Something I’ve considered - I’m just not sure about how to make that work when I’m training 3 days in a row. I do definitely want to return to a “bench every session” format though, and probably bench first most sessions so it’s getting the focus it needs.
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Yeah it’s tricky, but I’m sure you’d adapt to it. You’d have to keep volume and intensity reasonable. Maybe start heavy-light-heavy and build up your light day? And yeah benching first is a very good shout. I’m not sure!
531 squat/dead c2w6
Weighed in at 97.4kg this morning. Got a set of scales round the girlfriend’s house so I can do morning weights more consistently.
Forgot my knee sleeves. Arse. Squats did feel slower out of the hole as a result, and just a bit off in general.
Squat
Bar x some
70kg x 2 x 4
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
135 x 1
Add belt
147.5kg x 5
167.5kg x 3
185kg x 5 - e1rm 216kg - barely failed 6, I wanted 8.
Deads
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
Add belt
157.5kg x 5
177.5kg x 3
Add straps
197.5kg x 9 - e1rm 257kg - this is my first entry for the challenge me @furo @activitiesguy and @jblues85 are doing. Might give it another go in the next few weeks since there’s still time, and I know I can do better when I’m fresh.
Pullups
8,8,6,6,6
Ss/ Hip thrusts (shoulders on bench)
100kg x 10
120kg x 10
140kg x 10
160kg x 8
100kg x 20
Back extensions
4 x 30
Ss/ Toes to bar attempts
4 x 8 - 2 or 3 of these were actual successful reps! Had to reset my grip on the last two sets.
Cable curls
Some
Rugby training
Lots of running.
So barring some miraculous incline set tomorrow the last two weeks of this training cycle have been pretty disappointing - especially compared to the first half. Biggish rugby match this weekend, will be forwards heavy, so I’ll take Sunday and Monday to recover and have a crack at these challenges next week.
Then reassess how my training is gonna look going forwards - 50:50 between 531 and something higher frequency and volume but lower relative intensity. Get some autoregulation action going.
531 incline c2w6
Ohp
Bar x some
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
Belt on
60kg x 2
72.5kg x 4 - 3 rep PR - last one was hideous, took the bar for a little walk but other than stopping me falling over I don’t think it exactly helped me lock it out.
@furo @activitiesguy @jblues85 I expect you all to do a lot better and a lot prettier.
Incline
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
87.5kg x 9 - e1rm 114kg
OHP
Paused
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 8 - nice
Klokov press
30kg x 10
35kg x 10
40kg x 8
Drop set
30kg x 12
Rear delt machine
50 x 3 x 30
41 x 2 x 40
Ss/Laterals
12.5s x 5 x 15
Facepulls
Ascending weight x 5 x 20, 3 x 10, last set drop to a set of 30
Rope pushdowns
3 x 20
Ss/ Cable curls
3 x 15
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Morning weights from past couple of days were both 97.7kg
Rugby on Saturday against a team we should be beating but have lost the past 2 times. Didn’t get the win this time either.
Took yesterday off to recover, but got on the sauce pretty heavy Saturday night so set myself back a bit.
Decided to try a max bench today anyway.
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 1
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
120kg x F - with how 110 moved and how this felt going down I was sure I had it, but it barely left my chest. Arse.
110kg x 1
110kg x 1
110kg x 1
70kg x 10 x 5 - the volume starts now
This is odd but for some reason I wasn’t seeing the notifications from your log!! 9 reps on the Deadlift is impressive. I think my best at 2xBW (475) is 5 reps. Hoping my Press weight of 175 can help make up the difference!! Been lurking on your log for a while so I guess this is my first comment!
Nice to have you! Looking forward to seeing what you end up hitting.
Tried some heavy pulls today but they didn’t go as planned so I went for some reps again and was too fatigued to do as much as I wanted to. So all in all a bit of a disappointing pulls session.
BW yesterday 97.1kg, today 97.5kg
Deads
Bar x some
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
Belt
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
200kg x 1
220kg x 1 - moved a bit slower than I’d like but this is a kinda hit or miss weight for me so at least it moved.
230kg x 2 x F - didn’t budge.
Straps
200kg x 8 - hoped to hit 9 or more since I’ve hit 12 before but I’m just not back at that level yet. Gotta remember I’m almost 10kg lighter as well now. I’ll get there and weigh less when I do as well.
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Extremely impressive! Especially after failing at a heavier weight. I usually find that if I fail something heavy that’s me done for the day lol, takes it all out of me.
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I think that’s what happened 
Was hyped to try and get double digits with more than 2x bw just for the bragging rights
Past couple of days have weighed 97.6kg
Played the top team in the league yesterday. Great game, held my own in the scrum opposite a guy who’s played for county, and we did a great job of defense in open play. They put 60 points on us last time we played, this time it ended 15-8 to them. Could be argued neither of their tries should’ve been given, but it’s the ref’s call and if he doesn’t know where the touchline is its not my job to tell him 
Disappointing to lsoe on bad calls but at the very slightest we’ve taken their advantage over us from 60 points to 7, so win as far as I’m concerned.
Deadlift club
Squats - picked up some Adidas powerlift 2s so wanted to try them out. Not a massive change in what the squat looks like, very stable base to push off and the slight heel raise I’ve been getting has disappeared instantly.
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 1
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
Add belt
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
190kg x 1 - stopped here cos knees were caving a bit. Thinking about programming for next week and getting my form solid on squats before pushing the weight much higher further is gonna be a priority. Can stay a bit more upright and knees out. Will be front squatting quite a lot to dril lthis, and also cos I want t oget good at them again.
Semi-snatch grip pulls - collar to collar on the stiff short bar.
Straps
80kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 3
180kg x 3
These felt really good in the adis in terms of keeping weight on my heels. Happy with how the weight felt on an awkward beltless movement on a post rugby day.
Block pulls below knee - shoes off
120kg x 5
160kg x 5
200kg x 5
220kg x 10 - lolz. Coulda gone on for ages. Literally stopped cos my shoulders are always sore after rugby and I didn’t want something to snap suddenly.
Bench - tng
Bar x some
Slingshot on
60kg x 3
80kg x 10 x 2 - speed sets, 30 seconds rest
100kg x 1
Paused
110kg x 1
120kg x 1 - moved well
Back to the library. 2 weeks till deadlines then cruise into the Easter hols.
Bench/front squats
Bench
Bar x some
50kg x 5
70kg x 4
90kg x 3
100kg x 4 x 2
100kg x 4
Chins
5 x 5
Front squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
Belt on
120kg x 5
140kg x 1 - good for this to be a weight I can hit fairly clean, especially after yesterday’s hips and back extravaganza.
High bar - paused
60kg x 3 x 5
Bench/low bar
Bench
Bar x some
50kg x 5
70kg x 4
90kg x 5
100kg x 3
105kg x 2
100kg x 3
90kg x 3 x 5
Low bar
Bar x some
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
150kg x 3
170kg x 3 - rpe easy. Form was solid. I’m finding the adis want to throw me forward a bit but I assume that’s just my joint angles adjusting to the slight change. Focusing on keeping the knees out except for right out of the hole.
Chins
BW x 5
10kg x 3,4,5,4,3 - good
BW x 2 x 8
Shins to bar (nearly)
3 x 3 - lats were dead
.
Been working on what I might do with my programming for the next few months.
Priorities
Bench first every session.
Retrain squat to have knees out and a more upright torso. That’s how I squatted when I was at my strongest, let’s get back to it.
Continue to deadlift.
Limited use of the belt.
All sets referred to as 'heavy" will be around rpe 7-8. I want everything to feel technically perfect before I start grinding again.
Monday
Cardio/OR super easy bench/OR off
Tuesday
Bench heavy - normally a pyramid, occasionally just up to a top set or two.
Low bar 3-5rm (rpe 7-8)
Back volume
Wednesday
Bench technique - long pauses and slow eccentric - 80% weight of Tuesday at same reps. Work on positioning but also get blood moving.
Deads speed
High bar 3-5rm (rpe 7-8)
Rugby training
Thursday
Bench volume - tng - same weight as Wednesday but reps reps reps
Front squat 3-5rm (rpe 7-8)
Other press volume and arms and abs.
Friday
Off
Saturday
Match day
Sunday
Bench (slanger cos post rugby shoulders) - heavy or speed or both depending on soreness from the game
Deads heavy (rpe 7-9)
Some more legs stuff.
Arms, abs, and delts
When the rugby season’s out I’ll be squatting (in some variation) and benching every session, every other day at minimum. Slightly more well laid out weight progression, and smarter accessory stuff (ie, LESS). Pretty much what I was doing 2 years ago when I first started pushing close to 5 plates on squat and was at my best on bench and deads.
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Position bench/high bar
Bench - 5 second descent, 5 second pause
Bar x some
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
85kg x 2
80kg x 3
70kg x 3 x 5
Deads - speed reps, 1" deficit
70kg x 2
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 6 x 2 - 30 seconds rest
High bar
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 3 - rpe 8. Hit this for 10 once upon a time.
120kg x 3 x 3 - 3 count pauses
Rugby training - 2 hours of it
Volume bench/front squats
Bench - tng
Bar x some
50kg x 10
70kg x 10
80kg x 10
85kg x 10
80kg x 10
70kg x 3 x 15
Front squats
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
Add belt
140kg x 2 x 1 - both singles moved really well. Bit heavier than I meant to go this early in the cycle though.
120kg x 4
Belt off
100kg x 3 x 3 - paused
DB seated ohp
17.5s x 10
22.5s x 8
27.5s x 3 x 8
27.5s x 10
Tate press
12.5s x 12
15s x 2 x 12
Ss/ Incline curls
12.5s x 12
15s x 2 x 10
Lean away laterals
10kg x 10
12.5kg x 10
15kg x 10
Hammer curls
15s x 3 x 15
Preacher curls
20kg x 4 x 15
What exactly did your neurosurgeon say about lifting heavy after recovery, if you don’t mind me asking?
No problem!
Pretty much “Have you tried lifting again? Any problems? Cool.”
I was building up again slowly when I saw him and was working around 70-80% on most lifts, and he basically said keep doing that, be sensible, stop if there’s any problems (and since I could feel it start to come on I’d be able to before making it a bad bleed).
There’s still no established link between cavernomas hemorrhaging and any external factor - they apparently just do what they want, with a 1% chance of it happening each year. Maybe just a massive coincidence that it happened while I was lifting, or maybe I gave myself a migraine and they found an incidental bleed on the scan. With where it’s located they can’t do surgery to remove it completely, but they’re also not worried about any neurological problems if it does go.
So basically, it’s out of my control, but it probably won’t pop again, and won’t do much damage if it does.
Still, “lifted so hard I gave myself a brain haemorrhage” is a conversation starter.
Rugby on Saturday was dogshite - awful reffing, turnout, work ethic from those who did turn up (myself included) and I strained my back in a scrum fairly early on and came off at the end of the first half, with no sub to replace me. Then our 8 got carded and another forward popped his knee so we called it at about 60 minutes. Shite to drive an hour away, turn up with barely a squad, and put a crap shift in, plus the injury.
How about that England Scotland game though @furo?
Written up yesterday
Tweaked my back on Saturday (just an erector strain/spasm on one side) so no pulls yesterday, and wasn’t sure about squats. Decided to lift instead of running because a) back was twinging on walking, and b) I hate running. Also exam tomorrow followed by dual birthday party so finding time would be tricky.
Heavy bench/low bar
Bench
Bar x 6
40kg x 5
60kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 2
105kg x 2
110kg x 2
105kg x 3
100kg x 4
90kg x 3 x 5
Pullthroughs
A few whilst waiting for the rack
Low bar
60kg x 10
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 5 - I wasn’t even sure I’d squat today so I didn’t bring my sleeves or belt. This is an alright showing for raw raw squats in joggers with a knackered back.
All I had time for. School stuff is crazy right now but deadlines are next Monday and it’ll all calm down after that.
That’s really interesting! Sucks that there’s a chance of it recurring, but that’s really reassuring that they say it won’t do any damage. And yeah - hell of a brag there haha.
Lol I didn’t watch it and I’m not going to discuss it haha. I’m not really a sports fan but my brother played rugby at a pretty high level. The only Calcutta Cup I have ever watched on TV was the 2006 one, which went better for us, but the only international match I’ve ever seen in person was a Scotland vs Samoa game which was brutal haha.