It turns out their idea of a fried breakfast is chips, beans, chicken nuggets, fish fingers and sausages made from 100% hog anus.
Pfft.
I ate 12 sausages to make a point.

Squats
50kg x5
60kg x5
65kg x5

Been watching Rippetoe's squat videos, and think I'm beginning to get the hang of it. Some useful tips, and I feel a lot more solid.
Might stop being a pussy and do these a bit more regularly.

HC2PP
50kg x5
60kg x4
60kg x3
Yes, the fact that my HC2PP is almost as strong as my squat is not lost on me. Should be able to get the numbers up on squat fairly quickly though, I hope.

Deadlifts
70kg x8
120kg x5
120kg x5
Trying to determine my sticking point, but apart from grip which is fine, the whole thing seems to be weak. Don't think rack pulls would help much? May have been lifting with my back a little early perhaps, I'll try and pay attention to that.

Flat DB Press
20kg x10
25kg x5
27.5kg x4 PB
25kg x5
Fairly pleased with these. Probably could have got the 5th rep, but failed to get it up twice (hur hur), had to get someone to hand me the 2nd.
Woo, 27.5kg, I'm into the big-boy DB rack now.

Perhaps do your DL at the start and see if that helps? HC>PP fries my forearms and traps and then my grip is not so good for DL. So for you still to hit 120kg after squats and HC>PP isn't something you need to hang your head in shame about.

Get Marky to give you a few pointers. It may be something as simple as lifting your butt too early.

Another busy week at work, didn't get in to gym until friday.

Dips
BW x15

Squats
40kg x8
60kg x5
80kg xF A bit ambitious...
60kg x5
70kg x3 +F
70kg x2 +F

HC2PP
40kg x8
60kg x4+F
60kg x4+F
60kg x3+F

DB Bench Press
22.5kg x8
25kg x5
27.5kg x3
27.5kg x4 (assisted up)
25kg x5
Got some nice bruises on front of shoulders from cleaning these up.

Chin-ups
BW x5 +30 second hang
BW x4 + 20 second hang
Shoulders were pretty fried by this point.

GHR
BW xsome
25kg x8
25kg x8
25kg x7

Rorschach wrote:Trying to determine my sticking point, but apart from grip which is fine, the whole thing seems to be weak. Don't think rack pulls would help much? May have been lifting with my back a little early perhaps, I'll try and pay attention to that.

Dont think about lifting with your back mate - more like driving your hips through.

I doubt rack pulls will help you much, I'd just stick with deads & work on your form.

Cheers Richard.
Yeah, not going to anything convoluted, just stick more rigidly to SS. Stop doing 1-2 reps at 90%, and go back to 5 reps at about 70%, and try progressive loading on that. Will probably alternate deadlifts and GHR each session, with an occasional heavy session.

Deadlift
70kg x10
110kg x5
110kg x5
110kg x5
Was more strict on form than usual. Reset at the bottom for a breath, and with plenty of hip drive.

HC2PP
50kg x5
60kg x3+F
55kg x3+F
50kg x4+F
Hrm, explosive power wasn't there. Previous failures have been on the PP, but it was cleaning it which was the trouble today. Oh well...

DB Benchpress
22.5kg x5
25kg x5
27.5kg x10 PB
Wow. After struggling with x4 the last two sessions, I was hoping to hit x5. Hit x5 and just kept going, they felt easy.
30kg xF - Cleaned up then sat down. Took it out of me, couldn't lock out.
30kg x2 - PB Assisted set-up. Not particularly smooth, but very happy with my progress here over the last week.

Dips
BW x10
BW x5

So yeah, after a mediocre HC2PP set, I demolished my DB bench PB. Whee!"

Squat
Bar x15
50kg x5
60kg x5
70kg x5 PB
70kg x5

HG2PP
60kg x4
60kg x3
Dropped down so I could do the full set.
55kg x5
55kg x5

DB Bench
25kg x8
27.5kg x5
27.5kg x5
27.5kg x5

HG chins x6 + 30 sec hang

Quick session, only had 40 mins. Got a twinge in left knee, will concentrate on squat technique next session, i think.

Deadlift
60kg x8
130kg x3
140kg x1
145kg x1
150kg x1
150kg x1 (hitched)
Woo, back to where I was a couple of months ago.
Double overhand grip though, so I guess it's an improvement.

HC2PP
40kg x5
50kg x5
50kg x4 - twisted my left shoulder on the 4th, cut short.

DB Bench
25kg x8
27.5kg x5
27.5kg x3 Shoulder pain, stopped.

Low Back Squat
Bar x10
60kg x5
70kg x5
70kg x5
75kg x3 PB

Shoulder feels absolutely fine now so not fussed, but better safe than sorry.

So you're deadlifting 150kg and squatting 75kg?

Nice deads.

Cheers. Yeah, and my HC2PP PB's 65kg x3. Gogo imbalance.
I've only started doing them properly the last couple of weeks though, and they're improving, so I'll just be patient.
Rippetoe says that beginners get strong on deadlifts faster than on squats anyway, so I'm not too bothered.

I quote Rippetoe a lot. I think I have a mancrush on him. That texan drawl... mmm...

Low Backsquat
Bar x10
60kg x5
70kg x5
70kg x5
70kg x5
One of of the gym staff came over and told me I'm letting my chest drop, resulting in a GM-squat. I laughed at her as she was a woman, and told her I'm not doing pilates love. The cheek of it!

OK fine, I said yes ma'am, thankyou ma'am, and kept the weight low while trying to correct it...
Hot girl who knows how to squat? I think I'll have to find which nights she works.

HC2PP
50kg x5
60kg x5
60kg x5
Having stability issues, as I'm keeping my feet parallel and find myself wobbling backwards. I can see me stacking it at some point.
Is there any trick to this, perhaps a split stance?

Deadlifts
60kg x10
100kg x5 (at speed)

DB Bench Press
25kg x10
27.5kg x5
27.5kg x5
Found these pretty tough going, but was at end of session.

HG Chins
BW x8 + 30s hang
BW x4 + 20s hang
2 second free hang, chin up to knuckles, apart from the last one.
Felt stronger than I normally do at the end of a session. Though that's probably a sign I didn't push myself hard enough.

Waargh, training on four hours sleep is interesting. Shit's hit the fan at work, I'm not enjoying getting up at 5am this week.

Dips
BW x15
BW x10
BW x5
Nice and slow negatives. Read advice against going heavy on dips, so concentrating on ROM and slow speed for the time being.

Squat
Bar x15
60kg x5
65kg x5
70kg x5
75kg x5

Pushpress
50kg x5
70kg x5
75kg x3 PB

The imbalance here might be less obvious if I didn't do them next to each other. >_>
In my defence, I'm still concentrating on my technique for squats. I feel I could go heavier, but my knees drift in, and my back's still leaning over too much.
Using a slight split-stance on pushpress, balance feels a lot more secure.

Deadlift
70kg x5
100kg x5
130kg x3
130kg x2 +F
Meh, I blame fried CNS from lack of sleep.

In other news, I've got a pay review tomorrow, so I might be able to afford to eat again soon.

Driving over to MarkS's tomorrow to train. Quite excited about this.

Don't tell Mark.

LMAO! At your last post.

Split stance may help on the HC>PP as it's more stable. Congrats on your OH 150kg DL! Yay!!!

Phew, pretty shattered.

Enjoyable session, learnt a fair bit. Can't remember all the details, but here are the highlights:

Squat
100kgx1 PB
Woo. Knew I had more in me, double figures finally. Apparently my technique's not that bad, but long legs causing problems as well as a weak lower back. My back's a lot stronger now, so I thought that was fine, but it seems I need more work.

Good Mornings
80kg x5 PB
Didn't go for 1RM as I wanted to work on deads. Think I have the hang of these, will work on them to improve squat and deads.

Bench
85kg x1 PB
Once again, long legs causing a problem, couldn't get much leg drive. Something to work on too. Off my chest I felt comfortable, but getting more than 85kg off my chest proved impossible for the time being.

Deadlift
150kg x1
No personal best, but a useful technique check. Hitched a bit, but I was getting tired by this point. I'm lifting with legs first then back apparently, so need to work on lower back strength so I can do both at the same time.

Pull-throughs
some
Wasn't paying much attention to the weight, just getting a feel for them. Look silly, and when you're as well endowed as me, this is a risky exercise, but felt very useful. Might get me on the wussy machine.

Cable Crunches
some
Same as with Pull-throughs. Recommended by Mark, I can see why he likes these.

Finished with some chins.
Mark's not kidding about the squat rack by the way, fixed hooks instead of adjustable pins which is a pain, and the hooks are just where you want your hands for a wide-grip.

In conclusion: well worth the 200 mile round trip.

Oh, and Mark gave me a belt that didn't fit. What a nice chap.

Looks like a good session mate & big improvement in your squat, sounds like you learned a lot from Mark.

Hrm, overdue an update.

Squat
Bar x10
60kg x5
80kg x5 (belt)
90kg x3 (belt)
90kg x4 (belt)
Think I'm going to try going just below parallel instead of ATG, since after reading up on them, I have to admit I feel that my lumbar muscles and hamstrings are relaxing to stretch that low. Will see if that effects things, as I feel I have the strength to lift more, but i get loose at the bottom, wobble around, and have to grind it up.

Overhead Press
40kg x8
50kg x4
50kg x3 + 50kg x2 pushpress
50kg x5 pushpress
Hrm, I should probably avoid cheating, and do the lift I'm trying to do.

Good Mornings
40kg x10
60kg x5
70kg x5
80kg x5
85kg x4
Unracked 90kg to give it a go, but didn't feel like it was going to happen, so didn't bother. I think this is the one lift I'd better do in the power-rack, as although the squat rack gives me more freedom to move, the highest safety pins are just above my knees.

Flat DB press
25kg x5
27.5kg x5
30kg x4

Cable Crunches
12 x10
16 x10 (full stack + litte moulded weight hanging on the machine)
16 x10
Hrm, little disappointed in the machine. There's room for improvement, the last 5 are slow, but unimpressed by the amount of weight on them.
Also a little annoyed by the fact there're no units on the bars. It's a Cybex machine, if anyone knows how much their bars weight. Oh, and I weighed the little stand-alone weight at 3kg. Seems smaller than the normal bars though. 48kgs maybe? Who knows.

Glute Ham Raises
BW x10
+15kg x10
+15kg x5
Done slowly, to avoid using momentum.

Just for you mate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq8CWv8UPAI

Squats are looking much better. Those GHRs are really good - do you have a proper GHR bench?

Cheers Richard. Interesting video, I'll give those ideas a go. Not not sold yet on stretching hamstrings pre workout though. I do suffer from infelxibility with them a bit, particularly noticable on the GMs, but I don't want to tire them out before lifting. Perhaps something to work on outside the gym.

I may also skip humping the power-rack too.

The GHRs felt good, particularly after squats and GMs. A fair bit below my PB, but with better form (I have to swing to do the 25kgs). I have a proper bench, wouldn't fancy rigging up a way to do it on a mat.

Rorschach wrote:Cheers Richard. Interesting video, I'll give those ideas a go. Not not sold yet on stretching hamstrings pre workout though. I do suffer from infelxibility with them a bit, particularly noticable on the GMs, but I don't want to tire them out before lifting. Perhaps something to work on outside the gym.

I may also skip humping the power-rack too.

The GHRs felt good, particularly after squats and GMs. A fair bit below my PB, but with better form (I have to swing to do the 25kgs). I have a proper bench, wouldn't fancy rigging up a way to do it on a mat.

I do static stretches away from training, & use some dynamic stretches for warming up.

You'd be surprised, humping the rack is pretty helpful
just get down in the bottom of the squat position like he says & work on keeping a good arch there.

Still slacking with my journal, but managed 140x3 deadlifts yesterday.
Longer pause between the reps than usual - 5-10 seconds, but fairly pleased.

^^ good work. Cluster deadlifts

First session sunday after a 3 week break.
Managed to pick up tendonitis in my right hand (was doing a lot of painting which can't have helped). However, that cleared up after a week and a half, just been lazy and out of routine since then...

Squat
Bar x10
60kg x5
80kg x5 belt
80kg x5 belt
80kg x3 belt

Deadlift
70kg x5
110kg x5
130kg x3
140kg x1
140kg x1
140kg x1 +belt, just to see what it felt like

Military Press
50kg x5
50kg x5
55kg x2

GHR
BW x15
15kg x10
15kg x8

Dips
BW x15
BW x10

HG Chins
BWx8 +40s hang
BWx5 +25s hang

Nothing amazing, but it seems I haven't wasted away at least.
Happily got the bug again, shouldn't be a problem getting back into the routine.

What're people's opinions on using belt for deadlift? I'm definitely a fan for squat, helps keep my core stable and something to push against, but I'm not so sure on DL. It's largely a back exercise, isn't that cheating a little and missing the point? Like doing GMs with a belt...

Oh, and got my 2nd blood cholesterol test tomorrow (7 months since first one), want to see whether a high fat diet is actually going to kill me, as friends and family claim...
"Five eggs a day?! Why aren't you dead yet?"

Not needed IMO, but then I don't use them at all.