Prep for - nothing, really.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Squat (Wave 3, Week 1)

Training Max - 220

Barbell Squat
45x5
90x5 (40%)
110x5 (50%)
135x3 (60%)
145x5 (65%)
165x5 (75%)
190x5 (85%)

45-Degree Back Raise
2xBWx15

Time was short so I didn't get a lot of accessory work in.  Squats were a little tougher than I was anticipating today - not sure if it's a poor recovery thing or because it was my first squat day with a texas bar instead of a commercial bar and it felt a little stiffer.  Not too worried either way, should be able to get some good rest this weekend so I can push next week up a notch.

Even though I didn't get any rep PR's this week (didn't even try for one except for Monday) I got some good quality work in and my accessory work went pretty well.  As long as I'm still hitting the base numbers then I'll consider it a success for the week.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Military Press (Wave 3, Week 2)

Medium Grip Military Press
50x5 (40%)
60x5 (50%)
70x3 (60%)
85x3 (70%)
95x3 (80%)
105x9 (90%) Rep PR
5x60x10 (40%)

Previous best was 105x8 so I picked up a rep.  Been fighting off a cold and haven't been sleeping much because both my boys have been sick so I was surprised I did that well this morning.

Band-Assisted Pullup
3x avg x13

Band Pressdown
2x light x20

Backing off my accessory volume just a bit, I think my back isn't getting enough of a chance to recover from workout to workout because it's getting hit pretty much every training day.  I'll add more sets back when I start getting adjusted to it.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Deadlift (Wave 3, Week 2)

Deadlift
130x5 (40%) DOH
165x5 (50%) DOH
195x3 (60%) DOH
230x3 (70%)
260x3 (80%)
295x12 (90%) PR

Reps were touch-and-go but who gives a shit, it was a ton of work and it sure wasn't easy.  Called it a day after that, took me about 10 minutes to catch my breath and at that point it felt like doing more work would do more harm than good, so I took a nice personal record and packed up my shit.

[Zach Trowbridge]

Yesterday:

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Bench Press (Wave 3, Week 2)

Medium Grip Bench Press
45x10
75x5 (40%)
95x5 (50%)
115x3 (60%)
130x3 (70%)
150x3 (80%)
170x9 (90%)

Close-Grip Bench Press
4x130x10 (40%)
130x9 (40%)

1-Arm DB Row
3x70x10

Hammer Curl
2x27.5x12

Not the best bench workout I've ever had.  Felt like I should have gotten 1 or 2 more reps on my last regular bench set, but felt like I was losing my setup about halfway through.  Having more trouble maintaining setup on the bench for rep work than for any other main lift.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Squat (Wave 3, Week 2)

Warmup - SMR/stretch/jump rope

Squat
45x10
90x5 (40%)
110x5 (50%)
135x3 (60%)
155x3 (70%)
180x3 (80%) (w/ belt)
200x6 (90%) Rep PR (w/ belt)
5x125x10 (w/ belt)

Estimated max isn't much higher than some other PR's but I haven't hit 6 with 200 yet, especially not as deep as I got.  5x10 felt kind of shitty, my belt kept riding up on me and the shorts I was wearing kept snagging on my knees on the way down, so with every rep it kept pulling my shorts a little lower and a little lower.  Pretty sure the full moon was out by the time the 10th reps were rolling around.

45-Degree Back Raise
3xBWx15

TKE's
2x avg x10

Knees are feeling it a bit from all the deep squatting so I need to add just a little prehab throughout the week to keep them healthy. 

[Zach Trowbridge]

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Military Press (Wave 3, Week 3)

Warmup - ankle jumps/DeFranco's Agile 8/pec & lat stretching

Medium Grip Military Press
45x10
50x5 (40%)
60x5 (50%)
70x3 (60%)
90x5 (75%)
100x3 (85%)
110x1 (95%)
5x60x10 (50%)

Didn't feel up to doing any extra reps so just did what I had to do.  I think I'm also going to keep the weights on the 5x10's at 50% of the training max for each cycle and then it will just go up a few pounds every cycle or two.

Band-Assisted Pullup
3x light x6

Band Pressdown
light x25
light x20

DB External Rotation
2x5x12

Upper body flexibility/mobility work

Some interesting observations - I was filming some stuff for my clients this weekend on fixing posture issues and in the process discovered a shitload of my own problems.  In a few videos I found the following:

-forward head lean
-kyphosis
-elevated scapulae
-internally rotated humerus
-anterior pelvic tilt
-exaggerated posterior pelvic tilt when squatting below parallel
-internally rotated femur
-collapsing arch of the foot

Jesus jumping christ, what am I doing training people when I'm a walking bag of busted dog balls?

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Deadlift (Wave 3, Week 3)

Warmup - ankle jumps/agile 8/neck & trap stretching

Double-Overhand Deadlift
130x5 (40%)
165x5 (50%)
195x3 (60%)
245x5 (75%)
280x3 (85%) (w/ belt)
310x8 (95%) (over/under grip w/ belt) Rep PR
5x165x10 (50%)

Felt great to hit 8 reps with a weight that was heavier than my opener at the USPF meet last April.  Estimated max is 392 based on those numbers so 400+ should be a go for end of January.  Probably could have hit 9 or 10 but the bar got away from me on the 2nd rep and it took me a few reps to get my groove back.

DB Side Bend
3x55x10

Nautilus Leg Press
2x90x20

Some hip and glute flexibility and mobility stuff

[Zach Trowbridge]

[Zach Trowbridge]

Thursday - 5/3/1 Bench Press (Wave 3, Week 3)

Warmup - ankle jumps/pec & lat stretching

Medium Grip Bench Press
45x10
70x5 (40%)
90x5 (50%)
110x3 (60%)
140x5 (75%)
160x3 (85%)
180x6 (95%)

Close-Grip Bench Press
5x90x10 (50%)

Kroc Row
50x10
80x17

Hammer Curl
2x30x10

Today - 5/3/1 Squat (Wave 3, Week 3)

Warmup - ankle jumps/Agile 8

Barbell Squat
45x10
90x5 (40%)
110x5 (50%)
135x3 (60%)
165x5 (75%)
190x3 (85%)
210x1 (95%)
5x110x10 (50%)

Weights felt fine, just didn't feel like pushing the squats hard today.  Got my required work in and that was about it.

45-degree Back Raise
3xBWx15

TKE's
2x avg x10

upper and lower back foam rolling

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Military Press (Wave 3, Week 4)

Deload week

Warmup
400 ankle jumps - 100 double leg, 50 left, 50 right, 100 double, 50 left, 50 right
Deisel Crew 2-minute shoulder warmup x2

Medium Grip Military Press
45x50
50x5 (40%)
60x5 (50%)
70x5 (60%)
5x60x10 (50%)

Focusing on keeping my elbows tight and not flaring with the lighter weights, feels a little stronger this way and puts more work on my triceps.

Band-Assisted Pullups
3x light x6

Band Pressdown
4x light x15

another Deisel Crew 2-minute shoulder warmup for a cool-down
upper & lower back foam rolling
shoulder tennis ball work

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Deadlift (Wave 3, Week 4)

Warmup
400 ankle jumps - 100 double leg, 50 left, 50 right, 100 double, 50 left, 50 right
DeFranco's Agile 8

Double-Overhand Deadlift
130x5 (40%)
165x5 (50%)
195x5 (60%)
5x165x10 (50%)

DB Side Bend
3x55x12

Nautilus Leg Press
2x100x20

Outline for the next training cycle:

Military Press - training max at 120, no plans to push the rep work at all this cycle
Deadlift - training max at 330, only goal is 315x10 the 3rd week of the cycle, which would be roughly 2 weeks out from the Jan. 30 push/pull
Bench Press - training max at 190, will probably take a max of 2 attempts at rep PR's through the cycle
Squat - leaving training max at 220 since I'm adding in power cleans prior to squats for this cycle, would like to go 190x10 the first week
Power Clean - setting my training max at 135, way below what I can do.  Using these only for CNS activation, no extra reps other than what's prescribed for these

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Bench Press & Squat (Wave 3, Week 4)

Warmup
400 ankle jumps - 100 double leg, 50 left, 50 right, 100 double, 50 left, 50 right
IT band and adductor foam rolling
Deisel Crew 2-minute shoulder complex

Medium Grip Bench Press
45x10
75x5 (40%)
95x5 (50%)
115x5 (60%)

superset w/ Barbell Shrug
4x95x15

Barbell Squat
45x10
90x5 (40%)
110x5 (50%)
135x5 (60%)

Had to jam 2 days of deload into one due to the holidays, which wasn't hard.  It all took about 35 minutes to get through.  Ready to get back at it Monday.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Military Press (Wave 4, Week 1)

Warmup
400 ankle jumps - 100 double leg, 50 left, 50 right, 100 double, 50 left, 50 right
Diesel Crew 2- minute shoulder complex

Medium Grip Military Press
45x10
50x5 (40%)
60x5 (50%)
75x3 (60%)
80x5 (65%)
90x5 (75%)
105x10 (85%) Rep PR
5x60x10

Band-Assisted Pullup
3x light x7

Band Pressdown
4x light x15

Diesel Crew 2-minute shoulder complex
low back & IT band foam rolling

Nice to end the last session of military press for the year on a high note.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Deadlift (Wave 4, Week 1)

Training Max - 330

Warmup
400 ankle jumps - 100 double leg, 50 left, 50 right, 100 double, 50 left, 50 right
DeFranco's Agile 8

Deadlift (all sets double-overhand, no belt)
135x5 (40%)
165x5 (50%)
200x3 (60%)
215x5 (65%)
250x5 (75%)
285x5 (85%)
5x165x10 (50%)

The hardest part of the deadlifts was holding onto 285 with a double-overhand grip.  Other than that it was pretty straightforward work.

DB Side Bend
3x55x15

Felt my fat rolls bunching up doing these.  Not sure if I should be depressed or privileged.

Nautilus Leg Press
2x110x20

400 ankle jumps x2

[Zach Trowbridge]

Forgot to post this last week when I found out, but I got a job offer at a small strength and conditioning studio in Chicago so I'll be moving out of Sacramento the first week in February. It'll put me a lot closer to our families so my wife and I will actually be able to have a life that doesn't revolve 24/7 around the boys. It also comes with a roughly $15k payraise which is a nice bonus. So I'll do the Lift Strong meet at the end of January and then jump in a car a day or two later and haul all my shit 2000 miles across the country.

[Stubborn]

Congrats!!! Hope you dont miss CA as much as I do.

[Zach Trowbridge]

[11venthhour]

congrats on the move and the steady progress!

[Zach Trowbridge]

Thanks guys.  I'm actually looking forward to the move so far.

5/3/1 Bench Press (Wave 4, Week 1)

Training Max - 190

Warmup
400 ankle jumps - 100 double leg, 50 left, 50 right, 100 double, 50 left, 50 right
Diesel Crew 2-minute shoulder warmup

Medium Grip Bench Press
45x10
80x5 (40%)
95x5 (50%)
115x3 (60%)
125x5 (65%)
145x5 (75%)
165x10 (85%)
5x95x10 (50%)

My rep PR with 165 is 11, and I was hoping to beat that by a few today.  Just didn't happen, and it pissed me off a bit.  From the video I got it looks like I might be touching a little higher than I should, it puts my wrists behind my elbows and I think is overworking my triceps.  Need to hit a more consistent groove on the higher-rep sets.  Also stopped doing close-grip for my 5x10's and am just staying with my regular bench grip for that very reason.

Kroc Row
50x10
85x13

These sucked, was aiming for at least 15.  Upper back is a big problem for me and it's limiting all 4 of my big lifts.

DB Hammer Curl
2x30x12

[Zach Trowbridge]

Just noticed that my new job in Chicago is about 3 blocks from Quad's Gym on the northside.  Just need to find a way to convince the wife that it's worth it to work at one gym and pay dues to another one.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Power Clean/Squat (Wave 4, Week 1)

Clean training max - 155
Squat training max - 220

Warmup
400 ankle jumps
Agile 8

Power Clean
45x10
65x5 (40%)
80x5 (50%)
95x3 (60%)
105x5 (65%)
120x5 (75%)
135x5 (85%)

Going to go probably 2-3 cycles doing cleans first as it's recommended.  If I don't notice a benefit to my squat then I'll either try them as the 2nd lift or pull them out.  They didn't seem to hurt my squats much other than just tiring me out a little more than I'm used to.

Squat
45x10
90x5 (40%)
110x5 (50%)
135x3 (60%)
145x5 (65%)
165x5 (75%)
190x5 (85%)
5x110x10 (50%)

Glute and lower back stretching

Felt like my form wasn't great on the squats today - cut a couple of the last set high and had a hard time keeping my lower back arched at the bottom.  Glutes and lower back still felt a little tight from Tuesday so I'm sure I just haven't been doing enough flexibility and mobility stuff to recover properly.  Trying to get in the habit of doing some every day.

[Zach Trowbridge]

5/3/1 Military Press (Wave 4, Week 2)

Warmup
400 ankle jumps
Diesel Crew 2-minute shoulder warmup

Medium Grip Military Press
45x10
50x5 (40%)
60x5 (50%)
75x3 (60%)
85x3 (70%)
100x3 (80%)
110x3 (90%)
5x60x10 (50%)

I think that might be a military press PR if for no other reason than I've never done them as a primary movement for lower reps before.  Had at least a few more in the tank but am not in the mood to be taking my pressing movements past the required reps right now.  I think it's putting too much demand on my shoulders to recover and they're feeling it, and not in a good way.  Will probably just go for one pressing PR (military or bench) per cycle for the next 1-2 cycles and see if that helps any.

Band-Assisted Pullup
3x light x7

Band Pressdown
4x light x15

Diesel Crew shoulder rehab circuit #1
DB Retraction - 10x15
DB Protraction - 10x15
Posterior Capsule Stretch - 15 reps/side

Shoulder rehab stuff wasn't hard, just a little awkward.  I've heard good stuff about it though so I'm willing to work it in.

[Zach Trowbridge]

Yesterday - 5/3/1 Deadlift (Wave 4, Week 2)

Warmup
400 ankle jumps
Agile 8

Deadlift
135x5 (40%)
165x5 (50%)
195x3 (60%)
235x3 (70%)
265x3 (80%)
300x3 (90%) (w/ belt)
5x165x10 (50%)

Everything was double-overhand except the 300.  Glutes and back are still feeling kind of tight, thinking I need to get some ART done before the meet to loosen the area up a bit.

DB Side Bend
3x60x10

Nautilus Leg Press
2x130x20

Diesel Crew Circuit #2
DB Cuban Rotation - 5x15
Band Ext. Rotation - mini x15
Band Pullapart - mini x15
Band Dislocates - mini x15
Band Presses - mini x15