Workouts for Saturday 19 to Friday 25 December

This is the eighth and final week of workouts after my holiday and, with Christmas Eve being next Thursday, I am allowing myself a week of doing whatever the hell I like. I’ll probably be testing a few maxes and trying some new workouts out that I have planned for the New Year.

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

I’m still fairly happy with this new full body approach, with the one caveat that I really need some time off! I also need to move a couple of exercises around, particularly my pistol, which is feeling a bit unloved at the moment. And I need to add some dedicated lower back work in. If I launch back into squatting at the moment, my legs will start writing cheques that my spine can’t cash. I am thinking probably RDL’s rather than Good Mornings, but we’ll see.

The greater stress on my tendons and joints that I have been noting (particularly on my elbows) is still in the background so I’m still not ready to go back to doing any direct triceps work yet. Having said that, my bench seems to be doing OK on its own without that…

My pull up goal has currently slipped to a back seat while I polish my form on the one-arm chin. I can now comfortably get a one-arm chin with either arm but assisted by one finger of the other hand touching the wall by the lintel for balance (and a little support). Obviously, this is very exciting, so I want to move this along so I can start doing clean reps.

I am pleased with my bench progress, which has continued up to 80kg (175lbs) for 10 sets of 3 reps on 1min30s. I am probably going to have a bash at a one-rep max during my week of “whatever” so watch this space. If I fail to hit 100kg (220lbs), I will probably try a maximum effort cycle for a while in January. If I hit 100kg, I may try a maximum effort cycle anyway!

My deadlift has gone well. All the way up to 150kg (330lbs) for 10 sets of 2 reps on 1min30s. I am pleased with this as this represents a return to deadlift form for me after quite a long lay-off. At no point was there a sign of any loss in speed off the ground. Neither was there any sign of lower back discomfort. However, at 150kg, I did notice that my legs were extending before my torso faster than at 145kg. So it’s probably time for a change.

I also made quite a mess of my shins for some reason.

Deadlift shin bruises

Anyway, moving on. I am currently thinking that I will swap to 10 sets of 1 rep on 1min30s, focussing on form, and continue to move up in 5kg (10lb) increments to around 170kg ( 375lbs), which was my old PR before my lower back started grumbling. If and when I hit that target, I will shift over to a maximum effort approach and see if I can hit my goal of 190kg (415lbs), which is about 2.5x bodyweight.

So there won’t be a workouts post next week as I am going on holiday between Christmas and New Year. But I will be posting, so keep an eye out for something a bit different!

The Garage Gym Online