Lol's New HST Log

Sun 07/12/08

14th Week UD2: Heavy'ish' Day!

Front Squats: 10 x 60kg, 6 x 5 x 90kg (198lb)

Bench Press: 10 x 60kg, 3 x 90kg, 3 x 5 x 100kg (220lb), 2 x 3 x 105kg (231lb)

Parallel-grip Chins: 10 x bw, 3 x 5 x bw+25kg, 5MS reps + 5 negs x bw+25kg

EZ-bar Pendlay Rows: 10 x 81kg (178lb), 4 x 5 x 101kg (222lb)

EZ-bar SLDLs: 25 x 101kg (222lb), 15 x 111kg (244lb) - relatively light but good for my heart!

Switched back squats for front squats because low-bar felt pretty uncomfortable on my left shoulder. Risked bench and it was ok.
 
Mon 08/12/08

Working away from home so before bed I did:

Squats: 50, 50, 60 x bw

Push-ups: 40, 40, 30, 30, 20

As little rest as possible for maximum burn effect.
 
Tue 09/12/08

Tonight I just did two consecutive 10 min bike sessions and some chins/pull-ups.

Stationary Bike: 2 x 10 mins - no rest between sessions. Went for it for the second 10 mins. Got a score of 2980 on the readout for that session with steady a tempo of 90 rpm for eight minutes and then upping it for the last 2 mins. I now have to try to break 3000 which will be easily doable if I blast for 10-20 seconds each minute whilst keeping to a steady 90 rpm the rest of the time.

Parallel-grip Chins: 15, 10, 10, 5, 5 - short rest period between sets.

Kipping Pull-ups: 25 x bw - no straps. Haven't tried doing this many without straps but it was fine. Pleased with that. I reckon I could get at least 30 if I was fresh.
 
Wed 10/12/08

10 gentle mins on bike for warm-up.

15th Week UD2: Light Depletion again!

Squats: 10 x 60kg, 15 x 90kg (198lb), 2 x 15 x 100kg (220lb)

EZ-bar B-O Rows: 15 x 81kg (178lb) - form dropped off after 10th rep. Bit too heavy.

SA DB Rows: 15 x 51kg (112lb)

Kipping Pull-ups: 25 x bw - no straps.

Bench: 15 x 60kg, 2 x 15 x 70kg (154lb)

Dips: 35, 20 x bw

EZ-bar Pull-overs: 20 x 31kg, 3 x 15 x 41kg (90lb)

EZ-bar Shrugs: 25 x 81kg (178lb), 2 x 20 x 111kg (244lb) - felt good

Single-leg Standing Calf Raises: 4 x 10 x bw+25kg plus 10 negs last set

Feeling pretty shaky after that. Need some food. I've run out of whey too which is a pain so I'm cottage cheesing until the new batch arrives.
 
Thu 11/12/08

BW: 189lb - good, back down a few pounds.

As I have a pressing job to get on with, I decided to hold over the tension workout and carbing up until tomorrow night.

So, basically, I had a day off training but I did get time to squeeze in a 10 min bike session plus a 4 min Tabata bike session with bike set on hardest resistance setting. That was fun.
 
Fri 12/12/08

BW: 187.5lb - lowest yet!
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Had plenty of fluids today too so I think this is a sign that I really am lighter. I'm definitely a little more vascular but I still have a way to go to get some cuts in my quads.

15th Week UD2: Tension workout

Back Squats: 10 x 60kg, 5 x 90kg, 10 x 110kg (242lb), 2 x 10 x 120kg (264lb) - second set at 120kg was pretty darn hard but I really wanted to get all ten reps.

Bench: 10 x 60kg; 8, 8, 6 x 90kg (198lb) - couldn't make 10 reps but shoulder was ok.

Dips: 25 x bw; 10, 8, 6 x bw+35kg (77lb); 20 x bw - Wow! Fatigue set in really fast. Left shoulder complained a bit.

Parallel-grip Chins: 10 x bw; 10, 6 x bw+10kg (22lb) - same as for dips.

Kipping Pull-ups: 20 x bw - fried!

SA DB Rows: 15, 10 x 51kg (112lb)

EZ-bar Press: 3 x 10 x 51kg (112lb) - very slight push on last few reps of each set

EZ-bar Curls: 10, 10, 8 x 51kg (112lb)

Carb load. Hooray!
 
14/12/08

15th Week UD2: Heavy Day

Coming into this workout I felt pretty good energy wise after a lot of carbs on Saturday. Wretched left AC joint is still plaguing me.

Back Squats: 10 x 60kg; 5 x 90kg; 3 x 110kg (242lb); 3 x 120kg (264lb); 3 x 130kg (286lb); 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 5 x 140kg (308lb)

I tried dropping into the hole a bit quicker for this session as I've been going down quite slowly once at my working load for 5s. I think I was just a bit nervous that something would go 'pop!' going quickly with a heavy weight. I really don't want that happening. However, watching MikeyNov's squat vids made me think it was worth a try - although I'm still not dropping as quickly as he did.

Well, it's a ton easier coming out of the hole so I'm obviously getting a much better stretch reflex in my glutes and hams. However, it's also easier to mess up - which I did on the third set. I lost my balance coming up out of the hole, leant forward and the bar suddenly shifted up to a high bar position making matters worse. For the next few sets I was a bit more careful and just went for 3 reps. Then, for the last set I pushed it to 5 reps again and kept better form.

Bench Press: 10 x 60kg; 5 x 80kg, 3 x 90kg; 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3 x 100kg (220lb)

Not great, but at least I got all 5 reps for the first set. The triples all felt fine and I could have definitely done 4s but would have fried my CNS more.

EZ-bar Rows: 5 x 81kg (178lb); 3 x 5 x 101kg (222lb) + 10MS x 101kg (222lb)

I did the MS reps Pendlay style whereas all the sets of 5 were done touch-and-go style. The Pendlays were killer.

I'll do some more heavy stuff tomorrow, as I didn't get everything done that I wanted to do, along with some cardio in the evening to set me up for a new cycle of low-carb days.
 
<div>
(Lol @ Dec. 14 2008,8:41)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">14/12/08



Back Squats: 10 x 60kg; 5 x 90kg; 3 x 110kg (242lb); 3 x 120kg (264lb); 3 x 130kg (286lb); 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 5 x 140kg (308lb)

I tried dropping into the hole a bit quicker for this session as I've been going down quite slowly once at my working load for 5s. I think I was just a bit nervous that something would go 'pop!' going quickly with a heavy weight. I really don't want that happening. However, watching MikeyNov's squat vids made me think it was worth a try - although I'm still not dropping as quickly as he did.

Well, it's a ton easier coming out of the hole so I'm obviously getting a much better stretch reflex in my glutes and hams. However, it's also easier to mess up - which I did on the third set. I lost my balance coming up out of the hole, leant forward and the bar suddenly shifted up to a high bar position making matters worse. For the next few sets I was a bit more careful and just went for 3 reps. Then, for the last set I pushed it to 5 reps again and kept better form.</div>
Rippetoe states: &quot;The timing of your descent and rebound is critical to the the performance of good squats.  Bounce occurs optimally at the correct speed of descent.  If your descent is too fast, the bounce will be less effective, and much less safe, because the only way to drop too fast is to relax something.&quot;

I'm sure you already know this and have read it, but maybe just a quick reminder.  Don't want you getting hurt or anything.  I've been experimenting with the descent and think I found the right speed, but when you go down too fast with heavy weight, I found myself falling forward coming out of the hole just as you did.
 
To add to this, the videos I originally posted showed too fast of an eccentric.  Is it possible to adapt to that dive bomb-y style ultimately?  Yes, and some famous squatters (e.g. Tom Platz, Shane Hamman) went down pretty damn fast.  I'm not sure how the hell I wound up that fast, back in my PL days, my eccentrics looked like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r76iisudkA0&amp;feature=channel_page

However, I've experimented with slowing things down considerably recently and found that, after some initial adaptation, I'm still pretty much just as strong, but feel overall tighter now.  I have a newer video showing a set of 5 for me which demonstrates comparatively slower eccentrics in my log, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvRSErYv0hI&amp;feature=channel_page

I have even slowed it down further than the above, I am trying to see just how slow I can go while still largely retaining the same strength.  I.e. I am looking to go as slow as possible on the eccentric without a noticeable hit to performance - this seems like the path of wisdom.

As Rippetoe states, too fast implies you are relaxing something, whereas too slow can also feel pretty awkward.  I think you're looking for something &quot;natural&quot; while still feeling tight on the way down.
 
15/12/08

15th Week UD2: Heavy Day (continued)

EZ-bar SLDLs: 10 x 101kg (222lb), 5 x 121kg (266lb), 5 x 131kg (288lb), 5 x 141kg (310lb), 3 x 5 x 151kg (332lb)

Thought I'd try the EZ-bar for these. Had to use a thumbless regular grip so they didn't drag against my legs. No problem holding on which I was pleased about. Nice pump in my lower back. 332 for sets of 5 was no problem at all for my glutes and hams.

Dead-hang hold: bw+50kg (110lb) x 35 seconds - I could beat this with a bit more grit and determination.

EZ-bar Curls: 10 x 31kg, 5 x 41kg (90lb), 4 x 5 x 51kg (112lb), 10 x 51kg (112lb)

Pleased I managed 10 reps for the last set but my left shoulder played up a bit.

20 min bike session

If it wasn't for my left shoulder, I'd be in pretty good shape right now. Right arm is continuing to improve but I'll go easy on it for a while longer yet. I keep testing it with a supinated chin or two to see how it feels. It may be that I'll never be able to do heavy chins again without it flaring up. Just have to wait and see.

@ Bax: Funny you should mention Ripp's SS as I had a read again only today. I don't think I'm going too fast in the descent. I think it's more a case of me getting used to a quicker drop into the hole; it initially felt like I had less control.  And there's the thought that a higher rate of deceleration at the turnaround will make something hurt - my left hip joint does feel a bit sore today but I think that's as much the effect of reduced cals while cutting than anything else. I had no tendon or muscle strain feelings at the time. In a way, because the stretch reflex was so much stronger with a quicker drop, it almost felt like I was cheating a bit.

@Mikey: I reckon my speed for my quick reps was about the same as in your 265 x 5 vid. It was a bit scary doing this the first time with 140kg because it felt heavy enough to do damage if I messed up. I guess my 'normal' speed for heavy 5s was closer to your powerlifting squat vid. I've gotten used to going slower like that for my heavy sets but I evidently haven't been getting much help from a stretch reflex by comparison to the quicker movement.

I actually decided to wear a belt for my work sets as my lower back was giving me an odd twinge during warm-ups. I haven't used a belt for anything in ages. I do think it helped me to focus better - even though I messed up the second work set.

When I was fatter I definitely didn't feel the need for a belt as much but now I've shed a bucket load of fat it was nice to have the belt. My belt's pretty crap though, so if I start to use it for my heavy sets on a regular basis I'll invest in a proper powerlifting one (ie. 4&quot; all round).
 
Tue 16/12/08

I officially just broke from my UD2.0 experiment for a few weeks at least. I am now enjoying a few peanut butter sandwiches to celebrate!

I'm going to increase my cals for a few weeks and then get back to dieting again in the new year for a few months. (I may try a PSMF for a few weeks to start the new year.) For the rest of this month I will try to eat at maintenance (or just a bit over) and see if I can claw some strength back.

I can't say it's been a pleasant experience but it has worked for fat loss. I've lost a fair bit of strength though. I carried on with UD2.0 for too long really. Lyle recommends about 8 weeks tops at a time. My bad. Still, it wasn't a disaster and at least I know I can stick with it.

Now I just have to decide how I'm going to train until the end of the year.

Maybe, a push/pull (or upper/lower) split with one workout of 10s and one for 5s for each bodypart each week, spread over four sessions:

Week 1:
Mon - push 10s
Tues - pull 10s
Fri - push 10s
Sat - pull 10s

Week 2:
Mon - push 5s
Tues - pull 5s
Fri - push 5s
Sat - pull 5s

Or maybe one week of 10s and one of 5s using just four exercises and maybe an iso or two:

Week 1:
Mon - Front Squat, DB Bench, SA DB Row, DB Press
Wed - Deadlift, Dip, Chin, U-Row
Fri - Back Squat, Bench, Row, Press

Week 2:
Mon - Front Squat, DB Bench, SA DB Row, DB Press
Wed - Clean, Dip, Chin, U-Row
Fri - Back Squat, Bench, Row, Press
 
Tue 16/12/08

BW: 191.5lb

3-site skinfold measurement using Crapumeasure 3000 Calliper:
For age 43, bw 191.5lb, chest 5mm, abdominal 8mm, thigh 12mm == 8.9% bf with a lean body mass of ~174lb.

I took the three readings multiple times. I am rather incredulous that these figures are an accurate reflection of my present condition. (I note that Lyle doesn't rate the Crapumeasure 3000 Calliper. Maybe I'll get the one he recommends - the Slim Guide - although I don't really care enough.) My guess is that I have probably reached 10%. I am starting to be able to see a few veins in my quads but there are no cuts to speak of. It is evident that I store a lot of my body-fat in my legs! There's also a fairly even covering on my back still. I should probably get someone to take the 7-site readings and see if that changes the results. Anyway, I'm not dissapointed. I know I could improve on this and I will do so after a few weeks break.

Decided to start a nice simple 3 x weekly routine, kicking off with 75% of my 10RM loads (from before my cut).

5 mins warm-up on bike.

10s @ 75% previous 10RM

Bench: 3 x 10 x 75kg (165lb)

EZ-bar Pendlay Row: 3 x 10 x 68.5kg (151lb)

Front Squat: 3 x 10 x 75kg (165lb)

EZ-bar Press: 3 x 10 x 46kg (101lb)

EZ-bar Curls: 12 x 46kg (101lb)

Apart from my wretched left shoulder all was good. Such an easy workout compared to depletions. It was a joy not to have to face them gain tonight. Training only three times a week should give the old shoulder a bit more chance to heal.
 
Here's a pic I took on 16/12/08 after I've carbed up again at the end of my UD2.0 experiment. It's a bit blurry which softens me up a bit. Batteries ran out after a few shots and I haven't bothered to try again since.

Anyway, it's pretty obvious I can still get a fair bit leaner but I'm going to wait until Jan and do a few more weeks then.

Lol-16-12-08.jpg
 
DAMN, You look frickin' awesome!! Very impressive, well rounded, veiny, ripped, great lats. Congrats on a job well done.
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<div>
(colby2152 @ Dec. 18 2008,1:31)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">What size waist are you now?  You're magazine cover material.  Congratulations LOL!  What are your goals from here?</div>
And you're a funny guy!  
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Thanks Colby and Bax. Waist is just about 32&quot; right now. It might have been a bit less a few days ago.  
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New goal is to take my cut a bit further in the new year with a couple of weeks of PSMF. I just want to see if I can stick it. Should be interesting. I will log how it makes me feel too.

I'm going to go for 1.5g protein per lb lean mass per day which will be about 260g protein a day. That's only about 1050 cals a day!  
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 If I can stick it out I should end up with a deficit of about 27kCals over 14 days which would be around 7.8lb of fat! Of course, it won't work out to be that much fat; I'll lose some lean mass too. Just think I should give it a shot.

After that, I'm away for my annual swimming &amp; cycling week following which I will be aiming for new PR territory again but I won't be doing a mad bulk-or-die! I'll keep a better eye on my fat gain than I have in the past. Once I hit 15% bf, I'll do a cut until I'm at around 10% and then start again. I'll be learning as much as I can from nkl's experiment too.
 
Lol,

Was this all done via UD2.0? Once I get ripped, I will not want to go back up to a higher bf level such as 15% - not sure how you could stomach that!

-Colby
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Dec. 18 2008,8:31)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> You're magazine cover material.</div>
Magazine cover, hell! That's centerfold material...
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Good job, Lol. You set the standard for us all.
 
Thu 18/12/08

Deads: warm-ups to 140kg then 3 x 5 x 160kg (352lb),  2 x 180kg (396lb) - hook grip for all reps

Dips: 20 x bw, 3 x 12 x bw+25kg (55lb)

Parallel-grip Chins: 3 x 12 x bw

Press: 2 x 15 x 41kg (90lb)

Short and sweet.

Hands were a little trembly after the deads so my CNS was evidently stressed. I definitely need to get back into doing these on a regular weekly basis.
 
Sat 20/12/08

These are worth a read:

Talking Shop with Mark Rippetoe

More Shop Talk with Mark Rippetoe

10s @ ~80% previous 10RM

Back Squat: 3 x 10 x 110kg (242lb)

Front Squat: 2 x 110kg (242lb) - just to make sure I could still manage this. PB is 5 x 264lb. A double was fine even with tired legs.

Bench: 10, 10, 13 x 80kg (176lb)

EZ-bar Pendlay Row: 10, 10, 15 x 76kg (167lb)

Parallel-grip Chins: 15 x bw

EZ-bar Press: 10 x 41kg (90lb), 10, 12 x 51kg (112lb)

EZ-bar Curls: 11, 10, 9 x 51kg (112lb)

Still with the shoulder: tried an upright row with 51kg and it was very unpleasant. Left AC joint didn't like it at all.
 
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