On The Road To World's Strongest Man 2015!

Just went through the motions today, have a chesty cough which is hindering my breathing so couldn't get much air in between reps.

20/10/09

Push Press from Rack- 60/6 (strict)/6, 100/4, 120/2, 130/2, 135/2 PB Really pleased with this, 135kg for the double was stupidly easy. Reckon I've got 140kg atleast for a double in me.

BTN Jerk from Rack- 60/3, 100/3, 120/2 PB Felt good, only used a Rehband neoprene belt. Going to just do these for doubles, hopefully get 135kg for 2 in week 4.

Seated DB Press- 36/8/8/8

Finished off with some rear delt work. Didn't even attempt a rower sprint though! :D

Sweet session again tonight, another few PBs! Really pleased with how its going, especially as I'm not sleeping properly again, I just lie in bed at night and think about stuff me and my Dad used to do for hours and then end up only getting 3 or 4hours kip. This cold is hampering things somewhat too as its really restricting my breathing, but it seems to be passing so hopefully I'll be clear of it for next weeks training.

21/10/09

Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, 190/4 PB, 210/3, 230/2 PB, 250/1 190kg for 4 was a beltless PB and the 230kg for 2 was a belt only PB; belt on from 210kg, wraps for 250kg only. Really pleased with these as this was the first night doing back squat for about 6weeks I think. Would like to do 230 for 3 next week followed by 250 for 2.

Front Squats- 100/6, 140/4 All I could manage today, breathing just too laboured with this cold.

Anderson Squats- 70/8, 120/8, 160/8, 200/8

Finished with some leg extensions.

Alright session today, again cold was hamping me, but seemed to ease a little when I started lifting and then got bad again between sets. Happy enough with how things are going.

22/10/09

CG Bench- 70/8, 100/8, 110/4/8/8

Floor Press Lockouts- 70/8, 120/8 PB, 140/8 PB Really pleased with how these are progressing, enjoying the tricep overload too.

DB OH Ext- 40/12, 50/12/12

Finished with pushdowns and incline cross lateral extension.

Good session tonoight again, was week 1 of the Ortmayer deadslift routine and everything went to plan even though breathing was terrible with the chest full of crap!

23/10/09

Deadlifts- 60/6, 110/4, 160/4, 210/4/4/4/4, 240/2/2, 210/8

T-Bar Rows- 40/10, 80/10, 120/10

Machine Row- 90/8, 120/8, 150/8

Pulldowns- 90/8, 100/8/8

BB SLDL- 70/8, 120/8, 150/8

Alright one today, happy enough with push press, seated barbell and dumbbells were a disaster though.

27/10/09

Push Press from Rack- 60/6 (3strict, 3PP)/6 (all PP), 100/4, 120/2, 130/2, pb]140/1 PB Happy with these, found where my max is so going to do rep stuff for the last 2 weeks of these.

BTN Jerk from Rack- 100/3, 110/3, 120/3 PB All easy, aim is for 120 for 6 in week 4, I'll go for 4 or 5 next week for these.

Seated BB Press- 50/8, 80/4, 100/1, 80/4

Seated DB Press- 30/8, 40/7/5

Finished with some rear delts.

Good session today, would of liked another rep on the 250kg, but spotter was holding the plates which made the bar uneven at the bottom and then threw me off.

28/10/09

Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, 190/3, 210/3, 230/2, 250/1 Belt on from 210kg, wraps on for 250kg only. Should of had a third rep on 230kg and then second rep at 250kg, the 250kg came up fast though, alot easier than last week so happy about that.

Front Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, 160/4 Belt on from 140kg, all reps easy.

Anderson Squats- 100/4, 140/4, 180/4, 200/2

Finished with some leg extensions then high rep leg press(this was a machine though cause its all the uni gym has)

Good session today, nice CG Bench PB. Tris coming on nicely!

29/10/09

CG Bench- 60/6, 100/6, 120/2, 130/2, 140/2 PB, 110/8

Floor Press Lockouts- 100/8, 140/6/6/6

Tricep Machine- 60/8, 80/8, 100/6, 60/15

Finished with some incline cross lateral extension.

Great one today, felt crap but dug in and got week 2 of the Ortmayer routine nailed. Really enjoying the high rep set after everything else.

30/10/09

Deadlift- 70/6, 120/4, 170/3, 210/4/4/4/4, 240/2, 270/2, 210/8 All reps nice and easy; double overhand until 210kg and then belt from 240kg.

Machine Row- 90/8, 110/8, 130/8

Pulldowns- 80/8, 90/8, 100/8

Finished with some hamstring work.

Sweet session tonight, really pleased with how things are coming along! Next week is supposed to be the last week of this, but I'm going to extend it upto the 6week mark so I'll have 2 6week phases just like squat.

3/11/09

Push Press from Rack- 60/6, 100/4, 120/5 PB, 130/3 Should of had the 5 at 130kg, just lost the line on the 4th. Want 135kg for 6 in week 6.

BTN Jerk from Rack- 60/2, 100/3, 120/2, 130/2 PB Really happy with these, week 6 goal is either 140 or 145kg for 2.

Power Snatch- 60/6, 80/2/2/2/2/2, 90/1/1 PB, 70/4/4 Pleased with these, been chasing the 90k for a while, definetly would of been easier without all the 80k doubles before hand, want 100kg in week 6.

Standing BB Press- 70/4, 90/2/3/2/1, 70/10 Decided to switch back to these from seated press, went ok, but not as good as I had expected with the gains I've made on seated strict barbell.

Seated DB Press- 36/6, 40/6, 45/3 PB, 30/11

Finished with rear delt work and then rower sprints since cold is almost gone.

Some very strong lifts and only 21!!!

Today was probably the worst session I've ever had, got the biggest comp of my life in 4months and just can't be having sessions this bad.

Need to reassess squat, I think one of my biggest problems is that I rely on my belt too much when it comes to the top sets. I'm just getting to the tail end of week 3 of the Ortmayer routine, so that means another 9 weeks left. Those 9 weeks will all be beltless work, heres the plan:

Week 1->3: 3sets of 5reps
Week 2->6: 3sets of 3reps
Week 7->9: 3sets of 2reps

Going to start next week at 190kg for the first week of 3x5 then depending how each week goes I'll assess it and then decide what increment increase the next week should be.

Heres what happened today:

4/11/09

Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, 180/4, 220/3/1, 140/2, 180/2, 220/2/2, 180/6 Belt on from the first 220kg set, when I went back to 140kg I put belt on to try and get used to wearing it as it didn't feel right on the first 220kgs.

Front Squats- 80/5, 110/5, 130/5, 150/2 All beltless apart from 150kg set.

Finished with leg extension and abs.

 Good session tonight, nice few PBs so made up for the bad session yesterday to an extent.

5/11/09

CG Bench- 60/6, 100/4, 120/3, 135/2, 150/1 PB, 120/6 PB Really happy with these, all reps were pretty easy, especially the 135 double. Lost the line a little on the 150kg set so that made it harder than it should of been, but still fine. Really pleased with the 120k for 6 aswell as that used to be a very hard set for me when I was fresh, today it felt easy apart from the last one!

Floor Press Lockouts- 100/10, 140/8, 150/8 PB Really pleased with these, improving fast!

Machine Pressdown- 60/8, 80/10/10

Finished off with some heavy pushdowns and then high rep cross lateral extensions.

Hardest day of the Ortmayer routine yet today, weights weren't that high, but the back and hamstrings were totally knackered from the weeks previous sessions. Glad that there is no deadlift next week and I can just beast the upper back with some big weights!

6/11/09

Deadlift- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, 180/3, 215/4/4/4/4, 245/2, 275/2, 215/8

Bent Over Rows- 60/8, 90/8, 130/8, 150/8

BB SLDL- 100/8, 130/8, 150/6

Would of liked to have done more upper back stuff, but the gym was pack as I'm home for the weekend and jsut no space to move. Will destroy the upper back next Friday back at the uni gym! :D

Good session today, although seated barbell was terrible!

10/11/09

Push Press from Rack- 60/6, 100/3, 120/3/3/3/5 Was planning 130kg for 5 today, but first set of 120k felt heavy and form wasn't great so decided to just do some reps. Just my luck that I found the tech on the 3rd and 4th set though, last set of 5reps was too easy!

BTN Jerk from Rack- 100/2, 110/2, 120/2, 130/1 First 130k was easy, then lost the line on the 2nd.

Bench- 60/10, 100/6, 120/6/8 Going to start doing this every second week. Two pairs of exercises will be rotated each week, bench and seated barbell; standing barbell and seated dumbbell.

Seated Barbell Press- 60/8, 70/4, 80/6,5,5, 60/12

Power Snatch- 50/3, 60/3, 70/3, 80/2/2/2/2

Hang Clean- 70/3/3, 80/3, 90/3, 100/2 Not sure about these, just can't keep form consistant and get enough power through the legs.

Finished with rear delt work.

Quality session today, was talking to Carl about squats and we've formulated a plan. Working to a 2/3/5 rep scheme and just going to go by how I'm feeling that day and gradually up the weights.

11/11/09

Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, 180/4, 220/2, 240/3, 180/10 Belt on from 180kg, 220kg with light wraps, 240kg with tighter wraps. 240kg wasn't too bad, 3rd rep had a little stall but nothing too bad. I think I could have gotten 4reps, but left it as I wouldn't of had the 5th. 180kg for 10 wasn't bad either, reps were easy, but breathing was the main issue!

Box Squats- ~12" box: 60/5, 80/5, 100/3; ~14" box: 120/3, 140/2/2 Liking these, definetly going to help bring up the power from my sticking point.

Anderson Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/6, 180/6, 210/6

Finished off with some leg extensions and abs.

Good session today, out did my estimate for CG bench so really happy as it's a definite showing that tricep strength has increased!

12/11/09

CG Bench- 60/6, 100/6, 130/5 PB/4/3, 110/8 Really pleased with these, plan was initially 130kg for 3x3, but first set was really easy so aimed for 3sets of 5reps.

Floor Press Lockouts- bar+doubled mini bands/6, 70+doubled mini bads/6, 110+doubled mini bands/fail, 90+doubled mini bands/6/8 Huge shock to the system these, the 70kg+bands was easy, but the increased was just insane. Tension even at the bottom was a good 60kgs onto of bar weight.

DB OH Ext- 40/12, 50/20 PB/16 Pleased again with these, haven't done them in a while cause elbows were getting sore, but really pleased with the improvement I've made on them.

Finished off with pushdowns and incline cross lateral extension.

Good session today, no deadlifts as it's week 4 of the Ortmayer routine so did some box squat. Was going to just do light stuff for speed, but got bored and went heavier! :D

13/11/09

Box Squat, parallel box- 60/6, 100/6, 120/2/2/2/2/2, 150/1, 170/2, 200/2, 220/2, 230/2, 240/1 Upped the box height a bit from Wednesday and feels so much better. When I was sitting on the box the hip joint was lower than top of knee. Did all the sets with just a belt and think after a few weeks I could do maybe 260kg for a single, but hopefully a double!

GMs- 70/5/5/5/5/5 Just kept it light and worked on getting low and a good stretch in the hamstrings.

Machine Row- 90/8, 120/8, 150/6

Pulldowns- 80/8, 90/8, 100/8

Alright today, was feeling quite weird during push press. Sort of hypoglycemic dizzy feeling, but it soon passed and the rest of the workout was good.

17/11/09

Push Press from rack- 60/6/6, 100/4, 120/3, 130/2/3 Was wanting 5 on 130kg, hopefully I'll hit it in next week since its the last week of push press.

BTN Jerk from rack- 60/3, 80/3, 100/3, 120/2, 135/1 135kg was easy, plan was a double but messed my timing up on the second one. Going to aim for 140kg for 2 next week.

Standing Strict Press- 60/6, 70/6, 80/6, 90/5

Seated DB Press- 36/6, 40/6/4, 26/10

Snatch- 60/3, 70/3, 80/2, 90/1/1, 95/f

Finished with rear delts then complexes for cardio.

Alright one today, fancied a big single on the squat so was pleased enough with the results.

18/11/09

Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 140/4, Belt On 180/2, Wraps On 220/2, 240/1, 260/1, 280/f Happy with this, squats are always hit and miss be it belt only or with wraps. All sets including the 260kg felt like they were nothing and reckon I had a double with 260kg in me. Big confidence boost and if I'm hitting 300kg consistantly in wraps and belt by March time for Arnolds Ams I'll be very happy.

Box Squats- 60/3, 90/3/3/3/3/3/3 Just working on speed with these rather than heavy weight.

Anderson Squats- 60/6, 100/6, 150/6, 190/6, 220/3

Finished off with some leg extensions and then abs.

Another good one tonight, triceps are feeling destroyed now!

19/11/09

CG Bench- 60/6, 100/6, 120/3, 135/2/3/3, 120/8 PB Well pleased with these, would really like 150kg for 2 by Xmas.

DB OH Ext- 45/10/15/15/13 Just kept these light tonight cause elbow was hurting.

Finished off with some pushdowns and incline cross lateral extensions.