Fraser Young

[Fraser Young]

I started an account here https://strengthlevel.com/52858-9to5strength and after initially filling it out I will update when I either increase weight/reps on a main lift or for a weekly body-weight update. It’s a nice way to track estimated 1RM and get an indication if your strength is actually improving.

20 May

Around The Square – 3 x 4
Tuck Jumps – 1 x 10
Back Squat – 4 x 8 x 90kg
SLRDL – 3 x 8 x 40kg, 8 x 45kg
BB Rev Lunge – 2 x 12 x 40kg
Hollow Rock – 3 x 30 secs

21 May

BB Row – 5 x 10 x 65kg
Bench Press – 6,6,6,5,5 x 90kg
A1 Chin Ups – 3 x 8
A2 EZ Decline Skull Crushers – 3 x 10 x 31kg
Ab Wheel – 3 x 8

Tried rows first to put more emphasis on back training, hamstrings were singing from SLRDL the previous day.

23 May

Vert Test (skipped, really tender hamstrings)
Power Clean – 2 x 1 x 80kg, 4 x 1 x 85kg
Back Squat – 4 x 8 x 95kg
Hip Thrust – 8,7,8,8 x 105kg
Swiss Ball HS Curls – 12,15,11
Stir the pot – 3 x 30 secs

24 May

Incline Bench – 7,7,5 x 75kg
A1 DB Row – 4 x 8 x 37.5kg
A2 Rear Delt Raise – 4 x 8 x 3.5kg
B1 Close Grip Bench – 8,7,6 x 80kg
B2 Conc Curls – 3 x 8 x 15kg
Jump Squats (conditioning) – 150 in 6:35

25 May

Shuttle Runs – 4 x 4 mins (3 mins)

Good week of training, I introduced single leg RDL after seeing someone on Instagram recommend it and it was really effective. The downside was I had brutal DOMS and it meant I couldn’t do vertical jump or my 30 min jog in the week.

[Fraser Young]

14 May

Bench Press – 5,5,4,4 x 90kg
BB Row – 4 x 10 x 60kg
A1 Chin Ups – 8,8,6
A2 Decline Skull Crushers – 10,9,7 x 31kg
Ab Wheel – 3 x 8

16 May

Vert Test – 53cm/21″
Power Clean – 1 x 70kg, 5 x 1 x 80kg
Back Squat – 4 x 8 x 85kg
Hip Thrust – 4 x 8 x 100kg
Swiss Ball HS Curls – 14,11,15
Stir The Pot – 3 x 30 secs

17 May

Incline Bench – 7,6,6 x 75kg
DB Row – 4 x 8 x 35kg
Rear Delt Raise – 4 x 8 x 3.5kg
Close Grip Bench Press – 7,8,6 x 80kg
Concentration Curls – 3 x 8 x 13.5kg
Conditioning – 2x football pitch run length, lunge width (24 lunges short of 2 laps)

18 May

Shuttle Runs – 4 x 4 mins (3 mins)

A good week of training. I’ve written it out slightly differently and as it’s the first week I skipped a few exercises, but the upcoming week should be done in full. I keep meaning to add elements of all the different training I’ve done and the balance is better now with the addition of cardio. I don’t want to sprint on my hamstring but I was confident enough after a warm up to try a vertical jump.

[Fraser Young]

12 May

Around The Square – 3 x 4
Tuck Jumps – 1 x 10
Back Squat – 2 x 120kg, 3 x 8 x 80kg

This was for the end of my pre-season soccer training program and I had to estimate my 1RM in the squat. I probably had more reps in my legs but my mid-back was feeling really weak and there was nothing to gain from pushing it. It’s maybe a case of not squatting for 5 weeks as the pressure of Hex Bar Deadlift isn’t quite the same as the squat. I’ll check the sessions I was doing in March and modify them slightly before going back to it for the next month.

[Fraser Young]

Starting Stats (1st April)

Weight: 74.2kg
Estimated 1RM squat test: 5 x 120kg (135kg)
Broad Jump: 252cm
Standing Vert CMJ: 53.5cm
Bleep Test: Lvl 9 shuttle 11
QC Step Test VO2: 50.8
Peak Exp Flow: 735 L/min

Finishing Stats (11-12th May)

Weight: 73.5kg
Estimated 1RM squat test: 2 x 120kg (123kg)
Broad Jump: N/A
Standing Vert CMJ: N/A
Bleep Test: Lvl 9 shuttle 11
QC Step Test VO2: 50.8
Peak Exp Flow: 745 L/min

After all this I ended up scoring the same in both the step test and the bleep test, and slightly better in Peak Flow. With my hamstring injury I was never going to do well in the strength & power tests, so I didn’t even bother trying a broad jump or CMJ as it’s not a fair comparison. I gave squats a go and my T-spine felt weak which made me stop after two reps.

Overall I would change a few things before suggesting this program to others, which I’ll address in more detail when I make a video:
1) aerobic to Interval Training should be 4:1, while this had no aerobic. I would add in a 30-40 minute run once a week of steady state.
2) Without being biased by tearing my hamstring, the sprints aren’t ideal. To minimise risk of injury I would cut it off at 20m and maybe only do 8 x 10m, 4 x 20m in the first session and build that volume up too.
3) The program assumes we have some strength to hold on to, in the way it uses a 2 x 3 scheme for the big lifts. The friend who requested this hasn’t been to the gym all year so for him I would simply put in 3 x 6-8 of a main lift instead. I wouldn’t have new trainees go straight into moderately heavy triples.

[Fraser Young]

Dec 3

Staircase Sprint
3 x 3 sets

Staircase Bounds
3 x 2 x double steps

Sumo Deadlift
3 x 3 x 118.5kg

GHR
2 x 5

Sliding Leg Curl
2 x 8

Dec 4

Bench Press
3 x 94.5kg
3 x 96kg
3 x 97kg

followed by Explosive pushups x 5

Alternate DB Curls
2 x 9 x 19kg

Ab Ripper X
Complete – 350 reps

Dec 6

Back Squats
8 x 108.5kg
8 x 118.5kg

RLESS
2 x 8 x 68.5kg

SLRDL
2 x 8 x 28kg

Dec 8

Overhead Press
5 x 52kg
5 x 60kg
6 x 68kg

Alternate T-Bar Press
3 x 8 x 35kg

Weighted Pullups
3 x 8 x 7.5kg

Weighted Dips
3 x 18 x 7.5kg

Dec 9

Staircase Sprint
3 x 3 sets

Staircase Bound
3 x doubles

Sumo Deadlift
5 x 101kg
5 x 116kg
7 x 132kg

GHR
3 x 5

Sliding Leg Curl
3 x 8

Dec 10

Bench Press
5 x 72kg
5 x 83kg
7 x 94kg

Alternate DB Curls
3 x 7 x 20kg

Close Grip Bench Press
3 x 8 x 78.5kg

Rotator Cuff
2 x 3 x 10

Ab Ripper X to follow later this evening.

Dec 11

Back Squats
8 x 108.5kg
8 x 118.5kg
3 x 126kg

SLRDL
3 x 8 x 28kg

Pause Squat (5 sec ISO)
5 x 58.5kg

Dec 13

Track Work (Real track, not shitty gravel track in my home town)

6 x 400m (~8 mins rest) 5 in 72 secs, last one in 64.8 secs

Ironman Weights (First Series 30-60 secs rest, 2 sec concentric 4 sec eccentric)

Lat Pulldown 2 x 12 x 35kg
Split Squat 2 x 12 x 10kg
Press ups 2 x 8
Hip Thrust 2 x 12
DB Pullover 2 x 12 x 13.5kg
Decline Pushups 2 x 12
DB Bicep Curl 2 x 12 x 9kg
Tricep Kickback 2 x 12 x 1.5kg

Bird Dogs 2 x 12
Side Bridge 2 x 40 secs
Front Bridge 2 x 60 secs
DB Side Bends 2 x 15 x 9kg
Press up Hand Walks 2 x 20

First things first, track. My friend is training for Ironman and was doing 10 x 400m with 4-5 mins rest, and I did reps 1,3,5,7,8 and we raced the final rep. Having done that there was NO chance of me doing RLESS when I came home so instead I joined him for his weights session, which we ended up going through twice. Some of the exercises like split squat, hip thrust and bicep curls were really tough in the 2X4 (or 4X2) tempo format and as long as they don’t blunt my max. strength noticeably i’m happy to include that session every week as it’s a little something different and had me way out my comfort zone.

Dec 14

Overhead Press
3 x 56kg
3 x 64kg
2 x 72kg
3 x 8 x 48.5kg

Chin Ups
3 x 11

Dips
3 x 25

Dec 16

Staircase Sprint
3 x 3 sets

Pause Squats (5 sec ISO)
5 x 63.5kg
5 x 68.5kg

Sumo Deadlift
3 x 108.5kg
3 x 124kg
3 x 140kg

GHR
3 x 5

Sliding Leg Curl
3 x 8

Dec 17

Bench Press
3 x 77kg
3 x 88kg
6 x 100kg

Alternate DB Curls
3 x 7 x 20kg

Close Grip Bench Press
3 x 6 x 83.5kg

Rotator Cuff
2 x 2 x 10

Ab Ripper X

Dec 20

Pause Squats
5 x 68.5kg
5 x 73.5kg
5 x 78.5kg

RLESS
3 x 8 x 68.5kg

SLRDL
3 x 8 x 28kg

Calf Lowers
2 x 25

Dec 21

Overhead Press
3 x 8 x 53.5kg

Dips
3 x 25

Chin Ups
3 x 12

Half-Kneeling Cable Lift
3 x 10 x 5kg

Ab Wheel
2 x 15

RKC Plank
45 secs

Dec 23

Sumo Deadlift
5 x 116kg
3 x 132kg
1 x 148kg

GHR 3 x 5

Sliding Leg Curl
3 x 9

Dec 24

Bench Press
5 x 83kg
3 x 94kg
2 x 106kg

Alternate DB Curls
3 x 8 x 20kg

Close Grip Bench Press
3 x 6 x 83.5kg

Rotateor Cuff
2 x 2 x 10

Ab Ripper X

Dec 25

20km Bike

It was very muddy where we went and although a few km were on road the majority of it was rough terrain and annoyingly was so bad in places my tyres were slipping and I had to walk the bike. Between us my mate and I fell over about 40 times and gaining any fitness out of it wasn’t really possible. Good fun though.

Dec 27

Pause Squats
5 x 78.5kg
5 x 83.5kg
5 x 88.5kg

RLESS
3 x 8 x 68.5kg

SLRDL
3 x 8 x 29kg

Single Leg Calf Lowers
2 x 25

Bare Foot Treadmill Walk
37 mins, 3 degree incline, 5.8kph

Dec 28

Overhead Press
3 x 8 x 53.5kg

Dips
3 x 25

Chin Ups
3 x 12

Half-Kneeling Cable Lift
3 x 10

Ab Wheel Standing
3 x 5

Dec 30

Sumo Deadlift
5 x 104kg
5 x 120kg
7 x 136kg

GHR
3 x 5

Sliding Leg Curl
3 x 9

Dec 31

Bench Press
5 x 73kg
5 x 84kg
7 x 96kg

DB Curls
3 x 8 x 20kg

Close Grip Bench Press
3 x 6 x 83.5kg

Note: This year started off in Loughborough, where I took on a full time position in a bar around March. That lasted until early July, I then did ~ 3 weeks of bar work during the Olympics before living with my parents in Crowborough for the rest of the year. I had given up competitive sprinting and was only playing rugby as something to do, so most of the year was a bit aimless.

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