Lol's New HST Log

Mon 15/03/10

After finishing the volume phase of the Russian peaking program, I thought I would have a bit of a deload week and test some maxes along the way. I wanted to see if it was possible to measure any progress while still carrying some accumulated fatigue.

Dislocates & lunges for warmups.

Paused Bench:
15 x 40kg,
5 x 60kg
5 x 72.5kg
1 x 92.5kg
1 x 110kg (242lb)
1 x 120kg (265lb)
1 x 125kg (276lb)
0 x 127.5kg (281lb)

Almost got that last rep. Proper pause too. Couldn't quite press it out. What was very encouraging was that the bar didn't feel particularly heavy when I lifted it off. No shoulder pain either so I think I'm good to keep going for the big 300lb. I've managed to improve my 1RM by 10kg in the last four weeks. At first, I was actually a bit disappointed that I didn't manage 130kg tonight, but then I thought about it and realised that I have already exceeded my target of a 5% increase (almost 9%), and I still have 5 weeks of the peaking program to go!

What this means is that the peaking phase (at least for bench) is a little superfluous to requirements. I'll do it anyway and see if the heavier loads and reducing volume help me make further gains or not. I think it'll be interesting to see if I have made similar gains in deads and squats.

Chins:
5 x bw
3 x 5 x bw+20kg (44lb)

Front Squat:
10 x 50kg
10 x 70kg
10 x 90kg (198lb) @ RPE 8
10 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9

Oly shoes, no belt.
Last set was pretty tough. I intended to do a set of 5 but then I decided I might as well keep going.
 
I have a wretched bug!

So tonight I was going to see if my deadlift 1RM had improved a little but now I find myself fighting some virus. I may go for it anyway as the volume will be low but if I find that what should be light feels heavy I'll hold off on a max effort until the end of the week, assuming I feel much better by then.

I was hoping on 220kg (485lb)
 
Glad to see you were able to up your bench and without much shoulder pain. I have been enjoying not having any nagging shoulder and wrist pain lately. Can't wait to see how your other lifts improved.

Are you going to build some parellettes? I'm sure you have already checked it out, but they have a nice free downloadable parallette training guide at www.american-gymnast.com/tt/index_163.cfm. Gymnasticsbodies.com has some pretty interesting stuff too.
 
Parallettes Training Guide

Awesome Bax. Thanks for the heads-up. I haven't made mine yet but I really must get around to it ASAP. My wrists take a beating doing floor handstands; holding a tube will be much kinder.
 
Outstanding squatting, Lol. Doing two heavy singles after what would be a pretty intense 10x3 (for you) shows that you have incredible endurance. All that with a hernia that continues to heal. Absolutely unreal.

I don't remember you doing a progressive chinning program. Will that look similar to the model you're using for bench, squats and deads?

Are you supplementing with anything other than cod liver oil? Or are you using a strict diet in one sense or another? I'd be very interested to know how you're treating recovery (nutritionally) after a session like today's.
 
_tim said:
Outstanding squatting, Lol. Doing two heavy singles after what would be a pretty intense 10x3 (for you) shows that you have incredible endurance. All that with a hernia that continues to heal. Absolutely unreal.

I don't remember you doing a progressive chinning program. Will that look similar to the model you're using for bench, squats and deads?

Are you supplementing with anything other than cod liver oil? Or are you using a strict diet in one sense or another? I'd be very interested to know how you're treating recovery (nutritionally) after a session like today's.
Click to expand...

Hey Tim, thanks for the props but I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to?? I haven't done a 10 x 3 squat in ages. Last Friday was a 6 x 6 which was plenty hard. I'm not currently doing a chin program either. Hmm... my guess is that the new forum has thrown up an older post and messed with your mind. :) Either that, or my cold virus is messing with mine!

Right now I'm still out of fish oil. Must order some tomorrow. Recovery has been hard/impossible recently but I think that's to be expected. I'm over-reaching really so whatever I do nutritionally will not enable me to fully recover. I have increased my milk intake to about 5-6 pints a day as well as adding extra olive oil, mixed nuts and seeds to my regular diet. I'm still finding it hard to gain weight.
 
Wed 18/03/10

The cold didn't improve through the day. Still wanted to try a few deads although I wasn't expecting to break any records tonight. Good job too.

Deads:
10 x 60kg
5 x 110kg
1 x 160kg
1 x 190kg - Oly shoes up to this point.
0 x 220kg
0 x 210kg
1 x 190kg - socks for the last three singles.

Hook grip throughout. 190 was hard. 220kg remained glued to the floor, as did 210kg. Dropped back to 190 which was only just doable for a further single. I was completely spent afterwards. Had a burning feeling in my 'ernie' repair which was a little disconcerting but I guess it's still early days.

I'm not surprised I sucked tonight. Worth finding out though. I may have another go at a max single next week.

Pull-ups:
3 x 5 x bw
1 x 10 x bw

Push-ups:
40
30
Quick tempo; chest to floor.
 
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Sorry about that Lol - the post I replied to isn't anywhere near your current posts. Very strange.

Those are some very big deadlift numbers - looks like the peaking program is working nicely, especially since this is a deviation from the progression.
 
No worries Tim. I guessed as much. It'll be nice when this forum works as expected.

As I still have a wretched cold, I'm not going to test my squat tonight. Instead I'll try to do some sets across with a reasonable load for 2-3 sets. If I feel ok after warming up, I may attempt to stick to my schedule and go for 5 x 5 x 150kg. I think that's a bit unlikely though. A Beechams powder might help -- aspirin + caffeine.
 
Russian Peaking Program Week 4.5!

Fri 20/03/10

Not expecting great things tonight but thought I'd give the programmed squat session a go anyway.

Dislocates & lunges for warmups.

Low-bar Squat:
10 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg, 5 x 110kg, 2 x 140kg WU

5 x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 8
5 x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 8
5 x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 8
5 x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 8.5 - Bonus set!

Oly shoes, loose belt, no pausing.
Once I got to the work sets the load felt strangely light! Not only did I get through the 5 sets I was scheduled to do, but I added an extra set because I was feeling better than I had all day. Also, because I had not been able to do much for my deads on Wednesday, my lower back felt strong which helped hugely.

Paused Bench:
10 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg WU

2 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8.5 - just because I felt like doing a few more reps.

No wraps; short'ish' rest between sets. Pauses ~ 0.5 second. All reps lowered under control, paused, and then pressed as fast as possible.
Last set of 5 reps will hopefully not cause much extra fatigue to carry over to Monday's higher volume session.

Well, that turned out much better than expected and with the added benefit that my cold symptoms have, at least temporarily, been sent packing.
 
Sun 21/03/10

Cold is on its way out. Still feeling a bit washed out and stuffed up, so, instead of another Fran attempt or some kind of metcon, I decided to do some kipping pull-up practice.

5 mins of dislocates to get shoulders really warmed up.

Kipping Pull-ups:
25, 15, 15, 10, 10, 5, 5 x bw
85 total reps

Forearms were pumped for 20 mins afterwards. Shoulders still felt a bit uncomfortable for the first set of 25 but after that they numbed up enough not to notice. I had just enough rest between sets to feel recovered enough to go again.
 
Russian Peaking Program Week 5

Mon 22/03/10

Cold left me with a wretched cough that kept me awake for much of last night and a head full of thick catarrh.

Forearms, back, traps and abs deeply sore from yesterday's pull-ups. Brachioradialii have been cramping occasionally during the day today. They took a real beating as did my hands.

Dislocates and lunges for warmups

Paused Bench:
15 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg, 2 x 90kg WU

4 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
4 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
4 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
4 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8.5
4 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8.5

Wrist wraps after first set. Approx. half-second pauses. Left shoulder felt fine.

Only programmed to do 4 x 4 for 16 total reps, but the first four sets felt fairly straightforward so I added a further set of 4. I may increase the load for each of the remaining bench sessions in this peaking program as I know I am good for 125kg already; my original target was only 120kg.

Pull-ups:
2 x 5 x bw
For demonstration purposes as two lads learning the movement.

Hang Power Cleans:
10 x 60kg (132lb) @ RPE 7
Hook grip throughout.

Deads:
5 x 60kg
5 x 100kg
5 x 120kg
15 x 130kg (286lb) @ RPE 7
Easy 15 reps. Probably could have pushed on to 25 but 15 was plenty for tonight. Wasn't intending to do these but mucked in with the lads.

Front Squats:
10 x 70kg
5 x 90kg
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8
Decided to do these instead of the programmed 6 x 2 x 140kg back squat. After the high-rep deads these felt a little harder than usual. Slight pause in hole.
 
Russian Peaking Program Week 5

Wed 25/03/10

Had to train late tonight.

My forearms are still ridiculously sore from the pull-ups last Sunday and from the hang cleans on Monday.

Programmed to do deadlifts: 5 x 5 x 177.5kg. Instead I thought I'd use 180kg and play it by ear, so to speak.

Deads:
10 x 60kg
5 x 110kg
5 x 160kg
5 x 180kg (397lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 180kg (397lb) @ RPE 9
4 x 180kg (397lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 180kg (397lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 180kg (397lb) @ RPE 9

No belt; socks for all lifts; hook grip for warmups then straps for all sets with 180kg.

I wore lifting straps tonight, which is the first time in forever, and here's why: a couple of weeks ago I hurt my left hand while doing deads. The metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint between the metacarpal and proximal phalange of my third finger is still very sore if I put any pressure on it. Last week's deads didn't help either, so I decided to wear straps tonight to take the strain off my hands as much as possible. It seemed to help.

Would have liked to have made 3 or 4 sets of 5 at RPE 9 rather than have to drop the reps down to avoid RPE 10. Never mind, 20 reps seemed like enough; started to lose extension on the last two sets so thought it best to stop there.

That was all for tonight.

==============

Oh, forgot to add that I did 10 shrugs with 180kg after the last set of deads.
 
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Russian Peaking Program Week 5

Fri 27/03/10

Spinal erectors still very sore and quick to fatigue following Wednesday's deads. They are sore from the base of my spine right up to my traps. Pretty much everything else is sore to some degree too including my ex-hernia - deads still put more pressure on the area than any other exercise.

Programmed to do squats (4 x 4 x 157.5kg) and bench (2 x 6 x 100kg) tonight.

Lunges and dislocates for warmups.

Low-bar Squat:
10 x 60kg, 5 x 110kg, 2 x 140kg WU

The 60kg warmups were not exactly comfortable but as soon as I lifted 110kg my back started to complain more. Two reps with 140kg was enough to tell me that it would be better if I tried again tomorrow. My whole focus was on my back and not the lift. Not good. I hope another night's rest will help.

Paused Bench:
15 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg WU

2 x 100kg @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg @ RPE 8
2 x 100kg @ RPE 8
5 x 100kg @ RPE 9

Wrist wraps for all work sets; ~1 sec pauses.
All reps for all sets felt good. 5 reps for final set to bring the total to 15 instead of 12.

Chins:
2 x 10 x bw
1 x 5 x bw
1 x 7 x bw

Handstand Push-ups:
9, 5, 5

The last time I tried HSPUs, my left shoulder complained a lot. This time it felt pretty good.

Jump Rope:
3 minutes; rapid tempo. Calf burn from hell!

Now I need to eat and rest my back for tomorrow's squat session. I probably should roll around on a tennis ball to loosen it up as much as possible.
 
Russian Peaking Program Week 5

Sat 28/03/10

I thought my back was feeling okay enough to give squats a shot this evening.

Lunges and dislocates for warmups.

Low-bar Squat:
10 x 60kg, 5 x 110kg, 2 x 140kg WU

4 x 157.5kg (347lb) @ RPE 8.5
4 x 157.5kg (347lb) @ RPE 8.5
4 x 157.5kg (347lb) @ RPE 9
4 x 157.5kg (347lb) @ RPE 9

Medium belt for all work sets - wearing an extra shirt tightened it up a bit. As a precaution, I also padded the old war wound (rolled-up shirt stuffed down pants) as it was still a bit sore from Wednesday's deads.

Back fatigue returned during warmups but not as much as yesterday so I decided to go for it. Form for work sets was a bit off which was totally down to having to worry about maintaining torso position.

I'm going to have to be careful not to overdo deads next week. I just can't recover quickly enough from multiple sets of deads at RPE 9 or 10 at >= 85% 1RM. They compromise my ability to squat for the rest of the week.
 
BW Kips and Dips

Sun 28/03/10

Dislocates for warmups

Kipping Pull-ups:

6 x 10 x bw

Less than last Sunday and divided up into sets of 10 with short'ish' rests between sets.

Shoulders felt pretty uncomfortable until the last set when they started to go numb. I could have carried on to 100 but I want to see how well I recover from 60 reps. It took my forearms almost a week to recover from last Sunday's 85 rep effort.

Dips:

35, 25 x bw

Hope the high-rep dips don't interfere with tomorrow's bench too much.

BW for these two exercises was 215lb, without shoes.
 
Russian Peaking Program (Bench reset to Week 4)

Mon 29/03/10

I decided to diverge from the programmed rep scheme and load this evening; because I have already managed the target 1RM of 125kg that I was aiming to achieve by the end of the cycle, I thought I'd recalculate the loads based on this new 1RM. That makes my new target 132.5kg (292lb) which would be a new PR. The revised loadings call for a 6 x 6 with 100kg at the end of the volume phase so I decided to try for that to see if I could manage it.

Dislocates and lunges for warmups.

Bench:
15 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg WU

6P x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8.5
6P x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 10
6 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9
6 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9
6 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9

Wrist wraps for all work sets.

Once I started benching, I could tell I was feeling some fatigue from the previous day's dips and pull-ups; so I decided to stop after 5 sets even though 6 sets would have been doable. First two sets paused but then dropped pausing so I could get the reps without pushing too close to failure.

Pull-ups:
3 x 5 x bw
1 x 25 x bw

I attempted to teach the lads how to do kipping PUs tonight and so had to do some demo reps. The final set of 25 was to failure - I wouldn't have been able to get my chin over the bar for the 26th rep.

Paused Front Squats:
10 x 50kg, 5 x 75kg, 2 x 90kg WU
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9

Pauses for all work set reps.

Front squats were instead of the 6 x 2 x 140kg back squats programmed for today. I intended to do 5 x 3 x 105kg, but having fatigued my back with the pull-ups, these felt harder than expected and so I stayed with 100kg for sets of 5.

I'm probably messing with this Russian Peaking Program a bit too much now. I'll try to stick with it without adding any more twists and turns - especially for the squat part of the program. I'm actually on week 7 of the program for squats, so on Friday I have to try for 3 x 3 x 167.5kg (370lb).
 
Congrats on needing the reset, Lol! I hope you hit that new PR!

25 pullups? Outstanding effort.

Overall, your progress has been phenomenal.
 
Wed 31/03/10

I was supposed to be doing heavy deads tonight (4 x 4 x 190kg) but I ran short on time and so did more of a metcon.

Clean & Jerks:
10 x 40kg, 5 x 50kg WU
20 x 70kg (154lb)

I was going to do 30 reps but after 20 my lower back was fried. It's carrying a lot of fatigue right now from all the heavy squats and deads I've been doing over the last 6 weeks.

Stopped there in the hope that by Friday my lower back will be fit to squat 3 x 3 x 167.5kg (370lb).

To take the load off my lower back I thought I'd have me some Krocs.

Kroc Rows:
25 x 36kg (79lb)
20 x 46kg (101lb)
15 x 56kg (123lb)
10 x 61kg (134lb) @ RPE 8 for right and RPE 8.5 for left.

Alternating arms, R-L; no straps; regular (ie. no hook) grip.
 
Russian Peaking Program

Lunges and dislocates for warmups.

Programmed work sets tonight were 3 x 3 x 167.5kg for squats and 6 x 2 x 100kg for bench.

Low-bar Squat:
10 x 60kg, 5 x 90kg, 5 x 110kg, 2 x 140kg WU - all paused reps

3 x 167.5kg (370lb) @ RPE 9
2* x 167.5kg (370lb) @ RPE 8.5
3 x 167.5kg (370lb) @ RPE 9.5
3 x 167.5kg (370lb) @ RPE 9.5†

Oly shoes and medium belt for all work sets. Padded little Ern' for the final set.

* Lost my balance on the 2nd work set -- I dropped down a little quickly and could feel the load shift to my toes. Wasn't able to bring it back under control so dumped the bar on the rack bars. Pretty annoyed with myself for letting that happen but relieved to find out how safely I was able to dump it.
† I am using RPE 9.5 to mean that I am close to 10 but may well have been able to get another rep if I really had to.

Lower back was not a problem; I recover reasonably well if I don't squat and deadlift heavy in the same week. Trouble is, any PL peaking program is going to require a lot of heavy dead and squat work.

Paused Bench:
15 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg WU

2 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8
2 x 102.5kg (226lb) @ RPE 8

Wrist wraps for all work sets; ~1 sec pauses.
Increased load by 2.5kg for this low-fatigue session so didn't try for more reps on the final set as I need to recover well for Monday's session (5 x 5 x 107.5kg).

General Observations:
Overall, pleased with my squats. It is starting to feel heavy now though; that mistake in the second set was a little unnerving but I got my confidence back with the last two triples. Right knee is a little achy inside now so I may have stressed it a little unevenly prior to dumping the bar.

I have to plan to strengthen my lower back if I am to be able to train both lifts concurrently; my good buddy Quad has given me a few tips and Louie Simmons always recommends doing a ton of reverse hypers.
 
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