Goals Today:

B Squat: 275 x 3s x 5r

Bench: 215 x 3s x 5r

Lat Pulldown: 220 x 3s x 6r

Barbell Curl: 105 x 3s x 5r


Hit it. Hit all if it.

Workout went well tonight. Felt fresh on every set. B Squat: 280 x 3s x 5r Bench: 220 x 3s x 5r Deads: 345 x 1s x 5r Barbell Curls: 110 x 5s x 5r Hangs: 2s x 30 sec No cardio. Decided not to mix weights and cardio. Will go to the gym tomorrow night for cardio only.

Good day

First day of a more closer-to-orthodox style Broz training template.
Looked like:

B Squat: work up to a 1 rm
B squat: do 19 follow up reps of doubles or triples at 300+ lbs
Deadlift: 315 x 10s x 2r (fast)

Worked up to an EASY 370lbs. (Current ATG, un-belted squat PR is 375.)
Felt good.

DL Day, 12 March 2012
goals:
squat D1RM: 355
squat: 19 reps at 300+, made up mostly of doubles and triples
deadlift: 315 x 10s x 2r

squat:
bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3 @ 19:00
295 x 3 @ 19:04
315 x 2 @ 19:08
335 x 1 @ 19:14
355 x 1 @ 19:18
365 x 1 @ 19:22
370 x 1 @ 19:27 (could probably even do more, but not gonna try for a new 1RM today.)
335 x 2 @ 19:32
335 x 2 @ 19:36
335 x 2 @ 19:40
315 x 5 @ 19:45
(little inflammation in elbows. stopping at 17 reps. pretty good for first day.)

Deadlift
135 x 5 @ 19:48
225 x 3 @ 19:52
(1) 315 x 2 @ 19:56
(2) 315 x 2 @ 19:59
(3) 315 x 2 @ 20:02
(4) 315 x 2 @ 20:05
(5) 315 x 2 @ 20:08
(6) 315 x 2 @ 20:11
(7) 315 x 2 @ 20:14
(8) 315 x 2 @ 20:17
(9) 315 x 2 @ 20:21
(10) 315 x 2 @ 20:24

I look forward to lifting tomorrow night.
The workout will be:
Squat: work up to a 1RM
Squat: 19 reps (doubles and triples) above 300lbs
Bench: work up to a 1RM
Bench: Doubles and triples for 19 reps at/above 80%
Bench: 205 x 5

Chins: at least 3

The Week in Review

Had a pretty good lifting week.
High Points: 1) NEW 5lb OHP (unbelted) RECORD! OHP'd 170lbs!!!
2) I'M DOING CHIN UPS AGAIN! F*CK YEAH!
Challenges:
1) Bench has really been suffering lately. Benching 200lbs x 5 x 5 was much tougher than it was a few months ago.
2) Feeling a little bit of inflammation in my elbows when I start chinning often in the same day.

Tactics to Address Challenges:
1) The regular pushups (50+ on Tuesday and Thursday) should mitigate bench challenges.
2) No chins over the weekend should limit new stimulus for inflammation. Also going to up amount of tea, coffee, and vegetables so that anti-oxidants can counter inflammation.

Workouts for the week ended up being:

OHP Day, 31 Oct 2011
Goals:
squat: 250 x 3s x 5r
OHP 1RMM: 157.5
OHP New Record: 167.5
OHP Doubles: 150
OHP Triples: 145
OHP BBB: 107.5
Pendlay Rows: 170 x 4s x 6r

Squat:
bar x 6 @ 10:52
135 x 5 @ 10:54
225 x 5 @ 10:56
(1) 250 x 5 @ 11:02
(2) 250 x 5 @ 11:10
(3) 250 x 5 @ 11:17 (all sets w/my good form)

OHP 1RMM:
bar x 5 @ 11:20
95 x 6 @ 11:22
115 x 5 @ 11:26
135 x 5 @ 11:33
145 x 2 @ 11:37
(1) 155 x 1 @ 11:42
(2) 160 x 1 @ 11:46
(3) 167.5 x 1 @ 11:51 (NEW 1RM!!!!)
(4) 170 x 1 @ 11:55 (ANOTHER NEW PR!!!!!)

Doubles:
(1) 150 x 2 @ 11:59
(2) 150 x 2 @ 12:02
(3) 150 x 2 @ 12:06

Triples:
140 x 2 (F*cked up, forgot 3rd rep)
(1) 140 x 3 @ 12:13
(2) 140 x 3 @ 12:17
(3) 140 x 3 @ 12:22

BBB:
(1) 107.5 x 10 @ 12:28
(2) 107.5 x 10 @ 12:35
(3) 107.5 x 10 @ 12:41
(4) 107.5 x 10 @ 12:48
(5) 107.5 x 10 @ 12:55

Pendlay Rows:
135 x 6 @ 12:58
(1) 170 x 6 @ 1:02
(2) 170 x 6 @ 1:07
Thought: since this is an explosive exercise, maybe more sets of fewer reps would be be best. Maybe 6s x 4r instead of 4s x 6r.
Going to finish w/ 3 sets of 4 instead of 2 sets of 6.
(3) 170 x 4 @ 1:11
(4) 170 x 4 @ 1:15
(5) 170 x 4 @ 1:19

fin



Refresher, 01 Nov 2011
Goals:
Squat/Pushup loop: 10 x (200 x 5, pushup x 10)

Squat warmup:
bar x 5 @ 10:50
135 x 6 @ 10:52

Squat Pushup Loop:
(1) loop @ 10:57
(2) loop @ 11:03
(3) loop @ 11:10
(4) loop @ 11:19
1 chin!!!
(5) loop @ 11:27
1 chin @ 11:32!!!
1 chin @ 11:35!!!

fin



Refresher Day, 02 Nov 2011
Goals:
Pendlay Row: 172.5 x 6s x 4r
Chinups: 3s x 1r

Pendlay Row:
135 x 5 @ 10:56
(1) 172.5 x 4 @ 11:00 (heavy, but all reps were good)
(1.5) 1 chin up!
(2) 172.5 x 4 @ 11:05 (easier than last set)
(2.5) 1 chin up! @ 11:10
(3) 172.5 x 4 @ 11:13
(4) 172.5 x 4 @ 11:19
(5) 172.5 x 4 @ 11:25
(6) 172.5 x 4 @ 11:31

(3.5) pullup fail



Refresher day, 03 Nov 2011
Goals:
5 loops: (Squat 205 x 5 , 11 pushup)

warmup:
squat bar x 5 @ 1:49
squat 135 x 5 @ 1:52

Loops:
(1) squat 205 x 5 , pushup x 11 @ 1:57
(2) squat 205 x 5 , pushup x 11 @ 2:03
(3) squat 205 x 5 , pushup x 11 @ 2:10
(4) squat 205 x 5 , pushup x 11 @ 2:17
(5) squat 205 x 5 , pushup x 11 @ 2:26

(no chins today. going to rest and go for a double tomorrow.)

fin




Bench/Squat Day 04 Nov 2011
Goals:
Squat: 260 x 3s x 5r
Bench: 200 x 5s x 5r
Pendlay Row: 175 x 6s x 4r

Squat:
bar x 5 @ 10:55
135 x 5 @ 10:57
225 x 5 @ 11:02
(1) 260 x 5 @ 11:10
(2) 260 x 5 @ 11:18
(3) 260 x 5 @ 11:25 (Squats were tough. I enjoyed the challenge.)

Bench:
bar x 5 @ 11:30
135 x 5 @ 11:34
155 x 5 @ 11:40
175 x 5 @ 11:44
185 x 3 @ 11:46
(1) 200 x 5 @ 11:52
(2) 200 x 5 @ 11:59
(3) 200 x 5 @ 12:08
(4) 200 x 5 @ 12:14
(5) 200 x 5 @ 12:21

Pendlay Row:
135 x 5 @ 12:25
(1) 175 x 4 @ 12:29
(2) 175 x 4 @ 12:34
(3) 175 x 4 @ 12:40
(4) 175 x 4 @ 12:45
(5) 175 x 4 @ 12:49
(6) 175 x 4 @ 12:53

fin!!!!!

Solid Bench Day 200 x 5s x 5r and 210 x 1s x 5r

Great workout tonight!

Bench (paused): 200 x 5s x 5r
Bench (paused): 210 x 1s x 5r
Bent Over Barbell Row: 140 x 3s x 6r
Abs: 10lbs x 3s x 12r

This was a big landmark for bench. I'm especially happy that it was so easy to knock out 210 x 5 after completing 200 x 5.

I WILL BENCH 300 THIS YEAR!

FANTASTIC BENCH DAY!

Todays workout:
Bench (paused, competition style): 192.5 x 5s x 5r
Kroc Rows: 65 x 5s x 13r


Today's workout was fantastic.
I don't regret returning to paused bench reps. I still feel solidly that a 300lb bench (hopefully a 315lb bench, 6 plates) is doable by years end.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a 2 or 3 mile run, haven't gone out in awhile.

ANOTHER KILLER OHP WORKOUT!

Was rushed for time today so I only hit my main lift and some RKC KB swings.

OHP: 142.5 x 10s x 5r (CRAZY PR!!!!)
53lb KB Swing: 5s x 20r


Never had any doubt about any of the kettlebell sets. I'm definitely having fun blowing old records out of the water.

Had a KILLER OHP workout today.

Workout was:

OHP: 140 x 10s x 5r (hit it! 10s x 5r PR!!!)
Kroc Rows: 65 x 5s x 12r (hit it! Kroc Row PR!!)
53lb KB x 75 swing for time and biggest set: (51 swings before pausing! Swing PR!)

Also met a guy named Tata who showed me how to do a proper Russian swing. I'm amazed at what I've been missing out on. The RKC style swing used my "core" (I still hate that word) much more than my prior swing had.

THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST WORKOUTS OF MY LIFE!!

Back to 5x5's on OHP

Today's workout:

OHP: 137.5 x 10s x 5r (NEW PR! (for most sets of 5 at that weight))
Kroc Rows: 65 x 5s x 11r (NEW PR!)
53lb KB x 75 swings for time and biggest set:
biggest set: 50 reps (NEW PR!)
time:2:55 (NEW PR!)

When every exercise is a PR it's very hard to complain!
I was very happy with the OHP 137.5 x 10s x 5r. There's been a huge carryover from 531 back to 5x5.

Planning on keeping up with my pushups. Looking forward to a WORLD RECORD BENCH SESSION IN A FEW DAYS! ("World Record" will be 210x5x5.)

Good OHP Day

Had a good OHP day.
Scored a new PR at 140, then broke away from the script when I realized I wouldn't complete my BBB.
Workout ended up looking like:

OHP:
140 x 1 x 7
120 x 2 10
135 x5 x 5

The 135 x 5 x 5 were, by far, the easiest sets of 5 I ever did at 135.
I've failed multiple times at the 10 rep range on OHP so I think for the near term I'm going to switch back to 5x5, after a PR effort at a given weight. I'll increase the 5x5 effort by 2.5lbs each workout.

progress

RUNNING:

Did a mile time trial for first time in about a month today. Brought time down from 8:35 to 8:19. That's a little bit of progress. Can't wait to get time sub 8:00.


LIFTING:

In cycle 7 of 5/3/1. Also halfway through the year. Still planning on obtaining a 300lb bench by year's end.
So far this year strength-endurance on the bench has increased enormously. Absolute strength not so much yet.



KETTLEBELL:

Got 31 reps straight of dh swing with 53lb'er. Brought time for 75 reps down to 3:38.
Still shooting for 75 straight reps.

1/2 pound weights

Need to pick up some 1/2 pound weights so I can start making 1lb increases.
The BBB sets on bench are starting to get pretty tough.
I am proud at having knocked out 167.5lbs x 5s x 10r after my working set.

Completed another cycle

Completed another cycle of 531
The maxes I used for this cycle were:
Bench -- 205
Squat -- (no max used. just upped working weight by 5lbs each session)
OH Press -- 150
Deadlift -- No deadlift this cycle.



The maxes I'll use for this cycle (cycle 7) are:

Bench -- 210
Squat -- Continue upping 5lbs every workout
OHP -- 155
Deadlift -- Not deadlifting this cycle.


I realize the decision not to deadlift is controversial. But the fact is that sometimes less is more. Here's my rationals.

1) By not deadlifting I squat more frequently. The improvement in deadlift correlates strongly enough to improvement in squat that I'm comfortable deadlift is still going up, for now.

2) I'm running regularly. Frequent deadlifting would lessen the days I could run. Can't accept this tradeoff right now.

3) Kroc rows. I'm working Kroc Rows into every other workout so I'm addressing a back strength deficiency even w/o deadlifting.


Today's bench workout will look like:

What week are you in?1
What's your max?210
5 reps * 135.0
5 reps * 160.0
All out reps * 180.0 (beat 10!!!)
BBB: 170 x 5s x 10r

14 June 2011

Good day.
Bench day.

Put up:

Bench: 195 1s x 7r
Bench: 167.5 x 5s x 10r
Bicep: 105 x 5s x 10r
Bicep: 80 x 3s x 10r



Wanted to hit 5 sets of 80lb curls x 10, was 2 sets short. Will seek to remedy this on the next workout. Haven't thought out yet how I'll handle missing reps on support sets of biceps. Probably better to continue to up the sets of the 105 for now.

Did a quick 37 minutes of elliptical after lifting.
Goal is to do 90 minutes tomorrow.

Squat Lesson Today

Learned something I already knew today.
DO NOT DO CONDITIONING THE DAY BEFORE SQUATS!!!

Made myself put up the workset regardless, but did not follow with BBB.

When I squat next week I'll be sure to have an off day before squat day.

burned out

Went to run this morning but quit as soon as I started.
Was burned out as all get out.
I could have pushed it, but thought it made more sense to recover and make a decent go at it tomorrow rather than strain through a crappy workout today.

Cooking PR: Cooked up a huge mass of meat and rice. Should be awesome.

Good Bench Day

Benching stayed light today, it's the first wave of a new cycle.
Weights were:

BENCH: 175 x 1s x 5r
BENCH: 162.5 x 5s x 10r
BICEP: 102.5 x 7s x 5r
BICEP: 80 x 3s x 10r

If this keeps up then in the next cycle my BBB sets might be as high as first wave finishing set!

Was going to run 3 miles this morning, but stopped at 2. Heat took a lot out of me and legs were still very sore from squatting. After lifting tonight I did 30 minutes on the elliptical. This is pretty pointless from a cardio-pulmonary-vascular perspective, but it burns a few calories and hopefully still encourages at least a little increase in mitochondrial density or angiogenesis.

TODAY WAS AWESOME

Wasn't going to run today because I'd already run two days in a row, one of those days 3 miles, and today was squat day.
I decided "f*ck it."
I ran 3 miles this morning even though it was squat day.
My 3 mile time was unimpressive, but I'm still glad I got out and did it. Hopefully mitochondrial density, lung capacity, and all that other good stuff improved a little bit.

My squat workout (unbelted) today was:
B SQUAT: 290 x 1s x 5r
BBB: 190 x 5s x 10r
Kroc Row: 60 x 5s x 10r

My squat is down, my running is slow, but godd*mnit my workouts are consistent and I feel that I'm making progress.
My alltime belted squat record was 335 x 3s x 5r and 395 x 1s x 1r.
I cannot wait to crush those records unbelted.

Tomorrow I'm going to take an off day. Not that I want to, but I'm forcing myself. It's always after the off days that I'm able to make a really fast run and break a new record.

Getting the Current Time/Date in Python

import datetime
dt = datetime.datetime.now()
print dt.year
print dt.month
print dt.day
print dt.hour
print dt.minute
print dt.second

Thoughts for the Next Cycle

For the next cycle I'll have to make a few changes:

1) Lower working 1RM for OHP to 150. I just wasn't hitting enough reps with a 165 max to make the sets worthwhile.

2) Reintroduce deadlifts. If I'm gonna compete in a meet in two months I have to work the deadlift. No way around it.

3) Squats won't be 531 style for now. I"ll up the max set weight by 5 lbs every workout, the BBB weight by 2.5lbs.
-This is bc I don't want to increase my max a bit slower than just setting it high right now, but faster than 531 would
normally allow. Should be squatting 305 or 310 by the time cycle 6 ends, will be approaching pre-injury weights. (Though
peak belted weights will remain distant in the near term).

4) Bench, I won't change a single thing. Bench is going great and I'm looking forward to f'ing around and hitting a 250lb bench (my first real, legit, new 1RM since switching to 531).

The working maxes for cycle 6 of 531 will be:
Bench: 205
Deadlift: 375 (starting purposefully low, can adjust up through cycle)
Overhead Press: 150 (this is lower than before, but just wasn't hitting reps)
Squat: Not using 531 system. Will be upping squat working set by 5lbs every workout, BBB by 2.5lbs. First squat workout will be 300lbs x 1s x 5r and BBB: 190 x 5s x 10r.