Cookeh's 6 Week Strength Training Log

Cookeh

Cookeh

Cookeh

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Joined
21 Jan 2010
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Hello,

Gunna be trying to keep a track of my training, hopefully it might help with consistency, and at the very least it will allow me to easily track my progress!

About me:

5'11.5" (the .5 matters!); 74kgs; looking for strength, wouldn't mind some more size - but who wouldn't; trying to get 3200 cals a day, with ~145g protein - first question... should I be increasing this? Was looking to do a lean bulk, body re-composition kind of thing.

Background:

I'll start with a bit of background, started out doing SL 5x5 just after Christmas last year (so early 2014) - made some decent progress with it, got my squat up to 122.5kg, dl to 137.kg, rows to 75kg and my OHP to a paltry 42.5kgs (constant plateau with OHP) over 13 weeks. I then injured my back (not sure how, I never got it looked at) digging out the foundations for a gate and found that I could not squat above 70kgs with some quite bad back pain. Took a break from lifting over summer, which was quite easy as I couldn't afford the gym membership anyway!

Fast forward to the start of this academic year, decide to get back into lifting - take up 5x5 again but really struggle to get into it properly, cue another break of around 8 weeks until, well, last week.

Last week I figured I really wanted to get back into it, so had a couple of 'warmup' days, just getting used to the movement patterns and correct form again. I did a very brief, not entirely 'proper' test of my 1RMs to plug calculate my weight ranges. They broke down as something like this:
- Squats: 95kg
- Deads: 110kg
- Rows: 47.5kg
- OHP: 32.5kg

Must admit, I was very disappointed in the drop, although it was of course expected.

Training Program:

I've decided to do Johnnie Candito's 6 Week Strength Program (available free at http://www.canditotraininghq.com/ for those interested). I remember getting quite frustrated by SL 5x5, the plateaus were starting to become more frequent and I wasnt noticing any real increase in musculature on my upper body (legs gained a fair bit of size!). Canditos program appeals to me as it is highly regarded, used by Candito himself - which is always reassuring - is easy to follow and calculate weights for, and of course incorporates some weeks of hypertrophy training.

It is split into six weeks - duhh. Week 1 is muscular conditioning; Week 2 is conditioning + hypertrophy; Week 3 is a linear max OT phase; Week 4 is described as Heavy Weight Acclimation (looks to me to be progressive loading throughout the workouts); Week 5 is geared towards strength; and week six is deload/1RM. I will be cycling this for as long as I can until I either get bored of it or stop seeing gains!

Todays Workout:

Today called for a lower body split, squats, deadlifts and then two optional accessory exercises.
- Squats: 72.5kg (4x6): First three sets were nice and easy, 60 second break was sufficient, but started to feel it in the fourth set and had to have a quick pause between 4th and 5th rep.
- Deadlift: 87.5kg (2x6): Super easy, no issues with grip, back rounding or core pressure.
- I only did one optional exercise today, didn't want to overdo it. I chose to do calf-raises, as I want to revoke my #teamnocalves membership at some point!

Overall I'm pretty pleased with how today went, looking forward to upper body tomorrow (always preferred legs though). Annoyingly I might not make it tomorrow, as I have lectures 9-5 and then an interview from 1815 followed by a night out with some friends that I arranged months ago...

Hope it isn't too boring a read, will keep it updated :)

Cheers,
Cookeh
 
Getting to the weights you reached (especially the squat), I can understand getting "done" with Stronglifts and it's linear progression. There are lots of options for you, 531 being very popular but there are lots and lots. Jonnie Candido has a cool name so I assume he brings gainz :)

Calf raises though? :P Get some Good Mornings or Romanian DLs in there ;)
 
Week 1, Day 2: Upper Body Split

I managed to sneak this in before morning lectures, but was a bit sleepy and still tired from last nights split.

Bench Press: Warmup, 37.5kg x 10, 50kg x 10, 57.5kg x 8, 57.5kg x 6. Dunno what was going on with my bench today but it felt really weak (perhaps starting on 47.5kg instead of 37.5 may have contributed - dat early morning bar maths...:o). Only managed 6 and then 4 on the last two sets - gunna drop the 1RM value by 2.5% as a result. I dropped the weight to 50kgs and finished the last set off.

Dumbbell Row: Warmup, 16kg x 10, 16kg x 10, 18kg x 8, 20kg x 6. Rows aren't an exercise I'd done before, so I figured I'd start with low weight to make sure I had the form nailed... Was decidedly easy, too easy I think. I shall be adjusting this for the next split.

Military Press: Warmup, 20kg x 12, 22.5 x 12, 25kg x 10, 27.5kg x 8. I'm really not used to such 'high' volume, was really starting to feel this in my delts, especially rear delts towards the middle of the last set.

Weighted Pullups: Warmup, BW x 12, BW x 12, BW x 10, BW x 8. 'Weighted'....yeah, no. I couldn't even complete any of the sets at BW, in fact I couldn't get above 8. Truthfully, that irked me, more so than I imagine it should.

2x Optional Exercises: I just did some sets of hammer curls and a bit of forearm training - quite rushed as I was running very low on time.
______________________________________________

mrthingyx said:
Ditch your friends under the auspices of it having been arranged months ago. ;)

And welcome back. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks! I sneaked a quick one in before lectures, it's all good :)

GSVBagpuss said:
Getting to the weights you reached (especially the squat), I can understand getting "done" with Stronglifts and it's linear progression. There are lots of options for you, 531 being very popular but there are lots and lots. Jonnie Candido has a cool name so I assume he brings gainz :)

Calf raises though? :P Get some Good Mornings or Romanian DLs in there ;)
Click to expand...

With regards to Candito's program, I've been following his YT channel since I got into lifting, he has some really good info and I like the way he delivers. I actually chose his program after doing a lot of reading at Power Lifting to Win - the author covered numerous programs and broke them down assessing them individually and discussing the pros and cons of each. Very interesting, especially from a 'beginner/novice' pov.

RE the calf work, I don't have the flexibility for RDLs or 'proper' good mornings, my hamstrings are stupendously tight and I cant even get within 3/4 inches of the bar wit straight legs for RDLs. This is something Im trying to work on with foam rolling and stretching, but any advice regarding that would be appreciated.
 
First rest today. Feeling good, no DOMS at all. Trying to plan out meals in my spare time and make sure I'm hitting my macros.

Any ideas for boosting breakfast? Normally go for 50g of porridge with 250ml semi-skimmed milk and then some fruit, but feels a bit low in terms of protein. Was contemplating adding some eggs on the side.
 
Cookeh said:
First rest today. Feeling good, no DOMS at all. Trying to plan out meals in my spare time and make sure I'm hitting my macros.

Any ideas for boosting breakfast? Normally go for 50g of porridge with 250ml semi-skimmed milk and then some fruit, but feels a bit low in terms of protein. Was contemplating adding some eggs on the side.
Click to expand...

All about the bacon and eggs.
 
Day 3; Upper Body Split:

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Hit my reps on everything today, except for pullups - managed 6/5/4/5. Still disappointed about those but my bench felt stronger and much easier today.

Added hammers and brocep curls as I dont like my 13" arms much...
 
Day 4; Lower Body Split

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Squats were really tiring, much higher volume per set than Im used to.
Deads were super easy, feel good about those.
RDLs, still not 100% on the form of these and they absolutely wrecked my hamstrings.
Glute bridge, bit easy but there were no free benches to do hip thrusts and I was in a bit of a rush... Anything for dat ass.
 
Day 5; Upper Body Split

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Managed 11 on the MR Bench set, reasonably happy with that (did bar x 12; 30kgs x 10; 40kgs x10 as warmup).
Dumbbell rows are feeling a bit harder than Tues, but still not that taxing - at least I didn't think they were until I tried some pullups... Shocking performance, 2/4/3/3 was all I managed. Miffed.
 
Good work, I'm just about to do my second cycle of the plan, try changing your pull ups for lateral pull downs until you have built up enough strength to do pull ups for 12 reps.
 
Its pretty decent, I was using 5x5 previously but found that as the weights were getting heavier I was failing more and more, the progression is slower with this programme but it seems to be pushing me past my plateau.
 
Due to an exceptionally busy time table yesterday I couldnt make the gym. Had to tack it onto todays' workout. Absolutely knackering, but managed to get all my reps! Trying to hunt some protein macros and calories to recover now...

Day 6&7; Upper + Lower Body:

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Swapped the weighted pullups for 55kg lat pull downs, as suggested by srobien (thanks man). I'll up this next time as it wasn't too much of a challenge. I also gave the optionals a miss, glad I did as I wouldn't have finished the main lifts if not... I was there until 2 mins before closing!
 
Same scenario as 4/03/2015... Uni/work schedule is monstrous at the moment.

Day 7&8: Upper + Lower Body

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Squats were incredibly tiring, got through a litre of water during those alone. Ended up doing the 10x3 at 70kgs (not a lot by the majority of your guys standards but a lot for me!).

Going to up the weights on military press and dumbbell row for next workout, both were relatively easy.
 
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