Went ahead and benched because I was pissed about how bad it felt all week. Hit a respectable 420 to tie my heaviest ever without wrist wraps, and that was touch and go. Needed to impress all those Uni kids :o
Squat feels great. Can’t wait to get in a belt and see what I can do. Might be PRing before I even get into meet prep.
Beltless Sumo
543x1
573x1 (pr)
433x2 —>halting deads https://instagram.com/p/2efqOlqPEM/
Got through the heavy stuff on piss and vinegar, hit the PR on the stiffest bar I’ve ever used, then crashed hard. No way I was doing any backdown sets after that.
Wide Bb Row
333x8
353x8
373x8
Lat Pressdown/pull-up
Some by some
Good session with my PIC tropicalshoes, aka @squatzilla
5/11
Beltless squat minimum
420x1
Pause Bench
415x1 @9
320x10
340x9
320x10x2
Volume is killing me in this cut, but I’m looking hyyoooooge with a pump :):) https://instagram.com/p/2jRA4uqPJ4/
Db Press/serratus push-up
110x12/x12x4
Was barely hitting that twelfth on the DBS
Beltless Squat
475x1 @9.9999 (PR)
335x7
345x7
355x7
375x3
385x3 https://instagram.com/p/2mb3bVqPJ4/
All reps were narrow stance high bar. This was my Beltless goal for the entire 8 week block, so got it a bit early. Going to keep mostly Beltless work on the volume day moving forward in the second 4 week period.
Reverse hyper
250x10x3
Supersetted with pull-ups
5/13
Bench minimum
385x1 @7.5
Beltless sumo
545x1 @9.5
405x5
445x5
485x3 @8
Felt awful. Sciatica in my left hip had been flaring since pulling 573 on that hateful bar, so everything was regulated down this day.
Bent Wide Row
345x8
365x8
385x8
Pull-up
+20x10x3 (1-min rest)
5/14
Beltless squat minimum
415x1 @8
Pause Bench
395x1 @8
325x6
345x6
365x6
335x6 (NG)
365x4 (NG)
Felt pretty heavy. The 365 set moved faster than last week though. Added the extra narrow grip sets to get more volume.
Dip/serratus push-up
+90x12/x12x4
Db pullover/ext
55s x12x3
Lots of auto regulating this week. I’m in the fourth week of this cut and am sure as hell feeling, so I’m backing off the exertion in the over-warmups and getting more volume in however I can.
[quote]Ravenous_ wrote:
…so…any chance we could see that off season meet prep plan? The results certainly speak for themselves.[/quote]
Yea absolutely! I’m so lazy about writing these days.
Off-season (8 weeks)
Push/leg/pull/push/leg/pull/off
General structure is comp lift+2 or more accessory, preferably compound accessory
Week 1 was recovery and 2x on all the comp lifts
Added squat minimums in week 2 on push days (about 85%+ of what I estimated my Beltless max to be)
Added bench minimums on pull days this week
Main theme is to increase tonnage lifted over the entire cycle. I try to at the very least add weight to the rep sets every week, and I’m going to add sets when I feel up to it. I increase sets on accessories almost every session. I’m doing this cycle in a hard cut, so I feel pretty awful. But nothing feels overly heavy or anything like that.
The idea of the minimums is to keep practiced on the comp lifts, but not push for maxes every day.
The meet prep will be 5x squat, 5x bench, and 3x DL with very little accessory work. I’ll have a compete outline of it as I approach the training cycle.[/quote]
Ah I see. Thank you! Meet prep sounds insane. I’m currently running my first DUP cycle, which seems to go in line with what you wrote. We’ll see how it goes.
[quote]Ravenous_ wrote:
…so…any chance we could see that off season meet prep plan? The results certainly speak for themselves.[/quote]
Yea absolutely! I’m so lazy about writing these days.
Off-season (8 weeks)
Push/leg/pull/push/leg/pull/off
General structure is comp lift+2 or more accessory, preferably compound accessory
Week 1 was recovery and 2x on all the comp lifts
Added squat minimums in week 2 on push days (about 85%+ of what I estimated my Beltless max to be)
Added bench minimums on pull days this week
Main theme is to increase tonnage lifted over the entire cycle. I try to at the very least add weight to the rep sets every week, and I’m going to add sets when I feel up to it. I increase sets on accessories almost every session. I’m doing this cycle in a hard cut, so I feel pretty awful. But nothing feels overly heavy or anything like that.
The idea of the minimums is to keep practiced on the comp lifts, but not push for maxes every day.
The meet prep will be 5x squat, 5x bench, and 3x DL with very little accessory work. I’ll have a compete outline of it as I approach the training cycle.[/quote]
Ah I see. Thank you! Meet prep sounds insane. I’m currently running my first DUP cycle, which seems to go in line with what you wrote. We’ll see how it goes.
[/quote]
If you care to browse back a few pages, I ran my own version of DUP during the first 4 weeks of my last prep.
I really liked it as a generic template and would recommend it as such, just wasn’t quite enough frequency of singles for me to get near my strength potential in a short time frame.
Beltless Squat
435x1 @8.5
335x5p
355x5p
375x5p
385x3p —>high bar
Single felt super heavy, but the rep work all felt much better this week. https://instagram.com/p/2t8w36KPNg/
5/16
Pause Bench
420x1 @9.5
Good pause, no wraps or liftoff.
Beltless Sumo
585x1 @9 (PR)
435x3
455x3
475x3
495x1
All backdown sets were halting deads. Had a triple in me at 495 if I wanted to kill myself, but I was gassed. https://instagram.com/p/2wh4TDqPL2/
Pause Bench
415x1 long pause @9
325x6
345x6
365x6
345x6,7 (no wraps)
Db press/serratus push-up
120x10,10,13/x10x3
Tri Pressdown
110x10x4 (1 min rest)
5/19
Squat
475x1 @8.8
355x5p
375x5p
395x5p
405x2p
415x2p
425x2p
435x2p
Belt went back on. Whole lot of volume because I still felt good from the carb load I did Sunday night, also finally got over some lame cold I had. https://instagram.com/p/237sISqPGp/
Pull-up
X10,10,10,15
DIET NOTES
Did a huge carb load on Sunday because I was feeling so run down last week. Protein was probably only around 150, fats 50, but definitely got in 600+ carbs. Macros are still 250/250/50, but I’m doing 16-hr fasts as of last week to keep fat loss moving. Seeing big changes already in 4 weeks. I plan on ending this cut at the 7-week mark, and I’m already leaner than I ended the last one.
Also went on a long bike ride Sunday…uhhhh, OBSESSED. I finally found cardio I can enjoy :):)
I’m not sure if anyone has commented on this before, but you do some heavy freakin rows lol, which must obviously help your competition lifts considerably. Any chance you could film a set / go over your technique on these? Rowing nearly 400 lbs for 8 reps is strong.
[quote]kollak95 wrote:
I’m not sure if anyone has commented on this before, but you do some heavy freakin rows lol, which must obviously help your competition lifts considerably. Any chance you could film a set / go over your technique on these? Rowing nearly 400 lbs for 8 reps is strong.[/quote]
Haha, thanks man…I would definitely agree. I’m a gigantic fan of barbell rows for building the back in general, and it’s a great assistance lift for all three.
I’ll get one next week…I’ve actually been wanting to do that anyway so I’m glad you mentioned it. It’s definitely a “Yates row,” but I think that’s just a natural thing to do when the weight gets really heavy. I’ve gone into the 300s with pendlays.
Tweaked my SI joint in warmups. Got through everything fine and without much pain, but I was fatiguing hard by the end.
5/27
Chest-support BB row
245x6x2
255x6x2
Pull-up
+45x10x2
Back was really stiff…made sure not to load it at all.
5/28
Beltless squat minimum
365x1
Lol. So yea, didn’t even come close to the minimum I’ve established. Back felt fine, but the rep at 365 was really awkward, and I wasn’t about to do something stupid when I’d be squatting the next day anyway.
Been doing singles without wraps because I don’t like not feeling my wrists, then did a light wrap on the rest. Felt awful and completely rundown initially, but backing down and working back up helped a lot.
[quote]kollak95 wrote:
I’m not sure if anyone has commented on this before, but you do some heavy freakin rows lol, which must obviously help your competition lifts considerably. Any chance you could film a set / go over your technique on these? Rowing nearly 400 lbs for 8 reps is strong.[/quote]
Haha, thanks man…I would definitely agree. I’m a gigantic fan of barbell rows for building the back in general, and it’s a great assistance lift for all three.
I’ll get one next week…I’ve actually been wanting to do that anyway so I’m glad you mentioned it. It’s definitely a “Yates row,” but I think that’s just a natural thing to do when the weight gets really heavy. I’ve gone into the 300s with pendlays.[/quote]
Awesome man, I’ve always been a fan of barbell rows as well. And yeah, “super strict” rows have gotta be pretty well impossible with over 300 pounds lol.
[quote]kollak95 wrote:
I’m not sure if anyone has commented on this before, but you do some heavy freakin rows lol, which must obviously help your competition lifts considerably. Any chance you could film a set / go over your technique on these? Rowing nearly 400 lbs for 8 reps is strong.[/quote]
Haha, thanks man…I would definitely agree. I’m a gigantic fan of barbell rows for building the back in general, and it’s a great assistance lift for all three.
I’ll get one next week…I’ve actually been wanting to do that anyway so I’m glad you mentioned it. It’s definitely a “Yates row,” but I think that’s just a natural thing to do when the weight gets really heavy. I’ve gone into the 300s with pendlays.[/quote]
Awesome man, I’ve always been a fan of barbell rows as well. And yeah, “super strict” rows have gotta be pretty well impossible with over 300 pounds lol.[/quote]
So naturally that little back tweak kept me away from them this week, but it’s totally fine now, so next week for sure.
So my hips were beat to hell and my back, while better, wasn’t quite up to par just yet. Went to a really narrow stance to ease the strain on the hips. Pauses felt good the second time through, but high reps definitely weren’t happening. Absolutely love those incline push-ups, and I don’t feel a thing in my shoulders when doing them.
Pause Bench
415x1 @9 (wraps)
Thought I might have 430 after that DL, but it would have been too iffy.
Pull-up
+90x5x2
BW x10,15
Pulled on the DL bar for the first time this offseason, and it looks like I get quite a bit out of it. Tough to tell though because I think I’m good for 605 on a stiff bar, and I was running on 1g+ of caffeine and other stims this day.
