I forgot to address this. What I meant was to lower the bar under a bit more tension and try not to relax everything to get the rebound. The way you're doing it is more technically demanding i.e. easier to screw up and have a bad bar path but also may not be that great on your shoulders.

nov 20

Biked to the gym and realized I forgot my lock, doh

Oct 29

Db rows 3x12x35
One-arm DB shoulder press 3x8x35 +
Shrugs 3x15x90 +
Db incline press 3x12x70
Cable rope pull down 3x12x39
Curls 3x10x25
Bunch of pullups

DLs will have to wait

I feel like if I move it any lower on my back it will slip onto my elbows

Nov 21

DL
1x8x310
2x3x310

Lower back didn't love this one, WIM was there though. This was by far the hardest deadlift I've done. Didn't do the greatest job of starting with hips higher.

Dropped the paused set, I think I get enough DL volume considering I already do an accessory (the triples) and it's so far ahead of my other lifts. Maybe should finish the day with paused squats to get more volume there, or double up on OHP days.



BN
2x5x140
1x8x140
2x10x105

So much easier with a spotter

Nov 25

OHP
2x5x105
1x6x105
2x10x70

Back in the red Ever since I swapped bench/OHP days, I've been using lifting shoes, switched back to regular shoes, much easier.

SQ
3x5x210

2nd set in particular felt pretty bad, squatting sucks



pullups 5x5
ab wheel 5x5

Nice job on recent PRs, you've made some great progress itt! But figure out that low bar bar position already! Fwiw I gain a ton of ROM with shoulders/back through the process of warming up. I cannot get into my 'final' workset bar position cold.

Same, I can't even really do high bar with the empty bar. But after 15-20 warmup reps I don't find any ROM constraints. I try to go as far back as possible just can't find a ledge probably should go back and watch some YT vids

Nov 28

BN
2x5x142.5
1x8x142.5
2x10x105

Felt good



DL
1x6x315
2x3x315

Just a random number, but woot! Would have liked 7 reps but form&back felt good. I'm curious about the weights now, it definitely felt like one side was heavier than the other, no scale handy tho. Got it on video too!



curls 70/60/60
calves 3x10x150

Nov 30

OHP
3x5x107.5
2x10x70

SQ
2x5x215
1x6x215

OK, did a true low bar squat for the first time today. Felt like I was going really deep, depth is a bit suspect in the video though. Also felt like I was leaning over too much when upright. Video angle sucked in the busy gym, will get a better short next time.

Put my hands quite a bit wider, they weren't able to firmly wrap around the bar. It also didn't feel like there was a firm ledge like with high bar, its more like the bar is just barely not falling. All that being said, def a stronger movement.



pull-ups 5/5/5/4

Obviously impossible to tell from that angle, but I'd guess that the bar drifted considerably past the midfoot (i.e. over your toes) for the last three reps of that set (at least), which is probably a pretty large contributor to that good morning action we're seeing.

Film from the side next time. Work on getting your knees forward early, tightening up your upper back and lats, breaking at the knees and hips simultaneously to start the movement, and being a bit more aggressive getting down to the hole (I realize this is easier said than done when trying a new squat variant).

You probably felt there wasn't a firm ledge for the bar because your back was too loose, by the by.

Nice press progress!

Are you able to get your hands in closer? As that will help create a bigger ledge. But I understand some have limited ROM there. Was just watching Ben Pollack's new SQ vid where he has to do some funky grip because of shoulder mobility in that position.

Out of curiosity what has your calories/weight been like? Because you've been on a nice run here.

My weight has gone up overall over the past few months, got up to 164ish currently around 162. Overall no major change in weight since I started lifting. I think the recent progress is good but deceptive.
OHP - I was using the wrong shoes
DL - started using straps and haven't failed since
SQ - started much later than the other lifts and only progress at half speed. Haven't failed.
Bench is slightly lagging but I'm pretty weak upper body, probably need to program more pressing

I don't count calories but approximate day snacks

0 - coffee
160 - Nature's path oatmeal
90 - banana
100 - almonds
160 - nut bar
140 - protein shake

and then 2 meals in the 600-900 calorie range, chicken/sweet potato/brocolli in a container type stuff.

So I suppose around 2000-2250 calories per day?

Switching programs to the Bridge. I like this change for a bunch of reasons.

Bored of GSLP, 6 months is enough
Trying to weight PR every session is starting to take a toll, body still not fully recovered by the next session
More press volume
The GPP day is nice, I like staying at 3 barbell days/week, but being able to use the condo gym for part of the program is convenient. Also have been out of football for a while, probably could use some cardio
Ready for more squatting, it can probably catch up to DL somewhat
I like the concept of RPE training, and this program sort of blends %s with RPE to get a feel for measuring RPE



A bunch of these movements are new so will have some calibration time for intensity, the plan is just approximate so I'll adjust on the fly.

First workout plan
Squat 1RM - 250
5@~185, 5@~200, 5@~205

CG bench 1RM - 165
4@~135, 4@~137.5, 4@~140

Rack pull (Only 2" raise, not so different from a regular DL, will pull off plates on the floor) 1RM 380
7@~265, 7@~280, 7@~290

Nice I was looking through that the other day and considering it. Fan of Feigenbaum

I think you had a lot of LP gains left to make, but I know the allure of program switching. You'll probably need to push the sets a lot harder to get the most benefit from an RPE-based program. I don't even note RPE for squats in my log because I (still) don't feel that I'm at the stage where I can accurately determine them. A set of @8 squats feels pretty terrible and like an @10 to most people.

+1 renton555

You are right, but I still think it makes sense to switch. 6 months of LP was enough

Renton, I know what you mean but you have to admit its funny to say that most people can't perceive their perceived exertion

Dec 2

Between these 3 lifts I've done 3 total sets combined in my life

LBBS
5x185 (6), 5x200 (7), 6x205 (8)



CGB
4x135 (6), 4x137.5 (7), 4x140 (7.5)

Will probably need help unracking when this gets heavy, the rack is too low with this grip.



Block pull
7x265 (6.5), 7x275 (7.5), 7x280 (8)

This was tough, difficulty will go down once I improve on form. Bracing wasn't great, reracking was a huge pain.



70 minutes

Next up

Paused Squat 1RM - 225
4@~185, 4@~190, 4@~195

Press 1RM - 125
5@~95, 5@~100, 5@~102.5

Barbell Rows 1RM - 125 (New exercise)
8@~82.5, 8@~87.5, 2x8@~92.5

Bar path on the SQ looking good/mid foot. Post of a vid of your regular bench next time you do it, I have a feeling there's some low hanging form stuff to improve. I realize CG is different and I haven't studied it. But some things to watch out for in general on regular bench:
Shoulders coming up--not staying retracted and down, lack of arch, lack of overall tightness from toe to head, not keeping big/high chest, grip width-not having elbows come far below bench. I learned a lot and realized just show **** my form was from watching Dave Tate's 'so you think you can bench.'

Def still have a lot of technical gains left with bench. My arch right now is about the limit of my flexibility.

Dec 4

P SQ
4x185 (7), 4x190 (7.5), 4x195 (8.5)

Better depth than usual, bar path not perfect though. No belt is hard.



OHP
5x95 (7.5), 5x100 (9), 5x102.5 (9.5)

Not tough sets, just so hard to add reps

Barbell rows

7x82.5 (5.5), 8x87.5 (6), 8x92.5 (6)

This was pretty easy but first time doing this lift. Any comments? One thing that jumps out at me is I'm protracting my shoulder blades.



70 minutes


Easiest workout in a long time. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Coming up

DL 1RM 366
5x280 (6), 5x290 (7), 5x295 (8)

BP 1ct pause 1RM 170
5x130 (6), 5x135 (7), 5x137.5 (8)

3-0-3 Squat RM 235
8x160 (6), 8x170 (7), 8x175 (8)

Dec 5

pullups 30xBW
isometric abs 7 minutes
DB hammer 20x57
elliptical @130bpm 25 minutes

Sick last week so missed half a week. On the plus side lost some lbs as a result so it looks like gains

Lifts suffered a bit today, as expected

Dec 10

DL

5x280 (6), 5x290 (7), 5x295 (7.5)

BN 2ct pause

5x130 (8), 5x130 (8), 5x130 (8)

Vid includes set-up. I think I'll see some quick improvement as I get used to the pause + use the bench at my regular gym + not be dumb and wear a loose fitting shirt.



3-0-3 squat

8x160 (6), 8x170 (6.5), 8x175 (8)



Pretty terrible at judging the tempo here, barely 2 seconds in either direction

80 minutes

Next up

squat
5@6/195, 5@7/200, 3x5@8/205

CG bench
4@7/137.5, 4@8/142.5, 2x4@9/145

rack pull
7@6/270, 7@7/280, 2x7@8/290

You should try to arch more and get your knees lower than your hips when you bench, if moving more weight is the goal.

For pause bench, try to focus on staying tight during the pause and resist the natural tendency to relax everything and rest the bar on your chest. It's hard, and will reduce the weight/reps you can do, but probably will have a better training effect.

BN looks OK. Hard to tell from the angle but your hands may be a little too inside the elbow (from the frontal view). May consider going a tad wider grip. Shoulders look like they're staying retracted pretty well.

You may try this method for getting in an arch, I've found it much better and easier. Feet up, start by working your upper back under then shoot your hips up as high as you can (you'll feel it in your traps which is good), drop ass, work even tighter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3LFffx0IyY
Shoulders in your back pockets, big air--chest up, bend bar towards direction of your feet, use lats to pull bar out of the rack.