4/11 - Squats

Warmup:
Hard foam roll - IT band, psoas, low back, t-spine
McGill Big 3
PRI Breathing Drills
5 part hip series

Lying Leg Curls
3 sets of 8 reps - 3 second hold at the top of each rep, 3 second negative

Duffalo Bar Squats (beltless/sleeves)
Warmups: 1 plate per side x 10, 2pps, 3pps x 5, 4pps x 3
487 x 10
507 x 10
550 x 8

Notes: I was prescribed 527 x 10 in my program, but my warmups were feeling really strong and I decided to go for something a little heavier. I was inspired by a video of Jeremy Hamilton hitting 600 x 10 beltless a while back, so I figured if I could be within 50 lbs of him on a rep set, I'm doing pretty well. Although the reps felt strong on the 550 lb set, a knot in my right glute emerged and was making me shift everything to my left leg. When I went to descend on my 9th rep, I shifted too hard to my left and lost control of the weight and dumped it. This is what I get for not listening to coach! And chasing lifters that are stronger than me instead of worrying about myself. Oh well, lesson learned!

Bulgarian Split Squats
3 sets 10 reps with 100lb DB's - focused on keeping tension on the quads, stopped just short of lockout on each rep and descended right back into the bottom of the movement

Deficit DB RDL
4 sets 8 reps, strict as possible, focusing on a stretch at the bottom of the movement

Leg Extensions
1 x 20, 3 second pause at the top
1 x 20, heavier than previous set, 2 second pause at the top
1 x 20, heavier than previous set, 1 second pause at the top
3 x 20, heavier than previous set and take small jumps on each of the following sets, no pause at the top. Just pump out the reps.

Haven't gotten DOMS from a leg session like I did from this one in a long time.

4/12 - Bench

Incline DB Press
122's x 8
132's x 8
142's x 8 - PR
152's x 8 - PR

Floor Press w/ 3 chains per side
255 + chains x 6
265 + chains x 6
275 + chains x 6 x 2

Notes: Was supposed to bench, but my glute/SI joint was still pissed off at me from Monday's squat incident. Decided to take some pressure off my lower body and hit some floor presses. I rely a lot on my leg drive on bench presses and have relatively weak brute pressing strength, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to work on that. Haven't pressed against accommodating resistance as a main movement for some time, so these were refreshing. Just focused on the quality of the movement here and didn't chase weight on the bar.

Low Incline Pronated DB Flies w/ Mini Band around back
3 sets 15 reps, worked up the 40's on my final set

KB Side Laterals superset w/ Swing Burnouts
3 sets of 10 full range reps with a 32 lb kettlebell, then 10 partials to finish the medial delts off. Huge pump from these.

Cable Face Pulls
5 sets 15 reps, used 2 individual handles for these. I noticed got a fuller rear delt contraction from using the handles versus using a rope or a band.

Strip the Rack Barbell OHP Presses
5 sets 5 reps up to 205 lbs

4/13 - Deadlifts

Warmup:
Hard foam roll - IT band, adductors, low back, t-spine, psoas
Lacrosse ball - glute
McGill Big 3
PRI Breathing Drills

45 Degree Hyperextensions
3 sets of 30 reps, bodyweight only. HUGE pump from these and quite the burn too with just bodyweight.

Speed Deadlifts (Eleiko Bar, beltless)
Worked up to 501 with kilogram competition disks for 6 sets of 2, 1 minute rest periods.

Notes: All deadlifts will be done with the Eleiko competition kilogram disks from now on. My next planned meet will be done with the discs, and I've heard they change the feel of the pull slightly.

Single Arm Lat Pulldowns
4 sets 10 reps with light weight, focused on a hard squeeze at the contraction and a big stretch at the top of the movement.

Cambered Bar Bent Over Rows
5 sets 10 reps, worked up to 315 for my last set. Tried to keep the form as tight as possible with minimal body English.

Hanging Leg Raises
5 sets 15 reps

The glute/SI joint issue didn't bother me too badly after spending a little longer warming up and pre-exhausting with the 45 degree hyper. So far, coach Mastell's philosophy of having me focus on speed work and upper back volume to build my deadlift is doing its job at keeping my back healthy. I'm just not built to pull heavy too often.

4/15 - Leg Accessory

GHR's
BW x 15
BW + 1 mini band x 15 x 3 - controlled descent

Leg Extensions
6 x 10
superset with
Rear Foot Elevated KB Goblet Squats
6 x 10, worked up to the 108 lb KB. First time trying these and I really liked them, they will probably become a staple for my unilateral leg work.

Ab Wheel
5 x 10

4/16 - Bro Fest Saturday

Duffalo Bar Bench Press (feet up, close(r) grip)
4 sets of 8 reps, working up to 317 lbs on my last set

DB Twist Presses
4 sets 10 reps, working up to 95 lb dumbbells on my last set
superset with
Cable Crossovers
4 sets 20 reps

Dips w/ Chains around neck
3 sets to 1 rep before failure with 2 chainz around my neck. Leaning forward, trying to get the lower pecs involved.

Straight Bar Pushdowns
5 sets of 20 reps, 45 second rest period

Once again, I'm loving this high rep arm work.

Swiss Bar Curls
3 sets 10 reps with 105 lbs

Cable Rops Curls
4 sets 20 reps

All of the hypertrophy work is paying off. Bodyweight is sitting consistently above 235 in the mornings and am approaching 240 before bed nightly. 242's here I come!