[quote]novaeer wrote:
Just a guess, but that looks an awful lot like the output from the training log application on Mike T’s site. Perhaps the greatest invention of all time. No more need for spreadsheets or notebooks.[/quote]
You guessed correct, sir. It is one of the most useful tools I have ever seen. I like the spreadsheet that accompanied the manual, but the website is all inclusive. I will track both, but the website will be the main area of input.
I actually found some mistakes in several of the formulas in the spreadsheets. I used the Excel sheets for a while, but got lazy with it and waited until he got the training log app on his new website finished. Since I subscribe to his custom training program, I have to post my training log there and use the bLog feature. Yep, I’m in the blogosphere.
Novaeer- Yeah, I found some glitches in the spreadsheet too. Luckily, I work a lot with Excel, so I fixed them pretty quick. I haven’t made it to the cool guys group, yet. So no blog for me. I love the ability to have such quick and clean access to my past workouts.
Tonight was a good night. My arm pain was minimal, my lower back wasn’t too tight, and I really felt ready to work. When I look at the sheer volume of work compared to the same workout last week, I am amazed. Another thing I noticed was my explosiveness towards the top on pause bench work and the overall speed of the close grip bench. The overhead presses were going up like cake early and I think I may be able to hit the 90’s for 8 in the next cycle. It’s tricky, cause doing them single arm stresses the crap out of your core (as intended), so we will have to see. Oh, and bent over rows were smooth, but on the last two sets I did “dry hump” the bar up on the last rep.
A pretty drastic increase in volume and tonnage compared to last week, and pleasantly so. Let’s hope box squats feel better than they did last week…
Week 2 Day 8
Bench w/3ct
250 5x1 @8 67% 1250
275 5x1 @8 73% 1375
300 5x1 @10 80% 1500
280 5x1 @8.5 75% 1400
280 5x1 @9 75% 1400
280 5x1 @9 75% 1400
CG Bench w/Bands (sm)
185 4x1 @7 59% 740
210 4x1 @8 67% 840
230 4x1 @8.5 74% 920
250 4x1 @9 80% 1000
200 4x1 @8 64% 800
225 4x1 @9 72% 900
SA DB Press
50 8x1 @7 49% 400
60 8x1 @8 58% 480
65 8x1 @8.5 63% 520
70 8x1 @9 68% 560
65 8x1 @10 63% 520
Bent-Over Rows
205 8x1 @8 62% 1640
225 8x1 @9 68% 1800
225 8x1 @9 68% 1800
225 8x1 @10 68% 1800
205 8x1 @10 62% 1640
I was feeling pretty good until I started stretching. My lower back started getting really tight with the more stretching that i did, so I cut the stretching short. While doing dead’s, my back started loosening up. Double-looped was a good choice for tonight, I just wish it were easier to get up. Once I topped out, my intention was to drop about 18kg, but I didn’t remove the weight. So I thought that I lost it, cause 142kg/315lbs felt insanely heavy. I saw my error and dropped weight, but I was toasted and barely held on to the bar on the third rep.
Low bow felt a lot better tonight, but I was still not feeling great in the hip area. I am just going to ramp up with the weight moderately. RDL’s were nothing special. Crunches, on the other hand, I was holding the weight behind my head and that made it BROOTAL. I will be sore as crap tomorrow.
Deadlift w/bands(sm, double looped)
315 x3 x1 @8 80% 945
335 x3 x1 @9.5 85% 1005
355 x3 x1 @10 90% 1065
355 x3 x1 @10 90% 1065
315 x3 x1 @10 80% 945
Low Box Squats
225 x3 x1 @8 61% 675
275 x3 x1 @8.5 74% 825
295 x3 x1 @9 80% 885
315 x3 x1 @9 85% 945
275 x3 x1 @8.5 74% 825
RDL
225 x8 x1 @8 56% 1800
275 x8 x1 @9 68% 2200
275 x8 x1 @8.5 68% 2200
275 x8 x1 @9 68% 2200
Weighted incline Situps
25 x10 x1 @7 44% 250
35 x10 x1 @8 62% 350
35 x10 x1 @8 62% 350
35 x20 x1 @8 62% 700
Total NL 50 58% 1650
Man, upper body work is starting to really flow. I think one reason is that it has been a LONG time since upper body has had it’s own day. I have been squatting before I benched for around a year now. My only fear is that my bench will sky-rocket and my squat and dead will stagnate. Blah blah blah. Gotta shower and eat.
Bench /w Bands (sm, single loop)
225 4x1 @8 63% 900
245 4x1 @8 69% 980
265 4x1 @9 74% 1060
285 4x1 @9 80% 1140
265 4x1 @9 74% 1060
245 4x1 @8 69% 980
Floor Press
225 4x1 @7 65% 900
245 4x1 @8 71% 980
275 4x1 @9 79% 1100
295 4x1 @10 85% 1180
265 4x1 @9 76% 1060
245 4x1 @8 71% 980
JM Press
95 8x1 @8 62% 760
95 8x1 @8 62% 760
105 8x1 @9 68% 840
105 8x1 @8 68% 840
105 8x1 @9 68% 840
Pulldowns
120 8x1 @8 57% 960
130 8x1 @9 62% 1040
140 8x1 @9 66% 1120
150 8x1 @10 71% 1200
130 8x1 @8 62% 1040
Don’t forget to drink your Badger Milk!! Couldn’t help it, The Animal w/ Rob Schneider was on.
Good work on bench. Feel like you’re getting acclimated to everything thus far? Do you think you’ll do full 6-week macrocycles like in the manual? Just keep an eye on the stress levels. You don’t want to run in the high-stress zone too much, but those first several weeks really are a trial and error process that show you how to balance the intensity, volume and RPEs.
Dude, that milk was NASTY. It reminded my of when I worked a few weeks at Coleman Dairy. My summer jobs were a bitch cause everyone always called me “college”.
Anyway, I am feeling pretty good. My lower back stays pretty tight, but not so much that I have felt the need to belt up yet. And my hammies are definitely working hard. I attribute that to both the workout and the bands. I think I will keep the 6 week cycles for my next meet’s prep. The only thing I am trying to figure out is the exercises for squat. Working the upper and lower part of the main lifts really helps put more emphasis on the full movement, and I know it will help my bench and dead. I am just trying to figure if I will just switch to full squats, or what for the next two cycles. And if I do that, what will I use as the other movement for the week. Maybe switch up my stance or bar location, I don’t know yet.
As far as stress, I was surprised to see that this week was less stressful than last week. It will probably take me a little while to hit it right on the button. But right now, I am just focusing on increasing my numbers from week to week on my 16 lifts. (While writing this, I am starting to lean towards full squats and pause squats for the two squat movements.)
If you have access to a safety squat bar (or even a manta ray), those are great variations to throw in as supplementals. I used olympic squats for a 6-week run and they were very valuable in building up the bottom of the squat, but pause squats have been by far the most productive of all because I have a bad tendency to look down. With the pause squats, if you look down you are toast. If you need any ideas, feel free to take a look at my log, er…my training log.
Also, don’t feel like you have to stick with the secondary and supplemental lifts for the full 6-wek period. You can always wave them in and out after 3 weeks, which is what Mike generally has on my overall training plan.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
If you have access to a safety squat bar (or even a manta ray), those are great variations to throw in as supplementals. I used olympic squats for a 6-week run and they were very valuable in building up the bottom of the squat, but pause squats have been by far the most productive of all because I have a bad tendency to look down. With the pause squats, if you look down you are toast. If you need any ideas, feel free to take a look at my log, er…my training log.
Also, don’t feel like you have to stick with the secondary and supplemental lifts for the full 6-wek period. You can always wave them in and out after 3 weeks, which is what Mike generally has on my overall training plan.[/quote]
I think pause squats will be the most effective for now. Maybe do Good-Morning squats. That’s one powerful movement that gets my blood flowing, but I haven’t done them in a while.
I am considering a 4-5-6 rep range for the volume cycle, then 3-2-1 for the intense cycle. Thanks for the advice, man, it’s really appreciated. And I ain’t looking at your log. I don’t swing like that…not that there’s anything wrong with that. LOL
Tonight, I went higher on RPE’s than I intended and after squats and dead’s I was ready to call it a night after that. My legs were so numb, I had to go lower in weight on the lunges. It didn’t hurt that my legs were still “lively” from the workout Wednesday. I am aiming to improve on the numbers from the week prior on the main lifts and luckily my numbers are low enough for me to achieve that goal so far. Let’s see how long that lasts.
I thought about bringing the belt in tonight, just in case. After I got thru it all, I didn’t need it. What was that phrase Dave Tate hates? Oh, yeah. It’s all good. Know what I sayin’.
Squat w/bands (sm)
315 4x1 @8.5 67% 1260
340 4x1 @8.5 73% 1360
375 4x1 @9 80% 1500
340 4x1 @10 73% 1360
300 4x1 @8 64% 1200
Deadlift w/bands(sm, single looped)
315 5x1 @8.5 70% 1575
335 5x1 @9 74% 1675
360 5x1 @10 80% 1800
315 5x1 @8 70% 1575
Lunges
90 5x1 @11 72% 450
45 8x1 @8 36% 360
65 8x1 @8 52% 520
85 8x1 @9 68% 680
Crunches
100 10x1 @8 59% 1000
110 10x1 @8.5 65% 1100
120 8x1 @10 71% 960
100 10x1 @8 59% 1000
I wanted to reign it in a little and try to stay in the 8-9 RPE range on my bench work tonight. And, I did just that. Bench was solid, even though I had a pain in my wrist. Close-grip bench was smooth, even though I had to have help unracking the weight. The big thing was dumbbell press. I wanted to hit 8reps with the 80lb’ers. I hit 8 with the right pretty easy. When I got to 7 on the left, I was pretty spent. I had to take a few breaths and 4 attempts to actually get that 8th rep. Hopefully, next week it will be easier. Rows were just hard.
Bench w/3ct
245 3x1 @7 61% 735
265 3x1 @8 66% 795
285 3x1 @8 71% 855
315 3x1 @8 79% 945
340 3x1 @9 85% 1020
265 3x1 @8 66% 795
CG Bench w/Bands (sm)
225 3x1 @8 71% 675
245 3x1 @8 77% 735
270 3x1 @9 85% 810
235 3x1 @9 74% 705
225 3x1 @8.5 71% 675
SA DB Press
50 8x1 @8 44% 400
60 8x1 @8 53% 480
70 8x1 @8 62% 560
80 8x1 @10 71% 640
60 8x1 @9 53% 480
Bent-Over Rows
205 6x1 @10 77% 1230
205 6x1 @10 77% 1230
205 6x1 @10 77% 1230
205 6x1 @9 77% 1230
340 for a triple @ 9 and a 3-count pause is pretty damn good. Nice work.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
340 for a triple @ 9 and a 3-count pause is pretty damn good. Nice work.[/quote]
That one kind of snuck up on me. I was doing to do 330 and with the math in my head, it would give me a 1rm estimate lower than last week, unless it was a 8(i am really not good with math in my head). So, I bumped it to 340 and it was heavy, but I kept form and kept it smooth. It was a good day.
[quote]undesired08 wrote:
That one kind of snuck up on me. I was doing to do 330 and with the math in my head, it would give me a 1rm estimate lower than last week, unless it was a 8(i am really not good with math in my head). So, I bumped it to 340 and it was heavy, but I kept form and kept it smooth. It was a good day. [/quote]
Since I train in my garage, I bring the laptop with me and use the calculator just to make sure I’m on track. I am good at math, but I’d rather not have to think about it while in the middle of a tough training session. For me, the estimated 1RMs with 2 or 3 reps tend to be pretty accurate, while those using four reps tend to be on the high side. Not always, but most of the time.
OK, the wall has been hit. Brian told me to watch the 9’s and 10’s. I watched them come and go with too much frequency and tonight after dead’s I was DONE. So, I am updating this real quick then going to bed. Since I weighed in at 277 this morning, I’m not too worried about missing a meal(who am I kidding, my ass is gonna eat). I have learned my lesson for the next volume cycle.
Dead’s (sm, double looped)
1x5 134kg/295lbs
1x5 143kg/315lbs
1x5 152kg/335lbs
1x5 138kg/305lbs
[quote]undesired08 wrote:
OK, the wall has been hit. Brian told me to watch the 9’s and 10’s. I watched them come and go with too much frequency and tonight after dead’s I was DONE. So, I am updating this real quick then going to bed. Since I weighed in at 277 this morning, I’m not too worried about missing a meal(who am I kidding, my ass is gonna eat). I have learned my lesson for the next volume cycle.
Dead’s (sm, double looped)
1x5 134kg/295lbs
1x5 143kg/315lbs
1x5 152kg/335lbs
1x5 138kg/305lbs
[/quote]
Live and learn, man. Live and learn. I did the same thing early on and I think just about everybody else using RTS has as well. There’s always a feeling-out process for training like this. The key is to just stick with it and ratchet down the RPEs. Even staying in the 7-8 range during the first week of your next volume block might serve you well.
You’ll find that the intensity blocks will be a welcome change due to the lowered volume. I found I was much less tuckered out after these sessions and felt like I could do even more (but knew better than to try that).
[quote]novaeer wrote:
[quote]undesired08 wrote:
[/quote]
Live and learn, man. Live and learn. I did the same thing early on and I think just about everybody else using RTS has as well. There’s always a feeling-out process for training like this. The key is to just stick with it and ratchet down the RPEs. Even staying in the 7-8 range during the first week of your next volume block might serve you well.
You’ll find that the intensity blocks will be a welcome change due to the lowered volume. I found I was much less tuckered out after these sessions and felt like I could do even more (but knew better than to try that).[/quote]
All the signs were there, but I was ignoring them because I “have been thru tougher programs”.
I think the only big issue that is going to come is my sleep habits. I usually only get 5hours or so a night. Now that I’m doing RTS, I feel like I need more (a LOT more). But, that’s what the first cycle is for, to get to know the system.
I am looking forward to the intensity block, so that I can close off the year with a BANG. And, I really want to get a feel for it so that I can nail my peaking for once leading into my next meet.
[quote]undesired08 wrote:
All the signs were there, but I was ignoring them because I “have been thru tougher programs”.
I think the only big issue that is going to come is my sleep habits. I usually only get 5hours or so a night. Now that I’m doing RTS, I feel like I need more (a LOT more). But, that’s what the first cycle is for, to get to know the system.
I am looking forward to the intensity block, so that I can close off the year with a BANG. And, I really want to get a feel for it so that I can nail my peaking for once leading into my next meet.[/quote]
Smolov and the Russian peaking program are definitely killers since you’re doing the big lifts at such a high volume/intensity/frequency. However, when you add in the additional lift variations and assistance work, you can see why RTS can be sneaky tough. Sleep is important (duh!), and I’ve been getting a little more of it lately, but I still get no more than 6 hours most nights. Weekends I might catch some extra zzzz’s, though not much more.
Don’t fret things. You’ll get 'er done.
I pulled the work back a little and everything went well. Nothing special.
Bench /w Bands (sm, single loop)
245 3x1 @7 71% 735
265 3x1 @8 76% 795
285 3x1 @9 82% 855
295 3x1 @9 85% 885
245 3x1 @8 42% 435
Floor Press
245 3x1 @7 68% 735
265 3x1 @8 74% 795
285 3x1 @8 79% 855
305 3x1 @9 85% 915
JM Press
85 7x1 @8 39% 595
105 11x1 @8 48% 1155
125 8x1 @8 57% 1000
135 10x1 @8 62% 1350
Pulldowns(V-Grip)
100 8x1 @8 55% 800
120 8x1 @8 66% 960
120 8x1 @8 66% 960
120 8x1 @8 66% 960
Good looking bench reps. The @9 looked like it could have been an @8+.