TangoDown's Vanilla HST Run

Bench (using a much narrower grip, 4 minutes b/w clusters):
warmup, then 210lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 2, 180lb x 3, x 3

Squat (Low-bar, 5 minutes b/w clusters):
warmup, then 255lb x 2, x 2, x 3, x 3

T-Bar Pendlays (2 minutes b/w clusters):
warmup, then Bar + 170lb x 5, x 5, x 3, x 2, x 1 (last rep just to film)
__________________________________________

Bench feels more stable with the narrower grip, though I need to work on not being so careless with the eccentric. But I definitely feel like I can get my scaps back and then set them back even more after I unrack the bar. Much easier to let things settle with a narrower grip. We'll see how this goes. I think I'm gonna stick with this weight and try to do some triples next time.

Squat felt good. Felt like I could have gotten 2-3x5 with this. So I'll definitely increment up.

Pendlays felt great. Filmed the last cluster and my camera crashed my phone so I had to do another rep to film it. Form looks pretty good IMO. I can post it here if need be (if anybody checks this log anymore ;(). Should be moving up to 4 plates soon.
 
Bench:
warmup, then 210lb x 3, x 3, x 2 x 1

Sumo Deadlift:
warmup, then 370lb x 3, x 3, x 3, x 2

Squat:
warmup, then 255lb x 3, x 3, x 3 (volume PR)

T-Bar Pendlays:
warmup, then Bar + 4 plates x 4, x 3, x 3 (work weight PR)
___________________________________

Bench didn't go as planned. We'll see how it goes next session. Sumo deadlift felt insanely easy. Bar kept shifting to the right after each rep which is why I didn't do the last rep. Working on my hamstrings has done a world of difference.

Squat felt great. T-Bar, I filmed. Some body english. Again, can post the video but I doubt anybody will watch.
 
5'8", 176lb

Bench (4 minutes rest):
warmup, then 210lb x 3, x 3, x 2, x 2

Sumo Deadlift (90% 1RM, 5 minutes rest):
warmup, then 385lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 2

T-Bar Pendlays (~5RM, 2 minute rest):
warmup, then Bar + 4 plates x 4, x 3, x 3

5 BW pullups, strength is there but shoulder flared up. Can't do these yet.

Squat (~75% 1RM, 3 minute rest):
warmup, then 225lb x 3, x 3, x 3, x 3, x 3

__________________________

The gym floor feels pretty waxy lately so I put a mat under my feet for the last cluster of bench. Gonna see if that helps from now on.
 
Last edited:
Bench:
warmup, then 210lb x 3, x 3, x 2 (failed 3rd rep)

Squat:
warmup, then 265lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 2, 240lb x 4, 225lb x 4

T-Bar Pendlays:
warmup, then Bar + 4 plates x 4, x 3, x 3, x 3, x 2, Bar + 3 plates x 10

Then tried some light push press, didn't like it.

Half-mile jog on treadmill lol.
_______________________________________

Gonna try this one more time on Tuesday, trying to "break the bar" more and hope I get 3 triples, which would match what I did with a wider grip. If that happens, I'll try for 210lb x 5 the subsequent session.

I think I'm gonna need to reexamine my programming when it comes to bench press. It shouldn't take upwards of 2 months to add a rep, especially when I saw consistent PRs on bench press with higher rep work (vanilla HST).
 
5'8, ~176lb

Bench:
warmup, then 210lb x 3, x 3, x 3, x 2 (failed 3rd rep) [still volume PR]

Sumo Deadlift:
warmup, then 375lb x 3, x 3, x 3

Squat:
warmup, then 260lb x 3, x 3, x 3, x 3 (Volume PR)

T-Bar Pendlays:
warmup, then Bar + 4 plates x 5, x 4, x 3 (Volume PR), Bar + 3 plates x 10
____________________________________________________

Sooooo close to getting that 3rd rep on the last set. I've realized I need to repinch my scaps under my back after each rep to gain enough stability to not make things too wonky. Not particularly optimal but I suppose it's what I need to do unless they put in a better bench in my gym. Anyway, when I get 4x3 210lb, I'll move onto 215lb and this time try to get all triples as opposed to getting doubles before incrementing up.

Didn't have enough juice in me to do the last set of sumo DL. We'll see how doubles of 390lb feel on Friday and either repeat 375lb triples next week or just move up to 380lb.

Squat felt pretty good today. Gonna push to doubles of 270lb on Sunday and see if I can ride this wave. Bringing out the stance just a bit seems to help. I take an abnormally narrow grip for low bar - a bit less than shoulder width. Not optimal for most but it's worked for me...or maybe it hasn't. Not gonna make any major alterations until after I try a PR attempt.

T-Bar felt good. I suppose I can consider the last set a metabolic set though I'm not too familiar with how all that works.

The whole session took about 3 hours today. Fine now but my semester starts next week so...
 
Last edited:
5'8", ~176lb

Bench (4-5RM territory, 4 minutes rest):
warmup, then 210lb x 3, x 3, x 3, x 3 (Volume PR)

Sumo Deadlift (~90% 1RM, 5 minutes rest):
warmup, then 390lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 2 (Volume PR)

Squat (~75% 1RM, 3 minutes rest):
warmup, then 225lb x 5, x 5, x 5

T-Bar Pendlay (2 minutes rest):
Had to do these on the part of the gym with what I think has the uneven flooring, so they didn't go well. I might consider deloading and trying to just do strict T-Bar Rows as opposed to Pendlays so I don't have to worry about the bar shifting around.
_____________________________________________________

Most happy about the bench. Will move up to 215lb and work over the next 2-3 weeks on getting 215lb 4x3 and then test a new 5RM.
 
Slept terribly last night, again. Probably woke up a good 6-7 times. Come on, body...just another 2-3 weeks...hold on...SD comin' soon.
 
Slept a bit better last night but still feeling sort of run down, and my shoulder's flared up a bit. Gonna skip today's session and come back on Tuesday. If I squat 4x3 265lb, I'll just move Sunday's doubles up to 275lb. Then I should be fairly close to a single at 3 plates.
 
You seem to be gaining significant strength endurance in recent weeks/months.

Presuming this is the case, I would conside projecting some proper PR testing before SD; reducing volume slightly and picking a spot to go for PRs.
 
I plan on PR testing right at the end of the month. I'm shooting for specific numbers (440lb pull, 215lb x 5 bench, 275lb x 5 squat) but this next PR test will be my limit before I SD/start my cut.
 
Gym has no safety pins so squatting for a 1RM is sort of out of the question unless I can find a suitable spot. At least with a 5RM I'll fail coming out of the hole. Having never had 3+ plates on my back, if I trip or crumple over there's nowhere for the bar to land but on top of me.

Bench, more feasible. We'll see.

I'll see if I can't add a bit more juice to the lifts over the next 2-3 weeks, back off the volume for a couple of sessions, and then try for PRs.

For deadlift, how do you personally increment up to a PR test? Last time I did ~20lb increments (365lb, 385lb, 405lb, 430lb). Don't know if that's optimal.
 
This was my 275kg PR day for deadlit;

Deads; 5 - 70kg, 5 - 120kg, 1 - 170kg, 1 - 200kg (warm ups); 1 - 220kg, 1 - 230kg, 1 - 240kg, 1 - 250kg, 1 - 260kg, 1 - 270kg PR, 1 - 275kg PR. 1,1,1,1,1,1 - 250kg.

I'm kind of like a freight train in that sense, I thin; I need a good lead in.

Starting at just over 25% (70kg). 265kg was my previous PR I think (the week before). I think it's important to use sensible rest between those lead-in sets. Trying to crank about 60s between 230 and 240 wasn't going to facilitate 275, but neither would 5min either.


Fair enough re: lack of squat rack/pins.
 
So you're usually taking 20-30lb between increments. So we have a similar approach, though noted that a 20lb increment between say 550lb and 570lb is a smaller % than a jump between say 420lb and 440lb. But my CNS is younger than yours and I'm notably weaker so I'd surmise less work would be needed to rev up my engine for the heavy weight.

I was usually taking 5-6 minutes between increments once I was up around 385/405lb. I guess YMMV but maybe slightly less rest would be feasible.
 
3-5 mins will be fine IMO. I think viewing the jump from a % point of view is 'fine', but generally impractical without micro-weights. If (for example) a 5% jump equals 6kg, then how is that going to be practically implemented in most gyms?

I would think that 10kg // 20lb is a fair enough split. Maybe 15lbs is more appropriate but doing that across the bar equally might be difficult for you based on plates that are available.

I would like to see you push out a 440lb at least (200kg). My real progress started once I cleared that hurdle (for some reason ... mental, maybe ?). I added 40kg in 5ish months, then another 75kg in the next 8months ... go figure.
 
I'll definitely be attempting 200kg. I suppose I'll do something like 365lb, 385lb, 405lb, 420lb, 440lb, and if I can lock out 440lb cleanly and it doesn't feel like an absolute max effort, try anywhere from 450lb to 460lb.

165lb in 8 months is insane for somebody already pulling in the mid-400lbs. I remember when you hit 200kg, though that much of an increase could be, in your case, from simply learning and perfecting the movement, right? Because your back and leg strength were already pretty advanced at that point. Weren't you rowing something like 100kg dumbbells?

Also have to take into consideration that I weigh about 60-75lb less than you (I think you said you're 250lb) so that kind of progress is, IMO, still far away for me in relative terms. A 600lb deadlift at ~175lb is insanely competitive at the national level for a raw powerlifter @ my age. I think, considering that I'm going to be cutting 20lb and should be done by May-June, a 500lb deadlift by Jan '16 is a bit more feasible, but hey, who knows?
 
Yes, was (kroc) rowing 100kg DB's for a time there.

The point I'm making is that improvements (relative to BW) are still in front of you for some time. Plenty of my excess weight is adipose as well.

I would certainly expect you to hit 500lb (230kg) prior to this time next year, though going on any form of prolonged or severe cut would definitely prove an impediment to that.
 
Experimenting with sleeping on my back as opposed to my stomach and cutting most liquid intake after dinner to lessen the number of times I wake up at night. Last night I managed to sleep 4 hours, and then 3 hours, and then 2 hours, which is much better than usual, when I'm doing blocks of like 2.5 hours, 1.5 hours, 1.5 hours, 2 hours or something like that. You know, it's almost like I "cluster" my sleep lol.

All of you who sleep through the night don't know how lucky you've got it :(.

Anyway, back in the gym today...a friend of mine hit a 345 squat and 405 deadlift @ 145lb. He's excited to see where he gets when he's back up to 160lb. I'm curious too...
 
TangoDown said:
Anyway, back in the gym today...a friend of mine hit a 345 squat and 405 deadlift @ 145lb. He's excited to see where he gets when he's back up to 160lb. I'm curious too...
Click to expand...
Squatting at nearly 2.4 x body weight and deads at 2.8 x body weight, impressive stats!! Sitting mid way between advanced and elite in exrx strength.
 
TangoDown said:
Experimenting with sleeping on my back as opposed to my stomach and cutting most liquid intake after dinner to lessen the number of times I wake up at night. Last night I managed to sleep 4 hours, and then 3 hours, and then 2 hours, which is much better than usual, when I'm doing blocks of like 2.5 hours, 1.5 hours, 1.5 hours, 2 hours or something like that. You know, it's almost like I "cluster" my sleep lol.
Click to expand...
Could be worse, they could be myo-reps:(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top