Building the Foundation

Tuesday:
pulls from blocks, bar below knees.
warmed up with a 60kg. went: 80/90/100/110/110/120/130/140/150kg for 3 reps each set. all with straps.
then i decided to pull a 160kg single. did it. PR. form was far from good, decent. added 10kg. 170kg pulled. PR. form was awkward. this makes the 180kg pull i am chasing very real to achieve.

active rest was bicep curls on the cable station. finished training with some more bicep work.

bench press is next on the training agenda.

Wednesday:
bench press: worked to a 80kgx3reps. it was worse than the last time, although the previous sets were very solid and explosive. went down to 70kgx5-6reps for 4 sets. than close grip bench press to the abdomen with 60kg didn’t count the reps. most benches were alternated with rope face pulls.
continued with lat work: rows, pulls with cables. i feel i am getting better in working the lats. high reps, super sets, peak contraction style.

Thursady:
squats: back sq on box. worked to a 120kgx3rep;130kgx1rep;100kgx9rep. box squats ain’t bombdiver olympic squats, the descent must be rock tight solid. tried doing different stances, heights, waiting in the bottom. squat is such a versatile exercise, so many variations, there is always something to improve in the squat.
active rest: biceps
finished with biceps

note: “the 5 exercises you hate doing the most are the ones you should do the most” CT
my list (i am not a hater but these exercises are done less frequent and intense they should be)

  1. chins
  2. natural ghrs
  3. calves
  4. abz
  5. forearms
    . dips

Polish power!!!

[quote]KosanFalcon wrote:
Polish power!!![/quote]

That makes me laugh, i’ve seen your log and you really blast it in the gym. your no bullshit attitude “i want to be a pro” is great.

Friday, friday, friday:
ohp: worked to a 60kgx5reps than 65kgx1pushpressx1repx1pushpress. knees are sore push press felt awkward. did two sets with the fifty amrap. changed to snatch grip behind neck presses 40/40/45kg for about 6 reps. every rep i try to touch the ceiling. finished with bradford presses without lockout at 40kg.
weights on the snatch grip bhn ohp and bradfords were light but the shoulders were like deep fried cooked spaghetti. i still watch the numbers on the bar but do the pressing to blast shoulders than to lift weights.

continued with tricepz isolation: rope pushdowns and overhead extension for the first time. have to do them frequently to put some meat on arms.

finished with a short lats-blaster. high reps very strict, arms bent, lat stretched, feeling the lat contract, squeeze, short rest, rows, pulls.

saturday:
did sumo deadlifts for the first time. this is a pull i can do with good form from the floor. worked to a 130kg single, tried 140kg, failed. no belt, with straps. glutes fire. did some reps with 100kg, went on with stiff leg pulls to 110kg for reps, went back to sumos for singles short rest from 100kg to 120kg without straps. no knurling on the bar in the sumo grip. finished with barabello curls: 40kgfor3-5reps to 20kg ez curls amrap, 3 such circuits, db curls.

the sumo deadlift will stay in the exercise arsenal.

Sunday was off
Monday:
bench: worked to a 80kgx3reps. last rep was of real grinder, bench not going better, dropped to 70kg and did 5 sets of 5-6reps, alternated with face pulls. have to figure out what the hack is wrong with my bench.
then did behind neck wide grip shoulder press.
went from 40kg strict to a 70kg one rep push press. good pump in the shoulders.
continued with triceps pushdowns, went to cable rows, pulls, alternated it with triceps isolation.
good combo triceps and lats.

tuesday: squats ‘n’ pulls:

front squats: 60/70/80/90/100kgx5reps, 110kgx4reps PR,115kgx3reps PR. goals: 110kgx5, 120kgx3

block pulls: worked to a 150kgx3reps, 160kgx1rep, 170kgx1rep, 180kg didn’t even move a millimeter. goals: 160kgx3, 170kgx2.

finished with biceps work for 10 minutes.

Wednesday:
ohp:
military: went to 60kgx6reps 2pushpress
pushpress: 65/70/75kgx1rep fail at 80kg - no lockout
wide grip behind neck: 40/45/50kg for about 6-8reps 2pushpresses
bradford press: 40/45/45kg
seadted db press: 20kg 2sets
cheated db lateral raises
strict db lateral raises

finised with
lats iso
triceps iso
facepulls

Thursday:
back squats
60/70/80/90/100/110/120kgx5reps, 130kgx2reps, 135kgx1rep, 120kgx3reps
60kgx25reps 1minute rest 60kgx25reps, i wanted to do some high rep stuff, i thought i will hit 60kgx50reps in one set but i had to split it in two. rarely i do such sets but it is always a happy time for me. read CT’s article hungarian oak leg blast.

finished with bicep curls.

i found out that i rarely get an leg pump from squatting, even in the over 5reps range, it’s strange because i remember very well when during leg training in winter 2010/11 the whole quads, hams and glutes were pumped and swollen, no burn but a very tight, hard feeling. even if i am now stronger in the squat, squat deeper, overall heavier i don’t get this effect. back then my legs were bigger and better than now which is not good. i miss this because it was my strong point.

i remember i was chilling in my house in shorts and my mother saw my legs (back in winter in my leg prime), she began to panic, cry, scream at me what am i doing with my body and ripped a poster of Arnold wearing a suit off the wall of my room. she did it although she is an Arnold fan. i very liked this poster.

i will experiment with some leg presses/extensions or lunges after squatting.

Friday:
today it didn’t went well in the gym,
did bench: worked to a 80kgx2reps, 2nd rep a real grinder, bench is getting worse.
did a 70kg set, a 80kgx2reps again, 70kg amrap for 4sets.

during bench press i didn’t feel my muscle working, any pump or muscle tightness. this is not good.

went on with dips: 7reps/6reps/5reps x bodyweight.
after that i had no drive to train more and stopped.

i think i will focus from now more on dips than bench press.

it is impossible to consider overtraining as the reason for performance drop,
most probable is slight fatigue and underrecovery.

Saturday:
pulls from blocks. touch n go style.
80/100/110/120/130/140/150kgx5reps
160kgx2/2/1 reps. glad that i did the second rep, 3rd was too much, maybe i should save my power for these sets and skip the 110 and 130kg sets. who knows?
140kg amprap. didn’t count, just pull. but over 8 for sure.

bb rows.
50/70/80/80/60/60/60kg 4-8reps.

tomorrow: arms: curls and dips.

Sunday: no off day today, arms day today:
dips alternated with bb curls.
triceps rope pushdowns/overhead extensions alternated with ez curls

i will focus on dips more: more reps with bodyweight (did in the 6-9reps range) and max weight on 1/3/5 reps.
curls: 50kg is too much of a clean, 40kg is the sweet optimum, a lil bit body english and a lot of biceps curling the bar.
pushdowns: didn’t felt it in the tris, so focused on rope overhead extensions, i can really feel these reps in the tris. ez curls are done more strict than the straight bar variation.

Monday:
front sqauts: 60/60/70/80/90/100kgx5reps, 110kgx3reps- failed to stand up in the 4th rep.
walking lunges: 3 walks with 28/38/48kg.
bb lunge: 60kg
natural ghr’s

Tuesday:
ohp: 40/40/50/60kg 5-6reps
pushpress:60/65/70/75kgx1rep, 80kg fail, tried 3 times to pushpress it up, it comes from the shoulders pretty fast but in middle there is no shoulder strength.
bhn press:40/50/50/50kg 5-8reps

something is wrong, i feel my right elbow joint is in pain after completing a set.

Wednesday:
dips alternated with bb rows.
wide grip dips alternated with cable rows.

dips getting better.

Thursday:
back squats: 60/70/80/90/100/110kgx5reps 120kgx3reps-fail at going up in the 4th rep, i got stuck in the middle, my torso began to lean forward, the bar rolled on my neck and hit the floor. not good.

i have to implement some powerlifting principles in my training: working on muscle weaknesses. these are: hams/glutes, lower upper back, abs.

so i did good mornings. standing abs on the high cable station, natural ghrs, weighted crunches. really have to focus on improving the squat without to squat.

Friday:

incline bench: worked to a 70kgx5reps, 75kgx4reps, 80kgx2reps, lowered to 60kg and repped out.

close grip flat bench: worked to a 70kgx3reps, lowered to 60kg and repped out

bb curl: worked to a 60kgx1rep with body english, stayed in the 40kg zone for good reps and tortured bis with the bar only for slow and constant contraction for two long and painful sets.

medicine ball push up: two sets of 3 reps of bw only. this is really weak like shit, but there is a lot room for improvement and growth with this exercise so will do it frequently.

Saturday: off day (no gym, but a lot of work in the heat in my garden)

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