Spytech’s Intense Workout Log

Ahh, pretty damn good workout today. My hamstrings are pretty sore from squatting Monday. My upper back is just a wreck from all the shrugging on Wednesday. Despite all this I somehow killed deadlifts today. Second time pulling this month, and second or third time in a year basically. I’ve never done anything for more than 5 reps with 600+ on the bar, and when I’ve done 5’s its almost always touch and go with maybe the first rep or two deloaded. This time I deloaded every rep for 3-5+ seconds between pulls and killed it. Maybe had 1-2 more reps in me. Touch and go I would have done way more. This has me feeling really confident about my pulling abilities right now. I’m not sure where I would ‘max’ at, though. Reps can be deceiving - at least for me. After pulls I did some ghetto GHRs and some obscure ab work. A few sets of turkish getups with the barbell, and then some straight leg situps holding a barbell at lockout. Nice movement.

After lifting I decided to jog a mile for some reason. Dumb idea as my legs were totally gone, but it felt good when I was done.

Deadlifts (3-5s deloads between reps):
245x12x1
335x5x1
425x3x1
515x2x1
615x6x1 (PR)
515x5x1

Ghetto GHRs:
bw x5x2
+25x6x1
+10x6x1
bw x6x1

BB Turkish Getups:
65x2x1
85x2x1

Straight-leg Situps with BB Held at Lockout:
45x12x1
95x12x1
115x12x1 (PR)

Standing Cable Adduction:
120x12x3

Standing Cable Abduction:
50x12x3

+ stretching + mile run + quarter mile walk

Duration: 100 minutes

I was feeling very strong tonight. Started out with shoulder rehab work, then went to shrugs. Shrugs went well - pushed them harder than I have previously since the injuries without any problems. Afterwards I did some chins and curls, then did db clean and jerks again. Worked up to singles with each arm with the 130 and that was pretty easy still. Nice.

Shoulder Rehab:
8 sets of 20 per arm

BB Shrugs:
135×12x1
225×12x1
315×12x1
405×12x1
495×12x1
585×12x1
605×8x1
625×6x2
645×8x1 (wide grip PR)
585×8x3 (wide grip, narrow grip, regular grip)
495×12x2 (wide grip, narrow grip)
405×12x1

Standing DB Curls:
40×12x1
50×12x1
60×12x1
50×12x1
40×12x3
50×12x1
40×12x2

Chins:
bw x12×2

DB Clean and Jerk:
80×6x1
100×2x1
120×2x1
130×2x1 (PR)

+ stretching + yoga (75min)

Duration: 135 minutes

Killer workout tonight. Targets were 375/425/475. I wanted to try something heavier than 475 so I just singled 425 and 475 easily, then went after a PR of 535. I have some pretty sore hamstrings from last weeks 4 yoga sessions and GHRs, and it certainly affected my squatting, but I was still strong enough for a great 2RM PR. After the great squatting I did some intense step-ups, hit some abs, then headed off to yoga.

ATG Squat:
135x12x1
225x12x1
315x5x1
375x5x1
425x1x1
475x1x1
535x2x1 (PR)

BB Step-Ups to 16″ bench:
225x10x2
205x10x1
205x14x1
205x16x1 (PR)

Standing Cable Abs w/ Ab strap - Wide stance (’hard’ tower):
132x8x1
144x8x1
156x8x1
168x8x1
180x8x1
192x10x1 (PR)

+ stretching + yoga (45 min)

Duration: 115 minutes

Not bad, not bad. I wanted to give ‘heavy’ benching a try today to gauge how things are feeling. Heaviest I’ve gone since September is 265. Today I worked up to 305 and that felt pretty good. Rusty, but good. Had a few more reps there. My lifting was very tentative, and not really explosive, so I know with the proper mindset I could destroy it. After 305 I repped out with 250 for 12. Maybe had 2 left. Good set. Close grip bench didn’t feel right on my tricep so I did db presses with a neutral grip to hit the tris a bit. Flat DB presses were a bit fatigued, but 5 sets of 5 with the 110s are fine by me. Seated cable rows were great, nice PR there.

Bench Press:
135×12x1
155×12x1
175×12x1
195×12x1
225×6x1
245×1x1
265×1x1
285×1x1
305×1x1
250×12x1

CG Bench:
185×12x2

Flat DB Bench:
110×5x5

Flat Neutral-grip DB Bench:
70×12x1
80×12x1
90×12x1

OH DB Extensions:
70×15x1

Flat DB Flyes:
45×12x2
45×15x1

Seated Cable Row:
204×12x1
252×12x1
312×12x1
357×6x1
402×8x1 (PR)
312×8x1

Shoulder Rehab:
15 sets of 12

+ stretching

Duration: 70 minutes

Nice quick workout. I couldn’t make up my mind on what sort of pulling movement I wanted to do today so I ended up choosing rack pulls from the knees. I wanted to do these as they are typically pretty easy on the CNS, and they would give me a good idea of how strong my neck and collar bone has healed up. I burned out before being able to set a PR on them, but I am very pleased with how they felt, and how my neck/collar bone held up. The last time I did these a while back I set a PR of 825 with a deadlift bar. Today I used a stiffer regular bar and got pretty close to that. Good stuff. I also returned to doing ghetto GHRs. It’s been a while since I’ve hung out with this friend, but it was just like old times after the awkward hellos. Finished off with some brutal ab work, and then yoga.

Conventional Rack Deadlift (from knees):
135×12x1
335×5x1
425×3x1
515×3x1
605×3x1
695×2x1
785×2x1
805×1x1
695×3x1

Ghetto GHRs:
bw x5×2
+10×5x1
+20×5x1
bw x10×1

Decline Straight-Leg Situps w/ Weight Held Overhead:
+14×12x1
+15×12x1
+20×8x1
+25×8x1 (PR)
bw x20×1

+ yoga (75min)

Duration: 135 minutes

Not bad. Shrugs felt good, but grip still felt pretty lame. I didn’t push them too hard to avoid straining my neck, etc. Shoulder rehab is feeling good. The same ol achy pain in my right rear delt is still there and it seems to be really clinging on with a death grip, but it doesn’t affect anything that I have been doing in the gym. Curls were curls, and afterwards I decided to play around with some dumbbell clean and jerks. Just did singles on each arm up to 120, but it felt strong and easy. I think I’ll order the 106lb kb soon.

Shrugs:
135×12x1
225×12x1
315×12x1
405×12x1
495×12x1
585×12x1
495×12x1
495×15x1

Rear Delt DB Laterals:
40×12x3

Seated DB Curls:
40×12x5

Preacher Curls:
75×12x1
95×12x1
115×12x2

DB Clean and Jerks:
80×2x1
100×2x1
110×2x1
120×2x1 (PR)

Shoulder Rehab:
8 sets of 20

+ stretching + yoga (50min)

Duration: 110 minutes

I felt weak as shit going through warmups today and really wondered if I would hit my 5 rep goal with 425. True to form, the days that I feel the worst seem to yield the best results, as I cranked out 425 for 10 for a rep PR. This kicked my ass. Since I like to take things “a bit easier” on 5’s week I just did leg extensions for accessory work, then abs and walked on the treadmill for a while.

ATG Squats:
135×12x1
225×12x1
325×5x1
375×5x1
425×10x1 (PR)

Leg Extensions:
305×12x4
305×30x1

Standing Cable Abs w/ Ab Strap (’hard tower’):
120×8x1
132×8x1
144×8x1
156×8x1
156×12x1

Walking on Treadmill:
23 minutes @ 3.5-4mph @ incline 2

+ stretching

Duration: 75 minutes

This was a pretty exhausting workout. Bench felt good tonight, but by the time I got to db bench my pressing strength was fading hard. Rows and chins were tiring - still tired from pulls on Monday. Really hit the shoulder hard tonight with the pressing, rows, chins, and rehab work. It’s stiff right now, but should feel good in the morning.

Bench Press:
135×12x1
155×12x1
175×12x1
195×12x1
215×12x1
240×12x1

CG Bench Press:
225×5x2

Reverse CG Bench:
225×5x1
205×10x1

Flat DB Bench:
90×10x1
100×10x1
120×10x1
120×5x1

DB Rows:
150×10x3

Chins (narrow, hammer, shoulder-width grips):
bw x12×3

Flat DB Flyes:
45×12x3

Shoulder Rehab:
16 sets of 10

+ stretching + yoga (55min)

Duration: 135 minutes

Sweet. I haven’t done any deadlifting in quite a while and I had the hankering for some pulling today. My goal was to just knock off 6 plates (585) for a single as I wasn’t sure how rusty I’d be, but I ended up hitting a solid 5 reps with 605, deloading each rep. 605 felt pretty easy, but by the 5th rep I could feel some strain on my collarbone so I shut it down. I am very pleased with how 605 felt - strong and fast. I didn’t have any nerve pain in my right glute like I always used to have…so maybe that issue is finally resolved, or at least improved a bit. After pulls I did some SLDLs (sumo and conventional), then finished off with some heavy strict GMs. My hams are going to be sore tomorrow.

Last night I was messing with kettlebell clean and jerks. There is a test called the ‘ultimate clean and jerk test’ where you try to do as many C&J’s with the 88lb bell in 10 minutes - the current standing record is 107 reps (brutal) and I feel like I want to give this a run. I timed out a relaxed paced 10 reps (5 left, 5 right) and that took around 55 seconds. Now, it’s just a matter of holding that pace for 9 more minutes. I think I will start at 1 minute and add time each week and see what happens.

Deadlift (reps deloaded):
245×5x1
335×5x1
425×1x1
515×1x1
605×5x1
515×3x1

SLDLs (sumo and conventional):
425×5x2

Strict Good Mornings:
135×12x1
155×12x1
175×12x1
195×12x1
205×12x1 (PR)

+ stretching + yoga (35 min)

Duration: 95 minutes

This was a good, intense workout. Shoulder is feeling pretty good lately. Shrugs were strong, but my grip was terrible. I think it is from the bottom-up kettlebell pressing I have been working on in my spare time. Shrugs made my collar bone a little achy, so I will step back from them a bit just to be safe. Chins felt good - easy, and pain-free.

Shoulder Rehab:
20 sets of 12

BB Shrugs:
135×12x1
225×12x1
315×12x1
405×12x1
495×12x1
585×12x2

Wide-grip BB Shrugs:
495×12x1
405×12x1
315×12x2

Rear DB Laterals:
45×12x4

Flat DB Flyes:
30×12x2
35×12x2

Chins (various grips):
bw x12×3

Kneeling One-arm Lat Pulldown:
150×12x2

Incline DB Curls:
40×12x2
50×12x1

BB Curls:
95×12x2
115×12x2

Single-arm DB Hammer Curls:
110×12x3

+ stretching

Duration: 60 minutes