Bench Press

Here We Go Again

My back was a little tight from yesterday’s workout. I went over and helped clean up at the new gym location, took a little nap, and then was out in the garage at 4pm.

Warm-up

4:00 Airdyne

Did 72 calories and 1.93 km.

Accessory

4 Sets

5 Strict C2B Chin-ups
8/8 Kroc Rows (70#)
1:30 Rest

Strength

Front Squat

10×45#
6×95
6×135
1×165

Tweaked my fucking back! Ugghhh. 😡 😡

Conditioning

7:00 AMRAP

3-6-9… Bench Press (135#)
30 Double Unders

Had this written for 95 pound push presses, but switched it for me. Glad I was still able to jump. I went unbroken through 9, then 7-5, 8-7, and 6-6-6. Only missed one dub I think. Finished the 18 presses and then 10 dubs.

Midline

8 Sets

10s RKC Plank
20s Rest

I’m going to try to do some extra work on my back tonight and hopefully will wake up with it being a minor tweak, even though it feels like one of the more significant ones.

300 by 40

My quads and ass started getting sore last night and I’m definitely feeling them today! Out in the garage after close to 4pm.

Warm-up

5:00 Airdyne (114 cals, 2.67 km)
30 PVC Passes
2:00 Airdyne (44 cals, 1.05 km)

10×45#
8×135
5×185
3×215
1×245
1×275
1×285
1×295 (PR)
1×300 (PR)

Man 295 was so fucking sketchy, but recovering it gave me the confidence to really go at 300. This makes seven weeks in a row hitting some kind of PR on the bench! I wrote a post with more thoughts over on nick.blog. I set this goal back on June 8th and I sure am glad it’s done. Now I can concentrate on some other stuff.

Conditioning

4 Rounds

500m Ski Erg
1:00 Rest

My times were 1:50, 1:50, 1:49.9, and 1:49.9.

Climbing Cleans & Bench

I woke up with my right feeling like it’s out of place or I need to crack the joint. Haven’t been able to relieve it all day though. My lats seem to be sore again! Went to the 4pm class.

Warm-up

40 cal Row
2 Rounds
- 10 PVC Passes
- 10 HR Push-ups
- 10 Air Squats
- 10 Ring Rows
Power Clean
- 6×45
- 3×95
- 3×135
- 3×165
Bench Press
- 6×45
- 6×135
- 3×165

Conditioning

5 Rounds

3 Power Cleans (climbing)
3 Bench Press (climbing)
20 cal Echo Bike
2:00 Rest

I used 185-195-205-215-225 on the cleans and 185-195-215-225-240 on the bench. Went out too hard on the bike and paid for it. My round times were 1:06, 1:21, 1:51, 1:59, and 1:26 to finish at 15:43 on the clock. I ran out of time changing weights before round 3 so didn’t get my belt on, so then I just kept it on the rest of the way. Both lifts felt good and I did all touch-n-go cleans.

Midline

10:00 EMOM (alt)

T2B
Russian Twists (30# DB)

Tried to work for 40-45 seconds and wore my grips. I went 10-7, 7-5-3, 5-5-3, 5-3-3-2, and 5-3-3-3 on the toes to bars and really fought not to do any singles. I am not a fan of using a dumbbell for the twists because I can’t find a good way to hold it. I did 50, 44, 40, 40, and 44 and those got a lot harder than I expected.

Bench 2RM

I was still pretty sore in my upper back yesterday from the muscle-ups and a bit is lingering even today. It was a much needed rest day yesterday. Out in the garage after 3pm without being able to preheat the garage since the truck battery is dead and we had to push it out to set up the rack. Brrr!!!

Bench Press

6×45#
6×135
4×165
2×195
2×225
2×245
2×260
2×270
2×275
2×280 (PR)

Last cycle I did 2×255, 2×260, 2x1x260 (failed 2nd rep of first set), and 2x1x265. Crushed those numbers and hit a New 2RM by five pounds! Two and a half years ago I did 2×275 and then 290 a week later, so I should be close to a 300# max, especially considering the fatigue from those muscle-ups.

To be honest I’m getting sick of benching, which I’ve been doing for over 6 months now through three cycles of the No B.S. Bench Press program. I’m glad this was the last week of the cycle. All that’s left now is to hit 300 by the 26th!

After running the battery over to Autozone for a full charge I jumped on the bike.

Conditioning

40:00 Airdyne

Really easy pace at 66-68 RPM, getting 928 calories and 21.64 km.

Newer 4RM

My outer pecs are sore, probably from the 100 diamond push-ups I did on Sunday. Out in the garage by 4pm with Kevin.

Bench Press

2x6x45#
6×135
3×185
2×215
2×230
4×245
4×250
4×255
2×265
2×270
1×275

This turned out to be a lot of sets when adding the extra doubles or singles after the working sets. In the last cycle I did 240-245-240 for my working sets. Today sets another new 4RM, beating the 250# I set a few weeks ago. If I had gotten 2×275 that would have matched my 2RM, but I didn’t even attempt the second rep. The doubles with 265 and 270 are better than the 260 I was able to get in the final week of last cycle. Curious to see what I can get for 4×2 next week.

Accessory

4 Sets

15 Banded Tricep Press-downs (Fat Gripz)
10 Pendlay Rows (115#)

After standing up for the first set of pull-downs, I kneeled for the rest and they were still pretty easy. The rows felt easy as well.

More Bench PRs

Most of my soreness from Sunday is gone already. Out in the garage around 4pm. I jumped on the Airdyne for 5:00 and did 104 calories for 2.57 km.

Bench Press

2x8x45#
5×135
3×185
2×205
2×225
5×245
5×245
5×250
MAX @ 225 (10)

Last cycle was a failure when I could only get 4×240 and had to drop to 235 for 2×5. Three weeks ago I did 4×5 with 235-235-240-245. My previous 5RM was 245, so getting it twice and then beating it was great. The 10×225 was one rep better than three weeks ago, for another PR.

Accessory

5 Sets

5 Strict C2B Pull-ups (fat bar)
10/10 Kroc Rows (53#)

I stayed on the bar and went through the descent on every pull-up, compared to dropping from the top and doing single pull-ups like I normally do. I felt strong.

Another Bench PR

My body is pretty wrecked from the last two workouts and I have some nice bruises on my legs from bouncing all of those cleans. Out in the garage before 4pm. Warmed up on the Airdyne for five minutes, getting 106 calories and 2.59 km.

Strength

Bench Press

2x6x45#
2x6x135
4×185
2×225
3×250
3×255
3×260 (PR)
1×270
1×275
1×280

Last cycle I did 2x3x245 and 1x3x250 and then I starting losing all of my gains the week after. Today called for 3×3 @ 245-250. In week 3 of this cycle I did 240-240-245-250-255 for triples, so I was looking to push that and set a new 3RM. Small success and I was still able to hit 280. Just wasn’t feeling it today, especially with the 270 being the hardest single of the three.

Accessory

3 Sets

10 Reverse Grip Bench Press (155#)
10/10 Tricep Kickbacks (25#)

All Strict

Another shitty Friday night of sleep. I’m glad the Open is over! I was out of bed around 6:30 and my body actually felt pretty good, so I decided to go to the 9am class. I miss the partner workouts and today seemed like a manageable amount of barbell reps. My shoulders and upper back were feeling a little tight in the morning.

Warm-up

Stretching
PVC Passes
2:00 Echo Bike (20 cals)
10 Power Clean (45#)
5 Power Clean (95#)

Conditioning

Partner Workout

5 Rounds

10 Power Cleans (135#)
20 Burpees Over The Bar
30 cal Row

Rest, then start at 20:00
5 Rounds

10 Deadlifts (225#)
20 HSPU (strict for me)
30 cal Row

I paired up with Tom and we split the reps down the middle, which worked well. I pretty much did muscle cleans every round. We finished the first part at exactly 14:00 and the second part took us 12:43. I was able to do all five sets of 10 handstand push-ups strict, unbroken, and fast!

My legs felt pretty heavy after sitting around to recover. I took a 45 minute nap after lunch.

Strength

Since Kevin is heading to Florida tomorrow for his wedding week and I wouldn’t want to skip a whole week, we benched in the afternoon. Gotta keep the momentum going. After the workouts last night and this morning, I wasn’t sure I’d have much in the tank. My upper back was starting to feel pretty sore by this time.

Bench Press

2x6x45#
6×135
4×185
2×215
2x4x245
2x4x250
2x2x265

The program called for 4×4 @ 240-245 pounds. In the last cycle I did 4x4x240. I was surprised how well this went, even getting a new 4RM with the 250# sets. Added the doubles for extra volume and since I won’t bench heavy again until at least next Monday.

Breaking Through

On Sunday night I was exhausted by 9pm. Dumb time change! Woke up with a headache on Monday and took a much needed rest day. Out in the garage around 3:30 today.

Warm-up

3:00 Airdyne

Went 69 calories and 1.6 km.

Strength

Bench Press

2x6x45#
6×135
4×185
2×215
2x5x235
5×240
5×245
MAX @ 225 (9)

The program called for 4×5 @ 230-235 and then a max reps set at the base weight. Last cycle I did the four working sets all at 230, so today was a big improvement. My final set of five matches my 5RM and I finally beat my max reps with 225# by two reps after getting exactly seven reps the last four times I’ve tried. 💪 💪 My left arm was actually lagging a little on the heavy set and final max reps, when it’s always been my right. Maybe some of the accessory work is evening things out.

Accessory

4 Sets

8 Seated OH Tricep Extensions (50#)
8/8 Concentration Curls (30#)

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

20 Rounds

45s Row
30s Rest

Settled in around 95 RPM. Total of 734 calories and 10.95 km.

Bench is Taking Off

My back wasn’t pinching on me like it did on Sunday. Stayed up late on Sunday night again, so not a great night of sleep. Last night, however, I got more sleep. My back is even better today. Out in the garage at 3:30.

Warm-up

3:00 Airdyne

Jumped on the bike while I was waiting for Kevin to show up. Got 63 calories and 1.56 km.

Bench Press

2x6x45#
6×135
4×185
2×215
3×240
3×245
3×245
3×250
3×255
1×270
1×280

The program called for 5×3 @ 240-245 this week. Last cycle, where I used the same base weight, I did 240 for all five sets and struggled. I felt amazing today so pushed higher and ended up matching my all-time 3RM with 255#. The heavy singles are the most I’ve touched in 2 years and only ended 10# under my PR. Cutting back on warm-up sets and all of the extra accessory work is paying off!

Accessory

10/10 DB Tricep Kickbacks (10#)
10 Barbell Curls (45#)
10/10 DB Tricep Kickbacks (15#)
10 Barbell Curls (55#)
3 Sets
- 10/10 DB Tricep Kickbacks (25#)
- 10 Barbell Curls (65#)

Those working sets were tough!

Year of the Engine – Rocket Race

10 Rounds

1:30 Airdyne
1:30 Rest

Doing another Rocket Race on the bike to keep the stress off my back. I wanted to keep 90 RPM for these and was right around there throughout. Ended with 683 calories and 10.73 km.