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

Weird day, in that bench felt awkward/off, but my accessory movements all went well.

Bench (first reps paused)

I was having trouble finding my groove in this...

135 x a few
185 x a few
205 x 1
225 x 1
245 x 1
235 x 4

I wanted to try a set of 235 for 5, but 4 was grindy and I knew it just wasn't happening. In fairness, I've never done better than 4 reps at 235, but previous sets have felt a little less awkward. My setup itself was a little messy, though, in that I had to readjust on the bench after unracking it myself, as the bar tilted to my left.

Rack Press (straight legs)

225 x 12. In this style (straight legs, harder than bent legs), I suppose you could call it an all time PR.

Pullchins

Me + 70 x 5 (pullups), 5 deep breaths, Me + 70 x 4 (chins).

The pullups portion of this was an all time PR, I'm pretty sure. Not quite as super strict with the chest up, but doing 5 pullups at this weight is very good for me.

Cable T-Bar Rows

105 x 12.
 
Alright day, screwed myself up on squats which I will detail more in a minute.

Pause Squats - flat shoes

135 x a few (band)
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
245 x 3 (belt)
255 x 3 (belt)
275 x 3 (belt, bounce)
275 x 1 (belt, pause)

Paused squats actually went fine, more or less.  I didn't necessarily have any expectations as I haven't done this movement in forever.

255 x 3, all paused, seems pretty reasonable.  For reasons unknown, due to the fact that I was recording this, I decided I was going to capture a set of 5 with 275 on video, for no particular reason.

This was a massive mistake - after a bunch of sets of paused reps, my ability to harness the stretch reflex felt incredibly awkward, which I should have predicted.  I cut myself off after 3 reps as the third one felt like ****.

After that, I just did a paused single at 275, which was slow but felt good.

This movement is interesting - I actually like the feel of paused squats better than "normal" in a way.  My setup feels really "tight."  I just need to remember not to try "normal" squats after doing a bunch of paused sets in the future.

Here's a video of it.

Non-lockout squats

Like the above, momentary pauses in the bottom, but without ever locking out at the top.

185 x 12 (belt) - all time PR.

A video of these.

Bulgarian Split Squats

Me + 40 (20 lb dumbbell per hand) for a set of 20 per side.  Ouch.
 
Press - flat shoes

bar x 5
95 x 3
115 x 3
135 x 3
145 x 3,3,3,3 (belt)

4 sets of 3 with 145 is an all time PR in terms of sets across (i.e. I've only done a max of 3 x 3 @ this weight before).

Dips

I used the dip stand at my school today, and it's a little wider than I'm used to, which felt awkward/harder.

Me x 5
Me + 90 x 3
Me + 115 x 3 (I decided not to aim for failure, and stopped short here)
Me + 45 x 14 (all time PR?)

Not sure if Me + 45 x 14 is an all time PR or not. I think it might be, technically.

Chins

Me + 115 x 1
Me + 45 x 13 (all time PR).
 
After watching vids of myself low bar squatting, I've come to the conclusion that my default back squat is sort of a low bar/oly squat weirdo hybrid that tends to get a little GM-y. Which is probably exactly what happens when you try to do something resembling "oly" squats with a low bar rack (i.e. going very low with a low bar rack predisposes you to GM the weight up).

I actually go deeper than the vids above when I incorporate a bounce, and I definitely have forward knee slide and a relatively upright posture compared to how a lot of people "low bar" squat. I'm not sure why I've adopted this form per se, but I'm thinking my form needs tweaking.
 
After taking some additional footage tonight, I don't think my form was as off as I thought. I have a tendency to go too low by relaxing my hamstrings, basically, but if I stay tighter and stop higher, my forward knee slide also stops.
 
I think this will mark the last day of this lifting cycle.  I will deload next week and figure out what to do from there.

Today was a combination day, given that I skipped lifting yesterday as A) my lower back has felt really tight and B) I had school stuff to worry about.

Deadlifts - flat shoes

135 x a few
225 x a few
275 x 1
315 x 1
335 x 1
365 x 1 (belt)
405 x 1 (belt)
370 x 5 (belt, straps)

This didn't feel quite as snappy as last week, but the 405 still felt very tight.  My set of 5 with 370 felt a little loose.  I probably was rounding a little - better reset tot 135 so I can gain real strength.

Bench - first reps paused

135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 1
225 x 1
245 x 1
250 x 2,2,2
205 x 8

I did a few doubles with 250.  Fairly challenging, limit weights at the moment.

The backoff set of 205 for 8 could have gone better.  I seem to have lost my ability to rep out bench, having not practiced bench for > 4 reps in quite a while.  Oops.  Previous best is 210 x 10 and 215 x 8, but this isn't always a terribly reliable predictor of my top end strength, which feels reasonable at the moment.

Lat Pulldowns

200 x 8 (this is the entire stack).

Leg Press

Lowest setting on whatever the hell machine they have at my school's gym for maximum ROM.

300 x 20 (breathing style, resting at the top).  Ouch.

Seated Cable Rows

130 x 20.  Also ouch.  A little english at the end - sue me.
smile.gif
 
A deload day...sort of?

Pause Squats - first reps paused

135 x a few
185 x a few
205 x a few
225 x a few
245 x 1 (belt)
275 x 1 (belt)
285 x 1 (belt)
300 x 1 (belt)

A pause with 300, albeit a momentary pause, is definitely an all time PR in this style.

I took some videos of my form, and what I saw was mostly okay.

I have a tendency to have a little extra knee slide towards the bottom as things get tough, but I'm more or less observing Rip's rule about forward knee travel stopping ~1/2 of the way down.

I also don't seem to be shoving the knees out as hard as things get tough.

And, weirdly, I seem to be a little more upright as things get tough, probably related to the relaxing hamstrings I guess.

I suppose the solution is to lean over and shove my knees out more. I'm also curious if I can ever do low bar squats without having a tendency to slightly GM things.

Press

bar x 5
95 x 3
115 x 3
135 x 1
145 x 1
155 x 1 (belt)

Chins

Me + 90 x 1
Me + 135 x 1

Dips (full pause at bottom)

Me x 5
Me + 90 x 3
Me + 115 x 1
Me + 135 x 1
Me + 150 x 1

Me + 150 for a fully paused single is a 315 pound dip or so, which is pretty cool. Now if I could only bench this...
 
Mikeynov, I remember a post from a long time ago where you wrote that you had, very successfully, used intermittent fasting for a cut. Could you briefly explain your diet from that time (fasting times, diet, pre & post W.O. nutrition)? I know this is VERY off subject, but I'd love to get your insight on this. Thank you.
 
<div>
(DairyGuy @ Aug. 04 2009,6:37)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Mikeynov, I remember a post from a long time ago where you wrote that you had, very successfully, used intermittent fasting for a cut.  Could you briefly explain your diet from that time (fasting times, diet, pre &amp; post W.O. nutrition)?  I know this is VERY off subject, but I'd love to get your insight on this.  Thank you.</div>
No problemo.

I've experimented with IF on and off for a couple of years, and my most successful iteration of IF went something like this, last summer:

~15-16 hour fast

Pre-workout meal consisting of some oats/protein.  Not too many calories, just enough to feel motivated.

Work out

~1/2 my daily calories (ended at ~2000 average daily) as my post workout meal, consisting mostly of protein + high carb, with low fat

Eat a couple more times later in the day with the rest of the allotted calories, a little more paleo-ish in terms of an emphasis on protein/veggies/fruit/healthy fat.

On non-workout days, I think I'd still have up to half my calories as one big &quot;healthy&quot; meal for my first meal.  I also relied a lot on coffee during the fasts to keep me alert.

In terms of working out, I basically used a low volume, upper/lower and full body type split.  E.g. a couple of sets of 5 on a heavy exercise, and that's it.  Really simple stuff like that.
 
Second not so deload-y deload day of the week
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Deadlifts

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

405 felt reasonably tight, I guess, but hard/slow. My weight is down a few pounds this week from lack of calories I guess, so no biggie.

Bench (first reps paused)

135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
225 x 1
245 x 1

Also a little slow, but quite manageable.

Pullups

Me x 5
Me + 45 x 3
Me + 90 x 1
 
Also interesting that I seem to grab the bar asymmetrically every time...

Man, I am an asymmetric mess :-x
 
I for one appreciate your willingness to post the pics and videos - the extra mile you go to illustrate form needs to be commended.

I've been killing some down time lately going back through several years worth of threads on Lyles &quot;mean&quot; board and enjoying some of your lively debates.

Well enough nut hugging- keep up the good work...
smile.gif
 
<div>
(RUSS @ Aug. 09 2009,3:16)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I for one appreciate your willingness to post the pics and videos - the extra mile you go to illustrate form needs to be commended.

             I've been killing some down time lately going back through several years worth of threads on Lyles &quot;mean&quot; board and enjoying some of your lively debates.

             Well enough nut hugging- keep up the good work...
smile.gif
</div>
Appreciate the kind words, Russ
smile.gif
 
<div>
(Aaron_F @ Aug. 09 2009,4:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">your co-worker has a good hunch going</div>
He holds the bar fairly low, but that style works well for him.
 
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