Blonde will make you STRONG

[EvilPie]

Tried something a bit different last night to try to get a bit of volume in.

I did a shoulders/arms workout but everything was super sets.

I tried to mix push with pull as best I could so I went for:

Machine OHP SS with DB hammer curl
DB shrug SS with tricep over head DB press
OHP SS with DB curl
Face pull SS with tricep rope push down

Everything was in the 8 to 15 rep range making sure to leave a bit in the tank so as not to over fatigue myself as it's a new routine. Felt like a really good session, got the heart rate up quite a lot and got a good muscle pump.

I think I'm going to try to squeeze a couple of evening sessions in per week to up myself to 7 days total but with just the weekend sessions being anything particularly taxing. Not quite worked out what I'm going to do but just winging it for a bit and enjoying the extra training.

[iRaise]

Tried something a bit different last night to try to get a bit of volume in.

I did a shoulders/arms workout but everything was super sets.

I tried to mix push with pull as best I could so I went for:

Machine OHP SS with DB hammer curl
DB shrug SS with tricep over head DB press
OHP SS with DB curl
Face pull SS with tricep rope push down

Everything was in the 8 to 15 rep range making sure to leave a bit in the tank so as not to over fatigue myself as it's a new routine. Felt like a really good session, got the heart rate up quite a lot and got a good muscle pump.

I think I'm going to try to squeeze a couple of evening sessions in per week to up myself to 7 days total but with just the weekend sessions being anything particularly taxing. Not quite worked out what I'm going to do but just winging it for a bit and enjoying the extra training.

Like the look of that, I do think adding things like this in can be invaluable to get the extra volume in.

[EvilPie]

Tried something a bit different last night to try to get a bit of volume in.

I did a shoulders/arms workout but everything was super sets.

I tried to mix push with pull as best I could so I went for:

Machine OHP SS with DB hammer curl
DB shrug SS with tricep over head DB press
OHP SS with DB curl
Face pull SS with tricep rope push down

Everything was in the 8 to 15 rep range making sure to leave a bit in the tank so as not to over fatigue myself as it's a new routine. Felt like a really good session, got the heart rate up quite a lot and got a good muscle pump.

I think I'm going to try to squeeze a couple of evening sessions in per week to up myself to 7 days total but with just the weekend sessions being anything particularly taxing. Not quite worked out what I'm going to do but just winging it for a bit and enjoying the extra training.

Like the look of that, I do think adding things like this in can be invaluable to get the extra volume in.

OHP was insanely tough. Only did the bar but I was feeling f**ked and struggled to hit double figures. Obviously quite a lot of work had gone in before them so I was getting tired but also it was a really hot and stuffy night. I felt a bit dizzy on a couple of sets so really had to take it steady. Should get easier if I keep it up of course.

This routine and pretty much everything I have planned is to help my bench out. Bigger arms + shoulders = bigger bench....

Really want 160kg so I need to put the work in.

Did a legs routine this morning, that was just leg press, squat, RDL, leg extension, leg curl and calf raises. 4 sets of each, all very low weight just to keep legs ticking over until I decide whether to push for squat and DL again.

[the sicilian]

Cheers for the advice guys..

Think you are right about the mental side of it as when i pulled the initial single rep I was confident.. when I didn't repeat and I re approached I wasn't convinced in my mind I could do it and so it turned out..

I think we are different end of the spectrum.. you guys seem to lean towards the strength side where as I'm looking at conditioning etc.. but it is good to do some numbers on occasion

[iRaise]

Cheers for the advice guys..

Think you are right about the mental side of it as when i pulled the initial single rep I was confident.. when I didn't repeat and I re approached I wasn't convinced in my mind I could do it and so it turned out..

I think we are different end of the spectrum.. you guys seem to lean towards the strength side where as I'm looking at conditioning etc.. but it is good to do some numbers on occasion

Best place is being in the middle right? Moveable Muscle (a program by a guy called Tom Wright) is a phrase I use a lot at the minute. No point being massive if you can't move, likewise an amount of size is always good for the ego.

Strength doesn't mean size, size doesn't mean strength, so somewhere in between seems a good shout.

[iRaise]

Tried something a bit different last night to try to get a bit of volume in.

I did a shoulders/arms workout but everything was super sets.

I tried to mix push with pull as best I could so I went for:

Machine OHP SS with DB hammer curl
DB shrug SS with tricep over head DB press
OHP SS with DB curl
Face pull SS with tricep rope push down

Everything was in the 8 to 15 rep range making sure to leave a bit in the tank so as not to over fatigue myself as it's a new routine. Felt like a really good session, got the heart rate up quite a lot and got a good muscle pump.

I think I'm going to try to squeeze a couple of evening sessions in per week to up myself to 7 days total but with just the weekend sessions being anything particularly taxing. Not quite worked out what I'm going to do but just winging it for a bit and enjoying the extra training.

Like the look of that, I do think adding things like this in can be invaluable to get the extra volume in.

OHP was insanely tough. Only did the bar but I was feeling f**ked and struggled to hit double figures. Obviously quite a lot of work had gone in before them so I was getting tired but also it was a really hot and stuffy night. I felt a bit dizzy on a couple of sets so really had to take it steady. Should get easier if I keep it up of course.

This routine and pretty much everything I have planned is to help my bench out. Bigger arms + shoulders = bigger bench....

Really want 160kg so I need to put the work in.

Did a legs routine this morning, that was just leg press, squat, RDL, leg extension, leg curl and calf raises. 4 sets of each, all very low weight just to keep legs ticking over until I decide whether to push for squat and DL again.

Like the leg day too, still help with the bench for stability.

[EvilPie]

Pleased to say my recent weight loss hasn't affected bench day at all.

Warm up went really well with 4 x 10 DB press at 26, 32, 40, 40 super set with some lat work.

Bench was 5 x 5 @ 100kg then 3 x 3 @ 120kg with the slingshot. Plenty of volume but still plenty left in the tank.

I'll be starting the programme for a PR attempt in a couple of weeks so need to ramp up a bit. Week one is 4 x 6 @ 108.75kg (assumed max 145kg) then 3 x 3 @ 112kg with the slingshot.

Obviously no problem with the slingshot weight but the 4 x 6 could be tough. Due to the weights available I can either go 107.5 or 110, think I'll have to see how the next couple of weeks go before deciding. There isn't supposed to be any risk of failing so may have to go cautious.

Plenty of factors between now and then which could affect this including of course continued weight loss. I'm not going to be overly concerned if I have to drop back a bit and go for a lower PR attempt. I never did the 145kg because of injury so if that ends up being the target so be it. Just got to be sensible and see what's available over the next few months.

[iRaise]

Not quite on Matts pressing level, but a good bench day today.


Weighed in at 87 on Thursday, so happy to be above BW benches and comfortable reps. Really feel my chest in them lately, I am trying to use bench for chest development and OHP for pressing strength.

85 for 8
90 for 6
95 for 4
75 for 12

I super set it with SL RDLs too, not sure how much that takes out of me, I assume a little.

Hack squats today and struggling as ever. Find them so tough, quads feel like them are being ripped apart from the inside.

[EvilPie]

Mr Evil has started something now.... my interest in PB's has been piqued.. tonight was strength session and spin class.. usually i do the strength first then spin but thanks to an impromptu power nap this was reversed..

part of the strength session are deadlifts so after a warm up of 60kg we had 2  x 10 100KG  and 1 x 6 120kg.. we loaded up to 150 Kg... i repped out 1 pretty easily but could not repeat.. rested tried twice more but my grip wouldnt hold ... i suppose i can say this was at the end of a tough session but i think we are pretty much top of the range.. happy to take 150 off the ground for a good rep

apart from the squats i may move away from big weights and back into the conditioning.. i fear injury and moving big numbers is not what im particulary aiming for .. but nice to know now and again even for ego's sake lol

One thing I've learnt from recent experience attempting to deadlift heavier is to only test your 'good form' 1RM not your 'do whatever it takes to get it off the floor' 1RM. Even the slightest breakdown in form when you're doing something new will expose muscle imbalances and you're just asking for injury.

I've messed myself up a few times now by deadlifting that little bit too much and it's usually been the triples or doubles where I've done it.

I'm now trying to start from scratch again this time slowly strengthening everything in my posterior chain with accessory exercises before I have another shot at putting a decent weight on the bar.

Speaking as a guy of similar age (not in our twenties...) I'd recommend always having one more rep in the tank at the point you stop. We aren't competing so we don't need to know how much we could pull off the floor if our life depended on it.

I may not practice what I preach here of course as the temptation is incredible. I think I can control myself on deadlift and definitely on squat but bench I'm always going to want to push and my shoulders are occasionally going to suffer because of it. That's kind of controllable as it doesn't stop me training completely but the deadlift or squat tweaks I get put me out of action on everything for a week or more.

Longevity is way more important than ego.

[iRaise]

Accidentally did some conditioning today, busy week next week at work so wanted to bag a session today just in case I can't make it.

Problems comes when England are causing in the cricket, and its sunny outside.

So turned my normal stuff into 3 tri-sets and left. Took about 30 mins. A severe drop in quality towards the end, which goes to show the importance of rest periods. But happy that I got the main bulk done. Working hard on my squat form, so when I attack a strength phase again, hoping to push past the 140 barrier.

Echo Matt's point above too, longevity is key.

[EvilPie]

Not quite on Matts pressing level, but a good bench day today.


Weighed in at 87 on Thursday, so happy to be above BW benches and comfortable reps. Really feel my chest in them lately, I am trying to use bench for chest development and OHP for pressing strength.

85 for 8
90 for 6
95 for 4
75 for 12

I super set it with SL RDLs too, not sure how much that takes out of me, I assume a little.

Hack squats today and struggling as ever. Find them so tough, quads feel like them are being ripped apart from the inside.

Seems fairly close on a pound for pound level. Put me at BW + 10% (equivalent to your 95kg) and I'd be close to my limit at 115kg for 4. Nice work I'd say. We definitely need to get a bench session in at some point, perhaps run through some technique stuff and have a go at some heavy sets with the slingshot.

I did a nice session yesterday focussing on the posterior chain trying to slowly strengthen that.

Hyper extensions making sure that it was my glutes and hams doing all the work.
RDL at 50kg
BOR at 40kg
SLDL. These didn't go well, didn't like the feel of them in set one which was just the bar so I just stopped. Discipline ftw!!
Good mornings. Just the bar on all sets, they're a bit scary but done right I think they're awesome.
Deadlift. Just 60kg back to basics getting the form right again. I've changed my starting position slightly which I think has helped as they felt really good again for the first time in a while.

Everything really light with strict form. 4 x 10 on everything other than DL which was 5 x 5. Didn't take too long to get through as I didn't need long breaks given the light weights.

I'd love to do this routine twice per week for two months to see what it does for me. It's difficult to keep the discipline and not push to go heavier but I really think it's what I need.

Any exercises I'm missing that should be included or substituted?

[iRaise]

Not quite on Matts pressing level, but a good bench day today.


Weighed in at 87 on Thursday, so happy to be above BW benches and comfortable reps. Really feel my chest in them lately, I am trying to use bench for chest development and OHP for pressing strength.

85 for 8
90 for 6
95 for 4
75 for 12

I super set it with SL RDLs too, not sure how much that takes out of me, I assume a little.

Hack squats today and struggling as ever. Find them so tough, quads feel like them are being ripped apart from the inside.

Seems fairly close on a pound for pound level. Put me at BW + 10% (equivalent to your 95kg) and I'd be close to my limit at 115kg for 4. Nice work I'd say. We definitely need to get a bench session in at some point, perhaps run through some technique stuff and have a go at some heavy sets with the slingshot.

I did a nice session yesterday focussing on the posterior chain trying to slowly strengthen that.

Hyper extensions making sure that it was my glutes and hams doing all the work.
RDL at 50kg
BOR at 40kg
SLDL. These didn't go well, didn't like the feel of them in set one which was just the bar so I just stopped. Discipline ftw!!
Good mornings. Just the bar on all sets, they're a bit scary but done right I think they're awesome.
Deadlift. Just 60kg back to basics getting the form right again. I've changed my starting position slightly which I think has helped as they felt really good again for the first time in a while.

Everything really light with strict form. 4 x 10 on everything other than DL which was 5 x 5. Didn't take too long to get through as I didn't need long breaks given the light weights.

I'd love to do this routine twice per week for two months to see what it does for me. It's difficult to keep the discipline and not push to go heavier but I really think it's what I need.

Any exercises I'm missing that should be included or substituted?

87kg on the day, which makes my bench look better, and my squats look average.

[iRaise]

Not quite on Matts pressing level, but a good bench day today.


Weighed in at 87 on Thursday, so happy to be above BW benches and comfortable reps. Really feel my chest in them lately, I am trying to use bench for chest development and OHP for pressing strength.

85 for 8
90 for 6
95 for 4
75 for 12

I super set it with SL RDLs too, not sure how much that takes out of me, I assume a little.

Hack squats today and struggling as ever. Find them so tough, quads feel like them are being ripped apart from the inside.

Seems fairly close on a pound for pound level. Put me at BW + 10% (equivalent to your 95kg) and I'd be close to my limit at 115kg for 4. Nice work I'd say. We definitely need to get a bench session in at some point, perhaps run through some technique stuff and have a go at some heavy sets with the slingshot.

I did a nice session yesterday focussing on the posterior chain trying to slowly strengthen that.

Hyper extensions making sure that it was my glutes and hams doing all the work.
RDL at 50kg
BOR at 40kg
SLDL. These didn't go well, didn't like the feel of them in set one which was just the bar so I just stopped. Discipline ftw!!
Good mornings. Just the bar on all sets, they're a bit scary but done right I think they're awesome.
Deadlift. Just 60kg back to basics getting the form right again. I've changed my starting position slightly which I think has helped as they felt really good again for the first time in a while.

Everything really light with strict form. 4 x 10 on everything other than DL which was 5 x 5. Didn't take too long to get through as I didn't need long breaks given the light weights.

I'd love to do this routine twice per week for two months to see what it does for me. It's difficult to keep the discipline and not push to go heavier but I really think it's what I need.

Any exercises I'm missing that should be included or substituted?

Looks decent, can chop and change a lot, pauses, dead stops, deficits, rack rows etc. Chins maybe? SL bridging maybe. Straight ham curls on a machine?!

[EvilPie]

Weekly weigh in yesterday

28th June 2017 - Weight 16st 10lb, waist 37.5"

5th July 2017 - Weight 16st 5lb, waist 37.25"

12th July 2017 - Weight 16st 7lb, waist 37.25"

This is more realistic after the slight anomaly from last week. It suggests that last week was the odd weigh in rather than week one which I'm happy about as I don't want to get too light.

8 weeks to go to a long weekend away which is the target date for diet to end. It'll also probably be a bench press test about the same time so it'll be interesting to see how that goes having lost a chunk of weight. Hope I can stay at 140kg or more whilst dropping to 16st which is just under 102kg. Could eventually give me a 1.5x bodyweight target for bench which would be cool. See how that one goes, long way to go on both counts.

I did the same shoulder session as last week tonight. Really enjoy the way it works super setting with arms. I went a bit heavier tonight but made sure I was minimum 10 reps for everything with a bit left in the tank.

OHP went up a notch with 30kg for 4 x 10. Wasn't as hard as last week so there's a little improvement.

Onwards and upwards.....

[iRaise]

Weekly weigh in yesterday

28th June 2017 - Weight 16st 10lb, waist 37.5"

5th July 2017 - Weight 16st 5lb, waist 37.25"

12th July 2017 - Weight 16st 7lb, waist 37.25"

This is more realistic after the slight anomaly from last week. It suggests that last week was the odd weigh in rather than week one which I'm happy about as I don't want to get too light.

8 weeks to go to a long weekend away which is the target date for diet to end. It'll also probably be a bench press test about the same time so it'll be interesting to see how that goes having lost a chunk of weight. Hope I can stay at 140kg or more whilst dropping to 16st which is just under 102kg. Could eventually give me a 1.5x bodyweight target for bench which would be cool. See how that one goes, long way to go on both counts.

I did the same shoulder session as last week tonight. Really enjoy the way it works super setting with arms. I went a bit heavier tonight but made sure I was minimum 10 reps for everything with a bit left in the tank.

OHP went up a notch with 30kg for 4 x 10. Wasn't as hard as last week so there's a little improvement.

Onwards and upwards.....

I am sure its been asked at talked about, but where were you at when you were at your 'lightest' so to speak. As in when you were a more developed trainee.