Deload Week!

Time to get swole (read: fat).

Over Head Press. Week 3 Cycle 1.

Today's excellent workout  marks the end of cycle 9 (and cycle 1 for OHP). I'm looking forward to the perfectly timed deload week as I'm headed to New Orleans until next Sunday. Anyway, today's final set called for a weight of 180lbs. In week one I did 160x7, week 2 170x5 and so today, in week 3, I was expected to get 180x3 (as I've mentioned before, for every 5lbs added to the bar I can safely subtract 1 rep for pressing movements). Anyway, I surprised myself with four reps. After that final set I did four sets of singles, keeping the weight the same at 180lbs. My shoulder endurance is weak, but the power is still there after only resting a minute. So I guess I'm just making sure I'm getting enough work in at that final working weight.

For assistance work I did 7 sets of 135x5 OHP. All the reps were paused (video below). I supersetted these with weighted chins (3 reps @+90lbs).

Goals for today:

140x5
160x3
180x1

Lifted:

140x5
160x3
180x4

Video of final set and assistance set below:

Deadlifts. Week 3 Cycle 9.

Good deadlift session today. This cycle has been the first that I've done dead-stop deadlifts starting with 425x5 (just hitting prescribed reps) in week 1, 455x7 in week 2, and today with 475x6, which went better than the 5 reps I expected to get, with a couple in the tank -- I need to get used to the fact that I can allow myself to take a few seconds, reset my grip and catch my breath with the deadstops. It's also fun to think that the impetus for getting on a program and starting 5/3/1 was because I was demoralized when I failed to budge a 460lb deadlift during one of my many misguided training sessions.

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Progress for week 3 deadlifts over last 9 cycles:

• Cycle 1: 400x7
• Cycle 2: 405x10
• Cycle 3: 415x10
• Cycle 4: 425x10
• Cycle 5: 430x11
• Cycle 6: 440x10 
• Cycle 7: 455x10 (this and all previous sets were touch-n-go)
• Cycle 8: Smolov squats
• Cycle9: 475x6 (deadstop)

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Goals for today:

365x5
425x3
475x1

Lifted:

365x5
425x3
475x6

Assistance work:

I did a pyramid of front squats: 135x1, 185x1, 225x1, 275x1, 315x1, 275x1, 225x3, 225x3 all supersetted with  weighted chinups with 90lbs of weight added.

Video of final set below:

Bench. Week 3 Cycle 8

I know Monday is international bench-bro day, but, whateva, I'm a maverick. I continue to just hit the prescribed 5/3/1 reps for bench while doing a few submaximal singles afterwards. This seems to be working and I'm closing in on my year-end goal of 300lbs. Today I did a submaximal single at 285, no spot, and it went right up (when I started 5/3/1, 260lbs was my absolute, grinding the shit out of it, 15 second rep, max). Anyway, I'm feeling confident that I'll have a 300lb submax single in the next one or two cycles. If this happens, I'll have reached the big three goals for the year, as I've already hit my 450+ squat (475lbs), and my 500+ deadlift (515lbs submax single). Rawr.

Also, I normally don't give lifting advice on here, mainly, because I don't know anything, but, in my experience, upper-body lifts respond better in terms of building strength when you leave one or two in the tank. Lower body lifts you can more often get away with going balls out. Again, this is just my personal experience.


Goals for today:

215x5
240x3
270x1

Lifted:

215x5
240x3
270x1
280x1
285x1


assistance work:

• dumbbell bench pyramid: 40x3,70x3,100x3,110x3,120x4,100x10
• dips: 5 sets of 10 (20 seconds rest)

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Progress for week 3 bench over the last 8 cycles:

• Cycle 1: 220x2 (this was to failure and actually failed a 3rd rep. Video here.)
• Cycle 2: 225x5
• Cycle 3: 230x7
• Cycle 4: 235x7
• Cycle 5: 240x6 ( in other weeks, progress on bench slowed way down or went backwards at times)
• Cycle 6: 245x6 (stopped making progress on bench)
• Cycle 7: 250x1 (prescribed reps only)
• Cycle8: 285x1 (prescribed reps only)

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Video of 270 bench (failed at filming 285)

Video of 120db bench (my little twig arms shake like a leaf)

Squats. Week 3 Cycle 9 & Over Head Press Week 2 Cycle 1

Didn't update yesterday, sorry -- I'll get to yesterday's workout in a second. Today was the final day of squats for cycle 9, with a final working set of 450lbs. This was psyching me out pretty bad, especially since 455 was one of my two lifts on my max attempt day after completing Smolov, and I remembered the weight feeling heavy.  Anyway, this cycle I had lifted 405x8, 425x6, and so today I figured I should get 450 for 3 or 4. However, after my warm up and first two working sets, I wasn't feeling too confident about getting any reps. Adrenaline prevailed, however, and I got 3. They weren't pretty or particularly deep, so...meh. Better than none, though! I think next cycle I'll just add 5lbs to my working max.

Goals:

355x5
405x3
450x1

Lifted:

355x5
405x3
450x3

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Progress over last 9 cycles:
cycle 1: 345x4
cycle 2: 355x5
cycle 3: 365x6
cycle 4: 370x6 
cycle 5: 380x7
cycle6: 390x6
cycle7: 400x7
cycle8: Smolov & new max #'s
cycle9:450x3 
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Video of final set below:

Assistance work:
I did a few singles with 405, then a speed set of 315x10 then front squats: 5 sets of 275x1 supersetted with chinups.

As for over head press, nothing special happened. Just the usual. The final weight was 170lbs and since I had lifted 160x7 the week prior, I knew I should get 5 reps for week 2 (+5lbs equals -1 rep for me on upperbody lifts). This is exactly what happened.

Goals:

135x3
150x3
170x3

Lifted:

135x3
150x3
170x5


Assistance work:

• 5 sets of 5 reps at 135 OHP (paused at the bottom for each rep). 
• Dumbbell shrugs and dumbbell curls (for the ladies)

Deadlifts. Week 2 Cycle 9

So last deadlift workout I decided I would just do the prescribed reps since it had been over a month since I deadlifted last and also because I was starting to work dead-stop deads instead of touch-and-go.Anyway,  today I decided to try for more than the prescribed reps (3+ day) and I picked 7 as the number I wanted to hit -- that's exactly what I got. I may have had one or two left in me, but I am trying to be good about leaving one or two in the tank.

Goals for today:

330x3
405x3
455x3

Lifted:

330x3
405x3
455x7
515x1 (testing another submaximal single, last one for a while. This was very easy, too)


Assistance work:

6 sets of front squats @ 275x1 supersetted with weighted chinups for three reps at 90lbs.


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Week 2 progress over the last 9 cycles:

Cycle 1 Week 2: 375x11
Cycle 2 Week 2: 385x11
Cycle 3 Week 2: 395x12
Cycle 4 Week 2: 400x13
Cycle 5 Week 2: 410x13
Cycle 6 Week 2: 415x13
Cycle 7 Week 2: 425x13 (+50lbs and +2 reps)
Cycle 8: NA
Cycle 9 Week 2: 455x7 (dead stop)
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Video of final set below:

Video of 515x1

Bench. Week 2 Cycle 8*

Oh god, it's been a while since I benched. So sometime in September or October my bench stalled. I decided to just hit prescribed reps for a cycle and see if that helped. It didn't, really: I went out of town in December and benched 225x9, which was less than I had benched in August (225x10). After I came home from that vacation is when I started Smolov for squats and Smolov Jr. for overhead press. No benching at all. Well, after that month,  I messed around on the bench and noticed I was a good bit stronger. So I decided to up the working weight for bench and just continue to hit prescribed reps. Now that I'm training the overhead press I feel confident that this will positively affect my bench and so far this seems to be the case. I've done two bench workouts and I've felt strong. The weight has been flying up. My year end goal for bench is in sight.

Summary: the less I go all out on bench, the faster it improves. Also - over head press.

Goals for the day:

205x3
230x3
255x3

Lifted:

205x3
230x3
255x3
270x1 <-- Just testing out 5lbs over my old PR before starting 5/3/1. This flew up ridiculously fast. Woo.

Assistance work:

Dumbbell bench press: 50x3, 70x3, 90x3,100x3,110x3, 120x3,110x3,100x10. I like this pyramid.
Dips: 5 sets of 10

Sorry no video today, gym was packed.

Squats. Week 2 Cycle 9

Today begins the second week of cycle 9. In week one of this cycle I did 405x8 for squats. I know that, for myself, for every extra ten lbs added to the bar I can safely subtract 1 rep from what I can do. So 425 being 20lbs more than 405, I knew I should hit six reps today. That's exactly what happened. Also, now that I'm using heavier weights, I need to change up my approach to the final set a bit. If I took longer breaks between the initial reps, I think I could get another rep or two out of my sets. I'll try doing this next time.

Goals for today:

330x3
375x3
425x3

Lifted:

330x3
375x3
425x6


Assistance work:

8 sets of front squats @ 225lbs for 3 reps
A double @ 315 and two failed attempts at 335.(whoops, I really don't like to go to failure).

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Week 2 progress over the last 9 cycles:

• Cycle 1: 330x4
• Cycle 2: 335x5
• Cycle 3: 345x7
• Cycle 4: 350x8
• Cycle 5: 360x8
• Cycle 6: 370x8
• Cycle 7: 375x8
• Cycle8: N/A (smolov)
• Cycle9: 425x6 

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Video of final set below:

My first 315 double for front squat:

















335lb front squat fail (tried twice, just didn't have the upper back strength. I think the double wore me out too much)

Overhead Press. Week 1 Cycle 1.

I've decided to replace the clean and jerk with the overhead press in the hopes that this will help push my bench progress along at a faster rate. The clean and jerk really works the triceps, but pretty much takes the shoulders out of the equation. Anyway, I ran smolov jr. for OHP concurrently with Smolov for squats to get my shoulders at least used to the movement. I ended up with an OHP max of 190lbs. Today's weight called for 160 and with a max of 190 I figured 6-7 reps is what I should be able to manage.  Yup.

Goals for today:

125x5
140x5
160x5

Lifted:

125x5
140x5
160x7


Assistance work:

• 10 sets of clean to press @135lbs x 3 reps per set. supersetted with 10 sets of chin ups @ 5 reps per set.
• Shrugs (haven't shrugged in over a year), I figure I should try and get some traps. 4 sets of 8 reps @ 70, 90, 100, 110 lb db's. 
• Curls two sets of 8 reps with the 40s. Haha, I can't curl at all, it's pathetic. 

Video of final set below:

Bonus Video. The reverse clean and press. These are fun.

Deadlifts. Week 1 Cycle 9

So my body keeps telling me to take a few days off, especially since I sit around all day in the library which just makes the soreness worse. But boredom > soreness, so I went to the gym this morning.  I decided to ease back into some deadlifts since it's been almost two months since I've done any.

By 'ease back' I mean I just hit the prescribed reps, since, like I keep complaining about,  my back is a hot mess. I wanted to test some submaximal singles as well -- I was going to go up to the low/mid 500's but then I realized the ridiculously thick plates at my gym only allow for five plates to be put on the bar (the fives, tens, 25's are nearly just as thick as the 45's). Overall, things went very well and I'm looking forward to going all out on my sets in the coming weeks. I may need to increase my working weights as well, since Smolov seems to have added significant strength to my deads (my deadlift tends to be about 100lbs more than my squat).

You'll notice a change in my form, too. I've gone from stop-and-go to dead stop, mainly for the fact that it should help my power off the floor. Also, being able to reset my grip between each rep makes them easier in that respect. 

In other news, I'm weighing in at a leaner 177lbs.

Goals for today:

335x5
375x5
425x5

Lifted:

335x5
375x5
425x5
475x1
495x1

Assistance work (I wanted to do more, but had to leave the gym early)

Front squats:

135 lb x 5 reps
225 lb x 3 reps
295 lb x 1 reps
295 lb x 1 reps
315 lb x 1 reps
225 lb x 3 reps

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Week 1 Progress over last 9 cycles:

• Cycle 1: 355x13
• Cycle 2: 365x12
• Cycle 3 :370x14
• Cycle 4: 380x15
• Cycle 5: 385x15
• Cycle 6: 395x15 
• Cycle 7: 400x17
• Cycle 8: 405x15 (out of town)
• Cycle 9: 425x5 (just hitting prescribed reps) (also change in form)

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Video of final sets below:

Squats. Week 1 Cycle 9 (?)

Okay, back on 5/3/1 today. I'm a moron (for many reasons) but today especially for starting back on 5/3/1 by doing squats, seeing as I've had one day off from Smolov wherein I squatted on 17 separate sessions in the last month. Anyway, I've recalculated my numbers based on my new max, and today's week 1 called for a final set of 405 for 5+. My plan was just to go in and do the 5 reps but I'm pretty bad at moderation. Anyway, the last time I used a weight near 405 for squats was 400lbs in week 3 of Cycle 7 for which I did 7 reps. Today I got 8 much faster and cleaner reps. I would've liked to have done 10, but my body wasn't having that (and rightfully so). Anyway, it's good to be back, sorry for no cool pictures of me looking really awesome while lifting, but my computer with photoshop crashed.

By the way, Goal 1 of 4 has been officially completed for the year (450+lb squat). 

Life update: Not that you're here to read some emo myspace/xanga posts, but here is what my life is outside of going to the gym: 1. Wait to hear back from graduate schools. I am trying to get a Master's in Latin pedagogy. 2. Go to the library and read Latin, Spanish (I suck at Spanish), Italian (still learning grammar), and then read some history and and maybe something else for pleasure. That's it! I try to eat a lot, too. It's a good life, but a pretty selfish one.

Goals for today:

315x5
355x5
405x5+

Lifted:

315x5
355x5
405x8


Assistance work:

• Front squats @ 135x3, 185x1, 225x1, 275x1, 315x1, 315x1, 275x1, 275x1, 275x1, 275x1, 225x3, 135x3
• Body weight pull-ups for 4 sets of 5.

Week 1 progress over the last 9 cycles

• 310x6 - cycle 1 
• 315x7- cycle 2 
• 325x10 - cycle 3 
• 335x8 - cycle 4
• 340x10 - cycle 5 
• 350x10 - cycle 6
• 355x10 - cycle 7
• 365x10 - cycle 8
• 405x8 - cycle 9

Video of final set below:

I need to change my clothes.

Hi. I'm Back!

It's been about a month since I've posted. Here's what's up: I was getting worn out mentally on 5/3/1 as I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to best every previous workout. Anyway, I took a bit of a mental break by doing Smolov for squats. Here are the results:



















Smolov is a great program, I learned a good deal about what the body is capable of in terms of recovery. Squatting 4x a week also helped to improve my squat form. the 50lbs it added to my max was nice, too.

Now that I've taken this break, I'll be returning to 5/3/1 shortly. See you around.