Workout log may 2 - Strong bench in a tired week

Some weeks hit like a truck—and this one was a full-speed collision. Despite decent sleep and good intentions, I showed up to the gym feeling like I was lifting through quicksand.

This week I switched from 5 sets of 5 reps to 4 sets of 4 reps on my main lifts, allowing me to handle more weight, in theory.

One of my weightlifting sessions went down the drain after a busy day at work and cardio took a huge hit, but there were some positives.

Monday: Bench, rows and paused deadlifts

Barbell bench press: 4 sets of 4

My bench felt brutal. I couldn't handle four reps and a weight I repped 5 times last week. Not my favourite way to start the week.

I keep having to remind myself that days like this are normal. It's unrealistic to always be 100%, but it doesn;t make the pill any easier to swallow.

Dumbbell single arm rows: 3 sets of 10

I'm progressing this by doing the 8-10-12 method. Each week I'm slightly lowering the weights and adding two reps, increasing my workout volume.

These ones felt great this week, I really felt my lats work and I thought me technique was on point.

I had to break up this workout into two smaller sessions in between personal training clients.

Paused deadlifts: 3 sets of 4

I was able to go slightly heavier than last week and do the same amount of reps with, what I thought, the same form. Next week I'll keep the same weight but work on pausing a little bit longer.

Shoulder presses: 3 sets of 12

I added these in to make my second session a little bit longer and to add let's face it, shoulder presses are just fun to do. Delts get such a great burn going.

Cardio: skipped

Tuesday: Olympic weightlifting

My technique drills for the snatch are the hang snatch and over head squats. I do 2 sets of 5 with light weights before doing 3 sets of 3 snatches. These felt good, and I'm at the stage where my technique increases rapidly. It feels smoother. Thank you to those who gave me pointers on Instagram!

My hang cleans felt good, but my cleans felt sloppy. The same weight as last week just felt so tough! Two days in a row of feeling weaker than last week is starting to be a good indicator that I'll be taking a rest week coming up.

I ran out of time to do my barbell squats, so I did one heavy set. I got two reps at 120, which, again, is a tad less than usual. UGH!

Cardio: Zone two spin for 30 minutes

Wednesday: Back day

I was in a busy headspace and did my deadlift workout instead of my bench workout today. I was past the warm up stage when I realized and didn't have that much time so I went with it.

Deadlifts: 4 sets of 4

Deadlifts feeling heavy

The deadlifts were heavier than last week and boy did I feel it. Unlike past workouts, my form held well so I know I'm getting stronger in that regard. That's some sort of comfort, especially since I did my weightlifting workout, which had heavy squats barely 24 hours ago.

I was squeezed on time again that day so my lat pull down and incline bench rows were cut to two sets instead of three.

Cardio: skipped

Thursday: Bench press and chin ups

Bench press to save the week!

Finally some happy news!

I crushed my bench session, getting a solid two reps and 135 and then 3 at 125.

Weighted chin ups: 5 sets of 5. Nothing to declare, felt good and strong.

I have to watch my head on this one....

Seated rows: 1 top set followed by 2 back offs. Can almost stack the machine.

Chin ups and incline bench rows are two great back exercises that are lower back friendly. This is why I love pairing them with a hinge workout like a deadlift.

Cardio: skipped

Friday: skipped weightlifting but got a swim in

My day was jam packed and I only had time to do one workout. The gym floor was packed like sardines when I showed up, and went for a swim instead. As a staff member I can't workout during peak hours anyway.

I managed 1200 meters without inhaling a single bit of water which is a huge success for me.

Training Thought for next week

I need to be more proactive at planning my workouts now. I've slowly been building my PT business at Third Space and so far I had lots of free time on my hands. This has drastically switched in the last couple weeks and my workouts have suffered from it.

I've only managed two out of 5 cardio sessions and some of my strength workouts had to be cut short.

A big positive is that my body hasn't hurt in a long time. I'm going to be smart about managing my fatigue in the next few weeks to make sure this keeps going.

Until next week!

Clem