Personal record blown out of the water!

“Week 3 – 5/3/1”

• 5/3/1 – Bench Press (180# working max)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x75
  • 1x5x90
  • 1x3x110
  • 1x5x135 (work)
  • 1x3x155
  • 1x10x175 (PR)
• Asst. #1 – bench press
  • 5x10x85
• Asst. #1 – Dumbbell row
  • 5x10x35
• Metcon – jumping rope
  • 1 Tabata set – single hops

Wow. This was great! I set a great personal record today of 175 for 10 reps. I was floored. Last big weight I moved was on my last PPNP workout where I did 3x5x170. I felt strong there, but also only 5 reps and around 5 minutes of rest in between sets. Here, I’m just zooming along… all warmups only resting as much time as I need to change plates, and only taking maybe 2 minutes at most between work sets. I said to myself that because I was able to do 3x5x170 that there’s no reason for me to do less than 5 with 175, aim for 6. Well, I just felt like I could do more, so I kept doing more until I truly felt like there was only 1-2 left in the tank. And I just kept crankin’ and got 10 reps.

I was floored. 🙂

But it actually just reinforces to me that yes, I never got my bench press to the level it should be during my PPNP cycle, thus I started here very underpowered. Wendler says when you start a new cycle to bump your deadlift and squat by 10# and bench press and press by 5#. I figure for someone working at their max loads that’s right to do, and of course there’d be no harm in me doing that at this point either. However, I am going to bump my bench by at least 10# and maybe even 15# during my next cycle. I mean, according to 1RM formulas, using 180# as my work max put me at 203# for a 1RM. Using the same formula with today’s performance puts me at 233# for a 1RM and 210# as my Wendler working max. That’s a significant difference. I don’t feel the need to correct my squat nor my deadlift (they’ll just go up by 10#), but I do think the bench needs a bigger bump for this cycle.

Assistance bench… as you’ve seen on my progressions the calculations were really under any weight that allowed me to feel work, so I bumped it even higher today to 85#. That didn’t feel good either, but was better than before. I think 95# may get me there.

Rows was alright. I was tempted to go to 40# today because I was feeling so good, but glad I didn’t as I’m not quite ready for that. But I do think that’ll come in the next workout or two (maybe not next working merely because that’ll be deload week).

Rope jumping tho was ugly… well, not bowling-shoe-ugly, but I was tripping up more than I have been lately. Still a reasonable set tho, because I was working hard on keeping my feet and toes relaxed instead of tight the whole time. I know that may not seem like much, but it’s a quest to have my body as relaxed as possible, only recruiting the muscles that truly need to be involved. I noticed I kept my feet and toes stiff while jumping, and that’s not what I want.

Anyways, I feel good!