Deload

Squats:
185 x 5
230 x 5
275 x 5

225 x 2 x 10

Deadlifts:
210 x 5
260 x 5
315 x 5

Quads felt tired on just 225.

In the indefinite time that I'll be staying in CA I've decided to make an outdoor gym in my yard. I plan on cleaning the space over the weekend. Very excited at the prospect of abandoning public gyms.

Also, reading old entries makes me miss the punching bag, and martial arts in general.

Deload

Bench press:
140 x 5
177 x 5
212 x 5

CGBP:
165 x 2 x 10
155 x 3 x 10

Bilateral rows:
80s x 5 x 10

Deload

Goblet squats:
50 x 3 x 30

SLDLs:
50 x 2 minutes

Deload

Overhead press:
90, 115, 137 x 5

97 x 5 x 10

Pull-ups:
5 x 10

I can't tell if deloads just happen to have perfect timing or that it's my body reacting to the lighter weight and letting itself go, but I always feel terrible when I deload and appreciate the light weight. It could also be letting myself do more than usual on my last week.

Squats:
345 x 5
390 x 3
430 x 2
• One more than I expected and I might have been good for a triple. Considering I ended last cycle at 390x1 this was a very productive 3 weeks.

320 x 10, 9, 8

One-legged SLDLs:50 x 9, 9, 5
Two legs: 50 x 40

I'm sore as hell from the calisthenics yesterday and now my back is trashed, as well. Looking forward to the deload.

Bench press:
265 x 5
300 x 3
335 x 2
• Just what I was aiming for, almost back to my lifetime PR of 340x2 (which weirdly enough I did after a week of inactivity and misery due to my cyst). Both reps were smooth and fast, might have been able to eke out a triple.

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
130s x 10, 10
↓
Close-grip bench press:
210 x 10
225 x 10

Gym closed at this time, 8:30 (I thought it was supposed to be 9). Reuben, one of the two huge bodybuilder owners (he's friends with Ray Arde, the IFBB pro), asks me as he's closing up "Are you a powerlifter? You're lifting some heavy weight, man." It was cool to chat him up.

Slightly annoyed at the closing, though, I stopped at a nearby Ross to pick up some push-up handles to do calisthenics at home. No Iron Gym pull-up bar at this one, unfortunately, so I went to my old elementary school instead.

Push-ups:
132

Chins:
86

Then, finally, at home with my kettlebell:

Kettlebell preacher curls:
50 x 10, 10
Both hands: 15
Concentration curls with 25

Band pull-aparts:
70

Very long and hectic session but I know it's the extra effort that I'll benefit from.

Deadlifts:
390 x 5
440 x 3
490 x 1

Goblet squats:
50 x 50, 45, 40

Planks:
25, 25, 25, 20, 20

Overhead press:
172 x 5
197 x 3
217 x 4

140 x 5 x 10

Chin-ups:
10
Weighted pull-ups:
45 x 10, 6
Pull-ups:
3 x 10
>^^^Trying my luck with different stuff. Chins hurt my left hand still. Pulling with weight felt okay but don't want to strain.

Cable rows:
Entire stack x 10, 10

Slow skullcrushers, push-ups, curls, rear-delt flyes

Squats:320 x 3
365 x 3
410 x 3
> Everything is getting a little stronger. Felt strong, no rep was a grinder.

Deadlifts:
405 x 3
465 x 1, 2
> My left hand has been having problems when gripping underhand, first with chin-ups and now deadlifts. I strapped up and tried again, but didn't want to cut it too close with my back, which is still healing. I'm just going to count this as 3.

Squat drop-set:
320, 225, 135, 45 x 10
> Legs felt tired and I knew I couldn't do 3 sets of 10.

RDLs, no floor contact:
135 x 20

Leg curls:
150 x 15

Felt very "fresh" today, even when panting hard. Now at home I don't even feel like I trained.

Bench press:
245 x 3
280 x 3
315 x 4
> Getting a bit stronger. Or my 4-5RM covers a huge span. Either way, I'll take it.

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
130s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Close-grip bench press:
205 x 10, 10, 10 9

Slow incline dumbbell press:
45s x 15

Decline push-ups:
26, 25, 12

Curls

Band pull-aparts:
75

Kettlebell goblet squats:
50 x 50, 40, 40

Bodyweight:
50

Able to sink deep despite my back.

Hurt my back deadlifting on Monday. Weight felt like air so I'm disappointed I didn't get to try out 465 for reps (got up to 405x3). The night before, I'd been at George's sitting down for 8 hours playing Netrunner, a card game, and my back was still stiff the next day.

Did hill sprints yesterday on my old haunt, Heart Attack Hill. No heart attack unfortunately.

Trained at 24 Hour today because my normal gym has a wack weekend schedule.

Overhead press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
207 x 6
> 135 on warm-up felt shockingly heavy but this came out very strong. It so flies in the face of lifters advising you to gauge how you feel warming-up.

137 x 5 x 10

Chin-ups of various grips:
5 x 10

Ton of bodybuilder-ish accessories with rowing machine, skullcrushers, push-ups, curls, rear-delt raises

Squats:
300 x 5
345 x 5
390 x 6
> 4 more than last time just from a deload.

320 x 10, 8

Deadlifts:
225 x 25
> I know it's only 225 but these were incredibly explosive today. Lots of "pop" off the ground.

Goblet squats:
50 x 50

RDLs:
50 x 55

Planks
3 x 25 seconds

Bench press:
230 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 5
> This didn't improve, and if anything has gotten even worse. Bar feels like it's going through quicksand at the very top so I'll try to concentrate on my triceps, even though it's probably just something cyclical.

It will be interesting to see if my 3 week is as strong as ever, and that I lose a lot of strength in greater rep ranges but remain as explosive as ever with 1-3. It would make sense given my genetics. I have experience coming back from inactivity to beast the 3 and 1 week in the bench press, but almost never the 5, so I'm eager to see a back-to-back comparison.

Oh, and I'm more than okay with 300x5 being a bad day.

Close-grip bench:
205 x 10, 10, 9, 7

Dumbbell rows:
125 x 5 x 10

Slow, wide incline dumbbell press:
45s x 15, 12, 10
> Amazing what you can make difficult if you want it to be.

Bilateral dumbbell Pendlay rows:
135s x 3 x 5

Might do rear-delts and biceps later. Shoulders felt a little achy while bench pressing, but pec-tendons feel fantastic.

Deadlifts:
335 x 5
390 x 5
440 x 5
> Bumper plates make this harder. Weight bounces and I have to reset every rep. But it's more fun.

Squats:
315 x 2 x 10

Second workout at night:

Goblet squats:
50 x 50

Kettlebell RDLs:
50 x 50

Planks and reverse crunches

Overhead press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
195 x 7
> A deload is totally what I needed. Two reps more than last time. In anticipation of this being a bad day I was going to reset everything by 10 lbs but I decided to go by Dan John's advice of changing only one thing at a time. Glad I wasn't afraid to fail (Emevas).

135 x 5 x 10

Chin-ups:
6 x 10

Slow skullcrushers:
40s x 10

Slow spider curls:
40s x 10, 8, 8

Rear-delt raises:
15s x 20

External rotations:
5 x 20

Deload

Bench press:
140 x 5
175 x 5
210 x 5
> New gym has no bench press stations (!) and the power rack was taken so I had to clean the bar up and lie back with it in the dumbbell area. How does a gym owned by an IFBB pro with Arnold posters on the wall have no bench press benches?

Incline bench:
145 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
80s x 5 x 10