#OperationGetSexy - Gareth's log

gazareth

gazareth

gazareth

Associate
Joined
17 Jun 2003
Posts
338
Location
Oxford
Hi!

I'm Gareth and I happened across this sub-forum recently after discovering that a few bros from my old gym post here (icecold and djdom). Oh yeah, I'm also Zefan's half-uncle-in-law (if that's a thing). It seems like a cool place - I keep a training log elsewhere but I don't think anyone reads it, and it would be great to stalk those two and get some feedback on stuff here too :)

Quick training overview: was thin & fit until I was about 18 and played rugby at school, went to uni (2000) and got fat/inactive. Started lifting in 2006 as part of weight loss/starting to play rugby again, took up powerlifting 2009-2011 and most recently stopped lifting for the best part of two years besides the sporadic session here and there.

I'm now back on the horse and my goals are rugby-oriented: get leaner, injury-proof myself as best as possible and regain my old power.

Best lifts (all in competition):
Squat - 210kg @ 102kg, Oct 2011
Bench - 115kg @ 96kg, May 2010
Deadlift - 215kg @ 102kg, Oct 2011

Right now I weigh about 101kg - I was about 108kg at the start of September and I've been dieting/lifting to bring that down since. Long-term goal is around 90kg so I can do a clean bulk and put on some useful mass for rugby (I'm a prop).

I've just started a new 4-week cycle. I lift (at home) Mondays (upper), Wednesdays (lower) and Thursdays (full body filler) and train for rugby Tuesdays & Thursdays. Match day is Saturday.

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MONDAY 4th NOVEMBER 1pm @ home

A1 Military press - 5 x 50kg, 2 x 5 x 52.5kg
A2 KB goblet squat - 3 x 8 x 16kg
A3 Yoga plex - 3 x 5/side
2 mins rest between circuits

B1 Jungle Gym row - 3 x 12
B2 Push-ups, feet elevated - 3 x 10
B3 Band Pallof press - 3 x 8/side with purple band
90 secs rest between circuits

C1 Half-kneeling 1-arm band pull-down - 3 x 8/side
C2 Band face-pulls - 3 x 15
Less than 1 minute rest between circuits, purple band used for both exercises


TUESDAY 5th NOVEMBER 12:30pm @ home

A1 GCB squats (no belt) - 4 x 5 x 90kg
A2 T-spine mobs - 4 x 8
~3 mins between sets. Pretty easy.

B1 Barbell reverse lunge, front squat grip - 3 x 8/side x 40kg
B2 Prone plate switches - 3 x 5 plates/side
90 secs rest between circuits

C1 Barbell glute bridges - 8 x 70kg, 2 x 8 x 75kg
C2 Reverse crunches - 3 x 10

D KB swings - 5 x 15 x 20kg @ 45 secs rest

I'm trying out Mike Robertson's modified 5x5 plan for squats in this 4-week cycle. As I don't have any spotters or a safe place to dump the bar, I went pretty conservative with the 1RM used to calculate the loads (130kg).

Video of second set of squats
 
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Freefaller said:
Your training will be very specific to your sport presumably?
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Not really. I tend to think that rugby training itself is sufficiently specific, and I try to use lifting as a way of augmenting other stuff. Or at last, right now I need to focus on the basics. In particular I've written this 4-week cycle to focus on core strength, mobility in the key areas and a good dose of generic strength stuff. I guess I could add some form of cardio to be more 'specific' for rugby but to be honest I have a hard enough time recovering from all the running we do in training & matches as it is.

Do I interpret your signature correctly that you squat 160 but bench 200?!
 
icecold said:
This guy!

Didn't that squat PB come with the title in your weight class at the BDFPA nationals a few years back?

I did see you start posting in your other log again, it's going to get fun lifting outside in the next few months!
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It was the GBPF All England champs. Not technically a nationals but I was English u105 senior champ :p

I'm actually looking forward to lifting in the snow! Plus when Iffley is closed for bad weather you boys are welcome in the garden den!
 
I have to specify senior as I think a masters lifter beat me!

The lifting area is right by the kitchen so the bulking gentleman could feed up during rest periods :)
 
My current template is very broadly based on Westside for Skinny B******s (by Joe DeFranco), one of the first programs I ever did and one of my favourites. So that's a Max Effort (ME) upper day, ME lower day and a Repetition Effort (RE) upper day. However, from there I modified it for my purposes - I don't want to be recovering from max effort lifts when I'm playing rugby, so I'm doing heavy-ish sets of 5 instead for the main lifts on those days. Then on the RE day I modified the hell out of it to try and fill in some gaps and address other weaknesses.

Today was RE upper. This is a fun session - it's nice and quick (less than an hour from start of foam rolling to finish) and needs minimal equipment set-up (all my equipment is stored in the shed and has to be set-up as needed).

I've got broad jumps for explosiveness; some additional upper body push/pull; pull-throughs to practice hip-hinge and get some blood in my hammies; split squats for hip mobility and light single leg strength; and fall-outs for a bit of extra core. I have a feeling that I'm going to be quite sore from this tomorrow - I may need to go into Iffley and do some light cardio to avoid being too stiff and sore on Saturday.

THURSDAY 7th NOVEMBER 1pm @ home

A Band-resisted broad jumps - 6 x 3 with purple band

B1 Push-ups - 3 x AMRAP - 20, 13, 10
B2 Band pull-throughs - 3 x 10 - purple band on 1st set, purple+red on others

C1 Jungle Gym rows - 3 x 10 - lengthened the straps from previous sessions to make them harder
C2 JG split squats - 3 x 10/side - holding other strap above head for balance

D1 JG fall-outs - 3 x 8/side
D2 Quad. extension-rotation - 3 x 8/side
 
Djdom56 said:
In for this.

I'm guessing you are no longer doing programs from Tony? When did that end?
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Hey dude. I last paid Tony about a year ago for 3 months and did months 1 & 2 at the start of this year. I think I trained 2 or 3 times between the end of month 2 and October... :rolleyes:

I went back to him in October to get my last month and I completed that last week, then switched onto my own shizzle.
 
icecold said:
Ever the gentleman.

I guess you need Tony's input less now that you've learnt his general way of doing things.
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Yeah I think/hope so. I'm trying to approach writing programs by merging his methods with some other stuff. e.g. I don't think he'd ever program military press. Personally I think it's useful for a) looking badass and b) keeping my shoulders strong for line-out lifting - as long as I keep working on my shoulder mobility and resist going into extension.

I may go back to him in the future - I've never done a hypertrophy program so have no idea what works for me. I'm a long way from needing a hypertrophy program mind... :)
 
Weighed in at 15st 11 / 100.5kg on Saturday. I'm losing weight but it's slow - fine by me as long as it keeps coming off. My diet is pretty simple - I'm not counting calories or macros and am trying to do it by feel from past experience. I aim to eat 4 meals a day (sometimes it's 3, other times it's 5) and eat a whole protein source and at least one portion of fruit or veg at each. From there I add in clean carbs and healthy fats in moderation. I generally end up having two protein shake meals and two whole food meals. So for example, today was:
Breakfast (10am) - 2 scoops protein, 2 large tsp peanut butter, 1 banana, 200ml almond milk, 200ml water - blended
Lunch (1.30pm) - 6" Subway sandwich (chicken breast on whole grain)
4pm - 2 scoops protein, apple, 3 tsp peanut butter (eaten straight from jar)
Dinner (8pm) - 3 or 4-egg omelette with red onion, ham, a little cheese, potatoes and veg on the side

Put in a decent shift on the rugby pitch where we won 38-14. I had to come off after 50 mins after taking a whack to the knee - it swelled up and looked like I had a second knee cap. It's a bit sore now but doesn't seem to be anything worse than a bruise.

MONDAY 11th NOVEMBER 5:30pm @ home

A1 Military press - 3 x 5 x 55kg
A2 KB goblet squat - 3 x 8 x 20kg
A3 Yoga plex - 3 x 5/side
2 mins rest between circuits

B1 Jungle Gym rows - 3 x 12
B2 Band-resisted push-ups with feet elevated - 3 x 10 with mini band
B3 Band Pallof press - 3 x 8/side with purple band
90 secs rest between circuits

C1 Half-kneeling 1-arm band pull-down - 3 x 8/side with purple + mini band
C2 Band face-pulls - 3 x 15 with purple band

That first foam roll of the week after a rugby match... :eek:

Incidentally, big shout-out to dead bugs, which have been in my warm-up for six weeks now - a great little drill for taking back ownership of your lumbar control and anterior core stability.

I've never been strong overhead, nor have I ever consistently trained it, but this is up there with my strongest training periods. Looking forward to kicking on and hoisting bodyweight one day. Goblet squats were tough because there was a load of condensation on the KB and keeping hold of it was tricky....
 
WEDNESDAY 13th NOVEMBER 12:05 @ home

A GCB squats - 5 x 5 x 105kg
4 mins rest between sets - T-spine and ankle mobility between sets

B Deadlifts - 3 x 3 x 100kg
Decided to do a few reps to practice the movement ahead of a DL cycle starting next month

C1 Barbell reverse lunges, front squat grip - 3 x 8/side x 50kg
C2 Front planks - 3 x 45 secs
90 seconds rest between circuits

D1 Barbell glute bridges - 3 x 8 x 80kg
D2 Reverse crunches - 3 x 10
60 secs rest between circuits

There's something very eery about having two red kites circling directly above you while you're lying in your garden doing glute bridges... maybe they're more Rippetoe than Cressey.

DL form looks solid albeit at very light weight. Got some good lat activation going on. A little "butt wink" on the squats... need to keep hammering the hip mobs. Scott/Dom what's the latest magic drill to address this? My warm-up is currently:

Foam roll quads/TFL/adductors
Lacrosse ball glutes/plantars
Foam roller t-spine extensions
Glute bridges x 8
Dead bugs x 6/side
Adductor mobs x 6/side
"Bench" t-spine mobs x 8
Side-lying windmills x 5/side
Prying x 6
Back-to-wall shoulder flexion x 8
135 wall slides with shrug x 8
Walking spiderman with reach x 5/side
Wall ankle mobs x 10

Then on top of that I have lots of single leg work, some KB goblet squats and core strengthening/stability movements in my actual program.
 
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Yep, need to practice the bracing.

And yes, I have some PPT. Given that I work a desk job that is not surprising.
 
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Freefaller said:
I just realised that I'm probably teaching you to suck eggs! Sorry! :o
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:)

I used to have that mobility, just need to get it back. Scott is right though, there is a stability issue there as well. As a way of showing offdemonstration, here's my PR squat showing lovely spine position:

 
THURSDAY 14th NOVEMBER 12pm @ home

A Band-resisted broad jumps - 6 x 3 with purple band

B1 Push-ups - 3 x AMRAP - 21, 14, 10 (=45 vs 43 last week)
B2 Band pull-throughs - 3 x 10 with purple + mini bands
60 secs rest between circuits

C1 Jungle Gym rows - 3 x 10 - tried to do these feet elevated but was quickly humbled and reverted to feet on floor
C2 JG split squats (bodyweight) - 3 x 10/leg
90 secs rest between circuits

D1 JG fall-outs - 3 x 8
D2 Quad. ext.rot. - 3 x 8/side
60 secs rest between circuits

Tidy.
 
Weighed 15st 9lbs (99kg ish) on Saturday, so 2lbs lost last week. Played 60 minutes of a 39-20 win.

MONDAY 18TH NOVEMBER 2013 6pm @ home

A1 Military press - 2 x 5 x 57.5kg, 2 x 5 x 50kg
A2 KB goblet squat - 4 x 8 x 20kg
A3 Yoga plex - 3 x 5/side
2 mins rest between sets

B1 Jungle Gym row - 4 x 10
B2 Band-resisted push-ups with feet elevated - 4 x 10 with red band
B3 Band Pallof press - 4 x 8/side with purple band
90 secs rest between sets

C1 Half-kneeling band pull-down - 3 x 8/side with red+purple band
C2 Band face pulls - 3 x 15 with purple band
30 secs rest between sets
 
Yep, Jungle Gym is a TRX basically, but not made by the same people. I have the straps attached to two wall anchors and row with my feet together at the base of the wall. I'm gradually extending the strap length - I'm not quite horizontal at the bottom but I'm getting there!

Haven't tried push-ups like that, can't quite picture it... do you mean putting your hands on the band? I bet that would be horribly unstable.
 
Weighed 15st 7lbs today. Noice.

WEDNESDAY 20th NOVEMBER 5:30pm @ home

A Deadlift (conventional)
Top sets - 2 x 140kg, 1 x 160, 1 x 180 (belt for top two singles)
Going to start an 8-week DL cycle in 2 weeks, will use 180 as my 1RM. There's probably more there right now but not a huge amount and not without sacrificing form.

B1 Squats (high bar) - 3 x 3 x 85kg
B2 T-spine mobs - 3 x 10
Deload this week and I couldn't be bothered to get the GCB out. Easier to keep the core braced with a straight bar as you can pull down and activate the lats.

C1 Barbell reverse lunge (front squat grip) - 1 x 8/leg x 55kg, 2 x 8/leg x 50kg
C2 Front plank - 3 x 45 secs

D1 Barbell bridge - 4 x 8 x 85kg
D2 Reverse crunch - 4 x 10

Now to get some feeling back in my fingers - nearly got frostbite getting plates out and putting them away again.
 
Syla5 said:
In for gains out for frostbite, I thought I was bad enough that the gym chancing rooms had the aircon on full blast, sod training outside
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I love training outside but this was the first session where carrying the plates made me not enjoy it so much. Need to buy some warm-ish but grippy gloves for doing the loading :)
 
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