James' Log: I spend too much time thinking about barbells

[JLC]

Hi all, welcome to my log.

About Me

I'm 22 years old, 5'7" on a good day, and weighed in this morning at 176.2. My recent PR's are 385, 270 (tng), 255 (paused), and 500.

My programming is my own. It is essentially a four-day Texas method split, with slightly more benching and deadlifting volume. The program moves in three- or four-week waves.

Goals

I would like to compete in powerlifting. Since I am a little bit soft right now, I am going to begin the cut to 163 after the holidays, and try and hunt down a USAPL meet in the first half of 2016.

Anyways, on to the lifting:

Decemer 16th, 2015

High Bar, Olympic-style squats

345 x 3
315 x 3
275 x 3, beltless.

Bench

245 x 1 x 5, paused.

Deadlift

315 x 5 x 2, every rep paused 2" off the floor for a 2 count
365 x 3, same thing.

Chin

+45 x 3 x 3, mostly just for a stretch.

Some shoulder assistance

December 18th, 2015

High Bar, Olympic-style squats (and that's the last time I have to type that out for many months):

325 x 3 x 5

Bench

235 x 3 x 8, touch n' go.

Squat (ie, low bar)

225 x 3 x 3
275 x 3, all reps beltless and with TUBOW. I'm excited to be back in the superior bar position. New cycle starts Monday.

[JLC]

December 19th

Bench
215 x 2 x 5, ~90 seconds rest.
Deadlift
455 x 1 x 3, this was the heaviest I've touched in six weeks. First single was a little slow, but the next two were nice and speedy.
405 x 1 x 3
Chin
+90 x 1 x 3
+70 x 3 x 1
+45 x 5 x 1
Followed by some fluff work.

[JLC]

December 28th

I had my plan to train over the holidays all laid out, and due to unfortunate circumstance I was unable to get in even one session. A better trainee would have found a way. Oh well, at least I didn't gain any weight.

BW: 175.2

My gym is still closed, so I am lifting in a little dungeon for the next few days. I dig the atmosphere, but I miss the Westside bars.

Squat
275 x 5 x 3, beltless
315 x 1 x 2, just to make sure mechanics didn't degrade as the weight went up

Bench
Warmed up, had to call it after unracking my first work set due to incredible pain in the base of my palm. I'm 90% sure that I am mashing my ulnar nerve. I need to figure this out quickly.

Deadlift
335 x 5 x 4
Singles with 365, 405

Chins
BW x 10, 9, 8, 8, 8, 7, should have paced these better, I'll go for 6x9 next time. Short term goal is 5x10.

Rows and curlz.

[JLC]

December 29th

I went into the gym today with the intention of figuring out how to bench without jamming my ulnar nerve. I just had to stop internally rotating when I take my grip, thereby moving the bar closer to the base of the fingers. Thankfully, my new wrist wraps made this transition not as terrible as it could have been.

Bench
225 x 5, 235 x 4, 245 x 3
225 x 5 x 2

Squat (Didn't intend on squatting two days in a row, but this week is borked anyways so I thought I'd work on my mechanics)
275, 295, 315, 295, 275 for triples - trying to feel out the optimal back angle with which to hit the hole.

Some dumbbell and cable work for chest, tri's, upper back.

Tomorrow I will squat heavier, do some paused benching, and maybe some light pulls.

[JLC]

December 30th

This being my third session in a row, I was pretty sore. Spent 15 minutes or so warming up, and things went smoothly from there.

Squat
Worked up to 335 x 2, 355 x 1 as an over-warmup
315 x 8
275 x 8

Bench
235 x 2 paused, cranked the arch too hard, overextended and tweaked something.
205 x 2, 225 x 2 x 2 paused with a flatter back.

Snatch grip Deads
Wanted to do 315 for fives, but I got to 275 and my thumb started bleeding everywhere. Oi

Some curls and upper back assistance.

Next week contains 5RM's on S/B/D, pretty typical Texas-Method style.

[JLC]

January 3rd, 2016

Squat
Warmed up to 360 x 1, bar speed very good. RPE 8.5?
305 x 5 x 5

Bench
235 x 5
225 x 5 x 4

Deadlift
405 x 5
365 x 5

[JLC]

January 4th

Now that class is back in session, I can finally comfortably fall into my Mon / Wed / Fri / Sat schedule. The only remaining scheduling issues are just downstream effects from yesterday's session.

Squat (light)
275 x 5 x 3, beltless. Weight felt heavy today, but that's alright.

Bench
215 x 2 x 5, beltless. 90 - 120 second rest, focusing on leg drive and consistent touch position.

Chins
BW x 9 x 6

Some arms.

Wednesday is intensity squats, intensity bench with paused drop sets, and light deads.

[JLC]

January 6th

Feeling very under the weather today, I hope I'm able to recuperate by Friday.

Average morning bodyweight over the past seven days: 174.0 lbs.

Squat
Singles up to 365, bar speed was too slow. This was closer to a true max, I shouldn't make this mistake again.
335 x 3
315 x 5

Bench
250 x 4
245, 240, 235, 230, 225 for paused doubles

[JLC]

January 8th

Still sick. Feeling very foggy throughout the day, but caffeine is getting me through the AM workouts.

Squat
315 x 4 x 5

Bench
240, 235, 230 x 4
225 x 4 x 3

I realize now that the cycle I'm running now was written eight weeks ago, with my eyes set on an unsanctioned meet in February. I assumed at the time that I'd be slowly adding bodyweight. Now that I have my sights set on a USAPL meet (I'm thinking about the PA State Championships on May 16th), I'm going to give my training maxes a dip in order that I don't miss any worksets for the next eight or so weeks. Considering the caloric deficit and the sickness, things are actually feeling OK.

[JLC]

January 9th

Finally I am on the upswing of this sickness. Today I was at about 80% and I put in a good session.

Bench
220 x 2 x 5, beltless with 90-120 seconds rest. Focusing on building tension in the descent.

Deadlifts
440 x 3, matches a PR.
405, 385, 385 for triples.

I've taken a look at the next four weeks of programming and tweaked my numbers, since I am no longer "peaking" for this rinky-dink meet. Here's to sustainable progress!