Martha, well done. Shug, that's creepy.
Friday, 15 April
TnG Bench: 245x4@7, 255x4@8, 265x4@9
Squat: 365x4@8, 380x4@8, 400x4@9
Press: 135x7@7, 150x7@8, 160x7@9
Huh. This workload is going to take some getting used to, and this is supposed to be my "low stress" week.
Squats were significantly harder than they were on Monday. I was expecting 365 to be maybe my second to last warmup set, not my first work set.
Cat woman is hot, this is creepy...
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Saturday, 15 April
Deadlift + Band: 315x4@7, 335x4@8, 355x4@9
Slingshot Bench: 295x4@8, 315x4@8.5, 325x4@9
303 Tempo Squats: 225x7*@7, 245x7@8, 275x7*@9
I used a black band for the deadlifts. I'm not sure how much it adds to the lockout, but it's over 90 lbs, because I couldn't DOH it much past my knees at 315. I was pretty happy with how flat I kept my back though. That's the main thing I'm focusing on now during my deadlifts.
As to tempo squats, two things. The first thing is:
And the second thing is that I have no idea how to rate RPE for these things yet. *Oh, and apparently I can't count, since I did eight on the first and third set.
I'm getting a home gym set up, and I'll like to get some thoughts before I order the equipment. I'm moving overseas in a couple months, so whatever I get has to be here in time for it to be shipped, which does limit the options a little bit. I'm going with Rogue for the most part though, so that's not much of an issue.
Rack
R-6 Power Rack
Bar
I was planning on getting the NPGL Eleiko Sport Training Bar, but it looks like I was too slow, as that link now goes to 404 not found. This make me sad.
So now I'm back to looking at the Rogue 28MM Training Bar. I've already got the Ohio Power Bar for non-Olympic lifts.
Bench
Was initially planning on getting a Rogue Flat Utility Bench.
Now, however, I think a good adjustable bench will be worth it. I'm looking at either AB-2 Adjustable Bench or Rogue Adjustable Bench 2.0.
Plates
Rogue LB Competition Bumper Plates
I'm getting seven pairs of 45s and one pair each of 35s and 25s. I was considering 2.0 Training Plates which has free shipping, but if my order is over $5000, it ships free anyway. I've got a few people looking to see if there's anything they want to bundle with my order to save on shipping. At this point, I'm $316 away, and shipping is $306. If nothing else I'll swap to a bearing bar to fill the gap.
Miscellaneous
Monster Bands: two each of red, blue, and green, one black
Chalk
OSO Elite Collars: black
Vertical Bar Hanger: triple
Already have a Matador Dip Station, which I'm taking with me, and some Safety Spotter Arms, which I will be selling.
Anyone have thoughts? Anything I should swap out or add? Like swapping out pin and pipe for safety straps or something I didn't mention?
28mm training bar is pretty good. Decent spin but good for the price point and knurling is nice.
I have the Rogue 2.0 adjustable bench and like it quite a bit. Took a couple of workouts to get use to it but now I found set up second nature.
How do you like the power bar? I got a B&R 2.0 bar but am looking for a second one.
Monday, 18 April
Squat: 405x4@7, 415x4@8, 425x4@9, 405x4x3@7.5, 8.5, 9
Bench: 260x4@7, 275x4@8.5, 285x4@10, 270x4@10
DB Bench: 80x7@7, 85x7@8.5, 85x7@9
Squats were alright, but I need to be more careful about keeping my knees from moving around. Went down a bit faster and got a better bounce on my fatigue sets, but felt my knees a bit afterward. Don't want to go further down that road. Again.
Turns out I'm really bad at matching weights to RPE for bench. Who would've guessed?
Did learn my lesson in time for DB bench though. If your second set is supposed to be an 8, but it's an 8.5, you can probably just stay with that weight and the next set will be a 9.
I'm trying to keep the time about the same between sets, so that recovery time doesn't throw off my RPE from set to set. I'm aiming for ~5 minutes for the main lifts, and 3 minutes for supplemental lifts.