5/29

speed bench
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5

I added varying degrees of 145 lbs of chains starting with about half the chains hanging on the floor + 185 lbs bar weight up to a total of 145 lbs of chains hanging above the floor at the top + 215 lbs of bar weight.

I lost track of sets, probably 6 - 8 sets of triples


Lots of different pulling stuff including PNF D2 flexion, cable rows & pull downs

5/31

DL
225x5x2
315x3
405x2

suit
495x1
585x1
615x1x2

DLs + bands off 1.5" mats
425 + green bands x 3 (~555 at top)
315 + big red bands x 3 (~665 at top)
315 + red & blue x 1 (~765 at top)
315 + red & green x 1 (~795 at top)
315 + red & green & blue x 1 (~895 at top) - this was hard to lock out.

pull throughs

I set up the big orange sled and hooked a chain up behind my belt to drag it. I made a bunch of trips with up to 5 plates I think.

I finished off with something new. I dont know the name of it. You put a band through the front of your belt and hook the ends of the band around your feet, then lift your knee up high, then bring it down, locking your knee and hip. You go back and forth with each leg for time. I didnt keep track, but I did enough to get tired and feel the muscles getting fatigued. I like these.

6/2

I did extra back & chest activation stuff. I think I'm going to keep doing this before benching.

bench press
45x12
95x10
135x8
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1

The new used 3 ply shirt I thought I was getting turned out to be a two ply. The seller is going to either take it back and reimburse me for shipping or I can keep it and take $75 off the price. I'll probably keep it. Its almost a new shirt. I figured I would start breaking it in today.

4 board press
495x3
585x3

3 board press
635x1

I switched to my 705 shirt
675x1- This was good
715xf - When I started pulling this down, at first I pulled it too high, then I touched too low, then when I started pressing it, I pushed it towards my crotch, so it didnt go very far up.

My CNS was fried after all this.

I did some light lat pulldowns and face pulls.

6/4

squat
25x10
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs
425x2
515x1
605x1

suit
655x1

knee wraps
705x1

All were ok, except for a little upper body helicoptering. It got better when I focused on keeping the left side tight.

briefs only
425 + 4 chains x 2
425 + 6 chains x 2
425 + 8 chains x 2
475 + 8 chains x 1

I did the band around the belt and under the feet thing again that I did last Fri. This time I used a bigger (black) band and went just one set until I was spent.

6/5

floor press with a Texas squat bar
55x15
105x10
145x10
195x4

I put a doubled orange band around my wrists
235x3
265x3
285x3

I changed the orange band out for a stronger red one
285x3x4

seated cable rows
140x20
180x15
220x12
260x10
This gym got a new cable machine. I like it.

face pulls
150x15x2

cable pulldowns
120x15
150x12

6/7

I did the band over the front of the belt under the feet walk for a while to warm up. I like it.

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit
495x1
585x1
625x1x2
Everything was ok, not perfect, but not bad. The 625 is ~87.5% of 711. I haven't written a whole program yet, but I'm going to do two cycles. I'm starting off fairly easy with this.

band DLs in briefs
315 + ~100 bands x 3
315 + ~200 bands x 3 x 2
315 + ~300 bands x 3
315 + ~350 bands x 3
315 + ~450 bands x 3
315 + ~550 bands x 3

GHR
20
vs green band x 15
vs black band x 15
I moved fairly slowly and carefully to pump the muscles and to avoid tweaking anything.

6/9

bench
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1

new SDP
3 boards
495x3

tight SDP
2 boards
585x1
635x1
655x1 - 2 board PR +20
My left shoulder was feeling kind of tight, and my CNS was fried, so I moved on.

chaos pushups
10x5

sled pulls, row style
I lost track how many trips back and forth I made. I started with 4 plates, got up to 8 plates for a couple trips, then worked back down until I was exhausted.

band face pulls
15x2

6/11

squat
65x5
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs - I weighed 252 yesterday morning. The briefs were difficult to put on.
425x2
515x1
605x1

suit
655x1

knee wraps
705x1
750x1 - I think this is the most I've had on my back since the December 1, 2018 meet when I attempted and failed 755. I cant remember the last time I actually squatted this much. I felt like I had a lot more in me than 750, but its more important that I remain healthy, so I moved on to secondary stuff.



squats in briefs vs chains (chains hanging above the ground until I got almost all the way to parallel)
425 + 4 chains x 2
475 + 6 chains x 2
515 + 6 chains x 1 - this was hard.


RDLs
225x5
315x5
405x5x3

6/12

activation warmup

speed bench
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3

3 board press
275x3
315x3
335x3
355x3
375x3


chaos pushups
12
15x4


seated cable rows
200x15
240x12
280x12 - this was hard


pulldowns
120x15x2

face pulls
2 sets

6/14

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit
495x1
585x1
635xf, f, f
585x1
Everything in the suit felt like ****, probably because my midsection is bigger around than it has been since about 10 years ago. I couldnt get set up properly because of my size (255 in the morning). My left hip felt like **** after this, so I stopped DLs for the day. Being bigger helps bench and squat, but not DLs.

sled pulls
black sled
4 plates + some change
about 12 or 14 trips
Everything was fine until the last set. I pushed off too hard with my left calf and strained a muscle.

TRX fallouts
~10 or 15

belt squats
enough to get my quads pumped

6/16

bench press
45x15
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1

new used SDP
3 board press
495x3

tight SDP
2 board press
585x1
635x1
675x1 - 20 lb 2 board PR. No video. We were short handed. One guy brought a tripod and set it up to record me, but he was the middle handoff guy and no one remembered to turn the camera on. That's ok. This felt like a weight I can do again, maybe more.


raw 3 board press
315x3x2
345x3
I got handed 365 and the inside part of my right elbow had a sharp pain, so I reracked and stopped.


unilateral chaos pushups with huge red bands
15x4

same band setup for rows
10x3

band face pulls
2 sets

6/18

dynamic warmup

squat
65x10
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs
425x2
515x1
605x1

suit
655x1

knee wraps
705x1
755x1 - this is the most I have squatted in about 2.5 - 3 years, and it felt relatively easy. I have a lot more than this in me if my body holds up.




briefs only
515x2
Lower right leg issue felt a little bad, so I stopped squats.


offset step ups
I did a bunch of sets of 10 - 20 reps per leg with light KBs, ~26 - 44 lbs. This fried my quads and it did some good things for my core and glutes. I need to do more of these. They do a lot of good things.

6/21

DL
225x5
Then I did a bunch of other reps playing around with different stance widths. Narrow is still best for me.

315x3
405x2

suit
495x1
585x1
635x1
635xf
Belly too big to DL with a good setup.I did get in decent position on the first 635, but it was a struggle to get there. I need to adjust to my added size.

I just did a bunch of sled pulls after this. My legs were fried.

6/24

dynamic warmup

bench press
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1

newer SDP
495 x 2 - 1st rep 3 board, 2nd rep 2 board. That is the lowest I have gone in this shirt. Its starting to break in, but I am going to sell this shirt to a teammate who likes it because I just ordered a new 3 ply SDP and I have way too many shirts.

tight SDP
585 x 2 - 1st rep 2 board, 2nd rep 1 board. This is starting to feel like light weight.

1 board
635x1 - 20 lb 1 board PR

3 board
675x1


raw
3 board press
315x3
365x3
405x3
435x1 - gassed. Most of my teammates were leaving, so I didnt rest much before the last set.


TRX fallouts

TRX rows

face pulls

tricep cable extensions

Hey Cha

Some years ago we had a discussion on speed/dynamic bench.

I can't find it.

So how did you guys go about it?

As far as I remember it was something like:
3 reps, start time when first rep touches chest
if less than X second increase weight (but I can't remember X)
Is that about right?

Start the timer when the 1st rep touches the chest.
Stop when the 3rd rep is locked out.
If the time is under 3.5 seconds, add weight next set.
If the time is over 4.0 seconds, either lighten the weight, or use better form and improve your time the next set.

6/25

squat
65x10
155x5
245x5
335x3

briefs (getting into these is now a workout because I'm bigger)
425x2
515x1
605x1

suit & knee wraps
705x1 - I went down a bit slow, but it went up fast. 7 seconds from racking the bar until the up command.
785xf - I went down way too slow. It was about 10 seconds from taking the bar off the pins until I got the up command. By then I was almost spent, so I couldnt get it moving. This would have been a 15 lb gym pr.

I did a bunch of offset step ups and sled pulls facing the sled, then with my back to the sled. Facing the sled destroys my quads.

6/26

floor press
95x10
135x8
185x5
225x3
275x3
295x3
315x3
335x3
345x3
365x3
I did not expect this last night. Everything felt like it moved well, so I kept adding weight. I dont think I've ever floor pressed over 335 before, let alone for a triple. Very happy with this.

face pulls
1 arm cable rows
TRX fallouts

Doing your heaviest pressing in a shirt makes it hard for us mortals to compare to raw equivalents. You must have the highest raw bench in the forum by a good margin.

yeah, I'm curious what it is now. I havent trained with anything raw heavy to my chest in a very long time. I think I pressed 385 about 3.5 years ago. I assume its something well over 400 now.

There's really nothing equivalent about pressing in a shirt. Its such a unique skill, that you really cant even compare it to raw. Strength obviously carries over to both though.

6/28

DL
225x5
315x3
405x2

suit
495x1
585x1
635x1 - this wasnt pretty. Struggling to set up in good position because my belly gets in the way.
655xf - Terrible. I could not get set up without rounding my back.

I decided to take several more singles in my suit to address the setup issue.
495x1 - bad setup

At this point, I decided to try a modified sumo stance, similar to what Ed Coan did when he pulled 901. I figured I might be able to get to the bar and set up well doing this.
495x1 - yeah, that was way better. I cranked down the straps and took it again.
495x1 - oh hell yeah. This felt great. I decided to tighten my belt a notch and take some more weight.
585x1 - this was the best 585 has felt in quite a while.
635x1 - 50 lb sumo PR. I got slightly forward and my hands/arms kind of stuck to my legs as the bar got to my knees. I see why sumo lifters use baby powder now. I'll try that next week. For now, I think I have something to work with and improve on. This seems like it might be what gets me back to a 700+ lb DL. I hope so anyway.


After that I did sled pulls. I stayed fairly light, 4 plates + the 100 lb sled, and did 8 trips across the gym - 4 facing backwards and 4 forwards. Facing backwards, my quads feel like they want to quit after I get about 3/4 of the way to the end.

6/30

dynamic warmup

bench press
95x10
135x10
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
365x1
405x1 - 20 lb raw PR - ez
I figured since 365 moved so fast on floor presses a few days ago, I'd see if I could set a new raw PR if 365 moved well in warmups. 365 flew up very fast, so I figured I'd see how 4 plates felt. Relatively easy. This was just warming up for shirted work, and I dont want to get hurt screwing around with raw work, so I stopped and moved on. Judging by the speed of this, I probably had at least 425 in me today if I had wanted it.


tight SDP
2 board press
585x1 - this shot up like a rocket. 6 plates is feeling like 5 used to.

1 board
675x1 - 40 lb PR, woot!! I'm really happy with this.

lolfred

Fred (loud teammate) suggested that since my right elbow has been a bit soft recently, that I take a heavy weight to a 3 board, but hold the lockout for 2+ seconds prior to starting the lift. That made this more of a challenge, but I still got a 10 lb 3 board PR.
3 board press
715 x 1 - 10 lb PR


Those last two shirted reps were grinds, so I decided to shut down pressing for the day and do sled rows.
370 - 2 trips

460 - 2 trips

550 - 2 trips

325 - 2 trips
Mrs cha recorded one of the heavy trips.


face pulls
2 sets

TRX fallouts
15
20

3 gym PRs. It was a good day.

Nice benchin' and sleddin'.

Thanks!