April 11, 2023 Slight Incline Bench Press
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 2
255 x 5
Incline BB Triceps Extension
45 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
Sandbag EMOM - 150lb bag
10 Mins:
Sandbag to right shoulder, left leg lunge, right leg lunge
Sandbag to left shoulder, left leg lunge, right leg lunge
etc.
I wanted another stab at these sandbag lunges. A lot more focus on my setup & bracing this time. This made the movement feel more manageable, but still a good effort here.
For me, this is all it takes to really start catching up to me! Any more reps would have me losing to the clock before I hit the 5min mark.
So many sandbag variations in Brianās ebook, highly recommend if youāre not very creative like myself.
A brief workout hiatus after finishing up my cycle of 5/3/1 (coincidental timing). I started digging through my ebook archive looking for my next program to run, and came across āThink Strong - Ben Pollackā. It checked a lot of my āboxesā right now: 1. 3-days per week, check. 2. Increased emphasis on squatting (twice per week), check. 3. Basic movements, time-efficient workouts, check (well, at least it appears so on paper).
THINK BIG - BEN POLLACK April 19, 2023 W1D1 Squat
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
365 x 5
365 x 5
365 x 5
365 x 5
Reverse Hyper
110 x 12
110 x 12
110 x 12
I read some more of his book after completing this workout. Iām going to need to really drop the weight on the reverse hyper. He wants his readers to use VERY light weight (recommended starting with 20lbs), and hold peak contraction at the top before lowering each rep slowly. Iāll do this next time the Reverse Hyper is prescribed.
Bench - slightly elevated
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5
Last week was a tough week of being sick and looking after sick kids/wife. I got better just in time for a little procedure which I was told required 10-14 days rest before resuming any lifting and to start back very slowly. It is day 7 of recovering, so I decided to do a little session as I need do to something!
May 3, 2023 Squat
45 x 10
95 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
145 x 5
Plate Raises
10lbs x 15
10lbs x 15
Incline DB Press
50 x 15
50 x 15
50 x 15
Incline DB Curl
25 x 12
25 x 12
25 x 12
I wanted to see how squats felt. They were terrible, but kept things very light, just going through the motions with some weight (Iāve been doing 100 bodyweight squats per day since day 3 of recovery). The rest of the movements were just some low-impact pump work to make me feel like I am not losing all of my muscles during this recovery period! lol
THINK BIG - BEN POLLACK - Take 2 May 7, 2023 W1D1 Squat
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
365 x 5
365 x 5
365 x 5
365 x 5
Reverse Hyper
20lbs x 10
20lbs x 10
20lbs x 10
Pause at the top of each rep with a slow eccentric. A much different stimulus than the hyper āswingsā have been doing with heavier weight. I could really feel my core engaged to maintain the brace throughout the range of motion.
Bench - slightly elevated
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5
Ab Wheel - from knees
10
10
10
So, I seem to be 90% recovered from my procedure, so I am going to start this program over and give it a run-through in its entirety. Iāve lost a few lbs due to being sick and less active (lower appetite). My physique was looking soft, but the workout pump made me feel a little less self-conscious!
It has been a busy few weeks for me, I have been told to expect a job offer from another company in the next week or two, so there could be some exciting things on a career front as well!
THINK BIG - BEN POLLACK May 14, 2023 W1D3 Squat
45 x 10
135 x 5
225 x 5
295 x 5
295 x 5
295 x 5
295 x 5
295 x 5
Bench Press - slight incline
135 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 5
Barbell Row
205 x 10
205 x 10
205 x 10
I received a verbal job offer after negotiating terms with a new company. Hopefully the written offer comes soon! Then it will be a very busy 2-3 weeks getting my current job into a reasonable place for a handoff. Iām feeling a lot of guilt for leaving my current position as I have great working relationships with my team, but they understand my motivation for leaving. It is just going to make their jobs much more difficult until the company is able to fill my position.
I think that this new position is going to increase my work/life balance significantly. Right now Iām living and breathing work (which part of me enjoys - Iāve never had a job as interesting as my current one), but with my two boys growing up so fast I need to shift my focus to family for this next chapter of our lives.
This is great to hear. I totally get your comment about the boys growing up a needing to shift focus. I did this too with my three and it is well worth it,
I was offered the position, and start on June 5th! My colleagues/employees at my current job are sad to see me go (which, I suppose is a good sign), but I think it is the correct decision for me. Iām excited for this new opportunity, and hopeful that I will gain a little more time/flexibility back with family.
THINK BIG W2D1 May 19, 2023 Squat
45 x 10
135 x 8
225 x 5
315 x 3
425 x 2
425 x 2
425 x 2
425 x 2
425 x 2
425 x 2
Bench - slight incline
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
285 x 2
285 x 2
285 x 2
285 x 2
285 x 2
285 x 2
Reverse Hyper
20lbs x 10
20lbs x 10
20lbs x 10
20lbs x 10
THINK BIG W2D2 May 23, 2023 Deadlift
225 x 5
315 x 5
365 x 2
405 x 2
455 x 2
525 x 2
525 x 2
525 x 2
525 x 2
525 x 2
525 x 2
I started to dig pretty deep in these later sets. I donāt think Iāve been to that level of effort in a while. I know they are just doubles, but they were decent battles for me!
OHP
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
Time was limited yesterday before my sonās t-ball game. Iāll try to get in my supplemental work this evening.
Haha, it was heavy! But seeing all the crazy challenges you all are doing around here, it felt odd saying I was ādigging deepā when it was just a heavy double
This is the beauty of sustained effort over a long time. What seems like a big number for others and maybe even for you a decade ago, is not just pulling a heavy double.
Not the greatest comparison pic, but here is the before/after for the challenge. ~8lbs loss after competing in my strongman competition at the end of March.
which I was told required 10-14 days rest before resuming any lifting and to start back very slowly. It is day 7 of recovering, so I decided to do a little session as I need do to something!
