Middle aged man seeks strength and hypertrophy

[fitpbryd]

Hello Guys

Quick introduction. I'm a 43 year old male home trainee, looking to gain some size and strength. Very much focused on the longevity of training and the beneficial impact it will have in my future years.

My routine is based on the fact I train at home with limited equipment, hence no bench pressing and back squats. I do have a trap / shrug bar and dip stands.

Training history. I started September 2015 with a PPL for a few months, moved to a full body 3x week, before settling on an A B split.

Routine

A.

• Trap bar deadlift 1x5
• Barbell Press 5x5
• Chins 5x5

B

• Front Squat 3x8
• Dips 3x8
• Barbell Rows 3*8

Lastly my bodyweight is 133lb (60kg), my trap bar deadlift is 8x110kg (37.5kg each side plus 35kg for the bar) which pretty much is beating me up now, so I'm dropping to 1x5 and setting the bar down between reps from now on.

I've moved some of the exercises and changed reps to try and give me a heavy (A) and moderate day (B). I hope i'm on the right track.

I'll post my workouts as I do them later.

[fitpbryd]

I thought I'd post my last couple of workouts to get the ball rolling.

25/7/16

Trap bar: 5*65kg, 3*75kg, 2*85kg, 1*100kg, 8*110kg
Barbell OHP: 5*8@27kg #
Dips: 8,8,5@bw

#5 sets of 8

Trap bar was very tough, I plan to drop to 1x5
OHP and Dips are new, trying to find the correct weight


27/7/16

Front Squat: 5*27kg, 3*37kg, 1*42kg, 8*47kg, 10*42kg, 12*40.5kg
Chins: 3*bw, 6*6.25kg, 6*2.5kg, 6*bw, 4*bw
RDL: 5*42kg, 5*42kg, 5*47kg

30/7/16

Trap bar: 5*65kg, 3*75kg, 2*85kg, 1*100kg, 2*112.5kg
Dips: 4*bw, 7*2.5kg, 7*bw, 7*bw, 4*bw
Barbell Rows: 5*27kg, 5*32kg, 5*37kg, 5*37kg, 10*37kg, 10*37kg

Reduced reps on the trap bar for a deload on the volume.
Barbell Rows are new, trying to find the correct weight.

That's my last three workouts. I'm feeling a bit beat up so I'm swapping things around and trying a heavy and moderate day. If that doesn't work I'll swap every second trap bar for RDLs, unless someone can offer another solution. I'm open to suggestions.

[fitpbryd]

Today saw me do routine B of the new tweaked routine.

Front Squat: 5*27kg, 3*37kg, 3*8*47kg (3 sets of 8)
Dips: 3*8*bw
Barbell Rows: 5*27kg, 4*37kg, 3*8*42kg (3 sets of 8)

These were good hard sets, I'll add 1kg to each next workout.

Note on my weights. I normally just count the weight on one side of the barbell for my own records. So I've doubled it and added 7kg for the weight of the standard barbell I use.

[fitpbryd]

Today saw me do routine A of the new tweaked routine.

Trap bar deadlift: 5*65kg, 3*75kg, 2*85kg, 1*100kg, 5*112.5kg
Barbell OHP: 5*27kg, 5,5,5*32kg
Chins:5*bw, 5,5,5*2.5kg

Deadlifts went up nice and I've got the right weight on the OHP and chins for 3 sets 5.

I'll add 1kg to each lift next session and continue on this linear progression for as long as I can.

[fitpbryd]

8/6/2016

Front Squat:

5x27kg
3x37kg
8x48kg
8x48kg
8x48kg

Dips:

4xbw
8x1.25kg
8x1.25kg
6x1.25kg

Barbell Rows:

5x27kg
4x37kg
8x43kg
8x43kg
8x43kg

Shame I missed the last set of dips, will repeat that next workout and try an get 8 reps on all sets.

[fitpbryd]

8/8/16

Good session today, I've started adding smaller increments to the trap bar deadlift and shoulder press.

Trap bar deadlift:

5x65kg
3x75kg
2x85kg
1x105kg
6x113.5kg

Barbell OHP:

5x27kg
5x33kg
5x33kg
5x33kg


Chins:

5xbw
5x3kg
5x3kg
5x3kg

[fitpbryd]

10/8/2016

Front Squat:

5x27kg
3x37kg
8x49kg
8x49kg
8x49kg

Dips:

4xbw
8x1.25kg
8x1.25kg
7x1.25kg

Barbell Rows:

5x27kg
4x37kg
8x44kg
8x44kg
8x44kg

Front squats are becoming very awkward, lifting the barbell from the floor to my shoulders and lowering it back at the end of the set.

I'll continue adding weight as far as I can, but I'm considering lowering the weight slightly on my 2nd and 3rd set to give my wrists a break.

[fitpbryd]

Today's session 12/8/16


Trap bar deadlift:

5x65kg
3x85kg
2x95kg
1x105kg
5x115kg

Barbell OHP:

5x27kg
5x34kg
5x34kg
7x34kg


Chins:

5xbw
5x3.75kg
5x3.75kg
6x3.75kg

Trap bar deadlifts felt very heavy today, but I've realise my warm up has changed. I may stick to 115kg next session or add just 1kg.

I decided to do some extra reps where possible on the last set of OHP and chins.

[iSquat]

Welcome - following along. What is your height/weight?

[fitpbryd]

Hello. I'm5'6" and 135lb (61kg)

I'm 43 and hoping to add some lean mass on a slight calorie surplus.