Week 7: Day 5
Front Squat: 1x5-45kg, 1x3-50kg, 1x4-55kg
5x(4front squat+8back squat)-50kg
Jacobs ladder: 10min
Definitely one of the hardest workouts. I was surprised I got through 5 sets
I don’t really wanna start an argument with anyone on that thread specially since the context is in Asian families so I’ll just post it here.
A lot of it is cultural and by that I mean there’s really no “right” or “wrong” behavior. It’s better described as socially acceptable and not acceptable which is definitely relative. For example, Americans really love small talk even if they don’t know the person. In countries like Scandinavia for example, not really. Same with “what do you do for a living?” is a common question in the US. In other countries, it’s actually offensive. Asian dads may not always say “I love you”, instead they ask “have you eaten?” Talking loud in public is kinda the same thing. In China it’s normal. Bring a mainlander to US soil without him or her understanding the social dynamics of the place? Well you get the idea…
Wasting so much gas and other resources to pay respects to the dead? Leaving a bowl of high quality rice on their grave? (or whatever you call it, I actually don’t know where they put it on is called lol)…It’s just a deeply ingrained cultural thing of trying to show respect for the people who raised them.
After all, just know that all they want for you is to succeed in life. Not necessarily filthy rich, but at least financially stable. They know the sad reality in this world is that money talks. You may not agree with the method on how they do it, but they’re just trying their best to do so in the way they know how.
If I remember correctly from your money saving post, you’ll be away from family when you get into uni? In other cultures, this may be the norm, and all the teenagers/young adults will be happy to be away with this new found “freedom.” Trust me though, as you grow older, you’ll slowly come to the realization that your relatives will slowly but surely grow old, and one by one get sick and eventually pass on. As you make sacrifices for uni and eventually for work and family, you’ll start to understand the sacrifices they had to make to make your new found “freedom” possible. You’ll start to realize that the time you have left to show them appreciation for what they did will slowly become shorter and shorter.
Sounds a little dramatic but that’s because I went through 5 years of med school after college. As I was taking care of patients and training, I couldn’t take care of my parents when they got sick because I was away and had to focus on studying. Yet it was their sacrifice that allowed me to get in and finish med school. So whenever you get the chance, spend time with them, eat a good meal with them, have fun with them on a long ride, and just be patient and nice to them. Even if it’s frustrating at times.
You may not agree with some things I said or anything at all. Just try to take what can benefit you and leave the rest. That’s alright. Have fun in uni!
PS: those uneducated people taught you how to use a spoon 
2 Likes
Thanks so much for the insight!
I love my immediate family(mom, dad, grandparents) to death, which is why I “put up” with the rituals
So true. I’m a pretty spoiled, emotionally hight maintenance kid- I honestly would have disowned myself by now. I try to do my best to pay a fraction of their love forward by helping out around the house and eventually plan to pay them back financially.
Props to you!! The world (especially western countries) need Drs who understand health, fitness and other cultures
Week 8: Day 1- Deload time! (conditioning)
10x(12 DB RDL+6DB hang clean+3press)/side(20min total)-16kg EMOM
10x(5hSPU+10pushups+15 air squats)EMOM
Lat pulldowns: 2x20-19lbs, 1x10-26lbs- As I mentioned, I switched gyms and have never used the machines. I was pretty shocked since the pull down machine at my previous gym was plate loaded. Anyways, it really worked my lat and core
Leg Extension: 4x15-20lbs
Seated leg curl: 4x15- 12.5lbs
- This workout felt really intense, but felt good and quick. Since it was a deload, I decided to play around with the machines. Its confirmed, I’m too short to use them.
@T3hPwnisher I want to test training maxes on Tuesday.Should I do anything special to prep?
No: the opposite in fact. You want to use a “gym max”, which is something you can hit on any day of the week with no preparation. Live your life normally and see what you can manage.
1 Like
noted thanks!
Just my 2c but get rid of this mindset. What I’m trying to say is that you’re not an insurance plan that they’re investing in so that you can pay them back eventually in the future. Like I said earlier, your parents just want you to succeed and have financial security. I just think there’s a difference between “I need to pay them back financially” vs “I now appreciate everything they did for me so I’ll see how I can help them”. One of the two is breeding grounds for resentment. Just some thoughts
2 Likes
I really appreciated this post, and it was kind of what I was driving at on the thread. You expressed it better than me though
1 Like
I’m sure the thought is appreciated but I doubt very much they value the “repayment” anywhere near as much as making sure you’re stable and happy in your chosen life path.
Edit: I just saw @whang s post above and its far better phrased than mine, listen to him. I’ll leave English to the experts in future.
1 Like
noted. Thanks for the wisdom!
1 Like
Took me quite a few years to realize.
It took me kids to realise
Week 8: Day 2 Max Testing
Squat: (barx5,40kgx3,50kgx3,55kgx1, 60kgx1, 65kgx1) 70kg- I bailed 75kg. Basically, I lost 10kg…
Bench: 50kg went up like nothing, but I had problems getting 55kg off the rack and got out of position so I failed. I honestly think I could have done it. Even so, really disappointing given how bench focused I’ve been since the surgery
Conditioning: 30min- [10x{5ring dips+10medball slams-20lbs+20alt pistols)+ max KB farmer’s carries for rest of time-45lbDBs]- 240m
Honestly really disappointed. It’s not like I’ve been slacking off. At this point, I’m ready to do ANYTHING to improve my squat (…smolov…)
@T3hPwnisher @dagill2 Any advice/criticism? I felt good today and even took yesterday off (not intentionally- just felt so shit even a warmup didn’t do the trick), but the lifts sucked! The only thing I did different was that I didn’t eat breakfast, but honestly that shouldn’t have made a difference because I trained 2hrs earlier than usual and was definitely not hungry.
Also, My legs were really sluggish on the pistols even though I barely did anything on squats (the warmups hardly count as a workout)
I have never run btM, and am nowhere near as experienced as @T3hPwnisher, so usual caveat; salt to taste.
-
it’s one day, don’t let it fuck with you mentally, especially if you know you haven’t eaten perfectly. If ok find it’s really denting your confidence, redo the day but I think you should just accept you had a bad day and move on.
-
low testing days only dent your ego, not your progress. A lower TM will do you no harm in the long run. In fact, it’s probably a blessing
noted Thanks!
Just making sure. Thanks for the assurance
This is the second time you’ve brought up smolov that I’ve seen. I’d honestly run it and just get it out of your system. And I say that having low faith in that program, mainly because there never WAS a coach Smolov, and IF there was one, he was an awful caoch because there is ZERO record of his athletes doing anything (and keep in mind: these are the Soviets. They recorded EVERYTHING. And made TONS of propaganda for how great their athletes were). However, if it’s occupying a large space in your mind saying “THIS is what it takes to make squats big”, any time you spend NOT doing it is going to just screw with you. Doing it and seeing that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be will get you back on track.
OR maybe you end up responding really well to that style of programming and your squat takes off like a rocket. Pretty much either way it’s a victory.
Otherwise, 1rms are a skill in and of themselves. Time spent away from them is time spent getting worse at them, so when you try to jump back to them, you’re going to come in “detrained” and notice some drop-off. Most likely, if you ran a true intensification cycle you’d see a jump in 1rms, but that’s also time spent NOT getting bigger and stronger.
So it’s a question of goals. If you really want a big 1rm squat, train for that. If you really want to get bigger and stronger, train for that. It’s a question of periodization.
1 Like
I was kidding. I’m doing BTM. Smolov is a metaphor for my frustration with squats. This squat thing has been going on for the past three years tbh
State sponsored doping to the max. I’m really into USSR stuff, and it definitely wan’t because of how “great” they were. They did put out some pretty cool research though and apparently you can literally major in powelifting
Week 8: Day 3 More conditioning
For Time: 100m-tire flip+100m bear crawl+ 100m crab walk+50m tire flip- 18min ish
Incline DB bench: 1x12+2AMRAP clusters w/ 10sec rest btw sets- 4,1
Technique: Overhead squat
I’m off to college tomorrow! I’ll still try to get some sort of training in
1 Like
Week 8: Day 4- even more conditioning
Pistol pyramid 10-50 alternating w/ 5 flights of stairs btw sets -40min ish
WOW! my legs were super stiff this morning, but it felt good to get my HR up a bit.