May 25, 2012 Lower

• Squat: 320*3 330*2 340*2
• Hanging Power Snatches: 115*3 125*3 145*3 155*3 165*1 145*4
• Unilateral Deadlifts: 155*6 175*6 195*6

Good session, love the hanging power snatches.  Unilateral deadlifting is going great, still feel it more in my posterior chain than anything else I do.  I'm absolutely soaked with sweat after these.  Still building up weight. Feels great. Feel like I'm getting better at balancing out, stabilizing muscles must be getting stronger.  My abs were swole after this one too, can't believe how hard the deadlifts hit them. 

May 24, 2012 Upper Body

• Incline Bench: 255*3 245*3 235*3
• Pullups: 60*3 60*3 60*3 60*2 BW*9
• Push Press: 215*1 225*2 235*1
• BB Underhand Rows: 135*20
• Paloff Presses: 50*10 60*10 70*4
• Dragon Flags: 3
• Side Planks: 10

Went in on this one.  Everything felt great.  Incline bench uses too much delt/tri for me to push press on the same day as them, moving it back to my flat bench day.  So that day will be Flat Bench / Rows / Push Press.   Did some underhand rows here for fun.  Paloffs went well, wanted to find a weight I couldn't do 10 at. I did.  Dragon flags annihilate my core.  Finished with some side planks. Good times. Great workout. 

May 22, 2012 Lower Body

• Deadlift: 405*7 405*6 405*7
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*3 155*3 175*3
• DB Goblet Walk: 100*1:19

Wanted to test myself at 405.  Not too shabby considering I usually just pull singles or triples most days.  Definitely exhausting though and I'm going to have trouble walking tomorrow. Took it easy on the cleans as my hips and posterior chain were fried.  Finished with a new PR on Goblet Walking

May 21, 2012 Upper

• Bench Presss: 300*1 300*3 305*1
• Underhand Hammer Strength Rows: 90*5 115*6 135*4
• Standing Press: 145*5 155*4 135*5
• Pullups: 40*6

Wanted to try working on taking a handoff when unracking the weight.  Usually I just start descending as soon as the person helps me break.  First attempt at 300 went odd, but then after that on the 2nd set I got the better hang of it.  Wanted to try underhanding hammer strength rows, seemed to work, going to go back to weighted pullups in this slot next week. 

May 20, 2012 Conditioning

• 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps / 34.5" Seated Plyo Box Jump Superset: 15-15
• 39.25" Vaults: 3
• 41" Jumps: 10

So I did the regular superset, and that went well.  I noticed I'm clearing the top of the box by over half a foot, so I stacked the medium box on the tall box, which puts it at 39.25....the thing is I just don't have the courage to try it. I'm afraid of catching my leg or shin underneath the medium box on top and breaking a leg or something.  I know I can do it, I vault onto it easily, and when I stand in place and jump while facing a mirror I'm almost 2" over the top of the box.  It's also difficult because I need to time the arc of the jump onto the box, I don't want to peak too early before I'm over the box, etc.  Overall I just need the courage to do it.  I tried jumping next to it for 10 regular jumps, landing on the floor, and I would've cleared the top of the stack every single time.  

May 18, 2012 Lower Body

• Squats: 320*2 330*2 340*1+X
• BB Hanging Power Snatch: 115*3 125*3 145*3 155*3 135*6
• 1 Leg Deadlifts: 135*6 155*6 175*6
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chops: 50*10

Odd workout; the squats just felt off, I didn't want to press anything.  Hard to describe what went wrong, I just felt out of sorts doing them for some reason.  Snatches went well.  One Legged deadlifts are going great, I can already feel the stabilizing muscles strengthening as I do them. I'm getting better at balancing while doing them, and my knees look more stable while going through the movement as well.  ALSO of note, I had mentioned in the past having an intense pain in my IT band while squatting that gradually goes away, well I also get it while sitting in my chair at work or at home as well.  The thing is since I added in the one-legged deadlifts I don't notice it anymore while sitting, and when doing squat variations it is still there, but not nearly as intense. 

May 17, 2012 Upper

• BB Incline: 250*3 240*3 230*3
• BB Underhand Rows: 185*7 205*7 225*5
• Push Press: 195*3 215*3 235*2
• Wide-Grip Pullups: 8

Really good workout, going to up the incline bench next week.  I really like underhand rows, at least after these few sets of doing them...they put the path the bar takes in a more natural pulling motion, I thoroughly enjoyed the contraction in my lats.  Upping Push Press again, felt good.  Finished with some super wide grip pullups.  

May 15, 2012 Lower

• Deadlifts: 410*3 440*1 450*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 155*3 165*3 175*3 175*3 135*5
• Hanging Leg Raises (Feet to Hands): 5, 5
• P.U.P.P.: 2:00, 1:00, 1:15

As noted in previous weeks my lower back has been tired so I wanted to back off the volume/weight here on deadlifting.  Actually meant to go 410 430 450, but I counted the weight wrong on 2nd set.  Anyway, wanted to let my lower back recover some here.  Going to get a massage at some point soon as well, need one.  As I get older I'm trying to make sure I take care of my joints/body more. I love lifting/jumping/running and want to be able to do it til the day I die.  I intend to be the hottest old dirty bastard alive some day.  

Worked on clean form again; have my own chalk now so that helps.  Form is improving, still need to get into the mindset where I'm putting it all together every rep.  Even having perfect form 90% of the time is too few.  If I was that sloppy on deadlifts my spine would be in pieces by now.  Traps are sore as hell the day after, I will say.   Did some hanging leg raises here, bringing feet up to where my hands were hanging. It was interesting, not something I'd do every day though.    Push up position plank presses were insane.  I thought my abs were going to explode after.  

May 14, 2012 Upper

• Bench Press: 275*1 300*3 305*2 290*2-hit post 275*3
• Pullups: 60*3 60*3 60*3 60*3
• Standing Press: 145*5 155*4 165*3
• Kroc Rows: 100*17

Wanted to try doing high set of bench first again, and then tail off the later sets.  I'm not certain but I feel like I do more weight this way.  Pullups are going well; as I'm gradually losing weight (down to 199.5) my pullup is compensating.  Standing press went well, kind of torqued my spine on the last rep of the 165, I need to be careful with that shit. I don't want a messed up spine. Tried Kroc Rows, I need to figure out how to NOT torque the shit out of my lower back when doing them though. I rest a leg and a hand on a bench just like I do for regular rows, but that extra English at the end of the row really torques the hell out of my lower back. 

May 13, 2012 Conditioning

• 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps / 34.5" Plyo Seated Box Jump Superset: 15-15
• Mountain Climbers: 30
• Battling Ropes: 65, 65
• DB Goblet Walk: 100*60 seconds

Good session; had never done mountain climbers before, wanted to throw them in. Felt weird doing them, but was definitely winded after.  Goblet walk went well...was about to vomit at the end.  Good times! 

May 11, 2012 Lower

• Box Squats: 315*5 365*4 385*3 400*1
• Hanging Power Snatches: 125*3 145*3 155*3 115*6
• 1 Leg Deadlifts: 115*6 135*6 155*6
• Shoulder-Touch Planks: 10

Great session!  I'm going to rotate in Box squats for a week every couple months just to make sure I'm using enough hamstring at the bottom of my regular squat.  Over time I drift away from it.  Snatches went well, working on the very top of the movement at this point, I feel like my arms aren't 100% straight sometimes, so I dropped to 115 and banged out 6 quality reps; I'm trying to pattern.   Also progressing on 1 leg deadlifts.  A word about one legged deadlifts, for anyone that hasn't tried them.  Start light, and gradually work up, as I am here.  I have never had soreness in my hamstrings and ass quite like I did after doing these.  Definitely recommend them.  

May 10, 2012 Upper

• BB Incline: 250*3 240*3
• DB Incline: 100*4 105*3
• Pullups: 12, 4 - blisters on left hand
• 1.5 Pullups: 3.  Yup. Blisters.
• Standing Press: 135*5 145*5 155*3
• 90 degree BB Rows: 135*7 135*7

Tinkering.  Wanted to work in DB incline, but didn't want to eliminate BB inclines either, so I went 2/2.  Also, from now on I think I'm going to put push pressing here.  It just makes more sense.  On the other days I'm doing heavy pullups and heavy benching before them.  I think I'm going to lead off with push pressing, follow with incline bench, and then just hammer my back with rows.  

May 08, 2012 Lower

• BB DL: 410*3 450*3 475*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 185*1 195*1 165*3 165*3
• Ab Wheel: 12, 10

My lower back is tired.  Not sore. Tired.  I think I assumed that by cutting it back from 3 to one rep at 475 I'd feel better...but really it's just tired.  Let's assume my 1RM is still 515, I'm pulling at 92% of my 1RM then when I do 475.  I should probably be going 410 430 440 or something like that, and maybe once a month or every couple weeks going for a higher pull.  On the hanging power cleans I keep going wide with my stance on the catch, like super wide sumo-deadlift wide.  I need to drop the weight back and start at 165 or something next time and just bang out quality reps til I've got the pattern down.  

May 08, 2012

Your daily dose of video that makes you want to wrestle a grizzly bear into submission

May 07, 2012 Upper

• Bench Press: 250*3 270*3 290*2 300*2
• Pullups: 55*3 55*3 55*3 55*3
• Pullup Iso-Hold: 25 seconds
• Push Press: 185*3 205*3 225*3
• P.U.P.P.: 1:10

Not too bad...fighting off something so I was a bit lethargic but didn't embarrass myself. Going to keep building push press back up, 230 on the docket for next week

May 6, 2012 Conditioning

• 34.5" Plyo Box Jump / 34.5" Seated Plyo Box Jump S.S. 15-15
• Plyo Bench Clap Pushups: 5, 5, 5
• Rope Slams: 20, 20
• DB Goblet Walk: 100*60 seconds

good session, I keep meaning to do more loaded carries.  Held a db in the goblet position, on it's side, so a hand under each side, and then walked with it.  VERY taxing.  

May 4, 2012 Upper

• BB Incline Bench: 245*3 250*3 255*3
• BB Rows: 225*3 225*3 245*3
• Standing Press: 155*3 175*3 185*1
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chops: 50*10 60*10

Good session, did some rowing just for the heck of it really.  Not a bad session. 

May 3, 2012 Lower

• Squats: 320*3 330*3 340*2 350*2
• Hanging Power Snatches: 125*3 140*3 155*2 170*X 135*5
• 1 Leg Deadlifts: 95*6 115*6 135*6
• Bird-Dogs: 12

WORST fail on a rep in my life on the power snatches.  As I rotated under the bar it slipped out of my right hand on the barbell dropped on my skull.  No clue how I didn't get a concussion or split my head open.  Neck hurts, and I got a lump on my head though. Not good times.  The unilateral deadlifts went well however, getting the hang on these.  

May 1, 2012 Upper

• Bench Press: 250*3 270*3 290*3 300*2
• Pullups: 55*3 55*3 55*3
• Sternum Pullups: 5, 4
• Push Press: 185*3 205*3 225*2
• Rack Lockouts: 275*2 275*1
• Paloffs: 40*10 50*10

Tried some pullups touching my sternum to the bar, didn't feel much different honestly.  I'm still putting weight back on push pressing.   Tried rack lockouts (set up in a rack with the safety bars set a few inches off your chest, set a bar across them and bench it) not to be confused with rack pulls.  Thought they were easier than this, but apparently not.  Maybe I was tired. 

May 1, 2012 2012 Cut Steps

So here's my cut steps for this cut/maintenance phase; I realize I had forgotten to post them back in early April.  The medium days in that middle column aren't happening very often, but I may throw them in on Fridays when I do my 'light' upper body workout.     I'm going a tad higher on the calories this time; my logic is that last year I often times would miss the cottage cheese at night and so I was only ending up at roughly 2200 calories or so per day.  I figure if I aim for ~2600 and hit that goal for a day, great, if I don't and end up at 2400 or so, that's better than the 2200 last summer.  I also introduced salmon finally.   

April 30, 2012 Lower

• BB DL: 410*3 450*3
• Hex-Bar DL: 495*1 520*1 NEW PR!!
• Hanging Power Cleans: 185*1 195*1 205*1

Back from Dallas this past Fri-Sun.  Been having a hankering to do some hex-bar so I went for a PR here.  The 2.5s barely fit on the ends of the bar with the 10s.  May just throw 25s on next time I do it and go for 545.  Still feel weird on the power cleans though I did better loading up the posterior chain this time.  Need to probably step back to like 165-175-185 next week and just bang out reps.  

April 26, 2012 Lower

• Squats: 320*3 330*3 340*3 350*2
• Hanging Power Snatch: 115*3 135*3 150*3 160*2 NEW PR!!
• 7kg mb slam tabata: 18, 21, 19, 19, 18, 17, 20, 20

Good times!  Focusing on throwing my hips back when loading up for the snatch instead of bending my knees.  Didn't think it'd make as big a difference as it did.  HUGE difference though.  Finished off with a tabata since I am cutting and didn't get to sprint yesterday on account of shitty weather at the track.  Left me toasted.