396 or 405, that’s still a lot of weight, man. Nice work! I put up a couple of squat vids on my page, check em out
26/05/10
ME Bench Presses
Floor Presses (Paused):
20x2x8
(Added 2 sets of chains per side)
20x5
40x3
60x3
80x2
90x1
95x1
100x1
102.5x1 (PR)
105xF
4-Board Presses:
120x5
130x5
140x5 (PR)
Pull-ups:
BW 10x3x6
BW 10x1x5
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
80lbx12
80lbx9
Face Pulls w/Straight Bar Attachment:
130lbx2x10
28/05/10
DE Squats/Deadlifts
Speed Box Squats:
20x2x5
(Added green bands)
20x3
60x2
80x2
90x8x2
Speed Sumo Deadlifts:
70x3
(Added doubled mini bands)
70x1
90x1
110x3x1
130x3x1
Reverse Hypers:
85x4x8
Ab Pulldowns:
125lbx2x10
120lbx2x10
Now that I know my max squat is 180kg, I can say that today I performed my dynamic sets with 90kg plus green bands. Interesting factoid, huh?
29/05/10
DE Bench Presses
Speed Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added 2 sets of chains per side)
20x2x5
40x3
60x3
65x3x3
70x3x3
75x2x3
Rolling Dumbbell Triceps Extensions:
20x1x5
17.5x3x12
Barbell Rows (from 1st pins):
100x4x6
TRX Rear Delt Flyes:
3x10
This session pretty much sucked. Benching wasn’t particularly fast, and my stroke was consistently erratic. Then I did some heavy(ish) rows, and cheated significantly to get the reps in. Oh well, this one can be struck off as an ‘off’ day I guess.
31/05/10
ME Squats/Deadlifts
Cambered Bar Box Squats:
30x2x5
70x3
90x3
110x3
(Added 2 sets of chains per side)
110x3
130x1
150x1
160x1
165x1
Rack Pulls (from 3rd pins):
60x5
100x5
120x3
140x3
160x3
180x3
190x3 (PR)
180x3
Pikes:
BWx8
BWx7
BWx7
BWx6
I was suffering from some annoying pains in my left knee and adductor, which got more and more debilitating as the session wore on. Fortunately, squatting seemed to be about the only thing that did not hurt, and rack pulls seem to have erstwhile unknown regenerative powers, because both my knee and groin were far less sore after pulling a PR from these bastard pins. Oh, and my previous best cambered bar box squat was 170kg (sans chains) so this is kind of a PR too.
I didn’t want to mess about with potentially hazardous glute/ham raises or reverse hypers, so just did some ab work after that and called it a (fairly productive) day.
02/06/10
ME Bench Presses
Bench Presses (Paused):
20x2x8
(Added doubled mini bands)
20x5
40x3
60x3
(All subsequent sets performed with a 2-board)
80x3
100x2
110x1
120x1
125x1
127.5x1 (Touch and go) (PR)
Close Grip Bench Presses:
90x5
100x5
110x5 (PR)
Pull-ups:
BW 10x6
BW 10x6
BW 10x5
BW 10x5
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
40x2x12
Face Pulls:
50x3x12
04/06/10
DE Squats/Deadlifts
Speed Box Squats:
20x2x5
(Added green bands)
20x3
60x2
80x2
100x5x2
110x2
120x2
130x1
Speed Deadlifts:
70x3
(Added doubled mini bands)
70x1
90x1
110x6x1
Reverse Hypers:
90x4x8
Ab Pulldowns:
125lbx4x10
Squatting was feeling great with lighter weights today, so I decided to work up to some heavier doubles. It was all going to plan until the final set with 130 - first rep was good, but I sat way too far back on the second and couldn’t generate any power off of the box. Annoying.
05/06/10
DE Bench Presses
Speed Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added 2 sets of chains per side)
20x2x5
40x3
60x3
70x8x3
Rolling Dumbbell Triceps Extensions:
17.5x4x12
Barbell Rows (from 1st pins):
100x4x6
Fat Bar Curls:
40x3x8
TRX Rear Delt Flyes:
3x10
Much better than last week, which isn’t saying much.
07/06/10
ME Squats/Deadlifts
SSB Squats:
30x2x5
70x3
90x3
110x3
130x1
140x1
150x1 (PR)
Sumo Deadlifts:
60x5
100x3
120x3
140x3
160x3
180x1
180xF
180x3 (PR)
Glute/Ham Rasises:
BWx10
BW 10x3x10
Hanging Leg Raises:
BW 5x10
BW 10x8
BW 10x10
PRs with the safety squat bar are always extremely satisfying - and I finally made it to 3 plates with my nemesis this evening. But that’s not all that interesting. What is interesting is that tonight I was taught a lesson in the psychological aspects of training. I planned to work up to a heavy triple on the sumo deadlifts, but 160kg felt very heavy. This probably psyched me out of getting 180 for 3 first time around, then I got pissed off and couldn’t even budge it the second time! After that my training partner wound me up and told me my confidence was in the bin, so I proved him wrong by getting an ugly-as-hell triple at the third time of asking.
09/06/10
ME Bench Presses
Reverse Band Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added light bands)
60x5
80x5
100x3
120x3
130x3
140x1
150x1 (PR)
155x1 (PR)
160x1 (PR)
165x1 (PR)
170xF
Here’s a video of the effort with 165kg:
Seated Overhead Press Lockouts:
60x5
70x5
80x5
90x5 (PR)
Pull-ups:
BW+12.5x5
BW+12.5x5
BW+12.5x5
BW+12.5x4
BWx6
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
80lbx2x11
Face Pulls:
100lbx2x12
Wow. That was a 25kg increase in my best reverse band bench press in 4 months! Something is working.
11/06/10
DE Squats/Deadlifts
Speed Box Squats:
20x2x5
(Added green bands)
20x3
60x2
80x2
100x2
110x7x2
Speed Sumo Deadlifts:
60x3
100x3
(Added 2 sets of chains per side)
100x1
120x4x1
140x4x1
Reverse Hypers:
95x3x8
Roman Chair Sit-ups:
BWx10
BW 15x3x10
12/06/10
DE Bench Presses
Speed Bench Presses:
20x2x8
(Added 2 sets of chains per side)
20x2x5
40x3
60x3
70x5x3
80x3
85x3
90x3
95x3
Rolling Dumbbell Triceps Extensions:
45lbx3x8
Barbell Rows (from 1st pins):
102.5x4x6
Fat Bar Curls:
40x3x8
TRX Rear Delt Flyes:
3x10
There wasn’t much that was ‘dynamic’ about those heavier sets of bench presses, but 95kg plus the chains for a triple is a new PR, so I won’t complain.
14/06/10
Deload - Squats/Deadlifts
Glute/Ham Raises:
BWx4x15
Reverse Hypers:
60x3x12
Hanging Leg Raises:
3 sets
16/06/10
Deload - Bench Presses
Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Presses:
20x2x10
26x8
34x15
34x15
34x13
Pull-ups:
BW 10x3x5
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
2 sets
Face Pulls:
2 sets
This was boring. But what is exciting is that I’m finally getting my hands on my brand new cheater gear on Friday.
18/06/10 and 20/06/10
Gearwhoring it up.
OK, rather than do a proper training log post, I thought I’d bring everyone (whup - if you’re reading) up to speed on my first steps to multi-ply goodness. I ordered a Metal Pro bench shirt and Pro briefs (I’m saving the squat suit for later) recently, and they finally arrived this week. I was like a kid on his way to the sweet shop on my way to pick it up from the gym on Friday afternoon! I turned up, and found out that I had kindly been sent a Metal Ace shirt and briefs. That’s Metal’s most advanced multi-ply gear; not really suitable for a total newb like me.
I thought I’d use the opportunity of being in a powerlifting gym to get some pointers on using my new shirt. I can’t remember exactly the set and rep scheme I used, but I do know that I was an inch away from touching with 150kg. I was delighted with this, mainly because it justified my buying a loose shirt to start off with. Then I did a shitload of triceps work, completely throwing the fact that this is meant to be a deload week out of the window. Oh well.
Sunday: this would normally be dynamic effort bench day, but since I was benching on Friday, and will be squatting heavy tomorrow, I decided just to go in and do some upper back/lat work. There was nothing exciting about that, I promise. However, I did decide to try my briefs on at the end of the session. After about 10 minutes of struggling into them, I managed to get them in a (relatively) comfortable position. We will see tomorrow if I can make the bastard things work!
One slightly odd thing about this experience though… I currently weigh roughly 107kg (235lb) - but when I was taking my measurements to decide what size gear to order, I ended up calculating that I required a shirt for a 90kg lifter, and briefs for a 140! Now, I know that I have decent leg development (and a big fat arse) but that sounded excessive. I ended up electing to go with a shirt for a 100kg lifter and briefs for a 125. Whilst the shirt was loose enough that I could almost touch in it on my very first session, then briefs were so tight that I am slightly nervous about the prospect of squatting in them tomorrow. Weird.
A squatters arse…one of the many side effects of weight training. How long have you been at your current weight?
Good luck with the new gear, man. Hope it works out for ya. Sounds like too much work/time for me.
21/06/10
ME Squats/Deadlifts
(Very) High Box Squats:
20x2x5
60x3
100x3
120x3
(Added Metal Ace briefs)
140x2
160x2
180x1
200x1
210xF
210x1
Stiff-legged Sumo Deadlifts:
65x3
105x3
125x3
145x3
160x3 (PR)
150x3
Reverse Hypers:
100x3x8
Hanging Leg Raises:
BW 10x3x10
Tonight was all about getting used to the groove of my new briefs, trying to find a weight that would put me somewhere in the neighbourhood of depth, and gaining confidence with heavier weights on my back. First though, I had to get my briefs on - which was more of a challenge than it should have been. Go on they did though, and I proceeded to do a few sets of hilariously high squats. By the time I got to 200kg, I had enough weight on the bar to shove me down a little closer to the high box, and after spectacularly losing my groove on my first attempt with 210kg, I smoked it the second time around. Next session: 5 plates and hopefully closer to parallel!
Not much else to say about the rest of the session: nice PR with this deadlift variant, and some pretty standard assistance…
[quote]whup wrote:
A squatters arse…one of the many side effects of weight training. How long have you been at your current weight?
Good luck with the new gear, man. Hope it works out for ya. Sounds like too much work/time for me. [/quote]
I’ve been hovering around this weight since around Christmas, steadily going from about 105 to 107 in that time. I hope to fill out the 110s (242s) soon enough, whilst staying reasonably lean (I’m 6’2’') and then onwards from there!
Thanks for the good luck… I’m just an egotist who wants to lift massive weights!
23/06/10
ME Bench Presses
Bench Presses (Paused):
20x2x8
40x5
60x3
80x3
(Added Metal Ace shirt)
(All subsequent sets performed to a 2-board)
100x3
120x3
140x1
160x1
170x1
182.5x1
190x1
200x1
4-Board Presses:
120x5
130x5
Pull-ups:
BW 12.5x3x6
Triceps Pushdowns w/Straight Bar Attachment:
80lbx2x12
Face Pulls w/Straight Bar Attachment:
3 sets
Similarly to Monday, all I wanted to do tonight was learn how to use this crazy new shirt. I had no idea what weights I would be capable of lifting, but was absolutely delighted with a very hard 200kg 2-board press! 100 and 120 were pretty ugly, and I found it difficult to maintain a decent arch, but as soon as I got to 140 I was holding enough weight to make the stroke pretty smooth.
Next week I’ll take it down to a 1-board, and then I’ll look to get a touch the following week.
25/06/10
DE Squats/Deadlifts
Speed Box Squats:
20x2x5
(Added green bands)
20x3
60x2
80x2
100x8x2
Speed Deadlifts:
70x3
(Added doubled mini bands)
70x1
90x1
110x6x1
Reverse Hypers:
65x2x12
Glute/Ham Raises:
2 sets
Ab Pulldowns:
125lbx4x11
Raw and fast tonight.