This session was much better than Mondays! Deadlifts moved a lot faster. FYI, all squats and deadlifts have been beltless so far. I only plan on wearing the belt the last few workouts when I do doubles with 85% and work up to 90%+ singles.
Warm Up
Box Jumps- 5 x 3
Chest Throws- 10 x 3
Deadlift
355 x 1
375 x 1
335 x 3 x 5 - 1st rep w/hook grip sets 1-3. Last 2 sets I stood up between every rep.
CG Floor Press
195 x 1
215 x 1
185 x 3 x 3
185 x 6 - combined last 2 sets. Still moved pretty fast.
45 Degree Back Extensions
BW x 20 x 2
Dips
BW x 10 x 3
Cable Chest Fly / Pallof Press
40 x 15,10 / 27.5 x 10 x 2
Seems common for Mondays to be a unmotivated session lately. Think low bar is starting to beat me up a little and may have to change the way I grip it again. Tendinosis is hurting and the benching just makes it worse. Gonna do my best to get through this peaking cycle though as I think overall its been good for strength so far. I have the option to deload a few days next week and think it may be time for that.
Squat
265 x 1
285 x 1
245 x 3 x 5
CG Bench
195 x 1
210 x 1
185 x 3 x 3 - Felt too beat up so called it after 3 sets.
Rolling Plank / Side Raises
20 x 3 / 12.5 x 15 x 3
Any suspicions that the tendonitis is coming from low-bar squatting? I have had this experience. Doing squats followed by close-grip bench will, of course, compound the issue.
[quote]kgildner wrote:
Any suspicions that the tendonitis is coming from low-bar squatting? I have had this experience. Doing squats followed by close-grip bench will, of course, compound the issue.[/quote]
Yep, when I first had the problem it was from holding the bar wrong during low bars. For a while now I’ve been using a grip that makes my back support the weight(pinky and thumb under bar), but my left forearm still gets strained a little I guess. Right one hurts a little, but not nearly as bad. Theres one more option I can use to hold the bar, but I can’t keep my back as tight that way (Wide false grip).
If it doesn’t get better then I guess I’ll just have to stick with high bar until about a month out from a meet. For bench I may need to primarily floor press and use a slingshot for full ROM benching. Deadlift seems to be the only powerlift that doesn’t beat me up.
My own elbow pain from squatting low bar seemed to go away on its own and/or by using wrist wraps. That and consciously trying to drive my back into the bar all the time. You might want to wait it out a bit, but I can understand if it’s too frustrating!
Deadlifts moved pretty fast this session, although my form got a little sloppy on the top single. Floor press felt good again besides a little pain from the tendonosis.
Changed things up this session. Nixed bench and did floor press instead and also saved the squatting for second so my elbows wouldn’t be toast for pressing. Ended up using a false grip on squats and put my hands out wider. Also used my wrist wraps for every work set on squats and presses.
CG Floor Press
205 x 1
215 x 1
185 x 3 x 4
185 x 10 - PR
Squat
275 x 1
290 x 1
265 x 3 - Misloaded…oops!
245 x 3 x 2
245 x 7 - RPE @ 8.5.
Stir the Pot / Dips
20 x 3 / BW x 10 x 3
Das it mane…looking forward to a couple of deload days and then 4 full days off from the gym since I’ll be out of town. Will be pushing 90%+ weights for several sessions when I get back.
This was sort of kind of a deload session. Was at the water park for a while which seems to drain me quite a bit anyway. Block pulls done for the first time and they actually felt pretty hard, I guess cause the leg drive is basically taken out. Took a break from barbell pressing.
4" Block Pulls
355 x 2 x 2
Incline DB Bench
30 x 10
40 x 10
50 x 10
60 x 10
50 x 10
[quote]kgildner wrote:
How high were your blocks set? I find block pulls from below the knee significantly harder than normal deadlifts.[/quote]
It was off those aerobic steps, which I believe should be 4 inches. Probably around 3 inches below the knee. Still think pulling from the floor is important, but I will probably get these worked in some now and vary the height maybe.
Todays session was a pile of steaming horse shit! I guess I shouldn’t have expected it to be great since I was out of town and off my diet for 4 days though… Still a very unmotivated session. Deadlift was probably 40 pounds weaker.
Deadlift
365 x 1 - hmmm…grinder but tried something close to 90% anyway next…
395 x 1 - This was hell. This was about all I had in me today.
365 x 1…Supposed to do doubles with 375-380, tried 365 again and still felt shitty so called it.
CG Floor Press
195 x 1
215 x 1
195 x 2 x 2 - Felt pretty weak on these too so stopped after just a couple sets.
Still getting strength back but felt much better today. Did wide bench for first time in ages. Doing high bar squat again thank goodness. I honestly pretty much hate low bar and only do it because I lift more that way.
Wide Bench
45 x 15
95 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 5
CG Bench
155 x 8
145 x 8
135 x 8
High Bar Squat
45 x 15
95 x 8
125 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 5
215 x 5 - Belt
245 x 5 - Belt
Front Squat
185 x 3
185 x 3 - Paused
Hammer Curls
20 x 10
25 x 10
30 x 10
35 x 10
20 x 15
Rope Upright Rows
3 sets x blah…just kind of did them for a pump
Did sumo block pulls and wide grip floor press for the first time. Wanted to get a feel for how much I could do since I plan on doing them as my secondary lifts for deadlift and bench. Doing wide grip floor presses because I’m going to try to transition to that as a competition grip now. J hooks on bench presses make it kind of hard to stay tight with a wider grip, but I think I can learn to manage.
4" Sumo Block Pull
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3 x 2 - Belt RPE @ 7
4" Deficit SLDL
225 x 10 x 2
Floor Press
45 x 15
95 x 8
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5 - I really felt like I had at least 8 in me.
155 x 10 - close grip
You seem to be making quite a few changes Mighty…I was surprised to read you incorporating wide grip bench for competition as your known for your close grip benching.
How did you find the sumo style I prefer regular deadlift myself although to be honest I’ve only tried sumo a couple of times.
Hey Tred! Yea, I ended up getting a little beat up from the frequent low bar squatting which affected my bench too. I’m hoping all that hard work with close grip can give me potential for a stronger powerlifting type bench. I really wanna get my bench up so this is something I’m going to experiment with. Definitely going to include close grip work every week still in some fashion.
I usually hate sumo largely because my hands drag against my thighs. But with the block pulls at least, it didn’t seem to bother me as much. Also, they really spare the low back and work the legs more which is a good thing. Next week I’m about 90% sure I’ll be back on 5/3/1. I’ll probably be adding a 4th day for da pumpz! Really going to push things for this next month or so before I peak for my November meet.
And how dem glands holding up, Nathan? Have those cow extracts had any positive effect?[/quote]
Completely forgot to post that I finally got my thyroid medicine! I’ve only been on it for 2 1/2 weeks and am still working up to a stable dose. I don’t really feel much different so far, but I have noticed days when I feel really depressed haven’t happened much lately. So I guess my mood seems to be improving, but sex drive and overall drive for that matter is still pretty shitty.
