28/06/19
Bench - warmup, 100kg * 1, 110kg * 1, 120kg * 1, 130kg * 1, 100kg * 7, 100kg * 6
Starting to deload now. Left some reps out there on the 100kg working set deliberately. I suppose this is a semi-deload.
30/06/19
Squat - warmup, 130kg, 140kg, 150kg, 160kg, 162.5kg * 1, 165kg * 0 (really close), 130kg * 5
Trying to replicate the 165kg I hit at Xtreme. But I feel like the 162.5kg was actually a PB. I discussed it with a friend and we concluded that the plates are indeed under what they say they are (the 20s do have ‘18’ and ‘19’ tipexed on them so this is probably what they are). So really I have to discount the 137.5kg bench and the 165kg squat since these both were at Xtreme.
01/07/19
Bench - warmup, 100kg, 110kg, 120kg, 125kg, 130kg, 135kg * 1, 136kg * 0 120kg * 3, 110kg * 4.5
Chins - 10, 6, 5
workout length - 1hr 40 m
Was thinking I’d be happy with 2 reps at 120kg, therefore I was delighted to make 3.
01/07/19 Evening
Went for a short jog. 4 lengths of the drive = 560 metres.
I have been advised against running but I need to do it to keep the weight down, really.
As for the diet, I should probably have more protein so I feel more sated, and less ice cream =)
I think I really ought to have 3 scoops of whey a day; one with each meal. I reckon that’ll cost me £1.20, or 40p a scoop. I get the pure unflavoured stuff in bulk.
I think I’ve been a bit neglectful of this side of my diet. I think a bit more protein and a little less sugar will help my physique.
I currently weigh 94kg and I am quite sure I could get this down to 80kg; I’ve been under 80kg in the past.
03/07/19
Deadlift - warmup, 190kg, 200kg, 210kg, 220kg (PB), 200kg, 150kg * 5
Was delighted to hit 220kg for one rep. I was 50/50 about going for this or going for 217.5kg, but thought I’d go for it in the end and made it. So that’s it, now all of my lifts are in PB territory. So now that’s
Squat 162.5kg
Bench 135kg
Deadlift 220kg
Total 517.5kg
Bodyweight 94kg
There’s no big goals round the corner, apart from the 136 bench and the 140 bench (I’m not counting that effort that I thought was 137.5kg because of the plates’ weight discrepancy). In the fairly distant future there’s a 180kg squat and after that there’s the 600kg total. And before that there’s 1200lb (544kg). If I could reach 600kg this year I’d be very pleased. That target is halfway between a goal and a dream. I know I was dreaming when I said I would go for Owen Hubbard’s 777kg total in 2019, but if I do get to 600kg which seems more than possible, I will have made it more than half-way. Then maybe 777kg in 2020?
Things are starting to get more of a grind now. I’m going to have a read back of the goals I’ve set and the actual progress I’ve made. I can be pretty happy with the progress I’ve made in this first year back of lifting considering I had appendicitis and a couple of illnesses. Undoubtedly I’ve said some embarrassing things, but you live and you learn. I’m going to head back over the thread now to see where I’ve gone wrong and the few things I’ve done right.
I’m going away for a week and won’t be doing any lifting. I’m hoping to do some pushups and one legged squats to keep the strength up. I’ll be cycling off the creatine.
05/07/19
Squats - warmup, (100kg) * 19.5
Bench - warmup, (140kg), (145kg), (100kg) * 11
Chin-ups - some
Great all-round workout today. The weights are in brackets because the plates we used are actually 19kg or 18kg instead of 20kg. My workout partner wants to catch my lifts. We reckon he has the greatest chance in the deadlift, an intermediate chance in the bench and the least chance in the squat. He commented that I had a powerlifter’s belly. I do need to shift some weight. Hopped on the scales and I’m a few ounces under 15 stone. That’s pretty heavy for a guy that isn’t 5’9".
Back from 7 days in the Lake District. We went for long walks up mountain peaks. It was an active holiday. Surprised that I only lost 1 lb; was expecting more weight-loss with going off the creatine.
14/07/19
Trained with my old buddy and training partner today. He encouraged me to do a proper training-style workout, of the type that I rarely do. It felt good; got a good pump going.
Bent over row - worked up to 30kg DBs, 11 or 12 reps
Incline Bench - 60kg * some, 80kg * 6, (5 sets)
Flat bench - 92kg * 10, 4 further sets
Skull crushers and curls
I’ve never done incline bench before. Really felt it in the anterior deltoid. My training partner said that if you focus on the incline you will build a big bench.
A couple of workouts to update you about…
15/07/19
A 3 hr workout. I did a 25 minute warmup on the rowing machine. Then the main meal was deadlifts, using the trap bar. I worked up to 190kg + the trap bar, whatever that weighs (maybe 25kg?), but I failed at this weight. I then did 120kg + trap bar, managing 4 sets of 7 reps, then unfortunately I ripped a callus on my hand, so I had to leave it there for the day on deadlifts.
I then did some plate pinches as an accessory lift, because I think that my grip is the weakest part of my deadlift. My left hand gives out before my right.
I finished with about an hour of rowing and treadmill work.
The previous day we were chatted to by a nice young guy who was upfront about using dianobol. He looked like he was just an ordinary ectomorph type of guy who had never set foot in the gym before. Trouble was, he’d been given some bro advice. He was looking for our advice and I mainly just suggested hard work although I told him about creatine.
I am at a crossroads in my development now I feel. I’m pleased to have made the progress I have, but I’d like to have less excess body fat. I know it’s very unlikely I’ll be able to get down to the levels of my university days - I’m thirty soon, and it gets harder as one gets older to keep the weight down. Hence my long workout yesterday. I told myself I want to shoot for between 15 to 20 hours of working out a week.
I need to remind myself that it’s all about the Long Game. And start to think about things in terms of months and years, instead of days and weeks. I’ve been working out now for about 8 months, and in that time, despite having some health issues, I’ve taken my bench from it’s no-exercise-at-all level of about maybe about 95kg to 135kg and made similar progress in the squat and the deadlift. I ought to be happy with that progress. And I am. But I want to think about where I am going to be at the end of my first year of solid lifting, and where I’ll be a year after that. And I need to think about longevity, and keeping myself interested and motivated. Lots to think about.
I’m starting to treat this latest mesocycle as a proper training-block. So that’s focussing on using working weights and doing a few more reps and sets to get the volume high, and not worrying too much about the numbers. And hopefully I will start to get a bit more defined.
I have been looking at the physiques of the guys in the gym, and would broadly put them into 3 categories - beginner, intermediate and advanced. I would hazard a guess that the majority of the advanced guys use steroids. It’s a personal choice but one that I would never make. So I’m more interested in the guys that look natural and also that are a little bit older than me, to give me an idea of what I could look like in 10 or 20 years’ time. There was a guy in there who was training a middle-aged lady who didn’t look particularly impressive, but actually looked quite good in a shirt. He had a big chest and upper body, some fat and not massively defined, but no belly. I should think he must have been about 50 and he was an approximation of what I’d be happy to look like when I’m 50.
So I’ve got just under 4 months to go until I complete my year of lifting. Goals then… I would like to lose a couple inches from the waistline. And I would like to get stronger. I know it’ll be hard to do both. But if I could take my 517.5kg total to 600kg I would be very happy. I just did a simple calculation with the math and I am on track for 600kg, possibly. Time will tell. And then maybe see if I can hit 700kg in the next year of lifting.
16/07/19
1 hr 15 mins workout.
25 min warmup on rower and treadmill
upright rows
dips
02/08/19
Deadlift - warmup, 130kg * 3, 180kg * 1, 195kg * 1, 130kg * 4
Plate pinches
So holiday season is over now for me - time to get into the routine of working out again. I’m trying to ease myself back into it so my body doesn’t react. Will do upper body tomorrow.
03/08/19
Chinups - warmup, 10, 7, 5
OHP - warmup, 40kg * 10, 50kg * 10, 60kg * 3
05/08/19
Football - 35 minutes
06/08/19
BORs - 60kg * 10, * 15, 70kg * 10, * 10, * 10
Bench - 60kg * 19, 100kg * 3, 110kg * 2, 90kg * 11, * 7
Continuing the come back. This workout only took me about 45 minutes. Felt like I had at least one more rep in the tank on the 110kg bench, which is good; so I haven’t lost too much strength.
Squats tomorrow. My goal is to do upper one day, lower the next, upper again, lower again and so on. Not doing a massive amount of volume each time so I can recover. It may take me a couple months to recover all my strength. I’m not too bothered.
Hey T-nation. It’s been a while.
I had the urge today to do a workout. I needed it.
Squats - long warmup, 140kg * 1, 110kg * 6. workout length - 1 hr.
Post workout - 1 scoop whey protein, 3 heaped tea spoons of sugar
I think I’m going to aim for a push/pull/lower split. I think it’ll be good to split push and pull up, because I’m so much more interested in what I can push that I get neglectful of the pull, but if it has its own day then I can give it that much more attention. And I can have a nice simple three day cycle.
I haven’t stepped on the scales, but I feel like I’ve lost weight. I’ve been eating less generally - breakfasts not quite so big etc. I’m hoping I can tread the line a bit more if I do start working out again in a proper way, and not resort to eating too much as has been my habit.
Hey guys again. Been working out regularly since the last post, which is good.
I just did a squats workout. Warmed up to 140kg - this went, but it didn’t feel easy, so at this juncture I decided to chop off some weight and do some reps. I did 110kg for 6, 5 and 5. I think that my technique could have been perfected - I think that I had been squatting a bit too wide, and when I narrowed it, it felt more powerful.
So I’m just planning to keep on trucking for now. There won’t be any PRs coming any time soon but I’m just hoping I can keep the frequency of working out up. I’ll see if I can build myself up. It’s not that long now - 5th of November - till it will be a whole year of working out fairly solidly.
Hey T-Nation.
Deadlift day today. I ripped a callus. It was silly of me to even go for the weight. It was 180kg and my first attempt I barely got the ****** off the ground. I steeled myself and then did get it up, but with terrible form, and with my grip failing.
Ate a mars bar today. I need to cut that **** out. I have lost weight however, with the running I’ve been doing. I’ve devised a workout plan that looks like this:
Week 1
Aerobic & anaerobic
Monday - Run, Row
Tuesday - Run, Bench
Wednesday - Deadlift
Thursday - Run
Friday - Dips, Chins
Saturday - Squat
Sunday - Rest
Week 2
Anaerobic
Monday - Bench, Row
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Deadlift
Thursday -Dips
Friday - Chins
Saturday - Squat
Sunday - Rest.
I’m just glad I didn’t injure myself badly today apart from the callus. I feel like a d-bag though, it was my stubbornness that got me into trouble.
S*** man, it’s going to be a long road to getting back in PB territory. Oh well.
Swearing a lot today, don’t know why. Perhaps I’m disappointed that I’ve let my strength fall to such low levels.
But that said it’s good to be working out again, and good to be keeping a journal, even if nobody reads it but me. It’s all part of a balanced lifestyle.
Dips on the programme today, but I did some OHP too. I got into the workout nicely - I even did a proper warm up with some stretches. On my first working set on the dips I managed 16 reps which I think is about a PB. Down to weighing less these days because of the running I’ve been doing. Overall the workout took about 1hr 10m which is about right.
Sipping on some whey protein. Going to cook a prawn curry this evening. 
Squats today. A day later than scheduled. The workout lasted 1hr 20m. I built up to a single at 125kg - I felt like I could have gone heavier but decided it would be wise not to push it. Did 8 reps at 100kg, then 8 at 90kg (9th was a fail) and then 7 at 80kg (8th was a fail).
I feel like my overall fitness is probably the best it’s been since I started about 1 year ago, although the strength peaked in the summer. But I weighed 15 stone which is quite heavy for a guy my height. Now I’m a bit more slender. Well I say that, I’ve still got a bit of a belly on me. It’s those damn donuts that have been getting me recently.
Really feeling what seems like every muscle fibre in my legs from yesterday’s squat workout. Nevertheless I went ahead with what I had programmed in and did a bit of a run. At dusk, just up and down the drive a few times - 10 minutes in all. Enough to get a sweat on in my sweater.
And I did some chinups. Not many. But some. Grip is gone. That’s always the thing I notice the most if I’ve had a period of not lifting much.
Sipping on the whey now. I’m just wondering, musing how long it’ll be before I’m in PB territory again. 6 months is the figure I’ve got in my head. I suppose the most important thing is sticking to the workout schedule for now.
Bench today, a day later than the programme scheduled but done nevertheless. I think I may have to be a bit flexible for a while, I’m still feeling massive DOMS from my last squat workout. Anyway, I did
warmup
100kg * 1, 100kg* 1
110kg * 1, 120kg * 1,
100kg* 4.5, *4, * 3, *3, * 2.5
Workout length - about 1hr 1/4
Quite a lot of working sets for me.
I’m still in this sort of metaphorical no mans land where I don’t really know how strong I am. The forceful aggressive movement of the weights isn’t there yet because I think my body is saving itself from getting injured by hanging back a little.
In my head I’m looking forward to next summer. I was strong last summer but a little podgy meaning I didn’t get noticed. It’s nice when you get compliments for looking good and it’s vain, I know, but it does motivate me.
But overall I feel much more in control of my physique thanks to mixing in a healthy dose of cardio. There are some people that just stick to the weights or the anaerobic side of things but I’m definitely much happier doing a mixture of anaerobic and aerobic stuff.
Went for a run today, as per the programme. Did 10 laps of the drive, which is about 2.8km, in 20 minutes. Even passed up on a donut today.
Still got a noticeable paunch when I look in the mirror. But I’m hoping I can chip away at it, so I can look good next summer.
I still have the odd packet of crisps. I’ll have to start leaving some crisps in the bag. I have always been a snacker. I don’t know how to resist temptation when it comes about.
I was the strongest I’ve ever been in the summer of 19, but I had the best physique in my uni days, probably some time around 2010. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back down to that leanness. It would be really cool if I did with an extra bit of muscle added, who knows.
I’m hoping I don’t get given any chocolate for Christmas year, else I’ve a good mind to just throw it in the bin.
A couple of workouts to report.
On Friday I went for a run with a friend. We did 4km - which is the longest distance I’ve done in a very long time. It took me 31 minutes. My friend stopped several times and is a much faster runner than me. We ran with his dog, which was nice.
Did a workout after this at the gym with my boy AC. We did deadlifts and some curls. AC attempted 200kg but found he couldn’t move the weight. I just did light work with 120kg. My grip is s*** awful at the moment.
Had a workout yesterday (Sunday). I saw all these skinny guys doing curls in the dumbbell section of the gym and so it made me want to go and do some heavy compound exercises, so I did the squat. I got up to 3 plates and some change, a weight that was effectively 140kg with the deficit the plates have. Did some bent over rows with the 30kg DBs.