Wednesday - Chest with Danny and Andy

Had the first three days of the week off again due to the flu. Started with a bit of max effort flat bench just to see how I was going considering everything. My top sets were well down, but can't say I didnt expect it. Not eating as well as I'd like and being under the weather dont combine well with benching.
60 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 5 130 x 2, 120 x 5, 100 x 9

Crazy Bells. These are still going up alright, although I've jumped in weight each week.
92 x 10, 112 x 6, 102 x 10 x 2

Incline press. Jumped too high on these. Still treating it like I did when it was first on the list and getting hammered with 100kgs as a result...dumbass
60 x 12, 80 x 10, 100 x 3, 90 x 8, 90 x 7

Seat Press Mach with Bands
40 x 12, 60 x 12, x 2, 10 x 2

Incline Flyes
17.5 x 10, 20 x 10, 25 x 8, 20 x 8

Friday - Legs/Saturday - Core

Friday I trained quads with mike. I've been slack on the legs of late so this was a good wake up. My back was still dore though and a couple of times in the hi bar squats it hurt pretty bad. Got through it ok though.

Leg Ext
10bls x 12
20lbs x 16
30lbs x 15
40lbs x 15 x 3 I think. I like starting on these but I dont keep track very well.

Hi bar narrow squats
60 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 7, 120 x 10, 100 x 10

1 leg legpress
These were just way too sore for me to handle so I quit after the second set. I like them though.  I know that people sing about going all the way down on these but with a heavy load and short range, it puts a good amount of stress directly on the glute and around the knee. Mike mentioned something about this as well and he's got bigger quads then most peoples backs.

Standing Calfs
Did these for the sake of it really. 10 sets with about 60kgs.

Saturday was just a core day. I only did 2 sets of each exercise so that I wouldnt fall into any crap form. High volume core work using the same movements in a single session is worthless in my opinion.
Barbell Pikes 20kgs x 20 x 2
straight leg lumbar rolls 20 x 2
reverse bench crunches 20 x 2
back extensions 12 x 2
high hanging leg raises
roll outs 10 x 2
Very short rests on all of these. Very bloody sore the following day, especially in the lower abs, which is what I'm after.

Wed - Chest with Andy

Mixed up week training wise but back into stuff that I can do today.

Crazy Bells
worked up to 107 x 9 x 2 - did plenty of sets around the 12 - 10 rep mark

Incline Bench
Felt good on this today so had a crack at bettering my PB with 100kgs (7) but even though I felt like I had plenty in the tank I only managed 3. Was scratching my head until Andy reminded me that I was doing them first (not after crazy bells) when I set that PB...
60 x 10, 80 x 10, 100 x 3, 80 x 10 x 2

incline Flyes
17.5 x 10, 20 x 10 x 3

Mach Press with bands
Kept these short rom to load up the chest. struggled a bit later in each set with my sore back.
40 x 12, 60 x 10 x 3

Friday - Arms with Andy

Did the usual stuff for arms to start with then added a superset followed by some very high rep sets all for tris

Close Grip - worked up to 120 for 5. These are stale now. Close grip floor press next week.
Speed work - stayed light between 55 and 60. Weight was probably a bit light but I'm still nursing a sore elbow. I noticed when my form was good - good groove, tight arms and lats, that there was very little pressure on my elbow. One of those things that I can do fast until I can do it well. Still helping my bench no end though.

Ohead Ext Supersetted with push downs
Worked up to 45s for 10 on ext and started at 200 for the push downs (roughly 3 sets at that weight then right down to 150 to keep the reps good)

Right after this jumped into some light overhead cable extensions with a weight of about 34kgs for 4 sets of around 25 reps. Made me sore as fark the next few days.

Bi's just did more medusa curls. 5 sets and finished on single arm reps once I reached forced reps with 2. Kept the bi work minimal this week because there was a lot of it in my back session on wed.

Have to make seom big changes as my back is completely fucked now. Hurt it fixing a sliding door. Starting from scratch with the squat and deadlift again. Once the pain is gone I'll be doing very light sets, with each of those sessions based around core training, and high rep (light weight) sets to build integrity from scratch - back to begginnerville for me.

Luckily my bench is fine so I will specialize in that for all of next year. Maybe some strongman at the end of the year, but I'll be picky as about how I hit my back. More work in the mornings, and back to hitting the bag. Too much sitting, so I'll be amking adjustments there. Injuries can be good things if used productively.

Thurs - Shoulders with Andy

Still not back to the usual routine yet. But MIke and Craig changed quads to friday which sounds like a good plan, so might follow suit and move shoulders to thursday anyway.

Behind Head Seated Shoulder Press
40 x 12 x 2, 60 x 10, 9, 7 - still not back to where I was with these to start with but getting there.
Seated Dumbell Press - decided to do these to get away from all the barbell pressing.
20 x 12, 22.5 x 12, 25 x 10, 30 x 10
Rear Delt Flyes supersetted with face pulls
12.5 x 10, 15 x 10 x 2, 12.5 x 10
54 x 12 x 4
Cable Lateral Raises
12 x 10 x 4

Wednesday Back Training with MIke

Chin Ups,
13, 9, Pronated grip: 8, 8
Didnt squeeze with my back properly on these (i felt) just not concentrating properly.

Bent Over Rows
60 x 10 (with pause), 100 x 10 x 2 (pause), 140 x 10 x 2 (no pause)

Close grip pull downs
160 x 10, 170 x 10, 180 x 10, 190 x 10

T-Bar Rows
100 x 10, 140 x 10, 140 x 10

Flagged the face pulls but wont do that next time. I think there are too many downward verticle pulls in my back sessions, want to do more upward and horizontal, like low face pulls, dumbell rows, and so on to hit my upperback more directly. Bent over rows are good but I still feel them very low. Might try some underhand grip. I think I can incorporate this movement into my shoulder day.

Back Online

Finally back to normal training this week after having another low key week before the esbb 3 lift. Only benched due to back feeling weak though. Managed to get 142.5 which felt good, but cocked up any real chance at 147.5 with a shitty set up.

Got back into training this week with a chest session which was supposed to be a lower back day. did carzy bells first as a new exercise.
Crazy Bell Bench Press
92 x 10 x 2, 97 x 10 x 2, 92 x 10
Incline Bp
60 x 10, 70 x 10, 90x 3, 80 x 4, 70 x 10, 70 x 10
These were real tough after the crazy bells. Was no where near lifting 100 for a single let alone going for 8 (a new PB) with it.
Mach Press with Bands superset incline flyes
40 x 10, 17.5 x 10,
40 x 9, 17.5 x 6
40 x 6, 17.5 x 4
These were just so much harder after the crazy bells. Also had my daughter wth me so had to hurry a bit.

Best of South then shoulder training

Had best of the south today. opened on 130kg - got a "replace the bar" call for me feet but managed it fine. Lots of nerves but ok. 140kg on second attempt felt really good. had crack at 150kgs on 3rd. Thought I had it coming down but barely got it moving off the chest.

Speed work is helping me a lot. Even without the bands, still thinking to "beat the bar" has really helped me.

Headed back to CHCh and jumped into some shoulder training.
Bhind neck Seated press
40 x 10 x 2
60 x 10 x 8
50 x 10

Front Seated Press
50 x 10
60 x 8 x 7
50 x 13
50 x 9

Seated Dbell Raises W Facepulls
15kg x 10 w 54 x 12
17.5 x 10 w 66 x 12
17.5 x 12 w 66 x 12
15 x 10 w 60 x 12
15 x 10 w 60 x 12

Farken hot today and lost a lot of fluid sweating while spotting and training. Felt ti kicking in on some of the presses, but came right once we changed exercises. Probably squat and deadlift a bit tomorrow depending on how the body is feeling. Maybe arms and some speed on Mon/Tues with some posterior chain early in the week too. will fit in a back session last in the week as I seem to recover easily from this.

Will go light on squats and deads and look to get 145 in the bench. After the comp I'll be back into training with some light weights early the following week to help get the recovery happening. I hate not training the week after a comp. I used to think I couldnt get strong in that time, but I dont think that anymore, I just cant train the same as usual. Dont plan to get too taxed on the sqt and Dl anyway (these are really just notes to self at the moment).

Monday bench with Kaz

Used today as a gauge for my opener at the best of the south. Was plenty tired from not enough sleep so put almost no effort into getting very tight. Was conscious of my speed by without tightness it wasn't very effective. Just worked up to 130 and purposely plonked it on my chest and left it there for a good 3 seconds before pressing. I'm trying to factor in the possiblity that the head ref will forget the press call (seriously). The weight was fine so I left it at that. Tried to do a bit of incline but shoulders and energy levels said no. This week is a bit of a deload so it could look like anything. Main thing is really my weight as I'm very close to 100kgs at the moment. A few walks, lots of water and plenty of green will help in that department although I'm really not too worried.

Thurs - Legs with Kazmir

Bit of a change up today.
Safety bar squats close stance (had bar backwards, but I like that for quads)
60 x 12 x 2, 80 x 10 x 2, 100 x 6 - felt like rubbish so quit early, 80 x 12, 60 x 12
Sbar Hi Box squats
100 x 10, 100 x 16, 100 x 20 - these are for quads but once i get tired its all glute ham
Leg Press
80 x 10 x 2, 120 x 10 x 2, 160 x 10 x 2
Starting to get a wee bit of condfidence back. The squats felt alright. With a gradual approach I should be able to get it strong again. Sitting on my arse all day trying to build a business from home hasn't helped. Will start kneeling and looking for alternatives to sitting. I can do a lot of my work with pen and paper standing up anyway.

Arms and speed bench tomorrow. I'm starting to think that I should work on my speed for my deads and squats. I might be able to drag some of the heavier weights back a bit closer and spend less time with my back under pressure through each rep.

Wednesday Back with mike and Craig

Super team was back for a quick get together this evening. Mike and I started with chin ups. Craig said his elbows hurt if he did them but they were probably the safest elbows in the gym since he cant reach the bar anyway : )
12, 9, 9, 8 - improved on last week.

Bent Over Rows
60 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 10, 130 x 10, 120 x 10

Tried to do close grip pull downs sitting on the floor. fucken waste of time. Mikes the right size to sit on the floor, and Craigs the right height to sit on the bench. Me, I just get in the way. I did Dumbell rows instead.
50 x 12, 54 (1 chain) x 12, 65 x 12 x 3

That was enough for this week. I'm going to cut back here and there a bit over the next few weeks as I'm feeling the benefits of being able to freshen up. Having said that, tomorrow is legs and i aim to do a very tough session. Short rests, lots of sets. Squats, hi box, leg press and maybe some pistols.......

Update

I've been slack up dating this log of late because I'm using a note book during my training sessions now. Its more accurate but I don't jump online straight away like I used to. Another downside is that during each session its hard to make notes about how I feel, what my form, or tightness was like etc. I'm forgetting all that by not updating this blog each day, so i'll make an effort from now on. This log is really to help me remember and play out each session in my head again. I didnt realize how helpful it had been until I'd slacked off. Anyway...

Friday Arms with Kaz (following on from last post)
This was our second session with speed work. We started half an hour earlier so we could do it properly and still fit in everything else. (no numbers here as the note book is in the van)

Close Grip got a PR with 110 x 8

Speed bench was with 55 then worked up to 60-65 once it was coming in under 2.4 seconds

Palms In Seated French Press - found a rusty old bar that only took the small holed plates. Was more awkward then I expected but I'll be doing it again next week. felt better on the wrists. Worked through 5 sets with about 30-40lbs

Push downs
Just the usual. 200 for multiple sets of 10-12

Band Push Downs
Blue band just to fininsh 3 x 15-20 reps

Biceps
Used cable handles with chains as resisitance (no cables or weights, just chains). Ended up with 4 chains staggered up from the floor. At the top there was about 3 link, lengths off the floor. Loved this exercise and ended up doing 10 sets (nothing else for biceps). I've had a pretty viscious pain running up my arm when I barbell curl but I had no problems at all with these. I rate this exercise and will be doing a lot of it. My arms were still tight and tender on Tuesday (yesterday).

Ssaturday shoulders
This was nearly a write off. Was very tired and had fuckall in the tank. Seated presses were very heavy so split the session up with a coffee break and did some flyes and cable raises with face pulls. Suspected a rest would be in order

Monday hamstrings
Very late session(7.45pm) due to Aaliyah and her chicken pox (looks like a little zombie toddler).
Rev hypers - 15 x 12, 35 x 12 x 4

Deadlifts - my confidence is fucked with these. Until my back comes right Im only doing sets of 5 or less with these. I'm not afraid of the weight, just the weak reps. Got 200 ok, but 230 didnt budge a fucken inch. My back got really tight with these. looking to do more and more each week as first exercise.

Canterbury Stones
80kgs x 2 (straight lifts - no barrel), x 5, x4, x 3
I love these things. They are more of a full body exercise, but I can feel my confidence coming back for deadlifting by playing with these. Plus they're addictive as hell.
GHR mostly with bands. great exercise as always.
No farmers walks today as it was so late and only a short rest until chest in the morning.

Tuesday Chest.
Not too much different from last week.
incline - 60 x 10 x 3, 80 x 10, 90 x 10, 100 x 7, 90 x10. Smoked these this week. Very happy.

Decline - after the inclines i was feeling like I'd nail these. Didnt happen. Held back on the top sets and just did enough to progress a bit on last week without the big sets.
60 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 6, 130 x 40, 110 x 8. Should have made smaller jumps instead of trying to be ed coan.

Incline Flyes. new exercise. flyes with a slight incline. kept bottom of Dbells in slightly which made the stretch more intense. I can go deep on these so dont use too much weight> i enjoyed these. As a deload I'll be using more dbell exercises in weeks to come.
15 x 10, 17.5 x10, 20 x 10, 20 x 10, 17.5 x 10

Seated Mach Press with bands. Did these closer to lock out this week. This made them A LOT harder. I want to start full ROM pressing getting close to the best of the south.
40 x 10, 60 x 10, 60 x 10, 60 x 9, 40 x 8

Tuesday Chest with Kaz & Henry

Few changes today. Put declines in on second exercise but went too heavy for too many reps before I found my groove, so now my elbow hurts. Next week i think I'll cut a set from each of the later exercises because of the speed work and tricep pressing I'm doing. A lot of bench press volume boardering on trash sets in some places...plus I'm getting old!

Incline
60 x 10 x 2
80 x 10
90 x 10
100 x 6
90 x 8

Decline
60 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 10
130 x 5

Dips (last week)
BW x 12, 15kgs x 12, 20kgs x 10 - enough of these for the time being. Good exercise but time for a change.

Seated Mach press with bands
This was great. Used green bands choked on second plate rack, plus weight. didnt go heavy but this is a great finisher as the tension is so constant there's no need for extra weight.
40 x 16
60 x 12 x 4

Good session but my elbows beaten up. Will do speed bench this week but might have to keep all the tricep/shoulder work to exercises with less pressing and hard angles

Monday - Posterior Chain with Henry and Kaz

Back still feels niggly. I'm fucken sick of this, but I put it down to sitting in front of a computer for too long. Will makes some serious changes.

Rev Hyper - warmed up on these and feel like the whole session was better as a results. Didnt do my usual hip/back warm up but felt better for it. I wonder if it wasn't as helpful as I first thought, especially now my back is tighter to begin with each session.
20 x 10 x 3, 40 x 12 x 3

Deadlifts
60 x 10, 100 x 10, 140 x 10 - sumo, 180 x 4 - ended up leaving a couple in the tank on this one, felt ugly but not from lack of strength. need to get my confidence back with DLs. 140 x 10 Wore a belt from 140 for all these sets

GC Bar Goodmornings
60 x 10 x 3, 80 x 10 x 2 - will stick with this one for a while. i find it helps a lot and I dont need too much weight.

Farmers Walks - 2 mins 4 lengths. this isn't about distance, but for how long i can keep the handles off the ground. rough way to do it but its fun and hard

GHR
10, 10, 12, 10, 6

Much better training with company.

Saturday Shoulders with Kaz

Behind the head seated barbell press
40 x 12 x 2, 60 x 12, 10, 10,
Front Seated Press
40 x 12, 50 x 10, 60 x 10, 9, 8

Seated Dbell Raises with face pulls
12.5 x 10 + 30 x 10
15 x 10 x 4 + 54 x 10 x 2, 66 x 10, 54 x 10

Band Pull Aparts
Blue x 10 x 6

Friday Arms with Henry and Kaz + Thurs legs w H and K

Thursday was a bit of a change up for legs

Squats - wasn't feeling these so limited them to a few sets
60 x 10 x 2
80 x 10
100 x 10

Leg Press
80 x 10
120 x 10
160 x 10 x 5
120 x 10, 10, 10, 16, 31

Leg Ext
40lbs x 12
60 x 12
80 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 9

Friday Arms

Cls Grip 60 x 10, 80 x 10, 100 x 12, 110 x 5, 110 x 5, 100 x 8

Speed Work - 1st week putting this to into my training. logged it all in my note book (with times as well). Wont bother logging it here until later. Spent this first week just getting used to it again. Found now I can do it well with out getting fu*ked elbows. Must have been to weak with poor form in the past. Will see how this goes over the next few months, I want to set targets in this and progress

EZcurl Seated French Press
20 x 20
30 x 16
40 x10, x 3

Push Downs
200 x 12, 10
190 x 10, 10

Ezcurl Curls
40 x 10, 5
Fat Bar
20 (Bar only) x 12, 10 x 12, x12, 20 x 21

Wednesday Back with Kaz

Forgot my f*cken straps today.

Chin Ups (Hammer Grip)
Body Weight 10, 8, 7, 6
I do these with emphasis on pulling with my back/lats. As craig rightly pointed out a while ago its easy to use a lot of arm on these. I feel that I'm getting them right because my back is pumped by the end of it.

Lat Pull Downs (Ham Grip) supersetted with seated rows.
These are hard enough without having done chins first. There was only two of us so kept it to 5 sets. by the end I thought this was a good move because my form was ugly, mainly due to grip (f*cken straps)
200 x 10 60 x 10
210 x 10 66 x 10
200 x 10 72 x 10
190 x 10 78 x 10
190 x 10 84 x 10
Sweating like a monkey in a snake pit by this stage...

Dumbell Rows - my favourite back exercise but no straps so limited to 3 sets
50 x 10 x 3

Behind head pull downs
150 x10
160 x 10
150 x 10
140 x 8
140 x 10

All done in about 50 minutes.

Tuesday Chest With Kaz, Jake, & Henry

Probably too many guys today. Still pushed hard and the weights felt good. Not quite up to what I was last week but still good. Last week of flat bench before giving it a spell.

Flat Bench
60 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 6
130 x 2
120 x 5

Incline - felt really good today, weights were moving quite well
80 x 10
90 x 9
100 x 5
90 x 10

Dips very short rests on these made the later sets feel quite tough
B/W x 20
5kg x 12
10kg x 12
15kg x 10
20kg x 8

Machine Press
80 x 12
120 x 12
140 x 10 x 2
Want to use bands on these for a change up. Saw Dave Tate doing them on facebook and think it wil be a good variation. Adding dumbell flat bench into the mix next week, and probably some flyes if we are moving fast enough.

Monday Posterior Chain

This session is one I'm targeting each week but I lost focus and didnt give it the attention I should have. I'm going to start using a note book to track my sessions and also apply some of Dr Kerry Spackman's ideas to help me focus on what I'm doing. I fucked around and got too destracted today so I need to work on that...

Deadlifts
I alternated between conventional and sumo all the way on these. The bar speed felt very good on all my sets. None were heavy but they all felt good.

60 x 10 x 2 (one of each stance)
100 x 10 x 4 (as above)
140 x 10 x 4 (as above)

Chain assited Goodmornings
60 x 10 x 2
80 x 10 x 2

GHR
2 x 12
later in the day 3 x 12

Saturday shoulders with Kaz

Normally dont do a lot of direct shoulder work, but I need it so today was all about getting into the hard work and using new exercises for a good shock.

Behind Head Press -forbidden by masses of PTs, but I found these were awesome.
40kgs x 12 x 2
50kgs x 10 x 9 x 8
Very short rest periods on these so it was hard to keep the reps up. Concentrated hard on form though so happy with how it went.

Front Shoulder Press
40kgs x 12
50kgs x 10
60kgs x 7, x 6
50kgs x 9
These were hard after the behinds, be able to set some good targets on these.

Farmers Walks. This madness was supposed to be just shrugging but turned into walking for 2minutes. Hard on the whole body, not just shoulders but man are these a fun thing to do. Will factor in a lot with my training for the Rotorua tough guy. Was 2 sets of 2 minutes. the second set I kept the weights off the ground for as long as I could to keep the tension on the shoulders. As big Kaz pointed out they hit the whole trap not just the top.

Seated Dumbell Side laterals (or what ever the f**k they're called) supersetted with face pulls
12.5 x 10, x 7, x 10, x 16
60 x 10, x 8, x10 54 x 10

Loved this session.

Friday Arms with Henry and Kaz

Cls grip bench
60 x 10 x 2
100 x 10
110 x 6
120 x 3
Kept this short this week as my chest is still tight. Wanted to really do a lot of work with the other exercises instead

Seated French Press
30 (I call the EZcurl bar 10) x 12
40 x 12 x 2
45 x 12 x 2

Over Head Rope Ext Super setted with Push downs
54kgs x 12, 180 x 10
60 x 12, 190 x 6
66 x 10, 200 x 4
66 x 9, 200 x 3 180 x 1
60 x 10, 180 x 4

EZbar curls
30 x 12
50 x 8
50 x 7

Hammer Curls
20kgs x 8 x 3

Fat Bar Curls
20kgs (bar weight) x 10
30 x 10 x 2

Was quite fucked after this session. i've never been a believer in loggin bicep training but I think it has its merits now. Need to be sure the hard work is progressing myself.

Thurs - Quads

Back still feels vulnerable while I'm squatting. Sick of it so making some changes to my approach for the next year. Will only bench press next year and take some time to build up the foundation I need of size and strength in my lower back and legs. I'll be incorporating plenty for strongman into it as well. Barbell only diets are too ridgid and single plane to live off for me.

Squats
60 x 10 x 2, 100 x 10 x 1, 120 x 10, x 8

Bulgarian Squats - will incorporate more of this sort of thing. not really targeting a single muscle group but many activities happen on one leg. Get stronger on one leg and what you do on two will get stronger. Simple.

2 x 10 just the bar

Leg press
80kgs x 10, 120 x 10, 160 x 10, 200 x 10

Leg Ext
40 (pnds) x 12, 60 x 12, 80 x 10, 100 x 10, 120 x 8, 120 x 8

Will start using more structure with my training. Working with numbers a bit more and putting what I've learnt from Craig, Mike and expereince into a structure for the next year. I also have the Rotorua Tough Guy challenge late next year. Thats a big event for me so I'll have to use all the time in between as best I can.

Wednesday - Back with Kaz & Henry

Feel like my lifts are getting heaps better now that I can focus on my lats better. Enjoying putting pull ups back into the mix also.

Pull Ups
B/W x 9, x 8, x 7, x 6

Lat Pull Downs (Mike's gay bar)
180 x 10
190 x 10
200 x 10
210 x 10

Bent Over Rows - these are stale as f**k now. Will put dbell rows second next week (pull downs, then seated rows)
60 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 10
140 x 10, x 6 Still had plenty left in the tank but wasnt feeling it. Decided to save the energy for the dbell rows

Dbell Rows
50 x 10
55 (1 chain) x 10
55 x 16

Behind Head Pull Downs
140 x 15, x12, x 10

Back felt good today. Will make some changes next week, focusing on dbell rows as the main exercise of the session

Catch Up

Been slack with the training log this past week as I've been all over the place. So I'll try and remember what I've done here...

Thurs Legs - with Kaz
Squats
60kgs x 10 x 3
100kgs x 10 x 2
120kgs x 8, x7
100kgs x 10

GC Bulgarians
Bar only x 10
40kgs x 10

Friday Arms
Cls grip 60 x 10 x 2, 100 x 10 x 2, 120 x 4, 100 x 10
Seated French Press 30kgs (not sure what ezcurl weighs so will say its 10) x 12
40 x 10 x 5

Over head rope Ext super set Push downs
48 x 10 + 180 x 10
54 x 10 + 180 x 10
60 x 10 + 170 x 10
66 x 10 + 150 x 10

Ezcurl Curls
8 sets all up working from first and last set 30 x 12 to 40 x 10 all in between.
Just wanted to do something light for bis this week. Was hard with short rests, will start looking at setting some PBs with these even if that does sound gay.

Monday - hams
Dead lifts 110kgs x 10 x 5
Chn Assisted GMs 60kgs x 10 x 4
Stuck for time so will make up the rest of this session later this week (GHR and rev Hypers)

Tues Chest with Jake and Henry
Bench Press
60 x 10 x 2
100 x 10
120 x 5
130 x 2
140 x 1
120 x 6
Was intent on setting a new PB for a 1 rep max today.

Incline Bench
80kgs x 10 x 2
x 9
x 8

Dips
B/W x 12
5kgs x 10 x 3

Mach press
40 x 10
55 x 10 x 2

Will do 1 more week with flat bench first then change to inclines first, dips, dumbell bench and probably flyes last

Wednesday - Back with Mike & Craig

Took some Turbo genesis today as I've needed a boost. Felt good again training with a full energy bar.

Chin Ups
Body Weight x 6, x10, x8, x7
Focused on using my lats as much as possible. Will make these a staple of my back days again.

Hammer Grip Lat Pulls
200 x 10
210 x 10
220 x 10
210 x 10

Bent Over Rows
100 x 10
120 x 10
130 x 10
140 x 9
130 x 10

Dbell Rows
50kgs x 10 x 3

Behind Head Pull Downs
140 x 10
160 x 10 x 2

Standing Abs
54 x 12 (accidental weight)
42 x 20, x 14, x 14, x 12

Tues - Chest with Kaz

Only 2 of us today so the first few sets went very fast. I was too fucked to give 40kgs a nudge again on the incline bench but not to worry, was still a good session...

Incline Dbells
30kgs x 10 x 2
32.5kgs x 10 x 2
30kgs x10 x 1

Flat bench
60 x 10
100 x 10, x8
110 x 4 x 2

Dips
B/W x 12
+10kgs x 10, x12, x10

Flyes
22.5kgs x 10
25kgs x 10, x 9
22.5kgs x8

Seated Mach Press
40kgs x 12
60kgs x 10
50kgs x 10 x 2,

Had Kaz training with me today. Stands over 6ft at a bit less then 90kg, only 18 but kept up easily and has a decent amount of strength. Always good training with young guys who are keen to get into the rough stuff. he's also training to be a PT so he's actually in at Eastside with an aim to learn...he's come to the right place!

Monday - Posterior Chain

My back still hasn't come right so I decided to train alone rather then get in Craig and Mikes way.

Started with deadlifts as I wanted to avoid lifting with a fatigued back. Didnt do a whole lot. Just a feeler...
100 x 6
140 x 5
180 x 3
That was enough to give me an idea of where I'm at. Glutes hammies and lower back need work (as expected). Will have to focus on pulling Sumo for the next while though as I needed the belt quite early on. I want to train minus the belt but without the risk on my back.

Chain assisted goodmornings. Purposely stuck to doing these light, with a very tight stomach and lots of glute invovlement.
60 x 10 x 5

GHR
3 x 12 - These are a must. I'm dissapointed I droped them for so long. When I've been at my strongest in the deadlift, I've done a lot of these.

Reverse Hyper - Same as above.
20kgs x 10
40kgs x 10 x 2
Volume is low overall, but will gradually ramp that up as I get back into the swing of it. Need a more muscular lower back and hamstrings. lots of work to come...

Thurs - Legs & Friday Arms

Thurs - Still recovering. Been tired and moody all day. Not enough decent sleep, and plenty of shit to deal with at home. Training is the only "zone out" time I have right now.

Only did sets of 10 with 100kgs. Put 120 on but head was thumping too much to be worth doing.
Front squatted next. 60kgs x 10 x 3. Thats enough legs for me for this week. I also did a bit of core work this morning. Hanging leg raises and standing abs. I backed that up with another couple of sets tonight (only 42kgs) of between 14 and 20 reps. Got cramp and thought I'd got a hernia, but ended up being ok.

Friday Morning Triceps - Too much to do and not enough time so stuck to triceps for the morning. Close grip bench. 60 x 10, 80 x 10, 100 x 10, 105 x 10, 110 x 7, 110 x5. Happy with that.
Over head rope ext. worked through from 54kgs to 66 doing 10 on each set with a total of 4 sets (2 on top weight) Put in an extra stretch on these which I feel adds a lot more to it.

Overhead Extensions
Some of the boys were using theb chair so had to do them on the end of the bench. This forced me to keep the weight down. 35kgs x 10 x 3 + 37.5 + 40 x 10 with the chair.

Will catch up on biceps when I can. Struggling to get enough sleep so have to make that a priority I think

Wednesday Back

Didnt do much as Im still in recovery mode.

Worked up to 220kg at 10 on the hammer grip lat pulls
150kgs x 10 on BO rows
50kgs x 10 x 3 on hammer strength row
160kgs x 10 behind the neck pull downs

All bar the hammer strength rows are PBs for me. I feel tired but still strong at the moment...

Tues Chest with Jake and Henry

Today was my first session back after being quite sick for the past few days. I still dont feel 100% but I wanted to start back as soon as I could. I'm surprised that I didnt lose much weight while I was sick though (only 2kgs). I am dissappointed that I missed the qualifier this past week. My plans for the national bench looked shaky anyway but I thought id keep myself in the picture just incase. Nevermind, will move on.

DBell Inclnes
30 x 10
35 x 10 x 3
40 x 5

Flat Bench
100 x 10
105 x 8, x7

Dips
B/W x 12 x 4

Flyes
20kg x 10
25kg x 10 x 2

Hammer Strength Seated Press
90 x 12
120 x 10

Lowered the volume and felt good afterwards. Still plenty of energy which was important so I dont give myself a relapse.

Wednesday Back - Mike and Craig

Bit sluggish today, late night with Aaliyah being sick. Back also played up again tonight on bent over rows. Need more core work...

Hammer Grip Lat Pulls
180 x 10
200 x 10
210 x 10
220 x 10 x 2
210 x 10

Wide Grip Seated rows
60+3 chains x 12
60+5 Chns x 12
60+7 Chns x 12
72+5 Chns x 12
84+3 Chns x 12

Bent Over Rows
100 x 10
140 x 10
150 x 5

Behind Head Pull Downs
130 x 10
140 x 10
150 x 10
160 x 10

Tuesday Chest - Just me

Had a disjointed week (in a good way) so had to come in late to get in some chest work. Missed posterior chain yesterday and the week prior so I plan to make up for that later this week as well.

Dbell Incline Bench
25 x 10
32.5 x 10
35 x 10 x2, x8, x9

Flat Bench - Cheers to Grubby for the spot
60 x 10
100 x 6, x8, x8

Dips - found these very tough as a third exercise. Also had very short rests
B/W x 10
+20kgs x 10, x5
B/W x 10 x 2

Flyes
20kgs x 10 x 2, x8, x7

Hammer Strength Press Mach
80 x 10
110 x 10, x10, x10

Friday - Shirt and Tris with Joey & help from Alf

Worked up to 200kgs off 2 boards. Felt very hard to get the 190 down to 2 boards again this week. 200 was a grind and I struggled with tightness and a good groove, but I'm pleased to have pressed on both sets despite being in a poor postion off the board both times...

Tris
Overhead Ext
35 x 10
40 x 10
45 x 10
50 x 11

Rope ext
60 x 10
66 x 10 x 4
Put in a good stretch on these

Cable ext
18 x 12
24 x 12 x 2
18 x 12

Wednesday Back - Mike and Craig

Short of a run this week due to mike infecting everyone with his fluanabol.

Ham Grip Lat Pull Downs
180 x 10
200 x 10
210 x 10
220 x 10

Seated Row. Wide Grip - really keen on these at the moment.
78 x 12 x 2
84 x 12
90 x 12
96 x 10

Bent Over Rows
100 x 10
120 x 10
140 x 10 x 2 - used a belt because my back was a bit twingy. Fucken thing sat right on the spot where I had an op a few years back and made me feel like I was gonna give brith orally. Not very nice.
150 x 5

Ham Strength Chest Supp Rows
80 x 10
110 x 10 x 2

Behind Head Pull Downs
140 x 10
150 x 10
160 x 10

A few PBs in there which I'm pleased with. Next week we want to start moving quiker between sets again. Shorten the rest periods and get more work done in the same amount of time to boost density. This will make us massive and strong and nice for girls to look at.

Lats feeling pumped but hard to breath. Still feel like I'm improving

Monday - Legs with Mike and Craig

Kept this session short today as Mike has given us all "Fry Flu" and I had Aaliyah with me tonight as well.

Squats
60kgs x 10 x 2
100kgs x 10 x 2
120kgs x 10 x 3

plus one rough set of front squats with 60 kgs.

Back got tight as hell and my quads were fucken sore after this. Never had that sort of pain before but oh well, fuck it. Steak and veges and spuds for tea. Body weight at 95.5 today. Chuck a 20 minute walk in each day for the next 7 days. If I drop a couple of kilos I'll make the effort to get down. But I refuse to change my eating. If anything I need a bit of extra cardio anyway so benefiting regardless.

Sunday Arms

Not feeling the greatest today so just made sure to go through and squeeze out what I could. Not too much nervus system on arm day anyway.

Fat Bar Curls
20kgs x 10 x 3
40kg x 10 x 4

Dbell Preacher Curls
15kg x 10
17.5 x 10 x 2, 10 + 8, 6 + 4 (right and left)

Hammer curls
22.5 x 8, x 6, x 7
Was pretty tired by this stage so didnt push though a lot

Tricep Push Downs
150 x 12
160 x 12
170 x 12
180 x 12 x 2

Over head ext
30kg x 12
37.5 x 12
40 x 12
45 x 12

Over head rope ext felt tight and struggled to get the stretch I was getting last week
48 x 12
60 x 12
66 x 12
66+15 pnds x 12 x 2

1 arm cable ext
18 x 12 x 2
24 x 12 x 2
18 x 12 x 2

Band push downs
Blue band 4 sets to failure

Friday Shoulders with Lance and Hayden

Seated Barbell Overhead Press
40 x 10 x 3
60 x 10 x 6

Cable lateral raise (1 arm)
18kgs x 12 x 2
24 kgs x 10 x 2
18kgs x 12 x 2

Cable rope upright rows
66kgs x 12 x 2
66 + 15pnds x 12 x 2,
66 x 12 x 2

Bent over rear delt flyes
12.5kgs x 12 x 2
15kgs x 12 x 3

Always good training with Lance. Plenty of energy and always positive. I believe that complaining just programs your brain and body to resist the effects of the training. Hayden's going well to. For a tall lanky kid he's doing alright, he dose complain though so have to give him a clip round the ears every now and then. Looking forward to Hamstring doms tomorrow...

Thurs Hamstrings with Craig and Mike

Good session tonight. Had to abbreviate it due to time restraints but worked hard none the less.
ssbar box squats
60 x 10 x 2
100 x 10 x 3 (belted on the middle set)
this exercise is great

Chain assisted goodmornings. Set to a bigger ROM this week due to fucking about with the chain height, all good though I like it like that.
60 x 12
100 x 10 x 2, x 8 (belted last set)
60 x 10

Stiff leg deadlifts supersetted with standing abs. Only had time for one exercise so made up my mind to superset it what ever it was.
Stiff legs
60 x 10
100 x 10 x 3 (belted last set)
Standing Abs
42 x 12
48 x 10 x 3
found this tough but it was really good to get into it hard at the end of the set. I like to go through at least one mentally taxing exercise. I find it satisfying. Once I've done it I really put in more on the other sessions and exercises as weird as that sounds.

Wed - Back with Andy and Fry

Wide hammer grip pull downs
140 x 10, 180 x 10, 200 x 10, 210 x 10 x 2, 200 x 10

Seated row, wide grip
72 x 12 x 2
78 x 12 x 2
84 x 12 x 2

Bent Over Rows
100 x 10
120 x 10
130 x 12
140 x 8
130 x 8

Hammer Strength rows
40 x 12
80 x 10
100 x 8
100 x 9
80 x 10

B'hind head pull downs
130 x 10
140 x 10
150 x 9, x 9

Choice session. form on pull downs is better now. I can use my lats better. Happy with the bent over rows but need to tidy up form a bit. Lower back was ok too which is good. Hoovering the gym after training is a good warm down. Andy worked hard and is starting to use some good form. Will boost his control and confidence in the bench once he gets his lats stronger.

Chooseday Chest - with Mike and Craig

Dips,
B/W x 10 x 3
B/W + 20kgs x 10 x 2

Dumbell Inclines
30kgs x 10 x2
32.5kgs x 10 x 2
35kgs x 9, x8

Flat Bench
60 x 10
100 x 8, x 6
90 x 9, x6

Dbell Flyes
17.5kgs x 12 x 2
20kgs x 10, 9, 8

Seated Mach Press
60 x 12
90 x 10 x 3

Bit of a change this week with the dips, which I like. Chest felt much better then last week. Getting closer to the nat bench now so I might throw in a few heavier full range reps to practice tightness and identify where I'm weak. I dont think this needs to take up many sets as a comp wont have many in it. I also want to be prepared incase I end up having to bench raw (unlikely though).

Monday Arms and Legs

Wanted to cathc up on some arm training so snuck in an early session today.
Fatbar curls
45 x 10 x 2
45 x 9
35 x 10 x 2

Dumbell Preacher Curls
15kgs x 10 x 5 - due for a step up on these, funny though because every damn rep feels tough

Hammer Curls
22.5kgs x 10 x 4

Tricep Push Downs
130 x 10
150 x 12 x 2

Overhead rope Ext - with emphasis on the stretch at the top
48 x 10
54 x 10
60 x10 x 2

One Arm Cable lateral ext (just made that up)
18 x 8 x 2
12 x 10 x 2
18 x 10
Need a 15 inbetween these weights....or just get stronger

face pulls (ham grip) - shoulders
66kgs x 12 x 3

Kept everything minimal to keep to much pressure off my elbows

Legs - Later the same day

Squats -
100kgs x 10 x 2
120 x 8, x7
100kgs x 10

Kept this short as my hammies are still on fire.. Ideally I was planning to back this up with some single leg work, but that just wasnt going to happen. Spent a lot of time on the keyboard and had trouble with a tight chest on the squats. Must keep that in mind

Saturday - Bench Shirts & Tris

Short session today. Worked up to an ugly 190kg off 2 boards in the shirt. Not complaining though as I was actually planning to do a 3 board with 190 then try to get down with 2 if I managed the weight ok. Tec didn't listen and chucked a 2 board on. I realised this so pulled the bar down very low ( I think I was over my stomach) to make sure I touched the boards. It ended up being a shitty position (weak) but I managed to press it back up ok. There was a moment I thought it wasn't going to move but it finished up ok.

finished with 6 sets of close grip.
60 x 10 x 2
100 x 8
100 x 9
100 x 10 x 2 The last wo were PBs for me. I feel like I may have got more sets of 10 had I not been working with a shirt before hand.

Went to the sth Island body building champs for a look afterwards. Noticed a severe lack of quad development in every male I saw except Jamil from England.

Friday shoulders with Mike and Craig

Still holding back on shoulders a bit (even thought i trained them twice this week)

Seated barbell press.
40kgs x 10 x 2
60kgs x 8 x 5
60kgs x 6

Dbell raises
12.5kgs x 10 x 5

Front raises suppersetted with upright cable rows
12.5kgs x 10 x 3
30ks x10, 42kgs x 10, 48kgs x10

Face Pulls (to neck - neck pulls?)
66kgs x 10 x 3

Got shirt work tomorrow so I held back a bit today. My shoulders need a lot of work but they get pretty smashed up in the shirt. Will fit in arms tomorrow after the shirt and I'm going to do work for keeping the scaps in a healthy position at the end or start of every session from now until I'm dead.

Thurs Hamstrings with Craig and Mike

SSBar Box squats 15".
65 x 10 x 2
95 x 10 x 2
95 x 8 x 3


Chain Assisted Goodmornings (link 9 - for next week)
60 x 10
90 x 10 x 2
90 x 8
60 x 10

Stiff Legs
60 x 10 x 2
100 x 10 x 3

Leg Curls
These needs work. Most sets were 20kg

GHR
1 x 7
2 x 6

Ab Pull downs
30 x 10
36 x 10
42 x 10 x 2

Was trying to hold off training legs to keep weight down for national bench. Dont care anymore. Dumb fucken plan in the first place. Loved training tonight.

Wed - BAck with Andy

Had to make some changes today so ended up training earlier with Andy. Dropped the crazy superset as it was starting to get stale for me. Focused more on good ofrm and a solid amount of volume.

Started with a superset of wide grip chin ups and lat pulldowns. I really think of this as a single exercise.

chins - 6, 6, 5, 6, 6 plus 5 sets x 10 at 150kgs

Chest supported rows
40 x 10
60 x 10
80 x 10 x 3
60 x 10

Dumbell rows. Wanted to start using this exercise again but with a slight variation in that I dont have a knee on the bench. This changes the line slightly for me making it feel slightly different.
32.5kgs x 10 x 5

Behind Head Pull downs
120 x10
130 x 10
140 x 10 x 2
Will add another set next week

On the other exercises I'll probably just add a few more reps to the overall volume and progress the weight by feel. Always want to do more on new sessions but I've finally learnt that it comes back to bite me later.

Tues Chest with Mike and Craig

Declines
60kgs x 10 x 2
100kgs x 10 x 2
120kgs x 8 x 1
130kgs x 5 x 2
120kgs x 8 x 1

Incline Dbell Press
25kgs x 10
30kgs x 10 x 2
35kgs x 10 x 2

Dbell Flyes
15kgs x 10
20kgs x 10, x 12, x 10
15kgs x 10

Flat bench
60kgs x 10 x 2
80 kgs x 8, x 10

Mach press
60kgs x 12
100kgs x 12 x 2, x 9

Will cut out the odd set when the body feels like its not recovering enough between sets to keep the quality high. Having said that I did feel very strong on all my exercises today, managing to keep the tension through my chest, but I did get tight on one side. I think plenty of stretching is in order. Will change a tricep exercise this week to minimize the pressing. Maybe some board work.

Monday - shoulders

Had three days off to rest up a bit. Intended to do a light leg session early in the day but felt like shit so flagged it. Did some shoulders later in the evening.

42kg log press
6 x 12 reps
60kgs log press
x 6reps

Cable side lateral raise
18kgs x 12 x 2
24kgs x 8 x 1
18kgs x 12 x 2

Facepulls
66kgs x 12 x 5
72kgs x 10 x 2

Rear delt flyes (1 arm)
15kgs x 10 x 3

Still taking it easy on shoulders. Will be focused more on improving reps and sets then weight for a few sessions.

Thurs - Bench Shirt with Tec + Arms

Did some crazy bells on the warm up. I like these going to go heavier next week. Worked up to 150 raw of 2 boards which I'm pleased with. Andy pinched my shirt so suited up late once I got it back and finished the heavy stuff with 185kgs off 3 boards. Shirt felt good tonight and I decided to push the groove to a higher point on my chest. Happy with how it went. Have a crack at 2 boards next week.

Tris -
Close grip bench
80kgs x 12
100kgs x 8 x 2
90kgs x 10 x 2

Tate Press
20kgs x 8
17.5 x 8 x 2
17.5 x 10

Overhead Rope Ext - high pully
42kgs x 12
54kgs x 10
66kgs x 10
54kgs x 12 + 7 negatives

Bi's
Fatbar curls
45kgs x 9
45kgs x 7
35kgs x 10 x 2 - These were tough after the shirt work. still felt like I got the job done with them though. Going to have a bit more rest between sets next week but also focus more on eccentric

Standing incline curls
15kgs x 8 x 2
15kgs x 10
Drop set 15kgs x 12, 12.5kgs x 5, 8kgs x 5
Just mixed things up a bit to keep me switched on through a hell of a long session. Going to take 3 days off and come back to do a small amount of legs and some shoulders on Monday. Bit of a last minute plan but I've been fucked for the whole day when I've trained the following morning after a bench shirt session. Not fair on my little girl as I have her for the whole day and usually end up plastered on the couch for most of the morning. Going to spend the down time making the odd ajustment here and there to my training and recovery. Starting to get real swtiched on with the diet now too.

Wed Back with Mike and Andy

Supersets
Lat pulls - straight bar with close grip seated rows

180 x 10, 190 x 10, 180 x10 x 2, 170 x 10 x 2, 160 x 10 x 2

Seated Row 96 x 10, 84 x 10, 78 x 10, 72 x 10 x 5
Going to settle back to weights that allow cleaner reps next week. Will sit on 84 for all the seated rows

Chest Supported Hammer Strength:
80 x 10, 100 x 10, 100 x 8, 80 x 10 x 2

Behind neck pull downs
120 x 10, 130 x 10, 140 x 10 x 2

Finally Come Clean

I've had some people asking me what I'm "taking" lately....I decided its time to stop bullshitting my mates. You might as well all know.

Tuesday Chest With Craig and Fryup

A few changes today. Started with declines. Always liked these. I know a lot of people dont get much carry over in the flat bench but I liken it to benching with an arch a bit.

60 x 10 x 2
100 x 10 x 2*
110 x 10 x 1
120 x 8 x 1
130 x 4 x 1
130 x 5 x 1

I like starting with a lot of sets, and going heavy in the first exercise.

*For some reason Fry was spotting extra close on one set. Maybe he thought my head looked cold so he thought he'd keep it warm with his track suit pants. Struggled not to laugh but managed to finish the set ok.

Incline Dumbells. Did these with as much of a stretch in the bottom as I could get. When I use dumbells I get the best results (and the soreness) from a big stretch. This meant I had to be anal about my shoulder positioning. I know now though that I can go a little shallower next week. I think now my chest is stronger I have/need less of a stretch on these

20kgs x 12
30kgs x 10 x 3
30kgs x 8 x 1

Flyes
Copied Mikes notes about not touching at the top. I also paid attention to the eccentric portion, making sure to emphasis the work the pecs were doing on the way down. Made for a better overall rep and a good pump.
15kgs x 10
20kgs x 10 x 3
20kgs x 8 x1

Flat Bench
60 x 10 x 2
80 x 10 x 1
80 x 6 x 1 - Farted half way through the set and lost it. Tried to reset but wouldnt happen
100 x 6 x 2

Mach Press
80 x 12 x 1
100 x 10 x 1
100 x 12 x 1
80 x 14 x 1

Mike also managed to hit me on the head with a dumbell tonight when I was helping him with the 45's. They must be mean to the help where he's from. Next time I will move faster!

Looking forward to good back session tomorrow. Going to start using some compensatory acceleration in my training where safe too.

Monday Legs On My ownsome

Keeping leg work to a minimum at the moment as the national bench is not too far away. I've managed to put on some weight lately so I want to keep that in check. For the time being I'm sticking to short sessions and low reps. This is also to help me manage my energy levels better. Last week I got caught out with a few things that left me flat and destracted when I trained, so things like rest, session length, food and being organised personally help all that.

Camber bar bulgarian squats, plus 140kgs walk out and partial holds.
The aim with these is to help my knee satbilisers and the walk outs are an attempt to potentiate a greater response from high threshhoold fibres. I've done this in the past for kicking and punching with awesome results so want to try it here. I only did 4 sets

Bar x8
47kgs x 6 x 2
37kgs x 6

This don't look like much...cause it wasn't! but it was fuken hard enough.

Saturday Shoulders with Tec & Arch work

Keeping shoulders pretty basic at the moment because of all the bench work happening at the moment. Lighter weights and higher reps with a focus on holding the shoulderblades in a good position so the shoulder joint itself moves in a healthy way while training.

Log press
42kgs x 12 x 5sets
Good warm up and with short rests it gets quite challenging. It has a more joint friendly grip then the barbell press and the different pressing angle makes it good for variation (I've got nothing against bbell presses by the way). I keep the range at a point where I can feel my shoulders under tension for the whole set. This taxes me quicker too. Keeping the movement fast (controlled) too

Cable lateral raises
12kgs x 12 x 2
18kgs x 10 x 2
12kgs x 10
Fryup mentioned how he'd been doing lateral flyes the other week, which has helped me to use the frontal plane again without impinging my shoulder.

Face pulls
42kgs x 12
48kgs x 12
54kgs x 12
60kgs x 12
66kgs x 12
When I do these I try to use the eccentric portion to concentrate and feel the rear delts. So I go slower on the eccentric and rapid but strict on the concentric. My shoulders always feel goiod after this. Followed up this session with a bit of traction work and some very relaxed arch work. I'm not getting tight yet but my back feels 100% (I know it isn't yet though)

Going to add some external rotation exercises to my training - arms and shoulders plus some warm ups for bench day. Also planning to swap out all my leg training for unilateral leg work until after the nat bench. Going to be weird and do some heavy walk outs too as I have a theory that I want to test out.

Friday Arms With Jake and Henry

Finished last nights shirt session with triceps but decided to do a couple of exercises supersetted to start today. I feel that triceps are to a certain extent, like the lats and require a lot of work to tax them. Probably not true for everyone though of course.

Fat bar close grip floor press with partial tricep press ups.
65kgs x 10 x 2
85kgs x 8 x 2
65kgs x 10 x 1
The tricep press up was done with the hands in a similar position to a close grip bench, with a med ball under the chest to keep from going to low and engaging the chest too much. Just did them to add a bit more stress.

Fat bar curls. These are awesome (still not sure about the weights)
45? x 10
45 x 10
45 x 8
45 x 7
35 x 10

Incline dumbell curls
15kgs x 10
15kgs x 10
15kgs x 8
15kgs x 7
12kgs x 12

Standing preacher - did these on the incline bench. I'm not fond of the seated preacher bench we have. It's older then grass and I for some reason I just don't feel right.

15kgs x 10x3
17.5kgs x 8 x 2

Good session. I think its a good idea to get some carbs and protein part way through a session (if your not likely to spew during it) when it follows a rough week of training. My energy levels were a bit off this week so I felt a bit flat. It was mental as well as physical. Coping with destractions better will help.

Thurs - Bench Shirt with Tec and Ben

Still getting used to Alfs 42 Katana. Felt tougher then last week but I wasn't as switched on mentally this week. Worked up to 185kgs for a double on 3 boards. Still purposely bringing it low until I feel comfortable having a crack at 2 boards.

No Tec for triceps this week.
Close grip
60 x12
80 x 12
90 x 10
100 x 8
100 x 7

Tate Press
15kgs x 10
17.5kgs x 10
20kgs x 10
20kgs x 8
20kgs x 7
17.5kgs x 8

Over head cable ext. I didnt have a partner to time me on these so I just worked on some heavier sets then I have been doing.
42kgs x 16
60kgs x 18
60kgs x 16
60kgs x 15
60kgs x 13
I kept rests short, then did a couple of short range push downs just to put a bit more tension through the triceps. Fat bar close grip floor press next week for 8 sets and some super sets with the other two - Tate and overhead cable ext.

Tired this week but some more great action in the gym. A few new faces, all with keen as attitudes. I have to sort myself out properly so my daughter can chill out at the gym and enjoy herself more so I dont stress so much about her. She told me today that one of the crossfit guys stood on her foot the other day. Lucky for that motherfucker she told me it was an accident. Not fair on her and the guys there though, so have to sort something out. Looking forward to biceps tomorrow.

Wed Back With Mike & Craig

Can't be fucked loggin this section this week. I worked up to heavier sets then last week. 210kg pull down neutral grip super set with seated rows. 80kgs chest supported rows, 150kgs behind head pull downs. I broke my own rule by of focusing on form and went ugly to make the reps on superset. Don't eat a tin of fish an hour before you train.

Tuesday Chest With Big Fry

Bit sluggish today. I mentioned this to Mike at the end, and he mentioned something about backing off last week. I didnt catch all of it but it sounded good so I'll go with that.

Inclines
60kgs x 10 x 2
80kgs x 8 x 2
100kgs x 6
100kgs x 5

Good progressed on last week.

Declines
80kgs x 10 x 2
100kgs x 10 x 2
105kgs x 9
105kgs x 8
100kgs x 9
100kgs x 9
90kgs x 10
90kgs x 10
Felt weak today. Having the extra man last week obviously helped.

Dumbell Bench
25kgs x 12
30kgs x 12
30kgs x 10 x 2
30kgs x 9

Dbell Flyes
15kgs x 12
17.5 kg x 10 x 4

Felt some weird tightness on the 3rd set of these and thought I might have to pull the pin. Came right on the second set though

Machine Bench
80kgs x 12
110kgs x 10 x 2
Drop set 80kgs x 18 40kgs x 20

Bit stressed tonight by having my daughter at the gym, but kept putting a positive spine on it that it's ultimately a good thing to have her in an environment like that. My attitude is good these days. Even when things are a bit tired like tonight, I can still keep focused on my goals. Cooking a roast chicken before training made me hungry for the whole evening though!

Monday Legs & Arch work

Had to call a halt to the squats today as my knee was making noises. No pain though, but this is never good as it obviously means something is grinding out/on something else. My guess is that with some tissue quality work I can fix it. Foam rolling, stretching and mobility work, maybe some massage too. I think its a rec fem issue (tightness)

Changed to wide grip deadlifts for 8 timed sets of 35 seconds.
60x10
60x13
80x13
80x13
100x10
120x8
140x3 - my grip f**ked out here
140x3 - stopped to take it easy on my back

I decided to use today to get a gauge on how my back/hip problem was coming along. I dont believe in avoiding exercise on a trouble area so I found that working up light and stopping once it started to tighten up let me get a handle on it. Hopefully back to the squats next week and I'll do some deadlifts afterwards, next time with a sumo stance. I'll do that for a few weeks. Still keeping leg work minimal while I'm aimed at the nat bench

Arch work.
Juat some stretches followed by some aggressive upper back work on the bench with the thick PVC pipe. This isn't comfortable but it helps to teach the brain and nervous system to lock into a good position. I arch over a thick pvc pipe, then take a unloaded or light bar and do very short, rapid, partials. This produces a few funny looks but I find that it helps me a lot. I never need to do these for very long (2-3 sessions) before it the positioning (tightness and what I think of as my scapular tilt) becomes natural again. Going to work on a systematic approach to stretching and warming up specifically to arch. When I was arching well, I sometimes took 40 minutes just to warm up.

Sunday - Shoulders

Just a short session today as my shoulders have been a bit creaky of late.

5 x 10 42kg log press

Face pulls 48kgs x 10 x 5 supersetted with 1 arm cable lateral raise 12kgs x 10 x 5

Grubby and Alf were solid in their shirts today. Eastside looks promising for a good representation at the national bench

Saturday Arch Work

Since the Nat bench is coming up I decided to start doing some work to get my arch back up and my back healthy again. Up until the Canty 3 lift this year a never had a problem but I managed to tear a ligament in my lower back. Since then it got worse and I had thoughts about putting it away for good. But since Im not that strong its actually my best asset in the bench, so I thought that if I take it carefully I might avoid the injury problem and get it back up to where it used to be.

I think arching raw so much made harder to heal (because its higher then a shirted arch) as well as getting careless with my form in the squat. Today I focused on stretching my groin, and quads, and did some hip mobility work (spinal flossing) plus a small amount of hanging to elongate my spine. I kept everything pretty gentle and took a measure (of sorts) with the large PVC pipe at the gym. I feel (I cant see of course) like I'm a long way off where I was this time last year.

I'll do stretches and mobility work specific for arching every third day. Hip flexors, abdominal wall, quads, groin (adductors/rotators) and start doing some loaded upper back work to start strengthening extension and scapular tilt. I've found that a big arch wont do shit if you're not strong enough to hold it, especially in a shirt.

I need a lot of ankle mobility work too as I've had trouble with my foot positioning. Alf gave me a few pointers about placement and leg drive which help but in order for me to get and maintain the tightness I need I have to have my feet closer to my head (like some of the Russians). Its a confidence thing too, I get between 35-45kgs out of a shirt, so if I'm not maximally tight through my whole body, then I simply wont produce the tension or have the control that I need.

This is all tentative as I'm unsure how my back will cope. I only wrote it here so I cant pussy out of it. I feel better now that I've broken it down so I'll see how it goes.

Friday Biceps special guest appearances from Jake and Henry

Was good sore from last nights shirt work. Need to keep stretches and early morning mobilty work up as my shoulders are rounding. All part of the training though.

Fat bar curls (still dont know how much it weighs)
10kgs (plus bar approx35kgs?)
45 sec x 2
35 sec x 3
Love this variation, the wide grip is great

Incline dumbell curls
15kgs x 35 sec x 5

1 Arm cable curls. Left the YMCAs out this week as I thought they were a bit shit (I need to be shown how to do them properly) they let the tension off at the top of the lift due to the angle of the cable, which I find annoying.
18kgs x 12 x 5

Will finish next week with some hammer curls since my elbows are starting to feel a bit tender. Good sessions right through this week.

Shirt & Triceps with Tec

First time in a bench shirt for ages. Alf was kind enough to lend me his old Katana since mine's out of commission. Smaller then my old one but he's done a good job stretching it (must have lifted a bit in it?) Looked like:

All of 3 boards for 3 reps
165kgs, 170kgs, 175kgs, 180kgs

All felt good and had heaps of fun doing it. Tec looks to be coming along nicely, especially having Alf around (helps everyone to bench better). We (Tec and I) both agreed that he should be set on hitting 180 off his chest rather then pissing about being focused on the record (171kgs I believe). If his training stays constant he'll be able to open on the damn record easy.

Close grip bench focusing on the triceps.
60kgs x 10
60kgs x 12
100kgs x 6 x 3
80kgs x 12

tate press,
15kgs x 12
20kgs x 8 x 2
20kgs x 7 x2

Over head ext for time
40 sec x 30kgs x 1
40sec x 42kgs x 2
35sec x 42kgs x 3

Just focused on working non stop all the way through, finishing on a grind but not stopping. I think Tec did better then he realised at these.

Awesome night tonight with the gym busy and buzzing. Strongman, aerobics, bench shirts all going at once. I noticed tonight that even though the shirt was uncomfortable as f**k! I was much more focused between sets, I'd relax but still be on the job where as before I would tend to relax and lose focus completely between sets. Ok if your super talented but thats not me. Training with Mike and Craig constantly doing work and staying switched on because you know your next set is coming has helped me heaps. I feel like I'm training at a better quality, I enjoy it more and I take a shot at doing things I normally would have been to lazy to do in the past.

Good shit. (if you dont like my ramblings kiss my ass)

Wed Back with Mike & Craig.

Feeling tired by the time training rolled around today. Was still a good session though. Supersets to start.

Lat Pull Downs
170kgs x 10
190kgs x 10
200kgs x 10 x 3
190kgs x 10
170kgs x 10 x 2

Seated Row
72kgs x 10 x 8

Made sure to do extra work with the top set this week. 2 sets up on last week. This fucken superset is tough. I think its important to be doing it with guys that just get in and do it. The only speaking is done to encourage the others (or ask someone to put the seat up when your tied to the bar)

Standing seated machine rows (thats not a mistake) I like this machine (never thought I'd say that!) its a higher focus then the bent over rows. I'm looking to make some good gains on this one. I was surprised at how well it hit theparts of the back that I need to work on for pulling the bar down in a bench shirt.
40kgs x 10
70kgs x 10 x 6

Behind head (not neck) pull downs. Made good progress with this now I've got the hang of them.
100 x 10
110 x 12
120 x 12
130 x 12
140 x 6
140 x 6

Finished with a muck around to see if we could do pull ups. I usually pull myself up to my collar bone but could only manage to get to my head.

Bench shirt tomorrow. Should be interesting.

Could smell fish tonight but dont know what it was?

Tuesday - Chest with Mike & Craig

Three's a good number for chest day so we invited Craig to audition with us to see if he fit the bill.
After the usual complaining while smiling about how sore our legs were from yesterday, we got stuck in to some incline bench. It looked something like this:

60kg x 10 reps x 2
80kg x 8 reps x 2
100kgs x 5 reps x 1
90kg x 6 reps x 1

It felt good to hit the hundred although no where near as strong as I'd hoped. I was aiming for 90 and felt very comfortable so I'm happy.

Declines
80 x 10 x 2
100 x 10 x 2
105 x 8 x 1
105 x 10 x 1
100 x 10 x 1
100 x 8 x 1
90 x 10 x 2
90 x 10 x 2
Felt very strong on this one.

Dumbell bench
made a fuck wit out of myself when I got cramp in my arse and couldnt keep the dumbell from dropping. Nearly hit Craigs foot. Looked like the following:
30 x 10
35 x 10 x 4
30 x 10
had to do the last couple with my feet up to avoid more dumb circus tricks.

Machine Press & Standing flyes superset x 7
It went: (all sets x 10)
80kgs x 1 set
100kgs x 3 sets
80kgs x 3 sets
Flyes were seven straight sets with 24 on the plates.

I managed to convince the boys to do seven sets. I like flyes but its hard to put in a good squeeze and hold it in the later sets. I started imaging I was Arnold at the olympia doing a chest pose in the hopes that it would give me a boost but I ended up being totally destracted with my day dream and cant really remember anything from the last two sets. At least I enjoyed myself though.

Not sure what to aim at next week but plan to put a shirt on later in the week. Looking forward to it.

Monday - Legs by myself

Had to get in early to get my session out of the way as I have to hog the powerrack. Added one top set this week by jumping up in weight earlier. The bar felt heavy but still managed to push through each 35 sec reasonably well. I think with a spotter I could have added 1 or 2 to the later sets. This is such a new stimulus working through the fatigue with low weights and high volume. Next week I'll drop back a heavy set again and up the time to 40 seconds per set.

It looked like this:
Hi bar close stance squat
set wgt reps
1-2 60kg x 16
3-4 80kg x 10
5-8 100kg x 7,6,6,6
9 80kg x 9
10 60kg x 10

Leg Press 35 sec sets
100kgs 1 min rests
set reps
1x18
2x17
3 x12
4x14
5x12

Im going to minimise all sessions other then the stuff relative to the national bench. I'll do my hi vol stuff early in the week then focus on shirt work (strength, co-ordination, skill) at the end of the week. Unfortunately this means I'll have to drop the strongman but I'd rather focus seriously on the bench. My shirt still need repairs though so this could all change. I may have to source another one.

www.eastsidebarbell.co.nz

Friday Arms....on my own

Trained solo today and decided to change everything. Did most of my sets for time (35 sec) and started off with fat bar close grips. I like this one but as I was spotterless I really just used it as a big warm up. Its tough with no markings on the bar to get it in the middle though, especially with a close grip. Went through 8 sets only working up to 70ish (not sure what the fat bar weighs)

Tate press next. Havent done these for a while and started having shoulder issues. If it flares up again next week I'll make these decline or flat. Done for time these were rough. 4 sets @ 15kgs x 12 reps (dropped to 10 on the last one) 12kgs for last set x 12 reps. I like these but havent had impingement problems before. Bit of attention on that area should fix things though.

Dreaver showed up halfway through the training and turned on all the heaters so ended up doing Bikram overhead rope extensions for my last tricep exercise. 5 sets, worked up to 42kgs, managing around 12-14 each set.

On to the biceptacons....
Fat bar barbell curls. These were awesome. Hard but once I had a good grip on the bar I could push hard and work in some good external rotation as well. My shoulders felt much better after this one. I plan to make this a staple exercise. The fat grip automatically engages more arm musculature so I felt like I got shit loads out of it. pyramided up to 45ish and back down to 30ish for 5 sets

Incline curls. because i was doing these for time, I did them 2 at a time like a jean wearing beginner, but still got plenty from it. 4 sets with 15kg on each, only hitting between 7-9 on each set. Gay but hard.

Standing cable...ah...village people curls(?) Not sure what these are called but thought they'd be good to finish. Wish I'd stuck to my plan to do standing cable curls as these didnt quite hit my arms as much as I would have liked. Maybe I was too far forward. Thats training though, gotta try new things then learn how to do them right so you end up with good tools in the box. 6 sets 18kgs x 3 24kgs x 3.

Ok session, would have been better with some hard-out training partners (anyone keen for Friday mornings?) but still productive.

Here's some footage of this week

Wed Back with Craig & the Monster

Big change to Back day this session. Supersetted Lat pull downs with seated rows. 8 sets for 10 reps each. If we didnt have the three of us going I would have puked. I worked up to a top set of 200 in the pull downs with a top set of 78 on the rows.

I know some PTs get sand in their vaginas about how guys like us use a long reach forward in the seated row. I hear all sorts of shit about how its bad for your spine. Those people must start the movement with their lower back or something? The reach stretches the lats and the pull is through the lats too. Its more effective. The muscles in my lower back feel it but not my spine.

Limped through some bent over rows - 8 sets of 10. The plan was initially to do 10 sets and finish but both Mike and I got sick of it and did some behind the neck pull downs to finish - 4 sets of 15. I did 3 sets of 100kgs and one at 110. I used to think this exercise was a waste of time but I focused a bit more and remembered some tips Craig gave me, those, along with the fatigue from the superset made me feel it for a change. Now I'm doing it right I can feel the benefits of it.

Back is always tough but I always enjoy it. Today was the first time I had to really focus and dig deep. Was good though. The DOMS also kicked in from Monday so I've been limping around with a sore groin and quads, anyone would thing I'd been slapped in the nuts. A bit of hammies tomorrow then some strongman in the evening.

Love it.

Tues Chest With FryUp

Was keen for a good session today after spending most of it downloading Cinderella on Youtube for my daughter/boss.

Started with inclines
2x10, 2x8, 2x6
Worked up to 85kgs on the top sets. I never remember the exact numbers but I do recall wanting to have a crack at 90kgs for the top sets next week. Its this attention to detail that has alllowed me to blaze the trail through powerlifting that I have since entering the sport. On a serious note, Im more concerned with pressing with my chest on each rep.

Declines

Apparently the bar was bent which contributed to things being a bit off for Mike tonight. I didnt do as well as I did last week either. I was about to lay down a story about how doing squats for time yesterday must have fatigued my nervous system a fair bit, but Mike beat me to it so I'll blame the bar as well. Pyramided up and down from 70kgs- 100kgs for sets of 10ish.

Dumbell Bench

Mike did 50kgs for a set of 10 and made it look easy (got footage too). I struggled a bit on this because the bar was a bit ben........shit wrong one.....I mean the fatigue from the squats really caught up to me on this one so I couldn't lift very much. I'm not even going to bother trying to remember any of it. I just know that next week I'll start with the 30kg dbells. We did 5 sets of 10 or so

Machine Press supersetted with standing cable flyes

I like this superset. We started on 100kgs on the mach and 24kg on the flyes. My first set I did 20 on the chest press and 12 or so on the flyes. We worked up to 140kgs which I did twice but dropped to 120kg for the last set. On flyes we got up to 30kgs but I should have dropped back as my reps were shit but I thought someone was watching so I didnt want to risk losing any coolness points.

Finished off with some log press just to keep in practice for the Boys Day Out strongman comp in september.

www.eastsidebarbell.co.nz

Week 1New Leg Training

Squatting & Leg Pressing For Time.

This is based on Dave Tate's article about extended tension training. It's simply lifting for a set period of time rather then a rep range. Here's how it looked:

Hi Bar Close Stance Squats
Week 1 35 sec sets - 2 min rest
1- 60kgs x 14
2- 60kgs x 14
3- 60kgs x 13
4- 80kgs x 10
5- 80kgs x 9
6- 100kgs x 6
7- 100kgs x 7
8- 100kgs x 5
9- 80kgs x 8
10- 60kgs x 10

I was spotterless so lifted with in myself but still feel like I worked hard. On the second set of 100kgs I used more speed dropping into the hole which is something I normally dont do (to my own detriment) and it made a big difference, hence the 7 reps. I started to feel a lot of tightness in my back on the last few reps in the middle sets too. I started focusing on driving my traps back into the bar and felt the pressure come off a bit. next week I'll add another 100kg set but still total 10

Did 4 sets of leg press for 35 secs with a min rest in between as well:

Leg Press 100kgs
1-17
2-15
3-14
4-12

I used to hate the leg press and still have to force myself to get on it. I've found that it has helped me develop the strength through the inside of my knee which surprised me. But a lesson I've learnt recently is that everything in the gym is just a tool that can help if I use it right.....still dont like it though.

The Start

This here's my first training log post. When I say log it's really just a few comments from training. I had it pointed out to me by Craig McGuigan that training logs are pretty boring when its just numbers, and I struggle to keep track of every set anyway. My attention span is too short.

My goal right now is to bench 175 at the national bench in October. I've done it in training but would like to get it in a competition (or a bit more). Im wearing a Katana bench shirt that hasn't seen any action for about 6 months now, and it needs a repair, so things could change in the next few weeks.

Training now consists of high volume stuff with Mr Fry and Mr McGuigan giving me some guidance. We trained back today after my first "chest" session last night and now my chest feels like its been groped by pliers.

These sessions are awesome and much easier to focus on as there's less pissing around between sets. I'm used to working with heavier weights and having bigger rests so this is a good change. Anything over 5 reps still feels like cardio but I'm getting used to it.

Today was heaps of pull downs, bent over rows, seated rows both close and wide grip. sets of 8 to 12 reps. Fell 1 short of a goal I had to do 10 reps of Bent overs with 110kg, but was my first crack woth that weight so I know things are moving forward anyway.

Looking forward to the next few weeks.
Nuff said for now....