This video documents my second push day following Progressive Fitness’s hypertrophy routine. I started with a single rep back squat. It was my first pain-free low-bar squat in a while. While the depth wasn’t perfect initially, subsequent squats have addressed that, and I’ve worked up to 445 lbs, which I’m quite happy with.
My focus was on the hypertrophy routine, but the powerlifter in me couldn’t resist a bench press session. With my back feeling much better, I’ve reintroduced the big three lifts into my training. I simply incorporate them at the start of each workout day. For push days, I begin with bench presses before moving on to the hypertrophy exercises. Adding a few heavy sets at the beginning is a simple way to integrate these compound movements.
I take a deep breath and initiate the lift with a slight jump, similar to a deadlift. This set with 335 lbs felt smooth.
Bench pressing 335 lbs
This next set is 345 lbs, my heaviest lift in a while. My groove was slightly off, and the bar dipped a bit more than intended. It’s been a long time since I’ve handled this much weight, which explains the slight awkwardness.
Bench pressing 345 lbs
I then moved to incline dumbbell presses. Filming in the gym can be tricky. It was crowded, and I didn’t want to film behind someone, so I discreetly placed the camera on a seated calf raise machine. Its black color helped it blend in. These are 90 lb dumbbells, performed for eight to ten reps, before progressing to 100 lbs.
Incline dumbbell press with 90 lbs
Someone asked how I progressively overload with this routine. It’s a gradual process. For example, with the 100 lb dumbbells, I focused on controlling the negative and might have added an extra rep, which is sufficient overload for me. I applied a similar approach with the 115 lb dumbbells, aiming for an additional rep.
Incline dumbbell press with 100 lbs
Moving on to squats, I performed sets of five with 150 lbs. I was pleased with this weight, as it was my third attempt at my last powerlifting meet. Achieving this volume for four sets of five felt great, and my form was mostly solid. By the fourth set, fatigue started to affect my form slightly.
Squatting 150 lbs for sets of five
Next were decline cable flies. I’d previously used a decline bench incorrectly, so this time I focused on an upright torso, bringing the cables down slightly from a relatively high position. I aimed for 12-15 reps.
Decline cable flies
My final squat set proved challenging, and fatigue really set in. I should mention I’m a 47 kg lifter, so the weights might not seem impressive, but they’re substantial for my weight class. My deadlift is stronger, but I’m gaining confidence in my squats. I used to feel nervous squatting, but watching one of Jeff’s clients (and a good friend of ours) compete recently was motivating.
After the workout, I practiced some posing.
Posing practice
This concludes the workout overview. Thanks for watching!
