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A strength training journal

Week 41 - 5/3/1 - Day 131

Cycle #4 **Week 2 Day 3**

Warm-up Bench:  5x70, 3x85, 3x105** 5/3/1 Bench:  5x120, 5x135, 6x155 **Dips:  5/5/4** *DB Fly: *4x12x15lb Tricep Extensions:  4x15x40lb DB Bench:  3x12x30lb + 12x25lb **Conditioning:  3.0 spd walk 1mile

Bench was pretty good.  Warm-up sets and first two core sets were fairly easy.  Grinded out the 6th rep, but my form was definitely not on par.  Felt like my right arm/lats were working harder than my left.  Managed to get some conditioning in and did about 20 minutes of 3.0 spd walking for 1 mile.

Week 41 - 5/3/1 - Day 130

Cycle #4 Week 2 Day 2

Warm-up Squat:  5x100, 3x125, 3x150** 5/3/1 Squat:  3×160, 3×185, 3x210 **Leg Press:  4x15x185lbs *Weighted Sit-ups: * 4x25x10lb

Just realized that I did week 1 weights...  But, aside from that, I think I felt significantly better than last week's squatting.  One thing I changed up was having a wider stance.  This prevented straining my lower back that I felt when I was squatting last week.  I also felt much stronger coming out of the hole.  There's inherently a slight bit more forward lean because I'm sitting back more.  I actually felt my use of hip drive which I haven't felt in a long while.  Last week, I noticed that my shoulders were going up faster than my butt, causing my knees to come forward and the weight to move from my heels to my toes.  Did not feel this way at all during this squat session.  Finally got it back!

Week 41 - 5/3/1 - Day 129

Cycle #4 **Week 2 Day 1**

Warm-up Press:  5x40, 3x50, 3x60** 5/3/1 Press:  5x70, 5x80, 5x90 **DB Military Press:  4x12x25lb Side Laterals:  4x12x10lb Standing Barbell Curls:  4x12x30lb Preacher Curls:  4x12x30lb

A little short for time today, but managed to get in all the accessories.  No cardio or conditioning to be had though which sucks.

Warm-up for the last 2 weeks has been consisting of 1 minute jump rope, dynamic upper body stretches such as arm crossovers and arm circles for upper body days.  1 minute jump rope, leg swings, fire hydrants, static lunge stretches for lower body days.  2 sets of these before doing any lifting.

May start doing box jumps again for further CNS jump starting, but definitely don't want to throw my back out again, so I'm going to be extra cautious.

Presses weren't too bad- managed to bang out the top set.  Stretched my wrists out a bit. Thinking retrospectively, I probably should do some wrist exercises warm-ups prior to pressing.  I focused on maintaining a good bar position in my hand to avoid hyperextending the wrists.  This usually happens as a direct result of form breakdown when pressing heavier weights.