Derek Charlebois Training Journal: Week of 12/2/19

Posted by Derek Charlebois on

Weekly Topic

 

That’s good for today.

 

Listening to your body (and brain) is important. Sometimes you may feel its best to lift a little lighter or not do as many sets and that’s ok! For example, this week on squats I had planned on doing multiple sets with 405 lbs. After my first of 405 X 5, I sat for a couple minutes and then said to myself “that’s good for today” and moved on to the next exercise. Could I have done additional sets of 405 for reps? Yes, but given that I am coming back from a knee injury and was able to complete 2 more reps than last week, I felt I was better off just calling squats there and not trying to push it for more sets. I’ll come back next week and aim for multiple sets with 405 lbs.

 

This doesn’t mean simply not doing sets because you feel lazy and don’t feel like doing them. I am specifically talking about when something in your mind/body is telling you that doing more in the short term may not be beneficial for the LONG TERM (i.e. potentially reaggravate an injury).

 

On the flipside, sometimes you may be feeling extra good and can push it a little with more sets/reps/weight lifted. Knowing when to pump the brakes or hit the gas comes with experience.

 

Overall, I recommend following your training program as it is written. So, don’t go maxing out this week and telling your coach Derek said it was ok LOL.

 

Training: Week of 12/2/19

 

Monday 12/2/19: Bench Press

Bench Press

(Top set last week: 275 X 6)

275 X 8, 8, 5 (Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5lD99Gjvym/) 

 

Military Press

(Top set last week: 145 X 8)

155 X 8, 8

 

Pendlay Row

(Top set last week: 225 X 6)

225 X 8, 8

 

Lat-Pulldown

187.5 X 8, 8

 

Tricep Pressdown

60 X 12, 12, 12

 

Alternating DB Curl

30’s X 12

35’s X 12

 

 

 

Tuesday 12/3/19: Deadlift

 

Deadlift

585 X 1, 1, 1

 

Since I lifted HEAVY last week (675 X 1) I am dialing it back a little this week (pumping the breaks).

 

Belt Squat (Sumo Stance)

360 X 8, 8, 8

 

Front Loaded Leg Press

600 X 8, 8, 8

 

 

Wednesday 11/27/19: REST DAY

  

Thursday 12/4/19: Bench Press Accessory

 

Incline Bench Press

(Top set from last week: 245 X 5)

245 X 5, 5, 5

 

Close Grip Floor Press

225 X 5, 5, 5

 

I randomly felt like doing floor presses today, so I did them. I did them differently than I have done in the past as I put a bench press pad on the ground and laid on that. Doing this surprisingly increased the ROM quite a bit more than standard floor presses on the ground, and I liked it! I am going to keep these in for a bit and see how I respond.

 

Weighted Pull-Ups

BW +45lbs X 6, 6, 6

 

DB Row on Incline Bench

85 X 8, 8, 8

 

Tricep Rope Pressdown

3 sets of 12

 

Barbell Curl on Incline Bench

3 sets of 12

 

Friday 12/25/19: Squat

 

Squat

(Top set from last week: 405 X 3)

365 X 5

385 X 5

405 X 5 (Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5vNW-ajGsv/)

 

Stiff Leg Deadlift

(Top set from last week: 405 X 3)

365 X 5

385 X 5

405 X 5

 

Single Leg Leg Press

3 sets of 8-12

 

Lying Leg Curl

3 sets of 8-12

 

 

Summary 

I must say that I have been more mentally driven these past few weeks. Most likely because I have actually been able to train pain free (for the most part) again! It’s legit been two years since I have been able to go into the gym and just TRAIN without having to work around an injury/pain.

 

I have been slacking on adding detail to these journal entries because I have been writing them after the fact at the end of the week. I am going to do some brainstorming on ways to add more substance to each entry.

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