Yeeeeeeaaah Buddy- dave's log

^^

Spot on with the comments. It's a lame place to train and I may find myself moving on later this year.

Today for instance we had to wait to get the squat rack while two guys benched with 40kg in there.

To be fair, people who wated to use the rack had to wait while I did R-Ups in there and you did chins. Although saying that, if someone wanted to squat I'd happily vacate the rack for them. However, there's more chance of Fat Pete coming in for a bicep session than there is someone actually using it to squat in so I won't be vacating the rack in a hurry.

When we squat people literally look at us as if we had walked into their house on Christmas Day and taken a piss on their kids!

ha ha ha. I needed a new sig - quality.

"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

If someone wanted to squat, and actually intended on using over 40kg of weight and over 6 inches ROM then id make everyone in the gym come and watch, however that is very unlikely in there. I can safely say ive never seen someone execute a proper squat in that place, ever.
Fitness First looked like there were a few people there who knew what they were about. Remember that women doing chin ups? She was pretty impressive. As was 3 plate 10 rep bald guy. The Taro would be redeemed for me if they coughed up for a power rack.

20kg to go.

If they sold the extra set of 10-40kg dumbbells, they could use the £2500 they cost for 42-50kg dumbbells and a power rack. But it's a fitness gym rather than a gym catering for weight trainers so no chance.

"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

Very true. That cable crossover, seat machine thing is just the biggest waste of money ive ever seen. As is the 2nd set of dumbells. And the rack. And the bars. For the price of that squat rack they couldve got a decent power rack and some heavier dumbells!

That place would be so different now if Alex or you had been in charge of the refurb.

20kg to go.

I had actually redesigned the layout of the gym with the kit that upper management had agreed on the site having. It's drawn out on a spreadsheet somewhere

Alex had already had an Olympic Bench press, Squat Rack, dumbbells up to 50kg and a Roman Chair agreed to in his meetings. Then he left, Fran took over and the rest is history. Put a female who doesn't train in charge of refurbing a gym and what do you end up with

"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

Mmmm Fran is a c0ck hopping slut with no notion as to how to design a gym. What worries me the most though is the standard of the instruction in there. After looking into it for even 20 minutes you could find a decent load of equipment to fulfill everyones needs and have enough money left over to invest in some decent staff!

20kg to go.

ME Upper

Front squat to 14'' box

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg x 1
120kg x 3
130kg x 0
120kg x 0
100kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg x 1
120kg x 1
125kg x 1
130kg x 1
132.5kg x 0

Random session, think it has to do with getting used to the bar position. Big hopes for next week.

20kg to go.

Massive trap and abs doms today, maybe front squats are what has been missing from my upper back training...

20kg to go.

Trap DOMS?
Explain. I can't see how they're involced at all in FS.

"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

When you have your hands in the oly front squat position I think it retracts your shoulder blades more than the bb style and you have to really squeeze your shoulder blades together to keep the bar racked.

20kg to go.

RE Day-

Front squat to 14'' box

bar x 5
60kg x 3
60kg x 3
60kg x 6
80kg x 6
90kg x 1
100kg x 6
105kg x 6
110kg x 6

Back squat from the same box-

110kg x 20 (savage)

Incline dumbell press ss/ rope bent over row

30kg x10 / 35kg x 10
32kg x 10/ 45kg x 10
32kg x 8/ 45kg x 10

A few curls and single arm reverse fly's.

The incline presses were done with my back totally flat to the bench and bringing the dumbells quite far out to the side in order to try and feel it in my chest a bit more. Good little session, front squats felt really easy, I was good for 8-10 on the 110kg so hopefully there will be some big PR's next ME day.

20kg to go.

Got some mild leg DOMS action today and my shoulder is feeling it a bit- probably after the disgusting form I used to get the last 3 reps of the back squats up!

20kg to go.

Were they back squats? I thought you'd switched to Good Mornings for the last few

"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

Fair, rep 19 I thought my back was going to snap in half! Guess now I know how you always used to feel squatting

20kg to go.

Welcome to my world

"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

To be fair your squatting is hugely impressive now compared to what it used to be. If you keep it going then 4 plates and some more serious muscle gains dotn look too far away.

Im going to set out now which exercises im hopefully going to be doing this term at uni so that if I start fcuking about then I can get called on it. Term is 10 weeks, although I may be down there slightly longer due to graduation etc.

ME squat/pull-
1. going to keep front squats off the box going for another 2 weeks, looking for 140kg for a single and maybe 130kg x 3.
2. 1/2 weeks of deadlifting from the floor depending on how it feels. hard to predict here, but I would ideally want to pull at least 200kg for a single. Hopefully more though.
3. back squats off the box, unsure of the height, around parallel. Looking for 160kg for a single by this stage and also 150kg x 3.
4. if it gets this far then I will probably pull again for 1 week and go back to front squats thereafter.

ME upper-
1. bench pressing- want to get back to this after a while out, looking to hit 3 plates althought this may take a while. To start 130kg x 1 would be acceptable.
2. pin presses from the chest, never done this before but I feel that some off the chest work would be a benefit for this reason.
3. back to bench again, then cycle in lockouts.

Im going to hammer the DB pressing for assistance as hard as possible, looking to get the 50kg's up for 8 as the ultimate goal of the term in this respect. Hopefully rugby wont get in the way as ive got a recurring knee injury which I want to be fully rid of before I play again. My squatting is really weak, no excuses there, but it has come on 25kg in the last 4 weeks, so im hoping to keep this roll going for as long as possible. The deadlifts are included as a test of how things are going strength wise, and also as a lower volume ME day, since im only going to pull singles.

20kg to go.

The idea of having a some objectives is definitely going to reap you rewards and maintain your focus in the gym so that's a step in the right direction.

How will your week be structured?
4 day split with ME squat/pull and ME upper, plus DE/repetition the same?

Or just 2 ME days and a full-body repetition day?

I'm thinking 3 weeks on each lift then switch to the next one. So:

Front Box Squat
Deadlift
Back Box Squat
Deadlift
Box Squat (front or back)

Hopefully should be able to make continued gains each week then without plateauing on the lift.

As for Upper day, what are Pin Presses? Is that like a lock-out so you're lifting from the bottom or the opposite so you lift from the chest and have a smaller ROM as the bars prevent you from locking out?

If you're aiming to press the 50's, how does that fit in with the structure of the work-out?
Is that another ME day or in fact on ME day?

I definitely want to see some consistency from you this term (injuries withstanding) and if you can manage consistent sessions it will be very interesting to see where you're at when you return. I'll be at the end of my cut so I imagine the balance of power will have switched back to you dominating the Squat and Deadlift once again. I should still have the edge on Benching though!!!

"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

Im going to be going ME upper and lower plus RE day, so 3 sessions. Repitition day will potentially start with a leg exercise depending on how im feeling that day, but will always include some stuff to try and strengthen my knee.
A pin press is basically setting the pins in the power rack to just above your chest and then pressing the weight from there to the top.
The dumbell pressing im thinking of doing either right after my main ME pressing, or on RE day or possibly both in some form. Im looking to hit 8's all the way through, so i ll test where im at with the 40's tonight. Id imagine around 10. The reasoning behind this is that I dont want to end up with 2 fully ME pressing movements so im going to stick to some higher reps with the dumbells.
Im abandoning high rack pulling because all it seems to make me good at is high rack pulling, but if I do need an extra RE exercise for legs I might consider rack pulls from below the knee.
The 3 main goals right now are 3 plate bench, 4 plate box squat (Im never going to back squat without a box again) and 5 plate deadlift. If I achieve 2 of those I ll be very happy, although I think the squat may take a while.

20kg to go.

ME Upper

Flat bench (after waiting for half an hour for two guys benching 50kg for what seemed like 400 sets each)-
bar x 8
bar x 8
50kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 5
110kg x 1
120kg x 1
125kg x 1 - fairly comfortable
130kg x miss half way up.

I feel that i definitely had 127.5kg, and I wouldve taken another attempt at 130kg if there wasnt a massive queue for the rack.

Flat dumbell bench-
40kg x 10, 9, 8

Incline dumbell row with elbows wide-
20kg- 5 sets of 8

Wide grip pulldown
70kg x 10
65kg x 10
50kg x 10 with a long pause at the bottom of each rep

DB powercleans
8kg's x 3 x 8

Fairly happy with the session, annoyed I missed 130kg but id be confident to get it next week. Surprisingly a guy (the bulkier of the two Polish guys for LM) benched 130kg, didnt touch but only and inch off. Didnt see that coming! Those rows are a quality upper back exercise.

20kg to go.

Quality session. Who was spotting you on the bench?
Impressive dumbbell presses afterwards too.

It seems we may have a contender for my unofficial bench title then. 130kg - whatever. I'd like to see those foreign boys squat or deadlift - then I might be interested

What's planned for Thursday's session then?

"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

Erm that tall matey who trains with rich sometimes.

Thursday is ME front squats, your arm going to handle it?

Wasnt a bad session, bench didnt feel that tight tho. Probably because I havent done it in a while.

20kg to go.

My arm was fine after last week's front squats. It's just gripping the bar on the back squats that made it hurt again. I'll join you for Squatting and I'll smash out 3 plates..... Maybe.

"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

Good shout. I wont be back squatting at all so we should be fine. Im aiming for -130kg x 3 (which ive done with no box in the past), then 135, 140. Sound reasonable?

20kg to go.

Front squatting loads prior to 1RM attempts didn't have an adverse effect so providing we have sufficient rest between sets that sounds feasible, nay more than likely. I'll do the same.

As this is our last training session for a while my aim is simply to do some major front squat volume - nothing else.

I pity the people that were planning on using the squat rack on Thursday

"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

Yeah chin up to whoever wants to use it...but that would be nobody so we should be ok. Ideally id like more than 140 but thats asking a lot. I really want to hit a 4 plate box squat, not going to be happy until I do it.
Also im thinking that I might start pulling sumo. By sumo I dont mean legs really wide, just hands inside my feet which would be squatting distance apart. I ll try it after all these front squats are over.

20kg to go.

Progress pics? When & where?

"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

Do them on thursday? I ll get naked in the gym, not a problem

20kg to go.

Just been kicking, nailed a few hard ones so happy with that. More happy that my knee didnt hurt though.

20kg to go.

ME Lower

Front squat to 14'' box
bar x 6
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
110kg x 1
120kg x 1
130kg x 1-hard
135kg x 1-hard
100kg x 1
130kg x 1- way easier
140kg x 1- not the best form but still, 10kg PR
125kg x 3- PR

Pistol squat-

6kg's x 6
8kg's x 5
10kg's x 4

RDL

70kg x 10
90kg x 10
110kg x 10

Snatch grip dead

110kg x 5

Sumo deadlift

110kg x 5

Single legged RDL

32kg, 3 sets of 8

Few leg extensions.

Good session, form a little sketchy in places but a 10kg PR is a good result in my book.

20kg to go.

I've uploaded your progress pics. Won't be able to do much with them tomorrow because work frowns on employees looking at semi-naked men during working hours so I'll do something with them over the weekend.

Huge improvement in front and back flexed shots. Forgot to do a side-on shot as that in itself tells quite a story (tubs )

"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

Lets not get into name calling now mr. uni-ab!

20kg to go.

RE day back at uni-

Front squat to 14'' box

80kg 10 sets of 2

flat dumbell press

10kg x 6
25kg x 6
45kg x 9
47.5kg x 8

Machine cable row

'5' x 10
'7' x 10
'9' x 10
'10' x 8

Chin up

bw 2 sets of 6

20kg to go.

flat dumbell press

47.5kg x 8

F**k me!! That's a bit impressive. I'm keen to see what next week brings, presumably with the 50's?

"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

Yeah I ll shoot for the 50's for 6-7 then add reps I reckon.

20kg to go.

My rep PB was 10/8/6 with the 50's.

I'm expecting that to be matched at least, if not beaten

"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 possible by then end of term. If I hit the 50kg's x 10 im still doubtful id be able to press the 60kg's though. The 50's are the last rubber coated weights, 55's and 60's are just metal plates so id be keen to hit those asap!

20kg to go.

ME Lower

Front squats to 14'' box
bar x 8
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
130kg x 1
142.5kg x 1 PR
145kg x 0 fail

RDL

60kg x 12
100kg x 10
120kg x 8, 8

Hamstring curl

4x6

Last week of front squatting, deadlifts next week.

20kg to go.

ME Upper-

Flat bench

bar x 12
60kg x 8
80kg x 1
100kg x 1
120kg x 1
130kg x 1-Equal PR
115kg x 3- PR

Dumbell floor press-

40kg's x 8
elbow started hurting so sacked it off.

Hammer strength ISO low row

40kg x 12
50kg x 12
60kg x 10, 10

Dumbell elbows wide row

17.5kg x 10, 10
10kg x 12

Not a bad session, didnt feel the greatest today so happy with the PR equalling bench.

20kg to go.

Definitely something in the water in Exeter - good effort once again. I'm having another crack at 150kg next week. If it doesn't happen then I'll knock it the head until you return and try again then.

They had a promotional evening at the Taro on Monday and Lee mentioned the Polish guy put up a 135kg bench. Not sure if to chest or not but good lift anyhow.

Had some other guy I've only ever seen in there, not spoken to, ask me if I wanted to train with him. I felt it would be like cheating on you so I declined
We were talking about deadlifts and how we train together and he mentioned "that young blonde haired guy that lifts massive weights". I think he meant you.

Or German Chris........

"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

I think in a way only having a partner for certain amount of time is a good thing because whenever we train together we re both fcuked after 5 weeks!

Which guy was this then? Id stay away if I were you or I ll get jealous lol.

Things seem to be going well atm, long may it continue. Looking forward to deadlifting again, think it will be good recovery wise not to have a bar on my back/neck for 2-3 weeks too.

The 115x3 had some left in the tank, I definitely had 3, possibly 5, but 130 was a bit of a grind so I figured Id leave some for next week.

Hows your work gym working out? Session looked like A LOT of reps, not sure I could handle that right now!

20kg to go.