Control upper

Spoto bench press
115lb x 4
120lb x 4
125lb x 4
130lb x 4
135lb x 4
140lb x 2

Bent over barbell row
115lb x 4, 4, 4
125lb x 4, 4, 4

Shoulder press
65lb x 10

Wide neutral grip pull-ups
10 reps

Angled dips
10, 10, 10

Control lower

Still exhausted from our trip to Toronto and late return. On Tuesday. Bloody old man!

Pause back squats
155lb x 4
165lb x 4
170lb x 4, 4
180lb x 4, 4

Pause deadlifts
195lb x 4, 4
210lb x 4

Barbell calf raises
135lb x 15
185lb x 15, 15

Heavy upper

Bench press
115lb x 6
130lb x 5 + 1
135lb x 4 + 1
125lb x 6

Pull-ups
30lb plate x 5
25lb x 5

Push press
85lb x 3
95lb x 3
105lb x 3

Pendlay row
135lb x 6, 6, 6

Dips
12, 10, 8

Heavy lower

Easing myself back into a heavy routine.

Back squats
185lb x 6
195lb x 6
205lb x 6

Deadlifts
255lb x 6
275lb x 6

Leg extensions
75lb x 12, 12, 12

While I was doing the squats and deadlifts, there was another guy in the gym - he looked a bit younger than me and was friggin' huge - doing some upper body work: bench presses, barbell rows and shoulder presses, all with some bloody serious weight. I could see he was looking over at me during some of my sets, and I thought he was probably thinking, "Meh - lightweight", especially as I used straps for the deadlifts. He came into the changing room as I was getting ready to leave and said, "That was some impressive leg work. I can't use that much weight." Really? The guy was massive! And these weren't even my max weights.

Biceps and triceps

Alternating dumbbell curls, each side
25s x 10, 30s x 10, 10

Bench dips, feet elevated
20, 20, 16

Incline hammer curls
20s x 12, 12, 12

Seated French press
30lb x 10, 10, 10

Underhand lateral pull-downs (Bowflex)
200 x 12, 12, 12 (no way that was 200lb, but I used two 50 rods on each side)

Heavy upper: Deloading

Bench press
115lb x 6, 6, 6, 6

Wide pull ups
10, 8, 8

Push press
85lb x 3, 3, 3

Rope lat cable rows
60lb x 10, 10, 10

Supersets
Incline dumbbell bench press
Incline dumbbell flies
25s x 12/12, 12/8, 12/5

Heavy lower: Deloading

Back squat
150lb x 6, 6, 6

Deadlifts
205lb x 6, 6, 6

Front squat
105lb x 6, 6, 6

Hang cleans
85lb x 10, 10, 10

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 6, 6, 6

Control upper: deloading

Spoto bench press
95lb x 4, 4
115lb x 4, 4, 4, 4

Pendlay row
95lb x 4, 4
115lb x 4, 4, 4, 4

Shoulder press
70lb x 7 + 2 + 1

Neutral grip pull-ups (squat rack)
10 reps

Angled dips
10, 10, 9

Tricep cable extensions
40lb x 10, 10, 9

Control lower: Deloading

This is the start of a week of deloading, following two months of heavy weight work. I'm using approximately 60% of my projected 1RM, based on last Friday's assessment.

Pause back squats
135lb x 4
145lb x 4
150lb x 4, 4, 4, 4

Pause deadlifts
135lb x 4
150lb x 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Standing calf raises
115lb x 10
135lb x 12, 12, 12

Leg raises
12, 12, 12

Cable crunches
40lb x 12, 12, 12

Assessment

Another trainer is doing a runner! I've only been training with Mitch for two months, and now he's heading off to university, so he won't have the time to workout with me any more. And what a two months it's been. I've made incredible progress due to Mitch teaching me ways to improve all of the big lifts, by using a series of cues for each one. That's done wonders for my confidence, too.

As this was Mitch's last day at ABsolute Fitness, he decided to do the same strength assessment that we did in our first session, to see if I'd improved. All of the following routines were to determine my 3 rep maxes for each movement.

Here's what I did on Monday, June 30:

3RM (projected 1RM)
Back squat; a2g: 215lb x 3 (245lb)
Bench press: 145lb x 3 (165lb)
Deadlift: 275lb x 3 (300lb)

And this is what I managed today:

3RM (projected 1RM)
Back squat; a2g: 225lb x 3 (250lb)
Bench press: 160lb x 3 (180lb)
Deadlift: 315lb x 3 (340lb)

That's solid progress. I'm particularly pleased with the bench press numbers, as I felt like I'd stalled with these. All three lifts are 3 rep PRs. I've squatted 225lb to parallel before, for one rep. Before I started training with Mitch, I'd only ever done a one rep bench press at 145lb, so that's a big improvement. My 1RM for deadlifts was 325lb, but 315lb for three reps is pretty good.

To finish off today's session I did:

Floor presses
3 sets of 115lb x 5

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups
2 sets of 6 x 25lb

Heavy upper

Bench press
125lb x 6
130lb x 6
135lb x 5 + 1

Neutral pull-ups
25lb plate x 6

Dumbbell shoulder press
35s x 10
42s x 6, 5

Wide cable row
110lb x 6
120lb x 6, 6

Feet elevated push-ups (Swiss ball)
18, 13, 11

Heavy lower

Not much time today, so just did the main lifts.

Back squat
205lb x 6
210lb x 6
218lb x 6

I did 215lb last week, but didn't want to push my luck. I wanted to get back my confidence after my spectacular fail-and-bail while doing pause squats with Mitch on Monday. A small increase today did just that. Plus it's still a 6-rep PR.

Deadlifts
280lb x 6
295lb x 5

Control upper

Much better than yesterday's PT session, when nothing seemed to click.

Spoto bench press
115lb x 4
120lb x 4
125lb x 4
130lb x 4
135lb x 4
140lb x 4

Bent over barbell row
95lb x 4
115lb x 4
125lb x 4, 4, 4, 4

Shoulder press
70lb x 10

Neutral grip pull-ups
10 reps

Angled dips
10, 10, 8

Tricep cable extensions
50lb x 7
40lb x 10, 8

Heavy lower

Back squat
200lb x 6
210lb x 6
215lb x 6

Deadlifts
275lb x 6
290lb x 6

Hang clean
85lb x 12, 11

Control upper

Spoto bench press
115lb x 4
120lb x 4
125lb x 4
130lb x 4
135lb x 4
140lb x 3 + 1

Pendlay row
135lb x 4, 4, 4, 4
140lb x 4, 4

Push press
95lb x 3, 3
100lb x 3

Wide grip pull-ups
12 reps

Control lower

Pause back squats
175lb x 4
185lb x 4
190lb x 4
200lb x 4, 4, 2+1

I failed pretty spectacularly with my last set. I got stuck in the hole attempting the third rep and had to bail, dropping the barbell noisily. Mitch helped me rack the bar, I rested a bit, then tried - successfully - for a third rep. I got stuck again attempting a fourth, but Mitch was spotting me and helped me back up. Ordinarily, I would have been disappointed at my failure, but this was a heavy routine, and a bit more ambitious than the last time I tried the same thing. At least I had the confidence to try, and also to try again after failing a rep.

Pause deadlifts
215lb x 4, 4
225lb x 4

Cable crunches
40lb x 12, 12, 12

I ran out of time because I'd spent so much time warming up and resting between squat sets. I was still tight from last week's heavy leg day with Mitch, so I really did need to warm up well.

Heavy upper

Felt a bit sluggish today, which meant I struggled to hit some of the same numbers as last time. I think it was just because I needed to eat closer to my workout.

Bench press
130lb x 6
133lb x 4 + 1 + 1
135lb x 3 + 1 + 1 + 1

One-arm dumbbell rows; per arm
60lb x 6, 6
65lb x 6

Shoulder press
85lb x 5 + 1

Pull-ups
47lb x 4 + 1 + 1

Decline bench press
85lb x 12
95lb x 12, 10

Machine rear delt rows
70lb x 12
80lb x 12
85lb x 12

Control upper

Spoto bench press
120lb x 4, 4
125lb x 4
130lb x 4, 4
133lb x 4

Barbell row from the ground
135lb x 4, 4, 4
140lb x 4
145lb x 4, 4

Shoulder press
70lb x 10

Parallel pull-ups
12 reps

Dips
12, 9, 7

Heavy lower

I had a busy work schedule today, so only had time for the two main lifts.

Back squat
190lb x 6
200lb x 6
205lb x 6

Deadlifts
260lb x 6
280lb x 5

I was going to attempt the sixth rep, but my back was so fatigued that I couldn't get my set up right. I didn't want to risk another lower back injury, like a couple of weeks ago, so decided to quit.

Heavy upper

Bench press
130lb x 6, 6
135lb x 5 + 1

Pull-ups
25lb plate x 6 (using belt)

Push press
85lb x 3
95lb x 3
105lb x 3
110lb x 3

Barbell shrugs
225lb x 12, 12, 10

Clapping push-ups
12, 10, 7

Control lower

Pause back squats
170lb x 4
175lb x 4
180lb x 4
185lb x 4
190lb x 4, 4

Deadlifts
255lb x 4
265lb x 4
275lb x 4

Hang cleans
85lb x 10, 10, 10

Leg raises
20, 20, 16

Heavy lower body

Back squat
185lb x 6
195lb x 6
200lb x 6

Deadlift
255lb x 6
265lb x 6
275lb x 3

Hang clean
85lb x 10, 10, 10

Heavy Upper Body

Bench press
130lb x 6, 6 (5 + 1 both times)
133lb x 6 (4 + 1 + 1) Used larger collars

Pull-ups
B/w x 3, 3
20lb x 3
Working set: 45lb x 6 (5 +1)

Shoulder press
45lb x 3, 3
Working set: 80lb x 6 (4 + 1 + 1)

Cable row
135lb x 6, 6, 6

Feet elevated push-ups
18, 15, 14

Control Upper

Spoto bench press
115lb x 4
120lb x 4, 4
125lb x 4
130lb x 4, 4

Barbell row from ground
135lb x 4, 4, 4
140lb x 4, 4
145lb x 4

Shoulder press
70lb x 10 (8 + 1 + 1)

Pull-ups
12 reps

Push press
95lb x 3
100lb x 3
105lb x 2

Control Lower

Pause back squats
165lb x 4
170lb x 4
175lb x 4
180lb x 4
185lb x 4
190lb x 4

Deadlifts
245lb x 4
265lb x 4
270lb x 4

Hang clean practice

Heavy Upper

Bench press
130lb x 6, 6, 6
I rested briefly after the 5th rep of the second set, and after the 5th and 6th during the third.

Pull-ups
B/w x 3, 3
20lb x 3
Working set: 42.5lb x 6

Shoulder press
45lb x 3, 3
80lb x 6 (racked the bar briefly after the 4th and 5th rep)

Cable row
130lb x 6, 6, 6

Barbell shrugs
205lb x 12, 12, 12

Clapping push-ups
12, 10, 9

Control Lower Body

Pause back squats
145lb x 4, 4
155lb x 4
165lb x 4
170lb x 4
175lb x 4

Deadlifts
225lb x 4
245lb x 4
265lb x 4

Hang cleans
85lb x 10, 10, 8

Leg raises
12, 12, 12

Heavy Upper Body

This is the start of a new regimen by new trainer, Mitch.

Bench press
125lb x 6, 6, 6
The gym was busy this morning, so I couldn't use the flat bench press bench. I had to use the incline bench - set flat - so I couldn't get any decent positioning for my feet. 

Cable row
110lb x 6
120lb x 6
130lb x 6

Shoulder press
75lb x 6

Pull-ups
40lb x 6

Barbell shrugs
185lb x 12, 12
195lb x 12

Dips, breaking parallel
12, 10, 9

Abs / conditioning

Reps: 50/40/30/20/10
Rest: 120s/90s/60/30s/

Russian twists per side
Sit ups
Bench supported lateral jumps
Scissor kicks
1 minute plank

Back and biceps

One-arm dumbbell rows
55lb x 10, 10, 10 per arm

Wide grip pull ups, knees raised
8, 6, 5

Barbell row
75lb x 12, 12, 12

Cable row (burn)
70lb x 40

======

EZ bar preacher curls
55lb x 12, 11, 9

Concentration curl
20lb x 10, 10, 10 per arm

Incline dumbbell curls (burn)
20s x 40

Legs

Back squats, a2g
135lb x 3
155lb x 3
175lb x 3
190lb x 3
200lb x 2

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10
100lb/62.5lb/37.5lb x 10/10/8

Straight leg deadlifts
155lb x 10, 10, 10

Single leg curls
25lb x 10
30lb x 10, 10

Barbell calf raises on step
135lb x 15, 15, 15

Chest and biceps

Bench press
130lb x 4, 4, 3, 3

Incline bench press
95lb x 10, 9, 7, 6

Alternating sets
Dips/push-ups
14/15, 9/13, 7/12

======

Pinwheel curls
40s x 10, 10, 10 per arm

21s @ 45lb x 3 sets

EZ bar preacher curls
65lb x 8, 7, 6

Back and calves

Pull-ups
16, 11, 8

Deadlifts
135lb x 10
245lb x 5, 5, 5

Bent over barbell rows
105lb x 12, 12, 10

Lateral pull-downs, underhand
100lb x 12, 11, 10

======

Seated calf raises
125lb x 10, 12, 14

45 degree calf raises (burn)
210lb x 40, 40

Shoulders, traps and triceps

Seated shoulder press
75lb x 5
80lb x 5, 5

Arnold press
30s x 8, 8, 7

Hang cleans
95lb x 5
100lb x 5, 5

Lateral raises (burn)
17.5s x 40, 40

======

Close grip bench press
110lb x 5, 5, 5

Barbell skull crushers
70lb x 12, 12, 10

French press
30lb x 12, 11, 11

Cable tricep extensions
45lb x 11, 9, 9

Legs

Back squats
140lb x 3
160lb x 3
175lb x 3
190lb x 3
200lb x 3
210lb x 2

Leg extensions
87.5lb x 10, 10, 10, 10

Front squats
135lb x 9, 8, 7

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 15, 15, 12

Single leg curls, per leg
30lb x 12, 11, 10

Chest and biceps

Got some colour on my face from yesterday's bike ride.

Bench press
130lb x 4, 4, 4, 4

Dips
18, 12, 10, 9

Clapping push-ups
10, 8, 8, 8

Incline dumbbell flies
30s x 12, 12, 10, 9

======

Dumbbell curls
25s x 10, 10, 10

Wide grip barbell curls
70lb x 8, 8, 7

Standing cable curls; drop sets
50lb/30lb x 10/10, 10/7, 9/7

Bike ride

This morning I simply got on my bike and started cycling. I had no destination in mind, and I didn't try to work up any great speed, but other than a few photo stops, I just kept pedaling. The weather was perfect - lots of sun, a light breeze, and not too much draining heat. I had such a great time and, despite this being hard work, I felt totally relaxed. I tracked my ride when I got back home, and it turns out I covered 21k, my longest ever ride. www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/444812640/

Back and calves

Deadlifts
135lb x 10
245lb x 5, 5, 5
155lb x 10

Bent over barbell rows
100lb x 12, 12, 11

Lateral pull downs, underhand
100lb x 12, 10, 8

Cable row, burn
80lb x 40

======

Seated calf raises
115lb x 15, 15, 15

45 degree calf raises
150lb x 40
190lb x 40
210lb x 40

Conditioning and abs

Ben's out the door five minutes, and I'm back doing a CrossFit workout! This is the first time I've done Cindy since April 2013.

Cindy: Amrap 20
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 air squats
Score = 16 rounds + 2 pull-ups

That's only one rep less than my PR, so I'm pretty pleased about that. I didn't use my previous death-by strategy, but I didn't rush myself, either. I took short rests between each movement and each set. Consequently, each individual set of movements was unbroken until the last round of push-ups.

======

Bicycle crunches
50, 40, 30, 20 per side; 60 seconds rest in between.

===

Plank - 60 seconds, broken up as needed
1 set, 1 set, 2 sets

===

Ab rollouts
10, 10, 10

Shoulders, traps and triceps

Hang clean and press
65lb x 5
85lb x 5, 5, 5, 5

Upright row
65lb x 12, 12, 12

Seated Arnold press
25s x 12, 11, 10

Barbell shrugs
210lb x 10, 10, 10

======

Close grip bench press
105lb x 8, 7, 7

Seated French press
30lb x 12, 12, 11

EZ bar skull crushers
65lb x 16
70lb x 12, 11

Cable tricep extensions
45lb x 10, 8, 8

Chest and biceps

An early morning workout, when I usually don't have too much energy, so I went with light weight, high reps.

Bench press
100lb x 10, 10, 10, 8, 7

Incline bench press
95lb x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Supersets
Machine chest press @ 75lb, neutral grip
Machine flies @ 70lb
12/12, 12/12, 11/12, 10/12

======

21s @ 45lb x 4 sets

Wide grip EZ bar curls, slow negative
60lb x 8, 6, 6, 6

Machine preacher curls
50lb x 10, 8, 8, 8

Legs

Supersets - front squats/back squats, a2g
100lb x 8/8, 8/8, 8/8

Leg extensions
62.5lb x 12, 12, 12, 12

Leg press
210lb x 10, 10, 10

Leg curls
62.5lb x 12, 12, 12

Dumbbell straight leg deadlifts
55s x 12, 12, 12

Plank
72 seconds, 56, 45

Back and calves

Wide grip pull ups
19, 10, 8

PR!

Bent over between legs barbell row
75lb x 12, 12, 11

Deadlifts
135lb x 10
265lb x 3, 3, 3
155lb x 10

======

Barbell calf raises on a step
155lb x 15, 15, 15

45 degree calf raises
175lb x 40, 40

Bent over calf raises
50, 50, 50

Shoulders, traps and triceps

Hang cleans
65lb x 5
85lb x 5
95lb x 5
105lb x 5, 5, 5

Standing barbell press, elbows at 90 degrees
45lb x 10
75lb x 7, 7, 5

Barbell front raise
45lb x 12
55lb x 12, 12

Machine overhead press
55lb x 12
60lb x 10, 6
50lb x 10

Barbell shrugs
205lb x 10, 12, 12

======

Close grip bench press
115lb x 5, 4, 4

Seated French press
30lb x 10, 10, 10

Cable tricep extensions
50lb x 8
45lb x 10, 8

Legs

Brooke Ence

I didn't do as well as I expected with today's workout and couldn't figure out why my legs felt so tired. Then I remembered that I did an abs workout yesterday - which worked my quads a bit - and had a footie kick-around with Madi in the evening.

Back squats - 1, 2, 3, 4
2-4 minutes rest between sets
200lb x 1, 2, 3, 4

Back squats
170lb x 10
150lb x 15

Straight leg deadlifts
185lb x 10, 10, 10

Seated calf raises
70lb x 20, 20
80lb x 20, 24 (to failure)

Abs

Miranda Oldroyd - First time making it to Carson.

Reps: 50/40/30/20/10
Rest: 120s/90s/60s/30s

Russian twists (each side)
Sit ups
Bench-supported lateral jumps
Scissor kicks
1 minute plank

Chest and biceps

Bench press
125lb x 5, 5, 4, 5

Dips
16, 13, 11, 8

Incline bench press
95lb x 8, 7, 6, 5

Push ups
20, 16, 15, 13

======

Incline dumbbell curls
17s x 10, 10, 10 per arm

Wide grip barbell curls
65lb x 10, 7, 8

Machine preacher curls
50lb x 8, 9, 9

Legs

Front squats
95lb x 5
115lb x 3
135lb x 3
155lb x 3
165lb x 3
175lb x 2

Trap bar deadlift
170lb x 5
280lb x 3, 3, 3, 3

Straight leg deadlifts
145lb x 10
195lb x 8, 8, 7

Leg curls
50lb x 15, 15, 15

Chest and biceps

Bench press
95lb x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7

Machine flies
80lb x 8
85lb x 8
90lb x 8, 8, 8, 8

Incline bench press
95lb x 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 5

Hammer curls
15s x 15, 15, 15, 15 per arm

Machine preacher curls, slow negative
37.5lb x 6, 6, 6