Tim's Log of Gainz and Life

[TimF]

8-Jun-2018, Week 5, Day 5,

Deadlifts:
120 kg x 4 @ 6
123 kg x 4 @ 7
126 kg x 4 @ 8
126 kg x 4 @ 8
126 kg x 4 @ 8

1 ct Pause Bench:
72 kg x 4 @ 6
75 kg x 4 @ 7
78 kg x 4 @ 8
78 kg x 4 @ 8
78 kg x 4 @ 8
78 kg x 4 @ 8
78 kg x 4 @ 9

Squat, no belt:
70 kg x 7 @ 6
80 kg x 7 @ 7
85 kg x 7 @ 8
87 kg x 7 @ 8

Notes: Low back was a little sore/tight today. That made deadlifts a little more challenging. Bench was better than last week. Last set was an @9, as my shoulder blades got out of position. Squats were challenging because of the high reps. I can feel some progress on the conditioning front over the first week of tempo squats so that's good.

[TimF]

11-Jun-2018, Week 6, Day 1:

Squat w/ Belt:
115 kg x 1 @ 8
105 kg x 4 @ 8
105 kg x 4 @ 8
105 kg x 4 @ 8

3 ct Paused Bench:
67 kg x 4 @ 7
69 kg x 4 @ 8
71 kg x 4 @ 8
72 kg x 4 @ 8
73 kg x 4 @ 9

Paused Deadlift:
90 kg x 4 @ 7
95 kg x 4 @ 8
100 kg x 4 @ 8
105 kg x 4 @ 8

Notes: I could have gone up a little more on the squats. I'm still on the cautious side of increasing the weight on it. Bench felt really good today, got 4 more kg on it over last week. Paused Deadlifts also went up a bit. I did take a caffeine pill with my preworkout, maybe that was the deciding factor?

[TimF]

12-Jun-2018, Week 6, Day 2:

Chinups: 36
Ab rollouts (knees): 40
LISS: 30 min @ 6

Notes: It was pretty cold outside this morning, I guess winter is finally here. There's something not right about winter in June...

[TimF]

13-Jun-2018, Week 6, Day 3:

Pin Squat:
85 kg x 3 @ 7
87 kg x 3 @ 8
90 kg x 3 @ 9
91 kg x 3 @ 9
92 kg x 3 @ 9

Press w/ Belt:
50 kg x 1 @ 8
46 kg x 1 @ 8
46 kg x 1 @ 8
46 kg x 1 @ 8
46 kg x 1 @ 8

Barbell Rows:
70 kg x 6 @ 6
72 kg x 6 @ 7
74 kg x 6 @ 8
74 kg x 6 @ 8
74 kg x 6 @ 8
74 kg x 6 @ 8

Notes: I'm trying to push myself a little more on weight this week. Kept adding a little weight to the pin squats. Trying to get used to what an actual 9 is. I felt like the press was fairly close for RPE. The single rep felt light, but I don't think I could have done 3 more, so @8 was correct. Based on some reading in this forum, I decided to give a strict Press 1.0 a go. It felt basically the same, so I guess my Press 2.0 hip drive hasn't been doing much. I'm going to stick with 1.0 for now. Barbell rows are getting tough to keep form strict. Last few sets started breaking down a bit.

[TimF]

14-Jun-2018, Week 6, Day 4:

Chinups: 32
Ab rollout (knees): 35
HIIT: 5 min warm up, 7 x 20 sec sprint

Notes: Chins/abs were down a bit from Tuesday. Seems to follow the same as last week. No issues sprinting other than I'm a little out of practice doing it. I'd like to get an assault bike for this, or a rower. Maybe I'll start checking Gumtree for one.

[TimF]

15-Jun-2018, Week 6, Day 5:

Deadlift w/ Belt:
140 kg x 1 @ 8
120 kg x 4 @ 8
120 kg x 4 @ 8
120 kg x 4 @ 8

Comp Pause Bench:
87 kg x 1 @ 9
77 kg x 4 @ 8
77 kg x 4 @ 8
77 kg x 4 @ 8
77 kg x 4 @ 8

Squat no belt:
85 kg x 6 @ 6
88 kg x 6 @ 7
92 kg x 6 @ 8
92 kg x 6 @ 8
92 kg x 6 @ 8
92 kg x 6 @ 8

Notes: I did my math wrong today for the deadlift 1 rep set. I calculated my e1RM, but forgot to back off the weight for the @8. So I pulled 140, which felt like an @8, and then loaded up 154. I got that about 1" off the floor. So the e1RM charts are fairly accurate. I went down to 120 for the work sets, it should have been around 128 but I didn't realize until I was done that my calculations were off.

For bench, the first set felt like a @9, so I ended up a little lower than last week. Squats went up a bit due to 6 reps vs 7 last week. I also tried looking out a little further which seemed to make a difference.

[TimF]

19-Jun-2018, Week 7, Day 1:

Comp Squat:
117 kg x 1 @ 8
110 kg x 3 @ 8
110 kg x 3 @ 8
110 kg x 3 @ 8
110 kg x 3 @ 8

Pin Bench:
71 kg x 3 @ 7
73 kg x 3 @ 8
75 kg x 3 @ 9
75 kg x 3 @ 9
75 kg x 3 @ 9

Paused Deadlift:
105 kg x 3 @ 7
108 kg x 3 @ 8
112 kg x 3 @ 8
115 kg x 3 @ 8

Notes: My alarm didn't go off yesterday (my FitBit battery died during the night) so I missed training on Monday. Which is probably a good thing since it's pouring rain out again and I don't want to run in the freezing cold rain. Squats were challenging today. I worked on getting more speed in the eccentric portion. It's a mental challenge to go faster. When it worked I could feel the bounce out of the bottom which helped out a lot getting back up. The weight felt pretty good too, a solid 8. No issues with pin bench, increased the weight a little over the 3 ct pause bench from last week. Paused deadlifts felt good so I kept bumping the weight up.

[TimF]

20-Jun-2018, Week 7, Day 2:

Chinups: 37
Ab rollouts (knees): 44
LISS: 30 min

Notes: It was raining again so I elected for the treadmill instead. I bumped the incline up to 8 to make it more challenging. Kept the HR up around 140 BPM.

[TimF]

21-Jun-2018, Week 7, Day 3:

Pin Squat:
87 kg x 3 @ 7
90 kg x 3 @ 8
93 kg x 3 @ 9
93 kg x 3 @ 9
93 kg x 3 @ 9

Press w/ Belt:
51 kg x 1 @ 8
48 kg x 3 @ 9
48 kg x 3 @ 9
48 kg x 3 @ 9
48 kg x 3 @ 9

Barbell Row:
67 kg x 6 @ 6
69 kg x 6 @ 6
76 kg x 6 @ 8
76 kg x 6 @ 8
76 kg x 6 @ 8
76 kg x 6 @ 8

Notes: Pin squats felt good today. I focused again on going faster in the eccentric. No issues with the press either. I misloaded the first two reps of the rows. I thought they felt a little light but I figured I was just super strong all of a sudden.

[TimF]

22-Jun-18, Week 7, Day 4:

Chin-ups: 34
Abs: 10 rollouts (knees), planks
HIIT: 5 min warm up, 7 sprints for 20 sec

Notes: I tried the ab rollout on my feet instead of knees. That was a no go. Abs were still sore from Tuesday. Ended up doing some planks to change it up a bit.

[TimF]

23-Jun-2018, Week 7, Day 5

Deadlifts:
142 kg x 1 @ 8
133 kg x 3 @ 8
133 kg x 3 @ 8
133 kg x 3 @ 8
133 kg x 3 @ 8

1ct Paused Bench:
88 kg x 1 @ 8
85 kg x 3 @ 9
85 kg x 3 @ 9
85 kg x 3 @ 9
85 kg x 3 @ 9

Squat no Belt:
87 kg x 6 @ 6
90 kg x 7 @ 7
94 kg x 8 @ 8
94 kg x 8 @ 8
94 kg x 8 @ 8
94 kg x 8 @ 8

Notes: Today was high on the intensity scale and took a lot out of me. It felt good though and really anything is better that tempo squats. I did my deadlift RPE calculations correctly this week so the weight went up a bit. Same with the bench, although I calculated from last week's 87kg as an @8, when it was @9. I ended up higher than planned but I still crushed it. Squats were challenging coming at the end of the workout and not having a belt. I miss the bracing. I also focused on getting a faster eccentric and it seemed to go better.

[TimF]

25-Jun-2018, Week 8, Day 1:

Squat w/ Belt:
120 kg x 1 @ 8
112 kg x 3 @ 8
112 kg x 3 @ 8

3ct Paused Bench:
70 kg x 3 @ 7
72 kg x 3 @ 8
74 kg x 3 @ 9

Paused Deadlift:
105 kg x 3 @ 7
108 kg x 3 @ 7
111 kg x 3 @ 8

Notes: Everything was good today. The fewer sets of the low stress week was nice.

[TimF]

26-Jun-2018, Week 8, Day 2:

Chinups: 38
Ab rollouts: 20
LISS: 30 min walk

Notes: I tried the ab rollout on my feet again, that was another no-go. So I focused on going out as far as I could which resulted in fewer reps. I noticed that my HR was lower on the walk today, which means I'm adapting to the cardio already. Which is a good thing.

[TimF]

27-Jun-2018, Week 8, Day 3:

Pin Squats:
100 kg x 1 @ 8
94 kg x 3 @ 8
94 kg x 3 @ 8

Press w/ Belt:
52 kg x 1 @ 8
49 kg x 3 @ 8

Barbell Row:
71 kg x 6 @ 6
74 kg x 6 @ 7
77 kg x 6 @ 8
77 kg x 6 @ 8

Notes: I did the wrong squat reps, it was supposed to be 4@7, 4@8, 4@9. But I read the reps from Monday instead. I sent a squat form check to Joe Pemberton down in Sydney. He said I need to be leaning over sooner as I'm descending. I worked on that today. Press was easy, was supposed to be @9 but went up fast.

[TimF]

28-Jun-2018, Week 8, Day 4:

Chinups: 39
Abz: 20 rollouts, 20 hanging knee raises
HIIT: 5 min warmup, 9 sprints for 20 sec

Notes: Tried to roll out even further today on the ab wheel. Did some knee raises as well to change it up a bit.

[TimF]

30-Jun-2018, Week 8, Day 5:

Deadlift:
145 kg x 1 @ 8
140 kg x 1 @ 8

1ct Paused Bench:
90 kg x 1 @ 8
87 kg x 1 @ 9

Squat, no belt:
89 kg x 6 @ 6
92 kg x 6 @ 7
96 kg x 6 @ 8
96 kg x 6 @ 8

Notes: It was a little hard to rate the single deadlift, but I think the triple had a couple more reps.

Program notes: Bridge 1.0 is complete. Overall I give the program a thumbs up. It took a few weeks to get the hang of RPE, and I was pretty conservative at beginning, but I still made some good progress. I think the extra volume compared to HLM or Texas Method really helped me. The e1RM max increases reflect my conservative start for the lower body lifts due to my hip injury. That has healed all the way now so I'll be entering the next cycle fully healed and ready to go.

e1RM increases:
Squat: 114 -> 130
Press: 51 -> 56
Bench: 91 -> 98
Deadlift: 148 -> 162

[TimF]

Bridge 2.0 begins
2-Jul-2018, Week 2, Day 1:

Squat:
122 kg x 1 @ 8
110 kg x 5 @ 8
110 kg x 5 @ 8
110 kg x 5 @ 8

Comp Bench:
91 kg x 1 @ 8
80 kg x 5 @ 8
80 kg x 5 @ 8
80 kg x 5 @ 9

Rack pull:
115 kg x 5 @ 7
118 kg x 5 @ 8
121 kg x 5 @ 8
124 kg x 5 @ 8

Notes: I skipped Week 1 since it's a light week and I'm coming off the Bridge 1.0. Form wise, squats felt all over the place today. I noticed that my knees are breaking well after my hips. That will be something to work on with the supplemental squat forms this week. Rack pulls were supposed to end up at @9, but I had to be honest and rate them @8.

[TimF]

3-Jul-2018, Week 2, Day 2:

Chinups: 32
Ab rollouts: 23

Biceps curls: 15 lbs, 17.5 lbs, 20 lbs x 12
Triceps kickbacks: 15 lbs, 17.5 lbs, 20 lbs x 12

Notes: Chins and abs are 6 min now vs 7 min on Bridge 1.0. It was raining again so I did the bonus biceps/triceps work from Monday.

[TimF]

4-Jul-2018, Week 2, Day 3:

Paused Squats:
80 kg x 5 @ 7
83 kg x 5 @ 8
86 kg x 5 @ 9
86 kg x 5 @ 9

Press w/ Belt:
53 kg x 1 @ 8
47 kg x 5 @ 8
47 kg x 5 @ 8
47 kg x 5 @ 8

Barbell Row:
60 kg x 10 @ 7
62 kg x 10 @ 8
64 kg x 10 @ 8
66 kg x 10 @ 9

Notes: I went a little lighter than planned on squats. I attend my first BJJ class night and there was plenty of rolling and ground moves. My lower back and hips were feeling it today. Thank goodness for RPE. Press continues to climb up. Went lighter on barbell rows given the extra reps involved, and residual fatigue.

[TimF]

5-Jul-2018, Week 2, Day 4:

Chinups: 35
Ab rollouts (knees): 21
HIIT: 5 min warmup, 20 sec sprint x11 (20 min)
Biceps curls: 12 x 20lbs, 22.5lbs, 22.5lbs
Triceps kickbacks: 12 x 20lbs

Notes: Dumbbell work is counted with single dumbbell weight