few hours as I wanted to catch UFC and watch online with my girlfriend at the time I finished pulls. Damn, Machida. : (

SSB squats
342 x 5, 5, 5

SSB holds
530 x 20, 20

Car deadlift simulator
4 plates x 10, 10

Farmer's walk
135
Used two barbells. Balance was an issue at set-up but after 2 or 3 resets I'm good to go. Distance in backyard was limiting, I'll clear some space so I can turn around and even take them outside.

Gliding leg curls
15

Abs

Strict press
165 x 5
190 x 5
215 x 5

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 15, 15, 12, 12, 12
No weight: 20

Close-grip bench press
245 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Curls
155 x 8, 10,

Rear-delts

Deload

Squats
195 x 5
240 x 5
290 x 5
Strained my left lat badly. It feels similar to my neck tweaks, just much lower. Not as debilitating, just painful, especially when breathing.

SSB squats
220 x 3 x 8
Made lat much worse. Preferable to being weak.

Touch-and-go deadlifts
365 x 8
Wow, pretty fun. Doing these in preparation for the car lift at my meet.

---

Deload

Mat pulls (5)
495 x 3
SSB squats
240 x 3 x 5

Deload

Overhead press
102 x 5
127 x 5
152 x 5

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 5, 5, 5
15, 15

Close-grip bench press
162 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Curls

Squats
360 x 5
410 x 3
460 x 1 (PR)
While resting for the max it suddenly started hailing. Patio and set-up got soaked. Was nervous about slipping but after rubbing my Chucks in the puddles it seemed sticky enough. I just realized how dumb that sentence looks now, but I made it out. Felt better than last week but concerned I didn't hit depth again. Would have filmed if it wasn't pouring. While walking the weight back an ice chunk hit the bridge of my nose. Pretended it was a bullet.

As I type that on my phone I'm about to do assistance squats, watch me fall and die on them now.

SSB squats
320 x 8, 8, 8

Deadlifts
405 x 13

Blogger app ate up my entry yesterday. Day before, I mat pulled 495x3 off 4 mats. As before, I'll reset up one.

Yesterday:

SSB squats
340 x 2 x 5

Bench press
275 x 5
315 x 3
357 x 1

Band rows
6 x 20

Strict press (clean at start)
167 x 4 x 10

Clean and press (clean first two)
205 x 6

Slowly increasing the cleans, much better than before.

Curls
155 x 2 x 10
135 x 10

Fasted walk today.

Strict press
187 x 5
212 x 3
237 x 1
One of the longest reps I've ever done, had no explosiveness today. At one point the weight even dropped down a bit but I kept going up.

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 15, 15, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Close-grip bench press
242 x 5 x 10

Curls
155 x 8, 8
135 x 8

Facepulls

Squats
340 x 3
385 x 3
435 x 3
Surprisingly, my depth is bad.



Unfortunately the perspective is poor. Back is wrecked from the week so I may have subconsciously been reacting to that.

The next image is mid-rep and not a depth check, but is when I felt my hips rise before my torso on my last rep due to my back being sore. Belt is under my shirt, didn't forget that.



320 x 3 x 10
Made a point of going deep.

Deadlifts
405 x 5
Back had nothing in it, just did this as form practice.

Bench press
257 x 3
295 x 3
327 x 3
Set-up was too hurried in a sad attempt to time a good part of a song with the lift off. Bar kept rolling around in my hands and I misgrooved the path each rep. Good show of powering through.

Band rows
20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Strict press (clean at start)
165 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Clean and press
205 x 2
Fatigued on the third clean. Won't always train cleans pre-exhausted like this, no worries.
Clean only at start
205 x 4
Large carpenter bee flew in front of my face and distracted, but I was starting to get sloppy anyway.

Curls
135 x 15, 15

External rotations, face pulls

Hill sprints and jog after. Went to Home Depot in the evening - disappointingly, nobody was available to cut a pipe for me when I asked. Gonna try again earlier in the day.

Back is really sore, yesterday was some good work.

Night workout

Gliding leg curls
3 x 15

Crush gripper
#2
Didn't quite close it over three reps, just came close. Forearms were pumped from hanging onto the bar for leg curls.

Abz

Mat pulls (5)
495 x 9
Losing only one rep at my problem height is awesome. Really blowing through things here. Rest paused to get the 9th, just as I did to get the 10th on 6 mats.

SSB squats
340 x 2 x 5

Neck crunches
10 each way

Car deadlift simulator
175 lbs of plates each side x 2 x 10
Definitely more like a squat, particularly a hack squat. Would like to use more weight without the plates hitting my legs. Maybe pick up another pair of 35s.

SSB holds
510 x 20 secs
Best I can do to prepare for yoking. Gonna work up to 600 lbs and just get used to shouldering that much weight. Like Goku.

Overhead press
177 x 3
202 x 3
227 x 3

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 12, 15, 13, 12, 12, 12

Close-grip bench press
240 x 5 x 10

Curls
135 x 15, 10, 10

Facepulls

Worked on my kegs between sets. The first one took me the entire session to open after using every sharp object I could find to cut through a wide rubber seal at the top but the inner stalk is wedged in somehow. The second one has nothing obvious to pry off, just a solid metal cover with a tiny line of a rubber seal in the pit that broke my utility razor in half. Working on making the first one usable before tackling the second.

Deload

Bench press
145 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5

Band rows
12 x 5

Overhead press
115 x 4 x 10

Dumbbell push press
80 x 8

Deload

Mat pulls (6)
405 x 5
I'm thinking next time I should keep the weight identical to my working weeks but just do a triple or something.

SSB squats
240 x 3 x 5

Deload

Overhead press
100 x 5
125 x 5
150 x 5

Close-grip bench press
160 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 5, 5, 5
Chin-ups
15, 15

Curls
135 x 10

Yesterday:

SSB squats
317 x 10, 10, 10

Deadlifts
405 x 13

Leg curls

Squats
315 x 5
360 x 5
410 x 6
Nice, better than expected. Great training week.

Ended it here. It was past 8 and I didn't want to make too much deadlift noise. I'll do my assist tomorrow, like last time.

Yesterday:

Bench press
237 x 5
275 x 5
312 x 5
Finally got this. Close-grip benching is to thank for sure.

Band rows
20, 20
Unilateral
10, 10, 10

Overhead press
170 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Dumbbell push press
100 x 6(R)5(L)

Curls
15, 12

Went on a fasted walk, planned for a lazy rest of the day, then decided it'd be good to do my first two training sessions as soon as possible after time off.

Mat pulls (6)
495 x 10
So far my idea to reset back a week after a bad session is working. Leg drive was good and the movement pattern felt well-oiled. Used an Emevas-style rest pause to get the 10th rep, which I think is exactly what I need to train my weakness of back fatigue and my 1RM being disproportionate to my rep ability. For the first time ever I'm experiencing the feel of gutting out a slow rep. Increased my weight belt by a size. I either gained weight or I trained fuller than normal, not sure.

SSB squats
340 x 5, 5, 4
No real reason I didn't do 3x5, just that 3 sets was more than before and I felt like leaving room to go up next time.


Neck crunches
10

Gliding leg curls
15, 15
Lessening the eccentric is way more knee-friendly.

Crush gripper #2
Left:1,1,1  Right:0,0,1
Pretty excited about progressing with this.

Back to the grind. Resuming carb restriction again, probably a little gradually.

Overhead press
162 x 5
187 x 5
212 x 5

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 15, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Close-grip bench press
237 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Curls
135 x 3 x 10

Facepulls

Currently on last day of vacation with my girlfriend. Diet has been very good, though certainly not "clean", and I've gotten a lot of walking around in.

SSB squats
315 x 3 x 10

Incline bench press
215 x 10, 9, 9, 8

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Dumbbell clean and press (clean every rep)
100 x 6 both arms

Facepulls

Curls
135 x 3 x 10

That was fun. Rest times weren't bodybuilding-short but much shorter than normal, still.

Squats
355 x 5
400 x 3
450 x 1

Deadlifts
405 x 13

I'll be doing squats again tomorrow so I kept this streamlined.

Bench press
275 x 3
315 x 2
355 x 1 (PR)

Band rows
20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Overhead press
170 x 10, 10, 10, 8

Curls
135 x 15

Ended feeling like I didn't do enough which is usually good on a cut. I'll be training full-body on Saturday in anticipation of 4 days off while my girlfriend visits so I didn't push it too hard today like I usually do on week 3.

Last night

Crush gripper #2
1, 1
#1
4x10
First time closing the #2 ever. Did both hands.

Planks
25, 25, 25, 25, 15

Reverse crunches

Mat pulls (7)
495 x 10
Basically, anytime I miss the day's mark I'm going to reset one week next session so I have a good chance of following a failure with a success. Didn't need a rolling start and I'm not going to bother anymore, it's hard to get the mats just right on the uneven surface to where that's possible.

SSB squats
340 x 2 x 5

Neck crunches
45 x 10

Gliding leg curls
12
Single-leg kettlebell SLDLs
50 x 9

Went out and picked up the keg today for $35. The seller was a really cool old dude and he offered me $20 for the second one if I ever wanted to come back. I thanked him and told him I might take him up on that, then thought about it, went straight to the bank to get a 20, texted him, and came back for the second. Too good to pass up.

Overhead press
185 x 5
210 x 3
235 x 1
Couldn't get a second, but this was a smooth rep. Should be able to hit my record of 250 while cutting weight.

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 15, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Close-grip bench press
235 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Back to this after taking inclines for a ride. Pec-tendons felt good for the most part. The right was a little achy for the first three sets but nothing startling. I'll see if it hurts more than usual on bench day and adjust my flat pressing frequency if needed.

Curls
135 x 12, 10, 10

Facepulls, external rotations

Went on an easy hike by myself yesterday at St. Joseph's. Started to rain and I really needed to wee so I left after about 40 minutes. Did 4 minutes of foam rolling and 13 minutes of yoga at night. Back has been feeling like shit lately.

Squats
330 x 3
380 x 3
425 x 3

315 x 10, 8, 8

Deadlifts
405 x 13
Not pulling from the floor has definitely messed with me. This felt weird and unpracticed. Used a lot of back on the first few reps.
Gliding leg curls
10, 10

Bench press
237 x 5
272 x 5
312 x 4

Band rows
20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Overhead press
167 x 9, 10, 8, 7
Much shorter rest times, really pushed my pace.

Dumbbell push press
100 x 5
Clean every rep.

Haven't been recording this lately but did hill sprints 3 and jogged after. Some stretching later at night. Have a job interview at Home Depot tomorrow so going to bed early tonight.

Mat pulls (6)
495 x 4, 0
Was beginning to worry my monthly deadlift fail had left me. Whew. Leg drive was pretty terrible today, maybe not doing floor deadlifts in awhile has screwed me. Will do them on squat day again and then go back up to 7 mats instead of resetting back to the top like I've been doing. I have a much better shot at actually having a successful cycle by taking one step back and two forward.

SSB squats
340 x 2 x 5

Overhead press
175 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3

Weighed chin-ups
70 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11

Incline bench press
215 x 10, 10, 10, 8, 8

Went on a hike in Oakland yesterday, easily the hardest one I've ever done. I feel like I say that everytime but it just means my hiking experience is always escalating, haha. Must have been 90% steeply uphill for several hours. Fell a few times coming back down but also had some hilarious Looney Tunes moments where I slid down really damn far somehow keeping balance. Not sore today which is a little surprising, but I guess my last hard hike is still recent enough.

My cardio held up great. The trek was challenging but never breaking.

Squats
310 x 5
355 x 5
405 x 6
First work-up set rekindled soreness from mat pulls and my back felt absolutely trashed through the rest of the session. Remembered to keep my chest up, something I haven't been consciously thinking of, and it made everything easier.

315 x 9, 8, 8

Gliding leg curls
3 x 10
Single-leg this time, figured out to avoid knee pain squeeze the leg inward rather than just think of lifting up.

Should be fine not doing deadlifts for reps every week, now that I THINK my form is dialed in.

Gonna be implementing more strongman training from now on. Called BevMo and they didn't have any busted kegs I could have, so I'm thinking of this deal instead:

Probably going to pass on the stone for now. It'd be great to have but when prioritizing I'd rather spend money on a keg and axle first since I'd get similar training from picking up and lapping the keg.

Bench press
235 x 5
272 x 5
312 x 4
Not what I wanted but an improvement from last cycle.

Band rows
20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Overhead press
165 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Dumbbell push press
120 x 0
110 x 4/0 (right/left)
100 x 6/3
Was pretty tired from the strict press, but I need to practice this more in general. I have to find a way to fatten the handle, too. Fat Gripz are too long.

Curls, face pulls, band pull-aparts

Mat pulls (7)
495 x 10
Birthday gift to myself. Aw, I shouldn't have! Weight is feeling very light. Hopefully this time I've ironed out my kinks for real and won't hit a dead end as I go lower. I recall last year having a deadlift day and failing at something like 435x5 so this is payback.

SSB squats
340 x 2 x 5
Gonna try out cutting a set and see if my recovery improves for squat day.

Neck crunches
45 x 2 x 10

Gliding leg curls

Decent exercise I got from Bret Contreras in want of a non-back loading way to isolate the hamstrings at home in lieu of a GHR machine. I tried single leg but it didn't feel good on the knee, maybe it'll come with practice. It also taxes my grip and gives a forearm pump.

Planks
25, 25, 25, 20, 20

Crush gripper #1
10, 10
#2
0
Whoa, actually JUST came short of closing the 2.

Weighed myself yesterday, 220 lbs. Going to get on with cutting to 200 again.

Overhead press
160 x 5
185 x 5
210 x 5

Weighted chin-ups
70 x 11, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline bench press
212 x 5 x 10

Curls
135 x 10

Facepulls

Deload

Squat
190 x 5
235 x 5
280 x 5

215 x 8, 8
220 x 8

Deload

Bench press
145 x 5
180 x 5
220 x 5

Band rows
12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Overhead press
110 x 10, 10 ,10, 10, 10

Everything felt so heavy, haha. I really needed this deload.