Thanks for the tip.
I do use a counterbalance when I practice my eccentric pistols down onto a box. My main issue I think are my long femurs, inflexible ankles and possibly tight hamstrings.
tweet
Hahahaha - first thing I saw!
Nice job on the pistols 
Week 40: Fail
Pistol Squats
BW: 3x1
Bodyweight: 96.3kg
This was pretty brutal - I got 3 extremely sloppy reps and then I had nothing left whatsoever. Just failed mess after failed mess. My hips feel beat to shit and my right knee is grinding like hell. I’m pretty certain it’s going to end up arthritic. Disappointing, I need to have a think about my training strategy.
Week 40: Cardio
Stationary Bike
30min
Crosstrainer
30min
Bodyweight: 96.2kg
My lower body felt very beat up today, I think mostly due to the nasty grinding right leg pistols (although the dodgy deadlift won’t have helped). I felt pretty weak so had a coke and a chocolate bar after work, but I’m fine with that.
Week 40: Summary
Bodyweight: 96.4kg - big improvement
Training: Not great, but finally got some right leg pistol squats
Nutrition: Fantastic
In terms of nutrition this week has been brilliant, but my training has been lackluster. I’m pretty sure the two are at least a little related. I think I’ve been really overdoing it with grinding dodgy reps which is both dangerous and unproductive. For at least the next two weeks I’m going to stick to 160kg deadlifts and partial ROM pistols and focus on building strength, rather than testing it.
I’ve ended up taking a few days off training because I was working the weekend and we had visitors. I haven’t stuck to a paleo diet due to how busy I’ve been, but I’ve been much better about portion sizes/choices and I plan on getting back into paleo as soon as I get the chance to prep some more meals. My bodyweight has been consistently around 96.0kg for the past 3 days, and I’m definitely seeing a physique improvement already.
Week 41: Lower Body
Deadlifts
160kg: 6x1 - mixed grip, beltless
EMOM
Squats
60kg: 3
70kg: 3
80kg: 3
90kg: 1
Pistol Squats
BW: 5x1
Back Extensions
BW: 50
Bodyweight: 96.3kg
This was a pretty good session. I half stuck to my promise to avoid grinding - I just used 160kg for deadlifts, but I did full ROM pistols. I think this might have been my first time squatting since before my wedding over 3 months ago and my legs completely freaked out. My hamstrings had such a shit-fit I had to spend a while on the stationary bike letting them sort themselves out before moving onto the pistol squats. As with the above post my diet hasn’t been perfect this week, but it’s been good enough.
Week 41: Bodybuilding
Bench Press
80kg: 5
90kg: 5
100kg: 4
Prone T-Bar Row
65kg: 2x3
75kg: 2
55kg: 6
Hack Squat (Plate Loaded)
70kg: 5
90kg: 5
110kg: 5
Bench Press Machine (Plate Loaded)
50kg: 15
60kg: 10
65kg: 6
Row Machine
65kg: 10
75kg: 10
85kg: 10
Deadlift
140kg: 5
180kg: 1
mixed grip, beltless
Preacher Curl (EZ Bar)
30kg: 10, 9, 8
Shoulder Press Machine (Pulley)
45kg: 12, 10, 10
Bodyweight: 95.7kg
I met up with an old friend and hit up a hardcore bodybuilding gym for a bit of a monster session - great fun. Everything felt extremely good, including the 180kg deadlift (which I promised not to do lol).
Week 41: Cardio
Stationary Bike
45min
Bodyweight: 96.0kg
I had a cheat meal yesterday evening - Indian takeaway - and so I’m very happy with this morning’s bodyweight. My diet has rapidly morphed from paleo to simply not eating like a tit, and it’s working for now.
Week 41: Summary
Bodyweight: 96.0kg
Training: Only 2 resistance sessions this week.
Nutrition: Pretty good.
It’s been quite a busy week, but I’m pretty happy with how training has gone. I only managed one lower body session and one full body session, but they were both good. I’ve had a fair amount of right knee pain, but nothing unbearable. My weight is continuing to drop steadily which is fantastic - I was 95.5kg this morning which is my lowest weight so far.
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Week 42: Bodyweight
Pistol Squats
BW: 5x1 - freestanding
BW: 5x5 - to chair
(both legs)
One Arm Push-Ups
BW: 5x1
Bodyweight: 96.3kg
Today I felt very sluggish. My right knee kept caving in on the pistols, which was very frustrating. My bodyweight has also jumped up again today. Not to worry.
Week 42: Deadlifts
Deadlifts
140kg: 1 - mixed grip, belt on
160kg: 1
180kg: F, 1
190kg: F, F
160kg: 1
155kg: 1
150kg: 1
145kg: 1
140kg: 5x1
100kg: 20
Bodyweight: 95.7kg
Today was very disappointing - I felt strong and had ambitions of another 200kg deadlift, but I failed my first attempt at 180kg even with a belt and 190kg wouldn’t budge at all. I tried to compensate with volume, so did a reverse pyramid and finished with a burnout set at 100kg. I messed up my diet today, lunch was pretty much purely carbs.
Week 42: Bodyweight
Pistol Squats
BW: 12x1
Pull-Ups
BW: 5x5
Bodyweight: 96.0kg
This ranks as one of my top three sessions since my injury, the other two being my first time walking and my 200kg deadlift. For the first 4 right legged pistols I used a counter weight, but things felt so good that I discarded it and went on to hit 8 solid freestanding pistols. These are the first ones I feel I can properly count - they felt fantastic. I filmed the final set - I’ll post it up later. It feels like such a huge landmark in my recovery.
Pistol Squat Video
Here’s the video of my final set of pistols from today. Not perfect, but solid.
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Today was a complete failure. I was pretty tired but didn’t manage any pistol squats with my right leg which is a pretty huge contrast to yesterday. My bodyweight was 95.2kg though, so that’s something.
Week 42: Lower Body
Deadlifts
140kg: 1 - mixed grip
150kg: 1
160kg: 1
170kg: 1
180kg: 1 - belt on
190kg: F
Pistol Squats
BW: 10x1
Bodyweight: 96.3kg
In hindsight this was a reasonable session, although it felt pretty frustrating at the time. I decided to warm up in smaller increments on the deadlift but I still found 180kg very challenging and every last bit of effort wasn’t enough to move 190kg. The first few right legged pistols were horrible, but I got into the swing of things and managed a few decent reps. It’s now been four and a half months since I first deadlifted 180kg and I’m disappointed that it’s still so hard.
Week 42: Summary
Bodyweight: 96.0kg
Training: Good progress on pistol squats. Deadlifts and upper body much the same.
Nutrition: Medium - I always struggle on nightshifts. Usually one good meal and one bad each day.
This has been an ok week. I’m very happy with my pistol squat progress, but my deadlifts have been stuck for ages now and I haven’t done much upper body work at all. My diet hasn’t been fantastic either - I find it really hard to stick to a clean diet on all these changing shifts. I’ve taken in a pre-made paleo style meal every day (usually some form of casserole with plenty of meat), but I’ve also been eating crap.
Deadlift Plan
I think I need to start following a structured plan for my deadlift, as just building up to a top single of 180kg isn’t really working. It’s not much volume and it’s probably teaching me to grind too much - I’m not practicing good reps. I’ve found a t-nation routine that looks like a good fit, so I’m going to start that next week. It’s a Tim Henriques routine and I like him. I might also add some back off sets. My goal is modest - I want to take 180kg from a bit of a grind to a dead certainty.
This programme works ^ Used it a few times on both squat and dead when my numbers were in the 120-160kg range on both. Simple and not too taxing.
That’s good to know, thanks man. It seems a little low volume for a once per week routine so I was thinking of pyramiding back down after the top set. Do you reckon that’s unnecessary?