2023 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[Camarija]

Nice bulk Camarija. Is there a specific target you have for the next phase?

Thanks brother

I'm at about 228 lbs morning dry, or 234 lbs during the day, feeling bulbous :-P

My next step is dieting down for 15 to 20 weeks until I hit ~ 10% body fat again

If I'm lucky, maybe there will be an extra 10 lbs of muscle mass to show off from the 28 week bulk

We'll see by May / June

Cheers!

*edit*



Officially Large

[SaviorSelfJT]

Just finished another barbell workout. S/B/D


I haven’t actually said what program I’ve been doing for the past couple months. So here it is, starting strength. I spent so much time doing machine based workouts and isolation that I lost a ton of strength. And size too especially in my back/legs

Anyway, todays workout I nearly failed deads cause of how hard the squats were. On the fifth rep of deadlifts I was literally coming up on my toes (heels left the floor) and basically lifting the weight with my quads cause my posterior chain was just done. (Note: This, IMO, is how you get yourself injured, not 1RMs)

I think I’m gonna tweak the program to still do 3x5 squats, but ramped up instead of equal sets. Instead of 365x5x3, do 315x5, 335x5, 365x5 for example

[RapidFail]

IMO here’s what I would do

Take 5 days of complete rest from the last day of smolov till your max day. Come caffeinated and with headphones of whatever gets you hyped up

Your warm up to 80kg sounds good, then keep doing singles with a few more kg each time until you either fail or grind one out really slow. Record yourself too, sometimes you’ll think you grinded something out but in reality it was actually fast and you could do more weight

When you got hurt before, was that from doing reps or a single rep? Also IMO it seems people usually get injured from doing reps at or near failure and not from maxing. You’ve only got a small window to max out after smolov, I’d take advantage of it

It was 5-6 months into Fierce 5 Novice. The previous session I had done 3x5 with 65kg (143lb) which was grindy as hell, three breaths between every rep and not hitting parallel. It took so much out of me that the rest of the workout was a joke. Looking back I never should have added weight after that session, but I had already failed at 65kg, reset the weight and built back up before and was too stubborn.

When I attempted 70kg (154lb) it was probably above my 1RM, but I was determined to do it for 3x5. I managed one ugly rep (not hitting parallel and having to 'good morning' the weight up because my quads weren't strong enough). On the second rep I felt an odd cold sensation in my lower spine. Stupidly I tried for a third rep which resulted in sharp pain.

It could have been a lot worse, but I think my weakness was a blessing in disguise - I was squatting less than bodyweight so the damage was less than it would have been had I been stronger. In the end I was back to squatting after about six weeks of physical therapy. By the end of the year I had built back up to squatting 67.5kg (149lb) with good form.

That was all more than three years ago now. My form is heaps better now, I've put on another ~10lb of muscle and my posterior chain is much more resistant to injury.

[BeginnerGainz]

Just finished another barbell workout. S/B/D


I haven’t actually said what program I’ve been doing for the past couple months. So here it is, starting strength. I spent so much time doing machine based workouts and isolation that I lost a ton of strength. And size too especially in my back/legs

Anyway, todays workout I nearly failed deads cause of how hard the squats were. On the fifth rep of deadlifts I was literally coming up on my toes (heels left the floor) and basically lifting the weight with my quads cause my posterior chain was just done. (Note: This, IMO, is how you get yourself injured, not 1RMs)

I think I’m gonna tweak the program to still do 3x5 squats, but ramped up instead of equal sets. Instead of 365x5x3, do 315x5, 335x5, 365x5 for example

You absolutely can get hurt attempting a maximal lift you aren’t prepared for.

I just watched a guy recently get folded in half attempting a duffalo bar squat. Not a thing the spotter could do, as soon as he started to bend his knees a little he sunk like a rock.

Haven’t seen him since.

I do however agree that doing too much and/or improper fatigue management is what leads to injuries most of the time.

[CW47]

Paused Squat
285 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
225 pounds x 3 reps [PR]

Looks like I'm definitely making progress on my squat. These were new PR's by a significant margin and still weren't super close to a true max.

[coachcalande]

I want to share this with you guys.

For decades I had to ice my knees just from standing to coach football.

I ran for a full hour yesterday, no ice, no meds, pain free. Pain free today too.

Anti inflammatory eating is something you may need at some point in your life.


Well, keep smashing it!

Im training chest and back today.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Another workout, squats, presses, and hang cleans

I did ramped up 3x5 for squats instead of flat. Also foam roller beforehand

Felt great and feel great

I want to share this with you guys.

For decades I had to ice my knees just from standing to coach football.

I ran for a full hour yesterday, no ice, no meds, pain free. Pain free today too.

Anti inflammatory eating is something you may need at some point in your life.


Well, keep smashing it!

Im training chest and back today.

Do you think training now makes everything work/feel better?

I’m not really “old” yet but I can already feel like my body starts getting random aches/pains/tweaks when I get lazy with exercising

[RapidFail]

Today was my squat test day. I had planned on doing it yesterday (after just one day's rest after a 10x3) but decided to give myself an extra day. Unfortunately I woke up at 3am after just over four hours sleep with a bad headache. Plenty of caffeine and I managed to get rid of the headache by early afternoon. Against my better instincts, I decided to go for it anyway!

Ultimately I exceeded my expectations - I squatted a single at 95kg (209lb) which exceeded my previously calculated 1RM by 5kg (11lb). I couldn't have done a second rep, but I'm pretty sure I could have done 97.5kg (215lb). However, I felt this was as close to failure as I wanted to go, so I backed the weight off to 80kg (176lb) and did four reps, leaving 1-2 RIR.

I finished the workout off with some light deadlifts (aroud 65% of estimated 1RM for sets of 2-4).

HIGH BAR SQUAT
10 x 44lb
5 x 88lb
3 x 132lb
2 x 154lb
1 x 176lb, 3 min rest
1 x 187lb, 3 min rest
1 x 198lb, 3 min rest
1 x 209lb, 3 min rest
4 x 176lb, 3 min rest

Video of the top single:
https://imgur.com/a/JZLoz5d

[coachcalande]

Yesterday did squats, leg ext and leg curls in the am, then like a psycho, did hill sprints after work.

This am trained shoulders, will do arms in pm.

Gonna eat well over 300 G protein too.

[CW47]

That is awesome RapidFail. Congrats on the new squat PR!

[coachcalande]

Another workout, squats, presses, and hang cleans

I did ramped up 3x5 for squats instead of flat. Also foam roller beforehand

Felt great and feel great



Do you think training now makes everything work/feel better?

I’m not really “old” yet but I can already feel like my body starts getting random aches/pains/tweaks when I get lazy with exercising

“Motion is lotion” as we age.

[RapidFail]

Although my bench (and all pushing) is way off peak, I decided to test my 1RM anyway. My best ever bench performance is 65kg (143lb) for 6 reps. Failed with 67.5kg (149lb).

BARBELL BENCH PRESS
10 x 66lb
5 x 88lb
3 x 110lb
1 x 121lb
1 x 132lb, 2.5 min rest
1 x 138lb, 2.5 min rest
1 x 143lb, 2.5 min rest
0 x 149lb, 2.5 min rest
6 x 116lb, 2.5 min rest

Finished the workout off with some bent over rows, lateral raises and chin ups.

Video of bench fail: https://imgur.com/a/7up3LZ0

[BeginnerGainz]

Forgot to post Monday, did upper.

Medicine ball slams 3x3

High incline Smith wide grip bench press (basically a shoulder press instead of a chest movement)
~165x4
~135x10

Pronated grip lat pulldowns
~160x7, 6, 6

Smith incline close grip pushups
16, 13, 12

Pronated CSR machine using D handles with straps
~90x12, 12, 11

[CW47]

January 9, 2023
Cambered Bar Overhead Press
105 pounds x 1 rep
85 pounds x 3 reps

DB Front Raise
15's - 3 sets x 12 reps


January 10, 2023
Trap Bar Deadlift
225 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Not sure why but this wrecked me today. Got dizzy and a headache so ended up cutting the workout off early. Feeling fine now though.

[coachcalande]

Hald day of work. Plan to do indoor interval training on the basketball court.

Foot, ankle, knee, hip stuff is always the issue for us older heavy folks. Anti inflammatory eating is key!

Cooked u 250 G protein for the day (dinner later) steak and eggs, chicken and eggs, broccoli…doing awesome.

[FrancisSoyer]

No, that’s not what I did. That’s not what happened.

[BeginnerGainz]

Trap bar squats off 1” deficit
~375x5

Snatch grip back extensions
~90x8, 8, 9

Leg press (light pump work)
~270x17, 18

Notes: Ouchy

Bottoms up KB carry
~8kg for 20ish yards per arm

3 sets of single leg bridges after for the core

More notes:

Before my workout, I tried doing zombie front squats, yeah no. So tried front squats with straps and wasn’t TOO bad.

Worked on some back squatting too, but my hands are still too far out that I unrack the bar ok but they find themselves drifting further to the collars every rep, causing me to pinch my hands on the hooks.

Shoulders weren’t as painful doing the back squats as before so maybe I’m on the right track. Finally getting some good adduction in my shoulder girdle. Small victories.

Mind you I never went over 185 for either, this was just a litmus test.

[coachcalande]

40 min run


First 20 min a great
Mix of speeds, unfortunately strained a calf and could only slow jog remaining time

[CW47]

Push Press
95 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps

Seated DB Press
37.5 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps

Wide Grip Pulldown
80 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps

Going well. Push Press seems to be getting easier each week despite the weight increases.

[CW47]

Bench Press - 1 Board
175 pounds x 3 reps

Deficit Conv Deadlift
315 pounds x 3 reps

Bench pushed me to the limit.
Felt like I could've done another 3 reps on deads.

[coachcalande]

Ran for 40 min yesterday, half of that was interval training. Struggling with calf issues but I can usually slow down and finish. I also did chest and back. Strength is holding up crazy well considering.

Went to the sporting goods store and bought two 45 lb bumper plates so I can start deadlifts in my program again. My son is pretty stoked now too. I believe we are up to 490 in Olympic iron now. Should not take me long to pull 500 for reps at age 56. Just need to actually train it a few times and not hurt myself.

[coachcalande]

Today

Return to deadlift!
135x3
225x3
315x1
450x1
Miss 490
Miss 490
400x3

Now doing front squats

Happy with today considering how tired my legs are from the last few days of running. These numbers will improve fast.

[BeginnerGainz]

Converging chest press
~155x7, 7, 6

Narrow chin grip lat pulldowns
~175x7, 7, 6

Seated smith BTN press
~82x9, 9, 9

Notes: never took a serious run at BTN work. Gonna start now.

Neutral grip chest supported rows
~160x11, 11, 10

[coachcalande]

Just crushed 225x1 seated OHP

Age 56

https://youtu.be/cs2jxCQqtCg

[BeginnerGainz]

Instead of speed work I just do jumping drills for my lower body power production work. First day of doing any kind of jump training ever, so I can’t wait to see how this works out over time.

Box jumps 3x3 with 20” box

Medicine ball slams 3x3 with 20# ball

Notes: I may replace both of these at some point with muscle cleans.

Split squats
~65x8, 10, 8

Overhead BB carry @135
(Walked 15 yards, turned around still locked out and walked back another 15 yards. Lungs were done. Only did this once.)

Nordic curls
~2, 1, 3

Notes: ouch.

Poor man’s leg extensions
~11, 8, 9

Notes: also ouch.

(These were killer, when I get to a longer rom I’ll start loading them by holding a weight plate to my chest.)

Calf presses (3 second holds at the top and in the stretched position)
~270x8, 10, 11

[CW47]

Coach - Nice Press!

BG - What exactly is a "Poor man's leg extension"?


January 14, 2023
Seated Overhead Press
80 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps

Seated Overhead Pin Press
80 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Upright Cable Row
10 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

DB Lateral Raise
15's - 3 sets x 12 reps

[BeginnerGainz]

Coach - Nice Press!

BG - What exactly is a "Poor man's leg extension"?


January 14, 2023
Seated Overhead Press
80 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps

Seated Overhead Pin Press
80 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

Upright Cable Row
10 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps

DB Lateral Raise
15's - 3 sets x 12 reps

These things.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QSaM43NNFbM

[coachcalande]

40 min run, mostly on the hill, restrained that calf. It is what it is there.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Congrats on the squat PR!!

--

Another SS workout with Squat/bench/deadlift

Modified squat to be ramped up 3x5

Did cheat curls afterwards, 135x10

[CW47]

High Bar Squat
275 pounds x 1 rep
225 pounds x 3 reps [PR]

Lying Leg Curl
90 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Both the top single and the back off set on squats were a little more difficult than I wanted. Good thing I didn't know what my PR was - I tied it and would likely have loaded up more if I had known.