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

Day Two, Week Five: Heavy Bench Press

Progress in the secondary exercises, but a discouraging step backwards in the bench press. Whereas last week I benched 315 four times, this time I could hardly manage two. Really disappointing.

Heavy Bench Day
Exercise	7/14 2010	7/22 2010	8/6 2010	8/13 2010
Bench (no pause on chest)	135x10	135x10	135x10	135x10
	185x10	185x8	185x8	185x8
	225x6	240x5	255x4	265x3
	245x6	260x5	275x4	285x3
	265x6	280x5	295x4	305x3
	275x6	290x5	305x4	315x2
	285x6	300x5	315x4	315x1
	285x6	300x3	315x3
Incline Dumbbell Press	65x12*	70x12*	75x12*	75x12*
	80x11*	80x12*	80x10*	80x10*
	85x8*	85x8*	80x6*	80x11*
Reverse Grip Bench Press	135x12	135x12	135x12	155x12
	155x9	155x10	155x12	165x12
	155x6	155x8	165x12	170x9
Skullcrushers w/Triceps Bar	45x12**	55x12**	65x12**	65x12†
	60x12**	65x12**	75x12**	80x12†
	70x9**	75x9**	80x8**	85x10†
* Weight is per arm ** Assuming triceps bar weighs 45 lbs. † Triceps bar was unavailable, so used a standard bar

Day One, Week Five: Squats

I missed last week's deadlifts and light bench presses, I just can't seem to shake this cold or whatever that's been bugging me for weeks. It's also making it impossible to do any cardio, which combined with not being able to be careful about eating means I'm nowhere near on track for competing in a lighter weight class in October. I'll take my all to stay in the weight class I'm in :S

Squat Day
Exercise	7/15 2010	7/23 2010	8/5 2010	8/12 2010
Squat	135x10	135x10	135x10	135x10
	185x8	185x8	185x8	185x8
	275x6	290x5	310x4	330x3
	305x6	320x5	340x4	360x3
	325x6	340x5	360x4	380x3
	345x6	360x5	380x4	400x3
	355x6	370x5	390x4	410x3
	355x6	370x5	390x4	410x3
Romanian Deadlift	135x12	225x12	245x12	265x12
	185x12	255x12	265x12	285x12
	225x10	275x10	285x10	305x10
Seated Row	140x12 (P)	150x12 (P)	160x12 (P)	170x12 (P)
	160x12 (P)	160x12 (P)	170x12 (P)	180x10 (P)
	170x9 (P)	170x12 (P)	180x12 (P)	180x8 (P)
Single-leg Press	165x12*	255x12*	290x12*	315x12*
	210x12*	290x12*	315x12*	345x12*
	255x12*	315x12*	340x12*
* Weight is per leg, including sled weight (P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Two, Week Four: Heavy Bench Press

Returned today to my favorite day in this routine, which I missed last week when I was sick. I was weaker in the incline press which was discouraging, but I improved in the reverse bench press and skullcrushers, which is exciting to see.

Heavy Bench Day
Exercise	7/14 2010	7/22 2010	8/6 2010	Week Four
Bench (no pause on chest)	135x10	135x10	135x10
	185x10	185x8	185x8
	225x6	240x5	255x4
	245x6	260x5	275x4
	265x6	280x5	295x4
	275x6	290x5	305x4
	285x6	300x5	315x4
	285x6	300x3	315x3
Incline Dumbbell Press	65x12*	70x12*	75x12*
	80x11*	80x12*	80x10*
	85x8*	85x8*	80x6*
Reverse Grip Bench Press	135x12	135x12	135x12
	155x9	155x10	155x12
	155x6	155x8	165x12
Skullcrushers w/Triceps Bar	45x12**	55x12**	65x12**
	60x12**	65x12**	75x12**
	70x9**	75x9**	80x8**
* Weight is per arm ** Assuming triceps bar weighs 45 lbs.

Day One, Week Four: Squats

I missed last week's squats and bench presses because I was sick, but returning yesterday to squats I came back in full force. Incredibly exhausting workout, though. I hope I can walk tomorrow!

Squat Day
Exercise	7/15 2010	7/23 2010	8/5 2010	Week Four
Squat	135x10	135x10	135x10
	185x8	185x8	185x8
	275x6	290x5	310x4
	305x6	320x5	340x4
	325x6	340x5	360x4
	345x6	360x5	380x4
	355x6	370x5	390x4
	355x6	370x5	390x4
Romanian Deadlift	135x12	225x12	245x12
	185x12	255x12	265x12
	225x10	275x10	285x10
Seated Row	140x12 (P)	150x12 (P)	160x12 (P)
	160x12 (P)	160x12 (P)	170x12 (P)
	170x9 (P)	170x12 (P)	180x12 (P)
Single-leg Press	165x12*	255x12*	290x12*
	210x12*	290x12*	315x12*
	255x12*	315x12*	340x12*
* Weight is per leg, including sled weight (P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Four, Week Three: Light Bench Press

Back to explosive bench pressing yesterday. Still not tracking my weight, nor doing any cardio. At this point, my best bet is to snap out of it and get things under control so that I can compete in the same weight class in October, and hope to lose the remainder by December.

Speed Bench Day
Exercise	7/19 2010	7/27 2010	8/3 2010	Week Four
Bench Press (Explosive)	135x3	145x3	155x3
	145x3	155x3	165x3
	155x3	165x3	175x3
	165x3	175x3	185x3
	175x3	185x3	195x3
	185x3	195x3	205x3
	195x3	205x3	215x3
	205x3	215x3	225x3
Standing Shoulder Press	105x12	115x12	115x12
	115x12	130x12	130x12
	135x10	140x7	140x8
Pushups	23	26	29
	15	15	16
	13	13	14
Triceps Pressdown	80x12 (P)	160x12 (Y)	160x12 (Y)
	90x11 (P)	170x9 (Y)	170x8 (Y)
	90x6 (P)	170x7 (Y)	170x8 (Y)

(Y) Machine at the YMCA

Day Three, Week Three: Deadlifts

I've been sick and haven't been working out, so I missed days one and two of this week, which would have been heavy bench and squats. Also, I made a mistake when I planned today's workout, and ended up doing the same weight for all my floor cleans :(

Deadlift Day
Exercise	7/20 2010	7/26 2010	8/2 2010	Week Four
Floor Cleans	65x10	65x10	65x10
	135x6	140x6	140x6
	155x6	160x6	160x6
	165x6	170x6	170x6
	175x6	180x6	180x6
	180x6	185x6	185x6
	185x6	190x6	190x6
Deadlift	405x1	415x1	425x1
	455x1	465x1	475x1
	505x1	515x1	525x1
Box Squats	185x3	195x3	205x3
	225x3	235x3	245x3
	245x3	255x3	265x3
	265x3	275x3	285x3
V-Bar Pulldown	150x12 (P)	160x12 (P)	170x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	180x12 (P)	180x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)	190x9 (P)	190x9 (P)
Back Extensions (Hanging Bar)	40x12	60x12	75x12
	55x12	70x12	90x12
	60x10	80x12	100x12

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Four, Week Two: Light Bench Press

Back to explosive bench pressing. I haven't been tracking my weight, nor have I been doing any cardio. I really need to get my butt in gear if I'm to have any shot at losing enough weight to compete in the next weight class down at the Columbia City Classic.

Speed Bench Day
Exercise	7/19 2010	7/27 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Bench Press (Explosive)	135x3	145x3
	145x3	155x3
	155x3	165x3
	165x3	175x3
	175x3	185x3
	185x3	195x3
	195x3	205x3
	205x3	215x3
Standing Shoulder Press	105x12	115x12
	115x12	130x12
	135x10	140x7
Pushups	23	26
	15	15
	13	13
Triceps Pressdown	80x12 (P)	160x12 (Y)
	90x11 (P)	170x9 (Y)
	90x6 (P)	170x7 (Y)

(Y) Machine at the YMCA

Day Three, Week Two: Deadlifts

Last week deadlifts were day four, but my friend and workout partner wanted to switch speed bench to day four, so that makes deadlifts day three. It also means that next week squats will be day one and max bench press day two.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	7/20 2010	7/26 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Floor Cleans	65x10	65x10
	135x6	140x6
	155x6	160x6
	165x6	170x6
	175x6	180x6
	180x6	185x6
	185x6	190x6
Deadlift	405x1	415x1
	455x1	465x1
	505x1	515x1
Box Squats	185x3	195x3
	225x3	235x3
	245x3	255x3
	265x3	275x3
V-Bar Pulldown	150x12 (P)	160x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	180x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)	190x9 (P)
Back Extensions (Hanging Bar)	40x12	60x12
	55x12	70x12
	60x10	80x12

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Two, Week Two: Squats

Like day one's bench presses, with squats I'm moving up in weight and down in number of reps each week. Whereas last week I squatted reps of 6, this week it was 5, and so forth.

Squat Day
Exercise	7/15 2010	7/23 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	135x10	135x10
	185x8	185x8
	275x6	290x5
	305x6	320x5
	325x6	340x5
	345x6	360x5
	355x6	370x5
	355x6	370x5
Romanian Deadlift	135x12	225x12
	185x12	255x12
	225x10	275x10
Seated Row	140x12 (P)	150x12 (P)
	160x12 (P)	160x12 (P)
	170x9 (P)	170x12 (P)
Single-leg Press	165x12*	255x12*
	210x12*	290x12*
	255x12*	315x12*
* Weight is per leg, including sled weight (P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day One, Week Two: Heavy Bench Press

Back to what might be my favorite day in this routine. Whereas last week I was to do sets of 6 bench presses, this week it was sets of 5 (and next will be 4, followed by 3), the idea being to lift heavier each week. I benched 341 at the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic; at the Columbia City Classic, I'd like to shoot for 350.

Heavy Bench Day
Exercise	7/14 2010	7/22 Two	Week Three	Week Four
Bench (no pause on chest)	135x10	135x10
	185x10	185x8
	225x6	240x5
	245x6	260x5
	265x6	280x5
	275x6	290x5
	285x6	300x5
	285x6	300x3
Incline Dumbbell Press	65x12*	70x12*
	80x11*	80x12*
	85x8*	85x8*
Reverse Grip Bench Press	135x12	135x12
	155x9	155x10
	155x6	155x8
Skullcrushers w/Triceps Bar	45x12**	55x12**
	60x12**	65x12**
	70x9**	75x9**

* Weight is per arm
** Assuming triceps bar weighs 45 lbs.

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

To close out the workout week I returned to deadlifts today. However, because I struggled toward the end of the lift in competition, in order to work on developing more explosivity and momentum, my trainer has me preceding my deadlifts with floor cleans. Boy, those can sure be exhausting.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	7/20 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Floor Cleans	65x10
	135x6
	155x6
	165x6
	175x6
	180x6
	185x6
Deadlift	405x1
	455x1
	505x1
Box Squats	185x3
	225x3
	245x3
	265x3
V-Bar Pulldown	150x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)
Back Extensions (Hanging Bar)	40x12
	55x12
	60x10

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week One: Light Bench Press

Day three of my new workout brings me back to light bench presses with a focus on explosivity. The rationale behind these is, as far as I can tell, threefold: First, because the pectorals are stressed greatly by the heavy bench presses earlier in the week, to avoid overtraining they ought not to be targeted heavily a second time during the week. Secondly, muscles are comprised of multiple types of fibers, and whereas some are developed through slow, heavy movements, others are developed more through fast, explosive movements, so the latter fibers can be developed without overtraining the former ones. Finally, a more explosive lift is desirable in competition since the initial momentum aids in completing the lift, and as such it is useful to teach oneself to bench explosively.

Speed Bench Day
Exercise	7/19 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Bench Press (Explosive)	135x3
	145x3
	155x3
	165x3
	175x3
	185x3
	195x3
	205x3
Standing Shoulder Press	105x12
	115x12
	135x10
Pushups	23
	15
	13
Triceps Pressdown	80x12 (P)
	90x11 (P)
	90x6 (P)

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Two, Week One: Squats

Day two of my new return-from-competition workout has me squatting again. I was worried my knee problems, which seem to have persisted—if not worsened—despite two weeks of break, would make it too painful to squat, particularly because I'm returning to a higher number of repitions per set. Fortunately that did not turn out to be the case, and I had no pain at all. However, the higher reps certainly taxed my cardio, and I was exhausted for pretty much the rest of the workout—so much so that I could not, as planned, do cardio intervals afterwards.

Squat Day
Exercise	7/15 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Squat	135x10
	185x8
	275x6
	305x6
	325x6
	345x6
	355x6
	355x6
Romanian Deadlift	135x12
	185x12
	225x10
Seated Row	140x12 (P)
	160x12 (P)
	170x9 (P)
Single-leg Press	165x12*
	210x12*
	255x12*

* Weight is per leg, including sled weight
(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day One, Week One: Heavy Bench Press

After two weeks of rest after my first ever powerlifting event, I returned to the gym with a new workout from my trainer, intending to compete next in the Columbia City Classic in October. I'm back to bench pressing without pausing on my chest.

Heavy Bench Day
Exercise	7/14 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Bench (no pause on chest)	135x10
	185x10
	225x6
	245x6
	265x6
	275x6
	285x6
	285x6
Incline Dumbbell Press	65x12*
	80x11*
	85x8*
Reverse Grip Bench Press	135x12
	155x9
	155x6
Skullcrushers w/Triceps Bar	45x12**
	60x12**
	70x9**

* Weight is per arm
** Assuming triceps bar weighs 45 lbs.

Also, because I'm going to try and lose enough weight to compete in a lower weight class, my trainer has advised me to do some interval training after my workouts for 15 minutes or so--on the treadmill after bench days, on the elliptical or AMT after squat/deadlift days. After I lifted today, I did the following on the treadmill, and boy was I exhausted:

Sprint Intervals
Interval	Name	Time	Speed
0	Warmup	2:00	3.5 mph
1	Sprint	1:00	10 mph
	Rest	2:30	3.5 mph
2	Sprint	1:00	10 mph
	Rest	2:30	3.5 mph
3	Sprint	1:00	9 mph
	Rest	2:30	3.5 mph
4	Sprint	1:00	9 mph
	Rest	2:30	3.5 mph
5	Sprint	1:00	9 mph
	Rest	3:00	3.2 mph
	Cooldown	3:00	2-3 mph