AK's Journal

Hmm might be an idea actualy, will give 'em a bash next week and see how they feel!

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No.13


No helmet press this time bud?

And don't you start Uni soon?

Having a little switcharoo at the moment with some stuff - my bench has become a little stagnant so i'm trying to drop a little bit of tricep work to give them a bit more recovery to see if thats the issue. Might have a little play around with grips etc too soon as i'm battering my front delts and not getting a great deal from my chest.

Leaving for Norwich 2 weeks today, register and start the week of the 15th i think, can't wait to get started! Need to find out what the uni gym's like though, the photos make it look like they've got a reasonable set of kit, but i'm worried i may end up the big fish in a small, student shaped pond

Todays stuff;

Quads/Calves

Back Squat

125kgx10
120kgx10
110kgx10

Seated Calf Raise

80kgx10
70kgx12
70kgx10

Staggered Leg Press/Leg Extension Superset

175kgx12/30kgx10
175kgx10/30kgx10

Leg Press Calf Raise

150kgx50 - Rest pauses as necessary.

Stretching & core work to finish.

10kg on my squat in 2 sessions? Oh go on then Lovely work today, squats were nice and smooth throughout, very few backy reps seem to be occuring with the low bar position i'm using, maybe because it's causing me to less upright at the end of each rep. Either way it's making for some awesome progress Noticed on the last set my knees were caving in a bit though, unsure if it was technique or fatigue related, but next week i'll make a concious effort to drive them out to get out of the hole more efficiently.

Leg press stuff was brutal today, by the second leg on the last set i was at rest pause reps by the 3rd rep :lol:, fannied out of the dropset but i was literally gasping for air, not bad for someone in a calorie deficit you'd have to admit

I fk'ing love squatting

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Nice squattin'

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Very jealous of your squatting ak, good stuff. Uni brochures always flatter their gyms not that i'm wanting to worry you or anything!

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No.13


Very jealous of your squatting ak, good stuff. Uni brochures always flatter their gyms not that i'm wanting to worry you or anything!

Cheers pal If things continue as they are i'm hoping for 140 for 10 by easter time ideally, will have to see how things go of course though!

I know what you mean though - i'll be taking a look around before parting with any of my money, although i'd be amazed if theres any DB's over 40kg!

R3261


Nice squattin'

Much appreciated loverboy, definately the cold that was ballsing up recent sessions.

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Nice workout, good going on the squats. I'm sure I've heard Norwich Uni being mentioned positively here before, if not Norwich itself will have something

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Cheers DV. I've heard it mentioned, though unfortunately not in a great manner LOL. As long as they have a place to squat/dead and reasonable DB's ill probably take it up for convenience as it's on campus.

Theres a proper gym near the City Centre, but i'm unsure how much of a ballache it'd be to get there without my own transport. If it's closer than anticipated or the uni gym is pants then i'll check that one out too.

Todays stuff;

Back

Barbell Row

90kgx10
85kgx10
80kgx10
80kgx10

Chins

BWx9
BWx5
BWx5

Cable Row

63kgx8
56kgx10
56kgx10
56kgx10

Underhand Pulldowns

56kgx12
56kgx12

Facepulls & stretching to finish.

No frills, compound session today. Good to get back to doing BB rows again - will be popping deads in at the start of fridays Glute/Ham session.

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strong rowing, especialy after a spell away from them.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Chest/Biceps

Dips

BW+10kgx10
BW+10kgx8
BW+5kgx8

Flat BB Bench

80kgx8
70kgx8
60kgx11

Cable Crossovers

15kgx12
12.5kgx12
10kgx15

Decline DB

26kgx10
24kgx10
24kgx10

Seated EZ Curl

25kgx15
25kgx6 - LOL
20kgx8

Incline DB Curl

14kgx10
12kgx15

Cable Curl

21kgx12
17.5kgx12

Stretching to finish.

Good stuff today - had to roll it back by 24 hours though as i was out with work on tuesday night. First cheat meal in about a month, up all night with indigestion and generally feeling shíte, lovely

Slight change of tact with chest training today - i've been getting bored with waking up with major DOMS in my front delts and v.little in my chest. Not insinuating i'm not working my chest - but i'd been on the previous workout for quite a while so no harm in changing things up a bit for a while and seeing where it goes.

Dips were good, more in the tank though so up to 15kg additional weight next week, the only downside was the Flat and Decline weights were horrendous as a result!  Chest got a pretty good workout overall, although my tri's were absolutely toasted as a result, definately the weak link here.

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How does a seated EZ bar curl work? Surely you cannot get full extension.

Tidy session tho but yeah, doing dips first will do your bar work zero favours.... used to do them 1st myself a few years back, right ego denter

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Yeah it was a bit interesting. Got a good pump from it although it felt quite hard going on the bicep tendon or whatever sits under the elbow crease.

I feel sometimes with standing curl work theres a little extra temptation to flex the shoulder joint to bring the bar a bit higher but the arm's fully flexed, rather than just flex at the elbow and drop an inch or two of movement.

Will probably stick with it for a while and see how it goes! Figured i've got nowt to lose by changing my chest stuff up for a while and see if it helps, not going to regress if anything.

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The biceps do attach over the shoulder joint and play a role in extending the arm at that joint so TBH a little shoulder flexion is perfectly acceptable as a part of a curl.

Got to say, IIRC I did find changing the focus to dips quite good.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Yeah i noticed last week when doing tri's i was getting a horrendous pump for something that was supposed to avoid my chest using a narrow grip! Went with a wider one today but may try the narrower one at a later date to see if its more chesty than wider grips.

Just feel like i need a change of stimulus, i've added some reasonable meat on my chest doing the previously mentioned stuff but hopefully switching it up will help it on a bit more, despite my crap attachments and seemingly absent upper head LOL.

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Wider is meant to be more chest tho ultimately it's down to how much your flare your arms/elbows. The more 'out' they are then you can kind of curve your body over (like a crescent moon) and target the chest more. Closer in will generally be more tris. They both hit tris pretty hard tho TBH

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Glutes/Hamstrings/Calves

Deadlift

160kgx5
170kgx5
170kgx5
140kgx8

Seated Calf Raise/Standing Ham Curl Superset

80kgx12
80kgx10
70kgx12/45kgx12
70kgx12/45kgx12

Glute-Ham Raises

BWx15
BWx15

Leg Press Calf Raise

180kgx15
180kgx15
180kgx10

Core work and stretching to finish.

Top session today, got some vids of the DL's to follow once i've played about with them to stick them all together. Form felt nice and tight, no grip issues this week, last set pumped up my niggle a bit but was OK once that subsided.

175 next week for 5, dipping into all-time PB territories now, and i'm steadily leaning out

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Great session mate thats some powerful deadlifting.

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Great deads. Well done. You'll be getting some good reps with 180 soon.

Stonehenge
 
Where the banshees live and they do live well

Cheers chaps! Give it another 2-3 sessions and i'll be at 180 hopefully.

Vids from yesterday;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IryIWo8cMHE

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Nice video. Check out the chap in white in a compromising bodyposition give you the eye during your first set

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sh1t sesh

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No.13


Nice video. Check out the chap in white in a compromising bodyposition give you the eye during your first set

Lol - i didn't notice this guy until i'd watched the vid back! Can't help but generate a gym audience it seems

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R3261


 
sh1t sesh

Lovely words as always, cnut!

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Shoulders/Tri's

Strict Standing OHP

50kgx10
50kgx6
45kgx8

Seated DB Press

24kgx8
22kgx8

DB/Cable Lateral Superset

9kgx12/5kgx10
8kgx12/5kgx8
8kgx10/2.5kgx10

Dips

BW+10kgx10
BW+10kgx10
BW+5kgx9

Floor Press

60kgx10
60kgx10

Rope Pushdowns

24.5kgx12
24.5kgx12

Face Pull/Rear Fly

31.5kgx12/10kgx10
31.5kgx12/10kgx10

Stretching to finish.

Half-decent one today, back was in a good enough condition to do some strict OHP work rather than throwing it about with a push press, big of an ego-denter but hopefully be able to add some reasonable poundage in the next few weeks.

Not much else to report

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whats the music in the background, sounds slightly rob zombie but with the guitarist from disturbed
 
face pulls/r.db raises
r.db raises/face pulls
 
clearly a difference!!!!

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I might switch them around for a bit mind you, been doing them this way for months

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Bloody hell, I've got to switch desks cos my comp won't view any damn vids

Solid sessions tho, gotta love getting leaner when it's still a good few months to go til summer too, especially if the strength's going up.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Yup - i took a sneaky pic earlier in the same lighting conditions as before and the difference in abdominal bloat was pretty shocking! I'm down 7lbs or so thus far but theres been a good 1.5" or so off my morning waist measurement which was sitting a smidge above 35" yesterday morning.

Reckon i've probably got another stone or so to go to be in good ish condition (which is now becoming increasingly important as i'm starting my Masters in a week and i'm hazarding a guess there'll be lots of tops off time for practicals and then i'll evaluate where to go from there.

One things for sure though, no more massive carb intakes - part of me wonders if i'm carb sensitive or i don't get much out of them, i've been on <100g on non-weight days and 250 or so on training days and gym performance has improved!

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What are you studying? I've missed that....

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
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Physiotherapy at UEA (Norwich) - It's a pre-reg course so essentially it's the same as the standard undergraduate degree option, but done in 2 years instead of 3 for postgrads who've got a level of assumed knowledge from something similar.

I didn't realise at first but it's such a female-dominated profession at least at this level, coupled with the male:female ratio in Norwich, i need to be at my best! LOL

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Yeah, saying that (I work at a college sports facility so come across a few) it is predominantly women that seem to go straight for this option from college/uni. I wonder if guys choose something different (maybe more coach orientated) then find themselves changing tact later on because I'm not sure I notice such a female dominance when seeking a physio.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

I lived with 4 physios in my second year, and mygirlfriend lived with 5 of them for 2 years too, so I'm pretty well accustomed to the physio social circle And as you rightly say, lots of hottie young ladies, great course imo!

Also you say your card intake varies from 100g-250g? Do you know (roughly) how many calories your on per day? On my off days I was still eating 250g+ carbs, rising upto 300-350g on weight days.  Perhaps I 'oughta re-evaluate my diet... and my waistline.

@DV, I do think many physio graduates don't neccessarily jump straight into a physio job. Sports physio I'd imagine is probably more male orientated, but about 95% of the girls I know who graduated have gone to work in hospitals or to work with the elderly. I guess this is where the jobs are and if they haven't got an especially keen interest in sport etc, they won't pursue that route, and gentlemen such as yourself won't ever get to experience they're talents

A male friend of mine has taken an additional 1 year sports massage course just to get a sniff at a job. None of the ladies I knew even contemplated doing it. Shame.

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I'm not really sure where i'm at kcals wise, but non-training days are probably ~80-100g C/~100g F and training days 200-250g C and fats a tad lower, with protein around the 250-300 mark i'd guess. Once the weight loss slows i'll probably tweak the fats down a tad before i drop carbs further on training days but i'll worry about that once i go 2 weeks or so without losing much.

I'll probably look at doing a massage course too once i've finished this course, moreso because my end goal is high-end sports physiotherapy rather than the clinical side of things, but every little helps with getting onto the career ladder!

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Quads/Calves

Back Squat

130kgx10
125kgx12
120kgx12

Seated Calf Raise

80kgx10
70kgx10

Staggered Leg Press/Leg Extension Superset

170kgx12/30kgx10
160kgx12/30kgx10 > 120kgx12 normal leg press stance

Leg Press Calf Raise

James' 3 minute calf workout today;

180kgx10 > 10 unweighted standing calf raises > 10 fast reps not on a platform (if that makes sense). Repeat with no rest at 160 and 120kg.

Stretching and core work to finish.

I. Am. Dead.

Cracking session today, i don't think i've had one this intense for a while, i was huffing and puffing all the way through, loved it!

Squats were solid, will go for 135 next week but need to keep a close eye on form now - i seem to have a bit of trouble pushing through my heels with a slightly wider stance when wearing ironworks, so i may play about with some barefoot lifting and see if a flat sole would suit me better. Minimal back issues though, just a bit of niggled pump for the 12's.

Noticed as well the lumbar region of my spine is becoming much more aware of the weights i'm hitting now with Squats/Deads. Not sure if it's the fact i'm well into PB territory week by week or whether i need to keep my hips back more - if it persists i may dabble with my belt but i'm keen to avoid using that as long as possible.

Everything else all good, the final calf stuff induced a horrendous pump, we'll see how my walking is tommorow!

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That calf work sounds brutal, reminds me of my old 75 reps days with a 20rep max weight on.

I you have access to one try using a foam roller prior to squatting (briefly), just on your calves and ankles, you'll be suprised how much that helps keep your heels planted

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Ah good idea. My new roller is being delivered tommorow apparently (first time i've ever received a courtesy call from an internet order!), so assuming it's not massive i should be able to chuck it in my gym bag when i'm up at uni.

Gonna need a bigger bag soon with all the crap i'm carrying around!

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What one did you get? Where from?

The orange ones (pretty firm) are fairly small. The white and blue can be longer (they do small ones also). The whites you can cut down with a knife, the blues probably not as they have a seperate core.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

The one FM posted up a while ago from escapefitness - same one you ordered i think?

Looking forward to getting a roll out on it tommorow though, still get a pretty good crunch when do some thoracic spine mobility stuff on my old roller which is practically in bits now!

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Corking squats there Ak.

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LOL yeah, can't beat that crack in the back.

That's the one tho, the orange one. They're quite small, as I sit here typing, about the length of a keyboard maybe a smidge longer.

They did take their time get mine to me (out of stock when I ordered) but in their defence they were always prompt and couteous over the phone.

Limits, like fear, are often just an illusion: MJ 12/9/09
My journal

Cheers 13!

DV - Got my roller yesterday, fcuk me that thing is solid LOL, a delight to roll on!

Todays stuff;

Back

Chins

BWx11
BWx7
BWx5

Barbell Row

80kgx10
75kgx12
70kgx10

Cable Row

63kgx10
59kgx10
56kgx10

Lat Pulldowns

63kgx10
63kgx10
56kgx10

Few facepulls and stretching to finish.

Nothing fancy today, short sweet and to the point. Chins were much better than last week by putting them first but it sparked out the BB rows as a result, though they did feel much less 'trappy' than last week which is good.

Some training hangover from Tuesday though for sure, my legs were knackered trying to support me doing them and my head wasn't all there for a proper balls to the wall session, guess thats what i get for dieting down and going hell for leather 48 hours ago! Got a good pump and back felt well worked regardless.

Training wise thats it for a few days at least - moving up to Norwich on saturday so there'll be no training then. If i can navigate my way to the uni campus i'll try and get a session in on sunday, else it'll be monday or tuesday i think. Not a bad thing mind, haven't had a proper rest from weights in a good 10 months or so now!

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