The Long Game - a Log

Training Training Logs
201

Took a day off yesterday.

Back into the action today with Bent Over Rows. I decided to try something new - a pump workout.

BOR
warmup
60kg x about 12 reps x 10 sets

30m

I gave myself 90 seconds between sets. Got a lovely pump going and a really ‘tight’ feeling in my biceps, a la Arnold. A real bodybuilding-style workout today. I feel really good. Perhaps some endorphins flowing in my blood.

Deadlift tomorrow.

I’m really looking forward to the following day when I will test my 1RM on the bench.

202

Deadlifts today

Deadlifts
warmup
200kg x 1
210kg x 1
222.5kg x 1 (PB)
180kg x 3
180kg x 3
180kg x 3

1hr 15m

So I’m into new PB territory with my deadlift at last. It’s taken the whole length of this blog to get there - so about 14 months. I was very close to hitting a new PB back in July, but then I had the holidays and a time off lifting seriously before I got back into it.

So things are going well at the minute. I’ve just got to keep that going. I must make sure I don’t get burned out. I will take deload days when I need them, and try and take them before I become overtrained. It’s all about the long game.

I’m snacking quite a lot, but I’m not putting inches on my waist. I think my muscles are growing. I measured my arms and they’re 15.75 inches, when last time I measured them, they were 15.

So I’m basically on the ‘see food’ diet for now. I think my body is actually quite good at building muscle.

Now it’s just my squat that isn’t yet in PB territory. 5kg out at the moment, so this could happen soon. My goal was by the end of winter to be hitting PRs in the big 3 so there’s still time: I have February.

My deadlift has gone through the roof - in the last 20 days it has gone up about 17.5kg. It always used to be my best lift, so it’s nice to have it back.

Bench tomorrow.

203

Bench today

warmup
127.5kg x 1
135kg x 1
142kg x 0
142kg x 0
142kg x 0.5
100kg x 10.5
100kg x 9.5
100kg x 7.5

1hr 30m

A day of near misses. To be honest I think I got it all wrong. I got my programming all wrong. Having deadlifted heavy yesterday, my CNS was bound to be a bit fatigued today. I was nowhere near on my first attempt at 142kg. My second attempt was closer - I think I got it about halfway up. My third attempt was better still - about 2/3rds of the way up. Close, but no cigar.

So I jumped down to 100kg. I nearly got an 11th rep but not quite. Then a couple more sets.

What lessons can I learn from today? For sure I think it’s better to go for a 1RM at the beginning of a training block, after a deload, than at the end of one. Also to go for small increments up to the target weight. I always used to do it but have stopped recently as a result of something Larry Wheels said. But I think I should go back to doing it. Those are the two major lessons I’d say. And lastly I would say that I couldn’t muster the focus - I’d say I could only hit about 75% focus. I think gradually the more I train the more I can become aware of what kind of fatigue I’m suffering from and how to adapt my programme accordingly. We train to feel good. I feel alright, but that sweet spot happens after two or three days’ rest… It makes you mature as a person to say, alright, I’ve had an off day today and not done too good, but, yes, I will come back, and I will do better.

I’ve been going for 2 weeks now, so I’m probably going to take a small deload now of about 3 days. Let the CNS recover in particular. And hopefully come back stronger than ever.

204

:unamused::unamused:

Went on a deload. Took Saturday and Sunday off. After walking the dog this morning I got into the spirit of wanting to get back in the gym. This despite having a slight back niggle. I rationalised that I probably got the injury when squatting heavy. And when I did some experimental rows with just the bar I could feel the back a little bit, so I decided to bench.

So 2 days off. I find it really difficult to deload for longer than this, I just get the itch to go back to battle with the weights.

Before I get into criticising myself I would just like to say that I’m still glad I worked out today and I had a bit of an endorphin rush after the workout.

So, naturally, since I’m obsessed with my 1RM, I went after it today.

Bench
warmup
130kg x 1
135kg x 1
137.5kg x 1
140kg x 1 (level PB)
141.5kg x 0
141kg x 0
130kg x 2
130kg x 2

My attempt at 141 was close. Very pleased to get 130kg for 2 a couple times. The first time I’ve repped 130kg.

Things are becoming a real grind. Perhaps today was hard because of the injury meaning that the body is naturally holding back some. That target I set of a 600kg total seems unrealistic to me at this point in time and probably a bit naive. Maybe if I could hit it by the end of the year; giving myself an extra 4 months.

I should probably go for 1RMs less often. Maybe about once a month.

I’ve been eating quite a lot of shit recently, but I’m not putting on weight fortunately.

I’m getting more and more interested in the bodybuilding side of training now strength is getting harder to come by…

Just sipped a whey protein plus casein shake. Meant to be better than just whey alone. Going to give it a try.

205

Squats today

warmup
140kg x 1
150kg x 1
160kg x 1 (season’s best)
140kg x 2
137.5kg x 2
137.5kg x 2

1hr 10m

Today I implemented the technique of looking down at my knees, particularly at the bottom of the squat. It gave me a lot of confidence - I felt like I knew where my body was a lot better - as if, before, when not looking down at my body, I was somehow doing it ‘blind’. This is one technique I’m definitely going to try again.

Total is now up to 522.5kg - 5kg more than my previous best in the summer of 19. So I’m basically now coming out of a 7 month break-even period. I don’t want to let that happen again. I want to keep the momentum up that I’ve got now. Gotta stay motivated. I think setting goals, which I have done, helps.

I enjoy lifting. I don’t know if I can say that I love it, but it has many benefits. Particularly for your health. And your appearance. And it’s a discipline. If you work hard at it, the rewards come.

206

Pullups today

Long overdue a ‘pull’ day.

Warmup with light Bent Over Rows

BW x 2
+10kg x 6
+10kg x 5
+10kg x 5
+10kg x 5
BW x 8
BW x 6

Pretty happy with the numbers. And back felt fine. After my deload I should have done a pull workout, but I’m undisciplined and go back to the bench. Need to improve on that. I’m sure that the body needs to be developed symmetrically. Anyway, it felt good to get some blood into the biceps today.

207

Bench today

warmup
130kg x 1
135kg x 1
120kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 3
120kg x 3.5

Lateral raises - 5kgs x 3 sets

~1hr 10m

So I got one more rep across the 5 sets at 120kg than before. It’s progress, however small.

208

Deadlifts today

warmup
150kg x 5
150kg x 5
150kg x 5
150kg x 5
150kg x 5
150kg x 5

Feeling a bit lazy today so I thought I would keep some energy in reserve. Probably could have got 8 reps on some of these sets. But I’m just glad I worked out when I really didn’t feel like it, so hopefully keeping some of the momentum going.

209

Bent Over Rows today

warmup
60kg x some
70kg x some
80kg x 8
50kg x 12 x 10 sets

So a pump workout today.

Bench tomorrow.

210

:blush:

Bench today

warmup
120kg x 1
125kg x 1
130kg x 1
135kg x 1
142kg x 1 (PB)
110kg x 7
110kg x 6
110kg x 6
110kg x 5

Lateral raises
5kgs x 20
10kgs x 12
15kgs x 10
15kgs x 10

Woop woop, a new PB on the bench, by 2kg. I might have a beer when I get home from my appointments tonight. It moved like a dream.

I think I diagnosed that I sometimes lean to the right slightly at the bottom of the repetition (I sometimes hit the RH safety bar). So I kept this in mind and it made a difference.

Theoretical current total is
160 squat
142 bench
222.5 deadlift
524.5kg
Strongest I’ve ever been.
All raw.

In my head I picture myself having a good 2020, but I need to think that I’m going to be doing this the next 3 years at least, maybe 5 or even 10. Or even the rest of my life. So I need to focus on the bigger picture and not sweat the small stuff as I sometimes do.

Squats next.

211

So I’m exceeding the 1.5 ratio on bench : bodyweight now by a couple kilos. Bodyweight when last measured was 93.4kg and the bench is now 142 for a ratio of 1.52. I could probably improve this somewhat if I focused on improving my diet and lost some weight, but for now I’m relaxed about what I’m eating. I honestly think that taking zinc and magnesium is helping my body composition - I’m sure it’s helping keep my testosterone levels high. I suspect my t levels are naturally quite high, but I don’t know, because I’ve never had them tested.

212

Squats today

warmup
140kg x 1
150kg x 1
157.5kg x 1
162kg x 1 (SB)
110kg x 8 (RIR)
110kg x 8
110kg x 8

So not a bad day today. 162 felt good - I’m confident that soon I’ll be able to do more than 162.5kg which remains my PB.

213

Feel pretty pasted from my squats yesterday. Ummed and arred for a while, but decided I’ll continue with the working out tomorrow. A day off won’t hurt. Suppose I could do some stretches.

214

Second day off - ended up going into town to run some errands. And had an appointment. So I’m going to turn this into a deload now.

The Nose Tork super potency Aqua-Ammonia arrived today. I thought I would try it out and took a big whiff and WHAM! It was like that guy said, feels as if someone just chucked a bucket of ice water in your face. Good stuff. I’ll be seeing if it can help me on my heavy singles.

215

:blush:

Pullups and bench

Pullups
warmup with bent over rows, incremental weight,
bw x3
x11 (SB)
x7
x6
x6

Bench
warmup
127.5kg x 1
132.5kg x 1
137.5kg x 1
143kg x 0
143kg x 0.5
143kg x 1 (PB)
120kg x 4.5
120kg x 3.5

2hr 10m

Tried the Nose Tork just before my first attempt at 143, but found it a bit distracting. And not as powerful as the first time I did it.

Anyway, so a new PB (eventually!). The rep itself was a grind all the way to the top. I thought at one stage I wasn’t making it. It was third time lucky today. I’m not sure what I could have done to get the PB earlier, maybe some heavy holds? I felt a lot more comfortable with the weight the third time, and was a lot more aggressive with it. It almost feels like I shouldn’t award myself this as a PB as I failed on the weight two times before, but I suppose even in powerlifting meets one gets three attempts! Seems kinda crazy that I could go for this strategy in a meet, going 100%, 100%, 100% of 1RM and succeeding only on the 3rd time, but it does seem like an interesting strategy!

Again, couldn’t go 3 days without touching base with the iron. It’s almost like I’m on autopilot now, building up a good head of steam and getting stronger.

Got a season’s best on the pullups. Pleased with this. I think the most consecutive repetitions I’ve ever managed on the pullups was 12, which was when I was much lighter back in uni days.

So, I’ve just beaten Jen Thompson’s max bench. She’s a damn good bencher, but I’m a guy, so even though her 142.5kg is a really good effort, I’m pleased to move past it.

Looked at the article on t nation Is 300 pound bench rare. Apparently according to that article 1 in 100 men in the US hit a 300lb bench at some point in their life. So now I’m at 315 (woop woop, just converted 143 kilos - this means I can bench 3 45 lb plates ), I should start to hope I will one day have a 400lb bench press, which the author gives as 1/1000 odds. I would hazard a guess that a 400lb is rarer in the UK as we probably don’t have quite as many meatheads here, but it still doesn’t matter. It’s quite hard to quantify these things.

The only way I could get a metric is if I started competing, but I’m not sure I want to do that yet. And I think I like squatting raw and arse to grass instead of in knee wraps, what a faff.

216

Deadlifts today

warmup
200kg x 1
210kg x 1
222.5kg x 1
225kg x 1 (PB)
165kg x 5
165kg x 5
165kg x 5

The 222.5kg was solid, so I sealed that as a PB. The 225kg was pretty good, so I’ve counted it. I’m really gaining some solid ground on all my lifts at the moment. Long may it continue.

So I’m pretty close to 500lbs now on the DL. I’ve passed the 300lb bench. The 400lb squat will be the last to go.

217

Low-key day today

BOR
warmup
70kg x some
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 8

Bench tomorrow. Will probably just work with 100kg.

218

Bench today

warmup
110kg x 1
120kg x 1
130kg x 1
100kg x 10.5
100kg x 10
100kg x 9
100kg x 7
100kg x 6

Lateral raises
5kgs
10kgs
15kgs

I went for my first working set at 100kg a bit soon. I feel that I’m probably capable of about 12 reps now. But on that set, I felt like I couldn’t be aggressive with the weight. I feel like I should have had an intermediate set of about 6 reps at 100kg to finish the warm up successfully. I will remember this next time. Anyway, that set of 10.5 reps served as a warm up for the rest of the day. I was very pleased to get 10 reps on the second set, and I nearly got 10 reps on the third set too.

So my beef with 100 kilos is not finished yet - I would like to get 12 repetitions some day. And I suppose it’s a big benchmark of strength - how many reps you can do at 225 is what those guys in the NFL do… Mark Bell said he could do 40 repetitions at this weight by the age of 21. I don’t know if I’ll be able to ever do that but I can keep on trying.

219

Squat today

Half wondering about taking a day off. Glad I pushed through. It was good when I got going.
warmup
140kg x 1
147.5kg x 1
157.5kg x 1
163kg x 1 (PB)
165kg x 1 (PB)
140kg x 2
140kg x 2
140kg x 2
All raw and ATG.

Woohoo! So I’ve smashed my previous best by 2.5 kilos. I’ve now completed my goal of beating all my old PBs by the end of winter. I’m just going to go back and check when I set that goal, and maybe have a think about the next major goal.

Yeah so I set that goal on the 30th of November.

At the time my lifts were
S - 145
B - 125
D - 190
Total - 460kg

Now my lifts are
S - 165
B - 143
D - 225
Total 533kg

Improvement - +73 kilos in 83 days… That’s 879 grams added per day :slight_smile:

I’m very happy with that rate of progress. I don’t have any other data to compare it to, but I’d say it’s pretty good.

220

Right, next major goal:

I’ve talked about a 600kg total a lot. I talked about it last year, but then fell off the wagon. This year, I have a decent chance of making it - having started the year so well. I’ve been working out consistently for 100 days, and the results are showing.

Could I hit 600kg some time this year? Could I do it by the end of summer? Or could I even do it by the end of spring? I’m going to try… I’ve shown that I can add 73 kilos to my total within a 3 month span. OK, some of that was muscle memory. But I’m 600-533 = 67 kilos out and have 10 days of winter left… I’d say I’ve got a chance of hitting 600kg in about 112 days which leads up to the end of spring, counting 1st of June as the start of summer. I’ve just crunched the numbers and I’ll make it if my rate of progress is at least 68% of what it’s been this winter.

So 600kg as soon as possible, by the end of spring if possible, is my next major goal.

Other side-goals, in approximate order of difficulty:

500lb deadlift
238kg deadlift (all the weights in my home gym)
Get some more plates so I can go heavier than this
145kg bench (since my mate benched this)
140kg x 2 (since my man AC did this)
180kg squat
140kg x 3 bench (since I saw a guy who goes to my gym down in Essex do this)