Bench Press & Pullups

Planks: 2:00
Side Planks: 1:00 each side
Bench Press: 157/5, 177/4, 197/3, 217/1, 227/3, 227/3, 197/8
Hammer Strength Incline Press: 208/9, 238/4, 238/4 drop set to 188/4 drop set to 98/10
Neutral Grip Pullups: 7, 5, 6, 6

Been battling a cold and cough for the last couple of days, which I am sure also contributed to the poor workout on Thursday. Happy with how today went, though. I needed those two days off. 

Front Squats & Hex Bar Deads

OK- this was definitely a "just get me through", "-10", "-100000" workout. I am simply exhausted- played almost three hours of basketball last night and had a lot of trouble sleeping. I really had no business working out tonight, as my body was trying to tell me. However, I have plans tomorrow and Saturday so I pretty much had to force myself through the workout today. I made some modifications, as I knew I wouldn't be able to get through any high rep squat sets. 

Planks: 1:00 regular, 1:00 right side, 1:00 left side, 1:00 regular

Front Squats: 135/5, 155/4, 175/3, 175/3, 175/3, 155/6
   * Tried doing these by holding straps, as I've seen John Phung do them. One of the straps snapped as I was unracking the 3rd set. Threw the straps out and went back to doing them with a cross arm grip. Everything was heavy tonight. All three sets of the 175/3 were chores, as was the set of 155/6. 

Hex Bar Deads: 225/5, 275/5, 315/3, 365/1
  * For psychological reasons, I decided to do 365/1. I haven't done that weight in a long time and since the workout was total crap to begin with, banging out a rep with that weight made me feel like tonight wasn't a total waste of time. It was tough, but I did it.

Bodyweight Calf Raises: 20, 20, 20, 20

Lying Hamstring Curl: 100/10, 100/10, 100/10

No chance whatsoever of me even attempting to do pullups or jump rope. Last night killed me, tonight poured dirt on top of the casket. Much needed two days off are here.

Overhead Press & Pullups

Planks:
     Regular- 2:00
     Side- 1:00 each side
Standing Overhead Press: 98/12, 138/5, 138/5, 138/5, 143/5, 143/5
Neutral Grip Pullups: 8, 6, 6, 6, 6
Single Pulley Triceps Pushdowns: 70/10, 70/10
Bar Curls: 70/10, 70/10

Jump rope.

* 8 pullups on the first set! Woo hoo!!
* Used a more narrow grip on the OHPs- no shoulder pain.

Bench Press

Planks: 2:00
Side Planks: 1:20 each side
Bench Press: 135/5, 155/4, 175/3, 195/3, 215/2, 235/2, 195/9
Incline Press: 185/5, 185/6, 195/3, 205/1 drop set to 135/12
Neutral Grip Pullups: 7, 6, 6, 5

Jump rope.

Good session. Happy with the pullups. Added an extra rep to the 235 set. No complaints.

Front Squat & Hex Bar Deadlift

Planks: 2:00

Side Planks: 1:00 each side

Front Squats: 133/10, 153/8, 173/5, 193/3, 213/1, 163/9

Hex Bar Deads: 225/5, 275/5, 315/5, 345/4

Bodyweight Calf Raises: 20, 20, 20, 20
super set with
Neutral Grip Pullups: 5, 6, 6, 5

Lying Hamstring Curl: 90/12, 90/12, 90/12

Front squats are hard. There's no other way to say it. +1 rep on the 163 work set from last week. I also increased the weight on the over warmup sets. 213/1 was tough. I may not have gone deep enough. Will try it again next week to make sure that I do. Deads were fine, but I was pretty gassed after squats, so they were harder than I thought they'd be. Glad to do 345/4, though, as I haven't picked up that amount of weight in a while.

Return of the OHP!

I decided to give the ole overhead press a try, as I've been wanting to get back to them. My back injury was 2.5 months ago now, I've been rehabbing it the smart way, it feels good, so I thought it was time to give them a go.

Planks:
     Regular- 2:00
     Side- 1:10 each side
Standing Overhead Press: 93/15, 113/10, 133/6, 133/6, 153/2
Neutral Grip Pullups: 7, 5, 5, 6, 5
Single Pulley Triceps Pushdowns: 60/15, 60/15
Bar Curls: 60/15, 60/15

Jump rope to close it out- getting better at this.

Back felt fine- no issues at all. My left shoulder started bothering me in the middle of the OHP sets. Perhaps I was holding the bar a little too wide? I don't know. I'll narrow it up next time and see how it feels.

I was happy to get 7 pullups on the first set, as well!

Slowly, but surely, getting back!

Bench Press

Planks: 2:00
Side Planks: 1:00 each side
Bench Press: 152/5, 172/4, 192/3, 212/2, 232/2, 192/10
Incline Press: 182/7, 182/6, 182/6, drop set to 132/7
Neutral Grip Pullups: 5, 4, 5, 4, 5 + 1

Jump rope & shot baskets.

Liked the workout. Went up one rep on the volume set of bench press, but the weight was 3 pounds less. Not sure what to make of that. I've been benching in a gym in NJ lately, where I don't know the weights of the bars, so I've been assuming 45. I was back in my regular gym tonight and benched with the 42 pound bar, hence the 3 pound difference.

Front Squats, Hex Bar Deads, Pullups

Planks: 2:00
Side Planks: 1:20 each side (PR)
Front Squat: 133/10, 153/8, 163/6, 183/2, 193/2, 163/8
Hex Bar Deadlift: 225/5, 275/5, 315/5, 315/5, 315/3
Bodyweight Calf Raises: 20, 20, 20, 20
Glute Ham Raises (off of the seat on a lat pulldown machine):
10, 10 (holding bar); 7, 7 (no bar, touching Bosu ball); 10 (holding bar)
Pullups- Neutral Grip: 6, 5, 6, 5, 5

Jump rope.

This was a good workout. I decided to ramp up the volume & weight on the front squats and the weight on the deads. On a whim, I did glute ham raises for the first time in a very long time. I am going to have to stick with holding the bar because my Bosu ball sets weren't very good. They were essentially me crashing to the Bosu ball and pushing myself off of it. As a result, there wasn't much hamstring work going on in those two sets. I'm going to start doing pullups in every workout, or at the very least, almost every workout.

Shoulders & Back

Planks:
     Regular- 2:00
     Side- 1:00 each side
     Regular- 1:00
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press: 150/15, 170/10, 200/8, 210/5, 210/5
Pullups- Neutral Grip: 6, 5, 5, 6, 5, 4
Double Pulley Triceps Pushdowns: 120/15, 120/15
Bar Curls: 60/15, 60/15

* I did supersets with the last two sets of pullups and the pushdowns. 

Ended with a jump rope session. 

Bench Press

Planks: 2:00
Side Planks: 1:15 each side
Bench Press: 155/5, 175/4, 195/3, 215/2, 235/1, 195/9
Incline Press: 185/6, 185/6, 185/6
Hex Bar Deadlift: 225/12

Jump rope session afterward.

Shoulders & Back

Planks: 2:00
Side Planks: 1:00 each side
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press: 150/15, 170/10, 190/8, 200/6, 200/6
Pullups:
    Wide- 3
    Palms facing each other (neutral grip): 5, 5, 6, 5
    Wide- 2
Double Pulley Triceps Pushdowns: 120/20, 120/20
Bar Curls: 60/20, 60/10

I ended the workout with some jump rope. I need to increase my agility and speed on the basketball court, as I am painfully slow.

Squat & Deadlift

Front Squat: 158/5, 158/5, 168/5, 173/5, 173/5
Hex Bar Deadlift: 225/5, 245/5, 265/5, 280/5, 300/5
Bodyweight Calf Raises: 20, 20, 20, 20
Planks: 1:20 regular, 1:00 right side, 1:00 left side, 0:45 regular
Lying Hamstring Curls: 90/12, 90/12, 90/12

* Good workout. I realize that it's a hex bar, but being able to type "300" again feels pretty nice.

Bench Press & a little deadlifting

Bench Press: 145/5, 165/5, 185/5, 205/5, 225/3, 225/2
Incline Press: 185/8, 185/6, 185/6
Bodyweight Calf Raises: 20, 20, 20, 20
Planks: 2:00 (PR)
Side Planks: 1:00 each side
Roman Chair Hypers: 12, 12, 12
Hex Bar Deadlift: 225/5, 275/5

I haven't benched 225 in months, so I wanted to see where I was. I was hoping for 225/5, but I suppose three isn't so bad. 225/5 will be a short term goal.

Happy to finally hit 2:00 with planks! That was my ultimate goal when I started doing them in January.

275/5 with the hex bar took some effort, and I didn't feel any pain. Looks like I am pretty much recovered from the injury now and it's time to focus on increasing my strength.