My Journey to 1100#

Block 2 Week 4 Press

45.55.65.75X5

95X5 forgot what week it was
110X3
120XAMRAP
11 reps

130X5
140X3
150X3

BBB CGBP

135X5 dumb
5X10 120#

Medium MAG handle lat pulls

5X10 3@115# 2@130#

OH Tricep Ext/Cable Curls straight bar

4X20 30# on both

45 degree Side Raises/Rear Delt Raises

3X10 15#

Shoulder Finisher
Front/Side/Rear

8-8-8 10#
2 rounds

An hour and a half total. Press felt really solid today. Lots of shoulder stretching and mobility between sets. Swapped lat pulls to heavier sets after press instead of supersetting, I like this better. So unless I’m pressed for time, it stays. Good bro pump in arms and shoulders today. Been working out at a new gym by my house, though not as much a powerlifting gym as my usual. It has what I need and it’s closer.

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Block 2 Week 4 Deadlift

45.135.185.225X5

250X3
295X3
330XAMRAP
10 reps

385X3
425X2

SSB Squat

5X170.180.190.200.210.220

Leg Press/Wide Seated Rows

3X15 180#
3X15 115#

Good “heavy” day. Going to take a couple days off to recoup then my lighter 5s week should put me in a good spot for another round of small PRs at the end of this block. I really think 400/500 squat/deadlift are right around the corner and it’s hard not to try and push too quickly. However, my progress has now been steady for almost 4 consecutive months and I know I need to stay the course.

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Great looking squats with 335 and 345. And nice job powering through the suck on that 295 AMRAP. That sense of dread is what pushed me away from the AMRAP stuff. Training is supposed to be hard and enjoyable and those sets don’t fit.

Took 2 days off to drive 2000 miles to work, only to work 18 hours a day the last 2 days cleaning up a small disaster. Did manage to quick meal prep 4 pounds of chili in my camper tonight and I think I’ll get to go try out a new gym in Ohio tomorrow. I always feel more tired when I don’t get to go then if I train hard for 2 hours. Hopefully I’ll get good rest tonight with my recliner and personal heater dog, lol.

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Block 2 Week 5 Bench

85.105.135X5

145X5
160X5
185X5

205X3
225X3
235X2

There was a prescribed 245 for a single, but I didn’t feel like getting a spotter.

BBB CG Floor Press

5X10 105

Nutrition and sleep have been off the last 4 days as well as being high stress so no extra crap today. On a positive note I found a good gym close enough to my office in Ohio that I don’t have to use planet fitness.

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Block 2 Week 5 Squat

45X10
135.185.205X5

225X5
245X5
280X5

315X3
335X3 (Rep PR)

RDL toes elevated

4X12 155#

Front Squat

155X5
165X5
175X2 (hamstring gave out)

Had 1 hour until the gym closed and went way too fast. All of the warmup and main sets in 12 minutes (dumb). Jokers another 6 minutes. RDL 8 minutes. So what normally takes me an hour I did in less than half that time. No issues until I tried to front squat because I didn’t want to move to the leg press. At 175 my right hamstring tightened up something fierce. Racked it and sat down to take my sleeves off and head home. By the time I got up, I was hobbling out of the gym.

Interesting note that I will have checked out. I squatted in front of a mirror today and noticed something really strange. I knew it felt like my right leg/hip was out of place at depth, but it never really hurt or caused imbalance with the bar. Today I saw that my right quad is at least 2 inches higher than my left in the bottom of the squat. 20 years ago I had my right leg lengthened and I’m concerned I may actually have a longer right tibia/fibula than my left. Another possibility is I took a vicious blow to my right quad 5 years ago and that’s when I noticed the “feeling” of my squat being off. Probably go see a chiropractor for an alignment this week. This will be the first time since the chiropractor was the one who discovered the discrepancy in my leg length when I was 17.

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Block 2 Week 5 Press

45X10
55.65.75X5

85X5
100X5
110XAMRAP 12 reps

120X5
135X3

95XAMRAP 10 reps

BBB CGBP SS Chins

5X10 120#
5X5

Giant Set Shoulders

2X10 10# DB
Lateral/Rear Delt/Press

Seated unsupported Press

3X10.8.8 20#

Tricep Pushdown/Cable Curls

2X25 50#

OH Tricep Extensions/Cable Hammer Curls(rope)

3X10 50#

Arms and shoulders were on fire. Great pump session, felt huge walking out of the gym, lol. Finished off a great weekend with a steak and mushrooms.

Block 2 Week 5 Deadlift

45.135.185.225X5

245X5
275X5
315X5

365X3
405X1

SSB Squat

5X5 155.165.175.185.195

Session felt slow due to not being fully recovered from Saturday’s squat session. However, finished sub 1 hour so maybe it just wasn’t rushed. Found the SSB in a back corner with a hidden power rack, a definite plus. I guess the years of lifting in my garage have made me love the solitude while working.

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Block 2 Week 6 Bench

45.85.115.135X5

165X5
185X3
205XAMRAP
5 reps not heavy, just body fatigue

225X2
245X1 slight grind think it’s setup related
265X1 failed (not proud I even attempted this)

165AMRAP
13 reps

BBB CG Floor Press SS Chins

5X10 105#
5X5 BW

Disappointing yet enlightening session. Came in with muscle fatigue and what I believe to be the first time I’ve had upper back DOMs. I forgot to log a set of Kroc rows 2 days ago and it has me tore up. The problem with my bench recently has been instability. I’m sure it’s partly setup because I don’t use a lift off and I feel like I lose tightness as soon as I unrack. The other factor is my upper back just hasn’t been stimulated at the level my arms and shoulders have. This is the last week of this block and I’ll adjust to upper back dominated accessories for the next one. Still feel like in on a fresh day I’m still on the right track headed into 8 weeks pre-comp. Hoping I can structure work to make the meet if it still goes on. If not, I’ll do like last time and schedule a mock with the guys at my home gym.

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Block 2 Week 6 Squat

45.45.135.185.225X5

245X5
280X3
315X3

335X2
355X1
375X1

That’s all I had. Feeling completely fatigued as I haven’t truly deloaded since July. Will take an actual low intensity week next week, then start pushing for 385#. Here’s the video of 375, a little slow, but didn’t feel like I really had to grind.

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385 ez going off the vid

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Yer that was deep and moved nice. Good job mate.

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Thanks, on a day I didn’t have my best, I’m certainly pleased.

@simo74 thanks it didn’t even rate an RPS 1, lol

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Block 2 Week 6 Press

45.55X10
65.75X5

100X5
110X3
125XAMRAP
10 reps

135X3
155X1
175X Fail

FSL SS Pull-ups

5X5 100#
5X5 varied grip

BBB Bench SS Chins

5X10 120# feet on bench
5X5.5.5.5.3.3

Shoulder Finisher

Front/Lateral/Rear Raises

8 then 6

Shoulders and upper back super pumped. Bench was more difficult stabilizing than pressing the weight. Worked 47 hours in the last 3 days but managed a nap today before my workout. Felt pretty good. Weighed myself in the gym today and my weight is down a bit. Need to get back to eating consistently with my goals. Headed back to PA tomorrow so I should be able to get back in the groove while I deload and be ready to smash another block.

Block 2 Week 6 Deadlift

45.135.185.225X5
275X5
315X3
345X3

405X1
435XPR failed just above the knee
435XPR failed at lockout did not get my knees straight

This is the end of 2 consecutive 6 week strength blocks with virtually no deload. Hard headed and dumb on my part. Nutrition and recovery in general has been off and I shouldn’t have even tested this week 2/4 successful PRs is not my idea of a good block. However, as far as my 5/3/1 progression goes, I’m still moving up without a stall. I’m going to take this deload week and decide if I’m going to run 1 more strength block, or maybe swap to hypertrophy or lower intensity volume.

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Here are my press and DL attempts this week.

Block 2 Week 7 deload ish

Bench

45.85.105.135X5

155X5
180X5 70% 1RM

135X10 3 sets

Did all of my sets wide and paused. Nothing tougher than a 6 RPE.

Press

45X10
75X8 3 sets

Then I decided to hit chest because I never try to hit it directly. I thought I could get some work in while still being a different stimulus.

Slight Decline DB Press

3X10 35.50.60#

Incline DB Press

3X10 40.35.35#

Pec Deck

3X10 70.90.110#

Just wasn’t ready to leave so threw in a little back work.

BB Row

3X10 95.105.115

Nothing hard about today’s session. Felt like a bro workout with very minimal rest and a good overall upper body pump. I may be wrong, but I think I’m going to be about maxed on bench progression with my current upper body mass. This leads me to thinking I’ll prioritize hypertrophy at least for upper body for the next block or 2. Not sure about lower body yet, I’m pretty close to a 400# squat and I’m not sure I’m ready to pull back and leave it hanging this close. However, my deadlift may disagree and 500# pull is still a ways away. I’ve spent 4 months doing 90% strength and 10% growth. The more I type, the more I see the need to move the pendulum back the other way for a while. I’ll write up my next 2 blocks tonight, and see how it hits the eye.

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Post Deload Planning

Bench
5/3/1 5s Pro
FSL 3X10

BBB Press
5X10

Decline DB Bench
3X10

Incline DB Bench
3X8-10

Pec Deck
3X10

Chins during bench sets then some form of tricep/bicep superset.

Squat
5/3/1 5s Pro
FSL 3X8 paused

Front Squat
3X10

Reverse Hypers
3X10-12

Some form of abs. If time permits, leg extensions and ham curls.

Press
5/3/1 5s Pro
FSL 3X8

BBB Bench (wide paused)
5X10

BB Row
3X10-12

Kroc Row
1 heavy set

Some form of shoulder finisher. Superset chins during press sets.

Deadlift
5/3/1 5s Pro
BBB from deficit

Leg Press
4X12-15

Reverse Hypers
4X12-15

The real plan here is to use work capacity rather than bar weight to drive hypertrophy for a couple months. I really like handling heavier weights so I will plan to push 1 lift per week either with PR set or Jokers. I just meal prepped for the week and I’m looking to bump my calories up about 500 cal/day with healthier food than my last bulk. I’d like to keep my gut at bay, but in order to eat my way back above 220 it’s probably inevitable that my abs will find another layer to hide behind. Not really interested in a cut type physique, but I don’t want to look like a strong fat guy either. Anyway, this is the plan. If anyone has any thoughts, I’m always open to constructive criticism.

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Plan looks good. Deff a lot of volume in there! Then only thing missing is some single leg work and not one day has ‘some sort of abs’. Jim would not approve :wink:

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I’ll hit leg curls and extensions as single leg, but abs fall so low on my priority scale they just land where they land.

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