Bench + Back 19th December 2012

Bench
117.5kg * 4 for 8 sets
Bench was good. Worked on technique throughout the working sets, and felt more in control. Was able to really activate the lats to help support the descent. I must remember to ask max to observe my bar path tmr and see if it's travelling straight up or up and back. I have a feeling it's not entirely straight up although it does feel like it.

Single arm lat pulldown
55 * 10 for 4 sets
These were done with a 1 sec pause in the contracted position. Rest time in between sets was ~1 min.

Straight arm pushdown (rope)
16 * 15 for 4 sets
These were done very strict, with a 521 tempo. Rest time in between sets was ~1 min. Even though the weight was embarrassingly light, the lactic buildup was just insane. I find I get a better squeeze, especially into the rhomboid area doing this with the rope.

Prone Rear delt raises (DB)
7.5 * 15 for 3 sets
These were done with a tempo of 321. Rest time in between sets was <45s. Weight was light, but my back was really burnt by then, so even holding at the top for a two count was relatively tough. This helped hit not only the rear delts, but all the inner back muscles like the lower traps and rhomboids. 

Wide Grip Pull up
BW * 8 for 2 sets
By this stage, my back was pretty tired out. I'll take it as my conditioning wasn't up to par, which means I need more focused back work like this to push myself. Tempo for this exercise was 221, but honestly, by the last 3 reps, it was more like 211. Again, this was another exercise that really helped hit the scapular retractor muscles. I did these with a more upright body angle instead of a utilizing a lean back.

DB concentration curls
12.5 * 12 for 2 sets
These were done with a strict tempo of 51X.

21 rep Curls (21s)
20kg for 3 sets
 By this stage I really didn't feel like handling any really heavy curling, so I decided on 21s instead to (shamefully) chase the pump. Tempo was 111. These were done first with 7 bottom half reps, then 7 top half reps and finally 7 full range reps. I actually used 3 different grips. Did regular supinated grip, then reverse grip, then finished off with two 10kg dumbbells with a hammer grip.