Thanks @MarkKO! I am interested since I’m still learning and tinkering with the wraps. Are those 3 m wraps? Mine are 2.5 and I think I get 5-6 revolutions though I haven’t counted, I’m usually too focused on doing it properly at least until the actual wrapping becomes second nature.
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So an in your sleep opener, pad the total, then go for GLORY!!! Great looking squat btw!!! Loved the photo bomb too, #memories
OMG now I get what that is!!!
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@ max13 they’re 2.5 as well. I’d definitely recommend counting revolutions. One, you’ll know how tight you get them more than just by feel; and two, you’ll be able to set them at different tightness levels for different sets. No sense in cranking down from warm-ups onwards.
Kind of the plan, yes. I like knowing I can hit my third. I haven’t taken 550 before, but 11 lbs shouldn’t be anywhere near risky. I can always go for 539 if I’m feeling off.
Before I forget, the gym bought a Rogue Ohio DL bar. Missed its arrival by a day or two for my last heavy pulls.
Today’s training:
Agile 8 plus shoulders
DB bench press, no lockout
35 pull aparts between warm-up sets one to three
2x10x80 lbs
9x100 lbs - actually kind of pleased with this
18x60 lbs
Shoulder hurts doing these but nowhere near the after effects the floor press had.
Supersetted 33 lbs tricep pushdowns/154 lbs chest supported rows
2x15/15
1x15/12
Supersetted 286 lbs trap bar shrugs/100 lbs seated calf raises
3x12/35
Bar a couple of light sessions next week, that’s eight months of training done leading up to meet day.
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Just finished at the physio. Turns out my left bicep is overloaded, probably a combination of my rotator cuff not working properly and my bi-weekly curls. Damn, just when I was starting to enjoy them. No more curls for me for a while.
Got given a length of theraband and some work to get my cuff working. That plus what I normally do will be my press and bench press warm-up going forward. Agile 8 on DL and squat days, the new stuff on tue other two.
For cycle 8 onwards I’ll sub out bench for DB bench since I can get my shoulders into a better position to make my cuff work, and I’ll probably use the theraband during my work up sets too. I’ll keep military press as is and hopefully that’ll be OK. If it hurts, so be it because I’m pretty sure what the pain results from and it’s not military pressing so I’ll just have to suck it up.
All the above is endorsed by my physiotherapist buddy. Turns out he isn’t just jacked and ripped, but a decent physio.
I’ll have to estimate what my TM for DB bench is, but that’s hardly too difficult. It’ll be interesting to see how a few months of DB bench impacts my competition bench and upper body development.
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Went for a walk with my fiancee, about 4.5 km. Took turns carrying the Bulgarian bag. She clocked in about 1.5 km, I did around 3 km.
Some rough notes to determine my DB bench TM.
10x80 lbs has an estimated max of 105 lbs
9x100 lbs has an estimated max of 130 lbs
I’ll go with 130 lbs as an estimated max, so that means a TM of 115 lbs.
Now, because I am how I am I’m going to wonder if there is a way to tell where my bench might be when not doing it. Assuming I can continue to press - which I intend to since I know why the shoulder hurts so the pain isn’t an excuse not to press - I’ll just base my estimated bench on my press.
When I hit a clean 302 lbs on the bench, my max press within two weeks of that was 203 lbs with a grind, so we’ll say my clean max press was 198 lbs.
Using the 302:198 ratio, that pretty much gives me a 3:2.
OK, using my 115 lbs TM for DB bench, cycle eight should go:
Week 1
5x75 lbs
5x85 lbs
5+x95 lbs
5x5-8x75 lbs
Week 2
3x80 lbs
3x90 lbs
3+x100 lbs
5x5-8x80 lbs
Week 3
5x85 lbs
3x95 lbs
1+x110 lbs
5x5-8x85 lbs
So, I think your TM for DB bench is aggressive and I would recommend you lower it…if you were going to run DB bench 5/3/1 for more than a cycle or two. Since it’s short term, I think it’s appropriate.
For some reason, I think it’s going to help you more than you think, like, you may decide to throw it in every three or four cycles.
Anyway, thought I’d let you know that I think the 130 is a good TM.
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I’m cautiously hoping that too.
The 130 or the 115? I’m estimating my max at 130 so 115 is my TM.
I think 130 as a 1RM is good, 115 as a TM is conservative - start low, go slow, hit PR’s. I think auto regulation is key - work up when you can, don’t when you can’t.
FSL and Jokers will be key, methinks.
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FSL certainly seems to be my money maker. Jokers will be interesting with DB bench.
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Yesterday and today been doing the remedial exercise to strengthen my rotator cuff. It’s pretty much a straight arm pushdown but without weight. Instead I have a theraband around wrists that I push out against and squeeze my hands hard while I move my arms as high as I can and go back down. I’m meant to do sets of 20. It’s hard AF.
On a completely different note, I don’t think I’ve ever connected with a TV show like I do with books until I watched Archer. Awesome AF.
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Lol Archer is awesome!
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Time to essentially finalise my attempts so I can meaningfully make mental preparations by visualising the attempts (I do this in bed just before I go to sleep).
Squat:
473lbs
A 506 lbs
B 495 lbs
A 550 lbs
B 539 lbs
I um’d and ah’d about my first and second but I can’t justify opening heavier, nor lighter. I think they’re well set. I also have to bear in mind that until now I’ve been working up to my heavy singles in fives and threes so given my last two warm ups will be singles, I should be fine.
It isn’t that I’m not confident about hitting the attempts; rather, I’m unwilling to base how I expect 550 lbs to feel on that 539 lbs last week. It was too easy for me to think that’s where my strength is on anything other than a halcyon day. I’m 100% confident 550 lbs is mine, but I’m preparing for it to be a grinder so attempts one and two need to be weights I can move easily enough. I know my opener is for sure, and my second should be.
Hell, it’s squat. I ALWAYS get a bit nervous about squats in meet.
Bench
253 lbs
A 280 lbs
B 269 lbs
A 302 lbs
B 291 lbs
These are all tentative based on how I feel on the day. I may pass two and three if benching is just too painful. However, knowing that the cause of the pain is not related to an injury in my shoulder means to me that whether or not I make my attempts is solely down to whether the pain prevents me from setting up and executing the lifts properly. I don’t need to worry that I’ll exacerbate any damage. As it stands, I’m pretty set on having a crack at that 302 lbs. How great an effect not having benched for a couple of weeks wil have I’ll know when I warm up.
Deadlift
464 lbs
A 528 lbs
B 517 lbs
A 577 lbs
B 566 lbs
These I’m really pretty confident about. A lot will come down to how well I recover from squatting.
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Today’s training
Agile 8 plus shoulders
Squat
10 strap fat man pull-ups between first three sets
5x203 lbs, waaaaaay under 6 RPE
5x253 lbs, under 6 RPE
5x319 lbs, open belt, under 6 RPE
2x20 theraband pull-downs
DB bench press
5x65 lbs, under 6 RPE
5x80 lbs, under 6 RPE
5x95 lbs, just under 6 RPE
15x65, 8-9 RPE
Hurts to lock out, but if I can get past that on meet day I should be OK.
BB rows
3x10x220 lbs
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Been following for last couple of weeks mate but must have missed it, when’s your meet?
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@MarkKO I saw you post in the confession thread about tracking macros, and I’m wondering what kind of split you use?
This Sunday. Weighing in on Saturday. It’s small, 30 lifters in two flights (I’d have preferred three 10s but there you go).