Sano1's Training LOG - Working towards a goal

[Sano]

So, hello everyone. I have finally decided to take proper strenght training seriously and have been going to the gym three times a week with no exceptions now for roughly 2 months. I am starting this log because I want to track my progress and I feel it could be a very motivating force. My weight is about 200lbs and I am 26 years old.


Bodyweight:

Starting 91kg - Update 88kg(30/06/2015) lost a decent amount of fat and put on a little muscle - Update 94kg(30/12/2015) dat winter fat, but I've gained some muscle.

Starting Maxes:

Squat 115kg - New PR 132,5kg (23/12/2015) - New PR 135kg (10/02/2016) - New PR 137,5kg (02/03/2016)
Deadlift 135kg - New PR 160kg - New PR 162,5kg (22/12/2015) - New PR 170kg (30/12/2015) - New PR 175kg (25/02/2016)
Military Press 60kg - New PR 65kg(09/06/2015) - New PR 67.5kg (30/06/2015) - New PR 70kg (23/12/2015)
Bench Press 95kg - New PR 102kg(10/06/2015) - New PR 105kg (24/07/2015) - New PR 107kg (29/02/2016)

PL Total: 410kg (02/01/2016)
Wilks score: 258 (02/01/2016)

Mid Goals:

Squat - 3x115kg: Done (5x115kg)
Squat2 - 1x135kg: DONE! YES
Squat3 - 3x130kg:

Deadlift - 3x135kg: Done
Deadlift2 - 1x150kg: Done
Deadlift3 - 3x150kg: Done
Deadlift4 - 1x180kg:

SOHP - 3x60kg: Done (4x60kg)
SOHP2 - 1x70kg: Done
SOHP3 - 3x67.5kg:

Benchpress - 3x95kg: Done (4x95kg)
Benchpress2 - 1x107.5kg:

Long Term/"If it's gods will" Goals:

Squat - 2 x bodyweight - 180kg (~400lbs)
Deadlift - 2.5 x bodyweight - 225kg (~500lbs)
Military Press 1 x bodyweight - 90kg (~200lbs)
Bench Press 1.25 x bodyweight - 113kg (~250lbs]

Let the training begin!

 

[Sano]

So! First entry already haha.

I went down to the gym today and did some work:

Warmup running for 15 mins, light stretching.

Deadlift:
Warmup with 60kg(132lbs) for a few sets.

1x5 at 90kg(220lbs)
1x5 at 100kg(242lbs)
1x10 at 110kg(265lbs) - REP PR!

Finish off with 3x10 at 65kg(143lbs)

Military Press:
Warmup with 25kg(55lbs) for a few sets

1x5 at 35kg(77lbs)
1x5 at 45kg(99lbs)
1x6 at 55kg(121lbs)

Finish off with 3x10 at 30kg(65lbs)

Pullups with leg raises 3x8
Lunges 3x10 each leg with 14kg(30lbs) dumbbells in each hand.
B. Split Squats 3x5 each leg with 22kg(49lbs) dumbbellls in each hand.
Plank work.

I give to you, my deadlift rep PR - The form is a work in progress

 

[fbmmofo]

Welcome to the logs. Good luck

 

[Sano]

Welcome to the logs. Good luck

Thanks man.

 

[Sano]

So, I've been neglecting my log a bit. I've been taking a bit of time off because of a sprained ankle and a hurt knee. However I was down at the gym today and it felt pretty, pretty, pretty good.

I started out with a bike ride of 10km(6.2miles) as a "warmup". Gotta work those quads more.
I worked my way over to the Bench, did some warmup sets and worked my way up to 95kg(209lbs)

Then, I went over to the Squat rack and did some warmup sets. Then I did, 8x90kg, 5x100kg, 3x110kg and 1x115kg! Which was great. I haven't had the chance to go that high since I started the program.

Over to the Overhead Press. I did some warmups and then again, gradually worked my way up. Did 10x25kg(55lbs), 8x35kg(77lbs), 5x40kg(88lbs), 3x50kg(110lbs).

I then did some Dumbbell Rows, Some Pushups, some Dips and ended with Pullups till failure. As you can see, I sorta just went with it today and I must say, it felt very good.

Gains.

 

[Sano]

Had an pretty awesome training session yesterday. It was a bit too long, but it was pretty great.

So, I went with a pal of mine from work, we train together a few times a week now. I usually prefer training alone, but it's a nice change of pace.

Anyway, warmed up with a 10km bike ride again at a decent tempo.

Then:

Squats for a few warmup sets and then gradually increasing the weight for 3-4 sets. Didn't go too high, because my legs were wrecked after fridays training. Ended with about 100kg for 5 reps.

Bendover Rows: Now this is the first time I've really done them with a barbell. I didn't know how much to load, but I just increased it gradually. Went something like:
1x5 at 80kg
1x5 at 90kg
1x5 at 100kg

It felt really good and I could have gone heavier. After that, we did some Bench!

Did the usual routine. Warmup sets and then 3-4 sets with a gradual increase. Did 1x3 at 90kg in the last set. That felt like enough. Not as much as last time where I did 1x4 at 95 kg(pr), but I was already a bit worn at that point.

I usually don't do Deadlifts and Squats on the same day, but my girlfriend popped by and I felt an urge to do some heavy lifting haha. Anyway, I didn't want too much volume, so I did a few reps with 100kg, then:
1x3 at 110kg
1x1 at 120kg
1x1 at 130kg. That is near my PR and it felt pretty good. I wanted to go for 140kg, which is my PR. I went for it, but I couldn't hold the grip during lockout. Almost got it though and it didn't feel too heavy. And no pain or anything today.

Lastly (lol), I did some cycles of 5 dips, 5 leg raises, 5 pullups, 5 pushups for 3 sets with only a brief pause between sets. This is something new, and it felt great.

Oh and my GF had some new pads she brought with her(she is nearing blackbelt in TKD), so we hit them a little for fun at the end. It's fun exchanging techniques.

Safe to say, I was BEAT!

Here are the videos of my 130kg deadlift and the 140kg attempt!

130kg:


140kg:

 

[JauntyAngle]

150kg looked easy! Good work.

I think your hips are shooting up a little bit. If you pause the the 140kg lift at around 2 seconds, your back angle is around 45 degrees. Then between 2 seconds and 3 seconds, your hips go up very quickly so that the upper portion of your back is quite close to parallel when the bar starts to break off the floor (some time around 3 seconds).

Obviously, standard advice applies. Decide what hip height you want. Get into that position, get tight as hell- legs, arms, hips, back, everything. Take the slack out of the bar- partly lift the bar so that your body is loaded with the weight. As you lift, be conscious of your hips and the bar- they should rise together. When you watch your videos, be alert for long delays between efffort, the movement of your body and the movement of your bar- that indicates you weren't tight enough or your hips were shooting up, or both.

 

[Sano]

150kg looked easy! Good work.

I think your hips are shooting up a little bit. If you pause the the 140kg lift at around 2 seconds, your back angle is around 45 degrees. Then between 2 seconds and 3 seconds, your hips go up very quickly so that the upper portion of your back is quite close to parallel when the bar starts to break off the floor (some time around 3 seconds).

Obviously, standard advice applies. Decide what hip height you want. Get into that position, get tight as hell- legs, arms, hips, back, everything. Take the slack out of the bar- partly lift the bar so that your body is loaded with the weight. As you lift, be conscious of your hips and the bar- they should rise together. When you watch your videos, be alert for long delays between efffort, the movement of your body and the movement of your bar- that indicates you weren't tight enough or your hips were shooting up, or both.

Hey Jaunty!

Yeah I am aware of my hips. I am still adjusting and somehow it feels better this way, but I know I have to work on it. I will heed your advice 150kg felt pretty good though!

Thanks for stopping by! I will continue to work and improve!

 

[JauntyAngle]

150kg felt pretty good though!

Thanks for stopping by! I will continue to work and improve!

Yes, it actually looked smooth! I am sure you have more left in you.

 

[Sano]

So, I've been neglecting the log a bit, but a lot of new things have happened. We have gotten a power rack in the gym, which is awesome. Subsequently, I've discovered that the old bar is basicly only 11kg(24.7lbs), so all my lifts are essentially 10kg(25lbs) less than what I thought.

I also saw a surgeon after I re-injured my knee. And, as they told me last time, I need surgery to repair my ACL. I knew this already, as I blew out my knee a few years ago training MMA, which is why I stopped. I've been putting it on hold, because I do physical work which requires me to use the full motion of my legs. However, I am starting on my physiotherapist education 2/2, so now is the time. I'll do it in a few months!

Anyway, I've also revamped my training program a bit. I've switched to a linear program where I basicly add 5lbs to each lift, each week. I feel like I will gain more from this, instead of 5/3/1+, as a novice. I start around 75% and go from there. On OHP I only increase the weight every 2 weeks. Also, I have a control day friday with a tad lower weights(70%) and pauses. I got this idea from CanditioTrainingHQ on youtube. Great channel btw, highly recommendable!

Here is a video of his IPF Powerlifting Worlds Meet:


Aaannyyway. I've been training steadily. And yesterday I did the following:

Warmup - some rowing and running for 20 mins.

Deadlift:
A few warmup sets
3x6 - 100kg
1x6 - 90kg

Overhead Press Strict:
A few warmup sets
3x6 40kg

Leg curls:
3x8 45kg

Single Dumbbell rows:
3x8 26kg each side.

A few pullups, dips and abb exercises.

I was about done and saw that the boxing class started, and I felt the urge, so I joined in and worked with them for 90 minutes. Pretty beat, but it was good training.

 

[Sano]

Had a pretty good training session today. It's my second week with the new program and I really enjoy it. It's much easier to invision progress when you add weight, albeit small, each week.

Warmup:
Light rowing, then a 2km row at a decent pace which took me about 8:30 min.

Squats:
2-3x warmup sets
3x6 at 82.50kg

Bendover Barbell Rows:
2x warmup sets
3x6 at 72.50kg

Circuit:
3x 5 Pullups, 15 Atomic Crunches, 5 Dips, 30 second deep Squat hold, 10 Pushups

A few minutes of light bag work.

Felt great, especially the Squats felt comfortable. With or without weight on the bar, I can go a lot lower now, without pain, with better form and my legs are stronger overall.

 

[Sano]

Went for some deadlifts today. I've had a hard week at work, so I was very tired and physically worn.

Warmup:
Shadowboxing and light bagwork.

Deadlift:
Warmup sets
3x6 at 92.50kg
1x6 at 82.50kg

My training partner, who started out weaker than me, wanted to try to get a PR. He had previously only deadlifted around 125kg.

We did:
1x1 at 120kg
1x1 at 125kg
1x1 at 135kg
1x at 140kg

and he did 1x145, but his form was getting bad at that point so we stopped. I tried to pull it but I just didn't have it in me today, I didn't want to go heavy in the first place. I was pretty down after that. I can't believe he lifted more than me.

We skipped OHP as I had to meet up with my GF.

It bugs me that I'm not getting stronger at a faster rate in my DL AND that he did a higher pull than me. I've been stronger on all lifts than him from the start. But still, he did very good today. Great improvement! I'm glad for him, just down on myself.

It is hard for me to have a 8 hour workday of hard physical labor and then go straight into training afterwards. I think I might be overworked at this point.

 

[Sano]

Did some squats and OHP the other day. I've been slowing it down, because I have surgery wednesday. Finally I will get my ACL fixed. It will be a tough road working back up, but I am looking forward to it. Finally I can do MMA again as well.

Squats:
2-3 warmup sets
1x6 at 87,5kg
2x6 at 90kg

Felt pretty good.

OHP:
Warmup
3x6 at 45kg

Did some pullups and additional BB work just for fun. This will be my last lower body workout for a while. After surgery I will probably rehab and then work on my upper body untill I get the green light to do squats again.

In the end, I will learn a lot and come back stronger. I started my physiotherapist education 3 weeks ago as well, so I will use the experience in my own practice.

Wish me luck!

 

[Sano]

Yes! I went through my ACL surgery and everything went well. There was not damage to the miniscus or anything else in the joint, even though I've had this injury for 4 years untreated. It's been about 5 weeks now and everything is going well so far. I am advancing pretty quickly at the PT and have been doing some exercises at home almost every day(including pushups, situps, planche and so forth).

I've been having trouble with my hip for some months before and my PT said the problem was most likely my SI joint on the right side, as it was stiff and immobile in certain movement patterns. That caused some inflammation in the joint which has been bugging be pretty bad for about 4 months. I've finally given it some rest, treated it a bit, done some exercises strenghtening my ab and adducters, distrubuted my weight more evenly when walking(apparently I have a tendency to put too much weight on my right hip) and finally it seems better. I still need to watch it and give it rest, as not to make the inflammation permanent, which would be devastating for any athletic endavour.

Anyway, I was back at a real gym yesterday and it felt great. I did 10 min on the exercise bike, which I'm allowed, and did some PT stuff as warmup. Then I did.

Benchpress:
Warmup sets
8x62kg
8x67kg
8x72kg

Strict OHP:
Warmup sets
8x25kg
8x35kg
8x35kg

Dumbbell Rows:
8x20kg
8x20kg
8x20kg

Wide Grip Chinups:
3x5

Then ended it with a nice pump haha. Supersetting pushups and curls untill failure. My pushup PR is 44 good form ones atm.

Nice and easy weight, but it felt great being back. I want to focus on form even more so now and have fun. I wont slack and the increase will come, I have just got a new appreciating for the body after this injury. I'll have more fun with it, do more volume and be more loose. Lower body work are a few months into the future.

 

[Sano]

Went again to the gym.

Warmup:
3km bike ride

Benchpress:
Warmup sets
10x62kg
8x67kg
8x72kg
6x82kg

Strict OHP:
Warmup
8x30kg
8x35kg
8x40kg

Chinups
3x5 BW

Other/Assistance:
Pushups, held pads for the GF(she is near blackbelt in TKD and have started training MMA yes haha!), did some light leg presses(have to be careful with the new ACL), some planche/side plance and some mobility and ACL rehab.

 

[Sano]

10min bike ride

Benchpress:
Warmup
8x67kg
8x77kg
4x87kg(felt it, form not great)

Bendover Barbell Rows:
Warmup
8x60kg
8x70kg
6x80kg

Dips:
3x5 BW

Other/Assistance:
Planche/side planche, ACL rehab, light leg press(need to rest my knee for a while now), pushups, close grip pullups.

 

[Sano]

Warmup:
10 min crosstrainer

Benchpress:
Warmup sets
10x72kg
8x77kg
8x72kg

Strich OHP:
Warmup
10x25kg
10x25kg
12x25kg

Chinups:
3x6-8 BW with leg raises

Dips:
3x6 BW and static holds

Other/Assistance:
ACL Rehab, Planche/side planche, pushups, some TKD stretching/leg strenghtening with the GF(abductors), light rack pull, light leg curls.

 

[Sano]

Another day of training.

I've been writing my first synopsis for the initial PT exam, so it was nice with a break from having my head in the books(which is not something I usually devote as much time to). I am only about 2

 

[Sano]

Another entry.

I have my verbal exam tomorrow, so I went to blow off some steam in the gym. Good session, did a lot.

Warmup:
15 min cross trainer

Benchpress:
8x77kg
8x77kg
8x77kg(a little less of a struggle than two days ago, but still hard)
8x62kg pause reps

Bendover Barbell Rows:
Warmup sets
10x60kg
8x70kg
8x70kg

Dips:
3x6 BW with holds

Chinups:
3x6 with leg raises

Other/Assistance:
ACL Rehab, TKD leg strenghtening, leg curls 3x15(15kg), Planche/Side planche, pushups(fingers, knuckles and normal),

 

[Sano]

Fine training today, long but refreshing.

Warmup:
20 min shadowboxing and light bagwork

Bencpress:
Warmup sets
8x74.5kg
8x74.5kg
8x74.5kg

Felt great, had some in me.

Strict OHP:
Warmup sets
8x35kg
8x35kg
8x35kg

Dumbbell Rows:
8x18kg
8x22kg
8x24kg

Chinups with leg raises:
3x5 BW

Leg Curls:
15x20kg
15x20kg
15x20kg

Ended with a 10km bike ride. My knee is getting better.

Other/Assistance work:
ACL rehab, TKD leg strengthening, Pushups(fingers, knuckles and regular), calf raises