Road to recovery and 1600

[JRMoore82]

Cliffs on Bulgarian method? Did i read that right? Work up to 1RM then do back off sets?

True Bulgarian (aka squat everyday) has you squatting 6x to a true 1RM for the day. But you're supposed to fail/huge grinder for your last rep. Also supposed to be 1-2 minute rest between sets.

After you hit the top rep you only take a minute rest between drop sets. It truly should be 80%x2x3 and 70%x2x5 but reps 4-5 always look ugly so I've chosen to go beltless for 70%x2x3 (or for bench I added black resistance bands to all drops)

What I've done is made the top set progressive (505 one day 515 the next etc) which I've felt has helped me get the form for my squat and bench in order. It's similar to what Blane Sumners and Ray Williams do.

To elaborate on why I'm doing this for deadlifts I noticed watching my film that as soon as I got to 555 I was more worried about rep 4-5 so the first three looked awful. And I really need to get the lockout part more fluent.

I'll probably make 565 my top for Friday and progress from there.

[JamesA1990]

True Bulgarian (aka squat everyday) has you squatting 6x to a true 1RM for the day. But you're supposed to fail/huge grinder for your last rep. Also supposed to be 1-2 minute rest between sets.

After you hit the top rep you only take a minute rest between drop sets. It truly should be 80%x2x3 and 70%x2x5 but reps 4-5 always look ugly so I've chosen to go beltless for 70%x2x3 (or for bench I added black resistance bands to all drops)

What I've done is made the top set progressive (505 one day 515 the next etc) which I've felt has helped me get the form for my squat and bench in order. It's similar to what Blane Sumners and Ray Williams do.

To elaborate on why I'm doing this for deadlifts I noticed watching my film that as soon as I got to 555 I was more worried about rep 4-5 so the first three looked awful. And I really need to get the lockout part more fluent.

I'll probably make 565 my top for Friday and progress from there.

Bulgarian sounds even more masochist than the 13 week smolov routine. Wait you were worried about form breakdown in rep 4-5 so you forgot to think about reps 1-3?

either way interesting stuff, i like learning what works for other people, but more so i want to learn WHY it works

[JRMoore82]

Bulgarian sounds even more masochist than the 13 week smolov routine. Wait you were worried about form breakdown in rep 4-5 so you forgot to think about reps 1-3?

either way interesting stuff, i like learning what works for other people, but more so i want to learn WHY it works

Just the mental aspect of "damn 4-5 are gonna suck" so I try and man handle through 1-3.

The reasons the Bulgarian aspect work for me is

1) I get to constantly handle a weight I can only handle for a single. Which is more truer for powerlifting

2) the CNS has to adapt faster if you are throwing high weight on your back.

3) for me mentally I couldn't get around 585 til I pulled 575. At that point it's only ten more pounds.

[JRMoore82]

LOWER B
Masochist edition

Squat
460
500
525
575 (reverse)
420x2x3
370x2x3 (no belt)

Resistance band paused squat (no belt)
370x4x2

Sumo
405 (hook)
475 (hook)
515
545
435x2x3
380x2x3

Doing deads this way felt like the right balance to stimulus and fatigue.

Body is almost near 100%. 525 didn't move as fast as hoped but still faster than Monday's 505.

[JRMoore82]

Meh. Gonna drop all deads to just one set so I can focus form instead of x2x3

Also no more close bench for the next 10 weeks. It bugs that old injury and I don't need it.

UPPER B

Comp bench
300
330
345
275x2x3
240x2x3

Deadlift
505
555
585 (static hold)
470x3
405x3

On the plus side 585 moved like it did at the meet. I think I figured out what I need to work on for form. Weight on heels and "pinch the pencil".

[JRMoore82]

Weight = +16. Didn't follow through on diet as I reintroduced volume. So next week will tell me what's up since I know most of the gain was from swelling.

LOWER A

Squat
475
515
540
430x2x3
390x2x3 (no belt)

Front squat
235x4x5

Sumo
485 (hook)
525
555
445x3
390x3

Hook pain is going away. Hopefully it will be caught up when I progress sumo to 585 so I can make it a legit PR.

[JRMoore82]

UPPER A

Comp bench
305
330
350
280x2x3
245x2x3

Deadlift
520
565
595
475x3
415x3

Straight arm pull down
Seated row.

Cardio

Deadlift form was way off. So was bench. Lazy warm ups. Lesson learned.

[JRMoore82]

Crap workout today. Form is running away. Getting way to tired.

Going back to x5x1 80%x3 70%x3. Got 8 weeks still so whatever.
Starting at 505/330/545

[JRMoore82]

LOWER A

Squat
465
505x5x1
405x3
355x3

Front squat
245x4x5

Sumo
485
535x5x1
430x3
375x3

Quad was a bit tight.

[JRMoore82]

UPPER A

Comp bench
305
330x5x1
265x3
230x3

Deadlift
510
555x5x1
445x3
405x3

Straight arm
Seated row
Cardio

Been trying to deadlift with a narrower stance. It really bugs my lower back. Gonna re widen my stance and see what happens.

[JRMoore82]

LOWER B

Squat
515x5x1
410x3
360x3

Paused Squat
360x4x2

Sumo
505x5x1
405x3
350x3

Brought my grip in. Might help with upright.

Sumo deload to widen stance.

[JRMoore82]

Fatigue caught up huge today. Could only muster 315x2x1 bench and 315 deadlift was so slow didn't even bother.

Gonna take a dramatic deload since I'm 6 weeks out (12 sessions on a A & B) and hopefully it'll balance out.

Sticking with x5x1 but starting points are 485/315/525. Should start PR'ing right before my meet which is where I'll want to be.

[JRMoore82]

LOWER A

Squat
455
485x5x1
390x3
340x3

Front squat
225x4x5

Sumo
455
495
405x3
345x3

Sitting straight down seemed to help the squat.

Also building my sumo from the ground and breathing in while down then getting stretch felt good. Will try with conventional.

[JRMoore82]

UPPER A

Comp bench
300
325x5x1
260x3
230x3

Deadlift
480
525x5x1
420x3
370x3

Lat pull down
Seated row

300 was way to easy so jumped to 325. Good spot

My deadlift needs just a little more tweaking. Gonna try and point toes out a little.

[JRMoore82]

LOWER B

Squat
460
500x5x1
405x3
350x3

Paused
350x4x2

Sumo
515x5x1
415x3
365x3

Whew. Got through it. Next week dropping all accessories and doing x3x1

[JRMoore82]

SQUAT

475
515x3x1
415x3
360x3

SUMO

480
525x3x1
425x3
370x3

I tried to adjust my racks higher and it was too high for the bar when it bends at 475. So I went from 435 to 475 with a different rack height. Blah.

[JRMoore82]

BENCH

310
335x3x1
270x3
235x3

DEADLIFT

510
555x3x1
445x3
390x3

Not bad at all.

[JamesA1990]

Very interested to see how the frequent heavy lifting goes for you, keep at it boyyyyyyy

[JRMoore82]

Very interested to see how the frequent heavy lifting goes for you, keep at it boyyyyyyy

Won't lie. Me too. Might have messed up by getting back into the weight room too fast. Weight is still +13 (6kg) from the 120kg cut off. I just added more cardio (walking incline) but afraid I've messed up my CNS a bit and should have been using lower weight/higher reps to get fat off.

If I can hit 600/???/600 I'll enter the meet even at higher weight class. But don't wanna spend $85 just to get a couple baby PR's in SHW class.

[JRMoore82]

NOT ENTERING MEET

$85 dollars isn't worth it ATM.

1) just competed in February.
2) just added 125 to total
3) old injuries kinda bugging me
4) weight is still dropping slowly

Take a long weekend off. Come back with high volume/low rest time and rework form and lose weight. If I could hit 600 in April meet I wouldn't be happy being +10 (current weight) over 120kg weight class.

Rather work it smarter than not. I wanna for sure qualify for nationals next meet (+65 from old total) which usually in July/august/September.

With such a good amount of time I better be able to hit 600/405/600 next one.

[JRMoore82]

ONE MINUTE REST ALL EXERCISES

MONDAY

Squat (progressive)
X2x3
X2x5

Front squat
X5x5

Sumo
X5
AMRAP

TUESDAY

Close grip
X5x5

Incline press
X4x5

Conventional
X5
AMRAP

Bent over row
X4x12

Pull-ups

THURSDAY

Squat
Same as Monday

Paused squat (resistance band)
X4x3

Paused sumo
X5x1

FRIDAY

Standing OHP
X4x5

Comp bench resistance bands
Progressive
80%x2x3
70%x2x5

Paused conventional
X5x1

Facepull
X4x12

Pushdown/hammer curl
X4x12

[JRMoore82]

GAMEPLAN

Got this thought process from JamesA1990. Gonna get a baseline volume for my A's and B's. Once I've got all 4 days up to 4x weight lifted hopefully back in 120kg class. I'll re weigh every 25% mark.

So
Volume 25k
Going till I get to 100k
Next weigh in 50k.

[JRMoore82]

LOWER A

Current weight: 284
Goal weight: 254
Total lifted: 27,500
Goal: 110k
Next weigh in: 55k

Squat
365
295x2x3
255x2x5

Front Squat
135x5x5

Sumo
405x5
AMRAP 315 (x5)

Calf raise (drop sets)
405x10
315x10
225x10
135x10

Cardio 5 minute jog

[JRMoore82]

UPPER A

Close grip
225x5x5

Incline bench
135x4x8

Deadlift
405x5
AMRAP 315 (x5)

Bent over row
70x4x12

Close grip pull down
70x4x12

Volume: 24,400
Goal: 97,600

[JRMoore82]

LOWER B

Squat
OWR 405
325x2x3
285x2x5

Paused resistance squats
285x4x3

Paused sumo
315x5x1

Standing calf raise
405(drop sets) x10

Weight lifted 24,500
Goal 98,000

Wide squat feeling better. Able to get through 1 more nite tests still fairly well.

[JRMoore82]

UPPER B

OHP
135x3x5

Paused resistance bench
275
225x2x3
195x2x5

Paused resistance deadlift
315x5x1

Barbell shrug
Superset pushdown/hammer curls

Total 25k
Goal 100k

Hook gripped first deadlift!!

[JRMoore82]

LOWER A

Squat
OWR 425
345x2x3
300x2x5

Front squat
155x5x5

Sumo
425x5
AMRAP 315 (x6)

Calf raises
405x12 (drop sets)

Weight lifted 32,105

Gonna switch around deadlift stuff to avoid future issues.

On M/T/Thur/F doing Sumox5/conventional pause/sumo pause/conventionalx5

Thursday last liberal jump on squats. But even with 1 minute rests no issues.

[JRMoore82]

Need to make notes and readjust calculations cause of program switch up.

Monday
Lifted: 27,500
Goal: 110k

Tuesday
Lifted: 21,500
Goal: 86,000

Thursday
Lifted: 24,500
Goal: 98,000

Friday
Lifted: 28k
Goal: 112k

[JamesA1990]

Keep us updated on how hook grip goes for you.. I looked into it late last year because i had missed my last deadlift in 2 meets last year only due to losing it out of the hand at the top.

Absolutely unbearable pain, not painful thumbs themselves, but felt like my thumbs were being forcefully pulled out of their sockets, and i wouldn't dare hold onto the bar as i lowered the weight for fear of jarring them even more. Was probably a technique issue, cos im talking like 1 plate on each side and my body was screaming "no"

[JRMoore82]

Keep us updated on how hook grip goes for you.. I looked into it late last year because i had missed my last deadlift in 2 meets last year only due to losing it out of the hand at the top.

Absolutely unbearable pain, not painful thumbs themselves, but felt like my thumbs were being forcefully pulled out of their sockets, and i wouldn't dare hold onto the bar as i lowered the weight for fear of jarring them even more. Was probably a technique issue, cos im talking like 1 plate on each side and my body was screaming "no"

Will do!

I think the problems I had the couple go arounds I tried with it were mental. Last week I realized when I pulled the paused resistance conventional I focused so much on "white knuckle gripping" so the band didn't pull it out it didn't seem to hurt

Either I learn hook grip or I won't be able to have sumo available.