Spytech’s Intense Workout Log

Deadlifts were tough tonight. Really felt the fatigue from the extra intense squatting Monday, hip fatigue from last week’s pulls, and my abs are STILL sore from dragon flags last Friday. Regardless I hit everything on the agenda. Bench felt better than it has been. I tried a new arch setup today and it felt pretty good. Time will tell if it is ‘for me’ or not. I was supposed to 3 singles with 300 there, but the new setup was feeling strong so I did 2 extra sets. More deads off boxes, which I superset in between bench sets, then I did some easy chins/pullups and dips.

Deadlift:
355x3x1
425x3x1
495x3x1
560x2x1
560x2x1
600x1x1
600x1x1

Bench Press:
135x12x1
180x5x1
215x3x1
250x3x1
285x2x1
285x2x1
300x1x1
300x1x1
300x1x1
300x1x1
300x3x1

Elevated Deadlifts (plates ~4″ off ground):
355x3x1
425x3x1
455x2x1
455x2x1
455x2x1
455x5x1

Chins (various grips):
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1

Dips:
bw x12x1
bw x12x1
bw x12x1
bw x12x1
bw x12x1

+ stretching + yoga (60min)

Duration: 130 minutes

This was a good workout, but at the same time it blew. I had an allergy attack last night so I slept like crap and had no energy. On top of that, I was a Sudafed Zombie (still am). Squats were all easy. I did 15s rests between my singles @ 475, and when I got to 445 for 3 doubles later I decided to do a set of 8 ATG reps instead. Not bad. Bench felt like crap, big surprise there. Maybe it’s just my body knowing that it doesn’t need to work hard on these bench workouts that makes them feel so sluggish and crappy.

Squats:
135x12x1
305x5x1
360x4x1
415x2x1
415x2x1
475x1x1
475x1x1
475x1x1
475x1x1

Bench Press:
135x12x1
180x5x1
215x4x1
250x3x1
285x3x1
285x3x1
285x3x1
285x3x1
285x6x1

More Squats:
275x5x1
335x4x1
390x3x1
445x2x1
445x2x1
445x8x1

Incline Bench:
135x8x1
185x8x1
205x8x1
225x8x1

Kneeling Y-Lat Pulldowns:
180x8x1
192x8x1
204x8x1
156x12x1
156x12x1

Cable Crossovers:
60x12x1
72x12x1
84x12x1

+ stretching + power yoga (75min)

Duration: 175 minutes

Good workout. Squats called for 2 singles at 500, decided to go a little heavier on my second - still pretty easy. Best near ATG squat without a belt. Bench felt like crap, but whatever. Assistance work was fine. I tried dragon flags for abs as I haven’t done them in a while and they were way easier since the last time I did them. Good to know core strength has increased quite a bit.

Squats:
135×12x1
275×3x1
335×3x1
390×3x1
445×2x1
500×1x1
520×1x1
390×5x1

Bench Press:
135×12x1
180×5x1
215×4x1
250×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1
265×5x1

Pec Flye Machine:
170×8x1
170×8x1
170×8x1
90×12x1

Rear Delt Flye Machine:
90×12x1
90×12x1
90×12x1
90×12x1

Dragon Flags:
bw x5×1
bw x5×1
bw x6×1 (PR)

Standing DB Curls (mega drop set, few breaths rest between drops):
60×6x1
55×6x1
50×6x1
45×6x1
40×8x1
35×8x1
30×10x1
20×12x1
20×12x1
15×12x1
10×12x1

Standing DB Hammer Curls (mega drop set, few breaths rest between drops):
70×4x1
65×4x1
60×4x1
55×4x1
50×4x1
45×4x1
40×6x1
35×8x1
30×10x1
25×10x1
20×15x1
15×15x1
10×20x1

+ stretching

Duration: 75 minutes

This was a pretty killer workout. Heaviest deadlift workout of the workout cycle, and considering I haven’t pulled 4 consecutive weeks in a row in years, let along going heavy after 3 weeks of pulling (and squatting every other workout I don’t pull)…I wasn’t sure how today’s deads would turn out. They ended up feeling pretty solid. Target was 2 singles with 630. I got two doubles. Tried for a triple but my legs just said ‘no’. I’m very pleased with how pulls went today. Moved on to 3-board bench, where the heaviest work was supposed to be 2 singles with 340; that seemed too easy so I did 355 and 375 instead. All pretty easy. I cruised through all of the 3-board sets in less than 10 minutes. Finished off with some dips, inclines, and OH extensions. The tricep seems to be faring well - no pains on the extensions. Inclines still felt crappy though on the tri/delt thing, but I the weights moved very easy.

Deadlift:
355x3x1
425x3x1
490x3x1
560x2x1
630x2x1
630x2x1
560x2x1
560x2x1
560x2x1
495x10x1

3-board Bench Press:
195x3x1
230x3x1
265x2x1
265x2x1
300x1x1
320x1x1
355x1x1
375x2x1 (PR)
250x5x1

Dips:
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1

OH DB Extensions:
120x8x1
120x8x1
120x8x1
120x10x1

Incline Bench Press:
185x5x1
205x5x1
225x5x1
225x5x1

+ stretching + power yoga (50min)

Duration: 110 minutes

Today I wanted to try to figure out what really aggravates my calves the most during squats. Is it ATG rom? Is it knee wraps? Is it going totally raw and not wearing any wraps? Friday squats were great, easy, and painless. I wore wraps for my 445-475-500 sets. No calf issues and I buried most of the reps ATG because I was feeling good. Today I had a lighter workout - 5 triples at 415 - and I did them all wrapless. Extremely painful calves. I sank my last set ATG and it didn’t make any difference - still hurt like hell. I have two things I want to try yet - olympic lifting shoes, and knee sleeves (like rehband) but I’m not sure either will help. Stupid calves. That being said, squats were fine. Nothing to write home about. Moved on to bench - light week this week for bench - and it felt like crap. I hate our narrow bench now after being spoiled by the nice wide bench at the out-of-town gym I utilized last week. Oh well. I did some kneeling ‘Y’ lat pulldowns using the cable crossover stacks, trying to mimick that nice Freemotion machine I used last week. My cable variant worked just as well - wish I would have thought of these before.

Squat:
135×12x1
275×3x1
335×3x1
390×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1

Bench Press:
135×12x1
180×3x1
215×3x1
250×3x1
265×2x1
265×2x1
265×2x1
265×2x1
265×5x1

Kneeling Y-Lat Pulldown using Cable Xover Stacks (weights are per arm):
96×12x1
132×12x1
168×12x1
192×12x1
209×12x1 (PR)

DB Floor Press:
100×8x1
100×8x1
100×8x1
100×8x1

+ stretching + power yoga (60 min)

Duration: 120 minutes

Solid workout tonight. I had a pretty long day with not very much food intake, but I got a good meal in and drove off to the Y next town over for squats and bench. I was pretty tired so wasn’t sure how things would go. First off, the rack was hard to get used to. The bar hooks were fixed and the 2 pins I tried using were either too high, so I had to go on my toes to unrack, or too low, where I had to quarter squat to rack it. Went with the lower pins and set to it. Warmups were easy, triples with 445 were easy. Was supposed to do 3 doubles with 470, but did 475 for 2 doubles instead, still too easy, so went to 500 and hit an easy triple ATG. Finished off the last 2 triples then went to bench. Bench was just as easy. Either the wider benches really help, or I am getting accustomed to this benching volume. Finished off with some accessory work and a massive drop-set with db hammer curls.

Squats:
135×12x1
275×5x1
335×4x1
385×3x1
445×3x1
445×3x1
475×2x1
475×2x1
500×3x1
445×3x1
445×3x1

Bench Press:
135×12x1
180×5x1
215×4x1
250×3x1
285×2x1
285×2x1
285×2x1
285×2x1
285×5x1

Freemotion Y-Lat Pulldowns:
200 (stack)x12×1
200 (stack)x12×1
200 (stack)x12×1

Freemotion High Lat Row:
300 (stack)x8×1
300 (stack)x8×1
300 (stack)x8×1

Freemotion Pec Flye:
100×8x1
140×8x1
200 (stack)x8×1
200 (stack)x8×1
200 (stack)x8×1

DB Hammer Curls (massive drop set, 3-4 breaths rest between drops):
100×4x1
95×4x1
90×4x1
85×4x1
80×4x1
75×4x1
70×4x1
65×4x1
60×4x1
55×4x1
50×5x1
45×8x1
40×8x1
35×10x1
30×12x1
25×12x1
20×15x1
20×15x1
17.5×15x1
17.5×15x1
100×4x1

+ stretching

Duration: 90 minutes

This was a pretty great workout. My local Y is closed for renovations the rest of the week so a friend and I went to the Y in a neighboring town. Very ‘commercialized’, but they have a great squat rack and some nice Freemotion machines. First interval of deads were cake. I was wary/worried about bench a bit after how crappy Monday felt, knowing today was the heaviest day of the program so far with 3 singles at 90%. Bench ended up feeling great and I killed the singles easily and tripled the last set. Had more reps there but didn’t want to ruin a good thing by potentially aggravating my shoulder doing reps. The benches at this gym are a lot wider than the narrow plank benches at my Y. I think that had a lot to do with how good my shoulders felt during bench. Back to deads and they were a bit tiring after bench, but still handled them. Played around on all the nifty machines they had afterwards before heading out.

Elevated Deadlifts (plates raised ~ 3″):
355×3x1
425×3x1
495×2x1
495×2x1
495×2x1
495×2x1
495×2x1

Bench Press:
135×12x1
180×5x1
215×4x1
250×3x1
285×3x1
285×3x1
320×1x1
320×1x1
320×3x1

More Elevated Deadlifts (plates raised ~ 3″):
355×3x1
425×3x1
495×3x1
565×2x1
565×2x1
565×2x1
565×2x1

Dips:
bw x8×1
bw x8×1
bw x8×1
bw x15×1

Freemotion Neutral-grip Lat Pulldown:
160×8x1
190×8x1
210 (stack)x8×1
210 (stack)x8×1

Freemotion Y-Lat Pulldown:
200 (stack) x12×1
200 (stack) x12×1

Freemotion Seated Row:
250 (stack) x12×1
250 (stack) x12×1

Freemotion Tricep Pushdown:
250 (stack) x12×1
250 (stack) x12×1

+ stretching

Duration: 90 minutes

Week 3 brings lower volume and slight increases in intensity. That being said, this workout was very bleh. I had no intensity for squats, but handled everything easily. Last set was ATG. Bench felt horrible today. Just random aches and pains while pressing and not very strong feeling. Managed the sets necessary though, and did 5 reps for the last double. Moved on to light inclines, which didn’t feel the greatest, but felt better with each set. Dips were surprisingly pain-free/totally comfortable.

Squats:
135x12x1
275x5x1
335x4x1
390x3x1
445x2x1
445x2x1
445x2x1
445x2x1
445x3x1

Bench Press:
135x12x1
180x5x1
215x4x1
250x3x1
285x2x1
285x2x1
285x2x1
285x2x1
285x5x1

Incline Bench:
135x12x1
185x8x1
185x8x1
185x8x1
185x8x1
185x8x1

Underhand CG Pulldowns:
228x8x1
252x8x1
276x8x1
240x8x1

Dips:
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1

+ stretching + power yoga (50min)

Duration: 120 minutes

Feels good to be done with the ‘double workouts’ sessions. Next week things change up a bit. The gym is closed W-TH-F so I will be lifting M-T-S most likely. This workout went well. Squats were easy - especially the last 415 and 390 sets, which I sank ATG. Overall, the workout was still very exhausting, though. Bench felt pretty good still. I tweaked my setup a bit and am able to get a bit more of an arch now. Like the previous workouts, I skipped inclines and subbed in pec flyes and pull-ups. Threw in some curls at the end to finish things off.

Squats:
135×10x1
275×5x1
335×4x1
385×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1
415×3x1
415×5x1

Bench Press:
135×20x1
180×5x1
215×4x1
250×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1
265×3x1

More Squats:
275×4x1
335×4x1
390×4x1
390×4x1
390×4x1
390×4x1
390×4x1

More Bench Press:
180×5x1
215×4x1
250×3x1
285×2x1
285×2x1
285×2x1
285×2x1
285×5x1

Pec Flye Machine:
100×8x1
140×8x1
170×8x1
170×8x1
170×15x1

Pull-ups:
bw x8×1
bw x8×1
bw x8×1
bw x8×1
bw x15×1

DB Hammer Curls (giant drop set, no rests between sets):
70×6x1
65×6x1
60×6x1
50×6x1
40×8x1
35×10x1
30×12x1
25×12x1
20×20x1
15×30x1

+ stretching

Duration: 90 minutes

Easy workout. This week is a complete 180 from last week. Last week I could barely walk, felt crippled, really had to focus hard to get through the workouts. This week I have absolutely no soreness (other than my achy/strained lat/delt thing), tons of energy, etc. In the past I have not done well pulling 2 weeks in a row with any real intensity, so while adding in a ton of squatting and benching I was not sure how I would respond to this week’s demands which call for the first singles of the routine (2 singles at 595, 85%). Elevated pulls felt tight and kind of slow, but were easy. By the time I got to pulling from the floor I was feeling strong and destroyed everything. 600 is a nicer round number than 595, so I pulled it for an easy double and triple. Nice. Benching felt good today. Stable and strong, not too fatigued feeling. I opted out of flyes and inclines as those are the most stressful for my lat/delt, and did machine rows and chins instead as I am missing direct back work. I really enjoyed this workout. My friend that lifted with me last Wednesday was a no show. I hope he’s still not crippled from that workout, lol. I also think some chick was taking pics/film of me on her iPhone. I kept seeing her with the phone pointed perfectly in my direction and then shed see me looking and would quickly turn away. Creeper. Or maybe I’m just being presumptuous. More squats and bench on Friday, and I will annihilate those. Not being presumptuous.

Bench Press:
135×30x1
180×5x1
215×4x1
250×3x1
265×2x1
265×2x1
265×2x1
265×2x1
265×2x1

Elevated Deadlift (plates lifted ~3.5″):
355×3x1
420×3x1
490×3x1
525×2x1
525×2x1
525×2x1
525×2x1

More Bench Press:
195×5x1
230×4x1
265×3x1
300×2x1
300×2x1
300×2x1
300×4x1

Deadlift:
355×3x1
420×3x1
490×3x1
560×2x1
600×2x1
600×3x1
560×2x1
495×5x1

Yet More Bench Press:
180×4x1
215×4x1
250×4x1
250×4x1
250×4x1
250×6x1

Machine Lat Row:
200×10x1
200×10x1
200×10x1

Hammer Grip Chins:
bw x10×1
bw x10×1
bw x10×1

+ stretching + power yoga (40min)

Duration: 150 minutes