Today told me a lot… and brings about many changes.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 2

• 3 reps – Bench Press (working max: 240#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x95
  • 1x5x120
  • 1x3x145
  • 1x3x170 (work)
  • 1x3x195
  • 1x4x220
• Asst. #1 – Bench Press
  • 1 x 8 x 185
  • 1 x 6 x 185
  • 1 x 10 x 155
  • 1 x 6 x 155
  • 1 x 10 x 120
• Asst. #2 – Chin-ups – band assist
  • 5 x ??? x BW
• Pump superset
  • Flat Bench DB Flies
  • JM Press
  • Hammer Cheat Curls
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m now trying to focus on my bench pressing technique. I spent time on squat and deadlift, but hey… we’re guys, benching is just something innate in us, right? 😉 While I’ve done some stuff on technique, I was certainly more focused on squat and deadlift. While I’m far from an expert on those 2 lifts, I’m at enough of a point where I know what I need to know and not just need to do. Plus seeing how poorly my bench form has been… yeah… I’m risking shoulder problems or other issues if I don’t fix things now. So, time to focus on bench.

As I’ve been reading too much Dave Tate and watching too many Dave Tate videos, I see some of my problems, I find cues to make them better. The biggest realization? Benching is not about the chest — it’s about triceps. And my triceps suck. I see it. I press, and as I approach lock-out my elbows no longer point 45º — my shoulder rotates and my elbows are now 90º, perpendicular to my body. No no no… bad. Oh sure, that’s how the bodybuilders do it, but that’s not my goal. So today I was doing all sorts of things to fix my form:

• grip the bar harder
• rest on the traps
• foot/leg positioning should be such that you keep the weight on the traps
• brought my grip in slightly, so my pinkies are on the rings instead of my ring finger
• keep elbows tucked all the way through
• lock out, all the way out
• keep the whole body tight… especially the lower body… and drive drive drive!
• ensure the bar touches at the same spot every time, just below the nipples
• press up, not so much driving back towards the uprights

and the list can go on.

Consequently, I didn’t get as many reps @ 220# as I hoped to. But that’s OK. I’d rather fix my form and bench tomorrow than keep going and blow something out.

In fact, I’m thinking about dropping my weight. Not sure by how much just yet, but dropping weight and allowing focus on form. I might drop my Press too, since that’s so much about lockout.

I mean, when I was JM Pressing, I kept the weight really really light and ensured elbows stayed tucked and I got a true lock-out every rep. I really need to bring up my triceps.

And so, here’s where my head will focus for a while.

As for other things….

I’m going to stop the Scooby-style chinups. It’s just too hard on my elbows at this stage. Sucks to be heavy and weak. But I did dig out the bands at the gym. It’s not an ideal setup because the bar isn’t high enough (I have to bend at the knees and keep my feet back) and the band thing has a loop at the end for a foot to go into. So… I have to work on finding a way to make it go. But I’m going to try band-assist for while so I can get more reps in. We’ll see how it goes.

Anyways…. onwards to a better bench.

Since the squats didn’t kill me, I reckon they made me stronger.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, week 2

• 3 reps – Squat (working max: 280#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x115
  • 1x5x140
  • 1x3x170
  • 1x3x200 (work)
  • 1x3x225
  • 1x6x255 (rep PR)
• Asst. #1 – Squat
  • 1 x 6 x 225
  • 1 x 8 x 185
  • 1 x 6 x 185
  • 1 x 10 x 135
  • 1 x 8 x 135
• Asst. #2A – Pulldown Abs
  • 5 x 15 x 120
• Asst. #2B – Other stuff….
  • Figured my glutes and hams need some additional work… more below

Today felt really strong, really good. Yeah… I still cannot say squats are my favorite movement, but I certainly don’t hate them so much any more — and I don’t fear them so much either. I just got under the bar and moved that fucking weight. My technique is improving, and while I still waver, I’m happy at my progress. Heck… while 255 cetainly isn’t the most I’ve squatted, I never have done 255 for 6 reps. And I’ll tell you, that 5th rep was hard and normally I would have stopped, but I knew I needed 6 to make a PR and I pushed… I yelled… I’m glad the gym was empty. 🙂 What’s the worst? I drop the bar on the rack… oh well. But it didn’t happen, and while it wasn’t the prettiest squat, I was determined to get it and did. I felt good.

I don’t know if it’s fixing my diet to eat more/better… or that I’m back on 3x week and getting a better training effect via the supercompensation curve. But whatever. That was good.

Even the assistance squats were killing me and tough. Good. But I pressed on as hard as I could.

That said, I called an audible. I don’t think doing the chins every single workout is going to be right for me. I think it’ll overtax me and I’m already pushing pretty hard here. Instead, I think I need to just do the chins on my bench press and press days, and instead pick up something else to fix my squat and deadlift issues. The chins “every day” was fine during 2x workout, but I had doubts if it was right for the 3x workouts.

See, I notice my squat problem is I get down to parallel, I can get out of the hole, but then about 1/2-way-ish up I stall. I’ve found some arm drive (i.e. just press the bar up like I’m trying to do a behind-the-neck military press) does help a lot to get over that hump. But what does that tell me is my weak point? There’s an old EliteFTS article that gives a very simple look at determining weak points and how to deal with it. According to that, my weak point is hips/glues, and to fix it I need to “Develop accelerative strength, prolong rate of force production”. Hrm…. I need to read up on that. I’ve been reading all this Dave Tate and Louie Simmons “Westside” stuff and so my brain is thinking about “dynamic day” or using bands, but I really don’t want to go full Westside; I like 5/3/1 and would like to stay with it, so what can I do to overcome it?

So today, I ended up doing some hyperextensions and leg curls to finish things out… just rep out until I couldn’t move the weight (or my body, in the case of the hypers). But I’m not sure if I’ll use precisely those. I’m sure the ideal movement would be glute-ham raises, but such a bench is lacking at my gym, and doing them from the floor apparently isn’t quite the same. So… I dunno. Going to read and research.

Updated: Hrm. Pull-throughs might work. Sure, GHR’s seem to be the best, but need special equipment. So looking at the short-list of other recommended exercises for glutes and hams vs. what equipment I have… it’s either good mornings or pull-throughs. I think I might give pull-throughs a try.

Today was… there.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 15, Press 1

• 5 reps – Press (working max: 165#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x65
  • 1x5x85
  • 1x3x100
  • 1x5x110 (work)
  • 1x5x125
  • 1x6x140
• Asst. #1 – Press
  • 1 x 8 x 125
  • 1 x 6 x 110
  • 1 x 6 x 95
  • 1 x 8 x 85
  • 1 x 10 x 65
• Asst. #2 – Chin-ups Scooby Step 4B
  • 5 x 1 up, hold, slow negative x BW
• Pump superset
  • Upright rows
  • Triceps Pressdown
  • Preacher Curls
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure

So today was a mixed bag.

The Press work sets were really strong at first, but the last 2 sets were off. I focused hard on keeping tight… grab that bar, squeeze it to death, get under it, tighten everything else up, lift off, step back, retighten lower body (squeeze the glutes), press. I also tried to get at least the first 2-3 reps on a single breath, tho I did take a breath during the retighten phase… but hold it through the first 2-3 reps. That seemed to work really well and the weights just flew up. But then the last sets, I felt shakey…. truly, the body just felt trembly and not so hot. Not sure why… .maybe the Sudafed (yes, still sick but improving… no more sore throat, just some stuffy/runny nose and now hacking up the phlegm here and there).

The assistance Pressing I started too heavy and didn’t pyramid down in large enough steps, so the reps were low. But I pushed each set, sometimes having the last rep be a bit of a push-press.

Chins… I just did one (or towards the end, had to jump up to ensure my chin was over the bar), held for as long as I could (10-15 seconds), then slowly lowered myself to full dead hang. 2 minutes rest between sets here.

Then the final superset. I actually wanted to do Scott Curls (because Larry Scott’s arms were awesome), but just did Preachers. I was upset that I forgot to do one of Larry’s suggestions, which was to fully curl the bar — start by curling up at the wrist, then keep curling at the elbows. My point of these exercises is to work forearms, grip, etc..

As I keep reading a bunch of Date Tate and Louie Simmons stuff, I think my triceps are my current weak point in pressing. So I am hoping that my extra emphasis on some arm work will help me out here, especially those JM Presses. My weights right now on these final assistance sets isn’t quite where it should be, but it’s all initial weights and I’ll eventually find the groove with them.

Finally a little time to write about the training change.

You may have noticed I changed from lifting 2x week to 3x. It was motivated by math, and put over by curiosity.

First, after hitting my bench press PR of 225#, the gym owner asked me what my goal was. I said 230# (thank you, Jim Wendler), but I know his larger point was my long-term goal. In that case, it’s totalling 1000#. I know that’s not much in the world of lifting, but it’s still a milestone…. and I have to total 1000 before I can total 1001, y’know?

Well, I went back and did the math. 2x week means about 8 cycles per year. At that rate and the rate of progression, I risked not making it. I had my brain still set to numbers from before my weight loss diversion, and I have lost strength and reset my lifts. Consequently, where my total was vs. where it is now? I’ve lost ground and have to make it up. Thus making 1000 before the end of 2013 just wasn’t going to happen on paper, especially when you consider with 8 cycles there’s fair chance of a reset in there.

Plus I wondered about my progress and how things have really slowed down. I think back to my Mark Rippetoe readings and the notion of “supercompensation”. Basically, I wonder if once a week is too long for me. Basically, 2x week means I work lower body once every 7 days and upper body once every 7 days. Is that too long? Am I getting past that supercompensation window peak? When I train 3x week it’s 4-5 days before that group is trained again. 4 days vs. 7 days. Hrm. I was making fair gains at 3x week. I wonder if this is a factor. I primarily went 2x due to the new job situation, but that’s finding a balance and groove, and I think 3x is going to be better for me. So that put me over.

Furthermore, working out seems to help my recovery. Blood gets pumping, soreness goes down.

My general approach remains the same tho:

• Follow 5/3/1 program
• Main lift is 5/3/1 style, focus on strength.
• Assistance is essentially Boring But Big
• First assistance lift is the same lift as the main lift, any other assistance work is to bring up weak points.
• Assistance work is primarily done by pyramiding down. The main assistance lift will be 5 sets of 6-10 reps, aiming to get 10 reps with whatever weight makes it hard to get 10 reps. Subsequent sets use the same weight until I can only crank out 6, then drop the weight and continue. If the last set can be lighter weight and more reps, all the better. The point is for every set to be tough (because straight sets across doesn’t allow for that), focus on more reps. Build some muscle. Rest only about 90 seconds between sets. When dropping weight, if possible keep it simple (e.g. 45’s and 25’s).
• Other assistance work is whatever is appropriate for that need.
• On bench press and press days, the last exercise is a superset of exercises for chest, biceps, and triceps. 3 sets, 8-15 reps. Similar scheme as the main assistance lift. Only difference is on the last set, stay on that same exercise and drop weight, then keep going before rotating to the next body part. About 90 seconds between sets.
• Walk to/from the gym each day. On “off days” walk more. Won’t be a lot, may just be taking the dog for a few laps around the block, but still, walk.
• Eat well. Don’t skimp on protein, at least 1.0g per #, maybe 1.5-ish on lower-carb days. On workout days, eat carbs… don’t go nuts, but ensure there are good carbs. On non-workout days, minimal carbs are a goal (fiber is good tho). I don’t want to get fat, I do want to get strong. Adjust as needed.
• Foam roller is my friend.

We’ll see how this goes. The workouts are more intense, 3x week, but well… this is what gives me the best shot at making 1000 by the end of 2013. I still might not make it, but if progress has been good and steady I won’t be upset because I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and I’ll get there.

Really, in some respects I think squatting 315# is the next “wouldn’t that be cool?” goal for me. Or heck, 300# first. 300 will be cool for sure, but squatting 3 wheels will be a nicer visual. 🙂  Maybe by late Spring.

Also, I’ve been reading a lot of Dave Tate eBooks. First, damn funny gun. Second, damn knowledgeable guy, not just about lifting, but about business and life too. I realized after the 225# bench press that I’ve spent a lot of time working on my squat and deadlift technique. And while those lifts still have a ways to go, I haven’t focused much on my bench press technique. Sure I did a few things, but after I got set up I pretty much left it. I want to spend more time focusing on the finer technical details of the bench press, just like I have the other 2 lifts. More reading ahead, and probably time to watch So You Think You Can Bench again.

Train on!

Yeah, you shouldn’t work out when you’re sick… but it’s the only way to feel better. At least I went when the gym was empty.

“Week 1”

• 5 reps – Deadlift (working max: 345#)
  • 1x5x140 (warmup)
  • 1x5x175
  • 1x3x210
  • 1x5x225 (work)
  • 1x5x260
  • 1x9x295 (rep PR)
• Asst. #1 – Deadlift
  • 1 x 6 x 225
  • 1 x 6 x 225
  • 1 x 6 x 185
  • 1 x 6 x 185
  • 1 x 10 x 135
• Foam Rolling

A couple days ago I started feeling sick. Nothing major (e.g. knocked down with the flu, curled up in the fetal position in bed), but sore and scratchy throat, stuffy/runny nose, mild cough, more sneezing than usual. I’ve been well enough to work my job, just from home so I don’t spread my germs around (joys of being a programmer). Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have gone to lift, but I went very early when no one else would be around. And really… it was the best I’ve felt in the past couple days — I could breathe! 🙂

The work sets went great. I felt strong. I set a rep PR. Of course, I’ve lifted far more than 295, but last time I specifically did 295 I only got 8 reps. So getting 9 was welcome. The cool thing was truly feeling it in my hamstrings and glutes — they were worked hard.

I did think about pulling a “jack shit” today, but I opted to cool down with some additional deadlifts. I intentionally kept the reps at 6 and slowly worked my way down. After that, just foam rolled and left. I skipped the chins and abs work, because that was enough… I did have to remember I was sick, so totally killing myself isn’t a good thing.

But this was just what I needed. It lifted my spirits. I might regret the lifts if I get more ill because I’ve broken my body down a little more, but well… I’ll deal with it. 🙂

Oh yes, today was a good day.

“Week 1”

• 5 reps – Bench Press (working max: 240#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x95
  • 1x5x120
  • 1x3x145
  • 1x5x160 (work)
  • 1x5x180
  • 1x8x205 (PR – tie)
• Asst. #1 – Bench Press
  • 1 x 8 x 185
  • 1 x 8 x 160
  • 1 x 8 x 140
  • 1 x 8 x 135
  • 1 x 12 x 95
• Asst. #2 – Chin-ups Scooby Step 4B
  • 5 x 1 x BW — hold for as long as I can, then slow descend
• Pump superset
  • Flat Bench DB Flies
  • JM Press
  • Hammer Cheat Curls
  • 3 sets, 8-15 reps, enough weight to make it hard; on 3rd set immediately drop weight and keep going to failure
• Foam Rolling

Today was good.

First, I’m trying a switch back to 3x week. I’ll elaborate on that another time.

Second, I was happy to meet a previous rep PR @ 205. Would have been nicer to beat it, but at least meeting it is good for me given the past couple months.

I am liking the pyramid down setup with assistance work. Hurts so good.

Chins… this is going to kick my ass. 🙂 I basically did 1 chinup to get up there, then held as long as I could. Once I started to descend from exhaustion, I just slowly lowered myself each time.

And the pump set? I’m not really keeping track of that, but I will say I really dug JM Presses. First time ever doing them, but I think they’re going to become a happy favorite for triceps work.

Really a good session.

Oh, this new program hurts…. in a good way.

“Week 1”

• 5 reps – Squat (working max: 280#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x115
  • 1x5x140
  • 1x3x170
  • 1x5x185 (work)
  • 1x5x215
  • 1x6x240
• Asst. #1 – Squat
  • 1 x 5 x 225
  • 1 x 10 x 185
  • 1 x 6 x 185
  • 1 x 10 x 135
  • 1 x 8 x 135
• Asst. #2A – Chin-ups Scooby Step 4A
  • 1 x 3/5 x BW
  • 1 x 1/7 x BW
  • 1 x 0/8 x BW
• Asst. #2B – Pulldown Abs
  • 3 x 15 x 120
• Foam Rolling

Wow… always a good sign when you get to the cusp of throwing up. 🙂

On the squat front, I hate that my numbers are down, but I know my form is so much better. I’m going deeper, and it really pays off. Working on squeezing the hell out of the bar the whole time, everything tight, thinking about the set as a bunch of singles not just “5 reps”. Pushing my head back into the bar. It’s getting better. So I’ll take weight regression for better form.

And then the assistance squatting? Yeah, I like this. Keep the weight heavy, crank as many reps as I can aiming for that 8-15 range, work hard, etc.. It hurts, and I liked it.

The chin-up thing. Gah… that killed me. Was MUCH harder than I thought it was going to be. You can see I only did 3 sets instead of the 5 because geez… I was out of gas. The last reps of that last set I was basically dropping down with almost no control. So 3 sets was enough for now. That really takes it out of you! And I only had so much gas left in me for pulldown abs, but I did jack up the reps there.

I like this.

But I also realized something.

I’m not sure I’m going to hit my goals.

Gym owner asked me today that because I benched 225 last time, what was my goal? I said 230 (thank you, Jim Wendler). But I knew what he was asking, and my overall goal is totalling 1000# before the end of 2013. When I got home I did some quick math and realized that if I stay on my current course, I may not make it. I had still be going under numbers from before the attempted weight loss, where I did some big resets and lost a bunch of weight and strength. Looking at my actual numbers now coupled with my 2x week plan, I may not make it. So I need to do some re-thinking. Apart from this I actually had some thoughts about going back to a 3x or even 4x week program, and now this makes me wonder if I should pick up on that. I don’t know… this just hit me so it’s all fresh in my head and I need to think about it. I also did a lot of reading this past weekend because EliteFTS had a big sale on their eBooks and I picked up a bunch that I’ve been waiting on (I knew they’d have a sale sooner). Lots of Dave Tate readings and geez if I don’t feel a little inspired to improve on some things.

We’ll see… always thinking.

Tying a PR isn’t as good as setting a PR, but at least I’m stopping the regression.

“Week 3”

• 5/3/1 – Press (working max: 160#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x65
  • 1x5x80
  • 1x3x95
  • 1x5x120 (work)
  • 1x3x140
  • 1x3x155 (PR-tie)
• Asst. #1 – Press
  • 5 x 10/10/10/8/10 x 80/80/80/80/65
• Asst. #1 – Wide, pronated grip lat pulldowns
  • 5 x 10/10/10/10/12 x 110/110/110/110/90
• Upright rows superset with tricep pressdowns superset with barbell curls
• • 3 sets, 12-15 reps per set, then on the last set drop down weight and keep cranking to failure

I was hoping to get 4 reps and set a true PR, but it just didn’t happen. On rep 2 I started to lose my balance… and recovery from that kinda sucked things out of me. I went for 4… it just wouldn’t go up. Racked, rested for 15 seconds, tried again, no go. Oh well. At least I feel like I’ve stopped regressing. 🙂

One thing that was different — I was squeezing the hell out of the bar. I know I’m supposed to do this, but I just forget things… so many things to remember to do. But boy, that sure does make everything else tighten up, and the weight felt different… better, more like my musculature was supporting the weight and not my skeletal structure. Felt cool. That might have sapped a bit out of me too, and I’m fine with that. Any time I can improve my technique I’m happier.

I also started to blend into my workout changes… really focusing on the eccentric, being sure to get high reps and being exhausted by the time I got to the end… working to “rep out” but still relatively heavy weights. Then I did a superset of stuff at the end, not exactly counting reps… I did to ensure I got into the range but didn’t bother recording as long as I hit the range I was happy. Just work it, pump it…. felt good.

Looking forward to starting the next cycle and seeing where these changes take me.

Also happy to be walking again as a part of my program. Feels good.