Stealth's Workout Journal

Great session. Gave the ATG DE Band squats hell today, topping out with 305 bar weight + 420 in band tension. Did not go beyond that as the bar was starting to slow down more than I would like, defeating the purpose of the movement. Compared to how I felt last week, though, I was much faster and explosive today. Bench started out feeling terrible, but ended up feeling pretty strong. Nice long pauses on the last few 310 doubles, and the 320 and 330 singles. 315×3 was a touch and go set and it went real smooth. Pauses on the 275 and 235 sets were ridiculously long (10-15s per rep). Neutral grip DB presses felt great – really enjoying that movement.

DE ATG Squat:
135+180 band tension x5x1
135+320 band tension x2x1
135+420 band tension x2x1
185+420 band tension x2x1
235+420 band tension x2x1
285+420 band tension x2x1
305+420 band tension x2x1
235+420 band tension x4x1

Paused Bench Press:
195x6x1
235x5x1
270x3x1
270x3x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
320x1x1
330x1x1
315x3x1
275x4x1
235x6x1

Flat DB Flyes:
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1

Flat Neutral Grip DB Press:
70x8x1
80x8x1
90x8x1
100x8x1
110x10x1

Band Pull-Aparts:
purple x30x1
purple x30x1
purple x30x1

Band Face Pulls:
purple x20x1
purple x20x1
purple x20x1
purple x20x1

Duration: 120 minutes

Pretty decent pull session. My low back is not feeling the greatest and my abs and quads are immensely sore from those front squats on Monday (I guess I know what I will be doing more of!), and it certainly showed during pulls today. Worked up to 600 but missed it at the knees – had my back been 100% I would have had it easy. Out of frustration I went back down to 505 and pulled sumo for the first time in 3 months or so. I am pleased with how sumos felt considering how long I had not done them, and having went to failure on conventionals beforehand. I did not push them too hard. Bench felt pretty solid – rep work today, with 270 for 7 paused reps being a PR. Nice long pauses today (5+ count each rep). Did some strict BTN presses for mobility work, and some chins/pullups for assistance.

Conventional Deadlift:
225x6x1
315x3x1
380x3x1
440x2x1
505x1x1
555x1x1
585x1x1
600x0x1

Sumo Deadlift:
505x1x1
555x1x1
600x1x1
645x2x1

Paused Bench Press:
195x5x1
235x4x1
270x4x1
270x5x1
270x5x1
270x7x1 (PR)

Pull-ups/Chins:
bw x8x1
bw x10x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x10x1

Strict BTN Press:
45x10x1
95x10x1
95x10x1
95x10x1
95x10x1

Seated Curl Machine:
50x8x1
75x8x1
100x8x1
75x8x1
50x8x1
50x6x1
75x6x1
100x6x1
75x6x1
50x6x1

Band Pull-Aparts:
purple x30x1
purple x30x1
purple x30x1

Duration: 120 minutes

Pretty nice session. For overheads I tried push jerks. They ended up being more of half-breed push press+push jerk combo, but the form will come with more practice. More importantly, I hit 300 again, which I have not done in a while, and I was real pleased with that. Back was limiting me a bit on the overheads. Moved on to squats and they were just slow and tired feeling. The 540 double just did not feel up to par so I moved on to front squats, which I have not done in a long time. They felt very difficult, so I think I will hit these regularly to bring those up to snuff. My best triple is with 365, so I think I will break that pretty quickly.

Push Jerk:
135x10x1
175x5x1
200x4x1
235x3x1
265x3x1
285x2x1
300x2x1 (PR)
270x3x1
250x3x1

Squat:
225x5x1
325x3x1
390x3x1
455x2x1
520x2x1
540x2x1

Front Squat:
225x3x1
275x3x1
315x3x1
275x3x1

Flat DB Flye:
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1

Flat Neutral DB Press:
70x8x1
80x8x1
90x8x1
100x8x1
80×10-60×10-50x12x1

45-degree Hypers:
bw x10x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1

Band Pull-Aparts:
purple x30x1
purple x30x1
purple x50x1

Band Face Pulls:
purple x30x1
purple x30x1
purple x30x1

Duration: 120 minutes

This was a great workout. A real nice morale booster. For speed squats I decided to mix things up and add tons of band tension instead of straight weight. I forgot how brutal bands can be. My core is fried. I worked with my heavy (+90 @ top per), heavy (+70 @ top per), and medium (+50 @ top per), and ended up using all 3 per side. Like I said, brutal. Great bar speed on every set, but these wiped me out. I moved on to paused bench, where I worked on using an arch more. Things went well. I tried a touch n go set with 310 after my 6 paused doubles and did a triple, but could have had more had I not setup too far back and kept running the bar into the supports each rep (doh). Ended with a paused rep PR with 260 for 10. Moved on to flat db bench where I worked with the 140s for the first time in years and years. Overall, a nice confidence boosting session.

DE ATG Squat:
135+180 band tension x6x1
135+180 band tension x3x1
135+320 band tension x3x1
135+320 band tension x3x1
135+420 band tension x3x1
185+420 band tension x3x1
235+420 band tension x3x1
235+420 band tension x3x1

Paused Bench Press:
195x5x1
235x4x1
270x3x1
270x3x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
310x3x1
260x10x1 (PR)

Flat DB Bench:
110x4x1
130x4x1
140x4x1
120x4x1
120x7x1

Flat DB Flyes:
55x10x1
55x10x1
55x10x1
55x10x1
55x10x1

Pull-ups:
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1

Single-leg Leg Extension:
150x10x1
100x15x1
80x20x1

BB Curls (narrow and wide grips):
45x10x1
45x10x1
65x10x1
65x10x1
85x10x1
85x10x1
85x12x1
85x12x1

Band Pull-Aparts:
medium x30x1
medium x30x1
medium x30x1

Duration: 120 minutes

OK workout. Things started great with me dropping a 45lb plate on my left big toe. Did not affect my lifting but it sure stings now and has turned a nice purple, lol. Deads were OK. Elevated pulls (plates raised about 6″) are more awkward than the deficit pulls. Talk about a difficult starting position. I never really wear my belt tight (if I wear one at all) when pulling, but today I really cranked it on tight – what a difference that makes. Going to have to see how that carries over to actual heavy pulls from the floor. Bench was sluggish and slow – not feeling as good as I had hoped it would. I did my last two sets touch and go, for the first time since I started benching again. Felt OK. Not really explosive or fast, but pretty easy. Finished with some good accessory work.

Deficit Deadlift (bar @ top of feet):
135x10x1
225x6x1
315x3x1
385x3x1
410x2x1
410x2x1
410x2x1
410x2x1

Elevated Deadlifts (bar raised ~6″):
410x2x1
440x2x1
505x2x1
505x2x1
565x2x1
565x2x1

Paused Bench Press:
195x5x1
230x4x1
270x3x1
270x3x1
310x2x1
310x2x1

Bench Press:
290x5x1
275x7x1

Flat DB Flye (superset with neutral db presses):
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1

Flat Neutral-grip DB Bench:
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1

Single-leg Leg Extensions:
150x5x1
200x5x1
200x5x1
200x5x1
200x5x1
100x20x1

Wide-grip Pulldowns:
150x10x1
150x10x1
150x10x1
150x10x1
150x10x1

Pull-Aparts:
red band x50x1
red band x50x1
red band x50x1

Duration: 90 minutes

Tough workout today. Lots of aches and pains here and there, everywhere, it seems. I opted to pass on push presses today and did seated db presses instead – first time doing those in a few years and they were surprisingly easy. Squats were just OK. Wanted to do another jump after the 555 double but my back just was not liking things today so I backed off. Assistance work was all smooth.

ATG Squat:
135x12x1
225x6x1
315x3x1
360x3x1
425x3x1
485x2x1
535x2x1
555x2x1
535x2x1

Seated DB Press:
60x6x1
70x6x1
80x6x1
90x6x1
100x6x1

Flat DB Flye:
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1
60x10x1

Wide-grip Deficit Push ups:
bw x10x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1
bw x10x1

Single Leg Leg Extensions:
145x5x1
165x5x1
200x5x1
220x5x1
230x8x1

45-degree Hyper:
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1

Cable Pushdown:
80x10x1
80x10x1
80x10x1
80x10x1
80x10x1

Pull-Aparts:
red band x30x1
red band x30x1
red band x30x1

Duration: 90 minutes

Good workout. Everything (other than curls) felt pretty strong today.

DE ATG Squat:
135x10x1
225x5x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1

Paused Bench Press:
195x5x1
230x4x1
270x3x1
270x3x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
325x1x1
325x1x1
290x3x1
255x10x1 (PR)

Flat DB Flye:
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1

45-degree Hyper:
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1
bw x8x1

Dips:
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1

Seated Tricep Extension Machine:
75x10x1
75x10x1
75x10x1
75x10x1
75x10x1

Preacher Curl:
45x8x1
65x8x1
85x8x1
105x6x1
105x6x1
85x8x1
65x10x1
45x15x1

Pull-Aparts:
red band x30x1
red band x30x1
red band x30x1

Duration: 90 minutes

Not a bad session. Deads were not as smooth as last week, but that is how things roll with me – every other week is the “strong” week. Regardless, had some good work sets. Moved on to inclines where I increased the intensity a bit, despite them feeling a bit off; pleased with how they went. Kept weights light on rows and shrugs since I have not done them in a while, but focused on real tight form.

Deficit Conventional Deadlift (bar @ top of feet):
135x10x1
225x6x1
315x4x1
380x4x1
440x4x1
475x4x1
495x3x1
515x3x1
475x3x1

Incline Bench Press:
225x4x1
255x4x1
285x4x1
305x3x1
315x2x1
275x5x1

DB Flyes:
60x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1

BB Row (diff grip each set, strict):
225x8x1
225x8x1
225x8x1
225x8x1
225x8x1

Shrugs:
225x8x1
315x8x1
405x8x1
405x8x1
405x8x1

Pull-Aparts:
red band x30x1
red band x50x1
red band x75x1

Duration: 100 minutes

Solid workout. Slowly getting back into form, but my top end strength is still lacking. My CNS feels like it is still recovering from being sick a few weeks ago. Push presses went well, so did squats – better than last week, but still not where I would like them to be. Managed to get another rep PR on my rep-effort set on presses today. My lower back, right side, is still bothering me during push presses (but nothing else). Trying to decide how to handle that – stay light, drop them for a while? Assistance work was pretty simple today.

Push Press:
135x10x1
175x5x1
215x4x1
250x3x1
280x3x1
290x1x1
290x1x1
280x1x1
255x7x1 (PR)

ATG Squat:
225x6x1
325x2x1
390x2x1
455x2x1
520x2x1
540x2x1
550x2x1
520x2x1

Flat DB Flye:
60x10x1
65x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1
70x10x1

Chest Press Machine:
167x10x1
167x10x1
167x10x1
167x10x1
167x10x1

Reverse BB Rows:
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1
bw x5x1

Duration: 90 minutes

This was a pretty great workout, despite being incredibly sore. Started out with dynamic effort squats – 8 doubles in 5-6 minutes. Fast and explosive. Bench was real slow and stiff to start but I ended up hitting the 2 scheduled doubles, then threw an extra heavier single in there for good measure. Ended up with a strong effort for a rep effort set – 250 for 11. I thought my head would explode. Finished with solid accessory work.

DE ATG Squat:
135x10x1
225x5x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1
315x2x1

Paused Bench Press:
195x5x1
230x4x1
270x4x1
290x3x1
310x2x1
310x2x1
320x1x1
290x3x1
290x3x1
270x4x1
250x11x1

Flat DB Flye:
55x10x1
60x10x1
65x10x1
65x10x1
65x10x1

Tricep Extension Machine:
125x10x1
125x10x1
125x10x1
125x10x1
125x10x1

Standing Rope Cable Crunch:
75x10x1
100x10x1
112x10x1

Pull-Aparts:
red band x30x1
red band x30x1
red band x30x1

+ stretching

Duration: 80 minutes