Natty on Pennies

Training log:

Lower body¨

  1. Paused front squat
    3x100
    2x112.5
    1x125
    3x102.5
    2x115
    1x127.5

  2. Narrow stance front squat
    3x3x107.5
    3x3x82.5

  3. Single leg cable curl
    3x12x25/side

  4. DB RFESS
    3x12x20/side

  5. Glute bridge w/leg extension
    2x10/side

Extreme stretches for lower body, regular ones for upper body

Notes:

Felt pretty good. Had maybe 2.5-5 kilos in the tank on all movements, but as it was the first time performing this session I didn’t really have the need to go all out just yet. I’ll switch to smith machine RFESS if the thing ever gets fixed.

There is not much else to say about this session really.

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Training log:

Neural charge/just get some movement in there

  1. Bench against pins
    4x6 seconds

  2. Front squat against pins
    4x6 seconds

3a Band pull apart
2x20
3b Band good morning
2x20
3c Band tricep extension
2x20

Foam rolling and stretching

Notes:

Stuff against the pins is pretty fun and it feels good.

Used rather long rest periods for everything, including the banded circuit work to avoid any fatigue building up. (As this is meant to be a restorative session)

So that’s that, a whole week’s worth of training.

It does feel good to train often and with a bit less volume. Also cutting out nearly all of my assistance work made a huge difference in terms of how much fun I’m having in the gym. I like big movements and high intensity, mindlessly doing dozens of lateral raise sets is not exactly that.

Back to upper body tomorrow, I’ll have to resort to teaching a friend of mine how to spot as my girlfriend is at work during the time I’m able to hit the gym, hopefully he catches it quickly.

@danteism god of back strength, what would be a back exercise you’d recommend that isnt very taxing on the lower back? I’m thinking of doing pendlay rows but idk. I’ve been skipping back work a lot and that isn’t good.

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If you do pendlay or barbell rows make them so strict that you have to lower the load, which in turn will save the lower back. But here are a couple of alternatives;

If you want absolutely no stress on lower back seal rows with DBs or barbells are a great option (I don’t think I’ve ever used a chest supported row machine so can’t speak for those)

Meadows rows are great too, especially when done in a low position (think back parallel to ground) if upper back is what you want.

Inverted rows (also known as Australian pull ups) are good, but you can only load them so much. (Although they are pretty hard when done correctly so it’ll last a while)

Of course all kinds of pulldown and pull ups are stress free or even therapeutic on the lower back, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that.

Like with everything, experimentation is key; you leverages play a big role in what movements you find to be low stress for your back. Some people like to use very upright torso on rows and others find it downright horrible. Find movements that allow your lower back to be in a non-compromised position and reap the benefits.

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Duke, as @danteism said there is multiple options. Inverted rows work well, as do seal or Kroc rows, I quite like Landmine or t bar rows, they don’t seem to give the funky feel that bent over rows do to my lower back

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Barbell rows are out of the question (Lower back hates them) I’ve done pendlay rows before and they felt good. I’ll make sure they are pretty strict if i incorporate them. My lower back cant afford to get stressed to much (Itd taking alot of stress, I’ve had some issues with it.) Because of my deadlift technique+ breathing and bracing (primarily in things like farmers, zerchers, yoke carry etc where i struggle to breathe and stay braced . (if i breathe i lose tightness) + posture +tight muscle groups like hip flexors which ive all been working on.

Might have to try these. I have acces to a chest supported row machine too which is pretty good but i havent been doing any free weight rows which is a problem for me

I havent done these but they look really good. I think I’ll try these first

Thanks man!

Barbell rows piss off my back major! it seems to be a common trend that they feel weird on peoples backs. I dont like the rom on tbar rows but to solve that using 10kg plates is a good option. Im going to give the inverted rows a go first. My upper back gets hammer every training session so i mainly want to target the middle back and lats.

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Training log:

Upper body

  1. Low incline bench
    3x107.5
    2x115
    1x122.5
    3x110
    2x117.5
    1x125

  2. CG Bench
    3,2,4x125
    3x3x105

  3. Strict bent over row
    4x6x122.5

  4. Side laterals (rest-pause, 10 breaths)
    16+8x15
    15+7x15
    14x6x15

  5. BB Curl
    13+5x40
    12+4x40
    11x3x40

Weighted stretches for upper body, regular ones for lower body

Notes:

Really pumped about that low incline PR. Didn’t have my premium gf spot today so I resorted to teaching a friend how to spot. I worried that the spot would be a bit iffy (what a horrible play on words) but he did great. Managed to get so hyped for the lift that I don’t have any actual memory of how it went down apart from acknowledging that it was hard as hell.

I misgrooved my second CGB set but made up for it with the third one.

The whole thing with losing one rep on each set from the first lateral set to the last curl set was completely unintentional.

Great session overall.

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Training log:

Lower body in a hurry

  1. Deadlift
    3x175
    2x190
    1x205
    3x177.5
    2x192.5
    1x207.5

  2. Good morning from pins
    3x3x160

  3. Heel elevated front squat
    4x6x92.5

Notes:
I had sub-40 minutes t complete this from the moment I walked I to the gym, so it was kinda rushed. Had to leave out the lighter sets of GMs and the leg extensions. Still got what I wanted from the big lifts though, so I’m not complaining.

This is a kind of shorter update, got to eat my last meal and get to sleep asap, it’s 22:30 and I’ve got to wake up at 4:30 tomorrow if I’m going to train. (And there’s no if when it comes to training)

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Training log:

Upper body;

  1. Bench
    3x117.5
    2x127.5
    1x137.5
    3x120
    2x130
    1x140

  2. High incline CGB
    3xx3x95
    3x3x80

  3. Meadows row
    3x8x62.5/side

  4. Hammer drag curl
    12+6x25
    2x10+5x25

Extreme stretches for upper body, regular ones for lower body

Notes:

Back and right shoulder were a bit achy, I probably slept in a weird position or something. Bench was feeling horribly slow so I decided not to push it today. That being said, three plates has never gone up so fast, so maybe I could’ve added a bit of weight.

I’m finally starting to feel comfortable with the high incline CGB, although it’s still a but weird.

Meadows rows and curl were good. I’m liking the fact that I’m getting a great bicep pump even with a tad higher weights.

The elderly circuit training was at the gym once again and they needed the cable station so no chest flies for me. (DB flies seemed a bit too harsh with the shoulder being stiff.) It’s not a big deal as I’m hitting chest three times a week but I don’t want this to become a habit.

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Training log:

Lower body;

  1. Front squat
    3x115
    2x127.5
    1x140
    3x117.5
    2x130
    1x142.5

  2. Front squat with a pause on pins
    3x3x115
    3x3x90

  3. Leg curl
    4x12x90

  4. Hip thrust
    3x10+4x105

  5. Reverse hyper on floor
    2x15

Notes:

My phone decided to die just when I got to the gym so I was resorted to listening to the radio (which doesn’t really work that well either) hyping up to schlager music with a lot of static isn’t the easiest of things but I pulled it off.

Switched from front squats from pins to fronts with a pause on pins solely because it’s really hard to get into a good position when the bar is resting on pins.

With ham curls I figured that if I don’t use the machine’s knee pad and instead of just sitting in the machine I kind of hover there by pushing with my arms I’m able to make the exercise a lot harder. So now I got like a month of progress to make with the exercise before I’ve got to reinvent it again.

I’ll be beginning calf training again tomorrow as the Smith machine doesn’t have a warning sign anymore. It’s not fixed really but it’ll hold.

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It’ll hold until you die lol

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Trainjng log:

Upper body;

  1. Pendlay row
    3x100
    2x107.5
    1x115
    3x102.5
    2x110
    1x117.5

  2. Weighted pull ups w/fat grips
    3x3x+26.25
    3x3xBW

  3. Very low incline DB Bench
    4x6x37.5s

  4. Head supported rear laterals
    3x15+10x15s

  5. Standing cable skullcrusher
    10+4, 2x8+3x60

  6. Standing calf raise
    3x12x70

Notes:

It went all good. Breaking the duct tape out for DB presses is always a bit funny (at least it gets me stares) but that’s what you have to do with limited equipment.

Starting calf training again as mentioned, I’m going to ease into it so I don’t hurt myself going from zero to a hundred too fast.

Tomorrow morning I’ll hit lower body and then I’m off to Nordic Fitness Expo for the next two days.

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General update:

The expo was decent. The show, not so much. I literally thought that the short division of classic bodybuilding was a junior competition until they announced the winners

But the guy I was rooting for won his class and the overall (in classic bodybuilding) and he came out in a great conditioning (he’s had problems with peaking in the past years), and just seeing that made it worth the money.

For anyone wondering, classic bodybuilding is basically natural bodybuilding with weight restrictions based on height.

I also got a grim reminder of the fact that I’m not invincible. (I didn’t get injured, don’t worry). I came in contact with excessive amounts of dust and maybe a bit of mold yesterday.

Now I don’t get sick easily or have any allergies (I think) but dust and mold are poison to me. I start sneezing all the time, my body temperature raises, I feel plain lethargic and dehydrated all the time, it’s horrible.

Had to pass on all kinds of neat acitivities at the expo because I was feeling so bad. They had military bench and grip stuff there alongside some bodyweight challenges and gym equipment that you could test out.

Maybe it’s a good thing I was feeling sick, otherwise it would’ve turned into a three hour workout.

Hopefully I’m better tomorrow

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(Another) General update;

Three weeks of scale-free life remains. At the moment I feel pretty thick. I’m pretty sure I’ve put on like five pounds on my traps alone. Belt is still at the second hole (got to use the third hole for my first set now though, so I’ve definitely gained some fat in my midsection as well)

Overall I feel quite strong and comfortable at this point. I’m not consuming around 400p/550c/90f per day.

Strength is going up quite well too. I’ll write down a training log later if I remember.

Gotta go back to work now

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Training log:

Upper body;

  1. Low incline bench
    3x110
    2x117.5
    1x125
    3x112.5
    2x120
    1x127.5

  2. CGBench
    3x3x127.5
    3x3x107.5

  3. Strict bent over rows
    4x6x125

  4. Side laterals
    20+10x15
    18+9x15
    16+8x15

  5. BB Curl
    12+5x42.5
    11x4x42.5
    10+3x42.5

  6. Seated calf raise
    3x15x70

Extreme stretches for upper body+calves, regular ones for lower body

Notes:

It’s crazy to think that I’m actually not that far from a three plate low incline bench. That 125 was really easy and the top single felt quite good as well

Close grip is feeling fantastic as well.

Noticed just a tad bit of grip slippage on my bent over rows today, but it is to be expected when you use a thumbless grip. Just gotta get stronger there, that’s all.

Didn’t up my lateral weights this time, as a 2.5 kilo jump is pretty huge for such small movement. Upped my curl weight though, gonna stick with it for at least the next session. The smith machine got a new warning/do not use label again (it’s the third time, it has been broken for, what, three weeks now?)

Overall, a really great session. I’m really liking this high frequency+high intensity approach. Not only am I performing very well but I’m doing a lot better outside the gym; I’m not dragging ads at work, my mind is clearer and overall I’m happier. It’s awesome.

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Training log:

Lower body;

  1. Deficit deadlift
    3x170
    2x185
    1x200
    3x175
    2x190
    1x205

  2. Good morning from pins
    3x3x165
    3x3x130

  3. Heel-elevated front squat
    4x6x95

  4. Leg extension
    12+6x55
    2x10+5x55

  5. Single leg glute bridge
    2x15/side

Extreme stretches for lower body, regular ones for upper body

Notes:

Had to do this session at 8PM, which resulted in me having only one meal with carbs post-workout. I just combined two meals into one and had 400g of turkey, 300g of rice, half a kilo of quark and 300g of rye oats alongside berries and brussels sprouts. Really, it wasn’t even too hard to get down.

Another thing this lead into is that I only have 11 or so hours between sessions, we’ll see if that has an impact on tomorrow’s training.

Deadlifts went super well today. The 205 felt so light that I had to hold myself back from doing reps with it.

On good mornings I skipped my lighter sets last week, so I jumped ten kilos this time instead of five. The weight is so light that it doesn’t really have much of am impact. Front squats felt good too, and I got a great pump from the extensions.

Donut was, yet again, a great session.

Going for an all-time bench PR tomorrow morning.

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Training log:

Upper body; all-time record edition

  1. Bench
    3x120
    2x130
    1x140
    3x122.5
    2x132.5
    1x142.5

  2. High incline CGB
    3x3x97.5
    3x3x82.5

  3. Meadows row
    3x8x65/side

  4. Hammer drag curl
    14+7x25
    12+6x25
    10+5x25

Notes:

I was on a kind of tight schedule today. Originally I had just enough time to do everything but when I got to the gym a kid (literally a five year old) insisted on showing me how much he could deadlift on the low pulley row. So naturally I watched him doing it. He got a solid triple with 15 kilos and then a single with 20 kilos. Afterwards he moved onto doing incline DB presses with the one kilo bells. A great kid really. That took some time so I didn’t have time for flies and calf work. (Really at this point the flies are just in the written program but I haven’t done them a single time I think) But the thing is, if I have to choose between doing a couple of sets of cable flies or possibly positively impacting a kid’s life, I’ll always choose the latter. That’s a no-brainer.

But back to the session. I finally went over three plates on bench. I’ve done it. Feels great, but I’m not satisfied - it’s just beginning at this point.

The High incline CGB really shows me that I’ve gotten stronger; not too far ago I was using this same weight on regular incline with a wider grip with about as much effort. Also just about to hit two plates for reps here.

I was quite bloated after yesterday’s nighttime snack, being in the position of a meadows row was horrible really.

The day before yesterday the Smith machine had a warning label. Yesterday it didn’t have one (it was probably ripped off). Now it has a new warning label and another label that states how it’s bullshit that we’ve been waiting for weeks for it to be repaired. So much drama.

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Nice job on bench!

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Thanks man, now I’ve just got to go even further.

Think what you want, but the fact is that the best natural bodybuilders are usually brutally strong. I know guys from Finland that can do 6x160kilos on CGB and 20x180kgs on back squat, for example. And those guys are solely focused on bodybuilding.

The ultimate goal now (pressing-wise) is to get a 4.5 plate bench and a 4 plate low incline bench

Yeah that’s a lot. And that’s the way it should be

20×180 on back squat is crazy. Btw why just 4.5 plates? Why not 5? I think you could bench 5 plates eventually

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