At a height of 5’5” and weight of 156 pounds, I am VERY close to hitting my goal of joining the 200 lb bench/300 lb squat/400 lb deadlift club. After a week off for recovery, I tested my 1 rep maxes for the 4 big lifts over the past few days. The results are as follows:

• Squat: 285 lbs. (I was so close to making 300, I’ve had nightmares about it all week)
• Press: 140 lbs. (145 didn’t happen, I think 142.5 would have)
• Bench: 210 lbs.
• Deadlift: 400 lbs.

There you have it. 200: check. 400: check. 300: INCHES AWAY FROM BEING CHECKED OFF.

The next time I attempt a squat 1RM, you better believe that 300 is coming up.

After completing my squats at 265 two days earlier, I was feeling pretty beat for workout 17.2. I’m happy with my results and I’ve got 3 days to rest until I try squats at 270 again. My first set of 5 felt pretty good. I checked the video and had a bit more forward lean than I’d like, but this proves that I can get 5s done at this weight. With the completion of my bench at 185, my press is the only lift where I haven’t surpassed my old 1 rep max for sets of 5. I’m only a few pounds off though!

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 105

1x3: 160

1x2: 215

Work Sets:

3x5: 270 (5/2/2)

Comments: I want a set of 5 at 275. That is all.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 90

1X3: 125

1x2: 165

Work Sets:

3x5: 185

Comments: Got ‘em! Take THAT, one rep max!

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 85

1x3: 110

1x2: 135

Work Sets:

5x3: 160 (3/3/2/3/3)

Comments: Not bad, but not perfect form. I need to get under the bar more.

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Dumbbell Shrugs:

3x12: 70

Dips:

3x10: (10/10/8)

Last Friday, I had to squeeze in a workout in the morning as I was going to be out of town for the long weekend. Things did not start off well. Rather that try to trudge through it, though, I simply altered my game plan, which seemed to work well. I completed solid reps and did sets that I’m not used to with rest times I’m not used to. I think it was a good compromise vis-a-vis completing 6 work set reps.

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 105

1x3: 155

1x2: 210

Work Sets:

3x5: 265 (1/0/…)

Comments:

Work Sets:

3x10: 155 (90 seconds rest between sets)

Comments: Believe it or not, I remember what doing a lot of reps at 155 used to feel like… much harder. My best ever set of squats at my own body weight used to be 24 reps. I wonder if I can get to 30+ now.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 55

1X3: 80

1x2: 100

Work Sets:

5x10: 115 (90 seconds rest between sets)

Comments: I don’t know why I decided to do 2 extra sets here. I guess 115 didn’t feel like much of a challenge so I just kept on rolling.

BARBELL ROWS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 65

1x5: 75

1x5: 95

Work Sets:

3x5: 115

Comments: I tried them. Clearly, my form isn’t what it should be, but I wanted to give barbell rows a shot one of these days. This workout seemed as good a time as any.

No sleep for many days. I suppose it was bound to happen. I just wish it was scheduled on a day where I wasn’t supposed to be squatting 260 and benching 185 for 3 sets of 5. Rather than try and fail miserably in my zombified state, I decided to do something that I could actually complete. I took my squat and bench weights, cut them in half, and did work sets of ten. For my cleans, I cut the movement in half and worked on clean pulls, since I have a problem with waiting for the second pull anyway. It worked pretty well and I feel like I actually accomplished something rather that having my squats look like (3/1/0). Wednesday is another day and I’ll pick up where I left off then.

SQUAT:

Warmup:

3x5: 45

1X5: 75

1x2: 105

Work Sets:

3x10: 135

Comments: No surprise here, but these were super easy. I wonder how many squats at my body weight I can bang out these days.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

3x5: 45

1x5: 65

1X5: 85

Work Sets:

3x10: 95

Comments: These felt like 3 warm up sets.

CLEAN PULLS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 85

1x3: 110

1x2: 135

Work Sets:

5x3: 160

Comments: *shrug*

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Dumbbell Bench Press:

3x12: 50

Pull-ups:

3xFail: 5, 3, 3 (These were a bad idea)

Hip Extensions:

3x15

This is without a doubt the best workout I’ve had in weeks. Everything felt absolutely terrific! I have no idea what happened but I’m not complaining! I finished my first work set of squats and said to myself, “Huh…” I completed the second set with relative ease and thought to myself, “HMM…” I guess my body was just ready for these movements today.

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 100

1x3: 150

1x2: 200

Work Sets:

3x5: 250

Comments: Surprisingly easy considering that I’m only 10 pounds off my stall point.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 90

1X3: 125

1x2: 160

Work Sets:

3x5: 180

Comments: Remember when I stalled here? Not this time. Not even close. 185 was my old 1 rep max. Time to do three sets of five of these babies on Saturday!

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 85

1x3: 105

1x2: 130

Work Sets:

5x3: 155 (2/3/3/3/3)

Comments: That rep I missed was just laziness on my part. It certainly woke me up for the rest of my work sets.

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Dumbbell Shrugs:

3x12: 65

I was tired for this workout. It took me a while to fall asleep the night before and i was up extra early in the morning so I knew what I was in store for when I got started today. But then something unexpected happened. I didn’t struggle the way I was expecting to. In fact, I feel like I did pretty well the whole workout. I blew off my assistance work since I had an unexpected break from my workout during my bench press, but other that that, everything went better than expected today! *thumbs up*.

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 95

1x3: 140

1x2: 190

Work Sets:

3x5: 240

Comments: All systems go at the weight that once befuddled my body for 3 workouts in a row.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 85

1X3: 120

1x2: 155

Work Sets:

3x5: 175

Comments: Pretty damn solid considering that I’m back to my stalled weight next time.

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 80

1x3: 105

1x2: 125

Work Sets:

5x3: 150

Comments: All my reps felt good today. I’m so happy to be completing everything again!

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Dips:

3x12: 

Dumbbell Shrugs:

3x12: 65

COMMENCE SECOND SQUAT DELOAD SEQUENCE.

So, I added 20 lbs. to my squat 5RM since the last time I stalled. Looking back futher, I’ve added at least 55 pounds to my 5RM since May. FIVE! What the hell am I going to be able to accomplish for ONE? I’m really proud of that kind of progress, especially for a guy my size. Squatting twice your body weight is a whole new level of awesome and I know this milestone is within reach. In theory, I should be able to move (relatively) easily past 260 when I get back to it.

In other lifts news, my bench press is progressing beautifully. 180 should come and go quickly next week. My cleans feel great in that I can actually complete reps again. I was spinning my wheels at 170. I really needed this reset.

One more shot at a deadlift 355x5 on Sunday. Four reps would be ok. Five would be fantastic.

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 100

1x3: 155

1x2: 205

Work Sets:

3x5: 260 (4/2/a much better 2)

Comments: My last set was so much more solid than my second one. I stopped after two reps on the last set because three wasn’t happening, but they were convincingly more solid than the two reps of set two. Two two two two two. Great… Now the word “two” looks wrong to me.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 85

1X3: 115

1x2: 150

Work Sets:

3x5: 170

Comments: Incredibly solid for being 10 lbs. off my stall point. Deload magic continues to amaze me.

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 75

1x3: 100

1x2: 120

Work Sets:

5x3: 145

Comments: Hey, I can complete all my reps again! It’s all about patience and staying over the bar at these lower weights.

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Dips:

3x12: 

Dumbbell Rows:

3x12: 55

I have missed two workouts since I started this program. The first was way back in week 3 when I had that little knee thing going on. The second time was in week 7 when I felt completely beat up and knew that taking an extra few days off would end up being helpful for recovery. The third time really should have been Workout 12.3. I spent all morning contemplating not going because I ate bad and slept bad and Thursday’s workout was killer and I had to organize my sock collection and *insert excuse here*. In the end, I ended up taking two teaspoons of

and got to lifting. Remember how I just KNEW I had 240x3x5 squats a few weeks ago after a single warm-up set with the bar? Guess how I felt after THIS first warm-up set? I KNEW that today was going to be bad. Every ounce of energy I had went into my first work set of squats. I mean, sure, 260x4 is yet another PR for me, but it got bad after that. If my bench press wasn’t deloaded, I never ever would have completed those work sets. I spent the rest of the day walking slowly up stairs and groaning every time I would sit down or stand up. In retrospect, a few extra days of recovery would have been a GREAT idea.

So there you have it. 21 out of 45 work reps completed. 47 percent (I rounded up). How about we shoot for more than half next time, m’kay?

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 100

1x3: 155

1x2: 205

Work Sets:

3x5: 260 (4/2/0)

Comments: After my first work set, it seriously felt like my quads, hamstrings, and the other supporting cast of posterior chain muscles were firing at completely random times. My knees felt weak and sore and my ass got to meet the platform floor a few times. I spent a lot of time deloading and REloading the bar every time I dumped it. Good assistance work, right?

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 80

1X3: 115

1x2: 145

Work Sets:

3x5: 165

Comments: SO glad I’m deloaded here.

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 90

1x3: 115

1x2: 140

Work Sets:

5x3: 170 (0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0)

Comments: I seriously didn’t even complete my last warm up set. Get me the hell out of this weight.

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Squat Clean:

3x3: 115 (from mid-thigh)

Dips:

3x12

There’s something special about the number 250. It’s both a multiple and factor of all sorts of other nice even numbers. It’s an even 10, an even 50 and it’s really the first number where you can start thinking about it in terms of THOUSANDS. One quarter of a thousand. Sounds awesome!

To me, the number 250 also represents “a lot” of something. $190 is plenty, but $250 is a lot of money. This is my 55th post. My 250th will feel HUGE. Likewise, I felt like squatting 235 pounds was pretty impressive for a guy of my height and weight, but squatting 250 for 3x5 is in another category all together. When I finished my work sets, for the very first time, I believe that a 300 pound squat is actually possible. It kills me to think that I can’t test my one rep max until the end of September, but I know that the longer I stick with this program, the easier that 300 lbs. will be.

Oh, and I did some other lifts and stuff too. (Can you tell where my priorities lie?)

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 100

1x3: 150

1x2: 200

Work Sets:

3x5: 250

Comments: Sets 1 and 2 felt really solid. I struggled a bit with set 3. Based on how these went, I think 255 is doable but is going to be incredibly challenging. Bring it on. In related news, I’ve never even ATTEMPTED a squat at 250 before today.

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 80

1X3: 110

1x2: 140

Work Sets:

3x5: 160

Comments: First deloaded bench sets felt like an absolute breeze.

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 90

1x3: 115

1x2: 140

Work Sets:

5x3: 170 (Nope)

Comments: Nope. I know what I’m doing wrong. It’s a pretty common problem. I’m starting my second pull WAY too early. By the time it’s time for me to flip my elbows around, that bar is already on its way down. As soon as the bar hits my thigh, I’m pulling. I need to wait until it’s MUCH higher on my legs. It doesn’t help matters that 170 pounds is really heavy for me. Patience, patience, patience.

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Dumbbell Bench Press:

3x12: 45

Dumbbell Shrugs:

3x12: 60

I warmed up like normal for today’s workout. I ran 400m, did some high knees, butt kickers, leg swings, air squats, arm/shoulder mobility work…the usual stuff. Unless something wacky is going on, I can usually tell exactly what the day’s workout is going to be like after a few warm up sets of squats. Today, I stepped out of the rack, completed my 5 reps, racked the bar, and said out loud, “I’m going to destroy three by five at 240 today.” I somehow knew from a set of five with the bar. All of my warmup sets felt absolutely amazing today. When my last warmup set at 190 lbs. flew up, I actually laughed as I walked the bar back into the rack. What the hell happened between Workout 9.2 and today?!? With the completion of today’s workout, I am truly a believer in this program. I always saw deloading as a punishment for sucking at a heavy weight. Now I see the true benefit of taking one step back so you can take two steps forward. Mind = BLOWN!

SQUAT:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1X5: 95

1x3: 140

1x2: 190

Work Sets:

3x5: 240

Comments:   :)

BENCH PRESS:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 90

1X3: 125

1x2: 160

Work Sets:

3x5: 180 (5/5/3)

Comments: It’s ok, 180. After some deloading magic, we’ll meet again and you’ll feel like no big deal.

POWER CLEAN:

Warmup:

2x5: 45

1x5: 90

1x3: 115

1x2: 140

Work Sets:

5x3: 165 (1/3/3/2/3)

Comments: I’m moving on up because I can clearly handle this weight. Form form form form form.

ASSISTANCE WORK:

Squat cleans:

3x5: 95 from mid-thigh. Pop and drop work.

Dips:

3x12