Honestly I attack the days so much harder when only going to the gym 2x/week! I genuinely feel like I look better than I have in years and don’t have that nagging mental or physical fatigue.
I’m slowly coming to the realisation that my real progress comes from the boring, simple stuff. All the rest is just to keep me entertained and excited because at 11pm after a long day, I need something exciting to get me going to the gym.
3 Likes
This stuff is awesome to hear man, it’s important to hear that it is possible to achieve what I want with the restrictions I have in place. It’s very easy to doubt that sometimes.
2 Likes
With the recent discussion in Paul’s forum, I think it’s definitely possible to get results with two days a week. The key is to hit everything hard at least one time each week. Nothing says you have to spread it out like I do.
1 Like
Dont underestimate the importance of this. The best program is always one that you will actually do.
My pleasure man. It is indeed, but results are results. In another form I heard a pretty awesome quote that’s stuck in my head. To paraphrase it went “going to the gym twice a week is fine, being sedentary the other five isn’t.” Use some of those quiet moments in your kid’s room to roll out on a foam roller or a lacrosse ball, toss in some push-ups before work or throw a weight vest on when you’re mowing the lawn or something. The Options are endless.
2 Likes
Final Transformation picture. Definitely not where I wanted to be by this point, but I didn’t do the things I needed to do, for one reason or another. More than a bit disappointed, but maybe not as surprised as I should be.
2 Likes
Work for today:
Box jumps: 3 x 5
Squat: worked up to 92.5kg x 5
Then: 70kg x 20
Seated press drop sets x 3:
50kg x 5
40kg x 5
30kg x 5
20kg x 10
Lateral raises with 5kg until fail
Narrow, neutral grip pulldown drop set x 3
69kg x 12
52kg x 12
Wendler rows: 2 x 20, full stack
Curls superset x 3:
Cable hammer curls x 12
Cable curl x 12
Cheat fly superset x 4:
Cable chest fly x 12
Push up to failure
Abs x 4
Decline sit ups to failure
Russian twists x 10
Notes:
- Squats sucked big time. Really bummed out about that top set, was hoping for a low ball of 12, and it just wasn’t happening. Very frustrating.
- 20 rep sets of squats still suck big time
- I did abs. Put it off all the way through the workout, but i still did them.
- This has been a shit few weeks, it was very difficult to get my body to realise it was to time today. Definitely felt like I was dragging my feet round there today.
Hang in there, man! Most days in the gym are either bad or average.
1 Like
Not too bad Dagill, it’s hard to judge going back and forth in the log, but I would say you’ve put on some mass to the chest/shoulder/arm and probably back as well.
But we’re never satisfied… Keep digging away and stay consistent.
About the suckiness of the workouts, it’s as if you’ve been all over the place, just like me. Oh and @Frank_C said it very well most are average, some are bad and a very few are actually very good.
On GSG’s log there where an video of Eliot Hulse about what workout one should do.
It’s very interesting…
Bottom line was, pick one, it doesn’t matter if it’s this or that guy’s program just pick one and hammer it for a year a whole year and don’t stray away from it.
As he say they all have some sort of progression build in and that’s what work.
Well me rambling,
Got a “before” picture?
post 27 in the log just before new year
1 Like
Life still a bit hectic, but I gone done some exercise yesterday:
10 x 10 kb swings, 36/38kg kb. Keep forgetting to check which it is.
Decline Sit ups 10 x 10 started doing these supersetted but felt like too much of a break in focus from the swings.
1 Like
Work for today:
Bench: worked up to 77.5kg x 8
Then: 5 x 10 @ 55kg
Row machine: 3 x 8 @ ~60kg
Seated press machine: 3 x 8 @ ~50kg
Goblet squat: 5 x 10 @40kg
Notes:
- Bench PR, as always. This set up for bench just keeps turning out PRs. This one was slightly more of a grind than I’ve come to expect but not by a lot. I’d be mad to change this. Watch me try Smolov Jnr in a few weeks.
- BBB work was pretty straight forward. Will have to consider the jump up to 60kg soon I think.
- Triceps where much happier in the press than expected. Probably won’t be when I bump up the weight on the BBB sets though.
- Goblet squats where much more of a challenge than expected. Even for someone as weak as me, I wasn’t expecting 40kg to be a challenge, but the core stability needed was pretty hefty. Definitely think these should stay for the foreseeable, however I may need to add something for the legs, maybe some curls or something for a burn out set.
5 Likes
Nutrition is obviously my biggest stumbling block. Definitely getting fatter much quicker than I’m getting bigger. In an effort for some accountability, I’ll start logging nutrition on here as well. Since i stopped using myfitnesspal daily, my nutrition has definitely spiralled out of control.
Food today:
Oats (100g, made with water, plus 1 scoop vanilla ON whey, 1 handful frozen berries, 1 apple)
“Shakshuka”: 4 eggs, 1 salmon fillet, about 1.5 handfuls of various veg, tomato puree plus herbs/spices/whatever for flavour
1 banana
100g wholewheat pasta with 300g slow cooked beef, about 300g various veggies, tomato sauce plus flavour
Probably another apple
That is all.
3 Likes
Work for today:
Got home far, far later than planned, traffic was a fucker so:
10-15-25 kb swings x 2 with 36kg bell. Was planning to try the full 50 but I just didn’t think I had it in me. Will bring my chalk back out and try to work up to the full 50 at some point.
Nutrition:
Breakfast and dinner as yesterday. Inbetween: 2 meal deals (2 x cheap supermarket sandwich, fruit, one cheap protein shake). Some numpty spilled the last of my protein so will be without for a few days.
1 Like
I did some walking.
Incline treadmill, 20mins. Dan John youtube video.
Edit: nutrition for today:
Breakfast: oats, as per
In between: 1 cheap, nasty protein bar, one cheap nasty protein shake, half a roast chicken, salad.
Dinner: pasta, as yesterday, plus 2 apples shared with munchkins.
I also weighed in at a hundred and fatty pounds and promptly stripped some calories out of next week’s planned food.
Small wins = long term progress man
1 Like
I hope so, I have goals to hit by 35. Still got a few years to get there, but I think I’m likely to need all of those years.
Work for today:
Bench: worked up to a top set of 82.5kg x 5
Then 5 x 10 @ 55kg
Press: 3 x 8 @ 40kg
Cable row: 3 x 8 @ ~60kg
Goblet squats: 5 x 10 @ 40kg
Leg extensions: some
Sit ups: some
Notes:
- Tired AF today. It showed I think
- Might be jumping the gun, but I think this approach to bench is starting to reach the end of its usefulness. Fully expect to have to rethink in a few cycles time.
- Workouts are starting to feel clunky and unfocused because I’m trying to do too much “stuff” in very few workouts.