15May23
Deload/Pivot week
Squat
275x5
295x5
315x5
Close Grip Incline Press
135x10
140x10
145x10
RDL
225x8
245x8
265x8
Landmine Hack Squat
75x20
75x18
75x15
Squats felt really good tonight. Crisp and light. I resisted the urge to push the weight, though, because this is supposed to be a deload week.
III
This is exactly what you want for a deload. Thanks
16May23
Bench Press
185x4
190x4
200x4
Front Squats
185x10
195x10
205x10
DB Press
myo-rep style
40x19x5x5x4x4x4
DB flyes
40x7
30x12
20x15
Bench press is feeling pretty good right now. I’m hoping some extra volume/frequency gets it moving up a bit. Sets of 10 front squats suck. I haven’t done flyes in a while, so I’m figuring out the weight for those to start the next block. Mowed the grass and ran the weed-eater after training. I’m counting it.
III
17May23
Abs
Arms
Upper back
30 minutes on the Echo bike
Bleccchhh
III
So I’ve been running the Velocity Diet: Drunk Man Edition since the 24th of April to try and finish off this weight cut after Super Squats. It’s where I follow the food directive of the diet exactly, but about half the days I replace the last shake of the day with a couple of glasses of Wild Turkey. It probably would have been more effective if I had run it to the letter, but I’ve lost 8 lb in the last 4 weeks, and 18-20 lb total since March 1. I’m to the point now where I look skinny with a shirt on, but ok with it off. Shrug emoji? My strength continues to increase, so I’ll take it.
LOL this is a version that I reckon I could stick to for longer periods of time!
I wouldn’t recommend it! Haha
Do as I say, not as I do!
18May23
Deadlift
365x5
385x5
405x5
Bench Press
165x8
175x8
180x8
Pendlay Row
180x15
160x12
160x12
I’m supposed to train calves on Deadlift Day, too. But I don’t like training calves and it always seems futile. So I skipped calf training. Again.
I have no idea what happened, but I was sick to my stomach all day yesterday. I had a bunch of workouts planned because I had the day off from work, but absolutely nothing got done. I’m feeling just fine today, though. Shrug.
At least you got one rep in!
Soon I’ll be huge like Mike Mentzer, evidently!
20May23
Seated Press
105x4
115x4
125x4
Split Squat
85x12
95x12
105x12
DB Flat Bench Press (myorep style)
55x20,5,5,5,5,4
Lateral Raises
20x18
20x11
15x14
III
This is all that really matters.
The answer to this is Hill Sprints and lots of them. You are welcome.
Sir, things have always been civil between the two of us. I’d like to keep it that way, so I’m going to overlook this one instance. But you have been warned…
21May23
Squats
320x5
280x5
280x5
280x5
Close Grip Incline Bench
150x10
145x10
RDL
255x8
255x8
Landmine Hack Squats
80x20
80x20
80x15
What a workout. Man, everything felt so good. Everything felt so easy and moved so fast and free I felt like I was sandbagging. Hopefully this is an indication that I have actually increased my baseline strength, and not just a “good day,” but I’ll take either. It’s kind of a bummer it’s early in this block where I’m building up the volume, because I felt like I could have lifted weights for hours.
Even the landmine squats, which usually make my knees feel a little sketchy, moved like butter. (I actually have found I really like this movement for a quad-focused “finisher.” For a home weightroom, it’s my favorite not-back-squat squat pattern exercise.)
Great training day all around. Then I spent the rest of the day working in the yard on a beautiful spring day.
III
Lol that made me laugh hard mate, thankyou.
You would also laugh hard if you saw me trying to sprint!
22May23
Bench Press
205x4
185x4
185x4
185x4
Front Squats
210x10
210x10
DB Press (MYOREPS)
45x15x5x4x3x3x3
DB Flyes
15x20
15x20
15x20
20 minutes of HIIT intervals on the damned Echo bike
As much as I dislike the Echo bike, and especially intervals on said bike, I have to admit that these sucked less than they used to. I believe my conditioning is actually getting better. Other than that, the rest of this workout was just “Meh.” Getting the work in.
My neck has been feeling worse than normal, lately, for whatever reason.
It’s been nice enough that I’ve been riding my motorcycle to work, which is nice. I’m a bit of a whimp when it comes to the “cold” early morning rides. Most of my half-hour ride to work is back roads, but the first 10 minutes is highway riding, which means I’m getting right up to 70 mph at 5 a.m. So it doesn’t take that low of a temperature to make that portion suck when it blasts you. But it’s worth braving it to have the bike to ride home on the nice warm afternoons.
III
24May23
Abs
Arms
Upper Back
I had some other stuff I needed to do tonight, so I just got in and knocked this one out real quick, but it was a good one.
As mentioned earlier in the log, I’ve switched up my training to incorporate more bench press frequency/volume to see if I can get it moving a bit. To that end, I’m really trying to make sure my arm (triceps) work is supporting the growth of my big lifts, and not just trying to get an arm pump (sorry @TrainForPain). I’ve been trying close-grip pin presses as my main triceps work. I hope this translates over to my bench, but man, what an arm pump (you’re welcome @TrainForPain). I super-setted them with old school dumbbell curls for the biceps, and my wife couldn’t keep her hands off my arms for the rest of the evening.
My neck continues to suck, and I think it’s because of the weighted vest walks. I’ve outlined my chronic neck issues earlier in the log in a conversation with @simo74. Walking for any amount of distance is the thing that makes my neck hurt the worst, and the weighted vest definitely exacerbates it. Things have also gotten busy at work, and I’m getting well over 10,000 steps a day there. At any rate, my neck hurts. And now I’m just whining. Sorry.
III