Modi's Coan/Philippi Experiment

Training Logs
61

[quote]Stronghold wrote:

I dont think the frequent pulling will give me any troubles since I have been deadlifting fairly regularly for a while now. I am planning on letting the cycle take the place of all other back and ham work while I am running it so hopefully I will not be too worn out.

Quick question…sorry if its alredy been mentioned, but how aggressive should I be with laying it out…I was giong to shoot for a 40 lb pr by the end of the cycle…should I go with less or is more possible?[/quote]

You’ll get plenty of grip work during the program between the DL’s, Speed DL’s, SLDL’s, Bent Over Rows, and Reverse Grip Pulldowns, so that should help in the end.

I just mentioned what I thought reasonable goals were in one the previous posts on this page. I’ll know more in a few weeks when I finish the program.

62

[quote]Phydeaux wrote:

I think my grip has been my weak link in my DL, so I’ve been working hard on db rows and farmer’s walks to improve it. At this point, it may now be my hams (not sure). I attempted RDLs Sat for the 1st time and tried to focus on form, as I’m not sure I’m really working the hams.[/quote]

You’ll get plenty of grip work during the program between the DL’s, Speed DL’s, SLDL’s, Bent Over Rows, and Reverse Grip Pulldowns, so that should help in the end.

For the RDL’s, really focus on driving the hips back and keeping the bar close to the thighs/shins on the way down. Also, keep the weight reasonable until you hit the form.

63

If I may add a little input…

I’m also in the middle of this routine, a week back of Modi. If all goes well, I will have made a 50# jump (510 - 560).

I am pulling on Sat., and have a light back day on Tues (low back supported). I also do a dynamic/rep leg day on Wed to maintain my squat.

Sorry to highjack your log Modi.

64

[quote]Donut62 wrote:
Just saying that I’ve been following along and enjoying your log.[/quote]

Thanks Donut. It keeps me honest.

65

[quote]mahwah wrote:
If I may add a little input…

I’m also in the middle of this routine, a week back of Modi. If all goes well, I will have made a 50# jump (510 - 560).

I am pulling on Sat., and have a light back day on Tues (low back supported). I also do a dynamic/rep leg day on Wed to maintain my squat.

Sorry to highjack your log Modi.[/quote]

Hey, no problem. Glad you could add to the thread. Like I said at the beginning, there wasn’t a lot of good information out there on people who had done the program, so if nothing else, this log may help serve that purpose.

Good to hear that you are making solid progress. 50lbs would be a nice little bump in your DL, good luck.

66

06/23/08 - Squat (RE)

A) Squat
barx10
135x6
225x5
315x5
365x5x3

B) Neutral Grip Pulldowns
8x3

C1) Abs
Russian Twist - 25lbsx15
Weighted Situp - 50x15
Situp x20

I took it easy on the Squats today, as well as the accessory work. Thursday will be a heavy DL day, and I’m going to try to go into it as fresh as possible.

67

Sorry, I had gotten that question in my mind last night but forgot to post so I missed your response.

Ill let you know how it goes and stop back in if I have any other questions/issues.

68

[quote]Modi wrote:
Phydeaux wrote:

I think my grip has been my weak link in my DL, so I’ve been working hard on db rows and farmer’s walks to improve it. At this point, it may now be my hams (not sure). I attempted RDLs Sat for the 1st time and tried to focus on form, as I’m not sure I’m really working the hams.

You’ll get plenty of grip work during the program between the DL’s, Speed DL’s, SLDL’s, Bent Over Rows, and Reverse Grip Pulldowns, so that should help in the end.

For the RDL’s, really focus on driving the hips back and keeping the bar close to the thighs/shins on the way down. Also, keep the weight reasonable until you hit the form.[/quote]

I may have figured out my problem after reading the lead article today on the site. I’ve only been going down to the tops of my knees. I can feel my hams w/ 135, but at 225 I don’t feel it as much. Maybe my hams get stretched out on the 1st set and I need to go further down to recruit them?

69

[quote]Phydeaux wrote:
Modi wrote:
Phydeaux wrote:

I think my grip has been my weak link in my DL, so I’ve been working hard on db rows and farmer’s walks to improve it. At this point, it may now be my hams (not sure). I attempted RDLs Sat for the 1st time and tried to focus on form, as I’m not sure I’m really working the hams.

You’ll get plenty of grip work during the program between the DL’s, Speed DL’s, SLDL’s, Bent Over Rows, and Reverse Grip Pulldowns, so that should help in the end.

For the RDL’s, really focus on driving the hips back and keeping the bar close to the thighs/shins on the way down. Also, keep the weight reasonable until you hit the form.

I may have figured out my problem after reading the lead article today on the site. I’ve only been going down to the tops of my knees. I can feel my hams w/ 135, but at 225 I don’t feel it as much. Maybe my hams get stretched out on the 1st set and I need to go further down to recruit them?

[/quote]

I think what typically happens is that people (myself included) tend to really want to increase the loads on these movements.

What happens is that as the load increases, your body wants to put more bend at the knee to take the stress off the hamstring, and instead of being an RDL it turns into a partial range Deadlift. The key is to drive the hips back and focus on the hamstring stretch.

Obviously there is still knee flexion, but in order to feel the hammies, you have to know how much flexion you can handle before you lose the desired effect. The better you get at the movement, the more weight you will be able to handle and still hit the target muscles.

I usually bring these down to the upper part of my shins. I wouldn’t get any stretch at all if I stopped above the knees, but flexibility will come into play here. However, at the very least, I would think you could hit the bottom of the patella on them.

70

06/25/08 - Upper (ME)

A) Bench Press
…
275x1
335x1
375x0
375x1 (PR +5lbs)
365x1
335x3
335x3

B) Incline Press
135x3
185x3
235x8x2
235x7

C) JM Press (form)
barx10
95x8
135x6
135x6
95x6
95x6

After missing 375 last week, I was sure I could get it fresh today. I thought my setup was pretty solid on the first attempt, but after looking at my video, I didn’t really squeeze the bar, and my leg drive was so-so at best.

I really thought long and hard about taking the weight again. I knew that if I missed it, I would pretty much be screwed for the rest of the day, but I was sure the strength was there. I decided to take 375 again, and focused on staying super tight (for me), squeezing the bar, and giving everything with my legs. This was a very good press for me. I definitely fight for every pound on the Bench Press, so I’m happy to walk away with a PR.

I dropped back to 365 for another single, and almost lost the bar because I threw it up and back. I was able to recover and lock that rep out as well.

I’m really working on the form on the JM Press. I watched a video by JM Blakley describing the movement, and am focusing on keeping the elbows at about a 45 degree angle, and really trying to keep them from dropping down as I lower the weight. I decided to check my ego at the window and drop back to 95lbs to work on the groove. I definitely felt these on the inside of the elbow where the triceps attaches, so I think the form is improving.

JM Blakley video: (fast forward to 3:55)

Long workout today. I took a lot of time between Bench attempts, and went back to look at video of each attempt. Good progress today.

71

Congrats on the PR. Solid looking bench.

Was that a smile I saw on your face at the end of that video?

72

[quote]novaeer wrote:
Congrats on the PR. Solid looking bench.

Was that a smile I saw on your face at the end of that video?[/quote]

Hell no…It was a smirk. Thanks bro. :wink:

73

I had typed up a somewhat lengthy post about tonights session but the database ate it, so, in order to avoid punching out another long post with my index fingers because my hands dont work right now, Ill just say this:

you were right about the grip work.

74

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
I had typed up a somewhat lengthy post about tonights session but the database ate it, so, in order to avoid punching out another long post with my index fingers because my hands dont work right now, Ill just say this:

you were right about the grip work.[/quote]

Heheh.

75

My back is feeling pretty beat up after yesterday’s Bench session, so I’m thinking about holding off on Deadlift until tomorrow.

It’s still early, so I’ll wait to see how I feel in a few hours, but since today is 565x2, I can’t really afford to be going into it with a lot of stiffness.

Edit*

I decided to hold off until tomorrow. Last time I did 565x2 it was an absolute grind, so I’m going to take the extra day to recover before this one.

76

Mahwah, this may be too late for you, since you are only one week behind me, but I just found out that Week 5 is a misprint in the program.

Week 5 is listed as 3x3 @ 80% and it should only be one set of 3 @ 80%. Whoever posted the original program did, in fact, put the wrong reps in for that day.

Stronghold, since you are just beginning the program, take note of this change.

77

Coan/Philippi DL Cycle Week 7

What a fucking disaster…

06/27/08 - Deadlift (Shitsuck)

A) Deadlift
135x6
225x6
315x3
405x4
495x1
565x0
565x0

B) Rack Pulls
Pin #4 - 565x1
Pin #3 - 565x1
Pin #2 - 565x1
Pin #1 - 565x1

Today was supposed to be a double with 565. I did this 4 weeks ago, and it was tough as hell, but I did it. I also think this is the weight I used for an opener at my last meet, so it should have been doable.

Today I just didn’t have any upper or lower back strength at all. I was so out of position by the time I got the weights to mid shins that I aborted both attempts.

I did some Rack Pulls with 565 just to feel like I had accomplished something.

When I moved on to start Speed Deads, 475 felt like 600, so I called it a day. I knew my back was pretty beat up from Benching on Wednesday, but I also think my body is ready for a deload.

I’m going to repeat Week 7 next week, and then I have to miss a week because of a lot of travel, so I will use the week after the 4th of July as my deload week. I know that the Coan/Philippi program doesn’t call for a deload smack in the middle of it, but it’s what needs to be done. Nothing is fresh right now, and my recovery is piss poor. I’m going to go easy on Squats and Bench next week and try to nail the 565x2, and then regroup.

Today sucked.

78

[quote]Modi wrote:
Mahwah, this may be too late for you, since you are only one week behind me, but I just found out that Week 5 is a misprint in the program.

Week 5 is listed as 3x3 @ 80% and it should only be one set of 3 @ 80%. Whoever posted the original program did, in fact, put the wrong reps in for that day.

Stronghold, since you are just beginning the program, take note of this change.[/quote]

Well, fuck me.

That would’ve been good to know.

79

Sorry to hear about a shitty workout.

If you’re not training for a meet, I would go ahead and do a deload and possibly reorganize your ME upper day to get another day of rest before DL day. Definitely keep the squats to a DE or RE.

80

[quote]mahwah wrote:
Sorry to hear about a shitty workout.

If you’re not training for a meet, I would go ahead and do a deload and possibly reorganize your ME upper day to get another day of rest before DL day. Definitely keep the squats to a DE or RE.[/quote]

Thanks man. Yeah, I felt it coming, I’ve just been pushing the Squat and Bench real hard along with the DL. Even though I was keeping Squats RE, I was still pushing the limits a little too much.