Squats:
270 x 3
310 x 3
350 x 8
> Had gas for 1 or 2 more. Who says box squats don't have application for the raw lifter? I did nothing but them for a year and my squat hasn't detrained at all. I think I could have built on it if I'd box squatted more than once or twice a month. As long as you're going down and up with heavy weight you're doing something.
295 x 10
Hindu squats:
50, 35
> No lockout.
Kettlebell swings:
25, 20
Reverse crunches:
25, 15
Stayed up all night to reset my sleep schedule. Thanks to my discovery of Diet Coke this didn't seem to affect my training performance, including joint pain.
Swiss bar bench press:
230 x 3
250 x 3
280 x 5
> Some aching on preliminary sets that got better the heavier I went. Didn't want to push past 5, although I was probably good for 7. As the weights increase week-by-week I'll be especially vigilant in monitoring my condition, which seems to be improving at least. Despite being tired and taking 4 days off the barbell felt like air. Caffeine or am I just stronger?
Swiss bar incline bench:
150 x 5 x 10
Pendlay rows:
225 x 5 x 10
> Taking a break from unilateral rowing so I'm not supporting myself up with either arm, thereby stressing my pec-delt tie-ins even more. But wow, this felt great with a sumo stance.
Skullcrushers:
45s x 8
40s x 8
Swiss bar preacher curls:
87 x 10, 8, 8
> The best bicep exercise I've ever done. Emphasized the eccentric for hypertrophy, something I did with skullcrushers too.
Rear delt flyes:
20s x 20
External rotations:
10s x 12
Goddamn does it feel good to be in the sun again.
Missed recording 265x5 Swiss bar bench and 330x9 squat sessions. Yes, I'm able to bench press again, but for the first two weeks of this cycle I'm not doing the +reps just to be safe.
Overhead press:
175 x 3
185 x 3
210 x 5
140 x 5 x 10
> Accidentally loaded the bar to 175 instead of 165. Also, this is a PR for that amount of weight. My blitzkrieg strategy of "eat and try to look like shit" is working marvelously.
Neutral-grip chin-ups:
15, 14, 13, 13, 13
Decline skullcrushers + Fat Gripz:
40s x 12
Dumbbell preacher curls:
40s x 3 x 8
Rear-delt flyes:
20s x 20
External rotations:
10 lbs x 12
Just as I was stoked about weighing 229 on an empty stomach in the morning, I went off of creatine and lost 4 lbs. Aw.
Deadlifts:
350 x 5
455 x 5
> My new approach: stay at the bare minimum of reps until week 3.
RDLs (no floor contact):
225 x 20
Hindu squats (no lockout):
50, 30
Reverse crunches and planks
Press:
150 x 5
175 x 5
200 x 6
> Weight felt heavy on the warm-ups and then flew up with the 200.
137 x 3 x 10
Neutral-grip chin-ups:
15, 13, 13, 13, 13
> Cautiously introducing movements back in. The plan was one per cycle. This time was chin-ups. No armpit pain. Really tempting to try a bench press this week. I'll warm-up to 185 and see how I feel.
Kettlebell skullcrusher:
50 x 3 x 10
Kettlebell curl:
50 x 3 x 12
Got a second kettlebell yesterday, 50 lbs for only $56 shipped. Today:
Kettlebell swings:
25, 15, 15, 15
40 minute walk
Seriously sleep deprived, but had a good night.
Squats:
285 x 5
320 x 3
360 x 5
295 x 9
Hindu squats:
50
> Didn't lock out on the last 20 reps. Do this with any bodyweight squats in the future, much harder.
Reverse crunches:
30, uncounted
I also deloaded on the press the day before yesterday.
Floor press:
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 1
> Testing the waters here. Gave up on this when I felt pain.
Push press:
135 x 3
160 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3
Swiss bar skullcrushers + Fat Gripz:
85 x 3 x 10, 15
Meadows rows:
100 x 10, 10, 10
Inverted rows:
30, 20, 15
Haven't felt inclined to log lately, which I always regret. Highlights: pressed 215x3 overhead, tweaked my back deadlifting 405, and ended bench day when my pec tie-ins hurt as much as ever. Going back today, this time replacing the bench press with the push press for the foreseeable future and relegating horizontal pressing to 5 sets of 20 incline Swiss bar press. Unfortunately, I'll also be nixing chin-ups/pull-ups because they aggravate the same region.
