Entry #1065

Deadlifts:
355 x 5
400 x 3
450 x 1
450 x 6
> Between safety bar squats, picking heavy dumbbells up from the floor, and power cleans, my back is feeling overworked. First try was a fucking grind. Went for a walk to the bathroom, came back, and busted out 6 reps, this time taking a longer and more focused start before picking the weight up. It might be worth trying out an extra day of rest before deadlift day.

Dumbbell military press:
75s x 6, 6, 6

Chin-ups:
16, 10, 10

SSB squats:
245 x 5, 5

Machine neck extensions:
80 x 10, 8

Entry #1064

6:45 minutes of HIIT yesterday, plus a walk to the store and back.

SSB squats:
360 x 5, 5, 5
> Felt myself pitch forward a little on some reps. If I can't fix this on my own I might bring back the bands, but it felt like just an attention thing.

Unilateral dumbbell press:
127.5
Right arm: 3, 5, 6
Left arm: 5, 5, 5
> Seems like I didn't warm-up adequately. I'm doing a lot of slow, blood-pumping stuff for my shoulder and elbows, but nothing explosive to prime my muscles for performing. Added an easy extra rep on the last set to show myself it was just that and nothing more. It's hard being patient sticking to the progression plan but a 2.5 lb increase every time is plenty fast.

Power cleans:
200 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
> For some reason I just can't front squat dynamically for a full clean. Part of the issue might be not leaning back enough. When I tried to keep that in mind I sacrificed height and failed to shelve the first rep of one of the sets, so I need to combine the two principles now. Shrug up while pulling back. I'm really enjoying cleans. They're a fun change and I'm eager to break my 300 lb nemesis from the competition.

Unilateral dumbbell rows:
100 x 15

Entry #1063

Sprinted a hill three reps last night.

Slept poorly and felt tired today, but had a very good session.

SSB squat:
355 x 5, 5, 5

Unilateral dumbbell press:
127.5 x 5
100 x 12, 12, 12
> Dropped my dumbbell handle and it broke.

My fault, but this wouldn't have happened if my dumbbell hooks didn't fail so miserably and I was able to rack and rerack like a bench press. Went with the heaviest gym dumbbell, 100.

Power clean:
195 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
> First set sucked. The rest were the best cleans I've ever done. Need more of a warm-up.

EZ bar curls:
20 + mini bands x 15, 8, 7

Entry #1062

Deadlift:
330 x 5
380 x 3
425 x 9
> Could have gotten another one if I really tried. I did things backwards today to bring my deadlift performance up and I think I'm going to keep it this way.

Dumbbell military press with Fat Gripz:
75 x 5, 5, 5
> The last set was the best I've ever overhead pressed since dislocating my shoulder. Everything got way easier the further I went, probably as I inadvertently recovered from deadlifting.

Chin-ups:
15, 12, 8
> Did these between sets of pressing. 

SSB squat:
240 x 5, 5, 5
> I didn't think about how I can't front squat with a clean grip when my arms are pumped. I'm not sure if I even want to practice for cleans anymore, or if I can get by without front squatting for practice. I don't have any Olympic meets on the horizon. 

Neck machine:
80 x 7, 6 
> Between sets of squats.

Did some martial art practice last night. I can throw hooks and uppercuts with no pain. This routine is fantastic. As soon as I stopped barbell pressing my shoulder got better. 

Doing 5/3/1 three times a week saw my deadlift go up, my squat stall before going down, and my pressing sharply decline. I've managed to keep up my deadlift progress by maintaining Wendler's scheme for it while getting my squat and presses to hike up with my own touches, all while hovering at 207 and losing about a pound or two every two weeks.

Entry #1061

SSB squats:
350 x 5, 5, 5
> This was the breeziest it's been in months. As the weight goes up the effort just becomes easier. I'm convinced that there's no better method for getting my squat up than simply doing it frequently. 

Unilateral dumbbell press:
125 x 5, 5, 5
> Doing face pulls between sets. 

Unilateral dumbbell rows:
170 x 5, 5, 5

Incline skullcrushers with Fat Gripz:
45s x 4
35s x 10, 6 
> Underestimated how killer dumbbell pressing is on my arms. 

Entry #1060

Weighed 207.4 lbs.
 

SSB squats:

345 x 5, 5, 5

 

One-arm dumbbell press:

120 x 5, 5, 5

 

Dumbbell rows:
165s x 5, 5, 5 

 

EZ bar mini-band curls:

16, 10, 7 

Entry #1059

Yesterday:

Front squats (clean grip):
225 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell military press with Fat Gripz:
75s x 5, 5, 5 

Deadlifts:
405 x 8

Back was sore from sitting at the computer too long doing work right before I trained. Sucked up my deads. 

Entry #1058

The deload payed off exponentially and I felt stronger in pretty much everything I did today. I've been sick for almost two weeks now and I'm just getting over it, but it was what sapped my strength in the weeks prior.

I'm also done loading back on creatine.

SSB squats:
340 x 5, 5, 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
115 x 5, 5, 5
> Could have gone higher on squats and these, but kept it low for progression momentum. 

Power cleans:
190 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

EZ bar mini-band curls:
15, 10, 8 

Entry #1057

Deload

SSB squat:
250 x 3 x 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 3 x 5

Power cleans:
135 x 5 x 3 

Mini band EZ bar curls:
12, 10, 8 

Finally getting over my week and a half sickness and I'm in the middle of creatine loading. I'm expecting good things next week.

Went on a fasted BCAA walk for an hour this afternoon after waking up.

 

Entry #1056

Deload

SSB squat:
200 x 3 x 5

Dumbbell military press:
60s x 3 x 5

Fat Gripz deadlift:
185, 225, 275 x 5
> Only got 2 reps on the 275 before I had to grip the bar.

Chin-ups:
20, 10, 8 

Entry #1055

Deload

SSB squat:
250 x 3 x 5

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 3 x 5

Power cleans:
135 x 5 x 3 

Mini band EZ bar curls:
12, 10, 8 

Entry #1054

8 minutes of HIIT in the grass. It was...sprinty. Goddamn, cardio is boring to write about.

Entry #1053

For the sake of my shoulder and the fact that I seem to respond better to it while on a constant caloric deficit, I'm back on my own routine that I adopted in the immediate aftermath of shoulder injury, with the exception now of being able to use the same pressing weight for both arms.

I can't tell if I've gotten this much weaker doing 5/3/1 three days a week while cutting or if being sick is just affecting me that much, but today was very sobering. Spirits are high, though.

SSB squats:
340 x 5, 3, 3
> I left this program months ago doing 365 x 5 for 3 sets.

One-armed dumbbell press, neutral grip:
110 x 5, 5, 5
> Tried to do 130 and it was shockingly heavy. Wtf.

Power cleans:
185 x 5, 5, 5
> Form is getting better. Feet aren't all over the place when I thump down. Still don't have the coordination to squat into a full clean. I pulled up 300 at my meet but of course I'm reigning in my form for training.

Chin-ups:
20

Cheat day today. Feasted on what had to be a 2,000 calorie burger at Shari's Restaurant.  

Entry #1053

Deadlifted 440 x 5. Running on 4 hours of sleep and feeling a little sick. I felt like I had no pop whatsoever.

Some things to mention: I haven't been using whey for the past week and a half and I'm off of creatine right now.

Entry #1051

Things have been sucking. To recap:

Deadlift has been good. 420 x 10
Boxing has been good. No pain, jabs are harder than ever.
Squat sucked. 360 x 3 
Bench press today sucked. 285 x 5, shoulder pain.

Sometimes I feel great benching, other days I don't. The warm-up doesn't seem to have any bearing.