2016 Log

Volume lower

103.4 I annoyed something on my left side/oblique-ish area yesterday with the vest walks. Kept me up at night a bit. Rubbed it out this morning and it seems to be quietening down a bit - sort of a cramp.


Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
Hypers: 1 x10-50kg.
QL raises; 1 x20 per side-15kg.
SSB squat; 1 x5-82kg.
Hanging leg raises; 1 x10-bw.


DL, cluster singles, || stance; 10-70. 5-120, 170. 3 x1-200. 10 x1-220. Paced myself to manage injury risk. These felt solid, albeit I always come into this session under recovered compared to Monday. The aim will be to progress to greater density of singles or maybe just doubles for a higher volume. Last week’s beltless work can be an aberration.


SSB squats, ATG paused, 3x10; 3-82. 3 x10-102. Dropped them load back as a starting point for this re-introducing this variation. Working on a slightly wider stance that still offers a good ROM below parallel.


Hypers, #6, 50 deg; 5 x10-90. Used SG for the last set and it provided me the ROM opportunity to flex the upper back on the eccentric/crunch down. I’ll stick with it for now.

Hanging leg raises; 5 x15-bw. Originally intended yesterday to do these weighted but didn’t want to risk pissing off the cramp after is resolved it.
Supersetted.


Belt squats, oly shoes, knees forward; 1 x10, 3 x20-115.


Pretty happy with this, although I may turn the paused squats into a low box, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about.

I think there’s 10-15mins in conditioning and efficiency of equipment setup to be found, which I’ll use for seal rows after belt squats. Landmine rows seem like too much time to be done single arm at a time in this space. Supersetting might be viable given a slightly higher fitness level and work capacity.


Daily walks
2 x30min
 
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Upper volume

102.9


Weighted neutral CG pull-ups; 1 x10-bw. 5 x15-bw+10kg.

3ct buffalo bench, thumbs to smooth; 1 x10-72. 5 x5-92. Humbling load drop but feels good.

Sit-ups, plate behind head; 1 x10-bw+20kg. 4 x6-bw+20kg. Focusing of rep quality and ROM, will build up to high quality 10 rep sets.
Giant set.


WG neutral pull-ups, fat gripz; 4 x10-bw. Had to re-grip a few times.

Buffalo Larsen press, pinkies to smooth; 3 x10, 1 x7+3-72kg. This closer grip always feels smooth and natural for the buffalo bar. Not sure why, but I’ll take it.
Supersetted.


Seated deadlift, box plus six mats; 1 x10-120. 4 x10-160. Finding the groove again on these. I think +2 mat height next time as it’s feeling mildly shrug-like without enough mid-lower back involvement yet.


Super WG pull-ups; 3 x10-bw. Inverted rows don’t happen on the buffalo bar apparently.
CG push-ups; 3 x15-bw. Going for speed and reps rather than pause and explosion out of the bottom.
Neck extensions, full thoracic ROM; 3 x25-25kg.
Giant set.


Really solid and efficient session, looking forward to this moving forward.

Daily walks
1 x20min
1 x30min

End of day
GPP neutral chin-ups; 5 x15-bw
 
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Weekend weaknesses

102.9

Daily walks
1 x30min 20kg vest
1 x30min


Upper GPP
Dips; 3 x-12-bw.
WG pull-ups; 3 x15-bw.
Sit-ups, plate behind head; 3 x15-bw+10kg.
Giant set.

Buffalo reverse curls; 3 x15-22. These hit a bit differently but I still undershot the weight by a few kgs.

Chin-ups; 10 x2 clusters. 3 x10.


Chin-ups and reverse curls seem to make the most sense and feel best. Dips probably work well too. And sit-ups being the most important here.

It gives me 4 back sessions per week not including Monday’s deadlifts. Sunday-Monday let me break for going a bit harder on Tuesday’s performance sets, or I can leave in the heavier seal rows on Monday, time permitting.
 
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Rest day


103.3 feeling elbow tenderness from overdoing it yesterday but it should come good today and tomorrow


Daily walks
1 x15min
High NEAT
 
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Max effort lower


104.4 I assume it can only be a salt thing from seafood but regardless it’s too high. The mirror isn’t showing any massive issues, not clothes, but further focus required. Feeling shit and oddly overheated/running hot today.


Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
SG hypers, 50deg, #6; 1 x10-60kg.
Buffalo squat; 1 x5-72.
Sit-ups; 1 x10-bw.


DL to max, || —> natural medium V-stance; 5-70, 120. 1 x170, 200, 220, 240, 250. 260 just didn’t want to budge. Might have been a confidence thing. Tried to limit the time I wasted on attempts.

Back offs; 6 x1-230. Practiced the leveraged slack pull again but with this wider stance and it didn’t bring much. Moved back to a close V and it popped off the floor like nobody’s business. Question asked and answered. Left some reps in the tank for time management purposes.


Buffalo squat to max; 1 x1-72, 122, 142, 162. The 163 was high and bad form all around. This slot feels wasted for the time investment and current goals, will move it to something that contributes more to general hypertrophy and is more efficient. Possibly a tempo squat or just a boring 3x5. Step ups are the other consideration, to keep the hips happier with close-V DL stance


Hypers 50 deg, #6; 5 x10-90. Not sure whether to push the erector ROM a bit or go for isometric.
Sit-ups, plate behind head; 5 x10-bw+20kg.
Supersetted.


Belt squats; 3 x20-120.
Seal rows; 1 x5-100. 2 x5-90.
Supersetted.


Daily walks
2 x15min
 
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Max effort upper

103.3 much better number and feeling better in general today. Upper body feels largely recovered from Saturday’s extra work though not quite 100%.

Weighted chin-ups; 1 x10-bw. 4 x5-bw+30kg.

Bench, index on rings; 1 x10-70. 1 x3-110. 1 x1-120, 130, 135. The 135 was a cm or so short but both the top singles were strong and with a slightly flatter back.
Back offs;

Hanging leg raises; 1 x10-bw. 4 x10-bw+5kg ankle. I’ve changed the technique slightly to be more crunch/reverse-squat esque, driving with knees more so than shins. Really therapeutic feeling post-lower day.
Giant set.


WG pull-ups; 3 x10-bw+5kg.
Dips; 3 x10-bw+5kg.
Supersetted.


Seated deadlifts, box+8 mats; 4 x10-170.
Band pressdowns; 2 x30-red band per hand.
Supersetted.


Reverse curls; 1 x10-32.
Band pressdowns; 1 x30-red band per hand.




Daily walks
1 x20min waddle walk 10kg
1 x30min
 
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No scale - work trip

Hotel gym, better than nothing.

Leg press, sled style; 1 x10-45, 115. 5 x10-170.

Leg extension; 4 x15-59.
Seated leg curl; 4 x15-39.
Supersetted. Having one of these combo-units at home for finisher/pump work would be cool.

Nothing like my usual stuff but enough to keep things ticking over.

Daily walks
2 x15min
1 x20min
2 x30min
 
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Upper volume


104.9 salt, carbs, plane flight. I just need to have a period of consistency now and whittle back down a bit. I’m very under-slept this week and my body feels like shit from bad nutrition for three days.

Weighted neutral CG pull-ups; 1 x10-bw. 5 x15-bw+10kg.
Hanging leg raises; 6 x10-bw+5kg ankles.
3ct buffalo bench, thumbs to smooth; 1 x10-72. 5 x5-92.
Giant set.


WG neutral pull-ups, fat gripz; 3 x10-bw. Had to do a fair bit of re-gripping. Probably due to residual elbow tenderness from last week.
Buffalo Larsen press, pinkies to smooth; 2 x10, 1 x7+3-72.
Supersetted. Will go to 4 sets when less fatigued next week.


Seated deadlifts, box+8 mats; 4 x10-170.
Band pressdowns; 2 x30- red band per hand.
Supersetted.


Cut short here.


Daily walks
1 x20min
1 x30min


Afternoon finish off
Chin-ups; 4 x10-bw
Overhead extensions; 3 x15-red band per hand.
Reverse buffalo curls; 2 x10-32.
 
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Max effort lower


103.5

Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
CB squat; 1 x10-70
QL raises; 1 x10-bw+15kg.
Sit-ups; 1 x10-bw.


DL to max; 5-70, 120. 1 x1-170, 200, 220, 240, 260. I thought for a moment during the lift that my lower back was about to give out, but it didn’t and was just like, ‘oh, cool’. Solid lift with good speed off the floor. 270 wasn’t in range but it will be soon enough.

Back off clustered singles; 6 x1-230. Had the gas for more but saving for the rest of the workout. The last few reps I focused on a concrete abdominal brace and ended up slack-pulling the weight off the ground. Encouraging to say the least.


CB squat to heavy triple; 3-70, 120, 150. A low-bar, wider stance, similar to what I did a long time ago on a straight bar. RIR2-3 or so. Felt like a good starting place.


RDLs, beltless; 3 x170-8. Using DL stance width but toes forward. The load felt right, will build up to 10 reps at RIR1-2, then increment.
Sit-ups, plate behind head; 3 x10-bw+20.
Supersetted.


Step-ups to box, no mats; 3 x12-bw+15kg per hand.

Seal rows, heavy; 3 x5-100. Maybe a tiny bit on the heavy side but that’s the goal for this day. Will see what happens this week and next. It was easier with elbows out compared to driving back and using lats.
Supersetted.

Standing QL raises/alternate toe-touches; 2 x10-15kg. Just something I thought of in the moment. They settled down the left side, which is still a bit sensitive generally and have zero setup beyond holding a plate. Something to remember.


Great session. Can save 5mins on setup perhaps but it’s pretty efficient.


Daily walks
2 x30min
 
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Max effort upper


103.5


Weighted chin-ups; 1 x10-bw. 1 x5-bw+30kg. 1 x3-bw+40kg. 3 x5-bw+30kg.

Bench, pinkies on rings; 1 x10-70. 1 x1-110, 120, 130. Butt came off the bench but otherwise had full ROM. Happy with the strength and technique for the press itself.
Back offs; 2 x5-105. Solid stuff today, can load bump next wave.

Sit-ups, plate behind head; 1 x10-bw. 5 x10-bw+20kg. I wanted to give my shoulders a break and these really hit the spot lately in the straight/long leg position.
Giant set.


Weighted WG neutral pull-ups; 3 x10-bw+5kg. Changed to neutral grip on account of shoulder comfort, particularly the right side. I hit the pronated position with seal rows on lower days as it is.
Weighted dips; 3 x10-bw+5kg.
Supersetted.


Seated deadlifts, box+6 mats; 3 x10-170.
Hook for the first two before the nail side of the thumb had a cut open up (non-lifting, non-callus related). Back to six mats, seems to be the right height when I setup correctly and doesn’t have exposure. This will be my hook builder over time.

On the third set, I had a tiny twitch/twinge over the lower left rib. A reminder to keep the grip wide for torso movement and not crack a rib ala 2013.


BB curls; 2 x15-30. Wanted to go heavier but my inner right elbow is very inflamed. Likely sue to last two week’s overuse and also from physical contact discomfort unrelated to lifting.
Banded pressdowns; 1 x30-red band per hand.
Reverse curls; 2 x15-30. No elbow issues with these at all.
Giant set.


Daily walks
1 x30min
1 x15min


End of day GPP
CG neutral pull-ups; 5 x15-bw.
 
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Lower volume

103.7 yay salt

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


DL singles; 5-70, 120. 1 x1-170, 200. 10 x1-220. Really solid slack pulling. I will soon work on making these into doubles, but there’s no hurry and I don’t want to jeopardise the rest of the workout by dedication too much time to hyper-volume on one exercise. Bar was continuing to consistently break on the slack pull, so I’m happy with that.


SSB low box squats, clustered doubles; 6 x2-82. This was very light, and a starting point. I need to be mindful to maintain lower back positioning, otherwise the focus of the load on hips and posterior chain was where I wanted it. Using as an accessory to Monday’s wider stance, and then belt squats and step-ups as quad hypertrophy work.


SG axle hypers, 50deg, #5; 5 x10-90. Not a true or purposeful SG, just a wider grip to give me the right ROM for an isometric lower back and sufficient depth on the movement.

Sit-ups, plate behind head, horizontal 1ct pause; 4 x10-bw+15kg.
Supersetted.


Belt squats, knees forward, full ROM; 3 x20-125.
Seal rows, gorilla grip; 3 x15-70.
Supersetted.


An effective workout model. Had to cut the sit-ups by a set, same for the belt squats-seal rows due to the family waking up early but was on track for an earlier-than-usual finish. I’ll repeat next week and add volume by increasing rep-per-set rather than more sets, for the moment at least.

Oly shoes for the belt squats maybe, but other than that there’s no real need to change anything. Weighted step-ups could fill in time at the end if/when I’m not cut short.


Daily walks
3 x15min waddle walk 25kg
 
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Upper volume


103.3


WG neutral pull-ups; 1 x10-bw. 5 x16-bw+10kg.

2ct pause buffalo bench, thumbs to smooth; 1 x10-74.5. 5 x5-94.5.

Sit-ups, plate behind head; 1 x10-bw. 5 x8-bw+20kg. Lots of movement pattern fatigue here. Next week I return to mixing it up with the hanging leg raises on upper days.
Giant set.


Pull-ups with concentric hold; 2 x9-bw. Wow, these hit differently. Pivoted to then after seeing Brian Alsruhe’s latest pull-up video. Oddly, the right elbow kind of felt ‘better’, afterwards.

Buffalo Larsen press, pinkies to smooth; 2 x10-72.
Supersetted.


Seated deadlifts, box+6 mats; 4 x10-170. Went with the versa’s. Too humid and too much grip fatigue for hook or overhand.

Band pressdowns; 4 x30-red band per hand.
Supersetted.


Barbell raises; 2 x15-20kg.
Reverse buffalo curls; 2 x10-32kg.
Neck extensions; 2 x25-25kg.
Giant set.



Daily walks
1 x60min

End of day
Neutral CG pull-ups; 5 x15-bw. 10min.
 
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Extra stuff day


103.8 I feel like I haven’t been keeping up my fluids for a while now, aiming to be better at it moving forward.

Morning
Chin-ups; 5 x10-bw 10mins.
Hanging leg raises, toes to bar; 4 x10-bw.




Daily walks
1 x20min
1 x45min
2hrs shopping
 
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Max effort lower


104.2 honestly thought I’d have an overnight drop, will just give it some time and focus on being more disciplined in his week. Fairly fatigued from a very full and active day yesterday.

Standing jumps; 1 x10-bw.
Sit-ups; 1 x10-bw.
SSB squats; 1 x5-82.
Hanging leg raises, toe-to-bar; 1 x10-bw.


DL to max; 1 x10-70. 1 x5-120. 1 x1-170, 200, 220, 245. Two really solid attempts at 270 but I just didn’t have the horse power today and it didn’t break. Didn’t waste time on it beyond that.

Back offs, clustered singles; 8 x1-230. These were pretty good albeit still under heavy fatigue. Reflecting back, I definitely had my hips too high for the slack pull on the primary heavy-singles. Need to drive that with shoulders and legs together.


SBB squat to max triple; 1 x3-82, 132. This wasn’t a max at all, but a solid starting point. Probably had another 10-15 there.


RDLs, beltless; 3 x5-180. Didn’t count the break or return. Decided to stay heavier on these.

Sit-ups, plate behind head; 3 x10-bw+20kg. Two small clicks or shifts on the first or second rep of the first set made my back feel a lot better. Probably a QL just rubbing something the wrong way that got sorted.
Supersetted.


Step-ups, high box; 4 x10-bw+10kg per hand. I’ll set the vest up in advance next time. Skipped it to avoid the screechy noise of locking in the cap.

Seal rows, heavy; 4 x6-100. Started with versa’s then ditched them. Probably felt better on the elbow without.
Supersetted.


Daily walks
2 x30min


End of day pump and ROM
Hindu squats; 3 x25-bw
Split squats; 3x10-bw
 
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