I
imported_electric
Guest
Congrats mike. What have they been feeding you?
200, 300, 400, 500 - A quest for greatness
- Thread starter mikeynov
- Start date
More PR's in all three lifts today...
Pause Squats - 255 x 5
Weighted Chins - me + 105 (~275) x 5
Pause Bench - 230 x 5 (now with extra shakiness).
Squats - a little faster eccentric, perhaps slightly less paused, but good enough in my book.
Chins - this is about perfect in terms of the form I prefer.
Bench - way too shaky for my liking, also a few of the pauses are a bit borderline. Still, a PR is a PR, right?
The only thing I didn't hit PR numbers on today was hook grip deads. Worked up to 355 for a single in this, and it was right at the point where my form started breaking down more than I was comfortable with, but this definitely wasn't a limit single.
My previous best without a belt is 365 (405 belted), and while I may have been able to squeak out a grindy 370 today, I figured I'd save my energy for a possible attempt at deadlifting this coming Tuesday, when I test conservative maxes with a buddy again. I'm trying to be wise and stuff.
Pause Squats - 255 x 5
Weighted Chins - me + 105 (~275) x 5
Pause Bench - 230 x 5 (now with extra shakiness).
Squats - a little faster eccentric, perhaps slightly less paused, but good enough in my book.
Chins - this is about perfect in terms of the form I prefer.
Bench - way too shaky for my liking, also a few of the pauses are a bit borderline. Still, a PR is a PR, right?
The only thing I didn't hit PR numbers on today was hook grip deads. Worked up to 355 for a single in this, and it was right at the point where my form started breaking down more than I was comfortable with, but this definitely wasn't a limit single.
My previous best without a belt is 365 (405 belted), and while I may have been able to squeak out a grindy 370 today, I figured I'd save my energy for a possible attempt at deadlifting this coming Tuesday, when I test conservative maxes with a buddy again. I'm trying to be wise and stuff.
Momentary Pause Squat - 315 x 1
(Very) Momentary Pause Squat - 335 x 1 (!!!)
Almost paused bench - 280 x 1
Weighted Chin - me + 170 x almost a single
Hook Grip Deadlifts - 405 x 1 with excessively long lockout, for the haters
Today went quite well...I'll update more later, but the above are all basically PR's. I probably should have gone 425 after the deads above, but my buddy was running out of film for himself, so I opted against it.
(Very) Momentary Pause Squat - 335 x 1 (!!!)
Almost paused bench - 280 x 1
Weighted Chin - me + 170 x almost a single
Hook Grip Deadlifts - 405 x 1 with excessively long lockout, for the haters
Today went quite well...I'll update more later, but the above are all basically PR's. I probably should have gone 425 after the deads above, but my buddy was running out of film for himself, so I opted against it.
For those interested, here is the quote by Bill Starr concerning the momentary pause I've been gravitating towards:
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">"Go down slowly to a just below parallel position. Stop momentarily. This is an important point to always remember, for if a pause is built into every rep, there can be no rebounding. Do not relax when you stop, however, but stay tight so that you do not round your lower back and break position." - Bill Starr</div>
I think it's similar in logic to what Arthur Jones recommended, i.e. make the movement entirely a product of "muscular action," without a pronounced rebound to use stored, elastic energy to help you on the way up.
My experience so far is that, while you will never squat quite as much this way, your strength potential is a high enough % that I'd be tempted to have people train like this as their de facto form of squatting. The momentary pause used like this gives you a very good sense of what the bottom position feels like, and seems to keep people tighter there than when the option of bouncing is introduced.
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">"Go down slowly to a just below parallel position. Stop momentarily. This is an important point to always remember, for if a pause is built into every rep, there can be no rebounding. Do not relax when you stop, however, but stay tight so that you do not round your lower back and break position." - Bill Starr</div>
I think it's similar in logic to what Arthur Jones recommended, i.e. make the movement entirely a product of "muscular action," without a pronounced rebound to use stored, elastic energy to help you on the way up.
My experience so far is that, while you will never squat quite as much this way, your strength potential is a high enough % that I'd be tempted to have people train like this as their de facto form of squatting. The momentary pause used like this gives you a very good sense of what the bottom position feels like, and seems to keep people tighter there than when the option of bouncing is introduced.
Nice vids Mike. I hope the folks seeing these vids on YT recognise the hard work and dedication that went into achieving them. A 170lb chin (and only a tad off your usual ROM) is awesome stuff. Surely a fully fledged SA chin is definitely in your near future once you get off the cookies.
Inspirational stuff.
Ripp likes to get folks to use the stretch reflex because he feels it helps get through the turnaround more efficiently and therefore allows for the use of more weight through the whole lift. This in turn compensates for any loss in strain on muscle tissue caused by the use of the bounce.
I remember that you scared the heck out of me the first time I saw the the speed of your eccentric for squats. For me, natural caution (at the time, I hadn't read anything by coach Ripp - or any other coach for that matter) told me something might break if I dropped quickly when the loads got heavy (ie. >=8RM). So I just got used to going more slowly and not bouncing out of the bottom. I then tried dropping a bit quicker which definitely helped through the turnaround.
Although I haven't broken anything when using a stretch reflex while squatting, I think I'm going to go with what you are calling a 'Starr pause'. I certainly feel a set is harder to complete if one pauses at the bottom which means I'll need to be stronger to get through the same number of reps with any particular load.
Now I'm older, the safety aspect of lifting heavier loads is becoming much more important, so pausing is going to be figuring heavily in all my future lifting of heavy stuff. Thanks for getting me started. I'm also getting the guys I train to do similarly. It really helps them to focus on form.
Ripp likes to get folks to use the stretch reflex because he feels it helps get through the turnaround more efficiently and therefore allows for the use of more weight through the whole lift. This in turn compensates for any loss in strain on muscle tissue caused by the use of the bounce.
I remember that you scared the heck out of me the first time I saw the the speed of your eccentric for squats. For me, natural caution (at the time, I hadn't read anything by coach Ripp - or any other coach for that matter) told me something might break if I dropped quickly when the loads got heavy (ie. >=8RM). So I just got used to going more slowly and not bouncing out of the bottom. I then tried dropping a bit quicker which definitely helped through the turnaround.
Although I haven't broken anything when using a stretch reflex while squatting, I think I'm going to go with what you are calling a 'Starr pause'. I certainly feel a set is harder to complete if one pauses at the bottom which means I'll need to be stronger to get through the same number of reps with any particular load.
Now I'm older, the safety aspect of lifting heavier loads is becoming much more important, so pausing is going to be figuring heavily in all my future lifting of heavy stuff. Thanks for getting me started. I'm also getting the guys I train to do similarly. It really helps them to focus on form.
<div>
(Lol @ Dec. 16 2009,4:23)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Nice vids Mike. I hope the folks seeing these vids on YT recognise the hard work and dedication that went into achieving them. A 170lb chin (and only a tad off your usual ROM) is awesome stuff. Surely a fully fledged SA chin is definitely in your near future once you get off the cookies.
Inspirational stuff.
Ripp likes to get folks to use the stretch reflex because he feels it helps get through the turnaround more efficiently and therefore allows for the use of more weight through the whole lift. This in turn compensates for any loss in strain on muscle tissue caused by the use of the bounce.
I remember that you scared the heck out of me the first time I saw the the speed of your eccentric for squats. For me, natural caution (at the time, I hadn't read anything by coach Ripp - or any other coach for that matter) told me something might break if I dropped quickly when the loads got heavy (ie. >=8RM). So I just got used to going more slowly and not bouncing out of the bottom. I then tried dropping a bit quicker which definitely helped through the turnaround.
Although I haven't broken anything when using a stretch reflex while squatting, I think I'm going to go with what you are calling a 'Starr pause'. I certainly feel a set is harder to complete if one pauses at the bottom which means I'll need to be stronger to get through the same number of reps with any particular load.
Now I'm older, the safety aspect of lifting heavier loads is becoming much more important, so pausing is going to be figuring heavily in all my future lifting of heavy stuff. Thanks for getting me started. I'm also getting the guys I train to do similarly. It really helps them to focus on form.</div>
Thank you again for the kind words, sir
I like the "momentary" pauses. Longer pauses certainly work, but I think there's a tendency for the pauses to be a bit all over the place without some standard, and I think the standard of actually being momentarily motionless at the bottom is probably enough. It tends to happen late in a maximal set, or at a heavy enough weight, and is probably doing most of the good from a safety perspective.
I've actually talked about this issue a lot with the guy I trained with tonight, we have been training similarly and both been doing very well on these principles/programs. Here's him doing a rather humbling 425 in a similar style:
Chuck Squat - 425 x 1
He's actually the one who coined the term "Starr pause" after reading The Strongest Shall Survive, and I like it. I think what you'll find is that, at lower weights, you will probably have a tendency to pause a little longer, but as the going gets tough, things will get "momentary," and I think this is fine.
The idea is for the pause to basically A) teach you what the bottom position of a movement feels like and B) stay tight there. As you said above, I had the tendency in the past to go down way too fast in my squats (I tolerated it well, but in hindsight, not entirely wise), and as a consequence, I was relaxing at the bottom. I think this was reinforcing my GM-y tendencies, as my 335 vid actually looks less GM-y than some of my older vids that used much, much lighter weights.
But yah, I'm not sure pauses are the be all end all, I may go back to some bouncing at some point, but for now it's actually working very well, so I'm going to continue to stick with it, and I'll be very interested to hear how you/your training partners do with it
edit: the only caution I'd add here, that I think I messaged tim about at one point, is that overly frequent pressing done in this style actually seems to be MORE stressful on the shoulder than usual, possibly as a consequence of the passive structures in the shoulder (anterior capsule etc) being exposed to more strain via TUL. I am guessing this will be less of a concern at 3 times a week, but I did manage to **** up my shoulder a little after a few months of dipping/benching 3-5 times a week, so buyer beware
(Lol @ Dec. 16 2009,4:23)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Nice vids Mike. I hope the folks seeing these vids on YT recognise the hard work and dedication that went into achieving them. A 170lb chin (and only a tad off your usual ROM) is awesome stuff. Surely a fully fledged SA chin is definitely in your near future once you get off the cookies.
Ripp likes to get folks to use the stretch reflex because he feels it helps get through the turnaround more efficiently and therefore allows for the use of more weight through the whole lift. This in turn compensates for any loss in strain on muscle tissue caused by the use of the bounce.
I remember that you scared the heck out of me the first time I saw the the speed of your eccentric for squats. For me, natural caution (at the time, I hadn't read anything by coach Ripp - or any other coach for that matter) told me something might break if I dropped quickly when the loads got heavy (ie. >=8RM). So I just got used to going more slowly and not bouncing out of the bottom. I then tried dropping a bit quicker which definitely helped through the turnaround.
Although I haven't broken anything when using a stretch reflex while squatting, I think I'm going to go with what you are calling a 'Starr pause'. I certainly feel a set is harder to complete if one pauses at the bottom which means I'll need to be stronger to get through the same number of reps with any particular load.
Now I'm older, the safety aspect of lifting heavier loads is becoming much more important, so pausing is going to be figuring heavily in all my future lifting of heavy stuff. Thanks for getting me started. I'm also getting the guys I train to do similarly. It really helps them to focus on form.</div>
Thank you again for the kind words, sir
I like the "momentary" pauses. Longer pauses certainly work, but I think there's a tendency for the pauses to be a bit all over the place without some standard, and I think the standard of actually being momentarily motionless at the bottom is probably enough. It tends to happen late in a maximal set, or at a heavy enough weight, and is probably doing most of the good from a safety perspective.
I've actually talked about this issue a lot with the guy I trained with tonight, we have been training similarly and both been doing very well on these principles/programs. Here's him doing a rather humbling 425 in a similar style:
Chuck Squat - 425 x 1
He's actually the one who coined the term "Starr pause" after reading The Strongest Shall Survive, and I like it. I think what you'll find is that, at lower weights, you will probably have a tendency to pause a little longer, but as the going gets tough, things will get "momentary," and I think this is fine.
The idea is for the pause to basically A) teach you what the bottom position of a movement feels like and B) stay tight there. As you said above, I had the tendency in the past to go down way too fast in my squats (I tolerated it well, but in hindsight, not entirely wise), and as a consequence, I was relaxing at the bottom. I think this was reinforcing my GM-y tendencies, as my 335 vid actually looks less GM-y than some of my older vids that used much, much lighter weights.
But yah, I'm not sure pauses are the be all end all, I may go back to some bouncing at some point, but for now it's actually working very well, so I'm going to continue to stick with it, and I'll be very interested to hear how you/your training partners do with it
edit: the only caution I'd add here, that I think I messaged tim about at one point, is that overly frequent pressing done in this style actually seems to be MORE stressful on the shoulder than usual, possibly as a consequence of the passive structures in the shoulder (anterior capsule etc) being exposed to more strain via TUL. I am guessing this will be less of a concern at 3 times a week, but I did manage to **** up my shoulder a little after a few months of dipping/benching 3-5 times a week, so buyer beware
In a nutshell, our programs have basically revolved around these principles, and they have worked better for both of us than anything in recent memory:
* All exercises are "momentarily" paused. At lighter weights, it tends to be a little longer, and heavier weights, it definitely gets "momentary."
* Lifts are performed frequently, ~3-5 times a week. After experimentation, I think we're finding that 3 times a week seems to be giving most of the effect.
* Volume is regularly manipulated. The pattern we both seem to have success with is: normal volume --> higher than normal volume --> lower than normal volume --> retest maxes/deload. We have had success in both 3-4 and 6-7 week cycles like this. I kind of prefer the former, he seems to prefer the latter.
* We use RPE to make sure we're not pushing too hard on any particular day, and by extension of this, we have no pre-determined loads. The effort on any particular day determines the load, and generally we aim for an RPE of ~8-9 (i.e. anywhere from at least 1 to maybe 3 reps to spare on any particular set)
My next cycle I may actually do what he did, which was more or less exactly what I did my preceding cycle, but instead of 3 sets of 5 --> 5 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5 --> retest, it was 2 sets of 5 --> 3 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5, like the original scheme, and he simply added some assistance stuff on top. I like this idea because it gives that nice principle of specificity which seems to be working so well, but gives you a chance to play with new stuff.
* All exercises are "momentarily" paused. At lighter weights, it tends to be a little longer, and heavier weights, it definitely gets "momentary."
* Lifts are performed frequently, ~3-5 times a week. After experimentation, I think we're finding that 3 times a week seems to be giving most of the effect.
* Volume is regularly manipulated. The pattern we both seem to have success with is: normal volume --> higher than normal volume --> lower than normal volume --> retest maxes/deload. We have had success in both 3-4 and 6-7 week cycles like this. I kind of prefer the former, he seems to prefer the latter.
* We use RPE to make sure we're not pushing too hard on any particular day, and by extension of this, we have no pre-determined loads. The effort on any particular day determines the load, and generally we aim for an RPE of ~8-9 (i.e. anywhere from at least 1 to maybe 3 reps to spare on any particular set)
My next cycle I may actually do what he did, which was more or less exactly what I did my preceding cycle, but instead of 3 sets of 5 --> 5 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5 --> retest, it was 2 sets of 5 --> 3 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5, like the original scheme, and he simply added some assistance stuff on top. I like this idea because it gives that nice principle of specificity which seems to be working so well, but gives you a chance to play with new stuff.
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">My next cycle I may actually do what he did, which was more or less exactly what I did my preceding cycle, but instead of 3 sets of 5 --> 5 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5 --> retest, it was 2 sets of 5 --> 3 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5, like the original scheme, and he simply added some assistance stuff on top. I like this idea because it gives that nice principle of specificity which seems to be working so well, but gives you a chance to play with new stuff. </div>
I'm not sure whether it's a factor of old age but I sometimes do better on my second set of 5 than my first set of 5 with the same load. Maybe that points to an inadequate warmup? I remember you used to warmup to a heavy single and then drop back down for your worksets. I think I might try that if I found my performance for a single set of 5 was less than stellar.
On another tack: I think I'm going to order my Vibram 5-finger KSOs today. I noticed you were squatting in them in your most recent vid. I guess I don't need to ask how you found them for squatting; your form for 335 seemed just fine to me. Do you prefer squatting without a heel lift?
I'm not sure whether it's a factor of old age but I sometimes do better on my second set of 5 than my first set of 5 with the same load. Maybe that points to an inadequate warmup? I remember you used to warmup to a heavy single and then drop back down for your worksets. I think I might try that if I found my performance for a single set of 5 was less than stellar.
On another tack: I think I'm going to order my Vibram 5-finger KSOs today. I noticed you were squatting in them in your most recent vid. I guess I don't need to ask how you found them for squatting; your form for 335 seemed just fine to me. Do you prefer squatting without a heel lift?
<div>
(Lol @ Dec. 16 2009,5:47)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> <div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">My next cycle I may actually do what he did, which was more or less exactly what I did my preceding cycle, but instead of 3 sets of 5 --> 5 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5 --> retest, it was 2 sets of 5 --> 3 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5, like the original scheme, and he simply added some assistance stuff on top. I like this idea because it gives that nice principle of specificity which seems to be working so well, but gives you a chance to play with new stuff. </div>
I'm not sure whether it's a factor of old age but I sometimes do better on my second set of 5 than my first set of 5 with the same load. Maybe that points to an inadequate warmup? I remember you used to warmup to a heavy single and then drop back down for your worksets. I think I might try that if I found my performance for a single set of 5 was less than stellar.
On another tack: I think I'm going to order my Vibram 5-finger KSOs today. I noticed you were squatting in them in your most recent vid. I guess I don't need to ask how you found them for squatting; your form for 335 seemed just fine to me. Do you prefer squatting without a heel lift?</div>
Yah, for a max effort attempt, I'll take that 335. My biggest gripes are A) I could have paused it a moment or two longer I guess (though I'll still say it qualifies as "momentarily paused"
and B) I actually corkscrew a teency bit on the way down, but both are really hard to avoid with something approximating a true 1 RM. It actually makes me wonder what I could do with a bit of a bounce...
The Vibram's are good stuff, the reason I actually like them isn't so much a heel issue as it is a "toes able to spread out" issue. After wearing them for a while, normal shoes actually feel like they're smushing your toes together. Which is precisely what most manmade shoes do, at least in principle/to some degree.
So what I've found, basically, corkscrewing in maximal attempt notwithstanding, is that I actually feel more stable in my Vibram's than most other shoes (due to the feet kind of spreading out how they want to), and that this increased sense of stability might actually be postiively impacting my strength. Based on the fact that I hit a 35 lb PR in my Starr-paused squats, I would say that, in the very least, these Vibram's are not hurting my performance.
And I'm the same way on sets of 5 (though mostly with squats), I would guess a lot of people are. I didn't bother doing the heavy single --> maximal set of 5 for any of these cycles, though, as the point wasn't really to set PR's, given the nature of attempting to manage RPE. I'd probably do this at the end of the cycles if, instead of a testing a 1 RM, I wanted to test a 5 RM or rep something out.
(Lol @ Dec. 16 2009,5:47)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> <div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">My next cycle I may actually do what he did, which was more or less exactly what I did my preceding cycle, but instead of 3 sets of 5 --> 5 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5 --> retest, it was 2 sets of 5 --> 3 sets of 5 --> 1 set of 5, like the original scheme, and he simply added some assistance stuff on top. I like this idea because it gives that nice principle of specificity which seems to be working so well, but gives you a chance to play with new stuff. </div>
I'm not sure whether it's a factor of old age but I sometimes do better on my second set of 5 than my first set of 5 with the same load. Maybe that points to an inadequate warmup? I remember you used to warmup to a heavy single and then drop back down for your worksets. I think I might try that if I found my performance for a single set of 5 was less than stellar.
On another tack: I think I'm going to order my Vibram 5-finger KSOs today. I noticed you were squatting in them in your most recent vid. I guess I don't need to ask how you found them for squatting; your form for 335 seemed just fine to me. Do you prefer squatting without a heel lift?</div>
Yah, for a max effort attempt, I'll take that 335. My biggest gripes are A) I could have paused it a moment or two longer I guess (though I'll still say it qualifies as "momentarily paused"
and B) I actually corkscrew a teency bit on the way down, but both are really hard to avoid with something approximating a true 1 RM. It actually makes me wonder what I could do with a bit of a bounce...The Vibram's are good stuff, the reason I actually like them isn't so much a heel issue as it is a "toes able to spread out" issue. After wearing them for a while, normal shoes actually feel like they're smushing your toes together. Which is precisely what most manmade shoes do, at least in principle/to some degree.
So what I've found, basically, corkscrewing in maximal attempt notwithstanding, is that I actually feel more stable in my Vibram's than most other shoes (due to the feet kind of spreading out how they want to), and that this increased sense of stability might actually be postiively impacting my strength. Based on the fact that I hit a 35 lb PR in my Starr-paused squats, I would say that, in the very least, these Vibram's are not hurting my performance.
And I'm the same way on sets of 5 (though mostly with squats), I would guess a lot of people are. I didn't bother doing the heavy single --> maximal set of 5 for any of these cycles, though, as the point wasn't really to set PR's, given the nature of attempting to manage RPE. I'd probably do this at the end of the cycles if, instead of a testing a 1 RM, I wanted to test a 5 RM or rep something out.
_tim
Well-Known Member
The vids are amazing, Mike. Congrats on all the PR's!
Your commentary on your experimentation is inspiring; your results speak for themselves - and being able to very clearly read about every aspect of your approach is tremendous. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it all out.
Your commentary on your experimentation is inspiring; your results speak for themselves - and being able to very clearly read about every aspect of your approach is tremendous. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it all out.
Dammit...the Quantum Leap DVDs don't contain a lot of the original music from the show, including the finale scene of the last episode of season 2, when Al slow dances with his wife to Georgia on my Mind by Ray Charles.
DAMN YOU, QUANTUM LEAP PRODUCERS *shakes fist*
This random rage brought to you by me being frustrated at DVD releases which screw up the original content.
DAMN YOU, QUANTUM LEAP PRODUCERS *shakes fist*
This random rage brought to you by me being frustrated at DVD releases which screw up the original content.
So, this cycle has reduced volume in the main lifts, with some accessory stuff thrown in. Do you know how tiring sets of 10 are after using more or less exclusively 5's for like 4+ months? lul
Pause Squats
Bar x warmup
135 x warmup (band)
185 x warmup (band)
205 x warmup (band)
225 x 1
245 x 5 (belt)
245 x 5 (belt)
RPE = ~9? Squats are tough, I will count it in terms of another good rep without resorting to GMing stuff up too badly.
Chins
Me x 5
Me + 90 x 5
Me + 90 x 5
RPE = ~9
Pause Bench
135 x warmup
185 x warmup
215 x 5
215 x 5
RPE = ~8-9?
Accessory ****
Pullups - 2 sets of me x 10
Incline Pause Barbell Bench - 2 sets of 135 x 10
Sissy Squats - a slow set of 15 with bodyweight (this feels awkward on my back, no go)
1-Leg Calf Raises - me x 15/side
My shoulder felt mostly okay. By the last set of incline bench it felt a little weird, but nothing too bad.
Pause Squats
Bar x warmup
135 x warmup (band)
185 x warmup (band)
205 x warmup (band)
225 x 1
245 x 5 (belt)
245 x 5 (belt)
RPE = ~9? Squats are tough, I will count it in terms of another good rep without resorting to GMing stuff up too badly.
Chins
Me x 5
Me + 90 x 5
Me + 90 x 5
RPE = ~9
Pause Bench
135 x warmup
185 x warmup
215 x 5
215 x 5
RPE = ~8-9?
Accessory ****
Pullups - 2 sets of me x 10
Incline Pause Barbell Bench - 2 sets of 135 x 10
Sissy Squats - a slow set of 15 with bodyweight (this feels awkward on my back, no go)
1-Leg Calf Raises - me x 15/side
My shoulder felt mostly okay. By the last set of incline bench it felt a little weird, but nothing too bad.
So, fascinating discovery...
Through some combination of selecting overly ambitious weights and, possibly, the sets of 10 , I am not recovering the way I should be. Actually, based on the response to the fatigue of sets of 10 last time, I have a feeling that chipped into my recovery more than anticipated.
As such, something's got to give. For today, I will drop the accessory work to see how things go, but starting Friday I'll reintroduce it in a different format.
If I found that 3 x 5 --> 5 x 5 --> 1 x 5 worked well, I might as well keep that volume constant, and just replace a little of it with accessory stuff. 5's actually seem easier to recover from, so I'll probably do a set of assistance stuff for each of the main lifts on Friday, 2 sets each of the days next week, and then just the primary lifts week 3.
Pause Squats
135 x warmup (band)
185 x warmup (band)
205 x warmup (band)
225 x 1 (no band)
245 x 5 (belt), 5 (belt)
RPE on first set = ~9, on 2nd, probably a ~10 in terms of ability to crank out more reps without GMing. This is obviously too much too fast, though I may have exacerbated things by extending the pause.
Chins
Me x 5
Me + 90 x 5, 5
RPE = ~9+ on both sets. It's possible these could have been 6's, but I was pretty juiced after squats.
Pause Bench
135 x warmup
185 x warmup
215 x 5,5
RPE = ~9, tops.
Surprisingly, these went fine.
But yah, I dunno...
Based on my top end weights, the weights I selected to start should be quite manageable, but they feel too heavy too soon. My ability to peak out in top end strength seems utterly disproportionate to my ability to rep stuff out. Example...I pause squatted 335, which makes 245 barely over 70% of my max. And yet I'm struggling mightily to get sets of 5 in it. Weird ****, man.
Through some combination of selecting overly ambitious weights and, possibly, the sets of 10 , I am not recovering the way I should be. Actually, based on the response to the fatigue of sets of 10 last time, I have a feeling that chipped into my recovery more than anticipated.
As such, something's got to give. For today, I will drop the accessory work to see how things go, but starting Friday I'll reintroduce it in a different format.
If I found that 3 x 5 --> 5 x 5 --> 1 x 5 worked well, I might as well keep that volume constant, and just replace a little of it with accessory stuff. 5's actually seem easier to recover from, so I'll probably do a set of assistance stuff for each of the main lifts on Friday, 2 sets each of the days next week, and then just the primary lifts week 3.
Pause Squats
135 x warmup (band)
185 x warmup (band)
205 x warmup (band)
225 x 1 (no band)
245 x 5 (belt), 5 (belt)
RPE on first set = ~9, on 2nd, probably a ~10 in terms of ability to crank out more reps without GMing. This is obviously too much too fast, though I may have exacerbated things by extending the pause.
Chins
Me x 5
Me + 90 x 5, 5
RPE = ~9+ on both sets. It's possible these could have been 6's, but I was pretty juiced after squats.
Pause Bench
135 x warmup
185 x warmup
215 x 5,5
RPE = ~9, tops.
Surprisingly, these went fine.
But yah, I dunno...
Based on my top end weights, the weights I selected to start should be quite manageable, but they feel too heavy too soon. My ability to peak out in top end strength seems utterly disproportionate to my ability to rep stuff out. Example...I pause squatted 335, which makes 245 barely over 70% of my max. And yet I'm struggling mightily to get sets of 5 in it. Weird ****, man.
Merry Christmas, all!
Christmas capped off a pretty ****** up workout week, where I was stronger on the first day of the cycle than the third. I seem to have started too heavy (on squats and chins, anyways), and have stubbornly refused to lower the weight. The net result is that I am now "training on the nerve" as the old timers put it, and it's taking its toll. I still squeaked everything out, but...****.
Pause Squats
Bar x warmup
135 x warmup (band)
185 x warmup (band)
225 x 1 (no band)
245 x 5,5 (belt)
RPE = ~10 on both. Just absolutely juiced.
Chins
Me x 5
Me + 90 x 5,5
RPE = ~9+ on both. Still over-heavy.
Pause Bench
135 x warmup
185 x warmup
220 x 5,5
RPE = 9 on both, probably. Could almost definitely have squeezed out another rep on both sets if I really had to.
Bench is actually the only thing going well. It's also the thing I started most conservatively. Coincidence? Probably not.
Hook Grip Sumo Deadlifts
225 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 3
315 x 3
335 x 3 (belt)
This was...ow. I thought my hamstrings were going to go into spasm on my left side more than once. Felt very awkward/hard, but 335 for 3 completely out of practice and with gay strict form is probably not so bad, all things considered. RPE here was probably a ~9, so that's about right.
Accessory ****
Pause Dips - me + 90 x 5
Pullups (Chest to bar, strict) - me + 45 x 5
Back Extensions - me + 90 (two 45's) x 10
I am going to have to drop the weight for 3 sets of 5 next week. Just how much, I'm not honestly sure.
Christmas capped off a pretty ****** up workout week, where I was stronger on the first day of the cycle than the third. I seem to have started too heavy (on squats and chins, anyways), and have stubbornly refused to lower the weight. The net result is that I am now "training on the nerve" as the old timers put it, and it's taking its toll. I still squeaked everything out, but...****.
Pause Squats
Bar x warmup
135 x warmup (band)
185 x warmup (band)
225 x 1 (no band)
245 x 5,5 (belt)
RPE = ~10 on both. Just absolutely juiced.
Chins
Me x 5
Me + 90 x 5,5
RPE = ~9+ on both. Still over-heavy.
Pause Bench
135 x warmup
185 x warmup
220 x 5,5
RPE = 9 on both, probably. Could almost definitely have squeezed out another rep on both sets if I really had to.
Bench is actually the only thing going well. It's also the thing I started most conservatively. Coincidence? Probably not.
Hook Grip Sumo Deadlifts
225 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 3
315 x 3
335 x 3 (belt)
This was...ow. I thought my hamstrings were going to go into spasm on my left side more than once. Felt very awkward/hard, but 335 for 3 completely out of practice and with gay strict form is probably not so bad, all things considered. RPE here was probably a ~9, so that's about right.
Accessory ****
Pause Dips - me + 90 x 5
Pullups (Chest to bar, strict) - me + 45 x 5
Back Extensions - me + 90 (two 45's) x 10
I am going to have to drop the weight for 3 sets of 5 next week. Just how much, I'm not honestly sure.