Paul's log - Staying strong past 50

[irongeek]

H. Press/ H Deadlift day:

Press w/3" belt - 175 x 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 145 x 8
DL w/belt and straps - 445 x 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 315 x 8 x 3
Shrugs - 315 x 12 x 2

Good workout. Press is the laggard this cycle. DL felt heavy (because for me, it is), but moved ok.

[irongeek]

Volume Day

SSB squat w/belt - 300 x 8 x 5 (Is this HIIT?)
Bench - 230 x 8 x 5
Pullups w/straps - (BW + 45) x 5, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4
BB Seated Tricep XT - 110 x Something + Something + Something
BB Curlz - 110 x Something + Something + Something

Lotsa volume today. Going to increase intensity next week as well as reduce volume. Then, testing the week afterwards.
Not sure what I'll get out of this program. I doubt I'll get much of anything on the press and deadlift, since I'm only training those lifts once per week.
I may see a modest (5-10lb) increase in Bench and Squat. The goal is to get a tad stronger, while maintaining a lower BW.

[irongeek]

H Squat/H Bench

SSB squat w/belt - 370 x 3 x 4
Bench - 275 x 3 x 4
Heaves (aka "rows") - 285 x 8, 8, 9, 9 (These are so non-strict!)
Dips - (BW + 70) x 12, 12, 10

Was thinking about finishing this program and testing next week, but I changed my mind and I'll run it a bit longer. I'm making slow, steady progress doing this program and I've tweaked it a bit to suit my needs. It's just about perfect for me right now, so why mess with it? I'll ride it as long as I can and see where it'll take me.

[irongeek]

Press/Deadlift Day:

Press w/3" belt - 175 x 3 x 3, 135 x 9, 8, 8
DL w/ belt and straps - 445 x 3 x 3, 325 x 8 x 3
Shrugs w/belt and straps - 325 x 12

Was thinking about my press and DL. I'm only training these lifts once per week, so I decided to slightly change things up a tad.
I decided to drop one of the intensity sets and add two volume sets. Hopefully, this will keep things progressing. As things stand, I think I'm making progress, albeit slowly.

[irongeek]

Volume squat and bench day:

SSB w/belt - 300 x 9 x 4
Here's my fourth set:
https://youtube.com/shorts/nAloW-xd5a0

Bench - 230 x 9 x 4
Pullups - (BW + 45) x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 3, 2 (Goal was 25 to 30 reps.)
Seated BB LTE - 110 x 15 + 6 + 3
BB Curlz - 110 x 12 + 6 + 3

Good workout. Slow, but steady progress, I guess.

[irongeek]

H. Squat/H. Bench
SSB w/belt - 370 x 3 x 5
Bench - 275 x 3 x 5
Heaves (aka sloppy rows) - 285 x 10, 10, 9, 8
Dips - (BW + 70) x 12, 12, 11.5 (couldn't quite finish that last rep)

Good workout. Normally, I'd do this workout on Monday, but due to a change of plans, I had to do it a day early - and was a bit more fatigued than I think I'd normally be.
Surprisingly, my joints have all felt nearly pain free lately. I don't know why they should feel so good, but I really like it.

[irongeek]

Heavy Press and Heavy DL Day

Press w/belt - 175 x 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 / 135 x 8, 8, 8
DL w/straps and belt - 445 x 3, 3, 3, 3 / 345 x 8, 8, 8

Press sucked today. I think it's because I shortened my weekend and didn't get a full 2 days of recovery, which came to haunt me - but who knows.
Oh well - it's the press, which I perennially suck at, so no biggie.

DLs went well - tough but went well. Mixed some SLDLs in with my backoff sets for good measure.

[irongeek]

Volume Squat and Bench Day:

SSB squat with belt - 300 x 10 x 4
Bench - 230 x 10 x 4
Pullups w/straps - (BW + 45) x 6, 6, 6, 6 + 3 + 2

Felt pretty awful this morning. Hip and knee discomfort. Plus some low back stuff. Not like the last week, where everything felt loose and limber.
But, as I worked out, things loosened up. I hit all my targets for the day. Quite surprised about pullups. I felt crappy and wasn't expecting much, but was able to do solid sets of 6 today. Quite pleased with that.

Didn't do curls or tricep extensions today - just didn't have enough time. May get to them tomorrow.

As I write this, I can feel my knees and hips starting to complain. I think I'll take some ibuprofen...

[irongeek]

H. Squat/H Bench

SSB squat w/belt - 370 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4
Bench - 275 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4
Heaves (aka rows) w/straps and belt - 295 x 8, 8, 5, 225 x 10
Dips - BW + 75 x 10, 9, 7

Just a little hip pain, so pretty happy with this. Added 10 lbs to rows this week and 5 lbs to dips. These accessories keep moving up.

[irongeek]

H Press/ H Deadlift

Press w/belt - 175 x 3 x 5, 140 x 8 x 3
DL w/belt - 445 x 3 x 5, 365 x 8 x 3

Tough workout, but I made all the reps that were planned for this week. Last week was a disaster for the press, so I was surprised that they moved so well today.
After my next workout (vol squat and bench), I plan on de-loading for a week and then adding weight and repeating the 6 week cycle again.
This program has been good in that the progression is much more conservative than a standard intermediate (weekly) poundage increase. It forces me to move up in terms of weight much more conservatively.