I guess people’s definitions will vary, but a 6’4" 235lb guy who benches over 300lbs and deadlifts over 500lbs is a beast in my book :).
Hey mate,
Long time, no speak. Just read the whole of this new log. Didn’t realise your injury was that bad.
Looks like your on the road to becoming a beast again. Vastly different to the bodyweight-centric work you used to do previously. Any particular weight goals or are you just happy to train to get strong again?
I have taken a rest from t-nation since my retirement from football, but I will be visiting this site more often from now. Maybe even start up a new training log.
Uncle Bird.
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Great to hear from you @theBird!
Yeah things have turned down a slightly different path since my injury - I started training my upper body mostly with barbells, because that’s what worked around my leg, and I enjoyed it so I’ve stuck with it! I’m still keeping bodyweight work in - my main upper body assistance exercise is pull-ups and my main lower body assistance exercise is lunges (which I plan to eventually progress to box pistols).
My goals just now are to deadlift 180kg and 5x10 one-handed kettlebell swings in 8 minutes at a bodyweight of around 95kg, and it would also be nice to get my squat to the same level as my bench press. Longer term I imagine I will go back to purely training with kettlebells and bodyweight, but for now I’m really enjoying this.
I’d definitely love to see a new log if you do decide to go ahead with that! All the best.
Week 14 - Upper Body (5/3/1 C1,W2,D1)
Barbell Press
40kg: 5
45kg: 5
52.5kg: 10 (top set)
40kg: 16 (FSL)
Bench Press
75kg: 3
85kg: 3
95kg: 3
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups
BW: 4x5 (EMOM)
I shouldn’t have trained today - I did this session after my last night shift, having been awake for 19 hours, and it showed. I’m happy with my performance on the press, but the bench press felt extremely heavy and the pull-ups wiped me out.
Week 14 - Lower Body (5/3/1 C1,W2,D2)
Squat
35kg: 3
40kg: 3
45kg: 3
Deadlift
80kg: 5
95kg: 5
105kg: 15 (top set)
80kg: 22 (FSL)
Bodyweight Lunges
BW: 2x20
Stationary Bike
45 minutes
Bodyweight: 96.0kg
All things considered this was a good session - it’s a little humiliating to be using these weights, but that’s just the way it goes. I’m at peace with the fact that this is going to be a very long gradual process. I used the tips from @Alpha’s squat video and they helped a tonne - especially the one about flexing your glutes at the top and initiating the movement at the knees. I was able to remain much more upright, and the movement felt more natural. I couldn’t use the cue about pressing the bar up, because my press max is currently higher than my squat max lol.
I forgot my knee sleeves, which didn’t help with the pain. I managed 20 rep sets of bodyweight lunges, but I was really limited by pain at the fracture site. Not fun. The deadlifts felt pretty good, but they really wiped me out - if anything I think that my conditioning has deteriorated even more than my strength.
Week 14 - Conditioning
Two-Handed Kettlebell Swings
20kg: 5x10
28kg: 5x10
40kg: 5x10
EMOM
Bodyweight: 95.7kg
I felt exhausted today, but wanted to get some work done. This was a really effective conditioning session, but the 40kg kettlebell felt the heaviest it ever has - I’ve never struggled like that with two-handed swings. I think the high rep deadlifts yesterday really wiped me out.
Week 14 - Summary
Bodyweight: 95.9kg
Training: Ok, less stellar than I’ve been getting accustomed too, but I really can’t complain.
Nutrition: Poor overall, especially during my nightshifts.
A reasonable week - I did what I had to do, but not much more. That’s me finished my round of 5s on all 4 exercises, and I hit at least 10 reps on all of my top sets, so that’s good. On week 5 of 5/3/1 I’m going to do Joker sets after my 5/3/1 squatting as a way of working out a new squat training max, rather than progress by just adding 10lbs. I feel that I was right to use such a low max initially, but I’m hopeful that by my next cycle I will be a lot more than just 10lbs stronger.
Week 15 - Upper Body (5/3/1 C1,W3,D1)
Bench Press
80kg: 3
90kg: 3
100kg: 7 (top set)
80kg: 13 (FSL)
Press
40kg: 3
45kg: 3
52.5kg: 3
Dips
BW: 2x10
Pull-Ups
BW: 5x5 (neutral grip)
BW: 4x5 (chin-up grip)
BW: 2x5 (misc grip)
Bodyweight: 97.7kg (!!!)
My pressing strength seems to have taken a bit of a dive, I wonder if that’s my Smolov gains wearing off a little. Still, I hit well over the target 3 reps so I’m on the right track. The pull-ups were supersetted with the other exercises and felt heavy, but I suppose that’s because they were - getting chunky!
Week 15 - Conditioning
Two-Handed Kettlebell Swings
10kg: 5x20
20kg: 5x15
28kg: 5x10
40kg: 15x5
EMOM
One-Handed Kettlebell Swings
28kg: 2x10
20kg: 2x10
E2MOM
Bodyweight: 97.4kg
These swings felt heavy, but I’m happy with the volume I got done, especially the 15x5 40kg swings. I really hope these begin to take off again, I’m further from my previous baseline than I’d like. My bodyweight is too high, but to be honest I’m just not feeling motivated to clean up my diet at this point. My focus is all on improving function and adjusting back to work.
…Continued
Crosstrainer
30min
Machine Row
65: 3x10
I decided to hit the gym again. The crosstrainer feels like a good hybrid between walking and running, so I imagine it’s good for rehab. I also hit some rows, because I’ve been neglecting them recently.
Week 15 - Lower Body (5/3/1 C1,W3,D2)
Squat
40kg: 3
45kg: 3
50kg: 15 (top set)
55kg: 1
60kg: 1
65kg: 1
70kg: 1
75kg: 1
80kg: 1 (grinder)
Deadlift
80kg: 3
95kg: 3
105kg: 3
Leg Press (Single Leg)
Top plate: 15, 15, 10, 8
This was a really good lower body session. I decided to do Joker sets after my top set on squats (although I did them slightly wrong, I didn’t realise you were meant to work up in 3s on the 3s week, I thought they were always singles). I was very happy to get a single at 80kg, which is a 20kg gain compared to 4 weeks ago. Although pain is a factor I feel that it primarily represents a genuine strength improvement. The single leg leg press was a humbling experience - it was one of those pulley ones, where the seat is at 45degress on sliders, so you have to lift your bodyweight too. Incredibly tricky for my dodgy leg, and so easy on my good leg that I didn’t bother doing them.
Week 15 - Conditioning
Stationary Bike
45min
Bodyweight: 97.2kg
My shin has been feeling really bad for a few days now, just lots of pain and my limp is worse. I think the culprit is all of the walking I’ve been doing at work, but I really don’t want to pull back on my training. I’m going to have a dedicated recovery evening tonight - the ice bath is filling as I type 
. I’m a huge fan of doing low impact active recovery work, but with rehab even the basic stuff feels like a proper workout!
Week 15 - Summary
Bodyweight: 97.4kg - too high
Training: Good - 80kg squat, but only 100kg x7 on bench press. Two conditioning sessions.
Nutrition: Poor, too much junk.
This has been a reasonable week. I started strong with solid strength sessions and a good volume of conditioning, but my leg has been really sore so I’ve been resting for the last few days. The time has come to start making some better diet decisions, so I’ve prepped meals for my weekend nightshifts - lots of chicken, rice and peas as well as protein bars to snack on. I need to get my weight down to around 95kg.
Week 16 - Upper Body (5/3/1 C1,W4,D1)
Press
45kg: 3
50kg: 3
55kg: 7
45kg: 11
Pull-Ups (Regular Grip, Fat Bar)
BW: 5x5
Bench Press
75kg: 3
85kg: 3
95kg: 8
Dumbbell Row
30kg: 15
40kg: 3x10
This was a reasonable session, although I was exhausted from my night shifts. My leg is very painful, it doesn’t seem to have progressed much in the last 10 days or so. I was meant to do 3 reps on all sets of bench, but I felt like pushing it on the last set. The pull-ups and rows were supersetted with the main lifts.
Week 16 - Lower Body (5/3/1 C1,W4,D2)
Squat
35kg: 3
40kg: 3
45kg: 3
Deadlift
87.5kg: 3
100kg: 3
112.5kg: 12
Leg Press (Single Leg, Plate-Loaded)
20kg: 8,8,6,5,5
0kg: 2x12
Stationary Bike
Level 5: 40min
Level 10: 20min
Level 15: 10min
Bodyweight: 97.4kg
This was a really good session, my leg felt a little less sore today so I decided to push myself with volume. The deadlift top set was quite brutal, high reps are killer! The single leg leg press was quite humbling, my bad leg is incredibly weak.
Week 16 - Conditioning
Kettlebell Swings (Two-Handed)
20kg: 5x10
28kg: 5x10
40kg: 5x10
EMOM
Bodyweight: 97.1kg
I was exhausted today, but this was a good session. I really like structuring my conditioning like this - it gets a lot of volume in and nicely builds up to working with a heavy weight.
Week 16 - Conditioning
Kettlebell Swings (Two-Handed)
20kg: 5x10
28kg: 5x10
40kg: 5x10
EMOM
I thought I wouldn’t be able to train today, but I managed to squeeze in another kettlebell session. It didn’t feel as explosive as yesterday, but it was still pretty good.
Week 16 - Summary
Bodyweight: 97.3kg
Training: Minimal, but good quality.
Nutrition: Much better this week.
This has been a tough week - I’m nearing the end of a brutal run of shifts at work (4 day shifts straight into 3 night shifts and then straight back into 4 day shifts) and it’s really taken it’s toll on me. My nutrition has been much better this week, and I plan to get even stricter next week to turn this thing around: I think next week will mark the start of properly beginning my wedding cut. My rota next week doesn’t look any easier, so I’m very glad I chose the 2x/week 5/3/1 routine.
Week 17 - Lower Body (5/3/1 C1,W5,D1)
Squat
35kg: 5
45kg: 3
50kg: 22 (top set)
60kg: 1
70kg: 1
80kg: 1
85kg: 1
Deadlift
80kg: 1
95kg: 1
105kg: 1
Leg Press (Single Leg, Machine)
Top plate: 5x5
Stationary Bike
30min
Bodyweight: 97.0kg
This was a very good lower body session - I’m very happy with the top set of squats (22) and the single with 85kg. I’ll use 90% of that (76.5kg/170lbs) as my training max for my next cycle, and progress my other lifts the usual way.
Speaking of my next cycle I’m thinking of trying the Boring But Big 6 week challenge as it will work well as a recomp programme in the run-up to my wedding. I’m also going to begin my diet for the wedding this week - I’ll simply cut out all of the real junk for the next two weeks and then reassess.
Week 17 - Upper Body (5/3/1 C1,W5,D2)
Bench Press
85kg: 5
95kg: 3
105kg: 5 (top set)
Incline Bench Press
80kg: 5
90kg: 4 (final rep spotted)
100kg: 2 (both reps spotted)
Press
40kg: 3
45kg: 3
50kg: 3
Pull-Ups (Neutral Grip)
BW: 9x3 (every 30 seconds)
BW+20kg: 2x3
Incline Chest Press (Pulley)
3 sets pyramiding up
Incline Chest Press (Plate-Loaded)
3 sets pyramiding up
Machine Chest Flye
4 sets pyramiding up, then 21s
Bodyweight: 97.5kg
Today I worked in with a friend who trains in more of a bodybuilding style, so I got my flat bench, press and pull-ups done and did the rest with him. He worked up to a single of 160kg on high incline, which is probably the most impressive upper body lift I’ve seen first hand. The machine work was done with a real focus on contraction and mind-muscle connection. I’m reasonably happy with the 105kg for 5 on bench press - it’s definitely a decrease since finishing Smolov, but it’s still a big improvement on where I was before Smolov (110kg 1rm), so I can’t complain.
Later in the week I plan on joining the same friend for his back session, to make up for the lack of proper pulling volume today. Then next week will be the final week of this cycle, and it’ll be time to move onto the next one. I’m thinking of using 85kg as my training max for squat, rather than 90% of it, because it has been improving so quickly and I got that single after 22 reps of my top set.
I’ve felt really run down this weekend, just all of my rough shifts catching up with me I guess. I have a sore throat and I feel exhausted. Last night I slept for 10 hours and I still needed a 90 minute nap (and an energy drink, oops) before today’s session. Hopefully I’ll get over it with an early night tonight.