Logging another workout for the purpose of bolstering my already positive mental state, because I’m down to 79.4kg & my lifts are still holding on.
Pec Deck: 120kg for 9
Crossbody Pec Deck: 85kg for 8, 100kg for 9
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 10
Nautilus OHP: 57kg for 7, 72kg for 8, 50kg for 9 (super slow)
I might actually throw out cross-body pec deck for practicality reasons. I’m under 80kg & because of advantageous physics, (which I don’t actually understand), I can do 100kg on this with one arm. I’ve really gotta brace & I’m not sure about the future of all this bracing with my future strength levels. I’ll keep it in while cutting though because I’d just rather not make any changes right now. Besides, I’ll be finished cutting in a few weeks surely - as I always said I’d stop if the hunger got too hard, energy dropped too much or if my performance tanked. It’s neat that I’ve got as ripped as I have while avoiding this.
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrushers (SS):16kg for 8, 18kg for 8, 14kg for 9
Cable Lateral Raises (SS): 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 6, 5kg for 11
Cable laterals are on 30 seconds rest to bring that final set’s reps down.
V-bar Pushdowns (SS): 30kg for 9, 37.5kg for 9, 30kg for 9
Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 6, 60kg for 8, 50kg for 8
Hammer-grip Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 7, 45kg for 7
More of the same. For some reason every time I do preacher curls I look at my biceps & think to myself how they can’t get any bigger right now because the raw materials aren’t there. Weird thought to have on this specific exercise but it’s probably due to it being the number one movement where I can watch the muscle contract as I train it.
Widish Grip Pulldowns: 100kg for 8, 110kg for 8, 90kg for 8
Lying Leg Curls (SS): 70kg 9, 60kg 9
Seated Chest Supported Row (SS): 75kg for 6, 90kg for 8, 75kg for 8
I think I’m mentally ready to go down to two sets of pulldowns finally, (getting over the irrational fear of not doing enough volume). Not now, but once the cut ends. I’ll go slow & just destroy my lats with a couple of sets. But I don’t want to do it now because that’s like admitting defeat to being able to do 110kg for 8 reps - which is important as I cut because it signals muscle retention in the clearest of terms. When I’m in a surplus, I won’t be worried about maintaining muscle since I’ll be gaining it, so I can change to a different variant with lighter weight without that annoyance of changing exercises because you’re afraid of acknowledging or even being exposed to the possibility of getting weaker, so you sub in a variant before it can happen.
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 100kg for 8, 80kg for 10
Weighted Decline Crunch (SS): 20kg for 7
Calf raises (SS): 100kg 9 (different machine)
Hacks are tough now I’m so much lighter. Strength holding on by a thread. But it’s still there.
Looking forward to the next gaining phase. I’m gonna dive a little bit deeper into this slower rep, lower volume higher intensity thing. Right now I do my top set of pec deck, & all my pulldowns, regular 1 up 1 down, & I’d like to look at slowing it down to 2/2 & just killing the muscle, possibly with fewer sets. Really devote myself to bodybuilding further. I’m much more engaged in this than back in the mid 2010s when everybody was doing fucking powerlifting stuff even though jacked was the original goal.
Alright, I’m done cutting for now. I’ve achieved a pretty sweet level of leanness but it’s getting difficult dealing with the hunger component. I’m glad to have finished this cut in the high single digits & without my strength levels dropping, & despite my hunger, I never felt like garbage RE energy levels. Now time to begin anew - with some small training adjustments. I’m delving deeper into lower volumes with slower tempo reps combined with high exertion.
Underhand Pulldowns: 100kg for 6, 90kg for 8
Lying Leg Curls: 70kg 10, 60kg 10
Now doing pulldowns with the 2/2 tempo. So, 100kg sounds heavy, being 6 reps, but this set took just over 24 seconds, (compared to my regular tempo set of 8 which takes about 16 seconds). Actual PR on lying leg curls, (I had a big cheat meal last night so the calories were powering me today), getting 10 reps with both weights for the first time.
Seated Chest Supported Row: 75kg for 6, 90kg for 8, 75kg for 8
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 100kg for 9, 85kg for 8
Rows went fine, but hack squats went very fine, getting two & a half plates, i.e. 100kg, for a top set of 9 reps. Can’t wait to progress further on these. I want 3 plates a side with my glutes touching my ankles.
Calf Raise: 100kg 9
Weighted Decline Crunch: 20kg for 7
Hip Adduction: 35kg for 12, 45kg for 12
Yes, hip adduction is new. I thought my legs were a little skinny on the inner side with all that fat off my body, so these are corrective. Plus, I think they will make any leg compound feel better in that they will further stress the desired weak link, (i.e. quads), by having one additional surrounding muscle being much stronger & not even close to being a weak point or interfering.
Anyway, this was on my lunch break. On weekend days I’ll stay in the gym longer & do a hip hinge & shrugs too.
First chest, shoulders & arms day with the calories back up. Everything was pretty constant. Big lesson is that calories don’t dictate performance, they just influence it.
Later that day I did chest, shoulders & arms on my lunch break, I returned to the gym after work for a little more, & to kill an hour before going to an after-work thing, (going home would have given me about 20 minutes at home before needing to leave again). I touched a barbell for the first time in a little while. I did good mornings, & also barbell shrugs. First time doing good mornings, I kept it conservative, did a set with the bar, then 40kg, then 60kg, for 10. I then went to 65kg for 10, then 70kg for 10.
I found it a bit jarring, almost like it wasn’t even a muscle building exercise, (I know this seems insane to say), because it was a tremendous stretch at the bottom, of course, but then at the top just no tension on anything. But today my hams have some decent soreness. I want to get good on these & build a lot of unbuilt muscle in my hams, glutes & lower back basically.
Also did shrugs with 100kg for two sets of 5, (two seconds up two seconds down form). I might buy straps because I might be needing them based on this performance.
The chest, arms & shoulders day with good mornings & shrugs in the evening was Thursday, & today is Saturday. Despite the lack of muscular sensation on good mornings, (apart from the bottom position which was significant contraction), my hams are very sore. In fact, more sore today than on Friday, (no lifting on Friday). Lower back is barely sore. Glutes are not sore at all, I suspect ATG hack squats have conditioned them well enough so I’ll have to actually get competent on good mornings before it’s a sufficient stimulus to do much to my glutes.
Anyway, I returned to the gym today for some back training, & hack squats. I had planned on today being my ‘back & legs’ typical workout, (pulldowns, leg curls, rows, hack squats, calves & abs), but my hamstrings were still sore to the point where I felt it would be counter-productive. I hadn’t planned good mornings, only leg curls, but upon my first warmup set of leg curls using 40% of my work set weight, they were just not firing well, & so I did a set of 10 to get some nice bloodflow, then terminated the exercise. I might have a quick Sunday gym session for good mornings & leg curls, undecided.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 100kg 7, 90kg 8
Managed to add a whole rep on these with slow rep speed, (2/2 up/down), on both the top set & backoff set, & really looking forward to doing these again & trying for 8.
PR weight on hack squats, going from 100kg to 105kg & hitting a top set of 7 before backoff set with 85kg for 9. Chest supported rows, PR on the backoff set, adding a rep & going from 8 to 9 reps.
Hip adduction done on a Cybex machine in this gym. My adductors were sore for 3 days after last time so hopefully this time around is a little easier. All-time PR on calf raises, going from 10 to 11 reps with this weight, very pleased. Finished with shrugs - on my way home from the gym I bought straps so I can go hard on these. I tried grip training in 2019 with static holds, & it sucked because after getting a little better I immediately stalled out, but I think I know why. I’m extremely susceptible to over-reaching on grip work. Not sure why but my max recoverable volume on AMRAP grip holds is just very low. I think single set training is the go-to on these as previously I was doing 3 sets & just stalled out hard.
It’s now Sunday & my hams are still very sore from the good mornings on Thursday. I’ll leave it another day or two before doing them again on the same day as my next workout probably, (chest, delts & arms). Anyway, it’s incredible the DOMS I got considering the tension curve on the exercise being so strong at one end & minimal at the other, but high tension in the lengthened position really does seem to matter a lot. Anyway, short ramble post incoming.
I have straps now & I’m looking forward to progressing on shrugs. I’m also looking forward to experimenting with pushdowns with a rope but using a very particular form, as I’ll soon explain. Straight bar & V bar both feel a bit awkward on my wrists, (V bar is better but it’s a bit finicky), & while rope is very comfortable on my wrists, I feel like it’s less stimulative on a set-to-set basis, because it’s so hard to spread the rope out that the set is terminated once you can no longer achieve getting the muscle short in that particularly difficult position when there’s still plenty of juice left in the muscle in the mid & lengthened position. I’m therefore going to do my sets with spreading the rope for a few reps & then performing more reps with the handles pressed together. Call it a mechanical dropset if you will. It seems arbitrary - why is it enough to go to failure on these other movements, but rope pushdowns require a mechanical dropset? Intuition. That’s it. The physical discomfort of pushing a muscle to failure is very unpronounced on rope pushdowns for me compared to using a bar, or doing any other exercise. I could almost hold a conversation while doing rope pushdowns to failure. Spreading the rope on early reps & pressing the handles together I think will keep it as stimulative as bar pushdowns while also being more comfortable on my wrists too.
A few workouts to log here. I did my chest, shoulders & arms day on Tuesday, & then did good mornings, shrugs & leg curls in the evening. On Thursday I did my back & legs workout, (not including hamstrings), & today on Saturday, I did chest, shoulders & arms, & also good mornings, ham curls & shrugs afterwards, same session since it’s a weekend day. I won’t bother logging the previous chest, shoulders & arms workout. I’ll log the back & legs session & todays chest, shoulders & arms + good mornings, shrugs & ham curls workout.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 100kg 8, 90kg 8
Glad to have added another rep on my top set here! Feeling like I’m building up some really good momentum. 100kg for 8 with two seconds up & down is nothing to scoff at.
Much to say here. First time doing adduction was 45kg for 12, second time I used a different machine. Third time I’m back on the machine I used first time, & I add 5kg to go to 50kg… And get 20 reps. Crazy increase. Alt calf raise machine, finally hitting 10 reps with this weight on this particular machine. Shrugs now with straps, added a rep on both sets.
Fricking awesome, added a rep to my top set on pec deck again, (using 2/2 tempo as well). Reverse pec deck feeling a bit weaker but that happens every now & then due to little shifts resulting in worse leverages in my form so I’m not worried.
Cable laterals feeling strong. Rope pushdowns too. 5/7 means first 5 reps I spread the rope & last 7 reps I kept my hands together. Potentially quite excited about this one, could turn out to be very productive.
Sick PR on the hammer curl, hitting 50kg for 8 reps at last. Hell yeah.
Good Morning: 60kg 10, 70kg 10, 77.5kg 12
Shrug: 100kg 8, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Ok, added 2.5kg on good mornings, (last time was 75kg for 10), as I didn’t wanna be too ambitious but ended up getting 12 reps, nice. Shrugs, solid PR with the straps. Lying leg curl - last time I was fatigued from good mornings I got 7 reps & today is 8, so I’ll take it!
Feel very lucky to have added a rep once again on my lat pulldowns, with 2 seconds each direction. Getting significantly stronger on a lat pulldown through pure muscular contraction seems like an almost 1:1 to building a thicker upper body.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 110kg 8, 95kg 8
Big deal, increased top set weight to 110kg & managed to hit 8 reps, exceptional.
Chest Supported Rows: 75kg 6, 90kg 8, 80kg 8
Hip Adduction: 55kg for 25
Calf Raises: 100kg for 10
Decline Situps for 8
First time doing adduction was 45kg for 12. Third time I do 50kg for 20 reps. Today, fourth time, I do 55kg for 25 reps. Crazy increase. These were some dormant muscles for sure. 60kg next time obviously. They seem to like high reps. Or maybe they’d like sets of 10 just the same but my adductors are nearly untrained so they’re responding well. Changing my ab movement slightly, instead of holding a plate to my forehead I’ve now got straight arms arms extended overhead, (overhead when my torso is vertical, so they’re way behind me at the bottom of a situp applying resistance). When I add weight, I’m sure 5kg will feel like 20kg.
This was all during lunch. I returned to the gym at 5PM to bust out some hamstring training & shrugs. I’d do it all at once but I’m busy with work. On the weekend I don’t need to break it up.
Good Morning: 60kg 10, 70kg 10, 80kg 14
Shrug: 105kg 8, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
So increased good mornings by 2.5kg & added two reps, big win. Added 5kg on shrugs & kept the reps at 8, another big win.
Saturday gym session, love it. Back & legs, no hamstrings, that’ll be a couple days later.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 100kg 10, 90kg 9
Absolutely quality, added a rep to both sets. Obviously these increases won’t last forever but I feel like I’m speed-running getting to my natural limit with these improvements.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 110kg 9, 95kg 8
Really pulled out the stops for this, going from 8 to 9 reps on the top set. Hell yes. 120kg on this movement, ass to grass, is on the horizon.
Calf Raises: 134kg for 12
Hip Adduction: 60kg for 22
Calf raises on the machine that lets me go slightly heavier, (it’s Saturday so I’m not at the gym by my work training at lunch, but at the other gym with my preferred calf raise machine). Went to the next pin on the machine as heaviest I’ve done is 125kg on this one. Not only kept my reps but added one, truly glad with myself on these. Talk about min-maxing calf progress. Hip adduction - weight up to the next weight, 55kg to 60kg, & did 22 reps, not bad at all. I’m going straight to 65kg next time.
I’m not a big fan of these rows anymore. I want to switch to something with more of a lengthened bias, instead of this pin machine row which is basically just really hard at the top like a barbell row really, (but chest supported). I think that’d be very helpful, but I need to find the apparatus for it, if it exists. Added a rep on my decline situps with arms fully extended, too.
Increased my pec deck with 110kg, (second time doing this weight with my 2/2 tempo form), from 8 to 9 reps, excellent stuff. Not my day on shoulder stuff today.
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 7, 50kg for 8
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 14kg 8, 20kg 8, 14kg 8
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Finally tried the 20s on for skullcrushers, & honestly quite impressed that I hit 8 reps. It was more than a 10% load increase so to go from 10 reps to 8 is not bad. Went up in weight on preacher curls too, 7 reps with 65kg. The bigger story here is my hammer curl improvement, very happy with this.
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 5, 5
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 5/6, 22.5kg 5/8
Working in on cable laterals with another person so I didn’t want to drop to 5kg for the final set since I legitimately had like 2 minutes rest after the top set so it would’ve been a tad light, kept it at 7.5kg for another set of 5. Rope pushdowns going up in weight on the top set, ok performance. This concluded the midday workout. I returned to the gym at 5PM for good mornings, shrugs & leg curls.
Good Morning: 70kg for 10, 80kg for 10, 85kg for 13
Shrug: 110kg 8, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Went up in weight by 5kg on good mornings, 85kg, & kept it at 13 reps, solid. Shrugs went straight from 105kg to 110kg & kept the reps, calling it shrug noobie gains, won’t last long. Leg curl maintaining, but probably because my good morning is going up & the hams are getting hit with more & more stimulus each time it happens.
And below, completed less than an hour ago. Looking forward to my next workout in two days - it’ll be the bro-day session (chest, shoulders & arms), & then also good mornings, shrugs & leg curls - on a weekend day so I’ll have time for it all at once.
Going heavier. Increased both sets of pulldowns by 5kg. This is a very decent performance I’m hoping to build on. Speaking of heavy, added 5kg on hack squats, 115kg, for a top set of 7 reps. Guess I’m hungry for 3 plates a side. Added a rep to the backoff set at least.
Machine Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 55kg for 8, 45kg for 8
New movement. That stress in the lengthened position is gnarly. I want to stick with this a little while. It’s a little easier to get short here, I like it.
Calf Raises: 105kg for 9
Decline Situps for 10
Hip Adduction: 65kg for 23
Added a couple reps on situps with my arms up high. Hip adduction, great little win. I’m gonna copy+paste the below with a slight addition for today. First time doing adduction was 45kg for 12. Third time I do 50kg for 20 reps. Fourth time, I do 55kg for 25 reps. Fifth time, 60kg for 23 reps. And today, I hit 65kg for 23 reps. Solid! 70kg next time.
Immediate success, turned my top set on pec deck from 9 to 10 reps with 110kg. Feels great to be approximating optimality with my current pec work stimulus since at my level I’d not be able to add reps like this unless training was absolutely in the goldilocks zone. Did a little quarter rep after 8 reps on reverse pec deck with 80kg today so that’s nice.
Nautilus OHP: 57kg 7, 76kg 6, 50kg 10 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 7, 16kg for 8
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 8, 4
No PR on the top set of OHP, but did get a PR on the backoff set, odd. Dumbbell skullcrusher, nothing new on the top set, but I’m graduating from the 14kgs to the 16kgs on the acclimation & backoff sets, & the backoff went well. Biting the bullet on cable laterals & going heavy on the backoff set too. This is on 20 seconds rest, not counting the rest while one shoulder is trained. Pretty sickening PR though.
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 6/8, 22.5kg 6/7
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 7, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Improvement on rope pushdowns top set, nice. Real win on curls today - this gym’s preacher curl machine is marginally harder than the other gym where I first hit these numbers, (same brand & model, just slightly different friction I guess). So awesome to secure the PR on the slightly harder machine.
Good Morning: 80kg for 10, 85kg for 10, 90kg for 13
Shrug: 110kg for 8, 115kg for 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Added 5kg on good mornings & kept the reps at 13. Solid progress. I just wish I had the foggiest clue as to what sort of % is typically used on good mornings compared to a typical squat or deadlift. I don’t want to be sandbagging, nor do I want to be using excessive loads because I can’t bend over more due to tight hamstrings. Neither of those sound good. Happily added 5kg on one set of shrugs & nailed it. Leg curls just holding still, I think due to the additional fatigue in my hams I’m picking up from rapidly increasing my good mornings.
I was going to train on Tuesday but today, Monday, is a public holiday & I had the itching to go lift. Won’t change my other training days this week, Thursday & Saturday.
Great, great stuff. Added a rep on the top set of lat pulldowns with 2/2 tempo, getting 9 reps with 105kg. And hack squats, added a whole rep to the top set with 115kg, & also to the backoff set with 95kg, just all round great.
Machine Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 55kg for 9, 45kg for 9
Solid on these too. I think three 20kg plates would look nice on this & my strength seems like it can dig it, for the top set at least.
Calf Raises: 142kg for 11
Decline Situps: 2.5kg for 9
Hip Adduction: 70kg for 22
Alright, went one weight pin heavier on calves & hit 11 reps, decently happy with this. Decline situps were a massive winner, holding 2.5kg with straight arms above my head & hitting 9 reps is a big win. Equally big win on hip adduction, weight the next weight heavier on this machine, doing 70kg for the first time, & getting 22 reps. The machine caps out at 100kg so I don’t know what I’m going to do here if things keep going like they’re going. It’s taken me four weeks to go from 45kg for 12 reps first time doing these, to 70kg for 22 reps today, & 100kg is the max weight. And I’m doing this with the 2/2 tempo so already slower than most. But it’s not like I’m at 95kg and 100kg is around the corner. I’ve got a few weeks to think about this.
First time using 115kg on pec deck with slow 2/2 form, 8 reps, not bad. Same weight on the backoff sets for now. Added a rep on reverse pec deck top set, going from 8 to 9 reps.
Star Trak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 8, 50kg for 6 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 8, 16kg for 7
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 8, 5
No PR on OHP but 8 reps felt slightly easier than previously, but RPE was definitely over 9 so I didn’t go for another rep. Cable lateral, PR achieved, added a rep to the last set with 7.5kg, going from 4 to 5 reps, (20 seconds rest but I don’t wanna overemphasize this because those 20 seconds don’t include the amount of time I’m doing a set with one side for).
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 7/8, 22.5kg 6/7
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 8, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Rope pushdown, increased the top set with 27.5kg from 6/8 to 7/8, which is to say I added a rep spreading the rope & maintained my reps after that keeping the handles together. Going from 7 to 8 reps on preacher curls with 65kg is a hell of a win, very happy with this. This was all during lunch, returned to the gym after work for the below.
Good Morning: 80kg for 10, 87.5kg for 10, 95kg for 13
Shrug: 120kg for 8, 7
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Another big jump on good mornings, going from 90kg top set to 95kg top set. Good part about doing these for 13 reps is that if I increase the weight by 5kg & it doesn’t go too well, I’m still getting a good number of reps, but so far I’ve kept the reps at 13. Looking forward to 100kg next time. Shrugs, added weight again, 120kg, not bad.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 105kg 9.3, 95kg 7.5
Tried for 10 but no dice, & the grind took a little bit out of the backoff set. Though, I did these at a station that tends to be slightly harder so I’m looking forward to next time.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 115kg 9, 100kg 8
Hip Adduction: 75kg for 20
Fuck yeah, hack squat PR, 115kg for 9. These have been going super well. I think strengthening my adductors & adding a hip hinge has strengthened my peripheral lower body muscles which aren’t the quads which then makes this exercise feel great. I should probably try to hit 10 reps before I make the jump to 120kg. I suppose it’s a PR on adduction machine too - from 70kg for 22 to 75kg for 20. Getting closer to that 100kg stack though…
Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 60kg for 9, 50kg for 8
Decline Situps: 5kg for 5
Calf Raises: 142kg for 12
Straight up added 5kg on Tbar Rows & kept the reps up, hell yeah. Decline situps were tough unfortunately. Added a rep on calf raises but I also tweaked my lat on these when my body shifted around a little, not good. Feels ok though.
Lifting is about self-discovery - finding the volumes/frequency/exercises that seem to work well for you. With that said, you don’t know what you don’t know, hence why novice & intermediate routines exist to be followed by people who don’t yet know what works best for them. All that a pre-existing routine written by someone else on the internet can be, is a ‘template routine’. Intended to be run as is, for a time, & then adjustments to be done by the person running it based on their individual needs. ‘Advanced’ programs which float around the internet, intended to be followed by others, as a general rule are stupid because when you are advanced, you should be doing your own routine. You do a couple of intermediate programs, reduce volume where you’re under-recovered & add it when you’re not getting enough stimulus, change exercises where you’re not feeling it, & slowly mix & match your way to the ‘ideal’ setup RE your stimulus & recovery needs. Your stimulus & recovery needs will also slowly adjust over time as you make progress & get older, so even when you’re where you need to be, part of the job is remaining vigilant to being ready to adjust when required.
For a template routine to be as good as possible, it needs to prescribe stuff, (volume, frequency, intensity, exercise selection), to benefit the greatest possible number of people. If it does that, it’s the perfect routine in the strict sense of what, ‘template routine’ means. There’s no promise of it working perfectly for everyone, that’s a dream. Working well for the greatest number of people, that’s perfection from a realistic standpoint. Anyway, I thought I’d write a few down below for my copy+pasting when required.
There we go, just a basic template PPL. No trying to manage recovery with conventional deadlifts or barbell rows, the lower back loading is all on leg day, simple as. Run 6 days a week its weekly volume is 12 sets of chest, quads, biceps, triceps, 10 sets of hamstrings,18 sets of shoulders, 20 sets of back. This is quintessential moderate volume that will tick the boxes for an absolute shitload of early intermediates. A novice could run this, but why? A full body routine with 5 exercises every second or third day is plenty of stimulus for them. It’s actually less volume than a lot of ‘rate my PPL’ threads I see where they’re doing 4 chest exercises, two OHP movements, 4 tricep exercises, ETC. Here’s the same volume, (roughly), on a couple different setups.
Arnold Split
Chest & Back
Bench Press 3X8
Pulldown 4X8
Incline DB Bench 3X10
Chest Supported Row4X10
Pec Deck 2X12
Shrug 2X12
Legs
Squat 3X8
RDL 3X8
Hack Squat 3X10
Leg Curl 2X10
Calf Raise 3X10
Weighted Crunch 1X10
Now this is more volume than I do, but I already know I’m a low volume type. I’m a racehorse, not a workhorse. If I were to write a quintessential high intensity program, I’d probably write something similar to DC Training but slightly higher volume, & I stress the word slightly. I think if something like the below were really popular, you’d possibly maybe have literally half of early to late intermediates getting on this & absolutely thriving on it to the point that they end up training like this for the rest of their lives, (with a little variation obviously), so long as the irrational need to simply be in the gym more overtakes their rational mind & ruins a good thing.
[High Intensity Routine]
Performed three days a week on non-consecutive days, alternating A & B workouts.
-All exercises to be performed with two second concentrics & eccentrics - 4 seconds per rep. Don’t be concerned with hitting the concentric tempo on your final reps if they take longer than 2 seconds, but otherwise, stick with this. Take an eccentric longer than 2 seconds on large ROM exercises if you feel it’s useful for keeping your form tight.
-Exercise selection based on movements with greatest difficulty around mid-point as these are the most effective exercises for hypertrophy.
All exercises are trained with two sets.
-The first set is an ‘acclimation set’ done with about 10% less weight than the top set, with the same, or slightly fewer, number of reps. You should feel that you had about three more reps left in the tank before reaching muscular failure.
-The second set is your top set - an intense all-out set followed by two ‘rest-pause’ sets, each one performed after about 30 seconds rest. For example: After performing a set with 180lb for 9, you move to your working set weight of 200 pounds, for 10 reps, followed by two rest-pause sets of 4 & 3 reps. The rule around completing reps: If you know you can perform another rep, do it. If you’re certain you can’t, don’t. If you’re unsure, attempt it.
Another few days in a deficit & still holding strong. One of my chain gyms is very close to my office so I can train during lunch at work, (1 hour lunch). I think it’s quite a testament to my not screwing around in the gym from a time standpoint. Only difference is the oldschool OHP machine I like isn’t there, & the seated leg curl fucking sucks so I’m on lying leg curl.
Pec Deck: 120kg for 9
Crossbody Pec Deck: 85kg for 8, 95kg for 9
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 10
Startrak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 7, 45kg for 8 (super slow)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrushers (SS):14kg for 8, 18kg for 9, 14kg for 9
Cable Lateral Raises (SS): 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 5, 5kg for 10
V-bar Pushdowns (SS): 30kg for 9, 37.5kg for 9, 30kg for 9
Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 6, 55kg for 9, 50kg for 8
Hammer-grip Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 7, 45kg for 7
Notice my preacher curl (now done super slow) I’m hitting 55kg for 9 on the top set, feeling good about this. Even added a rep to my backoff set on dumbbell skullcrushers.
Widish Grip Pulldowns: 100kg for 8, 110kg for 8, 90kg for 8
Lying Leg Curls (SS): 65kg for 10, 55kg 10
Seated Chest Supported Row (SS): 80kg for 8, 85kg for 9, 70kg for 10
Finally taken the plunge & doing all my chest supported row sets with two seconds up & two seconds down. 85kg for 9 on the top set as you can see. Also glad to still be hitting 110kg for 8 on overhand pulldowns considering it’s gone from 123.6% of my bodyweight to 132.5% of my bodyweight. This is still done explosively for now.
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 95kg for 8, 80kg for 9
Weighted Decline Crunch (SS): 20kg for 6
Calf raises (SS): 95kg 8 (different machine)
RANT: I need to talk about rest-pause. It’s one of the advanced techniques, along with partials, assisted reps, dropsets, etc. But I think ultimately it’s the most different to all the others, because of all of these techniques, rest-pause is the closest one of these options to simply doing another set. That’s kind of what it is, just with very short rest to hit those struggle reps straight away. HIT advocates who are like religious fundamentalists with their single set training are very cheeky to utilize this when they do because you just want to lean towards them and say, ‘You know you’re basically doing a second set, right?’
Anyway, I’ve got a theory that they’re very under-utilized among most people, (maybe myself too, I’ll think about it). Bodybuilding success is all about discovering the ‘goldilocks’ training zone for your stimulus/recovery needs, running with it, & adjusting as needed. Adding or removing a whole set can be a big step towards finding your ‘zone’ but when you’re working somewhat relatively close to the ballpark of what you should be doing, but you need marginally more, or marginally less stimulus, rest-pause is right there.
Ultimately a rest-pause set is LESS STIMULATIVE than a set taken to failure after a standard rest period. The first reps of a set might not be as stimulating as the last but there is still a stimulative effect that exists within them. Resting two minutes & doing 10 reps is a greater stimulus than resting 25 seconds & doing 3. Here’s what we do with this truth: Use rest-pause as a way to micro adjust our workouts. If you’re doing 3 sets & realize you need quite a bit more, or quite a bit less, then do 4 sets, or 2 sets. But if you’re doing 3 sets & you feel you’re very close to your ideal stimulus, but say you need slightly more, or slightly less, than rest-pause is right there. Add a rest-pause set after your final set. Or, remove one of your regular sets & add a rest-pause set. It’s a lilypad you can leap to in-between the adjustments of adding or removing an entire set. For this reason it is really really useful.
A few more days in a deficit. I went to a beer festival yesterday so absolute writeoff from a cuting standpoint. Ate pretty wisely around it though. Protein shake at about 7AM & at about 10AM, 250g chicken with some mixed vege & black beans so was on about 650 calories at this point before the festival at 11AM. Had half a hotdog & a little beef quesadilla & that was it for food for the day, otherwise just had 7-8 beers, 250ml each, so would’ve been in the high 2000s but also lots of walking around too. Just copy+pasting the below from the workouts prior but editing a couple of things because I’m glad to say I’ve managed to add a rep in a couple places.
Pec Deck: 120kg for 9
Crossbody Pec Deck: 85kg for 8, 95kg for 10
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 10
Startrak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 7, 45kg for 9 (super slow)
On OHP on the top set I actually forgot to change the weight so did 1 rep with 50kg & then 7 more with 60kg, nice. Added a rep to the super slow set too, going from 8 to 9.
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrushers (SS):14kg for 8, 18kg for 9, 14kg for 9
Cable Lateral Raises (SS): 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 6, 5kg for 12
V-bar Pushdowns (SS): 30kg for 9, 37.5kg for 9, 30kg for 9
Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 6, 55kg for 10, 50kg for 8
Hammer-grip Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 7, 45kg for 7
Observe the PR on cable lateral raises & on machine preacher curls top set, feels good.
Widish Grip Pulldowns: 100kg for 8, 110kg for 8, 90kg for 8
Seated Leg Curls (SS): 110kg for 6, 90kg for 10
Seated Chest Supported Row (SS): 80kg for 8, 85kg for 9, 70kg for 10
Done in the gym not close to my work on a non-work day so back to seated leg curls, went great as I actually tried a 7th rep whereas for the past several workouts 6 reps was completely maximal. Maybe there’s something to the lying leg curls…
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 95kg for 9, 80kg for 9
Weighted Decline Crunch (SS): 20kg for 7
Calf raises (SS): 115kg 10
Somehow added a rep on hack squats, 95kg for 9 on the top set, ATG. Also weighted decline crunches, 7 reps with a 20kg plate at top of my head height. Nice.
RANT: I’ve got a theory around the reason why single set training isn’t quite optimal for a lot of people, (apart from effort required in the set). When we contract our muscles under load, tiny structures in the muscle cell called actin & myosin come together in an overlapping fashion & these repeated overlappings from each rep performed signal growth to occur. The strongest growth signal occurs when they actin & myosin overlap the right amount. If you are doing 1/4 reps on squats, they actin & myosin in your quadriceps will only overlap a small amount. And on the flipside, if you perform a tricep kickback, where all the tension is in the shortened position, the actin & myosin overlap too much - they bunch up, overlapping too far, resulting in a weakened growth signal.
We want exercises done with a tension curve which emphasises the midpoint of the lift in the muscle’s ROM, because these exercises cause actin/myosin overlap to the right degree, (fully overlapping, but at the same time without squishing/bunching up, to signal the strongest growth stimulus). This is also why we anecdotally see people get big at what seems to be a relatively efficient pace using exercises which might not fully shorten the muscle, (notice how 95% of chest exercises don’t have the arm come across the body further than the midpoint yet people still build big pecs) - because they’re doing movements which stress the muscle at it’s midpoint, where roughly ideal actin myosin overlap occur.
Remember that it’s about getting the right overlap, but also about this overlap occurring multiple times, for optimizing muscle growth. This is why static holds aren’t as good for hypertrophy as actually performing reps, even if you perform the static hold at a muscle’s midpoint, because while it’s good you’re holding in this position, you’re still only getting one overlap per set, like performing one super slow rep.
I’m putting forward that there is a minimum threshold of the number of times that actin myosin cross over in a training session for optimal growth signals to be triggered. Of course, for an untrained lifter, once could theoretically be enough, since static holds can definitely build muscle in untrained people. But as you advance, that number goes up. It’s one reason why HIT doesn’t tell people to do 5 reps, because even with superslow reps which can make those 5 reps take as long as 15 regular speed reps, they STILL usually recommend 8-12. This could only be because there is something gained in the process of a muscle going from lengthened to shortened under load a certain number of times. If time under tension was all that mattered, then very low rep sets with very very very slow cadences wouldn’t be shunned, but they are, & the reason for that is that a certain number of actin/myosin overlappings trigger the strongest growth signal.
Now it’s speculation time. I put forward, just casually & without evidence, that like roughly maybe 16-20 overlappings for a muscle is a number for causing that growth signal at any level of development, for a lot of people. That’s a couple of very high intensity sets. That’s why some don’t do too well from single set training even with a high level of intensity - the overlappings aren’t sufficient.
Look at DC Training - it’s usually a single set followed by two rest-pause sets which brings your reps per muscle group per workout slightly lower than the high teens/low 20s number I threw out, (except on rows, squats & RDLs, which are done for two sets). As per the revolutionaryprogramdesign website which has the DC writeup, ‘For example, your target might be 11-15 RP or 20-30 RP. For most body parts Dante recommends shooting for 11-15 RP.’. Anecdotally, DC Training is just slightly too low volume for many who tried it, (it’s fine for some, obviously), & you can see that for most body parts, they’re getting 11-15 reps, with a few body parts getting more. I happen to think it’s very close to being something that would absolutely be near-optimal for a huge swarth of people with just slightly higher volume. That’s why the High Intensity Routine I wrote up is basically DC volume but with one set prior to the top set, done to about RPE 7. It puts the number of reps per muscle into that high teens number, minimum, so ticks the box under this theory.
Also look at Dorian Yates. He would do a warmup set before his working set, but it was really a ‘feeler’ set, arguably a work set to some. If his top set was 200kg for 8, he was doing 180kg for about 7 a few minutes before. We’ve got this set contributing to the volume combined with the actual top set itself, so with 3-5 exercises for 2 sets per exercise, it actually mirrors a lot of the UK bodybuilding style of training currently popular & working for many, partially thanks to UK bodybuilder Jordan Peters & his trainedbyJP website - though a lot of that tends to favor a top set then backoff set style as the way of doing those two sets, but that’s into the minutia.
Went to a social event on Friday but had far too much to drink, (easier to do when I’ve dropped weight, had few calories that day & have a few additional shots). I was sick so the additional calories are largely nullified. I was meant to train Saturday but ended up skipping it & doing it today, (Sunday). Had very little food on Saturday too, only ate at 5PM, some double cheeseburgers & an oreo mcflurry from mcdonalds. Trained Sunday & it actually went pretty well. Despite all indication that my performance would essentially be punished for my drinking & missing protein feedings the next day, I take one extra day of rest & my body continues to truck along. Also, I weighed in at a new low, just below 82kg - probably due in part to slight dehydration with this summer heat.
Pec Deck: 120kg for 9
Crossbody Pec Deck: 85kg for 8, 95kg for 10
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 10
Nautilus OHP: 57kg for 7, 71kg for 8, 50kg for 9 (super slow)
On my preferred OHP machine, still holding strong.
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrushers (SS):14kg for 8, 18kg for 9, 14kg for 9
Cable Lateral Raises (SS): 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 6, 5kg for 12
V-bar Pushdowns (SS): 30kg for 9, 37.5kg for 9, 30kg for 10
I need to say three things about cable lateral raises. First, I seem to be trucking along fine with two sets. Hitting that first set with 5kg for 6 & then doing it again after my heavy set for 12 really shows that this first 5kg set is basically a warmup. That’s not a bad thing, just an observation. Secondly, I’m switching my tempo on this from 2/2 to 2/3 as in two seconds up, three seconds down. Now, this includes a very brief pause at the bottom in the stretched position with my arm across my body. I think that will be beneficial. Thirdly, I’m dropping the rest-time after my heavy set before my final set because I’m doing a shitload of reps on that last set & I want to drop them slightly, (this exercise can only be loaded in 2.5kg increments so I’m slightly stuck on the loads, otherwise I’d do 5.5kg or 6kg on the last set). I dropped from 90 to 60 seconds rest today & may drop further going forward. Don’t forget I’m resting my shoulder when I train the other side too, so it’s not really that short rest since I’m not counting this too. Also, did one more rep than I’ve recently done on pushdowns, nice.
Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 6, 55kg for 9, 50kg for 8
Hammer-grip Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 7, 45kg for 7
Machine preacher curls from 10 to 9, but this particular gym’s preacher curl is marginally harder as I’ve experienced many times, so it’s nothing to fret.
First pic uploaded onto this website. This is an honest pic of where I’m currently at. Sitting down, (gets the love handles popping unless you’re pretty lean), & in natural overcast lighting without any overhead lighting. No pump, no flexing. 6’1, now down to 181lb. I didn’t think I had this much fat to lose at 196lb but I guess I did lol. I plan to continue cutting until it gets hard, as in I feel like shit, losing strength, energy levels dropping, libido down. Right now I actually feel really good thanks to the nutritious food I’m eating plus a couple of supplements & plenty of water. I imagine I will finish this cut in two weeks but we shall see.
Widish Grip Pulldowns: 100kg for 8, 110kg for 8, 90kg for 8
Seated Leg Curls (SS): 110kg for 6, 90kg for 10
Seated Chest Supported Row (SS): 80kg for 8, 85kg for 10, 70kg for 10
On widish grip pulldowns, not so much now but earlier on, I was doing marginally too much to quite recover from, in part from my brutal 2/2 tempo 90kg backdown set, causing me to revert the tempo back to 1/1 on this. I’ve made a slight further adjustment & am resting shorter between the 110kg for 8 & my backoff set with 90kg. The idea is essentially that a set done with less rest is marginally less stimulative than a set done with longer rest if the effort is equal. It’s why if you’re very close to your ideal volume at 3 sets of an exercise, but just need a tiny, tiny bit more stimulation, instead of jumping up to 4 sets, a 33% increase, (well slightly less than 33% because if you’re working hard, each set degrades little by little), you might add a rest-pause set, basically an additional set but with maybe 25 seconds rest. I’m making a smaller downward jump by going from 2 to 1 minute rest on pulldowns. Leg curls holding onto my strength. Seated rows a sickening PR, 85kg for 10 reps with 2/2 tempo! I must say these are one of the greatest exercises to perform slowly.
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 95kg for 9, 80kg for 9
Weighted Decline Crunch (SS): 20kg for 7
Calf raises (SS): 126kg 9
Little victory on calf raises, going to a new weight on this machine, (the one close to home I frequent on non-work days), going up 11kg & only hitting 1 fewer rep than the previous weight on the stack. 2/2 tempo, set commencing after a 3-4 second hold at the bottom, & finishing after another 6 second hold at the bottom too.
Weighed in at 81.9kg this morning, a new low. Still managing to hold onto my strength in the gym. Pec deck, reverse pec deck, OHP, skullcrushers, cable laterals, pushdowns, preacher curls & preacher hammer curls all held strong. On pull day, I tried a new weight on lying leg curls, 70kg for 8, then 60kg for 8, (2/2 tempo). Slight adjustment on machine rows - doing the first set, (the warmup/acclimation set), with a 2/2 tempo as well - so it was 75kg for 6, then 85kg for 10, then 70kg for 10. Pulldowns, hack squats, weighted crunches, all holding on. I did calf raises on the alternative machine with 95kg for 9 which is a PR on this machine, too.
RANT: You can tell people how many sets & reps to do, but intensity of effort is harder to lay out for people to follow. Part of the reason why different people’s training responses sometimes seem so far apart from each other is that it’s driven by differing intensities of effort per set. The average low volume lifter pushes their average set harder than the average high volume lifter.
When you give training advice to people, (unless it’s a biomechanical question, or a question around how to order the training split), then the conversation is under-pinned by the assumption of a certain level of training intensity being applied, by necessity. You can’t prescribe volume in a vacuum. It has to be accounting for the level that each set of that volume is pushed to. The same volume recommendation at 8 reps left in the tank is a whole world away from that recommendation with each set to failure. And a slightly higher volume at a slightly lower intensity of effort can produce equal results to a slightly lower volume at a slightly higher intensity. The volume, intensity & frequency are like numbers that are multiplied together. Your ‘perfect stimulus’ might be 125 ‘stimulus points’, achieved by these three things being at a 5 out of 10, (5X5X5 = 125). You might lower one of these to a 4 or 3 & increase the other to a 6 or 7 & get to a fundamentally similar place. But if you lower any one variable too much, i.e. 5X1X10, (= 50), i.e. training a muscle once a fortnight doing a failure set then passively flexing against the load for 45 seconds after you’ve reached failure, you’ll have likely pushed one variable too high at the expense of pushing another too low, & you’ll be in an unproductive place. But that’s an extreme example. So long as we’re being reasonable, then within a rational limit, volume, frequency & intensity of effort are variables which we can trade between & still achieve a fundamentally productive training stimulus.
Following from this, my personal training philosophy, for hypertrophy movements, is that it makes sense to push an exercise to as close to being unable to perform any more reps as is practical & safe to do so on at least one set of it, (& from there, you do as many sets as it takes to grow, whatever that may be). I’m talking about hypertrophy oriented lifts. Powerlifting or Oly lifting is another story. But for stimulating a muscle, on a safe exercise, you could leave 3 reps in the tank on your hardest set & do an extra set, but… why?
Now, here’s my point: You give lower volume/higher intensity advice to people & a few of them will not make very good gains for the reason that they didn’t train close enough to failure - & here’s the kicker - I don’t really care about them. If you go to the gym & the hardest set of an exercise intended for muscle growth, (not powerlifts or oly lifts), has you leaving multiple reps in the tank on a regular basis, I don’t give a single shit if a consequence of lowish volume/highish intensity training getting really popular means that you’re one of the people negatively affected by this because you take the advice & it doesn’t work well for you.
Let me be clear: Recommend the amount of volume & frequency that tends to work well for the greatest number of people when they apply the effort they’re supposed to. I don’t really want to help people that don’t train hard on a set. People that make threads online asking for advice but who won’t stick out a set for another 10 seconds because it hurts when they still had reps in the tank on a machine row, or a leg curl, or a hack squat. Give the advice that works when you train hard & let these people fall to the wayside. When I started lifting, doing as many reps as possible was the most natural thing for me. Problem was, a lot of the advice I got RE volume was influenced by that volume being credible ‘thanks’ to people who didn’t push each set hard. I want to help young guys who instinctively train close to failure because I see myself in them. It’s not a matter of wanting to sabotage people who are too much of a pussy to do as many reps as possible regularly. It’s a matter of helping the people who deserve to be helped & letting the chips fall where they may for the people who are too lazy & stupid to benefit from the advice.
Thought I’d upload a proper picture. Cut is trucking along, leanness is starting to come through. Probably weighed 82kg when this picture was taken, (6’1). Reasonably happy at the ‘balance’ to my physique currently, speaking just for this particular pose. It’s funny, normally what seems to happen is someone lifts, makes gains, gets more advanced & then they move into this phase of bringing up this muscle or that muscle, but for me I feel like my back, shoulders, arms & lower body are on a similar level. Lower back is quite undeveloped but that’s entirely the fault of my apathy & laziness, so I deserve what I get there.
Weighed in at a new low of 81.2kg this morning, & still feeling good. I think a lot of my success in maintaining my lifts on this cut, (aside from good food choices i.e. meat, eggs, milk & vegetables), has been training volume which works well for me, (i.e. lower volume). This is very important whether dieting or gaining, obviously. But some people do unnecessary amounts of volume, & when they switch from bulking to cutting, it can cause problems. Don’t get me wrong, that 1000 daily calorie drop doesn’t change their weekly recoverable volume by like 50%, it’s a relatively small change, but often these guys are on the brink, on the cliff, just being able to handle all they’re throwing at their body, & going from gaining to dieting is like a straw on a camel’s back. Well, actually it’s like a 30kg backpack on the back of a camel that can carry 250kg.
As you can tell by reading this, I’m trying to express the idea that dieting does affect your recovery, but only a little bit, (excluding competition leanness). I don’t want to propagate any sort of idea that you can’t train hard while dieting, or that you need to halve your sets. Usually an extra off day once every couple of weeks does the job. Recovery is NOT linear to your calories. Your optimal training on 3000 calories is NOT twice as much as on 1500 calories, more like 10% more. Anyway…
Pec Deck: 120kg for 9
Crossbody Pec Deck: 85kg for 8, 100kg for 9
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 10
Startrak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 7, 45kg for 9 (super slow)
Pec deck not only holding on but actually getting slightly stronger - hitting up 100kg on my single arm variant for the first time for a top set of 9 reps with each arm, good stuff! Reverse pec deck & seated OHP holding onto my strength.
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrushers (SS):16kg for 8, 18kg for 9, 14kg for 9
Cable Lateral Raises (SS): 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 7, 5kg for 12
On DB skullcrushers, both of the 14kg dumbbells were in use so I used 16kg for the acclimation set, & still did fine on the top set with 18kg & the backoff with 14kg. I shortened my rest period on cable laterals after the heavy set before the backoff set, (due to not wanting to hit too many reps on the backoff set - remember each rep takes 5 seconds), from originally 90 seconds rest, down to 45 seconds, & still hit 12 reps, very solid! I might need to drop further.
V-bar Pushdowns (SS): 30kg for 9, 37.5kg for 9, 30kg for 9
Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 6, 55kg for 10, 50kg for 8
Hammer-grip Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 7, 45kg for 7
Keeping on keeping on. Might think about changing my pushdown variant some time in the future…
Widish Grip Pulldowns: 100kg for 8, 110kg for 8, 90kg for 8
Seated Leg Curls (SS): 110kg for 6, 90kg for 10
Seated Chest Supported Row (SS): 75kg for 6, 90kg for 8, 75kg for 8
The backoff set on pulldowns with 90kg is after only a minute rest but still feeling good. 110kg for 8 is pretty good now that it’s 136% of my bodyweight pretty much. Leg curls, strength just holding on. Chest supported rows, I upped the weight! Remember it’s 2/2 tempo on these now, an 8 rep set is a 32 second endeavour of pure flexion, (not counting any pausing between any reps, not that I even do that), which as far as hypertrophy goes, is pretty good. Some people’s 8 rep sets take 12 seconds total which IMO is a mistake.
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 100kg for 8, 80kg for 10
Weighted Decline Crunch (SS): 20kg for 7
Calf raises (SS): 126kg 10
Great victory on hack squats. Happy to say I’m now doing two & a half wheels on these with just absolutely quad-shredding ass to grass form & 3 second negatives. And another victory on calf raises - up to 126kg, the next pin down on the stack, for a full set of 10 reps!
Haven’t posted in a couple of weeks but cut is progressing along, down to 79.6kg morning weight. Energy levels still generally ok, just hitting the same gym numbers as above.
I need to restructure things a bit. A 2 on 2 off routine means I could hit the gym on any day of the week. I want to go on Tuesdays & Thursdays because there’s something I need to be at, (starting the week after next), which starts two hours after work, (work & this thing are on the west side of town & I’m on the east).
My volume is already low so I don’t really want to try & reduce rest days & thus also reduce sets. My best option is probably switching to training 3 days a week in A/B/A, B/A/B fashion, frequency of once every 4.66 days. 4 was going pretty good & it’s looking to go a little lower. Might add volume slightly, or maybe I’ll leave it the same. Maybe I’ll progress a little & I’ll need that extra 15% recovery time after all. Still thinking about post-cut training changes. This time around, there’s little to change as I seem to have found something that aligns with my recovery needs. Maybe a couple of small things.
Logging another workout for the purpose of bolstering my already positive mental state, because I’m down to 79.4kg & my lifts are still holding on.
Pec Deck: 120kg for 9
Crossbody Pec Deck: 85kg for 8, 100kg for 9
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 10
Nautilus OHP: 57kg for 7, 72kg for 8, 50kg for 9 (super slow)
I might actually throw out cross-body pec deck for practicality reasons. I’m under 80kg & because of advantageous physics, (which I don’t actually understand), I can do 100kg on this with one arm. I’ve really gotta brace & I’m not sure about the future of all this bracing with my future strength levels. I’ll keep it in while cutting though because I’d just rather not make any changes right now. Besides, I’ll be finished cutting in a few weeks surely - as I always said I’d stop if the hunger got too hard, energy dropped too much or if my performance tanked. It’s neat that I’ve got as ripped as I have while avoiding this.
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrushers (SS):16kg for 8, 18kg for 8, 14kg for 9
Cable Lateral Raises (SS): 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 6, 5kg for 11
Cable laterals are on 30 seconds rest to bring that final set’s reps down.
V-bar Pushdowns (SS): 30kg for 9, 37.5kg for 9, 30kg for 9
Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 6, 60kg for 8, 50kg for 8
Hammer-grip Machine Preacher Curls (SS): 50kg for 7, 45kg for 7
More of the same. For some reason every time I do preacher curls I look at my biceps & think to myself how they can’t get any bigger right now because the raw materials aren’t there. Weird thought to have on this specific exercise but it’s probably due to it being the number one movement where I can watch the muscle contract as I train it.
Widish Grip Pulldowns: 100kg for 8, 110kg for 8, 90kg for 8
Lying Leg Curls (SS): 70kg 9, 60kg 9
Seated Chest Supported Row (SS): 75kg for 6, 90kg for 8, 75kg for 8
I think I’m mentally ready to go down to two sets of pulldowns finally, (getting over the irrational fear of not doing enough volume). Not now, but once the cut ends. I’ll go slow & just destroy my lats with a couple of sets. But I don’t want to do it now because that’s like admitting defeat to being able to do 110kg for 8 reps - which is important as I cut because it signals muscle retention in the clearest of terms. When I’m in a surplus, I won’t be worried about maintaining muscle since I’ll be gaining it, so I can change to a different variant with lighter weight without that annoyance of changing exercises because you’re afraid of acknowledging or even being exposed to the possibility of getting weaker, so you sub in a variant before it can happen.
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 100kg for 8, 80kg for 10
Weighted Decline Crunch (SS): 20kg for 7
Calf raises (SS): 100kg 9 (different machine)
Hacks are tough now I’m so much lighter. Strength holding on by a thread. But it’s still there.
Looking forward to the next gaining phase. I’m gonna dive a little bit deeper into this slower rep, lower volume higher intensity thing. Right now I do my top set of pec deck, & all my pulldowns, regular 1 up 1 down, & I’d like to look at slowing it down to 2/2 & just killing the muscle, possibly with fewer sets. Really devote myself to bodybuilding further. I’m much more engaged in this than back in the mid 2010s when everybody was doing fucking powerlifting stuff even though jacked was the original goal.
Alright, I’m done cutting for now. I’ve achieved a pretty sweet level of leanness but it’s getting difficult dealing with the hunger component. I’m glad to have finished this cut in the high single digits & without my strength levels dropping, & despite my hunger, I never felt like garbage RE energy levels. Now time to begin anew - with some small training adjustments. I’m delving deeper into lower volumes with slower tempo reps combined with high exertion.
Underhand Pulldowns: 100kg for 6, 90kg for 8
Lying Leg Curls: 70kg 10, 60kg 10
Now doing pulldowns with the 2/2 tempo. So, 100kg sounds heavy, being 6 reps, but this set took just over 24 seconds, (compared to my regular tempo set of 8 which takes about 16 seconds). Actual PR on lying leg curls, (I had a big cheat meal last night so the calories were powering me today), getting 10 reps with both weights for the first time.
Seated Chest Supported Row: 75kg for 6, 90kg for 8, 75kg for 8
Hack Squat: 80kg for 7, 100kg for 9, 85kg for 8
Rows went fine, but hack squats went very fine, getting two & a half plates, i.e. 100kg, for a top set of 9 reps. Can’t wait to progress further on these. I want 3 plates a side with my glutes touching my ankles.
Calf Raise: 100kg 9
Weighted Decline Crunch: 20kg for 7
Hip Adduction: 35kg for 12, 45kg for 12
Yes, hip adduction is new. I thought my legs were a little skinny on the inner side with all that fat off my body, so these are corrective. Plus, I think they will make any leg compound feel better in that they will further stress the desired weak link, (i.e. quads), by having one additional surrounding muscle being much stronger & not even close to being a weak point or interfering.
Anyway, this was on my lunch break. On weekend days I’ll stay in the gym longer & do a hip hinge & shrugs too.
First chest, shoulders & arms day with the calories back up. Everything was pretty constant. Big lesson is that calories don’t dictate performance, they just influence it.
Later that day I did chest, shoulders & arms on my lunch break, I returned to the gym after work for a little more, & to kill an hour before going to an after-work thing, (going home would have given me about 20 minutes at home before needing to leave again). I touched a barbell for the first time in a little while. I did good mornings, & also barbell shrugs. First time doing good mornings, I kept it conservative, did a set with the bar, then 40kg, then 60kg, for 10. I then went to 65kg for 10, then 70kg for 10.
I found it a bit jarring, almost like it wasn’t even a muscle building exercise, (I know this seems insane to say), because it was a tremendous stretch at the bottom, of course, but then at the top just no tension on anything. But today my hams have some decent soreness. I want to get good on these & build a lot of unbuilt muscle in my hams, glutes & lower back basically.
Also did shrugs with 100kg for two sets of 5, (two seconds up two seconds down form). I might buy straps because I might be needing them based on this performance.
The chest, arms & shoulders day with good mornings & shrugs in the evening was Thursday, & today is Saturday. Despite the lack of muscular sensation on good mornings, (apart from the bottom position which was significant contraction), my hams are very sore. In fact, more sore today than on Friday, (no lifting on Friday). Lower back is barely sore. Glutes are not sore at all, I suspect ATG hack squats have conditioned them well enough so I’ll have to actually get competent on good mornings before it’s a sufficient stimulus to do much to my glutes.
Anyway, I returned to the gym today for some back training, & hack squats. I had planned on today being my ‘back & legs’ typical workout, (pulldowns, leg curls, rows, hack squats, calves & abs), but my hamstrings were still sore to the point where I felt it would be counter-productive. I hadn’t planned good mornings, only leg curls, but upon my first warmup set of leg curls using 40% of my work set weight, they were just not firing well, & so I did a set of 10 to get some nice bloodflow, then terminated the exercise. I might have a quick Sunday gym session for good mornings & leg curls, undecided.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 100kg 7, 90kg 8
Managed to add a whole rep on these with slow rep speed, (2/2 up/down), on both the top set & backoff set, & really looking forward to doing these again & trying for 8.
PR weight on hack squats, going from 100kg to 105kg & hitting a top set of 7 before backoff set with 85kg for 9. Chest supported rows, PR on the backoff set, adding a rep & going from 8 to 9 reps.
Hip adduction done on a Cybex machine in this gym. My adductors were sore for 3 days after last time so hopefully this time around is a little easier. All-time PR on calf raises, going from 10 to 11 reps with this weight, very pleased. Finished with shrugs - on my way home from the gym I bought straps so I can go hard on these. I tried grip training in 2019 with static holds, & it sucked because after getting a little better I immediately stalled out, but I think I know why. I’m extremely susceptible to over-reaching on grip work. Not sure why but my max recoverable volume on AMRAP grip holds is just very low. I think single set training is the go-to on these as previously I was doing 3 sets & just stalled out hard.
It’s now Sunday & my hams are still very sore from the good mornings on Thursday. I’ll leave it another day or two before doing them again on the same day as my next workout probably, (chest, delts & arms). Anyway, it’s incredible the DOMS I got considering the tension curve on the exercise being so strong at one end & minimal at the other, but high tension in the lengthened position really does seem to matter a lot. Anyway, short ramble post incoming.
I have straps now & I’m looking forward to progressing on shrugs. I’m also looking forward to experimenting with pushdowns with a rope but using a very particular form, as I’ll soon explain. Straight bar & V bar both feel a bit awkward on my wrists, (V bar is better but it’s a bit finicky), & while rope is very comfortable on my wrists, I feel like it’s less stimulative on a set-to-set basis, because it’s so hard to spread the rope out that the set is terminated once you can no longer achieve getting the muscle short in that particularly difficult position when there’s still plenty of juice left in the muscle in the mid & lengthened position. I’m therefore going to do my sets with spreading the rope for a few reps & then performing more reps with the handles pressed together. Call it a mechanical dropset if you will. It seems arbitrary - why is it enough to go to failure on these other movements, but rope pushdowns require a mechanical dropset? Intuition. That’s it. The physical discomfort of pushing a muscle to failure is very unpronounced on rope pushdowns for me compared to using a bar, or doing any other exercise. I could almost hold a conversation while doing rope pushdowns to failure. Spreading the rope on early reps & pressing the handles together I think will keep it as stimulative as bar pushdowns while also being more comfortable on my wrists too.
A few workouts to log here. I did my chest, shoulders & arms day on Tuesday, & then did good mornings, shrugs & leg curls in the evening. On Thursday I did my back & legs workout, (not including hamstrings), & today on Saturday, I did chest, shoulders & arms, & also good mornings, ham curls & shrugs afterwards, same session since it’s a weekend day. I won’t bother logging the previous chest, shoulders & arms workout. I’ll log the back & legs session & todays chest, shoulders & arms + good mornings, shrugs & ham curls workout.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 100kg 8, 90kg 8
Glad to have added another rep on my top set here! Feeling like I’m building up some really good momentum. 100kg for 8 with two seconds up & down is nothing to scoff at.
Much to say here. First time doing adduction was 45kg for 12, second time I used a different machine. Third time I’m back on the machine I used first time, & I add 5kg to go to 50kg… And get 20 reps. Crazy increase. Alt calf raise machine, finally hitting 10 reps with this weight on this particular machine. Shrugs now with straps, added a rep on both sets.
Fricking awesome, added a rep to my top set on pec deck again, (using 2/2 tempo as well). Reverse pec deck feeling a bit weaker but that happens every now & then due to little shifts resulting in worse leverages in my form so I’m not worried.
Cable laterals feeling strong. Rope pushdowns too. 5/7 means first 5 reps I spread the rope & last 7 reps I kept my hands together. Potentially quite excited about this one, could turn out to be very productive.
Sick PR on the hammer curl, hitting 50kg for 8 reps at last. Hell yeah.
Good Morning: 60kg 10, 70kg 10, 77.5kg 12
Shrug: 100kg 8, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Ok, added 2.5kg on good mornings, (last time was 75kg for 10), as I didn’t wanna be too ambitious but ended up getting 12 reps, nice. Shrugs, solid PR with the straps. Lying leg curl - last time I was fatigued from good mornings I got 7 reps & today is 8, so I’ll take it!
Feel very lucky to have added a rep once again on my lat pulldowns, with 2 seconds each direction. Getting significantly stronger on a lat pulldown through pure muscular contraction seems like an almost 1:1 to building a thicker upper body.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 110kg 8, 95kg 8
Big deal, increased top set weight to 110kg & managed to hit 8 reps, exceptional.
Chest Supported Rows: 75kg 6, 90kg 8, 80kg 8
Hip Adduction: 55kg for 25
Calf Raises: 100kg for 10
Decline Situps for 8
First time doing adduction was 45kg for 12. Third time I do 50kg for 20 reps. Today, fourth time, I do 55kg for 25 reps. Crazy increase. These were some dormant muscles for sure. 60kg next time obviously. They seem to like high reps. Or maybe they’d like sets of 10 just the same but my adductors are nearly untrained so they’re responding well. Changing my ab movement slightly, instead of holding a plate to my forehead I’ve now got straight arms arms extended overhead, (overhead when my torso is vertical, so they’re way behind me at the bottom of a situp applying resistance). When I add weight, I’m sure 5kg will feel like 20kg.
This was all during lunch. I returned to the gym at 5PM to bust out some hamstring training & shrugs. I’d do it all at once but I’m busy with work. On the weekend I don’t need to break it up.
Good Morning: 60kg 10, 70kg 10, 80kg 14
Shrug: 105kg 8, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
So increased good mornings by 2.5kg & added two reps, big win. Added 5kg on shrugs & kept the reps at 8, another big win.
Saturday gym session, love it. Back & legs, no hamstrings, that’ll be a couple days later.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 100kg 10, 90kg 9
Absolutely quality, added a rep to both sets. Obviously these increases won’t last forever but I feel like I’m speed-running getting to my natural limit with these improvements.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 110kg 9, 95kg 8
Really pulled out the stops for this, going from 8 to 9 reps on the top set. Hell yes. 120kg on this movement, ass to grass, is on the horizon.
Calf Raises: 134kg for 12
Hip Adduction: 60kg for 22
Calf raises on the machine that lets me go slightly heavier, (it’s Saturday so I’m not at the gym by my work training at lunch, but at the other gym with my preferred calf raise machine). Went to the next pin on the machine as heaviest I’ve done is 125kg on this one. Not only kept my reps but added one, truly glad with myself on these. Talk about min-maxing calf progress. Hip adduction - weight up to the next weight, 55kg to 60kg, & did 22 reps, not bad at all. I’m going straight to 65kg next time.
I’m not a big fan of these rows anymore. I want to switch to something with more of a lengthened bias, instead of this pin machine row which is basically just really hard at the top like a barbell row really, (but chest supported). I think that’d be very helpful, but I need to find the apparatus for it, if it exists. Added a rep on my decline situps with arms fully extended, too.
Increased my pec deck with 110kg, (second time doing this weight with my 2/2 tempo form), from 8 to 9 reps, excellent stuff. Not my day on shoulder stuff today.
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 7, 50kg for 8
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 14kg 8, 20kg 8, 14kg 8
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Finally tried the 20s on for skullcrushers, & honestly quite impressed that I hit 8 reps. It was more than a 10% load increase so to go from 10 reps to 8 is not bad. Went up in weight on preacher curls too, 7 reps with 65kg. The bigger story here is my hammer curl improvement, very happy with this.
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 5, 5
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 5/6, 22.5kg 5/8
Working in on cable laterals with another person so I didn’t want to drop to 5kg for the final set since I legitimately had like 2 minutes rest after the top set so it would’ve been a tad light, kept it at 7.5kg for another set of 5. Rope pushdowns going up in weight on the top set, ok performance. This concluded the midday workout. I returned to the gym at 5PM for good mornings, shrugs & leg curls.
Good Morning: 70kg for 10, 80kg for 10, 85kg for 13
Shrug: 110kg 8, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Went up in weight by 5kg on good mornings, 85kg, & kept it at 13 reps, solid. Shrugs went straight from 105kg to 110kg & kept the reps, calling it shrug noobie gains, won’t last long. Leg curl maintaining, but probably because my good morning is going up & the hams are getting hit with more & more stimulus each time it happens.
And below, completed less than an hour ago. Looking forward to my next workout in two days - it’ll be the bro-day session (chest, shoulders & arms), & then also good mornings, shrugs & leg curls - on a weekend day so I’ll have time for it all at once.
Going heavier. Increased both sets of pulldowns by 5kg. This is a very decent performance I’m hoping to build on. Speaking of heavy, added 5kg on hack squats, 115kg, for a top set of 7 reps. Guess I’m hungry for 3 plates a side. Added a rep to the backoff set at least.
Machine Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 55kg for 8, 45kg for 8
New movement. That stress in the lengthened position is gnarly. I want to stick with this a little while. It’s a little easier to get short here, I like it.
Calf Raises: 105kg for 9
Decline Situps for 10
Hip Adduction: 65kg for 23
Added a couple reps on situps with my arms up high. Hip adduction, great little win. I’m gonna copy+paste the below with a slight addition for today. First time doing adduction was 45kg for 12. Third time I do 50kg for 20 reps. Fourth time, I do 55kg for 25 reps. Fifth time, 60kg for 23 reps. And today, I hit 65kg for 23 reps. Solid! 70kg next time.
Immediate success, turned my top set on pec deck from 9 to 10 reps with 110kg. Feels great to be approximating optimality with my current pec work stimulus since at my level I’d not be able to add reps like this unless training was absolutely in the goldilocks zone. Did a little quarter rep after 8 reps on reverse pec deck with 80kg today so that’s nice.
Nautilus OHP: 57kg 7, 76kg 6, 50kg 10 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 7, 16kg for 8
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 8, 4
No PR on the top set of OHP, but did get a PR on the backoff set, odd. Dumbbell skullcrusher, nothing new on the top set, but I’m graduating from the 14kgs to the 16kgs on the acclimation & backoff sets, & the backoff went well. Biting the bullet on cable laterals & going heavy on the backoff set too. This is on 20 seconds rest, not counting the rest while one shoulder is trained. Pretty sickening PR though.
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 6/8, 22.5kg 6/7
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 7, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Improvement on rope pushdowns top set, nice. Real win on curls today - this gym’s preacher curl machine is marginally harder than the other gym where I first hit these numbers, (same brand & model, just slightly different friction I guess). So awesome to secure the PR on the slightly harder machine.
Good Morning: 80kg for 10, 85kg for 10, 90kg for 13
Shrug: 110kg for 8, 115kg for 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Added 5kg on good mornings & kept the reps at 13. Solid progress. I just wish I had the foggiest clue as to what sort of % is typically used on good mornings compared to a typical squat or deadlift. I don’t want to be sandbagging, nor do I want to be using excessive loads because I can’t bend over more due to tight hamstrings. Neither of those sound good. Happily added 5kg on one set of shrugs & nailed it. Leg curls just holding still, I think due to the additional fatigue in my hams I’m picking up from rapidly increasing my good mornings.
I was going to train on Tuesday but today, Monday, is a public holiday & I had the itching to go lift. Won’t change my other training days this week, Thursday & Saturday.
Great, great stuff. Added a rep on the top set of lat pulldowns with 2/2 tempo, getting 9 reps with 105kg. And hack squats, added a whole rep to the top set with 115kg, & also to the backoff set with 95kg, just all round great.
Machine Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 55kg for 9, 45kg for 9
Solid on these too. I think three 20kg plates would look nice on this & my strength seems like it can dig it, for the top set at least.
Calf Raises: 142kg for 11
Decline Situps: 2.5kg for 9
Hip Adduction: 70kg for 22
Alright, went one weight pin heavier on calves & hit 11 reps, decently happy with this. Decline situps were a massive winner, holding 2.5kg with straight arms above my head & hitting 9 reps is a big win. Equally big win on hip adduction, weight the next weight heavier on this machine, doing 70kg for the first time, & getting 22 reps. The machine caps out at 100kg so I don’t know what I’m going to do here if things keep going like they’re going. It’s taken me four weeks to go from 45kg for 12 reps first time doing these, to 70kg for 22 reps today, & 100kg is the max weight. And I’m doing this with the 2/2 tempo so already slower than most. But it’s not like I’m at 95kg and 100kg is around the corner. I’ve got a few weeks to think about this.
First time using 115kg on pec deck with slow 2/2 form, 8 reps, not bad. Same weight on the backoff sets for now. Added a rep on reverse pec deck top set, going from 8 to 9 reps.
Star Trak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 8, 50kg for 6 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 8, 16kg for 7
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 8, 5
No PR on OHP but 8 reps felt slightly easier than previously, but RPE was definitely over 9 so I didn’t go for another rep. Cable lateral, PR achieved, added a rep to the last set with 7.5kg, going from 4 to 5 reps, (20 seconds rest but I don’t wanna overemphasize this because those 20 seconds don’t include the amount of time I’m doing a set with one side for).
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 7/8, 22.5kg 6/7
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 8, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Rope pushdown, increased the top set with 27.5kg from 6/8 to 7/8, which is to say I added a rep spreading the rope & maintained my reps after that keeping the handles together. Going from 7 to 8 reps on preacher curls with 65kg is a hell of a win, very happy with this. This was all during lunch, returned to the gym after work for the below.
Good Morning: 80kg for 10, 87.5kg for 10, 95kg for 13
Shrug: 120kg for 8, 7
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Another big jump on good mornings, going from 90kg top set to 95kg top set. Good part about doing these for 13 reps is that if I increase the weight by 5kg & it doesn’t go too well, I’m still getting a good number of reps, but so far I’ve kept the reps at 13. Looking forward to 100kg next time. Shrugs, added weight again, 120kg, not bad.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 105kg 9.3, 95kg 7.5
Tried for 10 but no dice, & the grind took a little bit out of the backoff set. Though, I did these at a station that tends to be slightly harder so I’m looking forward to next time.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 115kg 9, 100kg 8
Hip Adduction: 75kg for 20
Fuck yeah, hack squat PR, 115kg for 9. These have been going super well. I think strengthening my adductors & adding a hip hinge has strengthened my peripheral lower body muscles which aren’t the quads which then makes this exercise feel great. I should probably try to hit 10 reps before I make the jump to 120kg. I suppose it’s a PR on adduction machine too - from 70kg for 22 to 75kg for 20. Getting closer to that 100kg stack though…
Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 60kg for 9, 50kg for 8
Decline Situps: 5kg for 5
Calf Raises: 142kg for 12
Another couple of workouts & some real highlights to note.
Pec Deck: 115kg for 8.9, 105kg for 7, 95kg for 8
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 80kg for 10
Nearly hitting 9 reps with 115kg on pec deck, just gotta keep at it.
Star Trak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 8, 50kg for 6 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 9, 16kg for 7
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 7, 4
Serious PR on skullcrushers, very solid! Fewer reps on laterals but this particular cable station is marginally heavier so it’s nothing to worry about.
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 7/8, 22.5kg 6/7
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 8.5, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Good Morning: 80kg for 10, 90kg for 10, 100kg for 13
Shrug: 120kg for 9, 8
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 8, 60kg 8
Adding 5kg on good mornings & keeping the reps at 13. Now lifting two plates on these. Wish I had more people to compare to.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 105kg 9.5, 95kg 7.5
Still not hitting ten reps yet on this. Ah well.
Hack Squats: 80kg 7, 120kg 8, 100kg 8
Hip Adduction: 80kg for 20
I bit the bullet & went to 120kg, 3 plates a side, on hack squats, at last. 8 reps performed, this is a solid PR! Feeling good about this but I want to get even stronger on these. Solid PR on adduction machine too - going from 75kg for 20 to 80kg for 20
Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 60kg for 10, 50kg for 8
Decline Situps: 5kg for 6
Calf Raises: 105kg for 9
Another PR on Tbar. Loving this movement. That lengthened emphasis is exactly what my midback needs I feel. New weight on this particular calf raise too.
Looking forward to lifting tomorrow & going for more PRs.
Pec Deck: 115kg for 9, 105kg for 7, 95kg for 8
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 80kg for 11
Finally managed to hit 9 reps with 115kg on pec deck & added a rep on reverse pec deck too.
Nautilus OHP: 57kg for 7, 77kg for 8, 57kg for 7 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 8, 16kg for 7
Cable Lateral: 5kg for 6, 7.5kg for 8, 5
PR on nautilus OHP top set, very nice.
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 27.5kg 8/7, 27.5kg 6/3
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 8.5, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Forgot to drop the weight on rope pushdowns so went a bit heavier on that last set.
Good Morning: 85kg for 10, 95kg for 10, 105kg for 12
Shrug: 125kg for 8, 7
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 9, 60kg 9
Good mornings increased weight by 5kg & hit 12 reps still, nice. Added 5kg on shrugs & it went alright.
Finally hit 10 reps with 105kg on lat pulldowns, hell yes. Lost a rep on hack squats, (different gym to when I got 8 reps with 3 plates).
Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 65kg for 8, 55kg for 8
Hip Adduction: 85kg for 15
Decline Situps: 5kg for 6
Calf Raises: 142kg for 12
Tbar rows increased the top set & backoff set by 5kg on both, small PRs achieved on both. Hip adduction was a little different today, dropped from 80kg for 20 reps last time to 85kg for 15 this time, bit of a drop, no PR here. I’ll continue to increase the weight though because 15 reps still isn’t too heavy. Calf raises added a rep on this, awesome.
A couple of workouts to log today. Chest, arms & shoulders, & then a few hours later Good Mornings, Shrugs & Leg Curls on Thursday, & then today, (Saturday), my Back & Legs Day.
Pec Deck: 115kg for 8, 105kg for 7, 95kg for 8
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 9
Pec Deck, no PR, but I’m making a change too. I’m putting the ROM one rung further back. My shoulder mobility has slightly improved, I’m ready for this. I did it on the backoff sets today & it was powerful from a sensation standpoint.
Startrak OHP: 50kg for 7, 60kg for 9, 50kg for 6 (SS)
Dumbbell Incline Skullcrusher: 16kg for 6, 20kg for 8, 16kg for 7
Cable Lateral: 7.5kg for 8, 5
Rope Pushdown: 22.5kg for 9, 30kg 7/7, 27.5kg 6/7
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 8, 50kg for 8
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
Good Morning: 90kg for 10, 100kg for 10, 110kg for 11
Shrug: 130kg for 8, 7
Lying Leg Curl: 70kg 9, 60kg 9
Added 5kg on lat pulldowns, from 105kg to 110kg. I’ve hit 105kg for 10 so knew hitting 110kg for 6 was the ‘No PR, just consistent’ territory. 7 reps would’ve been ok, & 8 reps is really good, so I’m happy with this. Hack squats, I’ll stop logging the set before the top set because the RPE, frankly, is quite low. It always feels hard, lol, but if I can do 3 plates 7-8 times, & could probably do 2 plates 15 times instead of the 7 reps I do to acclimate myself. Unfortunately no Hack Squat PR today.
Tbar Rows: 40kg for 8, 65kg for 9, 55kg for 8
Decline Situps: 5kg for 7
Hip Adduction: 90kg for 17
Calf Raises: 151kg for 10
Tbar rows, added a rep on the top set which is fantastic. Added a rep to decline situps too. Calf raises went up to the next weight on the stack which was fun. Hip adduction was a huge win, went from 85kg for 15 to 90kg for 17, so that’s really awesome, highlight of the workout.
Health hasn’t been good. Initially a flu last week for a couple of days. Eased up, but then my crohns disease flared up. Inflammation markers high. Appetite dropped low. Fortunately I just missed one workout, (train 3 days a week & you’ll miss fewer workouts by nature than if you trained nearly every day). I’m in a calorie deficit currently, doing the 1800 calorie thing again until this subsides. I’m doing a theatre production in early to mid July & playing a character who’s supposed to be a bit of a Giga Chad basically so I’ll be wanting defined facial features for that anyway. But originally I’d planned to do a swift 4 week deficit 4 weeks out from the show but now I’m doing this 9 weeks out from the show. But it can’t be helped. Medical necessity.
Just maintaining my lifts, nothing you haven’t seen before. Actually a couple of PRs - hip adduction 95kg for 17, (adding 5kg & keeping my reps), 115kg pec deck with the further pec ROM for 7 reps, (beats 6), & decline crunch with 5kg in my hands for 8 reps.
Still in a deficit while my appetite is recovering. I’ll stay dieting until it gets hard since right now it doesn’t require much effort.
Underhand Lat Pulldowns: 110kg 7.5, 100kg 7
Leg Press (switchpin loaded): 90kg 6, 6, 6
There’s no ego in the leg press as it’s a new lift so no mental resistance to me doing the reps with 3 second eccentric, 2 second concentric. Right now it’s not destroying me like hack squats since I can do multiple sets without any reps in reserve & still match reps.
Tbar Rows: 55kg for 8, 65kg for 8, 55kg for 8
Decline Situps: 5kg for 7
Hip Adduction: 100kg for 15
Calf Raises: 105kg for 9
Finally hitting the stack on adduction machine. Maybe I’ll try one leg at a time since if that has the effect I hope it’ll mean I’d need to be nearly twice as strong for it to get too light.
Another Saturday session. In a deficit but had a big dinner on Friday so was looking full today.
Pec Deck: 115kg for 7, 100kg for 7, 95kg for 7
Reverse Pec Deck: 60kg for 10, 85kg for 8
Nautilus OHP: 57kg for 7, 77kg for 7, 57kg for 7 (SS)
Nothing to report on these lifts, just hitting what I’ve hit before. Progressing these in a deficit is a bit of a pipe dream.
Machine Preacher Curl: 50kg for 6, 65kg for 8, Preacher Curl 23kg for 12
DB Overhead Extension: 26kg for 12, 24kg for 10
Machine preachers were pissing me off a little, (fastening myself into the machine so body movement doesn’t occur places me in a spot where it’s hard to get the muscle short which isn’t really what I want), so I went to a preacher curl station with an EZ bar & did the last set there to experiment. I also put a thick 10kg plate under the station at the siting end to have the effect of reducing the angle it puts the upper arm into, (most preacher benches have too harsh an angle), & it felt better than if I hadn’t done that.
Now the DB overhead extension was the winner of this workout. I’m adding this in indefinitely. So here’s the thing. The benches are tall, you can’t do regular DB overhead extensions with a dumbbell on them because the dumbbell will smack right into the upright part of the bench that you’re using for back support. So, I put it on flat, then sat on the floor to one side of the bench & used the bench as back support in that manner & it was fucking awesome, really good contraction, long head was firing hard. I did a set prior to my top set but I was still figuring it out so I’m calling it a warmup.
Cable Lateral: 7.5kg for 8, 5
Rope Pushdown: 25kg for 8, 30kg for 9/4, 25kg for 9/4
Machine Preacher Hammer Curl: 50kg for 9, 45kg for 8
RDL: 120kg for 9, 9
Shrug: 130kg for 8, 7
Yep, trying out RDLs instead of Good Mornings. Felt slightly similar but a great benefit is I can get a more objective ROM on these. Good Mornings are more guesswork with the angle of your torso but with RDLs, I know I’m bringing the bar just under my knees because I can feel it there. Also I didn’t do leg curls. I think I’ll put them on the other day where I train quads.
