Fri 1/29/21 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)125x5,155x4,185x3,195x2,205x1,215x1,195x4,185x4,4,6

(BoxSquat)75x8,95x8,115x8.8

(OHP)80x8,90x8,100x8,8,8

60 mins

Started with bench working up to 1@RPE8 (90%), then 4@9 (86%), then 3x4@8 (77-80%). My top single felt good, moved well. First back off at 195# was @RPE 7-8, not 9 and felt good. My back offs were at top end (81%) and felt good. I did 6 reps on last back off set and that was around @PRE8-8.5.  Squats called for sets of 5, overloaded.  I did light box squats for sets of 8.  Knees can’t handle heavy squatting again quite yet.  Plus, I did knee ability work yesterday.  Finished up with OHP working up to 3x8 @PRE8.  My top sets were @RPE7,8,9 instead of all 8’s. 

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Thu 1/28/21 - Knee Ability + GPP

 Garage Gym

(KOT)2mins

(Tibialis)2x25

(Calf)2x25

(InvertRow)15,13,12

(StepUp)3x20

(TriExt)2x15

(HCurl)20x12,12

(RevNordic)2x12

30 mins

Knee ability & GPP work today. Nothing really to write about other than reverse Nordics were painful, especially first set, then they loosened up and felt better. I used much band assistance.  Pretty good indication that A) I haven’t been doing these enough, B) I’m pushing the limits on my knees.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.6 this morning.

Wed 1/27/21 - Full Body (Squat)

Garage Gym

(Squat)75x8,95x5,115x5,145x5,165x2,185x5,160x5,5,5

(Bench)95x4,135x4,165x4,185x3,195x1,205x1,215x1,195x8,185x4,4,4

(RDL)l135x5,185x5,205x5,5

57 mins

Started with squat.  Knees have been bothering me a bit from last weeks’ workouts so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect here.  I didn’t think I was going to work up to a single, but figured I’d see how things went.  Bar and 75#”s felt rusty, 95 felt better and 115 better still.  Things felt good working up and once I got to 185#’s I thought about doing a single and keep working up in singles.  But, that’s how I get in trouble.  So, instead I capped that as my top set of 5 @RPE8-9, then backed off for 3x5.  In hind sight, given how my knees have been feeling and how they’re feeling this evening after the WO, I should’ve just don’t a single or 2 reps at 185, then backed off for the 3x5.  Either way, these felt pretty good at the time when I did them.

Next was bench working up to 1 @RPE8, then backing off for 4@RPE9, then backing off again for 1-3 more sets of 4.  I hit all weights as prescribed and got 3 decent singles on my way to my top one.  I need a LOT of practice on singles.  More on this in a second.  My singles, 195 moved super fast and easy, 205 moved fast @RPE6-7, 215 moved well but was probably @RPE8 as the workout prescribed.  My first back off set was to be 4 reps @195 around @RPE9.  It felt so good I did reps until I hit RPE9 and got 8 reps!  Then I backed off to 185 and got 3 solid sets on fairly short rest. (2.5 mins).  I supersetted RDL’s during my backoff sets to save time.  RDL’s felt heavy again.

Based on my back off set of 195x8@8-9, my estimated 1RM is ~260.  Based on my 215x1@8, my estimated 1RM is ~230.  I need a lot more work on singles to realize anything close to 260 because my max right now is probably correctly set at about 230.  I’m nowhere near 260.

Very good workout.

Nutrition/Weight:

183.4 this morning.

Tue 1/26/21 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

24 min run + 4 c/d

(Pull-ups)10,10,8

(OHTri)70x15,12,12

(HCurl)25x10,20x10

(SealRow)25x15,15

50 mins

Went for a run at lunch and did some GPP work afterward.  My R shoulder has been bothering me, and I think I may know what happened.  It usually is my biceps tendon acting up.  I did wide grip pull-ups last week when this started acting up, but I didn’t put it together until today.  During pull-ups today, my first set I did wide grip again and I really felt it in my R shoulder.  Last 2 sets I did more narrow grip.  Then I did bi’s and tri’s, finished up with some high rep seal rows.  These were really for rear delts.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.4 this morning.

Sun 1/24/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x8,185x3,225x3,255x2,285x1,305x1,325x1,275x5,5

(BenchWide)145x5,165x5,175x5,185x5,175x5,5

(KOT)2mins

(Tibailis)2x25

(Calf)2x25

(StepUp)2x25

69 mins

Started with deadlift. WO was to work up to 1@RPE8, then 5 @RPE9, then 2x5@PRE8. Everything felt heavy working up. The wide grip pull-ups yesterday was definitely impacting pulls today.  Last week 305x5 was my top working set.  Today, 305 for a single felt like @RPE8.  I made the mistake of thinking it wasn’t as heavy as it felt and bumped up to 325 and this was @RPE9+.  I shouldn’t have ignored how I was feeling…that’s the purpose of RPE.  So, I skipped the 5@RPE9 and dropped way down for back off sets and these were still hard work.

Next was bench, wide grip.  For these I’m moving my grip width out about 3 fingers.  I worked up to 5 @RPE8, then backed off 5% for 2 more sets of 5.  Last movement should have been 3-0-3 tempo squats but my knees needed a break so I did some knee ability work.  Solid workout, but I won’t be doing a hard pull-up workout the day before heavy deadlifts again.  Felt really beat up after this workout.

Nutrition/Weight:

183.4 this morning.

Sat 1/23/21 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

31 min run + 9 c/d

(Pull-ups)11,8,6,6

(DBExt)30x15,25x12,12

(HCurl)30x12,25x10,12

60 mins

Went for a run and then did some GPP. Last 3 sets of pull-ups I did with a wide grip. Definitely a different movement and harder for me. 

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6 this morning.

Fri - 1/22/21 - Full Body (Bench)

Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)95x8,135x5,165x5,185x3,195x2,205x1,210x1,195x4,185x4,4

(Squat)75x5,115x5,135x5,145x5,155x5,5

(OHP)85x8,95x8,100x8,8

65 mins

Started with bench ("comp bench" = 1 count pause) working up to 1 @RPE8, then 4 @RPE9, then 2x4 @RPE8. RPE on singles is hard right now w/o a lot of practice.  210# seemed solid, moved fairly quickly.  Back off to 195 felt good, probably @RPE 8-8.5.  The 2 sets of 4 @REP8 I went heavier than what the % estimated and both sets moved fairly well. Overall I think I hit RPE’s pretty much on target for bench.

Next was squat.  This is supposed to be an overload squat day, but we don’t have the equipment for that so I just did sets of 5 working up. I didn’t get very close to the %1RM estimates on this one.  My legs/knees still felt Squats from Wed and the Knee Ability/leg work I did yesterday.  It is what it is & RPE’s were probably appropriate despite the lower weight.  Finished up with OHP which was supposed to be 8 reps @RPE 6,7,8x2.  Felt good but the last set of 8 was @RPE9 and I thought these weights were going to be on the light side.

Solid workout.  How am I going to fit running into this squatting 3x/week and deadlifting 2x/week routine?

Nutrition/Weight:

182.0 this morning.

Thu 1/21/21 - Knee Ability + GPP

Garage Gym

(KOT)2mins

(Tibialis)25,25

(Calf)30,30

(StepUp5”)3x25

(TriExt)3x15

(InvertRow)15,12,10,8,8

(RevNordic)3x12

(HCurl)25x12,10,20x12

(SplitSquat)2x15

(L-Sit)3x80

57 mins

Knee ability + GPP today. Normally would be a run day, but my legs/knees were feeling the squats from yesterday, and it was cold and drizzling most of the day :)

Started with Knees Over Toes 2 min hold to warm up.  Then did tibias raises with calf work.  Then I did 5.25” step-ups with triceps extensions.  Next were inverted rows for 7 mins AMRAP.  Next were reverse nordics and curls.  Reverse nordics were uncomfortable and I had to use band assistance for all 3 sets.  Finished up with some split squats on a 10” box and 3 sets of L-Sits.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Wed 1/20/21 - Full Body (Squat)

Garage Gym

(Squat)75x5,95x5,125x5,155x5,175x2,195x1,205x1,175x5,155x5,5

(Bench)125x5,155x5,185x3,195x1,210x1,220x1,195x4,190x4,4

(RDL)135x5,185x5,205x5,5

68 mins

Week 2 of Strength I.  Started with squats, working up to 1@RPE 8, then 5 @RPE9, then 2x5 @RPE8-9. Working up felt pretty good. 195 felt and moved very well. Maybe I should’ve stopped there to ease into singles. But I went up and 205 still felt pretty good, but maybe more than @RPE8. Backoffs were good.  Next was bench (touch and go) working up to 1 @PRE8, then 4@9, then -5% and 1-2 x 4.  Things felt pretty good working up. 195 moved real fast, 210 was solid. Maybe I should’ve stopped there or gone to 215.  But I went to 220 and although it moved fairly well, it was probably more than @PRE8.  So I backed off more aggressively to 195x4 and that was good. Dropped less than 5% to 190 and did 2 sets of 4 that were solid and didn’t overshoot at al.

The workout called for overload deadlifts next. I don’t have the equipment and still felt a bit taxed from deadlifts on Sunday, so I did RDL’s.  Warmups with 135 felt like working weight and I just didn’t go very heavy, but it still felt really heavy. Very solid WO.  It’s going to take time getting used to these WO’s.  They are hard, but not the same kind of fatigue as the hypertrophy templates.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.8 this morning.

Tue 1/19/21 - Run

 Busy with work, quick run at lunch.

27 mins + 5 c/d.

Mon 1/18/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

Garage Gym

(Deadlift)95x5,135x5,185x5,235x5,255x5,295x5,305x5

(BenchWideGrip)95x5,135x5,155x5,165x5,175x5,180x5

(Squat303)bar,55x8,75x8,85x8,95x8

56 mins

Moved Sunday's WO to Monday.  Deadlift day. 5 reps @7,8,9. Hit these about right. 235 felt heavy warming up, thought it was going to be my REP7 set. But I started to feel better and worked up heavier than last workout. Next we did wide grip bench. I used middle-to-ring finger on the rings. Felt a bit awkward and I had to lower the j-cups. 5 reps @RPE 7,8,9. Worked up heavier than I thought I would. Finished with 3-0-3 tempo squats. Kept these really light, but they are still work for me with this tempo. Decent WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.8 this morning.

Sun 1/17/21 - Hike @Dupont State Forest

 Dupont State Forest. Parked @visitor center, hiked to High Falls, then covered bridge to 3 lakes trail out to lake Julia and back. Nice snack break on peninsula on the 1st lake.

Cool and breezy, but beautiful day.  Fairly crowded until we got on 3 lakes trail and only saw a few people.  Had the lakes and great snack spot to ourselves.

Sat 1/16/21 - Run

 Ran 46 mins + 5 c/d. Pretty slow, but got about 4.5 miles in.

Fri 1/15/21 - Full Body (Bench)

Garage Gym

(Bench1Ct)145x5,165x3,175x5,185x5,190x5

(StepUp)3x25

(SplitSquat)3x15

(OHP)95x8,100x8,105x8

45 mins

Day 2 of strength. Started with comp (one count pause) bench for 5 reps @RPE 7,8,9. Mine went @PRE6,8,9. I wanted to keep this at @RPE8ish and work up slowly. Going to take some time getting used to lower reps. My knees were pretty cranky and I hadn’t done any knee specific work lately so I skipped squats and did step-ups and split squats.  Step ups were a little painful at first, but warmed into them.  Finished up with OHP for 8 reps @RPE 7,8,9.  Hit these RPE’s, but thought these weights would’ve felt like @RPE 6,7,8.  

Nutrition/Weight:

182.2 this morning.

Thu 1/14/21 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

30 min run + 5 c/d

(Pull-ups)7min AMRAP (10,8,8,7)

(TriExt)15,13,13

(HCurl)30x10,25x10,20x10

 

52 mins

Run + GPP day.  Today I did pull-ups for back instead of rows. Challenging on fairly short rests.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.2 this morning.

Wed 1/13/21 - Full Body (Squat) - Strength I start

Garage Gym

(Squat)145x5,155x5,170x5,175x5

(Bench)155x4,175x4,195x4,205x4

(Deadlift)135x5,225x5,275x5,285x5,295x5

 

60 mins

First workout on the Strength I template.  Started with squat, sets of 5 @PRE 7,8,9. Mine were probably @PRE 6,8,8.5-9.  Next was bench for sets of 4 @RPE 7,8,9. Sets here again were probably @RPE 6,8,8.9-9.  Deadlift was sets of 5 @RPE 7,8,9 and this one I probably got about right.  First two exercises I took bigger jumps in early working sets. Plus, I’m just not used to lower rep sets coming from a long hypertrophy block so it’s going to take some time to get used to lower reps, especially singles starting next week or two.

I can already tell I’m not going to be able to maintain the squat intensity & frequency, plus running and hold up.  My knees are just not ready for squatting heavy 3x/week plus running.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Tue 1/12/21 - GPP + Run

Garage Gym

31 min run + 9 c/d

(InvertRow)7min AMRAP(13,11,9,9,9)

(DBTriceps)30x15,12,25x12

(HCurl)25x10,20x12,12

 

55 mins

Went for a 31 min run, walked w/ Salem to cool down.  Then did GPP.  GPP was 7min AMRAP of inverted rows. I did sets of 13,11,9,9,9.  First 2 sets were on short rest, then I had to rest a bit longer to keep reps in the 8-12 range.  Next was supersets of triceps/biceps with very little rest between sets.  GPP took about 15 mins in total, short but sweet.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6 this morning.

Sun 1/10/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x8,185x8,225x8,250x8,275x8,250x8,8

(Bench2Ct)95x10,135x5,155x10,165x10,175x9,155x9

(Incline)145x11,25x10,10

(DBShldr)35x15,11

 

74 mins

My back felt fatigued from yesterday’s WO and first set or 2 of deadlift warming up felt more than warmup sets!  But as usual, if I stick with it, things started loosening up and feeling better.  WO was for 8 reps @RPE 7,8,9 -8%, then 1-3 more sets of 8.  275 felt great, definitely not RPE9, but felt like it was enough weight for today (heavier than I’ve gone this block).  Back off sets were good and almost as heavy as my top set last week.  Paused bench felt pretty good.  Last week I worked up to 170#”s and was very pleased with that. I attempted to top that today w/ 175 but failed the last rep.  It’s the last workout of this block and I thought I had a good shot at it so I tried.  The 9th rep moved fairly fast, but I just died part way up on the 10th rep so it goes in the log as 9.  Incline was solid.  Workout called for 3 backoff sets of 12, but I was fried with 2 sets, even at the much lighter than prescribed %.  Finished up with 2 sets of DB shoulder press. Very good last workout of this block.

Now we need to decide if we’re doing powerbuilding again next, or possibly purchase strength1 template.

Nutrition/Weight:

183.8 this morning.

Sat 1/9/21 - GPP + Cardio Circuit

Garage Gym

(Pull-ups)12,10,9

(Runs)2.5minX3

(TriExt)3x15

(DBCarries)75#x3

(InvertRows)3x10

(Burpees)3x10

(HCurl)25x10,20x10,10

(HangClean)95x10,10,10

(MountainClimbers)3x20

(Run)4mins

 

60 mins

Today would normally be a run and maybe some short GPP, but I felt like doing something different. I still wanted to get some cardio in so I wrote up a circuit workout for us to do. We’d do a strength based exercise supersetted with a cardio circuit.  We started with pull-ups and runs of about 2.5 - 3 mins.  We ran up the street/hill and back.  Next we did triceps band extensions with DB carries.  We carried DB’s out into the cul de sac, around the sewer manhole and back.  These were challenging on grip and forearms + cardio.  Next we did inverted rows with burpees.  Burpees kicked my butt, especially the last set of 10.  Then we did curls and hang cleans.  Then we did mountain climbers for some ab work, short rests between sets.  We were at about 55 mins so we ran to the top of our street/hill and back to round out an even 60 minutes.

This workout was HARD and a lot of FUN!  Sarah and I both enjoyed the challenge and the change in routine.  Solid work.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.0 this morning.

Fri 1/8/21 - Full Body (Bench)

Garage Gym

(Bench)125x8,150x5,165x5,180x8,190x8,195x8,175x8,8

(LandmineSquat)25x10,35x10,45x10,55x10

(DBInc)70x12,50x12,10,9

(DBShldr)30x14,12

 

69 mins

Started with bench for working up for sets of 8 @7,8,9, -5% 1-3x8. I worked up to same weight as last week, but smaller jumps at the top end. Top set was definitely RPE9. Backoffs were good with 2nd backoff @RPE9 so I stopped there. Next was landmine squats. I just worked up in weight with no back offs. Next was DB incline. The heavier DB sets are still bothering my R shoulder. Back offs were solid. Lots of volume. Finished with DB shoulder press. 

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6 this morning.

Thu 1/7/21 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

30 min run + 5 c/d

(InvertRow)15,15,15

(DBTri)30x15,15

(HCurl)25x12,10

(Plank)3x60

 

55 mins

Knees were cranky last night after squats and step-ups. Felt decent this morning, but wasn’t sure if I was going to run.  They felt better during the morning so I ran over lunch. Legs felt pretty good for day after squats, but I was slower than Tuesday.  Still happy to be running.  After the run I got in some GPP work.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6 this morning.

Wed 1/6/21 - Full Body (Squat)

Garage Gym

(Squat)95x8,115x8,135x8,155x8,165x8,145x8,8

(OHP)75x8,95x8,105x8,110x8,95x8,8,8

(RDL)145x12,165x12,185x12,12,12

(StepUp)2x25

 

55 mins

Started with squat. I didn’t know if I’d get to same weight as last week and I did a 41 min run yesterday so my knees were a bit cranky last night and this morning.  They felt good warming up and I hit same weight as last weeks top set feeling good, so I went up for another set.  Then 2 good back-off sets that were heavier than last week too.  Pleased with my SLOW progress here. Thrilled I can do the movement.  Next was OHP. Basically same as last week, but I did 3 back off sets. Very little progress here.  Next was RDL’s for sets of 12, ugh.  Finished up with some step-ups.  Good Workout.

This is the last week in the Hypertrophy block.  Need to think about transitioning to next block.  Probably power building. Considering purchasing a strength routine to see what that’s like.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.2 this morning. 

Tue 1/5/21 - Run

 41 min run + 9 c/d = 50 mins.

Sun 1/3/21 - Full Body (Deadlift)

Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x8,185x8,225x8,255x8,235x8,8

(Bench2Ct)95x10,135x5,155x10,160x10,170x10,155x10

(Incline)145x10,125x10,9

(DBShldr)35x17,14

62 mins

Started with deadlift for 8 reps @ 7,8,9 -8%, then 2x8. Felt really good today. I’d been working up to heavy 3s or 4s the last few weeks but decided to do the workout as written for 8 reps. Next was 2 count paused bench. I went 10#s heavier than last week and it felt good. Really pleased with this.  Great pressing week with bench and paused bench. Next was incline for 70% AMRAP + 63% 2x12.  My %’s are probably not correct, but I’ve found I need to drop more on back off’s to get near prescribed rep ranges. Finished up with shoulder press. Another really solid WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

185.2 this morning.

Sat 1/2/21 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

27 min run + 5c/d

(T-BarRow)80x12,12,12

(DBTri)30x14,13,12

(HCurl)25x12,12,10

(Crunch)3x12

(RDelt)2x15

55 mins

Went for a run and felt awful! REALLY SLOW and right knee felt gimpy until warmed up for several minutes.  Never got into a good rhythm. Need some days off from legs (squat/runs). Did some GPP after run.  Hadn’t done t-bar rows in a long time, they felt good.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.8 this morning.

Fri 1/1/21 - Full Body (Bench) - New Year workout!

Garage Gym

(Bench)125x8,150x5,165x8,175x8,185x8,195x8,175x8,8

(LandmineSquat)25x10,35x10,45x10,10

(DBInc)70x11,50x13,12

(DBShldr)30x17,13

67 mins

Started with bench for 8 reps @RPE 7,8,9, -5% 1-3x8 until @9 again. I worked up to 190 last week and wanted to try to bump that up if it was feeling good this week. 185#’s felt solid, so I added 10#’s and it was good @RPE9 as called for.  I backed off more than 5% (~10%) and got 2 more good sets of 8 reps.  Next was landmine squats. My knees were cranky today and I have this odd tightness/strain behind my left knee when squatting lately, especially if I go deep. Kept these fairly light, but still felt like work.  Next was DB incline for 70% AMRAP, then 63% 2x12. I backed off more, but still struggle for high-reps at this point.  Finished up with 2 sets of DB shoulder press.  

Great bench today. Felt solid, really good effort.   Making good progress.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.6 this morning.

Thu 12/31/20 - Run + GPP

Garage Gym

(Pull-ups)12,11

(DBTri)30x15,12

(SealRow)35x13,13

(HCurl)25x10,20x10

(Plank)3x60

(Delt)10x15,15

25min run + 5c/d

57 mins

Ran in the morning for 25 mins. Out in 13, back in 12 + 5 c/d.

GPP started with pull-ups and DB triceps.  Then seal rows and curls.  Finished up with planks and delts.

Nutrition/Weight:

183.4 this morning.