Intro

Here we go then, recovered from jetlag, chest infection and general nonsense over December and Jan, time to get serious again.

Long,long term goal remains the same, take part in amateur Powerlifting meets and join a federation.
I class last year as a success, i joined a gym in July and could barely move machines with a couple of plates loaded and managed to finish the year with a combined total for the Powerlifts of 525kg. The downside is i did this while totally ignoring my more than ample bodyfat, so as i gained muscle mass, my bodyweight sky rocketed as my bf% stayed roughly the same (ie 20%+ .. i darent find out what it is exactly).

As ive looked more into powerlifting its become clear to me that i need to drop a lot of weight. Although i have no allusions of becoming a champion (considering my age), i do want to be competative, and at 118kgs, im up with the real big guys who are posting figures that make mine look like a Fitness First member just after their induction.

So i need to get the weight down... but heres the catch.. i want to up my lifts as i do it.

Essentially i want to take 30kg off my bodyweight and add around the same to my powerlifts... sounds huge i know, but the amount of fat im carrying is very significant (pics tomorrow when my wife is home to take them).

The 6 month target fits in well with my current gym membership which expires at the end of July, at which point i will be looking for a new gym as my current one is overpriced and full of boyband wannabes and stick thin know it all women who just anger me, specially after a heavy session when my test levels are pretty high

The Plan

Training wise i plan to add something to my arsenal that ive always overlooked... that weird thing called Cardio. More specifically HIIT cardio. Again im confident that the fact that ive trained with close to 0 cardio (very short warmups at most on x-trainers) i should be able to shift significant amounts of bodyfat.

I will work on a 4 day split as follows;
Week 1:
Saturday - Chest and Triceps
Sunday - Back and Biceps
Tuesday - Delts and Traps
Thursday - Legs

Week 2:
Saturday - Chest and Delts
Sunday - Back and Traps
Tuesday - Biceps and Triceps
Thursday - Legs

Bit of an odd routine I know, but heres my thinking. While pushing for the 500kg i really neglected assistance work that i didnt consider top priority for upping the lifts.. ie Arms and Shoulders. I want to give them their own day each once every 2 weeks so i can hit them without them playing 2nd fiddle to big compounds for chest, back and legs.

After each session (after my first week) i will be doing 1-2 abs exercises and 20 mins of HIIT cardio.

Ill need to be careful with volume to avoid overtraining, but I wont be going much more than 70-80% 1RM so should be ok, ive overtrained before so if i do see signs ill make adjustments.

Diet is a bit more of a problem, I tried the anabolic diet last year and I dont do well on it, so i will be eating moderate carbs early in the day and keeping fat/protein high.
A typical work day will go as follows;

On waking - Whey/Creatine shake
Tribulus pro - Cida Cordaforlia - Multivit - 3x Omega 369 softgels
8am - Porridge
10am - 2 boiled eggs + 2 low carb sausages
12:00 - MP Meal replacement with full fat milk, spoonfull of peanut butter
3:00pm - Can of tuna/salmon, handful of walnuts/almonds, piece of fruit (most likely a bannana)
5:00pm - Evening meal of Steak/Chicken/Low carb burgers/Lambs lives + mushrooms and brocoli/spinnach/cale cooked in butter
Pre workout if training
MP Pulse 20g + Caffeine tablet
Post workout if training
40g whey + 40g WMS + creatine + L Glutamine + BCAA
10:00pm - 30g MP Bedtime Extreme (will switch to pot of cottage cheese when current stock runs out.. its too damn expensive)

Over the weekend i will consume more carbs, primarily coming from a malt loaf with butter.

good luck mate.

That's a tough target you've set. Something like 1.15kg per week!

I would advise not carbing up. The daily porridge will be enough to keep you functioning well.

Bin the full fat milk. Use double cream and water instead. That way you get the fats without the carbs.

Banana out - Apple or Pear in.

Cheers cleaver, will do, any advice on diet is appreciated.

I know its a huge target, but id rather aim high and fall a little short than aim low and get complacent

Saturday 2nd Feb

Chest and Triceps

Flat Dumbell chest press
20kg each side x 12 (warmup)
34kg each side x 10
38kg each side x 8
40kg each side x 5
40kg each side x 3
Note: Knew this would be hard first time back, but glad i moved the 40s.

Incline Barbell Press
60kg x 10
70kg x 4
70kg x 3
Note: Should have stuck with 60kg first day back, but nothing ventured etc etc

Decline Barbell Press
55kg x 10
75kg x 6
75kg x 5
Note: Happy enough

Cable Cross overs
7.5kg each arm x 10
11.25kg each arm x 10
13.75kg each arm x 10
16.25kg each arm x 10
Note: decent chest finisher, lot more in the tank but trying not to push it.

Alex Dips (bench dips with plates on lap)
BW x 12 (warmup)
BW+15kg x 10
BW+25kg x 10
BW+30kg x 10
BW+40kg x 5
Note: Loved these, felt so good.

Lying Tricep cable extension
11.25kg x 10
16.25kg x 8
18.75kg x 6
21.25kg x 4
Note: Not overly keen on these but wanted to try them, will stick to standard skullcrushers

Close grip bench Press
60kg x 10
70kg x 6
70kg x 4
Note: Both smiths in use so used free bar which i was trying to avoid till im back into things more, last rep was scary as i racked it at about 60mph into the lowest rung about 6 inches above my nose.. could have been messy.

Machine crunches
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
Note: My mandatory 1 abs exercise.

Overall : My first full workout since november, ego took a slap in the mush as i was much weaker than expected, but shouldnt take long to pull it back. Will be introducing the cardio this time next week.

Good luck with this mate. Some tough goals you've set yourself there.

ahem.. slightly embarrasing, after sitting down and actually thinking, the numbers in my goals didnt sound right.... id been reading a qualifying chart for equipped lifting

Slight revision (and probably more realistic) , my aim is 100kg bodyweight and 570kg combined lifts.

You'll be competing unequipped? Which fed are you going to join?

is there any decent local gyms where powerlfiters train near you?
you should compete in a raw comp for experience then perhaps think about equipped lifting IMO. Iv never competed equipped yet but its not hard to see thats thats what the real deal is in powerlifting. Raw lifting comps are pretty rare and in terms of world champs etc very rare.

good aims btw..

BWLA look to do a few unequipped competetions, its from there that ive taken my qualifying aims. In all honesty ive yet to fully look into which federation to join as im not ready for it.. but hopefully by summer ill be thinking along those lines.

There is a great gym near me called Monster Gym that i visited a couple of times last year. A lot of serious lifters in there and seemed like a nice place, however its a little too far from home, would be a good 90 min round trip.
There are a couple of smaller gyms in hatfield and St albans that im told are pretty serious lifting gyms so i'll be looking into them come the summer when my Next Generation membership expires.

There are a few good chaps in Next Generation.. but they are a tiny minority, most there are training to look good on the beach.. and then there are the ones that think they are serious lifters.... you know the ones, the lads that wear a weight belt the whole time they are in the gym

Good luck with your goals.

No doubt with your determination you'll happily make them.

Sunday 3rd Feb - 9.30am to 11.30am

Back/Biceps - Last weights only workout

Deadlifts
110kg x 10
140kg x 6
160kg x 4
180kg x 2
200kg x 1
Note: Bit naughty as im sposed to be working a different rep range, but curiosity got the better of me. The 200kg was pretty easy even after some reps at lower weights.

T-Bar Rows
50kg x 10
65kg x 8
80kg x 6
90kg x 4
Note: Form went a bit crap at 80kg as the back of the bar was riding up, but dumped a dumbell on the end and the 90s were fine.

Wide grip pulldowns
10 x 49kg
10 x 63kg
8 x 70kg
4 x 77kg
Note: Good squeeze at the bottom

Reverse close grip pulldowns
12 x 35kg
12 x 42kg
10 x 49kg
10 x 56kg
Note: Stayed light as my wrists dont like being fully supinated.

Spider curls
35kg x 8
35kg x 4
35kg x 3
35kg x 3
Note: Hate how weak my biceps are, but that should change this year

Dumbell Hammer curls
16kg each arm x 8
16kg each arm x 6
16kg each arm x 5
16kg each arm x 5
Note: Strangely last set was much easier than 3rd.

Barbell wrist curls
20kg x 10
20kg x 8
20kg x 6
Note: Found the right weight for me to do these i think

Rope curls
8.75kg x 20
11.25kg x 12
13.75kg x 10
Note: Light finisher just because i felt like id not done much work on biceps.

Machine Crunches
15 x 50kg
15 x 50kg
15 x 50kg
Note: Reps up, weight down from usual, felt better, more of a burn.

Overall : Pleased that i dont seem to have lost much strength on my deadlift, biceps still possibly my weakest link in my whole body.

Tuesday 5th Feb
Came very close to not training, from about 3pm onwards i was extremely tired despite getting a decent nights sleep. I can only think that my body was moaning at me for not giving it the carbs its used to so decide to go into shut down mode. Gave myself a slap in the mush tho and headed to the gym...

Delts and Traps
warmup - 6kg dumbells, presses and raises.

Seated Smith Press
Smith +40kg x 10
Smith +40kg x 6
Smith +40kg x 4
Note: Good form, but i need to drop the weight and rep for more i think.

Powercleans
Bar x 12
35kg x 8, overhead press on last rep
45kg x 6, overhead press on last rep
55kg x 4, overhead press on last rep
60kg x 3
Note: Didnt press the 60kg as it was VERY busy in the free weight area and had people near me. Very pleased with these and love doing them, ive read up on form and watched some great vids, followed the tips and pretty much nailed the form, i just need to work on my flexibility and get my elbows up higher, but i am resting the bar on my front delts at the top so its all good.

Seated Lateral delt plate raises
5kg plate each arm x 12
5kg plate each arm x 12
5kg plate each arm x 10
5kg plate each arm x 10
Note: Stayed light and went for reps, got a great burn and the last few reps were a real grunt.

Standing front Delt plate raises
5kg each arm x 10
5kg each arm x 10
5kg each arm x 10
Note: As above

Powershrugs
75kg x 10
75kg x 10
75kg x 8
Note: Need to go back and look at my form on this, the drive was coming from my lowerback rather than legs.

Wide grip upright rows
30kg x 8
30kg x 8
30kg x 8
Note: Lever shrug had 2 monsters using it, so needed a filler

Lever Shrugs
120kg x 10
140kg x 8
150kg x 8
Note: Good stuff, traps still throbbing now

Machine Crunches
60kg x 15 x 2

10 Mins HIIT Cardio
Static bike, odd minutes slow, even minutes fast
Note: Wow thats hard work, i can steady state on a static bike till the cows come how, but this kills me, will increase it to 20mins over the coming weeks.

Overall: Very pleased with this, felt bad before training, which i suspect was my body screaming for carbs.. but got through it and had a great, intense workout with a good mix of low rep high weight stuff and high rep lighter stuff.
Looking forward to Legs on Thursday.

Thursday 7th Feb

Ok i admit it, i carbed up today, this is the 3rd time ive tried low carb/high fat.. and my body just hates it, 2 days running now my bodies gone into shut down mode around 3pm, possibly due to carb dependency that i probably need to tough it out to break.. but training with a serious friend tonight and didnt want to waste the oppurtunity by having zero energy....

Legs

Barbell Squats
Bar x 12
70kg x 8
90kg x 6
110kg x 4
130kg x 3
150kg x 3
Note : Bit naughty as it was more like PL training than BB, but they were all nice and deep.

Hack Squat Calf raises
40kg x 12
90kg x 12
100kg x 8
Note : Really enjoy these, burns like hell.

SLDL's
50kg x 10
80kg x 8
50kg off 6 inch platform x 10
80kg off 6 inch platform x 8
Note: Platform ones were nice.

Hammer Strength Leg Extension
10 x 80kg Toes out
10 x 80kg Toes in
8 x 90kg Toes out
8 x 90kg Toes in
Note: Alternating toes seems to work well, really feel it work both sides of my quads.

Hammer Strength Leg Press
150kg x 10
200kg x 8
240kg x 6
Note: Semi light for a nice finish.

Machine Crunches
3 x 15 x 60kg

10 Mins HIIT
Static bike, odd minutes 60rpm@level 10, even minutes 90-100rpm@level 12
Note: HARD work after legs, but got through it.

Overall : Good hard legs workout, happy with first proper squats since i got ill in November, should be able to push to 200kg+ fairly quickly i think.

If my connection holds out, im gonna transfer this to MP for the time being, couple of times now ive written up a
workout and not been able to post it.

Stoopid Virgin

Good squats Marks

Ta mate, on seconds thoughts im not gonna move it, just started to decided its better to struggle to post here till Virgin sort themselves out than to post on MP at the mo

Maybe type out your posts in notepad and copy&paste to this forum?

Excellent squatting.

Saturday 9th Feb

Chest/Triceps

Im going to leave Triceps with Chest for the time being as i want shoulders to have their own day so i can work on Powercleans and the various assistance exercises around them.

Flat Dumbell Press
28kg each arm x 12 (warmup)
34kg each arm x 10
38kg each arm x 8
40kg each arm x 5
Note: Decent enough and pleased i can get the 40kg+ into position without help, but i got big burns in my arms from these which i assume is lactic acid build up.. so tried to ignore it.

Incline Flys
10 x 20kg each arm
8 x 20kg each arm
6 x 20kg each arm
Note: Ouch.. arms really sore

Smith Incline Press
Smith+20kg x 15
Smith+40kg x 10
Smith+50kg x 6
Smith+55kg x 3
Note: Really need to find out what the smith weighs, it feels like it takes more force to drive the empty bar up than it does an olympic bar, so i assume over 20kg.. but really have no idea.

Decline Barbell Press
40kg x 15
60kg x 8
60kg x 6
Note: No one around to spot and wasnt feeling strong, so went careful.

Feet High Bench Dips
BW x 12
BW+10kg x 10
BW+10kg x 10
BW+20kg x 8 -> Dropped to BW x 3
Note: Liked these a lot, i seemed to get a deeper angle with my feet higher (used the saftey on a squat rack, feet about 12 inches higher than hands)

Incline CGBP
45kg x 8
45kg x 5
20kg x 20
30kg x 10
Note : Found these really hard, possibly as i hammered my tri's on the dips. Dropped it down on 3rd set so i didnt end up doing 2 reps.

Cable Push downs
23.75kg x12
28.75kg x 10
33.75kg x 8
38.75kg x 10
Note: Those right over the top, elbows wide things.

Machine Dips
70kg x 12
80kg x 10
50kg x 15 -> Dropset to 30kg x 15

Machine Crunches
3 x 15 x 60kg

Cardio
Ran out of time, will do a little extra HIIT tomorrow.

Overall : The burn in my arms was a pain.. literally and it took a bite out of the following exercises, but overall good workout, specially the bench dips.

Just realised i did Incline CGBPs and not Declines

Wtf was that about.. i probably didnt use my Triceps at all for them... oh well

some man size weights in there Mark. any plans to up the reps in the likes of the squatting? that would get the blood pumping with the weights you can move!

Aye mate, still getting back into things at the mo, and trying to get out of the mindset of pushing for strength with lower reps, but i do plan to work in a higher rep range generally for this phase.

cool

theres nothing that takes it out me more that a set of atg squats for 10 or 12 reps to failure. with you being a bear of a man and moving big weight, that would certainly go through the calories!

all the best with this

Rab

where abouts u from?
great journal! BDFPA are good alternative to BWLA for unequiped

Hertfordshire mate, just north of Barnet.. sadly not one of the rich bastard brokers that live all around me though