Spotting and Loading

[SpotterLoader]

17.09.2023 (pm) - dynamic effort bench press

I had all the best intentions of this workout being at 6:30am at the gym but it ended up being at 4:30pm in my shed lol.
Gambled a bit by doing normal bench and I can’t set up the way I normally would because of my back but I’ll find out in the next couple of days whether some regular benching is a go.
Think I’ll stick to leaving my heavier day on the floor for now regardless as it’s a bit harder to “protect” myself at 100% loads vs 70% (give or take).

1A/ torso rotations
Landmine, 20kg barbell
4x10

1B/ face pull
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
10kg - 4x25

1C/ bench press
Reverse grip, feet up
20kg - 4x25

2/ bench press (1min)
Reverse grip, doubled mini bands (35kg-ish)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x8
40kg - 6x6
Will be doing my speed work reverse grip indefinitely on the back of advice from Jimmy Kolb to try and help me get more out of my bench shirt (based on my raw bench my bench in poly should be 25kg higher). Definitely not as strong compared to my normal grip and I know my broken in mini bands are 35kg but these are fresh (and a different brand) and felt heavy as fuck compared to what I remember so I might re-weigh them at some point.

3/ bench press (3min)
Low incline, thumb from smooth
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x6
60kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x17

4A/ lat pulldown
Seated, cable, plated loaded, wide lat handle
20kg - 1x25
40kg - 3x20

4B/ tricep extension
On floor, SSB
25kg - 1x15
35kg - 3x12

5A/ bicep curl
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
15kg - 1x20, 2x15

5B/ shoulder raise
Standing, side, weight plates
5s - 3x20

6/ tricep pressdown
Micro band - 1xF (I lost count but I’d guess >100)

[SpotterLoader]

Also made myself a significantly over-engineered squat box from spare 18mm ply & framing timber I had lying around.
In building terms it has 3 sets of wall plates with 3 studs in each (I’d guess it weighs 20kg) so don’t think it’s going to break.
I was meant to cut in handles but forgot and the studs were in the way to do it after the fact so just nailed + glued a couple of strips and rounded the edge a bit.

[simo74]

Nice job on the box, how high is it ? I assume you will add mats to vary the height.

[SpotterLoader]

It’s 500 x 500 x 250mm
And yep. Got 4 x 500 x 500 x 50mm mats atm and I’ll grab a 25mm one once I find somewhere in Melb I can pick up from when I’m down there.

[SpotterLoader]

18.09.2023 (am) - lower body accessories

1/ stationary bike
1x12min

2/ hamstring curl (3min)
Seated, Hammer Strength select
40kg - 1x20
75kg - 3x10

3/ leg press (3min)
Single leg, 45*, plate loaded
40kg - 1x20
70kg - 4x12
Double leg
70kg - 1x70

4/ ab crunch (3min)
Lat pulldown machine, seated, long rope attachment
33kg(?) - 3x15

5/ deadlift (3min)
Single leg + hip airplane, DB
10kg - 3x6
Just trying to load my glute/hip as much as possible

6/ heel raise (3min)
Seated, plate loaded
50kg - 3x15

Had a good run this morning.
Apart from the dumbbells every machine vacated just as I was finishing the last set of the previous exercises. Not often that happens!
Amendment: until I needed to use the shower at the gym. Ended up having to duck back to the apartment and ended up rushing to get to work rather than ambling in.

[SpotterLoader]

20.09.2023 (am) - max effort upper
Back was very stiff this morning but I was sitting on hard ground for about 90min at the lake last night and slept in a different bed so probably explains it.

1A/ reverse hyper
10kg - 4x15

1B/ face pull
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
10kg - 4x25

1C/ push ups
On barbell at floor press height
4x15

2/ bench press (3min)
On floor pad, index on ring, 2 chains per side (30kg)
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x3
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x3
60kg - 1x3
70kg - 1x3
Large single ply Widowmaker
80kg - 1x3
90kg - 1x3
100kg - 1x3
107.5kg - 1x1
115kg - 1x1
Biggest issue seems to be preventing my elbows getting tucked in too much (very conscious that a fractured radius/ulna is a real possibility if I let this happen).
Not sure what sort of accessory exercises will help most with this (it’s also a leverage problem) so I’ll need to have a think, ask around and then experiment. It’ll be some sort of shoulder abduction exercise - just need to work out one that I can load enough and gets carryover.

4A/ row
Seated, cable, D-handle
20kg - 1x25
60kg - 3x10

4B/ tricep extension
Football bar, middle handles, on floor
25kg - 1x15
40kg - 3x8

5A/ ab rollout
Kneeling, single handles
3x12

5B/ bicep curl
EZ bar, pronated grip
20kg - 3x12

6/ shoulder raise (3min)
Side, weight plates, elbows at 90*
5s - 1x20
2.5s - 1x35
1.25s - 1x50
Until I think of a better exercise I’m just going to flog shoulder raises and add a bit of general mass to my delts.

[SpotterLoader]

22.09.2023 (am) - dynamic effort lower

No volleyball last night because of school holidays (which I’m not complaining about atm)

1A/ squat
4x25

1B/ deadlift
Landmine
20kg - 4x15
Forgot how much these hit glutes/hams. Have only ever used them as a warm up previously but might throw them into my accessories a bit more often.

1C/ ab crunch
Seated, cable, short rope attachment
20kg - 4x25

2/ depth drop jump (2min)
25cm - 4x4
I like to try and keep some sort of jumping or sprinting into my programs but these were probs a bit too much to jump straight into (no pun intended) after a layoff.

3/ squat (2min)
Bow bar, 40cm box
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 8x5

4/ deadlift (2min)
Close stance, pin 3
20kg - 1x20
40kg - 1x15
60kg - 1x10
70kg - 5x5

5/ good morning (3min)
Seated (40cm box), safety squat bar
25kg - 1x15
35kg - 3x12

6/ shoulder shrug (3min)
Standing, cable, straight handle attachment
40kg - 3x20
Kinda feel like seated good mornings and shrugs are a bit superfluous as they’re both training the same thing (upper back to help start position of deadlift + holding position in squat). My start doing my lat pulldowns on Fridays then on Sundays hit rear delts a bit harder but I’ll play around a bit and find out what works.

[SpotterLoader]

23.09.2023 (am) - 40 minute kayak

So technically I only paddled for about 40 minutes all up.
But I capsized on my way out and couldn’t get back in so ended up swimming a good 20+ minutes to get to land.
I set off at about 09:45 and got back to where I started around 11:45 so idk where the missing time went.
Copped some scratches for my troubles.

[SpotterLoader]

24.09.2023 (pm) - dynamic effort upper
Similar to last week - had planned on going in the morning then got side tracked (admittedly not my fault this time) and ends up going around 5pm!

1A/ reverse hyper
10kg - 4x15

1B/ face pull
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
10kg - 4x25

1C/ push ups
barbell at bench height
4x25

2/ bench press (1min)
Reverse grip, doubled mini bands (35kg-ish)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x8
40kg - 6x6
Maintained bar speed much better than last week.

Reverse grip speed bench

3/ bench press (3min)
Low incline, thumb from smooth
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x6
57.5kg - 1x6
62.5kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x19

4A/ lat pulldown
Seated, cable, plated loaded, wide lat handle
20kg - 1x25
50kg - 1x17, 1x15, 1x10

4B/ tricep extension
On floor, SSB
25kg - 1x15
40kg - 1x11, 1x10, 1x8

5A/ bicep curl
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
20kg - 1x15, 1x11, 1x10

5B/ shoulder raise
Standing, side, weight plates
5s - 3x15

6/ loaded hamstring stretch
Lying, band
Green - 1x3 min/side

[SpotterLoader]

Skated down to the shops after which I regretted once I got out of range of all the lighting around the hospital

[SpotterLoader]

25.09.2023 (am) - lower body accessories

1/ concept 2 rower
1x10 minutes (2041m)

2/ hamstring curl (3min)
Seated, Hammer Strength select
47kg - 1x20
82kg - 1x8, 1x7, 1x4
Bit of a trade off - if I put my foot in a position to be “stronger” I get nerve pain down my right shin from the knee (long-standing issue due to an old ankle injury that only ever bothers me doing hamstring curls, GHR, nordics and kneeling good mornings)

3/ ab crunch (3min)
Lat pulldown machine, seated, long rope attachment
40kg - 3x12

4/ leg press (3min)
Single leg, 45*, plate loaded
40kg - 1x20
80kg - 3x10
Double leg
80kg - 1x45
Was a little bit conservative with the double leg set knowing I was going straight into single leg deadlifts

5/ deadlift (3min)
Single leg + hip airplane, DB
12.5kg - 3x6

6/ heel raise (3min)
Seated, plate loaded
60kg - 3x12

[SpotterLoader]

26.09.3023 (pm) - 1.5km bike ride to drop it off at my storage shed then the walk back home

27.09.2023 (am) - max effort upper

Bit stiff & sore through the SIJ this morning.
At this stage I’m putting it down to the unplanned swim on Saturday then benching on Sunday.

1A/ reverse hyper
10kg - 4x15
Back to these triggering hamstring pain which is a bit annoying.
Will stop doing them for a little bit til everything settles down again.

1B/ face pull
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
10kg - 4x25

1C/ push ups
Barbell at bench height
4x25

2/ floor press (3min)
Quadded micro bands, pinky on ring
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x3
40kg - 1x3
50kg - 1x3
60kg - 1x1
70kg - 1x1
77.5kg - 1x1
82.5kg - 1x1

3/ overhead press (3min)
High incline, football bar, middle handles
25kg - 1x6
35kg - 1x3
45kg - 1x3
55kg - 1x1
65kg - 1x1
70kg - 1x0
I’m not the best overhead presser to begin with but my leverages with the middle handles are absolutely horrible

4A/ row
Seated, cable, D-handle
40kg - 1x25
60kg - 3x12

4B/ tricep extension
Football bar, middle handles, on floor
25kg - 1x15
45kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x8
35kg - 1x10
Wasn’t feeling these at all today

5A/ ab rollout
Kneeling, single handles
3x12
Don’t know how these aren’t painful atm but I’ll take it

5B/ bicep curl
EZ bar, overhand grip
25kg - 3x10

6/ band pull apart (3min)
Micro (looped around hands once)
3x35

Noticing I’m a bit lazy atm when I do sets across (my OCD means I tend to fox my first set to try and hit the same reps across every set).
Will be rotating my ex’s end of next week so I’ll start doing more pyramid/top set style for my accessories.

[SpotterLoader]

29.09.2023 (am) - dynamic effort lower

Still no volleyball but had someone stay over so not the best nights sleep. At least with the public holiday got a sleep in and had brekky etc before training.
Also meant I had enough time to walk to & from the gym (aka my storage shed).

1A/ squat
4x25

1B/ deadlift
Landmine
20kg - 4x15

1C/ ab crunch
Seated, cable, short rope attachment
20kg - 4x25
Struggled with this; but only because my sweaty hands were slipping on the plastic ends

2/ depth drop lands (2min)
25cm - 4x6
No problems with these. Will work up to 0.5m-ish then start doing actual jumps from the ground.

3/ squat (2min)
Bow bar, 40cm box
20kg - 1x5
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 7x5

4/ deadlift (2min)
Close stance, pin 3
20kg - 1x20
40kg - 1x15
60kg - 1x10
80kg - 5x5

5A/ good morning
Seated (40cm box), safety squat bar
25kg - 1x15
40kg - 3x12

5B/ lat pulldown
Seated, cable, wide handle attachment
20kg - 1x25
40kg - 3x12
As per last week have swapped pull downs to Fridays and I’ll do some sort of trap/rear delt movement on Sundays

[SpotterLoader]

24.09.2023 (pm) - dynamic effort upper

Finally made it in the morning (but technically an hour later than planned due to daylight savings). Also glad I get in early cos unsurprisingly my tin shed picks up heat something shocking (not looking forward to summer!)

1A/ torso rotations
Seated, landmine
4x10
Not quite getting the Tx ROM/mobility I’m targeting with these (think it’s cos I don’t have a handle) so will have to play around (though might be useful as an accessory for my kayaking)

1B/ face pull
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
10kg - 4x25

1C/ bench press
Reverse grip, feet up
20kg - 4x25

2/ bench press (1min)
Reverse grip, doubled mini bands (35kg-ish)
20kg - 1x10
30kg - 1x8
40kg - 6x6

3/ bench press (3min)
Low incline, thumb from smooth
20kg - 1x6
30kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x6
60kg - 1x6
40kg - 1x15
Was pretty gassed at this point so swapped around my accessories to con myself into feeling like I’d accomplished something doing them.

4A/ shoulder elevation
Chest supported, high incline, MacDonald bar
15kg - 1x25
35kg - 1x20
55kg - 1x15
75kg - 1x10
Could afford to go a bit heavier on these, though I’m wary as last time I had SIJ issues these stirred it up a bit. However, I suspect if I actively contract my ass the whole time they’ll probably be fine.

4B/ tricep extension
standing, cable, EZ attachment
10kg - 1x25
15kg - 1x20
20kg - 1x15
25kg - 1x10

5A/ bicep curl
Standing, football bar, wide handles (1/2 pronated side)
25kg - 3x12

5B/ power clean
chest supported, low incline, weight plates
5s - 1x20
2.5s - 1x25
1.25s - 1x30
(Could also describe this as a chest supported face pull)

[SpotterLoader]

04.10.2023 - max effort upper

All over the shop this morning. It’s my “deload” week as far as my overall volume goes but quite possibly went a bit overboard on my my main movement. I also trained at 4:30 this morning as the storms woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep. On top of that I need to do a Bunnings run before work to grab sandbags to (hopefully) stop my shed from flooding!

1A/ pullover
Weight plate
10kg - 4x25

1B/ face pull
Standing, cable, short rope attachment
10kg - 4x25

1C/ push ups
Barbell at bench height
4x25

2/ bench press (3min)
25kg squat bar, on floor pad, pinky on ring
45kg - 1x5
55kg - 1x5
65kg - 1x5
75kg - 1x3
85kg - 1x3
95kg - 1x1
Add F8 band shirt, index on ring
105kg - 1x5
115kg - 1x5
125kg - 1x5
135kg - 1x3
145kg - 1x1
155kg - 1x1
165kg - 1x1
175kg - 1x1 (bar dip)

3A/ band pull apart
On bench
Mini band - 3x15
Think this is kinda in the direction of what I’m looking for as far as training to avoid getting chicken-winged by my shirt. Probably just need to get a band or something around my elbows to involve the delts more

3B/ tricep press down
Standing, straight attachment
10kg - 3x15

[Deadliftnstill]

Wild weather at the moment aye, I’m ages from you but its been all over the place.

Good work over in here

[SpotterLoader]

I was speaking to a couple of guys at a cafe this morning

• got sent home yesterday cos of fires
• got sent home today cos the worksite flooded overnight!

No pre-made sandbags at Bunnings so I threw every old towel I own along the rear roller door.
Will attempt to DIY some tonight (combination of heavy duty garbage bags, hessian sacks and sand from the lake should work I hope!)

[SpotterLoader]

Update - some towels and rubber mats jammed under the roller door seemed to have worked as no more water is inside ~10 hours later.

[simo74]

good to hear it worked, hope the weather clears soon mate.

[SpotterLoader]

It’s still windy but the rain has stopped.
Sounds like we might get flooded in once the water moves down the river.
Was due to go to Melbourne tomorrow but I’ll have to check and make sure I can get through Sale as that’s already being impacted along the river there (which runs right next to the main road).