Metaldrummer's Journal

[metaldrummer]

January 31st 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

DE Bench
(About 1 min rest between sets.)

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 4
125 x 3
115 x 3
115 x 3
115 x 3
115 x 3
115 x 3

DE Box Squats
(About 1 1/2 min rest between sets.)

(Warm-up, no box.)
Bar x 8
85 x 6
135 x 4

(Low box)
175 x 3
205 x 3 (Not feeling dynamic. lol)
185 x 3
185 x 3
175 x 3
175 x 3
175 x 3
135 x 4 (Paused

Bar x 7

Pull-ups

Bw x 1 , x 1, x 1 (Just experimenting with singles with 30 second rest. lol)

Hang for 30+ seconds

More dislocates and foam rolling

Holy s*** nothing is recovered from Monday. Squats went better than bench, but apparently right now nothing is used to being trained multiple days per week. I ended up cutting the supposed DE bench short 2 sets because everything was way too sore. I'm also feeling like I might have a bit of a borderline injury in the left side of my shoulder/collarbone area. For bench I might have to figure out a better way of easing into twice a week, but right now I'm just hoping I don't have an actual injury. I'm pretty sure I was already having some nagging issues in the area before I did ME bench Monday. Hopefully trying to bench today didn't make things even worse.

Body weight: 169.2 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr

 

[metaldrummer]

February 2nd 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

OHP

Bar x 8
75 x 5
105 x 4
120 x 1
135 x 1
140 x 0 (f***)
120 x 2 (Wtf)

105 x 4 (This was actually after DB shoulders.)

Seated DB Shoulder Press

55's x 4
55's x 4

Squats

65 x 7
95 x 5
135 x 4
175 x 3
215 x 2
245 x 4
245 x 4
245 x 3 + 2
205 x 5

DB Rows

70 x 8
70 x 7

Pull-ups

BW x 2, x 2, x 2

Wide Grip Assisted Pull-ups

8 Setting x 5
9 Setting x 6 + 2

DB Shrugs

70's x 8
65's x 10

Leg Extensions

155 x 8
155 x 8

Hamstring Curls

155 x 8
175 x 6 + 2

Hang for 30 + seconds

More dislocates and foam rolling

Yeah not happy with shoulders at all even tho I did hit 5lbs under my max. I think it's because I benched again Wednesday and nothing was recovered, but still. Squats pretty much went as planned as usual. I was going to do some grip work like barbell holds, but I felt like I ended up doing enough with rows, pull-ups, etc. I did succeed in squatting 3 days this week and benching twice, but I don't even feel like counting Wednesday as a DE effort because it felt so horrible. Getting about 5 hrs of sleep probably didn't help anything today either. Next week will be squat twice and deadlift Friday. As far as bench who the hell knows.

Body weight: 168.4 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

 

[metaldrummer]

February 5th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 2
190 x 1
205 x 0 (Fuckin hell)
165 x 3 (WTF)

Squats

Bar x 8
85 x 5
135 x 4
175 x 3
215 x 2
250 x 1
275 x 2
275 x 2
275 x 2 (Thought about racking after the first rep but decided to grind another rep out. lol)
225 x 6 (6rm tie)
85 x 6

Barbell Curls

90 x 6
90 x 6

Skullcrushers

80 x 8
80 x 7

DB Tricep Extensions

35 x 7, x 5 + 2
30 x 12, x 10 + 3

DB Curls

45 x 6, x 4 + 2
40 x 7, x 7

Barbell x 10

Hang for 30+ seconds

More dislocates and foam rolling

IDK wtf is going on with upper. Something' s messed up in my left shoulder/collarbone. Ever since a good bench session last Monday things have gone straight to hell. I should NOT be struggling with 165. Squats went good as usual tho so maybe I'll just quit everything else and only do squats and deadlifts since everything else sucks. Plan on hitting 3 wheels sometime in the next 2 months.

Body weight: 168.8 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

 

[Spartan Agoge]

You just need more recovery. I am 100% sure, as it has happened to me several times.

 

[metaldrummer]

You just need more recovery. I am 100% sure, as it has happened to me several times.

It's possible, but I just literally had 9 days off from everything a little over 2 weeks ago and I'm currently feeling pretty good about everything else besides pressing. Do you think I'm doing too much for upper body? I guess I might be but I really don't know. Whatever it is it's not fair. lol

 

[Spartan Agoge]

Whatever it is it's not fair. lol

I feel exactly the same way. But, I have learned(the hard way) that if you constantly get over your recovery capacities, deload weeks won't save you.

Try to cycle the volume. Or, even better build the volume for a certain weight and then increase the weight and reduce the volume. For example:

Week 1: 3x3 100kg
Week 2: 4x3 100kg
Week 3: 5x3 100kg
Week 4: 6x3 100kg
Week 5: 3x3 105kg
etc...

I always have good results when I do it. You can even do it with ascending sets.

 

[metaldrummer]

I feel exactly the same way. But, I have learned(the hard way) that if you constantly get over your recovery capacities, deload weeks won't save you.

Try to cycle the volume. Or, even better build the volume for a certain weight and then increase the weight and reduce the volume. For example:

Week 1: 3x3 100kg
Week 2: 4x3 100kg
Week 3: 5x3 100kg
Week 4: 6x3 100kg
Week 5: 3x3 105kg
etc...

I always have good results when I do it. You can even do it with ascending sets.

Yeah that makes sense. Maybe I should just suck it up and run a program at least for bench. Lol

 

[metaldrummer]

February 7th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

DE Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 4
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 1 (Paused/stretch)

DE Box Squats
(Low box)

Bar x 8
85 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
65 x 5 (No box)

Hang for 1 minute (Current max. lol I probably could've held it for a few more if I had to.)

More dislocates and foam rolling

Really weird... This went a lot better than the last DE effort for bench. Idk wtf was going on last week but I felt like I was gonna pull something on the second day. Today I was able to actually get all of my reps in and felt pretty much fine other than slowing down a little bit on the last sets. Maybe my body just needs to get used to benching twice in a week, idk. lol Something's still a bit wonky in my collarbone area but I'm just gonna ignore it unless there's pain, which there isn't really. Squats went fine as usual, although I probably went a little bit heavy on the first sets. Friday will be OHP and deadlifts, and then heavy squats again on Monday. I want to get my squat up to 315 and deadlift to 365 or so within 2 months or less.

Body weight: 169.2 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 20 mins (Everything took a bit longer because someone was working in with me on squats and probably too much socializing. lol)

 

[metaldrummer]

February 9th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

OHP

Bar x 8
75 x 6
95 x 4
120 x 2
145 x 0 (I probably shouldn't have went for this today but whatever. lol)
130 x 2
130 x 2
130 x 2

Seated DB Shoulder Press

55's x 6 (Current 6rm)
55's x 4 + 2

Deadlifts

135 x 6 d/o
185 x 4 d/o
225 x 3 d/o
260 x 1 left over, right under
295 x 1 right over, left under
325 x 1 left over, right under
355 x 0 right over, left under (Broke to about knees but stalled.)
315 x 2 right over, left under? (Current 2rm. Was going for 3 but not today.)
285 x 5 left over, right under (Current 5rm)
175 x 6 snatch grip

Pull-ups
(About 1 min rest between sets.)

BW x 2, x 2, x 2

Wide Grip Assisted Pull-ups

8 Setting x 4 + 2

Hamstring Curls

155 x 8

More dislocates and foam rolling

This went better than last OHP session. Also hit 2 rep maxes for deadlifts so I guess I shouldn't complain. Probably would've hit some db rows and shrugs but I ran out of time.

Body weight: 168.4 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 40 mins

 

[metaldrummer]

February 12th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 5
135 x 4
165 x 2 (Paused)
185 x 3 (2 paused, 1 TNG.)
185 x 3 (3 TNG)
185 x 2 (1 paused, 1 TNG. Current rep/set max.)
165 x 4 (Paused)

Squats

Bar x 8
85 x 6
135 x 4
175 x 3
225 x 2
265 x 3 (3rm tie.)
265 x 3 (Current rep/set max.)
265 x 3 (New current rep/set max. Lol)
225 x 6 (Probably had at least 2 more, but I didn't feel like pushing it. )

Skullcrushers

85 x 7 (Current 7rm?)
85 x 5

Barbell Curls

95 x 6
90 x 6 + 1

DB Tricep Extensions

35 x 8 right, x 7 + 2 left (Rep maxes for both arms?)
35 x 7 right, x 5 + 3 left (Rep/set maxes. Usually I would drop down to 30's this set.)
30 x 13 right, x 11 + 3 left

DB Curls

45 x 5 right, x 5 left
40 x 7 right, x 7 + 1 left

Barbell x 13

Hang for 30+ seconds

More dislocates and foam rolling

Pretty much got all my reps this session so I can't complain. I would've liked to get one more rep on the last set of 185 for bench, but it's still a rep/set max. I'm glad I stuck with 185 tho because I almost dropped down to 175 after the first set. Also hammered my triceps good. Squats went good as usual. We'll see how DE bench goes Wednesday after this along with DE squats.

Body weight: 169.2 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

3rd set of 265 x 3 (I'm happy with this depth and the fact that I'm hitting the same depth for pretty much all reps.)

February 12, 2024

3rd set 265 x 3

www.youtube.com

 

[metaldrummer]

February 14th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

DE Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 4
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
125 x 3
125 x 3 + 1 (Stretch/pause)

DE Box Squats
(Low box)

Bar x 8
85 x 6
135 x 4
175 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
175 x 3
175 x 3
175 x 3
155 x 3 (Paused for 2+ secs)
Bar x 8 (No box)

DB Cuban Press

25's x 6

More dislocates and foam rolling

Nothing's feeling very dynamic today but still put in work. lol

Body weight: 170.6 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr

 

[metaldrummer]

February 16th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

OHP

Bar x 8
75 x 5
95 x 4
120 x 2
135 x 2 (Current 2rm)
135 x 1 (Failed second rep about midway. )
125 x 3
125 x 3

Seated DB Shoulder Press

60's x 3 (Current 3rm)
60's x 3 (Current 3rm tie.)

Barbell 85 x 6 (Drop-set or something. lol)

Squats

Bar x 8
85 x 7
135 x 5
175 x 3
210 x 2
225 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5 (Current 5rm)
155 x 4 (2 second or so pause at bottom.)

Pull-ups
(About 1 min rest between sets.)

BW x 3, x 2, x 2

Face Pulls

20 lbs x Don't know someone was showing me these. lol

DB Rows

75 x 6 (Current 6rm)
75 x 5 + 3

Wide Grip Assisted Pull-ups

7 Setting x 4
8 Setting x 4 + 2

DB Shrugs

70's x 10 (Current 10rm or tie?)
65's x 12 (Current 12rm)

More dislocates and foam rolling

This went well... Only missed one rep on OHP which I made up for with DB shoulder press 2 x 3 with the 60's which is the most I've done weight wise. I got bored with 225 on squats so decided to hit 245 x 5 for the last set. lol That probably would've been too much for 3 sets of 5 but it was a good finishing working set.

Body weight: 169.8 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

 

[metaldrummer]

February 19th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 5
135 x 4
165 x 2
195 x 2 (Right foot moved sideways on the second rep.)
195 x 1
195 x 1
165 x 5 (Paused)

Squats

Bar x 8
85 x 6
135 x 5
175 x 3
225 x 2
260 x 1
285 x 2
285 x 2
285 x 2
290 x 1
245 x 5

Barbell Curls

95 x 6
90 x 6

DB Tricep Extensions

40 x 5 right, x 4 + 1 left (Current pr, was hurting my elbow a bit tho.)

V-Bar Tricep Push-downs

140 x 6
170 x 6
190 x 2 (2rm, a bit too much tho. lol)
160 x 6

DB Curls

45 x 6 right, x 5 + 1 left

Barbell x 12

Hang for 30+ seconds

More dislocates and foam rolling

Pretty happy with how this session went although I was wanting to cut depth slightly on squats for some reason. I don't think it's a strength issue tho. Either way, I think I had at least a couple reps that were breaking parallel with 285 and a few that were maybe borderline. I think once I get used to handling more weight it won't be a problem. Bench I wasn't really paying attention to pausing or not but I think maybe 2 of the reps with 195 were paused. DE bench and squat Wednesday.

Body weight: 168.8 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

1st set of 285 x 2



290 x 1

 

[metaldrummer]

February 22nd 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

DE Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 6
105 x 5
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3

DE Box Squats
(Low box, or so I thought.)

Bar x 8
85 x 6
135 x 4
175 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
205 x 2
185 x 2
185 x 2 + 1 (Didn't like something about the last one. lol)
135 x 3

More dislocates and foam rolling



Body weight: 171.8 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr + 20 or 30 minutes of f****** around with depth issues.

 

[metaldrummer]

February 23rd 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

OHP

Bar x 8
75 x 5
95 x 3
115 x 2
130 x 1
145 x 0 (f***)
135 x 2
125 x 3

Seated DB Shoulder Press

55's x 6 (6rm tie)
55's x 6

BB Drop-set 105 x 5

Deadlifts
(Belt-less until 295.)

135 x 5 snatch grip
185 x 4 d/o
225 x 3 d/o
265 x 2 left over, right under
295 x 1 right over, left under
325 x 1 left over, right under (f*** this felt heavy today.)
355 x 0 right over, left under (Held it for a second where I stalled but not happening today.)
315 x 2 left over + 1 right over
285 x 3 left over + 2 right over
225 x 8 (Current 8rm?)

Pull-ups
(About 1 min rest between sets.)

BW x 3, x 3, x 3 (Didn't quite lock out as high on the last last rep of the last set but this is an improvement I guess. lol)

Wide Grip Assisted Pull-ups

8 Setting x 4
9 Setting x 5

DB Shrugs

70's x 8
65's x 12

Hang for about 20 seconds. lol (Grip was fried at this point.)

More dislocates and foam rolling

Everything felt heavy today although the way 130 moved on OHP I thought I might have stood a chance at 145. I broke it off my chest/shoulders but still no cigar. I might deload for a few days because my back is feeling fried. We'll see.

Body weight: 170.2 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

 

[metaldrummer]

*Screwed up... 325 was supposed to be x 1 and 355 was supposed to be x 0 (unless knees count as lockout now).

 

[metaldrummer]

February 26th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5

OHP

85 x 5
85 x 5

Box Squats
(Using step platform to about 9 inches.)

Bar x 8
85 x 5
115 x 5
145 x 5 (No box) + 2 (To box)
175 x 5 (To box)
175 x 3 (To box)
135 x 4 (To box)

Goblet Squats with 15-20lbs (In between BB squat sets) 4-5 sets of 3-4

DB Tricep Extensions

30 x 10 right, x 10 left (Hurting my right elbow again yay.)

DB Curls

35's x 10

BB x 10

More dislocates and foam rolling

Deload day in combination of addressing squat depth issues. Not sure where I'm going to go from here... Originally this was going to be a light day for squats and then work up to a new max Wednesday, but now that I'm aware of my depth issues I might change gears. Not too happy how tight everything feels trying to reach a good depth and the fact it looks like I'm getting a bit of buttwink, but it's probably better that I address it now instead of 3 years in when I'm squatting 400lbs 4 inches high.

Body weight: 171.2 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 10 mins + 30 minutes of f****** around with depth issues again.

145 x 5 (I think most of these were breaking parallel but I'm also getting buttwink even at this depth. )



175 x 5 (I know this was good depth but holy s*** everything feels tight and not used to going that low.)

 

[metaldrummer]

Some fun facts for box squats that nobody probably cares about

Shortest pylo box= 12 inches
Step platform stacked 2 high= 8 inches
Step platform stacked 2 high with 10lb bumper plate= 9 1/2 inches
Step platform stacked 2 high with 25lb bumper plate= 10 1/2 inches

So it looks like the stepper with either the 10lb bumper or 25lb bumper is where I want to be for judging depth. Unfortunately I might have to start with the 25lb plate because I'm pretty much having to force depth to try to get to 9 1/2 inches. When I started doing box squats again I was actually using the pylo box with a 25lb bumper plate which would've been 14 inches (way too high). From there I went down to just using the box without a bumper plate, but I think that's still only about parallel if that. I think if I can work on adding another 2 inches or so to my depth I'll be good. Once I get another session in I'll have a better idea of what the depth looks like at 10 1/2 inches. I just wish I would've noticed that I was still squatting too high sooner.

 

[metaldrummer]

March 1st 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

OHP

Bar x 8
75 x 6
95 x 5
95 x 5

Seated DB Shoulder Press

50's x 8

Squats
(Tng to 9 1/2 inches.)

Bar x 7
85 x 5?
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5
135 x 5

Goblet Squats

A few sets of 3 with 20lbs (Mostly just focused on stretching at bottom.)

Pull-ups

BW x 4
Assisted 8 Setting x 6

More dislocates and foam rolling

More deloading and depth werking. As I thought, even the 2 stacked stepper with a 25lb bumper plate is still only about parallel sitting all the way down, so 15lb bumper it is especially for TNG.

Body weight: 170 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins (Way too much lollygagging, although I did learn a few mobility things.)

175 x 5 (Still getting some buttwink but I'm just gonna to keep working on this depth as long as I'm not getting undue pain.)



175 depth (Definitely happy with this depth.)



145 depth no box (From Monday... I'm good with this also, even tho it looked high when I played it on video. Wearing all black doesn't help anything apparently. lol But this is probably exactly where I should be hitting for a PL squat. I just likely will continue at least some training slightly lower so that there's no question when it comes to regular squats.)

 

[metaldrummer]

March 4th 2024

Dislocates and foam rolling back/hams

Bench

Bar x 8
75 x 7
105 x 4
135 x 4
165 x 2 (Paused)
190 x 1 (Paused, easy.)
210 x 1 (Fuckin finally. lol Not sure if this was slight pause or TNG but I don't care.)
190 x 2 (Paused)
170 x 5 (Paused)

Skullcrushers

85 x 9 (Pretty sure this 9rm.)
85 x 6

Squats

Bar x 8
85 x 6
135 x 5
175 x 3
210 x 2
240 x 2
260 x 1
270 x 1
205 x 6

BB Curls

95 x 6
90 x 6 + 1

DB Tricep Extensions

35 x 10 right, x 8 + 2 left
35 x 8 right, x 6 + 2 left (Left side's still weaker. lol)

DB Curls

45 x 5 right, x 5 left
40 x 7 right, x 6 + 1 left

Barbell Burnout or BBB lol x 13

DB Shrugs

60's x 6 (Wasn't planning on this but someone put the 60's back in the wrong spot so I had to move them and do a few shrugs. lol)

More dislocates and foam rolling

Finally hit 210 on bench. The way that 190 flew up I figured I finally had it. Also hit 270 to depth on squats and annihilated my triceps so I guess I shouldn't complain. lol

Body weight: 169.8 lbs

Total time: About 1 hr 50 mins

270 x 1 good depth



This is where I need to be. lol