Tuesday 9th August - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 3 - Day 2 PM - Upper + Lower - Microcycle 3
Leaner, lighter and stronger!!!! Excellent workout, and I didn't even feel that tired afterwards despite the high intensity and long duartion. It's like someone has been slipping in DBol tablets into my breakfast cereal!

Upper body looked noticably bigger than last week, but on a calorie deficit???Although I supose getting leaner probably adds to the illusion I guess
Looks like I've found my magic setup/split. Every quality is either maintaining or increasing - work capacity, strength, strain ability, power, rate/speed, reactivity etc. While I lean up and get lighter - the holy grail?!
Hmm do I even need to deload? While my gross motor abilities are increasing or maintaining, my fine motor control has going backwards, so I will still need to deload.
If tehre ever was a day I should have brought my camera to the gym, today was it...oops...
Bodyweight at gym - 214lbs in winter clothing
Workout time - 1 hour 50mins
Workout rating - 9/10
General warmup -
1) dynamic swings etc
2) back extension BWx6 + 6 twisting to each alternate side
3) situp complex on swissball
4) various bodyweight warmup stuff
5) BW calf raises x 10
Full Oly Back Squats - in Oly Shoes - RAW
Warmups - controlled down explode up - BWx10, Bar x8, 95x8, 135x8, 185x5, 225x5
resting 4 mins
275x3, 315x1, 335x1
controlled down, explode up
355lbs 2x2
New PR!!
225lbs x 10 --> last rep getting hard
My core and hammies were definitely fatigued from the sprints this morning, and the warmup sets, especially 335lbs felt quite hard and slow. Yet I smashed 355lbs! The 2nd rep on the 2nd set was the longest slowest grind I have ever done on squats, but my form was perfect and rock solid, upright and no GM'ing the weight up! That tells me my core and hammies are way stronger than before. Controlled on teh way down with no bouncing as well.
I have no idea why my strain ability has increased though...given the type of stuff I'm doing..what with sprints earlier in the day??!
My all time PRs at 220lbs are 355x3 and 365x2, so I'm right there. I should be able to triple 365 when fresh, so I might be able to nail 395-405lbs on a good day. Which means I'm not that far off double bodyweight
Rotating Sets between each upper body exercise
Resting 1 min on warmup sets and then 2-3 mins between each exercise
14 inch Grip bench - shoulder blades tucked - no arch or leg drive
Warmups - controlled down, explode up - Bar x12, 95lbs x 8, 135x8, 165x5, 195x3, 225x2,
controlled down, explode up
Rotation 1) 255lbs x 2
Rotation 2) 255lbs x 2
Rotation 3) 255lbs x 2
Rotation 4) 185lbs x 10 --> just made it
Bench felt ridicously light as I warmed up! Cranked out 255lbs, with gas to spare. Bench strength coing back like a flood! And to think I failed with 265lbs a few weeks back....
Felt super stable with super control. Prehab work is really starting to show, especially the military presses, dip shrugs and subscap stretched ISO holds.
All time PR is 265x4 with a slight bounce, at 219lbs, so I'm not too far off that, and no bouncing today
Bent over Barbell Rows - Index fingers on smooth - Strict
warmups - explode up, controlled down - 45lbs x10, 89x8, 111x5, 131x5, 155x3, 175x2
explode up, controlled down
Rotation 1) 205lbs x 2
New PR!!
Rotation 2) 205lbs x 2
Rotation 3) 205lbs x 2 --> hard grinds, just barely making each set
Rotation 4) 155lbs x 9.5 --> failed
First time I've been able to grind up rows. Just barely made each set, and with strict form to boot.
Cooldown and stretches
Lie over a swiss ball to stretch out spinal erectors x 1min
whole body static stretches at home after a hot shower