Revolution, A Log.

Training Training Logs
261

13-2-09

Hercs Club Champs Report.

I suck. That is all!!!

Weighed in at 96.8kg (chuffed with that!!), squatted 200kg and benched 130kg, both raw (and easy, obviously!!) and just one attempt on each. I was trying to conserve energy for the deadlift.

Did my usual power clean warm up for the deads. Ended up hitting a really easy and crisp 120kg power clean - think that’s a PR. Probably woulda gone 125+.

Had to rush thru my DL warm ups and skipped a couple of planned attempts. Went - 140, 180, 210, 240 and then onto my first attempt with 260kg (which was harder than it should have been);

Missed 272.5kg 2x… pretty annoyed about it. Thought I had it second time around, moved well off the floor but bobbled out at my knees and it was game over from there. Confident I’ll hit it and more very soon tho.

Well done to Brushthebarber and Paul as well… good first comp guys!! Nice foundation to build on for next year. Met a couple of more boardsies too, think I’m up to 5 or 6 people in Hercs that post or read here now.

Oh yah… Bernie Delaney benched 270kg at 90something. SICK.

262

14-12-09

Smolov Cubed…

Squats:
60kg x5
90kg x3
120kg x3
belt
140kg 4x9

Bench:
60kg x5
80kg x3
100kg 4x9

Curls:
40kg 4x9

Inverted Rows:
bodyweight 4x12

Dunzo in under 70 minutes. This could be one of the most stupid things I’ve ever attempted.

263

16-12-09

Smolov^3 Day 2

Squats:
60kg 2x5
90kg x3
110kg x2
130kg x1
belt
150kg 5x7

Bench:
60kg 2x5
85kg x3
107.5kg 5x7

DC Shoulder Warm Ups:
3kg 'bells - 3 reps
5kg 'bells - 3 reps

Curls:
47.5kg 5x7

The DOMS in my legs were so bad that it was a struggle to walk today, before squatting. I dread to think what they’re going to be like tomorrow.

Got thru everything without too much trouble today. Long may it continue.

264

20-12-09

Smolov^3 Day 3

Power Cleans:
60kg x3
80kg x2
90kg x2
100kg x2
110kg x1
115kg x1
120kg x1 (full clean)
120kg x1 - power clean

Speed Pulls:
120kg 8x1

Squats:
60kg 2x5
100kg x3
130kg x1
belt
160kg 7x5

Bench:
60kg 2x3
90kg x2
112.5kg 7x5

Curls:
50kg 7x5

Not too bad really. Feeling good enough after it.

BUT I shoula done it yesterday - I screwed up my timing and got to the gym just as it was closing. Had a look at my calender this morning and realised if I don’t double up today there’s no way I’m getting in the right number of training sessions before xmas. So I’ve my second post workout shake beside me and I’m about to hop into bed for a nap.

Off to TF Sandyford @ 5pm to do; squats - 170kg 10x3, bench 120kg 10x3, curls 55kg 10x3 and some rows. Smolov cubed is bad… but 2 smolov cubed sessions within 6 hours of each other…??? Gotta do whatcha gotta do!

265

20-12-09

Smolov^3 Day 4 (well… session 4)

Squat:
62.5kg 2x3
102.5kg x3
132.5kg x1
152.5kg x1
belt
172.5kg 10x3

Bench:
62.5kg 2x3
82.5kg 1x3
102.5kg x1
122.5kg 10x3

Pull ups:
bodyweight x10, 10, 20

Curls:
55kg 10x3

Inverted Rows:
bodyweight 3x12

Man that sucked… My hips were shot to bits until the second set of 170kg. Took FOREVER to get loose even tho I spent about 20 mins before hand trying to get ready. All the sets of squats were quite solid so happy days there. Never felt like I was gonna miss a rep anyway.

Benching was very comfortable as well. had to use one of the fat bars cos I was in TF Sandyford for all the lifts. I spent a while setting up the cage to bench in as well… dragged a bench over, propped it up on a 10kg plate at either end and then 15kg plates for my feet. Twas a nice solid workable set up. Confident coming into next week on the benches after today.

Surprised with my pull ups… was expecting more of a drop off, tho I am lighter so I guess that’s feeding in. I REALLY want to be able to do a solid set of 30 so I’ve gotta figure out how to train for that now. I’m thinking sets of 15 and weighted pull ups.

Curls were a non-event really… the 55 was probably too light, but I raced thru the sets to compensate.

Inverted rows were grand, as always - just trying to keep a bit of balance really.

Musta walked around the entire gym a few times as well. I really had to keep moving or I was just going to tighten up too much to get thru the sets. I guess today coulda been worse!! (we’ll see whether I still think that tomorrow!)

266

20-12-09

And here’s some interesting numbers…

Todays total training tonnage;

Squats - 12,773kg
Bench - 9,118kg
Curls - 3,400kg

Think about those numbers for a second… The volume of lifting I subjected myself today is literally a few weeks worth of “normal” training. It’ll be tough to recover from obviously, but when you consider the volume and intensity levels, no one should be left wondering why I think frequent (multiple times per week) training of the main lifts is the way forward. You just HAVE to adapt (ie get stronger and bigger) to survive on it.

Surviving’s the key tho. I hope this hasn’t fcuked me up for the next 2 weeks of it.

267

smolov base for curls is unusual…hows that going?

with bench and squat at the same time, you must be feeling seriously banged up

268

[quote]HitEmHard wrote:
smolov base for curls is unusual…hows that going?

with bench and squat at the same time, you must be feeling seriously banged up[/quote]

It’s going surprisingly well… Even after yesterdays double up I don’t feel too bad. No real DOMS anywhere. My ass and traps are a bit achy, but not bad by any means.

The idea behind the curls is that any time I’ve ever wanted to improve anything I’ve trained it more frequently and tried to get it stronger, and it’s responded. Hopefully my biceps will be the same!! It’s actually pretty logical when you think about it!

269

Power Clean - 120kg @ 97

270

[quote]Hanley wrote:

[quote]HitEmHard wrote:
smolov base for curls is unusual…hows that going?

with bench and squat at the same time, you must be feeling seriously banged up[/quote]

It’s going surprisingly well… Even after yesterdays double up I don’t feel too bad. No real DOMS anywhere. My ass and traps are a bit achy, but not bad by any means.

The idea behind the curls is that any time I’ve ever wanted to improve anything I’ve trained it more frequently and tried to get it stronger, and it’s responded. Hopefully my biceps will be the same!! It’s actually pretty logical when you think about it![/quote]

When you put it like that I suppose it does make sence. What did you plug your max for them as and how much you going to jump each week?

Any ideas for what you would like to get out of the squat and bench?

271

[quote]HitEmHard wrote:

When you put it like that I suppose it does make sence. What did you plug your max for them as and how much you going to jump each week?

Any ideas for what you would like to get out of the squat and bench?[/quote]

I went with 65kg as my max on the curls. I messed up the first 4x9 day and only used 40 instead of 45kg. Gonna go with 50kg this week, had planned on adding 2.5g in the first week and 2.5kg in the second. That’ll leave me with 60kg 10x3 on the last day.

I’d like to go over 150kg on the bench, would love 155kg and at least equal my raw squat PR - 220kg. I anticipate being around 96kg by that time, having set my previous squat PR at 102kg, on my way down from 110kg. So if I could do that I’d be very happy. A 150kg bench would also leave me over 1.5x bodyweight raw.

I’m planning on re-running the base meso off a 2 board while I do the intense squat meso as well because my 2 board has always been really important for my shirted bench, and when that goes up my comp bench tends to follow.

272

22-12-09

Smolov^3 - Week 2 - Day 1

Squat:
60kg 2x5
100kg x3
130kg x1
belt
150kg 4x9

Band Pull Aparts:
monster mini - 3x15

Bench:
60kg 2x3
90kg x2
107.5kg 2x9
105kg 2x9

Curls:
45kg 4x9

Dunzo.

Squats were grand today. Took a while to loosen up, but once I did it was gravy.

Miscalc’d the benches, came up 7.5kg instead of 5. The second set w/ 107.5 was near limit so I backed off to the correct weight and took my grip out to ring fingers on the rings and it was fine.

Curls nearly broke my forearms. Gonna have to find a solution to that. Was kinda expecting it to happen because heavy ish barbell curls never really did agree with me.

273

24-12-09

Smolov^3 - Week 2 - Day 2 - The mid way point

Power Cleans:
40kg x3
50kg x3
60kg x3
75kg x3
90kg x3
100kg x3
110kg 2x3

Squats:
60kg 2x3
100kg x2
130kg x1
belt
160kg 5x7

Bench:
60kg 2x3
80kg x3
100kg x2
112.5kg 5x7

Pull Ups:
bodyweight x5, 10, 15, 20

Dumbbell Curls:
20kg 'bells 5x7

Up early for breakfast with the 'rents in town as per the tradition… rambled around for a while and hit Hercs.

The power cleans were grand… working on catching harder and more solidly. Seems to mostly be a timing issue. When I misjudge the height of the pull and get too far under the bar I’m getting crushed.

Squats were fairly easy today tbh. I was expecting today to be the hardest of the cycle. No issues with anything really… hips felt fine, weight felt like. Had to squat upstairs in Hercs in the power rack cos no one was around, but I actually like it… floor’s solid, rack’s good and I used a Texas Power Bar that’s hiding up there.

Benching was grand as well… I was a bit worried after the tough time I had of it on Monday, but I seemed to glide thru fairly well. Happy days there. 117.5 7x5 should go ok on Saturday now, and 115kg 5x7 next week should be doable too.

Pull ups were just to get a bit of back work in. Nothing special like, I’m not really too concerned with them at the moment.

I’ve had to give up on the barbell curls. I sorta knew coming into all of this that I’d probably destroy my forearms doing so many curls, and well the chickens have come home to roost. I was in agony on Monday during the workout, nearly cried trying to take my shoes off on Tuesday, and getting under the squat bar, and holding the bench was sh!te today. As always… I shall be ignoring it, leaving it alone and hoping it fixes itself.

The dumbbell curls were alright… sorta half hammer/half normal grip. Felt really nice on my biceps.

I’m off on a 2 day bulk now. Back training on Sunday and Monday. Happy Christmas all!!

274

You are really tearing it up, Hanley. Very impressive numbers you are moving. And, Merry Christmas to you too, mate.

275

[quote]undesired08 wrote:
You are really tearing it up, Hanley. Very impressive numbers you are moving. And, Merry Christmas to you too, mate. [/quote]

Cheers dude… Onwards and upwards for '10!

276

Smolov^3 - Week 2 - Day 3

Squats:
60kg 2x5
100kg x3
130kg x1
150kg x1
belt
172.5kg 7x5

Bench:
60kg x5
80kg x3
100kg x1
117.5kg 7x5

Pull Ups:
bodyweight x15, 15, 14 - GRRR!

Dumbbell Curls:
22.5kg 'bells 7x5

DC Shoulder Warm Up:
3kg 'bells - 3 reps

Grand oul day today… I was quite busy and had no time to prep mentally (out late last night, up early this morning, shopping all day and then racing home to try and make it to the gym) so I’m happy with how it went. There was never any doubt about any of the reps. They were all ridiculously solid.

My hips are starting to hate me tho… gonna have to make the effort to stretch, roll and ice over the next couple of weeks. My machine like squat form is starting to come back tho, I’ve missed it.

Bench was cool… Very solid. Set up was grand, bit difficult to get my good arch cos the bench was a tad narrower and my hips were tight. The hunt for 220kg is certainly on tho.

Annoyed not to make it to 3x15 on the pull ups… my shoulder just wasn’t willing to hold during the last set. FUBAR’d my injured hand up further cos I was holding onto a narrow bar.

Curls felt fine today… I’m like the half hammer/half twisting curl I’m doing.

Tomorrow’s gonna be lots of fun…
power cleans - 112.5kg 2x3
speed pulls - 140kg 8x1 + work up in 20-40kg jumps
squat - 180kg 10x3
bench - 125kg 10x3
curls - 25kg 'bells 10x3

Marathon much?

277

Smolov^3 - Week 2 - Day 4

Power Cleans:
40kg x3
60kg x3
80kg x3
95kg x2
105kg x1
112kg x3 - PR I think

Speed Pulls:
140kg 8x1

Deadlift:
180kg x1
200kg x1
220kg x1
240kg x1

Squat:
60kg 2x3
100kg x3
130kg x1
160kg x1
belt
180kg 10x3

Bench:
60kg x5
90kg x3
110kg x1
125kg 10x3

Dumbbell Curls:
25kg 'bells 10x3

Inverted Rows:
bodyweight 3x15

What a brutally tough way to spend 3 hours and 5 minutes. I think that’s my longest training session ever. I know the Sheiko ones came close, but I think that wins. Certainly the most volume.

Power Cleans were quite solid. Didn’t feel great on the top set, but video review says there were actually alright…

Decided to work up after my speed pulls to make sure I keep some weight in my hands. I forgot how much I hate deadlifting. The bar got way in front of me on the 240 and made it ridiculously tough to finish it.

The squats were again, solid. At no point did I ever feel like I was going to miss one, and my form and positions were fairly solid thru out. Depth was good too.

Benching was alright as well… started to go ring fingers on the rings again. Seems to be a bit stronger than pinkies at the moment so I dunno what’s goin on there, maybe it’s cos my tri’s are taking longer to recover. Anyway, whatever. Got thru it.

Curls were grand, raced thru cos I jsut wanted to be done. Weight was fine. 27.5 next week will be no problem.

Inverted rows were just there to make sure my shoulders still like me. Nothing sexy or glam there.

278

Power Clean - 112kg x3

Squat - 180kg x3 (last set)

279

Smolov^3 - Week 3 - Day 1

Power Cleans:
40kg x3
60kg x2
70kg x2
80kg x2
90kg x2
100kg x2
110kg x2

Squats:
60kg 2x5
100kg x3
130kg x1
belt
155kg 4x9

Bench:
60kg x5
80kg x3
100kg x1
107.5kg 3x9, 1x8-3rp

Curls:
22kg dumbbells 4x9

Almost there…

Power cleans were ghey - smashed myself in the throat on the first rep, and then nearly broke my wrist cos I didn’t get my elbow around quick enough on the second.

Squats were grand. Keeping solid all the way thru on them now. Good positions and good power. Hips are a bit beat, but I’ll make it thru.

Benching was ToteGRRRRcore like woah. The second set was really ropey, got fired up for the third and got thru strongly. Probably went in a bit early for the fourth set cos I needed to get outta the gym ASAP, and I paid the price. Ah well… hopefully get thru the rest of the cycle now without missing anymore.

Curls were curls…

280

2/1/10

Smolov^3 - Week 3 - Day 2

Squats:
60kg x5
100kg x3
130kg x1
150kg x1
belt
165kg 5x7

Bench:
60kg x5
80kg x3
100kg x1
115kg 2x7, 2x6, 1x7-2rp

Curls:
21kg 'bells 5x7

Chest Supported Rows:
plate 110 3x12

Felt weird today… As in I felt “nothing”. Like I was sore anywhere, nor was I particularly energetic. Didn’t really wanna train, but wanted to do something. Wasn’t psyched up, but wasn’t not ar$ed either.

The squats were good. Starting to get very comfortable with them again. Bar speed on all the reps was really good. I leaned into them a bit more today too and it made things a lot stronger. It felt a lot more forward than they actually were too after I watched the vids back. I remember that’s how I was feeling last time my squat took off… so fingers crossed there!!

The benching was ALWAYS going to suck after only doing 107 3x9 and 1x8 on Wednesday. First set was a bit smeh… took my grip out a finger to ring finger on the rings and got thru the second set ok. Third and fourth set were both going well until the last rep. Just couldn’t keep tight and they both fell outta the groove. I was seriously pissed off at that stage, got on the bench for the 5th set, cleared my mind and got thru it quite smoothly, took 20 seconds and then hit the 2 reps I missed.

Shoulda gone up on the curls, but I’m saving the 25’s for 7x5 and 30’s for 10x3. Tore thru the sets, did 3 and a bit of them during “Don’t Stop Believing” - that’s how fast i was moving!

Rows were grand, just something to try and keep a little bit of balance really…

Now, to eat, nap and decide whether I wanna play with the couch or go out.