Shades of Sisyphus: OckhamsRazor's Intermediate Log

[OckhamsRazor]

How long are your respective training days taking? I have been doing something similar, but only with 3 movements (Squat, Press, Pull). H day could be 2 hours. L and M were about 1-1.5 hours.

Same for me. As the weight gets heavier, breaks between sets will inevitably get longer, but I'll also be reducing volume, so hopefully things won't get out of hand time wise.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/6 - Heavy
Cycle 1, Week 4:

Squat: 315 x 5 x 5
Bench: 210 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 4
RDL: 205 x 8 x 3
Chins: +40 x 5 x 3, BW x 10

Volume PRs on both squat and bench today despite missing my very last bench rep (my bar path got a little wonky) and a weight PR on chins. Good stuff.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/8 - Light
Cycle 1, Week 4:

Front Squat: 220 x 5 x 3
Press: 147.5 x 5 x 3
PC: 155 x 2, 175 x 2, 155 x 3 x 2
Dips: +25 x 11 x 3

Everything went pretty well except power cleans; I've been sleeping poorly, heavy day kind of kicked my ass, and I was in a hurry and taking relatively short breaks between sets, so by the time I got to power cleans, I was pretty much spent.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/10 - Medium
Cycle 1, Week 4:

Squat: 290 x 5 x 3
CG Bench: 197.5 x 5 x 3
Deadlift: 410 x 2 x 2
BB Row: 195 x 6 x 3
DB Curl: 35 x 10 x 3

Not my best day, but not terrible either. I haven't been sleeping well, so I felt under-recovered and cranky. As a result, my form felt a little off on squats. However, deads continue to go very well.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/13 - Heavy
Cycle 1, Week 5:

Squat: 320 x 3 x 5
Bench: 212.5 x 3 x 5
RDL: 210 x 8 x 3
Pull-up: +30 x 5 x 3, BW x 9
DB Hammer Curl: 35 x 10 x 2

Switched squat and bench to 5 sets of 3 today as last week's heavy day was very taxing and my recovery was not ideal. As a result, I managed everything fairly easily; hopefully I'll be able to ride this rep scheme out for several more weeks. On squats, my wife/training partner brought to my attention the fact that I have been setting up somewhat left of center lately, resulting in a slight bar tilt, so I focused on centering myself and keeping the bar straight. By the last set I had improved a lot; the change felt awkward and good at the same time.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/15 - Light
Cycle 1, Week 5:

Front Squat: 225 x 5, 5, 3
Press: 150 x 5 x 3
PC: 175 x 1 x 10 EMOM
LTE: 87.5 x 8 x 3

Pretty good workout. Nothing of note to report.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/17 - Medium
Cycle 1, Week 5:

Squat: 295 x 5 x 3
CG Bench: 200 x 5 x 3, 180 x 10
Deadlift: 360 x 8
BB Row: 197.5 x 6 x 3
EZ Curl: 76 x 10 x 3

Felt pretty good today. Still working on setting up more centered on squats and keeping the bar straight throughout each rep; I seem to be getting the feel for it. I added in a backoff AMRAP set on cg bench just for the hell of it and I actually got out more reps than I though I would. Deadlifts continue to go well, though, needless to say, sets of 8 on deads are just brutal. That's all for now.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/20 - Heavy
Cycle 1, Week 6:

Squat: 325 x 3 x 5
Bench: 215 x 3 x 5
RDL: 215 x 8 x 3
Chins: +45 x 5 x 3, BW x 12
Standing DB Tri Extension/ DB Hammer Curl (super set): 25/35 x 10/10, 15/10

Squats felt a little heavier than I'd have liked, but they were still quite manageable. I seem to have almost entirely gotten rid of my balance/bar-tilt issue. I also slightly reduced the angle at which my toes point out as I noticed they were closer to 45 degrees than 30. Bench actually felt fairly easy, which is great; my bench press finally seems to be improving after a long period of relative stagnation. Last, I reached somewhat of a milestone on weighted chins having pulled up a big boy plate in addition to my body weight (which I admittedly still need to get up; working on it). Good workout all around.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/22 - Light
Cycle 1, Week 6:

Front Squat: 230 X 5 x 3
Press: 152.5 x 5 x 3
PC: 177.5 x 1 x 10 EMOM (PR)
Dips: +35 x 10 x 3

Everything went well today. Yesterday I watched a video on Youtube in which Max Aita offers some instruction on high bar squats. I applied some of the principles/cues he mentioned to my front squats today and I liked the results; they felt tighter, more stable, and more explosive. Cleans also went well, though my form started to get a little sloppy toward the end. Nevertheless, it was a PR.

[OckhamsRazor]

3/24 - Medium
Cycle 1, Week 6:

Squat: 300 x 5 x 3
CG Bench: 202.5 x 5 x 3
Deadlift: 390 x 5 (PR)
BB Row: 200 x 6 x 3
Seated French Press/ EZ Bar Curl (super set): 65/75 x 10/10 x 3

Felt good today and I bested my previous deadlift PR at 390 by one rep.