1400 Total @ 148?

[Ape288]

Haven't had a chance to update the last few days, but I smoked my push press work last week. 4th and final week of volume accumulation, it was a 5x5 with 205lbs. Not too shabby. That's 100 repetitions in the last 4 weeks. Now it's time to intensify a bit and keep chasing that PR. Afterwards I knocked out a bit of bicep and neck work to round things out.

11/8/17
Push Press(205lbs)- 5,5,5,5,5 (tough, but solid)
Strict curl(85lbs)- 10 singles in a maybe 2-3 minutes (easy)
Dumbbell curl(40lbs)- 8,8,8,8,8
Nexk flexion(50lbs)- 15,15,15

Done.

Push Press 205lbs x 5x5 @ 159

[Ape288]

Yesterday was squats and carries. I decided to take another 10lbs jump on the high bar squat from 325lbs last week to 335 this week. Original plan was to slow the progression down to 5lbs per week but oh well. I did 5 sets of 5 and it was really easy. I dropped the power clean beforehand so that I can focus more on the squats now as the weight begins to move into heavier and heavier territory. I want to make a run at 600 in wraps at some point in the near future, so the higher I can work this sleeve work the better. Perhaps the secret training I'm doing will be the answer? Haha. I will say that it's an assistance movement for my squat. I've done it 3 time sso far and it has gotten easier and easier each week in spite of me adding weight each time. Still too early to say if it will help or not, but I'll be paying close attention over the next few weeks. I finished up the day with farmer's walks, per usual. I did 6 carries of 20yds in 11 minutes. Upper back is toasted today.

11/12/17
High Bar Back Squat(335)- 5,5,5,5,5 (easy)
Secret Training!!!
Farmer's Walk(215 per hand)- 6x20yds (11 min)

All she wrote.

High Bar Squat 335lbs x 5

[Ape288]

Got in some solid work on the push press Wednesday. I hit my last 5x5 with 205lbs so I jumped up to 215 for this session with the intention of hitting a set of 5 followed by some back off sets at a lower weight. I managed the set of 5, unfortunately, however, it seems like that might be as high as I can go for 5 reps right now. I was hoping for 225x5, but the final rep with 215 was grindy. I think at this point I'll continue to add weight slowly again, but work up to a max set of 4, and then a max triple over the next few weeks. Also, I've been doing running vertical jumps once a week for 3 weeks now (usually on Tuesdays but this week was shifted around because I had to leave town for a couple days). On the 2nd session I hit a 36" running vertical. My goal is to get this up over 40 inches beyond a shadow of a doubt before age catches up to me and I start to lose the spring in my legs.

I hit some solid deadlifts yesterday, but I don't have the video ready yet so I'll update that session tomorrow.

11/15/17
Push Press(215lbs x 5)(205lbs x 3,3,3,3,3)
DB curl(45)- 6,6,6,6,6
Running Vertical Jump- 4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4 (40 total jumps - only got to around 35" this session because I usually do the jumps fresh on their own day, rather than after push pressing)

Done.

Push Press 215lbs x 5

[Ape288]

Deads from Thursday were solid. I have pulled conventional for my main work for the last two weeks to give my hips a break from the sumo. First week was from the floor with the deadlift bar and this past week was from the 2" deficit with the stiff bar. I may go conventional for one more week, or switch back and start another round of sumo. I'm not sure yet. Either way, this session was solid. I've been doing my deadlift volume work from this deficit and a few months ago I worked up to a heavy triple with 465lbs, so I decided to work up to a heavy single for this session before the volume work to see how things have progressed. In the past I believe my best pull from a 1.5" deficit was 500lbs. This deficit is a bit larger (2 inches) and I managed to work up to a tough but solid 510 single. Afterwards my progression called for 5x5 @ 370 from the same deficit which was very easy. Next session I will jump to 375 and knock out another 5x5 to finish up my deadlift day. Slow and steady here.

Squats went well yesterday, also. I'll update on those tomorrow hopefully.

11/16/17
2" Deficit Deadlift - (135x5)(225x5)(275x3)(325x1)(375x1)(425x1)(455x1)( 485x1)(510x1)
2" Deficit Deadlift(370lbs)- 5,5,5,5,5

Done.

2" Deficit Deadlift 510lbs @ 157

[Ape288]

Added another 10lbs to the squat from last week. The bar has gotten heavy enough at this point that I transitioned from super high bar to slightly less high bar, probably about an inch or two lower than I had it before, and that slight alteration has made a huge difference in how these reps feel, both in terms of ease and quality. For one, the sticking point feels much shorter to me. Also, my hips still pop up a smidge because I've always squatted that way, but they are much less inclined to do so than before. Either way, reps are feeling easy. The 5th set didn't feel much different than the first set and the bar speed is still fine so I will probably jump another 10lbs for next week's session. as well.

Didn't much feel like doing farmer's walks this session so I finished up front squat holds instead, which I haven't done in months now. I went up to 555 for a 15 second hold and I swear I thought my head was going to explode from the pressure lol. Just vertical jumps and short sprints today.

11/19/17
Back squat(345) - 5,5,5,5,5 (easy)
Secret Training - all I can tell you is that I used 240lbs here.
Front squat holds - (405x15)(455x15)(505x15)(555x15)

Done.

Back Squat 345lbs x 5 Easy

[Ape288]

Got in some solid deadlifts last week. I started a new wave on the sumos and worked up to a strong triple with 525lbs. I did my back off set with 495 where I cranked out a decent set of 5. Afterwards I managed 4 sets of 5 with 375lbs on the 2 inch deficit conventional deadlift, continuing on with my slow linear progression here. These felt a little tough for the first time, probably mostly just because I was a bit worn by the sumo pulling from beforehand. I managed 510 on the deficit deadlift so 375 is only about 74% of my max there. Anyway, that was all for this session. body weight has been steady at 157-158 pretty much every morning. I'm pretty lean right now. Also, I may only work the sumo waves in two weeks at a time followed by 1-2 weeks of conventional pulling because the sumo pulling really causes my hips to tighten up for a few days and it affects my ability to squat later in the week. I wish I could hit it with more frequency because that would give me the best shot of pulling 600, but I've got to learn to take what I can get these days and not be greedy/stupid. My technique is coming together on the sumo pulls. I no longer feel at risk of losing my balance during the lockout and a 525 triple is pretty strong. I'll get there. I just have to be patient.

Also, I knocked out my 5x5 squats yesterday with 355lbs, 10 pounds more than last week. The first 3 sets were pretty straightforward, but the last two actually started to feel pretty difficult for the first time this entire cycle. So, now, it appears we may have hit a crossroads on this exercise. I'll do a full update on that tomorrow or the next day.

11/23/17
Sumo Deadlift - (135x8)(225x5)(315x3)(375x1)(425x1)(475x1)(505x1)( 525x3)(495x5)
2 inch deficit Conventional Deadlift(375lbs)- 5,5,5,5

Done.

Sumo Deadlift 525lbs x 3 & 495x5

[Ape288]

I've started to focus a bit more on the squat work now that the weight is starting to get moderately heavy. I dropped all the unilateral work I was doing before and the only exercise left on my squat days are squats and carries, which makes for a great workout. On Sunday I knocked out a pretty solid 5x5 with 355lbs, where the first 3 sets were pretty easy and the final 2 started to feel somewhat hampered by fatigue. This is a good thing though. For the first time in a long time I started to actually perceive some difficulty by the 4th and 5th reps of the final sets and the reps even felt a bit grindy. I think my next move is to slow the rate of progression from 10lbs down to 5lbs and then as I start to fail to hit full 5x5's I'm going to work in a new method of 5x5 I recently read about called "independent sets." This is where you progress the weight on the bar each session for each set of 5 you successfully complete and you stay at the same weight for sets where you don't complete the full 5 reps. I can foresee this method getting very interesting after a few weeks where you have successfully completed the first 2-3 sets of 5 but begun failing on the last few set. I imagine that each set will begin to take on a life of its own once you have progressed deeper into this method. Should be interesting.

11/26/17
Squat(355)- 5,5,5,5,5
Secret Training - 245lbs
Farmer's Walk(220lbs per hand)- 6 carries x 20yds each in exactly 12 minutes (this left me sucking wind)

Done.

Back Squat 355lbs x 5

[Ape288]

My laptop crapped out so I haven't really had a chance to update this past week or so, but I've put in some pretty good work. The Thursday before last I hit a triple with 475lbs on the 2 inch deficit conventional deadlift, which is a 10lbs PR, followed by some sets of 5 with 380 for volume. This past Thursday I took a stab at 535 for a triple on the sumo deadlift. I managed two reps (lockout was weak that day) and got the 3rd to my knees where I lost it due to being a technically god-awful sumo puller. The strength was there. I could have locked it out if I had a chance to fight against it, but I let the bar drift just a smidgey smidge and on a sumo pull that's always enough to make me lose my balance and have to let it go, especially with a deadlift bar. After that set though I managed a to do a fatigued set of 5 reps with 500, still sumo, and then finished up with 4 strong sets of 5 with 385lbs on 2 inch deficit conventional deads.

Yesterday, my lower back was still a little sore from all that pulling volume, but in spite of that I managed to knock out 4 solid sets of 5 with 365lbs on the squat. First set moved real easy. My squat is nowhere near peak levels right now, but it's been several years (mostly due to injury) since I've been able to put in this level of volume in the mid-300's in just knee sleeves, so I'm pretty happy with that right now. I don't think that I will be competing in sleeves, but this base that I've been building up should really help to propel my wrapped squat. After these sts I tried doing some zercher carries for the first time because I didn't feel like doing regular farmer's walks. Just short distance, maybe 10yds total per set tops. I worked up to 335, which wasn't that tough, but it hurt like hell. And then did 3 more sets with 285 to finish up. My mid back is toast.

12/7/17
Sumo Deadlift - 135x8, 225x5, 315x3, 375x1, 425x1, 475x1, 515x1, 535x2/3, 500x5
2" Deficit Conventional Deadlift(385lbs)- 5,5,5,5

12/10/17
Back Squat(365lbs)- 5,5,5,5
Zercher Carry - (145)(195)(245)(295)(335)(285)(285)(285)

Done.

Deficit Deadlift 475lbs x 3 @ 158
Sumo Deadlift 535lbs x 2 @ 157
Squat 365lbs x 5 @ 157

[Ape288]

My push pressing has gotten a little stale the past few weeks so I decided to change things up for a little while by doing some power jerks instead. Most likely just for a month or two and then I'll return to the push press. Anyway, I've never tried a power jerk in my life. I've only ever done split jerks but I wanted something more symmetrical. So I gave them a go last night and mannnnn they felt awkward. My body just didn't even know what to do with them. Since I'm so used to splitting my legs my brain just kept wanting me to do a push press after the dip and drive and not actually dip back under the bar. And then holding the weight overhead is not nearly as stable as a in a split. So it was interesting. I started to kind of get the hang of it by the time I got up to 250, where I hit a clean double. I finished up by knocking out 10 singles EMOM style with 220lbs afterwards.

Also, new video is up on my YouTube channel showing this past Sunday's entire squat workout. 4 sets of 5 at 365lbs along with my first ever attempt at a Zercher carry.

12/12/17
Power Jerk - (95x5)(135x5)(165x3)(185x3)(205x3)(225x3)235x3)(24 5x2)(250x2)(220 x 10 singles EMOM)
Strict curl - (95lbs x 10 cluster singles) (85lbs x 6,6,6)

Done.

Power Jerk 250lbs x 2 @ 157
Squat Training 365lbs x 4x5

[Ape288]

Yesterday was squat day and it went pretty well. I'm still rebuilding, obviously. I've slowed the progression down to a meager 5lbs per week. I'm only squatting once a week. Body weight has dropped down to 156lbs from a recent high of about 161-162. Most of the weight loss appears to be fat as I have leaned out considerably. I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm probably just expending more calories from hard training than I was before and my appetite hasn't really increased. I should probably make it a point to take in some more calories though. I haven't gotten weaker at any rate, which is good. Bench still sucks major ass but what else is knew. Squatting is going well. Hips are a bit stiff at first but things are good once I get going. No pain while squatting and mostly just muscular soreness in the glutes/quads the following day, so that's good. Form is coming together also. I feel confident in my descent and strong in my ascent. These are nowhere near PR weights, but I'm starting to accrue some high quality volume this go around.

12/17/17
Squat(370) - 5,5,5
Secret Training
Front Squat Hold - (405 x 15 sec)(495x15)(565x17)

Felt like my head was going to explode during that last hold. I had wanted to do front rack carries, not just holds, but I didn't have enough time for all that set up and whatnot. I may try to throw those in on Tuesday though.

Squat 370lbs x 5 @ 156