I need to reset my Press.

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

• 3 Reps – Press (working max: 165#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x65
  • 1x5x85
  • 1x3x100
  • 1x3x115 (work)
  • 1x3x135
  • 1x3x150
• Asst. #1A – Press
  • 1 x 9 x 115
  • 1 x 5 x 115
  • 1 x 8 x 95
  • 1 x 8 x 85
  • 1 x 10 x 65
• Asst. #1B – band-assisted Chin-ups (superset with press)
  • 1 x 5 x BW
  • 1 x 5 x BW
  • 1 x 5 x BW
  • 1 x 4 x BW
  • 1 x 4 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

I knew going into this cycle that I was pushing my luck with my Press weights, but I did it anyways to see what I could see. I’ve not been able to really hit more than the required reps — I try for more, it doesn’t happen. Tried today to get 4 and just couldn’t. Tried to push-press it out, no. Gave it 15 seconds of rest then went back, no. So I need to reset. And I figure why not… just reset now for next week. Yeah, unorthodox, but why waste the time? If I’m barely hitting min reps, next week won’t be all the fruitful. Plus, if I’m working on my (bench) pressing form, might as well fix things here too — lighter weights will help.

Doing the math on things… my present working max is 165. Given today was truly 150 for 3 reps, that’s a pretty good indicator of where I really am. So doing the math on things, recalculating my working max (i.e. 90% of my 1RM), that puts it at 140 (comparing 5RM to 5RM). So I just plug that into my tracking spreadsheet, let it do the calculations… and geez… it feels like a HUGE step backwards — 25#. That’ll take a while to overcome again. But, if I’m better off for it in the long run, fine.

In other news… the band-assisted chins are useful. I like that and think that will help me further along my way and be less strain on my joints until everything can build up to it.

Upright rows… I forgot how much I love that exercise. But I must remember to keep the bar close to the body, almost rubbing right up and down it, to keep my shoulders happy.

No time like the present to change the program, right?

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

• 3 reps – Deadlift (working max: 345#)
  • 1x5x140 (warmup)
  • 1x5x175
  • 1x3x210
  • 1x3x245 (work)
  • 1x3x280
  • 1x7x315
• Asst. #1 – Good Mornings
  • 3 x 12/12/10 x 95
• Asst. #2A – Pullthroughs
  • 3 x 15 x 60/80/100
• Asst. #2B – Pulldown Abs (kneeling)
  • 3 x 15 x 120

Here’s the deal.

Deadlifting is very taxing on the central nervous system. You find lots of solid people recommending to NOT train the deadlift too much by doing deadlifts itself… it’ll just kill you. And so well, while I adore deadlifting, I realize right now that what I need isn’t deadlifting as much as I need to strengthen my hams and glutes. And so, I am going to shift and try to get that worked more heavily. So deadlift days will add specific assistance work targeting glutes and hams, and squat days, I might try lightening the assistance weights even more and squatting even deeper to really hit the posterior chain. There’s no question I have that as a weak point now — it’s evident in both my deadlift and my squat, so I need to work on it.

Thing is, what assistance work to do? There’s a lot of recommendations, and I’m just going to try things until I “find my Kroc Row” (if you’ve read Wendler’s books, you know what I’m referring to).

Good Mornings seem like a good way to start but… I’ve lost a lot of hamstring flexibility. I need to remedy that. Thus what I did today felt like it was hitting my lower back more because there was too much rounding. Still tho, the key seems to be to hit the glutes by squeezing the hell out of your ass cheeks to make them contract and be the muscle that does the work.

And I must say… pullthroughs are one of the most obscene looking exercises. 🙂 I got some well-deserved razzing. and boy, if I don’t feel stupid doing them. Plus I have no idea how much weight to use yet… I climbed up and up as you can see and still didn’t quite feel it. The trick tho is that I have to use a low pulley and so I gain some mechanical advantage, so the weight number is a bit deceiving.

But by the end of things, I think my glutes were a little more worked… so that’s acceptable. I just have to find out where I need to go, how many sets, how many reps, how many exercises, and just keep going. If these don’t work well… I might consider poor-man’s glute-ham raises (tho they aren’t as good as proper ones, but I lack such a bench), maybe Dimel Deadlifts, maybe stiff-legged deadlifts. We’ll see.

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.