Ridge's lifting journal awesome!

[ridge_forrester]

HOKAY SO

The aim is to get as big and strong as I reasonably can.

Old PRs have such bad squat and deads because of an old L5 injury which seems to have settled enough for now.

Current PRs:
Squat - 150
Bench - 150
Deadlift - 180

Goal lifts are:
Squat - 200
Bench - 180
Deadlift - 240

Workout: Weekly split - 2x lower (Mon/Thu), 2x upper (Tue/Fri)

Earlier in the week will be heavier and lower volume, later in the week will be higher volume due to greater rest over the weekend.
Weekly splits because I like consistency and, well... fuk weekend training

Currently just trying to build conditioning/hypertrophy before getting back into the really serious lifting.

MONDAY

Squats
80 2x15

RDL
60 2x15

Pullups
bwt x 10

Pulldowns
60 2x15

Shrugs
40 2x15

Dbell rows

Abs

[RawBear]

In and Subbed.

Also doing upper/lower with 5x5 on main lifts. Keen to see your progression and your Australian.

[ridge_forrester]

Thanks man Had a look at your log too, good luck with your lifting.

Weight this morning: 97kg (41" waist inflated)
Whoooh, better ease up on the calorie excess and gain a little more steadily!

TUESDAY

Bench
95 x 2x15

Standing press
40 x 2x15

Dips
Bodyweight +5kg x 2x15

Hammer curls - 2x15
Pressdowns - 2x20
Ez bar curls - 2x15
Rear delt circuit - 3x8 superset

All sets easy breezy

Recovery: Squat (bar x 20), foam rolling and stretching. Pretty damn sore from last night's workout, despite how light the weight seemed.

Amazed at how fast the workout was, in an out in about an hour!

[ridge_forrester]

THURSDAY

Weight: 96.6kg - ate a little more calorie consciously on my off day. Still kept protein at about 250g, the rest was w/ev

Squat
80 x 3 x 15 - Light weight, but deceptively hard. Can't believe how unfit I am..

RDL
60 x 3 x 15

Lunges
9 x 15

Prone rows
30 x 15
25 x 2 x 15

Shrugs
90 x 2 x 20
80 x 20

Ab rollah
3 x 10

In all, weights still piss light. But until I get some form of strength fitness/conditioning.. these lower body workouts are tough.

[RawBear]

THURSDAY

Weight: 96.6kg - ate a little more calorie consciously on my off day. Still kept protein at about 250g, the rest was w/ev

Squat
80 x 3 x 15 - Light weight, but deceptively hard. Can't believe how unfit I am..

RDL
60 x 3 x 15

Lunges
9 x 15

Prone rows
30 x 15
25 x 2 x 15

Shrugs
90 x 2 x 20
80 x 20

Ab rollah
3 x 10

In all, weights still piss light. But until I get some form of strength fitness/conditioning.. these lower body workouts are tough.

Keep hitting it hard mate, weights are looking good.

Your going to be 100kg BW soon. That should be good.

[ridge_forrester]

Keep hitting it hard mate, weights are looking good.

Your going to be 100kg BW soon. That should be good.

Thanks!

It feels interesting nearing 100kg again since I haven't been there in a long time. I think it's pretty heavy, so I'd like to be in the best shape I can be for it. If I can drastically improve my lower body by then I'll be really happy!

I'm aiming for 100 squat, 110 bench and maybe 130 deadlift all for sets of 15 by then.

[ridge_forrester]

FRIDAY

Morning weight: 97.4

Bench
95 x 3 x 15

Dbell shoulders
22 x 3 x 15

Dips
+5kg x 3 x 15

EZ curls
10 x 5 x 10

Some side raises and pressdowns and shhit.

GAWD woke up this morning so sore, my soul had DOMS

Despite that, the weights were still mostly a joke. Although the third sets on bench and shoulders were starting to be a challenge. If I bump it up to 100 next week I'm sure I can still get all 3 sets, but not sure what my progress will be like after that. Guess that's where the bulking comes into play!

There's a huge lasagne waiting for me in the oven now... gonna need every bit of recovery I can get this weekend cause it's only gonna get heavier from here.

[ridge_forrester]

MONDAY

Morning weight: 96.7

Squat
90 x 2 x 15

RDL
70 x 2 x 15

Pullups
Bwt x 10

Pulldowns
60 x 2 x 15

Shrugs
100 x 2 x 15

Abs
something x w/ev


Difficulty: Yawn.

My general fitness has improved massively since even the last workout. Relieved that squats and RDLs were comparatively easy. I think I finished the workout feeling better than when I started it.

If only all workouts could be like that..

Bodyweight is fluctuating a bit, but I'm eating about maintenance on off days and really just smashing the food intake around breakfast and workout times.

[ridge_forrester]

TUESDAY

Morning weight: 97kg, I think?

Bench
100 x 2 x 15

Dbell shoulder press
25 x 2 x 15

Dips
+10kg x 15, 18

Curls
10 x 6 x 10

Side + bent lateral combo
some weight x some sets and reps

Pressdowns
65 x 2 x 20

I reckon if I rest and eat well, Friday's workout of 100 x 3 x 15 will be the last workout of straight sets. Next, I'll move onto one max set followed by a few volume sets and gradually lower the reps and increase weight that way.

Doing Bi's the day after back is probably a little silly. They were a bit sore tonight so I just did average weights for volume/lower rest periods.

Other than bench, the rest was pretty cruisy. I should probably bump up the weight more for dips, they weren't really difficult.

FUN FUN

[RawBear]

TUESDAY

Morning weight: 97kg, I think?

Bench
100 x 2 x 15

Dbell shoulder press
25 x 2 x 15

Dips
+10kg x 15, 18

Curls
10 x 6 x 10

Side + bent lateral combo
some weight x some sets and reps

Pressdowns
65 x 2 x 20

I reckon if I rest and eat well, Friday's workout of 100 x 3 x 15 will be the last workout of straight sets. Next, I'll move onto one max set followed by a few volume sets and gradually lower the reps and increase weight that way.

Doing Bi's the day after back is probably a little silly. They were a bit sore tonight so I just did average weights for volume/lower rest periods.

Other than bench, the rest was pretty cruisy. I should probably bump up the weight more for dips, they weren't really difficult.

FUN FUN

AWWWWWW shhit!

Beautiful benching mate, your getting bloody strong!

Killer workout.

[ridge_forrester]

Hahah thanks man! I'm also getting bloody heavy, so I just hope my strength/muscle is keeping up with it. Been eating a bit more over the last few days. Maybe too much!

Speaking of....

THURSDAY

Morning weight: 97.9 - Good heavens!

Squatties
100 x 15
90 x 2 x 15

RDL
80 x 2 x 15
60 x 15

Lunges
9 x 2 x 15

Prone rows
30 x 3 x 15

Shrugs
100 x 3 x 15

Ab roller
2 x 11 (lol sore abs )

Pretty tiring workout, but still nowhere near failure. Wanted to go a bit heavier than I initially planned because I've eaten a lot recently.
Lunges were probably the hardest, just because I was pretty shat by that stage. Also felt a worrying twinge in my left kneecap after finishing them, but it's been fine since then.

Conditioning is really improving, and I look a little more muscular now. Hopefully it'll be the base I need for big PRs!

[ridge_forrester]

FRIDAY

HOKAY SO..

Seems that pacing myself is a concept that is totally lost on me. Morning weight was 98.4(!) so of course, I went to the bakery for lunch

Bench
105 x 15 (!)
100 x 2 x 15

Shoulder press
27 x 15
25 x 13 (dangit)
20 x 15

Dips
15 x 15
10 x 2 x 15

Side raises
6 x 2 x 20
9 x 12

Curls
15 x 8
10 x 4 x 10

Pressdowns
65 x 3 x 18


Bodyweight's going up a little quicker than I'm planning, so I'll have to curb that over the weekend. But I'm fkn loving bulk gains, should probably maintain more consistency to the weights.

Lifting wasn't too hard today, only miss was second set of shoulders.

[ridge_forrester]

Tonight's workout was shyte.

Morning weight was 98.6, and was pretty bloated when I belted up for squats.

Points of failure:
Trying to cram two workouts into one (busy week ahead)
Too little rest - Cut upper body rest by a day
Too heavy - Tried to bump intensity up over last workout




Bench
105 x 2 x 15 - harder than last workout, but still possible.

Squat
100 x 15 - felt a lot weaker than last workout. So naturally, I add weight for the next set.
110 x 9 - didn't fail, just no energy or attitude. Balls were totally empty.

Pullups
bwt x 8

Dips
bwt x 20


Got too hungry for progression, made noobie mistakes. Called it a night, will come back stronger later in the week.

[ridge_forrester]

In other news, Valerian root smells like bin juice and dicks

[ridge_forrester]

Gotta be quick, need to get some foodz and sleep!

THURSDAY

Morning weight: 98.9.fat.kunt

Squatties
110 x 14
95 x 15

RDL
80 x 3 x 15

Lunges
bar x 2 x 15

Prone row
35 x 3 x 15

Shrugs
100 x 3 x 18

Absss
some sets x some reps

Weights are still pretty light, but I'm straining unusually hard. Maybe I'm not recovering enough on squats, iunno. I'm pulling the volume back a little on them and keeping everything else equal to see if that helps.

Strangely enough, I bench more (no hate, plx) and can handle more volume on that, too. Progression seems easier there, too... wtfever

[ridge_forrester]

FRIDAY

Morning weight: 98.6

Bench
110 x 14 (actually difficult, failing the 15th rep killed me )
100 x 2 x 15 (still easy breezy. paused the last rep on each set)

Dumbbell shoulder press while banging them together loudly at the top
27 x 15
25 x 15
22 x 15

Dips
+15kg x 3 x 15

Curlsbro
12.5/side x 6 sets of 8

Side raises
7 x 18
9 x 2 x 15

Pressdowns
73 x 3 x 15

Linear progression has still worked pretty well so far. Might try for 115 for sets of 12 next week? Next short term goal is 120ish x 10+ which would be nice to peak from.

[RawBear]

FRIDAY

Morning weight: 98.6

Bench
110 x 14 (actually difficult, failing the 15th rep killed me )
100 x 2 x 15 (still easy breezy. paused the last rep on each set)

Dumbbell shoulder press while banging them together loudly at the top
27 x 15
25 x 15
22 x 15

Dips
+15kg x 3 x 15

Curlsbro
12.5/side x 6 sets of 8

Side raises
7 x 18
9 x 2 x 15

Pressdowns
73 x 3 x 15

Linear progression has still worked pretty well so far. Might try for 115 for sets of 12 next week? Next short term goal is 120ish x 10+ which would be nice to peak from.

Hahaha, I do this too.

Solid session mate! Working hard. I think if you lowered the volume (reps) you could be moving some pretty heavy weights, I know you mentioned gradually lowering the reps, now might be a good time, if you are inclined to. Keep it up!

[ridge_forrester]

MONDAY

Morning weight: 98.3
Had a fairly busy weekend, didn't get to eat a lot

Squats
115 x 12
100 x 12

RDL
90 x 12, 15

Pullups
+5 x 7
bwt x 8

Pulldowns
60 x 15
65 x 10

Dumbbell shrugs, overhead shrugs, abs

With reps coming down and weights going up, I think I can afford to throw in an extra set soon. Lower body is still catching up with the work capacity it seems.

[ridge_forrester]

...ohai!

Woke up feeling a bit lean, didn't think I ate a lot yesterday. Hopped on the scales, 99.1kg!

-heavens-

Anyway, I celebrated that with another bakery lunch.

BENCH
120 x 10 (!)
110 x 10

D/bell shoulders
30 x 10
27 x 10

Dips
+20kg x 2 x 12

Bent laterals
7kg x 3 x 12

Pressdowns
77 x 2 x 15

Bi's were too sore from doing back yesterday to get a decent workout tonight, just did a few sets of hammer curls. I think I might move bi's to legs/back/abs night instead.

Bench was the big one though, that's almost a lifetime PR and definitely a PR at this weight! This diet/routine's working wonders )))))))

Tonight's psych up:

[ridge_forrester]

Urgh, fkn squats.

Morning weight: 99.0

Squats
120 x 10
110 x 10

100 x 10 \ no belt
90 x 10 /

RDL
90 x 3 x 15

Prone rows
40 x 15, 12
35 x 15

Ab roller
3 x 12

Squats were hard as fukk, so I did more sets instead of lunges tonight. The weight still didn't seem that heavy, it's just.. hard. I feel like I have to rest for way too long between reps.

I think it's an issue of poor form and low fitness/work capacity. So I'm planning on doing more volume and focusing on perfecting each rep.

Rest of the workout was alright, just really tired after squats/RDLs!

[ridge_forrester]

Good workout tonight, loving dat fat man strength!

Attitude courtesy of:



Morning weight: 99.7

Had to skip breakfast for an ultrasound scan on my liver, but ate a ton of food afterwards. I'll definitely be over 100 tomorrow

Bench
122.5 x 10
115 x 10
100 x 17

Dbell shoulder press 3/4 reps not really locking out except for the last few reps so I wasn't banging them together at the top
30 x 12
27 x 12
25 x 12

Dips
+20 x 13, 12
+10 x 15

Side raises
8 x 12
10 x 12
12 x 10

Curls
12.5 x 4 x 10

Pressdowns
70 x 20

Called it quits.. at this stage I was so tired I felt like I was wasting my time.

Gonna eat a ton of pasta....

[RawBear]

Hey man, good to see things are moving on up for you. Solid work and attitude to go with it.

100kg here we come! Hows the eating going, what kind of things are you scoffing down?

Keep at it mate!

[ridge_forrester]

Hey man, good to see things are moving on up for you. Solid work and attitude to go with it.

100kg here we come! Hows the eating going, what kind of things are you scoffing down?

Keep at it mate!

Cheers man

I haven't been this weight in a long time. And tbh, it feels much easier getting up this high than it was before. Maybe I have slower metabolism to thank for that? Iunno..

At the moment, food is mostly:

Carbs: Rice, weetbix, pasta and occasionally bread.
Prote: Meat and milk. I don't eat a lot of eggs, but they're great though.
Fats: Fatty fish, nuts, dairy, olive oil.

Supps: Multi, zinc, vit D, casein, fish oil, psyllium husk (for fibre - that shhit works well!)

And generally eat a lot of fresh fruit, vegebles, coffee and chocolate

My diet is fkn expensive!

[RawBear]

Cheers man

I haven't been this weight in a long time. And tbh, it feels much easier getting up this high than it was before. Maybe I have slower metabolism to thank for that? Iunno..

At the moment, food is mostly:

Carbs: Rice, weetbix, pasta and occasionally bread.
Prote: Meat and milk. I don't eat a lot of eggs, but they're great though.
Fats: Fatty fish, nuts, dairy, olive oil.

Supps: Multi, zinc, vit D, casein, fish oil, psyllium husk (for fibre - that shhit works well!)

And generally eat a lot of fresh fruit, vegebles, coffee and chocolate

My diet is fkn expensive!

Mate, food in Aus is fuking expensive! Your diet is basically the same as mine, but with more fish and veggies. I hate fish, and veggies are....meh.

I can't wait to be hitting the 90kg mark, 100kg must be feeling pretty good right about now. Strength is going up at a steady rate as well.

Got to hit the hay bud, be looking forward to another strong workout from ya!

[ridge_forrester]

True that man, and thanks for the support! On a quick food tangent, I was amazed at when I went to the States a few years ago at how big the food serving sizes were and how cheap it all was! I swear you could get a slab of coke from Wal-Mart for like $6 AUD equiv

And despite that, Australia is on par with the US for percentage of fat fukcs!

But going up in weight is great. I tells ya, there's no gains like bulking gains

There were guys in the local mall offering free single passes to some shyte new gym so I figured I'd give it a go earlier just for funsies.

>More expensive than my current gym
>No chalk provided
>Dumbbells up to 30kg max
>AllmyNEIN.exe

[ridge_forrester]

Yeaahhhanyway

Morning weight: 98.9
- down a little from last few days, but a good pound over last Monday

Squats
125 x 10 - What could only be described as a miserable fuking grinder. I honestly didn't think I was going to make 5 reps, but somehow found it in me to get to 10. What's worse is that I lost count at around 7-8th rep, so I might've done 11 just to be safe :tard:
100 x 10 - comfy

RDL - tighter form, feelsgoodman
100 x 12
90 x 12

Pullups
+5kg x 8
bwt x 8

Pulldowns
52 x 2 x 15

Dumbbell curls
17.5 x 3 x 10

Abs x 3 x 8

Very happy with how squats went, despite it near killing me. It was so hard I started going deaf (ears ringing like when you're really drunk) for a while after the set was finished (not sure how common that is? lewl). But anyway, it's made me realise that I've got more strength than I give myself credit for and if I tighten my form up, focus more and stop being a bitch, I could get better results.

Some weights were up from last week, some were down. Kinda rushed through tonight's workout and felt totally rubbish by the end of it. Also didn't sleep much last night which kinda put me off for the day.

Edit: But some German power metal always puts me in the mood for some big liftin'!

[RawBear]

Yeaahhhanyway

Morning weight: 98.9
- down a little from last few days, but a good pound over last Monday

Squats
125 x 10 - What could only be described as a miserable fuking grinder. I honestly didn't think I was going to make 5 reps, but somehow found it in me to get to 10. What's worse is that I lost count at around 7-8th rep, so I might've done 11 just to be safe :tard:
100 x 10 - comfy

RDL - tighter form, feelsgoodman
100 x 12
90 x 12

Pullups
+5kg x 8
bwt x 8

Pulldowns
52 x 2 x 15

Dumbbell curls
17.5 x 3 x 10

Abs x 3 x 8

Very happy with how squats went, despite it near killing me. It was so hard I started going deaf (ears ringing like when you're really drunk) for a while after the set was finished (not sure how common that is? lewl). But anyway, it's made me realise that I've got more strength than I give myself credit for and if I tighten my form up, focus more and stop being a bitch, I could get better results.

Some weights were up from last week, some were down. Kinda rushed through tonight's workout and felt totally rubbish by the end of it. Also didn't sleep much last night which kinda put me off for the day.

Edit: But some German power metal always puts me in the mood for some big liftin'!

BANG! Grinders suck!

Fuking oath mate, great lifting, inspiring sh!t! Clean up that form and you'll be pushing some big ass weights!
Get some better sleep and eat a ton more, we all have off days, come back stronger!

[ridge_forrester]

Cheers mate, that'll be the plan

I took a big dose of that valerian crap (helps you sleep, apparently) after my big squat sesh last night, so I got a damn good sleep. I've got a lotta stressful shhit goin on at the moment which is really homosex for my focus/concentration :P

HOKAY, Tuesday's workout:

Morning weight: 98.9

Bench
125 x 9 (pretty tight form, but getting to 10 will be tough. Might gain a lil weight and try either later in the week or next Tuesday)

d/bell shoulders
32 x 8
30 x 10

Dips
+25kg x 2 x 12 (effective weight, about 125kg... think I might really bring these up over the next few workouts and see how it goes)

Bent lateralus
7kg x 3 x 15

Pressdowns
77 x 2 x 15
70 x 15

Less volume on bench tonight really helped me smash the hell out of assistance work. In fact, towards the end of the workout I almost felt like I hadn't really strained much tonight. But that bench set will be tough to recover from, which is why I cut the volume way back on it.

Not sure when I'll try for 125 x 10, but it'll be soon.

I think I'm about right on track to peak for 160 @ 105kg, but only time will tell!

[RawBear]

Cheers mate, that'll be the plan

I took a big dose of that valerian crap (helps you sleep, apparently) after my big squat sesh last night, so I got a damn good sleep. I've got a lotta stressful shhit goin on at the moment which is really homosex for my focus/concentration :P

HOKAY, Tuesday's workout:

Morning weight: 98.9

Bench
125 x 9 (pretty tight form, but getting to 10 will be tough. Might gain a lil weight and try either later in the week or next Tuesday)

d/bell shoulders
32 x 8
30 x 10

Dips
+25kg x 2 x 12 (effective weight, about 125kg... think I might really bring these up over the next few workouts and see how it goes)

Bent lateralus
7kg x 3 x 15

Pressdowns
77 x 2 x 15
70 x 15

Less volume on bench tonight really helped me smash the hell out of assistance work. In fact, towards the end of the workout I almost felt like I hadn't really strained much tonight. But that bench set will be tough to recover from, which is why I cut the volume way back on it.

Not sure when I'll try for 125 x 10, but it'll be soon.

I think I'm about right on track to peak for 160 @ 105kg, but only time will tell!

Good to hear mate, good to hear. How do you find those sleeping aids? I've been on sleeping pills once before but they left me feeling like death in the morning, Plus getting up at 5am doesn't help. Pity about any of that stressful stuff, hope everything is going well and you can get some focus back! All in good time.

Regardless of your distractions you doing bloody well on your lifts and on your accessory work. Especially on Bench and Dips today. Keep at it, get some rest and eat some more food, you were so close to reaching 100kg and staying there. Haha

[ridge_forrester]

BLEERRGHH

Thursday

Morning weight: 98.7

Figured I'd get the calories up with a big dirty pasta feed for lunch, then subway for preworkout. EXTRA ONIONS DDD

Squats
130 x 7 (Pitiful. Slow, ground out, rested for a few big breaths between reps.)
100 x 3 x 10 (Light weight, but hard. Was utterly ruined from the first set)

RDL
100 x 20

Dumbbell Lunges
12kg/hand x 2 x 12

Prone rows
45 x 2 x 12
30 x 20

Shrugs
100 x 25

I've squatted 140 x 5 at 90kg bodyweight, so tonight's effort was pretty demoralising. And about halfway through the workout I was so fatigued that I felt like I was wasting my time.
Afterwards, I felt like I could sleep for a week. And the through of squatting again is making me want to retch. Maybe it's deload time? Or time to eat more. Also, I think my form still gobbles penis.

Will record a squat vid for critique and lols some time.