Unleashing the beast, one rep at a time ... and other mischief

[lilOwl]

Monday

Lower DE day

Low box squats
bar x 8
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
65kg x 8x2

Good mornings
40kg x 10
45kg x 8
50kg x 8, 8

Reverse hypers
30, 30, 30

Leg raises
12, 12, 12, 12

Oblique DB crunches
22kg x 10, 10, 10



Tuesday

DL
bar x 12
40kg x 8
60kg x 6
70kg x 6
80kg x 6, 6, 6

Dips, BW
2 x 10
10 x 8

Chins (assisted)
8, 8, 8, 6


A week off felt darn good and I ended up doing just BW stuff back at the hotel room because the gym was located in a different hotel and I just couldn't be bothered after swimming in both the sea and my own sweat (the heat was totally owerwhelming) day in and day out.

After getting back my teammates and I went ahead and did some a speed work session after realizing we weren't working with the coach till Friday. We were all expecting to hit the gym to max out on squats so we were pumped to do some damage but ultimately decided to go easy. We only learnt after the fact that we were supposed to do good old regular style back squatting but it probably doesn't make much of a difference.

Yesterday's session was brought on by my desire to do some light pulling to get back into the groove and BF's warmongering against the dip station. My shoulders are fried today but at least I made some progress - I took 1 set off my total before hitting 100 reps. It's not much but it's something Other than being sore I don't feel too much weaker after my week off so I'm really looking forward to killing it on Friday.

[lilOwl]

Friday - ME Squat

bar x 12, 10
30kg x 8
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 2
72,5kg x 1
85kg x 1
92,5kg x 1
100kg x 1
105kg x 0, 1
110kg x 1
112,5kg x 1

Ab roller
15, 15, 15

Good mornings
30kg x 10, 10, 10


So finally, PR season rolled around again and so far, I'm a happy camper. I got to use the straps again and took those puppies for a test drive with some real weight on. To be perfectly honest, right now they still feel weird and awkward, not to mention painful when wrapped properly. They make the descend feel a bit off, like I am being pulled forward too much so at first I had trouble sitting back but that should be sorted out after a few months of putting them to good use. I added them at 92,5kg so I only really had six singles to work with them. My coach did most of the wrapping except for my first go on the 105kg which I actually managed to fail and I immediately felt like I pulled something in my left calve. I think I wrapped myself way too loosely but more importantly, it took me way longer to wrap both knees by myself so when I got up to squat my left leg already felt pretty numb. I have no idea what went wrong but I knew I needed to try again since the 100kg felt way too easy and smooth for me to not go any higher. The pain was still present all through my next singles but I chose to ignore it since the adrenalin rush made it feel less bad (maybe I was just too pumped to give it proper attention?). Anyway, I hit 110kg with really nice speed so I went ahead with the 112,5kg which was a real grinder but I did it It left me elated and I went through the motions of assistance work feeling like I was floating on air lol. I know my wrapped max doesn't totally translate into an unwrapped one but I feel like I've gained some pretty amazing strength in the last few months. The only downside was that my calve kept hurting quite a bit for the next two days, almost like a really bad cramp, but I can say that the pain is subsiding and close to gone today which is a huge relief because I was beginning to wory about not being able to pull properly on Wednesday.

Next stop - ME Bench in a few hours, beast mode engaged! Let's see just how much closer to a 300kg total it brings me

[lilOwl]

I'll preface this by saying I've been staying well away from this thread throughout the whole week. I wanted to take a few days away from the keybord before I adress my frustration and well, gather my thoughts without too much emotional junk getting in the way. Basically, I was hoping for better numbers ... numbers I ended up not hitting, obviously. And while I'm fine with not hitting every goal I set for myself, I'm not fine with feeling like I didn't at least come closer to it. I gave it my all and it's a real b*tch realizing my all just wasn't good enough. However hard a pill defeat was to swallow, I'm washing it down with some good old "man the f up" by those closest to me who care about my idle struggles. I also got a pep talk on how failing is as much a vital part of training as winning is and how there's no better way to build character and determination. I went from being totally upset and frustrated to feeling mildly annoyed and irritated in these last few days so I'm on the right track to feeling as good as new by the time Monday rolls around. Obviously, I'll be dealing with the matter by doing some program overhauling in terms of excercise selection and dealing with what has been lagging so far but I'll get more into that later.


Monday - ME Bench

bar x 12
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
47,5kg x 2
55kg x 1
60kg x 1
62,5kg x 1
65kg x 0

BW Dips
10, 8, 8, 8

Chins (some assisted, some not)
10, 8, 8, 8

Came in feeling a bit worn out and not nearly as pumped as I'd like. The power just wasn't there and I ended up resorting to the same stupid form issues as in the past. Granted I did hit a 2,5kg PR for a paused single, which was all good per competition standards but I just didn't do justice to all the form correction we've been working on in the past 3 months. I let my elbows flare out way too soon again and not taking advantage of my triceps which is classic lilOwl BS. I was sure I'd at least hit 65kg but nope, not with that crappy form. Touch and go probably but a paused one - hell no. Back to the drawing board.


Wednesday - ME Deadlift

bar x 12
40kg x 8
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
72,5kg x 2
85kg x 2
100kg x 1
110kg x 1
115kg x 0, 0, 0

DB Oblique crunches
22kg x 10, 10, 10


WTF is all I can say. And not a cm of 115kg was lifted that day. Stuck to the floor like glue in spite of all my huffing, puffing, b*tching, whining and moaning. No PR for this pissed off lady. I felt, no actually, I still do feel like my worst fears of losing power over not pulling regularly have come true. Three months into this and I feel weaker on my deadlift than I've ever felt while going overload on volume during my own workouts back in winter. I've always known I'm weakest right off the floor when it comes to pulling so any elevated pulling PRs feel like a bit of a mockery to where I really am right now. After working hard and focusing on a single goal of getting stronger, you'd think it was fair to expect to progress somewhat, even marginally so. I knew right after pulling 110kg that I was kissing my coveted total goodbye but damn, I at least wanted to get something. Anything. I'm still unsure about any form issues that might have come up during the session but the coach is going to have a better look at the videos as well and analyze what and how I could have done better.


Thursday - Upper ME day

OHP
bar x 10, 10
25kg x 8
30kg x 5
32,5kg x 5

Feet-elevated pushups (on handlebars)
12, 12, 12

Meadows rows
bar+10kg x 12, 12, 12, 12

Triceps extensions (plate loaded pulley)
15kg x 12, 12, 12

Band pull-aparts
20, 20, 20


We're starting off a new cycle on Monday so this was just an added session and I haven't done OHP in forever now. I feel like I did get stronger on them or at least it felt like I could up my 1RM if I went for it and this felt like a tougher variation of what I did previously since each rep was paused just at shoulder height.

[lilOwl]

Saturday - Assistance

Incline DBBP
12kg x 10, 10
16kg x 15
4-5 min rest
16kg x 18

Close grip BP
40kg x 10, 8, 6, 6

Front/Side/Rear - delt raises
3 x 6kg DBs x 12/12/12

Lat pulldown, neutral grip
55kg x 10, 10, 10

EZ curls
22kg x 10, 10, 10

+ 15 mins incline walking

Nothing too exciting today, just a bit of assistance work to get the blood pumping and the gym was as hot as a freaking steam room so I ended up leaving soaking wet, since I forgot my change of clothes at home. Organizing fail

[lilOwl]

I have spent the last day or two thinking over the issues I have noticed during our week of maxing out and it's nothing earth shattering obviously but I'll put them down anyway, since I'm already suppose to give written feedback to the coach. This is merely a product of brainstorming on the matter, nothing too in depth as I realize there are far too many factors that play into whether a lift is successful or not. So basically, this is a list of things I've noticed after working with the coach for the past 3 months and things I consider as something I'd like to further improve upon or rather treat before it gets worse. I'm sure I may be wrong at drawing some of the conclusions and the coach will argue with me on some points but this is my perception of what has been "off" so far so here it goes.


- Going from high volume 1,5-2h sessions to considerably lower volume 1ish h (not counting warmup/rolling) sessions has left me feeling like I have lost a considerable part of my "fitness". I am sure ditching cardio almost completely plays into this as well. I feel winded sooner, I need longer rest periods and I have lost endurance power - anything higher rep seems much more like a struggle than it did before.


- Doing very little volume in the 75-90% 1RM range as opposed to the tons I used to do has made the weight feel a lot heavier. I used to know with certainty what sort of weight I was able to handle on any given day but now I'm constantly surprised by how heavy the same weight that felt like nothing a few months ago feels now. I have a very vague feeling of where my actual limits are atm because we toy around with theoretic RMs too much. It's making me lose some of my confidence when approaching the lift as well, which is no bueno.


- Close grip all over the board when it comes to benching. Yes, I have gained some mean triceps but I totally lost my feeling for what my optimal grip width used to be. If feels almost awkward now and I used to be able to determine it with my eyes closed. It also hasn'd helped with the fact that when it comes to benching the chest has always been my weakest link - lockouts have never been an issue for me.


- Same thing with board presses. They give me a feeling of getting stronger while basically saving me the one portion of the lift I'm most prone to failing on. I feel like it's fine as an addition but personally, I would never base so much of my training around it if I was programming myself.


- A single (!) high-rep regular back squatting session in 3 months, as opposed to basically squatting twice a week prior to this. Again, I have lost the feeling of what my optimal foot stance is after doing so many wide stance box squats. The motion doesn't feel as natural anymore which I hate - I used to feel right at home while squatting all through the last two years of training and now I'm back to feeling uncertain on the lift. I think I would need at least a few sessions of reg squatting before feeling really ready to max on them. I just can't wrap my head around doing a certain lift for the 1st time again after a really long time and actually expecting to do the best you are able to. This has never been the case for me, I need at least a few sessions of progression before really being able to squeeze my maximum out.


- Again, same thing for deadlifting. Not enough off-the-floor pulling. Any elevated pulling feels like cheating to me since the hardest part of the lift for me personally is absent. What good will a bulletproof lockout do if I can't even un-glue the bar off the floor? First time doing regular DL after 3 months, it just didn't feel comfortable at all. Oh and my grip has gone softer I think. Not as indestructible as it used to be which is a damn shame. I seriously NEED to go back to pulling regularly.


- I've packed on some pounds since starting with the coach. It's not a huge lot but enough so that I don't feel comfortable with it anymore. Granted I realize it's completely my own doing so this is something I'll also be adressing by myself but I do feel like the general atmosphere is geared towards perma-bulking and passing on cardio as much as possible. Off the top of my head, I'd say that my weekly cardio count used to hoover just over an hour and a half at the bare minimum and now it's non-existent. My volume used to be much higher as well so my expenditure is, again, obviously lower. Now losing weight isn't rocket science and I am all up to getting back to where I was but for someone training for strength, I'll need to keep a close eye on how I go about losing the extra cushioning. I don't wanna F up any potential strength gains cutting too low because that would make all my work basically go to waste. However, in order to cut at a rate that will help me minimaze any strength loss I'll need to be relatively diligent about counting and tracking since eye-balling obviously doesn't work for me. And I hate this, I really really do. I wanted to focuse on performance goals specifically to stop being hung up on freaking numbers and how my body looks and also to stop obsessing over absurdly unimportant things like food.


That about sums it up for now. I'm sure my obsessed little brain could come up with more issues *sigh* but I'm done, I have more than enough on my plate for now Hopefully, I'll be adding an action plan to battle the issues soon enough.

[tina722]

Sorry bench and deadlift didn't go the way you thought they might. Very nice squat PR though! Great write-up, it's obvious you put a lot of effort into training. Are you going to encourage your coach to change the programming?

[lilOwl]

Thanks Tina, I'm trying to focus on the progress I did make, it's just a bit challenging at times. Failing sucks but I'll get there eventually I don't have any issue with the programming itself, I actually really like the ME/DE split thing, I never tried that approach before but I will try to encourage my coach to change the excercise selection. I would prefer to do the basic variations of the main three lifts a lot more frequently, I think that would work way better for me. I know other variations are great and they have a place in any program but I honestly think it's too specifically geared towards a few weak links for someone like me, I'm just not advanced enough to not benefit from high frequency on the main lifts anymore. I know he'll switch it up if I ask him to, he can very easily be reasoned with if he doesn't think you're totally in the wrong ... which I don't think I am, at least not terribly so lol


Monday - Lower ME day

Xtra low box squats
bar x 8
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 3
67,5kg x 3
75kg x 3
82,5kg x 3
87,5kg x 2

DL, touch and go
60kg x 8
75kg x 8
82,5kg x 6

Cable crunches (PL pulley)
10kg x 15
15kg x 15
17,5kg x 15
20kg x 15

Good mornings
30kg x 12
35kg x 10
40kg x 8, 8

BW Chins
8, 8


Case in point, after hearing from all of us that we'd like to take on DLs more often, the coach said he'd have us deadlift so often we're going to end up begging him to switch it up again We didn't go crazy on the weight or the volume but it sure felt good to be pulling again. The gym was unbelievably hot again and I had trouble focusing for the good half of the session. We hit up the low box again but this time we used some some extra padding for me to stand on, so it was the lowest I've ever gone on box squats. The stance wasn't wide so I was trying to find the sweet spot again but I think I'll have to keep trying because it didn't feel natural just yet. The depth was probably pushing it in terms of my hip flexibility as well since I had a lot of trouble sitting back on the last portion of the descend just above the box. That's something I need to be working on as well because I still try to rely on my quads too much when squats get really heavy.

Victory of the day - I managed my first ever pistol squat Every attempt prior to this ended up miserably so I was shocked to find out that not only can I do them now, I did a full on ATG one, I actually touched the floor with my behind so yay!

[lilOwl]

Wednesday - Upper ME day

Floor press (closer grip)
bar x 8
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 3
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 3
55kg x 3

DB BP
14kg (ish?) x 12, 12, 10, 10

DB Lat raises
7,5ish kg x 8, 8, 8

Meadows rows
bb+10kg x 10
+15kg x 10
+17,5kg x 10
+20kg x 10

Band pull-aparts SS Front raises (5kg plates)
3 sets of 20 x 10


The coach put together a prowler/sled thing for us to warm up with today. We did a bunch of push/pull type movements across a hall for good 15 minutes and it was the most fun I've had warming up in ages, seriously. I actually felt sufficiently activated going into my workout which doesn't happen often, I usually need at least a few sets to warm up to a working temperature I can't say whether or not that had anything to do with how well my floor press went but it started the session on a really good note. I managed to progress nicely on the FP since 55kg was my prior 1RM. It might be that I was focused 100% on it for a change but it was strange (in an awesome way) how easy explosive my last rep was, I for sure thought the coach must have been helping me but he wasnt. I think it was one of those rare moments where the stars align and I actually do everything *just right* and it's like BAM, this is how it's supposed to be done. I just hope I'll learn how to do it right more often someday

[lilOwl]

Friday - Lower DE day

Xtra low box squat
bar x 8
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 10x2

GHRs
8, 8, 8

V-leg sit ups
BW x 15
BW+5kg x 15, 15

Hyperextensions (arms stretched out)
5kg plate x 10, 10, 10, 10

Chins
9, 9

[lilOwl]

Monday - Upper DE day

Speed bench (varying grip width)
bar x 8, 5
25kg x 5
30kg x 3
32,5kg x 9x3

French press
10kg DBs x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

Wide grip handlebar pushups
+5kg plate x 10, 10, 10

Rear delt raises, seated
5kg plates x 10, 10, 10

Bent over BB rows, overhand grip
40kg x 10, 10, 10

+ 15 minutes of push/pull movements with the wannabe sled, alternating back/chest work


I was focusing on technique again today, making sure I eliminate any sinking of the bar as it touches my chest. It's a sure sign of me losing tightness in my back and it's been happening more than I'd like lately. One of the changes I'm experimenting with right now is just slowing down the movement slightly on the descend which will hopefully help me keep better control over the bar path. I still find it challenging to keep it a smooth, natural motion without breaking it up. I did a pretty good job at tucking in the elbows and raising the chest as I was pulling the bar in with my back but it still feels forced. With the change of pace I keep better form so I think I'm moving in the right direction, I just need to stick to this approach after the weight gets uncomfortably heavy too. I have every intention of nailing it down sooner or later so in the meantime I'll just focuse on re-learning and practicing ...

[lilOwl]

Wednesday - Lower ME day

Xtra low box squats
bar x 8
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
87,5kg x 3

DL
70kg x 8
80kg x 6, 6

Ab roller
12, 10, 10, 10

Good mornings
35kg x 10
40kg x 10
45kg x 8, 8

Chins
10, 10

+ 10 minutes of sled drags with 40kg worth of plates

[lilOwl]

Friday - Upper ME day

CG Floor press
bar x 8
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
40kg x 3
47,5kg x 3
52,5kg x 3
57,5kg x 3

42,5kg x 6, 6, 6, 6

DB French press
12(?)kg DBs x 10, 10, 10, 10

Lat raises
8kg DB x 8, 8, 8

Meadows rows
bar+20kg x 10, 10, 10

+ 15 minutes worth of a xfit type of finisher consisting of diamond push-ups, inverted rows, sled flies/rows/presses

This was officially our last session of WSBB. After getting feedback from all of us the coach has decided we might benefit more from running a few cycles of 531 since there will always be time to come back to westside in the future. Personally, I really enjoy the 531 type split and the excercise selection is right up my alley so I'm definitely happy it's the direction we're taking. I can't say I didn't like wsbb but I think I'm due for a change of pace. The cycle has helped me work on hip drive more than I ever have before and my mobility has definitely improved as well from all the box squatting and close gripping. The next few months leading up to nationals will be spent working on the main lifts and tweaking whatever needs to be done to get the form down. I'm excited but more importantly - I'm motivated to be in fighting shape come November.


Saturday - Assistance

Back squat
bar x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 8
70kg x 8
75kg x 8
80kg x 6
60kg x 10, 10, 10

Bulgarian split squat
10kg x 10, 10, 10

Side plank crunches
10, 10, 10

V leg crunches
5kg plate x 15, 15, 15

Lying leg raises
10, 10, 10



Monday - OHP day

OHP
bar x 8, 8
22,5kg x 5
27,5kg 5
30kg x 10 (all out)

22,5kg x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Dips
10, 8, 6

DB BP
16,5kg x 10, 10, 10, 10

DB rows
28kg DB x 8, 8, 8

Triceps extensions
30kg x 15, 12, 10

DB curls
8,5kg x 8, 8, 8

[Romina81]

Hey there still following along....awesome pr on your squat a few posts back

I'm still doing a modified westside for the lower days...made a few prs and happy to be keeping strength while cutting.

[lilOwl]

Thanks Romina, glad to hear you're still around, I was wondering what you've been up to ever since your log went a bit quiet! Are you still box squatting as much or have you swapped any of it out for regular squatting? I hope I keep progressing despite cutting as well, that's one of my biggest fears ...

[lilOwl]

Wednesday - SQ day

Squat
bar x 10
35kg x 5
45kg x 5
55kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5

Paused squat
65kg x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Reverse hypers
+5kg x 12
+10kg x 12, 12

Ab roller
10, 10, 10

+ 15 minutes of sled drags and a bunch of random ab work


So the squats went sort of okay. I was still stiff and sore from squatting on Sat but that was purely my idea since they weren't on the initial coach's plan so yeah ... no Fs were given and I had to push through regardless I'm starting to ease in again and not feeling overwhelmed when the weight starts to feel heavy. I was hoping to hit more reps on my 5+ but I'm okay with how it went anyway. A few more sessions like this and I'll feel as good as new under the bar. The paused squats were pretty brutal but I was pleasantly surprised by just how much stronger I've become in the bottom position ... the 3 second pauses felt loooong but not anything like what they used to, so that's a plus.

[lilOwl]

Friday - BP day

Bench
bar x 8
25kg x 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 5
37,5kg x 5
42,5kg x 5
48,5kg x 12 (5+)

Paused bench
37,5kg x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Pushups, feet elevated, on handlebars
12, 12, 10, 10

Lat pulldown, wide overhand (plate loaded pulley)
25kg x 12
30kg x 12
32,5kg x 12
35kg x 12

Skull-crushers
25kg x 10, 8
22,5kg x 10

+ 15 minutes of sled drags, burpees and plank holds, finisher from hell lol


I have managed to slow way down on the bench. I made it a point to descend for 2-3 seconds while making sure I tighten my upper back and keep shoulder blades together. According to the coach my form was a lot more solid today so I'm planning on keeping a lot of focus on speed in the future as well. I think one of the main issues that were popping up in the last months was simply losing tension because the descend just wasn't controlled enough. My all out set went well although it wasn't really all out ... I could have hit 1-2 more reps but the coach told me to leave a bit in the tank so I did. I'm also feeling better about my grip width, it will take some more getting used to but it didn't feel as forced as last time.

[Romina81]

I'd love to hang out a bit more here but life is too busy. I am still box squatting but going to start regular squatting again soon. You'll do just find with the cutting...at first you may lose some strength but after a couple weeks it comes back (at least in my case) so don't get discouraged just gotta lessen the volume a bit. Anyways I'm sure you are in good hands with your coach and team!

[lilOwl]

Saturday - DL day

DL
bar x 10
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 10 (5+)

70kg x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

GHRs
8, 8, 8, 6

Leg press
170kg x 10
185kg x 10
195kg x 10
205kg x 10

Hanging leg raises
12, 12, 12, 12

+ 15 mins on the recumbant bike, just to cool down


Speed was good on the DLs today and they didn't seem too hard. I was able to recover completely between sest so I could have probably done at least a few more easily. They did leave my hams totally cramped and the GHRs ended up taking way too long since I had to do too many rest-pauses. I wasn't sure how heavy I should go on the leg press after not doing any of work on it in the last months. The last set was definitely hard but not incredibly so, I'll probably just start heavier next time.

[lilOwl]

Monday - BP day

BP
bar x 5, 5
30kg x 5
35kg x 3
40kg x 3
46kg x 3
51kg x 10 (3+)
55kg x 3
57,5kg x 3

Paused bench
40kg x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

EZ Skull crushers
+15kg x 12
+12,5kg x 12, 12, 12

Band pull-aparts
25, 25

Back circuit:
sled rows (CG, WG, high/low) + chins + inverted rows + static holds


My back and legs are killing me today, apparently I beat them up really well on Sat. I wasn't feeling the bench as well as last time simply because I was too sore but it went pretty great nonetheless. I was careful with every rep, making sure I kept it slow but tight and it's paying off. The coach said my form has really improved in the last couple of weeks which made me feel good, it's about time things started heading in the right direction. I hit my goal of getting a two digit number on my 3+ so all in all, a pretty good start to the week.

[lilOwl]

Thursday - SQ day

SQ
bar x 8
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 9 (3+)

95kg x 3
100kg x 3

Pause squats
70kg x 5, 5, 5

Side DB crunches
16ish kg DB x 15, 15, 15


Short but sweet. I did all my working sets wrapped today hence the higher volume on my 3+. I need to get more used to them so I'll probably be using them regularly from now on or I won't be able to take full advantage of them come meet time. My all out set ended abruptly because my chest felt so tight I literally couldn't take a deep enough breath to keep going even though my legs still had a few reps in them. I don't think I've ever felt anything like this before, it was like my lungs were ready to burst open or something and I really just needed to get the damn barbell off of me. I ended up feeling good about my last set because it didn't feel anywhere near failure but overall the "I own this sh!t" feeling just isn't there yet.

As far as my form goes I am slowly getting better at not dropping down too quickly. This seems to be a lot like my issue with the bench and I'll be trying out the same approach to remedy it. I'm still relying too strongly on my quads and I need to really focus on pushing my knees out every.single.rep. If I have my coach behind me yelling into my ear I do way better at following through but sometimes I still forget about that mental cue

I was also told that apparently I still go way too deep (how the f is that even possible ) on most of my squats which might be taking a toll on my strength. Coach: " Did you feel that, something touching your bum at the bottom position? Yeah, well, that was the floor ... Really now, you don't need to go THAT low." I could hit competition depth quite a bit higher but since this is my default squatting mode the coach agreed to just go with it - it would probably do more damage than good trying to change it at this point, especially since I feel like it's working just fine for me. If I try to stop mid-ROM it feels like I'm losing power having to actively slow down.

[lilOwl]

Friday - OHP day

OHP
bar x 8
25kg x 5
30kg x 3
32,5kg x 6 (3+)
35kg x 3

25kg x 7, 7, 7, 7

Dips
10, 10

Diamond pushups
10, 10

Lat pulldown (wide overhand, PL pulley)
40kg x 12, 12
35kg x 12, 12

Band face pulls
20, 20, 20

+ 5 through x 8 burpees, 8 lying leg raises, 8 inverted rows (1 min rest)

[lilOwl]

Saturday - DL day

DL
bar x 10
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 9 (3+)

Deficit DL
70kg x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Good mornings
40kg x 10, 10
45kg x 10, 10

Cable pull-throughs
60kg x 15, 15, 15

Seated cable row
45kg x 8, 8, 8


Hanging leg raises
12, 12, 12, 12

+ 20 mins of incline walking


My back was pretty sore going into today's session. Although I managed to hit 9 reps on my all out set I had to work much harder for them than on my 5+. I didn't have anyone watch my form but I did feel like it stayed consistently solid except for one rep that I instinctively knew wasn't right - I was pulling too far away from my shins so my back did most of the work on that one. The speed wasn't bad at all, most of the pulling felt explosive and went up fast but I did miss some of it on my last set ... but then again I knew I'd slow down eventually, after the set got really exhausting. We'll see how next week goes but so far so good, feeling better about pulling already

[tina722]

Looks like 5/3/1 is going to work out well. Do you pull conventional or sumo?

It looks like you're adding in some conditioning work as well. How is that going?

[lilOwl]

I'm really glad we switched to it yes, I feel like this is exactly the type of programming that will work for me right now, especially getting used to doing the basics regularly again. I've always pulled conventional, only ever toyed around with sumo a few times and I do like it but I actually feel weaker at it. Probably since I don't include enough hip drive and still pull mostly from my back. On a second thought, I might just have to include them for that reason alone?

The conditioning is going okay but I feel totally winded most of the time, I lost a bunch of stamina I need to get back. The coach has started including finishers which are pure evil most of the time but at least they're effective. He's been great about listening to what we were missing so this is probably due to the other guys from the team agreeing on wanting to do something new like the sled drags and all that fun stuff. Nothing too time consuming and I have no plans of doing any long cardio sessions anytime soon but in a way, I'm glad I'm back to doing some at least.


Monday - SQ day

SQ
bar x 5
35kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
75kg x 5
85kg x 3
95kg x 8 (1+)

Paused squats
75kg x 4, 4, 4

Front SQ static holds
80kg x 30sec
90kg x 30sec
100kg x 20sec

Ab roller
12, 12, 12


Nothing fancy, just good old squatting again. The wraps are fast becoming my favorite method of torture during our sessions. Those things are leaving my legs all bruised and banged up which is fine and normally I wouldn't even care but in this heat I just end up walking around looking like someone beat the crap out of me or something. I'm slowly learning how to get more use out of them and truthfully, they can help a whole lot when you go deep enough, which I do. They take a huge part off the load below paralel or at least they make the whole move feel much smoother and less scary as I start to really load up the bar. After I get up to about an inch above paralel they don't do anything for me anymore but that's where I'm strongest in my squats as long as my torso stays tight. Right now I'm putting a lot of emphasis on keeping my back tight and abs engaged as my legs are usually not the limiting factor when I start to fail.

I also took longer rest periods today so I didn't do much assistance work but it was more than enough already. I was dripping in sweat and I had to keep wiping the bar and re-applying chalk onto my shoulders lol ... moral of the story, even the perfect bar positioning won't be good enough when you keep sweating it off your back

[lilOwl]

Wednesday - BP day

BP
bar x 5, 5
27,5kg x 5
32,5kg x 3
37,5kg x 3
42,5kg x 5
48,5kg x 3
55kg x 4 (1+)
57,5kg x 1
60kg x 1

Paused BP
42,5kg x 4, 4, 4

EZ skull-crushers
bar+15kg x 8
bar+17,5kg x 8
bar+20kg x 8, 8

Bent over BB row
42,5kg x 10, 10, 10

Band pull-aparts
25, 25, 25


A very meh session in inferno-land yesterday. The heat is killing me and my energy is completely zapped atm. We're keeping the trainings shorter for that very reason because we're all coming in already run down and well, sometimes you just need to adapt to stuff like that. According to how my bench went last time I was expecting some higher numbers but I'm okay with what I got, I know I can do way better but certainly not feeling this run down

I've also noticed that one thing that's always making my bench harder is that I always have to deal with working around lower back doms. This probably wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't bench with such an arch but I don't want to change my positioning just because of it since it's how I've gotten used to benching by now. I've had a pretty obvious case of anterior pelvic tilt since as long as I can remember and among other issues, one that keeps popping up because of it is my inclination to overload my back on nearly any full body movement. That not only leads to not engaging my abs properly but also means my lower back is constantly sore and cramping. Now, I've been correcting this issue for a while ... a lot more ab work, strenghtening my hamstrings and glutes, working on hip mobility, consciously correcting my posture, etc. It's better than it's been but the issue is still present so whenever I've had a very hard SQ or DL session before my BP it almost always leaves me cramping on the bench, like clockwork. It makes the whole movement uncomfortable and I just can't engage properly.

I'm hoping the issue will subside in a few more weeks after I get a bit more used to the higher volume of 531 again but it's just another reminder that I need to be doing more corrective work as well. As far as I know any low-back foam rolling is generally a big no-no but I'll have to figure out something to relieve the muscles a bit every now and then at least.

[lilOwl]

Thursday - DL day

DL
bar x 8
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
67,5kg x 3
75kg x 5
85kg x 3
95kg x 7 (1+)

70kg x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Hyperextensions
+20kg x 12, 12, 12

DB oblique crunches
20kg x 12, 12, 12, 12



I got some really good pointers regarding my pulling today. The coach taught me a few mental cues that should help me stay consistent in pulling back as opposed to up. He told me to stop pulling my shoulders back and basically let them fall naturally, if they seem to be folding forward slightly it's not an issue as long as my back stays neutral (I used to experience arching when DLing as well, that's how exaggerated my tilt was). The shins should be positioned almost at the bar and then all I need to focus on is copying the movement as if I was trying to drop down to touch my toes with my fingers. This repeatedly left me falling back down on my ass and exctually gave me a conscious way to remember how to pull back. After that, all my sets looked even better so I'll be making sure to engrain this little protocol into my over-analitic brain for further use My all out set was, well, heavy. My last rep felt like I was about to enter snap-city so I ended the set but after looking at the video I could only see slight rounding so I guess it felt a lot worse than it looked.

[lilOwl]

Saturday - OHP day

OHP
bar x 8
25kg x 5
27,5kg x 5
30kg x 3
35kg x 5 (1+)

27,5kg x 6, 6, 6, 6

DB BP
16kg x 10
19kg x 10, 10, 10

DB rows
28kg x 10, 10, 10, 10

DB French press
10kg x 10
8kg x 10, 10


The pressing went a lot better this time and somehow the weight felt easier. I didn't have anyone commenting on my form so I reverted back to my old style of pressing overhead - elbows flaring out more, bar path more curved than straight up - which is not ideal but it works better for me when I'm just trying to bang out a few good reps without being too nitpicky about form. I'm sure the coach will have a thing or two to say about it next time he sees me pressing like this again lol

[lilOwl]

Monday - SQ day

SQ
bar x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 10 (5+)

Rest-pause SQ
70kg x 10+4+3

Good mornings
40kg x 10, 10, 10, 10

V leg crunches
+5kg x 15, 15, 15

+ 2 times through: 40 sec plank / 20 sec off
40 sec L side plank / 20 sec off
40 sec R side plank / 20 sec off


Today went really well, I was happy with my sets although my form was breaking down a bit towards the end but at least I managed to push through. My chest felt heavy again, it wasn't as bad as last time but I had trouble keeping it straight and tight so on my last rep the bar slid down my back a bit (again, probably also due to being a sweaty mess like usually). All of the conditiones seemed to be going against me since I'm pre-TOTM, tired and rundown and definitely did not come in sufficiently pumped to kick some ass. Then I ended up wrapping myself as well (the coach is usually on duty for that) in an effort to learn how to do it properly so it wasn't wrapped nearly as tightly as I was hoping they would be. The wraps didn't help as much as they could so that made it even harder but given the circumstances I think it went pretty well. Already looking forward to how I'll end this cycle.

[lilOwl]

Wednesday - BP day

BP
bar x 5, 5
27,5kg x 5
32,5kg x 4
37,5kg x 3
40kg x 5
45kg x 5
51kg x 10 (5+)


Rest-paused bench
40kg x 20 + 5 + 4

Lat pulldown, wide overhand (PL pulley)
35kg x 12, 12
30kg x 12, 12, 12

CG pushups on handlebars (feet elevated)
12, 12, 12

Band pull-aparts
20, 20, 20


Still feeling pretty beat up after Monday. My legs are killing me and my lower back feels stiff and cramped. I was going to take a while longer to do some proper rolling and stretching but I ended up being rushed by the end of the session. Today's sets were nothing to write home about but they weren't bad either. I lost some focus on keeping the bar speed on the lower end while descending so by the end of the 5+ set I lost the majority of tension in my back. Form wise, I'm moving forward as long as I stay really focused on bringing the bar down lower on the sternum. One thing that jumped out at me today was how I should probably omit using wraps on any of my high rep sets. I could quite literally feel the blood draining from my hands and my fingers feeling somewhere between tingly and numb after the first half of my set. Not only was it distracting but I think I may be losing some rep strength because of it as well when the sets get longer time-wise. I opted to leave them out for my rest-paused set to see and none of these issues were present, even though I went to all out failure. I've decided that I'll only be using them on the sets where I don't expect to go for much higher than 3 reps and see what happens.

[lilOwl]

Friday - DL day

DL
bar x 10
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 20 (5+)

70kg x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

GHRs
10, 10, 10

Static front SQ holds
90kg x 20 sec
105kg x 20 sec
115kg x 20 sec

+ 12 hall lengths of sled drag variations


Much to my own total disbelief I really went all out on my all out set. It was as much a mental breakthrough as it was a breakthrough regarding form and speed. The 5+ was basically my 1.5 BW set and it felt really heavy, I wouldn't call it anywhere near 20 RM from the get to. After the first five reps I was getting ready to throw in the towel but after the last cycle I had my goal set on hitting at least 10 and after I got that I heard this nagging little stubborn voice in my head going "come on, you weren't even failing yet, do one more ... and one more ... and another one ..." My lungs were on fire and I was seeing stars by the end but it was oh so worth it, I can't remember the last time I felt so damn proud of my pulling. The whole set ended up lasting 3:40 (yeah, I know ...). I left the gym feeling like one happy camper and ended the night with a pound worth of bloody Argentinian beef on my plate, curtesy of my BF who was also screaming his face off during my pulling. I shall not speak of the horrible soreness and inability to walk that followed since I can't even begin to put it into words.

Video to follow, I need to get my coach to upload it first.