A Phoenix from the Ashes

Training Training Logs
1

Hi everyone, new to the site. Starting up a log to track my progress with my experiment with CTs much raved about layer system which im hoping will get my strength right up for my first ever powerlifting meet on Jan 26th and hopefully improve my physique in the proces :slight_smile:

For those who didnt see my intro post. Started training (and more importantly eating) properly around 2 years ago (July 2011), until which point i had been at the mercy of my depression and bulemia. Im up to around 180lbs now from 136lbs then, and obviously much better off for doing so.

The last few months ive been living at home during my summer break from uni. Trainings gone completely FUBAR due to me generally being quite depressed at home but with me moving back to uni in a few weeks and starting this new programme im hoping i can regain all lost strength and get progressing once again.

Ill post up more details soon. Any support and advice along this journey will be welcomed with open arms :slight_smile:

Tom

2

So heres a bit of a summary of whats to come.

Nutrition

Im not sure how popular it is on this forum but i follow the idea of If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM). Ive tried the whole daily/weekly regimented meal plan but for someone whos struggling to keep bulemia at bay it just creates a negative mindset when it comes to food. Whereas with IIFYM if theres a food i feel like eating and would enjoy then i can have it, but is quite big deal to me. I track my macros everyday using myfitnesspal.com.

I make sure i get my 5 a day (at least) and always go for a variety of foods and protein sources. Also once i arrives ill be taking 5g Omega 3 every day. Im just coming to the end of what has been a slow cut over the summer, ill likely keep calories the same for the week or 2 and then slowly start upping calories aiming to gain 2-4lbs a month (4 being an absolute max). Currently my macros look like: 300P, 75F, 200C.

Training

So after much deliberation I think I’ve settled on my layer programme. The main problem was wanting to include squats AND deadlifts since im going for a full powerlifting meet and i wanted to avoid over-training so im running what is an 8-day split which goes push/legs/pull/rest repeat.

My first layer training block is more hypertrophy based but im going to alternate between 4 “week” (well, 4 times 8 days) hypertrophy and strength blocks. So my programmes looks like so:

Day 1 - Bench Press
Day 2 - Squat
Day 3 - SGHP
Day 4 - Rest
Day 5 - Decline Press (from pins)
Day 6 - Deadlift
Day 7 - Olympic lifts, SGHP and accessory work

Provided the volume doesnt completely destroy me after layer workout ill be doing some accessory work after the main lift for that day. Day 7 is not a layer workout and will just be done by feel. I enjoy the oly lifts and wanted a day to be able to focus on technique work but ill also make sure i do some SGHP work to try and keep to the layer system as close as possible.

All being well things will kick off tomorrow :slight_smile:

3

Week 1, Day 1 - Bench

Did 35minutes of cardio (SSCV) morning, im doing 3/4 sessions like that week but will be then be getting rid of it as this cut finishes. Considering it was my first layer workout it went pretty smoothly. Ive never set up bench press from pins before so that took a bit of tinkering and getting used to. The HDL sets gave me a pretty mental pump at the end, my overhead stuff and flyes afterwards were a struggle just due to how pumped my chest and triceps were. Not a bad problem to have though i suppose.

Bench Press (full ROM)
All for 3 reps - 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, 110, 112.5kg
Bench Press from pins (about an inch above chest)
Cluster sets (5s between reps) - 100kg - 7, 5, 6
HDL sets - 4-4-3-3-2-2-1-1 done with 75kg for 3 sets - could have managed a bit more here but was a bit cautious

Super-set
Military Press in to Push Press (when M.P gets tough switch to PP) - 60kg - 6+6, 6+4, 5+4
Dumbbell Flyes - 10kg - 12, 12, 12 - Big stretch at the bottom.

I doubt ill even be able to do a push-up tomorrow. Squat day tomorrow… gulp

4

August 21st

Im pretty much having to re-invent my squat. I made alot of gains when i switched to a wide-stance, powerlifter style; but it just always felt awkward and over time left me with lots of little niggly pains and injuries. So im going to move back to a shoulder width, more oly style squat and hope that i fare better. Its sucks having to drop the weight and i feel weak as a kitten when i squat at the moment but hopefully in the long run itll mean i can get to squatting some decent numbers. All the squats from pins were really quite awkward, i set the bars right in the bottom position of my squat but getting under the bar and in to position just felt incredibly awkward. But once i put the safety bars up a notch or 2 i could get them done fine. Not sure how im going to be walking tomorrow.

Week 1, Day 2 - Squat

Squat (full ROM)
All for 3 reps - 70, 85, 100, 110, 120, 130, 135, 137.5kg

Squat (up from pins)
Cluster sets - 110kg - 5, 100kg - 4, 5
HDL sets - Scheme: 5-4-3-2-1 (with 10s between micro-sets) - 70, 75, 80kg

Front Squats
60kg - 6, 6, 6, 6

Todays top track:

5

August 22nd

Weighed in again today between 180 and 181lbs but waist has dropped around another 1/4" or so, so its just below 30" now. Provided my strength comes back and starts increasing ill be happy to keep this pattern going. I went out and did my 30mins SSCV in the park today too which i think also helped my legs but i do think the DOMS from squats is going to hit me with a vengence tomorrow.

If that doesnt happen and i feel good i may go out and do some sprints. Also looking at buying some gymnastic rings to add some variety to my accessory work. Wouldnt mind experimenting with ring dips, rows, muscle ups, front levers etc and theyll also be handy for pull-ups.

One problem ive noticed is that i have one arm quite a big bigger than the other. My left arm is just over 3/4" smaller than my right (im left handed) and yet when it comes to pressing its my right that fails first. Any ideas how to best go about sorting this out?

Snatch grip high pull session went pretty quick; i feel like i could do that movement all day. It was good to do so many sets also as im still trying to nail down the technique.

Week 1, Day 3 - SGHP

SGHP (from hang)
Ramp to 3RM - 20kg - 20, 40kg - 8, 45kg - 5, All for 3 reps - 50, 60, 70, 72.5, 75, 77.5kg - Straps were a massive help on the heavier sets
3 sets of 6 @ 80% of 3RM - 60kg
3 reps every minute on the minute @ 70% of 1RM for 6 minutes - 55kg

Pull-ups
12, 12, 12

Power Clean
70kg - 3, 3, 3

Straight Arm Pulldown
120lbs - 10, 10, 10

Hammer DB Curl
12.5kg’s - 10, 10, 10

Today’s top track:

6

August 23rd

Rest day today other than some cardio and mobiity work. Im not sure i could cope with doing the layer system 6 days a week (as many do) quite yet, especially considering my split contains 2 lower body days. 3 on, 1 off seems ideal for now however. Legs are still feeling pretty nasty from squats the other day but my traps today are absolutely horrendous. Id never had DOMS in my traps until I started doing snatch grip high pulls and now that I have I dont see any reason why ill ever do another shrug in my life.

Decline press day tomorrow, an exercise I have precious little experience with.

7

1000Ă—1000 276 KB

ARISE

8

[quote]csulli wrote:
ARISE[/quote]

Lol. Today is a rest day, I shall be arising from nowhere! :slight_smile:

9

August 24th

Today was decline bench press from pins day. Ive done very little decline pressing and probably even less pressing from pins so this was a pretty new experience. My form leaves alot to be desired but it should improve considering the amount of sets ill be doing of it. It was frustrating however, for example i got my 3 reps @ 117.5kg no problem but then got the set up wrong for 120kg and it felt like a tonne.

Also during sets if i set the bar down in the wrong place between reps all of a sudden the next rep could be incredibly easier or harder than the previous rep. But next time ill be getting that 120kg. Finished up with some isolation exercises and did an extra 2 sets of tricep extensions with my left arm to begin the journey of attempting to even my arm development out.

Few hours after the gym I hit the rowing machine for a quick session. Just went all out to burn 200 calories as quick as possible.

Week 1, Day 4

Decline Bench Press from pins (just above chest)
All for 3 reps - 70, 80, 90, 100, 105, 100, 115, 117.5kg

Military Press in to Push Press
60kg - 6+4, 5+3, 5+4

  • DB Flyes
    12.5kg - 12, 12, 12

DB Lat Raise
7.5kg - 10, 10, 10

  • Overhead Kettlebell Tricep Extension
    16kg - 10, 10, 10 + 2 sets of 10 for left arm

Todays track of choice:

10

August 25th

Chest, tris and shoulders feel surprisingly good today considering how completely fried they felt after yesterdays session. So today was deadlift day, one thing i think im doing wrong with heavy deads is not pushing my hips back. When the weight gets 150/160kg+ i think i sub-conciously stop pushing my hips back to engage my hamstrings more and end up using too much upper back. Maybe it due to weak hamstrings/glutes? I do tend to be strong off the floor but struggle with the lock out once it gets above knee height, which i think usually means weak glutes? Any tips here would be appreciated. It does tend to be my lower back that is the most sore after deadlift day.

Went pretty well considering my lower back was actually STILL a bit sore from squats wednesday (which is a bit crazy). Because of this i didnt go quite as high as I could have and avoided any grinders although by the time the clusters and HDL sets were done my posterior chain was not pleased. Ive decided to do front squats for 5x5 after both my squat and deadlift workouts. Its a lift im really poor at (i have no quads) and so have tended to avoid religiously. Im starting off light to work on technique and build confidence. Im hoping to add weight either after each week or after each workout (so twice a week), my fractional weight plate set will arrive this week so i could then start adding 1kg to the bar each workout. Im hoping by Xmas ill be front squatting some half decent weight and actually have a pair of quads to show for it.

Week 1, Day 5 - Deadlift

Deadlift (full ROM)
All for 3 reps - 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 177.5, 180kg - maybe had another 7.5-10kg in me at a push

Deadlift (off 2" blocks)
Cluster sets - 165kg - 5, 4, 4
HDL sets - 5-4-3-2-1 (3 sets) - 120kg - These didnt really feel any easier than from the floor so this is definetly my weakness

Front Squats
62.5kg - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 - Easy

Todays best track:

11

August 26th

Not the greatest workout today. However this is the least strenuous and draining workout of all of them. Hamstrings and lower back really arent too bad after all the deadlifting yesterday but today i just felt i had no drive or push in my legs which made high pulls tougher than they should have been. After that it was just some accessory work and snatch technique work. If its a nice day tomorrow ill be looking to get out and do some sprints.

For the first time in ages ive dropped below 180lbs. Weighed in at 178.8lbs which is a 2lb drop since Thursday but lost between 1/2 and 1/3" off my waist in that time too. Should have my waist down under 29" by the end of the week.

Week 1, Day 6 - Snatch Grip High Pull

SGHP (from hang)
70kg - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Pull-ups
10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Power Snatch
50kg - 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 - Also did some overhead squats during warm ups and the odd one during work sets

DB Hammer Curl
15kg’s - 8, 8, 8 - Plus 2 extra sets for left arm

Cable Crunch
100lbs - 15, 120lbs - 10, 140lbs - 6 - Done sloooow

Hanging Leg Raise
10, 10, 10

Todays track of choice:

12

FUBAR is such a badass term. I must use it more often. Nice Deadlifting! The only thing I am semi-good at.
Keep up the hard work!

13

[quote]panzerfaust wrote:
FUBAR is such a badass term. I must use it more often. Nice Deadlifting! The only thing I am semi-good at.
Keep up the hard work![/quote]

Haha yes you must. Thanks, deadlift is my only respectable lift too. I need to sort my form when things get heavy as i think i get a bit nervous and try to use too much lower back. Aiming for around 200kgx3 by new year. Gotta aim high!

Thanks for looking in :slight_smile:

14

August 27th

Since it was a non-weights day decided to get out and do some sprints in the sun. My glutes and hamstrings werent very happy for it as theyre still fairly sore from deadlifts on Sunday. But did alright considering ive done zero sprint work in the last 12-18 months. Its amazing how much lighter you feel on your feet when you start losing the flab though, compared to when i was playing football 6 months ago it felt like i was flying lol. I aimed to do 10-15 sprints and got 13, could have done more but i stopped once i felt the intensity dropping. Did some stretching and mobility work afterwards also.

Cardio:
10 minute jog (warm-up)
13 x 50m sprints (90%+ effort)

15

August 28th

Not the greatest workout today to start of week 2. Went down my brothers house to the use the gym and he decided to jump in there just before me so i ended up waiting around an hour and then was rushed and just not in the zone.

Worked up to 112.5kgx3 again in the ramp, im adamant it would have been easier than last week but my foot slipped during the second rep and just completely messed up my form. Still getting my head around getting my set up for pressing from pins, got less reps than last week though.

My girlfriends coming down to visit me for a week or so before she helps me move back up to uni. Its not going to stop me training as luckily she is also training for the same powerlifting meet i am but since the sessions will be taking longer i may cut down on the accessory work and take an extra rest day here and there. After these 2/3 weeks she will be moving to her own place for her new job so need to make the most of the time together.

Week 2, Day 1 - Bench Press

Bench Press (full ROM)
All for 3 reps - 60, 70, 77.5, 85, 92.5, 100, 105, 107.5, 112.5kg

Bench Press (from pins)
Cluster sets - 100kg - 4, 5, 5, 5
HDL sets - 5-4-3-2-1 - 80kg for 1 set, 75kg for 1 set - dropped weight as I wasnt happy with bar speed

Standing Military Press
60kg - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

DB Flyes
15kg - 8, 8, 8

Overhead Kettlebell Tricep Extension
16kg - 12, 12, 12 + 2 extra sets for left arm

DB Lateral Raise
7.5kg - 8, 8, 8

Todays best track:

16

August 29th - September 4th

Hey everyone. Sorry for the complete lack of updates, been a super busy week or so. Training and diet still been on point, other than (yet another) crappy squat workout every other session has gone fairly well. Slight improvements throughout and more importantly getting it done a little bit quicker and feeling better in the process too. Weight has stayed at 179lbs give or take with my waist again slightly dropping to just over 29".

Progress is slowish but over the last month ive lost around an inch off my waist and only dropped about 2lbs and i dont really feel like im in much of a deficit either, plenty of energy etc etc so dont feel any need to change anything at the moment as for once ive actually developed some patience! Once im back at uni and using the gym up there (which has a cardio room) ill start adding 10-15mins of cardio to the end of my weights sessions i think to keep fat loss ticking over.

As badly as my squatting seems to be going at the moment i re-found my old deadlifting style and felt so much better for it. I brought my feet much closer in to around 6" apart and used a double overhand grip with straps with hands as narrow as my legs allowed. Felt so much better, managed a bit more weight and was pretty much fine the day after (unlike last week) so hoping to see some improving in my pulling in the next few weeks. Its a rest day before week 3 of the layer system begins so ill be off to do sprints in the sunshine :slight_smile:

17

Woah so this log went completely off the rails. BUT im starting it back up for my crazy 2-a-day training session experiment!! So im going to be training AM and PM for however long my will holds. Im doing CTs High Frequency Strength Training as my early session which is there purely to help me drill technique for the big 3 lifts to death until i dont even have to think about it anymore. So my AM sessions are going like:

5/6 days a week
3 lifts - Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift
Sets/Reps - Week 1 + 2 - 3 x 5, Week 3 + 4 - 3 x 4, Week 5 + 6 - 3 x 3 then repeat with more weight

The weights staying light (60-70% 1RM) so it doesnt affect my evening sessions but ive already found going in in the morning (i usually train in the evening) leaves me feeling much more awake and pro-active during the day compared to normal.

Evening sessions are:

5/6 days a week
Split - Bench Press, Squat, Snatch grip high pull from blocks, Decline Press from pins, Deadlift
Layout - Activation lift - Push press for presses, snatch grip high pull from hang for squat/deadlift
Main lift - Ramp to 1RM then as many singles as possible in 7 minutes @ 90% max
Accessory lift - Many reps as possible in 5 mins
Carries - 3 x 1 minutes round with 1 minute rest

Calories have been upped and im hoping to also finally start gaining a little weight. Weight gain has been super super low but i am staying nicely lean although im still only around 182lbs. Diet looks like 300g Pro, 100g F, 250-300g C (depending on how i feel, usually 250g) and then im taking an intraWO drink during both sessions that is 40-50g Carbs and 30g Pro.

Wish me luck!

18

So the first day of the experiment yesterday looked like this:

AM - HFSW Workout
Squat - 100kg - 3 x 5 - Im going to alternate between low bar (my stronger lift) and high bar because i really suck at high bar :confused:
Bench Press - 70kg - 3 x 5
Deadlift - 120kg - 3 x 5

Took 20minutes

PM - Layer Workout - Bench Press
Push Press Activation - 5 reps @ 75kg, 4 reps @ 77.5kg, 3 reps @ 80kg, 2 reps @ 82.5kg, 1 rep @ 85kg
Bench Press - 1RM Ramp - Worked up to 120kg then 14 singles @ 105kg in 7 mins
Wide-grip Bench Press - 80kg - 30 reps in 5 minutes
Chin-ups (thrown in between some pressing sets) - 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Bear-hug carries - 20kg + 15kg plate - 3 x 1min, max distance
50 bodyweight tricep extensions - done between carries

Took about 45/50mins… was slow today

19

Week 1, Day 2 - 18th Nov

Typically ive come down with a nasty cold just as i was raring to go on my 2 a day training. Just felt very lethargic and had no “go”, which really showed in my squat workout. Should have gotten another 10-15kg on the ramp but oh well, nothing plenty of food and sleep cant cure im sure.

AM Session
Squat - 3x5 - 100kg - Im still working on my low bar squat so that i stop getting shoulder pain
Bench Press - 3x5 - 70kg
Deadlift - 3x5 - 120kg

PM Session - Layer Workout - Squat
SGHP from hang activation - 5 @ 65kg, 4 @ 67.5kg, 3 @ 70kg, 2 @ 72.5kg, 1 @ 75kg
Squat - 1RM Ramp - Worked up to 150kg (lol) and then 10 singles @ 135kg in 7 mins (again, lol)
Front Squat - 80kg - 21 reps in 5mins
50 bodyweight tricep extensions
Yoke Walks - 80kg - 3 x 1minutes rounds, mac distance

20

Week 1, Day 3 - 18th November

Seriously run down with some crappy cold. But i was in the gym coaching today anyway so decided to grind through today and then take a rest day tomorrow. Managed to hit a new PB at snatch grip high pull though which was cool.

AM Session
Squat - 3x5 - 100kg
Bench Press - 3x5 - 70kg
Deadlift - 3x5 - 120kg

PM Session - Layer Workout - SGHP from blocks
SGHP from blocks - 1RM ramp up to 100kg, then 23 singles @ 90kg in 7mins
Chin-ups - Max reps in 5 minutes - 39
50 bodyweight tricep extensions
Barbell Over-head Carries - 42.5kg - 3 x 1 minute rounds, max distance