Lol's New HST Log

30/01/09

... continuation from earlier.

Squats: 10 x 75kg (fast), 5 x 90, 2 x 110kg, 16 x 125kg (275lb) PR, 12 x 125kg - Nice!

Should have tried for 15 x 280 but didn't think I would make it to 15 with 275. Oh well, next time then. Second set of 12 could have been 15, but no one was there with a gun.

As far as my form goes, I'm really feeling like I'm holding it together well for nearly every rep at this weight: good depth, tight back, no GMing. I've recently shifted my hands a bit further apart so that my middle fingers are now on the rings with a thumb-over grip (à la Ripp). It's puts less strain on my shoulders.

Apart from wearing my regular Oly shoes, I've also started wearing my belt again for work sets. Squatting feels odd without rolls of flab around my waist; the belt is my new substitute for good old belly flab.

Back to the books...
 
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(Lol @ Jan. 30 2009,5:13)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Squatting feels odd without rolls of flab around my waist; the belt is my new substitute for good old belly flab.</div>
Be very careful as you move to a maintenance diet from UD2.0, or you may find those comfortable rolls of flab making their return...
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You've achieved a lot (a LOT!) these past weeks of diet and exercise. You look good. Be cautious, lest you lose what you've attained.
 
Mon 02/02/09

Hey TR: I'm not bothered about gaining back some flab, just not all of it. Right now I want to get back to my lifting goals. There'll hopefully be plenty of time afterwards to grow old and skinny.  
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For a bit of fun, I just tried a 275 bench single and didn't get it. Then I tried 242 and got it, so I upped the bar to 253 and got that too. I think that was pretty close to my max right now. Not unexpected but frustrating.

Following my cut, my lower body seems to be recovering strength faster than my upper body. Of course, my stoopid shoulder issue doesn't help but it'll be interesting to see how much I can claw back by the end of this cycle.

Hey Tim, after UD2, the 15s seem like a walk in the park.
 
Mon 02/02/09

BW: 195.5lb - up another pound.

Week 3: 10s, w/o 6

Front Squats: 10 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg, 3 x 10 x 95kg (209lb)

EZ-bar Press: 10 x 41kg, 3 x 10 x 51kg (112lb)

BO EZ-bar Rows: 10 x 61kg, 5 x 71kg, 20(MS) x 86kg (189lb) - 11lb heavier but felt easier than last week.

Dips: 30 x bw, 15, 15, 10 x bw+25kg (55lb)

I fine tuned my front squat technique a bit tonight. One of the problems that rears its ugly head as fatigue accumulates during a set is that there is a tendency to lean forward a little more coming out of the hole. This can then cause the bar to roll forward into the hands just enough to shift the load even further forward, exacerbating the problem. Trying to keep &quot;elbows up&quot; doesn't prevent this slight forward bar roll from happening (not for me anyway).

To counteract this slight shifting of the bar, I tried actively forcing my thumbs back towards the bar, as if I was trying to pinch it in the crook of my hands between thumbs and the base of the index fingers. It worked a treat and helped me keep the bar fixed in place on my delts through the whole set; I didn't have to resort to popping a few fingers out from under the bar and resetting my grip.

Left shoulder pretty sore and beaten up again afterwards but it's not getting worse.
 
Wed 04/02/09

Week 3: 10s - Workout 7

Well, I almost did nothing tonight. Some other stuff came up. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen very often.

Just did this:

EZ-bar SLDLs: 2 x 25 x 86kg (189lb) - because it was already loaded on the bar.

Chins: 2 x 10 x bw

Pull-ups: 2 x 12 x bw

Left shoulder complained a bit but right arm felt much better, both during chins and pull-ups. Finally! It's taken almost a year to get to this point. It's still not 100% healed but I'm hoping it'll be a lot less bother from now on.
 
Thu 05/02/09

Decided not to deadlift today so I don't mess up my squats tomorrow. So did a bit of shoulder rehab and a few curls for fun.

DB Presses: 3 x 20 x 21kg (46lb) - few push presses on last two sets

DB Curls: 15, 10 x 21kg (46lb)
 
@BJ: Good Q. I'm pretty sure that some kind of direct ham and glute work once a week would be worth the bother, considering how large the muscle groups are. However, I do think that regular deads work them both pretty hard, so as long as I get in a dead session once a week I don't feel like I'm missing them out. I've got much better at focussing on my hams when squatting too and I'm quite used to having sore hams following a good squat session.

If I don't do regular deads in any particular week (like this week), I'm going to try to ensure I add in some SLDLs or RDLs instead. I did a few cycles where I alternated between deads and SLDLs for my mid-week workout which helped my lower back recover better and was less of a drain on my CNS.

What I might try this cycle, once I hit the 5s, is to try to get 10-15 reps for regular deads and then 10-15 reps for SLDLs (or RDLs), each with their respective working loads. I find that a total of 20 deads with loads approaching my 5RM is very draining on my old CNS and very fatiguing for my lower back (which messes with my squatting). Cutting the total down to 10 regular deads and then adding in some SLDLs for some more glute ham work might be a way around this.

For anyone starting out, I would always recommend front squats (or back squats) and SLDLs each session. They make for a fantastic leg combo. As a bonus, my hip flexion improved a great deal the first year I did this, due to the great ham stretching effect of SLDLs.
 
Fri 06/02/09

Week 3: 10s - Workout 8

Bit pushed for time again.

Squats: 10 x 70kg; 5 x 110kg; 10,10,10,5,5 x 130kg (286lb) - Another pair of jeans died in the course of duty today; ripped from butt to calf on one side during the first work set. Great sound! It's always a bit off putting when that happens but I still made it to the end of the set. So it's back to the fleecy stretch pants.

Bench: 10 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg, 10,9,6 x 90kg (198lb) - I was in two minds about these. Anyway, they are done now. Left AC joint not great, which was what I was expecting, but how it feels tomorrow will be more interesting.

Dips: 40 x bw

I'll do some back work tomorrow.

I was reasonably happy with my squat effort but I'm not sure I'll make 10 reps with 140kg on the bar next week.
 
Week 3: 10s - Workout 8 Continued

Chins: 10 x bw, 20 x bw+20kg (44lb) MS style

Left shoulder complaining so no direct shoulder work.

Legs nicely destroyed after yesterday's squats.  
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Tue 10/02/09

Week 4: 10s - Workout 9

BW: 197lb

Pretty good workout overall. Intended to do this yesterday but decided to wait another day for the sake of my shoulder. My legs were still pretty sore from Friday's squats too.

10 mins warmup on bike.

Front Squats: 10 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg; 2 x 10 &amp; 2 x 5 x 100kg (220lb)

EZ-bar Press: 10 x 41kg; 2 x 10 &amp; 2 x 5 x 56kg (123lb)

BO EZ-bar Rows: 10 x 61kg; 5 x 71kg; 20(MS) x 91kg (200lb) plus 5 x 91kg (200lb) immediately following last MS rep.

Kelso Shrugs: 12 x 91kg (200lb)

Flyes: 10, 20 x 21kg - first set felt pretty uncomfortable so didn't push it. Second set was better.

Dips: 40 x bw

Whilst not a PR for front squats (previous 10RM was 102.5kg), I think 2 x 10 x 100kg may well be a PB for sets across; I'm a good 20lb lighter than when I got 10 x 102.5kg too. I'll match or beat that next time.
 
So sorry to hear that shoulder is still giving you fits, Lol.

Congrats on the sets across PR! Great stuff!
 
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(Lol @ Feb. 07 2009,12:15)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Squats: 10 x 70kg; 5 x 110kg; 10,10,10,5,5 x 130kg (286lb) - Another pair of jeans died in the course of duty today; ripped from butt to calf on one side during the first work set. Great sound! It's always a bit off putting when that happens but I still made it to the end of the set. So it's back to the fleecy stretch pants.</div>
Lol, do you squat in JEANS? That's weird.
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Great to see your strength rebounding so quickly after your cut. For me it seems like months before I can get back to pr levels. Good work!!
 
Cheers, Tim. My legs are feeling great right now and I seem to be clawing my strength back again quite quickly after such a long cut. I hope I can get a 400lb squat this year - maybe even a double? Heh.

Re left AC joint:

Last Friday's bench session flared it up again.

I had the very same problem in my right AC joint a few years ago and had to stop benching for almost a year. It finally cleared up (and is still absolutely fine). I sorted my benching form and had a good couple of cycles with no problems (barring slight tenderness in both AC joints, which always cleared up within a few days). I managed to get my bench to an all time high but then the left AC joint started playing up.

I can live with the pain and discomfort but I don't want to create a chronic condition that eventually prevents me from doing any kind of pressing.

I've read up on the subject quite a bit but I haven't been to see my GP about it yet. I'd really rather see a good sports injury doc as I would expect them to have dealt with this condition before.

I'm going to start applying some ice treatment and see if it helps. If it doesn't, it may be worth getting a cortisone injection or two to help speed up recovery.

Anyway, I've decided to stop all benching for now and will just stick with dips and see how it goes. I may throw in some flyes from time to time but they didn't feel good yesterday, even with a light weight. Incline presses are another avenue that I will try once the condition is a little better.

Right now, a 300lb bench seems a long way off in my future but on the positive side, a 400 squat and a 500 deadlift seem eminently doable this year with due diligence.
 
February 11th, 2009

I was sitting a lot today and was feeling a bit chilly so, rather than turn the heating up, I did a few quick light sets for arms to warm up. Might as well add it in here.

Alternate DB Curls: 15, 12, 10 x 21kg (46lb)

DB Tri Extensions: 2 x 35 x 21kg (46lb) - very light but good for a burn.
 
Fri 13/02/09

Week 4: 10s - Workout 10

10 mins on bike

Squats: 10 x 60kg; 5 x 110kg; 10, 7, 8, 5 x 140kg (308lb)

Armed with fleecy training pants, Oly shoes and a tired lifting belt, I managed the first work set with a bit left in the tank. Pretty pleased with that. That matches my previous 10RM – when I was a lard butt.

Second set was not so clever; I lost my balance a bit coming out of the hole on rep 7 and shifted extra load onto my right leg. I made it back up but wasn't sure about the next rep so racked the bar. Bit of a lack in concentration combined with fatigue. Stupid. Anyway, got my total of 30 reps, which was what I was after.

Parallel-grip Chins: 10 x bw, 21(MS) x bw+25kg (55lb)

Kipping Pull-ups: 30 x bw

Dips: 48, 36, 25 x bw - more for shoulder rehab than anything else. Tiring though. Bit cheesed I didn't make 50 reps for the first set.

That'll do.

*********************************************

Great story on our news about a 70 year old grandma who had her handbag snatched by a teenager whilst out for a walk. She chased after the teenager, caught her up, and got her bag back! Turned out that the lady had been a sprinter in her youth and still exercised regularly. She mentioned that her son had recently bought her some weights. Excellent!
 
Mon 16/02/09

Week 5: 10s - Workout 11

BW: 197.5lb

Good recovery from Friday's squats. Very little DOMS to speak of today. I also did a hard 10 minute cycle last night so it will be interesting to see how front squats go tonight. (I also did a few sets of 15 reps for presses with 90lb for more rehab.)

10 mins warmup on bike.

Front Squats: 10 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg; 10, 8, 7, 5 x 105kg (231lb) PR Yeah!

BO EZ-bar Rows: 10 x 51kg; 10 x 61kg; 5 x 71kg; 20(MS) x 96kg (211lb)

Kelso Shrugs: 15 x 96kg (211lb)

Dips: 30 x bw; 25, 15, 15 x bw+25kg (55lb); 30 x bw

Forgot to change my trousers for squats so, yup, split yet another pair of jeans, this time on rep 7, which was very off-putting. But anyway, got the last three reps and then changed into the stretch pants for the rest of the work sets. To date, that's about my tenth pair of jeans wrecked during squatting. Talk about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks. Doh!

It does feel good to finally be in PR land again.  
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<div>
(Lol @ Feb. 16 2009,9:13)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Front Squats: 10 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg; 10, 8, 7, 5 x 105kg (231lb) PR Yeah!</div>
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