200, 300, 400, 500 - A quest for greatness

Hard day.  Lower body stuff in particular went poorly, though I got my sets/reps.

As a note on RPE, thinking things out, a 10 is only possible if you literally fail.  I'm going to call "no way in hell I could do another rep" a 9.5, with a 9 being one more rep with a gun to my head, and then 8 being Tuscherer's ~2-4 reps in the tank.  This seems to make the most intuitive sense to me.

Squats - oly shoes + belt on work sets

Warmed up to 247.5 for 2 sets of 5 done high bar, 1 set of 5 done low bar.

My back really felt fatigued, even on warmups.  I was fighting my ability to maintain extension on my sets, and my third set of low bar was the hardest in this respect, though I'm generally able to GM it up when the going gets tough.

RPE on the first set was probably a 9, second set was a 9.5, third set was maybe a 9 in the sense that I could have GM'd up another.

Something is going to need to be deloaded starting next week, and I think I may just ditch low bar squats entirely for now.  All I need is a couple of weeks, probably, to retrain my groove in them, and I'm guessing high bar + regular deadlifting will maintain my strength in low bar pretty well.

Chins

This actually went really well.

Warmed up to 3 sets of me + 92.5 for 5 reps.  RPE for these was maybe 9 on the first and 9.5 on the second two, in the sense that I couldn't have done another rep, but the effort didn't feel THAT bad.

This is an all time relative PR, i.e. the most weight added to me for sets across.  Previous best was me + 90 for 3 sets of 5.

Dips

This didn't go quite as well, pretty damn hard, in fact.

Warmed up to me + 107.5 for 3 sets of 5.  RPE was pretty much around 9.5 for all 3 sets in that I don't think I could have done any more reps.  Eccentric speed was also slightly faster than what's in the vid, I think.   Not fast by a long shot but not super duper slow on the way down.


But yah, next week I think I'll start making some adjustments, at least on squats and dips.  Probably down to 2 sets of 5 for both, maybe chins, too.
 
Today was...okay.  Fatigue is definitely still there, but strength is alright.

Deadlifts - flat shoes + loose belt on work sets

Warmed up to 345 for 3 sets of 5.  This got pretty hard.  RPE = ~9, 9.5, 9.5.  On the plus side, I think this is an all time PR in terms of sets across.  I think I might have done 2 sets of 5 @ 345 once, but never three.

I actually had to reset between the 4th and 5th reps on the 3rd set, maybe a 5 second breather, as two callouses on my left hand were in the process of tearing off, causing me to lose my grip.  Ow.

Press

I made an interesting discovery today - flat shoes seem to bother my back less at limit efforts.  Presumably because I'm not as hyperextended.

On the flip side, the transition to lockout feels more awkward.  However, I'd probably prioritize not having anything hurt over a slightly awkward lockout.

135 for 3 sets of 5 last week was pretty much a limit effort, so this week I just went up to 145 for 3 sets of 3, which I think matches my all time PR for those sets/reps.  RPE = ~9, 9.5, 9.5.

Hammer Row + Pullover Machine

I worked out at a gym I rarely do anymore (I had an obscenely long membership that lasted forever - $120 for 2 years), rarely due to how far away it is (~25 minutes).  It was in the neighborhood of the closest Trader Joe's, though, so it was nice going back there.  Awesome equipment, including the above, which I'd LOVE to have access too in general.

Hammer Row - 2 plates per side for a set of 12.  No idea if this is a PR.

Pullover Machine - 150 for a set of 15.  Same on the PR-age.
 
Nice deads Mikey. Plus, condolences on the calluses ripping. That'll suck for chins.

Because my hernia op is delayed I'm thinking about getting some Inzer Briefs or similar so I can deadlift again (sub-maximally) with reduced risk of exacerbating my injury. They should help with squatting too. Something like this:

I'm thinking of these:

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=HD_GROO

or perhaps these:

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=PWR_PNT

Any experience with these babies or something similar?
 
<div>
(Lol @ Jul. 01 2009,8:19)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Nice deads Mikey. Plus, condolences on the calluses ripping. That'll suck for chins.

Because my hernia op is delayed I'm thinking about getting some Inzer Briefs or similar so I can deadlift again (sub-maximally) with reduced risk of exacerbating my injury. They should help with squatting too. Something like this:

I'm thinking of these:

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=HD_GROO

or perhaps these:

http://www.inzernet.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=PWR_PNT

Any experience with these babies or something similar?</div>
Only supportive gear I ever tried was a bench shirt once, and didn't like the feel of it. Haven't used briefs/suits/etc, but it is an interesting idea, given the hernia.
 
Man...I turned a fatiguing week REALLY fatiguing by having several drinks earlier and then lifting afterwards without eating in between :-x

Squats - oly shoes

Warmed up to 195 for 2 sets of 10 done high bar, one low bar. The low bar felt the best of the three, but I just had no speed/zip. Core still feels fatigued.

RPE = ~8, 9, 9 or thereabouts? In a sense it felt worse than this in terms of &quot;really really wanting to stop,&quot; however, I could have done more reps with a gun to my head.

Bench

Also slow, but it worked.

Warmed up to 192.5 for 3 sets of 10, first reps paused.

Pullups

Me + 12.5 for 3 sets of 10 done wide-ish grip.
 
Mikey, how does you pull-up strength compare to your (ridiculous!) chinning strength?
 
<div>
(Lol @ Jul. 03 2009,5:01)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Mikey, how does you pull-up strength compare to your (ridiculous!) chinning strength?</div>
Definitely less. I think I experimented recently and got up to a single with like me + 90 in a strict pullup? I've done me + 155 in a strict chinup, so there's a marked disparity in strength there, and it's part of the reason I'm hitting pullups hard lately.
 
In thinking out my routine, I think I will wind up substituting a leg press for the squats on the &quot;medium&quot; day. I feel like I'm neglecting the leg press and overtaxing my lower back, and this would take care of both.

As per Rip's wisdom, when I look at my logs, it really seems like 5's do most of the job of taking care of both ends of the rep spectrum - i.e. after getting my 5's up in squats in particular, both my 1 RM and ability to rep stuff out go way up. I'm not sure the 10's in squats are adding anything special at the moment besides extra lower back fatigue.
 
<div>
(Aaron_F @ Jul. 03 2009,7:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">did you read the RTS manual?</div>
I did, it's been my inspiration to track RPE on stuff, if nothing else.
 
I looked at it again...it is definitely an interesting setup.

I am presently considering one of two options.  This program has pretty much run its course (RPE's on the 5's are nearly maxed out), and I was thinking of deloading after next week and then just switching to something else.

However, I could proactively deload this week into something else, I suppose.  I was considering going back to a 4 day split as I am now more or less used to my school schedule, and it shouldn't be a big deal.  I like being able to concentrate on JUST lower or upper body stuff in a given day.
 
Decided to transition back to upper/lower.  Rereading Tescherer's RTS manual, I think I'll do a block of high intensity, low volume stuff on the main lifts as a transition away from sets of 5 across.  What, specifically, I do, will be random.

Squats - low bar + belt on work sets

Warmup went something like this:

135 x a few (band, no belt)
185 x a few (band, no belt)
205 x 1 (band, no belt)
225 x 1 (band, no belt)
245 x 1 (no belt)
265 x 1 (belt)
275 x 1 (belt) - RPE ~8
285 x 1 (belt) - RPE ~9
300 x 2 (belt) - RPE ~10 (hell, I'll just use Tescherer's qualification for 10 as being a limit effort instead of confusing **** with 9.5)

Honestly, this didn't feel that hard to recover from.  My main problem in low bar seems exacerbated after coming off a period of high bar squats, i.e. I seem to lose back extension and GM stuff up.

300 x 2 technically qualifies as an all time PR in this style, but mostly because I never attempted it before.

45 degree Leg Press - widowmaker

I kind of miss the leg press, and decided to do a widowmaker in these today.

5 plates per side for a set of 25.  Yeeeouch.

Leg Extension

Decided to pump some extra blood into my legs a couple minutes after the widowmaker.  Did like 60 x 25 or something.  Burny but really light.
 
Some nice squatting there

whats the bodyweight at the moment? you are coming in beach season so you must be getting lean
 
<div>
(Aaron_F @ Jul. 05 2009,10:47)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Some nice squatting there

whats the bodyweight at the moment? you are coming in beach season so you must be getting lean</div>
I started getting overly lean and actually cut myself off. Bodyweight is like ~160 at the moment, though I am obviously fairly lean at that level
tounge.gif
 
Press - flat shoes + belt on work sets

Warmup went something like this:

95 x 3 (no belt)
115 x 3 (no belt)
135 x 1 (no belt)
145 x 1 (no belt)
5 sets of 150 x 1 (belt)

The RPE's on the singles were technically 10's in the sense that I doubt I could have gotten additional reps.  All the singles were pretty slow, too.   Not sure what's up with this lift, but I'm just playing this by ear.  I felt like doing 5 singles, so I did...starting with the second single, the singles all felt about equally as slow/difficult.

On the plus side, with flat shoes and trying to set up strictly (elbows a little further forward and upper back more set), back discomfort was pretty minimal.

Chins

Me + 95 x 6.  I think this is an all time PR in terms of absolute weight lifted.

Dips

Warmed up to me + 95 x 8.  This might also be an all time PR.  I was surprised I actually got this, the 8th rep was about as slow as is possible but it went.
 
Oh yah, to counter the claims of the Rippetoe cult (it's possible I'm a practicing member at times), despite the usual insult of the leg press being gay and/or quad dominant and useless, my widowmaker set of leg presses yesterday made my glutes more sore than squats EVER have. Insane glute DOMS today.
 
Decent workout today.

Deadlifts - flat shoes + belt on work set

Warmed up something like this:

135 x a few
225 x a few
275 x 1
315 x 1
335 x 1
355 x 1 (belt)
365 x 5 (belt)

365 x 5 is reasonable for me. I did these as 4 continuous reps (bar still deloaded fully on the ground every time, I just didn't regrip or pause more than a second), and the last rep I took a few deep breaths and reset my back position.

This reminds me that, in some ways, I actually really like resetting back position between reps with heavy weights. Doing it semi rest paused like this is how I got up to 385 x 5 early in the year. Though what I did today is a lot more clearly a &quot;set&quot; than that 385 x 5 (in that I took probably 5-20 seconds between every rep).

RPE = ~9-10 I guess. I probably could have done another but it would have been ugly. As it was, I'm sure this wasn't my prettiest set ever, but it didn't feel totally wretched...

Bottom Position Rack Squats

After reading a thread over on the P&amp;B in which John Mckean (hardgainer author, semi famous powerlifter) described how useful he found the movement, I experimented with bottom position rack squats.

I set the height so that I was just about exactly at parallel. The actual sticking point in a squat is right around or JUST above parallel, so this makes sense, and was his recommendation (since the elastic rebound in a &quot;normal&quot; squat will carry you to at least this point). This was harder than anticipated.

My sets looked like this:

bar x warmup
135 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5 (pretty hard)

The fact that 5 reps of this at 205 was hard is impressive. I am clearly grinding into my sticking point very quickly out of the bottom, after which the bar shoots up. Deloading every time at the bottom (even if just for a 1/2 or full second) definitely makes a difference - even in a paused squat you build up stored energy you can use, if you actually deload the bar on the safety pins at all, you are starting from a DEAD stop every time.

So yah, I really like this movement, I'm going to use it as an assistance exercise for sure.

Back extensions (flat)

Me + two 45 lb dumbbells for a set of 12 done with a brief pause at the top as I retracted my shoulder blades.
 
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