Tag: Bench Press

Coffee and Squats

Legs are still sore as fuck. Won’t stop me from squatting though. So happy to be under a bar again! Quad seems to be fine with it so far. Out in the garage shortly after waking up.

IMG_5815

Jumped on the Air Dyne (AD2) for 5:00 and went 2.25 kilometers.

Back Squats

  • 20×45#
  • 8×135#
  • 8×145#
  • 8×165#
  • 8×185#
  • 8×195#
  • 8×205#

Oh my, those first couple of reps felt terrible with the empty bar. Everything loosened up by the end of the 20 though. Put a focus on driving through with the hips today. I took a 2 minute rest between sets. Did a round of back stretches after finishing up. I’m enjoying these morning squats to get the day going.

Had a chiropractor appointment and then went to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 3×15 Reverse Hypers (210#)
  • Bottom Squat Holds
  • Jump Rope & DU practice
  • Banded Walks (red band, monster, side shuffle)

A strand of the cable came loose on my RPM rope again. 😦 Guess I’ll have to switch to their coated cables. So I had to use my backup Rx rope.

Conditioning

25-20-15-10-5

  • DU (unbroken)
  • Sit-ups

Holy shit did I screw up a lot. I missed 3 times trying to get the 5! Took me 3:41. Terrible.

15:00 AMRAP
2-4-6-8…

  • Deadlift (75#)
  • OHS (75#)
  • Burpee

Kept it light and just used the one bar. It was enough. Got through the round of 16 plus 18 deadlifts and 11 overhead squats. I broke up the 14 OHS 8-6 and the 16 as 9-7. Everything else unbroken.

No B.S. Bench

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 2×185#
  • 2×205#
  • 2×225#
  • 2×235#
  • 2×240#
  • 2×245# (PR)
  • 2×250# (PR)

Last week before testing a max. With doubles and heavier weight it was perfect to get an idea going into next week. That 250# is my previous max and I didn’t struggle hitting it for a double. BOOM!

Knocked out Crossover Symmetry Iron Scap before heading home and will hit some stretches tonight. I may start doing some other stuff on the days I stretch twice to mix it up.

All the Rowing

My ass is sore from those jumping lunges yesterday.

Finally got around to cleaning up the Thruster Attack Program and publishing it over on my main blog. Enjoy!

Headed over to CFi early today so that Kevin and I could get in our bench pressing before the 4:30 class and I could get in a rowing workout before classes, which were using the rowers today. Did Crossover Symmetry Activation and then dove right in.

Row

  • 1,000m moderate pace
  • 2:00 rest
  • 8 x 200m hard, 20s rest b/t reps
  • 800m moderate pace
  • 2:00 rest
  • 6 x 200m hard, 20s rest b/t reps
  • 600m moderate pace
  • 2:00 rest
  • 4 x 200m hard, 20s rest b/t reps
  • 400m moderate pace
  • 2:00 rest
  • 2 x 200m hard, 20s rest b/t reps
  • 200m moderate pace

* Hard pace = your 2000m PR pace plus 0-5sec/500m
* Moderate pace = your 2000m PR pace plus 10-12sec/500m

This one comes from Chris Hinshaw as usual. I’d like to the post, but the URL isn’t working so you’ll have to trust me. My paces were 1:45-1:50 hard and 1:55-1:57 moderate.

I was expecting this to get bad, but it wasn’t bad at all. No issue at all holding the paces. Finished in 41:03. Sure didn’t feel like I rowed 7,000 meters. I really like these type of workouts.

No B.S. Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 4×185#
  • 4×205#
  • 3x4x225#

Felt a lot better than the session last week. One more week in the program before testing a max.

Reverse Hypers

IMG_5808

  • 12×210#
  • 12×260#
  • 12×280#
  • 12×300#
  • 12×320#

Pretty soon I’ll be putting my back squat weight on there. Though I haven’t squatted in about 2 months so this could very well be my max squat now. :-/

I did Crossover Symmetry Recovery before leaving. Will hit a round of back stretches tonight.

In the Sun!

Headed to the gym around 5. Finally a nice day where I could be outside! Time to soak up some vitamin D. 😎

Conditioning

I put 90# on the 25# Sled Drag and did 8 laps around the back parking lot, which was 0.95 miles in 17:50 according to RunKeeper. Then I rested for 5-10 minutes and did 200 walking lunges around the parking lot. Originally I planned to do one lap which is roughly 200m, but I only needed 20 more steps for 2 hundy, so I went for it. Ended up being about 0.15 miles and took me 6:50.

Without squatting heavy I’ve been wanting to add in more lunges and I was convinced to put in some volume after listening to the Barbell Shrugged episode with musclepharmpres. I don’t plan to do 400m of #LungeUniversity every day just like I don’t plan to squat every day either, but I think some added lunge volume can really help me. I’ve already been adding in some lunges the last couple of Sundays. Going for such a long distance was a challenge and I had to stop a lot for a few seconds, but never took any long breaks. Will slowly work up to a quarter of a mile.

Accessory

5 Sets

  • 6 Back Extensions (51X5 Tempo)
  • 10x Reverse Hypers

I used 210, 240, 260, 280, and 300# on the RH. Talk about a pump from those tempo back extensions since the 5 second hold at the top is followed up by a 5 second descent. Then reverse hyper right after? Wow. I the two movements back-to-back then took a few minutes between each set.

Warmed up my shoulders with Crossover Symmetry Activation before hitting week 7 of No B.S. Bench.

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 3×205#
  • 3x5x220#
  • AMRAP 195#

I went 5# over the recommendation again since the 5# over for the 3×3 was easy. Today was a lot tougher though. Not in danger of missing, but I could feel the last rep on each set. The AMRAP set felt really tough though. Wasn’t sure I was going to beat 3 weeks ago, but I did by a single rep, getting 16.

Hit Crossover Symmetry Recovery before heading home. Did a series of my back stretches later on.

One Open WOD Left

My sartorius muscles are feeling better today. Should be back to normal tomorrow. I did the back stretching in the morning, then chiropractor before going to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

  • CSA
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Dead Hang
  • Arm Circles
  • 2 Rounds
    • 4 Push-ups
    • 10 Air Squats

The arm circles did not feel good on my left shoulder so I limited them. I did about 6 muscle-ups trying to help Bryan out with the transition to string reps together.

Class was benching and we do it between classes on Wednesday, so I did my own thing during the XWOD.

3 Rounds

  • 15 Reverse Hypers (210#)
  • 30s Hollow Hold
  • 30s Rest
  • 30s Hollow Hold

Conditioning

3 Rounds

  • 1:00 Row (cal)
  • 1:00 DU
  • 1:00 Sumo Deadlift High Pull (70# KB)
  • 1:00 Ball Slams (20#)
  • 1:00 Rest

I did 20 calories on the row each time, dubs got worse, I hate the SDHP movement, and tried to hold on during the ball slams. My reps per round were 138, 125, and 108. Numbers went down mostly due to double unders getting bad. Wasn’t feeling it today. :-/

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×165#
  • 3×195#
  • 3×210#
  • 3x3x225#

That’s week 6 of the No B.S. bench program. Was supposed to be 20-25# over my base number, but it felt so good last week I went with +30 and had no problem. Gainz bitches!

Forgot to hit CS before leaving, so I knocked out Crossover Symmetry Plyometric when I got home. Can’t wait for my official bands to come in later this week. Will do a little recovery tomorrow and be ready to hit 15.5 on Friday. Then it’s 2 weeks of healing time.

What Next Back?

Went to the 5:30 class since it’s bench night

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • 2 Rounds
    • 5 Strict C2B Pull-ups
    • 10 Push-ups
    • 15 Air Squats

I pretty much always do my strict pull-ups chest-to-bar now. Why stop with just the chin over the bar if it’s a manageable number of reps?

Strength

Was supposed to be an alternating EMOM of bench press and Pendlay rows. Since we bench after class I wasn’t going to do more in class. I figured I’d hit some taller box jumps I warmed up with 5 jumps at 24″ and 10×45#, 5×135#, and 2×185# for Pendlay rows. I made it through a round of 5×185# rows and 10 box jumps at 30″. After 2 reps on the 2nd round of rows my back tweaked hard. WTF! Would never have expected to do anything with this movement since the back is pretty much just holding a stable position. Guess I wasn’t doing those movements anymore today, so I switched over to the RH.

4 Sets

  • 10 Reverse Hyper (210#)

Conditioning

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

  • Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • Pull-ups
  • Ball Slams (25#)

Had a goal to go unbroken the whole way and did. Finished in 7:08.

Midline

Class did a tabata plank hold, so I made it a goal to not rest at all. Made it through the entire 4 minutes to beat my PR old 2:57 hold on the elbows.

No B.S. Bench Press

Week 5 of the program. Shoulders and upper body were already warm from the workout, so didn’t need much to get going.

  • 5×135#
  • 5×185#
  • 4x4x215#

It felt like my right arm was lagging behind a hair on some reps, but other than that it was solid and with good speed on the bar.

Soaring Bench

Sore abs from the sit-ups and GHDs yesterday. Had an appointment at the chiropractor and then went to the 5:30 class.

Warm-up

  • Crossover Symmetry Activation
  • 3×15 Reverse Hypers (120#)
  • 2 Rounds
    • 5 Strict C2B Pull-ups
    • 10 Push-ups
    • 15 Air Squats

Strength

Axle Deadlifts

  • 10×115#
  • 10×165#
  • 10×185#
  • 10×195#
  • 10×205#

The first 5 sets were unbroken, but I could only hold on to the bar for 4 reps with 205 and then did the rest as singles, dropping each one. Damn that got rough on the grip really quick. Didn’t want to push any weight and end up tweaking my back again, so the axle bar was a nice change of pace.

Conditioning

30-20-10

  • Plate Burpees (on to 45# HI-TEMP)
  • American KBS (53#)
  • Ball Slams (20#)

They were supposed to be hand release burpees and most of them were, but I didn’t realize I wasn’t doing the hand-release until the 10th rep in and then I know I missed at least a few in other sets. I broke up the 30 KBS into 20-10 but everything else was unbroken. Finished in 9:31.

8 Rounds (Tabata)

  • 20s DU
  • 10s Rest

Only had a miss in 2 or 3 of the rounds. Racked up 280 dubs, which is a 40 rep PR.

No BS Bench

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×175#
  • 4x5x205#
  • Max @ 195# – 15 reps

Week 4 so it was time to retest the max rep set. My max reps were 10 in week 1, so that’s a 50% increase! Was not expecting such a jump, especially after a metcon that was rough on the shoulders. I’m excited to see what my 1RM is after the 9 weeks. All of the working sets felt solid.

Bench Day Bro

Rough getting out of bed this morning for some reason. Can feel those 100 wall balls in my quads.

Warm-up

2 Rounds

  • 250m Row
  • 15 Rapid Toe Touches
  • 5 Inch Worms

Strength

Deadlift

  • 5×155#
  • 5×265#
  • 3×315#
  • 3×365#
  • 2×385#
  • 2×405#
  • 1×415#

Took it easy so I don’t tweak my back again during Open season.

Mobility

Took about 10 minutes to work on stuff for overhead squats. I did some shoulder stretching with bands.

Conditioning

16:00 EMOM (alternating)

  • 4 Power Snatch (135#)
  • 10 Box Jumps (30″)

It was supposed to be 8 OHS, but I didn’t want to push it with my right quad after all the wall balls yesterday, so I did the snatches instead. Did them all touch-n-go. Since it was only 10 box jumps, I went with the 30″ height. Didn’t rebound them, but did quick transitions.

Bench Bro

Week 3 of the bench program. Stayed after class to get it done and a few people joined me.

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×165#
  • 3×195#
  • 5x3x215#

Felt solid.

Midline

Did some planks at home at night.

3 Rounds

  • 2:00 Plank
  • 1:30 Rest

Shorter rest than I’ve been doing for long holds.

15.1 Eve

Had a chiropractor appointment in the afternoon, so went to the 5:30 class. Was there early so started early. I did Crossover Symmetry Activation to get started.

Weightlifting

Muscle Snatch

  • 5x20kg
  • 5x34kg
  • 3x40kg
  • 3x50kg

Power Snatch

  • 3x60kg
  • 3x70kg
  • 5x2x75kg
  • 5x1x80kg

I did the set of 60 as touch-n-go, but dropped the rest. For the doubles with 75 I was going about every minute and probably close to that for the singles with 80 too, but wasn’t paying as much attention to the clock.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 6 Evil Wheels
  • 7 Power Snatches (95#)
  • 8 Burpees

This was programmed with OHS, but still not squatting so I substituted the snatches and did them all unbroken. Finished in 7:56. Evil wheels are slow for me because of my length and reach.

10-20-30-20-10

  • DU
  • Sit-ups

My double unders are hot! Wasn’t close to missing any. Finished in 4:06. Probably would have been a good day for an “Annie” PR.

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 4×95#
  • 4×135#
  • 4×165#
  • 4×185#
  • 6x4x205

Second week of the bench program. Stayed a little conservative with a 10#, when it said to do 10-15#. Felt good. May make a bigger jump next week.

Can’t wait for the big 15.1 announcement tomorrow! Will probably do an easy 20 minute row before watching it at the gym.

No BS Bench

Morning garage workout.

Warm-up

  • 500m Ski – 2:08.6
  • Crossover Symmetry Activation

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 5×165#
  • 5×185#
  • 5x5x195#
  • MAX @ 195 -> 10 reps

No squatting, so might as well start a new bench program. Today’s goal was to determine a base number that can be done for 5×5 without compromising form. I thought I’d use 205, but after the set with 185# I made the call to take it conservative and I’m glad I did because the last two sets were starting to get hard. I was taking just over 2 minutes of rest between the 5 working sets and then I took a 3 minute break before the max rep set.

It’s probably been 10 years since I concentrated on bench press, so I’m interested to see how my body reacts. I never had a goal to bench 300#, but I’m making it a goal for this year, since it’s actually within reach. Definitely won’t be easy, but it wouldn’t be a good goal then.

Conditioning

Ski Erg
5 Rounds

  • 500m at 2000m PR pace (<2:00)
  • 30s Rest
  • 100m very easy

I don’t remember where I got this from, but it looks like a Hinshaw workout. I did the rest and 100m after the 5th interval. The computer time said 13:34 at the end, but it keeps rolling a little once you stop moving and then doesn’t count up during rest periods. Call it an extra 2 seconds of time roll for each 500m, so 15:54 total.

Finished with Crossover Symmetry Recovery because this damn shoulder is starting to get funky again. Need to take care of it before it turns into the issue I had last year.

Went to the 5:30 class at CFI.

Warm-up

  • Bottom Squat Hold
  • Shoulder Stretching
  • Yoga

Weightlifting

Power Snatch

  • 5×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 3×115#
  • 3×135#
  • 3×155#
  • 3×165#

I’ve done 155 for hang squat triple, but never a power from the floor that I can recall, so last two sets were both PRs.

Conditioning

5 Rounds

  • 10 Power Snatch (95#)
  • 5 HSPU
  • 1:30 Rest

I was going to try to do strict handstand push-ups, but ditched that plan after doing 1 rep. Kipped the rest of the way and it was not easy. Shoulder burner! Did all sets of snatches TnG. Finished at 10:06.

Midline

  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (L)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (R)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s V-ups
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank Push-ups
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Hollow Rocks
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Plank
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (L)
  • 10s Rest
  • 20s Side Plank (R)
  • 10s Rest
  • MAX Plank – 2:57

I was sweating more from the max plank than from the workout. Was shaking so bad I couldn’t take it anymore and had to bow out before the 3 minute mark.

SUPER bowl SUNDAY

First real chunk of snow for the year is coming down today. February 1st and I haven’t even started my snowblower yet. Doesn’t stop us from having Super Sunday though.

Warm-up

  • 1,000m Row – 3:58.8
  • 100m Row @ 100% – 16.0 seconds
  • Bottom Squat Holds
  • Various Stretching
  • 5×45# Hang Muscle Snatch
  • 5×95# Muscle Snatch

Figured I’d give a 100m row time a go again. Beat my old time by 0.4 seconds.

Benchmark

“Isabel”

  • 30 Snatches (135#)

First time doing this, so wasn’t sure what to expect. My plan was to do doubles as long as I could, but after 2×2 I abandoned that and did singles the rest of the way. Last 5-10 reps sucked and had to be so ugly. Time was 2:37.

Gymnastics

12:00 EMOM

  • Odds: 10 C2B Pull-ups
  • Evens: 10 Box Jumps (24″)

Worked on an efficient butterfly with the pull-ups and fast cycling with my box jumps. Felt good!

Strength

Bench Press

  • 10×45#
  • 5×95#
  • 5×135#
  • 3×185#
  • 3×205#
  • 3×220#
  • 3×230#
  • 3×240# (PR)

I had my numbers planned out and they ended up being perfect for a 10# PR. Puts my estimated max up in the 260s. Not bad for benching about once a month.

Conditioning

  • 100 DU
  • 50 Wall Balls (20#, 10′)
  • 100 DU

The goal here was to do the wall balls unbroken and it sucked! Without setting that as a goal for the workout, I’d always split something like this up. It definitely made the last dubs a lot harder, but good to know what’s possible for future workouts. My time was 5:27.