My "I'll be strong eventually. Hopefully" Log

[Ben Baker]

5/2

Body weight: 223

Squat: 315x5x5@8
-3 plates for volume again! Everything felt very smooth, not too heavy but not too light.
Press: 150x5x5@8.25
-These were smooth as well, but I can feel myself approaching the limit with these 5lb jumps. I might have another few weeks before I need to start micro-loading my volume day presses as well.
Deadlift: 390x5x1@7.75
-Felt easy, nothing crazy. I was setting in with a guy who was snatching and got a few pointers from him. I might start cycling in snatches on intensity day?
Standing Cable Curls: 130x12x3@7.5
-Starting to get heavy? Whaaa??
Standing Triceps Pushdowns: 160x12x3@7.5
-Same as curls, just more pump.

I took my time with everything today, I figured I'd just let myself have a 2.5+ hour workout on volume days instead of stressing about how long I'm spending in the gym. That way, the only thing I have to stress about is dinner afterwards haha.

[Ben Baker]

5/4

Body weight: 224

Squat: 250x5x2@6.25
-Recovery days are the best days haha.
Bench Press: 205x5x3@6.5
-Really trying to dial up my bar speed and upper back tightness, it's getting there.
Weighted Chin Ups: +60x5,5,4@9.5
-Who's chubby now.. me!
Weighted Back Extensions: +60x10x5@7.5
-Meh.

Had a headache this entire workout, so I was just looking forward to getting today over with. Looking forward to Friday and smashing 350 for 5.

[Ben Baker]

5/6

Body weight: 225

Squat: 350x5x1@10
-PR, but holy shit. Switching to triples next Friday, I don't even think I made depth on the last rep, I was too afraid I'd fail haha.
Press: 175x3x1@9
-Another PR. Felt a hell of a lot better than the squats did, a little redemption in my eyes.
SGDL: 250x3x5@7.25
-Were slower than I would've liked, I had to rush through these because a friend of mine was waiting to use the platform.
Seated Cable Row: 225x8x3@7.5
-Nice lat pump to finish off this session, about the only muscle I like to feel a pump in haha.

Welp, there goes my hopes of hitting 360 for 5 on squats before switching to triples. Oh well. Everything is still going fairly well overall, though I felt the fatigue a little more this week, I've been sleeping like a baby for the past 3 days. Ready to hit it hard on Monday. Also going to be micro loading all upper body work from now on.

[Ben Baker]

5/9

Body weight: 225

Squat: 320x5x5@8.5
-Volume PR. Felt smooth and easy, though exhausting.
Bench Press: 235x5x5@8.5
-Felt similar to squats in terms of intensity. I'm going to be micro-loading these from this point on starting next volume bench day.
Deadlift: 395x5x1@9.5
-These were almost as holy shitty feeling as the ID squats were last Friday. I want to hopefully eek out another 10 lbs before switching to triples just because I want to say I can deadlift 405 for 5 haha.

I was in a little bit of a rush today so I couldn't do arms Now for dinner and sleep!

[spals]

Now is your chance!

June 10-12 : Wichita Falls, TX | The Aasgaard Company

[Ben Baker]

It's super tempting! But $845 is a large chunk of change for me on a month's notice

[Ben Baker]

5/11

Body weight: 227

Squat: 255x5x2@7.25
-Nothing new here. Belt-less is feeling a lot better now.
Press: 155x5x3@8.75
-These were pretty killer. All of the benching from Monday really smoked my shoulders, so I took a good 7-9 minutes of rest between sets. I managed to get them all in though.
Weighted Chin Ups: +60x5x3@9.5
-Back up to 3 sets of 5 now. I guess since I'm almost 230 lbs and I can still do 5 reps with 60 pounds of added weight that means I'm getting stronger, right??
Weighted Back Extensions: +60x10x5@8
-These felt like cardio today. That is all.

Had another headache today. I think it was a sinus headache related to my allergies. The sessions went well and all, I just wanted it to be over. We'll see how the triples for the squats go on Friday!

[Ben Baker]

5/13

Body weight: 225

Squat: 355x3x2@8.75
-PR! Felt great today, very dialed in and tight.
Bench Press: 282.5x1x1@9.5
-Another PR! Had another 3-5 lbs in me too, which was awesome.
SGDL: 255x3x5@7.75
-These were the only things that felt meh today. First rep of each set sucked, but the subsequent two felt better in terms of explosiveness.
Seated Cable Row: 230x8x3@8.5
Doin' it for the shoulder health, mayne.

Awesome training session today. I love those days where everything just feels on point. The weather going to suck here for the next few days, so I'm looking forward to vegging on the couch tomorrow.

[Ben Baker]

5/16

Body weight: 228

Squat: 325x5x5@8.75
-Another volume PR. 8 weeks ago this was my intensity day squats.
Press: 155x5x5@8.75
-Still need to use more hip drive. Looks like I need to re-read the press portion in SS:BBT3.
Deadlift: 400x3x2@8.5
-Switched to triples because I reached technical failure last week. I think I found a weak point in that I let go of my breath a bit while I'm initiating the pull. Tried valsalva-ing harder on the last rep of the last set and it felt a lot better.
Standing Triceps Pushdowns: 160x12x3@8
-Skipped arms last week. It was nice to get some bro work back in.
Standing Cable Curls: 135x12x3@8.25
-Same as above, but more brotastic.

Another good solid session, though I had some MAJOR bloat going on. I was using the second to last hole on my belt and I've never done that. Damn street tacos.

[Ben Baker]

5/18

Body weight: 228

Squat: 260x5x2@7
-Felt tight and solid, not too much to report other than that.
Bench Press: 210x5x3@7.75
-Felt a little heavier than I was expecting, I think my set up was a little different than usual my first set. Once I settled into my normal set up the next few sets felt much better.
Weighted Chin Ups: +60x5x3@9.5
-Heavy as fuck like always.
Weighted Back Extensions: +60x15x3@8.25
-Changed the set/rep scheme on these to save time. More ass pump than normal today as a result.

Nice solid session. I'm getting in the habit of slamming Red Bull's as pre-workout's now. The caffeine helps me focus a little more while I'm squatting, but the effects don't last long after that. I'm sure doing a hell of a lot of yawning towards the end of my workout.