Same. I find it harder to focus until I’ve been awake for a couple of hours at least.
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Yea that was another of the issues, I’m not a morning person at all, I need a few hours to come around and wake up properly!
Seeing as I’ve had a fair bit of free time the last few days, I’ve given a lot of thought to my training after my meet. I’m going to keep things roughly the same as they have been for the past 8 weeks.
I’m going to break my training down into 6 week blocks, starting at 77.5% of 1RM and gradually getting heavier each week, ending with a 1+ set at 97.5% of 1RM in week 6, which I will then use to calculte the maxes for my next cycle. My plan is to Squat and Deadlift once a week, with variations on the oposing lifts day, and Bench twice a week!
Heres a general layout of a 6 week block:
week 1: 4x5, 1x8+ @ 77.5%
week 2: 4x4, 1x6+ @ 82.5%
week 3: 3x3, 1x4+ @ 87.5%
week 4: 3x3, 1x3+@ 90%
week 5: 3x2 1x3+ @ 92.5%
week 6: 1x1+ @ 97.5% PR Week
To work out new max based on week 6 weight and reps:
2 reps: weight x1.03
3 reps: weight x1.06
4 reps: weight x1.09
5 reps: weight x1.12
And heres the layout of each day:
Bench - block sets / reps
Inc DB Bench - 3x10, 1x5
DB Rows - 4x10
Seated OHP - 3x10, 1x6
Pulldowns / Chins - 3x10-12
Machine Flys SS Hammer Curls 3x10-12
** only the 2nd Bench day of the week will have AMRAP sets, day 1 will be prescribed reps only
Squat - block sets / reps
Deadlift - 10x1 speed pulls with 80%
Leg Press - 3x8-10
SSB Good Mornings - 3x8-10
Back Raise SS Abs - 3x8-10 / 3x15-20
Deadlift - block sets / reps
Block Pulls - 3x3 w chains
High Bar / SSB Squat - 3x5
Hamstring Curls - 3x8-10
Back Raise SS Abs - 3x8-10 / 3x15-20
I’m not sure about week 4, whether to swap it with week 3 as mini test in the middle, or just drop it altogether, any opinions? @MarkKO @max13
**Editted to reflect changes from another post
I’m honored that my opinion is valued! I will try to be as constructive as I can with my limited knowlege lol…
I generally like your main lift progression, how you regulate volume, and the jumps between weeks. I don’t like the 1+ set at 95% during week 4. If your training is going well there is no need for a mini test here and you should really save it for the last week of your cycle. For bench this would probably work fine since it produces less of a CNS stress, but since you are a strong squatter and puller i think this has the potential to take a lot out of you. To test again 2 weeks later at a higher weight - you may not be at full strength. In fact, I would even consider widening the cycle to 8 weeks. Testing a new max every 6 weeks is pretty frequent. At 8 weeks you could even add a deload during week 4 if you wanted to.
I like your upper body assistance work!
80% is a bit high for speed pulls, especially for 10 reps. Consider 60-70% - unless you can actually move 80% very fast.
How is your posterior chain? I find it is weak for me and most other lifters. I think you could maybe replace either the leg press or leg extensions with something like cable pull-throughs, or light good mornings. Some type of hinging movement. Im not a fan of leg extensions or leg press unless you are deficient in quad mass.
I think generally though, you have a really good idea of setting up a training cycle for your needs. Kick ass at your meet first!
Cheers buddy, its always valued and appreciated!
I’d seen 80% thrown around for speed pulls somewhere but I can’t remember where, so I wasn’t sure what to go for. I’ll start around 70% and see how they feel, work a percentage out from there 
I find my posterior chain is pretty decent, I do a lot of weighted back raises with a barbell (pete rubish style)
I’ll look at changing leg ext for a hinging movement, I quite like the leg press with a deadlift stance, probably do some good mornings with the SSB.
I was thinking of a week 7 deload so as not to destroy myself, so maybe week 4 could just be another 3x3 week with a 1x3+ @ 90%, does that sound a bit better? @max13
**editted earlier post to reflect the changes!
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I agree with @max13 across the board, everything I was going to say he covered. The edited version looks good.
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Thanks Mark! I’ll leave it as is now then and give it a run through, see how I get on
Definitely take video of yourself doing the speed pulls. It can be tricky to find the sweet spot of where the weight is heavy enough to produce max force, but light enough to move as fast as possible. The heaviest I’ve done them was 75%, any heavier than that and it slowed down.
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I used 180kg for some speed pulls the other day and while they felt taxing, they also moved quickly so I think that will be a good starting point for me. My deadlifts have never been very fast, no matter how much weight is on the bar, which could be contributing to my problem with power off the floor.
Doing barbell hack squats from the floor has done wonders for speed of the floor conventional. Just my .02
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I’ve never seen a hack squat done with a barbell, I had to google it… looka interesting though, I may give them a whirl sometime, thanks!
It helps a fuck ton with speed off the floor because it’s a more heavy quad dominant version. I like them because you can load it up and never worry about your low back bending or anything
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Well, I’m finally home after 5 days at the coast! Between stuffing my face with garbage I managed to get in 2 sessions which is less than I wanted!
My plan, leading into my meet next Saturday is to train tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, and work in singles up to my openers for 3 singles, then hit the assisstance work! Deadlifts tomorrow, Bench on Monday and Squats on Tuesday.
I’ve also decided, after gaining around 5lbs on my trip away, and having a few read throughs of an article linked by @MarkKO, that I’m going to slowly try and get rid of the excess baggage I’m carrying and try get down to the low teens for BF %
All my chubb is stored on my belly / chest and it kinda irritates me, it makes me feel fat and just generally shitty! So its time I did something about it!
I’ll be lowering my daily caloric intake to 3100 (weight in lbs x 15) and going from there. Its around a 300 calorie per day drop from what I was eating pre-holiday.
A rough breakdown will be:
3100 cals
240g protein
69g fats
380g carbs
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Damn dude, I started my diet 40 lbs heavier than you and with 900 less calories and about 200g less carbs. THAT i will blame genetics for, lol … I am down 17 lbs though so you better hurry up before I catch you
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I was maintaining on about 3400 and holding steady at 202 for a couple of months so I’m pretty happy that around there is my maintenance.
I have pretty lean arms / legs, its just my gut and chest. I’ll be getting caliper test done tomorrow as I’m seeing a friend for a massage, try getrid of some knots so I’ll update with how that goes! It was roughly 17% a few months back when I last had it done.
5-11-16
Lower
Deadlift: worked up to a single at 220kg
Low Block Pulls 3x3 @ 200kg + chains
High Bar Squat 3x5 @ 140kg
Hamstring Curl 3x10 @ 35kg
Back Raise 2x8 @ 40kg
Hang Leg Raise 12, 12, 8
Didn’t really push the assisstances today, got my single which was easy, then just went a little lighter than Id usually push it, don’t want to go too hard this close!
Had just over an hours worth of massage today aswell, worked my shoulders and back, then worked through my calves / hamstrings. I feel a lot looser now, but I’m betting I’ll be sore tomorrow!
Bodyweight is 208lbs today which is down 2lbs already, just water weight from a week of eating garbage, also had my BF% done with a 4 point caliper test, came out at 16%, but I think I’m closer to 18%. On the upside, I’ve lost 4mm off my illiac reading, and 2mm off my sub scap reading from last time, bi n tri reading were the same (around 2mm)
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7-11-16
Trained late last night so just updating now, decided I want 4 clear days of rest before my meet. Worked up to weights I knew were comfortable!
Turned out to be a great session, things moved a lot faster than usual.
Squats: worked up to a single at 227.5kg which is actually a PB, it came up so easy I didn’t struggle at all.
Bench: worked up to a single at 125kg, competition pause with commands, very easy rep.
Deadlift: worked up to a single at 230kg, again, very easy. Was the fastest I think its ever moved for me.
Come Saturday openers are set at 210 / 120 / 220.
Now its time to rest, stretch and hit the foam roller.
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Good luck @andypee now relax and enjoy the meet. Don’t forget to eat during either
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Cheers mate! What sorta things do you take for the day? I was thinking granola and yoghurt to graze on, maybe some raisins or dried fruit
Whatever you’re used to, but it has to be easy on your stomach. High carb is key. Bananas, PB&J, something like Plazma - along those lines.
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