Bean

Great day today - deadlift Wednesdays. Workout: Warm-ups. Powercleans: 3 x 85kg, 3 x 90kg (I can almost clean my bodyweight!) Deadlifts: 10 x 135kg (all double OH); 2 x 9 x 135kg (about half double OH) Incline bench : Worked up to 10 x 60kg. Stretch and go home My son's deadlifts are coming on very nicely - up to 35kg today! And, only one more work day this week since Wednesday is virtually done and Friday is yet another holiday.

Was a long weekend for us here - and another one this weekend. April is never great for productivity. Friday - kettlebell training. We did circuits: 5 Turkish get ups per arm, 10 double kettlebell front squat, 5 overhead press each arm, 50 m farmers walk, 10 swings. 5 sets. Then 5 x 20 swings at 50 second intervals. Then, stretch and go home. Fantastic workout - fun, heart-rate busting. Monday - when we got to the gym, it was my son and I and one other guy in the free weight section. Gotta love public holidays. Squats: Front squat : 3 x 5 x 115kg LBBS 10 x 115kg, 15 x 95kg, 20 x 75kg. Although I did these all without racking the bar, I would like to do them all consecutively without having to stand and catch my breath throughout the set. Afterwards: 5 x 5 pullups Then to finish: 5x20 Kettlebell swings 24kg on 50 second intervals Stretch (Today - legs are saying I worked hard yesterday - can't sit for too long at my desk, have to keep getting up for a walk to keep the blood flowing and not stiffen up. Am I crazy to like the sensation of sore muscles?) Weekly recap: Making good progress on goals. About half-way on the lifting goals. Eating - going really well. Have not even missed the desserts and the coffee tastes so much better when I can only savour a limited number of cups. Son - log complete. Every training day. This week, we need to find time to set some intermediate goals for him. Back to the grindstone now.

Awesome wildross - deadlifting twins. Definitely something to look forward to. Great workout yesterday: Powercleans: 2x3x85kg. Felt great - time to up the weight. Minimum increment is 5kgs (2.5kg each side) as these are the smallest plates in the gym. Deadlifts: 3x9x135kg. First set was all double overhand, second was 5 reps and third was 3 reps. Another week of this and then 10 reps on set one. Bench 3x10x70kg. Last rep of last set was almost a fail. Then Farmer's walk - 2 x 40kg DB, 2x30m - grip was less than pleased with me and, when stretching, my abs cramped. Needed extra stretching. Legs feel good - back reminding me that I deadlifted yesterday. A pleasant tightness. Eating - all going to plan. Meeting goals. No coffee yet today... Son - good session yesterday. Got a deadlift PR - 35kgx5 reps. Documented! We agreed to write out some goals over the weekend. Tomorrow - fun day at gym. Kettlebell complexes - TGU, Swings, Goblet squats, walks, presses.

Great job on the PR. On the bench - try switching it round. Do the heavy ones first and then do the lighter weight with 20 reps. Your body might like you more that way...

Awesome! Slow but steady will get you to that pullup - and then 2 and then 3 and ....

Can honestly say that protein, quality calories and sleep have never been a problem. I get plenty of all three - except when flying long-haul when sleep is less of an option! I think I just take longer to recover - even when I used to do gymnastics (in my teenage years), I would remain somewhat sore for longer than any of my team mates after an intense strength building session. It's OK - every time I have to bend down, it reminds me that I squatted on Monday and makes me smile (or is that grimace?)

I love the cat pick - the quote is EPIC!!! (vir die mense wat Afrikaans verstaan) You gotta love loadshedding - especially when the utility provider can't even stick to their own schedule... With the sore hip - can you do some mobility stuff instead of trying to lift?

Awesome workouts dude

Glad you are on the mend. Eat all the ice-cream!

My son is 13. Poor kid - every time he starts to make strength gains, he has another growth spurt and then has to start again while his muscles catch up. Monday was really tough: Front squats 5x110kg, 2x5x115kg (this was OK) Squats 10 x 115kg (sucking air); 15 x 90kg (needed to stand and catch breath after 8 reps); 20 x 70kg (wondering if my legs will make it back up from about 12) Pullups 5x5 - these felt OK, probably because I couldn't feel my legs, so they didn't weigh me down. Kettlebell swings 24kg bell, 5x20 swings at 50 second intervals. Legs are somewhat sore today - have to keep standing up and walking around to get the blood flowing. Squatting down hurts... Looking forward to deadlift day tomorrow. hopefully my legs will let me walk down the stairs at the gym.

I am not so lucky. When I train squats, it takes me at least 2 days to recover enough to feel like training them again. Some weeks it is worse than others, and I wake up on Tuesday (Monday being squat day), with very sore legs. Must be an age thing ...

Wrists and grip strength take time to build. If it hurts - sounds like an injury to me. I would have it checked out. To build grip strength - farmers walks and higher rep deadlifts using double overhand grip have worked for me. I only use mixed grip on my last heavy set or when I can no longer hold the weight double overhand in my higher rep sets. With SLDL, you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings.

Watching that 200 goal on the bench! Hope the knee scan doesn't show anything too scary next week.

Hey Dan - those are pretty good stats there. What are your goals for this challenge?

Slow week this due to work travel commitments. Got a training session in on Wednesday at the hotel gym - pretty decent facility except that they have only one BB and no racks and if I put all the plates they had on the bar, it would get to 110kg. Did some RDL work with all the plates and then did some cleans and some upper body work with the DBs. Nothing too inspiring though. Eating was really good - coffee limits met and only one dessert this week so far, so I have a spare for the weekend. When I got back this morning, my son wanted to know when we were going to the gym - good news that. Would love to have gone then and there, but duty calls - quick shower and headed for the office.

But, if you nearly burnt the house down with glass, I am afraid of the gas...

Just got one thing to say. In your thread you said it was bad that your winter clothes don't fit. Really - if you have lost that much weight, this should be a celebration! That's all.

I have been doing front squats for a while now - admittedly with a clean grip and not the cross grip. In my experience, if you don't feel like you are going to choke, you aren't doing it right. It gets easier after a while and if the bar isn't right up against my throat now, it feels wrong. Try starting with just the bar and rack it up against your throat. Then, stick your arms straight out in front of you so the bar is balanced but you aren't stabilising it. Then do a few reps. This will ensure you have racked it correctly and that you are keeping stable and not leaning over in the squat. (The bar rolled off my shoulders to often to count at first!) Once you get the hang of them, front squats are really great. Ben Bruno, on T-Nation, has a fantastic challenge (4 Squat challenges you must conquer). Not for the faint-hearted!

Steve's article on the six week challenge inspired me to drag my ass back to the forums and post. Although I have been out of contact for ages, the good news is that I haven't stopped training. Lifting goals are long term for me and so I just continue to push for incremental progress. Current BW: 93kg (could definitely stand to shed a couple of kgs but not too bad) Goals for this challenge, to be completed before my epic overseas vacation: Front squat / squat Deadlift / farmers walk Eating InspireFront squat/squat This year, I decided to focus on the front squat, but won't stop with the LBBS. Currently doing the following: work up to 3 x 5 of heavy front squat (currently on 3x5x110kg)back squat 10 x front squat weight (110kg), 15 reps 20kg lower (90kg), 20 reps 20kg lower (70kg)Goal by the end of the challenge is 3x5x120kg front squat, followed by LBBS 10x120kg, 15x100kg, 20x80kg Deadlift Been working on my endurance levels with deadlifts. Currently at 3x8x140kg. Goal by end of challenge is 3x10x140kg with at least half using double overhand. (Add one rep per set per week) I find this much more challenging then going for max weight. This workout is always followed by farmers walks. Target: 30m with 2x40kg dumbells, one in each hand, currently on 2x32kg Eating Eating has not been as good as it should be. Need to focus on improving my eating habits. I will enjoy desert only 2 times per week (currently 4-6) and drink up to 3 cups of coffee per day. (currently 5+) Inspire My son trains with me. He is still a newbie and the bar is still a challenge for him. Goal is to inspire him to keep lifting and help him to keep a workout log. So folks, that's me for the six weeks. Will try and update regularly.

Agreed. I would definitely seek a medical opinion. It might also help to invest in a well qualified personal trainer for a few sessions to make sure you have your form down. Or. if that is too expensive, video your lifts and post them on this site for the more experienced guys to critique and give you pointers. Rippetoe's book is awesome, but nothing beats having someone look at your form.

Legend of the Guardians was fantastic. I love having young children - you get to watch all the cool movies. Pretty good storyline (although predictable), fun characters (especially Santa and the Australian Easter Bunny) and the one-liners were up to the usual SKG standard. Last day of work this week for five days. Thank heavens - I definitely need a rest. Gym this morning - again started off feeling weak and my warm-up set on deadlifts (60kg) felt really heavy. But, no pain or anything so I figured I would press on and see how it went. It turned out well - every single set felt heavy, but I kept sticking to the plan and upping the weights and finished with 1x5@145kg. It was strange - felt really heavy, but went up just the same as the previous set other than that I switched to mixed grip. Very happy with that weight - going to try for 150kg next week and complete that part of the challenge. With the kettlebells back in action, I did my KB snatches today. Felt like doing the 36/36 second protocol and ploughed through 10 sets of 15 snatches before I thought I would fall over from exhaustion. But, it was great to have them bells back. Finished up with 10 minutes on the stepper - cycles were all occupied. Stepper doesn't lend itself to intervals. Anniversary dinner tomorrow. We are going to a really fancy french restaurant whose speciality is duck - my wife's all time favourite dish. The duck is a free range duck breast crisped with honey and pepper and served with a choice of sauces : orange, ginger and grand marnier; belgian chocolate with chilli and spices; red wine and madagascan pepper; or apple, ginger, juniper and cranberry compote. My mouth waters at the prospect. Then, Friday morning, we go away for a long weekend of relaxation. So, talk to you all on Tuesday.

I think "If" should be mandatory daily reading! Definitely one of my two favourite poems.

Some thoughts from my side. Sorry - late to the party, but this thread moves way too fast! Don't give up the barbell, but add in something that has an HIIT component to it. Instead of doing 2/3 heavy lifts per session, drop this down to 1 or 2 and then spend the remaining time doing the HIIT exercises. Heavy training definitely does have benefits and you will miss them too much if you stop. For HIIT you can do my other favourite (kettlebell swings on the minute) or circuits which are fun or some fast compound exercises like thrusters. You could also try the Tabata style on a stationary bike - 20 seconds max speed, 10 seconds slow, repeat 8 times, die But, don't give up them barbells!!!

I wouldn't touch a taped up kettlebell. The handle is supposed to slide around in your hand and the tape would probably just rip it to shreds. Last night was our Carols by Candlelight service at church. We normally have it outside under our big cross sitting on the rock in which the cross is mounted. (Our own little Golgotha). But, it poured with rain last night so we had to have it inside the church - just not the same. It didn't stop us from having the usual pre-carols get together where we have a big bring and share picnic - we even had a BBQ under one of the thatched roofs. The rain did dampen the spirits a little, but it did end well with the rain stopping and us proceeding outside to sing the last carol under our cross. My only gripe is that most of our carols are the traditional western carols which imply a white Christmas - very unlikely for us. Really good experience today at the gym. It did not start off well - I was just not feeling good doing squats. My first set at 120kg (I did warm up first) felt so heavy and I could not get the last two reps to the proper depth. So, I called it and figured this would just be a crappy gym day. Decided to do some OHP (not in the programme but I miss them) and I cranked out 3 reps at 70kg. That is a new PR. I haven't done any OHP in 5 weeks, so this was a really happy surprise. Then, since I was clearly not sticking to any kind of programme today, I went to do pullups and cranked out 5x5 and each rep was with good form lifting right up so my collar bone touched the bar. They just felt incredible and I felt strong - first time I have made 5x5 on pullups. Finally I did a kettlebell breathing swing ladder. I got this from that crazy post about the guy doing 10,000 swings in 10 days which I reread on Friday. Not something I am likely to attempt but I liked his breathing-ladder. Basically you do 1 swing, then rest for 1 breath and work your way up increasing by 1 rep each time and taking as many breaths (though your nose only) as the previous set of swings. He went up to 20 and then back down again. I wasn't nearly so brave - worked up to 12 swings and back down again. All with the 24kg kettlebell. It was a fun experience. I also had a chat with a guy who uses the kettlebells frequently. He asked me where I had learnt to use them - and I said I was self taught, with lots of reading and videos. He trained with an RKC certified trainer, but said that I had obviously learnt well since my technique was solid. (Really good motivator that was!) In other news - most of the kettlebells are back. I have no idea what they did with them since they look exactly the same as they did before they went to get serviced. Maybe someone saw sense and decided not to repaint the kettlebells but to leave them like they do the rest of the free weights. Only two more days of work this week after today. I have Thursday and Friday off since it is our 15 year anniversary on Thursday and we are going away for a weekend. I can survive that. I hope.

Great news on the PRs. Don't lose any sleep on having to deload bench, it will come back quickly and the next PR will be even sweeter.