Cure's 6 month strength building plan. Advice and comments sought.

[Cure]

Sat 29th.

Squat

bar x10
60x4
80x3
100x1

107.5kg 3x5 PR :cheer:

Really difficult, completely new feeling of "ache" in my legs after these and some really SLOW reps. But got it all, and all reps were at least to parallel.

Tried doing bench, but was totally shot from the squats, ran out of time also, so no other exercises.

Our gym has just had a bunch of new equipment put in, including an awesome new squat rack!

body weight still 73.5kg, I need to start slowly increasing it again. Back up to 75 to start with.

walking in the lake district for a week as of tomorrow, so till next week, cheers!

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Walking holiday-

was awesome, and Im unfit, I was beaten up the moutains by a friend of mine who weighs 17kg less than me, he definatly had the advantage! Just proves how much more progress I can make with the cardio training.

martial arts- good to start this again, I really ached after mondays session because I spent 30 minutes after class practicing full power striking on this awesome latex dummy man they have.

gym yesterday- a quick, slightly experimental session.

pull ups 3x5, and also 6 singles.

rows-

warm ups, 60kgx5, 70kgx3x3.
I wanted to see what the higher weight felt like, its doable but I couldnt have got 5 reps with good form. will try for 3x4 reps next time.

It was weird, after the martial arts my back ached, but I could still row just fine, I guess its a different kind of muscle fibre or somthing. If anything the lower part of the row felt easier. Im hoping the martial arts training will have beneficial cross over effects on my strenght training.

I also did some sit ups on the new machine, and some cable "punching" extensions.

Diet- still going well but room for improvment.

weight- 73.9kg. I want to get this moving upward, but slowly and without any fat gain, im getting really lean and I like it.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

gym a couple of days ago- havn't had internet access till now.

Bench-

warmups,
60kg 2x5

these felt really really difficult, but it turned out it was all in my head becaseu I called over a spotter and then did-

70kg for 3+1 assisted.

75kg for 3 reps, assisted. The first rep was almost all me, but it was higher than body weight so I wasnt expecting to get it all by myself.

this was awesome and my chest still aches 3 days later!

Deadlift-

warmups to 5x125kg PR.

Good. Grip was the weak point here. I could pull 130 for 5 with a stronger grip I think.

3x5 dips, and some ab work to finnish.

Martial arts tonight! then a pull day tommorow.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

last week -

front squat

warm ups to 3x5 70kg.

Disappointing, but not unexpected.

row-

3x5 70kg, but not a PR just yet as form was off slightly on latter reps. The ache next day confirmed I'm using my middle back to much.

Pull ups- 3x5
felt very strong, I reckon I can start going for 5.5/6

Also did some glute barbell thrusts.



Yesterday-

500m row,

Bench
10xbar
5x40
2x60

3x5 70kg PR. really really happy with this. the last rep on each set was a grinder, my legs were shaking after the last set!


tried some OH pressing- it wasnt happening.

3x6 dips, Im getting stronger at these.

Tripcep cable push downs. 3x10 with about 21kg.

Ab work to finnish.

Really happy with this workout.

PWO weight 74.5kg, moving in the right direction again which I expected.

Ive started supplementing with creatine, experimentally, it was only £12 so if it doesnt make much difference, its not a big loss.

I need to start my other supps up again.

Diet is going pretty good, not consistent enough but Im getting the calories and protien in.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

yesterday-

squats- warmups,

2x110kg

5x110kg but really ugly reps, not even to parallel after the first couple.

1x115kg

10x60kg


pull ups

6
6
5

Happy with these.

hamstring machine- 3x10 68kg

glute barbell thrusts 3x10 45kg

chin ups 3x5


Nice total body ache today.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

Having had a think about my fitness goals, Ive decided to drastically cut back on weight training for a period, to focus instead on body weight training.

For legs, I will be training for jumping/free running style moves.

For upper body, having read this article here-

http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/229/

Im going to focus on the planche and front lever progressions.

thanks to almost a year of weight training, I can hold the initial progressions, the frog stand and tuck front lever, for periods of up to 10 seconds. So I'm at the starting point.

My goal for now is to be able to do straddle planche push ups and straddle front lever pull ups.

I will mix this training with other body weight stuff, rows, chins, dips, close grip push ups etc etc, training probably every day for the isometric stuff and two-three times per week for the dynamic stuff.

Will update here when I hit mile stones.

Body weight around the 75kg mark, but this will likely fall slightly again.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

wow its been a month.

My diet has been good, not perfect, but good, and Im still exercising regularly.

Ive started a new job which is 55 hours or more a week, in a bar. This is getting me lots of money but playing havoc with my H+F regime as im burning loads of calories walking around for 12 hours at a time most days.
Ive upped my calorie intake, but Ive lost a couple of kilos still, I need to ensure I keep my calorie intake even higher.

The body weight training is going well.

Ive also Deadlifted a couple of times, and can still handle my previous max, which is good. My bench I tried yesterday and it had dropped 10kg but I wasnt overly supprised.

at the moment my goals are -

Maintain muscle mass
build upper body strenght through static holds and body weight work
improve flexibility and balance
start training my martial arts again.
start cycling properly for fitness.

I go to the gym or do some kind of exercise most days of the week, Im looking leaner than ever which is one benefit of the new job I suppose.

current body weight is 73kg approx.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

thanks Espi! I figure consistency over time is better than going all out for a few months and then forgetting about it like I used to!

Ive set up a 3x a week training plan with a friend of mine whos in similar condition, mostly body weight training, stretching, gymnastics/parkour stuff.

I went for a bike ride the other day,
2.7 miles in 10 minutes 10 seconds, one mile in 3 minutes 25 seconds.

Im aiming to do 3 miles in 10 minutes.

Also in the gym yesterday, I benched 70kg for 2, and 73kg for 1 (plus an assisted rep). Which is awesome because Ive not benched body weight before now! The aim is to keep the weight high and go for more reps till I can get around 75kg with 3x5, hopefully my body weight will slowly creep back up.

Im eating pleanty, so not losing weight.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

exercise program still giong well despite mad hours at work.

Currently not doing anything int he gym, but working on push ups of various kinds, pull ups, chin ups, static holds, grip work.
My current goal is to be able to hold a "flag" for a few seconds by the end of the month, somthing I think is achievable.

Im also doing a lot of parkour training, learning the basic vaults, which is going well, the day after each session my lower/middle back, glutes, and most of my legs ache like hell, so Im definatly giving my self a decent workout! Especially Ive noticed my arms growing in a way they hadnt before, which is awesome.

body weight static at around 72.5 and Im in no hurry to increase it at the moment.

I do need to fit in some deadlifts, rows, bench press etc, to ensure I am maintaining my strenght from the weight lifting i was doing.

Cure.

 

[Cure]

My job has had a serious impact on my health and fitness recently.

Physically Im still fit and strong, and leaner than ever thanks to the very active job I have. BUT, I got to the gym yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks, my body weight is still dropping, and all my lifts are down significantly.

I got 60kg bench for 3x5 yesturday, down from 70kg.
Im going to try and increase it back up to 70kg over the next few weeks, same with my squat and deadlift, I need to do some work on those to get back in the groove.

Diet is a nightmare, I dont eat enough, work doesnt give me enough time to eat and its not consistent, I will likly only be able to maintain my weight, increasing it just isnt going to happen with my current job and metabolism!

Not a lot of update, but I need to keep this going to keep myself motivated.

Cure.