Less Rest, But Easier Sets

I must be in a peak strength phase or something, because I outperformed my exercises today even though the rest was reduced to 45 seconds. I even had to load more weight on the front squat because lifting 90# for three felt like air. I’m not ready to attribute to an increase in mean strength just yet though, since this could have easily been due to hormonal and/or neural effects. Still, it sure does feel good.

45 sec rest between sets
Push press:
—7×3 @ 85#
Front squat:
—2×3 @ 90#
—5×3 @ 95#
Pull-ups:
—3×3 + 1×2, fail on 3 (11 total)

Strong Day

The bar moved pretty easily today. I attribute it to mostly mental strength, the intent to move the bar. When I get distracted, the bar is heavy, regardless of how much weight I put on it.

60 sec rest between sets
Back squats;
—7×3 @ 140#
Dumbbell bench:
—3×10 @ 30#
Bench press:
—4×3 @ 100#
Deadlifts:
—7×3 @ 175#

Triples Are Awesome

I find that I feel like I’m doing more productive work by lifting fewer reps. Go figure. I only added five pounds to each exercise but I feel like I’m being waaaaay more productive.

60 sec rest between sets
Push press:
—7×3 @ 85#
Front squat:
—7×3 @ 90#
Pull-ups:
—3×3

Notes:
—I could do more weight on the front squat. I’ll give it one more session at the current weight to gauge how my body holds up to the sum of all three exercises, but I might give this one a boost.

Triples

60 sec rest between sets

Back squats:
—7×3 @ 140#
Bench press:
—7×3 @ 100#
Dead lifts:
—7×3 @ 175#

First Good B Workout

I never really felt like I was getting much out of the B workout until now. I finally have what I feel to be a good mix of exercises that don’t stress my joints too much and keep the tension on the muscle. I also found a way to include pull-ups, which address a whole new set of muscles which were lacking in the program before.

60 sec rest between sets
Push press:
—7×4 @ 80#
Front squats:
—7×4 @ 85#
Pull-ups:
—2×4
—1×3, fail on 4

Notes:
—Used a shoulder-width grip on push presses, and realized that this is much easier on the shoulders AND makes the lift easier. Go figure.

Untitled

Back squats: 60 sec rest between sets
—7×4 @ 135#
Bench press: 60 sec rest between sets
—7×4 @ 95#
Deadlifts: 60 sec rest between sets
—4×4 @ 170#
—3×4 @ 165#

Intermittent Weakness

It seems days of weakness are natural as my body goes through its natural hormonal cycles. Yes, I believe men have them too. Monday’s workout was one of those days.

Overhead squat:
—5×4 @ 40#
Push press:
—2×4 @ 80#
—2×4 @ 75#
—3×4 @ 70#

Notes:
—Had to cut out early from the overheads due to transient numbness in my left knee at the bottom of the lift.

Powerlifting

The iron gods were kind to me today. I hit every lift even though I got fatigued, and it felt good. I also noticed an interesting phenomenon in my squat path. If you were to look down through my knee to my foot and follow the path it took during the eccentric squat motion, my left side traces from my ankle through my middle toe, while my right side traces from my ankle through my big toe. As a result, my body rotates ever so slightly counter-clockwise when I go down. Now if I make a concious effort to resist this motion, squatting becomes a cinch. If I allow myself to rotate the barely 2-3 degrees on the way down, it becomes very hard for me to get back up.

Back squat: 60 sec rest between sets
—6×4 @ 135#
Bench press: 60 sec rest between sets
—6×4 @ 95#
Deadlifts: 60 sec rest between sets
—6×4 @ 170#

More Miscounting

Overhead squats: 60 sec rest between sets
—5×4 @ 40#
Push press: 60 sec rest between sets
—1×4 @ 85# (the bar is freaking 45#, not 40#)
—1×4 @ 80#
—3×4 @ 75#
—1×3 @ 75#, fail on rep 4

Month Two

Holy mother of god.

Bench press: 60 sec rest between sets
—6×4 @ 95#
Back squats: 60 sec rest between sets
—6×4 @ 135#
Deadlifts: 60 sec rest between sets
—6×4 @ 170#

Notes:
—Hardest squat routine of my life. Immediately followed by deadlifts. Next time, the bench press is going in the middle.