Give me strength, or give me death!

[Phedder]

Thanks for the input guys. Some quick rotator work on upper days and perhaps bodyweight back hypers on lower days sound like good ideas for warm ups, wouldn't take more than 5 mins and probably pay dividends. I always do some dynamic warm ups anyway so would be a good addition.

TT there's a few reasons for the light (80%) first cycle;

-Chances are I won't make it to the gym 4 times a week in my current situation, so keeping it lighter will allow me to combine workouts without too much worry.

-Give me a chance to sample assistance work I've put together and make changes if I don't like anything, as well as establish some rep records for the main lifts and get more familiar with sumo deadlifts before going all out.

- I'm currently eating at maintenance or slightly under most of the time, whereas once uni starts again I'll be aiming for a 1-2kg a month gain so should be more able to handle the work load.

Once I've finished this first light tester cycle I'll test some maxes or rep maxes and then do the program based off of 90% of my lifts. Plus It's probably better than what I'm currently doing in the gym so I'm not taking backward steps at least :pfft:

Edit: Just did some projections of where I'll be at the end of October (10 cycles) if I don't stall (hopeful I know :pfft: )

Re-adjusting the 90% used for the program back to 100% 1RMs (again ambitious )

Overhead: 77.5kg

Deadlift: 220kg

Bench: 127.5kg

Squat: 175kg

Would be absolutely stoked if I reach those numbers, gives me something to shoot for :twisted:

[Phedder]

Only had time for a quick session before work today, just found out the gyms shutting again from the 1st till the 5th though :evil:

Bench press

8x60kg

5x70kg

3x5x80kg

10x60kg

One arm DB bench rows

10x50lb

10x70lb

10x90lb

15x70lb

OH press

10xbar

10x30kg

2x5x40kg

10xbar

Cable rows

10xhalf stack

2x12x 3/4stack

Supersetted with

Machine flies

3x15xhalf stack

Was going to do some squats but my right knee felt a bit iffy. Feels fine now after moving around all day at work, so can hopefully hit my lowerbody hard on friday.

[Phedder]

Yesterdays, going by memory which has since been somewhat compromised :pfft:

Squats

10x50kg

10x60kg

8x80kg

2x5x100kg

10x60kg

Sumo deadlifts

5x60kg

5x100kg

2x5x120kg- Didn't want to go any heavier as I'd partially torn a callus last week.

High pulls

3x5x60kg

Front squats

10xbar

10x30kg

8x40kg

8x50kg PB wrists were screaming haha

5x40kg

OH press

10xbar

5x30kg

5x40kg

3x50kg

5x40kg

Bench press

10x60kg

3x5x80kg

10x60kg CG

20-25 reps with varying grips at 40kg.

[Phedder]

Gym finally re-opened :grin:

Figured I'd do a lower session today and an upper session either tomorrow or friday.

Squats

10x50kg

8x60kg

5x80kg

2x5x100kg

8x80kg

Sumo deads

5x60kg

5x100kg

5x130kg - Callus I'd partially torn giving me shit here.

3x150kg - PB hurt like a bitch though, 2-3 easy reps left in the tank but just couldn't hold the bar properly anymore. Want to get my sumo up to my conventional PB of 180 before uni starts again.

2x5x100kg - holding just with my fingers working on technique.

Leg press - hadn't used the one in this gym yet

10x50kg - just getting a feel for it

15x100kg

15x150kg

15x200kg

10x240kg - drop set back down, roughly 30 sec to unload and start again

10x200kg

10x150kg

10x100kg

15x50kg

Holy mother of leg pump, gonna do this one again sometime, but try 15 reps from 240 down.

3 sets of leg curls supersetted with 3 sets of calf raises, 10 reps 3/4 stack on each no resting.

Hoping to get 5x150kg sumos next time I do them, then move onto 160kg. Definitely feel better doing sumo compared to conventional.

[Phedder]

Upper body sesh.

Chin ups

2x10 between bench warm ups

Bench press

8x60kg

5x75kg

3x85kg

2x90kg

3x5x80kg

CG

2x10x60kg

Chin ups - very slow reps, long pause at the top and at full dead hang.

3x6

DB bench rows - each arm

10x50lb

10x70lb

10x100lb - PB :grin:

20x50lb

Standing OH press

10xbar

8x30kg

5x40kg

2.5x50kg I suck at overheads :x Got the 3rd rep maybe 2-3 inches from lockout, left elbow just wouldn't lock

7x40kg + 3 push pressed

Neutral grip chin ups

3x10

Lateral raises

2x10x10kg superset

front raises

2x5x10kg

[Phedder]

Fairly active day so I'm logging it

30-40 minutes splitting big fucking logs. Had the local wood chopping contest yesterday and dad managed to score 2 ute loads of the remains for winter, logs are so bloody wet so I'm splitting them so they'll dry quicker. Got through maybe 1/4 of them, do more in the next few days.

Then an hour of swimming/playing around at the beach followed by a 5 minute jog or so to dry off, water was ridiculously warm for 8pm

[Phedder]

Me today at 12.4% bf 88.1kg, roughly an hour after my session so semi pumped I suppose?

Yes, I suck at posing :pfft: But at least there's something up for what I'm starting the year with, hopefully be able to do bf and pictures every 6 months or so. Legs need plenty of work, and a tan :pfft:

Fantastic session today, went down to CBC and got Steak to help sort out my squat technique and bench set up. Spent about 2 hours total there, doing the bf check, technique stuff, general chatting and then got into a bit of a workout.

Squats

4 or 5 sets with 60kg reps between 6-10 I think? Videoing them and then watching each set and having things pointed out, was very helpful. Amazing the difference between the first set and the last.

5 reps at 80kg

2 reps at 100kg, failed on the 3rd :oops: bent forward far too much and couldn't recover from it, lesson learned I hope.

added a belt and did 4 reps at 100kg - Much better, never used a belt before and was amazed the different feeling you get being able to push your stomach out against something. Might look into buying one.

Bench

2 sets of setting up and just using the bar

2 sets of 60kg, setting up and between 6 and 8 reps I think?

Holy mother of all that is uncomfortable :pfft: quads were burning from the first second of being set up, but I was definitely much tighter compared to how I previously set up.

Bit of a workout;

Sumo deads

5x60kg

5x100kg

3x140kg

1x160kg - PB

1x140kg

High pulls

2x5x60kg

Chin ups

3 or 4 sets varying between 5 and 8 reps, cant remember precisely.

DB flat press supersetted with DB one arm rows

10x20kg press same for rows

10x25kg press same for rows

10x30kg press same for rows

Got so much great technical and general advice from Steak, very thankful. Just need to spend more time under the bar now employing what I've learned today, onwards and upwards from here :grin:

[OnlyHuman]

You have good base to work with Phedder, and you are in good condition.

[steak]

Good to meet you mate. You have started lifting good and early and the gains are showing. Keep the basics going, remember the "tightness" and breathing controls and the rest will fall into place. Treat each rep as a single bro.

Like OH says you have a good base to work from and you look after yourself. :clap:

[Tygrrh]

good pics dude but your legs need some sun aye :grin:

[Phedder]

Thanks for the comments all My legs see more sun than it would appear, but definitely still not enough. Can get away with being shirtless at times at work, not so much pantless :pfft:

Planning on spending Thursday and Saturday specifically working through technique again and then on Monday jump into my first 5/3/1 cycle to just feel through it and make any necessary changes before going into it full throttle. Will do more technique stuff after the main lifts as well. Going to swap the RDLs out for good mornings on squat day though, after yesterday I think they'll be more beneficial.

[Jigga]

Holy shit those quads are whiter than a corpse. Looking solid though

[rimma]

Looking good Phedder. Chronic singlet tan and pasty ass legs though :grin:

[Phedder]

Cheers

Really quick session this morning, had a few things to do that took longer than expected before the gym so just did some technique stuff.

Squats - Happy with how these went, starting the get a good flow going instead of ticking off everything in my head as I go haha

10x40kg

5x5x60kg

Bench - Made me hate the bench at my current gym even more, just couldn't practice the new set up properly. I just slide and can't keep traps dug in.

10x40kg

3x5x60kg

5x80kg

[steak]

Cheers

ticking off everything in my head as I go haha

its all about process bro

Try dampening down your T shirt :wink: ...can help when you cant use chalk to stop slippage off the end of the bench...or chalk your shirt. Caution it may strangle you

[matt !]

Sumo deads

do these focus on the hamstrings/gluts ? i might add these to my Hamstring workouts since idk what else to do apart from Leg Curls :?

[Phedder]

More so than conventional stance deadlifts I feel. But if you're wanting to really focus on the hamstrings try romanian or stiff legged deadlifts, great for really stretching them out and then getting a good contraction. Good mornings could be worth a go too.

Thanks for that tip Steak, will try it tomorrow morning. Was quite frustrating getting set up all nice and tight and then as soon as I use some leg drive I just slid up the bench :x

[Beowulf]

Looking Good Man KUTGW

[matt !]

More so than conventional stance deadlifts I feel. But if you're wanting to really focus on the hamstrings try romanian or stiff legged deadlifts, great for really stretching them out and then getting a good contraction. Good mornings could be worth a go too.

thanks =] i'll give some ago next time

[Phedder]

Cheers Beowulf, you haven't been around for a while? still training?

This mornings session;

Squats - never quite felt right, I did a good long warm up and have been doing lots of stretching lately, yet my hips just felt a tad uncomfortable the whole time :?

10x40kg

5x5x60kg

3x5x80kg

Bench - realised this bench is actually lower than others as well which limits how much leg drive and arch I can get. Only 4 more weeks of suffering haha.

10x40kg

5x5x60kg

7x80kg. Long pause on the first and last rep. On the last rep my leg drive actually slid me about 40cm up the bench haha, tried to wet shirt idea and it worked somewhat but still not enough.

Front squats

10xbar

10x40kg

10x55kg - Again wrists and fingers screaming at me, my legs could keep repping happily but just can't keep the bar in that position for long enough.

Chin ups

4x5 - every 5th rep I re-set my grip, hands were killing me. Roughly 10 sec between each set.

[Beowulf]

Cheers Beowulf, you haven't been around for a while? still training?

Sure am. I'm doing a bit of a strength block atm have just been slack on the logging side of it going to have to start posting again.

[Phedder]

Cheers Beowulf, you haven't been around for a while? still training?

Sure am. I'm doing a bit of a strength block atm have just been slack on the logging side of it going to have to start posting again.

All good, as long as you're still going at it :nod: Following a particular program or your own concoction?

Today was my first 5/3/1 workout, set the percentages a bit lighter than 90% to feel out the program for my first cycle and as I can't guarantee I'll be in the gym 4 times a week, I'll be able to combine some workouts for any days I miss. i.e 5/3/1 OH press and deadlifts in the same session.

Cycle 1 week 1

Overhead press

8xbar

5x30kg

5x35kg

5x40kg

13x40kg PB Off to a good start

10xbar

Chin ups - Full dead hang no bouncing

4x10 - 4th set got to 8 then had to rest for 10 sec to get the last 2.

Supersetted with

CG bench press

4x10x60kg

then another 8 chin ups

Lateral raises

10x10kg - not quite getting the contraction I wanted

3x10x8kg - much better.

[Beowulf]

Its a bit of a hodgepodge creation of mine really using a fairly standard 5x5 style on compound movements coupled with clusters so instead of 5 sets of 5 with 5rm its 5 sets of 5 with 90% 1rm

[Phedder]

Sounds good.

Week 1 day 2 - Insanely hot and sweaty today, I miss Dunedin and I miss chalk :cry: :cry: :cry: :evil:

1km row warm up - 4:05

Sumo deadlifts

5x60kg

5x90kg

5x110kg

12x125kg PB I spose, going to have plenty of these for reps the next few weeks. Putting that into the calc I have in my 5/3/1 spreadsheet gives me a 1RM of 175, best I've pulled sumo so far was 160. Given I had more reps in the tank too I think this calc is pretty far off, but I'll use it to help measure progress. First 7 reps were DOH then last 5 were mixed grip. Still had another 3 or 4 reps in me I reckon but just couldn't keep hold of the damn bar!

High pulls

2x5x60kg - Wasn't as explosive as I usually am so stopped after 2 sets.

Back squats - Wore a singlet, whoops :oops:

10x40kg

5x60kg bar slipping

8x60kg bar slipping again.

Front squats - funnily enough same as my back squats haha

10xbar

10x40kg

5x60kg - Finally got to a plate a side :grin:

8x60kg PB - Was going for 10 but on the 7th rep bar rolled forward a bit onto my clavicles, did one more rep but hurt like a bitch so racked it. Had the 10 in me though easy. Just need to work on keeping the bar in place and keep stretching my wrists and forearms, happy how these are progressing.

I'm content with how some things went, but everything could have been much better as well. Sweat was literally dripping off my elbows during back and front squats :oops:

[rimma]

hey Phedder, making some good ground on those front squats huh.

Putting that into the calc I have in my 5/3/1 spreadsheet gives me a 1RM of 175, best I've pulled sumo so far was 160. Given I had more reps in the tank too I think this calc is pretty far off,

^My experience is that the formula is too "generous" so take it with a pinch of salt. According to the formula I could squat ~15kg more than I actually can and bench ~10kg more than I can.