Nice work buddy. Hell, aside from chicken scratches in the log book, I haven’t written at all with a pen in years… Oh, and the lifting looks good too.
Damn great lifting Jack! Busted 300 wide open and then popped 200 on millies for the hell of it. Great, great work! Congratz!
Also, I freakin’ HATE IT when someone touches the bar when I am lifting! If the bar isn’t obviously descending, DON’T TOUCH IT! Arghh! As soon as they touch it, even if they are pushing down on it, you question the lift.
Nice job on the MP and BP, Jack.
Nice pressing JK! 300 is behind you now. Putting up some nice numbers this year.
Good work, Jack. That is a nice milestone. 315 will be butter next time. Hope you find your belt.
Nice work Jack- great lifts.
Jack- Congrats, I thought the 205 looked awesome. More to be had there for sure. It went up with pace. And COngrats on crossing the 300 threshold, bet it feels great!!
Great pressing Jack. All of them motored up!
Those were solid lifts, man. Well done.
Thanks, everyone, for the well wishes.
Squat test:
45 x 10, 135 x10, 225 x 5, 315 x 3, 365 x 1, 405 x 1, 445 x1 (high), 455 x fail.
Disappointing day today. 405 felt easy and deep, so I decided to hit 445 for my next lift. But I couldn’t find any spotter, so I was a little nervous. It felt heavy (but not that heavy) but I felt like I cut it a little high. So I decided to try for 455 next and take it a little deeper. The only guy I had confidence in to spot was running a boot camp. I went where the trainers hang out, and asked if anyone had experience spotting a fairly heavy squat. They all pointed to one guy, who said sure. When we got to the rack, he made a comment about the weight, and I could tell he was a little nervous. This did not sit well with me. Anyway, I almost got it, but got stuck, asked for help twice, didn’t get it, and had to bail out the bottom. Then, like a dumb ass–(I was in a bit of a daze afterwords)–I un-racked all the weight off one side and the bar went flying off like a cartoon teeter-totter and almost hit a guy doing ab work in the rack next to me. He got a pretty good laugh out of the deal, though. Then I picked up my shit and left.
Videos to follow for everyones amusement.
445:
good work, I think you would have had it if your mind was in the right spot and you had confidence in your spotter.
[quote]PeteS wrote:
good work, I think you would have had it if your mind was in the right spot and you had confidence in your spotter. [/quote]
Thanks, Pete. Today was a mental clusterfuck. It would be nice to have a few good guys to train with–or even one–but it is what it is for now.
Random parting thoughts on Smolov:
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First and foremost, I am glad I did it. I feel a pretty good sense of accomplishment that I completed a challenging program.
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The base phase gave me the most bang for the buck. In only 18 days of hell, I broke through a significant barrier and then some. From a raw numbers standpoint, the intense phase did not give me the same gains. Both phases made me mentally tougher, however.
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The intense phase still has value. It changed the way I look at 405, which was my previous nemesis. I think of 405 now the way I thought of 315 a few months back–heavy, but not totally intimidating.
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Recovery is very important, but there are different ways to get there. 5-3-1 looks for slow, steady progress and close to full recovery from day to day and week to week. Smolov pushes you to the breaking point and delays the recovery period to the end. Its like hitting the nitrous oxide button–a big boost, but its also a big strain on the system and not sustainable. I think there is a time and place for both methods.
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There can be value in working through sets when you feel like shit.
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I feel old and achy and like shit even though my strength increased. This is one cost of the program.
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I am hoping that the time I spent not pulling and not working hamstrings and lower back will not be too much of a set back for deadlifts. I am also looking forward to doing some front squats and zerchers. Squats to the exclusion of all other lower exercises is another cost of the program.
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I learned alot about myself and lifting, but I still have a lot to learn about myself and lifting.
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Smolov made my legs and ass a lot bigger–along with my gut. Ramping the weight isn’t the only way to gain mass. But I also should have been a bit more careful with my food intake.
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You don’t need to go to failure on any one set to make gains. Also, you can get plenty beat up just by increasing the volume and the frequency.
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Even if you are an old fucker, you never know until you try.
Nice thoughts. Great lifting all around, not just squats.
Wrt spotters (and I apologize if it seems like I’m giving 20-20 hindsight advice, 'cause I hate that myself), have you tried asking for two guys, since there seemed to be a few trainers just hanging out? one on each side instead of behind -I think most guys don’t like the spotting from behind position for squats, because they have the fear of “going down with the ship”, which is what it looked like your “spotter” was trying to avoid doing in your video. Then, be sure to tell them that you are fully capable of squatting X (405 in this case) on your own, so all the two schmoes have to do is stabilize and lift y lbs each (25 in this case) tops. Just my .02.
Nice synopsis Jack. It looked like you had 455 out of the hole. I agree with Pete you had that one with a better spotter.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
- Even if you are an old fucker, you never know until you try. [/quote]
Oh yeah! Not. dead. yet.
Today is my MP day and I’ve been farting around avoiding it. But after seeing that 205 go up, I can put my 60# prescription for today on the bar and hop to it.
Ugh. Re-licensing. Better you than me, and reason #135 why I am never moving.
Nice work, jack. 445 looked strong. I agree with Pete and Wilson, spotter sucked…and that can screw with your head. You have bad luck when it comes to that.
Great job and synposis. Keep it up!
Uh…Jack? Jaaaaack? Anyone seen Jack?