Training -- Mon 1/12/2014

OHP

10x20kg
6x30kg
1x40kg
7x45kg
2x4x45kg

Upright Row/Band Rotator Cuff

2x10x18kg/12
15x18kg/15

Training -- Sat 29/11/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x70kg
1x100kg
3x8x115kg

Goodmorning

3x10x75kg

Training -- Fri 28/11/2014

Bench Press/Assisted Pull Ups

10x20kg/20
5x40kg/10
3x60kg/10
8x75kg/10
5x75kg/10
6x75kg/10

CGBP/Assisted Pull Ups

8x60kg/10
7x60kg/10
6x60kg/10

OHP/Barbell Row

5x10x20kg/30kg

That was all in the studio, after my PT client in the morning. Then I went home, skulled some milk, kidnapped my training partnerish person, went to the other gym and turned into a total cardio bunny. I spent about 15min on the treadmill, then decided to go for an hour straight on the crosstrainer and see how I faired. Supposedly I burned 750kcal in that hour at a nice comfortable pace.

Training -- Thur 27/11/2014

Front Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
10x50kg

Back Squat

2x10x65kg

Deadlifts

5x65kg
2x100kg
2x12x132.5kg

Glute Bridge

3x12x65kg

Training -- Wed 26/11/2014

OHP/Pull Ups

10x20kg/17xBW
5x30kg/8xBW
1x37.5kg/8xBW
6x42.5kg/8xBW
2x4x42.5kg/8xBW

Incline DBBP/Machine Row

3x10x15kg/10x40kg

And then 25min on the X-trainer and 300kcal (supposedly).

Training -- Tue 25/11/2015

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x70kg
3x90kg
2x10x110kg
5x110kg -- Balance went off on the 5th rep, and then I decided to call it quits.

Goodmorning

3x10x72.5kg

Training -- Mon 24/11/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/17xBW
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
10x70kg/8xBW
7x70kg/8xBW
6x70kg/8xBW

Push Press/Bent Over Row

3x5x40kg/10x45kg

Cable Crossover/Rotator Cuff

10x15kg/10x7.5kg
10x12.5kg/8x5kg

And then supposedly 300kcal worth of crosstrainer over 25min.

Training -- Sat 22/11/2014

High Bar Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x10x60kg

Deadlifts

5x60kg
2x100kg
2x120kg
2x140kg
2x5x150kg

Glute Bridge

3x8x80kg -- That was easier than anticipated. PB.

1-legged Bridge

8xBW
8x5kg -- Just testing out the waters. Haven't attempted these in about 5 years. I remember being distinctly awful at them once upon a time. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily my body flew up, so put a 5kg plate across my hips/abs and went again. Still easy.

Training -- Fri 21/11/2014

OHP/Assisted Pull Ups

10x20kg/15
5x30kg/10
1x40kg/8
3x4x47.5kg/10

Training -- Wed 19/11/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x70kg
1x100kg
6x120kg
3x10x72.5kg

Goodmorning

3x10x70kg

Leg Press/Calf Raise

3x6x120kg/12x120kg

Training -- Tue 18/11/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/6xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/10xBW
1x72.5kg/10xBW
4x82.5kg/10xBW
5x10x50kg/6xBW

Push Press/BB Row

3x5x30kg/5x50kg

Training -- Mon 17/11/2014

Front Squats

3x20xBW
10xBW cossack
10x20kg
3x10x50kg

Deadlifts

5x70kg
2x100kg
2x120kg
8x142.5kg
5x10x75kg

Glute Bridge

3x8x70kg

Training -- Thur 13 - Sat 15/11/2014

Thursday

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x70kg
1x95kg
8x115kg
5x10x72.5kg

Goodmorning

5x10x60kg

Saturday

OHP/Block Rows

10x20kg/12x40kg
5x30kg/12x40kg
1x40kg/12x40kg
7x45kg/12x40kg
5x10x22.5kg/12x40kg

Lots of incidental exercise on Thursday and Friday: a few hours of walking around, bowling, laser skirmish and a pool party.

Training -- Wed 12/11/2014

I've been out of the gym all week, studying for chemistry. It seemed to pay off in my final exam yesterday, which is a huge relief. And now, back to training.

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/16xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
6x77.5kg/6xBW
5x10x50kg/6xBW

OHP/Row

5x10x20kg/12x52kg

Training -- Thur 6/11/2014

High Bar Squats

12xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x10x60kg

Deadlfits

5x60kg
2x100kg
1x120kg
10x135kg -- That was hard. Hamstrings had a lot to say to me during this set. That's informative of where I'm probably weak.
5x10x75kg -- Felt harder than it did last time.

Glute Bridge

5x8x60kg -- I swear these got easier every set.

Training -- Wed 5/11/2014

OHP/Pull Ups

10x20kg/17xBW
5x30kg/6xBW
1x37.5kg/6xBW
8x42.5kg/6xBW
5x10x20kg/6xBW

Incline DBBP/Cable Row

4x10x12.5kg/10x61kg

Training -- Tue 4/11/2014

Squats

10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
1x100kg
10x110kg -- That feel when you realise you've got a hair in your mouth that you want to pluck out mid-set.
1x122.5kg
5x10x72.5kg

Goodmornings

5x10x60kg

Training -i Mon 3/11/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/10xBW
8x75kg/10xBW
5x10x50kg/6xBW

OHP/BB Row

5x10x20kg/10x40kg

Training -- Sat 1/11/2014

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x10x60kg -- Hamstrings still ultra sore from Wednesday. They started agreeing with me around the 2nd or 3rd work set. Prior to that, everything was pain and awkward movement.

Deadlifts

5x60kg
2x100kg
1x120kg
12x127.5kg
5x10x75kg

Training -- Fri 31/10/2014

Overhead Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x30kg/10xBW
10x40kg/10xBW -- OHP rep PB!
5x10x20kg/6xBW

Incline DBBP/Barbell Row

10x15kg/8x40kg
10x15kg/12x30kg

Training -- Wed 29/10/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
12x102.5kg
2x10x72.5kg
6x72.5kg -- Head wasn't in it; no energy

Goodmorning

3x10x60kg

Training -- Mon 27/10/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/16xBW
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
10x70kg/6xBW -- Went for an 11th rep, got half way up, bar kept decelerating. What a rude bar. It decelerated to 0kph, before accelerating back towards my chest. Rolled it down to my hips and stood up with it.
3x10x50kg/6xBW
8x45kg/6xBW
12x40kg/6xBW

OHP/Cable Row

5x10x20kg/10x52kg -- Ended up having to turn the final reps of sets 3-5 into push presses. Dat fatigue.

Training -- Sat 25/10/2014

After a week off (more study and illness, yay), I was going to come back and test my 1RM's, but then I got the gym and realised I'd left my chalk behind, so I decided to take my training maxes and see how many reps I could do, instead.

Squats

20xBW
10x20kg
5x70kg
1x100kg
6x117.5kg

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x70kg
4x80kg

Deadlifts

6x70kg (3 sumo, 3 conventional)
2x100kg (1 sumo, 1 conventional)
2x130kg (conventional)
2x145kg (conventional) -- No surprises at the lack of volume there. No chalk + commercial gym bars + commercial gym rules requiring I wear shoes.

OHP

10x20kg
5x30kg
1x40kg
5x45kg

Training -- Sat 18/10/14

OHP/Barbell Row

10x20kg
5x32.5kg
8x42.5kg/10x42.5kg
5x10x20kg/10x50kg

Deadlifts

6x60kg
5x100kg
2x120kg
8x137.5kg
5x10x70kg

Training -- Fri 17/10/2014

Squats

10x40kg
6x60kg
3x80kg
1x100kg
8x110kg
5x10x70kg

Training -- Mon 13/10/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/16xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
8x72.5kg/8xBW
5x10x47.5kg/6xBW

OHP

3x10x20kg

Training -- Thur 09/10/2014

Squats

12x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
1x92.5kg
10x102.5kg
5x10x70kg

Deadlifts

5x70kg
2x100kg
10x130kg
5x10x70kg

Training -- Wed 08/10/2014

Been off for about 2 weeks thanks to ye olde cough and cold. And I'll be away all Friday-Sunday, so now that I'm back, it's cramming time.

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/12xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/10xBW
9x72.5kg/8xBW
5x10x47.5kg/6xBW

OHP/Row

5x20kg
3x30kg
5x40kg/10x52kg
4x10x20kg/2x10x52kg

Training -- Thur 25/09/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
12x97.5kg
5x10x70kg

Goodmorning 

5x10x60kg -- Given how sore I was from 3x8x70kg last week, my body might bertstare me tomorrow.

Leg Press/Calf Raise 

5x10x80kg/10x80kg -- Once upon a time, these were easy, and these weights were insignificant. But then, once upon a time, I was used to practicing leg presses, and I didn't wait until after I'd done several sets of squats and hinges before starting them.

Training -- Wed 24/09/2014

Overhead Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/19xBW
5x30kg/10xBW
10x37.5kg/10xBW -- Rep PB on OHP. Didn't know I had that in me.
10x20kg/9xBW
10x20kg/8xBW
3x10x20kg/6xBW

Pull Up total: 74

Incline DBBP/Cable Row

5x10x12.5kg/52kg

Training -- Mon 22/09/2014

Pull Ups

19xBW
9xBW
4x6xBW -- No chalk = less grip = less reps. I was doing these while waiting for the bench to be free.

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
12x67.5kg
5x10x47.5kg/6xBW

OHP/Row

5x10x20kg/10x52kg

Training -- Sat 20/09/2014

High Bar Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x10x60kg

Deadlifts

5x70kg
1x90kg
1x110kg
12x122.5kg
5x10x70kg

Glute Bridge

3x5x70kg

Did some 5/3/1 BBB today. I know historically that 5/3/1 doesn't do much good for me, but one good work set plus some fast volume's looking pretty appealing to me lately, even if I can't expect much strength progress in the process.

(5/3/1 basically has you doing a top set of 5+, 3+ or 1+ reps at 85, 90 or 95% of a set training max, which is lower than your actual max. BBB is "Boring But Big;" 5x10 at about 50-60% of that training max. It's supposed to be this super duper strength program, but in my experience all the progress is in strength endurance from the BBB; 5/3/1 itself isn't enough practice with the top weights in my experience to do justice.)

Training -- Wed 17, Thur 18/09/2014

WED

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x70kg
3x100kg
5x115kg
1x120kg
1x125kg
1x130kg

Goodmorning

3x8x70kg

Leg Press/Calf Raise

2x10x40kg
10x80kg

THUR

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/19xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/9xBW
1x70kg/8xBW
5x80kg-4x70kg-5x60kg/9xBW

Training -- Mon 15/09/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/19xBW -- New pull up PB
5x40kg/9xBW
3x60kg/9xBW
1x70kg/9xBW
7x77.5kg/9xBW
2x6x77.5kg/9xBW

CGBP/Cable Row

2x8x62.5kg/8x70kg

OHP/Cable Row

10x20kg/10x61kg
5x30kg/10x61kg
3x5x37.5kg/12x52kg

Training -- Sat 13/09/2014

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
8x105kg
2x5x105kg

Deadlifts

5x60kg
5x100kg
2x5x135kg

Glute Bridge

3x8x65kg

Training -- Mon 08/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/15xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
7x75kg/8xBW
2x6x75kg/8xBW

CGBP/Pull Ups

2x7x62.5kg/8xBW

OHP

10x20kg
5x30kg
2x5x35kg

Training -- Wed and Thur 03-4/09/2014

WED

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x100kg
3x8x112.5kg

Pause Squats

2x5x100kg
2x100kg -- Bad set. Left knee's still unhappy with it.

SLDL

10x100kg
2x10x80kg

Glute Bridge

3x8x62.5kg

THUR

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/18xBW
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
1x70kg/8xBW
5x80kg-5x70kg-6x60kg/8xBW

Incline DBBP/Cable Row

10x22.5kg-5x15kg-6x10kg/10x70kg

Push Press/Cable Row

5x20kg/10x70kg
5x30kg/10x70kg
3x40kg/10x70kg
2x3x47.5kg/12x61kg

Training -- Mon 01/09/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/18xBW -- Dem rep PB's.
5x40kg/8xBW -- For some reason, after all those previous reps, my body seems to get significantly heavier on the next set.
3x60kg/8xBW
8x72.5kg/8xBW
7x72.5kg/8xBW
6x72.5kg/8xBW

CGBP/Cable Row

8x62.5kg/15x43kg
7x62.5kg/15x43kg

OHP/Cable Row

10x20kg/15x43kg
8x32.5kg/15x43kg
4x32.5kg/15x43kg

Calf Raise

12x60kg
6x10x100kg

Training -- Sat 30/01/2014

High Bar Squats

20xBW
I mucked around with cleans up to 45kg
10x45kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x10x100kg

Deadlift

5x60kg
5x100kg
4x5x137.5kg -- Not quite the 3x10 I was after.

Glute Bridge

3x8x60kg

Training -- Fri 29/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/17xBW -- After Wednesday, I had to be sure on every rep.
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
1x70kg/8xBW
4x80kg/4x70kg/5x60kg/8xBW -- Drop sets.

Incline DBBP/Cable Row

12x20kg-5x15kg-6x10kg/14x61kg

Push Press/Cable Row

5x20kg/14x61kg
5x30kg/14x61kg
3x37.5kg/15x43kg
2x5x45kg/15x43kg -- Despite having only had about 3 hours sleep last night, I was quite vibrant in this workout. I got an aggression and leg drive into my push presses that's never been there before, and made such a difference.

Training -- Wed and Thur 27-8/08/2014

WEDNESDAY

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/16xBW -- I'm actually not sure whether this was 16 or 17 reps, so I'll say 16 to be safe. PB!
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
4x80kg-3x70kg-5x60kg/8xBW -- Drop sets

Incline DBBP/Row

10x20kg-5x15kg-10x10kg/10x25kg

Push Press/Row

5x20kg/10x35kg
3x30kg/10x45kg
1x37.5kg/13x61kg
3x4x42.5kg/13x61kg

THURSDAY

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x90kg
3x8x110kg

Pause Squat

5x100kg

SLDL

3x8x100kg

Training -- Tue 26/08/2014

Decided to make up for the deadlift session I didn't do last week.

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x10x97.5kg

Deadlift

5x97.5kg
3x10x130kg -- I almost shouldn't count the last set as one set. I had to stop, stand up and relax twice during the set, because I felt like I was going to vomit otherwise.

Bulgarian Split Squat/Calf Raise

7x15kg/10x60kg
2x7x15kg/10x80kg

Goodmorning/Calf Raise

2x60kg/10x80kg

Training -- Mon 25/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/15xBW -- Dem reps
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
2x8x70kg/8xBW
7x70kg/8xBW

CGBP/Rows

2x8x60kg/8x70kg

OHP/Rows

10x20kg/12x61kg
8x30kg/12x61kg
6x30kg/15x40kg

Training -- 20/08/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x90kg
3x10x107.5kg

Pause Squats

3x5x97.5kg

SLDL

3x8x97.5kg

Glute Bridge

10x40kg
10x50kg
10x57.5kg

Training -- Mon 18/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/13xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
10x67.5kg/8xBW
9x67.5kg/8xBW
7+2x67.5kg/8xBW

CGBP/Cable Row

3x5x60kg/12x61kg

OHP/Cable Row

10x27.5kg/15x52kg
3x8x27.5kg/15x52kg

Training -- Sunday 17/08/2014

High Bar Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x10x95kg

Deadlifts

5x95kg
3x10x120kg

Bulgarian Split Squat/Calf Raise

3x6x15kg/10x80kg

Hip Thrust/Calf Raise

20sec hold x20kg/10x80kg
10x20kg/10x80kg
10x30kg/10x80kg

Training -- Friday 15/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW

Using the other uni gym, ie the one that looks so much better, but I never go to it because of reasons. I discovered that the benches here are horrible. Bench itself is too squishy and too low to the ground, and the bar height options are about a foot apart, meaning you either need to have the arms of the average 4 year old, or have longer arms than me, in order to have any chance of setting up appropriately. So, when it came time for actual work sets, I decided to call it quits. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Decline Bench Press/Pull Ups

6x20kg/8xBW
6x40kg/6xBW
6x50kg/6xBW

The last time I did a decline bench press of any variety was in 2009. Maybe even earlier. I remember it feeling much more awkward than this did. This felt better than using the flat benches in this gym. I didn't want to load up with it, though, as there are no safeties on the bench, and if I fail on this, I certainly can't roll the bar to safety.

Incline DBBP/Cable Row

2x8x17.5kg/10x59kg -- These gyms have the weirdest weight increments on their rowing machines.

Push Press/KB Row

5x20kg/8x18kg
5x30kg/8x22kg
5x40kg

Training -- 13/08/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x70kg
3x10x105kg

Pause Squats

3x5x95kg -- Between sets, a younger lifter (in terms of actual age and training age) asked me how I squat so deep, and about my equipment. The girl in the group he was with instantly started applying my squat advice, which was just to go down into a squat stretch and practice being in that position.

SLDL

3x8x95kg

Goodmorning

3x8x55kg

Training -- Mon 11/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/12xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
2x10x65kg/8xBW
8+2x65kg/8xBW

CGBP/Cable Row

3x5x60kg/11x61kg

OHP/Cable Row

3x10x25kg/20x43kg

Training -- Fri 08/08/2014

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x10x92.5kg

Deadlifts

5x92.5kg
3x10x110kg -- Some very fast, powerful reps at the start of sets 2 and 3. What happens when you properly set up and take the slack out of the bar without being encumbered by fatigue.

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/6xBW
3x6x72.5kg/6xBW

Training -- 06/08/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/12xBW -- Haven't done that many pull ups in a while.
5x40kg/10xBW
2x10x62.5kg/8xBW
9x62.5kg/8xBW -- Went for the 10th rep, got stuck at that good old sticking point. My right arm was shaking throughout the set, I lost a lot of tightness between reps towards the end (which I may not have gotten back), and I was fatigued, so missing that last rep and rolling the bar down my stomach could have had any number of causes. That took a lot out of me.

CGBP/Rows

2x7x60kg/12x52kg

OHP/Rows

3x10x22.5kg/12x50kg -- Different rowing machine = different weight stack. Silly increments.

Training -- 04/08/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x10x102.5kg -- Got through that betterer than last week.

Pause Squats

3x5x92.5kg

SLDL 

3x8x92.5kg -- No belt, no chalk, DOH.

Goodmorning/Calf Raise (smith machine) 

3x8x52.5kg/10x80kg -- I'm not sure what the effective weight of the bar in the smith machine is, I just know that I used to use them a lot and could always lift more with them than with a standard bar. So I didn't include the weight of the smith bar; just the added plates.

Training -- Fri-Sat 1-2/08/2014

Friday

Squats

10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x10x90kg -- All high bar; not much rest between sets.

Deadlifts

3x10x100kg -- Double-overhand, no chalk, yes belt.

Saturday

Bench Press/Pull ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
3x6x70kg/8xBW

Incline DBBP/Cable Row

2x15x15kg/10x61kg

Push Press/Cable Row

5x20kg/10x61kg
5x30kg/10x61kg
5x40kg/12x52kg
5x40kg/15x43kg
5x40kg/20x34kg

Cable Crossover/Rear Delt Flies

2x10x12.5kg/10x5kg

Barbell Shrugs

3x12x70kg

Training -- Wed 30/07/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/6xBW
3x10x60kg/6xBW -- I'm trialing benching on my toes, rather than on my heels. Legs felt shaky and far from stable. Not sure if performance was enhanced or not over all. But I'll be sticking with it for a while to see what difference it makes over a longer period. I'll need to film this sooner or later to see how pretzel-like I look.

CGBP/Pull Ups

2x6x60kg/6xBW

OHP/Cable Row

3x10x20kg/10x52kg

I did a few laps of suitcase walks with a 24kg kettlebell after this. Not sure on the distance or even keen to guess.

Training -- Mon 28/7/2014

Squats

10xCossack
20xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
1x90kg
2x10x100kg
5x100kg -- That feel when the dodgy bar slips off your back.

Pause Squats

3x5x90kg

SLDL

3x6x90kg

Goodmorning

3x8x50kg -- I was going to do leg curls. Then I discovered that the gym had no leg curl machine.

Training -- Wed 23/07/2014

First day back in the gym after camp. I bailed out of the PL comp, because I wasn't feeling up to it and priorities left it in the backburner.

OHP/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x30kg/6xBW
3x5x40kg/6xBW

Push Press/Pull Ups

3x5x40kg/6xBW

Cable Crossover

3x10x14kg -- And this is what it means to be hardcore. Though I haven't done this exercise in years, I actually like it as a chest isolation exercise, because compared to bench press it adds like 30-45 degrees onto top-end ROM, allowing a fairly intense contraction in a position that's missed by literally every other chest exercise I can think of. I could feel my pecs going nuts at that moment of peak contraction in each rep.

Kettlebell Swing

10x12kg
10x16kg
3x10x20kg

Overhead Squat

3x10xBW -- Just holding a broomstick overhead.

Training -- Fri/Sat 12/07/2014

FRIDAY 11th

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x80kg
2x3x90kg
2x90kg

DB Shoulder Press/Pull Ups

3x10x12.5/10-8-8xBW

Cable Row

3x8x61kg

Rotator Cuff

3x8x5kg

SATURDAY 12th

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x100kg
1x120kg
1x130kg
1x140kg
1x147.5kg
1x150kg -- I was going to stop at 147.5kg and do a few sets there, but I figured why not add the extra bit of weight and see how I go. Good to know I'm still good to do 150kg, and felt I could have gone slightly heavier. Probably aim for 152.5kg in competition.

Deadlift

5x100kg
2x140kg
2x160kg
0x180kg -- Well that was disappointing.
1x160kg

Rack Pull -- Below knee

2x5x160kg

Training -- Thur 10/07/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x100kg
2x120kg
1x130kg
3x3x140kg -- Theoretical 1RM from this is ~155kg, but I'm not expecting to actually achieve that when I do this novice meet in 10 days. I'm cramming as much training into this week as possible, as I'll be on camp from this Sunday to the following Friday.

Deadlift

5x100kg
2x140kg
2x160kg
2x170kg
1x180kg -- Started a second rep, but it barely came off the floor. I don't know how much of that was physical and how much was mental. Not quite the 2.5x180kg I managed back in November.

SLDL

3x8x100kg

Wed 10/07/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg
5x40kg
3x60kg
1x75kg/10xBW
4x85kg/10xBW
3x3x85kg/10xBW

OHP/Cable Row

10x20kg
5x30kg/10x30kg
6x40kg/12x52kg
2x5x40kg/12x52kg

Rotator Cuff

2x8x5kg

Training -- Tue 09/07/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
2x100kg
2x120kg
2x5x130kg
4x130kg -- Put some music on and it psyched me out rather than psyching me up.

Pause Squat

6x100kg

Squat Lockout

Walkout 10x140kg
10x160kg
10x170kg

Deadlifts

5x100kg
2x140kg
1x160kg
3x2x170kg -- Form felt ugly

Rack Pull -- Above knee, 1 notch lower than last time.

3x6x200kg -- Traps felt that.

Goodmorning

3x8x40kg

Training -- Mon 7/7/2014

7 + 7 = 14. Trufax.

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
1x70kg/8xBW
4x5x80kg/8xBW
3+2x80kg/8xBW -- Spotter doing his thing on bench press. Total pull ups: 66

OHP/Cable Row

5x20kg
6x40kg/12x52kg
5x40kg/12x52kg
4x40kg/12x52kg

Training -- Sat 5/7/2014

Squats

2x10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
1x100kg
1x120kg
1x130kg
1x140kg
1x145kg
Walkouts:
15x160kg
10x180kg
Pause Squats:
3x100kg

Deadlift

5x100kg
2x140kg
1x160kg
2x170kg
Rack Pulls (above knee):
2x180kg
6x200kg -- Using straps

All this was after going bushwalking earlier in the day, with a run for the last little stretch.

Training -- Thur 4/7/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups/Calf Raise

10x20kg/10xBW/--
5x40kg/8xBW/10x20kg
3x60kg/8xBW/10x60kg
1x80kg/8xBW/10x80kg
3x87.5kg/8xBW/10x80kg
2x2x87.5kg/8xBW/10x80kg -- I think there were combined issues of confidence and not getting properly in the groove with my bench press here.
5x80kg/8xBW/10x80kg
4x80kg/8xBW/10x80kg

OHP/BB Row

10x20kg/5x40kg
5x30kg/5x50kg
6x40kg/5x50kg
2x5x40kg/5x50kg

Training -- Wed 2/7/2014

Great session today. Or terrible session. One of the two.

The good: Solid heavy squats. Not sure if these were in PB territory (I'd have to go back to my logs from last year to check my best triple), but they were good. Ditched deadlifts and did knee-height rack pulls up to 200kg.

The bad: While my heavy squats felt good and there was no indication of trouble while doing them, immediately after the second work set my left knee felt like it had been sodomised without lube. This put a quick end to squatting today, and forced me to do rack pulls rather than deadlifts.

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
5x90kg
3x110kg
1x130kg
2x3x137.5kg -- Felt good, but alas, felt horrible afterwards.
1x70kg -- Decided to see if my knee could handle a lighter load. It couldn't.

Rack Pulls

5x70kg
5x110kg
4x150kg
2x170kg
2x190kg
1x200kg -- I then stepped out of the rack and lowered the bar to the floor, effectively doing the eccentric portion of a 200kg deadlift.

My knee feels fine now. I have no idea whether it'll be good for heavy lifting on Saturday or not.

Training -- Mon 30/06/2014

So, I went a bit silly today. How silly? Two workouts silly. I had good(ish) reason, though, being that my squats and deadlifts need more practice.

WORKOUT 1 -- UPPER BODY

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/10xBW
3x60kg/8xBW
1x70kg/6xBW
5x5x77.5kg/6xBW

OHP/Row

10x20kg/10x40kg
5x30kg/10x40kg
3x35kg/12x52kg
3x5x40kg/12x52kg
4x40kg/12x52kg
3x40kg/12x52kg

WORKOUT 2 -- LOWER BODY

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
5x100kg
4x6x120kg

Walkouts

10x140kg -- Measuring by number of breaths.
10x160kg
10x170kg
10x180kg -- Dumping this behind me felt rewarding. Not getting crushed under it also felt pretty good.

SLDL

6x100kg
5x110kg
3x5x120kg

Training -- Sat 28/06/2014

Before I get into today's workout, yesterday I (supposedly) burned a little over 600kcal on the treadmill and crosstrainer, because I'm all about the gains. I then walked around fairly casually for 70min. If I assume that I burned about 5kcal/min while walking, that's an added 350kcal. After spending several hours at my destination, I walked another 40-odd minutes back to my car, so that's another 200kcal.

My destination was Hungry Jack's, where I had am Ultimate Double Whopper: Heavy Everything; a Bacon Deluxe; chips; and many refills of Coke.

Amidoingitrite?

Squats

20xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
3x100kg
2x120kg
3x5x130kg -- Last 2 reps of each set were a grinder. I miss being strong. I have squatted more than this for 5's back in the day.

Pause Squats

3x5x100kg -- I figured I wasn't going to get 5x5 at 130kg, so time to lighten up and do some assistance work.

Deadlifts

5x100kg
3x120kg
2x140kg
3x3x160kg -- I recorded a set and saw much more back rounding than I would ever like to see in one of my deadlifts.
5x140kg

SLDL

8x100kg -- Haven't done these in ages. Probably why there was so much back rounding before.

Barbell Walkouts

100kg
140kg
3x160kg -- So that's what 160kg on my shoulders feels like. Good to know. I tried to hold each set for about 10 seconds, but without a timer in front of me, I have a feeling that I became subject to relativity, and "10 seconds" was probably closer to 3.

Training -- Thur 26/06/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/6xBW
5x40kg/6xBW
3x60kg/6xBW
1x75kg/6xBW
7x3x85kg/6xBW
2x4x80kg/6xBW
4x80kg/10xBW

So, I did a few pull ups today. Like, slightly above average. 88 all up. For bench press, I paused the first rep of each set. After that, it was a bit of a wild card if I'd pause the second rep. I don't think I paused any final reps. Lots of grinders there. My armpits are suggesting to me that they'll have some DOMS tomorrow.

Training -- Wed 25/06/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x70kg
3x100kg
1x120kg
2x130kg
4x3x130kg -- I had originally planned on doing 10x3 at this weight today, but once I only got 2 reps on my first work set, my confidence wasn't too great. A couple guys commented on my squats today, in awe at how much weight I was using. The pleasures of commercial gyms. So pleasing to the ego.

Deadlift

5x70kg
5x120kg
5x5x140kg -- After Saturday's session, this confirms the good that belts give.

Training -- Mon 23/06/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10xBW
5x40kg/8xBW
3x60kg/6xBW
5x5x75kg/6xBW -- Back to upper/lower to prepare for a mock-meet in July. I enjoyed being able to add 5kg to my bench this week compared to last week's 5x5 at 70kg. 10x3's on Saturday probably helped there.

OHP

10x20kg
5x40kg
4x40kg
2x40kg +1 push press

Push Press/Cable Row

2x40kg/12x43kg
3x40kg/10x52kg
3x3x40kg/8x61kg

Rotator Cuff

10x5kg
8x5kg

Woodchops

10x12.5kg
10x15kg
10x20kg

Training -- Sat 21/06/2014

Squats (LB)

5x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
5x100kg
3x110kg
5x5x120kg -- First low bar squat session in a long time. Tried not to take my stance too much wider than what I'm used to for high bar, since the last time I did low bar I tried out sumo stance and progressed about as rapidly as a turtle. Each set today felt like a grinder, but I also could have pushed out another rep if I forced myself. There's a bit of buttwink going on in the videos, but otherwise form looks pretty good. Just needs re-acclimating to the movement.

Deadlift

5x100kg
3x135kg -- When it became obvious that 5x5 wasn't happening at this weight, I decided to just start ramping up in lower reps and see how I go.
2x145kg -- And then I thought, "Hey, I know, I could put that belt thing back on. That might help the next set."
2x150kg
2x155kg
4x160kg -- Belts. Use them.

Bench Press/Block Row

10x20kg/5x40kg
5x40kg/5x40kg
3x60kg/5x50kg
1x70kg/5x50kg
1x75kg/3x60kg
10x3x80kg/3x60kg

When I told my mum I'd be home in a couple hours, I didn't mean to lie. But then, as the kids say when justifying they're bad sexual choices, one thing just led to another, and there I was 3.5 hours later finally closing up.

100kg Widowmaker

Training -- Wed 18/06/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
5x80kg
20x100kg -- Booya! I'll be uploading a video of this later.

Deadlifts

5x100kg
5x5x130kg

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x40kg
1x60kg
5x5x70kg

Pull Ups -- Worked in with first 5 sets of bench

10xBW
8xBW
3x6xBW

Cable Row -- Worked in with last 3 sets of bench

3x10x52kg

Training -- Tue 17/06/2014

Clean+Jerk

20xBW Squat
10xBW lunge
5x20kg F.SQ
10x20kg BTN press -- Testing shoulder stability after Tim performed miracle treatment on my shoulders and arms. Painfree. Good sign.
3x20kg/10x20kg -- P.Clean/Overhead lunge
3x20kg
3x30kg
2x35kg
2x40kg
2x45kg
5x1x50kg

Training -- Mon 16/06/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
5x80kg
20x97.5kg -- In the uni gym. I like to imagine what other members might have been thinking seeing me load up the bar, followed by their thoughts seeing the reps performed.

Deadlift

5x97.5kg
5x5x125kg

Bench Press/Pull Ups/Calf Raise

10x20kg/10xBW/--
5x40kg/6xBW/--
10x65kg/8xBW/10x60kg
9x65kg/6xBW/10x100kg
7x65kg/6xBW/10x100kg

DB Shoulder Press/Cable Row

12x9kg/10x43kg -- When all the weights between 10 and 20kg are taken.
2x10x9kg/10x43kg

Training -- Fri 13/06/2014

This time I got the date correct.

Squats

20xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x70kg
20x95kg -- I like these rep PB's.

Calf Raise

3x8x95kg

Deadlift

5x95kg
5x5x120kg -- It's getting there. Not quite the 10x145kg I managed last year, but it's getting there. My strength here will be back shortly enough.

Bench Press/Barbell Row

10x20kg/8x45kg
5x40kg/8x45kg
3x10x62.5kg/8x45kg

OHP/KB Row

10x20kg/10x18kg
5x30kg/10x18kg
3x5x35kg/10x18kg

Training -- Thur 13/06/2014

Clean + Jerk

20xBW Squat
10xBW Lunge
5x30kg F>SQ
3x30kg
3x35kg
3x3x40kg

Training -- Wed 11/06/2014

Clean and Jerk/Row

20xBW Squat
12xBW Lunge
10x20kg F.SQ
3x20kg
3x30kg/10x20kg
3x35kg
3x3x40kg/10x40kg

Squats

5x70kg
20x92.5kg -- That's more like it.

Calf Raise

2x6x92.5kg

Deadlift

5x92.5kg
5x5x115kg

Training -- MonTue 9-10/06/2014

Monday

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
1x80kg
6x92.5kg
10x92.5kg -- I don't know what it was, but my belt was pushing into my diaphragm and making me feel winded, rather than making use of deep breathing. No 20-reppers today.

Deadlifts

5x92.5kg
5x5x110kg

Jerk/KB Row

2x5x20kg/10x14kg
3x30kg/10x18kg
3x32.5kg/10x18kg
3x35kg/10x18kg
3x37.5kg/10x18kg
3x40kg/10x18kg
PC+J 3x40kg -- The MMA guys brought their kids in, and their kids were running around bullying each other. I saw the kids reduce each other to crying at least half a dozen times. These kids were pissing me off. Dropping a weight from overhead repeatedly gave me some rapid stress relief.

Tuesday

Clean and Jerk

20xBW squat
10x20kg F.SQ
10xBW lunges
5x20kg
3x30kg
3x32.5kg
3x35kg
3x37.5kg
3x40kg
3x42.5kg
3x45kg

Training -- Wed 04/06/2014

As one of my gyms has moved over the weekend, I'm looking into leaving that gym in favour of the gym at my university. That being the case, I took advantage of a free day pass today to try it out.

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
1x80kg
20x90kg -- 20-rep squats when you're fatigued from being stupid and not resting between sessions are pretty darn hard. This felt much more like a true widowmaker than anything I've done in the last month. Lots of rests for breathing throughout. Barbell's not the best quality, but that's no surprise. I don't expect to be using high quality barbells in a clean, commercial gym. Since I've been doing these high bar, and the last time I got 90kg for 20 reps was low bar, this is technically a rep PB.

Deadlifts

5x60kg
5x80kg
5x5105kg -- If I stick around, I'll be needing to bring chalk for these. Fortunately, the gym does allow chalk. I decided to be a really good boy and check that everything I did regarding deadlifts was in accordance with gym rules. Fortunately, they're pretty lenient with their rules. I did have to keep my shoes on, but that's okay. Deadlifting in shoes has improved my technique when taking them back off again in the past, and it's only really something that gets in the way at heavy weights.

Whilst deadlifting, I saw a girl setting up and doing deadlifts behind me with 35kg. She could have moved her feet in and started with her hips higher, but otherwise her form was exquisite, so I gave her credit where credit is due. She took kindly to that.

Somewhere in here, I also got talking to a guy who got me to spot him on the bench press. He was repping out 100kg. More credit given where credit is due.

Leg Press

10xSled
10x50kg
10x100kg -- This brings back memories.

Bench Press/Pull things

10x20kg/10xBW PU
5x40kg/6xBW LPU
10x60kg/10xBW PU
10x60kg/8x52kg lat pull down
8x60kg/10x43kg lat pull down

OHP/Cable Row

2x10x20kg/15x34kg
9x20kg/15x34kg -- Somewhere around this point I also complimented a girl on her 60-80kg glute bridges. She seemed very happy to hear that she's strong on that exercise.

Social lesson of the day: People like hearing that they're doing things really well. And it feels good when the positive feedback you give is appreciated.

Things I've missed about commercial gyms, which I never really appreciated back before entering the world of dungeon gyms:

- Hot girls.
- Clean toilets.
- Multiple toilets.
- Hot girls.
- Machines, including cardio machines.
- Classes (I'm thinking of doing a yoga/Pilates class to force myself to stretch).
- Hot girls on machines and in classes.

Training -- Tue 03/06/2014

Deadlift

10x60kg
3x10x80kg

I followed this up with about 10-15min of mostly jogging with some walking in the middle.

Training -- Mon 02/06/2014

Squats

10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
1x80kg
20x87.5kg

Calf Raise

2x12x87.5kg

Deadlift

5x87.5kg
5x5x100kg

Bench Press/BB Row

10x20kg/8x50kg
5x40kg/8x50kg
2x12x60kg/8x50kg
10x60kg/8x50kg

OHP/BB Row

12x22.5kg/8x50kg
8x22.5kg/8x50kg
9x22.5kg/8x50kg

Training -- Sat 31/05/2014

Last session of the month, and last session that will be limited by teacher prac. Other than some paperwork, a short reflective essay and a multi-choice quiz, I'm on holiday from all things school-related until mid-to-late July. So I should be back to my reckless self again shortly.

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
20x85kg

Calf Raise

12x85kg

Deadlift

20x85kg

Bench Press/Block Row

10x20kg/10x40kg
5x40kg/10x40kg
15x60kg/10x45kg

OHP/Block Row

15x22.5kg/12x45kg

Training -- Sat 24/05/2014

Third week of prac down. One to go.

Squats

20xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
20x80kg

Calf Raise

15x80kg

Deadlift

20x80kg

Bench Press/L-Pull Ups

10x20kg/6xBW
5x50kg/6xBW
12x60kg/6xBW

Training -- Whilst way too tired to train

The last two weeks have been the bane of my ability to care about exerting myself in any capacity during free time. Prac teaching is demanding that I give it everything I've got, and I've still got other commitments outside of that, so training's gone right to the back of the back seat. I've only been training on Saturdays in this time, and I'm not sure I'd call training, per se.

Sat 10/5/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
20x70kg

Deadlift

3x10x70kg

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/5xBW
20x50kg/8+7xBW -- 8 full reps + 7 reps with a jump start

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Sat 17/5/2014

Squats

10xBW
10x20kg
5x50kg
20x75kg

Calf Raise

12x75kg

Deadlifts

20x75kg -- Never done 20 rep deadlifts before. There was a pause in the middle that could be seen as resting, in which I pushed the plates back in close on the bar. So much for collars.

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/5xBW
5x40kg/5xBW
18+2x55kg/5x10kg+3+5xBW -- 18 reps unassisted, 2 reps assisted; 5 reps with weight, 3 reps without, 5 reps assisted up.

OHP/Cable Row

13x20kg/10x60kg+6x50kg+6x40kg -- Drop sets.

Training -- Sat 03/05/2014

Squat/Bench Press/Pull Ups

20xBW/20x20kg/5x12.5kg
10x20kg/5x40kg/5x12.5kg
10x40kg/3x60kg/5x12.5kg
5x60kg/5x75kg/5x12.5kg
3x80kg/5x75kg/5x12.5kg
1x100kg/5x75kg/5x12.5kg
3x5x110kg

Deficit Deadlift

3x5x100kg

OHP/Cable Row

10x20kg/10x60kg
5x30kg/10x60kg
2x5x40kg/10x60kg
3x40kg/10x60kg

Barbell Calf Raise

18x60kg

Training -- Mon 28/04/2014

Squat/Bench Press/Pull Ups

10xBW/10x20kg/10xBW
10x20kg/5x40kg/10xBW
5x40kg/10x63kg/8xBW
5x60kg/10x63kg/6xBW
3x80kg/10x63kg/6xBW
1x100kg
3x120kg

Deadlift

2x5x100kg -- That felt much heavier than expected.
2x100kg -- Wot.

DB Shoulder Press/Cable Row

2x7x15kg/10x50kg -- I'm noticing a trend here. Spend 2 days recovering and you get all weak.

And then I mucked around with some snatch drills at 25kg, which I'm sure were fugly.

Training -- 26/04/2014

Squats/Bench Press/Pull Ups

10xBW/10x20kg/5x11.25kg
10x20kg/5x40kg/5x11.25kg
5x40kg/3x60kg/5x11.25kg
5x60kg/6x74kg/5x11.25kg
2x10x85kg/6x74kg/5x11.25kg
10x85kg

OHP/Cable Row/NLC/GHD Sit Ups

10x20kg/10x60kg/5xBW/10xBW
5x30kg/10x60kg/5xBW/10xBW
5x35kg/10x60kg/5xBW/10xBW
2x5x40kg/10x60kg
4x40kg/10x60kg

Training -- Fri 26/04/2014

Squat Nemesis

10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
1x100kg
1x110kg
1x120kg
1x130kg
1x135kg
1x140kg -- For high bar squats, this is a PB. I probably should have brought my camera, or some kind of witness.
3x100kg
3x105kg
3x110kg
2x5x70kg

Training -- Thur 24/04/2014

Squat

5xCossack
10xBW
10x20kg
5x40kg
5x60kg
3x10x85kg

Knees are feeling better than yesterday, especially right knee. Followed this up with about 45min of stretching. I'd like to be able to do the splits, primarily for the sake of showing off.

Training -- Wed 23/04/2014

Squat/CGBP/Pull Ups

20xBW/10x20kg/10xBW
10x20kg/5x40kg/10xBW
5x40kg/10x60kg/8xBW
5x60kg/10x60kg/6xBW
3x80kg/10x60kg/6xBW
1x100kg
4x5x115kg -- Last rep of each set was a grinder, increasingly so with each set. Knees were feeling it, so I decided not to make myself do a 5th set.

SLDL

3x10x85kg

Incline Bench Press/Cable Row/BB Calf Raise

--/--/10x20kg
--/--/10x60kg
3x10x50kg/10x50kg/10x60kg

Training -- Tue 22/04/2014

Squats

10xCossack
10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x10x85kg

I then went for a brief jog, and discovered the unsurprising fact that running when you've just done squats isn't easy. Then I spent about half an hour stretching.

Training -- Mon 21/04/2014

They called me stupid but I proved them!

Squat/Bench Press/1-arm KB Row

10xBW/10x20kg/10x18kg
10x20kg/5x40kg/10x18kg
5x40kg/10x62.5kg/10x18kg
5x60kg/10x62.5kg/10x18kg
3x80kg/10x62.5kg/10x18kg
1x100kg
5x5x110kg

Deadlift

3x8x110kg

DB Shoulder Press/Barbell Row

3x9x15kg/15x40kg

Training -- Sat 19/04/2014

On on the 6th Day, God created Stupid people like Ryan.

Squat/Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/10x20kg/5x10kg
10x40kg/5x40kg/5x10kg
5x60kg/3x60kg/5x10kg
3x10x80kg/6x73kg/5x10kg

OHP/Cable Row/NLC/Sit Ups

10x20kg/10x57.5kg/3xBW/10xBW
3x5x31lg/10x57.5kg/3xBW/8xBW

My chest has been telling me since I left that I did some cardio today. Who'd have thunk it?

Training -- 18/04/2014

Day 5 of Stupid

Squat Nemesis

10xBW
10xCossack
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
1x100kg
1x110kg
1x120kg
1x125kg
1x130kg -- Daily Max

3x90kg
3x95kg
3x100kg
3x105kg
3x110kg -- Heavy Triple

2x5x65kg -- Speed/Power Work

Squat Nemesis Video

After this, I spent about 5-10 min foam rolling, and another 15min or so stretching.

Training -- 17/04/2014

The 4th most stupid day of my life.

Squats

5xBW cossack
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x10x80kg -- First set surprised me with how easy it was. Done in just 3 breaths. Rest between sets was brief. Second set felt a tiny bit harder. Not sure if that was fatigue talking or just the surprise of ease in the first set causing my expectations to be off for second set. 3rd set was somewhere between the two. In about 16 hours I'll be doing a squat nemesis workout. That'll be fun.

Technically, I went for a light jog before this, but that was about an hour earlier. Took two clients out into the field next to the studio to get them on their feet and moving for 10min straight, even if that meant going at a walk:run pace. This became immediate evidence to me that strength training is beneficial for running, because they were red in the face and struggling with what I felt was a light warm up -- and as all 1.5 of my readers know, I don't run. I wouldn't normally take clients out to do any running, but these two are prepping for the army, so they need to be able to pass the beep test, so they need to run.

Training -- 16/04/2014

Day 3 of Stupid

Hours after yesterday's workout, I decided to do something else, which was to attempt a proper gymnastics bridge. My left biceps femoris freaked out when that happened, so I spent the rest of the day being careful not to put any pressure on it, and stretching it. I also stretched it a lot this morning. Today I resolved to do a set of bodyweight squats, and see how I go from there. Any warning signs that my hamstrings aren't happy with me, and I'd immediately stop. Turns out my body's more resilient than a little spasm yesterday would have me believe, because with a careful warm up I ended up going heavier than Monday.

Squats/CGBP/Pull Ups

10xBW + 5 cossack squats/10x20kg/10xBW
10x20kg/10x30kg/10xBW -- I misloaded the CGBP's, intending to do 40kg
5x40kg/5x50kg/8xBW
5x60kg/8x60kg/6xBW
3x80kg/8x60kg/6xBW
1x90kg/8x60kg/6xBW
5x5x105kg

SLDL

3x10x85kg

Incline Bench Press/Cable Row

2x10x40kg/10x50kg
8x40kg/10x50kg

Training -- 15/04/2014

Day 2 of Stupid.

Squats

A random number of poorly executed cossack squats
20xBW
2x10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x10x80kg -- That was easier than anticipated. Yay for tight belts. Not comfy, but very effective.

Training -- 14/04/2014

Today I embarked on a journey of stupid. For the next 2 weeks, I plan on high bar squatting 6 days a week, alternating between heavy, low-rep days and light, moderate-rep days, and resting on Sundays. Here's day 1. Tightening up my belt for the heavy squats did uncomfortable but good things, helping me to push much harder than I was doing otherwise.

Squats/Bench Press/Pull Ups

10xBW
10x20kg/10x20kg/10xBW
10x40kg/5x40kg/10xBW
5x60kg/10x63kg/6xBW
3x80kg/10x63kg/6xBW
1x90kg/8x63kg/6xBW
5x5x100kg

Deadlift

3x10x100kg

DB Shoulder Press/Cable Row

3x8x12.5kg/11x55kg

Training -- Sat 12/04/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg/5x10kg
5x40kg/5x10kg
3x10x62.5kg/5x10kg

Incline Bench Press/Cable Row

2x10x42.5kg/10x55kg

OHP/Cable Row

10x20kg/10x55kg
3x5x30kg/10x55kg

Training -- Fri 11/04/2014

High Bar Squats

10xBW
10x20kg -- Plus a bunch of other reps, plus some reps of overhead press at this weight. I was filming myself from various angles, attempting to get good shots of good technique, and good shot of bad technique, so that I can use both in a guide.
5x40kg
3x60kg
3x10x80kg

Low Bar Squats

3x80kg
3x100kg
3x120kg

Deadlift

3x10x100kg

Kettlebell Swing

30x14kg

Training -- Wed 09/04/2014

Bench Press/Pull Up

10x20kg/6xBW (L-pull)
5x40kg/6xBW (L-pull)
3x60kg/6xBW (L-pull)
6x72.5kg/10xBW
6x72.5kg/8xBW
6x72.5kg/6xBW

CGBP/Barbell Row

8x60kg/6x50kg
3x60kg/8x50kg -- I set up some blocks under the bar for rows to get into a better position. In doing so, I cut the side of my right hand, which was a very minor wound, but the pressure of benching with it was far too unpleasant for me to do the full set of CGBP.

Seated DB Shoulder Press/Block Barbell Row

3x12x12.5kg/8x50kg

Training -- Mon 07/04/2014

Squats

10xBW

10x20kg

10x40kg

5x60kg

3x80kg

1x100kg

3x3x120kg

6x100kg

10x80kg

SLDL/Calf Raise

3x10x82.5kg/11x380lb

Step Ups

3x10x32.5kg

NLC/Sit Up

2x6/2x8
4/8

Training -- Fri 05/04/2014

Bench Press

10x20kg
5x40kg
12x60kg
2x10x60kg

OHP/Bent Over Row

10x20kg/10x20kg
3x5x30kg/3x10x30kg

Hex Bar Row

3x10x40kg

Training -- 04/04/2014

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x5x80kg

Low Bar Squat

3x100kg
3x3x120kg

Deadlift

5x100kg
3x5x120kg

Barbell Calf Raise

10x20kg
3x10x60kg -- That requires a fair amount of balance and caution, using the calf raise step in the squat uprights. Nearly knocked the uprights over a few times.

Training -- Wed 02/04/2014

Bench Press/L-Pull Up

10x20kg
540kg
3x60kg
3x6x70kg/6xBW

CGBP/Pull Ups

2x8x60kg/6xBW

Seated Shoulder Press/Barbell Row

3x10x12.5kg/8x50kg
2x--/8x50kg

Training -- Mon 31/03/2014

Squats

2x10xBW
10x20kg
10x40kg
5x60kg
3x80kg
1x100kg
4x2x120kg -- Felt heavier than Saturday.

SLDL/Calf Raise

3x10x80kg/10x380lb

Step Ups

3x10x30kg

NLC/Sit Ups

3x4xBW/8xBW

Training -- Sat 29/03/2014

Seeing as it's been a week since I've worked out (due to uni) and about 3 months since I've trained remotely seriously, I decided to see how much I've lost. Only a person lacking sanity like me would do this and say he really enjoyed it. Squat was down 20kg and bench down 10kg. I didn't attempt real 1RM's today, I just got to the point where it felt like my form was going to turn to rubbish if I went heavier.

Squat

10xBW

10x20kg

10x40kg

5x60kg

3x80kg

1x100kg

1x120kg

1x130kg

3x120kg

10x100kg

Bench Press

10x20kg

5x40kg

3x60kg

1x70kg

1x80kg

10x60kg -- I noticed from the 3rd warm up set onwards that I was getting good and tight in my right side, but my left side insisted on taking a nap. This isn't new behaviour, but it was pronounced after a week off.

Barbell Row/Calf Raise

3x10x40kg/9x380lb

1-arm Swing

3x13x12kg

I weighed in at 66.45kg this morning. I still have more body fat than I ever thought I'd have at this weight, however it can't be too bad, given the veins in my arms while working out today. I also went the extra mile and took bicep, waist and hip measurements (was too lazy to do thigh and calf measurements). Respectively, I measured in at 35cm, 77cm, and 91.5cm. I did the math on my waist:hip ratio, and apparently I'd like to take me out on a hot date.

Evangelion Act 3

There's one sure-fire to kill an angel, and that is to destroy its core, also referred to as its S2 organ. The S2 organ basically gives an angel unlimited energy. It's the next best thing to immortality. To get to its S2 organ, you'll need to break through its AT field, which is basically a force field that both angels and Evas possess, composed of the "light of [their] souls." So in the climax of the series, when Unit 01 goes berserk, becomes aware of herself and her surroundings, takes on a nonsensical sync ratio with Shinji ("over 400%"), shreds the Angel's AT field and eats the Angel's core, it's a good time to consider the possibility that humanity might just be screwed.

In the final act of Evangelion, we're on a rapid ride to the end.

Of the world.

S2 Engines are tasty. *****/5 stars.

Before the plot can take a step forwards, it takes two steps back. It turns out that a 400% sync ratio has happened before -- to Shinji's mother, who was absorbed into Eva and declared dead. And it turns out that as Unit 01 has become aware, Shinji has been absorbed into her. Psychedelic stuff happens ans Shinji spends a month without a body while the staff at Nerv carefully construct a means to reintegrate his body and soul.

Professor Fuyutski is abducted for interrogation, and when that happens we get filled in on a lot of the details about Nerv's past, including the 2nd Impact and the relationship between Gendo and Yui Ikari. We learn that there's a striking similarity between Yui and Rei, Ritsuko Akagi's mother -- who, after Yui's "death," had a relationship with Gendo -- was so delighted by this similarity that she killed Rei and herself. Yes, childhood Rei got dead. Plot hole? Not just yet.

The release of Fuyutski costs Kaji his life. Remember, while Kaji hasn't done a lot to directly influence Shinji, he has spurred Shinji on, helped Shinji to think things through, and was the motivational voice that drove Shinji to man up at the end of Act 2. So, Kaji turns around dies. The man that has been helping to bolster Shinji up is now ripped out from underneath Shinji. But that's okay. Shinji's still got his co-pilots, right?

Shinji's relationship with Asuka: Asuka believes that she needs to be the best in order for her life to have value and meaning. So every time Shinji progresses, Asuka regresses. By the time the 15th Angel attacks, Asuka's regressed so much that her performance as a pilot is slipping ans she's demoted (if you will) to Rei's back-up. But she won't have a bar of that, so she charges on ahead, only to get her mind raped by the Angel. The Angel cuts through all her bravado to expose her for the ravaged, traumatised child that she is, to the point that the next time she pilots Unit 02, she won't even be able to make the Eva move.

Asuka withdraws from everyone, and declares her hatred for Shinji, Misato, "that bitch Rei," and herself. She shuts down, and the search for the 5th Child as her replacement to pilot Unit 02 commences. As Asuka shuts down, there is no longer anything left for her to give Shinji. She can no longer build him up in any way. The girl who became for him the representative of the reality of womankind fades away into oblivion.

Shinji's relationship with Rei: Act 1 ended with Rei putting her life on the line to protect Shinji, but Shinji ultimately saving her and everyone in a big emotional moment. In the battle against the 16th Angel, Nerv are reluctant to send Shinji up to fight. Apparently a self-aware beast that's capable of going berserk and now has unlimited energy is somewhat of a liability. But, when all else fails and the 16th Angel is merging itself with Rei through Unit 00, Shinji is sent up to intercede. However, his efforts are in vain, and in order to prevent the Angel from merging with Shinji/01 as well, Rei opts to contain the Angel within her AT field, absorb it into herself, and self-destruct.

Think about what this symbolises for Shinji. All this time, Shinji's relationship with Rei has been building him up. Now that he's taken his first real step of manning up, Rei sacrifices herself for him, and from that moment on can longer be there to lift him up. Shinji is no longer able to depend on anyone else.

Rei seems pretty dead right now, right?

Nekminut...

O HAI.

Noticing a pattern here? Rei dies --> tada! She's alive. Rei dies!! --> TADA! She's ALIVE! Like mother like daughter, Ritsuko becomes jealous of Rei's relationship with Gendo, but doesn't take it out on the Rei we all know and love. Instead, she brings Shinji and Misato down into the depths of Nerv, where the components for the dummy plug system (which almost killed Toji) are made. The "components" being an LCL-filled tank of Reis.

And Ristuko kills every last one of them.

Just for added creep factor, we get to hear them giggling while their bodies crumble and dissolve in the LCL.

Now let's do the math here:

• Rei has a disturbingly affectionate relationship with Gendo (well, as affectionate as the two least affectionate humans on Earth can get).
• Rei is protective of Shinji.
• Shinji identifies motherly qualities in Rei.
• Rei looks a lot like Yui.
• On one occasion, Rei has specifically offered to risk her life because: "If I die, I can be replaced."
• The dummy plug system is a mass-produced series of Reis.

Those are the facts the series gives us at this point. Care to fill in the blanks?

The Fifth Child:

Asides from Shinji, each of the other Children have been decimated. Toji has lost limbs. Asuka has lost her mind. Rei has died repeatedly. And Shinji can no longer relate to any of them.

Enter Kaworu Nagisa, the 5th Child.

Kaworu will appear to Shinji as a fulfillment of all of his needs, and the perfection of the roles of each of the other Children. Kaworu immediately connects with Shinji and offers Shinji his love. This is love that crosses all definitions. This is brotherly love. This is the love of friendship. This is unconditional love, which Shinji will never have to earn. And this is romantic love.

I should interject here and point out that at no point thus far has Shinji shown any hint of romantic interest in males. At one point, Kaji (jokingly?) flirted with Shinji, to get the flat rejection: "Kaji, I'm a boy." This is somewhat out of character, but I feel that to make sense of this relationship, we shouldn't be looking at how it fits with the characters, but how it fits thematically. And how it fits thematically is, in one person, to fulfill the needs that every other person in Shinji's life has failed at.

To top it all off, as an Eva pilot, Kaworu is exquisite. Shinji showed some real Chosen One potential early in the series, and the story has kind of progressed around that ideal, but while Shinji has had to "work hard" and undergo endless trials to grow as a pilot, Kaworu has such mastery as a pilot just by showing up that it is fair to say he pilots Unit 02 as naturally as any normal person breathes.

Kaworu might even be able to mend damaged bridges. After all, while Shinji can't relate to Rei any more, that won't stop Kaworu, who tells her that she is like him.

Everything looks so good...for about 10 minutes.

Kaworu is almost looking like a Messiah, but perhaps he's a little bit closer to an Antichrist. If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't. It's probably Kaworu, instead. Kaworu is the 17th and Final Angel.

While the 14th Angel managed to make its way into the outer regions of Nerv, Kaworu makes his way into the deepest part of Nerv, where Lilith (the 2nd Angel, who has previously been presented as Adam, the 1st Angel) is hung up on a cross. And Shinji must make a choice: kill Kaworu and save the world, or let Kaworu destroy the world for his own personal gain.

Finally, Shinji commits to what he couldn't commit to with Toji.

The End of the World:

Everyone wins!

Most fans were not happy with the last 2-3 episodes, seemingly because of the direction they went in. My main complaint is just that there were only 3 episodes when the story needed more like 6: an extra episode or two to make me care about Kaworu ("Hi, I just met you, and this is crazy, but I love and now I'm going to destroy the world" just doesn't build the character up enough for me to feel the betrayal); and an extra episode or two to get us from that battle to the Human Instrumentality Project which unfolds in the final two episodes.

Now, while I haven't talked about it much, the Human Instrumentality Project has been mentioned consistently throughout the series. What have we been told about it? Jack diddley squat, which is exactly why I haven't told you anything about it.

The final 2 episodes give us a somewhat positive representation of the Human Instrumentality Project. It's still messed up and weird, but through the Human Instrumentality Project, Shinji learns to stand on his own two feet and not just be in the world having life imposed on him, but to become proactive about his life. Yay, happy ending.

The movie, which I don't recommend watching unless you like having a cartoon rape your face, decided to show us how we actually got the that point. And just how did we get there? Just a little thing called 3rd Impact, which the Eva pilots and most of Nerv* have been trying to prevent all along.

*Most of. As in, not all of. In fact, Gendo has been orchestrating everything all along so that 3rd Impact will happen, but on his terms. What a nice guy.

The movie gives us a less positive outcome -- while the series leaves us in a state of hope (or confusion, for most fans), the movie takes Shinji back out of the idea of what could be, into the reality of what is.

The Mechanics of 3rd Impact:

When Kaworu faced Lilith (though he was targeting Adam), the Nerv systems had already identified him as an Angel. Then two more AT fields exploded onto the system, each wielding incredible strength. One was Lilith's. The other...was Rei.

This is how he and Rei are the same. Both are human. Both are angelic.

Rei is made from Yui Ikari's body. Unit 01, after absorbing Yui, possesses her soul.

In Nerv, Lilith is on the cross, while Adam, still in chrysalis form, is merged into Gendo's hand.

Gendo's goal appears to be:

1. Merge with Adam
2. With Adam, merge with Rei
3. With Adam and Rei, merge with Lilith
4. With Adam, Rei and Lilith, merge with Unit 01, to become a god with his wife, Yui.

That doesn't go according to plan, and so Rei absorbs Adam out of Gendo, but refuses to merge with Gendo. He misses out. Ha!

Once Rei, merged with Lilith and Adam, becomes a god, projections of Rei appear everywhere to collect the souls of mankind. This function occurs retro-actively: as a god, she's no longer limited in time, and so prior to this event we see her projections collecting the souls of characters who have already died. This also explains why we saw a living, healthy projection of Rei at the start of episode 1, despite her being all but dead at the time.

When it's time for Unit 01 (with Shinji inside) to merge with Rei/Adam/Lilith, instrumentality begins.

Training -- Fri 21/03/2014

Deadlifts

10x60kg
3x10x105kg

Such a huge workout. I came in planning to do front squats, back squats, deadlifts, SLDLs and calf raises. But as soon as I started warming up for squats, my right hip was giving me problems at the bottom, so I decided to just do deadlifts and leave.

No training for Saturday because of reasons.

Training -- Wed 19/03/2014

Bench Press/Pull Ups

10x20kg
5x40kg
3x55kg
2x10x65kg/8xBW
9x65kg/8xBW

DB Shoulder Press/Fat Gripz Row

3x8x12.5kg/10x57.5kg

Training -- 17/03/2014

Squats

2x10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x10x97.5kg -- If you're really observant, you'll notice that I went up in weight by 12.5kg from last week. I intended to only go up by 2.5kg, and not realising I'd fudged things, I proceeded to do the first set thinking: "Wow, this feels much heavier than I expected!" When I realised why it felt so heavy, I decided to follow with the trend.

This also lead me to the conclusion that I'm ready to do some more focused lifting again, so instead of going on to upper body work and making this a circuit, I decided on the spot that it was time to revert back to an upper/lower split.

Step Ups/Calf Raise

10x20kg/13x360lb
10x40kg/13x360lb
10x30kg/13x360lb -- I'm highlighting this set instead of the heavier 40kg set because at 40kg my technique left much to be desired. 30kg was a much better working set.

NLC/Calf Raise

6xBW/8x380lb
2x6x1.25kg/8x380lb -- My first ever weighted Nordic leg curls. Granted, I used the lightest weight available, but it wasn't too long ago that doing these without assistance was a huge achievement for me. Despite it being only 1.25kg, it is a PB.

1-arm Swing

3x12x12kg -- This felt much better than the last time I tried doing 1-arm swings. In general, the swings with my left arm seemed smoother than the swings with my right arm.

Training -- Sat 15/03/2014

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x10x77.5kg
20xBW -- Drop set

Incline Bench Press/Pull Ups/NLC

10x20kg/5x12.5kg/6xBW
3x10x45kg/5x12.5kg/6xBW

DB Shoulder Press/Cable Row/Calf Raise

3x12x10kg/10x55kg/12x360lb

I was going to do kettlebell swings after this, but instead I ended up doing an ab exercise called Violently Regurgitating Everything You've Consumed In The Last 6 Hours. It was super-effective. Twice the flavour, half the calories.

Training -- Wed 12/03/2014

OHP/F.Squat/Cable Row

--/10xBW/--
10x20kg/10x20kg/10x40kg
5x30kg/5x30kg/10x50kg
2x5x41kg/5x41kg/10x52.5kg
5x41kg/3x41kg/10x52.5kg
--/3x60kg/--
--/2x3x72.5kg/--

Deadlift

10x60kg
3x10x102.5kg

Training -- Mon 10/03/2014

Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x10x85kg -- First set felt really off. In a truly unusual twist, I wrapped my thumbs around the bar rather than over (normally this makes low bar squats feel awful for me) in the 2nd and 3rd sets, and this seemed to help. Third set was the best.

SLDL

3x10x85kg

Bench Press/Pull Ups/Calf Raise

10x20kg/8xBW/10x360lb
5x40kg/8xBW/10x360lb
2x10x62.5kg/8xBW/10x360lb

Training -- Sat 08/03/2014

High Bar Squat

10xBW
10x20kg
5x60kg
3x10x75kg

Incline Bench Press/Pull Ups/NLC

10x20kg/5x11.25kg/5xBW
3x10x42.5kg/5x11.25kg/5xBW

DB Shoulder Press/Upright Row

3x11x10kg/10x21kg

KB Swing/Calf Raise/Suitcase Walk

10x12kg/10x360lb/50mx12kg
8x32kg/10x360lb/50mx32kg -- Strength Sports Gym does not have the same range of kettlebells as Masterpiece Strength Academy. At Masterpiece, I could scale my way up from 8kg to 30-something. At SSG there's just 2x12kg KB's and 1x32kg. Slight problem for incremental increases. It turns out swinging half your body weight is no easy task. There was a very fine balance between setting my weight far enough back not to topple forward by the drag of the KB, without being so far back that I fall backwards. I didn't count the reps where that happened.
8x32kg/10x360lb/20mx32kg

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In other news, I helped out in a working bee this morning before training. "Just think of it as a free workout, just think of it as a free workout, just thin of it as a free workout..."

Last night I went to an event called Gospel Theatre. The things it had in common with a regular church service were: someone said stuff on stage; part of the bible got read; there was an audience; there was food and conversations afterwards; it was in a church building. What it didn't have: singing, public prayer, an assumption that the audience is made up of Christians or people who can be motivated with a little inspirational story into becoming one.

For 5 years I've been a Christian, and for 5 years I've not invited any of my non-Christian friends to any specifically Christian things, because said Christian things are good for giving Christians fellowship and discipleship, but for the non-Christian you're basically stuck on the outside looking in, or you feel like you need to act like a Christian to be welcome -- or, whatever the case, the whole thing doesn't really cater to you. Gospel Theatre was the first event I've been to that I think non-Christians would feel relatively comfortable in.

Additionally, it had a panel up the front for some interviews at the start and to help out in lengthy Q&A at the end. Questions were encouraged, and that included oppositional questions which challenged the points and ideas raised during the talk. Such questions were received humbly and given consideration, rather than being invalidated or dismissed. I wasn't timing the Q&A section, but I'd estimate it went for about 20-30min, with some serious discussion happening.

Included in the people there last night were pastors; students; a 24yo woman and 29yo man who both have the emotional stability of a freshly traumatised 14yo; at least one guy who sees Christianity as a bad thing; binge drinkers; a drug addict; weird people such as myself; and others I didn't get to know.

This was a breath of fresh air.