TnG Bench 225x10
Close Grip Bench 3x8 195lbs
DB Rows 65x12
Face Pulls 3x25
Notes
Weighed in at 211.8 on Saturday and squatted 315 for 2x8. Felt terrible. My last 2-3 sessions have just felt crappy. My 3 theories: Too little sleep. Too little water. Too much stress.
The sleep will come. I need to make more an effort to drink water. As for the stress, I think it will pass. I was taking care of 3 different dogs for 10 days (just finished yesterday). I feel like a bum making this comparison to 3 dudes who have kids, but…taking care of dogs is what I imagine having kids is like. They’ll eat anything and choke to death, poop anywhere and roll around in it, and they don’t listen to anything. I was pretty strung out the whole time.
Anyways, training is coming along fine. I’m 2.5 weeks into this program with about 10 more to go. Been on a one day on, one day off split, so recovery/soreness has not been a problem at all. So far I haven’t had any issues with my elbows or hips which is awesome!
I’m ramping up my 8s for squats. I’m starting this cycle out with about 5 weeks of 8s–I started at 275, jumped to 295, then 305. I have 4x8 315 (playing around with the volume at the moment) on Tuesday afternoon. I plan on finishing my 8s with a 2 or 3x8 at 335lbs, which would be one of the biggest volume PRs I’ve ever had. My 5s and 3s will only be 3 weeks apiece. 5s will end at 375 and 3s will end at 405. I may have said it in my last post, but my goal is to squat 435 for a few reps at a lighter bodyweight than I squatted 405x4 at. I’d also like to bench 335 for 1-3 reps at the end of this cycle, but I won’t be surprised or disappointed if I can’t pass 330.
Big news in my life: I’ve been accepted to the University of Illinois’ school of Kinesiology. So in the fall, I’ll be on my way to a kinesiology/exercise science degree at one of the best K/ES institutions in the country!!! I’ve also reconnected with an old friend who I had a falling out with over a bunch of misunderstandings. The weather is getting warmer. I no longer consider myself to be injured. I’m applying for my FOID card. Things are coming together for me now
For the millionth time, I will try to be more consistent with posting on TN. I miss the community and staying current with you guys. Peace!
Congrats! It looks like you have a lot of good things going on at the moment. Enjoy it and take it all in.
There are a lot of similarities there, but dogs can be trained much faster than kids. It sounds like the owners need to invest more time in their dogs or send them to a training school of some sort.
They were in the midst of training their older dog, then their oldest son spent a few months in the hospital around the 1 year mark. So the training got derailed, and now he’s a musclebound beefcake who disregards human voices as background noise. Frustrating, but understandable. I spent 8 days and 7 nights with these two enormous dogs and got paid a whopping $250. They paid me more to take care of one dog a few months ago. I got absolutely shafted. Double the work and less than 100% of the original pay. Needless to say, I will not be taking care of their dogs again.
Back Squat 4x8 315lbs (LSRPE 8.5ish)
RDL 135x12, 185x8 (erectors were trashed)
Tempo Leg Extensions 3x10 45lbs (2 second hold at the peak)
Side planks
stretching
Notes
Big volume PR. 32 total reps of 315 is fantastic for me.
Last cycle, I started my 5s at 315. I think I would probably be able to go to 5s next week, and finish my 5s 10lbs heavier than I did last time (345 last time). Although in my spreadsheet, I have my 8s going up to 335. I must have miscalculated something. One thing I’ve learned in the last year is that it is rarely a good idea to push through weights that don’t need to be pushed through. That usually ends up with me in pain for a few weeks.
That being said, I think I will do 2-3x8 at 325 for my next squat session, then move on to 5s at 335. I don’t know. I need to think about this one…and as usual, all input and suggestions are welcome. Let me know how you think I should proceed.
Rest day tomorrow, 3x10 bench on Thursday afternoon. Oh boy. We’re gonna see about this one. I need to really carb up and sleep a ton tomorrow night to nail my 3x10. 8s are on the horizon for bench which makes me happy.
Working on the lighter side of things is better than working on the heavier side of things. Just keep it challenging without being destructive to long term recovery and performance
@losthog@mortdk thanks guys. I almost died on the last rep of the last set but I managed to push it up. Will be looking to do a 1x8 240 and then 3x8 235 in about a week before I move to 5s for bench
Squatted 325x5 yesterday and it was the heaviest that 325 has felt in literally months. Time for a real deload. Going to cut volume and weight for bench and squat and maybe restart my cycle or do 531 for a while.
Kind of a tough training week. Only lifted on Tuesday and Thursday. Kinda feel like I’m wasting money on a gym membership going this infrequently.
Tuesday April 9 - Upper
Barbell Bench 225x5+ (13)
Body Weight Dips x10, 10, 7
Behind the Neck Lat Pulldowns 2x15, 2x12 100lbs
Barbell Row 185x12, 135x22
Rear Delt Ts & Ys superset 3x10,10
Thursday April 11
Back Squat 295x5+ (15)
Leg Press Eccentrics x15,14,13,12,11 4 plates
Prone Hamstring Curls 2x15
0.60 mile walk
So I decided that the thing that I needed more than anything else was some autoregulation. That being said, I decided to scrap my SGSS cycle and start 5/3/1 which I plan to use for at least a few weeks until my fatigue can figure itself out. I think my problem with SGSS was that my numbers were ambitious–I was toeing the line of a PR/setting a volume PR every session, after not properly reloading after setting my new rep maxes in the cycle before. So, yeah, my bad. Despite going through an intense learning curve over the last year and a half, I still have not learned how to deload. Embarrassing.
The bright side is that 5/3/1 makes it a lot easier for me to focus on the main lift and then some pump work. Simple and easy. It’ll also help me get my conditioning up which will allow me to get more work done in my future workouts. It’s all good in THIS hood
Notes
Big ol’ bench PR today. 250x10 beats my old 10 rep max by 10lbs, which is a big deal to me considering 240x10 was my 10 rep max for about a year. Cocoa pebbles and a Red Bull for breakfast served me right.
Moving to 5/3/1 was the right choice. I’ve felt good before, during, and after each session. The auto regulation is doing its thing
