Front Squat: I was good for three on the set of 225X2, but I felt myself falling forward too much. I found a great way to stay much more upright than before. I simply lower more slowly on the eccentric and push my knees forward as much as possible during the concentric portion of the lift.
I got the CoC grippers last night- #s 1 and 1.5.
I closed 1.5 with my right hand and got something like a millimeter short of closing it with my left. Also, last night I did a few 30s holds with the CoC#1. Fun stuff Tears up your hands though
A. DB Overhead Press
10X10
20X10
30X6
40X2 50X8 PR
60X5 PR
B. Wide Grip Pullup BWX4X3 Cheap Rep PR
C. Snatch Practice
BarX5X 10 minutes worth of sets
D. Dumbbell Curls 40X6,6,6 Volume PR (+3 reps for three sets)
E. Prone Internal Rotations
15X15/sideX2
Snatches are coming along very well. Very smooth.
That ends the weight lifting for this deload. I may have to revamp the plan for next week because I won’t have access to the oly lifting platforms most of the time :(. We’ll just see how it goes.
[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
Im glad to see no pain in your pec. or back. Nice PR on the Overhead Press bye the way, do you ever use a BB?[/quote]
Hey Blacklabel. I’ve been stalking your log for a while now, just never posted
Thanks X 2.
My back pain only flares up after spending all day at work in crappy dress shoes. I don’t even get pain after front squats anymore I think the mobility drills have REALLY paid off.
I’ve used a barbell in the past and my PR is 135 for a strict press. I imagine 145-150 is where I’m at now. I haven’t returned to that movement for a while, but I will eventually.
I like to cycle between Push Pressing and Military Pressing, but my focus will be on Push Presses for a while now. I need to work on power production. Scratch that,I just want to have 225 over my head ASAP
C. RDL
130X12
240X7(grip fail)@8
240X8X2(used sand for grip)
D. CW’s Windmill thing
BWX15/sideX3
E. Feet CLOSE (2 inches or so) single hand pushup
X20s/sideX2
X15s/sideX1
Tough work out. The Box Squats and Power Snatches were awkward with my goofy bar. On the box squats the bar wanted to roll off my back and the snatches just felt ‘different’ with the thicker bar.
Swapped RDLs for Rack Pulls- no rack to pull em’ from.
B. Pendlay Row
130X8
140X6+2 almost to chest
140X7(I think I cheated)+1 almost to chest
C. Closs Grip Bench Press
130X10
150X6
150X5
D. Retraction first DB Row
60X2
80X8/side
80X7/sideX2
E. Prone Internal Rotations
10X15/sideX2
F. CoC #1X8/sideX2 #1X7L8R
+some extra holds for weaksauce left hand/forearm
I forgot that you don’t have to bring the bar completely to your chest on the pendlay rows for a good rep. Just have to bring your upper arm into the same plane as your torso- much like good seated cable row form. Oh wellz, next time I’ll do them with 150 or so.
Good work out, except for bench pressing. On the 3rd rep of the second set with 190, the barbell hit the pins on the way up. You see, I’m at home with a ghetto bench and an even more ghetto rack. The pins are angled up and out for no apparent reason. The people that made the damn thing probably don’t even lift weights. Anyways, to make a long story short- I almost died. I’m going to call it a special technique and a new PR for “Recoiled Near-Death Bench Pressing”. Horay.
For those of you interested in what I’ll be doing for the next ~8 weeks. I’ll be doing this split. After four weeks I’m going to swap up everything but the first 1-2 exercises and change the setsXreps up some. Then, on the ninth week, I’m going to max on Front Squat, Box Squat, Bench Press, and Chins.
Goals are:
Front Squat: 245+
Box Squat: 315+
Bench Press: 225+
Chins: I may just go with a 3RM, if so: BW+75X3+
[u][i]New Training Split[/u][/i]
Monday
Power Snatch 5X5
Box Squat 6X3-5
RDL 3X6-8
Modified Single Leg Squat 2X12/side
Feet CLOSE Single arm push up hold 3X15-30s/side
Tuesday
Bench Press 6X3-5
T-bar Row 3X6-8
Close Grip Bench Press 3X6-8
DB Row 3X6-8
RC work
CoC
Thursday
Front Squat 6X3-5
Good Morning 3X6-8
Single Leg Deadlift to Box 2-3X12
Elevated Suitcase Deadlift 2X12/side
Double leg dead bug & reverse crunch S/S 2X12-20 a piece
Friday
Push Press 6X3-5
Wide Grip Pullup 4X4-6
DB Incline Press 3X6-8
Face Pull 3X8-10
RC Work
Standing DB Curls 3X5-8
Tate Press 3X5-8 beach work if energy is there
CoC
I thought about not volume cycling but I like what it’s done for me. That said, here’s the plan:
W1 7X3 3 sets/assistance
W2 5X3 3 sets/assistance Higher Intensity
W3 10X3 4 sets/assistance
W4 6X3 2 sets/assistance
W5 4X5 3 sets/assistance
W6 3X5 3 sets/assistance Higher Intensity
W7 5X5 3 sets/assistance
W8 2 light assistance sessions, max at the end of the week (when I feel like destroying something)
(lol, I guess it was 8 weeks not nine)
I more or less self regulate the intensity on a daily basis. I don’t go in the gym thinking I’ll do 205 for x # of reps per set; instead I feel the warm ups and pick a weight based off how I feel. If I’m doing less total sets I try to do more weight in general, but the inverse does not necessarily apply.
I had this in my work out journal. I think most folks would never read my log if I posted all of the random shit I put in there lol.
I’ve been borrowing lots of ideas from EC’s “The Art of the Deload” e-book. It also helped me conjure up the last deload I did where I cut the volume of most everything and did a ton of oly lifting form work. Have you checked that E-book out, IA?
BTW IA, do you do your CGBPs with elbows tucked to your sides or do you let them flare somewhat?
Back Pain: 2.0 out of 10
Discomfort; periodic pain
Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10
[u][i]Lower Body 2[/u][/i]
Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Front Squat
45Xreps
90X3
110X3
130X3
150X3
170X3
185X1
205X3X3
205X2
200X3X3
Form Check
135X3X2
B. Good Morning
180X10
180X8
180X10
C. SL RDL
40X12/sideX3
40X10/side
D. Suitcase DL
40X12/side
60X12/side
70X12/sideX2
E. Double Leg Deadbug; slow tempo
BWX10,17,18
E2. Reverse Crunch
Hurt or just stretched multifidus. Either way, I stayed away.
I did an extra set of SLRDLs because I really need to work on that sub-lateral system. Yeah, I just learned that phrase nowadays. At least I can describe my problem without talking about the specific muscles now. Horay.
I recorded a bunch of stuff.
Will post videos later.
HAPPY NEW YEAR. HERE’S TO A YEAR FULL OF PRS!!!
I resolved to lift heavy shit. Specifically:
Deadlift 450+
Bench 300+
Front Squat 315+
Low Bar Box Squat 405+
I think that the Art of the Deload deserves a lot more attention than it’s gotten, excellent book. I can’t seem to get my roommate to grasp the fact that doing a 225 rep max test isn’t a deload from trying to hit 315 for the fifth week in a row just because it’s lighter weight lol. I think that deloading is the best kept secret in training.
As for CGBP, I can’t really say. I’ve never done it for more than few weeks at a time. I’ve been told before that flared vs tucked emphasizes different heads of the tricep but I’m no bodybuilder; I’d say use whichever lets you approach your goals best.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
I think that the Art of the Deload deserves a lot more attention than it’s gotten, excellent book. I can’t seem to get my roommate to grasp the fact that doing a 225 rep max test isn’t a deload from trying to hit 315 for the fifth week in a row just because it’s lighter weight lol.
I think that deloading is the best kept secret in training.
As for CGBP, I can’t really say. I’ve never done it for more than few weeks at a time. I’ve been told before that flared vs tucked emphasizes different heads of the tricep but I’m no bodybuilder; I’d say use whichever lets you approach your goals best.
Good mornings are getting up there![/quote]
Thanks!
Yeah, I know what you mean about the deloading. I don’t deload intensity much because I do more 3-5 reps for multiple sets than anything else. I like to use total # of reps as the primary factor to manipulate when I deload. I totally agree about the Art of the Deload. Always great to get insight into how talented coaches like EC do things.
Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10
Throughout the day, none. When I tried to do incline bench press, enough to swap exercises.
[u][i]Upper Body 2[/u][/i]
Foam Rollin’
Dynamic Flexibilityin’
A. Push Pressin’
Military press warm up
40Xreps
70X5
90X1
Push Pressin’
110X3
130X1
140X1
155X3X2 160X3X2 PR
155X2F@3
B. Wide Grip Pull up BWX6 PR
BWX5 PR
BWX4
C. DB Incline Press
60X5*Zouch, pec pain
C2. Band Push Ups
Purple bandX12,11
D. DB Power Cleans
10X15,15
E. DB Curls
15X15
30X6 40X8 PR
F. Prone Internal Rotations
20X20/sideX2
G. Seated Strict Lateral Raise
20X12/side
20X11/side
The DB incline presses stretched my pec to the point of pain, so I discontinued them.
I don’t have anything to do face pulls with, so I just DB Power cleans. In retrospect I don’t need the extra external rotation so I should have done inverted rows. I fail.
First off, I did two more sets of barbell curls while chewing a steak yesterday. 70X12,12. Aren’t I awesome?
[u][i]1-3-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 204.6
Da bloat
Tomorrow I start taking a very specific log like I used to.
Back Pain: 0.5 out of 10
Tightness
Right Pec Pain: 0 out of 10
[u][i]Conditioning[/u][/i]
Foam Rolling X2 (AM and PM)
Dynamic Flexibility
A. DB Swings
50X10-15X9
R10s
B. Front Squat Form Work
95X3X4
In the bottom position, even with the bar, the bar is still in front of mid-foot until I get to about midway up through the lift. I really think I’m just not designed for a pretty front squat. Oh wo is me.
C. Box Squat Form Work
95X3X4
Need to focus on finishing the lift at my hips, and extending my back while simultaneously pushing my hips forward off the box. They looked really nice when I did that. Also, need to get stronger glutes so I can spread the floor better.
Should I cut the weight back on box squats until I can actively spread the floor without fail on my heaviest sets? Maybe I should just keep nailing the unilateral stuff and be wary of form mistakes and back pain while I keep pushing the weights up.
B. Rack Pull
Upper Shin 365X5 PR
From Knee
405X2 PR
315X10 PR
C. Modified Single Leg Squat
BWX15/sideX2
D. Back Extension
+45X15X2
E. Single hand push up hold VERY close feet X30s/sideX2 PR
X20s/side
PRsville- population: me.
Hellz yeah.
I lost grip on the 405X2. Sweaty hands and a wet towel= no grip. Hip strength wise, I know I had at LEAST 5 in me. I may start using straps for my top rack pull sets. CoC will keep my grip strength improving.
On the Box squats I Was able to spread the floor so well on the heavier sets. I was very happy with how they felt. I have more than 260X3 in me. That’s for sure.
Looking forward to getting this cycle done, then I’m going all out on free squats.
B. Pendlay Row
45Xreps
95X2
115X2 145X8 PR
155X5X2 PR
C. Closs Grip bench Press 135X12 PR
145X5X2 PR
D. Retraction First Dumbbell Row 85X8/sideX3 PR
Nothing special. Took it easy on the bench because the mother fucking newbs loaded the racks so goofily that I put a 35 and a 25 on instead of two 25s. This lead to the weight coming off to my right side and some slight pec pain. The rest of the warm ups didn’t feel so hot, and it wasn’t until I got to the second set of 175X3 that I had no pec pain. I just focused on form as much as possible. The trouble is that the benches at the gym I lifted at today are pretty much pillows, so it’s impossible to get tight and get any arch at all. I don’t like that.
Everything else went okay. Not happy about the work out, but it is what it is.
Tears up your hands though 
