- Squat: 120/264 x 5, 130/286 x 5, 140/308 x 5
- RDL: 60/132 x 3 x 10
- Weighted Pull Up: 27.5/60 x 8, 7
- T-Bar Row: 3 plates x 3 x 10
- Conditioning: 400m x 3 (1:16, 1:14, 1:11)
Another really good session.
Squats are feeling the best they have in a long time. No wraps, no knee pain - fucking great. Kong, if you're reading this, I've been following your advice regarding icing, stretching, foam rolling etc and it seems to definitely be paying off! Thanks man. I just have to keep my form tight and not push too hard at the expense of technique.
Just getting back into RDL's as I will be incorporating them into 5/3/1. My hamstrings felt a lot looser doing these after squats as opposed to doing them cold.
Really didn't feel like running today, but told myself "you don't neglect lifting, so don't neglect conditioning (or mobility for that matter). Stop being lazy and just run".
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Feeling strong
Sunday 29/1/2012
- Hiking: 1.5 hours. Easy-Medium grade. A couple decent uphill slogs.
Monday 30/1/2012
- Bench: 94/207 x 5 x 4
- Press: 70/154 x 6, 60/132 x 8
- Dip: BW x 5 x 10
- Fat Gripz BB Curl: 30/66 x 3 x 12
- Neck Harness: 24/53x4x50
- Ab Circuit
Really strong session.
Bench felt very strong. I took about 2.5 minutes between sets.
Press is almost back at its strongest. I am looking forward to progressing it on 5/3/1.
- Hiking: 1.5 hours. Easy-Medium grade. A couple decent uphill slogs.
Monday 30/1/2012
- Bench: 94/207 x 5 x 4
- Press: 70/154 x 6, 60/132 x 8
- Dip: BW x 5 x 10
- Fat Gripz BB Curl: 30/66 x 3 x 12
- Neck Harness: 24/53x4x50
- Ab Circuit
Really strong session.
Bench felt very strong. I took about 2.5 minutes between sets.
Press is almost back at its strongest. I am looking forward to progressing it on 5/3/1.
Friday, January 27, 2012
On track
- Squat: 117.5/259 x 5, 127.5/281 x 5, 137.5/303 x 5
- GHR: BW x 3 x 12
- Weighted Chin Up: 27.5/60 x 8,8 (PR)
- DB Row: 27/59 x 3 x 12
- Conditioning: KB Swing (53lb) x 200 in 9:41
A solid session today. I feel like I've acclimated to lifting alone again. I'm approaching every rep of every set with more intensity and anger than I have in a while.
Squats are finally back up over 300lbs. My adductors are still giving me some grief though. I'm going to have to get it sorted out before the football season starts, because at the moment, I can't sprint and if I can't sprint, obviously I can't play football.
- GHR: BW x 3 x 12
- Weighted Chin Up: 27.5/60 x 8,8 (PR)
- DB Row: 27/59 x 3 x 12
- Conditioning: KB Swing (53lb) x 200 in 9:41
A solid session today. I feel like I've acclimated to lifting alone again. I'm approaching every rep of every set with more intensity and anger than I have in a while.
Squats are finally back up over 300lbs. My adductors are still giving me some grief though. I'm going to have to get it sorted out before the football season starts, because at the moment, I can't sprint and if I can't sprint, obviously I can't play football.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
An obnoxious pump
- Bench: 83/183 x 2 x 4, 90/198 x 2 x 3, 94/207 x 3 x 2, 100/220 x 2 x 2,
90/198 x 4, 71/156 x 12
- Seated DB Press: 64/141 x 2 x 8
- EZ Curl: 37.5/83 x 3 x 10
- Tricep Extension: 32.5/72 x 3 x 12
- Neck Harness: 24/53x2x50
- Ab Circuit
A bit of a bench marathon today. I didn’t rest any more than 2 minutes between sets. I also experimented with an ever so slightly narrower grip (a finger width) and felt stronger of my chest.
An obnoxious pump (as Wendler would say) from everything else.
Good stuff.
90/198 x 4, 71/156 x 12
- Seated DB Press: 64/141 x 2 x 8
- EZ Curl: 37.5/83 x 3 x 10
- Tricep Extension: 32.5/72 x 3 x 12
- Neck Harness: 24/53x2x50
- Ab Circuit
A bit of a bench marathon today. I didn’t rest any more than 2 minutes between sets. I also experimented with an ever so slightly narrower grip (a finger width) and felt stronger of my chest.
An obnoxious pump (as Wendler would say) from everything else.
Good stuff.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The sweet taste of failure
- Deadlift: 180/397 x 1, 190/419 x 1, 200/441 x FAIL, 200/441 x FAIL
- Squat: 115/253 x 5, 125/275 x 5, 135/297 x 5
- Weighted Pull Up: 27.5/60 x 8(PR), 6
- T-Bar Row: 3 plates x 3 x 10
- Conditioning: 400m x 3 (1:18, 1:16, 1:14)
So I missed my attempt at a 200kg deadlift. I was feeling pretty confident after 190kg came up fairly quickly, but 200kg got stuck about 6 inches off the floor. I can honestly say I have never been less disappointed and less depressed about failing a PR attempt. A recent post by Paul Carter really resonated with me and helped me accept the peaks and valleys of training. I may have failed 200kg today but that just gives me another goal to crush by the end of the year. Every failure is an opportunity to reflect on why you failed, what works, what doesn’t work and what you have to do to succeed next time. So for the next few weeks I’m going to take a bit of a break from heavy deadlifting, do RDLs and GHRs and then start deadlifting on 5/3/1, with 190kg as a nice conservative 1RM.
Squats felt really solid. I’m looking forward to getting them back up over 300lbs and then putting them on 5/3/1 as well.
Nice little PR on the weighted pull ups. Strength to weight ratio on those is at an all time high.
I did the 400m intervals on my street, which was wet and slippery and includes a small incline and decline, so I know I can bring my time down on the track. A 60 second 400m (or close to) is a definite goal of mine.
- Squat: 115/253 x 5, 125/275 x 5, 135/297 x 5
- Weighted Pull Up: 27.5/60 x 8(PR), 6
- T-Bar Row: 3 plates x 3 x 10
- Conditioning: 400m x 3 (1:18, 1:16, 1:14)
So I missed my attempt at a 200kg deadlift. I was feeling pretty confident after 190kg came up fairly quickly, but 200kg got stuck about 6 inches off the floor. I can honestly say I have never been less disappointed and less depressed about failing a PR attempt. A recent post by Paul Carter really resonated with me and helped me accept the peaks and valleys of training. I may have failed 200kg today but that just gives me another goal to crush by the end of the year. Every failure is an opportunity to reflect on why you failed, what works, what doesn’t work and what you have to do to succeed next time. So for the next few weeks I’m going to take a bit of a break from heavy deadlifting, do RDLs and GHRs and then start deadlifting on 5/3/1, with 190kg as a nice conservative 1RM.
Squats felt really solid. I’m looking forward to getting them back up over 300lbs and then putting them on 5/3/1 as well.
Nice little PR on the weighted pull ups. Strength to weight ratio on those is at an all time high.
I did the 400m intervals on my street, which was wet and slippery and includes a small incline and decline, so I know I can bring my time down on the track. A 60 second 400m (or close to) is a definite goal of mine.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday
- Bench: 94/207 x 5 x 3, 71/156 x 12
- Incline: 70/154 x 3 x 10
- DB Curl: 34/75 x 3 x 10
- Dip: BW x 3 x 12
- Ab Circuit
Second week of my second cycle of Steel’s Big Bench program. Everything went well. Once this cycle wraps up I’ll put my bench, along with the rest of my lifts, on 5/3/1.
I’m looking forward to having a crack at a deadlift 1 rep max tomorrow.
- Incline: 70/154 x 3 x 10
- DB Curl: 34/75 x 3 x 10
- Dip: BW x 3 x 12
- Ab Circuit
Second week of my second cycle of Steel’s Big Bench program. Everything went well. Once this cycle wraps up I’ll put my bench, along with the rest of my lifts, on 5/3/1.
I’m looking forward to having a crack at a deadlift 1 rep max tomorrow.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Finally
- Squat: 112.5/248 x 5, 122.5/270 x 5, 132.5/292 x 5
- Weighted Chin: 25/55 x 3 x 6
- Conditioning: Prowler x 10 x 20m trips with 163lb in 10:00 (alternating high/low handles)
I struggled today again. My hips, back, quads and adductors were all still feeling pretty beat up. My shoulders were feeling very tight as well. I had wanted to do some glute-ham raises and rows, but I just felt too beat-up.
I was going to write up a long-winded review of my current situation, but I’ll just say this:
I want to train for life. I want a plan for the long term. I want to get stronger over the course of the next 10 years, not just the next 10 weeks. I want a logical and specific system of progression so I don’t have worry if I what I’m doing is too heavy, too light or too much. I want to remove the guess work and just get stronger. I don’t want lifting to interfere with other parts of my fitness. I don’t want to spend 5 days recovering from a high-volume deadlift session and not be able to sprint and run and jump. I want to play football this year, do more multi-day hikes and improve my 40m time. I want to do all of this while slowly but surely getting stronger, 1 pound at a time.
This is why, after much indecision, “programme-hoping” and uncertainty I am finally going to start 5/3/1. It will be liberating to simply follow the long term blueprint that it provides. I will put my ego aside and start too light, so that I can finally start training for life.
- Weighted Chin: 25/55 x 3 x 6
- Conditioning: Prowler x 10 x 20m trips with 163lb in 10:00 (alternating high/low handles)
I struggled today again. My hips, back, quads and adductors were all still feeling pretty beat up. My shoulders were feeling very tight as well. I had wanted to do some glute-ham raises and rows, but I just felt too beat-up.
I was going to write up a long-winded review of my current situation, but I’ll just say this:
I want to train for life. I want a plan for the long term. I want to get stronger over the course of the next 10 years, not just the next 10 weeks. I want a logical and specific system of progression so I don’t have worry if I what I’m doing is too heavy, too light or too much. I want to remove the guess work and just get stronger. I don’t want lifting to interfere with other parts of my fitness. I don’t want to spend 5 days recovering from a high-volume deadlift session and not be able to sprint and run and jump. I want to play football this year, do more multi-day hikes and improve my 40m time. I want to do all of this while slowly but surely getting stronger, 1 pound at a time.
This is why, after much indecision, “programme-hoping” and uncertainty I am finally going to start 5/3/1. It will be liberating to simply follow the long term blueprint that it provides. I will put my ego aside and start too light, so that I can finally start training for life.
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