Lifting from across the ditch

[Monarchking]

Sup!

Havent been online for a while but have decided to have a crack at a new journal!

My main goal is to increase my bench press and front squat. Due to a few injuries, these two lifts are ones I have the most desire for and stay healthierest with, haha and i want to compete as a bench presser some time. Also through this journal I will be dropping a little bit of fatness and also have enrolled in the Australian Institute of Fitness in Melbourne, and start that in August. So that might be of some interest to people too.

Currently training at Good Life. They seem ok, have 8 squat racks and elite bumper plates....although I dont know what becuase there doesnt seem to be many serious lifters. But the racks/barbells n plates are nice! I dont think I had 1 straight bar back in NZ when I trained stricklty from my gargae so this is a change, and there are more TVs in the weight room than I have ever owned in my life. Haha but its all good.

Currnet best bench is 130x1 Paused and best Front squat is 150x1. I was front squatting everyday for around 45 days and wish I logged it here but meh. oh well ended up with 150. Then deadlifted and pulled something....so have dropped some volume.

Bodyweight is just under 90kg. So I have dropped a few kg over the last couple of months, I look like crap but just want to lift stuff. Sooooo today I did

"Comp grip Bench"

6x2 @ 125kg paused Volume PB

"Sling Shot"

1x4 @ 140kg

1x2 @ 147.5kg 

"Bench various grips drops set"

100x10-80x10-60x10-20x100

"Rear Delts"

100 reps

[Monarchking]

"Front Squat"

2x1 @ 135kg

1x1 @ 142.5kg

 

"5 second paused Front Squat"

10x1 @ 120kg

 

"Front Squat"

5x5 @ 100kg

 

Need a bit of upper back mobility I think. The pasued sets were fun, its kind of like a nice rest in the hole then a massive exsplotion up! 

[Gym rat]

Picks please would be keen to see what this gym looks like

[Leeroid]

in

[ohjoshua]

funnily enough my main two lifts of focus are bench and front squats atm. You are stronger on both though :S .

 

Will be good to see your progress.

 

oh and what sort of gains did you make on your 41 days in a row?

[Monarchking]

Picks please would be keen to see what this gym looks like

hehe, I will put up some videos at some stage for you to scope out Gym rat

[Monarchking]

funnily enough my main two lifts of focus are bench and front squats atm. You are stronger on both though :S .

 

Will be good to see your progress.

 

oh and what sort of gains did you make on your 41 days in a row?

My life time PR was 140kg.

I tested it at 137.5kg roughly a week or 2 before I decided to use such high frequency. (The only reason I front squatted every day is because mike tuchscherer posted on facebook about how people think about recovery to much and use it as an excuse NOT to do work) this got me all fired up and I just kept walking into the gym everyday and front squatting. I ended up with 

130x5, 140x2, 145x2, 150x1. All done with knee sleeves, wrist wraps and no belt. Not super, super deep but consitently just bellow P. So basicly added 10kg onto my lifetime PR. 

I stopped, becuase I deadlifted and kind of hurt myself so had to back off.

But got a life time PB out of it so its all goo

[Monarchking]

In all honesty, those front squats broke me haha. not used to as many in one session.

I think close grip floor press has helped my bench. Around Feb my bench was about 120x2, 120x3 been my all time best. i have been floor pressing 1-3x per week along with bench and a little overhead pressing and I have recently hit 130x1 and 120x5 all paused and 120x7 touch and go(elbow sleeves). So I think they are helping. I make sure I pause on the ground and explode up as fast as possible, if the weight moves to slow, its to heavy. (just the way I have been doing them).

Also I always now pasue on my chest with the over head press, and push as hard as I can. I also tuck my elbows on the way down on both exercises and kind of flare them at the lock outs.....just the way ive been doing it anyway. I use a belt for overhead pressing to try avoid injury.

"Close grip floor press"

4x2 @ 110kg

1x2 @ 115kg

 

"Overhead press"

5x5 @ 60kg

 

"Various band pulls"

300reps

 

 

[Gym rat]

Sweet thank bro looking forward to seeing the vids

[Monarchking]

ohjoshua
 

I should note that my lifetime PB of 140 I was talking about i did a while ago (possibly a year or so) straight after I did a smolov jr 3 week front squat cycle...i set the starting weight at 120 and did the program. So again, high frequency helped set a PB.  

[Monarchking]

"Bench Press"

10x3 @ 110kg

 

"Rear Delts"

100 reps

 

Bench felt ok but a little average. Speed all the way through untill last rep, 120 would of felt heavy today. 

Bodyweight down 6.5kg since February, currently 87.3kg. Need to try maintain a 130kg bench.

[ohjoshua]

good to know about your high frequency. Tbh I dont mind doing high frequency (maybe not as high as you did) I just hate volume. 

110kg*10*3 I think you would be good for 140kg at least not 130kg.

What part of Ausy are you in?

[Leeroid]

Yeah if you're doing 7 with 120 and 5 paused then ur good for 140 paused. I had the exact same reps with 120 back in January and could do 140 paused any day in the gym and do 145 on a good day.

[Monarchking]

I'll upload the 130 when I'm on the laptop. It was a pretty solid rep. In all honesty I couldn't do 120x7 everyday it just randomly happened, same with the paused sets, I surprised myself with them PRS.  

 

Im in Melbourne.

 

[Monarchking]

[Monarchking]

"Front Squat"

4x2 @ 130kg

1x7 @ 100kg

 

Then did some leg exstensions and curls, they hurt alot using very light weights haha, havent used a machine in a long time...to painfull.

Squats moved average. But 8 reps @ 130kg is most I have done in 1 session before, so look at the positives..

[Leeroid]

That bench had speed. Solid pause too. Would be a good second attempt at a meet

[Monarchking]

That bench had speed. Solid pause too. Would be a good second attempt at a meet

thanks.

Im trying to keep the bulk of my reps like this, pause, and speedy. Thats the only time I have ever done 130.

[M.T]

Nice 130 bro!

[Monarchking]

M.T wrote:

Nice 130 bro!

[Monarchking]

"Front Squat"

1x1 @ 135kg

5x2 @ 120kg

 

"SLDL"

4x10 @ 100kg

 

"Ab roller"

50 reps

 

Squats feeeling heavy, well just sticky in the hole.

Decided to get some straight leg deads in, a way to bring deadlifts back without using "heavy weigths" and keep healthyerst.

Shits going to get serious, seriously fucked. Im working at the airport for a few days and my hours are 10pm-6am.....fucks me how my body will respond to this. Oh well.

[Gym rat]

Mean bench bro and nice one as well

[Monarchking]

Since I'm one of only 3 people that could pass a drug test at work, I've ended up doing a few 10pm-6am shifts at the airport for qantas. Lol

dam last night was hard, I was fucked haha. Training will take but of a back seat while I recover lol. Only 8 shifts.

 

[Monarchking]

"Close Grip Floor Press"

1x5 @ 100kg

3x3 @ 110kg

1x2 @ 110kg

1xDrop set @ 100kg+

 

"Pendlay row"

NEW EXERCISE

5x5 @ 60kg

 

"Band Pulls"

100reps

 

Actually a pretty good sesh considering my eating and sleeping habbits have been all fucekd up. 8 total reps @ 110 close grip floor press would be a volume PB i think.

Pendlay row felt really good. My body is all fucked up and some positions are hard to get into, so a lot more mobility etc. The row was actually challenging just to get into the correct spot. So I think it will be a major benifit keeping strick form and not been a dick and doing stuff shitty.

Same witrh font squats, I think for a bit I will be lowering the weight and using reallyu strickt form and doing more paused reps to correct my fuckt upness.

[Monarchking]

"Front Squat"

5x5 @ 100kg

3x2 @ 120kg

 

"Band pull through"

50 reps

 

Moved my grip out a cm and felt much better. Did lots of stretching and mobility yesterday an man it made a difference to my movement today!

just made sure everyrhing was spot on today, taking extra care of my body so it can work more functionally and I can suffer less pain in te hips/knees and back.