be able to bench press my body weight

Well, it took long enough!! Last night I felt good so I thought I’d give it a shot, even though it was supposed to be a “4 rep” workout.

Dumbbell Bench: 150 lbs (2 reps). I tried 160 lbs after that lift, but couldn’t manage.
Deadlift: 190 lbs + bar (this is now my favorite exercise!)
Pulldown: 162.5 lbs (not sure I’m bringing the bar down as far as I should)
Arnold Press: 90 lbs (45 lb + 45 lb, 3 reps)
Incline Crunches: 12 reps

Finally, I can focus on my “6-pack” goal and my running goal.

Trap Bar Deadlift: 230 lbs (trap bar sure makes things easier)
Smith Bench Press: 155 lbs (5 reps)
Arnold Press: 40 lbs (7 reps)
Pulldown: 145 lbs (8 reps, barely)
Leg lift: 12 reps

Next: 4 reps!

Continuing after a recovery period (kind of an accidental recovery—I was too busy to work out last week, but I’m glad I gave my neck some time to rest).

Deadlift: 205 lbs (Deadlift is kind of fun, though I’m still a little worried about the potential to destroy my spine!)
Arnold Press: 40 lbs
Dumbbell Bench: 130 lbs
Chinups: 7 reps

I did a deadlift last week that strained my neck—I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m going to lay off of that exercise for a little bit.

Lunges: 130 lbs
Arnold Press: 40 lbs (failed on 8)
Smith Bench: 150 lbs (failed on 6)
Pulldown: 145 lbs (barely made it!)
Leg lift: 13 reps

Woke up a little early after a night in the fire department. I still feel sore from the last workout (particularly my lower back from the deadlifting!), so I took it very easy today.

barbell deadlift: 132 lbs
dumbbell bench press: 100 lbs (haven’t done this for a while—it was tougher than I remember)
pulldown: 100 lbs
arnold press: 30 lbs
crunches on stability ball: 12 reps

I woke up for no reason at 4 in the morning. Having nothing better to do, I went to the gym!

After reading and taking to heart a couple of articles about form for deadlift and shoulder press, I improved quite a bit.

Barbell deadlift: 170 lbs
Smith bench press: 145 lbs (6 reps)
Pulldown: 137.5 lbs (6 reps)
Arnold press: 35 lbs
Leg raise: 12 reps
Wrist roller: 3 reps at 10 lbs

I didn’t work out at all last week. So I’m starting my 10 rep workout this week. The smith machine I used today was strange—the safety was really high and the bench & deadlifts ended up being almost like partials.

Smith Deadlift: 155 lb
Smith Bench: 140 lb
Cable Pulldown: 137.5 lb (failed on 10)
Arnold Press: 10 at 30 lb, 5 at 35 lb (failed on 6)
Leg Raise: 12 reps

Cardio: 2 miles @ 0.5% incline, 6.2 mph (9:40 pace). I haven’t done cardio for a very very long time and I’ve gotten slow!

it was late at night so I went easy.

Bench press (barbell) 95 lbs
Arnold Press 30 lbs (apparently, if I go ez on the bench press, I can do more on the arnold press! 12 reps was just about right at 30 lbs)
Deadlift (barbell) 115 lbs (wow, not even close to failure, but that was exhausting. I’m beginning to hate the deadlift. Also, keeping good form is tougher than I thought it would be using the barbell.)
Chin-ups: 7
Ab crunches: 2 sets of 12

Smith bench: 110 + bar (failed on 12)
Arnold press: 12 at 25lbs, 5 at 30lbs
Pulldown: 112
Deadlift: 110 + bar (smith)
Ab: 12 reps

Rats, so the 10-week program didn’t quite get me there. I need to change it up, since the program feels a little stale. I’m going to do a full-body workout every 2-3 days, with only 5 exercises that I’ll hit hard: barbell bench press (or smith press if I can’t get the barbell), pulldown, deadlift, arnold (shoulder dumbbell) press, hanging leg-hip raise (for abs). I’m going to start with warm up + 12 reps apiece this week and move down 2 reps each week.