my sticking point is at the mid shin. Can dimel deadlifts help this?
[quote]Vladamir wrote:
my sticking point is at the mid shin. Can dimel deadlifts help this? [/quote]
Do them for a few weeks and see how they feel. Or try some deadlifts to knees, Sheiko style, with a pause around your sticking point on the way up.
In your accumulation phase do you prefer to do 3 rep max or 1 rep max? I know stb does 3-5 rep maxes but i have seen some very strong people use 1 rep max during the accumulation phase.
I use 1 rep max on accumulation phase too but mainly i use 3-5 RMs, It just depend how i feel.
If you take 1 rep maxes, dont take them to failure.
Soooo… Singles at less than 1RM
Singles at less than your 1RM would be acceptable in the acc. block. But that’s why I wouldn’t do singles in the acc. block. Maxing out and straining is the point of the system, so why do a few singles at 95% instead of a max triple? Obviously it can be done, but if you want to do singles and not max, do another system, IMO. Triples provide more ways to break records and let you max while not stressing you as much as a single would.
Hey guys I have been trying to read as much as I can on the system and am trying to run an accumulation block to add some much need muscle mass in the right areas. I was hoping to get imput if my plan is wrong in certain areas and maybe if I am just completely way off to fix my problems.
So far my stats are:
Bodyweight - 178, kept weight low for a recent strongman comp but now im on my way back up to 200
Squat - 315: Weak point - turn it into a squat goodmorning, fire out of the hole and goodmorning it up when in a close stance, when in a wide stance my flexibility and firing out of the whole is the weakness
Bench - 305: Weak point - sticking point is in the top range, but ultimately I fail firing it off the chest into the midrange and the bar just stops.
Deads - 495: Weak off the floor and back turns into a candy cane above 225.
So far my plans are to do a lower back exrcise heavy twice a week, and light for high volume twice a week and training heavy 4 days a week (to prevent losing my arch and give me a thicker waist and base)
For ME my plans are:
Lower
3 weeks - Cambered Bar Clost stance squat off low box w/ 2 chains per side - 3 rep max
1 week yoke bar squats - 5RM
3 weeks Reverse Band Squats (0 at lockout) 3 rep maxes
1 week reverse band deadlifts - 3 rep max
Upper
3 weeks high incline press, 2 weeks 5 rep maxs, 1 week 3 rep max
3 weeks floor press, 2 weeks 5 rep maxs, 1 week 3 rep max
2 weeks reverse band fat bar bench (no tension at lockout), 3 rep maxes
My accessory work is:
ME Lower: Zercher squats (60 reps), Lunges (60), goodmornings (60)
ME Upper: Rolling Extensions (32), Bradford press (60), band pushdowns ss w/ laterals (60 each), upright rows (60)
DE Lower: Yoke Bar squats (25x2), High Rep squats (60 reps), Bulgarian Split Squat (60) Dimel deads (60 reps)
DE Upper: Bench (25x2), DB Floor Press (60 reps), Seated Pin Press (10RM), Laterals (60), Rows (60)
Back accessory - 3 lat exercises, 2 traps, 1-2 lower back
My extra workouts will consist of abs, glutes, maybe lower back and sled dragging or recovery work 1-3 days a week.
Would it be possible for someone to say do a close grip bench press as their ME exercise for a three week cycle, and a floor press as a supplemental, then to do a cycle of floor presses as the ME exercise? What I have read on this is supplemental/accessory exercises are cycled in weight, rep, and movement cycles for an example you can add weight to a lift each week for let’s say a four week cycle and if you can’t get the targeted reps before then you change the exercise or a rep based cycle where you add reps for the duration of the cycle and stop if you cannot add anymore, and that you can just simply do it slightly different such as an alteration or go from a weight based cycle to rep or ect. I think it is just that for 90% and higher, but I am checking in here encase I am wrong.
[quote]DSSG wrote:
Would it be possible for someone to say do a close grip bench press as their ME exercise for a three week cycle, and a floor press as a supplemental, then to do a cycle of floor presses as the ME exercise? What I have read on this is supplemental/accessory exercises are cycled in weight, rep, and movement cycles for an example you can add weight to a lift each week for let’s say a four week cycle and if you can’t get the targeted reps before then you change the exercise or a rep based cycle where you add reps for the duration of the cycle and stop if you cannot add anymore, and that you can just simply do it slightly different such as an alteration or go from a weight based cycle to rep or ect. I think it is just that for 90% and higher, but I am checking in here encase I am wrong. [/quote]
If CG Bench and Floor press help your actual bench press go up, then absolutely put them in your ME rotation. As far as using them as accessory movements, that depends. During the Accumulation Phase, I stay away from most barbell movements. My accessory stuff usually concist of dumbell work, whether it be presses, rollbacks, Tate Presses, Prison Press, rows or Kroc rows. It isnt untill the Intensification Block that I start using barbell movements for my accessory work. As far as CG and Floor press, hellyeah id use them, and use them i do. Those are two of my favorite exercises and i love making them as brutally hard as possible during this phase. Floor Presses are a real treat when you have quaded mini bands holding them down!! Hope this helps
Has anyone ever replaced the DE bench for RE bench day? I have heard people talk about this I wonder if anyone has tried it.
Hey I am on the Transformation block, 4 weeks out from meet. Should I be taking some heavy singles on regular squat/bench/dl? Is that what is refered to for 2 weeks out from the meet in the OP? When it says 90%, what is that based on? My previous maxes? I am a little nervous about going into the meet without having a solid idea of where my lifts are and what I am capable of.
[quote]Vladamir wrote:
Has anyone ever replaced the DE bench for RE bench day? I have heard people talk about this I wonder if anyone has tried it. [/quote]
I am doing this but for DE Squat day, my legs are strong (relatively speaking) but are skinny (long legs), and right now I am benefiting more from the RE type set up.
I may be wrong about this but I look at it as DE is teaching muscles to coordinate and explode, and you can’t do that if you don’t already have the muscle there…
Hey guys I’ve been reading this thread and the previous one since it started and use a lot of principles and ideas laid out here by everyone. I recently did my first meet and just wanted to post my experience for everyone to see. I also have a log if anyone is interested in checking it out or critiquing the way I set my training up.
Sept 30th - North Bay Meet Write up
Weighed in a 172 in just underwear
Squats:
Attempt 1 - 435(good lift)
Notes: Squats felt great, although the warm up and the morning of getting ready didn’t really help. I didn’t really get any solid food in until 30 mins before my first lift and my warm ups stopped at 315 because I didn’t hear when I was going on and someone suddenly came to tell me I was on. 435 still felt great on my back. I just made sure to sink it so I’d be in the meet right away no matter what.
Attempt 2 - 468(good lift)(small PR)
Notes: Sunk this lift too. Everything was feeling in line to hit a wicked PR. Was feeling pretty great.
Attempt 3 - 490(failed)
Notes: Right before the lift everything felt great. I chalked up my hands, my back, took 3 big snorts of ammonia aaannddd that’s where I messed up. The meet adrenaline + the ammonia got me so psyched that I just stomped up, got under the bar, and walked it out, only to realize my belt wasn’t tightened. I asked the head if I could rerack to put my belt on and he just looked at me and said “squat”. So I took it for a spin anyways and got as tight as possible but I just couldn’t pop out of the hole. Lesson learned for sure.
Bench:
Attempt 1 - 285(good lift)
Notes: Warmups went well. Timed them much better for bench and my opener turned out super easy as expected. I was feeling pretty good for the next few attempts. The only thing that concerned me early was the guy giving the hand offs. Worst hand offs for bench I’ve ever received. Basically pulled my shoulders out of line and made me wobble side to side. Regardless the strength was there.
Attempt 2 - 315(failed)
Notes: I felt good going into this. I’d hit it pretty easily last maxout with a long pause and felt like I could at least grind it out. However, then the worst handoff in the world happened, and since I’d only taken 315 for a full bench for a spin once, I wasn’t ready for anything less than a perfect hand off. With the extra distance created by my shoulders coming out + the wobbling, I wasn’t able to stay very tight and lost the lift at a 2 board height. Plus without the bar moving my hips automatically shot up so my set up had just gone to shit.
Attempt 3 - 315(failed)
Notes: Took 3 huge snorts of ammonia but made sure to be careful of my technique during set up. I wanted to just smash the weight up no matter what. This time the spotter gave the same weird hand off but more to one side of the bar so only one shoulder was pulled back and the other came out. The side spotters than tried to balance me so I wobbled again. I just got as angry as I could and smashed it up once I got the command but about at a 3 board height I felt my glutes rocket off the bench and just let them take it.
Deadlifts:
Attempt 1 - 475(no lift)
Notes: Warm ups were good, timed them well again. Walked up to the bar and smashed this attempt but the head judge told me “knees locked” or something at the top and I didn’t understand because I felt fully locked out so I started going back down a bit, maybe like an inch, and he says it louder so I flex my knees and he says “down”. I miss the lift due to moving up and down, but I knew I had much more in me.
Attempt 2 - 515(good lift)(10 lb PR)
Notes: I prepared myself much more mentally for this next lift. I knew since I increased the weight I needed to smash it or I’d be out of the meet. I walked up to it, got into the perfect position and ripped the bar as hard as I could. I flexed everything as much as I could all the way up in order to ensure perfect lockout and I got 3 whites. I felt good for more but I didn’t know how much.
Attempt 3 - 540(good lift)(35 lb PR)
Notes: For this lift I let everything sink in, the meet adrenaline, the pressure to perform, the fact that I wanna be the strongest I can be. Then I took 3 ginormous snorts of ammonia, walked up to that bar, and smashed the weight easier than either of my previous attempts. I flexed as hard as I could again and felt amazing. 3 whites again. That lift made me good for 3.1x bw, so goal accomplished.
Total - 1293
This was an amazing experience for me and I’m more in love with this sport now than ever before. I missed a few lifts I could’ve made but so what, I still had an awesome time meeting people and supporting strangers that love the same sport that I do. Oh I also ended up winning my weight class, as well as overall best novice and overall best male lifter. And there were some stronggg guys there too. I’m just really happy with the experience, but now it’s back to the drawing board to hit an even bigger total.
I figured I would post here what I posted in another thread. I’m trying out the Cube Method that Brandon Lilly suggest. I think as a Raw lifter, I’m more suited to practice the lifts than to change everything up constantly. My squat has begun to feel foreign to me when I come back to a regular free squat.
Here’s the post that I posted (if you’ve already read about cube training from Brandon Lilly then I don’t think you need to read it):
Cube training is something interesting from Brandon Lilly that I’m just starting to try out. It’s conjugate periodization (westside-ish) in that for each lift you have a DE and ME day. The only difference is you throw in a RE day as well. So for Deads in the first week it’s ME, then for squat in the first week its DE, then for bench in the first week its RE. Then its Deads for RE in the second, ME for the squat in the second, and DE for the bench in the second. Then for the third its DE Dead, RE squat, ME Bench, and then it continues to move on to the first week. So you deadlift every week either dynamically, maximum, or repetition. For repetition, I use basically the 5s or the 3s week from 5/3/1 but I don’t go for max reps. Just 3-5 sets of 5 or 3-5 sets of 3 with the typical prescribed percentages from 5/3/1. Its a way to practice your lifts. I’m just starting this week but the RE for deadlift day felt good in that I was more focused on form and pulling efficiently instead of just pulling like crazy for a PR. That’s for another week.
Has anybody else thought about giving it a try? It does give you somewhat of a break on RE day to where its not just about chasing a PR but really building solid form and a solid foundation.
^
Do you have a link to that? I might try it if/when I start to stall on what I’m doing now. I had the same problems.
its on his blog at blillytraining.blogspot.com/
He outlines it over a few posts. The prescribed percentages from 5/3/1 is just something I came up with. So for RE day I’ll hit 8 @ 65-70% for 3-4 sets, move to 5s @ 75% towards the end of accumulation, then move to 3s @ 85% during intensification, and doubles @ 90% during realization. Or perhaps straight Westside but with the actual lifts during realization.
I’m performing mostly the squat, deadlift, and bench press for all. I’ll throw some bands and chains in there but I’m going to stick to the lifts for the most part. GM, DL, BS, FS, SSB will just about round out all of the lower body exercises that I’ll do for the main movement, and even the accessories will be some of those. I can’t say it’ll work but I’m gonna give it a go. I made good progress in my DL by just DL with Westside lately.
I trained with Brandon for a few months when he was at Lexen. A few of us adopted an early form of the “cube” method for our deadlift training before it really had a name. The results have been pretty phenomenal. Personally I went from a 655 deadlift to 705 deadlift in about 3 months – same gear at around the same bodyweight. Another one of the guys went from ~630 to handling over 700 on both conventional and sumo deadlifts.
I’m not an expert, but the way we ran it, the RE stuff was rarely the competition lifts – the RE movements were supposed to hit weak points. For me (a conventional deadlifter), my RE movements were:
- Sumo Deadlift off Mats
- Deficit Sumo Deadlift
- Good Mornings
- Stiff Leg Deadlifts (with or without chain weight)
The ME movements were deficit pulls, pulls of 2 or 3 mats.
Speed pulls all done with a competition setup, off the floor with or without bands. I have all of this stuff detailed in my training log from about March of this year until now if you want to see more.
Brandon was very good about “leaving some in the tank”. He was very good at knowing when to push his training hard and when to just coast. Personally I think this a very important and under-rated aspect of his training methods. There’s a reason why he’s managed to avoid serious injury, despite being ridiculously strong.
I wouldn’t use those percentages for your RE work. At the end during the realization phase you’d basically be doing an ME, a second ME and a DE in a 3 week period. Assuming you’re using the cube method for all 3 lifts, you’re basically going from 1 ME workout a week (in the accumulation phase) to 6 ME workouts in a period of 3 weeks at the end of the intensification phase.
Instead of that, I would suggest on the ME days working up to 85-90% of your 1RM for several sets of 1-3 reps in the accumulation phase and then increasing intensity from there. I wouldn’t do a whole lot different with respect to DE and RE days.
Thanks for the insight.
I’ve been trying to figure out what he was doing by looking at his log but I think that he may be in a realization phase right now so I wasn’t sure what he does for RE during accumulation. Most of his RE days seem to be 8s, 5s, and 3s (and I also asked on a Juggernaut Q&A). What percentages or what not would yall do? Just do some sets of 8 and leave 2 reps or so in the tank each time. That’s usually what I’m doing with those percentages. I left about 2 in the tank with the 8s last time.
[quote]cscsDPT17 wrote:
Thanks for the insight.
I’ve been trying to figure out what he was doing by looking at his log but I think that he may be in a realization phase right now so I wasn’t sure what he does for RE during accumulation. Most of his RE days seem to be 8s, 5s, and 3s (and I also asked on a Juggernaut Q&A). What percentages or what not would yall do? Just do some sets of 8 and leave 2 reps or so in the tank each time. That’s usually what I’m doing with those percentages. I left about 2 in the tank with the 8s last time. [/quote]
I’ve never heard him use any of the terms “realization” or “intensification”. If I were to make an educated guess, he is aware of the concepts and follows them to some degree but doesn’t make a habit of following them exactly. He listened to his body and knew when to push it and when to pull it back.
The way we followed it, although probably not exactly what he would recommend, is by working up to sets of 5-8 to a top set of 5 or so.
If you check on B Lilly’s training log on his blog, he just posted a 10 week bench cycle. He used regular flat bench for all ten weeks with different rep schemes and such so perhaps he’s changed for raw lifting? Almost all of the videos I see him doing now are regular deadlifts, back squats, paused squats.