AD69's Training Log

[AD69]

Nah, its placed on the floor above my head so I'm holding on to it as a counterweight, but really trying to not use it to help during the reps, but found myself pulling against it when the reps got tougher.

[AD69]

Monday 5th October:

Squats: 40kgx5, 60kgx5, 75kgx3x5
Inc. Bench: 40kgx5, 50kgx5, 60kgx3x5
I Rows: BW 7/4/6
PUPPB: 30s/45s/60s

Squats: OK, not too happy with form. Will keep at this weight and try to video too.

Inc. Bench: Fed up stalling on the bench, so decided to do something different. Felt tight on shoulder muscle when trying to keep elbows tucked in, elbows flared out a little felt more comfortable. Harder to squeeze lats too due to the angle.

I Rows: Not bad, didn't focus properly during the second set, hence the low reps. 3rd set was better.

PUPB: Push-up Position Prone Bridges, read about these on T-Nation, and supersetted these with the inverted rows. 60 seconds was hard! Not sure if they are harder or easier than normal prones. Will try regular ones next time to compare.

[groundskeeperwillie]

Nah, its placed on the floor above my head so I'm holding on to it as a counterweight, but really trying to not use it to help during the reps, but found myself pulling against it when the reps got tougher.

Aha, I see mate, ta. I don't use weights, I put the Oly bar on the lowest setting on the rack and then hold onto that if I need it. I have seen pictures of people doing RCs with a dumbbell clamped between their feet, but I don't think I want to try it, if you drop it whilst over head...!

gkw

[AD69]

Yeah! That's a sure way to a visit to A&E!

You could always get some of those weights that strap on to your ankles...

[AD69]

Apropos of nothing, I cracked up over the weekend. My 14 month son has developed a fascination with broomsticks recently, and picks up the one we have in the garden for sweeping leaves, etc. Now, it seems pretty normal that he would also try to sweep the patio with it, but can you imagine my reaction when he held it with both hands and started doing shoulder dislocations? I kid you not, he's got full ROM too! I must have done them in front of the twins 3-4 times, but Max has seen this and started copying me! Awesome.

Won't be long till I get him on Junior Stronglifts 5x5...

[groundskeeperwillie]

You could always get some of those weights that strap on to your ankles..

Got to be careful going into a weight shop and asking for a strap-on!!


gkw

[helm]

AD, not before lang and you can take the kids to the gym with you

[AD69]

As soon as they can get the 20kg plates on the bar for my deadlift I'll let them cut in!

[AD69]

@GKW: Steady...!

Wednesday 7th October

Another session at BGWLC:

Deads: 60kgx8, 80kgx8, 100kgx3, 120kgx1, 130kgx1, 140kgx1, 150kgx1, 160kgx0, 160kgx0, 155kgx0 PR

Raised deads: 100kgx6x1

Concentric GMS: 20kgx5, 40kgx3, 60kgx3x3

GHRs: BW 3/5/5

Reverse hypers: BW 3x10

Weighted situps: 5kg/5kg 3x8

Windmills: 10kg 3x5

My god, my back is wiped out today. Not sore or injured, just worked like hell. Tried a few max efforts on the deadlift. The jump from 150kg to 160kg was to far, and 155kg got off the ground, but nowhere near getting past knees! PR though, and last time they tested me at BGWLC, I was only around 132.5kg for a single. Think I could have got the 155kg if I'd not attempted 160kg.

Deloaded the bars and then added matting to the floor to do raised deadlifts. This makes the pull longer and engages legs more. Knocked out 6 singles, and was easy compared to 160kg!

Concentric GMs: This is where the bar is set on the pins and you get under the bar, do a GM and lower back to the pins. Again good assistance exercise for deads.

GHRs: Got 3 reps unassisted on the first set, and 2 assisted. The second and third sets done on my own, but I wasn't sure if the pull was initiated from the hams or the back, so not sure if they count or not.

Revers hypers: Effectively the opposite movement to GHRs. Done on the GHR station, but with legs hanging off at 90 degrees, and torso laying across the machine. Holding on to the end. Raise legs up so that you reach parallel. A bit like an exaggerated superman.

Finished with weighted ab work which was tough.

Completely knackering session, my back is so tired today, but not sore (or at least only DOMS). Will be interesting to see how workout tomorrow will be.

[AD69]

Could I just add that at 330lb on the deadlift, I am just 3lbs away from being classed as an intermediate according to Rippetoe/exrx.net! I'm sure I could add a couple of kilos to the bar next time.

[nburge]

Yikes! That's some heavy lifting man! I know all too well how heavy 150+ kgs is! Good on you for pulling it. Is there a reason why they want you to attack your max so early on in the training?

Get your nipper to come along and sit on the bar - he'll add those extra few pounds you need!

[bkklift]

Could I just add that at 330lb on the deadlift, I am just 3lbs away from being classed as an intermediate according to Rippetoe/exrx.net! I'm sure I could add a couple of kilos to the bar next time.

Making that 155kg deadlift you hit next time in the gym doubly satisfying

[AD69]

I think Martin wanted to see what I could do, and think that they test max efforts frequently, but also understand not to push it - he doesn't recommend training max efforts on deads very often, and thats why they work with GMs, bands, chains, etc to work on the components of the lift which slot into place when you go back to the normal version.

@bkklift, I'll have to give it a week or so to recover, but will attempt some cheeky singles just so I can get into the intermediate class! Funny thing is, I'm not even at novice for the squat!

[AD69]

Friday 9th October:

Squats: 45kgx5, 60kgx5, 75kgx3x5
Bench: 40kgx5, 60kgx5, 72.5kgx3x5 PR
Rows: 50kgx5, 52.5kg 5x5
Dips: 8/5/2

Squats: Felt much better than Monday. Made sure I took deep breath and filled up my stomach, filled the core and everything felt strong. First set was a bit unsure, but second and third were fine. Will increase weight next session. Getting confused over elbow position, one guy who was teaching cleans (and properly) said I should keep my elbows down more as keeping the elbows up pushes the weight up the back causing more forward lean. I've heard this a few times now, but RIp suggests keeping elbows up. Anyone got views on this? You can see my video a few pages back to see where my elbows are.

Bench: Yah! Read the Dave Tate article on benching on T-nation and it really helped. Think the main difference was ensuring feet were placed further back than I've been doing. Also making sure I keep the upper back pulled back and big chest. Could really feel upper back working to get the weight up. I also went with the elbow position that feels more natural for me, and just ensured I was pulling the bar apart on the way down. Worked well and got all 3 sets of 5 at this weight.

Rows: These were good, although tiring at the end. Used the 15kg plates, so the bar was a bit further away than normal. I like this exercise as it mimics the starting position of a deadlift, so you can work on a bit of flexibility.

Dips: Its been a while since I did these, pleased I got 5 reps on the second set, but was wiped out by the third.

Forgot to do core work, will make sure I do some prone bridges over the weekend.

2 PRs in less than 48 hours, I'm a happy bunny. Will celebrate with a guinness on the train home tonight!

[groundskeeperwillie]

Great work AD. Nothing beats the feeling of a good session with some PRs. I bet you've been wearing a shit eating grin all week!


gkw