Had a good week generally last week. Bench felt easy but overhead press and squats felt a bit tough. I think most of the difficulty I had was because work has been insane and I haven’t had any time to myself.
I have decided I am not working hard enough on my overhead press day so I will probably put in a barbell row. Might not go in exactly as before (Pendlay c. 130kg 8 x 2-3) but will have to see.
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Self experimentation
I started the following protocols after getting back from the Christmas holidays (so around 2 January):
- Vitamin D – 4,000IU in the morning - I am starting to think that this is not having very much effect. I am considering trying increasing the dosage to 6,000IU to see what happens.
- No coffee – I am still drinking green tea constantly.
I started the following protocols about two weeks later:
- Single set of higher reps after press workout – I have started doing a single set of higher reps after my presses (both the 8 sets x 2-3 reps workout and the 6 sets x 4-5 reps workout). I was pleased that it didn’t seem to impact on my dips performance. I haven’t managed it every time, however, because it hasn’t become a habit yet.
- Sledgehammer levering – typically, I do some simple rehab band exercises while resting between sets of presses or squats (like band pull-aparts). However, I decided to try something different between sets of squats the other day and ended up doing some sledgehammer levers. This was fun so I am going to give it a run for a couple of weeks and see whether it affects anything else (positively or negatively).
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Workouts plan for the week
Fri: Lower
- Back squat – 8 sets of 2-3 reps – 160kg (7 x 3, 1 x 2)
- Shrugs – 8 sets of 3 reps – 230kg
- Hip thrusts – 3 sets of 5 reps – 130kg
Sat: Upper (A)
- Incline bench – 8 sets of 2-3 reps –84kg (8 x 3)
- Dumbbell incline bench rows – 8 sets of 8 reps – 80kg
- Overhead press – 6 sets of 3-5 reps – 56kg (6 x 3)
- EZ bar curl – 6 sets of 5-8 reps – 50kg (6 x 6)
Sun: Lower
- Back squat – 8 sets of 2-3 reps – 160kg (8 x 3)
- Rack pull from below knee – 8 sets of 2-3 reps – 195kg (8 x 3)
Mon: Upper (B)
- Overhead press – 8 sets of 2-3 reps – 66kg (8 x 2)
- Barbell row – TBC
- Narrow grip chins – 6 sets of 3-6 reps – 30kg (6 x 3)
- Dips – 6 sets of 3-6 reps – 35kg (6 x 3)
Tues: Lower
- Back squat – 8 sets of 2-3 reps – 166kg (8 x 2)
- Shrugs – 8 sets of 3 reps – 230kg
- Hip thrusts – 3 sets of 5 reps – 130kg
Weds: REST
Thurs: Upper (A)
- Incline bench – 8 sets of 2-3 reps –87kg (8 x 2)
- Dumbbell incline bench rows – 8 sets of 8 reps – 80kg
- Overhead press – 6 sets of 4-5 reps – 56kg (1 x 4, 5 x 3)
- EZ bar curl – 6 sets of 5-8 reps -50kg (1 x 7, 5 x 6)
