Workout No. 169
Monday, 30th November 2015

Squat 3 @ 95.0kg
Squat 3/3 @ 80.0kg
Deadlift 1x5 @ 90.0kg
Deadlift 1x5 @ 110.0kg
Deadlift 1x5 @ 120.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x12 @ 18.0kg
Pull-ups 1/1/1/1/1
Dips 3/3

Had to work till past midnight every day throughout the weekend so arrived at work on Monday feeling dead tired and lethargic. Dragged myself to the gym after work because I was determined to lift some weights.

Set up for the squat but only my least favourite squat rack was available with an uneven floor and no mirror (which is important for me nowadays as I am trying not to squat ATG to eliminate butt wink by stopping at parallel). Warm up sets felt much heavier than usual and even 75.0kg did not feel easy. Unracked the working set weight of 95.0kg and started squatting. Only managed 3 reps before re-racking the bar. My mind wasn’t in the right place and I did not have the determination to finish off the 5 reps as I am sure I could’ve on most other days. The lethargy, the lack of a mirror, etc were all mostly excuses. Lowered the weight to 80.0kg and did another 2 sets of 3 reps.

Deadlifts next, working on my hook grip plus speed work for 5 reps each @ 90.0kg, 110.0kg and 120.0kg. First time I have ever hook gripped anything more than 100.0kg. Not too uncomfortable. Staying away from the mixed grip for a bit due to the uneven development of my traps. My left trap is significantly larger than my right trap from the constant supination of my left hand and pronation of my right hand while deadlifting heavy over the past year.

All the racks were taken so I decided to try out some incline dumbbell presses instead of bench presses. Quickly watched a video online for guidance and set the bench to a 45 degree angle. Tried out 14.0kg on each hand first but the weights felt too light. Swapped up to 18.0kg per side and repped out 3 sets of 12 reps. Stabilising the weights was the most difficult part to be honest as I am not used to this movement.

Some pull-up singles plus some dips to finish off this random and unstructured training session.

Workout No. 170
Thursday, 3rd December 2015

CROSSFIT #19
EMOM
Bear Complex 1 @ 40.0kg

Time: 20:00

Fell sick on Tuesday and have been feeling very weak since. Started feeling slightly better today so made my way to the gym after work. Was already past 9pm by the time I got there so I decided to go for a light workout with some decent volume. Best way to achieve this: COMPLEXES!

Decided to go for the bear complex (power clean to front squat to overhead to back squat to overhead). 1 rep every minute on the minute for a total of 20 minutes. In the end it was a bit easy but didn't want to push myself so hard to give my body a little more rest.

Was tempted to try 2 reps EMOM but each rep takes about 15 seconds, leaving only 30 seconds between sets. Maybe another day...

Workout No. 171
Saturday, 5th December 2015

CROSSFIT #20
"The Lango"
FOR TIME
Bear Complex 10 @ 40.0kg
Handstand Push-ups 20
Burpees 30
Pull-ups 40
Deadlifts 50 @ 60.0kg
Ring Dips 60
20" Box Jumps 70
Kettlebell Swing 80 @ 24.0kg
Air Squat 90
Double Unders 100

Time: 61:34

We did "The Lango" today, named after our strongest coach (and the holder of multiple Malaysian powerlifting records) and it is a annual benchmark WOD done around his birthday. The volume was brutal. First, a summary of the scaling:

Push-ups instead of handstand push-ups
Ring rows instead of pull-ups (40 would take me too long)
Bench dips instead of ring dips
300 single unders instead of 100 double unders

Took the bear complexes really slow but am glad I had some practice with them on Thursday. After the 10 reps, the 20 push-ups were the easiest of all the movements in the entire WOD. The 30 burpees that followed weren't too bad either. Heart rate was starting to elevate at this point though.

Broke the 40 ring rows into sets of 10 reps which were fairly comfortable. Have definitely improved here and wasn't really suffering with the 10 reps. Wore a belt for the deadlifts to help brace my core and prevent rounding. Also broke the deadlifts into sets of 10 reps. Started to take extended breaks at this point. Finished the deadlifts before the 25 minute mark.

Bench dips in sets of 10 reps, not too difficult. The 20" box jumps was when the real suffering started. 70 box jumps 30 minutes into the WOD was a huge mental challenge. Broke the 70 reps into 10 sets of 7 reps. Would've liked to go for 10 reps per set but my body wasn't listening. Lost a lot of time here.

Kettlebell swings took forever too. 8 sets of 10 reps to finish off 80 reps. Took nearly a minute's break between each set, really struggling. Air squats were surprisingly not so bad (never tried high volume air squats before) and could manage 6 sets of 15 reps without too much suffering.

3 minutes left on the clock (60 minute time cap) with 300 single unders to go. Wouldn't make it in time. Finished 180 single unders at the one hour point, calves nearly cramping up. Everyone was cheering me on to finish because I was so close so I repped out the final 120 reps to finish with a time of 61:34. Brutal. Can't wait to try this out again next year.

This post has been edited by justintga: Dec 7 2015, 09:30 AM

Workout No. 172
Tuesday, 8th December 2015

Squat 3x5 @ 92.5kg
Bench Press 5/4/4 @ 62.5kg
Pull-ups 2/2/2/2/2
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x8 @ 16.0kg

Arrived at the gym very late again. Decently recovered after last Saturday's crazy volume day. Started today's workout with 3x5 squats at 92.5kg. Fairly solid reps and managed to control my depth quite well by not going too far past parallel. Still find that I need a mirror to judge my depth though.

Managed to get 5 reps @ 62.5kg on my first bench press attempt but the last rep was a real grind. Only managed 4 reps for the following 2 sets though. Might have been able to manage 5 but I didn't attempt the 5th rep for both sets as I did not want to fail and have to reset as it was getting late.

Am now able to string together 2 solid strict pull-ups instead of doing singles! Could only manage 2 chin-ups in a row previously. Quite pleased. Completed 5 sets of 2 reps.

Some incline dumbbell presses to finish off just for some chest hypertrophy.

Workout No. 173
Thursday, 10th December 2015

Power Clean 3x3 @ 40.0kg
Front Squat 3x5 @ 75.0kg
Overhead Press 3x5 @ 40.0kg
Back Extension 5x10 @ 10.0kg
Pull-ups 2/2/2/2/2

All the squat racks were taken when I arrived at the gym so I messed around with some power cleans for a bit to warm up. Very comfortable cleans at 40.0kg with nearly zero bend at the knees when catching the bar in the front rack position. Right wrist felt good too!

Moderately heavy front squats today, with a fairly comfortable but challenging 3x5 @ 75.0kg. My face and eyes always seem to turn red when attempting heavier front squats. Doesn't really happen so much on back squats.

Fairly light overhead presses @ 40.0kg for 3 sets of 5 reps as well. Finished this relatively quickly. Very solid sets.

Back extensions as usual on recovery day and once again, 5 sets of 2 strict pull-ups. Mighty pleased. Not a big achievement for most but I have always been weak at pull-ups. Got my first 2 consecutive chin-ups about a 6 weeks ago and now I can do 2 pull-ups in a row! Baby steps, but the next goal is 3 in a row for both!

Also happy to report that my bodyfat is in the 17% range now, down from 24% at the start of 2015!

This post has been edited by justintga: Dec 11 2015, 10:44 AM

Workout No. 174
Saturday, 12th December 2015

CROSSFIT #21
"12 Days of Christmas"
FOR TIME
1 100m run
2 Bar Muscle-ups
3 Deadlift @ 100.0kg
4 Ring Dips
5 Burpees
6 Pistol Squats
7 Double Unders
8 Kettlebell Swings @ 24.0kg
9 30" Box Overs
10 Toes to Bar
11 Sit Ups
12 Kettlebell Clusters @ 16.0kg (P.S.)

Time: 56:02

In the spirit of the song with the same name, today's WOD was a pyramid workout as follows:

1st Round: 100m run
2nd Round: 100m run, 2 bar muscle-ups
3rd Round: 100m run, 2 bar muscle-ups, 3 deadlifts @ 100.0kg
And so on until you finish the 12th round.

Bar muscle-ups were scaled to chest-to-bar pull-ups, ring dips to push-ups, double unders to 3 single unders and toes to bar to hanging leg raises.

T'was a long and painful WOD, with very high volume for the deadlifts particularly (30 reps @ 100.0kg). Chest-to-bar pull-ups were particularly taxing for me as well as they are considerably harder than regular pull-ups.

Overcoming the mental challenge was the worse just past the 35 minute mark, when I was almost out of gas and there was at least 20 mins of work left to go. Used the 100m runs as rest periods so they kinda became 100m walks.

Also went slow with the burpees and box overs as those really killed you, especially the 30" box overs.

The 10th round was really difficult as there were another two full rounds ahead of me but things got better as I got into the 11th and 12th rounds as the end was near and I managed to run through them fairly quickly and finished ahead of some which were initially ahead.

Everyone else seemed to really be suffering with the kettlebell clusters, mostly only doing 2 reps at a time but I could surprisingly manage to string 6 together at one go. Perhaps I had a little left in the tank and I was just being lazy until I was approaching the end.

Gotta push harder!

Workout No. 175
Tuesday, 15th December 2015

Squat 3x5 @ 95.0kg
Bench Press 3x5 @ 60.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x8 @ 18.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 1x8 @ 12.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 1x8 @ 8.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 1x8 @ 4.0kg

Tempted to skip gym today as I got off work very late but forced myself to head in anyway. Was feeling lazy and tired but I knew that as soon as I got under the bar, I would be okay again. My two favourite squat racks were taken so I started warming up in the 3rd squat rack at my gym which I don't particularly fancy as the floor is uneven and there is no mirror there. Got up to my working set weight of 95.0kg and managed 5 reps. I actually stepped forward a little bit on the 3rd rep. Lost concentration and form slightly there. Videoed myself as I did not have a mirror in front of me and found that I went quite a few inches past parallel. Disappointing.

Luckily, one of the other squat racks freed up and I proceeded to load up my weights and finish off the remaining 2 sets which felt easier as I could visually see when I broke parallel in the mirror. I know that this is something I need to work on but it takes a while to fix my ATG squatting habit which usually results in a slight butt wink. Still not really feeling the stretch reflex at the point when I break parallel so my squats actually feel weaker nowadays. Never had any back problems when squatting ATG but I figure the risk is not worth it just to lift heavier weights. Slow and steady.

Bench presses at 60.0kg for 3x5. Should've attempted 62.5kg like last week but I was not interested in failing and resetting considering that it was already getting so late. Finished off the 3 sets and proceeded to rep out some incline dumbbell presses.

Did 3x8 reps of incline dumbbell presses @ 18.0kg and after the last set, proceeded with drop sets of 8 reps @ 12.0kg, 8.0kg and finally 4.0kg before heading off for my shower.

Workout No. 176
Thursday, 17th December 2015

Front Squat 2x5 @ 75.0kg
Overhead Press 3x5 @ 45.0kg
Back Extension 5x10 @ 10.0kg
Chin-ups 3/2/2/2/2

Another late session at the gym due to work commitments. Likely gonna be this way until the end of January 2016. Can't wait until this phase of work is over. Started off with front squats with 2 sets of 5 reps @ 75.0kg. Nice and solid reps.

Upped the weight a little for overhead presses as I have been a little conservative with increasing my weights recently. Another solid 3x5, without too much difficulty at 45.0kg. Upwards and onwards.

Supersetted the back extensions and chin-ups to get out of the gym in under 40 mins, including my shower. Not too bad at all.

Workout No. 177
Saturday, 19th December 2015

CROSSFIT #22
"Armageddon"
FOR TIME
Run 666m
then 3 rounds of
7 Bar Muscle-ups
16 Kettlebell Squat Cleans @ 24.0kg
16 Kettlebell Step-ups 24" @ 24.0kg
21 Push-ups
then
Farmer's Walk 100m @ 64.0kg

Time: 29:41

We were warned about this WOD beforehand but it didn't look too bad on paper, especially compared to "The Lango" and "12 Days of Christmas" over the past two weeks. Nevertheless, went in with some apprehension.

The WOD started with a 666m run, followed by 3 rounds of 7 bar muscle-ups (scaled to 7 pull-ups), 16 single sided kettlebell squat cleans @ 24.0kg, 16 single sided kettlebell step-ups onto a 24" box and 21 push-ups before a final 100m farmer's walk @ 64.0kg.

Haven’t ran in a while but my fitness levels are noticeably up. Didn’t even feel the run and my heart rate was only elevated the slightest. Got back into the gym and started the pull-ups. Did them in singles as that would be the most efficient way with my current strength levels.

Started with the single sided 24.0kg squat cleans, alternating between 4 reps per side. Didn't rack the kettlebells in the regular rack position to avoid straining my right wrist and sorta did a goblet type hold.

Step-ups were bearable but tiring. Normally 21 push-ups consecutively is manageable but I was struggling slightly at this point so I broke the push-ups into sets of 5 reps. Yes 5.

After the 1st round, my grip and forearms were suffering the most. Continued with the single pull-ups in Round 2 and took slightly extended rests for the squat cleans and step-ups. Once again, by the time the push-ups came along, I was suffering and broke them into sets of 5 reps.

3rd round felt slightly better because I could see the end in sight. After the final push-up, headed outside and took a 2 minute breather before starting the farmer's walk.

Had to walk a total distance of 100m, carrying a load of 64.0kg with a 32.0kg kettlebell in each hand. Every time we were forced to lower the weight to the ground to take a rest before completing the 100m, there was a 5 burpee penalty. My grip strength was giving way after 50m so I dropped the kettlebells and dropped for 5 burpees. Quick 1 minute breather before finishing off the final 50m. Total time was just under 30 minutes.

It was no where near as bad as the last two WODs which were 1 hour grind fests. First of 3 Christmas parties over the weekend to go for immediately after the WOD. All buffet potlucks. I guess this week is bulking week then hahahaha.

This post has been edited by justintga: Dec 21 2015, 09:56 AM

Workout No. 178
Monday, 21st December 2015

CROSSFIT #23
"Easy Kalsu"
FOR TIME
EMOM until 50 thrusters are completed
3 Burpees
AMRAP Thrusters @ 30.0kg

Time: 10:39

Front Squat 3x5 @ 70.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x12 @ 18.0kg

I was actually intending to do my volume day tomorrow (Tuesday) after taking a two day break after Saturday's WOD to ensure I was properly recovered. Given my tight work schedule at the moment, and since I finished work not too late today, I decided to head to the gym instead of risking not being able to go tomorrow. Legs weren't feeling the freshest so instead of high volume heavy squats, I attempted to make up my own version of the "Kalsu" WOD which is similar to the above but with 5 burpees and a target of 100 thrusters. I know I called it "Easy Kalsu" but it was anything but easy.

The idea was to do 3 burpees every minute on the minute and fill the remaining time with as many thrusters as possible. Started off with 3 burpees and did 7 thrusters in the first minute. Heart rate was already starting to elevate as I dropped to start the 3 burpees in the second minute. 3 burpees take about 20 seconds including the time taken to set up at the bar to clean the weight up into the thruster front rack position.

Managed 6 thrusters in the second minute leaving about 20 seconds of rest before Round 3. Completed the 50 burpees as follows: 7-6-5-5-4-4-3-3-3-5-5. When I got to the 40 thruster mark, forced myself to go for 5 thrusters to finish off the remaining 10 in 2 sets. So much pain. So much suffering. Heart rate was through the roof and each minute felt so short. Can't imagine the full scale "Kalsu" with 5 burpees and 100 thrusters.

Took a nice extended rest before repping out some reasonably light front squats @ 70.0kg. Did 3 sets of 5 reps.

Finished off with some incline dumbbell presses @ 18.0kg per side for 3 sets of 12 reps.

Workout No. 179
Thursday, 24th December 2015

Pause Squat 3x3 @ 100.0kg
Pause Squat 2x2 @ 100.0kg
Squat 10 @ 85.0kg
Deadlift 1x5 @ 130.0kg
Conditioning - Sled Pulls, Suicide Runs & Rope Slams

Went to a powerlifting gym today to train and tried heavy pause squats for the first time. The coach decided that I should go for 100.0kg pause squats which I did. They were brutal. Each rep was such a hardcore grind. Put the bar on my back but could not decide how low I should squat while sitting in the hole. Sitting deeper would allow me to rest better during the 5 second pauses, while sitting higher would allow me to get out of the hole easier (I think). Didn't find an answer before the end of the session as I was experimenting with both. Also, had difficulty staying tight in my mid-back and was leaning forward more than usual while getting out of the hole so I have quite a few things to work on.

Also tried a max rep squat at 85.0kg, with the aim of completing as many reps as possible without putting the bar down. Wanted to give up after 8 reps but was forced to really grind out another two.

Worked my way up to the working deadlift weight of 130.0kg and pulled 5 reps. Was feeling quite exhausted from the pause squats so it definitely affected my performance in this lift. Pulled a single rep of 140.0kg but it was very ugly and my back was rounding so I did not continue pulling. Haven't been deadlifting much for no particular reason. Need to start again.

Ended the session with some 40.0kg loaded sled pulls, suicide runs and rope slams (also a first for me).

This post has been edited by justintga: Dec 28 2015, 09:19 AM

Workout No. 180
Saturday, 26th December 2015

CROSSFIT #24
"Naughty or Nice"
FOR TIME
3 rounds of
15 Overhead Squats @ 35.0kg
15 Kettlebell Swings @ 32.0kg
15 Push Press @ 35.0kg

Penalties for not completing unbroken:
1 Overhead Squat = 3 Burpees
1 Kettlebell Swing = 3 One Arm Kettlebell Swing
1 Push Press = 3 Push-ups

Time: 21:13

Pull-ups 10x1

Interesting WOD today called "Naughty or Nice". The idea was to complete 15 reps of the 3 movements unbroken, without allowing the barbell or kettlebell to touch the ground (if you are "Nice"). If unable to complete the reps unbroken ("Naughty"), the remaining reps would be replaced by the penalty movements outlined above i.e. if only able to complete 10 overhead squats in a row, replace the remaining 5 overhead squats with 15 burpees.

3 burpees in exchange for 1 overhead squat and 3 push-ups in exchange for 1 push press seemed reasonable but there was no way I was dropping the kettlebell as each missed kettlebell swing was replaced by 3 one arm kettlebell swings. No joke @ 32.0kg.

The RX weight for the overhead squats and push presses was 42.5kg but I chickened out as only one other person was attempting it. Everyone else was mostly going for 35.0kg so I just blindly followed the flock out of fear. Started the first round @ 35.0kg and found that finishing 15 overhead squats unbroken was quite manageable. Got the bar overhead by cleaning it up to the rack position and widening my grip slightly before a push press to bring the bar overhead. Most of the rest brought the bar to their backs first before adjusting their grip width and bringing the bar overhead.

Rested a bit before starting the kettlebell swings to ensure I could finish the 15 reps unbroken. Quite easily done.

Push presses were the most challenging but still managed to finish the 15 reps unbroken. At this point, I regretted not attempting the 42.5kg.

2nd and 3rd rounds were not too much of a problem with the push presses being the hardest movement to complete unbroken. Lost focus in the 2nd round as the coach was giving me some pointers and I was tiring out so I missed 3 reps and replaced them with 9 push-ups. Everything else was unbroken.

Some pull-ups to cap off the last WOD of 2015.

This post has been edited by justintga: Dec 28 2015, 10:08 AM

Workout No. 181
Tuesday, 29th December 2015

Front Squat 3x5 @ 82.5kg
Front Squat 1x8 @ 82.5kg
Bench Press 4x5 @ 60.0kg
Incline Dumbbell Press 3x12 @ 16.0kg

Tragically arrived at the gym at almost 10pm today due to work commitments. Will hopefully be able to revert to my regular gym schedule in February.

Decided to head in anyway as today will likely be my last training session at Jatomi Fitness. I terminated my contract which has been on a one month rolling basis after completing my initial one year contract and will be moving to the Honey Badgers Coaching Facility nearby starting in January 2016.

Haven't lifted heavy since last Thursday but everything still felt quite fatigued especially my lower back and hamstrings. Instead of back squatting, decided to go for some front squats today. Started off with 82.5kg front squats for a set of 5 reps after warming up. All good. Repped out another set of 5 after resting for 3 minutes before deciding to attempt 8 reps at this weight. The last rep was a real grind but I might have had a rep or two left in me if I really went for it. Still very pleased to front squat a 1RM of 104.5kg today.

Tried to get some volume in for bench presses, initially aiming for a 5x5 @ 60.0kg. Very disappointed at how heavy 60.0kg feels after a year of training. Got slightly lazy after 4 sets so I switched to incline dumbbell presses for 3x12 @ 16.0kg for some chest hypertrophy to finish off my final session at Jatomi, leaving with a heavy heart. We had many good times together but I guess it is time to move on and move forward.

This post has been edited by justintga: Jan 3 2016, 10:13 PM

Workout No. 182
Wednesday, 30th December 2015

Pull-ups 35x1
Push-ups 5x15

Decided to head in to Jatomi one last time today before my contract ends. Did a very simple session consisting of just pull-ups and push-ups.

1 pull-up every 30 seconds until I reached 35 reps followed by 5 sets of 15 push-ups.

Took some pictures for memories and said my goodbyes before leaving.

Workout No. 183
Saturday, 2nd January 2016

CROSSFIT #25
FOR TIME
6 rounds of
10 Medball Clean + Wall Ball @ 20.0lbs
2 Deadlift @ 110.0kg
10 Wall Ball @ 20.0lbs + Burpee
10 Kettlebell Squat @ 16.0kg per side

Time: 42:20

Pull-ups 20x1

First WOD of the year and also my first time working with medballs. The WOD was simple enough: 6 rounds for time of 10 medball cleans + wall balls, 2 deadlifts @ 110.0kg, 10 wall balls + burpees and 10 kettlebell squats with 16.0kg in each hand. The medballs were 20.0lbs.

Lotsa leg volume in general, but nothing was particularly heavy. Started the WOD with the first 10 medball cleans + wall balls which were easy to do unbroken. The 2 deadlifts were decently easy as well. Heart rate started shooting up when introducing the wall balls + burpees. Kettlebell squats could be completed unbroken, with 16.0kg in each hand. Cleaning the kettlebells up did not hurt my right wrist so I was quite happy with that.

First round was completed in just over 5 minutes. The time cap was 45 minutes so I knew it would be close. Shared a bar plus the kettlebells with another person so had to wait a bit once in a while but it was okay as I used the time to recover.

Chipped away at the rounds and reps and thought I was going hard until just after I started my 4th round, one guy who was 45 years old finished the WOD. And I was only halfway done. What a humbling experience. He was also deadlifting 110.0kg and doing the same weights as me. His friends finished shortly after (all above 40). 3 of us who thought we were decently fit in our mid-20s got destroyed by the "A40 crew" (found out about their legendary status after the WOD).

I guess I may have started getting complacent despite seeing some decent gains in 2015, especially with my diet towards the end of the year and the frequency of lifting heavy (I make excuses quite often and lift lighter but with more volume instead). A nice wake up call. Guess I have no choice but to get harder, better, faster, stronger in 2016.

New year, new gym. Let's see how this goes!

This post has been edited by justintga: Jan 6 2016, 08:12 AM

Workout No. 184
Tuesday, 5th January 2016

CROSSFIT #26
FOR TIME
6 rounds of
10 Pull-ups (Green Band Assisted)
20 Squat @ 95lbs / 43.0kg
120 Single Unders

Time: 18:36

Overhead Press 5x5 @ 95lbs / 43.0kg

Just received a Christmas care package from my gf today with lotsa new gym gear including adiPower lifters, a custom leather lifting belt, jump rope, knee sleeves and some t-shirts + compression wear. Didn't try them out at the gym today because I wanted to slowly savour them at home first and take some pictures before scuffing them up.

New year, new gym, new problems. Biggest one is lbs plates instead of kg plates haha. And no towel service.

Simple WOD today, 6 rounds of 10 pull-ups, 20 squats @ 43.0kg and 120 single unders. Been doing quite a lot of pull-up work recently so my back was quite fatigued. Coach suggested using a band which I did.

Broke squats up into sets of 10 reps, not too challenging. 120 single unders were the most painful part of the WOD. Used a jump rope that was slightly too short and could not really get into a rhythm. Time to start learning to do double unders.

Finished the WOD in under 19 minutes. Some strength work to finish off the session with 5x5 overhead presses at the same weight as the high rep squats.

This post has been edited by justintga: Jan 11 2016, 09:54 AM

Workout No. 185
Wednesday, 6th January 2016

Deadlift 8x2 @ 255lbs / 115.0kg
Deadlift 3x6 @ 205lbs / 92.5kg
Bench Press 8x2 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg
Bench Press 3x6 @ 105lbs / 47.5kg

First structured lifting session today at my new gym on a whole new programme prescribed by my coach. The programming is percentage based and for both deadlifts & bench presses, the idea was to go for 80-85% of my 1RM for the 8 sets of 2 reps and 60% of my 1RM for the 3 sets of 6 reps (hypertrophy work).

Was told my deadlift form was fine but my upper back was lagging behind as it was struggling to stay tight at the working weights. "Reduced" my 1RM to 140.0kg because of this. Will add some assistance movements to strengthen my upper back as part of my programme. Deloaded slightly and repped out the 3x6 @ 205lbs for some volume and hypertrophy work.

Relearned my bench press set up and managed to stay much tighter throughout the whole lift. Will stick with this new set up and see how I progress. Speed off the chest felt slow though, just another thing I need to work on.

Main target for 2016 - 2 plate bench for reps by the end of the year. Distant, but hopefully realistic target.

This post has been edited by justintga: Jan 8 2016, 10:37 AM

Workout No. 186
Friday, 8th January 2016

Squat 7x2 @ 205lbs / 92.5kg
Squat 1x3 @ 205lbs / 92.5kg
Squat 2x6 @ 155lbs / 70.0kg
Squat 1x7 @ 155lbs / 70.0kg

Very, very late workout session today, only arriving at the facility after 10pm. Was feeling some slight fatigue in my lower back as I am not used to the volume of deadlifts I pulled on Wednesday. My training for deadlifts has usually been just one heavy set of 5 reps once a week.

Tried out my new adiPower lifters + lifting belt today for the heavier sets @ 80-85% of my 1RM. Squatted low bar as usual and the coach observed my form. Depth was fine but one very useful cue was to break at the hips first before breaking at the knees. Helped me stay tighter and sit back better in my squats. Might swap over to high bar to give it a go as I understand that wearing lifters are more optimum for high bar squatting.

Did some research and found that the programme I am on is basically the Hepburn programme or more specifically, Hepburn's "A Programme". Each training session / lift would consist of two phases, the "Power Phase" and the "Pump Phase". Each cycle will be as follows:

For any given lift,

Power Phase
Workout 1: 8x2, 0x3 @ 80-85% of 1RM
Workout 2: 7x2, 1x3 @ 80-85% of 1RM
Workout 3: 6x2, 2x3 @ 80-85% of 1RM
.
.
.
Workout 9: 0x2, 8x3 @ 80-85% of 1RM

Pump Phase
Workout 1: 3x6, 0x7 @ 60% of 1RM
Workout 2: 2x6, 1x7 @ 60% of 1RM
.
.
.
Workout 7: 0x7, 3x8 @ 60% of 1RM

Quite happy with my sessions here at the new gym and am glad that my form is improving. Suspect that next week I will be back on a Deadlift / Overhead Press & Squat / Bench Press split while progressing through the programme.

Workout No. 187
Saturday, 9th January 2016

CROSSFIT #27
EMOM
3 Power Clean @ 30.0kg
3 Front Squat @ 30.0kg
3 Push Press @ 30.0kg

Time: 15:00

Disappointed with the session today. WOD took the form of 3 power cleans, 3 front squats and 3 push presses every minute on the minute for 15 minutes. Weights were scaled too low for me and barely felt the WOD at the end of the session. I even decided to strict press instead of push press the 3 reps to make the workout slightly more challenging.

Ah well...

This post has been edited by justintga: Jan 11 2016, 10:49 AM

Workout No. 188
Monday, 11th January 2016

Squat 4x2 @ 195lbs / 87.5kg
Squat 4x3 @ 195lbs / 87.5kg

Good Morning 2x7 @ 45lbs / 20.0kg
Good Morning 1x8 @ 45lbs / 20.0kg

Bench Press 4x2 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg
Bench Press 4x3 @ 135lbs / 60.0kg

Close Grip Bench Press 2x7 @ 95lbs / 42.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press 1x8 @ 95lbs / 42.5kg

Pull-ups 10x1

Continuing with my prescribed modified Hepburn programme today. It was modified by my coach as I have limited time to train, especially this month and the programme calls for 4 days of training a week while I can only confidently commit to 2. The pump phase exercises are replaced by assistance exercises but with the same rep scheme and the rep scheme progression is slightly accelerated.

Tried out high bar squats today, lowering the low bar squatting weight from the previous session by 10lbs to 195lbs as I do not squat high bar very often. Switching to high bar just to give it a try as it is apparently harder to butt wink in this position plus wearing lifters with elevated heels are more suited for high bar squatting.

No mirrors in this gym so I had to have greater awareness of my body. Coach insisted that I video myself to check my form so I will continue to do this. Went a little too deep in my first set of 2 reps @ 195lbs so I intentionally squatted shallower in subsequent sets. "Felt" shallow but depth was fine after checking the videos. The sets of 3 reps were not too challenging as well so I may revert back to 205lbs in the next session.

Followed up the squats with some good mornings with the empty bar.

Did pause bench presses @ 135lbs as recommended by my coach. 2 rep sets were fine, 3 rep sets were a bit of a grind as I kept the pauses quite strict. Touch and go close grip bench presses @ 95lbs after compleing the regular bench presses. 8 rep sets were manageable.

Squeezed in 10 strict single pull-ups between sets. Session ended up being nearly 2 hours long. Need to be more efficient with my time during each training session from now on.