Cycle 4 Week 2 Deadlifts (video added)

10 mins airdyne bike followed by warmup - 135X10, 225X8, 315X5.

Deadlifts - 400X3, 425X3, 450X3.

Was unsure about the triple with 450, but it went without too much trouble.

Did a set of hang cleans with 135X8 but my lower back wouldn't tolerate any more after deads.

BB shrug - 185X12X3 superset with Upright cable row - 140X10X3.

 

Rest day tomorrow then Bench Thursday.

Cycle 4 Week 2 OHP

Went with a push/pull workout again to get some lat work in this week. Week 2 - triples week for the main lifts. Rode the bike for 10 mins followed with a good shoulder warmup.

BB OHP - 160X3, 170X3, 180X6.

BB OHP - 145X10, X8, X8 Superset with CG Lat pulldown - 185X8X3.
Seated DB press - 60X12X3 Superset with underhand BB row - 185X10X3.

Did about 20 minutes of foam rolling my IT bands, quads, glutes and lower back.

Deadlifts tomorrow for some big #'s with triples.

Cycle 4 Week 1 Squats

Hooked up with a buddy and went to his gym for a squat session.

Working sets after warmup

Squats - 350X5, 375X5, 395X5.

I almost dumped the 375 on the last rep, I got too far on my toes and my spotter had to help me. That has never happened to me before, I think maybe I was just rushing and wasnt concentrating on good form and staying tight. Regardless I went ahead with the 395 and got the 5 reps. Kept going;

Squats - 315X8X2, 225X10, 225X10 paused, 135X12.

Awesome squat session nice to squat somewhere else but also looking forward to going back to my regular gym lol.
Rest weekend then OHP/Shoulders Monday for triples week.

Cycle 4 Week 1 Bench Press

Trained later than usual tonight at about 9pm. The good thing about that is that I have lots of energy (see-food) in me.
Started with a really good warmup. Rode the airdyne bike for about 12 minutes before touching the weights. Some light very minimal range of motion cable curls with a reverse grip to warm up the elbow tendons.

BB bench - 135X15X3, 225X8.

Working sets - 270X5, 290X5, 305X6.

Almost got 7 but didn't need to push it.

Continued on with a chest and tricep workout.

DB incline bench - 85X10, X8, X8.
CG bench with pause - 225X3X3 superset with cable crossover - 55X9X3.
EZ bar skullcrushers - 95X10, X8, X6 superset with straight bar pressdowns - 140X10, X8, X7.

Best bench/chest/tri workout I've had in a while. The deload week definately paid off, that is the first bench workout I've had pain free in a long time. I can't pinpoint exactly what is working but a combination of the rest, glucosamine and the elbow sleeves is working and that's really good.

Hooking up with a buddy tomorrow at his gym for a squat session.


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Cycle 4 Week 1 Deadlifts (video)

 

Warmup - 135X12X2, 225X10, 315X5.

Working sets - 385X5, 410X5, 435X3.

Trap Bar Shrugs - 240X8X4 Superset with Upright Cable rows - 140X10X3.

I hitched the second rep in the third set, but the rep after was good I think.

Cycle 4 week 1 OHP

Felt good to get back into the gym after a deload week. The nagging aches and pains are pretty much gone. I can still feel some pain in the elbows but so far so good. Starting to take some glucosamine with chondroitin for my joints.
Upper body weights up 5lbs on main lifts and lower body +10lbs on main lifts.

5 min warmup Airdyne bike

5 reps week
OHP - 150X5, 160X5, 170X8.
Felt strong and still making the required reps and then some on the last set.

OHP - 135X12, X11, X11 Superset with Wide Lat pulldown - 185X12, X11, X9.
Seated DB press - 60X12, X12, X10 Superset with BB bent row - 205X8X3.
DB Front raise - 30X8X3 superset with Seated cable row - 185X8, X10, X8.

Made sure to have a good warmup, going to make sure I am warming up better to avoid any more injuries. I also wore my neoprene knee sleeves on my arms for warmth which I really liked, they really kept them warm and felt good.

Deads tomorrow.

Cycle 3 deadlift deload

Rack pulls below knee - 95X15, 205X5, 250X5, 300X5.
I did rack pulls because I didn't feel like pulling the bar out of the rack and pulling out the jack. Lazy, I know.

CG Lat pulldown - 135X15X3
Upright cable row - 90X15X3

BB curls (bar only) - 45X25
DB seated curls - 25X20
DB Hammer curls - 25X20
Standing cable curl - 50X20
Kettlebell swings - 12lbX20X2

Foam roller lower back, glutes and IT band.

Airdyne bike 10 mins.

Pretty much just kept moving the enitre workout,  no breaks between sets just long enough to set up next set.

Cycle 3 deload week

Just thought I would post my deload workouts this week so it gives you an idea of what it looks like. They are not exciting lol, just focusing on recovery to get ready and fresh for the next cycle.

OH DB press - 20X20, DB Flyes - 20X15, DB Front raise - 20X15.
Just getting blood to the shoulders. My right one is still sore from last week (not in a good way).

BB OHP - 85X5, 95X5, 115X5.
Hanging knee raise - 3 sets of 20.

30 mins Airdyne Bike. Cardio sucks. But need to keep doing it as I dont want to gain any more weight. Weighed in at 222 lbs this am. Going to watch my diet a little closer this week as well as I am not lifting heavy so therefore not as much food required.

I was looking ahead and it works out perfectly so that I get 2 more cycles in before the Dauphin meet. That includes deload weeks so, the last week before the meet will be a deload. That will give me a good idea of what my opening lifts will be at the meet.

Deadlift deload workout tomorrow.

Cycle 3 Week 3 Squats - End of Cycle 3

Trained at 1030am. Really good sleep after working til 1100pm.

Squats Warmup - 135X15, 225X10, 315X5
Working sets - 340X5, 380X3, 435X2. (PR).
Assistance work - 315X8, X6.
Pause squats (2 sec. pause on the hole - 225X10X2.

The 1st rep on the last working set was ugly. My bar placement was wrong and it threw me off, I really had to work to correct it. The second rep felt awesome. I feel if I didn't have to correct the first rep I could have tripled 435. Really need to focus on proper bar placement every time. Either way, it was a pretty epic squat session. Feels good to still be breaking PR's.
Deload week with conditioning next week. Gonna go real light on the weights to let my body heal up for the next cycle. Going to adjust my calorie intake as well so I don't gain any weight when I'm not lifting as heavy.

Cycle 3 Week 3 Bench Press

5/3/1 reps. Trained at 1130. Good night sleep and eating fairly well.
Started off the workout with 10 mins on the bike. Going to continue this and adjust amount of cardio depending on my weight. I feel good and strong at 220 right now and am going to try and stay there, it seems like the sweet spot for me between strength and obesity lol.

Last bench day of 3rd cycle.

BB Bench press - 265X5, 300X3, 335X3. (PR) Been a while since I broke a PR on the bench, so that was good. I'm trying a different setup on the bench a little, with more arch and leg drive. Before I basically just flat benched and think I was too loose. This way  includes everything like my traps, legs and lats are a little tighter and engaged in the lift. So far, so good.

Incline DB press - 100X8, X7, X7.

Close grip bench press - 225X5, X5, X4. Superset with cable crossover - 70X9, X8, X7.
When I do CGB my hands are inside the knurling on the bar, so it's pretty much all triceps.

Tricep pressdowns - 140X20, X15, X15. Superset with O.H. Tricep rope Ext. - 50X10, X8, X8.

That last superset pretty much destroyed my triceps which was awesome.

Squats tomorrow then deload week. I am going to take the deload week and rest my body, I feel pretty beat up between my lower back and elbow tendons. Elbows felt good today but I took ibuprofen this morning for my back from deads, so I think thats why. Pretty jacked for cycle four of the program with some new numbers, although my training maxes are not going to increase too much.

Cycle 3 week 3 Deadlifts

Trained at 200pm.
Week 3, 5/3/1 rep scheme.

Deadlifts - Warmup - 135X12, 225X8, 315X5.

Working sets - 375X5, 425X1, 475X2.

I don't know what happened on the second set, I just couldn't get another rep (was supposed to be 3). Maybe it was my setup, not enough rest time or mental state but it just wouldn't go. Kind if deflated me briefly. Was going to stay at that weight and try again but my training partner convinced me to go ahead with the third set weight for a single. Grinded out a double, which was good so that fixed my broken ego.

Did some trap work after;
Upright cable row - 140X10X3 superset with DB shrugs - 85X15, X12, X12.

May have hurt something in my back but time will tell if its DOMS or an injury.

Maybe rest tomorrow, maybe some BB work if felling up to it.

Cycle 3 week 3 OHP

Went to gym at 230pm. Slept until 1100am which was awesome. Watched "Generation Iron" last night with my training partner. An interesting look at the life of a bodybuilder.

Week 3 OHP (5/3/1 reps).

OHP - 145X5, 165X3, 185X4. Superset with Wide Lat pulldown - 185X12, 205X10, 205X8.

Pin Press (2" off chest) - 225X5, 245X5, 265X5.
Seated DB press - 60X12, X8, X8.

Seated cable row - 205X10, X8, X10 superset with DB front raise - 30X8, X10, X8.

Airdyne bike 10 mins.

Did the pin presses off the safeties. I have added these as an assistance to my bench press to help with the mid way part of the lift which is my weak point. I am strong off the chest and lockout, mid press seems to be where I usually fail so I will see if this helps. I added it on OHP day just because I already do enough assistance work on bench day.
Jumped on the bike after workout for some conditioning/cardio. It became very clear to me quickly that I need to do more of this.

I also adjusted my diet a little. This is what I strive for;

3200 calories made up of 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fat. I have gained a few lbs over the last week or so and weighed in at 221.5lbs yesterday. Have been eating everything in sight. I am ok with the weight gain but don't want to gain any more, so going to clean it up a little and continue to do some cardio work to maintain.

Week 3 deads tomorrow.

Cycle 3 week 2 Squats

Trained at about 430 pm. Got about 6 hours sleep last night again.

Triples week.

Squats warmup - 135X12, 225X8, 315X5.

Work sets - 365X3, 385X3, 410X3.
All work sets with a belt and knee sleeves. Felt good and strong today. I could have gone for another 1-2 reps on last set but decided not to push it.

I supersetted some light, high rep bicep work to get some blood to the area, but not stress my elbow tendons as they are still sore.

Seated DB curl - 45X8, 25X20, X16, X16
Squats - 315X5, 225X12X2.
Concentration curls - 25X15X2.

Week 3 starts next Monday with 5/3/1 reps.

Cycle 3 week 2 bench press

Trained at 3:00 pm after work. Got about 6 hours sleep previous night.

BB bench press - 285X3, 300X3, 320X4.
All reps were paused. 320X4 is a PR for me I believe.

Flat bench DB press - 85X12, X10, X10.
Close grip bench - 225X4, X4, X3 superset with cable cross - 60X12X2.
BB bench - 185X10X2 superset with Cable pressdowns - 140X20, X12.

Elbow tendons felt rested up until the workout, then flared up again when I got into the heavier sets. Ice and massage I guess. They are really starting to piss me off.
Squats tomorrow or maybe Saturday.

Cycle 3 Week 2 Deadlifts

Triples week.

Conventional Deadlifts - (after warmup) 400X3, 425X3, 450X2.
Was aiming for 3 on the last set but failed on the lockout. Maybe I should reset my training max percentage on the DL, I shouldn't be failing before getting the minimum reps.

1" Deficit deadlifts (off a 45lb plate)- 315X5X5 superset with upright cable rows - 130X12X3
Trap bar shrugs - 135X12X2 superset with DB shrug - 75X10X2.

Another really good workout after a good sleep, probably 8-9 hours again. My back has never felt better during and after a deadlift workout, literally no soreness or tightness. A sign of good rest and diet? I hope so. I have started watching my diet closer again and I hope this is a by-product. I ingested 322 grams of protein yesterday and it seems to be helping so I will try to continue (my apologies to my family and coworkers for the side effects lol). Still battling tendon soreness in my inside elbows, so have been icing them and wearing elbow sleeves during all workouts. I really don't want to have to take time off to heal right now.
Rest day tomorrow, then bench press Thursday.