Entry #1084

Lifting with an injured back, so I donned my dad's old weightlifting belt for the first time ever.

Deadlift:
370 x 5
415 x 3
465 x 5
> Felt so strong, but stopped early as back pain set in. Still a PR. Can't wait to see what I can do next cycle after I'm healed.

One-arm overhead press:
80 x 5, 5, 5/8
> 8 reps on right arm for the last set. Right arm is much stronger here, but on dumbbell bench press my prior-injured left is usually the easier side. Weird.

Face-pulls between press sets

Neutral-grip chins:
15, 8, 8, 6, 6

SSB box squats + monster mini bands:
240 x 5, 1
> Back twinged, so terminated the exercise.

Incline dumbbell skullcrushers:
50s x 4
40s x 10, 8

Missed logging last session.

SSB box squat:
400 x 5, 5

Leg press + lying calf raises

Floor press:
300 x 5, 5, 4
> 1-second pause.

Weighted chin-ups:
90 x 5, 5, 5

Skullcrushers + hammer curls

Back sored up again from the squats and quad is still as painful as ever, making it two weeks now. I'm going to stick with box squats with a belt for the rest of this cycle (only two days, anyways). No more quad isolation work for now.

Entry #1082

Loaded squat walkout:
440 x 10 seconds
> I dig these a lot. Instant squat performance improvement + ab work.

Safety bar squat:
385 x 5
> Quad is STILL sore, making it well over a week. Should I count it as an injury? Still squatted strong.

GHR:
17, 12

Calf raises

One-arm dumbbell press:
140 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell row:
185 x 5/1
> 5 in left arm. When doing the other I felt a twinge in my back so I stopped.

Weighted chin-ups:
45 x 10, 10, 6

Dumbbell pec squeezes:
40s x 5, 5, 4

Back pain is persisting. Nothing serious, it should go away in a day or two. Between squatting, the GHR (which always stiffens my back), barbell calf raises, and finally, 3 sets of having to manhandle a 140 lb dumbbell off of the floor and into my lap, my back is getting stupidly pumped by the end. I might need to look into belting up.

While I'm at it, I should use straps for things like rows, too. The way this routine is peppered with unilateral things I'm taxing my grip a ton, to the point where I barely even use my Fat Gripz anymore. It's time to go full-on puss mode with belts and straps, I'd say.

So in a strange turn of events, my CNS is healthy and I still feel fresh, but my body is a little beat up. Lots of healing for the next two days, and maybe just box squatting next week if my quad isn't back to normal.

Entry #1081

Goofy session yesterday.

Deadlift:
340 x 3
390 x 3
440 x 5
500 x 0
> Equipment failure. Basically, the barbell fell apart, and it took me until the middle of putting the plates back to realize what had happened. I was doing 440 for 9 but felt the weight start to shift to the left, and by the 5th rep it was completely lopsided. I thought my grip was just uneven but I didn't want to go for high reps again, so I loaded up 500, pulled it off the floor and again felt the barbell tilt on its end. Eventually I found out that the screw had fallen out and the plates were gradually pushing against the collars, migrating to the end of the bar.

Unilateral overhead press:
75 x 12/5, 10/5, 10/5
> Right and left arm, respectively. Looks like one-handed is definitely the way to go for isolating problem areas. Doing two hands with the 80s meant I was forcing reps on my left when it couldn't extend all the way and underworking my right. I'll keep doing this until both sides are even. Oh, and there was less (read: none) pain than usual this way, thanks to being able to devote 100% focus to each side at a time. Guess I'm no longer in any hurry to get a Swiss bar.

NG pull-ups:
12, 12, 10

SSB squat:
255 x 5, 5, 5

Fasted walk today. Weighed in at 216.

Entry #1080

Been taking it easy for two days, doing nothing but fasted walks and foam rolling. Took an extra day off to really get prepped for deadlifts tomorrow. Today's training consisted of massive Canyon Grill burgers, gyro feasts at Grapevine with the girlfriend and her sister, and Vietnamese beef pho with steak.

I'm starting to really hone in on some key details for cutting weight. Saturated fat and sodium can actually spike insulin levels quite a bit even in the absence of carbs, so I'm not eating immediately before bed anymore in order to allow a growth hormone spurt during sleep. I'm also looking to bring back cottage cheese more instead of saltier cheddar.

Shoulder has been a little achy. Weighted dips last week were extremely disagreeable. It's less of a painful sensation and more a feeling of it just being stiff. I can press fine, though, as evident by the 140 lb dumbbell press day before yesterday.

Entry #1079

SSB squat:
380 x 5, 5, 5
> Almost did box squats today because my leg is still sore. Rather than DOMS I think I pulled the quad stretching a week ago. Still, crushed this. Very happy.

GHR:
10 x 12, 10

SSB calf raises:
135 x 12

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 5
110 x 5
140 x 5

Dumbbell row:
180 x 5, 5, 5
> Chalk helps. Pull to the side, not in front.

Band pressdowns super-set with hammer curls:
20, 12, 12          60s x 14, 14
                         40s x 16

Great day.

Entry #1078

Had a case of DOMS in my quads during warm-up Hindu squats, so I decided to change things up today and avoid squatting deep.

SSB box squat:
400 lbs x 3, 4, 3
> Could have hit 4 on all sets but kind of wanted to hold back today. Never squatted 400 for reps before. Clearly I'm proficient with the stretch-reflex from squatting ATG so much because I had terrible pop coming off the stool. It felt like I was trying to rip my legs out of being super-glued. Once I actually moved off the rest of the rep was easy.

GHR:
10 lb plate x 15, 12

Floor press:
295 lbs x 5, 5
> No struggle, had a couple more reps in me.

With 2-second pauses:
275 lbs x 5

Dumbbell row:
180 lb dumbbell x 5, 5, 5
> Done standing with the power rack for support.

Dips:
25 lbs x 10, 10
> Taking it easy for my shoulder.

Alternating hammer curls with Fat Gripz:
60s x 14, 12

I didn't even want to train today but it ended up being fun as hell. Hit some solid numbers while still cruising on easy. I'll be ready to get back to business on Saturday.

Entry #1077

Haven't been updating lately.

Deadlift:
330 x 5
370 x 5
415 x 12

Dumbbell military press:
80s x 6, 6, 6
> Last set was sans Fat Gripz. I hate to admit it, but for my situation, this movement seems better without. The dumbbells + the overhead balancing + the Fat Gripz makes it too unstable to get great mileage out of it. As a result, my troublesome shoulder has difficulty locking out unless I take them off.

Overhead band shrugs (x 12) + external rotation machine (100 lbs x 12)

NG pull-ups:
15, 10, 8

SSB squat:
255 x 5, 5, 5

Been suffering from "weightlifters' headaches" ever since the start of my deload. It began with a set of 25-rep good mornings, and persisted the next time I tried those. Always at rep 20. Today, it reared its head again on deadlifts, although not nearly as severe.

Last night I managed to finally get good sleep (10 hours) after probably a week and a half of only 5-6 hours a night. Need to keep that up or else I'll be forced to take time off so I can recover.

Entry #1076

Ran 5 miles yesterday in 50 minutes. Wasn't even out of breath by the end of it, but stopped for my joints. This is, hands down, the best my cardio has ever been at. A combination of HIIT and swimming can be attributed to this.

Deload

SSB squat:
260 x 5, 5, 5

Good morning:
150 x 20

One-arm dumbbell press:
85 x 5, 5, 5

Hang clean:
135 x 5, 5, 5

Push-ups super-set with dumbbell rows:
25, 15                           100 x 25, 12, 10

Curls

Finished in 45 minutes, Good time.

Went jogging with le girlfriend at night. Probably netted some good growth hormone release from it.

Entry #1075

Deadlifted 455 x 5 in a weak showing on Saturday. Haven't had a great week...until now.

SSB loaded walkout:
440 x 10 seconds
> A trick I learned from Pavel to fire up the proprioceptors before a big effort.

SSB squat:
380 x 5
> Blew this out of the water.

One-arm dumbbell press:
137.5 x 3/5, 5, 5
> Only got 3 on my right arm for the first set. Guess I need to warm-up better.

Dumbbell row:
137.5 x 15, 12, 10

Dips super-set with dumbbell curls:
16             40s x 10

Entry #1074

SSB squat:
250 x 5
325 x 5
380 x 3, 3

Dumbbell press:
137.5
Right arm: 3
Left arm: 0

Holy shit, I felt burned out. Definitely time to switch exercises on at least squats. One of my worst days this year. I did film the squats in anticipation of getting my usual 5 and my form is fantastic, at least. Back is upright, my knees don't go past my toes, and depth is well below parallel. The first two reps on each of the heavy sets were breezy and the third was just killer.

It's funny to think that I at least set a PR for bad days, haha. Last time I felt burned-out I grinded 360 x 3.

Finished up with some push-ups mixed with chin-ups.

Entry #1073

SSB squats:
375 x 5, 5, 4
> First time in 11 years of lifting that I failed on squats. Only got 4 reps on the last set before failing a fifth. Dumped the load overhead without a problem. Reminds me of Emevas scoffing at people worrying about failing and not having spotters.

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 5
110 x 5
137.5 x 5

Dumbbell row:
137.5 x 12, 10, 10, 8
> No floor loading, just constant tension.

Isometric dumbbell pec squeezes:
40s x 4, 4, 4
> 5 second hold. Done between sets of rows.

Dips:
12, 8, 8
> Shoulder fatigue from earlier movements.

Curls

Might try adding GHR after squats.

Entry #1072

Didn't get to train today because of waking up from a nap at 6 and the gym closes at 8 on weekends. I'd rather just wait another day and have a night of tissue work and myofascial release than rush and train with no nutrition.

This entire week, in fact, I've had two days of rest after each session (the first time being from wanting to rest after a late night of drinking, which actually seemed to refresh me and help set a deadlift PR the next day). That's why I love this program. Doing a full-body day means no one region is ever going too long untrained if life happens and I need to take a day off.

Did 5 minutes of HIIT yesterday and swam laps in the pool tonight. I've been eating a lot of vegetables lately and less fruit.

Entry #1071

Deadlift:
365 x 3
405 x 3
430 x 10
> Had another one or two in me but was mentally held back a little bit from my thumb. No blood, thankfully. Nice PR.

Dumbbell military press:
80s x 5, 6, 6

NG pull-ups:
12, 10, 6, 6, 6

SSB squat:
255 x 5, 5, 5

Entry #1070

SSB squat:
245 x 5
320 x 5
375 x 5
> Oof, getting heavy. Last rep was probably the hardest-fought squat I've ever done.

One-arm dumbbell press:
135 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell row:
135 x 10, 10

Horizontal band row:
20

Sliced my thumb wide open with a razor blade and it impacted how tightly I can grip. Had to cut rows short because blood was seeping everywhere.

Entry #1069

Deadlift video: 410 x 12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm0HGGYNbTk

Today:

SSB squat:
370 x 5, 5, 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 5
110 x 5
135 x 5

Dumbbell rows (no dead pauses):
135 x 8, 8, 8

Dips:
15, 8

Curls

Entry #1068

Taking a cue from MadCow this cycle and progressing on presses and squats with at least one day of work-up sets per week before conquering that weight for 3 sets next time, rather than 3 sets of 5 and doing a linear increase in poundage next session. This way I'm increasing at half the rate as before (5 lbs on squats per week instead of 10, 2.5 lbs on presses per week instead of 5), a necessary tapering down as I get stronger.

This time I didn't see any benefits in workout length, though, because I found out I can no longer progress on dumbbell rows with 25 lb plates - there is simply no room on the dumbbell. I had to take some time to experiment with 35 lb plates and increasing the height of the bench, which worked out fine.

SSB squat:
290 x 5
315 x 5
370 x 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
132.5 x 5, 5, 5

Facepulls:
10, 10, 10

One-arm dumbbell row:
180 x 5, 5, 5
> Less leg drive now that I'm higher up. Also, holy crap is my left arm stronger than my right, despite being the side that was injured three times. The weight shot up in my left arm yet I had to really grind it out in my right. 

FatGripz skullcrushers super-set with alternating dumbbell curls:
45s x 8, 8 50s x 16, 16

Entry #1067

Haven't been updating as much because of technological reasons. Luckily, this has been a deload week so there's not a ton to report. I did have a badass swim session in the middle of a thunderstorm, and cardio has been consistent all around.

Despite all this I weighed 212 yesterday. It's either from creatine, muscle gain, or both. Despite the increase I look as lean as ever.

Tuesday~

SSB squat:
255 x 5, 5, 5

Unilateral dumbbell press:
85 x 5, 5, 5

Hang clean:
135 x 5, 5, 5

Unilateral dumbbell rows:
100 x 25, 12

Today~

Fat Gripz deadlifts:
190 x 5
230 x 5
280 x 2, finished the last 3 holding onto the bar

GHR:
20

Dumbbell military press super-set with chin-ups:
65s x 5, 5, 5               15, 10, 8, 8, 8

SSB squats:
205 x 5, 5, 5

Neck machine

Entry #1066

SSB squats:
365 x 5, 5, 4
> Whew, I'm starting to feel burnt out. Back was extremely stiff.

Unilateral dumbbell press:
130 x 5, 5, 5 

Power cleans:
205 x 3, 3, 3

Unilateral dumbbell rows:
130 x 10, 10
> No floor contact. Felt incredibly light after rowing 170. 

EZ bar curls + mini bands:
25 x 12, 7
> One of my bands snapped so I couldn't finish the set. R.I.P.

And with that, I've gotten back up to my old numbers before I left this routine for 5/3/1 - except at a lighter body weight, the same dumbbell weight in both arms, and a better deadlift. All in three weeks. My shoulder has been pain-free ever since I switched and I'm able to throw hooks and uppercuts again. Lots of good things happened when I did what I knew would work for me as an individual.

I'm gonna take the next week off for a much-deserved deload and then come back to push through new barriers. 

Entry #1065

Deadlifts:
355 x 5
400 x 3
450 x 1
450 x 6
> Between safety bar squats, picking heavy dumbbells up from the floor, and power cleans, my back is feeling overworked. First try was a fucking grind. Went for a walk to the bathroom, came back, and busted out 6 reps, this time taking a longer and more focused start before picking the weight up. It might be worth trying out an extra day of rest before deadlift day.

Dumbbell military press:
75s x 6, 6, 6

Chin-ups:
16, 10, 10

SSB squats:
245 x 5, 5

Machine neck extensions:
80 x 10, 8

Entry #1064

6:45 minutes of HIIT yesterday, plus a walk to the store and back.

SSB squats:
360 x 5, 5, 5
> Felt myself pitch forward a little on some reps. If I can't fix this on my own I might bring back the bands, but it felt like just an attention thing.

Unilateral dumbbell press:
127.5
Right arm: 3, 5, 6
Left arm: 5, 5, 5
> Seems like I didn't warm-up adequately. I'm doing a lot of slow, blood-pumping stuff for my shoulder and elbows, but nothing explosive to prime my muscles for performing. Added an easy extra rep on the last set to show myself it was just that and nothing more. It's hard being patient sticking to the progression plan but a 2.5 lb increase every time is plenty fast.

Power cleans:
200 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
> For some reason I just can't front squat dynamically for a full clean. Part of the issue might be not leaning back enough. When I tried to keep that in mind I sacrificed height and failed to shelve the first rep of one of the sets, so I need to combine the two principles now. Shrug up while pulling back. I'm really enjoying cleans. They're a fun change and I'm eager to break my 300 lb nemesis from the competition.

Unilateral dumbbell rows:
100 x 15

Entry #1063

Sprinted a hill three reps last night.

Slept poorly and felt tired today, but had a very good session.

SSB squat:
355 x 5, 5, 5

Unilateral dumbbell press:
127.5 x 5
100 x 12, 12, 12
> Dropped my dumbbell handle and it broke.

My fault, but this wouldn't have happened if my dumbbell hooks didn't fail so miserably and I was able to rack and rerack like a bench press. Went with the heaviest gym dumbbell, 100.

Power clean:
195 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
> First set sucked. The rest were the best cleans I've ever done. Need more of a warm-up.

EZ bar curls:
20 + mini bands x 15, 8, 7

Entry #1062

Deadlift:
330 x 5
380 x 3
425 x 9
> Could have gotten another one if I really tried. I did things backwards today to bring my deadlift performance up and I think I'm going to keep it this way.

Dumbbell military press with Fat Gripz:
75 x 5, 5, 5
> The last set was the best I've ever overhead pressed since dislocating my shoulder. Everything got way easier the further I went, probably as I inadvertently recovered from deadlifting.

Chin-ups:
15, 12, 8
> Did these between sets of pressing. 

SSB squat:
240 x 5, 5, 5
> I didn't think about how I can't front squat with a clean grip when my arms are pumped. I'm not sure if I even want to practice for cleans anymore, or if I can get by without front squatting for practice. I don't have any Olympic meets on the horizon. 

Neck machine:
80 x 7, 6 
> Between sets of squats.

Did some martial art practice last night. I can throw hooks and uppercuts with no pain. This routine is fantastic. As soon as I stopped barbell pressing my shoulder got better. 

Doing 5/3/1 three times a week saw my deadlift go up, my squat stall before going down, and my pressing sharply decline. I've managed to keep up my deadlift progress by maintaining Wendler's scheme for it while getting my squat and presses to hike up with my own touches, all while hovering at 207 and losing about a pound or two every two weeks.

Entry #1061

SSB squats:
350 x 5, 5, 5
> This was the breeziest it's been in months. As the weight goes up the effort just becomes easier. I'm convinced that there's no better method for getting my squat up than simply doing it frequently. 

Unilateral dumbbell press:
125 x 5, 5, 5
> Doing face pulls between sets. 

Unilateral dumbbell rows:
170 x 5, 5, 5

Incline skullcrushers with Fat Gripz:
45s x 4
35s x 10, 6 
> Underestimated how killer dumbbell pressing is on my arms. 

Entry #1060

Weighed 207.4 lbs.
 

SSB squats:

345 x 5, 5, 5

 

One-arm dumbbell press:

120 x 5, 5, 5

 

Dumbbell rows:
165s x 5, 5, 5 

 

EZ bar mini-band curls:

16, 10, 7 

Entry #1059

Yesterday:

Front squats (clean grip):
225 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell military press with Fat Gripz:
75s x 5, 5, 5 

Deadlifts:
405 x 8

Back was sore from sitting at the computer too long doing work right before I trained. Sucked up my deads. 

Entry #1058

The deload payed off exponentially and I felt stronger in pretty much everything I did today. I've been sick for almost two weeks now and I'm just getting over it, but it was what sapped my strength in the weeks prior.

I'm also done loading back on creatine.

SSB squats:
340 x 5, 5, 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
115 x 5, 5, 5
> Could have gone higher on squats and these, but kept it low for progression momentum. 

Power cleans:
190 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

EZ bar mini-band curls:
15, 10, 8 

Entry #1057

Deload

SSB squat:
250 x 3 x 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 3 x 5

Power cleans:
135 x 5 x 3 

Mini band EZ bar curls:
12, 10, 8 

Finally getting over my week and a half sickness and I'm in the middle of creatine loading. I'm expecting good things next week.

Went on a fasted BCAA walk for an hour this afternoon after waking up.

 

Entry #1056

Deload

SSB squat:
200 x 3 x 5

Dumbbell military press:
60s x 3 x 5

Fat Gripz deadlift:
185, 225, 275 x 5
> Only got 2 reps on the 275 before I had to grip the bar.

Chin-ups:
20, 10, 8 

Entry #1055

Deload

SSB squat:
250 x 3 x 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 3 x 5

Power cleans:
135 x 5 x 3 

Mini band EZ bar curls:
12, 10, 8 

Entry #1054

8 minutes of HIIT in the grass. It was...sprinty. Goddamn, cardio is boring to write about.

Entry #1053

For the sake of my shoulder and the fact that I seem to respond better to it while on a constant caloric deficit, I'm back on my own routine that I adopted in the immediate aftermath of shoulder injury, with the exception now of being able to use the same pressing weight for both arms.

I can't tell if I've gotten this much weaker doing 5/3/1 three days a week while cutting or if being sick is just affecting me that much, but today was very sobering. Spirits are high, though.

SSB squats:
340 x 5, 3, 3
> I left this program months ago doing 365 x 5 for 3 sets.

One-armed dumbbell press, neutral grip:
110 x 5, 5, 5
> Tried to do 130 and it was shockingly heavy. Wtf.

Power cleans:
185 x 5, 5, 5
> Form is getting better. Feet aren't all over the place when I thump down. Still don't have the coordination to squat into a full clean. I pulled up 300 at my meet but of course I'm reigning in my form for training.

Chin-ups:
20

Cheat day today. Feasted on what had to be a 2,000 calorie burger at Shari's Restaurant.  

Entry #1053

Deadlifted 440 x 5. Running on 4 hours of sleep and feeling a little sick. I felt like I had no pop whatsoever.

Some things to mention: I haven't been using whey for the past week and a half and I'm off of creatine right now.

Entry #1051

Things have been sucking. To recap:

Deadlift has been good. 420 x 10
Boxing has been good. No pain, jabs are harder than ever.
Squat sucked. 360 x 3 
Bench press today sucked. 285 x 5, shoulder pain.

Sometimes I feel great benching, other days I don't. The warm-up doesn't seem to have any bearing.

Entry #1050

Press:
130 x 3
150 x 3
165 x 8
> Disappointing, but I've been really cutting the carbs this week, so not exactly unpredictable. I also think just doing pump-monkey exercises for assist work has been a factor. Luckily I found out this week that dumbbells don't hurt my shoulder so I can get back to pressing. Shoulder shockers just weren't doing enough.

Dumbbell military press with Fat Gripz (neutral grip):
60s x 10, 10, 10, 8, 6

Pull-ups:
55 x 8, 8, 5, 5, 5

Miniband EZ bar curls:
11, 9, 7 

Entry #1049

Deadlifts:
330 x 5
375 x 5
420 x 10
> Easy PR with chalk. It really makes me wonder how held back I've been. Was supposed to only do 3 reps for the first two sets, but forgot.

SSB good mornings:
170 x 3 x 10

Ab wheel:
5, 5, 5 

Entry #1048

Weighed 208 lbs this morning.

Bench press:
210 x 3
240 x 3
270 x 7
> I was so upset about this that I actually packed up my things to leave. Then I decided to wait a while and try again. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and I manned up to finish the rest of the workout. I ended up having a blast with some creative assistance work.

One-armed neutral-grip dumbbell press:
100 x 10, 8, 10
>  I fucking love these, they've never done wrong. Amazingly, I can contract my shoulder as hard as I can and it still feels fine using dumbbells, after some slight pain on the bench press. Goodbye, extensions. I'm going to make these a staple.

Kroc rows:
135 x 20, 15, 12

Dumbbell pec squeezes:
3 reps, 10 second holds, 3 sets
> Between sets of rows.

EZ bar mini band curls:
8, 8 

Entry #1047

Boxing gym was closed tonight for no apparent reason. I hate this place, haha. When I was about to head over to the gym in the adjacent room (everything is in a community center) the counter lady stopped me and explained how they only lease out to the boxing gym owners and that I have to pay to use their gym, but she'll let me in for free this time. I was thinking "Fat chance" as she explained how much it would be to get a membership.

Cycled between skipping rope for two minutes and shadowboxing for two minutes for several rounds, then did 15 minutes on the ellipitical, then 5 minutes walking the treadmill. 

I filmed my shadowboxing and I'm pleased with my form when I think to fully extend my shoulder. Often I'd have a short strike, though. Will work on that more. My shoulder felt superb and I let loose some very strong jabs. I've been taking glucosamine and it seems to be doing the trick - either that, or just my months of rehab.

My butt is so sore from split-squats that I can't sit down in a controlled ascent. I'm glad to do more single-leg exercises instead of doing front squats again.

Recent pic of me at 210 lbs, and for fun, 175 lbs eight years ago:

 

Entry #1046

SSB squats:
265 x 5
300 x 3
340 x 5
> My squat isn't doing so well. Now that I'm only doing them once a week I really need to make up for it with assistance work. Core felt unstable and I kept pitching forward.

Bulgarian split-squats:
45s x 8, 8, 8, 10, 10
> Never done these before. A little awkward at first but it became easier as I got used to it. 

Neck extensions super-set with ab wheel
> Making use of a great neck machine at the gym. 

Entry #1045

Overhead press:
120 x 5
140 x 5
155 x 11

Shoulder shockers
Front raises: 45 plate x 8, 8, 8
Lat raises: 25s x 8, 8, 8
Seated C&P: 25s x 8, 8, 4

Pull-ups:
30 lbs x 10, 9, 8, 8, 6

Entry #1044

Deadlifted 400 x 12 while sick. Nothing but chalk (for the first time), which I'm wishing I'd had long, long ago. Though my recovery between even just the warm-up sets was terrible just from feeling ill, I'm astonished at how easy the actual set itself was, and I could have kept going if I really wanted to start grinding reps out.

Afterwards I tried to military press 85 lb dumbbells and just had nothing left in me. Came home, ate and rested, then went to the park to do decline push-ups (4 sets) super-set with neutral-grip pull-ups (7 sets).

On Thursday I was sick as well and only felt capable of squatting 325 for 5. Gotta listen to the body sometimes.

Skipped boxing entirely this week.

Entry #1043

Felt shaky and glycogen-low again today. Here's the thing: when I walked in the gym, I was full and lethargic. That's how long my warming-up is, though my metabolism is also pretty fast if I go from bloated to starving in 25 minutes. Crazier still is I had almost entirely low GI carbs before training: wheat bread, milk, some almonds.

Still had a good session, but I felt shaky and depleted when benching. It was a weird sensation. The warm-up had my muscles feeling ready to lift a truck, but my blood sugar felt like an empty tank. Consequently I was explosive but wild and unsteady. I bet a 1RM attempt would have been through the roof.

Bench press:
195 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 11

Barbell skullcrushers:
135 x 8, 8, 5

Kroc rows:
130 dumbbell x 20, 12, 11, 10

1 20 second chin-up rep

Entry #1042

Went on a 40 minute run this evening. According to my phone I covered 3.78 miles at a 5.6 mph pace. I would have gone longer but I started getting ravenously hungry and feeling glycogen-depleted. My VO2 felt incredible and I wasn't having any trouble keeping my breath. I think I'm going to institute these longer sessions once a month because I do like to run.

I've been eating lackadaisically lately, but hell, if this is what my new version of being dietarily lazy is, I'm doing pretty damn alright for myself. Lamb kabob, tons of fruit, rice, organic dark chocolate, local town hamburgers, steak, dolma, red wine - when I lived with my parents eating sloppy meant losing the motivation to eat and simply forcing down a crappy frozen dinner here and there throughout the day. I'm not feasting "dirty" so much as I am just taking in more carbs than I intend to for a cut. If I gain any pounds by accident, at least it'll make me stronger. 

My pant size is now a 32.

Entry #1041

Deload

Weighed in at 210.4 lbs. Groovy.

Also a got kickass 5/3/1 app for Android that makes calculations less annoying.

Press:
70, 90, 110 x 5

Shoulder shockers

Chin-ups:
17, 8, 5, 6, 5

Band pressdowns super-set with hammer curls 

The definition of "punching the clock" today. Pretty boring.

Entry #1040

Deload

Power clean practice (up to 135)

Deadlifts:
185 x 5 (Fat Gripz)
225 x 5 (Fat Gripz)
275 x 5

SSB box squats:
300 x 8, 8

Abs

Gripping the 225 with Gripz was the easiest it's ever been. Didn't have to readjust my hold or anything. 

Entry #1039

Deload

Bench press:
120 x 5
150 x 5
180 x 5

Skullcrushers:
50s x 8, 7, 3
40s x 10, 8
> First two sets were an improvement over last time, which seemed to cause my triceps to just completely die on the third set. Way back in my Westside days I used to use the 65s, but I'm going deeper now, to the point where my forearm is basically touching my bicep.

Dumbbell rows:
160s x 5 x 6
> Super-set with cable flyes. More for my shoulders feeling good than anything, though I could always use more inner pec development too.

Bilateral curls:
50s x 8, 8
40s x 10 

Entry #1038

Relaxing recovery day. The only thing I did was some mobility and shoulder exercises, and some minor ab and grip work. Also did neck bridges.

Deload is next week. I don't hate this phase as much as I used to.

Entry #1037

Overhead press:
135 x 5
155 x 3
170 x 8

Facepulls with band:
15, 15 ,15
> Between sets of pressing.

Shoulder shockers

Weighted chin-ups:
75 lbs x 6, 6, 6, 5, 5

Band pressdowns super-set with 55 lb dumbbell hammer curl

Some great mobility drills for the shoulder in this article that I'm using: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/long_live_the_overhead_press 

Entry #1036

Came into boxing later than usual because I had to stop at the laundromat on the way over (thanks for the pee, my feline friend). Only got a 35 minute session in.

Speed bag
2 rounds of double-end bag
5 rounds of heavy bag

I like the speed bag warm-up. I also did TGUs before leaving the house so the combination of the two really had my shoulder feeling fantastic. 

At one point during slamming the heavy bag I just instinctively let slip a left hook. A LEFT hook. Crap, I reaaally could have been paying the price for that, but it felt fine. It wasn't a very hard one or anything, but it certainly felt good.

Footwork was a little sloppy during combinations. I'll focus on keeping centered next time. Need to hammer it home to keep my feet at an equidistant apart.

Entry #1035

SSB squats:
260 x 5
300 x 3
335 x 9

Romanian deadlifts:
325 x 8, 8, 8, 10

Ab wheel, neck bridges, CoC trainer (40)

GPP was better today. Didn't rest more than two minutes between deadlifts.