The Return of: The Weenie in the Squat Rack

[48mpg]

Dec 30

PR attemps

Squat: 330
Bench: 170

Squats felt good. worked up to 300, then 315. that went fairly well, so I tried for 330 and got it. My knees were pushing in but I managed to get my knees out eventually and get it up.

bench: worked up to 160, then 170. tried 180, got it up off my chest, but it came right back down.

i tried working up on DL, but I didnt have it in me. felt really heavy. I didnt even get it up high enough to merit videoing.

I got off work a lot later than expected and had less time in the gym than I had planned for. Gym closes at 4pm tomorrow so I wont be able to get in there.

I guess I'm content with my lifts. Wish I could've gotten my bench up a bit, but I know my pressing is heavily dependent on the number of reps I get in and I havent gotten many in lately.

Videos are uploading to youtube from my phone and it is taking ages!

I'll link the vids tomorrow night.

Here and the team log

 

[48mpg]

PR attempt vids:

Squat 300:



Squat 315:



Squat 330:



Bench 170:



Bench 180 Fail:

 

[The_observer86]

Very impressive squat, especially considering it's beltless and high bar! Good job on improvements in our team logs, man!

I think your bench numbers could improve if you lower it faster, helping with stretch reflex off the chest.

 

[ssdd]

Yeah man that squat isn't very weenie-ish. Nice job.
It actually baffling that your bench isn't higher considering your squat.

 

[48mpg]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I've always had issue with pressing. the most I've ever benched is right around 180 lbs.

a few months back i did something to my elbows and it messed up my momentum on it. elbows feel fine now, so I'm back at it.

hopefully I can keep it moving up, slowly but surely.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 3

Squat: 300 x 3
OHP: 125 x 1

squat 300 x 3 felt pretty good

went for a 1RM on OHP for the competition. 125 went up slowly, but it got up there. I rested for a few minutes and tried 130. i couldnt get it up much more than an inch.

I plan on getting back in the gym on Tuesday. Wed - Fri I'll be away for work. I figure now is a good time to switch over to madcow. Tuesday, I figure I'll go for 300 x 5 on squat, 165 x 5 bench, & 415 x 5 DL so I can have some solid numbers to start on madcow.

actually looking forward to a deload and being back in the gym 3 days a week.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 6

what a crap day man

squat: 265 x 3

thats all i did. i def could have gotten more, but I couldnt clear my mind enough to concentrate so I just left the gym.

back at it this weekend hopefully. I'll hopefully start mad cow. the deload should help be get back into it as well.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 11:

switched to madcow. I chose 5RM #s that I know I can do and have done. Figured I go a little conservative and take my time with it.

5RM #s
Squat: 285
Bench: 160
Row: 145 (i went low on this)
OHP: 115
DL: 405

today's workout: (I'll just post the top sets so I can keep track on my spreadsheet)

Squat: 265
Bench: 150
Row: 135

felt good. its more volume than I have been doing lately because of the warm up/ramp up sets. I've been only doing sets of 2 or 3 for warm ups.

I need to work on my bottom position for squats. I feel like I'm rocking forward a bit and pushing off of my toes more. need to keep more on the heel.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 13

Squat: 225 (should have done 200)
OHP: 105
DL: 375

i was working in with 2 other guys, so i just did 225 as my top sets instead of 200. felt light and fast which is the point of this squat session.

OHP felt pretty heavy but I got all the reps ok. my triceps were still pretty sore. need to figure out how to roll them at home. at the gym i just mash them into the barbell.

DL: once i got myself pumped up. 375 went smooth and fast. on 2 of the reps, the bar got a bit in front of me. I need t remember to keep it up against my shins for each rep even though i'm doing touch and go.

the light squat session really feels good.

I'm liking having each set spelled out for me. I see it on paper, i know exactly what needs to be accomplished.

its still crowded in the gym. hopefully the crowds fade soon.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 15:

squat: 270
bench: 155
row: 140

the set of 8 squats @ 200 was rough.

bench felt pretty heavy, this wasnt that much of a deload, looking at the spreadsheet, i' doing 160 for the nex two weeks, i guess it has to do with the rounding and the smallest plate of 2.5 lbs.

rows felt pretty easy.

after, i did the assistance of dips, curls, tricep ext.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 18:

Squat: 270x5
Bench: 155x5
row: 140x5

I'm not sure why, but I feel like I'm going up on my toes or rocking the weight a bit forward on squats.

I need to stay on top of my mobility work and not get lazy doing it.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 20:

squat: 205
ohp:110
dl:385


squats: same thing. not sure what it is. I think if I tighten up my abs more, it helps it out and lets me sit back a bit more, my hamstrings are really tight too.

OHP: feels heavy already, maybe i shouldve deloaded more

DL: feeling strong and fast. liking it.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 22:

Squat: 280
Bench: 160
Row: 140

I think i figured out my squat issue. I need to try and keep my elbows pointed down and not let them flare backwards. Also need to remember to spread my knees to "make room" to go down. I think it allows me to reach bottom and stay a bit more vertical and keep the weight more on the heels and less on the toes.

Bench: not sure how I did it, but I think whatever I did, i was able to get some leg drive. I think I've been missing this. I've been struggling with trying to develop some kind of leg drive. I positioned my feet further under me, instead of spreading them wider apart. Also, I think I was pushing down into the ground a lot more. need to keep working on this.

Also did the assistance afterwards. dips, tri ext, and curls.

My gym has 2 Jacob's Ladders, and I've been meaning to try them out. I might go into the gym tomorrow or saturday to work on my bench and a low weight and try out the jacob's ladder.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 25:

Squat: 280
Bench: 160
Row: 140

squats felt good and fast. I need to work on tightening my abs more, esp when doing multiple reps. I think I let them go after the first breathe hold.

I need to treat rows as another big lift and not an accessory lift. rest properly between sets, set up for each set properly, etc.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 27:

squat: 210
ohp: 110
DL: 395

OHP felt good. thats a good sign, because they were a strugle last week at 110

DL: i think my back was rounding a bit.not sure why. I think its because i sued a different bar and the knurling is a bit closer together. so I put my feet in reference to the knurling, instead of where it feels right.

 

[48mpg]

Jan 29

squat: 285
bench: 160
row: 140

this was the fastest workout i've had in a long long time. really long day at work and didnt get to the gym until ~1hr before closing

i probably did rush through it, but i got it in. didnt do any of the assistance work, but oh well. just glad i got it in.

good thing i already had diner cooked from yesterday.

i'm beat.

 

[48mpg]

Feb 1:

Squat 285
Bench: 160
Row: 140

i dont even remember anything else.

 

[48mpg]

Feb 3

squat: 215
OHP: 115
DL: 355

i'm liking a light squat day. it lets me focus on form and not worry about the weight.

OHP: last rep wasnt very pretty, but i got all 5 up and locked out

DL: my right lower back, a few inches off of the spine was quite tight. I decided to stop at 355 instead of forcing a set at 405. i'm not sure what it is, it was tight last week too. maybe I'll only do light DL next week, or skip it all together. its been about an hour and a half since i left the gym and it feels fine right now. wonder what itll feel like in the morning.

 

[48mpg]

feb 5

squat: 295
bench: 165
row: 150

squats felt good, heavy but doable, i felt that i could have done 5 without too much issue. I need to remember to squeeze my abs in tight. I think when it gets heavy, i'm arching my back and just pushing everywhere. part of this is pushing down and out on my abs. i need to suck it in.

bench: felt good. 3 reps was pretty good and fairly easy, i like where this is going, i just need to kep everything tight.

I think my issue with DL is keeping my abs tight & reps 2-5, i am not lowering my hips enough and just pulling with mostly my back.

will work on it and see where i can take it next week.

assistance felt good to get it.

 

[48mpg]

Feb 8:

Squat: 295
Bench: 165
ROw: 150

5RM PR on squat for me.

I kept conscious of keeping my abs tight the whole time. Doing so keeps my depth a bit higher but still below parallel. My lower back is still a bit tight but i think this helps.