Wednesday, November 8, 2017 Training
Strength Block C4W3

1. Front Squat (kg):

70x5
70x5
70x5

2. Block Pulls (kg):

60x5
60x5
72.5x5
82.5x5
82.5x5
82.5x5

3. DB Bench (lb):
w/ Machine Seated Row (lb): 145x9x5

50s x9
50s x9
50s x9
50s x9
50s x10

Training time: 1:49

***

Kind of a brutal day. My knee hurt, my back hurt, and I had a sore throat and mild fever. Front squats were terrible; the linked set was by far the best, and that says a lot. When I got to block pulls, 60 felt so bad that I thought to abort them right then and there, but I toughed it out and the sets got a lot better.

Benching the 50s for the first time seemed an appropriate time to record a set. They seem k? Losing all kinds of reps on rows lately. Probably my fault for supersetting two LATS exercises.

Saturday, November 11, 2017 Training
Strength Block C4W4

1. RG Bench (kg):
TM75 80% 5s until @9

65x1 @8.5
60x5
60x5
60x5
60x5
60x5
60x4 @9

2. Chin-ups (@65kg):

2.5kg x6
2.5kg x6
2.5kg x6
2.5kg x6 @8.5

3. Press (kg):
w/ Band Facepull: #0 x27x2, x25x2
TM51.5 65% 8s until @9

34x8
34x8
34x8
34x7 @8.5

Training time: 1:38

***

I can now bench as much as most guys can in their first week. Neat. Only took 20 months of lifting.

That’s around BW no? Not that many guys can bench 5x5 BW in the first week.

61.7 when I woke up this morning.

I kick around to compete for the relative weakness championship and am current reigning bench champ.

I try to keep the self-deprecation in this log to manageable levels. I'm very happy with the progress I've been making. Bench is actually my worst lift (sneaky press caught up), but it's also the lift I've put the most effort into improving. I'm pretty optimistic about the near future.

Sunday, November 12, 2017 Training
Strength Block C4W4

1. Front Squat (kg):

72.5x5
72.5x5
72.5x5

2. rAvG Bench (kg):
w/ Band External Rotation: #0 x19x4
TM75 70% 8s until @8

52.5x8
52.5x8
52.5x8
52.5x8
52.5x8 @7.5

3. Block Pulls (kg):

60x5
75x5
85x5
85x5
85x5

Training time: 1:47

***

I've decided at long last to take the plunge into mobilitarding. Previously I've taken the position that it's all bull****. A position of convenience, really, since if it's all bull**** then that means I don't have to spend 30 minutes a day doing it. Of course, in reality it's *mostly* bull****, and my busted back is reason enough to sieve through the muck and find the 10% of it that is legitimate and could help me. Today before my session I watched some McGill stuff and spent a few minutes doing the big 3 before my workout. It was okay.

Front squats continue to suck; the linked set was the best looking. It's disconcerting that my form breaks down this bad at weights that aren't anywhere near my max. Block pulls felt a lot better this time. Not the worst day, I guess.

Anything with passive stretching, activation or procioception is gonna be legit to varying degrees.

Many people have issues with their posture and then blame other things. Obviously your hip girdle is gonna have issues if you sit 12 hours a day. And if you have terrible neck positioning you're gonna have neck problems. Not being a giant trollish derp is a prob the first step to figuring out what you need to do to address these problems. I'm sure there will be a 1000 thought piece in multiple parts discussing your particular anecdote of weighted vs banded distractions without regard for individual bone structure.

gl

Obv anything about tissue quality is all a giant load of horse****.

I wasn't smart enough to find the McGill big 3 when I finally got back to things after buggering my back up and ended up doing a pile of:

Camel Cats
Bird Dogs
Pelvic Tilts
Glute Bridges
Dead Bugs

Pelvic tilts may well be pretty similar to the modified curl up so I hit at least 1 and maybe 2 of the big 3 along the way. I really have no idea if these have truly helped or not but my back has been well and I don't dare stop doing this stuff now even though the extra time drives me nuts. 5x per week, about 15mins per session.

Thanks. And yeah I don't intend to do any foam rolling or similar.

I've always done camel cats and a couple of other things I stole from magnificent mobility years ago. Other than that, I keep the warmup as short as I can.


***


Week 84 Diet
Maintenance Phase Week 3



More "maintenance." It was a very uneven week but at least I set a protein PR. I'm going to continue calling it the maintenance phase because that will at least make me feel slight guilt for being a pigbitch when it happens.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 Training
Strength Block C4W4

1. Press (kg):
TM51.5 up to 85% x5+

37.5x5
40x5
44x5 @9.5 [PR] {TM+1.5}
49x1 @9.5
41x5 @9.5

2. Chin-ups (@65kg):

0kg x5
7.5kg x5
7.5kg x5
7.5kg x5
7.5kg x5
7.5kg x5 @9.5

3. Pause RG Bench (kg):
TM75 77% 3s until @8 or 5 sets

61x1 @8
57.5x3
57.5x3
57.5x3
57.5x3
57.5x3
57.5x3 @9 5ct pauses

Training time: 1:52

***

Another really nice press day. I made a run at 52.5x1 but backed off when 49x1 didn't go too well. My left shoulder did that thing it does where it buckles at the top and kills my bar speed. Totally a technique thing but when it happens I waste a ton of energy finishing the lift. It also happened on the 5th rep of the 44 set, which would have certainly been @9 otherwise.

I also had a really strong showing on chins and bench. Getting 5x5 at 65+7.5 is definitely my strongest day ever. The single was very smooth and the 3s were a joke; I shortened rests to 90s and did extra-long pauses on the 6th set so I could leave sooner. The session went long anyway because of a lot of chatting with bros.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017 Training
Strength Block C4W4

1. Front Squat (kg):

75x5
75x5
75x5

2. Block Pulls (kg):

87.5x5
87.5x5
87.5x5

3. DB Bench (lb):
w/ Machine Seated Row (lb): 160x6x2, 145x8x2

45s x13
45s x12
45s x11
45s x11

Training time: 1:40

***

I've decided that with front squats I'm going to keep adding weight to the bar until I have to dump one. There's a huge gulf between what I can front squat without caving forward and what actually slows the bar down, which hasn't happened yet. At that point I'll probably drop the 3x5 frequency to once weekly and do something like a tempo or paused squat on the other day that will allow me to get focus on not caving. In the meantime I'd actually like to know what it's like to run a proper LP, in a calorie surplus, being somewhat better at grinding heavy weights than I was in the early days. My ancient front squat PR was 72.5x5, so PRs from here on out (such as they'll be).

Same sort of goes for the block pulls. They were actually easier today in spite of more weight, which is a great sign for my back. Maybe it's the McGill I've been doing. I'll keep adding 5kg a week to these until they get properly difficult, then do the same thing as my plan for fronts. At that point my lower body programming will basically be the Candito LP so I'll probably switch to that (again just for lowerbody) just to keep things simple.

Saturday, November 18, 2017 Training
Strength Block C5W1

1. RG Bench (kg):
TM75 up to 85% x5+

56x5
60x5 @8.5
60x5 @7.5
64x4f {TM+1}

Training time: ?

***

This was not a session that I am proud of. Yesterday, I noticed some minor pain in the familiar spot on my left shoulder. I haven't had pain there since I switched to reverse grip bench. I also had my worst money day in years at poker yesterday and some other life stresses came to a head along with that. I slept poorly last night and this morning the pain was still there, which really psyched me out from the start.

I tried to stay optimistic about it all and added a couple of extra sets to my bench warmup. A 10lb front dumbbell raise didn't cause pain, which was a great sign. Everything went reasonably well up until the 60 set, which was way harder than it should have been and killed whatever confidence I had developed up until that point. I think my plan right there was just to do some 5s with 60 and call it a volume day, but the second set went better, and well enough for me to go for the top set. That set was fairly decent technique-wise, and, even with me really trying to grind the 5th, there was no shoulder pain. My interpretation is that the recovery was there, the technique was slightly lacking, and my attitude was sorely lacking enough to turn what should have been a pretty much guaranteed PR into a fail. I'm still going to slightly bump the TM because a) I should have got the set, and b) I'm certainly capable of lifting heavier weights for my 5x5 and paused days. I'll re-attempt this weight in two weeks and progress it separately from my volume work until it catches up.

I'm also not particularly proud of the fact that I blew off the rest of my work, but the simple explanation is that I didn't feel like doing it, and the spergsplanation is that I felt that if I put up what would most likely be crappy, phoned-in performances on those lifts it might open some mental negative feedback loops that would make me less likely to perform well during the rest of this cycle. I cut my losses, essentially.

I also had my worst money day in years at poker yesterday and some other life stresses came to a head along with that. I slept poorly last night

-> just going to the gym under these circumstances is a major win imo, well done

It didn't feel very triumphant, but thanks.


Week 85 Diet
Maintenance Phase Week 4




Sunday, November 19, 2017 Training
Strength Block C5W1

1. Front Squat (kg):

70x1 pause
70x1
77.5x5 [PR I guess]
77.5x1
77.5x1

2. LBBS (kg):

60x5
75x5
85x5
90x5

3. RG Bench (kg):
TM76 75% 6s until @8

65xf
57.5x2 @7.5 wtf
52.5x6
55x6
55x6
57.5x5 @8

Training time: 2:20

***

Soaking wet from being rained on all the way to the gym, coming off of yesterday's garbage fire of a workout, doing terribly at poker and being stressed out in general isn't especially conducive to productive training. Today was an epic fight against my innerEV.

Cliffs: I lost, but I got some decent licks in.

I consumed a ton of material on the internet about front squat form and biomechanics and, while I picked up some decent cues to try out, I found about as much stuff to dissuade me from even doing them. Videos like this made me re-evaluate whether I'm even built to be able to front squat maximal weights. This quote just about sums it up:

Just the thing my innerEV needed to hear. Thanks, Mark.

Then I saw some videos like Layne Norton FSing 385x5 with long femurs and decided to give them one last hurrah. I ditched the straps because I feel like they're a crutch that allows me to fall forward without losing the bar. I was able to manage the two finger front rack even though it was quite uncomfortable, and I made some decent progress as I ramped up the weights. The 70 singles look pretty good IMO. The 77.5 was not perfect, but encouraging. Then when I tried to repeat that, I kept having the bar roll painfully into my fingers after rep one. It was at that point that I said **** front squats basically.

I hadn't done a heavy lowbar squat since my original "LP," and they felt actually pretty good.



That looks like a true blue Ripplebro squat IYAM. Maybe there's some potential there. Or maybe once I get to 105 or whatever the form takes a giant **** and I'm back to square one. The only thing I know for sure at this point is **** front squats.



Oh yeah and bench sucked. Missed a single that I hit last week. I didn't really waste any energy on it, the bar just got into a bad position and I knew it was over. After that, **** was just heavy and it felt like my innerEV was inhibiting my left shoulder. I guess it's not surprising since I busted a nut in that 64 set yesterday, but the weights chosen for this day are light for a reason, and they were heavy in spite of that.

That set of 90 should have been your second to last warmup weight, for whatever it's worth.

I went conservative since I'd already been squatting for a while and since I hadn't LBBSed in so long. My plan is to do 95x5x3 next time and start an LP, this time around hopefully with quotation marks unnecessary.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017 Training
Strength Block C5W1

1. Press (kg):
TM53 80% 5s until @9

42.5x5
42.5x5
42.5x5
42.5x5
42.5x5 @9.5

2. Chin-ups (@64kg):

0kg x5
6kg x5
12.5kg x4 @10
6kg x5
6kg x5
6kg x5 @9.5

3. Pause RG Bench (kg):
TM76 75% 4s until @8

60x1
56x4
56x4
56x4
56x4 @8

Training time: 2:15

***

My shoulder felt worse than ever last night, and still felt really bad this morning, so I had very low expectations going into today's session. Like a mantra, I kept repeating to myself that the injury doesn't affect overhead pressing, only benching, so there was no reason that I couldn't push the press as hard as possible.

Warmup sets felt really snappy and there was no pain, so I was getting pretty pumped that it was going to be a decent day after all. I was using a different bar than usual that had different knurling so I ended up going with a narrower grip by accident and I think I like it better than my old grip. I stretched the RPE rules a little today because I didn't expect benching to go that well and I really wanted to overcome my innerEV, at least when it came to the press. Probably all the sets were >@8, and I rested a full 5 minutes between them all. 42.5x5x5 is a volume PR, and makes me pretty optimistic that 45x5 and maybe 52.5x1 will happen next week.

Benching went a lot better than expected, but I did feel a little pain during the eccentrics and pauses. I guess my approach will be to play it by ear with benching. I'm going to nix the dumbbell bench sets I do on Wednesdays though because I think they might be aggravating it more than barbell bench, and they're not important enough in my program to be worth the risk. The extra recovery might help in the short term to get past this.

Post script to that session: I've now discovered that I broke a blood vessel in my anus on one of those press sets. Maybe lapka had a point about all this numbers-chasing to the detriment of health.

Well you can cross that one off your lifting bucket list now. My understanding is that is much tougher than breaking a blood vessel in your eye. Congrats!

Unfortunately, it is not the first time. It happened to me in 2012 when I briefly lifted.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017 Training
Strength Block C5W1

1. LBBS (kg):

95x5
95x5
95x5

2. Block Pulls (kg):

90x5
90x5
90x5

3. Machine Seated Row (lb):

130x12
130x11
130x11
130x10

Training time: 1:46

***

Squats were good. Depth was thrifty as ever, but honestly I'm tired of nitting over it. I'll make progress using the current depth as a standard and will only bring it up again henceforth if it gets noticeably worse. Pulls were kind of awkward and didn't feel great on my back for the first two sets, but the third set was a lot better. Setting up slightly farther away from the bar seemed to help.

And honestly, it doesn't really matter. Your squats are fine.

Glad I was sitting when I watched that FS vid. I disagree with the above. There are practical and anatomical reasons for greater ROM (sport related and muscle recruitment), but that being said someone like Ilya who is an elite actual strength athlete quarter squats literally everything (this is just clownshoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNBNsV66npk) and then does this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um4VxiI2Ng0

I think a lot of people just don't try to do things before handwaving them away as impossible. ROM can be improved by a variety of methods and generally should be be a goal.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26252837

Cause like science and ****.

I don't disagree with the reasons for greater ROM, obv, but for the general population who just wants to look good naked, squats to parallel or near parallel is fine imo.