Fri 2/28 Accessory Night

Went light on the accessories tonight.. feeling a bit beat down.. want to heal up good..

Explosive Pull-ups x 18 singles
Lat pulldowns to the front 3 x 12 x 120
Bent over Rows 3 x 8  135, 185, 185
DOH Shrugs 3 x 15 315, 315, 315
One hand Kettlebell swings 3 x 15  25lbs

4 Wks Out- Bench Attempts to 480

Tonight was 3 full touch attempts.. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (PR) attempts with touch and commands.

1st attempt - 425
2nd attempt - 450
3rd attempt - 480 (pr)

A couple of self-critiques here-
a. I lacked speed off the chest all night. I feel I didn't keep the chest plate tight enough by retracting my shoulder blades hard enough. This combined with my 15lb lower body weight caused the shirt to be looser, and lose pop off the bottom.

b. I developed a bad habit of lifting my toes as I drive my heels into the ground when benching.

I still feel I can hit 480 on a third attempt if I stay tighter on the bench.

Accessory:
3 sets of Bench Dips of 25 reps each
50 Reps of Band Flyes

4 Wks Out - Squats 530, 570x1 & Deadlifts

Planned Opener: 530 x 1 - 2 Sets of singles

Planned 2nd Attempt: 570 x 1 - 2 Sets of singles
Light Reverse Band

Deadlift: 425 x 1 - 5 sets of Singles  (No vid)

Supersetted w/Leg Press: 400lbs 3 sets of 20

Friday 2/21 Accessory

Explosive pull downs x18
Bent over rows 3x8
135,185,205,225
Dumbbell Shrugs 3x15 w/120s
GHRs 3x15
Seated Rows 3x15
160,180,200
Stir the pot 3x20

2/20- 5 Weeks Retake attempts off boards from last week

Last week, my programming was to take my opener off a half board, 2nd attempt off 1bd, and 3rd attempt off 3 board.. I never ended up making it past 440x2 off 1 or 2 bds as I was really unhappy with my stability.

425x2 off 1 bd
455x2 off 2 bd
500x1 off 3 bd - Couldnt quite lock it

This week I decided to re-take those lifts with going back to my original, feet-out-front setup.

Much improved stability.. 455x2 off 2bd below:

500x1 off 3 board (Couldnt quite lock it..)

6 Weeks out.. Speed Squat Day

What was I originally thought would be a nice easy, quick day.. actually turned into an awesome workout, without going real heavy.. but at the end of the night my entire legs (both posterior and quads) feel like they got a killer workout!

Squat Straps Down - 60% 5x1  - 405lbs - Focused on getting each set/rep faster than the one before

Deadlift 5x1 - 60% 5x1 -405lbs .. I actually cheated here a bit.. technically 60% is 345lbs for me, but I was feeling really strong and solid tonight during deadlift warmups.. I decided to go with 405.

The 405 tonight felt very light, and my form felt spot-on. I was super tight when pulling, driving my feet thru the ground, and absolutely smoking the 405.

I was running low on time at this point, so I super-setted my last two exercises - Pause Squats and Leg Press.. talk about getting a burn on.. I actually supersetted the entire next 6 sets.. I didn't take any breaks between sets.

Pause Squat- 3x6 (Raw) - 225lbs.. holding it for a 3 count at top and bottom of every set. (No belt)

Leg Press- 3x10 - 475lbs

Doubled up my protein shake tonight and aminos to help with muscle breakdown while I sleep.

Great session.

2/14 Accessory Work.. Valentines Day

Today was a quick session, being Valentines Day I needed to get home early for my Valentine ;)

Light Speed Squats 225x3x3

I had to cut this short after one set.. fell on the ice earlier this week and my knee was a little tweaked.. I know when not to push things, and let it heal up. No sense aggravating an injury.

Barbell Row 3x8
185x8
205x8
225x8

Barbell Shrug DOH 3x15
315x15
365x15
405x15

One Arm Kettlebell Swings 3x15
30lb Kettlebell x 15

McGill Explosive Pull ups 18 Singles