Meditations, Musings & Muscular Contractions

Training Training Logs
83

Wednesday workout after a couple days off.

Incline Smith Bench: 90kg for 7, 80kg for 8, 8
Smith OHP: 70kg for 7, 60kg for 9

This went alright. Turned top set of incline from 6 to 7 reps & upped the backoffs from 75kg for 9 to 80kg for 8. Paused the last rep on my Smith OHP top set also.

Preacher Curls: 40.5kg for 9, 35.5kg for 11
Reverse Preacher Curls: 28kg for 11, 25.5kg for 9
DB OH Extensions: 30kg for 6, 38kg for 8, 30kg for 11

Added a rep on preacher curls on both the top set & backoff set, & did the same on reverse preacher curls too. New weight on overhead extensions, 38kg for 8.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 9, 5kg for 9
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 10kg for 8
Bar Pushdown: 35kg for 7, 30kg for 7

Added a rep on cable reverse flies & also on the top set of pushdowns. Nice

Hypers: Bodyweight+20kg for 10, 9
Widegrip Shrugs: 110kg for 10, 9

Good things here too.

Friday evening session.

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 115kg for 10
Leg Curls: 90kg for 6, then 4 partials
Leg Press (switch pin loaded): 100kg for 7, 130kg for 6, 120kg for 8

Absolutely freaking awesome PR on lat pulldowns today, holy moly. All-time PR with the tempo 2/2 reps. Single set training seems to be working here. Leg curls slightly under-recovered still, so I did only a single set here also. Couldn’t resist the partials though. Leg press added a rep on the heaviest set with 130kg which is great.

Hip Adduction, (Cybex Machine): 190lb for 9 & 4 forced reps
Seated Calf Raises: 60kg for 9
Tbar Rows: 72.5kg for 8, 57.5kg for 8
Decline Situps: Bw+5kg for 8

Adduction was a massive success - adding 5lb & keeping my reps from last session. The entire stack on this machine is 205lb so perhaps I’ll master this one too. Rows went quite well too with the two sets.

84

Sunday morning session, great day all in all.

Incline Smith Bench: 90kg for 8, 80kg for 8, 8
Smith OHP: 70kg for 7, 62.5kg for 8

Big win here with the added rep on my top set of smith incline, hitting 90kg for 8. This was brutally hard. I’m hungry to get to two 20kg plates on each side but I know I’m not there yet. Especially since the smith bar alone probably weighs 8kg so I’m really doing 78kg & not 90kg on the top set. So, doing two 20kg plates a side would be going up 12.8% instead of 11.1%. Nothing new on OHP. Added 2.5kg on the backoff but lost a rep.

Preacher Curls: 40.5kg for 10, 35.5kg for 11
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 7, 25.5kg for 10
DB OH Extensions: 30kg for 6, 38kg for 8, 30kg for 11

Awesome, awesome PR on the top set of preacher curls, hitting 40.5kg for 10 reps. Also added 2.5kg on reverse curls which is a big % jump, hitting 30.5kg for 7 reps. Added a rep on the backoff set, but that tends to happen when I go heavier on the first set since AMRAP 7 rep sets are slightly less fatiguing than AMRAP 11 rep sets.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 6, 3 partials, then 9 partials
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 10kg for 8.5
Bar Pushdown: 35kg for 8, 30kg for 8

Cable laterals had me fucked up! Not recovered it seems. Maybe it’s time to drop down to a single set on this movement. Reverse flies were alright - I managed to hit 9 reps with my left arm on the 10kg top set, but only 8 with my right arm. My right shoulder does feel a little funny on this movement. Pushdowns went really well, adding a rep to the top set.

Hypers: Bodyweight+20kg for 11, 9
Widegrip Shrugs: 110kg for 10, 8

Under-recovered on shrugs I think. Hypers went well though, 11 reps on the top set. Crazy stretch in my hamstrings which I’m very deliberately aiming for.

85

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 120kg for 6
Leg Curls: 90kg for 7, then 4 partials
Leg Press (switch pin loaded): 100kg for 7, 130kg for 7, 120kg for 8

Moved up in weight on lat pulldowns to 120kg. I’m confident I’ll hit this for 7 reps next time. Happy to add a rep on the heavy set of leg press too.

Hip Adduction, (Cybex Machine): 195lb for 8 & 4 forced reps
Seated Calf Raises: 60kg for 10
Tbar Rows: 72.5kg for 8, 57.5kg for 9
Decline Situps: Bw+5kg for 8

Heavier on adduction machine, 15lb from the top weight here. Added a rep on seated calves, & also I feel like I secured 8 reps on Tbar rows as in I got it in the bag rather than having an unconvincing last rep.

Friday gym session

Incline Smith Bench: 95kg for 6, 80kg for 8, 8
Smith OHP: 70kg for 7, 62.5kg for 9

Added 5kg on incline. It was heavy as hell, got 6 reps with it. The 80kg sets felt slightly easier though. Glad to say I’ve added a rep on my smith OHP backoff set, going from 8 to 9 reps with 62.5kg.

Preacher Curls: 40.5kg for 10, 38kg for 11
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 8, 25.5kg for 6
DB OH Extensions: 30kg for 6, 38kg for 9, 32kg for 12

PR on the backoff set of preacher curls, nice. Added a rep on top set of reverse preacher curls too, but strength just fell off completely on that backoff set. Brilliant performance on overhead extensions, added a rep to both sets here.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 6, dropset to 5kg for 5
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 10kg for 9
Bar Pushdown: 35kg for 9, 30kg for 9
Hypers: Bodyweight+20kg for 11, 9
Widegrip Shrugs: 110kg for 11, 8

86

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 120kg for 7
Leg Curls: 90kg for 8, then 4 partials
Leg Press (switch pin loaded): 110kg for 6, 130kg for 8, 120kg for 9

Added a rep to lat pulldowns just as I said I would, & also leg curls with the stack for 8, nice. The biggest thing here though was the leg press PR, adding a rep to both my top set with 130kg and my back offset with 120kg.

Hip Adduction, (Cybex Machine): 195lb for 8.5 & 4 forced reps
Seated Calf Raises: 60kg for 11
Tbar Rows: 75kg for 6, 60kg for 7
Decline Situps: Bw+5kg for 6

Slight progression on adduction & calves. Tbar rows heavy as fuck today, only 6 reps on the top set but it was incredibly clean if that makes sense.

87

Wednesday training session, did most of it during my lunch break & the hypers & shrugs after work.

Incline Smith Bench: 95kg for 5, 80kg for 8, 8
Smith OHP: 70kg for 8, 62.5kg for 8

Lost a rep on smith incline, may have been under-recovered, but we’ll see. Added a rep to smith OHP with 70kg, nice.

Preacher Curls: 40.5kg for 12, 38kg for 10
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 8, 25.5kg for 10
DB OH Extensions: 30kg for 6, 38kg for 9, 34kg for 9

Sick PR on preacher curls, finally hitting 40.5kg for 12. Reverse preacher curls matched my last performance on the top set & my reps didn’t fall off a cliff on the backoff set. Tried for 10 reps on overhead extensions with 38kg but not quite there.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 10, then 8 partials
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 10kg for 10/9
Bar Pushdown: 37.5kg for 6, 30kg for 9

Experimenting with partials on cable laterals. It means overloading in the bottom position but also not grinding, much quicker reps than normally. Sweet PR on reverse flys, though my left arm is stronger than my right so not ideal. Pushdown increased the top set weight to 37.5kg for 6 reps.

Hypers: Bodyweight+20kg for 10, 8
Widegrip Shrugs: 115kg for 10, 100kg for 8

The backoff set on shrugs is just a lower RPE thing - I don’t necessarily want to drop to one set just yet so I’ll keep it at 2 but that backoff one isn’t balls to the wall.

88

Friday evening session.

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 120kg for 7
Leg Curls: 90kg for 8.5, then 3 partials
Leg Press (switch pin loaded): 110kg for 6, 130kg for 9, 120kg for 10

No PR on lat pulldowns today but that’s ok because it’s already in freaky territory. But PR on leg curls, getting a good portion of that 9th rep, not quite there but it was a good portion of the way up & that’s great. And awesome leg press PR, adding a whole rep to both the top & backoff sets, really great.

Hip Adduction, (Cybex Machine): 195lb for 6 & 4 forced reps
Seated Calf Raises: 60kg for 10
Tbar Rows: 75kg for 7, 60kg for 8
Decline Situps: Bw+5kg for 6

Hip adduction - I can intuitively say that the lubrication of the machine was fucked up compared to last time, hence the performance drop. Ah well. Tbar rows went amazing, really good stuff here. Calf raises I’m switching from a 2 to 3 second negative so that I can both lower it slowly & also spend a second in the stretched position. So considering that, still hitting ten reps is pretty good.

89

Haven’t logged in a couple of weeks! Training is going just fine though. As below, my Wednesday session & also last night’s Friday session.

Incline Smith Bench: 95kg for 7, 80kg for 9, 70kg for 13
Smith OHP: 70kg for 5

Awesome Incline PR, getting 7 reps with 95kg. I’m so hungry to touch two plates, maybe next month. Update, on the last backoff set I’m using a ballistic style of rep speed & ROM, basically focusing on the bottom half & just pumping without pausing until the bar only moves a couple of inches. Because of the fashion in which I reach failure, I can just let it sit on or above my chest, rest a few seconds then press it one more time into the right rack position. Smith OHP seems perpetually under-recovered as this was the third workout in a row hitting less than 7 reps. So, this time I cut out the backoff set entirely & am moving down to just a single set on this movement & seeing how that goes.

Preacher Curls: 43kg for 9, 38kg for 11
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 9, 28kg for 8
DB OH Extensions: 30kg for 6, 40kg for 8, 34kg for 10

Yeah, up to 43kg on preacher curls. Real happy to hit this for 9 reps before the backoff with 38kg. Reverse curls, even on my backoff set I’m still using 28kg which is awesome, plus top set with 30.5kg for 9 which is surely a PR. Overhead extensions are going really really well though, up to 40kg on that for 8, hoping for 9 next time.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 6, then 8 partials
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 10kg for 11
Bar Pushdown: 37.5kg for 8, 32.5kg for 9

Pushdowns really moving up. Reverse flies too - on these I’m lifting explosively on the concentric since it’s hardest in the stretched position so it just feels right.

Hypers: Bodyweight+20kg for 20, 15
Widegrip Shrugs: 115kg for 12

Ballistically lifting on hypers now, just going until the ROM turns to crap. Very much experimental. Nice PR on shrugs though.

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 120kg for 7.7
Leg Curls: 90kg for 7 then 3 partials
Leg Press (switch pin loaded): 110kg for 6, 140kg for 8, 130kg for 10

Sick PR on pulldowns, almost hitting 8 reps with freaking 120kg. Leg press too. Last leg press session was my first time touching 140kg & only hit it for 6 so today is awesome. Backoff set from 120kg for 10 to 130kg for 10 which is just awesome too.

Hip Adduction, (Cybex Machine): 195lb for 10 & 3 forced reps
Seated Calf Raises: 65kg for 8
Tbar Rows: 75kg for 7.5, 60kg for 8
Decline Situps: Bw+5kg for 13

PR on adduction, hitting ten reps with this weight for the first time. Added a rep on calves with 65kg too. Situps I’m going ballistic with these & focusing on the bottom half of the rep as it just feels right.

90

Haven’t logged in a few weeks so stopping by to punch some new numbers in.

Incline Smith Bench: 95kg for 6, 72.5kg for 15, 13 & 2 partials
Smith OHP: 65kg for 5

I’m doing kinda ballistic pumping reps on the second & third set of incline, it’s just the first one that’s ‘heavy’ if you catch my drift. OHP actually going backwards & I think it’s the fatigue brought on from the smith incline so I’m ok with it. Top set of incline also hasn’t improved but the ballistic reps seem to be so I’ll see how it pans out.

Preacher Curls: 43kg for 6, 38kg for 11
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 9, 28kg for 8
DB OH Extensions: 32kg for 6, 42kg for 8, 36kg for 10

I’ve reset on preacher curls - felt weird going quite far down, so I’ve raised the seat height to allow me to go until my arms are nearly straight so that’s cut the reps down a touch. Extensions going really really well, up 2kg on them with the same reps since 3 weeks ago.

Cable Laterals: 5kg for 10, then 4 partials
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 11
Bar Pushdown: 40kg for 7, 35kg for 7

I’ve discovered that partials are far too powerful to do a shitload of them & recover. 8 partials on laterals just had me weak the next session, so dropping that back a little. Reset on reverse flies too, lowered the tempo a bit as it always felt a little grindy on my right shoulder & it’s feeling way way better now. Pushdowns adding some weight on these too.

Hypers: Bodyweight+30kg for 12 & 3 partials, then 10 & 3 partials
Widegrip Shrugs: 115kg for 11

Ballistically lifting on hypers seems to be going well!

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 120kg for 7
Leg Curls: Single legged, 40kg for 6 then 2 partials
Tbar Rows: 75kg for 7.5, 60kg for 8
Leg Press (switch pin loaded): 110kg for 6, 150kg for 7, 140kg for 8

I achieved 8 reps with 120kg on pulldowns last time. I filmed it & I wanted to do a bit better as I wasn’t bringing the weight up at the top enough to really stretch myself out, which I improved on massively this session even if it cost me a rep. Leg press has been going really well too. Need to make a change on Tbar rows though.

Hip Adduction, (Cybex Machine): 200lb for 7 & 3 forced reps
Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 8
Decline Situps: Bw+10kg for 13 then 2 partials

Hip adduction machine is simply old as fuck & I can feel days where there’s more friction so this one doesn’t bother me. Calf raise PR looking awesome though, & on crunches too.

91

Haven’t logged in a couple of months. Still hitting it consistently. I’ve been dieting for the last 7 weeks, down from 88.5kg to about 83kg, some lifts slightly down, others are up.

Incline Smith Bench: 90kg for 7, 80kg for 10 & 4 partials
Smith Shrugs: 130kg for 9, 4 partials
Smith OHP: 65kg for 7, then 2 rest-pause reps
Smith JM Press: 42.5kg for 10, 7 then 8 little lockout partials

Started shrugging after incline before OHP to let my front delt & stuff rest a little bit, I’m liking it like this. JM Press in the smith is amazing. Freeweight barbell is too easy to cheat because you can bring it down lower on your body to make it slightly more of a CGBP or you can bring it closer to your face & kinda have that slingshot rebound effect, hard to avoid them both when you wanna push that overload, but JM press is the perfect answer, love it.

Preacher Curls: 38kg for 7, 33kg for 8
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 8, 28kg for 8

Fixed form on these a little. Numbers dropped after a few days into the cut but have stayed like this since.

Cable OH Extensions: 25kg for 6, 32.5kg for 9, 25kg for 8
Cable Laterals: 5kg for 10, then 4 partials
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 15kg for 6
Hyper-Extensions: 55kg for 12, 12 (3 partials on both)

Easier to setup OH extensions with a cable. Cable laterals as of today I’m doing them differently. In front of my body again but doing it like that disco dance move from the 70s when your hand is by your opposing hip then you bring that arm, relatively straight, across your body & finish with it high, like in-between the top of a normal lateral raise & directly overhead. I was worried it’d be too much rear delt but from my rear delt performance after, it wasn’t. My cable reverse fly has blown the fuck up, all shoulder discomfort is gone. I’m doing it in a way that allows for heavier weight, 100%, otherwise my rear delts would be twice their size now, but it feels really good on my shoulders now, thanks to leaning forward a little bit & taking a wide stance.

Hyper-extension blowing up too. I think my lighter bodyweight makes this a semi-calisthenic lift which is how I’ve been able to increase it while losing over 5kg.

Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 120kg for 6
Leg Curls: Single legged, 40kg for 7 then two-legged for 10
Tbar Rows: 75kg for 9, 60kg for 9
Hack Squat: 60kg for 8, 70kg for 6

Back lifts are maintaining roughly but that pulldown is slipping a little. Hard to pulldown 120kg when my bodyweight gets close to 80kg. Leg curl has actually marginally improved. Hack squats I’m doing lengthened partials, not coming all the way up, pausing at the bottom, feels very muscular oriented & less centrally taxing.

Hip Adduction, (Star Trak Machine): Stack for 12, 5 partials
Seated Calf Raises: 75kg for 8
Decline Situps: Bw+20kg for 12 then 2 partials

Situp progressing strong too. I’m gonna say it’s a weighted calisthenic lift so increasing on a cut is on the cards.

92

Still pushing. I’ve brought the cals back up. Higher on training days, lower on non-training days. With the new year I’ve decided to spice things up a little bit. I’m going to train most of upper body on one day, & have lower body, & biceps, on the other day. Also, temporarily stopping lat pulldowns, to do dumbbell pullovers instead. I’ve never properly given them a chance. One could say I’ve never truly trained my lats hard in the stretched position. I did pullovers a couple days ago, worked up to 24kg for 10, so today was off to a good start as below.

DB Pullovers: 26kg for 12
Incline Smith Bench: 90kg for 4, 80kg for 8 partials

So, second time on pullovers, I increase the weight by 2kg & also add 2 reps. I was proud of the intensity I brought to the first session so it’s awesome to see it go up more. I was expecting like 9 reps which still woulda been good to increase the weight by like 4% & only lose 1 rep. Now… it was my first time training chest after pullovers, & wow it took a hit! I always shook my head at the people talking about the chest stimulus, I didn’t see how it could be, but it’s the only explanation. So I now know what to expect.

Smith Shrugs: 132.5kg for 11, 3 partials
Smith OHP: 65kg for 9, then 2 rest-pause reps
Smith JM Press: 50kg for 9, then 52.5kg for 9 & then 6 little lockout partials

PR on shrugs, adding 2.5kg & keeping all my reps, hell yes. Really good performance on OHP confirming it’s not my ‘pressing’ that’s fatigued today, it’s my chest. Also a PR on JM Press. I hit 50kg for 10 last time so nice to add 2.5kg & only lose one rep too.

T-bar Rows: 65kg for 10, 8

This is like one of the best T-bar row sessions I’ve ever had. I’ve switched to the higher up wider grip handles which compromised my loads a bit, but this is really good weight - it doesn’t make sense because I did shrugs before this, & only last time I did Tbar rows, I pretty much did these amount of reps, but with 60kg… Could be the recovery from taking away the pulldowns & adding pullovers? I don’t know. For my forearms it could well be.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 6, then 4 partials
Rope OH Extensions: 25kg for 6, 6, 20kg for 8
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 15kg for 6

Nothing new strength-wise here. Went with rope on OH extensions & might stick with it for a while. The malleability of the rope lets me bring my forearm to my upper arm real good without feeling odd on my wrists.

93

Another solid session. My session a couple days prior was legs+biceps. Quick summary.

-Single-side Leg Curl: 40kg for 8 (then 10 reps with both legs) - an all-time PR
-Hack Squat: 85kg for 7 then 80kg for 6
-Preacher Curls: 38kg for 9, 33kg for 8
-Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 8, superset standing reverse curl for 8, (dropped performance here which tells me my previous session of standing curls until I couldn’t move was a bit much)
Hyper-Extension: 60kg for 2 sets of 13 - an all-time PR
-Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 7 then 5 partials
-Hip Adduction: Stack for 10

Alright, onto today’s stuff…

DB Pullovers: 28kg for 12
Incline Smith Bench: 87.5kg for 6, 80kg for 8

Third time on pullovers. First session 24kgX10, second session 26kgX12 & today I match reps with 28kg - & I might have been able to get 13. It’s gonna be 30kg next time. Most fun part of training currently. Incline went slightly lighter anticipating the fatigue from pullovers & compared to last time, this went well!

Smith Shrugs: 135kg for 9, 4 partials
Smith OHP: 67.5kg for 5, then 1 rest-pause rep
Smith JM Press: 50kg for 9, then 53.75kg for 9 & then 6 little lockout partials

Alright, up in weight on shrugs, reps down a little, that’s ok. OHP went very weak, not fun. But PR inbound on JM Press, adding 1.25kg on the bar to hit 53.75kg for 9 reps.

T-bar Rows: 70kg for 10, 7

Another absolutely incredible session on these. I’m going to chalk it down to less grip fatigue from no lat pulldowns enabling big gains here. Seriously though, added 5kg from last workout which was previously unmatched, & nearly matched the reps. I might be doing 4 plates on this in 2024 with the fully overhand grip.

Cable Laterals: 5kg for 13, then 4 partials
Rope OH Extensions: 25kg for 8, 22.5kg for 9
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 12.5kg for 6

Pesky rows making those reverse flys hella weak, but it’s not a big deal. My Tbar row with a wide overhand grip goes up, my rear delts get bigger. PR on rope OH extensions but that’s expected with any new movement.

94

Another legs & biceps session.

Single-side Leg Curl: 40kg for 8.5 (then 10 reps with both legs)
Hack Squat: 85kg for 8 then 80kg for 6

PR on leg curls as I hit 8 reps & had enough in the tank to do a partial afterwards. PR on hack squat too, hitting 8 reps on that top set. Loving the 3/4 reps & pausing at the bottom atg position, feels like pure bodybuilding.

Preacher Curls: 38kg for 9, 33kg for 8
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 9, superset standing reverse curl for 5

Average day on preachers, but reverse grip went well. Did just 5 reps on the superset so as to not overdo it.

Hyper-Extension: 60kg for 2 sets of 14
Leg Raises: 20 reps of flailing around
Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 7 then 5 partials
Hip Adduction: Stack for 10

Happy about the lifetime hyper-extension PR. Leg raises are right next to it so I just said nevermind to decline crunches today.

95

Another upper, (except biceps) day sorted. Fair bit to report.

DB Pullovers: 30kg for 12
Incline Smith Bench: 87.5kg for 8, 80kg for 8

Fourth time on pullovers. I’ve taken this from 24kgX10 to 26kgX12 to 28kgX12 & today - 30kgX12. I would imagine that now the neurological gains have come to an end, but still it’s quite something they took me this far. 30kg is exactly 25% more than 24kg. I think my teres major have probably grown a little because my guess is in proportion to my lats which can lat pulldown 120kgX8 my teres will be slightly under-developed. Smith incline went really well, strength was down on this due to the chest activation from pullovers but I added two reps with 87.5kg which is very good.

Smith Shrugs: 135kg for 10, 4 partials
Smith OHP: 65kg for 7, then 1 rest-pause rep
Smith JM Press: 50kg for 9, then 55kg for 9 & then 6 little lockout partials

Added a rep on shrugs - solid. OHP struggling as always. Went from 53.75kg to 55kg on JM Press & kept it at 9 reps, really really nice to see.

T-bar Rows: 75kg for 9, 70kg for 8

Evidently the unfatigued grip is really helping me smash these big time. I’d like to do 4 plates next time just for the sake of doing it.

Cable Laterals: 5kg for 13, then 4 partials
Rope OH Extensions: 25kg for 10, 22.5kg for 9
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 12.5kg for 6

Added two reps on OH extensions which is really great. I should’ve learned a lesson on reverse flys not to use this weight if I’ve done rows on this day, ah well, next time.

96

Single-side Leg Curl: 40kg for 9 (then 10 reps with both legs)
Hack Squat: 90kg for 6 then 80kg for 6

Very glad to see a PR today on leg curls. I may increase the weight all the way to 45kg for next time. Each rep takes 4 seconds so I’m thinking of upping the load, even if just once for fun. Heavier on hacks today, want to turn that 6 into 7 next time.

Preacher Curls: 38kg for 9, 33kg for 8
Reverse Preacher Curls: 30.5kg for 9, superset standing curl for 5

May switch to incline curls for a little while perhaps. On the reverse curl superset I’m so fatigued after reverse curls that I’m intentionally swinging the weight up on the superset. Thought maybe I’ll just do standing regular curls to get a few real clean reps & since my forearms are tired from the preacher reverse curls, the standing supinated curls will still be biased to my forearms to call it that.

Hyper-Extension: 65kg for 2 sets of 12
Leg Raises: 20 reps of flailing around
Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 8 then 5 partials
Hip Adduction: Stack for 10

Heavier on hypers, love to see it.

97

Upper day finished yesterday.

DB Pullovers: 32kg for 12
Incline Smith Bench: 87.5kg for 8, 80kg for 8

Fifth time on pullovers. In 5 sessions it’s gone from 24kgX10 to 26kgX12 to 28kgX12 to 30kgX12 to 32kgX12. This is kinda crazy. First time doing them if I plug it into strengthlevel.com it gives me a novice rating & says I’m stronger than 35% of male lifters my age, & now it gives me a rating well into intermediate & says I’m stronger than 65% of male lifters my age. Surely the neurological gains are coming to an end soon. Smith incline went poorly, since I’ve done 87.5kg for 8, 90kg for a very hard 6 is not good. Oh well.

Smith Shrugs: 135kg for 11, 4 partials
Smith BTN OHP: 50kg for 5, dropset to 40kg for another 5
Smith JM Press: 60kg for 8, 55kg for 9 then 6 lockout partials.

Shrugs were weird, felt like I’d come short but managed to just keep going & hit 11 reps. RE OHP, I’ve decided I don’t like it that much in the Smith. I feel like it’s good to move it in not exactly a straight line on this particular lift so I’m taking a little break from it & trying behind the neck press. I’m pretty weak on it but that’s ok. JM Press kicked ass, a 20kg plate on each side of the bar & managing 8 reps, nice nice.

T-bar Rows: 80kg for 7, 70kg for 8

I was hungry for 4 plates so I just did it, clean reps too.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 7, then 4 partials
Rope OH Extensions: 27.5kg for 8, 22.5kg for 9
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 12.5kg for 6

98

Single-side Leg Curl: 40kg for 9 (then 10 reps with both legs)
Hack Squat: 90kg for 7 then 80kg for 7

Unprecedented weight on single-side leg curls today, jumping from 40kg to 45kg, (which happens to be exactly half the stack), managing a solid 6 reps, then 10 reps with both legs. Hack squat added a rep with 90kg & 80kg, good to see.

Incline Curls: 16kg for 8, 6
Incline Hammer Curl: 14kg for 8 ss standing hammer curl for 6

New bicep movements. As I post this 19 hours after doing them, my biceps haven’t been sore like this before, all from the same volume I’d have done on preacher curls.

Hyper-Extension: 65kg for 2 sets of 13
Leg Raises: 20 reps of flailing around
Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 8 then 5 partials
Hip Adduction: Stack for 12, then 5 partials

99

A lovely Sunday upper body session just completed a couple hours ago.

DB Pullovers: 34kg for 12
Incline Smith Bench: 90kg for 6, 80kg for 8

Sixth time on pullovers. It’s gone from 24kgX10 to 26kgX12 to 28kgX12 to 30kgX12 to 32kgX12 to 34kgX12. 36kg next time. This is extremely exciting stuff. I thought the neurological gains would’ve tapped out at 30kg at the most so it sounds like some real gains are happening here.

Smith Shrugs: 135kg for 12, 4 partials
Smith BTN OHP: 50kg for 7, dropset to 40kg for another 5
Smith JM Press: 60kg for 9, 55kg for 9 then 6 lockout partials.

Added a rep on shrugs which is great. Added two on BTN press which felt pretty good. Touching the bar to my midneck & pressing up. JM Press is the biggest winner, turning 8 reps into 9 with 60kg, hell yes.

T-bar Rows: 80kg for 8, 70kg for 8

Added a rep on the Tbar row top set with 4 plates, happy to see this.

Cable Laterals: 7.5kg for 6, then 4 partials
Rope OH Extensions: 27.5kg for 9, 22.5kg for 9
Cable Reverse Flies: 7.5kg for 7, 12.5kg for 6

Added a rep on rope overhead extensions too.

100

Nice lower day with biceps done yesterday.

Single-side Leg Curl: 45kg for 6.5 (then 10 reps with both legs)
Hack Squat: 90kg for 8 then 80kg for 7
Incline Curls: 16kg for 8, 18kg for 7
Incline Hammer Curl: 16kg for 8 ss standing hammer curl for 6

Awesome bicep curl PRs.

Hyper-Extension: 70kg for 2 sets of 13
Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 8
Hip Adduction: 205lb for 8, then 5 partials

101

Upper body day this evening. Carbed up 4 hours prior & it felt great.

DB Pullovers: 36kg for 12
Incline Smith Bench: 90kg for 7, 80kg for 8

Seventh time on pullovers. It’s gone from 24kgX10 to 26kgX12 to 28kgX12 to 30kgX12 to 32kgX12 to 34kgX12 to 36kg for 12. 38kg next! We’ve gone waaaaaay over this being neurological gains, I’ve increased this lift by 50%! Smith incline went well considering my fatigue from pullovers.

Smith Shrugs: 140kg for 10, 4 partials
Smith BTN OHP: 50kg for 8, dropset to 40kg for another 5
Smith JM Press: 60kg for 10, then 8 with 6 lockout partials.

Increased the weight on shrugs. Added another rep on BTN press but I have a nasty suspicion that my neurological gains end here & I should expect stagnation. I’m not much of a presser unfortunately. JM Press was incredible, super stoked to add a rep on these & hit 60kg for 10.

T-bar Rows: 80kg for 8, 70kg for 8
Cable Laterals: 5kg for 8, then 5 partials
Rope OH Extensions: 30kg for 8, 25kg for 8
Cable Reverse Fly: 7.5kg for 7, 10kg for 8

Big win on overhead extensions.

102

Lower day with biceps completed this morning. Had a beer festival event the day before so this could’ve been garbage, but it actually went well.

Single-side Leg Curl: 45kg for 7 (then 10 reps with both legs)
Hack Squat: 95kg for 7 then 80kg for 7

PR on leg curls to start off, securing 45kg for 7 reps with each leg, awesome. Hack squats I added 5kg, going from 90kg to 95kg, & only lost 1 rep which is solid.

Incline Curls: 18kg for 8, 6
Incline Hammer Curl: 16kg for 9 ss standing hammer curl for 6

Didn’t bother with a work set with 16kg on incline curls. Jumped straight to 18kg, (after warming up with 10kg for about 10 reps then 16kg for like 3). Felt so good I kept it there for both sets. Didn’t up the weight on hammers, added a rep instead, taking it from 8 to 9 reps with 16kg.

Hyper-Extension: 75kg for 10, 11
Seated Calf Raises: 70kg for 8
Hip Adduction: 205lb for 9, then 5 partials

Hypers are going bananas. I’m holding 20kg with another 20kg plate on top, with another 20kg plate on top of that, with a 15kg plate on top of that. Wild stuff. Nice to add a rep on adduction too.