[Harry]

11/11, nasty pull session, weighed in around 81.25kg this morning.
started off with a bb row as opposed to dual db row for a change, got 100kg x 6 then 80kg x 11. Unsure if i’ll be keeping it in my rotation because grip seemed to be an issue, nonetheless still got erectors trained.
moved up topset for single arm neutral grip pulldown, prime grip row and seated cable curls.
Pushing food up to the 4000mark for the next 7 weeks, then will (possibly) do a little pull back in food to chip off some fat.

training feeling good, not making huge jumps in progress but small victories here and there are what I am looking for.

[Harry]

how things are looking from the front post workout.

[Harry]

9/11 legs 1 was pretty challenging, had a tough day mentally so wasn’t as sharp as i should’ve been for it. Managed to get +1 rep on majority of exercises. Hacksquat however matched reps on both sets which i fully blame on lack of focus, then -1 rep on top set of hamstring curl.
could’ve went better but mini rep increases are always appreciated.

10/11 push 2 went down, was very focused and ready for it. Matched reps for hammer incline press, with better control than last week.. reduced load for pec fly , gave a better contraction.
Moved up 2.5kg on smith jm press for 7 (20kg/side x 7) pretty pleased with that, main tricep compound for this rotation and seems to be progressing well.
load reduction for the primal lateral raise machine is helping so far and getting warm and ready for heavy pressing so i feel it was the right move.

[Harry]

8/11 great pull in the books, started off with pullover getting the lats pre exhausted before db rows.
Db rows moved way better this week, 70kg x 6 with good form and very slow eccentrics, finding it a lot more comfortable to make my own dumbbell rather than use the gyms heavier db’s with poor grip.
reduced load for low rows which felt better on the upper back with less momentum.
adding an extra 5000iu into daily vitamin stack for the darker months, hoping it’ll allow body to respond better to food. After last weeks digestive issues feeling hesistant to push food any further for now, will see how body feels in a few weeks time.

[Harry]

7/11 push 1 today, not the best session honestly. Fell 2 reps shy of last weeks number for heavy dips, considering splitting up tricep volume so we have 1 8-15 set of dips and another 6-15 ish set of ez bar skullcrushers, will swap next week if numbers dont change.
reduced load for both lateral delt movements, just to feel the muscle a bit better and get blood into them before pressing.
Incline dumbbells were okay, matched reps on topset and +1 on backoff, wasn’t using my preferred bench which suits me better.

[Harry]

4/11 rest day, felt a bit ill with digestion issues and headaches but still managed to get some food in and some good sleep.

5/11 mental leg/pull at uf durham today, session went as follows:
atlantis ab crunch x2
prime lying hamstring curl x2
Nautilus adductor x2
Cybex hack x2
Gymshop pull-down x2
Prime seated row x2
Atlantis tbar row x2
Hoist seated bicep curl x2
Sa hammer curl x2

Probablt went a bit overkill, and could’ve included more heavy pulls but I’m pleased with the numbers I got.
5pps x 5 on the cybex mk1 hack which I am very happy with, not the cleanest reps ever but certainly a good ballpark since I’ve never used it before.

[Harry]

2/11 killer leg session in the books, kept form as tight as possible on leg extension and hamstring curl and matched reps for both topsets.
Moved up to 5.75 plates per side on the hacksquat, got a nice 6 reps with good depth. Only thing i could’ve done a bit better was slow both sets down, my backoff moved way too fast.
Ate 5000kcals yesterday and gut wasn’t happy with it, ordered some l glutamine and beef gelatin supplements to try and aid digestion.

3/11 push 2 –
+1 rep on topset of hammer strength incline
reduced load for overhead triceps and machine lateral raise, to use a slower eccentric and better stretch.
+1 on topset of shoulder press
ready to move up next week on topset of smith jm press, got 17.5kg per side x 11, going for 20kg for a 5-10 set.

resting tomorrow, then got legs and pull at ultraflex durham, excited to use some new kit.

[Harry]

30/10 legs 2 was brilliant, used a different adductor machine and felt a much better squeeze with less weight, rotating machines obviously the best option for long term progression.
moved 4.5plates on the pendulum for 9 and 77.5 for 12 which had my quads destroyed. moved up load for calves, and exceeded rep range for backoff of lying hamstring curl.
Managed to get +1 top set of dumbbell RDL at the expense of -1 on the backoff, which is a trade i’ll take.

31/1 push 1 was good. Safe to say that taking out one tricep and one chest movement was exactly what i needed. +2 reps on topset of incline dumbbells (42.5kg x 8), as opposed to 6 which i had stalled out at for a few weeks. also matched reps on heavy dips and +1 backoff unassisted, happy with that.

1/11 pull 1 was a bit frustrating, matched reps on both sets of hammer curls and then regressed 1 rep each set of cable curls. Going to reduce the load of cable curls and reduce to one set next week and see if that helps anything, Got +1 rep on incline curls topset however.
Altered my setup for dumbbell rows, i had mentioned previously that the 65kg dumbbells had awkwardly thin grips on them so i kept dropping them, used the primal strength 60 and added 2 x 2.5kg micro plates with a resistance band which felt a lot more natural and got +2 reps. Going to keep overloading this way until i get up to the 75s which have thicker handles.
Low row moved alright, matched reps on top set but they were not as clean as i’d like, then +1 backoff.

These past few days been feeling rather ill dealing with gut issues, trapped wind and abdominal cramping. Looking back at my food diary the amount of gluten im consuming could be the reason, if the pain doesn’t pass i’ll need to rethink my diet structure.

[Harry]

27/10 was push 2, had lower food for the day around 3650-3750. Got some new numbers in and felt a lot stronger after rearranging my push split, +1 top and backoff for the hammer incline, same for smith jm press. Good session overall

28/10 weighed 80.5kg, pull 2 went down and was a sweaty one. managed to hit new numbers on most movements, apart from chest supported tbar which was -1 on backoff but still +1 topset. dual bent over row absolutely flew in terms of numbers, added a belt and was able to use a lot more explosive power due to bracing, +3 reps on topset and +3 on backoff, watched back form videos and seems okay for now, will get it perfect before moving up anymore weight.
heavy preacher curls felt very good, 17.5 db x 6, going to try and not take the piss with this exercise as ive seen too many injury videos, work my way up slowly.
4000kcals eaten today

food been up and down this week; high days on leg day, medium days on pull days, then lower days on push , and then rest day calories. It isnt a big discrepancy but it’s just enough to refuel and keep myself satiated as these 3 training all require different levels of exertion. When weight stalls, will move up to a 4000/day consistent calorie intake.

[Harry]

Weighed in exactly 80kilos this morning fasted.
Another great leg session in the book,
Moved 5.5pps on hack squat for 9 reps, gonna try 6pps for 5 next week.
New numbers on pretty much every movemen happy with today but safe to say I’m very tired.
Eaten Around 4800-4900 calories for today which is an extremely high day. Wouldn’t usually go this high but not all foods have been low calorie dense.
Back to 3700 tomorrow though.

[Harry]

post workout shot

[Harry]

25/10 79.60kg fasted this morning, 3750kcals in
had a great pull session, db row didn’t move as planned since the 65kg dumbbells at my gym seem to have really thin handles which are a nightmare to strap into, matched reps on topset and was +1 on backoff set which moved very easily with barely any momentum.
Tried out 3.75pps on the hammer strength low row, +5kg from my usual topset, got 6/7 reps (last one was a bit sloppy). But looking back at the video i wasnt swinging at all, lifted chest off the pad a bit but still moved well.
Moved up pins on the cybex pulldown for both top and backoff, getting 7 on the 205lb pin and 11 on the 175lb pin, definitely gonna feel it tomorrow as it destroyed my upper back.
connected good with bicep movements, started off with backoff set for incline curls which seemed to work better than the other way round.

[Harry]

24/10 weighed in 80kg fasted, Not a great push session in the books. Barely matched reps on all exercises with a few regressions. Push was something I needed to take a look at so I went back to the drawing board and took away 1 triceps and 1 chest exercise from my weekly sets, taken out a long head bias extension and cable chest press. Hoping this will fix my incline press stall as these exercises sre the ones I want to get as strong as possible on. On the bright side, Got a good pump.

[Harry]

22/10 rested yesterday 3300kcal 300carbs felt full somehow, got enough sleep and woke up ready for legs

23/10 legs was great, was going for top set of pendulum squats and accidentally loaded on +5kg than what i was supposed to, and only got 1 less rep than previous load! (90kg x 8) Very happy with that result. Didn’t get any new numbers on RDLs unfortunately. Also taken a different approach to the hammer strength leg press, trying paused reps on a lighter load with no sleeve/wrap support. With wraps and no pause, i was pretty much maxing it out, so this is better for progressive overload.

Also tried out new upper back row variants, Had been looking for some to add into my pull 2 rotation instead of a shrug, tried the hammer strength highrow using pronated grip, and an unsupported upper back cable row using prime’s adjustable D-handle. Really liked the prime attachment row and will definitely be adding it into my pull rotation.

Diet-wise today we are having an offplan meal with family, probably will eat 4000-5000 calories but honestly not too worried about tracking food as i’ll make sure i get my 200g protein regardless.

[Harry]

19/10 very productive leg session took extra time to get warm for compounds, safe to say my quads were fucked afterward. Got +1 rep on both top and backoff taking me to 5.5pps x 8 // 4.5pps x 15, next week i will go for 4.75pps for at least 10. Had to use a different leg press to save time and matched reps despite it being a different incline of press. Ate 4350 calories for the day.
keeping legs 1 at the same format for now:
adductor x 2
crunches x 2
leg extension x2
hamstring curl x2
seated calves x2
hacksquat x2
leg press x2

20/10 Push 2 wasn’t great. Matched reps barely on hammer strength incline press (2.75pps x 6/ 2pps x 12) which is my main focus of the session, trying to find out what is causing the stall for now, if it’s down to chest volume I will start off by reducing sets of other chest movements (ie pec dec) and see if that makes any difference.. but other than that every other movement seems to be progressing well.

21/10 felt like shit and looked like shit waking up, don’t know what’s caused it but holding a lot of water struggling to see any definition. But it is what it is, need to embrace looking round and watery. Still got a very productive pull session in; Tried a new topset of tbar row – +5kg and -3 reps.
Went way heavier then usual on dual bent over row, 50kg/45kg dumbbels for top and backoff, moved the 50s for 5 and 45s for 9 with good form. Surprised myself with how good these sets went, excited to get really strong at this movement. Rest day tomorrow hope to wake up less bloated and get some work done.