Getting stronger getting older

Alf Veedersane

Sometimes high rep curls with a lighter weight can help with cranky elbows

Dtp1979

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Sometimes high rep curls with a lighter weight can help with cranky elbows

Yea I might go back and do them again.

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Yea I might go back and do them again.

I did a lot of light, high-rep curls and tricep work when I had elbow pain before from squatting.

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 week 2 Deadlift

127.5kg x 3
135kg x 3
152.5kg x 3

135kg x 3 x 5

Front squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 3

Rev lunges 45kg x 3 x 10

Core
Crunches x 4 x 20

Leg extension 70kg 12, 12, 12, 9

Calf raises toes out x 4 x 20

Warmups started out as deficit deadlifts and out of pure laziness I only put on the bigger 20kg plates for the 152.5 x 3. So the main body of pulling was deficit. It was pretty comfortable to be honest. Time for a great deficit already??

Left hip is not comfortable at all. I could feel it in the front squats so took it easy on them.

Rev lunges are gonna be a practice for cycle 10. Get my balance and technique right, then I’ll add weight and reps.

A little advice, when rolling your hip flexors, do it in a quite room where nobody can see you. Some of those moves would raise a few eyebrows

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

A little advice, when rolling your hip flexors, do it in a quite room where nobody can see you. Some of those moves would raise a few eyebrows

I disagree.

Pick someone and make eye contact all the time when you're rolling.

Dtp1979

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

I disagree.

Pick someone and make eye contact all the time when you're rolling.

Haha right up until the guards escort me from the building

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 week 2 OHP

37.5kg x 3
42.5kg x 3
47.5kg x 3

42.5kg x 3 x 5

Lat pulldown 90kg 8,8,6

DB Bench Press 26kg 10,10,9,7

DB shrugs 40kg x 4 x 15

Cable fly/Db rev flys

Finally it all came together. OHP moved so well today. A few adjustments with grip and technique. It made such a big difference. Thank you Omar isuf. A likeable and knowledgable character.

Lat pulldown was first ever at that weight. Heavy as expected.

26’s on the Press weren’t as scary as I thought

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 week 3 squat.

100kg x 5
115kg x 3
127.5kg x 1

107.5kg x 3 x 5

RDL 120kg x 3 x 5

Rev lunge 47.5kg x 3 x 12

Leg curl 40.5 x 3 x 12

Toe squats were hurting my hip today so had to stop. The rest were ok. Hips didn’t give any issues and elbows were fine.

Got 6 extra reps in with the lunges and balance was spot on. It no longer looks like I’m lunging with a sack of water on my shoulders

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 week 3 Bench Press

57.5kg x 5
65kg x 3
72.5kg x 1

62.5kg x 3 x 5

B.B. row 65kg x 3 x 8

Seated OHP 45kg x 2 x 8

Cable flys/ triceps

Bar path continues to get better. My confidence is growing pressing. Leg drive present for every rep which was unheard of a few weeks ago for me. I probably won’t be so chirpy when the weight gets heavier

B.B. rows are doable but still struggle near the end.

Right elbow started to hurt out of nowhere on set 3 of OHP so I stopped it.

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 week 3 Deadlift

All deficits
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3

127.5kg x 5
142.5kg x 3
162.5kg x 1

140kg x 3 x 5

Front squat
80kg x 2 x 5
85kg x 1 x 5

Rev lunge 50kg x 3 x 10

Core sit ups +14kg x 4 x 15

Leg extensions
72.5 x 2 x 12
70 x 2 x 12

The 1” deficit isn’t giving me any trouble at all thankfully. If anything it nearly feels better. Is it too soon to increase the deficit?

I’m easing slightly off the weight on Front squats. They seem to suffer the worst from my wonky hip. Saying that though, 85 was still very doable

Lunges weren’t so pretty today. Probably because I was just after squatting and my deadlift shoes haven’t a solid sole.

Leg extensions were an accidental pb at 72.5. The 2.5 slider was set to on and I didn’t notice. First time ever going over 70.

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

The 1” deficit isn’t giving me any trouble at all thankfully. If anything it nearly feels better. Is it too soon to increase the deficit?

Once your form is good, 'lay on, Macduff'.

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 week 3 OHP

40kg x 5
45kg x 3
50kg x 1

45kg x 3 x 5

Lat pulldown 90kg. 8,8,7

Db Bench 26kg. 10, 10, 10, 7

Db shrugs 40kg x 4 x 15

Cable fly 12.5 x 4 x 14
Db rev fly 10kg x 3 x 12

OHP once again felt very solid. No complaints for a change. Very happy with form.

Chest and arms got a good roasting on the Db Press.

Even though bench and OHP are related in a few ways I’m making the next few cycles more about getting the extra reps in on benching and chest excersises.

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 Deload week Squat

No toe squats

60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg x 1
115kg x 1

RDL 100kg x 3 x 3

Rev lunge 50kg x 3 x 6

Mobility

Light leg extensions

Everything today was done a bit lighter than normal and kept the reps way down.

Squats were with no belt, easy as they should be. Low reps too

I did a good 3-4 second pause at the bottom of each rep on RDL. Stretched the bejaysus outa my hamstrings.

Balance was so much better wearing squat shoes in rev lunge. ‘‘Tis to be expected with such sturdy shoes

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 Deload week Paused Bench

60kg x 5
65kg x 3
72.5kg x 1
80kg x 1

Pull ups 3, 5, 5, 5

Seated OHP 40kg x 3 x 5

Shrugs 32kg x 3 x 10

Db Bench 18kg x 3 x 7

Cable fly/Db fly x 3 x 12

Core/light triceps

Easy enough Deload. 80kg was probably unnecessary but I wanted to feel how I was at the higher weight. Happy enough with how benching is coming along. Bench and a bench variation twice a week feels like it’s helping a lot.

No bars free so I did pull ups. Shocked at how simple they were. I’ll return to these one day and get my elusive 3 x 10.

Db Bench is something I’m gonna add in here from now on too. Kept it very light today. I was purely working on keeping the terriers tame.

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 Deload week Deadlift

Deficits
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
150kg x 2

Front squat
50kg x 4
70kg x 2
80kg x 2

Rev lunge
50kg x 3 x 6

Loads of hip mobility and stretching.

Calf raises x 4 x 20

I’ll increase the deficit when I start cycle 11. Todays plan was just to keep moving. I had only planned on 150 x 1 but it went up sloppy so I did a second rep straight away just to correct form.

Very happy today with my balance on the lunges.

Dtp1979

Cycle 10 Deload OHP

30kg x 5
35kg x 3
40kg x 2
45kg x 1
50kg x 1

Seated row
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
105kg x 1

Db Bench Press 20kg x 3 x 7

Db Shrugs 30kg x 3 x 10

Cable fly/triceps/biceps. All light

I went overboard doing shoulder dislocates so my shoulders were tired before I even started. All Reps moved well and technique felt great

Dtp1979

Cycle 11 week 1 Squat

Toe squats to 70kg

90kg x 5
105kg x 5
120kg x 5

100kg x 5
105kg x 5
110kg x 5

Rdl 122.5kg x 3 x 5

Rev lunge 52.5kg x 3 x 10

Leg curls 40.5 x 4 x 12

Ever squat felt great today, until I got to rep 3 on the top set. 3 horribly grinded our squats later I was quickly humbled. Don’t know what happened. Week 1 blues and higher volume perhaps.

I was supposed to do 110 x 3 x 5 for the drop sets but chickened our due to jelly legs. After doing 100 x 5 I realised I shouldn’t have chickened out. Drop sets were handy after all that.

Wasn’t a hope of me pausing the rdl’s.

That fear of doing that first rep on rev lunges when your legs are wobbly. I survived and made it through comfortably enough.

Rep pr on leg curl for 4 sets.

Dtp1979

Cycle 11 week 1 Bench Press paused

52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5
67.5kg x 5

65kg x 3 x 5

B.B. row 65kg x 3 x 8

Seated OHP 45kg x 3 x 8

Db Shrugs 40kg x 3 x 12

Db flat bench 24kg x 3 x 10

Cable flys/Db rev flys

Happy enough with benching today. A couple of sloppy reps on the top set but it’s good I can feel when they’re going wrong on me and have some sort of knowledge to correct.

Rows felt easier today. I must start getting into RPE cause I’m my head I’m already rating my effort

Seated OHP last set wasn’t pretty

I dropped the weight by 2 kg for Db Press. I’ll keep it a little lighter than Db Press on OHP day as my chest will naturally be more tired on bench day. I was surprised at how comfortable and well mannered the dumbbells were today.

Dtp1979

Cycle 11 Deadlift

Deficits 40mm
60kg x 5
90kg x 3
115kg x 5
132.5kg x 5

20mm deficit
150kg x 5

140kg x 3 x 5

Front squat 90kg x 3 x 5

Rev lunge 52.5kg x 3 x 10

Leg extension 70 x 4 x 12

Light calf raises

A much bigger deficit today but it didn’t really bother me tbh. I only reduced the deficit at 150 as I didn’t want to venture that far into the unknown on a higher volume day when tiredness could’ve caused injury

Front squats were not easy

The first set of lunges were sloppy. The next 2 were much more stable.

Alf Veedersane

Be careful about having too big a deficit. It's not about having a bigger deficit but in working a bit harder in a position that will carry over to your deadlift, which is ultimately the goal.

Dtp1979

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Be careful about having too big a deficit. It's not about having a bigger deficit but in working a bit harder in a position that will carry over to your deadlift, which is ultimately the goal.

Would it be ok once I can perform the lift while maintaining good form? I don’t plan on going to crazy deficits

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Would it be ok once I can perform the lift while maintaining good form? I don’t plan on going to crazy deficits

It depends what you want from it. If it's a mobility thing, then I'd drop n
back the weight considerably and treat it as such.

If you want a carryover for your DL, then you really need to be mindful that you aren't changing the mechanics of the lift such that you're in a different position to where you would be when the bar has come up to where it would be if you were pulling off the floor.

It's like people doing high rack pulls as an assistance for deadlifts....they'll often be in a completely different position to where they are at that point of the deadlift so there is no real benefit.

Dtp1979

Mobility isn’t an issue at all. I definatley want it to carry over to my deadlift and I’m very aware of positioning when I set up and pull.

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Mobility isn’t an issue at all. I definatley want it to carry over to my deadlift and I’m very aware of positioning when I set up and pull.

Always worth recording your conventional and deficit pulls to see.

But keep the deficit consistent. Don't drop from 4cm to 2cm for the top sets.

Dtp1979

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Always worth recording your conventional and deficit pulls to see.

But keep the deficit consistent. Don't drop from 4cm to 2cm for the top sets.

Fair enough thanks. I’ll keep to 4cm.

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Fair enough thanks. I’ll keep to 4cm.

To be honest, I'd probably just stick with 2.

Edit: I kept thinking in inches. 4cm is less than 2 inches so it's not exactly excessive.

Dtp1979

Cycle 11 week 1 OHP

37.5kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
47.5kg x 5

42.5kg x 3 x 5

Lat pulldown 90kg x 3 x 8 PB

DB Bench Press 28kg 10, 10, 8, 10

B.B. shrugs 100kg x 4 x 15

Cable flys/lat raises

Me shoulders were tired today from Sunday’s chest day. I should’ve taken my prescribed rest, especially with it being week 1. Still though, I got through them all and the last 2 sets were actually fairly ok. I’m pausing the weight overhead on the last rep of each set. Recommended by Omar isuf. It can do no harm.

Lat pulldown is a pb I’m pretty sure. A year ago I was doing 60. Not in a million years did I ever expect to be pulling 90’s.

There was a 26kg dumbbell missing today so I chanced 28. Very surprised I got through it, and probably would’ve got 4 x 10 if set 3 wasn’t sloppy

Dtp1979

Cycle 11 week 2 squat

Toe squats to 70kg

97.5kg x 3
112.5 kg x 3
125kg x 3

112.5kg x 3 x 5

RDL 125kg x 3 x 5

Rev lunge 55kg x 3 x 10

Leg curl 40.5 x 4 x 12

Calf raises

I may get reading on RPE. Can I use it on my current program and just rate the lifts after the set?

Squats were good today. Felt smooth and no sticking points on 125. Hips were a little sore on toe squats.

Rdl’s weren’t enjoyable today.

Rev lunges weren’t great either. Balance was off, a lot.

Leg curls were easy. Time to move up the weight

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

I may get reading on RPE. Can I use it on my current program and just rate the lifts after the set?

Without knowing the set up, it's hard to say if it could be applied but the principle is just about knowing how many you have left in the tank and applying it honestly.

IIRC, the principle is that you use a training max that's about 90% of tested max so you shouldnt be getting a technical breakdown. On that principle, you'd always be leaving a least 1 rep in the tank, which would mean an @9 or @8.5.

There's nothing ground breaking about it. It's about knowing how many you could honestly still have done and the program ideally would be based around it for the main exercises.

I'm not sure how much value you'd get from it applying it to a program that's set up differently

Deano7788

Just on RPE, the way my program is structured at the moment is a mixture of RPEs and % based based.

My heavy squat, bench and singles are all RPE based, but in that sense I wouldn't be rating them after but rather each week I've a target RPE to hit for a specified number of reps, e.g. a single at RPE 8 this week. I'd then do back off sets at a specified percentage of this, and my lighter based started off as a percentage of my 1RM.

The other way I use RPE may be possible to use, although it's more for my coach. He has me rate the RPE of the last set of exercise not RPE prescribed but that's more so he can prescribe the progression for the following week. For instance, my incline bench I rated a 9 last week so there was only a 1kg increase whereas for lifts I rated a 7.5 or 8 it was a 2.5kg increase. I'm not sure if you would fully get a benefit from it though over just feel when going alone.

If you do use RPE, just be sure to be brutally honest with yourself and don't underestimate it; if anything I tend to err on the conservative side if anything. No point in lying to yourself and then failing the next week.