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

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 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

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

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

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

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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

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

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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

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

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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

Upper body

No real plan today. Just went with whatever I felt like, which was mostly chest and biceps.

Hang cleans
95lb x 5, 5
105lb x 3
110lb x 3
115lb x 3
120lb x 3
125lb x 0, 0

Bench press
95lb x 10
115lb x 8, 6, 6
115lb/95lb x 5/6

EZ bar standing curls
70lb x 12, 12
75lb x 10, 9

Incline bench press
95lb x 8, 6, 6, 4

One arm machine preacher curl
25lb x 10, 10, 10, 8

Supersets: Dips/pushups
12/12, 10/7, 7/6

Incline hammer curls
17.5s x 12, 12, 12

Static barbell hold
135lb x 3

Dumbbell wrist curls
25s x 12, 12, 10

Shoulders, traps and triceps

Seated dumbbell press
40s x 8, 6
35s x 8
35s/25s/15s x 5/5/8

Close grip bench press
95lb x 10, 8, 7, 6

Barbell front raise (underhand)
65lb x 10, 10, 10

Seated French press
27lb x 10, 10, 10

Barbell shrug/hang clean
95lb x 9, 8, 8

EZ bar skull crushers
65lb x 10, 10, 8

Seated dumbbell shrug/lateral raise
20s x 10, 10, 10

Tricep cable extension (burn)
40lb x 40

Hang cleans and forearms

My clean technique has been pretty poor recently, so the first part of today's session was simply going back to basics and breaking down the movement from scratch. I did hang cleans so I could focus on the top half of the exercise. A couple of times I found that - as one would expect - I failed at moderate weights simply because I lost concentration. In fact, my first two attempts at 130lb were a bust, so I took a couple of breaths, then summoned up an aggressive jump and shrug to get the bar up to my chest. Unfortunately, I couldn't get 135lb up, no matter how hard I tried, but overall I felt like I was starting to find my way back to improving my cleans.

The rest of the session was just a few forearm routines.

Barbell holds - 135lb x 3 (untimed)

Barbell wrist rolls - 65lb x 10, 8, 7

Wrist roller x 3

Shoulders and back

Barbell shrug and hang clean
95lb x 8, 8, 8; 70lb x 10

Wide grip pull ups
12, 9, 7, 6

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

One-arm dumbbell rows
60lb x 10; 65lb x 8, 8, 8 per arm

Seated Arnold press
30s x 10, 8, 7

Wide cable rows
90lb x 12; 110lb x 8, 9, 8

Dumbbell lateral raises (burn)
15s x 40

Deadlifts
135lb x 10
195lb x 10, 10

Fitness test / Shoulders

ABsolute Fitness had its annual open day today, part of which involved a four-part fitness test. At the time of writing, I know my scores, but not how well I did compared to other competitors.

Max reps strict pull-ups: 18
Max reps push-ups: 40
Max reps crunches: 20
Wall sits to failure: 1 minute 20 seconds

Ben also gave me a fitness assessment. Here are some of the figures:

Body fat: 12%
Neck: 13.5"
Shoulders: 45"
Chest: 35.5"
Flexed bicep (right): 13"
Flexed bicep (left): 13"
Waist: 32.75"
Thigh (right): 20.75"
Thigh (left): 20.75"
Calf (right): 13.75"
Calf (left): 14"
Cardio fitness - max VO2: 144; recovery: 102
Grip strength (right/left): 43/45

I'm very pleased with the drop in body fat, as well as a more balanced right/left muscle balance.

I didn't have much time after all this, so I did a short shoulder session.

Push press: 100lb x 8, 6, 5

Barbell shrug/hang cleans: 100lb x 10, 10, 7

Barbell front raise: 50lb x 12, 12, 12

Fitness challenge results

Shoulders, triceps and forearms

Seated barbell press
75lb x 8, 6, 5

Barbell shrug and hang cleans
100lb x 8, 8, 7

One arm dumbbell front raise, underhand
22lb x 10, 10; 25lb x 10 per arm

Seated dumbbell shrug/lateral raise
15s x 12; 17.5s x 12, 12

======

Close grip bench press
100lb x 8, 6, 6

Seated French press
25lb x 10, 10, 8

EZ bar skull crushers
65lb x 10, 8(.5!), 8

Wide grip dips
9, 7, 7

Bench dips, feet elevated
20, 17, 14

======

Barbell wrist curls
70lb x 12, 10, 6

Barbell static holds @ 160lb x 3

Shoulders and triceps

Hang cleans
95lb x 8, 8, 8

Seated Arnold press
30s x 10, 7, 7

Barbell front raise
45lb x 12, 12, 12

Barbell shrugs
185lb x 10, 10, 10

Dumbbell lateral raises (burn)
15s x 40

======

Close grip bench press
110lb x 4; 100lb x 6, 6

Seated French press
20lb x 11, 10, 10

EZ bar skull crushers
65lb x 10, 8, 8

Cable tricep extensions
40lb x 40

Shoulders, traps, triceps and forearms

Sunday = Cooking Day!

Seated barbell press
45lb x 10, 10
65lb x 8, 6, 6

Barbell shrug and hang cleans
100lb x 8, 8, 8

One arm dumbbell front raise, underhand grip
17.5lb x 10, 10, 10 per arm

Dumbbell lateral raise (burn)
12s x 40

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EZ barbell skullcrushers
65lb x 15, 14, 11

Tricep dumbbell extensions
25lb x 12, 12, 12 per arm

Reverse barbell curls
35lb x 12, 12, 12

Tricep cable extensions
40lb x 40 (burn)

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Barbell wrist curls
50lb x 20, 14, 11

Barbell static holds - 185lb x 3

Shoulders and traps

Another early morning session.

Seated barbell press
45lb x 10, 10
75lb x 6, 5, 4

Barbell shrug and hang cleans
100lb x 10, 10, 10

One arm front raise
15lb x 10; 17.5lb x 10, 10 per arm

Dumbbell lateral raise (burn)
12s x 40

======

Close grip bench press
100lb x 9, 7, 5

EZ bar skull crushers
65lb x 9, 8, 7

Cable tricep extensions (burn)
30lb x 40

Shoulders and triceps

Seated barbell press
45lb x 10, 8
75lb x 6, 5, 4

Barbell shrug/hang cleans
100lb x 10, 10, 10

One arm front raise
15lb x 10, 10, 10 per arm

Dumbbell lateral raise (burn)
10s x 40 reps

======

Close grip bench press
95lb x 10, 6, 5

Dumbbell tricep extensions
20lb x 12, 12, 12 per arm

EZ bar skull crushers
60lb x 12, 11, 9

Cable tricep extensions (burn) 30lb x 40

Shoulders, traps, forearms and grip work

Another punishing strength workout with Ben. We fit so much into each hour that I struggle to remember everything we do, so here - to the best of my memory - is today's workout.

Seated dumbbell shoulder press - 35s x 7, 8, 7
Final set: drop sets - 35s x 6; 25s x 5; 15s x 4 
Some assists on the last couple of reps in each set. With the drop sets, the weights felt ridiculously light, but I still couldn't move them without struggling.

Barbell shrugs/hang cleans; alternating reps
95lb x 10, 10, 10, 10

One arm bent over shoulder row
40lb x 10; 45lb x 10, 10, 10 per arm

Seated dumbbell shrugs/lateral raises; alternating reps
15s x 12, 12, 12, 12

Alternating dumbbell upright rows - 20s
Machine flies (can't remember weight)
12, 12, 12, 12 of each movement

One-handed barbell holds - 115lb
Ben held one end and I had the other, switching hands whenever my grip failed. And, of course, it was always my grip that went first!

Wrist roller