The plan was to start my first run of the bridge tonight but my local gym is currently flooded so I thought I would take advantage of the time and start work on my training log.
Firstly I want to outline my goals as I find it a great stimulus to work towards something and as I won’t be competing I need some motivation.
These goals may seem very light to a lot of you guys but I think they are realistic and achievable for my current stage in training following a long break.
I don’t see any point in setting unrealistic goals then becoming frustrated and giving up or putting myself under unnecessary pressure.
Current stats.
Weight 81kg (179lb)
Height 5ft 8
Bodyfat 19%
Bench ……
OHP ….
Squat ….
Deadlift ….
I will fill in figures after my first week on the bridge using my e1RMs.
I’ve also spent a good portion of the evening typing out an excel spread sheet for the 8 weeks of the program which was quite a task.
For the lifts I had to estimate where I thought I was in terms of 1RM then using the RPE percentage chart I filled in the estimated values for each set.
These will be used as a guide only and can be adjusted to suit but as I have never used the RPE system I thought this would at least get me in the ball park.
Well that’s about it for now.
Assuming the four horsemen (or Mechanix for you metal fans) don’t descend on my gym I should be posting my first workout and thoughts on how it went tomorrow.
First day of the bridge and it went well. The whole workout did take close to two hours but that was due to a few factors. Firstly the gym was extremely busy and secondly I was way off on some of my estimated 1RMs,. As a result the figures I based my percentages on were also out, but as advised I just treated the sets that were under the required RPE as warm up sets and kept adding weight until I reached the RPE I was working towards. I have also not done belted squats for a very long time and they felt kind of strange, not good or bad just different.
For the detail I will only list the final set and that days e1RM
WEEK 1 DAY 1
Squat with belt.
5@8 85kg (231lb) e1RM 105kg (231lb)
This is a lot lower that where I want to be but its early days yet.
CGBP
4@9 75kg e1RM 87kg (191lb).
I was very worried about benching as I have a shoulder issue but as the sets went on I felt fine. I did get a little twinge on the final rep but all was good.
Rack pulls
7@8 125kg e1RM 164kg (364lb)
My original estimate for these was a 1RM of 130kg so I ended up doing at least 8 or 9 sets before I got to RPE 8.
All in all a good workout. Looking forward to the next session although I understand paused squats are tough. I will have to wait and see.
Before I go I have to share with you guys what I saw in the gym. I honestly don’t know what goes through peoples minds at times.
Some guy was trying to do what was basically a back squat but the was trying to do the movement whilst standing on his tip toes. As you can imagine it didn’t end well. He squatted down, fell forward onto his knees and dropped the weight behind him as he went. Luckily he wasn’t hurt, well apart from his pride. When I asked him if he was ok and what he was doing he told me he was trying to “hit his calves”. He very nearly hit his face on the ground.
As part on my journey I am also looking to improve my body composition. I will be tracking my diet and making adjustments as I go. I normally take measurements every Sunday but I haven’t been tracking calories / macros etc. Although I haven’t been tracking calories I have been eating the same food consistently most days. My plan is to track my diet until next Sunday (24th) and see what happening.
At the start of the process I was 25% body fat with 140lb lean body mass and as of last Sunday I was 20% body fat with 145lb LBM. My weight has dropped from 187lb to 182 lb. I have lost 5% body fat and gained 5lb lean body mass so its working well at the moment but things have slowed down over the last few weeks.
Before I change anything I need to know what I’m eating on an average week so I know where to go next.
The workout went well again. I did feel like I could have pushed harder on the pause squats but I didn’t want to over reach my RPE.
Shoulder felt fine so I’m happy about that.
Diet on target again today, got protein up a bit closer to where it should be so a good day all around.
Pause Squat
4@9 87.5 @8 e1RM 104kg (229lb)
OHP with belt
5@9 50kg e1RM 60kg (132lb)
BB Row
8@8 60kg 31RM 84kg (184lb)
Diet
1834 calories
168g protein
175g carbs
49g fat
Tomorrow is my first GGP session. Looking forward to it.
Today was the conditioning workout and I have to say 25 mins steady state cardio is the pits. I will remember my headphones next week so I don’t have to listen to the music they play. Regardless I just stuck with it and got it done.
Cross trainer 25 mins
Ab rollouts 7 mins 40 reps. I’ll be hurting tomorrow.
Pull ups 7 mins 23 reps. Started well then hit the wall big time.
BB curls 7 mins with 25kg 52 reps. Haven’t done any direct bicep work for a long time so I thought I would add it in.
Diet
Calories 1897
Protein 162g
Carbs 108g
Fat 57g
Fat is a little high and carbs a bit low but close enough for me at the moment. Protein staying around the 160 to 170g mark which is where I want to be for consistency.
I will do my weekly measurements tomorrow morning and see wats going on. No matter what the results I want to keep my diet the same for the following week so I have a clear 7 days of recorded eating to assess how the current diet / macros are working. If I loose body fat and my energy levels are good then there’s no need to change anything. My target is to get down to around 13 to 15% bodyfat then slowly increase my calories until I maintain for a few weeks then I will look into increasing slowly. In an ideal world I would be happy with 15% body fat around 85 kg (187lb) and my lifts going up. you have to dream right.
Todays session brought week one of the bridge to an end and what a way to finish TEMPO SQUATS. I can see that they are a great exercise but they are so tough. Got a bit light headed towards the end of the last few sets but I finished them…just.
Deadlift with belt
5@8 125kg e1RM 149kg (328lb)
Pauses bench
5@9 70kg e1RM 83kg (183lb)
3/0/3 Squat
8@8 60kg e1RM 81kg (178lb)
Diet was a little more relaxed today as it always is on a Saturday. I need to relax a little at least one day a week.
Calories 2065
Protein 163g
Carbs 168g
Fat 76g not sure how I got it so high.
No training today but it was weigh in day.
Results were quite good and I’m moving in the right direction.
Weight 180.6lb
Body Fat 19.1%
LBM 146.1lb
Diet was a little off today as we went out for a fathers day meal (and I enjoyed my meal). I did add it to MFP but had to estimate the portion sizes although I had a 10oz steak which helped with tracking.
Calories 2051
Protein 164g
Carbs 113g
Fat 71g
As I’ve only been tracking food intake for 5 days I cant give any weekly averages so I will wait until next week.
Also as the gym was closed last Monday I will had to train Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday which meant I only had 1 rest day this weekend. I should be back on track next week as I like to train Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
Off to finish listening to one of the BBM podcasts.
As expected my bench hasn’t improved. I have always struggled with bench but I will follow the program and it WILL improve. I have faith.
On a plus note squat and rack pulls are both up so I happy about that. Still a good way off my lifetime best but I’m confident I can get past them at some point.
Lifetime best squat 140kg (308lb)
Lifetime best pack pull 187.5kg (412lb)
Lifetime best bench 105kg (231lb)
Lifetime best OHP 72.5kg (160lb)
I think I will be pushing close to these numbers towards the end on this program or in the next training block.
During my rugby days I didn’t train for strength so this is a new direction for me.
Tonight was a real struggle. I’ve been tired all day following a poor nights sleep. I went to bed on time at 11pm but woke up at 2.30am, 4.00am and 6.00am before the alarm finally went off at 7. By this time I was a mess. I then got to work and just sat there in the heat for a further 8 hours. Apparently we don’t need air conditioning because we have a window. So by the end of the day I was tired, hot and stressed. This is not a combination for a world shattering workout. I’m planning on sleeping on the sofa bed tonight as the lounge is cooler than our bedroom which is on the second floor.
That being said things did start well and the pause squats were fine but I soon ran out of steam and had to lower the weights a little on both the OHP and the rows.
Just realised I missed a workout update so I will do both week 2 workout 3 (from last week) and week 3 workout 1 (from today).
Week 2 Workout 3
Deadlift with belt
5@8x3 sets 120kg e1RM 149kg (328lb)
Paused bench
5@8x4 sets 65kg e1RM 80kg (176lb)
303 Squat
8@8x2 sets 60kg e1RM (132lb)
Week 3 Workout 1
Squat with belt
5@8x2 sets 92.5kg e1RM 117kg (258lb)
CGBP
4@9x2 sets 77.5kg e1RM 90kg (198lb)
Rack pulls
7@8x2 sets 130kg e1RM 171kg (376lb)
Diet wise this week has been another success.
Average over the last week
1938 cal
165g protein
178g carbs
57g fat
This weeks measurements are also very pleasing.
Weight 180.2lb (down 0.4lb)
Waist 35.5" (down 1/2")
Body fat 18.6% (down 0.5%)
LBM 146.6 (up 0.5lb)
My plan is to keep my diet the same for the remaining time on the bridge. When I I finish the bridge I will do the hypertrophy template and raise my calories to just above maintenance to put some mass on then I will either do the bridge again or do the bridge 2. I would like to do the bridge again to see the difference being in a calorie surplus makes on strength gains.
Good solid session tonight. I think it helped having a 2 day break for the first time on this program. I also increased my rest times and it really helped.
Due to time issues I also had to superset over head press with bb row but it didn’t cause any issues as the over head press weight went up easily.
Pause Squat
4@9 x2 92.5kg e1RM 107kg
The final set could have been a 8.5 so I will add 2.5kg next time. Pushing for 100kg before I finish the bridge.
Seems strange I can do the same weight for belt and pause squat.
OHP
5@8 x4 47.5kg e1RM 60kg
BB Row
8@8 x4 62.5kg e1RM 84kg
Diet has been consistent. Hitting my daily targets and feeling good, not hungry and have plenty of energy.
Another busy weekend so haven’t had time to record what’s been going on in the gym and kitchen.
Firstly diet is running smoothly. Body fat is down to 17.9% and lean body mass is sitting around 147lb. Body weight is slightly over 181lb but I haven’t got my notes on me at the moment so could by .5lb out ?
Trained Friday and today so here are the numbers.
Friday 29th June
Week 3 Workout 3
Deadlift with belt
5@8 92.5 *3 sets e1RM 114kg
Paused Bench
5@8 65kg *4 sets e1RM 80kg
3/0/3 Squat
6@9 75kg *2 sets e1RM 92kg
Monday July 2nd
Week4 Workout 1
Squat with belt
5@8 92.5 *4 sets e1RM 114kg
CGBP
4@9 75kg *3 sets e1RM 90kg
Rack Pulls
7@9 135kg *2 sets e1RM
Rack pulls felt easy but I was pushed for time so I couldn’t do any more sets. I would say they were more like a RPE 8.
CGBP was a bit off tonight. 75kg should have been a RPE 8 but it was a tough 9 so I stuck with that weight.
I think I’m starting to feel the effects of reduced calories and poor quality sleep as my numbers in several of my lifts are remaining static. I will stick with the diet until I complete the bridge then when increase them when I start the hyp template.