Preparing to apply to the 1,000lb club

[Dreamforger]

18/10/16 - Tuesday - Medium Bench

First bench session of the strength block and it went to plan. All benching now is done with a slight pause rather than touch and go.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
75kg x 5 - thought this was my working weight, I was wrong.
77.5kg x 4x5

Not bad at all, it's given me confidence for the heavy bench session coming up on Saturday.

Medium Grip Bench

72.5kg x 3x5

Flew off the chest.

BOR

50kg x 3x10

Easy. Start light and focus on proper contractions. More weight next time.

Dumbbell Flyes

12kg x 2x10

Stretchy stretch.

And that's that finished. Rather happy with that and shall be able to push the weight next time. Deadlifts tomorrow.

 

[Dreamforger]

20/10/16 - Thursday - Heavy Deadlift

So today wasn't actually that heavy in terms of numbers but I haven't deadlifted in weeks so today was far harder than it should have been and sure enough I've whacked plenty off my previous max to compensate. It's just a case of improving grip strength and just getting familiar with the movements again.

Deadlift

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg(B) x 4
127.5kg(B) x 4
135kg(B) x 4

Not bad but it's taken quite a knock.

Deadlift Block Pulls (~3")

130kg x 2x4

Better... But it is off blocks.

RDL's

70kg x 3x10

I've seriously missed these.

Time to make some deadlift gains. But I have low bar squats tomorrow, so I need to deal with that first.

 

[Dreamforger]

21/10/16 - Friday - Medium Squats

My low back was giving me grief so I was extremely apprehensive about how this session would go. But to my surprise it went extremely well and I hit everything I wanted to.

Low Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 3
97.5kg x 3
102.5kg(B) x 4x5

Awww yeah. Knee felt good, positioning felt good and power out of the hole felt good too.

High Bar Squat

97.5kg x 3x5

Not too bad at all, a tad tired though.

Good Mornings

60kg x 3x10

Super easy. One more session and then maybe increase the weight.

Relatively quick session but I'm so happy with it. Maybe a pb in the next session? But first, heavy bench tomorrow!

 

[Dreamforger]

22/10/16 - Saturday - Heavy Bench

First heavy bench session and it went pretty well. A tad tired from last night and a little strain in the upper part of pec/leading into the shoulder but no pain and significantly less than what it was so looks like things are improving.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
77.5kg x 2
82.5kg x 3x4

Happy with that. Will push the weight next time.

Slingshot Bench Press

92.5kg x 2x4

Felt heavy after the other bench work.

Dumbbell Bench Press

22.5kg x 2x10

Easy. More weight next time.

Pendlay Row

60kg x 3x10

Not bad. Need a much stronger back...

Shrugs

100kg x 2x10

Back really is weak right now and I'm not sure why, other than not deadlifting properly in 8 weeks or so...

Good session, rather happy with how that all went. Plenty of room for improvement.

 

[Dreamforger]

23/10/16 - Sunday - Heavy Squats

I had to shift training a day earlier this week as I'm busy over the weekend and won't be able to train. I was a tad worried going into my heavy squat day a day early but things went much better than I expected.

Low Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 3
100kg(B) x 3
110kg(B) x 4
117.5kg(B) x 4
125kg(B) x 4 - yay

Really happy with that and the knee feels good too. Increases the training max enough to numbers that I still feel confident with. Maybe another pb attempt in the next heavy session?

High Bar High Pause Squat

100kg(B) x 2x4

Super, super easy.

Good Mornings

60kg x 3x10

Nice and easy. Definitely +5kg next time.

Really happy with this session and hopefully it's an indicator of what else is to come.

 

[Dreamforger]

25/10/16 - Tuesday - Light Deadlifts

Bench unfortunately is being dropped this week as the rings of the bars in the gym is 10cm wider than competition standard, and I was going wider than that. So sure enough I have an angry shoulder and elbow. Fortunately, I have no actual pain and still have full rom, it just doesn't feel comfortable. A week off, ibuprofen gel and some serious tlc should fix everything. For now, lower body and back work!

Deadlifts

60kg x lots
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
115kg x 4x6

Tiny weight but nice and smooth. Back feels better, grip is getting stronger too. Things are looking up.

Paused Deadlifts Below Knee

105kg(S) x 3x6

Not bad at all. Actually much better than I had expected so that's a good sign.

RDL's

90kg(S) x 3x8

Nice and easy and +20kg from last week.

Good session and I'm really happy with how it all went and everything feels better. I'll probably be leaving benching this week, although if it feels good tomorrow when I'm playing with equipment I might do some closer grip.

 

[GSVBagpuss]

Heavy RDLs for dem awesome feelz

 

[mrthingyx]

Juicy squatting. I'd spot that, nomsayin?

How heavy are you now?

 

[Dreamforger]

Heavy RDLs for dem awesome feelz

Going for 100-110 next week hopefully.

Juicy squatting. I'd spot that, nomsayin?

How heavy are you now?

Sitting at ~81 right now at the end of the bulk and hypertrophy phase. The weight gain has made me look healthy, unlike before when I was in the 66kg class. Unfortunately the weights aren't where they should be due to the knee's but everything is getting better and my training is showing that it is going in the right directions with the pb's.

 

[Dreamforger]

28/10/16 - Friday - Light Squat


Shoulder still sin't 100% so no benching and it made front squats a tad trickier.

Low Bar Squats

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
95kg x 3
102.5kg(B) x 4x6

Not bad at all, knee a little click but no pain and no discomfort so I'm not concerned.

Front Squats

72.5kg x 3x6

+5kg from last week. Quads are getting stronger.

Good Mornings

65kg x 3x8

Posterior chain is getting stronger too.

Happy with that session, things are improving. One more week of training and then maybe a deload before another strength block.

 

[Dreamforger]

31/10/16 - Monday - Medium Squats

Squats predominantly were great. On set 3 where fatigue was setting in, my hips were a tad high but this was because of torso lean and I corrected this on set 4. Squats overall felt good and the knee feels good too.

Low Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg(B) x 4x5

Edit: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMPWij8DBix/?taken-by=porridgeisyummy

After watching back the video of set 3, it was nowhere near as high as I thought so that's all good. Keep tight and try to keep it more upright.

High Bar Squat

102.5kg(B) x 3x5

Nice. Trying to get those quads stronger.

And that's it. A tad tight for time so had to leave the good mornings. Might do them on Wednesday when I'm supposed to be deadlifting.

 

[GSVBagpuss]

Great squatting - Knee must be getting much better

 

[Dreamforger]

Great squatting - Knee must be getting much better

It's definitely improving but I need to make sure that I don't get carried away with the new numbers and the PBs. I need to keep following the idea of marginal gains rather than feel my knee is ok and go for a 20kg PB or something like that.

 

[Dreamforger]

02/11/16 - "Heavy Bench"

Elbow is still giving me grief but I think it's due to my forearm and wrist rather than my shoulder as I have decent mobility in the shoulder but terrible stiffness in the wrist. Ended up going for a close grip pb. It rocketed off the chest because I'm still cautious of the elbow I didn't want to push the weight too much.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 2 - nope, don't want to risk it.

Close Grip Bench

60kg x 4
70kg x 4
75kg x 4
80kg x 4 - Good times

That's enough for today. +5kg on my training max with more in the tank. Didn't want to push it any more just because the elbow was already aggravated.

Slingshot Bench Press

85kg x 2x4

It flew. Could have done many more but there was no need.

Dumbbell Bench Press

25kg x 2x8

Easy but a pain to get into position.

Overall, not a bad session once I found a way for me to bench without pain/discomfort. I ended up with a good 15 minutes of wrist stretching and the pain went away almost instantly. I shall be working on my wrists and forearms day and night and just ever so carefully return to benching properly again when everything is fine and dandy.

 

[Dreamforger]

03/11/16 - Thursday - Medium Deadlifts

Today I got a new belt and I was really looking forward to using it but of course it isn't "broken in" so sure enough every rep was hell as the belt just cut into me and it felt like it was going to pop a rib or two. I still managed everything in the session without any problems, it just meant that I had to break up every rep of the main deadlift work.

Deadlift

60kg x lots x lots
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
115kg x 2
122.5kg(B) x 4x5(x1) - (every rep was treated as a single)

The belt was so stiff that I struggled to reach the bar and it just wasn't possible to do multiple reps without a tremendous amount of pain. I've rolled up the belt now in hope that it might soften just a little.

Deficit Deadlift

107.5kg(S) x 3x5

Held each last rep of each set for 10 seconds to throw in a bit of grip work - despite using straps. "Just don't use straps..." - yeah but my hands get extremely sore and it allows me to help develop symmetry rather than getting ever so slightly twisted from using mixed grip when it isn't needed.

RDL

100kg(S) x 3x6

Yay +10kg from last week.

Penally Row

65kg x 3x8

Not bad. Got too keep tight throughout the entire movement.

Shrugs

120kg(S) x 2x8

Yay. Shrug pbs count right?....

Good session. Need to stuff my face as I'm squatting tomorrow.

 

[Dreamforger]

04/11/16 - Friday - Heavy Squats

Today was heavy squats with some equipped squats but I had 0 luck after many, many doubles and singles with 115kg in the suit, yet I can manage the weight without the suit no problem as I found out today.

Low Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x lots x lots
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg(B) x 2 - paused
115kg(B) x 3x4

Not bad, moved a lot better than expected.

Instead of doing my high bar squats I put the squat suit in the hope of hitting an easy single and the moving up in weight and see what happens. What happened? Not that. Instead, I got stuck above parallel on every attempt and I just could not force the suit lower. I might try the suit on again tomorrow and try playing with stances and what not, otherwise I'll leave it until my next heavy day and try again.

Happy with that session, little frustrated with the suit but it's just a case of getting used to it.

 

[Dreamforger]

05/11/16 - Saturday - Light Bench

I'm very ill very suddenly so I did the bench as prescribed and that was it. Elbow and shoulder flared up a bit so I avoided all my tricep and shoulder work, and where I'm not feeling well it was a good sign to go home.

Spoto Bench Press

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
75kg x 3x6

Not bad, moved really well and it wasn't too uncomfortable either.

Close Grip Bench

67.5kg x 4x6

Not bad, fatigue and illness hit me towards the end.

That's that. End of the block, it's a light day anyway no need to worry about missing stuff out.

 

[Dreamforger]

07/11/16 - Monday - Light Squats

Squats weren't necessarily light, but they definitely weren't heavy either. Knee feels good and my shoulder feels better than usual either.

Low bar Squats

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
105kg(B) x 4x6

Quite comfortable and +2.5kg from the last block too.

Front Squat

70kg x 3x6

Not bad, more weight next time.

Good Morning

65kg x 3x10

+2reps from last cycle, happy days.

Good session. I still need some more mobility work everywhere but I'm happy with that. Bench tomorrow hopefully.

 

[Dreamforger]

09/11/16 - Wednesday - Heavy Deadlifts

I had a plan. I stuck to it. Win.

Deadlifts

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg(B) x 3
130kg(B) x 4
140kg(B) x 4 - +5kg from last block
147.5kg(B) x 4 - +12.5kg from last block

Happy with that but I need to get my setup tighter and my back stronger. Happy with the progress though. The last set was a tad broken up because I drank too much water before the set and that made me feel iffy. I'm still counting it.

Block pulls ~3"

140kg(B) 2x4

First set was nice, the second set was hard.

RDL

90kg(S) x 3x10

Nice and easy.

Good session really happy with that. Maybe tomorrow I will bench.

 

[Dreamforger]

12/11/16 - Saturday - Medium Squat

Today I did a squat. It's a pb in some fashion of either being more than my last medium squat day, or just below my last heavy day but for much more volume. Either way, win?

Low Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
112.5kg(B) x 4x5

Yay, pb in some sense. My back positioning felt miles better than usual but I just could not find my groove today. Hopefully it comes back by monday.

High Bar High Pause Squats

102.5kg(B) x 3x5

These were great but horrible.

Good Mornings

65kg x 3x10

Just couldn't get the groove right on these either. Never mind, just one of those days.

Good session tbh, shame about things just feeling off. Maybe bench tomorrow.