Squats
380 x 5
430 x 3
480 x 1

325 x 8, 8, 10

Strict press
205 x 5
227.5 x 2
255 x 0
Weak day, but a good test of my new training approach. A maximum of two attempts just in case the first was a fluke and then move on, blasting through assistance work and getting a good pump.

175 x 8, 8, 8
155 x 10

Neutral-grip pull-ups
20

Lying dumbbell rows
8, 10, 12, 12

Decline push-ups
30

Keg curls
160 x 15, 12

Gonna change up this day for next cycle since I've failed two 255 attempts now. Not sure exactly, but I'm thinking I'll try push press. The heavier load has worked before for my strict press when I got stuck.

Finished this session in 75 minutes. That's crazy for me, especially with two max attempts.

Slightly sick. Woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and stomach pain. I believe the latter is from some chicken wings the night before. This grocery store always sells bad chicken, even when eaten before the expiration.

Wasn't feeling it yesterday but ended up doing a good job.

Mat pulls (9)
550 x 10

SSB squats
240 x 15, 15, 15

Reverse crunches

Starting this work morning now with some ginger green tea.

Did a round of easy bag work yesterday, followed by 3 hill sprints and a short jog. Managed to fit this in after work before going out to catch UFC 202 at Buffalo Wild Wings with workmates, Briana and Bobby the plumber. Even though they invited me, I'm a bigger MMA fan and I should have remembered that you need to get there super early instead of 9:00. We had to stand outside with a huge crowd watching the outdoor TVs. To make up for the lack of booze and food we went to Hooters afterwards and ate some amazing wings and beer.

At a night club we went to afterwards I got two different guys complimenting my "Come with me if you want to lift" shirt. Arnold lines were traded. This happens everytime I go out, it's pretty awesome. 

I got pretty hammered but I never get hangovers. Maybe something to do with my drinking infrequency and how I treat it like a special event. I was able to train just fine today.

Bench press
260 x 3
295 x 3
332.5 x 3
295 felt incredibly heavy, while the final set was easy. Shoulder has been really holding up. No pain for weeks.

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups
15, 15
45 x 10, 10
90 x 9

Reg Park press
50s x 12, 10

Dumbbell curls
50s x 8, 8
Strict form, maximal stretch and squeeze.

Kettlebell preacher curls
50 x 10

Squats
355 x 3
405 x 3
455 x 3 (PR)
Christ, everything felt heavy today and my right knee had spurts of minor pain if I'd do something like get up from sitting wrong. No pain on the heavy sets, though. Did what needed to be done and it didn't dawn on me that this was uncharted rep territory until I opened my training log.

325 x 8, 8, 10

Band leg curls

Strict press
187.5 x 3
215 x 3
240 x 3

175 x 3 x 8
155 x 10

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 5 x 8-12

Dumbbell press, push-ups, curls

Failed to deadlift 620. After 3 attempts I accepted that it just wasn't happening, as badly as I wanted it. I believe I have the strength but my back had been bothering me and mentally I couldn't pull the trigger to really rip the bar off the ground.

The next day I did my maintenance work. SSB squats of 240x3x15 and crunches.

Bench press
230 x 5
277.5 x 5
315 x 5
I'm using the 5/3/1 protocol with benching again now that my shoulder is feeling better. This felt really heavy on the work-up sets and I thought about doing 305, but 315 felt fine.

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline heavy band rows
15, 18, 18, 18, 18

25-second pull-up

Facepulls

Dumbbell curls

Tried to do some behind-the-neck pressing with 135 and it's hurting something laterally on both shoulders. Went down to 95 and did much better before going back up to 135 for normal pressing.

Finished in about 90 minutes, which is the max amount of time I want to be lifting.

Squats
327.5 x 5
380 x 5
430 x 5

325 x 8, 8, 9

Banded leg curls

I'm going to revamp how I train and drastically cut down my workout duration. I've been getting way too lazy between sets at times. Moreover, I'm no longer to make the max set as big of a deal as I have been, which has added to how long my "prep time" before has been. That means no extra long rest before the money set, especially, and no more 3 attempts for the same lift. If it doesn't come the second time it's not happening. That was a lot of wasted time last cycle trying to press 255 overhead. I want to hit my workouts hard and fast.

Press
175 x 5
205 x 5
227.7 x 5
Matched last cycle's PR.

175 x 8, 8
155 x 10, 12
Everything felt heavy today so I figured I'd back off here a little bit.

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 5 x 8-12

Incline dumbbell press
50s x 25

Keg curls, band pull-aparts

Finally, some down time to write about my first powerlifting meet that took place on Sunday.

I got about 2 and a half hours of sleep the night before but I woke up feeling amped. I had a small, quick breakfast of leftover steak, tabouli, walnuts, and a Quest bar. My friend Briana met me at about 5:45 AM and we drove the 1 hour to Concord. Everything was easy to find. I got in the right room at the hotel and weighed in at 215 before nabbing some seats. Pretty soon there was a children's hip-hop dance troupe that came on to open the show and it was actually pretty nice to be able to stand up and move around to get myself limber.

The women squatted first. I warmed up about 20 minutes before I was set to go, opening with 425. My work-up sets in the warm-up area felt kind of heavy, but the bar felt like nothing on-stage. However, I made the most predictable rookie mistake ever by missing the squat command. I didn't forget, though. What happened was that I unracked and then looked at the official for what I thought was a long time with the bar on my back but she didn't do anything, so I thought I must have missed something and I need to just go. I got red lighted.

So things got weird here. I went up to the judges to tell them what my next attempt would be. The organizer said most people would try to repeat the weight they missed, so I said I'll just do that. Once I had some time to think, though, I wondered why I should try to waste my second lift on something that wasn't challenging the first time. My thinking was that I want a smoother progression up to my max for my own performance benefit and knee health instead of doing 425 twice and then leaping up to a PR. I asked for some advice from a coach who was there with his guy and got some input that convinced me to move up, so I asked the judges if this was feasible or not. The female judge got real pissy at this and snapped, "OK, so what do you want then?!" I was taken aback and go, "Oh, I was just asking, I don't want it to be an inconvenience" and she shoots, "Well, it is! So what do you want??" The head organizer just leans in and says to change it to what I wanted, 450, and she did it while sighing heavily. This monumental task involved erasing the old penciled-in number and writing 450. At this point I just want to interact with her as little as possible for both of our sakes so I thank them and leave. Even if what I did was annoying, I was merely asking.

Anyway, 450 went up as easily as 425 and this time I got all the commands right. My final squat was 501, a massive PR for me. It wasn't a walk in the park but it was less of a struggle than I expected.

There was mucho downtime after this so my comrade and I walked to Trader Joe's and basically prepared a feast in the hotel lobby.

The bench press was up next. I opened with 325, but 352? That was kind of hard. Was NOT expecting to smoke the squat and have trouble with the bench press - the exact opposite, actually. Anyway, I went for 373 next and charged up on food and a Rockstar. This didn't get captured on video, coincidentally enough, or else I would have shown my failure, but yeah, I couldn't lock out the lift. It was stuck midway up. Valiant effort and I'm OK with 350.

It was 11 hours into the meet when I stepped up to deadlift. I opened with 525 and seconded with 560, both easy. I wanted to end on a sure success so I chose 606 instead of chancing 620. I should have done the latter because 600 felt like nothing. My backyard deadlift training, with the unevenness of the patio tiles on the dirt and the inability to roll the bar like I did here, really paid off. Train in tough conditions and make the battlefield feel like luxury. It felt SO nice to be able to have a rolling start, haha.

Oh, and I haven't pulled without straps in almost 2 years but had no issue with my grip.

Come the awards ceremony and I end up getting first in the 220 open, which I wasn't expecting. Ending the day with burgers at Super Duper Burgers was a good finish. All in all, I had a great time and it felt amazing to actually be at a show doing the lifts I've done the most.

Prepping for tomorrow's meet. I'm not staying in a hotel this time due to the drive only being about an hour so going to have to wake up at about 5:00 to have breakfast and leave at 6 for the weigh-in and equipment check.

Reviewing 5/3/1 For Powerlifting (after all these years I just recently paid for a legit digital copy) and have come up with my attempts.



My only concern at this point is getting enough sleep, but I've literally never competed before with a full night of rest so I'll be fine.

And yes, I've majorly slacked off in recording my training lately.

Bench press
Up to 340 x 2
Weight felt really heavy tonight. Everything from 275 and up. Was hoping for 3 but can't complain with this.

225 x 4 x 10

Pull-ups
15
45 x 10, 10
90 x 9, 8

Behind-the-neck press
95 x 15

Keg curls
160 x 18

Squats
347.5 x 3
395 x 3
445 x 4

325 x 8, 9, 10

Band leg curls

Finished a little past 1 am. It's slightly harder to train before work now because of the new earlier shift by 2 hours. I just need to go to bed and wake up earlier.

Strict press
187.7 x 3
215 x 3
240 x 3 (PR)
Never lifted close to this weighing so light, nevermind this being an all-time PR.

175 x 4 x 10

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

Push-ups
20, 30

Dumbbell curls

Competition is in 11 days. I went with the 220 weight class. Wasn't going to make 200 in time without some wild water sweating methods. I'm still cutting for my own reasons and future contests, but the week before the comp I'm going to let loose and eat like I'm trying to grow.

Mat pulls (3)
535 x 6

SSB squats
240 x 3 x 15

Bench press
Up to 315 x 5
Felt like doing this just to make sure I still can. Morale booster after not repping past 275 for a while.

225 x 10, 10, 11, 11

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

Behind-the-neck press
135 x 10, 12

Keg curls

Squats
322.5 x 5
372.5 x 5
420 x 5

Went to work at this point and finished up at night.

Squats
320 x 8, 8, 10

Band leg curls

Finished at about 10:45pm and showed up at a work party late. Forced myself to eat a post-workout meal of fried Korean chicken, which had plenty of carbs from the breading and sauce, before allowing myself to drink.

Strict press
175 x 5
205 x 5
227.5 x 5 (PR)

175 x 10, 10, 10, 10

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

"Fasted" walk today after waking up with some protein before and during. My work schedule has changed to exclude mornings, so sleep should be better. Training will be entirely done before work.

Weight is down to 214.

Deload

Strict press
105 x 5
135 x 5
162.5 x 5

127.5 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Lying dumbbell rows
115s x 10, 12, 12, 12, 12

Push-ups, curls

Hit 535x4 on mat pulls (4) because the barbell rolled off the platform after that and moving it back on made me too tired to even get another rep out. I hate deadlifting on uneven ground. Also benched 355x1 really easily and with a pause.

Deload

Squats
195 x 5
245 x 5
295 x 5

245 x 8, 9, 10

Band leg curls

Strict press
205 x 5
225 x 3
255 x 0, 0
Trained hungry, just had no fuel. Bar was practically glued to my chest. 225 beltless on a bad day is nice to claim, at least.

It was 10:00 pm at this point so I called it a night and now am doing the assistance work in the following afternoon before work.

175 x 8, 8, 8, 8

Lying dumbbell rows
125s x 11, 12, 12, 12

Hill sprints (3) in the evening with a jog afterwards and a flat sprint at the end. Wow, running on flat ground is amazing after being so used to inclines. I felt like I was flying with how wide my stride was. It's really fun when concrete feels like a trampoline.

I've replaced my clunky phone armband with a fitness belt that holds devices very inconspicuously. Fuck, I always forget whether conspicuous or inconspicuous means discrete and had to look it up. Anyway, my new phone is a giant monstrosity, as is the trend these days, so I didn't want to have it waving around with my arm when running.

Forgot to mention an epic cheat meal (yes, meal, not day - what have I become?!) on Saturday night. I went out to dinner with bossman from work and got drunk at a sushi restaurant with the waitress while essentially eating non-stop from 8:30PM-1:30 in the morning. It started innocently enough until the owner brought out a bottle of Jameson.
I seriously feel set for the week now, except for a company dinner Wednesday night.

I've never logged about what my alcohol protocol is on here, but I allow myself to go crazy one day a week as a general practice. It's usually less frequently than that but on rare occasions two non-consecutive days.

Squats
365 x 5
410 x 3
460 x 1
Shocked at how light this felt. Would have gone for a second but didn't want to risk dumping the weight on the patio concrete. Next time I should put patio tiles around me.

320 x 8

Band leg curls

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6 and 315 x 2

225 x 10, 10, 10, 10

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

Behind-the-neck press
95 x 14, 15

Curls

Mat pulls (3)
535 x 1
First bad day of this cycle. Might have something to do with my back just now being recovered. Will reset back to 4 next week.

SSB squats
240 x 15, 15, 15

Strict press
185 x 3
205 x 3
235.7 x 0, 2

175 x 8, 8, 9

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

Bench press
Up to 275 x 6
315 x 1
Wanted to feel something a little heavier than the usual 275x6. Next week, going for 355.

225 x 4 x 10

Pull-ups
10, 15, 15, 15, 15

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