James' tale: 2009 til....

[james forshaw]

Heavy (4)

Back Squat 5x5
85, 100, 112.5, 125, 140

Push Press 5x5
47.5, 55, 65, 72.5, 80

Deadlift 5x5
125, 140, 155

All legit, glad to finally approach my old 5RMs. Uni gym was a bit of a put-off though, squatting in front of a mirror sucks ass.

[james forshaw]

Recovery (4)

Front Squat
5 x 2 @ 90%
Completed at 115kg

Metcon(ish)

Power Clean 75-80% 1RM x3 on the minute for 15 mins
Completed at 80kg

Pleased with that.

[james forshaw]

Moderate (4)

Back Squat
5 x 85, 100, 112.5, 125
3 x 145
8 x 115

Push Press
5 x 55, 65, 72.5
3 x 82.5
8 x 65

Deadlift
5 x 125, 140
3 x 160

Weighted Dips
3 x Max reps @ 42.5kg
11, 6, 5 = 22 reps

All good. Especially happy with the deadlifting today. Not bad at all after a heavy night last night.

[james forshaw]

Heavy (5)

Back Squat 5x5
85, 100, 115, 130, 145 (New 5RM at 145kg)

Push Press 3x5
65, 75, 82.5

Deadlift 3x5
127.5, 145, 160

Squat and deads were slightly more of a battle than I'd have hoped, but I didn't sleep well at all last night. Will have to work on that.

[james forshaw]

Before I log, I have to give myself a wake-up call. I missed the recovery workout this week with no good reason and, yet again, have eaten very badly in addition to drinking heavily on nights out. Luckily this session went without a hitch but I'm reaching the business end of this programme and can't expect results to continue without sorting out my diet, stopping the late nights and doing things properly in the gym. Just saying...

Moderate (5)

Back Squat
5 x 85, 100, 115, 130
3 x 147.5
8 x 117.5

Push Press
5 x 65, 75
3 x 85
8 x 65

Deadlift
5 x 127.5, 145
3 x 165

Weighted Dips
Max reps @ 50kg, 40kg, 30kg
7, 9, 11 = 1010kg total volume

[james forshaw]

Heavy (6)

Back Squat 5x5
90, 102.5, 117.5, 132.5, 147.5

Push Press 3x5
67.5, 75, 85

Deadlift 3x5
130, 147.5, 165

Pull-ups 3x5
All at 20kg

Hard session. Definitely going to have to get to bed at 10 the majority of nights and eat a lot of clean stuff if progress is continue. Monumental effort though, feel like I've accomplished something today.

[james forshaw]

Light (6)

Back Squat 4x5
90, 102.5, 117.5, 117.5 (sat in the hole for 2 seconds in the last two reps)

Power Clean
On the minute for 15 minutes perform 3 power cleans
Completed with 85kg

Savage power clean workout. Round 12 saw my grip fail. And I took about 45 seconds to complete round 15 having previously taken about 10-12 seconds per round. PR by 5kg on this workout.

[james forshaw]

Was worried that my current injury would cause me to miss this workout. Where my spinal erectors meet my hip really hurts when sitting, so much so that flexing my abs to cough is excruciating. Luckily arching my back takes the pain away so it didn't bother me during the session.

Have gone five days straight eating paleo and feeling great because of it and looking much leaner already, unbelievable stuff. However I was in town today for longer than I expected and ate a gourmet burger (no sides) because I figured that on a heavy day it's probably best to eat anything than to not. Was a pain though, which is a good thing - I've conceded far too easily with my diet recently.

Moderate (6)

Back Squat
5 x 90, 102.5, 117.5, 132.5
3 x 152.5
8 x 120

Push Press
5 x 67.5, 75
3 x 87.5
8 x 67.5

Deadlift
5 x 130, 147.5
3 x 167.5

Third squat with 152.5 was a battle, jaw muscles were wrecked. Push presses standard. 167.5 is a lot for reps. It's going to take something epic to shift it for 5 reps next week.

[james forshaw]

Metcon

3 rounds for time:
15 x Ring Dips
12 x Pull-ups
9 x 70kg Hang Power Clean

Time: 8 mins 37

Would expect to go under 5 minutes when conditioned. Shows just how much my metcon ability has declined!

[james forshaw]

Heavy (7)

Back Squat 5x5
90, 105, 120, 137.5, 152.5

Push Press 3x5
65, 77.5, 87.5

Deadlift 1x5
Worked up to 167.5

Epic squatting. No spotter either, was not optimistic going into the fifth set but what an effort. So stoked with that. Wobbled on the fourth rep and was feeling light-headed going into the fifth, but it went up
Push presses fairly challenging but still fine. Deadlift felt better than last week despite being heavier. Because I'm not going for mass, I've cut out the first 2 sets of five and instead am just working up to a 5RM with doubles and triples.