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Natural Gym Dad

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September check-in: the bench finally moved

Posted in Darren's Progress. 1 minute read.

102.5 for a single. It has been a long summer.

A lifter lying on a bench under a loaded bar

After the shoulder business in July I was not sure I would see 100 again this year. Last Saturday I did 102.5. My wife was not as excited as I was.

What changed

  • Paused reps, three sets of three, every bench day for six weeks
  • Stopped dips for good
  • Slept more, mostly because the baby started sleeping more

Squat went up too, 155 for a single, which I had not planned. Bodyweight is drifting down slowly. 84.6 kg on the weekly average.

Still from the TikTok video: 155 for a single. Did not see that coming.

TikTok, 27 September 2026

155 for a single. Did not see that coming.

Watch on TikTok (opens in a new tab)

The full list of entries is on the progress log.

Like this? I post the short version first.