Good workout. Doing 2 days of rest instead of 1 before this workout is making a big difference. I'm feeling much fresher. Also getting pretty comfortable with the SSB bar. Squats are going really well.
April 22, 2023
Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2023 3:41 pm
by Clearwater47
Bench Press
165 pounds - 3 sets x 5 reps
Conv Deadlift
285 pounds - 3 sets x 7 reps
Nordic Hamstring Curl
3 sets x 8 reps
Continuing to get stronger on bench. Not sure what I'll do next week. I'll either do an AMRAP at 165, do paused bench at 165, or increase to 175 and do a 3x3. I'll see how I feel as I work up.
April 23, 2023
Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2023 7:10 pm
by Clearwater47
SSB Paused Squat
165 - 3 sets x 6 reps
Leg Extension
105 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
DB Bench Press
50's - 3 sets x 10 reps
Changed to paused squats. I'll work up to 3x8 on this before increasing weight because the next weight jump is going to be a big one.
April 24, 2023
Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2023 6:17 pm
by Clearwater47
Conv Deadlift
335 pounds - 3 sets x 5 reps
Bench Press
145 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps
Single Leg Curl
40 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
Deads will take a big jump up, to 365 next time. Not sure if I'll be able to do sets of 3, but we'll see.
Bench felt not too hard. I should be able to increase reps the next 2 weeks.
Was working out simultaneously with my 13 year old. Did some leg curls with him while I was waiting to bench. It was a good day to add in some hamstring work anyway.
April 27, 2023
Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 7:50 pm
by Clearwater47
SSB Squat
215 pounds - 3 sets x 4 reps
Close Grip Larsen Press
130 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Solid workout. Squats pushed me near the limit today.
April 28, 2023
Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 6:49 pm
by Clearwater47
Bench Press
175 pounds x 2 reps
155 pounds x 8 reps
Conv Deadlift
285 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Low energy level today. Cut out carbs for the last 2 days and I'm feeling it. Didn't feel very strong on bench and only managed 2 reps at my working weight. Rather than try to grind out another set or two of doubles I dropped weight and did an AMRAP (I may have been able to do 1 more rep, but the eight rep felt like 9+ RPE).
Sets of 8 on deads are always exhausting, but still pretty easy for me at this weight (probably could do 16+ reps with this weight).
May 1, 2023
Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 7:48 pm
by Clearwater47
SSB Paused Squat
165 - 3 sets x 7 reps
Leg Extension
110 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
DB Bench Press
52.5's - 3 sets x 10 reps
Steady progress continues...
May 3, 2023
Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 8:05 pm
by Clearwater47
Conv Deadlift
335 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps
Bench Press
145 pounds - 3 sets x 7 reps
Deads were HARD this time around. Probably wouldn't have felt comfortable doing another rep on the last set because there was some form breakdown happening.
Bench on the other hand was not bad at all.
May 5, 2023
Posted: Fri May 05, 2023 7:08 pm
by Clearwater47
Pin Bench Press
135 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps
Wide Grip Cable Row
40 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Spoon Press
25 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Hammer Curl
25 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Leg Raise
3 sets x 15 reps
I've basically been doing just squats, deads, and bench for the last 2 months. I made really steady progress throughout that time, and now know for sure that that type of programming can work well for me. I'll definitely revisit it. It felt like it was time to move on to something different, so I'm going to shift to a more well rounded upper/lower split. The focus will be on muscle building and capacity building - full, controlled ranges of motion and shorter rest times.
I know a Pin Press would seem to contradict my comment regarding fuller ranges of motion, but I actually set it up so that in order to get the bar to the pin my back needs to be completely flat on the bench. No arch and virtually no leg drive involved here. I picked weights I was confident I could do for my goal rep ranges, and all ended up being pretty good starting points. I've given myself generous set and rep ranges on some exercises, and fully intend on mixing things up from time to time. As an example, on some of the accessory stuff my rep range is 8-30. I'll probably generally stick in the 12-20 range, but this will likely be days where I venture beyond that. The one thing I was slightly concerned about going into this is whether the elbow that's been acting up for several months would hold up. It's finally been consistently getting better over the last month, and I had absolutely no pain or discomfort at any point during this workout, so that was encouraging.
May 6, 2023
Posted: Sun May 07, 2023 6:32 pm
by Clearwater47
SSB Box Squat
175 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Walking Lunge
50 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
Nordic Curl
3 sets x 8 reps
SSB Calf Raise
175 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
Dead Bugs
2 sets x 10 reps
Logging yesterday's workout. Squats were harder than expected. I should have started lighter apparently. Everything else went well. My glutes and abs were sore today for the first time in a long time.
Lat Pulldown - Close Grip
80 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Triceps Pushdown
Mini Band - 2 sets x 20 reps
Spider Curl
25 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
Cable Crunch
40 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
Spider Curls didn't really work for me. I have a history of elbow discomfort doing curls (aside from the ongoing elbow issue I'm getting over now), and I felt that discomfort here. I'll likely change this to a different curl variation. Cable Crunch was also a bit awkward, but I believe that was just because of how I did them (tried doing them standing, leaning against a barbell for back support). I'll try them kneeling next time.
Everything else went well. Both overhead press and lat pulldowns were a little more difficult than I anticipated. I'll probably have a struggle on my hands next time I do this workout with a weight increase, but we'll see...
Overall, the level of soreness I'm feeling is much higher than I'm used to. It's taking some time for my body to acclimate to these new movements, but its not unexpected and I know I'll adjust to it soon enough.
Posterior chain was really feeling it before the workout was even done. I like the exercise selection here - it all felt like it fit and served a purpose.
May 13, 2023
Posted: Sat May 13, 2023 5:02 pm
by Clearwater47
Larsen Press
115 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Inverted Row
Bodyweight - 3 sets x 10 reps
Spoon Press
27.5 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Hammer Curl
27.5 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Hanging Knee Raise
Bodyweight - 3 sets x 10 reps
Had a cold that was pretty rough for a few days. Feeling good enough to get a workout in today.
One of my shoulders felt wonky when benching, so I went relatively light. It ended up feeling fine by the time I was done. Everything else went well enough...
I'm thinking I'll change my approach for most accessory stuff. Seems like I'm not pushing them hard enough when sticking to predetermined sets/reps, so I'm planning to move away from this approach and leave it fluid. I've felt like I had the best results when pushing closer to failure on these lifts - doing things like drop sets, cluster sets, and AMRAP's.
May 15, 2023
Posted: Mon May 15, 2023 6:57 pm
by Clearwater47
High Bar Squat
155 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Leg Extension
65 pounds x 20/12 (drop set)
Also did Nordic Leg Curls, SSB Calf Raises, and Dead Bugs.
I don't think I've squatted with a standard barbell since last year. It definitely hit a little different. I did the Extensions immediately after the squats and my quads were totally fried.
May 16, 2023
Posted: Tue May 16, 2023 5:57 pm
by Clearwater47
40 Degree Incline DB Press
45 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Rack Pullup
Bodyweight - 3 sets x 10 reps
Single Arm Cross Body Tricep Extension
5 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
Single Arm Cross Body Bicep Curl
5 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
Cable Crunch
40 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
Tried out some new stuff today. It all felt quite nice. Did the cable crunches differently today and they felt much better.
I plan to push all of the accessories harder next time, now that I have a better idea of what weights to use.
May 17, 2023
Posted: Wed May 17, 2023 6:33 pm
by Clearwater47
Back Raise
95 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps
Leg Curl
100 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Glute Bridge
Bodyweight - 2 sets x 20 reps
Donkey Calf Raise
35 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
Dead Bugs
Bodyweight - 2 sets x 10 reps
It's been years since I've done back raises with a barbell. I stopped doing them because I was getting major lower back fatigue buildup, and they seemed to be a main contributor to that. Man...I must have been doing them wrong because they never felt anything like they did today. They torched my hamstrings.
May 19, 2023
Posted: Fri May 19, 2023 7:08 pm
by Clearwater47
Pin Bench Press
140 pounds - 3 sets x 7 reps
Wide Grip Cable Row
50 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Spoon Press
35 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
Hammer Curl
30 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
Knee Raise
2 sets x 12 reps
Aside from the rows everything was getting somewhat close to failure today, but I managed to get in all my planned sets and reps. I plan to increase weight on everything, so things may get interesting.
May 22, 2023
Posted: Mon May 22, 2023 7:37 pm
by Clearwater47
SSB Box Squat
185 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Walking Lunge
60 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
Nordic Curl
1 sets x 8 reps
SSB Calf Raise
215 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
Dead Bugs
1 sets x 10 reps
Everything was hard today. I expect it's just going to be like that from now on... My recovery has been somewhat poor lately. More volume and more bodypart focused sessions are probably contributing to that. My hamstrings in particular were still not fully recovered today even though it was 5 days since my last lower workout. I would think I'll acclimate to it at some point, but I'll need to monitor it closely.
Lat Pulldown - Close Grip
85 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Banded Triceps Pushdown Burnouts x2
Banded Biceps Curl Burnouts x2
Situps - 2 sets x 35 reps
Both of the Banded Burnouts were done starting out with 2 bands and doing as many reps as possible and then continuing on with 1 band doing as many as I can. I think I got close to 80 total reps each time. Arms are still shaking because I'm not used to doing anywhere near that many reps.