Squats:
350 x 5
400 x 3
445 x 1

 Drop-set:
325, 225, 135, 65 x 10

Deadlifts:225 x 20

Bench press:
270 x 5
305 x 3
340 x 2
> First really great session at home. Matched my previous PR but with smoother, easier reps. I had a really weak OHP day so this came out of nowhere.

Chin-ups:
45

Close-grip bench press:
213 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Bent-over dumbbell rows:
175 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Decline push-ups:
29
Flat:
15

Chest flyes:
20s x 20, 20
> I use two 10 lb plates held together in each with my wrists bent way back. It's uncomfortable but the weight is light enough to be safe and I figure I'm training wrist flexibility for cleans and front squats.

Kettlebell unilateral preacher curls:
50 x 12, 12, 12
> Still doing these on the couch, haha.

Band pull-aparts:
100

7 minute jog

Forgot to post this from Monday.

Press: 220 x 1

Incline bench press:
145 x 15
123 x 15, 15, 11, 12
33 x 50

Chin-ups:
90

Incline skullcrushers:
103 x 5
85 x 9, 8

Concentration curls:
25 x 20, 20

Goblet squats:
50 x 51, 41, 46

Went to Home Depot and picked up 18 patio pavers for deadlifts. Took a lot of trial-and-error finding the best spot for them. I could not find a part of the dirt in my yard that kept them totally flat and the barbell ended up rolling off each time. Finally I just lifted in the patio. My back has already been feeling bad from driving 200 miles in the past couple of days and continuously moving the equipment from area to area in the yard added to it all, and consequently I couldn't even break 485, then 405 off the mats with a plate underneath (making it a little below the knees, quite high). I'll try again another time.

Got my scale back from a friend. As I suspected, my bar weighs 33 lbs, so I've been adding the weight up correctly. As a side-note, I weigh 231 in the morning with shorts on, 235 mid-day with clothes and food in me.

Squats:
330 x 3
375 x 3
420 x 3

Drop-set:
325, 225, 135, 65 x 10
> Sometimes the first set is harder than it should and I can tell I won't make 3 sets, so I do the rapid-fire route.

Stiff-legged deadlifts:
315 x 10
225 x 15
123 x 30

Planks:
25, 25, 10

Bench press:
250 x 3
285 x 3
320 x 3

Chin-ups:
15 x 2

Close-grip bench press:
210 x 5 x 10

Bent-over dumbbell rows:
100, 150, 170, 170, 170 x 5

Facepulls, push-ups, curls, external rotations

Couldn't deadlift 475 yesterday. My body shut it down when it sense my back wasn't good for the lift.

Did hill sprints today.

Tweaked my neck yesterday while pressing. Need to train it directly somehow because this stopped happening when using a neck machine at the Portland gym.

I find myself really wanting to train on my rest days now that I have my own equipment, whereas before a break from the preparation of driving and contending with other people possibly using up equipment was welcome.

Overhead press:
165 x 3
185 x 3
210 x 3

145 x 3 x 10

Chin-ups:
110

Barbell skullcrushers:
105 x 10, 10, 8

Push-ups, curls, band pull-aparts

First real training session in my yard.

Squats:
305 x 5
350 x 5
400 x 5
> My bar likely weighs 33 lbs, so I compensated 12 lbs exactly with two 5s and pair of wrist weights. Everything felt like air today. Felt good for at least 3 more but didn't want to push my luck with my back. Belted up for every single set, warm-up and otherwise, just to be safe. It 100% made the difference.

322 x 3 x 10

Deadlifts:
225 x 20
> Did this in dirt. Ground was not completely flat but close enough. Quads were dying so this was actually hard.

Back felt great.

Drove to Santa Cruz and picked up a very nice bench for $40. Aside from finding a better way to do chin-ups (although my bag stand isn't too bad) and replacing my barbell I'm pretty much all set with the equipment side of things.

Woke up yesterday with my back much worse. Very debilitating. Today it's better and I was able to do a Tabata circuit of calisthenics and low-weight squats. I basically switched from 50 lb goblet squats, decline push-ups, and chin-ups, done 5 reps each over 10 minutes. I definitely underestimated myself. Even though I was breathing plenty hard the time seemed to speed by and I had a lot left in the tank. Will go for 15 next time. I wasn't exactly rushing to the set-up of each exercise, though, because of my back.

Gave overhead pressing a try today. Made it up to 160 before I called it quits because of my back. Ah well. Might do push-ups and goblet squats tonight, maybe even chin-ups off my punching-bag stand as well.

Discovered that my barbell is 81 inches, the women's standard, and therefore likely weighs 33 pounds. I measured because it felt a tad short to me. A longer bar would be helpful with the squat stand spacing. Tried to return it but they are out so I'll get a call in a couple of weeks. The young female manager who sold them to me in the first place was super nice but some older guy there was terse and rude. "They don't come in specific sizes" or something like that. He was contradicted when she looked up what they can order and confirmed that there was a 7.2-foot one. Wow, I guess it was just a coincidence that's exactly the size I asked about. What an idiot. I now know exactly who the Yelp reviewer was complaining about, haha.

I am using this one in the meantime, no biggie.

First day training at home was a bust, but thankfully it has nothing convincingly to do with my equipment. I was doing squats just fine until my back started to hurt at 350. It's possible that I might be unracking too cautiously. The stands have to be placed pretty far apart because the base actually gets in the way of my stance. It's not a big deal, just have to take an extra step during the walk-out, but I was a little paranoid about tripping. I will try seeing if I can squat within the base without hitting anything, too, but no real concerns here except for needing to remind myself to sit less in daily life.

Real buzzkill today, but I'm stoked about how well the stands worked and actually being able to lift heavy in my backyard. I'll see if I'm good for overhead pressing tomorrow, and then do my squat day with deadlifts the day after.

Squat stands came today. I was actually supposed to squat today but I had a little trouble tightening the bolts without a ratchet. After some trial-and-error throughout the day of mixing and matching pliers and wrenches to do the job best I was able to whip them together in 10 minutes. They are a little wobbly up-top by nature of them being stands (I read about and expected this) but the weight capacity is 750, so I'm not worried.

A different model with less weight allowance had an advantage of holding plates to weigh it down. It should be simple to lay them on the bottom, though, even with my two punching bags.

Last two targets before I'm done are an Iron Gym and a better bench. Since these adjust low enough to bench out of I can save space.

Went out and bought all the weight I need from a Craigslist seller. I have 665 with the bar now.





A few of the 45s are bigger than the rest, especially the ones I bought from the store. Currently using a large mason jar to collect the tears.

 Hill sprints, just 3 tonight. Short jog and walk after.

Picked up 205 lbs of weights, including a barbell, from Play It Again Sports. Came out to about $1 per pound. They only had a pair of 45s, otherwise I'd have bought more. I'm getting this thing started, although I have a lot to do still. My current Weider bench is utterly useless and definitely too small to bench off; the pins can't even accommodate the width of my grip and anytime I lie down on it I hear a tearing sound similar to Velcro from the padding coming off of the base.

What I can do currently: overhead press days except 3 and 1 week.
Next targets: compact squat stands, Iron Gym pull-up bar, 10s 5s and 25s, anymore 45s I can find deals online for.

Hm, I also need to sweep. Think I'm gonna go do that now, haha.

Goblet squats:
50 x 51, 45, 41

Planks:
25, 25, 25, 20, 20

Deadlifts:
345 x 5
390 x 5
450 x 5

RDLs, no floor contact:
315 x 8, 6
> Grip was the limiting factor here despite chalk (went double overhand).

About to head out to Costco. Will do squats and abs later tonight.

Overhead press:
145 x 5
170 x 5
200 x 7

142 x 5 x 10

Pull-ups:
10, 10Weighted:
45 x 6, 8, 10, 10

Row machine:
150 x 15

Decline push-ups:
20, 15

Incline skullcrushers:
40s x 10

Spider curls:
50s x 12, 10, 10

Bent-over lat raises:
20s x 20, 20