[quote]csulli wrote:
Dang I wish I were 95kg lol. Then I could cut down some bodyfat and still be at 200lbs. I have a phobia of weighing less than 200lbs.[/quote]
Haha! I’m the exact same - I have a cut-off in my head at 93kg (205lb) and I’m terrified about going below it.
I’m weird about weight - I weighed 100-102kg for the past 2 years and was really scared about losing weight because I’d put so much effort into gaining it. Now I’ve dropped 5kg of fat and my mindset has changed a bit, but it still scares me!
Also I am 6’2" so it is a lot easier and less impressive for me to weigh 95kg!
Due to a membership cock-up I can’t go back to the gym until the 16th. For the next 5 days I’m going to hammer pistol squats with both high volume and high frequency (hoping to grease the groove and get really efficient at the movement), and hopefully that will have a carry-over to my lunges. I’ll also do swings, weighted push-ups and chin-ups as and when I feel like it.
The last few reps of pistol squats were a real struggle despite taking long rests. I will continue to add reps each day and hopefully force my body to adapt.
I was planning on doing pistol squats throughout the day again, but I was just way too weak on them. My technique was really sloppy, and I didn’t want to practice them with poor form. I’ll let my legs rest today and try again tomorrow.
EVENING
Glute Bridge: 12-10-8
Lying Leg Raise: 12-10-8
Straight Leg Hip Crossover: 12-10-8
Rollover to V-Sit: 12-10-8
Bird Dog: 12-10-8
Fire Hydrants: 12-10-8
Scorpions: 12-10-8
Mountain Climbers: 12-10-8
Groiners: 12-10-8
Done as 3 circuits.
Lots of leg swings.
For some reason in the evening my lower back suddenly spasmed violently and I had loads of pain in my hips so I did this lower body circuit that I got from youtube called “Modified DeFranco Warmup”. Then I had an ice bath.
As soon as I started the pistol squats my back pain flared up again. I can’t believe that I’m so fragile that pistol squats give me agonising pain - this is pissing me off so much. Any suggestions on what to try/where to go from here would be greatly appreciated if anyone is reading.
I’ve found a possible alternative exercise to the pistol squat in the shrimp squat, which I found on Ido Portal’s youtube page. I can only do the intermediate variation - they are deceptively difficult.
I have been thinking more about how to train my quads using home equipment without hurting my lower back. I have been doing more experimenting and tried a pistol squat to a low chair (15"). The low chair prevented me from going to full depth and consequently my lower back didn’t round and my pain wasn’t exacerbated. This still felt like an awesome exercise, and was still below parallel.
I also experimented with the shrimp squat (as discussed above). I’m not sold on the exercise: it felt more challenging than the pistol, but more from a balance point of view, and I don’t like the fact that the knee isn’t put through a full range of motion.
I think I need to invest in some new home equipment. I need blocks to use as push-up handles (up until now I’ve been borrowing a friends handles), I want to make/buy a low and sturdy box to pistol squat to and I’d like some sort of dip station. I need to add more tricep work and dips are my go to tricep exercise.
I did the swings with only 10kg today, more as active recovery than conditioning or for strength as my lower back is still painful. The pistol squats to a 15" box seemed to work well. I was really focussing on technique rather than pushing the sets/reps.
I’ve been thinking about my next set of goals for once I reach the goals outlined at the start of this log. I’m really bad for thinking too far ahead, and not of the task at hand. I think a nice progression from my current goals will be 20-rep 12" pistol box squat, 20-rep incline 30kg weighted push-up and 20-rep neutral grip pull-ups. But first things first.
Happy with the bench press. Triceps are much weaker than they used to be before I started training at home. I think when I go back to training at home full time I’ll add in one-arm push-ups to rectify that.
I like your style of training with a short-term goal in mind. The simplicity of your work-outs are appealing, and I am also a fellow lower back victim.
I like your style of training with a short-term goal in mind. The simplicity of your work-outs are appealing, and I am also a fellow lower back victim.
REVERSE BARBELL LUNGE
Long warm-up
100kg: 1
130kg: 1
140kg: F
CHIN-UP
+18kg: 5-5
BW: 7-6
PISTOL SQUAT
10kg: 3-2-1
Bodyweight: 94.4kg
My lunge 1rm is now equal to my all-time back squat 1rm. Bizarre. I’m happy with this brief workout, though I didn’t feel good beforehand. Managed multiple reps on the pistol squat for the first time but my form suffered. I’m also very happy with my bodyweight - I seem to be staying below 95kg despite increasing my calories.
This was meant to be a rest day, but I wanted to be active. I thought an isolation-only pump day would be a fun way to work out for a change and wouldn’t impact recovery.
[quote]furo wrote:
This was meant to be a rest day, but I wanted to be active. I thought an isolation-only pump day would be a fun way to work out for a change and wouldn’t impact recovery.[/quote]
This may be a stupid question, but are you saying “pump days” have no effect on recovery? What are your protocols for “pump day”? Im thinking about adding a 3rd day in the gym, and a “pump day” may be what I need.
[quote]furo wrote:
This was meant to be a rest day, but I wanted to be active. I thought an isolation-only pump day would be a fun way to work out for a change and wouldn’t impact recovery.[/quote]
This may be a stupid question, but are you saying “pump days” have no effect on recovery? What are your protocols for “pump day”? Im thinking about adding a 3rd day in the gym, and a “pump day” may be what I need.
tweet[/quote]
I thought that a pump day would have less of an effect on recovery than my usual heavier training. However, I still feel really tired today so I’m taking today as a proper rest day. I’m not sure I’d recommend a full-body pump day like that, it was just a weird thing I fancied trying and it didn’t really work to be honest haha. Sorry I can’t be more helpful with this!
I have no idea what happened in this workout, it was all quite dire. For some unknown reason I got a big pump and got really quickly fatigued. The higher rep bench press and chin-ups were particularly disappointing. It all made my goal seem quite unattainable, but I’m just being a misery guts.
This may look like a feeble workout, but I’m actually very happy with it. The lunge set was an absolute blood and guts struggle and I’m very happy in general with the progress I’ve made on both lunges and pistol squats.
I’m going away on holiday in 2 weeks and my goal is to get the 20-rep lunge nailed before then. I think the bench and chin-up goals will take a lot longer.
