Squat: w/u with 3x70kg, 3x110kg, 3x150kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg, 1 x 210kg, 2 x 2 x 195kg
Bench: w/u with 10x60kg, 5x100kg; 4 x 120kg, 1, 3, x 130kg, 1, 3, x 135kg, 1, 2+1, x 137.5kg
Nice session, serious effort involved but it went well. First rep paused for all bench sets. The last set was cluster style (2+1) as I didn’t have a spotter or safety pins and didn’t want to get stuck (given the pauses and fatigue from my OHP session, I was more concerned about this than I am usually with those kind of weights).
Deadlift: w/u with 3x70kg, 3x110kg, 3x150kg; 1 x 180kg, 1 x 200kg, (add belt) 1 x 210kg, 2 x 2 x 200kg, 3 x (1,1,1) x 180kg (paused triples)
Seated Machine Row: 6 x 65kg, 8 x 115kg, 9 x 105kg, 8 x 95kg, 5 x 8 x 85kg (explosive concentric)
Pull-through: 15, 12, 15, 15, x full stack
Stat. Bike: 10 mins intense, with sprints and active rest.
Felt tired, but deadlifts were decent and there was plenty of accessory work completed, so not too bad.
Squat: w/u with 8x70kg, 4x110kg, 3x110kg, 3x150kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg, 2 x 195kg
Seated OHP from pins (chin height): built to (1, 1, 1,) x 70kg, (1, 1, 1,) x 72.5kg, (1, 1, 1,) x 75kg
Seated OHP from pins (chin height) with back rest: built up to 5 x 50kg, 4 x 60kg, 3 x 62.5kg, 3 x 65kg, 3 x 67.5kg, 12 x 50kg
Bench: w/u with 6x60kg, 3x100kg; 1, 3, x 120kg, 1, 3, x 122.5kg, 1, 3, x 125kg, 1, 3, x 127.5kg
Core Work: 20 mins
Chipping away at the metaphorical tree trunk every day. Progress is coming. Upper body training switched up a bit to focus on shoulder strength and pausing my bench presses; all bench reps were paused today, singles for a full second or two. Overhead work was paused from pins and dynamic.
Squat: w/u with 5x70kg, 3x110kg, 2x150kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg, 4, 3, x 190kg
Seated Machine Row: 8, 8+2, x 115kg, 8 x 105kg, 8 (controlled and paused) x 85kg, 8 (controlled and paused) x 75kg
Left it at 205kg as I was tired and felt like doing some reps. Sets with 190kg were very strong, I could probably have reached 5-6 reps on the first set if I’d just kept pushing, but form had been good until then and I didn’t want to lose it; plenty more lifting to come tomorrow anyway.
[quote]lift206 wrote:
Hey halcj, looks like some good work in here. Are you doing the Bulgarian method?[/quote]
Yep, pretty much Bulgarian, just with a weekly deadlift session (non-max. but heavy), bench + shoulders currently twice every 5 days, and avoiding failure on squat when I genuinely believe it’s coming (in contrast with Pat Mendes’ approach of hitting failure every day).
It seems to be working as planned at the moment, so I definitely plan to stick with it until I compete on 26th July. After that, my idea is to enter a short fat-loss and bodybuilding training phase for around four weeks, during which I might work up to 80% (squat) most days but not an all-out maximum.
Squat: w/u with 3x70kg, 3x110kg, 2x150kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg, 1 x 210kg
Seated OHP from Pins: built up to (1, 1, 1,) x 80kg [three total cluster sets]
Then: built up over 7 sets of 3 to 3 x 77.5kg [short rest periods, explosive reps, paused]
Then: 13 x 50kg (paused reps)
Bench: w/u with 12x60kg, 5x100kg; 1, 3, x 120kg, 1, 3, x 125kg, 1, 3, x 130kg [all paused]
Very good session, more progress here. I felt much stronger overhead today, great tricep power and general muscle activation from the ramp sets.
Seated OHP from Pins: (1, 1, 1,) clusters to 80kg, 85kg, 85kg
Then: 3s ramp from 60kg to a top weight of 82.5kg (this was too heavy really; I had to grind and lost speed, so I’d say 80kg was the proper max set)
Then: 8 x 60kg (not to failure, paused)
Bench: w/u with 12x60kg, 4x110kg; 3 x 120kg, 3 x 130kg, 3 x 135kg, 2 x 140kg, 5 x 120kg
SSB Squat from Pins (an inch or two above parallel, beltless): w/u with 5x70kg, 3x110kg; 3 x 150kg, 1 x 170kg, M x 175kg, 2 x 160kg, 2 x 155kg, 3 x 150kg
A good session. I avoided standard squats due to upper back muscle pain, but SSB work felt like a good substitute so I’m content with that for one session.
Just a general comment: I’m seriously pissed after finding out that I need a new “approved brand” belt for IPF competition. Not a different size / shape / material / etc., but a different brand logo. So thanks, IPF, thank you! 6 weeks of searching for and getting used to a new belt on the way…
Squat: w/u with 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 3x140kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg, 2 x 2 x 200kg, 4 x 190kg
Deadlift: w/u with 3x110kg; 3 x 150kg, 3 x 2 x 180kg, 2 x 3 x 150kg
Heavy squat reps and some lighter deadlift work. I had a few people in the gym staring at me and two ask if I needed help / a spotter, presumably because I was sweating to a crazy extent and coming up from the 200kg doubles like I was about to explode. Very hot without air conditioning; I’m not sure why, but it seemed to get to me more today for some reason. Maybe I took shorter rest periods?
Anyway, great effort again and some progress, so I’m happy with that.
[quote]halcj wrote:
Just a general comment: I’m seriously pissed after finding out that I need a new “approved brand” belt for IPF competition. Not a different size / shape / material / etc., but a different brand logo. So thanks, IPF, thank you! 6 weeks of searching for and getting used to a new belt on the way…
[quote]halcj wrote:
Just a general comment: I’m seriously pissed after finding out that I need a new “approved brand” belt for IPF competition. Not a different size / shape / material / etc., but a different brand logo. So thanks, IPF, thank you! 6 weeks of searching for and getting used to a new belt on the way…
Training Soon.[/quote]
What belt did you have and what are you getting?[/quote]
I currently have a plain (no logo, can’t remember who made it) black leather 10mm double prong. I’ve tracked down a place in Germany that sells Inzer Forever belts, and I’ve just placed an order for a 13mm single prong to be shipped over. I couldn’t find anywhere else that would ship fast enough (only poor quality / non-IPF approved ones available elsewhere, or 6 weeks + shipping time). Hopefully it’ll be as good as / better than my current one… Still a pain 6 weeks out from competing.
18th
Squat: w/u with 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 3x140kg; 1 x 180kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg
Seated OHP from Pins: (1, 1, 1,) clusters to 85kg
Then: triples ramped to 80kg
Then: 9 x 60kg
Bench: w/u with 10x60kg, 5x100kg; 10 x 3 x 120kg (paused reps)
Stat. Bike: 10 mins with intervals
My upper back was exhausted today from this week’s work so far, but I fought through and got some great volume on bench as well as a reasonable performance on squat and overhead press. Another good day of training.
Squat: w/u with 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 3x100kg, 3x140kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 205kg, 1 x 210kg, 1 x 212.5kg (recent daily max PR, not far off real PR), 2 x 195kg
Hamstring Curls: 3 sets
Stat. Bike: 5 mins of intense intervals + active rest
I felt quite uncomfortably sore today (upper back again; it keeps cramping up but it’s not a “real” injury - I think the SSB squats from pins have contributed to this). Regardless, I came close to an all-time training PR and did pretty well overall, so a great session.
Squat: w/u with 3x70kg, 3x110kg, 3x150kg; 1 x 190kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg
Seated OHP from Pins: (1, 1, 1,) clusters to 85kg, (1, 1, M,) x 87.5kg
Then: triples ramped to 3 x 82.5kg
Bench: w/u with 8x60kg, 5x100kg; 6 x 3 x 125kg (all paused)
Seated Machine Row: 9, 7, x 115kg, 10 x 95kg, 10 x 75kg
Not much squatting today due to fatigue, but everything went pretty well. Using an underhand grip on the bar to set up for bench (when arching and getting under the bar) really helped me get into a better position to press, and I really got my pause and leg drive going today. This is brilliant progress; hopefully my bench plan is going to work out perfectly and I’ll be hitting PR weights soon!
Squat: w/u with 3x60kg, 3x100kg, 3x140kg; 1 x 180kg, 1 x 200kg, 1 x 205kg, 4 x 190kg, 3 x 195kg, 2 x 200kg
Core Work: 15 mins
My legs were literally shaking during the warm up, even at 140kg, but I got into it and felt good otherwise. Again, I opted for more volume rather than going for 210kg+ so I could ensure a solid session in terms of muscle stimulation; once I’d dropped the weight down to 190kg I felt great, and ramping back up worked brilliantly. I think this bodes well for my planned 5/4/3/2/1 paused bench progression in the final 3-4 weeks of meet prep. Should be good.
New belt arrived from Germany… Inzer Forever 13mm… VERY tough leather! Hopefully this bigger size won’t be too loose on competition day, as I’m on the first (inside) whole, but it seems like it should be great once I’ve managed to wear it in slightly and can get it on and off again without a 5 minute struggle!
