Bench September 11

This was a good workout, actually. When I arrived at the garage I was feeling pretty good despite not having slept very well and decided today was the day I would work up to a heavy single. It turned out not to be the best idea, but I had a decent back-off set and then some great assistance work with the log.

fives at 45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 185, 205, 225

3 @ 240

Singles at 265, 275, 285, 295

The 295-300 mark has become an anytime weight for me ever since I broke the 315 plateau, the kind of weight that will still feel heavy but I know I can work up to even on a particularly high-gravity day. It serves as kind of an intensity indicator. How it feels will determine whether I go any heavier that day and today it went up, but it was very sluggish. I might have been able to go up to 300 or 305, but it wouldn't have been a PR anyway and would have carried a higher risk of injury. I figured under the circumstances it would be better to back off to 255 and get some volume in.

255 x 9

Strongman Log Cheat Curl and Strict Press

I absolutely love this movement as assistance for the bench press and as a supplement to BJJ. I've heard of it being utilized often in strongman but I wasn't crazy about doing it with dumbbells or the barbell variations of it. Now that I have the log and tried it I'm hooked.

3 x 12 @ 90lbs - first set with the wide handles, second and third with the narrow handles. I didn't add any weight since it was my first try at it and wasn't sure if it would cause any tendonitis flare-ups, but I felt great afterward and since. I'm going to try adding weight next time, but definitely going to keep it above ten reps for now.

Once I got to work, I did three sets of band pull-aparts with a 50lb resistance tube.