Ben's strength log

[Ben Byram]

Yesterdays weight:
13st 10.6lbs / 87kg. Same 6 weeks ago.

Power clean:
92.5x1, 95x1 (PB!), 97.5xFx3, 85x2x4, 85x1/F.
Still working on technique having read some old posts including Glenn Pendlay and Gregg Everett. Lots to work on. Driving the legs through the floor, jump with bar at mid-thigh, pull the shoulders up, not the bar; pull the shoulders to the bar at full extension. Think I'll stick with working up to a heavy single, then dropping 10kg and doing doubles. More work at a higher percentage of 1RM which seems to be effective for olympic type exercises from what I've read.

Bench press:
95x3, 82.5x4, 72.5x5x2 (RPE 8).
The 95kg was a mistake, should have been 92.5kg. Thought it was a struggle. Cybernetic periodization if I feel like talking shit (and lying). Took it easy on back-off sets to save some energy for the heaviest week.

Squat (speed-sets):
75x2x8.
Nice and snappy, feet leaving the floor a tad.

Narrow-grip bench press:
67.5x8x3.

X-trainer.
15'@120-140HR.

Tried muscle-ups tonight. No chance. A 46 year made them look easy. Swinehund. Typing when drunk is tedious.

[Ben Byram]

C2:
20' @ 120-140 HR.
2:15.2 / 500m average.
Planned to do longer, but couldn't be bothered, mulled wine didn't help... Pleased I have done 3 cardio sessions this week for the first time in a while, seems to be enough to really feel the difference.

[Ben Byram]

40' nappage before starting, not unusually...

Squat:
107.5x5, 122.5x3, 130x1, 135x1, (no back-off sets).
Pissed off with with squats which have gone backwards from last month, knew I was in trouble when the first set felt hard. Was planning to go for 3 plates and do 140kg for first time in a while. Pathetic. Struggled to keep my knees from being pulled back when it gets hard, I guess my quads are weak.

Will change the programming and implement front squats to develop my quad strength on Saturdays instead of speed-sets which most people appear dismissive of at this level of strength; they don't appear to be helping with my knees getting pulled back either in hindsight. Was thinking about Dan John's one lift a day set scheme, but I guess it will be too much to recover from with front squats too? I think I need more work at a higher percentage of 1RM.... Hmm.....

Press:
77.5x1, 80x1.
Cut volume so I'm not battered for benching Thursday. (Compressing the important lifts into 2 workouts this week, then taking 5 days complete rest over Christmas). Done 3.5 months without any missed sessions, but with deloads every 4th week.

Some consolation with this. Achieved my goal this year of pressing 80kg a stone lighter than last year. 7.5kg shy of bodyweight press. Hopefully next year!

Chins:
20x5.
These are plateauing. Might try Shaf's ladders next year done once per week.

Explosive bench press skipped as benching Thurs.

Back extensions:
25x21x2.
First set easy, 2nd set was punishing after the first dozen.

[Ben Byram]

Bench press:
75x5, 85x3, 100x2.
Shoulders have been aching, so wasn't expecting much. First 2 sets didn't feel strong. Happy with 100x2, my best is 100x3. Was hoping to get back to there this year. Close enough. Seems my presses are going up okay, especially as brought bench day 2 days forward.

Deadlift:
185x4.
Was hoping to get 5 reps, but the 4th rep was a proper grind, even worse than my 5sec press on Tuesday. Technique wasn't very good, bar drifted away from my shins. Was thinking about driving my legs more as I tend to be very hip dominant and destroy my shins in the process. Need to find a middle-ground.

New Year Programme.

A few changes…

Squats:
More volume at a higher average intensity on Tuesday trying to go by feel rather than percentages as I seem to have burnt myself sticking to what is planned. Using Dan John’s one lift a day set/rep scheme, but training multiple days because that seems to suit me better. Basically Texas Method on squats, volume, light, intensity. Using different squat variations to control the intensity.
Overhead squats to help flexibility and trunk strength on light day.
Front squats to strengthen the quads/trunk instead of speed-sets.
.....EDIT: got RTS Manual for Christmas, have amended squats to try and autoregulate them with RPE's using similar rep ranges to Dan John's one-lift template.

Presses:
Unchanged as they’re improving.

Pulls:
Power cleans and deads on same day to improve recovery of the lower back, so I'm training the lower back just twice heavily per week. It's been feeling like it's going to get tweaked for the last couple of weeks.
Singles/doubles on power cleans and deadlifts to try and push them up a bit. Seem to be stalling out on the deadlift progress and bored of 3's and 5's.
EDIT: trying fatigue stops with singles and doubles, warming up the deadlift with a heavy...ish triple PC.

Assistance:
Same exercises as before, shuffled a little to maximize recovery.
Changed set/reps on chins as they’ve stalled.
Still no assistance on squats, although toyed with a single-leg lift for hip stability (watched Mike Robertsons freebee video).
EDIT: added YTWL's to balance the rotator cuff from all the pressing, prehab really.

Voila...

Tuesday (volume)
Squat x5@ RPE 9-10, Triples @ RPE 8-9, Doubles @ 8-9, deload.
Press 5/3/1 reversed as previous.
Chins 3x5-7 weighted / 3xmax BW
Bench (explosive) 3x8@RPE 6-7
Back extensions 2x20+

Wednesday
C2: 20-40’ @ 120-140 HR.

Thursday (light)
Overhead squat x5@RPE 8-9
Bench (light) 2x5
Chest-supported row 3x6-8
Ab roller 3x10-20
YTWL's 3x8
X-trainer 15-20’ @ 120-140 HR.

Saturday (intensity)
Power clean Triple @ RPE 9 / Max single, doubles @ RPE 9-10
Deadlift Singles @ RPE 9-10 / Off.
Bench press as previous.
Front squat Triples @ RPE 9-10
Narrow-grip bench press 3x8
Offset farmers walk 2x20-25m.

Sunday
C2: 20-40’ @ 120-140 HR.

If someone brighter than me sees anything stupid in this, please chime in!

Merry Christmas!

[Ben Byram]

13st 12.4lbs. 88kg.
+1.2lbs.

[Ben Byram]

Glad to be back in the gym, I've been stiff and sore, especially around the lower back and hips. Only exercise has been 15' yoga yesterday and a few mobility exercises to loosen my lower back. I don't react well to doing nothing...

Getting use to RPE's and fatigue stops, so a bit untidy on first attempt.

Squat (volume - should have been anyway):
115x5 @9.5
112.5x5 @9.5
110x5 @10
Thought 115kg was conservative to shoot for considering I did 122.5x5 a month ago, but it wasn't happening. Still tired in this movement and back still feeling the deadlift last week.

Press (intensity)
72.5x3 @10
65x3 @9.5
65x3 @9
65x3 @9
65x3 @10
Was going to stick with what I was doing previously, but 72.5x5 was not happening, so changed this to RTS intensity session on the cuff. Perhaps hasty? Done now.

Chins:
15x5x2, 15x4.

Bench press (explosive):
60x5 @7.5
55x8 @6.5
55x8 @6
55x8 @7
Bit tired from the pressing.

Back extensions:
25x22x2.
Made my back feel a lot better for flushing some blood back through.

[Ben Byram]

Feeble weights tonight...

Overhead squat:
40x3 @9
35x5 @8
35x5 @9
First time I've loaded the bar with these, I don't understand why they are hard, but they are.

Bench press (light):
70x5, 65x5.
Lowered the weight a little because still tired from yesterday's presses.

Chest-supported row:
52?x10x3.

Ab roller:
BWx13x3.

YTWL's:
6x3, 4x3x4-5 ish.
Hmm.... weak rotator cuffs. Had to break into little sets as shoulders fatigued quickly with little bag of sugar weights.

[Ben Byram]

Fridays weight 13st 13.4lbs (+1lb).
89kg.

Not noticeably fatter after Christmas, so that's cool.

Must have been in the gym nearly 3 hours today. Not sure how practical that will be all the time. Deadlift aside, an enjoyable session. Loving the RTS principles, couldn't help myself and used it for volume bench too. I should stick with what is working, but this makes more sense the more I think about it.

With a little less intensity it seems I can generate a lot more volume than I expected. Obvious... perhaps.

Power clean (intensity):
82.5x2@9.
No explosion. Felt off.

Deadlift (intensity - should have been):
140x1@8.
My lower back is still fried from a heavy session 10 days ago. Confirms to me that (1) I need 2 weeks between heavy deadlift sessions and (2) - pushing myself to the limit is not productive for gaining strength. Also like the idea of warming up with power cleans, but in reality I think it just will tire me out before deads. Won't do it again. Will alternate power cleans and deadlifts weekly for the timebeing, although power cleans weekly would be my preference to work on technique.

Bench press (volume):
80x5 @9, 80x5 @9, 80x5 @9, 80x5 @9, 80x5 @9.5, 80x5 @ 9.5, 80x5 @10.
Technique felt solid. Ended up 7x5 just like Dan John's week one in his one-lift-a-day programme.

Front squat (intensity):
90x3 @8.5, 92.5x3 @9, 92.5x3 @9, 92.5x3 @9.5, 92.5x3 @ 9.5, 92.5x3 @9, 95x3 @9.5, 100x3 @10.
Not done these in over a year. RPE's above are what I thought, but probably more like RPE 8 for the early ones in reality - hence more of a volume session. No bother.

Narrow-grip bench press:
67.5x9x3.

Offset farmers walk:
38x25m.

[Ben Byram]

Loving RPE based workouts, enjoying my workout more because I'm not forcing myself to do what I've planned and leaving feeling fresher. No grinding sets. Bit early to assess progress, but hopefully extra volume will carry me forward to the strength of a chubby bear.

RPE 6 = explosive with minimal effort.
RPE 7 = fast with max effort.
RPE 8 = 2-3 reps left.
RPE 9 = 1 rep left.
RPE 10 = maximum (but not muscular failure as I interpret it, i.e. uncomplete rep)

Squat (volume):
112.5x3 @7.5
112.5x3 @8
112.5x3 @8.5
112.5x3 @8.5
112.5x3 @9
Technique feeling much better and posture improved. Not sure whether this is a result of a few quick yoga sessions at home to try and save my battered hips or if it's from front squats, overhead squats, rows.... or all? Not arsed... it's helping.

Press (intensity):
70x2 @9
70x2 @9.5
70x2 @ 10

Chins:
BWx10 @8 (surprisingly easy)
BWx10 @10
BWx6 @9.5
Felt like I had 13 reps for chins. My best is 14 at lower weight, so happy. Will push for BWx10x3 as not done that before. Now switching weight week by week, rather than doing all heavy weighted.

Bench (explosive):
55x8 @6
55x8 @6.5
55x8 @7

Back extensions:
25x20 @8
25x20 @9
BWx15 @7 (just to flush some blood through).

Feel good. Reckon I may not need to deload with the RTS principles plugged into my plan. That would give me 25% more quality training time. That's got to be good.

[Ben Byram]

C2:
20' @120-140HR.
2:15.4/500m average.