New Year: Regain and Exceed Last Years Strength

marathonic

Okay, so the New Year has begun and it's almost 2 months since I had a proper weights session - due to holidays before Christmas, an injury and then Christmas itself.

My wrist is still a little sore when I twist it certain directions so I decided that, if it gets sore during my lifts, I'd cut them short. However, I didn't encounter any problems. I did reduce the weight lifted in each lift by 20-25%.

The reason for the reduction is that I know I'll be able to work back up to my PB's before the end of next month if I'm consistent and I want to concentrate on avoidance of injuries as much as possible.

I do notice a big reduction in my strength levels - which is evident by the fact that I only done 6/5/3 in the chinups today (last year, I'd no problem doing 3 sets of 8).

Starting Stats:

Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 175lbs
Superailiac Test: 16.4% Bodyfat
Jackson/Pollock 3 Point Test: 12.2% Bodyfat (Chest:12mm, Abs: 17mm, Thigh: 12mm)

As the Jackson/Pollock test is probably the most accurate, I'll pay more attention to this. Last August, I was 167lbs with 9.5% bodyfat. Therefore, I'm currently carrying 5.5lbs additional bodyfat and only 2.5lbs additional muscle. Obviously, these results are skewed by my 2 month break from weight-training and the over-indulgence of Christmas.

As I've cut back on the weight I'm lifting, I should be able to use January as my month of weightloss. There shouldn't be a problem cutting that 5.5lbs bodyfat, and possibly more, without any loss of muscle.

In February, I'll be increasing the calories to assist me during my heavier weight sessions and associated recovery.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 55kg
Press 35kg
Pendlay Row 45kg
Chinups 6, 5, 3

Comments

First proper weights workout since mid-November. I've cut the weights back due to the break and my intention to do everything possible to avoid injuries this year.

I found the lifts quite easy but, obviously, as I can't reduce the weight in the chinups, I found them tough. Last year, I was doing two sets of 8 and a third, weighted set of 7 (with 5kg). I'd imagine that I should be able to build back up to this before the end of next month.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 60kg
Bench Press 55kg
Deadlift 100kg
Dips (skipped these)

Comments

Everything was fine as expected. I'll be built back up to my mid-November weights next month and then it's onward and upward. I'd to skip the dips due to time constraints.

It's almost a week since my last session as I missed a day in work during the week and had to make up the hours but now it's time to get the routine started properly.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 62.5kg
Press 37.5kg
Pendlay Row 47.5kg
Chinups 8, 5, 3

Comments

I found the first two pretty easy but did use a little 'hip movement' to complete the pendlay rows. I'm hoping to replace these with Power Cleans at some point in the near future (when I get someone to coach me). I did an extra 2 reps in the first set of the chinups so I'm happy with the progress there. It should be too long before I'm back at 8 * 3.

I followed the above with a 65 mile cycle - the first long cycle in ages and forgot to bring food so I was running on empty for the last section of the route. I'm eating like a horse at the moment but am definately still at a calorie deficit for the day.

I currently weigh 12 stone 6 lbs. I want to get that down by 3-4 pounds before the end of this month and then I'll start a full-on bulk. This should help me with the bigger weights - as I expect to be built back up to last years PB's early next month.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 65kg
Bench Press 57.5kg
Deadlift 105kg
Dips 12/8/6

Comments

All were quite easy - although I'm not able to do the 3*12 on the dips that I could do last year (YET).

Turbo_diesel

Any goals for the year Marathonic? Did you do your own calliper measurments ? Find Deadlifting after squatting very taxing on starting strength?

marathonic

Turbo_diesel wrote: »

Any goals for the year Marathonic? Did you do your own calliper measurments ? Find Deadlifting after squatting very taxing on starting strength?

Well, the following were my PB's from last year (and I was at a lowest of 10.6% bodyfat):

Squat 3 * 5 @ 95kg
Bench 3 * 5 @ 75kg
Deadlift 1 * 5 @ 145kg
Press 3 * 5 @ 47.5kg
Pendlay Row 3 * 5 @ 60kg
Dips 12 * 2 (BW) and 1 * 9 (BW + 5kg)
Chinups 2 * 8 (BW) and 1 * 7 (BW +5kg)


My first priority is to get back to that level - although I'm more concerned about the weights than the bodyfat.

As I've dropped the weights back after a 2 month break, I'll be able to lose some weight this month. However, when the weight gets heavier, I'll need to eat a lot more to allow me to complete my workouts.

In an ideal world I'd get back to around 11% bodyfat and the above weights before increasing my calories and focusing on increasing the weight lifted on each. I'm focusing on strength (weight lifted) as opposed to size as it's easier to judge and, if I increase strength, the size will come.

My initial targets are as follows:

Squat 120kg
Bench 80kg
Deadlift 160kg
Press 60kg

After this, I intend to change up the routine and add in some conditioning.

I done the caliper measurements myself and I don't mind the deadlifts after the squats - for now. The deadlifts are only done for one set (after warmups) as opposed to the three that I do for each of the other lifts.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 67.5kg
Press 40g
Pendlay Row 50kg
Chinups 7, 7, 5

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 70kg
Bench Press 60kg
Deadlift 110kg
Dips 12/12/10

ray jay

What are your sets and reps during your workouts? Just listing the weights means it'll be harder to compare if you change your routine.

marathonic

ray jay wrote: »

What are your sets and reps during your workouts? Just listing the weights means it'll be harder to compare if you change your routine.

Hey, at the moment, I do 3 sets of 5 (after the warmup) on each excercise. On the dips, I'll be building up to 3 * 12 and, on the chinups, I'll be building up to 3 * 8 before adding weight.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 72.5kg
Press 41g
Pendlay Row 52.5kg
Chinups 8, 6, 4


Although I worked out yesterday, I was bored today so moved my future workouts a day ahead

It may have been a mistake as I found the last rep of the squats extremely tough but I got through it okay. I'll not be doing it in the future though as the weights get heavier.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 75kg
Bench Press 62.5kg
Deadlift 115kg
Dips 12/11/7

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 77.5kg
Press 42.5g
Pendlay Row 45kg
Chinups 8, 6, 6

I dropped the Pendlay Row's back to 45kg as I wasn't getting them close enough to the chest on the first set at 55kg. I'm not too worried about this as I'm concentrating more on the other excercises. I may switch to some other sort of row in the near future.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 80kg
Bench Press 3*5 @ 65kg
Deadlift 3*5 @ 120kg
Dips 12 * 3

I think the form suffered a little on the squats but I'll still rise next time to see how it goes. The last rep on the dips was very tough but the rest was fine. If everything goes well, I should be back to PB's on everything within the next three weeks.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 82.5kg
Press 43.5g
Pendlay Row 47.5kg
Chinups 8, 6, 3

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 85kg
Bench Press 3*5 @ 67.5kg
Deadlift 1*5 @ 125kg


I skipped the dips today. The squats are getting really tough - the toughest of the above by far.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 5/5/4 @ 87.5kg
Press 3 * 5 @ 45kg
Pendlay Row 3 * 5 @ 50kg
Chinups 8, 8, 6

By the looks of things, my squat is going to be my poorest lift yet again this year. I failed on the last rep of the 3rd set so will keep it at 87.5kg on Monday.

I feel like I'm going to break through my pb of 47.5kg this year. Of course, I'm using 0.5kg plates to slow down the increments and am happy with the results.

I should be at, or close to, PB's on every lift before the end of the month.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 87.5kg
Bench Press 3*5 @ 70kg
Deadlift 1*5 @ 130kg
Dips: 12/11/9

The bench is the excercise that I found toughest today. Will rise the squat to 90kg on Thursday. I done less dips than last week but am not overly worried about those.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 5/5/3 @ 90kg
Press 5/5/3 @ 46kg

A short workout today as I ran out of time. I failed on both lifts done today but I done a 1.5 hour yoga session earlier so that played a big effect. For that reason, I'm still considering raising the weight on both lifts for the next session.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 92.5kg
Bench Press 3*5 @ 72.5kg
Deadlift 1*5 @ 135kg
Dips: 12 * 3

I found all four excercises difficult today. My form on the squats was all over the place but I completed them. For this reason, I'll stick to 92.5kg on them on Monday. I'll raise the bench and deadlifts on Wednesday though. For the dips, I'll try doing more than 12 reps on the third set (which I couldn't have done today). When I reach 16, I'll start adding weight again.

marathonic

marathonic wrote: »

Starting Stats: (07/01/2012)

Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 175lbs
Superailiac Test: 16.4% Bodyfat
Jackson/Pollock 3 Point Test: 12.2% Bodyfat (Chest:12mm, Abs: 17mm, Thigh: 12mm)

It's now 5 weeks later and my stats are as follows:

Weight: 175lbs
Superailiac Test: 14.6% Bodyfat
Jackson/Pollock 3 Point Test: 11.4% Bodyfat (Chest:10mm, Abs: 16mm, Thigh: 12mm)


If my figures are correct, and going by the 3-point test, I had 21.35lbs of fat and now have 19.95lbs of fat. This means that I've gained 1.4lbs of muscle and lost the same amount of fat during the past 5 weeks.

From the figures I've read, a beginner can aim for 1lb muscle-gain every 16 days so, going by that figure, I should have been able to add 2.2lbs of muscle in 5 weeks. However, as I've also lost fat, I'm very happy with the figure.

It's difficult to know what to do next - increase my calories and aim for more muscle gain (together with some fat gain) or cut down to 10% and then bulk to 15%. If I continue as I'm doing and gain 2.45lbs of muscle and lose the same in fat, I'd be at 10% - but it may be easier to just bulk first.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 92.5kg
Press 3 * 5 @ 46kg
Pendlay Row 3 * 5 @ 55kg
Chinups 3 * 8

The squat form was slightly better but still not as good as I'd like. I'm considering sticking to 92.5kg for one more session.

I had planned to do 47.5kg but put the wrong weight on the press. I found 46kg difficult enough so it's probably lucky. I'll raise to 47.5kg the next time.

The Pendlay Row is difficult to get up as far as my chest for all reps but I'll get there eventually.

I used a little leg swing on the last rep of the chinups but hopefully that'll be gone next time.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 92.5kg
Bench Press 3*5 @ 75kg
Deadlift 1*3 @ 140kg
Dips: 12 * 3


I matched my PB in the Bench Press so am very happy with that. The squat wasn't perfect form - probably similar to the last session. However, I'm going to raise to 95kg next time as I can't hang around here forever

I failed on the deadlifts - more to do with grip than anything else. I'll start using chalk at the next session.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 95kg
Press 3 * 5 @ 47.5kg


These lifts match my PB's from last year.

The squats were tough and I almost failed on the third rep of the last set - had to go back to the bottom and retry the push up.

Also, I felt a creak in my neck in the second last rep of the press. It feels like I pulled a muscle or something - slightly more painful than when you wake up with a sore neck after sleeping in an awkward position.

After that, I didn't bother the rows or chinups. I'll see how the neck feels on Sunday before deciding on whether to do a session or not. :mad:

marathonic

I was worried about how the neck would feel this morning on waking up - would it be one of those injuries that feels worse the next day?

Gladly, I'm feeling a little better (not a full range of motion without pain yet, but an improvement). Assumming I'm a little better tomorrow, I can go for my next session.

I'm going to go for a 95kg squat again tomorrow and then shoot for a PB of 97.5 on Tuesday. I'm going for a PB bench of 77.5kg tomorrow - it'll be tough though based upon the difficulty of the 75kg bench earlier this week.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 95kg
Bench Press 4 @ 77.5kg, 5 @ 70kg and 5 @ 75kg
Deadlift 1*5 @ 140kg
Chinups 8/8/6
Dips: 12/12/10

I found the squats tough again but will raise to 97.5kg on Tuesday. I missed a rep on the first set of the Bench Press and dropped weight for the next couple of sets. I'll try 77.5kg again next time.

I managed the 140kg on deadlifts. I used chalk this time. I find the bar rolls a little on my shins/quads which makes grip difficult. Not sure what to do there.

I done chinups instead of dips by accident and followed them up with dips. Didn't manage all 3 sets on either but I'm not too bothered about that.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat 3 * 5 @ 97.5kg (PB)
Press 3 * 5 @ 48.5kg (PB)
Pendlay Row 3 * 5 @ 52.5kg
Chinups 8/7/5

A good session today. I've reached my first PB's of the year in both the squat and the o/h press

I've slowed down on the squats (taking a couple of breaths between reps) but that's fine if it means I can continue raising the weight.

For the press, I didn't attempt 48.5kg last year as I wasn't using the 0.5kg plates. I just went from 47.5kg to 50kg and hadn't completed 3 * 5 at 50kg. It'll be interesting to see Saturdays session where, hopefully, I'll complete the 50kg sets.

The chinups weren't great but, as it's only accessory work, I'm not too bothered.

marathonic

Workout B

Squat 3*5 @ 97.5kg
Bench Press 4 @ 77.5kg, 2 * 5 @ 75kg
Deadlift 1*4 @ 145kg
Dips: 12/12/10

The squats were tough enough - my tracksuit bottoms split open at the rear end on the first rep. I'm glad I work out at home

I failed again on the 5th rep of the first set of the bench and done two follow up sets at a reduced weight. It might be a few sessions before I get the 3 sets.

I also failed on the last rep of the deadlifts. Will stick to 145kg next time - which matches my PB.

I matched my last session on the dips.

marathonic

Workout A - Last Saturday

Squat 3 * 5 @ 100kg (PB)
Press 5/5/4 @ 50kg
Pendlay Row 3 * 5 @ 52.5kg


Workout B - Today (Thursday)

Squat 3*5 @ 100kg
Bench Press 5/5/4 @ 77.5kg
Deadlift 1*3 @ 145kg


I'd too long a break between sessions but I'm gonna look forward, not back.

My squat form was crap on both sessions so I'm gonna stick to 100kg for a couple more. I should get the press and bench press PB's on the next session too.

marathonic

Workout A

Squat (see below)
Press 3 * 5 @ 50kg (PB)
Pendlay Row 3 * 5 @ 55kg
Chinups 8/8/9 (PB)

I had a total breakdown in the squats today. I done the first set with 100kg (albeit with poor form). I then only managed 2 reps of the second set. After that, I completed two sets of 5 at 90kg. I'm pretty disappointed with this but think I'll just do 95kg next time and build back up.

I'd a PB on the Press and Chinups