Pullups today
2,3,4,5,7,6,5,5,5,4,4
Just about the same as my workout the other day. No doubt the deadlifts yesterday took away from my strength in this movement somewhat. Got a good pump going on, and it’s nice to feel the blood in those muscles and the biceps.
Working out with a couple friends tomorrow. Benching. Might go for an AMRAP at 100kg, and get it on my instagram account.
Bench at Xtreme with Dan and AC.
Bench
warmup
100kg * 10
100kg* 7
100kg * 5
100kg * 5
100kg * 4
80kg * 11
Some curls too
Dan’s spotting wasn’t the best 
Video of AMRAP bench set
Squats
warmup
130kg x 1
100kg x 7 RIR
100kg x 7 RIR
Not feeling mentally there, so I think I need to do a deload now.
Played some 5 a side football today. Quite intense. Scored some good goals. Shots weren’t always accurate though but I did get a good few away. It was nice, I had a couple comments saying I must have been working out and that I’d filled out. I’m going to have at least a couple more days on the deload before getting back into it again.
Bench
warmup
100kg x 4
110kg x 3
120kg x 1
130kg x 1
137.5kg x 1 (PB)
140kg x 0
120kg x 3.5
120kg x 4
120kg x 3
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
1hr 30m
Good day back in the gym (studio room). Delighted to get that fourth rep on 120kg. And to get the PB single. Progress is slow, but steady. I’m thinking I’m getting to that intermediate lifter stage, where you’re that little bit closer to your natural limit. Ah, it seems sad to be talking about limits, I still have a long way to go. That 1RM takes my total back to 500kg.
I went back to my parents’ over the weekend, and didn’t bother keeping up the creatine intake for 4 days, but that didn’t seem to matter today.
A couple of goals in mind with the bench press - one friend of mine hit a single at 145kg. And my main training partner hit 140kg for 2 in his hay day.
Anyway, it feels good to be in PB territory. I can go a long way if I keep up the training this year, keep that consistency.
I’ve put 2 cm on my waist line since the diet went south. Threw the rest of chocolates I was given for Christmas in the bin!
Bent Over Rows
warmup
80kg x 3
90kg x 3
100kg x 2
80kg x 10
80kg x 10
80kg x 10
80kg x 9
80kg x 8
80kg x 7
1hr 20m
Feeling a bit lazy before I started the workout, started at the slightly later time of 4 o’clock, but enjoyed the workout.
No big rant today, not too much to say. I don’t get too excited about pull days, not like push days, but it’s still good, and left me with some endorphins to feed off after the workout.
Deadlifts or squats tomorrow.
Deadlift
warmup
197.5kg x 1
205kg x 1
150kg x 7
150kg x 7
150kg x 6
150kg x 4.75
1hr 40m
A grind of a workout today. The 197.5kg I lost my form somewhat, rounding the back. At this point I should have probably settled down to do some rep work. I could feel that I wasn’t all ‘there’ mentally; I’d say my focus was about 75%. So I still made the mistake in my choice of weights, but the longer I do this the more I realise where I’m at intra-workout and the more I’ll be able to make adjustments.
Bench tomorrow.
Bench
warmup
130kg x 1
140kg x 0
136.5kg x 1
100kg x 8
100kg x 9
100kg x 7
100kg x 6
100kg x 5
Lateral raises
5kgs
10kgs
1hr 50m
Another grind. I probably shouldn’t have gone for 140kg from the feedback I was getting from my body on the 130kg. I’ve just recently hit 137.5kg for 1 for a PB so I should be focusing on some quality rep work for a workout or two but I decided to chase the number, for better or worse. I’ll probably do better in the long run if I’m more disciplined instead of following my whims. I suppose that happens if you don’t have a specific workout plan. My balance wasn’t great on the attempted rep, but I did get it some way off my chest. 140kg is a big number for me, but it’ll come with some persistence. I will just have to get used to gains coming more slowly now I’m that bit more advanced. It’s much easier to go from a 100kg bench to 102.5kg than it is 137.5kg to 140kg.
The second set at 100kg was a lot better than the first - reps were quicker and I felt I could have had 10 reps on another day. I think always there’s that period for your body to adjust to the working weight. You might think that just because you’ve got up to 136.5kg that 100kg will be easy, but it’s not the case; it requires a different kind of energy.
The amusing thing today is I thought I was going for 139kg, but after the rep I double checked the weight and it was 136.5kg.
Added some lateral raises to hit the middle of the shoulders. This is probably long overdue, as I have been doing so much benching and not bothered with the OHP. I’m happy now that the whole of my shoulder will be hit if I add these in - the bench press will do the anterior delt, the lateral raises the lateral delt, and the bent over rows the posterior delt.
I love to listen to music while I work out. I find higher tempo music best. Girl Talk is really good. So is Crystal Castles. Also some rock, like The Offspring.
Squats today.
Squats
warmup
130kg x 1
140kg x 1
155kg x 0
155kg x 1 (SB)
110kg x 7 (RIR)
110kg x 8 (RIR)
110kg x 7
110kg x 6
My first failure at 155kg was close. I thought if I gave it another try I’d be successful. So, after a good 5 minute pause and some self-flagellation and clapping I went for it again. I really attacked the rep and was successful. It was a good rep. I’m proud of that rep. So 155kg is a season’s best and keeps me on course for getting back to PB level by the end of winter. It’s nip and tuck whether I’ll make it. I have 7 weeks to gain 7.5kg on the squat.
I might be changing my routine slightly, to deadlift and squat slightly more frequently. Up til now my routine has been
push
pull
dead
push
pull
squat
Which means I only squat or deadlift once every 6 days, ignoring the occasional rest day. My friend recommended me this split
squat
push
dead
pull
This has the advantage of doing squats and deadlifts once every 4 days. And bench once every 4 days as opposed to every 3 days, a minor adjustment. I think I’m going to give it a try.
So today’s lift takes my total up to 502.5kg. That’s 15kg off my best. I think my squat and deadlift are going to be close come the end of winter, and the bench will be a few kg over where it was when I made that total. I see that when I hit this all time high in July 2019, I was talking about 600kg in 2019. How far off that I am! If I had kept up the grind I could have come fairly close. I think 600kg is a realistic goal for 2020 actually. The older I get and the more experienced I am at training naturally the more I know about how fast, or slowly as the case may be, I can gain strength. Being honest I’m not sure that I could ever achieve any where near a 777kg total really, so perhaps it’s time to put that one to bed. I’d say I’m in the top 5 or 10% for strength, but to get to that sort of number you need to be in the top 0.1% or enhanced or both probably. I have to say that one side affect of my training that I’m enjoying is increased size. Fairly recently I measured my arms and they were over 15 inches, which was the size I dreamed about as a schoolboy, haha. I always uses to prioritize strength, but now I’m starting to value size too. All good reasons to keep me coming back. After all, it’s all about the long game. Consistency will get you there, but I’ve got to want to go there, and not get burned out. Keep setting small goals and seeing where it takes me.
Bench today
warmup
110kg x 2
120kg x 1
110kg x 5
110kg x 5.5
110kg x 5
110kg x 4.5
Lateral raises
5kgs x 20
10kgs x 12
A perfunctory sort of workout today, to get me into the new workout order. I think I will take a deload soon, 3 days off would suit me nicely I think.
I have an interview coming up on Thursday. And I have a new pupil this evening.
Deadlift
warmup
200kg x 1
212kg x 1
215kg x 0.5 seeing stars
Bench today
warmup
130kg x 1
140kg x 0
140kg x 1 (PB)
Woohoo, I did it! Now a member of the 3 - plate bench club! I’m so delighted. This is such a fundamental look on the bar, and a long way from 100kg. It was only about a year ago, November 2018, that I was just starting out again on the fitness journey and my bench was about 100kg.
After a nice 3 day break I was keen as mustard to do some scrapping with the iron. I didn’t have the patience to wait another day to do the bench, so went for it today.
I might just have a beer now…
Pullups today
x3
x9 (feeling good)
+5kg x 6
+5kg x 5.5
+5kg x 5
+5kg x 4.5
40m
Not a whole load of volume but enough to get the blood pumping into the muscle.
First time I’ve used added weight on chins for some time.
Gonna finish my shake and then watch the snooker.
Squats today
warmup
130kg x 1
140kg x 1
120kg x 8
120kg x 7
120kg x 6
120kg x 5
1hr20m
The 8 reps exceeds anything I’ve done recently on squats which was pleasing.
Bench tomorrow.
Bench today
warmup
110kg x 2
120kg x 1
100kg x 9
100kg x 8
100kg x 8
100kg x 7
100kg x 6
Lateral raises
5kgs x 20
10kgs x 14
10kgs x 12
1hr 30m
Not able to replicate that 10 reps effort I managed at the commercial gym, but then I was being watched by my mates, so maybe that’s the difference? Still, a good deal of working reps with this weight, 3 more across the 5 sets than I did just over a week ago.
There was some debate in my mind as to which weight to use this workout. I’m trying to use a weight I haven’t done for a little while to keep the body adapting to what I throw at it. At the moment on bench for working sets I’m doing anything out of 100kg, 110kg and 120kg. I’m not very good at the higher rep stuff; I tend to forget to breathe 
It’ll be interesting to see whether I can get 130kg for a double soon.
Some targets:
Jen Thompson’s bench 142.5kg
My big pal’s bench 145kg
AC’s bench 140kg x 2
Bent Over Row today
warmup
80kg x 6
90 kg x 6
90 kg x 5
90 kg x 4
90 kg x 4
90 kg x 4
70kg x 11
70kg x 9
Deadlifts today
warmup
190kg x 1
200kg x 1
215kg x 1
220kg x 1 (level PB)
1hr 10m
So a sleeping monster awakens. Don’t tell me how my deadlift has gone from getting some of the way up with 215kg to a success at 220kg in 6 days, but there we are. I think my deadlift, which always used to be my best lift, has been like a dormant monster waiting to wake up. I suppose the potential for injury has been holding me back, but now I’m more comfortable and practiced, the limiters are off. Anyhow, 220kg is a joint PB, and I’ve done this 3 times now. Here’s hoping it’s third time lucky and I can go on to greater things with it. So the immediate goal is to get an all-out PB. Then it’ll be trying to deadlift all the weights in my weight rack, which with the bar come to about 237kg ish. Then I might have to have a think whether I’m going to go for reps or whether I need to get some more weights.
Today was a nice surprise. Yesterday I could still feel the effects of the squat workout; I was 50 50 but ended up making it a rest day, and I’m glad I did!
So in terms of my total now it’s
155 squat
140 bench
220 deadlift
515kg total
And my best ever total was 517.5kg. So I’m close to being the strongest I’ve been. I decided to not add some extra volume to my workout today partially because I want to save myself for when I squat now; the way I’m feeling after today, I might even try 160kg. And I have an appointment now. Getting busier IRL which is good. I just hope I can hold my shit together. 2020 could be a really good year for me.
That’s just over 10 weeks of working out consistently. Let’s keep this up!
Bench yesterday (posted late accidentally)
warmup
110kg x 2
120kg x 4
120kg x 3
120kg x 3
120kg x 4
120kg x 3
Lateral raises
5kgs x 22
10kgs x 14
10kgs x 14
That’s the first time I’ve managed to get a second set of 4 reps at 120kg. So a small pb in a way. I think I prefer working in the 5-8 rep window. It’s a bit easier to gauge when you’re about to fail.
Pullups today
x3
x4
x10
x8
x6
x6
x6
35m
Pleased to get that elusive 10th rep - perhaps last time’s weighted pullups have helped already. Next time out I’ll try with +10kg. Nice to have a shorter workout. I don’t know if my warmups on other workouts are too long, but there we are.
Squats today
warmup
140kg x 1
150kg x 1
157.5kg x 1 (SB)
120kg x 5
120kg x 5
120kg x 5
120kg x 5
120kg x 5
1hr 30m
Left some reps in the tank on the sets at 120kg. I wanted to get a reasonable amount of volume in. And not drain myself too much. The 157.5kg effort I lost my form a bit. Oh well, I got it up.
So with today’s season’s best I’m level with my all-time best total of 517.5kg. Bench is 5kg up but squat is 5kg down.
So I’m now chopping and changing with my all time bests in the big 3, I’m sort of where I wanted to be when I set that goal to be in this position by the end of the winter, and I still have February. So immediate goals are to set a fresh PB in the deadlift and then the squat. Shortly after that the next big number to chase will be the 500lb deadlift (227kg). Then try and exhaust all the weights I have on the deadlift (238kg). Then a 180kg squat. All small goals. I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself. It’s nice to get carried away.
If I keep my lifts in the ratios they are presently (although I expect my bench to gain quicker) a 600kg total would look like this
183 squat
162 bench
255 deadlift
If I were to achieve 600kg this year I would be delighted. Hmm, I’m thinking of giving myself this target. I reckon I can add 2-3 kg to the total per week if I keep up the grind. Maybe I should aim to get to 550kg in the spring and 600kg by the end of summer. Let’s do the maths. February, March, April, May, June, July, August is 7 months or 30 weeks. 600 - 517.5 = 82.5. 82.5/30=2.75kg/week. That’ll be a big ask but I think it’s just about doable. It’s conceivable, anyway. So let’s give it a go.
new goal: 600kg total by the end of summer
It’s got a ring to it!
Praise God.
Bench tomorrow.
200th post!
Bench today
warmup
110kg x 6
110kg x 6
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 5.5
110kg x 5
Lateral raises
5kgs x 20
10kgs x 16
10kgs x 12
1hr 30m
Sad to hear of Kobe Bryant’s passing.
Pleased to get that 6th rep at 110kg, a new feat. That’s 3 workouts on the bench now going for reps, so I might allow myself to go for a 1RM next time out, as a treat 
I’m anticipating I might shoot for 141.5kg or even 142.5kg. I’ll have to see how I’m feeling on the day.
It seems to take more time than I was expecting to add reps to my working weights. I suppose that going from 5 reps to 6 reps is a 20% increase, which is quite a lot.
I had trouble today with the right side of the bar hitting the safety bar. I decided to see if I could do a practice roll-off without the safety bars. So I loaded up 60kg and gave it a go. It felt very uncomfortable to squirm underneath the bar and get it down to my hips and off. So I’m NOT going to remove the safety bars. Instead what I’ll do is replace the plates that I put under the bench. At the moment I put 15kg plates under the bench to get it to the right height, but if I use the 25kg plates this may work better. They’re about 5mm thicker. I’m hoping this’ll mean I hit the right safety bar less frequently.
I almost feel bereft right now, having not gone for a 1RM. I’m a 1RM addict.
I will just have to be patient.