Filling out the 93 kg weight class...

Training Training Logs
241

[quote]kgildner wrote:

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
Congrats on the DL PR man![/quote]

Thank you, sir! How’s your training going with all that farm work on the side? Looking lean, at least![/quote]

Thanks man. The farm work has lessened a bit, to about once a week. I’m now a manager at a grocery store (the farm stuff was on the side), so now I’m kind of adapting to just days that start at 5am and involve lots of unloading and loading of boxes and mental grogginess.

My solution has basically been naps and coffee lol

242

So, beginning a new cycle tomorrow with my sights on the state deadlift championships on the 18th of October. That gives me twelve weeks of training. Going to set it up more the less the same as my last cycle; although I could try to deadlift with greater frequency, I need to work on my squat, which still sucks bigtime. Here’s the plan:

Monday: 1. Deadlift, 2. high-bar squat/paused squat, GHR, heavy abs
Wednesday: 1. Bench press (competition pause), 2. incline DB press, pull-ups/rows, biceps
Friday: 1. Squat, 2. block pulls/speed pulls Bulgarian split squats, hyperextensions
Sunday: 1. Overhead press, 2. bench press (longer pause), rows, triceps

And the following volume/intensity progression:

Main lifts:
W1. Up to 5 @RPE 8
W2. Up to 4 @RPE 8, drop 2-4%
W3. Up to 5 @RPE 9, drop 5%
W4. Up to 4 @RPE 9, drop 8-10%
W5. Up to 3 @RPE 9, drop 2-4%
W6. Up to 4 @RPE 9, repeat, drop 5%
W7. Up to 3 @RPE 9.5, drop 8-10%
W8. Up to 2 @RPE 9, repeat, drop 2-4%
W9. Up to 1 @RPE 9, drop 5%
W10. Up to 2 @RPE 9.5, no drop
W11. Up to 1 @RPE 9.5-10, no drop
W12. Taper, meet on Saturday

Second lifts:
W1. Up to 5 @RPE 8
W2. Up to 4 @RPE 8, drop 2-4%
W3. Up to 5 @RPE 8, drop 5%
W4. Up to 4 @RPE 8, drop 8-10%
W5. Up to 3 @RPE 8, drop 2-4%
W6. Up to 4 @RPE 8, drop 5%
W7. Up to 3 @RPE 8, drop 8-10%
W8. Up to 3 @RPE 9, no drop
W9. Up to 3 @RPE 8, no drop
W10. Up to 3 @RPE 9.5, no drop
W11. Technique
W12. Technique

243

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:

[quote]kgildner wrote:

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
Congrats on the DL PR man![/quote]

Thank you, sir! How’s your training going with all that farm work on the side? Looking lean, at least![/quote]

Thanks man. The farm work has lessened a bit, to about once a week. I’m now a manager at a grocery store (the farm stuff was on the side), so now I’m kind of adapting to just days that start at 5am and involve lots of unloading and loading of boxes and mental grogginess.

My solution has basically been naps and coffee lol[/quote]

Funny, there are times when I curse having to work at a desk all day… And times when I think this is a pretty good deal (provided I force myself to be somewhat active throughout the day).

244

29.07.14
Week 1: accumulation

Sumo deadlift:
5 x 70 kg
4 x 110 kg
3 x 140 kg
2 x 160 kg
1 x 170 kg
5 x 180 kg @RPE 8.5

Paused squat:
5 x 70 kg
3 x 90 kg
1 x 100 kg
5 x 105 kg @RPE 8.5

Leg curls:
10, 8, 7 x 70 kg

Hyperextensions:
3 x 15 x BW

Training was a bit tough today, as I wasn’t at all used to such high rep ranges after the longish period using only triples and below. I need to concentrate on pulling back in deadlifts, and on really maintaining a solid spine. As you can see, there’s still some mid-back rounding going on.

245

Congrats on that deadlift PR at the meet! Seemed to be a lot of good support there. Also, I’ve got a Candito shirt too, but its the Think Deep, Squat Deeper one.

246

31.07.14
Week 1: accumulation

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 95 kg
1 x 100 kg
5 x 102.5 kg @RPE 8

Incline DB press:
4 x 20.5 kg
3 x 25.5 kg
2 x 27.5 kg
5 x 31.5 kg @RPE 8

Barbell rows:
5 x 40 kg
5 x 60 kg
3 x 7 x 80 kg

DB curls:
9, 8, 8 x 14.5 kg

Band pull-aparts:
6 x 15 x double red

I was super-tired going into today’s training session but managed to get the work done. There’s a fair amount going on in my life at the moment and we can’t sleep very well to boot because of the summer heat. So the motivation is a bit weak, but I also recognize that starting back up with higher reps is difficult after a peaking period.

I’m going to try to hammer out more barbell rows in this mesocycle in order to improve isometric strength in the spine, which will hopefully carry over to my deadlift.

247

[quote]MightyMouse17 wrote:
Congrats on that deadlift PR at the meet! Seemed to be a lot of good support there. Also, I’ve got a Candito shirt too, but its the Think Deep, Squat Deeper one.[/quote]

Why thank you, my good man!

Yes, I like supporting JC. Not only is he a freaking strong manlet, but his training advice is invaluable. I’ve used his form check service twice for my squat and each time he’s provided me with really great advice. Seems like a really affable person.

On that note, it’d be cool to meet all of my favourite YouTube/T-Nation powerlifting personalities one day; too bad everyone’s in the States or Canada!

248

01.08.14
Week 1: accumulation

Squat:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 95 kg
2 x 105 kg
1 x 110 kg
5 x 115 kg @RPE 7.5

Semi-sumo rack pulls (just above knee):
4 x 100 kg
3 x 140 kg
2 x 180 kg
5 x 200 kg
5 x 205 kg @RPE 7.5

Front squats:
5 x 60 kg
3 x 8 x 80 kg

Hanging leg raises (toe to bar):
3 x 8 x BW

Decent session today. I didn’t go hard on any of the main work sets, but front squats felt super-hard because of the pre-fatigue in my back. This wasn’t exactly what I was shooting for, since I’ve programmed them back in in order to focus on my weak quads. Will have to play around with that.

249

03.08.2014
Week 1: accumulation

OHP:
5 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
5 x 52.5 kg @RPE 8.5

2-count paused bench press:
5 x 50 kg
3 x 80 kg
5 x 95 kg @RPE 8.5
1 x 110 kg @RPE 8

Pull-ups:
9, 9, 8 x BW

Band pull-aparts:
8 x 15 x double red

04.08.14
Week 2: accumulation

Sumo deadlift:
4 x 100 kg
3 x 140 kg
2 x 160 kg
1 x 180 kg
4 x 190 kg @RPE 8.5

Paused squat:
4 x 60 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 95 kg
1 x 105 kg
4 x 110 kg @RPE 8.5

Leg curls:
10, 10, 8 x 70 kg

Hyperextensions:
3 x 20 x BW

Not much time recently, logging two sessions at once. Commentary to return in the next few days.

250

06.08.14
Week 2: accumulation

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 95 kg
1 x 105 kg
4 x 107.5 kg @RPE 8.5

Incline DB press:
4 x 22.5 kg
3 x 27.5 kg
2 x 31 kg
4 x 33 kg @RPE 8

Barbell rows:
3 x 60 kg
2 x 80 kg
3 x 4 x 95 kg

DB curls:
8, 8, 7 x 15.5 kg

Farmer’s walks:
4 x ca. 52 m x 40.5 kg

Band pull-aparts:
6 x 17 x double red

Good training session today. The four-rep competition-style bench set was indeed a PR, although I had at least one more very solid rep in me.

I tried adding in some conditioning work and did a bunch of farmer’s walks, although I really need to find a solution for this. I feel absolutely no conditioning effects with this weight, since my grip is the limiting factor. I should note that the old dumbbells that I use for this have absolutely no knurling on them, so it’s difficult to keep one’s grip for so long. And I also got a massive forearm pump with this, but didn’t really feel my heart rate climbing a lot. Anyone have any tips for me? Should I drop weight and try to do more laps, or increase the weight and use straps?

I’ve got a new job coming up in a couple of weeks and will need to change around my training times. Looks as though I’ll be dropping my membership at the commercial gym (which I hardly visit anymore anyways), visiting the powerlifting gym evenings/on weekends and occasionally going to another gym near my home that is open from 7:00 A.M.

251

08.08.14
Week 2: accumulation

Squat:
4 x 60 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 95 kg
1 x 105 kg
1 x 115 kg
4 x 125 kg @RPE 8
4 x 120 kg @RPE 8

Semi-sumo rack pulls from knee:
4 x 100 kg
3 x 140 kg
2 x 180 kg
1 x 195 kg
4 x 210 kg @RPE 8
4 x 202.5 kg @RPE 8

Bottom-half squats:
8 x 60 kg
7, 8, 8 x 80 kg

Hanging leg raises (toe to bar):
3 x 8 x BW

Good session today. 125 kg moved about as fast as it ever has, and the rack pulls felt pretty easy.

252

10.08.14
Week 2: accumulation

2-count paused bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 95 kg
1 x 100 kg
4 x 105 kg @RPE 9 (fuck)
4 x 100 kg @RPE 8.5 (fuck)

OHP:
4 x 40 kg
3 x 50 kg
4 x 55 kg @RPE 9.5 (fuuuuuu!)

Pull-ups:
9, 7, 8 x BW (FuuuuuuUU!!!)

Barbell floor press:
8 x 60 kg
2 x 6 x 80 kg

Band pull-aparts:
6 x 17 x double red

So today I kinda lost sight of the fact that I’m supposed to be doing an RPE-based program. Overshot all the targeted intensities on my main sets. On paused bench, I think I just misjudged how easy/hard the final warm-up set was. For OHP, I forgot that I was pre-fatigued from paused bench (I usually order the exercises the other way round) and ended up way overshooting my intended RPE of 8. Should’ve done a push press for the last rep or something.

So needless to say, my lumbar was feeling it (thank you, terrible upward mobility). I hung from a hyperextension bench for a few sets with 25 kg, which seemed to alleviate things.

OK, tomorrow I must stay within my targeted range of intensity.

253

Was just thinking it had been awhile since I checked your log…

Looks like a plan is in place. I like your end of year goals and think they’re all within reach.

Gotta admit I kind of chuckled reading your last workout description, specifically that you “forgot” that you were pre-fatigued from bench when doing OHP.

254

11.08.14
Week 3: accumulation

Sumo deadlift:
5 x 70 kg
4 x 120 kg
3 x 150 kg
2 x 170 kg
5 x 190 kg @RPE 9.5
5 x 180 kg @RPE 9.5

Paused squat:
4 x 60 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 95 kg
1 x 105 kg
5 x 110 kg @RPE 9
5 x 102.5 kg @RPE 9

Glute-ham raise:
3 x 6 x BW

45 degree hypers:
3 x 15 x BW + 10 kg

Poor training session today. Overshot my targeted intensity and didn’t have much juice in me at all. Hips didn’t want to open up this morning. Anyone interested in seeing this gong show can check out the video.

I went to try out a gym in my area as I’ll be changing up my work schedule next week and might have to find other training arrangements for a few mornings. Good facility, complete with a good deal of Olympic platforms, a Hammer Strength power rack and a GHR. I’ve got to get used to the latter.

255

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
Was just thinking it had been awhile since I checked your log…

Looks like a plan is in place. I like your end of year goals and think they’re all within reach.

Gotta admit I kind of chuckled reading your last workout description, specifically that you “forgot” that you were pre-fatigued from bench when doing OHP.[/quote]

Thanks for dropping in! Yeah, I’ve got to get used to a few things in autoregulatory training, especially being modest in weight increments. And I still have no mobility for OHP. Boooo.

256

13.08.14
Week 3: accumulation

Competition-style bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 95 kg
5 x 100 kg @RPE 8
5 x 102.5 kg @RPE 9
5 x 97.5 kg @RPE 8.5-9

Incline dumbbell press:
4 x 22.5 kg
3 x 27.5 kg
2 x 5 x 31.5 kg @RPE 9

Barbell rows:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 4 x 90 kg

Barbell curls (standing on deadlift platform for extra bro gains):
8, 8, 12 x 30 kg (booyeah!)

Band pull-aparts:
7 x 17 x double red

So, I actually managed to stay within my targeted intensity today. Training was OK, nothing spectacular. Still dealing with inexplicable acid reflux, which has messed up my appetite and my eating patterns. Gonna have that checked out tomorrow. At least it doesn’t bother me during my lifting.

257

15.08.14
Week 3: accumulation

Squat:
5 x 60 kg
4 x 80 kg
3 x 95 kg
2 x 105 kg
1 x 112.5 kg
1 x 120 kg
5 x 125 kg @RPE 8.5
5 x 127.5 kg @RPE 9 (PR)
5 x 120 kg @RPE 9

Double-paused beltless sumo deadlifts:
3 x 4 x 150 kg @RPE 8-9

Leg raises:
3 x 15 x BW

So I managed to crank out a PR in squats today. This goes to show how weak I am at doing squats for reps. I’m feeling confident that, if all goes according to plan, I might be able to crank out a 155 kg - 160 kg squat at the end of this cycle. This will put me within 75 kg of my deadlift again. Yaaaaaaaaaaay.

Did some double-paused beltless deads to diagnose some form issues. Found out that I can pull much, much more smoothly if I get my neck angle just right. A fully-tucked chin makes me round my lower back, while a cocked neck makes me sit down too much. If I look about two metres ahead of me, it seems to be the sweet spot. At any rate, these pulls were light but insanely hard after heavy squatting. My hip flexors are throbbing now.

258

17.08.14
Week 3: accumulation

2-count paused bench press:
5 x 50 kg
4 x 70 kg
3 x 85 kg
2 x 95 kg
5 x 102.5 kg @RPE 9
5 x 97.5 kg @RPE 9

Overhead press:
5 x 40 kg
2 x 5 x 50 kg @RPE 9 (LOL)

Pull-ups:
9, 8, 9 x BW

Barbell floor press:
5 x 60 kg
3 x 6 x 80 kg

Band pull-aparts:
7 x 17 x double red

Pretty beat-up at today’s session. My wife is a bit sick at the moment so we’re both not sleeping very well. Have to get used to doing OHP second after bench press, since I need to drop the weights quite a bit.

I start a new job tomorrow and will have to train evenings during the week. It’ll be interesting to see how I manage that after training mornings for the last ten-odd years!

259

18.08.14
Week 4: intensification

Sumo deadlifts:
4 x 100 kg
3 x 140 kg
2 x 160 kg
1 x 180 kg
4 x 195 kg @RPE 9
2 x 4 x 180 kg @RPE 8.5-9

Paused squats:
4 x 60 kg
3 x 80 kg
2 x 100 kg
1 x 110 kg
4 x 120 kg @RPE 9
4 x 110 kg @RPE 9

Hyperextensions:
3 x 15 x BW 20 kg

Good session this evening; I was surprised how much energy I had training after work for a change. Think those top sets were PRs.

260

So, I’ve planned a mini-deload in since I appear to have contracted a bit of a cold from my wife. Skipped yesterday’s session and will see how I feel tomorrow; I could combine squat/bench if I’m feeling better. Yaaaaay chamomile tea.