Fabadab: Your Guess is as Good as Mine

07/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Lying leg curls (rings) - 16, 11, 9, 8
    (60s rest)

  • Front squats (heels elevated) - 9, 7, 6, 5 @ 50
    (90s rest)

  • Quadruped leg exts - 23

Decent session - got the extra reps on the leg curls (plus an extra set), but felt like I had to dig a bit deeper to get there.

Front squats were OK, again managing to up the reps, and I got all 4 sets @ 50 this time rather than having to drop the weight on the last set. These all felt pretty close to the limit though, so I think from here I’ll probably try to maintain the reps and make incremental weight increases instead.

Saw a youtube video where a guy did these quadruped leg exts and trying them out they did seem fairly effective, so I threw these on the end of the workout, rather than doing anymore sets of front squats (4 seems plenty). This was probably only a 4/5 RIR, so definitely room to improve on those.

3 Likes

08/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

Superset:

  • Pushups - 21, 15, 13, 11 @ BW
    (60s rest)
  • Reverse flyes - 24, 17, 14, 12 @ 2.5s
    (60s rest)

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  • Flat pec flyes - 23 @ 2.5s

  • DB OHP - 13, 10, 9, 8 @ 9.25s
    (60s rest)

  • Seated lateral raises - 20 @ 2.5s

  • O/H cable triceps exts - 19, 12, 10, 8 @ 15
    (60s rest)

Wall of text:

This was a somewhat frustrating session. When I first kicked off this program I started with 20 pushups and felt like I had a few reps in the bag (and the same for subsequent reps, but doing fewer each time), but now I feel like I’m just shy of failure getting the same reps or 1 extra (something like 0/1 RIR).

Reverse flyes were fine - still managing to increase those reps, and feels like I’ve got a good couple of RIR on each set.

I had intended to do banded pec flyes and reverse flyes, but I messed around with the setup and couldn’t get it to work. In the end I just did regular flyes, on a flat bench, which was OK but it felt like it was stressing the pec/shoulder connectors so that set was cut a little short, and then I was annoyed at the time being wasted so I just moved on.

Managed to up reps on the DB OHP compared to last time, but again I was pushing right up to the limit. I think I was coming down lower with the DBs each time compared to previous sessions which made it a bit harder, so I probably should have just aimed for same reps as last time. Left shoulder seemed to struggle more on these than the right.

Threw on a set of lateral raises afterwards, rather than doing more OHP, and they were OK except it was a real struggle to get them up to shoulder-height - that last few inches was a real effort.

Triceps exts were fine - I should probably use a 90s rest rather than 60s, seeing how the reps drop off. The first set felt pretty decent but from the second one onwards I just hit a wall really quickly. Added another set to these as I’m not doing any extra pressing compared to previous sessions, so I think there’s some extra capacity there to exploit.

So a mixed bag, but I finished the session about 10 mins later than I usually allow which is annoying as well. Obviously time is taken doing extra sets, but I also faffed about with the banded stuff and flyes so if I can think of a better option with a smoother transition that would help a lot.

4 Likes

09/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

Run:

  • 5m walk
  • 25m run
  • 5m walk

35m total w/ 25m running. 3.74 mi/5.98 km covered in total.

This went OK - I decided to go a little further than last time, as this fell with a day gap on either side between leg days. Legs actually fared just fine, but my lungs were struggling by the end of the run, possibly not helped by the cold.

I came a little short of the 5k mark on the run, by maybe 100m, but I beat my starting point by all of 1-2m so my pacing was bang on for consistency.

3 Likes

10/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Inc. DB rows - 14, 13, 12, 11 @ 18s
    (60s rest)

  • WG banded pullups - 7, 6, 5, 5 @ purple band + 1.1 WV
    (90s rest)

  • Inc DB rows - 20 @ 13s

  • DB pullovers - 12 @ 13

  • BB curls - 9, 7, 6, 6 @ 22.5
    (60s rest)

Pretty good session on the whole; managed to increase reps across the board on the DB rows, and was still 1/2 RIR on pretty much every set. My chest felt a little sore from lying on my front though, presumably due to being a bit tender from the last push session still.

WG pullups were pretty tough, with probably no RIR on the first couple of sets and then maybe 1 on the last 2. I didn’t have a way to increase reps here obviously, and I do have other bands but it’s hard to gauge the difference between them, so I decided to go with same reps and band, but throw on the weighted vest as a means of progression instead.

I wanted to do another horizontal pulling movement but wasn’t being too imaginative so I just did another set of rows, but at lower weight. Threw these in after the pullups just to mix things up, and to try and not take too much energy out of the lats/arms before those. Also did an extra set for the lats using the pullovers, but I’ve not done these before and they felt a bit awkward - I was trying to do them with my back across the bench, so maybe next time I’ll just try lying along it instead and see if that feels any better.

Added a set to the curls, and bumped up a rep to the first two sets. Felt like I had a good 2 RIR on the first set so seems to be improvement happening in the biceps at least.

4 Likes

11/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Lying leg curls (rings) - 14
    (60s rest)

  • FFE split squats (L/R) - 8/8, 7/7, 6/6, 5/5 @ 30
    (Front rack, 3" FFE + 1" RFE)
    (45s rest between legs)

  • Banded sissy squats - 12 @ BW (purple band)
    (heels elevated 1")

  • RDL - 9, 8, 6, 7 @ 50
    (90s rest)

I was feeling super tired and sluggish on this session, so was I decided to just shoot for same reps as last time out, but still added a couple of sets (sissy squats + RDL). Think this was the right call as everything still felt sufficiently challenging, although by the end of the workout I seemed to be waking up a bit and I might have been able to push the RDLs a bit. As it was I accidentally did too few reps on the penultimate set so I made up for it on the last (new) set.

3 Likes

Weighed in @ 13st 8.4 lbs Sunday morning, waist measuring 88cm/34"

2 Likes

13/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Inc DB bench press - 18, 11, 8, 7 @ 18s
    (60s rest)

  • Squeeze press - 11ish @ 10s
    (flat bench)

  • JM press - 10, 8, 8 @ 31.25
    (90s rest)

Superset:

  • Cable face pulls - 16, 13, 11, 10 @ 12.5, 14 @ 10
    (30s rest)
  • Lateral raises - 14, 11, 10, 9 @ 4.25s, 13 @ 3s
    (30s rest)

This was a surprisingly good session - I was fairly busy over the weekend so I thought I’d be quite tired for this, and I thought my triceps still had a little fatigue in them yesterday, but I was actually able to push on every exercise.

Got a couple of extra reps on the bench press, but strength dropped off for the last couple of sets so I just aimed for same reps as last time on those. Did an extra set for chest via the squeeze press which was OK but I might need to rethink how I do that as it was a bit awkward to execute (not wanting to drop plates on my face).

JM press went pretty well, hitting same reps as last time but bumping up the weight just a tad as I’m at the upper limit of the 5-10 rep range I’ve set for that exercise. I didn’t add any sets to this as I was already doing more pressing with the squeeze press added in.

Cable face pulls and lateral raises both felt much better than last time, even with extra reps being done. Lateral raises in particular were a positive as I’ve had a bit of pain in my right shoulder but that didn’t flare up too much today. Did an extra set on both of these but dropped the weight to mix it up a bit, which I think worked well.

4 Likes

14/02 (Early AM)

Just noticed most of my recent posts have been dated Jan instead of Feb, so now I have to go back and edit them all…

Warmup

  • Ring rows - 10, 8, 7, 6 @ 2.2 WV
    (90s rest)

  • Cable rows (double-D-handle) - 29 @ 25

  • Cable straight-arm pulldown - 19, 14 @ 15
    (60s rest)

  • Lat pulldown (pullup grip) - 17, 14, 12 @ 35
    (60s rest)

  • DB hammer curls w/ twist - 18, 15, 12, 11 @ 6.75s
    (60s rest)

Just plumb forgot to add any extra sets, but I was generally feeling a bit tired this morning anyway and I did at least add weight reps all round so I’m not too mad.

Ring rows were fairly tough - these felt like 0/1 RIR pretty much throughout, and felt like my arms were doing a fair bit of the work too. Cable rows were pretty decent though and I feel like I can bump up the weight on here some more.

Straight-arm pulldowns were OK, and I feel like I was able to focus on my lats more than last time, but I dropped a rep on the second set which was odd. I also forgot how I was supposed to do the lat pulldowns (i.e. which grip to use) because I hadn’t written in down in my log book - I thought it might be underhand but wasn’t sure so I went overhand instead. Still feel like my arms are doing too much here, and my hands get fatigued before my lats do which is pretty annoying.

Curls were good but tough - biceps felt pumped like crazy once they were done.

2 Likes

15/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Lying leg curls (rings) - 16, 11, 9, 8
    (60s rest)

  • Front squats (heels elevated) - 9, 7, 6, 5 @ 51.25
    (90s rest)

  • Quadruped leg exts - 24, 15
    (60s rest)

Hard session - I feel like overall recovery is barely there now, with the sets that have been added across the board since the start of this program, and hamstrings felt barely recovered yesterday so I didn’t add any sets on there. I did bump up the reps on the warmup sets, because it was feeling like a bit of a jump to the first working set, but after that things were tough so I only went for same reps as last time out (and felt like I was digging a bit deeper to get there).

Front squats were hard, with same reps as last time out but a slight increase in weight now (which is how I intend to progress this each week going forwards). Somehow gobbed on myself on one rep so I guess I must have been pushing…

Leg exts start off absolutely fine but then at some point they start to burn. Added an extra set here as I felt like my quads could handle a little more. Stairs have been tricky since then.

Trying to make small increases to food intake throughout the day to keep up with volume increases - we’ll have to see how well that works over the next week or so.

2 Likes

16/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

Run:

  • 5m walk
  • 10m run
  • 3m walk
  • 10m run
  • 5m walk

33m total w/ 20m running. 3.22 miles/5.15km covered in total.

Legs felt better than expected this morning so I thought 20m running would be fine, and I was right. Kept a fairly easy pace and felt pretty good right to the end - finished pretty much bang on where I started, probably helped by not having too much wind today. I wasn’t dying as much as in previous runs too which I think is probably down to it being a tad warmer than it has been in previous weeks.

Right leg/hip was giving me some issues on the dog walk a little later though, and there’s now a bit of tenderness there, but next leg session is only on Monday so that sure be more than enough time to recover.

2 Likes

17/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

Superset:

  • Pushups - 22, 16, 14, 11 @ BW
    (60s rest)
  • Reverse flyes - 25?, 18, 15, 13 @ 2.5s
    (60s rest)

Superset:

  • DB pec flyes - 21 @ 3s
  • Lying DB face pulls - 24 @ 3s

.

  • DB OHP - 14, 11, 10, 9 @ 9.25s
    (60s rest)

  • Seated lateral raises - 21, 17 @ 2.5s
    (60s rest)

  • O/H cable triceps exts - 20, 11, 8 @ 15
    (60s rest)

This sessions went better than expected on the whole; I felt like my chest and triceps weren’t 100% recovered from the last sessions, so I was surprised to have been able to improve on pushups (apart from the last set). Lost count a bit on the first set of reverse flyes so I think I did 25, but definitely improved all the other sets anyway.

Pec flyes and face pulls were fine - not used to these movements so still getting used to them, but obviously the weights are super light so I can’t do too much wrong.

OHP went way better than last week on the first set, but subsequent sets were still really tough, but again I managed improvements across the board. I felt like I had more in me for the lateral raises too, so that’s pretty good.

Where things didn’t go so well was for the triceps exts - I got an extra rep on the first set, but I felt like I had to dig deeper to get it. And then things went off a cliff and I couldn’t match previous reps, and by the end of the third set they were so pumped I decided to cut it there and not bother with the fourth set at all.

Think I’m more or less there with max recoverable volume for chest and triceps. I’ve noted before biceps and hamstrings seem to be close to their limit too, so this is the point I need to pay attention and refine things, possibly even knocking off a set if needed to stay at a level that I can keep pushing without running myself into the ground.

3 Likes

18/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Inc. DB rows - 15, 14, 13, 12 @ 18s
    (60s rest)

  • WG banded pullups - 7, 6ish, 5, 5, @ purple band + 2.2 WV
    (90s rest)

  • Inc. DW rows - 21, 15 @ 13s
    (60s rest)

  • DB pullovers - 14 @ 13

  • BB curls - 10, 8, 7, 6 @ 22.5

Fairly decent session - the rows all went well and I feel like there’s a tad more room to improve there still.

The pullups were rough though, basically 0 RIR on every set, and I don’t really have any way to progress these besides adding weight with the vest which doesn’t feel sustainable already so I think I’m going to have to just change this up for a different exercise. I’m thinking maybe just go with a different (easier?) grip to keep things simple.

The pullovers were slightly better this time around, lying along the bench rather than across it, but it still felt a little awkward - mostly it felt like a lack of shoulder mobility was preventing me from getting a good stretch.

Curls were tough but good - I’ll bump up the weight on these next time.

2 Likes

Weighed in @ 13st 10lbs on Sunday morning, waist measuring 89cm/35"

1 Like

20/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Lying leg curls (rings) - 15
    (60s rest)

  • FFE split squats (R/L) - 9/9, 8/8, 7/7, 6/6 @ 30
    (Front rack, 3" FFE + 1" RFE)
    (45s rest between legs)

  • Banded sissy squats - 13 @ BW (purple band)
    (heels elevated 1")

  • RDL - 10, 9, 8, 7 @ 50
    (90s rest)

Good but tough session here; legs were shaking a bit at the end when I was unloading the bar from the RDLs, so I think I put in some good work.

Legs were feeling a bit tired generally coming into this, but I decided to push up the reps across the board and actually handled it better than expected, so perhaps there’s a lesson there.

Leg curls were tough, not sure I had much more to give on those. Split squats are just soul-destroying, and I think I need to focus on keeping more upright but I do think I’m doing a decent job of keeping the focus on the front foot.

The sissy squats were tough as hell - my quads were burning so much I barely managed the 13, and increasing from here is going to be pure will-power in future weeks.

RDLs went well, and I’ll be bumping up the weight next time out.

3 Likes

21/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Inc DB bench press - 19, 12, 8, 7 @ 18s
    (60s rest)

  • Squeeze press (flat bench) - 12 @ 10s

  • JM press - 9, 7, 7 @ 32.5
    (90s rest)

Superset:

  • Cable face pulls - 17, 14, 12, 11 @ 12.5, 15, 14 @ 10
    (30s rest)
  • Lateral raises - 15, 12, 11, 10 @ 4.25s, 15, 13? @ 3s
    (30s rest)

Pushed pretty hard this session. Got extra reps on the first two sets of DB bench, but then strength petered out and I could only match the reps from last time. also felt like my front delts were getting quite a lot of action here so maybe my form was slightly off? Got an extra rep on the squeeze press too, but it was a tad awkward again.

JM press felt particularly hard on the triceps today - the weight was up a tad, but I dropped a rep from each set.

Face pulls and lateral raises were tough but good - added reps all round and added an extra set to each of these as well (using the dropped weight). Not sure there’s much more to give on the lateral raises, but I think I can get an extra rep at least across the board on the face pulls.

By my calculation this is the completion of microcycle 4. As noted a few times I’m nudging max reps on quite a few exercises, and have a rep or two in me on the others. I think I’ll try to carry this on for another couple of microcycles and then take a deload week and reassess/mix things up a tad.

3 Likes

22/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Ring rows - 10, 8, 7, 6 @ 3.3 WV
    (90s rest)

  • Cable rows (double D-handles) - 30, 20 @ 26.25
    (60s rest)

  • Cable straight-arm pulldown - 20, 15 @ 15
    (60s rest)

  • Lat pulldown (chinup grip) - 20, 15, 14 @ 35
    (60s rest)

  • DB hammer curls w/ twist - 19, 16, 13, 12 @ 6.75s
    (60s rest)

Woke up still feeling full from pancakes - that’s when you know you’re bulking right! …right?

Pretty tough session - ring rows are pretty much at their limit across all sets. Cable rows felt decent though, and I added an extra set here again as I feel like my back is just soaking up the volume.

Straight-arm pulldowns were OK but I’m still not totally happy with them as a movement. Lat pulldowns felt much better this week (and used a chinup grip again as I had originally been doing), but I wonder if I was just going through the reps quicker than before, which made it easier on my grip but then also meant I got more reps that way?

Curls were super challenging - really struggled with the last couple of reps and my arms had a crazy pump when I got back in the house.

4 Likes

23/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

Run:

  • 5m walk
  • 10m run
  • 3m walk
  • 10m run
  • 5m walk

33m total w/ 20m running. 3.16mi/5.06 km covered in total.

A bit lazy here with the choice of run, but I think it’s a good balance between getting in some sort of conditioning without affecting my legs too badly for the gym sessions. Hamstrings were a bit sore/tight still this morning but quads felt fine.

Covered a little less distance than last time doing this interval, but it was super windy today and for once I was running into it on the way out so that probably cut the distance short. It did make a nice change to have it behind me on the way back, and I did beat my starting point by 10-20m without trying, whereas I’m usually having to consciously push for the last 1-2 mins to make it back.

3 Likes

24/02 (Early AM)

Warmup

  • Lying leg curls (rings) - 17, 12, 10, 9
    (60s rest)

  • Front squats (heels elevated) - 9, 7, 6, 5 @ 52.5
    (90s rest)

  • Quadruped leg exts - 26, 16
    (60s rest)

This was a rough session - I feel like this has been a tired week in general, but slept particularly badly last night and was particularly tired for this workout.

Somehow managed to improve performances across the board however - got an extra rep on every set of leg curls and exts, and managed to match reps at a slightly higher weight for the front squats.

In the interests of openness I’ll also note that I’ve been feeling fat just recently whenever I look in the mirror, but that might just be coinciding with the fatigue. Nevertheless it does raise the question of whether I just push ahead with muscle-building for another phase (after this one is complete) or try to shed a few pounds. Maybe do a mini-cut? I read an old thread about the 10k swing challenge and feel tempted to run that for a change of pace.

3 Likes

I found the 10K Swing Challenge to be perfect both for a change of pace and for leaning out!

1 Like

No training over the weekend - was meant to workout Saturday morning but I was out late Friday and with how tired I was all of last week, and things to get done on Saturday, I thought an extra hour in bed might be the better choice. I had hoped to squeeze in the workout later on in the day instead but it didn’t pan out, so just an extra rest day in the end.

Weighed in on Sunday morning @ 13st 10.6lbs, with waist measuring 90cm/35.5". That’s now a pretty consistent upwards trend on both measures. Interestingly I did spot myself topless in the mirror at one point over the weekend and thought I didn’t actually look too bad (i.e. not too fat), which is exactly why I’ve never liked using the mirror to measure progress…

2 Likes