Tangodown's 2015 Log

[only work sets shown]

5'8", 174.5lb (-.5lb)

Bench (recoding, 80% 1RM, 3 minutes b/w):
3x5 @ 190lb

Sumo Deadlift (85% 1RM, 5 minutes b/w):
4x2 @ 385lb

Unilateral Machine Rows (~5RM, 1.5 minutes b.w):
195lb x 4, x 3, x 3

Squat (recoding with wider stance and flat shoes, 5 minutes b/w):
260lb x 2, x 2, x 3, x 3

.75lb miles on treadmil and then walked home a couple of miles
______________________________

Everything felt alright today. The first set felt the most coordinated on bench but I need to talk to gym management about cutting back on waxing the weight room floor because I can't get good traction with my feet for leg drive. I'm assuming they'll say no, but it's worth a try.
 
[only working sets shown]

5'8", 174.5lb

Bench (recoding, 3 minutes b/w):
190lb x 3, 205lb x 2, 190lb x 3, x 3, x 4

Still working on this. 190lb feels real easy as it should, though not completely perfect, but once I jump up to 205lb, shit gets wonky. Seems like my right arm likes to take over. Will keep doing 3x5 190lb for now until I like how everything feels and then move up.

Sumo Deadlift (90% 1RM, 5 minutes b/w):
405lb x 2, x 1, x 1, x 1, x 1, x 1

Things are feeling pretty good here. Had limited room to work today. Need to work on keeping the bar close before the pull, because I find the right side of the bar likes to roll away from me (which is the side I set my arm underhand for mixed grip. Need to put ze shoulders in back pocket).

Weighted Pullups (recoding, 3 minutes b/w):
Belt + 55lb x 4, x 2, x 2

Leg Press (non-plate loaded, 3 minutes b/w):
430lb x 4, x 2, x 2

Elliptical (50%, 65%, 75%, and then finally 100% resistance for the last minute): 13 minutes
 
Switching to toes-on-ground only bench approach again for a while to see how things work. I like the bigger arch it provides. Also decided to switch back to squat shoes. Haven't been feeling very stable squatting in flats so will stick with what works.
 
[only working sets shown]

5'8", 174lb (-.5lb)

Probably going to need to reduce calories a bit more.

Bench (~80% 1RM, 3 minutes b/w):
190lb x 5, x 5, x 5

Sumo Deadlift (85% 1RM, 5 minutes b/w):
385lb x 1...felt super shitty today, so then did 315lb x 3, x 3

Weighted Pullups (~5RM, 3 minutes b/w):
Belt + 55lb x 4, x 3, x 3

Strength slowly returning here.

Squat (recoding again...4 minutes b/w):
250lb x 3, x 3, x 3

Getting used to squat shoes and a narrower stance again. Feels pretty good. Will probably do 3x5 on Sunday and then just keep incrementing up til I'm back to being capable of doing 275lb/280lb x 5.

Elliptical: a couple minutes on 50% resistance, than 75% resistance until the last minute, cranking up to 100%. 13 minutes total.
 
5'8", 174lb

Another day of 190lb bench as I continue to recode. Feeling pretty good for the most part - the first set was so easy, it felt like I could have hit at least 12 reps, though I think I'm going to have to ask for an unrack once I'm up in the 200lbs from now on. Luckily, on Candito's 6 week program, I'll be doing straight sets so I don't have to have some unrack the weight for me me 5-10 times. I'm gonna stick with 190lb for a couple more sessions as I tweak things.

Sumo deadlift, after a couple of hard reps of 405lb and a few reps of 365lb, with the bar rolling everywhere preset and pissing me the fuck off, I decided to try to bring the stance in. The new stance is essentially a sumo-ventional stance, with feet right outside my hands - almost a wide-stance conventional setup like Brian Shaw does but with my hands inside my legs as opposed to semi-clean. I worked up to a couple of triples of 315lb and it felt SOOO much better than what I was doing before. I could get far back behind the bar and drag the thing up my legs like I like without feeling like my lower back was the only mover. So my plan for this is to pull this way 3 times a week and essentially "linear-progression" up until I'm good to go. Even if I end up losing a substantial amount of weight off my 1RM doing this before I finish my cut, I feel like this is the safest and most effective way to pull for me considering that my above-average back strength is going to play into a narrower stance.

afterwards...

Leg Press (non-plate loaded, 4 minutes b/w):
warmup, then 430lb x 3, x 2, x 2

Unilateral Machine Rows (~5RM, 1.5 minutes b/w):
warmup, then 195lb x 4, x 3, x 3. Think I can probably progress on these.

Elliptical for 13 minutes, roughly 200 cals burned, then walked 2 miles home.
 
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[only working sets shown]

5'8", 173.5lb (-.5lb)

Bench (~82% 1RM, 3 minutes b/w):
195lb x 5, x 5, x 5

First 2 sets were easy, last set something was up which made the final rep a grinder. Sans that, things are feeling pretty good right now.

Hybrid Deadlift (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
315lb x 3, x 3, x 3

Might behoove me to bring out the stance just a little bit, but we'll see. I'm gonna move up 10lb every 1-3 sessions as I do these. Worse comes to worse, I switch back to roughly what I was doing before and spend the last month of my cut getting used to it again before I hop on Candito.

Someone else complained about me "dropping the weight" to management today. Ironically, my esscentric was almost too controlled today. The battle shall never be won :(.

Squat (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
255lb x 5, x 3, x 3

Weighted Pullups (recoding, 3 minutes b/w):
Belt + 55lb x 5, x 3, x 3

Will probably move up to Belt + 60lb next session. So I'm basically almost back to my last PR.

Elliptical: 13 minutes, mostly at 75% resistance ~250 cals burned
 
Did some triples with 325lb with various stances and realized that I'm best fitted to deadlifting sumo. So I'm gonna just go back to doing what I was doing with the exception of trying to control the eccentric just a bit more and take a SLIGHTLY narrower stance for purposes of having a good reference point to keep things as symmetrical as possible.
 
[only working sets shown]

5'8", 173.5lb

Sumo Deadlift (<80%, 5 minutes b/w):
335lb x 5, x 5 (technically rest-pause at 3,2 for 2nd set because phone alarm started blarring in my ear and had to be turned off).

Feels good. Not perfect, but good.

Bench (~82% 1RM, 3 minutes b/w):
195lb x 5, x 5, x 4

Still gonna work with this weight for a while. Trying to get scapulas back with toes up is harder to do but I had a better idea afterwards when messing around with the bar. I'd like things to feel a bit more stable before progressing to 200lb so, when I end this cut, things don't go as they did during the winter where bench barely progressed @ all.

Pullups (BW):
Lost count - just did these because the pullup bar I use for weighted pullups was being horded over by some woman doing bosu ball shit in the corner and didn't feel like working in with her. My short ass needs space to kick the step stool away at the start of sets :D.

Squat (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
255lb x 5, x 4, x 4
I've got 3x5 in me. I'll try to hit that on Sunday.

Elliptical: 12 minutes @ 75% resistance. ~200 cals burned.
 
[only working sets shown]

5'8", 173lb (-.5lb)

Bench (~85% 1RM, 3 minutes b/w):
200lb x 5, 195lb x 4, x 3

Barely got the 5th rep, which was a bit dishartening. I did a bunch of manual labor in a kitchen this morning so I'll chock it up to that.

Squat (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
255lb x 5, x 5, x 5

Felt good today, mostly because I didn't sumo deadlift right beforehand. I'll move up to 260lb.

Weighted Pullups (~5RM, 3 minutes b/w):
Belt + 60lb x 4, x 3, x 3

Almost back up to where I was pre-shoulder injury.

Deficit Deadlifts (NEW):
315lb x 2, x 1 (not near max, just trying these out)

I can't confirmed the amount of deficit (I'm guessing about 2") as I was standing on a 45lb IGX plate, but I can ask for measuring tape next time I'm in the gym. Because the plate isn't completely flat, the front of my foot is elevated a few mm which actually makes getting back onto my heels a little bit easier honestly.

Anyway, they felt great for never doing a deficit deadlift in my life and not pulling conventionally in years. I feel very confident that these will shoot up as I get used to them, and since Candito's 6 week program calls for a deadlift variation to be done, I'll let these be my variation.

Here's a screencap of how one of the reps looked right as the bar was coming off the ground:

4l6ig.jpg
 
Jester said:
Looks fine to me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I like 'em a lot. Weirdly, torso angle seems even more vertical then when it used to be when I pulled conventionally way back when. It might be because my weight was shifted more onto the balls of my feet than my heels in the past.

I think I'll do these for now on Fridays (after sumo DLs, and when I'm not squatting) and Sundays (when I'm not sumo deadlifting).
 
Only thing mentionable, did a standard conventional deadlift for the first time in 3 years.

345lb x 5. Felt much harder than what I'm used to but it also felt like a proper deadlift with hamstring involvement, and bar being dragged up the shins from the start. Couldn't do a second set.

Anyway, I expect this to climb over the next few weeks.
 
Scale said about 172.5lb today after cardio, so I should be around 172lb in the morning. I'll weigh again on Sunday.

After some playing around, I'm just gonna stick with the sumo DLs with deficit conventional DL as my accessory. Videoed my standard conventional DLs and I've got some noticeable lumbar curve despite a relatively flat thoracic, which weirdly enough wasn't happening with deficits.

So I figure, why fix what's not really broken? Sumos give me a much better back angle relative to the floor. I just need to jump back on them already and start greasing the groove. Honestly, as long as I can pull 4 plates for a rep @ 160lb, I'll feel fine. I don't see why I won't see drastic improvements after 6+ Candito cycles (or DUP, if that's what I decide to do after the cut, but I'm leaning toward Candito 6-week).

Anyway, only thing of mention today was pyramiding up some paused bench, 190lb x 3, 195lb x 3, 200lb x 2, 205lb x 2, 210lb x 1 w 3 minutes rest b/w. Controlling the eccentric really helps and makes things much easier off the chest.
 
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5'8", ~172lb (-1lb)

Sumo Deadlift (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
135lb x 3, 225lb x 2, 315lb x 1
345lb x 3, x 3, x 3

Deficit Deadlift (NEW, coding):
275lb x 5

Didn't want to go too heavy on these. My lower back felt completely fried after sumo and deficits, and it was already sore beforehand. I'll probably avoid pulling at all on Tuesday.

Paused Bench (~87% regular bench, 3 minutes b/w):
135lb x 3, 155lb x 3, 175lb x 2, 190lb x 2
205lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 2, 185lb x 5, x 5

Gonna stick with paused reps for now. Some of the lighter warmup sets weren't paused.

Unilateral Machine Row (~5RM, 1.5 minutes b/w):
110lb x 3, 155lb x 3,
200lb x 4, x 3, x 3

Elliptical: 15 minutes, starting at 75% and then 85% resistance - last minute at 100% resistance. Approx 250 cals burned
 
[only working sets shown]

5'8", ~172lb. I'm thinking about dropping the calorie intake by 200-300. I need to get some protein powder so I don't have to worry about intake because I've been averaging 120-130g/day and I should probably be up around 160-170g/day.

Squat (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
260lb x 5, x 5, x 5

Will move up to 265lb next week. If I get 3x5 there, that's actually a borderline PR because I've only ever gotten 6 reps with 265lb (though when I tested, I think I could have pushed out 7).

Deficit Deadlifts (NEW, coding):
275lb x 5

Definitely hard to do after squatting or sumo DLs with any substantial weight. Lower back is absolutely fried afterwards. I might need to do this after bench to have some more juice in my tank for 'em.

Paused Bench (~87% 1rm of regular bench, 3 minutes b/w):
205lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 2, 185lb x 5, x 3

Feeling pretty good sans the unrack. I'll try triples next. Best I've gotten, touch-and-go, is 210lb 4x3. Paused bench being right near touch-and-go bench does say something I guess...

Pause is probably a little less than a second, but I figure it doesn't really matter because pausing for any period of time removes stretch reflex anyway.

Weighted Pullups (~5RM, 3 minutes b/w):
Belt + 60lb x 3, x 3, x 3, BW x 12, x 10
 
[only working sets show]

5'8", 170lb (-2lb)

Sumo Deadlift (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
355lb x 5, x 3

Squat (recoding, 5 minutes b/w):
255lb x 3, x 3, x 2

Paused Bench (~87% touch-and-go bench, 3 minutes b/w):
205lb x 2, x 2, x 2, x 1

Machine Row (5RM, 1.5 minutes b/w):
200lb x 4, x 3, x 2

Decided to do these bilaterally instead of unilaterally. Saves time.

Elliptical, high resistance and then some interval stuff: ~25 minutes, 450ish calories burned

____________________________

Was a little hung over today, but strength held up alright (save for squat). I apparently lost 2lb this week but I was pretty dehydrated after cardio so take this weight loss for what you will.
 
[only working sets shown]

5'8", 170lb

Sumo Deadlift (5 minutes b/w):
365lb x 5, x 3

Deficit Deadlift:
285lb x 5

Death after sumo DLs but I like it that way. Will keep trying to progress these 10lb a week after squat-only/deadlift-only sessions.

Paused Bench (3 minutes b/w):
205lb x 3, x 2, x 2, x 2, 185lb x 4, x 4

Once I can knock out triples at this weight, I'll be 5lb under my best touch-and-go volume PR.

I'll probably keep doing paused bench for an indefinite period of time, because I figure it carries over to touch-and-go more than vise versa and a lot of federations make you pause anyway, even though it's not technically required.

Weighted Pullups (3 minutes b/w):
Belt + 60lb x 3, x 3, x 2, BW x 15

I think I could have knocked out 17 @ BW after being fatigued by heavy work. I'd like to see how many I can do fresh, so I might test 2 sessions from now.

Elliptical: 13 minutes at 75% resistance, then 2 minutes at 100% resistance. ~250 calories burned. Then walked 2 miles home.
 
Woke up in the middle of the night and stretched to get up to take a leak and tweaked my lower back. I don't think it's a hernia because no referred pain from what I can tell and no sciatica. Taking it easy today. Hopefully it dissipates in the next couple of days.
 
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