Alex_uk: 40 years in the making

[alex_uk]

T&T w5 day 4

Belt squat:

80kg X 10 X 4 sets (maybe 5 lost track so erring on the lower count, apparently count to 4 is hard for me today).

90 secs rest

Increased weights, dropped reps, my left knee is still grumbling somewhat the knee sleeves are no longer hiding the crunchy sounds that come from them, also I’ve had pain in my right leg just below my hip joint, not necessarily from or during squatting but just in general, not sure if this means I need to do something, probably ought to, probably won’t until something breaks.

SSB: 60, 80, 100, 120kg X some, 130kg X 8 X 5 sets

3 mins rest

Interesting, that was hard, like genuine yelling/screaming at the 5-8th reps of set 3-5, but added 10kg to last week and kept the reps and rest the same, not saying I’m sandbagging myself here, this is real hard work and the 4 days of DOMs from last week is telling me that this isn’t going to feel good tomorrow (or the 3 days afterwards) but it’s incredible to find there’s still more left in the tank, I’ve never really pushed SSB, so it’ll be interesting to see where this tops out and what it’ll be like moving back to straight bar. PR is a defacto volume PR, very happy with it though.

Collapse point at set 3.

Lying cable hammy curl: 50kg X 10 X 4 sets

90 sec rest

Hard, but still plenty of room to give more here.

RDL: 60, 80kg X 6, 100kg X 6 X 4 sets
S/s
Calf raises: 100kg X 10 x 6 sets - toes on bumper
90 secs rest

Unracking the SSB with 100kg was surprisingly hard by this point.

Solid session, I hate leg days.

[simo74]

@alex_uk

Solid session, I hate leg days.

I think for a leg workout those to are always linked

[alex_uk]

W6 D1

Poundstones: 20kg axle X 100

Got two sets into the warm up ez curls when my elbows reminded me that I hadn’t done the poundstones, did the poundstones and my elbows felt like butter, poundstones are some kind of magic.

Bench: 60, 70, 80, 90, 100kg x some, 110kg X 5 X 5 sets
S/s
Ez curls: 28, 38, 48kg X some, 50.5kg X 5 X 4 sets

2 mins rest

Used bumpers today instead of the regular plates, not sure if it’s in my head, because everything usually feels easier with bumpers (which is definitely in my head) but it felt harder, at least for the first 3 sets, might be that my iron weights are off/slightly lighter, never bothered to weigh them, and I won’t, so pointless conjecture. I kept the rest to 2 mins though, to get some sort of win.

Inc DB: 25, 35kg X some, 40kg 8, 7, 6
S/s
Straight bar narrow grip cable curls: 40kg X some, 45kg x 10 X 4 sets

Think I might have had 8 on set two had I not struggled so hard getting the DBs in place, set 3 was just max effort, nice to know I wasn’t sandbagging this. The cable work dropped weight because I’ve used up all the small plates in the garage, adjustable DBs suck, would love a full rack, but cost!

Db flyes: 15kg X 12 X 3
S/s
Pinwheels
15kg X 10 X 3

45 secs rest.

Fried, went for an old school BBing end there with the flyes and pin wheels. My grip is ruined, but not sure why really, apart from the poundstones, but that normally doesn’t last past the bench, weird.

Weight 210 still, fluctuates between 210 and at the lowest 207, I think, but this is entirely subjective, that I might be very slightly leaner. This way of living and eating is no doubt superior in every way, except time and cost, particularly for me time, but I’m adjusting and have no intention of going back to old habits, I keep telling myself this is me now, this is who I am and what I do, it’s not a diet or a change, it’s just where I live now, it’s helpful for the mindset change, I no longer look for junk, I can always find some healthy thing to eat.

On that note I bought more protein powder (I get about 100g of protein a day from powder, just to cover the base and never have to worry about if I’ve eaten enough meat) anyway I re-ordered and they had a good sale in so picked up some protein flapjack bars, seriously I know from so many years of experience (so many different brands) what they’ll be like and yet, every single time I’m surprised by how awful they are. I’ll eat them, but it won’t be a repeat purchase.

I’m kind of getting into the grove of BBer style training, I think I’m starting to look better in key areas and I’m not getting weaker - hitting volume PRs now, mostly default, but the joy is I’m confident that volume PRs will translate to better 1rms when I switch training gears.

Good session, starting to hate training a little less these days (apart from leg day).

[alex_uk]

Pwo lunch, somewhere under the chicken, mayo sweetcorn and bacon is two large sweet potatoes.

[Koestrizer]

Strong benching!

[alex_uk]

Thanks Koe, that’s almost certainly a volume PR (tied with last week) so it’s going in the right direction, my previous 1rm is 130kg, hopefully reach 3 plates (and beyond) in the not too distant future, but won’t be doing singles on this program (and I’m sorta considering jumping on another BBing program when I finish, or milking this for another month or two).

[alex_uk]

T&T W6 day 2

Sweeping deads:

Purple band & 60, 80, 100, 120, 140kg x some, PB&160kg x 6 x 4 sets

3 mins rest

Now we’re talking, first set: I’ve gone too heavy, second set yup, lower the weight for the next set, set 3 - screw it keep the weight just hit the reps you can got them all, well in that case you can do one more you pussy! Default PR on weight and volume, definitely didn’t sandbag that - 20kg more on the bar and higher sweeping resistance, still kept the reps, delighted. Glutes lit up, back is feeling it on some of the right places and feeling fatigued in the lower region, but that’s fine - it worked hard.

NGPU/Chin up/WGPU/NGPU - 8 each set

2 mins rest

Lat pulldown 80kg X 12 X 3
S/s
Lying leg raises: 8 x 3 sets

90 secs rest

Used the close grip row attachment for the pulldowns just to try it, was pretty decent, hit a different point of my back, messed around with the leg raises, ended up near v sits with legs starting off below parallel (lying on a bench).

Seated cable row: 80kg X 15 X 4 sets- 45 secs rest
S/s
Cable crunches: purple X 80kg X 3 sets

Good session, sweat spot for hitting everything hard enough, don’t feel like I’m leaving it on the table.

[alex_uk]

Just found out I might have failed as a dad…

Chatting with the Mrs and some sarcastic comment as made using the phrase you son of a bitch, which I explained always reminds me of:

I played the clip and my son asked to see, so I showed him, he went wow, look at the muscles, I said up of course it’s Arnie and he was like “who?!”.

Christmas this year is now going to be sent educating my children on Arnie films!

[T3hPwnisher]

@alex_uk

Christmas this year is now going to be sent educating my children on Arnie films!

Don’t forget to include “Jingle All The Way”!

[alex_uk]

Haha, definitely on the list, kids are 11 & 13, might exclude a couple of the classics unfortunately (although I’m sure they’d love them!).

[alex_uk]

@QuadQueen another random nutrition question for you, I’ve been using ACV usually twice a day about 15 mins before breakfast and evening meal, specifically for blood sugar/insulin benefits. Wondering about PWO, my thinking is that it lowers insulin and you actually want higher insulin pwo, so avoid it with first pwo meal…but if it makes your body more efficient at using insulin to direct glucose to muscles might it actually be even more beneficial at this time?

I realise the difference is probably largely insignificant (I’m not sweating the small stuff, ACV is just cheap/easy low hanging fruit to tack on alongside my dietary improvements), I’m just curious for curiosity sake.

[QuadQueen]

Yeah, this is kind of like “majoring in the minors”, lol. In the grand scheme of things - it’s not a super big deal. Some sources say to take it prior to a workout to boost energy, so that would be an option if you can stomach it. Adding it PWO isn’t going to hurt you either. I really don’t think, based on everything I’ve read, that there’s any super benefit to taking it PWO in terms of directing glucose to muscles. I haven’t read any research stating that that’s a thing, but maybe that study just hasn’t been done yet. And we all know that N=1 is the best research method - so if you want to give it a go. It does have anti-inflammatory properties, so it might help with muscle recovery outside of the glucose shuttling. I’ll look into this more and let you know if I find anything significant.
Let us know what/if you try anything different than your current routine and if you notice any differences. This could be a fun experiment!

[simo74]

@alex_uk

Sweeping deads:

read this as Sleeping Deads. I really need more sleep. LOL

[simo74]

@alex_uk

it’s Arnie and he was like “who?!”.

I am both sad for you and excited at the same time. My son has started watching some Arnie moves recently and loves them.

[alex_uk]

Great thanks double Q - I know it’s definitely majoring in the minors, and I’m not that guy (I’ve only stopped eating kgs of sugar each week because of hbac1 not performance or aesthetics!) But I am the sort of person who has to know the answer when a question comes to mind.

I’ll give a go for fun, but I am also completely lacking in self awareness in regards to what works and small changes, things have to smack me in the face, hard, to notice them so I doubt I’ll notice any difference!

Thanks again for being awesome and helpful!

[alex_uk]

@simo74

I really need more sleep.

And a CPAP machine apparently!

@simo74

excited at the same time

That’s my overriding feeling on the matter, I watched the netflix documentary a month or two ago and loved it, so I’m already primed for an Arnie fest!

@simo74

My son has started watching some Arnie moves recently and loves them.

Great to know - my kids don’t always appreciate the older stuff, but every Christmas we work through some epic old film series as a family; star wars, back to the future and Indiana Jones have been the three previous years, I’m so looking to Arnie as a theme, might just be my favourite theme yet!

[QuadQueen]

@alex_uk

I’ll give a go for fun, but I am also completely lacking in self awareness in regards to what works and small changes, things have to smack me in the face, hard, to notice them so I doubt I’ll notice any difference!

Awesome! And I’m the same way, if it’s not a face smack or a gut punch, I’m not going to notice a darn thing. In the event that you get smacked, let us know and if you just need to get smacked, maybe talk to your wife? My guess is she’d be happy to help in that area. lol

@alex_uk

Thanks again for being awesome and helpful!

You’re welcome and thank you for letting me help! That’s why I hang around here!

[alex_uk]

T&T W6 d3

Ohp: 40, 50, 60kg x some, 67.5kg x 5, 5, 4, 4

2 mins rest
Attempted the 5th on set 3 and it just stuck so hard about 3 inches above my forehead, felt like an epic battle…that I didn’t win…this time, took 3 min break for the 4th set, tried the 5th again, but didn’t happen (didn’t battle so hard on that one)…next week!

Cable lateral raises: 10kg X 12 X 4 sets

90 secs rest

10kg was going to be warm up weight but realised quickly that it’s actually spot on to really get MMC and properly target the delts, felt it and kept the tension all the way through, felt great in a terrible way.

Rear delt raises: 5kg X 8, 7.5kg x 15 X 3 sets

45 secs rest

Rear delts needed some love and every other part of my delts was fried, less than 5 minutes later my rear delts were also fried!

Dips:
BW, 10, 15kg x 5, 22.5kg x 10 x 4 sets

90 sec rest

Little bit extra weight here, made a lot of difference, will hold this weight for next week.

Cable rope overhead ext: 40kg X 12 X 3 sets
S/s
Dec crunches: 10 X 4 sets

90 sec rest

Funny, thought I’d gone up to 50kg turns out I just can’t count! Next week!
Rope pulldown: 50kg X 12 X 2 final set 12 immediately followed by dropset: 40kg X 8, 30kg x 10, 20kg x 12 , 10kg x 15.

Tricep fire, even felt my chest recruiting to get that done!

Good session, even if the OHP eluded me, but I’ll take the 0.5 extra rep on set 4&5 as extra work!

Tricep pump - cool to see some tricep veins:

[alex_uk]

@QuadQueen

if you just need to get smacked, maybe talk to your wife? My guess is she’d be happy to help in that area. lol

Far too happy! My daughter too, took her to boxing lessons and now her favourite thing is to beat dad, good news is she’s happy to take it back as well!

@QuadQueen

thank you for letting me help

Always welcome! Although I completely forgot to do any ACV around training today.

[QuadQueen]

@alex_uk

I completely forgot to do any ACV around training today.

Lol! Tomorrow is another day!