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07/11 - Russian Squat Routine Day 6/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 405 for 6x5
EZ-bar curls: 115 for 3x5
Started harder and ended easier than I expected! I'm definitely squeezing up closer to my limit here but I've hopefully got some runway left. I can't believe I did this same cycle with 435 back in December! I was 10lbs heavier and I burned out halfway through though. Hopefully I can make it up by seeing this one out. 6x6 in a few days will be fine as long as I'm recovered. I'm sure I would've made it today if I tried.
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07/13 - Russian Squat Routine Day 7/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 405 for 6x2
Grippers: #2.5x5,1,1 -- no idea what happened the other two sets, probably still setting badly
Wow, squats felt good today! Still sore and heavy, but the actual reps were very solid and fast. Feeling good for the upcoming 6x6 as long as nothing goes terribly wrong.
Tomorrow will be rows/pronation, day after is rest. Then 405 for 6x6.
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07/14
Seal row: 245 for 3x5
Sledgehammer pronation: 7.5 for 5x10 -- 5, 2.5, clip
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07/16 - Russian Squat Routine Day 8/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 405 for 6x6
Awesome! Whenever I run RSR this is my first major checkpoint. If I made it at least here I feel I've done some good work. Of course, I did the same with 435 last December (but failed the next hard session), so hopefully this time I can take it a bit further to feel like I'm back in peak form. Day 10 will be 430 for 5x5 which is some pretty good work I'm hoping to survive.
Wrote all this the day after, by the way, and to be honest I'm way more sore and beat up than I expected. I think I do have the strength for the 430 day but it'll hinge more on my recovery.
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That is so impressive. ATG highbar 405 for reps is very high-tier. I barely managed it for a proper single and I weigh more and only got it to parallel. Keep up the great work.
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07/19 - Russian Squat Routine Day 9/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 405 for 6x2
Wrist roller hold: 70 for 3x15s
Today was tough! Probably the most beat up 6x2 day yet, and this time my left knee ached (first pain of this round).
Still, definitely way better than Day 9 back in December, so hopefully it's a good sign for surviving Day 10 and on.
[QUOTE=EliKoehn;1664561223]That is so impressive. ATG highbar 405 for reps is very high-tier. I barely managed it for a proper single and I weigh more and only got it to parallel. Keep up the great work.[/QUOTE]
Thank you! I totally fell in love with the deep weightlifting style high bar and mostly switched over even though low bar was my main squat, there's just something about it that feels so right, haha.
Current routine is gearing up for a 535 single in about three weeks, I'll be thrilled if I get there.
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07/20
Bench: 300 for 3x5
Sledgehammer DL: (9cm) for 3x30s
Tomorrow squat + pinch, next day pull ups + curls.
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07/21 - Russian Squat Routine Day 10/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 430 for 5x5
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x12s,12s,10s
Alright! Happy to hit this session. Think this puts me close to my December level.
I was fatigued today as I expected: low back ached a bit on warm ups and things felt decently heavy warming up. First set was very solid and I could've squeezed a bunch of extra reps out, but I drained pretty fast. Last set something in my groin started to think about threatening to talk about a pull and I misgrooved my last rep. Still hit all sets fairly solidly with maybe a bit of ugly room to spare.
Still a recovery race when it'll come to day 12, which is 4x4 with 455. If I hit that, I might start putting myself above my December level to new highs. Fingers crossed!
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07/24 - Russian Squat Routine Day 11/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 405 for 6x2
This one was brutal. Harder than day 10, haha. I was still very much beat up from last session. Kind of nervous for day 12 now (which is 4x4 with 455).
Admittedly getting kinda lazy with the non-squat work, will try to be a bit better. I'm kinda dying here though, haha.
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07/27 - Russian Squat Routine Day 12/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 455 for 4x4
Absolutely brutal. Coming in tired and (lightly) grinding most of the reps. Last rep was decent speed overall but this felt tough.
07/30 - Russian Squat Routine Day 13/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 405 for 6x2
I can't even tell if the 6x2 days are getting harder anymore. The only thing that is certain is suffering. Still knee pain, still hip pain, still heavy and slow.
08/02 - Russian Squat Routine Day 14/18
Beltless ATG highbar: 475 for 3x3
Bench: 305 for 3x5
Pull ups: 95 for 3x6 -- low quality reps
Sledgehammer DL: (10cm)x30s, 27s, 24s
EZ-bar curls: 120 for 3x5 -- mid-low quality reps
Assisted gripper close from parallel clamp: (#3) for 5x1 -- weak today, not close to closing #3 lately
Let's gooo!!! Miraculously, compared to the last few days, this session felt super easy and strong. Even if I stopped here this has been a great run of RSR, feeling great now. I felt like I could've hit a couple extra reps on my last set.
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So, day after my triumphant RSR turnaround on the 2nd, I got super sick. Like fever nightmare exorcist vomitting 'am I going to die like this' sick.
I am still sick almost two weeks later. I was sick so long that I tried to squat a few times anyway (???). Just sick of being sick and lifting is one of the things that keeps me going I guess. I didn't do any other workouts though.
08/09
Beltless ATG highbar: 455x1, 505x0
08/11
Beltless ATG highbar: 405x1
08/14
Beltless ATG highbar: 505x2
Bench: 315 for 3x3
Seal row: 255 for 3x5
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x11s,13s,9s
Wrist roller hold: 75x15s,13s,10s
Sledgehammer pronation: 7.5 for 5x10
Funny. Still fever. Still headache. Lost a bunch of weight. This is still a pretty big PR though. Wonder what I'd be capable of 100% healthy. Onwards and upwards, anyway, I guess.
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08/16
Sledgehammer DL: (10cm)x30s,29s,20s
EZ-bar curls: 125x1,2,3 -- better quality reps, good to focus
Grippers: #2.5x3,1, #2x10
Still a bit sick, but tomorrow I'll restart RSR with a new max (base session 420 for 6x2 instead of 405 last run), but I think I'll swap the 6x2 days with front squats. Not sure if that works but let's see I guess. I have to be careful because it's possible that volume of front squatting will bother my hip, so worth paying special care to hip health.
Day after that should be OHP + pull ups.
Also forgot to mention but it ended up being COVID. Pretty unlucky that it's lasted me more than two weeks, I heard a lot of people have a much faster time about it. Is what it is I guess.
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Fever down and feeling better. Not 100% but doing okay.
08/17
Beltless ATG highbar: 420 for 6x2
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x8s,6s,5s
Tomorrow should be OHP and pronation.
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Felt awful yesterday, pushed OHP back. Better today.
08/19
Front squat: 365 for 6x2
Tomorrow should be OHP, pull ups, and pronation, and wrist roller.
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Health has been bad past few days. Still have a slight fever, but mostly energy issues. I think I need to be a bit tactical and flexible with my routine and not expect a regular schedule.
08/21
Overhead press: 205x2, 215x2, 225x1
Sledgehammer pronation: 10 for 5x10 -- 5,5,clip
Need to do squat, pull ups and wrist roller soon.
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08/22
Beltless ATG highbar: 420 for 6x3
Wrist roller hold: 75 for 3x15s
Next up, pull ups + sledge DL.
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Good work all around brother. I love that you keep at it even when not feeling well.... being careful to listen to your body and not push it too much.
I've really been working on my tendency to work at too high of intensity lately. Not easy for someone who always likes to push it. :)
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08/25
Bench: 315x4,3,3
Pull ups: 115 for 3x3
Sledgehammer DL: (10cm)x30s,30s,25s
[QUOTE=PhDPepper1111;1666612033]Good work all around brother. I love that you keep at it even when not feeling well.... being careful to listen to your body and not push it too much.
I've really been working on my tendency to work at too high of intensity lately. Not easy for someone who always likes to push it. :)[/QUOTE]
Haha, thank you. It's a gift and curse. I think pushing (too) hard can be great for progressing and good when things are good, but once things get a bit off the rails...
I think one of the journals on here has a great signature about the hardest part of lifting is not lifting. Way too true!
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08/26
Front squat: 365 for 6x2
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x6s,7s,6s (PR 34s) -- I'm having problems here with my implement, it's definitely too slick and chalky, have to clean it and work on my chalking
Some useful grip cues for me: full grip + focus on raising the shoulder girdle.
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08/29
Beltless ATG highbar: 420 for 6x4 -- first set easy but got tough near the end.. felt SI a bit which is unusual for me
EZ-bar curls: 125 for 3x3
Grippers: #2x10,10,12
Tomorrow OHP, rows, and grip.
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09/01
Front squat: 365 for 6x2
Dumbbell pronation: 10 for 5x10 -- clip,5,5,clip -- bit too tough, drop or repeat
More FS:
- narrow grip
- torque hands
- outer palm pressure
- raise shoulder girdle into bar
- drive by (elbows + hands)
FSs have improved a ton! Reworking my rack cues has gotten rid of my blacking out and dropped the RPE some too. I could stand to raise the weight here in theory, but I also know some of the later RSR days build a ton of fatigue and you get some really bad "easy" days, so I'll play it safe and work on form.
Still need to do OHP, rows, and grip ASAP.
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09/03
OHP: 205x1, 215x1, 225x1,1,2 -- hoping to start building more consistent reps at this weight
Seal row: 255 for 3x5
Wrist roller hold: 80x10s,8s,6s
Tomorrow high bar (6x5 day) + grip.
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09/04
Beltless ATG highbar: 420 for 6x5
Sledgehammer DL: (10cm)x30s,28s,23s
No SI problems this time, just a one-off I guess. Squats were decent, I'd probably hit 6x6 today. Just stay healthy and rested and it's on to the fun half of the routine.
Ideally tmrw is pull ups + grip, and day after is bench + grip.
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09/06
Bench: 315 for 3x4
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x7s,10s,8s (PR 34s)
Tomorrow FS + grip, then pull ups ASAP.
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09/07
Front squat: 365 for 6x2
Grippers: #2x15,20,15
Front squat still going great with my new cues. I might make a push for a 475+ single after this routine.
Not sure what happened with grippers today, felt like I could just keep going and going. Not complaining!
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09/10
Beltless ATG highbar: 420 for 6x6
Dumbbell pronation: 10 for 5x10 -- clip,5,5,clip -- still too tough, drop or repeat
Squats were good! Definitely not easy but also had no doubt I'd make it. The program starts tapering now, but I think my fatigue keeps building until around the 3x3 day, so I'd like to keep a good momentum up 'til there.
And yea... about those pull ups... Haha, any day now. I'm not pressing very often either and I'm just trying to maintain balance, so it's not the end of the world. Definitely not motivated with back work lately though. Maybe I'll switch something up soon to try and get a bit more into it.
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09/11
Pull ups: 115x4,3,3, BWx20
Wrist roller hold: 80x8s,10s,7s
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09/14
Front squat: 365 for 3x2, 375 for 3x2
Sledgehammer DL: (10cm)x30s,30s,27s
Finally took the plunge and increased the program's FS working weight.
The 365s were just way too easy, and seemed to be getting better every week even with program fatigue going up.
Looks like my new front squat cues finally brought me around to a good place with these. I'm not fighting blacking out anymore either.
Hopefully I don't regret it when it comes to high bar, haha. The next two HB sessions are pivotal. Probably the indirect effect on HB is way more important than how the actual FS sessions feel week-to-week too. But, still, the 365 just felt way too easy.
The 375s were fast and easy too, but let's not push it, haha.
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09/16
Beltless ATG highbar: 445 for 5x5
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x9s,7s,11s (PR 34s) -- seems like wipe down then drown hands in chalk
Let's go! That's a good session. First set of five was easy, last set was admittedly very tough. The middle of this routine is all about endurance/survival for me, especially as a low volume/low rep lifter.
If it mirrors my last run, the upcoming 4x4 at 470 might be a bit tougher in that sense (in that case risk of failing for sure), but after the 4x4 last time I breezed through the 3x3. Hoping for similar this time!
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Comfy leg soreness from yesterday.
09/17
Strict EZ-bar curls: 125 for 3x3
Grippers: #2x8,8,10
Should hit OHP and rows tomorrow. Front squats on Monday.
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09/18
Overhead press: 225x1,2,1 -- still inconsistent at high RPE, but that makes this practice good
Seal row w/ narrow grip & pause: 225 for 3x5 -- surprisingly fun
Dumbbell pronation: 7.5 for 5x10 -- clip,2.5,5,clip
Tomorrow should be front squats + grip. Feeling good lately. Hope I can put some good things together soon.
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09/19
Front squat: 375 for 6x2
Wrist roller hold: 80x10s,8s,4s
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Bit tired going in, might not be the best benching but best timing to do it for sure.
09/20
Bench: 315x5,5,4 -- haha damn, 3x5 was in the bag, but I hit the safety and misgrooved badly on rep 2.. surprised I still made 4
Sledgehammer DL: (10cm) for 3x30s
Bench coming back up to speed steadily. Happy to just hit 3x5 next time and then on to 320 or whatever. Still a good session.
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09/22
Beltless ATG highbar: 470 for 4x4 !!!
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x15s,12s,11s (PR 34s) -- new chalking strategy went a long way today
Squats going great. I'm on a great course here. Next session is 500 for 3x3, which would be really cool to hit.
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09/23
Pull ups: 135x1, 90x8, 45x12, BWx20
Still super bored with pull ups.
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09/25
Front squat: 375 for 5x2 + 385x2
The sets were still too easy, so I tested the waters with 385 on the last one and it was still super fast! Squat strength feels amazing lately.
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[QUOTE=Jaydenth;1668472793]wow.. you're making amazing progress man. I’ll be following along. You’ll get a lot of support here! Keep it up.[/QUOTE]
Yes, seconded on that.
Awesome work and keep it up.
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09/26
Overhead press: 225x1,1,2, 235x1 -- haha, still can't get more than one double going
Strict EZ-bar curls: 125 for 3x3
Grippers: #2x8,8, #2.5x1
[QUOTE=Jaydenth;1668472793]wow.. you're making amazing progress man. I’ll be following along. You’ll get a lot of support here! Keep it up.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=EliKoehn;1668478693]Yes, seconded on that.
Awesome work and keep it up.[/QUOTE]
Thank you, much appreciated! Good to have you.
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09/28
[b]Beltless ATG high bar: 500 for 3x3!!![/b]
Wrist roller hold: 90x3s,2s,2s, 45x30s
What an awesome landmark! Great way to celebrate about 10 years of this lifting journal. It's been a trip, been through a lot since then. I think my total went from ~1000lbs to ~1750lbs but I haven't been doing as much 1RM PL stuff for quite a bit (shifted away after some chronic hip issues). Once I hit my front squat goal I want to max low bar and DL again though. Bench I'm still slowly clawing my way up to 405lbs.
Anyway, my old rule of thumb is if I tripled something high bar I can start thinking about it for a front squat single, and I hope that's still true! After I finish this routine (2x2 with 525 and 1x1 with 550lbs left over the next week or two) I'll probably start trying to peak front squats. They've been feeling great lately but I haven't gone much above 385lbs for probably over a year either.
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[QUOTE=CharlesSwann;1668623553]09/28
[b]Beltless ATG high bar: 500 for 3x3!!![/b]
Wrist roller hold: 90x3s,2s,2s, 45x30s
What an awesome landmark! Great way to celebrate about 10 years of this lifting journal. It's been a trip, been through a lot since then. I think my total went from ~1000lbs to ~1750lbs but I haven't been doing as much 1RM PL stuff for quite a bit (shifted away after some chronic hip issues). Once I hit my front squat goal I want to max low bar and DL again though. Bench I'm still slowly clawing my way up to 405lbs.
Anyway, my old rule of thumb is if I tripled something high bar I can start thinking about it for a front squat single, and I hope that's still true! After I finish this routine (2x2 with 525 and 1x1 with 550lbs left over the next week or two) I'll probably start trying to peak front squats. They've been feeling great lately but I haven't gone much above 385lbs for probably over a year either.[/QUOTE]
Congratulations!!! Great job!
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[QUOTE=HomeGymChains;1668629573]Congratulations!!! Great job![/QUOTE]
Thank you! Good to see you. Hope things are well, looking forward to more journal updates down the line.
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09/30
Bench: 315 for 3x5
Dumbbell pronation: 10 for 5x10 -- 5,5,clip
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10/01
Front squat: 385 for 6x2
This was pretty much the first kinda tough front squat session, just didn't feel strong. Makes me a bit nervous for the upcoming 2x2 high bar session, but hopefully I'll get enough rest in!
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10/04
[b]Beltless ATG high bar: 525 for 2x2!!![/b]
Sledgehammer DL: (11cm)x30s,28s,25s
Previous PR of 520x1 blown out. Next week is a 550 attempt.
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10/06
Overhead press: 225 for 3x2 -- finally more than one double!! haha
Seal row w/ narrow grip & pause: 230 for 3x5
Pinch DL & hold: 47.5x11s,15s,15s (PR 38s) -- first set probably a chalking thing, sigh
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10/07
Front squat: 385 for 6x2
Strict EZ-bar curls: 125x2,2,3
Assisted gripper close from parallel clamp: (#3) for 5x1
Heading over to the family for Thanksgiving. Next session should be a 550x1 beltless high bar attempt on Monday (10/10). Nervous and excited.
Basically if I'm same condition as last squat session then I'm sure I have it. Just need a decent day.
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10/10
[size=3][b]Beltless ATG high bar: 550x1, 560x1!!![/b][/size]
Wrist roller hold: 80x12s,10s,6s (PR 22s)
Dumbbell pronation: 10 for 5x10 -- 5,5,clip,clip
That's an insane PR for me (previous best single was 520 earlier in the year too). I think I might have a 660-700lbs belted low bar in me literally right now. Going to go for the 500 front squat first though, then see what I can do with the PL total.
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[QUOTE=CharlesSwann;1669244383]10/10
[size=3][b]Beltless ATG high bar: 550x1, 560x1!!![/b][/size]
Wrist roller hold: 80x12s,10s,6s (PR 22s)
Dumbbell pronation: 10 for 5x10 -- 5,5,clip,clip
That's an insane PR for me (previous best single was 520 earlier in the year too). I think I might have a 660-700lbs belted low bar in me literally right now. Going to go for the 500 front squat first though, then see what I can do with the PL total.[/QUOTE]
Extremely impressive!!!
Great job!
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Still figuring out the next plan. I want to focus on my FS goal for now, and maybe phase in really light low bar as a mix of light work/readapting to low bar. But adding both I risk aggravating hip and having issues for months, so maybe better not to, at least until I hit my FS goal. I'll think about it.
Anyway, still bench, OHP, back work, and grip as usual.
10/11
Bench: 320 for 3x4
Tomorrow pull ups + grip.
[QUOTE=HomeGymChains;1669248663]Extremely impressive!!!
Great job![/QUOTE]
:D
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10/13
Pull ups: 70 for 3x10
Sledgehammer DL: (11cm)x30s,28s,24s (-1s vs PR)
Still a bit sore from Monday's PR, but I think I'll test the waters on a some front squat singles tomorrow.
I was going through old videos and I forgot I hit 550x6 low bar three years back. I can't believe I pulled it off back then. I miss low bar. More and more tempted to phase it back in and see what I can do.