Dream's...something or other log

mrthingyx said:
Nice squatting. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you :). I'm curious as to how the squats will go tomorrow but I'm trying not to put myself into the mindset of 'eurrghhhh it's going to be heavy' so I can just go in and find out once I'm doing the reps. I think maybe upping the eating may help as well, I've been rotating carbs with training days and then not on off-days but maintaining high protein and fat intake. And it's going well, dropping the fat and what not but the extra noms may help get the weight up.
 
02/02/14 - B day

Rather tiring but pleased with the squats and that I've managed to get my low-bar form back again. I tried high-bar but it felt like a bit too much pressure through my back so I swapped to low and it felt goooood. OHP was not special. I tried a slightly narrower grip on the deadlift and for the first time in ages I felt it in my traps.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
60kg x 3 (switch to low-bar)
80kg x 3
80kg x 3 (switch to low bar)
90kg x 2
90kg x 1
97.5kg x 3x5

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 2
45kg x 3x3
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
105kg x 1
115kg x 2 (PR!)

Wide-grip pullups
BW x 4
BW x 3
BW x 2


Squats = yay, rather happy with those. Hopefully 100kg will feel nice too since low bar made it feel so much smoother.
OHP - meh, not great but hopefully by changing my grip on the dl and feeling a bit more activation in the traps it may possibly transfer over and I'll start to see progress soon.
Deadlifts were nice with the new grip and I managed 115kg x 2 using DOH grip but after that (and the squats, and just the energy used on OHP) I was done for. Mixed grip didn't help and dropping it to 110kg did nothing either. Admittedly the rest between retrying the weight was rushed as the gym was closing. Still pleased though.
 
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04/02/14 - A day

Went for a deload on the squats after buggering my knee whilst rolling the other night... (and no, I was not rolling my knee :p) I think the underlying cause was when I tried on a belt for giggles in the last session and it popped off half way through which put me off, I managed the rep but I have a feeling my knees may have buckled slightly.

Squats

Bar - lots
Bar /w bands x some
40kg x lots
40kg /w bands x some
60kg x 2x5

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x some
40kg x some
50kg x 3
55kg x 1
62.5kg x 3x5(PR! and may have shouted gains when I finished the first set because bench and OHP always seems to stall and never goes anywhere, I was pleased).

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x some
40kg x some
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 3x5 (Form was a lot better)

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 6
BW x 4

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
15kg x 25/25 (Dat pump)

Squats were nice as long as I pushed my knees out nice and far, np. I had to make sure the form was spot on though to ensure there wasn't any unwanted internal movement going on. i think I'll carry on the reload for the rest of the week whilst treating the legs properly an just gradually push the weight up again. Potentially 70kg on Thursday and 80kg on Friday and then reset next week back to 95kg and see how things go.
I was pleased with the bench so hopefully I can push that up again on Friday.
Rows were a lot better but possibly one more time at the same weight just to ensure the proper form and then move up to 60kg (looks like my year target is coming around pretty soon...).
 
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06/02/14 - B day

Squats were ok since I'm trying to rest it since my knee went a bit funny, it's getting better but I still may drop the weight back to 60kg on Saturday and focus on just making sure knees are out nicely and the speed is good.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
70kg x 2x5 (Fast, focusing on power and speed)


OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 2
45kg x 3x5
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg x 1
115kg x 2 (at least I got something)
115kg x f
110kg x f
100kg x 3x5


Chins
BW x 4
BW x 5
BW x 5


Happy with the squats, may drop weight on Saturday though just to make sure the knees are ok for Monday.
OHP, not bad but not sure if I want to push the weight, they weren't full 3x5 straight sets but nonetheless still an improvement from last session.
Deadlifts are starting to annoy me again, still couldn't get 115kg x 5 and then 110kg just wouldn't pull. I'm going to take Delvis's approach of doing 3x5. So I'm going to drop the weight and increase it by 2.5kg per session for 3x5 and see how I get on.
 
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08/02/14 - A day

Went for the deload again just to make sure that the knees were getting better so I capped squats to 60kg and did lots of band work and rehab stuff to make it mobile without straining it.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
Bar /w bands x some
40kg /w bands x some
60kg x 2x5

More banded squats.... x some

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
65kg x 3x5(PR! The last rep of the last 2 sets were a grind but they went up).

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 3x5 Much better again, elbows need to be pinned back slightly but all were good solid reps)

Dips

BW x 12
BW x 10
BW x 8

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
17.5kg x 25/25 (These were a lot harder than 15kg. I had to drop and pick up really quickly to continue a couple of times)

Knee's are feeling better which so a good sing so hopefully another rest day and I should be good for Monday at ~90kg.
Bench was gooooooood but I know 67.5kg will be tight as hell if today is anything to go by. I'll give it a shot but I won't be surprised if I need to give 65kg another few tries.
Rows were nice other than the elbows being a bit out for my liking, however it the form may have been fine from other angles, I shall film next time. I think I might push 60kg next session.
Thank goodness the dips are improving finally. Hopefully once I get 12-12-12 or even 12-12-10/12-10-10 I may start doing weighted dips.
Happy with that.
 
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19/02/14 - A day

Well sod... I had to miss an entire week of training due to the week being hectic with bits and bobs I had to deal with and simply had no time. However I finally got back to it and went nice and light. Diet, rubbish, sleep, rubbish, there was no way I could have coped going heavy. I had to keep the squats low too due to knees still being fubar'd. But hopefully now I have time to do mobility stuff and lots of stretching, fingers crossed I'll be fixed in no time.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 2x5

Took a while to get the movement smooth again. Everything was tight and I was off balance, sometimes too far foward and once or twice I felt myself sit to the left once I was in the hole.

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
60kg x 3x5

Enough of a challenge, more food and more sleep should hopefully make next time easier.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3x5

Surprisingly simple but again took a while to get the movement correct and symmetric on the pull.

Dips

BW x 8
BW x 6
BW x 4

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
15kg x 25/25

Tough. I had to keep stopping for a split second before carrying on. Definitely room for improvement but I'm sure I'll be back to where I was in a few weeks.

Knee's are still iffy but hopefully mobility stuff and stretching will help so fingers crossed the squats will be back to normal soon enough.
Bench was ok but enough of a challenge, I'm hoping it was just lack of diet and sleep that made it feel tougher than usual.
Rows were simple so there will be no problem upping the weight next time.
Not amazing but at least it's a start.
 
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21/02/14 - B day

Another slightly pushed day and the first 'B' day in what feels like a very long time so I wasn't expecting too much. It felt tough but it was expected so a few more days of proper eating, sleeping and training should get me back on track.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3x5

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3x5
DS 30kg x 8

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 5 (surprisingly tough :( )

Neutral-grip pullups
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3

Bah, tough and disappointing on the dead lifts, 100kg should have been push but oh well, room for improvement.
 
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24/02/14 - A day

Still getting back into the swing of things and still a fair way away from my full strength but it'll be back in due time. Still having to keep the squats light and ramping up everything else back to what it was.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 3x5

Felt good, smooth movement no clicks or clunks fortunately.

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
62.5kg x 3x5

Becoming tough again but should manage 65kg without too many issues, although I'm not sure if I should do one more session at 62.5kg or to push for 65kg.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
52.5kg x 3x5

Still nice and explosive, slight pop at the top which is nice as it's not changing the form even though I would like to keep the exact same position throughout the movement.

Dips

BW x 11
BW x 5
BW x 5

Kroc Rows (for grip strength)
15kg x 25/25

Not bad. Same jip about the knees all in all but hopefully it's a sign of healing but I still don't want to push it just yet.
Bench was good, may push the weight but I'm also thinking that one more session at this weight may be beneficial.
Rows were comfty, time to move back to 55kg np.
 
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26/02/14 - B day

Decide to deload and ramp back up on almost everything. I can't seem to push what I could before I had the time off so I thought rather than going for what I could do I should instead start a bit lower and up the sets to really get the form right and to get the correct activation. And since I know that I can do heavier weights then it shouldn't be an issue adding 2.5kg per session either until I'm back to where I was.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3x5

Not too comfortable tbh in terms of the knees but not bad either.

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 5x5

First set felt heavy but the rest were lovely. I feel it a lot more in my shoulders this time rather than when I was working in the 40's.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x f
80kg x 3x5

I was slightly pushed for time and I didn't want to fanny about so I dropped to a weight that I could do comfortably and upped the sets.

Neutral-grip pullups
BW x 6
BW x 4
BW x 4

Squats were a bit meh. They weren't particularly comfortable, nor uncomfortable. Mobility and stretching here I come.
Deloading on ohp and upping the sets felt like the right thing to do, I've been stuck on ~45kg for too long for my liking so hopefully the ramp-up should do some good.
It's a shame I had to drop the deadlifts too but it felt like I couldn't put enough pressure to push away from the ground due to my knees being gimpy.
 
01/03/14 - A day

Not a bad sesh if I'm honest, everything was feeling smooth and it's good to start to push again whilst Deadlifts and OHP are on the deload, I don't feel like such a pansy.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 3x5

Knee's out, parallel depth, nice.

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
65kg x 3x5 {(5), (4,1), (3,2)}

Not bad at all, last set was an utter grind though.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
55kg x 3x5

55kg was really easy, onto 57.5kg.

Dips

BW x 12
BW x 6
BW x 4

One of the better sessions lately, no time for Kroc's though :(
Squats were nice providing I only hit parallel and not any deeper.
First set on the bench was really easy and smooth, second set was nice but had to reset because my hands were all sweaty. Third set was a grind. I should be able to push 67.5kg for 1x5 though.
Rows were tastehhhhhhhhhhh.
 
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02/03/14 Off-Day

Just fancied going in and working on a few things that needed improving i.e benching and grip strength.

Bench (Paused)

bar x lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots

50kg x 3x8 (2-3 sec pause)

Dear goodness there was all sorts of awesome and hatred going on.


Incline DB Bench

20kg 3x8


Kroc Rows

12.5kg 25/25

Too easy but I wanted a weight I could do without any breaks.

Fat Gripz Hammer Curls

6kg + Orange Fat Gripz x 21 (failure)

Wasn't fussed about the weight, I just wanted to focus on grip strength. I may possibly up the weight and do 3x8.

Nice and quick and wasn't too taxing that would otherwise compromise performance tomorrow.
First time doing paused benching properly and it was lovely, I'll try and keep this a main exercise when I have a day focusing on improving bench technique and strength.
I shall up the weight back to 15kg as 12.5kg seemed too easy but I didn't have enough in me for another worthwhile set.
Hammer Fat Gripz curlz - pump.
 
03/03/14 - B day

Yay for progression, everything is upped since the last session. Still keeping the sets lower on the squats atm as I don't want to aggravate knees even though they are feeling a lot better and i could push a lot more weight than what I'm doing. Nonetheless, slow and steady.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 2
62.5kg x 3x5

Feels nice just being a slight bit heavier than what I have been doing, my legs noticed. Enough for tonight whilst my body readjusts.

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
32.5kg x 5x5

Heavier than I remember but still a doodle.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
85kg x 3x5

Also heavier than I remember but went up and down easy enough.

Neutral-grip pullups
BW x 4
BW x 4
BW x 3

poop.

Not a bad session even though I was pushed for time (it may explain the poor pull-ups).
Squats were ok, just and to make sure everything was in order, feels like I need to point my toes out a smidge more but other than that they were ok.
OHP always feels nice when the weight is not so close to my max and I can really get the form right.
Deadlifts were ok but I was surprised that they felt heavier than I remember. Nonetheless they were still simple. 90kg next time, should be back on track in no time at all.
 
05/03/14 - A day

It's nice to have things back on track, squats are slowly going up, bench is being a hard-ass again and I'm not far from a BOR pb.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 3
65kg x 3x5

Focus a tad more on sitting back rather than down and all should be good.

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 4
60kg x 2
67.5kg x 5
62.5kg x 5

Meh, 67.5kg was too iffy for my liking, time to drop the weight and work back up.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 3x5

Still nice and easy but I need to focus on pulling the elbows back slightly

Dips

BW x 12
BW x 6
BW x 3

Squats are going well, I should be able to keep adding weight in the normal manner and hopefully be back at 80kg next week.
I'm going to have to drop the weight on the bench to 60kg and work back up and if I fail again I'll deload by 20% and work from there starting off at 5x5 and then 3x5 as appropriate.
60kg on the rows should be manageable but I have a feeling that's where I'll probably start to slow down in progress and focus on the form before adding more weight.
 
08/03/14 - B day

Very rushed session but I managed to get everything in so I'm rather pleased. The weight went up on everything and it felt like everything had gone down, so I'm pleased. Nothing amazing but it's nice to see/feel a clear change from how things felt at the start of the week.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 2
67.5kg x 3x5

Nice to up the weight but knee was a tad iffy. That however is due to not being able to care for it properly the past 2 days.

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
35kg x 5x5

Fineeeeee, bring on 37.5kg

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 3x5

Well they felt like nothing...

Neutral-grip pullups
BW x 6
BW x 4
BW x 3

Considering that I was incredibly rushed, not too shabby.

Rather happy with everything tbh other than the knee being a tad meh, but I'm putting that down to it needing more tlc <3, and the fact it was a very rushed session.
Squats were decent and very quick, even if the left knee was a bit iffy but still no major issues.
OHP felt really good since I'm tryingnot to bring my elbows too far forward like I had been and allowing the triceps to be involved a bit more. I'm also start to feel my lats kick in nicely which makes things feel a bit more stable.
The weight on the deadlifts flew up which surprised me considering that 85kg felt heavier than it should have on Monday. I should manage 95kg 3x5 np hopefully.
 
09/03/14 - Off-Day

I wanted to do conditioning but the knee care the past few days hasn't been brill so I did a core/conditioning session and a bit of what I fancied as I didn't want to compromise the performance of tomorrow.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 5
BW x 4

Farmers Walks

30kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2

Plank

3 x 45sec

Side-Planks

Left 3 x 45sec
Right 3 x 45sec

Hanging knee-raises

BW x 12 ss/w Battle Rope Conditioning
BW x 12
BW x 12

The Battle Rope Conditioning was really good fun and it would be nice to finally get around to doing a proper conditioning routine rather than primarily core dominant exercises. It all felt good but not entirely sure how beneficial it all is although the Battle Ropes was awesome and hell, that did all kind of things.
 
10/03/14 - A day

It's nice to have things back on track, squats are slowly going up, bench is being a hard-ass again and I'm not far from a BOR pb.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 3
70kg x 3x5

Finally getting somewhere...

Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 4
60kg x 3x5

Absolutely fine, just need to make sure I'm keeping everything nice and tight.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 3x5

All in all, good. I was however slightly concerned about if the elbows were pulled back properly as it's hard to tell from a front-view mirror.

Dips

BW x 12
BW x 5
BW x 4

Squats are getting better each time, so it shall be 75kg next time.
Bench is feeling ok on the deload but I suspect I may only be able to squeeze out maybe 70kg for 1x5 so another deload back to 55kg is expected and work up again.
Rows are going well but I think I'll stick to the weight for the moment just to make sure the form is correct and that I'm not just yanking the bar with my shoulders rather than actually rowing it.
 
12/03/14 - B day

Far too tired and as a result the squats took longer which meant that I had to drop the sets on every other exercise to make sure I did everything.

Squats

Bar - lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
75kg x 3x5

Back to low-bar, no trouble on the knees :D

OHP

Bar - lots
30kg x 3
35kg x 2
37.5kg x 3x5

37.5kg was fine but it would be nice to do 5x5 when I'm more with it and I'm a bit more mobile.

Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
95kg x 5

Just did not have the energy or the time...

Neutral-grip pullups
BW x 6
BW x 4
BW x 3

Meh...

It was an ok sesh considering I was asleep 30mins before I was at training...
Low-bar squatting seems to be doing wonders for my knees and I really noticed the difference switching from high-bar back to low bar.
OHP was ok but right shoulder was a bit tight. More stretching, mobility and being more awake should help next time.
Deadlifts felt great but when I was at the working set I was just knackered, nothing was responding properly.
I shall revisit the weights other than the squats again just because I want the intended sets on all of the exercises before I move up.
 
17/03/14 - A day

Personally I don't really think it's even worth mentioning the session but I'll log it anyway just as a way of keeping track of what happens where....

TL;DR: lack of sleep and food over the weekend, very tired, had minimal time training today, various pains and everyone hogging plates resulted in just a terrible session.

Squats

Bar - 3 x lots
40kg 2 x lots
60kg x 3
65kg x 3x5
70kg x 2x5


Bench

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3x5

Right shoulder felt horrible, I was not risking it at all.

BOR

Bar - lots
30kg x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
50kg x 3x5


Swapped to BOR instead of pendlay to make sure I was actually rowing and not yanking the weight off the ground due to it being too heavy.

Dips

Had to kip due to having no time and not wanting to aggravate the shoulder.

I had to do 65kg instead of 70kg x 5x5 because everyone two people hogged the 5kg plates. A person in the cage next to me had 6 whilst doing clean and press/OHP/PP. And someone on the benched hogged 5 when there were plenty of 10kg's available... /rant over.
I didn't want to push the bench, shoulders just weren't moving properly at all so I kept it at 50kg.
Swapped to BOR just to make sure I wasn't yanking and just pulling the shoulder. Turns out I can't pull as much weight doing BOR as I can pendlay.
 
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mrthingyx said:
Interesting about the BORs vs. Pendlays.

How much are you pulling with your hamstrings during Pendlays?
Click to expand...

Not very much, I had a little pop on the top of the pull but nothing significant. I think I was more just using as much force as I could to get it up and in doing so not using the lats properly to actually row the weight.
 
mrthingyx said:
The problem with what you've outlined is that - if you're not using your hamstrings to force the bar - we now don't know what you're using, if it's not your lats. :)

Well, that's not true - I can take a guess...

Whilst Pendlays are harder than BORs, you should be able to row 'from dead'. as such, and replace the bar when you're done without too much movement.

Do you have a video?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately no video at the moment, but I shall get one next time.

I think that the problem may be that I'm pulling the bar too high on some of the pulls which has resulted in yanking with the shoulders rather than actually rowing. That's my thought anyway.In a previous post I mentioned how from a front view it looked like my elbows were out a bit wider than I would have thought, but from a front-view it was hard to tell, video inc.
 
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