Power Building Log 101

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 3 / Day 3

Volume: 13,422

Squats - 220 3x5
DL - 374 1x3
DL - 320 3x5
Def DL - 285 1x5
Pendlay Row 175 3x5

Solid day, lifts went up just fine. Nothing to report. Digging the new plates. I am able to load the plates almost exactly to the percentages I'm looking for.

Yea, I know I paid way too much for the plates, but I also wanted to equip one of my kids with a gym. He got the hand me downs and I got new, bright and shiny.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 3 / Day 4

Volume: 21,916
Time: 1:43
Weight: 225.2

Pauses Bench - 162 5x3
Press - 137 x 10, 10, 9
Chins - 10, 5, 6, 5, 4
Dips, -30 x 12, 13 / BW 10
Barbell Curls - 65 x 8, 10, 10

Saturday is my most brutal work out. Maybe because the volume is high or because it's the 4th day. Almost 2 hours, but was able to complete and the work out was harder than last time. It's still the chins that drain the lift out of me.

I cannot hit 3 10s on the press, but was still better than last time.

I'll have better eating habits soon and should be able to get myself down to 215# without losing strength.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 4 / Day 1
Volume: 13,925
Weight: 225
Time: 1:45

Squat - 315 1x5 PR
Squat - 275 5x5
Front Squat - 165 2x5
Romanian DL - 255 3x5
Lying Leg Raise - 1x30

Squats are now officially difficult. 315 is my all time max set of 5. 275 at 5x5 is also moving into some unknown territory. My rest were a bit long for no real reason but I was a bit lazy and wanted to be sure I completed the day as written. I think I'm going to need to eat more.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 4 / Day 2
Volume: 18,812

Branch - 232 1x5
Paused Bench - 205 5x5
Close grip Bench - 178 3x5
Chins (-30) 10,10,7,5
Lying Tricep ext. - 67 12,12,13

My inconsistent eating has finally caught up to me. I didn't eat enough today and it shows. Today was a grind but I made it. Tomorrow is my last day of work and I'll be able to change my habits quickly. Will be eating more to keep up the energy levels to hit the gains.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 4 / Day 3
Volume: 13,764
Time: 1:30

Squat - 220 3x5
DL - 383 1x3
DL - 338 3x5
Def DL - 294 1x5
Pend Row - 185 3x5

Spent yesterday and today cleaning and drywalling part of my garage. I thought I would be too tired to lift... I was good to go and lifted as scheduled. Used my 4" belt instead of the 3" and I am going to keep using it for a while. I want to buy a levered belt and am trying to decided on 3 or 4 inch. I feel like I get more support from a 4" belt, though it may be just in my head.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 4 / Day 4
Volume: 24,619

Paused Bench with Kadilac bar - 162 5x3
Press - 137 3x10
Chins - 7,8,7,6,5
Dips - (-30), 12
Dips - BW, 12, 12
Tricep Ext - 70 3x12

Oops... Was supposed to do curls not tri ext.

Dips are getting stronger. I think I'm going to change to pull ups for a while. They are weaker than my chins presently.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 5 / Day 1
Time: 1:35
Volume: 13,230

Squat 321 1x5 - PR
Squat 285 5x5
Front Squat - 185 2x5
Romanian DL - 265 3x5
Lying Leg Raise - 2x15

This was a brutal workout. I can do it, but it takes time. I won't have this kind of time soon and I will need to find a shorter workout.

Until then I'm going to grind it out as best I can. The 321 was a new record and was doable but my form broke down a bit.

Front Squats should gave went to 175 but I loaded 185 and did them anyways.

I was tired by the RDL but I like the feeling of them so it was not big deal.

I better step up my eating. My wife will enjoy that.

[Matthew Spicka]

Week 5 / Day 2

Too busy to retype my workout. No issues putting up the numbers. Switched to pullups over chins for fun. They seem harder to do than chins for some reason so I thought I would change it up.

The workout showed 2.5/hrs, but I was busy doing other things as well. I even ate some breakfast during the workout.

[Chop_Top]

Are you using Andy’s upper/lower hypertrophy program? I was interested in it and was on the fence of purchasing. I’ve used his powerlifting program and GGW, all his stuff is good. I like the setup your using but the overall volume may be a little high for me at this time. I could always adjust just by shaving off a set or two. How do you like it and feel after these first few weeks.

[Matthew Spicka]

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