Sets of faahve

Squat: triples @ 140kg, 145kg and 150kg. Ascending RPEs and felt ok. Fixing what I had been doing (or not doing) with my shoulder blades has helped.

3ct paused bench: 1x2 @ 97.5kg and 4x2 @ 87.5kg. Nailed RPE again.

RDL: 2x6 @ 135kg

Tricep pushdown: 2x12 @ 65kg

One arm cable row: 2x10 @ 65kg

Squat: 1x1 @ 175kg, 1x1 @ 157.5kg and 2x2 @ 150kg. Single at 9. Matched PB. Squat finally playing ball.

Comp bench: 1x1 @ 107.5kg and 3x2 @ 95kg. A solid 9. Was hoping for 110 but not today.

Larsen press: 2x5 @ 72.5kg

Hamstring curls: 45kg for 12,9.

NG lat pulldown: 2x10 @ 65,71kg

Needed this session after the confidence slashing Wednesday I had

Will set the world alight with my renewed brand of mediocre lifting!

Deadlift: 1x1 @ 200kg, 1x1 @ 180kg and 2x2 @ 170kg. Top single was to be between an 8 and 9. Identified some of last week's technical errors (not putting weight on front foot) and took more gradual jumps approaching top set. I'm definitely weaker than I was a few weeks ago but I'll take this after last week's shenanigans.

CG bench: 3x6 @ 80kg. Grand.

Incline DB press: 2x6 @ 30kg.

DB skullcrushers: 2x10 @ 12.5kg

SBD day today

Squat: single @ 160kg and 2x2 @140kg. Planned opener. Moved better than Friday's sleeveless 155.

Bench: single @ 105kg and 3x2 @ 90kg. Heavier than planned opener. Grand, but need to watch for elbows not locked before start.

Deadlift: single @ 180kg. Last warmup before opener.

First comp in 6 years and at my lightest bodyweight yet; 78.8kg

Squat: 160, 170, 175kg. Everything went according to plan. Matched gym PR and 7.5kg comp PR.

Bench: 100, 105, 107.5kg. Got rerack commands for two attempts (elbows not locked on 1st and heels not down on 2nd). Adjusted foot position for 3rd and no problem. Matched comp PR but 2.5kg below gym PR but under the circumstances, I'll take it.

Deadlift: 192.5, 205 (F), 205 (F). Lifted first 205 but had soft lockout (harsh IMO) and ran out of strength for 3rd attempt. I got a 5kg comp PR but I'm mildly pissed that it was 17.5kg under gym PR and I haven't pulled 200kg on a day that it matters.

Great to be back competing but have some annoyances from the day. Bench technical errors were just my fault but the deadlift left a bitter taste in my mouth. However, to put things in perspective, it's a 12.5kg total increase and went from 297 to 330 dots. And finished middle of the pack with 9th out of 18. Can't complain about that.

My main takeaway from this is that I need to put on some muscle. I've room to grow while staying at 83kg

Got a massage ball in to my lat and it sorted it out.

Squat: 3x3 @ 130kg. Felt heavier than it should have but that's expected.

Spoto press: 3x3 @ 95kg. Grand. Got easier as it went on.

Leg press: 2 sets @ 220kg for 8, 7. Felt something in my hamstring. Probably ok but I would have been able to bang out another rep otherwise.

DB row: 2 sets @ 40kg for 8/8, 8/8. Didn't push these close to failure as I hadn't done them since last year.

Pause squat: 3x3 @ 120kg. Light enough that it moved well and fast and with plenty in the tank.

TNG wide grip bench: 3x6 @ 92.5kg. Hard. Last set was accidentally normal grip. Oops.

One-arm DB row: 3x8 @ 40kg. Was only going to do 2 sets but was waiting for the leg press to be free.

Hack squat: 2x8 @ 60kgbecause leg press was taken by somebody else and I cba waiting any more. Probably a bit light.

Squat: 3x3 @ 135kg. Form felt good and moved as expected.

Spoto press: 3x3 @ 97.5kg. Was only ok. Felt heavy and wasn't as solid as I wanted, so will repeat this weight.

Leg press: 2 sets @ 220kg for 8, 8. Wasn't able to complete this the last time I tried, so happy to finish with room for more.

Chest supported row: 2 sets @ 55kg for 8, 8. A tad untidy.

Spent 6 hours working on the garden yesterday. Was wary about being a little broken.

Pause squat: 3x3 @ 125kg. Grand. Little slower than last week.

Wide grip TNG bench: 3x6 @ 95kg. Hard as hell but delighted to finish it.

Leg press: 2 sets @ 225kg for 8, 8. Delighted.

One arm DB row: 2x8 @ 42.5kg. Hard.

Better day than expected.

Woke up this morning to see a bulge that looked like a hernia around my groin. Didn't feel anything so still went gym. Squatted 20kg and 70kg for warmups and felt nothing. Loaded 100kg and put on my belt and when I braced, i felt something. Put everything away and went home.

Got an early GP appointment and yep, it's a hernia. He says there's no need for an ultrasound to confirm and a letter straight to surgeons.

So, no SBD for now. Will still train but I'll have to be super selective with what I do.

So, after a bit of research, SBD is probably out of the question for now, and anything else that requires bracing. Rule of thumb going forward is that if I can breathe in and out during eccentric and concentric phases of a lift, it's probably ok. For the next few sessions, I'm just going to try to see what works and what doesn't.

Leg press: 3x8 @ 150kg. Worked up 0-50-100-150 and this was as much as I felt comfortable doing while not bracing. Could probably do more but I need to practice this without bracing.

Floor press: 3x8 @ 80kg. Tried with both knees up and legs straight and i think straight is better because with knees up, I'm trying to leg drive.

Leg extension: nope, couldn't do it without bracing. Tried adjusting back various ways, but nope.

Hamstring curl: 2x8 @ 30kg. Have had to make these more strict but yes, it's possible to not brace. Tried going heavier but my hamstrings cramped up. Maybe my form is better this way?

Chest supported row: worked up to 8 @ 45kg but found it hard not to brace. This row variation seemed like the safest bet but I might need to rethink things now.

DB skullcrushers: worked up to 10 @ 12.5kg. Seems ok. Had my feet up.

Hammer curl: up to a set of 10 @ 12.5kg, seated with back against high bench. Grand.

Lateral raises: up to a set of 10 @ 7.5kg, seated with back against high bench. Also grand.

Still no pain. Grand.

Belt squat: worked up to 3x10 @ 60kg and used my heeled shoes (first time since 2019). Bit of quad burn but this machine doesn't allow enough ROM for my liking.

Hamstring curl: 2x8 @ 35kh. Grand, but hard.

Larsen press: 3x8 @ 82.5kg. Grand.

45 degree hyper: 3x10 with red band. Easy.

One arm DB rows: 2x8 @ 35kg. Bit easy but trying to stay safe with this weight.

DB skullcrushers/hammer curls/lateral raises @ 12.5/15/10 for 12/10/10, 12/10/7. Tough.

Barbell hit thrust: worked up to 70kg and felt discomfort in that spot, so abandoned it. Was really hoping this would be possible considering how similar it is to 45 hyper.
Belt squat: 3x12 @ 60kg. Technically I could load more if I used comp plates but maybe only if I can do sets of like 20 or something
Hamstring curl: 2x8 and 1x11. Grand.
Chest press: full stack (122.5 or 125kg - label fell off so not sure) for 8, 8, 6. Happy with how hard it was.
EZ JM press: 33kg for 8,8, 12. Grand.

Hammer curl: 1x10 @ 15kg. Grand, but ran out of time.

Again, no pain. Grand.

Leg press: 4x8 @ 180kg. Was actually kinda tough.

Hamstring curl: 35kg for 10, 8, 9, 5. A bit all over the place.

Calf raise: 100kg for 4x10. Grand .

Machine chest press: full stack for 8, 8, 7. Hard.

Chest supported row: 40kg for 3x8. Wasn't hard but have to be light on my feet in order to feel no pain.

Floor JM press: 50kg for 3x8. Grand.