355x12? How much could do you could bench for a single? That’s strong work. How’s the rib? Better I assume if your tossing 355 around like that.
The rib is fine. I just had to get stretched enough that it would move back to where it was supposed to be. It's been so long since I have benched anything heavy that I would probably need a couple sessions to work up and prepare my CNS for something heavy. Based on past experience, I would suspect somewhere around 450-460 lbs.
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
Light band press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
315 x 10 pause on last rep
355 x 12
250 x 20 pause on last rep
355 set definitely went better this week than it did last week. Pretty close to the edge, but not a grinder like last week.
Alrighty, I'm back. I drove back from Easton yesterday. Fourteen hours of glory. I got pulled over in Ohio because I was in Ohio and I'm not from Ohio. I'm not a fan of that state. Seems I get pulled over every time I drive through there. Anyway, it's bench night, so I benched. I didn't have any idea what I was going to do for this microcycle until I got there. I opted for flat bench with 1 second pauses. I did better than I thought I was going to do, so I undershot the weight a little bit. I really didn't know what to expect from the time off and the drive.
Warm-up
stationary bike - 5 min
shoulder circles
bar x 15
135 x 10
225 x 10
add pause
315 x 5
365 x 5 x 2 sets
375 x 5
back to touch and go
315 x 15
I didn't get the first set on video. I did some reps on the last set because I felt like it. I originally intended to do 10, but I just kept going. If I had planned ahead I would have had a spotter, because my current 315 rep PR is 17 and I pretty sure I had around 19 or 20 in me. I did the barbell rows and I didn't do them heavy because I wanted to do something and only had a few minutes left and it was sitting there.
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
Light band press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
320 x 15 pause on last rep
250 x 25 pause on last rep
My left elbow was popping alot and seemed to resist warming up more than usual, so I decided to not go heavier. Just for fun, I decided to push for more reps with 250. This was getting pretty close to failure. Maybe had a couple more in me. Maybe 1 more.
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
Light band press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
315 x 10 pause on last rep
355 x 12
250 x 10 pause on last rep
355 was rough, but I got it. I only did 10 reps on the last set because I was pressed for time and jumped right into it after the heavy set.
I was intending on doing something like 3 sets of 10 for the deadlift. I should have spent more time warming up but I didn't. On the 7th rep I pop a little scar tissue around my right SI joint, so I stopped there. Now I have a minor strain and it's sore. I spent probably the next half hour or so doing the tissue work and stretching I should have been doing all along. We'll just chalk this one up to being stupid.
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
Light band press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
320 x 15 pause on last rep
250 x 25 pause on last rep
My left elbow was popping alot and seemed to resist warming up more than usual, so I decided to not go heavier. Just for fun, I decided to push for more reps with 250. This was getting pretty close to failure. Maybe had a couple more in me. Maybe 1 more.
Popping, grinding,snapping all familiar sounds to the aging lifter. I do wraps and sleeves to maintain joint integrity. 2 ply works well. Welcome to the next chapter Big C!
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
Light band press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
I was on the clock today, so this is all I got in. I was planning on going up to 315, but I ran out of time. Probably for the best since it feels like forever since I benched and everything felt really stiff.
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
cable press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
320 x 12 pause on last rep
250 x 25 pause on last rep
ugh....haven't been doing anything but some steady state cardio lately. This workout was a big nothing and I almost didn't log it, but what the hell...
Band assisted Pull ups
2 strong bands
10 reps x 3 sets
Bench
bar x 10 x 3
95 x 10 x 2
135 x 10 pause on last rep
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
315 x 11 pause on last rep
This was a little bit different. I was using the terrible staff gym at work and I was primarily teaching a couple of the guys how to bench. I spent a lot of time demonstrating how to set up on bench to demonstrate what I was saying. I initially did 10 reps and a pause on the last set then I wanted to do two more reps. Once I started the next rep, I decided to cut it off there. The bar there is bent slightly, so it feels very unstable in the hands.
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
cable press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
320 x 12 pause on last rep
250 x 10 pause on last rep
Warm up
stretching
shoulder circles
cable press downs 10 x 8
Bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 10 pause on last rep
225 x 10 pause on last rep
275 x 10 pause on last rep
320 x 13 pause on last rep
250 x 20 pause on last rep
Warm up
shoulder cirlces
hip circles
Cable pushdowns
60lbs x 10 x 2
Skwats
bar x 10 x 3 sets
Band assisted Pull ups
2 strong bands
10 reps x 3 sets
Mini band reverse flye
10 x 3 sets
I've been working a lot this past week, so I didn't get my usual bench in. I did find enough time today to do one of these, "It's not great, but it's not nothing" workouts. The three exercises are done as a circuit 'til finished.