Simo - The Red Shoe Diaries (Part 1)

Second workout of the week tonight. Legs had a bit of soreness from squats on Wednesday night, not enough to hinder the workout but enough to be sore when you flex dem quads !!

Friday 11th Deadlift and OH press

Usual warm up, stretches, 10 x box jumps and 10 x ball slams
Deadlift
bar x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 5
105 x 5
105 x 5
105 x 5 These felt good, RPE was between 6-7. Grip was struggling a bit in the last 2 reps of set 3, so I went mixed grip for the last set. Mixed grip seems to make it easier all round so happy with that.

OH press
bar x 10
35 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5 RPE was 6-8 only last set felt a bit heavier but probably should have rested a little longer.

Pull ups
wide grip x 8
close grip palms facing x 8
wide grip palms facing x 8
the last set of these felt hard need to do more of these!!

Hanging leg raise x 20, superset with hammer culs 12.5kg x 20, superset with tricep extensions x a lot. Good sweat and good arm pump to finish a fabulous Friday workout. Life is good.

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My shoulders just ached reading that. If you feel any discomfort or pain during or after performing these than scrap it. Wide grip palms facing away (pronated) is ok but wide grip supinated is generally a no no.

No pain in the shoulders at all, good bicep stretch though :wink:

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Good to hear mate! Keep smashing it!

Monday 14th Squat and Bench

Usual warm up, stretches, box jumps x 10, ball slams x 10

Squat
Bar x 10
55 x 5
72.5 x 9
72.5 x 9
72.5 x 9
72.5 x 9
squats felt really good tonight, RPE was 6-8. Got a good rythm going with a big breath at the top and then drop down full depth and drive up.

Bench
bar x 15
60 x 9
60 x 9
60 x 9
60 x 9
RPE was 6-7. I loved bench tonight. Cycling between a slightly heavier lower rep week and a lighter higher rep week really feels good. The bar speed for the higher rep sessions has been great and it gives me a great chance to focus on form and tightness.

Bent over row
65 x 9
65 x 9
65 x 9
RPE 7 - reps moved nicely but was a bit puffed by the last couple of reps. I always have trouble getting enough air in when I do these.

Upright rows
25 x 15 x 2 sets

Just one word for the workout tonight, Quality.

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It’s so good having sessions like this. Leaving the gym feeling like you can take on the world. It sounds like you have blown out the cobwebs of your little hiatus and are smashing it. Got any plans or goals at the moment?

Thanks Irish, the goal right now is just to remain consistent and train twice a week. I know work is going to get crazy from October through to the end of the year so am keeping the goal simple, just train.
The next goal is to get back to a 1234 (1 plate OH, 2 plates bench, 3 plates squat, 4 plates deadlift) I can already hit the Oh and bench but the legs and back need a bit of work to get 3 and 4.
Once I get back to 1234 then I’ll reassess and decide what’s next.

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2345 is a good place to start…

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Yes I agree mark but I need these chicken legs and cranky old back to hit 3 and 4 first :wink:

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Quality over quantity.
Nice log, I’ve red some the posts from the beginning (especially i loved post with pierogi :smiley: :wink: ). Definitly I will follow you.

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Yer me too, that reminds me I just get the misses to make another batch… yummy

Friday 18th
It was my birthday yesterday so instead of training I ate cake with the kids and spent some time with the family. Moved the deadlift and overhead press session to tonight.

Warm up - stretching,box jumps x 10, ball slams x 10

Deadlift
Bar x 10
65 x 5
90 x 9
90 x 9
90 x 9
RPE was 6-7 all reps moved nice and smooth and grip felt ok for all the reps. A little breathless at the end of the sets which tells me I need to start doing some conditioning.

OH press
Bar x 12
37.5 x 9
37.5 x 9
37.5 x 9
37.5 x 9
RPE 6 this wasn’t heavy and it moved real nice. Focused on really squeezing the bar and exploding up. Still have issues not keeping my glutes tight so need to work on that more.

Pull ups wide grip
7 reps x 4 sets

Hanging leg raise x 20 superset with Hammer curls 12.5kg x 20, superset with tricep extensions x a lot.
Did two rounds of this to finish and get a good pump.

Great workout tonight short and focused and the body felt great. Weights go up and reps come down next week. Looking forward to it,…bring it on.!

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Happy birthday mate!

Thanks @MarkKO. Kids are taking me out for dinner tonight to an American BBQ joint so should be a calorie fest !!!

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Monday 21st Squat and Bench

I was really looking forward to the workout tonight, I spent a few hours forking the lawn and raking the lawn on Sunday which made my back a little stiff. It didn’t really effect the squats and actually felt a bit better once it got warmed up.

Usual warm up, stretches, 10 x box jumps, 10 x ball slams

Squat
Bar x 10
55 x 5
75 x 5
92.5 x 5
92.5 x 5
92.5 x 5
92.5 x 5
92.5 x 5
RPE from 7 to 9. I lost the grove in the third set and the knees caved a bit. I had a little longer rest for the last two sets. The grove was better in the 4th set and all reps were good. The last rep of set 5 was a bit of a grinder, my legs were fine getting out of the bottom but after a few inches the bar just stopped and I lost tightness in my core and couldn’t get my back to drive into the bar. Legs held fine and just slowly moved up so it was all good.

Bench
Bar x 15
55 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5
75 x 5
RPE 6 - 7, bench moved great tonight, managed to stay tight through all the reps and the bar moved pretty easy. Pretty happy with my pressing at the moment.

Bent row
40 x 5 x 5

Upright row
25 x 15 x 2 sets

Overall very happy with the workout tonight and even happier with the Lamb samosas the misses made for dinner.

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No training today, body is sore from Mondays squat and bench session. It is very interesting how much soreness I am getting by cycling a volume week (sets of 9) with a high weight low rep week (sets of 5). The volume week seems to feel fairly easy and the body feels great but the pump is solid and the muscles still feel pretty sore after. The lower rep week is where then DOMS really kick in particularly in the quads after squats. Need to start adding some weight vest walking or some light running on Non weight days for some active recovery but decided to be lazy today instead !!! Bad bad boy !!

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Friday 25th Deadlift and OH press

Great workout tonight, the extra days rest after squats on Monday gave the body time to freshen up and it felt good.

Usual warm up, agile 5, 10 x box jumps, 10 x ball slams

Deads
Bar x 10
65 x 10
95 x 10
112.5 x 5 x 5 the deadlifts moved ok tonight, RPE was 7 on the first 4 sets and then 8 on the last set. All sets were done with double overhand grip. Grip was solid up until the last set, managed to hold on but last rep was in my finger tips. Forearms where pumped by the end.

OH press
Bar x 12
35 x 5
52.5 x 5 x 5
RPE was 7, with last set an 8. Pressing was solid again tonight, focused on getting my breath at the top of each rep and staying tight through my midsection and my glutes. This worked well and the bar moved up pretty easy. Did 10 band pull aparts between each set.

Pull ups - wide grip
9 x 3 sets - these were hard, especially the last few reps but I will keep working them.

Hanging leg raise x 20, superset with dumbbell hammer curls 15kg x 20, superset with cable triceps extensions x a lot. Did 2 rounds of this with about 30 sec of rest in between. Massive arm pump at the end made me feel like a proper gym bro!!!

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just saying hi, glimpsed through your log, looks nice.

/br bonoboschimp

Thanks man and hi back at ya

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Monday 28th I had a funny feeling when I woke up this morning and I knew it was squat day!!!

Usual warm up- Agile 5, 10 x box jumps and 10 x ball slams

Squats
Bar x 10
65 x 9
77.5 x 9 x 4 sets
RPE was 7-8, squats felt good tonight, got a big breath at the top of each breath focused on bracing and keeping everything tight. All reps were ass to grassssssss !!

Bench
Bar x 15
55 x 9
65 x 9 x 4 sets
RPE 7-8 bench moved good again tonight. Triceps were still a little sore from Fridays press session but it didn’t slow the bar down too much. Got a little quad cramp on the last set but otherwise all good.

Bent over row
70 x 9 x 3 sets
RPE 7, reps felt good other than being out of breath by the end of each set.

Upright row
25 x 15 x 2 sets, only 30 sec rest between sets, good shoulder pump.

really enjoyed the workout tonight, body still feeling good and strength is slowly returning. Body is a little sore which tells me I need to either sleep more, eat more, do more active recovery or do all three of these.

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