Workout No. 218
Tuesday, 8th March 2016

Deadlift 5x6 @ 250lbs / 112.5kg

Deficit Deadlift 3x8 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Overhead Press 5x5 @ 95lbs / 42.5kg

Dips 5/4/3

Slightest bit of DOMS in my legs today, similar to last week. Drove for over 5 hours to Ipoh and back for work during the day which didn't help one bit and my legs were already feeling like crap before even starting my training session.

Loaded up the barbell for deadlifts progressively until the 75% working weight of 250lbs / 112.5kg for 5 sets of 6 reps. Upper back was not strictly 100% tight once I started pulling but only by the slightest bit. Reps still felt decently fast and I wasn't grinding through the reps. Took quite long between sets to recover though, resting for over 4 minutes between each set. Used a belt just for that extra sense of security.

Deficit deadlifts next with the same weight as last week but with a slightly greater deficit this time. First set of 8 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg was decent but upon reviewing the video, was not too happy with my upper back so I reminded myself to lift my chest up even harder and keep my hips up high. Next 2 sets looked better but my legs were burning by the time I finished. So gonna be sore tomorrow.

Relatively light overhead presses at a comfortable weight of 95lbs / 42.5kg for the standard 5x5 with minimal rest to make the sets more difficult before ending the workout with some dips. Definitely not 100% full range of motion but did 5/4/3 reps in the best way I could manage. Still some discomfort in my wrist when having to stabilise the load.

Rest day tomorrow before one more day of training on Thursday. Wont' be able to train on Friday or over the weekend as I will not be in KL.

This post has been edited by justintga: Mar 9 2016, 10:48 AM

Workout No. 219
Thursday, 10th March 2016

Front Squat 5x6 @ 175lbs / 80.0kg

Overhead Press 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg

Deficit Push-ups 13/13/13

Super rushed workout today as I had limited time. Started with front squats for 5x6 @ 175lbs / 80.0kg. Should have gone slightly lighter and used about 165lbs according to my programme but was sharing a rack so I just went with this weight. Didn't feel too bad or difficult at all.

Was supposed to proceed with pause bench presses but the benches were taken so I proceeded to do overhead presses intead for 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg. Not too bad either.

Finished off with some bodyweight pushes in the form of deficit push-ups for 3 sets of 13 reps.

Workout No. 220
Monday, 14th March 2016

Squat 5x6 @ 205lbs / 92.5kg

Pause Squat 3x8 @ 160lbs / 72.5kg

Bench Press 5x5 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg

Incline Bench Press 3x8 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg

Had a really rewarding but tiring and physical weekend building a house for an Orang Asli family so I was worried about how I would fare at the gym today. Aggravated my wrist slightly more too as I had to use it quite a fair bit over the past 3 days. Got near to no proper recovery since my last gym session. 3rd week of this programme so the weights for the main movements are getting heavier and should be at about 77.5%.

Started warming up for squats and loading my bar towards my working weight of 5x6 @ 205lbs / 92.5kg. Went a bit faster and lower than usual on the descent in the 1st set (didn’t notice until I reviewed the video), so I slowed down the 2nd set and things started to look better. Completed the full 5x6 but rest periods were generally slightly longer than 3 minutes.

Pause squats starting to feel much, much better and more solid. Reps looked really good throughout the 3x8 @ 160lbs / 72.5kg.

Was experimenting with my bench set-up slightly with the coach while working progressively through the 5x5 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg. Wrist was not feeling too comfortable.

Quite disappointed with my incline bench last week so I had no idea what to expect today. Quite happy in the end as I managed 3x8 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg.

All in all, a much better session today than I expected considering the weekend I had.

This post has been edited by justintga: Mar 15 2016, 09:01 AM

Workout No. 221
Tuesday, 15th March 2016

Deadlift 5x6 @ 265lbs / 120.0kg

Deficit Deadlift 4x8 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Overhead Press 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg

Deficit Push-ups 10/10/10

Haven't pulled this deadlift weight in a while so I was quite excited to deadlift today. Took my time to warm-up to the working weight of 265lbs / 120.0kg for 5x6. Started with a double overhand grip and surprisingly managed to pull 6 solid reps in the first 3 sets with this grip. Grip was starting to fail on the 5th and 6th reps of the 3rd set though so I decided to use a mixed grip for the 4th set. Reviewed the video and my form was way off. Using a mixed grip for the first time in 3 months totally altered my set-up. I changed my set-up in January as advised by my coach and my reps have been looking much better since. Until today of course. My upper back was not tight at all and my form was looking sloppy. Refocused myself and gave the mixed grip another go. Much better in the 5th set but not as good as the first three, perhaps partially due to fatigue. Will see how this goes next week.

Rested a bit before starting deficit deadlifts for 4x8 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg. Kept my back as tight and neutral as possible and kept my hips high. Form was decent but not 100% consistent. Gave the hook grip a try. Not too uncomfortable.

Upped the overhead press weight slightly to 100lbs / 45.0kg and repped out the standard 5x5. Left wrist was still not feeling too comfortable.

3 sets of 10 deficit push-ups to end the session. So exhausted.

Workout No. 222
Thursday, 17th March 2016

Front Squat 5x6 @ 180lbs / 82.5kg

Hip Thrust 4x8 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg

Overhead Press 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg

CROSSFIT #34
5 rounds of
15 30" Box Jumps
12 Push Press @ 90lbs / 42.5kg
9 Toes to Bar
And in the remaining time,
AMRAP
Push-ups

Time: 20:00

Front squat day again, my favourite. Hamstrings felt a little tight while stretching. Working weight and rep scheme today was front squats for 5x6 @ 180lbs / 82.5kg. Target weight was about 77.5%. Tried to minimise my rest between sets and kept it to under 3 minutes. Form looked very steady in the review videos. 185lbs / 85.0kg next week!

Hip thrusts @ 135lbs / 60.0kg for 4x8. Didn't feel too comfortable and honestly I don't think this does very much for me but I'll just trust the process.

Slightly heavier overhead presses for 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg. Will try 105lbs / 47.5kg next week for the last part of this cycle.

Decided to do the WOD today as I won't be able to train tomorrow due to work commitments. 5 rounds of 15 30" box jumps, 12 push presses @ 90lbs / 42.5kg and 9 toes to bar (substituted with hanging knee raises). Time cap was 20 minutes and we were to fill the time remaining after completing the 5 rounds with AMRAP push-ups.

Box jumps were done unbroken, push presses in 6-3-3 (primarily because of my left wrist and not a strength limitation) and hanging knee raises unbroken. Managed 37 push-ups in the end.

Workout No. 223
Saturday, 19th March 2016

CROSSFIT #35
150 Wall Ball @ 20lbs
100 Thrusters @ 45lbs
100 Thrusters @ 65lbs
100 Thrusters @ 95lbs
150 Hand Release Push-ups
150 24" Box Jumps
1.5km Burden Run 25lbs

Time: 44:30

Final Saturday morning WOD today as the coaches have other commitments and will no longer be able to do Saturday mornings anymore Full house today for the last session!

WOD as above but shared between 4 people per team. Other teams strategised a set number or reps per person (some equally distributed, some weighted towards stronger individuals). Our team decided to go with a "3 reps left in the tank" strategy, meaning that we would stop and tag the next person when we felt that we had 3 reps left in the tank so that our recovery time would not be so long and the weights would near to never stop moving. Barely any time was wasted resting and we rested while the other 3 people in the team were repping out the movements.

Our strategy worked and we finished first! Worst part of the workout was the 100 thrusters @ 95lbs for sure. Wall balls were the easiest. Push-ups were surprisingly hard for us as we had exhausted our pressing power during the 300 thrusters. We were breaking the push-ups into sets of under 10 reps towards the end.

This post has been edited by justintga: Mar 21 2016, 09:03 AM

Workout No. 224
Monday, 21st March 2016

Squat 5x6 @ 210lbs / 95.0kg

Pause Squat 3x8 @ 160lbs / 72.5kg

Bench Press 5/3/3 @ 140lbs / 62.5kg

Had a fever, flu and cough and was feeling downright horrible today. Still showed up to put in some work at the gym!

Final part of this training cycle with the rep scheme for the main lifts being 5x6 @ 80% of 1RM. Warmed up and progressively loaded up the bar for my squats. Working weight was 95.0kg today. Last rep of some of the sets was sometimes a slight grinder but generally I felt okay. Had trouble bracing my core occasionally as I was struggling not to cough. Seemed to descend faster than usual today from the review videos, perhaps because I was feeling weak and sick and thus was intimidated by the weights and in turn compensated by going down faster and getting more "bounce" out of the hole. Was quite exhausted by the end of the 5x6.

Was not looking forward to pause squats at all. The weight was not heavy (160lbs / 72.5kg) but the mental toughness needed to rep out the 8 reps was immense. My body did not want to stay tight after 5 reps and was screaming at me to stop but I pressed on, braced myself and ground out the reps. Completed the 3x8 with good form.

My flu was getting to me by this point and after the first set of 5 bench press reps @ 140lbs / 62.5kg, I had almost nothing left in the tank and only managed 3 reps for the next 2 sets. Didn't have a spotter so I didn't take any risks and re-racked after 3 reps. Programmed rep scheme was 5x5 followed by incline benches for 3x8, which I skipped as well.

Need to rest up and hopefully I'll be in a fit enough state for my deadlift session tomorrow.

This post has been edited by justintga: Mar 22 2016, 12:17 PM

Workout No. 225
Tuesday, 22nd March 2016

Deadlift 5x6 @ 275lbs / 125.0kg

Deficit Deadlift 4x8 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Overhead Press 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg

Deficit Push-ups 12/12/12

Felt slightly better today compared to yesterday although I am still very much under the weather. Intimidating deadlift volume programmed for today. About 6.5 tons. No idea how my body would respond. Warmed up to my working set and started pulling the 275lbs / 125.0kg deadlifts with a mixed grip from the start. Tried a double overhand last week for the first few sets and it really killed my grip early on and I was suffering even on the lighter deficit deadlifts. First set actually felt quite good and I didn't have to grind out any reps. The coach reminded me not to lower the weights so loudly as they've recently received some complaints from the building management so from the 2nd set onwards, I had to control the eccentric portion of the lift a little bit more. Increased time under tension but also more fatigue and longer recovery time. All good up till the 3rd set but my upper back was starting to round a little on the 4th set onwards and I was struggling to keep it super tight.

Deficit deadlifts looked better formwise but my heart rate was quite elevated after each set. Completed the 4x8 and was floored by the end.

Took an extended rest before attempting overhead presses. 5x5 @ 100lbs / 45.0kg with only 2 minutes rest between sets as this weight is not very heavy for me. Just wanted to keep some weight off my left wrist for a bit to let it heal up.

Ended with 3 sets of deficit push-ups for 12 reps each. Glad I made it through the toughest part of this month’s cycle. Either one or two more “easier” sessions (front squat on Thursday and / or snatch grip deadlift on Friday) before starting a new cycle of Hepburn! Lower reps, higher weight.

Workout No. 226
Thursday, 24th March 2016

Front Squat 5x6 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Hip Thrust 4x8 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg

Pause Bench Press 3x5 @ 120lbs / 55.0kg

CROSSFIT #36
FOR TIME
600m Run
50 Toes to Bar
40 Wall Ball @ 20lbs
50 Kettlebell Swings @ 32.0kg
20 Handstand Push-ups

Time: 14:10

Final session for this cycle before moving on to April's programme. Warmed up to my working weight of 185lbs / 85.0kg and repped out the first set of 6 reps. Re-racked the bar with a confused look on my face. The bar speed was very fast and the reps felt much easier than expected. Double checked the actual weights on the bar. All good. Not sure why the weight felt so light today. Completed the remaining 4 sets of 6 without much difficulty, cutting short my rest time slightly because the reps felt easy.

Hip thrusts as usual after front squats, and as usual they felt awkward and uncomfortable. 4 sets of 8 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg.

Started off pause bench presses next but only completed 3x5 @ 120lbs / 55.0kg before it was time for the WOD so I stopped and set-up for the WOD.

Very straightforward WOD, and I expected it to be easy. 600m run, 60 toes to bar (replaced by hanging knee raises), 40 wall balls, 50 kettlebell swings and 20 handstand push-ups (scaled to push-ups) to end. Finished comfortably in about 14 minutes. Hanging knee raises were done as follows: 10-10-5-5-5-5-5-5, wall balls 20-10-10, kettlebell swings 10-10-10-10-10 and push-ups 5-5-3-3-2-2. Easiest WOD in a while.

Workout No. 227
Monday, 28th March 2016

Squat 8x2 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Box Squat 3x6 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Bench Press 8x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 3x6 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg

Pull-ups 30x1

Was looking forward to today very much as we would be starting a new cycle with lower reps, higher percentages compared to the higher reps and lower percentages over the last 2 months.

Finally putting 2 plates on the bar for my squats. First set of 2 reps felt easy and fast, as did the next 2 sets. Stumbled slightly on the 4th set where I lost balance and stepped forward. 5th to 8th sets had reps which felt easy while some others were a slight grind. Not sure why each set did not feel consistently hard (or slightly harder towards the end due to fatigue). Sometimes the 2nd rep of each set was faster and smoother than the 1st. Need to work on my squatting to improve on my consistency. Some reps should not have been as hard as they were.

Box squats next onto a 20" box. 3x6 felt relatively easy @ 185lbs / 85.0kg. No grinding and managed to stand up easily after each rep but nonetheless my heart rate was still elevated after each set and I could feel some slight fatigue. Happy that my back felt tight throughout. Repped out the box squats in the high bar position.

My coach taught me a new way to set-up my bench and for the first time ever, I felt a significant contribution from my leg drive in my press. My back also felt tighter overall and I did not have the issue of my upper back losing tightness at the bottom position of each rep. What a difference a set-up and some tips from a pro can make. Lotsa practice ahead of me but I'm glad I discovered this tiny little secret.

Close grip bench presses were very fast and easy with this set-up. Completed 3x6 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg and the reps were flying off my chest.

Ended the workout with 30 pull-up singles with either 15 or 30 seconds between each rep. Felt much easier than usual. Probably the shortest time I've ever taken to complete 30 pull-ups so there has definitely been improvement there.

This post has been edited by justintga: Mar 29 2016, 05:10 PM

Workout No. 228
Tuesday, 29th March 2016

Deadlift 8x2 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg

Good Morning 3x6 @ 85lbs / 37.5kg

Overhead Press 8x2 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Push Press 3x6 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Arrived late so I had to rush through the workout slightly today. Warmed up and stupidly tried out a sumo deadlift without any guidance for my first working set @ 285lbs / 130.0kg. Managed to break the floor and complete the reps but the bar was going everywhere. Used a mixed grip and during the pull, the bar first swayed to the right before starting to rotate anticlockwise towards the top of the rep. Coach found it very amusing. Reverted to conventional for the next 7 sets, trying to tweak my set-up slightly between sets and review the video of each set before attempting the next one. My back still feels tight but it does not look strictly 100% flat in the videos at this weight. Would hardly call it rounded but still, not perfectly flat so I was not too happy about that. Will see how it goes the next time I deadlift.

Forgot what a reasonable weight to use for good mornings was so I carelessly loaded up the bar with 95lbs / 42.5kg. Tried the first 2 reps. Nope. Too heavy. Deloaded to 85lbs / 37.5kg which was difficult, but better.

Left wrist still feels tweaked so my pressing is not 100%. Put 110lbs / 50.0kg on the bar for my first overhead press set. Completed the 2 reps but it was overly difficult and I was grinding through. Probably too heavy for this cycle so I dropped 5 lbs and repped out the remaining 7 sets of 2 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg. Didn't feel as easy as it should have.

Final lift was the push press at the same weight as the overhead press. 3x6 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg. Was slightly worried about my dodgy wrist but I completed the sets decently comfortably albeit with my left wrist feeling slightly unstable. Also need to learn how to "catch" push presses. My wrist is not getting any worse, but it is not healing up completely, probably because I am being stubborn and am training through this minor injury.

This post has been edited by justintga: Mar 30 2016, 08:54 AM

Workout No. 229
Thursday, 31st March 2016

Squat 7x2 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg
Squat 1x3 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Box Squat 2x6 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg
Box Squat 1x7 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Bench Press 7x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg
Bench Press 1x3 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 2x6 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press 1x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg

Pull-ups 30x1

Went in today not feeling as recovered as on Monday so I was interested to see how I would perform today. When doing my pre-lifting stretches, my hamstrings and glutes felt tight while doing good mornings.

Put 225lbs / 102.5kg on the bar and started the first squat set of 2 reps. Tried a slightly narrower grip on the bar after watching some videos online. Decently smooth first set. Everything went well until the 4th set when my right elbow was starting to feel uncomfortable and the bar did not feel as stable on my back. Reps were slower through the sticking point just above parallel as well. Reviewed the video recording and found that with this narrower grip, the "shelf" on my back was slightly higher than my regular low bar position. Reverted back to my regular grip width for the 5th set and the discomfort subsided. 6th set was a slight grind (again, unsure why). 7th set was easy and the final set which required me to do 3 reps instead of 2 was fairly smooth as well. Reps still feel inconsistent.

Box squat sets felt easy and light @ 185lbs / 85.0kg but for some reason, my heart rate always goes up a fair bit while doing them. Perhaps it is because of the higher no of reps and extended time under tension.

Continued using my newly learnt set-up for the bench press, but the reps felt harder today compared to on Monday. My pressing muscles did not feel 100% fresh. As I went through the sets, I was actually worried that I would miss the final 3 rep set. Went okay in the end but some of the 2nd reps of the 2 rep sets were much harder than they should have been.

Close grip bench presses for 2x6 and 1x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg were fast reps but once again, did not feel as light as on Monday.

Ended the session with 30 single pull-ups, with 15 to 30 seconds rest in between each set. Took longer than usual to complete my workout today due to my slightly extended rest periods.

This post has been edited by justintga: Apr 5 2016, 02:50 PM

Workout No. 230
Friday, 1st April 2016

Deadlift 7x2 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg
Deadlift 1x3 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg

Sumo Deadlift 2x6 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg
Sumo Deadlift 1x7 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Overhead Press 7x2 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Overhead Press 1x3 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Push Press 2x6 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Push Press 1x7 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Rushed session today because I had to go pick my girlfriend up after training. Still not 100% happy with how my back looks during the deadlifts. Far from rounded but not as flat as I would like it to be. Found that instead of "lifting my chest", the cue of "arching my back" works better and my back looks more neutral. "Lifting my chest" used to work but doesn't seem to anymore. Perhaps certain parts of my body are overly tight from the high volume training and I am finding it more difficult to get into position nowadays or perhaps my set-up has changed progressively over time without me noticing. Still glad that my back looks tight and rigid and my upper back no longer collapses at this weight.

Tried out the sumo deadlift for the accessory work @ 225lbs / 102.5kg. Back didn't look good although the weight felt light. Will wait until my coach is around to get him to teach me the proper set-up for this lift.

Overhead presses felt surprisingly easy @ 105lbs / 47.5kg compared to on Tuesday. Started with 110lbs / 50.0kg on the bar on Tuesday and it felt overly heavy so I deloaded to 105lbs / 47.5kg instead for this cycle. Suspect that 110lbs / 50.0kg would be manageable today but decided not to be greedy.

Push presses were also quite manageable. Overall, today didn't feel as difficult as Tuesday's session but yesterday felt harder than Monday's. Not sure why how my body feels do different within the same week (no notable variations in diet, sleep, etc). Will continue to monitor and see how I feel next week.

Workout No. 231
Monday, 4th April 2016

Squat 6x2 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg
Squat 2x3 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Box Squat 1x6 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg
Box Squat 2x7 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Bench Press 6x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg
Bench Press 2x3 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 1x6 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press 2x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg

Pull-ups 20x1

Bar speed for squats seemed slightly slow today. The reps did not feel that hard but the speed through the sticking point just above parallel was slow. Very often I had to grind through the sticking point after which I did not feel much tightness in my legs and they just seemed to "jelly up" as I stood to full height. Perhaps I am not keeping tight enough all around although I feel I am bracing my core as hard as I can. Surprisingly the 2 sets of 3 reps were not particularly hard (except for the slow bar speed), at least not significantly harder than the 6 sets of 2 reps.

Box squats actually feel overly easy. Maybe I should use a lower box or a higher weight.

Had to wait for a bench before starting my bench presses. Felt stronger today during bench presses and was even fairly confident for during the sets of 3 reps. Definitely feeling the contribution from the leg drive. Glad the reps felt easier than during the last session.

Rushed through close grip bench presses with minimal rest as it was getting late. 1x6 followed by 2x7, not too difficult but could feel the triceps fatiguing slightly towards the end.

20 single pull-ups instead of 30 today as I was rushing for time. Weakest part of my pull-up is at the bottom position so I should really be training from a dead hang instead of pulling myself up from the floor with the slightest, slightest of hops up to the bar.

Workout No. 232
Tuesday, 5th April 2016

Deadlift 6x2 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg
Deadlift 2x3 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg

Good Morning 1x6 @ 85lbs / 37.5kg
Good Morning 2x7 @ 85lbs / 37.5kg

Overhead Press 6x2 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Overhead Press 2x3 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Push Press 1x6 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Push Press 2x7 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Pull-ups 15x1

Hands were ripped up from the deadlifts last week and have not fully recovered so I was in for some pain today. Started even the warm-up sets with the mixed grip to save my hands a little. Form for deadlifts looked better today in general as I really focused on keeping my chest up and lower back tight. For each rep I set-up and lifted my chest and set my back then told myself to lift my chest even more and keep my back even tighter after the initial set-up. Still not textbook flat but an improvement is better than nothing. The 2 sets of 3 reps sets were heavy, yes, but not too difficult. Suspect I may be on the lower side of 80% for this lift (target 80-85%) and may bump the weight up slightly during the next session. Of course I will have to see if my form deteriorates with the increase in weight.

Good mornings next. As always, felt uncomfortable but form looked good in the review videos.

Overhead presses felt good today. My 1st rep always feels harder and slower than my 2nd and 3rd reps though at heavier weights. I feel tight but there is always a sticking point around my forehead level for the first rep. After pressing the weight overhead, I take another deep breath with my arms extended, rebrace and lower the weight and press it up again. The 2nd rep onwards is always smoother than the 1st.

Push presses @ 105lbs / 47.5kg felt relatively easy and the bar speed was nice and fast.

Ended with a few more pull-ups as I missed out on the target of 30 reps yesterday.

Workout No. 233
Thursday, 7th April 2016

Squat 5x2 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg
Squat 3x3 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Pause Squat 3x7 @ 165lbs / 75.0kg

Bench Press 5x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg
Bench Press 3x3 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 3x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg

Deadlift 3x2 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg

Coach was in tonight and he commented that I tend to have a very controlled descent and stay tight during my squats up until the very last point before getting into the hole where I lose a bit of tightness, accelerate into the hole and bounce out slightly. This is presumably to maximise the stretch reflex in the hole. He suggested that I be more controlled about the whole process and stop accelerating into the hole but rather keep the rep speed constant. Tried that and the reps felt harder than usual but as I progressed through the sets, each rep started looking better and better. Final set of 3 reps looked quite good. Will continue squatting like this and see how I progress.

My coach also proposed to swap out box squats with pause squats. Sigh, so much suffering. 3x7 @ 165lbs / 75.0kg was not particularly heavy but my body was screaming at me to stop after the 5th rep of each set.

Bench presses felt nice and solid today, and for some reps, my set-up felt really, really good. Need to perfect and make my new set-up more consistent but am happy that I am progressing on the bench.

Rushed through the close grip bench presses a little bit as it was getting late. No major issues with 3x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg.

My coach reviewed my deadlift videos from Tuesday and said that my back was okay but wanted to make some minor adjustments to my set-up before I deadlift tomorrow so I warmed up and loaded up the bar progressively. I tend to put the bar too close to myself and thus struggle to get into the perfect position so the main difference was that I started slightly further away from the bar and kept my hips higher. Only did 3 sets of 2 reps but form was starting to look better. Will monitor tomorrow and see how I do.

Workout No. 234
Friday, 8th April 2016

Deadlift 5x2 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg
Deadlift 3x3 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg

Good Morning 3x7 @ 85lbs / 37.5kg

Overhead Press 5x2 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Overhead Press 3x3 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Push Press 3x7 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Pull-ups 5x3

Face Pull 3x12

I set-up the same way for each set of the deadlift today but somehow each set looked quite different upon reviewing the videos. Am struggling with consistency. The pulls don't look that bad but as before, my back doesn't look textbook perfect. Weights don't feel that heavy though. My coach prescribed me some new mobility drills as he suspects I may be tight from the high volume and am currently lacking the mobility to get into a good position. Will try the new stretches out during my next session. Completed the 5x2 and 3x3 with some energy left in the tank.

Rushed through 3 sets of 7 reps of good mornings @ 85lbs / 37.5kg.

Overhead presses felt decently easy again. Might not be so conservative with the weight for the next cycle. First rep of each set was always slightly dodgy but I really focused on my set-up and bracing and noticed a minor improvement today.

Push presses felt alright too, feeling slightly fatigued by the time I got to the last rep of each set.

5 sets of triple consecutive single pull-ups before doing some face pulls with a green band for general shoulder health to finish off the session.

This post has been edited by justintga: Apr 10 2016, 11:38 PM

Workout No. 235
Sunday, 10th April 2016

Squat 4x2 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg
Squat 4x3 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Squat 2x7 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg
Squat 1x8 @ 185lbs / 85.0kg

Bench Press 4x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg
Bench Press 4x3 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 2x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press 1x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg

Can't train tomorrow due to some work commitments so I decided to put in some work today. Started with my new mobility drills prescribed by my coach before I started ramping up for squats. Quite a number of movements I am not familiar with including modified bird dogs, cat camels and hip airplanes haha. Squats felt decently good today and form looked good in the review videos.

Did regular squats @ a lighter 185lbs / 85.0kg as accessory work as I was lazy to set-up for box squats and was not willing to suffer through pause squats. Today is Sunday after all.

Bench presses felt really solid as my set-up is getting more consistent. My back feels more anchored into the bench and serves as a solid platform to press the weight. Started with 4 sets of 3 reps before rushing through the remaining 4 sets of 2 reps.

Rushed through close grip bench presses with minimal rest as I wanted to go home as soon as possible. Suffered slightly on the last few reps of each set due to the shortened resting time but am glad I had the discipline to put in the work today.

This post has been edited by justintga: Apr 10 2016, 11:51 PM

Workout No. 236
Tuesday, 12th April 2016

Deadlift 4x2 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg
Deadlift 4x3 @ 285lbs / 130.0kg

Good Morning 2x7 @ 85lbs / 37.5kg
Good Morning 1x8 @ 85lbs / 37.5kg

Overhead Press 4x2 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Overhead Press 4x3 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Push Press 2x7 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg
Push Press 1x8 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

Pull-ups 5x3

First time I had a day's rest in between squat and deadlift day on this cycle and today's workout felt particularly easy. Usually my programme is Monday squat, Tuesday deadlift, Thursday squat and Friday deadlift. Squatted on Sunday because I couldn't work out on Monday so had a nice rest day before deadlifting today. Was disciplined and went through my whole mobility drill sequence before any lifting and was sweating by the end.

Rewatched some Rippetoe videos on the deadlift set-up and made some minor changes to my set-up. Overall form was looking better. Strangely, grip strength did not feel challenged today as I was not the slightest bit struggling to hold on to the bar. Completed the 4 sets of 3 reps in consecutive sets with not too much rest in between followed by the 4 sets of doubles. Quite happy with my performance today. Didn't really rip up my hands as well (maybe because there is not much skin left to rip off haha ).

Good mornings next, with the bar feeling lighter than usual today.

Overhead presses were easy. Too easy in fact. They have been feeling easy for a few sessions and with myself feeling particularly fresh today, I breezed through the sets with much less rest than usual in between sets. Also finished off the 4 sets of triples first before doing the 4 sets of doubles.

Push presses felt comfortable today and my left wrist was hardly aggravated.

Ended with 5 sets of 3 consecutive pull-up singles for some back work.

This post has been edited by justintga: Apr 13 2016, 08:23 AM

Workout No. 237
Wednesday, 13th April 2016

Squat 3x2 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg
Squat 5x3 @ 225lbs / 102.5kg

Front Squat 1x7 @ 165lbs / 75.0kg
Front Squat 2x8 @ 165lbs / 75.0kg

Bench Press 3x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg
Bench Press 5x3 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 1x7 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press 2x8 @ 115lbs / 52.5kg

Hamstrings felt a little fatigued and tight during stretching. In contrast to yesterday, squats felt really hard today. All the 3rd reps were a slight struggle and for some reps, my heels were ever so slightly just about to leave the floor. Even lost balance and stepped forward on the ascent of the 3rd rep of one set. Disappointing. Also, my body reverted back to the slight acceleration just before getting into the hole to maximise the bounce instead of staying tight and controlled. Definitely not dive bombing into the squat but there is room for improvement.

Squats felt so hard that I talked myself out of doing pause squats and chose front squats instead @ 165lbs / 75.0kg. Haven't front squatted in a while and I took a full clean grip with all my fingers around the bar in the front rack position and nearly choked myself during the first set. Paid more attention to my set-up in my 2nd set and it was much better (also just having 3 fingers on each hand gripping the bar). 8 reps was hard though after the main squatting session. Quite the mental challenge to keep going after the 5th rep.

Had to wait 30 minutes for a bench but on a positive, bench presses felt particularly good. Started with the 5 sets of 3 reps straight up without any extended rest and barely any grinding throughout the sets before finishing off the remaining 3x2 @ 145lbs / 65.0kg. Pleased that my set-up is getting more and more consistent and the weights are starting to feel lighter.

Felt strong during the close grip bench presses too and rushed off immediately after as it was getting really late.