Tue 3/30/21 - Full Body (Squat) - Strength I Week 12

 Garage Gym

(Squat)125x3,145x3,165x2,185x1,205x1,225x1,195x3,205x2,2,175x4

(Bench)145x5,185x3,205x1,225x1,220x3,210x3,3

(RDL)135x4,185x4,225x4,255x4,225x4,4

77 mins

Moved WO up 1 day and we worked out after 7pm when Taryn went to bed. Started with Squat for 1@8, 1@9, 3@8-9, 2x2@8-9, 4@8. I never thought I'd get through this workout at the estimates when looking at it on paper.  I ended up having a great squat night. Warmed up with some mobility and started with bar and took 10-20 pound jumps all the way up (bar, 65, 85, 105, etc), kept reps low and I ended up feeling really good. Top sets felt hard but very solid.  I was more concerned about getting through all the heavy back-off sets, but they all went very well. Awesome! Next was bench, touch and go.  Left shoulder still feeling a bit wonky from Sunday's DL session, so I didn't go quite as heavy as last week on top set (-5#). Back offs were good.  RDL's were fine, slightly bothered the left shoulder so I my back offs were less than planned.  Very solid WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

187.4

Sun 3/28/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x5,185x5,225x5,275x3,315x2,345x1,360x1,285x5,315x3,3,3

(PinBench)95x6,145x5,175x3,195x1,210x1,220x1,205x3,195x3,3,3

(BoxSquat)95x6,125x6,145x6,6,6

60 mins 

Deadlifts for 1@7.5, 1@8.5, 5@8, 3x3@8-9. Felt pretty good working up but did something to my left shoulder/rear delt on either the 315x2 or 345x1 set. It bothered me for the remainder of the WO, but hard to place the point of pain. Didn't hurt during pressing. Anyway, 360x1 felt pretty good and about the appropriate RPE, back offs were good, despite the shoulder discomfort.  I supersetted deadlifts with pin bench, which was 1@8, 3@9, 3x3@8. Felt pretty good throughout.  The workout called for 2 count paused squats, but I did box squats since they're a bit easier on my knees and I didn't go heavy.  Solid workout.

Nutrition/Weight:

187.6

Sat 3/27/21 - GPP + Zoo

 Garage Gym

(TriPushDn)3x15

(SidePlank)3x40

(LyingLegRaise)3x13

(Delt)10x12,12,21

Zoo

20 mins + an afternoon walking around the zoo

Taryn loved seeing the animals she's only ever seen in books.  She loved petting the goats and seeing the gorillas!

Fri 3/26/21 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)145x6,185x3,205x1,225x1,235x1,215x3,225x2,220x2,2

(Squat)95x5,125x5,145x5,125x5,5

(FloorPress)145x6,175x6,180x6,185x6,6,6

64 mins

Start with 1 count paused bench for 1@7.5, 1@8.5, 3@8-9, 3x2@8-9. Working up to my top single felt pretty good, although my R shoulder still has this weird pulling feeling going on. Slightly painful, but more "weird". Anyway, 205# felt really good, as did 225#.  Last couple weeks has been 230# as my top set @8 so I went to 235# and it moved well. Pleased.  Almost went to 240, but I know that would've been over RPE target.  First back off at 215# for 3 reps was good.  My next set of backoffs called for 221, so I started at 225# x2 reps. This was solid, but I don't think I was going to get 2 more sets here, so I backed off to 220# and next two sets were @RPE8, then @RPE9, so it was the right call.

Next was squats. My knees were sore after heavy squat on Wednesday and knee ability routine yesterday. I think the knee abilty routine is harder on them actually. They felt good after heavy squats.  So, I didn't go heavy, just getting some work in.  Finished with floor press for a solid 5 working sets.  These got tough toward the end, lots of pressing today.

Nutrition/Weight:

187.2

Thu 3/25/21 - GPP + Knee Ability

 Garage Gym

(KOT)3:30

(SealRow)25x12,12,12

(Plank)3x60

(StepUp)3"x20,4"x20,20

(Curl)25x15,12,12

(RevNordic)2x15

(SplitSquat)2x10

41 mins

GPP and knee ability today. I started with a long KOT hold, then did light seal rows with planks. My R upper back/trap is still bothering me, but I wanted to get some moveoment in so kept it light. Next I did step ups on plates instead of the angle board + curls. Finished with some light reverse Nordics and split squats. Knees were starting to tighten up by the end and during split squats.

Nutrition/Weight:

187.4

Wed 3/24/21 - Full Body (Squat)

Garage Gym

(Squat)95x5,125x5,155x3,185x1,200x1,210x1,220x1,165x5,185x3,3,3

(Bench)145x3,185x3,205x2,220x1,230x1,225x3,210x3,3

(RDL)135x4,205x4,225x4,255x4,235x4,4

80 mins

Today started with squat for 1@7.5, 1@8.5, 5@8-9, 3x3@8-9. Felt good working up, I've been at 205# for my top single the last few weeks and today I was feeling pretty good so I wanted to get past that.  210# felt good so I bumped to 220# and that moved well also. Back offs were good, but the 185x3x3 got hard toward the last 2 sets.

Next was bench for 1@8, 3@9 -5% for 2x3.  My R shouler was painful this morning, did something weird to it getting Taryn in the car. Didn' impact bench as far as I can tell, but it was sore after every set. My top set at 230# moved really well. Unfortunately I hit the J-cup on the way up, but moved right past it. I was tempted to bump up again, but decided against it. My first back off was a milestone, 225#'s (bar +2x45 plates on each side) for a triple. Very pleased with this. Very good pressing and progress!  Finished up wiht RDL's for 4@7,8,9 -5% 2x4.  I took bigger jumps today, but got some decent work in.

Overall, great WO!

Nutrition/Weight:

186.8

Tue 3/23/21 - Knee Ability + GPP

Garage Gym

(InvertRow)3x10

(Tibialis18")22,20,19

(Calf)10/8/7,30

(StepUp)3x20

(DBTri)25x15,30x15,35x12

(Curl)20x15,15,15

(RevNordic)3x15

(SidePlank)3x30

(KOT)2:15

45 mins

GPP and Knee Ability today. Took it easy on inverted rows because my R upper back/trap is still fairly painful.  Nothing specific seems to bother it, but it's always there. Tibialis is getting better, moving it further away slowly. I was stuck on 14-15" for a long time. Calf I did 1 set of single leg and 1 set of KOT.  Arms were just getting some work in.  Reverse Nordics were w/o any assistance and felt prety good.

Nutrition/Weight:

187.4

Sun 3/21/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x4,185x4,225x4,275x3,295x2,320x2,335x1,350x1,320x4,295x4,4,4

(PinBench)115x6,165x3,185x3,205x1,215x1,205x3,185x3,3,3

43 mins

Deadlift day for 1@8, 4@9, 3x4@8.  My left upper back/trap was really bothering me the last 2 days and was still sore this morning, but felt better as I warmed up and didn't seem to hamper deadlifts today.  Really good session.  350x1 is my heaviest to date and felt good. Back offs were solid as well. Very pleased.  I supersetted pin bench with deadlift for 1@8, 3@9, 2x3@8.  Last week I overshot my top single, today it was correct.  I skipped paused squats because I squatted 2x alredy this week and ran.  Knees are feeling better and I want them to keep heading in that direction.

Nutrition/Weight:

185.4

Sat 3/20/21 - Run + GPP

 28 min run + 10 c/d,

(TriPushdn)4x15

Just some triceps for GPP today because I didn't hit them on Thursday during GPP.

Fri 3/19/21 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)145x4,185x3,205x1,220x1,230x1,200x4,210x3,220x2,2

(Squat)95x6,115x6,135x6,145x6,135x6,6

(Bench-Wide)145x6,165x6,170x6,175x6,6,6

77 mins

Bench with 1 count pause today for 1@7, 1@8, 4@9, 2x3@8-9, 2x2@8-9.  This was a bear of a workout working up, down and then back up. Solid pressing. Next was supposed to be pin squats.  Sarah and I were working out together and moving pins every set would have been a pain, plus my knees are feeling better and I wanted to keep them going in a positive direction.  So, instead of doing heavy low reps, I just worked up in sets of 6 + 2 back off sets. Squats felt great, on balance in mid foot, good depth. Probably the best form and stuff I've felt in a while.  Finished with wide grip bench for 6@6,7,8x3.  After all the pressing earlier, this was also a bear. Very pleased with how this went.  Great WO despite my upper back/trap hurting like a sonofagun since yesterday.

Nutrition/Weight:

185.4

Thu 3/18/21 - GPP

 Garage Gym

(SealRow)25x15,30x12,35x12,25x15

(SidePlank)4x40/40

(Tibialis17”)25,20,20

(L-Sit)3x60

(Curl)20x15,12,12

(Delt)10x12,12

(KOT)2mins

(RevNordic)2x15

40 mins

GPP day.  I did seal rows with side planks. Rows felt heavy today and I went a lot lighter than last week. Tibialis was good at 17+ inches, L-Sit’s still really hard even at 1-leg at a time.  Knees still a bit cranky but coming around.

Nutrition/Weight:

186.2

Wed 4/17/21 - Full Body (Squat)

 Garage Gym

(Squat)95x4,115x4,145x2,165x2,185x2,205x1,175x4,165x4,4,4

(Bench)95x10,135x5,165x3,185x3,205x2,220x1,230x1,220x4,210x3,3

(RDL)135x4,185x4,225x4,235x4,245x4,235x4,4

60 mins

Squat day. Knees still a little cranky, but getting better.  Squat WO was 1@8, 4@9, 3x4@8.  What I did was 1@8, 4@8, 3x4@7-8.  Felt good for the most part.  I wanted to stay away from RPE9 as the higher stress bothers my knees more.  Next was bench for 1@8, 3@9, -5% for 2x3.  The weight for 3@9 being 220 made me a bit nervous.  I wasn’t sure I could do that before the WO.  Working up things felt pretty heavy.  185x3 felt like working weight, harder than it should’ve.  But ehh 205 for a double felt really good, 220x1 @7 felt good and my top single at 230 moved well, I’d call it a legit RPE8, no overshooting.  My back off at 220 felt great and I did 4 reps instead of 3 because I was not @RPE9.  Back offs at 210 were good as well.  I supersetted RDL’s with bench, which has seemed to work well the last couple of weeks.  Really nice WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

186.6

Tue 3/16/21 - GPP + Knee Ability

 Garage Gym

(Pull-ups)6,6,6

(Tibialis17”)22,20,20

(InvertRowRings)3x12

(StepUp)3x20

(TriPushDn)4x15

(Curl)20x15,12,12,12

(RevNordic)3x12

(SidePlank)3x30

(KOT)45x2mins

45 mins

GPP and Knee Ability today.  Pull-ups were HARD for sets of 6.  My back must still be really fatigued from deadlifts on Sunday.  I Can’t remember a time when 6 pull-ups felt this hard.  Tibialis is getting better (further away from wall).  I started around 14”, now I’m around 17”.  The further away, the harder it is.  I did inverted rows on rings and I did step up’s today without weight.  Still trying to get my knees to come all the way back around.  Arm work was good volume.  Side planks I think are helping my shoulders.

Nutrition/Weight:

185.6

Sun 3/14/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x4,185x4,225x4,275x3,305x2,330x1,345x1,315x4,295x4,4,8

(PinBench)115x4,155x4,185x2,205x1,220x1,195x4,175x4,4,4

(Squat)75x6,95x6,115x6,125x6,6

(OHTri)60x15,70x12,60x12,12

69 mins

Deadlift day fro 1@8, 4@9, 3x4@8.  Working up to the single felt good, everything moved well.  330x1 felt like @RPE7 so I went up again to 345# for my top single that moved well.  My first back off at 315# was good, under RPE, then further back offs at 295 felt pretty easy on fairly short rests.  The last set I did 8 reps which was still probably @RPE 8-8.5.  Best deadlift session in a while. Felt great and I didn’t overshoot RPE, which I tend to do when things are feeling good.  Next was pin bench for 1@8, 4@9, 3x4@8.  I’ve not done pin bench before and although I’ve seen it on video, today was another confirmation that my left side is lower when benching.  It hit the pins first on every rep. I tried to adjust, but it only lessened the issue a bit.  Still, solid pressing. I estimated my numbers based on a guess of a 225# 1RM.  I worked up to 205 and that felt felt like @RPE7 so I bumped to 220 and that was slightly over @RPE8.  My first back off at 195 was a solid 9-9+ and my next back off’s were in the right range.  Solid pressing. 

Next were squats.  It was supposed to by paused squats, but my knees have been trouble this week and with deadlifts already today, I decided to just do light squats.  Despite the light weight, they didn’t feel very light and later in the day my knees were TIGHT as all get out!  I supersetted in some triceps work with squats because I didn’t do arm work on my 2nd GPP day this week.  Great workout despite the light squats.

Nutrition/Weight:

188.2

Sat 3/13/21 - Hike - Kings Mountain State Park

 Hiked at Kings Mountain State Park for 3 hours. Stopped for late lunch at the living farm and to let Taryn walk around and feed the horses.  Great day trip.

Fri 3/12/21 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)145x3,170x3,190x2,205x2,220x1,230x1,215x3,205x3,3,3,4

(StepUp)20,15x20,25x20,35x20

(FloorPress)95x6,135x6,165x6,175x6,185x6,6,6

(Tibialis)3x20

(Calf)12/8/6,30,30

(RevNordic)3x12

(KOT)45x2mins

78mins

Started with 1 count paused bench for 1@8, 3@9, 4x3@8. Bench felt good, 220x1 felt really good. I thought about going 225, then 230 if that felt good, but went ahead to 230 and it moved well. Back offs were good, last set at 205 felt good so I did a 4th rep.  WO called for pin squats, but my knees are have had a tough week so I skipped them and did knee ability.  I added weight to step ups and they felt surprisingly good.  Rev Nordics were good today too, no assist and went fairly deep (for me).  I supersetted knee ability with my floor presses which were 6@RPE 6, 7, 8x3 sets.   My top sets at 185#’s went @RPE 8, 8.5, 9+.  That last set was tough.  Solid WO, lots of good pressing today.

Nutrition/Weight:

186.2

Thu 3/11/21 - GPP

 Garage Gym

(SealRow)25x15,35x15,45x15,35x15,15

(SidePlank)5x40/40

(F/S/RDelt)5x15/15/15,15/10/10

(L-Site)3x60

(KOT)45x2mins

36 mins

GPP day, no knee ability, run or leg work.  Gotta get my knee pain down.  Started with seal rows working up + 2 back off sets of 15 with side planks for 40 seconds/side.  Then I did front/side/rear delt with a 5# plate in each hand, no stopping.  Very easy at first, obviously, but got a good burn going.  Supersetted with L-sits.  Finished with KOT for 2mins with a barbell.  First min barbell overhead, 2nd minute barbell on my back.

No arm work today, I’ll do that Saturday.

Nutrition/Weight:

186.6  

Wed 3/10/21 - Full Body (Squat) - Strength I Week 9

 Garage Gym

(Squat)105x4,125x4145x4,165x4,185x1,205x1,165x4,4,6

(Bench)135x5,165x5,185x1,205x1,215x1,225x1,235x1,185x5,5,5,5,8

(RDL)135x4,185x4,225x4,230x4,235x4,225x4

70 mins

Squat day for 1@9, 4@9, 3x4@8.  My knees have been bothering me since after my run on Monday. I think I really need that 1 day off where I’m not working my legs. Anyway, knees felt better as I worked up in weight slowly.  I started with BW, bar, 75, 85 pounds just getting warmed up.  Top set at 205 moved better than last week. I decided to skip the 4@9 set because that’s probably the hardest on my knees (and hardest in general) and moved right to the 3x4@8 back off sets.  Lsat set felt really good so I did 6 reps with a lot in the tank.  Next was bench for 1@8, then 5x5@8.  Working up to top single felt really good.  215 and 225 moved really well.  I stopped at 225 last week and decided I should move up based on how it moved again today.  I should’ve just done 230 because 235 was a bit over RPE.  It moved well, but I don’t think I can call it an RPE8.  Back offs were good on fairly short rests 2-2.5 mins. After the first set I almost bumped up to 190#’s, but stuck with the workout as I wrote it until the last set I did 8 reps still in RPE 8-9 range.  Good pressing.  I supersetted RDL’s with the end of my bench session for 4@7,8,9 -5% 1x4.  Kept top weight jumps closer here than in previous weeks, more in line with the WO.  These are actually supposed to be paused or deficit deadlifts, but I just can’t add more stress on my knees right now.

Nutrition/Weight:

187.0.  Whoa!  That was an unexpected jump of a couple pounds in the middle of the week.  Highest I’ve been in a while.  Still feeling good an not sloppy at all :)

Tue 3/9/21 - GPP + Knee Ability

 Garage Gym

(Pull-ups)2x10

(Tibialis)2x20

(Calf)22,30

(InvertRow)12,10,10

(StepUp)15x20,20,BWx20

(DBTri)25x15,30x12,35x8,25x10

(Curl)20x15,10,12,12

(RevNordic)3x15

(SidePlank)3x30

(SplitSquat)2x12

(Delt)2x15

(KOT)2mins

56 mins

GPP and Knee Ability day.  Knees have been cranky and step ups bothered my R knee, but the felt good during reverse Nordics and split squats.  Pull-ups were OK, still not easy, even on early reps.  Using a wider grip than in the past which may have something to do with it.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6

Mon 3/8/21 - Run

 22 min run + 10 c/d.  Slow, short, but not easy.  R knee a bit bothersome, probably from last couple days lower body work.  Still nice to get out for a short one in the nice spring weather!

Sun 3/7/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)185x4,225x4,255x3,285x2,305x2,325x2,335x2,305x4,275x4,7

(Bench2Ct)135x4,165x4,185x2,200x2,210x1,220x1,200x5,185x4,4

(Tibialis)22,20,20

(StepUp)3x20

(RevNordic)3x12,

(KOT)2mins

71 mins

Deadlift for 1@8, 4@9, 2x4@8-9. Deadlifts felt good and 335 for my top set felt really good so I did a 2nd rep rather than going up again. Back off sets were pretty good.  305 felt a bit heavier than I thought it would, 275 moved fast and I did 7 reps on last set.  Next was 2 count paused bench for 1@8, 4@9, 2x4@8-9.  My top single at 220 moved well for a solid @RPE8. My back off at 200 felt really good so I did 5 reps to hit @RPE9, the 2 back off sets after that were solid. I skipped squats today and did knee ability work.  Good WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6

Sat 3/6/21 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

30 min run + 10 c/d

(SealRow)25x12,30x12,12,25x12

(SidePlank)4x30/30

(TriPushDn)15,13,12,12

(Curl)20x12,10,10,10

58 mins

Ran 30 mins, slow, but not easy.  Seems to be the standard, especially with the leg/lower body work I’m doing on other days.  Then I did GPP.  Started with seal rows and side planks. Then some triceps and biceps.

Nutrition/Weight:

185.0

Fri 3/5/21 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)145x3,170x3,190x3,205x2,215x1,225x1,215x3,205x3,3,3

(Squat2Ct)65x4,75x4,95x5,115x4,135x4,125x4,4

(Bench-Wide)135x6,165x6,170x6,175x6,6

67 mins

Comp bench day (1 count pause) for 1@8, 3@9, 3x3@8-9.  My top single at 225# was good @PRE8-8.5, first back off at 215x3 was good @9, 205 for 3 sets was solid starting @RPE8 working up to @RPE9 by 3rd set.  Squats were OK, knees not feeling great so I skipped 1@8 and just worked up in sets of 4 reps until it felt about @RPE8, then backed off for 2x4.  Finished up with wide grip bench for 6 reps @RPE6,7,8x2.  Solid workout.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.8

Thu 3/4/21 - Run

 30 min run + 5 c/d.  No GPP today, feeling super beat up.

Wed 3/3/21 - Full Body (Squat)

 Garage Gym

(Squat)95x4,115x4,145x3,175x2,195x1,205x1,190x4,165x4,4

(Bench)145x4,175x4,195x3,210x2,225x1,185x5,5,5,5

(RDL)135x4,185x4,225x4,245x4,225x4

66 mins

Start of Strength I, week 8, specialization block.  Started with squat for 1@8, 4@9, 2x4@8.  Knees never felt great today, nor did they feel “bad”.  My top single at 205# went smoother than last week, so that’s good. Back off at 190x4 was the hardest set for sure. Pretty good work for me.  Next was bench for 1@8, 4x5@8.  I worked up to 225 and it moved fast.  Sarah even asked if that was my top set because she thought I was going up higher.  The last couple weeks 225 has felt good, but I’ve jumped to 235 which has been above @RPE8, so today I played it safe and just stuck with the really solid single and moved to the backoffs.  We did the back offs on 2-2.5 mins rest, so fairly short.  Finished up with RDL’s while Sarah did a version of paused deadlifts :). We had a laugh about her first set, pausing at the top instead of pausing 1” off the floor.  Solid WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6.  I've been hovering around this weight for a while, and I'm cool with that. I don't want to put on too much weight while running this strength program, but I certainly am not trying to lose any.  I'll lean out after this strength block is done.

Tue 3/2/21 - GPP + Knee Ability

Garage Gym

(Pullups)8,8,8,8

(Tibialis)3x25

(Calf)20,20,30

(InvertRowRings)3x10

(StepUp5”)3x20

(TriPushDn)4x12

(Curl)20x12,10,10,10

(RevNordic)3x12

(Plank)3x60

(SplitSquat12”)2x12

(Delt)10x15,15

50 mins

GPP + Knee Ability day.  Started with pullups, tibialis and calf superset.  Pull-ups have been challenging to get 8-10 reps.  Next I did inverted rows on rings and step ups. Rows were not at parallel to the floor to make them a bit easier after pull-ups.  Step ups were done on 45 + 25 pound bumpers, about 4.75”.  Then I did arms, 4 sets each tri/bi.  Then Reverse Nordics without assistance and planks.  First set of Nordics was hard, I didn’t go very deep and knees were tight.  Each set after got deeper and felt better.  Planks were challenging in my quads.  Finished with some split squats on a 12” box and delt raises.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6 

Sun 2/28/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x6,185x4,225x4,255x3,285x3,305x1,325x1,340x1,305x4

(Bench2Ct)135x4,165x4,185x4,205x2,215x2,195x5

(Tibialis)25,22,22

(StepUp)3x20

(RevNordic)3x12

(Plank)3x60

(SplitSquat)2x12

65 mins

Deadlift day for 1@8, 4@9.  Lower back has been tight and bothersome the last couple of days. It didn’t seem to hurt any more as I worked up in weight, but did feel more fatigued than normal. I hit the numbers prescribed, I went on the low side of the back off set. Solid work.  2-count paused bench was to be 1@8, then 4@9. My top single at 215# felt pretty easy, so I did a 2nd rep. My back off at 195 felt really good too, so I did a 5th rep instead of stopping at 4.  These are things I’m not sure are wise. This is a low stress week for a reason. I skipped squat and did knee ability work.  Knees were really tight the remainder of the day.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6

Sat 2/27/21 - Run

 36 min run + 5 c/d.  Really slow, but not easy.  Legs felt beat up from last couple of days, R knee painful for first half mile, felt better after that.