Boatguy's DH/BFB/Juggernaut/Smolov Jr-Road back to 405FS

Training Logs
181

19 September 2018
Smolov Jr Week 3 Day 2

Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3 / 280 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
(warm up sets) Rack SGHP - 175 x 3, 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 205 x 3;
A. Standing Calf Raise - 135 x 15, 15, 15;
B. Hanging Leg Raise - 10, 10, 10;

Heading to bed last night, plan was to get up around 620-630 and head to the gym to do front squats, then come back later (after class) and do deadlifts. Was just getting into bed at 11 when my phone went off - message from our volunteer fire department (of which I am a member), residential fire requesting personnel. Got dressed again and was out the door. House was fully involved when we arrived (looked like a massive bonfire), so our efforts were defensive in nature - keep it contained and prevent spreading to surrounding trees or houses. By the time all was said and done, hoses were cleaned and restowed, air bottles refilled, everything ready to go for the next call, I got home and into bed at 530 am. I apparently passed out almost instantly, because we got toned out again for another fire and never even heard my phone go off.

So obviously, some adjustments were made to the day’s schedule. I got about 2.5 hours of sleep before heading to school (two lectures fueled by lots of coffee). Took a short nap (around 30-40 minutes) after getting home, then hit the gym. I am heading to bed right after I finish writing this, and have had a few intermittent naps since getting back to the gym. Managed to get some homework done. Skipped through some for now - I’m in no mood or mental shape to try and figure out chemistry conversion math right now.

So. Got to the gym and started doing my thang. Was expecting a crap workout since I was obviously short on sleep. Front squats ended up going pretty good, nice solid training session regardless of sleep status. Only hickup was on one of my last couple sets, I lost the ‘sweet spot’ and the bar started trying to roll forward off my shoulders. That set got broken up a little as I reset once or twice, then the rest went fine. SGHP’s supersetted with warm up sets, slowly increasing weight. After front squats, finished up with calf and abs. Deadlifts will be done tomorrow.

Knees are starting to ache a little at rest. No real issue when lifting, although in one of my last warm up sets the back of my right knee was getting a weird sensation, as if I were pinching something back there. Took a little extra time on foot setup in the next warm up set, and had no more issue. When I am driving or sitting around though, they are getting a bit achey. If I can keep them as straight as possible, that tends to take care of the ache. Meant to ice them tonight, and forgot to buy a bag (ice from our fridge is too big to be conducive to that).

1 Like
182

20 September 2018
Juggernaut
8’s Accumulation

Deadlift - 275 x 5 / 300 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;

Went and hit deadlift in the morning before class - think I mentioned before, I’m kinda digging the early morning lifts(at least for lower body). Went nice and smooth, no real issues (or much to talk about). Intended to go back in the afternoon and do some elliptical cardio, but never did.

1 Like
183

21 September 2018
AM - Smolov Jr Week 3
PM - Juggernaut
8’s Accumulation

AM
Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3 / 300 x 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4;
(with warm up sets) Hang SGHP - 175 x 3, 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 205 x 3;
A. Toe Press - 180 x 15, 15, 15;
B. Body Saw - 10, 10, 10;

PM
A. BPA (multi angle) - 30, 30; 1 Arm Cable Row - 67.5 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8;
B. Bench - 135 x 10, 175 x 5 / 205 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8;
BBB BTN Press - 65 x 10, 10, 70 x 10, 75 x 10, 10;
A. Reverse Pec Deck - 80 x 10, 10, 10;
B. Underhand Incline Cably Flye - 60 x 8, 8, 10;
Infinity Single 1 Arm Press Down - 70 x 5-5-4-3-2-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1;

Morning session went great. Did SGHP from the hang rather than the rack because the other rack was being used. First working set at 300 felt heavy, but not after that (if that makes sense). Movement felt smooth, bar speed was good. Last couple sets ended with some almost-grinder reps, but not too bad (almost like a very minor sticking point). Got the calf and ab work done as well, and got out of there.

Came back in the afternoon and had a great bench session. Chad Smith (developer of Juggernaut) originally wrote the 10 and 8 blocks as being sets of 10 and 8 (respectively), then flipped the set and rep numbers after watching too many guys struggle with the prescribed weight (and turn in some shitty looking reps). So 10 block goes 5 x 10, 8 block goes 8 x 5 (you get the gist). Sometimes, when I have recently had a layoff or had to reset my TM’s to a lower number for some reason, the weight ends up being so low that I flip the set/rep scheme back to the original - like today, with 205 being the prescribed weight. I did 5 x 8 instead of the other, and got all my reps with no issues (no grinders). Not a lot of weight, obviously, but I was happy to crank through those sets with no issue.

Sternum/clavicle juncture has been feeling lots better (no pain or soreness), so I re-introduced behind-the-neck press today. Since I haven’t done them in over a month, I started out with a rather conservative weight (65#). After two sets of 10 and no issues, I ramped up slowly and finished out with 75 pounds on the bar. Next week I’ll try starting at 75, and doing all 5 sets with it - strength in the movement didn’t seem to be an issue, but there was a definite loss of mobility due to not using that position.

Got my accessory work done, then cranked through the infinity singles for tricep pressdown. Not sure what the deal is, but I used the same weight as last week and got quite a few more reps (getting stronger?). Weird thing is I started with 80 on the stack, but the first rep felt way too heavy (like I wouldn’t get very far in the routine). We’ll see what happens next week.

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184

22 September 2018
Smolov Jr Week 3 (final day)
Bi/Tri

Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3 / 315 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
(warm up sets) Rack SGHP - 175 x 3, 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 205 x 3;
A. Standing Calf Raise - BW x 20, 20, 20;
B. Screw Curl - 30 x 10 / 45 x 8, 8, 8; C. Decline Skullcrusher - 25 x 10 / 40 x 8, 8, 8;
A. Reverse EZ Curl - 55 x 10, 10, 10; B. EOE - 40 x 10, 35 x 10, 10;

Planned on hitting the gym fairly early in the morning (I mean, relatively…not butt crack of dawn or anything…it is Saturday), but that changed when the wife came home late (3AM). One thing led to another, and then I had trouble getting back to sleep and slept in till 9. Hit the gym, feeling a bit of trepidation about doing 10 x 3 with 315. Don’t know why, guessing it’s due to all the failed reps I’ve had in the last couple months. Went through my normal mobility and warm up routine, got under the bar and crushed the workout. Felt great all the way through. Definitely felt heavy, but had no issue with form or movement. Bar tried to roll a few times, but bar speed was such that by the time I moved a little I was at the top and could shift it back into place. Kept my rest periods as close to 1:30 as I could (used a timer), but somehow by the time I finished mobility, warm up sets, and working sets, I’d been at the gym for almost an hour already. Cleaned up my mess and moved on.

Instead of supersetting calf and abs, followed by two different supersets of arms, I just added calf raises to make the first arm superset a giant set. Cranked through that, then hit the second arm supersets and got out of there barely under two hours.

Pretty happy with my front squat performance this week. Going to take next week off from front squats (but continue with the other Juggernaut lifts), then run through Smolov Jr again starting the following week. My quads look like they’ve thickened up some (no surprise), so I figure I’ll re-measure in a couple days (MON or TUE).

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185

24 September 2018
Juggernaut
8’s Intensification

A. Pullup - BW x 10, 40 x 5 / 45 x 3, 50 x 3, 55 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
B. OHP - 65 x 10, 85 x 5 / 95 x 3, 105 x 3, 115 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
BBB Underhand Incline Cable Flye - 50 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. 1 Arm Pulldown - 70 x 9, 80 x 8, 90 x 8;
B. Isodynamic Lateral Raise - 20 x 10 sec hold-10reps, 10-10, 10-10;
Lean Away Cable Lateral Raise - 30 x 8-20 x 8-10 x 10;
Gironda 8x8 Pressdown - 80 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 70 x 8, 8;

Pullups and OHP went smoothly, no real issues. Did run into one of those awesome people who like to take up as much space as possible for no reason. The only straight pullup bar in the gym is on the double cable stack thingy. I was going back and forth between pullups and OHP (per usual for me), and after I had done a few sets I come back in for my next one and this older guy (guessing mid-50’s) had pulled a bench in between the stacks and is kneeling on the bench doing some sort of random mobility/stretching motion things, followed by half-kneeling curls (still on the bench). So he is tying up both cable stacks as well as the pullup bar, without using any of them. And then when I asked if I could work in using the pullup bar, he gets this look on his face each time he had to move his bench for me. So apparently I’m the asshole.

Moved through the rest of the workout, using a different variation for delts. Isodynamic lateral raises (got them from an article on here) - basically, raise to the top position (arms straight out like a T, holding DBs) and hold for around 10 seconds. At the end of the hold, immediately do 8-12 reps of lateral raises. I’ve tried them before, but still not sure what I think of them. Might switch for something else before next week.

Followed those with cable lateral raise drop sets (one time through on both sides). Started at 30 (probably could have gone heavier to start) and went up the stack. Decent little pump, but nothing too special. Probably go heavier next week or try something different.

Finished with Gironda 8x8’s for the ol’ tris. I get a great pump on those, the last few reps you find a sticking point a few inches above lockout.

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186

25 September 2018’
Conditioning
Arms

Treadmill ‘Litvinovs’- 1/4 mi @ 12mph (call it 1:16)/remainder of 4:00 @ 3mph- 4 rounds

A1. Screw Curl - 30 x 10 / 50 x 8, 8, 8;
B1. Decline Skull - 25 x 10 / 40 x 8, 8, 8;
A2. Incline Curl - 30 x 8, 8, 8;
B2. EOE - 35 x 10, 10, 40 x 10;

Brought back an oldie-but-goodie today, haven’t done these in months. They work better on a track, but it was raining so f that. Straddle the belt, start the mill and run it up to 12mph. The treadmills at our gym kind of suck at the higher speeds (they like to slip a lot, and once they’ve slipped a couple times they shut off - really fun thing when you’re chugging along at 12mph), so I have to bump the incline up to 2.0. This seems to help with the slippage, but some of them still struggle. Wish we had a Woodway, those things are awesome. Anyway. Once it’s moving, hop on and run to the .25 mile mark, then hop off and drop the speed to 3mph. Walk until the timer reads 4:00, then reset and do it again. I do 4 rounds of these; I also use these to prep for PT tests by keeping the speed and distance the same and gradually reducing the rest period in between - I’ve done this workout with as little as 40 second rest periods, and that was on a track. Doing this got my 1.5-mile run down to 9:30 several years ago on active duty. In fact, my last PRT in the Navy I ran a 9:30 at 36 y/o.

Anyhoo. Haven’t done these in a while, and they definitely took their toll - which is why I haven’t done them during Smolov weeks. Took about a ten minute break before hitting the arms.

Arms…not much to say here. Increased weight on a couple of these, and could have increased on one or two of the rest.

Side note: there’s a little Asian kid who trains there, I see him all the time. Today was the first time I’d actually seen him do anything of ‘substance’. He was squatting, and I really wasn’t paying much attention until I glanced over and he had 275 on the bar. I was expecting a super-shaky half-squat-knee-dip at best. Boy was I wrong. Dude did 3-4 (I was a little too surprised to count) solid ATG squats, with pretty significant bar speed. He bumped up to 315, and I was staying kind of close because he’s not very big (he said he’s 165!!!) and I figured this would be near his max. Nope. Five (5) solid ATG squats with 315, and bar speed was pretty close to what he did with 275. He kept going up after that, but last weight I saw was around 330 (I think). That was right as I was leaving, and I didn’t see the set. I was pretty amazed, and a little jealous I don’t mind saying. I don’t think I was squatting my bodyweight at his age, which ironically was 165 also…

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187

26 September 2018
Juggernaut
8’s Intensification

Deadlift - 275 x 3, 310 x 3, 335 x 8, 8, 8;
A. Seated Smith Machine Calf Raise - 135 x 15, 180 x 15, 15;
B. Ab Wheel - 10, 10, 10;

Short day today, early day as well. Hit the gym before class to free up my afternoon. One of the Captains at our volunteer fire department passed away suddenly over the weekend (off duty), and his funeral was today. I had to miss the service due to class, but I made it in time for the graveside service. He was a helicopter pilot in Nam, and did mountain rescue work in Wyoming and here local with us in Tennessee. He was a great man, a true mentor, and a good friend to all who knew him. He will be missed.

(sigh) Anyway. Kind of like last week, I ‘un-inverted’ deadlifts, and did 3 x 8 since 335 isn’t very close to my max. After that I went and did my normal calf/ab stuff. Changed calves up a little today, did something I got from a co-worker last year. Our gym has a toe press machine, and a standing calf raise machine (with the yoke that sits on your shoulders), but no seated calf machine (and that’s the only one that makes me feel my inner calves working). So the work-around is this: set a bench in the smith machine, put the pussy pad on the bar, and set the height right around the level of your knees. You’ll also need something to prop your feet on, allowing the heels to hang (you’ve done calf stuff, I don’t think I need to draw a picture). Then load up, unrack and do some work. Good cramping sensation at the top, but I didn’t have anything high enough to allow a good stretch in the bottom position. I’ll have to play with that setup in the future.

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188

27 September 2018
Juggernaut
8’s Intensification

A. Band Pull Apart (multi-angle) - 30, 30, 30; MX Row - 82.5 x 8, 8, 8, 87.5 x 8;
1 Arm Cable Row - 67.5 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
B. Bench - 135 x 10 / 185 x 3, 210 x 3, 225 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
BBB BTN Press - 65 x 10, 70 x 10, 75 x 10, 10, 10;
A. Reverse Pec Deck - 90 x 10, 10, 10;
B. Underhand Incline Cable Flye - 60 x 9, 9, 10;
Infinity Single Pressdown - 70 x 5-4-3-2-1-1-1-1-1-1;

Bumped bench and row up to Thursday rather than Friday. Had a good day in the gym, all told.

Supersetted band pull aparts with the first three ‘ramping’ sets, then switched to MX rows. For these, you have some options for handles, basically whatever allows for a comfortable position when you are extended overhead. I use two long single cable handles clipped to the same biner. Set up as if doing rows, except the pulley will be above face height rather than mid-torso(ish). I do my rows in an athletic-type squat position, so for these as you extend the arms in a line toward the pulley your hips will come up some as you lean forward to put the arms in an overhead position, looking for a stretch in the lats once you get fully extended. Then as you row toward your lower ribs/waist, you lower your hips back into the squat and lean slightly back - so the angle of pull starts directly overhead then transitions throughout the move to (basically) horizontal into the waist (due to the backward lean). The body movement is done smoothly, and without jerking or excessive body english - the goal is to keep tension on the lats rather than yanking the weight while pumping the hips up and down. Not sure if that was a good description, maybe I’ll shoot video (if I don’t forget).

MX Row took up four of the working sets, while I did 1 arm cable rows for the final four. Really dig those two movements, especially paired like that. Cable rows really hit my lats, and doing MX rows before seems to ‘prime’ the pump, so to speak.

Moved on to behind the neck press, these are getting better. Since I didn’t do them for several weeks due to my clavicle issue (more on that later), I’d lost some mobility in the shoulders. I can still do them pain-free, but there is some slight discomfort and the movement just feels tight. Not pushing a lot of weight on these, so no worries.

Finished the main workout with reverse pec deck and underhand flyes, increasing weight on one and reps on the other. Went from that directly into the infinity single pressdowns for tris again. Was definitely feeling the workout, I stalled out on singles quite a bit earlier than usual.

189

28 September 2018
Arms

A1. Screw Curl - 30 x 10 / 55 x 6, 6, 6, 6;
B1. Dip - BW x 10 / 50 x 8, 60 x 8, 70 x 8, 8;
A2. Reverse EZ Curl - 65 x 10, 10, 10;
B2. EOE - 40 x 10, 10, 10;

Skipped cardio today since I planned on hitting open mat (BJJ) on Saturday - this was also why I pushed a couple days to the left this week.

Just did arms, pushing the weights up a bit and adding dips back in - haven’t done those in a bit (felt good though - now to work on that weight). Not much to say here - just another bro-workout, pumpin the gunz.

The next day, Saturday, I went back to open mat at one of the local BJJ places. I mentioned before (I think) how I had a minor injury to my left clavicle/sternum juncture and had to take some time off the mat to let it heal. Lifting wasn’t bothering it, aside from a couple specific exercises which I dropped for the time being (such as behind the neck press). The joint was feeling good, completely pain free, a couple weeks ago. However, since I was doing Smolov Jr and squatting on Saturdays, I skipped open mat for a couple more weeks so nothing interfered with Smolov sessions, and to give the joint a little extra time (even added behind the neck press back in just to see how it was, with no issues). Well, went back in on Saturday and guess what…same injury came back again. All our rolling is from the knees, so I’m not taking any impacts to the area (according to multiple internet sites, this is the primary cause of this issue). Being a bigger guy, I roll mostly with guys my size and bigger, and I think that’s what caused it (and brought it back). I’m rusty as hell since I haven’t trained since '09 or '10, and I wasn’t exactly great back then. My defense is decent though, so I keep ending up in a bad position under guys carrying 20+ more pounds than me. And oddly enough, I end up on my left side a lot, carrying dude’s weight on my right side. Anyway, I’m guessing as to what is actually causing it, but I know it’s coming from BJJ. Which is frustrating as hell, cause I was enjoying being back on the mat.

So here starts another __ weeks off the mat.

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190

Been there done that with calf work.

191

What do you mean?

192

Seated calf raises without a machine. I set the pins in the squat rack to knee height and put my feet on a small step up box (2-3”) and I use a bar with a pad because 225 is heavy as hell on the knee

193

That’s what I thought you meant. It never occurred to me to use that set up, until I saw my shift lead doing it in the gym a couple trips back. It was like an epiphany.

Though, honestly, I still don’t use it as often as I should because I let my laziness take over. “I really don’t feel like moving all that stuff to set that up, and then have to put it back when I’m done.”

1 Like
194

I thought I invented that :cry:

1 Like
195

1 October 2018
Juggernaut
8’s Realization
Juggernaut (2nd round, first week)

AM
Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3 / 260 x 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6;
(warm up sets) Rack SGHP - 180 x 3, 190 x 3, 200 x 3, 210 x 3;
A. Toe Press - 180 x 15, 15, 15;
B. Ab Wheel - 10, 10, 10;

PM
A. Pullup - BW x 10 / 40 x 5, 50 x 3, 55 x 2, 60 x 1, 65 x 8;
B. OHP - 65 x 10 / 85 x 5, 95 x 3, 110 x 2, 115 x 1, 125 x 10;
BBB Underhand Incline Cable Flye - 50 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. 1 Arm Pulldown - 80 x 8, 90 x 8, 8;
B. Lateral Raise - 30 x 10, 10, 10;
Lean Away Cable Lateral (drop sets) - 40 x 8 - 30 x 8 - 20 x 8 - 10 x 8;
Gironda 8x8 Pressdown - 80 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 70 x 8;

It felt weird not squatting last week, like I wasn’t doing enough work or something. Kind of digging hitting the gym first thing, cranking out the front squats and accessory stuff (if I have time).

Came back after class, hit the rest of my workout. Was pretty happy with OHP, I got 2 over the prescribed reps (8) so my TM goes up by 5 pounds for next block (3’s). Pullups felt good (like always). I’m writing this 4 days after the fact, so I can’t remember if I just stopped at 8 reps for pullups since I’m not really working off a TM on that move, or if that was all I could get.

Moved through my other work, BBB and accessory stuff. After the supersets of 1 arm pulldowns and lateral raises, I did a quick run up the stack (drop sets or whatever) starting with 40 pounds and doing as many reps as I could (stopping just shy of failure). Cranked through the 8x8 pressdowns and that was it for Monday.

196

2 October 2018
Arms
Cardio

A. Screw Curl - 30 x 10 / 45 x 10, 10, 10;
B. Dip - BW x 10 / 70 x 8, 8, 8;
Treadmill Jog Warmup - 5:00 / Treadmill Incline Intervals - stopped after 1:00 at 7mph/7inc, switched to elliptical for 20:00.
A. Incline Curl - 35 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
B. Overhead Rope Extension - 80 x 10, 90 x 10, 10, 100 x 10;

Split arms up today, by doing cardio in the middle. I’ve done this in the past (quite a bit in the last year or so, prior to DH), can’t decide if it’s a good idea or not. Typically in the past, I’d get a good pump on the first supersets, then hit whatever cardio I was doing, then get another decent pump (usually) on the second group of supersets. At the least, it doesn’t seem to be detrimental.

Intended to try incline intervals on the treadmill, but when I started feeling it about a minute in (tightness, early signs of burning in the thigh muscles) I stopped there and hopped on the elliptical. I want/need to keep my cardio up as much as possible, but since I am focusing on Smolov right now, I don’t want to do anything that affects those workouts.

197

3 October 2018
Smolov 2-1

AM
Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3 / 280 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5;
(warm up sets) Rack SGHP - 180 x 3, 190 x 3, 200 x 3, 210 x 3;

Hit the gym nice and early, cranked through my Smolov session and realized I didn’t have time to do calf/abs right then. Since I intended to come back in the afternoon and deadlift, I figured I’d just get them in then - due to Smolov, I’m not doing any accessory type stuff with deadlifting.

After class, I stopped at my friend’s jewelry store since he had asked me to come by to knock a couple things out for him (I do some side work for him on occasion, handy-man type stuff). Ended up being there longer than I planned to, and then about the time I was going to get my stuff together and knock out some deadlifts, a different friend of ours called. We had agreed to help her move some furniture from one house to another, as well as getting some old stuff out of her bunk room (she runs a training school, and has a fully furnished bunk room with kitchen and bathrooms which she is refurnishing slightly so she can book it as a bed-n-breakfast). So deadlifts got dropped from this week, and I had to cut out of her place earlier than everyone else (including my wife) so I could go home and get some homework done.

Whatever. My lower back was feeling a bit tight anyway.

198

4 October 2018
Juggernaut
8’s Realization

A. Band Pull Apart - 30 / 1 Arm Cable Row - 67.5 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
B. Bench - 135 x 10 / 155 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 235 x 1, 250 x 11;
BBB Behind the Neck Press - 70 x 10, 75 x 10, 10, 10, 10;
A. Heavy T - 15 x 12, 12, 12;
B. BANA 2up-1down DB Incline Press - 60 x 6, 65 x 6, 6;
Gironda 8x8 Pressdown - 70 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8;

I was pretty happy with bench today, I got 11 reps on my AMRAP set with 250, so the TM goes up by 7.5 pounds for next week. Set felt pretty good too, only the last rep was a grinder of any sort.

Clavicle was aching Saturday after open mat (again), but I have felt nothing from it the rest of the week. Dunno. So I tried behind the neck press to see what would happen, and they felt just fine. Actually felt closer to how they were before the clavicle thing started and I had to cut them out for a few weeks - after that, I was having trouble getting the bar behind my head and down to my neck. No pain to speak of, just tight as all get out. These felt much better today, like my shoulders are opening back up and staying that way.

Tried something different today for upper back/incline chest accessory work. A couple were camped out on the pec deck (which I do reverse for upper back/rear shoulders), so I switched to what I call Heavy T’s. Ever seen YTWL’s? PT’s and ATC’s prescribe them to people with shoulder dysfunctions, as well as for a preventive type movement. When they prescribe them, though, the weight is in the order of 2.5, maybe 5 pounds. I did them with 15 pound DBs. Doing this seems to shift the focus from the small scapular movers to the bigger upper back/rear shoulder muscles (I know, some of those are the same thing, just saying).

Also, saw an article on here with some variations for chest training, one of which was the BANA 2:1 press, or Bilateral Assisted Negative Accentuated. Bunch of big words to remind everyone I have a degree (not me, the author). What does it mean? Use two hands to press the DB up, then use one hand for an accentuated negative. Looked interesting, so I figured I’d try them out. Little weird feeling at first, but I found my groove. Only problem was, I felt them more in the shoulder than in the pec, so those won’t be staying in the toolbox. At least not for chest.

Finished up and cranked through the 8x8 again, getting a massive pump in my tris. Felt pretty cool.

1 Like
199

5 October 2018
Smolov 2-1
Arms

AM
Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3 / 300 x 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4;
(warm up sets) Rack SGHP - 175 x 3, 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 205 x 3;

PM
A1. Standing Calf Raise Machine - 135 x 15, X, 15, X, 15;
B1. Screw Curl - 30 x 10 / 55 x 6, 6, 6, 6;
C1. Decline Skull Crusher - 25 x 10 / 40 x 8, 8, 8, 8;
A2. Hanging Leg Raise - 10, 10, 10;
B2. Incline DB Curl - 35 x 8, 8, 8;
C2. EOE - 40 x 8, 8, 8;

Another morning Smolov sesh, but not as early as usual. Today is my late day at school (only a lab, not till 1100) so I slept in a little later. That got interrupted though, because our landlord finally got around to taking care of the massive trees on the property that are rotting and shedding limbs. Thankfully no one has gotten injured, and no real damage has been done. So they started yesterday afternoon, and finished up today. So we had to get some vehicles shuffled around and moved to give them full access without cars in the potential impact zone. Anyway, this set me back a bit so I did front squats (with high pulls supersetting the warm up sets, per usual) and got out.

Came back in the afternoon, and instead of just supersetting arms like I usually do, I added calf raises to one and abs to the other, making them into giant sets. Cranked through these as quick as I could - think it still took about an hour. But whatevs. So this week is in the books.

Little rant: I’ve not been able to put on (and keep) any weight so far during this cycle. I weighed 216 the day I started the primo injections, and I have not seen a scale weight above 220 (first thing in the morning when I weigh) the whole time. What typically has been happening is, I get up to 220, then stuff gets in the way (wife doesn’t cook dinner till 7 going on 8, or something else in life gets in the way, whatever), I don’t take in the calories I need to gain, and I drop back to 217. Part of the issue is my classes - can’t eat or drink in class, and especially not in labs (which are almost 3 hours long). I’ve been cooking chicken on Sunday which I then shred and eat as a wrap throughout the week while at school - usually close to half either before my second class (around 11), or during a break in lab (around 12 usually), and then the rest when I leave (either 1230ish or 200ish). I try to get more calories in later as well, but it seems every time I try and make sure to be consistent, something gets in the way so I can’t.

I know, waaaaaah. Just annoying. I’ve still seen some good shifts in physique so far, and I’ve got a couple more months on this to work on it. Like I originally said, I wasn’t looking for a massive gain in weight anyway.

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6 October 2018
Smolov 2-1

Front Squat - 135 x 5, 5, 185 3*, 225 x 3, 275 x 3 / 315 x 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3;
(warm up sets) Rack SGHP - 175 x 3, 185 x 3, 195 x 3, 205 x 3;
A. Seated Smith Calf Raise - 180 x 20, 20, 20;
B. Ab Wheel - 10, 10, 10;

So, I went to bed at a decent time last night, and slept pretty much through the night (woke up around 230 when the wife came in from Uber-ing, but went right back to sleep). Slept in this morning because why not - it’s Saturday. And, to be honest, part of me was slightly dreading today’s Smolov session - 10 x 3 with 315. Maybe dreading is too strong of a word, let’s say…whatever word is slightly less strong than dread but means basically the same thing. Anticipating negatively.

Anyway. So I finally got up, went downstairs and slugged some cold coffee, then brought my Plazma back up to bed with me. Laid down for about 20-30 minutes before drinking the Plazma, dressing, and heading to the gym. Kind of woke up, kind of didn’t. One of those middling days where you’re not dragging ass, but you’re not rearing to go either.

Hit the mobility pre-move stuff, then started on the warm up sets. Kind of woke up some more. Got to the first work set at 315, and suddenly felt alive. Not wired or anything, just moved up a notch or two from where I was (maybe 2 or 3, I don’t know). Kept the clock running, stayed with it nice and (mostly) strict. I looked at the clock a couple times between when I got to the gym, did the pre-move/mobility stuff, and finished squatting and the actual squatting took less time than the pre- stuff. Guess I was dragging ass more than I realized. Felt great once I was in the rack though.

Moved to calf/ab work, set up the Smith machine for seated calf raises again, but this time I put one of our cheap bumper plates under the end of the bench I was using for a foot rest to get more elevation. Worked great, and got some good solid reps in on that movement. Supersetted with ab wheel rollouts, probably should have done 12 each set or something, 10th rep on each set I’m just starting to feel the work in the abs.