Last week was supposed to be my “heavy” week, but after the first two weeks Lil’ Stevie and I were both pretty wrecked. We decided to deload last week, and therefore this week was our big one.
Stevie had the Elite FTS seminar on Saturday, so he geared things back just a bit Thursday.
Regardless, here’s how the week went down. Enjoy!
Monday – Squat/Lower Body
Back Squats, 225×5, 275×3, 325×5 (belt)
These were definitely better than the past two weeks, but still leaving a bit to be desired. I do a decent job of keeping my neck neutral on the initial reps, but after that things start to slip.
Next month I need to turn the rack around so that I’m not facing the wall – I think right now I’m using that as a guide. If I spin around there’s more open space, and that shouldn’t affect my cervical alignment quite so much.
BTW – The goal was to hit 315×5 today, but afterwards we had a hunch the weights were off. The 45’s at IFAST are a bit sketch, and it turns out most of them weighed 47 or 48 pounds instead of 45!
Thus, 325 instead of 315.
RDL’s, 2×[email protected]
Improving. Worked to “pull” the bar back into my body and keep it tight. I need to bump the weight up on these next month.
Blocked 90/90 Split-Squats, [email protected]#’s, [email protected]#’s
Definitely getting better. I was able to stay tall, glutes tight, and I wasn’t allowing my right hip to sag out to the side. Much better.
Glute-Ham Raise, 3×8 with 3 holes showing
Moved the plate in and still was killing it. As I’m writing this part of the update though (Wednesday) the hammies are definitely sore behind the knees!
Ab Wheel, 3×10
Tuesday – Bench/Upper Body
Bench Press, 225×3, 250×3, 245×3, 245×3
Meh 🙂
The last few weeks have felt awesome. Today, AGAIN, I had one side where the plates weighed an extra 5 pounds over the other, and I could definitely tell.
250 was a bit slow, so I went down and the sets at 245 were much cleaner. Next month I may just do doubles, as it seems as though my technique slips with anything over two reps right now.
Chest Supported Row vs. Mini-band, 3×[email protected]#
STILL horrible.
I superset those with:
DB Bench, 2×[email protected]
I got more volume on the barbell this week, so I backed off on these.
Face Pulls, 3×[email protected]
Offset Waiters Walks, 3 trips w/24 kg kettlebell
Thursday – Deadlift/Lower Body
AWESOME energy in the gym today – if Stevie was pulling heavy I know we would’ve been 3/3 on PR’s!
Deadlift against Short Mini Bands, 1×315, 365, 405, 455 (belt)
These felt awesome today – everything was strong and much more stable than before. The two things I really focused on today were a strong and neutral neck position and actively “pulling” the bar back using my lats.
Stevie claims this should be 40 pounds of tension in the bottom and 90-100 at the top. I’m not totally sure if I buy that, but if that’s the case, I need to get my squat up and get in a meet ASAP ’cause those are some PR-type numbers!
Zach Moore hit a PR of 300 today as well, so our AM training crew is doing work lately.
Paused Safety Bar Box Squats, 5×215, 225
Glute-Ham Raises, 3×8 (pin #4)
Ball Leg Curl, 2×8
I’m starting “Operation Hamstring” a bit early – gotta get these bad boys stronger!
Prone Jackknife on Ball, 3×8
Saturday – Bench Assistance/Upper Body
Gym was packed and I was on a tight schedule, so I really only hit the big stuff.
BB Floor Press, 3×195, 5×230
Hit 5#’s more than last week and was good with it.
Chins, 4×5
First 2 sets were normal grip and I was killing it. The second two were on the fat grip, and they definitely felt a lot harder.
Overall it was a great week. Our Little One is due on Wednesday, so really, any workouts I get in between now and then are gravy.
Hopefully she lets me get one more squat day in before she makes her appearance, though 🙂
Stay strong
MR
I think it’s great that you’re taking the effort to log your training here Mike. I think that some professionals are afraid of posting their numbers out of fear it might hurt their “credibility”. Not only does it keep you accountable but shows that it’s a non issue for you.
Good stuff Mike! I have much more respect for the weight I use on SL exercises since I have been reading your blog. I concentrate much more on form and have noticed improvement in stabilizing myself. What did your warm-ups look like during these routines and did you include any conditioning? Thanks.
Thanks a lot for the info that you are sharing with us, Mike…..Your last t-nation article about core training is very simply FANTASTIC !!…BTW congrats for your first born.