Fabadab: Your Guess is as Good as Mine

Training Training Logs
121

02/04

DE superset 1:

  • KB swings - 10 x 3 @ 24
  • DE squats (50%) - 10 x 3 @ 60 + doubled green bands
    (30s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE deadlifts (50%) - 10 x 3 @ 75 + double-doubled green bands
  • Hanging knee raises - 7 x 5, 3 x 4
    (30s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Fat grip DB rows (R/L) - 18, 15, 13 @ 18 ea arm
  • Alt. reverse lunges - 3 x 12 @ 9.9 WV ea leg
  • Plank - 3 x 45s
    (30s rest)

Squats weren’t feeling particularly sharp this session, but got through them all OK. Deadlifts were giving me a bit of an issue in the first few sets due to the mismatched bands again, but I felt like I got them dialled in by the end.

Nothing too fancy on the assistance work, just getting it done.

Weighed in @ 13st 10.6lbs on Sunday.

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122

05/04

DE superset 1:

  • DE OHP (50%) - 10 x 3 @ 27.5 + doubled yellow bands
  • Chinups/pullups - 10 x 3ish (pyramid grips)
    (20s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE bench (50%) - 10 x 3 @ 43.75 + doubled green bands
  • Rope cable rows - 10 x 5 @ 32.5
    (20s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • BB rows - 18, 13, 11 @ 40
  • Dec. bar pushups - 20, 12, 9?
  • KB halos - 3 x 6 @ 20 ea way
    (30s rest)

Right shoulder has been a bit painful recently, so I wasn’t feeling too great about this session. In the end I managed to work through the OHP and bench without too much issue, but I’m feeling in now (the next morning).

Rows done at like a 45 degree angle, with a medium grip. Same grip done for the pushups and the bar was probably only a foot/foot and a half off the ground, so not a massive change in the angle there.

This program has produced some pretty great results so far, but I’m definitely starting to flag a bit because I’ve started thinking about what I’m going to do after this. It’s been pretty tiring both physically and mentally, so although I’d like to run it again I think doing something different for a while to break it up is probably wise. Not sure yet what that’s going to be though, and still got about 5 weeks left to go here…

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123

07/04

Main giant set:

  • KB swings - 10 @ 12, 2 x 5 @ 16, 2 x 5 @ 20, 6 x 5 @ 24
  • ME front squats - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 30, 4 @ 40, 3 @ 50, 2 @ 60, 1 @ 70, 80, 90, 95, 100, 105
  • Lying leg raise + press - 11 x 5
    (90s rest)

(3m rest)

Back-off giant set:

  • KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
  • Front squats (80%) - 5, 5, 5 @ 83.75
  • Lying leg raise + press - 3 x 8
    (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Split-stance KB deadlifts (L/R) - 4 x 10 @ 24 ea leg
  • Dead-stop KB rows (R/L) - 12, 10, 10, 10 @ 20 ea arm
    (60s rest)

Very solid session. Previous PR on front squats was 90 (set a few years back), so this is like a triple PR! Plus my e1RM from the 3-rep cycle was only 93.5 so I flattened that! Not that surprising I guess insofar as doing reps on front squats has always been tough for me (as I think it is for others too,) so a wider ratio is to be expected.

I felt like 100 was there as soon as I hit 90 and everything felt good, but I decided to be conservative and go for 95 first (as that would already be a PR and beat the e1RM), but as that went fine I pushed on. 105 was super tough and I hurt my right hand a bit, but not sure if that was on the rep itself or just as I was letting the bar come forwards to drop it back into the rack.

Back-off sets were really tough, which I expected. Couldn’t do more than 5 on the first set, and then held on for the next 2 sets. The last rep on the last set was another max effort lol.

Assistance work was good - I thought about skipping it but a minute or two after finishing the back-off stuff I felt pretty decent, and I’ve got a 2 day gap before the next workout so I figured there was time to recover.

Right trap/side of neck was giving me some bother after the workout, and feels pretty sore/tight/aggravated again this morning. Think this all ties in to the problems I’ve been having with that shoulder, but it’s a bit of a pain (literally).

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124

10/04

Main giant set:

  • Chinups - 5 jumping, 10 x 3
  • ME pin press (chin height) - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 25, 4 @ 30, 3 @ 35, 2 @ 40, 1 @ 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5
  • Rope cable face pulls - 10 @ 5, 8 @ 10, 6 @ 12.5, 8 x 6 @ 15
    (90s rest)

(3m rest)

Back-off giant set:

  • Chinups - 3 x 5
  • Pin press (80%) - 7, 5, 5 @ 46.25
  • Rope cable face pulls - 3 x 10 @ 12.5
    (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • DB bench press - 12, 12, 11 @ 18s
  • Inc. DB row - 10, 9ish, 9ish @ 18s
  • McGill situps (L/R) - 10, 8, 8 ea side
    (60s rest)

Blown away by how well I did here - hit 47.5 for 3 on the last cycle so had a target e1RM of 52.5, and smashed that out the park. The top set at 57.5 was super grindy though, taking a good 5+ seconds to go from just above my head to full lockout, and fighting it all the way.

Back-off sets were great too with 7 reps on the first (AMRAP) set, at a weight just below the 3RM set last cycle as above. Getting that 7th rep though, and the 5th rep on the final set, were basically max effort reps on their own.

You can tell I wasn’t sure how well this was going to go with all the small jumps being made on the last few sets, but this seems to indicate that I actually take quite a while to build up, and having lots of sets just primes me better rather than tiring me out. Food for thought…

The DB bench presses weren’t so great at the end - I was initially going to do them with a slight incline but that felt a bit off. Ended up doing them on a flat bench, but it felt like a real struggle to feel my pecs (wasn’t locking out at the top of the movements to ty and keep tension). I’m wondering if my changes to bench technique etc to be more close-grip, and putting more focus on triceps as a result, means that my chest is now lacking?

Weighed in @ 13st 10.2lbs in the morning.

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125

12/04

DE superset 1:

  • KB swings - 10 x 3 @ 24
  • DE squats (55%) - 10 x 3 @ 66.25 + doubled green bands
    (30s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE deadlifts (55%) - 10 x 3 @ 82.5 + double-doubled green bands
  • Hanging knee raises - 8 x 5, 2 x 4
    (30s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Bar inverted row - 15, 12ish, 9ish
  • Alt. reverse lunges - 3 x 12 @ 9.9 WV ea leg
  • Weighted plank - 3 x 30s @ 9.9 WV
    (30s rest)

First week of this cycle where the weights on the DE exercises was heavy enough that I felt I needed to really concentrate (going through the whole setup routine properly). Not too taxing overall, but I think the next 2 sessions will be a bit tougher.

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126

Few days of logging to catch up on here…

14/04

DE superset 1:

  • DE OHP (55%) - 10 x 3 @ 30 + doubled yellow bands
  • Chinups/pullups - 10 x 3ish (pyramiding grips)
    (20s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE bench (55%) - 10 x 3 @ 43.75 + doubled green bands
  • Rope cable rows - 10 x 5 @ 30
    (20s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Pushups (NG handles) - 15, 8, 5
  • Ring rows (hip height) - 12ish, 7, 6ish
  • KB halos - 3 x 5 @ 20 ea way
    (30s rest)

Generally felt a bit fatigued going through this session, but nothing major. As with the last lower DE day I feel like the DE weights are now getting to the point where I’m having to concentrate more on the lifts and get the setup right every time etc.

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127

15/04

Main giant set:

  • KB swings - 10 @ 12, 2 x 5 @ 16, 2 x 5 @ 20, 9 x 5 @ 24
  • ME 2" deficit deadlift - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 40, 4, @ 60, 3 @ 70, 2 @ 80, 1 @ 90, 100, 110, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 143.75
  • Twisting hanging knee raises - 14 x 2 ea side
    (90s rest)

(4m rest)

Back-off giant set:

  • KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
  • 2" deficit deadlifts (80%) - 7, 5, 5 @ 115
  • Twisting hanging knee raises - 3 x 3 ea side
    (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Behind-back BB shrugs - 13ish, 12ish, 11ish @ 50
  • Rope cable straight-arm pulldowns - 10, 8, 8 @ 15
  • DB curls - 12, 11, 10 @ 8s
    (60s rest)

Did this back-to-back with the last session as I knew I’d be away over the weekend, and wanted to keep the schedule on track (plus I knew I’d have tons of Easter goodies to eat as ‘recovery’)

Holy cow what a session. 14 sets to build up to the top set - once again highlighting that it seems to take me a while to really dial in to the heavy stuff. I think this links to why I’ve struggled a bit on 5/3/1 in the past, trying to follow the mandated jumps in weight?

Aside from that though, 143.75 is an all-time PR - and that’s for any deadlift, not just from a deficit. Literally the heaviest thing I’ve ever picked up off the ground, which I’m super happy about. The e1RM from the 3-rep cycle was 143 which I frankly thought was a bit ambitious (given my previous deadlift PR was only 140), but clearly this program is working for me!

The last couple of sets were a bit slower/more grindy, and I was nearly getting out of shape with it, but it didn’t feel completely awful. Grip held on as well, including for the back-off sets, so I didn’t need to use straps.

Please to then also get to 7 reps on the first (AMRAP) back-off set, and still get to 5 reps on the following two sets. My right knee was starting to bug me a bit after the main giant set, and the first back-off set as well, which I think may be from letting the weight shift onto my toes too much, so I really tried to focus on getting it back over my heels after that which seemed to work OK.

After all the above, and with the knee being a bit iffy, I decided to just do some back + biceps and call it there. Used straps for the shrugs, and wanted to use a wide grip but my butt got in the way so was more a middle-ish grip in the end. The pulldowns were OK but I think this really needs a straight bar attachment (which I don’t have) to keep the hand positioning right.

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128

18/04

Main giant set:

  • KB push-press (R/L) - 2 x 5 @ 12, 2 x 3 @ 16, 2 x 2 @ 20, 4 x 1 @ 24 ea arm
  • ME Spoto press - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 30, 4 @ 40, 3 @ 50, 2 @ 60, 1 @ 70, 75, 80, 85, 90
  • D-handle cable rows - 10 @ 10, 15, 20, 8 @ 25, 27.5, 30, 5 x 6 @ 32.5
    (90s rest)

Back-off giant set:

  • KB push-press (R/L) - 3 x 1 @ 24 ea arm
  • Spoto press (80%) - 7, 5, 5 @ 72.5
  • D-handle cable rows - 3 x 10 @ 27.5
    (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Seated high front raises - 12, 10, 10 @ 2.5s
  • Seated high lateral raises - 10, 8, 5 @ 1.25s
  • Bent-over reverse flyes - 10, 8?, 8 @ 1.25s
  • KB halos - 3 x 10 @ 12 ea way
    (60s rest)

Did this session a little earlier than normal (about 2 in the afternoon, compared to about 6 normally).

Another great session in the books! Beat the e1RM target of 85 from the 3-rep cycle, and hit another all-time PR for any bench variation! I’ve hit 80 for reps before on regular bench press, but never gone above that (just the way things have panned out). Granted this isn’t full ROM, but it’s close enough to count right? This is also the first time I’ve benched more than my bodyweight, so that’s nice.

As with the last time I did Spoto press in the 3-rep cycle I feel like I was bring the bar too far down on quite a few occasions, and should really stop an extra inch or so higher, but it is what it is. Last rep was a bit grindy, but not as bad as the top set of floor press a couple of weeks back.

Back-off sets were tough, and felt like a few more ME reps were needed to get to 7 on the first (AMRAP) set and then hit 5 on the next two.

For assistance I decided to just murder my shoulders - by ‘high’ raise I mean that rather than stopping at about shoulder level (which is what I’d normally do), I carried on past that. Tried to be strict on all movements, pausing at the top and controlling the eccentric portion. Doing the halos after all the raises were super tough as well, hence going lighter but higher rep.

Weighed in @ 13st 12.6lbs in the morning - a jump from the previous week, which I’m hoping can be attributed to lots of Easter treats over the weekend!

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129

Congratulations on the PR! That’s solid, man—nice work.

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130

Cheers Sven!

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131

20/04

DE superset 1:

  • KB swings - 10 x 3 @ 24
  • DE squats (60%) - 10 x 3 @ 72.5 + doubled green bands
    (30s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE deadlifts (60%) - 10 x 3 @ 90 + double-doubled green bands
  • Hanging knee raises - 10 x 5
    (30s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • KB deadstop rows (L/R) - 12, 10 @ 24 ea arm
  • Split squats (R/L) - 12, 10 @ 9.9 WV ea leg
    (30s rest)

Found this whole workout a drag - seemed to take a while to get up to speed on the squats and the last DE set actually felt like the best one. Then took ages to switch setups between the squats and deadlifts, and get up to working weight.

Once again it’s noticeable that the weights are now up to the point where I have to focus and make sure I do a proper setup and concentrate throughout the set, but then I guess that is kinda the point of this…

Moved onto the assistance work and felt like I was just digging myself deeper into a hole so I cut it at 2 sets.

I’m hoping this is just the effect of the big efforts put into the ME days, as I feel like I’ve been putting in the work on the recovery side. Looked like mashed potato in the mirror after this workout and feel like a cycle of reining in the food and dropping some pounds will do me good.

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132

23/04

DE superset 1:

  • DE OHP (60%) - 10 x 3 @ 32.5 + doubled yellow bands
  • Chinups/pullups - 10 x 3ish (pyramiding grips)
    (20s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE bench (60%) - 10 x 3 @ 52.5 + doubled green bands
  • Rope cable rows - 10 x 6 @ 32.5
    (20s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Pushups - 21, 13, 9, 8
  • Ring rows - 13, 9, 7ish, 6ish
  • McGill situps (L/R) - 10, 8, 6, 5 ea side
    (30s rest)

Another surprisingly tough session - seemed to be blowing hard through the OHP/pullups superset, and sweating loads. Not sure if that’s down to the heat, the weights I’m now doing on the DE sets, or just another indication that I’m now pretty unfit (probably the latter…).

Tried to make up for it a little bit with the assistance work and hit 4 sets vs the usual 3. McGill situps once again wrecked me, but otherwise all good.

This morning (Monday) I weighed in at 13st 12lbs on the dot.

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133

25/04

Main giant set:

  • KB swings - 10 @ 12, 2 x 5 @ 16, 2 x 5 @ 20, 9 x 5 @ 24
  • ME squats - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 30, 4 @ 40, 3 @ 50, 2 @ 60, 1 @ 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 116.25, 121.25, 126.25, 131.25
  • Lying leg raise + press - 14 x 5
    (90s rest)

(4m rest)

Back-off giant set:

  • KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
  • Squats (80%) - 3 x 5 @ 105
  • Lying leg raise + press - 3 x 8
    (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Split-stance KB deadlift (R/L) - 3 x 15 @ 24 ea side
  • Single-arm cable row (L/R) - 3 x 12 @ 15 ea side
    (60s rest)

Hadn’t intended to workout on this day (but a day later instead), but plans got changed so I figured I might as well. Actually felt like my legs were a bit tired in the daytime so I wasn’t sure how well this ME session would go, but I sure am glad I decided to just plough on!

A whole lot of PRs right here:

  1. My previous 1RM squat was 115, set at the start of this program, so the last 4 ME sets were all PRs! The top set finished 16.25kgs above that which is an insane increase…
  2. My e1RM from the 3-rep cycle was 121, so I smashed that as well
  3. 105 on the back-off sets is a new 5-rep PR (hit 3 times over, after a new 1RM)

Further to the that last point, quite some years back I ran GSLP and got to 5 reps @ 100 and even though I’ve managed to squat over 100 for 1-3 reps previously, I’ve still felt like this was probably my strongest (and looking at e1RMs it would usually come out similar or higher). In this session though I hit surpassed those weights, after hitting a new 1RM, AND done in giant set format with only 90s rest between giant sets (when in GSLP I would have grinded out the 5 reps and then spent a solid 2-3 mins minimum resting before the next set). I feel like the back-off sets were more solid here than I would’ve hit in the past as well, so definitely stronger than I was.

In terms of how the session actually went down: I put on the 1.25s when I got to the top sets to make sure I firstly beat the previous PR, and then hit the 121 target from the 3-rep cycle. I had in my head that it would be good to get to 125, and then 130 if the starts aligned.

the penultimate set was tough, and I hit a sticking point halfway up, but it only slowed me for a second and then I finished the rep, so I felt like there was more in me. Top set was then mega tough and on the way down I doubted I would be able to stand it back up. Really had to fight it, and felt like I got a bit out of shape with some serious straining around my low back, but I got it finished and I didn’t feel actually hurt at all. In hindsight the 126.25 was enough and I was a bit foolish in making another jump…

Back-off sets were tough, but interestingly the first set felt harder than the second. Was happy just to get to 5 on the first (AMRAP) set, and basically just had a target of getting those minimums.

There were a few reps on the way up, and on the back-off sets, where I felt like the weight got forwards onto my toes which is something I’ll need to work on going forwards - knees didn’t suffer here but they’re already bad enough as it is that I don’t want to risk really messing them up.

Assistance work was nothing special - same as I did on the 3-rep cycle, but at slightly heavier weights.

Low back area did feel pretty tender/sore in the evening and when going to bed, but not actually painful or anything and this morning it feels surprisingly good so looks like I got away with it, but I think I should put that down to luck and be a tad more careful on the next ME days as I round off this program…

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134

Congratulations on the PRs! That’s awesome.

135

Cheers Sven!

I feel like I’m in the tricky position where everything has gone better than expected up to now, but now I’ve actually got to realise those gains i.e. hit the numbers rather than having them as theoretical/estimated…

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136

27/04

Main giant set:

  • Chinups - 3, 5 jumping, 8 x 3 regular
  • ME OHP - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 25, 4 @ 30, 3 @ 35, 2 @ 40, 1 @ 45, 50, 55, 57.5, 60
  • Rope cable face pulls - 10 @ 5, 7.5, 8 @ 10, 12.5, 6 x 6 @ 15
    (90s rest)

(3m rest)

Back-off giant set:

  • Chinups - 3 x 5
  • OHP (80%) - 6, 5, 5 @ 47.5
  • Rope cable face pulls - 3 x 10 @ 10
    (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Wide-grip bar inverted rows - 12, 8.5, 8ish
  • KB halos - 3 x 6 @ 20 ea way
  • Lateral raises - 20, 15, 14ish @ 1.25s
    (60s rest)

Tough but great session - new all-time PR of 60 on the OHP and the first lift to hit the 1/2/3/4 plate target! The longer-term goal is to hit those for reps though, so I expect I’ll need to get this 1RM closer to 70 to achieve that. Smashed max of 52.5 from the start of this program, and also the e1RM of 55 set from the 3-rep cycle.

I had it in my head that 60 might be possible, and 57.5 was tough but with only the slightest sticking point so I was confident I could make the jump. It shows how much doing this ME stuff helps with pushing through because on the top set the bar immediately got stuck at the top of my head, but I actually felt quite calm and clear-headed and knew I just had to keep pushing to get it done, and lo and behold a few seconds later the bar slowly reach lock-out.

Back-off sets were super tough - got out of shape on the very first rep and needed a second to regain my balance before carrying on, and only managed 6 total on the AMRAP. The very last rep of the last set was pretty crazy too - think I came down a bit too fast, trying to get a bit of bounce out the bottom to help as I knew it would be touch-and-go if I managed to get the rep, but then once the bar cleared by head it floated off behind me and I ended up doing some sort of hybrid OHP/French press monstrosity to finish it off. No idea how I managed to get it up, and once the set was done I felt some sensitivity around my upper abs and mid-back, both on the right-hand side, which shows how out of shape it got.

After all that I just wanted some simply assistance stuff to finish things off. Triceps felt pretty done so didn’t want to do any more pressing, but the light lateral raises felt good.

2 down, 2 to go…

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137

:bangbang:

Congratulations!

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138

Thanks Sven!

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139

30/04

DE superset 1:

  • KB swings - 10 x 3 @ 24
  • DE squats (65%) - 10 x 3 @ 78.75 + doubled green bands
    (30s rest)

DE superset 2:

  • DE deadlifts (65%) - 10 x 3 @ 97.5 + double-doubled green bands
  • Hanging knee raises - 10 x 5
    (30s rest)

Assistance giant set:

  • Fat grip DB rows (R/L) - 20, 15, 12 @ 18 ea arm
  • Alt reverse lunges - 3 x 10 @ 9.9 W.V.

This was a pretty tiring session - the squats were pretty slow, but I think that’s down to a combination of this being the heaviest session for this cycle plus fatigue from the ME squat session earlier in the week. Deadlifts afterwards were OK but also not super explosive.

Felt a little bit of pain in my right knee on the first set of lunges so cut the sets at 10, although I didn’t feel it again in the later sets so may have just been some dodgy positioning/movement pattern.

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140

01/05

Went walking for approx. 3.5 hours - logging this because although it’s not crazy long, it is much longer than I’ve done in quite a while and from about the halfway point my right leg (knee and hip flexor) were getting pretty sore. Not sure how much that’s just down to the accumulated fatigue from the lower sessions this week (yesterday included) v the fact that I’m pretty much at my heaviest weight again.

I do walk most mornings (with the dog) but only for about 45 mins, maybe an hour to an hour and a half at the weekends. No issues on those normally.

Weighed in a 13st 12.6lbs in the morning

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