Burning Bridges in Montana

[AaronM]

10/28/17 (Saturday @8pm)

Mishmash W1D3

- Squat (75%, 5m rest)
250 3x8 (last set RPE 8?)
- CGBP
135x12
135x9 (3m rest)
135x8@8.5 (4m rest)
135x10@8 (5m rest)
- DL (75%, 1m rest)
260 10x1

Notes: Took my eldest son and my nephew camping at our church's men's retreat Friday night to Saturday afternoon. Got ~3 hours of broken sleep, and woke up to 34 degree temps. A reminder of why I don't want to live anywhere north of San Antonio. Decided to lift Saturday evening even though I was super tired, b/c I didn't want to lift Sunday and then have to lift again 48 hours later.

Squats sucked, but I was tired and underfed. Not used to sets of 8. CGBP was ok. Going to take Hanley's advice and switch to regular grip bench since my CGBP estimated 1RM = my bench 1RM, and add db flies. Gotta get this 44" chest bigger. DL were fine. I like deadlifting singles at 75% of my 1RM.

Week 1 tonnage: 34,867lb (192r)

[AaronM]

10/31/17

Mishmash W2D1

- Squat
135x5
185x3
225x3
255x1
275 4x3 (3-5m rest, last set RPE 6.5?)
275x8@RPE9 (8 min rest)
- TnG Bench (80/85%)
135x5
160x3
175 2x5 (3-4m rest, last set RPE 8.5?)
185 3x3 (4m rest, last set RPE 8.5?)
185x7@RPE9 (8m rest)
- Deadlift
300 x3 singles (2m rest)
- Rows: 115x8; 135 3x10
- Hammer Curls: 15lb 4x15
- Overhead Tri-ext: 35x15; 45x15; 55 2x15
- db flyes: 15lb x15/15/12

Notes: Felt like a machine squatting today. No lower back fatigue or hip pain. Bench was another story. Was very slow, and felt rather fatigued, but the session still went good. DL was meh. Playing with accy stuff for back, bis, tris, and pecs.

We'll see how the next session feels in 48 hours.

[AaronM]

11/2/17 Thursday

Mishmash W2D2

- Squat
230 2x5
- Bench (70%, 3m rest)
155x8
155x8@8
155x6@8
155x6@8
155x6@8.5
- inc. db flyes 12lb x20/20/12
- db lateral raises 12lb x12/12
- rear delt raises 8lb x12/12
- db front raises 12x10

Notes: Squats were incredibly slow today. Super fatigued from Tuesday's session. Bench was trucking along fine till the 3rd set, and I just hit a wall. Was going to try 70% for 4-5x8, but that wasn't about to happen. Maybe my body just needs a couple weeks to adjust to the extra bench session and volume. Decided to put my OHP on hold indefinitely, so I thought I'd try some db volume stuff. That didn't work out too well either. Guess benching fries the shoulders pretty good, because I couldn't handle much volume or weight on any of the db raise variations. I'll probably just try 2 AMRAP sets per variation in the future. If my shoulders feel good they get more volume, otherwise, not so much.

[AaronM]

11/04/17 (Saturday)

Mishmash W2D3

- Squat (4-5m rest)
255 4x6 @RPE tired
- CGBP
145x10@RPE8
145x8@8? (4m rest)
145x8@8.5 (4m rest)
145x6@8 (4m rest)
145x8@8 (6m rest)
- DL (~75%, 1-2m rest)
265 10x1
- Rows: 135 x10/10/8/8
- BB Curls: 55x12/12/10/10/12/10
- Overhead Tri-ext: 55x15; 60x12/8/8
- db flyes: 15lb x18/15/14
Tonnage: 19,430lb PR (110r. Not including curls/tri/flyes)

Notes: Squats were ok, but slower than usual. Legs felt tired today. MarcF wrote me up a new bench program, but I'm going to stick with the current one I'm running for at least a cycle or two, just to have an idea of how I like it. DL was stupid slow. Accy stuff was ok.

Post lifting measurements:
- Chest 45.5"
- Biceps 15.5"
- Thighs 27"

Week 2 tonnage: 42,160lb (235 reps)

[AaronM]

11/7/17

Mishmash W3D1

- Squat
135
185
225
265
285 3x2 (5m rest, last set slow...)
285x5@RPE8.5 (10 min rest, oops)
- TnG Bench (85/90%)
135
155
175
190 3x3 (5m rest, last set RPE 9)
202.5 3x1 (RPE 9-9.5. Last set was supposed to be AMRAP...)
- Deadlift
300 x3 singles (2m rest. Felt stupid heavy)
- Rows: 140x8/8/8/10 (34 reps)
- Hammer Curls: 20x10/12/12/10/10/10 (64 reps)
- Overhead Tri-ext: 60x8/8/8/10 (34 reps)
- db flyes: 15x20; 20x12/12

Notes: Not the best training day. Haven't been sleeping good the last few nights, and I was feeling it. Oh well, got my squats and bench done, and got some decent accy volume in. Left tricep feels off, and I've got a tingling/numb sensation in my pinky and ring finger now.

[AaronM]

11/9/17 Thursday

196lb (doh!)

Mishmash W3D2

- Squat
235 x4/5 (ripped sweatpants on first set, couldn't focus...)
- Bench (70%)
155x8@8? (3m rest)
155x8@8? (3m rest)
155x8@7? (5m rest, oops)
155x8@8? (3m rest)
- inc. db flyes 20lb x12/12/12; 15x15

Notes: Wife is out of town so I've been taking care of the kids and house this week. Haven't been eating or sleeping well. Ripped my XL sweats while squatting tonight. Bench felt a LOT better than last week. Guess I just needed a week to get used to sets of 8. Didn't have time for much accy. stuff. Looking forward to wifey getting home...

[AaronM]

11/11/17 (Saturday)

Mishmash W3D3

- Squat (4m rest)
260 6x5 @RPE wrecked
- CGBP (4m rest)
155x8@9
155 5x6 @RPE8
- DL (super wide grip. ~75%, 1m rest)
265 10x1
- Rows: N/A
- EZ Curls: 62.5 x10/8/8
- Overhead Tri-ext: 62.5x12/10/8
- db flyes: 20x15/10/8

Week 3 Totals: 34,528lb (179 reps, including BB rows)

Notes: Felt absolutely wrecked after my 6th set of squats, didn't even bother doing the 7th set that I was supposed to. CGBP isn't nearly as strong anymore since I picked up an extra bench day. Almost called it quits before the deads, but decided to change things up to keep it interesting. Used a super wide grip (pinky on outer ring), and got a sick lat pump. If I didn't know better, I'd say this variation was more quad dominant, at least, it felt that way. Skipped the BB Rows. I only have so much recovery ability, and I think the rows are rather taxing, without helping my squat or bench which is my main focus. Hopefully my back muscles don't disappear.

[cgeorg]

Sounds like an almost SGDL. Definitely more quad and upper back action, I like them a lot.

[AaronM]

Sounds like an almost SGDL. Definitely more quad and upper back action, I like them a lot.

Took me a minute to figure out what SGDL was, guessing it's snatch grip deadlift? I've never done any kind of olympic lifts besides hang cleans, so no clue what a snatch grip is, but I'm guessing it's almost as wide as you can go on the bar?

I like the extra quad and mid-upper back work. I think it was less stressful on the lower back as well, which is even better since I've been doing a lot of low bar squat volume lately, which fatigues my lower back enough as it is.

[cgeorg]

Yep, it's a snatch grip. I go wide enough so that at the top of the movement the bar is just under my junk, so I don't have to deal with that. It definitely gets your upper back and quads more. Any low back benefits are likely just due to it being less weight overall.

While I can't say much about the pressing yet, heavy squat/med deadlift Monday and heavy deadlift/med squat Friday has been keeping my low body and low back fatigue managed quite nicely, and I seem to be making ok progress in both.

[AaronM]

11/14/17

197.6lb

Mishmash W4D1

- Squat
135
185
225
265
295 3x1 (RPE 7?)
295x5@RPE8.5-9 (7m rest)
- TnG Bench (70%)
135
157.5 5x3 (2m rest)
- SGDL
300 3x1
- DL
300 2x1
- Overhead Tri-ext: 65x12
- EZ Curls: 65x12
- db flyes: 15x20/20/18

Notes: Squat felt good today. AMRAP puts my estimated 1RM @350-360, which is a 15-25lb increase in 4 weeks. Light Bench session, will test 1RM on Saturday. SGDL is better at lighter weights, so I switched back to conventional. I'll do SGDL on Saturday's. Low volume on accessories since I'm testing my bench 1RM on Saturday; I'd like to hit 225, but may have to settle for 220 (a 5lb pr).

[AaronM]

11/16/17 Thursday

Mishmash W4D2 (light day)
- Squat
240 2x5
- Bench
175x1
185x1
185x1

Notes: Squat and bench felt like crap today. No speed or energy. Hopefully Saturday is a good day.

In other news, my pinky and ring finger on my left hand have been numb/tingling for over a week now, and seem to be getting worse. Squatting and benching both increase the tingling sensation in my fingers, and as I type this I can't feel my pinky finger.

[AaronM]

11/18/17 (Saturday)

197.6lb

Mishmash W4D3

- Bench
135
155
180
195
210x1@8.5?
225x1@9.75 PR!!! (could've hit 230)
- Squat (4-6m rest)
270 8x4 (last sets RPE 8.5/8.5/9)(tonnage PR of 8,640lb)
-SGDL
270 10x1
- EZ Curls: 65 x8/8/8
- Overhead Tri-ext: 65x8/8/10
- db flyes: 20x12/12/11
- db curls: 20x12/8; 15x12/12/10
Tonnage: 12,150lb (46 reps)

Week 4 Totals: 21,318lb (87 reps)

Notes: Wasn't confident about hitting a 10lb bench PR after 4 weeks, but I got it and could've hit 230. Since what I'm doing seems to be working, I'll repeat this cycle with slightly higher weights. Squats sucked, a lot. Took a video of my last set, which I'll upload eventually. SGDL felt slower than usual today, but that's not surprising given the squat tonnage/volume I was hitting.

[Wilhelm]

11/18/17 (Saturday)

197.6lb

Mishmash W4D3

- Bench
135
155
180
195
210x1@8.5?
225x1@9.75 PR!!! (could've hit 230)
- Squat (4-6m rest)
270 8x4 (last sets RPE 8.5/8.5/9)(tonnage PR of 8,640lb)
-SGDL
270 10x1
- EZ Curls: 65 x8/8/8
- Overhead Tri-ext: 65x8/8/10
- db flyes: 20x12/12/11
- db curls: 20x12/8; 15x12/12/10
Tonnage: 12,150lb (46 reps)

Week 4 Totals: 21,318lb (87 reps)

Notes: Wasn't confident about hitting a 10lb bench PR after 4 weeks, but I got it and could've hit 230. Since what I'm doing seems to be working, I'll repeat this cycle with slightly higher weights. Squats sucked, a lot. Took a video of my last set, which I'll upload eventually. SGDL felt slower than usual today, but that's not surprising given the squat tonnage/volume I was hitting.

Awesome on the PR, @@AaronM !

I'm thinking i may use SGDLs in my volume/hypertrophy/variation block after the meet.I've basically only done the comp lifts ever except for some rowing and Ohp. My platform isn't suitable for sumo, so that seems like a good option.

What do you like about them and/or what do they do for you?

[AaronM]

@Wilhelm, thanks. I haven't read up on SGDL, so I'm not sure what the major benefits of them are. Judging by feels, they involve more quad and less lower back work, and they give me a nice lat pump. I only switched to them because I was tired and bored last week and decided that a change of grip would keep things interesting. I may even try sumo for the heck of it sometime since I'm not trying to progress my deadlift right now.

[augeleven]

Congrats on the 2 plate bench @AaronM !
Tingly fingers sounds like you inflamed a tendon that has a nerve pass under it. Watch out for that, it's definitely not good.

[iamsmu]

Congrats on the 2 plate bench @AaronM !
Tingly fingers sounds like you inflamed a tendon that has a nerve pass under it. Watch out for that, it's definitely not good.

Ya. He's got something pushing on his Ulnar nevre.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulnar_nerve

I herniated a disk at c6-7. I had the weird electric tingles in the back of my arm and in those two fingers. I was irritating for months. I had no idea what was causing it. . . MRI . . .

If that persists, I'd go see someone. It's just such an annoying sensation and could end up worse.

[AaronM]

@iamsmu @augeleven , I talked to a PA friend and she said it's definitely my ulnar nerve. She recommends icing my triceps and forearm muscles, Alleve, and not lifting for a week. I told her the no lifting part wasn't going to happen, but I may lay off the tri-ext and curls for a week and see how that changes things.

[AaronM]

11/21/17

Mishmash W5D1

- Squat
135
225
275
300 3x1 (3m rest)
- TnG Bench (80/85%)
135
150
165
180 4x5 (RPE's 7/7.5/8/9; 3-4m rest)
190x3/5 (last set RPE 9.5. 5m rest)
- DL
305 3x1
NO accessories (ulnar nerve issues in left arm).

Notes: A low volume squat day was a nice break. Bench felt heavy and sluggish. DL felt a lot better, probably because of the low squat volume/tonnage. No accessories this week to see if it helps my ulnar nerve/tingling fingers feel better. I asked Jordan for his advice on what to do, so we'll see what he says. No elbow pain, so that's good I guess.

Looking forward to Saturday's squat session. Gonna see how many reps I can hit with 3 plates for a new estimated 1RM. I'll go for some high carb/sodium bloat on Friday to see if that helps any

[AaronM]

11/23/17 Thursday

Mishmash W5D2

- Squat
285x1
- Bench (3m rest)
157.5x8@RPE8
157.5x8@RPE7.5
157.5x8@RPE8
157.5x8@RPE8.5
157.5x8@RPE7.5 (4m rest)
tonnage: 6300lb (40 reps. Possible tonnage PR)

Notes: Bench felt good today. RPE would've been lower if I rested a minute longer. My top squat single felt a lot heavier and slower than I thought it would, hopefully this isn't indicative of how Saturday's session will go.

Time to go eat some Thai food at my aunt's restaurant, then head to my in-laws for dinner for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Don't care too much for Thanksgiving food, but TRADITION!!! (to the tune of Fiddler on the Roof)