Return of the King

BossArky

Monday October 9th: Squat Day 9 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
20kg - 1x5
70kg - 1x5
110kg - 1x3
**add belt & wrist wraps**
130kg - 1x2
150kg - 1x1
170kg - 1x1 ... top single & 5kg PR
125kg - 2x9 ... drop sets & 5kg PR
---
Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
2x8
---

Top single on 170kg for a 5kg PR. Pretty happy with this one!

Was gonna go for 168kg for a 3kg PR just to break Alfs heart... but knew I had more in me and the only heart broken would be mine if I didn't seize the day whilst feeling strong. The 10kg plates were lying there so it was simpler to just jump from 150kg to 170kg, instead of 150kg to 168kg with loose change etc. The 150kg last warm up felt like 60kg.

Again, felt 100% confident I was gonna get the 170kg and it was just a case of doing it.

Dropped down to 125kg 2x9 for the dropsets which was also a 5kg PR for that set/rep scheme. Those were fine after coming down from the top single.

170kg - wow!

Alf Veedersane

BossArky wrote: »

Was gonna go for 168kg for a 3kg PR just to break Alfs heart... but knew I had more in me and the only heart broken would be mine if I didn't seize the day whilst feeling strong.

The right decision was made.

Bear in mind, 167.5 is a comp PR. I tripled it (to depth) in the gym a few weeks before the May comp.

I reckon 175 is there looking at the 170!

BossArky wrote:

The 150kg last warm up felt like 60kg

Reminds me of the CWS mantra....'Treat 60 like your max and your max like 60'. (the number was different because imperial Murkans)

BossArky

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Bear in mind, 167.5 is a comp PR. I tripled it (to depth) in the gym a few weeks before the May comp.

I'm glad you mentioned this because it gives me motivation to keep pushing for the final 3 Squat sessions of this cycle!

Alf Veedersane

BossArky wrote: »

I'm glad you mentioned this because it gives me motivation to keep pushing for the final 3 Squat sessions of this cycle!

Motivation for me in next comp is the sight of three pristine red Eleiko plates at either end of the bar

BossArky

Tuesday Oct 10th: Bench Day 9 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
95kg - 6x6

Chin Ups (parallel grip)
bodyweight - 6x6
---
DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x10

DB Press (standing)
6kg per arm - 3x15
---

Bench and Chin supersets done in 43 mins.

Some light curls and overhead press for elbow health and pump.

BossArky

Thursday Oct 12th: Squat Day 10 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
20kg - 1x5
70kg - 1x5
110kg - 1x3
**add belt & wrist wraps**
135kg - 1x2
155kg - 1x1
175kg - FAIL
135kg - 2x7 ... worksets & PR for 7s
---
Plank
2x30-40 secs
---

Put 5kg onto the bar to attempt a 175kg Squat. That was a bridge too far this time.

No big deal. Fatigue caught up with me and didn't feel 100% rested and recovered. Think I battered myself too much by doing 6x6 on chins with bench the other day. Still pretty sore.

Dropsets on 135kg 2x7 was a PR.

BossArky

Friday October 13th: Bench Day 10 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
105kg - 6x5 ... PR for 5s

Band Pull Apart
6x15
---
DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x12

DB Arnold Press
6kg per arm - 3x12
---

Bench day 10 of 12: 105kg 6x5 for a PR on 5s. Superset this with band pull aparts.

The fatigue was real after yesterday’s Squats. Happy to get through this and recover properly for next time

BossArky

Saturday Oct 14th: Deadlift day 7 of 7 - Dubai (@home)

Deadlift (conventional)
70kg - 1x5 ... double overhand
120kg - 1x3
150kg - 1x2 ... add belt & mixed grip
170kg - 1x1
190kg - 1x1 ... PR by 9kg
200kg - 1x1 ... PR by 19kg
177kg - 1x3 ... worksets
---
Plank
2:30 ... 15 secs on / 15 secs off
---

Achievement unlocked: 200kg Deadlift.

That’s a 19 kg PR in about 3 months. Final warm up on 190kg and the actual planned worksets of 177kg x3 which I did after as dropsets. Knew I was feeling strong so had to seize the day and pull 200kg. Got a bit out of shape, up onto toes & had to man handle it back to lock out.

Happy enough.

BossArky

Monday October 16th: Squat Day 11 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
20kg - 1x5
70kg - 1x5
110kg - 1x3
**add belt & wrist wraps**
140kg - 1x1 ... felt heavy
160kg - FAIL ... way too fatigued
145kg - unracked and then reracked - felt heavy so couldn't be bothered with planned 2x5
100kg - 1x2
90kg - 1x2
60kg - 1x2
---
Dumbbell Deadlift
6kg per arm - 3x12
---

So it looks like I totally peaked at the end of week 5, meaning this week 6 is a write off for Squat. Mentally I wasn't there either. After Squatting 170kg and attempting 175kg last week... there was no motivation to even have 160kg on my back. Will see how Bench feels later.

Good lesson to learn outside of an actual competition training cycle. (i.e. don't ever push that hard in training when building up to an actual meet)

Gonna take some light Squat days for the next while. Will try to finish Bench program as planned this week with the final 2 days.

BossArky

Tuesday Oct 17th: Bench Day 11 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
20kg - 1x5
60kg - 1x5
80kg - 1x3
100kg - ???? not sure if I did this set or skipped straight to 110kg x1
110kg - 1x1
115kg - 1x1 ... PR by 2kg
120kg - 1x1 ... PR by 7kg
125kg - 1x1 ... PR by 12kg
130kg - stapled
60kg - 2x8
---
Barbell Row
60kg - 3x10
---
DB Curl
6kg per arm - x6, x8, x10

DB Press (standing)
6kg per arm - x6, x8, x10
---

Not sure what happened there ^^.

Aim of the day was stick to the plan and finish off day 11 of 12 of this Bench program which called for worksets on 110kg 6x4.

In the midst of warming up I was day dreaming about the Camaros I've been test driving. Ended up doing what I thought was my final warm up of 100kg x1, but after hopping off the bench realized that I had just done a single on 110kg, not 100kg. Maybe I skipped the 100kg single, or maybe I did it and couldn't remember. Either way... the 110kg x1 felt easy like 100kg... and now I was primed for an all time PR attempt.

Went up in 5kgs to hit PRs on 115kg, 120kg and then 125kg... before getting stapled with 130kg.

This takes me to a 495kg training total this cycle (SQ 170 / BP 125 / DL 200).

BossArky

Friday Oct 20th: Deload - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
20kg - 1x5
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x5

Military Press (front)
20kg - 1x5
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 1x5
---
Barbell Row
40kg - 3x10
---

A quick deload done and dusted in around 8 mins. Was swimming earlier this morning too.

BossArky

Saturday Oct 21st: Deadlift day 1 of 7 - Dubai (@home)

Deadlift (conventional, double over, beltless)
70kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
115kg + 16kg chains - 3x8 ... worksets
70kg - 3x6 ... fat gripz

Barbell Press (behind the neck)
30kg - 3x10
---
Barbell Row (with straps, no belt)
100kg - 3x8
---
Ab Wheel (knees)
3x8
---

Feeling a bit under the weather with what feels like the onset of a cold. Kick started the new Deadlift cycle. Will keep Squat and Bench on deload for the next week. Body really fatigued. Just wanna sleep.

BossArky

Saturday Oct 21st: Evening Cycle - Dubai

Cycle: 10 or 20km... who knows?

Hopped on the bike and did something like 10-20 kms into the desert and back. First time I've been back on the bike for ages. Great cycle track where I live that stretches out into the middle of nowhere for a 90km roundtrip in the desert. The weather is just cooling down now so that its only around 30 degrees in the evenings when the sun sets.... so will be doing bit more cycling going forwards for the coming 6 months.

Bought this bike in France back in 2004. My first job out of Uni was there and I used to commute 350km per week. Put about 16,000km on it that first year. I remember that number cos one of my then colleagues was comparing my speedo mileage to ~40% the circumference of the earth.

It took me all over the UK from 2005-2007, numerous triathlons (some documented in this log).... before going all over the place on both coasts of Australia from 2010 to 2017.

Now its making its way through the desert around Dubai.

Funny - I thought this bike was expensive when I picked it up for a couple hundred Euro back in 2004. Definitely squeezed so much value out of it. Could replace it for a newer lighter more modern version... but serious nostalgic attachment to it. It's just a nice to have fun cardio bike and I'm not a serious cyclist these days. I'm wondering how long its gonna last parked outside the house in the blaring heat and sand though.

BossArky

Tuesday Oct 24th: Deload - Dubai (@home)

Front Squat
20kg - 1x5
30kg - 1x5
40kg - 3x8
---
Lunges
40kg - 3x5
---
Bench (close grip, ~2020 tempo)
20kg - 1x5
40kg - 3x10

DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x10

DB Press (standing)
6kg per arm - x6, x8, x10
---
Barbell Row
40kg - 3x10
---

Getting some early morning deload reps in the tank ^^.

BossArky

Thursday Oct 26th: Deload - Dubai (@home)

Front Squat
30 - 3x5

Military Press
30 - 3x5
---
Calf Raise (on decline plate)
30kg - 3x10
---
DB Press (standing)
6kg per arm - 3x8

DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x8

DB Press (standing)
6kg per arm - x6, x8, x10
---

Some more deload reps.

BossArky

Saturday Oct 29th: Deadlift day 2 of 7 - Dubai (@home)

Deadlift (conventional)
70kg - 1x5 ... double overhand
120kg - 1x3
125kg +16kg chains - 3x8 ... had to switch from double over to mixed grip around rep 5 of each set as grip was going
75kg - 3x6 ... fat gripz

Barbell Press (behind the neck)
30kg - 2x8
---
Barbell Row (with straps, no belt)
105kg - 3x10 ... momentum involved
---
Ab Wheel (knees)
3x6
---

Traps are sore as I type this from those heavy Barbell Rows which were more like Shrugs on the first set. Bit better on the 2nd set, before reverting to more Shrug like movement for on last. Testing my limits on this exercise.

Deadlifts were fine, as was everything else.

BossArky

Monday October 30th: Squat Day 1 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
105kg - 3x9
---
RDL
40kg - 3x10
---
Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
3x6
---

Man that was hard for day 1. Zero motivation.

BossArky

Tuesday Nov 1st: Bench Day 1 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
85kg - 6x6

Barbell Row
60kg - 3x6

Chin Ups (parallel grip)
bodyweight - 3x6
---
DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x10

Arnold Press (DBs, standing)
6kg per arm - 3x10
---

Some upperbody stuff on first Bench day.

BossArky

Thursday Nov 2nd: Squat Day 2 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
115kg - 3x9
---
RDL
40kg - 3x10
---
Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
3x6
---

Some Squats.

BossArky

Friday Nov 3rd: Bench Day 2 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
95kg - 6x6

Barbell Row
60kg - x5, x6, x7, x8, x9, x10, x12
---
Reverse Curl
20kg - 3x10
---

Some bench.

BossArky

Saturday Nov 4th: Deadlift day 3 of 7 - Dubai (@home)

Deadlift (conventional)
70kg - 1x5 ... double overhand
120kg - 1x3
145kg +16kg chains - 3x8 ... mixed grip
80kg - 3x6 ... fat gripz

Barbell Press (behind the neck)
30kg - 3x10
---
Ab Wheel (knees)
3x6
---

Some Deadlift.

BossArky

Tuesday November 7th: Squat Day 3 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
125kg - 3x5

Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
3x6
---

Took an extra days rest as was still sore from Deadlifts on Saturday.

Almost canned the plan and was about to start Madcows 5x5... but got put off by the amount of weight changes involved in each session. I much prefer to put one weight on the bar and leave it there for the worksets whilst I space out listening to a podcast or reading a book during the rest periods.

Anyway - did 125kg 3x5 on the original Squat plan. Feeling knackered and peak hungover from last cycle still. Got it done.

BossArky

Wednesday Nov 8th: Bench Day 3 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
100kg - 6x4

Band Pull Aparts (doubled mini band)
3x15

Chin Ups (parallel grip)
bodyweight - 3x6
---
DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x10

Arnold Press (DBs, standing)
6kg per arm - 3x10
---

Some benching. First sets felt rough but then got into and feel like I'm almost back on track.

BossArky

Thursday Nov 9th: Squat Day 4 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
125kg - 1x3
135kg - 3x3 ... worksets
---
Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
3x6
---

Squats starting to feel a bit better.

BossArky

Friday Nov 10th: Bench Day 4 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench (paused)
105kg - 6x3

Chin Up (parallel grip)
bodyweight + 10kg - 3x5
bodyweight + 5kg - 3x5
---

Some Bench & Chins.

BossArky

Saturday Nov 11th: Deadlift day 4 of 7 - Dubai (@home)

Deadlift (conventional)
70kg - 1x5 ... double overhand
120kg - 1x3
150kg - 1x1 ... mixed grip
155kg +16kg chains - 1x8 ... PR for a set of 8
85kg - 3x6 ... fat gripz

Barbell Press (behind the neck)
40kg - 3x8
---
Ab Wheel (knees)
3x6
---
Reverse Fly
2.5kg per arm - 3x15
---

Deadlift day 4 of 7: 1x8 @155kg +16kg chains. That’s a 5kg PR. Lost a bit of weight. Swimming twice a day plus weights 5 days per week. Just about coming out of the peaking hangover from last cycle.

BossArky

Monday November 13th: Squat Day 5 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
115kg - 3x9

Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
3x6
---

Legs kinda dead after that.

Went swimming after.

BossArky

Tuesday Nov 14th: Bench Day 5 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Bench(paused)
90kg - 6x6

Barbell Row
90kg - 3x6

Chin Ups (parallel grip)
bodyweight - 3x6
---
DB Curl
6kg per arm - 3x10

Arnold Press (DBs, standing)
6kg per arm - 3x10
---

Writing this log entry from the gym mid work out. First time I've hit submit before actually finishing a work out. I guess then its more or a premonition rather than a log entry.

Alf Veedersane

BossArky wrote: »

Writing this log entry from the gym mid work out. First time I've hit submit before actually finishing a work out. I guess then its more or a premonition rather than a log entry.

Gymception.

BossArky

Thursday Nov 16th: Squat Day 6 of 12 - Dubai (@home)

Squat (flats)
60kg - 1x5
100kg - 1x3
125kg - 3x7 ... worksets
---
Ab Roll Out (barbell, knees)
3x6
---

Squats before a conf.call.