Lol's New HST Log

I have neglected to post my last few workouts so, to begin with, here's last Friday's:

Fri 12/08/11

Warmup
PVC pipe shoulder dislocates and OHS's

Low-bar Back Squats
w-u: 15 x 35kg, 10 x 55kg, 5P x 100kg, 3P x 125kg
5(B) x 145kg (320lb) @ RPE 9
5(B) x 145kg (320lb) @ RPE 9
5(B) x 145kg (320lb) @ RPE 9
B = belted

Heaviest squats in a while. Oly shoes throughout; belted for work sets.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 10 x 60kg, 3P x 90kg
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9.5
4 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 10
9 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 10

4 reps with 115kg is a one-rep improvement over last session. One rep to go!

Pull-ups
w-u: 10 x bw
8 x bw+20kg
8 x bw+20kg
5 x bw+25kg (55lb)
4+1 x bw+25kg

Neck has improved a little but is still a nuisance.
 
Mon 15/08/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row
OHS's with empty bar
Shoulder dislocates

Front Squats
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 10P x 55kg, 5P x 85kg
5P x 100kg (220lb)
5P x 105kg (231lb)
5 x 105kg (220lb)

P=paused reps; Oly shoes; no belt.
Front squats on Mondays now instead of back squats. Think it will aid recovery and keep my lower back happy. Pleased with the paused reps at 105kg.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 55kg, 5P x 80kg
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 10

Wrist wraps for all reps.
Work sets were hard but decided to do 3 triples—total of 2 more reps @ 115kg than last time.

Chins
w-u: 15 x bw
5 x bw+27.5kg (61lb)
5 x bw+27.5kg (61lb)
5 x bw+27.5kg (61lb) @ RPE 9.5

Added an extra 2.5kg today. Last set was harder. Hope I can hit bw+30kg by the end of this cycle.

Toes-to-bar
10 (with Oly-shoes!)
 
Wed 17/08/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row in 1:40
OHS's with empty bar
Shoulder dislocates

Hang Squat Cleans
w-u: 5 x 35kg, 5 x 45kg, 5 x 55kg
3 x 65kg
3 x 75kg
3 x 85kg (187lb)

Deads
w-u: 10 x 95kg, 5 x 150kg
1 x 185kg — Oops! Realised it was a bit heavier than intended before continuing set. Came off the floor without a problem though.
5 x 180kg (396lb) @ RPE 9

Lower-back doing ok. Took Oly shoes off for final heavy set; I need all the help I can get! Pretty pleased with that. :)

Front Squats
3 x 116.25kg (256lb)

Quick triple! 1.25kg out on one side!

Pull-ups
10 x bw

Press
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 10 x 45kg
8 x 55kg @ RPE 9
6 x 57.5kg @ RPE 9
7 x 60kg @ RPE 10

Took these nice and carefully in view of my neck problem last week. Even though the last work set was an RPE 10, I didn't struggle too much with it. No push presses this week. Neck definitely not suffering after these, like it did last week. Good.

Toes-to-bar
10 (with Oly-shoes!)
 
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Fri 19/08/11 (midday workout rather than my usual evening slot)

Only time for quick workout.

General Warmup
500m C2 row in 1:39.8 @ spm 36 spm, Damper on 3
OHS's with empty bar
Shoulder dislocates

Back Squats
w-u: 10 x 60kg, 5P x 102.5kg, 3P x 122.5kg (270lb)

5(B) x 147.5kg (325lb)
5(B) x 147.5kg (325lb) @ RPE 9
5(B) x 147.5kg (325lb) @ RPE 9

Oly shoes; belted for all work sets.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 5 x 55kg, 5 x 75kg
4 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9.5
4 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 10
4 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 10

Chins
24 x bw

Had to skip weighted chins as out of time. One set of bw was all I could do so I kept going until I ran out of gas!

Pleased that I got all my squat reps with a bit still in the tank. Belt helps with that. Bench was good too. Up a rep for all work sets. 5 x 115kg must be doable soon.
 
Mon 22/08/11

Travelling about. Went for a brief run. Only about a mile. Lungs were fine. Calves got an amazing burn and pump. I should do more running.
 
Tue 23/08/11

Arrived back home and wanted to do a quick bench test.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 5 x 55kg, 5 x 90kg
1 x 100kg
1 x 110kg
1 x 115kg
1 x 120kg
1 x 125kg (276lb) @ RPE 9.5!

Pretty pleased with that effort. Def not my current max but close. I think I will get a new PR soon if I can keep this up. My right shoulder is feeling as good as it ever does—not great but no worse for wear either. No complaints.
 
Wed 24/08/11

General Warmup
OHS's with empty bar
Shoulder dislocates

OHS
w-u: 10 x 15kg, 10 x 17.5kg, 10 x 25kg, 10 x 35kg, 10 x 45kg
5 x 55kg
5 x 60kg

Had a bit of a break from squat cleans tonight. Haven't done OHS's in ages. Bar taken from rack with clean-grip and pressed to behind-neck position before taking snatch-width grip. Bar then push-jerked overhead. My right shoulder used to cause me all sorts of nerve impingement issues if I tried more than a few OHS's. Today, things seemed much better but I was careful to warm up well. Even so, I didn't expect to get to 60kg today; I feel I have made some significant progress with my right shoulder health.

Power Cleans
10 x 65kg

Just as a warm-up for deads.

Deads
w-u: 10 x 95kg, 5 x 140kg, 3 x 160kg - all with Oly-shoes.
3 x 185kg (408lb) @ RPE 9
4 x 180kg (397lb) @ RPE 9.5

No shoes for both work sets; no belt.

Lower-back suffered a little more than I would have liked; lost a bit of extension for a rep in each work set. I allowed the bar to move away from my legs a little.

Front Squats
1 x 110kg (243lb) - Oh boy! That was a tough rep! Deads have killed me!!
5 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 10!

Press
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 10 x 45kg
10 x 55kg @ RPE 9
7 x 55kg @ RPE 9

Still taking these carefully to avoid neck problems.

Notes
The big deal tonight was in getting a triple with 185kg. Amazingly tiring, even without pushing to the max! Totally affected my ability to front squat and press afterwards. CNS was cooked. Now I need to aim for 5 reps with 185kg and with good form.
 
Fri 26/08/11 (midday workout again)

General Warmup
500m C2 row in 1:45 @ spm 32 spm, Damper on 3
Shoulder dislocates

Back Squats
w-u: 10 x 60kg, 5P x 102.5kg, 3P x 122.5kg (270lb)
5(B) x 150kg (330lb)
5(B) x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 9
5(B) x 150kg (330lb) @ RPE 9.5

Oly shoes; belted (B) for all work sets.
I took a vid of the last set with 150kg to check on my failing form! I'll post it if I get a chance.

Bench
w-u: 15 x 35kg, 10 x 65kg, 3P x 90kg
4 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9.5
3 x 117.5kg (260lb) @ RPE 9.5
3 x 117.5kg (260lb) @ RPE 10
7 x 105kg (231lb) - almost made 8th rep!

Pull-ups
w-u: 10 x bw
6 x bw+25kg (55lb)
5 x bw+25kg (55lb) @ RPE 9.5
6 x bw+25kg (55lb) @ RPE 10
5 x bw - immediately following previous set
 
Away from base on Mon 29th August. No proper weights workout again until 5/09/11.

Skiff Rowing

Did a fair amount of two-man skiff rowing while away: one 10-mile session; one 8-mile session and a solo 4-miler; all on River Axe estuary around high-tide. Each session comprised mile-long intervals with short breaks in-between. Grip endurance/strength proved to be my biggest issue on the water. Partly my fault for gripping too hard and allowing fatigue to build up too early each session. Improved after a few days.

I am still hoping to get a decent solo row out to sea this year; so far it's been too rough so all my rowing has been in the relatively calm Axe River estuary.

Aside from rowing, I managed one quick back squat session on Wed 31/08/11 where I worked up to 3 x 160kg (353lb); tough going. I'll need to be hitting 6 or 7 reps with that load to be close to my best form.
 
Mon 05/09/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row in 1:42, damper on 3
Shoulder dislocates

Front Squats
w-u: 10 x 40kg, 5P x 60kg, 5P x 85kg
5 x 105kg (231lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 105kg (231lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 105kg (231lb) @ RPE 9

P=paused reps; Oly shoes; no belt.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 40kg, 5 x 55kg, 5 x 85kg
8 x 105kg (231lb) @ RPE 8.5
7 x 105kg (231lb) @ RPE 8.5
6+1 x 105kg (231lb) @ RPE 9

Wrist wraps for all reps.
Lighter load tonight as haven't benched for over a week. Will try heavier again on Friday.

Chins
w-u: 5 x bw - chest-to-bar plus static hold at top
5 x bw+27.5kg (61lb)
5 x bw+30kg (66lb) @ RPE 9.5 PR? *
5 x bw+30kg (66lb) @ RPE 9.5 *
15 x bw - started kipping once I couldn't do any more strict reps

* Finally got bw+30kg for sets of 5! Not sure if this is a PR or not? I think it is, but if not, then I haven't been able to do this for a long time, so I'm still pleased.
 
Wed 07/09/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row @ 23 spm, damper on 3
OHS's with empty bar
Shoulder dislocates

OHS
w-u: 10 x 15kg, 5 x 25kg, 5 x 35kg, 5 x 45kg
5 x 55kg
5 x 65kg
1 x 70kg PR

Bar taken from rack in behind-neck position with snatch-width grip then push-jerked overhead. Right shoulder help out well enough for me to take a shot at 70kg. If I can build this up to bw initially and then up to 100kg I'll be mighty chuffed!

Power Cleans
5 x 1 x 85kg

Really should have warmed up for these. I had several failures because I didn't want to get under the bar. Not quite sure why I felt so weak but I think it may be due to tired traps from the OHS's.

Anyway, they were meant to be a warm-up for deads.

Deads
w-u: 10 x 85kg, 5 x 105kg, 5 x 155kg - all with Oly-shoes.
6 x 175kg (386lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 185kg (408lb) @ RPE 9

No shoes for both work sets; no belt.

Lower-back still suffered more than I would have liked; I again lost a bit of extension for the last two reps in the second work set. Not happy about that. If I hadn't done 6 reps with 175 I might have managed 4 with 185, but my lower-back was too fatigued to give a fourth rep a shot.

Press
w-u: 10 x 25kg, 10 x 35kg, 5 x 45kg, 5 x 55kg
5 x 65kg (143lb) @ RPE 10
5 x 65kg (143lb) @ RPE 10

I had to fight for the last rep in each work set but I managed to avoid neck strain.

EZ-bar Curls
5 x 41kg
10 x 51kg (112lb)
 
Fri 09/09/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row in 1:45 @ spm 22 spm, Damper on 3
Shoulder dislocates

Back Squats
w-u: 10 x 35kg, 5P x 70kg, 5P x 90kg, 3P x 120kg (254lb)
4(B) x 160kg (353lb) @ RPE 9
3(B) x 160kg (353lb) @ RPE 9.5

Oly shoes; belted (B) for both work sets.
I should have done another work set but decided to stop there. Right knee held up ok but my lower-back was fatiguing quickly and still very sore from Wednesday's deads.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 55kg, 5 x 95kg
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9.5
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9.5
2+1 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9.5 - feet slipped after second rep so had to re-rack and set-up again for third rep.
13 x 85kg (187lb) - wanted 15 reps!

Bench wasn't good tonight. Didn't feel strong.

Pull-ups
w-u: 10 x bw. 5 x bw+10kg
5 x bw+25kg (55lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x bw+25kg (55lb) @ RPE 9
6 x bw+25kg (55lb) @ RPE 10
7 x bw - immediately following previous set
13 x bw - with kipping. Back fried!

Notes
Generally tired tonight. I seem to be stalling out on most things now so it'll be time to back off soon. I am doing quite a lot of rowing at the moment which I am not logging here. This will definitely be impacting on my recovery ability. I have to be away at the end of this month so I'll probably keep going with the heavy stuff until then.
 
Mon 12/09/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row @ 20 spm in 2:05, damper on 3 - slow 'n' steady pace
Shoulder dislocates

Front Squats
w-u: 10 x 40kg, 5P x 60kg, 5P x 80kg, 2P x 90kg
5(B) x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 8.5
5(B) x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 9
5(B) x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 9.5
10 x 75kg - metabolic set; nice burn

P=paused reps; Oly shoes; no belt.
I think this is the heaviest I have front squatted for sets of 5 across at my current bodyweight.

Dips
w-u: 15 x bw, 5 x bw+15kg, 3 x bw+30kg
10 x bw+40kg (88lb)
8 x bw+45kg (100lb) @ RPE 10

Wrist wraps for all reps.
Changed things up a bit tonight as my bench was so poor last Friday. Dips seemed like a refreshing change and my right shoulder didn't give me any trouble. Could have gone heavier but decided not to do so as I want to be as fully recovered as possible for bench on Friday.

Chins
w-u: 10 x bw
5 x bw+31.25kg (69lb) @ RPE 10
5 x bw+31.25kg (69lb) @ RPE 10
5 x bw+31.25kg (69lb) @ RPE 10
15 x bw - metabolic set; immediately following previous work set; started kipping once I couldn't do any more strict reps.

Work sets were clavicle-to-bar reps. Last rep was a struggle in each work set.

As was true last Friday, I am getting close to my maxes for this cycle now. I will carry on for another week or so and then take a short break from heavy (for me) loading. I am feeling nicely tired most of the time so my CNS could do with a break soon. Generally speaking, I am very pleased that my shoulder health is as good as it is; my right knee is no worse than it was at the start of this cycle.
 
Yesterday, I had more DOMS than I have had this whole cycle: legs, back, chest and arms all hammered. Consequently, helping my neighbours move their stuff back in to their newly renovated house was less than joyous for my lower-back; carrying heavy filling cabinets up four flights of stairs to the loft was not easy. The last staicase was particularly tricky and I somehow managed to tweak a nerve in the left side of my lower-back. Had some pain down my left leg afterwards so did some stretching. After a night's rest it has definitely improved. I'll see if it's still ok after tonight's deads.
 
Wed 14/09/11

General Warmup
500m C2 row @ 22 spm in 1:55, damper on 3
OHS's with empty bar
Shoulder dislocates

OHS
w-u: 10 x 20kg, 5 x 25kg, 5 x 30kg, 5 x 35kg, 5 x 45kg
5 x 55kg
5 x 65kg
3 x 70kg (154lb) PR

Right shoulder was a lot more dodgy tonight from 55kg onwards. Right wrist was not too clever either. Not happy about that but at least I got a new PR.

Deads
w-u: 5 x 85kg, 5 x 115kg, 3 x 130kg - all with Oly-shoes.
12 x 160kg (353lb) @ RPE 8.5

No shoes, no belt, hook grip for work set.

I decided not to go too heavy tonight as my lower-back is not recovering quickly enough. I figured that a higher rep set with 160kg would be interesting. I managed 15 reps with this once upon a time—but the attempt nearly finished me off! I planned on 10 reps tonight but when I arrived at ten I knew I had plenty left in the tank; after two further reps, my lower-back extension started to go, so I stopped there.

Seeing that I was around 20 lbs heavier when I managed 15 reps with 353lb, I am happy that I made it to 12 reps tonight, especially as it was not a max effort. My lower-back felt good afterwards so it should recover well enough not to hamper Friday's squats.

Lying Tri-extensions
10 x 41kg
10 x 51kg (112lb)

EZ-bar Curls
w-u: 5 x 41kg
7 x 61kg (135lb)
5 x 61kg (135lb)

HSPU's
12 x bw

Did a few arm isos in place of pressing and then finished up with some handstand push-ups. They were ok, so I'm hoping that my right shoulder is fine for Friday's benching.
 
Wow, Lol - nice work! That's a heck of a lot of volume, especially given the fact that you were working with DOMS. I'm jealous!
 
Sat 17/09/11

America's Cup Series sailing here at the moment in Plymouth Sound. Rather spectacular. Spent yesterday afternoon watching the racing from the Hoe. Gorgeous weather for it too: sunny but with 30km/h winds, withe gusts up to almost 40km/h.

What with one thing and another, had almost no sleep last night. Missed training too. Three of my mates have organised a visit by Andy Timmons from Texas; he arrived yesterday and is doing guitar clinics today with a performance and Q&A session this evening. I'll be there this eve. Spoke to Mr. Timmons on the phone last night which was pretty cool. What a pleasant chap he is too.

Anyway, after almost no sleep, I managed a bench session this afternoon.

Bench
w-u: 10 x 40kg, 10 x 60kg, 5 x 80kg
3 x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 8.5
1 x 120kg (264lb)
1 x 130kg (287lb) @ RPE 10 That matches my old PR!
3 x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 9
3 x 110kg (242lb) @ RPE 9
6 x 100kg (220lb) @ RPE 9.5 - totally spent!

All reps with wrist wraps; no belt.
Pinkies on rings for heavy singles.

Pleased with the 130kg lift. :) It was a grinder but the bar didn't stop moving all the way to the top. I just willed the darn thing up! That matches my all-time PR from when I was about 25lb heavier than I am now. So, relatively speaking, it's a stronger lift. With good sleep, good training and good food, I now see a 300lb bench lift happening before the end of the year. I can almost taste it! 135kg (297lb) is my next target.

I may do a 5k row (or possibly even a 10k, depending on how I feel after 5k) this afternoon rather than a heavy squat session. My CNS is sautéed after that max-effort single and I really could do with giving my lower-back some extra time to recuperate. I'll probably back squat on Monday instead, rather than front squat.
 
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Well, the HST site still seems to be suffering from pathetic attempts to disrupt things; the main forum page is still down.

Now my log has bern restored (phew!), I have about a week's worth of log entries missing so I'm guessing that that was the latest backup. Anyway, I won't log anything else here until I am confident it isn't going to dissappear again.

It has been a bit of a wake-up call. I think I need to start keeping my own off-line log.
 
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