2024 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[gauntlad]

28/05/2024:

Bench press - 15x5 with 7.5k dumbbells
Deadlifts - 15x1 with 10.5k dumbbells
Standing Triceps Extension - 15x5 with 2.5k dumbbell

30/05/2024:

Crossovers - warm up, then 4x10 at 7.0 resistance
Farmers Walk - 3x3 laps with 18kg dumbbells
Lat Pulldowns - 1 set of 15 at 6.0 resistance, 3 sets at 7.0 resistance: 15. 12. 10

My kid is keeping me busy in other ways... randomly decides he'd rather I carry him than walk sometimes. Recently that meant carrying my son on and off for about half a mile back from the park, and as a 4 year old, he is about 20kg now...

Just enjoying making the best of some nice weather we're having in the UK at the moment.

[CW47]

28/05/2024:My kid is keeping me busy in other ways... randomly decides he'd rather I carry him than walk sometimes. Recently that meant carrying my son on and off for about half a mile back from the park, and as a 4 year old, he is about 20kg now...

I have one that turns 4 in a few months. Is around the same weight as yours. Also have a park about a half mile from the house.

Last week we were at the park and it started raining. Of course my son was NOT ready to be done. I pulled him there in a wagon, hoping to avoid needing to carry him. Tried putting him the wagon to go home but that wasn't happening - kept climbing out right away. So I got to carry him home, trying to hold him in one arm while he's fighting to get loose and run back to the park, and pulling the wagon with my other arm. Good times, lmao!

Not trying to one up your story at all - just saying that I can 100% relate. Definitely recommend a wagon though. It's saved me many times.

[gauntlad]

Nice one on the wagon CW47, and I understand: toddlers are unpredictable!

[CW47]

Hatfield Squat: Goal = 2 sets x 4-6 reps
275 pounds - 2 sets x 6 reps
Hatfield went great. But I got really annoyed when I watched the video back because this felt hard as hell and it felt like the bar totally stopped moving part way up on the final rep, and then I see the video and it looks like I could've done another 6 reps. Dang man, these suck enough already, lol.
My other takeaway is that I still have a fair amount of opportunity to get better from a technical standpoint. There's a lot of unnecessary movement going on, and tightening that up should lead to more weight on the bar as well.

Rear Delt Fly: Rest Pause
25 pounds x 21 reps (2 sets instead of 3)
On the first 2 sets I did 4 more reps than last time. All heck kind of broke loose when I was about to do the 3rd set, so I never really got it done. I came back about 2 hours later and did an AMRAP with 40lbs DB's.

So, story time...skip if you don't care about anything except my training.
Just before I did that 3rd set on rear delts my lady starts yelling for me a the top of her lungs. I ran upstairs and there's the 3 year old sitting on the kitchen counter, his back to me, and she's standing there holding him so he doesn't fall off. She asks me to hold him so she can take a video. I'm thoroughly confused at this point, until I walk up and see the other side of him. It looks like he just finished cleaning a chimney, lmao! His face, arms, and clothes are pitch black. She had apparently not been paying much attention to what he was doing, and had no idea what it was. I scoured the main level for 10 minutes trying to figure out what he'd gotten into, to no avail. At that point she was going to take him upstairs to take a bath, and stumbled across the scene of the crime. He'd gotten into the mother load of makeup that she keeps in a cabinet in the upstairs hallway. Probably a dozen jars, sticks, etc. were emptied out, sitting on the ground. Our carpet was now multi-colored. Then she made her way into the master bathroom and found more makeup containers strewn about the sink top. The toilet seat was pretty much pitch black. There was what could only have been toilet water all over the toilet and floor. That boy just had a grand old time, lmao!
So I spent the next 2 hours cleaning.


Lying Leg Curl: Rest Pause
105 pounds x 11 reps
It was getting late, so rather than doing 3 rest pause sets, I just did 1 AMRAP with a bunch of partials afterward. Best guess was that I did about 11 reps with relatively full range of motion. I have no idea how many partials I did - maybe another 10, until I was barely budging the weight.

SSB Calf Raise: Goal = 3 sets x 10-15 reps
245 pounds x 11 reps
Again, just did an AMRAP (around 11 reps) with partials until the weight was barely moving anymore.

Going to donate blood this evening, so not sure if I'll get a lift in or not.

Here's video of the second set of Hatfield Squats:

[CW47]

Bench Press: Goal = 2 sets x 6-8 Reps
155 Pounds x 6/4 Reps
Tried using a faster eccentric. It felt good, but didn't produce any obvious increase in strength. I struggled quite a bit to get the reps in today, doing 6 fewer reps than last time after the 5 pound increase. There's a list of reasons why I may not have been at my best today from a performance standpoint, but still expected to get 2 sets of 6. Water under the bridge now. I'll try again next time.

Bulldozer Lateral Raise:= Rest Pause
Left Arm =32.5lb DB's x 30 Reps
Right Arm = 32.5lb DB's x 30 Reps
Same number of reps as last time with another 2.5 pounds. Still crushing my rep goal. Getting the movement pattern dialed in pretty good. I'll add weight next time.

Behind the Neck Press: Rest Pause
70 Pounds x 20 Reps
Lost 5 reps on this one as well with 5 more pounds. Not too surprising though since comparatively it's a larger percentage increase. Movement felt very good. Weight will stay the same until I get up to 25 reps.

Rolling DB Triceps Extension: Rest Pause
20lb DB's x 23 Reps
Been a while since I've done these. They felt better than I remembered. Big fan after today. Will add weight next time.

One Arm Overhead DB Press
40lb DB x 6 reps per arm
Mixed feelings on this one, but I think my hesitancy is largely a result of having done them in a fatigued state. My shoulders felt very unsteady, which I guess shouldn't be too surprising after doing a bundh of shoulder-adjacent work today. The BTN press in particular contributed to this I'm sure. Grip was a little shaky as well, and that was probably impacted by the lateral raises because I'd started feeling it there. My lower back started cramping up at one point (this initially happened when benching today, so it was already not happy with me). My takeaway is that it can probably be very good if programmed appropriately. I'd make sure I program it as a heavy shoulder exercise. Have it be the first exercise of the day. Probably would initially program it for straight sets of 6-8 reps, but I think it could be good done as a rest pause exercise as well. Will for sure keep it in mind as an option in the future.

Here's video of the first set of bench press. As I mentioned above, my back started cramping up partway through, which is why you see me lift my leg up.

[coachcalande]

Did arms in the am yesterday, legs and calves in the pm.

Nothing big to report, still machine based leg training and experimenting with 10-12 reps per set on leg press. My calves are terribly small lol.

Anyways, maintaining the best I can. I just can’t seem to get much stronger without gaining weight, kudos to you that are doing that.

[CW47]

Did arms in the am yesterday, legs and calves in the pm.

Nothing big to report, still machine based leg training and experimenting with 10-12 reps per set on leg press. My calves are terribly small lol.

Anyways, maintaining the best I can. I just can’t seem to get much stronger without gaining weight, kudos to you that are doing that.

I'm much newer to lifting than you are. I started in 2016 but basically had no clue what I was doing until near the end of 2019. Those first 3 years might as well have never happened. I'm basically around the 5 year mark for lifting, so it's probably no surprise that I'm still making steady progress (even though it's decidedly slower than it was during 2019-2021. I'm impressed that you're able to make any strength gains at all after having trained for decades.

I just ordered a Leg Press/Hack Squat combo machine yesterday. Been wanting one for several years, and finally found one I like - large footplates, good range of motion, and all of the other things I view as essentials if I'm going to dish out a bunch of money. Can't wait to get that bad boy and try it out!

https://deltechfitness.com/products/...press-hip-sled

[gauntlad]

Overhead press - 15x5 with 3.5k dumbbells
Rows - 15x5 with 4.5k dumbbells
Bicep Curls - 15x5 with 4.5k dumbbells

Back at it after taking a week off the weights due to illness: change of season usually gets me.

Managed to pick up some 0.5k plates recently, they were handy today.

[coachcalande]

Another torso day complete.

Bench/rows
Inclined /wide pds
Fly press/narrow pds
Seated press/shrugs
Side laterals

Carb up weekend.

I’m accepting that it’s all maintenance now. I still just train hard with whatever energy I have, weights are selected instinctively in the 3-10 rep range , occasionally hitting 10-15 on some sets but it’s rare. None of it makes you smaller and progress is just slow.

Looking back to 2020, bench was 275x5-8, about where I am now. I made the biggest improvement on back and legs and shoulder press over the last 4 years.

Now it’s all just to maintain and enjoy. Figure to play more sports this summer and hit more moderate volume/weight.

[CW47]

Close Grip Lat Pulldown: Rest Pause
120 Pounds x 22 Reps
Solid. Will add weight next time. Video of first set is below.

Hammer Curl: Rest Pause
40lb DB's x 29 Reps
I didn't mention it, but the lateral raises in my last workout seemed to hit my biceps hard. Weird. Think it must have just been the grip, holding up this weight basically with my thumbs when fully extended. I felt it today when doing biceps work. Didn't seem to affect much - just noticed some soreness.

Meadows Row: Rest Pause
Left Arm = 60 Pounds x 25 Reps
Right Arm = 60 Pounds x 25 Reps
Fixed the foot positioning I mentioned last time (placed nearest foot closer to the plates) and felt stronger. Did one more rep even though there was more weight on the bar. Weight will increase next time.

Single Arm Cable Curl: Rest Pause
Both Left & Right Arms:
0 pounds x 12 Reps
5 pounds x 8 reps
Put these in place of the Monkey Rows because I wanted something more biceps focused. I don't really have the right attachment to do these. Tried using a ring and it got the job done, but didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I may need to look into getting some actual handles. Still, they felt great overall. Definitely did a good job of isolating the biceps.

One thing of note - I'm finding that my form is pretty liberal on some exercise. I'm going to continue progressing as long as I can with what I'm doing right now, but at some point I will definitely reset and focus on stricter form on some movements. That's probably many months off in the future.

[gauntlad]

Todays effort:

Bench press - WU then 15x5 with 7.5k dumbbells
Squats - 15x5 with 4.5k dumbbell
Russian Twists - 15x5

I’m accepting that it’s all maintenance now. I still just train hard with whatever energy I have, weights are selected instinctively in the 3-10 rep range , occasionally hitting 10-15 on some sets but it’s rare. None of it makes you smaller and progress is just slow.

As someone really quite new to this (< 6 months) I thought it helpful when it was explained WHY the rep range may vary: given two ways to increase weight (i.e. additional weight or additional reps),

I tend to land on about 12-15 reps for now. It can be less in a gym, which just has more weights in the room.

[SaviorSelfJT]

PR City Boyos

Squat:
warmups
275x5
300x5
325x5

Did all these very fast, no rest between reps

OHP:
warm ups
205x5 (PR)

https://imgur.com/a/FU53Xam

Wondering if I hit a PR because of literally just one single tricep workout

Deadlift:
warm ups
425x4

Grip failed me, down to my fingertips in left hand on the 4th rep. No way it would have held for another. I noticed my left forearm had kind of a carpet burn on it, I wonder if my left hand is gripping too close and its creating extra drag. That would explain why its always my left hand failing


Wrist curls:
135x I dunno, a bunch of reps and sets

Tricep extensiosn:
45x12

[coachcalande]

Here’s an area I know I can make some gains on. I haven’t done deadlifts in a very long time.

455x3 easy seems like as good a place to start as any.
https://youtube.com/shorts/Pg68lek4PCE

Did another set at 475.

Then I did six sets of leg press in the 6-10 rep range and called it a day. I’ll try and hit bis/tris later.

[CW47]

Good Morning: Goal = 2 sets x 6-8 reps
130 pounds - 2 sets x 8 reps
Lowering to pins. I'll continue to do them this way. Still playing around with the movement. On first set stance was too narrow and pins were too low. Made adjustments and the second set felt better - video below. This really hit my mid-back muscles hard. Guess I'm not surprised since I was rounding my upper back.

Face Pull: Goal = 3 sets x 12-15 reps
37.5 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
Seemed to slightly strain a muscle in the top center of my back, close to the spine on my left side. Don't think it's anything to be concerned about. These felt quite nice today.

Walking Lunge: Goal = 2 sets x 8-12 reps
30lb DB's x 12 reps
These felt not great. I took video and saw basically the same thing I was feeling. My balance is off and I'm unsteady on my right leg (not surprisingly). This kind of convinced me that this maybe isn't the best exercise for me to be doing at this time. Just to get some more quad work in a did a set of Goblet Squats

Goblet Squat: Goal = 2 sets x 8-12 reps
30 pounds x 12 reps
Been a LONG time since I've done these. They felt very good. Got a nice quad burn from it. I may just stick with these in place of the Lunges moving forward.

SSB Calf Raise: Goal = 2-3 sets x 10-15 reps
100 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Yep, I hit calves...

Summer is here and I've been extremely busy. No time to lift the previous 3 days. Almost thought I might not get one in today because I had to choose between cutting grass and lifting. I made the right choice.

[gauntlad]

Overhead press - WU, then 8x4, 6x1 with 7k dumbbells
Rows - 8x5 with 7k dumbbells
Squats - 8x5 with 7k dumbbell
Hammer Curls - 12x5 with 7k dumbbells

[CW47]

Close Grip Pin Bench: Rest Pause
125 pounds x 29 total reps
5 more pounds than last time and I only lost 1 rep. Felt very dialed in on this movement this time around. I'll add another 5 pounds next time. First set is shown in the video below.

High Pull: Rest Pause
110 pounds x 23 total reps
I took video of the first set and realized it was a total mess - elbows and arms flailing everywhere, lol. Made a correction and the next 2 sets were MUCH better. The video below includes footage of the first 2 sets where you can see the difference.

Incline Fly Press: Rest Pause
37.5lb DB's x 27 total reps
4 more reps than last time. That's huge progress. Felt like it was mostly from technical improvement because the movement was very locked in. Will add weight next time.

6-Ways: Goal = 3 sets x 6-10 reps
6.5lb Plates - 3 sets x 6 reps
Bumped up the weight by 1.25 pounds on each arm. It's amazing how much harder it was and I struggled just to get the 6 reps. No worries though - I know weight progression will be exceptionally slow on an exercise like this, and it's really not even all that important.


Video shows the first set of Close Grip Pin Bench and the first 2 sets of High Pulls:

[coachcalande]

Went kayaking yesterday. The sun has me feeling a bit weak today.

Bench 225-245-265-265
Incline 225-225-225-225
Wide pds 200-200-200-200
Narrow pds 200-200 200-200
Seated press 185-165-165-165
Seated rows 270-250-250-250

[CW47]

Pullup: Rest Pause
5 pounds x 11 reps
First time doing these with any added weight in years. I'll stick with 5 pounds until I get up to 15 reps. Video at the bottom shows the first set.

Cable Curl: Rest Pause
40 pounds x 27 reps
Added 5 pounds and did 1 more rep. Weight will go up again next time. I can't remember the last time I shared video of myself doing curls, so I figured I was overdue. First set is shown below.

Cable Row: Rest Pause
135 pounds x 29 reps
5 more pounds than last time and I did 8 more reps. It's most likely because I ended up needing to put the workout on pause after the pullups and when I came back ~30 minutes later I was totally fresh.

Barbell Wrist Curls: Rest Pause
85 pounds x 28 reps
Used 10 more pounds than last time and only lost 2 reps. Pretty good. I took video of the last set just to show how I'm doing this lift.


Pullup's, Cable Curls, and Wrist Curls:

[coachcalande]

Leg day. Started off with a pyramid on the smith machine.

These pause squats are king
https://youtu.be/_PTZjYUouFY

Leg press is next.

Yes, I put on alittle blubber in the last two weeks. Ice cream, pizza and some free stuff at work to end the school year. I’ll have to clean it up a bit. I’m up about 5 lbs …