A new beginning in 2015

[mirroroferised]

Just a friendly nudge in the direction of the squat rack Nice bro session today. Looking forward to see the plan. Good luck with the deads tomorrow. I'm doing the same and I'm already thinking they feel heavy.

[raynerd]

Don't neglect the disco muscles Andrew! Regular bro day is very important! I liked the workout, and am interested in the new training plan you will be constructing. Kill them deads tomorrow!

[Jtbny]

That going backwards feeling is really tough. With your normal volume and some consistency you'll be back to where you were shortly. Well that and MOAR squats will help.

The bench has been a thorn in your side since I can remember. Look at the positive side though, your rows are killer so it all balances out.

I look at your SLDL and feel like such a slacker. I rarely go over 225lbs on those and have been regularly using 185 for 12-15 reps. Also, I'm at the point now if I forget my knees sleeves at home that day will be a bench day!

Good to have you back and the pics looked cool. I haven't been skiing in years and hope I can get my girls into it as they get older.

[fittofattofit]

Sunday/Monday bumped

Sunday 8th March 2014

167lbs

Squats ... home gym

Squats
10 x 50kg (110lbs)
10 x 70kg (154lbs)
10 x 90kg (198lbs)
5 x 110kg (242lbs)
3 x 110kg (242lbs)
3 x 110kg (242lbs)
3 x 110kg (242lbs)
3 x 110kg (242lbs)
3 x 110kg (242lbs)
2 x 110kg (242lbs)
Was going for 10 x 3
was about to have a fail

bench
8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3 x 50kg

50 minutes

My squats have slipped back so the plan is to get back to 3 x per week squatting, one session per week with JP (my trainer) and two other sessions per week following a Smolov pattern. In general the sessions with JP will be pyramiding to 5 rep sets or 3 rep sets so I'll try to stick to 4 x 9 and 5 x 7 at home although I might cycle through the 7 x 5 and 10 x 3 over the course of a few weeks. Because I'll still be deadlifting I won't beat myself over the head if I miss a squat session ..... I know, I know ..... I may as well surrender my mancard at the door. Old man knees will have to be factored in as well
Today I wasn't really sure what I was going to do ... I squatted two days ago with JP and I still had quad DOMS. I decided to work up to a weight where the form stayed good. I got 5 reps at 110kg and would have got two more, but it felt like a good weight for a 10 x 3 workout. That was a big drop from 10 x 3 x 130kg late last year but not a bad place to start but I couldn't even carry that through.

Solution ... more squats

Solution for benching .... more benching




Monday 9th March 2014

167lbs

Bro day

Wide grip lat pulldowns
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
10 x 70kg (154lbs)
10 x 70kg (154lbs)
10 x 70kg (154lbs)
10 x 70kg (154lbs)
Tempo 2:2:2

UH grip pull-downs
6 x 70kg (154lbs)
6 x 70kg (154lbs)
6 x 70kg (154lbs)
6 x 70kg (154lbs)
6 x 70kg (154lbs)
Biceps, serratus and lats
Felt weak on these

Standing rope press-downs
15 x 80lbs
15 x 80lbs
15 x 80lbs
15 x 70lbs
15 x 60lbs

Pec deck flyes
10 x 80kg (176lbs)
8 x 80kg (176lbs)
8 x 80kg (176lbs)
10 x 73kg (160lbs)
8 x 73kg (160lbs)
Tempo 2:2:2

Roman chair sit-ups
BW x 15
BW x 15
BW x 15

Wide grip EZ bar curls
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
Wide grip to hit the SHB
Tempo 2:2:2

Military presses
15 x bar
15 x bar
15 x bar
Concentrating on IR at the top

bench ..... at home
6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 2 x 50kg

50 + 10 minutes

I've neglected my shoulders and arms lately so I need to get a regular Bro day happening. This is the ideal session to do at my old commercial gym .... they only have one squat rack and two oly bars so it's tough to do the heavy stuff there but it's got the cables and pulleys and machines and the DBs so that I can go from station to station working on the disco muscles
Damn I felt weak though. I'm going to keep up with the Bro work and try to add volume in between the squats at home and the sessions with JP .... I'm starting to form a plan in my mind.
Anyway, tomorrow is a deadlift session with JP .... deads are sh!te at the moment so wish me luck

Just a friendly nudge in the direction of the squat rack Nice bro session today. Looking forward to see the plan. Good luck with the deads tomorrow. I'm doing the same and I'm already thinking they feel heavy.

Well ..... the main reason to set up the home gym was to be able to squat loads so I'd better not be a pussy now
As for the deads ... I never tell JP what to do but I'm hoping that we work for volume ... maybe some deficit deads at 330 and I'll be happy

Don't neglect the disco muscles Andrew! Regular bro day is very important! I liked the workout, and am interested in the new training plan you will be constructing. Kill them deads tomorrow!

I know from bitter experience that keeping the disco muscles balanced does matter .. when I keep up with the pull-ups, pull-downs and rows my shoulders feel strong and stable .... slack off and they start to grind.
DLs .... I could probably only manage a pull 100lbs less than the one you got so I've got a long way to go

That going backwards feeling is really tough. With your normal volume and some consistency you'll be back to where you were shortly. Well that and MOAR squats : D will help.

The bench has been a thorn in your side since I can remember. Look at the positive side though, your rows are killer so it all balances out.

I look at your SLDL and feel like such a slacker. I rarely go over 225lbs on those and have been regularly using 185 for 12-15 reps. Also, I'm at the point now if I forget my knees sleeves at home that day will be a bench day!

Good to have you back and the pics looked cool. I haven't been skiing in years and hope I can get my girls into it as they get older.

Thanks John ... I always like squatting and I've gradually rehabbed my way through piriformis, glute and knee issues so I feel like at least my form was good. I know that the strength will come back with volume, as long as I listen to my knees ... so Moar Squats it is
Benching has got my goat but I figure if I keep up with the volume I'll bring up those accessory muscles that support the RC ... if my shoulders stay sweet then I'll slowly bump the weight. I know I'll never be going for any records on the benching but a realistic glamor me will be to safely bench 2pps again for reps
The SLDLs felt good and I'm thinking that, rather than beat myself about the head on deadlifts, I'll leave the deads for the session with JP once a week but do SLDLs to build up PC strength. I've got an old pair of Tommy Kono knee sleeves so I'm going to leave them with JP ... I was thinking car boot but the heat will destroy them
And as for skiing .... do it! My girls love it and I really enjoy the time skiing with them .. plus it's another way to get the kids interested in nature

[fittofattofit]

Tuesday 10th March 2015

167lbs

Deads with JP

Warm-up
Good mornings .... 15 x bar
Glute and hammie stretches

Deadlifts .... full reset
10 x 60kg (132lbs)
8 x 100kg (220lbs)
5 x 130kg (286lbs)
4 x 150kg (330lbs)
4 x 150kg (330lbs)
4 x 150kg (330lbs)
Was supposed to be sets of 5

Superset
Yates Rows
6 x 90kg (198lbs)
6 x 90kg (198lbs)
6 x 90kg (198lbs)
with GHD hyperextensions
12 reps + 30 second hold
12 reps + 30 second hold
12 reps + 30 second hold
Spinal erectors were toast!

MetCon Superset
10 x inverted ring rows
5 x 55kg (121lbs) deadball cleans
10 x inverted ring rows
8 x 45kg (100lbs) deadball cleans
10 x inverted ring rows
10 x 35kg (77lbs) deadball cleans
Gasping

Stretches

45 minutes

Deadlifts
Deads felt better today. Wanted 5 rep sets at 150kg but kept form tight for 4 reps. Facet joint stayed sweet so no mindfcuk

Yates rows/GHD hypers
Kept the rows very strict. Grip was weak and the low back was barking. GHD hyperextension holds for 30 seconds just lit my back up!

Ring rows/deadball cleans
Hammer grip on the ring rows > slow down and power up. These got the last working but going straight into the deadball cleans at 55kg had me gasping. 45kg x 8 was just as bad. Sumo squat the ball to the knees, then clean it to the shoulders = totally anaerobic and a great PC and core exercise. 35kg was a breeze after that. An aim would be to eventually clean the 55kg as seamlessly as the 35kg

I was overall happy with the session .. deadlift form felt good even though I'd have liked more reps. Core felt strong and my lower back got a good working

+ some benching back at home
8, 8, 7, 6, 5, 6 x 50kg

[mirroroferised]

Reread 3 times and I'm still leaving convinced that you were happy with a deadlift session You need to skiing more Andrew

[Plateauplower]

Great back session, great work on the deads and the heavy rows. You hit your back from about every angle. Good to see the facet joint feeling good, I can see how the deadlift mindfuk works now after straining mine I'm sure im going yo be pretty apprehensive for a while when it's fully healed. Those ghrs have to be pretty hard after the dead.

[raynerd]

Beauty work Andrew! Great job on the deads, happy to hear they were solid and went well! Crushed those heavy Yates rows and those ball cleans sound crazy tough. Nice to see you haven't missed a beat and are killing it like an animal!

[fittofattofit]

Reread 3 times and I'm still leaving convinced that you were happy with a deadlift session

Ha ..... only because I've lowered my expectations :rolleyes

You need to skiing more Andrew : D:

I don't need much prompting .... I'm lining up some August skiing in New Zealand

Great back session, great work on the deads and the heavy rows. You hit your back from about every angle. Good to see the facet joint feeling good, I can see how the deadlift mindfuk works now after straining mine I'm sure im going yo be pretty apprehensive for a while when it's fully healed. Those ghrs have to be pretty hard after the dead.

Thanks Tim .. I can really feel my lats and serratus and my lower back .... but all in a good way Muscle pain is good, facet pain is bad ... I never, ever had a mindfcuk about my deads until that facet joint popped. You've got a lot more strength and muscle mass than me so I think you'll soon overcome it but it's hard to banish the bad thoughts from your mind when you can feel the back creaking

Beauty work Andrew! Great job on the deads, happy to hear they were solid and went well! Crushed those heavy Yates rows and those ball cleans sound crazy tough. Nice to see you haven't missed a beat and are killing it like an animal!

Thanks Shawn ... I'm still a long way from 180kg x 3 and 190kg as a single but I'm hoping that I can keep the form clean and rebuild back to those lifts later this year. This is the deadball cleans:



they are fun but they require a whole body effort

[scott_donald]

looking good with that volume on the deads...

next time you will get the 5....

[Payton1221]

Monday 9th March 2014

167lbs

Bro day

Standing rope press-downs
15 x 80lbs
15 x 80lbs
15 x 80lbs
15 x 70lbs
15 x 60lbs

Wide grip EZ bar curls
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
Wide grip to hit the SHB
Tempo 2:2:2

You gotta love bro day. Now if we could just maintain this size 24/7! I bet your arms looked hyoooge

[baker]

Good looking deadlift session nonetheless and bro sessions are the best!!

[fittofattofit]

looking good with that volume on the deads...

next time you will get the 5....

Thanks Scott .... I'm sure the way for me with the deads is to work that volume and just slowly build it up. I'll probably sneak in some SLDLs during the week to keep building that PC strength

You gotta love bro day. Now if we could just maintain this size 24/7! I bet your arms looked hyoooge

Unfortunately the pump seems to last just half an hour .... I need to work on the disco muscles now that I'm back on the market

Good looking deadlift session nonetheless and bro sessions are the best!!

Thanks Baker ... as much as I'd have loved to be 5 repping 160kg/350lbs I'll happily take that session because my facet joint stayed tight. It's a little bit grumpy today but it's been a lot worse. And the Bro session was so good I had another one today




Wednesday 11th March 2014

167lbs

Shoulders

Wide grip lat pulldowns ... FST-7
8 x 75kg (165lbs)
8 x 75kg (165lbs)
8 x 75kg (165lbs)
8 x 75kg (165lbs)
8 x 65kg (143lbs)
8 x 65kg (143lbs)
8 x 65kg (143lbs)
30 seconds between sets

Seated cable rows
10 x 75kg (165lbs)
10 x 85kg (187lbs)
8 x 95kg (209lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
6 x 100kg (220lbs)
tempo 2:2:2

Straight arm lat pull-downs
12 x 120lbs
12 x 120lbs
12 x 120lbs
12 x 120lbs
12 x 120lbs

Reverse Pec deck RDFs .... FST-7
8 x 90lbs
8 x 85lbs
8 x 80lbs
8 x 75lbs
8 x 70lbs
8 x 65lbs
8 x 60lbs
30 seconds between sets

45 minutes

I got in a quick session at the old gym .... I'm on call tonight so I may not get home until late. Delts got hit from all angles with pulling and rows, but no pressing .... my shoulders get too funky with pressing -- I don't think there's much cartilage left in there. I kept it light and focused on Time Under tension
Easy today cos tomorrow is Squats


+ some benching back at home
8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 5, 5 x 50kg

[Flounderbout]

Good news that you are starting to hit some decent weight on the deads after that little false start the other day! Sets of 4 x 150k is a pretty creditable start after a layoff I reckon. Let it build slowly!

I'm very impressed with the volume/weight on that lat/shoulder work. Now wonder your rows are so huge.

Oh, and you do know that the home gym is meant to be an alternative to your usual gym - not an excuse to work out twice per day, right?!

[Plateauplower]

Excellent. Lots of volume in the shoulder/lat mangler. Hope your getting used to the setup. Nice work getting some bench reps in after all that pulling. The facet joint is strange, mine did not hurt at all today but has hurt for weeks, including last Sunday.

[Jared.P]

nice few sessions man! take all the gains on those deadlifts you get and just keep ramping them up. you know you can go heavier so you will in no time! strong volume on that shoulder day as well

[jonnyboy44]

good to see your getting back to the big weights. Sure you will get the extra reps on deads next time. seeems benching at home is a daily activity that was some volume on your shoulders bet that got the lactic acid flowing.

guns for the girls? thought that was for the young guys, you old dog Andrew

[fittofattofit]

Good news that you are starting to hit some decent weight on the deads after that little false start the other day! Sets of 4 x 150k is a pretty creditable start after a layoff I reckon. Let it build slowly!

Slowly does it but my strength is just way down on last year .... really 20% off so that's a bit disheartening. I'm hoping that a bit of consistency will see me get back into good reps at 160 in the next few weeks

I'm very impressed with the volume/weight on that lat/shoulder work. Now wonder your rows are so huge.
Oh, and you do know that the home gym is meant to be an alternative to your usual gym - not an excuse to work out twice per day, right?!

I figure that since I can't do OHPs I have to do lots of pull-downs and rows to provide my shoulder with some stability. I actually had my rehab session to start the day and Ash (the rehab trainer) said that my shoulder mobility was the best he's ever seen it
And at least with the home gym I can bench whenever I want, even if it's a workout for pussies .. I'll just keep plugging away at that bench

Excellent. Lots of volume in the shoulder/lat mangler. Hope your getting used to the setup. Nice work getting some bench reps in after all that pulling. The facet joint is strange, mine did not hurt at all today but has hurt for weeks, including last Sunday.

I'm going to keep up the gym membership so that I can do all that cable and machine work for the shoulders and back .... the rear delt flyes on the pec deck are especially good for helping to balance the strains across my shoulders and I really feel that they provide strength and stability for my shoulder joints themselves
And I tweaked the facet joint a bit yesterday doing the seated rows ... probably put too much body english into it ... a reminder to not take it for granted

nice few sessions man! take all the gains on those deadlifts you get and just keep ramping them up. you know you can go heavier so you will in no time! strong volume on that shoulder day as well :eek :

Thanks Jared!

good to see your getting back to the big weights. Sure you will get the extra reps on deads next time. seeems benching at home is a daily activity that was some volume on your shoulders bet that got the lactic acid flowing.

guns for the girls? thought that was for the young guys, you old dog Andrew

Thanks Jon ... curls for the old girls as well

Thursday 12th March 2015

Squats with JP

166lbs


Warm-up
lateral lunges ... 10 x bar each side
Paused squat ... 20 seconds with bar
Hammie, glute and quad stretches

Squats
8 x 60kg (132lbs)
5 x 100kg (220lbs)
3 x 120kg (264lbs)
F x 140kg (308lbs) WTF!
2, F x 130kg (286lbs)
WTF ... just felt weak
No bounce out of the hole

Squats .... Punishment
2 reps EMOM
2 x 120kg (264lbs)
2 x 120kg (264lbs)
2 x 120kg (264lbs)
2 x 120kg (264lbs)
2 x 120kg (264lbs)
2 reps every minute on the minute

Superset
Box squats ... 18" box
8 x 100kg (220lbs)
8 x 120kg (264lbs)
8 x 120kg (264lbs)
Slow down; pause for 2; power up
Last few reps were hard
with GHD sit-ups
12
12
12

Superset
Walking lunges
16 x 60kg (132lbs)
16 x 60kg (132lbs)
with pistol squats
6 x each leg
6 x each leg
Quads were dead

Piriformis and glute stretches

55 minutes

Squats
I had a sh!tty night's sleep, but wooow ... I just got stuck at the bottom of a 140kg squat. That hasn't happened for a single for well over a year. I'd sort of psyched myself once I got under the bar thinking that the bar felt really heavy. I dropped back to 130kg for a triple and missed the last rep of that as well ... just got stuck in the bottom again and rolled it off my back
As punishment JP got me to do 2 x 120kg EMOM .. every minute on the minute with a timer. The first set I thought 'no way will I get another set' but then I settled down and the last few sets were the best of the day. What I realised: I was thinking so much about my knee tracking and using my adductors from the bottom of the hole that I wasn't grabbing my breath at the top of the squat so that I lost that 'piston' effect. Stupid really ... in thinking about the hips and knees I'd forgotten about keeping tight from top to bottom

Paused box squats
120kg/264lbs x 8 ... slow neg, pause for a 2 count, and then power up. Easy for the first few reps but quads were tiring at the end

BB walking lunges
60kg x 16 ... light weight but quads were failing at the end. The last 6 reps of the 2nd set were rest/pause 2 at a time. I kept visualising the face plant with a BB on my shoulders

Pistol squats
Could only manage 3 at a time .... quads were fcuuked

I was not impressed with my squats, but at least I reminded myself what I should do ... hopefully just a bad week

[Plateauplower]

It's strange how that works, I've noticed the same thing on several lifts, if the bar feels heavy when un-racking it I'm not going to get my reps. I'd just chalk it up to a bad session because you were repping that weight just a few weeks ago. I noticed when my facet joint was hurt it took all of my explosion from the hole away too, like the muscles would not fire. Good conditioning with the pistols and emom squats though. That will teach the legs to not let you down on squats or they will be punished .

[scott_donald]

one of those days it seems... but you now have a base for your next session...

reason i am doing so much pause work right now... i have the strength easy above parallel but bellow i have nothing through my back and hips so keep pausing till i am good...

[Flounderbout]

Slowly does it but my strength is just way down on last year .... really 20% off so that's a bit disheartening. I'm hoping that a bit of consistency will see me get back into good reps at 160 in the next few weeks

You are not down 20% on strength. You just lose a huge amount of technique, mental readiness, etc etc. That is why it comes back reasonably fast. If you were truly 20% less strong it would take the same time it took to get there in the first place. I was exactly where you were a short time ago, and although still well short of my best, I am on the way back. Keep at it and don't get disheartened.

Squats
I had a sh!tty night's sleep, but wooow ... I just got stuck at the bottom of a 140kg squat. That hasn't happened for a single for well over a year. I'd sort of psyched myself once I got under the bar thinking that the bar felt really heavy. I dropped back to 130kg for a triple and missed the last rep of that as well ... just got stuck in the bottom again and rolled it off my back
As punishment JP got me to do 2 x 120kg EMOM .. every minute on the minute with a timer. The first set I thought 'no way will I get another set' but then I settled down and the last few sets were the best of the day. What I realised: I was thinking so much about my knee tracking and using my adductors from the bottom of the hole that I wasn't grabbing my breath at the top of the squat so that I lost that 'piston' effect. Stupid really ... in thinking about the hips and knees I'd forgotten about keeping tight from top to bottom

I was not impressed with my squats, but at least I reminded myself what I should do ... hopefully just a bad week

In recent months I have failed at a whole range of absurdly light weights. Not long ago I failed at a 120kg squat WTF! The reason is that all my cues are not completely concreted in because I haven't been squatting enough, so I am having to think about things. It only takes one forgotten cue and everything goes to chite. Often at the moment I will unrack, and immediately know everything has gone pearshaped, just as Tim says. Sometimes it is just because it is a bad day. But more often than not I just have to rerack, gather myself, and come back for another go. If that fails sometimes I just leave and go back for another session later. So much of it is mental.

Here you figured out what was off and next time you will have it sorted. No drama!

[fittofattofit]

It's strange how that works, I've noticed the same thing on several lifts, if the bar feels heavy when un-racking it I'm not going to get my reps. I'd just chalk it up to a bad session because you were repping that weight just a few weeks ago. I noticed when my facet joint was hurt it took all of my explosion from the hole away too, like the muscles would not fire. Good conditioning with the pistols and emom squats though. That will teach the legs to not let you down on squats or they will be punished .

Today was just like that .... the muscles wouldn't fire. The stupid thing is that a few weeks ago I repped 150kg and 155kg and today I could barely get 130kg ... it didn't feel right and I just wasn't tuned in. I think it was a tactical error as well to go from 120kg x 3 (which felt heavy) up to 140kg, and it would have been better to get the 130 x 3 and then go for the 140 x 3. I often find that there is a bar weight at which the walk out 'shocks' you, but then after that, subsequent smaller bumps in weight don't seem to matter and the shock goes away.
There's always next time

one of those days it seems... but you now have a base for your next session...

reason i am doing so much pause work right now... i have the strength easy above parallel but bellow i have nothing through my back and hips so keep pausing till i am good...

I know that pausing at reps with 100kg has helped me before ... it's funny how some days the bar feels super heavy with 140kg on your shoulders and yet you know that there's plenty of people smaller than me who can squat twice as much, so a lot of how heavy a bar feels must be in the head. JP did say that I bombed down on that 140kg and didn't look like I'd controlled the descent so that I had no recoil for getting back up

You are not down 20% on strength. You just lose a huge amount of technique, mental readiness, etc etc. That is why it comes back reasonably fast. If you were truly 20% less strong it would take the same time it took to get there in the first place. I was exactly where you were a short time ago, and although still well short of my best, I am on the way back. Keep at it and don't get disheartened.

That 140kg felt so heavy, as did the 120kg on the box squats .. the last time I box squatted was with 160kg. It's weird how I've lost my cues but I've been taking a wider stance and sitting back more to protect my knees but that really has changed the whole dynamic for me

In recent months I have failed at a whole range of absurdly light weights. Not long ago I failed at a 120kg squat WTF! The reason is that all my cues are not completely concreted in because I haven't been squatting enough, so I am having to think about things. It only takes one forgotten cue and everything goes to chite. Often at the moment I will unrack, and immediately know everything has gone pearshaped, just as Tim says. Sometimes it is just because it is a bad day. But more often than not I just have to rerack, gather myself, and come back for another go. If that fails sometimes I just leave and go back for another session later. So much of it is mental.

Here you figured out what was off and next time you will have it sorted. No drama!

Well you know the solution ..... SM2SM
I've got squats planned for Saturday and Sunday

[raynerd]

Good session Andrew, FWIW, like clockwork if I take a break from lifting, I come back the first week and perform poorly....I come back the second week and perform even worse....the third week is when it comes together! Anyway, you made them legs pay dearly lol, and of course the answer always lies in sm2sm!!

[DocJekyll]

Just catching up a little here. Solid work man. I see your not happy with all of it but.......Your bro-card is platinum man.


I have same issue when I unrack the weights - if it comes of heavy; its gonna be a bad lift. Its just a mind f@ck. For me, there could be a half dozen reasons for it. I just do the same as Tim, move what I can and move along. Always the next session.

Keep it up man. Awesome back day in there as well. Love'n your volume these days!

[mirroroferised]

I plan on failing on a couple reps whenever I can end up kicking this damn flu. It happens man. Dust yourself off and move on.

[fittofattofit]

Good session Andrew, FWIW, like clockwork if I take a break from lifting, I come back the first week and perform poorly....I come back the second week and perform even worse....the third week is when it comes together! Anyway, you made them legs pay dearly lol, and of course the answer always lies in sm2sm!!

Thanks Shawn, I'm hoping that's how it will happen for me ... it's interesting how quickly you can lose some of your lift cues. My quads feel hammered so it will be interesting to see whether I've got DOMS tomorrow. And yes .... sm2sm

Just catching up a little here. Solid work man. I see your not happy with all of it but.......Your bro-card is platinum man.


I have same issue when I unrack the weights - if it comes of heavy; its gonna be a bad lift. Its just a mind f@ck. For me, there could be a half dozen reasons for it. I just do the same as Tim, move what I can and move along. Always the next session.

Keep it up man. Awesome back day in there as well. Love'n your volume these days!

Thanks for dropping by Doc. I don't think I started with the right attitude: I went in there feeling weak and tired to start with. I plan to attack the squats this weekend to try and get some rhythm back. Hopefully if I keep up the volume all this will start feeling easer again

I plan on failing on a couple reps whenever I can end up kicking this damn flu. It happens man. Dust yourself off and move on.

Thanks Dave ... I hope you get over that man-flu and get back to joining the squatting club

[DocJekyll]

Go get it man. If anyone can go destroy the rack - its you.

Looking forward to seeing what the weekend brings ya.

[fittofattofit]

Go get it man. If anyone can go destroy the rack - its you.

Looking forward to seeing what the weekend brings ya.

I don't feel like that at the moment because my knees and back are achey but I've committed myself to some decent squatting on Sunday ... I'm flagging it in advance so you guys all hold me accountable





Saturday 14th March 2015

167lbs

Bench/SLDLs/Rows

Bench Press
8, 8, 8, 7, 6, 3 x 50kg

SLDLs
10 x 50kg (132lbs)
10 x 70kg (154lbs)
10 x 90kg (198lbs)
10 x 110kg (242lbs)
10 x 110kg (242lbs)
10 x 110kg (242lbs)
10 x 110kg (242lbs)
10 x 110kg (242lbs)

Yates Rows
10 x 90kg (198lbs)
10 x 90kg (198lbs)
10 x 90kg (198lbs)
10 x 90kg (198lbs)
10 x 90kg (198lbs)

Poundstone curls
20 x bar
20 x bar
20 x bar
20 x bar
20 x bar

60 minutes

I had to work for 6 hours on Saturday morning and my motivation was low when I got back home ... I fcuked around for ages avoiding doing things that I should be doing before finally settling into the gym. I decided to leave squats for tomorrow and work on the PC with SLDLs
SLDLs ... I thought about upping the weight, but the plan is to keep the core and lower back tight so that the facet joint stays still, and to build up PC strength and back stability. The 110kg felt lighter than last week and I added reps .... the facet joint was clicking in and out every rep with the first two sets but after that I really concentrated on breathing and keeping the abs tight and that seemed to keep the facet joint locked in. I'll probably bump the weight next week but maintaining form and keeping the back sweet is the key
Yates Rows ... 90kg was much better this week. Kept the form tight
Bench ... I'm still only pushing Barbie weights with 50kg but the reps are getting easier. Slowly does it, so I won't bump until I get a good 5 sets of 10 reps ... maybe the middle of the year I'll graduate to Ken weights

Squats tomorrow
Enjoy the weekend guys

[Plateauplower]

Nice session, since straining my lower back my abs are getting a lot more work, when I get my core very tight on every rep of squats and deads it keeps it happy, also made my abs so sore my ribs hurt at first . I don't see how you can do those heavy rows with the facet joint issue, those kill me, maybe I'll get a vid and see if I'm doing them wrong when I mustar up the courage to try them again. Enjoy the weekend looking forward to brutal squat session tomorrow.

One thing that I notice on squats that helps me beat the bar feeling heavy is a somewhat violent unrack. Seriously, if I walk under and get set and slowly unrack the weight it feels heavy as fuk. If I swoop into the bar pull down hard on it and mash it into my traps before unpacking it and then unrack step back, get into position and squat it makes a big difference. It might just be me, idk, but that initial mashing myself into the bar while pulling down on it seems to make it feel lighter when I unrack it.

[scott_donald]

seems a perfect session for how you were feeling mentally today... like the PC volume...