Yeeeeeeaaah Buddy- dave's log

Ok no worries. Really surprised im not sore after yesterday, hadnt rack pulled in aaaages. I might go in on friday and do some RDL and extra posterior chain stuff just to break up my busy shcedule of doing nothing!

20kg to go.

Claiming not to be sore was clearly an error earlier as its properly hit me now! Just played a round of golf at the pitch and put, included a fair amount of wading into water features.

20kg to go.

Being a student sounds fun.

Head to the beach when the weather's good.
Fit in a round of golf when you fancy.
Train as frequently as your recovery will allow.
Attend a 1 hour lecture (each week).
Drink beer at ridiculously cheap prices.

Why did I leave uni after the first term???

No lectures mate its all over, I have NOTHING to do. You shat yourself leaving! Going to the races in bath tomorrow for my mates 21st, hard life!

20kg to go.

Right, the injured elbow has forced a bit of a rethink in my upper body training. I dont want to rehab this injury again only for it to keep coming back. The physio suggested a few things to help so in that light I need to include more of:

1). direct triceps work
2). biceps training
3). forearm work
4). heavy upper body pulling
5). even out the strength difference between arms (left much weaker curling, few reps weaker on single arm pressing. Interestingly stronger on single arm pulling...).

Furthermore more I want to add more volume into my leg training:

1). more heavy squats
2). more posterior chain work
3). more unilateral work

Thus, whilst im going to be staying with my current split the session will look more like this from now on (after ive spent a few more upper body sessions easing my arm back in).

ME Upper-

Pushing movement- Whatever the elbow will allow. I definitely want a 140kg bench by the end of the summer.
Bent over row-4x8-12
Shrug-3x15
Shoulder&elbow health circuit

ME Lower-

Im going to bring back squatting without the box so one of- box squat, front squat, back squat, deadlift, rackpull
RDL/Goodmorning-3x6-10
Unilateral movement- probably a lunge here-2x10-12
Hamstring curl/extra posterior chain.
Dorsiflexion exercises- probably dumbell.

RE Lower-

(Leg volume day)

Main exercise will be one of- back squat, front squat, box squat, deadlift-3x8-12
Barbell lunge-3x8-12
Posterior chain exercises-3x10-15
Calf work

RE Upper-

(tricep strengthening day!)

Close grip bench press-3x6-8
Single arm press-3x10-12
Pull Up-bw 3 x max
Row
Extensions and curls superset x 3.

Im going to set myself some goals to achieve before I return to Uni next year and those are:

1). no pain in elbow or knee
2). 140kg bench
3). 227.5kg (500lb) pull
4). weight over 80kg

I figure these goals are all pretty achievable, I havent bothered putting a number up for a squat since I find that the deadlift is my best indicator lift for leg strength. More than four plates on a squat would be nice though.

20kg to go.

RE Upper-

Back squat-

Bar x loads
60kg x 10
110kg x 10 (high bar), 10 (low bar), 10 (high bar)- this was HARD.

Barbell lunge-

60kg x 8, 8

RDL-

100kg x 10, 10

Knackered by this stage, bloody hot day and it wasnt cool in the gym for some reason. Nearly passed out after the last set of RDLs!

20kg to go.

Massively sore glutes today, but my quads and hamstrings seem to be pretty much ok. Im thinking next week that my RE lower will start off with a set of these:

(scroll down to no. 4)- http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles/archive/articles_dirty-tricks.htm

Before I squat. I wouldnt shoot for 50 reps or use bands but it looks like fun. Something a bit different and since im not doing a whole lot of upper body training I may as well add some volume in there.

20kg to go.

HA!! That's a DeFranco quarter squat. Curiously it's the same depth as a lot of trainers' full squat!!!

Good luck...

ME Upper

Rack pull- plates 2 inches off the ground

warm ups done sumo up to 140kg

60kg x 8
100kg x 5
140kg x 2
180kg x 1
220kg x 1- hard but always coming
220kg x 0- no gas
210kg x 1- easy

Box squat to //

60kg x 5
100kg x 2
140kg 3x3

Hamstring curls, done.

Not a bad little session, confident of pulling 220kg from the floor after that. I think I may do some light dead singles from the floor on RE day just to get back into the swing of pulling from the floor.

20kg to go.

Aching already after todays session. Playing in a two day touch tournament on thurs/fri, but i ll try and sneak in an RE upper on friday. My tricep is still feeling really, really sore.

20kg to go.

Touch rugby? Sounds a bit gay if you ask me.

I've mailed you the proposed programme. Let me know your thoughts.

Replied to your email. Touch is a tad gay, but I ended up playing for about 100 mins in 30 degree heat- feeling it a lot now. Cant wait for the finals tomorrow...

20kg to go.

30 degrees? Is was p1ssing down here all day.

My housemate challenged me to a press up competition today, thought it would be a good tester for the elbow so I banged out a sneaky 50. Pretty hard! Felt it a lot in my triceps in a good way though so im going to start doing a few sets of press ups whenever im at the gym/whenever im bored at home.

20kg to go.

How many did he do?
Was there drink involved with this challenge?

He did none, the challenge was if you can do 50 press ups then it proves your not hungover!

20kg to go.

RE Lower-

Box squat to //

bar x loads
60kg x 6
100kg x 3
120kg x 1
140kg x 5
140kg 3 x 3

Step up. Box set so that my leg was // to the floor

17.5kg dumbells x 8
25kg's x8, 8

Mucked about with a few good mornings etc.

Leg curls 4x4.

Not a bad session, I cant use a low bar position for the squatting right now because it irritates my elbow. Hopefully hit 5x5 w/140kg next week.

Going to go in and do RE upper tomorrow for the first time in 2 weeks.

20kg to go.

Looks like an ok session.
IIRC, I managed 5x4 and 1x5 with 140kg. So I still have the record for reps, whereas you have it for weight.
That a fair statement?

Lol not really because none of your reps were at // and if we re going for total reps I couldve done sets of 3 all day!

I did however learn that good mornings are bollocks and that I dont like doing quater squats. I need to add in some extra posterior chain exercises other than RDL's. Im thinking that after I finish this deadlift cycle I might start pulling from a deficit for a while.

20kg to go.

Lol not really because none of your reps were at //

Oooooohhhh - easy tiger

At the moment your lifts are purely numbers on an internet log. Until I get video evidence of the lift or see it with my own two eyes, I'm still working on the assumption I'm just nudging the lead.

Bring it on tough guy.....

Haha your own eyes eh? Well we ll see on the 22nd when i ll definitely be doing RE lower at the Taro. Big day coming up on Wednesday, if I dont pull 220kg then, that ll be back at the Taro also. Although if I do it there I may have to use straps due to the sh1t bars.

You can relax in comfort on the bench side of things though, not going to be hitting 145 for a looooooong time! Also im still 76kg soaking wet. Thats embarissing me a lot.

20kg to go.

Why's the BW not shifting? When you're home it rises dramatically but at uni it either stays the same or even worse, drops.

A few more kilos down though and a 3x BW deadlift could be on the cards. Now that would be something to shout about.

Basically laziness. Also due to 6 of us sharing 2 small fridges and 1 freezer, thus meaning I need to go food shopping every 2 days which is annoying and easily interupted by the gf/other activities.

Id be prepared to wager that next year, sharing a two bedroom house, it ll be WAY easier. Hopefully the added strength will allow me to pack on some serious weight this summer anyway. Just from the mirror id say that my legs are bigger and I also dont have an accurate scale so I ccan tell you exactly when I come home again.

3xbw is a long term goal, after 220kg and 500lb.

I think another factor is that I dont train with enough volume. I need to start hitting more 3s and 5s on ME day and start blasting away on the assistance work.

20kg to go.

Rehab Upper:

Single arm row-

10kg x 10
20kg x 10, 10

Chin Ups-

bw x 5, 5, 5

Press ups-

7 sets of 10

Kickbacks-

5kg's x 10, 10

Hammer curls-

10kg's x 10, 10

Single arm press ss pullover-

10kg dumbell x 10, 10

Done. Pretty boring little sesison. Only real aim was to get some tricep action in without causing any pain which I mostly accomplished. Heavy pulling still a no no for another week or so judging from the chins though.

20kg to go.

When will the 5 plate pull happen. I await with anticipation for perhaps another long week........

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

Should be Wed, but I have my end of season dinner on tues night so it could be put off until thurs.

20kg to go.

ME Lower

Deadlift-

60kg x 3
100kg x 3
140kg x 1
180kg x 1
200kg x 1
220kg x 0 (knees)
220kg x 0 (shins)
200kg x 1
200kg x 1

Dumbell split squats-

15kg x 12
17.5kg x 12, 12

Dumbell swing-

35kg x 10
42.5kg x 10, 8

Not unhappy with the deadlift attempt. The plan now is to pull 215 next week (if I feel strong I ll go for 220 again).

20kg to go.

How come it didn't go up even from the knees?

Maybe next week eh?

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

Id imagine that my inability to train my upper body, and specifically my back, might have something to do with it. If I remember correctly last time I deadlifted I didnt manane the 212.5 for 2-3 weeks and on the first attempt it didnt budge. Due to this im pretty confident that it ll happen at some stage.

Struggling with eating 2, got no money until a cheque clears tomorrow or the next day so im not able to eat enough!

20kg to go.

I was debating dropping deads until I can resume upper back training properly. However I got this understanding txt from LM:

'My thoughts. Stop being a pussy and pull 5 plates'

Thus im going to try doing some high rep shrugging tomorrow and some extra upper back volume. Hopefully this will stop me being a pussy next week!

20kg to go.

That's more like it. You've grown some hair on your nut sack and are finally manning up

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

Moving RE day to sat and ME to tues next week because off results day. Looking to box squat 140kg 5x5. Im also going to load up some RDL's.

Is there a shiny pound wagered on this 5 plate pull LM?

20kg to go.

One pound if you make it
Two pounds if it's on film.

Seeing as you're a (temporarily) skint student, that's a day's worth of food right there for you.

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

RE Upper/rehab day

barbell shrug-

60kg x 12
100kg x 10
100kg x 10
100kg x 10

*quick break to teach a fresher how to back squat, front squat, box squat and deadlift (took about 5 mins to get them all perfected- Lee take note)*

Dumbell press-

17.5kg's x 20
17.5kg's x 20
17.5kg's x 20

Bent over row-

60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10
60kg x 10

Single arm pushdown-

4 x 12 at 15kg each arm.

Dumbell Hammer curl-

15kg x 10, 10

Cable curl using the rope-

Strip set.

Press ups-

10 x bw, 3 sets.

Lots of volume today, elbow felt pretty good but it still didnt want to push it. I think next week close grip bench for high reps is on the cards.

20kg to go.

I sent defranco's website an email regarding DE Lower body training and how best to incorporate jumping into my routine given space/equipment etc. This was his reply:

A: Dave,
If your gym lacks equipment and it has a low ceiling, here are the main jump exercises I would suggest you use on DE Lower Body Day:

Squat jumps (holding light DB’s)
Bulgarian split squat jumps
Broad jumps
Kneeling barbell jumps

Performing 3-week mini cycles of these four exercises should keep you busy for a while. Also, if you have access to a field, don’t be afraid to replace your jump training with some overhead med ball throws or short sprints before your DE Lower Body workout.

Good luck.
Joe D.


Seeing as I literally emailed him two days ago I was pretty pleased with that response! His site is a great resource and he seems like a great trainer. Anyways Im thinking that im going to impliment those exercises in that order, as soon as I begin DE Lower.

20kg to go.

What are Broad jumps & Kneeling barbell jumps??

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

A broad jump is basically a two footed long jump from a standing start- nice and easy to measure.

The barbell jump thing, start on your knees with the bar on your back. Lower yourself to almost sit on your feet, thrust your hips forward and jump to your feet. Not too complicated, could easily end in tears though!

20kg to go.

RE Lower-

Box squat-

60kg x 3
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg 5 x 5 PRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Barbell Step up-

60kg x 8, 8, 8

RDL-

100kg x 8
120kg x 8, 8

Handy little session, pleased with the 140 kg 5x5.

20kg to go.

Good one

"They are quite possibly the most sorry bunch of socially challenged and boarderline mentally ill reprobates to have ever attracted such a like-minded following of keyboard warrior wannabes." Unknown

Went to a spinning class tonight, only agreeded to go becauce the missus wanted to go. She went mental over nothing earlier and didnt speak to me all day, then when I rung her she didnt have time to come. Great. So I went anyways, not a bad session, not very hard tho. About 45 mins.

20kg to go.