BW - 225
Squat -
BarX5
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
295X8, 7
Incline - up to 165X3, 3, 3
BB Rows - up to 165X5, 5, 5
295X8 is a Rep PR. I think I will do one more week at this weight. Would like to get 10+ before moving up again. 2nd set felt as strong as the first, but I didn't need more than 15 reps at this point. That 2nd set being strong is a phenomenon I experience a lot on the Starting Strength programs, and something I need to keep lodged in the back of my mind as I keep toying with higher-rep sets and total volume.
Bumped up weight on Incline and Rows to match my last workset on flat bench.
Showing posts with label Rippetoe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rippetoe. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2016
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Novice LP* - Session 34
BW - 229
Squat -
BarX5
155X4
205X3
245X2
295X1
330X5
285X5, 5
Bench -
BarX5
95X3
135X2
175X1
202.5X5, 5, 5
Chins - BWX7, 6, 5, 4
* Moving to the Texas Method next week. Coach modified the squats for this and the next, final LP session. Today was a PR set of 5, and two back-off sets. 330X5 is an all-around PR!
Got all 15 reps on Bench. Last bench session of the LP.
7 chins at a 229 BW is a Rep PR! I read Rippetoe's article on the TM from about 5 years back. He recommended taking 5 minute breaks between chins sets, so tried that here.
Squat -
BarX5
155X4
205X3
245X2
295X1
330X5
285X5, 5
Bench -
BarX5
95X3
135X2
175X1
202.5X5, 5, 5
Chins - BWX7, 6, 5, 4
* Moving to the Texas Method next week. Coach modified the squats for this and the next, final LP session. Today was a PR set of 5, and two back-off sets. 330X5 is an all-around PR!
Got all 15 reps on Bench. Last bench session of the LP.
7 chins at a 229 BW is a Rep PR! I read Rippetoe's article on the TM from about 5 years back. He recommended taking 5 minute breaks between chins sets, so tried that here.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
5/3/1 BBB: Cycle 2. Week 1. Dead
BW - 204
Deadlift -
135X5
185X5, 5
215X5
245X5
275X10
Hypers - 5 sets of 10-15
Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 5-10
+10% session, but Deadlift often is. I focused on making sure my knees locked out after the last couple of sessions, and just thinking about it seemed to take care of the issue. Everything felt strong, and 275X10 is right around my projected 1RM and ties my 10 Rep max.
This cycle I'm doing hypers and ab wheel for my assistance.
On hypers, my hands are behind my head, or I'm holding a weight behind my head. Significantly harder than over my chest.
On ab wheel, I realized I can get a few more reps if I keep my head forward rather than looking at the ground. Somewhere Mark Rippetoe is probably screaming about my cervical spine, but whatever. When I can kick out 5 sets of 10 this way, maybe I'll return to neutral.
Deadlift -
135X5
185X5, 5
215X5
245X5
275X10
Hypers - 5 sets of 10-15
Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 5-10
+10% session, but Deadlift often is. I focused on making sure my knees locked out after the last couple of sessions, and just thinking about it seemed to take care of the issue. Everything felt strong, and 275X10 is right around my projected 1RM and ties my 10 Rep max.
This cycle I'm doing hypers and ab wheel for my assistance.
On hypers, my hands are behind my head, or I'm holding a weight behind my head. Significantly harder than over my chest.
On ab wheel, I realized I can get a few more reps if I keep my head forward rather than looking at the ground. Somewhere Mark Rippetoe is probably screaming about my cervical spine, but whatever. When I can kick out 5 sets of 10 this way, maybe I'll return to neutral.
Friday, December 9, 2011
5/3/1 Log: Cycle 2. Week 2. Deadlift
Defranco's Agile-8 + upper back stretching
RDL - BarX10
Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
200X3
230X3
255X6
185X10X5
Was worried about the strain in my left hip (I think it's the tensor fascia latae), so I foam rolled like a mother, and took great care with all my mobility/flexibility work beforehand. Turns out it may not have been necessary, as I felt nothing in that area during my sets. 255X6 is a Rep PR and projects as a minor increase in my 1RM. I wasn't planning on going that far, as X4 would have been a Rep PR on it's own, but everything felt great so I went for 6. I possibly could have gotten even more if I wanted to grind, but I'm still focused on Squats and not Deads.
Some of the success in this session may be due to a slight form tweak I made after reading a recent Rippetoe piece. I recently screwed up my squat listening to the guy, but I thought I'd give him another shot. The main change was aliging the bar over mid-foot as I had been doing, but then unlocking the knees and bringing the shins down until they touch the bar. I think the bar path was much stronger for me this way, and I will continue to use this adjustment.
I also upped the wait in the Boring But Big sets. I think 185 is approaching my top weight for 5X10. I almost quit before the last set, but since I wasn't doing anything but Deads today, I convinced myself to man-up and push through.
RDL - BarX10
Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
200X3
230X3
255X6
185X10X5
Was worried about the strain in my left hip (I think it's the tensor fascia latae), so I foam rolled like a mother, and took great care with all my mobility/flexibility work beforehand. Turns out it may not have been necessary, as I felt nothing in that area during my sets. 255X6 is a Rep PR and projects as a minor increase in my 1RM. I wasn't planning on going that far, as X4 would have been a Rep PR on it's own, but everything felt great so I went for 6. I possibly could have gotten even more if I wanted to grind, but I'm still focused on Squats and not Deads.
Some of the success in this session may be due to a slight form tweak I made after reading a recent Rippetoe piece. I recently screwed up my squat listening to the guy, but I thought I'd give him another shot. The main change was aliging the bar over mid-foot as I had been doing, but then unlocking the knees and bringing the shins down until they touch the bar. I think the bar path was much stronger for me this way, and I will continue to use this adjustment.
I also upped the wait in the Boring But Big sets. I think 185 is approaching my top weight for 5X10. I almost quit before the last set, but since I wasn't doing anything but Deads today, I convinced myself to man-up and push through.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
5/3/1 Log: Cycle 1. Week 0. Squats
Defranco's Agile-8
BB Squat -
45X5
95X5
135X5
155X3
175X3
200X3
BB Split Front Squats - BarX10X3
Front Squats - 55X10, 75X10X2
Much like Bench Day is now Bench and Back Day, this is now Squat and Quads Day (although I'm feeling it pretty good in my Glutes as well). Seriously, I was rubber-legged on the trip home, and the front of my thighs are definitely making their presence known today. This is good as I chose this accessory work for this day specifically for this purpose. I'll get my back and hamstring work on Deadlift day.
Trying to adhere to the deload week 0 idea here so I didn't go for reps on the last set of squats. Few notes here though. I watched a Rippetoe video about squat grip, and it totally fucked up my session. This was killing my shoulder and I was having trouble keeping the bar on top of my delts. When I tried to abandon this and go back to my regular grip, I couldn't remember how to do it! Really frustrating. I had to take a break a do shoulder-dislocates to try and loosen my shoulder back up. It's been months since I've had problems in my left shoulder, so this made me none too happy. Also my wrists felt beat to shit as well. In fact, my wrists took a beating all day. On the bright side, I was getting great depth all day! Don't know why. I'd been worried after my last heavy set on BLAB that I'd cut the last couple of sets high. Maybe just having that in my mind got me down into the hole more. A really funny thing happened too me. After my first work-set, I heard a voice behind me saying "Do you have to go so low?"
BB Squat -
45X5
95X5
135X5
155X3
175X3
200X3
BB Split Front Squats - BarX10X3
Front Squats - 55X10, 75X10X2
Much like Bench Day is now Bench and Back Day, this is now Squat and Quads Day (although I'm feeling it pretty good in my Glutes as well). Seriously, I was rubber-legged on the trip home, and the front of my thighs are definitely making their presence known today. This is good as I chose this accessory work for this day specifically for this purpose. I'll get my back and hamstring work on Deadlift day.
Trying to adhere to the deload week 0 idea here so I didn't go for reps on the last set of squats. Few notes here though. I watched a Rippetoe video about squat grip, and it totally fucked up my session. This was killing my shoulder and I was having trouble keeping the bar on top of my delts. When I tried to abandon this and go back to my regular grip, I couldn't remember how to do it! Really frustrating. I had to take a break a do shoulder-dislocates to try and loosen my shoulder back up. It's been months since I've had problems in my left shoulder, so this made me none too happy. Also my wrists felt beat to shit as well. In fact, my wrists took a beating all day. On the bright side, I was getting great depth all day! Don't know why. I'd been worried after my last heavy set on BLAB that I'd cut the last couple of sets high. Maybe just having that in my mind got me down into the hole more. A really funny thing happened too me. After my first work-set, I heard a voice behind me saying "Do you have to go so low?"
Monday, August 15, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 4.Day 1
Simple-6
BB Bench Warm-up - BarX10, 65X10, 95X8, 115X5, 135X3
BB Bench - 125X5, 130X3, 145X6
Incline DB Bench - 45'sX25, 45'sX16
One-Arm DB Row - 70X8, 70X8, 75X8, 75X8
super-set with
Rope Push-downs - 40X8X4
BB Shrug - 155X8, 160X8, 165X8
super-set with
Incline DB Rear-Delt Raise - 50X8X3
Barbell Complex (DL, Bent Row, Hang Clean, Push Press, Back Squat) - 65X10, 45X10X3
Ha, I wasn't paying attention to my programmed work-set weights for the bench and over-shot that weight with my warm-ups. Just shows I'm getting stronger in the bench, hopefully. The 145X6 projects as a PR according to Jefit. My previous best when I was at B@lly and working with suspect weights was 155X2, so I think it's true. However, I really think my form is getting more locked in, and that is likely playing a large part as well.
Speaking of that, the heavy lifters were working in the gym today, and I got to watch them bench at the same time as me and compare our set-ups. These guys are doing the full PL form where they set-up with their heads way behind the bar, plant the balls of their feet there, and then pull everything else in front of the bar. Extreme arch so that only the traps and head are on the bench, and their heels are way off the ground. For myself, I put my eyes right behind the bar, pull my feet back as far as I can without my heel rising off the ground, then I pull myself forward so that my eyes are just in front of the bar. My heels come off the ground a little, but I manage to keep my butt on the bench. I then push on the up-rights to make sure my shoulders are tight together and making a nice solid surface with my traps for me to press against. I grab the bar with my middle-finger on the rings, squeeze and "pull the bar apart," take a lot of air into my belly, and take the bar out. If it's a work-set, I will pause at the top and take new air into my belly before taking the press. I let the bar come down in a natural path (about to my diaphragm), then I focus on pressing it back up in the same groove. I also focus on keeping my elbows tucked coming in and out of the bottom of the press, but letting them flare at lock-out. This is feeling pretty good for now, and I'm hitting PR's. I don't know if it is going to be stable enough as the weight keeps increasing though. Looseness was one of my big problems at B@lly. The bar swaying side-to-side as it came out of the rack, etc.
Figuring out this form has been a bit nerve-racking. The fact seems to be that there are many ways to interpret what constitutes strong in the bench. So much of the stuff I read is geared towards power-lifting, which emphasizes that big arch that helps hit big numbers at meets. But I'm not going to do PL meets. Then when I read Rippetoe, he has you starting with the head and shoulders in final position in front of the bar, feet flat and shins at 90 degrees, and with just enough arch that a flat hand can slide between the back and the bench. He also has trainees keep the elbows out at about 60 degrees during the press. So PL form de-emphasizes the chest, and puts more of the weight on the triceps and the lats, which helps to move more weight. Rippetoe's method uses more chest and shoulders. I asked Paul Carter about form, and he said I'd have to figure it out for myself, and I guess that's what I'm doing. To clarify, my goal is this: Use the Bench Press to Get Stronger. This doesn't mean I'm trying to build up my chest, but it I'm not sure it means that I need to build the biggest bench possible which would involve the PL-style extreme arch. So for now, I'm settling on this hybrid with maximum arch while keeping the butt on the bench and feet almost flat. As the weight goes up I'll just have to make adjustments as necessary.
Back to the session, all the assistance stuff went great. If the one-armed DB rows, continue to have higher numbers than cable rows and/or pull-downs, I'm gonna want to know what that's about. Am I being a wimp on the cable stuff, or just cheating more with the DB? Probably the latter, as I don't think I've ever heard of anybody being more tentative on machines. Whatever. Right now it's just fun to be increasingly rowing weights from the fat end of the rack.
I should mention that I was totally out of gas for the BB complexes. I think it was probably a combination of only having a shake that day prior to training, and having house-guests/staying up late the night before. I started with the same weight as last time, but almost couldn't finish the set. The cleans are always a momentum killer for me on these, but this time I just didn't have any reserves. I was facing a mirror and my eyes literally went wide with surprise and concern on the first clean. Pretty funny. I pulled all the weight off after the first set, and barely managed to get through the rest of the sets/reps. Hey, dummy, eat and sleep! Tip o' the hat to you , Joe Defranco. These finishers are definitely exposing all kinds of holes in my training.
BB Bench Warm-up - BarX10, 65X10, 95X8, 115X5, 135X3
BB Bench - 125X5, 130X3, 145X6
Incline DB Bench - 45'sX25, 45'sX16
One-Arm DB Row - 70X8, 70X8, 75X8, 75X8
super-set with
Rope Push-downs - 40X8X4
BB Shrug - 155X8, 160X8, 165X8
super-set with
Incline DB Rear-Delt Raise - 50X8X3
Barbell Complex (DL, Bent Row, Hang Clean, Push Press, Back Squat) - 65X10, 45X10X3
Ha, I wasn't paying attention to my programmed work-set weights for the bench and over-shot that weight with my warm-ups. Just shows I'm getting stronger in the bench, hopefully. The 145X6 projects as a PR according to Jefit. My previous best when I was at B@lly and working with suspect weights was 155X2, so I think it's true. However, I really think my form is getting more locked in, and that is likely playing a large part as well.
Speaking of that, the heavy lifters were working in the gym today, and I got to watch them bench at the same time as me and compare our set-ups. These guys are doing the full PL form where they set-up with their heads way behind the bar, plant the balls of their feet there, and then pull everything else in front of the bar. Extreme arch so that only the traps and head are on the bench, and their heels are way off the ground. For myself, I put my eyes right behind the bar, pull my feet back as far as I can without my heel rising off the ground, then I pull myself forward so that my eyes are just in front of the bar. My heels come off the ground a little, but I manage to keep my butt on the bench. I then push on the up-rights to make sure my shoulders are tight together and making a nice solid surface with my traps for me to press against. I grab the bar with my middle-finger on the rings, squeeze and "pull the bar apart," take a lot of air into my belly, and take the bar out. If it's a work-set, I will pause at the top and take new air into my belly before taking the press. I let the bar come down in a natural path (about to my diaphragm), then I focus on pressing it back up in the same groove. I also focus on keeping my elbows tucked coming in and out of the bottom of the press, but letting them flare at lock-out. This is feeling pretty good for now, and I'm hitting PR's. I don't know if it is going to be stable enough as the weight keeps increasing though. Looseness was one of my big problems at B@lly. The bar swaying side-to-side as it came out of the rack, etc.
Figuring out this form has been a bit nerve-racking. The fact seems to be that there are many ways to interpret what constitutes strong in the bench. So much of the stuff I read is geared towards power-lifting, which emphasizes that big arch that helps hit big numbers at meets. But I'm not going to do PL meets. Then when I read Rippetoe, he has you starting with the head and shoulders in final position in front of the bar, feet flat and shins at 90 degrees, and with just enough arch that a flat hand can slide between the back and the bench. He also has trainees keep the elbows out at about 60 degrees during the press. So PL form de-emphasizes the chest, and puts more of the weight on the triceps and the lats, which helps to move more weight. Rippetoe's method uses more chest and shoulders. I asked Paul Carter about form, and he said I'd have to figure it out for myself, and I guess that's what I'm doing. To clarify, my goal is this: Use the Bench Press to Get Stronger. This doesn't mean I'm trying to build up my chest, but it I'm not sure it means that I need to build the biggest bench possible which would involve the PL-style extreme arch. So for now, I'm settling on this hybrid with maximum arch while keeping the butt on the bench and feet almost flat. As the weight goes up I'll just have to make adjustments as necessary.
Back to the session, all the assistance stuff went great. If the one-armed DB rows, continue to have higher numbers than cable rows and/or pull-downs, I'm gonna want to know what that's about. Am I being a wimp on the cable stuff, or just cheating more with the DB? Probably the latter, as I don't think I've ever heard of anybody being more tentative on machines. Whatever. Right now it's just fun to be increasingly rowing weights from the fat end of the rack.
I should mention that I was totally out of gas for the BB complexes. I think it was probably a combination of only having a shake that day prior to training, and having house-guests/staying up late the night before. I started with the same weight as last time, but almost couldn't finish the set. The cleans are always a momentum killer for me on these, but this time I just didn't have any reserves. I was facing a mirror and my eyes literally went wide with surprise and concern on the first clean. Pretty funny. I pulled all the weight off after the first set, and barely managed to get through the rest of the sets/reps. Hey, dummy, eat and sleep! Tip o' the hat to you , Joe Defranco. These finishers are definitely exposing all kinds of holes in my training.
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