Leaving the nest

VW 1

That warm nest which Hanley had constructed for me at RevFit.

He had brought me from never having looked at a barbell never mind put one on my back, and gave me a passion for lifting things in whatever way I could.

Unfortunately circumstances (herself going back to work after maternity leave) dictate that my 20 months at RevFit have come to an end and I need to find a new gym.

So enter FlyeFit Swords.

The plan is to maintain and improve the 3 main compound movements, over a two day split, twice a week.

When I started with James in January 2013, I weighed 82kg and around 20% BF with no numbers for my lifts.

At last test week I weighed in at 75kg, and the results of the test were
Squat 140kg (5kg PR)
Bench 87.5kg (2.5kg PR)
Deadlift 150kg (Previous test had been 165kg)

Although I got 2 PRs I was pretty disappointed with the week, I had had a great training cycle (high point being the week before the final deload Squatting 130kg for 8 reps after two singles and benching 80 for 5 after two singles)

So chalk it down to experience and move on.

I hadn't trained in a month prior to Wednesday last week due to an ankle injury, and sorting out the new gym arrangements.

Aaaaaand then a shoulder injury in a football match at the weekend ensured I wouldn't be training Sunday evening as planned.

The workouts will look something like the below, with some changes to the accessory work after each deload

Workout A

Squat (3x6,1x max reps @70% of max)
Romanian DL @ 50% of DL Max
Barbell Row/KB Row/Some kind of heavy pull
Light push - Floor press, incline/decline bench - higher volume, lower weight
Overhead press

Workout B

Front squat - 5 doubles, starting at 70% of max single and working up linearly depending on how it goes
DL (4x6 @ 70%)
Bench (3x6, 1x max reps @70%)
Strict BW pullups superset with Tri push downs

Weight to progress in a linear fashion for main lifts along the lines of

W1 70% 4x6
W2 80% 4x5
W3 90% 4x4

W4 deload

W5 75% 4x5
W6 85% 4x4
W7 95% 4x3

W8 deload

W9 80% 4x4
W10 90% 4x3
W11 100% 4x2

W12 Deload

W13 Test

VW 1

Wednesday 10th September

Squat @70%
Warm ups to 80kg
3x6 @ 100kg
1*10 @ 100kg

RDLs
80kg 2x8 1x6 1x5

Bent over row
60kg 4x6

Floor Press
50kg 4x10

Overhead Press
30kg 4x8

Overall good workout and happy with how I got through it. Squats were tough after not having done much in the last 4 weeks, mobility-wise was finding it tough to get as deep as usual, but still getting to parallel or so.

RDLs - weight was fine, hamstring burn was nice, was starting to struggle with grip towards the end. No chalk (mental note - get some!) along with the bar feeling fatter than those at RF led to slippage.

Rows, again weight and volume fine, grip an issue again with chalk/bar thickness

Floor Press - fine, will up weight by 5kg but may also look at adding another couple of reps depending on feel on the day

Overhead Press - something I haven't concentrated on in a while but want to build up and improve. Will take time to build up a base and make any increases slowly.

VW 1

Wednesday 17th September
Time for Workout B a few days later than planned due to a shoulder injury from a collision

Front Squat, warm up to 60kg
70kg 5x2

Deadlift @ 70%
115kg 4x5

Bench @ 70%
60kg 3x6 and 1x12

Strict Pull Ups and Tri Push Downs
Pull Ups 6 4 4 3
Tri Push Downs @ 43kg (machine) 4*6

Front Squats felt good both depth and weight, up 5kg next week

DLs, grip again became an issue without chalk and bar size - also got volume wrong - should have been doing 6

Bench - felt really strong, surprised my max rep set went as high as it did but I'll take that!

Disappointed with the pull ups considering the last time I had consistently worked up to these I was getting sets of 10 @ BW and worked up to a BW+30kg single. As with the OH Pressing, need to build up a base and progress from there. Push downs, up the weight for next week.

Hanley

So what you're saying is as soon as you left RevFit you got loads of injuries!?

Hanley

...and like I said before - your programming is now better than 90% of PTs!

VW 1

That's it exactly, although I got through a session tonight unscathed so looking up!

My big goal for the start of the year was a double BW squat so that's the aim by years end, next goal after that is 100kg bench. Let's hope the programme stands up to it!

VW 1

Long week, long weekend, long day. Wrecked and not in the mood.

All the elements necessary to have a kick as ssession! Still pumped at how well it went.

Warm ups/stretches.

Squat
Bar x 10
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2

112.5kg 3x5, 1x10

RDL
85kg 4x8

Floor press
55kg 4x10

OH strict barbell press 35kg
6
6 with a bump on the last
6, as above
6, needed a bump on the last two

Barbell curls
20kg, bring Sally up, bring Sally down

Squats, felt ok on my 3x5 and had 8 ok mind as a minimum acceptable for max but they were feeling good so pushed on. Reps 5 and 6 were higher than is like admittedly but still acceptable!

RDLs felt good, grip issue improved from last week and nice burn on the hamstrings. 5kg up next week.

Floor press, comfortable, up 5kg next week

OH press, struggled to keep all reps strict, keep same next week before pushing on

BB curls thrown in because I was using the watch to time rest breaks and was left with time over at the end.

Realised as i got into the car that I ha finished so quickly because I forgot to do the rows! Probably throw them in on Wednesday depending on how I'm feeling!

VW 1

Gym was much busier that it had been the last couple of weeks I'd been there, about 10 lads from a football team had taken over 3 of the squat racks. Instead of going about my Front Quat -> Deadlift combo to fire up the glutes and get everything moving, I stretched for about 5 mins or so until a deadlift platform was free.

Got into the 80% deads
Warm ups to 100kg
4x4 @ 100kg

Front Squat
Bar x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
What should have been 75x2 was 85x1. Misloaded (damn gym maths and 15kg plates!) by putting 5s on either side where they shouldn't have been. Felt a tweak in my back as my core wasn't as tense as it should have been.
Did 75x1 after removing the deviant plates and went on at 75kg for another 4 doubles.

Back was kinda twingey after that but not too bad.

Some stretches to loosen out and then

Bench

Bar x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg 3x5 and 1x7

Finished with Pullups Superset with Pushdowns
Pullups 6,6,5,3.8
Pushdowns @43kg again 4x6

Decided to keep the DL volume down one, as I don't envisage myself doing a double with 100% by programme end with that one.
Felt pretty comfortable though, used a mixed grip as I generally would on anything over 130kg. Form was good and it's the most I've enjoyed DLing in a long time (my most hated lift. hated.)

FS misload was just stupid. Never got comfortable from that point on and struggled to keep a good position with the tweaked back. Same weight next week to be on the safe side.

Bench. Jesus. What a struggle. First set of 5 on the 70kg felt like I wasn't going to finish from the start! At the end of the first set I even double checked the percentage and the calculations.
Worked my way through the rest of the 5s and shocked myself on the max rep set. Just sheer determination to get a decent number on the board.

Pull ups were an improvement on last week and felt ok. Got my eyes over the bar for the 0.8 one, just not the rest of my chin! For the most part though been getting my chest up to the bar so happy with that.
Didn't push it on the push downs as the back was tight.

Have to say I'm enjoying being stricter with the rest periods. 90s between each set, with 2mins before the max rep set.

VW 1

Decent session yesterday.

Stretching and mobility for 5 mins.

Squat.
Bar x 10
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg 3x4 1x8

RDLs
90kg 2x8, 5, 4

Floor press
60kg 3x10 1x9

Bent over row
60kg 4x8

Overhead press
35kg 4x6 with a bump on the last rep of last set

Squat, weight felt fine but still having shoulder issues wit holding it in the low bar position. Not affecting it really just sore when I get to the bottom and start to come back up. Depth wasn't quite where it should be, legs were right an stuff after a football match on Saturday so going to get back to stretching and mobility work at home twice a week which I've gotten out of the habit of.

Floor press felt good, feeling like there is decent strength on my bench atm.

RDLs struggled with grip again in the last couple of sets. Same weight next week.

Rows were good, probably should have increased weight this week but will up it next week.

Overheads felt stronger, enjoying seeing the progress on this.

Due to deload next week so will need to come up with a few ideas for lighter burn-y exercises to do. Probably 3 or 4 different sets with a 6, 12, 24 format but will think more about it as the week goes on.

VW 1

Post #8 should have read 130kg for the deadlifts instead of 100kg, damn typo.

Anyway, last night had a pretty good session, rather happy (delighted with the DL) overall.

Front Squat
Barx10 with three second pauses
40kgx5
60kgx3
75kg for 5 doubles

DL
Barx10
60kgx8
80kgx5
100kgx3
120kgx1
140kg 4x3 mixed grip

Bench
Barx10
40kgx5
60kgx3
80kg 4x3

Pullups/Tri push downs
6,6,6,5

43kg (with diff attachment, rope one that you pull apart at the bottom)
4x6

Front squats were ok, stuck with the same weight as I was still a little cautious over the niggle with the back last week. Will up to 80kg next week and maybe throw in a little core work too, as this feels like the weak point at the minute.

DLs felt really good. Sticking strictly with the %ages it should have been 148, but erred on the side of caution considering last test I only managed 150 (at the end of an all-round disappointing week). Form was good, strength and grip were good, and tbh it is probably the best DL session I've had. Really thrilled.

Bench, reps should have been 4s and not triples. After 70 being tough last week could have went for lower weight but stuck with it and it felt pretty reasonable. Will be a decent marker for progress when I lift a similar weight in around 4 weeks time.

Pull ups, strength is slowly building week on week. If i get 6 reps for 4 rounds next time I will start introducing a tempo and look to build to same reps.

Pushdowns were fine.

Will insert some core work/plank variations of some sort here next week.

VW 1

Deload week started last night.

Man it was tough at the time and I'm pretty sore now as a result!

Decided to try to get some sort of a legs/push/pull split in and will do the same for the second workout on Sunday.

So I did 3 rounds (90 secs between each round) of

6 per leg x Split Squats with 45lb dbs
12 per leg x reverse lunge with 35lb dbs
24 x paused goblet squats with 25lb dbs

4-5 min break

3 rounds of

6 x Tempo push up 3020
12 x Overhead press with 20kg bar
24 x floor press with 25lb dbs

4-5 min break

3 rounds of

6 x bw pull ups
12 per arm x DB rows 35lbs
24 x seated DB flys with 5kg DB

It was horrible, gassy, burny, painful and completely different to the type of training I had become accustomed to. Much more like an old style rev-fit workout.

Enjoyable to be doing something different but I can't wait to get back to regular training! Although the DOMS in my legs and ass this morning are unlike anything I've had in a while, those split squats and reverse lunges get you every time!

Alf Veedersane

VW 1 wrote: »

those split squats and reverse lunges get you every time!

Every time.

Without fail.

VW 1

Was smothering with a cold all weekend so I de-loaded my de-load and skipped training Sunday.


Back into my planned week 4 last night and once again, long couple of days with O/T in work and trying to see the little fella as much as possible.


Once again, tiredness is the secret and key to a great workout.


Various dynamic stretches.


Squat


Bar x 10
Bar x 10 with 3 second pauses
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
75% - 105kg 3x5 and 1x11 or 12.


RDLs 90kg
8,8,7,6


Floor Press
65kg 2x10, 1x9 1x7


Bent over row
65kg 2x8 1x7 1x6


Overhead Press
40kg 6,6,6 (with bump on one),4


Honestly can't remember what the number was for the max rep set. Stepped out from under the bar and felt light headed dizzy and obviously that's the sign of great effort!
Had gotten to 8 and felt comfortable, 10 felt ok and the last two were massive effort to maintain depth but all reps were quite acceptable to me.


RDLs, grip was ok mostly, didn't know if I had pulled something at the back of my right leg on the last rep of set 3, and set 4 I felt pain as well. Feels fine today so guessing it was one of those good pains. Same weight next week.


Floor press, nice and tough, good effort and squeezed out extra reps when I didn't think I could. Should go 4x10 next week.


Overhead press, again felt good and relatively strong. Nice to see the progress on this one, same weight next week hopefully manage the 4x6.

VW 1

Having gone through the worst run of injuries that have affected my training in quite a while I was delighted to be back in the gym last night.

I got a kick in the back in a football match after the last session, then came down hard on it in training on the Tuesday which meant I was out til the Saturday. Spent the week aggressively stretching the lower body, hips and back to try to get it feeling ok again by the Saturday, which worked.
Not sure if it was anything related but fairly early on in the game on Saturday I tweaked my hamstring, and with my last involvement in the game I put in a slide tackle and it went completely. So that meant another two weeks off.

Fast forward to two weekends later, was ready to re-tackle my week 4 day 2 and on the Friday I was struck down by the flu leaving me in bed for 3 days! Serious run of luck. Was still feeling out of sorts so decided to give myself a decent run at getting back to health and form.

Managed to go to football training Tuesday and the body felt good so back to the gym last night.

I didn't fancy jumping straight back into the programme after not training for so long, so decided to just get up there and hit the compounds and see how I got on.

Dynamic warm up stretches

Squat

Bar 2x10 with 3-5 second pauses to loosen out some tight hips
60kg 3x5030
80kg 3x5020
100kg 5x3

Deadlift

Bar 1x10
60kg 1x5
80kg 1x5
100kg 1x3
120kg 5x5

Bench

Bar 1x10
40kg 1x5030
50kg 1x5020
60kg 1x5020
70kg 5x5


Felt ok for the most part. Would have gone slightly higher volume on the heaviest squat sets but the back was still a little niggly. Not sore or anything but I didn't want to push too hard.

DLs were ok, usually wouldn't change to mixed grip until after 130kg but after my 1st set on 120kg I needed to change.

Bench felt grand, the final couple sets were a little bit of a struggle but I can't be expecting miracles after such a long period of doing nothing.

Hopefully I will be able to get back into the regular programming on Sunday without too much of a loss of strength/progress.

The goal at the start of the year was a double BW squat which would mean having to finish the programme without deloads and not missing any more sessions between now and years end pretty much.

So guess if I run a couple weeks into Jan I will still be counting it as completed in 2014!

VW 1

Turns out any fears about having lost strength while being injured/sick and not training for nearly a month were needless.

Worked out my percentages for what weight I would be doing before I headed to the gym and it turns out the compound stuff was pretty close to what I did for my "see how it feels" session on Wednesday.

Various warm ups and stretches

Front Squat
BW x 10 with 5 second pauses
Bar x 10 4030
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg 5x2

Deadlift
Bar 2x10
50kgx10
70kgx5
100kgx3
120kg 3x4 1x5

Bench
Bar x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
65kg 3x5 1x9

Pull up/Tri push down

6,6,5,4 (pull ups)
6,6,6,6 50kg push down

Front squats were ok, weight was fine but the same point in my lower back still feels a little niggly. Depending on how that feels I will possibly stick at the same next week.

Deadlifts were good, felt strong. Was continuing with the plan of dropping a rep compared to the other compounds. Reason being when testing last time, I had a bad week for various reasons and although set a PR on bench and squat I only DL'd 15kg lower than my previous PR. Have been working my current cycle off my PR DL as opposed to my prior test as it wasn't an accurate reflection of where my strength was at, but still couldn't see myself doing 2 reps of 165. Based on how it has been going so far this cycle who knows if I could! Got to the last set and still felt fresh so popped in an extra rep and am annoyed I didn't do it on all sets in hindsight!

Bench felt good also, desperately wanted to go for a tenth rep to keep the numbers even but with a lack of a spotter with nobody else being in the gym I didn't feel confident enough it would go.

Pullups as always were a struggle, and the push downs were hard enough that form was starting to break. Stay same weight on those next week.

VW 1

In the middle of the session still but will update the log with today's and Wednesdays later.

The ****in excitement my deadlift just gave me is unreal. Easily my best DL session ever.

Back pumping like a mofo' as I type like I have a second heart down there.

140kg 4x4 without any loss of form. Easily easily easily a rep PR.

My most hated lift is currently feeling my strongest and imloving it! Genuinely feel like a kid at Christmas

More to follow..

VW 1

Various dynamic stretches.


Squat


Bar x 10
Bar x 10 with 3 second pauses
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
85% - 120kg 3x4 and 1x8


RDLs 90kg
8,8,7,6


Floor Press
65kg 2x10, 1x8 1x7


Bent over row
65kg 2x8 1x7 1x6


Overhead Press
40kg 6,6,5,4


Awful squatting session. Never felt comfortable, never felt loose and felt like the weight on my back was absolutely massive. Need to work on mobility at home, struggled to get below parallel once there was any real weight on my back. It was still slightly niggly, maybe I was subconciously stopping myself going low with higher weight. Maybe the issue lies elsewhere, there are no issues when I have up to 80kgs on my back. Regardless not a happy bunny.


RDLs, grip was ok and nice burn on the hamstrings, they were still sore when I played football on saturday!


Floor press, nice and tough, good effort and squeezed out extra reps when I didn't think I could. Should go 4x10 next week.


Overhead press, felt alright but haven't done it in a while so was expecting regression. Will continue at same weight next week and see how I go.

VW 1

Front Squat

Stretches etc

Bar 2 x 10 with pauses thrown in here and there
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg 5 x 2

Deadlift

SLDL, alternating with DL with the bar for 20 reps

60kg x 10
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg 4x4

Bench

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
72.5kg 3x4 1x5

Pull up/Bar dips

6,6,5,4 on the pull ups - they aren't getting easier!
5,5,4,6

Happy with the front squats, at a point where the back isn't inhibiting these and it is allowing me to push a little harder. 85kg next week

As above, best DL session I've ever had. Felt great, everything clicked and went right. May not seem like much but it's the lift I've struggled most with for form and consistency from the 3 compounds so it's great to see it all click. Back to following the programme as with the others in terms of reps and percentages.

Bench felt ok, nothing too great. But got through it and managed to get more than the amount of reps on the max set.

Pull ups still not great, time was I maxxed out at BW+25kg for a single. Now I can't get 4 rounds of 6!

Switched push downs for proper dips because I hate machines!

VW 1

Wednesday was a veryuch get in and get it done session.

Warm up stretches

Squat
Bar x 10
Bar x 10 with pauses
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 1

Wasn't feeling too confident or comfortable with my form on the 120 to do triples at 130 as planned.

120 3x3 1x5

Concentrated completely on keeping form and making sure I got the depth which has been sorely lacking since the month off.

Not good to stress about the weight but just continue to make sure I'm doing it right rather than try go too heavy and injure myself again.

RDLS

90kg 3x8 1x4

Felt ok, same next week

Floor press

65kg 10,9,4???,8

Don't know what happened there, struggled to get it back to the rack and felt fresh next set. Weird.

Bent Over Row

65kg 3x8 1x7

Up weight next week

Overhead press

40kg 6,6,4,5

Probably increase weight next week

VW 1

Also, extra session coming tonight which is rare to get the time to do considering I train for gym or football 5 times a week.

Herself has her Xmas work party and once I put the little fella down to bed my mam will be there to keep an eye on him.

So I'm sneaking out.

To the gym.

To do some squats, and reverse lunges and split squats.

And Hanleys planking workout for your core which I need to look for, think it involves on off with varying rest times for 8 or 12 minutes.

Amazing what you can get excited about on a Saturday night, and how muh priorities change in 3 years.

I didn't choose this thug life....

VW 1

Aim of the workout was form form form.

Squat

15-20 mins of stretching

Bar x 10
60kg x 8 with 3 second pauses
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg 5x3

All with good depth and form.

Split squat

50kg 4x8 per leg

Planking
10mins of work total
2 mins 15s on/15 off
2mins 30s on/30s off
3 mins 45s on/45s off
4 mins 1min on/1 min off

All decent, happy with the squats and split squats. Stretching probably helped with the recent depth issues I've been having.

VW 1

Another Sunday, another good deadlift session.

Stretching and dynamic warm up

Front squat

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
85kg 5x2

Jump in weight felt good, had previously been held back by my lower back isse but it feels good and strong and back to normal. Up to 90kg next week.

Deadlift

Bar - DL/SLDL alternates x 20
60kg x 10
80kg x 8
100kg x 5
130kg x 2
150kg 4 x 3

WOOOOOOOOOOP! Serious struggle and effort but delighted I got it smashed out. Never would have thought a few months ago when I was at my lowest point mentally with my DL that I'd have gotten 4x3 at just over double BW.


Bench

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
80kg 3x3 followed by 1, fail on second rep. Reset, be myself 60s and got another 2 out. The failure I think was due to a bad bar path and gettin into a bad position. Took a lot to grind out some of those reps but overall was pretty happy with the fact I got them out.

Finished with pull ups/bar dips

Pushed for time so only 3 sets

6,6,6

6,6,6

Good workout. Happy with that, combined with eatin seeeeeeerious amounts of meat in Pitt Bros makes for a happy Sunday!

Hanley

Your training is going so well man. Delighted for ya!

VW 1

Did deload tonight as scheduled.

Warm ups and stretches

Squat
Bar x loads
60kg 3020 x 10
80kg 3020 4x8

Squat 1.5s
70kg 4x8

Bench
Bar x 20
40kg x 10
50kg with3 seconds pause 4x8

3 rounds of
Pressups x 10 3010
Kettle bell OH press 10kg x 10 per arm

Planking work from the other night.

Decent burny-ish workout for the legs and chest.nice to change the weight up and throw some pauses in. Have one of my mates working out with me the last few weeks, he is relatively new to weightlifting and he was shocked to see how tough a relatively light weight can be when pauses and slower reps are thrown in.

VW 1

Second day of the deload week. Nothing planned but a rough idea that I wanted to get some core work in, something chest related and something dead lift/hamstring related.

A) Paused front squat took care of quad/core element

Stretches/warm ups without bar
Bar with pauses x 20
40kg x 10
50kg x 5
60kg 3030 5x5

Good mornings for hamstring work

Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg 4x6

Tried to keep the downward part of the movement slow to keep the burn on my hamstrings as much as possible

C1) DB bench press 17.5kg
C2) DB row 17.5kg

12 of each, with the rows on each arm.

Takes care of chest/back and balances the push/pull element

Little bit of a bro-set

3 rounds of a 20kg barbell complex of

6 skull crushers
12 overhead press
18 bicep curls

Nice workout, got in all the elements I was looking for and looking forward to cracking on with the rest of the programme. Still undecided as to when and ehat to test but still have 4 weeks or so to make decisions!

VW 1

First time to experience the gym so busy at 10 on a weekday!

Arrived and all squat racks were being used so had to alter the order of what I was going to do.

Started off with some warm up and stretches.

OH Press

20kg x 10

30kg x 6

40kg 4 x 6

Felt a lot easier than previous weeks, I put it down to going at it fresh rather than at the end of the work out

Barbell Row

40kg x 6

65kg 4 x 8

SLDL (realised I've been calling these RDLs since the start of my log!)

60kg x 8

90kg 4 x 8

Switched to a mixed grip after the second set as I was having trouble with that aspect, but with the intention being to work my hamstrings rather than grip I decided that would be the best course of action

Rack became free as the place started to clear out

Squat (4 x 4 @ 80%)

Bar 2 x 10

60kg x 8

90kg x 5

110kg 10 x 4

Started off and was feeling strong, getting down low and after 3 sets was due to try for max reps. Seeing as I had done 120kg 5 x 5 a couple weeks ago I decided that instead of a max rep set I would go for the max sets I could manage.

Aaaaand after a lot of fight and much burning of the legs I managed to get in 10 sets @ 110kg which is approx 80% of the max I was working on, so delighted with that! Felt like a seriously strong day.

Floor Press

Bar x 10

40kg x 5

65kg 2 x 10, 1x5

I left all my fight in those squat sets. Should have done a 4th set but decided to cash in my chips and leave.

VW 1

2nd day DOMS are worse than a 2 day hangover, hands down.

Ugh.

VW 1

It was a little busy when I arrived again last night. The same 3 brawhs for the last few Sundays have taken 2 racks between them, using them from before I arrive through the hour or so I'm there and are still there when I go. They must only be 18-19 but jesus they do some volume of squatting with some bench, pullups and deads thrown in.

Anyway I digress, it is annoying when you can't use what you want to use but this is the risk in a commercial gym.

So began with warm ups and stretches before getting into my deadlifting.

Programme calls for 80% of max 4 x 4

Bar x 20 alternating DL and SLDL

60kg x 10

90kg x 8

120kg x 5

130kg 4 x 4

Felt pretty easy tbh, I did this volume in week 3 and I was considering going for more sets but decided to just follow the programme as there are more challenging weeks ahead

Front Squat

Bar x 10

40kg x 6

60kg x 4

80kg 5 x 2

Instead of going up to 90kg as I had planned on doing after the last weeks efforts, I decided to stick with 80 when I did a double in the warm up. Back was fairly pumped so decided to err on the side of caution with this, considering the issues I'd had prior. Last double was with a 3 second pause.

Bench

Bar x 10

40kg x 8

50kg x 6

60kg x 4

70kg 3 x 4, 1 x 10

Pretty happy with this if I'm honest. The 3 sets of 4 felt strong, and really really pushed on the max set to get 2 more reps than I thought I would. The omens are good.

Pull up/Tri Dips

6,6,6,4

6,6,6,5

Might start to think of lower volume and weighted with the pull ups as the progress is kind of stopping. Or may just persist for the last two weeks and change it up next time around.

Decent session overall.

VW 1

Usual warm ups, stretches etc

Squat

Bar x 20 with pauses

60kg x 10

80kg x 6

100kg x 3

120kg 3 x 3 1 x 7

RDL

Bar x 10

50kg x 8

70kg x 5

95kg 4 x 8

Floor Press

40kg x 8

65kg 2 x 10 2 x 6

OH Press

40kg 3,5,4,4

Bit of a mixed session. Squats felt good, strength in the legs and depth was between parallel and just above for the entirety. Was going as low as I could at all times and stopped on the max rep set when I felt form breaking down. Really not sure what to do with regards squat testing, I'm not sure whether my issues are with strength, mobility, technique or mental. Once the weight goes higher, I find it hard to get as low as usual, but it isn't my legs that struggle with the weight. Today the sorest part of me is between my hip/groin area and that's usually the case when I push myself. Don't want to try to go for a max if I'm not 100% sure on my form, as my form is what I am looking to build on at the minute.

I will try to get some videos up of squats at different weights over the next week or so to see if anyone can give an opinion on where the problem might lie.

RDLs felt good, the switch to mixed grip is paying dividends in the sense that I can much more easily focus on my hamstrings rather than trying to hold on to the bar as the reps and sets go on.

Forgot to do barbell rows, and doing floor press then overhead press isn't a good idea. My triceps were completely fried and didn't want to get the bar up at all.

Will do OH Press at start of session next week again as I did last week with more success.

VW 1

Usual warm ups and stretches

Front Squat

BW x 20

Bar x 10

40kg x 10

60kg x 6

70kg x 4

80kg x 2

90kg 5 x 2

Deadlift @ 90%

Bar x 20

60kg x 10

90kg x 6

120kg x 3

150kg 4 x 3

Bench @ 90%

Bar x 10

40kg x 10

50kg x 8

60kg x 5

70kg x 3

80kg 3 x 3, 1 x 5

Push Up/Parallel Bar Dips

6,6,6,4

6,6,6,6

Overall good, strong but tough session. The deadlifts were the same numbers as i did a few weeks ago, but strengthwise felt less of a struggle. Was pretty warm in the gym, so the bar was slightly slipping. All of my work since leaving RF has been chalk-less, wonder what kind of difference it would make at this stage as I have just become used to it.

Front squats I was pretty happy with, I don't think I had ever gotten 5 doubles at 90, I think 85 was the highest I had done previously.

Bench I was delighted with, shouldn't have gotten that 5th rep, and don't believe I would have only for the gym being empty and the fear of being crushed! Looking forward to seeing what numbers come up on the test week.

Really not sure what to expecting from testing, the cycle has gone well, and I was training off what I believe should have been better numbers anyway. Unusually with me, I am feeling most confident about bench and DL and a lot less so about squatting. Big week this/next week with being due to do doubles at my old 100% (all PRs). Got to be sleeping and eating right over xmas for it to go as well as I hope!

VW 1

Well it's finally here. The first day of the last heavy week of the programme prior to testing. With Christmas getting in the way, gym took place Sunday morning instead of Wednesday evening.

Decided beforehand that I would take 135kg for squatting instead of the 140 that would have been 100%.

Was also trying out my new white adipowers that herself got me for Christmas (unprompted!!) so wasn't sure what affect that would have or if I would need time to get used to them.

Scap pull ups 3x10 to get some shoulder warm ups

Overhead Press

Bar x 10
45kg 4x6

Difficult but not majorly so, definitely much prefer doing them fresh, too bad I found out so late on in the programme!

Squat

Stretches
Bar x 10
More stretches
Bar x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
135kg 3 x 2, 1 x 3

Pretty delighted with that tbh and it bodes well for testing. Hopefully I will finally get that double body weight squat which should be 150, didn't overindulge too much over xmas.

Not sure overall what affect the adipowers had tbh. If I had the time this week I would have gotten in a purely squatting session to see how it felt comparable to what I have been doing. I've been feeling strong the past hole and this was a continuation of that. Didn't seem to get any more depth and not sure if it was less effort than a normal week, up to 120 anyway which is the heaviest I've been this cycle it felt pretty much the same. Anyone able to advise here!?

Anyway, the first double was higher than I'd like, but the rest were all pretty much parallel so happy enough. Biggest isse I'm having at the minute is sore wrists when I step out from under the bar.

Floor press

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
65kg 2 x 10, 2 x 7

Bent over row

65kg 4 x 8

SLDL

100kg 4 x 8

Rest of the workout felt fine, no drama and no fuss.

VW 1

Usual warm ups and stretches.

Front Squat

Bar x 10

More stretching

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
80kg x 1
90kg 5 x 2

Decided not to go all out for the 95kg this week with the heavy deads to come

Deadlift

Bar x 20
60kg x 10
90kg x 6
120kg x 3
140kg x 2
160kg 4 x 2

Bench

Bar x 10

Scap pull ups

40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
80kg x 1
85kg 3 x 2, 1 x 3

Called it a day there, needed to get back home to pick up herself so forwent the pull ups and dips.

Front squat felt good and strong, wore the adipowers for these, although not sure whether one should or shouldn't for FS, but it didn't seem to hinder me in any case!

Deads went up ok, decided to do this week just short of the 100% of previous 1RMs. The first double at 160 I rounded my back on the way up, so made sure to keep my hips down longer to alleviate this. Last double I struggled for grip on my right hand when trying to get it locked out, more because of the gym being warm than anything, nothing that some chalk wouldn't have sorted. Pretty happy that they went up so easy tbh.

Bench was a bit of a nightmare. The first was tough, second was better and the second rep of the third double I paused about halfway up for 2 seconds before I could push on to close it out, but was never in any danger of missing it. With that in mind for the max rep set, I was getting myself psyched up and was in position thinking to myself, "3 reps, I'd be delighted with 3 reps". There was nobody around to ask for a spot, so went for it anyway. Got the three more comfortably than I thought I would and was delighted so went for a 4th (stupidly). Got so close to getting it back up that I thought I had it, genuinely don't know how I didn't get it straightened out as I was 75% of the way there. Ended up with the bar on my chest anyway and having to wriggle and work it down to my hips before I could escape! No damage done apart to my pride though, and a lesson learned that I should have learned last week!

One more deload week and on to test week then.

Super excited to see what comes of it!

VW 1

Trained on Wednesday evening, my first time to train since 30 December apart from football, had to take a week off after someone opened a car door while I was cycling, leaving me with a hip to knee bruise and no mobility in my right leg.

Due to do a deload before testing so decided to follow the same as the prior deload with heavier weight.

Squat

Bar 3 x 10
50kg x 10 3020
70kg x 5 3020
90kg 4 x 8 3020

Seriously burny, was struggling towards the end!

Squat 1.5s

60kg 4 x 8

Bench

Bar 2 x 10
40kg 1 x 10 3 sec pause
60kg 4 x 8 3 second pause

3 Rounds of

10 pressups 3010
10 (per arm) x 10kg OH press with KB

Felt crap before, during and after the workout. Not helped by the gym being crowded, even though I intentionally left it until 10 to start training to avoid it.

Just gotta get on with it and look forward to testing!

Alf Veedersane

I hope you ripped the car door off and beat them to a pulp with it.

Or any other type of payback their stupidity earned.

VW 1

Sunday 11 Jan

Deadlift Test

Was scheduled to do another day of deload but decided I'd just get stuck into testing instead as I was feeling fresh and rested.

Front Squat

Bar 2 x 10
40kg x 10
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
70kg 5 x 2

Deadlift

Bar x 20
60kg x 10
100kg x 6
120kg x 4
140kg x 2
160kg x 1
170kg x 1
180kg x 1

Delighted with getting to 180. Had that number in my head as a target beforehand. 170 went up fine so didn't want to go 175, 180 was quite a bit more difficult. Felt like an age to get it moving, once it did I was fine until just before locking out, took about 3 seconds to get it where I wanted to.

Overall really happy though.

VW 1

Wednesday 14th

Bench test

Bar 2 x 10
40kg x 10
50kg x 7
60kg x 4
70kg x 2
80kg x 1
85kg x 1
90kg x 1
92.5 - missed twice

Not sure where I went wrong or what really happened on this one. Was hoping to get 92.5 or 95 if I'm honest, so not too happy that I managed to not get there. Warming up felt fine, 80 and 85 felt strong, 90 went up ok as well.

First attempt at 92.5 the bar path wasn't right, got it about 2 inches off my chest and got my spotter to lift it for me. Gave it 3 mins and tried again. Bar path was better and got it off my chest but couldn't push on. Gave it a good fight but in the end it just wasn't going up.

Still a 2.5kg PR, but for the second cycle in a row the cycle has felt quite strong but resulted in only a 2.5kg PR. I'm sure there is more in there based on the cycle numbers, just not sure how to coax it out at the moment!

VW 1

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I hope you ripped the car door off and beat them to a pulp with it.

Or any other type of payback their stupidity earned.

With hindsight I would have, but in the moment I was left dazed and on the ground with a middle aged Polish woman trying to get me back on my feet!

VW 1

Final night of test week.

Been putting it off, chose not to go Saturday. Too tired Sunday. No more excuses, 10.30 Monday night I go to flyefit not expectin much from my squat.

Stretches, extensive stretches.

Bar x 10

Bar x 10 again

60kg x 8
80kg x 6
100kg x 4
120kg x 2
130kg x 1

Shît gets serious

140kg x 1

Felt good. Felt strong. Easy maybe? But this was where the wheels were meant to come off. I'd already made my excuses ffs!

165kg walkout - tip Hanley gave while I was training with him.

5 seconds of trying not to fall over and back in.

145kg x 1

Also good. There was more in the tank. I mean I was nearly too excited to attempt 150. Here it was, the moment of truth. My first real long term goal since I started training with James 2 years ago this week. The culmination of it all in my shiny new white adipowers.

150 x 1

Got pulled forward. Didn't get the depth I wanted due to that, but it was there.

150 x 1 again, stronger core, braced, head up don't get pulled forward. Glance at the mirror as I approach bottom, jusssst parallel. Good enough for me.

Double body weight.

Ecstasy.

Over the f'in moon.

Here's to a new year and new goals to formulate!

Edit: forgot to add in the walkout

VW 1

Double post

VW 1

Decided to take a break from the type of programme I was doing and try to focus on the areas that were week and caused my lifts to break down.

So for the next 4-6 weeks I will be doing something along the lines of the following

Workout A

Paused Squat 5 x 5
Front squat 4 x 8
Paused Bench 5 x 5
Close Grip Bench 4 x 8

Deadlift 5 x 3
Good Morning 4 x 8
Plank variations
Something press related

The squat was definitely broken down by my core strength I think. Two possible issues, first that I'm getting pulled too far forward by the weight on the bar due to be technique, second being that my xore isn't strong enough. Either way strengthening my core won't hurt, and paused squats at lighter weights will allow me to work on technique regardless.

Bench, could possibly be lacking in strength in my tris - again either way even if it won't improve my 1RM, doing pauses ad close grip certainly won't hurt.

DL, not sure what the limiting factor here was but I hate good mornins so I figure working on the thing you hate is generally positive.

VW 1

Sooo all that in mind, today consisted of

Week 1 Day 1

Bench

Bar x 20
40kg x 10
50kg x 6
60kg 5 x 5 with 3 second pause on chest

Close grip bench press

50kg 4 x 8

Squat

Stretches

Bar 2 x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg 5 x 5 with 3 second pauses at the bottom

Front squat

60kg 4 x 8

Felt fine, will take the squat and bench up 5% next week and add weight to the assistance work also

Alf Veedersane

VW 1 wrote: »

I hate good mornins so I figure working on the thing you hate is generally positive.

Love this rationale!

VW 1

Never seen the gym so busy as last night, I've been purposely leaving it later and later to let it quieten down but 10.30 last night and every one of the racks and deadlifting platforms were in use!

Got busy with the 2nd half of the workout first.

Planking

15s on/15s off - 2mins
30s on/30s off - 4mins
45s on/45s off - 3mins
1 min on/1 min off - 4mins
1 min 30s on

Total of 8mins of planking, Will add more time in, or weight, as the weeks go on.

Overhead Press

Strict press - 12kg kettlebell.

8 Reps x 10EMOM

11.05, first DL platform of the night became free

Deadlift

Decided screw 5 x 3 so gonna 5 x 5 this as long as my form is good and there is no back rounding

Bar x 20
60kg x 10
100kg x 6

130kg 5 x 5

Good Mornings

Bar x 10
60kg 4 x 8

Overall, workout was fine. Definitely the easier of the two days though. Will make some tweaks, probably continue for 6 weeks adding to the main lifts where I complete them without any fuss and see where the progression gets me before doing another longer and more structured cycle.

VW 1

Got in this morning to get it out of the way.

Bench

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
65kg 5 x 5 paused

Close grip bench

Bar x 10
55kg 4 x 8

Squat

Bar x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
105kg 5 x 5 paused

Front squat

65kg 4 x 8

Felt good, tough at times, more so with the squats than benching. Found it hard sticking to the 2 min rest period on squats and 90s on front swuat.

Will keep the weight going upwards next week

VW 1

Got around to doing week 2 day 2 last night, took last Wednesday off for the birthday and never got back to getting it done.

Warm ups/stretches for a good 10 mins to loosen up

Deadlift

Bar x 20

70kg x 10
100kg x 5
120kg x 3

140kg 5 x 5

Good Mornings
Bar x 10
65kg 4 x 8

I fu(kin hate good mornings

Plank

Same routine as last week, so 8 mins planking in 16 mins, with a 5kg plate on my back

Strict Press

16kg x 8 OMEM for 10 mins

Fine for the first 4 rounds, 8 reps
5th round, 6 reps
6th round 4 reps

Then I gave up and went home!

Decent workout, other than the press.

Deadlifts were solid, very tough though. Plank killed me but happy I got through it at all.

Onwards and upwards.

VW 1

First bad day at the gym in a while.

Really felt weak as a kitten!

Front squats

Bar x 20
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
70kg 4 x 8

Squat

Bar x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
110kg x 5 paused
110kg 2 x 5 no pause

Killed me at this point, decided to move on to benching

Bench

Bar x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 3

70kg 3 x 5

Again, effort involved was ridiculous considering there was no pauses. Took an hour to get to this point, skipped the close grip and went home.

Just one of them days!

VW 1

Another not so hot day.

Got to the gym Sunday, the day after the bad Saturday!

Started off ok.

Plank with 5kg weight
30s on/30s off for 3 mins
1min on/1 min off for 8 mins
1 min 30s on/1 min 30s off for 3 mins

7 mins total plank

DB Press

15kg DB
OMEM - 10 rounds x 8 reps per arm
6 rounds - 8 reps

2 rounds - 6 reps
2 rounds - 5 reps

Still no DL platforms free at this stage

Took a 25kg plate, and did some form of weighted stretching/SLDL

Basically feet a little more than shoulder width apart, hold plate sideways in 2 hands, and keeping the legs straight get the knuckles to the floor, without actually touching it and hold for 5 seconds

Did the above for 4 rounds of 8 reps, hamstring burny.

Deadlift
Bar x 10

70kg x 8
100kg x 5
120kg x 3

140kg 5 x 3

VW 1

Wednesday 18th feb


Better day, few early nights and better eating I think made the difference.


Squat


Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg x 3


110kg 5 x 5 (no pauses)


Front squat


70kg 4 x 8


Bench


Bar x 10
40kg x 10
50kg x 6
60kg x 3


70kg 5 x 5 with 2 sec pause


Paused bench


60kg 3 x 8


Squats felt a hell of a lot better, not strong enough to get pauses in as well but better than they had been. Front squats were decent as well.


Bench felt good, think this might be the last week of this kind of stuff, will likely get back to more structured stuff next week.

VW 1

Another decent session this afternoon


Deadlift


Bar x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 8
100kg x 5
120kg x 3


145kg 5 x 5


DB Strict Overhead press


15kg DB


8 mins EMOM 8 reps per arm


Good Mornings


Bar x 10
60kg 4 x 8


DL felt strong, serious struggle finishing the last 2 sets! Happy with the days work on these. Also the OH press was a big improvement on last week

VW 1

Wednesday 25th

Squat

Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg 5 x 3

Front squat

Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
70kg 4 x 8

No bench free and lads waiting on the squat rack, didn't wanna be that guy

Incline bench with DB

10kg x 10
20kg 4 x 8

Was tight for time, left it at that.

Squats felt strong, both front and back.

Starting to annoy me at this stage that I can't make the gym 3 days a week and do a conventional leg/chest/back split.

Decided to go on with my haphazard programming as herself is considering joining the gym and giving up on her boot camp style classes, so I said I'd hang on until she joins, tests maxes and I'd start at the start of the programme with her.

VW 1

Pulled my hamstring last week during my football match, so took a bit of time out.

Still quite nightly, so back and chest today.

DB rows

30kg 3 x 6, 1 x 10

Wide grip, palm forward pull ups

5, 4, 4, 3

Lat pull down

45kg 4 x 8

Seated row machine

39kg 4 x 6

CGBP

60kg 4 x 6

Push ups

8 EM