2016 Log

Max effort upper

101.5

V pull ups; 1 x10-bw. 5 x4-bw+40kg.

Banded abs, standing and seated mix; 3 x20. —>Hanging leg raises; 3 x20-bw. Couldn’t quite get the positioning where I wanted it with banded stuff. Lower days for weighted work, upper for volume will be the plan.

CG bench, index to knurling; 1 x10-70. 1 x3-100. 1-110, 115, 120. 115 was a massive improvement on last time. 120 had a stretch reflex but the left delt didn’t have a pause in it so I just took the bw-PR and got the rep.
Back offs; 1 x5-100.
Giant set.

WG neutral pull-ups, fat gripz; 2 x8-bw+15kg.
Front plate raises; 2 x10-20kg. Time to address that bench weakness and built up the anterior head.
Supersetted.

Band pressdowns; 2 x20-green band. Setting tension to RIR1-2.
Band hammer curls; 2 x20-green band. Setting tension to RIR1-2.
Zercher holds; 2 x30s-120kg. This feels like the right slot. Looking forward to some erector and middle trap gains. Doing them on ME lower day might be too much for my forearms re: ME upper to follow.
Giant set.


Daily walks
2 x30min

End of day
Pull-ups; 10 x10-bw. 15mins ish. Let’s see what degree this impacts the two volume workouts.
 
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Lower volume

101.5

Standing jumps, knees-high; 1 x10-bw.
Hanging leg raises; 1 x10-bw.
SSB squat; 1 x5-82.

DL, 4-5x10; 1 x20-70. 1 x10-120. 1 x10-170. 4 x10-180. This kicked my ass. Step one is getting rest periods down by way of improving conditioning. Having said that, it was amazing practice and am incredibly valuable session.

SSB squat; 3-4x8-10; 5-82. 3 x8-122. Trying to focus on balance and form today. Will work towards 10 reps next week.

SSB GM, 3x-8-10; 3 x8-132.
Hanging leg raises with ankle plate; 3 x10-bw+5kg.
Supersetted.

Bent over rows, versa’s, 2-4x12-20; 2 x15-120.
Wide belt squats; 2-4x15-20; 2 x20-75. Something clicked/cracked/popped in the right hip capsule during the first set and made things feel a lot better. Similar thing on the second set too.

I’m hoping that this total-body approach I’ve adopted will be the pathway towards an improved baseline with sufficient time.
Supersetted.

Axle bar hypers, #6, 45deg, 3x20; 3 x20-50kg. No versa’s, good work for the knee side of the hammies.


…and now I’m spent. Two hours of hard work. I feel great, I think I can shave 10-15minutes through better conditioning.


Daily walks
2 x30min
 
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Upper volume

101.2

V pull-ups; bw - 21, 17, 17, 17, 17. Evening GPP pull-ups are definitely doing positive things. Now to try it for nordics on lower days.
Ab wheel; 5 x10. Felt good, cuing myself to resist extension of the abs. More reps or maybe practice then standing.
3ct pause bench, index on rings; 5 x8-90. Bumped the load for practical purposes as 90kg is faster and more importantly, much quieter to transition by removing the 15s down to 60 than 87.5. Arch and setup was on point. Add reps next week.
Giant set.

WG neutral pull-ups, fat gripz; 3 x12-bw. Grip is improving here. Made it to 8 reps before Needing to readjust on the implement (which rotates slightly).
Upright rows; 3 x12-60.
Medium grip bench, pinkies on rings, feet up; 3 x20-60kg.
Giant set.

Neck extensions; 2 x30-25kg.
Plate raises; 2 x10-20kg.
Overhead band extensions; 2 x30-red band per hand.
Reverse curls; 2 x10-40kg.
Giant set.


This workout was fantastic. I’m really happy with the performance, explosiveness, volume and how much I can get done in 90-100mins. There’s a few minutes of setup-fuckarounditis to save on next week, but that’s a minor quibble at most.

One thing to experiment with is knees up pull-ups of some variety or another, as a way to get some free abs and hip flexor work in. Maybe with my weighted vest so the fail point for lats&arms can be equalised.


Daily walks
1 x30min

End of day;
Pull-ups; 9 x11-bw. 15mins
 
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Max effort lower

102.8 most of this is just glycogen and water of course, but I really have to stay the path and knuckle down on excess calories and maintain daily activity, keep fat gain at a minimum. Gut feeling a bit off after setting FODMAP considerations to the side but more or less ok.


Standing jumps, knees high; 1 x10-bw.
Hanging leg raise; 1 x10-bw.
CB squat; 1 x5-72.

DL max; 20-70. 10-120. 5-170. 3 x1-200. 3 x1-220. 1-230, 240, 250. Got the 250 with a pretty good slack pull, so happy with that. Hips a little lower, allowing a good hip-raise and subsequent glute drive without compromising lower back.
Back offs; decide to cut these out given the volume practice on Thursday’s, and see how I go.

CB squat max; 5-72. 3-122. 1-162, 172, 182. Haven’t hit this weight in a LONG time. Definitely a max for today, had a good bounce into the sticking point and ground it through.

Back offs, paused, beltless; 4 x3-132.
Bent over row, heavy; 4 x6-150. These are almost like a hybrid RDL-power row. Feeling it in upper back, and hamstrings, and enjoying it.
Supersetted.

Hanging leg raise, ankle weight; 2 x11-bw+5kg.
Step-ups with vest; 2 x11-bw+20kg.
Supersetted.


Daily walks
2 x30min
 
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Max effort upper

102.3 expected a slightly lower number given vowel movements yesterday but not stressed. Mirror indicates weight gain is the favourable kind.

Weighted V pullups; 1 x10-bw. 2 x4-bw+40kg. 6 x6-30kg. Bringing rows onto ME lower the day before had reduced peak strength ‘endurance’, so lowered back down to 30kg on the belt. I changed them to WG neutral as of the 2nd set at 30kg too.

Bench, index on rings; 1 x10-70. 3-100. 1-110, 120, 130, 135. 135 was a cm off the chest but still an improvement on technique and weight compared to last wave. 130 was good. Working on the bar path a lot right now to maximise leverage and automated consistency.
Back offs; 2 x4-110.

Ab work - tried lots of things. Not happy with any of them just yet.
Giant set.

Weighted CG neutral pull-ups, fat gripz; 3 x10-bw+15kg. These were a very welcome and pleasant surprise. Hit the lower lats and didn’t feel limited by arms for a change.
Plate raises; 3 x10-20kg.
Supersetted.

BB curls; 2 x15-30kg.
Band pressdowns; 2 x30-red band per hand.
Supersetted.


Some nice wins here and probably about time to switch up the ME day fat gripz work. Not sure if wide grip pairs well in a superset with bench though, will give it some time to see.

Need to find an ab exercise for today’s slot. Possibly the wheel or weighted planks, and just practice resisting extension.

I definitely need bigger arms for my bench. Not getting any useful compression there at all.


Daily walks
2 x30min


End of day
Pull-ups; 3 x20. Preferred the 10x10 style. Better activation of lats.
 
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Lower volume

102.0

Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
Hypers; 1 x20-bw.
Banded abs; 1 x20-green band.
SSB squat; 1 x5-82.

DL, 4-5x10; 20-70. 10-120. 5 x10-180. Hard. I need to remember to slightly widen my stance and keep knees behind the bar. The S.I. region felt a lot happier this way. Higher belt position too. Doing most of set 4 beltless helped me figure this out. 5x10 instead of 10x5 clusters will probably help me keep the weight jumps honest, it I think the latter will be much quicker and probably higher rep quality. Will think on it moving forward.

SSB squat, 3-4x8-10; 4 x8-122. Focus is on consistent and deep form, trying to go ATG/full depth. 10 reps wasn’t happening today after the deadlifts.

CB GM, 3x10; 3 x8-140. Getting back into the groove so went more for RIR3-4 than 1-2. Back to 10s next week. Tried a few different foot widths. Loosened the PAL lever position by one for the third set and it made a massive difference in terms of proprioreception.

Hanging leg raises, super strict, legs touching; 2 x20-bw.
Supersetted.

SG bent over rows, 2-4x15-20; 2 x15-120. Pivoted to SG as my elbows are feeling pain/tenderness from Tuesday’s evening pull-ups GPP - which I’ll be cutting out now.
Belt squats, wide, 2-4x15-20; 2 x20-80.
Supersetted.

SG Axle bar hypers, #6 50deg, 2-4x20; 2 x20-60.

EDIT; upon further reflection, 10x5 clustered seems a lot better for time management and load progression.


Daily walks
2 x30min

End of day
SG bent over rows; 4 x12-120.
 
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Volume upper

101.1


V pull-ups, versa’s, bw - 20, 20, 18, 17, 17. The final rep on each was a little ‘eh’, but good enough to count.

Ab wheel rollouts; 5 x10-bw. Still focusing on resisting extension and keeping abs locked/ribs down. These felt good but the locked triceps certainly impacted bench given the giant set structure. Will swap onto lower days and move hanging leg raises here, perhaps. The locked torso positioning probably helps more there anyway.

3ct bench, index on rings; 5 x8-90. I had a lot of trouble on setup today. Probably due to the extra rowing added in yesterday and fatigue in the upper back. Some of the reps were barely more than a 1ct. Just need to adapt and progress.
Giant set.


CG neutral pull-ups, fat gripz; 3 x11. Lower lat emphasis. 11 is a fat gripz PR for hanging with this implement.

Upright rows; 3 x12-60.

Larsen press, one set each per grip width; 3 x15-60kg.
Giant set.

Neck extensions; 1 x30-25kg.
Plate raises; 1 x10-20kg. Don’t love the feeling on lower back with these. Will find an alternative, possibly seated.
BB curls;
JM press; 1 x15-30kg.
Giant set.


Daily walks
1 x30min
1 x40min


End of day
Pull-ups; 9 x10-bw. 15mins. Just really tired today. Back to 10 sets next week.
10 x5-bw.
 
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Rest day

102.2 solid refeed last night


Daily walks
3 x30min
High NEAT

Overdid the food slightly but wouldn’t have been by that much given the super compensation for glycogen. Will ease off a bit tomorrow to make up for it.
 
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Max lower

102.0 very tired and under slept over the last three days and nights. Legs feel willing but the drive is slow this morning.

Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
Sit-ups; 1 x10-bw.
SSB squat; 1 x5-82.


DL singles to max, leveraged slack pull; 10-70. 5-120, 170, 200. 1-220, 230, 240, 250. 250 was anchored not leveraged and felt a lot stronger than last week. I guess once more it’s time wave the white flag and go back to that style :D

Back-off clustered singles; 6 x1-220. All anchored. Called it there to leave something in the tank for squats.

SSB squat singles to max; 5-82. 3-132. 1-162. Stronger and better rep set than last wave. Good positioning, balance and bounce from the bottom. Didn’t feel like RPE 10 at 172 was a good idea but suspect it was there.

Deadlift rows, wide/SG grip, 3 x5-170. Probably 10kg heavier than it should’ve been but WTF, there’s some value in maintaining torso angle. It’s basically a halting-deadlift with upper back fun at the top. I’m a little bit weak on the row for being out of practice over the last few months. I should also just find a place for snatch grip deadlifts. They seem to work really well positionally for leg drive development, so far as my anthropometry goes.

SSB pause squat, beltless; 3 x3-132.
Supersetted.

Sit-ups with vest, straight legs; 1 x10-bw+20kg. Primarily a hip flexor movement with maintaining tension through the abs.
Step ups with vest; 1 x10-20kg.
Supersetted.

Cut short by a set but good workout overall.


Daily walks
1 x40min
1 x30min
 
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Max upper

101.9 feeling a bit dehydrated but otherwise recovered from yesterday


Weighted V pull-ups; 1 x10-bw. 6 x4-bw+40kg. Decided to push on through with two plates now that I’m using a wider grip for SG rows on Monday.

Hanging leg raises, super strict with hold; 3 x10-bw. —> banded abs; 2 x20-green band. The raises felt a bit off/uncomfortable on my hip/SI, the band felt good.

Medium grip bench, pinkies on rings; 1 x10-70. 5-100. 1-120, 125. I need a lot more delts and triceps.

Back-offs; 3 x4-105. Still finding my groove a bit. There’s a LOT of upper back compression-bounce available here once I get the bar path to a more consistent place.

Doing the back offs with a flatter back and using leg drive for a bit of controlled bounce/push felt very strong.
Giant set.


Weighted CG neutral grip pull-ups, fat gripz; 3 x6-bw+20kg.
Seated plate raises; 3 x10-15kg.
Supersetted.

Band pressdowns; 2 x30-red band per hand.



Daily walks
3 x30min
 
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Volume lower

102.9 pretty sure most of the overnight gain is from a very salty dinner, but will keep an eye on it. I definitely need to tighten up a bit more on the extra calories here and there.

Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
Hanging leg raises; 1 x10-bw.
SSB squats; 1 x5-82.


DL, clustered volume; 10-70. 5-120, 170. 10 x3-200. Did my most natural stance&positioning and aimed to be as explosive as possible. The high volume approach has smashed recovery to where I have minimal margin to work with. Going to go for clusters on the big two and volume on the rest.

SSB squats, clustered volume; 8 x3-132.

CB GM, slightly wide stance, 3x10; 3 x10-140.
Hanging leg raises; 3 x20-bw. Focusing on the abs and crunching here. Feels better on my S.I. And I want the hypertrophy and conditioning stimulus there.
Supersetted.

SG bent over rows; 3 x12-120. Focusing on getting a deeper torso position and ROM for the moment.

Belt squats, natural stance, #8 chain loop; 3 x20-100kg. Quad pump off the scale.
Supersetted.

Axle bar hypers, 50deg #5; 3 x10-80. Time to load these back up and get strong again.

Really solid and happy with it all. 20mins of setup and fuckarounditis time I can save, now that I have it figured out.


Pre-lunch
Hanging leg raises; 2 x20-bw.
QR raises; 2 x10 per side-bw.


Daily walks
1 x30min
 
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Upper volume

102.1

V pull-ups, 6 sets; bw - 20, 20, 20, 20, 17, 17.

3ct bench, index on rings, 3 sets; 3 x9-90.
3ct bench, pinkies on rings, 3 sets; 1 x8, 6+2, 5+3 -90. I’ll drop to 80 next week. I did the last cluster/rest pause as Larsen/legs on bench, felt like it helped with bar path and keeping the load on pecs rather than triceps, so may continue that next week.

Sit-ups, straight leg; 6 x10-bw. Mainly hip flexor for the dynamic, using abs isometrically to practice maintaining torso positioning.
Giant set.


Neutral grip chin-ups, fat gripz; 2 x11-bw. A bit spent after the sets above. GPP rep work tonight.

Upright rows; 2 x12-60. Feels like a wasted slot now that I’m doing SG rowing on lower days. Something more delt focused perhaps.

CG push-ups, triceps focus; 2 x15-bw. Easy setup and felt alright. Once I’m back in the groove, reps should approach 25-30.
Giant set.


Neck extensions; 2 x35-25kg.
Seated plate raises; 2 x12-15kg.
Barbell curls; 2 x15-30kg.
Band pressdowns; 2 x30-red band per hand.
Giant set.

I think I may cut out the second giant set and do a smash of accessory exercises. More sets to bring up arms and delts, which is absolutely where I’m lacking for bench. Dips could be useful if I can find a ROM that the shoulder joints will accept.

Upright rows and the fat gripz work don’t feel that useful right now. Z press with the axle could be fun to try.

Daily walks
3 x30min


End of day
Pull-ups; 10 x10-bw. Now to make them better reps.
Band pressdowns; 7 x20-red band per hand
Supersetted.
 
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Rest day

Scale batteries died and CBF’d finding new ones this early. I’ll check where things are at tomorrow.

Daily walks
1 x30min
1 x45min
 
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