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Return of the King

BossArky

Age: 25
Weight: 75kg
Height: 5' 7''

Aims:

1) Lower body fat to approx 10%
2) Bench press own weight i.e. 75kg
3) Get in shape for the summer and this years triathlons i.e. run 5km consistently in 23 minutes. I did so recently but cannot keep it up regularly at the moment.
4) Squat some decent weights - never really tried this exercise much before
5) Deadlift some decent weights - never really tried this exercise much before

Past Fitness:

Used to cycle to work in France: 31km in 51 minutes 2 seconds

Have been a general gym goer. Never really followed a program. Went from a stick insect 19 year old to fairly well developed 25 upper body over that time. Now I'm hoping to put the whole lot together with some serious cardio for the triathlons.

List of events: (added on June 14th 2011 to keep track of the stuff I've done in this log over the years, and act as an index / table of contents)

Random:

London to Brighton Bike Race: 113km on June 18th 2007

JPMorgan Corporate Chase in Battersea Park: Run 5.6km (26:05)

London Triathlon (Olympic Distance) 3h 03m 57s

Blenheim Triathlon (Sprint Distance) - June 9th 2008

London Triathlon (Olympic Distance) - August 13th 2008

Gladiators Contendor Try Out

Measurement Chart

Revelation 1: The wisdom of kevpants

531 start

London Tri 2009 Sprint

Crossfit Ireland Invitational (Dublin) - Sept 2009

Bodyweight 80kg

Weight gain summary

531 end & 6 cycle summary

Joined Powerlifting Club

Powerlifting Competition #1 - Melbourne Feb 2010 - 115/85/152.5 --> 352.5kg @ bodyweight 78.90kg

Powerlifting Competition #2 - Melbourne April 2010 - 125/92.5/160 --> 377.5kg @ bodyweight 79.30kg

Powerlifting Competition #3 - Melbourne June 2010 - 132.5/ - /165 --> N/A kg @ bodyweight 81.05kg

Powerlifting Competition #4 - Melbourne Sept 2010 - 135/95/170 --> 400kg @ bodyweight 80.90kg

Powerlifting Competition #5 - Melbourne Nov 2010 - 140/97.5/175 --> 412.5kg @ bodyweight 81.70kg

Powerlifting Competition #6 - Raw Nationals - Melbourne March 2011 -150/97.5/180 --> 427.5kg @ bodyweight 82.48kg

Bodyweight 90kg

Powerlifting Competition #7 - Melbourne June 2011 - 152.5/100/170 --> 422.5kg @ bodyweight 82.65kg

Powerlifting Competition #8 - Perth Oct 2011 - bench only --> 100kg @ bodyweight 83.4kg

Powerlifting Competition #9 - Perth Apr 2012 - bench only --> 95kg @ bodyweight 82.15kg

Powerlifting Ref

Powerlifting Competition #10 - Perth Nov 2012 - 150/100/155 --> 405kg @ bodyweight 82.4kg

Powerlifting Competition #11 - Perth Oct 2013 - 145/97.5/157.5 --> 400kg @ bodyweight 83kg

Powerlifting Competition #12 - Perth Apr 2014 - 155/102.5/172.5 --> 430kg @ bodyweight 82.5kg

Powerlifting Competition #13 - Perth Jul 2014 - 147.5/107.5/165 --> 420kg @ bodyweight 84.75kg

Powerlifting Competition #14 - Perth Oct 2014 - 157.5/105/175 --> 437.5kg @ bodyweight 81.3kg

Powerlifting Competition #15 - Melbourne Mar 2015 - 160/110/170 --> 440kg @ bodyweight 82.2kg

Powerlifting Competition #16 - Melbourne Jun 2015 - 152.5/110/180 --> 442.5kg @ bodyweight 82.05kg

Powerlifting Competition #17 - Melbourne Oct 2015 - 145/112.5/165 --> 422.5kg @ bodyweight 82.90kg

Bench Peak 106kg - 6x3 - July 3rd 2016

Deadlift Peak 173kg 2x3 - Aug 26th 2017

Squat Peak 150kg 1x5 - Aug 31st 2017

Bench Peak 113kg 6x3 - Sept 1st 2017

Squat Peak 170kg 1x1 - Oct 9th 2017

Deadlift Peak 200kg 1x1 and 177kg 1x3 - Oct 14th 2017

Bench Peak 125kg 1x1 - Oct 17th 2017

Squat Peak 150kg 3x3 - Sept 19th 2018

Bench Peak 117kg 3, 3, 2 and 100kg x8 - Sept 21st 2018

Deadlift Peak 175kg 1x3 - Sept 22nd 2018

Powerlifting Competition #18 - Dubai Sept 2018 - 165/120/200 --> 485kg @ bodyweight 81.70kg

Powerlifting Competition #19 - Dubai Apr 2019 - 170/122.5/207.5 --> 500kg @ bodyweight 82.30kg

Powerlifting Competition #20 - Dubai Sept 2019 - 162.5/120/200 --> 482.5kg @ bodyweight 82.95kg

Powerlifting Competition #21 - Melbourne Nov 2022 - 140/102.5/185 --> 427.5kg @ bodyweight 82.85kg

Powerlifting Competition #22 - Sydney Feb 2025 - 140/BOMB/170 —> BOMB @ bodyweight 82.85kg

Powerlifting Competition #23 - Sydney Apr 2025 - 152.5/107.5/170 —> 430kg @bodyweight 82.5kg

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Comments

Al_Fernz

BossArky wrote: »

Also, some mild DOMS in my head from curling 5 pints of Guinness last night :pac:

Yeah I know what you mean. I went for a lower weight higher rep routine of Corona bottlecurls, supersetted with Big Als burger curls all weekend myself.

BossArky

Tuesday June 3rd:

Bench Press
20kg x20
45kg x10
70kg x5

85kg x1 ... personal best
90kg x0 ... fail
80kg x1

60kg x10
60kg x10
60kg x10

Bent Over Row (barbell)
40kg - 3 sets of 15 reps ... supersets with the last 3 bench sets
---
Face Pulls (with scap retraction)
7.5kg - 3 sets of 10 reps

Lateral Raise
5kg - 3 sets of 10 reps
---

Unracking 90kg on the bench tonight is a big step mentally towards fulfilling one of my other goals this year --> benching 100kg.

Of course I failed at 90kg, but at least now I know that I can hold it and bring it down gently without crushing myself. 85kg (a 5kg flat bench pb) was fine. Perhaps 87.5kg would have been ok too. I skipped 5kg to get to 90kg just to test the waters.

I never thought I would end up benching this much so excuse me whilst I bask in self satisfaction :cool:

Hanley

BossArky wrote: »

Thanks Hanley. I'll probably have a re-read of the squat grip section of starting strength over the next week and note the elbow position next time.

Funny thing is that my incline bench is currently higher than my flat bench. 82.5kg on the incline was no probs recently, but I remember failing on the flat at an attempt on 85kg a few weeks ago. Max flat is 80kg currently.

I don't flat bench too much and have been concentrating on the squat/deads/pullups. One factor in my lack of flat benching is lack of spotter. I probably will give the flat bench another bash sometime this week as I need to rest my lower body for the tri on Saturday.

Lol... imagine how poor malteaser feels!! She had to pull 130kg off me a few weeks ago when I missed a rep and nearly had to grab something similar when I fell out of the groove the other day.

You could drag a bench over to your squat rack and bench in that. I dunno if the supports will be low enough for you to get the bar to your chest tho.

I'd say the problem has to be somewher in your set up. If you can bench almost as much on the incline I'd guess your muscles are stronger enough, but your set up isn't....??

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Hanley wrote: »

Lol... imagine how poor malteaser feels!! She had to pull 130kg off me a few weeks ago

It will do wonders for her deadlift

BossArky

Hanley wrote: »

You could drag a bench over to your squat rack and bench in that. I dunno if the supports will be low enough for you to get the bar to your chest tho.

Good idea. I have a feeling that the squat rack sides are a bit too high but it may suffice for some slight incline benching.

I may try it when the gym is quiet, as I don't like when others stop me from squatting when they are curling or something else in the rack.

Hanley wrote: »

I'd say the problem has to be somewher in your set up. If you can bench almost as much on the incline I'd guess your muscles are stronger enough, but your set up isn't....??

I have been concentrating on pinching my shoulder blades together recently. Maybe my flat bench will go up once I get more used to this. Currently I seem to lose the tightness in the shoulder blades half way through a set of 10 or so.

BaRcOe

BossArky wrote: »

Pull Ups (close grip, parallel) ... 50 reps in total

50, You absolute Tank!!!

Hey any tips on loosing that little bit of tummy fat covering my abs.
I'm trying to make my 6 pack more clear for the summer.
I am changing my nutrition..etc so don't worry about that i'm just concerned with getting rid of that stuff around my abdominal area! I weigh 70kg and I am 18 male!

BossArky

Hi barcoe4,

You cannot spot reduce fat, so you'll need to eat clean and burn more calories than you are taking on board overall.

Lots of advice on the stickys on the main forum re diet. My diet circulates around chicken, tuna, nuts, porridge, lots of fresh veg (carrots, broccoli, onions, cauliflower, corn) and fruit (plus other stuff but they are the main bits). Avoid bread, pasta, beer, pizza.

Regarding training you should do big compound lifts such as deadlift, squat, pull ups, shoulder press, barbell rows, and bench press. Do these approx 3 times a week. Concentrate on a subset each session, or make a circuit out of it if you are new to training. Don't kill yourself but keep the intensity high. When you are finished with that hop on the treadmill or bike for 15 mins to burn some extra cals.

As you are only 18 you should see some decent increases in your fitness if you train hard and eat well. Good luck.

BossArky

I've got the Blenheim Triathlon tomorrow. Its a Sprint as they don't have an Olympic distance event there.

I'm aiming for the following times which will bring me in at a total time of just under the 1hr 27 mark which means:

Swim (750m) - 17 mins
Transiton 1 - ~3 mins
Bike (20km) - 40 mins
Transiton 2 - ~3 mins
Run (5km) - <24mins

Hopefully I can get in and out of both transitons quicker, but that is always the bit which is hard to predict. Anyway, I'll look back on this tomorrow and see how I got on.

Only issue is the nuisance of having to cycle the 20km from Oxford train station to Blenheim palace before the triathlon itself. Ideally I wouldn't be wasting my precious energy doing this.

I did this triathlon two years ago. It is great - very scenic and beautiful location. It was also my first triathlon ever back then. I remember the bike course being really hilly and steep up through the woods, then opening up to nice gentle but very fast downhill section all the way back to the start of the loop. 3 laps of that on the bike and my legs were in bits for the run. I'll try and avoid killing myself going up the hills tomorrow.

I missed last years due to moving home, so looking forward to going back there again.

eclectichoney

Best of luck with it

Hanley

Awesome!! Good luck!!

BaRcOe

BossArky wrote: »

Hi barcoe4,
Regarding training you should do big compound lifts such as deadlift, squat, pull ups,....

I don't have weights nor the money at the moment to join a gym. I have a pull up bar which I do use. I can do 12 Full pull-ups,1 rep = straight arm and right up to chin-over. I usually beat the lads when we have a competition

BossArky wrote: »

beer....

Perhaps spirits are less fattening while having the same affect?:D:D
If I do have a mad night out and have 6-8 beers, how will it affect me in the long run, will i be able to run it off the next day? Will it really affect me trying to loose a bit of weight for the summer?

Malteaser!

Best of luck Bossy, looking forward to hearing how you get on!!

Odysseus

Best of luck with the tri tomorrow, hope it goes well for you mate.

FunkZ

Yeah man give it hell tomorrow! Have a good time and enjoy it as well!

SUNGOD

best of luck bossarky looking forward to hearing your tri report

Woddle

I've only started reading your log of late, impressive and best of luck tomorrow, looking forward to reading about it.

BossArky

barcoe4 wrote: »

I don't have weights nor the money at the moment to join a gym. I have a pull up bar which I do use. I can do 12 Full pull-ups

Don't worry about a gym or weights then. Keep at the pull ups. Sounds like you are doing fine and have a decent base if you can currently manage 12. Throw in press ups, bodyweight squats, lunges, etc. Start a thread on the main fitness forum and you'll get heaps of ideas for non gym bodyweight exercises.

If you give up the alcohol totally it will cut a good few calories from your intake. I'm pretty sure that is non possible for many people (including myself) so instead just keep your activity levels high and your food intake clean enough. You'll then be able to stay fit and not have to live entirely like a monk.

barcoe4 wrote: »

Perhaps spirits are less fattening while having the same affect?:D:D
If I do have a mad night out and have 6-8 beers, how will it affect me in the long run, will i be able to run it off the next day? Will it really affect me trying to loose a bit of weight for the summer?

Yeah it will affect you alright, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just try to balance your cals in vs cals out. You've got to live and have fun.

BossArky

Update following the Blenheim Triathlon...

Epic Fail :mad:

Swim 750m - 22:13
Transition 1 - 4:50
Bike 20km - 46:48
Transition 2 - 1:36
Run 5.4km - 29:59

Total time 1hr 45mins 23secs

Things did not go according to plan. I was approx 20 mins slower overall than expected.

The swim was 3 mins slower than when I first did this tri 2 years ago (I could barely swim then). No idea what happend. This time I decided to take my chances versus the elbows and knees of other competitors and ventured up to the front of the swimming pack. As the hooter when I started off fine and got into what I thought was a decent rhythm.

The decent swimmers soon dissappered but I was confident enough that my new improved front crawl was going to bring me in at a respectable enough time (I was actually hoping for a pb here of sub 17mins).

I passed a few people and kept to the race line by following the bouys more of less exactly. Hopping out of the water and hearing the hooter sound for the wave 20 mins behind me was slightly deflating as it meant I was slower than expected.

Next up the 20km bike. This used to be my strong point. As planned I took it easy this year due to memories of the hills 2 years ago and the effect they had taken on my run that time. I probably took it too easy though. I was a full 5 mins slower than 2 years ago.

The run was 1 second quicker than 2 years ago.... so obviously going slower on the bike didn't do much for me.. I should have just went flat out on the bike and limped around the run at my default limping speed (which is roughly the speed I was going at during the run anyway, both this year and 2 years ago).

Energy levels were fine throughout (I had 2 bananas, an orange, 2 carb gels and water on the train and before the race), so I cannot blame lack of energy.

I suppose I kinda shoot myself in the foot (or the tire) by getting up too late and doing 20km across London to Paddington in 50mins, to then miss that train and sit around for an hour at the station. That cycle was faster than the actual tri one if you account for the stopping and starting at traffic lights, etc. If I ever do this tri again I will go up to Blenheim the night before and arrive fresh at the race.

Other thoughts to consider... I'm 4 or 5kg heavier now than two years ago (less fat, more muscle). The increased weight may have been a factor on the hills. I may try and burn myself from 74kg back down to 70kg and see what happens. I also may ditch triathlons completely after London in August. Not sure at the moment.

Thanks for all your support. I feel a bit embarressed after such a woeful performance. I don't have the interest in hours of cardio and it shows in my lack of tri/cardio training.

I'm now going to take a break for a few weeks.

Al_Fernz

BossArky wrote: »

Other thoughts to consider... I'm 4 or 5kg heavier now than two years ago (less fat, more muscle). The increased weight may have been a factor on the hills. I may try and burn myself from 74kg back down to 70kg and see what happens. I also may ditch triathlons completely after London in August. Not sure at the moment.

I would replace "may have been" there with "was". My friend is a competitive cyclst and he gets murdered on the hills by all the light guys. Extra kgs make a huge difference on hills.

Sounds like you're at a crossroads and have a tough decision to make:

1) Get better lifts while affecting your Tri performance.
2) Concentrate on Tri's to the detriment of your lifts.
3) Or try to work a balance between the two and run the risk of slow progress between the two.

I've no real knowledge of tri so I can't comment on your progress there. But from my limited knowledge of lifting I have seen you make some animal progress.

Don't worry about your triathalon. Just chalk it down to experience. Nothing you can do to change it now.

Hanley

BossArky wrote: »

I'm now going to take a break for a few weeks.

Well done on the triathlon. It sucks when things go badly like that but I'm sure you learned a thing or two along the way!

Hail 2 Da Chimp

BossArky wrote: »

Update following the Blenheim Triathlon...
I suppose I kinda shoot myself in the foot (or the tire) by getting up too late and doing 20km across London to Paddington in 50mins, to then miss that train and sit around for an hour at the station.

I'm now going to take a break for a few weeks.

Congrats on the Tri, sorry to hear you didn't make the time you wanted, I have a feeling the 20Km warm up cycle had something to do with that though.

thirtyfoot

BossArky wrote: »

I don't have the interest in hours of cardio and it shows in my lack of tri/cardio training.

.

Thats the key point. If you train for a sport and you don't love the training for that sport, it catches you out and you don't get out of it what you might hope. Tri training is very much about the miles and if you don't enjoy that maybe better to find something else. I tried to do tri a few years ago and ended up hating the training and never stuck at it, you generally don't. I now compete at an event that I love training for (well 90% of the training) and its so much easier and enjoyable. You have to love the training if you are going to put in the hours and based on your log it seems you get more a kick out of the gym work. If you want to continue running maybe you could come down in distance and be a middle-distance (800) or even long sprinting (400m). These events can have big strength and gym focuses and less on cardio.

gabgab

Hey Boss,

Were in the same boatwith the triathlon and lifting, I vowed to not do another one after Athy and some crap but I do admit that it does really help me with my cardio,

I dont enjoy them much, the idea is not that appealing, but I am gonna do greystones in August,

As for the time, I quote someone that said it to me on this forum, look at all the people that will never even attempt a triathlon,

You did well, and to be fair, 20km spin on the day your racing 20km, with a missed train etc, we both know that it didnt help

BossArky

I will try to figure out what direction my training will take over the next week or two.

Pressing concerns involve the 170km cycle "La Marmotte" which I'm doing the weekend of July 5th in the French Alps. It is a stage of the tour de France (obviously not part of the real tour). When I was younger watching the tour on tv I always wondered what it would feel like to cycle a stage. I'll let you know in two weeks

BossArky

Wednesday June 25th:

Outdoor stuff.

Run 5km

Cycle 3km

Walk ~2km

10 T-Push Ups ... I read about these on the flight back from LA. They are kind of like the push ups / rows on dumbbells

Malteaser!

Best of luck now in your training for La Marmotte!!

BossArky

Thanks Malteaser!

Unfortunately I have decided to pull out of La Marmotte ... I cannot really take another week off work again so soon after coming back from almost 3 weeks away. Didn't realise the honeymoon and race were so close together months ago when I booked them. £350 down the drain on car, hotel and flights.

New short term goals:

I'm going to concentrate now on putting in a decent time at the London tri in August. To do this I am going to come down from Olympic distance to Sprint. I'm going to focus on really improving my running. I'm not bothered with the swimming and cycling anymore.

One of my long term aims is to run 5km in 20mins, so hopefully a bit of an effort on the running front for the next two months coming up to London tri will help with that.

I'm also going to try to get loose a tiny bit of weight to get from my current 74kg to maybe 72kg, and ideally 70kg. If I can get to 70kg and keep my current strength then I will be happy enough and probably a bit quicker on the run. However, if this causes me to look skinny again I will scrap my new plan - I hate the weedy look!

BossArky

Thursday June 26th:

Bench Press
20kg x10
55kg - 4 sets of 10 reps
---
Deadlift (wide grip - pinky on other ring)
55kg - 3 sets of 10 reps

Lunges
18kg per arm - 3 sets of 5 reps
---
Barbell Row (underhand grip)
55kg - 2 sets of 10 reps
---

Tonight I felt weak.

BossArky

Wrecked the past few days and cannot sleep. My sleeping patterns are messed up and somewhere between GMT-8 and GMT. Took Friday off, was supposed to run.

On a positive note, my 10kgs of protein arrived direct to my door from myprotein.co.uk. Incredible savings buying it from that site vs. the high street.

gabgab

Hey Boss how are things,

I am looking to increase running pace too, however I would be happy with 5km in 20 minutes fresh, after a week off, with a tailwind, downhill........

:D

What are you thinking of doing to up the pace, I am going to go for interval stuff. depending on what a 3:30 km feels like on a treadmill I am looking to do 3 of these with an equal gap,

Warm up for 5 minutes at 5:30 per km
3:30 run
3:30 walking
Repeat by 3, = 26 minutes of cardio so to speak, maybe make the rest a bit slower, the idea behind it is to increase ability to be at pace for extended periods, AND I hate running and long drawn out cardio

Swimming I am not too bothered at, I know I can cover the distance at a respectable enough time, for me

, and all the leg work weights should help with the cycle