Preparing to apply to the 1,000lb club

27/07/16 - Wednesday

Sumo deadlifts and deficit deadlifts today. Things felt good so I worked up to a new set of 6 on sumo and then pushed the deficits on he upper limit of the planned intensity and volume for the day.

Sumo deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
135kg(B) x 6 - possible pb
140kg(B) x 6

Nice little pb and adds about 10kg on my sumo deadlift projection too.

Deficit conventional deadlift (1")

117.5kg x 2x8

Really quite tiring after the sumo but doing this kind of volume is good fun.

Back Extensions

BW x 3x12

Easy.

Great session but a tad long as I wasn't feeling too well when I woke up this morning and he strange cold toe symptoms persisted throughout he session. Legs and glutes are exhausted. Time to rest and get ready for bench tomorrow and squats on Friday.
 
28/07/16 - Thursday

Bench with a side of bench.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 6
62.5kg x 4
72.5kg x 3x8

Bench felt pretty good, nothing special but maybe a tad easier than last week.

Spoto Bench Press

67.5kg x 3x8

Nice volume PB from last week. Gains are gains.

DB Bent Over Row

20kg x 4x10

Face Pull

12.5kg x 10
17.5kg x 10
22.5kg x 10

Tricep Pushdowns

25kg x 2x10
27.5kg x 10

I did the last set for the giggles since it was the entire stack of weight and it was fun.

Bench was good and doing the DB rows and face pulls after was a nice way to stretch out the tissue and the scapula. Already seeing improvements from last week and hopefully I can push things a bit more next week before taking a Deload week. Light bench and light squats tomorrow.
 
29/07/16 - Friday

Light Squats and Light Bench, yet little volume pb's for this cycle.

High bar squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 3x12

Hot and sweaty but a good amount of pump in the quads and glutes.

Wide Grip Bench Press

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
52.5kg x 6
62.5kg x 3x12

Last rep was hard but I was taking very short breaks due to having a dinner reservation.

Close Grip Bench Press

50kg x 12
50kg x 2x10

Just couldn't push the reps with fatigue kicking in due to to short rest but happy all the same as this is my light day and pb's all round.

Cable Row

50kg x 2x10
40kg x 2x10

Dropped the weight because I was knackered.

Leg Press

50kg x 12 - Much easier than last week
70kg x 12 - Easy
100kg x 12 - Harder but a couple of reps left in the tank.

Hamstring Curls

35kg x 3x12

Got to do some form of curls...

DB Bench

20kg x 4x10

And that's that. May not look heavy but the entire volume across all movements was more than enough. Rest day tomorrow!
 
31/07/16 - Sunday

Medium Squats and medium Bench.

High Bar Squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
77.5kg x 3x10

Not bad at all. Nothing at fault but I'm rather tired after flying back from Spain last night and having very little food yesterday and today before training.

Front Squats

60kg x 3x10

Fatigue kicked in from the high bar squats so I went for the lower weight on the front squats but the higher reps instead as this took weight off the knee, provided better control, crazy pump in the quads and the sweat was insane.

Wide Grip Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
67.5kg x 3x10

Not bad at all.

Medium Grip Bench

60kg x 3x10
60kg x 8+2

The last setup was off so I fatigued a tad quicker than the other sets but after a quick resets the last two reps were super easy.

Good Mornings

40kg x 3x12

Felt iffy in my high heels.

Lat Pull Downs

54kg x 3x12
54kg x 7+5

More fatigue....

OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 3x12

Pew pew.

Awesome session, rather long but lots of fun and definitely warrants lots of eating and rest. Heavy Bench and light deadlifts on Tuesday.
 
02/06/16 - Wednesday

Heavy Bench and light deadlift.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
67.5kg x 3
72.5kg x 4x8

Noiceeeee, huge volume PB. Admittedly though the second work set may have been 67.5kg but it all moved well and is overall more volume than last week anyway so I'm not too fussed.

Spoto Bench Press

67.5kg x 3x8

Same as last week but after the 4 working sets this was more that enough.

Sumo Deadlift

60kg x lots
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
107.5kg(S) x 3x12

Ooooft my hammies.

Stiff Leg Deadlifts

105kg(S) x 2x12

Ooooft my hammies. It might be a light session but that's plenty of volume.

DB Rows

20kg x 4x12

Much better than last week.

Back Extensions

BW x 3x15

Face Pulls

18.5kg x 12
16.25kg x 12
18.5kg x 12

Tricep Push Downs

26.25kg x 3x12

And that's that done. Lots of pump and sweat but feeling great and everything is moving well.
 
07/08/16 - Sunday

Supposed to be squats and bench but squats killed me and I was fasted so I left it after the squats and will do the bench tomorrow.

Low bar squat

Bar x lots
40kg x 8
60kg x 6
80kg x 4
92.5kg x 3x8 (8, 4+4, 8)

The second set was broken up because I was so sweaty I just couldn't keep hold of the bar but I'm counting it as 1 set because the weight wasn't really an issue.

High bar paused squats

82.5kg x 3x8

Niceeeeeee.

Good Mornings

40kg x 3x12

I might have imagined the plates because it felt so light.

That doesn't look like much as an overall session now that I've written it down but being fasted and sweating all over the place, that was more than enough. This was also huge pb over my last heavy squat session of +5kg on low bar and +5kg on the high bar paused squats too.

Since it had been about a week since I had last squatted, the knee was a smidge iffy but it wasn't painful and seems ok for now so hopefully it is all good.
 
Kris_90 said:
You see strength gains through the numbers but it's awesome feeling the gains like this :D
Click to expand...

It is indeed a very nice feeling but I think the energy spent yesterday took a little away from today. Once again I had no food pre training and there was a fair bit of volume despite it being a light day.


08/08/16 - Monday - Light Bench

Wide Grip Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 10
50kg x 8
62.5kg x 2x12
62.5kg x 11
62.5kg x 10

The third set I hit 11th and felt that was enough and on the fourth set I intentionally stopped at the 10th rep. Still a minor volume pb from last week.

Close Grip bench Press

50kg x 3x12

Yay, little volume PB.

DB Bench Press

20kg x 8
20kg x 2x12
20kg x 8

Too much fatigue so I might move my accessory chest work to my heavy sessions as there's less volume to make the light day a genuine light day rather it just ebbing lighter in intensity.

Cable Rows

50kg x 4x12

Awesome.

And that's that. Nice session and the volume truly killed me, in many good ways, and now the rest of the week is a deload! Yay!
 
09/08/16 - Tuesday - Deload Squat

So it's the start of the deload week which means the sessions are incredibly easy. This gives me the opportunity to make sure I'm executing the lifts properly and get in lots of mobility work after sessions in order to prepare for the next cycle.

High Bar Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
65kg x 3x5

And that's the squats done for the day. Felt nice and easy but the knee is still not too happy. At least I have the time this week to really focus on improving tissue quality.

Good Mornings

40kg x 2x10

Nice and light as this was the weight that I have been using.

Leg Press

100kg x 2x10

Also incredibly easy.

That's the first deload session done. Rest day tomorrow and then deload deadlifts on Thursday.
 
11/08/16 - Thursday - Deload Deadlift

Very quick and easy session but the first set of each exercise did feel a little sluggish but I'm mainly putting it down to dehydration and just being tired and I was quite literally just wobbling at points.

Sumo Deadlift Block Pull 2"

60kg x some (floor)
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3x5

Nice and easy, positioning is getting better and the speed is just silly but decreased rom + decreased rom = easy pull.

Deadlift

97.5kg x 2x5

Speed was pretty good and form was spot on. Don't think it was really worth me changing the plates for that tiny decrease but who cares.

Back Extension

BW x 2x10

First set felt tough and the second set was super easy.

It looks like I just needed an extra minute or two between exercises and then the next set was substantially easier. Nice little session but I am looking forward to lifting heavier weights than what I have been this week when I start the new cycle on Monday.
 
12/08/16 - Friday - Deload Bench

Felt slower than I would have liked but I think that's me being slow rather than the weight being too heavy. Doesn't really matter anyway as the entire point of this week is just to recover.

Wide Grip Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 6
52.5kg x 4
62.5kg x 4x4

Not too bad.

Medium Grip Bench

55kg x 3x4

Also not too bad.

OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 2x10

Easy, just a bit fatigued.

Lat Pulldown

45kg x 3x10

Nice and easy.

That's the benching done for the deload week. Hopefully I'll be back to full strength on Tuesday. Hopefully light squats tomorrow.
 
15/08/16 - Monday - Light Squat

So today is the start of a new cycle and I must admit after that deload week I really was looking forward to training again, so it looks like the deload paid off.

High Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 4 - All warmups were incredibly easy
75kg x 3x12

And that right there is a little pb on the first day of the new cycle. +10kg from the last cycle.

Good Mornings

45kg x 3x10

+5kg from the last cycle.

Leg Press

155kg x 2x12

+55kg

Great session, nice and light and my fitness has improved which is a wonderful little side benefit. Time to rest and prepare to bench tomorrow :D
 
16/08/16 - Tuesday - Medium Bench

The first bench session of the new cycle and it went pretty well. Overshot my secondary bench exercise but it's no biggy.

Wide Grip Bench

Bar x lots x lots (various grips)
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
70kg x 2x10

Albeit minor, I think that's a rep/set pb.

Medium Grip Bench

62.5kg x 10
62.5kg x 2x8

Triceps were dead but it's really not the end of the world. Just got to go with it and try and improve next week.

OHP

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
35kg x 3x8

Another tiny pb on the last cycle, +5kg, so I'm happy with that. All reps were really smooth and felt incredibly comfortable.

Cable Row

55kg x 4x8

The first rep of each set was always a pain to get going but once the reps got going this was fine.

French Press

Ez + 10kg x 8 -Felt easy so I thought I'd put 10's on instead of 5's...
Ez + 20kg x 8 - It really was more of elbow extensions at this point rather than a tricep exercise.
Ez + 10kg x 8 - Much more comfortable and a lot of pump.

And that's that bench session sorted. Fatigue is horrific, but otherwise strength was pretty good and everything moved well with good form. Deadlifts tomorrow.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Smooth progress :)
Click to expand...

It really does seem that slow and steady is the way to go. Hopefully the steady progress will continue leading up to a potential competition in November.

17/08/16 - Wednesday - Medium Deadlift

Lats night my adductors and hamstrings were still feeling a little bit beaten up from squats on Monday, so I was a little bit apprehensive about deadlifting today.
I arrived at the gym and I was pleasantly surprised with how the warmups felt so pushed the weight and reps.

Sumo Deadlift Block Pull (~1.5"-2")

60kg x 5 (floor)
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
117.5kg x 3x10

The rest was a little bit longer each set as I was dying but the speed of the reps and the form was solid.

Deadlift

115kg x 2x10

This was definitely enough and was harder than it should have been, due to fatigue, but at the same time I was expecting worse.

Back Extensions

BW x 3x10

Tight core, tight lower back. Tight.

Great session and it's given me lots of confidence for when I go to pull sumo from the floor next week. Rest, get up early and fly tomorrow morning, eat and hope for the best with the heavy bench session tomorrow.
 
19/08/16 - Friday - Heavy Bench

I was a lot more tired than I had thought as all the warm ups were shaky and the work sets just weren't too brilliant either.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
70kg x 2
75kg x 2x8
75kg x 6

Gutted that I missed the last two reps but it's room for improvement next week.

Spoto Bench Press

67.5kg x 2x8

Nice.

DB Bench Press

22kg x 4x8

Miles better than last cycle.

DB Rows

26kg x 4x8

Still a tad easy, could have upped the weight but I'll see how I feel next week.

Face Pulls

18.75kg x 3x8

Face Pulls are face pulls I guess.

It was actually a pretty good session but my main bench work was just tough. I was however exceptionally tired and had only had a few hours sleep the past few nights.
 
20/08/16 - Saturday - Medium Squat

Today was horrific due to mobility issues and that made the movement more difficult. Still made some pb's but I'll probably just redo the same sets/reps/weights on my next medium squat session.

High Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
60kg x 6
80kg x 3x10

Just bleh, and ankles feel a little bit jacked up after that.

Front Squats

65kg x 2x10

Ooft, tough after all the other volume.

Good morning

45kg x 3x10


And that's that session done. Relatively easy if I'm honest but the ankle issues did not make it fun and because it put to parts of the movement ever so slightly off. Time to work on my mobility for Monday. Hopefully a nice light bench session tomorrow.
 
Kris_90 said:
How come you train squats/most exercises in sets of 10? Does the higher volume work better for you?
Click to expand...

I'm currently going through a hypertrophy phase in attempt to put on as much mass as I can before switching back to strength work. In terms of muscle growth it seems to have worked as I think I look bigger but my strength has suffered slightly. In the strength phase I'll make sure I carry over enough volume to maintain the gains I made in the hypertrophy phase but then up the weight and drop the reps to focus on making the new muscle strong.

22/08/16 - Monday - Heavy Squat

Today was supposed to be heavy squats but I've been incredibly busy and rushed off my feet since last Thursday so today was absolutely rubbish. Fatigue was high, sleep was low, food was low, strength was low.

Low Bar Squats

Bar x lots x lots
40Kg x 8
60kg x 6
80kg x 4
90kg x 2
97.5kg x 3x6 (3+3, 6, 3+3)

Positioning was horrible because of mobility which meant that the bar was rolling down my back on a rep or two and had to break the set up, I was slightly leaning on one hip because of tight hips/ankles, this caused an uneven concentric on a rep or two, and I just felt weak despite the weight not actually feelin that heavy.

High bar Paused Squat

80kg x 3x6

Much better and significantly easier.

Good Monrings

45kg x 3x10

Light but positioning was rubbish.


Need to really focus on recovery and mobility over the next few days as I should be deadlifting on Wednesday and want that session to go well.
 
23/08/16 - Tuesday - Medium Bench

Today was a good day. Bench volume pb from the last medium session so I'm happy.

Wide Grip Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
70kg x 3x8

2x10 last week but 3x8 is still a total volume pb and it gives me a solid focus for 3x10 next week.

Medium Grip Bench

62.5kg x 3x10

Volume pb form last week, 1x10 and 2x8 to 3x10 this week.

All reps felt more solid too so that is an added bonus.

OHP

25kg x 8
35kg x 2x10
35kg x 9+1 - Fatigue just hit me but I'm still happy

Felt pretty solid so it's all good.

French Press

EZ + 10kg x 3x10

I'll increase the weight next cycle by 2.5kg - 5kg.

Machine Row

55kg x 4x10

This was considerably harder than normal cable rows but this is what I have currently, so I will make it work.
 
24/08/16 - Wednesday - Heavy Deadlift

I had my mind set on hitting a sumo pb for several weeks and sure enough I made it.

Sumo Deadlift

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
135kg(B) x 1
145kg(B) x 6 - 5kg pb
150kg(B,S) x 6 - another +5kg pb - also my old 1rm in comp too.

+10kg pb in 3 week, I am very happy with that. I used straps because the knurling on the bars was pretty terrible and this is the last time I'll push sumo for about another 14 weeks or so.

Deficit Deadlift (2")

120kg x 2x8

Nice and speedy but fatigue had taken its toll.

Back Extensions

BW x 3x12

Spent some time in the bottom position to help stretch the back out and that really helped.

Time to rest, eat, rest, eat some more, rest some more and get ready for a heavy bench session tomorrow.
 
25/08/16 - Thursday - Heavy Bench

It might have been the heavy bench session but another rep/set pb was made. Left pec was under quite a bit of stress though for some reason so I left the DB bench and might do it on the light bench day instead.

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
50kg x 6
60kg x 4
70kg x 2
75kg x 3x8

Boom, rep/set pb and it feels good. Should mean that gains are coming my way. My head keeps going to the right side of the bench though so I'm twisted somewhere and if I can sort this it might (almost definitely should) improve my bench.

Spoto Bench Press

67.5kg x 3x8

Might finally try and push this next week even if it's just 70kg, but the main focus will be 1 extra set to the main bench work.

DB Rows

26kg x 4x10

I was rather tired so the movement was a tad harder but the weight didn't feel too bad.

Face Pulls

18.75kg x 3x10

Great session and the next two sessions are nice and light to allow for recover before going into the final overloading week of this phase! Fun times :D
 
29/08/16 - Monday - Medium Squats

About time a squat session felt pretty good and most of all, the knee felt pretty good too.

High Bar Squat

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
80kg x 3x10

Felt really nice and no issues with the knee either.

Front Squat

65kg x 3x10

Thank goodness it's the last day of doing 10's for a while.

Leg Press

55kg x 8
105kg x 8
155kg x f
125kg x f
105kg x 2x12

On a much different angled leg press than what I have been using and it clearly has a different impact. Not too fussed tbh that I had to lower the weight, it's just an accessory to stimulate the quads and it did exactly that. Little bit of knee clicking which is odd but otherwise the knee feels fine.

Good Morning

45kg x 3x12

Nice and straight forward.

Good session and legs feel worked pretty well. Time to eat, rest and get ready for medium bench tomorrow.
 
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