The Quest for Consistency

[ch]

BW 212.8 (gave into hunger a bit the past couple days. Mostly good quality food, just too much of it)

Sq 265x6x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5 (beltless)

Pr 110x6x4 @ 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8.5 (that got difficult quickly)

DL 305x6x1 @ 7.5 (straps); 305x1 DOH hold 20s

{ chins BW x 8, 7, 4, 4
LTEs 52 x 12, 12, 12, 12 }

Even though nothing was particularly hard, I felt pretty crushed by the end of this. Maybe it’s because it’s in the low 80s and the gym is hot as hell. Or maybe it’s because I haven’t eaten since 9am (it’s now 2:30).

The new conditioning plan is HIIT (prowler) on Tuesday and Saturday. LISS (walking for now) on Thursday and Sunday.

[augeleven]

looking good! Nice and consistent!

[ch]

looking good! Nice and consistent!

Thanks. Wish I could say the same thing about the diet. Eventually I'll break down and start counting calories.

[ch]

Forgot to mention that after seeing a few biceps tears recently (including the owner of my gym), I decided to deadlift with straps from now on. I’m not competing, and I’m worried that repetitive stress to the biceps tendon might lead to a tear down the road. I can’t afford that since I work with my hands. (That means I also can’t afford to damage my thumbs with hook grip.)

I’m going to figure out a way to train grip, but for now I’ll just do DOH deadlift holds after every deadlift workout.

[ch]

BW 210.8

BP 165x6x3 @ 6.5, 7, 7 (first rep paused)

Prowler +180 x 10 yds x 12 reps x 30 count rest

Curls 45s x 12; 42.5s x 11, 9; 40s x 11

No time for abs.

[ch]

BW 211.2

Sq 305x5x4 @ 7.5, 7.5, 8, 8

Pr 110x5x3 @ 6.5, 6.5, 7

SGDL (265x5x1 @ 6 - misload) 285x5x3 @ 7, 7, 7

Chins 7, 6, 5

Lat PD +130x9; 110x11; 90 x 14, 11


Tried SGDL in place of deficit since I think deficit tweaked my quads/hips. SGDL feels a notch more difficult than deficit, but I’ll stick with it as long as RPE stays below 8.

[ch]

BW 214.0 (WTF? Time to start counting)

Sq 265x6x2 @ 6.5, 7 (paused, beltless)

BP 185x5x4 @ 7, 7, 7.5, 8 (first rep paused)

Rows 155x6x4 @ 8, 8, 8, 8.5

Curls 45s x 12; 42.5s x 15, 12, 12

Kneeling rollouts x6x3

--

Curl numbers might be inflated since I was spotting someone between sets. Longer rests than usual. I'm glad they got PlateMates at the gym since 2.5 per DB makes a big difference.

Enjoying the n00b gains on rows.

I did not do cardio yesterday as planned. Forgot that I had an obligation in the afternoon.

[ch]

BW 212.4

Sq 285x5x3 @ 7, 7, 7.25 (beltless)

Pr 117.5x5x4 @ 7.5, 7.5, 8, 8

DL 325x5x1 @ 7.5 (straps) +1 DOH hold @ 11s

{ chins 9*, 6, 6, 4 (*PR)
LTEs 58 x 12, 10; 53 x 13, 14 }

Took about 1:30. That chin PR is my first real PR in a long time, and it’s not even just because of weight loss. Maybe the lat pulldowns are helping.

Felt the LTEs in the elbow a little as @mgil warned. Might consider switching to another triceps isolation exercise like dips.

[ch]

BW 211.6

BP 175x5x3 @ 7.5, 8, 8 (paused)

Curls 45s x 14, 11; 42.5s x 12, 11

Ab rollouts 8, 7, 7

—

Whoa, paused bench is a lot harder than TNG. Think I will keep pausing my medium bench.

Weight is slowly getting back on track.

No prowler today since the strongman folk are taking up the run.

[ch]

BW 209.6 (Back on track?)

Sq 325x4x4 @ 8, 8, 8, 8.5

Pr 117.5x4x3 @ 6.5, 6.5, 7

DL 305x4x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5 (~2” deficit, beltless)

Chins 9, 7, 6

Lat PD +130 x 10; +110 x 12, 10; +90 x 15

Squats seemed tough today. Press was easier than expected.

Decided to go back to deficit deads because of the grip issue. So much for that. Grip gave out on the 3rd rep of the 2nd set. Finished that set mixed and strapped up for the 3rd.

I’m happy with chins, even if I’m slightly cheating ROM at the bottom.

[ch]

BW 211.4

Sq 285x4x2 @ 7,7 (paused)

BP 195x4x4 @ 8, 8, 8, 8.5 (first rep paused)

Rows 175x4x4 @ 7.5, 7.5, 8, 8.5

Curls 45s x 12, 10; 42.5s x 12, 12

Ab wheel 8, 8, 6

—

I watched a few more ab rollout videos. I think I finally got it down and maintained the crunch position the whole time. Now I can see why people call it the wheel of death.

[ch]

BW 210.8

Sq 305x4x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5 (w belt)

Pr 125x4x3 @ 8, 7.5, 8, 8

DL 345x4x1 @ 8 (straps); 345x0 (DOH); 315x1x10s (DOH)

{ chins 10*, 8, 5, 4; (* rep PR)
LTEs 58 x 12, 12; 53 x 14, 14 }

—

Don’t care how much I cheated the chins... 10 is a huge milestone.

I’m halfway through the meat of this program, and I haven’t missed a programmed day. Now I have to get better with the cardio and conditioning.

[Wilhelm]

10 is great, @ch!

I was at 6s wit PUs when i left off. Just started back in with sets of 4.

[ch]

BW 209.8

BP 185x4x3 @ 8, 8, 8.5 (paused)

Prowler +120, 16 runs, 30 count rest

Curls 45s x 12; 42.5s x 12,12; 40s x 12

—

Wonder what the deal with curls was today. Maybe I’m finally able to do enough chins to tax my biceps.

[ch]

Pr 110x6x3 @ 7s

Sq 305x6x4 @ 8, 8, 8, 8.5

DL 285x6x3 @ 7, 7, 7.5 (2” deficit)

—

Today’s quest: don’t puke. Felt awful. Managed to get through everything (except accessories), but it took forever since I had to rest until my stomach settled.

Pressed first because no racks were available. Still wound up squatting out of stands, so it didn’t matter.

[ch]

Sq 265x6x2 @ 7, 7 (paused, beltless)

BP 185x6x4 @ 7.5, 8, 9, 8.5 (first rep paused)

Rows 145x8x4 @ 7, 7, 7.5, 7.5

Chins ladder 1–5–1 (30-45s rest); (3 min rest) 6

Lat PD +130x9; +110 x 14, 12, 11

Ab rollout 8, 8, 8

—

I think I didn’t rest enough between bench sets 2 and 3, hence the @9. Either that or there was a technique issue.

Rows felt surprisingly easy. Think I could have loaded at least 5 lbs. more.

Tried a chin-up ladder today for the hell of it. I really need to get a bar at home.

[ch]

Left my log book in the car and I’m too lazy to get it, so the RPEs might be off here.

Sq 285x6x3 @ 7.5 7.5 8 (beltless)

Pr 117.5x6x4 @ 7.5 7.5 8 8

DL 325x6x1 @ 7 (straps) + 17s DOH hold

{ curls 45s x 14, 12; 42.5s x 14, 12
LTEs 58 x 15, 13, 12, 13 }

—

Supersetting curls and LTEs works way better than chins and LTEs. (Less overall fatigue means less rest between supersets.) That was a happy accident.

I’m starting to think that adding straps has messed up my deadlift progression since I didn’t test with straps. This seemed too easy for a heavy day. (Though looking at e1RM tables, this seems right in the ballpark. Maybe 1 point too low.)

Also my hips have felt a little funky lately. I’m wondering if the deficit deadlifts are to blame.

[ch]

BP 175x6x3 @ 7, 7.5, 8(paused)

Chins 9, 7, 6, 4

—

Well, I finally tweaked my back. Started hurting a few hours after yesterday’s workout. Feels like the pain is in my hips, too. I think deadlifts are aggravating it. I need to film, and will probably stop pulling from a deficit until I figure it out.

I was planning to do prowler and ab wheel today, but both of those seemed like a bad idea. I really need to get an Airdyne or something for my garage.

Tried to keep the chins as strict as possible today.

[ch]

Sq 325x5x2 @ 8.5, 8

(Planned 4 sets. Back was not feeling 100% so I decided not to risk it.)

Pr 117.5x5x3 @ 7, 7.5, 7.5

DL 305x2 (planned x5x3)

—

Today I noticed the back pain happens when I squat with hip drahve (aka hip angle closes coming out of the hole). I believe this is because I’m overextending my lumbar when that happens. When I focus on maintaining back angle, it doesn’t hurt.

Still, it hurt a enough just unracking the third set that I decided to bail. I tried unracking 305, but that didn’t feel great either, so called it. If I feel better, I’ll make up the heavy sets later in the week.

I thought I could work through pain doing deadlifts at that weight, and I probably could have, but my mind wouldn’t let me power through the (very slight) pain every time I tried that third rep. Frustrating.

[ch]

Sq 285x5x2 @ 6.5, 7 (beltless, not paused)

BP 205x5x1 @ 10 (misload)
- 195x5x3 @ 8, 8.5, 8.5

Rows 165x6x4 @ 7.5, 7.5, 8, 8

Hammer curls 30s x 15x4

—

When it rains it pours. Squats were fine, but I miscalculated my bench work weight and the first set was a grind. (I stuck with it, but definitely would have gotten red lights in a competition.) My lower back to my knees cramped.

And to add insult to injury, my elbow tendinitis is flaring up for the first time in a while, which always makes bench feel like crap. Decided to do higher rep, lighter weight hammer curls to help rehab the elbow.

I am pissed off right now. Was hoping to complete this program as written, but this week is not going well. I’m a little concerned that 205 was so difficult.