Caphel's Training Log

[Caphel]

A pretty good workout again. I even did my reverse crunches this time.

18/11/2009
Squat – 3x5 at 115kg / 254lbs
Bench – 4,4,3 at 72.5kg / 160lbs
Hang Cleans 5x3 at 57.5kg / 127lbs

Push-ups – close grip – 8,6,5

Reverse Crunch – 3x12 with 10kg counterweight.


The squat went well. I am going to try and film a set on Saturday to check my form. It is too dark in the evenings to film so I will do a workout on Saturday afternoon.

The bench was tough. The weight was going nowhere on the last rep of each set. I am hopeful of getting this weight in the next few attempts.

The hang cleans are starting to get a little heavy as well. Still a very enjoyable exercise though. Again, my traps are quite sore.

The push-ups were so so. Will keep on going with these.

For the first time in ages I did the reverse crunches. While they were quite doable they were quite sore to do due to my extra belly fat. I might swap these out with some other exercise, possibly ab-wheel roll-outs. Just need an ab-wheel first.

[seadog]

This is a really tough call unless you really need to get it under control. Beyond the 8 rules it is a little like yo-yo dieting unless the gain is more than a couple inches around the waist. The yo-yo happens because you need calories to progress but need to limit calories to lose the girth. Chasing two different goals can lead to a lack of success. If you stick to the 8 rules which won't be easy at first or for the long haul you ought to be able to keep the girth in check or get back to a number where you comfortable. Lifestyle changes are always tough and so are appearance changes. You can make them incrementally or go cold turkey but either way commitment is the tough part. I suggest some cardio on the same days you work out. This would have a fat burning effect and while it will inhibit modestly your ability to make strength gains quickly, it would be consistent with your desire to get fit and would be beneficial to your effort. Make sure you get enough protean for muscle growth and watch recovery. You do not have to eat more than you need to grow especially simple carbs. While you need carbs for energy and brain functions they are easily stored when in excess and can cause healthy fats to be stored as well. You might want to read Tom Venuto's burn the fat feed the muscle or Lyle Mcdonalds' forum for more info.

[Caphel]

Yeah, I am planning to add some cardio in when I start my next cycle. I am going to finish off the next four weeks pretty much how I am doing it now, just with a better attitude to the food I eat.

My food choices have not been appalling, my base diet was quite good, it was the added sweets, chocolate and crisps etc on top of it that was the problem. I will just cut those out for the next four weeks and try and keep eating enough to get stronger.


By the way, the link to your log in your signature is not working.

[seadog]

I must be computer challenged because I can not seem to get it to work

[Caphel]

Well I missed my first workout since starting back in July. I was planning to workout on Saturday instead of Friday but then could not as it was a really busy day on Saturday.

On top of that, Monday’s workout was not a good one either. I have been feeling a little sick the last few days and after the second set of squats I was feeling dizzy and felt like I was going to throw up. I pushed on regardless, but there was just no strength there.

23/11/2009
Squat – 5,5,2 at 117.5kg / 259lbs
Bench – 4,4,2 at 72.5kg / 160lbs
Hang Cleans 3,3,3,3 at 60kg / 132lbs

Push-ups – close grip – skipped

Reverse Crunch – skipped


The squat was good until the last set where I was feeling dizzy and sick. I got two reps done and then there was just nothing. Will put this one down to feeling a bit sick.

The bench was heavy as well. Pretty pleased with the bench considering how poor I was feeling.

The hang cleans were really hard. There was just not a lot of strength there today.

I skipped the push-ups as I was feeling pretty rough by this point. I also skipped the reverse crunches.

I skipped the reverse crunches as I bought an ab-wheel on Sunday. I gave it a quick go on Sunday, only 3 or 4 reps with my knees on the floor, and my abs have been real sore since. I will replace the reverse crunches with ab-wheel roll outs and keep the planks for now.

[seadog]

So you are a tough guy who can work out even when under the weather. I hope the result was that your effort killed the bug!

[Caphel]

Sadly no. I am still feeling pretty bad today. Felling quite sick and am having headaches on and off. Hopefully will get better in the next few days.

[FiveByFive]

sounds rough caphel, no surprise the workouts weren't feeling great with the illness. Get well.

[Owehn]

Get well soon, Caphel. I hope it isn't too serious, and that you'll soon be back on your feet (and under the bar).

[Caphel]

Well I was sick for quite a while which has thrown off my workouts somewhat. I skipped the workout on 25/11, and then did a lighter one on 27/11.

I was back at it on Monday this week but I was not feeling 100%. I felt quite sick after the squats.

30/11/2009
Squat – 4,5,5 at 110kg / 243lbs
Press – 3x5 at 50kg / 110lbs
Deadlift – 1x5 at 140kg / 309lbs

Chin-ups – 3,3,2

Prone Bridges 3x30 seconds.


The first set of squats felt the worst. I seem to be making a habit of getting stuck at the bottom, it is something I need to work on. I will stick to 110kg and work my way back up as these felt really heavy after my illness. I know I keep saying this as well, but I must video a set and check the form. The problem with this is it is too dark where I train for my camera to work in the evening, so this will have to wait until I am off work in a week and a half.

The press went better and I was mostly pleased with the press. I think I will be able to push through to 55kg / 121lbs which would be nice.

The deadlift was heavy but went ok. I am lacking money at the moment and I only have 145kg worth of plates. I might need to lower the weight and do more reps for a month or two.

The chin-ups were a little disappointing, I will keep these up, but I am not hoping for much progress until I start to get me weight back down a little.

Back to the prone bridges for the first time in ages. They went ok but my abs were still a little sore from my first play with my ab wheel.


All in all I was pretty happy all things considered. I am a little frustrated with the set back, mainly as I have recently had to de-load on the squat anyway. It means I will not be able to hit my goals in this 12 week chunk of training and they will have to wait until the next 12 weeks start just after Christmas.

[Caphel]

A much better session last night, though I was still not feeling 100% and felt quite sick after the first set of squats again. Hopefully I will be back to 100% next week.

02/12/2009
Squat – 3x5 at 110kg / 243lbs
Bench – 3x5 at 70kg / 154lbs
Hang Cleans 5x3 at 60kg / 132lbs

Push-ups – close grip – 8,7,6

Ab-Wheel. My shoulder did not seem to like these today so only did a few and not very far out.


The squat was feeling much better than the last few times. Will carry on adding weight again now.

The bench was heavy but went ok. The last rep of the last set was a real grind.

The hang cleans felt much better than the last time. They do not nearly feel as heavy as last time.


All in all I am pretty happy to be back on track again. It looks like I am finally getting my strength back after this damn illness.

[FiveByFive]

why the close grip pushups? i'm doing them now as well b/c of my shoulder. find them challenging though.
I'm battling a cold myself, hopefully it won't affect my workout today.

[Caphel]

That is not good, hope your cold clears up soon. I tried dips for a while but my shoulder does not really like them. I have decided to do close grip pushups untill I can do 10 and then move in even closer until I am doing diamond pushups.

[Caphel]

Well it has been a while since I have posted on my log. I have not had all of this time off, but I have been off the weights for nearly two weeks. I do not really remember the sessions that I have not posted but they pretty much just followed on from the last ones.

During my break I have not been completely inactive. I have had to help push a car up a hill in the snow, I have also been lifting lots of pallets and hay for my wife. It was nice to put some strength to good use.

I hit the weights up again last night and it was a pretty good session. I started back quite light on the squat as the last time I had a break I could barley walk the next few days.

04/01/2010
Squat – 3x5 at 90kg / 198lbs
Bench – 3x5 at 60kg / 132lbs
Hang Cleans 5x3 at 50kg / 110lbs

Push-ups – close grip – 7,6

The squat felt pretty good actually. I think the form felt good and the bar did not feel very heavy. Most importantly I am not too sore today. A little sore but ok.

The bench was a little harder than I thought it was going to be, but then it is not nearly as big a de-load as the squat. I can certainly feel the soreness from the bench today.

The hang cleans felt light, they went very well. Form again felt pretty solid on these.

The push-ups were so so. I only did two sets to see where I was on the numbers as I was trying to take it a little easy and not get too sore.


Overall I am pretty darn pleased with my return to the iron. I do not think I have lost too much strength in the last week or two. I have however managed to put on plenty of new fat during the Christmas break. My plan at the moment then is to carry on with stronglifts while trying to cut some fat.

I am going to jump the squat to 95kg for Wednesday and then to 97.5 on Friday. I will then start Monday at 100kg and build back from there.

Diet wise I am going to clean my diet up a lot. I have been really slack the last month or more. I am also going to start Eat Stop Eat and give that a go for the next 12 weeks.

I think I have learnt my lesson from all of this. I do not wish to put on all of this excess fat again. I am going to cut it all off and then I will eat enough to do a slow clean bulk.

[Caphel]

Well last week did not go quite as planned. I did manage a second session last week but then life took over and I could not fit the third session in.

I am back at it this week and I have also cleaned up my diet and started eat stop eat. I did my first fast yesterday and it went well. I will try and keep a weekly log of my weight on the spreadsheet I use to track my progress.

11/01/2010
Squat – 3x5 at 100kg / 220lbs
Bench – 3x5 at 62.5kg / 138lbs
Hang Cleans 5x3 at 52.5kg / 116lbs

Push-ups – 10,7,7


The squat went well again today. Strangely the weight was heaviest while unracking it. Other than that it all went well and I was pretty pleased with the form.

The bench went fine. It felt lighter than last time which is nice.

The hang cleans went fairly well and I was quite pleased with these.

Oddly the thing I was dreading the most was the push-ups. I went ahead and did them but I was not really pushing myself 100%. I need to work on my focus when it comes to the things I do not like to do as much.