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FVR
06-04-14, 9:06 pm
I figured I would start this journal to keep me honest as far as training progress goes.

I'll start with some background:

I've been lifting weights since 2010, focusing primarily on bodybuilding. After 3+ years and becoming disillusioned with bodybuilding by the end, I took Jan-April 2014 off and focused on some other things in my life.

In early May, I felt the need to get back in the gym. I took my old numbers, subtracted 20% off of them and went on my way. My strength came back quickly and I found myself only interested in doing my first lift for each muscle group, since I always liked to start a workout with a big compound lift for 5 reps or less per set. I spent two weeks lifting heavy for lower volume than I was previously used to and was loving it. High intensity for low volume kept me from being overly fatigued and I was always looking forward to my next workout.

A friend told me that the 'routine' I was doing was close to powerlifting/strength training (although with not much structure). I looked into it and had a bit of a love at first sight once I understood exactly what powerlifting entailed. And so here I am, two weeks into the Madcow 5x5 program.

FVR
06-04-14, 9:22 pm
I picked Madcow because of the high frequency (which I respond well to) and I felt I needed a rigid program to get me started. I'm in a position where my numbers are novice/intermediate but I have over 3 years of experience in terms of knowing my body and knowing what I need to do to fix most issues I run into.

With moving towards powerlifting, I decided to switch my squat from high to low bar, and finally getting around to using a belt (which is awesome). I've added and changed a few of the accessories based on what I need to improve on.

The main lifts I focus on each training day are:

Mon - Squat/Bench/Row
Wed - Squat/Standing Press/DL
Fri - Squat/Bench/Row

Each main lift follows a 5 set by 5 rep, ramping the weights up each set.

FVR
06-04-14, 9:33 pm
Today was easy back squat day, followed by heavy press and deads.

Back Squat: 115x5, 145x5, 185x5, 185x5
Press: 70x5, 85x5, 100x5, 115x5
Deadlift: 200x5, 240x5, 280x5, 320x5

accessories: some front squats (quite light, still working on form), weighted pullups, and standing press

Had a good day, hardest part was working out my front squat form. I always liked front squats but never figured out how to hold the bar up without choking or falling over. I added front squats in to work on my quads and core stability (something I lack).

The first month of madcow is a deload working up to my initial 5 rep maxes, and it's so tough sticking to the numbers in the book rather than going HAM and going for PRs.

Edit: as of today I am 185lbs

Ed Eliason
06-05-14, 12:47 am
I'm diggin the title to your journey, it's what we're all doing. It's a great title.

FVR
06-06-14, 3:08 pm
I'm diggin the title to your journey, it's what we're all doing. It's a great title.

Thanks man, it was the cleverest title I could come up with without going overboard. I'll have to check yours out sometime.

FVR
06-06-14, 3:27 pm
Squat: 120x5, 145x5, 175x5, 205x5, 240x3, 175x8
Bench: 100x5, 120x5, 145x5, 170x5, 205x3, 145x8
Row: 85x5, 105x5, 125x5, 145x5, 170x3, 125x8

Accessories:
weighted dips (3x6 @ 90)
DB hammer curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Tricep Extension (3x8 @ 155)
DB Farmer Walks (4 hallway lengths @ 90s)
Calves (4x12 @ 220)

I know that when I'm following a program I should do exactly what it says, but I couldn't help doing extra 1 rep sets for each main lift:

Squat: 1 rep @ 275 paused rep
Bench: 1 rep @ 225 paused rep
Row: 1 rep @ 185 off the floor

I figured I should practice paused reps a little bit to get the hang of theml man they are tough! I figured the lack of touch n go bounce would make it harder (hence taking 5-10 lbs off my former 1 rep maxes) but both squat and bench were real grinders...and I can't wait to do them again!

Was a great day. Fridays are always good days, especially due to weighted dips where I get to waddle around with 45lb plates off the belt.

FVR
06-09-14, 3:16 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 210, 1x5 @ 240
Bench: 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 205
Row: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 170

Accessories:
Weighted Hyperextensions (2x6 @ 40lb BB behind the neck)
Cable Crunch (3x6 @ 195)
Calves (3x5 @ 300)

Mondays are always nice and quick, which is good because I wasn't feeling especially in the groove today. I still got my numbers but tweaked my wrist on squats and learned how much better it is to use the same bar each week. I also need to figure out some way to keep myself from getting lifted off the ground doing crunches...

FVR
06-11-14, 10:19 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 180
Press: 1x5 @ 75, 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 115
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 245, 1x5 @ 285, 1x5 @ 325

Accessories:
Standing Press: 2x8 @ 100
Weighted Pullups: 3x5 @ 25
Front Squats: 3x5 @ 135
Calves: 4x8 @ 240

My OHP is finally feeling solid, I could have gone for 135 on my last set no problem, which gave me some serious confidence to blast through my deadlifts. The last deadlift set was a grinder but I ended up pulling 6 reps out of my ass. AND I figured out the best way to hold the bar in front squats, so the weight will be going up easily from now on.

Good session.

FVR
06-14-14, 10:37 am
Squats: 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 210, 1x3 @ 250, 1x8 @ 185
Bench: 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 175, 1x3 @ 205, 1x8 @ 155
BB Row: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 155, 1x3 @ 175, 1x8 @ 135

Accessories:
Weighted Dips (3x5 @ 90)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Triceps Extension (3x8 @ 155)
Farmer Walks (4xhallway @ 95s)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 140)
Calves (4x12 @ 220)

Easy day. I had so much left over in the tank I feel like I might explode with power over my weekend off days.

Will be spending a lot of the weekend foam rolling and trying to not let studying for law get in the way of watching the world cup.

Monday can't get here fast enough!

FVR
06-16-14, 2:46 pm
Squats: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 250
Bench: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 205
BB Rows: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 170

Accessories:
BB Hyperextension (2x6 @ 40)
CGBP (2x8 @ 165)
Calves (3x5 @ 300)
Cable Crunch (3x6 @ 195)

Was a fine day, bench felt really solid, was able to be much more explosive, probably due to figuring out how to keep my set-up solid.

Most importantly, I won't have to borrow a belt for my heaviest squat and deadlift sets anymore since my Inzer lever belt finally came in. I'm really excited to try it out; it took me a few minutes to figure out how to take it off easily and am currently rolling it around to break it in some.

FVR
06-18-14, 5:53 pm
Sort of...Only used it for my last set on OHP and deads. I now have very striking bruises on my hips. Can't wait to use it again!

Squat: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 190
OHP: 1x5 @ 75, 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 120
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 210, 1x5 @ 250, 1x5 @ 295, 1x5 @ 335

Accessories:
Standing Press (2x8 @ 100)
Weighted Pullups (3x5 @ 25)
Front Squat (3x5 @ 145)

The last deadlift set was difficult, I'm still not used to doing over 3 reps on work sets. I'm glad my form is improving and I'm pulling from a much more powerful starting position. I still need to work on properly resetting each rep.
I'm not sure if it was because I am not used to my new belt, or I was just finding it difficult, but I felt myself rounding over on the last two reps of the last set of deads.

Really happy that my OHP is keeping up with the progression, I feel like such a badass holding the bar over my head, shaking like I'm in a mini earthquake.

FVR
06-20-14, 9:34 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 255, 1x8 @ 190
Bench: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 210, 1x8 @ 155
BB Row: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 175, 1x8 @ 130

Accessories:
Weighted Dips (3x8 @ 60)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 155)
Farmer Walks (4xhallway @ 95s)

Fridays are the best days. I got someone to video my heavy squat set and while my form is coming along, it's still favoring a high-bar squat set-up. I'm glad I got the weight up easily, but more work is required!

My bench is doing well, my set-up and form is good and I'm powering right through the weights. Feels great.

How to know you've had a good work out: you're dead tired but absolutely cannot wait for the next session!

Ed Eliason
06-21-14, 12:10 am
I agree, Friday is squat night for me, Fridays are the best. Nice session!

FVR
06-23-14, 5:07 pm
The fifth week of Madcow means it's finally time for me to push past my old PR's and the expectation is that I will achieve 5 lb PRs in each lift per week, for 8 weeks. It's a big ask but I know I can do it.

Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 255
Bench: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 210
BB Row: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 175

Accessories:
BB Hyperextension (2x6 @ 40)
CGBP (2x8 @ 165)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 140)
Calves (3x12 @220)

I thought the last set of squats would destroy me, but surprisingly it felt good and I can't wait to keep driving towards heavier weights. One of my eyeballs felt like it was going to pop out on one of the reps of the last set; must mean my belt is working.

Bench was nice as always, I felt a slight twinge in my forearm at the bottom of the lift which is something I'll keep an eye on and scour the internet for ways to alleviate it if it keeps occurring.

Rows were rows.

Wednesday can't get here fast enough!

FVR
06-23-14, 5:20 pm
I agree, Friday is squat night for me, Fridays are the best. Nice session!

Thank you! Squat day is like going to a crazy party: fun the day/night of, but the day after you can barely move.

FVR
06-25-14, 3:43 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 190
Standing Press: 1x5 @ 75, 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 120
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 255, 1x5 @ 300, 1x5 @ 340

Accessories:
Standing Press (2x8 @ 100)
Weighted Pullups (3x5 @25)
Front Squats (3x5 @ 155)

Squats felt good, press felt good, the only issue popped up on my last set of deads. I felt like my back was rounding and got a video of my second last set which looked, if I may say, excellent. I threw on the belt for the last set and while the first three reps were fine, the last two probably made me look like a hunchbacked old man.

I know it's not the biggest deal in the world that my last two reps made me break form, but I'll be getting a form check next week to make sure it doesn't look too bad.

My first big issue with madcow would be the low deadlift frequency. I'm seriously considering changing friday rows to deficit deadlifts or something.

FVR
06-28-14, 9:38 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 260, 1x8 @ 160
Bench: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x3 @ 215, 1x8 @ 160
BB Row: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 155, 1x3 @ 180, 1x8 @ 130

Accessories:
CGBP (3x8 @ 165)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 155)

Ended up going to the RAC (the old university gym from when it was a polytechnical institute) with some friends today. The workout was great, everything was easy, even pause-benched my max sets without issue. Having an audience certainly helps my form and power!

Had a big dose of nostalgia since this gym was the first gym I stepped into of my own volition. My first workout, almost 4 years ago, consisted of doing a set or two on every single machine. I think I've learned a thing or two since then.

FVR
06-30-14, 4:42 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 230, 1x5 @ 260
Bench: 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 215
BB Row: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 180

Accessories:

CGBP (2x8 @ 165)
BB Hyperextension (2x6 @ 40)
Cable Crunch (4x12 @ 145)
Calves (4x12 @ 230)

It never ceases to amaze me how strength progression works. After three years of using muscle size as the sole indicator of progress, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I can gain strength in a much quicker way than packing on muscle. With this in mind, I always sort of dread Mondays (where I take my 3 rep weight from friday and turn it into 5 rep set) because how in the hell can two days rest allow that progress?

Squat went well, my first rep of my last set I leant forward and made it a very quad-dominant rep, refocused and nailed the other 4.
Bench was good, last rep of last set was a grinder but it went up steadily.
Rows were fine, most important thing for me here is to keep my back neutral/arched and not forget to do the same thing for deads on wednesday.

FVR
07-02-14, 5:44 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 195
Standing Press: 1x5 @ 80, 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 125
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 265, 1x5 @ 305, 1x5 @ 350

Accessories:

Standing Press (2x8 @ 100)
Weighted Pullups (3x5 @ 30)
Front Squat (3x5 @ 155)
Cable Crunch (4x8 @ 175)
Calves (4x8 @ 270)

Nothing new to say, other than I hit all my lifts; getting 350 for 5 was especially good times.

FVR
07-04-14, 5:29 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 230, 1x3 @ 265, 1x8 @ 195
Bench: 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x3 @ 220, 1x8 @ 160
BB Row: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x3 @ 185, 1x8 @ 135

Accessories:

Weighted Dips (3x8 @ 60)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Farmer Walks (4xhallway @ 95s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 155)
Cable Crunch (4x12 @ 145)

As always, Fridays are awesome. My form on squats has finally settled and I'm feeling very comfortable in the hole and have found a lot more power to get out of it.

(for reference if I ever look back on this:) Shoulder width stance with feet almost completely forward and my legs flair outside of my feet slightly, allowing me to distribute the weight on the outside of my feet and use glutes much more effectively if I bring my legs back in line with my feet when coming out of the hole). The 265x3 went very easily, I even used a pause on the last rep and got it up with the bar bouncing on my back. So, obviously I'm feeling great.

The last bench set was a bit of a grinder but the weight moved steadily. Really looking forward to getting 5 reps on Monday!

I've started supersetting my accessories to save time and get some pseudo-cardio in. Working well.

Ed Eliason
07-05-14, 8:21 pm
I'm glad your squats are feeling great!

FVR
07-07-14, 5:12 pm
I'm glad your squats are feeling great!

Thanks Ed! I feel like it was a revelation, squats are so easy at the moment. I always heard week 7-8 are big stall points on madcows, but with this new stance I'm ready to go the full 12 weeks.

FVR
07-07-14, 5:25 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 200, 1x5 @ 230, 1x5 @ 265
Bench: 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 220
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185

Accessories:

BB Back Raise (2x6 @ 40)
CGBP (2x8 @ 175)
Cable Crunch (4x12 @ 150)
Calves (4x12 @ 230)

From now on I squat like I got a fire under my ass as soon as I break parallel. Experimenting with stances width and foot/knee positioning) allowed me to make big improvements to getting out of the hole and making the entire movement smoother and more confident. Next week calls for a 10lb bump in my 5 rep max and I'm not even worried, I will be manhandling that weight in the bright and early afternoon.

I like to say that I knew I'd get 5 reps at 220 for bench, but I was so happy and ever so slightly surprised when I banged them out with some minor grinding. I like to think my set up on bench is a big reason and it sure FEELS like a powerful position, but I'll be getting a form check as soon as I can to make sure. I do notice I lose tightness throughout the heaviest 5 rep set but as long as I can stay PERFECTLY tight for the first 2 reps or so I think I'd be fine in competition.

Rows are actually feeling much more stable in terms of lower back control, so that's nice.

As of this Monday, my (calculated) 1 rep maxes are:
Squat: 300
Bench: 250
Dead: 405

My squats need work, good thing they feel great and I'll be working on making bigger jumps in weight.

FVR
07-09-14, 11:00 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 200, 1x5 @ 200
Press: 1x5 @ 80, 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 130
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 275, 1x5 @ 315, 1x5 @ 360

Accessories:

Press (2x8 @ 105)
Weighted Pullups (3x5 @ 30)
Front Squats (3x5 @ 165)
Cable Crunch (4x8 @ 175)
Calves (4x8 @ 270)

Squats were nice and light today, I specifically do pause squats for each of these sets to ensure my form doesn't fall apart.
Last set of overhead press was shaky, but I got all the reps in without falling over.

After not being able to complete my last set of deads while resetting every rep last week, I've been looking around for tips on how to better distribute the load throughout my muscles (I felt the work in my lower back and hams, but barely in my glutes --> weird). I decided to widen my deadlift stance (still conventional) just a bit after watching some Candito videos and it was amazing.
I always deadlifted with my arms going straight down for the shorter ROM, but by sacrificing ROM a bit for a wider foot placement, I am able to load my glutes much more effectively and my hips don't rise at the start when I'm tired. In the end, the only proof I needed was the fact I could pause-rep my last set of 360, 10lbs more than last week.

FVR
07-11-14, 11:30 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 240, 1x3 @ 275, 1x8 @ 200
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x3 @ 225, 1x8 @ 165
Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 160, 1x3 @ 190, 1x8 @ 140

Accessories:

Dips (3x8 @ 60)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40)
Famers (4xHallway @ 95)
Pushdown (3x8 @ 160)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 145)
Calves (4x12 @ 230)

Excellent day as all Fridays are, no much more to be said here!

smadayjr
07-12-14, 3:10 am
Thanks Ed! I feel like it was a revelation, squats are so easy at the moment. I always heard week 7-8 are big stall points on madcows, but with this new stance I'm ready to go the full 12 weeks.

If you can continue to make progress, keep going and pushing through for the full 12 weeks. I love the Madcow program. I did this exact program two seperate 12 week cycles and got some awesome strength gains off of it!

FVR
07-14-14, 4:18 pm
If you can continue to make progress, keep going and pushing through for the full 12 weeks. I love the Madcow program. I did this exact program two seperate 12 week cycles and got some awesome strength gains off of it!

That's the plan man. I'm feeling great and there's no stopping me or my total haha.

Did you do the 2 cycles one directly after the other? That sounds intense, but if I'm still gaining by week 12, I see no reason to change programs.

FVR
07-14-14, 4:34 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 240, 1x5 @ 275
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 225
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 190

Accessories:

BB Hyperextension (2x6 @ 50)
CGBP (2x8 @ 175)
Cable Crunches (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (3x12 @ 230)

My adipowers came in today, and I would love to write a book on how much better I feel squatting and benching in them, but I'll suffice it to say that the 275x3 set that felt heavy on friday went smooth as butter for 5 today, and I could have easily hit 8 reps.

I don't know how much I'd attribute the very easy 225x5 set to the shoes, but man, 225x3 was a grinder Friday, but today I could have hit 6 or 7.

There must be something in the water.

smadayjr
07-14-14, 5:01 pm
That's the plan man. I'm feeling great and there's no stopping me or my total haha.

Did you do the 2 cycles one directly after the other? That sounds intense, but if I'm still gaining by week 12, I see no reason to change programs.

No they were spaced out about 8-10 weeks apart. No way I could keep progressing I think doing em back to back.

FVR
07-16-14, 4:00 pm
No they were spaced out about 8-10 weeks apart. No way I could keep progressing I think doing em back to back.

Fair enough, what did you do in the meantime?

FVR
07-16-14, 4:11 pm
Squat: 1x5 @140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 205
Standing Press: 1x5 @ 80, 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 130
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 230, 1x5 @ 280, 1x5 @ 325, 1x5 @ 370

Accessories:

Standing Press (2x8 @ 110)
Weighted Pullups (3x5 @ 40)
Front Squat (2x5 @ 165)
Cable Crunch (4x8 @ 175)
Calves (3x8 @ 280)

Squats were great, the weightlifting shoes are changing my leverages slightly, but it just feels so much more comfortable and an overall smooth motion. All squats were paused as usual on Wednesdays.

My press is getting much more solid, I'm not looking like I'm having a seizure on my last set anymore. The lack of shaking means I can control the bar much more effectively. 130 for 5 reps felt good.

Now, the best thing that happened all week: my last set of deadlifts was amazing! Last week I was afraid I couldn't do 360 for 5 reps while resetting each rep, but this week I said fuck it, loaded 370 and banged out the 5 reps with resetting. I won't lie, the last 3 reps were grinders, but my form did not break down and I could feel the right muscles doing their job.

I tried getting a video of my last set but my phone corrupted it...it was the only thing that failed today which means it was a good day.

smadayjr
07-17-14, 2:08 am
Fair enough, what did you do in the meantime?

Basically did a 3 day split (bench day, squat day, deadlift day) along with accessory work for the main lift I was doing that day. If I was feeling good that week and had the time, I would throw in a fourth day of just some light accessory work, kinda like a bodybuilding type day.

FVR
07-18-14, 8:47 pm
Basically did a 3 day split (bench day, squat day, deadlift day) along with accessory work for the main lift I was doing that day. If I was feeling good that week and had the time, I would throw in a fourth day of just some light accessory work, kinda like a bodybuilding type day.

Cool, I'll have to think on what to do. I'm taking a 3 week vacation (no lifting) after the 12th week so I might just deload by 10-20% and start a new 12 week cycle with those weights. I can't get enough of the squatting 3 days a week, it's ruined me for other programs.

FVR
07-19-14, 9:39 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 240, 1x3 @ 280, 1x8 @ 205
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 195, 1x3 @ 230, 1x8 @ 170
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 165, 1x3 @ 195, 1x8 @ 145

Accessories:

Weighted Dip (3x8 @ 60)
Hammer Curl (3x8 @ 45s)
Farmer Walks (4xhallway @ 95s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 160)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 145)
Calves (3x12 @ 230)

Everything felt good today. My damn phone crashed and I lost both my squat videos, but I trusted the word of the guy taping me, plus it felt like I was using good form.

Bench was fine, got my reps very easily, managed a pause on the last rep of my 230lbs set.

I've started using my belt on the heaviest set of rows, putting it on backwards so I can bring the bar all the way up to my stomach and not have it hit the lever.

Supersetting the accessories works well. I've started mapping out my progress in an excel file, and by the end of this 12 week cycle, I'll have put on about 200 lbs on my total. While it sounds good, I can't help but wonder if I would have been able to do a little more in the same time, especially for squats.

FVR
07-21-14, 5:12 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 210, 1x5 @ 245, 1x5 @ 280
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 200, 1x5 @ 230
BB Row: 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 195

Accessories:

BB Back Raise (2x6 @ 50)
CGBP (foregone this week)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (4x12 @ 240)

I ended up using a rack in front of a mirror for the first time in a while, and I was able to notice how much cleaner and more efficient my form was. The efficiency is really evident by the fact that I buried my last 5 rep set at 280; I could have completed it with 15 more lbs on the bar.

I was feeling my shoulders a bit more in my bench today, which I attribute to losing some tightness when lifting the bar. Despite that, I got my 5 reps at 230 with only some grinding on the last rep.

Rows were fine as always, using a belt on the heaviest set makes life much easier and I feel I could bump my working weights for row 10 lbs since I get that much more core stability for the last set.

I am officially in the third month of Madcows, and while for the past 2 months I have been adding a little extra on days I felt I had MUCH more in the tank, I'm now going to be dropping the little extras as the sets get tougher. I had to do this for the first time today, as my shoulders were feeling a little off in my bench, I dropped the CGBP in order to be as fresh as possible for Wednesday's OHP and Friday's bench.

My calculated maxes this week:
Squat: 315
Bench: 260
Deadlift: 430
TOTAL: 1005

So I TECHNICALLY broke 1000lbs total today. Yay, and I can't wait to test my real maxes in a month.

MR. C
07-21-14, 7:12 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 230, 1x3 @ 265, 1x8 @ 195
Bench: 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x3 @ 220, 1x8 @ 160
BB Row: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x3 @ 185, 1x8 @ 135

Accessories:

Weighted Dips (3x8 @ 60)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Farmer Walks (4xhallway @ 95s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 155)
Cable Crunch (4x12 @ 145)

As always, Fridays are awesome. My form on squats has finally settled and I'm feeling very comfortable in the hole and have found a lot more power to get out of it.

(for reference if I ever look back on this:) Shoulder width stance with feet almost completely forward and my legs flair outside of my feet slightly, allowing me to distribute the weight on the outside of my feet and use glutes much more effectively if I bring my legs back in line with my feet when coming out of the hole). The 265x3 went very easily, I even used a pause on the last rep and got it up with the bar bouncing on my back. So, obviously I'm feeling great.

The last bench set was a bit of a grinder but the weight moved steadily. Really looking forward to getting 5 reps on Monday!

I've started supersetting my accessories to save time and get some pseudo-cardio in. Working well.

I have gained about 50 lbs on my BENCH press in about 6 months doing 5 by 5. It is a great program. I do mine a little different though. For example I do 5 sets with the same weight for 5 reps. I do not increase the weight until I do all 5 sets at that one weight. So say I use 225 lbs. If my workout looked like this
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 4
225 for 3
Then the next time I did chest I would use the same weight until I did all sets and reps at 225 lbs until it looked like this
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
Then and only then would I up the weight, most likely by 5 pounds and do then 5 sets of 5 at 230 lbs

FVR
07-24-14, 10:06 am
I have gained about 50 lbs on my BENCH press in about 6 months doing 5 by 5. It is a great program. I do mine a little different though. For example I do 5 sets with the same weight for 5 reps. I do not increase the weight until I do all 5 sets at that one weight. So say I use 225 lbs. If my workout looked like this
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 4
225 for 3
Then the next time I did chest I would use the same weight until I did all sets and reps at 225 lbs until it looked like this
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
225 for 5
Then and only then would I up the weight, most likely by 5 pounds and do then 5 sets of 5 at 230 lbs

Yeah I'd be interested in looking into a programming with straight sets across. One of the issues I have with madcows is that only the last 2 sets are actually difficult, the others feel like warmups. Luckily for me, I'm still making use of beginner gains so even if the high effort volume isn't much, I still get the stimulus needed to add 5 or 10 lbs to the bar every week.

But you're right, and as soon as this program stops working for me I'll be jumping on something like your layout.

FVR
07-24-14, 10:16 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 210, 1x5 @ 210
Standing Press: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 135
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 240, 1x5 @285, 1x5 @335, 1x5 @380

Accessories:

Weighted Pullups (3x5 @ 40)
Cable Crunch (3x8 @ 175)
Calves (4x8 @ 280)

Light pause squats were fine, my form is staying consistent which is what I'm most interested in on Wednesdays.

Standing press was tough! I was shaking like a leaf on my last 2 reps of my heaviest set. Walked away from that amazed I was able to do it.

Deadlifts were good, managed to get video'd and my form was fine across my last set. They took a lot out of me though so I skipped a few accessories to keep fresh for Friday.

It's Thursday morning and my back is really feeling that 380 for 5 reps.

Ed Eliason
07-24-14, 8:57 pm
Deadlift PR! Nice!

FVR
07-25-14, 6:09 pm
Deadlift PR! Nice!

Haha yeah man! PR or bust

FVR
07-25-14, 6:18 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 210, 1x5 @ 245, 1x3 @ 285, 1x8 @ 210
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 200, 1x3 @ 235, 1x8 @ 175
BB Row: 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 170, 1x3 @ 200, 1x8 @ 145

Accessories:

Weighted Dips (3x8 @ 65)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 45s)
Farmer Walks (4xhallway @ 95s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 160)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (4x12 @ 240)

Squats were great, mostly because I just wanted to crush the weight. I'm much more confident under the bar than I was a month or two ago and I know it's a large factor in driving my progress.

Bench was fine, didn't feel it in my shoulders anymore, and kept tight throughout the 3 reps, so I got it done with minimal grinding.

BB row was good, especially since I'm using the same setup as for my deadlifts, so I get practice initiating the deadlift with lighter weight to get the form ingrained in my muscles.

Friday means two days of rest afterwards, which means a whole lot more accessories than any other day during the week. Took a lot out of me, but it's nice to walk around with a pump, plus the abs and calves exercises don't really count towards fatiguing me so I shouldn't be whining.

Tomorrow is all about some hill sprints at a hill nearby, and then relaxing/foam rolling for the rest of the weekend.

FVR
07-28-14, 3:15 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 250, 1x5 @ 285
Bench: 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 235
BB Row: 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 200

Accessories:

BB Back Raise (2x6 @ 50)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 160)
Calves (4x12 @ 240)

I feeling a little daunted with the prospect of squatting 285 for 5 reps, spent most of the subway ride to the gym thinking about how I'll crush it no matter what. Not sure if that helped at all, but I got those reps with next to no grinding and the weight didn't even feel heavy on my shoulders. I got a video and everything looked like it felt: perfect. Next Monday is all about 295 for 5 reps, and I'm confident.

Today was probably just a special day because I made the last set of bench my bitch, I even paused the last 3 reps and while I did grind the last rep a bit, I moved the weight without a doubt in my mind.

Rows were fine, it's a little weird to use my deadlift set-up for them but I figure it will help me in the long run.

Calculated Maxes for this week:
Squat: 325
Bench: 265
Deadlift: 435

Next week will be pretty intense since I have to make 10 lb jumps on my last sets of squats and Bench. I'm not even worried.

CrimsonGhost
07-28-14, 6:22 pm
Nice work. Looks like you ramp up your sets of 5 to a top set rather than straight weight across for all 5 sets?

FVR
07-30-14, 6:27 pm
Nice work. Looks like you ramp up your sets of 5 to a top set rather than straight weight across for all 5 sets?

Thanks, sure do, it has its pros and cons.

FVR
07-30-14, 6:34 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 215
OHP: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 135
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 240, 1x5 @ 290, 1x5 @ 335, 1x5 @ 385

Accessories:

Press (2x8 @ 110)
Weighted Pullups (3x5 @ 40)
Front Squats (2x5 @ 165)

Pause squats were fine.

The last rep of 135 was still tough, but much easier than last week.

Deadlifts were awesome, buried my last set, felt great and my form on video was good. It seems like on the last rep or two I may be leaning forward at the start, but rectify it at around knee level. It'll be something to look out for, can't wait for 395 for 5 next week!

FVR
08-01-14, 10:49 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 250, 1x3 @ 295, 1x8 @ 215
Bench: 1x5 @ 120, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 205, 1x3 @ 245, 1x8 @ 175
BB Row: 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 175, 1x3 @ 205, 1x8 @ 145

Accessories:

Weighted Dips (3x8 @ 65)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 45)
Tricep Pushdowns (3x8 @ 160)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 160)
Calves (4x12 @ 240)

Today was a slow day. My last squat rep at 295 went up damn slow, but I was able to power through it no problem, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I was going to get that weight up.

Bench was the same story, slow and steady. I kept telling my spotter that I got it, there was no way in hell he was going to help me.

My back was pretty beat up from squats and deads this week so rows were all done with a belt to mitigate any mishaps.

I went through my accessories sort of cautiously, my shoulders were feeling a little tight after benching.
While I hate that I'll be not working out on vacation for over 3 weeks, I'm looking forward to taking some time off and getting some long-term recovery in.

rainman
08-03-14, 1:10 pm
Hi. Subbing in for this. Good to see comprehensive write ups in here too. Especially good on programs like Madcow, where it's easy to get lost in numbers.

It's also good to see another glowing review on Adipowers. I have been looking at the Power Perfect 2s, but having always squatted in Chucks, have been worried how smooth the transition will be. I've got a birthday coming up, so that's a present sorted.

FVR
08-04-14, 7:23 pm
Hi. Subbing in for this. Good to see comprehensive write ups in here too. Especially good on programs like Madcow, where it's easy to get lost in numbers.

It's also good to see another glowing review on Adipowers. I have been looking at the Power Perfect 2s, but having always squatted in Chucks, have been worried how smooth the transition will be. I've got a birthday coming up, so that's a present sorted.

Thanks a lot man! I'm keeping my log as complete as possible so I can always look back on them and see my progress.

I love my adipowers, they were a very good investment. I was in chucks for over 3 years (I wasn't powerlifting then) and the transition to the high heel was effortless (i first used them on a PR day IIRC and got used to them immediately). I also realized how slippery my chucks were on my gym's wooden platforms; with the adipowers it feels like I'm glued to the ground. I'm sure the power perfects are just as excellent. I mainly picked the adipowers because they were the only decent lifting shoes I could try on before buying. Happy early birthday!

FVR
08-04-14, 7:55 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 260, 1x5 @ 295
Bench: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 215, 1x4 @ 245
BB Row: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 180, 1x5 @ 205

Accessories:

BB Back Raise (2x5 @ 50)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 160)
Calves (4x12 @ 240)

the 295 squat set was surprisingly easy! The last rep was a little slow but I definitely had much more strength in me today than friday.


Benching today was a highlight of the past 3 months of madcow: I had my first missed rep today. I cranked out 4 solid reps at 245, but that fifth one got stuck halfway up. I was a little mad but I can't say I'm too upset as it was a 10 lb jump on my 5 rep max from last week and I went back after 5 minutes to get 2 paused reps at 245, which makes me think my missed rep was more loss of tightness/mindset.
In addition, this is my second-last week of madcow and there's not much point in resetting my bench when I'm taking a 3 week vacation soon as it is.

SO, I'll continue the progression as planned for the last week.


Rows were fine as always, got to check myself out in front of a mirror today which was...weird to be honest.

FVR
08-06-14, 2:44 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 220
OHP: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 140
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 245, 1x5 @ 295, 1x5 @ 345, 1x5 @ 395

Accessories:

Weighted Pullups (2x5 @ 40)
OHP (2x8 @ 110)

Paused squats were easy, especially since I took extra time to warm up my hips. I'm glad I can open my hips up enough at the bottom to break parallel without keeling over into a squatmorning. There were some other guys squatting nearby and they just couldn't not keep their femurs parallel and it really hit home how form can affect performance.

OHP was solid this week, not much wobbling due to me focusing on squeezing my glutes and lower back for better stability.

Deadlift was excellent, I hit that last set with some violence. Chasing 405 for 5 is great motivation. I'll see about achieving that goal next wednesday.

I cut a bunch of accessories mainly because I was strapped for time today and figured I could take a day off direct core and calf work.

CrimsonGhost
08-06-14, 3:57 pm
MadCow is a great program. If I had known better when I started, I would've run Starting Strength for as long as possible, then MadCow.

FVR
08-08-14, 11:16 pm
MadCow is a great program. If I had known better when I started, I would've run Starting Strength for as long as possible, then MadCow.

I'm sort of regretting not running SS or SL first, but I'm having no regrets about madcow. I'm ruined for other programs that do not incorporate squatting three times a week.

FVR
08-08-14, 11:31 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 260, 1x3 @ 300, 1x8 @ 220
Bench: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 215, 1x3 @ 250, 1x8 @ 185
BB Row: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 180, 1x3 @ 210, 1x8 @ 155

Accessories:

Machine Chest Press (3x8 @ 165)
Hammer Curl (3x8 @ 45)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 160)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 160)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

Squats were surprisingly hard, I ended up pitching forward since I was losing tightness in the hole. I managed to keep good form despite messing up the bar path and didn't squatmorning, though I was nowhere near as confident as I normally am.

Bench sucked. I hit my numbers but I believe I am developing a slight pec strain helped along by having 10 lbs less on one side for my first rep at 250. I considered skipping my backoff set at 185 and leave my chest alone for the day, but I decided to try one rep and since it didn't hurt I ended up getting my 8 without issue.

Strangely enough, moving my bar path on bench so that it touches my upper chest rather than sternum gave me no pain whatsoever. Pressing to sternum brings at least a little discomfort. I'm wondering where the problem is actually located based on this fact, if anyone has any idea please let me know.

In any case, I'll be approaching bench very cautiously for my last week and take a well-deserved 3 weeks to recover fully for my next stint with madcow.

FVR
08-11-14, 11:28 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 265, 1x5 @ 300
Bench: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 220, 1x3 @ 250
BB Row: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 210

Accessories:

SLDL (2x6 @ 225)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 160)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

After almost 3 months, I'm happy to say that I've become very consistent in terms of form. I'm not saying that my form is perfect, or even what I'll be doing a year from now but being able to drop in the hole, use stretch reflex, and get back up without fucking up my bar path has to be the biggest feeling of accomplishment I've felt this entire cycle.

Bench was reasonable, I did exactly what I expected to do: hit 3 resp instead of 5 on my last set. I was actually aiming for this in order to give my pecs a bit of a break and mitigate injury.

As this is my last week of the madcow program, and I leave for vacation next wednesday, I plan to use next week's monday and wednesday works as redo's of this week to give myself another chance to hit all required reps and solidify my progress.

FVR
08-13-14, 6:16 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 225
OHP: 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 125, 1x3 @ 145, 1x2 @ 145
Deadlift: 1x5 @ 255, 1x5 @ 305, 1x5 @ 355, 1x3 @ 405, 1x2 @ 405

Accessories:

Lat Pulldown (3x6 @ 225)
OHP (2x8 @ 115)
Front Squat (2x5 @ 175)

Pause squats felt great, it feels like I'm being guided into the hole nicely, which makes me very confident and consistent at all weights.

OHP was good, I only got 3 reps on 145 instead of the requisite 5, so I took 3 min and got another 2 in. I'll be aiming for a good 5 rep set next wednesday.

Same thing for my deadlift, though I could have hit 5 (ugly reps) but decided on getting 3 clean ones in, take 3 min, and get the other 2. I'll be coming back much stronger in a week, I hope to get the 405 for 5 with extra in the tank.


When I started strength training 3 months ago, I thought deadlifting 405 for 1 would be awesome. Today I tripled it and I know I'll be repping it for 5 in a week's time. It's slowly dawning on me that my limits are non-existent, or at least a long way off.

FVR
08-15-14, 5:50 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 265, 1x3 @ 310, 1x8 @ 225
Bench: 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 190
BB Row: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x3 @ 215, 1x8 @ 160

Accessories:

OHP (3x8 @ 115)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 45s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 160)

Squats felt amazing, the 310 set could have gone for an easy 6. Coming in and out of the hole is easy now. I did 315 for one rep at the end so I could say I finally did it, I ended up doing a pause at the bottom because it felt so comfortable. Progressing my squats has honestly been the best part of the past 3 weeks; there's nothing like it.

My pec injury really caught up with me, I managed 190 with a lot of pain and dropped the other sets because I never felt that kind of pain in almost 4 years of lifting weights. This was the last time I'll be benching until I come back from my vacation. I hope the month off will be enough to get me back in shape.

I'll be replacing benching with overhead pressing and some light machine work (if there's no pain) for my next workout. Nothing wrong with helping my shoulders along!

I really can't be too down about my pec because my squat progress is going so well, benching heavy doesn't even come close to comparing to squatting.

Ed Eliason
08-16-14, 12:35 am
Good call on the break from bench. Hopefully a little time off will do you wonders.

FVR
08-18-14, 4:01 pm
Good call on the break from bench. Hopefully a little time off will do you wonders.

I hope so, it would be stupid to try training through it. It gives me more time to work on my overhead pressing!

FVR
08-18-14, 5:17 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 265, 1x4 @ 300, 1x2 @ 315, 1x1 @ 330
OHP: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x3 @ 135, 1x3 @ 145, 1x1 @ 155
BB Row: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 210

Accessories:

SLDL (2x8 @ 225)
Chest Press (2x8 @ 165)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 165)
Snatch Grip Row (3x8 @ 165)
Calves (4x12 @ 250)

Squats felt a little shaky today, I couldn't find a good position for the bar on my back for some reason. I ended up only getting 4 reps at 300 since the fourth felt very heavy and slow. Looking back at the video, it looked fine and form was good. I just didn't want to fail on the last heavy squat workout for a month. Since I missed a rep, I ended up hitting the heaviest actual weight I've ever done: 330 for a pseudo-paused single. It felt great and not slow at all.

I skipped bench altogether since even pushups hurt. I did some OHP for heavier triples and singles (since I'll be doing OHP again on wednesday). Form was fine, not shaky, which was surprising especially on the 155 single. Clenching the glutes really helps!

Rows were fine as always.

Wednesday is my last workout before my vacation, and so I will be doing my required lifts and numbers, after which I plan to take an extra hour to do one or two extra exercises per bodypart to grind my muscles down to nothing. I plan on leaving the gym and giving my body something to work on throughout the vacation.

FVR
08-20-14, 4:33 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 225
Bench: 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 225, 1x1 @ 245, 1x1 @ 255
DL: 1x5 @ 255, 1x5 @ 305, 1x5 @ 355, 1x3 @ 405

Accessories:

OHP (2x8 @ 115)
Front Squat (2x8 @ 185)
Lat Pulldown (3x5 @ 225)
Cable Crunch (3x8 @ 185)
Machine Row (3x8 @ 165)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 160)
Hammer Curl (3x8 @ 50)
Calves (3x12 @ 285)

Bar none the longest and more intense day at the gym to date. Since this was my last workout before my 3.5 week vacation, I figured I would take 4 hours and just do everything I possibly could and run my body into the ground so it has something to do over the break. Thus, my accessories were padded with whatever I could get my hands on. I did a number of dropsets throughout in order to get that volume and sought-after pump.

Pause Squats were good, sort of tough.

I tried benching with a closer grip and found it didn't hurt at all! So obviously I went to bench instead of OHP. I managed 255 for a single before some discomfort came back so I racked it and called it a day. More recovery is needed, but I'm glad I was able to get some chest work in before my vacation.

Deadlift was very tough today. Being able to only hit a very tough triple at 405 really brought home the fact that I desperately need some time off. I'm starting to feel quite tired and--not sluggish--but sort of lazy. In this way, madcow was perfect: it took exactly 12 weeks to wipe me out and if it wasn't for my vacation, I would take a much needed deload week and reset the program.

FVR
08-20-14, 5:44 pm
I ran madcow from May 26 to August 11 2014

Starting Maxes:
- Squat: 275
- Bench: 230
- Deadlift: 375

Ending Maxes:
- Squat: 335 (60 lb increase)
- Bench: 265 (35 lb increase)
- Deadlift: 430 (55 lb increase)

So, over the course of 3 months, I put on 150 lbs on my estimated total. I was planing to test my maxes this week but missing some reps on the last week of madcow made redoing the last week and try to hit the required reps made more sense than going for 1RMs. The only max that has not been estimated is the squat, and I'd like to say that I could do 345 for a single as the 335 was pretty easy.

From the start of my program, I was very interested in testing my maxes and using my top single weight as the primary measuring stick. However, after 3 months of 5 rep sets, I'm fine not testing my strength, and will probably not test it until close to my first competition in order to figure out attempts. Right now, I'm only interested in building my strength up.

Next Steps:
I will have myself a well deserved vacation, get some rest, see some sights, and then get right back into it.

I will do at least one more cycle of madcow, mostly because I can't get enough of the three times a week squatting. I WANT to hit a 405 squat, 285 bench, and 455 DL by Jan 1 2015. The squat goal is high, but my squat has no sign of slowing down, especially as I continue figuring out my form. I do plan on changing some of the accessories around to supplement my chest and glute/hamstrings in particular. I will also continue doubling my heavy triple sets on friday for some more stimulus. I have noticed that being able to hit a triple and at least a double after a 3 min rest on fridays will ensure I get my 5 rep set on the following Monday.

Following my stints with madcow, I plan on giving Candito's 6 week program a shot for a few cycles, since I like the variation it has. I also want to see how deviating away from only 5 rep sets will feel for me in terms of strength.

For reference, I currently weigh 190 lbs at 6'. I'll be back on Sunday September 14 and in the gym on the 15th.

Ed Eliason
08-20-14, 8:07 pm
I'm glad changing your hand placement helped with the pain. Enjoy your vacation.

FVR
09-21-14, 9:15 pm
So, vacation was great, the most exercise I got was hiking up mountains and doing pullups on a wooden beam. My pec healed up and I came back to Toronto feeling great.

I went to the gym twice last week in order to gauge my strength and test some maxes to base my next madcow cycle off of.

Monday was tough. 225 on squats was tough at first. I stuck to lighter weight and reminded myself of proper form rather than crank the intensity. I figured out a good way to bench with a closer grip that feels real nice, though it will take some getting used to.

Friday was where the magic happened. I went in there with my belt, spent 5 min on the bike to warmup, with the plan to load the weight up on the bar until my form breaks.
Long story short I ended up with these maxes:

Squat: 325
Bench: 255
Deadlift: 415
OHP: 140

So, over the past month I lost 10-15 lbs off my maxes. Not bad at all in my opinion. I used those maxes to plan out my next twelve weeks. I start tomorrow, should be fun!

FVR
09-23-14, 4:39 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 240, 1x5 @ 270
Bench: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 210
Row: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 130, 1x5 @ 150, 1x5 @ 170

Accessories:
SLDL (2x8 @ 205)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 150)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

First real day back was fine for the most part, the biggest issue was a slight twinge in my hip when squatting. I barely felt it and it didn't hinder me, but I'll be making sure to warm up more thoroughly tomorrow. The last thing I want is to not squat for a month.

Bench was super easy. I've comfortable with my closer grip and everything feels fine.

Rows were rows.

I need to work on not going as deep on squats...there's just no point in going too much below parallel, and burying them the way I do means that it will come back to bite me in the ass when I'm going for PR's this training cycle.

FVR
09-25-14, 9:37 am
Squats: 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 205
OHP: 1x5 @ 70, 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 100, 1x5 @ 115
DL: 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 260, 1x5 @ 300, 1x5 @ 345

Accessories:
Lat Pulldown (3x8 @ 190)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

Tried highbar squats after almost a year. Felt great, might keep them up for on Wednesdays.

OHP and DL were fine. I've started rolling the bar towards me on deadlifts, at least on the first rep of the set. It really helps me use my lats in the lift.

FVR
09-26-14, 6:03 pm
Squats: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 235, 1x3 @ 275, 1x8 @ 205
Bench: 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 185, 1x3 @ 215, 1x8 @ 175
BB Row: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 155, 1x3 @ 175, 1x8 @ 135

Accessories:

CGBP (3x8 @ 155)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 145)
Cable Crunch (4x12 @ 150)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

Great day! Sort of, my hip still feels a little tight but I got my squats in fine, easy weight.
Bench and rows were fine.

Not much to add until the weight gets a little heavier. Here's hoping all the freshmen give up on the gym soon...it's a zoo in there.

mgmmaze
09-26-14, 8:23 pm
Nice totals man! I took a long time off myself and decided powerlifting is where i want to go with my lifting over bodybuilding style. Also my physical therapist said "im not built for endurance" so took that as ok powerlifting woo haha. One of these days i might try madcow. just cause of the name alone sounds like something crazy. Keep up the great work.

FVR
09-30-14, 10:49 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 245, 1x5 @ 275
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 190, 1x5 @ 215
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 175

Accessories:

Deficit DL (2x6 @ 275)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

Everything is starting to come back together. I'm feeling much more confident in my squat and bench forms. Hips feel good, chest feels good. Not much more to say currently.

I switched to deficit deadlifts to try and get more speed off the floor, and also to change things up a bit (the default back raises suck). I'm finally looking forward to this training cycle.

FVR
10-01-14, 5:06 pm
Nice totals man! I took a long time off myself and decided powerlifting is where i want to go with my lifting over bodybuilding style. Also my physical therapist said "im not built for endurance" so took that as ok powerlifting woo haha. One of these days i might try madcow. just cause of the name alone sounds like something crazy. Keep up the great work.

haha cheers! Yeah, even 5 reps on deadlifts is getting to be too endurance-y.
Madcow is great. The biggest issue I'm finding with it is that for my numbers, the first 3 work sets are too low intensity.

FVR
10-01-14, 5:17 pm
High-bar Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 205, 1x3 @ 225, 1x3 @ 265, 1x2 @ 275
OHP: 1x5 @ 75, 1x5 @ 90, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 120, 1x3 @ 135, 1x2 @ 145
DL: 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 265, 1x5 @ 315, 1x5 @ 355, 1x3 @ 365, 1x3 @ 385, 1x2 @ 405

Accessories:

Lat Pulldown (3x8 @ 190)
Calves (4x12 @ 255)

So, today was slightly off the menu, so to speak. Do to small hip issues, I decided on paused high-bar squatting on Wednesdays. They felt so good that I just kept going, I had a lot in the tank today.

Same deal with OHP and deadlift: hit a few extra sets after my required ones to see where I was at.

On the one hand, this extra work might impair my recovery for Friday. On the other hand, I had a damn good time lifting my heart out today, so can't feel too bad (though I did cut a lot of accessories).

FVR
10-03-14, 4:19 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 170, 1x5 @ 205, 1x5 @ 240, 1x3 @ 285, 1x8 @ 205
Bench: 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 160, 1x5 @ 190, 1x3 @ 220, 1x8 @ 160
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 155, 1x3 @ 185, 1x8 @ 135

Accessories:

CGBP (3x8 @ 165)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 40s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 150)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (4x12 @ 245)

Don't have much to say on this one, everything was easy. Time to stuff my face and relax; Monday will be a good time!

FVR
10-06-14, 3:26 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 255, 1x5 @ 285
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 140, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 225
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 185

Accessories:

Deficit DL (2x6 @ 275)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (4x12 @ 250)

I need to learn how to properly unrack the bar when benching...

Otherwise, workout was fine, squats feel good but I'll get getting a video check soon to make sure everything looks good.

FVR
10-08-14, 5:46 pm
High-Bar Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 215, 1x3 @ 245, 1x3 @ 275, 1x2 @ 295
OHP: 1x5 @ 75, 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 105, 1x5 @ 120, 1x3 @ 135, 1x3 @ 145
DL: 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 275, 1x5 @ 315, 1x5 @ 365, 1x3 @ 405

Accessories:

Lat Pulldown (3x8 @ 190)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (4x12 @ 250)

Good workout today, everything felt nice, high-bar squats feel awesome!
Deadlifts are starting to feel a bit faster off the floor.
I've decided to drop 10 pounds, so we'll see how the progression goes on a (slight) caloric deficit.

FVR
10-11-14, 7:25 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 215, 1x5 @ 250, 1x3 @ 290, 1x8 @ 215
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 195, 1x3 @ 225, 1x8 @ 165
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 135, 1x5 @ 165, 1x3 @ 185, 1x8 @ 135

Accessories:

CGBP (3x8 @ 165)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 45s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 150)
Calves (3x12 @ 155)
Cable Crunch (4x12 @ 250)

Had an extra day in between workouts this week. Had a few interesting days without much sleep so I wasn't in the right state to get a good workout in on Friday.
I'm also thinking of adding an extra rest day here or there while I'm cutting in order to recover properly.

Today's workout went well, squats are good as ever. The only issue is that I've lost about 5 lbs of water weight, most of it around my stomach, meaning I'm in between holes on my belt, so it's either so tight I can't breathe, or it's so loose I might as well not use it. I'll have to figure that one out later.

FVR
10-14-14, 5:06 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 255, 1x5 @ 290
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 225
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 165, 1x5 @ 185

Accessories:

Deficit DL (2x6 @ 285)
Calves (4x12 @ 250)

Pretty standard and long workout today. my belt is doing a hell of a job pinching into my abdomen and I have to pull my shorts up to my belly button for it to not hurt. I look like an idiot but at least I can squat effectively!

FVR
10-16-14, 6:10 pm
Highbar Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 245, 1x3 @ 265, 1x2 @ 295, 1x1 @ 315
OHP: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 115, 1x3 @ 135, 1x3 @ 145, 1x2 @ 150, 1x2 @ 155
DL: 1x5 @ 230, 1x5 @ 280, 1x5 @ 325, 1x5 @ 370, 1x3 @ 385

Accessories:

Lat Pulldowns (3x8 @ 195)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)

Awesome workout today. Before long my highbar will outperform my low-bar, and I guess I should figure out why. I finally hit 155 on OHP, for two reps no less. Can't wait to get on to 175. My DL was fine, but I was pretty gassed by the end of the workout so I didn't move up much higher than my work sets.

FVR
10-22-14, 4:44 pm
Highbar Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 225, 1x3 @ 245, 1x3 @ 265, 1x3 @ 285, 1x1 @ 315
OHP: 1x5 @ 85, 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 110, 1x5 @ 125, 1x5 @ 135, 1x3 @ 145, 1x1 @ 150
DL: 1x5 @ 230, 1x5 @ 280, 1x5 @ 325, 1x5 @ 370

Accessories:

Lat Pulldown (3x8 @ 195)
Cable Crunch (3x12 @ 155)
Calves (3x12 @ 250)

FVR
10-26-14, 10:23 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 225, 1x5 @ 255, 1x3 @ 300, 1x8 @ 225
Bench: 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 175, 1x5 @ 195, 1x3 @ 230, 1x8 @ 175
BB Row: 1x5 @ 95, 1x5 @ 115, 1x5 @ 145, 1x5 @ 165, 1x3 @ 195, 1x8 @ 145

Accessories:

CGBP (3x8 @ 165)
Hammer Curls (3x8 @ 45s)
Tricep Pushdown (3x8 @ 150)
Calves (3x12 @ 260)

The extra rest days in between workouts are helping me stay sharp. Everything feels a little difficult, but the weight is going up slowly but surely.

Pale Rider
12-31-14, 9:20 pm
Happy new year

FVR
05-28-15, 3:39 pm
Well it's been a good 7-8 months since my last post here. I've had a number of situations pop up in life that took me away from lifting regularly. Gained some weight, lost some weight. I still continued going to the gym, but did not follow any plan, just pushed/pulled heavy when I could. I'm finally back on track (at least I hope I am). Still 6 feet and weighing about 193lbs (88kg).

My current plan is outlined below:

Saturday May 23, 2015
Squat: 4x6@275
Bench: 1x5 @ 195, 1x3 @ 210, 1x3 @ 215, 3x2 @ 220
Front Squat: 4x8 @ 135
Deficit DL: 3x6 @ 305
Incline BB Press: 3x8 @ 155
Lat Pulldown: 3x8 @ 100
Quad Extension: 4x6 @ 120
DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 @ 55
1 hand Iso Curl: 4x8 @ 50

Monday May 25, 2015
Squat: 3x6 @ 235
Bench: 4x6 @ 190
DL: 1x5 @ 350, 1x4 @ 370, 1x3 @ 380, 1x2 @ 390, 1x1 @ 415
Incline BB Press: 4x8 @ 155
DB Row: 3x8 @ 80
Machine Chest Press: 4x8 @ 95
Machine Row: 3x8 @ 90
Quad Extension: 3x6 @ 110
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 25
Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 145

Wednesday May 27, 2015
Squat: 1x5 @ 275, 1x3 @ 285, 1x3 @ 295, 3x2 @ 300
Pause Bench: 3x6 @ 170
BB Row: 4x6 @ 175
CGBP: 3x6 @ 165
DB Row: 4x8 @ 80
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 25
Quad Extension: 3x6 @ 110
Lat Pulldown: 4x8 @ 100
Triceps: 4x8 @ 110
Hammer Curls: 4x8 @ 45

I’ll be doing these three workouts in this order with one or two days rest in between. Each one emphasizes a heavy, volume, and light/recovery phase for each main lift. I've lowered my weights to start out as I'm still getting back in the swing of things, but everything feels well and widening my squat stance is really helping my power out of the hole!

I'm eating a lot at the moment and recovering quickly, we'll see how this workout goes as the weights get heavier.

My current maxes (tested last week) are:
Squat: 355
Bench: 255
DL: 445

I have to say I’m itching to get back into the gym regularly. I’ve been really missing it and I’m glad I’ll be able to make time for it again.

Next workout is tomorrow, and it cannot get here fast enough!

FVR
05-31-15, 7:55 pm
Squat: 4x6 @ 265
Bench: 1x5 @ 200, 1x3 @ 215, 1x3 @ 220, 3x2 @ 225
Front Squat: 4x8 @ 135
Sumo DL: 4x4 @ 310
Incline Press: 3x8 @ 155
Lat Pulldown: 3x8 @ 100
Quad Extension: 4x6 @ 120
DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 @ 55
1 Hand Iso Curl: 4x8 @ 50

Great workout yesterday, the squat stance still needs some work in terms of set-up but it's looking good.

Bench was very easy, got 5 on my last set of two's, can't wait for the weight to increase and give me a challenge.

I pulled sumo for the first time in my life, took a while to get over the fear of the weights falling on my toes!
Even with such a low weight, my ass rose first, so I have some work to do before I can make the full transition over to sumo-only deadlifting.
Tomorrow is heavy deadlift day, which I will most likely pull conventional, should be fun.

FVR
06-02-15, 9:12 am
Squat: 3x6 @ 245
Bench: 4x6 @ 195
DL: 1x5 @ 355, 1x4 @ 375, 1x3 @ 385, 1x2 @ 395, 1x1 @ 420
Incline Press: 4x8 @ 160
DB Row: 3x8 @ 80
Machine Press: 4x8 @ 95
Machine Row: 3x8 @ 90
Quad Extension: 3x6 @ 120
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 145

Pretty tough workout, the deadlifts were especially tough. I lost form on the 420 set and while I did get it up, it was a slow ascent and very grindy, which is not something I'd like to do continuously. I'll keep tabs on this and see how I feel next week, I might drop some volume going forward to allow myself more time to recover

Since widening my stance on squats, my hip feels a little unstable, which I believe has more to do with me not keeping tight throughout the movement. Definitely something to keep my eye on there.

Everything else was fine, bench was pretty easy.

Right now I'm debating on giving myself more time between heavy deads and heavy squats (only 1 day in between now) to recover; I'll see how I perform tomorrow and go from there.

FVR
06-03-15, 10:59 pm
Squat: 1x5 @ 275, 1x3 @ 290, 1x3 @ 300, 3x2 @ 305
Pause Bench: 3x6 @ 175
BB Row: 5x5 @ 175
CGBP: 2x6 @ 170
DB Row: 4x8 @ 85
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
Quad Extension: 4x6 @ 120
Lat Pulldown: 4x8 @ 100
1 Hand Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 55
Hammer Curls: 4x8 @ 45

I got through the squats, wasn't sure if I had all the reps in me today but I ended up making my targets. I have a feeling deciding to turn away from the mirrors in the squat rack changed some visual cues and made my form a little shakier, but I can't complain. I will need to get some video footage next time to make sure I'm at least hitting parallel in my wider stance.

Everything else was fine, pause bench was easy, bent over rows were very easy. I plan to drop quad extensions for hack squats as I feel I need a bit more power once I'm out of the hole.

This was a much less grueling workout than last time, and I'm itching to get back in the gym friday for heavy benching.

FVR
06-05-15, 11:05 pm
Squat: 5x5 @ 270
Bench: 1x5 @ 205, 1x3 @ 220, 1x3 @ 225, 3x2 @ 230
Front Squat: 3x6 @ 145, 3x6 @ 155
Sumo DL: 4x4 @ 315
Incline Press: 3x6 @ 165
Lat Pulldown: 3x8 @105
DB Shoulder Press: 4x8 @ 55
1 Hand Iso Curl: 4x8 @ 50

Squats finally came together, all sets of 5 were ridiculously easy. Only issue is that I am not in between belt notches and have to use it loose, meaning less belt too push against. Despite that, very happy with squats today.

Bench went well, ended up hitting the last set of 230 for 4 easy reps. I flaired my elbows a bit more than usual, and thus my shoulder is now somewhat sore.

My sumo's are also coming together, I still raise my hips a bit on the last one or two reps of a set, but I'm sure that will improve with practice. Pushing the floor apart is a great cue to drive the weight past the knees.

I have decided to put my heavy bench day in between my heavy squat and DL days in order to give myself more time to recover from each. Meaning I have a good two days off this weekend to relax and stuff myself, hopefully make my belt not so loose for Monday's heavy squats!

FVR
06-09-15, 9:56 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 280, 1x3 @ 195, 1x3 @ 305, 3x2 @ 310
Pause Bench: 3x6 @ 180
BB Row: 5x5 @ 180
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
DB Row: 4x8 @ 85
Hack Squats: 4x6 @ 185
Lat Pulldown: 4x8 @ 105
1 Hand Tricep: 4x8 @ 55
Hammer Curls: 4x8 @ 45

Squats went well, depth was just below parallel, legs felt good for more.
Paused bench was fine, pec felt a little sore so I narrowed my grip a bit
Everything else felt fine, can’t wait to hit 315 for 3 sets of 2 next week!

FVR
06-11-15, 9:09 am
Squat: 5x5 @ 275
Bench: 1x5 @ 210, 1x3 @ 225, 1x3 @ 230, 3x2 @ 235
Front Squat: 4x5 @ 155, 1x5 @ 185
Sumo DL: 3x4 @ 320
CGBP: 1x5 @ 185, 1x5 @ 195, 1x5 @ 205
Quad Extension: 3x8 @ 120

I have a bit of a cold.

Squats felt excellent today, I'm really starting to internalize the idea of engaging my glutes to not only keep me from falling forward, but to keep my knees from caving in, meaning no more hip discomfort. Really easy sets all told.

Bench was fine, playing around a bit with my foot positioning, but all in all the weight went up and my pec is not sore.

Front squats were good, now that I have gotten back in the groove of doing them I'll be moving the weight up quickly, my last set of 5 at 185 was easy enough, really felt my abs working hard to keep me vertical.

Sumos were fine, a little rushed but the weight went up fast and while scraping my shins hurts, it really helps me start with my hips lower.

CGBP was easy.

I'll be conventional deadlifting on Friday for the first time in almost 2 weeks, and I'm confident my sets will be easier thanks to sumos and enhancing my squat form.

FVR
06-13-15, 1:13 pm
Squat: 3x6 @ 245
Bench: 5x5 @ 200
DL: 1x5 @ 360, 1x4 @ 380, 1x3 @ 390, 1x2 @ 400, 1x1 @ 410
CGBP: 4x8 @ 185
DB Row: 3x5 @ 90
Machine Press: 4x8 @ 95
Machine Row: 3x5 @ 100
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 150

Squats were fine, bench was fine.
Deadlifts were very easy, could have added 2 reps to each set without much trouble. I really need to use bars with softer knurling as my hands took a bit of a beating.

FVR
06-16-15, 8:42 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 285, 1x3 @ 300, 1x3 @ 310, 3x2 @ 315
Pause Bench: 3x6 @ 185
BB Row: 5x5 @ 190
Hack Squats: 3x5 @ 225
DB Row: 4x8 @ 90
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
Lat Pulldown: 4x8 @ 105
1 Hand Tricep: 4x8 @ 60
Hammer Curls: 4x8 @ 45

Got around to hitting 315 for 3 sets of 2, felt nice! Moving forward from here.
I did my best to make my pause bench very explosive and it felt awesome! I'll be aiming for that level of (for lack of a better word) violence in all my benching from now on.

Everything was fine, I'm already on the last hole of my belt, which I'm taking as permission to eat more.

FVR
06-19-15, 11:33 am
Squat: 5x5 @ 280
Bench: 1x5 @ 215, 1x3 @ 230, 1x3 @ 235, 3x2 @ 240
Front Squat: 5x5 @ 175
Def DL: 4x4 @ 325
CGBP: 3x5 @ 205
Hack Squats: 3x6 @ 225
Lat Pulldown: 3x8 @ 105

Squats were fine, had more in the tank

Bench was excellent, holding tight form really helps, who knew!

Front squats are getting much easier now that I found the groove to place the bar over my collarbone.

Sumo's were planned but the first rep of 325 was very painful for my knee, I think my form was off, but to be safe I switched to deficit DL's off a 1.5 inch deficit, went find after that.

FVR
06-22-15, 10:50 am
Squat: 3x6 @ 250
Bench: 5x5 @ 205
DL: 1x5 @ 365, 1x3 @ 385, 1x3 @ 395, 3x2 @ 405
CGBP: 5x5 @ 190
DB Row: 3x5 @ 95
Machine Press: 4x8 @ 95
Machine Row: 3x5 @ 110
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 150

Squats were fine, bench was fine.

DL was fine (feeling it right now). I'm boycotting mirrors from now on after having the barbell twist on one of the reps. On my last set I faced away from the mirror and those two reps were better than all other before it. I guess I might still face the mirror and surreptitiously check myself out on curls or other shit like that.

FVR
06-25-15, 10:06 am
Squat: 1x5 @ 290, 1x3 @ 305, 1x3 @ 315, 3x2 @ 320
Pause Bench: 3x6 @ 190
BB Row: 5x5 @ 195
Hacks: 3x5 @ 245
DB Row: 4x8 @ 90
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30
Lat Pulldown: 4x8 @ 105
1 Hand Tricep: 4x8 @ 60
Hammer Curls: 4x8 @ 45

This workout brought to you by fallout boy.

Squats felt fantastic, very explosive. I almost failed on my second last set of doubles, all that went through my mind was ‘that shouldn’t happen’. I’m pretty sure it was because I was pitched forward since I didn’t fill my belly with enough air. I muscled it up, learned my lesson, and went to town on the remaining sets/reps.

Pause bench was very explosive as well, craning my head and moving it up/down with bar for some reason really helps me push off my chest after the pause.
Everything else was fine, looking forward to more.

BJ Whitehead
07-01-15, 12:09 am
Nice work!!!

FVR
07-02-15, 9:33 am
Squat: 5x5 @ 285
Bench: 1x5 @ 220, 1x3 @ 235, 1x3 @ 240, 3x2 @ 245
Front Squat: 5x5 @ 180
Deficit DL: 3x5 @ 330
CGBP: 3x5 @ 210
Hack Squats: 3x8 @ 235
Lat Pulldown: 3x6 @ 110
DB Shoulder Press: 4x6 @ 60s
Curls: 4x8 @ 50s

Squats went well. Bench went very well, I can’t wait to keep pushing it higher, I can taste 275. Everything else was fine.

FVR
07-02-15, 9:33 am
Nice work!!!

Thanks BJ!

FVR
07-02-15, 10:18 am
Squat: 3x5 @ 255
Bench: 5x5 @ 210
DL: 1x5 @ 370, 1x3 @ 390, 1x3 @ 400, 3x2 @ 410
CGBP: 5x5 @ 195
DB Row: 3x5 @ 95
Machine Press: 4x8 @ 95
Machine Row: 3x5 @ 115
DB Shoulder Raise: 4x8 @ 30s
Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 150

Tried squatting in flat shoes for the first time in about a year, super weird and my balance was off. That said, I believe I was able to use a wider stance and hit parallel somewhat more fluidly, the biggest issue was getting out of the hole using more glutes instead of quads. I definitely will pursue it with my light days and maybe sneak flat squatting into my volume and heavy days in the future.

DL was great, tore my hands up a bit. The bars at my gym was very unforgiving knurling. The bar won’t budge from my hands, but it also takes most of the callus with it.

Today is the beginning of my deload week, basically just cut the volume in half for all lifts. I’ll hopefully be able to use this week to recover and then go through another of my program.

FVR
07-06-15, 8:51 am
Squat: 1x3 @ 295, 1x2 @ 310, 1x2 @ 320, 2x1 @ 325
Pause Bench: 3x3 @ 195
BB Row: 3x3 @ 200
Hacks: 3x3 @ 275
DB Row: 3x3 @ 95s
DB Shoulder Raise: 3x5 @ 30
Lat Pulldown: 3x3 @ 105
Tricep pushdown: 3x5 @ 60
Hammer Curls: 3x5 45s

First day of deload, feels pretty good. I hit all the reps easily, made it difficult to call it a day as I just wanted more.

FVR
07-06-15, 8:55 am
Squat: 3x3 @ 290
Bench: 1x3 @ 225, 1x2 @ 240, 1x2 @ 245, 2x1 @ 250
Front Squat: 3x3 @ 185
Deficit DL: 3x3 @ 335
CGBP: 2x4 @ 215
Pullups: 3x5 @ BW
DB Shoulder Press: 3x5 @ 65s
Curls: 3x5 @ 50

Tried a new gym out today, did not care for it. Sure it may have actually had decent ventilation, but the racks were terrible and there wasn't a hack squat machine, I'll be sticking to my regular gym from now on.

Today is my last deload session, after which I will hit this week's weights again at the proper set/rep scheme and continue moving forward.

FVR
07-21-15, 3:07 pm
DL: 3x2 @ 415, 1x3 @ 415
Bench: 4x8 @ 205
Pause Squat: 5x3 @ 265
Cable Row: 3x5 @ 205
CGBP: 4x5 @ 205
Tricep Pushdown: 4x8 @ 155

So, the past few weeks have been hectic, changes to schedule and life forced me to change my workouts around.

Anyways, numbers are going up!

Deadlift was great, felt very strong throughout.
Bench was easy enough, still getting used to going over 5 reps on stuff.
Pause squats are great, feel like I'm going to poop myself every time I'm in the hole.

FVR
07-05-16, 9:09 am
Wow, it’s been almost a year since I last wrote up a training session.
Excuses, excuses, main one being that I have since changed jobs twice and I just plain needed some time off to get my life in order.

I’m back at it and for the past 3 weeks I did a cycle of GZCL to get back into the rhythm and figure out my maxes, and here they are:

Squat: 365
Bench: 265
Deadlift: 440
Front Squat: 240
Incline Bench: 240

In my uneven training this past year, my squat has held up the most, but bench and deadlift dropped a little bit. Bright side is that I can consistently find the magic groove in my shoulders to sink the bar into for front squats.

For the next 9 weeks I’ll be following GZCL’s UHF to the letter, while I learn my body again and figure out how to move that bar just a little faster and for more reps than I used to.

FVR
07-06-16, 8:31 am
T1 - Squat: 2x4 @ 310 lbs / 1x7 @ 310 lbs

T2 - Incline Bench: 3x10 @ 145 lbs / 1x12 @ 145 lbs

T3 - Cable Row: 2x15 @ 60 kg / 1x14 @ 60 kg / 1x12 @ 60 kg / 1x10 @ 60 kg

T3 - EZ Curl: 1x15 @ 50 lbs / 1x13 @ 50 lbs / 1x11 @ 50 lbs / 1x10 @ 50 lbs / 1x9 @ 50 lbs

T3 - Leg Curl: 1x15 @ 45 lbs / 2x12 @ 45 lbs / 1x10 @ 45 lbs / 1x0 @ 45 lbs
(too much hamstring cramp to finish the final set)


Squats felt strong, could have done more on the final AMRAP but since I’ll be doing pause squats today, I figured I should keep some in the tank. I was shaking a little on the last 2 reps, but no form breakdown so that’s a win!

Incline bench was easy, got a nice pump.

My T3 work was fine, got a good sweat going with the short rest periods, got annoying cramps in my hamstrings and couldn’t finish the final set of curls. I’m feeling the pain today so I’m not too bothered.

Benching in only 7 hours! Can’t wait.

FVR
07-07-16, 9:18 am
T1 - Bench:
2x4 @ 225 lbs
1x6 @ 225 lbs

T2 – Pause Squat:
6x3 @ 255 lbs
1x6 @ 255 lbs

T3 – Seated DB OHP:
1x15 @ 45 lbs / 1x13 @ 45 lbs / 1x10 @ 45 lbs / 1x8 @ 45 lbs / 1x10 @ 45 lbs

T3 – Cable Side Laterals:
1x15 @ 20 lbs / 1x13 @ 20 lbs /1x11 @ 20 lbs /1x10 @ 20 lbs /1x8 @ 20 lbs

T3 – Pec Deck:
1x15 @ 100 lbs / 1x13 @ 100 lbs /1x10 @ 100 lbs /1x8 @ 100 lbs /1x8 @ 100 lbs

Bench felt good, should have taken a little while longer to loosen up before going into the working sets. And wow the bench I used was slippery, I have to get back to wearing more free bodybuilding.com shirts (the decal on the back sticks very well to the benches)

Pause squats were very easy, could have gone for 10 on my last AMRAP set but figured I should give my body a break since I just squatted yesterday.

T3 work was fine, I never liked the pec deck but after some trial and error I found a way to hold the handles without feeling it in my shoulders.

Made a very hard decision today to stick to the plan and take today as a rest day…I don’t like rest days.

FVR
07-11-16, 8:39 am
T1 - Deadlift:
2x4 @ 375
1x6 @ 375

T2 - Legs Up Bench:
4x10 @ 160

T3 - Chin Up: 1x10 @ BW, 1x7 @ BW, 1x5 @ BW, 2x4 @ BW
T3 - Hypers: 1x12 @ BW, 1x10 @ BW, 1x8 @ BW, 1x7 @ BW, 1x8 @ BW
T3 - Rear Delt Fly: 1x12 @ 140, 1x10 @ 140, 1x8 @ 140, 1x8 @ 140, 1x7 @ 140


Deadlifts felt great, except for the fact that the bar I was using was bent and nearly tore my calluses off on the second set.

It was my first time doing legs-up bench, learned I definitely need to work on better control on the descent. I’m getting some slight tightness in my left pec when I’m at the bottom of the lift, will have to video my bench this afternoon to see if anything is off.

T3 work was pretty brutal; gaining some weight really hurt my chin ups/pullups. It also didn’t help that I needed to take less than a minute rest in between sets this session.

FVR
07-12-16, 8:41 am
T1 - Competition Bench:
2x4 @ 210
1x6 @ 210

T2 - Paused Deadlifts:
6x3 @ 265
1x6 @ 265

T3 - Wide Grip Incline:
1x15 @ 115 / 1x13 @ 115 / 1x11 @ 115 / 1x9 @ 115 / 1x8 @ 115

T3 - Dips:
1x15 @ BW / 1x13 @ BW / 1x11 @ BW / 1x9 @ BW / 1x8 @ BW

T3 - Overhead Rope Triceps Extension:
1x12 @ 70 / 1x10 @ 70 / 1x8 @ 70 / 1x8 @ 70 / 1x8 @ 70

Traded pec tightness for back tightness. Today is one of the first times I can say my set up on the bench has felt solid. Weight went up easy. I need to remember to bring some chalk next time so my hands don’t slip on the last few reps

Pause deads were draining, mostly because I was fatigued from arching the hell out of my back on bench. The weight was light and I could have gone for more reps on my last set but I can only take so much lower back pump.

T3 work was fine, beat the hell out of my chest, which is the point. I threw in a few sets of curls in between each T3 exercise, mostly because I want bigger biceps.

FVR
07-13-16, 9:51 am
T1 - Front Squat:
2x4 @ 205
2x6 @ 205

T2 - Close Grip Bench:
3x10 @ 170
1x12 @ 170

T3 - Stiff Leg DL:
1x15 @ 135
2x12 @ 135
2x10 @ 135

T3 - Back Step Lunge:
5x13 @ Body Weight

T3 - Lat Pulldown:
1x15 @ 75
1x13 @ 75
3x12 @ 75

Front squats are feeling amazing! I could never really get into a comfortable spot with them, and now I finally figured it out: not caving in means keeping the bar so close to the collar bone it (almost) chokes you out.
That and adipowers, which I am using for all my squats and Deadlift variations.

Close grip bench felt great (with light weight). My set up keeps getting more and more tight and stable. On my last set I cranked out 12 reps without losing my arch or tightness, which is a real awesome feeling. I can’t wait to bench normally tomorrow!

T3 work was rough, I’ve never done more than 8 reps with any kind of deadlift, and even 135 on stiff legs felt like death. My fingers started going numb by the last set. Lunges felt ok, did them without any weight for the first time to get the feeling right, will be adding some weight for my next session. Lat pulldowns were lat pulldowns.

My first week of the 9 week cycle is officially done, feels great and I’m itching to get to squats this afternoon.

FVR
07-14-16, 8:33 am
T1 - Squat:
3x4 @ 330lbs
1x5 @ 330lbs

T2 - Incline Bench:
4x8 @ 155lbs

T3 - Cable Row:
1x13 @ 61.5kg
4x10 @ 61.5kg

T3 - EZ Bar Curls:
1x15 @ 60lbs
1x12 @ 60lbs
1x9 @ 60lbs
2x8 @ 60lbs

T3 - Leg Curl:
1x15 @ 45lbs
1x14 @ 45lbs
2x11 @ 45lbs
1x10 @ 45lbs

Had some great squatting today, very happy to have hit 5 reps on my top set. I was a little worried front squatting the day before would have taken too much out of me, but it turns out it wasn’t an issue.
Incline bench felt good, I’m working to get the same sort of set up as with my flat bench. No tightness and the weight came up evenly, which is what I care about most here.

T3 work was fine, not as draining today.

FVR
07-15-16, 8:55 am
T1 – Bench:
3x3 @ 240lbs
1x4 @ 240lbs

T2 – Pause Squats:
8x2 @ 275lbs

T3 – Seated DB OHP:
1x15 @ 50lbs
1x10 @ 50lbs
1x8 @ 50lbs
1x7 @ 50lbs
1x8 @ 50lbs

T3 – Cable Lateral Raises:
1x15 @ 22lbs
1x14 @ 22lbs
1x12 @ 22lbs
1x11 @ 22lbs
1x9 @ 22lbs

T3 – Pec Deck :
5x15 @ 100lbs

Not the best day. Strained my pec (very slightly, it’s already feeling better) while trying to tuck my elbows on the descent with a wider grip (middle finger on the rings). I managed to get the minimum amount of work (4x3 @ 240lbs) with that grip, but was shaking all over the place and felt like I was benching on a waterbed.
I was pretty pissed off, then decided to take it again. I moved my grip in a little (ring finger on rings) and stopped worrying so much about tucking or what my elbows were doing outside of keeping them under the bar. I managed 4 reps pretty easily, and was much more stable.
Not sure what happened there, but that will be the last time I worry about tucking elbows or other cues like that.

Pause squats felt great, it was my third day in a row that I was squatting and was a little worried I’d be gassed out, but the squats were strong with a 1-2 second pause in the hole. On my last rep I held the pause for upwards of 5 seconds and came up with it like it was nothing. So that made me feel pretty good!

T3 work was fine, DB OHP was really heavy today, even with just 50’s. Maybe because bench took so much out of me.
By the time I got to pec deck my chest was pretty sore and I loaded up very little weight, only to find that it didn’t hurt at all. I was thinking of going up but decided it was probably better to use light weight and not risk it.

FVR
07-18-16, 9:17 am
T1 - Deadlift:
3x3 @ 395lbs
1x4 @ 395lbs

T2 - Legs Up Bench:
4x8 @ 170lbs

T3 - Bodyweight Chin-ups:
1x11 @ BW
1x8 @ BW
2x5 @ BW
1x4 @ BW

T3 – Hypers:
1x15 @ BW
1x13 @ BW
1x11 @ BW
2x9 @ BW

T3 – Rear Delt Fly :
1x14 @ 140lbs
1x12 @ 140lbs
2x10 @ 140lbs
1x9 @ 140lbs

Deadlifts felt pretty good, I could have gotten a 5 rep on my last set but it would have looked pretty ugly, decided to save it. Really happy with how I’m bracing; I’m not only sucking in all the air I can, I’m forcing myself against my belt.

Legs up bench went much better today, slowed the reps down and was able to keep much better balance. The lack of arch feels kind of nice for a chance.

T3 work was though, chin-ups and pullups are the worst but I need to get better at them. It’s not helping that I’m trying to very slowly put on some weight.

FVR
07-18-16, 9:17 am
T1 - Pause Bench:
3x3 @ 225lbs
1x6 @ 225lbs

T2 - Pause Deadlift (1 inch above floor):
8x2 @ 285lbs

T3 - Wide Grip Incline Bench:
1x15 @ 115lbs
1x15 @ 115lbs
1x13 @ 115lbs
2x11 @ 115lbs

T3 - Bodyweight Dips:
1x15 @ BW
1x11 @ BW
1x10 @ BW
2x9 @ BW
T3 - Overhead Rope Tricep Extension:
1x13 @ 70lbs
1x10 @ 70lbs
2x8 @ 70lbs
1x7 @ 70lbs

So my bench is feeling much better! I stopped focusing on tucking my elbows and forcing an enormous arch; I just pinched my shoulder blades together, brought my feet close enough to arch my back, took a big breath, and benched. Worked out great.

Paused deadlifts were fine, pretty easy. I took a 3-4 second pause on the last rep on the ascent and descent, felt very strong.

T3 work was fine, my triceps were burning by the end.

FVR
07-19-16, 8:44 am
T1 – Front Squat:
3x3 @ 215lbs
1x4 @ 215lbs

T2 - Close Grip Bench :
4x8 @ 215lbs

T3 – Stiff Leg DL :
1x15 @ 135lbs
1x13 @ 135lbs
3x12 @ 135lbs

T3 – Back Step Lunge:
5x15 @ Bodyweight

T3 – Lat Pulldown:
2x15 @ 150lbs
1x12 @ 150lbs
1x11 @ 150lbs
1x10 @ 150lbs

So this was an interesting workout. About 2 hours before the gym I had the most uncomfortable/painful stomach bloat ever. It felt like a first-sized ball was travelling through me. So that sucked.
The pain was somewhat gone by the time I left for the gym, but pulling the belt tight enough was still painful. I couldn’t really take big breaths and brace against the belt, and sadly my front squats suffered somewhat: I only got 4 reps on my last AMRAP.

By the time I got to close grip bench the pain was almost gone, I pretty much front squatted it out. MY set up felt strong and I could have gone for 12 reps with ease.

T3 work was fine, better than last week, but oh man the forearm pump on stiff leg DLs was intense, even with 135, felt really good.

FVR
07-21-16, 8:24 am
T1 – Squat:
4x2 @ 345lbs
1x3 @ 345

T2 – Incline Bench:
4x6 2 170lbs

T3 – Cable Row :
2x10 @ 150lbs
1x8 @ 150lbs
1x7 @ 150lbs

T3 – EZ Curls:
1x10 @ 70lbs
1x8 @ 70lbs
2x7 @ 70lbs

T3 – Leg Curls:
1x12 @ 50lbs
3x11 @ 50lbs

Had a great squat session last night. The weight came up easily and the only time it got sort of hard was when I messed up my set up and got a little too far forward. So I officially have a new 3 rep max at 345! So that’s pretty cool.

Incline bench was easy, it’s hard sticking to the weight my program prescribes, but seeing as I’m benching today, I wouldn’t want my chest to be too fatigued.

T3 work was fine, nothing special there.

FVR
07-22-16, 8:21 am
T1 – Bench:
4x2 @ 250lbs
1x3 @ 250lbs

T2 – Pause Squat:
10x1 @ 290lbs

T3 – Seated DB OHP:
1x12 @ 55lbs
1x10 @ 55lbs
1x9 @ 55lbs
1x8 @ 55lbs

T3 – Side Laterals
1x12 @ 25lbs
1x11 @ 25lbs
1x10 @ 25lbs
1x9 @ 25lbs

T3 – Pec Deck
1x12 @ 130lbs
3x11 @ 130lbs

Had some good benching today. Felt very solid. I’m learning that taking my time with the reps and not dive bombing every descent is a good thing.

Pause squats felt good, though the bar bruises were killing me while pausing in the hole.

T3 work was fine.

FVR
07-25-16, 8:45 am
T1 – Deadlift:
4x2 @ 420lbs
1x3 @ 420lbs

T2 – Legs Up Bench:
4x6 @ 185lbs

T3 – Chin Up:
1x10 @ BW
2x6 @ BW
1x5 @ BW

T3 – Hypers (holding a weight):
1x12 @ 25lbs
1x10 @ 25lbs
1x9 @ 25lbs
1x8 @ 25lbs

T3- Rear Delt Flyes:
1x12 @ 155lbs
1x11 @ 155lbs
1x9 @ 155lbs
1x10 @ 155lbs

Had a good time deadlifting on Saturday. Reps felt strong and came up easy.
Finally got some leg up benching without worrying about balance too much, it’s getting much easier and I THINK I feel better balance in regular bench, but may just be in my head.

T3 was fine, hypers felt great with a weight.

FVR
07-25-16, 8:46 am
T1 – Pause Bench:
4x2 @ 240lbs
1x3 @ 240lbs

T2 – Deficit Deadlift (pause 1 inch above floor):
10x1 @ 315lbs

T3 – Wide Grip Incline:
2x11 @ 135lbs
2x9 @ 135lbs

T3 – Dips:
1x10 @ 20lbs
3x8 @ 20lbs

Overhead Tricep Extension:
1x10 @ 77lbs
2x9 @ 77lbs
1x8 @ 77lbs

Pause benching felt awesome, felt very strong.

Deadlifts killed my lower back, especially the last single I did holding the weight for 3-4 seconds on the ascent and descent. Double overhand also made it tougher than it should be.

T3 work was good, snuck in some sets of curls in between the main exercises.

FVR
07-26-16, 8:38 am
T1 – Front Squat:
4x2 @ 230lbs
1x3 @ 230lbs

T2 – Close Grip Bench :
4x6 @ 200lbs

T3 – SLDL:
2x10 @ 185lbs
1x8 @ 185lbs
1x9 @ 185lbs

T3 – Back Step Lunge :
2x10 @ 45lbs
2x9 @ 45lbs

T3 – Single Arm Lat Pulldown:
1x11 @ 80lbs
2x10 @ 80lbs
1x9 @ 80lbs

Front squatting was pretty tough today but I got through it ok. Could have done 4 reps on my last set but left one in the tank for next week.

Close grips felt great, nice and easy

T3 work was fine, doing lunges holding a barbell like a front squat was pretty good, I’ll probably keep doing them like that.

FVR
07-28-16, 8:48 am
T1 – Squat:
1x3 @ 320lbs
1x2 @ 330lbs
4x1 @ 340lbs
1x4 @ 340lbs

T2 – Incline Bench:
4x5 @ 180lbs
1x7 @ 180lbs

T3 – Cable Row:
1x12 @ 150lbs
1x11 @ 150lbs
2x9 @ 150lbs

T3 – EZ Curl:
1x12 @ 70lbs
1x9 @ 70lbs
2x8 @ 70lbs

T3 – 1 Leg Ham Curl:
4x12 @ 50lbs

Some good squatting today. 340lbs was very easy, last set with 4 reps was almost too easy. I can’t wait for pause squats today, but more importantly, heavier squats next week!

Incline bench was good, easy weight.

T3 work was fine, curls are fun.

FVR
08-02-16, 9:10 am
T1 – Bench:
1x3 @ 230lbs
1x2 @ 240lbs
4x1 @ 245lbs
1x4 @ 245lbs

T2 – Pause Squat:
4x5 @ 285lbs
1x7 @ 285lbs

T3 – Seated DB OHP :
1x12 @ 55lbs
1x11 @ 55lbs
1x10 @ 55lbs
1x8 @ 55lbs

T3 – Lateral Raise:
2x12 @ 25lbs
2x11 @ 25lbs

T3 – Pec Deck :
4x12 @ 130lbs

Bench felt good today, pause squats were brutal! Got through it all and then went home to sleep all day.

FVR
08-02-16, 9:10 am
T1 – Deadlift:
1x3 @ 385lbs
1x2 @ 395lbs
4x1 @ 405lbs
1x4 @ 405lbs

T2 – Legs Up Bench:
4x5 @ 200lbs
1x7 @ 200lbs

T3 – Chin Up:
1x10 @ BW
3x6 @ BW

T3 – Hypers:
1x10 @ 25lbs
3x8 @ 25lbs

T3 – Rear Delt Fly :
2x12 @ 155lbs
2x11 @ 155lbs

Deadlifts were easy today, legs up bench had a few issues with balance when unracking, but was easy afterwards.

FVR
08-02-16, 9:10 am
T1 – Pause Bench:
1x3 @ 220lbs
1x2 @ 225lbs
4x1 @ 230lbs
1x6 @ 230lbs

T2 – Deadlift:
4x5 @ 330lbs
1x7 @ 330lbs

T3 – Incline Bench:
2x12 @ 135lbs
1x10 @ 135lbs
1x9 @ 135lbs

T3 – Dips:
1x12 @ 20lbs
2x10 @ 20lbs
1x8 @ 20lbs

T3 – Overhead Tricep Extension :
1x12 @ 77lbs
2x10 @ 77lbs
1x9 @ 77lbs

Bench has been feeling the best it’s felt in a long time. I might start pausing all my sub 4-5 rep sets because it feels so much more solid. Deadlifts flew up too, turned out to be cardio more than anything. Still trying to figure out the best way to hold a dumbbell between my legs on dips; missing the dip belt in my old gym.

FVR
08-03-16, 8:52 am
T1 – Front Squat:
1x3 @ 210lbs
1x2 @ 215lbs
4x1 @ 220lbs
1x4 @ 220lbs

T2 – Close Grip Bench :
4x5 @ 210lbs
1x8 @ 210lbs

T3 – Stiff Leg Deadlift:
4x12 @ 185lbs

T3 – Back Step Lunge:
3x12 @ 45lbs
1x10 @ 45lbs

T3 – Lat Pulldown:
1x12 @ 85lbs
1x10 @ 85lbs
2x8 @ 85lbs

Front squats felt amazing today, very powerful, could have done another 2 reps. Close grip felt solid as well.

FVR
08-05-16, 12:04 pm
T1 – Squat:
1x3 @ 330lbs
1x2 @ 340lbs
3x1 @ 345lbs
1x4 @ 345lbs

T2 – Incline Bench:
5x4 @ 185lbs

T3 – Cable Row:
1x9 @ 176lbs
2x8 @ 176lbs

T3 – EZ Bar Curl:
1x8 @ 80lbs
2x6 @ 60lbs

T3 – Leg Curl:
1x9 @ 60lbs
2x8 @ 60lbs

Had some good squatting today, 4 reps on last set went up easily. Incline press was interesting, the bench had a broken foot and was somewhat lopsided, probably used a little more left pec this time around. T3 was fine, except my wrist hurt like hell from the EZ bar…I miss dumbbells for curls.

FVR
08-12-16, 8:22 am
T1 – Front Squat
1x3 @ 215lbs
1x2 @ 220lbs
3x1 @ 230lbs
1x5 @ 230lbs

T2 – Close Grip Bench
5x4 @ 220lbs

T3 – Deficit Stiff Leg Deadlift
1x9 @ 205lbs
2x8 @ 205lbs

T3 – Back Step Lunge
1x8 @ 95lbs
2x7 @ 95lbs

T3 – Lat Pulldown
1x9 @ 180lbs
1x8 @ 180lbs
1x7 @ 180lbs

Took a few days off this week due to a cold. Seems to have helped my front squats a lot; got 2 more easy reps at 230lbs than I did 2 weeks ago, which I’m get happy about. My front rack position is getting much better, holding it so it presses the collar bone makes the lift much easier.

Close grip bench felt good as well, minor twinge in my left pec but nothing serious. I practice flaring the elbows on the push and it feels much better, like my body isn’t getting in the way of the lift, if that makes sense.

T3 work was brutal as always, the SLDL/lunge combo is always a killer. Felt good to do lunges with some weight.

Today I have off and going to get my nachos with fake cheese on and watch the Jays beat the Astros!

FVR
08-15-16, 9:20 am
T1 – Squat
1x3 @ 340lbs
1x2 @ 345lbs
2x1 @ 355lbs
1x3 @ 355lbs

T2 – Incline Bench
5x3 @ 190lbs

T3 – Cable Row
3x10 @ 165lbs

T3 – EZ Curl
1x10 @ 80lbs
1x8 @ 80lbs
1x6 @ 80lbs

T3 – Single Leg Curl
3x10 @ 60lbs

Squats felt so good today, very solid. Could have gone for 1 or 2 more reps on my top set.
Incline bench was easy, I’m slowly figuring out the bar path that works for me.
T3 work was fine.

FVR
08-15-16, 9:20 am
T1 – Bench
1x3 @ 245lbs
1x2 @ 250lbs
2x1 @ 260lbs
1x3 @ 260lbs

T2 – Squats
5x3 @ 300lbs

T3 – DB OHP
1x10 @ 60lbs
1x9 @ 60lbs
1x8 @ 60lbs

T3 – Side Raise
1x9 @ 38.5lbs
2x8 @ 38.5lbs

T3 – Pec Deck
3x10 @ 145lbs

Bench felt phenomenal, never knew it feel so solid. I usually feel like my body is getting in the way of making the lift, but today it felt like for the first time in maybe ever, I was firing on all pistons. Definitely recommend this feeling!

Squats were interesting. Apparently I was supposed to stop pausing a few weeks ago, which explains why everything felt very heavy when doing these. Now I just do them with a very slow, controlled descent and ascent.

T3 work was fine, threw in some facepulls at the end, not sure why I’ve only just started doing them now.

FVR
08-16-16, 9:05 am
T1 – Deadlift
1x3 @ 405lbs
1x2 @ 420lbs
2x1 @ 430lbs
1x3 @ 430lbs

T2 – Legs Up Bench
5x3 @ 210lbs

T3 – Pullup
1x9 @ BW
2x6 @ BW

T3 – Hypers
1x10 @ 35lbs
2x8 @ 35lbs

T3 – Face Pulls
3x10 @ 82.5lbs

Deadlift day is best day (after squat day). All it took was a few burst blood vessels in my eyes to get 430 for a triple, definitely a good tradeoff. I need to take a better look at my deadlift, since it was a little inconsistent. My hardest set was the 420 for a double, and one of the 430 singles was overly difficult, so I’m thinking my setup needs some work.

Leg up bench was annoying, the gym I was at had soft, cushion-y benches that were too short to comfortably do it. Got through it, but very annoying, it felt like I was pressing on a mattress.

T3 was good, pullups were hard.

FVR
08-18-16, 8:46 am
T1 – Pause Bench
1x3 @ 230lbs
1x2 @ 240lbs
2x1 @ 245lbs
1x4 @ 245lbs

Only had time to get in my tier 1 yesterday, went well.

Today I’m planning on adding in the rest of yesterday’s workout to today’s in order to catch up and have tomorrow off. Will be a longer session but should be fun!

FVR
08-19-16, 2:38 pm
T1 – Front Squat
1x3 @ 220lbs
1x2 @ 230lbs
2x1 @ 235lbs
1x4 @ 235lbs

T2 – Close Grip Bench
5x3 @ 225lbs

T2 – Deadlift
5x3 @ 350lbs

T3 – Incline Bench
1x10 @ 165lbs
2x8 @ 165lbs

T3 – Stiff Leg Deadlift
3x10 @ 205lbs

T3 – Dips
1x10 @ 35lbs
2x8 @ 35lbs

T3 – Back Step Lunge
3x8 @ 95lbs

T3 – Overhead rope tricep extension
1x10 @ 90lbs
1x8 @ 90lbs
1x6 @ 90lbs

T3 – Lat Pulldown
1x9 2 180lbs
2x8 @ 180lbs

So, this workout was tough. Took about 2.5 hours to get through it, which a few years ago wasn’t a long workout, but now it felt like half a day was spent in the gym. I’m happy to say, however, that I improved on all lifts!

Front Squats felt great, close grip bench felt great, deadlifts felt great. Everything else was fine. I pretty much took my favorite barbell with me from exercise to exercise, which made my life easier.

FVR
08-22-16, 9:47 am
T1 – Squat
2x3 @ 330lbs
1x6 @ 330lbs

T2 – Incline Bench
9x2 @ 200lbs
1x6 @ 200lbs

T3 – Cable row
2x7 @ 198lbs

T3 – DB Curl
2x6 @ 45lbs

T3 – 1 leg Hamstring curl
2x7 @ 65lbs

Squatting was fun today. Also the first time I ever felt like I was going to fall over while setting up, luckily I didn’t. Got 6 reps (may have been 7 but I lost count) and could have gone for 8 no problem, so that’s pretty awesome!

Incline bench was fine, last set wasn’t too tough.

I stopped doing EZ bar curls because they really do a number on my wrists.

FVR
08-22-16, 9:48 am
T1 – Bench
2x3 @ 240lbs
1x6 @ 240lbs

T2 – Beltless Pause Squat
4x2 @ 275lbs
1x4 @ 275lbs

T3 – Seated DB OHP
2x6 @ 70lbs

T3 – Side Raise
2x6 @ 40lbs

T3 – DB Incline Chest Press
2x8 @ 75lbs

Went to my university gym for the first time in 3 or so years to train with a buddy, so much nostalgia, it was the first gym I actually got serious about lifting. At the time I was into bodybuilding, seems like decades ago.

Bench was good, slight twinge in my left pec, but got through my reps without much issue.

My program had me doing 5x2 squats with 275, but it was way too easy, so beltless pause squats were the way to go.

This gym was the place I first attempted to squat 275, about 4 years ago now. I failed the rep. funny how things progress; 275 isn’t at all scary anymore.

FVR
08-23-16, 8:11 am
T1 – Deadlift
2x3 @ 395lbs
1x6 @ 395lbs

T2 – Bench
4x2 @ 225lbs
1x6 @ 225lbs

T3 – Pullup
2x7 @ BW

T3 – Hyperextension
1x7 @ 45lbs
1x6 @ 45lbs

T3 – Face Pull
2x7 @ 88lbs

Good bit of deadlifting yesterday, that last set was pretty tough, but cranking 6 reps out was a nice feeling.

I was supposed to do legs up bench with 220 but my chest wasn’t feeling 100% so I figured I shouldn’t put my body at too much of a disadvantage.

T3 stuff was fine.

FVR
08-26-16, 8:52 am
T1 – Pause Bench
2x3 @ 225lbs
1x7 @ 225lbs

T2 – Deadlift
4x2 @ 365lbs
1x6 @ 365lbs

T3 – Incline Bench
1x7 @ 185lbs
1x6 @ 185lbs

T3 – Dips
2x7 @ 45lbs

T3 – Overhead Tricep
1x7 @ 104.5lbs
1x6 @ 104.5lbs

Benching was good today, nice and easy.
Did my best to keep my deadlifts speedy, worked out pretty well. Hoping some of the speed will carry over to heavier weight.
T3 work was fine, incline bench was interesting since one of the legs on the bench broke and it’s not two inches shorter on the left side, makes it weird to unrack.

FVR
08-29-16, 8:32 am
T1 – Front Squat
2x3 @ 215lbs
1x6 @ 215lbs

T2 – Close Grip Bench
4x2 @ 230lbs
1x7 @ 230lbs

T3 – Sumo Deadlift
1x8 @ 275lbs
1x7 @ 275lbs

T3 – Bulgarian Split Squat
1x7 @ 75lbs
1x6 @ 75lbs

T3 – Lat Pulldown
1x7 @ 200lbs
1x8 @ 200lbs

Front squats were good, the last set was a little draining. Close grip felt fine, could have gone for more but my pec was flaring up a little.

Switched my T3 work around a bit this week, mostly to give myself a new challenge/add some variety. I always get knee pain when I sumo, especially on high rep sets, so I’m starting very light and see how it goes.
Also tried Bulgarian split squats for the first time, wow it is tough to keep balance. The weight wasn’t heavy, but I was falling over every 3-4 reps so I didn’t go up. If anyone has any tips on the set up, I’m all ears.

FVR
08-29-16, 8:32 am
T1 – Squat
4x1 @ 340lbs
1x5 @ 340lbs

T2 – Incline Bench
9x1 @ 205lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs

T3 – Cable Row
2x8 @ 198lbs

T3 – DB curl
1x7 @ 45lbs
1x6 @ 45lbs

T3 – 1 Leg Hamstring Curl
2x8 @ 65lbs

Squats felt amazing today, my last set was the easiest set of this entire cycle. Could have gone for 7, maybe 8 on that AMRAP.
Incline bench felt great, the singles were a little easy so I kept rest times to only 30 seconds, still pretty easy.
T3 work was fine.

FVR
08-30-16, 10:31 am
T1 – Bench
4x1 @ 245lbs
1x5 @ 245lbs

T2 – Beltless Pause Squat
9x1 @ 285lbs
1x3 @ 285lbs

T3 – Seated DB OHP
1x7 @ 70lbs
1x6 @ 70lbs

T3 – Cable Lateral Raise
1x7 @ 40lbs
1x6 @ 40lbs

T3 – DB Incline Chest Press
2x8 @ 80lbs

Bench felt awesome today, and I got a thumbs up on my form from a buddy at the gym. Could have cranked out another rep if I really focused.

Pause squats were fine, took 30 second breaks to speed things up. On my second or so single I went up a little took quickly and felt a twinge in my knee, like my patellar tendon snapped off the bone. Luckily it was nothing and I don’t feel a thing this morning!

T3 work was good, should have gone higher than 80’s on incline chest press.

FVR
09-01-16, 8:42 am
T1 – Pause Bench
4x1 @ 230lbs
1x6 @ 230lbs

T2 – Speed Deadlift
9x1 @ 375lbs
1x3 @ 375lbs

T3 – Incline Bench
1x8 @ 185lbs
1x4 @ 185lbs

T3 – Dips
2x8 @ 45lbs

T3 – Overhead Rope Triceps Extension
1x8 @ 100lbs
1x7 @ 100lbs

Some easy benching today, no pain which is always good.

Deadlifts were fun, beltless for the 9 single, then belted up for 3 last speed pulls for fun. My hand felt it more than anything else, probably because they were still a little beat up from deadlifting the day before.

Incline bench was interesting, could have gutted it out for 6-7 reps on the last set, but decided against it since I was so out of position. No point is risking any injury on an assistance movement. Everything else was fine.

FVR
09-08-16, 12:14 pm
T1 – Squat
1x3 @ 345lbs
1x2 @ 355lbs
2x3 @ 365lbs
1x1 @ 375lbs

T3 – Cable Row
1x10 @ 198lbs

T3 – 1 Leg Curl
1x10 @ 65lbs

So, first day of week 9 went in the books a success! Squatting felt great, especially since I wasn’t in my usual gyms.
Since I got 3 reps on my top set of 365, I’m adding 10lbs to my squat training max for the next cycle.

FVR
09-08-16, 12:14 pm
T1 – Bench
1x3 @ 250lbs
1x2 @ 260lbs
2x3 @ 265lbs
1x1 @ 275lbs

T2 – Seated DB OHP
1x8 @ 70lbs

T3 – DB Incline Bench
1x10 @ 80lbs

I finally broke through the 275lbs barrier… HELL YEAH!! Now it feels like I can just keep going up. It’s crazy how much of a mental game this is.
Since I got 3 reps with my top set of 265lbs, training max goes up 10lbs.

FVR
09-08-16, 12:14 pm
T1 – Deadlift
1x3 @ 420lbs
1x2 @ 430lbs
1x3 @ 440lbs
1x1 @ 455lbs

T2 – Chin Up Machine
1x10 @ 220lbs

T3 – Face Pulls
1x8 @ 90lbs

Going in to this session I was feeling a little iffy about my deadlift strength. I usually belt up and pull the belt as high on my torso as possible…for no actual reason other than seeing some strong guys do it. I’ve recently been thinking about bracing my core and it makes sense that when the belt is barely covering my stomach, I can’t be expecting too much extra pressure. So I decided for my 420lbs set to bring the belt down to mid-belly. I can’t believe how much better it felt! I was able to brace more effectively and the weights came flying up.
I’m pretty sure I pulled the 455lbs single faster than my last warmup.

Since I got 3 reps on my top set of 440lbs, my new training max will be 450lbs.

FVR
09-09-16, 8:47 am
T1 – Front Squat
1x3 @ 230lbs
1x2 @ 235lbs
1x3 @ 240lbs

T1 – Pause Bench
1x3 @ 240lbs
1x2 @ 245lbs
1x4 @ 250lbs

T2 – Rack Pull
1x3 @ 395lbs

T3 – Bulgarian Split Squat
2x6 @ 95lbs

T3 – Dips
1x12 @ 45lbs

T3 – Lat Pulldown
2x8 @ 180lbs

T3 – Overhead Tricep
1x6 @ 100lbs

So yesterday’s workout was a 2 in 1, in order to have Friday off to rest up for squatting on Saturday. Went well.

Front squats were pretty easy, but I doubt I could have gotten more than 3 clean reps at 240lbs. Since I got 3, training max goes up to 250lbs.

Pause bench felt great, got 4 steady reps there, but since my pause/competition style bench is based off my TnG bench max, the rep max doesn’t really matter outside of estimating my max in a meet.

Rack pulls were deceivingly hard. Not sure why they were programmed only once in the entire cycle, but doing them the day after deadlift max was not the best idea. I’ll have to play around with them and figure out why they were so hard and if they expose a weakness in my deadlift.

Everything else was fine.

FVR
09-12-16, 9:00 am
T1 – Squat
1x3 @ 330lbs
2x2 @ 345lbs
3x1 @ 365lbs

T2 – Incline Bench
4x6 @ 175lbs

T3 – Cable Row
2x12 @ 154lbs
1x10 @ 154lbs
1x9 @ 154lbs

T3 – DB Curl
2x12 @ 93.5lbs
2x11 @ 93.5lbs

T3 – 1 Leg Hamstring Curl
2x11 @ 60lbs
2x10 @ 60lbs

Squat was tough today, and having to half-squat the bar up off the rack because the rack heights were terrible did not help. The reps moved smoothly but I probably would not have been able to go for more than 2 reps on my top set of 365lbs.

Everything else went well, incline bench was good.

FVR
09-13-16, 3:28 pm
So, with my 2 week vacation coming at the end of this month, I’m taking the next 3 weeks to check out Sheiko, and if I can bare the low intensity lifting, I may go for a multi-month cycle using one of the new programs.
As of my last GZCL cycle, my maxes are estimated here (based off my 3RM on each lift):
Squat: 392lbs
Bench: 285lbs
Deadlift: 473lbs

So I’ll be doing the first 3 weeks of the advanced medium load cycle as a test, and to take it a bit easier leading up to my vacation. I’ll be doing lots of reading into Sheiko and finding out if it is for me. I got a big recommendation from a buddy in the gym, and he’s stronger than me so he must be correct.
Anyway, first day of Sheiko (it’s 4 days a week):

Bench Press:
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 170lbs
1x3 @ 200lbs
4x3 @ 230lbs

Squat:
1x5 @ 195lbs
1x5 @ 235lbs
1x3 @ 275lbs
1x7 @ 275lbs
1x4 @ 275lbs
1x8 @ 275lbs
1x2 @ 275lbs
1x5 @ 275lbs

Bench Press w/ bounce off chest (since I don’t have a board to bench off of):
1x3 @ 170lbs
1x3 @ 200lbs
2x3 @ 230lbs
3x2 @ 240lbs

DB Incline Bench:
4x8 @ 80lbs

Cable Crunches:
3x8 @ 160lbs

So...damn, lots of sets happening. Everything felt good. Hadn’t squatted more than 4 reps in a while, so the set of 8 had me breathing a little heavy.

Looking ahead at the next weeks and months in this sheiko cycle, I’m very curious to see if this approach will lead to maxes; if hammering and perfecting my form with lower weights will translate into efficient heavy lifting.

FVR
09-16-16, 8:17 am
Paused Bench Press:
1x5 @ 155lbs
1x4 @ 185lbs
1x3 @ 215lbs
4x2 @ 245lbs

Squat:
1x5 @ 195lbs
1x4 @ 235lbs
1x3 @ 275lbs
4x2 @ 315lbs

Paused Bench Press:
1x4 @ 140lbs
1x4 @ 155lbs
4x4 @ 200lbs

DB Incline Chest Press:
5x6 @ 80lbs

Ab Machine:
3x10 @ 60lbs

Fun workout today. Benching felt good, I’m pausing all my reps from now on, which is really cleaning up my form.
I finally was able to get back to my preferred low bar squat style: hand gripping bar very close to shoulders, bar very low on delts, and not facing the mirror! 315 felt a little shaky since I’m still not used to going by feel rather than looking at myself in the mirror, but was very easy.
I gave myself competition commands on my second round of benching , kind of interesting and I noticed that I usually just throw the bar back into the rack after I finish my set, I think it might help me to hold the bar up strong after my last rep for a second or two, just to get used to waiting for the rack command.

I also did a few quick sets of sumo…man is it hard! Not to mention I was in my adipowers so technically I was at a deficit, but man is it hard to break off the floor!
I tried sumo before, but I really wasn’t doing it correctly: I was just sort of straight leg deadlifting the weight with a very wide stance.
Now that I focus on keeping myself close to the bar and keep my back as vertical as possible, even 315 was a challenge to break off the floor. Funny thing is that once the weight moved an inch or two, it flew up so fast that I almost fell over at the top.

I got some more sumo work on Saturday, and I won’t be wearing squat shoes, so we’ll see how that goes.

FVR
09-20-16, 12:50 pm
Deadlift off 3 inch blocks:
1x3 @ 265lbs
1x3 @ 305lbs
2x3 @ 350lbs
4x3 @ 370lbs

Incline Bench:
5x3 @ 185lbs

Seated DB OHP:
4x6 @ 65lbs

Cable Row:
5x6 @ 154lbs

Hyperextension
4x8 @ Bodyweight

Had a buddy who is much stronger than me take a look at my sumo form. Wow. So hard to get in to position, but once I’m there, the weight feels like nothing! I’m loving the fact that it is so technical and takes time to set up, gripping and ripping would blow me apart.
Everything else was fine.

FVR
09-20-16, 12:50 pm
Paused Bench:
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 170lbs
1x3 @ 200lbs
4x2 @ 230lbs

Squat:
1x5 @ 195lbs
1x4 @ 235lbs
1x3 @ 275lbs
4x2 @ 315lbs

Double Paused Bench (pause on chest and then pause 10cm off chest):
1x3 @ 145lbs
1x3 @ 170lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
4x2 @ 215lbs

DB Incline Bench:
5x8 @ 70lbs

Standing Goodmorning:
5x5 @ 115lbs

This was a fun workout, benching with a pause on all sets is feeling really good, everything stays in position. I also figured out there is no strain on my pecs if I open up my shoulders a bit more on the descent by bending my wrist back slightly as the bar goes down. Mike Tuscherer style, feels good!

Good mornings were weird but I feel them a little bit today.

FVR
09-21-16, 10:37 am
Deadlift to knees
1x3 @ 225lbs
1x3 @ 265lbs
4x2 @ 305lbs

Towel Press
1x5 @ 155lbs
1x4 @ 185lbs
2x4 @ 215lbs
2x3 @ 245lbs
3x2 @ 255lbs

Paused Deadlift
1x3 @ 225lbs
1x3 @ 265lbs
1x3 @ 305lbs
4x2 @ 305lbs

Overhead Rope Tricep Extension
5x6 @ 90lbs

Ab Machine
4x10 @ 60lbs

Had to lower my weights for sumo…it is TOUGH keeping my hips down when starting the pull. I’m going to keep working on it though, for no other reason than it’s a weakness and I need to work on it. Plus pulling sumo feels cooler to me for some reason. And it’s humbling the hell out of me that 305 is pretty tough to pull correctly.

Towel bench was cool. I’m only doing it until my bench blokz come in the mail. I’ve never done any kind of rom shortening for bench and it’s interesting, took me by surprise to stop the range of motion short.

FVR
09-23-16, 8:37 am
Squat:
1x5 @ 215lbs
1x4 @ 255lbs
1x3 @ 295lbs
4x2 @ 335lbs

Bench Press:
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 170lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
5x3 @ 230lbs

Squat:
1x3 @ 195lbs
1x3 @ 235lbs
1x3 @ 275lbs
3x2 @ 315lbs

DB Incline Bench:
5x6 @ 85lbs

Hyperextension:
4x8 @ BW

First time squatting in sleeves. Wow, big difference! The first set of 335 was very weird, my knees kept sliding way outside in the hole. The next few sets felt fantastic though, and I didn’t even size them down, but the rebound out the hole was definitely significant.

Benching was good today, played around with grip width, mostly because I didn’t bring chalk and my hands were sweating and sliding all over the place. Was fine.

FVR
10-17-16, 12:50 pm
First day back after a 2 week vacation. Felt great to be lifting things again. I’ve settled on following one of the updated sheiko programs, and looking forward to seeing what it does for me.

The program is broken into 4 phases (4 week, 4 week, 4 week, 5 week) and at the face of it, it looks pretty low intensity compared to what I’m usually used to. That said, resetting my form for each set should be very helpful.
I’ll be training 4 days a week squatting twice, deadlifting twice, benching 4 times. Yesterday was squat/bench day:

Squat
1x5 @ 205lbs
1x4 @ 245lbs
1x3 @ 285lbs
4x2 @ 305lbs

Bench Press
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
4x3 @ 215lbs

DB Incline Bench
5x8 @ 70lbs

Cable Row
5x8 @ 155lbs

1 leg Leg Press
3x10 @ 90lbs

Everything felt great, ended up squatting beltless since the weight wasn’t particularly heavy. I’ll probably stay beltless for as many sets as possible and work on bracing my core properly, not just taking in as much air as possible and hoping the belt will hold me upright.

FVR
10-18-16, 8:42 am
Deadlift (pause below knees)
1x3 @ 205lbs
1x3 @ 245lbs
1x2 @ 285lbs
4x2 @ 305lbs

Bench Press (paused)
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
4x2 @ 230lbs

Triceps Pushdown
5x6 @ 130lbs

Hyperextension
4x8 @ bodyweight

Man, paused sumo deadlifts are hard… I think I’m able to get into better position to start the lift, but keeping my ass down is still a challenge. I’m happy the reps felt comfortable (no hip/knee pain), just slow off the floor. I’ll keep going with sumo for the next few months and see how it turns out.

Bench was fine, I’m pausing all my reps and it feels great. Also, understanding that I need to actively keep my shoulder blades retraced/arch up on the unrack and on the press is helping a lot.

FVR
10-20-16, 11:23 am
Squat
1x4 @ 205lbs
1x4 @ 245lbs
4x4 @ 285lbs

Bench Press
1x3 @ 145lbs
1x3 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
5x3 @ 215lbs

Lat Pulldown
5x6 @ 155lbs

Abs

Everything felt great today, squatting beltless is going well. Bench felt good too, not much to say today, it was a bit of a lighter workout.

FVR
10-21-16, 8:47 am
Deadlift
1x3 @ 205lbs
1x3 @ 245lbs
4x2 @ 265lbs

Incline Bench Press
5x3 @ 205lbs

Deadlift off Blocks
1x3 @ 225lbs
1x3 @ 265lbs
1x3 @ 305lbs
3x2 @ 345lbs

Overhead Tricep w/ Rope
5x6 @ 80lbs

Hypers w/ baby barbell
4x8 @ 20lbs

Deadlift felt good, no hip pain, hips still rise up but that will be a long term thing as I get stronger in the position.
Incline bench felt fine.
Deadlifts off blocks felt great, nice to get an extra 3 inches of clearance.

FVR
10-24-16, 8:47 am
Bench Press
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
4x2 @ 230lbs

Squat
1x5 @ 205lbs
1x4 @ 245lbs
1x3 @ 285lbs
4x3 @ 305lbs

Bench Press
1x3 @ 155lbs
1x3 @ 185lbs
4x3 @ 215lbs

DB Incline Bench
5x6 @ 80lbs

Hyperextension w/ barbell behind neck
4x8 @ 30lbs

Good bit of benching today, creeping close to 80% range of my max which is nice. Squat was a little tough, not using a belt makes it tougher to keep neutral on the way up, but not too rough.

FVR
10-25-16, 8:50 am
Bench Press
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
5x2 @ 230lbs

Deadlift up to knees
1x3 @ 225lbs
1x3 @ 255lbs
1x3 @ 300lbs
4x2 @ 320lbs

Dips
5x5 @ Bodyweight

Cable Row
5x6 @ 160lbs

Abs
4x8 @ 80

Bench was fine today, nice and speedy off the chest. I’m trying to not let the bar sink into my chest during the pause, and stay tense throughout the movement.
Deadlifting was ok today. My ass is still higher than I’d like it to be when I break the bar off the floor, but it’s a work in progress.

FVR
10-27-16, 8:32 am
Squat
1x4 @ 205lbs
1x3 @ 245lbs
1x3 @ 284lbs
4x2 @ 325lbs

Bench Press
1x5 @ 145lbs
1x4 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
2x2 @ 230lbs
3x1 @ 245lbs
2x2 @ 230lbs

Overhead Rope Tricep Extension
5x5 @ 132lbs

DB Incline Bench
5x6 @ 70lbs

Cable Row
3x6 @ 176lbs

So I decided to not belt up until I hit 85% or over on squats and deadlifts. Today was squatting doubles at 80% and I was a little nervous going into it without a belt, but wow did it feel so good! Very happy with how my squatting is going lately… If only my deadlift could be the same!
It’s kind of interesting how close my sumo deadlift matches my squat in terms of numbers, so much more than conventional.

Bench was fun today, hit 85% for some singles, felt so easy I was itching to go heavier, but I kept it under control and made sure all my reps were very clean. Pausing all my reps is really helping my strength off my chest, can’t wait for max tests!

Program called for French press…had no idea what that was so I did some triceps extensions, which were fine.

I’m actively doing extra back work as this program is pretty light on back work, and I know my shoulders and chest will thank me for it.

FVR
10-28-16, 10:43 am
Sumo Deadlift (pause above knees)
1x3 @ 225lbs
1x3 @ 255lbs
1x3 @ 300lbs
4x2 @ 320lbs

Medium Grip Bench
1x3 @ 145lbs
1x3 @ 175lbs
4x3 @ 205lbs

Sumo Deadlift off Blocks
1x3 @ 235lbs
1x3 @ 275lbs
1x3 @ 320lbs
3x2 @ 365lbs

Sumo Deadlift
1x1 @ 365lbs

Triceps Pushdown
5x6 @ 176lbs

Cable Row
2x6 @ 180lbs

I believe I’m finally on the road to figuring out my sumo deadlift technique! Initially, I was pulling with a slightly exaggerated arch and my ass out…which, looking back, obviously would make my hips rise when initiating the pull. Now, I flex my glutes and push my hips through, which also allows me to push my knees out further. Kind of hard to explain, but it works well for me, much better power out of the starting position.

Today called for ‘medium grip’ bench press, which I took to mean ‘move your grip in one finger length’. Worked fine, the weight wasn’t heavy.

Finally, sumo’s off blocks was a good time, felt very powerful. I can’t wait for the day I can regularly go to a powerlifting gym that has actual blocks (I’m currently using some plastic step-up board things, offering about 4 inches of clearance).

Then, even though my program did not ask for it, there was no way I couldn’t not attempt 365 while keeping a much better starting position than previous times. I roll the bar off the blocks, set up my lift, went for it, and was amazed by how much easier the lift was! Felt awesome, and not using a belt didn’t affect me at all.
I’ll definitely keep up my beltless deadlifting and squatting for now, haven’t felt the need for a belt at all, at least at the percentages I’m lifting at.

This coming Monday I’ll be heading to my first powerlifting gym ever: Fortis Fitness. Very excited and ready to learn everything I can from there. If the commute does not turn out to be too bad, I might consider a membership and go there twice a week, which would be amazing to get away from the commercial gym I currently go to.

FVR
10-31-16, 10:08 am
Squat
1x5 @ 205lbs
1x4 @ 245lbs
1x3 @ 285lbs
5x2 @ 325lbs

Bench Press
1x5 @160lbs
1x4 @ 185lbs
1x3 @ 215lbs
4x2 @ 245lbs

Incline DB Bench
5x8 @ 65lbs

Cable Row
2x6 @ 198lbs

Triceps Pushdown
5x5 @ 209lbs

Curls
3x6 @ 40lbs

1 Leg Leg Press
5x5 @ 140lbs

Tougher squatting today, might have to belt up for next session! The speed was fine but there was a bit of a sticking point on some reps. I’m chalking it up to fatigue from the previous day of landscaping with my dad.

Bench went well, nothing special there.

As I had some extra time on Saturday, I did a few more accessories than usual for fun.

Today I’m going to Fortis Fitness, very excited to go to a powerlifting gym for the first time!

FVR
11-01-16, 8:22 am
Deadlift
1x3 @ 225lbs
1x3 @ 275lbs
2x2 @ 325lbs
3x1 @ 365lbs

Bench Press
1x3 @ 145lbs
1x3 @ 175lbs
1x3 @ 205lbs
4x2 @ 235lbs

Deadlift off blocks
1x4 @ 255lbs
1x4 @ 315lbs
4x4 @ 365lbs

Overhead Triceps Extension
5x6 @ 90lbs

First day at Fortis fitness done! Awesome gym, I signed up immediately after my training session. It was so great being in a place that has platforms, tons of bars, solid iron weights, and cool benches that self-handoff.

It was my first time deadlifting on a platform in a long while, and also my first time where I had more than 2 types of bars at my disposal. I had no idea which I should pull with so I just picked the one already on the platform. Bit a mistake as the knurling was very rough and caught my socks on every rep. Otherwise, deadlifts were good, I noticed I was leaning my shoulders too far over the bar, something I’ll have to look into fixing.

Benching was fine, the benches were much wider than I was used to, made for much more stability.

Deadlifting off blocks was fun, no surprise there.

I can’t wait to go back this Thursday!