[Layla]

Hey Ryan, I Agree with James here – you’ll see a lot more success in pushing for progressions if you even went for a 2 on 1 off layout. I’ve run a similar split historically and I can say for sure quality of sessions improves and progressions are easier to take when you’re taking enough rest in an U/L split

[Layla]

Impromptu rest day yesterday meant upper today felt great. I paid a visit to Muscle Works Orpington – not a gym I’ve ever been to before but it was a fun one to hit upper MRs in! A few pieces of Arsenal kit I’ve wanted to have a go on for a while but found myself leaning towards a lot of the HS kit I know I love. Session looked as follows:

Nautilus pullover x2
HS Incline Press MR
Arsenal Strength Chest supported row MR
Arsenal Strength Iso High Row MR
HS shoulder press MR
HS DY Row MR
Arsenal Strength pec deck MR
Cybex reverse pec deck x2
HS Dip machine MR
Incline DB curl x3
Side raises x3

Pretty laid back day for the rest of the day – hit upper MRs pretty early this morning so I’d have plenty rest prior to lower MRs tomorrow.

[Layla]

Double update again from me guys – hit a solid lower loading session today after having a double rest day layout in the middle of this week. I do hugely notice the difference between a single day of rest and a double day of rest when I’ve come off the back of two consecutive training days. Progressions taken across the board – looking forwards to upper muscle rounds tomorrow.

[Layla]

Double update guys, hit upper loading yesterday with progressions taken but I’ll likely revisit a few of them before pushing further with load otherwise things are going to get a bit sloppy. Really really enjoying close grip smith work.

Rest day for me today, mainly comprised of doing some gardening aka clearing a VERY overgrown garden and spending some time with family. I’ve got an early lower session tomorrow and a pretty long drive straight after so gonna keep a close eye on mobility work later in the day otherwise my old hip issue will give me some grief without a doubt.

[Layla]

Hey guys, a quiet day yesterday getting a fantastic amount of sleep. Today I hit lower 2 – one of my shorter sessions for the week but one of my favourites with how hack has been progressing. Weight is up again a tad to 74kg so I’ll be keeping an eye out on any further increases out of line from the rate I’m looking for. I’ve got upper tomorrow which I’m pretty excited to hit with a few numbers I’ve got in mind for db press especially.

[Layla]

Solid upper session in the books today – took progressions across the board both in execution and loading. Not surprised considering BW is sitting a tad higher at 73.8kg and recovery has been bang on.

A chill rest of the day with 20 min cardio in the morning, a walk with my dog, and a little client work before an evening relaxing playing switch and watching the series I’m watching.

[Layla]

Great first session of 2026 in the books today – lower loading looked like:
– Adductor machine 2×15
– Abductor machine 2×20
– Panatta leg ext 2×12
– Lying ham curls 1×12 1×8
– BB RDLs 1×12 1×10
– Nytram leg press 2×12
– Pendulum 1×12 1×10
– Nautilus glute drive 1×10 1×8
– Standing calf raises 2×15
– Ab crunch work 2×20

Really happy with how this session has progressed over the last month – expecting I’ll see some decent posterior gains from rinsing a few months of this too.

I’ve reintroduced a little baseline cardio after letting it slip a bit over the last month. I honestly perform at my best when I’ve got some (20 min most days) in the mix. It’s not arduous but is enough to improve health markers I love to track and keep on top of. So today I did 20 min on my spin bike in my garage to kick off the day and training legs later felt absolutely fine.

[Layla]

Hey Sam,

I agree with Rich here – it’s going to be very individual. I’ve previously run A and B rotations but access to kit has made that quite hard to run effectively. I think there’s huge benefits in running at least A and B rotations but if it’s coming at the cost of exposure to kit/movements that fit you really well it’s not always worth it.

[Layla]

Late one from me guys – no training today, just some steps walking the dog and 20 min steady state on the spin bike this morning and the rest of the day spent with family and friends. Happy new year!

[Layla]

Hey Samuele, your biggest tool is going to be frequency for skill acquisition at first imo.

I’d suggest keeping your training as is and swap in powerlifting movements where appropriate e.g. swap out deficit SLDLs for comp deads, switch out a compound leg movement for squats, switch out one of your other flat pressing movements for a bench variant as benching 2x a week is usually a safe place to start recovery wise if you’re being sensible with RPE in sessions. Your lowest hanging fruit right now is the neurological adaptation you’ll get in practicing the movements. Once you’ve got a block or two setting a baseline down you’ll have a better idea of your recovery capacity with all 3 movements in at least once in every training week and you can tweak volume from there. I could go on and on about this but the general gist imo is to introduce all comp movements as soon as you can to start improving your proficiency and making sure you lift to competition rules standard. There are loads of opinions out there on the best way to peak for a comp but your biggest drivers for doing well in a powerlifting comp are:

– Skill of the lift itself I.e. efficiency in movement
– Lifting to comp rule book standard
– Having enough muscle to shift some respectable weight.

As for weight class I’d honestly not add the stress of making weight to the list of potential stressors for your first comp. Eat in a surplus as you would when trying to gain muscle (keep it reasonable) and just go up to the U93kg class. It’s not worth the stress of making weight as an U83kg athlete unless you’re looking at at least a podium placing imo.

[Layla]

Fantastic upper session today and another pretty laid back day working from home in preparation for the new year.
Upper looked like this:

– Machine Pullover 2×20

– DB flat press 1×8 / 1×12

– Panatta chest supported row 2×10 / 1×12

– Machine shoulder press 2×10 / 1×12

– High row 3×12

– CG Smith Bench 2x 12

– Reverse pec deck 3×15

– Incline DB flyes 2×12

– DB curls 3×12

– Overhead tricep extension 2×12

– DB side raises 2×20

– Cable crunch 2×10

Progressions taken on pretty much everything both in terms of weight and execution which is always lovely. Provided I can string together a few months of progress like this I’m very excited to see the changes I’ll be able to make this offseason.

Macros on training days currently sat at:
P 200 C 250 F 40 – appetite isn’t quite back yet but the food is going in 🫡

[Layla]

Another successful lower session in the books and (potentially) the last for the year. Taking steady progressions week on week still with almost all movements in lower which is expected really but always nice. Bodyweight is back up a little more at 73kg on the dot, and training is feeling as good as ever. Pretty confident I’m back up to where I was at prior to getting sick. A pretty laid back day today too mainly working from home too which is always a recovery win

[Layla]

I’ve run fortitude and bastardised versions of it for years now and I’ve always thought it’s a great plan. A huge amount of theory in the book can be applied to general training programming. Saying that, I will also say that limitations to kit, recovery capacity etc have led me to run a slimmed down version of it which does look a lot like upper lower – I think the key here is to give it a go for a while, take what bits you find you work well with and adapt the others that don’t work so well for you personally.

[Layla]

Another catch up from Christmas Day and the following days since guys! BW sitting at 72.9kg which I’m not too unhappy about. I tend to eat fairly normally across Christmas time really, the only change being Christmas Day is rarely a training day and wasn’t this year either. Just a bit of cardio in the morning and the rest of the day was so busy I didn’t really stop!

I hit lower yesterday and upper today, with another lower session in the books tomorrow. Things are moving along nicely strength wise with some pretty easy progressions getting taken on close grip smith press work and ham work. I’ll be bumping volume up a tad on lower in the new year to see how well I respond. Lower volume isn’t high at all right now and I know hammies will take very well to a few additional working sets across the week.

Only a few more sessions left now before the new year guys!

[Layla]

Bit of a catch-up update here as yesterday was jam packed. Sat at 72.8kg both yesterday and today. I left my Christmas shopping uncharacteristically late and had to jam it all in one day yesterday. Safe to say steps were HIGH, sitting at just shy of 20k for the day. About to go hit upper now before another busy day of Christmas prep 🫡