Wednesday 28th June - Cycle 3 Get Lean+Maintain Strength - Week 1 - Day 2 - Upper 1 Strength - Microcycle 8
Damn good workout, was a bit sore and tired, but felt strong and making progress in all areas. I can finally bench pain free after months of rehab work. I never thought I would be able to bench again, happy as hell!!
Also was able to flip my snatch grip around on the shoulder dislocates with arms locked and straight - gonna keep going and see if I can do the same with my jerk grip width.
Real quiet in the gym like Monday, just the way I like it. I can hog the power rack, this new training schedule is looking good so far
Bodyweight at gym - 211lbs in winter clothing
Workout time - 1.5+ hours
Workout rating - 9/10
General warmup -
1) whole body dynamic stretches and swings
2) scapular pushups - on bench x 15, on floor BWx15
3) bar complex with 25lbs x 8 - slow hang clean pulls, military press and shallow hang power clean
Rotating Sets between each exercise
Resting 1 to 2mins on warmups and 3+ mins between each exercise on work sets
stretched the side of neck and upper trap, 15secs each, at the start of each warmup and workset rotation
16inch grip Bench - shoulders tucked, no arch or leg drive
Warmups - Bar x 8, 95lbs x 8, 135x8, 165x8, 195x5, 225x4
controlled, no bounce
Rotation 1) 255lbs x 1
Rotation 2) 225lbs x 4 --> hard strain on last rep
Rotation 3) 225lbs x 3
Rotation 4) 225lbs x 3
Rotation 5) 225lbs x 2
It's been months since I last benched, and hurt my shoulder. Now after rehab I'm even better than before. Even with the really crappy multi-curved/bent bar, after I warmed, it never felt this smooth, stable and easy before.
I wasn't sure what I would do today, but as I warmed up, controlled with no bouncing, things felt real good, so I just kept going heavier, and did 225x4 in the warmup, with a rep in the tank. Then did 255 just for the hell of it, and it felt good with a moderate strain and not that heavy or shakey in my hands. Probably could do 265lbs today if I went all out. My all time best is 295lbs with a 14inch grip at 219lbs, and 285lbs with a 16inch grip at 210lbs before I shafted my shoulder. So I'm not a whole lot weaker - thanks to military presses, scap dips, dumbell bench, scap and cuff work.
On the 3rd set with 225lbs my form was different, I went down controlled as before, but an inch or so above the chest I relaxed and let it free fall a bit, regained tension before it touched my chest and slammed it up without bouncing. It went up a lot easier, that's why I was able to do 3 reps again, where I should have only gotten 2. Will have to see if I can bench like this with heavier weights, but definitely add more power. Probably should have stopped there, but did another set after that. Chest was pumped as hell even with the narrow grip, gonna be sore tommorrow!
All my support muscles, and shoulder stability and mobility is much better than before, so I expect to finally hit 315lbs soon. It helps that I have done 295lbs with a 14inch grip from a deadstop off pins before - I didn't test my max back then though....Goal is still to do 315x5 one day.
The average bobsledder around my body weight close grips around 300lbs, so I'll be right up there soon, and maybe even get close to double body weight one day. It helps that my upper arm is short. My wingspan is actually less than my height. Not good for dunking, but great for benching and higher sprinting stride frequency
Chest Supported T-Bar Rows - medium overhand grip
warmups - semi-explosive with 2 sec ISO hold on last rep - BAR x8, +25lbs x 8, +45x8, +70x5, +105x5, 115x3, 135x3
Controlled, 2 sec ISO hold at top
Rotation 1) Bar + 160lbs x 3 -->
NEW PR! - hard strain on last rep
Rotation 2) Bar + 160lbs x 3
Rotation 3) Bar + 160lbs x 3
Rotation 4) Bar + 160lbs x 2 + 1 partial
When I powered up 3 reps with 3 plates (135lbs) in the warmup and rattled the plates at top, I knew I was much stronger than before, so I had to go up in weight and get me a new PR. The explosive work and high rep upper body work at the end of the last training cycle has definitely made me much stronger. Probably could have gone even heavier too, 4 plates here I come!
That will make me the strongest guy in the gym on these and definitely the strongest pound for pound here
-------------------------------------------------------
Rotating Sets between each exercise
Resting 1 min on warmups and 2 mins between each exercise on work sets
Dip Shrugs
warmups - bench dip style x 10, regular 10sec Hold + 5 reps, BWx5
slight hold top and bottom
Rotation 1) +25lbs x 10
Rotation 2) +25lbs x 9
quite hard after the benching
Elbow on Knee single arm External Rotation - started from bottom
warmups - 3kg x 10, 15lbs x 6, 30x6, 40x4
controlled - 1min between sides
Rotation 1) 22lbs x 6
Rotation 2) 22lbs x 6 --> hard strain on last rep
damn cuffs felt way stronger than the last time I did these. I need to get these up to a controlled set of 30x5 for my bench goals
-----------------------
Cooldown - Restorative - ISO stretches
Subscap stretched ISO hold - 5kg x 40secs
Pushup/Dip stretched ISO hold - knee supported x 30secs
Shoulder dislocates with wooden staff - lots
Static stretches - lats, shoulders, rear delt, bicep, tricep,
overhead reach on floor
single arm overhead vertical + horizontal stretch on chin bar, feet on floor
Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
