Max's Maxes: Squats and Bench Every Day

Yesterday: BW 94.8kg, again weighed late in the day but good. Did some stretching and SMR and had a nice hot bath.

Today: BW 95.7kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Cannonball pullups
5 x 5

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
200kg x 1
215kg x 1 @ 9
225kg x 1 @ 9 - best speed in ages.

Bench - warmup

Comp. bench - completion height, no sleeves
Wrist wraps on
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Shoulder and lat stretching, infraspinatus and back rolling

Bench - daily max

Comp. bench
Belt on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8
127.5kg x 1 @ 9
132.5kg x 1 @ 9.5 - matches PR. Definitely the easiest this has moved. 135 should be there on the day, but this is my minimum third attempt

Deadlift - heavy

Warmups
220kg x 1 @ 7
235kg x 1 @ 8.5
250kg x 1 @ 9

Came in today feeling pretty fresh. Figured Iā€™d hit my 2nds and see how fast they move when Iā€™m well recovered. The answer is ā€œwellā€. Also matched my best ever bench, sans elbow sleeves, and with the best speed and pause ever. Solid session. Rest days are great. Iā€™ll have at least one more of those before BUCS.

TOP SQUAT, TOP TWO BENCHES, TOP DEADLIFT

4 Likes

Very nice lifts man.
Looking good on everything :slight_smile:

Coming into the final few weeks of variations. In about 10 days time itā€™ll be pretty much the competition lifts only up until BUCS.

BW 96kg - ate very late. Also ate pizza. Hit my macros.

Squat - warmup

Front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Bar hangs and extra general shoulder girdle mashing
5 x some
Ss/ Ring chins
5 x 5

Squat - daily max

Front squat
140kg x 1
Belt on
155kg x 1
165kg x 1 @ 9
175kg x F - no
175kg x F - no
175kg x 1 @ 10 - yes, but also lol no.

Squat - back offs

Front squat - paused
Belted
140kg x 2
150kg x 2
155kg x 2 - PR of some sort
Ss/ Wide neutral shins to bar
3 x 5

Did all front squats up to 140kg Frankenstein style to warmup or something I dunno shuddup let me do some variety before 2 straight weeks of low bar and comp bench. Surprised 140kg moved as easily as it did that way.
175 felt like it probably should do on an average day - a hard weight - but I failed it the first time due to technique, rushed into a 2nd attempt, and thatā€™s the only reason the final attempt/make was a 10 instead of a 9.5

Bench - warmup

Floor press
Elbow sleeves, wrist wraps on
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Band facepulls
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Floor press
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
127.5kg x 1 @ 9

Bench - back offs

Dips - to get the scapula moving again and also like I said floor press is effective but pushes on my RC
3 x 15
Ss/ Band pushdowns
3 x 20

Actually got a chest and triceps pump with that last superset.

3 Likes

BW 96kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Cannonball pullups
5 x 5

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
200kg x 1
215kg x 1 @ 10 - really misgrooved this
220kg x 1 @ 9 - thatā€™s it
225kg x 1 @ 9.5 - on form

Bench - warmup

Long pause comp. bench - 3 count, competition height
Sleeves and wrist wraps on
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Shoulder and lat stretching, infraspinatus and back rolling

Bench - daily max

Comp. bench
Belt on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
125kg x 1 @ 9.5

Bench - back ups

Slingshot bench
120kg x 2
130kg x 2
140kg x 1

3 Likes

BW 95.1kg

Squat - warmup

SSB
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 125kg
Ss/ Reverse hypers
5 x 20

Squat - daily max

SSB
Belt on
145kg x 1
165kg x 1
177.5kg x 1 @ 8
190kg x 1 @ 9
195kg x 1 @ 9 - 2.5kg PR
Will hit 200kg later this week I think.

Squat - back offs

SSB good mornings
75kg x 2 x 8
Ss/ Ring L-sit chins - off floor
2 x 5

Bench - warmups

Comp. amd clsoe grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ YTWs
2s x 5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Close grip bench
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
125kg x 1 @ 9
130kg x failed inches from lockout. I can blame that on the 140kg slingshot yesterday knackering my triceps. Wouldā€™ve tied my PR. Havenā€™t close gripped in a while either which probably has more to do with it. Excuses.

Bench - back offs

Spoto press
100kg x 3
110kg x 2
110kg x 5 - PR.

The southwest of England has snow for like the first time in 10 years today and itā€™s hilarious how people are reacting. 3:30 pm and the nation as ground to a halt. The gym closed just before what turned out to be my last set of Spoto press so I amrapped it.

3 Likes

Strong work. *also, jealous

@Despade thanks man!

So update for BUCS - I may be competing as a 105, as that will allow us to have a full team. We need 8 lifters, which we have, but they need to be spread over at least 4 weight classes with a max of two in each class. At the moment we have loads of 74s, 83s, and 93s, but only one 105. None of the 74s can cut to 66, so me being a light 105 is our best bet.

Scoring is determined by Wilks so even if Iā€™m shafted in the heavier class that wonā€™t matter. The goal is uni worldā€™s apparently haha.

Reliant on them letting me change class this late though, and itā€™s not looking likely. Politics.

Also, Iā€™ll probably be doing the South West divisional in April about 3 weeks after BUCS. Iā€™ll compete in whatever weight class Iā€™m not in for BUCS at that.

Ended up leaving my car snowed in at the gym and walking home. Will be walking in for the next few days. Turns out snow makes Britain grind to a halt. Bare minimum stuff today in the interest of time and energy - gym was closing early. Itā€™s also shut completely tomorrow, so I hit my last 240kg+ deadlift session before BUCS since Iā€™ll be having a day off anyway.

BW 95.1kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
200kg x 1
215kg x 1 @ 9
225kg x 1 @ 9.5

Deadlifted before bench cos no benches were free and there was no time to wait.

Deadlift - heavy

Conventional block pulls - from tibial tuberosity
70kg x 3
120kg x 3
150kg x 3
Belt on
175kg x 3
200kg x 3
220kg x 3
240kg x 3
260kg x 3
272.5kg x 5 - aw snap fair enough. 4 rep PR.

Paused stuff from now on, focusing on making weight in the opener and 2nd range move with speed.

There still wasnā€™t a bench free. Gym was rammed because people are bored and donā€™t know what to do with themselves. Rigged up floor press using the deadlift blocks. I am very smart.

Bench - warmup

Floor press
Sleeves and wrist wraps on
5 sets from bar to 90kg

Bench - daily max

Floor press
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
127.5kg x 1 @ 9.5

Accessory work

Glute bridges
110kg x 5
160kg x 3 x 8

4 Likes

Yesterday BW 96.1kg
Snow day. Eating.

Also Iā€™m a 105kg lifter for BUCS now! Since its based on Wilks and I want to do 93s for SW champs I wonā€™t be bulking but Iā€™ll save myself a water cut.

BW 96.7kg

Squat - warmup

SSB
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 125kg
Ss/ Pullups
5 x 6

Squat - daily max

SSB
Belt on
145kg x 1
165kg x 1
180kg x 1 @ 8
192.5kg x 1 @ 9
205kg x 1 @ 10 - 10kg PR over Thursday. Previous set moved fast enough that 200kg wouldā€™ve felt like a waste.

Squat - back offs

SSB - paused
175kg x 2 x 2
Ss/ Pullups
2 x 6

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Band facepulls
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Close grip bench
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
125kg x 1 @ 9

Bench - back offs

Long pause comp. bench - 3 count
110kg x 3 x 2
Ss/ Band facepulls
3 x 20

Tons of rolling and stretching.

Shoulders felt really rough today.

2 Likes

BW 97.2kg - good job Iā€™m a 105 now eh? In all seriousness I never doubted Iā€™d make weight for the 93s but my bodyweight has been weirdly inconsistent despite doing a good job over the last 2 weeks with tracking.

Erectors hated me today.

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Hamilton trap raises
2s x 5 x 10-20

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
200kg x 1 @ 8
215kg x 1 @ 9
225kg x 1 @ 9

Squat - speed focus

Low bar
Belted
170kg x 6 x 2
Ss/ GHR
6 x 6
Back and forth between the two as quickly as I felt I could go without sacrificing speed. Felt good and fast even though itā€™s like 75%.

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Band facepulls
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Comp. bench - sleeveless competition height
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8
127.5kg x 1 @ 9
132.5kg x 1 @ 10 - ties PR and I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever done this on the comp height bench and without sleeves. Hopefully will hit this a lot more solidly a couple of times over the next few weeks because this got sloppy in terms of bar path. Edit - I lied, I did this last week and it was easier

Bench - back offs

Long pause comp. bench - 3 count
110kg x 2 x 2

Deadlift - technique day

Pause on floor conventional
70kg x 2
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
150kg x 2
170kg x 2
200kg x 2
Ss/ Dips
BW x 6,6,6,6,6,20
Really light scapula movey stuff to try and stop my front delt on the left hurting. Didnā€™t work, it was really sore at lockout. Probably strained something on the block pulls cos itā€™s been a bit tetchy since then. Left arm went a bit rogue on the top bench set and that was probably the delt too.

Called pulls there and went and stretched. Still a good session all round. Really encouraging squats and tying a bench PR is always nice.

Top squat and bench

2 Likes

BW 96kg

Squat - warmup

Front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Bar hangs and extra general shoulder girdle mashing
5 x some

Squat - daily max

Front squat
140kg x 1 - left shoulder pain. Ffs.
Belt on
155kg x 1
165kg x F - too far back on my neck, got dizzy on the way down, dropped it
165kg x 1 @ 9
172.5kg x 1 @ 9.5

Gym was rammed so I was using an eleiko oly bar and it feltā€¦ different. That, and my delt continuing to act up made the rack position pretty awkward.

No back offs, decided resting was the smart choice.

Bench - warmup

Floor press
Elbow sleeves, wrist wraps on
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Band facepulls
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Floor press
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
130kg x 1 @ 9.5

Bench - back offs

Floor press
120kg x 5 x 1

Delt felt better for pressing. Not sure whatā€™s going on. Whole upper back needs a good loosening but Iā€™ve lost my masseuse at the moment and thereā€™s only so many free rubs I can try and wangle off my housemates.

Just gotta hold my body together for 2 more weeks.

3 Likes

Nice pr man. I get the whole beat to crap and having a few weeks left to deload. Pushing through is the grind. Gains await post deload!

@losthog thanks man! Itā€™s paying off for sure.

BW 95kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ L-sit chins - from floor
5 x 6

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
202.5kg x 1 @ 8
217.5kg x 1 @ 8.5
227.5kg x 1 @ 9
232.5kg x 1 @ 10

Does it look like I had back offs in me?

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Band facepulls
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Comp. bench - sleeveless competition height
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8
127.5kg x 1 @ 9
135kg x 1 @ 9.5 - 2.5kg PR and no need for no elbow sleeves. Time to consolidate the pause - it was fine today, borderline for comp. Iā€™m gonna be hitting comp. bench, long pause, and a couple of floor presses over the next couple of weeks.

Accessory work

Cable row - parallel grip
Stack x 3 x 20
Ss/ Elevating incline DB bench - lowest incline, 1 up, 1 up
36s x 3 x 10

Minimal volume work is the plan from now on. Will go back to nailing my 2nds every day for a while, hit something heavy and some overload work this coming weekend.
Bench lifts as discussed, squat itā€™ll be pretty much all comp. style and maybe a couple of front squats if I need to rest my back at all.

2 Likes

Double PR Mad Max did it again.

1 Like

BW 95.3kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Pullups
BW x 3
5kg x 3
10kg x 3
15kg x 3
20kg x 3

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
202.5kg x 1 @ 8
215kg x 1 @ 8.5
225kg x 1 @ 9.5 - omg fatigue. Also grazed my back with the bar yesterday and that was plain uncomfortable.

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ DB rear delts - with static hold
4s x 5 x 10

Bench - daily max

Long pause comp. bench - 3 count, sleeveless competition height
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1 @ 8
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
125kg x 1 @ 9

Trying to learn to get leg drive working in a way which actually helps the bar move, as opposed to just improving tightness.

3 Likes

BW 95.5kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Shins to bar
5 x 5

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
202.5kg x 1 @ 8
220kg x 1 @ 8.5 - biggest jump in weight Iā€™ve taken at these sorts of percentages. Felt good.
225kg x 1 @ 9

Squat - back offs

Front squat
Beltless
120kg x 2
140kg x 2

Shoulder still not happy on front squats but didnā€™t limit the light work I was doing today. They felt really nice in terms of technique actually. Itā€™s maybe more of a trap thing.

Deadlift - heavy

70kg x 2
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
150kg x 1
170kg x 1
Belt on
200kg x 1
220kg x 1
240kg x 3 @ <8 - probably a PR by default.

Since it was the block pulls which pissed my shoulder off in the first place I was a little reserved with the deadlifts.

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ GHR situps
5 x 8

Bench - daily max

Comp. bench - sleeveless competition height with calls
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1 @ 8
120kg x 1 @ 8 - ridiculous ease
130kg x 1 @ 9

Bench - back offs

OHP
Bar x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
Only rested as long as it took to load the plates.

Hitting overload stuff tomorrow so reined everything in a bit today. Either walkouts or reverse banded squats, and slingshot on the bench.

3 Likes

BW 95.9kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Shins to bar
5 x 5

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
200kg x 1 @ 8
215kg x 1 @ 9
227.5kg x 1 @ 9.5

Squat - back ups

Walkouts
240kg x 1
260kg x 1

Fatigue hit squats harder than I expected.

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
Elbow sleeves on - why not?
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Facepulls
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Comp. bench - competition height
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1 @ 8
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
127.5kg x 1 @ 9
132.5kg x 1 @ 9.5 - nice

Bench - back ups

Slingshot bench - xl grey bench blaster
135kg x 1
142.5kg x 1 - 2.5kg PR in this slanger

1 Like

Bloody awesome lifting mate, congrats on the PRā€™s.

Thanks man!

BW 96.5kg

Squat - warmup

Low bar, front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120
Ss/ Hqnging windscreen wipers
5 x 2/side

Squat - daily max

Low bar
Belt on
150kg x 1
175kg x 1
200kg x 1
215kg x 1 @ 9
225kg x 1 @ 9.5

Bench - warmups

Comp. and close grip bench
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Reverse hypers
Various load/tempo x 5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Long pause comp. bench - 3 count, sleeveless, competition height
Belt and wraps on
100kg x 1
110kg x 1 @ 8
120kg x 1 @ 9
127.5kg x 1 @ 9.5 - 2.5kg PR and a reassurance that my 2nd should fly up in comp

Bench - back offs

Close grip bench
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
Forget belt apparently
120kg x 2 - ties PR and easier, with no sleeves or belt. Opener confidence builder.
Ss/ Pullaparts
3 x 20

TOP BENCH SETS

Good pressing, squats I feel like I havenā€™t really recovered from the 233 yet. Past few lifts in the 225 range have been rough. Will hit something lighter tomorrow.

1 Like

BW 97kg
Had a big steak last night and weighed in at 98.3kg before bed. No big poop before weighing in this morning so I can say that I drop a kilo overnight comfortably.

Squat - warmup

Front, and overhead squats
Comp. sleeves on
5 sets from bar to 120kg
Ss/ Bar hangs and extra general shoulder girdle mashing
5 x some

Squat - daily max

Pause front squat
140kg x 1
155kg x 1 @ 8 - 5kg beltless paused PR
165kg x 1 @ 9 - 15kg paused beltless PR
Belt on
172.5kg x 1 @ 9.5 - 2.5kg paused PR

Recovery session from low bar means front squat PRs!

Bench - warmup

Pseudo floor press
Elbow sleeves, wrist wraps on
5 sets from bar to 90kg
Ss/ Pullaparts
5 x 20

Bench - daily max

Pseudo floor press
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 @ 8.5
130kg x 1 @ 9
135kg x 1 @ 9
140kg x 1 @ 9

Set up floor press lying on a plyo box today because none of the racks available were able to be adjusted to the right height. Meant I still had the reduced ROM and had to press from my sticking point, but my feet were setup below my hips like a bench so it might not be comparable. Knees were still higher than hips and I donā€™t feel like there was a lot of leg drive involved but I wonā€™t call the 135 and 140 floor press PRs until I hit them actually on the floor.

Deadlift - technique and speed day

Double pause conventional - just off floor and at tibial tuberosity
60kg x 3
100kg x 3
130kg x 3
160kg x 3
180kg x 3
200kg x 3

Omg such positioning.

Deficit conventional - yellow 15kg bumper, speed focus - having drilled positioning and strength at my weak areas, throw that out the window, get on a deficit, and chuck weight around.
Belt on - for the tightness
EMOM
160kg x 6 x 3
180kg x 4 x 2

Glute bridges
180kg x 5
200kg x 5
220kg and band around knees (lol) x 8 - somehow the heaviest set felt like the best quality. Mustā€™ve been the band.

2 Likes