Kev's Training Journal

11.04.09 Heavier Bench + delts + tris

BenchPress
40kgs x 12
40kgs x 12
60kgs x 10
80kgs x 4
90kgs x 1
100kgs x 1
110kgs x 1
115kgs x 1 PR
115kgs x 1
85kgs x 17 PR

Barbell ShoulderPress seated
40kgs x 12
40kgs x 12
50kgs x 12
55kgs x 12

Dips, pausing at top
Bodyweight x 12
Bodyweight x 10
Bodyweight x 12

Straight bar Skullcrushers
30kgs x 10
30kgs x 10
30kgs x 10 + repped out some close grip press



Good session. Bench coming along, probably could have gone heavier. Triceps were fried come the skullcrushers, made for very intense sets.
The top end of the bench will definitely be the problem area, loads of power coming off the chest but slows near the top. Floor presses are the plan for next week to bring up the top end of the bench, whether or not the equipment will allow for a floor press setup to be created will be another story.
The high rep set of bench was a big pr... last month 85 for 10-12 was tough. The ipod played a key role in that set.

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

That 85kg for 17 reps is pretty fúcking impressive:)

Thanks man, don't know where the hell it came from tbh. I guess there's a lot to be said for doing bench twice a week

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

Yes!! man i think all this overtaining malarky is in peoples heads a lot of the time. i bought in to it and started splitting "properly" and now my bench sucks balls! there was a time i was benchin heavy two and three times a week and my progress was wicked! i think im gonna have to revert back to my own lunatic principals, it seems to motivate me better too.

Steve Michalik said there's no such thing as overtraining, there's only under-recovering. He knew what he was talking about! The once a week stuff hasn't done much for me these last two years, the twice a week bench has already shown significant improvement. Just have to make a plan to do back and legs twice now too.

20.04.09

Squats
60kgs
80kgs
100kgs
lots of reps

BenchPress
40kgs x 10
40kgs x 10
60kgs x 10
80kgs x 5
90kgs x 5
90kgs x 5
95kgs x 5

Dips
2sets 12 reps

pecdeck
2 ridiculously light sets

incline bench
70kgs 2sets 10-12reps

facepulls
3sets @ 45 for 15reps



First day training in over a week, and really tired getting to the gym. Put a good effort into the squats and bench but the rest was a fairly non-intensive affair. Daydreaming in the pecdeck at one point ffs.

kevpants wrote: »

Blue T-Shirt?

I think there was only one lad deadlfting up there last night so it must have been you?

You may have seen myself Hanley and Malteaser feckin around with bars and steps and sh1te last night.

Yeah that's right, the place was so quiet last night, come 9.20 or so I was the only person down there! and the music was turned off, I was half expecting them to turn the lights off on me and everything

Using them steps is a genius idea man! I'm thinking I'm gonna use the steps as a rack just behind me, so I'll be able to take the bar out and get my elbows down to the floor.

25.04.09
Heavy Bench Morning

BenchPress
40kgs x 10
60kgs x 8
80kgs x 4
100kgs x 2
110kgs x 1
115kgs x 1
120kgs x 1
120kgs x 1

Barbell ShoulderPress
40kgs x 8
40kgs x 8
50kgs x 8
57.5kgs x 8

FloorPress
40kgs x 12
50kgs x 10
60kgs x 10
70kgs x 8
80kgs x 8
85kgs x 6

Back to regular BenchPress
80kgs x 12

StraightBar TricepPressDowns
5 sets or so up to 90 on the stack for 8-10



Decent training today, had a training partner for a change which was good. The benching wasn't great, Nearly missed the 110 (had to wake-up i think), but came back good for the 115. The 120 didn't really go too well, had control of the bar, no worries there, but they just weren't clean lifts at all, so as far as I'm concerned 115 is still where I stand. Was only up for just over an hour at that stage, that's my excuse.
FloorPress off the steps was good, just used the steps to rack the weight and had full ROM. Fairly close grip on these, about 5-6 inches inside the rings.
The plan for next week is to go 117.5 on the bench, and see from there.

28.04.09

Squat
40kgs x 8
60kgs x 6
80kgs x 4
100kgs x 2
110kgs x 2
120kgs x 1
130kgs x 2 PR
90kgs x 12

SpeedyBenchPress
bar x 12
50kgs x 10
80kgs x 5
85kgs x 5
90kgs x 5
95kgs x 5
100kgs x 5
85kgs x 12

Incline Dumbell Press
17.5kg dumbells x 12
25kg x 12
32.5 x 10
35 x 6-8

FacePulls
4 sets up to pin 52.5, 16-20 reps

Flat Bench Dumbell Stretch with 25s for 40seconds. Painful stuff.



Squatting was good today, one of the better days for sure. Probably could have went slightly heavier.
Bench was good too. 100kgs for 5 clean reps is as good as I've ever done really.
Training partner was present again, feeling the pain from benching twice a week for the first time ever. He'll thank me when his numbers fly up.

02.05.09
1pm

Bench
bar x 20
40kgs x 10
60kgs x 8
90kgs x 2
100kgs x 1
115kgs x 1...good
120kgs x 1...not easy
120kgs x 1...much better
115 kgs x 1...easy
115kgs x 1...had enough
up to 4 mins between heavy sets

BarbellShoulderPress
bar x 10
30kgs x 10
45kgs x 10
55kgs x 8
60kgs x 9 easy enough

Floor Press
50kgs x 8
80kgs x 6
90kgs x 5 good pauses for all reps

Lying Dumbell Extensions (Kennelly Style)
10kg dumbells x 12
15kg dumbells x 10
17.5kg dumbells x 9
17.5kg dumbells x 5 + 4 slow negatives

Alternate Dumbell Curls
20kg dumbells x 10
20kg dumbells x 10
20kg dumbells x 10

StraightBarTricepPressdown
52.5 x 12
67.5 x 10
75 x 10
82.5 x 8



Really tough day. Triceps are completely hammered.
I cut the grass when i got home too which was a good 30-40 minutes of high-intensity cardio.
I want to sleep now, but Hatton vs Pacquiao is nearly on, which means up til 5 in the morning probably.

Squats and bench
05.05.09
8pm

Squats
60kgs x 6
80kgs x 6
100kgs x 2
belt on
120kgs x 2
130kgs x 1
140kgs x 2 PR
135kgs x 2
100kgs x 8 deep

BenchPress
50kgs x 10
80kgs x 7
85kgs x 7
90kgs x 5
90kgs x 4 good long pauses at the bottom, and as explosive as possible

InclineBench
70kgs x 8
70kgs x 8
70kgs x 8.... pure crap

Flat Dumbell Press
30kg dumbells x 8
30kg dumbells x 8... and my 40 second stretch

Facepulls
52.5 x 16
52.5 x 16
52.5 x 16
45 x 20... went really high with these today form-wise


Session started off really well. 140kg squat is somewhat of a milestone for me, so it felt so good another rep was called for.
Must have been completely fried after the squats though because everything else was complete scrap, the incline bench in particular was HEAVY... not good, 70kg struggle, I was laughing at how hard it was. The workout was like a mullet (all business up front, and a party at the back). Probably a combination of the squats taking it out of me and the triceps not being fully recovered from Saturday.

I'll probably wear my trendy squat briefs next week, which should be interesting :cool:

07.05.09
8pm

CloseGripPulldowns
52.5 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 8
82.5 x 8

SumoDeadlift
60kgs x 3
60kgs x 3
100kgs x 3
120kgs x 3
140kgs x 1
150kgs x 1
150kgs x 1
150kgs x 1
120kgs x 10

WideGrip Pull-ups
Bodyweight x 4-5
Bodyweight x 4
Bodyweight x 4

HammerStrengthRows
40kgs x 8
60kgs x 8
80kgs x 8
80kgs x 8


Just working away trying to get familiar with sumo deads, didn't feel any need to go heavier than 150, it's a weight that comes up convincingly without being too heavy as to make me lose any feel of the form.
Pull-ups are hard, haven't done em wide grip since I was about 10stone, so yeah, real good fun.

20.05.09

Made an unplanned trip up to the gym this afternoon, just for a quick fix.

Leg Extensions
25 x 30
25 x 40

BarbellCurl
35kg x 8
45kg x 6
45kg x 6
50kg x 6

BenchPress superset with 10kg dumbell flyes
50kgs x 15
50kgs x 15
50kgs x 15
50kgs x 15

Side delt raise machine
25 x 16
25 x 16
25 x 16

Hammer Curls
17.5kg dumbells x 10
22.5kg dumbells x 6
22.5kg dumbells x 6
22.5kg dumbells x 6

Rear delt machine
30 x 15
30 x 15


Light weights but intense pace. Benching close grip, really trying to bring up the tricep strength. I had the idea of dynamic effort bench but it just turned into experimenting with form. Arm strength in general isn't where I want it to be, but I'm working out a plan of action.

27.05.09

Dumbell side laterals
5kg dumbells x 12
10kg dumbells x 12

Dumbell Shoulder Press
20kg dumbells x 12
25kg dumbells x 12
25kg dumbells x 12

SmithMachine Shoulder Press to the front
20kg on the bar x 12
30kg on the bar x 12
40kg on the bar x 12..... this bar is probably heavier than an Olympic bar, I hope

Close grip bench
60kgs x 10
60kgs x 10
60kgs x 10

upright rows
25kg x 12
30kg x 12
30kg x 12

Alternate Dumbell Curls
15kg dumbells x 12 each arm
20kg dumbells x 12
22.5kg dumbells x 6
25kg dumbells x 6

Facepulls
45 x 16
45 x 16

Tricep Pressdown
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
82.5 x 6

Vogelpohl pulldowns
67.5 x 12
67.5 x 12
67.5 x 12

Barbell curl
30kgs x 10
40kgs x 6
45kgs x 6
45kgs x 6

sit-ups
2 sets, 40 reps



Higher volume, faster pace, less than a minute between sets. Light weights. Vogelpohl pulldowns are good. Went heavy enough for arms, dumbell curling as much as I'm shoulder pressing, so should push shoulder press a bit harder from now on, which in turn should improve bench. Felt strong doing the pressdowns.


Vogelpohl pulldown

Hanley wrote: »

Been loving the Vogelpohl pulldowns since 2007!! Great exercise.

Did ya get XXX?

That's the first time I've done them, and definitely won't be the last. I'll probably just do them and facepulls back to back from now on.

What's XXX?

Summer Sheiko
01/06/09 Week 1 Day 1

Bench
60kgs x 5
72.5kgs x 4
72.5kgs x 4
85kgs x 3
85kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3
90kgs x 3

Squat
70kgs x 5
85kgs x 5
85kgs x 5
100kgs x 5
100kgs x 5
100kgs x 5
100kgs x 5
100kgs x 5

Bench (all reps paused)
60kgs x 6
72.5kgs x 6
72.5kgs x 6
77.5kgs x 6
77.5kgs x 6
77.5kgs x 6
77.5kgs x 6

Flat DBell Flyes
15kg dumbells x 10
15kg dumbells x 10
15kg dumbells x 10
15kg dumbells x 10
15kg dumbells x 10

GoodMornings
50kgs x 7
50kgs x 7
50kgs x 7
50kgs x 7
50kgs x 7


Okay so I decided to dedicate the next month to Sheiko. It's the perfect time for me to do it, because I have the time on my hands to spend 2+ hours in the gym on weekdays this Summer. I originally wanted to use a Westside template, but I can do that anytime of the year, not to mention that the Westside could be hard to run without always having a spotter at hand. I'll normally be training alone, and Sheiko will suit that better.
Today's session went okay, the first few benches were completely cr^p though. All form seemed to desert me, but then I got on track for the last two sets before squats. Party at the front, business at the back, ReverseMullet workout you could say.
Squats were good fun, legs felt fantastic.
Bench part 2 was okay aswell, but I was getting tired and was probably neglecting form a little here too.
Should have went heavier for flyes, will do 17.5s next time.
First time ever doing GoodMornings so didn't go mad trying to move much weight here. I was a little worried that they'd make my erectors burn like hell and leave me crippled, but they actually felt pretty good.
Now I'm off to play 18 holes of Golf, because cardio is important like...

Summer Sheiko
Week1 Day3

BenchPress (all paused)
60kgs x 7
65kgs x 6
72.5kgs x5
77.5kgs x 4
85kgs x 3
85kgs x 3
90kgs x 2
90kgs x 2
85kgs x 3
85kgs x 3
77.5kgs x 4
72.5kgs 6
65kgs x 8
60kgs x 10

Flat Dumbell Flyes
10reps 5sets 15kg dumbells (someone was using the 17.5s)

Squat
70kgs x 5
85kgs x 4
85kgs x 4
100kgs x 3
100kgs x 3
107.5kgs x 3
107.5kgs x 3
107.5kgs x 3
107.5kgs x 3
107.5kgs x 3

Lying Triceps Ext.
30kgs 5sets x 10reps

Seated GoodMornings
bar x 10
40kgs x 10
50kgs x 10
50kgs x 10


Another p!ss easy sheiko session in the bag . In the gym for over 2 hours. It dawned on me that I should have probably used this week to get comfy with goodmornings, seated and standing, and then started the program next week. It would be ideal just knowing what weight I need and just banging it out. It's a pain when your core is fried, you're wrecked tired, but you have to learn a new exercise and judge what weight you need for it.The GMs are supposed to be 5x5, but that didn't happen.

Squats were better than expected, I loosened up quickly and they weren't a problem.

For bench I brought my grip in closer (pinkies just a touch inside the rings) to involve triceps more and make it a little more challenging. All sets here were fairly easy, I'm not gonna lie. I'm having doubts as to whether this program will do anything for my bench. I won't be going heavier than 100kgs for the next 3 weeks, and then I'm supposed to do over 120... We'll see

Here's bench set no.8 which was 90kgs x 2