High bar squat
5xbar
5x135
5x185
5x5x235
Bench
5xbar
5x95
5x135
5x185
5x225
5x2x235
25x135
Rear delt raise 4x8
Need to figure out what I’m doing for deads up until the meet. Was thinking of running Coan philipi but I’d like to err on the side of something more submaximal. I’m thinking of working up to a 5x5 with 405 and doing a quick peak from there.
Deadlifts
5x135
3x225
3x315
3x365
5x2x405
5x315 slow TNG
Played around with some sumo as well. Felt decent but awkward as expected. Maybe some day.
Barbell row
2x8x135
3x6x185
Seated row superset w. chinups
6 sets to failure
Bicep curls
4x6
OHP (screwing around)
5xbar
5x95
2x115
1x135
1x165
1x185 fail
Looks like there’s a bit of carryover from benching and incline, but not nearly as much as I would expect.
I’m not sure how your strength builds with deadlifts but I can def tell my strength has gone up quite a bit running light weight submaximal doubles for lots and lots of sets with a close variation for reps on a second day two to three months out. Then as you get closer start pushing rep maxes at 5,4,3
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Interesting. I feel that I’m quite similar in that sense. Lots of doubles and triples are what seems to drive progress. But I always feel better/more prepared tapering down into lower reps before attempting a pr rather than increasing rep maxes. I think I’m going to go for some rep/volume maxes then do something similar to Coan philipi about 5 weeks out
The way I see it if your increasing rep maxes, your getting stronger. It may not feel that way but it’s def true. I pulled 495 with ease at the end of my last block and triples at 415 felt heavy then. Not the case now so I’m trusting this process a bit. I’m beginning to find that the ever so slight increase in volume and weight slowly over time and not driving yourself into the ground produces great results. You should know though man, you destroyed your deadlift PR with a solid plan. It’s all about listening to your body
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Any idea why reps are increasing but not 1rm strength? I feel the answer lies in faulty techniques and form but not sure.
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Let’s lay out an example:
Your running 12 week blocks where you don’t have a meet planned and you decide to bump your training maxes by a few percentage points. Most likely your going to be running GPP or hypertrophy for the first four weeks with non specific movements or higher rep movements with the specific lifts. As you get closer to the end of the cycle your more or less peaking or performing less reps per set. If you’ve increased your training max from the previous 12 weeks you should be increasing weight on any given movement from the previous cycle. So in short if in your 6th week your doing 4x3@85% on Dead’s
First block (475 lb training max)
That’s 405 for 4 sets of 3
If you bumped your TM in the next block by 3%
Second block (490 lb training max)
That’s 415 for 4 sets of 3
I’ll almost guarantee you that your 1RM went up in those separate 12 weeks. Even not in the case of programming, if your doing a simple linear progression as a beginner from week to week your increasing your working weight. You don’t build maximal strength by maxing out. You build it by increasing your volume ever so slightly (pushing rep maxes), increasing frequency, increasing frequency with specificity, or by gaining muscle. Sorry for the super long answer @wanna_be
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@kckfl349 I don’t have blocks or anything really planned. I just try and add weight or reps. I was/am stuck at 405. I can rep 405 atleast 8 times, probably more now. Anything over 405 and it doesn’t move off the floor.
Right now I’m doing deficits and paused deficits trying to improve my strength off the floor.
My reps steadily improve at 405 but my max ability doesn’t lol
So you can rep 405 for 8 but can’t hit 410 for 1? Somethings not right there @wanna_be
It would be beneficial to see a video
Yea that’s basically right lol. All my lifts are like that.
@kckfl349 fantastic post man. I completely agree. I used to max out literally every week and I eventually hit a brick wall. Not to mention the strain it put on my back going >95% every session. I did Coan Philipi which was a ton of doubles and triples and that moved my deadlift up around 60lbs in 10 weeks.
@wanna_be I personally think if you’re repping 405 for 8+ but can’t hit something like 445 for a single I think it’s more of a mental block than a physical/form issue. Have you maxed out recently?
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I have not maxed out recently. A few weeks ago I tried to pull 435 and it never left the ground. Feeling defeated I decided to try a new approach and work on my weekness, which seems to be off the floor strength. That’s why I’m doing deficits and paused deficits.
That seems like a solid plan. I also suspect your lockout is pristine. I’m explosive off the floor but my lockout feels like it takes an eternity. There’s definitely a tradeoff between the two.
I would also try and ease into using heavier weights (if improving your max is your goal). Get used to the feeling of heavier weights in your hands. You mentioned that you couldn’t pull 435. I’d start with throwing one or two singles at 415 at the end of your main workout. If you’re pulling 405x8 this should be very doable. But once again I suspect the issue is more mental than physical and once you get used to pulling heavy singles/doubles the weight will shoot up.
Spot on. Locking out 405 is just as easy as locking out 225.
I’m gonna slowly increase the weights doing deficits and stuff and see where this takes me. I like your idea as well.
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Well now you’re just making me jealous XD
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Don’t worry, the feeling is mutual when I see you yank the bar off the ground like it’s empty.
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Energy levels are through the roof these past few days. Not sure what’s going on. Sleep is the same. The only thing that’s changed is I’m eating roast beef sandwiches instead of Dunkin donuts everyday 
Highbar squat
5xbar
5x135
5x185
5x215
5x5x245 1min rest
Bench
5xbar
5x95
5x155
5x185
3x215
4x3x235 1 min rests
15x185
Rows
2x6x135
4x6x185
Facepulls
5x8
Lateral raise 4x8
Bicep curls 3x6
So check this out, worked up to 405x5, left a few in the tank to try and bust past it. Added TEN pounds (415 total). Wouldn’t move off the freaking floor. Felt like it was 10,000 pounds.
Wow that’s extremely surprising. Next time you deadlift, can you take a video of the set? I’m no deadlifting guru but I’m baffled as to how you can’t pull 415 if you’re getting 405 for 5+ reps easy. I feel like that literally isn’t physically possible. @chris_ottawa @guineapig and @MarkKO know much more than I do about deadlifting and powerlifting in general so I would definitely defer to them. In any case I think a video of a set at 405 would be great
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Don’t really know much about you but some factors:
You didn’t rest long enough or ur last set was too fatiguing
You touch and go or mega bounce ur reps
U pull sumo which lends itself to more reps at a given percentage
Ur technique off the floor or pulling for heavy singles is relatively worse then ur rep capacity (may be because of the above)