Supersetted 4 sets of; dB incline hammer curls (8 x 17.5 kg) x 4, with face-pulls (15 x 30 kg) x 4.
Supersetted 4 sets of; rear felt raises (8 x 8 kg), with 10 body weight push-ups.
Finished off with 2 rounds of “core triple threat”, and 4 rounds of farmer walks with 45 kg dBs.
Bike ride home (alternative way home that ends with epic hill climb).
notes: Finally got my new dip belt which is so much more comfortable than a chain digging into my hips. Dips were heavy and I might have to start alternating every week to sets of 3 reps possibly? Barbell rows were heavy, and 75 kg did feel almost too heavy. I think I will hover around this weight for a little longer until things feel a little lighter. Hammer curls felt easier this week and next week I should be able to do 10 reps for the first 2 sets.
Im thinking of adding in another session into my program. At the moment I am doing a 3 day a week program, but I think I will add in a 4th day which will be more for deadlifts. Ive previously had problems with my back with deadlifts so the lifting will be very light and I will be concentrating more on technique than anything else.
Front squat; 5 x 5, with 80 kg. (6 rep pull-ups in b/w sets).
BSS; 4 sets of 9 x 27.5 kg.
Hamstring curls; 4 sets of 8 x 50 kg, supersetted with 10 reps of hanging leg raises.
Bike ride home (alternative route home ending with epic hill climb).
notes: Good session. Didn’t progress much on last week, but there were a few extra sets and reps in there. Front squats felt good, and felt lighter than last week, although I think I need to improve my thoracic mobility. Will try to increase weights next time.
Bench press: (5 x 105 kg) x 2, (5 x 100 kg) x 3. (3rd world squatting and band pull-aparts in b/w sets).
Supersetted 4 sets; seated rows (8 x 65 kg), and barbell curls (8 x 35 kg).
Shoulder shocker; 2 rounds using a 10 kg plate and 5 kg dBs, doing 10 reps for all exercises.
Triple core threat; 3 continuos rounds.
Bike ride home (alternative route home, ending with epic hill climb).
notes: Was keen to get into the gym today, but unfortunately I didn’t “hit the groove” today. I was really keen to hit 5x5 with 105 kg on the bench, but I struggled. Bar speed was slow, especially for the last rep in every set. I prefer to keep things on the explosive side. I think my linear progression with my 5x5 scheme has come to an end, and I need to start changing things up. Reps of 3, or maybe 5/3/1??
Next week I will increase the reps with the seated rows and curls. Shoulder shocker was better this time around, and next week I will do 3 sets using the same weights and rep scheme. Was feeling my lower back with the “stir the pot” exercise, which I don’t think I am meant to feel. Maybe Im doing something wrong here. My hill climb on my bike is getting better, and soon I will be able to climb the whole length of the hill without slowing down to rest.
Spent about 50 minutes at the park juggling the ball and practicing some turns and dribbles. Finished off with some ground mobility work and 5 repeats of 5 push-ups followed by a 10 meter hill sprint.
notes: Awesome morning. Sun glittering on my face, morning dew on the freshly cut grass, with a crisp but not too cold breeze cutting through the morning fresh air. Even though I may not be playing soccer anymore I will still spend 1-2 sessions with the ball. Almost feels like Im dancing or putting on the show as play with the ball. I never want to lose the ability to “play” and have fun with movement and the ball.
Hill sprints felt slow and non-explosive, although I have not done these for awhile and I am probably carrying an extra 2-3 kg’s. Would like to include some crawls/parkour moves into these sessions eventually as well.
[quote]theBird wrote:
Even though I may not be playing soccer anymore I will still spend 1-2 sessions with the ball. Almost feels like Im dancing or putting on the show as play with the ball. I never want to lose the ability to “play” and have fun with movement and the ball.
[/quote]
That’s very, very important. I wish I had the coordination to do anything worthwhile with a football… Never lose the fun. Ever.
[quote]theBird wrote:
Even though I may not be playing soccer anymore I will still spend 1-2 sessions with the ball. Almost feels like Im dancing or putting on the show as play with the ball. I never want to lose the ability to “play” and have fun with movement and the ball.
[/quote]
That’s very, very important. I wish I had the coordination to do anything worthwhile with a football… Never lose the fun. Ever.[/quote]
Thanks nightBird.
Some people think Im crazy that I spend so much time with myself and a ball, but I have been doing it since I could walk. I usually put my iPod on and then I get lost in my own little world.
The best way I could describe it to those that don’t play football, is that its like a dancer free-styling or a boxer sparring on a bag. I practice juggling and trapping the ball with all different part of my body. I hit the ball against the wall and practice receiving the ball turning into different directions etc. I also use the wall to practice my shooting and long range passing.
Weighted dips; 8 sets of 3 x 40 kg. (3rd world squatting in b/w sets).
Barbell rows; 4 sets of 8 x 65 kg.
Supersetted 4 sets of; incline hammer curls; (10 x 17. 5 kg) x 2, (8 x 17.5 kg) x 2, with face-pulls (12 x 35 kg) x 4.
Supersetted 4 sets of; rear felt raises (9 x 8 kg) x 4, with 12 rep push-ups.
5 rounds of 30 swiss ball sit-ups followed by a 15 meter farmer walk holding 47.5 kg dB in each hand.
Bike ride home.
notes: Changed my rep scheme to 3 reps for the dips. Probably will rotate this scheme with 5 x 5. Next week I will increase the reps on the barbell rows, and try for 4 sets of 10 reps with the hammer curls. I took the short way home on the bike thanks to 40 km/h winds. Almost blew me off the bike.
Agile 8 etc, bike ride to the gym and 3 x 3 explosive clapping push-ups.
Weighted pull-ups; (5 x 15 kg) x 1, (5 x 10 kg) x 4, and 5 x bodyweight.
dB bench press: 4 sets of 10 x 30 kg.
Supersetted 4 sets: seated rows; (10 x 65 kg) x 4, with barbell curls; (9 x 35 kg) x 2, (8 x 35 kg) x 2.
Shoulder shocker; 3 rounds using a 10 kg plate and 5 kg dBs, 10 reps for the first 2 rounds, and 8 reps for the last round.
5 rounds of 30 swiss ball sit-ups, with 20 meter farmer walk holding 47.5 kg dB’s.
Bike ride home, took the alternative route finishing with epic hill climb.
notes: Strong session. I have included weighted pull-ups in here as I have not been doing my usual pull-up workout. Next week I will do 8 sets of 3 x 12.5 kg with the pull-ups, try 4 sets of 8 x 32.5 kg’s for the dB bench, 8 x 70 kg for the seated rows, and I will keep the curls the same. The climb up the hill on my bike was a killer, but I feel its keeping me “honest” and preventing me from getting too fat as I am trying to get stronger.
Spent 40 minutes at the park kicking the ball and doing a variety of mobility drills. Had planned to do some conditioning work, but my lower back felt a little “toasty”, so I kept this session low key.
notes: A little disappointed about my lower back and hips feeling a bit stiff, but this was due to the fact that I spent most of yesterday lounging on the couch. I was really tired yesterday, which I think is a result of the combination of an increased work load at work, more intense sessions at the gym, and poor sleeping habits. i really need to clean up my sleep hygiene. I remember I always used to sleep better when I would spend 20-30 minutes reading before I go to bed, while at the moment I am trolling on the net and watching TV directly before bed.
Barbell rows: 4 sets of 10 x 65 kg. Last couple reps were a struggle.
Supersetted 4 sets of; dB incline curls (10 x 17.5 kg) x 2, (9 x 17.5 kg) x 2, with face-pulls (15 x 30 kg).
Supersetted 4 sets of; rear felt raises (10 x 8 kg), with 13 reps of bodyweight push-ups.
5 rounds of 30 swiss ball sit-ups, followed by a 20 meter farmer walk holding 47.5 kg dBs.
Bike ride home (the easy way home, as I wouldn’t mind doing legs tomorrow).
notes: Good session. Will aim to increase all weights next week. Barbell rows are finally feeling “lighter”. Been stuck on 17.5 kg’s for the incline curls for awhile, so next week I will bump that up to 20 kg and aim for 7-8 reps. Also would like to bump up those farmer walks to 50 kg dBs next time, and maybe just doing that for 3 rounds at first. Im feeling strong, and I think I am now at a point where I can really put my head into it and push things that little bit extra and make some serious gains.
In other news Im attempting to make green bean and potato stew for the first time. Cant wait.
Agile 8 etc, bike ride to the gym, and explosive jumps(3 x 3).
Barbell reverse lunges; 5 x 5 with 85 kg.
RDLs; 4 sets of 8 x 70 kg.
One leg leg-press: 3 sets of 10 x 2pps, with 10 reps of hanging leg raises in b/w sets.
Bike ride home, the alternative way home ending with an epic hill climb.
notes: Everything was feeling good today, although all the lifts felt heavy, almost in a good way.
The lunges were heavy and I was using pure strength to complete the sets. I didn’t feel any burn or pump, just pure heaviness (if that makes sense). A few reps were a little dodgy but I wanted to complete them all at that weight to start getting used to some heavier weight on my back. I think I will have to keep at this weight for a bit longer before I can increase the weight.
RDLs felt good, and next time I will go for 10 reps at that weight. Will increase to another set for the leg press. And the hill climb on my bike is finally starting to feel easier, and I can now get up to about 75% of the way up the hill before I need to stop.
Agile 8 etc, bike ride to the gym and explosive push-ups (3 x 3).
Weighted pull-ups, 8 sets of 3 x 12.5 kg. (3rd world squatting in b/w sets).
dB bench press; 4 sets of 8 x 32.5 kg.
Supersetted 4 sets of; seated rows (8 x 70 kg), with barbell curls (8 x 35 kg).
Shoulder shocker; 3 rounds using a 10 kg plate and 5 kg dB’s, 10 reps for each exercise in the first 2 rounds and 8 reps for all in the last round.
3 rounds of 10 hanging leg raises and 10 renegade rows.
Bike ride home, took the alternative way home which ended in epic hill climb.
notes: Weighted pull-ups were easy, and the dB bench felt heavy but did not give me any problems. Seated rows are feeling heavy and I had to use some body language for the last few reps on the last few sets. Finally managed to climb the hill without stopping, although not at any great pace. Might find a smaller hill and start incoorperating bike hill sprints once a week.
Im still in the process of choosing a new program. Thinking about maybe a 531 variation or maybe even strong lifts. Want to try deadlifitng and maybe even back squatting again.
[quote]theBird wrote:
Im still in the process of choosing a new program. Thinking about maybe a 531 variation or maybe even strong lifts. Want to try deadlifitng and maybe even back squatting again.
[/quote]
[quote]theBird wrote:
Im still in the process of choosing a new program. Thinking about maybe a 531 variation or maybe even strong lifts. Want to try deadlifitng and maybe even back squatting again.
[/quote]
You can’t go wrong with 531 with joker sets mate.
[/quote]
You might be right, although I am not familiar with Joker sets, as I only have the first edition of 531, but they sound fun.
My issue is that I feel that I have to start from scratch for most of my lifts, especially the squat and deadlift. While my other lifts aren’t actually that bad, Im not exactly the weakest guy at the gym and it will take a massive ego check doing a program such as starting strength as it will take me a decent time to get my squat and deadlift right. I also need to start to do some serious shoulder rehab stuff to prepare myself for overhead pressing.
Weighted dips; 8 sets of 3 x 45 kg. (heaps of hip mobility work in b/w sets)
Barbell rows: (10 x 65 kg) x 1, (10 x 60 kg) x 3.
Supersetted 4 sets of; incline hammer curls (8 x 20kg) x 3, (6 x 20 kg) x 1, with face pulls (15 x 30 kg) x 4.
Supersetted 3 sets of; rear felt raises (10 x 8 kg), and 13 rep push-ups.
Bike ride home, took the easy way home as I wasn’t “feeling it”.
notes: Decent session even though I didn’t feel up for it. Dips were heavy and slower than I would like, although I hit all the reps. Barbell rows still feel heavy, and Im going to have to get a video up to check my form. Going home to the city this weekend for a mates bucks party, so I won’t be back at the gym until Sunday noon or Monday. Will try to start my shoulder rehab (DieselCrew shoulder rehab protocol).
531 is a really solid program if you stick with for a long period and it also offers a lot of variation on the assistance to suit your goals. It may not be a bad choice to build your main lifts back up.
Jokers > once you have hit your 3 main sets including your best reps on the 3rd, then simply add 5% or so then go again for a set of 5 3 or 1 (depending on which week it is).
e.g. wk2, DL 80kg x 3, 90kg dx 3, 100kg x 8, then your first joker set will be say 5% more x 3, i.e. 105kg x 3, hit that ok? go 110kg x 3, etc.
If you are not feeling it, don’t do them at all in that session.
My recent log entries have some jokers in there, some sessions I did not go with them at all. Optional!
[quote]Ironwarrior25 wrote:
531 is a really solid program if you stick with for a long period and it also offers a lot of variation on the assistance to suit your goals. It may not be a bad choice to build your main lifts back up.
How bad is the shoulder?[/quote]
Im leaning towards 531.
Shoulder pain is at the point where the pec tendon and bicep tendon meet at the front of my shoulder. Feels like a bit of tendonitis/tendinopathy. and I have had it for awhile. Usually gets aggravated if I overhead press heavy for more than 3 weeks in a row. Im hoping some shoulder rehab moves, as long with some self massage will be able to get it all under control.
[quote]raven78 wrote:
Jokers > once you have hit your 3 main sets including your best reps on the 3rd, then simply add 5% or so then go again for a set of 5 3 or 1 (depending on which week it is).
e.g. wk2, DL 80kg x 3, 90kg dx 3, 100kg x 8, then your first joker set will be say 5% more x 3, i.e. 105kg x 3, hit that ok? go 110kg x 3, etc.
If you are not feeling it, don’t do them at all in that session.
My recent log entries have some jokers in there, some sessions I did not go with them at all. Optional![/quote]
Sounds interesting. So pretty much if you feel up for it, you are testing your max for that rep range?