Insert Interesting Training Log Title Here

TLDR
Used to be in pretty good shape, now I’ve turned into the stereotypical guy who used to be in good shape and won’t shut up about it: I decided I’m going to fix that, drop bodyfat and get my press, squat and deadlift back up to respectable numbers. I’m starting this log to keep myself accountable, get some input and motivation!

A little bit about me
35, male, 89kg/195.5lbs (I just weighed myself and got the shock of my life), 175cm/5ft something.

Present lifts as of last week (when I tested)

-Deadlift: 1x210kg
-Squat: 6x125kg (which I believe puts my 1rm somewhere around 145-147.5kg)
-Overhead press: 1x70kg

Chronic injury sufferer (from years of contact sports and poor form in the gym)- shoulder surgeries on both sides, and an acl repair on my right knee.

I work in an office, but for quite a while I was in a much more active job, coaching group fitness and doing PT as well.

I’m from the UK originally, but was born and brought up in Dubai, UAE, which is where I currently live.

About my programming

The aim I’ve got in mind at the moment is to at least maintain the strength I have, or potentially build it a bit, whilst recomping my bodyfat to muscle ratio a bit- I’m really keen to get my pushes stronger, as I’ve had niggling shoulder injuries almost my entire life. Work at the moment is SUPER full on for me and I can’t always say I’ll have the free time or energy to work out 5x a week like I used to.

I’m a little bit of a numbers nerd (I did engineering at uni and for the first few years of my career and it’s stuck with me), so I like programming in line with my maxes and other numbers. I just came off the back of 8 weeks of 5/3/1 programming in squat, press and deadlift and I put my numbers up by about 5% BUT I’m still not where I’d like to be aesthetically so…

I’ve decided to go with a program that incorporates 3 consistent workouts a week, and 2 “optional” conditioning sessions. In the interests of still lifting heavy, but possibly getting a little bit of fatloss on the go too, I’ve elected to do a cluster set and accessor movement combo for legs, push and pull.

But what was diet, bro?
I’ve tried, with varying success, to meal prep myself the last 6 months. Unfortunately it saps a bunch of my time, and honestly, I end up forgetting things or eating more than I should SO I decided to pay for a meal prep company. Service starts tomorrow and marcos are

-P180
-C200
-F35

Here’s me complaining about how little time I have, and I’ve spent 30 minutes writing a Shakespearian essay on my training :sweat_smile: with that I’m gonna get TF outta this forum BUT I’ll update with my workout tomorrow which is my legs sesh. Stay real bros

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Monday, 09/05/22- 18:30
Session #1
Legs
Tiredness: 3/10
Soreness: 3/10
Awesomeness: 11/10

Andddd we’re offfff. After having a consistently rubbish day from start to finish (my manager always has the best banter on Mondays :expressionless:) I was actually pretty keen to hit this session. The gym is about a 10-minute walk from my office so I closed the laptop, flipped off my colleagues, and headed straight after work. I’d eaten 3 solid meals by the time I hit the weights.

Today I was rocking my legacy lifters, a belt and knee wraps (just during the squats, because I’m geriatric)

Warm up-
5 mins of light work on the assualt bike followed by 10 mins of mobility and ballistic stretching on my lower body

A: Squats, cluster sets, 3 sets, 5 reps

  1. 115kg x 5
  2. 115kg x 5
  3. 115kg x 5
    I paused for about 20 seconds between reps, and rested about 3-4 minutes between sets. This was hard, and I was sweating and breathing heavily for a lot of it.

B: Barbell walking lunges, 6 sets, 20 reps (10 per leg)

  1. 40kg
  2. 45kg
  3. 45kg
  4. 45kg
  5. 45kg
  6. 45kg
    So every week from week 1-4 I’m going to add a cluster set of squats, and remove a walking lunge set. Week 4 is going to be when I next test my 3RM on squats, and after that I’ll rework the numbers and star again on 3 cluster sets of squats and 6 sets of the lunges. I really REALLY regret programming in so many lunges now, but honestly I totally suck at them and since getting better at the stuff I’m not good at is the goal, I decided to go for it.

C: Single leg hamstring curls (machine), 4 sets, 10-12 reps per leg

  1. 22.5kg
  2. 25kg
  3. 25kg
  4. 25kg
    When I had my knee reconstruction, they used my hamstring to make a new ACL tendon for my knee so my hamstrings are proportionately small and weak. The left is also stronger than the right, hence the logic of adding in some single leg work to even things out a bit. I had about 2 mins rest between sets here, and was trying to ramp up the weight as I have a tendency to cramp easily.

D: Glute/ham raise (bodyweight) 4 sets, 10-12 reps

  1. 10
  2. 10
  3. 10
  4. 10
    More hamstrings! Not much to say about these. They got done, I didn’t die. Happy days. Motivation was provided by the absolutely stunning yoga instructor flouncing about on the cable cross after teaching her class, I’d say she was checking out my ass but she’d have needed a magnifying glass at this stage :innocent:

I weighed myself again this morning and somehow ended up at 87.25kg (down from 89 yesterday). I’ll take some progress pics tomorrow and put them in my next post.

Tomorrow is going to need to be a morning session, and I have a former client joining me, so I think we’ll do a little bit of conditioning while I have someone about to motivate me (hopefully the yoga instructor is in so I get the double motivation :laughing:)

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Tuesday 10/05/22- 07:45
Session #2
Conditioning/Cardio
Tiredness: 3/10
Soreness: 1/10
Awesomeness: 6/10

I teamed up with one of my old PT clients Hamza for this session. Our offices are in the same complex, and we both use the same gym so it’s easy for us to train together. Cardio and conditioning for me recently have been something I’ve found very difficult to motivate myself to do, couple this with the fact it was a morning workout (which I also am not usually a fan of) and I needed to make sure I was training with someone to get it done.

Hamza is actually pretty inspirational- as a client he never missed a session and trained consitently 3-4x a week despite having a stressful job, and a wife and 2 kids. He’s in his early 40s but he runs rings around the majority of 30 year olds I know, and we’ve developed a pretty strong friendship over the past 4 years since I started training him. It’s pretty awesome that he’s always down to jump in one of my workouts- and it really pushed me today, so we did a lot of partner work.

Session:

A: Partner Conditioning- score 9min40s

8 rounds- Partner 1 completes 15 calories assault bike, while partner 2 completes as many kettlebell swings as possible. My grip was the first thing to go on the KB swings and started to really suffer around round 4, managed to keep consistent reps without stopping though.

B: 4 Rounds- 2min work/1min rest

AMRAP in 2min of:
10 Kettlebell elevated pushups
10 Cross body mountain climbers
10 Kong rows
10 med ball slams
(KBs-20kg, Med ball 12kg)

Started off the first 2min interval getting 2 rounds in, quickly started regressing after that! By the end I was struggling to string more than 3 pushups together at once, they’re no joke, and holding the plank position immediately after for the m. climbers burnt my chest out super quick.

C: AMRAP 8min- score 6rds

Partner 1- Sled push 40m
Partner 2- Farmers carry (24kg kb) 40m

For me this was actually probably the easiest section of the work out, but the transition from sled to carry seemed to kill Hamza off pretty quick so I’m blaming only getting 6 rounds on him :laughing:

Overall session rating: 8/10- enjoyed the camraderie and came out feeling good. Probably could have pushed a little harder at certain points, but I still burnt in the region of 400cal according to my garmin/hrm) and averaged 168bpm heart rate across the 3 sections.

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I realized I neglected to post the physique (lol at using this word at this stage) pictures I said I would today so: here they are.

I don’t think I’m going to bother caliper testing myself at this point, or getting out the measuring tape as being in a slight deficit and being a bit more consistent will hopefully yeild visible results for the first few weeks.

Currently sitting at 86.25kg as of this morning, this kind of post weekend dramatic weight drop isn’t unusual for me as I tend to smash the beers and pizzas on the weekends :clown_face:


Thursday 12/05/22- 07:45
Session #3
Push
Tiredness: 6/10
Soreness: 3/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

I did another session with Hamza this morning- this time a pure strength session. I took a rest day yesterday as I didn’t have time in the morning (I have a PT client I still coach 3 a week, for some extra procket money), and in the evening I had the dentist as I’m getting a bunch of implants and veneers done. To be honest when I got out of bed at 6 I felt pretty sweet, and up for the session, but after breakfast and on the way to the gym my motivation started to go downhill a little.

I felt like I fatigued very quickly today across the board- which is annoying because I assumed having a phyical rest day yesterday would have sorted it- but I guess my sleep wasn’t great (my partner is an air hostess and came back at 2am last night which woke me up), and I had a pretty crappy day at work with more issues with my manager. I don’t know if this is the forum to go into my personal life but I guess it’s relevant to the log! I’m going to start adding in my weight on waking into my logs too- today it was 85.35kg which honestly was a little bit of a surprise. Also physique wise I’ve dried out a lot between Sunday and this morning- obviously it’s not a “dramatic” transformation but it’s visible.

Warm up-
I didn’t. At all. Maybe this was part of my issue

A: Barbell bench press- working up to 5 working sets, 5-8 reps (target)

  1. 10x50kg
  2. 8x70kg
  3. 8x90kg (start of working sets)
  4. 8x90kg
  5. 8x90kg
  6. 7x90kg (really started struggling here)
  7. 5x90kg (pissed at this)

B: Seated DB Shoulder Press- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 10x20kg
  2. 12x17.5kg
  3. 11x17.5kg
  4. 12x17.5kg
    I was taking around 2 mins rest here and honsetly I felt FRIED and weak the whole time. Given last month I was doing 30kgx5x5 on DB shoulder press I was honestly expecting this to be a little easier. I’ve always been weak in the shoulders like I’ve mentioned before but 20kgx10 reps is low even for me.

C: Hammer Strength Seated Chest Press Machine (Plate Loaded)- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 12x20kg (weight is per side)
  2. 10x30kg
  3. 10x30kg
  4. 12x25kg

D1/D2/D3: DB Lateral Raise, Standing Cable Face Pull, DB Rear Delt Fly (Lying on flat bench)- 3 trisets , 10-14 reps (target)
1.1) 14x12.5kg
1.2) 14x15kg
1.3) 14x5kg
2.1) 14x12.5kg
2.2) 14x15kg
2.3) 14x5kg
3.1) 14x12.5kg
3.2) 14x15kg
3.3) 14x5kg
I think next week I’ll rejig this so its face pull, raise, RD fly so that my rear delts get a break between. I was taking about 2m rest here and honestly I was pretty happy with raising 12.5kg with good form and 0 mementum for 14 reps.

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Friday 13/05/22- 18:00
Session #4
Pull
Tiredness: 8/10
Soreness: 3/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

I knocked part of my bridge (teeth) out last night and passed out at my own house party :joy: Figures since it was Friday the 13th. Also had a screaming match with my manager: starting to feel like my jobs on the line now which isn’t fun.


Anyway yesterday was pull day. I managed to knock the session out in 45m as I was in a rush to get home after work

A: Deadlift, cluster sets 3 sets 5 reps

  1. 5x 165kg
  2. 5x 165kg
  3. 5x 165kg

I took about 20s rest between sets. Honestly I didn’t truly struggle with this weight at all. There was a point mid set #2 that I saw stars at one stage, but that’s not unusual. I have an odd relationship with deadlifts, I like them because they’re my biggest (and the majority of the population I’d assume’s biggest) lift and I actually generally enjoy low rep high weight sets, but I fu*king DESPISE doing lower weight higher rep sets. Anyway during these lofts I was barefoot but had a belt. I focused on “priming” my lats between reps and locking my shoulders in a good position, as well as making sure my hips weren’t the first thing to pop up when I lifted.

B: Pullups, wide grip, 4 sets, 8-10 reps (target)

  1. 10
  2. 10
  3. 9
  4. 6
    Usually I’m pretty good at pull-ups, prior to this workout they’re generally in my programming somewhere. I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get straight sets of 10 but I guess the deadlifts took it out of me more than I thought!

C: Hammer Strength Seated Chest Supported Row Machine (neutral grip) Plate Loaded, 4 sets 10-12 reps

  1. 14x30kg (per side)
  2. 12x40kg
  3. 12x40kg
  4. 12x40kg
    30kg was wayyy to light so I did a couple extra reps to compensate. I like this exercise because it’s one of the few machines that makes my lats fail through fatigue without making me feel like my shoulders are gonna pop out of their sockets :joy:

D: Lat Pulldown, medium grip, 3 sets, 10-12 reps
1)10 X 60kg
2)10 X 60kg
3)10 X 60kg
Not much to say about these, I tried to keep my form as tight as possible, it felt heavier than it should, but then I think the heavy sets at the strat threw me off for the majority of the workout.

Monday 16/05/22- 11:30
Session #5
Legs
Tiredness: 5/10
Soreness: 5/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

We got today off work today unexpectedly as the ruler of the UAE, HH Sheikh Khalifa sadly passed away last friday. I had a pretty heavy weekend and what always tends to happen when I drink is I have some residual anxiety for a few days after the hangover- today was no different and I wasn’t really “in it” to start off with. Coupled with crappy eating on the last couple of days which bloats me something awful, it was a struggle to get the motivation for today, so considering all that it went quite well.

Warm up-
5 mins light assault bike, 5 mins dynamic mobilization. I noticed my pass thrus with the pvc were DREADFUL on my right shoulder today- clear mobility issue which needs to be addressed ASAP. Any advice would be appreciated.

A: Squats, cluster sets, 4 sets, 5 reps

  1. 115kg x 5
  2. 115kg x 5
  3. 115kg x 5
  4. 115kg x 5
    Total volume 2875kg
    This really didn’t feel too tough today. The problem I’ve got with doing cluster sets of squats is, that the programming requires 20-30s of rest between reps: it almost feels like I expend MORE energy re-racking and de-racking between reps than just standing there, but it’s hella uncomfortable with the barbell on my back for that long.

B: Barbell walking lunges, 5 sets, 20 reps (10 per leg)

  1. 50kg
  2. 55kg
  3. 60kg
  4. 50kg
  5. 70kg
    As mentioned last week- added a set of squats, took a set off these lunges. But MAN. My best set was 70kg x 20 reps. Given that last week I was doing 45kg for straight sets… Obviously I have a skewed perception of RPE.

C: Single leg hamstring curls (machine), 5 sets, 10-12 reps per leg

  1. 20kg
  2. 25kg
  3. 22.5kg
  4. 22.5kg
  5. 22.5kg
    Added an extra set here- as the gym I was using today didn’t have a GHD. This varaition on the machine is a lying HS curl as opposed to seated from last week and it was way way harder.

Wednesday 18/05/22- 13:30
Session #6
Push
Tiredness: 7/10
Soreness: 6/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

I’ve been feeling pretty crap the last couple of days- I have a really sore right shoulder and I’ve been feeling bloated and full of food (despite not really deviating from my diet for 3 days) to the verge of throwing up. I managed to get this session done all the same, and pushed my bench press a bit harder than last week at least.

Warm up-
Nope

A: Barbell bench press- working up to 5 working sets, 5-8 reps (target)

  1. 10x50kg
  2. 8x90kg (start of working sets)
  3. 8x90kg
  4. 8x90kg
  5. 8x90kg
  6. 7x90kg

B: Seated DB Shoulder Press- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 12x17.5kg
  2. 12x17.5kg
  3. 11x17.5kg
  4. 12x17.5kg

C: Hammer Strength Seated Chest Press Machine (Plate Loaded)- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 10x30kg (weight is per side)
  2. 10x30kg
  3. 10x30kg
  4. 10x30kg

D1/D2: DB Lateral Raise, Standing Cable Face Pull- 4 supersets , 10-14 reps (target)
1.1) 14x12.5kg
1.2) 14x15kg
2.1) 14x12.5kg
2.2) 14x12.5kg
3.1) 14x12.5kg
3.2) 14x12.5kg
4.1) 12x12.5kg
4.2) 14x10kg
My avid fanbase might notice that I removed the triset component here (I removed DB rear delt flies) and added another superset instead. This is because frankly my shoulder is knackered, and rear delt flies are hard enough for me to keep tight form on, let alone being part of a triset at the end of a volume heavy workout.

Way to get in there and get it done, even when you’re not feeling it!

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Thursday 19/05/22- 07:45
Session #7
Conditioning/Cardio
Tiredness: 7/10
Soreness: 5/10
Awesomeness: 6/10

Another slog of a day today- I’m still feeling like throwing up every time I work out, and today my coffee came up and went all over the gym toilets after the session :laughing:

I worked out with my buddy Hamza again today- really think I’d have thrown in the towel if I hadn’t so I’m glad he was there!

A: Tabata 30s work/15s rest, 16 rounds

  1. Battle rope
  2. KB swing (20kg)
  3. Medball slam (12kg)

Tough, but not impossible. Having problems fully extending overhead on the medball slams, and my lower back was PUMPED and tight towards the end from the KBSw and battle ropes, but that subsided quickly afterward.

B: Partner work- 4 rounds (4 sets of lunges each)

Partner A: Kettlebell front rack walking lunges 40m (switch arms at 20m), 16kg KB
Partner B: while partner A does 0-20m, burpees. While partner A does 20-40m 10kg plate Russian twists.

Ok this murdered me. I guess because I did push yesterday and because of the burpees, after the first 20m of walking lunges I was seriously struggling to front rack the KB, so I did the other rounds with it by my side. This was super frustrating as only a few weeks ago, my programming included 40 KB front rack lunges with 24kg kettlbells, so 16kg seemed like it should have been so much easier. It got to the stage I was starting to see white lights during the lunges, and I had to stop to puke after this round. I really don’t know why this was so hard- it didn’t look like it should have been.

C: 3 Rounds, Abs/Arms
Hanging leg raise x 15
Cable T bar curls x 15 (10kg)
Rope tricep pushdowns x 15 (20kg)

For an arms workout this is surprisingly heart-rate heavy. The combo of the wide grip hanging knee raises straight into bicep curls really tests forearm and grip strength, I’ll give it that much!

Thanks! I’m really trying to get into the “any workout is a good workout” mindset :slight_smile:

Saturday 21/05/22- 12:30
Session #8
Pull
Tiredness: 8/10
Soreness: 4/10
Awesomeness: 1/10

I did this session yesterday- had the onset of a sore throat which has turned into fullblown sickness today, guess that’s why i was feeling rubbish all last week!

I actually didn’t feel terrible in the session once I’d had a strepsil, some panadol and got going.

A: Deadlift, cluster sets 4 sets 5 reps

  1. 5x 165kg
  2. 5x 165kg
  3. 5x 165kg
  4. 5x 165kg

Last week I did three sets total, I added another set this week. Honestly I assumed it’d stretch me doing another set but I think I’ve not programmed these heavy enough as the last two sets I did basically as straight sets (as in no rest in between reps, when I’d programmed in 20-30s rest between reps). I’ve never really used cluster set programming before now, so I’m unsure if the idea is that you need the rest between reps because you wouldn’t be able to do straights sets, or not? In any case I’ll keep the weight one more week and really focus on getting perfect form on my reps for the time being. Feels like I’m stronger on DL than I thought, anyway we shall see when it comes to 3rm test week.

B: Neutral grip lat pulldown, 4 sets, 8-10 reps (target)

I was in a different branch of the gym I use today so had different equipment, and like a dumbass forgot to record the weights after deadlifts. Last week I did 4 sets of pullups as section B, but with the way my shoulder is I think I needed a switch up this week.

C: Seated single arm row machine (pin loaded this time), 4 sets 10-12 reps

D: Barbell Bicep curls, 3 sets, 10-12 reps

I feel pretty godawful today so I don’t want to write an essay- but I wanted to log all the same.

Monday 23/05/22- 18:30
Session #9
Legs
Tiredness: 3/10
Soreness: 3/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

Another after work session today, still not 100% in terms of being a wee bit sick but a lot better than I was yesterday. Fueled by work stress I hit legs today. Kept the squats and ham curls consistent but made minor modifications to the rest of the workout because why not.

Warm up-
Nooooppppeeee

A: Squats, cluster sets, 5 sets, 5 reps

  1. 115kg x 5
  2. 115kg x 5
  3. 115kg x 5
  4. 117.5kg x 5
  5. 120kg x 5
    Total volume 2912kg (up from 2300kg last week)
    Same as the deadlifts last week I really didn’t feel challenged too much doing straight sets here so I upped the weight a bit. Hit depth each rep, because people who claim squat numbers above parallel are a pet peeve of mine :rofl:. I’ll probably have to up the weight again week after next (next week is 3rm test)

B: Kettlebell single arm front rack walking lunges, 5 sets, 20 reps (10 per leg)

  1. 20kg
  2. 20kg
  3. 20kg
  4. 20kg
  5. 20kg

So the gym I worked out in today is always mega crowded after work, and the PTs there (and there are 800 of the fu*kers) always have their clients doing nonsense exercises on the sled push track which is where I usually do my walking lunges. Coupled with the fact there isn’t a rack within reach of the track, so I couldn’t walk the barbell out, and didn’t want to clean a 70kg barbell over my head to rack it…it was too congested to be dicking about with barbells so I did kB front rack instead.

C: Single leg hamstring curls (machine), 5 sets, 10-12 reps per leg

  1. 25kg
  2. 25kg
  3. 22.5kg
  4. 22.5kg
  5. 22.5kg

D: Single leg extension (machine), 5 sets, 10-12 reps per leg

  1. 25kg
  2. 25kg
  3. 22.5kg
  4. 22.5kg
  5. 22.5kg
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Wednesday 25/05/22- 07:45
Session #10
Push
Tiredness: 8/10
Soreness: 3/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

Sad to see my bench numbers actually drop this week, I can’t explain it- but I’m assuming it was more mental than physical. Push movements have always been my weakest and I think I’ve just been so psyched recently that my squats and deadlifts are improving, that I got into my own head about my benchpress. I still did feel pretty tired/knackered/sick/runny nose (hopefully not corona or monkeypox lol), but it felt a lot more like mental fatigue than anything else.

The astronomical amount of drama at work also isn’t helping. I work for a start up company in the fintech sector, and a bunch of our competitors have been laying off like crazy, which honestly sucks for office morale. I also genuinely want to punch certain people who are my business stakeholders in the face on a regular basis. I’ve had a good 10 years of experience in what I do, and I’ve worked my way up to my position- it’s pretty annoying when people don’t value your input…and even more annoying when you identify an issue, it gets ignored, and then it inevitibly fucks up. The temptation to scream "I told you so!’ is huge, but sadly unprofessional haha

Warm up-
nah

A: Barbell bench press- working up to 5 working sets, 5-8 reps (target)

  1. 10x50kg
  2. 8x90kg
  3. 8x90kg
  4. 8x90kg
  5. 7x90kg
  6. 6x85kg

B: Seated DB Shoulder Press- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 14x15kg
  2. 14x15kg
  3. 14x15kg
  4. 14x15kg
  5. 14x15kg

Since I’ve been struggling with these, I decided this week to drop the weight and add reps and an additional set. Seemed to work, but I’m still perplexed as to why I’m struggling with sub 20kg, when I know for a fact I can press 5x30kg with good form.

C: Hammer Strength Seated Chest Press Machine (Plate Loaded)- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 10x30kg (weight is per side)
  2. 10x30kg
  3. 10x30kg
  4. 10x30kg

D: DB Lateral Raise, 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 14x12.5kg
  2. 14x12.5kg
  3. 14x12.5kg
  4. 14x12.5kg

Again, modified from the previous week- straight sets of lateral raises. These felt good and I got a good delt burn from them. Major issue I have with lateral raises though is the jump in DBs at the gym (2.5kg increments) is quite steep for this movement, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to do even 10x15kg with good form.

Monday, 30/05/22- 18:30
Session #11
Legs
Tiredness: 3/10
Soreness: 8/10
Awesomeness: 11/10

So I’ve been sick and sore on and off the last week- cold/lower back/shoulder pain. Still been managing to train, and I did a session with a friend on Saturday which I didn’t log but was basically chest and tris. He’s a natural bodybuilding competitor, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that although he’s 6ft2 and weighs 7kg more than me, I pretty much outlifted him across the board. That said the guy is at like 8% bodyfat so I won’t celebrate too hard :laughing:

I had a persistent sore back above my left glute Sunday and Monday, and although I’d tried to work it out by rolling and stretching the lower back itself, it didn’t resolve til before my legs session today when I got the massage gun/ball into my glue and hamstring (which I guess was where the actual problem lay).

As per my programming, on week 4 I test my 3rm on squat, bench and DL. Today was squat and I actually had enough in the tank to push a 1rm effort too. Was pleasantly surprised that I got 140kgx3 very comfortably and pushed to 160kgx1 (recorded this and just hit depth).

Also I’ve been having issues uploading videos here, but if anyone wants to pop on my insta I usually post my vids there, and I’d love new followers :slight_smile: its: @get_rrpt

Warm up-
Massage gun followed by static stretching for about 10m

*A: Squats, work up to 1rm

  1. 60kg x 6
  2. 80kg x 5
  3. 100kg x 3
  4. 120kg x 3
  5. 140kg x 3
  6. 160kg x 1

Before this programming block, I probably tested rep maxes on squats once or twice a year, so I’m not sure if my ramp up in sets/reps here was right or wrong, but I wanted to make sure I balanced warming up to avoid injury with leaving enough in the tank to give max effort. I felt it went pretty well all things considered and although (as I keep harping on about) I’ve been sick I still felt I hit the best I could do.

B: Hamstring Curl (machine), 4 sets, 10-14 reps

  1. 42.5kg x 14
  2. 42.5kg x 14
  3. 42.5kg x 14
  4. 42.5kg x 14

Owing to the sore back I had on this day I elected to ditch the lunges- I feel now though that I’m just finding excuses to leave them out or modify them so next week I WILL do 6 sets regardless of anything else.

C: Leg Extensions, 5 sets, 10-14 reps

  1. 45kg x 14
  2. 45kg x 12
  3. 50kg x 12
  4. 60kg x 10
  5. 80kg x 8

Every week I find out I’ve been massively under lifting on a movement and this final 80kg set was it for leg extensions. Hilariously when I find it out it’s usually a result of me being a c*nt haha. Today one of the really rude PTs in the gym kept trying to cut in my sets on the leg ext with her client. Of course I said sure jump in in between, but then she had him doing some ass backwards triset of abs then leg extensions so my rest periods were at the 3 min mark waiting for them to stop dicking about. The guy wasn’t huge but she set him to 20kgx10 reps and to prove a point I left the pin on 60kg and 80kg respectively. Bit of a dick move if I’m honest but provided motivation to lift heavier I guess!

D: Smith Machine elevated calf raise 3 sets, 10-20 reps

  1. 40kg x 20
  2. 60kg x 15
  3. 80kg x 15

I rarely do calves in isolation, so today I can properly feel this! I made sure to focus on full range of motion and tempo. I noticed my left heel goes down a lot less than the right- so maybe I’ve got ankle mobility issues on my left side. Will address this if I notice it again.

Tuesday, 31/05/22- 20:00
Session #12
Conditioning
Tiredness: 5/10
Soreness: 6/10
Awesomeness: 1/10

So to my complete surprise my lower back pain was almost entirely gone today. Bit annoying actually since I booked both the physio and the chiropractor this week (neither of which is covered by my insurance), because I’m utterly terrified of getting a lower back injury. One of my best friends has a herniated disk and claims he’s able to do literally nothing at all, so I’ve always felt quite fortune that despite what I’ve put my body through over the years I’ve never had a spine injury. It feels like getting into my glute with the massage gun was what got rid of the pain so I guess if it comes back rinse and repeat.

With work being nuts and the industry being a bit all over the place, I’d set up some interviews one of which was today, the job sounds amazing and it’s fully remote so I’ll see where it goes during the next round. Anyway it gave me a buzz that I felt the interview went ok so I hit the session I did today on a high…until I got downstairs to my building gym. Oh. My. Lord. I usually use it in the early morning but the evening crowd: it was like a zoo man. Not a single correct exercise was done in that room today. So I stuck out a 16m EMOM and climbed the stairs back up to my flat on the 60th floor for cardio.

A: EMOM 16

  1. 20 Push-up
  2. 20 Single Arm DB Clean (40lbs)
  3. 20 TRX Row
  4. 20 Sandbag Hang clean to Squat (they only have a 10lg sandbag, so this was super light)

B: Stair climb, 55 floors
15m46s

Thursday 2/06/22- 20:30
Session #13
Push
Tiredness: 5/10
Soreness: 8/10
Awesomeness: 10/10

Went to the chiropractor today before this session. She was NOT impressed with the state of my shoulders, hips and thoracic spine but oh well :rofl:

It did make me feel better this session, particularly on the db shoulder press.

A: Barbell bench press- working up to 3 rep max (hit 4 rep)

  1. 10x40kg
  2. 8x60kg
  3. 7x80kg
  4. 3x100kg
  5. 4x110kg (probably had 1 more in the tank here)

B: Seated DB Shoulder Press- 5 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 14x15kg
  2. 14x15kg
  3. 14x15kg
  4. 14x15kg
  5. 14x15kg

These felt a LOT freer and less painful on my right shoulder after the chiropractor today. If they feel 2as easy next week I’ll up the weight

C: Incline DB Bench Press- 4 sets, 8 reps (target)

  1. 8x27.5kg
  2. 8x27.5kg
  3. 8x27.5kg
  4. 8x27.5kg

D: DB Lateral Raise- 4 sets, 10-14 reps (target)

  1. 14x12.5kg
  2. 14x12.5kg
  3. 14x12.5kg
  4. 14x12.5kg

I’ll post some progress pics and averages/results of my daily weigh ins next week. Essentially I’m down from being 87kg at my heaviest in the last 4 weeks to 84.3kg at the lightest. Cutting calories back from 2100 to 1800 next week to see how I get on for a 4 week period. I suspect I’ll feel a bit more tired and hungry, but then I spend my life tired and hungry so it’s no Biggie :rofl:

It’s 4 week check in time bitchezzzzz

So first, to the scale. I use a spreadsheet where I track my weight daily, 5 times a week (Monday through Friday), as well as my steps and the high and low weight over the course of the week. Here are the averages-

Wk1 (9/5/22):
Av weight: 86.14kg
Av steps: 11K

Wk2 (16/5/22):
Av weight: 86.43kg
Av steps: 11K

Wk3 (23/5/22):
Av weight: 85.29kg
Av steps: 10K

Wk4 (30/5/22):
Av weight: 84.82kg
Av steps: 10K

Weight diff between highest tracked and lowest tracked: 3.45kg

On to the progress pics:

IMG_20220603_065005

I’m pretty happy with this, to be honest- I know the lighting is slighty different and I’m a bit more tanned, but I can physically notice the difference in myself too.

Strength Gains
Biggest thing for me has been going from what I’d projected as a squat 1rm of 147kg to hitting 160kg on Monday this week!

I haven’t retested my deadlifts due to being cautious around my back, but I’d imagine they’re up too, given how easy 165kgx5 has been

My 4rm on my bench press of 110kg was also a nice win, hopefully I can keep building on this.

I’m keeping my programming the same for another 4 weeks, then I’ll decide if I want to continue on cluster sets, go to a 5/3/1 or try and aim for some hypertrophy with a german volume training program.

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This is awesome to see as your weight and lifts are almost identical to mine… the process is like foreseeing my own. I’m 178cm and around 86kg right now. I’m actually gonna get to 90kg before I cut again, but I don’t mind being at a higher bodyfat too much as after being only 125lb for most of my adult life - super leaness isn’t a goal right now. I cut 15-20lbs in less than 2 months after Christmas and I plan to do the same sort of thing at some point during this year, or after Christmas again.

I’m currently benching twice a week (one is with dumbells which I find easier to recover from due to lighter weight used) and actually planning for 4x8 90kg on my next bench session. Interesting to see that you put up 110kg for 4 with those numbers! I’ve only been doing this sort of rep range after 3x5s for most of my training life and was wondering how much it would carry over. I peaked out at 100kg 3x5 before switching my sets/reps up so would be ecstatic if i’m anywhere near 110kg for 4 reps.

Also if you’re still trying to lose weight, the GVT will be great for burning more calories but you won’t be recovering from it very well. From what i’ve read you’ll be better off sticking with the heavy stuff for now and aim for that sort of extreme volume when you’re feeding yourself better.

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Yeah it sounds like we’re twins hahaha. I was honestly surprised by both my bench and squat going up- and genuinely I expected the 110 to be a bit more of a struggle but I think it’s just been a result of being consistent. In the past I’d have maybe skipped or changed round a session if I wasn’t feeling it, but for the past 12 weeks (including the 8 I spent on a 5/3/1 prior to this) I haven’t missed a compound lift portion of my workouts.

It’s interesting that I don’t particularly feel like I’ve been dieting hard, but the weight and body comp seem to be changing up pretty naturally anyway. The other thing, I guess, is that my step count is way way up from the past few months as I’ve been making a concious effort to walk during my lunch times at work, and take the stairs whenever I can.

Anyway let me know how you get on with your lifts! I’m in two minds about GVT after the next 4 weeks- what scares me is losing strength because I’ve worked quite hard to get what I now feel for the first time in my lifting life are what could be considered “above average” numbers… so we’ll see.