A) Bench
…275x1
315x1
365x1
395x0 (just missed at lockout on right side)
B) Half Manpon Press
395x1
405x1
410x0
C) 3 Board Press
315x10 (index on rings)
315x10 (middle on rings)
315x10 (pinky on rings)
D) Adductor rehab
I thought I was going to be good for 395 today on the flat bench, but my right arm just didn’t want to lock it out. I have been having a little soreness in my right biceps tendon near the origin for the past few weeks, but nothing major and not enough to complain about. I think there is probably some inflammation in there, and I’m going to start icing it. I’m a righty, and have always been stronger on lockout on my right side, so that’s the only thing I can think of.
After the 395 miss, I switched to the half manpon press, which is just a half foam roller. 395 went up nice and easy. 405 was slow on lockout on my right side again, and I don’t know why I tried the 410, but it wasn’t pretty. I finished off with some 3 board presses, just playing around with grip to see what was strongest. The only grip I didn’t try was ring finger on rings, and I think that would probably have been my best grip.
Ah well, I’m going back to 5x5’s for a couple weeks, then 3x3’s and I’ll work back up to heavy singles as I get closer to the meet. This cycle I will pause the first rep on each set.
[quote]Phillip Wylie wrote:
Nice workouts, Modi. I look forward to seeing you at the Arnold. I have all of my USAPL stuff submitted, but I still need to book my hotel and flight.[/quote]
Definitely looking forward to it. I saw you at the Nationals and was going to go backstage, but I think you had just missed a lift, and I didn’t think it was the best time to bother a fellow competitor.
I’m all set for the Arnold. I have all my paperwork in, renewed my USAPL membership, paid my entry fee, and my flight and hotel are booked. I’d say book your hotel asap. There weren’t many rooms left in the vicinity of the conference center.
B) Shrugs (double overhand) 385x10,8,8 (PR +20lbs)
C1) Shrugs (straps)
495x20x2 (tie PR)
C2) GHR’s 25lbsx10,8 (PR +2reps)
C3) Kroc Rows
L - 125x23,15 (PR +3reps)
R - 125x25,15 (PR +2reps)
Deadlifts felt great today. The weight was flying off the ground, and my lockouts were much smoother than normal. I’ll bump the weights up 10lbs next week.
I actually felt strong all day up until I finished the first set of Kroc Rows. I pretty much had no grip left the second time around on the circuit.
I know this isn’t the clearest video because I decided to workout at 10:30 lastnight… however I was wondering if I could get your opinion on this deadlift form.
[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
I know it’s dark, I worked out late lastnight… however i was wondering if I could get your advice on my deadlift form
[/quote]
Your hips are pretty high at the start of the DL which is putting your shoulders out in front of the bar. I would work on dropping the hips a little at the start, and sitting back more into the DL.
You have to realize that I am not a good DL’er, so don’t watch my videos for form tips. I don’t engage my glutes enough at the start, and I tend to SLDL my heavier weights, but I have been working a lot on where my hips are at the start, and the angle of my back. The only reason I DL anything near respectable is because I have a strong back. Hopefully once my glutes catch up, my DL will head north again.
A) Seated Shoulder Press
barx20
95x12
135x6
185x2
205x6x5
B) Incline Bench
225x8x3
C) EZ Curls
EZ+120x10x5
I started to stall on the Shoulder Press in the 10 rep range, so I am dropping down to sets of 6 for a few weeks and increasing the weight. These felt solid today. I’ll bump this to 215 next week, and hopefully finish the cycle with 225.
I managed to get 3 sets of 8 on the Incline Press, but these weren’t easy. I’ll make a small jump next week and see if I can get all my reps.
I have had to switch my training days around, and I can’t say that I love the new schedule. I was training M/W/Th/Sa, but because of work, and weekend commitments I am going to be training Su/Tu/We/Fri for a while. I really enjoyed my Sat. morning workouts because I could lift when I wanted and didn’t have to be anywhere afterwards. I’ll see how this new schedule works. Not much I can do about it right now. At least I can still get 4 solid sessions in each week.
[quote]Modi wrote:
Your hips are pretty high at the start of the DL which is putting your shoulders out in front of the bar. I would work on dropping the hips a little at the start, and sitting back more into the DL.
You have to realize that I am not a good DL’er, so don’t watch my videos for form tips. I don’t engage my glutes enough at the start, and I tend to SLDL my heavier weights, but I have been working a lot on where my hips are at the start, and the angle of my back. The only reason I DL anything near respectable is because I have a strong back. Hopefully once my glutes catch up, my DL will head north again.[/quote]
But meat told me you had very powerful glutes. Guess there’s not much carryover to the DL.
B) Reverse Band Squat w/Green Bands (to pin #10)
barx15
135x12
225x10
315x6
405x5
455x5
495x5
545x5
585x5
605x5
C) Lat Pulldowns
100x6
140x6 180x10x5 (PR +5lbs)
I Squatted today facing the mirror so I could watch my depth and form. I usually don’t like facing the mirror, but while I’m still in rehab mode, I need to get instant feedback during my Squat.
The Squats felt good, but hard today. The Green bands take no weight off the top of the lift and about 145-150lbs off the bottom.
Last week I used the Blues and worked up to 585x5,635x4 at pin #11, and 585x3 at pin #10. This week I did all my reps at pin #10, and managed to go 20lbs heavier and 2 reps more. I will drop down to the purples next week. I am guessing that these will take somewhere around 115-120lbs off the bottom of the lift.
585x5 and 605x5:
Once I am warmed up, I have no soreness or tightness in my adductor. I am very pleased with this. I also don’t feel like I am shifting my weight over onto my good side.
This is the first time pausing my reps on Bench for quite a while. Last cycle I did everything touch & go, and went 5x5’s for a few weeks, then 3x3’s for a few weeks, and finished up with singles. I felt like I was getting loose and sloppy on the t&g stuff, so that’s why I switched it up.
My last week of 5x5 last time was at 315 and it was pretty difficult. This time I got all my reps with a little left in the tank, and I had great pop off the chest even with the pause, so I’m happy with today’s session.
I did a 4 board as my second movement, which felt good. I lost the 8th rep on the second set because I touched too low. I nailed the third set.
I just wanted to stop in and say thanks for the excellent Smolov posts. I am half way through the base mesocycle. I probably wouldn’t have made it this far without all the advice you and Stallion provided. Anyway, thanks, and keep up the excellent work.
[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
I’m glad to hear that about your abductors, good to see you’re on your way (Or there) to being healthy again.
Also, great job on the reverse band squats[/quote]
Thanks. It’s the adductor (groin), not abductor. It’s coming along nicely. I still know it’s there, but it feels a hell of a lot better than it did a few months ago.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
I just wanted to stop in and say thanks for the excellent Smolov posts. I am half way through the base mesocycle. I probably wouldn’t have made it this far without all the advice you and Stallion provided. Anyway, thanks, and keep up the excellent work.
Jack[/quote]
Hey no problem, glad I could help. Keep it up and finish strong. Eat lots, get some recovery after the base, and then reap the rewards.
B) Deadllift
135x6
225x6
315x3
405x1
445x4x4
505x2
565x0
Quit.
I just couldn’t get 565 moving today. I got almost no sleep last night, I probably woke up 20 times in the night, and for no good reason at all. I was drained going into todays session and it showed. Even the 4x4 @ 445 felt heavy. It’s funny how one week goes well and you feel like you’ve got it all figured out and then the next week is a big fat reality check.
I didn’t feel like I would accomplish anything after the missed lift so I quit and now I’m going to try to take a quick nap. I’ll repeat this workout next week.
