Som's Log - Manlet on a Mission

[Somnambulist]

A1:
Squat - 2/3 x 6-8 reps (I do high bar, Oly style ATG)
RDL - 2/3 x 6-8 reps (focus on form, start from standing position and go as low as is possible without form failure, as ham flexibility is poorish)
Hip thrusts - 2x 8-10 (not sure how well these will go down, might just do a back-off set of squats like Steve suggested?)
Chins - 2-3x 6-8 reps
Curls - 2x 8-10 reps
Core exercise (thinking wheel roll-outs)

B1:
Bench press - 2-3x 6-8
P. Row - 2-3x 6-8
Incline DB press - 2x 8-10
Deficit Bulgarian Split Squat - 2x 8-10 each leg
Standing calf raise - 2x 8-10
Core exercise (thinking reverse crunches)

A2:
Deadlift - 2-3x 5-7
Front squat - 2-3x 6-8
GHR - 2x 8-10 (no GHR machine but will try using lat-pulldown etc)
OHP - 2-3x 6-8
Pullups - 2-3x 6-8
Kroc Rows - 1x 20-30 reps
Core exercise (planks)

B2:
DB bench press - 2-3x 6-8
Dips - 2-3x 6-8
Rippetoe lying tricep extension - 2x 8-10
Pistol squats - 2x 8-10
Seated calf raise - 2x 8-10
Core exercise (thinking dragon flag practice)

Something like that (suggestions welcome)...

 

[Somnambulist]

So I ended up cobbling this together:

A1:
Squat (ATG high bar) ~
Back-off squat set (ATG high bar) @
RDL ~
BB hip thrusts #
Chins ~
Standing BB curls #
Wheel roll-outs *

B1:
Bench press ~
P. Row ~
Incline DB press #
Kroc Rows @
Deficit Bulgarian Split Squat #
Standing calf raise #
Reverse crunches *

A2:
Deadlift ~
Front squat ~
GHR #
OHP ~
Pullups ~
Seated bicep curl #
Planks *

B2:
Bench press ~
Dips ~
Seated cable row (underhand grip) #
Rippetoe lying tricep extension #
Pistol squats #
Seated calf raise #
Dragon flag practice *

Lifts are done RPT style:
~ = compounds = 3 sets of 4-6, 6-8, 8-10 reps with a 10-15% deload for sets 2-3.
# = assistance/isolations = two sets of 8-10 and 10-12 reps with a 5-10% deload for set 2.
@ = one-off set for 20-25 reps
* = core shizzle, two sets to form failure

----------------------------------------

I started yesterday w/A1 and it went very well bar the RDLs, which SUCKED, even though I knew in my head how to do them.

Also, hip thrusts are amazing and bros look at you funny.

 

[Somnambulist]

Re: A1 from Tuesday:

A1:
BB squat = 80 x 5 (tough), 70 x 6 - could have done more really, 60 x 8 piece of cake

BB squat back off set = 40 x 20 - I guessed the weight and went conservative... did 20 and it felt good in a sort of volumey way and I could have done 25 tbh

RDL = 70 x 4, 60 x 6, 50 x 8 - these sucked, despite my warmups not sucking. Tekkers just didn't feel right and my grip wasn't very good Definitely need to work on these. Think I've overestimated how weak my hams and glutes are! Definitely use a lighter weight next time as technique is all

BB hip thrusts = 45 x 10, 40 x 12 - I can't do these on the barbell bench because the bar would hit the back/stand thingy, so I improvised by stacking mats in the squat rack. Might add some 20kg plates next time too to add height. These were great fun, despite the funny looks. Could really feel it in my posterior chain, hams and glutes, although the latter to a lesser extent as I can't bodyweight hip bridge without activating my hams, which is something I'm working with the PT on as it's an incorrect motor pattern thingy. Anyway, can definitely do more weight on these.

At this point I had like 10mins left before the gym shut, so I had to rush through this stuff (v. short rests).

Chins = bw+10 x 6, bw+7.5 x 7, bw+5 x 8 - solid first set, skirted close to failure on the 2nd and the 3rd I did a jump and slow negative on the last rep because I was close to failing. I only did chins the other day plus rushing... can do better but hey.

BB Curls = 22.5 x 8, 20 x 10 - v. minimal rest, hard, didn't fail though.

Ab wheel roll outs = 15 x 2 - I had about 2 mins to do these so just did 15 twice to get a feel for them. Think I need to look up the form for these...

Anyway, it was nice to do something a little different. Some guy verbally mired my squat form (my warm-ups at least, haha), while I had to share the rack with some guy who was squatting with literally the narrowest stance ever doing like a good morning 1/4 squat. I couldn't bring myself to say anything and just did my own sets, hoping he'd get the hint.

Looking forward to B1 on Friday. I should have plenty of rest then and I finish shifts Thursday, so my next 3 training days will all be on, or on the back of days off.

1 this morning, fasted. Started off with weights I knew I could do, and guessed some of the new exercises weight.

BB Bench Press - 55 x 5 (decent, should probably have done 6 but got distracted looking at my elbow position), 47.5 x 7 (decent again, few reps in the tank), 42.5 x 9 (again, decent, few reps in the tank) - can probably hit target reps for everything on B2 day soon

Pendlay Row - 60 x 5, 52.5 x 7, 45 x 10 - 60 still as tough as always but my physio work makes optimal position for this lift a bit easier week by week. 2nd set I could have probably done another rep, 3rd set was too easy.

Incline DB Bench Press - 15s x 10, 12.5s x 12 - I started conservatively with these as I wasn't sure how stable I'd keep the DBs - turns out it was fairly good, hit all reps with good form, can up the weight next time. LOVED 'dat feel' doing these as it definitely wasn't anything like doing 5's.

Kroc Rows - 20s x 20 - again, conservative weight. I had a good laugh with these although I need to do them off the BB bench as opposed to the free-standing DB ones as they're lower and my shortness meant I had to be more horizontal than I would have liked. I didn't go to failure, few reps short.

DBSS - 15s x 10, 12.5s x 12 - these sucked even though I did all the reps. Getting the set-up right is just a PITA - need a lower bench (hate being short!).

Standing calf raises - 70 x 10, 60 x 12 - did these in the Smith and bar finding the right position to place 20kg plates on the floor to create a deficit, they were easy. Weight up next time.

Finished off with two sets of reverse crunches, 20 and 20.

I felt less 'worked out' than I do normally after this, I guess because I wasn't either squatting or deadlifting - those lifts really take it out of you. I won't jump to conclusions though because on a few things I'm still finding my weight range and playing it safe with some of the other stuff. Time to eat!

 

[Somnambulist]

Had physio today before the gym and she annihilated my glutes, which made today's leg work nasty.

A2:

Deadlifts
100 x 5 (hard)
90 x 7 (hard)
80 x 9 (hard)

I was reading KStars thing about doing snatch grip by default until your grip goes and you have to go to mixed, but I have small hands and find it impossible to trap my thumb in a good position.

Front squats:
60 x 4
52.5 x 6
45 x 8

A battle to do these (didn't go to failure though), still lack a bit of wrist flexibility but I can do the clean grip okay-ish.

GHRs:
I tried about 3 different ways of doing these and found they all sucked, I just wish the gym had a proper GHR machine grrrr. Maybe I should ask.

OHP:
35 x 6
30 x 7
27.5 x 8

Dropped the weight slightly to work on ze form. I still don't feel comfortable with my press though. Short rests, as someone was waiting to use the rack.

Pullups (medium width grip):
BW (+10) x 4
BW (+5) x 6
BW x 8

Curls - planned on doing seated but all the benches were taken, did standing ones in the (perpetually empty except when I use it) squat rack. Sorry Gym God Of Peace, I know, curling in the rack...
22.5 x 10
20 x 10

Planks x2 - done 'hardstyle' squeezing everything horribly tight, to near failure.

Not a bad session, just annoyed at the whole GHR thingy. Might just drop it and do something else for the hams for the time being.

 

[Somnambulist]

B2 today, trained fasted as I start night shifts tonight - joy - and prefer fasting till like 6pm then eating again at work (something to do innit). Won't bother including warmup sets.

Barbell Bench - stuck with BB over DB because... well, it's just more of a full body movement
55 x 6 - up a rep, although to be fair I had it in me last time but it's cool, weight will be going up to 57.5kg next time, no holding back
47.5 x 8 - again, will up to 50kg next time
42.5 x 10 - up to 45kg next time

Had reps in the tank for all.

Now, at this point I'm umm'ing and arr'ing - my 3 'big' movements on B2 are bench, dips and pistol squats, but I was wondering if it made sense to make seated cable rows a 'big' lift and make dips an accessory one, because obviously rows are an antagonist to bench. Oh well. I did dips in the 4-6, 6-8, 8-10 format.

Dips - (trying to remember KStar notes on form)
BW+10 x 6 - cool, will up to 12.5 next time
BW+7.5 x 7 - harder, keep at this weight next time
BW+5 x 8 - harder, keep weight same

Seated Cable Row (underhand grip as this is what Lyle McDonald thinks is best), I LOVED these brahs, really nice feel. They only have the weight in lbs though, so... anyway I just went by feel and guessed a working weight after some warm ups
60lbs x 10 - easy, up to 70lbs next time
50lbs x 12 - eas, up to 60lbs next time

I need to decide if I'm going to do these in the heavier RPT format over 3 sets... the only issue is the lack of micro-loading so I dunno. Either way, fun, but can go heavier next time for sure. Maybe I'll hybrid these and do 6-10 and 8-12 so I have a greater working rep range to play with since I can't up the weights in small increments.

Rip-style Lying Tricep Extension - enjoy these, think the EZ bar is about 10kg so assuming this...
27.5 x 10 - easy, up the weight next time to 30kg (so x2 10kg plates, woot).
25 x 12 - harder, form just about good enough for the last 2 reps

Pistol Squats - felt good today, did them with a dumbbell in one hand
BW+5kg x 6 each leg - not too shabby can up to 7.5kg next time
BW+3kg x 6 each leg - harder, keep at this weight
BW x 8 each leg - fatigue! Felt this in my glutes, will stick at BW for 3rd set.

Seated Calf Raise - SLOW reps, none of this bouncy stuff people do
20 x 10 - easy (w/the machine itself it must be more than this but w/e), up to 22.5kg next time
17.5 x 12 - harder but rep range complete, up to 20kg next time

Dragon Flag practice - I call it practice because I work on the negative and I know they're not proper ones
12, 12 - abs fried

I then... felt like doing some 'Kroc DB bench' because... well, I wanted to DB bench, so I just grabbed a couple of 12.5kg DBs and hit 25 reps which was fun/hard as I'd had a decent upper body workout.

Now for 4 nights of boredom and no gym till Monday night, but hey, fat will be burned!

 

[mrthingyx]

Dragon flags.

Yes.

 

[Somnambulist]

Like hip-thrusts, I get some funny looks...

People always watch me pistol squat too. I'm self-conscious enough as it is (fatty-days hangover) and it puts me off.

Meh, I'm there for me I suppose. Wouldn't mind a partner to train with though, just for encouragement/shouts of 'BEEF!'/etc.

 

[Somnambulist]

Bleh. That was hard. Finished my last night shift this morning, slept from about 10am to 4pm, had some food, then forced myself to the gym.

A1:

Squat - 80 x 6 (up 1 rep), 70 x 7 (up one rep), 60 x 8 (same) - my name should be Captain Buttwink today. I was filming my squats and my form just looked like complete chit, even though I know in my head exactly what I should be doing. Rests between reps were a bit long as well as these were feeling even more brutal than normal. I hate night shifts, really messes me up.

Back-off squat set - 40 x 22 (2 more reps than last time) - these left me a sweaty puddle of dead.

RDL - 60 x 4, 52.5 x 6, 45 x 8 - lowered weight from last time, worked on form. In my Adipowers, during the warmups I felt great and was getting that hamstring stretch, but I again struggled a bit in the working sets. Even though I can pull more weight on a conventional deadlift, because these are continuous grip it knackers me - I tried doing the Oly hook grip but my little hands suck and my thumb kept slipping out from under my fingers.

Hip Thrust - 60 x 8, 55 x 10 - added a fair bit more weight than last time. These are a nice burn in the hams/glutes, although I need to work on keeping the bar from grinding on my hip bone because that is not fun, let me tell you.

Chin-ups - +12.5k x 6 (good stuff, higher weight and full rep range, onto 15kg!), +7.5 x 7 (same), +5 x 8 (same) - great first set but the 2nd and 3rd were just as hard as last time, although once again at this point I was rushing to get done, so short rests.

Seated DB press - 12.5 x 10 (up to 15 next time), 10 x 10 - nice shoulder isolation, rushed rest between sets though.

BB Curls - 25 x 8, 20 x 10 - zipped through these quickly, good stuff with the first set, 2nd was hard but I was giving myself 30 secs rest due to gym closure.

Ab wheel roll outs - just did a couple of 15s again.

----------

I'm annoyed about my squat, and I'll probably spend tomorrow and Weds arsing about with the camera filming myself. I'm 95% sure it's a mixture of flexibility issues somewhere in the chain and incorrect setup. My APT is throwing my off too since I'm trying to actively correct it while setting up as well. FFFFFUUUU. I don't find achieving depth hard at all (can sit upright with my feet together without falling backwards, 3rd world squat is easy), but dat pelvis tucking in... do not want.

 

[Somnambulist]

Btw, bonus material - no teddies but KStar himself squatting and deadlifting (rather than talking about it):

 

[Somnambulist]

Finally ordering bands from Pullum today. I kept putting it off but being more body aware now has led me to the inescapable conclusion that I have massively crap hamstrings and hip flexors, the latter of which is way more important because
a) APT
b) squat tail-tuck/butt wink
c) when I bend over, hinging at the hips = banana back
d) banana back in 3rd world squat
e) can't get a straight leg to 90 degrees/vertical when laying down, more like 40-50 max.

Wonder how long it'll take to fix...

 

[Somnambulist]

Just realised I'm being an idiot (I wondered why my squats have sucked a bit lately).

Butt wink in the squat is POSTERIOR pelvic tilt. In my constant awareness of my natural ANTERIOR pelvic tilt, I end up trying to squeeze my butt in all the time. This is great and I SHOULD be working towards getting a neutral spine, however with squats the last thing I should be doing is trying to correct the anterior tilt because you WANT a lower back arch (yes, I'm retarded), although at the same time you don't want to hyperextend the back (which is why I should correct my APT). Much less butt wink when following the steps of tight back + lower back arch, tensing core/pelvic floor chest up/out etc. Good stuff.

That said, my hip mobility is still crap and I need to make it better to get that 'spring' KStarr talks about at the bottom of the squat from your hips to bounce up, and work on engaging glutes on the negative more (i.e. more knees out).

To start with, 3rd world squat erry day for 10 mins at least, as well as the couch stretch for 5 mins each leg, and once I get the bands I can do some some of the nasty stuff.

Red/blue/green ordered for now band-wise, we'll see if I need more. Also he's always using lacrosse balls, but for the life of me I can't find any obvious ones online - got go have my single and double-taped ball. Also the flossing thing - a bike inner tube cut down the road (not across the street, so to speak) works fine?

 

[Somnambulist]

B1

Bench press
Bar x lots
30 x 10
40 x 6
50 x 2
57.5x4
50x6
45x8

Had extra reps for all sets but my elbows were flaring out to finish... it's annoying because I can't seem to ever feel that my shoulders are pinned back; they seem to work their way out during the lifts (mobility issue). When I do get it right it always feels easier to complete reps and more of a full-body lift. Ever annoying, but these were all higher weights than last week.

Pendlay row
Bar x stuff
40 x 8
50 x 4
60x6
52.5x8
47.5x10

Up one rep on first and second set (using hook grip for great justice!), 3rd set was max reps on a higher weight so 62.5, 55 and 50 next time. Cool.

Incline DB bench
10s x a few
17.5s x10
15s x11

Higher weights than last time, max reps on the first set (deffo a rep or two short of failure) but we'll go for 20kg next time. 2nd set was short rest and tough, possibly had another clean rep in me but played it safe, so we'll aim for 12 reps next time.

Rip lying tricep extension
Bar x a few
20 x 10
30x11
27.5x10

I love these, although I think I could use with a spotter to hand me the weight at the start! Form went at rep 11 so I stopped on first set, same on 2nd. I guess this means I keep the weights the same next time for both sets.

Kroc Rows
20x 21/21

Doing LTEs first already smashed my arms so these were tough, I still don't feel my body is in a good position doing these.

DBSS
BW x a few
20s x6/6
17.5s x8/8
15s x10/10

Christ these were truly horrible. Got the form/positioning down but they don't half fry your legs, plus my grip really is a limiting factor on these as the DBs start falling out of my hands after a while. Maybe use straps since I don't trust myself not to topple over with a barbell lol.

Standing calf raise
Bar x a few (sorting out plates position on floor)
50 x a few
75x10
65x12

Had to do these in the squat rack using some 20kg plates to stand on for the deficit, as the Smith was in use... easy, can definitely do 80 and 70 next time.

Reverse crunches
x20, 20

Nice and slow, horrible burn!

Things to work on - shoulders staying in/ideal grip width/no flarey elbows.

 

[mrthingyx]

Lol @ DBSS... Reverse pyramid-ing or whatever it is called on those just sounds horrid.

 

[Somnambulist]

Yep, RPT/reverse pyramids. The 3 set stuff (main lifts) are 4-6 reps at max weight, then deload 10-15%, aim for 6-8, repeat and aim for 8-10, secondary stuff is just 8-10 and 10-12 using the same principles. Aim to stay 1-2 reps short of failure all the time as I want recovery to be great given I'm in a weekly deficit by some way and my job probably does my body no favours with the rotating 12hr days/nights.

There was some guy doing leg press when I was doing the DBSS who'd maxed out the available space to put 20kg plates on and had loaded heavy DBs on top of it (must have been 300kg or something lulzy), then proceeded to make extremely loud noises whilst doing 1/4 reps. No thanks Jeff.

 

[Somnambulist]

My abductors are still killing from those split squats. It's all FF's fault (I think he was the first one I saw posting about them).

 

[Somnambulist]

A2:

Deadlifts
Bar x lots (RDL)
40 x 10
60 x 5
80 x 2
102.5 x 4 (up from 100 x 5, will aim for x5 next time)
92.5 x 6 (up from 90 x 7)
82.5 x 8 (up from 80 x 9)

Weights up from last week on all 3 sets, could have hit max rips (5, 7, 9) on all lifts but form was starting to go. I've had terrible sleep all week so this was nice.

Front Squat
Bar x a few
30 x 8
40 x 6
60 x 4
52.5 x 6
45 x 8

Same as last week. I lack the shoulder mobility to rack properly so my wrists are taking way too much of the weight. I might drop front squats for the time being and do more leg press or something. Grrrr. No point trying to do these if I can't hold the bar properly.

Leg Press
Whatever it is without any plates x 10
40 x 10
60 x 10
80 x 10
80 x 12

First time doing these, so just experimented w/weights. Will do 90 and 80 next week.

OHP
Bar x a few
25 x 5
30 x 3
37.5 x 4 (up from 35 x 6)
30 x 7 (same)
27.5 x 8 (same)

I couldn't do these in the squat rack so my set up sucked and so did my lifting. Blah.

Pull-ups
BW+10 x 5 (up a rep)
BW+5 x 6 (same)
BW x 8 (same)

Modified hook grip is great for these - WAY easier on the hands.

Push-Ups
x 15 immediately after

Seated BB Curls
25 x 10 (new weight + all reps, cool)
20 x12 (up from 10 reps last week, cool)

Planks
Form failure x 2

Looks like I'll be tinkering again lol. I want to do front squats but need mobility sorted out first - can just do RPT on leg press I guess and do a high-rep back-off set on that. Or something.

 

[Somnambulist]

Right, so.

A1 = same
B1 = same
A2 = Deadlifts, Leg Press (3 set RPT), DB step-ups back-off (one set till legs are about to explode) instead of what I was doing before for lower bod.
B2 = same

Rest days = work on dat mobility. Front squats can wait. I can't even DO overhead squats so shoulders need a lot of work.

Also Monday weigh-ins the last 3 weeks:
13 May (a week after a diet break) = 61.1kg
20th May = 60.8kg
27th May = 60.3kg

Slow and steady I guess. Thursday I WILL take proper profile shots as I want to join Lyle McDonalds forum and use their bodyfat % estimation thread, because I want to try and really get the best educated macro targets as possible just to see how they compare to what I'm doing now. I will do something LISS-y every rest day as well, since I'm being too lazy on non-work days off for sure. I need to be more active at work as well - night shift for the next 3 nights and if I don't do anything it's 12 hours in a chair more or less. Crap.

 

[mrthingyx]

What is so hard about overhead squats (genuine question)? Which bit do you struggle with?

 

[Somnambulist]

3rd image = me = shoulders of a desk monkey.

 

[Somnambulist]

Anyway, finished nights this morning, had 5.5 hours sleep, got my haircut, went to gym, and I've just eaten my entire days macros in one meal. OH HAI FULL STOMACH.

B2:

(No warm-ups listed because I'm lazy).

Bench -
57.5 x 5
50 x 7
45 x 9

Up one rep on everything. Form still sucks. I know why - it's because my shoulders are so rounded/slumped. When standing, I can pull them down and back quite easily, but when laying down and gripping the bar, it becomes a lot harder as they naturally want to come forward, which means I'm not in as good a mechanical position as I could be. Very annoying. Still can't decide on grip width. Occasionally I hit a rep and it's just 'there' and feels super tight and controlled, then it comes undone the next one. Bah.

Dips:
BW + 12.5 x 4
BW + 7.5 x 8
BW + 5 x 9

New weight on first set, minimum reps hit (shoulders trying to move forward grrrr), plus one rep on both 2nd and 3rd sets. 2nd set will go up to 10kg next time.

Seated cable row:
70lbx x 10
60lbs x 12

Loving these, feel it nicely in the back. All reps hit for both sets, upwards to 80 and 70 next time.

DB Bench:
15 x 8
12.5 x 10

Easy-ish, the benching and dipping took it out of me!

Inverted rows x 20 using the Smith - dat lactic acid

Pistol squats:
BW + 7.5 x 4/4
BW + 3 x 7/7
BW x 9/9

New weight first set, min reps hit, experimenting with DB positioning. Up one rep both legs for both other sets.

Seated calf raise:
22.5 x 10
20 x 12

All reps hit for both weights, up to 25 and 22.5 next time.

Decent session. Some exercises I'm still working from weights I could def do, so I'm not at the point where I can say 'ha, strength gains!' yet, but at least I'm not going backwards haha.