Week 7: Day 2
Paused Bench: 1x3-105lbs; 8x3-90lbs w/40sec rests
Overhead Press: 3x5-70lbs
Dips: 3x15 w/6kg Db
Facepulls: 3x20-42lbs
Preworkout: Legs tired and pretty sore, but felt good and loose
Workout: Bench felt good and very stable, I really tried to focus on leg drive. Overhead press was quite a bit harder than expected, my upper back got really tight. Dips killed chest and triceps
Postworkout: Felt pretty good and pretty pumped in upper body. good, solid workout
How come you are doing OHP on this day?
Also don’t get carried away with short rest periods, the point here is to practice proper technique and put maximum force into the bar. If rest periods are too short then it doesn’t help with that.
Week 7: Day 3
Deadlift: 1x3-235lbs; 8x3-200lbs EMOM
Split Squats: 2x9/leg-40lb Dbs
Rows: 3x12-50kg
Preworkout: legs a bit tired and very unmotivated but not too tired
Workout: not too bad but definitely felt heavier than expected. The 8x3 definitely burned my legs and quads. My legs were pretty dead from deadlifts, but the first set of split squats wasn’t actually that bad. However, a third set just wasn’t happening mentally. Rows were pretty easy but forgot my straps and I did split squats so grip got to be an issue.
Postworkout: Not too tired but legs dead, a bit disappointed
Week 7: Day 4
Close grip Bench: 3x5-100lbs
Skullcrushers: 3x15-60lbs
DB press: 3x8-30lb Dbs
Preworkout: Legs not sore but shoulders were a bit tired and sore, mentally felt pretty good
Workout: shoulders felt a lot better once I got going. Really worked triceps, surprised at 60lb skullcrushers and DB press.
Postworkout: arms dead but felt good
How wide are you gripping on bench vs. close grip? It looks like you are just about equally strong on close grip, maybe a slightly closer grip would work better for you. I’m actually considering the same thing, my bench isn’t making much progress but my close grip bench is catching up so I think I might experiment with a grip somewhere in the middle.
my close grip is a bit more than a 8in apart. My normal bench is a bit more than 14in apart.
Week 7: Day 5
Front squat: 1x3-135lbs; 8x3-120lbs EMOM
RDL: 3x5-175lbs
DB Row: 3x15-22kg DB
Preworkout: feeling great, but had a bit too much coffee so quite jittery
Workout: really good- the squats went up easy. RDL felt a bit heavier than expected but not too bad.
Postworkout: felt good, not tired or tight.
Week 7: Day 6
Touch and go: 3x5-105lbs
DB incline press: 3x10- 16kg Lbs
JM Press: 3x6-85lbs
3x(12DB flyes+20 rear delt flyes)-8kg Dbs
Preworkout: felt pretty good, nothing tired or sore
Workout: Good workout. I was pretty surprised at the weights, especially on the JM press. I got a pretty good pump in my triceps and a bit in my chest
Postworkout: arms tired but felt good.
Do I increase weight 5lbs next week?
Week 8: Day 1
Back Squat: 1x3-175lbs; 8x3-150lbs w/1min rests
Lat Pull Down: 2x14-,1x15-27.5kg
Abs: 8x(20sec+10sec off)- RKC plank
Preworkout: Not too bad or tired despite bad sleep b/c very upset stomach. Mentally scared at 175 given failure last time
Workout: Surprisingly good. I failed the first attempt of 3 at 175 but got the second attempt after taking shoes off… However, I struggled a bit with depth and don’t think 180x3 will happen next week. The 8x3 felt good and light. My abs were surprisingly tired and the planks were a lot harder than expected
Postworkout: legs and butt tight but felt good. Abs burning. surprisingly more energized than preworkout
Week 8: Day 2
Paused Bench: 1x3-110lbs; 8x3-95lbs
Face pull: 3x12-49lbs
Dips: 3x10-10kg DB
Handstand Technique
Preworkout: felt good and pretty energized. Legs and glutes sore and tight though
Workout: best bench session in a long time. I felt stable and actually got 110x3. Haven’t done dips in a while so those really killed triceps and chest. Upper back was also surprisingly pumped
Postworkout: upper body definitely worked, felt good. Legs less sore
Did you skip pause squats?
Think positive. If you can do 170x5 then I’m sure you can get 180x3. Don’t psych yourself out thinking about the weight, just focus on lifting the bar and don’t think about how much is on it.
Week 7: Day 3
Deadlift: 1x3-240lbs; 8x3-215lbs EMOM
Split Squat: 2x9, 1x10-40lb DBs
Rows: 1x8,9,10-120lbs
Preworkout: Feeling pretty good, nothing sore or tight but not exactly energized either, pretty excited to deadlift
Workout: Felt pretty good and strong. The deadlifts felt heavier and slower than expected but completing the reps weren’t hard. Back smoked. Split squats not as bad as expected, but mentally nearly impossible. Rows weren’t bad
Postworkout: legs and back dead, felt accomplished
Week 8: Day 4
Close grip Bench: 1x3-105lbs, failed the 4th rep; 3x5-100lbs
Skullcrushers: 3x12-70lbs
DB press: 1x8,9,10-30lb Dbs
Preworkout: upper back sore and tight but felt good and energized
Workout: really killed triceps. I was pretty disappointed at failing at 105, but oh well. Skullcrushers felt great and so did DB press. I got a really nice arm pump
Postworkout: upper back still pretty sore but loose. triceps and shoulders dead
Week 8: Day 5
Front squat: Fail 140lbs; 6x3-125lbs
RDL: 3x5-175lbs
DB row: 3x12,13,14-24kg
Preworkout: not tired or sore but very unmotivated, kind of zombielike
Workout: nothing felt really heavy but mentally not there. Kind of felt like crying the entire workout. Still proud of RDLs
Postworkout: pretty drained, not sure what happened. Very disappointed
Week 8: Day 6
Touch and Go bench: 1x6, 2x5-105lbs
DB Incline Press: 3x9-16kg Dbs
JM Press: 3x4-90lbs
DB flyes: 3x15-8kg Dbs w/3sec descents and assents
Rear delt flyes: 3x15-10kg Dbs
Preworkout: Felt pretty good, the weather was amazing and it’s finally cooling down. Legs really sore
Workout: Arms felt great, really surprised at 3x9 for DB incline press. JM Press killed triceps and easier than expected- still couldn’t get 5 though. The flyes were boring and mentally hard. Even after 8 weeks of programing, I still haven’t learned to like “bodybuilding” accessory movements.
Postworkout: upper body dead and legs still pretty sore. Happy and felt accomplished.
Reduce the weight for JM presses, try to get at least 6 reps.
Rear delt flys are boring, but if you don’t want to end up with shoulder issues it’s good to do some stuff like that. I prefer band pull aparts, but if you don’t have bands then you are out of luck.
Week 9: Day 1
Back Squat: Fail 180lbs- really struggling with this stupid mental barrier. 8x3-150lbs EMOM
Paused squat: 4x4-150lbs
Lat Pull downs: 3x15-24kg
Abs: 3x10 toes to bar
Preworkout: Felt okay, legs a bit tight but not sore or tired, pretty excited to squat
Workout: Squat warmups started pretty slow and heavy but got better. 175 felt good, but still failed 180lbs out of nowhere. It felt like I was loosing focus mid rep??? 8x3 felt good and light , burned legs. Paused squats felt strong and not too hard to complete but definitely a challenge. Nothing special about lat pull downs. My core was more tired than anything actually. My PE teacher (the Crossfit one) suggested I work on my core so I did some toes to bar to finish
Postworkout: Legs and core dead. Very disappointed at failing, but felt accomplished.
You did 175 right before 180? Either way, it sounds like you need to change the way you warm up, I see you like to rush a lot between sets but you should give yourself at least 5 minutes between your last warm up and the top set. And if you are gong to squat 180 for a triple then the last warmup should be 160-165 for a single. Don’t get attached to numbers and psych yourself out, if you can do 175 for a triple then you should be able to get at least a double with 180.
Week 9: Day 2
Paused Bench: 3x1-115lbs; 8x3-100lbs
Dips: 1x10,11,12- 10kg DB
Face Pull: 2x14,1x15-49lbs
Handstand technique
Preworkout: Felt good and pretty excited to workout. lower body not even that tired
Workout: felt pretty strong but weights felt surprisingly heavy. The arch was killing my lower back on my volume sets, which was the limiting factor. Dips killed triceps and chest. Face pulls nothing special.
Was your back sore from squatting yesterday? You could try loosening up your lower back with a lacrosse ball (or tennis ball or whatever), a lot of people seem to have issues with a tight quadratus lumborum. Just don’t do it right before benching, do it the night before.