Furo's Comeback Log

I’d probably go with twice a week before that - you’re used to fairly low volumes at highish intensities at a much higher frequency so shouldn’t struggle with that. That’s just down to my personal preference of higher frequency though.
Whether you go with once a week with back off sets or twice a week (could also go twice a week with one session slightly lighter, maybe throw in pauses), a lower frequency than your more recent training would give you the opportunity to push some of your accessory exercises without worrying about being fatigued for the next session - that is, if you have time for longer sessions in your schedule.

1 Like

Week 43: Lower Body

Deadlifts
145kg: 2
155kg: 2
165kg: 2
155kg: 2
145kg: 2

Pistol Squats
BW: 5x1

Back Extensions
BW: 32

Bodyweight: 95.9kg

Thanks for the advice @MaazerSmiit, I actually did this session before I got your reply. I really like the idea of doing a lighter set later in the week - I think I’ll do one main session with back off sets and maybe one with singles of 140kg.

This felt good - I drove over 300miles today, ate a bunch of crap and didn’t get to the gym until after midnight - taking all that into account it went extremely well.

2 Likes

Week 43: Upper Body

Bench Press
100kg: 1

Pull-Ups (Regular Grip)
BW: 4x5

Incline Dumbbell Bench
22kg: 4x12

Pulley Rows
100kg: 2
80kg: 5
70kg: 8
Dropset

Pulley Front Raises
15kg: 3x12

Dumbbell Curls
16kg: 3x10

This was a fun bodybuilding session with a friend. Everything felt pretty heavy - especially the bench and pull-ups. I think I’ll take the rest of this week pretty easy.

As opposed to pushy rows?

Exactly - pushy rows never seem to work my back quite as well haha.

Edit: In your experience what are the best deadlift accessory movements? I like a minimalist approach but right now I’m a bit too minimalist lol. If you could add one movement to my training specifically to increase my deadlift what would it be?

Week 43: Pistol Squats

Pistol Squats
BW: 10x1
EMOM

Just a quick pistol squat session at my great aunt’s house. The first rep on my right leg was a total collapse, and the pain and crepitus in my knee was extremely disheartening, but I soon got into the rhythm of it. I think a lot of the pain will improve when I can do them with more control. They are definitely improving though - I am now doing them with a decent pause at the bottom. My main problem is my knee caving in, as well as a general lack of strength in the hole lol.

Week 43: Summary

Bodyweight: 95.9kg (probably not representative)

Training: Only 2 main sessions, but they went well.

Nutrition: Not great.

This week I’m visiting relatives and friends in England. I’ve deliberately taken it a bit easy, as I reckon my body needed it. The gym sessions were decent although the bench press felt very heavy and the deadlifts were a bit more of a grind than I’d hoped.

Ideas
Moving forward I’m definitely going to stick with the t-nation deadlift routine (plus back-off sets) and I also want to start building my bench press back up. My target right now is the anniversary of my injury (16th of January) - my main indicators for strength will be the deadlift, pistol squat, bench press and pull-ups. I don’t think I need to do anything drastic with these 4 exercises as deadlifts and pistols have been improving steadily and bench and pull-ups have been ticking over in the background (although they definitely need more attention). I could also consider adding the squat into the mix - it would be cool to do a mock powerlifting meet on the day. Hmmm. As well as strength I need to work on dropping some fat and getting back into running, but I’m not too worried about them.

In total I have 9 and a half weeks to go - but I don’t think I have to do anything too clever with my programming. If I consistently hit the deadlift once per week; bench, pull-ups and pistols twice per week and run (short distances) three times a week I will be on track. I think I’ll need to run at least 3 miles and do at least 10 pistols on each leg to consider myself back to baseline. Deadlift is an automatic success if I can hit 180kg for one, so I just want to push it as far as I can. Bench press and pull-ups would be 120kg for one and 10 straight reps respectively to be at near peak (all time bests were 125kg and at least 12).

Alternatively I could just go all out and run simultaneous deadlift and bench press Smolov with pull-ups and pistols to finish… I will have a lot more free time…

Another Idea…
I’ve thought of another way I could train for the next 9 weeks - I could do a bastardized 5/3/1. I’d lift three times a week as follows:

Day 1: Bench press (5/3/1), BBB assistance

Day 2: Deadlift (other routine), pistols

Day 3: Overhead press (5/3/1), BBB assistance

The advantage of this routine would be that it would force me to consistently train my upper body and not overdo my deadlifts/pistols (which are progressing fine as they are). I could of course do the deadlift as 5/3/1 but I prefer the idea of fewer reps at higher intensities. It’s certainly something to consider though.

Edit: …actually doing 5/3/1 for deadlift might make a lot more sense. These ideas aren’t fully formed yet, clearly.

When in doubt, always do 5/3/1!! You may like the Advanced 5/3/1 Template since you get a good mix of volume (5x5) and then heavy singles towards the end of the cycle (5x1). I got really good at Deadlifts for reps using 5/3/1 but pulling heavy singles really helped me dial in my technique since I had to walk up to the bar each time and pull as opposed to getting hyped for one all out set for a rep PR and then be done with the lift. My Overhead Press has also responded really well to the Advanced Template as well as my Front Squat. We won’t talk about Bench Press though!!!

1 Like

TLDR: I like RDLs for pretty much everything.

Sorry, just saw this. I (try to) deadlift with a flat back and use a ton of leg drive in my pull because my quads are strong. Keeping my back straight is something I want to maintain the strength to do, and I need to keep my hams and glutes balanced with my quads so I’m a fan of any hip hinge movement (basically comes down to RDLs and swings, but bent over rows too - you’re in a taxing position on your spinal extensors and hip extensors and training your upper back and lats in the right position as well).

Technique wise you’re a little different from me in that you let your hips rise a bit faster - your 200kg pull looks almost like my RDLs. I think RDLs as an accessory would give you the hamstring strength to keep your hips a bit lower throughout the pull, but you don’t have to go crazy. They’ll also help you keep your back a bit more flat and you won’t have a struggle at the top of the lift to straighten out your spine at the same time as getting your hips through. You do a good job of keeping the bar close to you throughout the lift, but they help with that too.

1 Like

@jblues85 Thank you very much for the advice! I will definitely check out the advanced template. I think I’ll stick with my current deadlift routine for the remaining 5 weeks and then switch over fully, but I’ll start upper body 5/3/1 next week.

@MaazerSmiit Thanks a lot man, I will definitely start adding RDLs and bent over rows. What sort of percentage of your deadlift do you use for the RDLs and how many reps do you shoot for?

Week 44: Lower Body

Deadlifts
145kg: 4 - mixed grip, beltless
160kg: 3
170kg: 2
160kg: 3
145kg: 4

Pistol Squats
BW: 21x1
EMOM

Back Extensions
BW: 4x25

The deadlifts weren’t pretty, but they happened which is enough. I followed them up with RDLs as per @MaazerSmiit - I did 110kg for 5 but my lower back felt extremely unsafe so I just called it there. Probably a bracing issue. The pistols are a volume PR, but the first 4 reps felt horrible - I really need to get into the habit of warming up properly. Overall this was definitely a good session though.

Week 44: Upper Body

Bench Press
100kg: 3,3,2,2
80kg: 10,10

Pull-Ups
BW: 4x5

EZ Bar Preacher Curls
30kg: 3x10

I did this with an old friend, which was great fun. Bench press was a huge improvement over last week (one 100kg rep), but the pull-ups felt pretty heavy.

After all those ideas above I’ve settled on a flexible training plan for the next 9 weeks:

  1. Lower heavy (deadlifts, freestanding pistols)

  2. Upper body (whatever I feel like)

  3. Lower light (swings, box pistols)

  4. Upper body (whatever I feel like)

This will force me to hit my upper body twice per week, but it doesn’t matter exactly what I do. I also really like the idea of a lighter lower body day where I can focus on technically sound lifts instead of grinding everything.

December 2015
I went through my previous log and thought I should note down the kind of lifts I was getting just prior to my injury, to use as targets.

Bench Press 100kg: 3x3
Dumbbell Row 50kg: 3x5
Pull-Ups 3x8
Trapbar Deadlift 167.5kg: x1
Squat 100kg: 3x3
Run 2.8 miles

Obviously these are all well within reach, apart from the squat and possibly the run. Note that none of these were max attempts, just day to day training.

1 Like

Week 44: Lower Body

Kettlebell Swings
20kg: 2x10
28kg: 2x10
40kg: 4x10

Pistol Squats
BW: 3x10 - to chair
BW: 15x1 - freestanding

Bodyweight: 97.3kg

This was a decent home lower body session. I was quite apprehensive about the kettlebell swings as I haven’t done them in so long and the last time they seemed to really bug my neck, but they felt pretty good. They weren’t nearly as crisp as they have been before, but they were definitely solid. I think I’m going to always train my pistol squats to a box before doing them freestanding as this was the first time I felt properly warmed up and it helped me achieve a good volume. The freestanding pistols are definitely improving, although they are taking their time. My bodyweight has jumped up following my time away which is a nuisance.

1 Like

I find doing eccentric pistols to a box are the perfect warm-up for my knees.

tweet

1 Like

Week 44: Upper Body

Bench Press
90kg: 3
100kg: 1
105kg: 1
110kg: 1
105kg: 1
100kg: 1
90kg: 4x5

Pull-Ups
BW: 6
BW +10kg: 3
BW +15kg: 2
BW +20kg: 2
BW: +15kg: 2
BW: +10kg: 3
BW: 8

I wasn’t planning on training today, but this actually turned out really well. Both sets of 105kg felt extremely good, and 110kg was solid enough. The weighted pull-ups were all strong reps too, and I was very happy to get 8 reps of bodyweight on my final set. Unfortunately my diet has been messy today.

Week 44: Lower Body

Deadlifts
145kg: 2 - mixed grip, beltless
155kg: 2
165kg: 2
175kg: 2
120kg: 5x1 - double overhand

Back Extension/Pistol Squat Superset
Warm-up - pistols to box
BW: 8x20/1

Stationary Bike
30min

Bodyweight: 96.2kg

Maybe I’m just being cynical but part of me thinks I haven’t gotten stronger at all - I’ve just started using a mixed grip and sacking up on the heavier sets. Everything over 140kg (315lbs) is ugly - that top set with 175kg was an absolute prolapser. Disc, rectal, … the whole lot. I belted up and went for the reverse pyramid but that wasn’t happening without a life-changing injury so I dropped right down to 120kg for some singles.

I’m starting night shifts tonight which is why I brought this session forward by a day (and therefore by a week). I tried a different approach with the pistols and instead of trying to use perfect form I just focused on getting solid reps - everything felt strong and I got every single rep pretty cleanly. I think warming up properly is probably more important than allowing my knee to cave a bit, as this was completely painfree.

Week 44: Summary

Bodyweight: 96.8kg - not great

Training: Very good, although deadlifts have been ugly. 5 sessions.

Nutrition: Medium

This has been a nice week, especially for pistols and bench press.

Week 45: Upper Body

Bench Press
100kg: 4x3

Machine Row (Plate-Loaded)
100kg: 4x10

Bodyweight: 96.7kg

I was absolutely shattered for this - I came dangerously close to falling asleep on the drive from work - but it went really well. Just last week I was very happy with my benching, but today I did better and I didn’t have the security of a spotter or a proper bench.