COLOSSUS' Iron Journal

[Colossus]

Bench, today

-treadmill, 15 min

Bench
135x15
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x3
365x3
385x1
405x2
225x10 pause-reps

I was kinda surprised I got a double with 405 today. This is the lightest BW I've ever hit that at. I really just found my strength groove and didnt over-think my form. Much more confident with this weight now.

Hammer strength incline
275 x 4 sets x 8-10

Straight bar pressdowns
stack x 3 sets 10-12

These made my elbow feel like dog doo for some reason. No more.

Tate presses
60's x 3 sets 15

Avg. band french press
4 sets 15

Hanging leg raises
4 sets 15

Post w.o. weight 238. I may not be the most swole guy in the gym but I aint the weakest!!

 

[Colossus]

Deadlifts, friday

-treadmill, 10 mins

Deadlifts from the floor
135x10
185x5
225x5
275x5
315x3
365x3
405x2
455x2
495x2
545x2
585x1
610x1 (PR)

Awesome day pulling today. I did a bit more volume than usual to work on form and warm up thoroughly. My last double with 545 went up a bit slow; I let my hips pop up first and I ended up basically stiff-legging it. I corrected this with the 585, and really got psyched up for the 610. I put my headphones on--which I never do--and tuned everything else out. The rep was solid and my partners said I manhandled it. All in all I like the way I've been training the deadlift, especially since I cut out back squatting. I'm running 5/3/1 for fronts and power squats for the glutes.

Hammer strength high rows
6 sets of 8-10 up to 4 plates/side

Machine curls
5 pump sets

That's all I had time for on friday. I was planning on training today--sunday--but went to play a little disc golf witht the gf and couldnt make it on time. I plan to hit it M-W this week to make up for my slackerdom.

Weight has been between 235-239 lbs.

 

[Leeds_Lad_Dom]

Woah man there some serious numbers man. You could give Brock lesnar a run for his money lol

 

[Colossus]

Press and accessory, yest.

Strict press from the pins
95x20
135x10
185x10
225x8
275x0,1 (missed the first one but got the second try)

Press lockouts from the pins (basically set the pins so they were a couple inches above my head and did lockouts)
275x3
295x3,3
315x1,1

One-arm DB overhead press
110,95,80,65,50....5 reps each no rest. Did this twice.
55x20

Wide-neutral grip chins supered with rope curls
4 sets each

Calves on the power squat
5 sets 10

Lot of volume today but it felt good to get a nice pump on! My pressing strength is still decent despite my weight loss so I'm going to keep hammering heavy overheads and add in some more volume like this to beef up ma gunz.

 

[Colossus]

Bench, today

Got to the gym late so I only had about 45 min today. First day back after a little trip.

Bench
135x15
225x10
275x5
315x10

Floor press
225x5
315x5
365x3,3,3

Benching felt weak today....man I was struggling with the 365, lol. 3 days of drinking and sporadic eating will do that I suppose. I'm not going to go for any PRs the rest of this weekend, will turn it up again next week.

Hammer strength dips
worked up to 4.5 plates/side for 3 sets of 8

Neutral grip chins
3 sets 12-15, bw

Weight is right at 235. This is about as low as I want to go for now so I need to eat a bit more.

 

[Colossus]

Deads and back, today

First day doing real training after what was basically a week off. I lifted twice but they were basically maintenance sessions.

Rack pulls from 6" off floor
135x10
225x5,5
315x3,3
405x3,3
495x3
550x2
605x0,0

605 would not budge. My CNS just wouldnt cooperate today and I felt it. Should have called it a day with the 550---I hate missing weights. Next week I will do some triples with 80-85% I think.

DB rows
100x10/side
130x10/side
160x10,10/side

Hammer strength pulldowns
2 plates/side for 5 sets 10

Cable rope curls
3 sets reps

Machine curls
5 sets reps


Weight 238

 

[Fuglydude]

Man that's nuts trying to pull 600+ on a regular basis!! I know you're built for it, but pulling that heavy is taxing on the CNS to say the least. You're sitting around a 2.6 coefficient, which is phenomenal for a big dude! My coefficient is around that as well, and I might do a heavy max pull 1-2x/month. Obviously we're training for different things, but just be careful w/ CNS burnout when you're coming off, especially if you have finals and lotsa school crap to worry about.

Your numbers always make me feel like a tiny weak 9 year old girl.

 

[Colossus]

Lol, thanks man...it's only taken over 9 years


Press and accessory, yest.

-treadmill 10 mins

OHP, strict
95x20
135x10
185x5
225x3
(push)
250x3
275x3,3
(strict)
185x10,10
135x10

Average band face pulls
4x15

DB upright rows
80x10
100x10
110x10
120x8

DB curls
50's x reps
60's x reps
70's x reps, reps

Preacher curls
100 x 3 x 10

Decline abs with med ball
5 sets


Been having some problems with my left arm locking out slower than my right. Not quite sure what the etiology is here but I think it has something to do with the stiffness I've been having in my left elbow.

 

[Colossus]

Squats and legs, today

-treadmill 12 min

Front squats
Worked up to:
275x5
310x3
345x1

Wasnt feeling a PR physically today so I stopped with my prescribed reps and moved on.

Leg press
600 x 4 sets 10 deep reps

Glute bridges
135x10
185x10
225x10,10

Tried these for the first time today---I actually like them. They do look a bit gay and are awkward to set up, but I think these are the glute movement Ive been looking for since dropping back squats. I'll give them a good month run and see.

Seated leg curls
6 sets of 6-12 reps

Post w.o. weight: 234

 

[Colossus]

Bench, today

-treadmill 12 mins

Floor Press
135x20
225x8
275x5
315x3
335x3
365x2
385x1
405x1

These were awkward at first but I after 365 I really found my groove and 405 went up nice and smooth.

Bench
225x5
275x5
315x5
335x3
355x2
275x10
225x20

Nothing super heavy here just focused on fast, clean reps.

Doubled average band pressdowns/cable OH extensions
5 sets of 8-12 reps each, supersetted

Shrugs
405x15
500x10,10,10

Standing calf machine
4 sets 12


Weight: 235. Good day in the gym!

 

[Colossus]

Deadlift, yest

-treadmill 5 min

Pulls from the floor
135x10
225x8
315x5
405x3
455x5,5,5

Wide-neutral grip chins
bw x 10
+20 x 10
+40 x 8,6,6
+20 x 7,5

Kneeling leg curls
Worked up to 275x6

That's it I had a lot of studying to do so it was a short day. Last week's pulling felt heavy so I dropped down to 3x5 at 75% this week. Next week it will be 3x3 at 85%, then 3x1 at 95% the following week.

 

[Colossus]

Squats, yest.

-treadmill, 10 min

Front squats
135x10
185x5,5
225x5
275x5
315x3
335x3
345x1
355x1

These didnt feel incredible today---I toyed around with knee wraps on a few sets but they didnt make much difference for me. I think I need to deload them next week then reset my 5/3/1.

Back squats
135x10
225x10,10
275x10
315x10,10

First time I've done these in a while, just focused on sinking every rep and overall form. They actually felt pretty good, I'm feeling it today!

Average band seated leg curls
4x15

Seated leg curls
5x10

Standing calves
4x15


Weight 235.

 

[Colossus]

Shoulders, today

Incline bench
135x10
185x5
225x5
245x5
275x5
295x5
315x3,3

Standing OHP
135x10
225x3,3,3

Damn these felt heavy today!! I was doing around 8 reps strict with 225 a couple weeks ago and it was all I could do just to push press 3 today. Weakness.

Hammer strength military
3x12

Machine shoulder press
3x8-10

Hammer curls
50x15
60x12,12
40x20

Done. Just trying to look and feel like I lift weights.

 

[Colossus]

Bench and accessory, today

-light jog 10 mins

Floor Press
135x15
225x8
275x5
315x3
365x3
385x2
405x1

These felt rough because I did shoulders and incline on friday. Called it a day with a rough 405.

JM press
worked up to 225x10

Doubled average band pressdowns
4x12
Single band finishers
3x15

Push ups with chains on the back
4 chains (~75 lb) x 3 sets 20

Hammer Strength lat pulls
6 sets 8-12

Standing calves
6 sets, 3 heavy 3 light


When the sun's out the guns out

 

[Colossus]

Pulling, yest.

I had a horrendous day pulling yesterday. It was a long, stressful day and I ate little food. Cumulative school pressure and inconsistency in training are not good mixers for success.

Deadlifts, 85%
135x10
225x8
315x5,5
405x3
455x2
520x3,3,3

Made all my reps but the last two sets of 520 were atrocious. I popped my legs up too soon and ended up round-backing it the rest of the way. Ugh.

Pull ups, various grips
10 sets of 5-10

That's it. Called it a day.

 

[Colossus]

Havent been lifting much lately due to school responsibilities and spending weekend time with the lady. My gym closes at 4 on the weekends so half the time I just cant make it. I cant plan my weekends around lifting anymore.

Finally made it in for some SQUATTING yesterday, which went very well considering I havent back squatted since last year! Lol...


Squats, yest.

Squats with standard olympic bar
135x10
225x5,5
275x5,5
315x5,5
365x3,3
405x3,3

Focused on keeping my back tight and sinking every rep below parallel. I cant tell you how many clowns I see squatting partials. If I see someone even HIT parallel I'm blown away.

Power squats
400x3x10

Standing leg curls
worked up to 180x2x8

Wide-neutral grip chins
5 sets BW reps


Called it a day here. Weight holding at 233-236.

 

[Colossus]

Havent updated this thing in ages.

My lifting was more or less maintenance from april through the beginning of august. Not so much a time issue as it was just not having any real interest in lifting beyond keeping what I already had mass-wise.

This month I've been on the upstroke however and I'm climbing back up to some old PRs. Got a little vitamin T on board so that helps with linear progress and just having fun in the gym.

Bench, arm work

Incline Bench
135x15
225x10
-Some dolt took over the bench when I stepped away for 2 minutes so I just said fvck it and did DBs.

Incline DB
90's x 20
110's x 10
130's x 10,10

Cable french press
4 sets 15

Machine dips
5 sets 15

Lat pulls
sets of 20,15,10,8,6,6,10,20 reps

--------------------
Legs, acces.

warm ups--bw squatting for a good 20 mins

Using the standard bar now. Got tired of that cumbersome 8 ft squat bar.

135x10,10
225x5,5
275x3
295x3
315x3,3
365x3
385x3
405x3
415x2

Nothing amazing here, but for the last two weeks squatting has just felt cumbersome and heavy. I cant get the right 'bar feel' on my back.

GHRs
5 sets 8-10 bw

Leg press
3 x 20 light weight

Lat pulls
sets of 20,10,10,8,6,4,4,10,10 reps


My morning weights are around 233-234 these days.

 

[Fuglydude]

Do you think your pulls will get better being a bit lighter now? Numbers are still sick as ever man... 90 x 20 incline DB press on a "maintainance phase".... you're really good at making a guy's self esteem suck!

 

[Colossus]

Lol thanks man. I dont think the drop in weight will affect my DL at all...it's not deadlifting that will affect it the most! Right now I'm trying to come up with a game plan for the next couple months. Working 12's and belonging to a gym that closes at 2 pm on the weekends is not conducive to progress.
---------------------------------

Bench work

135x15
225x5
275x5
295x3
315x3
345x2
365x2
385x1

Machine flyes
4 sets

Pulldowns
10 sets

Triceps work
8 sets

-------------------

Squat work

BW squats x a bunch
135x10,10
225x5
275x5,5
315x5
365x5
405x3,3
415x2

Leg press
Light weight for 20 reps, 3 sets

GHRs
6 sets max reps

------------

Pulling

Rack pulls, below knees

Worked up to 500 x 3. Nothing huge here as my low back has been in spasms from squatting. Something about axial loading just p!sses my lower back off.

Chins
5 sets

Calves
8 sets

GHRs
5 sets max reps



Due to the hurricane, work, and other life stuff I've had to do a few pumper workouts at home in lieu of actually lifting weight. I'll do like 10 sets of chins with different grips, BW squats to try and loosen up my hips, and my rowing machine for 20 mins. It's boring and I'm not a big fan of lifting at home, but at least I used my muscle in some way.

My weight is around 231 in the AM.

 

[Jariel]

Your numbers always make me feel like a tiny weak 9 year old girl.

haha, it's a huge relief to know I'm not the only one feeling that way!

Impressive stuff indeed!