I wanted to say thanks for the detailed log. I'm currently a week behind where you are at in Maximum Strength and I was supposed to do lower body day 3 week 3 today. I just realized 15 minutes ago I left my gym bag at home along with the book. I was a bit fuzzy on how many sets I was supposed to do, thank goodness for google. Thanks again and damn strong work. I'll be happy to be at the numbers you are at now by the time I finish everything.
Thanks! Sometimes I stray a tad bit from the program, sometimes I may do an extra set here and there, or switch out an exercise for some reason, but I try to note it if/when I do make a change. I guess that means you are in the very high workload week, in which I went a little off plan with the deadlifts. Good luck!
Hey, thanks for that article. I bookmarked it b/c I have some of the same issues.
The toughest part is just to be conscious of it throughout the day and try to keep good posture as much as I can. It's tough because I spend the majority of the day sitting in front of the computer.
Thanks! Sometimes I stray a tad bit from the program, sometimes I may do an extra set here and there, or switch out an exercise for some reason, but I try to note it if/when I do make a change. I guess that means you are in the very high workload week, in which I went a little off plan with the deadlifts. Good luck!
They were doing modifications to the gym so I ended up doing low rack pulls, I liked doing my slightly elevated DL's off the floor better. I also had to combine the lower body day 2 along with upper body day too. That hurt me, on the close grip/row machine sets I as thinking...a deload week is coming just get through this. I felt thoroughly wiped.
Monday, December 22nd MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 2: Week 4, Upper Body #2 - Low Workload
Weight: 196
A- Speed Bench (5x3) then 1RM test
5 x 3 x 145
then
1 x 3 x 185
1 x 2 x 205
1 x 1 x 225
1 x 1 x 245
1 x 1 x 255
I was reading some of CW's stuff, mainly about supramaximal holds. I was intrigued so I did a hold before doing my 1RM test.
335lb hold for 8 seconds...
rest 90 seconds then
1 x 1 x 275 (10lb PR)
1 x 1 x 290 (25lb PR!)
The 275 went up alot quicker than I thought, so I decided to try 290. It was a bit of a grinder but I got it. This is pretty awesome, I was hoping to get 290 by the end of the program, now maybe I can get 300.
Superset B1 - Close Grip Bench
2 x 5 x 225lb
B2- Chest Supported Row
2 x 5 x 230lb
Superset C1- Inverted Row (feet on bench)
3 x 10 x BW
C2- Scap Pushups
3 x 15 x BW
Well that finishes off phase 2. I'm off for another 10hr roadtrip to visit my family over the holidays. I will find a place to workout while im there though.
About 10 minutes into my 10hr drive, I stopped at a stop light and the kid behind me slammed into me going at least 20-25mph, completely smashed the rear of my car. He admitted that he was looking at his phone at the time and not at the road. This blows, my car is most likely totalled, and its a 93' Camry so I'm sure I won't get much for it. I put about $1500 into the car in the past 6 months, a mechanic friend rebuilt a good part of it and it was running great. This sucks....
Oh no--that's horrible! I'm so sorry that happened! Does that mean the holiday travelling is cancelled, or is there another option at this point? Ugh. What a horrible start to "vacation."
Not cancelled, I need to talk with the claims adjuster for his insurance company tomorrow...they will be paying for my rental car. Im guessing they won't even pay for the rental car for the full time that I'm out there visiting. A new car was not really in the budget but it looks like I better start looking.
Tuesday, December 23rd MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 3: Week 1, Lower Body - High Workload
Weight: forgot to weight myself
A- Snatch-Grip Deadlift (3x3, 2x5)
1 x 3 x 300
1 x 3 x 310 *too heavy
1 x 3 x 300
1 x 5 x 270
1 x 5 x 280
-I've never actually done snatch-grip before, they are a little tougher than I thought they might be. When I got to 310, it was just too heavy to hang on to. I tweaked my lower back a few days ago leaning over to unlock my car, just a tiny tweak, but I could feel it with the snatch-grip as they seem to hit the lower back a little more than conventional deads.
B - Speed Deadlift - (8x1 @ 60% 1RM)
8 x 1 x 270
C- Walking DB Lunge
3 x 7 x 170 (two 85lb dbs)
1 x 10 x 140 (two 70lb dbs)
-Phase 2 was so nice to not have any walking lunges, but they are back. The last 3 or 4 reps of that last set made me want to die.
D1 - Dragon Flags
3 x 12 x BW
-Did these on a decline to make them harder
D2 - DB Suitcase Deadlift
1 x 10(e) x 60lb
2 x 10(e) x 75lb
-Started out a little too light. These combined with the dragon flags made for a really tough core workout.
Since my holiday plans got delayed a little bit I decided to get one more lifting session in before I leave. Apparently nobody else was thinking like me cause the gym was dead. I got my rental car and will be on the road in the morning. I notice already that I'm a little paranoid that someone is going to hit me again. Merry Christmas to the very small handful of readers
Monday, December 29th MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 3: Week 1, Upper Body #2 - High Workload
Weight: ?
A- Speed Pin Press (10x2 @ 50% 1RM)
10 x 2 x 145
Superset #1 B1 - Close Neutral-Grip Seated Row
3 x 5 x 160
2 x 7 x 140
B2- DB Push Press (subbed BB Push Press)
1 x 5 x 145
1 x 5 x 155
1 x 5 x 165
1 x 7 x 145
Superset #2 D1 - Straight-Arm Pulldown
3 x 12 x 60
D2 - Lying DB Extension (subbed Skullcrushers)
3 x 10 x 95
subbed skullcrushers cause I like them better and haven't done them in a while. i assume they are basically the same as the lying extensions...i could be wrong though.
Wednesday, December 31st MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 3: Week 2, Lower Body - Medium Workload
Weight: ?
A- Snatch-Grip Deadlift (4x2, 2x4)
3 x 2 x 325
1 x 2 x 330
2 x 5 x 310
-Felt a ton stronger this week on these. I thought it was two sets of 5 at the end, actually it was two sets of 4, i may have been able to use a bit more weight.
B - Speed Deadlift - (8x1 @ 65% 1RM)
8 x 1 x 300
C- Walking DB Lunge
3 x 7 x 170 (two 90lb dbs)
skipped the set of 10
D1 - Dragon Flags
skipped
D2 - DB Suitcase Deadlift
skipped
I was really pressed for time, I had to get home so I had to skip the last set of lunges and the core stuff. Oh well....
Friday, January 2nd MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 3: Week 2, Upper Body - Medium Workload
Weight: ? (I will be coming home on Sunday and ill get a chance to weight myself on my scale...might be kinda scary after vacation)
A- Floor Press (4x2, 2x4)
1 x 2 x 255
1 x 2 x 265
1 x 1 x 275*
1 x 2 x 275
2 x 4 x 250
-I got a bad handoff here, and I was kinda pissed I didn't get the 2nd rep, so I tried again and got it.
Superset #1 B1 - Band-resisted Pushups (subbed weighted pushup)
1 x 7 x (BW+70)
2 x 7 x (BW+95)
1 x 10 x (BW+70)
B2- Supinated grip cable row
1 x 7 x 160
2 x 7 x 165
1 x 12 x 145
Superset #2 C1 - Face pull with external rotation
3 x 10 x 55
C2 - Band pull aparts
- I don't have bands but I tried to do the same movement without the bands.
On another note, my car ended up being totalled, so I had to buy a new car this week...my first new car, a silver 2009 Mazda 3. It's pretty cool, especially after driving around a 93 Camry for the past 6 or 7 years.
Hey, nice car, and congratulations! (sorta?--sorry it took your other car being totaled for you to get it.) I never had a new car either...
So question for the speed deadlifts. I'm starting Phase 1 on Monday. So my 1RM was 190#--I'm doing 8 sets of 2 at 85#? Just really quickly with good form and as little rest as possible between sets? I don't get the point of that, maybe I'm missing something. I re-read the description of just that exercise, and didn't see anything different. ?
Yes that's right. With speed lifts, you want to try to lift the weight as explosively as possible. Then the idea is that the speed (or part of it) will transfer over to your regular deadlifts. Honestly, I don't know how much it helps. I guess if you are normally pretty slow while lifting the weight it can help you lift faster, if you are already pretty fast it may not help you as much. Sometimes I throw in an extra heavy set or two at the end just for fun.
Excellent progress! I'm currently doing the Maximum Strength program, so I have a "vested" interest in this log/anyone else doing MS. I will admit that I'm nowhere close to matching your numbers on the Big 3/any of the other lifts.
Thanks! I'm still enjoying the program, although I'm getting a slight itch to start something new, thats just my lifting program ADD kicking in though. I've been seeing really good progress lately in my pressing numbers. It wasn't too long ago that 225 seemed pretty heavy, and I never imagined I would be able to get 275 on a floor press.
Saturday, January 3rd MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 3: Week 2, Lower Body #2 - Medium Workload
Weight: ?
A- Speed Squat (8x2 @ 55% 1RM, then 2x2 heavy)
8 x 2 x 195
then I worked my way up to:
1 x 2 x 330
1 x 2 x 340 (2 rep PR)
1 x 1 x 355 (PR)
340 felt pretty good so I decided to see if I could get a new PR. 355 went up pretty easy, I probably have 370 in me but I didn't push it. I've had a goal to get to 300/400/500 in the big 3 by my 30th birthday in May, and it looks like there is a very good chance I could get there. The only thing that might hold me back is a planned cutting period in April/May, but we'll see.
B - Rack Pulls
1 x F x 455
1 x F x 455
1 x 12 x 405
1 x 8 x 425
-These sucked. I tried twice at 455 but couldn't get it more than an inch or two, my back wasn't feeling quite right. Weird cause I got 485 last week. 405 went up without a problem and I feel like I could have done 20 of them. Oh well...
C- DB Reverse Lunge (front foot elevated)
1 x 5 x 170 (two 85lb dbs)
1 x 5 x 180 (two 90lb dbs)
1 x 5 x 200 (two 100lb dbs)
-Skipped the last set of 7 reps because I ran out of time (again)
Superset #1 D1 - Cable woodchop - chest height
3 x 10 x 120lb
D2 - Bulgarian split squat - isometric hold
skipped because I ran out of time (or I'm lazy...I can't decide)
I was a little mad at myself for not getting the rack pulls, plus I was running out of time. The squats went very well though, and I may get 400 before too long.
So I actually reread Chapter 2 of Maximum Strength, which pretty much answered my questions about the speed deadlift (and others I hadn't graced you with yet...) It's amazing what a sieve my brain can be--I'm now reading it for the 3rd time, maybe I'll retain some of the info now?!
Monday, January 5th MAXIMUM STRENGTH by Eric Cressey Phase 3: Week 2, Upper Body #2 - Medium Workload
Weight: 194*
* hmmm, not what I expected. I was out of town for about a week and a half, and I really ate alot of food, and a fair amount of "unclean" food. I kind of expected to see the number close to 200.
A- Speed Pin Press (8x2 @ 55% 1RM, then 2x2 heavy)
8 x 2 x 160
1 x 2 x 275
1 x 1 x 295
1 x 2 x 275
I thought maybe I could get 295 for two, but I couldn't quite get it. I'm not sure how much I like heavy pin presses, it just feels kinda weird.
Superset #1 B1 - Close Neutral-Grip Seated Row
3 x 5 x 170
1 x 9 x 150
I was surprised how strong I was on these. Its always a little hard to judge your strength when using a different gym (as I have been doing the past week), but I used to do 150 for 5 a couple months ago, 170 was challenging for 5, but I still left a rep in the tank.
B2- DB Push Press (subbed BB Push Press)
3 x 5 x 165
1 x 7 x 150
Superset #2 D1 - Straight-Arm Pulldown
3 x 12 x 60
D2 - Lying DB Extension (subbed Skullcrushers)
2 x 10 x 95
Good job. How do you like Maximum Strength. I saw a couple of logs where people didn't make as much progress (PRs) as they hoped to with this program. This maybe because they had a bad day when they went for the PR? How do you like this program?
By the way, I'm going to keep an eye on jcool's thread and see what you have to say about bench #s vs squats vs deadlifts.
I really am enjoying the program, and I know that I'm stronger than when I started. At the halfway point (about 2 weeks ago), I beat my old PR in both the deadlift (old=425, new=450) and bench press (old=265, new=290) by 25 lbs. Now, I don't expect to put another 25lbs onto those lifts in the last 2 months, but I'd like to hit 300 on the bench and 465 on the deadlift on Moving Day.
Hmm, have you injured your shoulders before? If you can't get the bar down to the chest I wonder if you need to do some flexibility work...do you get pain in your shoulders at all when you lower the bar?
AS,
No, I have never suffered any shoulder injuries. I have no problem lowering the bar to (or close to) my chest with lighter weights (up to 135 or so). I get uncomfortable when I start benching at or close to my 1-rep max.
In addition, I have had pain as recently as six months ago when I threw a baseball/softball/football. EC's shoulder exercises have definitely strengthened my shoulders although this is still a work in progress.
Very nice progress! I didn't read your entire log, but have your jumps increased nicely as well? You should submit your results to Eric once you're done.
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