22nd February 2014 Squat + Arms

Squat
worked up to 180kg * 3 (RPE 8.5)
Progress PR. Left my tripod at home so didn't manage to film this. 3rd rep had a fair bit of lean. At an RPE 8.5 that wouldn't guarantee 5 reps, hence the decision to stop. Total time taken to work up to this set was 16 mins, since I took a fair bit of rest. 

BB curl
Worked up to 40kg * 10 * 3

DB preacher
12kg* 10 * 4

Hammers
22kg * 10 * 4

Close grip bench (one on smooth)
worked up to 105kg * 8, then 65kg * 20

Straight bar pushdown
4 sets of 20 reps

The 65 for 20 reps was harder than expected. Total training time was about 40 mins. Yes the mass building phase has an arms day. Hopefully bigger arms will mean more support in my bench.

17th February 2014 Squat, 18th February 2014 Push, 20th February 2014 Pull

17th February 2014
Squat
worked up to 155kg * 5 * 5, then 180kg * 1
Did 3 or 4 back off sets of 140kg * 5

18th February 2014
Incline bench
worked up to 95kg * 8, then 60kg * 20

DB incline
30kg * 10 * 5

BTN press
50kg * 8 * 2

DB press
20kg * 10 * 5

20th February 2014 
Pull ups
BW * 10 * 6

Deadstop rows
80kg * 8 * 4

Weighted Pull ups
20kg * 5 * 5

Deadlifts
worked up to 170kg * 5

DB Shrugs
34kg * 20 * 3

Pull downs
3 sets of 8 (can't remember the weight)

Had to change my training to fit my schedule. Currently on a course so I'm not getting much sleep and my recovery isn't on point, so decided to do a mass building phase before transitioning back into strength. Still will go heavy on the compound movements, but in the higher rep ranges of 5 - 10. 

Backlogged sessions + 14th February 2014 Speed Squat

10th February 2014 Heavy Squat

Squat
worked up to 150kg * 5 * 5, then worked up to 160kg * 3, then 140kg * 5 * 3

Paused Squat (5s)
100kg * 5 * 2

GHR Abs
3 sets of 15

11th February 2014 Heavy Bench

Paused Close grip bench (2 on smooth, 3s pause)
worked up to 120kg * 3 * 6

Touch and go Close grip
100kg * 5 * 3
110kg * 5

BTN Press
50kg * 10 * 3

JM press
60kg * 8 * 3

Tricep pushdowns
4 sets of 15

Bentover rows
4 sets of 12

14th February 2014 Speed Squat

Box Squat (1second pause)
worked up to 110kg * 2 * 10
worked up to 170kg * 2

Hamstring curl machine
45kg * 20 * 3

Standing Ab crunch
3 sets of 15

Back starting to tighten up a little. Need to stretch more. Squats didn't feel super comfortable today even though everything moved pretty fast, except the 170s. Getting them moving after the pause felt tougher than they looked.

8th February 2014 Speed Bench

Close grip speed bench (2-4 fingers on the smooth)
worked up to 90kg * 3 * 8
Still working on the acceleration and basic set up. I find that I can stay tighter with my legs in front, feet flat, knee lower than hip position. Still have to use a super close grip due to the pec strain. As a result, the bar path is much longer than it should be, but that gives me more time to work in the acceleration. Some sets still feel a little cruisy but overall, am starting to get more comfortable with the set up and execution. Rest time was 30s between sets.

Press
worked up to 70kg * 5 * 4
Every rep was from a pause. Rest time was 1 min between sets. Also focused on accelerating and bringing my head thru.  

Neutral Grip DB Incline Bench
20kg * 15 * 4
Just to get some blood into the chest, to help with the recovery. 

DB shrugs
30kg * 12 * 4
5 second holds at the top of each rep.

Rope pushdown
3 sets of 20

Pull ups
3 sets of 20

Rest time for all accessories are 1 min.

February 6th 2014 Speed Squat + Heavy Pull

Box Squat (Parallel)

worked up to 100kg * 2 * 12 (30 seconds rest)

then worked up to 150kg * 2 (RPE 8)

Squats felt pretty good today, weight was light and moving fast, so kept trying to practice my acceleration and make the weight 'jump' off my traps as much as possible. Working up to a heavier double after that just to feel some heavier weight. Focused on pausing and holding the weight on the box, and using the glutes to power it out of the hole.

Rack Pulls (3" below knee) (RPE 9)

100kg * 2

130 * 2

160 * 2

180 * 2

200 * 2

220 * 1

232 * 1 

3 inches below the knee is roughly the same as a 4" block pull for me, but I prefer pulling off the rack because I always find it much harder to start the pull. Target for today was 500# and hence it was somewhat of a little triumph to be holding more than 500# in my hands again post injury. It's been 18 weeks since my injury which is the fastest I've come back from this similar injury, the previous time taking me about 24 weeks. Back position on the 232 felt comfortable enough, but felt like it was near limit so stopped. Could bring the hips through easily, which for me is a tell tale sign my back integrity was still ok. 

Front squats

60 * 10 * 2

Just some light front squat work, but my hips were tightening up from the pulling, so stopped here and moved on to stretching, since I couldn't open them enough to really get the butt sitting down. 

All in all, a good session. Did some flossing with the bands for my ankle, calves, quads and hips, but not very thoroughly, just enough to allow me to get into good squatting position. I find it's much faster than rolling and stretching though, but the effects are temporal. Toe is still fractured and still swollen but the bruising has gone down. Didn't have to think much about it while squatting today though; maybe it's the amino energy(?).

Backlogged sessions + 4th February 2014 Heavy benching session

Squat session 29th Jan 2014
Worked up to 135 * 5 * 5

Trap bar deadlifts
200 * 10

GHR abs
20 * 10 * 3

Press session 30th Jan 2014
Worked up to 80 * 3

Speed Bench (Super Close grip)
100 * 4 * 6

Accessories included cable rows, pull ups, pulldowns, band pull aparts

Squat session 31st Jan 2014
Worked up to 140 * 3 * 5, then up to 155 * 3

Trap bar deadlifts
140 * 3 * 6

GHR abs
20 * 10 * 3

Squat session 3rd Feb 2014
Worked up to 140 * 5 * 5
Worksets were all done in 10 mins. I was thoroughly shagged out after and took a half hour nap. 

Heavy Bench 4th Feb 2014
Close grip pause bench
115 * 4 * 5, 110 * 4
Pec still feeling strained and weak at the bottom.Still working on technique, so keeping the weights relatively light. Still having problems accelerating to the top.

Foam press Close grip pause bench
worked up to 110 * 2 * 3
Couldn't get the triceps to lock out the weight fast. Total cruising... something I need to work on.

Speed Bench Close Grip
90 * 3 * 4

BTN press
40 * 10
42.5 * 10
45 * 10
47.5 * 10
50 * 10

Pullups
BW * 20 * 4
These were tougher than I imagined. Was swinging some, but not exactly kipping since I have no coordination to do that at all. hahaha

Little toe is still fractured, and as a result, I can't squat in my reebok's. Have been working on getting my flexibility up even more so I can get into a better squat position since I'll be squatting barefoot for a while till my toe heals up. Pec strain bruising has almost entirely disappeared, but it still feels alot of stress if I use any other grip other than close grip (one to two fingers on the smooth). Please heal up..... My luck has truly been shit thus far into the new year lol Let's hope we can turn this around! Grind on!!