Some great work mate. Does your hammer kit have the seat belts? I read a few pages back how the decline forcing you out the seat. Use the seat belt if it has one. If not use a resistance band pulled over your hip pelvis and secured somehow either side of the seat. I first discovered this when I used the hammer seated horizontal leg press which should actually be a hip press. As I went heavier it was pushing me out but it didn't have seat belt. I attached a strong band over my hip which forced me into the seat. Became totally different movement and was pressing through hips more . Just a thought mate
Ah that's a great idea mate as no they have no seat belt. Cheers mate, i'll see if I can set something up with a band.
Weighed in for the first time since Christmas and weight 1lb up, back to proper tracking today, will see how this week goes but I may need another calorie increase. Anyways back to the grind in my usual gym today and it went nicely. Session 1 Bench Press 60kg x 10 80kg x 10 100kg x 5 120kg x 5 140kg x 2 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 160kg x 3 volume pb Feeling a bit rusty but these clicked nicely and 8 sets with 160kg was decent, moving nicely. Reverse Band Deadlifts - Beltless 140kg x 5 180kg x 5 220kg x 5 260kg x 5 310kg x 5 350kg/345kg x 2 (5kg plate fell off on rep 2) Building nicely, deads really feeling like they are clicking again, i'm trying to slow down my initial pull these days and lock in better, its making my lockout stronger, will see how I can keep progressing these. Looks like its time to pull out more thin plates lol. Back and hams felt very worked from these. Standing Pec Dec 105kg x 10 rep pb 105kg x 10 Nice increases on last time around and my chest gets wrecked from these, massive pumps and contractions. Seated Low To High Incline Cable Flyes 37.5kg x 12 rep pb 45kg x 6 rep pb 4 reps up on set 1 and a new bigger weight on set 2. Chest loves these. Lying Hamstring Curls 55kg x 15 85kg x 9 rep pb 85kg x 7 85kg x 7 85kg x 7 65kg x 15 65kg x 15 Hams felt tired from deads but these were strong and a decent increase on last time. Seated Calf Raise 60kg x 8 rep pb 70kg x 5 rep pb 80kg x 2 rep pb 80kg x 2 80kg x 2 60kg x 6 Nice increases and calves working well, I can actually start to see some growth I think lol.
Feeling a bit rough today, been fighting off a cold for a good few weeks and just feeling off this morning with a sore throat and headache but training was awesome and very strong, to the point I had to check a few times I hadn't mis loaded as things felt light. Session 2 V Squats 40kg x 10 80kg x 10 120kg x 10 160kg x 8 200kg x 5 240kg x 10 rep pb 260kg x 4 rep pb Moving nicely and got a nice burn going in quads, 2 reps up on set 1 and a new bigger weight for set 2. Belt Squats 60kg x 20 rep pb 80kg x 12 rep pb Felt light, 10kg up and an extra 5 reps too on set 1. 10kg up and an extra 2 reps on set 2...building very nicely and quads burning well from these. Leg Extensions 65kg x 8 rep pb 65kg x 5 40kg x 20 1 extra rep on set 1 and first time going for 2 sets at 65kg. Tough but moved well, burn out set on last set. Adductor Machine 78kg x 15 rep pb 87kg x 8 rep pb Again feeling light, 6 extra reps on set 1 and new higher weight for the second set. Seated Pin Press 40kg x 10 60kg x 10 80kg x 5 100kg x 1 110kg x 2 rep pb 115kg x 1 pb 102.5kg x 4 rep pb Switched out smith presses as I was stalling out, these make a welcome change, decided to go heavy and despite low reps delts really feeling these. Never managed this weight back when I used to do them, moved nicely. Incline Cable Side Lateral Raises (Cuffs) 15kg x 20 20kg x 16 rep pb 22.5kgx 12 rep pb Cuffs are a game changer...the focus you can put purely on the delt is spot on, shoulders like them too, no pain, strength soaring and the pump in medial delts was immense. Lying Side Incline Lateral Raises (Cuffs) 22.5kg x 12 rep pb 25kg x 10 rep pb Again cuffs make a huge difference, strength up and it was genuinely hard to lift arms up after these, awesome movement. Behind Back Cable Curls 35kg x a side x 13 rep pb 40kg x 7 rep pb Biceps in bits, the stretch from them is so good and pumps are huge. Reverse Grip EZ Pressdowns 35kg x 15 rep pb 40kg x 10 rep pb Feeling good still with no elbow pain so fingers crossed, again felt strong. Pinwheel Dumbbell Curls 37.5kg x 10 rep pb 42kg x 4 rep pb 4 rep increase on set 1 and I had more there on set 2 but bent dumbbell handles were hurting hands Decent enough. Reverse Grip EZ Preacher Curls 45kg x 5 rep pb 40kg x 7 2 rep increase with 45kg, tough, very tough but strong. Forearms pumped massively. Praying Pressdowns 25kg x 30 35kg x 20 45kg x 12 rep pb Love these, again cuffs are a game changer, zero elbow pain and huge triceps pumps, I can finally pressdown pain free. Job done.
Session 3 Low Incline Smith Bench 40kg x 12 80kg x 12 100kg x 12 120kg x 5 140kg x 8 rep pb 160kg x 3 rep pb 3 reps up on set 1 and new larger weight on set 2, first time up to 4 plates. Feeling very strong and chest working well. Vertical Bench 90kg x 10 130kg x 7 rep pb 135kg x 4 rep pb Again reps up and whole stack repped for the first time, building well. Incline Hammer Press 125kg x 15 rep pb 145kg x 6 rep pb Increases in weight and reps on last time, chest pumps were crazy. Pec Dec 105kg x 13 rep pb 112kg x 8 rep pb drop 91kg x 4 drop 70kg x 6 + 12 partials to complete failure Again increases all round and finished with a tough drop set and partials. Hammer Strength Pull Downs 60kg x 12 100kg x 8 lat twinging 40kg x 20 40kg x 20 Got a little lat pain on the first work set so took things back and just repped out. Wide Grip Seated Rows 35kg x 20 55kg x 20 55kg x 20 Again kept things light and just got some blood flowing. Straight Arm Hammer Pulldowns 20kg x 20 30kg x 15 40kg x 10 Like these, nice focus on lats, will be using it more, nice adaption. Reverse Pec Dec 84kg x 10 rep pb 70kg x 15 + 12 partials Increases on last time and rear delts pumped well. Paused Seated Leg Curls 80kg x 10 default pb 80kg x 10 80kg x 8 80kg x 6 70kg x 8 70kg x 8 + 10 partials Was using the stack and no room for progression so pausing in the middle of the movement to make it tougher, and it worked...these were brutal and the pump in hams was massive. And that was that, strength rocketing still, a little annoying about lat but not serious, just need to be careful with it. Everything else is going nuts. Increasing calories today as weight stalled out.
Session 4 Close Stance Hack Squats 40kg x 15 80kg x 15 100kg x 18 rep pb 120kg x 8 rep pb Brutal but good increases, 3 reps up on set 1 and 2 on set 2. I also made it tougher this week by really bringing stance in close, heels almost touching. Pump in quads was huge, hamstrings very sore from those paused curls yesterday too. Pleased with this, weights are feeling very light this week. Belt Squats 65kg x 20 rep pb 85kg x 15 rep pb 105kg x 6 rep pb Big increases on last time earlier this week..being careful not to go too low and put lower back in bad position, the pump in quads from these is massive, really painful. Sissy Hacks 20kg x 12 rep pb 25kg x 8 rep pb Painful way to finish quads off, one word...burn! Good increases though and quads feeling really worked. DC quad stretch. One Arm Machine Preacher Curls 20kg x 15 35kg x 11 rep pb 37.5kg x 5 rep pb Starting to get tough but weight did feel light and eeked out an extra rep on set 1 and maintained reps with 2.5kg more on set 2. EZ Drag Curls 90kg x 12 rep pb 100kg x 8 rep pb Man these hurt, 4 reps up on set 1 and new weight used for set 2 putting 10kg on my 8 rep max. The burn in biceps was horrendously good. Vascularity still on point too, veins popping all over arms. Close Grip EZ Arm Blaster 30kg x 20 40kg x 15 rep pb Damn these hurt but I love them, makes arms look bloody huge lol. DV Extensions 20kg x 15 rep pb 22.5kg x 10 rep pb Triceps burning nicely, good form and focus, 5 reps upon set 1 and new 10 rep max weight on set 2. Overhead Praying Cable Extensions With Cuffs 35kg x 15 default pb 40kg x 10 default pb Using my cuffs again and makes it a totally different exercise, triceps feeling these. Leg Press Calf Raise 200kg x 15 wide stance rep pb 200kg x 15 narrow stance 240kg x 6 wide stance rep pb 240kg x 5 narrow stance Strength up and calves in bits from these, felt vey decent. Good session again today, feeling very very strong and enjoying my lifting currently, increase in food is helping, banging in a lot around the training window, carbs still timed around this point.
Immense but brutal session today, feel massively strong. Morning BW - 103kg bang on Session 5 Dead Bench 60kg x 10 80kg x 10 100kg x 5 120kg x 5 140kg x 3 160kg x 2 185kg x 1 PB add bands 230kg x 3 PB bands off normal bench 120kg x 10 120kg x 8 Very pleased, 185kg moving nicely. When I benched my 192.5kg max bench my dead bench was a shaky 175kg so very much in a better position. Added the bands and was hoping for double with 230kg but after two reps I knew a third was there. Did a quick bit of repping at the end purely for chest. Push Press 60kg x 5 80kg x 5 100kg x 10 110kg x 5 rep pb 127.5kg x 1 Lifetime PB Very pleased with these, not done in a long time and was unsure how they would go but moved well...lockout on 127.5kg was slow but I was pretty fatigued by that point, I was not intending on maxing but 110kg moved so well I thought I'd go with it while it felt good. Pretty sure 130kg+ there when fresher. Forgot how tough these are, delts and upper body in general felt battered after, delts in bits. Barbell Lateral Raise 15kg x 17 rep pb 17.5kg x 8 rep pb 5 reps up on set 1 and new bigger weight on set 2. Pump in delts was immense, nice contractions and feeling strong. Machine Shoulder Press 75kg x 12 rep pb 80kg x 6 rep pb 4 reps up on set 1 and again new bigger weight on set 2, with pre fatigued delts these blew delts up. Standing Pec Dec 112kg x 12 rep pb 119kg x 8 rep pb drop 95kg x 8 drop 70kg x 11 Pecs pumped like made, strength flying up and the burn in chest was huge. 11kg x 8 was my last max so good increases today. Chest Supported Rows 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 40kg x 12 Kept it light and done to get blood flowing in lat, no pain and felt very good. Yellow Back Machine -Hammer Grip 55kg x 12 55kg x 12 55kg x 12 Again re-hab work, nice pumps. And that was that, tough, brutal session but very strong and great increases in heavy stuff and my rep work, body feeling battered, looking forward to a few days down time and get some decent rest and recovery. Night in a nice hotel tomorrow night with the missus and a Christmas party (done as a January one) so looking forward to that Vid...
Tired start to the week, few drinks and a night in a hotel for a January Christmas party wiped me out a little, had a great time though Got done what I needed to today but left out reverse band deads to ensure lat continues to heal, missus suspects a very minor tear so hopefully nothing too bad to deal with. Session 1 Bench Press 60kg x 10 80kg x 10 100kg x 5 120kg x 5 140kg x 5 165kg x 3 165kg x 3 165kg x 3 165kg x 3 165kg x 3 volume pb Felt a bit heavy today but lack of sleep and out of usual routine to be expected...last set was the best, felt very decent in the end just lacking a little oomph today. Incline Bench Low To High Cable Flyes 45kg x 8 rep pb 45kg x 6 45kg x 6 2.5kg up and an extra 2 reps on set 1. Considering how I am today very pleased with that. Great chest contractions. Floor Dumbbell Flyes 22kg x 12 22kg x 12 Added these in today and they feel very good indeed, great focus on chest and paused slightly at bottom of each rep, felt very good..will build these up. Standing Cable Cuff Flyes 25kg x 20 35kg x 12 rep pb 40kg x 7 rep pb Feel very good using cuffs, much better focus on pecs than using handles. Seated Calf Raises 60kg x 10 rep pb 60kg x 8 60kg x 8 60kg x 7 volume pb Decent increases in reps this week fairly comfortably. Mid Point Paused Lying Hamstring Curls 60kg x 10 default pb 60kg x 8 55kg x 10 55kg x 8 55kg x 8 volume pb So glad i have added in these midpoint pauses in all my hamstring curls, enables me to use much less weight but get a much better hamstring contraction and the doms they are causing is huge. Feels very productive. And that was that for session 1...nothing amazing just going through the motions a little today as quite tired still from the weekend and a little annoying I can't deadlift this week but wanting to ensure I don't injure lat anymore. Decent increases all round though so can't complain, just not feeling it today. Tomorrow I will be back on it, diet and rest back to normal now so all good.
Feeling a bit more on it today, decent deep sleep last night, only 7 hours but was quality sleep and it showed today. Strength going nuts. Morning BW 104.3kg Session 2 V Squats 40kg x 10 80kg x 10 120kg x 10 160kg x 10 200kg x 3 240kg x 13 rep pb 260kg x 8 rep pb Big increases...3 reps up on set 1 and 4 reps up on set 2. Strong reps. Belt Squats 85kg x 20 rep pb 105kg x 12 rep pb 5 reps up on set 1, 6 reps up on set 2. Adductor Machine 87kg x 15 rep pb 95kg x 8 rep pb 7 reps up on set 1, new 8 rep max weight for set 2. Leg Extensions 65kg x 9 rep pb 45kg x 20 1 rep up on set 1, repped higher on set 2. May sub these out, knees not liking the movement a whole lot. Seated Dead Press 60kg x 5 80kg x 5 100kg x 5 117.5kg x 2 rep pb 120kg x 1 PB 107.5kg x 3 90kg x 10 Strength rocketing up on these, plan was a single with 117.5kg but I knew I had a slow second there. Overhead strength at an all time high. Delts feel battered from these heavy lifts, making a nice change up. Incline Cable Side Lateral Cuff Raise 22.5kg x 20 rep pb 25kgx 16 rep pb 8 reps up on set 1, new bigger weight for set 2. Delts screaming from these, cuffs and cables are a total game changer for delts IMO, never had activation from medial delts like this. Lying Side Incline Cable Cuff Lateral Raise 25kg x 15 rep pb 30kg x 10 rep pb 5 reps up set 1 and new biggest weight ever on set 2...good clean reps and delts felt utterly wrecked after, unreal pumps...felt incredible. Behind Back Cable Curls 40kg x 13 rep pb 45kg x 6 rep pb 6 reps up on set 1 and new bigger weight on set 2...solid clean reps and biceps screaming by the end. Reverse Grip Pushdowns 40kg x 13 re pb 45kg x 10 rep pb 3 reps up on set 1, new 10 rep max weight on set 2. Swiss Bar Arm Blaster 40kg x 12 default pb 50kg x 5 default pb Subbed out pinwheel curls for these...painful! Praying Pressdowns 47.5kg x 20 rep pb 55kg x 8 rep pb 2.5kg up and 8 extra reps on set 1, new bigger weight on set 2. Strength massively up and triceps really working. Reverse EZ Preacher Curls 30kg x 15 rep pb 40kg x 5 Switched rep order around, lighter first, will build from here...these hurt. And that was that, very pleased with current training, feeling strong and in a very good place this off season. Vid..
Session 3 Morning BW - 103.5kg Low Incline Smith Bench 40kg x 10 80kg x 10 100kg x 10 120kg x 5 140kg x 1 160kg x 4 rep pb 140kg x 9 rep pb Well despite everything progress was made..1 rep up on both sets today, pleased with that, these really hit chest nicely. Vertical Bench Machine 90kg x 12 135kg x 6 rep pb 2 reps up on working set...the whole rack, brutal machine. Incline Hammer Press 140kg x 11 rep pb 150kg x 5 rep pb 1 rep up on set 1 and new heavier weight on set 2, chest blew up on these. Pec Dec 112kg x 12 rep pb 119kg x 7 rep pb + 2 + 1 rest pause drop 105kg x 3 drop 70kg x 8 Happy with these, 4 reps up on set 1 and heavier weight used on set 2...entire stack and form kept tight, rest pause and drop sets finished pecs off well. Hammer Strength Pulldowns 40kg x 12 60kg x 12 Hammer Strength Straight Arm Pulldowns 40kg x 12 rep pb 40kg x 10 Smith Rows 40kg x 12 60kg x 12 80kg x 12 100kg x 10 Got some nice light back work in and no pain in lat, focused on slow controlled form and getting maximum blood flow. Will be taking it nice and steady for the time being. Lats blew up actually despite light weights. Bent Over Cuff Cable Lateral Raise 15kg x 15 17.5kg x 12 rep pb Much better using cuffs for these, can really focus better on contracting the rear delt, felt good. Mid Point Paused Seated Hamstring Curls 80kg x 12 rep pb 85kg x 8 rep pb 90kg x 6 rep pb 95kg x 4 rep pb no pause 80kg x 20 I love these, the pause then squeeze to contraction is tough but hamstring contraction is huge and feels very good, nice increases on last time. And that was that. After a week on higher calories my BW is still sitting about the same on average, will see how this week ends up but may push calories up a tad more after the weekend. Vid..
Awesome day today...my 67 year old client smashed a 250kg 18" Rack Deadlift...3-4 months ago he couldn't get 180kg! I was so buzzing for him 67 years old, 2 surgically repaired shoulders, a replacement knee and a right arm he can't fully straighten but he smashed it! Made me well up for my session... Session 4 Close Stance Hack Squat 40kg x 12 80kg x 12 110kg x 15 rep pb 130kg x 10 rep pb Brutal, insanely pumped quads but 10kg up and only 3 reps down on set 1 and new heavier weight for set 2, last week 120kg x 8, this week 130kg x 10 Belt Squats 120kg x 6 rep pb 105kg x 15 rep pb Very nice increases again and legs very full of blood. Sissy Hacks 25kg x 15 rep pb 30kg x 8 rep pb Massive increases comfortably, legs in bits after, 8th rep on set 2 was very slow! One Arm Machine Preacher Curls 32.5kg x 9 35kg x 5 Reduced weight and went to full extension and kept them stricter, worth it and better foundation to build off. Close Grip EZ Preacher Curls 50kg x 6 40kg x 15 Brought back this week, will build back up. Dumbbell Spider Curls 22kg x 15 rep pb 24.5kg x 12 rep pb Forgot how good these are, pump was huge, DV Extensions 25kg x 15 rep pb 27.5kg x 9 rep pb Huge increases again and good tight form Overhead Cuff Cable Extensions 45kg x 6 rep pb 35kg x 20 Elbows not so keen as we get heavier, may sub out. Leg Press Toe Raise 20-30 sec rests 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 240kg x 3 vol pb Decent quick calf blast. Done.