Lo/Rez Training

Training Training Logs
961

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
(38:00)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
add straps
315 x 5
285 x 5
255 x 5 x 6 sets; 4 reps on a 7th set.

adaptifier load: 15745@235; density: 414; improvement: 0%

Not a great session. I mean, still an improvement (up 5 lbs), but felt bad. I had trouble getting my glutes to actually do anything so my back was just rounding horribly as I worked up to the top set.

My glutes were then cramping/failing/hurting at the end of each of my volume sets. This is very similar to what I ran into when I did that high-frequency, high-volume, high-intensity squatting routine, but in my quads. Possibly low in certain minerals… potassium helped before, but I could be low in Mg too this time. Maybe other stuff too.

I stopped by a supplement shop on the way home, but didn’t pick anything up mineral-wise.

I started supplementing with iodine a couple days ago, trying to see if that helps with some other health issues. I don’t eat much for iodized food. When infinite_shore mentioned something about iodine the other day, I dug into it more, and I think I could be at a subclinical deficiency… so experimenting to see if that’s the case.

All of the decent mineral supplements (i.e., chelated glycinate versions of the key minerals) included iodine. I didn’t want to mess with overdosing that for now until I’m sure I can handle the current dosage. I’ll just add some K and Mg and see if that helps.

962

Also, I finally made good progress rearranging my storage unit this weekend. I’m just an hour or two away from being able to reassemble my rack.

Strangely, other than having a way to do pullups, I don’t really see much need to reassemble it.

I’ve gotten more out of my current style of training than I have from anything else I’ve ever done training-wise.

963

Missed yesterday’s session. Did it today.

Changing the template, at least for this week
M Mat Pulls → Mat Pulls
T Z Press → Nothing
W Grip Work → Z Press
R Z Press → Mat Pulls
F Mat Pulls → Z Press?

Barbell Z Press
(26:00, or so)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 3
110 x 4 PR (4.5 reps actually)
100 x 5
90 x 5 x 6 sets, 1m rests

Got another rep and a half at 110. Might have 5 reps on Friday. If I get that, I’ll bump up to 115. If not, I’ll drop down some amount. I’m thinking switching to a 5 steps forward, 3 steps back wave.

Added another volume set. There’s a definite sticking point that’s starting to show up.

adaptifier load: 5494@82; density: 211; improvement: 43% (this could be wrong since I did a bad job tracking the time)

–

I’m having some sleep issues and fatigue issues which may be brought on by the iodine and/or detox from the iodine. Too soon to tell. Nutrition info, and even more so, internet nutrition info, can be so full of BS it’s hard to even remotely make sense of anything.

Regardless, I think I took too much today – 4 drops of Atomidine – since I got a nice 2.5 hour nap mid workday that I didn’t want.

964

How are you determining whether or not you are deficient in various electrolytes? I’d urge caution with self medicating, especially with the potassium. Hyperkalaemia isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Thanks for the write up, that was really interesting.

All the best!

965

[quote]furo wrote:
How are you determining whether or not you are deficient in various electrolytes? I’d urge caution with self medicating, especially with the potassium. Hyperkalaemia isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Thanks for the write up, that was really interesting.

All the best![/quote]

Diet mainly.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium are all pretty well tied with muscular performance, and cramping associated especially with potassium and calcium.

I don’t eat many foods high in potassium, but get plenty of sodium through salt, and calcium through dairy, and a decent amount of magnesium through leafy greens. I used to take magnesium to improve sleep, but haven’t for awhile, so it could still be a bit on the lower side.

In this particular case, I’m basing it on experience. When I ran into those issues with squatting, basically muscle tightness that built up over the session, I’d considered the possibility of potassium. I was supplementing with a fair amount of magnesium already (epsom salt baths and magnesium oxide to help sleep). So, I added a bit of potassium and it helped.

Honestly, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t mention the iodine. The iodine scares me a bit; I’m being very careful with it, but even so. Just a single drop of that seems to have an actual effect on me.

966

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:
How are you determining whether or not you are deficient in various electrolytes? I’d urge caution with self medicating, especially with the potassium. Hyperkalaemia isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Thanks for the write up, that was really interesting.

All the best![/quote]

Diet mainly.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium are all pretty well tied with muscular performance, and cramping associated especially with potassium and calcium.

I don’t eat many foods high in potassium, but get plenty of sodium through salt, and calcium through dairy, and a decent amount of magnesium through leafy greens. I used to take magnesium to improve sleep, but haven’t for awhile, so it could still be a bit on the lower side.

In this particular case, I’m basing it on experience. When I ran into those issues with squatting, basically muscle tightness that built up over the session, I’d considered the possibility of potassium. I was supplementing with a fair amount of magnesium already (epsom salt baths and magnesium oxide to help sleep). So, I added a bit of potassium and it helped.

Honestly, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t mention the iodine. The iodine scares me a bit; I’m being very careful with it, but even so. Just a single drop of that seems to have an actual effect on me.[/quote]

You could always use iodized salt.

967

[quote]trivium wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:
How are you determining whether or not you are deficient in various electrolytes? I’d urge caution with self medicating, especially with the potassium. Hyperkalaemia isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Thanks for the write up, that was really interesting.

All the best![/quote]

Diet mainly.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium are all pretty well tied with muscular performance, and cramping associated especially with potassium and calcium.

I don’t eat many foods high in potassium, but get plenty of sodium through salt, and calcium through dairy, and a decent amount of magnesium through leafy greens. I used to take magnesium to improve sleep, but haven’t for awhile, so it could still be a bit on the lower side.

In this particular case, I’m basing it on experience. When I ran into those issues with squatting, basically muscle tightness that built up over the session, I’d considered the possibility of potassium. I was supplementing with a fair amount of magnesium already (epsom salt baths and magnesium oxide to help sleep). So, I added a bit of potassium and it helped.

Honestly, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t mention the iodine. The iodine scares me a bit; I’m being very careful with it, but even so. Just a single drop of that seems to have an actual effect on me.[/quote]

You could always use iodized salt.[/quote]

They also make potassium chloride “salt.” Maybe that is iodized as well?

I am not sure.

968

[quote]trivium wrote:

[quote]trivium wrote:
You could always use iodized salt.[/quote]

They also make potassium chloride “salt.” Maybe that is iodized as well?

I am not sure.[/quote]
Some are, some aren’t. I’ve been using sea salt for the past several years though, so I don’t really have a great source of iodine in my diet. Hence the guess at an insufficiency.

Also, from what I understand, the iodine levels in salt these days is lower than years past. The RDA for iodine is only high enough to reduce the amount of goiters in the population, but with more and more people using [non-iodized] sea salt, the fact that iodine is no longer used in treating most flours, and that people are afraid of salt in general, there’s a supposedly high level of subclinical deficiency in the US population.

Subclinical, as in, less than ideal, but not bad enough to warrant medical intervention. Like subclinical dehydration.

Too much or too little iodine can significantly affect thyroid functioning, so I’m playing it relatively safe.

The basic working theory is… restore my body’s iodine levels, then move to a maintenance level. Iodized salt will probably be enough to maintain that.

ref: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_iodine_deficiency_epidemic
and: Thyroid Basics Explained - Testosterone Replacement - Forums - T Nation

969

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
(35 minutes; timed it right this time)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
add straps
320 x 5
290 x 5
260 x 5 x 5 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier load: 13920@240; density: 398; improvement: 6%

Could have done more sets, but 5 was the min. Had to get home and showered to meet people for dinner.

Decent session. Still some stiffness on the volume sets, but better than last time. No low back pain, but the stiffness is in the hips; SI joint-ish. Was better at maintaining back position this time.

–

Long workdays right now. Pretty much from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to sleep. There’s a few hours of downtime in there, but it’s the peril of working from home + an actual deadline + extra work that showed up at the end of a project.

970

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Diet mainly.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium are all pretty well tied with muscular performance, and cramping associated especially with potassium and calcium.

I don’t eat many foods high in potassium, but get plenty of sodium through salt, and calcium through dairy, and a decent amount of magnesium through leafy greens. I used to take magnesium to improve sleep, but haven’t for awhile, so it could still be a bit on the lower side.

In this particular case, I’m basing it on experience. When I ran into those issues with squatting, basically muscle tightness that built up over the session, I’d considered the possibility of potassium. I was supplementing with a fair amount of magnesium already (epsom salt baths and magnesium oxide to help sleep). So, I added a bit of potassium and it helped.

Honestly, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t mention the iodine. The iodine scares me a bit; I’m being very careful with it, but even so. Just a single drop of that seems to have an actual effect on me.[/quote]

I didn’t realise you were supplementing with iodine. But even though the iodine might have a more tangible and immediate effect, I’d still have the most caution when dealing with potassium. I’m sure you’ll be fine with taking a standard dose of potassium supplements but definitely don’t ever mega-dose - high potassium levels can cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias.

971

[quote]furo wrote:
I didn’t realise you were supplementing with iodine. But even though the iodine might have a more tangible and immediate effect, I’d still have the most caution when dealing with potassium. I’m sure you’ll be fine with taking a standard dose of potassium supplements but definitely don’t ever mega-dose - high potassium levels can cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias.[/quote]
I just checked the bottle. Potassium Gluconate. I’ve never taken more than 200mg at a time, which is something like 6% RDA.

But thanks for the word of warning.

About the only thing I feel comfortable megadosing on is Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

972

Forgot my phone at home today. Timed using the clock in my car.

Barbell Z Press
(32:00)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 3
110 x 4
100 x 5
90 x 5 x 10 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier load: 7308@84; density: 228; improvement: 51%

My right elbow is hurting again, different place this time; inside. I may actually need to add in some curls to balance out the pressing.

I topped out at 110 x 4. I’m going to drop back to 100 and resume the 5lb a session progression. So 110 x 5 a week from Monday is the plan.

Not a bad session, despite the rain.

973

Week 1
Chain Mat Pull Load: 32,220
Z Press Load: 16,685
Axle (Grip) Mat Pull Load: 7,150
Total: 56,035

Week 2
Chain Mat Pull Load: 38,675 (+20%)
Z Press Load: 12,681 (-24%)
Axle (Grip) Mat Pull Load: 8,370 (+17%)
Total: 59,726 (+6.6%)

Week 3
Chain Mat Pull Load: 32,225 (-17%)
Z Press Load: 9,944 (-22%)
Axle (Grip) Mat Pull Load: 3,190 (-62%)
Total: 45,359 (-24%)

Week 4
Chain Mat Pull Load: 29,665 (-8%)
Z Press Load: 12,802 (+29%)
Total: 42,467 (-6.4%)

974

7 Mat Pulls w/35lb Chains
(40:00)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5
switch to hook grip
295 x 3
add straps
325 x 5 - PR
295 x 5
260 x 5 x 10 sets, 1m rest

adaptifier load: 20335@245; density: 508; improvement: 94%

I probably shouldn’t have done the 295 x 3 set. I should know better than hitting 90% of the top set during a warmup. Whoops.

325 seemed to be unbalanced. First rep one side felt heavy. Second rep the other side felt heavy. First time I’ve ever noticed this.

PRs both in maxes and volume.

–

Picked up some selenium to go with the iodine. They say they work better together.

I had some moments where my life stopped feeling like a dream or videogame, and actually felt “real”. Not right now, not today, but for some long-ish periods of time in the past couple days. Something’s happening positively from all of this.

975

Dropped the weight back. Trying the 5 forward, 3 back, wave thing.

Z Presses
(32m)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
80 x 2
100 x 5
90 x 5
80 x 5 x 15 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier load: 8239; density: 257; improvement: 6%

This felt too easy. The 15 sets were boring. I cut it off at 15, but had more in me.

100 today, 105 Friday, then hopefully 110 x 5 next Tuesday, and 115 x 3+ next Friday.

I was reading a novel between sets.

976

7 Mat Pulls w/35 lb Chains
(31m)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5

  • hook grip
    275 x 3
    295 x 1
  • straps
    330 x 5 PR
    300 x 5
    265 x 5 x 5 sets

adaptifier load: 14160; density: 457; improvement: 17%

This was a rough session. I felt like my body was going to pull itself apart. Monday was more volume than normal, so it’s likely I just hadn’t recovered from that yet. Kind of an interesting feeling, in retrospect. Reminds me of when I was doing those very very heavy partial squats.

Still making forward progress with these though. I’ll keep going, but I am looking forward to the drop in volume in a couple weeks.

–

I was still having some pain with my right elbow during the days and stuff from these lifts. After some research and experimentation, it turns out all I really needed to do was stretch my forearm… bend my hand back and just stretch it. Elbow is fine now.

–

Finished with 30 curls with my axle. Just the light bar weight. It weighs either 20 or 30 pounds; I can’t remember, and don’t really care. Just figured some bicep work would probably be a good addition given the amount of tricep work I’m getting with the pressing.

977

I felt awful after yesterday’s session. My body totally rejected that workout. Chipotle and sleep fixed that.

Z Presses
(36m)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
85 x 2
105 x 5
95 x 5
85 x 5 x 15 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier load: 8667@81; density: 241; improvement: 43%

Then 35 axle curls.

This was less boring. Actually rather enjoyed this. Finally got my 45s and 25s off the ground and on the plate stands so a bit more floor room.

"In the beginning my shoulders were not so strong, but I like to train shoulders because its the easiest training, just sitting and pressing bar.

I like it very much and my shoulders get so strong." - Zydrunas Savickas

–

Also, new favorite preworkout song, thanks to Pandora.

978

Week 1
Chain Mat Pull Load: 32,220
Z Press Load: 16,685
Axle (Grip) Mat Pull Load: 7,150
Total: 56,035

Week 2
Chain Mat Pull Load: 38,675 (+20%)
Z Press Load: 12,681 (-24%)
Axle (Grip) Mat Pull Load: 8,370 (+17%)
Total: 59,726 (+6.6%)

Week 3
Chain Mat Pull Load: 32,225 (-17%)
Z Press Load: 9,944 (-22%)
Axle (Grip) Mat Pull Load: 3,190 (-62%)
Total: 45,359 (-24%)

Week 4
Chain Mat Pull Load: 29,665 (-8%)
Z Press Load: 12,802 (+29%)
Total: 42,467 (-6.4%)

Week 5
Chain Mat Pull Load: 34,495 (+18%)
Z Press Load: 16,906 (+32%)
Total: 51,401 (+21%)

25 tons. Weight and volume PRs too. Not a bad week.

One more week of “bear” training, then a major drop in volume.

6 weeks of warmup + (100% x 5) + (90% x 5) + (80% x 5 x AMSAP w/ 1m rests)
4 weeks of warmup + (100% x 5) + (90% x 5)

I think my body is ready for the drop in volume. Need to let hormones recover and such. Libido’s been pretty low; intensity x volume will do that.

Pendlay did an interesting study on it once, comparing hormone levels with performance, and actually demonstrating the 2-factor theory in practice.

979

901×676 102 KB

Good food this weekend. Sichuan hot pot on Sunday with shrimp, fish and rice cake. Tonkatsu ramen on Saturday. I’m probably going to learn to make both of those.

Bought a 6.6 lb chuck roast this weekend too. Making goulash with part of it right now, and who knows what else.

7 Mat Pulls with 35 lb Chains
(34m)
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 5

  • hook grip
    275 x 3
    295 x 1
  • straps
    335 x 5 - Weight PR
    305 x 5
    270 x 5 x 5 sets, 1m rests - Volume PR

adaptifier load: 14455@245; density: 425; improvement: 0%

Felt much better than last time… didn’t feel like I was going to tear myself apart.

335x5 is something like 377x1. This lift seems to correlate well with my actual deadlift max, which would put me a hair over 2.5xBW. I’ll test that out this week or next.

Bodyweight is back up to just under 150 (149.6) from my low of 133ish when I was “cutting”. I’m glad I did that and got it out of my system, so I know what to do when I’m ready again. For now, just keep things on an upswing.

Medium term goal is a 3x BW deadlift. That’s 450 at 150, or more realistically, 525 at 175. I’m not going to put a timeframe on it, since it’s too much of a jump from where I am, but I’d speculate sometime late next year.

980

The goulash is now done, after about 10 hours on the stove.

Z Presses
(22m)
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 5
95 x 2
110 x 4
100 x 5
90 x 5 x 5 sets, 1m rests

adaptifier load: 4536@81; density: 206; improvement: 0%

I guess 110x5 wasn’t in the cards. 115 next time. Reset to my 10RM if I can’t get at least 3, and start a new training cycle. 10RM is 90.

Back is still a bit sore from yesterday.

–

I was watching a few videos with Derek Poundstone, Jouko Ahola, Brian Shaw and some other strongmen. Massive people.