Thursday: TBT.
Press: 40kg x 2 x 5, 50kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 70kg x 3.
Inverted Row: 3 x 10.
Power Clean: 40kg x 3, 50kg x 3, 60kg x 3, 70kg x 2, 80kg x 1.
Sumo DL: 80kg x 3, 100kg x 3, 120kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 160kg x 3.
BB Shrug: 110kg, 2 x 10.
BB Curl: 55kg, 2 x 8.
JM Press: 60kg x 20, 70kg x 15.
Kneeling abs on a medium band: 2 x 20.
Power Cleans were a total unmitigated fucking disaster today.
I’ve never spent so much time and effort on one movement to suck at it so very, very badly.
Monday: TBT.
Flat DB Press: 35kg x 5, 45kg x 5, 52.5kg x 5, 40kg x 8.
Pull-ups: 5 x 8.
Push-ups: 3 x 30.
Front Squat*: 60kg x 3, 80kg x 3, 90kg x 3, 100kg x 2, 70kg x 5.
DB Curl: 24kg, 3 x 8.
DB Shrug: 40kg, 2 x 20.
Tate Press: 17.5kg, 2 x 8.
*Clean grip.
Wednesday: TBT.
Press: 40kg x 5, 50kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 71.25kg x 4 (PR).
Weighted Pull-up: BW 17.5kg, 2 x 6.
Power Clean: 40kg x 2 x 3, 60kg x 2 x 3, 70kg x 3, 80kg x 2, 85kg x 1, 90kg x 1 (PR).
Sumo pulls: 80kg x 3, 100kg x 3, 120kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 160kg x 4 (PR).
DB Curl: 20kg, 3 x 10.
Rolling DB Extension: 20kg, 2 x 8.
Push-ups: 30 x 2.
The power clean PR was my first in ages, and it took me two goes; ugly as fuck, and an awful number to be a PR, but I was still happy. At least the consistency might be paying off after all. I had to wait till no-one I knew was anywhere near me to get it, as I’d failed it the first time with two of my mates watching me…for me cleans are totally in my head.
Getting to grips with sumos a little more now that I’ve 3 sessions of them under my belt.
Friday: TBT.
Bench Press: 60kg x 3 x 5, 80kg x 5, 100kg x 5, 118.75kg x 3.
Pull-ups: 3 x 8.
Inverted row: 3 x 10.
Squat: 60kg x 3 x 5, 110kg x 5, 150kg x 5 (PR), 120kg x 5.
DB cross-chest hammer curl: 20kg, 3 x 10.
BB Russian twist: Bar + 20kg, 3 x 5.
Tate Press: 15kg, 2 x 15.
Push-ups: 2 x 30.
Absolutely chuffed with the squat, that’s a 2-rep PR.
Every session lately seems to have a PR in it, god bless the Greyskull LP is all I can say, even though I’ve slightly modified it.
Weird thing is that regular push-ups are starting to give me a bit of shoulder trouble, similar to what happens when I do dips nowadays. Still, never mind, great session.
Saturday: Various.
Good Morning: 60kg x 5, 70kg x 5, 80kg x 5, 90kg x 5.
Pull-ups: 5 x 8.
Kneeling abs: 3 x 10.
Push-ups: 2 x 30.
Tuesday: TBT.
(Power snatch work: up to 50kg)
Overhead Squat: 30kg x 3, 40kg x 3, 50kg x 2, 55kg x 1.
Flat DB Press: 35kg x 5, 47.5kg x 5, 55kg x 2, 47.5kg x 5.
Pull-up: 5 x 8
Front Squat (clean grip): 60kg x 3, 80kg x 3, 90kg x 1, 100kg x 1.
Face Pulls: 4 x 10.
Concentration curl: 15kg, 3 x 10.
Rolling DB Extension: 17.5kg x 8, 20kg x 2 x 8.
DB Shrug: 55kg, 3 x 10.
Push-ups: 2 x 35.
Kettlebell work
: 24kg x 10 Snatch R, 24kg x 10 Snatch L, 16kg x 10 Double Clean + Jerk.
Looks like a lot but it really wasn’t, took about an hour if that.
Tried for a 107.5kg clean-grip front squat when I probably shouldn’t have, even the 100 felt heavier than it shouldn’t have. Missed it at the bottom and both my wrists took a bit of a pounding as a result.
Wednesday: TBT.
Strict Press: 40kg x 5, 50kg x 5.
Push Press: 40kg x 5, 50kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 70kg x 5, 80kg x 5 (PR).
Pull-ups: 5 x 8.
Power Clean: 40kg x 3, 50kg x 3 (wrists gave out at this point).
Sumo pulls: 60kg x 3, 80kg x 3, 100kg x 3, 120kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 160kg x 5 (PR).
Hollow rocks: 2 x 20.
Everything sort of caught up with me today: an old injury giving me major grief, and a couple of new niggles threatening to become more than that unless I take a few days off, so I will.
Wednesday: TBT.
Bench Press: 60kg x 2 x 5, 80kg x 5, 100kg x 3, 110kg x 1, 120kg x 1, 125kg x 1, 130kg x 1.
Pull-ups: 5 x 8.
Squat: 60kg x 2 x 5, 100kg x 5, 130kg x 3, 150kg x 1, 160kg x 1.
DB Shrug: 60kg x 3 x 8.
Kettlebell work, including TGU’s with the 20kg, 2 x 10 2-hand snatches @ 16kgs, and 2 x 10 2-hand C J @ 16kg.
I worked up to what I’d call very heavy singles (for me) as opposed to all-out maxes, today.
I might have had another five kilos in the tank on bench and squat, maybe, on a good day.
Wednesday: TBT.
Bench Press: 90kg, 6 x 6.
Pull-ups: 4 x 8.
O/H Squat: 40kg x 5, 50kg x 5 (PR), 60kg x 1 (PR).
4 rounds of superset:
( A. DB Curl 20kg x 8
B. DB Shrug 45kg x 8
C. Seated Calf Raise 35kg x 20
D. Kneeling rope abs x 10
E. Face Pulls x 12 )
Kettlebell work : 2 x 10 2-hand snatches @ 16kgs, and 2 x 10 2-hand C J @ 16kg.
Today was day one of Smolov Junior for Bench. Got a comp on 4th of February so working towards that.
Never overhead squatted as much as 60kg before so technically it’s a PR. Lost my balance on a second rep but it’s not a strength issue, it’s a technical one. Once I nail the groove I should be able to move a lot more, fingers crossed.
Friday: TBT.
Bench Press: 97.5kg, 7 x 5.
Inverted Row: 4 x 10.
Squat: 70kg x 3 x 5, 110kg x 3, 130kg x 2, 152.5kg x 4 (PR).
4 rounds of superset:
( A. DB Hammer Curl 20kg x 8
B. Plate Shrug 25kg x 25
C. Lying Russian Twist 25kg x 8
D. DB “power clean” 10kg x 8
E. Standing calf raise 25kg x 15 )
Kettlebell Snatch: 24kg, 2 x 10.
Kettlebell 2-handed C J: 12kg x 10, 16kg x 10.
Happy enough with the squat. The last rep was the biggest, slowest grinder I’ve ever had and I really had to fight for it, felt like the bar almost stopped moving a couple of times. Concentrating on working technique with the kettlebell work, my snatches on the left side were shit. But the jerks are getting there.
Tuesday: TBT.
Bench Press: 105kg, 8 x 4.
Weighted pull-ups: BW 20kg, 5 x 3.
Front Squat:* 60kg x 3, 80kg x 3, 90kg x 3, 100kg x 3.
3 rounds of superset:
(A. EZ-Bar Curl 35kg x 10
B. DB Shrug 50kg x 10
C. Seated Calf Raise 40kg x 15
D. Kneeling abs on rope x 8
E. Face Pulls x 12 )
3 rounds of (Double Kettlebell Snatch 16kg x 10, Double Kettlebell Jerk 16kg x 10).
I decided to try out using lifting straps on the bar for front squats (holding them at the front to replicate a clean grip without the huge pressure on my wrists that grip causes) and I banged out a pretty easy set of three at a weight I’d been struggling to get a good single with, when using a proper weightlifting grip. When I begin to struggle at all, my elbows drop and that causes me to miss reps, not a strength issue.
My poor thoracic mobility means once I approach depth in the squat, while using a clean grip, my elbows simply drop. I’m clearly just going to have to just keep plugging away at it, but in the meantime I’ll definitely be using the straps for heavier sets.
Kettlebell stuff was surprisingly tough. I am severely under-conditioned.
Wednesday: TBT.
Bench Press: 110kg, 8 x 3.
Cable Row: 4 x 10.
Good Mornings: 60kg x 5, 80kg x 5, 90kg x 5, 100kg x 5.
3 rounds of superset:
(A. DB Shrug 52.5kg x 8
B. Calf Extension x 15
C. Lying russian twist 20kg x 10
D. Batwings 12.5kg x 10 )
Kettlebell work: 24kg snatch, 2 x 10 each side. Double-KB squat x 5, into press x 5, three times w/ 24kg.
Good Mornings were absolute piss, which has to be a good thing since I don’t normally go remotely heavy on them.
Friday: TBT.
Bench Press: 95kg, 3 x 6.
Pull-ups: 2 x 10.
Chin-ups: 2 x 10.
Squat: 70kg x 2 x 5, 110kg x 5, 137.5kg x 3, 155kg x 4 (PR).
3 rounds of superset:
(A. BB Shrug 180kg x 8
B. Seated Calf Raise 40kg x 15
C. Superman plank x 20 secs
D. Face Pulls x 15
E. Rope pushdown x 10 )
Kettlebell swings @ 28kg: 5 mins of 30secs on/off, 20 reps per interval.
First squat session with my new Adidas Power Perfects on, didn’t do any harm anyway!
Old bicep trouble flaring up once again, due to volume of bench it looks like. Dropping the volume and taking a couple of day off before it gets worse. The timing is not good, but it could be worse.
Monday: TBT.
Bench Press: (60kg x 8, 90kg x 6) 102.5kg, 3 x 5.
Inverted Row: 4 x 10.
Front Squat: 60kg x 3, 80kg x 3, 95kg x 3, 105kg x 1.
3 round of superset:
(A. DB Shrug 55kg x 10
B. EZ-Bar Curl 40kg x 8
C. Calf extension x 20
D. Rolling DB Extension 22.5kg x 8
E. Plate Russian Twist 20kg x 10
F. Face Pulls x 15 )
Kettlebell work: (20kg per hand, 5 x double swing, double snatch, double jerk) then
3 x 10 each of Double Snatches supersetted with Double Jerks.
Hands seem to be conditioning a little to the kettlbell work, going gradually seems to be working.
Technique is still pretty shaky, though.
Tuesday: Various.
Turkish Get-ups: 16kg KB x 2, 20kg x 2, 24kg x 2.
Snatch: 30kg x 3 x 2, 35kg x 2, 40kg x 2.
Overhead Squat: 40kg x 3, 50kg x 3, 60kg x 3 (PR).
Power Clean: 50kg x 1, 60kg x 2 x 1, 80kg x 2 x 1.
One-legged Squat: 3 x 3 each side.
Work on the rings (skin-the-cats, etc).
Burpees: 5 x 10.
Stayed ridiculously light on the snatches and had a good time of it, got the groove nicely.
Went relatively (for me) heavy on the power cleans and they were fucking abysmal.
There’s a lesson there, I think.
Thursday: TBT.
Bench Press: 60kg x 10, 90kg x 5, 110kg x 3 x 4.
Weighted Pull-up: BW 20kg, 5 x 4.
Good Morning: 60kg x 5, 80kg x 5, 95kg x 5, 105kg x 5.
3 rounds of superset:
(A. DB Shrug 40kg x 20
B. Hammer Curl 22.5kg x 8
C. Seated Calf Raise 35kg x 20
D. Kneeling abs on rope x 10
E. Face Pulls x 15
F. Rope Pushdown x 10 ).
Kettlebell work: 2 rounds of
10 x 24kg Snatch , both sides
5 x 24kg Double C J.
Saturday: TBT.
Bench: 60kg x 10, 90kg x 6, 105kg x 5, 115kg x 3 x 3.
Cable Row: 4 x 10.
Squat: 60kg x 2 x 5, 100kg x 5, 137.5kg x 3.
3 rounds of superset:
(A. DB Shrug 50kg x 15
B. EZ-Bar Curl 40kg x 8
C. Tate Press 17.5kg x 10
D. Seated Calf Raise 35kg x 20
E. BB Russian Twist 20kg x 8
F. DB “Power Clean” 12.5kg x 8 )
Kettlebell work: Double 24kg Snatch x 5, Double 24kg C J x 5,
Double 16kg Snatch x 3 x 10, Double 16kg Jerk x 3 x 10, 24kg Snatch x 3 x 10.
I only realised I’d forgotten to pack my belt when I was getting ready for my final money set, unfortunately, so that wasn’t happening. Not a single proper powerlifting belt to be found in the whole gym, crazy.
Ah, call it an unplanned deload 
Monday: TBT.
Pull-ups: 3 x 10.
Front Squat: 70kg x 2 x 3, 85kg x 3, 100kg x 3.
Behind-the-neck jerk: 50kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 70kg x 5.
Kettlebell work:
10 x (2 Swings, catch, drop into goblet squat) @ 24kg.
6 x 10 Snatch @ 24kg.
2 x 5 Double Clean and Jerk @ 24kg.
Wednesday: TBT.
EZ-Bar Curl: 45kg, 3 x 8.
Bench Press: 60kg x 6, 80kg x 6, 100kg x 6, 100kg x 6, 100kg x 12 (PR).
Inverted Row: 4 x 10.
Kettlebell complex (2 swings, catch, drop into goblet squat, catch, into swings, etc): 24kg, 2 x 8.
Good Morning: 60kg x 5, 80kg x 5, 100kg x 5.
3 rounds of superset:
(A. DB Shrug 55kg x 10
B. Calf extension x 20
C. Kneeling abs on rope x 8
D. Face Pulls x 10
E. Rope pushdown x 12 ).
Kettlebell snatch: 24kg x 100 in 5 minutes. Basically KB-snatching non-stop. Fucked.
Thursday: Various.
Kettlebell swing: 28kg, 3 x 10.
Power Snatch: 30kg x 3 x 2, 40kg x 2 x 2, 50kg x 2 x 1.
Overhead Squat: 30kg x 2 x 2, 40kg x 2, 50kg x 2 x 1, 60kg x 1, 70kg x 1 (PR).
Power Clean: 60kg x 3 x 2, 70kg x 2 x 2, 75kg x 5 x 1.
Burpees: 4 x 13 (5.40).