HST Routine #3

My lats are quite sore from Deads, anyone else experience this...my hams are as well though
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Also, does anyone think it would be a major mistake to cut Squats out of a cycle and just do Deads?? I like Deads so much better.
 
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(soflsun @ Mar. 31 2008,14:42)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Also, does anyone think it would be a major mistake to cut Squats out of a cycle and just do Deads?? I like Deads so much better.</div>
Yeah, it would probably be a major mistake to leave out squats. Squats do things to you...

I prefer deads, too. So I often opt for deads twice a week and squat only once a week.

You also might try some front squats. They make for a nice break from being crushed under the bar, and they work your quads like crazy!
 
Solfsun: My back is usually destroyed from a good deadlifting session. If your lats are sore it's a good sign that you are working them hard in keeping the bar close to your legs and not allowing it to swing away from you.

Don't stop squatting. If you already prefer deads you might use that as an excuse (reason!) not to get good at squats. I really feel that a good back squat will help you get the bar off the floor when deadlifting. There is some beneficial crossover, particularly if you can learn to full-squat with the bar on your scapular spine.

I am surprised you guys prefer deads to squats though (actually, as you are all a bit crazy, I'm not!
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). On a deadlift day I get nervous from the moment I wake up in the morning - especially if it's a RM workout day. I find the heavier loads involved in a hard deadlift session take a lot more out of me and leave me feeling utterly spent. It also takes me a lot longer to fully recover from a hard deadlift session than a hard back squat session. My lower back usually takes two weeks to really get over it after deadlifting in the 5s (but, of course, I am continuing to squat too, which isn't going to help much
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).
 
Thanks guys...I'll do squats at least 1x/week.  Glad that it's a good sign for lats to get sore from Deads, but that link was dead
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3/31/08

Pendlay Rows 95 lbs 2x15
BB Bench 135 lbs 1x15, 1x12, 1x4
Incline DB Curls 50 lbs 1x15, 1x11, 1x6
Machine Fly light 1x15

Observations:

Gym was busy today...so I got screwed a bit.  Increased my bench to 135 earlier than I would have liked, but I had to jump in with someone...too much of a pain to remove the 45's.  I did the Pendlay Rows off the bottom pin on a squat rack...the ground is just too low with 25's on each side.  Also, the 2nd 20 lb dumbell was missing, so I increased the weight on my curls to 25 lbs...it went OK, but I could have pushed that weight off for another couple of workouts because I still had more room for growth from the 20's IMO.  Did some really light machine fly's to stretch out my pecs and try to work some of the upper region.  Another week of 15's and I'll be ready to progress to 10's.
 
Lol,

You posted as I was writing. I feel the exact opposite about Deads. I'm nervous about squats whenever I think about them (whether there 15's or 3's
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) They just make me feel sick, and I always question if I'm executing them properly...going low enough, etc. Deads seem more natural to me, but that's no excuse not to squat!
 
I'm with you soflsun, deads I can just step to the bar and go. Squats, I have on my mind all day. From LOL's log, I think you'll have to squat more than once a week in order to get that squat butt!
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I can see why you guys like deads more. I don't know, there is just something about picking up huge weights from the floor that makes you feel like a beast.
I like both... but if I had to choose just one, it would be deads.

But yeah, I wouldn't leave squats out of a cycle unless you have an absolutely good reason to. There may not be a lot of carryover from deads to squats (not that I am aware of?) but there is definitely significant carryover from squats to deads.
 
I appreciate the replies...I pussied out on my squats again today, but I'll do them on my next leg day!!

4/2/08

Deads 165 lbs 2x15/Push Press 95 lbs 2x10
Incline DB curls 50 lbs 1x15, 1x10, 1x6/Calves (Leg Press Machine) 180 lbs 2x15
Shrugs 180 lbs 2x15/Tricep Pushdown (rope) 5th plate 1x15, 1x10

Observations:

I felt a bit sluggish today at the gym, maybe slept too much (spring break for Miami-Dade Public Schools) or didn't eat enough.  Either way, I was only able to complete 10 reps on my push presses...and they should have been 15's!!  I didn't let it bum me out though, since I had a good go at my deads.  Who knows...my shoulders were just crap!  Everything else felt pretty good.

The long layoff seems to have had the most negative effects on my back strength...chest second.  Everthing else feels like it's coming along nicely.  My back has always been weak, but this is rediculous!!  I had certain weight goals that I wanted to hit on all of my exercises before progressing to 10's...but I think my back may get in the way of this.  I can either stay with 15's on back...or just progress everything to 10's.  What do you guys think?
 
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(soflsun @ Mar. 31 2008,17:44)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">that link was dead
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</div>
here's a link to the crossfit library.  it's got some good stuff &lt;FF is not a crossfitter&gt;

gotta pay $2.50 nowadays for the deadlift article.  I took it for granted.  Should've saved it to my flash disk.

edit:

http://www.crossfit.com/journal/

2nd edit:  they've got a nifty overhead pressing article this month http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/67_08_Overhead_Lifting.pdf
 
4/4/08

Assisted Pullups 10th Plate 1x15, 1x12, 1x4/BB Bench 135 lbs 2x15
Incline DB curls 50 lbs 1x10,1x5  1x8, 1x7

I was happy to complete 2x15 on chest for 135 lbs.  Curls were quite difficult after exerting myself so much on pullups.  Both sets were clustered...the second half of each set I did standing.  I will not move to 10's until I can complete both the pullups and curls at these weights for 2x15.  I will assess the other exercises on their respective days.
 
4/7/08

Deads 185 lbs 2x15
DB Lateral Raises 40 lbs 1x15, 1x10
Incline DB Curls 50 lbs 1x15, 1x12, 1x6
Shrugs 180 lbs/Seated Calf Raises 90 lbs 2x15
Tricep Pulldown 7-8th Plate 1x15, 1x12

Believ it or not, grip was failing towards the end of the 2nd set of deads...need to work on grip again. It gets very weak very quickly. Workout was about 50 minutes.
 
April 12 will be my last day of 15's...that's about 3 weeks.  My weight goals I am trying for before progressing to 10's are:

Deads 185 2x15 &lt;done&gt;
Push Press 85 2x15
Incline DB Curls 50 2x15 *(end of workout)
Shrugs 180 2x15 &lt;done&gt;
Flat Bench 145 2x15
Assisted Pullups Plate 10 2x15
Pendlay Rows 115 2x15
 
I see you took out the squats. Like the others (except Lol; he was born on the wrong side of the pond....) I dislike squats. I do them because I've learned that usually the very thing that is the hardest is the best for you. Like Tot, I even enjoy the clank of six plates (well, 8 for him!) returning to the mat. Squats just jingle a bit, so you hear your grunts more than the iron.
I read that the squats release more hormones than deads, so I prioritize them if I have to choose between the two. Oddly, the deads kill you more.
As for DOMS, it's individual-specific IMO. My biceps, quads and lats NEVER hurt. But triceps, traps, and hamstrings do.
 
Here is another in favor of doing squats. In fact, I strongly recommend you or anybody reduce deads to once a week, and even to reduce the number of sets when you get close to PRs and making new ones. You should backsquat twice a week, or back once and front once.

Squatting heavy will not interfere with your progress in other exercises, but deads absolutely will. Unless your purpose is to simply become strong at deads, but even then, I would still only do actual deads once a week and do the partials (hang pulls and such) on other days.
 
Thanks for the input guys...I will start to incorporate full squats into my routine.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to start off extremely light with these as I have never gone past parallel before.  I'll shoot for 135 lbs 2x15 before progressing to 10's.

4/9/08

BB Bench 145 lbs 2x15
T-Bar Row 100 lbs 1x12, 1x10, 1x6 (These felt VERY heavy compared to Pendlay's??)
Incline DB Curls 50 lbs 1x12, 1x6, 1x8, 1x8 (These were also VERY heavy after T-Bar)
Tricep Pushdown (rope) 6th Plate 1x15, 1x10

Does anyone else's face turn BRIGHT redish purple by the end of a set??  I feel like I'm changing color more than anyone else in the gym!!
 
50# incline db curls is pretty nice.  No wonder you're turning blue in the face
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!
You're making a wise choice by adding the full squats into your routine.  They have really made a serious difference in my training over the last year.  Keep up the nice work!
 
Soflsun,

You asked me a question in my log, but I thought I would put the answer in yours.

The book is called Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. A lot of people on this board have it, in fact I first learned of its existence through this forum a little over a year ago.

You can get it through amazon or directly through the publisher at http://www.aasgaardco.com/store/store.php
 
4/12/08

This was my last day of 15's, I also mixed in some 10's to make it like a transition workout.

ATG Squats 135 lbs/Seated DB Shoulder Press 80 lbs 3x10
Incline DB Curls 50 lbs 1x15, 1x10, 1x6/Calf Raise (Leg Press Machine)230 lbs 2x15
Shrugs 200 lbs/Skullz 50 lbs 2x15

First time doing squats in this cycle, and honestly I had only done them previously in 1 other cycle, which wasn't even completed.  So, I am quite new at these and still learning this exercise.  I'm calling them ATG, which I never did before...I basically went as low as I could possibly go before movement naturally ceased due to &quot;the bottom&quot; I guess.  I tried to keep my back arched and just explode out...I need to get that book explaining the correct mechanics (which I ordered yesterday from Amazon).  My previous max was 300 lbs, but this was going down to a bench, which was slightly ABOVE parallel I believe in hindsight.  So this weight felt heavy but doable...and I haven't done them (or anything) for 3 months at all.  I think the strength will improve quickly.

I need to tweak my routine a bit.  I want to hit deads 2x/week and squats 1x/week, so I may have to go back to full-body.  My biggest issue with this, besides time (since I like to do some iso's), it that I hate doing shoulders with chest...I just seems redundant and one always suffers.
 
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