Dixie: We are all proud of you brother! haha…are you going to be doing any meets or anything coming up?
Hallik: Thanks man…I’m very pleased with the way training has been going lately…not being injured makes it much easier to set PRs!
Jake: Its in there man…you definitely got it…
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
9.3.4/9.4.1 - Sunday 23 January 2011
Deadlift (531): 345, 390, 435 (9) <–New PR!
OHP (3x5): 95, 115, 135
ABzzzzzzzzzz Cable Pulldown (4x8): Some weight
Deadlift was a huge PR tonight…the warmups felt great, but the first couple working sets felt rough and heavy…wasn’t expecting a lot from the money set and had settled going into it to shoot for 6 reps…got those in easily and kept going to the 9th…had at least 1-2 left in the tank…weight just felt incredibly light…My deadlift has been shooting up in the past couple months, and that makes me very happy…
DL style tonight was conventional, which I think I will end up using for my next meet…we’ll see how the heavy singles go in the upcoming prep cycle…
Deloaded OHP tonight
Finished off with some abbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzz
sore as fuck right now…got a basketball game tomorrow night–not sure I am going to be quite a balla…[/quote]
I forgot to mention that this was my first workout back after restarting the Anconda Protocol 2…I think the extra carbs and stuff around the workout really helps, and I can see a big difference in explosiveness from the Alpha GPC…
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Dixie: We are all proud of you brother! haha…are you going to be doing any meets or anything [/quote]
There is a meet in March that I would like to do, problem is its back in Arkansas (I am currently in Mississippi for law school) so it depends on my class schedule. I know midterms are around that time so I will have to see.
Dixie: Aren’t there any around in Miss., or did you just really wanna do the one back home?
I deloaded last week, it was real boring…just did the standard 3x5 stuff for the big lifts with my usual warmup weights, then some light volume/light intensity accessory stuff…3x10 with about 3/4 of my normal working weights were standard…
I skipped the deadlift session
10.1 - 1/30/11
OHP (3x3): 150, 170, 190, 215x1, 235x1 <–New PR!
Pullups (50): Body
DB Bench (3x10): 75x2, 85x2, 95x2 (8)
Facepulls (2x15): Some weight
So much retardation at the gym tonight…I don’t know if Men’s Health just released some sort of new Double Super Secret Fitness Pussy routine or what, but it was crazy…it went way beyond the usual 1/4 inch squats with the tampon in the smith machine…
For instance, when I walked in some guy was doing 1/4 inch ROM with one leg on the leg extension machine with like 20 pounds…
There was a guy running in place (!) on the captain’s ab chair…wtf?
Some other doofus was benching a whopping 115 with his feet straight up in the air, perpendicular to the bench…
One arm pulldowns on the hammerz machine (forgivable I guess, but useless for some 160 pounds guy who doesn’t look like he could do a single pullup)…
One arm rows from a pushup position, supported by DBs (you’re gonna have to use your imagination on that one)…I involuntarily let out a “WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT??” as I was walking by, but he didn’t hear me…or ignored me…
Everyone I made eye contact with tonight looked scared for some reason, like I was about to eat them…I considered it for a second, but then realized I could get much more protein at chipotle…
The only other person in there that looked like he was doing any work at all was this 135 pound pakastani (?) guy, who was doing squats @ sets of 10 with like 1.5 times his bodyweight with good form (until the last couple reps anyway)…I was impressed by him…he didn’t even use the tampon…I have affectionately named him Ahab Al Squattereza
My new buddy Ahab was kind enough to videotape my PR attempt for OHP (235x1):
The weight flew up at the bottom and I struggled a bit to lock it out, but I had way more in me than this…will try for at least 255 on the 5-3-1 week…eventual goal is to OHP my bodyweight…
This cycle will be Wendler’s modified 5-3-1, as described in Option 1 in the 5-3-1 Reloaded article:
Basically just switching up the 3x5 and 3x3 weeks, not doing any AMRAP sets, and hitting heavy singles in the new 1 and 3 weeks after the prescribed sets/reps…
I think this will help me get used to having heavy weights in my hand/on my back again before the comp in March…going well so far…sore as shit right now from tonight’s workout, and its only been an hour since I left!!! Have a feeling I’m going to die from squats and deadlifts this cycle…but now that I think about it, that’s really not a bad way to go…death by squats baby…2011
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Dixie: Aren’t there any around in Miss., or did you just really wanna do the one back home?
[/quote]
The SPF doesnt have any in Mississippi this next year, I have not checked with the IPF yet though.
10.2 - 1/31/11
It was squat night. The weather is kinda bad here, so I didn’t feel like getting out in it and going to my proper gym, so I decided to workout at home in my underwear. Here is my video…I got stuck coming out of the hole but powered through it…the Rocky theme music that suddenly started playing helped out a lot:
Just kidding that really wasn’t me…my abs aren’t anywhere near that defined!
I did squat tonight though:
Squats (3x3): 335, 385, 435, 485x1, 525x0, 525x1 <–New PR!
Reverse Hyper (3x10): 90, 90, 90
Seated Leg Curl (3x12): 157.5, 165, 165
Went out to Fitness First and Tim Henriques was there and gave me some pointers…was a pretty good training session.
I missed the first attempt at 525 and was disappointed…After watching the video, I knew it was a technique issue and not a strength matter…I didn’t force my knees out and didn’t keep my chest up…so even though I felt like I exploded out of the hole, I lost all my momentum about halfway up and couldn’t power through it:
I felt like I also didn’t really attack the weight with a purpose…just kinda eased into it, and I learned tonight that’s not the way I get primed for heavy singles…I have to get pissed off and get after that mother fucker…
So after talking the cues over with Tim and resting for 5 minutes, I decided for another attempt and nailed it. You can hear Tim giving me the CHEST UP and KNEES OUT cue, and that helped a ton…he also gave me a rather hearty smack on the back prior to the lift for good measure:
Reverse Hypers felt good getting the blood through my back…its funny the only time my back doesn’t hurt, other than sleep, is when I’m working out…when I cut weight after my meet, I intend to work on my mobility issues as well and hopefully that will clear up…
Got crazy cramps after the seated leg curlzzzzz
Overall an awesome training session…meet prep is going very well…
That squat was clean, well done.
I’ve already complemented you enough.
Start the first video, then start and watch yours - the Rocky music adds a lot
Do you squat high bar? I couldn’t really tell, but it kind of looked like it. I know you’re shaped funny as you put it, but being a fellow tall guy I am able to get a much tighter arch with a low bar position (just below traps and above delts. It also really helps me stay upright (chest up and out).
Nice PR man! I bet with some form tweaks alone you have another 25 pounds in there already. You should try and get 2-SCOOPS to give you some pointers on your video. They’re usually simple and effective
Thanks guys
Yeah, I squat with the bar high as shit…I really can’t seem to get it in any other position though due to shoulder mobility issues…and it actually feels pretty comfortable way up there…my arch feels tight when I am racking…
10.2 - Bench & Deadlift
Pretty lackluster end to what started out as a pretty awesome PR week…
I went and benched on 2/3/11…did 3x3 at 235/265/300 and hit 330x1 for a single…put 360 on the bar and got buried…
Facts: I was in San Diego working out at 11 pm (2 am according to my body clock), the benches were terrible in that it also doubled as a decline bench so the seat and hooks were completely unleveraged, and I had the worst hand off guy in the world…this douche didn’t put any effort into it whatsover so I was expending a lot of force trying to get the fucking bar into position…
That being said, it was still a pathetic effort…I should have no trobule with 360 and didn’t even get close to pushing it up…just a shitty gym day…I was so frustrated I ended my workout there and went home…
Surely deadlift was better after a couple days rest? Not at all…warmup sets felt good but working sets felt heavy…435x3 was tough, even though I hit it for a fairly easy 9 reps just a couple weeks ago…loaded 495 on and pulled it, moved up to 525 and barely broke the ground before dropping it…just didn’t have it in me that day…
I worked out at around 5 and hadn’t eaten anything yet except for peri-workout stuff since I slept till noon and just didn’t get hungry at all…nutrition was almost definitely to blame here…
Unfortunately I tweaked my back a bit in the effort and its still bothering me a day later…hopefully its nothing serious and Im going to hammer the reverse hyper this week to get some blood flowing into it…
Just a shitty end to the week here…gotta get the diet and workout times under control…that may be hard since Im flying to Scotland for 10 days or so on Wednesday for work…bollocks
I took all of last week off from lifting.
I’ve been feeling beat up and run down lately…appetite has been low, motivation to train has been lower…
I had tweaked my back a bit which didn’t help things…overall pretty shitty leadup to my meet…
Went in tonight for deadlift and OHP…ended up tweaking my back trying to pull 550 and then 545, stupidly, and now I’m injured…feels like it could be a slipped disc, but I’m just hoping its tweaked…should know more when I wake up in the morning…mobility right now is nearly non-existant
Pull attempts didn’t look terrible IMO…but definitely need to pull my shoulders back more to start…
Really considering not doing the meet in March and just taking some time off for mobility, rehab, and conditioning work…all three things are lagging far behind right now, and even though I have gotten a lot stronger, I definitely don’t feel like balanced, and that is decidedly un-awesome…
Not going to make any rash decisions for now, but will probably decide in the next week…
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
I took all of last week off from lifting.
I’ve been feeling beat up and run down lately…appetite has been low, motivation to train has been lower…
I had tweaked my back a bit which didn’t help things…overall pretty shitty leadup to my meet…
Went in tonight for deadlift and OHP…ended up tweaking my back trying to pull 550 and then 545, stupidly, and now I’m injured…feels like it could be a slipped disc, but I’m just hoping its tweaked…should know more when I wake up in the morning…mobility right now is nearly non-existant
Pull attempts didn’t look terrible IMO…but definitely need to pull my shoulders back more to start…
Really considering not doing the meet in March and just taking some time off for mobility, rehab, and conditioning work…all three things are lagging far behind right now, and even though I have gotten a lot stronger, I definitely don’t feel like balanced, and that is decidedly un-awesome…
Not going to make any rash decisions for now, but will probably decide in the next week…[/quote]
Sucks man… I hope you get all healed up quick. I’m feeling banged up right now too and just doing what doesn’t hurt.
Your shoulders looked really far forward on those attempts (ie in front of the bar).
yeah i just switched back to pulling conventional this cycle for some reason and my form still has some issues to be worked out…
Thanks man…hope you get your shit in line quick too…this may end up being the weakest race to 545 ever hahah
Man, I’m sorry to hear about the injury. Best of luck to you.
Thanks Dixie, appreciated man…
So I only slept like half an hour Monday night due to the pain and had a flight back to the US at 9 am the next day…my row was empty on the plane and I was in an exit row so I had plenty of room and was able to “lie” down the best I could (hard when you’re my height) and slept for about 3 hours…I’m sure everyone loved hearing me snore…
Plane got into the US early so I was able to get an early connector back here to DC, so I saved 3 hours of my life…was pretty stoked…
Took a muscle relaxer and 1g of ibuprofen and passed the fuck out at 4 pm, thinking I would only sleep for a couple hours…apparently not sleeping in 2 days got the best of me and I didn’t wake up till 11 pm, at which point I decided to say fuck it and fell back asleep…woke up again at 4 am for a few minutes…went back to sleep till 7…then fell back asleep till 10…
All in all, I slept about 18 hours, not including the 3 restless hours I got on the plane…
Pretty sure that was the most I’ve ever slept in my life, and I felt awesome when I woke up…back is feeling about 75% better…still get a twinge in it when rotating, but can live a normal life right now with it…
Went to the gym tonight to hit some heavy singles in bench…Worked up and hit 315, 340, and failed at 365…My setup is awful, but that doesn’t excuse me being weak as fuck…estimated max on 5-3-1 was something like 395, and I’m just completely pissed that I couldn’t even manage 365
After thinking it over, I’ve decided not to do the meet in March…deadlifts Monday moved me closer, and tonight’s embarrassment just solidified it…I’ve barely gotten any stronger in 1RM Strength since last year, and I’m just fucking furstrated with it all right now…
I’ve decided I’m going to just move my conditioning and fat loss program up one month and start it this Monday…I’m going to keep doing 5-3-1 but reset all my training maxes by 10% and focus on conditioning and rehab for my achey joints and weak spots…accessory work will be directly targeted to my injury rehab…will be doing 3-4 conditioning workouts a week, with fasted walks daily…I will also be doing the Pulse Feast strategy CT and Shugart have been writing about…
Basically I just want to get this shit out of the way so I can get back into the gym and start getting strong again…I think keeping my conditioning maintained once I start again will help my recovery and by that point my weak points will no longer be so…
So that’s that…
Haven’t been updating this log as much, but I have been doing work…
First things first, I’ve been doing Pulse Feasting for about 10 days now…I think I started on the 17th…so far I am down over an inch both at my waist (navel) and at the hips (pants location), while my gunzzz and legzzz have stayed current size…I think I’m down about 6 pounds or so, but haven’t been keeping track very well…
Basically been doing 3 scoops of MAG-10 2x per day, then “feasting” at night…I’ve cut out all calorie containing drinks, except for occasional glass of milk and some booze, and am eating relatively cleanly for the 4 hours at night…not a lot of carbs other than sweet potatoes and rice, occasionally some toast, but not often…also taking 4 scoops of whey protein (100 g) every night before bed to make sure I keep my protein up…
First few days were rough, but I’ve adjusted now and its not really hard at all…still get the pukey cough every now and then from lack of stuff in my stomach, but I’d say that will subside in another week or so hopefully…
As for training, I’m basically setting up my training like this:
MWF:
-Warmup (PVC Rolling, Foam Rolling, static stretching, dynamic mobility, unweighted prowler pushes)
-Plyo/Explosive movement (bench plyo pushups for upper body, cleans & snatches for lower body)
-531 movement (OHP, DL, Bench, or Squat) supersetted with:
-Athletic Accessory exercise (see list) for 50 reps
-Rehab/Weakness exercise #1 (see list) supersetted with fitness movement (jumping jacks, etc.)
-Rehab/Weakness exercise #2 supersetted with fitness movement (jumping jacks, etc.)
TuThSaSu:
-More in depth mobility, foam rolling, and stretching
-Conditioning (see list)
Athleticism
-Blast strap pushups
-Pullups
-Dips
-Inverted Rows
-Lunges
-Planks
-GHR
-Dead Bugs
-Reverse Crunches
Weakness/Rehab
-Hip Bridges
-Reverse Hyper
-Split stance squat
-Ab wheel
-Blast Strap ab fallouts
-abductor band walks
-Abductor cable extensions
-Prowler pullthrus
Mobility
-LWTPs (similar to YWTLs)
-IT Band PVC Rolls
-Piriformis LAX Rolls
-Warrior lunge
-Psoas stomach arch stretch
-Bird dog
-Cressey’s Magnificent Mobility
Conditioning
-Prowler Push
-Prowler Pull
-Tire flips
-Sledge hammer on tires
-suicides
-Hill sprints
-V-Burn (from Velocity Diet)
-Steady state cardio
-Tabatas
So far I have just been taking an exercise from each list before my workout and doing it during…not too difficult when they’re all written out…
Just wanted to share what I’ve been doing…if anyone has any suggestions for improving my lists, then I’m all ears…I’ll catch up my training log later tonight…now it is time to feast…
Link to the pulse feast? Seems like you are liking it so far.
[quote]DixiesFinest wrote:
Link to the pulse feast? Seems like you are liking it so far.[/quote]
Yeah, I had my doubts, and I have to say they are still not fully resolved, but it SEEMS to be doing the job so far…
If I had to do it over again, I’d probably just do a couple week V-Diet to break into “fat loss mode” and once my body recognizes thats what I want it to do, switch to the pulse feasting…I still might interrupt with a 2-3 week V-Diet mid stream…will depend on how the next couple weeks go…
Though my workouts have been kicking my ass so far, I’m weak as fuck in my main 5-3-1 movements, even though I dropped my training maxes 10%…the extra conditioning to go along with the diet is probably working synergistcally to create that…