Name: Adam
Birthday: May 24, 1987
Height: 5'9"

A Few Words

I'm a twenty year old male college student in my third year at university. I'm majoring in Mathematics and also English.

Goals: more strength through the legs, back, and overhead
Starting Weight: 170-175 lb

Starting Tested Maximums

Deadlift: 415 lb

Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 3x140 kg
Power Clean: 100 kg
Power Snatch: 70 kg
Rack Split Jerk: 120 kg

Back Squat: 150 kg
Front Squat: 130 kg
Overhead Squat: 3 x 80 kg

DB Bench Press: 8 x 100 lb
Military Press: 175 lb
Pull-ups: 10

Current Supplements

None. I eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches though. :D

Past Supplements

See: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showpost.php?p=32929&postcount=1

About Notation

All exercises follow one of these notations: reps x weight, sets x reps x weight, time x weight, or simply reps or time. An ellipsis (...) between sets indicates that a short rest was taken, usually after momentary muscle failure, to attempt to finish the planned volume. Sets that are linked by addition (+) are dropsets or extended sets as noted. Time is listed in digital format: ':30' corresponds to 30 seconds, while '1:30' or ':90' corresponds to 1 minute and 30 seconds. Weights are listed, by default, in pounds, but may also be listed in kilograms when appropriate -- the designation "kg" will show this. Dumbbell exercises are listed with the weight of one dumbbell unless otherwise noted. After some exercises, the statistic (total volume -- average weight per rep) will appear, which is used to help track progression.

Favourite Links

1-RM Calculator: http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html
Spider Chart: http://danjohn.org/lincolnowesme.pdf

Previous Journals

Part 1: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=3872
Part 2: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=31065
Freshman Bulk: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=23808
Photos: http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=29125

Week 1 at September 16, 2007.
College Week 1 (Junior Year)

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 173.3 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 5x185, 3x205, 1x225 | 3x265, 3x265, 3x265
Power Clean & Split Jerk: 2x135, 1x185, 1x185, 1x205
Military Press: 8x135
Natural GHR (w/ assist): 8, 8, 8
Pull-ups: 10, 6, 6, 3

Seated Box Jumps (onto large): 5, 5
Depth Jumps (off medium): 5
Seated Box Jump (onto large) + Depth Jump (off large): 3

"My leg strength is getting closer to where it was before -- still slightly down. PC&SJ are going to be a crowd pleaser at this gym. Other than one other guy, I'm the only person I've ever seen in three years at this university gym who has cleaned more than 185. There are, of course, other guys I suspect could do it. I finally found a way to do GHRs! My hamstring strength is going to go through the roof. The trick is to set a barbell down in the rack with a bench under it then put the tampon pad on it and shove the feet underneath. You definitely want to put a lot of weight on the barbell (405+), otherwise you could pop it off and crush your ankles underneath the weight, which would be incredibly painful."

Monday

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 177.7 lbs)

Front Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 1x205 | 3x3x225
Power Clean: 3x135 | 2x2x185, 1x185
DB Bench Press: 7x45, 5x55, 3x75 | 3x100, 8x85, 5x85
Chest-Supported Row Machine: 8x45, 5x70, 5x80, 5x90, 5x100

"I need to sneak in my chalk. My hands were sweaty as hell today. My PCLs were pretty crappy, but I expected that after doing GHRs for the first time two days ago. It's been 18 days since I last did a press of any sort (other than one set of military on Sunday), so my bench sucked too! Finally, I didn't keep my neck relaxed and neutral on that second to last set of CSRs and slightly tweaked something up there. I remembered to do so on the last set though. Haha -- what a wonderful session. :blank: My bodyweight shot up by 4.4 lbs as well; I double checked just to make sure the scale wasn't lying. Maybe I'll actually get fat for once."

Wednesday

"Classes start."

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 177.3 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 1x205 | 3x8x225
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 5x135, 5x205, 5x225, 5x245, 5x295
Military Press: 8x135, 4x135, 2x135
Pull-ups: 8, 8, 5 (thick bar), 5 (thick bar)

"I think my rep max for 225 is about 10-12. My will power is pretty bad though -- I was thinking 'I hate volume I should stop' the whole time I was squatting. :lol: My upper body strength endurance is even worse. I threw romanians in to get reacquainted since I plan to do some come Sunday."

Friday

Saturday

what are you majoring in? (at college)

good luck with ur plan! :D

Journal # 3, huh ;) Great always to start fresh. I had a double major in Mathematics and English too. I also picked up a minor in philosophy.

Because of my back I've been taken of weights. So I will read your new journal more avidly than eveor. I love your You-tube exercise clips. They are incredibly useful -- though I can't use them now. My PT says, given my back -- I wil never be able to do good-mronings again but the doc, who was very pesimistic at first, felt I was recovering extremely fast and though in the end I will be ablee to go back to squats. But he is completely agains deadlifts. I may have to give those up altogether.

what are you majoring in? (at college)

good luck with ur plan! :D
I'm a twenty year old male college student in my third year at university. I'm double majoring in Mathematics and English.
:whistle:

Thanks!

Journal # 3, huh ;) Great always to start fresh. I had a double major in Mathematics and English too. I also picked up a minor in philosophy.
That's awesome. I'm three courses away from having a minor in Medieval & Renaissance studies, but it would be more work than I'm comfortable with (at the moment) to squeeze in. I'm on the five year plan though so there's time yet to learn better time management.

Because of my back I've been taken of weights. So I will read your new journal more avidly than eveor. I love your You-tube exercise clips. They are incredibly useful -- though I can't use them now. My PT says, given my back -- I wil never be able to do good-mronings again but the doc, who was very pesimistic at first, felt I was recovering extremely fast and though in the end I will be ablee to go back to squats. But he is completely agains deadlifts. I may have to give those up altogether.
That's unfortunate about your back. :( I hope it gets well quick and you're able to return to squats, at least. :)

Edit: I just read your account of what happened. :cry: :cry: :cry: Get better soon. :nod:

the doc, who was very pesimistic at first, felt I was recovering extremely fast and though in the end I will be ablee to go back to squats. But he is completely agains deadlifts. I may have to give those up altogether.

Ask about single leg (which are easier on the back) and also other similar exercises like reverse hypers.

Routine

More or less via Texas Method for lower body and pressing.

SUNDAY

Back Squat: 5 x 5
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 4 x 5
Natural GHR: 3 x 5-8

DB Bench Press: 3 x 8-12

TUESDAY

Power Clean: 3 x 3
Front Squat: 3 x 3
Military Press: 5 x 3

Chest-Supported Rows: 3 x 8-12

THURSDAY

Back Squat: 1 x 5
Romanian Deadlift: 1 x 5
Push Press: 1 x 5

Pull-ups: 3 x 8-12

Are all pullups done at bodyweight?

Are all pullups done at bodyweight?
Yes.

The set and rep scheme isn't really accurate there or on dumbbell bench press. For both, I'm just going to increase volume over time, sticking with a constant load. I have a dip belt, but I've been in the mood to see how many pull-ups I can work up to at bodyweight. As far as the bench press, last I checked (last year), this gym was missing a few sets of dumbbells, ending up with 85's, 110's, 120's, and nothing in between, which means, unless I switch to barbell bench or incline, I have no choice but to work by volume (which works out fine based on the parameters of this routine anyways).

I've contemplated ways to sneak in chalk at my universities gym as well haha. I'm not too sure how good it would go though, I don't see myself getting thrown out though.

Also, I have your same attitude on volume :( Although squatting with six reps is getting more and more satisfying, I don't think I could go higher.

I've contemplated ways to sneak in chalk at my universities gym as well haha. I'm not too sure how good it would go though, I don't see myself getting thrown out though.

Also, I have your same attitude on volume :( Although squatting with six reps is getting more and more satisfying, I don't think I could go higher.
I have some in a climber's chalk pouch, so I think I'm just going to keep it in the small gym bag I take to the gym and chalk up lightly as needed. I've seen chalk left on the barbells before so I don't think I'll have any problem at my gym either. It's student run after all -- though I guess if they were to get complaints from the cleaning crew or something...

Our rec center has huge things of chalk to use. Also, chico, make sure you're ready for this program before you embark upon it, it's pretty brutal. Similar to right before the taper in track.

Our rec center has huge things of chalk to use. Also, chico, make sure you're ready for this program before you embark upon it, it's pretty brutal. Similar to right before the taper in track.
:D

Don't make that face at me. Why am I home at 12 on a friday night. I could have taken advantage of a drunk chick, but I didn't, and now I'm here, reading a dude's journal talking about Smolov.

Week 2 at September 23, 2007.
College Week 2 (Junior Year)

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 177.2 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x205 | 5x5x245
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 5x135, 5x185, 3x225 | 5x5x265
Natural Glute-Ham Raise (w/ assistance): 2, 2
DB Bench Press: 8x45 | 10x85, 7x85

"My hamstrings were cramping up when it came time to GHRs. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to plan them after both squats and romanians. I have to think whether I want to drop them or possibly move them to Thursday's workout. By luck of the draw, I ended up having to use the 'bad' squat rack today. It's bad because, to unrack the barbell, my face is not more than a centimeter from a mirrored wall. Then, I'm only a couple paces back from the wall when I start squatting. It's very hard to focus being that close. The 'good' rack is set back from the wall about a foot, which is enough that I don't feel claustrophobic, at the least, while I'm trying to squat, even if it is still much closer than I would like."

Monday

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 178.2 lbs)

Power Clean: 2x135, 1x185, 1x185, 1x205, 4x225 CP, 2x185
Front Squat: 5x135, 3x185 | 3x3x225
Military Press: 5x3x135 on :45
Chest-Supported Row Machine: 8x45, 3x70 | 7x90, 6x90, 5x90, 12x45

Seated Box Jumps (onto large): 6, 6
Depth Jumps (off medium): 6, 6

"FSQs felt weak, but that's expected on this routine. I'm supposed to be recovered in time for Thursday's workout, not Tuesday's."

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 177.7 lbs)

Back Squat: 8x135, 5x135, 5x185, 5x205, 5x225, 5x245, 4x265
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 5x135, 5x205, 5x225, 5x245, 5x265, 5x285
Push Press: 3x115, 3x135, 3x155, 3x185, 2x205
Pull-ups: 10, 6, 4, 4, 4

"I should have gotten that last rep on BSQs -- that's so pathetic, haha. Push presses used very little leg drive and I wasn't able to press out of the last rep of that top set. I did a strict eccentric on every rep so that might have added a little fatigue as well. Since I'm not going to be jerking anytime soon because of my gym environment, I figured I might as well gear the push press more towards the press than the jerk."

Friday

Saturday

Week 3 at September 30, 2007.
College Week 3 (Junior Year)

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 176.9 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x2x205 | 5x5x255
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 5x135, 5x185, 3x225 | 4x5x275
DB Bench Press: 8x40, 5x60 | 10x85, 5x85, 4x85

"I tried to do NGHRs on a decline bench, but my legs can't fit under the pad, so I didn't bother dragging a bench into an open rack and loading up enough weight to anchor myself because it was already getting late and I have homework to do. There wasn't an open rack at that moment either, so I'd have had to wait to do that anyways. Besides like last week, my hamstrings would probably start cramping and I wouldn't be able to get any real work done anyways. I'll throw NGHRs in my next routine."

Monday

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 178.9 lbs)

3x135 PSN, 5x135 OHSQ, 5x135 PSN, 5x135 OHSQ, 3x135 PSN
Military Press: 7x3x135 on :45
Chest-Supported Row Machine: 6x45, 3x70 | 3x8x90, 12x45

Seated Box Jumps (onto large): 6, 6
Seated Depth Jumps: 5, 5

"I decided to combine the light leg work by alternating sets of power snatches and overhead squats (which were PSNed to start). Seated depth jumps are performed exactly like seated box jumps except you jump vertically instead of onto another box."

Wednesday

Thursday

"They're replacing the rubber flooring at the gym, so it's closed until Sunday. I hope to be able to make it to a different gym tomorrow to do tonight's regularly scheduled workout. I will probably skip Tuesday's light workout next week as a consequence and go for volume on Monday and intensity on Thursday."

Friday

Saturday (2:30 PM)

Back Squat: 8x135, 5x135, 5x185, 5x205, 5x225, 5x245, 3x275
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 5x135, 5x205, 5x225, 5x255, 5x275, 5x295
Push Press: 3x50 kg, 3x70 kg, 3x80 kg, 3x90 kg
Pull-ups: 10, 6, 6, 5, 4

What's the difference between oly RDLs and regulars? I've never really understood RDL's, they've always just seemed like a negative DL to me.

What's the difference between oly RDLs and regulars? I've never really understood RDL's, they've always just seemed like a negative DL to me.
RDL compared to DL: the hips are pushed backwards and the knees bend very little so that the torso ends up close to horizontal to the ground.

SLDL compared to RDL: the hips aren't pushed backwards to lower the torso.

Olympic RDL compared to regular RDL: same movements, but bar slides along thighs and is kept in contact with the body and touches or rests on the floor between reps. Some people -- Olympic weightlifters, for example -- would say that this is the only way to perform a RDL.

If you need more explanation, PM me. :tu:

Week 4 at October 7, 2007.
College Week 4 (Junior Year)

Sunday

Monday (11 PM; BW: 178.8 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x205, 2x225 | 5x5x265
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 5x135, 5x185, 3x225 | 4x5x285
Chest-Supported Row Machine: 6x45, 3x70 | 5x90, 5x95, 5x100, 7x90

"Felt pretty good."

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 179.0 lbs)

Back Squat: 8x135, 5x185, 5x205, 5x225, 5x245, 3x285
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 8x135, 5x205, 5x225, 5x255, 5x275, 4x305
Push Press: 5x115, 5x135, 5x155, 5x170, 4x185
Pull-ups: 10, 4, 4
Cable Rows: 6x96, 5x132, 10x96

"They redid the gym floor and now the pull-up bar (attached on the side of a cross-beam) is orientated so that you have to look out at the rest of the gym instead of at the mirror/wall. I don't like that. The 'cable' on this cable row machine has a ton of friction."

Friday

Saturday

Chic, i'm curious as to why you do the olympic style RDL? Do you do it to benefit your snatch/clean more, for greater ROM, or any other reason?

I did some in my warm up today and I felt it a lot more where the glutes and hamstrings meet. Whenever I have to deload I think i'll give them a try.

The "cable" on this cable row machine has a ton of friction."

I hate when that happens. Can you sneak in some silicone spray lube?

Chic, i'm curious as to why you do the olympic style RDL? Do you do it to benefit your snatch/clean more, for greater ROM, or any other reason?

I did some in my warm up today and I felt it a lot more where the glutes and hamstrings meet. Whenever I have to deload I think i'll give them a try.
I like that, since the bar stays in closer to the legs, there's a lot more tension through the upper back, instead of just on the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Though, with the adjustments, I lose about 10 kg (~6%) off my RDL, which I think is a result of the increased ROM and altered distribution of the load.

I hate when that happens. Can you sneak in some silicone spray lube?
I don't usually cable row at this gym anyways, preferring to chest-supported row. I threw them in because moving the pull-up bar and changing perspective threw me off my game with the regularly scheduled pull-ups.

Week 5 at October 14, 2007.
College Week 5 (Junior Year)

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 179.2 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x205, 2x205, 1x245, 5x275, 3x275, 8x225, 5x225
DB Bench Press: 25x45, 20x45

"Here starts a semi-deload / fun week."

Monday

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 180.3 lbs)

Power Clean: 3x135, 3x160, 3x185, 1x205, 3x205 CP, 3x185
Rack Power Jerk: 5x135, 3x185, 3x205, 2x225
Deadlift: 3x135, 3x185, 3x225, 2x275, 2x315, 1x365, 1x405
Bent-over BB Row: 6x135, 5x160, 5x185

Seated Depth Jumps: 5
Seated Box Jumps (onto large): 5
Unilateral Box Jump (onto small): 3 (per leg)
Box Jump (onto large): 5, 5 w/ hop

"Just playing around. I pulled 405 fairly easy, which is good considering I can't even remember the last time I conventional'd. My power jerks were going well -- 225 goes up like nothing and I wanted to go higher, but it starts to get difficult enough to return the barbell back to the shoulders around then that I called it quits out of the interest of safety. There's no bumpers and I was just playing around after all."

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 181.0 lbs)

Overhead Squats: 5x95, 5x115, 7x135, 6x135, 3x135
Good Mornings: 5x95, 5x115, 5x135, 5x155, 5x185
Military Press: 10x135, 15x95 (bottom partials)
Pull-ups (thick bar): 10, 5, 5

"Damn, my wrists were killing me on OHSQs. The length of the sets are pretty much determined by how long I can bear the pain. Man was not made to support things overhead in a snatch grip. Overall for the workout though, I kept things pretty easy to facilitate recovery since I got some serious work coming up."

Friday

Saturday

Routine

I'm going to run the Coan-Phillipi Deadlift Program because I'm the mood to do some deadlifting -- it's been quite a while.

SUNDAY

The Program (http://tsampa.org/training/scripts/coan_phillipi_deadlift/), using 415 and 455 as my numbers.

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

Squatting...

The only things that are really set in stone are that I'm going to be deadlifting on Sunday and squatting on Thursday. Tuesday and Thursday will also have some upper body to match whatever I happen to be doing uppers-wise for the program.

:gl: My only recommendation for that program is to take care of your hands. Deads -> Speed Deads -> SLDl -> Row left mine cracked and bleeding by week 3. :blank:
I'm throwing in some squats right above parallel because I have a nasty sticking point in that part of the ROM after squatting well below parallel almost exclusively for the past few years.
Have you thought about throwing in some high box squats?

The Program (http://tsampa.org/training/scripts/coan_phillipi_deadlift/), using 415 and 455 as my numbers.


Looks nice. I put in 500 and 1000 as numbers to see what came out. It shows the structure of the program pretty well.

Have you thought about throwing in some high box squats?
Yes, but really I'm more interested in seeing the difference in my maximum and muscular development with a shortened ROM than actually conquering that sticking point. I guess I should have said that instead. :lol:

Week 6 at October 21, 2007.
College Week 6 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 1

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 180.0 lbs)

Deadlift: 10x135, 8x155, 3x205, 2x245, 2x295, 2x340
Speed Deadlift: 8x3x275 on 1:30

Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 3x8x245 and
Bent-over BB Row: 3x8x155 and
Lat Pull-down: 3x8x120 and
Good Morning: 3x8x135 on a circuit with 1:30 between exercises and 2:00 between circuits

"I'm going to need to change to unilateral dumbbell rows or seated cable rows. A bilateral row is more favorable than a unilateral one for the deadlift though. I'm very bad at barbell rowing just normally and my form is shit when I'm tired. I forgot to do my lat pull-downs underhand. I need to up the weight a little extra on the pull-downs and good mornings next week as they were way too light. That circuit was definitely the hardest part of this workout. I'm not used to having my heart rate elevated continuously by the end there. The way my circuit notation works is that I did three circuits of eight reps of each of those exercises in that order."

Monday

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 184.1 lbs)

Military Press: 5x155, 4x155, 5x145
Push Press: 3x135, 3x3x185
Dips: 10, 8

"I have a whole paper to write, so I had to make this quick. The gym was really crowded for some reason today. Also, my bodyweight is acting strange (in a good way)."

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 182.4 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x205, 2x225, 5x265, 4x265, 3x225, 3x225
Back Squat (with medium box): 6x225, 5x245, 5x265, 5x285, 5x305, 5x325
Box Squat (on small): 3x225
Box Squat (on small + 2 plates): 5x225, 5x245

"The medium box is quarter squat depth. I feel really stupid squatting that high. I didn't actually sit on it between reps, instead using it for consistency, which is why I'm not calling it a box squat. After I finished testing that out (5x325 definitely was not the limit for that depth), I tried some actual box squats. I haven't done any in a long time. The small box was way too deep and I had absolutely no leverage on it, so I stacked two forty-fives on top to get slightly higher. Next Thursday, I think I will do my normal squatting, then some box squatting on the small box plus three plates, and finish with some heavy quarters using the medium box for consistency."

Friday

"My quads and glutes are pretty damn sore. Haha. It probably wasn't a good idea to go so crazy with so much deadlifting just days away."

Saturday

hey chic, i was wondering if you will be posting any new videos on youtube?

i watch your current ones every leg and back day before i leave for the gym, i'm trying to work on my form on squats and deadlifts and your vids really help, i like how you break everything down..would like to see a vid of bent-over rows, i'm ok for my first few reps but then become unstable

by the way your strength is amazing

hey chic, i was wondering if you will be posting any new videos on youtube?

i watch your current ones every leg and back day before i leave for the gym, i'm trying to work on my form on squats and deadlifts and your vids really help, i like how you break everything down..would like to see a vid of bent-over rows, i'm ok for my first few reps but then become unstable

by the way your strength is amazing
There will definitely be some more in the future, though maybe not for a few months. I want to eventually make one showing the differences between a conventional deadlift, romanian deadlift, an Olympic style romanian deadlift, and a stiff-legged deadlift, which I think would be pretty useful.

I'm actually pretty bad at bent-over rows, so I would not be a good source to learn form from. I usually stick to unilateral dumbbell rows, seated cable rows, and the chest-supported machine as a result.

Recently, in the past few weeks, I threw in some bent-over rows, but I'm already going to sub them out because they just aren't as effective as these other lifts for me. With so many other good variations, at this point in my training, I no longer see a need to master the lift.

How do you know they aren't as effective?
Do the lifts you suck at.
Do the lifts you hate.
The world is full of guys training the lifts they love, the best train the lifts they're embarrassed by.
Transform weak points into strengths, and strengths into mastery.
:nod:

How do you know they aren't as effective?
Do the lifts you suck at.
Do the lifts you hate.
The world is full of guys training the lifts they love, the best train the lifts they're embarrassed by.
Transform weak points into strengths, and strengths into mastery.
:nod:
:o :D

Week 7 at October 28, 2007.
College Week 7 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 2

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 181.9 lbs)

Deadlift: 10x135, 5x185, 3x225, 2x275, 2x315, 2x365
Speed Deadlift: 8x3x295 on :90

Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 8x255, 8x255, 8x245 and
Bent-over BB Row: 8x155, 8x155, 8x135 and
Lat Pull-down (supinated): 8x132, 8x132, 8x120 and
Good Morning: 8x155, 8x155, 8x135 on a circuit with 1:30 between exercises and 2:00 between circuits

"Holy fucking hell, that was hell. The deadlifting is the 'easy' part on this routine. :blank: The rest between sets on the last circuit was not so accurate, as I was lying down on a bench between sets trying not to succumb to nausea (which I didn't, thankfully). Praise be, Powerade."

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 183.9 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x225, 2x250 | 6x2x275 on 2:00
Box Squat (on small + 3 plates): 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 5x245, 5x265, 5x275, 5x295
Military Press: 6x95 | 8x135, 5x135
Power Jerks: 3x135, 3x160, 3x185

"Those doubles on the back squats were pretty speedy and I still had a lot of power at 295 on the box squats. I'm still testing that exercise out so I stopped there; I won't be ramping up from 135 next time, haha. That depth -- small box + 3 plates -- sits right below the bottom of the knee, which is effectively between quad and hams parallel when I'm sitting on the box. I've been slacking on my upper body pressing exercises, but this is probably good because my posterior delts and rowing need some work anyways. This is despite the fact that I've been trying to focus on back exercise forever now; I've made some good progress on rounding the shoulders out, but my anterior delts just plain physically dominate, so it's slow-going."

Friday

Saturday

Week 8 at November 4, 2007.
College Week 8 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 3

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 182.5 lbs)

Deadlift: 10x135, 5x185, 3x225, 2x275, 2x315, 1x345, 2x385
Speed Deadlift: 6x3x320 on 2:00

Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 8x265, 8x265, 7x265 and
Bent-over BB Row: 8x155, 8x155, 6x155 and
Lat Pull-down (supinated): 8x132, 8x132, 8x132 and
Good Morning: 8x155, 8x155, 8x155 on a circuit with 1:30 between exercises and 2:00 between circuits

"Those 'speed' deadlifts weren't that speedy at that weight, but that's what the program calls for. That's a little over 80% of my last max, so they shouldn't be lightning fast anyways. I've been strapping the top set on deadlifts, but pulling the other dozen sets or so raw. I'm getting some nice thumb hypertrophy on account of my hook grip. As far as breathing goes, the circuit wasn't as hard this time, but my legs, hips, and back were fried after the deadlifting. Consequently, everything felt pretty heavy and, mentally, I was feeling pretty weak. The romanians were the worst, but it was only after the session that it occurred to me that 8x265 is ~330 maximum by a 1-RM calculator, so I wasn't working very far off failure on those. I was rearing to quit after the second circuit, but instead I went to the water fountain, refilled, and persisted. The rest gets more and more approximate the further along the circuit..."

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 184.6 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x225, 2x245 | 5x3x275 on 2:30
Box Squat (on small + 3 plates): 5x135, 5x225, 5x265 | 3x5x295
Rack Power Jerk: 3x135, 3x165, 3x185, 3x205, 3x1x225
DB Bench Press: 3x10x65

"Decent workout with some nice and easy bench presses to finish. I figure that, since I haven't been consistent with my bench, I'll start here and just go up one increment each week until the end of this program. If I remember correctly, over the summer, I did 8 reps with the 100's, so I should potentially be able to make it back up around there for 3 x 10 by the end of the program. Basically, I'm going to see if I can milk some linear progression for some chest hypertrophy."

Friday

Saturday

* (c) George

Week 9 at November 11, 2007.
College Week 9 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 4

Sunday (11 PM; BW: 183.4 lbs)

Deadlift: 10x135, 5x185, 3x225, 3x275, 2x315, 1x365, 2x405, 5x3x340 on 2:00

Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 6x265, 8x245, 8x245 and
Unilateral DB Row: 8x60, 8x60, 8x60 and
Lat Pull-down (supinated): 8x144, 8x144, 6x144 on a circuit with 1:30 between exercises and 3:00 between circuits

"That 2x405 top set felt pretty good. I fiddled with the circuit, however, because I was dead after the deadlifting. Hopefully, that won't fuck up my results too much. My grip failed on that last set of pull-downs."

Monday

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 184.9 lbs)

Overhead Squats: 5x95, 5x115, 5x135
Lat Pull-downs: 8x108, 8x144, 12x108, 8x108
Unilateral DB Rows: 5x65, 5x75, 2x5x85

"Yikes, lower back was tight going into this. OHSQs weren't the best idea and I was feeling pretty dead through the midsection and back. I wanted to throw in this extra back work since I skimped a bit on the circuit on Sunday. Pull-downs were as strict as I could possibly perform with very tight scapular retractions."

Wednesday

Thursday (11 PM; BW: 186.3 lbs)

Back Squat: 2x5x135, 3x185, 2x2x225, 2x250 | 6x2x285 on 2:00
Box Squat (on small + 3 plates): 5x135, 5x225, 5x265 | 3x5x305
DB Bench Press: 8x45, 3x10x70

"My back got a little tight. I'll probably do Sunday / Wednesday next week since I need to go home for Thanksgiving. That should give me some good rest. For some reason, my left leg was a bit weak today. I haven't been favoring my right leg that I know of, but some unilateral work may be a good idea after this program."

Friday

Saturday

Week 10 at November 18, 2007.
College Week 10 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 5
Thanksgiving Break

Sunday

Monday (11:30 PM; BW: 186.2 lbs)

Deadlift: 10x135, 5x185, 3x225, 3x275, 2x315 | 3x3x365
Speed Deadlift: 3x3x295 on 2:00
Power Shrugs: 3x5x250
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 3x5x265
Unilateral DB Row: 5x55, 3x5x90
Lat Pull-down: 5x96 | 3x5x156
Good Morning: 3x5x185

"My deadlifting wasn't feeling too great today. I mean it went okay but my form and overall tightness felt off. I had some pretty weak nutrition these past couple days, which probably factored into it. Instead of lat pull-downs, I should probably just do pull-ups since last time I checked I could do 10 in a set."

Tuesday

Wednesday

"Home for Thanksgiving until Sunday. No gym access."

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

:whistle:

Week 11 at November 25, 2007.
College Week 11 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 6

Sunday

Monday

"Fucking power went out in the gym after my first warm-up set and everyone got kicked out. I would not have minded lifting in the dark in the least."

Tuesday (11 PM; BW: 185.3 lbs)

Deadlift: 10x135, 5x185, 3x225, 3x275, 2x315, 1x345, 2x385
Speed Deadlift: 3x3x320 on 2:00
Power Shrugs: 3x5x270
Romanian Deadlifts: 3x5x275

"Agh. I pulled a muscle in my upper back on the first set of power shrugs -- probably the right lower trap. I did a jump shrug from the floor in clean fashion, which is when it happened. That shoulder blade also acts a little weird and I have more external rotation on the side as well, which may have contributed. I asked Eric Cressey about it in a post (http://www.t-nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1435531) on T-Nation back in February and he said 'strengthen right lower traps and serratus anterior - lots of prone trap raises and scap pushups. If you sit a lot and are working with a mouse or using a manual transmission in your car, chances are that the prolonged posture and constant arm motion are what is getting you. Stabilize the scapula and stop reaching so much, and you'll be in good standing.' I haven't done either of those things. :o Anyways, I'm going to ice on 15-30 minute on/off intervals and start up the Ibruprofen. Hopefully, it gets better quick."

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Week 12 at December 2, 2007.
College Week 12 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 7
Exams and Winter Break

Sunday

Monday

"English exam."

Tuesday

"Christ. These past few weeks have been crap. Between breaks, no gym access, power outages, a pulled muscle, exams, horrible nutrition, and a really messed up sleep schedule, I've seriously put a damper on my progress. I have no idea if this program is going to work with this much 'rest' in between the past few sessions, but I hope to make it to the gym tomorrow before driving home for Christmas break. Things should be consistent at least for next week and the week after after tomorrow as I'll be free of obligations and have gym access..."

Wednesday (8 PM; BW: 185.5 lbs)

Deadlift: 2x10x135, 5x185, 3x225, 3x275, 2x315, 1x365, 2x410, 3x3x340 on 2:00
Power Shrugs: 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 2x5x290
Romanian Deadlift (Olympic style): 2x5x285
Unilateral DB Row: 2x5x95
Pull-ups: 5, 3

"That top set of deadlifts felt weaker than the similar 405 top set I had a few weeks ago. It's probably not supposed to feel that way, but that's what I get for being so shit with my training and nutrition for the past few weeks. C'est la vie. I had an abstract algebra exam at 11:30 AM this morning immediately followed by microeconomics. :bang: I wasn't able to fall asleep until well after 6 AM last night. C'est la vie. I was going to drive home tonight since I've finished all my commitments here at school, but the roads seem iffy and I'm fairly tired for once, so I think I'm going to do that tomorrow morning."

Thursday

"Christmas break."

Friday

Saturday

Hope your injury is healing up, by your parenthetical notations i'd venture to guess it feels good enough to get back to the weights :tucool:

I envy how early your Christmas break starts.

Hope your injury is healing up, by your parenthetical notations i'd venture to guess it feels good enough to get back to the weights :tucool:
Yeah. It's been feeling good so I hope that means it's healed enough because I have to hit a deadlift double in the 400's tomorrow (which is always good right after a back injury). :lol:

I envy how early your Christmas break starts.
I wish the damn thing was earlier. I really need this break. :nod:

Week 13 at December 9, 2007.
College Week 13 (Junior Year)

Coan-Phillipi Week 8
Winter Break

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

"Doctor's appointment in the late afternoon, which I had to fast for due to bloodwork, so my workout is delayed yet again, considering I'm going to need all the food/energy I can get, as I'm scheduled to pull a +20 lb double for a PR."

Wednesday (5:45 PM)

Deadlift: 10x135, 8x135, 5x185, 3x225, 3x275, 2x315, 2x365, 1x430, 3x3x320 on 2:00
Power Shrugs: 5x135, 3x225, 2x275 | 2x5x310

"It turns out that my hometown gym now closes at 6:30 rather than 7:30. I only got a single at 430 and couldn't break it back off the ground (consecutively) for the second rep. That single felt pretty strong though. As far as the program, I would probably be stronger at this point if I hadn't continually screwed up for the past few weeks. Since I didn't get the scheduled double, I'm going to wrap up a week early and try for a max single around 445 or 455 next week. The original schedule was to have this double today, a single at 445 next week, and then a max the week thereafter. So, instead, I pulled a double last week, a single today, and will max next week."

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Week 14 at December 16, 2007.
College Week 14 (Junior Year)

Winter Break

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

"The rut continues..."

Saturday

Week 15 at December 23, 2007.
College Week 15 (Junior Year)

Winter Break

Sunday

"So, I've pretty much taken a break from lifting here. It seems I have trouble sustaining my drive to do it over these short breaks from school with the odd holiday gym hours and the desire to spend my days completely commitment free. Looking back, I see that my rut started with Thanksgiving Break and I didn't get more than once session in per week after that. That's unfortunate.

Some good news is that my weight has been holding constant. I've been weighing in at about 181-182 lbs consistently after waking up."

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

"Had a few beers at a bar."

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

I am still always checking out your workouts, all the sets, weights etc, just so you know...

Just so you know, get a good break know, then go at it hard again mate, I´ll be watching.

Maybe go with fewer workouts and or/sets to keep motivation/time up?

I´ll start with the clean again in a month.

Have a good one.

/Sam

I am still always checking out your workouts, all the sets, weights etc, just so you know...

Just so you know, get a good break know, then go at it hard again mate, I´ll be watching.

Maybe go with fewer workouts and or/sets to keep motivation/time up?

I´ll start with the clean again in a month.

Have a good one.

/Sam
Thanks for the good words, Sam. :tu:

Week 16 at December 30, 2007.
College Week 16 (Junior Year)

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

"Winter break ends. Now to get my lifts back up. :bang:"

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Week 17 at January 6, 2008.
College Week 17 (Junior Year)

Sunday (12:30 PM)

Back Squat: 5x135, 3x155, 2x185, 3x8x215

"Yikes. That didn't go well at all -- there was more planned. I spent some quality time lying on my floor in the dorm room afterwards on account of some nausea and lightheadedness, which is pretty pathetic. Repping squats gives me that kind of trouble even when I am in shape with all the right nutritional precautions, so this result was not exactly surprising. I must have a weak stomach. In any case, it's been 51 days since I last squatted and over three weeks since I last lifted. The good news it that that didn't feel heavy at all and I felt like, at the least, I could have taken that first set up until the midteens. And, hallelujah to that, because my squat already sucked and, psychologically, I really can't afford to have it any lower.

Otherwise, the only real thing to say is that my sleep schedule is extremely messed up at the moment. I'm completely adapted to night shift hours, sleeping from about 7 AM to 7 PM. This is bad considering I have class at 9 AM more or less every day now. Consequently, I need to completely swap my conscious and unconscious hours, which is going to be the big project for this week.

Oh, and my break was quite relaxing. Haha."

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

"Despite not doing much on Monday, my legs have been sore as hell the last few days. I've swapped my sleep/wake hours, but I can't call it a success yet. My sleep has turned into a pre-Industrialization segmented schedule, where I fall asleep at sunset, wake up for a few hours in the middle of the night, and then sleep again until a few hours before sunrise. My brain is fairly lucid for the first couple hours after I wake up (which correspond to the very end up my day prior to the switch), but rapidly gets foggier and foggier after that. A bit after noon, I get extremely tired and have to fight to stay awake until at least dark, so that I don't end up awake too early in the morning. I hope my body adjusts soon."

Thursday

Friday

Saturday