Triceps, biceps and rear-delts to finish. I was sure 6x85 was a PR but no. Video evidence proved me wrong and my previous PR is 7x85. I’m still pleased as hell about this. I’m now finishing my third week on Lyle McDonald’s Protein Sparing Modified Fast and I have had 0 net strength loss, no changes in arm or thigh circumference while having significant changes in muscle definition, weight and waistline size.
Bodyweight dips to finish. The 5x97,5 set weighed a ton for some reason. Luckily I can summon the fury of a thousand Zulus at will so the actual work set went a lot better.
Seated shoulder press
60,0kg 5
70,0kg 5
77,5kg 10 - 1-rep PR with 1-2 in the tank
Seated DB press
32,5kg 3x6-8
Hammer pulldown
70,0kg 3x6-8
Triceps and traps to finish. Today’s workout was short as hell. I was in and out of the gym within 45min including everything and still cracked a PR. Fvck ave.
Some fucking around with weighed dips, pulldowns and some random bodybuilding work to finish. Gym was crowded so I had to squeeze in where ever I could.
I was supposed to do +3x82,5 but I grabbed the wrong small plates by mistake. Still a one rep PR with this weight while losing 10,0kg of bodyweight within 5 weeks.
3x110,0kg was absolute bullshit. I got up to RPE9,5 on the last rep but I wasn’t in the mood for doing a single with 122,5. Blast MGS2 with full volume, invoke unholy fury, ???, blast 3 reps easily with one 100% sure rep in the tank. Noice.
Random fuckarounditis for triceps to finish. The entire day at work today was absolute shit. I felt tired, hungry and generally pissed off for the whole shift so I took it all out on one set.
It seems that I’ll be doing this 5/3/1 the Bro Lightbulb edition for a while. From the looks of it, I seem to be suffering from spinal disc herniation even though three different physiotherapists disagree. They all claim I have way too much mobility, way too little pains and absolutely no agitation from spinal compression for such an injury. Even so, all three have presented different causes for the pain and none of them seem to be correct. MRI here I come! Until I get this shit handled, I’ll only do leg curls and extensions + some ab work for lower body. Today’s bro work:
Bench press
85,0kg 5
100,0kg 5
112,5kg 6
DB bench press
40,0kg 3x8
Standing cable row
30,0kg 3x8
Triceps with cables to finish. I was forced to use one commercial gym today and holy fucking shit on a stick their bench sucks. The actual bench press “thing” they have is 15cm lower, 10cm thinner and shaped like a dick with syphilis when compared to the actual competition bench I normally use. Never again shall I put my foot inside that gym on Monday.
I was forced to go to another gym again today. The adjustable benches and the rack position sucked donkey dong there which cut the work set on barbell press very short. I finished with some random bodybuilding fluff and left feeling weak but good.
Monday’s bench workout was so pathetic, I’ll just leave it out.
Seated barbell press
70,0kg 3
80,0kg 3
87,5kg 5
Random bodybuilding for upper body to finish. Shoulder joints were pretty sore from Monday so I had to take it easy on pressing and left one sure rep in the tank.
Alright time to get back to loggin’. I got diagnosed with spinal disc herniation and I’m going through rehab for it. Hence, I’m forced to stick with isolation work and some bodyweight rehab shit for my lower body. I’ll also work my abdominals as a part of the rehab routine.
Starting on Monday, I’ll be doing CT’s new high-frequency training program since it’s just one tiny step up in frequency but a big step down on volume when compared to what I’ve been doing for the past months. Doing a higher frequency training will also make it easier to utilize this type of training for fat loss which I will be doing. Hence I will also throw in some loaded carries, cardio and other stuff like that.
I have made some slight adaptations due to physical limitations etc.
Monday
Rehab routine
Pronated grip pulldowns - Rest pause
Chest-supported lateral raises - 6-8-10 drop set *
EZ curl with added band tension - Rest pause **
*Unable to hold the position for bent over laterals
**Some structural fuckery causes intense pain in my ulna on both sides when using a straight barbell
Tuesday
Rehab routine
Bench press / low-incline bench - Rest pause *
DB lateral raise - 6-8-10 drop set
Lying DB triceps extension - mTor
*I’ve used low-incline bench as my main bench variant for a while now and honestly it works my chest about as well as it gets without any extra strain on front delts. If anything, flat benching works my front delts a lot more. I’ll try the flat bench first to see if I can fix the issue.
Wednesday
Rehab routine
Straight arm pulldown - mTor
Chest supported row with added band tension - Rest pause *
Preacher curls with added band tension - mTor
*Band tension makes it a ton easier to target the correct muscles because the set-up for this movement in my gym is awkward as fuck
Thursday
Rehab routine
Cable crossover - mTor
Seated barbell press - Rest pause *
Close grip decline bench - Rest pause
*I’ll have to wait and see how this exercise order will work. I pretty much utilize my entire shoulder block on shoulder presses and working my chest often hinders my ability to press afterwards. I’d also LOVE to have heavy dips as my triceps work here, but they absolutely have to be the first in line before shoulder work or I simply can’t do them anymore. Might alter the order of exercises in weeks to come.
*Forearm fuckery continues and we don’t have an ez bar for cables.
**Unable to do rowing that puts any kind of torque on my lower back. For some reason the kind of back extension done in Meadows’ stretcher rows doesn’t cause any strain.
Saturday
Rehab routine
Low-incline bench press - 6-8-10 drop set
DB front raise on incline bench - mTor
Rope triceps extension - 6-8-10 drop set
I’ll throw in loaded carries and some cardio when I can and gradually find the way to make this work that best suits my schedule at school and at work.
Barbell rollouts, hip thrusts and back extensions + some mobility work.
Lat pulldown - Double rest pause
95,0kg 6 + 3 + 2
Chest-supported DB lateral raise - 6-8-10 drop set
10,0kg 6
8,0kg 8
6,0kg 10
EZ curl - Double rest pause
30,0kg 6 + 3 + 2
Kettlebell carries
2x26,0kg 4x50m
First time trying loaded carries. Heaviest kettlebells in the gym and my forearms were - and still are - burning like napalm after just two sets without straps. The handles are thick as fuck so I had to use straps for the two last carries.
DB side raise - 6-8-10 drop set
17,5kg 6
12,5kg 8
10,0kg 10
Maximum mTor work for triceps. I first tried regular DB extensions I used to do but I simply can’t get anything out of them as a main exercise. Will most likely do pushdowns instead next time.
Hill sprints to finish.
I find HIIT type of cardio pretty damn odd. My cardiovascular conditioning is bullshit and running normally or even jogging for 5min is death incarnate. However HIIT type cardio on a cycle or a very steep incline treadmill feels effortless. I can easily reach extremely high heart rates without panting a bit, yet I’ll suffocate to death after jogging a tiny bit.
Seated leg curls - 6-8-10 drop set
70,0kg 6
65,0kg 8
50,0kg 10
Meadows’ Stretcher row - mTor
50,0kg 8
Chest-supported EZ row - Double rest pause
70,0kg 6+3+2
Preacher curl with added band resistance - mTor
5,0kg 8
When working with bars other than the standard barbell like the EZ bar or a short bar, I don’t include the weight of the bar or band resistance (if used).