Defranco Hip Mobility
Squats -
BarX25
95X10
155X6
195X3
245X1
195X13, 7, 6, 7 (33 total reps)
GHR - BWX12, 10, 10, 10, 12
195X13 is a Rep PR. Some of the work sets/reps felt a little off, especially at the turn-around. It feels like I may be turning or twisting one way or the other or something. Might bear more thought.
Upped the difficulty of the GHR bench settings by raising the cross-bar one notch. Didn't actually seem to make that much of a difference, so next time I may drop it back down but move it forward one notch.
I worked out back to back days here, so I decided to skip the standing abs work. Probably not the right decision, but I had an ab strain once before, and that shit makes all kinds of things difficult until it clears up.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
UB: Reps Week 2. Bench
Defranco Shoulder Mobility
Bench -
BarX15X2
65X10
105X6
135X3
170X1
135X13, 4, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4 (32 total reps)
Press -
95X5
85X5
65X5
BarX10
BarX11
Standing Abs - 5 sets of 8-15
135X13 is a Rep PR. Bench was alright, but I wanted to get 14 reps on my first work set, and I had no confidence I would go back up so I stopped at 13. Interestingly, after the single, the doubles were significantly easier as should be evident by my ability to get 4 reps on by final set. I a;ls got more total reps than last session. Possibly it would be worthwhile to try for a few less reps on the first set, in the hopes of getting more reps on the subsequent sets. I might try this next week to see what happens.
Bench -
BarX15X2
65X10
105X6
135X3
170X1
135X13, 4, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4 (32 total reps)
Press -
95X5
85X5
65X5
BarX10
BarX11
Standing Abs - 5 sets of 8-15
135X13 is a Rep PR. Bench was alright, but I wanted to get 14 reps on my first work set, and I had no confidence I would go back up so I stopped at 13. Interestingly, after the single, the doubles were significantly easier as should be evident by my ability to get 4 reps on by final set. I a;ls got more total reps than last session. Possibly it would be worthwhile to try for a few less reps on the first set, in the hopes of getting more reps on the subsequent sets. I might try this next week to see what happens.
UB: Reps Week 2. Back
Rollovers, piriformis stretch, lat stretches
Deadlift -
135X10
225X5
275X3X2
T-Bar Rows -
BarX30
30X10
50X6
60X3
70X3
60X15, 8, 5, 6 (34 total reps)
Prowler High-Lows - 90 lbs., 14 sets, 15 minutes
Standing Abs - 5 sets of 10-15
My mind was off today, plus I didn't consult my programming close enough, and so and didn't do everything the way I was supposed to.
I should have done 225X5 twice and then 275X3 once. I didn't realize my mistake until after my first 275 set. Rather than be done, or go back down, I decided to just do another set of 275. No big deal. Besides, I like Deadlifting, heh.
Same on the rows. the set of 3 was supposed to be at 70, not 60 as I'm waving a top triple instead of a top single like on squats and bench. No matter. I needed to hit 14 reps on my first work-set to be on track for my goals or this movement, and I got that plus one more. Feels good.
Deadlift -
135X10
225X5
275X3X2
T-Bar Rows -
BarX30
30X10
50X6
60X3
70X3
60X15, 8, 5, 6 (34 total reps)
Prowler High-Lows - 90 lbs., 14 sets, 15 minutes
Standing Abs - 5 sets of 10-15
My mind was off today, plus I didn't consult my programming close enough, and so and didn't do everything the way I was supposed to.
I should have done 225X5 twice and then 275X3 once. I didn't realize my mistake until after my first 275 set. Rather than be done, or go back down, I decided to just do another set of 275. No big deal. Besides, I like Deadlifting, heh.
Same on the rows. the set of 3 was supposed to be at 70, not 60 as I'm waving a top triple instead of a top single like on squats and bench. No matter. I needed to hit 14 reps on my first work-set to be on track for my goals or this movement, and I got that plus one more. Feels good.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
UB: Reps Week 2. Squats
Defranco hip mobility
Squats -
BarX15X2
95X10
155X6
195X3
245X1
195X11, 9, 10
GHR - BWX10, 12, 12, 10, 10
Standing Abs - 5X10-20
Walk home - 20 minutes
195X11 is a Rep PR. I'm pretty stoked that I dropped from 5 sets to get 30+ reps down to 3 here, even if I just made the 30. Two psychological things that I think contributed: 1) I think the single being heavier this week made the work sets feel lighter, and 2) I altered my set-up a bit. Before, when I set up under the bar I'd always try to make sure my body was tight. This session I found myself not just getting tight through my body, but also getting tight against the bar. What I mean by that is, I pushed myself into the bar as hard as I could without actually lifting it. Then when I inhaled and arched the bar out of the hooks, it felt lighter for some reason. Maybe it's mental, and maybe I was just that much tighter as a result of this tweak. Pretty cool, though. I still sweat like Bobby at the reading of Whitney's will because I once again stayed up late drinking the night before a squat session.
Squats -
BarX15X2
95X10
155X6
195X3
245X1
195X11, 9, 10
GHR - BWX10, 12, 12, 10, 10
Standing Abs - 5X10-20
Walk home - 20 minutes
195X11 is a Rep PR. I'm pretty stoked that I dropped from 5 sets to get 30+ reps down to 3 here, even if I just made the 30. Two psychological things that I think contributed: 1) I think the single being heavier this week made the work sets feel lighter, and 2) I altered my set-up a bit. Before, when I set up under the bar I'd always try to make sure my body was tight. This session I found myself not just getting tight through my body, but also getting tight against the bar. What I mean by that is, I pushed myself into the bar as hard as I could without actually lifting it. Then when I inhaled and arched the bar out of the hooks, it felt lighter for some reason. Maybe it's mental, and maybe I was just that much tighter as a result of this tweak. Pretty cool, though. I still sweat like Bobby at the reading of Whitney's will because I once again stayed up late drinking the night before a squat session.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
UB: Reps Week 1. Bench
Sunday:
Timed Mile - 10:38
Monday:
Defranco Shoulder Mobility
Bench -
BarX15X2
65X10
105X6
135X3
160X1
135X12, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 3 (30 total reps)
Chin-ups - Gym BW 210X7, 3
Presses - 95X5, 85X5, 65X5, BarX7, BarX10
Decided to do a light one-mile run between lifting days. Just went for something easy; I even walked a bit after the initial quarter mile. Had to keep my focus to keep my pace down though. When I run by myself, my instinct is too just take off.
So the numbers Paul Carter lays out in this plan call for the work-sets to be 63% of your 1RM*1.05. For my bench, that comes out to about 130lbs. This is one of the rare examples where I have consciously made an ego-driven change to my programming. It just seems dumb to put a 25, 10, 5, and 2.5 lb. plate on each side for this instead of just throwing full plates on there on working on that weight for this cycle. Also, 135 projects as my 15 rep max, same as what I'm doing on Squats.
The results were interesting. It was easier than the Squats (have I mentioned I'm a poor squatter?), but not as easy after the first set as the rows. Could be because I upped the weight slightly over the recommended %? I also cut those later sets shorter than I may have needed to because, ya know, the weight is hovering over my chest with no partner to catch it. Anyway, with the 30 second rests (it's 60 for Squats) this was a bit of a romp. Pretty fun.
Timed Mile - 10:38
Monday:
Defranco Shoulder Mobility
Bench -
BarX15X2
65X10
105X6
135X3
160X1
135X12, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 3 (30 total reps)
Chin-ups - Gym BW 210X7, 3
Presses - 95X5, 85X5, 65X5, BarX7, BarX10
Decided to do a light one-mile run between lifting days. Just went for something easy; I even walked a bit after the initial quarter mile. Had to keep my focus to keep my pace down though. When I run by myself, my instinct is too just take off.
So the numbers Paul Carter lays out in this plan call for the work-sets to be 63% of your 1RM*1.05. For my bench, that comes out to about 130lbs. This is one of the rare examples where I have consciously made an ego-driven change to my programming. It just seems dumb to put a 25, 10, 5, and 2.5 lb. plate on each side for this instead of just throwing full plates on there on working on that weight for this cycle. Also, 135 projects as my 15 rep max, same as what I'm doing on Squats.
The results were interesting. It was easier than the Squats (have I mentioned I'm a poor squatter?), but not as easy after the first set as the rows. Could be because I upped the weight slightly over the recommended %? I also cut those later sets shorter than I may have needed to because, ya know, the weight is hovering over my chest with no partner to catch it. Anyway, with the 30 second rests (it's 60 for Squats) this was a bit of a romp. Pretty fun.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
UB: Reps Week 1. Back
Defranco warm-ups - Rollovers to V-Sits and lat stretches
Deadlift -
135X5X2
225X5X2
265X3
T-Bar Rows (unsupported) -
BarX30
30X10
50X6
60X3
60X10, 8, 6, 8 (32 total reps)
Prowler High-Lows - 90lbs., 8 trips
Since Paul Carter wrote the Ultimate Beastdom articles, his attitude towards high-rep Deadlift work has clearly changed. After some consultation with him, I decided to replace the high-rep Deadlift work with high-rep Rows. The idea I came up with is to start with some easy deadlift sets, and wave the top set through the 6-weeks to get heavy enough at the end to get some rep PRs, but not so heavy that I'm trying to increase my projected max. Then I will use Carter's over warm-up method to work on my rowing rep strength with unsupported T-Bar Rows. The only difference there is that instead of waving the top single on rows, I will wave a top triple. I just think this makes more sense for rows. This way I still get to have some fun with Deadlifts, including a shot at some low rep PRs, but most of the work is on Rows, which I need to do some work on anyway.
This session came with only a one day break since the first high-rep squat workout, and my hamstrings were quite tight, and made it a little bit difficult to get into position for the deadlifts, but ultimately these pulls were fine.
The Row work was easier than the work on Squat day. After I worked up to the set of 3, I pulled on lifting straps so that I didn't have to worry about my grip distracting from the quality of my rows. I would say this went fine, but afterwards the mid-back strain that I developed during the strength cycle reared it's head. I've been looking forward to getting some quality rowing done on this cycle, and I'm going to be righteously pissed if this strain gets in the way. I'm gonna be foam rolling like a mother this week, and we'll see what happens next time.
Deadlift -
135X5X2
225X5X2
265X3
T-Bar Rows (unsupported) -
BarX30
30X10
50X6
60X3
60X10, 8, 6, 8 (32 total reps)
Prowler High-Lows - 90lbs., 8 trips
Since Paul Carter wrote the Ultimate Beastdom articles, his attitude towards high-rep Deadlift work has clearly changed. After some consultation with him, I decided to replace the high-rep Deadlift work with high-rep Rows. The idea I came up with is to start with some easy deadlift sets, and wave the top set through the 6-weeks to get heavy enough at the end to get some rep PRs, but not so heavy that I'm trying to increase my projected max. Then I will use Carter's over warm-up method to work on my rowing rep strength with unsupported T-Bar Rows. The only difference there is that instead of waving the top single on rows, I will wave a top triple. I just think this makes more sense for rows. This way I still get to have some fun with Deadlifts, including a shot at some low rep PRs, but most of the work is on Rows, which I need to do some work on anyway.
This session came with only a one day break since the first high-rep squat workout, and my hamstrings were quite tight, and made it a little bit difficult to get into position for the deadlifts, but ultimately these pulls were fine.
The Row work was easier than the work on Squat day. After I worked up to the set of 3, I pulled on lifting straps so that I didn't have to worry about my grip distracting from the quality of my rows. I would say this went fine, but afterwards the mid-back strain that I developed during the strength cycle reared it's head. I've been looking forward to getting some quality rowing done on this cycle, and I'm going to be righteously pissed if this strain gets in the way. I'm gonna be foam rolling like a mother this week, and we'll see what happens next time.
Friday, April 13, 2012
UB: Reps Week 1. Squats
Defranco Mobility
Squats -
BarX15X2
95X10
155X6
195X3
225X1
195X8, 6, 7, 6, 5 (32 Total Reps)
GHR - 5 sets of 10 (on a medium setting)
You guys, these squats were no joke. The last two blocks were relatively easy the first week or two. This. Was. Not. Now, I usually start cycles with some kind of pressing day because that's the way Defranco laid it out, and that's the way Wendler laid it out. For the first two blocks of UB/WCS, I always ended up Squatting on Saturday or Sunday, invariably on not-enough-sleep and often a bit hungover. I wanted to break that cycle up, and decided to start this block with Squats to make sure I was fresh going in. Man am I glad I did.
Squatting has never come easy to me, and yet I knew 195 projected to around my 15 Rep Max so I expected to get to those work sets and maybe start off with 10, and try to get the 30 reps done in 4 sets. This was a complete brain-fart on my part because it didn't take into account fatigue from working up to the single. With Deadlifts, a more natural lift for me, this wouldn't have mattered as much, but with Squats I new I was going to be in trouble right around the 155X6. Everything felt heavy and hard. By the time I got to the work sets, I had no idea what would happen. Frankly, I'm kind of amazed that I got the reps I got, because I was afraid I might not be able to do even 6 sets of 5 to get my 30 rep total. When I'd finished my 3rd set, though, I knew I'd be able to clear 30 with my last two. Man. I'm pretty excited to see how this goes with the other movements, and for the rest of the block.
Squats -
BarX15X2
95X10
155X6
195X3
225X1
195X8, 6, 7, 6, 5 (32 Total Reps)
GHR - 5 sets of 10 (on a medium setting)
You guys, these squats were no joke. The last two blocks were relatively easy the first week or two. This. Was. Not. Now, I usually start cycles with some kind of pressing day because that's the way Defranco laid it out, and that's the way Wendler laid it out. For the first two blocks of UB/WCS, I always ended up Squatting on Saturday or Sunday, invariably on not-enough-sleep and often a bit hungover. I wanted to break that cycle up, and decided to start this block with Squats to make sure I was fresh going in. Man am I glad I did.
Squatting has never come easy to me, and yet I knew 195 projected to around my 15 Rep Max so I expected to get to those work sets and maybe start off with 10, and try to get the 30 reps done in 4 sets. This was a complete brain-fart on my part because it didn't take into account fatigue from working up to the single. With Deadlifts, a more natural lift for me, this wouldn't have mattered as much, but with Squats I new I was going to be in trouble right around the 155X6. Everything felt heavy and hard. By the time I got to the work sets, I had no idea what would happen. Frankly, I'm kind of amazed that I got the reps I got, because I was afraid I might not be able to do even 6 sets of 5 to get my 30 rep total. When I'd finished my 3rd set, though, I knew I'd be able to clear 30 with my last two. Man. I'm pretty excited to see how this goes with the other movements, and for the rest of the block.
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