Crappy ass double-post!
19.06.14
Week 6: intensification
Squat:
5 x 62 kg
4 x 82 kg
3 x 102 kg
2 x 112 kg
1 x 122 kg
(add belt)
2 x 127 kg @RPE 8
2 x 132 kg @RPE 9
2 x 127 kg @RPE 9
Squat walkouts:
10 sec. x 142 kg
10 sec. x 152 kg
Sumo deadlifts:
2 x 2 x 152 kg
2 x 1 x 172 kg
2 x 1 x 182 kg
2 x 1 x 192 kg @RPE 8
Hanging leg raises (toe to bar)
3 x 8 x BW
Good training session today. Squatting with the belt still feels really strange and tends to push me forward in the hole, so I’ll have to find a way around that. Decided to start working on sumo technique as my primary assistance on squat day, and the pulls felt pretty solid. This wasn’t intended as pure speed work, but the reps at 192 kg went up very smoothly and quickly. I’m feeling good about achieving a clean 230 kg pull at the meet in a month.
22.06.14
Week 6: intensification
Overhead press:
4 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
2 x 60 kg @RPE 8
1 x 62.5 kg @RPE 9.5 (WTF)
2 x 60 kg @RPE 9
Bench press (competition pause):
4 x 60 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 100 kg @RPE 8
2 x 3 x 105 kg @RPE 8.5
Seated rows (narrow grip):
8 x 80 kg
8 x 85 kg
7 x 90 kg
Incline bench DB curls:
10, 8, 7 x 12 kg
Band pull-aparts:
4 x 15 x double red
Pretty beat up at today’s training. My wife and I took a short Friday/Saturday trip to Stuttgart and didn’t sleep very well for three nights in a row, so I was somewhat gassed. Still, competition bench felt solid. I think I’ll use 110 kg as my opener at the competition, since I can probably achieve that for a paused double on any day. I heard through the grapevine, though, that the judges in this federation aren’t too strict with the pauses.
My overhead press is so weak. Both sets at 60 kg felt relatively easy, but adding 2.5 kg to the bar threw things off. I’ll chalk it up to a bad day and give it another shot next week.
Also, I hit up an “urban gym” in Stuttgart. Got in a few reps on this awesome bench press. It was hardcore.
Da fuq is dat shit man?! BTW, thanks for posting in my thread. I find the RTS interesting.
Week 7: realization
Sumo deadlift:
4 x 104 kg
3 x 144 kg
2 x 164 kg
(add belt)
1 x 184 kg
1 x 204 kg @RPE 8.5
1 x 214 kg @RPE 9 (lost grip, leaned forward)
1 x 224 kg @RPE 9.5
1 x 209 kg @RPE 9
Squat:
4 x 62 kg
3 x 82 kg
2 x 104 kg
(add belt)
1 x 114 kg
1 x 124 kg @RPE 7
2 x 1 x 134 kg @RPE 7.5-8
Hyperextensions:
2 x 20 x BW+10 kg
Today was just one of those days. Woke up at a bodyweight of about two kilos less than where I was at last week. Got to the gym and began warming up for deadlifts, but my groin and hip muscles were super stiff and sore. Warming up with the bar was agony. I got into my groove after a few sets, but my grip was somehow messed up. After I added my belt, I began falling forward again. I nearly dropped 214 kg this way. I ended up getting up to 224 kg for a single, which is OK. But I felt super shitty.
Then I transferred to squats and everything felt amazingly light, for whatever reason. 134 kg moved as quickly as I’d ever moved it before. I think it might be attributable to getting used to the belt: I noticed that I fell forward less in sumo when I wore the belt a bit higher than usual. In all, though, I think I just need to get some good recovery in so I can hammer out these last four weeks of training prior to the meet. I’ll be doing speed sumo lifts as my secondary lift on squat day, maybe that will iron out some of the problems.
Ah, I’ve also got new deadlift shoes: the Adidas Box Hog 2. They’re great. You’ll be seeing them in some videos soon.
[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
Da fuq is dat shit man?! BTW, thanks for posting in my thread. I find the RTS interesting.[/quote]
That park was awesome, there was also a dip station, a fly machine, a leg extension/curl bench and some kind of back apparatus that I couldn’t figure out. The resistance was ridiculously light, but I think that these kinds of “outdoor gyms” are designed for seniors. Sadly no calisthenics bars, though. I’ve seen similar things in Japan, which, like Germany, is an aging society.
Ah, and cool! I don’t have a ton of experience with high-frequency work, so take my anecdotal support with a grain of salt. Interestingly, I’ve enjoyed the greatest bench press gains while squatting 3-4 times per week. Go figure. There should be some good info on high-frequency RTS-based programming in the RTS forums, by the way.
How high are you wearing your belt? I used to where mine pushed down lower and I had a lotbof issues falling forward. Once I brought it up about 8-10 cm I was able to stay a lot more upright.
[quote]budreiser wrote:
How high are you wearing your belt? I used to where mine pushed down lower and I had a lotbof issues falling forward. Once I brought it up about 8-10 cm I was able to stay a lot more upright. [/quote]
I’ve got a couple of videos on the previous page of this thread that show about how high I keep the belt. I’ve been trying to have the top of the belt just cover my belly button, but I think I might need to bring it up a bit. Glad to hear I’m not alone in my suffering!
24.06.14
Week 7: realization
Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 110 kg
1 x 115 kg
1 x 120 kg @RPE 9
1 x 125 kg @RPE 10 (my butt came off the bench a bit because of a leg cramp, dammit!)
2 x 1 x 115 kg @RPE 9
Bench press top iso hold:
10 sec. x 135 kg
2 x 10 sec. x 145 kg
Incline DB press:
4 x 31.5 kg
2 x 4 x 33 kg
Band pull-aparts:
8 x 15 x double red
Everything went well today, considering I felt rather tired and unmotivated going into the workout. I hit a PR on bench press with a competition pause, although the attempt would’ve probably been redlighted in competition since my ass came off of the bench a bit when my right hamstring inadvertently cramped up. I’ve got to work on foot positioning and leg drive for heavier attempts.
At any rate, I feel confident about the following bench attempts in four weeks:
Opener: 110 kg
Second: 125 kg
Final: 127.5/130 kg
LOL @ Today’s training
26.06.14
Week 7: realization
Squat:
4 x 60 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 110 kg
1 x 120 kg
1 x 130 kg
1 x 135 kg @RPE 9
1 x 120 kg @RPE 8.5
Sumo deadlift:
4 x 70 kg
3 x 120 kg
1 x 160 kg
8 x 1 x 180 kg @RPE 7.5 - 8
So I had to do my normal training session today since I’ll be going to the commercial gym with my wife tomorrow and didn’t want to deadlift there (it’s nearly impossible). I noticed when the squat weights started to get heavy that my left groin felt a bit tweaked; I think I stretched too hard earlier this week. Will need to rest that. Then I went on to some light sumo technique pulls. The groin felt bad on warm-ups, but got better as the weight went up.
I guess my hands weren’t used to pulling so many singles, since I managed to tear a callus AND burst a blood vessel on the same finger on my last set. Time to start working on grip strength again (and to more liberally file down my calluses).
27.06.14
Week 7: accessory
Paused squat:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 100 kg
2 x 110 kg
3 x 110 kg (no pause)
2 x 2 x 110 kg
Hanging leg raises:
15 x BW
8 x BW (toe to bar)
45-degree hypers:
25 x BW
2 x 25 x BW single red band
Went in with my wife to the commercial gym today and decided to do an AYF workout. Did some light paused squats for technique even though I squatted yesterday, cause I’m dangerous like that. Everything’s good, but my groin still felt a bit tweaked.
[quote]kgildner wrote:
[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
Da fuq is dat shit man?! BTW, thanks for posting in my thread. I find the RTS interesting.[/quote]
That park was awesome, there was also a dip station, a fly machine, a leg extension/curl bench and some kind of back apparatus that I couldn’t figure out. The resistance was ridiculously light, but I think that these kinds of “outdoor gyms” are designed for seniors. Sadly no calisthenics bars, though. I’ve seen similar things in Japan, which, like Germany, is an aging society.
Ah, and cool! I don’t have a ton of experience with high-frequency work, so take my anecdotal support with a grain of salt. Interestingly, I’ve enjoyed the greatest bench press gains while squatting 3-4 times per week. Go figure. There should be some good info on high-frequency RTS-based programming in the RTS forums, by the way.[/quote]
High frequency works magic … i do a heavy squat & press variation 5 times a week with 3x3 backoff sets (ussually) and my squat has been flying up …
[quote]kgildner wrote:
cause I’m dangerous like that.[/quote]
yesterday i went through a 4 hour bodybuilding style leg workout (and no, i actually had very short rest periods between sets) … the day before i hit a low-bar squat PR
[quote]dutchie1 wrote:
[quote]kgildner wrote:
[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
Da fuq is dat shit man?! BTW, thanks for posting in my thread. I find the RTS interesting.[/quote]
That park was awesome, there was also a dip station, a fly machine, a leg extension/curl bench and some kind of back apparatus that I couldn’t figure out. The resistance was ridiculously light, but I think that these kinds of “outdoor gyms” are designed for seniors. Sadly no calisthenics bars, though. I’ve seen similar things in Japan, which, like Germany, is an aging society.
Ah, and cool! I don’t have a ton of experience with high-frequency work, so take my anecdotal support with a grain of salt. Interestingly, I’ve enjoyed the greatest bench press gains while squatting 3-4 times per week. Go figure. There should be some good info on high-frequency RTS-based programming in the RTS forums, by the way.[/quote]
High frequency works magic … i do a heavy squat & press variation 5 times a week with 3x3 backoff sets (ussually) and my squat has been flying up … [/quote]
Yeah I’m consistently working in the direction of higher frequency, but will hold out switching to consistent and true high frequency until I’m a bit more advanced (and thus have little choice in order to continuously increase volume). I do like using “bursts” of high frequency a couple of times per year to bring up a lagging lift. Will probably run the six-week Russian squat program again this fall, it works wonders.
[quote]dutchie1 wrote:
[quote]kgildner wrote:
cause I’m dangerous like that.[/quote]
yesterday i went through a 4 hour bodybuilding style leg workout (and no, i actually had very short rest periods between sets) … the day before i hit a low-bar squat PR[/quote]
Body… building? What is this sorcery? 
29.06.14
Week 7: realization
OHP:
4 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
2 x 55 kg
1 x 60 kg @RPE 8.5
1 x 65 kg @RPE 9.5 (PR LOLOLOL)
1 x 60 kg @RPE 9
Competition-style bench press:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 100 kg
2 x 105 kg @RPE 8
2 x 1 x 110 kg @RPE 8
Band pull-aparts:
8 x 15 x double red
Training felt OK today. Got an OHP PR, despite not feeling that great during warm-ups. I know it’s still pathetically weak (it’s more than 20 kg less than my bodyweight), but it’s still progress. Hoping to continue to improve my mobility and technique and reach 70 kg soon. Don’t laugh at me, please.
Competition bench press was good. 110 kg went up super fast, I focused on getting my leg drive up and driving my upper back into the bench. Seemed to help me off the chest. Thanks to Connor Lutz a.k.a. clutz at T-Nation for making a great video about the bench press biomechanics that covers this topic:
30.06.14
Week 8: realization
Sumo deadlift:
4 x 120 kg
3 x 150 kg
2 x 160 kg
(add belt)
1 x 180 kg
1 x 200 kg
1 x 210 kg
1 x 215 kg @RPE 9.5
Squat:
5 x 70 kg
3 x 90 kg
3 x 100 kg
3 x 110 kg
3 x 120 kg
2 x 2 x 130 kg @RPE 8.5
So, crappy training session today. Wanted to go for two reps for both of my top deadlift sets but couldn’t get set-up properly. I was using a strap on my right hand because of my torn callus and had tape on both hands to protect the pinky finger calluses, and somehow I couldn’t get focused because I was concentrating on all that shit. Top sets moved super slowly.
Regroup.
01.07.14
Week 8: realization
Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 110 kg
2 x 115 kg @RPE 9-9.5
2 x 117.5 kg @RPE 9.5 (PR)
Bench press top iso hold:
10 sec. x 130 kg
10 sec. x 140 kg
10 sec. x 145 kg
10 sec. x 150 kg
Competition-style bench press:
2 x 1 x 110 kg @RPE 8 (had a fellow trainee give me the commands)
2 x 2 x 100 kg (3 ct. pause)
4 x 70 kg (5 ct. pause)
Band pull-aparts:
6 x 15 x double red
HAPPY CANADA DAY EVERYONE! Good training session today. Achieved a PR in bench press with a competition pause: hit a double at 117.5 kg and could’ve probably pressed another couple of kilos, too. I feel good about opening with 115 kg and then going from there. 130 kg isn’t that far-fetched.
[quote]kgildner wrote:
[quote]dutchie1 wrote:
[quote]kgildner wrote:
cause I’m dangerous like that.[/quote]
yesterday i went through a 4 hour bodybuilding style leg workout (and no, i actually had very short rest periods between sets) … the day before i hit a low-bar squat PR[/quote]
Body… building? What is this sorcery? ;-)[/quote]
Yeah i’m always breaking the rules, i have broken so many rules set by “fitness guru’s” that i have lost count (and i can count really high)… just saying i have done things that shouldn’t work but they help me break barriers and i never looked back
I’m very used to frequency, i’m so good at recovering from a workout i could run smolov year round if my knees could keep up (not even bragging)…
squating 5 times a week if not more, i don’t get sore from it anymore even though my weekly volume is higher than i could handle with once a week…
I wanted to be sore as fuck so i broke the rules, many would say your stomach would cramp up if you eat while training. I ate small bites between my sets and holy crap i could just keep going and going with the same intensity (did a kai greene style workout, did pretty much exactly as he did in his TwK serries. took over 3 hours of agony before i even squated, and leg presses afterward)
squats and presses aren’t that draining, i’d bet my gains that without dairly life stress one could squat and press everyday, all day … that doesn’t count for deadlifts.
(just saying, those front squats helped, set a PR for both low-bar and deadlift, felt strong off the floor and upperback felt alot stronger)