Blonde will make you STRONG

[iRaise]

Rack pulls today

4x4 200, felt touuuugh towards the end.

5x8 BOR 72.5 but the last few reps were more shrugs than rows. So probably getting towards the peak on that one right now.

Next week in for 4x2.

[Steve Swift]

Hi Guys this week:

3 press up sessions

Mon, Supposed to do 14,18,14,114,20+
Did                 14, 18,14,14,21.

Wed,Supposed to do  20,25,15,15,25+
Did           20,25,15,15, 28.  So fail

Sat, Supposed to do   22,30,20,20,28+ 
Did                        22,30,20,20, 21. So fail

Knew this week was going to be an ask so was expecting to take a couple of bites at it.

Also had 4 swimming session, 1 short run.


I am 95% sure i am going to enter my first triathlon on 2nd Oct, i am just leaving it until the very last minute as i am miles down on the swim requirement. 
It is only a super sprint, Swim 400m, Bike 8km, run 5km. Bike and swim i know i can get around but at the moment i am shy of the 16 lengths of a 25m pool that
 i need by......... 12.5 lengths   The best i have managed without dieing is 3.5 lengths. I recover in about 10 secs to go again but i really don't want to be hanging
onto the side of the pool every couple of lengths.

One of the issues is i am a terrible swimmer but am working hard to get better, like all things it takes time.  I can do the 16 Lengths but not in a oner.
The other issue is my arms are constantly tired, the press up affect my swimming and the swimming affects my press ups so i think as the priority is not to drown
the swimming is going to take centre stage. To try and get some arm recovery i will continue the persuit to 50 after the 2nd.

Hope that you are all well and keep up the good work.

Steve

[iRaise]

Hi Guys this week:

3 press up sessions

Mon, Supposed to do 14,18,14,114,20+
Did                 14, 18,14,14,21.

Wed,Supposed to do  20,25,15,15,25+
Did           20,25,15,15, 28.  So fail

Sat, Supposed to do   22,30,20,20,28+ 
Did                        22,30,20,20, 21. So fail

Knew this week was going to be an ask so was expecting to take a couple of bites at it.

Also had 4 swimming session, 1 short run.


I am 95% sure i am going to enter my first triathlon on 2nd Oct, i am just leaving it until the very last minute as i am miles down on the swim requirement. 
It is only a super sprint, Swim 400m, Bike 8km, run 5km. Bike and swim i know i can get around but at the moment i am shy of the 16 lengths of a 25m pool that
 i need by......... 12.5 lengths   The best i have managed without dieing is 3.5 lengths. I recover in about 10 secs to go again but i really don't want to be hanging
onto the side of the pool every couple of lengths.

One of the issues is i am a terrible swimmer but am working hard to get better, like all things it takes time.  I can do the 16 Lengths but not in a oner.
The other issue is my arms are constantly tired, the press up affect my swimming and the swimming affects my press ups so i think as the priority is not to drown
the swimming is going to take centre stage. To try and get some arm recovery i will continue the persuit to 50 after the 2nd.

Hope that you are all well and keep up the good work.

Steve

Great stuff with the triathlon! Think its a great idea. Just make sure you eat enough. If you want to do a triathlon, fat loss isn't a thing you should 'worry' about. You now need to flip onto recovery and performance! Carbs are definitely your friend when you are doing that level of intensity.

[iRaise]

We are running a delayed Olympics in the studio over the next two weeks.

Will post in here some results to see if anyone wants to compare themselves.

Events:

Hang for time
Hollow body hold for time

Most amount of slams (5kg for women/9kg for men) in 2 mins
Most amount of bridge (BW on the bar) on 2 mins

Most amount of ab rolls in 2 mins
Most amount of press ups in 2 mins

1km on the Xtrainer
500m Row

Track food for 14 days (accurate to the macros I set them)
Track steps for 14 days (most amount).

Really looking forward to seeing the results.

[zerofive]

Got some questions but I am very much interested. First of all, are you doing these events one per day? How are you structuring it?

We are running a delayed Olympics in the studio over the next two weeks.

Will post in here some results to see if anyone wants to compare themselves.

Events:

Hang for time Overhand grip?
Hollow body hold for time Arms and legs extended? Do you stop the clock as soon as form breaks anywhere or do you get a chance if lower back wobbles etc?

Most amount of slams (5kg for women/9kg for men) in 2 mins We don't have slam balls but we have battle ropes so won't be a completely fair test but similar
Most amount of bridge (BW on the bar) on 2 mins Is padding allowed/required? You doing it shoulders to the floor or shoulders on a bench?

Most amount of ab rolls in 2 mins Are you using a barbell for this? If so, how much weight on the bar?
Most amount of press ups in 2 mins

1km on the Xtrainer Adding any resistance?
500m Row

Track food for 14 days (accurate to the macros I set them)
Track steps for 14 days (most amount).

Really looking forward to seeing the results.

[iRaise]

I am being 'handicapping' a few events to try and get people on a level playing field.

Hands just overhand shoulder with, but people can hang however they want. All choose that way.

HBH I am deciding on what I think is tough for them. So some people are full, some people are legs straight up but they find it tough. I don't want to crush anyones morale, and the whole point is to push training on for the next few months. So happy for people to be at their level.

Ropes would work just as well, just gotta be quick with the count.

Shoulders on a bench, a step underneath to make sure you hit. Rep doesn't count if I don't think you have gone high enough at the top. As much padding as you want.

Ab roll is just the little wheel.

X Trainer is level 5 on my one. Not to much resistance.

In terms of getting people to do it, since some people come more often than others, just trying to get as much done in their sessions as we can, and if need be run an extra one next week to catch up.

I am trying to balance it out. So you don't go from max ab rolls straight to HBH for example.

Some amazing times already. Cant wait for the next few weeks.

Had a 92kg 47 year old (office job) get a 121 second hang. Unreal.

[iRaise]

4x2 Squats today at 120.

Felt pretty good actually. Might have been a bit easy on myself there. But went for it the rest of the session. Up to 5x8 200kg on the leg press. Upped the single leg ham cur and upped the t bar RDLs. So pretty happy.

[EvilPie]

Is 'hang' to literally just hang from a bar? Wouldn't mind giving that a go to see where I can get.

I've recently started to hang for as long as possible after my last set of chins but haven't clocked it. I'd guess about 30 seconds or so and maybe 45 seconds if you include the chins time. Might equate to just over a minute if I wasn't doing the chins I suppose.

Been a tough week or two for me. Been insanely busy at work which has meant 12+ hour days so I've been a bit tired. Still making it to the gym in the mornings but I've stopped any evening work so that I can have a bit of chill time before bed. It's not ideal as this means my stretching has taken a back seat but I'll get over it and it's only for a few weeks so not a problem.

I'm keeping everything pretty light at the moment although still managed 100kg bench for 8 reps and 48kg dumbbells for 5 on the incline yesterday. Managed 3 x 4 and 1 x5 for chins today including the aforementioned hang on the final set. I could do a few more but trying to make sure I stop before anything starts to hurt. I'd love to get back in to these properly and start to hit double figures again. Might start adding them to another session if they keep going well to give them a boost.

@Sean. I had a chat with the general manager at xercise4less the other day and he said they're looking for PTs. I was honest and told him that the ones he currently has that I've seen are pretty awful especially when they get people doing strength work. I was pretty shocked when he told me they're all self employed but despite this they're never monitored to make sure they know what they're doing. Anyway if you're interested then now would be a great time as the Uni students start back on Monday so it'll be rammed with new starters.

Let me know if you want any details although I'm sure you can find them yourself easily enough anyway.

[iRaise]

Is 'hang' to literally just hang from a bar? Wouldn't mind giving that a go to see where I can get.

I've recently started to hang for as long as possible after my last set of chins but haven't clocked it. I'd guess about 30 seconds or so and maybe 45 seconds if you include the chins time. Might equate to just over a minute if I wasn't doing the chins I suppose.

Been a tough week or two for me. Been insanely busy at work which has meant 12+ hour days so I've been a bit tired. Still making it to the gym in the mornings but I've stopped any evening work so that I can have a bit of chill time before bed. It's not ideal as this means my stretching has taken a back seat but I'll get over it and it's only for a few weeks so not a problem.

I'm keeping everything pretty light at the moment although still managed 100kg bench for 8 reps and 48kg dumbbells for 5 on the incline yesterday. Managed 3 x 4 and 1 x5 for chins today including the aforementioned hang on the final set. I could do a few more but trying to make sure I stop before anything starts to hurt. I'd love to get back in to these properly and start to hit double figures again. Might start adding them to another session if they keep going well to give them a boost.

@Sean. I had a chat with the general manager at xercise4less the other day and he said they're looking for PTs. I was honest and told him that the ones he currently has that I've seen are pretty awful especially when they get people doing strength work. I was pretty shocked when he told me they're all self employed but despite this they're never monitored to make sure they know what they're doing. Anyway if you're interested then now would be a great time as the Uni students start back on Monday so it'll be rammed with new starters.

Let me know if you want any details although I'm sure you can find them yourself easily enough anyway.

Huge pressing numbers.

And literally just a hang. Hang there off the bar as long as you can.

As a disclaimer, the bar we use is fairly under used, so it is sharp as fuuuuck. So it does really hurt. So everyone is such a legend for holding on as long as they do. I will give all the events we go over the next few weeks. Looking forward to it. The row did me on saturday. But will see how I go. If I hang in pure I will get much longer because the bars are far less painful. So the 95kg guy that got 121 seconds and mine really is an AMAZING example of strength/mental strength. I am after 60-90 secs.

[the sicilian]

Opinion...

woman i know in passing is ' a body builder ' shes in her forties ripped to shreds.. obv roided up to the eye balls... prob weighs 8.5 stone fairly slim..

keeps posting gym photos ( these kind of wind me up to start with )

Posted one.. standing next to leg press with 390KG on it boasting she can press it... im assuming 1 rep hero ...but..

I call bullshit... i can press 300kG for full sets of 10 and im fucking popping veins.. and my legs are built for leg press

Do we think she can do this or is she full of it ?

[EvilPie]

If she claimed 400kg I'd maybe call bullshit but if you're loading up a machine to take a fake photo you don't go to the trouble of sticking a couple of 5kg plates on.

I've known women smaller than that leg press more so I don't see why it's not possible. There was an 8st girl at my old gym could press as much as me when I was in my prime. That was about 400kg but obviously different machines can mean huge differences in how the force is applied to your legs. The machine at my other gym was max'd for me at 240kg for example.

Also your legs could be like tree trunks but that's not the be all and end all when it comes to moving metal.

Sorry mate she's just stronger than you.....

[Marky147]

I could do 300kg when I was at school, so I can't see any reason why she wouldn't be able to.

Ask her to order you some Tren & Anavar, and go after 500

[Marky147]

Had week off while John was away, and have hardly managed to sleep the last few nights, as I've somehow pinched something in my back/shoulder when picking up the dog.

Was meant to train through today, but John called it off as he was still like a zombie, and I suggested it might be best leaving it until monday, and hopefully this settles down.

It's very strange, as most of the time it's ok, but if I try lying down it's very sore, and occasionally when I move my right arm I can feel a short sharp shock.

Actually seems to have settled down a bit more this evening, so hopefully the melatonin will do a better job than last night and I'll get a few hours now.

[the sicilian]

If she claimed 400kg I'd maybe call bullshit but if you're loading up a machine to take a fake photo you don't go to the trouble of sticking a couple of 5kg plates on.

I've known women smaller than that leg press more so I don't see why it's not possible. There was an 8st girl at my old gym could press as much as me when I was in my prime. That was about 400kg but obviously different machines can mean huge differences in how the force is applied to your legs. The machine at my other gym was max'd for me at 240kg for example.

Also your legs could be like tree trunks but that's not the be all and end all when it comes to moving metal.

Sorry mate she's just stronger than you.....

Lol combo of 30 and 25 plates... Sigh bloody girls 😀

[iRaise]

Opinion...

woman i know in passing is ' a body builder ' shes in her forties ripped to shreds.. obv roided up to the eye balls... prob weighs 8.5 stone fairly slim..

keeps posting gym photos ( these kind of wind me up to start with )

Posted one.. standing next to leg press with 390KG on it boasting she can press it... im assuming 1 rep hero ...but..

I call bullshit... i can press 300kG for full sets of 10 and im fucking popping veins.. and my legs are built for leg press

Do we think she can do this or is she full of it ?

Yeah it is tough, I have seen a few girls rep 300, but like Matt says, the machines and angles play a huge roll person to person. Plus some people are just pretty dam strong. If its a photo you don't know the range of motion either. Guy in our gym racks up 200 on the smith machines, put the tech under him (matrix benches are so high compares to most) and he is about a foot and a half away from hitting it. A knee bend doesn't even do this justice. He must move around 2-3 inches, and on a few that is being generous. Yet I am sure he will tell people he squats 200 for 10.

Limb length as well, even if she uses full range, she might have less to go. But all that being said, massive achievement for her to rack up those kinda numbers and give it a go!