No Pain, Time to Gain

5x5 Intensification Phase: (W6/D2)

Deadlifts
165 x 3
165 x 3
165 x 3 (MG)

Seated Shoulder Press
72.5 x 3
72.5 x 3
72.5 x 3

Pullups
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3
BW x 3

Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 2137.5kg

Time: 65 Minutes

Comments
Really not feeling the deadlifts today. Not sure what went wrong but they felt a lot heavier than I was expecting. Strength felt good and grip was ok, even though I switched to mixed grip for my final set, so it's probably my form/set up again.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Beasty lifting and two stone off - maybe she was watching you!
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Cheers.

PermaChanged said:
What a great perky bum

You sure she didn't mind? Creep :D:p
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Her form was good so I was only watching to pick up a few tips :o

Jamesyboyjim said:
A few weeks in and you are squatting over 100kg?! That's pretty damn good considering your long layoff! Took me a year to get close to that, training legs once a week.
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It took years to get where I was and I've managed to retain quite a lot of my strength but I can see it taken 6 months to a year to get back to where I was if I avoid injury, eat healthy and train hard. That puts it in to perspective but it's a good goal to aim for imo :)
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W6/D3)

Paused Squats
115 x 3
130 x 3
142.5 x 3

Paused Bench Press
95 x 3
95 x 3
95 x 3

Pendlay Row
72.5 x 3
72.5 x 3
72.5 x 3

Close Grip Bench press
65 x 10
70 x 10
75 x 10

Preacher Curls
20 x 8
20 x 8
20 x 8

Total Weight Lifted: 5250kg

Time: 90 Minutes

Comments:
Trained with a mate this afternoon so the session lasted longer than usual. Hamstrings felt tight from the deadlifts yesterday but it was another easy workout overall.

Day off tomorrow and beer festival on Saturday so might need to change things around next week depending on how much food I can force down me on Sunday.
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W7/D1)

Paused Squats
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3

Paused Bench Press
82.5 x 3
92.5 x 3
105 x 3

Pendlay Row
62.5 x 3
70 x 3
77.5 x 3

Total Weight Lifted: 2685kg

Time: 50 Minutes

Comments
A weekend of alcohol, crap food and not very much sleep took it's toll this afternoon and I didn't feel particularly strong or energetic. Dropped Hyperextensions and HKR's because I couldn't be bothered to do them.
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W7/D2)

Deadlifts
170 x 3
170 x 3
170 x 3 (MG)

Seated Shoulder Press
75 x 3
75 x 3
75 x 3

Pullups
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3

Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 2205kg

Time: 60 Minutes

Comments
Had a stinking cold all week but started to feel better yesterday and decided to give the gym a bash today.

Moved slightly closer to the bar for my deadlifts and although they felt much better than last week they took a lot of energy out of me and I felt like a zombie for the last set and everything after.

Going back to sleep this afternoon and then I'm going stuff my face this evening.
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W7/D3)

Paused Squats
115 x 3
130 x 3
145 x 3

Paused Bench Press
97.5 x 3
97.5 x 3
97.5 x 3

Pendlay Row
75 x 3
75 x 3
75 x 3

Close Grip Bench press
70 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 10

Preacher Curls
20 x 10
20 x 10
20 x 10

Hyperextensions
20 x 13
20 x 13

Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 6092.5kg

Time: 65 Minutes

Comments:
5 days behind schedule and still feel a bit drained so the workout was more difficult than usual but my strength felt good.
 
I'm hoping my conventional bench has improved far beyond what I'm currently lifting but I'm following a 9 week plan for the compounds so progression is slow and steady compared to the assistance exercises.

Bench is very comfortable at the moment though whereas CGBP is starting to get tough :D
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W8/D1)

Paused Squats
137.5 x 3
137.5 x 3
137.5 x 3

Paused Bench Press
85 x 3
95 x 3
107.5 x 3

Pendlay Row
62.5 x 3
70 x 3
80 x 3

Hyperextensions
20 x 14
20 x 14

Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 3297.5kg

Time: 65 Minutes

Comments
Felt much better today and it was probably the easiest session of the intensification phase so far :)
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W8/D2)

Deadlifts
175 x 2.9
175 x 3 (MG)
175 x 3 (MG)

Seated Shoulder Press
77.5 x 3
77.5 x 3
77.5 x 3

Pullups
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 5

Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 2272.5kg

Time: 95 Minutes

Comments
Hit my DOH limit for deadlifts today as well as my overall limit for 3 reps. Grip went at lock out on the first set so I switched to MG but really struggled with the last rep of the last set. Form was good, grip was good and had a load of energy so it's just a lack of strength :(
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W8/D3)

Squats
117.5 x 3
132.3 x 3
147.5 x 3

Paused Bench Press
100 x 3
100 x 3
100 x 3

Pendlay Row
80 x 3
80 x 3
80 x 3

Close Grip Bench press
75 x 10
80 x 10
85 x 10

Preacher Curls
20 x 11
20 x 11
20 x 11

Total Weight Lifted: 5872.5kg

Time: 80 Minutes

Comments:
Felt a bit fatigued from Monday but another comfortable session overall.
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W9/D1)

Paused Squats
140 x 3
140 x 3
140 x 3

Bench Press
90 x 3
100 x 3
110 x 7
80 x 5

Pendlay Row
65 x 10
75 x 3
85 x 5

Total Weight Lifted: 4300kg

Time: 60 Minutes

Comments
I would usually go for a bench, deadlift and squat PB on the 9th and final week of this routine but as I'm still on the road to recovery I'm aiming for a solid 5RM on each exercise instead. Got an easy 6 reps on the bench today before tiring during the 7th and racking.

Was aiming for 100 x 1 by Christmas when I started my comeback a few months so can't really complain with 110 x 7 :)

Deadlifts on Sunday/Monday which I'm not really looking forward to. Will try 180 but will probably end up backing off and going for 170 x 5 instead.
 
Diet

I started dieting in July, when I weighed 18st 5lbs, and have stuck to roughly 2050 calories per day since then. My diet has mainly consisted of fruit, vegetables, brown rice, semi skimmed milk, organic walnuts, chicken, tuna and protein powder with the odd cheat meal once every two weeks. After 5 months of dieting and 3 months of weights and cardio I now weigh 15st 10lbs :)

02/07/2016 - 18st 5lbs
06/08/2016 - 17st 11lbs
03/09/2016 - 17st 3lbs
01/10/2016 - 16st 10lbs
17/12/2016 - 15st 10lbs

I finish my current routine on Tuesday/Wednesday at which point I'll have two weeks off over the Christmas period and pick up my diet and weight lifting in January.
 
Other than ensuring I get enough protein I'm not doing anything else other than sleeping well thanks to ZMA.

No idea how many calories I would need to maintain now but even when I had a lot more muscle and weighed 18st a few years ago I was only averaging 2400 calories a day and bulking on 2800.
 
5x5 Intensification Phase: (W9/D2+3)

Squats
120 x 3
135 x 3
150 x 5 (Belt)

Deadlifts
100 x 5
120 x 3
140 x 1
160 x 1
180 x 5 (MG/Belt)

Seated Shoulder Press
60 x 5
70 x 3
80 x 5
80 x 5

Paused Bench Press
102.5 x 3
102.5 x 3
102.5 x 3

Pendlay Row
82.5 x 3
82.5 x 3
82.5 x 3

Pullups
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5

Total Weight Lifted: 6550kg

Time: 120 Minutes

Comments:
My stomach fell out of my ass Sunday evening and I didn't feel much better yesterday but I managed to eat a ton of food today and decided to go to the gym with the hope of saving some of week 9. Session went far better than expected :D
 
Last edited:
Anti DOM Day

Squats
50 x 10
75 x 10

Bench Press
40 x 10
55 x 28 (AMRAP)

Deadlifts
60 x 10
90 x 10

Pendlay Row
Bar x 10
42.5 x 10

Military Press
Bar x 10
40 x 10

Safety Bar Front Squats
40 x 10
60 x 10

Total Weight Lifted: Who Cares

Time: 30 Minutes

Comments:
Quick session at 50% of my 5RM to tide me over until next week. My conditioning for sets of 10 is back to sucking again.
 
No Pain, Time to Gain: Part 3
The last 3 months went amazingly well but I now feel it's time to prioritise strength over BW. I still plan to eat healthily and keep weight gain to a minimum but I'll be increasing my calories when I feel my strength stagnates.

Cycle
Three weight sessions a week with the focus being on improving my compound lifts, addressing my weaknesses and preparing for another 9 weeks of 5x5.

Day 1
Squats 3x10
OHP 3x10
Front Squats 5x10
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5x10

Day 2
Bench press 3x10
Pendlay Row 3x10
Incline Dumbbell Press 5x10
Kroc Row 5x10

Day 3
Deadlifts 3x10
SLDL 3 5x10
Pull Ups 5xF
Hanging Knee Raises 5xF
 
Squats
85 x 10
100 x 10
115 x 10

Standing Barbell Shoulder Press
32.5 x 10
37.5 x 10
42.5 x 10

Paused Front Squats
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
85 x 1
105 x 1
125 x 1

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press (TW)
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 10440kg

Time: 80 Minutes

Comments:
Comfortable session in terms of weight but my body will take a week or two to adapt to sets of 10 again.
 
Bench Press
65 x 10
75 x 10
85 x 10

Pendlay Row
45 x 10
55 x 10
65 x 10

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (TW)
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10

Kroc Rows (TW)
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10

Total Weight Lifted: 10400kg

Time: 75 Minutes

Comments:
Shoulders are still destroyed from Tuesday's session so the bench press was tough today but everything else was easy.
 
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