26 May
Deadlifts - 60kg 6 100kg 5 120kg 5 140kg 5 5 5 5 5
Db Seated Bicep Curls - 10kg 12 12 12
Cable Tricep Extension Crossovers - 8.75kg 15 15 15
Dips - 12 12 12
Crunches - 12 12 12
27 May
Seated Shoulder Press - 3 sets: 80kg 12 12 12
Seated Cable Row - 3 sets: 50kg 12 12 12
Bicep Curls - 3 sets: 10kg 12 12 12
Dips - 3 sets: 12 12 12
Crunches: 12
28 May
Trap Bar Deadlift (not including bar) - 5 sets: (Warm up 40kg 5 80kg 5 110kg 3 130kg 2) 130kg 5 5 5 5 5
Lat Pull Down PG - 3 sets: 68kg 10 75kg 10 10 10
Hammie Curls - 3 sets: 55kg 10 61kg 10 10
Chest Supported Db Rows - 3 sets: 34kg db 10 10 10
Hyper - 3 sets: 16kg db 10 10 10
Prowler pushes - 2 sets: 90kg 2 lengths of the gym
No pics in a while. I can only assume youāre going to bring the pain!
Ha - I wish. Since finishing the cut, Iāve really been focusing on making the programme about strength (with some hypertrophy work too). Been less focused on keeping lean. Reckon my bf is back to nearer 12% now but seeing progress with the lifts.
Sort of having a mini cut this week just to try and ensure I look vaguely presentable for the āfinalā pic
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28 May
Session with coach trying to hone deadlift and Olympic lifting form
Conventional Deadlift - 70kg - Many, many reps
Snatch - Bar work - Many, many reps
29 May
Seemingly still feeling slightly under the weather so no improvement in weight lifted on the bench - which is obviously the metric Iām using for this programme. However, I do genuinely feel as though I improved the movement pattern and got a better ROM and TUT.
Bench - 5 sets: (Warm up 60kg 6 100kg 3 102.5kg 1) 102.5kg 5 5 5 5 4 (+1 with assistance from spotter)
Wide Grip Neutral Grip Pull Down - 3 sets: 73kg 10 85kg 10 10
45 degree Db Bench - 3 sets: 32kg 12 12 12
Cable Incline Flys - 3 sets: 82kg 15 15 15
Hammie Curls - 3 sets: 55kg 12 57kg 12 12
Cable Tricep Pulldowns Kneeling - 3 sets: 104kg 15 98kg 15 15
29 May
Bonus session while I continue to work on my conventional deadlift form
BB Deadlifts - 60kg 6 80kg 5 100kg 12sets of 5 reps
Seated Db Bicep Curls - 12.5kg db 7sets of 8reps
31 May
Havenāt done OHPs in a long time so decided to work them into todayās session. Have three very structured sessions a week and aim to have two to three looser sessions where I can build in whatever takes my fancy on the day but primarily focus on back, shoulders, arms and abs.
OHP - 5 sets: (Warm up 40kg 8) 50kg 8 8 8 8 8
Seated PG Cable Row - 3 sets: 50kg 12 12 12
Seated DB Curls - 5 sets: 15kg db 8 8 8 8 8
Dips - 3 sets: 12 12 12
Cable Cross Overs - 3 sets: 8.75kg 12 12 12
1 June
Squats - 5 sets: (Warm up 60kg 6 100kg 5 135kg 2) 135kg 5 5 5 140kg 5 5
Prime Leg Press - 3 sets: 149kg 12 12 12
Hypers - 3 sets: 18kg dB in each hand 12 12 12
Hammie Curls - 3 sets: 55kg 12 12 10
Pendulum squats - 3 sets: 35kg 12 30kg 12 12
Leg Extensions - 1 set: 2 secs up 2 secs down AMRAP in 1 minute 36kg then 1 minute 27kg
I am officially ruined. Cannot walk!
2 June
96.0kg
OHP
BAR 6
- 20kg 8
+30kg 8 8 8
+20kg 8 8
+30kg 8 7
CABLE ROW PG
50kg 12 12 12
SEATED DB BICEP CURLS
17.5kg DB 8
15kg DB 8 8 8
12.5kg DB 8 6 8
CABLE TRICEP CROSSOVERS
8.75kg 15 15 15
SEATED DB LAT RAISES
6kg DB 12 12 12
EZ BAR PREACHER SEATED CURLS
BAR + 10kg 15 15
DIPS AND CRUNCHES
12 12 12
3 June
95.9kg
Back felt incredibly tight all weekend and today was no exception. No pain, just no mobility and it definitely affected my strength. Tried to push through it, wasnāt having it so backed off and just made sure I got the session in. Have to hope it is true that it isnāt the good sessions that define how you improve, but how you get the bad sessions in that make the difference.
Trap Bar Deadlift (not including the bar) - 5 sets: (Warm up 40kg 5 80kg 5) 120kg 5 5 5 5 5
Cable Rows NG - 3 sets: 75kg 10 68kg 12 12
60 degree DB Press - 3 sets: 28kg 12 12 12
Lat Pull Down NG - 3 sets: 75kg 12 10 10
DB Lat Raise - 3 sets: 5kg 15 15 15
EZ Bar Machine Bicep Curls - 3 sets: 15 15 15
Crunches - 2 sets: 12 10
Current diet is worked out to hit the following macros:
Protein - 245
Carbs - 100
Fat - 35
That means I am hitting roughly 1700 calories a day, with some flex built into Saturdays so that I can relax and enjoy one meal without feeling too guilty. Last night it was a fish supper with friends (nothing too bad in that - all fresh and grilled, but assume that the marinades had more fats than ideal), a piece of paratha (evidently high in carbs and cooked in ghee - only had a quarter) and then a couple of pieces of baklava (so good and Ramadan only specials in the best baklava shop in town were incredible). Probably closer to 2500 calories yesterday, so still a weekly deficit. Would estimate that my maintenance calories are closer to 3200, but havenāt eaten anywhere near that level consistently for nearly a year. After my last cut, got down to 7.0% bf, I have come back out of it and am hovering at somewhere between 11.5-12.5% bf - the plan had been to come out of the cut very slowly and sit around 10, but a combination of personal issues meant that I didnāt manage that and now have to re-focus and sort it out to come back down. Estimate that I need to get form 95.9kg to around 94kg to be there.
The plan is to get to around a 9-10% body fat level. Iāve posted before that I really struggle with bdd and know that I need to work very hard on the mental health issues I face. I hope that, if I can sit around 10%, then I can relax enough to work on those problems.
What I would appreciate comments on though is whether being on such a calorie deficit is going to negatively impact my desire to improve my strength performance. I know this is a typical how long is a piece of string-esque question.
Iāve been running a programme focused on improving the three main lifts for the past 4 weeks and generally seen improvements (this morning excepted, but tightness in the back is, I believe a valid excuse). Just thinking that these improvements may stall in coming weeks and trying to work out how to pre-empt them.
Copying in @Chris_Colucci and @flipcollar to, cheekily, get the benefit of their knowledge, but welcome any input.
Long consciousness stream post over.
4 June
Weight - 95.8kg
OHP - 5 sets: (Warm up 40kg 5) 50kg 5 5 5 5 5
Seated Cable Row PG - 3 sets: 50kg 12 12 12
Seated DB Bicep Curls - 5 sets: 17.5kg 8 8 8 8 8
Cable Tricep Pull Downs - 5 sets: 17.5kg 12 12 12 12 12
One Arm Cable Lat Raise - 5 sets: 5kg 12 2.5kg 12 12 12 12
Do you train in UP mate?
Yep and alongside that I do some bits and pieces on my own and run with the local running club.
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Nice. Iām a big fan of Nick Mitchell. Tells it like it is!
5 June
Bench - 5 sets: (Warm up 60kg 8 100kg 5 102.5kg 2) 102.5kg 6 6 6 5 5 (Really had to grind the last two sets)
NG Lat Pull Down - 3 sets: 75kg 12 12 12
45 Degree DB Bench - 3 sets: 32kg 12 12 10
Cable Incline Flys - 3 sets: 82kg 15 15 15
Hammie Curls - 3 sets: 50kg 15 15 15
Prowler Pushes - 2 sets: 80kg 2 lengths of the gym
Thatās a long time to not have been in maintenance. With whatever body comp changes youāve seen in that time, itās very likely your maintenance level has changed too, so weāre kinda shooting in the dark and youāll just have to adjust based on your current intake and the progress seen.
In any case, 1700 calories is a huge deficit from anywhere around that point, especially at your current size. But, end of the day, if itās working, itās working.
Training to improve strength while eating to lose fat is generally a way to not progress much in either direction. With where you are now, you might really benefit from a 4-8 week ādiet breakā where you solely focused 100% on pushing the strength work while eating a bit more. Keep doing some easier conditioning stuff, but steer away from eating for fat loss in order to fuel the training in the short-term.
The flipside would be, if not being 10% is really messing with you, then set the Big 3 on the back burner and push for an 8-12 week dialed-in cut, tweaking the training to support maximum fat burning.
Coordinate all factors - lifting, conditioning, nutrition, supplements - in one direction. It really comes back to the old ācanāt ride two horses with one assā thing.
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6 June
OHP
40kg 8 8
45kg 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
50kg 7
DB Seated Bicep Curls
15kg DBs 8 8 8 8 8 8