25 minutes with the ball practicing juggling and hitting the ball against the wall.
Farmer walks with 2 x 20 kg dBs; 6 sets of 40 meter walks, with about 2 minutes rest b/w each walk.
notes: Farmer walks are great. Mt grip and deltoids were on fire. Tomorrow is the final game of the season. We are playing against a mid-table positioned team, who we usually have a good battle against. Not too sure which players are turning up tomorrow as we are playing away, which often means we are a few players short and have to play with fill ins.
Weighted dips; (5 x 32.5 kg) x 3, (5 x 30 kg) x 2.
Barbell rows; 4 sets of 10 x 65 kg.
Supersetted 4 sets of incline curls (8 x 17.5 kg) x 3, (8 x 15 kg) x 1, with face-pulls (15 x 35 kg) x 4.
Supersetted 4 sets of rear felt raises (12 x 7.5 kg) x 4, with push-ups 12 reps x 4.
Abs: 3 rounds of 40 swiss ball sit-ups with 10 hanging leg raises.
Bike ride home (took the alternative way home that ends with a epic hill climb).
notes: Good session. I can feel I am slowly getting stronger. Will need to invest in a dip belt as the chain that I have been using is digging into my hips. Need to get to the gym earlier so I have more room to do some farmer walks.
In other news, I played my final game of the season yesterday. We lost. Im glad the season is over and now I can focus a bit more on gym and nutrition. Thinking of jumping back onto 531 which I had previously ran for about 6 months. I want to focus on the basic big lifts, include heaps of weighted carries and include some bodyweight work. I also plan to run 1-2 times per week. I will be re-reading my 531 book and will be coming up with a new plan sometime within the next 2 weeks.
To be honest, your gym sessions sound fun. Do you superset anything, i.e. do a set of dips, rest a minute, do a set of rows, rest a minute etc or do you wait a few minutes till the next set? Also, without trying to be too nosy, how do you integrate your training with your work? Just asking because of the AM sessions.
PS As someone whoâs also going to start 531 soon, letâs remember that doing so is pointless unless youâre willing to follow it for a long period of time.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
To be honest, your gym sessions sound fun. Do you superset anything, i.e. do a set of dips, rest a minute, do a set of rows, rest a minute etc or do you wait a few minutes till the next set? Also, without trying to be too nosy, how do you integrate your training with your work? Just asking because of the AM sessions.
PS As someone whoâs also going to start 531 soon, letâs remember that doing so is pointless unless youâre willing to follow it for a long period of time. :)[/quote]
Hi nightBird.
Your right, at the moment most of my sessions are fun and I usually enjoy most of it. I only superset the smaller accessory work at the end, while I give myself between 90 to 120 seconds rest between each set for the bigger movements(dips, bench, squats).
When I do my AM sessions I usually start at about 6:30am , so I am done just after 7:30am, giving me plenty of time to get home shower and get to work by 9. I only live a 10 minute drive from work, so that makes it easier. I usually do more AM sessions in the summer(coming up to summer here in Oz), although working out in the PM works better with my nutrition. I like to to do a semi fast and get most of my nutrients in my last meal of the day.
Your right about 531. Maybe I should continue with my current program for a little longer and just up the frequency a bit (3 sessions in 5 days instead of 7). I feel that my current program gives me flexibility and I am constantly tweeking things. I am still considering giving BJJ a go. in the next few days I will decide in which direction I want to go. What is you reasoning for choosing 531? What are your major goals?
And in other news⊠today is a rest day for me. Looking forward to tonight, when my former club takes on one the more bigger clubs in Australia in the Australia version of the FA cup. Its a case of David vs. Golaith, old football vs modern football or community club vs corporate club. Goodluck to the boys! #noPyroNoParty
[quote]theBird wrote:
What is you reasoning for choosing 531? What are your major goals?[/quote]
Getting my lifts up and possibly adding mass in the process. Iâve run Madcow for about four months right now and itâs pretty clear that the progression is too aggressive right now - I can (ideally) add 5 pounds to each of my lifts every month or so, so Iâll do just that. Iâve wasted a lot of time in the past by doing stronglifts over and over again, telling myself I hadnât earned the right to do an intermediate program since my lifts were too weak. Hopefully, I wonât repeat that mistake.
[quote]theBird wrote:
What is you reasoning for choosing 531? What are your major goals?[/quote]
Getting my lifts up and possibly adding mass in the process. Iâve run Madcow for about four months right now and itâs pretty clear that the progression is too aggressive right now - I can (ideally) add 5 pounds to each of my lifts every month or so, so Iâll do just that. Iâve wasted a lot of time in the past by doing stronglifts over and over again, telling myself I hadnât earned the right to do an intermediate program since my lifts were too weak. Hopefully, I wonât repeat that mistake.[/quote]
What lifts are you going to do?
I am thinking bench press/incline press, front squat, and then maybe barbell rows or dips or chins. I will also do a deadlift day but that will be very light and be more about the movement. I would like to do overhead press, but my shoulder would not handle it.
[quote]theBird wrote:
What lifts are you going to do?
[/quote]
Iâll start off with Wendlerâs template for his younger self, which is basically 3x/week full body and see how things work out. I adjusted the assistance a teeny bit though.
Monday:
squat, 531
bench, 531
3a. dips, 3x8-12
3b. chin ups, 3x8-12
ab rollouts, 3x
Wednesday
power clean, 531
deadlift, 531
3a. incline bench, 3x8-12
3b. back extension, 3x20
poundstone curls, 1x AMAP
Friday
front squat, 531
overhead press, 531
3a. DB bench, 3x8-12
3b. t bar row, 3x8-12
ab rollouts, 3x
Maybe Iâll have to drop a few of the lifts a few months later to recover; weâll see. I guess Iâll use the power lifts - squat, bench, and deadlift - as the true core exercises.
[quote]theBird wrote:
What lifts are you going to do?
[/quote]
Iâll start off with Wendlerâs template for his younger self, which is basically 3x/week full body sand see how things work out. I adjusted the assistance a teeny bit though.
Also, did you get my PM?[/quote]
Looks good.
Have you done power cleans before? That is something I would like to learn, although it does look technical. I like your template. Doing 3 days a week sounds more manageable than doing 4 times a week.
I did not get your PM. I dont think PMâs work on this site anymore???
BB reverse lunges; 5 x 5, with 80 kg. (6 rep pull-ps in b/w sets).
RDLs; 4 sets of 8 x 70 kg.
One leg leg press; 4 sets of 8 x 2.5 pps
Abs; 3 rounds of 30 swiss ball sit-ups, followed by 10 reps of hanging leg raises.
Bike ride home (alternative way that ends with epic hill climb).
notes: Things are getting heavy! Might stick to these numbers for a bit longer until I feel more comfortable with the weight. Lunges were good but heavy. RDLs felt heavy and I did feel some strain in my lower back/erectors, although with a little form correction that was minimised. The one leg leg-presses felt heavier than last week, so I only managed 8 reps instead of 10, although I did add an extra set today. The hill climb on my bike seems to be getting harder and harder, although I will keep at it and eventually I hope to be able to climb up the hill without the need to rest half way up the hill.
At the moment work & life are a little hectic, but once I get a bit of spare time I am going to sit down and re-asses my routine and goals which are all a little murky at the moment. I am thinking 3-4 sessions a week in the gym, 1-2 sessions on the track and maybe 2 sessions at BJJ. Im also interested in adding some more bodyweight/gymnastic work into my routine. Seems like a lot of stuff, and hence this is why I need to sit down and put this all together.
[quote]theBird wrote:
Have you done power cleans before? That is something I would like to learn, although it does look technical. I like your template. Doing 3 days a week sounds more manageable than doing 4 times a week.
I did not get your PM. I dont think PMâs work on this site anymore???
tweet
[/quote]
I have occasionally done them in the past, once while doing starting strength and once while doing Mass Made Simple. However, the best number so far was when I did them a few weeks ago - 60kg for 4 easy reps. Having watched olympic lifters seems to have helped as I seem to learn moves by osmosis if I keep watching them
The PM was a request to delete the part where you quoted my logâs location. Seems like your not the only one who followed it, which bugs me a little.
[quote]theBird wrote:
At the moment work & life are a little hectic, but once I get a bit of spare time I am going to sit down and re-asses my routine and goals which are all a little murky at the moment. I am thinking 3-4 sessions a week in the gym, 1-2 sessions on the track and maybe 2 sessions at BJJ. Im also interested in adding some more bodyweight/gymnastic work into my routine. Seems like a lot of stuff, and hence this is why I need to sit down and put this all together.
tweet[/quote]
I can relate to this! (Iâm still in the process of finding a permanent flat&job) My advice is to keep things as simple as you can - substitute traditional BB&DB exercises for gymnastic moves, for instance. Otherwise you might find yourself working on 20 things simultaneously and getting nowhere.
The PM was a request to delete the part where you quoted my logâs location. Seems like your not the only one who followed it, which bugs me a little.
So I have omitted overhead presses in my program for the mean time, so todays session was a little âmodifiedâ. To make up for the omitted MP, I had included 2 sets of the âshoulder shocker routineâ. I had read Joe DeFrancoâs article regarding saving your shoulder, and the article very much related to my situation. As the article suggested, I am going to try to do up to 100 âlightâ band pull-aparts every day.
Agile 8 etc.
Bike ride to the gym.
dB bench press; (10 x 30 kg) x 3, (9 x 30 kg) x 1.
S/S 4 sets of; seated rows (10 x 60kg), barbell curls (8 x 30 kg).
DeFrancoâs shoulder shocker; 2 sets of; 10 reps of plate front raises (10 kg), 10 reps of lateral raises (7 kg), and 10 reps of clean and press (7 kg).
2 rounds of âtriple core threatâ.
Bike ride home (alternative way home finishing with epic hill climb).
notes: Happy the dB bench press. Feeling strong with the rows and curls, and will increase the weight for the first 2 sets only next week. The âshoulder shockerâ was relentless. I could not hit the prescribed reps and had to drop the dBs to 6 kg for the last set, and even with that I struggled. Next week I will I aim for 2 sets with reps of 8, using a 10 kg plate for the front raises and I will use 6 kg dBs. The shoulder burn was tremendous and I am hoping to see some growth from this. The âtriple core threatâ was a challenge. My âstir the potâ technique was poor, my side planks were done without my outer leg up, and my leg raises were done in a Romanian chair, so hence there is a lot of room here to improve and progress from here.
Dips; 5 x 5, with 32.5 kg. (3rd world squatting in b/w sets).
Barbell rows; 4 sets of 8 x 70 kg.
S/S 4 sets of; incline hammer curls (8 x 17.5 kg), with face-pulls (15 x 30 kg).
S/S 3 sets of; rear felt raises (8 x 8kg), with 10 reps of push-ups.
5 rounds of 10 hanging leg raises, followed by a 15 meter walk holding a 45 kg dB in each hand.
Bike ride home.
notes; Decent session. I really need to get that dip belt, as the chain is now digging into my hips. Next week I should be able to increase all lifts, except for the curls which i struggled with. I need to sit down in the next few days and choose a new program I think.
[quote]Ironwarrior25 wrote:
Decent weight on the dips. You sorted what you are now the football season is over?
Can always be fun to try something new for a while. I certainly found that with doing a triathlon.[/quote]
Thanks mate.
Not too sure what I am doing in the offseason. I am not even sure if I wasnât to play football again next year, especially if we have the same coach and players at the club.
I am considering of trying out BJJ. I also want to spend a bit more time in the weight room and add another 2-3 kg to my frame. I kind of figured that I spend enough time, and I have decent knowledge regarding nutrition etc, that I want to look like I lift some decent weight. I am leaning towards 531, although I kind of feel I am still making progress on my current program so I thought I might as well continue with it until I start to plateau.
I also donât want t lose my ability to move. I am talking about my ability to go for a 3 km run, juggle a football, turn and move with a football, and basic tumbling skills. I will try to spend 1-2 times a week just kicking a ball against a wall etc. I am looking in getting some cheap dBs so I can add in some longer distance carries after my âmovingâ days.
Front squats; 5 x 5 with 80 kg. (6 reps of pull-ups in b/w sets).
BSS; 4 sets of 8 x 27. 5 kg.
Supersetted 3 sets of; hamstring curls (10 x 50 kg) x 2, (8 x 50 kg x 1), with hanging leg raises (10 reps) x 3.
Bike ride home. (alternative way home ending with epic hill climb).
notes: Decent session. Weights feel heavy and I feel I am soon going to hit a plateau. Might have to spend a few cycles getting used to this heavy weight but I am keen to progress and get stronger. Tonights dinner was 3 cups of rice and about 4 cups of ground beef, and now I can hardly move. Grow birdy, Grow!!!
Supersetted 4 sets of; seated rows (10 x 60 kg) x 2, (10 x 65 kg) x 2, with barbell curls (9 x 30 kg) x 4.
Shoulder shocker, 2 rounds using a 10 kg plate and 5 kg dBs, doing 8 reps for each move.
5 continuous rounds of; 30 swiss ball sit-ups followed by a 15 meter farmer walk holding 45 kg dBâs.
Bike ride home (alternative route home ending with epic hill climb).
notes: Happy to finally hit 100 kgâs with the bench. Now only if I could get my squat to a similar level. Will try to increase most numbers next week. Will finally sit down in the next few days to decide on my new program and decide on my goals etc. Just ate 3/4 of a chicken, about a 1 kg if sweet potato so I can hardly move or think right at the moment.
