securekey - Phase II Journal

[securekey]

Sunday

Bench
135x10
185x10
225x5
243x3
265x1
275xX (spotter took it too early.. can't count that one)
275x1 (spotter still wanted to grab it had to say no lol ... this one was clean)
243x1
225x3
225x3

Incline DB Press
100x4
100x3
100x3

oly bar curl
100x8
100x8

Handstand Press
bwx5
bwx5
bwx4
bwx4

Oly bar curl
100x8
100x8

Reverse curl drop set 65-55-45 (all to failure)

Orangutans without the pullup (working on grip)
bwx10
bwx10

Plate pinch (not using the index or middle fingers)
25s, 45s - various times

Cable crunch
55x10x4

notes: I haven't been doing very much heavy pressing this summer so I was happy with the 275x1 and the 100 db x 4

[fittofattofit]

Saturday Trianing

Lower:

ATG Squat (took it easy today... getting use to these again. The first 2 sets were paused)
135x10
135x10
155x10
155x10
185x8
185x8

RDL
135x10
135x10
185x8
185x8

Leg Press + calve press superset
300x20 + 300x10
300x20 + 300x10
300x20 + 300x10
300x20 + 300x10

Human flag (tried these in the new gym for the first time... hand position is a bit different so I will need to get use to it.. just a test day really)
left x3
right x3

bike: 15min

notes: Just a quick session to get back into the ATG squats and RDLs

Legs would have still felt worked after the squats, RDLs and the 20 rep presses. I bet you got a few mirin' looks while you were doing the flags

Sunday


notes: I haven't been doing very much heavy pressing this summer so I was happy with the 275x1 and the 100 db x 4

That was a great session! You pressed 18 reps at 225 and over, got a 275 single and then pressed the hundo DBs on the incline . Pretty sick following up with the handstand push ups as well

[securekey]

Legs would have still felt worked after the squats, RDLs and the 20 rep presses. I bet you got a few mirin' looks while you were doing the flags

The ATGs felt so good compared to regular heavy back squats... I did feel it the next day though. I a couple strange looks... not sure if mirin' or wtf are you doing

That was a great session! You pressed 18 reps at 225 and over, got a 275 single and then pressed the hundo DBs on the incline . Pretty sick following up with the handstand push ups as well

I was really happy with the pressing... nothing hurt and everything felt smooth even with the 275s.

[securekey]

Tuesday

Lower

ATG Squat
135x12
135x12
185x6
185x6
235x1
285x1
305x1 (a little shy of a true ATG... but well below parallel)

Sumo Squat (this is the first time I have ever tried these)
135x1
135x1
225x1
225x1
315x1
315x1
315x1

Conventional Deadlift
315x1
315x1
315x1
315x1
315x1
365x1

notes and videos later...

[fittofattofit]

I was really happy with the pressing... nothing hurt and everything felt smooth even with the 275s.

very nice!

Great session today ... cool work to get 300+ ATG and then doing deads the same day. It looks like you were working on your speed with all the deadlift singles ... looking forward to the vids!

[securekey]

very nice!

Great session today ... cool work to get 300+ ATG and then doing deads the same day. It looks like you were working on your speed with all the deadlift singles ... looking forward to the vids!

Exactly... I was just working on speed in terms of the setup. I also did a few calculations that help determine if you should do sumo or conventional style deadlifts. Due to the length of my legs/arms/torso apparently I am better suited to sumo. I don't recall ever pulling sumo before so I figured I would give it a try.

This is one of my first ever sumos... clearly I will need to figure out the form and setup if I decide to continue. This was very light at 315 so I played around with the setup.


This video shows the new 'fast setup' I would like to adopt if I continue with conventional. Again this was the first day messing around so it will be tweaked over time but the idea is there.



notes: In general both felt pretty good... if I were going to compete in PL I think I would make the switch to sumo... I felt very strong/stable in the setup position. For now I will keep both in the training cycle and see how things shake down in a few weeks. Going forward I will no longer use straps for deadlift (that is the plan anyway)

[fittofattofit]

Nice speed on the set up with the conventional pull .. that's what I want to be able to do. Did you grab your breath while you were standing?
Both of those pulls looked very easy and natural for you

[securekey]

Nice speed on the set up with the conventional pull .. that's what I want to be able to do. Did you grab your breath while you were standing?
Both of those pulls looked very easy and natural for you

If I can manage to pull some heavier weights with that set up I will be happy. I only tried the 1 rep with 365 but I was getting fairly tired at that point.

Honestly, I can't remember were I took a breath... I will need to work on that next time but I would think a breath at top would be the best way to go.

[Flounderbout]

I also did a few calculations that help determine if you should do sumo or conventional style deadlifts. Due to the length of my legs/arms/torso apparently I am better suited to sumo. I don't recall ever pulling sumo before so I figured I would give it a try.

This is very relevant to my interests right now! How did you do the calcs?

I tried my first sumos this morning, and really enjoyed them am and am keen to continue. I shall be watching what you decide with great interest!!!

[securekey]

This is very relevant to my interests right now! How did you do the calcs?

I tried my first sumos this morning, and really enjoyed them am and am keen to continue. I shall be watching what you decide with great interest!!!

http://articles.elitefts.com/trainin...one-structure/

This is one of the sites I used... it is interesting.

I found I used less back for the sumos hands down. I really liked the upright and neutral head position (mind you I am not very good at it yet)

[Flounderbout]

http://articles.elitefts.com/trainin...one-structure/

This is one of the sites I used... it is interesting.

I found I used less back for the sumos hands down. I really liked the upright and neutral head position (mind you I am not very good at it yet)

Perfect thanks. I found widening my squat stance helped a ton to get my torso more upright. So I tried the same thing this morning with deads and when I got it right, my torso was much more upright and the drive came from my legs not my lower back. I need to work at the form because it broke down at the higher weight, but it really felt like the way forward with my levers. Needs some work, but I am prepared to give it a go for a while!

[securekey]

Perfect thanks. I found widening my squat stance helped a ton to get my torso more upright. So I tried the same thing this morning with deads and when I got it right, my torso was much more upright and the drive came from my legs not my lower back. I need to work at the form because it broke down at the higher weight, but it really felt like the way forward with my levers. Needs some work, but I am prepared to give it a go for a while!

I felt the same way... in the article it mentions transitioning by using sumo for your warmups and switching back to conventional for the top sets until you get things ironed out.

[raynerd]

Just checking out your journal, great stuff in here man. I will be following along from here on in!!

[securekey]

Just checking out your journal, great stuff in here man. I will be following along from here on in!!

Thanks. It's nice to have a few Canadians in here

[fittofattofit]

http://articles.elitefts.com/trainin...one-structure/

This is one of the sites I used... it is interesting.

I found I used less back for the sumos hands down. I really liked the upright and neutral head position (mind you I am not very good at it yet)

So I've got a long torso at 49.5% and long arms at 42.5% so I can in theory go either way. The sad thing is that I measured my height and I've shrunk 2.5cm from what I used to be

[securekey]

So I've got a long torso at 49.5% and long arms at 42.5% so I can in theory go either way. The sad thing is that I measured my height and I've shrunk 2.5cm from what I used to be

lol... 2.5cm That seems like a lot! You need one of those upside down decompression boards

Wednesday:

Posterior

Wide Grip Pullups
bwx15
bwx15

Orangutans
bwx8
bwx8
bwx5
bwx5
bwx5

Shrugs
135x25
225x15
225x12
315x6
135x25

Lat pull down + tricep rope extension drop set / superset (no rest... straight back in forth drop sets)
100x25 + 70x25
100x20 + 70x20
100x15 + 70x15
100x10 + 70x10

Orangutans + hanging leg raise combo (1 orangutan plus 5 hanging leg raises x 5 with no rest) / this was a long time to hang up there... great grip work.

notes: We have new recruits coming in September so I will be very busy as usual this time of year. I will update when I can but it doesn't look good for the next few weeks.

[raynerd]

lol... 2.5cm That seems like a lot! You need one of those upside down decompression boards

Wednesday:

Posterior

Wide Grip Pullups
bwx15
bwx15

Orangutans
bwx8
bwx8
bwx5
bwx5
bwx5

Shrugs
135x25
225x15
225x12
315x6
135x25

Lat pull down + tricep rope extension drop set / superset (no rest... straight back in forth drop sets)
100x25 + 70x25
100x20 + 70x20
100x15 + 70x15
100x10 + 70x10

Orangutans + hanging leg raise combo (1 orangutan plus 5 hanging leg raises x 5 with no rest) / this was a long time to hang up there... great grip work.

notes: We have new recruits coming in September so I will be very busy as usual this time of year. I will update when I can but it doesn't look good for the next few weeks.

Orangutans + leg raises = awesome!
Tried orangutans a while back, very fun to do, can't imagine doing them with 5 leg raises in between!! Damn good for grip strength, nice work!

[fittofattofit]

lol... 2.5cm That seems like a lot! You need one of those upside down decompression boards

I may just have to settle for elevator shoes ... do you know of any oly lifting shoes with a 3" platform sole?

Orangutans + hanging leg raise combo (1 orangutan plus 5 hanging leg raises x 5 with no rest) / this was a long time to hang up there... great grip work.

notes: We have new recruits coming in September so I will be very busy as usual this time of year. I will update when I can but it doesn't look good for the next few weeks.

That orang-utan/leg raise combo sounds great ... no way could I hang there that long but it's something that I should work on. Great for the core as well as the grip
At least you're in top shape now to impress the new recruits .. does this mean lots of incidental training and some more fun adventure park trips?

[mirroroferised]

You busy prepping for another brutal Canadian winter?

[securekey]

Orangutans + leg raises = awesome!
Tried orangutans a while back, very fun to do, can't imagine doing them with 5 leg raises in between!! Damn good for grip strength, nice work!

A bit of a delayed response but thanks I am still doing them... my grip strength improved quite a bit in the past few months.

That orang-utan/leg raise combo sounds great ... no way could I hang there that long but it's something that I should work on. Great for the core as well as the grip
At least you're in top shape now to impress the new recruits .. does this mean lots of incidental training and some more fun adventure park trips?

Yes... I always go in to September training the things they will need to work on... I try to set the bar high for them if I can.

You busy prepping for another brutal Canadian winter?

I did change the oil and plugs on the snowblower back in October... you just never know around here

General:

September is always a busy time of the year for me with a new group coming into the program and one about to graduate... however, this September was an absolute disaster. We had a fire at our facility which totally destroyed everything... 100 percent total loss. It happened at the worst time possible. We managed to scramble and find a new facility very quickly but it needed a lot of work etc. Things are just starting to get back to normal. The new place still doesn't feel like home and I lost my awesome high bar ... the new ceiling is too low

I have been training at Anytime Fitness since the fire... I am hoping to start logging again soon. I have a lot of catching up to do in the journals. I hope everyone is doing well.

[mirroroferised]

That's terrible news man. Great to see you in the journals again but sorry to hear about that.

[Flounderbout]

Oh man that sucks. Good to see you back about though...

[securekey]

That's terrible news man. Great to see you in the journals again but sorry to hear about that.

Oh man that sucks. Good to see you back about though...

Thanks guys. It was a lot of work but we ended up with a better facility and new equipment so it worked out in the end. Things are back to normal now.

General:

I have decided to officially end this journal. I am still training and tracking my diet on myfitnesspal but really it's nothing exciting right now. The tentative plan is to start a new one in January to track my upcoming cutting phase... hopefully that will be more interesting / motivating with more pics / vids etc.

Have a great holiday everyone and thanks for the support in this journal... it is truly appreciated... I have learned a lot in the past 3 years.

[fittofattofit]

Thanks guys. It was a lot of work but we ended up with a better facility and new equipment so it worked out in the end. Things are back to normal now.

General:

I have decided to officially end this journal. I am still training and tracking my diet on myfitnesspal but really it's nothing exciting right now. The tentative plan is to start a new one in January to track my upcoming cutting phase... hopefully that will be more interesting / motivating with more pics / vids etc.

Have a great holiday everyone and thanks for the support in this journal... it is truly appreciated... I have learned a lot in the past 3 years.

I'll look forward to the new journal. I'm thinking that 2015 will be a time for me to reevaluate my goals as well. Have a great Christmas and New Year