After three weeks of various trips away I finally started to settle back to a normal lifestyle and even fitted in some rowing starts again. Well, almost normal. My nieces came to stay with my parents for the first half of the week. On some fronts this was fantastic, on others it was totally exhausting.
On the bonus side I can be sure I got my hip thrust reps total correct thanks to my six year old niece who sat on the bench opposite me counting reps as I did them. Not only that but writing them down on my records sheet during my 10 second rest period between each set. For once I can be sure I’ve not remembered the wrong numbers.
On the down side I took them all for a walk to the next village to have lunch on Tuesday. It’s 3 miles each way, a distance that my older London-based niece found pretty tough, despite the big lunch available in the middle. I carried the younger niece (nearly two years old) each way except for the last mile and a bit when my Mum took over the carrying backpack. Of course, for the first mile of that I was then persuaded into giving my older niece (who we later weighed at 24.2kg) a piggyback. She slept for that mile – a deadweight and “odd object” in lifting terms.
Despite returning home and feeling physically trashed I still managed to find the energy for a final game of chase and “fairy princesses” (the things one does for love…) in the garden before dinner but the day after they left I slept for 11 hours solidly.
Overall the experience did show me something though. My base fitness has improved massively, my general strength levels are great (I didn’t struggle under the weight of either child, other than the awkwardness of trying to walk as the older niece slowly slid sideways off my shoulder). Oh, and I make an awesome aunt!
Results for last week
Workout 1: (Monday)
- Back squat: 76kg – 1×3 - this still felt fairly achievable, certainly more so than the 4 reps with 71kg last week.
- Back squat: 57kg – 1x max rep effort (minimum 11 reps) – 11 reps and I felt incredibly sore by the end of that.
- Hip thrusts: 105kg rest-pause method (10s rest) – 11, 7, 4 which takes me well over 15 reps again so this will need to go up another big step in weight.
- Assisted glute-ham raises: Blue band support & one full yellow sling + half black sling, 3×4 – wow, this felt really tough for the reduction in assistance. I was broken by the end of it (while my niece sat there watching my final rep on my final set shouting “one more, one more”)
Mid-week rowing: (Thursday)
- Concept 2 intervals: 5x30s (60s rest) – target 1.59.4 – well I was aiming for 8 intervals but had to stop at 6 intervals. After 3 weeks off I was back at the split I was on when I started and after the first 4 starts the time rapidly expanded, as you’ll see. Of course, I might also have been affected by this being the day after my nieces went home… So here are the numbers: 2.00.5, 2.00.9, 2.00.3, 2.00.7, 2.01.7, 2.02.8
Workout 2: (Friday)
- Back squat: 80kg – 1×2 – Easy. In fact, the warm-up felt harder than this.
- Back squat: 57kg – 1x max rep effort (minimum 12 reps) – 12 reps felt much easier than 11 reps. If that is possible. Time to put the weight up again.
- RDL: 85kg 3×7 – this was incredibly tough. Everything was stinging my the end of it, but I was pleased that I held my form as I went.
- Assisted glute-ham raises: Blue band support & one full yellow sling + half black sling, 3×5 – I think this was a bit easier than the 3×4 earlier in the week. But still very challenging.
Plan for this week
Workout 1:
- Back squat: 81kg – 1×1 (or at least match 80kg)
- Back squat: 58kg – 1x max rep effort (minimum 8 reps)
- Hip thrusts: 110kg rest-pause method (10s rest)
- Assisted glute-ham raises: Blue band support & one full yellow sling + half black sling, 3×6
Mid-week rowing:
- Concept 2 intervals: 8x30s (60s rest) – target 2.00.0
Workout 2:
- Back squat: 72kg – 1×4 (or at least match 71kg)
- Back squat: 58kg – 1x max rep effort (minimum one more rep than workout 1)
- RDL: 85kg 3×8
- Assisted glute-ham raises: Blue band support & one full yellow sling + half black sling, 3×7
Awesome!
Thanks!