Lo/Rez Training

Training Training Logs
921

Axle Zerchers from Mats (8:30)
110 x 3
160 x 5

Axle Mat Pull Dead-Stop (10:30)
200 x 3
160 x 10
160 x 7
160 x 5
110 x 10

The zerchers were about as unpleasant as I expected them to be. Maybe should have done more, but my arms weren’t really having it; they’ll adapt. Did these from mats just to save myself from changing stuff around.

The axle pulls did their job at taxing my grip and forearms.

I plugged in some workouts into adaptifier. I’m curious to track them using those metrics.

7 mat axle zercher DS - volume: 1120, density: 132 (pounds per minute)
7 mat axle pull Ds - volume: 5250, density: 500
Total - volume: 6370, density: 335

The idea is to progress every workout, whether average intensity, volume (which is actually load, but whatever), or density.

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Ecchastang’s writeup on his bench training: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_beginner/roadblock_at_165_bench_press?id=6097973&pageNo=1#6102446

922

I love that you are not letting your situation dictate your ability to train. Great job lifting and not making excuses. A lot of people could learn from your outlook here.

923

@Alpha: Thanks, that means a lot.

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7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chain (26:00)
135 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 5
245 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5 (8 sets at 225)

Did some bird dogs in the beginning. Did some 16kg KB swings around set 3 of the 225s. The last few sets were easier than the earlier ones, but that could be caffeine kicking in, or it could be activation.

This was basically Pavel’s Russian Bear routine from Power to the People. May do this monday/friday and axle/grip work wednesday. I wasn’t really sure how to program a “heavy” day right now, so I was looking at PttP, and 2 work sets didn’t seem like enough, so did this.

275 as my top set was still light, but it’s been awhile since I’ve done anything heavier. It’s a good starting point for this training cycle.

–

adaptifier says: volume: 14620, density 562, 500% improvement (wtf?)

But this is also the first time I had an accurate time measurement for the workout, so density is accurate on this one.

–

Pavel’s Russian Bear is basically… top set of 5 reps, then 90% for 5, then 5-20 sets at 80% with 30-90s rests. Just do as many good sets of 5 at 80%. Then periodize however as far as weight increases.

924

I agree with Alpha’s sentiment. Sorry i’ve not checked in within your thread in a while, I have been lurking though!

I was in a similar situation as you training space wise when I first bought equipment and my garage was jammed full of shit.

I trained 3 days of weeks, each day was deads and clean & presses.

925

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Sorry i’ve not checked in within your thread in a while, I have been lurking though![/quote]
Speaking of which, what happened to your training? Just stop logging for awhile or what?

926

Are the numbers that you posted excluding the chain weight?

927

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Are the numbers that you posted excluding the chain weight?[/quote]
Yeah. Just the bar + plates. Easier to track that way.

So, 275 is really right around 310 at top.

928

Warmed up with pendulum swings with a 5lb plate. Basically letting the arm dead hang and then just swinging it a bit; traction through a range of motion.

Barbell Z Presses (34:00)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5 (wrists were bent and hurt through the rest of the session)
90 x 5
3 mins rest
80 x 5
3 mins rest
75 x 11 x 5 (I’m not sure about this notation anymore; I liked it before but now that I’m mixing stuff up, I don’t know… but that’s 75 lbs for 11 sets of 5)

adaptifier volume: 6290, density: 185, improvement: 346%

Wrist pain was noted above. Could have used wraps but didn’t. Was working more on hand positioning than anything. All thumbless.

This is also the Russian Bear routine. The original one had deadlifts and side presses 3-4x a week.

Shoulders aren’t feeling quite as good these days, but actually the combination of zerchers + driving my girlfriends car seemed to be what agitated them. May not be related to pressing at all, however, I did feel impingement here and there, both shoulders. Not planning on doing anything about it unless it actually gets worse.

Also, I’m not as dead from the mat pull volume yesterday as I expected I would be. Plenty sore-ish, but not too bad. Seems to be an effective appetite stimulant though.

EDIT: the volume sets were with 1 minute rests. Kind of important note.

929

I slept horribly. Maybe 4 hours of sleep. Woke up choking/suffocating on nasal drainage twice; like it literally blocked my windpipe and I couldn’t breathe, then hyperventilated for a bit when I could. This, combined with my existing sore throat. Not sure if it was something I ate or what, but anyway.

Shoulders are fine. Wrists are fine. No elbow pain (yet). Somewhat sore but manageable.

7 Mat Axle Pulls (18:00)
110 x 10
160 x 5
200 x 1, 1, 1, 1
165 x 3, 2, 1
115 x 10, 10, 10

Grip was really failing today. Except for the sets at 115, everything else was basically to failure. The other mat pulls are with straps, so I dunno; they shouldn’t have affected this much at all.

adaptifier says this wasn’t an improvement, which sounds about right. volume: 7150, density 397

–

I’ve been reading more and more about the russian bear routine variant I’m doing. The template in the book is so barebones without details fleshed in that I’m just searching to see how other people ran it. Some people cycle the weight linearly or stepwise, some do a wave style progression, some keep the weight the same and just add volume. Pavel didn’t seem to weigh in on any of these forum threads.

What he did suggest was running the bear for 6 weeks, then go back to the standard power to the people routine for 4 weeks, and repeat.

PttP routine:
Set 1: 5 reps, 3-5m rest
Set 2: 90% of Set 1 for 5 reps

PttP + Bear:
Set 3-28: 80% of Set 1 for 5 reps with 30-90s rests. Repeat until 5 reps can’t be completed with good form.

Tomorrow I’ll revisit the Z Presses and decide how I want to progress that.

930

Some thoughts:

  • There’s a noticeable difference in the look of someone who deadlifts 5 reps of 250, vs 350, vs 450, vs 550. Obviously that’s not the only lift any of them do. However, I think it’s pretty fair to say that doing what it takes to add another 100 lbs to your deadlift 5RM will make a noticeable difference in your physique.

  • TnG mat pulls with chains are a very different thing than deadlifts; they seem to hit the whole body better than deadlifts and the constant tension seems to be great for size. I’m glad I listened to T3hPwnisher’s advice and gave them a chance. After just a week of focusing on adding volume and getting food, I both look and feel much better.

  • My knees are feeling better than ever doing these mat pulls, especially as compared to any period of time I was squatting. High bar squats in olympic shoes were bad for my left knee; barefoot was better. I’m now thinking about a more hip-dominant low-bar style when I get back to doing them again based on how things are feeling these days.

  • I skipped zerchers yesterday since my shoulders were irritated the day after I did those and axle pulls last week. My hypothesis was that the zerchers were the problem. However, my shoulders (esp left) hurt last night, and all I did was axle pulls. Maybe the problem was the axle pulls, not the zerchers? And why would that hurt my shoulders more than presses? And why don’t barbell pulls do that? I’ll be monitoring this.

931

Pendulum swings with each arm for warmup. 10lb plate, 10 forward/back, 10 side/side, 10 circles one way, 10 circles the other.

Z Presses (54:00)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5 - just a touch of wrist soreness - PR
3m rest
85 x 5
3m rest
80 x 5 x 19 sets, 1m rests

Wasn’t expecting so much volume, but went until the next set would be questionable. Started getting hard to lock out the last rep of the last couple sets.

adaptifier load: 10395, density: 193, improvement: 500%

I really don’t understand where it comes up with this PR/Improvement number. Oh well.

932

I wish I could do mat pulls.

But the gym I go to doesn’t have any good mats.

933

[quote]magick wrote:
I wish I could do mat pulls.

But the gym I go to doesn’t have any good mats.[/quote]
These are the mats I use: http://www.menards.com/main/p-2238625-c-5785.htm They’re durable enough to handle the abuse of TnG sets.

They can be cut down in half and thrown in a gym bag, if you’re inclined to give that a try. I know T3hPwnisher did it like that for awhile when he was on the road.

934

Others have said it but it’s awesome you’re making the best of a situation. Keep it up dude.

935

Thanks.

–

So, I was at a presentation last night with my girlfriend by a drug rep from a company that makes vaccines for children’s immunizations. The presenter was discussing pertussis/whooping cough in depth, how it works, the stages of the disease, etc.

I’m pretty sure I have it. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what I have.

Unfortunately, past the first stage which is contagious and is where antibiotics come in, there’s pretty much nothing you can do. It can last 8 weeks or more, coughing sporadically, very hard, sometimes with emesis (vomiting), sometimes with the “whooping” sound of trying to catch your breath, which can actually lead to passing out due to insufficient oxygen. Yay.

So I had to excuse myself from the presentation on whooping cough to go to the bathroom so I could cough…

Didn’t sleep much last night, since I was up coughing.

–

Shoulders somewhat hurt too. Could actually be the presses this time.

As far as soreness, I’m only sore in two places: my subscapularis, and my serratus. The sore subscap is a weird feeling, but the good news is that it means they were working and not inhibited. Inhibited subscaps are one of the things that can contribute to anterior humeral glide and shoulder impingement.

It’s possible that the z-presses and mat pulls will adjust the musculature enough to eliminate the impingement.

Even so, I think I’ve done some permanent damage (last year), and if I actually want things to be fixed, I’m going to have to go under the knife. I’m in no rush to do that now though. Based on what I know, the surgery will be the same regardless of if it’s a partial tear or full tear, so I might as well wait until I absolutely need to do it. And/or until things with work settle down.

936

24kg kettlebell swings to warmup, focusing on glute activation.

7 Mat Pulls with 35lb Chains, TnG (43:00)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
285 x 5
255 x 5
230 x 5 x 10 sets, 1m rests

All with straps.

Messed around with my stance a bit. I’d tried feet together in the past, but I now brought them out just a bit with my feet pointed a bit outward. This, and focusing on pushing away from the ground, seemed to do a better job of shifting the weight from my low back to my glutes.

Low back was sore though; doesn’t feel like it’s actually compromised, but enough to realize I need to tweak my form some.

I could have done more sets, but my lungs were failing on me. Feels like the exercise-induced asthma stuff in the past. Granted I was coughing too. I should probably use my inhaler before doing these next time.

adaptifier: load: 17600, density: 409, improvement: 0%

Load was up, intensity was up, density was down. Probably because I was trying to reassemble my bike between warmup sets.

–

I think I’m going to just stick with a basic linear progression for both lifts. 5lbs a session for each, until I can’t get 3 reps for the top set.

This is a similar concept as Greyskull… linear progression of the primary lift, then AMRAP volume work, then deload when the intensity gets too high to complete reps. Greyskull does it via 5+ on the top set (“100% 5RM”), whereas this does it adding sets instead of reps, and at 80%. Not quite the same, but similar.

937

Decent weekend, and finally got some sleep. Also finally got adapters so I can run my wok burner with fire-code-friendly 1lb propane tanks. Throat still hurts (after 4 weeks? at least 3) and lots of coughing at night, but I feel rested.

7 Mat Pulls with 35lb Chains (37:00)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5 (added another set between 225 and work weight today, I think this was a good choice)
290 x 5 (just a 5lb increase, not 10)
3m rest
260 x 5
3m rest
235 x 5 x 10 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier: load: 19125@225; density: 517; improvement: 500% (where does it come up with this???)

Low back hurt a lot after the last session (not this one). It was feeling better the next day at least.

Modified my stance back to where it was with my feet a couple inches apart. Lots of focus on using my glutes to lock this out, and I think the slightly narrower stance helps.

Work weights felt light. As my glutes started to get activated (for lack of a better word; I mean, “as my ass started to get turned on” didn’t sound quite right), the bar started flying up.

Otherwise, it was kind of a boring workout. I have Pandora playing in my car, and I set a timer to go off a minute after I finish each volume set. I think it started being boring because the weights started feeling light. What a horrible problem.

I’m tempted to add another 10 lbs next session instead of 5.

938

Still sick. Girlfriend is sick too now.

She managed to fall and scrape herself up running today, so I had to patch her up. That took awhile; she did a lot of damage. And once I was done, she still drove to the gym and squatted and deadlifted.

–

Pendulum stretches with 10lb plate, both arms, to warm up. Shoulders not feeling great today.

Z Presses (30:00)
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 5 - PR
90 x 5
80 x 5 x 5 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier load: 4500; density: 150; improvement: 166% (density was down, load was down, average intensity was down, but this was considered an improvement?)

Got the PR. I feel like I’m approaching the end of this cycle since that was fairly hard. Not sure a 5 lb jump on Thursday is doable.

Still no idea how this translates to a standing overhead press. I’ll test that eventually.

I cut back on volume today, just the minimum 5 sets.

–

I was doing a bit of reading on the Myo Reps templates, and Blades’ research and studies. It’s interesting because over time he gravitated toward a heavy set to activate fibers, then drop the weight and do volume with his rest-pause style myo reps. He also mentioned that the studies have shown that heavy/light is a better formula for hypertrophy than heavy OR light. It also didn’t seem to matter if that was in the same session or if it was just in the same week.

Which is interesting since it’s kinda what I’m doing now, just with longer rests.

I’m pretty pleased with how things are coming so far though.

939

Shoulders feel great last night and this morning. I haven’t figured out any pattern yet.

7 Mat Double-Overhand Axle Pulls (24:00)
110 x 10
160 x 5
200 x 1 x 6 sets
165 x 4 x 3 sets
120 x 10 x 3 sets

adaptifier: load: 8370@135; density: 349; improvement: 11%

Touch-n-go on the multi-rep sets actually makes these harder, since the bar’s bouncing around.

Grip was feeling stronger today than it did last week. Made some improvement. I think I’m going to work up to doubles with 200 before bumping that up.

940

Pendulum stretches with 10lb plate.

Z Presses (46:00)
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 1
105 x 5 - PR
95 x 5
85 x 5 x 13 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier: load: 8181@81; density: 178; improvement: I 5.2% (whatever that means)

Shoulders feeling a bit weird after the session. My left shoulder kind of hurts on the back side, and everything feels a bit numb and lightheaded. Could be a reaction to not enough food today or caffeine or something, and not the lifting. Overall feeling weird right now. I will say that it still feels like I’m tight around my left serratus anterior toward the top of the press, and that should probably be worked on. I have no idea where my PVC-yoga-mat foam roller is right now.

But that was a PR. I didn’t actually think I’d be able to do that given how hard last session was at 100.

So, I liked limiting to 5x5 on Tuesday, but I pushed further today since I’ll have 4 recovery days until next session. If I still improve next session, I think I’ll retain this pattern.

Form-wise, I realized as I fatigue how much of a difference it makes to keep the bar a little closer to the centerline of the body. When I’m fresher, I can let it get out in front a bit, but that doesn’t fly later on.

Also, just did some poking around logs… and it looks like people’s 5RM Z press is anywhere from 50-75% a 1RM standing press. If that actually holds, that puts my standing press anywhere from 140 to 210.

–

Training cycle wise: someone summarized Pavel’s work, and one bullet point said 8-16 sessions is a good training cycle length.

8 sessions at 5 lbs a session means resetting by at least 35 lbs. I’m thinking that a step-wise progression might be better for the z-press since I can’t get my micro-plates on this bar. Something like 5 lbs a week rather than 5 lbs a session. That would mean resetting by 20 lbs.

OR… I could take a wave-like approach and do something like 4 or 5 forward, 3 back, repeating until I hit a “max” where I can’t get 5 reps with the top set. Then reset.

Still undecided, but since I’m still moving forward, I don’t have to make this decision until next week or the following one.