short workout, kind of got 1x5 97.5 DL. Had a 15 second pause between 3rd and 4th rep but i'm fairly happy about that since I haven't been sleeping well. and 1x3+1x2 is better than just 1x3

Press
5/5/11 x 30kg

DL
1x3/1x2 97.5kg

uploading vids later

Spoke too soon, the next day my abs let me know they were very unhappy with having to move at all.

Bench/Squat are not so easy anymore. Probably could of gotten 6 or 7 reps on bench with better form. Lost tightness in my back on the first rep and barely got the 5th rep in last set. My back is probably loose during the majority of my benching.

Bench
2x5 20 kgs
1x5 35 kgs
1x3 45 kgs
1x2 60 kgs
3x5, 75.5kg

Chins
1x6 +5kg
1x5 bw

Squat
2x5 20 kg
1x5 30 kg
1x3 45 kg
1x2 65 kg
3x5 85kg

Rkc plank
10s x 6

Ab DOMS definitely worst DOMS haha

Very important to get your back and shoulders tight when benching. Pinch your scapula tight together and put them in your back pocket/elevate your sternum and keep it there the whole set.

Squeezing core/glutes helped a lot to keep stable in presses. But they made it a lot harder to get the weight up. Surprised I was getting that much benefit from throwing my spine backwards.

Press
3x5 20kg
2x5 25 kg
3x5 32.5kg

Curls
15/9 x 22kg

Squat
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 50 kg
1x2 70 kg
3x5 87.5kg PR




Did something wrong in 2nd squat set, the bar moved around and my lower back wasn't happy. So didn't do any ab work this session. Set 3 felt very good and I went to failure on the 6th rep.

Thanks, i was focusing more on just squeezing the scapula back. Excited to see if pulling them down helps tomorrow.

Squats look pretty tidy too. Just got to work on getting the most out of the stretch reflex at the bottom.

Doesnt have to be a ridiculous arch for bench, just want to get things as solid as possible: good for force production and good for health.

Does that mean going down/up faster?

A little bit, but also coordinating the push out of the bottom of the squat

Being more explosive from the bottom?

Maybe a little bit more? Might help once the reps get tough during a set. I don't think you need to go faster on the descent, just really drive up hard from the turn around point. They look good as it is, so dont stress about it.

Read a few articles on it and people seem to advocate descending fast which probably wouldn't be good for me. Thanks for the advice.

got 100kg up, but only x2. I think it's unlikely I get 5 next week. Seems like I shouldn't be having to do a reset so early into the program. I think I can get more than 2 though, maybe 3 or 4.
On the bright side I badly wanted to leave after the DL fail but finished the rkc planks instead.

Bench
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 45 kg
1x2 60 kg
5/5/6, 76.5kg

Chins
5/3+5kg

DL
2x5 40 kg
1x3 60 kg
1x2 85 kg
1x2 100 kg

rkc planks
10s x 6

Will upload squat videos later. 1st set was bad and the bar drifted forward. Recorded the next sets since it makes me focus a bit more. 2nd set was great, focused on exploding from the bottom. Felt so much easier than grinding each rep in the 1st set. 3rd set was ok, just glad I got the workout done at all since I felt ****ty/tired before going to the gym.

Press
3x5 20kg
2x5 25 kg
5/5/6 34kg

Curls
15/12x 22kg

Squat
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 50 kg
1x2 75 kg
5/5/6 90kg

Rkc plank
10s x 6

What is a good shoulder warmup routine for bench? I don't have shoulder pain but they feel weird after benching sometimes so I'd like to get ahead of any future injuries. ATM my warmup routine is just walking 10 minutes to the gym.



Bench
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 45 kg
1x2 60 kg
5/5/6 78kg (last rep real tough/ugly.

Chins
6/4+5kg

Squat
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 50 kg
1x2 75 kg
3x5 92.5kg

planks
10x x 6

Khan, here is what I've incorporated into my bench warmup since a recent injury scare. Most of it is taken from Mike Robertson/Eric Cressey, and they are who I would look to for technique advice (I stole a lot from Neanderthal No More part 4)

After foam rolling, I do a circuit of (3 rounds):
-YTI's (10 reps each)
-Scapula pushups aka pushups plus (10 reps)
-Banded external rotations (10 reps)
-scapula wall slides (10 reps)
-shoulder dislocations (10 reps)
-palms up band pull aparts (10 reps)
-lat stretch with band (30 sec each side)
-pec stretch with band (30 sec each side)

The important thing to remember is that you are looking to use the small muscles, so if you go heavy or too high band tension, your big muscles will take over and it defeats the purpose. If you wanted to shorten it, i'd go with just the bolded exercises.

I forgot to add face pulls.

I should probably add face pulls

Been having some shoulder problems, probably need to start doing some this.

Thanks for the detailed plan! I'll start trying those out next time I bench. Do you do many of those before pressing as well?

Yeah, I think it's a pretty reasonable upper body warmup and prehab plan. It is probably overkill in the long term, but If you have bad overhead mobility then it will help that too.

Didn't eat before the workout so got real shaky with low blood sugar and finished the workout early.
Press
3x5 20kg
2x5 25kg
3x5 35kg

DL
2x5 40 kg
1x3 60 kg
1x2 85 kg
1x3 100 kg

First two DL reps felt really good, then I realized how much my hands hurt and couldn't get a 4th up.

Squats are weird, didn't think i'd make it through the first set, 2nd set was good, and I powered through the last set relatively easily. Also my squats are about to pass my deadlifts... That doesn't seem correct?

Bench
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 45 kg
1x2 60 kg
3x5 79kg

Chins
3x 5kg (weird grip)
6x bw

Squat
2x5 20 kg
1x5 35 kg
1x3 50 kg
1x2 75 kg
3x5 95kg

planks
10x x 6

Your hips are way too low on your DL:

Point number 4 seems relevant to your current issue. Plus, you've got more than a little lower back softness, although I'd guess fixing your setup would help address that.

Squat>deadlift is fairly common in SS. Mostly because you squat more frequently so the +5lb jumps add up more quickly. If you feel like you could make larger jumps on deadlift or deadlift more frequently you could do that. Or just leave it, deadlift overtakes pretty quickly when start to stall or you hit intermediate.

Thanks for checking the videos out. I'll focus on this next time and try to fix it.

That makes sense, but stalling DL with squat overtaking it seems like a serious form issue.
Pretty excited to see how your meet goes at nationals btw!