Unexpected New Bench Territory

I wasn't planning anything special for yesterday's workout except to go a little heavy on bench, but afterwards I realized that I definitely moved into new bench territory. My previous best bench was 155 x 8, and I beat it by a good margin:

95 x 6
135 x 6
165 x 7
155 x 7
145 x 8

Notice I used drop sets for a change.

The rest of the workout included:

• One arm DB Rows (3 x 8 with a 75# db)
• Standing Barbell Press (10 reps x 75, 70, 65)
  supersetted with
  
• Standing Barbell Curls (10 reps x 70, 65, 65)
  
• Dips supersetted with Chins (just one set each)

Super Squats: More Tweeks, more weight.

I have to admit I was quite impressed with Rich's new Squat PR. After my second warm up set, which was 185 x 5, I was feeling pretty strong. I remembered my own words to Rich about "only 20 lbs". So I slapped on a 10 on each side and had at it. Here's how it went:

Squat
135 x 7
185 x 5
205 x 20

I rounded off legs with Standing Calf Raises, and Lying Leg Curls, then about 10 minutes of stretching.

I have still been tweaking the upper-body portion of the workout a little. The result is sort of a combination of my first two ideas. I decided to do all core compound movements on the 3 supersquat days, and still have my fun weekend Arm-day. After my stretching, I did Incline Bench, Barbell Row, Standing Press, and Shrugs. Incline Bench will be alternated with Flat Bench, and Barbell Row will be alternated with Lat Pulldowns every other workout.

Challenge results in new Squat PR

It started at lunch time yesterday. Frank said "When you work out today, try squatting with 190 to see if you can match my PR of 21 reps". I told him he was nuts, especially since I had trouble getting 2 x 10 with 175 at my last workout. He reminded me, however, that I had previously claimed 170 x 25 with "gas in the tank" (which was true) and that 190 was "only" 20 more pounds.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. I felt well-rested, strong, and ready for a challenge. I finally settled on trying 185 - a nice looking weight, with a 45 and a 25 on each side. The result?

Squat:
95 x 10
135 x 7
165 x 5
185 x 20

I finished the routine with:
Leg Curls - 30 lbs x 25 reps (I was in a high rep mood)
One Leg Calf Raises - 20 lbs x 18, 12, 10
Stiff Leg Deadlift - 135 lbs x 12, 12
Side Bends - 40 lbs x 15 reps
Hanging Leg Raises - 10 reps

This was a major new PR for me, and it felt great. Thanks for the challenge, Frank!