Furo's Comeback Log

Training Training Logs
162

Hey Furo,

Good to see things are looking strong.

I was just wondering how you feel carrying around the extra weight you have put on?

Im asking because I think we are a similar size and when I go a few kg’s heavier (at about 96 kg), I usually feel a lot stronger, but often feel a little “clunky”, have troubles finding a comfortable position to sleep in and I feel a little bit of a “niggle (minor pain)” in my knees. Its like I am constant torn between making the decision to be “lean and light” vs “big and strong”.

How much do you plan to cut down for the weeding? Are you taking this account for the measurements for the suit for your big day?

Uncle Bird.

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163

@theBird Thanks! I actually feel good at 97kg, I’ve spent a lot of time at this weight and I definitely feel sluggish if I go much over it, but right now I feel great.

I don’t plan on cutting that much for the wedding (think I was 96kg when I got my kilt fitted), but I’d definitely like to be a bit leaner. A solid 95kg would be great.

164

Week 17 - Back and Biceps

Pull-Ups (Regular Grip, Fat Bar)
BW: 4x5

Barbell Row
40kg: 8
60kg: 8
80kg: 8
60kg: 10

Dumbbell Row
20kg: 8
30kg: 8
40kg: 8

Machine Row (Plate-Loaded, Single Arm)
40kg: 8
60kg: 8
80kg: 5

Seated Cable Row
Light: 3x12

Lat Pulldown
Light: 3x8 (wide-grip)
Light: 2x8 (reverse-grip)

Dumbbell Hammer Curls
10kg: 6x10 (lots of forced/spotted reps)

Preacher Bar Curls
30kg: 6x10 (lots of forced/spotted reps)

Bodyweight: 97.3kg

I did this with my bodybuilder friend and it felt really good. Certainly not my usual style of training, but good fun. I’m beginning to get over my cold now, but my leg has been much more painful. It doesn’t seem to cope well with 12 hour shifts.

165

Week 17 - Summary

Bodyweight: 97.3kg

Training: 3 good strength sessions, but no conditioning.

Nutrition: Mediocre at best.

This has been a bit of a slow week - I’ve just been so wiped out from work. I’m starting nightshifts again tonight, so I haven’t done any conditioning today. But I’m very happy with how my strength training is going, especially my squat, and yesterday I was on my feet for 13 hours at work and then walked home for 45 minutes which is huge progress (although my leg really hurt afterwards).

I’m leaning more and more towards doing another cycle of 2x/week training next, as it has been so effective and has fit in with my life so well. I’m thinking of drawing inspiration from the Boring but Big 6 week challenge and doing 5x10 after each 5/3/1 lift, starting at 50% for the first 2 weeks, then 60%, then 70%.

166

Week 18 - Lower Body

Bodyweight Reverse Lunges
BW: 30,25,20 (each leg)

Single Leg Calf Raise
BW: 20,20,17,14

During a quiet spell at work I nipped to the disabled toilet and did lunges and calf raises. The lunges felt so much better than before, and this was my first time successfully doing single leg bodyweight calf raises. I was unable to do split squats because of my work trousers, and an attempt at a pistol quickly had to be aborted due to pain.

167

Week 18 - Lower Body

Kettlebell Swings (Two-Handed)
28kg: 5x10
40kg: 5x10
EMOM

Bodyweight Calf Raises
BW: 5x10 (single leg)
BW: 5x40 (both legs)
EMOM

Bodyweight: 97.0kg

Just a brief session after a nightshift. My knees felt really off, I tried to do goblet squats too and they felt very bad. I also have a lot of glute and quad DOMS from the lunges yesterday. Otherwise this was a good session.

168

Week 18 - Upper Body (5/3/1 C1,W6,D1)

Press
45kg: 5
52.5kg: 3
60kg: 6
45kg: 10

Bench Press
75kg: 3
85kg: 3
95kg: 3
100kg: 1
105kg: 1
110kg: 1

Neutral Grip Pull-Ups (Supersetted)
BW: 7x5

Stationary Bike
30min

This was a bit of a weird session. I love my job, but these shifts really mess me up. The press and pull-ups felt solid, but the benching wasn’t great. I felt really light-headed doing the cycling, although I wasn’t pushing myself at all.

I think I’m going to attempt the pull-up challenge later on this week, as it’s kind of fallen by the wayside @jblues85 @ActivitiesGuy

169

Week 18 - Lower Body (5/3/1 C1,W6,D2)

Deadlift
95kg: 5
105kg: 3
120kg: 5 (top set - capped)
140kg: 1
160kg: 1

Squat
40kg: 3
50kg: 3
60kg: 3
70kg: 3
80kg: 3

Leg Press (Pulley, Single Leg)
5: 5
15: 5
25: 5
35: 5

Stationary Bike
20min

Bodyweight: 97.9kg

A decent lower body session today, although I was still feeling pretty weird and light-headed. I capped my top set of deadlifts at 5 and went for some joker sets - the 140kg felt really nice, but the 160kg was a horrible rep. I don’t know what happened with it, it went up slowly (although it wasn’t a true grind), but my right hand almost lost grip straight away and the bar went way out in front so by the end of the rep I was up on my toes to compensate. A very weird rep, but I’m happy that I maintained good back position throughout and managed to finish it.

This brings an end to my first cycle of 5/3/1, and while I’ve really enjoyed it it’s definitely taken away the mystique of the routine. I used to think there was something really special about the rep scheme, because of how much everyone seems to love it, but it strikes me that there really isn’t. It’s just a basic way to get people to consistently plug away at the core lifts and get stronger in various rep ranges.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do next - it’ll either be the Beach Body Challenge, Full Body Training or another cycle of the 2x/week routine. I’m probably going to take the next week off 5/3/1 so I can get in sync with some friends and we’ll run the same routine together. The maxes I’ll use will be: press 65kg, bench 115kg, deadlift 145kg, squat 85kg.

170

You got it. I feel bad sometimes for how often I recommend 5/3/1, because there isn’t anything special about it, it’s just that Jim Wendler took the time to explain just about everything under the sun regarding the approach. Fundamentally, what makes 5/3/1 successful is the same thing that makes Westside, Cube, Juggernaut, etc successful; solid principles. Once you get them established, your training goes far.

Lots of great variations and challenges to run. I’m thinking of taking on a few once I’m more established.

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171

Measurements
I forgot to say that I took some new measurements today (at a bodyweight of 97.9kg fasted). They are all better than before, and the difference between my legs is decreasing steadily.

Arms: 15.5" (cold, flexed)
Legs: 24.75" right, 25.25" left (cold)
Calves: 16" (cold, flexed)

172

Week 18 - Walking
I climbed a short but steep hill and managed to run 50 yards or so today, nothing exciting at all but both new since my injury which is cool. Running gait was pretty outrageous, but didn’t hurt much which is great. My shin is quite painful now though.

Bodyweight: 97.2kg

173

Week 18 - Kettlebells

Kettlebell Swings (Two-Handed)
28kg: 10x10
40kg: 5x10
EMOM

I also did some swimming today, but not enough to constitute actual work lol. I’m happy with how the kettlebells went though, and the swimming felt like good active recovery.

174

Week 18 - Summary

Bodyweight: 97.4kg

Training: Reasonably good.

Nutrition: Acceptable.

This has been a pretty good week - running feels like a huge landmark, although I’m a very long way from being able to do it for a sustained period pain-free. Strength seems to be going well, and I’m getting a reasonable number of conditioning sessions in. I didn’t manage to get the pull-up challenge done this week, so I’ll try again next week.

175

Week 19 - Full Body (5/3/1 C2,W1,D1)

Squat
55kg: 5
65kg: 5
72.5kg: 7
55kg: 10

Dumbbell Bench Press
40kg: 5x5

Dumbbell Row
40kg: 5x8

Bodyweight: 97.5kg

This was my first time squatting after a 13 hour work shift and I have to say it sucked! My knees really hurt and I found myself really relying on my good leg a lot more than usual, so I’ve decided to drop my training max (I was using my actual max, but I’ll drop it to 90%). I also felt pretty light-headed at one point, but I’m happy with how the upper body stuff went. I haven’t dumbbell pressed 40kg in years, but after the first couple of sets it began to feel pretty solid. The rows and presses were supersetted.

One thing that I’m finding especially frustrating is my inability to do any of my usual mobility work, and as a result my hips are feeling increasingly jacked up. I particularly miss deep bodyweight prying squats (I can do them a little), hip circles and quad stretches.

176

Week 19 - Full Body (5/3/1 C2,W1,D2)

Squat
50kg: 5
57.5kg: 5
65kg: 5

Bench Press
75kg: 5
85kg: 5
97.5kg: 9 (top set)
75kg: 14 (FSL)

Pull-Ups (Neutral Grip)
58 pull-ups in 15 minutes
(5,5,5,4,4,3,3,2,1,2,1,2,2,1,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,1,1,1,1)

Bodyweight: 97.2kg

I finally got round to doing the pull-up challenge with @jblues85 and @ActivitiesGuy, and managed a slightly disappointing 58 reps. I filmed it, but from pretty much directly below so it’s nearly useless lol, not to mention very boring.

I squatted using a 90% training max today, and it was much better. I felt like I was still pushing myself, but I was able to use much better form and distribute the weight more evenly between my legs. The bench press was reasonably solid, but a little disappointing (I got 9 reps with 97.5kg, while I’d managed 13 reps during my challenge with @jblues85). Still well clear of the target 5 reps though.

177

Good job on the Pull Up Challenge! I should be able to get this done at some point this week as well. Looking like either Wednesday or Saturday. I would like to get this done Wednesday but the gym doesn’t have a dedicated Pull Up bar. There are 2 that are attached to cable stations and one on a Squat rack. Preferably I would like to do this after my overhead presses otherwise it will be the ol’ door pull up bar at home!

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178

Week 19 - Full Body (5/3/1 C2,W1,D3)*

Press
42.5kg: 5
47.5kg: 5
55kg: 7
42.5kg: 10

EZ Bar Curl
30kg: 4x10

Cable Tricep Pushdown
18: 15,15,12,12

Bodyweight: 98.0kg

*not really

This session was meant to be: squat (3x5), press (5/3/1), deadlift (5/3/1), but what I did today doesn’t resemble that particularly closely lol. In my defence this was done after a 12 hour night shift, which was the last of 7 consecutive 12 hour shifts, and I just wasn’t feeling up to doing anything more taxing. Mostly because of general fatigue, but also because my lower body was feeling pretty beat up.

During a quiet moment at work I took the opportunity to climb all twelve flights of stairs, and I’m really happy with how my leg handled it. I didn’t have to slow down at all, or use the bannisters, but it probably contributed to my leg feeling a bit rough this morning.

179

Week 19 - Summary

Bodyweight: 97.6kg

Training: Pretty good - 3 strength sessions, but no conditioning.

Nutrition: Mediocre.

I’m happy with how training went, considering my shift pattern this week, but it’s a shame I had to cut out deadlifting. The pull-up challenge was good fun, and gave me the most lat DOMS I think I’ve ever had. I really need to man up and work on my nutrition - the wedding is fast approaching now, and if anything I’m slowly getting fatter lol (although I’ve definitely made some significant muscle gains too).

180

I have learnt the hard way, if your not feeling 100% its better to let deadlifts and squats a rest. Most time I have injured myself with those lifts I had been tired/run-down

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181

Week 20: Full Body (5/3/1 C2,W2,D1)

Squat
55kg: 3
60kg: 3
70kg: 8
55kg: 12

Dumbbell Chest Press
40kg: 3x6

Dumbbell Row
40kg: 3x10

Bodyweight: 96.0kg

I got a much bigger pump in my quads and hamstrings than usual. Really overdid the caffeine, felt pretty ill. Maybe the two are related. I was home for the weekend so I’m going to have to train on consecutive days. Reckon I’ll hit deadlift and press tomorrow so I’m not doing dumbbell bench and barbell bench together.

Squat feels like it’s progressing slowly, but on reflection it’s actually going well. I hit 55kg for 12 as my first set last today, and it’s not that long since 60kg was my 1rm.