Chris_ottawa's Training Log

Training Training Logs
1708

If anything I would just do some backoff sets without the belt. The thing is that if the belt allows you to lift more and isn’t actually assisting any of the muscles involved in extending your hips and legs (which are the limiting factors, and stuff like wraps and suit do assist) then you run the risk of getting weaker due to not overloading those muscles and not handling loads that would otherwise be challenging if you don’t do some heavy work with the belt on.

I know some of the old time guys like Ed Coan used to lift beltless in the offseason, but I get the impression that part of the reason was to get around the mindfuck from cycling off the supplements. Instead of feeling weak as shit, you’re lifting lighter weight because (you believe) the belt allows you to lift way more. Then you go back on cycle and throw the belt back on and before you know it your lifts are taking off again.

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1709

I didn’t find a squat in sleeves vid from scrolling up a bit but reasonably certain ur squat pattern is leg dominant because u come out the bottom relatively fast while maintaining position, staying in the quads and stick mid way up like big chad himself

https://www.instagram.com/p/CC_2M4Eg2uP/?igshid=6310lg3fizc

Can be very subtle at times especially if a lifter can resist the tendency but posterior chain dominant will have their knees shift back and load up the posterior chain as soon as possible on the concentric. Throwing on wraps can reduce the shift in position

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFBDE5cA_Ws/?igshid=q1ycaneg7a85
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGJCzfKg6Dv/?igshid=1jieg165gsnvm

I think sleeved squats will be a great stimulus even for the reduced weight. You’ll still be challenged just with a better stimulus to fatigue ratio.

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1710

Part of that is the wraps, but I don’t fail in the hole without them either.

I try to avoid that, it makes it harder and basically wastes the boost from the wraps. If I’m not careful the wraps will shift my knees and hips back and turn it into a good morning.

I still do them, just not for the top set and not normally too heavy.

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1711

Friday, October 16 - Deadlift day

It wasn’t planned, but it looks like I’m switching back to sumo

Conventional deadift
The plan was 575x1, 535x1 felt a bit slow for my liking and I ended up failing 575 twice, tore a callus on the 2nd attempt too. I only got it a few inches off the ground both times, didn’t even get close to my knees where I usually stall. I thought 565 two weeks ago was just a bad day but maybe that’s all I can pull conventional right now. Also I have been sleeping and eating well and was off work the last two days, I felt good but just couldn’t do what was planned. So rather than accept defeat I decided to try sumo again for a change and see what happens.

Sumo (with a belt because here it seems to help)
singles: 405, 455, 505, 545, 575

575 was a bit slow off the floor and slowed again at knee level but it went up and I didn’t die. Probably could have pulled 20lbs more if necessary. Tore two more calluses too, all three on my right hand, courtesy of Rogue’s bare steel DL bar.

Anyway, that’s just over 95% of my best sum pull (600) and I haven’t even pulled sumo in 3 1/2 months from what I can see in my log. Last time I messed around with conventional for a bit I don’t think I even managed 500 and then my sumo took off when I switched back and I ended up pulling 600, at this rate maybe I will be close to 700 in a few months.

Video later, I have to get to work soon.

Chin ups - 45 degree supinated
+45 x9, 7

Barbell curl
125x12, 9

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1712

Why did you switch to Conv? It looks like you are way stronger at Sumo.

At the same time though all that conv didnt go to waste as its probably the best accessory movement for Sumo there is.

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1713

I wouldn’t say way stronger, 565 vs. 600. I was getting frustrated with slow progress on sumo and I was using conventional as my main assistance lift, at one point it was feeling better than sumo so I thought I would give it a shot and see what happens. I figured I had nothing to lose since last time I tried that I made some fast progress on sumo when I switched back, that time it was after I injured something in my back and sumo didn’t feel good on my hip (SI joint?).

Anyway, we will see what happens next, I think I could push my sumo to the mid 600s. This wasn’t bad considering I’m out of practice.

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1714

Saturday, October 17 - Bench assistance day - easy session

Floor press
315x3

And some W’s with the super mini band and that’s it

1715

Monday, October 19 - Main squat day

Squat
up to 455x1 in sleeves - light and easy, good depth
Wraps (SBD):
505x1 - Same thing
545x1 - Borderline depth but moved well, I think it went up faster than the last two
585x1 - Not really happy with this, but that seems to be my story every week for the last while. Got a good pop out of the hole but slowed suddenly, it felt like the bar was trying to push me forward but it you look at the video it appears that there is some horizontal rotation going on too. Aside from that, I need to extend my hips sooner and also I’m about 2 inches away from depth.

Pause squat in wraps
475x3 - Because my depth isn’t going to fix itself. This was uncomfortable and I didn’t enjoy it, but Tasty Nate told me a while back to do these and he is the best squatter on this forum so maybe I should pay attention. No appetite for more than one set though, and all the wrapping makes this workout longer than it would be otherwise.

Leg curl
light + super mini bands x13, 10, 8

Band bad girl
light band x18, 16, 16

Right now I feel like I really need to get my squat depth in wraps sorted out before I move onto anything else. I know I can do it, it’s just a question of actually getting it done.

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1716

And for @guineapig since you were thinking that USPA is always passing high squats, see this - 2nd video got reds for depth:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGgM48ehZPX/

Hard to judge from the side but to me both look like somewhere around parallel or just barely depth.

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1717

Let us know how the pause w wraps go might do em myself to go real deep

1718

It’s not fun but in theory it should work. Same idea as regular pause squats for squats without wraps.

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1719

Wednesday, October 21 - Main bench day

Bench press
385x2 singles - moved well, maybe better than 375 last week. I didn’t bench anything heavy for a while so we will see where this goes.
365x3 - Maybe a rep in the tank

Rack lockout
410x5 singles - Seems like the first rep is that hardest to get off the pins, the later ones are harder further up. I’m doing this to work on my sticking point so I think singles might be better. This isn’t even much of an overload, I’m straining on every rep, I have a weak spot about 2/3 of the way up.

Floor pause DB tricep extension
50’s x15, 12, 10 - Feels like I’m fighting against my biceps on this, they feel sore. I think I have some issues with biceps inhibiting my bench/elbow extension, maybe a bit of CAT bench would do me some good.

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1720

Friday, October 23 - Deadlift day

Looks like my deadlift is totally falling off the rails, felt totally recovered and ready for action but it’s not happening.

Sumo deadlift
Singles - 405, 475, 545, 585-fail
Technique feels off, 545 was like RPE 8 but my hips were too high. Last week I pulled 575 after some conventional bullshit so I figured when I’m fresh 585 would be no problem, but I was wrong. I’m going to have to take it slow and rebuild my technique, do some submax work and such. I taped my thumbs for this which felt weird and might have thrown me off a bit, but it’s hard to blame your problems on a piece of tape.

Well, last week my conventional wasn’t cooperating and I switched to sumo and did what I was supposed to do, I though maybe the opposite would happen today but not quite.

Conventional - with straps because right thumb is beat up
Singles - 405, 475, 535
I basically paused at the knees with 535, not intentionally but I just stalled there for a moment before remembering to push my hips through. Sumo sucks today but I guess it’s stronger overall. I should have just gone a bit lighter instead, but I can’t help myself sometimes.

Barbell row
205x15 - 20lbs more than last time but it felt too easy, could do 5+ more reps
235x12x2 - This felt like something

I skipped curls because I don’t have much time to get to work, and I wanted to have a few minutes to sit down before I run out the door. Also my biceps are a little bit sore from Wednesday, maybe it’s the rack lockouts.

I need to take a look at what exactly I was doing in the spring because I was making some good progress then, things fell apart with the COVID outbreak at my work but before that everything was looking good except for my ass coming up on bench. Seems like I was mostly doing the same thing I’m doing now though, I don’t get it. Maybe it’s the psychological effects of training for a meet? Some guys say they have problems training without a meet on the calendar, and I have absolutely nothing on the horizon for the forseeable (dystopian) future.

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1721

I looked through some posts from spring/early winter to see what I was doing differently then, what I figure is that JM presses were probably good although pushing them for too long fucked up my elbows, slingshot bench seemed to have some positive effect but maybe rack lockouts are better (we will see), conventional deadlifts don’t result in instant gains on sumo, and squatting for sets of 5 in wraps is just a bad idea.

1722

I don’t know how you did that. The handful of times that I’ve used wraps there is no way I could have kept them on that long. Brutal.

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1723

Maybe don’t read into it too much big fella. Isa blip in the big picture. 95% + isn’t always there every sesh and the cause could be any combination of factors: fatigue from big squat sesh from a few days ago or big bench sesh

1724

It was mind over matter. I see some guys do even more reps in wraps and I thought maybe there was something to it, really I don’t like doing anything more than a single in wraps but you can’t do singles all the time. Pause squats in wraps are real bad too, I’m counting on them to pay off.

Yeah I guess, just seems weird that I managed 575 out of nowhere last week. I felt totally recovered this time, maybe I overestimate that but also my technique needs some serious work. I was basically turning it into a SLDL. I’m just frustrated and anxious for progress, but I guess there isn’t much that can be done.

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1725

Mostly I’m pissed off about failing a rep. I should have done something else instead, like maybe some singles around 500-525.

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1726

I wouldn’t sweat it. Things happen in phases. For a while, when I had access to a full gym, I only had one thing good easch week. Either Bench went well, or Squats. Not both. Every other week my Squat session was great, and the in between weeks my Bench session was great. I had almost zero variation in food or schedule at the time, sleep was the same throughout, it was baffling. Maybe change up the Deadlift program for a while. Maybe maintenance on Sumos and a serious push on Conventional with 5x5 or something. Maybe a break from wraps for a few weeks with less overload. Maybe it’s CNS and nothing to do with muscle recovery or general sleep.

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1727

I didn’t pull sumo at all for more than 3 months so I just need to get back into that and get my technique sorted out, that alone should make a big difference. I’m going to stick with the singles on wrapped squats for the moment, but in a few weeks I will focus on non-wrapped squats instead but still do a little bit in wraps here and there so I don’t lose the technique.

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