This has been a fantastic week for running and weight loss (although I’m a little suspicious of my scale). I didn’t do a huge amount of resistance work - I did one gym session and hit deadlifts hard, but didn’t do anything else, and I did a low volume bodyweight home workout which felt effective. I also did a brief kettlebell session and a really nice hike.
Deadlifts
140kg: 2
160kg: 2
180kg: 2 - straps and belt on
200kg: 2
Chest Press Machine
85: 4x10
Pull-Ups
BW: 4x5
This was quite a low motivation day, but I’m happy with what I got done. Working up in doubles seems to work well with deadlifts - I’m always tempted to use singles, but I end up with so little volume. 180kg seems to be a good point to add straps and belt - 160kg double overhand isn’t easy, but I can do it with zero form breakdown. The second 200kg rep was weird - I got completely stuck about 2 inches from lockout and just had nothing left to give. I had to breathe out, take a huge breath in and then I could squeeze out the last bit of hip extension. Got her done though.
I’ve had a hectic few days and my nutrition has taken a backwards step, but I’m confident I’ll get on top of it today.
…Continued
Kettlebell Rows
40kg: 5x5
Band Pull-Aparts
Blue: 10x25
EMOM
I wanted to get some more upper body work volume in as I’d done so little at the gym. That’s the problem with deadlifts - they wipe me out for everything else. Now this feels like it’s been a good day of training.
Did 3 separate walks today totalling just over 9 miles. Nothing spectacular, but enough to be considered worth logging I think.
My hips have been feeling really beaten up after deadlift sessions recently. I’m much better at engaging my quads and glutes, where I used to be relying far too much on my hamstrings. I think this has made me stronger, but possibly contributes to how bad my hips feel for the next few days.
This was a distance PR but I took it very slow. My calves are once again a limiting factor now that the distances have increased. I think it will be best to drop my distances a bit and build back up. I’m confident I’ll be able to reach my goal of running 10k by the 24th, but it will definitely be a challenge. I think I’ll choose a route with minimal elevation change, as my usual trail is quite hilly.
The pistol squats felt surprisingly good, the run must have warmed me up well without taking my strength. Great day of training really!
Another brief session today, and it felt good. Left leg pistols are continuing to make slow but steady progress. I think I might attempt the 405lb deadlift challenge tomorrow if I feel good.
I didn’t get a huge amount done this week - the main points were a 4 mile run PR and a 200kg deadlift double. I’m particularly happy with how my pistol squats are going - all reps with my right leg are much more solid. My nutrition hasn’t been great, as usual - I’ve kind of messed up this T-Ransformation thing. Still, I’m making good progress with my performance goals.
Incredible session today. My deadlift warm-up sets didn’t feel fantastic, but 200kg went up pretty well so I thought I’d go for a PR. 220kg is a huge landmark for me - probably the biggest lifting landmark I will ever achieve. It was just incredible (although I did use straps). The squats were pretty good too (by my terrible standards) - it’s nice to see that I’m maintaining at least. I forgot to weigh myself today so I’m logging my bodyweight from yesterday.
Thanks a lot @MarkKO! It’s funny - I always used to fail at the floor, but now I struggle with the lockout. What exercises would you suggest for my weak points? What would you do in my position? Thanks again man!
@furo first thing I’d start doing is snatch grip DL and paused front squats. I’ve found SGDL preferable to deficit DL while effectively doing the same thing; and I find they hit my glutes hard to boot. Front squats paused in the hole for a couple of seconds are my favourite overall DL builder and absolutely torch your back and abs. Whether or not they are particularly effective to improve your DL from knees to lockout I don’t know, but I’ve found that whenever I do them my DL improves overall. I like five doubles or 10 singles after my DL, relatively heavy (75-80%). Lastly, I don’t think you can go wrong with lots and lots of back raises (100 a week or more) for at least 20 reps per set with and without load. Ab wheel rollouts would be a good addition too, I think they’ve helped me since I started. If you have access to any cambered bars they may be worth squatting with on any second squat day or after your main sets. Or even box squatting, but with a low box and your regular stance focusing on controlling your descent and gently easing onto the box simply because that is massively hard on your back and abs.
TL;DR
Paused front squat and SGDL. Do back raises. If you want to ab wheel and cambered bar squat variations. Since you’re probably iffy on over stressing your knee, I’d say SGDL, back raises and ab wheel and cambered bar box squats if you can.
@MarKKO awesome thank you! I really appreciate the in-depth response.
Mon-Fri I work in the middle of nowhere and I’m a member of a gym that is very basic. It has one barbell and a small area for lifting but no rack. At the weekends I’m usually (but not always) back in the city and go to a hardcore bodybuilding gym with a friend, like I did today. So I would certainly be able to do SGDL’s at the small gym, although I have a history of lower back problems so I’d have to be careful. I’ll also be able to do front squats if I clean the bar for each set - which will limit the weight a bit. I’m definitely keen to try front squats though. Unfortunately I’ve never been to a gym that has speciality bars! I love back extensions but can’t do them at the small gym - however I have a 40kg kettlebell which is quite good.
So I will definitely start implementing paused front squats - thanks a lot for the suggestion. I’ll try SGDLs too, but I’ll be quite conservative. I might also get back into doing single arm kettlebell swings with the 40kg - they smoke my lower back.
Any time. Now, this is pure speculation because I haven’t done it, but given the limited equipment you may get a lot out of pause DL. You could pause for a two count just below the knee, then for a two count just above the knee. Theoretically that should make you very strong in the area you struggle with.
