I feel like benching twice a week on a press day as volume would help with reacquiring the skill, rather than just focusing once per week.
@Koestrizer @hugh_gilly cheers for the input guys. I considered benching twice a week but quickly dismissed it. Right now I can only really commit to three days a week so I’m doing pull, push, legs but from October when I’m back at university I could probably commit to four days and then it’s something I’ll reconsider.
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This was exactly my thoughts.
5s PRO FSL or similar once a week seems seriously low volume for a lift you’re pushing. Especially since:
My thoughts here are that since you’re looking to add 20-25kg to your TM over 15 weeks, your only option to avoid a quick stall is to start your TM absurdly low. Given that you’re running fairly low volume supplemental and 5s Pro, you really have very little opportunity to challenge yourself here.
My plan is to push the assistance hard which makes up for any lack of intensity with the benching but to be honest I thought there would be an alright amount of that anyway. The first cycle will be 5x10 with a decent percentage which I think will be pretty hard. The second maybe might be easy but then the last two have PR sets I can push to failure and five heavy sets after.
Regarding the TM, I’m starting with a TM of 70kg so the last cycle will be 85kg which I’ve done a double with before. I’m almost certain my chest, shoulders and triceps are more muscular than then so I’m hoping/thinking once the skill comes back I should be able to surpass where I was. In this case I’ll have ten full weeks to get there. I see what you’re saying though, I think the week seven deload will probably be a good time for me to re-evaluate.
If you have time, I’d be interested and appreciate any suggestions you have of any ideas you have that I could try instead.
My best ever progress on bench came from 531 BBB with plus sets and accessories (nothing too groundbreaking), but I was doing extra work on other days. If I were in your position, I’d probably do something like the 13 week BBB challenge with plus sets, and maybe try and find a way of doing extra work for the pushing muscles on other days, even if it’s as simple as daily push ups.
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I’m not sure all that work would be beneficial to be honest. I have been making good progress with only around 4-5 sets to failure for chest and Jim doesn’t include plus sets in his BBB challenge. What I might do is start as I had planned then add some extra work like you suggest if I’m feeling good. I quite like the idea of pushing push ups into high reps.
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02/09/2020
Single arm lat pull-down: 12x18, 15x23, 11x23, 10x18
Dumbbell rows: 12x30, 17x30
Chest supported T-bar row: 3x12x20
Smith rack pull: 10x60, 17x100
Rear delt dumbbell fly: 20-12-8-5-5x4s
Concentration curl: 14, 7, 5x8
Reverse curl: 20x10, 15x10
Decent session. Matched last week’s PR on the pull-downs but definitely used a slower tempo. I smashed last week’s dumbbell row performance, adding two reps and 2kg after an extra pull-down set too. Rack pulls felt alright but not great, I’ll try again next week and see how I feel. Finally, did the rear delts as a big rest pause set aiming for 50 reps which I liked a lot.
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03/09/20
Bench press:
2x10x20
5x45
5x55
5x60
5x10x40 (90s rest)
Hammer chest press: 10x30, 11x65 (PR)
Seated dumbbell OHP: 10x10s, 10x16s
Cable lateral raises: 20x5, 17x5
Tricep push-down: 30x25, 12x35
First workout of my new bench press plan. Bench felt surprisingly good technique wise and very fast compared to the other recent sessions. 55kg moved fast enough for the plates to clang at the top as I reversed direction. The 5x10 was pretty easy - got a chest pump but probably had at least three more reps for each set. Next week I’ll bring the rest down to either 60s or 75s.
Assistance was probably about right - each the top sets of the presses were to failure and all sets of the raises and push-downs were which probably makes up for the lack of volume. Could maybe have added an extra set on one of the presses but I don’t think so once the benching gets harder. My chest is spasming as I write this and my shoulders ache. As always though I’ll keep evaluating as I go on.
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Good luck with the 100 kg goal mate
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Thank you!
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07/09/20
Assault bike: 5 mins steady
Squat: 3x5x20, 5x40, 4x3x50
Pendulum leg press: 3x8x30, 10x30
Dumbbell RDL: 10x12s, 12x22s
Standing calf raise: 2x10x37.5
Can’t remember if I’ve already discussed it but I’m trying to rebuild my squat again. I’m as strong as ever but for over a year now I’ve gotten pain in my hips and SI joints after squats so I’ve rarely been doing them with free weight. Plan is just lots of low rep sets at a weight I can really control.
About two hours after this I went on a 5 mile bike ride. Unfortunately cut it short because I got caught out by the weather but I’ve recently got a new bike which I really like so I’ll be out much more often.
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08/09/20
Single arm lat pull-down:
10x18
17x23 (PR)
12x23
10x18
Dumbbell row:
8x20
18x32 (+1 rep, +2kg vs last week)
10x32
Smith rack pull (below knee): 10x60, 12x100
Chest supported T-bar row: 16x20, 15x20
Rear delt dumbbell fly: 20-10-8-5-5-2x4s
Concentration curl: 15, 6, 3x8s
Reverse curl: RP to 25x10
Good but tough session, this took a lot out of me. PR on the pull-downs and beat last week with the rows - all time PR there, when I was fresh, is 20x32.5 so I’m close even with the pull-downs first. Stood on a step for the rack pulls which moved the bar from above to below my knee. Obviously felt it more in my glutes and lower back today but I prefer it. I took it a little easier today just in case I hurt myself.
On another note, as I mentioned before, I’m trying to lose a bit more weight until October so I’m currently in quite a calorie deficit. I’m not going to count calories and probably won’t get weighed much either but I’ve cut food down a lot and feel like I’m losing weight. I’ll do another post after this to discuss my diet a little bit for my own future reference.
So a bit on my diet at the minute…
If I’m at work a typical day of eating is a small bowl of cereal and protein shake for breakfast, either a big protein shake or some meat for lunch then whatever my girlfriend wants for dinner but I’ve cut the portion size down a lot.
If I’m not at work, other than my dinner, I try to only eat a small meal before and after workouts. I know I’ll be having dinner every day anyway so I’m looking at it as I need to earn any extra food.
During workouts I’m having an intra-workout drink with cyclic-dextrin and BCAAs, I think about 20g of carbs. Depending on how I feel and what I’ve already eaten I’ll sometimes have a protein shake or high protein yoghurt in the evening. Finally, I usually eat out once or twice a week which can be considered cheat meals but I’m trying to limit those.
09/09/20
Bench press:
2x12x20
5x50
5x55
5x65
5x10x40 (75s rest)
Hammer chest press: 8x40, 12x65 (PR)
Cable lateral raises: 20, 18x5
Seated dumbbell OHP: 10x14s, 8x14s
Tricep push-down: 18x30, 12x35
Not nearly as explosive today as last week but strength still seemed to be there as I beat last week’s chest press PR. The 5x10 bench rest times also came down 15s which didn’t seem to have a notable difference other than rep speed but that seemed to effect everything.
In related news: my friend I’m competing against benched 95kg last night and said it was easier than when he was with me but it looked pretty easy even then. Adds a bit more pressure, I’m not sure I’ll be able to beat him to 100kg but maybe I can just bench more when we both meet up. I’m also considering adding a second bench day once I get back into a calorie surplus (week 8 of this plan).
09/09/20
Bike ride:
Was biking straight into a headwind for over half of it which really killed me but made for some good efforts. My chain also came off twice and don’t know if putting it back on was included in the time.
Had a lot of fun and I’m enjoying starting a new hobby. It’s a gravel bike and there’s some pretty rough canal paths nearby which I came back on and enjoyed bouncing around. My Fitbit was supposed to connect to Strava to input heart rate data which I would be interested in but didn’t for some reason, I’ll have to mess around in the settings and see why.
11/09/20
Assault bike: 5 mins steady
Squat: 3x5x20, 3x40, 4x3x50
Cutler pendulum squat: 10x0, 15x20
Dumbbell RDL: 2x15x10s
Standing calf raise: 10x45
Still having issues with squats, took some videos which I’m going to post in a separate topic later for advice.
11/09/20
Bike ride:
Mostly on road today. Having problems with an achy upper back and neck - I’ve adjusted my saddle position a bit to reduce my reach slightly.
14/09/20
Single arm lat pull-down:
10x18
11x28 (PR)
12x23
12x18
Dumbbell row:
10x20
15x34 (-3 reps, +2kg vs last week)
7x34
Smith rack pull (below knee): 10x60, 7-7x100
Smith barbell row: 20x40, 15x50, 11x50, 12x50
Barbell curl: 8x20, 5x20
Concentration curl: 8x4s, 6x4s
Ended with some stretching, hanging leg raises in that thing you rest your forearms on and single leg glute raises which felt good. Tried these to combat the hip pain I’m having and I think they could be a step in the right direction. The stretches I focussed on hip external rotation and being able to open my legs up which is tough right now. The leg raises just felt good on my back and hips - the first rep my back cracked pretty much the whole way up my spine and I let myself hang and stretch out at the end. The glute raises were super hard so think I’ve found a weakness there, especially with my right side. My plan is to do these every workout for the time being.
Other than all that, good workout and I’m continuing to progress. Those pull-downs seem to feel better every week and I really liked the rows in the smith machine.
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14/09/20
Cycle:
This was a lot of fun. About a quarter of it was done on roads I had no business riding on without suspension but the bike managed well and I just about made it.
Thought I’d add the heart rate data from my Fitbit. Pretty happy the average got so high and to be honest it didn’t feel too bad about from the bits where it was near 180 which is probably the highest I’ve seen it since I got my Fitbit in May. I kept a higher and consistent cadence and just grinded away.
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Lol, yeah that’s an interesting feeling. But definitely a good one. The chin-up bar is a very underrated invention I must say.
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