#OperationGetSexy - Gareth's log

Weight 211.5 / 15 st 1 1/2 yesterday

Training Sat 20th Dec @ home - upper body

A1: Floor press
3 x 80kg
2 x 90 - felt like 2RM at the time...
3 x 3 x 85 - ...all of these were easy though

A2: Jungle Gym rows - 4 x 10

B1: Barbell row - 3 x 8 x 50kg
B2: Half-kneeling OH KB press - 3 x 6/side x 16kg

C1: Tall kneeling Pallof press - 3 x 8/side x 2 red bands
C2: Barbell curls - 3 x 10 x 20kg

Pump FTW
 
Training Sun 21st Dec @ home - lower body

A: Front squat - 4 x 3 x 90kg (70%)
Back to week 1 of the 4-week cycle

B1: KB swings - 3 x 10 x 24kg (couldn't be bothered to load bar for RDLs)
B2: Elbow touches - 3 x 6/side (this is a plank progression)

C: Barbell glute bridge - 3 x 6 x 80kg
Inhaled, flattened back before each rep - held each rep for 1 second at top
 
Wednesday
Couch to 5K w7d2 - 20 mins continuous running, 2.2 miles @ 9:14 mins/mile

Friday
Couch to 5K w7d3 - 25 mins continuous running, 2.5 miles @ 9:57 mins/mile


Training Sat 27th Dec @ home - upper body

A1: Festive floor press clusters - 3 x (5 x 1) x 85kg
A2: Jungle Gym inverted row-ho-hos - 4 x 10

B1: Baby Jesus bent over barbell rows - 8 x 45kg; 2 x 8 x 50kg
B2: "The Holly & The Ivy" T-push-ups - 3 x 4/side
B3: Tall-kneeling Pannettone Pallof press - 3 x 8/side with 2 red bands
 
Sunday 28th
28 mins running - 2.9 miles @ 9:47 mins/mile

Sunday 4th January
2 miles running in 18:18 @ 9:09 mins/mile, first mile in 8:40

Had a heavy cold/manflu thing last week, started Monday and I only really felt human on Saturday. I'm still coughing heavily now so normal service is not yet entirely back.

Still, I survived the festive period and my weight today was the same as on 23rd December (15 st 3) so all good there.

gazareth's 2015 goals (in order of importance/desirability)
Get waist size down to 34" at whatever weight (likely 180-190lbs) - current: 40"
Deadlift 227.5kg (500lbs) - most recent straight bar pull - 170kg for 2
Run 5km in <26 minutes - current: yet to complete 5k
Front squat 160kg (350lbs) - current best - 105kg for 3 x 3
Bench press 120kg (250lbs) - recent pressing - 90kg floor press for 2 reps
 
Wednesday
2.5 miles in 23:40 (9:26 mins/mile avg)


Training Fri 9th Jan @ home - upper body

Not raining, not freezing cold... but bloody windy

A: Bench press (1RM test)
100kg - pretty slow so I stopped there. I'll use 105kg as my 1RM in 5/3/1.
Then did 3 x 5 x 80kg
My bench has felt quite high (especially today) and I struggle to get much leg drive. I measured it today - it's 54cm from the floor to the top of the pad. That's basically 10cm higher than standard IPF bench height. No wonder. Time to go buy some wooden blocks so I can plant my feet flat!

B: Jungle Gym superset - inverted rows & push-ups
3 x 10 per exercise

C1: Barbell rows - 2 x 8 x 50kg
C2: Tall-kneeling band Pallof press - 2 x 8/side with 2 red bands
 
Abingdon Parkrun 5km
33:41 - about 10:45 mins/mile
About 4-5 minutes off target/expected pace. The course is over two laps of meadow, farm track and riverside trail and at least 1km per lap was very muddy and slippery, and a good 1.25km per lap was straight into an insane headwind. So, with two laps that put around 4.5km of the 5 either on mud or into very strong wind. According to Strava, I dipped down to around 12 mins/mile at some points into the wind!
So, that's 5km done at least. I ran the whole way (I was tempted to walk at times, especially when slogging away in the wind but still feeling like I was barely moving). I'll return to do this run again in a few weeks when hopefully the conditions will be more favourable. I should be able to do this course in 28-29 mins at current fitness.
 
Training Mon 12th Jan @ home - lower body

Weather: light rain but mild @ 11C

First leg session in 3 weeks, kept it quite short as it was so miserable outside.
I bought a Safety Squat Bar as a Christmas present to myself and this was my first go with it. It is brutal - I was expecting to be putting up biggish numbers but I actually put up less than my pre-Christmas front squat weights.

Safety bar squat
3 x 105kg
4 x 5 x 85kg
(bar weighs 25kg)

KB swings
2 x 15
2 x 10
All sets with 24kg bell

Legs felt quite jelly-like after the SB squats so I'm expecting some good DOMS tomorrow.
 
Training run - intervals
3:30 mins (ish) warm-up jog
4 laps of park (0.4 miles according to Strava) - fastest lap 3:15, slowest somewhere around 3:30
3 mins (ish) cool-down jog

21:14 moving time, 33:54 total, 2.6 miles covered. 8:14 mins/mile average while moving. Hard to tell from Strava but looks like I was under 8 mins/mile average for each of the laps.
 
Weight 15 st 2 lbs

Training run
2.11 miles in 19:29 - 9:13 mins/mile average pace
1st mile in 9:02

Decent run this. I bought myself a Garmin Forerunner 15 - this means I can use the watch for pace/distance data and my ipod shuffle for music, and I don't have to carry my iPhone with me. Garmin Connect has my pace as pretty consistent throughout the run, which I'm pleased with.
Strava says I did my best "estimated 2 miles" (18:34 - though I think I ran 2 miles in 18:18 a couple of weeks ago?) and "estimated 1/2 mile" (4:10 - not sure where I did this given how consistent my pace was). Legs felt a bit tired (still pretty sore from Monday's leg training) I must admit.

Upper body lifting tomorrow, run Saturday (laps), lower body lifting Sunday.
 
Training Friday 16th Jan @ home - upper body

Weather: cold (1C), dry

A1 Bench press
5/3/1 week 1
5 x 62.5kg
5 x 72.5
8 x 82.5 - left a couple in the tank I think, felt really unstable. really need some wooden blocks so I can plant my feet properly
2 x 5 x 75kg

A2 Jungle Gym inverted rows
5 x 10

B1 JG push-ups - 3 x 10
B2 JG face pulls - 3 x 12
B3 Tall-kneeling band Pallof press - 3 x 8/side with 2 red bands
 
Training run - intervals
3 min warm-up run (0.4-0.5 miles ish? didn't capture)
5 laps of park with 3 mins rest
Lap times:
3:00 (pb, 7:12 mins/mile)
3:14 (7:36 mins/mile)
3:21 (8:01 mins/mile)
3:22 (8:04 mins/mile)
3:17 (8:03 mins/mile)
3 min cool-down run (not captured properly as I had auto-pause disabled and forgot to stop my watch for a few mins)

Painful. Cardio fitness feels fine (not struggling to breathe and only takes me about a minute to be back to normal breathing after a lap) but legs heavy. Shoulders also felt tired today (presumably from lifting yesterday) which affected my rhythm.
 
Weight 15 st 0 3/4 lbs

Training Sun 18th Jan @ home

Weather - 2 degrees C ish... dry

A: Safety bar squat
Robertson cycle week 2 (5 x 5 x 80%)
5 x 5 x 95kg - belt on

B: Sumo deadlift
I'm not built for conventional pulling so I'll probably want to be pulling sumo for having a crack at my goal of 500 lbs. I thought I should start doing some tech practice.
4 x 3 x 120kg - no belt

C1: KB swing - 3 x 12 x 24kg
C2: Core-engaged dead bugs - 3 x 6/side
 
Weight 14 stone 13

Training run
2.6 miles in 24:36 (9:18 mins/mile)
1st mile 8:58
2nd mile 9:27

Last half a mile or so was a real slog as my calves/tib anterior really started to complain. I need to do more (some) stretching. Continuing to lose weight should help too!
 
Training Weds 21st Jan @ home - deadlifts

Trap bar deadlift - high handle
5/3/1 week 1
5 x 115kg
5 x 135kg
10 x 155kg - belted
2 x 5 x 135kg

Trap bar RDLs
2 x 6 x 115kg

Jungle Gym superset - no rest except to adjust strap length:
Inverted rows 3 x 8
Push-ups 3 x 10
 
Training Fri 23rd Jan @ home - upper body

Weather: 5C (reference point: not so cold that I have to wear gloves while benching), dry

Kept it simple tonight - two exercises, alternated between them seven times

A1: Bench press
5/3/1 week 2
5 x 60kg
3 x 67.5kg
3 x 77.5kg
8 x 87.5kg
3 x 5 x 80kg
For reference, last week I did 8 x 82.5kg. I don't think I've gained a huge amount of strength since then, but my new purchase of an aerobic step to put my feet on made a hell of a difference to my stability and leg drive.

A2: Jungle Gym inverted rows
7 x 10 - shortened strap after 4 sets to make them slightly easier


Training run (Sat 24th Jan)

This was supposed to be the Parkrun 5km, but I walked to the start and they announced it was cancelled this week as it was too icy on part of the course. To be fair I did almost slip over on the pavement a few times on the walk there. I was thinking about going home and getting back in bed (with intention of going out again later for a run) but some part of me told me to stoof and get on with it.

2.6 miles in 23:26 (9:10 mins/mile)
9:09 first mile, 9:07 second mile

After about 2.2 miles I had the option of turning left (uphill) to do a loop of about a mile to make this run up to the originally intended 5km, or turning right (downhill) to loop back towards home for a 2.5 mile ish total. You can tell which I chose...! The state of my legs dictated this - they just felt really tired and the prospect of an uphill slog (admittedly a short and gentle incline!) was not appealing. I do really need to push on and run a bit further next time as I need to condition my legs. I don't feel like I'm breathing that hard but fatigue in my legs seems to be holding me back on each run.
 
Last edited:
Training run
3.2 miles in 29:22 (9:11 mins/mile)
9:08, 9:13, 9:20 splits
28:33 for the 5km

Pleased with this. Drank way too much on Saturday and still feel like I'm recovering (hence no lifting since Friday), so I was dreading this run but it actually went fine.
 
mrthingyx said:
Colleague of mine did some good half marathon prep on alcohol fuel, too. :D
Click to expand...

I played a fantastic game of rugby on tour last year having drunk 4 pints over a long lunch :)

Training Weds 28th Jan @ home - lower body

Trap bar deadlifts - high handle
5/3/1 week 2

3 x 127.5kg
3 x 145kg
8 x 162.5kg (belted)
That's vs 10 x 155kg last week.

Then:
3 x 3 x 145kg (beltless)

KB clean & press
Done in between the down-sets of DLs:
6/side x 16kg
2 x 6/side x 20kg

KB swing
5 x 10 x 24kg
Put all my kit away during rest periods, so I was constantly moving for a good 6-7 mins.
 
Cosgrove Evil 8 complex
Weight: 40kg
Rest: 90 seconds

The first 3 sets sucked. I got my breath back in time between sets though. Each set was pretty comfortable after the cleans, which I found to be the hardest and most tiring exercise. 40kg front/back squats were a nice active rest to be honest. The cleans/front squat/push press trio in the middle has made my wrists hurt now. I had to put the bar down after the front squats because I couldn't stay in the clean grip long enough and then couldn't transition back to a good grip for pressing from the bodybuilder-style front squat grip.

I don't have a time for the whole thing because my iPhone battery died after the 5s (I was about 6 mins in at that point) but I was strict with the 90 second rest periods. I breezed through the last 3 sets, so I was probably somewhere in the region of 13-14 mins.
 
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