Westside Barbell Style Training Log

11/03/09 (PM) - Max Effort Bench

Felt pretty good today. Didn’t get what I’d hoped on the first movement, probably still feeling the effects of the meet, but apart from that it was a good workout.

  • Close Grip Floor Press

Started on 60kg and 80kg for 5’s to warm up. All singles from here on.
Made a 20kg jump to 100kg.
Made 10kg jumps to 120kg.

I finally tried a 5kg jump to 125kg but failed here. I don’t think I’ve done these close grip before, but I would have expected a little bit more than this. I just didn’t have the strength at all on this today. Also looking back I think I should have made smaller jumps up to this top weight.

  • Skullcrushers

We did quite a few sets of these. Using an EZ-curl bar.

All sets of 6.

Started on 40kg. Then did 2 sets on 50kg and 3 sets on 52.5kg.

On the last two sets I only got 5 rather than all 6, which is why I decided to leave it here.

  • Chest Supported Rows on Machine with Green Band

Wrapped a green band around the machine to add extra tension. The weight for all sets was the 18th plate on the machine (of 20). Did 3 sets of 6. Then on the 4th set I did a set of 6 followed by 12 (failure) without the band.

  • Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press

Sets of 8. Weights were:

30kg, 35kg, 35kg, 40kg

  • Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Sets of 8. Weights were:

25kg, 30kg, 30kg, 35kg.

This wasn’t too heavy, I just want to work a bit more shoulder work into my program before BDFPA Nationals.

A relatively long workout today. I wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped on the first movement but I had a lot of energy left for the rest of the workout.

13/03/09 (PM) - Dynamic / Repetition Lower Body

I’m away this weekend and so this workout is a day earlier than usual.

  • Band Box Squats

This is the start of a 3 week cycle with bands which will be followed by a cycle without bands. This is therefore a relatively light week where we’re focusing more on speed. The bands add approximately 50 - 60kg at the top and probably about 20kg at the bottom. All the weights below are bar weights only.

Warmed up with sets of 5 and 3 on 60kg, 100kg and 120kg. All working sets were doubles.

I started on 130kg for my first two sets of 2.
Then increased the weight to 135kg for the next 6 sets.
Dropped back down to 130kg for the last 4 sets.

I dropped the weight back down because I was starting to slow down a bit, but I’m pleased with the weight and all the sets felt really solid.

  • GHR’s

Left the machine flat and held weight this time. Weight and sets were

10kg for 6.
15kg for 3 sets of 6.

Finally did a set without weight and went to failure. I got 12 reps.

  • Speed Deadlifts

This was genuine speed work, and felt really good. There were only two of us today working on the same weight (170kg). We literally went one after another, which meant we had less than 30 seconds rest between sets. Did 8 really quick singles.

Having done this I really think it’s basically impossible to do speed work with more than 2 or 3 people, and you can’t be changing the bar in between sets.

  • Good Mornings

I was quite tired by this point so these weren’t too heavy. All sets of 6. Weights were:

60kg, 80kg, 100kg, 110kg, 110kg, 110kg.

16/03/09 (PM) - Dynamic Upper Body

Very good session today, I had loads of energy and got a lot done fairly quickly.

  • Speed Band Bench

Monster mini bands doubled up at each end of the bar as usual. We did 9 sets of 3 with 3 different grips.

After warming up my working weight was 70kg bar weight. I did this for my first 7 sets, it felt really fast and strong. I dropped down to 65kg for the final two close grip sets because the bar was slowing down at this point.

There were only two of us today, so we were able to work very quickly. We had about 30s rest between sets and completed all 9 sets in less than 10 mins. This is definitely the way speed work needs to be from now on. My lack of conditioning was probably the reason that I had to drop the weight for the final sets.

  • Dumbbell JM Press with Band

Monster mini band looped around my back and hooked onto each thumb. We did 5 sets in total. The first two and the final one were intended to be higher reps than the others.

17.5kg dumbbells for 18
17.5kg dumbbells for 15
20kg dumbbells for 12
20kg dumbbells for 12
17.5kg dumbbells for 11 (failure)

  • Incline Dumbbell Press

Standard exercise. I used 35kg dumbbells for all the sets. My reps were:

6, 8, 8, 7

The first set was too soon after the JM’s and I was still recovering from the previous set. The last set was to failure.

  • One Arm Dumbbell Rows

4 sets of 12 with a 45kg dumbbell.

  • External Rotations

With a 5kg dumbbell. 3 sets of 12.

  • Tate Presses

I still had more energy at this point, and I decided the best use of it would be on a tricep movement. Didn’t push this too hard, just something to finish off the session with.

Started with 15kg dumbbells. Did 3 sets of 20.
Moved to 20kg dumbbells. Did 2 sets of 10.

17/03/09 (PM) - Max Effort Lower Body

  • Wide Stance Good Morning’s

As always with GM’s we were going for a max triple rather than a single. Warmed up on lighter weights of 60kg and 80kg for sets of 5. Then all sets were triples.

Started on 100kg. Made 20kg jumps to 140kg.
Made 10kg jumps to 170kg.

I failed the third rep on 170kg so left it here. Anyone who reads this log regularly will know that this is a pretty low weight for me to be failing on. For some reason the strength just wasn’t there today.

Can’t really explain it, and I’m not particularly worried about it because I know this is one movement that will always be strong for me. I guess it was just an off day. I’ll have to have another go in a couple of weeks to redeem myself.

  • GHR’s

Did these with the machine flat and holding a 10kg plate. I did 5 sets of 8.

  • Box Jumps

Just as I did them last week. Start sitting on a squat-height box and jump onto another box. Last week the box I was jumping on to was 14", and I increased it to 16" for the start of this week. All sets were holding a 15kg plate.

Did 3 sets of 6 onto the 16" box.
Did 3 sets of 6 onto a 17" box.

I definitely could have jumped onto a higher box than this, but I’m just going to work it up slowly over the coming weeks.

  • Front Box Squats

All sets of 6. Started on 60kg, then 80kg, 90kg, 100kg, 105kg, 100kg.

  • Straight Leg Situps

On the GHR as usual, holding a 25kg dumbbell.

19/03/09 (PM) - Max Effort Upper Body

  • Reverse Band Bench Press

Green bands suspended from the top of the rack. They take about 50kg off the bar at the bottom and very little at the top. All weights here will be bar weights only.

Started on 100kg and 110kg for 5’s. Then all sets were singles.
Made 10kg jumps to 180kg.
Tried a 5kg jump to 185kg but failed.

This means I only matched my old max, which is fine but not amazing. I definitely feel like I need more strength back in my triceps, I’ve focused a bit too much on chest work recently which is not as effective for bench training. Hopefully I’ll have time to make up for it before my next competition.

  • JM Press with Monster Mini Band

Set up this movement as usual, band around my back and over both thumbs.

Started with 17.5kg dumbbells for 2 sets of 15.
20kg dumbbells for 2 sets of 12.

I tried to drop the weight down for a high rep set at the end. I used 14kg dumbbells but only got 11 reps before failing. Definitely exhausted my triceps at this point.

  • Machine Rows

With the green band around the machine as usual. Did 4 sets of 6 on the 18th pin in the machine. Then did a set of 12 with the whole stack but without the band.

  • Tricep Pushdowns with Monster Mini Band

Passed the band over the top of the cable arrangement and looped it around both sides of the handle. Did 5 sets of 8 with the 50kg on the stack. Then did a set of 15 without the band with 100kg on the stack, which was a lot easier.

  • External Rotations

Just 4 sets of 12 with a 6kg dumbbell.

21/03/09 (AM) - Dynamic / Repetition Lower Body

  • Band Box Squats

The second week of the 3 week cycle with purple bands. The weight has increased slightly since last week, but will increase again next week. 12 sets of 2 in total.

After warming up I started on 145kg bar weight. I did this for the first 4 doubles before increasing the weight to 150kg for the next 8 doubles. This is fairly encouraging, since the last time we did this cycle 150kg was the weight I used on the third week of the cycle, and was a lot more difficult than this was.

  • Declined GHR’s

Raised the back of the machine about 6". Got 5 sets of 8.

  • Speed Deadlifts

Genuine speed deadlifting again, I’m definitely enjoying being able to do these properly. After warming up we did 8 singles on 190kg in less than 8 minutes. There were 3 of us so this was a fairly fast pace.

  • Front Box Squats

I’m working these quite hard at the moment because it’s a real weak point of mine. Going for all sets of 6.

Got sets of 6 on 60kg, 80kg, 90kg and 100kg.
2 sets of 5 on 105kg.
A set of 6 on 100kg.

  • Narrow Stance Good Morning

Going for sets of 6. I wasn’t able to push this too hard, particularly after the speed deadlifts. I kept increasing the weight until I didn’t think I’d be able to get a set of 6 with good form.

Started on 60kg, then 80kg and 100kg. Then made 10kg jumps up to 130kg.

Felt really strong, particularly considering how the max effort good mornings went this week. Close stance GMs are definitely my favourite hamstring exercise, but you do have to have a strong enough lower back to cope with them.

  • Straight Leg Situps on GHR

As usual. 3 sets of 12 holding a 25kg dumbbell.

24/03/09 (PM) - Max Effort Lower Body

  • Close Stance Box Squats

I thought these were a really good movement the last time I did them, and it’s been a while, so we had another go. For reference, my max last time was 200kg. However at the time it wasn’t a great rep, basically a good morning.

Started on 60kg, 80kg and 100kg for sets of 8 to warm up. Then all sets were singles.

Made 20kg jumps to 180kg.
Made 10kg jumps to 200kg.
Made 5kg jumps to 210kg.

So I did two PR’s today, and have made 10kg of improvement over a relatively short period of time. More importantly my form was a lot better on the last rep than the last time I did these, not so much of a good morning. This has also convinced me that it’s worth trying to squat with my stance moved in slightly (not narrow as such, but not quite as wide). I’ll see how that goes over the next few weeks.

  • Decline GHR’s

Raised the back of the machine about 6". 4 sets in total.

Set of 10 with bodyweight only.
Two sets of 8 holding a 5kg plate.
A set of 7 with the 5kg plate (failure).

I though that maybe I’d feel a bit fresher doing this after narrow stance squats, but it would seem not.

  • Speed Sumo Deadlifts

Similar to what we did on Saturday, but with sumo rather than conventional. Just 160kg bar weight, so not too heavy (although my sumo is substantially lower than my conventional anyway). 8 singles in less that 8 minutes.

  • Wide Stance GM’s

All sets of 6. Very wide stance (at the edge of the rack).

Started on 60kg, made 20kg jumps to 140kg.
Made a 10kg jump to 150kg.

  • Straight Leg Situps on GHR

Holding a 25kg dumbbell. 3 sets of 12.

We also ended the session by having a go with the Atlas Stones that we’ve just got at the gym. Unsurprisingly I wasn’t very good with them. I could lift the 70kg one, but couldn’t even get 100kg off the floor. Might have a bit more of a go with them after BDFPA Nationals.

25/03/09 (PM) - Dynamic Upper Body

I missed this session on Monday so I made up for it tonight.

  • Dynamic Bench

I didn’t have the bands with me tonight, so I did these with straight weight. Decided not to go too heavy but focus on the speed today. I used a 90kg bar, 9 sets of 3 with the usual 3 different grips.

I was able to pull the bar towards me much faster than usual, which meant it took a huge amount of reversal strength to accelerate it back up quickly. This is definitely the best way to train if you have problems with strength off the chest. It’s worked far better for me in the past than anything else.

  • Tate Presses

Much heavier than I’ve ever done these before, used 27.5kg dumbbells (we just got some new 27.5kg rubber dumbbells). Reps were

8, 8, 8, 6, 5

  • Floor Press

35kg dumbbells. Reps were

8, 8, 7, 8, 6

  • One Arm Dumbbell Rows

45kg dumbbells. 5 sets of 6.

  • Dumbbell Curls

15kg dumbbells. 4 sets of 6. These were just light but I wanted to do something to balance all the tricep work.

  • Band JM Press

Monster mini band and 15kg dumbbells. Just wanted to do something to finish off my triceps, I was going for relatively high reps.

5 sets of 6.

  • External Rotations

4 sets of 12 with a 5kg dumbbell.

26/03/09 (PM) - Dynamic / Repetition Lower Body

I’ve swapped this with max effort benching which would normally be on this day. My gym at home is better for upper body stuff, and since I’m going home before the next workout this made sense.

  • Band Box Squats

The final week of the cycle with purple bands on the bar. Therefore only 10 set of 2 today, and no concern whatsoever for the speed of the bar. As usual weights below are bar weights only. The band tension adds around 60kg at the top.

After warming up I started on 150kg. My first two sets were on this weight and then I increased it by 2.5kg every alternate set until I finally did 160kg plus the band tension for the last two sets.

None of these were particularly easy, which is why I took the weight up so slowly. However I didn’t fail on any of the reps, and at no point did I think I would. On the final two sets the weight at the top was at least 220kg, and I’m aiming for a 210kg squat at my next meet. Should be pretty comfortable doing that.

I’m starting to notice that one of the biggest advantages of band work is the time under tension. Very heavy reps take a long, long time. Just the concentric part of some of my lifts was about 5 seconds, which when you think about it is a lot of time to be exerting near-maximal force like this. It’s helped a lot, both on the squat and on the deadlift.

  • GHR’s

I actually wanted to do my deadlifts next, but there wasn’t a bar free so I did these instead. I did 5 sets in total

1 set, bodyweight only, 10 reps.
2 sets, 5kg plate, 8 reps each.
1 set, 10kg plate, 7 reps.
1 set, 5kg plate, 7 reps then did 8 reps bodyweight only.

  • Speed Deadlifts

Since I was lifting by myself today I decided to do these with timed rest periods. I put 210kg on the bar, and did 8 singles. In between reps I took 45s rest so that the whole lot took less than 8 minutes.

This was definitely pretty hard work, 210kg is 87.5% of my competition best (240kg) so doing so many reps in such quick succession took a lot out of me. I would still definitely recommend it to anyone, it definitely felt very good to do this sort of work. I think my conditioning is improving significantly from doing this sort of thing.

  • Front Box Squats

I really didn’t have the strength to go heavy on these today after everything that preceded them.

60kg for a set of 6.
80kg for a set of 6.
90kg for 3 sets of 6.

I want to really push these up, I feel like I’ve been stuck on the same weight for ages while other things advance, which is going to lead to horrible imbalances. After BDFPA Nationals I can take the time to work on weaknesses like this, since hopefully I’ll have a decent break before the next meet.

  • Straight Leg Situps

On the GHR as usual. Holding a 25kg dumbbell.

09/04/09 (PM) - Deadlift Test

I flew back into the UK this afternoon, and having not been able to train for almost two weeks I wasn’t expecting anything amazing. I decided it was worth a try anyway to see how things were going, and I was quite pleased with the results.

  • Deadlift

Just conventional deadlifts, same as I do in competition.

Started on 60kg and 100kg for reps to warm up, then everything was singles.

Jumped to 140kg, then made 20kg jumps to 220kg.
Made 10kg jumps to 240kg.

240kg is my most recent competition max, so I was very pleased to be able to hit it given that I wasn’t exactly on my best form today. 230kg was pretty quick. 240kg was quick until near lockout, unfortunately the time I’ve taken off means my hips weren’t firing through as they should. If I can sort this out in time for Nationals I can definitely set a new PR and hopefully pull 250kg.

  • GHRs

5 sets of 10. Machine flat, no weight.

  • Wide Stance Good Mornings

All sets of 6. Weights were:

60kg, 80kg, 90kg, 100kg, 120kg, 120kg.

This was it for today, I didn’t want to overdo it on my first day back. Apart from the deadlifts I wasn’t pushing this too hard at all, but I’m pleased with how everything felt. I’m hoping to test my bench on Monday and squat on Tuesday.

13/04/09 (PM) - Bench Press Test

Our gym in Oxford was closed today, so we went to train at Monster Gym in London.

  • Bench Press

Started out by trying to test my bench. Started really well but I didn’t exactly get what I was hoping for.

Did 60kg and 80kg for sets of 5 to warm up.

All singles from here on, with my wrist wraps on.

100kg, then made 10kg jumps to 130kg. Then made a 5kg jump to 135kg.

135kg felt reasonably easy, not even really a second attempt. I then went to 140kg and failed it. I was really surprised at that. As long as my squat and deadlift are still reasonable I think I might have to accept that my bench isn’t quite where it should be for this meet. I’m going to test my bench again, maybe on Wednesday, to see if I can improve on this slightly.

  • Squats

I decided that part of the reason my bench wasn’t too good was that I haven’t done it for a while. I thought it would help to get some light squats in today before testing my squat tomorrow.

When I started something was really wrong with my shoulder, I have no idea why but it was too painful to even unrack 60kg. This may have contributed to be bench being weaker than I wanted it. I did loads of mobility work and eventually it was comfortable enough to squat.

Started on 60kg and 80kg for sets of 5. Then just singles to get the hang of squatting again.

I made 20kg jumps up to 160kg. This felt really easy, and I didn’t have a belt. As long as I can still squat 200kg+ at Nationals then it won’t be too bad. Just have to hope the shoulder holds out. I’ll be testing my squat properly tomorrow.

  • Tricep Pushdowns

6 sets of 10. Not exactly sure what the weight was, but the last few sets were difficult.

  • Cable Rows

Close grip handle. 120kg for 5 sets of 8.

After this I was just trying some of the other machines, it really is a very good gym. Hopefully things will pick up before Nationals, I think I’ll have to accept that I won’t be on top form though.

16/04/09 (PM) - Squat Test

I’ve tried to test my squat on Tuesday and today. This isn’t exactly the competition preparation that I was hoping for, but I have to try to find some way around my shoulder injury.

On Tuesday I got up to 190kg for a squat. It was very, very ugly. My shoulder means I can’t pull the bar into my back, meaning that I round over and end up doing a good morning. It was technically competition legal, but not the way I want to squat in my first national competition.

Today I tried high bar squats. Clearly this is not as strong or as comfortable as my normal position, but it does allow me to avoid any shoulder pain. I only went up to 140kg, but it was really easy and pain free. Unless things change between now and the competition I’m going to have to squat high bar and just make the most of it.

So basically, I’m expecting to have a lower squat than my previous competition max (200kg), and roughly match my previous bench (142.5kg). I’m pretty confident of setting a PR on the deadlift, which will make it worth competing.

19/04/09 - BDFPA Nationals

This meet went absolutely nothing like I expected. First I’ll give my results, then I’ll explain them. (F = fail).

Squat:

100kg (not a misprint)
185kg
205kg (PR)

Bench:

132.5kg
140kg
142.5kg (F)

Deadlift:

230kg
242.5kg (PR)
250kg (F)

Anyone who’s been reading this log will know that I wasn’t expecting a big squat, because a shoulder injury made it really difficult for me to even hold on to the bar. Originally I set my opener to a very conservative 170kg, but in the warm-up room I was struggling with almost all the weights, so I changed it to 100kg and accepted it was going to be a very poor meet for squats.

After the change I decided to give it one more go in the warm-up room and everything suddenly came together, I was able to ignore the pain in my shoulder and the squats felt really good and strong. Unfortunately you can only change a lift once, so I was stuck opening on 100kg. That’s the reason for the ridiculous jump between my first and second squats.

Even my third squat on 205kg (a 5kg PR) felt reasonably easy and was quick. I think I might have got 5 or 10kg more today if I’d been in a position to push it.

The bench just didn’t go well, I didn’t feel as strong as I have in the past. This might be partly down to the shoulder, but I think also not benching much over the last couple of weeks is a major contributing factor. I need to work on this before my next comp. My bench needs to be at least 150kg to be in line with my other lifts.

The deadlift felt really good, 230kg flew up, and 242.5kg was really quick considering it’s a PR. 250kg was very quick to my knees, but my hips didn’t really fire through. Again this is my fault because I haven’t been training properly recently. I might have been able to fight it to lockout, but there’s no way I would have got even two white lights.

The meet was really well organized. Well done to anyone else who lifted, the quality of lifting was very, very high. Huge thanks also have to go to all those involved in organising the competition, it was a really great weekend.

21/04/09 (PM) - Max Effort Lower Body

I wasn’t expecting to do a full workout tonight, but one of my training partners convinced me that I should, so here it is.

  • Reverse Band Deadlifts

Green jumpstretch bands attached to the rack at about head height as usual. My old PR on this movement is 260kg. The bands remove about 50kg of weight at the bottom of the movement and basically nothing at the top. All the weights below are bar weights only.

Started on 120kg. Made a 40kg jump to 160kg and then 20kg jumps to 240kg.

Made 10kg jumps to 260kg.

Finally made a 5kg to 265kg (PR). The lockout was very slow, partly because my upper back is still pretty sore from the meet, but I got it in the end.

  • GHRs

Bodyweight only today, with the machine left flat on the floor. These always seem really difficult after the reverse band deadlifts.

I did 4 sets of 10 with the machine on the normal setting.

Then I moved the foot plate back one setting and did 4 sets of 10 on this position as well. I find this hits my glutes a lot harder, and I think a lack of glute activation was part of the reason that I couldn’t lock out my 250kg deadlift at the meet.

  • Front Box Squats

Just light today, I’m still working to get these up to standard which will hopefully help both my back squat and my conventional deadlift.

All sets of 6. Weights were:

60kg, 80kg, 100kg, 100kg, 100kg.

  • Straight Leg Situps on GHR

3 sets of 12 holding a 15kg dumbbell. Just light today, my back is pretty sore still which made these pretty difficult.

Definitely wasn’t expecting to set a PR on my first session back, I’m really pleased with how the session went.

23/04/09 (PM) - Max Effort Bench

Still slightly wary of my shoulder, but it gave me less trouble than I was expecting today.

  • Incline Bench Press

We went for a 3 rep max on this movement, partly because I don’t think my shoulder is up to a 1RM just yet.

Worked up pretty slowly. Started with 40kg and made 20kg jumps up to 80kg.
Then made 10kg jumps to 100kg.
Finally made 5kg jumps to 115kg.

115kg was reasonably difficult for 3, and I don’t think I would have got all three on 120kg. Normally I would have tried it anyway, but my shoulder is nearly recovered and I don’t want to blow it now. Back to normal next week.

  • 2 board press, mid-grip

Grip was thumbs-from-smooth. Going for 3 reps on each set.

Worked up gradually again, did 60kg and 80kg to get used to the movement.
Then started my working sets. Weights were:

100kg, 105kg, 110kg, 115kg, 120kg, 125kg, 125kg.

These felt really good, a proper heavy tricep movement. Normally I probably wouldn’t have done this many sets, but I needed to get used to the movement again, and didn’t really know what I’d be able to do. I think 130kg would be a good working weight for 4 or 5 sets of 3, I won’t waste so much energy working up to it next time.

  • Machine Rows

Sets of 8. Started with the whole stack on the machine for one set. Then wrapped a purple band around it and did 4 sets like this. This didn’t feel as strong as it has done in the past, I’ve used a green band on this before. I think it will come back reasonably quickly though. I really want to improve my upper back strength, maybe I’ll try working in some shrugs at some point.

  • Dumbbell JM Presses

20kg dumbbells with a monster mini band around my back. I was going for 4 sets of 12, actual reps were:

12, 12, 10, 7

Definitely failed on the last one, took my about 10 seconds to look out the last rep.

  • Face Pulls

The 12th hole on our weight stack, which in theory is 60kg, although you know what cables are like.

4 sets of 15.

  • Rotator Cuff Work

Some extra exercises I’ve learned recently which I think will be very effective in rehabbing my shoulder. They’re difficult to explain, but I will try to post a video soon.

25/04/09 (AM) - Dynamic Lower Body

My upper back is really tight at the moment. It actually didn’t affect my workout in the end, but I’m going to go and see an osteopath on Monday to get it sorted out.

  • Band Box Squats

The beginning of a 3 week cycle, so not too heavy and focused mainly on speed today. Purple bands on each end of the bar, we were able to go a lot faster than normal because only two people were squatting. Weights below are bar weights only.

Started on 60kg and 80kg for sets of 5 to warm up. Everything else was just doubles.

Did 100kg and 120kg as further warmups.

Started my working sets on 135kg, and did 12 sets of 2 on this weight.

These felt really fast, and last time I did these I only did 130kg so definitely an improvement. I’ll see how it feels at the time, but I’d really like to be doing 155kg next week.

  • Sumo Deadlifts

I’m doing these to try and improve my conventional deadlift lockout, on the advice of Greg Panora. I’ve not done sumo as much as I should, so I’m going to build these up slowly over the next few weeks to a decent level.

I started on 60kg and 100kg for sets of 5 to get used to the movement. Everything else was singles. Weights were:

120kg, 140kg, 160kg x 8.

The working sets on 160kg felt pretty quick, and they were definitely training my hips really well. I’ll be doing a lot more sumo deadlifting on dynamic days from now on. Hopefully it won’t take long for the weight to increase significantly and for it to really make a difference to my conventional lockout.

  • GHR’s

Against a monster mini band. I was going for 4 sets of 8. Actual reps were:

8, 8, 8, 6

Definitely went to failure on the last set.

  • Good Mornings

I did these without a belt today, and they felt so good that I really went for it. I did reasonably narrow stance, about shoulder width. All sets of 6. Weights were:

60kg, 100kg, 120kg, 140kg, 150kg, 160kg.

The last set was really difficult, and completely winded me, so I left it there.

  • Straight Leg Situps on GHR

4 sets of 15 holding a 25kg dumbbell.

Like I said at the start of this post, my back is really, really tight at the moment and I definitely need to get it sorted out before my next training session.

27/04//09 (PM) - Dynamic Bench Press

Not a particularly exciting workout this evening, but here it is.

  • Band Bench Press

Monster mini bands doubled up on each end of the bar as usual. 9 sets of 3 with three different grips (little finger on rings, thumbs from smooth, and close grip).

Bar weight was 75kg.

These felt really fast today, I don’t think I can increase the weight for a while but it felt pretty good. I finally managed to get the guys I train with to do these quickly, so it was a much better exercise than usual.

  • Decline Bench Press

I decided that it would be good to do something slightly heavier after the speed work. All these were sets of 3, weights were:

60kg, 80kg, 100kg, 110kg for 6 sets.

  • Dumbbell JM Press with Monster Mini Band

As usual, monster mini band around my back. This time I used 25kg dumbbells.

4 sets of 8. The last set was pretty much to failure.

  • Lat Pulldowns

4 sets of 6. Pin position on our machine was: 10, 11, 12, 11. I think each plate weighs 10kg.

  • Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Sets of 6. Weights were:

30kg then 35kg for 4 sets.

  • Rotator Cuff Work and Bicep Curls

Just finished off with some rotator cuff/rear delt work and bicep curls with 15kg dumbbells.

28/04/08 (PM) - Max Effort Lower Body

The weights all felt really good today, but the session in general was very slow and we need to work on that.

  • Close Stance Box Squats

Previous max: 210kg.

I did these really close stance today, narrower than shoulder width. I like these as a movement to train my conventional deadlift, it’s a similar sort of leg drive.

Sets of 5 on 60kg and 100kg to warm up, and a set of 3 on 120kg. After this everything was singles.

Started on 140kg.
Made 20kg jumps to 180kg.
Made 10kg jumps to 220kg (10kg PR).

The last one was a good PR. I could have gone a bit heavier, I definitely had more left after this one, but I decided it made more sense to leave something in the tank. It should guarantee a good PR the next time I do these as well.

  • Sumo Deadlifts

I don’t want to overdo it with these, but since the first movement was close stance I needed something that would work my hips.

Warmed up on 60kg, 100kg, 120kg and 140kg.
Then 8 working singles on 160kg.

  • GHRs

Left the machine flat and held onto a 5kg plate. 4 sets of 10. These felt really good today, my glutes and hips have started firing a lot more than usual. I definitely need to work on that, my deadlift is really low considering where my squat is. Hopefully the sumo deadlifts will help.

  • Wide Stance GMs

I wanted to do these next, but it turned out my lower back was way too tired. I managed sets of 10 on 70kg and 100kg and then decided to leave it.

  • Straight Leg Situps

On the GHR as before. Did these bodyweight only. Reps were:

30, 20, 20, 20.

well, it seems you’ve been going great with your training, and that you know your stuff.

Man i got a couple of stupid questions?

how do you choose your accesory exercises?
i wanna start west side training

in bench i get stuck off the chest, in deadlift a few cm off the floor, and in squat well, a little past parallel,

and, i’ve noticed that back and shoulders don’t get real heavy training, i mean heavy rows and overhead press, how am i supossed to increase those poundages?, i want a big row and a big overhead press

30/04/09 (PM) - Max Effort Bench Press

Very pleased with the session today. It was also a lot faster than usual.

  • Reverse Band Floor Press

Previous max: 165kg

I didn’t really know what to expect today, my shoulder has been feeling a bit better but is still uncomfortable and I have to be careful. We used green jump stretch bands choked around the rack about 6’ off the floor. I think this takes about 50kg off at the bottom of the movement and about 15 - 20kg at the top. All weights below are bar weight only as usual.

Started with 100kg and 120kg for sets of 5 and 3 respectively to warm up. Everything was singles from here on.

140kg, then made a 20kg jump to 160kg.
Then made 5kg jumps to 180kg.

So, 170kg, 175kg and 180kg were all PRs, and all felt good and not as difficult as I would have expected. Normally I wouldn’t do this many PRs in one session, but it felt so easy I had to keep going. 185kg might have been there but decided not to push my luck, I’ll save it for next time.

  • Medium Grip Two Board Press

Medium grip for me means thumbs length from smooth. Going for 6 sets of 3 at a decent working weight. I did these last week as well, and I think I will do some variation (incline, decline, flat) of board presses more often than I have been just to feel some heavier weights in my hands.

Did 60kg and 100kg for sets of 3 to warm up. My 6 working sets were:

120kg for one set then 125kg for 5 sets.

Again these felt strong and fast. I should easily be able to move up to 130kg the next time we do them. I’m very pleased with the way my bench is coming along at the moment, as I definitely consider it my weak lift.

  • One Arm Dumbbell Rows

4 sets. We each did these individually so we could work a bit faster. Unfortunately I over-did it on my first set and so didn’t have enough left for the later sets. Using a 45kg dumbbell, reps were:

12, 10, 8, 6

That actually seems like I might have done that on purpose, but I really didn’t have enough left on the later sets to get more than I did.

  • Tate Presses

Using 27.5kg dumbbells. 4 sets, reps were:

8, 10, 10, 9 (failure)

  • Face Pulls

Again I’m aiming to progressively make these heavier over the coming weeks. Last week I did the 12th plate in the stack (60kg), and this week moved up to the 13th (65kg).

4 sets of 15.

  • Rotator Cuff Work

Just some simple rotator cuff movements to finish off. I don’t know the names of the movements that I do, I’ll try to find out because I would definitely recommend them.