Word of advice, if you haven’t trained a muscle group in a while, start easier and build back up even if the strength is still mostly there.

I hit legs on Wednesday and done squats with 60, 80 then 100kg for a couple reps and sets, then moved to leg press with 150kg total for 50 total reps, across 2 sets.

Trying to climb out of bed with my legs being this sore is genuinely painful.

🦵 Update No.4 🦵

So far the ‘ diet ‘ is going good, I’ve been aiming to get a regular source of protein and vegetables etc and it’s going well, in the morning I’ll have like 7 boiled eggs and a smoothie with oats, peanut butter and some fruit, for lunch I’ll have 3 chicken breasts, 4 whole onions, some mushrooms and a little bit of rice. For dinner I’ll have whatever my family is cooking lol.

My weight is still exactly the same 105kg so it’s nice to know I’m not getting fatter but rather maintaining and building the strength and muscle as intended. My bench press has gone from 80kg to almost 100, deadlift I managed to pull 160Kg raw with only chalk for grip and squat I hit 140kg or 315lbs today for one clean rep, good depth, good bracing and form etc.

🧐 For those who don’t read 🧐

Deadlift: 160kg ( 350lbs ) + chalk for grip + raw ( No belts, straps etc ) 💪

Bench press: 95kg, closing in on 100kg ( 225lbs ) 🖐️

Squat: 140kg ( 315lbs ) 🦵

Conclusion

All in all some really strong steady progress, I’m also training as per usual in my garden doing functional training, conditioning, punching bag, shadow boxing or just throwing some punches and kicks out ‘ shadow fighting ‘.

I am becoming Lemon.

P.S: EZ bar curls, heavy ones work really well for bracing the forearm muscles etc. I’ve managed to curl 60kg for one rep and kept up the curls, it works so much better than dumbbells for building the forearm stability etc.

💪 Update No.3 🥊

As of lately I have changed my approach to my diet and training this year fully so rather than going on a cut ( Losing as much weight as possible progressively ) I am instead maintaining and trying to get enough protein in as to turn my current 105kg of bodyweight into as much muscle mass as I can. It sounds iffy but I’m pretty sure I’ve got some pretty darn good genetics.

My bodyfat sits at around 25% ish atm so I’m just trying to really maximise the gains from the two gym sessions a week I get as well as from training and work ( It’s physically taxing )

In other news I have been trying to work on cardio and overall athletic performance particularly for martial arts where I have been training every week twice a week although I’m considering upping the amount. With the more knowledge I gain for this type of training I will know how to better maximise my training sessions, so far so good.

Training for my fight with @lemonpie129-nodez !

Jokes aside I’m hoping to really see some good progress this year and mainly to learn new things and improve athletic performance.

Gym numbers looking good too, since starting to bench press / train chest consistently a few weeks back I’ve upped my bench press to around 80kg for one rep max with good form, I’m just focusing on the form and getting some good results there. Deadlift is sitting at around 150kg conventional with no belt etc, squat is around 125kg but could be 130kg once again conventional, good range-of-motion etc.

Checking back in again, so far the cut has been kinda shite, I’ve fucked up a couple times but ultimately this year I realise I’m mainly trying to focus on what and how I’m doing certain things so much so as to improve the technique of what I’m doing plus I also am learning different things regarding other training styles such as martial arts.

That aside today I tried deadlift for the first time and actually pulled an alright number, 130kg, this was after I had worked my way up so doing it fresh I may be able to pull like 140, possibly 150, the grip was the main issue plus it was a light-hearted test plus wanted to get the form correct.

Today was still leg day however so after doing some squats etc I moved on to the leg press where with all the total pressing machine weight and additional plates, I managed to push 400kg for 1 rep. In all fairness Leg press is busted af for leg strength and whatnot but all things considered, it was still fun to push that hard and basically ego lift. Mind you the form was optimal and my knees came a little past my torso so not an actual ego lift, but I’d rather focus on getting a couple reps and really feeling my legs work, squats are infinitely better for stuff like that.

⬇️ Bottom line ⬇️

Rambling aside I managed to work my way up to pulling 130kg for my first ever deadlift and managed to push 400kg for leg press for 1 rep with good form. Solid day, good testing grounds and killer leg pump / burn.

9 / 10

Progress pics.

Doing this as a marker in preparation for the 2024 cut, currently at 105kg, around 20 – 30% bodyfat. Aim is to reach around 85 to 90kg which would roughly be the lean weight at around 10 – 15% bodyfat.

Not the best quality in the picture here, lighting is rough and camera quality isn’t great either, still wanted to get something posted though..

Here again, reporting in with more update on stuff.

Yesterday, well not so much now but anyway, on Monday I went to hit legs as per usual, since the smith machine was free I decided to do it there and see where I could go with it.

I wasn’t so much going for a PR ( Personal Record ) but I managed to work my way up to 100kg squat for 5 reps. It was pretty steady work, I reckon I could’ve probably got like 120kg or a bit more for a one rep max with no assistance aka belt or knee straps etc. but all in all it was fun to toy around with heavy squat and get somewhere nice with it.

Current leg state: Ass cheeks, sore as hell.. hang on. Glutes. My glutes are sore as hell, that sounds a little better. Of course also my quads are sore too, if I didn’t hit legs once a week each week I’d be dying right now fr so I’m glad it’s steadily getting worked up and not a sudden jump.

Anyway, progress pics next year when I cut weight, peace.

It’s been a while since I’ve visited this group or really stepped my game up with my workouts, I always do heavy etc so I don’t bullshit there but with work and everything I just feel it’s time for a change up in my plans to make some real progress.

Given any of you hold any interest to this kind of stuff I’d happily post more progress updates, routines / plans and potentially some pictures.

Hell even if you need something, anything at all that can help establish a characters physical training etc I could have a look at that too.

I’m planning on changing my crappy goals and plans so now I’d be mixing my training up and essentially doing CrossFit in a way, just not that goofy shizzle you see.

The plan roughly would be:

Week 1: Strength and bodybuilding

Week 2: Conditioning, Cardio, Martial Arts and functional training.

Both are well in hand for being written and whatnot but I feel week 2 will be a challenge to properly organise whilst still keeping my strength consistent.

Been a while since I’ve posted here and kept updated with the current progression.

I managed to hit my goal of 20kg or 44lbs of bicep curls with one arm for around 8 – 10 reps. Where I’ve been at work it had decreased a bit but now I’ve arranged somewhat more of a routine for myself it’s become more stable and I’m sticking at around 20kg range. My goal for this year’s end is to bump it up to 30kg and perhaps go for the 40kg dumbbells for shoulders.

Currently I am able to press 24kg with one arm doing Arnold presses for 10 reps.

I’d like to see what my legs are capable of this year as my leg press only goes to 200kg which is still substantial but I’m putting up too many reps for what should be a heavy set, going to practice some squats and see if I can ‘steal’ some plates to do above 200kg leg press.

One day likely later in this year or near the end I’m going to post some result pictures because why not.

Update on the 20kg bicep curls

Choosing to set this goal has meant learning a lot more about biceps but also different ways to really achieve a goal. I end up learning something new every time I go gym or research on it even for as much as I know. Things like bicep curl variations to targeting the long and short heads of the bicep, how the range of motion should go, the speed, sets, reps etc.

Currently I’m not sure what I’m at but my arms look fuller and are stronger so hopefully by the end of 2022 I can get to that mark in which case I’m going to change my goals to 100 consecutive push-ups next year.

I think at my limit for curling weight I can do 24 – 26kg one arm but it’s only one rep and I’d ideally like to jump the weight to that 20kg mark for 8 – 10 reps by this years end.

I think this year I want to aim for 20kg bicep curls on a dumbbell for at least 12 reps.

I’m currently at 15kg for 10 reps so I’m doing well so far, I’ve only just put a little more attention and effort into arms so hopefully it keeps going as well as it has over the past 2 weeks.

I thought I’d post something here, if you’d like to then go ahead.