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.

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

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 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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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)

Legs

Rory Zambard

Behind the head shoulder press
45lb x 10, 10, 10, 10

======

Pause Back Squats
135lb x 5, 5
145lb x 5
150lb x 5

Leg press
170lb x 20
180lb x 20
185lb x 20
190lb x 20

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 10
205lb x 5, 5, 5, 5

Single leg curls
25lb x 10, 10, 10

Standing barbell calf raises, hang position
205lb x 5
215lb x 8, 8, 8, 8

Legs

Wow. No Stacy Tovar this year. What a shocker.

Decided to try something a bit different today. However, my legs were still a bit fatigued from Saturday's race, so I think I was a bit conservative with my choice of weights.

Back squats - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5+
2-4 minutes rest between sets
195lb x 1, 2, 3 (roughly 75% of my 1RM)
200lb x 4, 6

======

Back squats
170lb x 12
150lb x 20

======

Leg curls
37.5lb x 12, 12, 12
40lb x 12, 18

======

Seated calf raises
45lb x 20
60lb x 20
70lb x 20, 24

Legs

Back squats, a2g
95lb x 8
135lb x 10, 10, 10

Front squats
95lb x 5
115lb x 3
135lb x 3
155lb x 3
165lb x 3
175lb x 2
Equaled my front squat PR. Not bad.

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10
100lb/62.5lb/37.5lb x 10/9/6

Straight leg deadlifts
145lb x 10, 10, 10

Single leg curls
25lb x 10, 10
30lb x 8

======

Ab roll outs
3 x 20

Bicycle crunches
2 x 50 per side

Legs

Push press
70lb x 5
90lb x 8, 8, 8

======

Back squats
100lb x 10
140lb x 8
170lb x 6, 8, 8

Front squats
120lb x 10, 10, 10

Leg extensions
75lb x 15, 15, 15

Leg curls
62.5lb x 15, 15, 11

======

1.5 mile run
Time = 13:09

Legs

Back squats
95lb x 5, 5
135lb x 5
185lb x 5, 5, 5

Front squats, a2g with pause
115lb x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell sumo squats
100lb x 12, 12, 12

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10, 10

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 10, 10, 10

Leg curls
50lb x 15, 15, 15

======

Leg raises
15, 15, 15

Swiss ball push-ups/tucks
10, 9, 9

Shoulders, traps and triceps

Back squats
115lb x 10
165lb x 7, 7, 7

======

Seated barbell press, elbows at 90 degrees
45lb x 12
65lb x 10
75lb x 7, 5

Seated Arnold press
30s x 7
27s x 7, 7

Underhand barbell front raise
45lb x 13, 12, 12

Barbell shrugs
185lb x 10
205lb x 10, 10

Hmmm...Not quite matching Nicole Wilkins, above.

Lateral raises (burn)
15s x 40

======

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

Seated French press
30lb x 10, 10, 8

EZ bar skull crushers
60lb x 18
70lb x 10, 10

Cable tricep extensions (burn)
40lb x 40

Legs

Felt a bit tired today, so not the best performance.

Smith back squats
130lb x 5
150lb x 5
160lb x 5
170lb x 5
180lb x 5

Front squats, a2g
95lb x 10
105lb x 10, 10

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10
100lb/62.5lb/37.5lb x 10/8/6

Leg curls
75lb x 10, 10, 8

Dumbbell straight leg deadlifts
50s x 12, 12, 12

Quads and hamstrings

Back squats
95lb x 5, 5
135lb x 5
170lb x 5, 5, 5

Good, steady form, just breaking parallel.

Dumbbell sumo squats
100lb x 12, 12, 12

Leg extensions
100lb x 10, 10
100lb/62.5lb/37.5lb x 10/8/7

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 10, 10, 10

Leg curls
75lb x 9, 8
75lb/50lb/25lb x 5/5/10

Straight leg dumbbell deadlifts, burn
40s x 40

Legs

Light weight, high rep day.

Push press
70lb x 8, 8
75lb x 8, 8

======

Supersets: Front/back squats
95lb x 8, 8, 8

Wide leg press
180lb x 6
230lb x 8, 8, 8

======

Straight leg deadlifts
135lb x 10, 10, 10

Light weight definitely allows for a deeper stretch, as I was able to get the plates all the way to the ground.

Leg curls
75lb x 7
62.5lb x 10, 9, 6
37.5lb x 25