Sets of faahve

Mr. CooL ICE

October 30

No walk yesterday due to sheer laziness. Managed to not be stiff as a plank, somehow. Still have quad doms though.

NG cable row:
47kg plate x 20
59kg plate x 20
59kg plate x 20
59kg plate x 20
59kg plate x 20
59kg plate x 20

60s rest between sets. Too easy. Should have gone up.

Bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 2
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5

90s rest between sets, calibrated plates. Doing a top double before adding a little volume. Everything was grand.

Pin press:
80kg x 1
95kg x 1
95kg x 2
95kg x 2

90s rest between sets, calibrated plates. These were supposed to all be doubles but freaked out after 1st top rep and though I was gonna crush my face. But these are pin presses. It's impossible for that to happen. Unless the pins collapse somehow.

NG pullup:
x 3
x 8
x 8
x 8

60s rest. Graaand.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
50kg x 3
50kg x 3
50kg x 3
50kg x 3

60s rest. Again, graaand.

Chest supported reverse DB flye:
2.5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12

60s rest between sets. Graaand.

Tried reshuffling things from last Tuesday to save some time but still didn't get anywhere. Also, gym was freezing. I know this wasn't the hardest day ever but I still barely broke a sweat and I mostly blame the temperature.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 1

The doms from Monday was real. Quads, glutes and abs in bits. Have been on plenty of walks and did some random static stretches over the last few days. Whatever about quad/glute doms, I don't understand the ab doms because I didn't do any direct core work on Monday. Maybe I nailed my bracing?

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 3
130kg x bunch of singles, probably 5
140kg x bunch of singles, probably 8
* no belt *
120kg x 3

Deadlift felt off today. Had planned on, out of curiosity, going up in singles to see where form breakdown started. But form was terrible throughout. Gone was the flat back and solid feeling setup from a few weeks ago and what replaced it was a slightly rounded lower back that lurched forward.

Took off belt and 20kg from the bar and remembered a cue from sumo days that worked well for me; push the bar away from my chest. Bingo. Perfect triple at 120kg. Would have gone back up but had wasted enough time and needed to crack on.

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

120s rest between sets. Most reps were a grind. I have a tendency to get complacent with the SSB because of how comfortable it is on my shoulders and therefore forget to brace properly. Bracing properly is the difference between a grind and an awful grind.

Walking dumbbell lunges:
10kgs x 12 each leg
15kgs x 12 each leg
15kgs x 12 each leg
15kgs x 12 each leg

60s rest. Holy crap, this destroyed me. They didn't feel that heavy but my conditioning really was awful.

Frustrating day. Skipped core work because of spooky unexplained ab doms and lack of time.

Mr. CooL ICE

Was discussing Movember with a guy working in the gym and I showed him the only time I grew one. He couldn't believe how skinny I was. I was over 20kg lighter than I am now. And probably not even half of that 20kg difference is muscle.



Yeah, angles and loose t-shirt vs unflattering singlet aren't exactly comparable. But that's the difference 5 years, some abuse of barbells and a buckets of food does to you.

Alf Veedersane

How much could you lift in the first picture though?

Also, better beard in the after.

Mr. CooL ICE

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

How much could you lift in the first picture though?

Could probably good morning squat an empty barbell after missing depth.

Pic was approx 1 year after doing the DCM and had gained half a stone since that. So one year before that pic, I was skinnier again.

Alf Veedersane

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

Could probably good morning squat an empty barbell after missing depth.

Pic was approx 1 year after doing the DCM and had gained half a stone since that. So one year before that pic, I was skinnier again.

I've been that skinny DCM solider.

Also, gainz are not necessarily muscle or fat. They're a bit like dark matter.

Mr. CooL ICE

In all fairness, I was unbelievably weak before I started lifting. While training for the Connemara half in 2012, I had given up non-running activities, such as 5-a-side to avoid potential knocks. I took up BJJ for a month and based on my strength, was hopeless. I know BJJ is all about technique, but strength does play a certain role. The only people I could roll with without getting mauled were teenagers. Any adult of a similar build to me was twice as strong.

After I wrecked my legs doing the DCM and accepted that I probably should avoid impact for a while, powerlifting started to interest me. I was dissatisfied with how physically weak I was. I'm not very strong by the standards of somebody lifting as long as I have but I've come a hell of a long way from where I started. The little bit of pudginess is well worth it IMO.

Dtp1979

In 2012 I weighed in at 69kg for MMA. Good lord I’m nearly 20kg heavier now

Mr. CooL ICE

November 2

No chance to walk last night. Had doms in weird places in my legs, namely my upper/outside quads. It's usually my lower quads. Managed to be somewhat nimble regardless.

Pendlay row:
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
70kg x 5
70kg x 5
70kg x 5
70kg x 5

60s rest between sets. Went up to 80kg but realised I couldn't complete the lift without cheating. Probably have weak lats. Dunno.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
70kg x 10
70kg x 10
70kg x 10
70kg x 10

90s rest, calibrated plates. Hurt my right bicep/shoulder when loading the plates Didn't affect me too much. Grand.

CG incline bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5

60s rest. My incline sucks. Kept the weight low and rest times short. Practise is needed.

Pullup:
x 3
x 5
x 5
x 5

60s rest. Leaving room in the tank for...

Wide grip lat pulldown:
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12

60s rest. Last reps were a bit of a disgrace, but got through it.

Lateral raise:
5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10

60s rest. Graaand.

Facepull:
41kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 20

60s rest. Was toying with the idea of copying something I saw on instagram where it was 60s facepulls into 60s tricep pushdowns as a 'finisher'. Decided naaah. Stick to the plan.

Have been sleeping poorly recently and frequently feeling beaten up from the gym despite not doing anything too heavy. Had a mighty sleep last night and felt great in the gym this morning. That's refreshing. Hope it keeps up.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 5

Spotted and loaded the morning session of Master/Junior nationals on Saturday, which was bloody exhausting. Went home afterwards and had a nap for almost two hours. No walks but plenty of frequent movement spread over the weekend. Was nimble enough this morning.

LB squat:
20kg x 10
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 3
120kg x 2
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 5

Didn't time the rest periods but made sure I didn't feck around either. 120x2 was the heaviest I've squatted since my hamstring injury. It felt easy and moved with speed. Little bit of forward lean which shouldn't happen at this weight.

Front squat:
70kg x 1
70kg x 6
70kg x 6
70kg x 6
70kg x 6

Didn't time rest here either. I recorded the first 70x6 and was amazed at how perfect my form looked. Torso staying very upright. But then again at this weight, it's easy for form to look good. At least my emphasis on ankle mobility has paid off.

Hamstring curl:
17kg plate x 5 each side x 3
23kg plate x 5 each side x 3
29kg plate x 15

60s rest. Just getting a pump to the area.

Farmers carries:
+20kgs length x 6
+20kgs length x 6
+20kgs length x 6

90s rest. +20kg each side. I usually do two lengths that includes turning (for what seems like an eternity) with the carries in my hands. Today, I just dropped them, turned myself around and picked them up. Weight felt light but I was left kinda breathless after each one. My shoulders were in bits afterwards

Leg raises:
x 12
x 12
x 12

60s rest. Core work. Bah.

Grand day. Gym got new racks so I was excited going in. No safety pins, so I'll die like a real man. Managed to get everything done in 1h15m. Graaand.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 6

No time for a walk last night but was still nimble this morning. Only mild quad/glute doms. Graaand.

NG cable row:
53kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20

60s rest between sets. Was kinda tough but no chance of failure. Plates only go up to 71kg on this machine so will have to rethink my rows in the near future. I already pause so, hmm, maybe... extra long pauses?

Bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 3
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5

Calibrated. Didn't time rests but kept them short enough. Last week's 90x2 was a 9.5 but this week's 90x3 was at most 8. That was nice.

CGBP:
90kg x 3
90kg x 3
90kg x 3

Calibrated. These were tough after the above benching. Last set was a grind and almost failed.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
52.5kg x 2
52.5kg x 2
52.5kg x 2
52.5kg x 2
52.5kg x 2
40kg x 10

60s rest. Felt stronger as the sets went on. 40kg was an AMRAP but I had to stop early because plate was slipping off the end due to no collars. Had maybe 2 more in the tank.

NG pullup:
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5

30s rest. Graaand.

NG lat pulldown:
53kg plate x 12
53kg plate x 12
53kg plate x 12

60s rest. Lats were on fire at the end.

Chest supported reat delt flye:
2.5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12
5kgs x 12

60s rest. Kinda just went through the motions with these. Don't think I was decompressing my shoulders (is that the term?) at the bottom.

Grand day.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 11

No walks over the last few days because weather. Did spend half of yesterday moving office furniture up and down flights of stairs so there was some sort of movement, at least. Was nimble this morning. Grand.

Deadlift:
20kg x 10 (RDL)
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 3
130kg x 2
140kg x 2
150kg x 2
160kg x 2
150kg x 3
150kg x 3
150kg x 3
150kg x 3

No timed rests, calibrated plates. Went up in doubles until I found form breakdown. Form felt good and looked good in recordings. 140kg was the weight that tore my hamstring so doing a double for 20kg over was good for the head. Hamstring feels great. Form held up at 160kg and there was plenty left in the tank but I decided to cut my losses and did some triples at 150kg with static holds on final reps.

For cues, I set my hip angle by trying to touch my heels with my belly button. I then set my upper back by trying to get the back of my neck as far away from my belly button as possible. I initiate the pull by trying to get the back of my neck as far away from my feet as possible. Might sound mental to read but it seems to be working for me.

SSB squats:
60kg x 6
80kg x 6
100kg x 6
100kg x 6
100kg x 6
100kg x 6
100kg x 6

No rests timed. Slight extra bit of volume on last week. Grand.

Walking dumbbell lunges:
10kgs each leg x 12
15kgs each leg x 12
15kgs each leg x 12
15kgs each leg x 12

60s rest. Was hoping for another set but I was almost dead. Bluetooth headset interrupted my tunes to say "battery low". Could totally relate.

Ran out of time and couldn't do any core work. Did less today than I had hoped but still happy.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 11

Only a brief ~20 minute walk yesterday, so hardly counts as exercise. Hammies and glutes were sore this morning. Did usual lower body stretches before starting.

Pendlay row:
40kg x 8
60kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8

60s rest. Shouldn't have gone up in weight if going up in reps as I ended up cheating some of the later reps. Doh. Felt them in my lats though, so there's that.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 8
70kg x 10
70kg x 10
70kg x 10
70kg x 10
70kg x 10

90s rest, calibrated plates. 5th set felt like last week's 4th set. Volume++. Work capacity++.

CG incline bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5

60s rest. Was going to go up to 65kg but going by how grindy the 60kg "warmup" set was, I decided it was a bad idea. Still hate incline anything.

Lat pulldown:
47kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 10
59kg plate x 10
59kg plate x 10
59kg plate x 10
59kg plate x 10

60s rest. Was going to do pullups first but gym has been rearranged so the pullup station I wanted was beside the only other person that was there and I felt I'd be this guy. Just did more lat pulldowns as a result. Got a nice pump, brah.

Facepull:
29kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20

60s rest. Got a pump from the 29kg Realised I had accidentally changed my form and felt my upper back and shoulders got an awakening. Changes were subtle, but effective. I always set the cable at the highest setting but when I relax, my hands weigh the ropes downward. Today, instead of letting my hands weigh the rope down, I just tried to keep the cable pointing at my forehead. Hard to explain, but it felt more effective.

Grand day. Whole upper body feels wrecked. Realised Melvins are awesome to lift to.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 12

No walks Friday/Saturday due to rubbish weather. Got out for a 4.5k walk yesterday, which was nice. Was stiff as a plank this morning so lots of mobility needed.

LB squat:
20kg x 10
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
100kg x 10
100kg x 10
100kg x 10

180s rest, calibrated plates. Form didn't feel good for the top triples. Last reps in those involved hip rising/forward lean. Think I need some pause squats. Then 3x10 @ 100kg because I hate myself.

Front squat:
70kg x 1
75kg x 5
75kg x 5
75kg x 3

90s rest, calbrated plates. Form felt good. Racked the last set early due to a brief moment of mental weakness. Bar didn't feel too heavy. Annoyed with myself afterwards.

Single leg hamstring curl:
17kg plate Rx5/Lx5, all x 5
17kg plate Rx5/Lx5, all x 3

120s rest. Tempo was 2121. Hamstrings just felt like boulders or something. First set seemed to take forever and if my calculations are right, it took 5 minutes. Due to sheer amount of sweat pouring out of me, it would make sense.

Sweating buckets after lying hamstring curls??? Jaaaaysus. Had to sit down and gather myself after finishing these.

Farmers walk:
+30kg length x 4
+30kg length x 4
+30kg length x 4

90s rest. Conditioning. Graaand.

Leg raises:
x 12
x 12
x 12

60s rest. Graaand.

Weird session. At least I got through it all.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 13

Only a brief walk last night and stiff as a plank again this morning. Very little doms from yesterday, thankfully. Just stiffness.

NG cable row:
53kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20

60s rest. This felt more difficult than last week. Probably because I was concentrating on squeezing the bejaysus out of my scapulae in the pause.

Bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 3
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5

90s rest, calibrated plates. Ass rose up for 1st and 3rd reps in 92.5x3. Had planned on doing 5x4 @85kg afterwards but went a bit lighter to drill ass staying down. What's the point in doing it if you're not gonna do it right?

CG bench:
85kg x 5
80kg x 3
80kg x 3

90s rest, calibrated plates. Plan was to AMRAP these until technical failure. Ass rose for the first set. 2nd and 3rd, ass stayed down but my shoulders lost tightness. Silly.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
52.5kg x 3
52.5kg x 3
52.5kg x 3
52.5kg x 3
52.5kg x 3
40kg x 10

60s rest. Used collars for the 40kg AMRAP so as not to repeat last week's mistake but only had 10 reps in me anyway.

NG pullup
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5

30s rest. Short rests makes these harder than expected. No chance of failure but form got messy.

NG lat pulldown:
59kg plate x 10
59kg plate x 10
59kg plate x 10

60s rest. Burnin me lats, these are.

Chest supported rear delt flyes:
5kg x 15
5kg x 15
5kg x 15

60s rest. Really need to move up in weight for these from next week.

Grand day. Slightly miffed at how my bench form was kinda rubbish but I just have to work on it.

Tempted to sign up for Munster open in April. Would prefer to wait a bit longer and set some gym PRs first though.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 15

3.5km walk Tuesday evening and a few random short walks yesterday. Better than nothing.

Also signed up for April open. I am not prepared. Oh well.

Deadlift:
20kg x 10 (RDL)
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 3
140kg x 2
150kg x 2
160kg x 2
170kg x 2
160kg x 2
160kg x 2
160kg x 2

90s rest, calibrated plates. Same deal as last week; go up in doubles, recording everything until I find form breakdown. Worked up to 170kg with more in the tank. There was no back rounding and it moved well, but my setup was a bit off and I'm not sure why. But setup is crucial so no more going heavy for a while until I figure this out.

Form wasn't as good as last week but far better than 2 weeks ago.

SSB squat:
60kg x 10
80kg x 8
90kg x 8
90kg x 8
90kg x 8
90kg x 8

120s rest. Grand.

Walking dumbbell lunges:
10kgs each side x 12
15kgs each side x 12
15kgs each side x 12 (possibly 11 - lost count)
15kgs each side x 12
15kgs each side x 12

60s rest. Conditioning. Ugh. Was a sweaty mess afterwards.

Ab wheel rollouts:
x 8
x 8
x 8
x 8

45s rest. Has been a while since I've done these. Grand.

Sweaty day. Need to do more deadlift volume if I want it to go anywhere.

Deano7788

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

Also signed up for April open. I am not prepared. Oh well.

Me too, maybe this time I’ll actually see you there!

Mr. CooL ICE

November 16

Brief 2k walk last night. No significant doms this morning. Hammies and glutes a wee bit tight. Graaand.

Pendlay rows:
20kg x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8

90s rest. Nice and light. Had a tendency to use my arms instead of my lats if I wasn't concentrating. Aside from that, grand.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8
75kg x 8

90s rest, calibrated plates. Every set felt heavy but grand overall.

Incline bench:
40kg x 6
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
70kg x 3
70kg x 3

60s rest. Grand.

Pullup:
x 3
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5

30s rest. Sloppy.

Lat pulldown:
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12

60s rest. Grand, but tough at the end. I used to do wide grip pulldowns but after getting sucked into bodybuilding advice instagram pages reading a few articles, I realised that they don't seem to hit my lats any harder. They're just more difficult to perform without feeling like any extra work is done. Maybe I was doing wide grip wrong. Who knows. Either way, a burn was... burned?

Facepull:
35kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20
41kg plate x 20

60s rest. Jaysus, was bollocksed by this point. Maybe should have sat down for 2 minutes before doing these because I had another two sets in mind but was struggling from halfway through the last set.

Grand day.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 19

Good bit of walking over the last few days and felt nimble this morning.

LB squat:
20kg x 8
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
90kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
* belt *
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
100kg x 12

No timed rest, calibrated plates. These were kinda tempo squats but only 2 second eccentric. IMO, tempo squats only count as tempo if they're 3+ seconds. I'm basing that on nothing but my own opinion.

I was going to do pause squats today but after looking at recent videos of myself, the bar lurches forward towards the bottom. I figured pause squats weren't going to do much for that. I've always found slowing things down makes it easier to figure out what's wrong. Tried a few different setups changes today to see if anything worked (thumbs over bar, torso lean earlier/later during descent etc) but nothing worked. Did 100x12 normal speed and form was actually fine for these. Thing is, my hamstring injury has made me afraid of wider stance squats so I've narrowed my feet a good bit (to shoulder width). Foir the 100x12, I went my old stance (120-130% shoulder width) and it's just smoother. Lesson learned.

Also managed to cut myself on the plates when changing from 110-100 so squatted with toilet paper wrapped around my hand. Kinda doubt that miraculously fixed my form.

Front squats:
70kg x 3
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 4

90s rest, calibrated plates. Grand.

Farmers walk:
+20kg each side, length x 2
+30kg each side, length x 6
+30kg each side, length x 6
+30kg each side, length x 6

60s rest. Ugh. Won't be qualifying for WSM any time soon.

Leg raises
x 12
x 12
x 12

60s rest. Going through the motions.

Will have an extra 5th session this week so my lack of volume today isn't the end of the world.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 20

2.5k walk last night. Nimble this morning. Graaand.

NG cable row:
59kg plate x 12
71kg plate x 15
71kg plate x 15
71kg plate x 15
71kg plate x 15
71kg plate x 15
71kg plate x 15

60s rest. Full stack, baby. Had more in the tank but three people came in while I was finishing the above and thought I had better grab a decent bench while it was available.

Bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 3
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5

90s rest, calibrated plates. Top set was an 8.5/9 and ass stayed put. I placed my feet a little further forward and tried using leg drive to drive my bead off the end of the bench, a la Jen Thompson's advice. I usually put my feet as far back as possible to create an arch but I found too much leg drive just made my ass rise. This leg drive cue fell apart in the latter 82.5kg sets as I got tired. Nice tweak. Think I'll stick with it.

Pin press:
92.5kg x 2
92.5kg x 2
92.5kg x 2

90s rest, calibrated plates. These were ugly AF tbh. Need cleaning up.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
55kg x 2
55kg x 2
55kg x 2
55kg x 2
55kg x 2
40kg x 12.5 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Think 55kg the most I've OHP'd for more than a single. Grand.

NG pullup
x 3
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5

30s rest. Still find this short rest period to be a killer as these are still sloppy in this rep range.

Chest supported dumbbell rear delt flye:
5kg x 8
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10

60s rest. Grand.

Close NG lat pulldowns:
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12

60s rest. Was meant to do lat pulldowns after pullups but machine was busy. Seemed easy enough.

Good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 22

Spent 4.5 hours in the car yesterday and weather meant no walking at all. Felt it this morning.

Deadlift:
20kg x 5 (RDL)
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 3
140kg x 5
140kg x 4
140kg x 5
140kg x 3

120s rest between sets. Had planned on doing 4x6 @ 140kg beltless but my form felt off. First rep always felt easy but everything afterwards felt sloppy and laboured. Perhaps I'm relying on my belt to keep tight more than I thought. Lower back felt kinda achey so I walked away annoyed.

SSB squat:
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3

90s rest. These were grand. I've no idea what my depth in these is like. Need to record them some time.

DB walking lunges:
12.5kgs each leg x 8
17.5kgs each leg x 8
17.5kgs each leg x 8
17.5kgs each leg x 8
17.5kgs each leg x 8
17.5kgs each leg x 8

60s rest. +weight, -reps. Tiring, but grand. Lower reps obviously helped.

Ab wheel rollouts:
x 8
x 8
x 8
x 8
x 8
x 8

45s rest. Grand.

Mildly frustrating day, but I still learned a few things.

Alf Veedersane

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

First rep always felt easy but everything afterwards felt sloppy and laboured. Perhaps I'm relying on my belt to keep tight more than I thought

I've a similar problem. In my instance it's because I dont control the bar enough on the way down and I'm ending up way out of position and having to get that correct starting position again and just not getting there unless I reset.

Mr. CooL ICE

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I've a similar problem. In my instance it's because I dont control the bar enough on the way down and I'm ending up way out of position and having to get that correct starting position again and just not getting there unless I reset.

Interesting. Never thought of that. I only recorded my last warmup and plates are in the way so I can't see the bar position. But I'll add that to the list of things to check if things don't feel right.

Alf Veedersane

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

Interesting. Never thought of that. I only recorded my last warmup and plates are in the way so I can't see the bar position. But I'll add that to the list of things to check if things don't feel right.

In my case, I'm just flopping down with the bar as opposed to reversing the movement. So I'm at the bar having to find that start position again.

And when I've gone down that road, i invariably find reps 2+ feel different and more in my lower back.

Not so when I reverse the movement.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 23

Got a 3.5km walk in last night. Was still stiff this morning, especially around the glutes.

Seal row:
40kg x 8
50kg x 12
50kg x 12
50kg x 12
50kg x 12

60s rest. No pendlays today because although my back was fine, I was a little wary of yesterday's soreness. Precautionary.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 15
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
70kg x 3
75kg x 10
75kg x 10
75kg x 10
75kg x 6

90s rest, calibrated plates. Plan was 4x10 @75kg. 3rd set was a grind and had no steam left for the last set.

CG incline bench:
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
65kg x 5
65kg x 5
65kg x 5
65kg x 5

60s rest. 2nd and 3rd sets were a grind and instead of thinking "stupid incline, I hate incline", I copped that my cues were non existant. I had been trying to just push the bar away from me in whatever manner worked. Instead, I used the same approach to flat bench in that I'm trying to move the bar up along my body and voila, set 4 and 5 were a breeze. Maybe incline doesn't suck after all and I was the one that sucked.

Pullup:
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5

30s rest. Still sloppy at the end.

Lat pulldown:
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12
59kg plate x 12

60s rest. Huge pump. Walked away with ILS.

DB lateral raise:
5kg x 8
7.5kg x 8
7.5kg x 8
7.5kg x 8
7.5kg x 8
7.5kg x 8

60s rest. For some reason, I stopped doing these a few weeks ago for no reason other than I forgot. Oops.

Facepulls:
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20

60s rest. Grand.

Grand day. Won't lose sleep over the benching. Restricting rest times is a killer for me so I blame that instead of my general strength.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 24

Not quite a training day. My gym is having a Movember event and hoping to raise cash by getting as many people in to lift a combined total of 1,000,000kg. Started doing mobility work but was loose AF. Kinda forget how different the body is at midday compared to first thing in the morning.

I assumed it was just SBD but anything goes as long as it involves a barbell. So that means OHP, barbell curls, rows, hip thrusts etc are game. I just stuck to the basics. Wrote everything down on a card but forgot to take a photo, but it was something like this...

Squat:
20kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10

Subtotal 5,000kg

Bench (tng):
30kg x 10
60kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
50kg x 12

Subtotal 10,000kg

Deadlift (tng):
100kg x 5
100kg x 10
100kg x 10
100kg x 10
100kg x 10
100kg x 5
100kg x 10
100kg x 10
100kg x 10

Subtotal 18,000kg

My lower back was a little tender by the end of squats. Plus, there was some lightheadedness. Wanted to finish them with a nice round number. Bench was just whatever but also with a round number. Was going to finish deadlifts with 15,000kg for another nice round number but had three rows left on my card so just did another 3x10. Lower back managed to be fine for the start of deadlifts but that could have been belt usage. Got achey again towards the end.

Was good fun. The most non-serious gym session I've ever had. Seeing serious and dedicated powerlifters trying to out-rep each other with barbell curls was a nice change. A certain ex boardsie (who's name we cannot mention!) came along and also just jumped between bench and deadlift. The gym owners dad had benched a combined 30,000kg at some point and was still going when I left. I was just exhausted and my lower back was annoying me so I made a run for it.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 26

Hammies, glutes and quads were achey yesterday, but not in a needing a zimmerframe way. Loosened up pretty quick this morning. Had no plan for this morning because I had no idea what my strength levels were going to be at.

LB squat:
20kg x 10
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
* belt *
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg x 5
120kg x 5
120kg x 5

No timed rest, calibrated plates. Had a few heavyish singles in mind as I thought keeping the volume low would be best considering I had lower back pain last week. However, I found my LB groove that had been missing for a long time. Didn't change a whole lot except I widened my stance a little. Decided I'd better make the most of it so did a few sets of fahve. Felt absolutely fine.

Front squat:
70kg x 2
80kg x 2
90kg x 3
100kg x 1

No timed rest, calibrated plates. No plan here. Had been a while since I've tried to go heavy with front squats so wanted to see if 100kg was possible and yeah, twas fine. More in the tank and all. Grand.

Single leg hamstring curl:
17kg plate each leg x5 x3
17kg plate each leg x5 x3
17kg plate each leg x5 x3

No timed rest. Forgot these last week. Great for an oul hamstring pump. Still making sure hammies are healthy.

Farmers walk:
+30kgs length x 6
+30kgs length x 6
+30kgs length x 6

60s rest. Insert puke emoji.

Leg raise:
x 12
x 12
x 12

60s rest. Bleh.

Grand day. Low squat volume overall. Although hamstring has felt fine for a long time, there's still a niggling fear at the back of my mind that it'll go pop mid-squat or something.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 27

3.5km walk last night. No stiffness this morning to speak of.

NG cable row:
59kg plate x 18
71kg plate x 18
71kg plate x 18
71kg plate x 18
71kg plate x 18
71kg plate x 18

60s rest. This was tough.

Bench:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 1
95kg x 2
85kg x 4
85kg x 4
85kg x 4
85kg x 4
85kg x 4

90s rest, calibrated plates. Top set felt really heavy in my hands but moved well. 85s all moved well. Ass rose a couple of times here and there but never two reps in a row. Got a bit of an achey elbow somewhere in the middle.

CG bench:
75kg x 6
75kg x 6
75kg x 6

60s rest, calibrated plates. Was going to do pin presses but achey elbow meant this could be a bad idea. These were fine.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
55kg x 2
40kg x 11 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Some absolutely grindy reps at times but managed to lock them all out. Completely misgrooved 2nd rep in last top set and didn't recover. Sooo close. OHP feeling the strongest it ever has.

NG pullup:
x 1
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5
x 5

30s rest. No flopping like a fish this week, gladly.

NG pulldown:
53kg plate x 15
53kg plate x 15
53kg plate x 15

60s rest. Mad upper lat pump.

Chest supported DB reverse flyes:
5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10

60s rest. Needed to do more but ran out of time.

Grand day. Can't complain.

Mr. CooL ICE

November 29

Only managed two short walks yesterday, longest being 2k. Weather put a (pun intended) dampener on things. Was quite stiff this morning anyway.

Deadlift:
20kg x 3 (RDL)
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 1
120kg x 1
*belt *
140kg x 1
140kg x 1
150kg x 1
160kg x 1
170kg x 2
160kg x 3
160kg x 3
160kg x 1
160kg x 1
160kg x 1

No times rests, calibrated plates. Sets/reps all over the shop. Form felt off. Wasn't pushing my chest through during setup and couldn't figure out wtf I was doing wrong. Did full resets for every rep (I HAD been dropping bar forward - thanks Alf) for my triples at 160kg. Had more triples in mind but tore a callouse which made things painful. Had a chat with someone who gave my his cues for chest up/locking shoulders which required a totally different approach, so gave it a try for some singles.

Buffalo bar squat:
43kg x 5
63kg x 5
83kg x 8
83kg x 8
103kg x 5
113kg x 3

Just a bit of craic. Felt weird. No idea if I was anywhere near depth or not. Kept slipping on my back and it's probably because I was trying to lowbar squat it, whereas I think it's supposed to take the highbar position. Anyway, won't lose sleep over it.

Single arm carries:
+20kg length x 4
+30kg length x 6

Was running out of time and couldn't do lunges and core work, so did this (which I read about ages ago). Basically, walking while trying to stay upright while carrying loads of shopping. Didn't like it. Which might be a good thing...

Bit of a silly day. Finding it hard to train properly and am getting too easily distracted. Need to focus once christmas passes

Mr. CooL ICE

November 30

3.5km walk last night. Still managed to be stiff this morning. And yesterday's session wasn't even that bad. Weird.

Pendlay row:
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8
60kg x 8

60s rest. Grand and light. More trying to remain tight and have consistent reps.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
70kg x 5
75kg x 10
75kg x 10
75kg x 10
75kg x 9

90s rest, calibrated plates. Felt weak from the get go. I only completed 6 reps in my last set last week and I couldn't help to get it out of the back of my mind today and ended up rushing like crazy through 6 sloppy reps. Had properly controlled reps for 7-9 but was goosed. Sooo close.

Pullup:
x 2
x 13 (AMRAP -1)
x 7 (AMRAP -1)
x 6 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Pullup rep PR out of nowhere. Graaand! Dunno what it was before. Possibly 11?

Incline bench:
20kg x 3
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5
60kg x 5

60s rest. Supposed to do these before pullups but incline bench wasn't available. Felt sooo heavy. But form felt solid. I'm starting to hate incline less and less.

Lat pulldown:
53kg plate x 15
53kg plate x 15
53kg plate x 15

60s rest. Graaand.

DB lateral raise:
5kgs x 8
10kgs x 8
10kgs x 8
10kgs x 8

60s rest. YOLO'd and went up in weight. Form was a tad sloppy and only managed 3 sets. Oh well.

Facepull:
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20

60s rest. Grand.

Overall a grand day.