Category: Training Log

Sun 3/12: Light Sqwat, etc etc

Food yesterday: 2189 kcal (2218 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 9k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 35 mins – 46 mins awake

AM BW: 70.5kg (-0.2kg from yesterday)

Back Squat:
20kg 2×5
45kg 1×5
65kg 1×5
85kg 3×5 @ 7ish

Front Squat (with straps):
20kg 2×5
45kg 1×5
65kg 1×5
75kg 1×1
80kg 1×1
90kg 2xF lol
70kg 2×5

Bent Over Row (dumbbell):
5×12 @ 37.5lbs

Superset – 3 rounds:
Seated Calf Raises: 55lbs / side x 30, 30, 30
Barbell Shrugs: 85kg x 15, 15, 80kg x 15
Ab Wheel Rollouts: 20, 20, 20

Video of squatting hijinks:

Session notes:
– I had the house to myself, it’s been pouring with rain for maybe 12 hours solid, and I wanted to get a bit of squat form practice in. Working on keeping upper back tight. Not sure if any better or not.
– Wanted to hit quads a bit more so did some fronties, but going for a 1RM was ridiculous. Winged it on everything else. Missed a plate off the dumbbells for rows, didn’t realise til the third set – thought it felt light. Least they were less cheaty. Did calf raises seated which takes the balance issue out of the equation, problem is that it’s hard to lift a 55lb dumbbell onto each leg, and I can easily do more weight.
– Anyhow, long session, 102 mins, but that killed the time I needed before lunch. Good training to everyone!

Sat 2/12: Bench Press

Food yesterday: 2220 kcal (2218 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 5.7k steps – lowest in many many months

Sleep last night: 8 hrs 0 mins – 54 mins awake

AM BW: 70.7kg (no change from yesterday)

Bench Press:
20kg 2×5
40kg 1×5
60kg 1×3
65.5kg 1×4 @10
64kg 1×5 @10, 1×4+F @10, obv
62.5kg 1×5 @10

Close Grip Bench Press:
52.5kg 1×10 @10, 1×9 @9.5, 1×9 @10

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press:
1×12, 2×11 @ 37.5lbs / side

Bis/Tris superset:
Bicep Curls (Dumbbell): 25kg 2×10, 22.5kg 3×10
Lying Tricep Extensions: 32.5kg 1×8, 30kg 1×8, 25kg 2×12, 1×10

Enjoy:

Session notes:
– Activity wise, did very little yesterday due to bad weather, couldn’t walk outside. Not much better today either – good timing as my legs are absolutely rooted and still sore. Decided to pull my Sunday session forward a day anyway since the weather is crap again and my upper body feels just fahne.
– Still a bit weak(er than usual). I am probably still in a slight deficit (still leaning out a little – BF is showing sub 15% now on the scales). Also still doing IF 3 days a week. Not sure if that’s affecting performance or not.
– Accordingly, bench is still a bit off my best. Went for a +0.5kg PR over the last cycle, but rep 4 was so slow I bailed out of it and backed off the weight. Everything was max effort after that. Also don’t think my setup was quite right, banged on the J hooks a few times. Did an extra set since I was a couple of reps on the prescribed volume.
– Kinda overshot the RX on LTEs, didn’t really take into consideration how stuffed my triceps already were. Otherwise the accessory work went OK – 3 min rests on the incline work, and basically none on the tris and bis.
– Took my time with this session a bit – the cricket was on, and I was feeling lazy, so it took 87 minutes all up.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, happy birthday gennlemen and good luck to your family!

Thu 30/11: Squat

Food yesterday: 2175 kcal (2218 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 11.6k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 17 mins – 53 mins awake

AM BW: 70.4kg (-1kg from yesterday)

Squat:
20kg 2×5
45kg 1×5
65kg 1×5
— Belt on (6th hole) —
90kg 1×1 (psyched me out)
105kg 3×5 @ RPE 8, 8, 8.5?

Stiff Legged Deadlifts (2″ Deficit):
80kg 1×5
100kg 1×5
110kg 3×5 @ RPE 8, 8, 8.5? (PR for fahves)

Walking Lunges:
93 per leg @ BW in 10 minutes

Footage, of course:

My heart really wasn’t in this tonight. It’s been a bit of a long and stressful week. Semi-related – gonna start trying to rate RPE. Be interesting to see what people think of bar speed, etc compared to my rating. Anyhoo….

Session notes:
– Back is STILL tight from squatting eights last week. Deloaded a bit from the last cycle and didn’t attempt any PRs, took video from a different angle so I (and others) can look at it and try to dial in form a bit better. Someone suggested the bar might be a bit high, it’s hard to tell from the video. Almost fell over backwards during the last set.
– Did hit a little PR on stiff legged deadlifts though I think. Haven’t done them enough to really test them out though!
– Had sweat pouring off me again by the time I finished those lunges. It’s been unseasonably hot here but clearly I’m also a bit out of condition.
– Anyway, 68 minutes. Pleased I got it done. Have a great night!

Tue 28/11: Press

Food yesterday: 2175 kcal (2218 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 10.9k steps

Sleep last night: 6 hrs 59 mins – 45 mins awake

AM BW: 71.0kg (+0.1kg from yesterday)

Overhead Press:
20kg 2×5
35kg 1×5
41.5kg 1×7 bah
40kg 2×8

Dips:
BW +10kg 5×10

Delts Circuit:
2 rounds of front raises 6.35kg x 15, lateral raises 10lbs x 15, face pulls 22.5kgs x 15
2 rounds of front raises 5.85kg x 15, lateral raises 10lbs x 15, face pulls 20kgs x 15

Here’s some footage of the main stuff – didn’t film the delt work:

Session notes:
– Attempted a +0.5kg PR for eights, but seven was a battle and my lower back is still feeling pretty brittle anyway. Backed off and did a couple of challenging sets. Really enjoy pressing with the new bar, shame I’m even weaker than usual lately.
– Was surprised to get sets across on dips, maybe I went a bit conservative. Last rep was very iffy to lockout but I gave it to myself.
– Delt circuit sucked. Very seriously contemplated doing something else instead. Was supposed to be five rounds but I called it after four. That was enough work for tonight – 65 minutes, and happy enough, for a change despite the press miss. Have a great night everyone!

Fri 24/11: Bench Press

New bar turned up, so I did…

Bench Press:
20kg 1×5
50kg 2×5
60kg 1×4
70kg 1×1
80kg 1xF (lol)
70kg 1×1
60kg 1×4

…in 17 minutes. Either the new bar is heavier than the old one or I was tired and under recovered. Definitely the latter to some degree.

Sun 26/11: Deadlift

Food yesterday: 2044 kcal (2086 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 12.9k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 48 mins – 1 hr 2 mins awake

AM BW: 70.6kg (+0.1kg from yesterday)

Chin Ups:
8, 7, 6, 6, 4, 5, 5, 5, 3, 4 for 53 total in 28 mins

Deadlift:
80kg 1×5
105kg 1×5
122.5kg 1×3, 1×5
110kg 2×8

Kettlebell Swings:
30lbs 3×20

High.. no, lowlights video:

Got a big whoosh in weight yesterday morning, dropped over a kilo overnight. Thought it might have been an aberration but maybe not, maybe just having a relatively stress free day at home helped me drop a heap of water weight. Anyway, add 130kcal/day this week and we’ll see what happens.

Session notes:
– Took 2 minute rests on the chin ups, pleased to get 8 on the first set but I’m really disappointed in how fast I ran out of juice.
– Lower back has been so tight all week since the squat session on Tuesday I was honestly wondering whether I should attempt to deadlift today at all. Was supposed to be eights, I managed 120kg for eights across last time out, but this time I wasn’t going anywhere near that. Got three, spat the dummy again, took a long rest, ground out five. Backed the weight right off to get the volume in.
– This time it was only a laundry bucket that got smashed up and needs replacing. So frustrated right now, I don’t understand how I can maintain strength and keep hitting PRs all the way through a cut but then once I start eating more calories it all goes to shit??!! I’m sure it’s only a phase that’ll pass but it’s pissing me off.
– Attempted the initial deadlift sets in heels to start with too, just to see how they felt. Don’t think it felt much different. Switched back to Chucks for the back off work.
– Wanted to try out my new kettlebell handle so just did some lightish swings to finish. It works.
– Seemed to take forever, 83 minutes. Cranky and over it this week. Hope things turn around.

Thu 23/11: Bench Press

Food yesterday: 2042 kcal (2086 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 15.9k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 22 mins – 43 mins awake

AM BW: 71.6kg (no change from yesterday)

Bench Press:
20kg 2×5
45kg 1×5
61kg 1×7
60.5kg 1×6
60kg 1×5 FFS
55kg 1×10

Light Overhead Press:
20kg – 2×5
30kg – 1×2
37.5kg – 1×8, 1×9, 1×8

Push Ups:
15, 5, 5, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2 – total 71 in 10 minutes.

Session notes:
– Didn’t bother videoing anything. Part of me knew that it wasn’t gonna be good, I think. Big day at work yesterday, bit of a stressful day today too, dog went in for surgery etc. Lower back and hamstrings are tight as a nuns nasty and sore as shit, plus I had a headache going in, which got worse before it got better. I know, whinge, fucking whinge.
– Was supposed to be benching eights tonight but just had nothing in the tank. Tried for a 1kg PR anyway, was surprised to get seven if I’m honest, things fell off after that. Did an extra lighter back off set to get the volume in.
– Overhead press was OK. Wish I’d filmed the set of 9, the last rep must have taken 15 seconds to go up. Long break after that before the next set.
– Pushups were murder. Triceps dead after the first set. Kept rest breaks to 30 seconds or less, and was hot and sweaty by the end.
– Anyway, headache was gone after the pushups. Got it done in 60 minutes flat.
– I’ve already booked tomorrow off work, gonna try and have a total rest day, it’s supposed to be 30+ degrees too – good day to stay at home and watch cricket in the aircon. Unless of course my new bar turns up, in which case, all bets are off. Have a wonderful night, LOTI!

Tue 21/11: Squat

Food yesterday: 1931 kcal (2086 kcal target)

Activity yesterday: 12.3k steps

Sleep last night: 8 hrs 14 mins – 33 mins awake

AM BW: 71.4kg (+0.4kg from yesterday)

Squat:
20kg – 2×5
45kg – 1×5
65kg – 1×5
— Belt on (6th hole) —
85kg – 1×3
100kg – 1×2
110kg – 3×8 (new PR, +2.5kg)

GPP Circuit – 4 rounds of:
Weighted Step Ups – 10 per leg with 30lbs / side
Hamstring curls – 30kg x 15
Cable Crunches – 25kg x 20

Squat work sets on the tubez:

Session notes:
– Squats felt light and form felt good, right up til I got the work set on my back. Then it got tough. These were all out, grindy sets with way too much back rounding by the end. Last set was RPE 10+ but it’s a PR. Again.
– GPP circuit wrecked me – had sweat pouring everywhere. Was a bit heavy on the step ups and curls in hindsight. May not be able to walk tomorrow… I have a fairly big day on too.
– Good session though – 60 minutes flat. Best of luck with your training everyone, and many PRs to you all!

Mon 20/11: Back / Biceps

Food yesterday: Target 2086 / actual 2009 kcal

Activity yesterday: 12.8k steps

Sleep last night: 6 hrs 59 mins – 37 mins awake

AM BW: 71.0kg (no change from yesterday)

Barbell Rows:
47.5kg – 4×10
45kg – 3×10
42.5kg – 3×10

EZ Bar Curls:
30kg – 4×10

Air Bike:
5 mins warm down – 2.65km

Session notes:
– The bonus back workout – Andy was right, the rows took less than 20 mins (only 60-90 secs rests between sets) so I threw in a few curls and a bit of light cardio to finish. The whole session only took 34 minutes.

Sun 19/11: Press

Food yesterday: 1703 kcal

Activity yesterday: 11.9k steps

Sleep last night: 8 hrs 7 mins – 62 mins awake!

AM BW: 71.0kg (-0.6kg from yesterday)

Attempt 1:
Overhead Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 35kg
1×3 @ 45kg
2xF @ 50.5kg

Attempted this workout fasted, except for pre-workout BCAAs and a can of sugar free Monster. Failed to get a single for an attempted 2 rep PR twice, smashed office chair into bits, and rage quit – then wasted 2 hours (and two trips into town, due to a faulty part) buying and assembling a new fucking chair.

4 hours later, after a decent meal and lots more caffeine:

Attempt 2:
Overhead Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 35kg
1×3 @ 45kg
1×1 @ 50.5kg (PR, +0.5kg)
3×2 @ 48.5kg
1×9 @ 38.5kg
1×10 @ 35kg

Lateral Raises (rest/pause):
1×20 @ 12.5lbs / side
4×20 @ 10lbs / side

Seated French Press:
3×10, 1×9 @ 27.5kg

Lying Tricep Extensions:
1×7 @ 35kg nup, triceps too fatigued for the RXd reps
1×10 @ 32kg
1×10 @ 30kg
1×13, 1×12 @ 27.5kg

Failz0rs, for anyone who cares:

Session notes:
– I obsessed for 12 hours over whether to eat breakfast and train, keep IFing and train after lunch, or try to do it fasted. Turns out I chose…. poorly. I would have been less pissed off if I’d even managed to grind a single out, but still acted like a muppet. Needed a new chair anyway, and the new one is much more comfy.
– Second time round had a better mindset, managed a single (which is actually a 1RM anyway, since I hadn’t pressed more than 50kg for singles OR doubles) and then backed off to where I thought I could get some challenging doubles. That was OK, except for getting back on my heels on the last set and almost falling over.
– Went pretty conservative on back off work and all the accessory stuff. I can’t afford to buy any more new furniture right now 🙂
– Bit of a longer session at 88 minutes, but I’m glad it’s done. Triceps are dead.

Mini-cut: officially over. It’s been 5 weeks, and I am about where I wanted to be, weight wise. Going to ease calories back up over the next couple of weeks. I’ve got a new bar and a couple of other things in transit to reward myself. Have a great week, LOTI!

Fri 17/11: Deadlift

Food yesterday: 1669 kcal

Activity yesterday: 12.2k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 2 mins – 44 mins awake

AM BW: 71.8kg (no change from yesterday)

Deadlift:
2×5 @ 85kg
1×5 @ 105kg
1×3 @ 125kg
1×1 @ 145kg no double here
1×1 @ 140kg nor here FFS
3×2 @ 130kg

Front Squat (with straps):
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 45kg
1×5 @ 65kg
—Belt on (6th[!] hole)—
1×1 @ 85kg (new PR, +5kg – RPE 8.5?)
3×3 @ 75kg

Kettlebell Swings (with dumbbell) & Walking Lunges Superset:
5 rounds of 20 KB swings (with 35lbs) and 20 walking lunges (10/side)

A selection of footage:

Session notes:
– It’s been a tiring week with higher than usual stress, and I pushed this workout back from last night because of it – just felt sore and tired. Dieting doesn’t help, thankfully that’s almost done. Flexed off work this afternoon so I could do this session in the daytime and avoid a late night.
– Still wasn’t really up for it, even the triple at 125kg felt heavy as shit. Was supposed to be heavy doubles, but the first rep of 145kg was so slow I definitely didn’t have another in me, and it was so cat backed (even more than usual) I didn’t even try. Dropping the weight 5kg wasn’t enough either – just had to try and make the best of it and do what I could.
– Front squats were OK. Never really tried for a 1RM on them before. Top single felt easy-ish, I rate it an RPE 8.5 or maybe 9 at worst – I had to review the video to make sure I actually hit some sort of depth. Didn’t feel like pushing for more today though – good to know there’s more there for next time.
– The GPP stuff left me feeling a bit rekt. Managed to do 5 rounds without rests, didn’t time it though.
– Again, 73 minutes, which surprised me – thought it was taking longer. Disappointed with deadlifts, but otherwise another good day. Good luck everyone!

Tue 14/11: Bench Press

Food yesterday: 1625 kcal

Activity yesterday: 11k steps

Sleep last night: 6 hrs 51 mins – 28 mins awake

AM BW: 72.1kg (-0.4kg from yesterday)

Bench Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 45kg
1×3 @ 65kg
1×1 @ 75kg (equal all time PR)
1×1 @ 77.5kg (PR, +2.5kg)
1×1+F @ 74kg whoops, ambitious.
1×1+F @ 72.5kg wtf do I have to do to get a double? Taking 5 minutes.
2×2 @ 70kg – yes, that, apparently
1×9 @ 57.5kg
1×10 @ 52.5kg
1×10 @ 50kg
1×10 @ 48.5kg
1×10 @ 47.5kg

EZ Bar Curls (rest/pause sets):
13 reps, 30 seconds, 7 reps @ 30kgs
12 reps, 30 seconds, 5 reps, 10 seconds, 3 reps @ 27.5kgs
13 reps, 30 seconds, 7 reps @ 25kgs
15 reps, 30 seconds, 5 reps @ 22.5kgs

Instagram of bench top singles

Youtube selection is in the pipe:

Session notes:
– More cut PRs. Had it in my head I was gonna go for 80kg tonight but that would have been ambitious. Still – maybe by the end of the year, definitely by the virtual meet in January. Probably underestimated how much it took out of me, and also didn’t rest enough – I managed 73.5kg for doubles last cycle but didn’t have that in me tonight. 3 minute rests on the back off work.
– Curls, curls and more curls. Arms were feeling swole.
– 73 minutes. Pretty good session despite the misses. Best of luck to everyone!

Food yesterday: 1935 kcal

Activity yesterday: 9.3k steps

Sleep last night: 6 hrs 32 mins – 39 mins awake

AM BW: 72.5kg (+0.6kg from yesterday)

Leg Extensions:
3×15 @ 45kgs

Supersetted with

Kettlebell Swings (with dumbbell):
3×20 @ 40lbs

then

Air Bike:
15 mins / 7.38km / ave HR 115 BPM / 126 kcal

I always weigh in heavy on Monday mornings. Got up super early intending to get a light session while watching the recording of the Brazilian GP from overnight. Somehow recorded the pre-race show instead, so only saw 30 minutes of actual racing. Meh. Coincidentally this little session also took bang on 30 minutes. Have a great day!

Sun 12/11: Back Hypertrophy

Food yesterday: 1846 kcal

Activity yesterday: 14.8k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 32 mins – 43 mins awake

AM BW: 71.9kg (-0.5kg from yesterday)

Pullups:
6, 5, 5, 5, 3, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 @ BW

Dumbbell Bent Over Rows:
4×10 @ 45lbs / side

Face Pulls:
5×15 @ 22.5kgs

No video today. Didn’t even get the camera out.

Cut update: average calories for the week: 1833; average weight drop from last week to this one: 0.9kg. Confirmed I’m gonna cut for one more week.

Still doing IF and this is the first workout I’ve attempted fasted (just BCAAs + black coffee). Thought it went well.

Session notes:
– Might seem a bit pointless doing this kind of hypertrophy workout during a cut, especially in light of Andy’s most recent video. But I wasn’t gonna go 4 days without training, and a lighter session like this fits in nicely before heavy benching on Tuesday night. Also I’m not ‘low carb’ (still averaging 200+ grams a day) so I’m not totally depleted.
– That said, I was pretty sore all over from Friday still. Mostly the normal stuff I’d expect after a heavy squat/lower body session (lower back tightness, legs tired etc), plus a new one, right hand side lat is sore. It definitely affected me doing the pullups, but didn’t get worse so I pushed through. RX was for 50 in 10 sets or less, with 2 minute rests. Unfortunately I still can’t get 50 in 10 sets, but I just did 2 more and made sure I got them – took about 30 mins all up. Bit better than last time out, no PR though.
– 1 minute rests between sets of rows and face pulls. The rows were probably a bit heavy, especially by the end. Face pulls too. Form started to suffer a bit on both.
– Just a nice 50 minute session though, just what I needed really. Keep lifting, people of the internet!

Fri 10/11: Squat

Food yesterday: 1832 kcal

Activity yesterday: 11k steps

Sleep last night: 8 hrs 7 mins – 50 mins awake

AM BW: 72.4kg (-0.3kg from yesterday)

Back Squat (low bar):
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 45kg
1×5 @ 70kg
1×3 @ 95kg
1×2 @ 115kg
3×2 @ 127.5kg (new PR, +2.5kg)

Narrow Stance High Bar Back Squat:
3×10 @ 85kg (new PR, +5kg)

Romanian Deadlift:
1×10 @ 80kg
3×10 @ 90kg (new PR, +5kg)

Decline Situps:
3×20

Instagram of first squat set

Youtube of ze workingz out:

I’ve averaged 1800 calories/day this week. Just feels insanely low, especially after that long reverse diet. Was hoping to be in the 70-71kg range by the end of this cut but I probably won’t quite get there unless I push on for another week. On the upside, the scales say I’m back in the 15.x% body fat range.

Dog update, for those who care: we’re in a holding pattern. We want to talk to the oncologist before we decide whether to go ahead with chemo, but still waiting for some scan results and stuff to come back so she can advise us with all the facts at hand. Early next week hopefully we can get that done and move forward with treatment, or not. It’s definitely put a bit of a downer on our little family, and we haven’t really been able to tell our 3 year old what’s going on.

Session notes:
– Was dreading this workout, and almost put it off til tomorrow as I still felt pretty sore. Flashback to last cycle, heavy doubles for squats, and I couldn’t even hit 125kg like I had before. This time round I had a decent lunch (still doing IF, so no breakfast), waited an hour, drank 500ml of Monster and smashed it. Nailed depth on the first one, got a bit lazy after that. Still, damn happy with that, all things considered.
– The high bar squats were probably still a bit too light, but 5kg more than last time and I was a bit fatigued after the heavy sets. They had me blowing a bit though.
– Got distracted halfway through loading the bar for RDLs, and did a lighter set accidentally (with no collars on it). Doesn’t matter. Did 3 sets at another 5kg PR. Don’t know that my form was too flash, lats on both sides were getting a bit sore – felt the last set in the hamstrings the most.
– Went light on the ab work (almost skipped it) since that little tweak still isn’t right. First set of situps were continuous, last two sets were getting more and more rest pause by the end, think the last ten probably took a minute or more.
– Long workout, 1hr 28mins, and my Fitbit says I burned almost 500 calories, which is more than usual. Super happy it’s done, and I can spend tomorrow with the family. Have a great day peeps!

My mind is really not on work today, so I edited up last night’s training video for your amusement:

Wed 8/11: Press

Food yesterday: 1701 kcal

Activity yesterday: 14.8k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 41 mins – 52 mins awake

AM BW: 72.5kg (no change from yesterday)

Morning Cardio:
Air bike – 22 mins
11.18km, avg HR 133 BPM, 229kcal burn

Overhead Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 35kg
1×4+F @ 46kg grr overshot
2×5 @ 45.5kg (new 5RM, +0.5kg)

Floor Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 40kg
1×4+F @ 60kg grr overshot AGAIN
3×5, 1×4+F @ 57.5kg

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press:
1×5 @ 45lbs / side
1×7 @ 42.5 lbs / side
1×8, 1×9 @ 40lbs / side

Seated Dumbbell Press:
1×6 @ 35lbs / side
1×8, 1×7 @ 30lbs / side
1×8 @ 27.5lbs / side

Dumbbell Lying Tricep Extensions:
3×12 @ 25lbs

No video, couldn’t be bothered. The press fail is on Instagram though – https://www.instagram.com/p/BbOrSDEl7CT/

Shithouse day today. The dog went in to get a melanoma removed, which we thought was benign and hadn’t spread. Turns out it’s not benign and it’s in his lymph nodes as well. Don’t know what to do about it – treatment might prolong his life but there’s no guarantee it’ll be effective. We’re pretty fucking sad here right now. This was supposed to be some iron therapy, but I wasn’t very focussed.

Still doing IF, that’s 5 days in a row now I think. Calories waaay down.

Session notes:
– Shouldn’t have gone for the 1kg PR on press, but was kinda happy to get a half kilo PR after the fail.
– Overshot the floor presses as well. Thought 55kg was way too easy last time round, it probably was, but not 5kg too easy. Oh well.
– Dumbbell work was an absolute shitshow. Probably the cut, the fatigue, and the difficult day but I just couldn’t rep what I’ve repped before and had to keep dropping weight. The last LTE reps were pretty shabby and my ab started getting tweaky through those sets.
– Anyway – it took me 80 minutes because of the extra work, but whatever. It’s done, I’m glad I did it, if it had’ve been squat day I probably wouldn’t have. Hopefully next time out will be better. Happy lifting, internet lifter folks.

Mon 6/11: Deadlift

Food yesterday: 1718 kcal

Activity yesterday: 16.9k steps

Sleep last night: 8 hrs 38 mins – 54 mins awake

AM BW: 72.3kg (-0.8kg from yesterday)

2″ Deficit Deadlifts:
1×5 @ 80kg
1×5 @ 105kg
3×5 @ 130kg (PR, +5kg)

Pin Squat:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 45kg
1×5 @ 65kg
1×5 @ 75kg
— Belt on (5th hole) —
1×5 @ 85kg
1×5 @ 90kg
1×1 @ 95kg FFS!
1×5 @ 95kg (PR by virtue of not having done them before)

Weighted Step Ups:
3×10 / side @ 55lbs (27.5lbs / side) – PR

Video of top sets:

Had a super low calorie day yesterday, pushed breakfast out til 2pm and only ate 3 actual meals. Did similar today, and trained straight after lunch. I don’t mind this IF thing, it’s getting easier. Don’t plan on doing it every day (I do actually like eating breakfast) but definitely think mixing it up and doing it 2-3 days a week could be beneficial for a few reasons, not just when cutting.

Session notes:
– Previous best deficit deadlifts was 125kg for eights, so figured 130kg for fives would be about right. It was, but only just. Wow. Also, forgot to belt up for the first set, not that it mattered. I made a really conscious effort to set my back before every rep but it still got a leetle more rounded as each set went on.
– Hadn’t done pin squats before so had no idea what to attempt for ascending sets. Thought I could maybe get similar to what I’d squatted to a box, but after the third set, decided that wasn’t happening. I had the pins set slightly too low as well, no cheating depth with these suckers! Lost tightness in the hole on the second rep of the (intended) last set, and left it on the pins – was pissed off about that, and I’m a stubborn bastard so I went back for a second crack and got them.
– Added a little weight to the step ups just because.
– Was a good session in the end, 70 mins all up, happy. Have a great day internet lifter land!

Sat 4/11: Bench Press

Food yesterday: 2253 kcal

Activity yesterday: 11.2k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 34 mins – 39 mins awake

AM BW: 72.8kg (-0.1kg from yesterday)

Bench Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 45kg
1×2 @ 60kg
3×5 @ 65kg (PR for sets across; +0.5kg)

Incline Bench Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 40kg
1×8 @ 48kg
1×8 @ 46.5kg
1×7 @ 45kg

Barbell Curls:
2×8 @ 32.5kg
1×8, 1×7 @ 31kg
1×8 @ 29kg
1×8 @ 28kg
1×8 @ 27kg
1×8 @ 26kg
1×16 @ 22.5kg

Dips:
16, 12, 10, 9, 8 @ BW (Probably a volume PR)

Some highlights on the tubez:

Session notes:
– My hamstrings and quads are still pretty damn sore from Thursday night. Recovery is really poor at the moment.
– Been experimenting a bit with IF the last couple of weeks, and pushed my first meal out until 1pm today. Hit the gym at 2:10pm. Not sure if this was such a great idea or not, but we’re going out for tea tonight so I wanted some macro headroom.
– Ab started getting sore during the second bench set. But it didn’t get worse thankfully, and blow me down if I didn’t manage to grind out sets across at the weight I failed last time out. W00t – more cut gains!
– All the incline sets were pretty tough on the last rep. 3 minute rests.
– Holy bicep explosion, batman! 1 minute rest on these, til the last higher rep set (which was 2). WTF. Did them with a straight bar for a change, and no sign of the forearm tendonitis thingy I’ve been getting.
– 3 min rests on dips. Triceps blown up.
– 80 minutes to do the lot. Don’t think the overnight fast made much difference, I’m super happy with how this went. And tonight, some restaurant food to fuel the gainz; watch my instagram for some food porn, I hope. Have a great night everyone!

Thu 2/11: Squat

Food yesterday: 2154 kcal

Activity yesterday: 15.4k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 18 mins – 41 mins awake

AM BW: 73.2kg (-0.8kg from yesterday)

Squats:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 45kg
1×5 @ 70kg
— Belt on (5th hole) —
1×3 @ 95kg
3×5 @ 112.5kg

Rack Pulls:
1×5 @ 100kg
1×8 @ 130kg (PR)
1×13 @ 120kg

Rack Rows:
1×10 @ 55kg – last couple a bit cheaty
4×10 @ 52.5kg – these were pretty good

Walking Lunges:
1×110 (55/side) with 40lbs (20lbs / side)

Home movies:

Belt comfortably fits in the 5th hole again, but according to the scales my BF% is just staying the same. Hopefully once I start adding some carbs back in that’ll fix itself because it looks awfully like I’m dropping nothing but lean mass at the moment, despite copious quantities of protein and some solid effort in the gym. Anyhoo.. only another week and a bit to go.

Session notes:
– A bit off my best squatting, the cut is really hitting lower body stuff hard. Felt like I was hitting depth but reviewed the second set and wasn’t happy, so tried to bury the third. Still failed. And the last couple of reps got waaay forward, as a result the last rep was an absolute grinder. Gahhhhhhhhhhh! I think MAYBE I’d hate squatting less if I could actually do it competently. Maybe.
– Haven’t done rack pulls enough, last time out only managed 4 reps at 135kg and 10 at 110kg. Might be pulling from higher, might be stronger, dunno.
– Rack rows were OK. Definitely felt them in the lats.
– Walking lunges were torture and my quads were on fire by the end. I don’t think they’d be so bad if I didn’t have to do about 10 laps of the room to get them done. Didn’t time them but they were probably only 6 or 7 minutes.
– Anyway, all done in 70 minutes flat. Tomorrow is Friday and it’s a long weekend here after that, so happy days! Best wishes to everyone on the interwebs of lifting – have a great night!

Food yesterday: 2035 kcal – whoops

Activity yesterday: 11.5k steps

Sleep last night: 7 hrs 7 mins – 46 mins awake

AM BW: 73.7kg (+0.3kg from yesterday)

Morning Cardio:
Air bike – 20 mins of knee and quad torture.
10.71km, 204kcal burn

Evening Lifting: Press

Overhead Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 35kg
3×8 @ 41kg (new PR for eights, +1kg)
1×9 @ 38.5kg
1×9 @ 37.5kg
1×9 @ 36kg

Lateral Raises:
3×15 @ 12.5lbs / side
2×15 @ 10lbs / side

Close Grip Bench Press:
2×5 @ 20kg
1×5 @ 40kg
1×10, 1×9+F @ 50kg
1×10 @ 47.5kg (just)
1×8 @ 47.5kg
1×8 @ 46kg

Overhead Tricep Extensions (dumbbell):
1×6 @ 25lbs RHS… dreaming
1×12 LHS, 1×8 RHS @ 22.5lbs gah
1×12 @ 22.5lbs / side
1×12 @ 20lbs / side

Home movies:

Actually did ‘proper’ cardio this morning instead of walking. Didn’t really break a sweat, just tired my legs out. Weight is doing the usual thing, creeping up early in the week, but I’m definitely leaning out a bit. 10 days or so to go….

Session notes:
– Still hitting PRs on a cut – WTF! First work set wasn’t quite max effort, last set was super grindy by the end. Probably didn’t rest long enough before the first back off set, forgot to set a timer – didn’t get quite the volume I wanted, ran out of gas too quick.
– Similar thing for CGBP. 3 minute rests, tired, was just a little shy of the volume I got last time out.
– Don’t know what possessed me to add weight to those tricep extensions, except I managed 15 reps at the lighter weight last time out. No chance of that tonight – in fact I had to rest/pause the second set and drop weight for the third. Think I was probably going a little deeper and getting a bigger stretch as well.
– Andy does love blowing up the triceps, but it seems to be working, and I would rather do this than squats for volumez…. bit of a scrappy night, but got it done in 1 hr 20 mins. Happy lifting, internet land.