Workouts for Saturday 5 to Friday 11 December

This is the sixth week of workouts after my holiday. After this week, I only have 2 more weeks before the Christmas holidays are upon us!

My goals

For what it is worth, my current goals are:

a double bodyweight pull up;
a 2.5x bodyweight conventional deadlift; and
bench 100kg (220lbs).

Progress so far and notes

The first week on this new programme has gone OK. It’s hard to say whether this approach will work long-term but I have a couple of observations so far.

I seem to have lost the ability to assess my dip strength when it comes to reps! For some reason, I thought 50kg would be a good number to do 10 sets of 3 reps but I think it is probably closer to 40kg! Oh, well.

I can definitely feel that there is greater load on my tendons and joints using this full-body approach. On the Monday morning, I could feel the 2 days of pull ups over the weekend in my elbows slightly. As you’ll notice, I’ve not programmed any direct triceps work as a result. Oh, well. Bang goes that great idea!

The lactic is also much more severe and I tend to feel more nauseous after workouts than with the upper/lower splits. I struggle with my peri-workout protein shake more than I used to…

I’m looking to step up the weights quite gradually on these workouts and I’ll probably try and get all my reps before moving the weight up. Normally, if I’m doing 10 sets, I’ll generally move the weight up once I get 7 or 8 full sets.

Regarding progress, the deadlift is still going well. No sign of any loss in speed off the ground as yet on my 10 sets of 2 reps. This week, 140kg (310lbs) came up as quickly as 120kg (265lbs) did at the start. I feel good for 145kg (320lbs) this coming week so I’m hoping for a smooth ride all the way through to 150kg (330lbs), which is about 2x bodyweight.

I’m planning to drop down to singles after Christmas to see whether I can push through to 190kg by mid-February, which is about 2.5x bodyweight. If I get stuck before I get there, I’ll back off and do doubles and triples for another month before having another go at the singles.

Without further ado, here is the workout plan

Saturday – Upper focus

Exercise	Weight	Sets	Reps	Rest	Detail
Bench	76kg	10	3	1min30	-
Pull up	42.5kg	10	3	1min30	-
Pistol off 12” box	30kg	10	3	1min30	Both legs
Hanging leg raise	2.5kg	10	3	1min	-
Supine rows	-	5	10	1min30	-

Sunday – Lower focus

Exercise	Weight	Sets	Reps	Rest	Detail
Deadlift on 2” plates	145kg	10	2	1min	-
Glute bridges	52kg	10	4	1min	-
Close grip chins	31kg	10	4	1min30	-
Military press	42kg	10	3	1min30	-
Supine rows	-	5	10	1min30	-

+ sandbag loading and lifting of course!

Tuesday – Upper focus

Exercise	Weight	Sets	Reps	Rest	Detail
Dip	40kg	10	3	1min30	-
Assisted one arm chin	-15kg	10	1	1min30	Both arms
Pistol off 12” box	30kg	10	3	1min30	Both legs
Hanging leg raises	2.5kg	10	3	1min30	-
Supine rows	-	5	10	1min30	-

Thursday – Lower focus

Exercise	Weight	Sets	Reps	Rest	Detail
Lumberjack squats	90kg	10	3	1min30	-
Glute bridges	52kg	10	4	1min	-
Close grip chins	31kg	10	4	1min30	-
Military press	42kg	10	3	1min30	-
Supine rows	-	5	10	1min30	-

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