Nice consistent work in here, @Fabadab. Looks like you’ve dropped the “(?)” from your log title, right? I think that’s a great change, and well-deserved!
Keep it up.
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Cheers @SvenG!
Yeah I did drop the question mark (a week or so?) as I felt like things were on the up. In particular I can actually run again - I think I kidded myself in the past thinking the performance was still there on demand when really it wasn’t. It’s a bit silly because it never takes that long to build it back up (conditioning in general, and running specifically), but I do need to make sure I keep it in my programs in some shape or form so I don’t lose it again.
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26/10 (Early AM)
Couch to 5K
- 5m walk
- 20m run
- 5m walk
30m total w/20m running
First long run completed - felt pretty decent. Left knee felt like it was getting a little sore around the 15 minute mark but that passed. Once I stopped running and slowed for the walk I did feel both my hip flexors pretty acutely, which was strange insofar as they didn’t bother me at all during the run itself. I did feel like the right hip flexor/hip was a bit achey on the warmup walk so may just be the result of other exercises than the run itself.
Was running into some wind initially after the halfway point, and also had to double-back briefly to wait for a train to pass. I decided with 2 minutes to go to try and stretch my legs and speed up to make it back to the starting point, but I finished short in the end. Pushing myself a bit didn’t leave me super winded or anything though so that was positive.
Also I do now have a chest harness thing with lights, so I shouldn’t have to worry about getting mowed down by a tractor anymore. Seems to work well and doesn’t bother me much while running.
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27/10 (Early AM)
Warmup
-
Z-Press - 5 @ 27.5, 31.25, 5 x 5 @ 35
(took about 11:45) -
Deadlifts - 5 @ 78.75, 90, 13? @ 100
(took about 9:45) -
Kroc rows (L/R) - 25/30 @ 28
(1m rest between arms)
Think there’s been some discrepancy over the weeks with regards to how I record time taken for each exercise, however this was a longer/slower session than previous ones.
Z-press felt heavy for the first set or two on the top weight, but then got into my groove and felt pretty strong. Last rep was a little wayward, but I think that was just a mental thing as I knew I was at the end.
Deadlifts felt pretty heavy, especially the top set, but still got a good result on the AMRAP. Lost count at one point so I think I hit 13 but it may have only been 12.
Kroc rows weren’t anything special - matched what I hit on this workout last week, but below what I managed Monday. I have been dealing with pain/tightness in my right trap pretty much all week so I think I’m just hammering that area a bit too hard right now. Deload is next week however and I won’t be doing any kroc rows in that time so it should recover fine in that time.
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28/10 (Early AM)
Warmup
5 rounds:
- 5 dips
- 5 chinups
- 5 KB goblet squats @ 24
- 10 pushups
- 10 ring rows (hip height)
- 10 KB swings @ 24
(1m rest)
Completed in 18:18.
First couple of rounds were done around the 2:30 mark (excluding rest), and last couple of rounds I think were a little over 3:00 with the breaks needed to get through some of the reps.
Challenging but not terrible. Had to break up the ring rows from the second round, and then chinups and pushups as well from the third round onwards. There were a couple of ‘ish’ reps at the end of a couple of rounds as well.
Managed to do dips and lower body stuff unbroken. I could feel the weight on the goblet squats but think these would need to be 10-15 reps a time to cause any problems. First time doing dips in a long while and I tried to make sure I didn’t go too deep to avoid shoulder issues - hit the triceps more than the chest as a result I think.
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29/10 (Early AM)
Couch to 5K
- 5m walk
- 25m run
- 5m walk
35m total w/25m running
Covered about 5.8km/3.6miles total, and was ran for about 4.7km/2.9miles of that. Pretty sure once I got up to 28m running (which is the next step up in the program) I’ll hit the 5k mark.
This run went pretty well, although it was the first time I had to contend with rain (I’ve been pretty lucky so far!). It wasn’t that bad, but annoying to dodge puddles etc. I also put on a hoody because it was coming down somewhat hard when I set off, but it eased up during the run and by the halfway mark I was pretty hot and sweaty, and wishing I was just in a t-shirt.
Looking forwards, I had planned to just keep doing the plan as-is, including pushing on through the deload week. Thinking about it though I think what I will actually do is back-off for a week to make it a proper deload (maybe go back to the 10/10 interval run) and then do the final three weeks of the program (25m runs, 28m runs, and finally 30m runs) as 2x per week rather than 3x per week so that it lines up with finishing the 5/3/1 cycle I’ll be on. Otherwise I have 9 runs left which will overflow into my next cycle which would be a bit annoying.
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29/10 (PM)
Went ice skating - logging because although it wasn’t super intense it was fairly challenging (I’m not very good), and pretty out of the ordinary. By the end I felt like my core had been working pretty hard, but I didn’t go over at all which is good! Was skating pretty constantly for 45-50 minutes in all.
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Weighed in @ 13st 9.2lbs on Sunday morning.
I’ve alternately gone up and down about 4lbs per week for the past 4 weeks. Looking in the mirror I think I look slightly better than when I started 5/3/1 and C25K (slightly leaner/more toned), but it’s fairly marginal.
I’m not really sure what to make of these weigh-ins given the above, and I know others have done well ignoring them altogether, but I feel like it is good to have some sort of objective metric…
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31/10 (Early AM)
Warmup
Superset:
- OHP - 5 @ 27.5, 4 @ 31.25, 3 @ 36.25, 2 @ 40, 1 @ 45
- Dead-stop KB rows - 3 x 10 @ 16, 3 x 10 @ 20
Lateral raises - 26? + 7 swings, 17 + 5 swings @ 2.5s
(1m rest)
Banded triceps pushdowns - 40, 30 @ black bands (40lbs)
(1m rest)
Plan for this deload is to only do one main lift each day, working up to TM for 1 rep. Assistance is hit on the same day (as a superset or finisher, as above) rather than as a separate session. ‘Bigger’ assistance work is reduced volume and otherwise ‘smaller’ movements are coming in just for the fun of it.
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01/11 (Early AM)
Warmup
Superset:
- Front squats - 5 @ 40, 4 @ 47.5, 3 @ 53.75, 2 @ 61.25, 1 @ 67.5
- Ring rows (hip height) - 7 x 7
Ab wheel (kneeling) - 10, 7, 5
(1m rest)
BB curls (wide grip) - 16 + 6 + 5 @ bar
(RP)
I was feeling the weight of the front squats by the top set, but all reps moved well so I’m pretty happy with that.
Using the same increase as before my TM for front squats would be 65, but because I was doing 5x5/3/1 that would be at an 80% TM. an 85% TM instead (as I’m moving to PR sets for the anchor) would be around 69 instead, so I’ve split the difference and gone with 67.5 instead.
Ring rows were OK - wasn’t exactly pushing reps here. I did feel like my left bicep twinged a bit on the first rep of each set at first which was a bit odd. Think it was probably due to not getting into the proper position. On the last couple of sets I did a sort scap pull instead before starting the first proper rep, and that seemed to help.
Ab wheel was surprisingly difficult - felt my lower abs in particular really acutely after just a few reps, so something else I’ve been doing has obviously hit them hard but I’m at a loss for what that would be as I’ve not felt them struggling at all recently.
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02/11 (Early AM)
Couch to 5K
- 5m walk
- 5m walk w/ 3m walk
- 8m run w/ 3m walk
- 5m run
- 5m walk
34m total w/18m running
This was surprisingly difficult by the end, given there was less running than the past few session and it was broken up by walks.
I think what happens is on the first run I get into a steady pace, and on the long runs I just keep up with that (or possibly slow a bit as I tire), but with the intervals I set off a bit faster after each walk and end up pushing a bit harder overall as a result - I covered just shy of the distance done on the 25m run in this session, even though I was going for less overall time, and specifically running for much less time.
I did also have to contend with the wind on the way back - it did cross my mind at the start of the 8m run that I was moving fairly quickly and may have the wind behind me at that point, but I couldn’t actually feel it at all. Then I turned around at the halfway mark and struggle back through it…
Also caught a train at an awkward point and had to double-back briefly which is always annoying.
On the plus side, with the clock change it means it’s much lighter when I set off than it has been so I don’t need to worry about getting run down by a tractor for at least a couple of weeks I reckon.
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03/11 (Early AM)
Warmup
Superset:
- Z-Press - 5 @ 23.75, 4 @ 27.5, 3 @ 32.5, 2 @ 36.25, 1 @ 40
- Chinups - 6 x 3
Kirk rows - 10 @ 40, 12, 10 @ 45 + 10 underhand rows @ 45
(1m rest)
Cable O/H triceps exts - 18 + 9 + 5.5 @ 15
(Rest-pause)
Good session; Z-press felt solid - main focus was making sure I got everything tight before starting the lift, and really press with conviction which worked well. Chinups were fine.
Seen Kirk rows mentioned on the forums so thought I would give them a go. Done standing with a slight forward lean - really lit up the mid and upper traps a treat. Think I’ll throw these in again from time to time.
Edit: edited because I called these ‘Kelso shrugs/rows’ but have since realised they were Kirk rows instead.
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04/11 (Early AM)
Warmup
Superset:
- Deadlifts - 5 @ 66.25, 4 @ 77.5, 3 @ 87.5, 2 @ 98.75, 1 @ 110
- Pushups - 6 x 6, 1 x 15
Cable rows (D-handles) - 12 @ 20, 20 @ 30, 16 @ 30 + 12 @ 25 + 15 @ 20
(1m rest/drop sets)
Plate squeeze hammer curls - 17 @ 10s, 12 @ 10s + 10 @ 5s
(1m rest/drop set)
Ok session; deadlift felt surprisingly heavy but to be honest I think that’s because I knew the reps weren’t high so I probably wasn’t as focussed as I should be. Left knee was giving me a little bother as well and I think I was letting the bar get a bit too far out over my toes.
Cable rows lit up my rear delts unusually - I may have simply been standing/pulling in a slightly different to way to how I’ve done these in the past, but otherwise I wonder if the shrugs/rows I did yesterday wore my traps out and meant other muscles had to pick up the slack today instead…
Curls were something random I thought of just to get them in quickly before I left. Essentially like a squeeze press version of a hammer curls, grabbing a couple of plates and holding them together while doing curls. Seemed to work fine, and was certainly quicker than loading up the dumbbells (I only have plate loadable dumbbell handles and they’re always a bit of a faff)
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Might I recommend some direct hamstring work. A common knee issue is a muscle imbalance between quads and hamstrings. It would also likely help the your deadlift. I don’t like to give unsolicited advice but I thought it might help.
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Thanks for the suggestion @Bambiwithhorns. That is something I had planned to work on after this cycle.
Any suggestions for good exercises to use, aside from RDLs? I have a home gym so don’t have access to this like GHRs and leg curl machines etc. I have tried nordic hamstrings curls before but couldn’t find a comfortable way to set it up.
I did have an idea of supersetting RDLs (or maybe rack pulls with the safeties set at the point where hamstrings feel fully stretched,) with bodyweight leg curls using the gymnastic rings - my thinking being I’d have one exercise working the hamstrings in a stretched position and the other hitting them at full contraction.
I’ve seen others on these forums go with the Meadows idea of hitting hamstrings before squats for healthier knees, so thought something like the above might work for that.
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05/11 (Early AM)
Couch to 5K
- 5m walk
- 10m walk w/ 3m walk
- 10m run
- 5m walk
33m total w/20m running
Run felt pretty decent this time. Left knee feeling a little bit tender at the start of the first run, but it faded after a few minutes. Once again I came close to the distance I hit last time, despite running a tad more, which adds to my thinking that I go faster when doing intervals compared to a straight run.
I wasn’t far off the 5k mark in either session this week so I do think I could probably hit it on a 25m run if I just go a smidgen quicker overall than before and/or if there’s no wind to bother me.
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Just a general note to say the weight yo-yoing continues: weighed in @ 13st 5.2lbs on Sunday morning. That makes 4 or 5 weeks now that I’ve alternated a 4lb-swing… I also measured my waist at 89cms/35ins. I figure this works as a second data point, and ultimately regardless of what my weight is doing if this stays the same (or ideally goes down) then I’m doing OK.
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07/11 (Early AM)
Warmup
-
Front squats - 3 @ 47.5, 53.75, 9 @ 61.25
(took about 9:00) -
OHP - 3 @ 31.25, 36.25, 8 @ 40
(took about 7:30)
*Kroc rows (R/L) - 23/20 @ 30.5
(1m rest between arms)
Pretty good session this; I really wasn’t sure how the front squats would go as I’ve only been doing 5s on those for quite a few weeks now, but the top set felt strong in the end. I stopped when I felt the bar speed was starting to slow but as soon as I racked the bar I felt like I could have got another 1 or 2 if I really dug in.
OHP similarly went well - may have had another rep or two in me here before the bar speed dropped right off, but I did feel like it was just starting to slow here and as I beat the reps from last time out at this weight (7 reps, 2 weeks ago before the deload) so I was happy to call it there.
I think these work well as markers in the sand, as targets to meet (and ideally beat) in a couple of weeks at heavier weight.
Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but the idea with this cycle (as an anchor cycle) is to go for PR sets on all main exercises, using a 3/5/1 setup where I push the 3s and 1s weeks and just go for minimum reps on the 5s week.
Kroc rows were a bit disappointing by contrast - I did decided to step the weight up slightly from last cycle as I felt like I had a good handle with that weight, but this felt much heavier and harder! Hopefully it’s just down to not doing them for a week, and having a new weight, but we’ll see how it goes.
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Your thinking right. Remember hams are use in 2 joints. RDL and leg curls are a good idea.
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08/11 (Early AM)
3 rounds:
- Pullups - 5, 5ish, 3+2ish
- Dips - 5, 5, 5
- KB goblet squats - 5, 5, 5 @ 24
1m rest then 3 rounds:
- Ring rows (hip height) - 10, 6+4, 5+3+2
- Pushups - 10, 10, 10
- KB swings - 10, 10, 10 @ 24
1m rest then:
- Plate G2OHs - 15, 10, 10, 5, 5, 5 @ 25 bumper
Pretty challenging workout in the end, but a good mix of movements challenging strength, endurance, and just general fitness. It should be noted I was doing the movements within each part back-to-back, and only resting between parts, rather than taking small rests throughout as I have done in other workouts over the past weeks.
First part was fine - I expected to have to break up the pullups, so no big issue there. Got this completed by 3:48.
Second part was OK too but the rows were a struggle sooner than expected. Got through the pushups unbroken but these were also tougher than expected. Finished this part at 9:56.
Plate ground-to-overheads are always tough and just blow my lungs out. I had in mind to do 3 x 15 reps (in keeping with the 3 rounds for the first two parts), but I quickly realised that wasn’t happening and had to break it up more. Some miscounting did mean I ended up doing 50 reps rather than 45 as planned though, so maybe that makes up for it?
Finished last round at 15:47
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