1/5/11
Deadstop squat 163kgx5
RDL 133kgx5,3+1+1
Widegrip pullups BW+5kgx8, BWx6
Rollouts 180cmx8x2
5/5/11
Overhead Lockout (from scalp) 85kgx5,3
Weighted Neutral Grip Chins 25kgx5, supine 10kgx8
1-arm dumbbell bench 39kgx7r7l
8/5/11
Deadstop squats 163.5kgx2 (failed 2" above the pins)
RDL 135kgx5, 120kgx6
Widegrip pullups 6kgx8, BWx6
Came up too fast on the first rep of squats, lost balance, then lost tightness slightly and the didn’t quite get it back. I’ll repeat 163.5kgx5 next week. At least RDLs were good.
11/5/11
Overhead lockout (from scalp) 87.5kgx5, 80kgx8
Neutral Chins 26kgx8, Supine Chins 11kgx8
1-arm dumbbell bench 39kgx7, Ring Dips BWx9
Rollouts 180cmx8x2
Sprints 6x10m, 4x20m, 2x60m. 60 second rest intervals.
Cutting out milk and having nearly all my carbs post-workout has led to some fat loss even though I haven’t actually started trimming back yet. I’ve taken some current pictures; otherwise, if this gradual fat loss continues, my before and after pics when I cut will only show a drop of roughly 2%.
191.4lb, 11.3% BF according to the Accumeasure digital calipers -the most accurate ones I could find (only 1% out from hydrostatic weighing).
Pale and puffy, but some signs of leanness starting to appear. If I drop 10lb of fat plus the 5lb of water that will come off with it, I’ll end up at 177-178lb and 7%. I won’t start fat loss for 3 more weeks. By then, I’ll hopefully have dropped down to 9-10% BF while still increasing my strength on all my lifts.
15/5/11
Squats 150kgx6 (2-3 short of failure)
RDL 137.5kgx4+1, 120kgx8
Widegrip pullups BW+7.5kgx8, BWx8
Rollout 181cmx8x2
I’ve dropped my squat weight after failing 163.5kgx3 last week. The slight strength decrease is probably the result of some combination of reduced calories, a smaller waist and my having hit a weight that’s difficult enough to show up a big difference between my strength with a 4" belt (PB 175kgx5). If I start my fat loss with a 160kgx5 squat, I should be able to at least maintan it.
20/5/11
Overhead lockout 90kgx4, 81kgx8
Chins 25kgx6+1, 11kgx8+1
1-arm d.bench 39.5kgx7r,7l(fail)
Ring Dips BWx12
Rollout 182cmx8x2
22/5/11
Squats 155kgx5
RDL 138kgx5, 122.5kgx8
Pullups 10kgx8, BWx7 fail
Tire Push on grass 80ftx8
Rollouts 182cmx8x2
30/5/11
Overhead Lockout 92.5kgx2, 91kgx2, 82.5kgx4
Chins 25kgx7, 11kgx8 (supine)
1-arm d.bench 40kgx7r/5l
Ring Dips BWx10
Rollout 182cmx8, 175cmx8
Jump rope sprint 8x20secs work/10secs rest
Weight: 191.6lb
BF: 10.3%
1/6/11
Squat 156kgx6
RDL 139kgx5, 123kgx7
Pullups 12.5kgx8, BWx7
15lb sledgehammer swings 8x20w/10r
4/6/11
Overhead Lockout 91kgx5, 82.5kgx8
Chins 25kgx7, 11kgx7
Ring Dips 15kgx6, BWx9
Tire Push 80ftx8
9/6/11
Overhead Lockout 92kgx5, 83kgx8
Chins 25kgx8, 11kgx8
Ring Dips 17.5kgx8, BWx8
15lb sledgehammer swings 8x20secs work/10 secs rest
13/6/11
Squats 157kgx6 (easy)
RDL 140kgx3+2, 124kgx4+4 (grip failure on both sets)
Tire Push 80ftx8
No twinge at all in my groin during squats and RDLs. Hopefully should be back to full deads by the end of the year.
18/6/10
Overhead Lockout 93kgx5, 84kgx8
Chins 26kgx7 (neutral), 12kgx8 (supine)
Ring Dips 26kgx5. BWx12
Sledgehammer 8x20w/10r
1 WEEK BREAK
26/6/11: new 8-week phase. Start stats: 186lb, 8% BF.
26/6/11
Squat 158kgx5
RDL 140kgx5, 124kgx8
Tire Push 8x20w/10r
29/6/11
Overhead Lockout 94kgx5
Chins 26kgx7, 12kgx8 (supine)
Ring Dips 26kgx5, 12kgx8
Sledgehammer 8x20w/10r
4/7/11
Squat 159kgx5
RDL 140kgx4+1, 124kgx8
8/7/11
Overhead Lockout 95kgx2
Chins 26kgx7 (about 4" short of completing the 8th rep), 12kgx8
Ring Dips 26kgx5, 12kgx9
Sledgehammer 8x20w/10r
11/7/11 189lb, 9%BF, 33" waist
Squat 160kgx5
RDL 140kgx5, 125kgx8
Jumprope 8x20w/10r
0.5kg per week on squats from now on. I’m still way below my PB of 175kgx5, so I should be able to make slow progress on them even though I’m cutting. Not being able to go all out on them is frustrating, but last June/July I could hardly walk for a couple of weeks after my groin injury, and I’ve learnt that being impatient just brings on a sticking point. I’m slowly working up to a 170kgx5 below parallel deadstop squat without a belt. I’ll reintroduce full deadlifts once I’ve achieved that, as it should be a good indication that my groin is up to them.
13/7/11
- Overhead Lockout 95kgx4
2A) Chins 26kgx8, 12kgx9 (supine)
2B) Ring Dips 26kgx7, 12kgx8 - Sledgehammer 8x20w/10r
17/7/11
- Deadstop squats 160.5kgx5
- RDL 141kgx5, 126kgx8
Right, back over 160kgx5 on squats. Adding 0.5kg per week, I’ve got 29 more squat sessions until I equal my PB with a belt. With some hard work on ab wheel rollouts, I’ll be able to do that. Let’s see how close I can get by the end of this year.
20/7/11
- Overhead Lockout 95kgx5 (fail)
- Ring Dips 26.5kgx9, 15kgx10
No heavy chins this week due to distal biceps tendonitis.
I’ve added roughly 10% to my lockout strength, so I’ll switch back to full-range presses now, starting at 75kgx5.
25/7/11
- Squats 161kgx5
- RDL 142kgx5, 126kgx5+3 (grip fail)
Current diet:
Protein 1.5g per lb BW
Off days: 13xBW. carbs <50g
Training days: 20xBW, carbs 2.5xBW
28/7/11
- Press 75kgx4 (lockout strength has definitely improved, but it’ll take a couple of weeks to get used to full-range pressing again)
2A) Chins 29kgx6, 16kgx8
2B) Ring Dips 29kgx7, 16kgx8
31/7/11
- Squats 161.5kgx5
- RDL 143kgx5, 130kgx8
Weight: 186.2lb
9-10% BF, down from 11-12%
Overall, strength is going up slowly and BF is dropping slowly. Because I’m coming back from injury, I should be able to maintain this until I get down to 6-7%.
3/8/11
- Press 75kgx4
2A) Chins 29.5kgx5, 16.5kgx8
2B) Ring Dips 29.5kgx7, 16.5kgx7
7/8/11
- Squat 162kgx4
- RDL 144kgx3+2, 131kgx6+2
10/8/11
1)Press 75kgx4
2A) Chin 29.5kgx6
2B) Ring Dips 29.5kgx7
12/8/11: 184.8lb, 8%
Total fat loss since 11/5/11: roughly 7lb, at the rate of roughly 0.5lb per week.
No strength or LBM loss.
I don’t see any point in trimming back more that. 8% is more than lean enough to start adding strength and size again.
These are the numbers I need to surpass:
Pre-injury PB 1RM (with a belt, July 2010)
Deadstop Squat 187.5kg
Deadlift 217kg
Press 88kg
Deadstop Bench 130kg
I reached those after 5 years of training, about 2-3 of which were decent (proper food intake, exercises and progression).
Using Wendler’s estimation that beltless strength is 90% of strength with a belt, my current strength in comparison is:
Deadstop Squat 162.75kg July 2010 → 170kg August 2011
Deadlift 195kg July 2010 → Haven’t been able to deadlift for months due to a groin strain
Press 79kg July 2010 → 81kg August 2011
Deadstop Bench 130kg July 2010 → Haven’t been able to bench press due to a shoulder strain
The upshot of the last year, then, is either minimal strength increases or injury. Although I’ve hit some decent numbers trying to add weight at every single session and training with less than full intensity, I’ve learnt that I need to train with more restraint to avoid injury, burnout and backsliding.
To progress, I’m going to use 5/3/1, training Press-Squat-Bench-Deadlift on a Mon-Wed-Fri-Mon schedule. I’ll do the deload every 4 weeks and 1 week off completely every 8 weeks. If I run 10 4-week cycles like that and all goes well, I’ll hit these numbers:
Target 1RM (no belt) for Sept 2012:
Squat 220kg
Deadlift 245kg
Press 105kg
Bench 137.5kg
I’m going to take this week off and ramp my calories back up, then I’ll start.