Jim vs. Deadlifts

Deadlift day, deadlift day!

355 x 3
320 x 4
285 x 5

That was 97% of my 3RM. This is feeling good, and Judd linked me to a great article on this movement that I’ll be reviewing before I do these again.

I love deadlift day.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Bent-Over Rows

Yesterday was all about my legs, so today’s barbell day hit the upper body a bit harder.

Shoulder press
130 x 3
115 x 4
105 x 5

That first set is 10lbs shy of my 3RM, and it was a damned close think getting through all three reps. My long war with this movement continues.

Bent-over rows
135 x 5
120 x 6
110 x 7

Last time I did these, my first set was 125 x 4 and I took notes to go heavier next time. Looks like I need to go higher still.

That ain’t a bad feeling.

Jim vs. Deadlifts

Pressed for time today, but I wanted — needed? — to do some deadlifts. So I figured, hey, reverse pyramid! Just three sets!

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy this structure for deadlifts.

Deadlifts
345 x 3
310 x 4
275 x 5

First set was 95% of my 3RM, and it felt like it. Good work throughout, and didn’t mess up my schedule any worse than it already was.

Jim vs. Bench Press, Weighted Pull-ups, Weighted Hip Thrusts

Today’s felt disjointed, and my workout was no different.

Bench press
190 x 4
170 x 5
150 x 6

Weighted pull-ups
BW + 50 (245) x 3
BW + 25 (220) x 6
BW (195) x 11

Weighted Hip Thrusts
95 x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10

Part of feeling disjointed is that I did these in a cycle, rather than one at a time. Another was that something was off about the WHTs: I couldn’t seem to do anything with 115 as originally planned, and trying to get a full range of motion had the barbell bumping into the bench and me sliding off the bench, and… yeah. Just awkward. Even for an exercise called “weighted hip thrusts”.

But, my bench press numbers were nice. So there’s that.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Bent-over Rows, and a Finisher

Something old, something new.

Shoulder press
125 x 3
115 x 4
100 x 5

Those are the exact same loads and reps I’ve managed the last two times I’ve done a reverse pyramid with this movement. Granted, this is my first week back to barbells, but I need to stop settling.

Bent-over row
125 x 4
115 x 6
100 x 8

This movement, on the other hand, is one I haven’t done in years. Several of the supporting videos for the kettlebell/bodyweight hybrid program I just finished emphasized the importance of the row, so I figured I’d start working in the barbell version. Those numbers scream, “You can go heavier.” So next time, I will.

6, 5, 4… 1 of:
Spider-man climbs (both sides)
Jump squats
X-body mountain climbers (both sides)

Finished this in 2:11, which means I either wrecked my previous time or I miscounted somewhere around the “x 2″ round. I’m guessing the latter.

Jim vs. Snatches, Back Squats

OK, today was a pretty cruddy workout. Dunno if it was distractions, fatigue, feeling rushed or what, but I did not bring my A game today.

Snatch
85 x 1
105 x 1
125 x 0
115 x 1 (power, overhead squat)
95 x 1

See what I mean? I failed on rep #3, which would admittedly have been a PR, and then couldn’t even put together a solid rep on #4.

Back squat
205 x 3
185 x 4
165 x 5

Did a decent turn on the reverse pyramid, at least. Wasn’t really pushing myself, though.

Jim vs. Overhead Squats, Push Jerk, Bench Press

Ugh.

Overhead squat
120 x 3
110 x 4

No problems there.

Push jerk
145 x 1
165 x 0

And here’s where things went pear-shaped.  Not only did that rep not go all the way, up, but I felt a sudden, harsh tightness across my upper back. Not pain, per se, but… not right, either.

For better or worse, I went on to bench press, but lightened the loads.

Bench press
135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5

Honestly, it felt good to just move the muscles a bit. I’ve also been doing some PT moves and taking ibuprofen. It doesn’t feel like too serious, and tomorrow’s a rest day. We’ll see how I’m doing on Wednesday.

Jim vs. Snatch Pull, (Power) Snatch, Front Squat

Based on a conversation with Judd, I changed around the order this time.

Snatch pull
135 x 2
120 x 3

Snatch
115 x 1 (power)
105 x 2 (1 power)

Front squat
185 x 3
165 x 4
155 x 5

I think it’s clear that if I do the pulls first next time, I need to drop the weight further on the full snatches. Two out of three reps, I only got a power snatch. Other than that, though, this felt good.

Jim vs. Deadlifts

Oof.

Deadlifts
345 x 3
310 x 4
275 x 5

Sometimes I do a reverse pyramid of deadlifts and it just leaves me wobbly. This was one of those times. I felt blasted when I was done with this, so I did some jump rope as a cool down and called it a day.

Working back towards 365, though.

Jim vs. Bench Press, Push-ups, KB Swings

Three days in a row? Why not?

Bench press
195 x 2
175 x 5
155 x 5

Sets #2 and #3 tell me to bump the weights up, but set #1 is reticent. I’ll probably go 195-175-160 next week, if I do bench press at all.

21-18-15
push-ups
KB swings (52.5lb dumbbell)

Finished in 3:07. Amusingly, after doing bench press the first set of push-ups felt like nothing, but the second and third were brutal. Amusing, but not really surprising.