Novaeer's New and Improved Log

novaeer 2011-06-02 02:26:13 UTC #1

After a long hiatus, I've decided to start posting my training sessions again. Following several bouts of burn-out, training ADD and some major life events (the birth of my son), I've finally started to get my lifting back in order. My last powerlifting meet was all the way back in November 2009, where I finished 500/370/545 as a raw 220 (wore belt & knee wraps on the squat).

Needless to say, my current numbers are lower than that, but with the help of some serious ass-kicking nutritional and training program design by Josh Bryant I have made some pretty good improvements under his purview the past few months. I tested my lifts last week after a 12-week run and ended up with 430/335/505. The goal for the next 12 week cycle is to perform more off-season work, focusing on getting in more volume and setting the stage for my return to the platform on November 5th.

With all that said, let's get down to business...

novaeer 2011-06-02 02:56:56 UTC #2

Week #1
Day 1

Bench press 245x2x10
Close-grip bench press 235x2x8
Wide-grip paused bench 225x2x6
Flyes 3x12
Lat pulldowns 5x12
Scapular retractions 4x12
DB triceps extensions (paused) 6x15
Reverse curls 80x4x12
Iso prone abs 2 sets held for 1 minute
Side iso abs 1 minute each side

-Not a bad session. As you can see, Josh likes to work you a little harder than other e-coaches. I haven't done sets of ten on bench for a long time, meaning soreness a certainty over the next few days. Still, the weight moved easily, which is a good sign considering I just took a near-max bench just five days ago. I freaking hate doing planks and I guess since I told Josh that little detail, I think he put the side planks in just to spite me, lol.

BTW, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to chime in.

Element_26 2011-06-02 19:37:16 UTC #3

Wow, no shit. That's some crazy volume right there! How long did that session take? I assume at least the assistance work was performed with minimal rest?

How much do you weigh right now? Are you hoping to beat your previous PRs at the November meet or is the first one more of a case of getting back on the horse?

I'll be following along closely...

novaeer 2011-06-02 19:56:06 UTC #4

From start to finish I'd say the whole thing took about 80 minutes. I rested a bit longer for the bench sets, but tried to really hunker down and limit rest for everything else.

My weight is usually around 210, so I'm a light 220. The goal is to exceed my old meet prs. Squat will be a little harder to compare since I wore knee wraps, but based on the progress I've made thus far, it's not an insurmountable hurdle. Having something tangible to work toward really helps.

novaeer 2011-06-04 02:21:47 UTC #5

Week #1
Day 2

Squat (no belt) 330x5x5
Stiff-legged deadlift (3" deficit) 165,210,245,185x10,10,10,10
Deadlift 345x3x3
Dead squat 300x4x1
Side bends 70x2x8
Plate twists 25x2x10

Notes: A week after testing, I didn't think I'd be squatting this kind of weight for 5x5. I could say this was easy, but I'd be a lying mofo if I did, lol. While I didn't stall on any of the reps, every set was tough by the time I got to the 4th and 5th reps. The first three would be pretty easy, but I got so conditioned working with doubles and triples leading up to my test day I guess it became hard-wired. The weights listed for the SLDLs from a deficit look laughable, but I will tell you they were actually a good practice at mental toughness. My lower back, hamstrings and glutes were on absolute fire. Blood sugar must've gotten a little low because by deadlift time I was feeling light-headed. No sense in quitting over that, so kept on going. Dead squats were a new exercise variation for me, but I think they're going to be a keeper (well as long as Josh tells me to keep doing them, haha). Wrapped it up with more ab/oblique work. Good stuff, but I'm sure my legs are going to be so sore by Sunday that walking will be pure agony.

Adam_F 2011-06-04 12:05:32 UTC #6

I will be following this - I have a 12 week block with Josh reserved, probably start working with him in July/ August

Good luck with your goals!

Element_26 2011-06-04 21:27:40 UTC #7

Man, doing triples and singles on the deadlifts and dead squats after all that volume on the main variant must have been... Interesting!

I've never done stiff legged deadlifts for reps off of a deficit before, but it sounds like fun!

novaeer 2011-06-05 01:39:25 UTC #8

I laughed a little when I saw what he had listed for the weights on the SLDLs, but I wasn't laughing when I was done. I am sore as hell today and tomorrow probably won't be any better, but I'll still be training as scheduled.

novaeer 2011-06-06 16:28:21 UTC #9

Week #1 Day #3 (6/5/11)

Front squats (clean grip) 185x3x6
Close-grip 2-board press 245x3x10
Barbell rows 200x3x8
Barbell hip thrusts 135x3x15
Pistol squats BWx3x6
Chin-ups BWx14,12,9
Triceps pushdowns 4x20 (choked light band)
Hanging leg raises (knees to chest) 3x12
Hanging leg raises (straight legs) 1x10,1x8

Notes: I was already sore as hell coming into this session, and I knew that even with the lighter weights it was going to be on the painful side, lol. Front squats were pretty light and they actually helped to loosen up my sore-as-hell legs. Close-grip 2-boards weren't too bad, even though he had me way outside the rep range that I have traditionally gone with on this lift.

Interestingly enough, the pistols were the hardest thing I did. Never used them before, but FFS I have never felt my quads activate so much for an exercise in my life. Luckily I was just using my bodyweight, otherwise I would've been in trouble. Happy to get 14 reps on the chin-ups, especially since I have to do mine using the 2"x2" cross-beam on my power rack.

Usually my grip wears out before everything else does. That grip issue came into play during the hanging leg raises, as my hands were just shot by the last set and I could literally not hold on any more. I guess I'll have to invest in those straps.

novaeer 2011-06-09 03:09:24 UTC #10

Week 2 Day 1

Bench press - 255x2x10
Close-grip bench press - 240x2x8
Wide-grip bench press w/ pause - 230x2x6
Flyes 4x12
Lat Pulldowns 5x15
Scapular retractions 4x12
DB floor triceps extensions (paused) 40x6x10
Reverse curls 80x14,13,12,11
Planks BW for 2 sets @ 1 min
Side planks BW for 1 set @ 1 min/side

Notes: Another fairly high volume day and it was hotter than hell today so that equals some serious sweating. Bench press and its associated variations all felt fairly easy. It's funny, because when I first started working with Josh, I think I had to do 255 for a triple in the first or second week and now I'm doing them for sets of 10. It probably speaks to how f'ing weak I was back then, lol. I was supposed to do 4x15 on the reverse curls, but it just wasn't happening. In other news, I still hate planks - they're hard.

Element_26 2011-06-09 07:45:46 UTC #11

I have no great love for planks either.

Adam_F 2011-06-11 09:12:04 UTC #12

I wonder if Josh will consider a refund for me lol

looks like a lot of work dude! keep at it!

novaeer 2011-06-11 13:35:14 UTC #13

Week #2 Day #2 (6/10/11)

Squat (no belt) 340x5x5
SLDL (3" deficit) 165,225,260,195x10,10,10,10
Deadlift 345x3x3
Dead squats 310x2x1 (supposed to be 4 singles)
-cut ab work

Note: I wasn't at my best today. Felt a bit run down and got a very late start on training (~7:30pm). I was also dreading the thought of having to do 5x5 as it just absolutely wrecks me for a good couple of days, lol. I decided to try and move my stance in a bit to see how it would feel and I might just stick with it because the movement felt a little more natural. Form got a little sloppy on a few reps, but all in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - even though it was still quite brutal.

SLDLs still light yet those high reps and coming off the 3" deficit makes for good cardio, haha. On dead squats, I noticed that glute/han tie-in area on my right leg was getting irritated; when I broke the weight off the pins for the second single that area cramped up and I thought it best to cut my risk of aggravating it further and f'ing up my training cycle. This morning it feels a little tender, but that's about it.

novaeer 2011-06-13 02:24:37 UTC #14

Week 2 Day 3

Front squats (clean grip) 200x3x6
Close-grip 2-board press 255x3x10
Barbell rows 210x3x8
Barbell hip thrusts 145x3x15
Pistol squats BWx3x6
Chins BWx17,13,10
Triceps pushdowns 4x20
Hanging leg raises (knees to chest) 3x12
Hanging leg raises (straight legs) 2x8

Notes: Not a bad day. Glute didn't give me any trouble today, so that was a good thing. Front squats still felt light, which is a given since we're only talking about 200 pounds. The CG 2-board was strong and outside of the very last rep on the 3rd set, never saw much of a loss in bar speed. Pistol squats owned me again, haha, but I made up for it with a good showing on the chin-ups. The triceps pushdowns gave me one hell of a pump - hell, even thought about putting on the X-medium t-shirt and heading out to the clubz. Still no straps for the leg raises, so once again my hands were chewed up from holding on the crossbar.

Element_26 2011-06-14 11:29:47 UTC #15

Ahh! Front squats! Kill it. Kill it! That looks like a fairly ecclectic session - I'm used to upper/lower splits, so a full-body session would leave me absolutely shattered. How are you finding recovery on this programme? Bet you sleep like a baby!

novaeer 2011-06-14 17:01:32 UTC #16

When Mike Tuchschererererer wrote my programs I mostly did full body splits, so this kind of session isn't completely foreign to me - though it is a change from the way I've been doing things for the pat year or so. My ability to recover from each session has been pretty damn good. I thought I'd have trouble walking after Friday's squat session, but I was only a little sore this time around. The human body and its ability to adapt to stressors is pretty impressive because 6 months ago this session would've put me in the gutter.

Brian14 2011-06-14 18:18:39 UTC #17

Nice work. How tall are you?

novaeer 2011-06-14 19:54:12 UTC #18

A whopping 5'9"-ish. Lol.

novaeer 2011-06-16 02:28:33 UTC #19

Week 3 Day 1

Bench press 265x2x10
Close-grip bench press 245x2x8
Wide-grip paused bench 235x2x6
Flyes 3x8
Lat pulldowns 5x10
Scapular retractions 4x12
Floor DB triceps extensions 40x6x15
Reverse curls 80x15,14,15,13
Planks 2 sets @ 1 min
Side planks 1 set/side @ 50s,10s

Notes: Pretty decent day benching. If I ever tracked this sort of thing, I'd venture to guess that 265 is the most I've ever done for 10 reps. Of course, I've always followed the 'more than 5 reps is cardio' so I guess this is technically a new 10RM for me. My right hamstring cramped up a little on rep #9 in the first set, but I was able to finish without too big of a loss in bar speed.

Josh is cruel for having me do 6 damn sets of 15 on the DB extensions. My triceps were torched. I almost managed to get all the reps on the reverse curls this time, but I miscounted on 1 set and fell a couple short on the last last one.

Kalle 2011-06-16 06:39:00 UTC #20

Damn your tall! haha

Training looking good, Interesting program makes me feel lazy with my training!