Well it didn’t jump back up.
92.6kg first thing, and then a little later after breakfast and a couple of errands/trips to the loo it was 91.8kg.
This is encouraging.
I might bench later just to get back on schedule but will depend on a load of other things.
Henriques bench w2
I didn’t rest enough after Wednesday’s close grip benching before this session - I wanted to get back on schedule. It punished me for it. Last minute decision to get in and lift and I’d gone low carb all day up until I had a preworkout energy drink. Plus I magically lost that a kilo overnight and then another one over the course of the morning. Plus I hate bench.
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
95kg x 4 - this felt heavy. Argh.
102.5kg x 3 - also hard
110kg x 1+F
Nope
Nope
Nope
Considered going home and trying this again tomorrow before I did too much volume. Decided that I’d rather get work in so I can revise tomorrow. I don’t think I’ll redo the workout next week instead, but I might chuck a 110 bench double in next close grip session just so that box is ticked. If it’s a struggle I’ll accept that losing body weight screws with your bench and lower my max.
Cgbp
80kg x 2 x 10 - tng
80kg x 8,7 - paused
Felt so much better than last week/the regular bench. Thought at first it might just be the tng so I started pausing again and still good.
I was finding it hard to keep tight but that’s always the way with close grip reps for me.
Db seated ohp
12.5s x 15
17.5s x 12
22.5s x 10
27.5s x 10
30s x 2 x 6
20s x 18
Rope pushdowns
Ascending weight (up to “140”) x 5 x 20
Ss/ Facepulls
Same - got ugly
Oh triceps
20kg x 20
26kg x 15
30kg x 12
32.5kg x 10
Ss/ Seated laterals
12.5s x 4 x 15
Cable crunches
Ascending weight (up to “130”) x 4 x 20
So everything was better than previous sessions today except for the lift which matters. Maybe someone’s trying to tell me to be a bodybuilder.
Small PR to get over crummy bench: can now fit on the number 6 belt hole. 4 used to be my tight setting. 2 inches difference in waist.
Henriques deads w2
BW 92.2kg
Yesterday 91.4kg
Naff session. It was hot and I was weak.
Pulls
80kg x 2 x 3
100kg x 2 x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
160kg x 2
172.5kg x 2
Belt on
187.5kg x 2
205kg x 2 - RPE 9.5
Harder than it should’ve been and my back was sore as hell afterwards.
Front squat - paused
Bar x some
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg x F
Belt on
140kg x F
Cock. I’ll take the fact that I ground out the Henriques reps and go revise before I hurt myself.
Benching tomorrow or Tuesday depending on how I feel.
Henriques close grip w2
Morning BW 94.2kg
Yesterday 93.6kg
BW is back up a bit. Bad choices and exam stress. First 4 down today, 8 more over the next 2 days.
I need to pick up heavy things.
Cgbp
Bar x some
40kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 2 x 3
70kg x 2
85kg x 4
95kg x 3
102.5kg x 2 - RPE 8
Bench
102.5kg x 2
110kg x 1 - RPE 8.5ish. I didn’t think a double was there but it was fast.
110kg x 1 - RPE 8.5ish - same. Did two to make up the volume.
Not quite what I’m looking for but close - near to a foibles after the working set of close grip. Will continue to assess on Friday. I think today I was just being a bit of an pussy tbh.
Cgbp
102.5kg x 2 - RPE 9
Speed bench
75kg x 8 x 2 - every 30 seconds
Incline DB
20s x 12
27.5s x 10
32.5s x 12,12,12,15
Laterals
10s x 20
14s x 4 x 15
Last set drop to 10s x 15
Ss/ Incline diamond pushups - reduced incline from last week
5 x 10
Cable laterals
Don’t care x some
Ss/ Pec dec
Same
Ss/ Triceps machine
Same
Facepulls and pushdowns
Quick few sets of 10-15 with whatever
Sorry to hear about the abscess, and good luck with your exams!
Thanks man! Nothing major, just laid me up for a couple of days and then I was back to the library haha.
Finished finals yesterday. Probably safe. Then got hammered. Bench isn’t happening today. If I spend more than 10 minutes in a non-horizontal position today I’m calling it a win.
Friday BW 93.6kg
Thursday BW 93.6kg
Wednesday 94.1kg
Henriques squats w2
Low bar
Bar x some
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
160kg x 4
Belt on
172.5kg x 3
190kg x 2 - RPE 8
Bar was slippery on my back with the tank top on so changed into a tshirt instead. Normally I feel like more skin contact helps but I think with the heat atm I’m that much sweatier that it screws with me a bit.
200kg x 1 - RPE 8.5
210kg x F - bah. I’ve got a long weekend coming up so I thought I’d take advantage of the enforced rest and hit something heavy. It wasn’t there. I descend so slowly right now and it’s really infuriating. I don’t know if subconsciously I’m looking after my lower back, which isn’t 100% right now.
Front squat
Belt on - not taking chances.
100kg x 3
120kg x 4
130kg x 3
142.5kg x 1,F
RDLs - hanging out in the zone around the knee.
Belt + straps
100kg x 10
120kg x 10
140kg x 10
160kg x 10
140kg x 15
Ss/ Pullups
6,6,6,6,8
My strength isn’t where I want it on any of my lifts right now and it’s demoralising. I’ve gotta remember that in general my physique is the best it’s been in a long time (still a ways to go) and I can’t expect everything to work at once.
We’ll see how I feel on Monday after a pretty chilled weekend (read: wedding, free food, spa).
If push comes to shove and continuing with this Henriques program isn’t realistic I’ll commit full to physique stuff for the month before I go Tonga. Few reasons: 1) this is just frustrating at the moment.
2) I don’t even know if my work schedule through July will give me time to follow a progression based programme. I think there’ll be a lot of days when I just go I n the garage to do some kettlebells stuff, which is ok.
3) No idea about training in Tonga, and making strength gains just to lose them over a two month holiday seems like poor planning.
There’s a hotel gym and it’s not awful (ie it actually has Olympic bars). Just did a bodybuilding session for upper body. Didn’t worry about weight on the bar because the bench was weird, I had no gear, I got in the gym at 7am, and I’m recovering from a pretty hefty food coma right now.
Yesterday
BW 96kg - that’s what dropping the diet for exam week and a wedding will do.
Sprints/shuttles with some of the rugby boys.
Emom
Try zone to 22 and back superset with 10 pressups x 10
Emom
Try zone to halfway and back x 10
Emom
Try zone to opposite 22 and back x 10
Vicious. Nice to see the guys for a last time before I go home for summer.
Lats were sore the next day so that’s some hefty arm action.
Today
BW 95kg - hoping that downwards trend continues.
Henriques bench w3 - I dropped my max on this by 2.5kg.
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 8
60kg x 2 x 3
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 2
97.5kg x 2
105kg x 2
112.5kg x 2 - RPE 9.5 - I very nearly psyched myself out but this actually went better than expected. Only a 9.5 because of a bad hand off which meant I had to reset my shoulders before lifting. Felt much better than any top bench set in the past month.
Cgbp
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 3
90kg x 3 x 5
Db seated ohp
12.5s x 15
17.5s x 12
22.5s x 10
27.5s x 10
32.5s x 2 x 5 - actually not bad. Set up and first rep are the hardest.
20s x 20
Deads tomorrow and I’m moving house as well so I bailed on the smaller accessory stuff to try and stay fresh.
Henriques deads w3
BW 96kg - so much for the trend.
Pulls
70kg x 2 x 3
90kg x 2 x 3
110kg x 2 x 2
130kg x 2
150kg x 2
172.5kg x 2
Belt on
185kg x 2
197.5kg x 2
210kg x 2 - RPE 9
SSB - paused. Doing these cos my planned progression with cycle squats crashed and burned and I like the SSB as a lift.
Bar x some
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
Belt on
140kg x 3
140kg x 5 - alright
All I had time for. Still packing. Deads were OK.
Henriques close grip w3
Morning BW 96kg
Yesterday 95.6kg
Been eating out the past couple of days whilst waiting for the moving van cos the kitchen is spotless. Heavier than i would like, but dont look softer really. Still, goal is to be consistently sub 93 so I’ll get back on track as of tomorrow. Working in the care home for the next 4 weeks so a lot of time on my feet.
Cgbp
Bar x some
40kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 2 x 3
70kg x 2
85kg x 2
92.5kg x 2
100kg x 2
105kg x 2 - RPE 8
Bonus set
110kg x 1 - RPE 8 - matches my PR close grip bench with a longer pause, much lighter BW and lower RPE. Might be the only lift I’ve hit a solid PR in since dropping weight. Feels good.
Speed bench
80kg x 8 x 2 - every 30 seconds
Incline DB
20s x 2 x 10
27.5s x 10
35s x 10
40s x 2 x 8 - shooting for sets of 10 soon
27.5s x 20
Laterals
10s x 20
16s x 10,10,10,15
Last set drop to 10s x 15
First 4 sets Ss/ Diamond pushups
4 x 10
Last set Ss/ Box pressups - for the stretch
12
Cable laterals
Don’t care x some
Ss/ Single arm cable triceps
Same
Ss/ Cable flyes
Lolz
Henriques squats w3
Back in the super cool strongman place.
Low bar
Bar x some
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
160kg x 2
Belt on
172.5kg x 2
185kg x 2
195kg x 2 - RPE 9 - lost the second forwards a little but not a hard save
Front squat
100kg x 2 x 2
120kg x 2
Belt on
130kg x 2
137.5kg x 2
145kg x 2 - RPE
Bonus set
152.5kg x 1- small comeback PR. Grinder but just had to hold my technique together and it went up. Could’ve rested longer and it would’ve been easier.
Redemption set
Belt off
142.5kg x 2 - the set I failed last week, beltless this time. Bit slow. Fair enough.
SLDL - pull to just above knee and hold with squeeze in the lats and butt
100kg x 10
120kg x 10
Belt plus straps
140kg x 5
140kg x 8 - well that was harder than expected
120kg x 10 - full rom - somehow this totally ruined me
Ss/ Pullups
5 x 6
So I’m bad at SLDLs. I’ll work on them because I feel like they’ll be applicable to the lack of strength I feel in my deadlift below the knee at the moment. I do feel that they’re a lift with a fair amount of potential to fuck myself up on if I rush it - right now they feel like an ugly deadlift, bar really wants to drift away and lower back feels the strain.
Alternating DB curls
17.5s x 3 x 10
Ss/ Pullover machine
1pps x 3 x 20
Morning BW the past few days has stayed in the middle of the 95s. On it.
Shuttle runs
EMOM
120m (turn halfway) x 6
Did these after a 12 hour shift, had spent the day on my feet and I was aching but wanted to do something vaguely athletic. Plus care homes basically throw cake at you so I overshot calories a bit for the day. Deliberately held volume down a bit because I didn’t warm up particularly well and stiffness from the shift and yesterday’s squats was setting in already, plus last week when I sprinted the day before bench I woke up to crazy sore lats and I want to be fresh tomorrow.
Every run today took 22 seconds so that’s a baseline to work off. I’ll also add reps.
Henriques bench w4
Morning BW 94.9kg
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 8
60kg x 2 x 3
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 5
100kg x 4
110kg x 3 - RPE 8.5 - felt good for 4
110kg x 3 - RPE 9 - should’ve rested longer - only took about 2 mins
100kg x 5
92.5kg x 8
Cgbp
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 3 - RUSHING. This was harder than it would’ve been because I was refusing to rest today.
90kg x 3 x 5 - went for 6 on the last one and inexplicably bailed halfway up
Pin press - off chest
60kg x 3 x 10 - these are fun, can move the weight up but will keep volume similar.
Db seated ohp
12.5s x 15
17.5s x 12
22.5s x 10
27.5s x 3 x 6 - fairly big drop off from last week on these
20s x 20
Rope pushdowns
Ascending weight x 20,20,15,12,10
Pressups
20,15,15
I think I blew my load a little early this session. Didn’t eat much beforehand because its dad’s birthday so we’ll eat out tonight, and then I neglected my rest periods. The important sets happened though so that’s good.
Henriques deads w4
BW 95.1kg
I need to start warming up better, I went into this session knowing my back wasn’t happy with me and basically sucked it up. That and tightish hammys affected my tightness off the floor.
Pulls
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
160kg x 2
Belt on - back a little tweaky
172.5kg x 5
187.5kg x 4
205kg x 3 - RPE 8.5
Straps
205kg x 5 - RPE 9.5 - first set felt really good so I went for broke the second run
Belt + straps off
“Speed reps” - all 5 sets EMOM
180kg x 2 x 2 - lol “speed”
140kg x 3 x 3
SSB
Paused
Bar x some
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
130kg x 3
Belt on
150kg x 2 x 3
Stop pausing
160kg x 1
170kg x 1 - maybe a pr? I might’ve hit 180 before. Pretty easy anyway - if I push the volume sets hard over the next couple of weeks I reckon I can push 400lbs.
Belt off, paused again
110kg x 4 x 6
Last 4 sets Ss/ Shins to bar
4 x 3 - easiest these have felt actually. I’m trying to shoot for a front lever.
Chins
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - emom
Cable row
35kg,45kg,55kg x 3 x 20
Ss/ Life fitness front pulldown
1pps x 3 x 20 - bit light but this giant set still sucked so meh
Ss/ Pullover machine
2pps x 3 x 10
Preacher curls
20kg x 15
30kg x 3 x 12
Incline curls
12.5s x 3 x 10
Got permission from Loz Shalaei to use his deadlift bar in the future. I expect nothing less than a 20kg PR and a beard overnight.
I’ll probably have a play with it during warmups and maybe do some back down stuff with it to see how it feels before attempting anything heavy.
The plan for the next 3 weeks is to finish this Henriques program, get back down to spitting distance of 93kg, and do a mock meet in that “class”. Whether I use the deadlift bar or not will depend on how I feel. Creating my own fed here. Will probably even wear elbow sleeves.
I go to Tonga on the first of August, so fitting that meet in might mean skipping the last week of the cycle, or something. I dunno. It’ll be fine.
There’s a gym in Tonga and I’ll probably do a bro split when it’s convenient, but I’m out there to work and have fun so it won’t be priority number 1. Mind is vaguely ticking over ideas of bodyweight training.
20 minutes of yoga, feel a little more human.
205kg x 5
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWLcOGsFudD/
170kg SSB
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWLf4cxFIcV/
Henriques close grip w4
Morning BW 95.2kg - not really moving atm. Hmm. Looking ok in the mirror though.
Cgbp
Bar x some
40kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 2 x 3
70kg x 2
85kg x 5
95kg x 4
102.5kg x 3 - RPE 9 - lost it over my face a bit on the last one but never any doubt as to if it was going up
95kg x 4
85kg x 5
Speed bench
85kg x 8 x 2 - every 30 seconds
Incline DB
20s x 2 x 10
27.5s x 10
35s x 10
40s x 3 - well poop. 3 x 8 was the plan. I can only conclude that the dumbbells are heavier in Swindon than Cornwall. Or the incline is different. Probably the dumbbells.
27.5s x 2 x 20
Seated laterals
10s x 20
17.5s x 10,10,10,15
Last set drop to
10s x 20
Klokov press
20kg x 10
30kg x 8
40kg x 3 x 8
Last set drop to
20kg x 20
Straight into OHP
40kg x 8
Rest 10 breaths
40kg x 5
Rest 10 breaths
40kg x 5
Rest 10 breaths
40kg x 5
Rest 10 breaths
40kg x 5
Rest 10 breaths
40kg x 5
OH rope extensions
“35” x 3 x 20
Weird chest fly
Some x 3 x 15
Load of stretching in the hips and shoulders, don’t want to wake up for squats tomorrow tight.
I think this heat atm is just sapping my strength really quickly. Like I keep saying, I’m hitting my top sets, but anything after that feels like it weighs a ton, and I fatigue on a specific exercise really quickly.
So I’m doing pumpy bodybuilder stuff, and that’s fun.
Henriques squats w4
Morning BW 94.3kg - better
It took ages to feel good to squat today, and even then they felt off.
Low bar
Bar x some
40kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 2 x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
Belt on - one of those days
140kg x 2
160kg x 5
175kg x 4
190kg x 3 - RPE 9
Front squat
100kg x 2 x 2
120kg x 5
Belt on
130kg x 4
142.5kg x 2 - inexplicable fail
Immediately strip the bar to 100kg, Anderson squat it up, reload the bar, and hit the 3rd rep I was meant to. Not worried, this wasn’t the best day for squats.
SLDL - with deadlift bar. Did one conventional pull at the start of each set to see how it feels. Start to feel the difference in flex at about 120, just in terms of how much slack there is to pull.
60kg x 10
100kg x 10
Straps
120kg x 10 - hip flexor tweaked for the first time in a while on the first pull
Belt
140kg x 2 x 8
Ss/ Pullups
5 x 6
Alternating DB curls
17.5s x 3 x 10
Ss/ Shins to bar
3 x 4 - hip flexor took these with no complaints
Farmers
55kg/hand x 3 x 10m - warmup
EMOM
75kg/hand x 8 x 20m - drop, turn, repick halfway
Still EMOM
55kg/hand x 10m x amrap in 1 minutes - I think I got 6 and then a 7th after the minute was up to put the handles away.
Die.
Cold shower.
Surprise 6 hour extension to yesterday’s shift so gym didn’t happen. Meant that today I had to bench before getting into pulls. Tried to keep pressing volume/intensity down because I’m hitting my top double on close grip on Wednesday.
Morning BW 94.1kg
Sunday 94.3kg
Saturday 93.6kg
Diet has been a bit iffy - I’m getting knackered at work and ending up taking in about 2900-3000kcal instead of the 2600 goal. Compensating by kicking my ass conditioning wise but that’s basically damage control.
Anyway,
Henriques bench and deadlift w5
Bench
Bar x some
30kg x 8
40kg x 8
60kg x 2 x 3
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 2
100kg x 2
107.5kg x 2
115kg x 2 - RPE 9.5 - lost the second towards my feet a little. Spotter came close to grabbing it but judged it really well.
Pulls - all with the deadlift bar, it was feeling good
60kg x 3 x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
160kg x 2
Belt on
172.5kg x 2
185kg x 2
200kg x 2
215kg x 2 - RPE 9
Right now pulls look so much better on video than they feel in person.
SSB - paused
Bar x some
70kg x 3
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
130kg x 3
Belt on
150kg x 3
160kg x 3
170kg x 2 - last week this was a single with no pause 
Ss/ CGBP
Bar x some
40kg x 3
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 3 x 3
80kg x 5
Really easy close grip just to get a little volume in.
Chins
5,5,5,5,10 - really controlled. 10 is a strict PR.
Ss/ SSB good mornings
70kg x 5 x 10
Cable row
45kg,55kg,65kg x 3 x 15
Ss/ Pullover machine
1.5pps x 3 x 15
GHR
4 x 10
Ss/ Decline situps
4 x 10
Prowler push
Sled +30kg x 4 x 8m - warmup between GHR sets - alternate poles and low handles
EMOM
+60kg x 3 x 16m - turn at halfway and come back on the low handles
Still EMOM
+90kg x 3 x 16m - same protocol
Still EMOM
+90kg +weighted vest (no idea) x 3 x 16 - same protocol
Still EMOM
+90kg x 3 x 16m - same protocol
Next minute
+60kg x 4 x 16m (with turn) in 1 minute 6 seconds
If it’s hard to read, 13 minutes of EMOM prowler with a pyramid in load then an amrap and it sucked.
The sled is really fun but slightly limited by the short distance available. Same with the farmers handles too tbh.
Anyway, solid session.
Henriques close grip w5
Morning BW 94.4kg
Yesterday 94kg
Cgbp
Bar x some
40kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 2 x 3
70kg x 2
85kg x 2
92.5kg x 2
100kg x 2
107.5kg x 2 - RPE 8
107.5kg x 2 - RPE 9
Good, especially the first set.
Floor press
60kg x 2 x 8
70kg x 8
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 3 x 3
Speed work - EMOM
All with doubled green bands: c. 20kg tension at the top
60kg x 4 x 3
70kg x 3 x 3
80kg x 2 x 2
60kg x 3 x 3
Not that familiar with floor press but it felt goodish. It’s by its nature an awkward lift. Banded stuff adds to the weirdness.
OHP
Bar x 4 + push press
40kg x 3 + push press
50kg x 2 + push press
60kg x 1 + push press x 2 + btn push press
Belt on
70kg x 1 + push press + btn push press
75kg x 1 + push press + btn push press
80kg x 1 + push press + btn push press
Strict press PR! Long time coming, but having watched @furo get it I had to jump on it as well. I’ve missed it several times over the past few years, all whilst a fair bit heavier than I am now so while it’s not a massive press still it’s satisfying to hit it finally. It also moved surprisingly well for how much I’d taxed my triceps beforehand - standard sticking point at forehead but no really difficulty locking out.
Btn push press
80kg x 3 - that’s enough. They started to feel wonky and are a lift I do for fun so I’m not gonna risk injury on them.
Dips
BW x 5 x 10
Seated laterals
10s x 20
15s x 10,12,15,20
Last set drop to 10s x 20
Ss/ V bar pushdowns
20 x 20
25 x 15
30 x 3 x 10
AND HE NEVER MISSED A BENCH AT LOCKOUT AGAIN.
RIGHT?
RIIIIGHT?
Past two workouts have been very solid, and yesterday I found out that I passed finals with a an above average score so that puts me in a good position for job applications next year.