Clean

• 135 x 3
• 155 x 3
• 175 x 1
• 185 x 1
• 195 x 1
• 205 x X

Slight change of format.  Rather than doing singles all the way, I decided to do triples for the first couple of sets.

Deadlift

• 205 x 3
• 255 x 3
• 305 x 2
• 355 x 1
• 375 x 1
• 395 x X

Um, that did not go as expected.  Was aiming for 420.  Did not get close.

Excuses

Today obviously didn’t go very well.  My excuses:

• Cold garage, cold bar.  It is currently 17 degrees out.  Inside the garage, it was probably a bit colder than this given that it was about 5 degrees overnight and the garage tends to retain that due to not getting sunlight.
• The “cutting” diet.  I could feel the hunger in the pit of my belly before I even started the workout.  I think I really need to have breakfast on training days.  Beyond this, “cutting” is going to naturally affect strength negatively so it is somewhat expected.  The question is how do I minimize the effect?
• The running.  I’ve been running nearly every day lately.  My belief is that running a lot tends to cause the body to burn off muscle since extra muscle just weighs the body down for running.  I really don’t think I’m running THAT much but maybe it has some effect.  In any case, the regularly pounding of the legs probably isn’t helpful for lower body lifts.

Action plan:

• Invest in a better heater for the garage.  I could probably get a decent heater that would really help with warming things up compared to my current heater.
• Eat breakfast on training days.  I’ve been skipping breakfast because I’m really not hungry in the mornings.  On training days, I should start eating something like yogurt plus protein again.
• Consider a smarter running plan OR stop running for now.  Can I come up with a running schedule that allows for progress with running without affecting lifts?

Squats

• 45 lbs x 5, 135 x 5, 170 x 5, 205 x 3
• 260 x 5: 5
• 295 x 3: 3
• 330 x 1+: 1

I really wanted to get 2 at 330 but I’m glad I managed to get the 1.  I didn’t even bother going for the 2nd rep because I could feel my back was a little too loose.

Circuit

• Ab Wheel (Knees): 10, 10
• Russian Twists: 10/10, 5/5

Cut the twists to 5/5 because my belly was cramping up.

Snow Shoveling

Yet more snow so my “cardio” for the day was and will be lots of shoveling!

Today was an experiment in time management by grouping exercises together rather than taking full rest periods.

Bench/Running

• Warmup: 45 lbs x 5, 135 x 5, 165 x 5, 185 x 3
• 205 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 8
• 450m around block x 4 (between sets)

8 reps at 205 is okay.  It matches my previous best so at least it is not a step backward.

I threw in runs around the block during the rest periods to try to get a total of one mile of running in.  I don’t think it affected the bench sets much, if at all.

Accessory Circuit

• DB Incline Curls: 35 x 10, 7
• Close Grip Bench: 155 x 8, 2 (not enough rest)

I didn’t time these quite right.  I probably should set a 1 min timer at the end of an exercise to make sure I get at least a full minute between that exercising repeating.  In this case, I made sure there was 1 min between curl sets but didn’t time the bench sets so it ended up being bench -> curls -> bench and, as you can see, not enough rest.

Running

• Treadmill, Inc 2
• Run 1:
  • Distance: 2.06
  • Time: ~19:30
  • Speed: 6.3
• Rest: ~10:00
• Run 2:
  • Distance: 1.05
  • Time: ~10:00
  • Speed: 6.0

The plan was to run the full 5k distance at 6.3 but unfortunately my legs cramped up and prevented that at around the 2 mile mark.  I rested up and then came back to complete the full 5k distance a little slower.

Bench

• Warmup: 45 lbs x 5, 95 x 5, 115 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 2, 175 x 1
• 200 x 5, 5, 10 (10 RM PR, Rep PR @ 200)
• 215 x 1
• 230 x 1
• 240 x 1
• 250 x X

Another 10 RM PR.  Feeling really strong on the higher reps with the bench lately.  Oddly, the singles haven’t turned out so great relatively to my existing max (260).  To be fair, it probably wasn’t the best idea to go for max reps at 200 and then expect a reasonable 1RM attempt.

DB Incline Curls

• 35 x 10, 6, 4
• 1 min rest

Close Grip Bench

• Skipped.  I figured the amount of bench work I did today was enough.

Running

• Treadmill, Inc 1
• Distance: 1.0
• Time: 8:34
• Speeds: 7.0

It’s been a few days since I’ve ran and I could definitely feel it.

Clean

• 135 x 1
• 145 x 5
• 155 x 1
• 165 x 1
• 175 x 1
• 185 x X
• 185 x 1
• 195 x 1
• 205 x 1
• 215 x 1
• 225 x X

Pretty good day for the clean.  I unintentionally put on my Minimus shoes instead of my weightlifting shoes and decided to just go with it.  For the missed 185, I got it racked but felt planted to the ground and unbalanced — probably from the flat shoes — so I dropped it.  I got it after that and worked up to 215.

Deadlift

• 355 x 5, 305 x 3, 335 x 1
• 375 x 1 x 3
• 3 min rest

Final day of this cycle of the Pavel deadlift program.  Next week is either rest or max out.  Probably max out!

Squats

• 45 lbs x 5, 135 x 5, 170 x 5, 205 x 3
• 240 x 3: 3
• 275 x 3: 3
• 310 x 3+: 3 (3RM PR)

Not bad getting a 3RM PR on the squat.  I’ve been “cutting” and also running a lot — two things that a lot of people would tell you are going to work against building the squat.  It’s definitely feeling harder but I’ve decided to ignore that and push through and the result of pushing through is a new 3RM.

Circuit

• Ab Wheel (Knees): 10, 10
• Back Extension: 10, 10

Bench

• Warmup: 45 lbs x 5, 95 x 5, 115 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 2, 175 x 1
• 195 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 10 (10 RM PR, Rep PR @ 195)

Well, I guess the bench press bounced back pretty fast after some time off.  10 reps at 195 lbs is both a 195 lb rep PR (previous was 7) and a 10 RM PR (previous was 185)

DB Incline Curls

• 35 x 8, 6
• 1 min rest

Close Grip Bench

• 145 x 12, 8
• 1 min rest

Running

• Treadmill, Inc 1
• Distance: 2.0
• Time: 18:35
• Speeds: 6.3 for 1st mile then 6.4 for 1/4, 6.5 for 1/4, 6.6 for 1/4, 6.7 for 1/8, 6.8 for 1/16, 6.9 for 1/16

The running improvements continue.  Today, I took what was a challenging 1 mile pace just a week ago and did it for two miles.

Running

• Treadmill, Inc 2
• Distance: 1.5
• Time: 14:14
• Speed: 6.3

Wanted to start experimenting with stretching out mile-a-day to a little beyond.  Went well!

Bench

• Warmup: 45 lbs x 5, 85 x 5, 105 x 5, 125 x 3, 145 x 2, 165 x 1
• 190 x 5, 5, 5
• 205 x 1
• 225 x 1
• 235 x 1
• 245 x 1
• 255 x X

Still a little off my max on the singles but still getting back into the rhythm with the flat bench so no biggie.  I could feel my strength coming back on the lighter reps which all felt really light.

DB Incline Curls

• 30 x 12/12, 12/12
• 1 min rest

Nice little bump up in reps from Monday.

Close Grip Bench

• 135 x 12, 10
• 1 min rest

Likewise a nice little bump up in reps.

Running

• Treadmill, Inc 2
• Distance 1.0
• Time 8:25
• Speeds: 7.0 -> 7.1 -> 7.2 -> 7.0 -> 7.1 -> 7.2 -> 7.0 -> 7.1 -> 7.2  (per min)

The mile run improvements just keep coming.  This was challenging but not really that hard.