Defeating My Brother In Glorious Lifting

[brettj]

Still sick. Plan was to go in and do some light squats then deadlift as normal for intensity day.

Managed to pull 415x2, was trying for 3 though. I think I could have made it if I didn't feel like throwing up the whole time. Did a backoff set DOH, no belt, 298x5 which was pretty easy.

Gonna chalk this week up to mico-organisms fucking with me, and try to jump back into the regular schedule next week. Might just do all my volume Tuesday , since Monday is my shortchange. Maybe if I don't feel like ass Monday I'll go bench though.

[brettj]

Did all my volume today since I was at work and then Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.

Squat: 340 5x5 Pretty easy actually. Taking a week off and then eating all weekend probably helped.

Bench: 210 5x5. Moderately hard

I could definitely feel that my lower back is not recovered from deadlifting. Maybe that's just a one off, or doesn't really matter since it didn't affect my lifts. I feel like I've been program hopping with my pulls a bit, and I want to keep going steady, but how I'm doing things never feels quite right.

COMPETITION UPDATE: I missed my own family's thanksgiving on Sunday, but my fiance went and got some intel on my brother. Apparently he is doing some sort of 4 day program. He reportedly seemed really shook when my fiance mentioned how disciplined I've been about my diet - describing me eating oatmeal til I feel like barfing. Fucking wuss is going down.

[brettj]

Had to run up a flight of stairs to a code yesterday and I was pretty winded, so I decided to start doing some cardio - maybe once or twice a week.

Tried Andy's unpowered treadmill method today in my condo's "gym". Kicked my ass hard. My gym actually has prowlers that I used to use on my light days, but without a light day I've been having trouble fitting it in. Maybe this is the key.

[brettj]

Intensity day:

Squat: 390x3 - easy

Bench: 225x2 then x1. Was trying for 3 on both sets. I fucking hate the bench press so much.

Deadlift: 420x1 then backoff set 300x5 DOH. 420 was a pretty awful grind, so my deadlift woes continue.

According to my mom, my brother has squatted 405x1, although I think she may have the deadlift and squat confused. Regardless, based on my set today, I'm pretty sure I could manage 405x1, so worst case scenario we are neck and neck.

[brettj]

Had brunch with my brother. He claims he tested his 1RM and got 405x1 on the squat but it was "really slow". He benches 200 and deadlifted 415x1, but says he tested that a while ago and could "definitely" do at least 15 pounds more. Sure. Apparently he's doing some kind of Westside Conjugate 4 day system or some shit and was shit-talking the Fahves method. We decided to put money on the bet. 5$. There is no way this asshole is going to win.

[brettj]

Press volume: 150 5x5. Missed the last rep of the last set.

Chins: 8x7x6. Meh. I'll take it considering I haven't done chins in about a millennium now.

Here's a mystery: given that I am constantly fucking around with my pull programming, what will I hop to next??? Maybe rack pulls and haltings??? SLDL for volume??? DE deadlifts??? Stay tuned to find out!

[brettj]

Squat volume: 345x5x5. Medium. Finishing set two and knowing you're not even halfway done is about as close as you can get as staring into the abyss I think.

Almost tried rack pulls, haha, until I realized the pins on my gym's squat rack don't go low enough. A sign from above to not fuck around with my pulls???

[brettj]

Intensity:

Squat: 395x2x2 - not bad, but some sticky points on every rep

Press: 165x0 165x0 160x3 165x2 - this lift is pretty finicky...

Powerclean: 183x1 - Decided to go back to pulling heavy on my volume day, so for kicks I tested out what I can power clean.

[brettj]

bench 215x5x5x5x4x4
chins 6x7x6

[brettj]

Squat: 350x5x5 missed very last rep. Was hoping a meteor would hit me for every rep.

Rack pulls: 415x5 - these seem pretty easy. Worst part of my deadlift is off the ground though, so I imagine the haltings will be harder.