Sets of faahve

Mr. CooL ICE

February 23. W7D4

RDL:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
130kg x 5
120kg x 5

Up to X5 @9. Recorded myself and my knees were going back on descent before going forwards, so this was probably some weird RDL/GM hybrid. Did one back off set and concentrated on correcting knees and left it at that.

Barbell rows:
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5

Up to X5 @8, repeat. Tweaked my calf muscle in last set. Wut?

CGBP/facepull:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
80kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
80kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
80kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
80kg x 5/29kg plate x 20

Up to x8 for CGBP, repeat. Going through the motions.

Was short on time today so was ok with cutting stuff short.

Mr. CooL ICE

February 26. W8D1

Squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
* sleeves *
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
147.5kg x 5
140kg x 5
140kg x 5
140kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. Had one dodgy rep in the warmup 140 and it made me doubt going for 150x5. So I went for 2.5kg below that :cool:. Drop sets felt heavy but moved well.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
95kg x 4+F
85kg x 5
85kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. Had my head set on 92.5x5 for top set but 85 felt really good, so tried 95x5. Big mistake. Got the last rep about 2 inches from my chest before my ass rose up and I tweaked my left calf muscle. Roll of shame! Drop sets would have been 90kg but I had well and truly fecked myself because my left side felt significantly weaker than my right and only got two drop sets.

Silly, silly mistake. Patience, Nic. Patience!

BTN press:
20kg x 7
30kg x 7
35kg x 7
35kg x 7
35kg x 7
35kg x 7
35kg x 7

Up to x7 @8, repeat. Moved well and felt kinda lighter as the sets went on.

Mixed day.

Dtp1979

Are you benching paused?

Mr. CooL ICE

Unless otherwise stated, paused. 'tis practise for the competition lifts.

If you have a look back at previous sessions, I'd have touch and go denoted as "Bench (tng)" or their more obvious variation names such as "CGBP" or "Floor press".

Mr. CooL ICE

February 27. W8D2

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
130kg x 5
145kg x 5
155kg x 5
145kg x 5
145kg x 4

Up to x5 @9. Form during warmups felt solid. Felt like I was finally 'getting' lat engagement. First 4 reps of top set were slow but form held together but 5th was a disaster.

Was wrecked come 2nd drop set, so abandoned.

Pin press:
20kg x 5 (no pin)
40kg x 5 (no pin)
60kg x 5 (no pin)
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg x 2
95kg x 2
95kg x 2
95kg x 2

Up to x2 @9. Felt I could have gone higher for top set but was a little wary after yesterday. Last rep on last set went too far forward and was a grind to lock out.

Front squat:
60kg x 4
70kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 2

Up to x4 @8, repeat. Really felt these in the quads as I was trying to go ATG while keeping chest up. Last set was terrible as I was leaning forward and on my toes. Reckon I had gotten tired and had started resorting to where I was stronger; a back squat position. So stopped there.

Pullup
x12

A few reps left in the tank.

Ugh. Meh day.

Alf Veedersane

Your lats and triceps had put in a good chunk of work before you got to front squats. It's no surprise it was harder to keep your elbows up and not lean forward at the end of that.

Also, still repping 100kg on pin press.

Not sure how all that was so meh.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 5. W9D1

So, there was no W8D3/W8D4 due to a certain national weather event. Couldn't get near the gym and neither could the staff. Had loads of cabin fever induced energy that was driving me mad. Had a few power walks including one which resulted in my sprinting across a green until I hit about 3ft deep snow. I probably looked mental but my knees felt a bit achey afterwards.

Did plenty of shovelling of the front of the house. Also helped build a snowman which was like strongman training (tyre flips and atlas stones for weaklings). Didn't do much mobility work but did a few squat sits over the course of the few days, which helped.

Plan for this 4-week block is do add volume by doing stuff I'm terrible at; high rep work and unilateral leg work. I have the fear.

Squat:
20kg x 5
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
* sleeves *
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 5
140kg x 4
145kg x 4
125kg x 8
125kg x 8
125kg x 8

Up to x4 @9, then drop sets were going to be double the reps of the top set @ RPE 8 based on what weight the top set was. This is the plan for the main lifts for the next 4 weeks.

Good to see strength didn't regress much from the last few days. I suck at anything beyond 5 reps and this sucked. Was gasping for breath and legs were like jelly after the 1st set, but got used to it for the rest.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
80kg x 4
90kg x 4
77.5kg x 8
77.5kg x 6
77.5kg x 8

Up to x4 @9. 80x4 felt weak and thought 90x4 wasn't in me today but I went for it anyway. Was grand. Had to rack before finishing 2nd drop set as my arms were fcuked. Last drop set was at least an RPE 9.5.

BTN press:
20kg x 6
30kg x 6
35kg x 6
35kg x 6
35kg x 6
35kg x 6
35kg x 6

Up to x6 @8, repeat. Was grand. Probably should have gone up in weight but was short of time so took shorter rests instead.

I need all the food.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 6. W9D2

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
130kg x 5
150kg x 3
165kg x 3
140kg x 6
140kg x 6
140kg x 6

Up to x3 @9. 150x3 felt really good so I went for 165x3 rather than 160. Bit of an overestimation as 165x3 ended up being a 10. Last rep was slow and got stuck halfway but rather than drop it, I managed to grind it out whilst keeping form. Delighted.

Drop sets should have been 145 @8 if the 165 was a 9, but because it was a 10, they were 140. Gym instructor (who usually isn't in on Tuesdays) said it was his first time seeing my sumo in ages and said it looked really solid. Said my stance might be too wide as my shins aren't vertical at bottom position. Never even thought about that as any recordings I had made were from the side to check my back position. Narrowed my stance a tiny bit for last drop set and yeah, it felt a bit easier.

Incline bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 6
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
75kg x 4
70kg x 4
70kg x 4
70kg x 4

Up to x4 @9. I suck at incline, which is why I'm doing them. Ass barely stayed on the bench for most of the reps. Moved alright otherwise.

Dumbbell walking lunge/pullup superset:
10kgs length x 2/x8
10kgs length x 2/x8
10kgs length x 2/x8

Length of astro is 6 lunges per Nic Cage size leg, so would be 12 lunges per leg. Had a 1 minute break between each exercise (not each superset) and was bollocksed by the end. My conditioning is really bad at the moment. But I did feel my legs burn a little so, yay?

Tough day. But a good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 8. W9D3

SSB squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
105kg x 5
100kg x 5
100kg x 5
100kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. Form breakdown occurred in a handful of reps during drop sets as my hips started shooting back and chest falling forward. Seemed like I was resorting to where I was stronger (LB position) so it was far more of a fight to keep form than to shift weight. Was always able to correct on the subsequent rep.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 6
70kg x 6
80kg x 6
90kg x 6
85kg x 6
85kg x 6
85kg x 6

Up to x6 @10. The 90x6 was at most an RPE 9, but I was running short of time so kinda had to hurry up. Reckon 95x6 @10 was on the table. Compared to 4 weeks ago (also x6 @10), that was a 9.5 and I couldn't finish the drop sets so today was an improvement in some ways, I guess. But level of fatigue wasn't achieved, so boo.

OHP:
20kg x 6
30kg x 6
40kg x 6
45kg x 6
45kg x 6
45kg x 6
45kg x 6

Up to x6 @8, repeat. Realised afterwards that I had meant to do push press. Oops!

Good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 9. W9D4

Sweeping deadlift:

(To save some googling, it's where the bar is banded to something in front of you and forces you to use the lats more to stop the bar drifting away)

70kg x 5 (no band)
90kg x 3 (no band)
90kg x 3
110kg x 4
130kg x 4
145kg x 2
145kg x 2
145kg x 2

First time trying these and it was supposed to be up to x4 @9. Instead, I kept the reps low just for a bit of practise. Despite only 6 working reps, my lats were pretty fried. No belt though. I usually wear a belt from 130kg onwards but I didn't miss it today.

CGBP/facepull superset:
20kg x 6
40kg x 6
60kg x 6
70kg x 6/23kg plate x 20
80kg x 6/23kg plate x 20
80kg x 6/23kg plate x 20
80kg x 6/23kg plate x 20
80kg x 6/23kg plate x 20
80kg x 6/23kg plate x 20

Up to x6 @8 and going for 100 facepulls, but did 120 by accident. Oh well.

Wide grip pullup:
x 10

Was done and looked at clock and had been here 1hr5, which is short. I usually do a deadlift accessory followed by rows, but the sweeping deadlifts seemed to kill two birds. Cheeky AMRAP and holy jaysus, the wider grip makes them far weaker than I expected.

Good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 12. W10D1

Squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
* sleeves *
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
115kg x 10
115kg x 10
115kg x 10

Up to x5 @9 followed by x10 @8. Had kinda high hopes that I'd make 150x5 (which would have been a 5RM) but the 140 was a 9 and nowhere near the heavy warmup feel I expected it to be.

And I felt pukey after 2nd drop set.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
92.5kg x 5
75kg x 10
75kg x 10
75kg x 7

Up to x5 @9, followed by x10 @8. I think that's a new 5RM. Arms were destroyed on last drop set and din't fancy another roll of shame so cut it short. At least I didn't feel pukey.

BTN press:
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 9.5

Was supposed to be x7 @8, but was running out of time so did sets of 10 until I fatigued myself.

Weird day. I feel like I'll never be good at high rep stuff. But I'm bad it so I will keep doing it for a while.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 13. W10D2

Deadlift
20kg x 5
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg x 4
155kg x 3
155kg x 3
155kg x 3

Plan was up to x4 @9 followed by x8 @8. But my back was fried during warmups. Glutes were sore, but that's ok. Just my spinal erectors... it's like they had no energy.

In hindsight, it wasn't a properly thought out plan to do high rep deadlifts the day after high rep squats and bench. Instead, the 155x3s were @8 so I got some practise in at least.

Incline DB press:
10kgs x 8
15kgs x 8
20kgs x 8
25kgs x 8
25kgs x 8
25kgs x 8
25kgs x 8

Plan was up to x8 @9. But, well, I never DB press. I think I've DB pressed twice in the last two years. So while the weight wasn't that heavy to press, I had enormous difficulty getting the DBs out of the rack and getting myself into position. Felt like a proper noob.

So stopped at 25kgs and decided to do them til 8 reps felt like a 9.

DB Bulgarian split squat:
x5
10kg x 5
10kg x 5
10kg x 5/wide grip pullup x8
10kg x 5/wide grip pullup x8
10kg x 5/wide grip pullup x8

Plan was to practise these at whatever weight. As I'm crap with unilateral leg stuff, my biggest challenge here was not falling over. The sets got progressively easier as I was getting used to them. But getting easier meant they weren't really a challenge, so I started supersetting them with wide grip pullups.

Weird day today. Didn't stick to the plan at all at all at all. But kinda adapted on the fly so I felt like I got something done.

coffee_cake

I put the dbs up on my knees while sitting and kinda roll back using knees to get them to me so that gets them up into position. If that helps at all.
I've only gotten as far as 14kg dbs though not 25

Like scott here does https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=622ku8i0M14

Mr. CooL ICE

Ok, I never rolled back with my knees up. I'd be afraid of being a clumsy ass and falling off the side. But it makes sense. I kept my feet on the floor and curled the DB into position when I lay back which probably expended unnecessary energy.

Alf Veedersane

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Ok, I never rolled back with my knees up. I'd be afraid of being a clumsy ass and falling off the side. But it makes sense. I kept my feet on the floor and curled the DB into position when I lay back which probably expended unnecessary energy.

I'm somewhere in between. I try propel them off my knees as much as possible without them going too far because I would almost certainly manage to topple sideways off the bench

Mr. CooL ICE

March 15. W10D3

Stuck for time this morning. Had 40 minutes max to do everything.

Tempo squat 3030:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 4
120kg x 4
110kg x 4

Up to x4 @9. One drop set and I was 20 minutes into the session. Not the end of the world.

Whatever about the pain and torture inflicted upon my body by this lift, slowing things down is great for form self analysis. I've noticed myself tilting forward recently and today, I realised I've been breaking at the hips before the knees which could be a root cause. Something to work on.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5
95kg x 5
85kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. Managed one drop set. Happy.

Under the circumstances, good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 16. W10D4

Paused deadlift:
40kg x 3
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 3
130kg x 3
145kg x 3
135kg x 3
135kg x 3
135kg x 3

Up to x3 @9. First time doing paused sumo. 145kg felt ok but the drop sets felt far too easy. Maybe I wasn't warmed up enough?

JM press:
20kg x 7
40kg x 7
50kg x 7
60kg x 7
70kg x 7
65kg x 7
65kg x 7
65kg x 7

Up to x7 @9. These were tough and triceps are in bits.

I was meant to do rows after paused deadlifts and then do JM press supersetted with facepulls, but I kinda forgot. Remembered before last drop set. Oops. Kinda adjusted on the fly.

DB row/bent over lateral raise superset:
15kg x 8
20kg x 8/5kgs x 10
20kg x 8/5kgs x 10
20kg x 8/5kgs x 10
20kg x 8/5kgs x 10
20kg x 8/5kgs x 10

20kg was light for DB rows so added a pause and tempo. I've always felt like DB rows did little for me but I assume it's because I was doing them wrong. The lighter weight and tempo meant I had time to ensure I was activating the lats.

It's been a tiring week, work-wise. The week didn't go to plan at all really but at least I made it to the gym and got some work done.

coffee_cake

I have to do 3s negatives on my rows. You sure feel em then

Some >> none, good stuff

Alf Veedersane

bluewolf wrote: »

I have to do 3s negatives on my rows.

And tempo squats. Someone doesn't like you very much.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 19. W11D1

Squat:
20kg x 5
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
* sleeves *
100kg x 3
* belt *
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
150kg x 3
135kg x 3
135kg x 3
135kg x 3

Was supposed to be up to x3 @9 followed by x6 @8, but adjusted on the fly. Will explain below.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 3
95kg x 3
85kg x 3
85kg x 3
85kg x 3

Up to x3 @9, then x6 @8. Was hoping to rep 100kg by now but it's not happening just yet.

I've had a pinching pain in my mid-upper back since Thursday that has gotten increasingly worse. Thought it was muscular but all the foam rolling and mobility I threw at it had no effect. Last night, I noticed the pain intensified when taking a deep breath so that made squats this morning a risky idea. Strength was there but I was short of breath after every set, inc warmups.

GP not open til tomorrow but in the meantime, I'll skip the gym until I get seen. Going to the gym at all this morning was a silly idea.

Alf Veedersane

Is it just inside your scap, the pain?

Mr. CooL ICE

Yes. Kinda to the left

Dtp1979

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Yes. Kinda to the left

I know that pain all too well.
Difene and rolling on a hard ball Until you cry usually gets me through it

Alf Veedersane

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Yes. Kinda to the left

I had something like that lately. I only really felt it during squats though. Like how a stitch might feel and especially taking a big breath for squats.

Not that it was like what you have because I was only conscious of it squatting. Passed since though.

coffee_cake

I got random upper back pain a while back as well when i was doing a lot of heavy squats. I took a bunch of ibu and stopped doing dips which did the job.
Obv still go to gp / physio tho!
Could be cat aids

Alf Veedersane

bluewolf wrote: »

Could be cat aids

You misspelled 'definitely'.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 20. W11D2

After more googling last night, took an ibuprofen and found a rolling tip online I hadn't tried, whereby I pulled me left arm right across my chest and got a ball in behind my shoulder blade and went to town on it. Pain still exists right now but I really have to go looking for it.

Think I've ruled out cat aids anyway. And cleared myself for the gym. Woohoo!

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
130kg x 3
150kg x 2
170kg x 2
155kg x 4
155kg x 4
155kg x 4

Up to x2 @9, then x4 @8. Heaviest I've pulled since before christmas and I didn't come close to death.

Incline bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
75kg x 4
70kg x 4
70kg x 4
70kg x 4

Up to x4 @9. These were sloppy. I was just being complacent and not setting up properly and letting my ass rise. By 2nd drop set, I took the time to set up properly (mainly by stacking shoulders and bracing) and low and behold, they were easy. Probably could have been ~5kg heavier if I did it properly from the start.

Lunge walk/wide grip pullup superset:
12.5kgs x 12/x8
12.5kgs x 12/x8
12.5kgs x 12/x8

These had me out of breath two weeks ago. My being short of breath yesterday did not occur after these, so another +1 for my back issue not being cat aids.

Satisfying day. Hooray!

Mr. CooL ICE

March 22. W11D3

No pinching scap pain cat aids!

SSB squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5
102.5kg x 5
102.5kg x 5
102.5kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. I really feel crap at these. Form was solid but christ, was the weight difficult to move.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 8
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 8
90kg x 8
82.5kg x 8
82.5kg x 8
82.5kg x 8

Up to x8 @10. 90x8 was a +5kg 8RM and it was probably only a 9.5. Combined with the drop sets, this was probably the most volume I've had from a bench session since starting RPE training.

Might have had more volume when doing 531 BBB at a lower weight, but not sure. But considering that was only benching once per week, there's no comparison.

BTN press:
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10

Usually do BTN presses on Mondays and should have done OHP today, but skipped them Monday. Was light but enough to create a burn.

Had exactly 1h5m to do everything today and am delighted I didn't have to skip anything.

Mr. CooL ICE

March 23. W11D4

Still no cat aids but have caught a sore throat instead.

Sweeping deadlift:
70kg x 5 (no band)
90kg x 3 (no band)
90kg x 3
110kg x 5
130kg x 5
150kg x 5
140kg x 5
140kg x 5
140kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. Dunno what happened, but it felt strong today, beltless and all. 150x5 was probably more of an 8 than a 9. But it was only my 2nd time doing this variation so I didn't want to do anything silly.

Got dem confidence gainz with my deadlift after this week.

CGBP/facepull superset:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20

Up to x8, repeat. Was expecting to be weak after yesterday but no. Twas grand.

Pullup:
x6
x6

Good day.

Alf Veedersane

Nice!

150x5 off that variation!