[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
Executed a deload in preparation for the Albany Strength meet on the 26th only to be notified 3 days before that the meet was full :/. App and check had been sent in, was even in contact with the promoter to no avail.
Decided to do a test day since I’d already deloaded. 245 bench and 405 deadlift, it’s good to see that my back is finally recovering. Also did this:
No words…[/quote]
You went down VERY fast … is that usual for you ?
By the time you came out of the hole you were pretty much doing a Romanian DL up !
Good try, I’m sure next time you will get it.
-Steve
Thanks Steve. I used to straight up divebomb my squats when I was first starting out so I haven’t quite kicked the habit, comes back a lot on my heaviest sets.
Squat at Island Health & Fitness in Ithaca, NY (Saturday 12MAR11)
Squat
225x5
250x4
275x3
305x2
335x1 belt
245x10 high box
This was one of those sessions I get every other month or so where I just seem to keep falling forward onto my toes and can’t keep a decent position- makes my normal sticking point impossible.
Hip Thrust Hold
2x65x45s
My last training session was at Island Health & Fitness in town since the college gym was closed for Spring Break.
Website: http://www.islandhealthfitness.com/
I didn’t really like the feel of the place but I will list a lot of positives.
-Without a doubt the best general fitness facility I’ve ever been in
-Very aesthetically pleasing, lots of glass and intelligent design with a great view of the river and lake
-Cardio machines are all up on a second story overlooking and surrounding the main training area. I don’t know why but I really like it when gyms and designed like this
-The aerobics areas were also up on the second story
-Dumbbells up to 120s, high quality barbells with good knurling, some bumper plates
-2 decent (but not good) racks and one half rack with a platform
-Huge Nautilus and Hammer Strength lineup, including every HS rowing machine, a chest supported row, FreeMotion and a bunch of cool miscellaneous stuff
-Full pool (not that I care about that)
-Locker room had a TV playing ESPN. How cool is that? Takes the edge out of a lot of awkward silences with naked dudes right next to you.
Despite all this, I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m sure it is a great gym for the majority of people (and they must be doing it successfully- I went in at 4 on a Saturday and the place was busy!) but for the life of me I couldn’t generate any intensity in that environment despite the Insomnium and Black Dahlia Murder that was my constant companion. It was almost like it was “too clean”.
I can understand a little better now what Jim Wendler said when he put environment above all other factors when it comes to training. Without a doubt if I’m ever in Ithaca with the college closed again I’ll be at Ultimate Athletics but I would encourage you to check the place out if you’re ever in the area.
Smolov Jr Bench Day 4 (Monday 14MAR11)
Bench
10x3x210
Cable External Rotation
2x10
Into the second week our of four now and bench is feeling great. While I was away at college Ron picked up a new double cable stack so I can finally do external rotations with both arms at a time again.
Deadlift (Tuesday 15MAR11)
Deadlift
135x8
185x5
225x5
275x3
315x1
385x1 belt
325x5 belt
Pullup
8, 8, 6, 4, 4, 2
Glute Bridge
3x10x145
Pain free, almost forgot what it felt like.
Apparently the forum just ate all of my updates for the week? Weird. I’ll just throw them all together in here.
Smolov Jr Bench Day 5 (Wednesday 16MAR11)
Bench
6x6x180
Finished this in 21 minutes, I just flew through this session. Every set was explosive but I’m a little worried about my left wrist- I injured it at the show in Rochester two weeks ago and it hasn’t shown any sign of healing since. So far I’ve been wrapping it every set and hasn’t gotten any worse so I’m going to roll with it.[/QUOTE]
Smolov Jr Bench Day 6 (Friday 18MAR11)
Bench
7x5x195
Face Pull
5x10
Also a very easy session, confidence is really high. My form is actually getting better with every session, I think running this was a good decision.[/QUOTE]
Squat (Saturday 19MAR11)
So the college gym was closed because of Spring Break so I was planning to get in a session down at Ultimate when Andrew texted me since he’d gotten his new F6 in the mail. We drove to his house and squatted first.
SSB Squat
45x8
135x5
185x5
225x3
235x3
245x3
255x3
275x3
His dad welded a Safety Squat Bar from an old sporting goods store barbell about a month ago and it was some pretty damn good work. I’d say the camber was a little more aggressive than the Yoke Bar actually and it made for some good grinders.
After squatting it took about 15 minutes to get the shirt on. I’d never seen any one break in a shirt before so it was pretty interesting. He got 225 down about 2 inches and got 315 to a 3 board with some effort. By this point the chest plate had visibly stretched some and did 405 for some 2 board doubles. He got 500 for 3 off the two board as his final set and they were all damn fast. It’s damn close to Nationals for him to be breaking in new equipment but he’s done it before and today was a good session.
Smolov Jr Bench Day 7 (Monday 21MAR11)
Bench
8x4x205
Far Bar Curl
This was much harder than last week but still good progress. Total bench time was 38 minutes.
Smolov Jr Day 8 and Deadlift (Wednesday 23MAR11)
For some extra credit I signed up for a cycling study that the college is doing. They’re looking at anaerobic power improvement with creatine and a relatively new supplement called betaine. The cycling protocol they’re using is four 12s all out bouts separated by about 2 1/2 minutes of rest. It doesn’t look that bad on paper but there were 2 or 3 people who puked on the first day. We had one trial on Monday and another on Wednesday, followed by two weeks of supplementation and then the post test.
Bench
10x3x220
Definitely the hardest day so far. After this I had a 15 minute break or so and went to the cycling test. Immediately came back to the gym to pull.
Deadlift
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1 belt
335x5 belt
Hip Thrust
2x10x155
Ironically this ended up being my best deadlift session in 4 months or better. I was good for 3 or 4 with minimal grinding on 405. Funny how that works sometimes.
Smolov Jr Bench Day 9 (Friday 25MAR11)
Bench
6x6x185
Seated Face Pull
5x10
Easy like all the other 6x6. bench sets completed in 22 minutes. I like using the Seated Face Pulls over standing because it helps eliminate a lot of the necessary lean back that comes with the exercise.
Squat (Saturday 26MAR11)
Squat
45x10
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
275x1
315x1
335x1 belt
355x1 belt
265x8 high box
Hip Thrust
2x10x155
It’s absolutely absurd how difficult reps are for me off the high box.
Smolov Jr Bench Day 10 (Monday 28MAR11)
Bench
7x5x200
Harder than I was expecting but I got through it all the same- bench sets finished in 34 minutes.
Deadlift (Tuesday 29MAR11)
Deadlift
135x8
185x5
225x3
275x1
315x1
365x1
415x1 belt
345x5 belt
Deficit Deadlift (bumper plate, probably 3-4 inches)
2x10x135
Another great deadlift day. I have a lot more room for progress but I’m going to be an adult and not jump up more than 10 pounds every week. Deficits are going to give me an opportunity to practice in that less advantageous ROM and work up my tolerance to hook grip.
Smolov Jr Bench Day 11 (Wednesday 30MAR11)
Bench
8x4x210
Second to last day was not that bad. I was able to bust through this one in 40 minutes, didn’t even wrap my wrists.
Smolov Jr Last Bench Day (Friday 01APR11)
Bench
10x3x225
Cybex Seated Row
130x10
150x10
170x10
190x10
210x6
This one lived up to it’s reputation as the hardest day on the program but I still made it through in 55 minutes. Looking back now I think I picked my 1RM perfectly- my shoulders were just started to get beat up even with good recovery on the weekends. I’ll report my 1RM success on Thursday.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
Smolov Jr Last Bench Day (Friday 01APR11)
Bench
10x3x225
Cybex Seated Row
130x10
150x10
170x10
190x10
210x6
This one lived up to it’s reputation as the hardest day on the program but I still made it through in 55 minutes. Looking back now I think I picked my 1RM perfectly- my shoulders were just started to get beat up even with good recovery on the weekends. I’ll report my 1RM success on Thursday.[/quote]
I assume you are going into the Army as a LT, so you have to take the PT test. What do you do for cardio on this program? How has training for the PT test (mainly the dreaded 2-mile) affected your lifting?
I am going to commission in May, so I am trying to find a balance between strength and getting a better 2-mile run time. Thanks for the help in advance and good log. It is great to see others in a similar situation as myself.
[quote]Fandango wrote:
I assume you are going into the Army as a LT, so you have to take the PT test. What do you do for cardio on this program? How has training for the PT test (mainly the dreaded 2-mile) affected your lifting?
I am going to commission in May, so I am trying to find a balance between strength and getting a better 2-mile run time. Thanks for the help in advance and good log. It is great to see others in a similar situation as myself.[/quote]
I’ve never found that balance myself so let me know if you do. You will make slower progress because of it but all you can really do is suck it up and drive on. I think the coming months will see me drop down to 180ish again and move to a style of program more inspired by Alpha than anything.
Squat on Saturday, pushups and some light back work on Monday.
I went in to do a test 1RM yesterday and missed 265. I’ll withhold judgement until next Thursday when I test again but I was very disappointed.
