5/22

Squat

1x25x65
1x25x75
1x25x85

Bench
3x5x160

Hang Power Clean
5x3x105

On my power clean, i was not really doing two pulls, i was just trying to deadlift it off the floor fast and i was using my arms to much. I am going to try hang power cleans for a while. it was easier to catch it in the rack position.

Pullups

4x3

5/28

Took a little time off for my hip/back. shoulder is feeling better now too.

Squat
3x5x245

I wasnt going low enough before so im going to start here and go up 10lbs a work out. wanted to make sure my hip was ok, felt fine

ohp

3x5x120

Deadlift

5x315

These hurt my hip. wasnt too bad though.

I also started the anabolic diet which i like so far, this is my second week.

5/29
Squat
3x5x255
These were hard for some reason

Bench
3x5x165

HPC
5x3x110

6/1
Squat
3x5x265
Really easy

OHP
1x2x125
3x5x115
No idea why i am so terrible at OHP and Bench. I havent improved in like 4 months.

HPC
5x3x115

Pullups
3,3,3,2

6/2

Ran 25 minutes

6/3

Squat
3x5x275

Bench
3x5x170

Deadlift
5x325

6/5

Squat
3x5x280

Press
2x5x120
1x2x120

Anyone have any ideas why im stuck on presses. Anything i should change in my program?

HPC
5x3x120

Pullups
3,3,3,3,2

6/8

Squat
3x5x285

Bench
5x5x175

Im going to try Bench monday, 5x5, ohp wed 5x5 and incline bench friday, 5x5. increasing weight every week

HPC
5x3x125

6/10
Squat
3x5x235

OHP
5x5x105

Deadlift
1x5x335

Decline situps
BW+25
3x12

So i just got maximum strength so im going to try that program. today i tried to get all my maxes. started off with foam rolling and the mobility drills

box squat

never done these before. warmed up then maxed out

1x285

probably could've done a little more but i was afraid cause it was my first time doing them

bench

1x210

Deadlift

1x405

Your log freaks me out due to the good progress on squats/deads but very slow press / bp.

i'm afraid this will be me, i have like no pecs and skinny arms.

i guess one question i have for you is, how much weight have you gained through this? I am eating tons and gaining weight steadily so i'm hopeful that it will help me avoid stalling out forever on presses, but ack!

any thoughts world?

I got up to 205, now im 200. I dont eat that much but i was drinking a ton of beer so that could be why my progress slowed way down. plus i wasnt microloading the press/bench so that could have an effect too. good luck

I'll preface this as I'm hesitant to give advice to anyone who squats as much as you do, but I'll share my thoughts/experiences on SS with the two presses.

If you don't close grip bench (and I don't mean hands touching each other, but at least hands like 8 inches apart) like 85% to 90% of what you regular bench, then I'm a firm believer that it is worth your time to work on close grip bench. Close grip bench is really solid for triceps strength obviously, but as you go heavier in it you are forced to bring the bar down lower on your chest. A lower bar position may not immediately be more powerful than how you're benching, but it doesn't take long to get that way as it puts less strain on your shoulder joints and makes it easier to get good leg drive.

My bench was stuck at 5x5x155 for the longest time until I started prioritizing my close grip bench. I worked on my close grip until it was at 3x5x145, then when I went back to normal bench starting at 145 I made straight progress to 175, and eventually made 3x5x185.

In my experience, the OHP benefits significantly from close grip bench as well. Any stall I've had in this lift was overcome relatively quickly by either the increase in my close grip bench, actively keeping my elbows in front of the bar for the whole lift, resting at the top, and focusing on vasavla (sp?) breathing. So if you're not doing one of those, that's where I'd start.

Phase 1 Week 1

7/20

Box Squat
5x4x225

Speed Deadlift
8x2x205

Walking Lunges
4x8x50 lb dumb bells

Damn these were ridiculously hard

Revers crunches

3x12

7/21

Energy work out
15sec on 45 sec off hiit running.
made 11 reps

7/22

Bench
5x4x175

incline dumbell bench neutral grip
3x10x40lb db

seated cable row
1x10x100
3x10x130

prone trap raise
3x12x10lb db

side bridge
3x30s a side

7/24

Front squats
1x6x155 too easy so upped the weight
3x6x175

These were still pretty easy but they kill my wrists. not sure how to fix this

Rack pulls from knee cap

1x4x385 supposed to be 6 but grip failed
1x4x365 same
1x6x345
1x5x345

Bulgarian split squats
4x6 each side w/ 45 lb db's

7/25

1 arm db push press

left
2x6x55
2x4x55
right
4x6x55

1 arm db row
4x6x55

close grip pullups
4x4xbw

7/27

box squats
someone was using the box i normally use so i had to use a bench that was right at parralel maybe slightly above
1x4x245 easy
1x4x255 easy
2x4x275 tough

speed deadlifts
8x2x225

walking dumbell lunges
3x8x60 lb db

super tough

reverse crunches

3x12

7/28
Energy workout
20 minute slow run
was supposed to do hiit but didnt feel like it cause i had a hockey game the night before

7/29
bench
4x4x185

incline db bench neutral grip
1x9x60
1x6x60
1x8x55

i forgot what i did last time, thought i did 55 but i did 40, no reason why i struggled

prone trap raise
3x12x10lb dumbell

laying side external rotation
3x12x10lb each side

seated cable row
3x9x130
1x9x140

Alright, long time since an update. Im starting a new program that I got from KSC on starting strength. How does it look?

Day 1 (Monday)

Bench Press 3 x 5
Bench Assistance Exercise (see below)
BB Rows 3-5 x 5-10
Additional Lat/Back work – Shrugs, DB Rows, Pulldowns, etc, 3 x 10 (optional)

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Squats 3 x 5
Goodmornings 3 x 5
GHR 3 x 10
GHD Sit Ups 3-5 x 10

Day 3 (Thursday)

Speed Bench 10 x 3
Press 3 x 5
Pull Ups x 30-50
Additional Lat/Back work 3 x 10-15 (optional)

Day 4 (Friday)

Box Squat 12 x 2
Speed Pulls (10 x 1) alternated weekly with a DL or DL variant (1 x 5)
Reverse Hypers 3 x 10
Weighted Sit Bends 3 x 10

Like the hypertrophy plan this model is based on a “4x4” principle. Four days per week,
no more than 4 exercises per session.
Each lowerbody day consists of two barbell movements: a squat and a hip extension (DL
or GM), and also an assistance movement for the posterior chain (low back/hamstrings)
and abs.
The upper body day consists of two pressing movements and two pulling movements.
On Monday, the bench assistance movement should target your weaknesses. If you have
problems with lockout then adding in some heavy board presses or floor presses is a good
idea. For most raw lifters, lockout is not the problem, and you may be better served by
doing full ROM movements like DB Benches or Inclines for your assistance work. If
you like, you can alternate each week between a full range of motion assistance lift and a
partial range of motion assistance lift. Something like this: incline, floor press, DB bench
press, 2 board press, DB Incline press, rack lockout, etc. Also, it is important not to
neglect the upper back. These muscles make up a large amount of muscle mass and
having a big strong back helps you in all three lifts.
On Thursday, you may choose to press before speed benching. This is a good idea if you
want to do a high rep set after your speed benches, which is often done to maintain
muscle mass in the upper body. Presses should be a staple exercise in your program.
Better than any other exercise they help keep the shoulders healthy, which can get beat up
from a steady diet of bench pressing. A lot of lifters can’t do speed benches every week.
It can take a toll on the joints after time. Feel free to replace the speed benches with
another pressing movement. Dips or close grip bench presses might be a good option, or
any of the aforementioned bench assistance exercises in the previous paragraph.

3/16
Bench
3x5x170
Incline bench
3x10x135
Penlday Rows
3x10x145
Pullups
10x1

3/17

Power cleans
Bunch of singles at 175-190
Squat
3x5x265
dumbell swings
2x10x65lbs L and R
GHR
2x10

3/19

Press
3x5x110

Speed Bench
10x3x120 on the minute

Pullups
5,2,2,2,2,2,2,2

DB Row
2x10x90

3/20

Box squat
12x2x185

Speed DL
10x1x275 on the minute

Reverse hyper
3x10

3/22

Bench
5x5x190

Incline Bench
1x9x145
1x5x145 arms felt terrible, didnt rest enough
1x8x135

Lat Pull Down
3x10x140

DB Row

1x10x95 each hand

Ran out of time

3/23

Squat

5x5x280

PC
Singles up to 185 then
5x2x165

GHR
3x10

DB swings
3x5x70 each hand

3/25

Speed bench

10x3x135 on the minute

Press

5x5x125

Pullups

1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3

db row
2x10x95

3/26

Box Squat
12x2x195

Deadlift

1x3x405 Terrible WIM

Reverse hypers
3x10

3/29

Bench
3x5x155

incline
3x10x115

Pendlay Rows
1x10x135
2x10x155

Lat pulldown

1x10x120
2x10x130

3/30

PC
Warmups then
1x2x175
2x2x180
4x2x185

Will have videos up soon, youtube is taking forever

Squat
2x5x225

DB Swings
1x10x75
1x10x85

185x2 PC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFcE****aNs