"Gains on the horizon." : Jacob's Training Log

Hi erybody! My name is Jacob Sikorski and I am a sophomore at this fine University of ours. I should probably talk a little about myself. I am currently studying Informatics with a Music cognate (basically studying audio production and sound design, hoping to work with live sound in the future). I have been lifting regularly for about 5 years, all through high school I was an athlete without being good at any particular sport. My has also spent a lot of time teaching me the way of being the biggest guy in the room, you could say I was his young padawan.

Anyways, I'm just now getting around to making a training log here because of the Magni mock meet. I now have some solid numbers to work from. As of now I am, kind of, following the normal starting strength program. I just follow what lifts to do on a certain day, not really following any load percentages. I'm just trying to increase my weight by a little bit whenever I get to the gym. If anyone has any recommendations for programs I'm all ears.

EDIT:
Realized I did not put in my current PRs as of December 8th 2014:
Squat: 305
Bench: 175
Deadlift: 355

first

December 8th Training Sesh:

This is going to be a long week with school so I ended up missing the official training session. I just ended up having a solo sesh at the Field House. Since this week is after the mock meet, I'm kind of deloading and taking it easy.

Squat:
Warm up sets
3x3 @ 205

Bench:
Warm up sets
3x3 @ 135

Accessory stretching at the end.

December 10th Training:

Another day of low volume. Also pressured with time cuz apparently this secret gym closes at 9, so I only had a half hour. Really had an off day and wasn't feeling the best.

Dead Lift:
Warm Ups
275 x 3

Bench:
145 x 3

December 12th Training:

Final serious lift before finals week. Bar placement for squat was brought to my attention my Dalton, the bar is ridiculously low on my back and that needs to be fixed.

Squat:
Warm Ups
2x5 @ 243 lbs
1x3 @ same weight

Bench:
Warm Ups
3x3 @ 155 lbs

Pull Ups

December 19th Post Finals Week Lift:

Not-so serious lift after the gainless week that was finals. No impressive lifts but I am going to start Texas Method over break.

Dead Lift:
Warm ups
3x5 @ 295

Bench:
Warm ups
3x5 @ 135

I'm trying to do bench a little more often as that is my weakest lift, and I didn't use a lot of weight because I was by mahself. #PovertyBench

December 22nd Training Sesh

Worked up to a heavy double on squat and staying the course with bench until Friday when I work up to a heavy 5RM on all three lifts going into Texas method.

Sqwaat:
Warm ups
2 reps @ 275

Bench:
Warm ups
3x5 @ 135 (pretty easy and pretty fast)

December 24th

I feel like I'm in a deficit or I've lost some progress over the past week or so. I tend to not lift as well when I'm at home so that may be part of it. Deadlift in particular is struggling. My heavy weight today was a real struggle and I couldn't get to what I wanted. I hoped for 330ish but I could only get 315.

DL:
Warm up
2 reps @ 315

OH Press:
2 reps @ 105

Did some tinkering with very light sumo DL @ 135. Not sure how I feel about that, the leverages feel a lot different (you don't say?) but I can't tell if I like it more than conventional or not.

December 26th

Feeling a lot better and had a really good feeling lift. Today was the "first" day of Texas method where I work up to a 5RM on all three main lifts in order to get a starting point for the sesh on Monday where I do 70-80% of today's maxes.

I also got some loot for Christmas, I got a pair of oly/lifting/squatting shoes. These are a game changer. The elevated heel felt great and the stability was awesome. I used these on squat and deadlift today. I'm probably going to be switching between my flat Chucks and these for a while to see which I prefer.

Squat:
Warm ups
245 x 5 (felt good so kept going)
255 x5 (new 5RM and will be basing my first week off of this)

Bench:
Warm ups
145 x 5 (felt good, got all the reps with decent speed but I still got poverty bench so this is my 5RM)

DL:
Warm ups
280 x 5 (these were real grinders, but form kept good for all the reps, I used my oly shoes in this lift and the lifts were all fast and smooth)

I also got some Titan Titanium knee wraps for Christmas (thank you Santa) and wanted to try them out so I worked up to a 275 single. Hit good depth and was smooth the entire way up (except a little about halfway to 2/3 of the way up). This wasn't a big overload because of the max out but it felt really good. I may be working in some light overloading every few weeks to get the feel for wraps.

I have videos that I will link once I get not so lazy and put them up.

First usage of wraps here.

December 29th (Posted day after)

FIRST OFFICIAL WORKING DAY ON TEXAS METHOD

Texas Method called to do Squat, Bench and Deadlift on this day. Alotta volume on squat and bench and it really got to me on bench and I really wasn't able to get all of the reps.

But here was my work:

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 90
1x3 @ 135
1x2 @ 180
5x5 @ 230 (work sets)

Bench:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 65
1x3 @ 90
1x2 @ 120
5x5 @ 135 (wasn't able to get all of the reps on the last couple sets)

Deadlift:
2x5 @ 110
1x3 @ 165
1x2 @ 265
1x5 @ 280 (had me do my previous 5RM, not sure why but I did it)

So with bench I may have to incorporate some tricep work (floor press and the like) on my light days (Wednesdays), at the end of benching my triceps were gassed and really couldn't push the bar up the last half of the rep.

December 31st

Light day Wednesday. Middle day to recover from heavy reps on Mondays and prep for new 5RM on Fridays. OH Press is a pain in the ass to put it simply. I may have done something wrong in mah spreadsheet and I was working with weight that I can't comfortably do at 3x5 (more like 1x5) so I changed some stuff up in the spreadsheet that calculates the weights. I also worked in some flor press to really work my triceps which I think is the real limiting factor on bench and OH press.

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 70
1x3 @ 105
1x2 @ 140
2x5 @ 180

OH Press:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 50
1x3 @ 65
1x2 @ 80
3x5 @ 95 (didn't hit all of the reps on 2nd and 3rd set mostly because I'm supposed to be doing my 5x5 weight and not my 1x5 weight oops)

Accessory:
Back Ext 5x10 (didn't have a way to back ext so I had to do supermans on an abmatt)
Chin ups 3xFail (10, 6, 8 respectively)
Floor press worked up to 3x10 @ 95

January 2nd

Heavy day in Texas Method, not fun. Well a lot of fun, but it was a grinder.

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 100
1x3 @ 150
1x2 @ 200
1x5 @ 255 (working weight, same 5RM from last week)

Bench:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 75
1x3 @ 110
1x2 @ 145
1RM @ 165 (holy crap that was a grinder REALLY REALLY SLOW)

Power Clean (yes I did an oly lift, plz don't hurt me):
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 75
1x3 @ 100
1x2 @ 120
5x3 @ 145

I may change the programming a little and do a 1RM for one lift on Fridays like the program has me do for bench sometimes. I'm not sure how good of an idea this is so I may just leave the programming as is.

January 5th

Not so detailed because I am in bed and don't want to get up to get the paper that has my weights on it.

Sqwaat:
Warm ups
5x5 @ 255

OH Press:
Warm ups
5x5 @ 85

Deadlift:
Warm ups
1x5 @ 285

Oh Press was a grinder like usual, I set up my spreadsheet wrong and now the weights are all correct.

January 9th

Heavy day of the week

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 100
1x3 @ 155
1x2 @ 205
1x5 @ 260 (really slow but I got all the reps)

OH Press:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 55
1x3 @ 70
1x2 @ 85
1x1 @ 105 (went up surprisingly easy, I've never hit this weight before so this is a PR for me )

Power Clean:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 80
1x3 @ 100
1x2 @ 125
5x3 @ 150 (according to plans, I was supposed to do 147.5 but I don't have and 1.25lb plates)

January 12th

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 95
1x3 @ 140
1x2 @ 190
5x5 @ 240

Bench:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 65
1x3 @ 95
1x2 @ 125
5x5 @ 140 (wasn't able to get all reps on the last two sets, bench is consistent, consistently bad)

Deadlift:
2x5 @ 115
1x3 @ 170
1x2 @ 245
1x5 @ 290

January 14th

Light/Recovery Day

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 75
1x3 @ 110
1x2 @ 150
2x5 @ 190

OH Press:
2x5 @ 45
1x3 @ 60
1x2 @ 70
3x5 @ 90

Back Extension 3x10
Chin ups 3 x Fail (7, 6, 6)
Floor Press 3 x 10 @ 110

January 16th

Heavy Day

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 105
1x3 @ 155
1x2 @ 210
1x5 @ 265 (dat was a nice set, a little slower than I would like but felt solid)

Bench:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 80
1x3 @ 110
1x2 @ 140
2RM @ 160 (1RM from 2 weeks ago felt really solid, again not fast but felt really good)

Power Clean:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 95 (supposed to be 85 but used 95 to pull from floor)
1x3 @ 105
1x2 @ 135 (supposed to be 130 but 5lb increments are boss)
5x3 @ 155 (meh, got advice from a fellow at the FH to keep my ass down, it shoots up too fast and I have trouble getting under the bar)

Solid hoisting session

January 20th

Starting to lift on Tue, Thu and Sat. This works better with my schedule because I only have one class on those days. But, I had to wait another day and I really wasn't in the groove. It was a grinder day a lot of my lifts were more difficult than I anticipated.

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 95
1x3 @ 145
1x2 @ 190
5x5 @ 245 (dat volume tho, it really got to me)

OH Press:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 50
1x3 @ 60
1x2 @ 75
5x3 @ 95 (supposed to be 5x5 but I wasn't able to get all 5 reps in so I just made it a 5x3)

Deathlift:
2x5 @ 115
1x3 @ 175
1x2 @ 250
1x5 @ 295 (this was UGLY, my back was rounded on a couple of them and the last rep "looked downright painful")

January 22nd

"Active Recovery Day"

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 75
1x3 @ 110
1x2 @ 150
2x5 @ 190

Bench:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 60
1x3 @ 85
1x2 @ 110
3x5 @ 125

Back Extension -> 5x10
Chin ups -> 3xFail (6 all around)
Floor Press -> 3x10 @ 100
Curls (you don't need to know the weight )

January 24th

Heavy DAYYYYYYYY
Heavy work day of the week. Overall very good session and a lot of solid movements.

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 105
1x3 @ 160
1x2 @ 215
1x5 @ 270 (solid, kind of slow but solid)

OH Press:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 55
1x3 @ 70
1x2 @ 85
1x2 @ 105 (actually felt pretty easy and moved really well)

Power Clean:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 95 (supposed to do 85 but I wanted to get the bumpers on right away)
1x3 @ 135
1x2 @ 150
5x3 @ 160 (concentrated on going into a front squat during the movement, I felt like the weight moved a lot better since I was able to get under it better)

THREW IN SOME OVERLOAD SQUATS CUZ I WANTED TO
Wrapped up to do some heavy singles, no PRs but feelsgoodman

1 @ 275
1 @ 300

I may incorporate some squat overloads like this on my heavy days. I have an extra rest day until I lift next (giving me more time to recover) and the volume isn't as intense as on the first day.

January 27th

Volume Day

Squat:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 95
1x3 @ 145
1x2 @ 195
5x5 @ 250 (I hate volume because of this)

Bench:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 70
1x3 @ 100
1x2 @ 130
5x5 @ 145 (ended up being sets of 5, 4, 3, 2, 3 (thank you girls gymnastics team for motivation on last set ))

Deadlift (Sumo):
1x5 @ 135
1x3 @ 185
1x3 @ 225
1x5 @ 275

May start building up sumo deadlift for a while. I find that it takes a lot of pressure off my lower back and focuses it on different muscles (obvsly). DL has been a real struggle having it on the same day as super squat volume so using a different technique may be beneficial. On trial run for now.

Trained in a hoodie. 10/10 will do every single time.

Last heavy day of the 6 week cycle. Overall I really like this style of training with that amount of volume and weight increases. I will be doing a week of 1RM and PRs on my main lifts going into the next cycle.

Feb 7th

Squats:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 110
1x3 @ 165
1x2 @ 225
1x5 @ 280 (meh. was kinda slow but I got all the reps pretty good)

OH Press:
2x5 @ 45
1x5 @ 60
1x3 @ 75
1x2 @ 90
1x3 @ 100

Clean:
3x3 @ 170

OVERLOAD WRAPPED SQUAT:
225 x 1
295 w/ wraps x 1
315 w/ wraps x 1 (wasn't even that slow, overall felt really good)

TESTING WEEK Day 1

Squat 1RM testing. Since I finished my first 6 weeks on Texas method I decided to take this week and test my progress.

Ended up working up to 325lbs. Booty started going up faster than the rest of me but it wasn't like a good morning or anything. Decided to call it good for the sake of my form.

Did some drop sets on front squat (I willingly chose front squat idk whats wrong with me):
3x3 @ 185

Then I just did some pull ups for good measure.

My knee has been bothering me as of late and today it was starting to impede with my lifting. I'm having some pain along the bottom of my knee cap, probably from squatting 3 days a week. I'm considering knee sleeves to help with this but I'm not sure what is good and worth getting. Any help would be appreciated.

TESTING WEEK DAY 2

Bench 1RM tessting. no improvement. very disappointing.

Bench:
Warmups
165 x 1
175 (failed twice)

Back squat (done to check form):
worked up to 2x5 @ 225

Dead hang pull ups 3x5

Deload week.
post testing week decided to do a deload week. DL max didn't go as well as I would've liked and missed 365 (only hit my sumo around 335-345ish so a little below conventional DL) so meh.

As of today (Tuesday Feb 18th) I GOT MY FREAKING INZER BELT IN! It only took like 9 weeks to get here....

Rep scheme is pretty similar to a normal week just lighter weight

Squat:
warm ups
5x5 @ 225

OH Press:
warmup
3x5 @ 75 (poverty)

cable chest flys (lol bodybuilder)
> doing this to work on sticking at the bottom of my bench press which I believe to be a weakness in my chest.