Strong Curves Log

pemtca

5.3km in around 31 minutes yesterday

23/01/2015 Week 10 Workout C

Warmup & mobility 10 mins

Superset:
Hip Thrust with 3 sec pause at top 3 x 12 @24kg
Chest-supported Row 3 x 8 (2x12.5kg db)

Superset:
Parallel Squat 3 x 10 @42.5kg
Barbell Incline Bench Press 3 x 8 @22.5kg

Prisoner 45 degree Back Extension 3 x 12
supersetted with:
Side-lying Clam 1 x 30 each side
Hanging Leg Raise 1 x 11
Rope Horizontal Chop - 1 x 12 @ 3 plates on cable machine

BB complex:
Front Squat
Overhead Press
Bent Over Row
Romanian Deadlift
2x6 of each, no rest

Stretching

pemtca

A slow 5.3km on Saturday morning

26/01/2015 Week 11 Workout A

Warm-up & mobility 10 mins

Superset
Hip thrust 46.5kg 3 x 10
Dumbbell bent-over row 3 x 10 (2x12.5kg)

Superset
Box Squat 3 x 12 @35kg
Push-up 3 x 11

Superset
American Deadlift 3x11 @ 42.5kg
with
Side lying abduction 1x30 each side
Swiss ball dumbbell crunch 1 x 25 (10kg)
Half-kneeling cable anti-rotation press 1 x 17 (13.5)

10 minutes on the elliptical

Stretching

pemtca

27/01/15 Week 11 Workout B

Warmup & mobility 10 mins

Superset:
Single-leg glute bridge shoulders elevated 3x14
Chin-Up 4x1

Superset:
Bulgarian Split Squat 3x10 e/s (2 x 7kg db)
One-arm Dumbbell military press 3x8 e/s @ 10kg dumbbell

Good Mornings 30kg 3x10, supersetted with

x-band walk 1 x 30 each side
Feet-elevated plank 1 x 80 seconds
Dumbbell side bend 10kg 1 x 15 each side

BB complex (20kg):
Front Squat/Overhead Press/Bent-Over Row/Romanian Deadlift 3 x 6 each, 30 secs rest between each set

Stretching

pemtca

5.3km in a little over 30 minutes at lunchtime

coffee_cake

Always envious of your 5k times

pemtca

bluewolf wrote: »

Always envious of your 5k times

Ah thanks! I still think I'm pitifully slow - my best time is under 23 minutes for 5km but I haven't come anywhere near that in probably two years (I was 4kg lighter then :rolleyes:)

pemtca

29/01/2015 Week 11 Workout A

Warm-up & mobility 10 mins

Superset
Hip thrust 49kg 3 x 10
Dumbbell bent-over row 3 x 11 (2x12.5kg)

Superset
Box Squat 3 x 12 @35kg
Push-up 3 x 12

Superset
American Deadlift 3x12 @ 42.5kg
with
Side lying abduction 1x30 each side
Swiss ball dumbbell crunch 1 x 30 (10kg)
Half-kneeling cable anti-rotation press 1 x 18 (13.5)

5 rounds of (16kg kettlebell swings x 10, Plank jack x 10, mountain climber x 10)

Stretching

eclectichoney

Jaysus, 49kg hip thrusts? Some glutes! :eek:

pemtca

eclectichoney wrote: »

Jaysus, 49kg hip thrusts? Some glutes! :eek:

Thanks! I've absolutely no frame of reference for these but weirdly they don't feel that heavy, whereas my measly 35kg deep squat feels brutal :rolleyes:

pemtca

5.3km yesterday in the freezing cold in around 32 mins

30/01/2015 Week 11 Workout C

Warmup & mobility 10 mins

Superset:
Hip Thrust with 3 sec pause at top 3 x 10 @ 34kg
Chest-supported Row 3 x 9 (2x12.5kg db)

Superset:
Parallel Squat 3 x 11 @42.5kg
Barbell Incline Bench Press 3 x 8 @25kg

Prisoner 45 degree Back Extension 3 x 14
supersetted with:
Side-lying Clam 1 x 30 each side
Hanging Leg Raise 1 x 14
Rope Horizontal Chop - 1 x 20 @ 13.5 on cable machine

20 mins on the elliptical
Plenty of stretching

pemtca

2/02/2015 Week 12 Workout A

Warm-up & mobility 10 mins

Superset
Hip thrust 52.5kg 5 x 10
Dumbbell bent-over row 5 x 8 (2x14kg)

Superset
Box Squat 3 x 13 @35kg
Push-up 3 x 13

Superset
American Deadlift 5x13 @ 42.5kg
with
Side lying abduction 1x30 each side
Swiss ball dumbbell crunch 1 x 15 (12kg)
Half-kneeling cable anti-rotation press 1 x 10 (22.5)

Barbell complex (20kg)
Front Squat
Overhead Press
Bent over row
Romanian Deadlift
4x6, 30secs rest btw sets

Did a few extra sets today as I'm not back in the gym until Thursday. Legs like jelly afterwards

Stretching

ninamc

Never mind abs of steel, you must have an ass of steel by now. Some amount of work How many weeks left on this program?

pemtca

ninamc wrote: »

Never mind abs of steel, you must have an ass of steel by now. Some amount of work How many weeks left on this program?

This is the last week of the beginner program - gonna take some progress pics at the end of the week - not posting them here, obviously, but I'll report back! Moving on to the advanced program next week.

coffee_cake

This is beginner :eek:

eclectichoney

bluewolf wrote: »

This is beginner :eek:

I second that - I can honestly say 10 unweighted single leg ones are a serious struggle for me - the thoughts of lashing 52kg on top! :eek::eek: Putting the awe in awesome right there!

pemtca

bluewolf wrote: »

This is beginner :eek:

It kinda started off bodyweight only for the first four weeks, then added weight for the second & third four-week periods. I've kept the reps low & added as much weight as I could rather than staying the same weight & increasing the reps. You can go up to 20 reps for the big lower-body exercises & 12 reps for the upper body. I'm looking forward to the advanced stage, as the reps are lower (hate high reps, but it's good for a change sometimes!).

pemtca

eclectichoney wrote: »

I second that - I can honestly say 10 unweighted single leg ones are a serious struggle for me - the thoughts of lashing 52kg on top! :eek::eek: Putting the awe in awesome right there!

In fairness, I'm still on bodyweight for the single-leg ones - they're an absolute killer!

pemtca

5.2km this evening in just under 30mins. Felt a little more comfortable than recent runs

pemtca

Just want to note that my legs, hamstrings in particular, are still in bits after Monday. Tomorrow won't be fun

pemtca

5/02/15 Week 12 Workout B

Warmup & mobility 10 mins

Superset:
Single-leg glute bridge shoulders elevated 3x15
Chin-Up 3x1

Superset:
Bulgarian Split Squat 3x10 e/s (2 x 8kg db)
One-arm Dumbbell military press 3x9 e/s @ 10kg dumbbell

Good Mornings 32.5kg 3x10, supersetted with

x-band walk 1 x 30 each side
Feet-elevated plank 1 x 80 seconds
Dumbbell side bend 12kg 1 x 15 each side

Tabata intervals on bike: 8 x 20secs sprint/10secs rest

Stretching

pemtca

5.4km in 31 minutes yesterday

6/02/2015 Week 12 Workout C - last workout of this phase

Warmup & mobility 10 mins

Superset:
Hip Thrust with 3 sec pause at top 3 x 10 @ 44kg
Chest-supported Row 3 x 8 (2x14kg db)

Superset:
Parallel Squat 3 x 12 @42.5kg
Barbell Incline Bench Press 3 x 6/6/5 @27.5kg

Prisoner 45 degree Back Extension 3 x 15
supersetted with:
Side-lying Clam 1 x 30 each side
Hanging Leg Raise 1 x 15
Rope Horizontal Chop - 1 x 10 @ 22.5 on cable machine

10 mins on the elliptical

then

50 x bodyweight hip thrusts
30 x back extensions
20 x bulgarian split squat (e/s)
10 x deadlift @ 60kg
5 x push-ups (full range of motion without sagging hips)
1 x chin-up from a dead hang
This is the test for progressing to the advanced phase - you need to be able to do 'most' of this - got them all except the chin-up - I'm not really doing it from a dead hang. I can do it if I just walk up to the bar, catch it & pull, but I can't do it if I hang even for a few seconds :mad:

Plenty of stretching

pemtca

Ok, advanced program starts today! I'm pleased to report that before & after pictures to date show a significant difference in the gluteal area (both in lift & volume). I've gained approx 3kg in the course of the 14 weeks (2 weeks off at Christmas) and obviously some fat.
Advanced program follows the same general format, i.e. 4 workouts a week, workout A done twice (I do AB rest AC).

9/2/15 Week 1 Workout A

Warm-up & mobility 10 mins

Superset
Glute Bridge 44kg 3 x 20
One-arm row 3 x 8 (14kg)

Superset
Box Squat 3 x 5 @37.5/40/45kg
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 x 8/8/7 @ 2x12.5kg

Superset
American Deadlift 3x8 @ 45kg
with
Standing Cable Abduction 1x20 each side (15 on cable machine)
RKC Plank 1 x 45 secs
Side Plank 1 x 60 secs e/s

Stretching

coffee_cake

Jaysus

eclectichoney

Sorry if you have already mentioned this in an earlier post - is your log based on the Bret Contreras program?

pemtca

eclectichoney wrote: »

Sorry if you have already mentioned this in an earlier post - is your log based on the Bret Contreras program?

It is! It's the 'Strong Curves' book I'm following

pemtca

10/02/15 Week 1 Workout B

Warmup & mobility 10 mins

Superset:
Single-leg glute bridge shoulders elevated 3x16
Chin-Up 3x2/1/1 plus 3 x 1/2/2 jump assisted with negative

Superset:
High Step-Up 3x10 e/s (2 x 6kg db)
Barbell military press 3x8 @ 20kg

Prisoner single-leg 45 degree back extension 3x12, supersetted with

seated band abduction 1 x 20
Straight leg sit-ups 1 x 20
45 degree side bend (on back extension thing) 5kg 1 x 20 each side

Stretching

pemtca

5.4km in 30 mins today.

pemtca

12/2/15 Week 1 Workout A

Warm-up & mobility 10 mins

Superset
Glute Bridge 44kg 3 x 20
One-arm row 3 x 8 (15kg)

Superset
Box Squat 3 x 5 @47.5kg
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 x 8 @ 2x12kg

Superset
American Deadlift 3x8 @ 47.5kg
with
Standing Cable Abduction 1x20 each side (15 on cable machine)
RKC Plank 1 x 45 secs
Side Plank 1 x 60 secs e/s

Barbell complex (20kg)
Front Squat
Push-Press
Bent-over Row
Romanian Deadlift
3 x 8 each, 30secs rest between each set

Stretching

5.8km in 33 minutes at lunchtime

EmcD123

Dem glutes... 44kg for 20reps of glute bridges is unreal

pemtca

EmcD123 wrote: »

Dem glutes... 44kg for 20reps of glute bridges is unreal

Cheers! It was no fun...:eek: