The Return of: The Weenie in the Squat Rack

Aug 25:

Squat: 285
OHP: 102.5
DL: 385

squatting heavy 3 times a week is a lot right now. I think I'll go heavy every other workout instead of every workout. 285 felt pretty decent today.

OHP: was a grind, was leaning back a bit too much perhaps

DL: feeling good.
 
Aug 30:

squat: 290 x3
bench: XXX

havent been in the gym, been travelling for work.

only got 3 reps in on squat, may be a confidence thing, but i think my form was going to shit quick on reps 2 &3, so i bailed out on the last 2 reps. I'll give it another go in a few days.

bench: something is not quite right, my elbows are really sore. they hurt on unracking, at the top and if I try to keep my elbows tucked in. if i let them flair out, then they feel ok.

I was working on grip and form for a while with just the bar ad at 95lbs.

I'l stop benching heavy for a bit and then get back to it.
 
Sept 2:

Squat: 290 x 3
OHP: 105 5,3, 95x3
DL: 395

squat: got stuck on the bottom of the 4th rep for half a second too long and started going forward. lowered it onto the safeties. this is after 2 days off too. I think I'm nearing the end of the road for SL. Im going to grind it out for the rest of the week. Next week I'm traveling again for work, so I'll deload. Not sure if I'll keep on going with SL or if I should switch out the squat program to something like madcow. I'll take it to the team and get some opinions.

OHP: I havent been pressing consistently cause of my elbows and travel. I know my pressing performance is directly correlated to how consistent I am. no surprises here.

DL: feeling good. next DL session and I'll be at 405 x5. cant wait. grip is feeling good if I chalk up a lot.
 
Sept 4:

Squat: 135 x 2x5, 185x2x5, 225x2x5
bench: 95 x lots, 115 x some, 95 x some, 45 x lots, 95 x some


I knew walking in to the gym that it was going to not be a heavy day on squats. just wanted to get some reps in. last set of 225 was starting to feel heavy already. looks like it might be time to deload. I'm going to give it one more shot at 290 lbs, then I have ~5 days on the road with no gym. I'll likely pick up madcow when I return.

was just trying to figure out my grip position/width/etc today. elbow would start to hurt unracking the bar if I kept my elbows tucked. I might start flaring my elbows more at the top during the lift and unracking.

skipped rows today because I spent more time than i expected doing the other stuff. was time to go home.

I really do want to get that 290 squat in before I deload and switch to madcow. I'll keep progressing with DL until I stall on it before I deload it. Bench, I'm not sure what to do with it. A good a time as any to deload I guess, just going to assume a reset weight probably.
 
Sept 6:

Squat: 135
OHP: 105
bench: 45 through 135 by 10 lb increments, sets of 5
rows: 45 through 125 by 10 lb increments, sets of 5

was just trying to figure some stuff out today.

Squats: I've been contemplating getting some oly shoes. call it late bday gift, new toy, a little motivating token. i'll probably do it, figure it will last me years. I dont do any Oly lifting so I'd only squat in them. And knowing me, I wont put them on until I'm at the squat rack and then take them right off and switch shoes. since I'll be deloading would also be a good time to incorporate them too.

OHP: 1 set of 5, some grinders. guess its prolly close to time to deload this too.

Bench: been working on my technique/form/grip/all of the above. Ive got a little bit figure out. And I think I'm able to incorporate my lats too some how. dont ask me how I did it, I just feel it there. I guess I'm technically deloading bench as well, but I'll keep it on SL program and not switch it to madcow just yet. for a little bit at least.

Rows: I've been neglecting them for a while.

one more gym day before a week off for work travel.
 
Squat :290*1
Ohp: 107.5
DL: 405

Squat: only got one rep. Part mental, part didn't have it. I'm usual not so pumped up for squats and I guess it bothered me some how. I dunno, I'll most likely deload. 10%would bring me back to 260.im gonna order some old shoes, so it'll be a good time to get used to them as well.

OHP: was a little bit of a grind, but got one set up without too much drama.

DL: got the 405 x5 done. Was a little shower than I would have liked, but I'll take it. Grip was a non issue. I am a bit curious as to what I could pull for one rep.

I've decided I'll stick to SL for now. I'm traveling the rest of the week then back into the gym Sunday or Monday, depending on how I feel.

I'm also moving North for work in October so I'll switch to Madcow then. In the meantime, I'll grind out what I can with SL for the rest of the month. Figure I have two to three weeks left in the gym before I move.
 
Sept 14:

squat: 260
bench: 135
row: 135

dropped my squat 10%, it was a grind for the last few reps, but i got it up. working on trying to keep my elbows pointed down, I think they were pointed back before. also, i think i'm leaning a bit forward. i dont know what thats all about.

bench: i changed my setup a bit. wrist and elbows feel better. bench has always been a work in progress for me. did 3 sets

row: nothing to report really.
 
Sept 17:

squat: 265
OHP: 110 x 2, 95 x 5
DL: 415

damn it I love DL day. feels good. speed is back up from the last time. grip is holding strong. I still think I look like a crazy person, though, on the last few sets.

squats: its feeling heavy, but the bar is moving the whole time. I 've been trying to point my elbows down more, or atleast more inline with my torso. seems to be helping with keeping me more upright.

OHP: i know the story with this. I've been out of the gym for a bit and lack of consistency kills my pressing. i got 2 reps at 110. The first rep was a real grind getting it off my chest, but I thought I had a chance to bang out the rest. rep 2 went up good, but had no chance on 3. dropped the weight back to 95 and got 5 reps off without too much drama.
 
Sept 19:

squat: 270
Bench: 140
row: 140

bench and rows 3x5

squats feeling hard, but I think its a lot to do with mental issues and just telling myself to do it.
 
Sept 23:

squat: 275
OHP: 110
DL: 425 x 4

last rep of squat and I almost lost it forward, I came up a bit on my toes on my right side, but got it up. something is getting tired/loose thats causing me to come forward. But, I should receive my oly shoes tomorrow night and it should help a bit with this.

OHP: was a grind on that last rep, the cue of getting my head through helps. once I get the bar high enough to et my head through and the bar picks up speed again.

DL: only got 4 reps in. I think I'm getting anxious with it and rushing the pull. I'm not to happy with my setup cause I spend a lot of time at the bottom setting my grip and getting comfortable and then I think my hips are starting out a bit too low and then when I think of it, I think my hips go a bit too high. Also, having my grip loose hold really throws off my lift. Its very mental at this point I think. And, this is the first time I've noticed that the plates on both sides slid about a 1/4 off. will attack it again next time.

gotta get my mind right. 405 was slow, 415 was pretty easy, 425 miss.
 
Sept 25:

Squat: 280 x3, 225 x 5, 185 x 5, 135 x 3 x 10
Bench: 145
Row: 140

got my oly shoes and squatted in them today. its def. a different feel and much more quad dominate. I need to get used to squatting in them. I need to learn how to sit back farther, it feels like I'm pushing from mid foot. I probably could have gotten all five reps in, but it just didnt feel right. so i dropped weight down and just did a bunch of reps

bench: its still a work in progress

row: i tried rowing in the oly shoes, to keep from going to far forward, i was kind of sitting far back and the rowing motion felt different. I'll be going back to my other flat shoes for rows.

I have another week here before I move to the great white north. I'll probably take a week off while I move and set up the office and my apartment. and then probably switch to madcow and deload from wherever I'm at.
 
Sept 27:

I moved furniture today. :/

I got tired and sweaty, I'm calling that a workout.
 
Sept 29:

squat: 280 x 2, 225 x ?, 185 x ?, 135 x ?
OHP: 112.5 x 2, 95 x 5
DL: 315 x 3, 365 x 1, 405 x 1, 425 x 1, 455 x 1

still need to work on getting used to the oly shoes. its just going to take time under the bar.

OHP: nothing to say

DL: since this will be my last DL session for a week + i decided to go for heavy singles and see what I could do. 425 went easy, so i went for 455. not too much issues getting it up. I got a buddy to video it for me. lower back might be a bit rounded some, I'll lift my shirt up off my bum next time.

 
Oct 1:

Squat: 225
Bench: 150
row: 145

squats were feeling heavy today. and i need to get used to the oly shoes. trying to sit back more. so i did a bunch of sets working up to 225, and that felt really heavy.

bench: felt good. 3 sets of 5. i like wearing the oly shoes for bench, not exactly sure why, but it feels good.

rows: trying to put the weight back on the floor between reps, felt pretty good. 3 sets of 5
 
Oct 19:

Squat: 225
Bench: 145
row: 135

just moved house and work. and it took more work/time than I thought. just signed up to a gym. took ~2 weeks off.

Squats felt very doable but heavy. also still trying to get used to the oly shoes. will stick with SL progression from this point, it escalates quickly and I could use the reps in the oly shoes.

Bench: weird. there was only one bench that had adjustable rack. so I waited, as the others were a bit too low for me. turns out, its not very adjustable and the padding on the bench is very thick. It took the full 145 and arch to pin my shoulders into a hard surface. and then my neck was strained because my head was not flat with my shoulders. felt very unstable. I will be benching in a rack from now on. the 145 felt good though.

Row: i didnt remember where I was so I just did 135.

feels good to be back in there. just gotta get into a routine again with a whole new city/gym/life.
 
Oct 21:

Squat: 230
OHP: 105
DL: 385

squats: feels like I am pushed forward a bit and need to work harder in staying upright. also feels like I am using more mid back as I feel it there after the workout. guess its a good thing I'm starting low in weight. It seems like my elbows are more easily pointed downward as well.

OHP: grinded out the 5 reps at 105, did a few sets of 95 afterwards

DL: felt slow at 385, but it wasnt a real struggle. grip held well.
 
Oct 23:

Squat: 235
Bench: 150
row: 140

bench: only got 4 reps on the third set, it was wobbly and all over the place, I think part of it is that I lost concentration because of it, and just didnt even bother with the last rep. also, the power cage was taken so I benched on a bench without an adjustable rack so I kind of have to do a half rep just to unrack it. It is really low

row: going to start using the bumper plates for this, just feels better.
 
Oct 26:

Squat: 240
OHP: 105 x 5, 3
DL: 395 x 2

OHP: i dont really know whats up with it?

DL: felt really heavy and slow, for some reason, I didnt touch and go like I normally do and pulled the 2nd rep from a dead stop and felt my back arch quite a bit, so I called it there.

in thinking back, my sleep is ok. Its getting better since I've moved. my eating: in comparison to just before I moved, I'm probably not eating the carbs as I was then. I'm missing some rice during lunch & dinner. I've just started cooking again now that I have some pots and pans etc. I think I'll drop OHP to 95 and try to get the 3 sets in. I"ll drop DL down as well, maybe 355 and I'll see what it feels like there.

Diet, I need to find some decent rice in town and a rice cooker. I also need to get electricity at work so I can heat up lunch, cold lunch sucks.
 
Oct 28:

Squat: 245
bench: 150 x 5,4,3
row: 145

squats feel good. on the lighter sets, I'm still leaning forward a bit and can feel myself pushing off on the balls of my feet, but on the heavy set, I'm able to sit back on my heels without much effort. gotta figure out how/why and try to do it more often

I benched in the power rack today, but for some reason I couldnt get 5 reps in all 3 sets. Maybe I just need to nut up?? I dont know, perhaps I need to reset this back down to 135 for 3 sets to try and get some momentum behind it, since I am restting my OHP as well.

Row nothing to report
 
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