Squat - 3x3 week
92.5kg x3
105kg x3
120kg x3 - matched PR
130kg x1 - pretty fast - only 2.5kg under best meet squat.
High bar squat
60kg 3x5
Lots of light snatches.
Good day.
Bench - 3x3
67.5kg x3
77.5kg x3
87.5kg x6
95kg x1
Chin ups
25 reps
Deadlift - 3x3 week
112.5kg x3
127.5kg x3
142.5kg x5 - 1.5 reps in the tank. Felt pretty easy
Press - 3x3 week
42.5kg x3
50kg x3
55kg x6 - 1.5 reps in tank
Snatch
40kg x lots
45kg x5
47.5kg x1 - I’m starting to get the hang of these I reckon, although they’re still really power snatches. I’d like to have an 80kg snatch at some point.
Conditioning day
10 hill sprints
First 4 were fast and powerful - this is where I noticed the improvement over last week.
However, today I have eaten maybe 200 calories, 190 of which sugar. So my last six were tough and slow, and so the whole session was a bit longer than last week. I am in a state of death and nausea at the moment, trying to force feed myself and convince myself that it’s all good for me.
Deadlift - 5/3/1 week
120kg x3
135kg x3
150kg x4 - PR
Some push press / jerk bullshit
Straight leg deadlifts
4x10, 60kg
Bench - 5/3/1
72.5kg x3
82.5kg x3
92.5kg x4
Chins
50 reps
Squat - 5/3/1
100kg x3
112.5kg x3
125kg x3 - big 5kg PR. Very happy about this
High bar ATG oly squats
60kg x5
80kg x5
85kg x5
90kg x5 - as I do these more often, I’ll call this a PR
Press - 5/3/1
40kg x5
50kg x3
57.5kg x5 - Probably a PR
Jerk
60kg 2x1
65kg x1
70kg 2x1
75kg x1
80kg x1 - This was my target for the night. Just a bit of fun as I’d had a great session today. I need to remember to really drive the legs on these… I have a habit of trying to press it out.
Face pulls
5x20
Top session today with 4 PRs. Deload week next, then onto cycle 5.
Wed 1st February
Conditioning
10 hill sprints.
Was quick this week, really noticing an improvement in recovery between sprints. I took around 25 mins today. The added leg strength, conditioning and size will only help my squats and pulls as well. Just considering whether I should keep just 10 sprints next cycle, or slowly start to progress them.
Deload / Fun week
I decided to try an oly lifting day.
Front squats - proper clean grip n all. Stretched my wrists so I could hold this. I also finally found the groove for these today, instead of them just sitting on my collarbone. Elbows have a tendency to fall down in the hole though - gotta keep forcing them up.
60kg x5
70kg x3
80kg x3
90kg x2
100kg 3x1 - must be a PR
Hang snatch / high pulls. I did TONS of stretching here to work to the point where I could hold an overhead squat at ATG. Bloody tough
30kg x loads (technique work)
40kg 2x1
45kg 2x1
50kg 3x1 - took me 3 or 4 attempts to catch this.
Hang clean / Jerk - The catch was tough on these, I was receiving them too far forward and with close to vertical forearms.
40kg x some
50kg 3x1
60kg 3x1
Oly Squats - close stance, ATG, high bar
60kg x5
70kg x3
80kg x3
90kg x3
100kg x3
105kg x2
110kg 2x1 - surely a PR.
Great fun day training today. I hate the idea of a deload but I’m usually not eager to jump straight into the next cycle.
Wed 8th Feb
Conditioning
5x long hill sprints.
These sprints were around double the distance of the shorter hill i was doing the other weeks. Probably a tad over 100m. Murderous.
I’m skiiing for the next week so my training is likely to be crap machine-based if there is even a gym. However I will look for a decent gym while I’m there.
I’m in France at the hotel. There is a very basic gym, with a couple standard bars and about 80kg weight. So today I did:
Front squats + jerk single at end of set
60kg 5x5
Not going to do too much as skiing will rape my legs anyway.
Sun 12th
Bench - probably the worst bench I’ve ever used - about 6 inches wide
something like 70kg 3x5
60kg x10
Shrugs - some x some
14th Feb
Front squats - with clean at start
worked up to 80kg x5
80kg 3x3
Push press
60kg 5x3
Rear delt flys
5x10
Actually a fairly decent session today. Legs are adapting from the skiing workload. And my disgraceful form power clean is coming along, not that I ever train it. I say disgraceful form because I wrench it up and don’t bother dipping under it - I’m lazy, that fucking bar will come to me. I’m not going to meet it on the way up.
Bench 3x5
Just got back from driving back from the ski hills, so I’ve been in the car for about 10 hours in the last two days. Needless to say, my hips and lower back are superglued together so I wasn’t going to load up any squats or deadlifts today. So I went bench.
I’ve been reading quite a bit of Jamie Lewis’s Chaos & Pain blog, and I like his ideas, so I’m gonna start incorporating some really heavy partials and up the volume and speed of my workouts a bit. I like the concept of the heavy partials breeding utter contempt for lighter weights.
Bench
65kg x5
75kg x5
85kg x5 - fast despite my shoulder bugging me through skiing
Pin presses, from pin 15 I think. I held the reps at the top for quite a while, heavier ones to failure
100kg x2
110kg x2
115kg x2
120kg x1
125kg x1
Heavy-ass shrugs
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x5
120kg x5
130kg x5
140kg 2x5 - switched to mixed grip here, didn’t have straps.
150kg x5
160kg x5
Loving the heavy volume and rapid pace of the workout - this was about 40 mins start to finish.
Squat 3x5
90kg x5
102.5kg x5
117.5kg x5 - slow and bit of a grinder but a PR
Heavy lockouts, no belt
150kg x2
170kg x2
190kg x2
200kg x2
215kg x2 - just put every plate we had on the bar. This was fun.
Deadlift 3x5
107.5kg x5
122.5kg x5
140kg x5
Shrugs w/ straps
140 x I hate these, gave up
I can’t get the hang of straps. They take about 5 mins to put on the bar and then they just feel shitty. I need to learn how to properly use them.
Felt like ass today, and this was at 10pm. I haven’t been eating or sleeping well either this week due to school pressures, so frankly I’m pleased that I got 5 reps.
How exactly do they feel shitty? As in, they aren’t helping your grip?
They feel shitty as in it feels I can hold on longer without them, at least on heavy shrugs. I’m still sure I’m not using them right, I’ll go find a youtube video. But I did a bit better with them today…
Training today replaced my 3x5 press day, with some other random shit thrown in.
Standing 1 arm DB press
8, 8, 7 (4 on left). My left arm really is noticeably weaker again. I need to keep on top of these and do them more often.
Chins w/ straps (greasy bar with no chalk)
15, 10, 10 - Felt quite a lot better, even though they’re a pain in the arse to put on myself. Maybe cos these are lighter than the shrugs. I have to get someone to put on the other for me lol.
Dips as a circuit
Basically just did sets of 12 or whatever with three people jumping on until we were finished. Managed something like
12, 12, 10, 9, 6, 5.
Pullovers x messing about
Shoulder dislocations, pec stretching and spiky ball rolling them out.
Decent session today.
Conditioning
10 hill sprints, slightly shorter today (about 35-40m). Fast, with shorter rest. More focusing on speed and power today.
Used liniment on hideously sore pecs and shoulders, and on hips to warm up.
I did slightly less today as I am tightening up my nutrition a bit, and therefore so far today I’ve eaten maybe 30g of carbs. I’m not an idiot, and I know I can’t initially increase my sprinting if I cut down food.
I like Jamie Lewis’s Predator diet, and since I’m at school, there’s pretty much a free supply of meat for three meals a day. I’d hate to pass up an opportunity like that.
So my plan is to have 4 to 5 days a week of low-carb, with a few carbs pre and post conditioning, and post workout. The other days will be refeeds, with a much higher carb level (I’m thinking 100g + with each meal, so around 300-400g a day). This will help to prevent boredom and give me a chance to wreck pizzas and cookies as any powerlifter loves to do. I will probably schedule this mostly on the fly, though I’d like to have at least one of these days on the weekend.
I hope this will lean me out some, and let me stay in the 83kg class whilst getting brutally strong. I reckon if I drop a bit of fat, I’ll be about 78-79kg, which gives me another 4kg of muscle to play with. Plus, looking fucking awesome never hurt anyone.
Friday 2nd March - BW about 82kg/181lbs.
I’ll start logging my warmups, especially for the squat, as warming up for squatting seems to be so hit and miss for me. Today was a carb-up day as well, after 2.5 days of low carb.
BW squats, sitting at bottom etc
Glute stretches
Hip stretches
Light adductor stretches
Light hamstring stretches
Bar 2x5
40kg x5
and so on
Squat - 3x3
95kg x3
110kg x3
122.5kg x4 - PR
Squat walk outs
160kg 2x1
180kg 2x1 - This felt pretty light. Working!
Bench
Bar 2x10
40kg x5
60kg x3
70kg x3
80kg x3
90kg x4 - should really have just been 3. 4th was slooow.
Kroc rows
90lb DB - 25, 20, 5. (50 total reps)
Pec stretching
Decent session tonight - pleased with squatting. My squat is finally moving again!