Back to the gym after 9 years

I don't know about strong, I feel I could lift a lot heavier if I could eat everything in sight :D I'm hoping I can progress a little further but I doubt I'm going to get very far until I finish this cut (approx. 8 weeks left).

Squat form has improved, particularly over the last week. I noticed I haven't been using my legs enough. I've been squatting using my back like a half a good morning. I've changed this, kept my back straight and really feel it in my quads.

Similar for deadlifts. I wasn't using my legs enough putting too much pressure on my lower back. Yesterday I started the deadlift by pushing the floor away from me and the weights fell up. I can deadlift a lot more than I currently am but I'd like to continue progressing slowly so I can practice my form.
 
Will do.

Workout A

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
52.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
42.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
32.5kg 8/8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
26kg 8/6
16kg 10/10

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
31.25kg 10/10/10

I went running yesterday evening and paid for it this morning. Squats felt awful and I generally lacked the energy to do everything after bench :(
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
52.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Deadlift
50kg 5
55kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
32.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
37.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
23.5kg 8/8/8

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 8
37.5kg 8/8/8

Ab work
 
Workout A

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
55kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
45kg 5/5/5/5/5

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
35kg 8/8/8

Dumbbell curls
7.5kg 10
10kg 8/8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
31.25kg 15/15/15

Squats were hard but awesome :D My bench is still struggling but I'll increase the weight on Saturday.
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
45kg 5
55kg 5/5/5/5/5

Deadlift
55kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
32.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 8
37.5kg 8/8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
23.5kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches
31.25kg 15/15/15

Diet has been really bad this week. Losing 2 lbs every week is going to be hard but if I don't gain any weight I'll have done well this week.
 
Workout A

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
50kg 5
57.5kg 5/5/5/5/5

Bench press
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/4/3 :(

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
45kg 5/5/5/5/5

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
35kg 8/8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
23.5kg 8/8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8/8

Cable crunches ss w/ press-ups
31.25kg 15/15/15 / bw 10/10/9

I don't know what happened with my bench. The 40kg warm-up set felt really heavy. I may use some dumbbells for a couple of weeks and see how that goes.
 
Kris_90 said:
Diet has been really bad this week. Losing 2 lbs every week is going to be hard but if I don't gain any weight I'll have done well this week.
Click to expand...

I've noticed mine slowing down to only 1lb a week lately even though I'm not touching carbohydrates the closer I get to 183. 185 on Wednesday.
 
Congrats on getting to 185, you're making awesome progress :D

I've got to change up what I'm eating as it feels like I only eat chicken and veggies then end up binge eating like 1,000 kcals once a week.

I put on a pound this week, although slightly disappointed I don't think it was realistic to lose 2 lbs every week.
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
45kg 5
57.5kg 5/5/5/4/3

Romanian Deadlift
Bar 8
30kg 8
40kg 8
50kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
35kg 5/5/5/5/4

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 8
40kg 8/5/8 - My wrist didn't feel right on the second set.

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
23.5kg 8/8/8

I'm switching back to 3 sets on Thursday. The workouts feel awesome but I'm not eating enough to sustain them and I'm not recovering fast enough between sets. I've been struggling to stay under 1,900 kcals every day since I started 5 sets.

Instead I'm going to add a 30min cardio session on the end of my workouts and concentrate on getting the remaining weight off.
 
I forgot to add I've switched to RDL as my hamstrings are too tight for conventional deadlifts at the moment. The RDL's definitely loaded my hamstrings and activated my glutes this morning :D
 
Kris_90 said:
Congrats on getting to 185, you're making awesome progress :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! It sure has been some journey even though I'm only doing cardio at home. Wednesdays weighing day has came in at 183lbs. Once I reach 182 my next target will be 168lbs.
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
50kg 5/5/5

Dumbbell press
10kg 8
15kg 5
20kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
45kg 5/5/5

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
37.5kg 8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
23.5kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8

Cable crunches
33.75kg 15/15

2.5 miles run on the treadmill. I'm following a couch to 5k on the treadmill so I'll be adding 30 mins cardio to the end of my workouts while I'm still cutting.
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
50kg 5/5/5

Romanian Deadlift
Bar 8
30kg 8
40kg 8
50kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
35kg 5/5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 8
40kg 8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
26kg 8/8

Cable crunches
33.75kg 15/15

Plank ss w/ Press-ups
55s/45s/45s / 8/8/8

2.92 miles run on the treadmill.

I had to do RDL's first as both power racks were being used. I assume my CNS was fatigued doing RDL's first as my energy was lacking on the squats, OHP and BOR.
 
Last edited:
I lost 2 lbs last week. Eating leans foods and veg is making it easy to keep to my daily calories but I've got to watch my sweet tooth :D
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
52.5kg 5/5/5

Chest press
35kg 8
55kg 5/5/5

Cable Flies
35kg 8
65kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/5

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
37.5kg 8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
26kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
28.75kg 8/8

Cable crunches
33.75kg 15/15

3 km run on the treadmill.

I couldn't bench/dumbbell press this morning as all benches were being used. The chest press was meh but the cable flies felt really good :D
 
Workout B

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
52.5kg 5/5/5

Romanian Deadlift
Bar 8
40kg 8
52.5kg 5/5/5

OHP
Bar 8
37.5kg 5 - lower back didn't feel right after the first set so I lowered the weight.
30kg 5/5

Bent over row
Bar 8
30kg 5
42.5kg 5/5/5

CGBP
Bar 8
30kg 8
40kg 8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
26kg 8/8

Cable crunches
33.75kg 15/15
 
3.2 km run on the treadmill but today I ran for 20 mins non-stop :D I don't recall ever being able to do that so progress is being made.

I've always carried a lot of fat in my legs but it's slowly coming off and I can see I'm making some gains in my quads :D
 
Workout A (cutting version)

Squats
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
55kg 5/5/5

Dumbbell press
12.5kg 8
17.5kg 5
22.5kg 5/5/5

Bent over rows
Bar 8
30kg 5
40kg 5
47.5kg 5/5/5

Barbell shrugs
Bar 8
30kg 8
40kg 8/8

Ez bar curls
16kg 8
26kg 8/8

Tricep extensions
21.25kg 8
31.25kg 8/8

Cable crunches
36.25kg 15/15

Cable Flies
45kg 8
65kg 5/5/5/5/5
 
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