Return of the pump| the saga continues. chronicles of a trainee.

Other Discussions Training Logs
1

After 5 months with no training, gyms are finaly open, and the Pump awaits, ready to be unleashed.

From now on I shall walk against the shadow of thy pump…

Lost some weight…

This week would be all about keeping things organized in charts, surveying macros, and hitting the right RPE’s.
Intensity and volume would ramp up after this week. once I’m accustomed to the training.

Male, 25 , 68kg bw .

Macros wise - This is recomp.
Hitting maintenance with 170g protein , 40-60g fats, rest is carbs.
I’m at 68kg, not overweight, abs mildly visible, don’t know what fat % that is.
I’d prefer starting on surplus, theorizing I can make big lean muscle jumps now that I’m desensitized to the training, but IDK, maybe better to play safe, maybe not -
I’l ask on the nutrition forum perhaps.

Not sure If to start with a NLP, or straight up go to more volume RPE based block.
TBH, It takes time to get used to higher rep ranges, and also RPE based weight choices - So I’m just gonna skip the whole NLP this time.
I’d also like to get more Hypertrophy than on a NLP , because, I lost some weight…

Also , I still have another month of Bouldering membership, so I’l be wall climbing on GPP days for this month, would keep an eye on how my body feels- It’s very taxing on the forearms
(mine are allready at a low point due to guitar\pc use).

I’d be getting some weekly pics.

This is still just testing , as It is unclear for how long gyms would be open this time. that’s the reason I’m not returning this month to train with a BBM coach.
If things would get clear this month what’s going on with the whole corona thing - then I’ll get back to online training asap.

Would update weights and RPS when training session is done.

I guess it’l take me 4 months to get to where I was, Don’t want to rush things :

Bench 117.5kg X5

Press 83.5KG X5

Squat 140kg X5

Deadlift 165 or so X5

By the end of the year if gyms would stay open, I’d like :

Squat 200X1.

DL 240X1

Bench 160X1

Press 100kg X1

With BW of 80-85.

That would be a moderate goal, and then for the year after It’l be the time to pig out.

Week 1 - getting back to the pump games.
Day one 14/3/21:

HB squat for 8s :

S1 60KG @6
S2 70KG @7
S3 75KG @8

Comp bench for 8s:

S1 60KG @6
S2 70KG @7
S3 75KG @8

Press for amram then for 12s:

S1 50KG 14 REPS @10
S2 40KG 12 REPS
S3 40 12 REPS.

Note to self- leg discrepancy + scoliosis got me shifting on my right side on squat way too much, would need to find my old Xray and go see a dr see how we can work on it.

2

4/5/21

Update:

Finished first GPP cycle -
singles
Bench 120kg @ 9
Press 80kg @10
Squat HB 110kg @7.5
DL 160kg @9\

so far so good especially concidering I got no more than 5 hrs of sleep each day , and the reps were always high (meaning I got a good carry over. ,
gained extra 2 kg body weight. now at 70kg.

Self regulated alot, sometimes took 2 days off after every 2nd workout.

Now time to get back training with coach .
New program is up , and it’s all about dem pauses and tempo - and I’m loving it.
My squat bottom position got rock solid over the mid foot after doing those 3ct pauses at bottom , and the DL now pops out of the bottom with alot more control and comfort from all those def SLDL.

3

Did front squats first time in my life - challenging…
used the wrist wraps to hold onto the bar
Next time I’l take a video to have it reviewed by coach at the end of the week.
Also - knees felt great, only bothered when I went below parallel !
So below parallel is a big no no as far as I can be concerened atm.
Hands feel kinda sore aswell from maintaining elbows up for so long.
3-0-3 X8 that’s 48 secs under tention lol.

Caffeine -
Took a break for 2 weeks, but felt like drinking a cup before the workout, as it really works well for performance -
But damn my sleep took a hit, I need a really small cup before the workout and that’s it, the halflife of it is too long for me (slow caffeine metabolizer)

Tomorrow would be also a first for tempo larsen presses, paused deadlift, looking forward to that!

Also - bulk cooked 15 some kilos of chicken breast and today would freeze in bags of 200g, don’t want to spoil the diet, not hit macros, and be ashamed infront of the dietitian at the end of the week lol.

Today is GPP , Bicep 3 sets , 1 set of upper back exercise, 25 mins easy cardio - and that’s it.

gotta take care of alot of other life stressors before finishing this week, don’t want to be stressed when volume is getting ramped up!

I wonder how those pauses and tempos are gonna effect 1RM on main lifts , Even if not so much by weight, I definitly feel very confident in my HB squats after doing them with pauses for a month (and also looking forward to squat! which is insane since I was always afraid of getting pain in the lower back from them) :sunglasses:

4

3rd workout of the week.

Low bar . 2ct pause one inch off bottom in the concentric phase - F me , I started dancing samba with my knees at last rep…
Obviously - I’m very week at that point lol.
It’s pretty pretentious to say something like that, because were just at the beggining of the cycle , and I lack the experience-
but I have a hunch that those pause and tempo protocols on variations would be a staple for my squat strength - I’m at the point I’m not even sure whenever to use low bar as main squat variation for comp…
well see how it transforms the following month, like the HB did last month.

Bench TNG 102.5kg X3 @7 , went well.

Larsen press tempo 303 x 10 @6-8 -
holy hell I only managed 50kg for sets and then went 42.5kg.
my stomach felt like I did ab work for 20 mins , I felt parts of my back working , my lats were working , didn’t realise how much the legs were helping the lift.

It’s interesting how much upper back work I’m getting through those larsen presses , my upper back GPP , and the 303 temo front squats -
my upper back is really sore atm and would need to get udgusted for the all the time under tention being squeezed in the bottom of the bench.

Edit : also not used to Lowbar squat - It might be that my soreness is from having the bar so low and tight. would keep an eye on it.

Also, It came to my awareness from the tempo bench - that my forearms are working extra in the bench, and my forearms are problematic from guitar playing.

So next time I do tempo bench - I’l have to tweek my writst position so they’ll take less of a beating.

5

4th workout of the week:

well, I was worried about 4 days, but tbh the 4th day isn’t so intensive , just 3 exercises.

2ct pause DL 1 inch off floor:
120 kg X4 reps X3 @6.5 Mmm , these aren’t so hard as the paused squats , my form didn’t degrade much, but I can feel an emphasis on the mid back.
Doing mixed grip till I’l get straps, maybe I’l do hook next.

3board close grip bench press
95kg @6 X4
97.5 @6.5 X4 X2

If grip is too close - starts to load the inside of the shoulder and inner chest alot , abit further from that seems to be the sweet spot.
TBH my width is allready narrow on comp bench , narrow feels very comfortable for me , especially on the shoulders.
problem - the way the bar rests on my palm, strictly the left palm (the one problematic from guitar) seems to loard the forearm and wrist too much.

Snatch grip pendlay rows:
80kg x10 @7.5
TBH I should have gone 5 kilos less and have my back abit more strict with the movement.
Got a tiny bit of blood flow to mid back from it.

Overall - 4 days split, having 3 lifts in one session and not 4 , Is nice.

6

session 1 week 2 :

Low bar squat :
S1 @8 x5 , 4 sets e1RM X70% X5

S1 97.5 x5 @7
S2 100k x5 @7
bk off:
s1-4 90kg 5 @6-7

Well I need to find time on GPP day to work on my grip… Bar roles abit and I need to applu more pressure with my palm than I feel like is good for my wrist…

Comp bench :
4 reps @ 8. 72% e1RM x 4 reps x 5 sets

S1 102.5kg X6 @8.5
S2-6 90KG X4

Incline close grip :
10 reps @ 8. 2 sets of 8 reps with same load

72.5KG X 10 @ 7.5

Too close of a grip causes a “bite” in the shoulder , abit widening took care of it

7

Week 2 session 2:

*Might be sitting abit back in the deadlift, low back kinda funky afterwards, good weight call though , deadlift jumps are higher

  • With deadlift, @8 should be close to shaking, Need to check with coach if rpe is till technique detereoration or true RM
    *so 142.5kg 5 reps at @8.
8

Wrapping up week 1:


IDK if it opens the playlist , but most of the main sets for the lifts are there .

Coach pointed out some stuff:

On comp squat and DL to help with RPE estimation and weight picks, Ima do a set at @6 before , to see what my @8 is at and be comfortable about it.
that means abit less warmup with weights on the bar beforehand.

Also (and I feel like this one would make a big change!) try not to be too rigid about back extension and “proud chest” que on squat -
Take a big breath and make a small “crunch” with the abs.
Idk how he managed to spot it from the videos - he’s a genious.
Trying too hard to extend my back and keep my chest as open as possible - screws up my ability to brace with the stomach and hold alot of air in my mid section!
so now, Ima go more “grip and rip” , focusing more on the brace, and then on extending the back (those two are somewhat conflicting with each other!)

In the DL taking the waist down 3-5 cm would probably help with that aswell!
I really felt this week how getting the DL setup " too perfect" fighting to get my back straight at the bottom - just makes me less tight (because I can’t fucking brace life that! )

this holds true for me even outside of the gym, standing up completely straight with open chest makes the belly tight, and I can’t get enough air in .