for back development my go to exercise is one arm barbell rows.
i learned this exercise from john meadows and never took it out of my program again.
the contraction and pump is just insane.
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Mark I have to say how much I love reading your log. Your raw honesty and transparency around how you are feeling both in the gym and in your home and work life are both revealing and brave. I can’t really give you advice on your depression but will echo the thoughts of others above. It is OK to take time off work to spend with your family and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it or think that it makes you any less valuable as an employee. I was so happy to read your later post saying you were feeling more positive. Take it easy mate and remember you have friends here. Simo
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impressive bench press… keep doing.
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For awhile I was doing a push/pull version of Training Maximally. Monday was deadlifts and Thursday was snatch grip deads. I did Training Maximally for both lifts and let each day determine if I did Jokers or not. The snatch grip dropped the weights enough that it was a light deadlift day compared to Monday. I enjoyed it.
The big difference for you is that you’ll be doing it on your squat day so it’ll affect you differently.
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anything chest supported for me
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Woke at 189.4 lbs. Happy with how I look. Still tired, but not as knackered as yesterday.
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Caliper time. Up 9.5 mm overall. Only increase of over one mm was lower back (four), everything else one or half. Still below first caliper check. Jez said not to worry.
Plan is go up to 2600 cal/day but cut refeeds for a month from today.
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Ouch, thats gotta sting 
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Nah, I kind of knew I’d have to back off for a bit. Plus I get to eat a bit more every day.
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OK, training. Can of sugar-free Mother again because tired.
Today’s trainung
Lazy lifter plus shoulders
Squat, briefs and Marathon size 44 DL suit Jez lent me
TM is 407 lbs
Work up from bar in 44 lbs x3-5 to 60
3x286 lbs, under 6 RPE, briefs and suit straps down, open belt
3x324 lbs, under 6 RPE, briefs and suit straps down, belt closed (had to move my belt a buckle out, briefs and suit add too much width)
1x368 lbs, under 6 RPE, briefs and suit straps up
10x407, 9 RPE - haven’t had my body panic on me due to lack of oxygen in ages. I’ve missed it. Glutes absolutely fried
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXmKtnDlbU0/
Low box squat, briefs, beltless
3x5x286 lbs, around 6 RPE each set - very cool. Felt my back and glutes working overtime. Hopefully I was doing them right
Olympic SGDL
3x10x220 lbs under 6, 6 and 7 RPE - good, felt in calves and traps
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXmNaMelbj5/
Step ups to 50 cm
2x20x44 lbs, no rests
Abs/shoulders
Lateral raises 3x15x25 lbs
Decline sit-ups 3x15x11 lbs
Calves
DC seated raises 10x110 lbs
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Woke at 189.6 lbs. Looking decent. It’s funny, since I’ve gone up to 189-190 my weight and look has really steadied out. Quads are sore.
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Ended up having around an hour less to train (munchkin spewing so didn’t want to leave fiancee with him too long). It’s CGBP day again. So decided to so what I did a couple of weeks ago.
Today’s training
CGBP, squat bar
Bar x3-5
143 lbs x 3-5
231 lbs x 4, 9 RPE - left arm kept doing it’s thing slower than the right
143 lbs x 15, 8-9 RPE
This took a bit under 10 minutes
Dips dropset
7x2 chains
4x1 chain
4xbodyweight
Each chain weighs around 27 lbs
DB rows
10x150 lbs, no straps - PR, and no work up sets as well as little break after dips so I’m pleased
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXosrM3llec/
20x100 lbs, no straps
Around 25 in minutes by now
Pull-up ladder, widest to narrowest grip and back out
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Elbows now behaving after three weeks of pull-ups twice a week. Mega win.
Pull-ups took a bit longer, about 40 minutes in by the time they were finished.
Bis/tris giant set, 60 second rests
Hammer curl with dead stop off thighs 3x15x25 lbs - really helps with bicep contraction. Another golden tip from Paul Carter
PJR pullovers 3x12x50 lbs - soon I’ll up the weight to 55 lbs, seems they have a rapid improvement curve like split squats
Forgot calves
About an hour in now, I’d been arranging a bench shirt over facebook between exercises. I’m getting a brand new size 46 Titan F6 for very cheap.
Wasn’t going to spend 10 minutes on stationary bike conditioning but wanted something reasonably taxing.
Prowler pushes non-stop for six minutes on the 10 metre track, three rounds alternating pushing from front and back so I didn’t have to turn the prowler with only rest taking a plate off:
Six plates
Five plates
Four plates
Three plates
Two plates
One plate
Prowler frame
Definitely reasonably taxing, bordering on unreasonably taxing
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Here are the week’s highlights. There are a fair few, I did a bunch of new stuff.
@mortdk are those like the SGDL you did?
Also hopefully got the box squat right. Felt good, either way.
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How does it feel to squat with briefs/ deadlift with a suit?
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like your training Mark, make those PR sets look so easy 
Yes my SGDL are the same, did mine with a, i quess, relative lower weight. I could snatch pull it, if i wanted to, so next week i’ll go a bit heavier. DL for me tomorrow.
This week startet a new cycle, kind of Rhodes 5x531.
2 topsets capped at 5 - 3 - 1 each week followed by a PR set capped at 8 6 and on the 531 week go balls out.
then a deload and OG 531 PR’s each week.
Then you inspired me to try training maximally again. I did it with TM x 1 then the topsets PR of the week. Quess thats why I burnt out. Read the book again and followed you. TM x PR and maybe Jokers or just a single if a bit beat up. Followed by back of sets at about 70%.
Keep up the good work, looking forward to see how the ekstra 100 calories affect you.
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Uh Mark… You don’t have a shirt on with those deadlifts… Just letting you know…
Also really nice 10rep squats!
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Is that a new training secret to maximize the deads?
I’ll have to try that tonight!
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Box squats look pretty good. You are not “plopping” down onto the box, which is cool.
Theoretically, you want to get the shins More vertical, but you may need to get the feet a little wider and the knees Out more to achieve that position. You’re also doing a good job of not rocking forward to iniate the Concentric. Again, strictly theoretically you want to be a little tighter. You almost want the bar to he behind your feet, so you have to Puullll with your heels and hamstrings. But that is like perfect world, where the box squat is its own, special, nearly impossible lift.
Gracie V does well.
Big Matt is pretty tight. Mark Bell is kinda loose.
If you ever watch a video of Louie, he rocks back and forth like Hell, so nobody’s perfect. Not even The Man himself.
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