Caesium32's Log - Cycling With a Side of Lifting

Why not just try a cycle of both (not at the same time) to see which one is better for you?

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Sometimes you Train the lift, other times you Build the lift.

PR sets are great for Training the lift. Deadlift is a big move that works lots of stuff, so do a bunch of deadlifts. You lift how you lift, and get the work in.

Other times you Build the lift, by doing lots of 1st reps, and improving the positions/set up/execution. Trying to make the lift better. 5s Pro with First Set Last is great for this. Instead of getting tired, and grinding through long sets, you do some sharp, clean reps. Then you do it again. Then again. By the last set, you get a little fatigued, so you have to get really tight and execute smoothly. Not a grind, but establishing good technique so in the future, you “grind” along the proper bar path.

I think your plan of 5’s Pro with a “special deadlift” for your back off sets is a good one. Do the regular dead, then snatch grip or pauses, or whatever. You still do regular deads, so you “feel” how the special work impacts the regular work.

Like Dante said, try 1 “special deadlift” for a cycle. See what impact it has.

Then like magic said, get back to super productive Rep PRs in the regular dead.

Switch back to 5’s Pro, with another “special deadlift.” See how that impacts the regular deadlift.

Then back to Rep PRs.

By then you’ll have a stronger, better deadlift and you’ll know if you like snatch grips or pauses for deads.

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Thanks for the advice everyone.

@magick the problem with PR sets on the deadlift is I struggle to stay on the right side of the line between grinding and messing things up. I think instead, like the others mentioned, building the lift up first and coming to PR sets later will be a good idea.

@danteism that’s probably what I will do. I’ll probably start off with 3x5x60kg for them both and go from there.

@FlatsFarmer that’s a great reply and I think probably explains leaders and anchors well so thank you for that. I definitely do want to spend some time building the lift up. My plan is one more cycle of 5/3/1 full body (possibly two now) with paused or snatch grip deads after deadlifts instead of PR sets then three cycles of BBB which should definitely help build my lifts up before returning to PRs.

I’m going to make a separate post later summarising what I’m going to do more clearly- more for myself than anything.

I learned in from MarkKO. Plan, execute, evaluate! Make it better! Do it again!

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I liked 5s pro with 3x5 FSL using snatch grip for FSL. It seemed to work.

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10/06/17
Conditioning
Got back at university today and will be starting another cycle of 5/3/1 full body on Monday. Powerwalked half a mile to catch a bus with an 8kg backpack on and 10kg duffle bag then had to walk another half mile or so after which I’m definitely calling conditioning.
Below I’m going to outline my plan for training for the next few months since there’s been some changes. I like having it all planned out and knowing what’s coming up.

Training Plan:

One or two cycles of 5/3/1 full body with 5s PRO deadlift and 3x5 FSL paused deadlifts (cycle 1) then snatch grip deadlifts (cycle 2).

I’m still wanting to lose a bit of fat and am trying to be in a calorie deficit so I’m not 100% sure whether to keep the PR sets for anything instead of 5s PRO. Whether I do one or two cycles depends on my weight and how I look towards the end of the first one. I won’t know whether I’m on track until I get weighed tomorrow morning but I feel like I’ve maintained where I was before. I’ll probably be a bit more aggressive with the deficit this cycle.

Four day a week 5s PRO w/ 5x5 FSL for deadlift and BBB for the other lifts
I’ve decided to do 5x5 FSL for deadlift instead of BBB to really drill my technique and it was something I liked when I did hardgainers. I can see myself getting sloppy towards the end of ten rep sets and I prefer lower reps.

I’ve also decided instead of doing the opposite lifts for BBB and 5s PRO on the same day, to do everything on one day. I do prefer the idea of squatting twice a week but I know Jim prefers this way and I can still do split squats on deadlift day.

The picture below is what I’m planning to do including assistance and some fairly easy conditioning with the sled. I’ll slowly increase the volume for chins and adjust as needed. Split will be 1/2/off/3/4/off/off.

I’ll be going back into a slight calorie surplus for this and looking to slowly gain weight without putting the fat I’ve just lost back on. I’ll aim for about 0.25kg/0.5lb a week. I plan to do at least three cycles and assess from there whether or not I do any extra.

For BBB I plan on going 50/60/70% for squat and overhead press and 60/70/FSL for bench.

I’m going to deload at the end of every cycle and focus more on moving/carries for the week like I did this last one which I really enjoyed. I’ll probably do 5/3/1 reps with first week percentages and 3x10 @50% then follow that up with whatever I feel like in some sort of giant set. I like to do my own thing when it comes to programming deloads. It’s enough for me to have a lot of fun and try things out but not mess up completely if I’m sensible. Deloading every four weeks will make sure I can attack the main weeks without worrying about getting beat up and also allow me to do lots of stuff I wouldn’t do otherwise.

I think that covers everything, it’s nice to have it all in one place instead of floating around my head. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully afterwards will be in a good position to set lots of new PRs. I plan on doing WS4SB after all this but I haven’t thought about it much yet.

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BW: 87.0kg

I think the last one I recorded was 86.8kg so basically maintained where I was and I feel about the same level of leaness. Still undecided on whether to continue the deficit after this cycle. I’m going to try eating the majority of my carbs before my evening meal.

I’m going to stick with PR sets for this cycle and just keep it a bit more conservative. Weeks two and three will be with 90kg and 95kg which I’ve both only done for five so I’ll probably just aim for six reps on each. What happens tomorrow with 85kg we will just have to see, current PR I think is 11 without checking.

12/06/17

Squat (TM-100):
2x5x20, 2x5x40, 5x65, 5x75, 5x85

Didn’t feel like doing anymore than the bare minimum. I’ll explain more further down.

Dumbbell bench press superset with dumbbell rows:
4x10x22/ 4x10x22

The rows felt very good, maybe all that back work last week helped. Ended the workout here, my head wasn’t in it.

So I was taking my time with squats today and focussing on my technique from the beginning and I think I found the reason for my back pain. I’m in a different position in the hole nearly every rep and I’m rarely ever dead centre. It’s only by a small amount each time but it was obvious once I focussed on it. I’ve noticed it before on a few reps but didn’t think anything of it because I didn’t want to get obsessive over technique. I still don’t want to be like that but if it’s something that’s causing me pain it needs sorting out and I’ve got plenty of time to develop the strength later.

The plan from here for this cycle and maybe the next is to go to 5s PRO squats with 3x3-5 FSL paused squats like Jim mentions in Beyond. I noticed descending into the hole slowly helped so I’m going to take my time and try to forget the weight for a few weeks to hopefully be in a better position when I start BBB. It also makes sense to lower my training max while I work on things so I’ll take it down to 85kg. I can get this for five reps even on the absolute worst of days and the heaviest I’ll have to touch would be 80kg so I can get lots of very submaximal work in.

Overall I’m a bit disheartened that I’ve got to take a few steps back when things were going well but I know it’ll be for the best and it may end up helping my deadlift too.

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It’s always better to find out shitty stiff like this early. Yes, it sucks - but it sucks less now than a year or two down the track. You made the right call.

That’s what I’m thinking, it’s reassuring to know you think it was the right thing to do, thanks.

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I think front squats and goblet squats are amazing at building good form/movement pattern for the squat.

If getting the correct rack position for the front squat is difficult, then either use a strap (something like this-How to Front Squat With Straps ) or do paused goblet squats and focus exclusively on how it feels.

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Taking a while to stop and look over what you are doing wrong helps. You will take 1 step back now but be 10 steps ahead in coming months.

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14/06/17

Bench press (TM-70):
2x10x20, 5x45, 5x52.5, 17x60 (PR), 3x70 (Joker)

Damn it I really wanted 20x60 but I can’t complain- bench is feeling good lately with all the technique improvements. Actually did an 18th rep but my bum lifted off the bench and I probably would have failed if not so I’m not sure I can count it. I wanted to see how some heavier weight felt and thought I’d earnt it so I did a nice set with 70kg after which felt great considering how fatigued I was.

Squat (TM-85) superset with chins:
2x5x20, 5x40, 5x55, 5x65, 5x75/ 2x2xBW, 4x1xBW

Took my time and technique already seemed better. I’ve also been watching a few Juggernaut training videos and tried to keep my knees forward as I came up rather than them sliding back as well as pushing the bar hard with my upper back. Seemed effective. Can’t wait to lose a bit of weight and not absolutely suck at chin ups.

Back extensions: 10xBW, 15xBW

Amazing hamstring pump, possibly the first one I’ve had. I’ve learnt how to tweak them so I feel them there a lot more. These need to be done at least once a week.

Face pulls: 50 reps
Lat pull-down: 50 reps

BW: 86.7kg

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16/06/17

Overhead press (TM-45):
2x5x20, 5x30, 5x32.5, 12x37.5 (PR), 8x30

This went pretty well, I maybe need to warm up my legs a bit if I’m doing these before squats though because they felt a bit sore after tensing them so much. Decided to hit a FSL plus set at the end and probably will most weeks. I figure while I’m taking it easier on my lower body I can push the upper a bit and I’m recovering well anyway.

Squat (TM-85):
8x20, 5x40, 5x55, 5x65, 5x75

Kind of slow for how heavy it was but all looked good. Moving in the right direction.

Deadlift (TM-100):
5x70, 5x75, 5x85, 3x3x70 (paused)

Definitely the best bit of the workout. I felt really good and it was very tempting to work up and pull something heavy instead. On one of the paused reps I actually pulled it off the floor so fast I didn’t get chance to pause it until it was past my knees. All very light weights but hopefully a sign of good things to come.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, all the pause sets were hookgrip. It felt 100x better than before so thank you @BOTSLAYER, maybe I can get rid of mixed grip.

Had to wait about 20 minutes between squats and deadlifts because the platform was busy so by the time I was done I just felt like leaving.

BW: 87.1kg

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18/06/17
Active recovery/conditioning

I needed to get out of the house after sitting revising all day so I decided to have a bit of fun and try a few new things.

Squat superset with push ups:
EMOM for ten minutes 2x50/ 4xBW

I was reading a bit about Conjugate earlier and also inspired by Alpha’s conditioning video so I thought this would be fun to try. The squats were done as fast as possible on the way up in a dynamic effort sort of style and let me work on my technique a bit. For the first five minutes I also hung from the bar for 10-20 seconds after the push ups. Conditioning wise it wasn’t too hard but it’s a great way to get 20 extra squats and 40 extra push ups in and it isn’t very taxing on my recovery.

Treadmill run:
1 mile in ten minutes

Got inspired by this article:

I definitely have some work to do. This was absolutely horrible and very humbling, one of the hardest things I’ve done mentally. The only redeeming factor was I did it in front of a floor to ceiling window with the sun beaming in on probably the hottest day of the year. I want an eight minute mile by the end of 2017.

Training plan update:
I’ve decided to extend how long I’m doing the full body template and also losing weight by an extra cycle after looking at the calendar.

I have a week’s holiday abroad in August which I want to be a deload and I also want the first week of university next year off too. Slotting those in things work out as another cycle of full body (snatch grip deadlifts instead of paused) after the current one then BBB cycle one then a deload then BBB cycles two and three then a deload which takes us to the start of October. It’s less deload weeks than I wanted but the alternative was to have breaks mid cycle and I think I’ll be okay. This cycle and the next, as well as the first BBB one, are all fairly easy then I’ll have a good deload on either side of the two harder BBB cycles.

I’ve also started following this article:

Basically add a push up, reverse lunge and pull up every day for 60 days. If I get even a fraction of the results he claims I’ll be happy but it’ll get me a better at bodyweight exercises which is something I need to do. For pull ups I’ll only be doing those when I go to the gym so they’ll progress at a slower rate. Oh and also I’ve been doing 100 band pull aparts every non training day.

In terms of weight loss I want to be under 85kg by the time I start BBB.

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19/06/17

Dumbell bench press superset with rows:
5x10x16s/ 5x10x16

I was in a big rush today so I used some lighter dumbbells just to get through it quicker. Both racks were in use so that’s why I did these first. Took 12 minutes.

At this point I asked both the guys using the racks how many sets they had left. One had four and the other had five so I just messed around a bit while I waited and did the following:

Cable pushdowns superset with straight arm pull-downs:
50 reps each
Cable curls superset with cable front raises:
50 reps/ 30 reps

This took about 10 minutes and they still weren’t done so I just waited in the corner. Eventually 28 minutes after I finished my rows the one with five sets finished and I could do my squats.

Squat (TM- 85):
5x20, 5x40, 5x50, 5x60, 5x70

At this point just to save time I decided to do Wednesday’s squats today and I’ll do Monday’s on Wednesday. I couldn’t be bothered looking for two 2.5kg plates so they were all 5kg lighter than they should be. This took me nine minutes and I noticed in that time the guy using the other rack didn’t do a single set. I can understand taking your time but taking nine plus minutes between sets in a busy commercial gym is a bit far.

Forgot to get weighed this morning because I had an exam so I’ll do that tomorrow.

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Do you ever get the feeling that you should just invest in a home gym, just to get away from people like this?

I know I do

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Yeah it would be great if I had the space and I probably will one day but I do enjoy my gym back home where it’s a lot quieter. There’s a good atmosphere.

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You know what the hard part is? Leaving your awesome home gym (even though in my case it is located in a cheese factory) that you have built up and love with all your heart to train in a regular gym again. - you guessed it, this part is becoming reality for me soon.

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Oh man, that has to suck hard

That’s… odd
I’d like to have a gym in an odd place, just for the laughs. Think; nail salon gym

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