Yeah I was very all over the place 
I actually reracked everything after my paused deads and started doing close stance squats, but I decided against it and went back to load everything up again for RDLs because I wanted to do that instead.
I also chose harder variations because I was very close to trying to max out with that bar configuration. It feels terrible at the top because it’s so whippy but oh my goodness it feels so effortless and smooth off the floor. Way different type of pull
Was it standard length bar or was it shorter? (6ft instead of 7ft)
Wonder if a deadlift bar would be even more fun…never had access to one personally
Its definitely shorter. That’s why I had to use the 100s. I was thinking I might get even more slack using only 100lb plates, instead of 45s since it’d take even less space on the bar and keep all the weight distributed at the end of the sleeve.
And it might work on a deadlift bar. The reason I chose the woman’s bar is because I think it has lower tensile strength. I’m not sure on that, but it feels like it gives way more whip than even a DL Bar, because I definitely can’t pull slack out of 245 with one.
Anyways. It’s a nice configuration. I ain’t paying 400 for a Kabuki bar
Yeah it could have lower tensile strength but the bigger impact is the smaller bar diameter (25mm vs 29mm). It doesn’t seem like much of a difference on paper but you surely notice the difference in your grip. But mathematically the smaller cross section causes a lot more deflection on the bar. It’s magnified the further on the ends you put your weights or the longer the bar. A deadlift bar will usually be a foot longer and 27mm diameter and also give a nice bend.
Ah I see.
I’ll definitely test it out on my gyms bar in the future. Maybe next back day when I’m hitting deficits
06/06
Barbell Skullcrusher
95x15
115x12
135x10
135x8
135x8
Seated Behind The Neck Press
135x10
155x10
170x10
170x10
Tricep Pushdown / Overhead Pushdown Superset
3x15
06/08
Beltless Close Stance Toes Out Squat
135x2
225x2
315x2
385x2
405x2
460x7 RIR 2
Barbell Row
225x5
300x20
340x20
Leg Press (Conv DL Stance)
225x5
405x3
585x2
675x1
725x12
Pete Rubish Hyperextension
135x2
225x2
260x2
290x12
Hit PRs on everything, squat felt good. Volume has been getting to me lately, especially with the new schedule adjustments, shitty sleep etc. Going back to my roots and doing topset training that served me well in the past. It honestly doesn’t feel like I’ve done a lot but it adds up. Got in and out quick.
Note Phone Died: The hyperextension this gym had was weird, was way higher than usual. Also the bars were way whippy. I’m 50/50 on doing a double session and hitting my upper body later.
06/08 Double Session
Barbell Skullcrusher
95x8
115x4
135x12
140x8
Seated BTN Press
135x5
135x5
165x15
170x10
Rear Delt DB Flye
40s
2 Sets of 25
Pullups
BW
3 Sets of 14
Good session, PRs.
Week Training Notes/Mental Notes
Nutrition & Recovery Notes:
First time I stepped on a scale in a bit, I dropped some weight. Down about 5lbs, which is about what I expected on my deficit. Yesterday was the first day back at maintenance and I felt twice as strong coming in today.
It wasn’t originally my intention but it ended up as a nice little mini cut. I kept logging but if I didn’t feel like eating, I didn’t eat. I won’t be pushing it into a surplus for a bit, because what the last 5-6 months of training has shown me personally is that I can get stronger without a surplus.
I’m finally getting out of the bulking mindset and I realize i’ve been thinking a bit too much like a bodybuilder.
I’ve been ignoring my mobility work and it’s biting me in the ass. Getting back on it seriously the last few days and I already feel much better, not as stiff. It was much easier to jump into training today.
Bench:
Still not 100% with my Pec. This one is going to take a minute to bounce back from. I thought about it for a little bit and laying off it is probably the best choice.
For now, the Barbell Skullcrusher is going to be my “competition lift” and I’m swapping out the Seated OHP for BTN Pressing since i’ve been doing that variation for the past 10 weeks. Using the same grip for both as I would use on Bench.
Deadlift:
I do have a goal in mind for my conventional deficit deadlift at the moment.
I originally wanted to hop back to my Sumo Touch and Go Pulls after this 4 week block, but I think I’m going to focus on Paused Sumo Deadlifts instead.
It’s one of the things I’ve always avoided and I wonder why I ended up weak on this variation lol… I think I need to fix that. It’ll probably shore up any positional issues I have.
Slowly phasing out my barbell row and swapping this out for Pullups, i’ll be looking to add weight to this eventually.
Squat:
I’ll be running with my Close Stance Squatting for a litte longer. I’m enjoying it, and I haven’t slowed down in progress, no need to change this here.
After this training block was up, I originally wanted to Box Squat. My Mentor suggested Paused Squatting. It’s something I have rarely done, and I’ve also avoided it, so he said do it, lmao.
My squat training still remains beltless and bare knee, I really do believe it’s been helping me with strength and will make me stronger when I throw on any supportive equipment.
Other Notes:
Training Frequency is going to be dropped down a bit.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Ed Coan Podcasts recently and I really do like his training philosophy he adopted. I love his take on assistance, thinking of accessory work as building “a shield of armor” for the body. It’s a very good visualizer on what the purpose of it is.
I’ve been taking a lot of it to heart, and it’s made training so much more enjoyable and fun. I feel like I just started training for the first time again.
This is going to build so much brute strength…I am excited to see how this plays out for you.
06/09
Beltless Close Stance Toes Out Squat
135x3
135x3
135x3
225x3
315x2
385x2
425x2
470x7 RIR 2
Single Leg Leg Press (Conventional DL Stance)
4x225x8
Glute Press Machine
110x12
160x10
Full Stack (200) x 10
Full Stack x 10
Cable Pullthrough/Standing Hip Thrust
Full Stack (220)
3 Sets of 15 Reps
All PRs. With this style of training, I may not be handling as much tonnage or weights as the past, but I sure as hell feel stronger. I’m going in for another session in a couple hours, don’t have time to do it all. Rotated some accessories.
Another note, I really like this gym. I’m thinking about switching because it’s 10/month vs 50/month, it’s also right across from where I work. It’s a basic commercial gym but they do have way more equipment and variety. Also heavier weight stacks. And way more leg equipment, it’s like heaven for me lol
I don’t like the bars or the shitty power racks though. It’s pretty cheap and sketchy.
06/10 Double Session
Barbell Skullcrusher
95x5
95x5
115x4
115x4
140x11
140x10
Seated BTN Press (Bench Grip)
135x8
170x15
175x12
Push Ups (Bench Grip, 3/4 Reps)
BW
2 Sets of 38 Reps
Pullups (Deadlift Width Grip)
BW x 16
BW x 8
BW x 6
1m Rest
Good session, hit PRs. I went without my straps for the pullups, since my main gym has a rack that’s slanted at an angle. I was trying to bring it in closer to match my deadlift grip, a lot harder but still felt good.
Pec felt good with Pushups, trying to see what works and doesn’t
06/12
Beltless Close Stance Toes Out Squat
135x6
135x6
225x6
225x6
315x2
395x2
435x2
480x7 RIR 1, near death 2
Paused Beltless Squat
5 x 315 x 4
Single Leg Leg Press (Conv DL Stance)
2 x 275 x 8
GHR (Slow Tempo)
3 x BW x 20
Barbell Skullcrusher
95x5
115x5
145x10
145x8
Seated BTN Press
135x5
170x18
180x8
Pushups (bench width grip)
2 x BW x 41
Pullups (deadlift width grip)
2 x BW x 18
Good session, died out near the end. Ended up being all PRs.
My goal was hit for the GHR, so I’m going to be adding weight to this next week. Close to hitting my goal for my pullups before I want to add weight. Pushups are going to be hassle to add weight on so I’m just going to manipulate the incline and slowly get it higher off a box with my feet
LOL Nice squatting
06/15
Conventional Deficit Deadlift
135x2
135x2
225x2
225x2
315x1
405x1
455x1
515x1
560x8
This entire session was terrible feeling wise. Tired, Fatigued, Slow, No Explosiveness. Got super dizzy and light headed after my topset for deads which hasn’t gone away, I’m always sipping on electrolyte mixes and it hasn’t budged.
I called it quits, wasn’t worth it. One of those days.
I was able to record it at least. It says it’s an Olympic bar but I swear to God it has almost no whip. It was throwing me off a lot.
Mental Notes From The Week:
Deload:
I’m starting to pick up way too many tweaks that weren’t there the last 2-3 weeks. I’m still healing from my Pec Injury, and now I’ve noticed my left lat, and lower right spinal erector (Again) are starting to act up and ache. Feels like my body’s ripping apart.
With the warning signs in mind, I do think it’s smart to just take the next 5-7 days off and start my deload which will probably be another week of speed work and technique work on my S/B/D.
Really unfortunate that i’m cutting it short of my goals, I still have alot to learn programming and intensity wise, but I’ve gathered a few things that I know I can improve on.
I started missing lifts about 3/4 of the way through, i’ll reference Ed Coan since alot of my ideas come from him, but he does say that’s about around where people begin missing, usually due to peaking too early or choosing reckless numbers.
6x/wk worked for a short period, around 4 weeks, I could see this being good starting off a training block with. Frequency definently needs to be lowered after this point.
Alot of my tweaks i’m thinking are from overuse. Just not enough variation, and I was pushing certain variations (CG Bench and Rows) for way to long. I can work on this next time.
Number choices for my Bench and Deadlift were way too aggressive compared to my squat and I should do better to mimic what I do on it, and apply it to my other compounds. This is probably the biggest training takeaway i’ve noted.
Originally, I wanted to hit 500x7 on my Close Stance, 570x10 off my deficit, and 365x5 on my Bench. I fell just short of those goals… I was pushing the bench and deadlift way too hard, and it’s not a surprise (in hindsight) that my squat made the most improvement. I stayed submax and never missed an attempt there. I probably could’ve hit these numbers if I was smarter with my B/D.
And this is why i’m glad I log and put down notes, i’ll definently be looking back to study what I could’ve done differently and improve the best I can.
Nutrition & Recovery:
Nutrition has been pretty consistent with food choices. There hasn’t been any change here and i’ve been trying to stay consistent with what I eat.
Sleep has been shit. The last two weeks i’ve been waking up constantly during the night for no reason, i’ll sleep for 4-6 hours, wake up, fall asleep for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, and wake up, and I repeat this pattern. If anyone has ideas on what could be causing this, i’m all ears.
Other Training Notes:
Not much else to say here. I won’t be writing up a routine/training plan for at least a few days, honestly it’s the last thing I want to think about now.
Most issues I’m dealing with have cropped up in the last couple weeks. There’s probably just so much inflammation and CNS fatigue going on.
I bet your sleep will come back to normal in a few days of Deload. You have been crushing workouts and are amped up. This is what happens to me when I push too hard. My sleep starts being affected and then it just starts up spiral out from there.
Thanks for the input, that’s probably what’s happening to me then. Can definently feel me breaking down lol.
Maybe I could’ve extended my training and gotten away with a few more weeks if I had pulled the reigns back. One of the traits I hate about myself is that I hyper obesses about things I love for periods of time until either I lose interest or in this case I get injured or injuries are starting to form. Leads to a lot of dumb decisions lol.
Know what you mean. If you have a consistent workout partner or coach they should be able to help you know when it’s time to idle for a bit so you can keep pushing the pace for longer.