Havent written on these forums for a long time so I thought it was time to start up my log on here to get some help, motivation and inspiration.
Just as a bit of background:
Male
27 years old
5’9
Body weight around 77-78kg
Fairly leanish - unconcerned with BF at the moment.
Training at a commercial gym during the week and a crossfit gym at the weekend (they have some strongman gear)
Started the year at a slightly too fat 87kg.
Dieted down for an amateur strongman qualifier in June @ 74.7kg
Had the finals at the beginning of the month weighing in (after water loading) at very light 72.7kg. I won the competition
Apart from that I’m also heavily into Modern Jive Dancing and compete in that with my Girlfriend. We recently won the intermediate category (beat 19 other couples) at the second biggest competition of the year. We’re now moving on to the advanced category and training for the aerials competition as well. Im also part of the biggest modern jive cabaret team in the country and although we started out as purely competitive team we are now branching out and getting gigs, events and a new years booking this year.
My training most of this year hasnt been as progressive as I might have liked as I have been in mostly in a calorie deficit since January . Im starting to eat again now and hitting the training hard and hopefully I can start making some progress again.
210kg Deadlift
180kg Squat
85kg Strict press (as of last night)
At the moment Im following Dan Johns One Lift A Day program. I do the main exercise as prescribed on a lifting calculator I found for it and then depending on how I feel I might do more reps of the same exercise or pick something completely random. Im not tested on the main lifts
Furthermore I have been squatting every time I go to the gym (except deadlift day) only light, usually 5 sets between 100kg and 120kg…why??? Because when I squat once a week my form drops off quite quickly and squatting becomes difficult. When I feel its become better I’ll probably drop it to 2-3 times a week.
Generally the plan has been looking like:
Day 1: Squat + Squats 1x20 or 5x10
Day 2: Neutral grip Chin + Loads @ bodyweight with varying grips + Squatting
Day 3: Strict Press + Some more overheaad stuff (Standing rack lockouts/ DB snatches) + Squatting
Day 4: Deadlift + Deadlifts for time or max reps in a certain time or loads of singles
Day 5: Decline Bench + Dips/pushups + Squatting
Day 6: Events
Its not all necessarily done in one week (although I have done it - its tough) and I train as often as I feel im able to and even sometimes when I dont.
Was following a full paleo eating plan in the last stage of my diet with intermittant fasting but I have relaxed it a little with food choices and timings. I hate small meals as they never satisfy me so I tend to stick to two large meals a day. I swear my satiety signals are broken as there always seems to be space for more food.
Tends to be:
Breakfast:
Green tea,
water,
maybe an apple if I want one
Lunch 12pm:
Big A*s Salad (Spinach/tomatos/peppers/Dill cucumbers/avocado)
1 tin of meat (usually 450g of salmon or Corned beef or several tins of sardines / mackerel / pilchards)
300g cottage cheese
Almonds
Cinnamon
Rice Cakes
Train: 4.30pm-6.15pm (usually about 1 and a quarter hours)
Dinner 7.00pm
400-500g of meat (chicken / Beef / pork / offal / Fish / eggs - or combinations of) cooked in coconut oil
Loads of Veg
Sauerkraut
Sweet potato / Rice (although not always)
Power Desert containing some, more or fewer of the following (basically whatever is going):
Whey
Cottage Cheese
Yoghurt
Peanut Butter
Mixed berries
Oats
Mixed nuts
Mixed Seeds
Museli
Broken up rice cakes
Banana
Broken up MRP bar
Dessicated Coconut
Coconut milk
Cinnamon
Not really sure of the calories but I will look into it if I need to. I dont plan cheats so I dont worry if I go off the plan…I just make sure I eat!
Dance 2-3 nights a week and have team practice on Sundays for 4-5 hours every 3 weeks.
Just moved in with my girlfriend and so getting used to the first time being away from my mums house (except for when I went uni)
I intend, as soon as we’ve settled in our flat, to commute to work via bike.
Job is mostly desk bound (although I do have a standing desk - People think Im odd - who cares)
Goals:
To get bigger and stronger
Short term: Start gaining, adding some kilos to lifts
Medium term: 5kg of muscle in 6-8 months and compete in a higher weight category.
Long term: 15kg of muscle in the next 2-3 years to be able to compete in the under 90kg weight class.
Right enough with the background here’s yesterdays lifting:
27/10/11 - Press Day
Bar x 2 x 8
40kg x 6
50kg x 5
OLAD
55kg x 5
65kg x 3
72.5kg x 2
62.5kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 1,1 (meant to be 2 x 77.5kg but ah well)
Switched to regular oly bar (most at my gym bars are thicker):
80kg x 1
85kg x 1
60kg x 7, 6
Squats -
60kg x 5
100kg x 3 x 5
115kg x 5
125kg x 5
1 arm DB snatches
28kg x 5 - each arm
40kg x 5 - each arm
Could have done something else but I thought I just call it a day.
Review:
Press - Awesome! 85kg has beaten me twice before, it was a bit of a grinder but I got it, very pleased. Wasnt quite right as far as the planned weight but Im not worried.
Squats - heavy to start but got comfortable
Snatches - usually do a lot more but left hand has a hole in it from a torn open callous making it uncomfortable to hold on to the DB - thought better of throwing 40kg overhead without a good grip
I have lost my belt (I think it was stolen personally) so I thought I’d let my lower back recover and not load it too much. This is a deload week so Im not stopping training but just using some light(er) weights
Front Squats
Bar x 2 x 5 (havent done these for a while, tough on the forearms)
40kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg x 3
130kg x 1
100kg x 10 triples (bout 1 min rest)
Good start, lower back not feeling stressed even without my belt.
Leg press (lower foot place to reduce stress on low back)
4 plates x 10
6 plates x 10
8 plates x 10
10 plates x 10
12 plates x 4 x 10 1 x 15
Working sets were brutal, legs felt like jelly afterwards.
Overall - Happy I worked the legs without stressing the back (its been feeling a bit sore for the last week) front squatting was suprisingly alot better than I was expecting.
Feelt loose and well rested so I thought Id push it a bit.
Workout
Front Squats
bar x 5
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 3 (new belt on)
110kg x 3
120kg x 3
130kg x 1
140kg x F,F
Bugger 130kg flew, 140kg both times I dropped too quickly and got loose ah well. Was gonna do some front squat volume but thought Id go with:
Back Squats
60kg x 8
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg x 5 - had a choice here either do several more sets at 140kg or…
150kg x 1
160kg x 1
170kg x 1
180kg x 1
A little ugly but matched my PB, squatting is getting back to where it should be! Then as a finisher
120kg x 20
Holy moly that was tough…had turned into a breathing squat by rep 7-8!
Glute Ham Hyperextension
BW x 10
10kg - 4 x 15
Struggled to walk after this brutally tough.
Overall
Little disappointed with the Front squat but the rest was good. On a further positive note I did my best nights dancing for a long time even after doing this. Think the extra carbs post workout helped.
bar x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
75kg x 8 or so doubles and also some singles. Did 77.5kg x for 2 doubles and 80kg for a single. Stopped when 75kg wasnt feeling strong anymore. Dropped to
60kg 5 x 5 and one set of 4
Failed on the 6th set so stopped it there.
T-Bar Rows
Bar x 10
20kg x 10
45kg x 10,10,8,7,7,8 - 50 reps
Tough work for the upper back
Overall
Pretty solid session, good bit of volume, nothing particularly interesting to mention.
Back to Crossfit Gym today for the first time in ages
Front Squat
bar x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 3
125kg x 8-10 doubles and a few singles.
Felt a little tight so Not quite as good as the previous session with depth but all the right muscles were working.
Farmers Frame Walks
Frame x 30m x 2
Frame 40kg x 30m x 2
Frame 80kg x 30m x 2
Frame 130kg x 30m x 2
Frame 150kg x 30m x 2 (few drops)
Stupidly shouldnt have done this. Tore open the hole in my hand again so really struggled to grip the handles, tried to use my grip pads but they were slipping, so had to stop this there. So I switched to:
Sled
Sled x 30m x 2
Sled 25kg x 30m x 2
Sled 50kg x 30m x 2
Sled 60kg x 30m x 10 50m x 2
Kept it light but kept it fast, happy with this.
Overall
Not a bad session, good to get back to see everyone.
Lower back almost recovered, I have a feeling if im a bit loose doing the pull ups (i.e. not contracting the glutes / abs) it makes it a little worse…gonna have to work on that.
Decline Bench
bar x 12
40kg x 2 x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5 (felt light)
85kg x 5
95kg x 5
105kg x 3 (had at least one possibly two more in me - no spotter though)
110kg x 2 (sweet; missed this last session - lost the groove on the second rep but pulled it back)
102.5kg x 4-5 doubles
90kg x 5 sets of 4
60kg x 15
Good start to the session, plenty of volume. Seems strange though that the jump from 105kg to 110kg throws me quite a bit, kinda lose my tightness, will work on it. First rep always flies, second…not so much.
Cable row
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 8
100kg - 1 set on the minute every minute for 8 minutes…Started with 5’s then 4’s finished with a “cheat” (a little leg drive ) 8
Overall
Solid session with some improvements on last time.
Side note
Been doing 100 pull ups a day (50 in the morning, 50 in the evening) they are getting easier. Shoulder seemed to feel better on the warm ups today maybe its what I needed. Have to be careful though, was getting a slight strain in my elbow…dont want shoulder improvement at the expense of the elbow.
140kg x 5 - Crap - all over the place
140kg x 5 - Better
140kg x 5 - Strong
150kg x 5 - Tough
140kg x 5 - Good
140kg x 9 - Some guy wanted the rack so I went for it. Had one grinder left in the tank but happy.
Glad I didnt call it short after the first terrible set. maybe I just need to spend a little longer with the warm up weights.
Leg Press - Wide Stance
4 plates x 10
8 plates x 10
10 plates x 8
12 plates x 8
14 plates x 3 x 10
Brutal, happy though.
Overall
Not a bad session at all considering how it started. Will front squat on Friday, hoping by next week my hand will have finised healing and I can get back to deadlifting properly.
Bar x 8
10kg x 10
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 3 x 8
Good start last rep on sets 2 and 3 a little bit of a grinder but not too bad.
One arm Cable Row
40kg x 10 (each arm)
60kg x 10
85kg x 10, 9, 8
Much easier than I was expecting, will have to move to a different stack if I do this again.
Front Squat holds - in Max Rack
Rack 40kg x 10 secs
Rack 80kg x 10 secs
Rack 120kg x 10 secs
Rack 180kg x 10 secs
Rack 200kg x 5 secs
Rack 180kg x 3 x 10 secs
As the bar is supported it rotates freely so struggled to get a clean grip working so went with cross arms. havent done these for a while but fairly good.
Standing Cable Crunches
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
70kg x 12
Tough but good.
Overall
Definitely need to include more ab work into my routine. Thinking some blast straps and an ab wheel for home so I can do it in my own time.
Pull ups felt a little weaker this morning (first set did 11 but endurance wasnt great after that). Might have cut into recovery with last nights session will be careful about hitting failure next time.
Bar x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 4 - booo
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 1
80kg x 1
Rubbish - zero intensity today, no point in keep pushing it. Thought Id just play around with a few things:
High inlcine Max Rack Pin Presses
Bar x 8
Bar 20kg x 5
Bar 30kg x 5
Bar 40kg x 3
Bar 50kg x loads of triples
Bar 60kg x a few triples
Bar 70kg x 1 single
Interesting exercise, set the safeties about nose height on a high seated incline. Fairly good shoulder work.
Rope Push downs
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 10,9,
25kg x 8 (single arm)
Hit the tris hard with this, good contraction.
Push ups
100 - didnt time.
Overall
Meh, nothing much to report about bit of a poor session.
Side Notes
Shoulders were feeling a little beat up before the session started today, maybe I hadnt quite recovered from Monday or maybe the high amounts of pull ups has had an effect.
Sleep hasnt been great as of late since I moved in with my girlfriend, waking up a few times a night seems commonplace at the moment, hopefully it will settle down soon.
Skin on my back is starting to break out a little again, its not bad but worse than it has been. I think this is down to me reintroducing cottage cheese, yoghurt and whey to my diet. Gonna cut these again and see what happens. Im going to miss them
Nice and comfortable, good depth, all the correct muscles working, no lower back rounding.
Deadlift
60kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
160kg x 10
First time deadlifting in about 2 weeks. Solid work, felt strong, probably could have muscled a couple more reps. Form felt great. I think doing all those pull ups has really strengthened my upper back and lats which kept the bar in tighter and stopped it rounding. I’m gonna keep doing them!
DB bench
20kg DBs x 10
30kg DBs x 10
40kg DBs x 7,6,5
30kg DBs x 10
Havent done these in a very long time and it felt a little wobbley. The 40’s might have been a little heavy but I’ll stick with them and add reps.
Conditioning
Rower - 20secs ON 90 secs REST - 6 rounds
Hit between 110-115m each time. Didnt kill myself but got the heart rate up.
Overall
Good session and Im happy with the results. Lets hope it keeps up
Squat - 5/3/1
Decline Bench - 5/3/1
Row Work - 3 x 8-20 - probably be cable until I max the stack out.
Friday
Squat - 3 x 8/9/10 @ 50% 1 RM (week 1-8 reps / week 2-9 reps / week 3-10 reps)
Press - 5/3/1
1 arm Row - 2 x max reps - Possibly Might well ditch it as Im going to maintain doing regular pull ups at home.
Saturday
Events - On the lighter side mainly for technique work
Notes
Non-failure Pull ups to be done at home
Deload every 4th week
Bench, didnt really respond last time so I might just do some press assistance / Volume work.
Ab work to be done at home (ab roll outs/blast strap fallouts /hanging leg raises)
Stretching and mobility work to be done on off days
Conditioning will work up to 3 x a week likely - Monday - Rowing, Wednesday - Cycle Sprints, Friday - Push ups for time
Might consider swapping Monday and Wednesday over to give the lower back a bit more of a break but we’ll see
Nice and comfortable, good depth, all the correct muscles working, no lower back rounding.
Deadlift
60kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
160kg x 10
First time deadlifting in about 2 weeks. Solid work, felt strong, probably could have muscled a couple more reps. Form felt great. I think doing all those pull ups has really strengthened my upper back and lats which kept the bar in tighter and stopped it rounding. I’m gonna keep doing them!
DB bench
20kg DBs x 10
30kg DBs x 10
40kg DBs x 7,6,5
30kg DBs x 10
Havent done these in a very long time and it felt a little wobbley. The 40’s might have been a little heavy but I’ll stick with them and add reps.
Conditioning
Rower - 20secs ON 90 secs REST - 6 rounds
Hit between 110-115m each time. Didnt kill myself but got the heart rate up.
Overall
Good session and Im happy with the results. Lets hope it keeps up.