Wednesday, February 29, 2012

...More Bench Focus

Bench Press
15 reps @ 40 kgs
10 reps @ 70 kgs - speed reps
8 reps @ 90 kgs
4 reps @ 110 kgs - really felt like I had another in me
5 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 100 kgs TPR


CGBP (Incline)
10 reps @ 60 kgs
10 reps @ 70 kgs
2 reps @ 90 kgs
6 reps @ 80 kgs
8 reps @ 70 kgs ... I think it was 8 reps at least

T-bar Row
15 reps @ 80 kgs
12 reps @ 100 kgs

AND I was already out of time. Training to a deadline is a pain in the ass when you have so much quality bass-bagging to do! Eh, at least I got back in there. I will probably have more info on why I've been out of action since the 22nd, but for now all I can say is

BRING ON THE FREAKING DEADLIFTS

Later.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Bench Focus

Bench Press
15 reps @ 40 kgs
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 80 kgs
3 reps @ 110 kgs
1 reps @ 120 kgs
10 reps @ 90 kgs

Incline CGBP
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 80 kgs
5 reps @ 90 kgs
6 reps @ 80 kgs
7 reps @ 70 kgs

Kroc Rows
left 8 reps @ 72 kgs
right 4 reps @ 72 kgs
left 7 reps @ 72 kgs
right 6 reps @ 72 kgs

Triceps Pushdowns
12 reps @ 45 kgs TPR
10 reps @ 45 kgs TPR
7 reps @ 45 kgs TPR
6 reps @ 45 kgs TPR


PRETTY comfortable with tonight's efforts, all things considered. I'm really just glad my shoulder wasn't aggravated. It's not as sore, but still not 100%. The rows were performed tonight with
BRUTUS

The Muscle Pit's new Strongman Dumbbell. Grip and balance issues were again apparent, as instead of a cheese-grater grip, this DB has no grip at all! I chugged a banana-berry smoothie and my Jack3d before workout tonight, and so had more than enough energy to complete the routine (if not enough strength to hit more PRs). Deadlifts tomorrow night. Woot.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Gained Weight, Dun Haz No Pants

Not many of you will get the significance of the title. Those who do may be chuckling a little...

On saturday I weighed 133.5 kgs, and had been there all week. This morning I weighed 134.

This wasn't planned, though not completely unexpected, since I've been eating slightly more... not enough to have caused fat gains, I am pretty certain: I'm still eating generally clean foods, no alcohol and no excessive sugars.

But this is the genuinely unexpected thing: I'm slimmer. Up until the weekend just gone I had perfectly serviceable house trousers (you know, the daggy duds you wear when no one's around) which were loose but still stayed on, pretty much. Now they just slide right off.

I'm down to the last notch on my fat guy belt (52 inches) which has been with me for several years... this also happened this weekend.

I can't explain it, really. Hopefully I'm synthesising more lean mass, which is causing the increase in weight. Preliminary indications are positive, at least... we'll see where I'm at in another week.

Final piece of anecdotal evidence: I just couldn't get a properly fitting pair of pants on Saturday. Now my waist is smaller (112) but my thighs are too big for that size!! Guess I'll still be shopping at Kingsize big N tall a little while longer...

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Events Training. Halved.

Yoke Walk
25 meters @ 205 kgs
25 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 205 kgs - quicker
15 meters @ 285 kgs - new PR for time here, I'm pretty sure this was faster than my walk at the comp!
15 meters @ 305 kgs PR ...but it took forever! 1 minute, 5.7 seconds
7 meters @ 305 kgs - busted


Axle Clean-Press
3 reps @ 65 kgs (press only)


Log Clean-Press
3 reps @ 82.5 kgs (clean + press)


And I had to bail, which I'm regretting now. While the yoke work was freaking intense, I felt I had more left in the tank.


Tomorrow I have a day-long seminar on 1st Aid which I need to attend for my PT certificate. And then Squat Monday rolls around again.

A Reason to Squat

My poison pen makes a reappearance here. It’s been put away long enough, I think.

It belabours the point for me to keep insisting on my normalness, just so I can then say “But I can do this!!” and then expect you all to take that as proof that anyone can do what I just did… even if it’s true. But I’m going to do it again. And I’m going to call you a pussy at the end if you don’t agree with me.

There’s too much interference from other trends, fads, ‘scientific’ studies and various other sources of noise: confusing young lifters and distracting them from seeing the facts. And the number one fact of lifting is

Thou Must Squat.

I don’t give a shit if you train to show off your oiled muscles on stage, or if you’re 350 pounds, comfortable with that, and keen to get bigger. I also don’t care if you’re really short or really tall, young or old, can touch your toes with your palms and do a back-flip, or if you think you need a safety rail to get off the couch. And if you really do need a safety rail, you’re also in need of a wheelchair – see legitimate excuse 1 of 1 (below).



This is Rich Knapp, WNBF pro body builder. He doesn’t squat coz he’s in a wheelchair. If you’re in the gym and in a wheelchair, you’re safe (and good on you, by the way!). If you’re in the gym and you’re NOT in a wheelchair, you have no excuse whatsoever not to squat. And that’s with a bar, on your back. If you don’t squat, you’re a pussy. Or a paraplegic – there’s your only out.

There is no better exercise for strengthening your core, pelvic floor, posterior chain, glutes and quads – and in fact your whole musculoskeletal system gets a dose when you squat properly.

It promotes growth throughout your entire body for a very simple reason: your lower half is where the largest and strongest muscles in your body reside, and at their centre is your growth hormone production factory. Hit those muscles hard, and all your muscles will grow. Curls in the squat rack don’t do it – squats in the squat rack do. You idiot.

NO! You will not get the same benefit from the leg press or leg extension machine. Sure, you might exercise many of the same muscles involved, but the biomechanic impact and biochemical reactions are not nearly as great, plus your balance and motor skills are not engaged while you’re sitting there with your legs pumping in the air. If anything you’re getting more uncoordinated, letting this machine with a cushion and a nice, oiled plane of motion do all that work for you.

NO! Swapping the back squat for another variation of squat and/or a collection of other exercises is not a good idea. You will be spending more time and effort for less gain, and you’ll not experience the amazing boost that only proper, deep, back squats give. There is no substitute – and the fact that more than one other exercise is needed to attempt this substitution should be proof enough that there is no substitute.

Hey look, I’m sensitive to people with back problems. I used to have one myself. The fact remains that, if your doctor told you to never back squat, and you don’t have a degenerative spinal condition (or similar) and a wheelchair under your ass, you have no freaking excuse. Either get out of the weights room or get under a bar.

I’ve honestly lost count of the number of stories I have come across over the years from people of all walks of life who were told by their doctors that they were too old, too frail, too damaged to do weights training and certainly could never ever squat. Yet they did, and now they don’t see their doctors nearly as often because their problems became more manageable and, in some cases, went away.

I’m being completely serious. Doctors often don’t know nearly enough on the subject. They know how to keep you weak and supplicant and, in some cases, dependent on their care. But sometimes the best treatment is not a pill but a dose of reality. Life is hard. If your life is not, then you’re weak and getting weaker. You need to use your body in challenging ways that promote strength and resilience. That’s not going to be found on a comfortable, cushioned piece of machinery, or in a prescription.

And then there’s the increased virility. It is undeniable that squats make you more of a man. A strong lower posterior, legs and core will add years to your life. Your sleep will be better, your work will be better, your sex will be better, and you will be a more vital human specimen generally.

So if after reading all this you still think you’re doing just fine with your bench press and biceps routine, or think you’ll get by strength- and/or mass-wise with a few more isolations instead of the back squat – you are a pussy.

Fernwood has room for you, once you remove your penis, which you perhaps don’t deserve. Hell, screw that, I know women who (try to) squat properly at Fernwood. It's hard, but they do it. So why the hell can't you? Planet Fitness haven't banned squatting too, have they?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Deadlift Focus (deload)


Deadifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 140 kgs
5 reps @ 180 kgs
4 reps @ 190 kgs TPR for this year, at least. My best @ this weight was 6 reps in early Dec. 2011

Lateral Pulldowns
10 reps @ 100 kgs PR
7.5 reps @ 100 kgs PR
8 reps kgs
8 reps @ 80 kgs

Pinwheels
left 5 reps @ 40 kgs
right 5 reps @ 40 kgs
left 8 reps @ 35 kgs
right 8 reps @ 35 kgs
left 8 reps @ 30 kgs

right 8 reps @ 30 kgs

left 7 reps @ 30 kgs

right 6 reps @ 30 kgs


Those deads always take it right out of me, and tonight was no exception. I don't have the energy for much more than assistance and bro-muscle work.

Time to rest up and get ready for Events training Saturday!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Strongman Training 2012 - New Templates


Bench Focus - Back on Track

Bench Press
11 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 80 kgs
5 reps @ 90 kgs
3 reps @ 110 kgs
3 reps @ 120 kgs equal to best effort, certainly a PR for 2012!
5 reps @ 100 kgs

Floor Press
5 reps @ 110 kgs

CGBP
10 reps @ 60 kgs
10 reps @ 70 kgs
9.5 reps @ 80 kgs failure!
4 reps @ 90 kgs

Kroc Rows
left 9 reps @ 70 kgs TPR
right 5 reps @ 70 kgs forgot the chalk, lost my grip
left 7 reps @ 70 kgs TPR
right 6 reps @ 70 kgs TPR

Triceps Pushdown
12 reps @ 45 kgs
7 reps @ 45 kgs
7 reps @ 40 kgs
8 reps @ 35 kgs

AND with that, I'm pretty much back to my strength levels of last year. All my lifts are looking good, except for log OHP, which is down by 5 kgs... not a major concern for now.

With bench press, I've only had a couple of better efforts in November - those being 125 kgs for 2 and 135 kgs for 1 (at my first ever comp), around the same period.

I keep thinking I've done 120 for 4 at some point, but can't be bothered really looking for it. Eh, does it matter? The important thing is - I'm back!! And I can only get stronger from here. Stronger than I've ever been before. Ever.

Deadlifts scheduled for tomorrow night. Awesome.

A Brief Word on Dan - WA's Strongest Man

...that was last week. This week Dan made 410 kgs x1!!

Dan injured himself a few months ago at the Muscle Pit's 'Deadliest Deadlift' competition (video below). He completely detached his right front pec. It hasn't stopped him hitting the iron, and hitting it hard. He's itching to deadlift again but knows he's still got some healing time ahead of him and has to take it easy.
And it hasn't stopped him helping others in their training either; Dan (and the rest of SMWA) still run Strongman training clinic every Saturday at the Pit. It's primarily for Pit members, but people off the street are welcome (though numbers are limited, so getting there at 2PM sharp is an advantage!) $20 will get you a solid 3 hour session of Strongman events instruction and training.


Monday, February 13, 2012

A Reason to Lift

It’s corny. Whenever I have a crack at this old chestnut, I wind up nutless.

The things I fall back on are lines from Fight Club, which doesn’t really do the ideology justice, since Palahniuk’s original story was a nihilistic and self-defeating deconstruction of masculine identity.

And talking about what motivates me is a trap. I can’t adequately explain to people who don’t already know the feeling. Motivation can’t be obtained or instilled by group-think unless you’re in the military. What I mean by this is that I right now want two things:

1. to get my bodyweight down to 120 kgs, and
2. to become a competitive Strongman

So my goals and perspective on why I do what I do aren’t going to inspire your average Joe to find that perspective – much less act on it – unless his goals mirror my own. And even then, some people just won’t be moved. Most won’t.

I could be philosophical and talk about self-improvement. I could be scientific and talk about fighting the second law of thermodynamics. But, again, Tyler Durden brought the two together so eloquently, how can I go past it?

“You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else.”

So let’s remove the statement from it’s bleak context and observe the simple truth of it. You and I are not special. We are decaying, right now, while I write this and you read it, we’re both fighting a losing battle with time.

I said I wouldn’t be bleak. Sorry.

What I’d like you all to take away from this meandering bullshit is the fact that there are always excuses for not doing what you know is good for you, but there has to come a point where you think to yourself – why am I sick and weak and sweating all the time? Why can’t I hike a flight of stairs without heaving and gassing? Why is my body’s main function in life now sitting on it’s ever-widening behind when there are clearly so many things I could use it for? When am I going to have the time to do those things, and will I take the opportunity even if all my ducks wind up in a row? Or will I just watch it pass me by, again, and perhaps for good this time?

A shitty, home trainer bench press is what I started with. What I amassed was a fully functioning home gym with enough weight and provision for the major lifts to ensure progression for the next year and more. And when I ran out of plates and gear I could accommodate at home, I joined SMWA and the Muscle Pit. I didn’t get this far by being idle.

It was the age thing for me, but even that was just a catalyst; a starter motor. You need to recognise – every day you live – that if you aren’t doing something to make your life healthier, nature and entropy are doing something to make sure you wake up weaker the next morning. You won’t notice it. You don’t notice it at the top of that flight of stairs, with your chest heaving and a fresh cigarette already in your hand. Why the fuck would you notice it now?

Seriously. Quit your weak fucking excuses and do what needs to be done.

…is what I always wind up saying. And then I leave it alone, because whomever I’m saying it to has their mind made up already.

Squat Monday - Some Progress

Squats
10 reps @ 30 kgs (cambered bar)
8 reps @ 70 kgs
5 reps @ 110 kgs
3 reps @ 150 kgs
3 reps @ 170 kgs equal to best effort
2 reps @ 180 kgs PR
3 reps @ 160 kgs PR


Good Mornings
8 reps @ 70 kgs
5 reps @ 110 kgs
5 reps @ 120 kgs
5 reps @ 130 kgs PR


Chin-ups
4.5 reps
3.5 reps


Lat Pulls
8 reps @ 90 kgs
6 reps @ 90 kgs


...AND I was outta there before Carl could force me onto that rickety old Roman chair! That rest was exactly what I needed. Pretty happy with those new numbers.

Sunday morning I weighed in at 132.5 kgs (292 lbs), which was actually a little too much weight lost. I didn't train, so I didn't really eat, and I knew I wouldn't last long monday night if I didn't scarf down some food.


So last night I over-ate, which helped immensely! It wasn't hard to do - home fried chicken fillets and home baked almond shortbread cookies with chocolate milk for dessert. I'm living well ;)

I will be training a friend tomorrow night. I know I keep saying it, but I might actually do some log work while he's running his full body Reeve's Classic.

It's been a while and I haven't posted much on it this year, but in late 2011 I was training two friends using an adapted Steve Reeve's Classic template I found on a lifting site. They both made good progress, but one suffered a hernia (unrelated to his training fortunately!) and the other progressed quickly but soon became complacent and quit coming round.

I will have to see if I can find it again.

But anyway, the hernia patient has recovered and this year began building his strength back again with the same template. If we can both finally get our shit together, so he can train at least twice per week without complications, he'll see some nice progress as before.

And then of course, I can use all this as practical experience in my PT certification, which so far is going well.

Life is good. :)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

A Reason to Quit

You can thank Nick Horton for motivating me to pen this, and it’s going to sound either self-deprecating or self-serving, but right off the bat I need to impress on people that I am not special. In many ways, I’m a failure. Or I was.

I’m not gifted with natural strength. I’m tall, yes, but I was never an athlete or sportsman. Genetically, I’m not exactly the most robust. I have tapered fingers, ankles and wrists, weak knees, flat feet, and I used to have a ‘bad back’ thanks to some drunken antics in my early twenties. And since I’m on the subject, thanks to this silly injury I a few years ago ‘put my back out’ by reaching down – while sitting in my office chair – to pick something up off the floor. Pretty strong huh?

In school I was a fat wimp; I sucked at anything that required coordination and was pretty reluctant to do anything you might even loosely term exercise. But this mentality changed dramatically once I’d arrived in the real world. It wasn’t right away (and not necessarily for the better, all things considered) but eventually I dragged myself off the couch.

In a minute I’m gonna fast forward to my thirtieth year to save a lot of time, except to say that I had shed some serious fat in my last year of high school and, with regular half-assed weights training, I’d maintained a decent physique for a few years. I sometimes kid myself and think I really had a shot at the Natural Physique Championships of October 2002, but in reality I was a brah trainer (or is it trainer, brah?).

But here I was at 30; completely miserable. I was working a pretty high paid office job and weighed in excess of 150 kgs (330+ lbs) – all fat. I’d lost all my muscle mass as I’d long ago abandoned my training, and since the age of sixteen I’d been a confirmed smoker. Plus I’d managed to build myself one hell of a drinking problem. By this stage I was drinking 2 bottles of wine every night, and considerably more on the weekends (when I wasn’t at work).

2010 began, and turning 30 kicked me in the ass.

Quit Smoking
The first thing I changed was the smoking. I had a lot of help and encouragement from friends and my boss at the time, who’d quit himself the year prior. People occasionally still congratulate me on kicking the smokes, and while it was not an easy thing to do, I had the necessary tools and motivation to get there.

It’s difficult to ignore the impact 15 years of smoking has on your body. Every year I would suffer some kind of smoking related illness like throat/chest infections, glandular fever, and tonsillitis. These illnesses got progressively worse as I got older, and combined with my obesity it was as plain as day to me that things had to change. So I changed things.

But compared to the demon drink, quitting smoking was a piece of cake.

Quit Drinking
For the first year and a half of my return to training I continued to be an alcoholic. I would kid myself by thinking I just needed to get more active, build more muscle mass, and the rest would take care of itself… it sorta happened that way the first time, so why not now? Well, I didn’t drink like a fish when I was 20, that’s something I chose to ignore.

I built some decent mass and dropped from over 150 kgs to 143 – and maintained that through xmas and new years, into early 2011 when I ballooned back up to 148. All it took was a hot summer to make me lazy and a string of birthday celebrations through March, and I was back drinking almost daily.

It was around this time I received an education. An unconventional one, and a story that deserves a post of it’s own.

It seems ridiculous now, but for approximately 8 years I’d been suffering a variety of ailments. I’ve mentioned the smoking related health problems, but add to this IBS, insomnia, (self-diagnosed) depression, and daily acid reflux. I was a mess, and alcohol was a major part of the cause of it all.

I say part and not whole because when I quit alcohol for good, around September 2011, I wasn’t just motivated by wanting to quit the one thing that was killing me and robbing me of gains under the iron. Alcoholic drinks were a major part of a poor diet so high in refined carbs it was making me unhealthy mentally as well as physically.

Quit Eating Crap
People get sick because they are weak, and they are weak because they get sick. It’s an abstract, stark and gloomy perspective from which to view the world. But it’s the truth. The way most people in the Western world live is harmful and remains that way because there’s profit to be made. Sunshine, fresh food and healthy activities can cure depression, drug addiction, and disease. But instead we medicate.

We suffer and are made weak by our increasingly efficient, quad-core processed and completely sedentary lifestyles. We can do so many things from the comfort of our armchair but would sooner Google a cheap cleaner than vacuum our own carpets (hopefully they can just clean around the couch while Judge Judy’s on… it’s hot outside).

The poisons in our food, and sometimes the foods themselves, are messing with our brain chemistry, our hormones and, consequently, our immune systems, metabolisms and fitness levels. Artificial sweeteners and soy lecithin are present in virtually every ‘low-fat’, ‘added protein’, and ‘diet’ food product on supermarket shelves… but we’re more concerned about getting fat from full cream milk and fresh red meat. All the nutrition advice says it’s these things that are to blame for us getting fatter. Not the half loaf of genetically mutated, refined, baked wheat paste holding our skinless chicken and salad sub together, with it's '99% fat free' dressing that is loaded with sugar, if not artificial sweetener.           

I removed all the grain, cereal, bread, pasta, rice, and potato from my diet... and cut right down on the sugar. A couple weeks later I saw no reason to ever drink alcohol again.

I’m talking a complete change of mindset. My brain chemistry was altered, and for the better. I now can thrive on 5-6 hours sleep a night when before I’d wake tired from 8-9. My digestive functions corrected themselves, my depression (if that’s what it was) evaporated. I was a new man, and stronger than the boy in his prime. And the body fat began to drop away. I’m now down to 133.5 kgs – and most of that has been lost in the last 3-4 months.

Thursday Deadlift Focus - Gassed Out and Pissed Off

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 140 kgs
5 reps @ 180 kgs
FAIL @ 230 kgs
FAIL @ 210 kgs
2 reps @ 190 kgs

Pinwheels (weight p/DB) ...not sure why.
8 reps @ 40 kgs
6 reps @ 40 kgs
5 reps @ 35 kgs

Not even the Jack3d could save me from failure this evening. The motivation was there, but the strength clearly was not. I pretty much gassed after my attempt at 230 kgs... still my nemesis. It hung just below my knees for what felt like several seconds before I had to put it down.

I actually wanted to squat afterwards, and try and save some face, but the rack I'm used to was being used and the other ones with the pneumatic adjusters I'd not used before so didn't want to waste time dicking around. The pinwheels balanced my bra muscles with the triceps work I did last night.

I reckon I need a brief rest. I will probably skip events training on Saturday and just do some log work at home, then be ready for Squat Monday with a little more fuel in the tank.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Wednesday Bench Focus

Bench Press
10 reps @ 60 kgs
2 reps @ 100 kgs
10 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 80 kgs
3 reps @ 100 kgs
3 reps @ 100 kgs

CGBP
3 reps @ 100 kgs
8 reps @ 80 kgs
5 reps @ 80 kgs
10 reps @ 70 kgs
8 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 70 kgs

Kroc Rows
left 8 reps @ 70 kgs PR
right 5 reps @ 70 kgs
left 6 reps @ 70 kgs
right 4 reps @ 70 kgs


Triceps Pushdown
12 reps @ 30 kgs approx*
12 reps @ 45 kgs
7 reps @ 45 kgs
6 reps @ 45 kgs


NOTICEABLY down on strength tonight due to having benched on Saturday, so it became something of a deload session, with a focus on form and a bit of speed in the lighter sets.


Only 1 meagre PR, which doesn't mean much at all, but I did feel a little more confidant with the grip and balance of these long, fat DBs at the Pit... at least on the left. Right hand is still retarded.


I've been advised by a recently acquired contact who's fast developing a name in the online lifting community that people would be interested in reading more about me; where I've come from, how I got into this Strongman thing, and not just write-ups on my training sessions... so with that in mind, I'm planning on drafting up some pieces on training philosophy and practice. So watch this space.


And SFW!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Events Training Saturday

Bench Press
10 reps @ 60 kgs
10 reps @ 80 kgs
5 reps @ 100 kgs
3 reps @ 110 kgs
2 reps @ 115 kgs
5 reps @ 100 kgs
5 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 90 kgs

Log Clean-Press
5 reps @ 62 kgs - clean and press each rep
3 reps @ 72 kgs - single clean
2 reps @ 82 kgs - clean and press each rep

Farmers Walk
15 meters @ 60 kgs p/hand - fast pace, no rest
15 meters @ 60 kgs p/hand
25 meters @ 80 kgs p/hand - a little slower but still brisk

IT was a great day to train; nice weather and a small contingent of new trainees made the afternoon lively. A fella from over east gave me some good advice about glutamine, and I will be getting some ASAP.

Bench is still painfully weak, but not as weak and it was... I'll be increasing my training to 4 days p/week going forward so I can devote one evening to bench without neglecting my other lifts.

I did an hour of floor barre yesterday afternoon (definitely not part of my regular routine) and followed that with a 30 minute bike ride home. Coz I have a new bike... one that can hold my weight. When I got indoors I skulled nearly a litre of milk and then crashed for a couple of hours!

This morning I weighed in at 134 kgs (295 lbs). Thankfully this time it wasn't due to wastage from being sick!  That's another kilo officially lost, and one step closer to my goal.

Everything is back on track; my weight is going down, my lifts are going up, and it feels like this godforsaken Aussie summer is behind is for another year.

Already looking forward to Squat Monday!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Thursday Deads & Assistance Work... & the Return of Strength

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 140 kgs
3 reps @ 180 kgs
1 reps @ 220 kgs equal to best effort
1 reps @ 210 kgs
1 reps @ 200 kgs
3 reps @ 180 kgs

Kroc Rows
left 6 reps @ 70 kgs
right 6 reps @ 70 kgs
left 4 reps @ 70 kgs
right 4 reps @ 70 kgs
left 5 reps @ 65 kgs
right 4 reps @ 65 kgs ...just

Lateral Pulldowns
9 reps @ 90 kgs
6 reps @ 90 kgs
5 reps @ 85 kgs
6 reps @ 80 kgs

Well that's pretty good, I reckon.

My strength appears to have returned to the level it was at late last year, before I'd dialled in my diet and really started to cut.

Maintaining Calorie Deficit + T-bones + Jack3d = Total Strength Recovery!

I had been maintaining weight at 135 - 136 kgs before my gastro attack last week, during which I dropped to 134 and was out of action for 4 freaking days. Once it passed I had a hell of a re-feed and ballooned back up to 136.5, but reigned it back in again by following the plan.

This week diet returned to normal with 2 minor variations; I've had a big juicy T-bone steak for dinner the last 2 nights in a row, and over the weekend I made a delicious fruit cake.

As always, 2 litres of whole milk is consumed each day - this is key. A small handful of nuts or a small slice of home made fruit cake accompanies this, and sometimes I will have a bowl of mixed berries before or after dinner. This is pretty standard fare for me; if not fruit cake, some other small and infrequent sweet food keeps me focussed, be it an apple, banana, or some chocolate buttons, etc etc.

And I have no doubt at all that the Jack3d is working for me. Had loads of energy and drive tonight, and wanted to triple every dead (reality prevented me from doing this of course, but the will was there).

All in all, very happy with tonight's efforts and I'm looking forward to pulling 230 very soon!!