Exodus Strength

1/10/24, at 24 hour fitness. This is the gym my son is lifting at these days. We did a session together

Squat (H, 90%)
355 X 3r X 4s, set 1 was maybe @7? It felt easy.

CG Bench (M, 85%)
250 X 3 X 4

Damn. It went well today. I’m pumped.

1/13/24, @LA Fitness in Oceanside, CA

Comp. Bench (H, 90%)
265 X 3r X 5s, last set was @10

Paused Deadlift (M, 80%)
370 X 3 X 3

Squat (L, 80%)
315 X 3 X 2

Hard to say where my bench is since I did this workout on a low and skinny commercial gym bench. But it still moved well. I use a section of cabinet liner (that prevents things from sliding around when you open and close drawers etc.) to keep my shoulders from sliding so that I can build and then maintain my arch. It helps a lot but my scapula aren’t fully supported on the narrow bench.

Set 1 was maybe @8?

1/15/24, @ Gold’s

Took two days to drive home from San Diego. Hit some nasty weather around Pueblo that stayed with me until I got home to Longmont. Went to the gym with my wife. If I didn’t have a meet coming up I would have skipped today, but I’m glad I didn’t!

Deadlift (H, 90%)
420 X 3 @7?, freaking easy.

Squat (M, 85%)
335 X 3 X 3

Comp. Bench (L, 80%)
250 X 3, oops, should have been 235
235 X 3r X 2s

Meet is Feb 24 so I subbed out incline for comp bench to increase specificity. Focused on exploding off the chest.

1/16/24

Went in with my wife to spot her squats. Did a little body building maintainer.

DB Curls
35 X 20
35 X 17
35 X 16

DB Side Lateral Raises
20 X 20 X 3

I could have done this yesterday but it would have sucked, after an SBD workout. Today I was probably able to get a few more reps for each set since I was fresh. I like splitting workouts up like this, since I don’t mind going to the gym more frequently. I think it’s marginally better since I can push harder.

1/18/24, AMBW = 185.4 lbs

Squat (H)
365 X 1, @6?
345 X 2
330 X 3r X 2s

CG Bench (M)
245 X 3 X 4, all paused

To peak for my meet I’ll work up to a heavy single on my heavy days. I’ll try to add 10 lbs each 8 day cycle for squat and deadlift, and 5 lb for bench. Week leading in to meet I’ll practice openers. I’ll take three full days off before my meet. Haven’t had 365 on my back since the last meet. It moved easy.

When is the meet?

MailmanMuscle wrote: ↑Thu Jan 18, 2024 9:41 pm When is the meet?

I’m competing at the USAPL Colorado State Championships on Feb 24. This will be my first meet as an M2. I turn 50 this march.

1/19/24, AMBW = 184.6 lbs

Paused Deadlift (M)
365 X 3r X 3s

Dip-Station Pull-ups
BW X 13
BW X 11
BW X 10

Went to Gold’s with my wife. I like doing my medium deadlift session the day after heavy squats. Wife does a circuit. Today her session was five rounds of chin-ups, deadlift and dumbbell curls into overhead presses (got these from p90x, where he called them deep swimmer presses). She lifts twice a week. Her other session is five rounds of squats, weighted push-ups and DB rows. This set up works well for her. She’s been doing this regularly for a couple of years now.

KarlM wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 2:54 pm Went to Gold’s with my wife. I like doing my medium deadlift session the day after heavy squats. Wife does a circuit. Today her session was five rounds of chin-ups, deadlift and dumbbell curls into overhead presses (got these from p90x, where he called them deep swimmer presses). She lifts twice a week. Her other session is five rounds of squats, weighted push-ups and DB rows. This set up works well for her. She’s been doing this regularly for a couple of years now.

Respect. I've been doing circuits in an effort to get myself back in shape and mine are bodyweight only and shorter, and they've been miserable.

DCR wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 4:18 pm

KarlM wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 2:54 pm Went to Gold’s with my wife. I like doing my medium deadlift session the day after heavy squats. Wife does a circuit. Today her session was five rounds of chin-ups, deadlift and dumbbell curls into overhead presses (got these from p90x, where he called them deep swimmer presses). She lifts twice a week. Her other session is five rounds of squats, weighted push-ups and DB rows. This set up works well for her. She’s been doing this regularly for a couple of years now.

Respect. I've been doing circuits in an effort to get myself back in shape and mine are bodyweight only and shorter, and they've been miserable.

Yeah, miserable for sure lol. Not optimal for top end strength but certainly better for overall conditioning. Her training week is two days of lifting, two days of cardio and 1-2 days of yoga. Pretty smart tbh.

1/21/24

Skied Breckenridge yesterday. Stayed with friends then drove back this morning. When I got home I hit the gym.

Comp. Bench (H)
270 X 1, easy. Maybe @7?
255 X 2
245 X 3 X 3

SSB (L)
300 X 3 X 2

1/23/24 (logging yesterday's training)

Went to gym early in the AM with the wife.

DB Curls
35 X 20
35 X 18
35 X 16

DB SLR
20 X 20 X 3

PM, after a long day at work. Got roped in to a last minute presentation for a client. It went well but I had to scramble.

Deadlift (H)
worked up to 430 X 1. Kicked bar forward but it still moved well enough.

Squat (M)
330 X 3 X 3

Comp. Bench (L)
245 X 3 X 3

For the rest of the peak, my medium deadlift day will be comp deadlift, and I'll do full resets (release the bar, step away and approach again) between reps within the set. I'll stick with 3 X 3 going forward. I need more practice hitting the first rep. Next deadlift session will be Sunday (1/28) and I'll plan on using 375 lb.

1/26/24

AMBW = 185.2 lb

Squat (H)
375 X 1 @7
355 X 2
335 X 3r X 2s

CG Bench (all paused)
245 X 3 X 4

My squat is doing well this prep. Fingers crossed I might put 182.5 kg up again in competition. I miss @Testiclaw. I’m bending over a tad and letting the bar roll down farther on my back prior to starting the decent. Got the pre-bending over part from his videos of his lifters.

What I like about paused CG Bench is that I need even more explosive leg drive to get the bar moving off the chest. I think that’s why it’s carried over so well to my comp bench.

1/27/24

AMBW = 185.6 lbs

Deadlift (M)
375 X 3 X 3

Neutral Grip Pull-ups
BW X 14
BW X 12
BW X 10

Deads felt really good today.

I’ll participate in the guitar practice logging trend as well. This last month or so I’ve taken on Clay Pigeons by Blaze Foley and Tower Song and I’ll be there in the morning by Townes van Zandt. Clay pigeons is a beautiful song with a straightforward picking pattern. Townes’ picking is more tricky but I’ve done a lot of his songs so it doesn’t take too long these days to get something down that sounds interesting. All of these songs are right in my singing register.

1/29/24

AMBW = 184.8 lbs

Comp. Bench (H)
275 X 1, @7
260 X 2
250 X 3 X 3

SSB (L)
305 X 3r X 2s

Top bench single flew. If I didn’t have a meet coming up I would have put 300 on today. I think it was there.

KarlM wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 8:12 pm Top bench single flew.

Like gravity was reversed. 300 definitely was there.

DCR wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 8:32 pm

KarlM wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 8:12 pm Top bench single flew.

Like gravity was reversed. 300 definitely was there.

Yeah. That looked easy!

KarlM wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2024 10:31 am I’ll participate in the guitar practice logging trend as well. This last month or so I’ve taken on Clay Pigeons by Blaze Foley and Tower Song and I’ll be there in the morning by Townes van Zandt. Clay pigeons is a beautiful song with a straightforward picking pattern. Townes’ picking is more tricky but I’ve done a lot of his songs so it doesn’t take too long these days to get something down that sounds interesting. All of these songs are right in my singing register.

Cool!
I need to try to listen to more stuff like that stuff. That clay pigeons song is sweet.
Am I remembering correctly that you have a jazz background?

KarlM wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 8:12 pm
Top bench single flew. If I didn’t have a meet coming up I would have put 300 on today. I think it was there.

What is the heaviest bench you plan to hit before the meet, and when do you plan to hit it? Also, what do you hope to bench at the meet?

Without knowing the answers to that, my gut says you could have gone heavier and not hurt your plan. 300? I don’t know, but 275 was a smoke show.