Fabadab: Your Guess is as Good as Mine

[Fabadab]

02/05

DE superset 1:

• DE OHP (65%) - 10 x 3 @ 35 + doubled yellow bands
• Rope cable face pulls - 10 x 5 @ 15
  (20s)

DE superset 2:

• DE bench (65%) - 10 x 3 @ 57.5 + doubled green bands
• Rope cable low rows - 10 x 6 @ 30
  (20s rest)

Assistance giant set:

• Pushups (45 deg handles) - 15, 11 8
• Bar inverted rows (wide grip) - 14?, 10ish, 6.5ish
• KB halos - 3 x 3 @ 24 ea way
  (30s rest)

Definitely still feeling the effects of the OHP ME day - the dynamic OHP sets were pretty poor, and I felt like I had to really get everything setup just right for it to feel OK, and then it was still pretty slow/tough. Bench sets felt fine though, so hopefully all will be good come that ME day at the end of this week.

Assistance stuff was nothing special. Tried the heavier KB for the halos this time but found it pretty unwieldy so I’m not sure it worked well as a ‘core’ movement.

All in all, just happy that that’s all the DE sessions done and dusted. Just the last 2 ME days to go and I’m done!

[Fabadab]

05/05

Main giant set:

• KB swings - 10 @ 12, 2 x 5 @ 16, 3 x 5 @ 20, 8 x 5 @ 24
• ME deadlifts - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 40, 4 @ 60, 3 @ 80, 2 @ 90, 1 @ 100, 110, 120, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150, 155
• Twisting hanging knee raises - 14 x 2 ea side
  (90s rest)

(4m rest)

Back-off giant set:

• KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
• Deadlifts (80%) - 6, 5, 5 @ 123.75
• Twisting hanging knee raises - 3 x 3 ea side
  (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

• Plate shrugs - 18, 15, 13 @ 20s
• Alt. reverse lunges - 15, 15, 12 @ BW ea side
• DB curls - 15, 12, 10 @ 8s
  (60s rest)

Very happy to have got this one done - given the weights I was aiming for I knew it would be hard and I was a bit anxious about doing it, but in the end things went pretty smoothly.

For the record my best ever deadlift previously was 140 (only managed 130 at the start of this program though), and I beat that a couple of weeks back with 143.75 at a 2" deficit, so the last three sets here were all-time PRs. On top of that my e1RM from the 3-rep cycle was 150, so I beat that as well!

I actually considered going for 160 (and ever so slightly regretting not trying it now), but I felt like my low back was just getting a little out of shape and threatening to tweak on the 155, so I thought it was smartest to leave it there as I’d already beaten my targets at that point. Aside from that though all the reps moved pretty well, no serious grinding required, and although the bar was slipping into my fingers on the last couple of sets I held on OK and didn’t feel like my grip was going to give out.

Back-off sets were more challenging if anything and my the end of the last set my grip was struggling a bit. I decided to go easier on the assistance to round things off, which went fine. Interestingly on the lunges my knees didn’t feel great on the first set but then felt fine on the second and third set, when I feel like I was actually letting them travel forwards further. Maybe need to reconsider my form on these.

Absolutely shattered in the evening, and didn’t sleep all that well. Focus now is on recovery so I can round off the program in style with a successful final session doing ME bench!

[Fabadab]

07/05

Main giant set:

• KB push-press (R/L) - 5 @ 12, 2 x 5 @ 16, 2 x 3 @ 20, 4 x 1 @ 24 ea arm
• ME bench - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 30, 4 @ 40, 3 @ 50, 2 @ 60, 1 @ 70, 80, 85, 90
• D-handle cable rows - 10 @ 10, 15, 20, 8 @ 25, 30, 6 @ 32.5, 3 x 6 @ 35
  (90s rest)

(3m rest)

Back-off giant set:

• KB push-press (R/L) - 3 x 1 @ 24
• Bench (80%) - 7, 5, 5 @ 72.5
• D-handle cable rows - 3 x 10 @ 30
  (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

• Standing lateral raises - 20, 17, 13 @ 2.5s
• Rope cable face pulls - 10, 9ish, 9ish @ 10
• Rope cable triceps pulldowns - 20, 20, 15 @ 10
• BB curls - 12, 9, 8 @ bar
  (60s rest)

And we are done! Slightly disappointed with my performance here - given it was the last session I wanted to go out with a bang; I was very confident I could hit 90, as I’d managed it on the Spoto press day, and I thought I might even be able to get higher. In the end though 90 was hard as hell, and I struggled to really get into the groove on the build-up sets as well. Perhaps I should have made smaller jumps as I got towards the end to get a better feel of the weight?

Nevertheless, 90 is still an all-time PR for the bench press (albeit only equally the Spoto press as noted above), and it beats the e1RM of 88 that I set on the 3RM cycle. It’s also well above the starting point I had of 80, so objectively a very good result.

Back-off sets were pretty tough, but got through them OK. Right shoulder is still giving me trouble, so I’m wondering if there’s a way I can work around it on my next program.

Weighed in @ 13st 13.8lbs the next morning.

[Fabadab]

Summary for the program as a whole:

Notation is: Lift - 3RM (e1RM) > 1RM vs original 1RM

Overhead press:

• Z-Press - 47.5 (52.5) > 52.5
• Pin press - 47.5 (52.5) > 57.5
• OHP - 50 (55) > 60 vs 52.5 (5 x 50 done some years back which would be a 58 e1RM)

Bench press:

• Floor press - 75 (82.5) > 85
• Spoto press - 77.5 (85) > 90
• Bench press - 80 (88) > 90 vs 80 (5 x 80 done some years back which would be a 93.5 e1RM)

Squat:

• Zercher squat - 85 (93.5) > 95
• Front squat - 85 (93.5) > 105 vs 90 (1RM set 3? years ago)
• Squat - 110 (121) > 131.25 vs 115

Deadlift:

• SG deadlift - 110 (121) > 120
• Deficit deadlift (2") - 130 (143) > 143.75
• Deadlift - 136.25 (150) > 155 vs 130 (140 hit sometime last year)

Weight went from around 13st 10lbs (192lbs/87kgs) at the beginning of the program to around 14st (196lbs/89kgs) by the end. I’ll follow up this post in a bit with current progress pics.

Overall, I’m mega-happy with how this program has gone. Set all-time PRs across the board, and am definitely at the strongest I’ve ever been. Ticked off 1 plate on OHP, and am pretty close to 3 plates on squat.

I would like to trim some fat over the next few months; I was thinking about doing something pretty different, but this has gone so well I’m actually thinking I’ll stick with Brian Alsruhe and go for his 4 Horseman program next, which has more of a conditioning focus (which I need) but still has you pushing to hit rep targets for each lift each session. The main lifts stay the same throughout, but there’s rotation in the intensities and the other stuff (conditioning and assistance) which I think will keep things varied enough for me.

Goals will be to improve my conditioning and drop some fat, whilst at least maintaining these new strength levels.

In terms of diet I’ll obviously need to cut back a bit on what I’m eating, and I think I’m going to try and employ calorie-cycling, which I’ve done half-heartedly recently but think will work best when followed properly to ensure I can lose fat but still recover OK.

Going to be about 2 weeks off from the gym now because I’m going away. I don’t really like stopping dead but it will at least mean I come back fully recovered, and should also serve as a diet break which might help to ‘reset’ things.

[Fabadab]

Current physique is as below:

Just compared these pictures to the ones from December, at the beginning of the program, and I definitely look bulkier (although the pics aren’t from exactly the same angle,) despite only being 4lbs heavier so that’s a good sign. Biggest winners seem to be my arms and mid traps which is nice as they’ve done a fair bit of work over the last few months.

Also, that line across the top of traps proves I’ve done some squatting!

[Fabadab]

General update before catching up on the workouts done:

Enjoyed the time away - didn’t do much exercise most days apart from walking (a bit more than normal, but nothing excessive), aside from one day kayaking (for about an hour and a half) and another day helping to move a load of furniture and stuff (nothing super heavy, but mostly big awkward things that were hard to hold onto). Plus the 2 days travel lugging suitcases around I guess.

As mentioned in the last post the plan now for next few months is to at least maintain my newfound strength levels whilst improving my general fitness and shedding some fat built up over the past year or so.

[Fabadab]

20/05

Conditioning (fast) - 10 round tabata (5m total), alternating between pushups and mountain climbers:

• Pushups - 20?, 10?, 7, 6, 6?
• Mountain climbers - 22, 21?, 21?, 20, 15 ea leg

Deadlifts - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 40, 60, 3 @ 80, 2 @ 90, 1 @ 100, 110, 120, 130, 135
(c.15m total)

Strength giant set:

• KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
• Deadlifts (80%/75%/70%) - 5 @ 123.75, 7 @ 116.25, 9 @ 108.75
• Ring layout/swim things (rings at mid-thigh) - 3 x 5
• Jumping jacks - 3 x 20
  (90s rest)

Assistance:

• GM box squats (+2") - 20, 20 @ 20 W.V.
• Deadstop KB rows (R/L) - 15, 12 @ 20 ea arm
  (90s rest)

So this was a tough session to restart on.

Conditioning first: my general idea is to have conditioning focus on whatever was worked last time out, which usually here would be bench hence the pushups and mountain climbers. Strength dipped quickly on the pushups as expected from being up on my hands for so long. Mountain climbers were more ab work than anything - managed to stay consistent until the last set when I think I could’ve pushed harder and just gave up early really. Something to work on!

Deadlift build-up sets felt heavy, but otherwise OK. The strength sets were pretty tough though. I may have had an extra rep in me on one or two of the sets if I really pushed it, but as this was the first session back I thought it best to just get in the target reps and move on. The ring layout/swim things are a core exercise Brian Alsruhe put up on Youtube just the other day, specifically for helping the deadlift, so I thought I’d try them out.

For assistance this day was meant to be working on the bottom part of the lift, so I did these good-morning style box squats. Essentially stand in front of a box/bench, then hip hinge and lower yourself down like you would for a deadlift. You end up doing a good-morning style box squat (or at least I did). I was pretty wiped after all the other stuff though so I cut this at only 2 sets.

[Fabadab]

22/05

Conditioning (mindset) - ‘Bring Sally Up’ deadlifts @ 60

OHP - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 25, 3 @ 35, 2 @ 40, 1 @ 45, 50, 52.5
(c.15m total)

Strength giant set:

• Chinups - 3 x 5
• OHP (75%/70%/65%) - 7 @ 45, 9 @ 41.25, 6.5 @ 38.75 (+4 @ 38.75)
• Lying leg press - 3 x 8
• Air squats - 3 x 10
  (90s rest)

Assistance:

• Hang power cleans (w/ straps) - 3 x 10 @ 40
• Banded push-press (R/L) - 3 x 10 @ doubled green band ea arm
  (60s rest)

Bring Sally Up was as tough as expected - the deadlifts themselves weren’t too bad but my grip was nearly failing by the end. I’d like to complete this with bodyweight on the bar, but thought 60kgs seemed like a good starting point as I ease into this program.

OHP build-up sets were pretty tough, although 52.5 wasn’t an all-out effort - think my technique was possible a little off from not doing this for a while. For the strength sets though my triceps just completely died me. First set was tough but doable, second set was a max effort to get the reps, and then just faded in the third set. I probably could have got to 7 reps but I think I knew that I wasn’t to get to the target of 11 so bailed on it. I did an extra set of OHP after the last giant set to try to get another 5, but again it took everything just to get the 4.

Assistance was meant to be based on speed, hence using the hang power cleans and banded push-press. Don’t think the bands were a great idea as I think I could’ve gone a bit harder and they basically just scraped up my arms a load which was unpleasant.

Weighed in on this morning at 13st 11.6lbs - first weigh-in since the holiday, and down about 2lbs over the last 2 weeks.

Woke up the next morning (today, Monday) with a cold - annoying, but hopefully the poor performance on this session was partly down to that?

My plan anyway was to go off the maxes set in the last program, see how it goes for a couple of weeks, and adjust downwards if it seems like I keep missing the target reps. Hopefully that won’t be needed, but I figured with the change in style of training + trying to drop some weight + the maxes being set in what was effectively a peak, that might mean I’d need to cut 5-10kgs to make this work better (kinda like a training max instead). To begin with though I’m running it as written as seeing how that goes…

[Fabadab]

26/05

Conditioning (compete) - 100 clean & press with a 25kg bumper plate, completed in 8:06

Squats - 8 @ bar, 5 @ 40, 3 @ 50, 2 @ 60, 1 @ 70, 80, 90, 100, 105
(c.15m total)

Strength giant set:

• KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
• Squats (70%/65%/60%) - 5 @ 91.25, 7? @ 85, 8 @ 78.75
• Hanging leg raises - 3 x 5
• Seal jacks - 3 x 20
  (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

• Banded sissy squats (heels elevated 2") - 2 x 10 @ doubled purple band
• Plate RDL & shrug - 2 x 10 @ 20s
  (60s rest)

This was not a good workout.

The conditioning work went pretty much as expected - did 5x10, then 8x5, then finished with a final set of 10. I think I could push this a bit faster if repeated, with main issue being grip and triceps on the higher reps.

Build-up work for the squats were OK at best. My quads felt a bit tired already from the conditioning stuff, and I was breathing hard etc. to boot, and I didn’t really feel that comfortable with the movement the whole way through. Hit the target of 105, but this felt pretty challenging. Belt went on from 90+.

Strength sets for the squats were a total write-off. This is meant to be the light/speed day, with target reps of 9/11/13 and you can see I was miles off. I think there’s a whole combination of factors to this (primary culprits being: still getting over the cold, and being unconditioned) but ultimately I was just looking at this thinking I wasn’t going to hit the target reps, and essentially just bailed early.

I’m going to run the next (Bench) session based off previous maxes to see how that goes, and then knock them all down by 5-10kgs. I’d rather not do this, but I think the simple fact of the matter is I wouldn’t be able to hit my previous maxes under these parameters (specifically tiring myself with the conditioning first) and so trying to base off of them is going to keep making me feel like I’m failing. I think tough but achievable is a better route to go.

Got in some assistance but everything felt like it had already fallen apart by this point so I called it after only a couple of sets.

[Fabadab]

27/05

Conditioning (fight) - 3 rounds of 1m each of air squats, jumping jacks, and KB swings, with 1m rest between each round (11m total/9m total work)

• Air squats - 37?, 40, 38?
• Jumping jacks - 66, 68?, 68
• KB swings - 41, 40, 42 @ 16

Bench - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 30, 4 @ 40, 3 @ 50, 2 @ 60, 1 @ 70, 80, 85
(c.15m total)

Strength giant set:

• D-handle cable rows - 3 x 8 @ 30
• Bench (85%/80%/75%) - 4 @ 76.25, 5 @ 72.5, 8 @ 67.5
• Flutter kicks - 3 x 10 ea side
• Jumping jacks - 3 x 20
  (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

• Dips - 8, 7, 7
• D-handle cable rows - 12, 11, 10 @ 30
• KB halos - 5, 5, 5 @ 20 ea way
  (60s rest)

This day went pretty well compared to the rest of the first week on the program. Conditioning was tough, particularly because my legs were still sore from previous sessions so the air squats and swings were a bit of a struggle.

Bench build-up sets went fairly well - 80 felt OK, and 85 wasn’t too bad although had a little wobble on the left side and needed to strain to finish off the top-half. Felt like I may have actually been able to get back up to 90 though (if I’d needed to). Strength sets were OK too, and I even managed an extra rep on the last set.

Showing off my lack of imagination once more with the prevalence of jumping jacks, but my big issue is lack of space which isn’t a problem for them.

[Fabadab]

Decided I will lower my maxes (to something like training/working maxes) for this program, to take account of the effect conditioning + weight loss is having, and so that the rep targets actually seem feasible. Adjustments are as follows:

• Deadlift - 155 > 145
• OHP - 60 > 55
• Squat - 131.25 > 120
• Bench - 90 > 85

Squats in particular were worse affected, but I think that’s mostly because of the amount you use your legs for conditioning (hence recovery is affected). I did manage my deadlift and bench sets for the first week, and only failed the last set of OHP, but I still decided to bring them all down for consistency.

[Fabadab]

29/05

Conditioning (mindset) - “Bring Sally Up” pushups (resting in top position). Didn’t complete…

Deadlifts - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 40, 4 @ 60, 3 @ 80, 2 @ 90, 1 @ 100, 110, 120
(c.10m)

Strength giant set:

• KB swings - 3 x 5 @ 24
• Deadlifts (75%/70%/65%) - 7 @ 108.75, 9 @ 101.25, 12? @ 93.75
• Lying leg raise + press - 3 x 5
• Mountain climbers - 3 x 10 ea leg
  (90s rest)

Assistance giant set:

• Hang power cleans - 4 x 10 @ 40
• Banded high-to-low rows - 30, 30, 25, 20 @ red + blue bands
  (60s rest)

Weighed in @ 13st 10.4lbs in the morning - weight loss has kicked off!

Disappointed in the conditioning - I knew this would be tough for me even if I were fresh, let alone coming off a bench session a couple of days prior. In the end I got to the end of the second chorus I think before needing to break, and then it was on and off after that. Thought about calling it altogether but decided I should at least keep working until the song finished. Left tricep was cramping up badly by the very end.

Deadlift sets went fine although I was a little worried that my low back was feeling tired coming into this. Didn’t seem to have a massive effect in the end, and I think I got the extra rep on the last strength set but I lost count for a moment so I may have only got to 11 (which was the listed target anyway).

Assistance stuff was OK too. This was meant to be light/fast, hence choosing the hang power cleans, and for the banded rows these were done with a X0X1 tempo (i.e. pausing the contraction, but otherwise letting them go straight out and back again without stopping/slowing the movement at all). Felt like my lats were super pumped by the end!

[Fabadab]

31/05

Conditioning (compete) - 20 KB cleans, front squats, deadlifts for time, each side. Completed in 7:24 @ 24kg KB

OHP - 10 @ bar, 5 @ 25, 4 @ 30, 3 @ 35, 2 @ 40, 1 @ 45, 47.5
(c.10m)

Strength giant set:

• Chinups - 3 x 5
• OHP (70%/65%/60%) - 9 @ 38.75, 11 @ 35, 9 @ 32.5 (+4 @ 32.5)
• Banded woodchops - 3 x 5 @ red + green bands ea side
• Mount climbers - 3 x 10 ea leg
  (90s rest)

Assistance (not so) giant set:

• BB French press - 10, 8 @ 30
• Rope cable face pulls - 15, 12 @ 7.5
• DB curls - 2 x 8 @ 8s
  (60s rest)

Conditioning went about as expected. Did all reps for one movement with right arm, then left, then moved onto next movement etc. 120 reps in total which isn’t too shabby. Main issue was on the squats where my legs were sore as anything.

Main OHP set went fine. although the first few sets felt a little off because I was still breathing hard etc. Strength sets were OK but tough, and again I didn’t get all the reps on the final set because my triceps just completely gave out, so I picked up the extra reps after the last giant set was done. The banded woodchops didn’t feel like they were working ‘properly’ so I don’t think I’ll do them again.

Planned to do more on the assistance giant set but once I got started I just felt completely wiped. Even the curls were feeling difficult, so I called it after just the 2 sets.

Big issue of the day is I’ve done something to my right knee. Think it’s from overuse, having stepped up the conditioning, but it actually went funny on one of the OHP sets, when I went to stand back up to re-rack the bar, and I hadn’t pulled my legs closer together like I normally would, and it felt like the lower half twisted or something. Inside of the knee and outside of the shin both had a spike of pain and now the knee feels dodgy whenever I put a lot of weight on it (walking is fine, but stuff like getting up/down off the ground is when it flares up). Hopefully just a temporary thing otherwise it’s going to mean a pretty early program change-up.

[Fabadab]

03/06

Supposed to be squat day but my right knee is still giving me issues so I decided to do a bodybuilding-style pull day instead as a stop-gap:

• Rope cable high-to-low row - 20 @ 10, 15, 12 @ 20, 8 @ 25, 11, 10ish @ 30
  (60s rest between top sets)

• Bar inverted rows (wideish grip) - 10 @ 10.5 holes, 8 @ 9.5 holes, 8.5 holes, +5.5 WV, 7 + 4ish + 4ish @ +7.7 WV (rest-pause), 6 unweighted

• Single-arm cable pulldown (L/R) - 10 @ 10, 15, 12 @ 20, 13 @ 17.5

• Lying inc. DB shrugs - 10 @ 8s, 13s, 11 @ 15.5s, 13 + 10 rows @ 13s
  (60s rest on top sets, no break between last set of shrugs/rows)

• BB curls - 10 @ bar, 13 @ 22.5, 7 @ bar
  (60s rest)

Attempted to do mountain dog style sequencing with the exercises, but don’t think I got it quite right. First four exercises were alternating between lats and upper back, and then curls are obviously for the biceps.

Kinda fun doing something different and just thinking about hitting specific muscles as effectively as possible - everything felt pumped by the time I was done, but interestingly I didn’t experience much soreness the in the day or two afterwards which was unexpected. Not sure if that means I didn’t work hard enough, or just that the volume of back work I’ve done over the past few months is broadly equal to this session…

[Fabadab]

05/06

Knee still giving me bother, so I’ve decided to abandon the 4 Horsemen program for now and do something else in the meantime while it recovers. More on that below after logging the workout:

• Seated high incline DB OHP - 11.5 + 4.5 + 3 @ 18s
  (Rest-pause)

• Slight dec. bench - 8 + 4? @ 60
  (Rest-pause)

• KB lying triceps exts - 16 + 8 + 6 @ 16
  (Rest-pause)

• Pistol box squats (left leg only) - 8, 7, 6 @ 5
  (60s rest)

• Calf raises (4" elevation) - some (got bored)

Weighed in @ 13st 12.6lbs in the morning - an increase from last weak but we’ve just had a four day weekend here for the Queen’s platinum jubilee and food was not as healthy as it should be, so I’m hoping that’s just down to timing and water weight etc.

DB OHP felt OK, although right shoulder was giving me a bit of bother. Finished off with 10 lateral swings (Meadows inspired) immediately after last of presses.

Failed at the bottom of the last rep of bench presses (thinking I could get once more) and it turns out the safeties were a tad low so it took me about a minute to wriggle out from under it. I was planning a 3rd rest-pause set, but after that I decided to skip. Think I’ll need to be a bit more conservative on the early sets next time, and just go all-out on the last set when it doesn’t matter if I don’t re-rack.

As you might be able to tell this is a DC-style workout, and my plan for the short-term is to do this in push-pull fashion with single-leg work for just my left leg done at the end. As and when my right knee improves I can then start adding some work in for that and/or doing bilateral work as well.

Longer term I’ll just need to see how things go. It might be a good idea to keep single-leg work as a focus (as I haven’t been doing a ton in recent months) as a way to regain strength/stability across both legs.

I also note that this is the second time I’ve hurt my knee (last time was the left knee) after adding in a load of conditioning. I think this is mostly user-error, going too hard to soon, but they also both coincide with carrying a bit of extra weight so my though is that once I’ve dropped some weight as planned this should hopefully broadly match up with my knee getting better and I can start to reintroduce the conditioning work.

I am still walking most days for 30-60 minutes, so I’m not completely sedentary but still not exactly what I’d call particularly active, which can’t be good for me long-term.

[Fabadab]

07/06

• BB row - 7 @ 80, 15ish, 9 @ 56.25
  (60s rest)

• Lat pulldown - 7.5 + 4.5 + 4ish @ 55
  (Rest-pause)

• Seated inc. DB curls - 9 + 4ish + 3 @ 10.5s
  (Rest-pause)

• Split-stance KB/DB deadlifts (left leg only) - 10 @ 24 KB, 2 x 10 @ 23 DB
  (60s rest)

I should note that I’m only logging the top sets done for these exercises, and that’s what I’ll be looking to progress week-to-week whenever the same exercises come back around). I did warm up/ramping sets to get up to these weights though. As noted I also do the top sets either rest-pause, or with a 60s rest between them. The rest times between the ramping sets aren’t timed though, so for some it’s just as long as it takes to change the weight, or maybe have a drink and log the weights. Probably 30-60s in most cases.

BB row was done in a half-upright fashion - not quite a Yates row, but kinda similar? Got quite heavy with these last time I did them, using the same weight for 5s that I was floor pressing with, so I knew I could hit something decent here.

Came up with a way to jerry-rig a lat pulldown bar (as I don’t have a proper attachment), and tried to use handles as well to get more of a neutral grip, but it failed on the 3rd set and I almost dropped 30kgs on my balls - not good. Modified the setup and managed to complete the rest without issue, but with a standard pronated grip. Arms were burning up by the end, particularly around the forearm/bicep connection area so I think straps would probably be a good option next time but I don’t know how easy that will be to do as the lat pulldown setup is a little delicate.

DB curls were fine. Because I use loadable handles that stick out quite far I have to bring my hands up at an angle (rather than right alongside my body) to avoid hitting the bench. Not a big deal though, and for the top set I actually had each side of the DB loaded differently which meant I could shift my hands in (to keep them balanced) and bring them up closer.

Split-stance deadlifts were OK. Tried a couple of test reps with the right leg and it wasn’t painful at all but did feel like it was putting pressure on the knee so I stuck with left leg only to avoid doing any more damage. Did sets of 10 working up through all the KBs I have, and then realised I could do these with DBs as well to go heavier (if desired) but also have a lower pickup so I can get more of stretch in the hamstring, so I think I’ll keep with this option going forwards.

Meant to do abs as well, but I had an exertion headache building by this point (this the heat was helping this come on as well), so I cut it there.

[Fabadab]

09/06

• Seated high inc. OHP - 20? @ bar, 8 @ 25, 30, 35, 40, 6.5 + X @ 45, 3ish @ 40, 20ish lateral swings @ 10s
  (RP) (wideish grip)

• Ring pushups - 10 @ mid-thigh, 8 @ knee-high, mid-shin, 7 + 3 + 1 @ foot-high
  (RP)

• BB rolling triceps exts - 10 @ bar, 25 9ish + 4ish + 2.5 @ 30
  (RP)

*Split squats (left-leg only) - 10 @ flat, 1" RFE, 2", 3", 4", +5 (goblet-style)
(60s rest)

Bit of a mixed bag here. Tried to go with a bit of a wider grip than normal on the OHP to focus more on the shoulders vs triceps, but once the weight got heavy it just felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Managed to get to 6.5 on the first top set, but going for a second set after the rest-pause and I just couldn’t get it out of the bottom position. Dropped the weight a bit and hit 3 more, but I could tell I wasn’t getting anymore than that.

I had planned to take the bar off the safeties (i.e. so the bar is just under the starting position) but I’ve had some trouble with them and got them stuck so I had to unrack and sit down before starting, which I’m thinking was made harder by the hand positioning. The safeties are now sorted (courtesy of some WD-40), so I’ll try it that way next time and see if that works any better.

Ring pushups were done as a kind of pushups/flye combo, where I was bringing my hands almost to touching in front of my chest and squeezing hard as I got towards lockout. Felt pretty good, but it’s always worrying doing something like this as a rest-pause because you don’t want to fall on your face!

Rolling triceps extensions were fine, but right arm seemed to be feeling it a lot more. Not sure if that’s actually from this exercise, or because it had taken the brunt of one of the previous exercises.

Tested right leg again on the split-squats but it felt uncomfortable again so I played it safe and went with the left leg only. Started flat and increased the rear-foot elevation each set, and then the final set was holding a plate. Left leg felt super pumped by the end, and I did feel like it looked bigger than the right in the mirror afterwards…

[Fabadab]

12/06

• Banded chinups - 10, 8 @ 2x red bands, 6.5 + 3.5 + 2.5 @ red+blue bands
  (RP)

• Straight bar cable rows - 10 @ 10, 20, 3, 40, 10ish @ 50, 14ish + 8.5 @ 40
  (60s rest)

• Rope cable hammer curls - 20 @ 10, 20, 18 + 12 @ 25
  (60s rest)

• SLDL (toes elevated 1") - 10, 10 @ bar, 40, 50, 60, 60
  (60s rest)

Slept really badly the night before this workout (away from home) so this session was surprisingly good.

Weights on the cable rows were almost pulling me over so I had to brace a leg against the rack (as I do these standing) to stop that. Worked OK but I felt like I was hitting the right side of my upper back more (right leg against rack) as a result.

Hammer curls were tough but kinda fun. I hold the rope roughly in the middle so if my hands end up getting to the plastic balls/stops on the ends I know that my grip is failing and can stop there.

Right leg felt OK doing SLDLs so got to actually work both legs for the first time in a while! I was only going down as far as the safeties (on the bottom position), so it wasn’t a full ROM but still low enough to get a stretch in the hamstrings. Needed straps as the weight went up because my grip was fried from the earlier stuff. First time doing these in a while and my lower back felt it hard by the end, but I’m not sure how much that was from sleeping badly vs these deadlifts themselves. I’ll be able to gauge better next time around hopefully.

Just to note I weighed in @ 13st 12lbs on Saturday morning

[Fabadab]

14/06

• NG DB OHP - 10 @ 3s, 8s, 13s, 6.5 + 3.5 + 2 @ 18s + 10 lateral swings @ 18s
  (RP)

• DB bench press - 15 @ 3s, 10 @ 13s, 18s, 23s, 6.5 + 3? + 1ish @ 28s
  (RP)

• Floor press - 10 @ bar, 6+6 @ 40, 8 @ 50, 6 + 3 + 1 @ 60
  (RP)

• Rope cable face pulls - 25 @ 5

• Goblet squats - 10 @ BW, 5, 12, 3 x 10 @ 16
  (60s)

Not a great session. Aimed to get to 8-10 reps on top sets of DB OHP and bench, but accidentally went a bit too heavy and then struggled through from there. Right shoulder started kicking up a fuss which then made floor press tricky, though I managed to get through that without making it worse.

OHP was done seated on a flat bench - wanted to keep a more upright position compared to having the back up which has me leaning back slightly. DB bench and floor press were done with feet up. Floor press was done with a slightly narrower grip than my normal bench grip, but couldn’t go as close as I’d wanted to without the shoulder hurting too much.

Face pulls were done just as a one-off set, and is something I’d meant to do in the last couple pressing sessions as well to offset those movements a bit, but I’d forgotten.

Tried out goblet squats, using a controlled tempo and elevating heels by 1". Seemed to feel OK and right knee didn’t kick up too much of a fuss which was great. Think there is still some weakness there though because it was constantly threatening to move sideways (particularly inwards) on the top sets.

[Fabadab]

16/06

• Inverted rows - 5/5/5 @ 10 holes (different grips), 8 @ 9 holes, 8 holes, +3.3, +5.5, +7.7, 8ish + 3.5? + 1.5 @ +9.9 WV
  (RP)

• D-handle cable pulldown - 8 @ 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 7 + 4ish + 2.5 @ 55
  (RP)

• BB curls - 8 @ bar, 22.5, 6.5 + 3 + 2 @ 25
  (RP)

• Hanging knee raises - 10, 8, 5
  (60s rest)

• RDL - 10 @ bar, 40, 6? @ 50
  (toes elevated 1")

Decent workout today - super hot and humid in the garage which made things tough, but it not as bad as I was anticipating.

Inverted rows were done with a wideish grip (pinkies on the ring), and I put straps on for the penultimate and RP sets. Think that was a good choice but it did mean I had to hold onto the bar between during the rest-pause (otherwise it’s a pain ‘detaching’ myself and then getting set up again for such a short rest period,) which felt like it was fatiguing my arms a bit and I had to actively think about relaxing them.

The cable pulldowns were tough but I felt like I did a good job focussing the tension on my lats and not bringing the arms into the movement too much.

The hanging knee raises were done ‘full ROM’. To explain - I can’t hang with my legs straight down because the pullup bar isn’t high enough and I’d be touching the floor so previously I always had my legs straight but slightly forward, like I’m in a partial leg raise, and then bring m knees up to my chest from here before going back to that position. This time though I kept my legs bent and let them go right back, so my feet end up behind my body. Doing these in a slow and controlled motion was way harder than I expected and I started getting ab cramps after the second set. Part of that might be from the heat I suppose and a lot is probably due to not working abs directly for a few weeks. Needless to say I’ll keep doing them!

Cut the RDLs short because they just felt kind of awkward to be honest. It felt like a lot of stress was going onto my lower back rather than my hamstrings, so I need to rethink this movement. Knee didn’t seem to cause much bother though, so another positive sign that I might be able to move towards regular leg training again soon!