Think less, eat more

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 76

Weight : 63.9kg

Smolov Jr (Bench) Week 1 Session A

Calculated the program based on 1RM of 135lbs (60kg). Working sets today was 6x6 with 42.5kg, intended to do nice 2~3 second pauses but by the time I was on set 4 that plan was out the window because tiring me out way too much.

Duration : 46mins

Workout

• Dynamic stretching upper body 5mins
• Light face pulls
• Bench Press
  • 2x 5x45lbs
  • 5x60lbs
  • 3x70lbs
  • 2x85lbs
  • Working sets : 6 sets 6x95lbs (42.5kg)
• Chest supported rows (wide, pronated grip pulling to chest level)
• Some warming up from lightest weight on machine upwards then 3 sets 5 reps with 120lbs
• Light rear delts flyes
• Bunch of leg extensions didn't log this time but will in future
• Upper body stretching 5mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Chapter 3: Smolov Jr. Bench - Who needs Squats anyway?? *bad* *secret* *wacko*

17/02/2014 - New program..

Back in the gym today, weighed in at heaviest I've been in a while too but I can tell from the mirror it's all just extra fat.. anyway who cares won't let it get out of control just gonna stay in moderate caloric excess while I'm focusing on recovering fully then drop down to 'lean gains' excess territory.

Injury : Ankle sprain won't let me do anything with significant weight bearing on feet. Knees been getting worse wonder if it's because I haven't been using them that much (no running/walking/squatting in a while now) so they became stiff or something. Gonna manage it by throwing in lots of stretches through the day for knees as well as some leg extensions. Was gonna do leg curls too but not sure at the moment because I know they're really tight and the curls would just re-inforce tightness in that area

New approach : Tried to research a fair bit on what I could do in the mean time, identified chest/delts as a real weak area in both my physique and strength and somehow came to Smolov Jr for Bench or Sheiko Bench. Tonnes of pressing in both with similar high volume in the end decided on Smolov Jr just for simplicity sake. Don't wanna be in there worrying about shuffling plates between sets. I know neither are made for beginners, particularly not someone with a mere 60kg 1rm bench but really keen on giving it a go. Could turn out to be a really big mistake particularly since my elbows/sternum/shoulders have given me problems in the past with high volume but only 3 weeks, gonna take the risk given the reward will be that even if I don't gain much strength in bench at least I'll gain heaps of confidence with form so I can kick ass with the movement for linear progression when I get back to 5x5.

Heaps of work to fix up my bench form but heaps of benching on this program much like previously where I was squatting alot which will help me to fix my form and really imprint it into muscle memory. Found some great tips on this video by Dave Tate. Will be implementing it all as the sessions go by, hard to try implement it all at once because I can only honestly remember to cue so much at a time lol. Todays focus was a few things, to name a few:

• Setting up consistently every single set - pausing taking deep breath before breaking at the elbows then slowly bringing the bar down
• Flaring the lats to help push the bar back up (never done this before but felt great)
• Keeping the wrists straight in line with also straight elbows. Massive trouble with this, wirsts keep bending in wierd ways and elbow is not quite straight so power isn't going in a straight line. It's one of those things that I done wrong from ages back so prob gonna take a while to fix but now that I think about it makes sense why I would get forearm cramps that way.

 

Starting 1RM = 60kg which is what I put into the spreadsheet.

Workout Regiment :

• A Monday
• B Wednesday
• C Friday
• D Sunday

In 3 weeks I'll be doing 10 sets of triples with my current 1RM, will be interesting to see.

[AZIDE]

dunno how good leg extensions are if you have a fucked knee...maybe if you go quite light they do actually help?

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

dunno how good leg extensions are if you have a fucked knee...maybe if you go quite light they do actually help?

There was pain but I'm one of those idiots who finds it hard to distinguish between good (burn/pump type) and bad pain (like injury crap) so I just keep going. Very light they are recommended for rehab but was stupid of me to do while they're inflamed. Feeling older these days with things taking longer to heal need to start looking after myself properly.

Plan for legs for 4 weeks atleast thinking about replacing all leg work with light resistance band crap or purely stretching stuff. Once swelling gone maybe will do extensions really light once in every 2-3 bench sessions just to help tell those muscles they still exist

[Skeletor]

Ive done the smolov bench before. Cant remember how much my max went up I think it was 10kg but I remember my tris chest and shoulders filled out quickly with all the volume. Will be good to see your results. Gutting not being able to train legs though aye. I had to go a whole year.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Been a couple months since I uploaded some progress pics thought why not take some for the start of 2014 then I can compare how far I get physique wise in 6 months time. Crazy seeing these pics I just realised some ridiculous left/right imbalances.. shocking!

Progress pics update 18/02/2014 - 63.9kg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ive done the smolov bench before. Cant remember how much my max went up I think it was 10kg but I remember my tris chest and shoulders filled out quickly with all the volume. Will be good to see your results. Gutting not being able to train legs though aye. I had to go a whole year.

Far out a whole year, that's crazy man but good to see how you built yourself up again with some pretty massive lifts especially your lower body still seems damn strong!

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 77

Smolov Jr (Bench) Week 1 Session B

Still had doms from Monday particularly in pecs minor area but been keeping up with my stretching and thoroughly warmed up so no issues at all with todays benching. Because I felt more in control of the bar today I paused at the bottom of every rep, felt real easy let the good times roll. Feeling super pumped after the session still and can also feel the pecs tightening right up so very conciously keeping an eye on my posture making sure to keep shoulders down & back. . Finally got around to ordering a foam roller too looking forward to using that sometime soon.

Duration : 42mins

Workout

• Lots of shoulder stuff until they felt nice and warm
• Bench Press
  • 2x 5x45lbs
  • 5x60lbs
  • 3x75lbs
  • 2x85lbs
  • Working Sets : 7 sets 5x100lbs (45kg)
• Really light weight shoulder drills
• Ab crunches (machine)
• 5mins Stretching upper body

 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 78

Smolov Jr (Bench) Week 1 Session C

8x4 @ 80% session today, all went fairly smooth. Been using tennis ball on the pecs and stretching heaps which I figure has helped since felt significantly less tightness today.

Duration : 45mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2 sets 5x45lbs
  • 5x60lbs
  • 3x75lbs
  • 2x90lbs
  • Working Sets : 8 sets 4x105lbs
• Weighted back extensions
  • 2 sets 8xbw+25lbs
• Weighted Pullups
  • 5xbw+25lbs, 5xbw+35lbs, 5xbw
• Hanging crunches
• Stretching 5mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 79

Smolov Jr (Bench) Week 1 Session D

10x3 @ 85% seemed pretty easy. Took a minute rest between each set everything went smoothly. Another session tomorrow though wonder how that'll go.  Been 2 weeks now since sprained ankle thought it would be safe to do a bit of light stretching... was wrong damn thing hurt like hell.

1st week down and it went pretty well, 2 more weeks and I'll be doing 10x3 with my 1RM lol, bring it on Smolov.

Duration : 40mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x60lbs
  • 3x80lbs
  • 2x95lbs
  • Working Sets : 10 sets 3x110lbs
• Very light chest supported machine rows 3x5
• Very light cable flyes for stretch 3x5
• Stretching full body 10mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 80

Smolov Jr Bench Week 2 Session A +5kg

6x6 @ 75%.

Duration : 35mins

Workout

• Shoudler warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x60lbs
  • 4x75lbs
  • 3x90lbs
  • Working Sets : 6 sets 6x105lbs
• Chest supported rows 3x5
• Standing Hamstring curls 3x5
• Ab crunches (machine) drop sets
• Stretching

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 81

Smolov Jr Bench Week 2 Session B

7x5@80%

Been having terrible sleep quality lately despite keeping up with my nutrition and totally avoiding caffiene. Grabbed some good ol' Ronnie Colemans Resurrect PM gonna try it out hope it helps though don't want to become reliant on supps for sleeping either just gotta catch up on some good rest starting new job on Monday wanna come in sharp as and ready to learn all the new stuff that I'll have to do.

Duration : 40mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x60lbs
  • 3x80lbs
  • 2x95lbs
  • Working Sets : 7 sets 5x110lbs
• Chest supported rows assorted weights 3-5 reps, 5 sets nothing too heavy
• Few sets of bicep stuff because haven't trained those in ages!
• Stretching 5mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 82

Smolov Jr Bench Week 2 Session C

8x4@85%

Still working on my technique here but feeling better about it in general. This weeks focus has been to push the bar outwards but it's been difficult. Still not really feeling any chest or triceps doms/tiredness yet though I guess it gets harder from next week? Or people just really overhype the program? ..nah it's probably because I don't lift enough for the program to work effectively or something lol.

Duration : 49mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs
  • 3x80lbs
  • 2x100lbs
  • Working Sets : 8 sets 4x115lbs
• Leg raises superset knee raises superset pullups
• Bit of biceps stuff just for pump (quick drop set)
• Stretching 10 mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 83

Smolov Jr Bench Week 2 Session D

10x3@90%

Felt significantly harder today than it has been for the past few sessions. Had a bit of shakey arms and stuff. By now a lot of the set up is subconcious will try to analyse it more tomorrow and hope I've imprinted good form & not crappy form into my bench patterns.

Duraiton : 40mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs
  • 3x85lbs
  • 2x100lbs
  • Working Sets : 10 sets 3x120lbs
• 10 wide grip pullups
• 3x5 light weight chest supported rows
• Stretching 10 mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 84

Smolov Jr Bench Week 3 Dession A

Wk 3 now... +10kg

6x6 @ 80%

Holy crap I felt toast after work... mean first day though looks like some good people there. Went in to gym afterwards didn't feel like doing it because had mad headache (AC was cold as fk gave me headcold or something I think?? either that or I need glasses since eye balls had mad strain feeling) but done my sets and pretty much left it at that. Took a preworkout sample I had something called Ritual which pretty much done a good job of helping me get my ass off the chair and into the gym. I am a minimalist with supps but am considering adding PWOs back into my supp stack in near future if work keeps draining me.

Duration : 29mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs
  • 3x85lbs
  • 2x100lbs
  • Working Sets : 6 sets 6x115lbs
• 2x20 weighted crunches machine
• 2x12 light side delts machine
• Stretching 5 mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 85

Smolov Jr Bench Week 3 Session B

7x5 @ 85%

Feeling difficult but manageable.. 55kg on 7x5 pretty intense for me anyway but getting close to that 1RM weight of 60kg now. Taking 2min breaks and sorting it.

Duration : 42mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs
  • 3x85lbs
  • 2x100lbs
  • Working Sets : 7 sets 5x120lbs
• 2 sets 5 wide girp dead hang pullups
• 2 sets x 8 reps Precher bench db curls
• Stretching 5 mins

[Spacebound]

Seems to be working for you. I might have to give it a go, id really like to get my bench up.

Do you think you will manage 10x3 of your old max?

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Seems to be working for you. I might have to give it a go, id really like to get my bench up.

Do you think you will manage 10x3 of your old max?

Right now I feel really confident about it yup, will confirm on Sunday though when I finish up with it. What I find is mentally I sort of feel a bit uneasy about it at times and think "oh no maybe I should bump it down in the excel from +10kg for the final week to maybe 5 or 7.5" but when I actually get in the gym I find it's fine physically. Will write up a full review of how I found the program later but quickie for you : very taxing on the CNS you'll find to keep up you gotta bump up your food & rest.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 86

Smolov Jr Bench Week 3 Session C

8x4@90%

Warmups, bench, stretching... that's all I had energy for today lol. The lifts felt alright, the final rep was feeling quite tough each set even after 2mins rest. If on Sunday I have issues will fall back to 3min rests.. if that doesn't help then probably just gonna drop the weights down slightly but should be good by then I hope. Need to take some kind of progress pics at some point, didn't expect to make any gains but from what I've seen my chest has filled out slightly. Probably only slightest bit of muscle and rest of it is result of a bit of tightening in the area which is hard to avoid even with stretching when working it at these levels 4x a week.

Duration : 33mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs
  • 3x85lbs
  • 3x105lbs
  • Working Sets : 8 sets 4x125lbs
• Stretching 5 mins

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Holy crap.. feel absolutely destroyed today. Can barely grip anything, finger tips feel numb, mad doms in lower back/glutes/calves as if i done some kind of leg workout...........high temp, big headache. hope to still go in tomorrow for my final session but if it still feels like this ill delay a day or two as showing up fresh to work monday is a bit more important than turning up to gym to potentially drop the bar on my chest

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Day 87

Testing 1rm for bench - 3 weeks of Smolov Jr new 1RM = 155lbs (70kg) up +10kg in 3 weeks

Probably could have done that final 10x3 day but thought I'll just wing it and do some 1RM testing today since no gym sessions from Sat so perfect break for such a thing... can confirm 1RM has def gone up, though was kind of scared without a spotter. Failed my attempt at 160lbs (72kg) but 155lb was all good (70kg) probably could have done 2 or 3 reps on that one but yeah... after I failed the 160 people just gave me dumb looks I was totally embarassed. I should know better than to care what people think but whatever, some awesome big dudes came over helped me re-reack it and were like "you better not try do that again without a spotter". Funny thing is just before that set I was thinking about GymRats new phrase and I even whispered it out a couple times made myself laugh must have looked like a real wierdo hahahah.

 

I'm keen as to continue on a 5x5 style program on bench going from maybe 50ish kilos (~70% of 1RM) and working my way up from there. I had no food in me since around 1pm and no preworkout stims either not even my usual beta alanine + raro so pretty happy with todays result and I still see it as a 'safe' 1RM with more in the bank to explore further at some point.

 

.... ankles still buggered though so gonna have to figure something out to start from next week that's just upper body. Any suggestions?

 

PS. Thanks to whoever voted for my pics to be photo of the month lol, didn't even know anyone read this log but appreciate it guys. Thanks again to NZ Muscle, Pseudonym and especially GymRat without whom I could not have obtained this prestigious title

Duration : 44mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Bench Press
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs
  • 4x85lbs
  • 3x115lbs
  • 2x 135lbs (old 1RM, 2 reps was easy )
  • 1x 145lbs
  • 1x 155lbs (officially my new 1RM now)
  • fail 160lb
  • 5x115lbs
• Chest supported rows just bunch of random weights/reps try get pump in back to offset tightness in chest
• Weighted ab crunches 2x15
• Stretching 5mins

 

[Spacebound]

Nice work bro, 10kg in three weeks is awesome.

Hopefully the ankle comes right soon, if i was you id take a bit of a deload before jumping into the 5x5 but thats just me.

 

[OnlyHuman]

Nice PR. 

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

Nice work bro, 10kg in three weeks is awesome.

Hopefully the ankle comes right soon, if i was you id take a bit of a deload before jumping into the 5x5 but thats just me.

 

Nice PR. 

Cheers dudes, I'm really happy with progress yup. Would say the extra attention to technique was what made all the difference between making or breaking it going through 3 weeks of a program like that.

 

Hmmm so deload week finished, wanted to get back to the 5x5 but assessing ankle mobility at the moment it's not quite right so I won't go there.. thinking about running some type of wierd upper-only program for the next 4-6 weeks while I work on rehabbing these legs back to squat-ready-condition. Hard to find strictly upper body routines... maybe I need to sign up ot NZ Aesthetics or something for some good recommendations? lmao

 

Kind of lost on how I'll run it, thinking roughly something like this starting from this Monday. Have listed OHP and bent over row there but actually not sure if that's a smart idea given the load they can put on the legs, we'll see I guess /shrug :

4-6 weeks

Mon

5x5 BB Flat bench 50kg

3x5 Dips (tricep)

DB Rows

DB Curls

Rear delts

Wed

5x5 OHP - 40kg

3x5 BB Incline Bench

Side delts machine

Shrugs machine

Fri

5x5 Bent over rows - 40-50kg

DB Incline Bench

Pullups

EZ Bar curls

Rear delts

 

[ohjoshua]

Nice pb. Love how orgainesed ur training and journal are. U will get good if you keep it up.

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

 

Nice pb. Love how orgainesed ur training and journal are. U will get good if you keep it up.

Thanks dude, hope so it all works out. I'm now a big fan of consistency and structure... all helps with overall discipline when you got things planned out and written down.

Chapter 4: Park the Wheels, Pump the Guns! 6 Weeks Upper Body

Today it begins, my next routine.... upper body aesthetics come at me! Proposed routine can be viewed couple posts up

 

 

Day 88

New Upper-only Workout Routine (planned duration 4-6 weeks)

Session 1

Kept it all fairly low rest periods so was done pretty quick. Been a while since I done it like this, I sure am out of shape but that'll be sorted out soon enough. It was fun to switch to something like this for a change, looking forward to next few weeks like this before heading back to the proper SL5x5. Starting ankle rehab properly now with stretches for it and some slow walks. Will build up duration and intensity of the walk per each session.

Duration : 59mins

Workout

• Shoulder warmups
• Flat bench
  • 2x5x45lbs
  • 5x65lbs, 3x85lbs
  • 2x105lbs
  • Working set : 5x5x115lbs
• 1 Arm DB Rows 3x8x50lbs
• Dips 3x5
• DB Curls, slow with squeeze/pause at top
  • 5x15lbs
  • 5x25lbs
  • 5x30lbs
  • 5x25lbs
  • 5x20lbs
• Rear Delts cable flyes 3x8x50lbs
• 5min treadmill walk low intensity
• 10min stretch