Chest - Week 2

Motivation overall is going down.. which is bad. Well, at least I am bound by this 6 month thing which ends in Apr/May 2015, thus I will keep going. May reduce to 3x a week.

Squats - 75kg
666
The only exercise that is continually progressing! This felt better this week (than last week), and feels like keep going up. The last few reps are always so scary but oh so satisfying when I straighten out.

Bench Press - 57.5kg
886
Wa kao keep getting stuck at here and cant hit the elusive '1 plate' 60kg. Will try again next week, if can't I will deload to 55.

Calf raise - 60kg
888
Up

Inclined Bench press - 45kg
885
Oops. Haha stay at this weight.

Inclined DB bench press - 20kg
865
Oops, I knew i felt weaker this week thus I used lighter DBs. Hope to do straight sets of 8 next week.

Arms - Week 2

Bicep pullups 8,4

Narrow Bench Press 52.5
888
It was slightly a grind in the last few reps, but pushed through without spotter help. Woot.

Bicep curl ez bar - 15kg
887
?? Not sure why this regression occurred. It's ok, form form form most important.

skullcrushers - 15kg
888
stay

bicep curls db - 10kg
888
wasn't easy for some reason also.

Chest - Week 2

Bench Press - 57.5
886 (last 2 with spotter)
Still cannot get the clean 8 reps for the last set. Will try at this weight again next week.

Squats - 72.5
666
I'm so close to failure I'm not sure how  much more weight I can get. the last few reps always feel like such a grind and I'll be panting at the end.

Inclined Bench 42.5
888
Up

Calf - 57.5
888
This actually felt quite heavy. will try 60 next week

DB Bench press - 22.5
8 6 5
Too heavy! haha. will try again next week.

Shoulders - Week 1

Standing shoulder press 35kg
888
Man, was slightly struggling on last few reps. Will up the weight, but will surely struggle next week.

Side lateral raise 7.5kg
888
No way of going up yet

Seated DB press 17.5
886
damn.

Front DB raise 7.5kg
888
These feel easier than the side, but dont think will up

Shrugs - 20kg plates
888
How do I up the weight for this?

Back - Week 1

chinups - 8,4
Kinda rushed through the reps here, will try to control the movement so I get real gains instead of fake gains

Deadlifts - 77.5
666
Man, The last few reps of the 2nd and 3rd set were tough - had to take a few seconds break in between. Onward to 80!

Crunches - 70

Lat pull downs 45
888
Can go up I think.

One handed DB pull 15kg
888
I think I can go up to 17.5. Let's try.

Arms - Week 1

Underarm pullups - 8, 3
I decided to do 2 sets, and ended up doing about 8.5 and 3.5 haha. I don't like how the bar at mount faber is kinda slightly tilted to the sides, so it's not a very natural grip.

Narrow grip bench press - 50, 52.5, 52.5
888
I was worried that 52.5 would be a bit too heavy, as my normal bench press was only 55! But 50 felt easy, so I upped to 52.5. Will start from 52.5 next time, and if it feels easy I may up to 55.

ez bar bicep curls 15kg
888
decided to go lighter this week, and thought this was a good choice. The last few reps of the last set was quite a grind. don't think I can do 17.5 with perfect form, so i'll stick to 15kg till my arms get stronger so I can get maximum gains from a slow, controlled movement.

skullcrusher 15kg
888
I think I can go heavier on this, but aligning the weight with my bicep curls is more convenient so maybe I won't up this for a while and just focus on more perfect form.

DB bicep curls 10kg
888
As I'm doing them seated and against my thigh, this really isolates my biceps so I can't swing my body or use my back to help... which may explain the lower weight. I don't think I'm ready to increase the weight yet, though the first set seemed easy.

Chest - Week 1

Going to reset the numbering everytime I deload so it won't go up to too high a number.

Bench Press - 55kg
888
Felt a little heavy  but managed all sets without any help. Will probably need spotter for mental support next time.

Squats - 70kg
666
Struggled with the last few reps, but could be because I haven't squatted so heavy in a while. I decided to cut down on Squat reps because don't think going high reps helped much. Will up to 72.5

Inclined Bench - 42.5
886
Oh dear, failed cos my triceps didn't feel strong enough to push, and I didn't have a spotter, so I just stopped after 6. Will stay at this weight, and try to do it with a spotter on the last set next time.

Calf raise - 55kg
888

Inclined DB Bench - 20kg
888
Yay! the last rep was a real grind though. Will consider upping to 22.5 or just staying at this weight and slow down the movement to get maximum stretch/contraction on my chest

--

Using a new system of doing straight sets instead of progressively loading. let's see if this is better.

Back - Week 13

Chinups 7.5
oopsy. fell short of my usual 8 reps. Think I need to hang for shorter durations between reps.

Deadlifts 50kg
666
light and easy. Did each rep very slowly to get the full stretch

Crunches 70

Lat Pull down 39
888
I actually tweaked some strange shoulder muscle while doing this. Really strange muscle in the middle of nowhere not sure how to stretch it

One-handed DB pull 12.5kg
888
Tried to go slow and easy to really get full stretch. Love deload week.

---

I don't know if deload week will help me hit new PRs next week (probably not), but what it does is remove the stress/pressure of hitting my weights for a week, which is great! Now I can go back to hitting the weights hard next week.. for maybe another 8 weeks before I take a deload.

Arms - Week 13

Undergrip pullups - 8.5
I'm not sure if I did 8 or 9... the top of my head probably cleared the bar though not my chin.

narrow grip bench press - 40 prog
888

bicep curl 10kg

skullcrusher 10kg

db curls 7.5kg

888 for alllll.

Really went slow and completely squeezed for each rep of each exercise. It felt really good though, a different kind of feeling versus when I'm going hard 100% to clear the reps on a heavier weight.

Did 10 mins of HIIT on the bike as usual. Hope to hit 55 by end of the week!

Week 13 - Chest

Deload week! This workout was so light I didn't even feel pumped after the session lol.

Squats - 40 prog
888
wa I actually was breathing a little heavier after the 2nd and 3rd set. Looks like whatever weight I use, 8 rep sets will make me winded.

Bench Press - 40 prog
888
Lalala. was doing paused reps cos so easy.

Inclined bench press - 35 prog
888
Same as above. This felt a bit harder tho. Inclined bench seems to engage some of the lats too.

Calf raises - 40kg
888
Lazy to prog this.

DB bench press - 16kg
888
easy peasy

Bicycle - 10 min of HIIT.

Week 12 - Shoulders

Standing shoulder press - 37.5 pyra
864
Flat out failed bleah. How to push through? Having so much trouble progressing with this exercise. Hope next week's deload helps me out.

Side DB lateral raise - 7.5
888
I don't think I can up the weight for this and the front raise anytime soon. Still doesn't feel easy, still feels like i'm using abit of neck/beck for this.

Seated DB press 17.5
887
A minor improvement from last week but still not a complete 3 sets. Will keep working on this.

Front DB raise - 7.5
888
Yup. stay.

Shrugs - 20kg each hand
888
Added a new exercise to work my traps, as wanted to get more bang for buck in my shoulder workouts. Didn't seem very tiring or strenous... maybe I"m not doing properly. hmm.

Bike cardio
Wow this is tiring. I started with a 1 minute warmup on resistance 5, then sprinted for 30s, rest for 30s, up the resist by 1 then repeat, capping at resistance 10. When I hit resistance 10 I had to drop back to 7 for my rest period, and take 1 min rest instead after a few cycles. Wow, the burn in this is great.
Will be doing cardio the whole of next week, hoping to burn off 1-2 more kg. Hope the tummy fat at least subsides !

Week 12 - Back

Chinups - 8.5
I get this strange pain in my head.. it feels like a sprain in my neck but after a while I'll realise it's coming from inside my head. It's so annoying! Not sure why I'm getting it...  Without it I think I can eke out 9.

Deadlifts - 77.5 prog
6 6 3
Failed hard on 82.5. Just couldn't muster the strength to complete the reps. Think once I stop and lose the rhythm, I can't continue. I'm looking forward to next week's deload as I think my form really crumbled as I went past 70kg. Need to work on not curving my back when i lift and having perfect form

Crunches 60

Lat pulls - 45
888
Wanted to fully engage my lats rather than do funny pulls with my whole body. Think this weight is fine. Next week is deload anyway. Will come back to 45 when i resume.

One handed DB row - 15kg
888
Managed to do all reps, but left hand still felt weak. It's my triceps, haven't fully recovered.

I've been rounding up this back/core day by doing some additional ab work, that looks something like 60s plank, 20 situps (slow), 20 side crunches (on each side)

Arms - Week 12

Bicep pullups - 8
Woo! new PR. I think if I realllllyyyy push I can do 9. But I only managed 8.5 this time haha. Shall try for 9 next time. Once I can do 9, I will do a second set. Once I can do 2 sets of 8 (first set I will do till failure), I will add a 3rd set.

Narrow grip bench press - 52.5, 55, 55
866
Got a very  horrible spotter on my second set who basically assisted me on every rep -_- Gee . I really have to specify 'please don't help me unless I say help'

Bicep curls with ez bar - 17.5 17.5 15
868
Lol no strength to curl the bar up. I didn't want to cheat (e.g. flare elbows outwards) so really couldn't do more reps.

Skull crushers - 17.5 17.5 12.5
8 7 8
Dropped it by 5 because I wasn't really doing strict form (lowering weight fully) with the heavier weight. Think after my deload I will stay at 15 until I can do perfect form for 3 sets.

Seated DB bicep curl 12 12 10
856
meh

Chest - Week 12

Squats 67.5 prog
886
Wow. This was super tough. I had this weird neck/back pain after the 2nd set, wanted to drop weight but decided to push through after some massaging and rubbing. In the end did something like 4-5 reps, then racked the weight , as my back couldn't really hold the weight up much longer. Think it's a stamina issue. Will start from 70kg next time. And maybe warmup with 45? We'll see.

Bench 57.5 pyra
876
The squats really made me spent, so didn't have much strength on this. I think I should deload and focus on a slow motion to really work the chest and develop strength. Now kinda just pushing with everything including arms. May try to deload to 55 straight, 57.5 straight, etc if i plateau for another session.

Inclined Bench 47.5 47.5 40
866
I may want to deload this weight too. No point increasing weight that I can't lift for 8 reps.

Calf raises 45kg (at safra, with 12 kg base) prog
888
Not sure if this is heavier than toapayoh or what. Not sure what the base weight at toapayoh is...

DB bench 20kg
887
This felt quite good until the last rep lol. I was trying to go for 10 reps. I think the rest after the back to back chest exercises allowed me to at least perform this exercise well.

Shoulders - Week 11

Standing shoulder press 37.5 pyra
877
Totally stalling on this. Contemplating doing a 5kg deload just to focus on slow upward and downward motion and really hit those muscles. I think I'll do that. 35kg straight sets, and build up to 40kg.

Side lateral raise 7.5kg
888
tried 10kg which was too heavy. This weight is just nice to get a controlled motion both up and down.

Seated db press 17.5kg
886
Meh. Couldn't push it up on the last 2 reps

Front DB raise 7.5kg
888
same as the side raise, this is the weight that is just nice to get a controlled motion. Will stay at this weight.

Back - Week 11

chinups - 8!
woo! ippt silver. haha. This felt good today. Was going slow and steady, not dropping quickly on the negatives (downward motion). Once I can do 9, I will stop at 8 and do multiple sets.

Deadlifts - 75 prog
666!
Woo!! Felt good to lift 80kg. The last rep of the last set took a while though, had to take a breath and alternate my grip, but otherwise was a clean lift. I have to focus on maintaining perfect form over increasing weight - this is one exercise which you cannot cheat or you'll hurt yourself.

Crunches - 70

Lat pull downs - 50 50 45
8 6 6
I think the more chinups I do, the worse this exercise gets. But it's ok, I have to just give it my all and pull till failure.

Bent over db row - 15 kg
886
I did all reps except for the last 2 on my left arm - my arm had no more strength to lift the weight! lol. not my back/lats.

--

Overall a good workout. Felt good, hitting new PRs. I feel like adding shrugs, not sure to back day or shoulder day..

Arms - Week 11

An extremely rushed session as I was short on time. Boo

Bicep chinups - 7
I think I can do more, if I had better grip.

Narrow grip bench press - 50 prog
888
The last 2 sets were a bit of a struggle, but I pushed it through. Pretty sure I'll fail with one more increase in weight, but I'll just up this anyway next week

Bicep curl with ez bar - 17.5 17.5 15
888
Still can't do straight sets of 17.5 for this exercise, but my form is improving. Soon I will be able to do it!

skullcrusher - 10kg db one handed
the bench and bar was taken, so I used a dumbbell for this. think i did 8 reps of 10kg.

bicep curl with db
12.5/10
I can't remember really. Think I used a light weight and did the curl from my leg kind, instead of normal hammer curl

Chest - Week 11

Squats - 65 prog
888
wow i almost died lol. almost neck sprained in the last set. But ok, it feels like a good full body workout. And always panting at the end.

Bench Press - 57.5 prog
885
I am nowhere close to being able to bench 62.5. The last set I think I did 4 only and had one assisted by my spotter. May do flat 60s next time. See how it feels.

Inclined Bench - 47.5 47.5 45
864
The bench press killed me so I couldn't do this properly. Shall stay at 47.5

Calf raises - 52.5 55
88
Cut this exercise halfway as the inclined bench freed up and I had to rush over before someone else stole it.

DB bench - 20 20 18
8 4 5
Wow haha i was at 22.5 last week. Damn. Will start at 20 again next week.

--
Didn't feel as strong this session.. but have to remind myself that it's not about how heavy I lift, but that I push to failure for each exercise. I'm not a powerlifter, I'm going for reps, going for perfect form, going for GAINS. Don't care about lifting heavier and heavier, that is just a byproduct of growing stronger. But have to maintain strict form!

Shoulders - Week 10

This was some what of a chapalang session because I brought the gf along with my complimentary gym pass which I got when I signed up for Energyone membership.

-

Standing Shoulder Press 40kg straight
8 6 5
Grr must bust this 40kg barrier. So difficult...

Side DB lateral raise - 10kg
888
Shouldn't increase this, as I'm still swinging a lot. I don't really like these side/front raises, need to figure out a new way to work shoulders.
*ok upon googling, this seems like a necessary exercise. Need to do with proper form though.

Seated DB shoulder press - 20, 18, 16kg
666
This was so bad. But yea.

Front DB raise - 8kg
888
Same comment as above.

Back - Week 10

Yea decided 'Fitness Log' was redundant in the title since this whole blog is a fitness log.

Chinups- 6
Tried to do 7 but couldn't go up. Think maybe next session can hit 7. We'll see.

Deadlifts - 72.5
666 prog
Wow, it's a tonne easier with mixed grip. Think have quite some way to go. Though DLs' plateaus come pretty suddenly

Crunches 80
?? Wow . I didn't feel the same burn I normally feel at 70, so I did 10 more. I think I could have done more.

Lat Pull downs - 54 54 50
6 4 6
I think I'll take this down to 50kg for all, and do 8 reps. I think the chinups at the start tire me out just a little bit so I can't do this exercise well.

Bent over DB rows - 15kg
888
I did all sets for these, but I think I'll stay at 15/16kg and really focus on strict form. I like how it hits my lats area

Planks - 60s

I did some rows thing at mount faber gym but kinda anyhow do one. Horizontal rows.