Road To Strength

[Gumboots]

PIP1 Week 4 Friday
Sleep: 8hrs
Caffeine: 150mg
Music: Korn

Squat
45xlotsx2
135lbsx5
185lbsx3
225lbsx3
275lbsx2 Add Belt
315lbsx1
345lbsx2@9 e1RM ~375lbs
315lbsx2x2

Bench
135lbsx8
185lbsx4
215lbsx1
242.5lbsx3@10 e1RM ~264lbs
225lbsx3x4

Deadlift
135lbsx5
225lbsx3
275lbsx2
315lbsx1 Add Belt, DOH no hook
PR 385lbsx7@10 e1RM ~475lbs

Notes:

Excellent day. I woke up after having a dream (which involved me not being good enough). I was in the perfect state of mind. Squats were all a solid 2' below parallel. I wouldn't say that I relax in the bottom (not even close), but when I go below parallel I am not as tight as when I go to parallel and come back up. When I go below parallel I have a narrower stance and point my knees forward and slightly out. When I go to parallel I have a wider stance, sit back more and keep my knees pointed out. I don't quite know which technique I prefer.

The Bench warm-up was perfect. I treated my last warm-up (215lbs) like it was a work set and it flew up. I skipped the bar cause I didn't want to take the last plate off after squatting. (I use the same bar for Squatting and Benching)

Best Deadlift session in a long time. Pulled 385lbs for 7 reps with Mixed Grip and a Belt. My last warm-up was 81% of my work set. I am going to stick in this range from now on. 90% feels a little too heavy to be warm-up for Deadlifts. I used a slightly different set-up today. I started with the bar CLOSE to my shins (less than an inch away) and pulled with a slightly rounded Upper Back. I will have to catch subsequent sets on video to make sure I don't round too excessively.

There were maybe ~15 people in there for the 2 hours I was working out. And this is a small college gym. I had a few stares when I Squatted 345lbs and even more when I Benched 242lbs. One guy looked at me like he couldn't understand what was going on and asked "How much is that?" It was nice to have a little validation to boost my ego, but no one seems to realize that if they worked hard they could surpass what I've done in less time than it took me to do it. My wrists are under 7 inches and I'm over 6' tall. Like shit, I am not built to be big or strong. I know multiple guys who hit 3 plate Squats in 3-4 months with sub-par recovery. They were all hard workers, but they all quit a few months after starting. It took me 6 months to Squat 300lbs and I was gaining weight! Consistent, safe, hard work will get you where you want to go every time. Can't wait for Monday. Volume day is still light.

Friday's Weights
: Squat 347.5lbs
: Bench 247.5lbs
: Deadlift 390lbs

[Kooline]

Damn son nice job on those deadlifts, getting really close to pulling 500. You're Kicking my ass for sure in this race.

also I'm sorry to hear about your petite girl wrists. It's ok though you will make it through this.

[Gumboots]

Haha, sometimes people's lack of work ethic annoys me. It shouldn't, and I certainly have things to work on too, but it still gets to me sometimes.

I don't know how well my rep outs transfer to 1RM. I have stopped TnGing my Deadlifts. There is now a 1 or 2 seconds rest inbetween reps where the bar just lays on the floor. That should help. Maybe it is a mental barrier, idk. I failed 440lbs a little while ago, lol. But that was a morning session, and I wasn't fully recovered.

[Kooline]

You ever think about starting to incorporate a few heavy singles each cycle? I know it helped me a lot getting used to the heavier weight

[Gumboots]

Soon enough, Friday will be heavy singles or doubles on the squat,bench,and deadlift

[Gumboots]

Oops. I did Friday's workout today.

[Gumboots]

PIP1 Week 4 Saturday
Morning Weight: 183lbs
Sleep: 9hrs
Caffeine: None
Music: None

2ct Pause Squat
45xlotsx2
95lbsx5
135lbsx5
185lbsx5
225lbsx5
245lbsx6@8
225lbsx6

2ct Pause Bench
45xlotsx2
95lbsx5
135lbsx5
155lbsx6@7
145lbsx6x2

2' Deficit Deadlift
135lbsx5
185lbsx5
225lbsx5
245lbsx6@7
235lbsx6

CGBP
45xlotsx2
95lbsx5
135lbsx5
175lbsx6@7
165lbsx6x2

Notes: Friday's 'Intensity Day' happened on Thursday. So I pushed Monday's 'Volume Day' to Saturday. This gave me ~48 hours rest as opposed to the usual ~72 hours. Thankfully, Volume Day is still light enough to allow this to happen. My lower back was still sore from Deadlifting ~48 hours prior. Everything went up well. That said, I have dropped 10lbs in 2 weeks. Some water weight, but that's still way too big of a drop. I will adjust my calories from 2800 up to 3000 and see if I continue to lose weight. I do have a six-pack now though. Clearly visible without flexing, 24 hours of the day. I would estimate my body fat to be at 13%, down from around 15-16%.

Calculated out, that sounds about right. Previously at 193lbs assuming 15.5% body fat I would have 163lbs LBM and 30lbs fat. Now, at 183lbs assuming 13% body fat I would have 159lbs LBM (the 4lbs lost are water weight) and 24lbs fat. So yeah, I definitely need to increase my calories. That's a loss of 3lbs fat/week. I am surprised that I haven't seen any significant strength losses. My technique was good for all my lifts, so not much to say about that.

Next Monday's Weights
: 2ct Pause Squat 250lbs
: 2ct Pause Bench 160lbs
: 2' Deficit Deadlift 250lbs
: CGBP 180lbs

[Gumboots]

PIP1 Week 5 Monday
Sleep: 8hrs
Caffeine: 150mg
Music: Onslaught - Pain

Deadlift
135lbsx6 - Knew it would be a good day here. ZERO low back fatigue. ~96 hours after last heavy Deadlift session.
225lbsx4 - Effortless. Confidence building...
275lbsx2 - DOH no hook, still easy
315lbsx1 - Add Belt, DOH no hook, fasted 315lbs has ever moved
365lbsx1 - Mixed Grip, I knew I had 435lbs+ here
PR 435lbsx1@8.5 e1RM ~463lbs

15 consecutive Chinups *ties PR*, girls were watching. That probably helped

Bench
185lbsx5
PR 135lbsx24 EDIT: I have more respect for bodybuilders. This hurt. This hurt bad
155lbsx8,8,8,6

Hammer Curl
35sx15
30sx20
25sx20

Notes: Random workout today, but it was a very good session. Hell yes. Was going to get a video, but I was so in the zone, I forgot to ask someone. Ha

[Gumboots]

PIP1 Week 5 Monday Part 2 (Can I even call this PIP1? lol)
Caffeine: None
Music: Linkin Park - Place For My Head

Squat
45xlots
135lbsx5
185lbsx3
225lbsx2
275lbsx1
315lbsx1 Add Belt
335lbsx1
PR 370lbsx1@9 e1RM ~385lbs

Notes: I'm getting pretty good at pulling PRs out of my ass. 400 is getting closer...

[Gumboots]

PIP1 Week 5 Monday Part 3
Caffeine: None (This was a mistake)
Music: Headphones don't work anymore

Bench
45xlots
135lbsx5,5
185lbsx3
225lbsx1
250lbsx1
275lbsx1@9.5 e1RM ~281lbs
290lbsxF

Notes: The environment was way better in the afternoon. Also, didn't get caffeine or music. This is now the 4th or 5th time I've failed 290lbs. I need more volume to progress. I think I would've had 290lbs in the right conditions. Fuuuuuuuuuck. I guess 1RM PRs on all the Big Three was too much to ask in 1 day.