My training log and thoughts

 31.01.2025 It's Friday. Thursday plans got skewed since the extremely pleasurable DL exhausted me completely, like it tends to. Exhausted my CNS, not so much muscles, although back does tend to cramp. Workout Warmup - long, pretty thorough, having started a little earlier - rear flys, pushup variations, L-flys. Bench press 20 for 20 40 for 20 50 for 15 70 for 10 100 for 5 120 for 5 not bad 130 for 5 super easy. Something is going right... 140 for 5 - lovely, same 148 for 5 - a most genuine rep PR 😀 I've only ever done 150 for 2 in this weight range! 110 for 5 lovely, just in the mood to add a tiny bit of extra work. Squat 20 for 5 70 for 5 dealing with difficult heartbeat, cause I'm secretly hiding sleep issues and I've been awake for 20 hours by now xD Yeah, I turned three days into two. 100 for 5 120 for 3 150 for 3 underknee light wraps 170 for 3 - I love it. The only thing I had to exert on was my breathing and bracing. I feel strong and ready to do a bigger squat...

 29.01.2025 Today's a simple one - I much prefer the first half of the program. 4 sets of 6 with 72,5%, session 13. 210-220 kg working weight for me. Sleep has been mostly okay. Almost enough quantity, good quality of sleep; managing to feel comfortable, not distressed from the inside. Food also decent; macros not exactly kept up with, but definitely getting enough calories. I'm on my 'reduced dietary intake' right now. It's more of a mental thing, but, as I talked about it before, your digestive system demands energy too. Had one cup of instant coffee (2 teaspoons) and now I'm having a lovely 30/315 conventional brew. Workout Deadlift 20 for 20 70 for 15 120 for 10 160 for 6, standing up after each rep, still overhand. The bar was rotating pretty wildly every time I let go of it. Relatively long/medium break - really drawn into writing today 190 for 6 - 2 reps overhand, 4 alternate grip. Feels lovely! I feel confident, in control of myself. Washed just my palms...

 27.01.2025 Nice day. Slept weird, but okay. Nutrition feels okay. Been having a little allergy after cleaning up dust, but I think it's mostly gone by now. Training late, not a big deal cause I feel curiously fresh. I kinda wanna forget about the program for a while - for all moves, except DL, perhaps. Workout Warmup - pretty thorough, pvc pipe moves, L-flys, serratus and back stretches, some torso movements Overhead press 20 for 20 40 for 10 50 for 10 70 for 8 90 for 5 100 for 5 - lovely, fairly easy. The old cue mantra - 'air, acceleration, power!' really helps a lot. 100 for 5 same. This weight is starting to feel easy. I feel like I'll be able to get pretty far with some of my intuitive training principles, before I'd want to switch to a program again. It'll be me focusing on different things, doing feels right. 100 for 10 and a half - I am very happy with this set. It's a seasonal PR. Not as strict as the previous two, but decent. Quarter squat 50 for ...

 24.01.2025 Feeling a little weird; slept very little, bothered by some slight anxiety but suddenly something surprising happened - youtube, gta public lobbies and some other sites that were blocked are suddenly working normally, like they used to... I wish I knew what changed, cause for a while it was bad today. *** Well, I ended up falling asleep, lovely deadbolted kind of sleep. No light workout today! But I was in the mood. Well, more energy for Saturday then. 25.01.2025 A little messy sleep-wise, otherwise not bad; good nutrition. Had one cup of instant coffee and almost finished one conventional 40/440. Workout Warmup - pvc pipe snatch grip presses and shoulder loosening, pushup position plank and wrist loosening Bench 20 for 20 40 for 15 50 for 15 tissues don't feel the best 50 for 10 a tiny bit better 70 for 10 70 for 10 100 for 10 100 for 10 - tried something fairly unusual - moved the bar on the other side of the rack, so my feet are technically a few degrees lower, given...

 23.01.2025 I wanna workout today, but I feel like I wanna avoid real heavy numbers. Because I'm supposed to be close to maxing out on my OHP and it really doesn't feel like I'm actually in a good shape for this right now. Workout Warmup - long and thorough Overhead press 20 for 20 50 for 15 70 for 10 80 for 10 feels nice 85 for 10 lovely 90 for 10 pretty easy I love how I can do this all so fairly casually. 90 for 10... And it feels like a super quick workout, while in reality I've decided this is enough for OHP. PP, on the other hand, we will continue with... I wanna learn to lower it again, under super control. We'll be paying attention to smaller but crucial details... Push press 70 for 2 nice 100 for 2 a little awkward 100 for 2 a little better 100 for 3 not bad Squat Long pretty thorough warmup - kinda hard to gather myself, but thankfully I'm not as tired as I was yesterday 50 for 2 sets of 10 I'm gonna have a light workout tomorrow. Not an 'activ...

 22.01.2025 DL session 12 - 5 sets of 2 with 85%. Feeling a little weird, but I think it's okay. Sleepy. I managed to wake up earlier but not as early as I hoped. I just gotta stay chill. Had a good time yesterday as I decided not to go anywhere. Monday was super annoying for me, it drained me. Close to midnight. Put on my deadlifting attire. It's gonna be good, one way or another. I've had this workout so many times, still haven't done 300... I'd like to do 300 this year. Also, I had a pre-training meal today, so that's good choice I made, since I have a peculiar habit of training while fasted for over 12 hours... I had this habit since the start. Not the greatest idea for performance, but there is something peculiar about it. Not saying it's smart though, definitely. Workout Deadlift 20 for 20 70 for 15 120 for 10 160 for 5 200 for 5 lazy thoughts in head... Not warmed up yet. Hope to be warmed up before the working sets! 233 for 2 okay but messy... Close ...

 17.01.2025 Light workout - tricep extensions, rubber and ring pulls, squats, flys 20.01.2025 Lovely day at night (morning), not so much after I woke up. Otherwise decent sleep and nutrition. Workout Warmup - almost none, just some PVC pipe moves Bench 20 for 20 40 for 15 70 for 10 pecs hurt, but not in a fragile way like they used to when they were snapping a lot 70 for 10 better 90 for 10 okay 110 for 10 a little better, feels light enough 120 for 10 - not bad. Pecs feel like resin rather than paper (how they used to feel back in October or earlier). Remember that whole period when I could not escape constant mini-injuries? Thank God it's over. 123 for 11 - nice, but feels harder than I wish it did 123 for 11 - not bad, I think I'm finally getting warmed up 125,5 for 10 - pretty bad set, some reps were lame. Started feeling some strain in the left pec. Did not go for 11. Otherwise not bad, considering overall volume. I was doing the "elbow forward, bar lower on body...

 17.01.2025 Been a little nervous since Wednesday due to an issue unrelated to pretty much anything. Well, you can make a connection, a long one, but frankly I just don't think I should bother myself. Old stuff surfacing. I found myself engaged in compulsive behavior as I struggled with VPNs and bad connection, resetting it all the time as I tried to play GTA Online. Is it true this is a game for particularly stupid young men? It would make sense, frankly. Not meaning to offend other players, as I am one of them and intend to continue playing it. But I do indeed not feel smart as I sometimes get caught in a cycle of saltiness and toxicity at no-skill stuff. Yesterday though I had fun, playing against two other super toxic salty sweaty tryhards in a public lobby... Nuff said. Didn't take it too seriously after all, thank God. Just wanna write about it, mention how un-intellectual I've been in that regard... But also I've been doing *some* good things. Bought a lot of gro...

 15.01.2025 Nice day. Yesterday was pretty tiring. Finally done some walking and dealt with some stuff, didn't get much sleep. I had some annoying problems with my PC and my various VPNs misbehaving and interacting poorly with GTAV. I've been playing GTAV way too much, a lot of fun. Today I woke up and found those issues fixed. Thank God! Had some mildly disturbing dreams, otherwise nice. Slept well, ate somewhat decently. Today we got a big ass deadlift. Session 11 - 4 sets of 3 with 82,5%. I still need some time. 247-250, about that. Should be easy. Workout Deadlift 20 for 20 70 for 15 123 for 8 163 for 5 203 for 3 233 for 3 248 for 3 - decent, smooth, albeit not quite velocious; loose middle belt. 248 for 3 okay, a little better but it was harder to collect myself. Belt a tiny bit tighter, middle 248 for 3 okay, high belt, took too long a break and took too long listening to a song for it to get to a fast part, but otherwise nice. High belt, smooth and controlled, slower tha...

 13.01.2025 Nice day. Nutrition decent, but hard to pinpoint. Sleep good. Had one 40/480 (1 to 120) conventional brew... 480 grams of water is only three cups. Peculiar. It's bad when you still want coffee but it's taking its sweet time brewing in your stomach all liquidy. You have some more and you wanna vomit... Today we're benching. Also I'd like to not forget about my squat - it needs to go up, at least a bit. Maybe I could train squat in lower volume for now - but with higher weights. It's great for putting yourself in a good shape... But not good enough for progress. Progress needs heavy volume - i.e. in 90% of the cases it's about two or three times more working volume than you 'naturally' feel you need. And it takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication, but the body does respond clearly and quickly with immediate strength improvement... Push yourself in multiple sets. Pushing yourself in one heavy set is great, it is what you should learn first, it...

 11.01.2025 OHP session 18 - 4 sets of 3 with 82,5% again. I wanna work from a 100 to 110, I believe that makes sense. 100 - 105 - 108 - 110, that's the idea. 100 and 105 will need to be done perfectly powerfully, not struggling, all CNS activated. Sleep has been surprisingly okay - possibly because sleep quality had gotten high? I think I redeveloped some sensitivity to melatonin, also I took a shower today. Things are way better again. Training needs to be good. Nutrition is good too - not overloaded, but sufficient. Had a 40/460 conventional brew and having a 30/340 one now. Decent, good enough taste. CNS feels primed well enough. I'm in control, Thank God. Workout Warmup - pretty thourough, even some rubber pulldowns out of curiosity Overhead press 20 for 20 40 for 10 60 for 8 80 for 5 100 for 3 pretty easy. pretty laid back 103 for 3 decent, weird, unnecessarily strict technique, unusually narrow grip, slow movement, also it was more like 3.5 reps cause on second I pressed...

 09.01.2025 Again, it's technically 10th, 0:33 AM. For a while now I've been taking melatonin by mouth, sucking it down with saliva rather than swallowing it and yesterday I went back to a more conventional method and I think it worked better. My sleep is still kind of messed up. I seem to be repeating a formula of "two day long day" with a short nap on the second day. I don't like it very much, but I don't think it's a big deal. We'll get over it. Went downstairs. Had one of those quiet workout where I don't run up and down all the time. Workout Bench 20 for 20 40 for 15 60 for 10 80 for 8 100 for 5 120 for 5 130 for 5 135,3 - 4 sets of 5 Lovely. My pecs were not tearing. They are a little stiff, have been all this time, but I think I'm adapting them. Still, I may wanna be really careful. I think I wanna include some lockouts and holds. Should help me with my wrists. Also, I think I might be able to have a workout tomorrow (Friday). I just fee...

 08.01.2025 Deadlift session 10 - 5 sets of 4 with 80%. So 240 kgs... Should be okay, I think? Can't be sure, I admit. My day has been a little more weird, recovery-wise. Hey, at least coffee doesn't drive me crasy anymore. I had a conventional brew without overbrewing - 40 grams of beans, 440 grams of hot water, brought up to a boil very slightly, just as it started bubbling, then off. Coffee has been often making me sleepy instead of exciting me. Today wasn't an exception; I felt it has something to do with opening blood pathways in my brain. I laid down for a while, suffering from stomach turbulence; eventually, I got over it with proper procedures and stopped being sleepy. I really want to fix my sleep to make it more normal, even if that will bring back some CNS strain. Workout Warmup - actually doing some warmup for DL! Rubber band - thigh rotations and step-outs to the side Deadlift 20 for 20 70 for 12 120 for 10 160 for 5 200 for 1 quarter rep overhand and 4 straps ...

 06.01.2025 OHP session 17 - 4 sets of 6 with 75%... So possibly from 90 to 100. Hmmmm. Not exactly sure about all this! Not the most reasonable thing to do today... But I also know that I am a little too cautious right now. Had a long uncontrolled sleep and a decent meal. Had one conventional brew - 30 grams of beans and 330 grams of water. Not oversteeped, it got cold quick. The room is chilly. Can you believe I used to breathe carbon monoxide for a few years in a row, or possibly for 9 years in a row every winter? Well, not in a row. 8 years then, one separated. Workout Warmup - PVC pipe moves Overhead press 20 for 20 40 for 10 60 for 8 - decided to use 20 kg plates today 80 for 6 okay 90 for 6 lovely, decent. Today I went to medium grip and decided to abandon putting the bar on chest, for today at least. 93 for 6 okay, feels a little heavier. Might have taken an overly long break. 93 for 6 nice, super easy as I pumped in a huge amount of air into me 95,3 for 6 lovely, super eas...

 04.01.2025 Again, technically it's the 5th. Yesterday was a nice, but unusual day. I could not sleep at all after Thursday. Could not relax. So basically I had a double day (without any sleep). Despite that, I didn't go to sleep yesterday after working. I just stayed up and finally progressed in the book. It felt good overall. The day ended almost perfectly as it was finally easy to fall asleep. But I think I created a little sleep debt. Also I worked out a-la activity kinda way. Semi-random things. Kettlebell swings, floor supported ring pullups, neck extensions, pecs with rubber... I just realized why my pecs are shit today. Because of that. I worked them, and today I'm whacked. Hmm. So I did not have any recovery on Friday, and my meals were somewhat limited as well. That's why today all I could do was bench 20 for 30 and 2 sets of 40 for 20 before I realized it's not the time. Curious. I really like tight under-clothing for workouts, but I think they do somethi...

 02.01.2025 OHP session 16, split between OHP and PP. 2 sets of 3 with 80% and 3 sets of 1 with 87,5%. Interesting... So 108 and 118 in OHP and 123-125 and 135 in PP... Curious. It's actually January 3rd 0:40 AM right now. But I think I can still have a nice workout. Workout Warmup - PVC pipe presses and 2 kg dbs L-flys Overhead press 20 for 20 40 for 15 70 for 8 90 for 4 100 for 3 My left wrist has been super tight since yesterday. The problem is either in grip usage or the fact that I could have slammed my hand against the barbell when dropping it. I think I should have warmed up my hands and fingers a little bit yesterday, then I wouldn't have had an issue with the first working set. 108 for 3 nice, wide grip, but wrists really limit me today 118 for 0 - a very confident liftoff, but due to minor technique tweaks I ended up with an overly sharp angle on my tricep at the sticking point. Those technique tweaks - narrowing the grip by an inch (to help wrists a little) and putti...

 30.12.2024 Light upstairs workout - rubber lat pulls with one arm and torso twists, 6 kg dumbbell curls and flys. I should bring back full range flys - I've gotten way too weak at them! 01.01.2025 Nice day. Sleep has been okay, CNS decent. I'm gonna deadlift today. I was gonna do it yesterday, but the realization that it was Tuesday made me fall asleep in the evening instead, despite having a 1 to 9 conventional - also, I fixed my little scale, apparently it just needed new batteries after all. Funny, because I remember putting in fresh batteries before. Anyway, let's look up the plan... Deadlift session 9 - 4 sets of 8 with 70%. Man, I feel like I just had a session with 8 rep sets! Hehe. No, it's been a while, but the 8 repper day was the memorable one. Workout Deadlift 20 for 20 70 for 12 120 for 8 160 for 8 overhand, break here 210 for 8 - not bad, first two reps turned out kinda lame with mixed grip, then decent pace with straps 210 for 8 much better, straps, high...