Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Some more cardio today:

S.Bike Time 30minutes Miles 10.16 HR 150-155 Level 4 -Got over 10 miles in under 30 minutes today. Hit the actual mark at 29:34s. Pretty pleased with this. Feeling a lot fitter now.

Until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Decided to do a deload today. Head rushes have been getting worse so I wanted to at least deload for that. Blood pressure must be spiking too much or something, I will look at my breathing. Here it is:

Db overhead press 26kgx5x5- Not bad, probably about right for a deload.

DB Kroc rows 34kgx5x5- Not bad.

CG Bench 55kgx5x8- Easy.

Just focused on some good form. Nothing caused any problems. Felt refreshing doing some light stuff. Then:

S.Bike Time 30 minutes Miles 9.8 HR 150-155 Level 4- Couldn't really get into it today, felt uncomfortable. Still my second best effort. Might take it back a notch to 145-150 HR.

And that was all. Hoping to go tommorow for some more cardio but money is tight. Going to do get a monthly membership on Thursday which is cheaper and will get me the rest of the month for free cause of the way the system works. I'll maybe just do something else, but I tend not to be too stict outside the gym unless its HIIT. Still, definitely a big pick up in fitness as I've been saying. Weight was showing 183-184 and waist was 35.5" ish so the measurements are still heading in the right direction. Can see definite improvements in the abdominal region. Nearly down half a stone and two inches, so its going well. I reckon high 170's is where I will end up.

Anyway, that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Deloads suck balls. Weights were about 80%:

A2G Squat 60x5 75x5 90kgx5- Easy

Deadlift 150kgx1 -Ok. 150+ always feels heavy on deads. Not psyched up either. Felt a little bit of head pressure here, don't think I breathed right. Not as bad as usual right enough.

S.Bike Time 30 mins Miles 8.88 Level 5 HR 145-150- Didn't hit the groove today either. Not too bad I suppose.

Well that was it. I'm thinking of seperating deads and squats and pairing each with bench or oh press. I think this will be best for progression, but I'll have to test it out.

Yesterday's cardio I cut the grass which was 45 minutes or so, probably with a little less intensity than the biking. Will probably be in tommorow for another session. Just got the membership renewed so I'm set. Until tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Some cardio:

S.Bike Time 30 mins Miles 9.7 HR 145 Level 4 - My heart can get through this easy, and I'm finding it harder to keep it up because my legs burn quite a bit. Thats been a problem this week. I've not paid as much attention to drinking water throughout the day, maybe I'm slightly dehydrated or something.

Then went to the steam room afterwards, also swam a bit. Was good. Anyway, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Thursday

Deloads suck balls. Weights were about 80%:

A2G Squat 60x5 75x5 90kgx5- Easy

Deadlift 150kgx1 -Ok. 150+ always feels heavy on deads. Not psyched up either. Felt a little bit of head pressure here, don't think I breathed right. Not as bad as usual right enough.

S.Bike Time 30 mins Miles 8.88 Level 5 HR 145-150- Didn't hit the groove today either. Not too bad I suppose.

Well that was it. I'm thinking of seperating deads and squats and pairing each with bench or oh press. I think this will be best for progression, but I'll have to test it out.

Yesterday's cardio I cut the grass which was 45 minutes or so, probably with a little less intensity than the biking. Will probably be in tommorow for another session. Just got the membership renewed so I'm set. Until tommorow...

Quagmire

I'd strongly recommend splitting up deads and squats... otherwise your prosterior chain takes a serious beating all on the same day!

I do deads w/ dips and squats w/ chin ups along with other accessory work of course.

You gotta stay fresh and strong for the big lifts!

 

[Quagmire911]

Yeh, I'm trying to work it out. On a two day you get more recovery, but the CNS may be taken down already after the first lift. Decisions, decisions.

I think Bolton and his crew actually do them on the same day, whereas Westside would never go heavy on both. Apples and oranges.I wonder what Konstantinov and Benedikt get up to.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Some cardio:

S.Bike Time 30 minutes Miles 10.16 Level 4 HR 145-155- My legs faired a lot better today, as a result I went quite a bit further and could push my heart rate a bit more. Great session which equalled my best.

Then went to the steam room/swim. Back in tommorow, excited about going heavy seeing as I didn't get my fix last week. Until then...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

I find alternating deads/squats w/ "hanging" exercises such as chins/dips really help to make my lower back/core feel better. I'm not sure why/how this works, but it definitely helps lift bigger.

Have you tried doing say dips after deadlift? I'm curious to see what you think.

 

[Quagmire911]

I do chins after deads sometimes. I prefer doing back work after deads, if I do it earlier in the week after bench I think it affects the dead. Although I might just have been using too much intensity which I can be guilty off.

Whatever works for you right? I'm trying to stick to something for a while, I can tend to stray about and try stuff too much, whereas I just need to keep it simple and get the 2/3/4/5 down.

About to head out, going to stick to a 5/3/1 template like this:

Day one

Squat
Bench
Assistance

Day two

Dead
Oh press
Assistance

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Alright session, although I didn't feel on peak form. Here it is:

A2G Squats 80x3 95x3 105kgx7- This was probably the highlight of the session. Could have gotten a few more but I wanted to keep form spot on. I'm in PR territory for a2g squats, but I can't be 100% sure where the PR's lie. I'll maybe look back at my log.

Bench 67.5x3 75x3 85kgx6- These felt pretty **** to be honest. It's a little lower than what my best would be. Really hard of the chest. I've only been close gripping for a few weeks and before that I was taking my ass off the bench, so it's probably no surprise I'm a little weaker at the bottom. It's alright though, I'll be setting PR's shortly.

Paused DB hammer press 26kgx8x8x6x6- Paused for 1-2 s at the bottom.

Hip adduction 60kg 3x10
abduction 50kg 2x10 60kg 1x10 - These might not be the right way around, I can never remember. One of them is up quite a bit from the last time I did it which is good.

S. Bike Time 30 minutes Miles 10.54 Level 3 HR 145-155- Went down a level. My legs weren't sore at all and I could keep my heart rate up. Did 10m in about 28:34s.

And that was all. Hopefully I'll be a better on Thursday with deads/press. Weight was 182.8lbs and waist was 35.5"ish still so I've stalled a little. It was a friends birthday at the weekend though and I got tanked, so thats probably what set me back.

Anyway that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Decent session today. Upper body is slightly weaker, and lower is slightly stronger. Not sure why, maybe its a weight thing. Weight was 182.2 and waist went under 35.5" for the first time which is good. Just shy of having lost half a stone. I'm really not sure how low I'm going, but I'm not there yet. I let myself slide too much. Anyway here it is:

Overhead press 50x3 57.5x3 65kgx5- Looking back at my log this may equal my PR, although I thought I had 6. It's about where I was, now I just need to improve on it.

Deadlifts 120x3 135x3 155kgx7 PR (341lbs)- Pleased with this. By far the best I've done for reps conventionally. My best sumo was 155x6, but I seemed to have switched to conventional being the better of the two at the moment which is strange. I switch between which is best. The last two were difficult, but I had it in my mind that I wanted 7 for a PR. Weakpoint still above the knees.

Chinupsx6x6- Decided the intensity was a bit high, so I changed to pulldowns.

Pulldowns 77.5kgx8x8- This was challenging, but left a bit in the tank, which is what I should be doing but haven't been.

Good mornings 60kg 3x10 -Got the heart going more than anything else.

S.Bike Time 30 minutes Miles 9.75 Level 3 HR 145- Was pretty f***ed after the deads so I couldn't give it as much today. Still a decent session, and worth it from a fat loss point of few.

That was all. I'm doing around 3 minutes between sets of the big lifts, and 1-2 for the assistance stuff. Was still pretty beat up from Tuesday but its too be expected because I did more assistance work than I've done in a while.

As I said, not sure how low the weight is going, but I want my abs back and that's the goal. Might have to start tightening the diet up. Hopefully it won't be too long, then I can start laying on some muscle again. 175-180 ain't going to cut it I don't think. 185-190 I think.

Anyway that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

P.s.- The big guy was in again today. Forgot to mention that he squatted 505x2 the other day. He's the only guy I've ever seen squat/dead more than 4/5, never mind 5/6. He's lean too. At least not everyone is a troll.

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio:

S.Bike Time 30 minutes Miles 10.24 Level 3 HR 145 - Legs didn't like it, must have been from the weight this week, I'm still quite sore from them. Not bad I suppose.

Then went into the sauna/steam room for a while and the pool. Might be having a disruption in the next few weeks. Might be going on holiday for a week or so, but it isn't decided yet. Should be alright next week. Anyway, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Nice deads... (the 155 x 7) any time you go above 6 reps on deads I find it pretty challenging. Your sumo is pretty solid too. Do you find one is better than the other?

I've tried sumo, but it doesn't feel right, and I don't have the strongest abductor/adductors either. Do you do a combo of conventional and sumo, or prefer one over the other?

 

[Quagmire911]

It's weird, I go between the two.

Say I do conventional for a while, I'll switch to sumo and PR. But then I do sumo for awhile, switch to conventional and PR. It's like I get to the stage where I don't think I can progress with one form anymore, then switch to the other and keep going.

Strange...

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Warms ups felt heavy as f*** today, but the final sets were good. Here it is:

Bench 62.5x5 72.5x5 80kgx10- Not bad, around my best.

A2G Squats 77.5x5 87.5x5 100kgx10- On the second set, I didn't know what was going on. It went alright thankfully on the last, but it was a hard set and took a while.

DB paused hammer press 26kgx8x8x6x6- About the same as last week.

Hip add/abb 60kg 3x10- Meh.

S.Bike Time 20 minutes Miles 6.86 Level 3 HR 140-150- The weights took their toll on me so I just stuck to 20 minutes today.

And that was all. Haven't measured weight or waist yet this week, but lines are appearing that haven't in a while.

I need to stick with this 5/3/1 and not deviate, I've been guilty of that a lot I think. Also keeping the intensity too high and not regulating things enough. Like anyone else I want massive strength gains now, but I just need to keep the head on straight and let it happen over time. Too much overthinking and self sabotage as always. So I am staying on this routine indefinitely.

I am going on holiday to Barcelona next week for 7 days, so thats going to disrupt things a bit. Will probably put a little fat back on, but it'll be back off in no time. I think I have a plan for the weights, which shouldn't disrupt things too much.

Anyway that is all for today, time for some pool and cider. Until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

Couldn't really be ars*d today, but I did something:

5 minutes rowing, 15 minutes cyclng, 5 minute HIIT running- My right leg felt weird at the top with rowing so I cycled again, I was trying to mix it up. The running at the end worked me quite hard so I finished strong. My left knee has been feeling weird since yesterday, so I'll have to watch it. It wasn't a problem with the cardio though.

Then went to the sauna/pool. That was it,

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Good session today. Was worried about deads during the warm up sets, they were heavy as s***. But it turned out well. OH press went well. Here it is:

Oh press 55x5 62.5x3 70kgx4 PR (154lbs)- About equals my 75x3, so I am around where I've been. Most with this though. Good stuff.

Deadlifts 127.5x5 145x3 162.5kgx4 PR (358lbs) -The last set went well. Took a s*** ton of ammonia and went for it. This is probably around my best for reps. I've done 165x3. I was actually tempted to go for a 5th, but I thought better of it. I didn't feel nearly as f***ed as usual after this. I've been paying more attention to my breathing and I think it's working. My grips is handling the weight well, no straps.

Dipsx10x8x8- Not done these any ages. My bw stuff isn't great at the moment. I was doing them to about 90 degrees or just below, to shoulders that is.

Chinsx6x6 slow eccentricsx6- I actually alternated these with the dips. I actually think the biggest thing holding me back with these is my biceps, thats where I usually feel it the most. So I'm putting in some bi work. I actually think when I got my curls to 40kgx8 or so that my chins did get better, and there not quite that good at the moment. So curls it is.

S.Bike 10 mins HR 140- I just can't be fuc*ed with this now, time to do something else.

Hiit running 12.5 minutes 3-12mph- I basically walked at 3mph for 1-2mins then went up to 12mph for 30-45s. HR was going over 180 and coming back down to 140-150 or so, although thats only roughly. I found it alright, not "fun", but I didn't mind it. More of a challenge I would say. So I think I'll do this for a while.

Bi curls 80lbsx10 30sx5 20sx3- Did this when I got home. This rest pause method worked really well a year or so ago, so I'm doing it again. This is an estimation of weight, the plates are 70lbs, and I think the bar is 10lbs. My best is 40kg/88lbsx8, so not far off.

And that was all. I'm now tucking into a steak and am going to have a big tub of ben and jerry's choc fudge ice cream

Cause I'm away next week, I skipped the 5/3/1 week this week for more intensity. Next week I'll do the squats/bench on Monday which is a day early and really go hard . I'll then be back the following Wednesday where I'll won't push myself too hard. So basically I'm skipping a dead/press workout. I think this will work out well.

My weight was 182.2 this morning which is around where it was last week. Haven't checked waist, but it should be the same. I've stalled in the last week or two. So I'm going to go on holiday and relax, then come back and get my abs back. I'll maybe do a little cardio abroad to try and keep the fat at bay, but nothing strenuous.

Anyway that is all for today. Cardio tommorow, until then...

Quagmire

 

[kbear0101]

Looked back a few posts...maybe skipped over it.

Just curious about your current goal(s)? Are you in a cutting phase?

 

[Quagmire911]

Ahh bulking and cutting, some people would kill you for those phrases.

Weight wise I am currently bringing my weight down a bit, basically taking off the fat I accumulated over the last year or so from drinking way too much (might wanna take note). Some s*** happened and I took to drinking 4-5 nights a week, getting drunk, which is fuc*ing stupid. Lucky for me I'm young and have good genes, so the damage was minimal. I was still working out for most of it as well.

I was up to 188.8lbs and probably high teen's bf, this morning I was 181.6lbs, so I'm at about half a stone lost. I reckon it looks like I will be going to 175 and I'll have my abs back. My waist was over 37" which is horrid, and I'm just over 35" at the moment. Once I get lean which as I say will be in the 175-180 range at 10-12% bf, I'll probably start aiming for 185-190 at the same 10-12%.

I've never really wanted to go over 200+ but I do think about it. I'm about 5 9" so at 190 I'd be pretty built anyway.

At the end of the day I want to get as strong as possible. And that may mean going heavier, but it has never been my primary goal. I still want to be athletic and fit and able to go rock climbing/skiing/mountain climbing, so I have to take that into consideration. But I reckon 185ish like I said from the beginning.

The current aim is go get over 2/3/4/5 for overhead press/bench/squat and deads respectively. I would really like to deadlift over 600, but that may be dictated by weight and how far I decide to go at that point. 2/3/4/5 WILL be mine though.



Friday

Cardio:

HIIT running 17.5mins 3-12mphx5- This was good. Sweating like crazy after it. I like running fast.

Weight was 181.6lbs like I say above, which is officially 7.2lbs from my start, so just over half a stone which is great. Waist is in the 35-35.5" range. Will go on holiday and then the immediate goal will be to go under 180lbs and under 35".

That is all for today, until Monday...

Quagmire

 

[kbear0101]

Glad you have been progressing and have some goals in mind...one hell of a jourrnal.

Note taken about becoming a fat f*ck with the drinking. My body had been handling it well...wont last forever though!