Thanks, eco. By the way, your list came in handy, I needed the extra socks for deadlift–the ones I was wearing were too short.
I am thinking about changing gears and doing something stupid for a few weeks before I start my next 5-3-1 cycle. Anyone ever run a Smolov base meso cycle? It looks like a real bitch.
JJ, great job. The USAPL looks tough. Feels good to have the first onme under you belt?
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]PeteS wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Thanks DCA, LS and Kimba! DCA, the next scheduled meet is the USAPL state meet in Feb., but it looks like I have a conflict. I would like to do a local meet that is scheduled for June. This will give me a little more time to train as well. I would like to get a few more solid training cycles in.
Pete, when in Rome, do as the Vandals do. :)[/quote]
Reminds me of the record by that name by the Vandals, classic stuff… Anarchy Burger, Mohawk Town, sheeoot gonna have to flip through the vinyl later… [/quote]
Ding Ding, winner, winner, chicken dinner! [/quote]
What is really funny to me is the number of people who are on these forums, and especially the PL focused ones, who came from ‘the scene’. And if you have to ask what ‘the scene’ was or is, neither Jack or I are gonna tell you. There was a thread on outlawpowerlifting a few weeks ago about best workout music, and it listed Bad Brains, Cro Mags, a bunch of Oi! etc. Made me feel right at home. And tonight, this younger kid at my new training place started talking about FSU. I just looked at him cockeyed and said ‘Friends Stand United’? and he was surprised some old dude knew about a crew that was started by my counterparts on the east coast. Oh, back when Nazi bashing was my impetus to workout, lol…
Good lifts man.(good speed on the pulls) You asked about the smolov cycle. It is brutal. It works if you follow the post-exercise protocols of rehab for all the soreness and I mean soreness. Smolov junior or smolov #9 I think.
ps: as a sidenote judges on the bench are big pains in the ass.
Jack great work!!!
way to bust your cherry, really nice work
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Thanks, eco. By the way, your list came in handy, I needed the extra socks for deadlift–the ones I was wearing were too short.
I am thinking about changing gears and doing something stupid for a few weeks before I start my next 5-3-1 cycle. Anyone ever run a Smolov base meso cycle? It looks like a real bitch.
[/quote]
I told my wife I was usefull once in awhile.
Sometimes its enjoyable to try new workouts or just do whatever feels good that day. I do a lot of stupid workouts that end up being fun.
Sorry I am late to the game. I just watched the vids; read the thread. You did aspectacular. That just blew me away.
Thanks Chi-town, Fischer, KMC, Eco, and JW.
Pete, I need to go back through some of my old stuff as well. I am not even sure what I have left after the move.
Chi-town, yes it does. It was nerve racking, but really fun.
Fischer, I am on the fence with Smolov. I want to do it, but bench is my worst lift, so I am on the fence about a squat-only program.
Jack, a Smolov routine sounds really tempting. Personally I donâ??t think my body would hold up to complete it. I can train on the easier Sheiko programs but this would be taking it to another level. One thing to consider is how is your overall joint and soft tissue health. Smolov is incredibly taxing and has led to injuries in a good number of completely health guys in their 20â??s.
If you do decide to do it I suggest you take it on with 100% dedication to supporting yourself as best you can. This means plenty of restoration work, excellent nutrition and plenty of sleep. Also, youâ??ll want to be really in tune with your body to be able to back-off if your body canâ??t tolerate it. Guys that have made it though generally seem to have had better gains than any other program I have heard of.
Good luck.
S_L, I hear what you are saying. My biggest worry is my elbows, I would have to adjust my arm position or I would be hurting. I am trying to talk myself out of it right now, but we’ll see. I sure would like to add 40-50 lbs. to my squat.
Deadlift deload:
I got bored and went to the gym with the intention of testing the waters. If I felt ok, I was thinking about doing my 5-5-5 dead day on cycle 7 of 5-3-1. I worked up to my second working set and called it quits. My lower back is still fried. So went home and ate a ton of cookies and whole milk and then cooked up a big ass NY Strip.
I hear you about getting bored and restless. I would just suggest you stay away from barbells this week. Use dumbbells, kettlebells and body weight. Keep moving and get the blood flowing. If you stay away from the barbells you can give your CNS more time to recover.
Do you get pain on the inside of your elbow or the outside?
[quote]Seattle_Lifter wrote:
I hear you about getting bored and restless. I would just suggest you stay away from barbells this week. Use dumbbells, kettlebells and body weight. Keep moving and get the blood flowing. If you stay away from the barbells you can give your CNS more time to recover.
Do you get pain on the inside of your elbow or the outside?[/quote]
If you hold out your arms, palms up, like you are curling, its on the inside of the elbows, right on top of and around the bone. They pretty much always hurt, at least a little.
I wouldn’t doubt that your water skiing has irritated that area. I have had elbow issues in the past from climbing and I could see similarities in how the elbow tendons would get taxed.
Are you doing anything regularly to try to improve the condition like stretching, icing or massage?
I should be able to make a few suggestions that might help.
I think its squats, actually. Waterskiing is a lot like deadlifting–doesn’t really hurt elbows–and I haven’t skiied in a while. My elbow position on squats just plane hurts. I am going to pull out my Maxwell joint mobility DVDs and get to work on that.
Meet deload day, bench.
Superset DB Bench and Chins:
DBB: 50 x10, 60 x10, 70 x10, 80 x10, 90 x10, 100 x 7
Chins: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
DB Incline: 60 x10, 70 x10, 80 x10, 90 x 10
Krock Rows: 100 x10, 110 x10, 120 x10, 130 x10
Notes: I feel tired and weak. And fat. Everything felt heavy. And its cold out. Got down to 9 last night and about the same the night before. I’m not used to that kinda cold.
If I can jump in on the sqaut/elbow pain. Try a false grip on the bar when sqauting. Also try MSM for the tendonitis. I have the same issues you do. With the doseage go above 3000mg a day.
The reason on the false grip is to release your elbow flexors when holding the bar because of the tension you develop from the loaded wrist position .
Hope this helps.
ps: Did not mean to barge in just trying too help a fellow lifter with same problems I have.
[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
If I can jump in on the sqaut/elbow pain. Try a false grip on the bar when sqauting. Also try MSM for the tendonitis. I have the same issues you do. With the doseage go above 3000mg a day.
The reason on the false grip is to release your elbow flexors when holding the bar because of the tension you develop from the loaded wrist position .
Hope this helps.
ps: Did not mean to barge in just trying too help a fellow lifter with same problems I have.[/quote]
You are welcome to hop in anytime! I take MSM with my glucosamine, I may try and up the dosage. I also already squat with the false grip. I was trying to get my grip narrow and elbows under the bar, but this just plane hurts.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I think its squats, actually. Waterskiing is a lot like deadlifting–doesn’t really hurt elbows–and I haven’t skiied in a while. My elbow position on squats just plane hurts. I am going to pull out my Maxwell joint mobility DVDs and get to work on that.
Meet deload day, bench.
Superset DB Bench and Chins:
DBB: 50 x10, 60 x10, 70 x10, 80 x10, 90 x10, 100 x 7
Chins: 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
DB Incline: 60 x10, 70 x10, 80 x10, 90 x 10
Krock Rows: 100 x10, 110 x10, 120 x10, 130 x10
Notes: I feel tired and weak. And fat. Everything felt heavy. And its cold out. Got down to 9 last night and about the same the night before. I’m not used to that kinda cold.[/quote]
The week after a meet is no time to expect any PRs. You’re so fried from the competitive stress that taking it easy, kinda cruising, is more the thing to do.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Notes: I feel tired and weak. And fat. Everything felt heavy. And its cold out. Got down to 9 last night and about the same the night before. I’m not used to that kinda cold.[/quote]
I’ll bet in another week you’ll be fully recovered and ready for the next challenge. Your blood is just a wee bit thin from all that southern exposure. 
So getting used to the cold might take a bit longer.
Thanks DCA and Kimba. I am feeling much better today. 
Week 1, Day 1, Smolov Base Mesocycle, Squat. Training Max: 395.
Squats: 45 x10, 135 x5, 185 x5, 225 x3, 275 x9, 9, 9, 9.
OHP: 45 x10, 65 x10, 95 x10, 135 x10, 155 x 5.
Notes: I decided to take the plunge and start the Smolov base mesocycle. Starting today, rather than Monday, lets me avoid squating Christmas day.
I am taking general advice I read from T-Nation members Stallion and Modi on their Smolov experience and am going to set my max at what I believe to be my true max, taking the difference between my meet lift (385) and meet fail (408–which almost went) and use this to set the weight and reps. This also gets me to some nice round numbers, like 275, 315, and 335 on my first week’s cycle. I will squat Sat., Mon., Wed., and Thurs., for three weeks on this program, then rest a week and retest my max. I am going to do one upper body exercise on any day I feel up to it–today may have been the last time for a few weeks.
I am going to take the program seriously and eat everything I see. We are going to Costco soon to stock up on supplies.
I feel good today, now that I have a plan. I also enjoyed looking around the gym today at the curlers and machine dwellers and secretly did my superior dance (old SNL reference).
Finally, I went to a Japanese massage therapist Yesturday. He was little kooky, but he seemed to help my elbows a bit. I am going to position them in such a way while squatting that there is very little pressure on them during the program. This might adversely effect my squat form, but its the only way I see making it through without having to endure extreme elbow pain.
Jack = good luck with the new program…should be interesting!