May 23rd - Nice Bench, optimistic Squat

 23.05.2026

Nice day. Feeling borderline sick. Slept all day, appetite moderate. The weather isn't really nice to me lol. I think I might do a daytime flip. Today is tomorrow, I just woke up way too early.

I wanna do Bench press. It gives me internal rotation. How to help this issue? I have a few ideas - do a lot of good L-flys (not flies) before, and I mean good ones, with a fixed elbow on your shoulder level; standing ones are not really using the rotators. You won't need a lot of weight.

Then, do some basic stretching afterwards - the lean-forward stretch, just some bar unracks. I had it in January, but it was extremely traumatic. Maybe not extremely, but it was very painful and I can't help but think my body re-over-compensated and now I have a log for an arm.

I am so stiff, it's driving me insane. But I shan't let it.

I wonder if narrow grip bench could be useful to avoid turning into a tin man, in my case. You have to have a right exercise selection, not just do stretching. Bench isn't a great thing, but it can be done in a way so it doesn't disturb overhead lifts.

My pecs have been looking humongous, almost droopy. I'd love to figure out why.

I have a strong suspicion that I'm growing freakishly strong but my body is trying extremely hard not to let me find out about it... heh heh.

Workout

Warmup - wall pushups, some forced right side stretches, pushup plank

Bench press

20 - 40 - 60 - 70

90 for 5

110 for 5

130 for 5 - nice, very well controlled; no bouncing, more Spoto press with sufficient flexibility. Trying to keep the elbow under if not in front of the bar today. The plan is to go to 150 and back down.

Been drinking a lot of water but thirsty.

140 for 5 nice, controlled as well

150 for 5 - lovely, Thank God 😀 So much better than last time I did 150. I should consider doing them more uniformly, cause I was doing *some* springing against chest on this set, and some paused-Spoto style. Although my "Spoto press" today has just been holding the bar against chest (not putting it on myself, very important distinction!)

Also I've been doing it all with a ring finger grip - a couple cms narrower than normal. I do think it's slightly more efficient.

140 for 5 lovely, all sets were paused without resting the bar on my body - i.e. Spoto press but all the way down.

I was tempted to do more right away but figured it'd be a different kind of load, not the kind I need. However, I think maybe I'll pair the next two sets of maybe just do them with a very short break.

130 and then 120 for 5 - very short break, feels good; focused on acceleration.

Loaded down to 70, cleaned it onto the racks - a little lower than usual.

Lean-forward front rack stretches - four sets (overall). Not bad, but some tenderness in right forearm - it'll just need some time.

Squat

70 - 2 sets of 5

120 - 2 sets of 5

140 for 1

150 and 160 for 1 in wraps

My Squat makes me really happy today, especially comparing to how it used to feel very recently 😀 I think my Squat is about to enter a new wave of life. It's already in the best shape since October injury. And PP injury from recently has been fully alleviated.

The tenderness from my kneeling stretches was almost not present. It only started to show a tiny bit on the singles. I didn't wear the wraps because of it, I planned to simply have them on my "top sets" today.

The technique felt really good and bouncy, machine-like. I have very good control over my bracing, breathing and speed. Hallelujah! 😀☦

Overhead press - focusing on keeping the elbow forward and engaging L-fly rotators, long range, some experimenting with the position of my traps - 20 for a few reps

Back upstairs - thinking. I got a difficult scene to write, not obviously difficult but nonetheless. I need to re-summon experiences that arrive rather seldom. I need a whole lot of nuance I've thought about, psychological, taking the background events, the unknown facts into account. Just finishing the first storyarc!

NGL I've been feeling so, so lazy, man. I think I might not be able to do a "daytime reset" for a while. I don't know what to do, man. I really wish I had quiet and chill days, not the opposite.

Do you think I can have my DL this Sunday? I feel like I can. Please pray for me! I'm planning to do sets of 6 with 248, heavy-medium.

RPotDs - Taxodium distichum on the Lower Mountain Fork River in Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taxodium_distichum_Lower_Mt_Fork_River_Oklahoma_1.jpg