Squats forge Iron Gods...

[OnlyHuman]

Week (23) AGVT something - something day...

(A1) Low incline BP

10 sets of 4 reps @ 90

(B2) Close grip chins

10 sets of 4 reps @ 83

(B)Iso lat pull-downs

4 sets of 8 @ 30/side

© DB BP

8 @ 37.5

7 @ 40

6 @ 40

Good session. Sore throat nearly gone.

Incline: I went a bit conservative with the weight on this one today. Still, I liked the way it went. Short rest periods too.

Close grip: Increased the reps by one. Good.

Iso lat pull-down: Good. Upped the weight 5 kg.

DB BP: I wanted to test the water on this one today. Went up as much as I could. Pleased with the way it felt/went. Happy

BW 76.5

Sleep: 5 hours only

Food: Very good.

Stress: Low

[OnlyHuman]

Week (23)

(A1) Hack squat

10 sets of 4reps @ 90

(A2) Single leg leg-curls

10 sets of 4 reps @ 33

(B) Box squats

6 @ 100

6 @ 110

6 @ 100

Core

Overhead leg raises

Window wipers

A few around the worlds

Good session. Happy with today's workout.

Weight: 75.7

Sleep: 6 hours only :?

Food: Very good.

Stress: Low

[OnlyHuman]

Week (23) Day # 51

Decline close grip

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 4

Zottman curls

17.5 x 4

17.5 x 4

17.5 x 4

17.5 x 4

17.5 x 4

17.5 x 4

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

DB hammer curls

4 sets of 8 reps @ 15

Overhead triceps ext

8 @ 48

7 @ 48

7 @ 48

Very good session.

Decline close grip:

last time's triples ... (Remember, same weight but I have to add a rep to the triples.)

(B) Decline close grip BP

10 sets of 3 @ 95

Happy with how these turned out today. Upped the rep one as per the program. The seventh and tenth sets gave me some trouble on the last rep, than I bounced back as usual.

Zottman's:

Last triples...

(A) Zottman curls

10 sets of 3 @ 17.5

Good. The first few sets felt really strong. I was actually quite surprised that I fadded on these in the latter rounds. Either way, I feel that I progressed some and I take any progress that I can manage. :wink: Happy.

DB hammer curls: I enjoyed these. Had an excellent pump by the time I got to do these.

Overhead triceps ext: Some progress thus I'm happy. Not too far from getting owned on these tho :pfft: There is room for improvement ...

BW: 76.7

Sleep: Good

Food: Very good, but slightly below maintenance cals.

Stress: Low

[OnlyHuman]

Week (23) still on AGVT...

(A) Bench

105 x 3

105 x 3

105 x 3

102.5 x 3

102.5 x 3

102.5 x 3

102.5 x 3

102.5 x 3

102.5 x 3

102.5 x 2

(B) Chest supported BB row

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

75 x 3

© Dips

8 reps @ BW + 30

8 reps @ BW + 30

6 reps @ BW + 30

(D) 1 arm DB rows

3 sets of 8 reps @ 37.5

Good session.

Bench: Last sessions:

Week (22) Day # 42 of AGVT

(A) Bench

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 3

100 x 3

Good stuff today. At the beginning of this program my projected one rep max was 105. Today I did a few sets of triples with it. I would have loved being able to finish all sets of triples on 105 but no such luck. I'm curious about my current 1 rep max and how it will stack against my current (and previous) body weight. Happy.

BB rows Felt strong on these. This is the heaviest in a few years for sure. I remember getting a few sets/reps at 80 in the past but not at this body weight. So finally, after 23 weeks of consistent training I can announce a PB The last two sets were a bit on the heavy side tho

Dips last times effort...

© Dips

6 @ BW + 25

6 @ BW + 30

5 @ BW + 30 ... pissed for not getting 6th rep so dropped weight to 15 ... and did an other 8 reps :banging:

Nice progress on these. Today's reps were well controlled as well as nice and deep if I may say so. Happy with this especially after my bench effort.

1 arm DB rows Same as last week. A bit of a hard work.

BW:77.1 (in gym gear... as usual)

Sleep: Enough hours, but a bit broken.

Food: Good, I could do with a bit more red meat tho. + 2 Cadbury cream

eggs.

Stress: Low-Medium

[OnlyHuman]

Week (24) still AGVT

(A) Front squats

110 x 3

110 x 3

110 x 3

110 x 3

110 x 3

110 x 2

110 x 2

110 x 2

110 x 1

110 x 1

(B) Seated hammer leg curls

10 sets of 3 reps @ 55 ( On the last two sets I did not get full reps for the third one.)

© Romanian deadlift

8 @ 80

8 @ 90

8 @ 110 / 90 / 60 (Drop set, 8 reps at each weight, no rest.)

(D) DB lunges

3 sets of 8/side @ 34 (Total)

Core

Window wipers

Good session.

Front squats Very happy. I was a bit worried about how I will go. Judged on my last performance @ 105 for reps of 4. I surprised my self. The first few sets felt much easier than expected. I dare to say they felt "easy". That sore throath and the pace set by the Korean "racehorse" must have had its impact the last time. Still, for some reason I faded on these fast. Never mind I was working over 90% of my "previous" max (Fingers crossed.) I'm happy.

Leg curls Happy.

RDL decided to start testing the water. Nowhere near max. They felt good.

DB lunges Ok. Upped the weight a little.

Weight: 76.1

Sleep: 6 hours + Nana nap.

Food: Good.

Stress: Medium.

[Monarchking]

gota love the nana naps. I get a 15 minuet power nap in almost every day and f*ck its like a deep sleep. Works wonders.

[OnlyHuman]

gota love the nana naps. I get a 15 minuet power nap in almost every day and f*ck its like a deep sleep. Works wonders.

I do it when I can. I find they help :nod:

[OnlyHuman]

Week (24) Slowly approaching the end of my current AGVT program...

Incline DB curls

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 3

17.5 x 2

Close grip BP

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

Reverse curls

8 @ 27.5

6 @ 27.5

6 @ 27.5

8 @ 25

Incline triceps ext.

4 sets of 8 reps @ 35

Ok session. My CNS felt a bit under the weather but nothing serious.

Incline DB curls:

This was the last time I done these for this particular AGVT cycle.

I like this exercise, and I think it is one of the few dumbbell movements that actually builds my pathetic guns :pfft:

Today's reps felt reasonably good, a little body English on the last few reps perhaps.

Close grip BP

Upped the weight, dropped the rep. Looking back on the program I can't help but notice that I was using a mere 80 kg for reps of 5 at the beginning and I made a note that "the first few sets felt heavy". Half way through I did 90 for triples and today I felt that I had some wiggle room left for a few more reps or a ted bit of weight more on the bar. Overall I'm very happy with the progress I made on this movement over the last 50 something days. Triceps seem to packed on some girth as well.

Reverse culs

Felt a bit on the heavy side today.

Incline triceps ext

On the easy side today. Happy

Weight: 77. 8

Sleep: Only 6 hours

Food: Not ideal. I had some good stuff plus a whole pizza (with 250 grm of beef on it tho :pfft: ) and a packet of Oreos :oops: No wonder my weight is up today.

Stress: Medium

[OnlyHuman]

Week (24) Approaching the end of AGVT...

Low incline BP

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

95 x 3

Close grip parallel chins

10 sets of 3reps @ 86

Hammer Iso-lateral pull downs

2 sets of 8 reps @ 30

8 reps @ 35

7 reps @ 35

DB Bench

8 reps @ 37.5

6 reps @ 40

Good session.

Low incline:

Beginning = 10 sets of 5 @ 80

Now = 10 sets of 3 @ 95 (Fairly easy-ish too.)

I'm very happy with my improvements on this movement. I'm quite shoulder dominant and I think this movement gave them some extra "fullness" for sure.

Close grip paralel chins

Quite good today, happy.

Hammer Iso

I like this movement. Will keep it in the repertoire I think.

DB bench

I just wanted to see if I can play with the 40s today. Mission accomplished. Happy

BW: 76 (In gym gear.)

Sleep: 5 hours only :?

Food: Not quite enough protein :oops: My fault unfortunately!

Stress: Low

[OnlyHuman]

Week (24) AGVT, nearly the end...

(A1) Hack squats

8 sets of 3 reps @ 100

(A2) Single leg, leg-curls

8 sets of 3 reps @ 35.5

(B) Back squats

100 x 6

110 x 3

120 x 3

© Walking lunges

2 sets of 6 reps @ 39

Core

- Window wipers

- Straight leg raises

Good session.

Hack squats

They were ok. Dropped a rep, upped the weight 10 kg. Only 8 sets as I wanted to save some energy for testing the water on the back squats.

Leg curl Good. Only 8 sets as well.

Back squats

I just felt like testing the water on these. They felt ok. The 120 was on the heavier side, but I felt I could have banged out a few more reps if I had to.

Not bad considering I haven't invested any serious work into these in a long while.

Walking lunges

Token lifts. just getting the legs stretched a bit.

BW:75.3

Sleep: Enough volume, bad quality (broken)

Food: Good, but under maintenance a bit.

Stress: Low

[OnlyHuman]

Week (25) Last day of AGVT

Zottman curls

10 sets of 3 reps @ 17.5

Decline close grip BP

10 sets of 3 reps @ 100

Hammer DB curls

3 sets of 10 reps @ 15 kg

Cable overhead tri ext

2 sets of 6 reps @ 48

Good session.

Zottman I went with the same weight as last week (fewer reps) but I really focused on form. Felt good, happy.

Decline close grip Last time it was 95 for reps of 4 so I feel quite good about today's session, as well as the overal progress made on these.

DB hammer curls Good. A little stronger, happy.

Cable overhead tri ext These OWNED me today. :smackbottom:

Weight: 77.5

Sleep: 6.5 hours.

Food: Good

Stress: Little

I have a day or two to rest than I will max out on the bench and front squat.

Once I have some numbers I will write up my general experience / thoughts about the program.

[OnlyHuman]

Week (25) TEST DAY

The numbers:

Front squats

125 x 1

130 x 0

My front squat number prior tp AGVT was 120, thus this represent a 5 kg gain in my "current abilities".

125 felt easy too, was quite confident on giving 130 a go but for some reason it did not meant to be. Not today :pfft:

As previously stated I be very happy with any gains I make on this program so indeed I am pretty stoked. :wink:

Bench

107.5 x 1

110 x 1

112.5 x 1

115 x 1

My best was a 105 single (predicted) or a 100 for 2 reps at the beginning of this program. The 115 felt heavy so I choosed not to make any more attempts at heavier weights.

10 kg gain, can't complain. :wink:

Body composition, measurements and body weight...

I lost 1 cm from the waist.

Added 1.5 to my thigh.

Added 1 cm to my arm. (Including gaining back the 1/2 cm that I lost over the summer diet phase.)

At the beginning of the program I estimated to be around 11% of body fat. Now I think I be around 10. Take it with a hint of salt as it is only my estimates and not based on anything else than me checking it in the mirror.

However the tape measurements seem to confirm a favorable body comp improvement.

Body weight was at 77.1 this morning in training gear. Some gain I think.

My thoughts about AGVT...

I really enjoyed this program. I like the 2 on - 1 off - 1 on - 1 off approach. I have done this in the past and I knew I will respond to it well. The volume never felt too much and I always felt recovered and ready to train by the time I had to. (please note: once or twice I made a note of feeling some chest DOMS on triceps day's close grip session. Did not seem to interfere with outcome/quality of session. )

I knew it at the start that by not following the lower body training session recommendations (Rotating between front and back squats) I will compromise some of the possible gains that I could make.

If we think about it I gained 10 kg on the bench by having 4 "meaningful" sessions per 10 day cycle. (Two bench and two close grip session.) While for the same time frame I had only one hard session of leg training (front squats) and one "token" session (Machine Hack squats.)

I think leaving the back squats in the program would have yield better results in the hypertrophy/one rep max department. (Obviously :pfft: ) and I am planning to have them in the next time around. Not necessary going balls to walls on them but I think it is time for me to add a bit of padding to my squatters ass syndrome :pfft:

Sometimes I felt I had some energy to burn and could have done a few more sets on the second exercise so in the next cycle I may just do that.

I'm planning to change a few of the exercises but not going to do anything to drastic. It has been good to me so why f**k with it too much?

I like to bring some light-ish rack pulls in for upper back development and some BB curls instead of one of the DB biceps movements. I possibly change the parallel close grip to close grip supinated chins and I will do a bit more core work.

I like to be able to do a few reps of dragon flags by the end of the next AGVT cycle.

Still not very keep to superset things :roll: but if I do I will make a note of it as usual.

Overall = Happy as :grin: It seems to suit my goals. A bit bigger, a bit leaner and a bit stronger.

Fail of the last 60 days >>>----> Shoulder flexibility work. Yeah didn't really happen. :oops:

AGVT test run two to commence in a day or two...

[morattigirl]

That's positive aye dude! You've got some gains and thats what it's all about at the end of the day, Well done :clap:

[OnlyHuman]

That's positive aye dude! You've got some gains and thats what it's all about at the end of the day, Well done :clap:

Strength up. Muscle mass up. Fat down.

Can't complain :grin:

Thank you!!!!!!!!!

[Phedder]

Really enjoyed following your journal through the program mate, very detailed and well written. Well done with the program and all the best for your second run through :nod:

[OnlyHuman]

Really enjoyed following your journal through the program mate, very detailed and well written. Well done with the program and all the best for your second run through :nod:

Thanks for the kind words

I'm glad you enjoyed reading it! :nod:

[OnlyHuman]

Week (25) My 2nd run on AGVT.

Bench

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

100 x 4

Chest supported BB rows

10 sets of 5 reps @ 70

Dips

5 @ BW + 30

2 sets of 8reps @ BW + 15

BB shrugs

5 sets of 8 reps @ 100

Average session.

Bench Not my best effort but some progress represented by a few extra reps at 100 so its ok I guess. Not sure if the lack of quality food/sleep or maxing out a few days ago cramped my game today.

Chest supported BB rows

I love this movement. It helped out in the back hypertrophy department the last time around. Decided to keep it in the program. Went well today, only faded on the last two sets.

Dips

I sucked at these today, did a few tokes sets/reps.

BB shrugs

Paused these in the contracted position. Evidently my traps are weak :pfft:

Weight: 77

Sleep: 7 hours but bad quality.

Food: Atrocious :oops: Not enough protein, too much simple sugars. Had a few days off from eating well. Back on track now.

Stress: Medium

[thatwaslight]

you've got a wicked power to weight ratio man 8)

[rovr4on]

you've got a wicked power to weight ratio man 8)

and I thought benching 100kg at 75kg weight was good, damn bro big ups, tuff caaaaaant..

[OnlyHuman]

you've got a wicked power to weight ratio man 8)

you've got a wicked power to weight ratio man 8)

and I thought benching 100kg at 75kg weight was good, damn bro big ups, tuff caaaaaant..

I really appreciate the kind words! Still, don't feel worthy of such praise just yet :? probably because I know I had been at a much better ratio in the past. Thank you tho :oops: I'm prepared to put in the hard work and earn your kind words in the near future :oops:

Once again ... Thank you!

[Phedder]

I know I had been at a much better ratio in the past.

You've mentioned this a few times. Would you mind saying what your previous best lifts were and at what bodyweight? Are you hoping to get back to them or surpass them now?

[OnlyHuman]

I know I had been at a much better ratio in the past.

You've mentioned this a few times. Would you mind saying what your previous best lifts were and at what bodyweight? Are you hoping to get back to them or surpass them now?

In comp:

Squat 175 @ 86 (fat :? ) no belt, wrap or suit.

Bench 130 @ around 82 (Bench only comp, raw.)

Deadlift conventional 205 @ 80 , summo 200 @ 86 (fat :pfft: ) raw also...

At the moment I just want to make it to the gym when I'm so post to. Keep up with my program and not get lazy. I figure "Work the process and the result will take care of them selfs." I really don't want to commit my self to numbers as I have done that in the past and it is not a constructive way to approach training (for me anyways).

I am looking at getting a bit leaner and being in good shape.

Perhaps not get above 10% of BF indeed get leaner (I know I can.) and put a little muscle here and there in the process. Get a bit stronger, as power weight ratio always been close to my heart.

I just want to enjoy the journey and improve in the process as opposed to get to a "set" point really.

[OnlyHuman]

Week (25) my 2nd run on AGVT...

(A) Back squats

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

100 x 5

(B1) Single-leg Prone Leg curls

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

33 x 5

(B2) Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

90 x 8

90 x 8

90 x 8

90 x 8

90 x 8

90 x 8

90 x 8

© Reverse BB lunges

8/side @ bar

8/side @ 30

8/side @ 30

Core building up to dragon flags (sad attempts :pfft: )

Good session. Tried to shift the workload to be posterior chain dominant.

Back squats Ok. I have decided to start this cycle on 100. They were ok but I hope my "coordination" will improve as I tag along. Haven't done these seriously for a long time so I am only looking to have them in my program to build my front squats and my squatters ass In overall I'm happy with how they felt today, but not contempt.

Single leg leg-curl Like this movement thus I kept it in the program. I'm in despert need of some hamstring hypertrophy, so I supersetted it with RDLs. I liked it. Progressed one rep on these. Happy.

RDL Same reason as above. Set progression. Weight feels on the lighter side of things but I need to get some volume into my hamstring training. These will help I think. Happy.

Reverse BB lunges Token lift.

Sleep: Good.

Food: Good. Slightly above maintainance and very high protein.

Stress: Medium.

[OnlyHuman]

Week (26) my second run on AGVT...

(A) Close grip BP

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

90 x 5

(B1) Incline OFFSET DB curls

15 x 5

15 x 5

15 x 5

15 x 5

15 x 4

15 x 4

15 x 4

15 x 4

15 x 4

15 x 4

(B2A) DB preacher curls

10 x 6

10 x 6

10 x 6

10 x 6

10 x 6

(B2B) BB reverse curls

25 x 8

25 x 8

25 x 8

25 x 8

25 x 8

Good session. Shifted the emphasis onto biceps a bit. My triceps responds well to close-grip and other pressing movements. It is a bit ahead in the hypertrophy department at this stage, time to push the biceps to balance things out a bit.

Close grip BP Last time I used 90 on this movement I did reps of 4s so it represents a rep progression. Happy as, it felt relatively easy.

Biceps/brachialis stuff I decided to swap the movement to off-set curls (grip the dumbbell unevenly = makes supination that much harder) as well as drop the incline of the bench and superset two movements. I figured the 15s feel quite easy but I can't progress to the next set of dumbbells on the lower reps so I will make the workouts harder by the above mentioned tactics. Oh boy... Did I overestimate my abilities? :pfft:

Probably the off set grip and the superset will be more than enough to compensate for the lack of dumbbell choices! I got my ass handed to me on these ones but I had an amazing biceps workout.

To be honest I am happy that I actually enjoy working the biceps these days... I never used to do, and it shows :oops:

Weight: 78.5 :shrug:

Sleep:Only 5 hours.

Food: Outstanding. High protein (~ 200 gr ) slightly above maintanence.

Stress: Low

[OnlyHuman]

Week (26) my second run on AGVT

(A) Low incline bench

95 x 5

95 x 5

95 x 5

95 x 5

95 x 5

95 x 3

95 x 4

95 x 4

95 x 3

95 x 3

(B1) Close-grip (supinated) chins

5 @ BW

5

5

5

5

5

4

4

4

4

(B2A) DB bench

35 x 8

35 x 8

35 x 8

35 x 8

35 x 8

(B2B) 1 arm DB rows

30 x 8

30 x 8

30 x 8

30 x 8

Excellent session.

Low incline BP:

I left my training diary home thus I wasn't sure what weight I need to load on the bar :-s I just started to wok up doing 5s and I was like yeah... 95 feels ok. Turnes out I so post to use 90 for 5 reps which would have been a rep progression. So what do you know ... my little "mishap with my diary" turned into a blessing

I feel that today's sesion/weights represents a nice little progress but it does leave me in the "pickle" for my next session and maybe even the one after that. Maybe try 97.5 for reps of 4 ??? Not sure , we see....

Close grip chins Seems to me that I'm weak as a kitten on these :oops: Not so worried about numbers at this stage. However I made a point in performing the reps as perfectly as possible while supersetting it with DB bench and 1 arm rows.

DB bench I knew I am going lighter than usuall... was easy. Gave me a good chance to flare elbows and work the bottom position of the press. Good.

1 arm rows Went too light. It was ok.

BW:77.9

Sleep: 6.5 hours only. Good quality tho

Food: Medium level of protein intake :naughty: 1 bag of corn chips :naughty:

Stress: Medium