sking's log

[sking1001]

I think getting the intensity on the DBs up will help. Also lets drop to 5s on the light bench day.

Sounds great! Everything was smooth and easy Saturday, but I got too much rest between sets, as I was yapping it up with a new friend at the gym. Totally ran out of time and had to cut out light squats, chins and curls :/

Deadlift
245x5
335x3
385x2
425x5x2
395x5x2

1st Set:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN9MvL0uopk

SLDL
345x8x3

Leg Press
400x8x3

Wide Pulldowns 3x8 w/145

[melody]

Friends don't let friends miss curls.

[PackMule]

That's true. Should've curled together while staring into each other's eyes. Synchronized.

[sking1001]

Yeah but the synchronized curl thing would have made my friend feel bad holding the 10's while I was swinging 50's so...lol
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Great day in the gym last night! Bench is coming back. I got everything as prescribed and even got every bit of assistance work done without skipping anything. The plan was to just hit the heavy set for 1 set of 5 and then do 3 backoffs, unless I was feeling really strong. Well that first set went up way easier than I expected, so I got 'em both. I'm not the best at figuring out what's working and what's not, especially when I change more than one variable, but I do have to say that I've never been consistent enough on assistance work to see an improvement in the assistance work itself, but with the dumbbells, chins and dips getting easier, it could play a big part on the improvement last night. There are other variables, but more on that later:

TnG Bench Press
135x8
185x5
225x3
275x5x2
245x5x2

Felt some slight pain in my AC joint with the heavy sets, but it's fine this morning. I probably just got a little too amped and form may have slipped slightly. The backoff sets were explosive, and I only rested 3 minutes between those sets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvoFWpVdAig

Incline Bench Press
175x5x3
A little over 90 seconds rest between sets.

Overhead Press
150x5x3
Around 2 minutes rest between sets, and I'm still not using a belt here. Easy stuff.

BB Front Delts 3x8 w/75
DB Lateral Delts 3x8 w/30's
Dips 3x12 - 60 sec rests
E-Z Tricep Extensions 3x8 w/65

Notes:
Like I said, there have been a few variables here. My guess is that my bench is coming back as a result of a combination of them.

* I started tracking my macros again lately. Not as strict as before, but I'm realizing just how low my protein has been. So I've been making a more concerted effort there. I'm not getting the same calories as I used to, but the quality has been way better. I only had 1552 calories before training yesterday evening, which ended around 8pm, but carbs were already at 184 grams. Body weight was a little below 188 this morning.

* For the last couple week's of 8s, where I was coming up short on my bench, due to the spring break and all, I had to skip a couple weeks of dumbbell work. I've got the intensity back up there, and like Josiah said, I think that's really helping the bench.

* Another factor that was unique to last night is that I decided to cut out one set of the warmups. For the past few weeks, I've been hitting 245 for a couple of reps first. In days past, I've always jumped from 225 to 275, and I went back to doing that last night.

[sking1001]

I also want to clarify that I don't think there's anything magical about assistance work. Nothing special about benching with dumbbells, but it's just that I need that volume.

[sking1001]

Squat
135x5
225x4
315x2
360x5x2
330x5x2

Took a fifteen pound jump from last week. I'm really liking this progression! 2nd set started to get a little challenging, but I'll let you be the judge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucETGNtg7xw

SLDL
265x8x3
Got a little winded after the second set.

Chins 3x8 w/+25 pounds
KB Rows 3x8 w/32kg/70lbs
BB Curls 3x8 w/90 pounds
GHR 3x8

I added 15 pounds to the chins this week, because the 10 pound plate felt like nothing last week. These got a little less strict on the last set, so it was challenging enough. I'll probably keep the same weight next week until they get too easy.

Been getting a lot of work in lately with all the assistance work. Often I don't have the time, but I'm really making an effort to fly through it.

[sking1001]

Lunch hour at the gym, but this took more than an hour.

TnG Bench Press
135x8
185x5
225x3
245x5x2

DB Bench
100’s x 8 x 3

DB Incline
80’s x 8 x 3

Seated DB Press
60’s x 8 x 3

Front/Lateral Delts Superset 3x8 each w/30’s
Rear Delt Machine 3x8 w/50 - 15 second rests
Dips 3x8 - 15 second rests
Tricep Pushdowns 3x8 w/160 - 30 second rests

Dumbbell work was very intense. This felt like a big jump from last week, so I'm going to keep it the same for a while. Also, the gym dumbbells go from 100's to 110's. Burned it up on the other accessory stuff between supersets and super short rests.

Hope I didn't overdo it for benching Monday...

[PackMule]

Wouldn't worry about overdoing the DB day. More worried about under-doing it at this point. Unless you start feeling rundown/beat up. Go for the 110s next week on DBs. Just get 1 set 6-8 see how it goes, then drop back to the 100s for 2x8 volume.

Get them deads!

[sking1001]

Thanks JMoye!!

Got my 440x5x2 deads today with good speed. Problem is I hurt my back. Not sure how...form might have slipped some on the 2nd set. Probably should have backed off some at the first sign, but I'm sitting here in a good deal of pain with ice right now. It's unusually for me to have pain WHILE training, but it started hurting low left right at the original injury sight. Pretty damn frustrating.

I'll have video up on my channel soon and will log it all when I get a chance.

[PackMule]

Damn man sorry to hear that. Hope it's not too bad.