Exodus Strength

Hello all.

Longtime lurker here, former SS log keeper. (https://startingstrength.com/resources/ ... -snow.html)

My name is Helgi Briem Magnusson and I'm a 55 (56 in a month) year old Icelander. I started weight training 15 years ago, in Sept 2003, initially in order to give my beat-up shoulders some respite from swimming. I soon found I much preferred it to swimming and after I injured my shoulder in a meet in 2004 stopped swimming regularly.

Here is my powerlifting career so far. http://results.kraft.is/lifter/helgi-briem

My all-time best lifts raw are all from around 2013-14, 195kg squat (wraps), 140kg bench press, 242.5kg deadlift at a bodyweight of around 95kg.

I'm at about the same bodyweight now, but after shoulder surgery (acromioplasty etc) on both shoulders, knee problems, pulled back and various my current maxes are probably closer to 170kg squat, 120kg bench press, 225kg deadlift.

My current goals are to get as close as I can to my previous best and perhaps take a couple of national M2 records. Some of the 105 numbers are within my reach I think.

I coach at the same club I train in, so sometimes my workouts are curtailed for lack of time.

At the moment my program is a two-week rotation (to slow down progress) that I call Fortnite and is based on HLM. Here are a few recent workouts (only worksets shown):

Monday Jul 23rd 2018 - Day 1 Week 1

Squat: 150kg x 1, 160kg x 1 130kg x 3,3,3
Close Grip Bench Press: 80kg x 8,8

Tuesday Jul 24th 2018 - Day 1.5 Week 1

Snatch Grip Deadlift: 150kg x 4 160kg x 4,4,4,4
Weighted Parallel Grip Chinup: 10kg x 5,5,5,5,5
Close Grip Bench Press: 85kg x 8,8,8,8



Wednesday Jul 25th 2018 - Day 2 Week 1

Light Paused Squat: 100kg x 3,3,3
Deadlift: 160kg x 3 180kg x 3 200kg x 3
DB Bench Press: 35kg x 8,8,8,8
Pulldown: 135lbs x 8

Friday Jul 27th 2018 - Day 3 Week 1

Medium Squat: 120kg x 5,5,5,5,5
Close Grip Bench Press: 90kg x 5,5,5,5,5

Monday Jul 30th 2018 - Day 1 Week 2

Squat: 120kg x 3 140kg x 3,3,3,3,3
Deadlift: 180kg x 1 205kg x 1 220kg x 1



Tuesday Jul 31st 2018 - Day 1.5 Week 2

KB Row: 32kg x 12
DB Row: 40kg x 8,8,8
Light Squat: 100kg x 5 120kg x 5
20cm Rack Pull: 170kg x 3 200kg x 3 210kg x 3,3,3

Wednesday Aug 1st 2018 - Day 2 Week 2

Speed Deadlift: 150kg x 2 160kg x 2 170kg x 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 200kg x 1
Barbell Row: 80kg x 8 87.5kg x 8,8,8

Thursday Aug 2nd - Day 3 Week 2

Paused Squat: 100kg x 5 120kg x 5,5,5
Parallel Grip Chinup: BW x 12,12,12
Close Grip Bench Press: 110kg x 1 117.5kg x 1

Tuesday Aug 7th 2018 - Day 1 Week 3

Squat: 140kg x 1 150kg x 1 162.5kg x 1 157.5kg x 1 152.5kg x 1
Close Grip Bench Press: 90kg x 3 110kg x 1 100kg x 3
Snatch Grip Deadlift: 150kg x 4 162.5kg x 4,4,4,4
Weighted Parallel Grip Chinup 15kg x 5,5,5,5,5

Wednesday Aug 8th 2018 - Day 2 Week 3

Light Paused Squat: 105kg x 3,3,3
Deadlift: 180kg x 3 190kg x 3,3,3
DB Bench Press: 35kg x 8,8,8,8
Pulldown: 150lbs x 8,8,8,8

Friday Aug 10th 2018 - Day 3 Week 3

Medium Squat: 100kg x 5 125kg x 5,5,5,5,5
Close Grip Bench Press: 80kg x 5 100kg x 5
Parallel Grip Chinup: BW x 12,12,12

Monday Aug 13th 2018 - Day 1 Week 4

Squat: 120kg x 3 142.5kg x 3,3,3,3,3
Medium Deadlift: 160kg x 3 190kg x 3 210kg x 2
DB Row: 40kg x 10,10,10

Wednesday Aug 15th 2018 Day 2 Week 4

Light Squat: 100kg x 5 120kg x 5
20cm Rack Pull: 180kg x 3 200kg x 3 222.5kg x 3 212.5kg x 3,3 (222.5 kg was a misload but not all that hard)
Close Grip Bench Press: 80kg x 5 90kg x 5,5,5

Friday Aug 17th 2018 - Day 3 Week 4

Medium Paused Squat: 110kg x 5 125kg x 5,5,5
Close Grip Bench Press: 100kg x 3 110kg x 1 120kg x 1
Speed Deadlift: 172.5kg x 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2

Hey, @hbriem!

I remember your log from SS. Always some darn impressive lifting. I see you're still strong and racking up the volume!

Thanks for joining up and starting a log.

Thank you @mgil. I'm glad to be here to share and learn.

Mon Aug 20 2018 - Day 1 Week 5

Squat: 120kg x 3 140kg x 1 150kg x 1 165kg x 1 152.5kg x 3
CGBP: 80kg x 5 100kg x 5

I had a lot of coaching to do which was very time-consuming. I have to make some changes to my routine, Monday is a little too full for comfort.

Wed Aug 22 - Day 2 Week 5

Light Paused Squat: 110kg x 3,3,3
Deadlift: 150kg x 3 170kg x 3 192.5kg x 3,3,3
Weighted PG Chinup: 20kg x 6,6,6,6,6
Snatch Grip Deadlift: 150kg x 4,4,4,4

Good to have you logging here, @hbriem

Thank you @Wilhelm. I have also been logging elsewhere for 12 years but that forum is going belly up.

It's good to see that there are other, umm, mature lifters around.

Thu Aug 23 2018 - Day 2.5 Week 5

Close Grip Bench Press: 80kg x 5 100kg x 3 110kg x 3 95kg x 3,3,3,3,3

Pretty light. The 110x3 is this season's post-op best, RPE8.5-9 maybe, the rest easy.

Oh and here are some links:

Instagram for my powerlifting club in Iceland (Kraftlyftingadeild Ármanns, AKA Ármann Powerlifting Club): https://www.instagram.com/armannkraft/

Facebook for the club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/armann.kraft/

Facebook for the gym we share with the Ármann Weightlifting Club, "Djúpið" (The Deep): https://www.facebook.com/djupid.armann/

Visitors are welcome and welcomed.

My Youtube page, seldom updated these days but still active: https://www.youtube.com/user/hbriem/videos

Mon Aug 27th 2018 - Day 1 Week 6

Squat: 100kg x 5, 120kg x 3, 140kg x 1, 142.5kg x 3, 125kg x 5,5,5
Deadlift: 170kg x 3, 200kg x 1

Very busy coaching, never managed full concentration, ran through deadlifts in one minute without rest.

Wed Aug 29th 2018 - Day 2 Week 6

Squat: 110kg x 5, 130kg x 5
Rack Pull, 12.5cm: 170kg x 3, 200kg x 3, 215kg x 3,3,3
Close Grip Bench Press: 90kg x 5, 100kg x 3, 110kg x 2

Very pleased with the rack pull, lowered the height from 20cm to 12.5 and raised the weight to 215kg from 212.5. This is a 5kg PR at that height.

Fri Aug 31st 2018 - Day 3 Week 6

2ct Paused Squat: 100kg x 5, 125kg x 5,5,5
Speed Deadlift: 150kg x 2, 175kg x 2,2,2,2,2,6

Busy coaching, ran out of time, did the last three sets of 2 in one set. That was RPE8, the others maybe 5-6.

Hi hbriem, I also remember your log from the other place. Great log title, by the way, one of my favourite poems!

Thank you DCM. I had a look at your log.Very impressive.

Mon Sep 3rd 2018 - Day 1 Week 7

Squat: 100kg x 5, 130kg x 3, 140kg x 3,3,3
Weighted PG Chinup: 25kg x 6,6,6,6,6

The weighted chins are an all-time PR. Admittedly I use a different technique these days, I stand on a box and come to a full stop between reps. This is a little easier than doing it free-hanging but treats my shoulders better. I'm going to count it as a PR anyway.

Tue Sep 4th 2018 - Day 2 Week 7

Deadlift: 150kg x 3, 180kg x 3, 210kg x 1, 230kg x 1, 195kg x 3,3,3
Close Grip Bench Press: 90kg x 5, 110kg x 2, 120kg x 1, 90kg x 5, 95kg x5, 100kg x 5,5

It's my 56th birthday tomorrow and I'm missing training for the party, so I went a bit heavier than usual. 230 is this year's best deadlift and 120 equals this year's best bench.

Man, that is good stuff!

I really want to deadlft 500lbs/ 227kg someday.

happy birthday @hbriem! \o/

Thank you @Wilhelm. 230kg/500 lbs is pretty much what I regard as baseline and hope not to drop below. Would hope to get back to my best ever one day.

There are videos of the 210 and 230 deadlifts on our club Instagram:

Monday Sep 10th 2018 - Day 1 Week 8

Squat: 110kg x 5, 130kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 145kg x 3,3,3
Close Grip Bench Press: 90kg x 5, 100kg x 3,3,3
Weighted Parallel Grip Chinup: 27.5kg x 6,6,6,6
Chain Bench Press (CG): 60kg + 50kg x 3,3,3

Another Chinup PR.

Wed Sep 12th 2018 - Day 2 Week 8

Paused Squat: 80kg x 5, 110kg x 3,3,3
Deadlift: 170kg x 3, 197.5kg x 3,3,3
Close Grip Bench Press: 85kg x 5, 100kg x 5,5,5,5,5

Fri Sep 14th 2018 - Day 3 Week 8

Squat: 80kg x 5, 110kg x 5, 130kg x 5,5,5,5,5
CGBP:80kg x 5, 110kg x 5, 100kg x 5,5,5,5
Deadlift: 150kg x 3, 180kg x 3, 200kg x 1

110kg x 5 in the bench (RPE10) is this season's and post-op best. A bit sad since my all-time best 5 is 125kg, but at least it's on the up and the shoulder feels quite good.

Mon Sep 17th 2018 - Day 1 Week 9

Squat: 100kg x 5, 120kg x 5, 140kg x 3, 145kg x 3,3,3,3

Most of my time went into coaching two new trainees. Will try to finish tomorrow.

Good work all around, @hbriem. +++