Back is inching toward recovery but no meaningful progress yet. Usually this kind of thing takes 4 or 5 days. Today, I started out by testing the waters and squatting the bar, then thought it best to move on to the car deadlift simulating lift. Worked up to 5 plates on each bar and did 15 reps for two sets of that, after doing 8 with 4, 3, 2, and 1 plate(s). I was able to get some heavy load on my legs at least without back problems, though I had to cinch my belt pretty damn low on my hips to protect my back, which made it tighter than usual.

Tomorrow I'll probably bench again, and then hopefully can resume a normal week on Sunday.

Tried to overhead press and made it to 185 for 5, using a belt on every set up to that. On 205 I couldn't get it off my chest without a slight lean that my body refused to do with the back pain I was dealing with, so I did a bench press workout instead, working up to 275x6 and then the usual 225x10 sets and back work.

Mat pulls (4)
535 x 7
Last two were rest paused. Weight felt so heavy that after one rep I was thinking this was gonna be over real soon, but I was just able to keep grinding them out.

SSB squats
240 x 15, 15, 7
Felt something snap in my lower back on the right side. It was painful enough that I yelled out loud. Glad I got everything done for the most part! Was being way too lax on keeping tight while squatting after figuring the hard part of the workout was over. Stupid. 

Did some yoga and foam rolling last night after a short night walk, something I've been doing lately after dinner.

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6
Felt kind of heavy today.

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups
15, 15
45 x 10
90 x 8, 8

Behind-the-neck press
95 x 14, 18

Keg curls
160 x 20, 15

Dumbbell curls
50s x until I got tired

Facepulls

I'm getting 7 hours of sleep a night on average. It's not quite enough, haha. Today I had intended to get an early start on training after work but I fell asleep while watching strongman and waiting for lunch to digest.

Wow, I got really fucked up on an edible at my friend Briana's house and was out for Tuesday night and all of yesterday. Spent the night and somehow I made it to work at 7am but ended up having to lie down and go home early. Better believe I ate good, though. I pretended protein-rich foods were out to kill me and that I'd better beat them to the punch.

SSB squats
315 x 5
360 x 5
410 x 7
Same as last cycle. Very pleased. Felt depleted but explosive, so reps were a little wobbly but with power behind them.

320 x 3 x 8

Band leg curls

Lost 2 more pounds, down to 218. Perfect pacing.

Partied over the weekend. Ate well and had Quest bars on me like a dork.

At the BFD music festival I wore this shirt that Arnold told me to buy and a number of guys quipped Arnold quotes at me:

Note: not actually me, just a lookalike.

Strict press
175 x 5
195 x 5
227.5 x 4, 3
5 would have been a PR. I'm OK with 4.

175 x 9, 9, 8

Behind-the-neck press
95 x 12, 10

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 10, 12, 12, 12, 12 ,12

Push-ups

Curls

Deload

Bench press
Up to 225 x 5

185 x 4 x 10

Pull-ups
12, 12, 12
45 x 10, 10

Behind-the-neck press
135 x 10
95 x 12
Damn, do a light set before 135. I need a warm-up for this position.

Curls

Deload

Mat pulls (5)
Up to 500 x 3

SSB squats
240 x 3 x 10

No knee pain, good sign.

Deload

Strict press
105 x 5
135 x 5
160 x 5

125 x 4 x 10

Dumbbell rows
125s x 5 x 8

Push-ups, curls

I forgot to mention I went running on the day before I squatted. Just an easy jog for 25 minutes before walking home, which took an additional 30.

Bench press
Up to 350 x 1
Haven't gone over 275 in a while so this was a good morale booster by letting me know my bench isn't getting weaker. A feeling of pressure on my bad shoulder but no sharp pain.

225 x 4 x 10

Pull-ups
12, 12
45 x 10, 10
90 x 8, 8

Behind-the-neck press
135 x 10, 12

Curls

Shut-down my squat workout because of knee pain. It's a different area, on the far side, and on a different knee from before, so I consider it just a random occurrence. I got up to 330 before stopping. Will try again another day after some healing.

Strict press
195 x 5
225 x 3
252.5 x 1 (PR)
That was a tough rep. Slow and hard-fought. Foot spacing was too narrow, completed the top while stumbling.

180 x 3 x 8
155 x 12

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 8, 10, 12, 12, 12

Incline bench press, pushups, curls

I keep craving junky carbs, and then after training I'll eat a higher fat meal with some sodium like a burrito bowl and be good. I'll introduce a cheat day next week as I get even stricter.

Mat pulls (5)
535 x 7
Lost count, it was either 7 or 8, so I lowballed it.

SSB squats
240 x 15, 15, 16

Trained a little hungry and felt sluggish, but still a good session. Cut is coming along. Lost two more pounds, down to 220.

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups
12, 12
45 x 10
90 x 8, 8

Strict press
135 x 12

Keg curls
160 x 15

SSB squats
340 x 3
385 x 3
435 x 5

325 x 3 x 8

Planks, reverse crunches

Strict press
180 x 3
210 x 3
237.5 x 3

180 x 4 x 8

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 8, 9, 10, 12, 12

Curls

Weigh-in: lost 5 lbs in two weeks, down to 222.5. Faster than I expected but some of that is probably water. In any case, definitely don't want to go more than that.

Went running today. Sprinted up the hill once but a guy and his dog came and joined me so I decided to leave and do HIIT for roughly 8 minutes. Holy shit. I haven't sprinted on flat ground in forever, and after being used to hills I felt like a cheetah. My stride felt really big.

Mat pulls (6)
535 x 8
Despite being up since 4:00 in the morning and running on 5 hours of sleep I felt like a cannon. 1 rest pause.

SSB squats
240 x 3 x 15

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Overhead press
135 x 14

Pull-ups
12, 12
45 x 10
90 x 8, 8
Bodyweight x 12

Dumbbell curls

SSB squats
315 x 5
360 x 5
410 x 7

325 x 3 x 8

Leg curls

Strict press
175 x 5
200 x 5
225 x 5
Matches all-time PR but at lighter bodyweight. Was anticipating this being a struggle based on how heavy warming-up felt but it was really easy, had to stop myself from going for a 6th. I haven't weighed myself but I've been eating less carbs, almost no milk except half my previous amount in my oatmeal, and doing more cardio, including that long ass run and mosh-pit battling. Glad all this during the deload didn't make me weaker.

175 x 8, 10, 8, 8

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 8, 10, 10, 12, 12

Push-ups, curls

Deload

SSB squats
200 x 15, 15, 15

Work schedule is changing up to be early mornings. I preferred afternoons but I don't give a shit, I'm glad to have work. Lots of drama in the workplace, but not involving me. I'm basically getting more hours as a promotion. Did manage to get tomorrow morning off, though, so George and I could hit up a metal show tonight.

Deload

Bench press
Up to 225 x 5

185 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups
10, 10, 12, 12, 12, 12

Keg curls
12

Went on a long run with a friend Monday morning, about 6.5 miles, some of it uphill. I really surprised myself with how easy it was. I didn't realize we were at the end until I realized we had done a loop and reached her car. More impressively, I weighed in heavier than I thought I would that morning, 227.5 on an empty stomach naked.

Deload

SSB squat
200 x 5
250 x 5
290 x 5

240 x 3 x 8

Ended the training cycle doing 535x9 mat pulls off of 7 mats.

Deload

Strict press
105 x 5
135 x 5
160 x 5

125 x 5 x 10

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

Keg curls
160 x 12

Have a powerlifting meet I'm going to sign up for on July 1st. I'm going to be cutting down. Have started by cutting down my milk consumption and then added more cardio than normal. Yesterday I ran Hills with a short jog after.

Bench press
Up to 275 x 8
Pushing things a little on my third week. Since it's the heaviest I've stuck to in a while 275 initially feels heavy but I find that I don't get tired repping it. Hopefully this means good things for my max. My shoulder has been feeling much better so this has all been paying off.

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10
245 x 10

Pull-ups
10, 11, 12
45 x 10, 10
90 x 8

Curls and facepulls

SSB squats
355 x 5
400 x 3
450 x 1

320 x 3 x 10

At night:

SSB squats
240 x 15

Dumbbell lunges
50s x 20

Band leg curls, planks

The past few sessions my knee has been hurting. It felt good today going into the workout but I still resolved to use knee sleeves. No pain.

Strict press
180 x 8, 8, 8, 8
140 x 14

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 5 x 10

Bench push-ups, curls

Finishing up from Friday's press session.

Managed to get in a max lift before work. Strict pressed 250 after a failed set, which matches my all-time record. Will do the rest tomorrow.

Went on a 45-minute night jog last night.

Missed recording a lot. Some rapid fire entries.

Last press day, I did only 237.5x2. Squat day was 425x3. Bench day was more bodybuilding stuff.

Yesterday, I mat pulled 535x9 off of 8 mats.

SSB squats
Up to 400 x 5

320 x 8, 8, 10

Leg curls

Back in the mix after more than a week off squatting heavy.

After this, which was yesterday, I did a bodybuilding upper-body workout. Started out with skullcrushers super-set with curls to pre-exhaust the muscles and then hit 185 lb bench presses for sets of 10-15.

I'm hungry for competition again. I haven't done strongman training in several months.

Forgot to record 200 bodyweight squats the day after my bench day.

Strict press
175 x 5
200 x 5
222.5 x 5
Good stuff. Was concerned about my back but it held up. I even twinged it a tiny bit picking up a 45 plate before the max (stupid).


175 x 9, 8, 7
155 x 7 -> 135 x 3

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 8, 10, 12, 12, 12

Behind-the-neck press
65 x 22

Pull-ups
15

Short rest times to make it in time for work. I have an early day tomorrow so I will probably do chest and biceps tomorrow afternoon.

Very frustrating week. Last Tuesday I twinged my back doing mat pulls. It wasn't too bad, but the next morning while half asleep I stretched in bed and hurt my back much worse just from that, lol. That took me out the rest of the week until today. While getting ready for a bench press workout, I hurt my back again while setting a 50 lb kettlebell down on the stands to anchor them.

I managed to get my workout done fine by sticking with barbell work and thereby avoiding any more accidents stooping over to pick up dumbbells, but I'm going to have to stick with bodyweight squats for now. Spirits remain high and I'm ever vigilant.

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6, 6
225 x 12, 10
185 x 15, 15, 12

Pull-ups
10, 10, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Behind-the-neck press
65 x 25

Dumbbell curls
50s x 10

Post-workout and my back feels better. Weird. Something about arching during the bench press put pressure in the right way on it.

Strict press
195 x 5
220 x 3
247.5 x 1

175 x 9, 8, 8, 8

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 8, 12, 12, 12, 12

More to come after work.

Did a bodybuilding-style workout for upper-body the day after mat pulls. Incline benching hurt my shoulder but flat benching was fine, surprisingly. I tried a tactic I've heard before of isolation exercises before compounds and it gave me a crazy pump. After 5 sets of skullcrushers super-set with curls I benched 185 lbs for 8-10 reps across 3 sets (super-set with slow bodyweight pull-ups) and some behind-the-neck pressing and lots of chest flyes. Fun.

Managed to do my entire squat workout before work after getting up an hour early. Sad note: I slightly strained my back doing yoga the night before.

SSB squats
330 x 3
380 x 3
425 x 3
Weight felt heavy today so I did the minimum easily. Will go all out next week. Quads have been perpetually sore the last few weeks, maybe go easier on the RE day.

320 x 10, 10, 10
290 x 10

Neck crunches
Forward with band: 25, 25
Backward with 35: 10, 8

Dumbbell lunges
50s x 20

Band leg curls
60

Mat pulls (9)
530 x 10
Pretty easy. No rest pauses, but will add them next week. Feels shockingly high after spending three weeks deadlifting.

SSB squats
150 x 30, 30, 25

Strict press
180 x 3
210 x 3
235 x 4 (PR)
Killer, was not expecting to be so strong. Have been warming up my triceps more with band pressdowns lately and they seem to be helping.

175 x 8, 8, 8
155 x 10

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 10, 12, 12, 12, 12

As usual, will do some isolation stuff after work.

SSB squats
310 x 5
355 x 5
400 x 8

320 x 10

Stopped here for work and finished up the rest at night.

SSB squats
320 x 10, 10

Leg curls

Knee was feeling tender, probably from kneeling on the hard bathroom floor to install a bidet. Didn't do more squat sets because of that.

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6

225 x 15, 12, 10, 10

Pull-ups
10, 12, 20, 15, 20 

More accessory work

Yesterday:

Deadlift
Up to 600 x 1 (PR [duh])

It was hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I remember the ascent feeling far longer than the video shows. Still, the feeling of a fight is something I was not able to grit through before. When I had my weak streak, if the weight was coming up too slow my body would just shut down and abort the lift. I mentally had no confidence in the durability of my back. Here, when I felt the strain I KNEW my back wouldn't get hurt. Mat pulls and rest pauses have helped me learn how to grind, especially the latter under fatigue.

Had work after this (15th straight day in a row), so afterwards I trained until about 11:30pm.

SSB squats
31, 30, 30

Leg curls

Abs

Strict press
170 x 5
190 x 5
220 x 4, 5
> Whew, good progress.

170 x 10, 8, 8
155 x 10

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 10, 12, 12, 12, 12

Push-ups and curls

Trained until midnight, felt like death. These late sessions really make me feel like hell.

Deload

Bench press
Up to 225 x 5

185 x 10, 10, 10
135 x 18

Pull-ups
10, 10, 10, 10
45 x 8
90

Skullcrushers, curls

Deload

SSB squats
185 x 5
230 x 5
280 x 5

210 x 10, 10, 10, 8

Deload

Mat pulls
Up to 500 x 3

SSB squats
150 x 25,

Trained in an absolute swamp. Didn't feel like going out there in the rain before work but it must be done!

Deload

Strict press
105 x 5
135 x 5
160 x 5

125 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Lying dumbbell rows
100s x 10, 10
125s x 10, 10, 10

Bench push-ups
35

Keg curls
160 x 15

Dumbbell curls
50s x 8

SSB squats
350 x 5
400 x 3
440 x 1
Tweaked my lower back on the 440. If I didn't have my belt on I'd have probably had to dump the weight mid-rep, but I managed to stand up and walk it back in pain.

I tried to 320 for one rep with the belt on tight, didn't feel good about it, and started taking plates off to do RE with 150 before deciding no, fuck this. I put everything back on, made sure to lean my weight back, and did my sets alright.

320 x 3 x 5

Dumbbell lunges, leg curls

Bench press
Up to 335 x 1

225 x 14, 10, 15
185 x 13

Pull-ups
10, 12, 12
90 x 8, 7

Push-ups, curls

Deadlift
Up to 570 x 1 (PR)

 

SSB squats
150 x 3 x 30

Dumbbell lunges, leg curls

Bench press
Up to 315 x 5
Only intended to do a cautious single and it felt stupid light. If my shoulder was healthy I could have easily done another. Probably a stupid move but it did wonders for morale. All that time of holding back hasn't hurt my bench at all.

225 x 17, 15, 12

Pull-ups
15, 15
90 x 8, 8, 10

Skullcrushers
50s x 8, 8

Band pressdowns, Behind-the-neck press, curls

My shoulder hurts a little more than it should now, but it's from grinding out some last reps on the 225 rather than the 315. Gotta remember to stop when the bar speed slows.

SSB squats
350 x 5
400 x 3
445 x 1

320 x 4 x 10

Walking lunges
50s x ?

Band leg curls

Legs felt shaky last week and this from RE squats.