Reps 2 and 3 of the second set have the worst problem with the hips shooting back. I would just focus on driving your hips straight up and see if that helps.

It causes a little bit of a good morning cause hips back make your knees open a little and your hip angle close a little. It is not as bad as someone like me whose hips go up with no movement up of the bar though

Okay I see it now for sure. It's pretty bad on set 2 rep 3. That's also probably why I stumbled backwards. Just another thing I should focus on going forward

2015-02-10
Bench
6x220 @8 (6R PR +5lb)
6x225 @8 (6R PR +10lb)
6x230 @8.5 (6R PR +15lb)
6x230 @8.5
6x225 @8.5

Incline Bench
15x145
11x145
11x145

Pendlay Rows
5x5x164

Curls, Dips


Wow I put up some real good numbers today. My bench is skyrocketing lately! My back and lats were pretty sore which is a good sign. I think I'm doing a good job of getting my back and shoulders more involved which is helping a ton. Video below if anyone has any critiques.

2016-02-12
Pause Squat
5x264 @7
5x286 @8
5x308 @8
5x286 @8

OHP
3x125
3x144
1x162 (wanted 3)

Speed DL
20x1x308 (10min)

Pullups



Opted to go lighter on the pause squats today, but with more volume. I had Weasel's critiques in mind and was trying really hard to keep my hips under the bar. My hips shoot back on a couple reps, mainly when it gets heavy.

OHP will need to be reset. I had a good run with a couple months of consistent progress there.

I think the hips shooting back is because you are letting your knees come in. knees out keeps hips forward for me.

2016-02-15
Deadlift
2x397 @8
2x397 @8.5
2x397 @9
2x374 @8
2x374 @8
2x374 @8.5


Have gotten a bunch of ****ty sleep lately, so just came in to do some deadlifts and then leave. These were alright, I hit similar numbers to what I did last time for doubles. Set 1 filmed below. My 2nd rep is pretty weak imo. I need to get my chest up more and keep the back more rigid.

looks like you are keeping your hips higher on the 2nd rep and doing more of a sldl

You're totally right. How high is too high? I've seen a lot of conflicting advice on hip height for deadlift. I know cha advocates high hips. It's something I'll need to do more research on.

For now, best plan of action is probably to just continue filming all of my DLs and seeing what works.

2016-02-16
Mobility Work
Stationary Bike
- 8 miles, 30 minutes

2016-02-17
Bench
5x230 @8 (5R PR +10lb)
5x235 @8.5 (5R PR +15lb)
4x240 @10 (fail)
5x235 @9

Incline
15x145
14x145
10x145

JM Press
5x5x135

Pendlay Rows
5x5x164

Curls


Continuing to rock it on bench. I came really close to getting the 5th rep of 240. I had it in me but my bar path was sub-optimal. If I could have driven the bar back a bit more, I think I would have hit it. Regardless, the progress I've been making on bench lately has me very happy.

Wore a sleeve today because of some elbow issues. My elbow has been bruised and sore. I got blood drawn last week so I think that's the problem. However I also tweaked it while rock climbing on Saturday. Hopefully no damage.

2016-02-19
Pause Squat
2x384 @10
2x362 @9
2x352 @8.5
2x347 @8
2x347 @8
2x347 @8

OHP
5x135
3x154
0x171 (fail)

Speed DL
20x1x308


I've definitely hit a plateau on my pause squats. After 384 I decided to dial the weight down a decent amount. I shouldn't be killing myself on these since they are mainly for assistance. I should be shooting for sets @8 or @8.5. HalfSlant is correct that my hips shooting back is a result of not shoving my knees out hard enough. I tried really hard today but they still caved when the weight got very strenuous.

I figured I would fail OHP. I'll be resetting it for next cycle.

Took a bunch of vids of my deads. Anything look off?

2016-02-20
Pause Bench
4x10x175

Curls, Dips, Pullups


Gonna try to start working in more pause benching. I actually had a tough time getting a good bar path with the pause.

2016-02-22
Squat
2x407 @9 (2R PR +5lb)
1x407 @10 (fail)
2x375 @9
2x375 @9
2x375 @9

Deadlift
5x10x230

TBar Rows
8x220
8x264
8x308
8x308


This was a mildly disappointing day. On one hand, I hit a new doubles PR. On the other hand, the PR was smaller than I would have hoped, and I failed my second set. I haven't failed a squat in about a year.

I attribute the fail to 3 reasons - Lack of focus, lack of rest between sets, and the fact that I've been cutting for the entirety of this cycle. I'll be testing my max in 2 weeks. Hopefully I can put up a PR there

I'm becoming a pretty big fan of the BBB (5x10) deadlifts. I feel like they worked well for me back when I was running 5/3/1.

2016-02-24
Bench
4x240 @10 (4R PR +15lb)
4x235 @8.5
4x235 @9
4x235 @9
4x235 @9.5

Incline Bench
15x145
15x145
12x145

Pendlay Rows
5x5x169

Curls, Dips


I'm not sure how I feel about today. I hit a huge PR on my 4-rep bench, but last week I also hit 4x240 and that was after hitting a few sets for 5 reps before that. It was also easier last week. I honestly am pretty surprised I didn't fail at 240 today. My final rep was hands down the biggest grind I've ever had on bench.

My bar path could have been a bit better. I didn't feel as if my shoulders were as locked in as they have been recently. My upper body was a little too loose.

I'm a little concerned about the fact that both my squat and bench were weaker this week than I expected. My diet and sleep have been in check. I didn't even drink much this weekend. Might be time for a deload soon...

1 bad week is nothing to worry about imo

2016-02-26
Speed DL
12x2x308

Speed Squat
12x2x308

OHP
5x74
5x88
5x98

Pullups.


Deads felt real good. Squats may have been a bit too heavy if I'm going for speed. I'm testing my 1RM on deads later today. Should be fun

2016-02-29
Belted Deadlifts
1x440 @8.5
0x462
1x445 @9.5
1x445 @10
1x440 @10
1x418 @8.5
1x375 @8.5

Squats
5x10x220


Last time I maxed out on DLs, I hit 440 and then failed 462. Never went for 445. So i made some progress I suppose. My PR is still 475.

One interesting thing is that my sticking point seems to have moved from the floor to right below my knees. I think the reason for this is that I've really improved my setup over the last few weeks. I've been getting my hips lower/further back, getting my chest more upright, and utilizing leg drive more. Props to HalfSlant for pointing out the issue of my hips being too high during the setup.

So if I plugged a leak that's good. Hopefully I can improve next cycle.

2016-03-02
Bench
3x245 @10 (3R PR +5lbs)
3x235 @8
3x235 @8
3x235 @8
3x235 @8
4x235 @9

Incline Bench
15x145
9x145
9x145

Pendlay Rows
5x5x169

Curls, Dips


Another PR on bench, although it was a little more difficult than I wanted. My technique wasn't that great for my first set - my bar path was sub-optimal. I decided to drop down a bit and focus on technique more.

One thing I changed between my first set and my subsequent sets was my position on the bench. For my first set, I realized I was too far back, so I wasn't giving myself enough room to drive the bar backwards without hitting the pins. For my later sets, I made sure to set up a little further down the bench, and I was able to get a better bar path and activate my shoulders/back more. These reps felt strong.

Incline was weak today, I was working quickly and just burned myself out I think.

Here's some video of my rows. Form look okay? I haven't put a ton of effort into perfecting my form on these.

2016-03-04
Speed Squat
9x2x276

OHP
5x104
5x120
8x137 (got 7 last time)


Wasn't feeling great today. I don't think I've fully recovered from the DLs. I took it light and easy today. I'll be aiming for a new 1RM on squat come Monday.

2016-03-07
Belted Squat
1x440 @8
0x473 @10 (this woulda been a +5lb PR)

Sumo DL
3x5x220

Pullups


Damn! I came as close as possible to pulling off a new PR but just quite couldn't get there. Video below.

Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed that my squat has not improved much in the 1-3 rep ranges. However I've seen nice improvement in the 5+ rep range. It might be time to revisit my programming again. In any event I'm planning on deloading squat/DL next week.

2016-03-09
Bench
2x250 @9 (+5lb 2R PR)
1x250 @10 (fail)
2x240 @9 (horrible bar path)
2x225 @8
2x225 @8
2x225 @8
2x225 @8

Incline Bench
15x145
14x145
5x145

Pendlay Rows
5x5x175

Curls, Tate Press



A so-so day on bench. I hit a new PR which is nice, but my subsequent sets sucked. My bar path was pretty bad and I was not activating my shoulders enough. I decided to drop down to 225 and do a bunch of doubles and work on my technique.

I realized that I was not putting enough effort into keeping my shoulders tucked underneath me. The tucked shoulders really helps me activate my shoulders more and drive the bar back. It all starts there. When they get untucked, my triceps take over and I struggle to explode out of the bottom.

2016-03-11
Squat (Deload)
5x191
5x235
5x279

OHP
3x112
3x128
7x144 (got 7 reps last time too)

Deadlift (Deload)
5x186
5x230
5x274


I think my deadlift is going to see some improvement soon. I've been focusing on getting my hips lower and I can really feel my lower back working harder.

I'm feeling pretty beat up. Definitely going to deload squat/dl next week. My shoulders and back are particularly sore. Legs feel a little fatigued.

2016-03-14
Squat
5x209
5x231
5x297

Deadlift
5x198
5x225
5x269

Pendlay Rows
5x5x176

2016-03-16
Bench
1x245 @7.5
0x265 (shooting for +5lb PR)
1x245 @8
1x250 @9
1x250 @8.5
1x255 @8
1x260 @9

Incline Bench
15x145
15x145
12x145

Pendlay Rows
5x5x176

Curls, Dips +25lb


Strange day. I missed my PR attempt but I think I had it in me. I may have actually been able to get it at the end but I was getting tired at that point.

2 Major takeaways:
1) I need to warmup more, especially on days where I'm only doing 1-3 reps for my work sets. After failing 265, my plan was to drop down 20 pounds and get some single volume in there. I seemed to get stronger once I did a few of these singles so I began ramping up again. My conclusion is that I wasn't warmed up enough for my attempt at 265.

2) Leg drive! With all my focus on bar path and keeping my shoulders tucked, I began to neglect leg drive. I had pretty piss poor leg drive for my 265 attempt, but made an effort to incorporate it more with my subsequent sets. Leg drive should be the first thing I think about when it's time to push the bar back up. Things started getting a lot easier once I had started getting my leg drive locked in.

2016-03-18
Squat
5x198
5x242
5x286

OHP
5x121
3x138
4x153

Deadlift
5x198
5x242
5x286

Pullups