Blonde will make you STRONG

[EvilPie]

Injuries seem to be subsiding a bit. My arm and shoulder still hurt but they aren't restricting training at all. My back has also been a bit dodgy recently but physio has straightened it out and after a light week last week it doesn't seem to be affecting me too much now.

Had a good chest session on Tuesday, used the bands again for bench press which felt great. Loving these.

Posterior chain last night went well. BoR are down a little bit, managed 120kg but only for 1 set and it wasn't pretty. RDL up to 150kg but again only the one set then backed down.

Deadlifts seemed really good, got a fairly quick 150kg double then followed up with a couple of singles before some back down sets. Pleased with that after the lay off last week and also the heavy work before deadlifts. Think I might start with deadlift and go with singles next week and have a shot at a PR. The 150kg moved really well so maybe I'm ready for 180kg.

[iRaise]

Gonna leave this here as other thread obsolete nowadays.

09/02/18 14st 3lb

I go on Holiday Sunday so gonna see how much I pile on whilst in Florida for a week.
Plan to run every other morning whilst there

Got back today weight was 14st 13lb

A little surprised it was that high as shorts still fit fine. Only did one short run. Got a blister on side of foot and wasn't worth making it worse.
Back on it from tomorrow

Feels like a lot of water mention, interested to see what its like now/in a few days.

[iRaise]

3x5 100kg squats going nice and deep. Taking my time with these but feeling good. My ass has never been perkier.

Everything else going well. I don't pay great attention during sessions with the PT, after work i'm usually pretty drained so just lift what i'm told to lift til it's time to go home. Absolutely worth the 17 quid a session and it's not close. I've performed a variety of exercises and most importantly actually gone in. I'm looking forward to seeing what we achieve by summer.

Nice weight there!

[iRaise]

Injuries seem to be subsiding a bit. My arm and shoulder still hurt but they aren't restricting training at all. My back has also been a bit dodgy recently but physio has straightened it out and after a light week last week it doesn't seem to be affecting me too much now.

Had a good chest session on Tuesday, used the bands again for bench press which felt great. Loving these.

Posterior chain last night went well. BoR are down a little bit, managed 120kg but only for 1 set and it wasn't pretty. RDL up to 150kg but again only the one set then backed down.

Deadlifts seemed really good, got a fairly quick 150kg double then followed up with a couple of singles before some back down sets. Pleased with that after the lay off last week and also the heavy work before deadlifts. Think I might start with deadlift and go with singles next week and have a shot at a PR. The 150kg moved really well so maybe I'm ready for 180kg.

I've got heavy DLs today. Not sure I can break into the 180 zone just yet.

[EvilPie]

Injuries seem to be subsiding a bit. My arm and shoulder still hurt but they aren't restricting training at all. My back has also been a bit dodgy recently but physio has straightened it out and after a light week last week it doesn't seem to be affecting me too much now.

Had a good chest session on Tuesday, used the bands again for bench press which felt great. Loving these.

Posterior chain last night went well. BoR are down a little bit, managed 120kg but only for 1 set and it wasn't pretty. RDL up to 150kg but again only the one set then backed down.

Deadlifts seemed really good, got a fairly quick 150kg double then followed up with a couple of singles before some back down sets. Pleased with that after the lay off last week and also the heavy work before deadlifts. Think I might start with deadlift and go with singles next week and have a shot at a PR. The 150kg moved really well so maybe I'm ready for 180kg.

I've got heavy DLs today. Not sure I can break into the 180 zone just yet.

We need to sort a deadlift session out sometime soon. Wouldn't mind a form check now that I'm going a touch heavier.

Also interested in your thoughts on something that happens when I wear a belt. It feels like I get a lot more hamstring activation when I put a belt on and I can't figure out why. This is on DL and RDL, probably more so on RDL. I wonder if I should use the belt more often and on lighter weights to try to build my hamstrings. It's strange but heavier weights feel harder with a belt on because of the hamstrings working. Take the belt off and I can do them easier but it's probably hampering long term gains by not working my hams as much as I could.

Weird one....

[arbboy]

https://www.maxinutrition.com/special-offers/clearance/

Incredible 70% off sale above for all your muscle needs.  Incredible prices compared to normal.  Obviously limited flavours and products but my usual powder/flavour had the 70% off so i have filled my boots.

[EvilPie]

https://www.maxinutrition.com/special-offers/clearance/

Incredible 70% off sale above for all your muscle needs.  Incredible prices compared to normal.  Obviously limited flavours and products but my usual powder/flavour had the 70% off so i have filled my boots.

Never been a big fan of maxinutrition.

They have some good looking offers on but given the amount of protein in their shakes they need it to compete.

If you're looking at grams of protein per £ maxinutrition are miles behind the competition unless of course they give 70% off.

Musclefood have some decent ones and their standard prices are good enough that they don't need to give ridiculous offers. £54 for a 5kg bag of their whey protein 85 has 84.5g protein per 100g which works out at £1.30/100g of protein.

The Progain extreme from maxi has 26.7g protein per 100g. At £10.50 for 1500g that works out at £2.60/100g of protein even with 70% off.

The progain is a weight gainer by the look of it so won't be as protein heavy as a whey isolate but you need to check your goals carefully before you go for 70% off offers.

If you're taking shakes purely to increase your protein intake then get your calculator out and check the ingredients as they can be very deceptive. If you have other goals then there different things to check but make sure you do your research.

It's an absolute minefield out there and most of them are rip off merchants.

[EvilPie]

3x5 100kg squats going nice and deep. Taking my time with these but feeling good. My ass has never been perkier.

Everything else going well. I don't pay great attention during sessions with the PT, after work i'm usually pretty drained so just lift what i'm told to lift til it's time to go home. Absolutely worth the 17 quid a session and it's not close. I've performed a variety of exercises and most importantly actually gone in. I'm looking forward to seeing what we achieve by summer.

Nice weight there!

5 x 5 at 80kg for me tonight. Aiming for an ass as perky as mtn's.

I've widened my stance a bit and it seems to be a bit more comfortable although yet to be seen if I can bump the weight up a bit. Back down to one squat day per week now so will see how we go.

[EvilPie]

Had a weigh in tonight and was surprised to be tipping the scales at 104kg. Can't remember last time I was this heavy although I don't feel like I've put much on round my waist. Hopefully most of the weight has gone to the right places in the form of muscle.

Will be sticking with my current food intake for a couple more weeks whilst I build up to a bench 1RM attempt then I'll trim down for 6 weeks in the run up to Vegas. Won't be doing anything drastic, just cutting out the extra bits I've added whilst trying to gain a bit. Knock a couple of pitta breads out every day and take out my morning and afternoon protein bars. Also no more carb load Friday/Saturday which means no more rice pudding

Simple really and should get me back to around the 101kg mark I would imagine.
 
I'll track it when I start which will be after 10th March. Might be able to do weekly updates with Vegaslover.

[vegaslover]

Gonna leave this here as other thread obsolete nowadays.

09/02/18 14st 3lb

I go on Holiday Sunday so gonna see how much I pile on whilst in Florida for a week.
Plan to run every other morning whilst there

Got back today weight was 14st 13lb

A little surprised it was that high as shorts still fit fine. Only did one short run. Got a blister on side of foot and wasn't worth making it worse.
Back on it from tomorrow

Feels like a lot of water mention, interested to see what its like now/in a few days.

Yeah, to some extent.
Not exercised since getting back, but been back at work. Weight was 14st 9lb this morning

[EvilPie]

Solid bench session today

2 x 4 @ 100kg
4 x 4 @ 105kg
3 x 3 @ 120kg with the slingshot

All slightly heavier than the programme requires but still well within limits having a rep or two in the tank every set. There wasn't a bench available straight away so this was after incline for a few triples at 110kg as well.

Gets heavier next week but the volume drops massively. 3 x 2 @ 115kg and 3 x 1 @ 122.5kg with the slingshot is the programme. Think I'll be targeting 120kg for the normal and then 130 minimum for the slingshot but will see how I feel.

Shoulder and arm are still sore but clearly not affecting me at all with pressing so not a problem. It's getting better every day so hopefully it'll be 100% by max attempt day in two weeks.

Feeling really confident for a max attempt as things stand. Moving more weight than when I hit a 140kg, slightly less than when I hit 145kg but I feel I could do more.

Gonna be interesting.

[Marky147]

Was 214 this morning, so should be on to hit 210 again by Chelts week, and got an appt with the sports guy on the 7th.

It has gradually gotten better this week, so will just get him to have a look at that, and my forearm which is a bit tight as well.

Matt is gonna be on 8 plates before the year is out!

[iRaise]

Was 214 this morning, so should be on to hit 210 again by Chelts week, and got an appt with the sports guy on the 7th.

It has gradually gotten better this week, so will just get him to have a look at that, and my forearm which is a bit tight as well.

Matt is gonna be on 8 plates before the year is out!

Nice nice nice with the weight loss.

Matt is certainly on the cards for 180.

[iRaise]

Solid bench session today

2 x 4 @ 100kg
4 x 4 @ 105kg
3 x 3 @ 120kg with the slingshot

All slightly heavier than the programme requires but still well within limits having a rep or two in the tank every set. There wasn't a bench available straight away so this was after incline for a few triples at 110kg as well.

Gets heavier next week but the volume drops massively. 3 x 2 @ 115kg and 3 x 1 @ 122.5kg with the slingshot is the programme. Think I'll be targeting 120kg for the normal and then 130 minimum for the slingshot but will see how I feel.

Shoulder and arm are still sore but clearly not affecting me at all with pressing so not a problem. It's getting better every day so hopefully it'll be 100% by max attempt day in two weeks.

Feeling really confident for a max attempt as things stand. Moving more weight than when I hit a 140kg, slightly less than when I hit 145kg but I feel I could do more.

Gonna be interesting.

Tried some tempo benching today, 5/1/5/1... pretty pretty tasty. Defo couldn't have done anymore at the slow rate.

[iRaise]

5x5 Squats at 100 with a pause at the bottom, went belt-less too which I always find harder at the top weight.

RDL 4x10-12 44kg, a definite grip test
OHP 4x8-12 50kg a definite stamina test.

Today was bench and rack pulls. Rack pulls worked up to 3x8 at 180 but grip really goes, without straps I am going nowhere with these ones.

Went for a mini cut for 4 weeks, weight in at 88 the other day so just want to trim down to 85 again, so will bang out another 3 weeks at around the 2300-2500KCALs. Wanted to get a few walks in but the weather is horrific.