Very good points, although I actually think there are cases where using an overhand grip makes it a good idea to restrict your range of motion slightly. It means less stress on the shoulder joint in the top position, like you said.
So far I’ve managed (touch wood) to keep my shoulders 99% healthy by paying only minimal attention to that kind of thing, but I probably shouldn’t tempt fate.
Tuesday March 28 - Press
1 arm DB snatch - 15kg x 3 x 3 each side
Press -
20kg x 10
30kg x 7
35kg x 5
40kg x 2
WORK SETS:
45kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 7 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
DB seal rows - 20kg x 19, 12, 11, 10, 8 (I did this rest pause style, with just a few deep breaths between sets. That’s why the reps dropped off so quickly)
Attempted a few face pulls, although my upper back didn’t have much left in it by that stage.
Friday March 31 - Deadlift
Power clean - 50kg x 4 x 2, 60kg x 3 x 1 (some idiot was benching using the gym’s only set of 10kg bumper plates, so I had to start slightly heavier than usual. It felt fine. Maybe a little clumsy, but I hit the groove after the first set)
Deadlift -
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
WORK SETS -
87.5kg x 6 x 2 EMOM
85kg x 3 x 2 EMOM
These felt a bit awkward and slow. My post training bodyweight also clocked in at 95.9kg, when I’d been solidly sitting at about 99 for the last few weeks. Not sure what happened, but I was back to normal the next day so I decided not to worry too much.
Saturday April 1 - Press
1 arm DB snatch - 17.5kg x 2 x 3
Press -
20kg x 10
30kg x 6
35kg x 4
40kg x 1
WORK SETS -
45kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
Bent BB rows - 60kg x 12, 11, 11, 10 (couldn’t do seal rows because all the benches were taken)
Bodyweight was back up to 99.1kg
Sunday April 2 - Squat
Paused reps at 50, 55, 60, 65 kg
WORK SETS -
72.5kg x 11 x 2 EMOM
My brother filmed one of my warm up sets, and I think my technique looks mostly ok. If I can figure out how to upload the video from my phone I’ll do that later.
Here we go. On closer inspection, elbows could be higher in the bottom position.
Looks good to me.
I think the higher elbows will come with practice and time that will allow that mobility.
tweet
Thanks Bird. I think you’re right. It’s definitely improved since I started anyway.
Monday April 3 - Press
20kg x 10
27.5kg x 7
35kg x 5
40kg x 1
WORK SETS:
45kg x 6 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
Friday April 7 - Deadlift
Power Clean - 40kg x 2 x 3
50kg x 3
Deadlift - 60kg x 5
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
WORK SETS
87.5kg x 8 x 2 EMOM
Saturday April 8 - Press
20kg x 12
27.5kg x 7
35kg x 3
40kg x 1
WORK SETS
45kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 6 x 3 EMOM
(Had to lower the weight slightly more than I wanted to, but they were good reps)
Sunday April 9 - Squat
Did some paused reps at 50, 55, 60, 65 kg
WORK SETS -
72.5kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
It’s been a pretty crazy week. Didn’t get to the gym as often as I should have, and when I did I was either crunched for time or sluggish from too much sitting. Reasonably happy with what I got done despite all that however. I need to start making mobility work a priority again. I’ve been skimping on it for a couple of weeks now, and it’s definitely starting to show.
Tuesday April 11 - Deadlift
Hip thrust - ramped up to 80kg x 2 x 3, with very long pauses at the top.
Deadlift - 87.5kg x 9 x 2 EMOM
For the hip thrusts I used a barbell instead of the smith machine. I could have gone heavier, but I was only trying to warm up for deadlifts. I forget why I stopped doing hip thrusts. I think it might have been a case of ‘hey this thing works really well and has helped me a lot, so now I can stop doing it’.
Wednesday April 12 - Press
20kg x 12
25kg x 7
30kg x 5
35kg x 3
40kg x 1
WORK SETS:
45kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
40kg x 6 x 3 EMOM (wanted to go to 42.5, but the little 1.25kg plates were all in use)
Kroc row: 25kg x 3 x 15 (strictly speaking, I probably didn’t go heavy enough to call it a Kroc row. I was more or less in control of the weight the whole time)
Thursday April 13 - Squat
ramped up through 40, 50, 60, 70 kg. Threw in some nice long pauses in the hole and focused on keeping the tightness in my abs and hip flexors.
WORK SETS:
75kg x 9 x 12 EMOM
Nordic ham curls - 3 sets (with the little brother holding my feet down)
The gym is now closed for Easter, so it will be the better part of a week before I get back there. I’ve had some good sessions over the last few days though, so that’s something.
I’m going to draw up a new plan for when I get back to training next week. I won’t be making any changes to the core of the program, but I am going to lay out a concrete plan for my assistance work, rather than keep playing it by ear the way I’ve been doing.
I probably won’t be back here for a week or two - happy Easter to all who celebrate it. Eat chocolate.
I was back in the gym on Wednesday, so I have a few days of logging to catch up on, but I’ll do that later. Right now, I’m going to present a quick breakdown of my revised program. The basics (EMOM with deadlift, front squat, and overhead press) haven’t changed. All I’ve done is come up with a concrete assistance plan, which I didn’t really have before. It’s pretty minimal, I’ve tried to only put in stuff that’s actually going to help me.
Press day - dumbbell rows of some description. Kroc or seal (in the interests of not looking like a neanderthal).
Lower body 1 - hip thrusts and Nordic ham curls (for sprinting power)
Lower body 2 - single leg squats (again, for sprinting. Also to keep the hips loose)
I haven’t been aiming for a specific number of training days per week, just rotating the main lifts and taking time off as needed. I see no reason to change that. Sets and reps for the assistance work are considerably less important than simply getting the work done, so I haven’t set anything in stone. Nordic ham curls will just be slow eccentrics and assisted concentrics. Single leg squats, I can do three shaky reps on a good day. Since I’m not strong enough to do high reps, I’ll start off just doing slow eccentrics with pauses in the hole.
This week I did the posterior chain stuff on deadlift day and the single leg squats on squat day. I’m allowing for the possibility that I may on some occasions find it more convenient to do it the way around. That’s another pretty minor point, so I’m not going to worry too much about it.
I’ll come back and log the last few training days later.
Wednesday April 19 - Squat
ramped up through 40, 50, 60, 70 kg with some pauses in the hole
WORK SETS:
75kg x 10 x 2 EMOM
Single leg squat - 2, 2, 1, 1
done in ‘eccentric isometric’ (EI, as I call it) style based on the outline given here The Best Way to Lift Weights
Thursday April 20 - Press
20kg x 10
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 4
40kg x 1
WORK SETS:
45kg x 6 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 6 x 3 EMOM
Kroc row - 25kg x 20, 18, 17
(I did these with my hand on a ledge, rather than using a bench. Not sure if that’s why I got more reps than the other day, or if I was just better recovered)
Friday April 21 - deadlift
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
75kg x 2, 1
80kg x 1
WORK SETS:
87.5kg x 11 x 2 EMOM
Barbell hip thrust -
80kg x 6
90kg x 3 x 4
Sunday April 23 - Press
20kg x 10
30kg x 6
35kg x 5
40kg x 3
WORK SETS:
45kg x 7 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
Kroc row - 27.5 kg x 18, 16
Monday April 24 - Deadlift
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
WORK SETS:
87.5kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
wanted to do some hip thrusts, but there was a guy waiting to use the bar. I’d had it for 20 minutes, so I thought it would probably have been a little unfair of me not to give it to him.
That was nice
Does your gym only have one bar?
Three, if you don’t count the EZ bar (which I don’t). Thing is, they precisely correspond to the two squat racks and one bench press. So if you want to deadlift, you have to render one of those stations useless. I have once or twice politely suggested that management invest in a couple of spare bars, but I’m not holding my breath.
Every gym should have at least one spare barbell to avoid situations like that
Because you can deadlift anywhere, having one more bar would mean not having to take up a squat rack (obviously)
Well, I hope you get that extra barbell
Wednesday April 26 - Squat
usual warm up sets
WORK SETS:
75kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
Single leg squat - 1 x 5 /leg
Nordic ham curl EI - 2 sets
Happy with the single leg squats. I decided to forget about the slow tempo stuff and just see how many reps I could bang out. And I got a major improvement over the last time I did that.
Thursday April 27 - Press
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
35kg x 4
40kg x 3
WORK SETS:
45kg x 9 x 3 EMOM (PR by a reasonable margin. Progress is happening, slowly)
Kroc row - 30kg x 16, 16, 15
Sunday April 30 - Deadlift
Broad jump x 3 x 3
Deadlift -
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
WORK SETS:
90kg x 8 x 2 EMOM
Single leg squat - 2 x 3
Monday May 1 - Press
20kg x 8
25kg x 5
30kg x 4
35kg x 3
40kg x 2
WORK SETS:
45kg x 8 x 3 EMOM
42.5kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
Seated cable rows - 6 x 10 (done instead of DB rows because there were a couple of numbskulls doing rows while leaning against the rack and I didn’t feel like navigating around them - I seriously didn’t realise that people did that outside of Buzzfeed ‘10 Worst People in the Gym’ articles)
Tuesday May 2 - Squat
1 arm DB split clean - 15kg x 3, 17.5kg x 2 x 3
Squat - 40, 50, 60, 70kg paused reps
WORK SETS:
77.5kg x 8 x 2 EMOM
Barbell hip thrust - 90kg x 6, 6, 5, 4
Thursday May 4 - Press
20kg x 12
25kg x 8
30kg x 6
35kg x 5
40kg x 3
WORK SETS:
45kg x 12 x 3 EMOM (this has been a while in coming. The last couple of sets were a little bit of a grind, but nothing major)
Kroc row - 30kg x 17, 15
Saturday May 6 - Deadlift
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
80kg x 3, 2
WORK SETS:
90kg x 9 x 2 EMOM
Sunday May 7 - Press
30kg x 10 (there was a pair of 5’s already on the bar, which I was too lazy to remove)
35kg x 6
40kg x 4
42.5kg x 1
WORK SETS
47.5kg x 5 x 3 EMOM
45kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
How’s it going?
@danteism - Plugging along, same as it always does 
. I’ve had a breakthrough with my overhead press, but the deadlift’s been dragging a bit. If it doesn’t improve in the next week or so I’ll dial back the weight. Life has been a little hectic lately, which is why I haven’t been logging so much. Thanks for checking in mate. Means a lot to me that there are people who actually read this.
Do you have a log? I just realised I don’t think I’ve seen it. EDIT - found it and am now following. I got confused because your name isn’t in the title
Monday May 8 - Squat
ramped up through 40, 50, 60, 70kg with some paused reps
WORK SETS:
77.5kg x 9 x 2 EMOM
Single leg squat - 4 x 2 /leg
Thursday May 11 - Press
47.5kg x 6 x 3 EMOM
45kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
seal rows - 12, 10, 10 with a pair of 22.5kg dumbbells.
Friday May 12 - Deadlift
Broad jump - 3 x 3
Deadlift - 60kg x 5, 70kg x 3, 80kg x 2
WORK SETS:
90kg x 10 x 2 EMOM
Saturday May 13 - Press
20kg x 10
25kg x 6
30kg x 5
35kg x 4
40kg x 2
WORK SETS:
47.5 x 7 x 3 EMOM
45kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
Monday May 15 - Squat
Usual ramp up with pauses in the hole
WORK SETS:
77.5kg x 10 x 2 EMOM
Wednesday May 17 - Press
It wasn’t deliberate, but my warm up sets ended up being identical to the ones from Saturday’s session. It was probably slower to write that than to write the numbers out again, but oh well.
WORK SETS:
47.5kg x 3 x 3 EMOM
45kg x 5 x 3 EMOM
Everything about this felt off, as will be seen from the reduced weight. I guess it happens to the best of us occasionally.
Thursday May 18 - hip thrust
long holds at 60, 80, 90kg
100kg x 6, 5, 6, 5
Friday May 19 - Deadlift
Broad jump - 2 x 3
60kg x 6
70kg x 4
80kg x 3
WORK SETS:
90kg x 11 x 2 EMOM
I had about 20 minutes to fit this in, which is why I got the hip thrusts done the day before. I was slightly worried about glute fatigue affecting my deadlift the next day, but I don’t think it was a problem.
It’s not obvious from the numbers that my deadlift is stalling, but I have noticed that my reps have got a lot slower recently. Since I’m trying to develop power, this isn’t ideal. I’ll give it maybe one or two more sessions and then cut the weight back a little.
Presses are scheduled for later today, as well as lower body assistance work that should have been done yesterday.
Have you changed something in your training that could affect your deadlift?
If that’s not the case, could it be that you are not recovering fast enough? Lack of explosiveness, weakened grip and being worn out overall are some warning signs, have you noticed having the last two?
I haven’t noticed a weakened grip. Maybe overall tiredness, but only mild. As for training changes, there’s really only the addition lower body assistance stuff - hip thrust/single leg squat/nordic ham curl. Also I’ve switched out power cleans for broad jumps. All of this is stuff that I’ve done before, with no ill effects. Overall, I’m inclined to think that this is just a regular trough in progress. I’m no longer a rank beginner, so I accept the natural highs and lows that are going to happen over a lifetime of training.
^I drafted that post about a month ago - here’s the updated version:
I came to the conclusion that it was time for a ‘reset’ - meaning a 2 week(ish) period out of the gym focusing on mobility/bodyweight stuff and a small reduction in training weights when I get back. And in hindsight, it was the right decision. I feel a lot less run down. And the timing worked out well, since I was doing exams at the same time.
Training update - note that I’ve cut out even more detail than usual in the interests of not spending half an hour typing this up. Mainly, my warm up sets are missing. Rest assured they were there though.
Saturday 24/06
press 45 x 8 x 3 EMOM
DL 82.5 x 8 x 2
Tuesday 27/06
Squat 70 x 12 x 2
Wednesday 28/06
Press 45kg x 10 x 3 EMOM
(10 minute break due to fire alarm)
came back and did 2 x 5 (untimed) at the same weight
annoyed about not getting to do my 12th EMOM set, but it’s not a big deal. Pretty confident I would have got it.
Wednesday 05/05 (the gap is due to a bunch of exams) - double session to make up for the last week
Press - 45kg x 12 x 3 EMOM
Deadlift - 82.5kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
Barbell hip thrust - 80kg x 9,9,8
Sunday 09/07
Press - 47.5kg x 4 x 3 EMOM
45kg x 5 x 3 EMOM
Monday 10/07
Squat - 72.5kg x 8 x 2 EMOM
Barbell hip thrust - 90kg x 4 x 5
Wednesday 12/07
Deadlift - 85kg x 8 x 2 EMOM
Thursday 13/07
Press - 47.5kg x 6 x 3 EMOM
45kg x 2 x 3 EMOM
Sunday 16/07
Squat - 72.5kg x 12 x 2 EMOM
Tuesday 18 July
Press - 47.5kg x 6, 5, 5, 4
Not timed because I didn’t have my phone. I was meant to be doing EMOM triples with the same weight. When I first realised I had no timer I wanted to test my max, but I resisted the temptation. Instead I made the more sensible decision to get some quality rep work in (when you’ve been doing sets of 2 and 3 for six months, 4-6 reps feels like rep work)
Saturday 22 July
Deadlift - 60kg x 6
70kg x 3
80kg x 1
WORK SETS
85kg x 10 x 2 EMOM
Sunday July 23 - Press
47.5kg x 10 x 3 EMOM