1 December 2014
Volume Night
Well I thought I would get this logged on the day since I actually had a great feeling day in the gym. I'm not sure why (certainly not extra sleep, we had the grand daughter most of the weekend) maybe it was the giant can of Monster, 2 Reese cups and gummi alligator I had 45 minutes before the gym.... Whatever it was it was nice to finish a workout feeling good about how it went.


Squats - I had to wait in the rack (no surprise on a Monday) so I put some time into some much neglected mobility and stretching. I have been rushing to get to the gym and skimping on the stretching and tonight I realised how much it has effected my lifting. Once I got squatting my hips felt much looser than they have in awhile. My warm ups were smooth and fast right up to my work sets. I decided to add 2.5kgs on my work sets My middle set felt a bit suspect on depth and checking the video I thought I needed a couple more inches and on set 3 I took my time and adjusted depth for 3 good reps.

Barbell Rows - Since I had to wait in the bench I reordered things a little. While I was squatting a few clowns were doing bent over rows with about 40kgs. it was the blind leading the blind and so sad but they didn't ask me for help and I don't usually offer clowns. They finished about the time I finished squatting so I grabbed the bar doubled the weight they were using and smashed out 3 sets. I could them checking me out in the mirror. More work and less play is the way to go.

Bench Press - it is hard to figure what to do at this stage. I have felt like my bench has been a little off so I warmed up to 100kgs and I was going to do 5x5 but I decided to step up and do some paused reps to prep for competition. 3x3 at 110kgs felt good Friday I will be doing heavy pauses for more prep work.

Cable Pull throughs - I think the stretching helped on these also I didn't feel it as much as I have been. I still got a good stretch in and post comp I'll look at moving these up to help the back out.

After I did some distractions on my left hip and walking out of the gym I noticed how well my hip was moving. Tomorrow it is off to the physio to see what he can do for my back. Hopefully I'll get cracked and stretched so I can loosen up.

29 November 2014
Intensity day
I don't make it to the gym on Saturdays very often but the place was all but empty. It was lovely to not have to wait on anything and no dweebs getting in my way.
 
Squats - I was considering where to go on these tonight and settled for 200kgs which is going to be my opener in Melbourne. I decided 2 singles would be a good place to be. Between 160, 180 and 200's I slowed up and took a couple minutes break to try and be a bit fresher. I watched the clock when I started and finished all of my squats in about 17 minutes. I had a good sweat going by the time I was finished and ready to move on.

Bench Press - The one draw back to no one else in the gym is there is no one to spot the bench. Benching in the power rack is nice and safe but the catches are either too high or too low. It takes almost half a rep to unrack the bar. I opted for more volume at a higher weight and 110kgs was about where it was comfortable in the rack I did an ugly rep at 120kgs but he set up was not good to do more.

Deadlifts - I thought I would stick with higher reps and go up. I did the 60 and 100kgs off of two plates and 120kgs off of one plate. The reps fatigued my quite a bit and when I went for 160kgs my hips and back were screaming. I won't be deadlifting again until competition time.

Next week I will keep Volume and Light day as usual but intensity day will be similar with the exception of deadlifts.

Also thanks to all you guys who keep checking in on me. I have been really slack on checking in and my brothers. So cheers and after this competition I'll try and be more on to supporting my brothers and sisters.

27/11/14
Light night
I am catching up on some logging from this week. I have been slack this week in posting but I have been getting the work in. This week is a day off which hasn't made a lot of difference. With 2 weeks to go now I am being careful not to get hurt and screw my self. I was going to bench again tonight but the kids were tying the bench up.


Front Squats - the safety bar is doing a good job. It is surprising how much your leverages change by pushing the handles forward and shifting the weight. Breaking at the knees and sinking down also changes the dynamics. I held at 120kgs again to do a little kind of taper to competition.

OHP - I have been concentrating on benching and not so much accessory work so with the bench held up I thought it was a good chance to get these in. I went back to 60kgs and got 3 set of 5 with not problems. Still felt heavy but not real stresses.

Barbell Rows - I was considering deadlifting again tonight but I could still feel the volume from the other night. So it was a slamming 90kgs rows. This shut up some of the kids yapping all over the weight room and it always feels good to make some noise.

Stationary bike - my hips and hurting from the deadlifting so I hopped on a bike in the hopes of some wind down might help out. Its only 15 minutes of intervals but it gets the heart pumping for 15 minutes and it felt pretty good.

Light night done and on the intensity day.

25 November 2014
Volume night
I missed working out last night due to work keeping me late. So tonight I was going to get there for sure and get my work in. Also, I have had a lot of interruptions in the gym lately so I decided to go back to the hoodie and went with headphones rather than earbuds. I worked well, I didn't have people wanting to shoot the breeze all night long.
With a chance to concentrate things went really well. This was one of those workouts where you end up with shakey hands when your done and you know you put in the work.


Squats- these felt good tonight, better than they have in awhile. Reps went smooth and everything kept tight. We'll see how the heavies go on Friday

Bench - I adjusted volume on these to 3 sets of 5 reps for work sets. Not a bad weight for sets and they went well. I need to work on getting tight all over and get more leg drive going. When I got tight reps went up better. Bench is feeling pretty good right now.

3" Deficit deadlifts - These are to work on the bottom of my deadlifts. I elected to go more for volume on these instead of any big weights. When I was warming up I just decided to go for 10 reps and see how things went. After 2 warm up sets I went with straps to concentrate on getting work in on the lower back and hamstrings. I didn't worry much about a hard lockout either. I did try to keep a flat back and the bar back and close to my shins.


Cable Pull throughs - Getting a good stretch out of these on the hamstrings and back. I just wish there was a faster way to get things stretched out.. I'll get there in time... 

21 November 2014
Intensity night
Well it has been a week from hell and today was no exception. Lack of sleep the past few weeks has taken a toll on me and today was so busy I forgot to eat lunch. By the time it was quitting time my stomach was growling and I had a banana. I was feeling pretty weak and shaky on the way home and I debated on whether it was worth going to the gym. I am going out of town to watch a powerlifting meet tomorrow so I figured I would go and get done what I could.
The gym was almost empty so it was nice to get in and get some work in undisturbed
 


Squats - I warmed up as normal with hardly any rest between sets right up to 160kgs and then took a couple of minutes and hit 180kgs for a single and went for 200kgs but not tonight. It felt so heavy when I started down that only lowered half way and went back up and racked it. I did another one at 180kgs but when I went for another single I dropped the weight and it crashed. Squats were done for the night. The safety on the rack came off. Good thing I got out of the way.

Bench press - the bench went surprisingly well after the squat issues. I did fewer warm ups than I usually do to limit fatigue but I still kept rests to a minimum until the biggest set. I took a couple of minutes and then hit my 130kgs pretty easy. I had a slight grind but the weight went up at a good speed. I gave 135kgs a go but I only got it up about halfway. I am happy with the way the bench went consider my other factors. I think if I was rested and fuelled up properly I could have hit a new PR but I can wait for the competition for that.

1 1/2 deadlifts - this is where you come up to about the knees and back down to the floor, then a full deadlift. Once again this is to help work the bottom of my deadlift. These  hit my lower back hard. Mostly because of the tightness of the muscles. I'll get this sorted eventually and break a 200kg deadlift.

19 November 2014
Wed. "Light Night"
I missed Monday's volume day due to a stomach bug and work commitments taking too much of my life right now. I was tired and with the tummy I thought it better to not risk an accident at the gym.
The work stuff is killing my motivation at the moment which really sucks. I have a couple more weeks of good lifting before heading to Melbourne and I need the work.
I spent 5 hrs today driving to Christchurch and back for a meeting and tomorrow I have to do it again for another meeting. Just more crap getting piled on me at work that I have to deal with.

Tonight there were kids playing in the rack so I started with some back extensions and cable pull throughs before I finally got to the rack.
I also changed up my deadlifting to work on the bottom of the lift.

Back extensions - done hugging a 20kg plate using the preacher curl bench. Good to get the back moving and start to loosen up.

Cable pull throughs - trying to get a good stretch on the back and hammies with these by not bending the knees too much and reaching way back. I am thinking that this might be the way to start all of my sessions. I need the back work and sometimes I skip the cables when the machine is busy. Earlier it might be easier to get the machine.

Front Squats - still holding at 120kgs. I am thinking that when I reset the program I might look at how these get programed. I'll keep them in but I might move them to a ladder progression instead of multiple sets.

Half Deads - done off of a one plate deficit. Instead of doing full deadlifts I lifted to the knees or just above and put the weight back down. Rack pulls showed me that the top of my deadlifts are good (multiples reps at 190kgs) but I need to work on the bottom and get the lower back stretched out. I think this is one way to get there.

I am going to watch a club lifting comp this weekend and support my association. I'm not lifting because in a few weeks I m competing and it is not the time to be maxing out hard. I am going to talk to some of the other lifters about my deadlifts and see what advice they come up with. Could be interesting.

15 November 2014
Today was to be a deadlift day to see where things sit but it seemed like a good time to do the box squat challenge in tribute to a online friend " Coach" RIP John... I have never done box squats before so I used the warm up sets to get the feel of how they go. and then I got some deadlifting in...
 

Box Squats - After 7 sets I started to feel these in the legs and by set 12 I was happy to be done. I do think there is a place for these in a training program and I will definitely be considering them in the future.

Deadlifts - After the box squats some fatigue set in and hopes of a new PR went out the window. That was not a big deal though. I just need to get the work in. Rack pulls the other day showed the top of my deadlift is fine but I still have issues with the bottom of the lift. For the next few weeks I am going to work the bottom of my deadlift using paused lifts and lifts to the knees from a deficit. That should help get the back stretched out and get my lift moving.

13 November 2014
Light night
Light night was a day late tonight due to work commitments. I thought about skipping all together but I need the work. I had to wait on the squat rack for some 3/4 squatting butthead to get finished pretending to squat 1/2 his body weight. I decided to just reorder and do some back extensions, benching and drop OHP for the day.


Back Extensions - I thought these were a good place to start the night off. Still doing these holding a 20kg plate using the preacher curl bench. The back felt good after getting warmed up.

Bench Press - Since I was still waiting on the rack I decided to work in with another guy on the bench. I wasn't looking for a lot of volume so I ran up into a heavy single. The work felt nice and not hugely heavy. Even the 130kgs went up easy. I am going to be ready to hit some heavies on intensity day.

Front squats - Finally I got into the rack and hit my sets. 3x5 hit nicely and was easy enough to lift but just heavy enough to need some work to push back up. I am going to look at moving these to get more volume at some point to change up how the legs get worked.

Rack Pulls - these are new for me but I am looking to get more help on my deadlifts. I pulled from about 6 inches below my knees and from 160kgs on I used wrist straps to get the work done. These felt surprisingly good and when I started I thought about doing just a few reps but they went so well I kept going with 5 reps. My best deadlift has been 185kgs so when I pulled 180 x5 I thought what the heel and went for 190kgs. I pulled 5 reps at 190 without too much trouble. While its not a deadlift it did boost my confidence for deadlifts going forward. I guess you could say this is a kind of PR for me on rack pulls

 

Doing some catching up on blogging
14 November 2014
Volume Night
I has been a hectic week at work so I have gotten behind logging.
I had a pretty good volume night and had a go at some extra work on the bench. I'm feeling pretty good about where I am right now. The body is holding good except for the lower back still being tight. The hips seem to come right when the bar gets on my back and I get going.
 

Squats - 3x3 worked well tonight and still gives volume enough to get muscles cranking. Next week will increase in weight and move on...

Bench Press - I wanted an idea of where I am. I hit singles up to 130kgs but 135 just didn't want to go. I decided to get some volume in anyway so I did triples at 110kgs. 5 sets worth was enough to get some good work in and feel it in my chest and lats. I need to work singles on intensity day now and incorporate a pause.


RDL - I am getting the hang of these now and I have been able to move the weight up steadily. I am looking forward to some deadlifting to see how things are going when everything gets put together. I added 10kgs again to my top set and decided to add another set for some extra work. Everything is feeling good to go.

5 November 2014
Light night
Cowboy Bench Method
It was a good night in the gym but I wish they wouldn't advertise and offer a free week on facebook.. The place was packed, at least I only had to wait a few minutes for the rack. I got in some stretching and back extensions waiting. So that wasn't bad.


Front Squats - I held the weight at 120kgs tonight looking at 2 things. I need to watch going too heavy because intensity night is going to need all the recovery I can get. and secondly I have been considering whether or not to taper into my next comp coming up in just over 5 weeks. I'll make the plan after intensity day this week.. Besides 120kgs on a front squat still requires some effort to get in. Certainly not maximal but it takes a push..
SSB squats 120kgs x5 set 3/3

OHP- I jumped in between a couple of guys squatting to get my sets in. I didn't warm up at all just grabbed the bar and started. I actually felt better on these than I have in a long time. Maybe I should practice what I preach and cut back on some warm ups. The blood is already pumping from squats so why put in the extra sets,.. These went up great but I am not moving the weight until post comp. I went ahead an did a couple extra reps on my 3rd set.
OHP Set 3 of 3

Barbell rows - hard and mean like they should be. Holding at 90 kgs until post comp..

Over all a good workout and has me thinking about the next few weeks and my lead up to the Oceanias....

3 November 2014
Volume Night
Cowboy Bench Method
Well a few days off seemed to help out. The fishing trip didn't yield any fish. Somehow trying to row a boat in a gale doesn't get many fish in the boat  . but it was worth the time to relax and enjoy time away with my wife and friends.
Lifts tonight felt good and the DOMS from last week was gone after a couple of days.
 

Squats - Tonight's squats went good. I have gone to 3x5 on volume day squats now. With Intensity days getting bigger recovery seemed to be coming an issue so a tweak on volume was in order. I caught myself loosening up on the left side again so I need to pay attention and keep the bar level.


Bench Press - The bench was the thing I was concerned about the most tonight. After the DOMs last week it was good to get under the bar and push some weight. 100kgs 6x6 was a good go for volume and I got all my reps with only a few needing any serious extra effort. Friday should go well going by the way Monday went.


RDLs - I have decided to go with an ascending type of rep scheme on my RDL sets. The plan is to warm up going up to a weight higher than the last workout. Last week my work sets were at 130kgs so I worked up to a set of 140kgs. Next week I will work up to a set at 150kgs and so on. Once I get to where I miss reps I will hold and than start to go up in 5 kg jumps.

29 October 2014
Light Night

Well the DOMS from intensity day hit my left arm so bad I could barely move it for a day and a half. My tricep pretty much seized up and took just over a day to loosen back up and two days for the soreness to go away.
Because of that I skipped my volume day this week for recovery. I originally planned to do a rest or deload week about every 4-6 weeks so this became a rest week. I did light night but I am going to give intensity night a pass this week. I have a annual fishing trip for the opening of the high country trout season so a rest week works right in.
On a plus I got the local powerlifting coach set to look at my deadlifts and help sort me out next week. Our schedules haven't meshed lately so it was good to catch up tonight for a bit. He had some massive lifts when he was competing so I am looking forward to the feedback.
 

Squats - No big deal with the safety bar squats tonight. I didn't move the weight up tonight and I am not sure I am going to move it up too much between now and competition time. With intensity getting heavier and volume day providing the stresses to get stronger I want to be sure light night allows some recovery.

OHP - similar to squats I am holding the weight on presses for now. even keeping the weights on hold strength can be gained. As long as you are working you won't lose strength. My bench is getting heavy on intensity day and I want the recovery from volume day.

Rows - Holding the weight here and it has helped my form. I am getting some good reps with the weight coming up better on every rep. I've had good results just holding at a weight in the past and it is working again.

Back extensions - I did these while I was waiting to get into the squat rack. I don't mind doing these first because they help with warming up the lower back and hips for the rest of the workout.

Cable pulls - I haven't been as consistent as I want with these so I put them in to night as an extra. The lower back gets that good stretch and feels better after these. I need to be more consistent at getting these in. I think they are giving some benefit to the posterior chain work that I need.

24 October 2014
Intensity Day
Well it was certainly an intense day for lifting. There was no waiting around for equipment to day which was great but it was a day of ups and downs (no pun intended).


Squats - Warm ups on squats tonight felt pretty good. I forgot to drop a rep off at 120, 140, 160kgs so I lifting a few extra kgs. When I got to my work set I unracked and out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy over by my camera and I thought "damn it not again". A couple of weeks ago a guy stood in front of my camera on a set of 190kgs and so I did a second one to record it. Tonight it threw my concentration off seeing someone over around the camera again. I made my first rep and on the second one I lost tightness in my shoulders and the rep went to hell and I dropped it onto the safeties. I decided to do another set but I didn't have a double in the tank. I did two more singles to get the tonnage in. Just goes to show that lifting is as much mental as physical sometimes.


Bench Press - Tonight was a big night on the bench for me. After having a bad squat session I wasn't sure what was going to happen on the bench. Warming up felt really good right up to 100kgs. I didn't drop any reps and just did 5 reps on all my warmup sets and only rested after the last one. I got our local energizer bunny to give me a spot and in the end he had a chance to just rest. I nailed my 5 reps nice and solid, I might even of had one more in me. This is a good rep PR for me on the bench and the 1RM calculator on my app said my new !RM is over 140kgs. That works great because 140 is what I want to hit at my next comp in Dec. If I keep going I might even do better than 140Kgs in Dec.


Sumo Deadlifts - Tonight I added a little weight to keep some progress going. I also used different shoes to get a better grip on the floor than the slippers I have been using. I felt good on all my reps and did all of them with a overhand grip. Grip was only an issue on the last rep at 160kgs. I think next week I am going to reduce the volume leading up to my top sets down to 3 reps and add more weight again. I am interested to see how these go as they get heavier.


Deadlifts - The first 2 sets of conventional deadlifts felt pretty good but the third set felt a little rough on the lower back. It wasn't enough to think I was in big trouble. But I think enough to show up some fatigue from the sumo volume and that is enough of a reason to reduce the sumo volume.

 

22 October 2014
Light Night
Had to wait on the squat rack tonight so I did a little reordering and did Back extensions first. This is something Reg Park used to do on all of his workouts. He always started with 3 sets of back extensions. I also did 3 3 minute squat challenges where you squat down and hold it. These actually went well and I should be doing them daily


Back Extensions - Done holding a 20kgs plate. these are getting easier so it looks like I might add a few more reps. I think these helped loosen up the back for squats.

SSB Squats - loving the Squat Safety Bar. I moved up 10kgs from last week since I am getting a good feel on the move and using the new bar. 120kgs felt good and was a front squat PR. Next week its going up anther 5 kgs. I need to push a bit to use these to help assist my deadlift. It certainly hits the glutes differently and I can feel it a couple hours later.


OHP- I decided to start using ascending sets on these. I should really be doing these light to give a little more recovery to the shoulders and this is my solution. The top set was heavy and not the best of form so next week will be a repeat.

Barbell Rows - Held the same weight as last week to work on power off the floor. In a few week I'll be where I want to be and add 5 kgs,
Tonight's video has a guy in the background doing upright rows... he is a strong guy and can be interesting to watch....

 

20 October 2014
Volume Night
A typical Monday night at the gym. Freaking clowns everywhere, so it was in with the ear buds and crank up some classic mix of rock and hip hop. Everything felt good tonight but I had to skip pull throughs again due to clowns on the cables... butt heads,. Spring decided to take a break and the weather turned wet and cold so I decided to don the compression pants for the gym....


Squats - feeling good on these, but I found out that knee sleeves and compression pants don't work that well together. I have sorted my form and filming from the rear showed the improvement. I had one rep of 25 that the bar dipped on the left side but other than that everything felt good.


Bench Press - 97.5kgs 6x6 is definitely a rep PR for me and next week's 100kgs will be another. I felt really good on the bench and I feel like my form is pretty well dialled in right now. The shoulders feel good and just one elbow is a little sore. It doesn't seem to be bothering my bench much though. I am feeling pretty confident going into Friday from here.


RDL - I upped the weight and things still felt good. I would rather do these in the rack but the rep of the floor can't hurt. Next week I'll up it 5 more kgs to keep building the back up. After deadlifting on Friday my back was sore but I got these done and felt ok.

18 October 2014
Intensity Night
Intensity night had to wait a day this week. I got home from work and had water flowing all over the sidewalk and driveway and going down the road. The pipe coming off the main failed from age and was blowing water all over the place. It was close enough to the main that the Council works contractor fixed it. It took him 3 hrs to show up and an hour to fix it but it got done.
So it was a Saturday morning workout this time which worked out pretty good. There was only a few people in the gym and there was no waiting for the rack but when it came time to bench there was a guy in the way.


Squats - Reducing to triples and doubles at this point is working good. I think that some of the lighter squats made me a little complacent on bar placement on the shoulders. The rear views of some of my squats have shown the bar not being level across the shoulders. I paid attention to the bar from the time it went up off the rack until I reracked. It felt like I was letting the left side sit too low from the start. A few adjustments and tightening of the shoulders did the trick. The bar felt good and stayed good and steady on my back.


Bench Press - When it came time to bench the bench was in use and with so few people in the gym to aske for a spot I decided to bench in the rack. Last week I forgot to add enough weight to the bar and going for an additional heavy set ended up one rep short. So today it was 117.5kgs again. All my reps felt really good and I blasted right through my work set no problem. Next week is going to be a good one adding 2.5kgs..


Sumo Deadlift - No big problems here. I am feeling more comfortable with sumos and in time I might be able to get some good weight up with these. Brandon Lilly and Andy Bolton both do sumos along with conventional DL saying that they kind of feed off each other. Next week I'll add another 5 or 10 kgs.


Deadlifts - I am using the last weight from my sumos as the warmup weight for conventional deadlifts. So I ended up with 2 warm up sets and then 2 work sets. The back tightened up a little but not as bad as it has been. I just need to keep moving forward with these. A young guy asked me about deadlifting and I gave him the technical stuff about neutral back, looking forward, pull the bar back.... and watched him do a few reps. It highlighted to me again how short my arms are.....


About 7 weeks to go until the Asia/Oceania Championships.. flights are booked.....

15 October 2014
Light night
Was running late from work tonight but got to the gym and got the main lifts done. I have decided that it is time to drop benching on light night now. I am still hitting 6x6 on volume night and my intensity night set is getting to a point where I need the recovery. I was happy tonight to finish up and get out of the gym. I can't understand how some smelly buggers can stand their own stench.. I was like damn dude do some laundry or go jump in the ocean or something..

I have a bit of DOMs in the traps and upper back from Monday's benching and RDLs but it will pass. I'll be paying attention on Intensity night and see if it is time to change things up.

 

Front Squats - These went well and the safety bar is working well. I went up 10kgs from last week and it felt good in the quads. You wouldn't think that a few changes in the location of the weight and how you begin a lift can change things. I am going to keep these moving steadily up slowly.

OHP - warming up 60kgs felt heavy so I held things there. It is supposed to be light night after all. I figure that the bench volume isn't getting a good recovery opportunity with OHP being heavy. I am going to just hold here at 60kgs 3x5 for awhile.

Rows - these felt good but I am going to hold at 90kgs for a few weeks. This will let me build up and make sure my form is dialled in nicely. and I'll still get work in but also get some recovery in from volume night.

13 October 2014
Volume Night
Well qualifying and getting selected to compete as a part of the NZPF team at the Asia/Oceania Championships has sunk in. Now I need to make sure I get the work in to make a good showing. I have been looking at my volume day considering whether the volume is enough to illicit the stimulus needed to keep intensity day moving forward. I think a couple more weeks of 5kg jumps on squats will be good.


Squats - Tonight I went up 5kgs from last week and it wasn't a big issue, I've been here before... My reps all felt good except I need to watch the rocking in the hips in the initial break to descend. I felt a slight twinge in the lower back on the right side on one rep but then everything seemed good.


Bench Press - Then bench felt good tonight. I have been having some elbow issues, the usual tennis elbow making an appearance, I will do some wrist work and that usually seems to balance things out some. The shoulder felt good and the neck has settled down for the most part, at least it doesn't bother my benching. I think moving up in 2.5kg jumps will work again next week and then it will be time to look at the next progression. sooner or later there will need to be a switch to 3x5 and then 3x3..


RDLs - I moved up on RDLs to get the back working more. I tried to get the hit to the hammies and I think I did. I am debating on more reps per set or adding on another set to get alittle more work in I think I am getting some benefit here but I would like to push it a little more.


Cable pull throughs - I upper the weight on these and I sure did feel it. There was quite a stretch in the hammies and lower back during some reps but everything was good when I was done. The hope is for some better mobility along with strengthening the lower back. I am thinking that next week will be the same weight and move up in a couple of weeks as strength builds.

 

10 October 2014
Week 7 Intensity Night
Cowboy (Bench) Method
Not a bad night at the gym but I did start to feel some fatigue set in after squats. I need to get back to the honey before and during workouts. The natural carbs give a good charge up fast.



Squats - today was a day for a rep PR on squats. Doing 3 reps at 90% 1RM was the goal and I hit them pretty nicely. I went for a second set but only hit two reps. I didn't fell like I had the last rep in me so I racked it. All the reps felt pretty good but I did want two full sets. Tonnage wise I still got in 5 reps. Monday I am upping the weight on Volume day to start reducing the gap between intensity and volume day. I will assess how things feel next week and see if I advance or not on intensity day.


Bench press - I was a little pissed off with myself on the bench. I had a brain fade and when I went for my work set I loaded 115kgs when it was supposed to be 117.5kgs. Its not a big jump but I was supposed to move up. As soon as I racked the bar I realised the screw up. To make it up I loaded the bar with 117.5kgs but I only managed to hit 4 reps . Next week I'll hit 117.5 for 5 for a new rep PR.


Sumo Deadlifts - I am feeling more comfortable with sumo deads. I still don't think I am ready for it to be my primary deadlift but I am getting some additional work in to assist with my conventional deadlifts.


Deadlifts - I got up to 140kgs tonight and for the first time in ages I didn't feel my lower back pulling. I guess the RDLs, cable pull throughs and back extensions are starting to do their work and I am getting some strength in the back. 150kgs wasn't a problem and to go up and not have my lower back feel tight and lake everything was being stretched was great. I have to remember to concentrate now and keep the bar back so I can get a good straight bar path going up. Next week, depending how I feel, I'll do this weight again. If the warm ups and first set feel good I might bump things up again.

 

8 October 2014
Week 7 Light night
Cowboy (Bench) Method
Finally after weeks of waiting I took my new Safety Squat Bar to the gym. I'm thinking it may need a tweak on the handles but I am going to give a good break in first. I think the angle on the handles could be a little less so you don't need to push them so far up. Its not a hard fix, just need some heat and bend them to the desired angle.
When I got my camera out tonight my memory card was not there. I think the grandkids were making movies and I forgot to check the camera. So tonight I listened to gym music.. blah.. and used my phone for a few videos. 12 videos drains a battery right down.


Front Squats- The new safety bar worked pretty good. The ends could have been machined 1mm smaller. The safety clips barely go on the ends of the bar. I'll pick up some different collars and that will take care of that. The way the bar is set up is when you push the handles up the weight pivots forward about 3 inches (75mm, 7.5cm, .075m) shifting your center of gravity. It gets you pretty upright and by sinking down you really hit the quads more, just like a front squat.


Overhead Press - I did these before the bench because there was a coupe of kids playing on the bench. 70kgs is felt heavy tonight and the back was getting a bit of an arch on a couple of reps. On my first set I forgot to change shoes and my oly shoes put me off and had me leaning forward. I changed into my flat shoes and that was sorted. I'm going to stick at 70kgs to build up some strength still.


Bench Press - just getting some work in. The shoulder is getting a twinge so I might look at my benching or add facepulls back in to hit the shoulders from a different angle.

Rows - Hard, loud and mean.... .. I think I am going to have a bruise again.. 


Back Extensions - I could feel the lower end of my hamstrings tonight, which is a good thing. It means I am getting some work in on the hammies and lower back.

A good night at the gym and looking forward to Friday's intensity work.

 

6 October 2014
Week 7 Volume Night
Last week I ended up using most of the week as a rest week. Wed I ended up with a blood pressure monitor all day so working out was off for the day. Since I had a couple of niggles I thought I would just make it a rest break for the rest of the week. My traps said I could use the rest.
I have been looking at my program and I am sitting low on volume day and I need to adjust light day's bench or put it on hold for a few weeks. Light day should be light and provide stimulus while allowing for recovery, its a delicate balance.

Tonight felt pretty good. The gym was kinda crowded and I had to wait a few minutes for the bench and by the time it came to do cable pull throughs there were a couple of people on the cables so I flagged them and headed home.


Squats - tonight things went well. I paid extra attention to getting my shoulders tight and making sure the bar was centered on my back. My rear view videos have shown that the bar was lower on the right side as I squatted. This appeared to be a looseness on the left side of my upper back. Today's back view looked better the bar was much straighter across the back. I noticed too on one set that as I unracked the bar dipped on the left. I took this as being off center on the bar. I filmed my warm-ups up to my first set to show how I use my warm-ups to help with some mobility. On the first two sets I totally exhaled to get lower and stretched out. I warm up this way every time I squat and it seems to really help get my stretched out. As I get heavier I go to my usual speed for squatting. Once I hit 120kgs I start dropping a rep to save some energy for my work sets.


Bench Press - No big problem on the bench tonight. I kept the weight the same as last week because I wanted to make sure I was getting all my reps in with good form and consistency. Next week it is going up 2.5 kgs again.


RDLs - felt a good hamstring stretch on these. I am getting better at the form on RDLs and I think I am going to see some benefits. I'll keep adding weight on to these and try to get the back built up. I'm using straps on these sometimes. I am not working on my grip I'm working on my back so straps are ok by me.

 

29 September 2014
Week 6 Volume Night
A good night of lifting tonight. The neck and shoulder has come back to almost 100% and the hip has settled down some. I still find myself favouring the left hip flexors and I am going to need to find some way to work on that.



Squats - tonight felt good on squats. I have developed a bit of an issue with bar position that I need to sort out. The bar is riding lower on my left side than the right. I'm not sure if its a tightness thing or some other bad habit I am developing or some of it could be the camera angle. I need to get a good shot from directly behind instead of off to one side. I also so need to work on tightness of my core, I see my back has a lot of movement to watch out for,


Bench Press - looking pretty good here. I am in a bit of a groove at the moment. I'm not sure how far I carried 6x6 the last time I ran a Korte bench program. I'll have to look back, this could be getting close to a volume PR. Next week at 95kgs 6x6 is going to be a good push.


RDLs - increased the weight slightly this week. Still really working on the stretch on these. Had to begin off the floor which I think is a good thing for the most part. It gives that one rep feel for feeling the form off the bottom.

Cable pulls throughs - upped the weight 4kgs and let 'er rip. these are getting more stretch in the hammies if you keep the legs fairly straight. Working everything here to get the deadlift up..

Great work out tonight. I was soaked by the time I finished things up and I really felt like I accomplished something.