Day Three, Week Two: Heavy Bench Press

I was worried about my bench press having not been serious for a couple of months or so, but today's workout really encouraged me. I'm pretty confident I'll do better in December than I did in June.

Squat Day
Exercise	10/1 2010	10/8 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Bench Press	135x10	135x10
	185x10	185x10
	275x5	295x4
	275x5	295x4
	275x5	295x4
	275x5	305x4
Incline Dumbbell Press	75x12*	75x12*
	80x12*	80x12*
	80x12*	85x11*
Smith Tricep Press	90x12**	130x12**
	110x12**	140x12**
	130x12**	145x9**
Seated Tricep Extension w/Rope	120x12 (P)	130x12 (P)
	130x12 (P)	140x12 (P)
	130x11 (P)	145x9 (P)
* Weight is per arm ** Not counting weight of bar (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day Two, Week Two: Squats

I'm really starting to feel strong again, and less winded after workouts. I'm starting to develop some confidence that I'll be competitive at the Fife Holiday Classic in early December, particularly with the squat. I'm looking forward to it!

Squat Day
Exercise	9/30 2010	10/7 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	135x10	135x10
	185x8	185x8
	360x5	390x4
	360x5	390x4
	360x5	390x4
	360x5	390x4
V-Bar Pulldown	170x12 (Y)	175x12 (P)
	180x12 (Y)	185x12 (P)
	190x10 (Y)	195x7 (P)
Romanian Deadlift	275x12	280x12
	295x12	300x12
	315x10	320x10
Front Squat	360x12
	360x12
	360x12
Leg Press		360x12*
		410x12*
		450x12*
* Includes plates but not the sled itself (Y) Machine used at the YMCA (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day One, Week Two: Light Bench Press

I'm trying to stay on the wagon, starting off week two of my new routine by getting off my butt and going to the gym for day one's workout, even though it's the one during which I don't have a workout partner :(

Speed Bench Day
Exercise	9/28 2010	10/5 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Pin Press (Explosive)	135x10	135x10
	185x5	185x5
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
	245x1	255x1
Pushups	30	35
	24	24
	15	16
Military Press	85x12	105x12
	95x12	105x12
	105x12	115x9
Dumbbell Triceps Extensions	30x12*	30x12*
	30x12*	32.5x12*
	30x12*	35x11*
* Weight is per arm

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

I'm perhaps most worried about the impact my lack of diligence has had on my deadlift. Lifts of 500 and 520 are feeling considerably harder today than they did in June. I'm going to have to really push hard to meet or beat the number I put up at the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	10/4 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5
	225x3
	315x2
	405x1
	455x1
	505x1
	525x1
Wide Grip Overhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)
	175x8 (P)
Box Squats (Explosive)	225x3
	255x3
	275x3
	295x2
	315x2
Lying Hamstring Curls	25x12*
	35x12*
	40x12*
* Weight is per leg (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week One: Heavy Bench Press

I think my bench press has suffered somewhat from my lack of diligence over the past few months. It will take some effort to get back into shape, and to lift as much as or slightly more than I did at June's YMCA meet.

Squat Day
Exercise	10/1 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Bench Press	135x10
	185x10
	275x5
	275x5
	275x5
	275x5
Incline Dumbbell Press	75x12*
	80x12*
	80x12*
Smith Tricep Press	90x12**
	110x12**
	130x12**
Seated Tricep Extension w/Rope	120x12 (P)
	130x12 (P)
	130x11 (P)
* Weight is per arm ** Not counting weight of bar (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day Two, Week One: Squats

While I feel I've gotten weaker in my bench press and deadlift during my training flakiness, fortunately I don't think that's the case with squats. I'm very confident I'll lift considerably heavier at the Fife Holiday Classic than I did at the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic. Here are my numbers for day two of week one from last Thursday.

Squat Day
Exercise	9/30 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	135x10
	185x8
	360x5
	360x5
	360x5
	360x5
V-Bar Pulldown	170x12 (P)
	180x12 (P)
	190x10 (P)
Romanian Deadlift	275x12
	295x12
	315x10
Front Squat	360x12
	360x12
	360x12
(P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Back On The Wagon: Light Bench Press

Well, I've been a bit lazy, practically since the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic. I haven't been meeting with my trainer regularly, haven't been as carefully watching what I'm eating; I just haven't been taking it seriously. But last Tuesday I hopped back up onto the wagon, having met with my trainer and hashed out a plan to compete, not in October's Columbia City Classic, but in December's Fife Holiday Classic. Mark told me he would have recommended I focus only on the latter instead of competing in both anyway, even had I not fallen off the wagon for so long.

I've got about 10 weeks to go and I've got to again lose the weight I lost leading up to the YMCA meet, one of the unfortunate consequences of falling off the wagon for so long. So please keep me in your prayers, I'll start tracking my weight tomorrow morning, and I'll be posting my workouts again as I used to do. Here was day one of week one of my new routine, which I did last Tuesday:

Speed Bench Day
Exercise	9/28 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Pin Press (Explosive)	135x10
	185x5
	245x1
	245x1
	245x1
	245x1
	245x1
	245x1
	245x1
	245x1
Pushups	30
	24
	15
Military Press	85x12
	95x12
	105x12
Dumbbell Triceps Extensions	30x12*
	30x12*
	30x12*
* Weight is per arm