I haven’t been able to train in the past two days because of school and for the first time I missed a squat session. It pisses me off cause my squat is going really well and I don’t want it to stop. I planned on doing that squat session today, but I decided to go for a heavy single on the low bar squat and the conventionnal deadlift instead since I will lift in a meet in a week. I don’t to perform at that meet because I haven’t been lifting heavy for a while. I only do it to qualify for the upcomming provincial championships.
Low bar squat:
I ramped up to a single at 425 lb (192.8 kg). I think it was the first time I lifted that weight with no belt nor knee sleeves. It felt quite heavy, so I think I’m gonna open with 400 lb (181.4 kg).
Conventionnal deadlift:
I ramped up to a single at 495 lb which is the heaviest I ever lifted on conventionnal deadlift. I’m pretty happy about it since I didn’t have a belt. I didn’t like a grinder. Maybe I had a little more in me.
In both of these lift I felt that my core is the limiting factor. Of course I didn’t have a belt, but still, I never did much core or abdominal training. For a couple weeks I’ve been saying that I should do more of that core work. Maybe, in a near future, I’ll actually do it…
Last week I haven’t been able to train like I should and this week is going to be the same. The reason is that I’m struggling my way through my midterms right now. Sometimes I’m lacking sleep and when I do I don’t train because it doesn’t matter how hard you train if you can’t recover properly. This situation is pretty unpleasant, but I’m glad because last week was the first time I missed a squat session since the beginning of this training cycle and it’s coming to its end.
I changed my mind (just a little bit)
What
In a week or two I’ll be doing my last set of 10 reps closing this part of the volume cycle. I originally planned on doing sets of 7 reps in that same high sets fashion after that but I changed my mind.
Why
I’m changing my mind because of two main reasons:
I consider I achieved the original goal of this volume cycle. I planned those sets of 10 reps to build workload capacity. In the course of 7-8 weeks I’ve come from squatting 295 lbs for 4 sets of 10 reps (almost dying doing it) to squatting 315 lbs for 10 sets of 10 reps without complaining in about the same time window (~35 minutes). Now I really feel that I should put this workload capacity to the use of multiple assistance movements. Plus, I think I gained a lot of mental toughness in the process.
I lost too much strength. I will participate to a meet next Saturday, so last week I did a few heavy lifts and I can tell I lost strength.
Given the fact that I accomplished what I wanted with this training volume, I don’t see the point of pursuing it if I’m loosing strength. So I’ll move on to something else.
When
I’ll probably finish this training program this week or next week. That will bring me to a 10x10 with 325 or 335 on the squat which is already more than I expected from this program. After that I’ll get into strength work.
How
Since I’ve been doing only sets of 10 reps for the past 7-8 weeks, I won’t jump into the heavy loads right away. I’l probably start with sets of 6-7 reps and do a linear progression over the weeks. Also I’ll take advantage of my workload capacity by adding a bunch of assistance movements and a little bit of conditioning. Finally, I’ll have speed training session both to help recovery and develop that explosiveness in my lifts.
Since I’ve had about 4h of sleep last night (silly midterms…) I planned on doing a light training with a bit of assistance work. I ended up doing a heavy training with no assistance movements. Life can be so unpredictable some times!
Low bar squat:
I worked up to a top set of 5 reps with 405 lb (183.7 kg) which is a 5 rep PR. I did it without a belt nor knee sleeves which is pretty nice.
Sumo deadlift:
I worked up to a top set of 3 reps with 495 lb (224.5 kg). I did it without a belt too.
Then my body reminded me that I needed to sleep and I called it a day.
Since I’m participating to a meet the Saturday, this week might be quite low on training volume/frequency.
Day46 (October 19 2016) Sorry this post is late (we’re actually October 24 at the time of this writing)
I’ve been really busy these past few days and my memory is kinda fuzzy, so I’m just gonna write here what I remember doing that day.
I wanted to test a few movements I’m introducing in my new training program. So I did a little bit of the following.
Clean: I ramped up to a 245 lb (111.1 kg) single (after missing it a few times) (my all time PR on that is 285 lb / 129.3 kg so I was a little upset)
Box squat. I did this mostly to find the right box at the right height. I found out that sitting (completely sitting and resting on the box) on a box just bellow parallel was the most challenging. I worked up to a few triples with 315 lb (142.9 kg).
Z-press. I like this one, its very challenging! I worked up to a few triples with 135 lb (61.2 kg) and I think I did a single with 155 lb (70.3 kg) or something like that.
A little chat concerning the format of my training logs…
I will use the following terms a lot:
EMOM and ExMOM.
EMOM means “Every minute on the minute”. Yes they use this a lot in Crossfit. No I’m not gonna injure myself. Crossfit isn’t perfect, but there things you can learn from it. EMOM means that every minute, you do a set or a round of a giant set or superset. You have the remaining time of the minute to rest. On the next minute you have to do another set.
ExMOM means the same thing except that you have more (or less) than a minute to do your set. For instance E3MOM would mean that I have to do a set every 3 minutes.
I really like E3MOM and E4MOM for my big lifts. That way you can monitor progress more accurately because when you compare your lifts, you are sure that you had the same amount of time to do the same lift and that include the time to complete the set and the rest period. Also, EMOM sets allow you not to worry about the rest period. When I lift heavy, I tend to take too much rest and I cool down and when I do volume sets and I want to die it allows me not to pussy out. The clock tells you you have to do a set now. The clock is right. You are wrong.
My second Powerlifting meet (22nd of October 2016)
This saturday I participated in my second powerlifting meet. I didn’t push it, I just wanted to qualify for the provincial championship. I didn’t even peak for it, I did it straight out of a volume phase, but it went pretty well and I had a blast.
I weighted in at 89.6 kg (197 lb)
I ended up with the following numbers:
This was the first day of a new training cycle. Today`s goal was to move fast. This training session got me spent!
E2.5MOM Squat Jerk 8 sets of 3 reps. I did the first 3 sets with 155 lb (70.3 kg) but my shoulders got fatigued quickly and I finished with 135 lb (61.2 kg).
E2.5MOM Power Clean 6 sets of 3 reps. I did all of these with 225 lb (102.1 kg). The last sets were easier than the first ones. I guess my technique got better over the sets. I was really fun and challenging!
E2MOM Paused Front Squat 8 sets of 3 reps with 225 lb (102.1 kg). These were not so hard on my legs, but they did work my core.
Then I finished with a circuit.
E4MOM 6 rounds:
3 push press with 185 lb (83.9 kg). (I did the last two rounds with 165 lb/74.8 kg)
7 pull-ups. (I had to break those for the last three sets)
3 Dragon flags
3 YTWL with the tiny orange band
This circuit really finished me up. 4 minutes for all 4 of these movements is not long, so it gives really little rest (about a minute or less).
At the time of this writing, we’re the 25th (the day after this training). My legs are fine, but my abs are really sore and it feels like my upper body has taken a toll. With the warm-pu, this workout took me about 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete. I’m really happy about this training session!
Then weeks of super hard work, followed by an “easy” meet. Squats were super deep! Going from dropping deadlifts to intentionally pulling double overhand in a contest is especially awesome. Great work!
Thanks for the input man, I really appreciate it! But I gotta be honest with ya, this wasn’t double over hand, I used the “hook grip” like olympic weigthlifters ;). It’s hard on the thumb, but it allows me to engage my lats more efficiently!
Today my main focus was on competition style squats (a.k.a. low bar squats).
Low bar squats: E4MOM 4 sets of 7 reps
1st set: 385 lb (174.6 kg) (that would be a 7 rep PR… yay!)
2nd set: 365 lb (165.6 kg)
3rd set: 365 lb (165.6 kg)
4th set: 345 lb (156.5 kg)
And this is why I don’t really follow pre-determined weight/rep ranges or percentages. I did 83%, 78% (twice) and 74% or my 1RM for sets of 7 reps. According to the Prilepin table I should have done this with something like 55%. Thats like 100 lb less on the bar. This was fucking hard, but it’s gonna be rewarding! Now, that being said, I’m happy with my main work, but I think I went a little too easy with the accessories…
Box squats (very low box): E2MOM 10 sets of 3 reps with 225 lb (102.1 kg).
I did the first set with 275 lb (124.7 kg) and it was challenging, then I feared that I would not finish all 10 sets because I was so exhausted from my previous squat (4x7). So I decreased the load. Basically, I pussied out. I don’t think I have been working hard on those.
Leg press (unbroken reps, no stop at the top): E3MOM 4 sets of 12 reps with 4 x 45 lb plates on each side.
This was good. I could feel the burn in my quads, but 3 min is definitely too long. It gives way too much rest, and 4 sets is not enough. Next time I’ll decrease the time allowed for each set and I’m going to add one or to sets.
Today was bench day, the holy grail of gym goers, annnnd it went bad… I think.
E3MOM Bench press 4 sets of 7 reps.
Set1: 245 lb (111.1 kg)
Set2: 245 lb (111.1 kg) I only got 5 reps
Set3: 225 lb (102.1 kg) I only got 6 reps
Set4: 205 lb (93 kg)
At first I was pissed at myself. I wanted to do all 4 sets with 245 lb. Then I realised that this is about 78% of my 1RM which is not so bad for a set of 7 reps. But still, I want more, much more.
E2MOM Superset 5 rounds:
5 barbell row with 225 lb (102.1 kg)
15-30 sec barbell hold with 225 lb (102.1 kg)
The rows were a little bit heavy, but nothing else to mention here.
E4MOM Giant set 5 round:
Z-press 5 reps with 115 lb (52.2 kg)
Barbell row 20 reps with 115 lb (52.2 kg)
At first I had planned to add hanging leg raises to this superset, but I could barely lift my legs and my abs would threathen me to rip off if I went higher. Other than that it went OK, I love the z-press, it`s very challenging.
E4MOM Giant set 5 rounds:
Dumbbell press 5 reps with the 80 lb (36.3 kg) dumbbells
Dumbbel row 5 reps with the 80 lb (36.3 kg) dumbbell
45 seconds plank
At first I wanted to use the 100 lb dumbbel like I’m used to for this giant set but I felt that my shoulders were still aching from yesterday’s low bar squats. In the end, this part of the training session was kinda easy. I should’ve used heavier weights. I choked, and I’m gonna have to live with this until next week…
Then that was it. I think it took me about 2 hours to complete this with the warmup.
I didn’t train in the past two days due to midterms (yes again). So I missed a snatch session and a Carry/Conditioning session. Fortunately, today was deadlift day. So I had the occasion to blow some steam off.
E4MOM Deadlift 4 sets of 7 reps:
Set1 385 lb (174.6 kg)
Set2 385 lb (174.6 kg)
Set3 365 lb (165.6 kg)
Set3 365 lb (165.6 kg)
Those felt good, they were easier than this week’s squats
Sumo deadlift block pull (3 inches block)
I worked up to 3 singles at 605 lb (274.4 kg). These felt incredibly heavy. I didn’t expect that. I tried to hold them for a couple seconds to train my grip and stability.
E3MOM paused deadlift (paused a knee level) 5 sets of 4 reps with 315 lb (142.9 kg):
These were challenging. It’s the first time I tried it and I can see that it will help build my core.
E2MOM Glute bridges (3 second hold) 5 sets of 3 reps with 405 lb (183.7 kg)
A friend of mine pointed me out that I didn’t use enough weight with that movement so I’m gonna increase the weight over the weeks while the movement becomes more natural to me.
E3MOM superset 5 rounds
Lower back raises 15 reps
Parallel GHD sit-ups 15 reps
The last two sets were burning hard!
Today I got some training footage of my training session to have form checks on my lift. I had a few surprises watching those videos, especially for my squat jerk. So I decided to make a little montage of it real quick and link a youtube video to this post. To the one or two guys that read this log, please feel free to criticize my form!
E2.5MOM Squat Jerk 8 sets of 3 reps with 155 lb (70.3 kg)
I struggled my way through those sets. I had a lot of trouble balancing the weight above my head. Also, the video showed me that I don’t throw myself under the bar as much as I though which is a bad thing. If I want to jerk more weight in the future, I’m going to have to learn to drop myself much lower under the bar.
E2.5MOM Power Clean 6 sets of 3 reps with 225 lb (102.1 kg)
The first set was the worst of them all, I swear. I missed a rep and I had to full squat the last rep to recover it. The other sets were much better.
E2MOM Paused Front Squat 8 sets of 3 reps with 235 lb (106.6 kg)
Last week I did 225 lb I didn’t feel like I was working hard enough, so this week I added 10 lb to the bar. Next week I’m definitely going to add another 10 lb. After watching the videos I think my front squats are not so bad. I shoot my but a little when it gets hard, but I don’t think there is any major problem there.
Conditionning:
Giant set 6 rounds:
3 push press with 185 lb (83.9 kg)
7 pull-ups
10 hanging crunches
3 YTWL with the orange band
This went much better than last week, maybe because I substituted dragon flags for hanging crunches. I wanted to do dragon flags, but I tried one and my abs threathened to explode again. It’s been a week and I’m still deadly sore from the last time I did dragon flags. Be sure that as soon as I can perform those again, I will.
After that I wanted to do a 5 sets of 5 reps squat routine starting with 405 lb and decreasing a bit as the set gets hard. So I loaded 405 on the bar, I unracked it, I squatted down and I didn’t get back up. I couldn’t even get one rep. It was like my legs decided not to work without the knee wraps. After that I barely squatted a single with 385 lb. I was surprised. So I skiped that part of the training feeling a bit upset. I think next time I’m going to use the knee wraps on a separate day.
E2MOM - Box Squat 8 sets of 3 reps with 275 lb (124.7 kg)
Last week I was disapointed with those (at 225 lb) so I did 275 this week and it went well.
E2MOM - Leg press 6 sets of 12 reps with four 45 lb plates on each side.
After these sets, my legs were burning and I had trouble getting down the stairs, exactly what I was shooting for.
Sumo deadlift singles. I worked up to a heavy single at 585 lb (265.4 kg). Then I tried 605 lb (274.4 kg) and it wouldn’t get off the floor. This is not a good thing. I did that weight in the past and I really expected to hit it again. This made me upset.
Conventional Deadlift E4MOM 5 sets of 5 reps with 405 lb (183.7 kg)
These went pretty well and felt good. I think I choose the right weight. The reps were challenging and I only grinded the very last rep.
E3MOM Paused Deadlift 5 sets of 4 reps with 315 lb (142.9 kg)
These went well too. I felt really explosive. I didn’t work my core as much as last week. Maybe I was pausing too high.
E2MOM Hip Thrust 5 sets of 3 reps with 495 lb (224.5 kg)
These were really challenging. I think I’m getting the hang of that movement. I actually enjoyed doing these!
E3MOM Superset:
15 Lower back raises
15 Parallel GHD sit-ups
These really worked my abs and finished my glutes. I think this superset is a very good finisher on a deadlift day.
