Thanks. I weighed myself today and I was 91kg clothed and shod so probably just under 90kg nekkid. Yeah I'm happy with the lifts. Wad going to go straight to 3s but thought I'd be better off with 5s first. I want compete at the end of November so need to plan for that really. Gotta stay below 93kg too.

I did legs yesterday and dropped the weight down to 100kgish so I can get low (breaking parallel) for 8 or so reps. Also did leg extensions drop sets, leg press for exhaustion, hamstring curls (which have aggravated my piriformis grrr) and calf raises. I wanted to do some walking lunges but the studios were taken so I will try and fit them in later this week.

Tonight is chest + triceps. I’ve been using DB’s for the last few weeks so I’d like to get back to the BB.

I’ve also gone to under 90kgs for the first time in a while so diet is paying off. Definitely looking more ripped around the middle. The slowly slowly approach for summer is definitely the way forwards.

I deadlifted the other day and can still manage a 200kg DL even though I’ve been leaving it 3 weeks or so between doing them and even then it’s literally warm-up set below 100kgs, then 6-8on 120kgs, 1-3 on 140kgs, 2 x 160kgs and then 1 x 200kgs.

I think a lot is mental and also CNS based… my body has coped with deading it before so probably not an issue to handle it again (at least that’s my take on it).

Just to note, my hip flexibility/mobility has improved drastically in the last few months. This is probably because I’ve introduced squats (I never use to do them) and things like HLR’s, regular LR’s lying down, correct stretching before squats and deads etc. A newbie I’ve started to help in the gym has really poor hip movement so I’ve told him he needs to work on it so he will be safer and also be able to increase the weight on his lifts.

If I get on the bench BB today, be interesting if I can still press 130kgs – I can do 50kg db’s flat, so should be able to, although not quite sure how well the 2 relate.

Re: diet… I tend to be good during the weeks (not saint-like, but eating between 1900-2500 and restricting my simple carbs) and the weekends I generally eat what I want within reason but I find if I eat too many carbs (tubs of ice cream for example) it gives me serious wind and bloating for a couple of days.

I'll be disappointed if I don't get close to a 620kg total. I think more is possible, just need to work super hard.

Session 2 Week 1 - Day 1

Military Press 3 x 5 - 40kg, 47.5kg, 52.5kg
Benchpress 5 x 10 - 62.5kg - nice, steady reps, really felt it.
Chin-ups 5 x 10, 10, 5, 5, 4
Incline Dumbell Curl 3 x 10 - 10kg dumbells
Tricep Pushdown 3 x 10 - 30
Face pulls 3 x 10 - 65

Month 4 of the Big But Boring program, reset all the weights so the 5 x 10 exercises should be fairly simple until I hit month 2/3 and I'm now doing an overhead press infront rather than behind my head.

Oh, I did them alright. In fact, you could call them extreme hanging windshield wipers - I was hanging on the shiny bit of the Smiths machine bar and I could feel my sweaty hands slowly unpeeling from the bar.

Good effort.

Can you explain why i can knock out sets of 8 or 10 weighted dips at +50kg, (total 125kg) but can barely squeeze off a rep or two at 100kg on flat bench?

Thanks, that's what i thought.

Dips work lower chest mostly if done leaning forwards, if upright just deltoids and triceps. If you do some decline press you'll see an improvement, but not much. One set of 40/50 bodyweight dips = about an individual's 1RM flat bench.

Are proper *chest* dips more tricep dominated that the flat bench press?

Cleans, clean pulls and front squats. Awesome session, left the gym smiling.