Press Day - C16W2. 04-14-2014

Press
3x110
3x125
5x140
Last Cycle: 4 reps Difference: +1

Solid work today. Brought my grip in even closer which continues to help. I'm feeling good about my 150 attempt next week.

CGBP
8x103
8x120
6x137

Chinups
10, 9, 5, 5, 4.

Damn, was hitting 5x10 before my bulk.

Dips
10, 10, 7, 7, 5

Deadlift Day - C16W2. 04-15-2014
3x310
3x355
4x400

Feels great. Can't wait for next weeks attempt for 420. I think I should crush it.

FS - 8x120, 8x140, 6x160
HLR - 5x10
GM - 3x10x66

Good mornings are feeling better. Still not confident enough in form to push the weight.

Bench Day - C16W2. 04-17-2014
3x145
3x165
6x186

Bench is really feeling a lot better lately.

Incline Bench - 8x100, 8x115, 6x135
Pullups - 10, 8, 8
Dips - 3x10
Kroc Rows - 28x85 per hand

Squat Day - C16W2. 04-18-2014
3x286
3x325
4x365

Solid showing today. Probably my biggest weakness on squat right now is all mental. I'm finding that I'm becoming increasingly more of a pussy when it comes to getting under the bar, and I may also be leaving a rep in the tank too often. I think my goal for next week should be to squat to failure (i.e. fall down).


SLDL - 8x117, 8x137, 6x156
Hammer Curls - 4x12x25
Planks - 68s, 59s, 49s

I'm really not sure if I'm doing RDL's or SLDL's (nor do I understand the difference). I'll post in the beginner thread to get that sorted out.

Planks are tough. I definitely should be hitting >= 60s for 3 reps. Need to dig deeper.

Press Day - C16W3. 04-21-2014
5x120
3x135
2x150
Last Cycle: 0 reps Difference: +2

Finally conquered 150! I first attempted 150 almost exactly a year ago, so it's been quite the journey. Next goal will be to press bodyweight. That may be attainable in a year.

I think my success can be attributed to these factors (in order of importance):
1. dips
2. bringing in my grip (half my hand is inside the knurling now)
3. incline bp / close-grip bp
4. eating alot of high-carb, high-cal food the day before (large pizza).

CGBP - 5x110, 5x128, 5x145
Chinups - 10, 10, 7, 6, 5
Dips - 10, 10, 10, 10, 8

CGBP isn't even challenging. Probably gonna give that a nice bump in weight next cycle.

Pizza is the truth for PRs, better eat one a day imo.

Nice job on the press!

Yes, OLPAD is great for gainz.

Deadlift Day - C16W3. 04-22-2014
5x330
3x375
1x420

This was kind of a letdown despite the new PR. I really wanted 2 reps. Started seeing stars after the first rep and dropped the 2nd pull right around knee-level. This is the first time I've broken the floor and not completed the pull. Looks like my sticking point is changing which is a good thing. I've been trying to improve the weakest link.

Anyway, not gonna whine about a new PR. Probably only going to bump up my deadlift by 5 lbs next month, especially since I'm thinking about cutting.

FS - 5x132, 5x150, 5x170
HLR - 5x10
GM - 3x10x88

Good mornings feel awkward. Might just drop them out since I'm doing SLDL on squat day anyway.

Bench Day - C16W3. 04-25-2014
5x155
3x176
5x196

Wow, really strong showing here. I widened my grip a little to the point where my pinkie fingers are a few cm away from the rings. I immediately noticed a difference, and it felt easier to engage my lats and keep my chest tight.

Similar to OHP, I think my improvement is a product of dips/cgbp/incline. Oh - I ate another full pizza the night before as well

Incline - 5x110, 5x125, 5x140
Pullups - 10, 10, 7, 5
Dips - 3x10
Kroc Rows - 27x85 per hand

Squat Day - C16W3. 04-25-2014
5x306
3x345
2x385

Feeling good. I checked the film afterwards and I think I should have went for a 3rd rep. I definitely had a chance at it. My plan was to squat till failure today but I wimped out.

I've been dealing with a ton of tightness behind my left knee this week. Unfortunately I haven't had much success with SMR. I definitely "felt" it while squatting today. Seems to be an issue with my lower hamstring or upper calf.

SLDL - 5x127, 5x147, 5x166
Hammer Curls - 4x12x25
Planks - 78s, 68s, 63s

Planks are getting stronger.

Deload Week - C16. 04-28-2014 - 05-03-2014

End of Cycle 16.

Cycle 16 Training Maxes:
Press: 160 (+5)
Deadlift: 445 (+5)
Bench: 210 (+5)
Squat: 410 (+5)


I'm going to start cutting for the next 2-3 cycles. My goal is to drop 10 pounds and get around 185. I'm mainly doing this for aesthetics since I've added some fat, but I also want to stay under 198 for whenever I end up doing a competition.

My bulk went very well. Added 15 pounds over a 16 week period.



On a worse note, I'm having some issues with my left leg. I've been dealing with a sore groin and a tight hamstring which is causing issues with my knee. I just ordered some voodoo floss bands so I'm going to try flossing up and down my leg to see if that helps. Foam rolling hasn't been that effective. I should probably add in some static stretching during training off-hours as well.

You mean still narrow'ish grip, or do you mean that pinkies are few cm outside the ring, ie. middle fingers at ring? If the former, you must've used really narrow grip before?

I used to bench middle fingers at rings but recently I've been wondering if narrower would be better, since on grindy/hard reps I kinda feel like I have to fight against elbow flaring and my cgbp is almost the same as wide grip anyway. I think I'll be trying several different grip widths couple weeks each and see what feels best.

It's the former.

Also, my gym has olympic barbells and not powerlifting barbells. The rings on an oly bar are 810mm apart compared to 910mm on a PL bar. That's about a 2 inch difference on each side, so my grip would appear to be even narrower if I used a PL bar.

I've had the same experience with fighting elbow flare when going wide. My shoulders also seem to fall into a less safe position when going wider and I'm paranoid about injuring my shoulder during bench.

The recent change definitely felt better though, and I might try to go out a little more wide next time.

Rings on powerlifting bars are 810mm apart. I don't know for sure about oly bars. Your numbers are probably right, just the wrong way around.

Oh, you're right. So my grip on a PL bar would probably have the rings under the middle finger.

Press Day - C17W1. 05-05-2014
5x105
5x120
6x140

CGBP - 10x90, 10x110, 10x125
Dips - 10, 10, 9, 7, 4


Now that I'm cutting, I'll just be doing 2 assistance exercises. A main one each day (CGBP) and a minor one (dips). My recovery has been ****ty lately so I'm taking a step back.

Deadlift Day - C17W1. 05-06-2014
5x291
5x335
6x380

Felt strong. However, I got a few sharp pains on my upper/mid back between sets. I don't think it was a form issue though. Not sure what's up with my recovery but I've been waking up sore a lot so my sleeping posture could have something to do with it.

FS - 10x105, 10x125, 10x147
HLR - 5x10

Front squats were a good challenge, but nothing too crazy.

My left hamstring is continuing to give me problems. It's sooo ****ing tight right behind the knee. I've been stretching the hamstring multiple times a day, foam rolling the IT band, and using a lax ball on my glutes, but nothing works. I can't wait for my voodoo bands to arrive.

Bench Day - C17W1. 05-08-2014
5x140
5x160
8x181

Feels so much better after widening my grip. Sometimes my chest caves, which needs to be fixed.


Incline - 10x90, 10x105, 10x125
Chinups - 10, 9, 9, 6, 5


I've decided I'm going to alternate my 2nd assistance on a cycle-by-cycle basis. So bench day will alternate between chinups and pullups.

Floss bands came in the mail and I've been testing them out. Haven't felt any incredible relief yet but flossing does feel good. Still getting used to it.

Squat Day - C17W1. 05-09-2014
5x270
5x310
6x350

Last rep was a grind, glad I got more than 5 though.

SLDL- 10x103, 10x125, 10x142
Planks - 78s, 64s, 64s

I'm doing some SLDL/RDL hybrid movement. I'm still confused on the exact difference between the two, but I'm feeling the stretch in my hamstrings.

Press Day - C17W2. 05-12-2014
3x115
3x130
3x145

CGBP - 8x110, 8x125, 6x144
Dips - 5x10


Press form was subpar. I let the bar get a little forward and wasted too much energy shifting around near the bottom. I could probably hit 4 on a better day.

Deadlift Day - C17W2. 05-13-2014
3x315
3x360
0x405

Terrible. I strained my lower back during my 2nd set. I tried 405 but my body wasn't cooperating and the bar was stapled to the floor.

I could tell from my warmups that today was not going to be a good day and I was right. The pain is isolated in my right-side psoas. I tried doing some front squats after but it hurt too much. This area of my back has felt uncomfortable for a few weeks now, so I guess it was only a matter of time...

Time for some rest, ibuprofen, and ice. Hopefully I can be ready for bench in 2 days (I think I will be). As for deadlifts, I'm going to continue this cycle as if I succeeded today, but I definitely won't be pushing the weight up next cycle. If next week sucks as well, it's reset time.

Bench Day - C17W2. 05-16-2014
3x150
3x170
5x190

Back felt pretty good.

Incline - 8x105, 8x125, 6x140
Chinups - 10, 7, 6, 5, 5

Squat Day - C17W2. 05-17-2014
3x291
3x330
3x370

It was probably a bad idea to squat heavy today with my back not at 100%. I used a belt for all my sets to get some extra support, but my back was still in a decent amount of pain - especially during the unrack. My form was a little sloppy due to the back issue but I got it done.

SLDL - nothing
Planks - 86s, 62s, 62s

I tried doing SLDL but my back hurt too much even with an empty bar. I was feeling pretty good before this workout but squats definitely aggravated my back.

I still am hopeful that I'll be all healed up in 3 days for deadlifts. If not, I may have to just scrap deads for the rest of this cycle.

Press Day - C17W3. 05-19-2014
5x120
3x140
1x155

Let the bar drift forward at 140 - need to keep working on keeping the bar path straight. Got stuck at about eye level for rep #2 of 155. That's my traditional sticking point.

Good news is that my core/trunk was pretty solid and stable. Usually on PR attempts I get shaky.

CGBP - 5x115, 5x135, 5x155
Dips - 10, 10, 10, 9 6

CGBP too easy.

Back is feeling pretty good, real test comes tomorrow for DLs

Deadlift Day - C17W3. 05-20-2014
5x335
<no more attempts>

Son of a bitch...

I got the 5x335 but it was more difficult than it should have been and my back started feeling sore. I was tempted to keep pushing but decided against it. I'm glad I did because my back started flaring up on the walk home. The pain is very low on my back, almost in my glutes.

I'm going to reset my deadlifts by 10%. That will take me from 445 -> 400. This is a 5-month setback. I'm pretty upset about this but I need to keep my ego in check and focus on the long run.

I'm going to start adding back extensions in as assistance to try to get some extra work for the lower back. It's also probably a good idea to get multiple angles of my DL on film.


My back doesn't feel as bad as last week, so I think I can be fine for bench in 2 days.