Exact same, haha. I figured it worked for deads so I’d use it with squats too. Right now it’s 6 week cycles. Only difference is that, since I’m squatting less weight than I’m deadlifting, I make smaller increases per cycle. Deads is 15lbs, squats will be 10.
AM WORKOUT
Log viper and press away
5xLog
5x165
3x190
9x210
5x225 (3 viper and press, 2 push)
8x185
Notes: Jacked up the weight on the FSL set and went 20lbs over. Wondered why it felt so heavy. The 225 viper set was better than last week. Took video and I’ll put it up later, but it moved a lot quicker and took less energy, which is what I’m looking for. Chain suspended squats still crush my soul each time. I’m appreciating the backoff set of full ROM squats, but my left knee was sounding like rice crispies for most of the set. Don’t know if that means anything. No pain.
These seem like a whole different animal to me. Breaking it off the pins just requires something else, haha. Saving it toward the end of the workout seems to work out for the best, because after that I am DONE.
Notes: Got some real bad tendinitis in the right elbow and it’s jacking up the dumbbell press. Had a 50% success rate. Gonna have to watch for that. Ended up belting up and putting on the sleeve for the dumbbell and it still wasn’t great. About 5 weeks out from the competition, I still have time to get better, but it might just come down to adrenaline come game day. Rest of the day was a total nut-kicker. Was using FSL percentages for the log press, and sets of 10 in general always suck.
I started doing super light wrist roller after my workouts (maybe 10 pounds for a few sets of 5 up and down) and it has been amazing for my tendinitis. Seems to really help break up all that pain and open up the extensors and flexors.
Notes: Wife went with work friends to lunch, so I was on my own. That means a 2-a-day of course. I’m on a compressed schedule these next 2 weeks, so getting in training where I can. This was a solid lunch break workout. Missed my rep goals on both bench sets by 1, but considering it’s the second workout of the day, I’ll take it.
(3) Texas Deadlift Bar touch and go deadlifts
5x135+chains
5x225+chains
3x315+chains
1x405+chains
10+4+2x520+chains
17x425+chains
Axle curls
1x60
GB pulldowns 90
1x30
Notes: Bit of a mixed day. My forearm is feeling better, but I didn’t have as much gas in the tank as usual. X-factor could be that my cheat meal was at lunch yesterday rather than dinner, but it’s also been a stressful workweek and people in my house are sick, so some factors at play. Effort was there at least.
Hah, just convention really. Wife and I go out on Friday after work to celebrate getting through the week, but with her being home with the sick kid yesterday I brought home lunch.
But usually a big carby meal the night before a deadlift workout bodes well.
Keg sprints, 4 rounds (first 3 rounds wearing 45lb vest)
Run 182lb keg 50’
Run back to start
Run back to keg
Run keg 50’
Run back 50’
Run back to keg
Run keg 50’
Max distance carry 182lbs
160’
Notes: That third round was a “sprint” in name only; was definitely just plodding along. Only finished 2 laps and was contemplating calling it good, which then made me disgusted with myself and forced me to do the third. Still focusing on speed even with the vest on.
I used to log my dreams here while I was recovering, and I had a weird enough one last night that I thought it was worth recording. Normally, in dreams, whenever I have to fight, it all goes wrong. My guns always jam, miss or fall apart, I never make contact with the enemy when going unarmed, etc. Last night, the complete opposite happened; I got into some sort of massive firefight/melee and everything was landing. I was part of some team, and I was spraying down guys with SMGs, ran out of bullets and started throwing knives, etc. One guy closed the distance and I grabbed the closest weapon I could, which ended up being a throwing ax. I grabbed the dude by his helmet and sunk the ax into his neck, but since it was a throwing ax and not a hand ax it didn’t really do the job. I had to slide it down from his neck across his throat, and dude still wouldn’t stop. I ended up grabbing up near the back of his skull and started pulling it clear off his brain, and dude still wouldn’t go down. It was just a horrific, gory mess. I eventually started screaming at him “Why won’t you die?!” before the fight got broken up and I ended up waking up.
It’s been rattling around in my head today, and I’m starting to think that it was me fighting ME. A metaphor for all the crap I keep throwing at myself to try to finally push myself over the limit, only to keep zombie-ing on and through.
I was listening to the Westside Barbell podcast all day yesterday while working. Louie said for elbow tendonitis to do a lot of hammer curls. Years ago I read an article from him to do high rep hamstring curls for knee pain, which I started doing after all my injuries and I haven’t had knee pain since.
Never been a fan of the hammer curl approach myself. Dave Tate has a great article called “Should powerlifters do curls” that goes into great detail on the topic. It’s why I prefer a barbell/axle curl, as it forces my hand in a supinated grip. Right now the biggest cure is to stop controlling the eccentric on the log, haha.
Notes: Viper press moved really smooth today. Focused on grabbing and hitting it right away, like I’ll need to in the competition. Bar slipped down my back too much on the topset of squats. The backoff set felt great; best my knees have felt in a long time. Think it’s working the way I wanted it to.
No worries. Yeah, the numbers represent how many chain links I have remaining on a 5’ length of chain. The lower the number, the longer the ROM. The end of the cycle tends to end right around the point that the stretch reflex dissipates in a squat, because I’ve found that I can’t really train to have a stronger stretch reflex, but I CAN train to be stronger once that reflex is gone.
