Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM
Bench
Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM
Dips
3 x 10 - happy with the ease of reps but these do bug my shoulder a bit in the bottom position
Chins
3 x 8 - these got sloppy
Ss/ 45° back extensions
3 x 25
Arms, delts and abs and ting
Hammer curls, laterals, oh extensions, preachers, roman chair - 3 sets of 10-20ish per exercise
Farmers walk Straps because babying that forearm - off day tomorrow to give it a chance
24kg/40kg x 8 x 40m (1 turn)
Ss/ Hill sprints
8 x 50m
Will set up so I can move from walks to sprints faster next time I do this.
Bench
Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM
Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM
Break - go to beach while it’s nice out.
Dips
5 x 6
Ss/ Chins
5 x 6
Db press
Flat
20s x 20
Elevator set (flat to upright)
30s x 6 x 8
Flat
30s x 15
45° back extensions
5 x 25
Ss/ Rear delt machine
Some x 5 x 20
Pullovers
25kg x 4 x 15
Laterals ss/ hammer curls
12s x 3 x 12 each
Drop set
8s x 15 each
Run
5km - 20:55 - 4:11/km - nice.
Went along to watch a rugby match and got roped into playing - came on for the last 15 and just did the standard big guy fall against people until they fall over too routine. No struggle to fitness, no injuries picked up, would do it again.
Deads
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3 x 3
Add belt
140kg x 3 x 3
Ss/ Squats
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3 x 3
Add belt
140kg x 3 x 3
Bench (tng)
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 3 x 10
Barbell lifts feeling great - honestly feel like I could hit 10 reps at 140 on squat right now and 10 at 80 isn’t too shabby either.
Still going to focus on keeping the intensity down - not going to be moving my working weights up yet.
Short term goal is to add a rep to my EMOM pyramid at 80/120 on squat/bench each workout until I’m doing a 1-10-1 pyramid for a total of 100 reps. An intense 20 minutes where I get a lot of volume in whilst still getting the opportunity to keep my form solid.
Pull ups (strapped - forearm pansy)
5 x 5
Back extensions
3 x 10 super slow
Ss/ Roman chair
3 x 10
Swings
5 x 20
Pressups
3 x 20
Ss/ KB hammer curls
3 x 20
Run intervals
3 x 1km - 3:59, 3:53, 3:40
1-2 minutes rest. Good. Want to put all these together for a solid sub 12 minute 3k now.
Pull ups - strapped
3 x 5
Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM
Bench
Bar x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM
Seated laterals, front raises, rear delts giant set
10s x 3 x 20, 12, 10 each
DB seated ohp
20s x 20
25s x 15
20s x 2 x 20
DB shrugs
50s x 3 x 12
Ss/ Pullovers
25kg x 3 x 15
Laterals
8s x 20
12s x 15
14s x 12
16s x 10
Ss/ Reverse grip db curls
8s x 20
12s x 15
14s x 12
16s x 10
Beach touch rugby
1 1/2 hours
Bench
bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
80kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - EMOM - form is starting to break down, which is not the goal. Kept to times though.
Squats
Bar x some
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 EMOM - but pushing the limits. On the way back down, between the sets of 7,6,5 I was starting to lag behind the minute mark by about 20 seconds. I caught back up for the final sets and finshed on the right time.
Will not be doing EMOM any more on squats and bench, but still gonna push up to a top set of 10 because I want to see this rep scheme through. Will still keep rest times appropriate.
The bar on the rack when I got there had no center knurling - I won’t be using it again.
Good girl machine
Some x 4 x 20
Ss/ Bad girl machine
Some x 4 x 20
Rear delts machine
Some x 4 x 20 - last set dropset
Ss/ 45 back extensions*
4 x 20
Going to local rugby training later, just call it GPP.
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
80kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Kept to EMOM all the way up, on the way back down it stretched to a full minutes rest instead. Caught back up to the EMOM time between the 4,3,2,1 sets.
Squat
60kg x 2 x 5
80kg x 5
Belt
100kg x 5
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
Deads
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 3
140kg x 5 x 3 - bar was quite fat and made hook grip hard. Actually felt easier to do regular doh on this.
Chins
5 x 5
Shoulder press machine
30kg x 15
40kg x 15
50kg x 15
Ss/ Assisted pull ups
-45kg x 3 x 10
Two weird machines - assisted pullups are downright uncomfortable, and the shoulder press seems to have been built for people with a much smaller frame than me - I was pretty bunched up in the bottom.
Had a couple of days off because bad planning and reasons and laziness.
Chatted to a neurosurgeon casually today and he confirmed the whole “squats won’t make it blow” thing. Still big pinch of salt and not going nuts until the actual surgeon over seeing me clears me but this is all reassuring. Since getting back into lifting and doing some fairly heavy sessions I haven’t had any increase in symptoms - I get low level headaches fairly frequently but I have since it first happened.
Squat
Bar x some
70kg x 5
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 - dead. I was lazy and didn’t go back down. Not too fussed, getting up to 10 was hard enough. This is a “fun” rep scheme and I’ll probably use the descending pyramid for a finisher at some point.
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 3
100kg x 3 - This is a triple at 80% of previous PB. Still fairly easy, and smooth - form was solid, pauses good, woulda ground for 5 but I’m not grinding for the foreseeable future. I’ll do a fair amount of work in the 90-100kg range for a while.
80kg x 10,10,10,8 - I don’t have the stamina I used to, even with this stupid ass pyramid I’ve been doing.
Chins
6 x 5
Seated laterals
7.5s x 20
10s x 3 x 20
5s x 100 - kinda rest paused - never put them down but shook my arms a few times to kill the burn off a bit
Ss/ Bent over rear delts
7.5s x 12
10s x 3 x 12
5s x 60 - sames
Rear delt machine - I like this
“32” x 4 x 30
Ss/ Lever pull down - I like this too, I treat it like a high row because that’s the angle the levers come down at anyway, especially if you keep your back arched. You can still get a good stretch in the lats at the top as well.
“50” x 3 x 20
“60” x 20
45* back extensions
4 x 20
Ss/ Good girl
Some x 4 x 20
Ss/ Bad girl
Some x 4 x 20
Ss/ Hanging knee raises
4 x 12 - these are being limited by how comfortable my forearms are with hanging on - shoulda brought the straps today cos they’re still bugging me.
Giant set to get everything small around my hips stretched out/moving and blood pumping etc. My hip flexors keep hurting on squat warmups so this got some active stretching in for them.
Hammer curls
15s x like 4 sets of 15 - 20
17.5s x 12
15s x 15
DB curls
10s x 2 x 20
Incline stretchy curls
5s x 3 x 20
Bunch of stretching. This gym has a dedicated area for stretching, which I didn’t have last year, so I’m getting a bunch of flexibility back. Feels nice man.
Was going to go for a run today but a buddy wanted to go to the gym and he doesn’t drive so I took him and went on the treadmills. Treadmill running sucks for various reasons, but one thing really threw me this session.
Didn’t realise it was measuring in miles, not km.
Planned on 4-5 kilometer intervals, increasing the pace each time from 5 minutes through to sub 4. That didn’t happen.
Stupid daft conveyor belt runs
3 mins warmup @ 6mph
1 mile @ 10.6mph - 5:45 - 3:35/km - good pace, but I was concerned by how hard I was finding it. Took my rest period.
0.5 miles @ 12mph - 2:30 - 3:07/km - this is my kilometer PR pace, and it felt like it. I twigged that either something was up with me, or I’d been a dumbass with the machine.
1km @ 9.something kph - just over 6 minutes. Too dead for a good pace at this point. Also bored.
I mean, it’s nice to have gone a longer distance than I was expecting to at a faster pace, but running on a road is so much less boring, feels safer, and it’s actually easier to track paces because you don’t have to wait for the treadmill to speed up while you hold the button down for a minute to get it to the right pace.
Screw treadmills.
Learning experience, next time I wanna cardio in the gym I’ll row.
Did some really light incline bench to get my upper body moving (shoulders get tight when I run) then some deadlifts and sumo pulls (alternated sets) up to 120kg, just cos I haven’t done any in a while and won’t til deadlift club at the old place on Sunday cos the bars at this place are slick and there’s no chalk allowed. Sumo feels comfy - flexibility still needs a bit more work and I’m probably not gonna use it much but it’s nice to be able to do it again.
Squat
60kg x 2 x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 5 x 3
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 5 x 3
T-bar - machine has the footplate too far back so you spend the majority of a set trying not to fall over. Discussed it with another bloke there afterwards and he said he just does Meadows rows instead.
25 x 12
50 x 4 x 12
25 x 20
Seated DB ohp
17.5s x 20
25s x 4 x 12
OH triceps
25kg x 15
30kg x 3 x 12
Later
Rugby training.
Might be playing a bit more than 10 minutes on Saturday. Will adjust training accordingly cos this is likely to continue. Sunday training sessions will probably consist of getting my body moving pain free again. As I’m increasing bar weight again now my volume is going to be dropping anyway which will help. “In season training”. I dunno.
Anyway, got some rules to catch up on and some contact techniques I can be better at.
Most sensible layout
Saturday - game day
Sunday - all the lifts probably with a bit less weight to get sore muscle less sore.
Monday - Distance run
Tuesday - heavy weights session - work on whatever progression I’m working on.
Wednesday - rugby training in the evening. Can do a cardio session and some accessory lifts earlier on as I have Wednesday afternoons off.
Thursday - heavy weights session.
Friday - off/recovery.
Simples.
Had way too much caffeine today
Deadlifts
Hook grip
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 3
180kg x 3
Add straps and belt - bar was very slippery and no chalk allowed
200kg x 3 - fine set. Shrugged it a bit afterwards. Caffeine.
BOR
60kg x 2 x 12
80kg x 12
Add straps
100kg x 10
120kg x 8
100kg x 10
Pull ups
5 x 5
Ss/ 45° back extensions
Bw x 20
20kg zercher x 12
30kg zercher x 10
Bw x 2 x 20
Chest supported row
“40” x 20
“55” x 15
“70” x 12
“90” x 10
Rear delt machine
“36” x 3 x 30
Ss/ Calf raise
100kg x 10
80kg x 20
60kg x 30
DB pullovers
25kg x 12
30kg x 12
35kg x 10
25kg x 12
BB curls
40kg x 4 x 10 - little cheated on the last few
Roman chair
3 x 20
Alternating DB curls
22s x 8,7,6
Ss/ DB curls
12s x 10,10,8
^Basically multiple mini dropsets - some guy with big arms was doing them so I worked in with him and we shouted at each other a bit. Caffeine.
This session almost felt like any old session from 2 years ago in the uni gym. Great session for my back overall but probably overkill right now - major step up in volume/density from recent weeks, and shouldn’t have pushed the deadlifts as heavy as I did. Again, nice to know what I can still hit
Great work man! That must have felt good.
Can’t let you have all the fun doing the heavy deads bro
Game yesterday.
We lost 17-12 - they had a very lucky break from a bit of miscommunication between our backs, and one of their tries was absolutely held up. Our backs were better than theirs but we kept getting held up trying to win a forwards game when they were both bigger and better organised than us in the pack.
Personally, this is the fittest I’ve ever felt in a match. Team mates kept praising my work rate, I had a few big runs and bunced a few people. Not a lot of opportunities to make big hits in open play, and the one I did have was against their prop who had a lot of weight on me and I didn’t get low enough so I went backwards there. Good scrummaging, I have the strength to drive the bigger guys back and the mobility to get low and underneath them. Got man of the match, I think because the amount of work I put in on my debut surprised people. Can only disappoint them from now on.
Fun. Pretty sore today but all muscles and bruises, no bad joints.
Today did some deadlifts up to 140kg x 3, some chins, flyes, and incline bench, then went on a walk.
Run
5k - 21:22 - 4:16/km - good run for still being in recovery mode from Saturday.
Squash
About 20 minutes of game time - just rotating through the court with 3 other guys. I do this every now and then - good fun.
Squats, bench, upper push
Squat
Bar x some
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 1
140kg x 5 x 4
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
80kg x 1
90kg x 5 x 4
Cgbp (tng)
60kg x 10
70kg x 3 x 10
Spoto press - first time doing these
60kg x 3 x 10
DB seated ohp
17.5s x 15
25s x 3 x 10
OH triceps
25kg x 3 x 20
Everything felt a little heavy today - I’ve got a bit of a cold but probably more to do with never working more than one chest exercise in a row.