4/23 training

Monday: squat: barx15 135x5 185x4 225x4 255x3 285x2 315x1 285x9 225x8 paused.
Btnp: barx20 135x10 145x8 155x6 2x160x5 1x4.
Mid shin deadlift: 135x10 185x8 225x6 3x245x5
60 reps 15 lb hammer curls
Notes: squats felt a lot better today.  Shoulders were weak but this was expected after being sick last week.  Deadlifts felt good.  Didnt have fat grips for hammer curls today.

Wednesday: 1 legged leg press: 135x20 185x15 225x12 3x315x10 each leg.
Paused Bench press: barx20 135x5 225x4 255x4 285x2 315x1 285x9 3x235x5 wide grip tempo.
Weighted chins: bwx10 10x8 25x6 3x45x5
60 hammer curls 15 lbs
Notes: leg press felt solid.  Bench didnt feel great today.  Chins felt heavier but I switched to a thicker bar.

Friday: smith machine front squats: 105x20 125x15 145x12 3x155x10
Reverse grip smith machine bench press: 135x10 185x8 225x6 3x255x5
Deadlift: 135x5 225x4 255x3 295x2 325x2 4x295x3 90 seconds between.
70 reps 15 lb hammer curls fat grips
Notes:  pretty bleh today.  Didn't eat much.  Little sleep.  Still got thru it

4/16 training

My numbers are gonna suck ass the next week or two because I had the flu.  Hopefully I'll be back on track in may.  In other words I'm gonna have to start taking stretching more seriously.  Hamstrings and ankle and hips every day along with neck training.  I gotta stop skipping the prehab.  The last 2 weeks I havent done any small workouts either, which is going to change this week.

Monday: no training because flu.

Wednesday:
Squats: 135x5 185x4 225x3 275x2 305x1 275x7 225x7 paused.
Paused Bench: barx20 135x5 185x4 225x3 275x2 305x1 275x9 3x225x5 wide grip tempo
Chins: bwx10 +10x8 +25x6 3x+45x5
50 Hammer curls
Notes: need to get back to stretching daily.. my left knee wasnt feeling great today.  Left a few in the tank on everything.

Friday: Smith front squat: 95x20 115x15 135x12 3x145x10
Smith reverse grip bench: 135x10 185x8 225x6 3x245x5
Deadlift: 135x5 225x4 255x3 285x2 315x1 4x285x3 90 sec rest
50 hammer curls 15lbs
Notes: stayed at the same weights for assistance this week.  Deadlifts felt decent.

4/9/18 training week

Monday: Squats: 135x5 185x4 225x3 265x2 295x1 265x10 225x9 paused.
Btnp: barx20 95x10 135x8 145x6 3x155x5
Mid shin deadlift: 135x10 185x8 205x6 3x225x5
Fat grip hammer curl: 50 reps 15s.
Notes: squat felt okay.  My left ankle needs work to get stretched.

Wednesday: 1 legpress: 135x20 185x15 225x12 3x275x10
Paused Bench press: barx20 135x5 185x4 225x3 265x2 295x1 265x12 3x225x6 wide grip tempo
Chins: bwx10 +10x8 +25x6 3x+45x5-4-3
Fat grip hammer curls: 15lbsx
Notes: leg press was pretty light.  Just gonna go up slowly though.  Had 2 or so left in the tank on bench which is good.  Wide grips felt interesting.  Weighted chins were hard.

Friday: Smith machine front squat: 95x20 115x15 135x12 3x145x10
Smith machine reverse grip bench: 135x10 185x8 225x6 3x245x5
Deadlift: 135x5 185x4 225x3 275x2 305x1 275x10
15 lb. Fat grip hammer curl: 50 reps.
Notes: front squats didnt feel heavy, but were really hard.  Reverse bench I didnt feel too much.  Deadlifts felt a lot better but still need work imo.  I think I have to change up the rep scheme because amraps seem to be draining me more than helping me.  Maybe I'll do a single every 30 seconds for 10.  Or a double every minute.

Assistance thoughts part 1

Since my first 6 week training cycle is coming to a close, I feel like I should make this post series to go into detail about some of the more assistance exercises I used throughout the program and detail how they worked for me here.

Overhead press: solid lift to get the shoulders strong again.  I cleaned the first rep of every set too which probably helped.  Low reps really get me moving heavy weight here.

Stiff leg deficit deadlift: these were really good.  I felt it a lot better in my hamstrings with a really close stance, but as I got heavier I started to feel it more in my back.  The deficit version let's me get more of a stretch since I'm tall and more ROM.

Lunges: I was very surprised at how much I liked these.  Every time I did them they lit up my quads.  They also weren't super taxing either.  I only did about 3 "work sets" for these, with a bodyweight set of 20 and a set of 10 before going heavier. 

Barbell rows: Good row.  I would take these out of the rack and do a Romanian deadlift and start rowing.  I cheated a little bit the last 2 or so weeks, but I'd rather cheat a bit on an exercise where using heavier weight can carry over to my other rows.  I really liked working with low reps, but think I'll try and double the reps the next time I rotate these in.  Not sure yet.  I started pulling these to my stomach but now I try to focus on pulling it a little bit higher.

Hack squats (paused): these were a pleasant surprise as well.  The pause puts a whole new meaning to the exercise.  You can also try putting your feet close together and point your toes out.. basically touch your heels and do some slow negatives to really torch your vmo.  I did these wider like a real squat.  Something to keep in mind the more upright my torso was the harder the movement was, not sure why.  Maybe I could get more ROM and less hip action in the mix.

Incline bench: I always hated inclines, but going heavier on them for top sets of 5 make them a much more bearable exercise.  I actually have started looking forward to these.  It's a really good assistance exercise for hitting all the prime movers of the bench press under a longer rom.  I cut the last inch or so out of the movement to prevent some shoulder issues, but this is a solid choice still.  I think someone like me who has neglected inclines can get a lot out of focusing on them.