Chris_ottawa's Training Log

Training Training Logs
1748

Monday, November 9 - Squat day

Squat
up to 475x1 in sleeves
Wraps:
535x1 - easy but it’s light
575x1 - borderline depth, no technical breakdowns or forward lean or anything but took some effort. I wanted to go for 605 but it’s no use if I can’t hit depth and I also don’t feel like grinding until my head is about to burst. Both are likely so I’m not going any heavier today.
525x1 - I was going to do a triple but I did one rep and as I came up I was thinking how I can’t wait to get the fucking wraps off, so I racked it and that was it. It moved well but I’m just not feeling it and I’m getting fed up with knee wraps.

I was going to do some leg curls but I was thinking I wouldn’t mind doing a few reps just in knee sleeves to get a feel for that, from 405 up I have only been doing singles lately. So I did 405 for a fast, easy triple, good depth and moved well. I think I’m going to work on my non-wrapped squat for the next while, maybe still a bit of work in wraps here and there but not every week. Wraps are pissing me off lately, not only I have a hard time squatting to depth in them but rolling them and wrapping my knees is kind of annoying plus takes a lot of time and effort that could be put towards squatting.

Lately I’m just frustrated with lifting overall, I had something going for me back in the spring but not so much now. On the plus side my pec feels like nothing ever happened, I will see how it goes on Wednesday and I’m not about to attempt a PR or anything but at least it’s nothing serious.

1749

I have been watching some of my squat videos and looking at training logs from when I was making some actual progress, what I’m thinking is that I need to focus less on heavy lifts and PR attempts (which is what I would prefer to be doing, but isn’t going my way) and more on technique and proper execution of the lifts. Maybe a down set or two in wraps would make a difference too, if I’m working up to a heavy single. Part of the problem is that I kind of tighten up when the weight is heavier which is making it harder to hit depth, I was doing sets of 5 with around 500 and hitting depth a while back but the weight felt comparatively light, add another 60-100lbs and it’s a different story. Right now I might be doing one or two reps a week in wraps that are actually to depth, and that’s not exactly a good way to go in terms of practicing proper technique.

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1750

I always felt like some heavy walkouts at the end of the session for a few weeks changed this. It makes a world of difference to feel like you “Own” the weight, rather than are merely holding on for dear life. Maybe it’s counterproductive at the high end of meet PR’s, but adrenaline helps there anyway. I really feel like these “Hypertrophy” phases are really just about letting things recover while working the tendons and ligaments with some volume, moreso than actually adding size or that even really being all that necessary. It’s just hard to back off the gas, that high from hitting a PR is nice.

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1751

Yeah maybe that’s not a bad idea. The weight doesn’t feel bad on my back and I’m more comfortable with 550-600 than I was a few months back, but I feel like I’m not 100% in control on the descent. I think I will give it a try.

Good point, and it could be more like a submax volume phase rather than hard higher rep sets. I think I have an idea of what I want to do.

What did your training look like back in the competitive PL/strongman days?

1752

We had a Squat day, but changed it up every 5 or 6 weeks. Sometimes a block of Box Squats, sometime SSB, sometimes Squat bar, sometimes cambered bar, mostly Squat bar. We would do 3 work sets, 5’s for a few weeks then 3’s, then a max single and start over with whatever bar suited the contest we were training for. One accessory usually, sometimes 2 - depending. We did a separate OH day, with at least two accessories, and the third day was event stuff or DL’s. If there was a 4th day, it was lighter triceps and accessory to hit a specific weakness. These were usually 2-3 hour sessions and there was also some extra stuff at home sometimes. I respond really well to triples, and DL’s were usually 5 sets of 5 because it was always a DL for reps in a contest. I think the fact that we avoided maxing most of the time was good, we usually worked 3-5 rep range. I liked the walkouts at the end of a squat session when I felt like the training block felt heavy, it was almost a mind game. If it felt okay, I was okay. That came from prepping for events. I did some very heavy Yoke events, one was 1000lbs I think, and I knew I had better have an idea how to carry it before the contest. We didn’t train the actual yoke that heavy, more speed work with 600lbs I think, but I had to be able to pick it at least. There are some things I would change if I could go back, but not a lot.

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1753

Wednesday, November 11 - Pec rehab bench day

Bench press - t&g for a change, normally I pause all work sets
I wasn’t sure what to expect so I just started off with some high reps and worked up
bar x25
95x25
135x15
175x15
215x10 - This wasn’t hard but it felt like something, I figured add a bit more weight and do 5x5
255x5x5 - This is a little over 60% of my max. I was trying not to move the bar explosively, it kind of seems like that makes it harder in a way. Anyway, this was easy and far from failure, I figure right now the things I need to avoid are going too heavy, straining or pushing too close to failure, and probably better not to move the bar as fast as possible for the moment and I accomplished that. I’m going to do 5x5 for bench twice a week and add 10lbs each time, in a few weeks I will be over 315.

Also I don’t feel anything in my pec, but if I stretch it I can sort of feel something. The other day I found an area that was a little bit sore, I think that is where the strain was, but I don’t feel anything unless I stretch it. Still better to be cautious because it’s not like I’m going for a bench record in a few weeks or anything.

Floor pause DB tricep extensions
55’s x12, 10, 8 - I need to at least maintain my triceps.

Neutral DB pushups
bw x12x3 - not trying to go all out, my triceps are dead after this too.

I would do some flys but I was reading one of Dave Tate’s articles talking about pec strains/tears and he was saying that he was doing flys and thought they helped but later realized they were making it worse and he had to stop doing flys altogether. When I think about it, it’s only after I started doing flys all the time that my right pec was getting tight so often. Part of it is the fact that I’m right handed and I have a job that has me using my right arm for most stuff, but maybe the flys are part of the issue. I got my bench up to the mid 300s without flys too. I think dumbbell bench would be good but I need a gym for that and the few gyms left are no place for someone like me to train.

1754

So my plan is basically to work back up to semi-heavy weights just doing 5x5 and some assistance work and then I will try to increase the reps, like say 315x5x5 is hard but my pec feels fine and I can push it then next workout I will do a couple AMRAP sets with 315 and so on. I just don’t want to push close to failure at the moment.

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1755

Friday, November 13 - Deadlift day

Sumo DL
Again no specific plan, just work up and see where it goes. Feeling well recovered since I’m only training heavy twice a week since bench issues happened.

Up to 545x1 - not bad but not great, I figure I could have tripled it but I was trying to work up to a top single. Could have pulled more but not worth it so that’s it.

495x3x3 with straps - Moved alright but starting position is a bit inconsistent it seems. Also it takes some mental adjustment to get used to how it’s hard to break the floor on sumo, different strength curve from conventional for sure. I think taking such a long break from sumo was not really a good idea, but it’s not far behind.

If any deadlift variation would be useful right now it’s sumo paused right off the floor. I might start doing those if I don’t like how it’s going. Feels like my back and hamstrings are the strong points now after all the conventional work, need to get my quads and adductors coordinated for this too.

Wide neutral grip chinups
bw x10x3 sets - not going all out since it’s my first time doing these in a while, definitely feels different. It was time for a change.

Barbell curl
135x12, 8

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1756

I haven’t tried it, but Sumo off of blocks? It would be tricky due to the foot slide action possibility.

1757

I used to do sumo rack pulls but it never seemed like it did much for me. Feet sliding wasn’t an issue either, but I don’t have blocks. I did deficit sumo at one point and felt like it was helping but it makes it more glute/ham/back dominant and all the conventional work already took care of that. I think just pulling from the floor should do it for now, but we will see how it goes.

1758

Saturday, November 14 - Bench rehab day #2

Rehab bench - t&g
265x5x4 sets, 10 reps on 5th set, probably could do about 4 more but still taking it easy. My right pec feels fine, I’m pushing a bit harder on each rep but still not trying to explode (neither the bar nor my pec) but it was real easy so I decided to push the last set until it feels like something. Overall it looks like I’m doing the right thing.

Military press
205x9, 8 - could squeeze out another rep on booth sets but performance is down a bit. I only did this once in the last 3 weeks, which was last week where I shut it down because I didn’t like the way it felt on my pec, so I guess it’s understandable. No other complaints though.

I had enough of those side raises, and pushups feel good and will give my pecs some more stimulation so pushups it is

Neutral DB pushups
bw x15x2 sets - felt easier without the tricep extensions right before. Could do a lot more reps too but staying conservative, mostly just trying to get some blood flowing.

W shoulder rotation
3 sets, nothing worth noting but I did it.

In the future once I get my bench back on track I think maybe I will have a light bench session every week, maybe like 50% for a few sets of 8 or something, more recovery focused than anything. Trying to bench a lot gives me various aches and pains, at one time or another I have had forearm pain, elbow/tricep tendon pain, shoulder pain, and now a strained pec, and progress is real slow too. Apparently pecs and triceps are two of the slowest recovering muscle groups, while bench/pressing isn’t nearly as fatiguing as squat or deadlift the muscles take more time to recover and of course this means more potential for overuse injuries and such.

I was thinking about it and it looks like for now I’m stuck squatting in wraps. The main thing is I don’t just want to give up on it altogether, seems like I was son the verge of something good but issues with depth are fucking me up so I can’t quite just yet. But also after I hurt my back last year and got my squat back up to something decent I see my wrapped squat was way lower, like I squatted 475x3 and 490x2 without wraps but 525x1 in wraps felt hard, now 525 is like nothing but I wouldn’t count on being able to triple 490 without wraps. I just need to get my squat in wraps on track first and then I will focus more on non-wrapped squats, sometimes I get real frustrated but there isn’t much I can do about it. I’m just glad I never got the urge to buy a squat suit or bench shirt, I think I might end up hating life if I got into that stuff the way I have been going with wraps.

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1759

Monday, November 16 - Squat day

Not going into this with a definite plan, just seeing how it goes and making adjustments as necessary. Went up to 465x1 in sleeves and it felt fast and easy.

Squat - wraps - SBD
525x1 - good depth and easy
575x1 - Just barely depth, at least not above parallel. Slight forward bar drift but I fought it and didn’t tip forward, not grindy but not really easy. No video because it’s nothing exciting. On the plus side I know I can squat 575 any day, this feels like a comfortable weight to me, the biggest issue is hitting depth.
525x3x2 sets - Good depth here, that was the main objective. About RPE 8 on both sets.

Leg curl
doubled light band x9, 7, 6

I did band bad girls as part of my warmup, on to of the McGill big 3 and some goblet squats, so no need to do extra at the end. I was just feeling like my knees wanted to cave in a while back so I was doing some extra, but not necessary anymore.

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1760

Wednesday, November 18 - Benching again

Rehab bench - t&g
275x5x4 sets, and a 5th for 12 reps. Could have done 2 more for sure and maybe 3. Pushing things a bit harder but still not going all out.

Floor pause tricep extension
55’s x13, 10, 8

Neutral DB pushups
bw x20, 15 - I went a bit harder on these, RPE 9 or so. Upper body is pumped like crazy, especially triceps.

So it’s nothing exciting but it looks like I’m on the right track, my pec feels fine too. I’m just going to keep going with the 5x5 and AMRAP set until I stall on that and then reorganize things.

1761

What’s up man? Is everything cool up north?

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1762

Hmm…no reply on email today either…