Ed's Log

[Rascal]

I go out of town tomorrow, so today was my last day in the gym this week. It was basically a beefed up light day/BB day:

Front Squat-
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
225x5x5 [Basically felt like no weight, but it's still hard to hold on to it. Hopefully doing these will help me learn to stay more upright during low bar squats.]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x10x3 [Easy still.]

Sumo Deadlift-
135x5
225x3
315x2
365x5 [I fixed up my form and grip issues somewhat, but these didn't feel very strong today.]

Conventional Deadlift-
365x5 [I wanted to try my new flat shoes (that I bought for sumo last weekend) and compare the difficulty with sumo, and these were definitely easier today.]

Inclined Bench Press-
45x10x2 [Used wide grip (my normal bench grip) and close grip (my normal OHP grip).]
95x5 [Wide grip.]
95x5 [Close grip.]
135x5 [Wide.]
135x5 [Close.]
145x5 [Wide.]
145x5 [Close.]
155x5 [Wide. Wide grip definitely turned out to be easier.]

Leg Press-
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x15x3 [Feel the burn!]

Standing EZ Bar Curls-
40x10
50x15x3

[Rascal]

A pretty sub-par return to the gym after traveling...

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x5
315x2
345x1
365x1 [Wanted 3 sets of 8, but I had a groin issue. I've actually been feeling something a bit off for 2 or 3 weeks, but it wasn't an issue until today. On the right side, it felt like it was going to pop on the squat ascent. It also caused my right leg to wobble at the bottom position when I started to push up. I decided to not push it because I really don't want to get seriously injured again right now.]

Conventional Deadlift-
135x5
225x3
315x2
365x1
405x1
455x3x4 [I didn't do sumo because it would have put too much pressure on my groin. I'm using my flat shoes for all deadlifts for now because my slippers are falling apart pretty badly at this point. Compared to when using the slippers, that makes these deficit deadlifts technically.]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
215x1
230x4/4/4/4/3 [Progress, but not ideal. Hopefully some sets of 5 will be in the cards next Monday. I think so. I hope so... oh, and I got a 5th rep on the 1st set and a 4th rep on the last set with a bit of help.]

Leg Press-
135x10
225x10
315x10
405x5
495x5x5 [I needed something to "mimic" the squats that I didn't do.]

OHP Machine-
30x10
70x10
110x10x3

Overall, it wasn't a great day. I always feel like I've done nothing if I haven't squatted.

[Rascal]

Light Day:

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x5
325x5x2 [Still feeling that groin issue. Also this weight felt heavy today. Whatever. I hope that I can hit a decent intensity set in two days.]

Standing Paused OHP-
45x10x2
95x3
135x2
145x5x3 [Easy enough. Maybe a PR though.]

Front Squat-
45x5x2
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x2
250x3 [So easy. I might have done 4, but I lost count. Also I was going for 5, but the bar rolled down my arms. I need to work on staying more upright. It's killing all of my squats.]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
205x7x3 [Easy.]

Leg Press-
45x5
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x5
495x5
585x5 [Really easy actually. Is leg press actually a joke?]

Overhead Cable Tricep Extensions-
50x10
110x10x3 [Easier than usual. I had to use a straight bar attachment.]

[Rascal]

It's time for a thought experiment: if someone came up to me with a truth machine and a gun and they told me that if I lied they would kill me and they asked me "do you even lift?", then how would I have to respond if I wanted to live? The answer is, I think, no- I don't even lift.

"Intensity" Day:

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x5
315x2
345x1
375x1
395x4 [Wtf... I don't feel fatigued... I just can't lift the weight anymore... Is this due to my weight loss? Something else? I didn't sleep a ton last night, but I don't think that's it...]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2 [OMG! The gym got three new bars with rings that are actually 81 cm apart! They are pretty nice. UMAX... But nice.]
95x5
135x3
185x2
215x1
235x3 [Ties PR. Kill me.]
225x4 [Can't even hit 5 reps when I've done 5x5 recently.]
225x3 [~2" narrower grip. The first 2 reps were faster than with the wide grip I think.]

Deadlift-
135x5
225x3
315x2
365x1
405x1
445x1
475x0x2 [Oooooookaaaaayyyyyy...]
405x5 [This was hard.]

[Rascal]

Volume Day:

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x5
315x1
335x1
365x8/8/7 [The first set was easy, the second set was slightly harder, and I lost my balance on the third set. Other wise I would have had 8 reps. I concentrated on being more explosive again and it worked out well enough.]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
215x1
230x3 [A rep less than last week's sets. Wtf...]
230x4 [Tried TnG here, I got an extra rep, but my bar speed was similar, or so I was told.]
215x5x5 [Back to paused. I have done 7 before at 215 easily... I couldn't get 6 today, so I did 5x5 instead of my improvised plan of 8x3.]

I took a minimalist approach to volume day today in the hope that I can pull off a decent intensity day on Friday, but that probably won't happen. I have a theory that maybe I'm not eating enough food/carbs before my gym sessions anymore and maybe that is why my lifts (especially squat and deadlift) are suffering. It's just a theory though, and not one I am confident in.

[Rascal]

Probably the most boring update ever...

Light Day:

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x5
315x2
335x5x2 [Narrowed my stance and brought my foot angle in a bit. Felt better actually. One thing that I've been missing lately on everything is explosiveness. I'm trying to bring that back and so far it is making squats feel easier.]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
135x5
185x2
205x5x2 [Sometimes everything fires at the right time and the bar flys up like no weight is on the bar. Most of the time that doesn't happen. I don't know why I can't be consistent.]

I might give Sheiko a try again starting on Monday. I'm not sure though.

[Rascal]

I got lazy and didn't feel like updating my log on Friday, but I regret it due to all my adoring fans. Without further ado, Friday:

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x5
315x2
345x1
375x1
405x3x3 [I meant to do 405x5 and even though the first 3 reps were easy, I set it down. I'm not sure why. Anyway, I did 2 more sets of 3 to make up for it. Squat finally felt decent for once. The bar moved fast enough. I did make an adjustment that I think helped... I moved my stance further in and lessened my foot angle a bit. I feel way more power in this configuration.]

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
135x3
185x2
215x1
235x3 [I did 5 reps, but my random spotter touched reps 4 and 5 so I can't count them. I probably wouldn't have gotten the last rep, but I'll never know.]
225x5
205x8

Deadlift-
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x1
475x3 [Yes! Pretty fast off the floor, but slow at the top like usual. Deadlift is back. All I needed was some proper motivation and I got it.]

Overhead Tricep Extensions-
40x10
80x10
110x5x5

Standing EZ Bar Curls-
80x10x3

[Rascal]

Started Sheiko today. The "3 day for over 80 kg bodyweight" program. I needed a change and Sheiko has worked in the past. However, with my actual maxes inputed into the spreadsheet, the workouts looked way too easy... So I changed my maxes like so: 452 to 500, 243 to 285, and 523 to 575. It looks crazy, but it's not. I'll show you:

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
145x5
170x4
200x3
215x3x5 [Too easy. So fast. Felt like featherweight.]

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
225x2
250x5
300x5
350x5x5 [Not as fast as I would have liked, but it went okay.]

Paused Bench-
45x5
95x5
145x6
170x6
185x6x4 [Fast. I needed basically no rest.]

Chest Muscles (Chest Press Machine)-
110x6
130x6x4 [Easy.]

Good Morning (Standing)-
45x5
65x5
95x5
115x5x5 [These were literally done at the speed of light, but I didn't want to go too crazy on my first attempt at these. I mean, I've basically good morninged over 400 lbs when I "failed" a squat rep. Haha.]

[Rascal]

Deadlift-
135x3
225x3
290x3
345x3
405x3
430x3x4 [Easy, thank god.]

Paused Incline Bench-
45x5x2
95x3
135x3
155x3
165x3x4 [Easy, but I didn't want to push these too hard yet.]

Deadlift from Blocks (1" below knee)-
135x3
225x3
345x3
405x3
460x3x4 [Easy except for last rep of the last set. This is a weird movement. The shorter RoM makes it easier, but it's also hard to build momentum when the bar doesn't start from the floor. Hopefully these help my slow/weak lockout.]

Leg Extensions-
90x8x5 [I have never done these before. Kept it light and with minimal rest (20 seconds) because I had to go and because I have hard squat sessions coming up on on Friday and Monday.]

Abs (Ab Wheel)-
BWx8x3

[Rascal]

First of all, I have to say that the ab wheel destroyed me. I couldn't shift around restlessly in bed for the past two days like I usually do because my abs were too sore/weak to support me lol. In the gym today, I couldn't move down on the bench without crashing under the bar.

Paused Bench-
45x10x2
95x5
145x7
160x6
170x5
185x4
200x3x2
215x2x2
200x3x2
185x4
170x6
160x8
145x10
[All reps trivially fast.]

Squat-
45x10x2
135x5
250x5
300x4
350x3
375x3x5
[Really slow today on most reps, but I think I finally found the stance for me. I've been experimenting with bringing my stance in again and it seems to be working out. In particular, I realized that the stance I unconsciously always use to unrack the bar is the one that I have the most power production from.]

French Press-
60x8x5
[Light since this was my first time doing this movement. Superset with squats due to time constraints.]

Triceps (Overhead Tricep Extensions)-
80x8x5
[Superset with GMs.]

Seated Good Mornings-
135x5x5
[Light due to first time trying these. I need to get more flexible in my hips because I was cramping up.]

First week of Sheiko complete!