Olympic lifting love

So I haven't posted in a while, because I haven't been doing my normal stuff. BUT I figured I would post some updates.

DIESEL

Basically, I decided to take the entire week off as a sort of unscheduled deload. I was very sick for the start of this week, I barely ate for the first couple days, and even when I started eating normal(ish) again, I didn't want to risk jumping RIGH into real hard workouts, taking my recovery and getting sick all over again. I don't know if I had the flu or just a stomach bug, but whatever it was it blew. So, basically the plan is to just start again on monday with 3 week as if nothing happened. I will probably try to take that max set a littleeee easy, just so I don't push too hard and get pissed off when I am a little weaker from coming back. However, If I'm feeling it I'll go hard. Until then, I'm basically just going to try and eat relatively normally (although sort of however I want), rest, and enjoy the remainder of my days off.

Anyways, yesterday I went into the gym just to move. I wanted to lift a little, so I picked the movement that I could do the LEAST weight on, yet was still worth doing. The Snatch. Starting really light, I powersnatched up to 145, which was fun and pretty cool. And I didn't feel like shit later/the next day.

SO, today I went into the gym and decided to do some clean and jerk. FULL clean and jerks, which I have NEVER done in my life. And surprisingly enough, I took to them really well. I have barely ever even powercleaned before, but somehow I hot a hang of cleaning pretty well. Maybe it's the hours and hours I have spent watching videos, watching Josh train, watching new people begin to learn them. Either way, I worked up slowly but just kept pushing heavy, and ended up making a 235 clean and jerk, which I think is pretty insane for my first time ever. Plus, the jerk was pretty much a push jerk, because the goddamned gym floor was soaking wet today because of a broken vent. Anyways, here's the video. Not half bad for my first heavy clean ever.

I know I just had a great day with them, but I am starting to feel a growing love for the oly lifts. They are fun, dynamic, challenging, and I think they will 1) help me be a better athlete all around and 2) help my powerlifts tremendously by keeping me fast and explosive. I think I am going to start dedicating saturdays to the oly lifts. Here's my idea: Always start really light, NEVER give a shit if you PR, and just try and get in as many good, quality reps as possible. I figure, if I can work up to a heavy single once a week, doing a ton of warmup reps at light weight to get the form down, and I don't give a shit that progress is slow, I will probably make HUGE gains in the next year or so. Even if I only put 40 lbs on my C&J, that's a 275 clean - not half bad for a guy who really doesn't need to be good at it. Anyways, First goal is to learn how to do a full snatch without falling on my ass, and see how heavy I can get with that. But I'm excited. And, I'm excited to get back to my programmed lifting. Lets keep at it.

The sickness

The sickness is back with a vengeance. That's what I get for not resting enough. Gonna take a few days off of lifting for sure, no matter how I feel, and hopefully get back to it on thursday with 5/3/1 squats. That will also be an interesting mix-up to my programming, so that's cool. Lets get some rest.

Bench 190 x 10 sets of 3

Decent day for bench today, although not great in every other way. I'm having a little bit of a sickness relapse today. Maybe it was staying out late, or eating a lot, or drinking, or just training my ass off yesterday but I just felt very tired and nauseous for a lot of this morning. Did okay benching, but overhead press was rough and I was just tired and feeling like shit, so I called today early.

This picture is fucking awesome

Started with bench. Form felt pretty awesome today. I focused a lot on pulling my back tight.  warmed up with 95 twice, then 135 for a bunch and then straight to 190. The 10 x 3 was cake. Felt pretty good and form was good, I just felt nauseous. Maybe I let the bar rest a little too much on my chest, but no biggie. On the last set hit a really nice 7 and went for 8, but failed it. 7 is pretty good though, I'm happy with that.

Next, 5/3/1 strict press was rough. Hit 95 as a warm up, then 115 x 5, 130 x 5, and 150 x 7. Not terrible, but not very good, 8 or 9 would have been better. But that's alright, it just wasn't on today. Hit 130 x 8, and then 115 x 10. Then called the workout.

Overall, felt like crap, but I got the important stuff done. Gonna rest up and recover, and hopefully be back to smashing weight next week - after all, 3 week is always my favorite. Lets keep at it.

Squat 275 for 5 sets of 8

Today was an awesome day, which is crazy. I literally barely ate on wednesday, except for a huge dinner which I then threw up. Then yesterday, I barely ate all day AGAIN and barely moved because I was trying to heal up. I literally ate like 20 grams of protein all day. Today, I was planning on skipping lifting all together. I was just gonna go in and goof around the next two days until I felt better, then pick back up monday. But I actually felt decent. Tentatively I started squatting, and my form was REALLY on point today. I was doing an awesome job of sitting straight down, catching a HUGE squat reflex with my chest up and rocketing out of the hole. I could have been a touch tighter for sure, but I wasn't complaining too much haha. There is NO way I should have felt good today, and I kicked ass. Just goes to show how day-to-day weightlifting can be, and how little all the things I IMAGINE matter actually do matter.

Feelin Klokov strong

Started with squats. Hit the bar for a couple sets. I did two things differently: first, I widened my grip and I LOVED that. Idk why but it makes keeping my chest up feel SO much easier. Secondly, I was sitting down more, and I think breaking at the knees was a huge part of that. It felt awesome, I hope I can replicate it next time I squat. Anyways, hit 135 for 2 x 8, then 225 for a big set. It didn't feel amazing, but it felt REALLY solid and my form felt awesome, so I went right on up to 275. I hit it for the first set of 8, and again I could literally feel, from rep to rep, the difference between when I would break at the hips and "sit back", and when I would break at the knees and go straight down, and down was awesome. I rested a ton between sets, but in the end I nailed the 5 x 8. I'm so happy about that. It's an awesome workout, so much quality volume, and considering how rough the past few days were I will take it haha. I'm excited to switch now to 5 x 6. Still a lot of reps, but it's time to start honing the work capacity, muscle, and strength I have been building. I'm looking forward to crushing this 305 x reps on monday. I wanna show it who's boss and kind of gauge where I'm at.

Next, front squats. They always blow after heavy squats haha, but overall they aren't too hard and form is nice, which is the point. If I can get them consistently pretty and fast AFTER the heavy back squats, then I will have improves. hit 135 for a set, then 165 x 3, 190 x 3, and finally 215 x 3 x 3. Not bad.

Then, deadlifts. I was TIRED and my legs hurt, but weight was actually moving quite well. Hit 205 x 3, 285 for 2 singles, then 345. Then, went up to 375 and hit it for 3 singles. First, back was almost completely flat. Second was a little bit of rounding. Then, on the third I got my hips a little lower by setting up a little farther from the bar, and although it was hard I think my back was flatter on that one than the second one. Either way I'm pretty fucking happy with 3 reps at that weight. Nice nice nice stuff.

Then, banged out a couple crunches just to say I did.

Overall, really happy with today. Gotta remember some stuff. 1) wider squat grip, break at the knees. 2) All the shit you think matters probably doesn't. Just go lift and do the best you can for the day. 3) There is no accounting for good and bad days. Gonna bench tomorrow and hope it goes half as well as today, then rest up and back to it monday. Lets hope next week goes well. 3 week is my favorite, and it would be nice to have a few good workouts to kill some big weight. Lets keep at it.

Vomit

Vomited a lot yesterday. Haven't slept well or eaten at all. I'm going to take the next few days off from training seriously until this bug works itself out. Hopefully I'll be back at it monday, feeling strong.

Rest

Nothing important to report. Hectic class schedule blows. I'm hoping I can still put a lot of time and energy into lifting, but if not maybe that will be a blessing in disguise. Perhaps simply getting in, doing my best for the day, and getting out is what I need right now to excel.

Anyways, did some light squatting and complexes last night, then a quick warmup and some curls today, and that's it. I'm weighing in nice and heavy right now, tipping the scales at 219 (carb loaded) this morning. I'm happy about that.

Anyways, going to rest up today and hopefully kick some ass tomorrow. It would be nice, the sea of mediocrity and stress surrounding my return to school needs to be parted. Lets keep at it.

Bench 190 x 8

Today was a decent day. Not great, but I kind of played it safe again. I'm trying to cut myself some slack, because I think it will just take time to adjust to the change of equipment, environment, schedule, amount of walking, etc. Still, wish everything was a little easier than it is hahaha.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Hit the bar for a few warmups after standing around being angry at all the New-Years-Resolution fucks taking up my squat racks. Hit 95, then went straight to my first work set, 145 x 5, then 170 x 5. These weren't hard, but were a little wonky. I think I could have used more warm-up sets, but I was trying to move it along because, unlike over break, I have to be time conscious. Anyways, loaded up 190 and hit it for a solid set of 8. I might have had 9, but my spotter was bearing down, and I didn't want to 1) risk missing, of 2) risk him grabbing it even if I was going to make it. 8 is good. I was hoping for 9 or 10, based on my set of 9 touch n go last time I hit this weight, and my set of 10 paused with 185. But again, 8 is solid, especially considering I played it safe, AND I'm still adjusting. It definitely bodes well for 200 next week, hopefully I will be able to get 6 or 7 at that weight. I think I just REALLY need to focus on pulling my back tight. I wasn't quite warm enough and my form wasn't quite perfect - the bar was touching too high on my chest on some reps, and too low on others. I think I need to pull my scaps back harder, and make sure I'm touching it in the right spot every time. That's what's gonna make it come off my chest fast, and what is going to be the difference between near PR's, and PR's.

Next, dropped back to 170 and hit it for 3 sets of 7. I think I probably could have done less today. The 3 sets of 7 weren't terribly hard, but the lockout especially was tough on the last rep, and they slowed down a bit. I think a big part of it was tightness again - on one set in particular I REALLY focused on pulling my shoulder blades together, and the weight just moved so much nicer on that one. Still, I think I should be keeping these sets in the 3-6 rep range.

Dropped to 145 and hit it for 1 set, I have no idea how many reps I did. Tried to just stop before it got very hard, probably between 10 and 12.

Next were rows. Did my 2 sets of 30, but I used the 100 this time instead. Man these fucked me up haha. They are so hard, after finishing all 120 reps I felt like I was dying. I am definitely gonna be sore tomorrow, my back feels destroyed now. I think I'll do this for a while, then maybe switch to the 90 for 2 x 35, then bump the weight up, then back down to 90 x 2 x 40, etc.

Next, did strict press. My goal was 3 sets of 8 at 135, to sort of feel out how these would be. Overall it went well. I hit 95 for a warmup, then hit 135 x 8, 8, and 7. The 7th rep on that last set was crazy hard, but the first set of 8 wasn't bad, and the second was solid (although tough). Not a bad start. Hopefully next week I will be a little less fucked up from those rows hahaha, and also I will be able to take a little more time to rest (which I think will help). I'll probably shoot for a 3 x 8 again, and maybe try and get an extra rep or 2 on that last set. Just inch my way towards 3 sets of 10.

Finally, did some pullups. 5, 10, and 10 kipped. I kind of forgot I meant to switch to 2 sets, but that's okay. Next week I'll work on that. Then I'll probably just keep loading up one set until my first deload, then maybe I will switch to doing 30 reps instead of 25.

So overall, decent day. I did well on bench, strict press, and pulling. Nothing amazing, but all good. Hopefully, I will settle in and start performing better soon. I think I might take it easier tomorrow, just to make sure I am as fresh as possible thursday. I should be prepared that thurs might be really tough again, but I'm really hoping I'll be feeling better and FUCK that workout up. We will see I guess. Lets keep at it.

Squat 290 x 8

Today wasn't great. I took it a little easy, and was having a weaker day anyways. Having just moved back to school, I was dealing with a new environment, new equipment, the craziness of a move and time in the car and two nights in a row of staying out late and drinking. So it makes sense to have a less strong day - still, it never sits well with me.

Started with 5/3/1 squat. Warmups actually felt decent. Last week, both monday and thursday my technique was just a little off. It was choppy, not smooth, and squatting didn't feel good. Today It definitely felt a lot smoother and more natural, but I was also moving a little slower than normal/ideal. Hit 125 and 185 for warmups, then hit 225 and 255 x 5. Neither was hard, but they weren't easy either. Form was on point, but I just was feeling weak, which makes sense because of the late nights and the drinking. Went up to 290 and hit it for a set of 8. It was a very solid 8, and I may have had a rep or 2 left in the tank. It was moving pretty nicely, but the weight just felt heavy and I felt weak, so I decided it was better to get in a solid set of 8 and call it than to push and fail on rep 9 or 10. I wasn't going to get a PR today simply because it was a weak day, so pushing close to failure wouldn't have been smart. Still, I hate not pushing myself. I felt like I should have squatted that 290 for 11 or 12. And maybe on a better day I could have sacked up and done that, but that was not this day. Hopefully, however, I simply greased the groove and on thursday I can really push myself and smash my heavy 5 x 8.

This picture came up when I typed in "Snatch grip Deadlifts." WTF

Next, deadlifts went well. 275 x 12 x 1 on the minute from a 1 plate deficit. These felt pretty good, they were moving pretty fast. It was hard to focus because the gym was full of stupid fucks today, but for the most part the weight moved fast and form was nice. I think it was good that this was my lightest week for these, because as I said form felt nice, I was just weaker than normal. Hopefully next week I'll have a little more oomph and really be able to smash these.

Snatch grip deads were probably the most fun part of the workout. Sets of 5 are SO much better than 8 haha, they hurt my hands far less, and it's fun to go up heavy. I hit 125, 185, 225, 245, and finally 265 for a set of 5. These feel awesome. They hit my back and the heavier I go the more I feel my ass working. Doing 265 wasn't HARD per se. It hurt a lot, but the weight moved very nicely. I think I will shoot for 285 next week, I should be able to get that. The week after, i would LOVE to get 305, but I'm just going to base that off of how 285 feels. I'll definitely get 285, so we will just go from there.

Finally, did 3 sets of crunches. These hurt hahaha, which is kind of sad. But I'm hoping to grow my abs with the higher reps.

Overall, Not a bad day. Some quality reps at 290, some fast pulls at 275, and a solid heavy set of snatch deads. I wish squatting felt better and I could have pushed for 10 + reps, but I just need to accept that it was a smart move to take it a little easier today. I will heal up, and on thursday I'm gonna smash some weight. Then next week I can push my 5/3/1 set hard again. Lets keep at it.

Bench 210 for 10 x 1

Today was an awesome day. I had a lot of fun lifting with friends, and had a great upper body workout.

Huge chest, here I come. 

Started with Bench. Hit the bar for a couple sets, warmed up, then started at 95 lbs. I did warmups a little differently in that I didn't do EVERY rep paused. I did the first few paused, then just moved the weight touch and go so that I could hit more reps with less effort and just get the blood flowing to my muscles. I liked that blend a lot better. hit 135, then 185, then went up to 210. The 10 x 1 was pretty much no problem. My chest was a little tight and ropey at times, but overall the weight moved really nicely and I did most of the sets with maybe 2 minutes rest. I rested a bunch for the tenth set, and hit it for a set of 3 which is pretty solid. The second rep was tough, and the third rep was REALLY tough, but I still got it, which makes me very happy. I think my bench is back on track, and I'm excited to push ahead and make some gains.

Next, strict press went really well. Hit 95 for warmups (I like doing 95 instead of doing just the bar, or going straight to a work weight). Then hit 130 x 5, 145 x 3, and finally 160 x 6. That is a nice PR. My old max at that weight was 5, and that was touch and go, not paused like today. That makes me happy. Doing all this lighter work and not hitting PR's consistently makes it easy to doubt myself and my programming, but that weight moved really nicely today. It helps to remind me that I'm laying the foundation to smash some PR's later down the line. So it makes me happy to hit this PR. I'm going to keep at the light rep work, and hopefully more and more PR's will come. After the top set, I dropped back to 145 and hit it for 8, then 130 and hit it for 10. I left maybe a rep in the tank on each set, which I'm happy about - I kept the reps moving fast and nice, without letting myself grind too hard or miss anything. I think that's smart.

Next, did some bent over rows. Instead of doing heavier pendelay rows, I did some lighter yates rows, which I liked a lot actually. I hit 95 for a warmup set, and then did 125 for 3 sets of 16. It felt pretty good. Not insanely hard and I didn't get like a CRAZY pump, but I definitely felt my back working and I think it is a good way to mix things up. I might switch between the two types of row based on how I feel that day.

I chose Klokov presses for my extra pressing movement today. They went well, only I should have kept them a little lighter. I was planning to do a few sets of 8 at around 95, but then that felt light so I went to 115 x 6, then 125 x 5, and then 135 which I wanted to hit for 4 but only got for 2. I shouldn't have gone up so heavy. I messed up my shoulder Klokov pressing, and I think if I keep it light and do a lot of reps they will do me a lot of good. After that 135, I dropped to 95 and hit it for one more big set.

Finally, did 25 kipped pullups - 5, 10, and 10. I think I'm going to start trying to do these in 2 sets, to work on pushing myself and building muscle.

Overall, nice day. The steps back and changes to form made my first few weeks of upper body training a little frustrating, but I am starting to see some strength increases finally. I need to stay on track and work my ass off, and I think I am going to blow old PR's away. Lets keep at it.

Squat 255 for 5 x 8.

Today was a ROUGH day. Right from the beginning, I felt off. My warmups felt totally stiff and awkward, Like I just wasn't moving right. I felt tired, sluggish, physically just not good and that made me mentally totally not want to lift. My sleep was all messed up last night, so perhaps that was part of the reason, but I also felt like this on monday (although today was far worse), so maybe I'm just having a tough week. Either way, I was happy with myself because, despite feeling like shit, I pushed myself and accomplished what I wanted to this workout.

Started with squats. Hit the bar for a few sets, which felt terrible, then did a general warmup and hit the bar again. Put on 135 which felt a little better, but still pretty rough for both sets. Jumped up to 225 and hit it for 5. It felt heavy, and my reps were a little all over the place - too far forward, loose, whatever. I considered just taking a light day, but The weight was actually moving okay, despite how I felt. I knew I could get my planned 255 for 5 x 8, so I just went up, keeping in mind that however shitty the squats were, it was a rough day and all I could do was my best. Overall, the 5 sets weren't too bad at all. It took a ton of focus to keep myself tight. I was trying really hard to keep tight, push my hips forward and keep my chest up (basically fix the issues I had on monday), but in all honesty I had far more rough reps today than the past two thursdays. However, by focusing really hard and working my ass off I was able to get more and more good reps as the sets went on. In the end, I didn't miss a single rep. It honestly wasn't terribly hard. I feel like, even on this terrible day, I could have added a rep to each set or 5-10 lbs, and with enough rest and focus I would have made it. Hopefully next week I will feel better, because IF I am having a good day I think I will absolutely be able to hammer 275 for a 5 x 8. However, if it is another rough day maybe I will just take a light day next week and try and get my groove back so I can go heavy on the 5 x 6's. I really hope I feel better though, last week felt so productive and badass and I REALLY would like to get back to that next week.

Front squats were next. I dropped to 135, which felt light enough but my movement was still just stiff and shitty. Hit 185 x 3, 205 x 2 no problem, and then went up to 230. It did not feel great, but I hit 3 singles at that weight with no problems whatsoever, which I was happy enough with.

Dropped the weight and started deadlifting, which felt even more terrible than the squats hahaha. I just could not win today. Hit 225, 275, 315, and 345 for warmups, then went up to 375. I hit it for a single that was very slow and very tough. My back felt flat, but Josh was watching me and told me that my back rounded a little. I decided to call it there. Sure I would have liked to hit another rep or two, but I have never hit that weight without a belt, and I have a long time to get to my 405, so there was no point in pushing myself today when I felt like shit. I did drop back to 225, and hit it for a couple singles just to move weight fast and nice before finishing up.

Finally, did a few sets for abs, although my heart really wasn't in it.

So overall, it was a pretty rough day, but I think it was just one of "those" days, not really my fault at all. I am happy that, despite feeling shitty, I worked really hard and managed to do what I needed to today in the gym. Hopefully rest and a lot of food today will help me feel better, and have a nice workout tomorrow. And, hopefully my hard work today will pay off and next week I will feel better and will be able to DESTROY some heavy squats. Lets keep at it.

JM press and curls

Today was actually a really good arms day. Instead of doing sets to failure, I just worked up to a moderate weight on a couple movements and did 5 sets without pushing to failure. I got a greta pump and a lot of volume in, which was cool.

Started with JM press, with my feet up. I like this for triceps, I definitely got a good pump but it felt more useful than most bodybuilding movements for triceps. I did a couple sets with the bar, then 75, 95, 115, and finally, 135 for 5 sets. Did 10 the first 2, then 8, 8, and pushed to 9 on the last set, with 2 minutes rest between sets. This was great, Not pushing to failure on every set made the workout more enjoyable and more useful I think.

Next, did the same with straight bar curls. warmed up with 15, 35, and 45, then did 55 for 5 sets with 2 minutes rest - 10, 10, 8, 8, 10.

Good little workout. I should have more arms days like this. Lets keep at it.

Strict Press Change

Just finished my workout writeup, and then started reading some Chaos and Pain and it gave me a good idea for my tuesday training. I think I'm going to start at 135 this next tuesday and try and do it for 3 sets of 8-10 reps. I'll do that on tuesday and 5/3/1 on friday, until I can hit that 135 for 3 sets of 10 for a week or two in a row. Then, I'll bump the weight up 10 or 15 lbs and start over, doing 3 x 6-8 until I can get 3 x 10. That will allow me a lot of volume and fast, nice reps at light weight, but also will give me a method of progressing and a goal to shoot for. Cool cool cool.

Bench 210 x 4

Solid bench day today, which is nice because benching has been a bitch lately. I think I am working through the kinks that come along with the slight form changes. The biggest thing is I was lowering the weight too slow in order to keep control. But today, I was moving he weight faster down while still keeping tightness AND not letting the weight sink into my chest, and that seemed to make a big difference in my ability to move the weight off my chest.

Started with 5/3/1 bench and warmed up a little quicker today. Normally I take 95 for 2 sets but I took the bar for 2 sets, then just hit 95 and 135 for a couple sets without really counting reps. Then I hit 165 x 5 which felt a bit stiff. 185 x 3 felt great though, and I think that is where the "fast down" started clicking. Went to 210 and hit it for a set of 4, which made me very happy. That's a PR. I definitely think the reps could have been smoother - fast down made my reps a little wonky for sure, but They were still good reps. I think with a little more practice to get the timing right, and a lot of hard work to just get plain stronger, I'm going to be nailing some nice weight soon.

Next, dropped back to 185 and took it for 3 sets of 5. NOT pushing these sets is a greta idea I think. I have just been pushing myself too close to failure too often. By only doing 3 x 5 (when I probably could have done 3 x 7 or 8), I got a lot of nice, fast, pretty reps in without making myself exhausted and frustrated. I need to make sure that every tuesday I treat these backoff sets properly, and DONT get caught up in the trap of pushing myself to the edge every single set. I just need to move moderately heavy weight for a bunch of really nice, fast reps.

Next, dropped to 165. I pushed this one a little harder, getting 10 nice reps in.

Kroc rows went well. Did 2 sets of 30 reps with the 90's. Pulling the bell higher, to my chest, feels good. Next week I'll be back at school and I'll probably switch to the 100 lb bells, which should be good.

Overhead press went alright. I started with 95 as a warmup, then hit 135 x 5, 145 x 4, then 155 x 3, 2, and 1. Then I hit it for a max set. I felt like I was gonna crush the set at first, the first 4 reps were awesome, but then 5 got tough and I couldn't get 6. That was a little lame I thought. I don't know what it is, but strict pressing just has not felt as great lately. Strict press workouts have been FINE, or OKAY, but nothing special lately. But at the same time, I have been putting a lot of time into doing lots of reps at lighter weights. Hopefully, I am just building strength up with these lighter weights, and within a few weeks I will start smashing rep records and be able to hit a new heavy PR before long. I'm just going to try and keep at it.

Finally, did a set of 10, 8, and 7 kipped pullups, supersetted with 3 heavy overhead press singles at 165. That's not very heavy, but I was tired from the rep out at 155. The weight moved pretty well, and the pullups went well too. I just felt like I haven't gone heavy on press in a while, and it might be cool to hit some singles. Didn't feel great, but whatever I guess.

So overall, a good day. Strict press is annoying but I'm going to keep pushing it and I think it will start exploding soon. AND, bench (which has been a bitch) is starting to move again as I work out those form issues. I'm feeling excited, I think I am in good position to make some good gains these next few months. Lets keep at it.

315 squat x 7

Today was alright. To be fair to myself, I will start off by saying that something was a little off from the beginning today. My body didn't feel great throughout all of my warmups. My movement was just a little disjointed and not quite right. However, I fought through, and even though I was a little disappointed in my lifts today, everyone has tough days and overall (for a tough day), it was pretty good.

Started with 5/3/1 squats. Warmups felt shitty, but I did the bar x 2 x 10, then 135 x 2 x 10, 205 x 7. Then I hit my work sets: 250 x 5, then 280 x 3, then went up to 315. I ended up squatting it for 7 reps, and missing on the 8th. I was really angry, even though 7 reps is a pr. I think the reason I was mad is because I KNEW I could have performed better, so "good" wasn't good enough for me. Basically, reps 1-5 were solid. Rep 6 my chest dropped and it was hard, rep 7 my chest dropped AND I let the bar roll on me, so it was not only hard but sloppy as well. And then I failed attempting rep 8. Really, I feel like if I had stayed tighter and fought to keep my chest up better, I could have had that 8th rep, and 6 and 7 would have been far better. However, it WAS kind of an off day, and 7 is a pr so I need to chill a little. I just need to focus on keeping my chest up better. That will help me keep my back a little tighter, keep the bar from moving on me, and will be the difference between a "good" performance and my best performance. I am clearly stronger though, which is great. My video cut off halfway through the 6th rep, but here it is anyways. You can see how solid the first 4-5 reps are, but also you can see how my form starts to break down as I let my chest come down and get caught forward. I need to keep working on pushing my hips forward and keeping my chest upright.

Speed deadlifts were also good, not great. 315 x 8 x 1 on the minute from the floor. The weight moved fairly well, but I felt like It could have moved faster. I tried very hard to focus on each rep, imagining it was heavy ass weight and trying to rip it, and that helped. A few reps in particular definitely felt faster and nicer than the rest. Overall, it was simply a little slow and stiff. It was during these pulls, however, that I thought that maybe powercleaning on saturday messed me up a little. Normally, doing that sort of explosive lifting is good for overall athleticism, and doing it with regularity will make my squats and deadlifts more explosive. BUT, perhaps my body just isn't used to it, and my nervous system and muscles are just a little sleepy still from that different stimulus on saturday. I don't know. Either way, I definitely was having a bit of an off day. The speed deads were still fairly good however. It will be fun to work on ripping this weight from a deep deficit, and I can't wait to be up to 335 on these. 

Finally, snatch grip deads went really well too. Man these fuckin HURT my hands, but today for the first time I really felt my lower body working. hit 135, 185, 205, 225, and finally 245. 245 for 8 still wasn't very hard, but it was tougher on my legs and butt than any other set of there I have done, AND I felt it in my back. Still, my hands are what hurst most. I'm excited to switch to sets of 5 next week, hopefully I will be able to start pushing my strength more, and my hands will be hurting less. 

Ended with 3 sets of situps/crunches, working to really tire my abs out. I haven't had that exhausted, pumped feeling in my abs in a while. I really think this "dumbed down" ab training is going to be good for me. 

So, overall it was a good heavy workout. A little slow, a little off, but still some quality heavy lifting in. I will keep working on my weak points in my squat on thursdays and mondays, and I think even slight improvements in my form, coupled with the SERIOUS gains in muscle strength and mass that are going to come from this programming will let me destroy many a squat workout to come. I'm excited, lets keep at it. 

Power Clean and Jerk

Today was a lot of fun. I have pretty much decided that on saturdays, instead of doing pressing and squatting (which I am already doing 2-3 times a week) I am going to pick any more athletic and dynamic movement I want (probably mostly variations on strongman events or olympic lifts), work technique and then go up moderately heavy, probably ending with some kind of mock event (like max reps in 75 seconds). Some ideas for the future - power snatch, muscle snatch, power cleans, push press, farmers walk, deadlifts from pins, weighted holds, mock shield carries, etc.

Today I powerclean and jerked. Didn't do an "event" at the end because I didn't want to risk hurting myself (I have a history of powerclean injuries). However, went heavy and had fun.

Started with 75 lbs for 3 triples, and worked up really slowly to try and practice technique and NOT injure myself. hit 95 x 3 doubles, then 115 for 3 singles, then 135 x 2 singles. Then swiched to singles and moved up 10 lbs at a time. 145, 155, 165 and 175 were all easy. 185 started feeling heavy, but was still solid, as was 195. 205 was a little bit shitty - this is where form started going away, but the weight still wasn't bad. Then, I missed 215 and then missed it again, although I pulled it more than high enough to powerclean it. My biggest problem it seems is just that I am really stiff and not comfortable with the movement. When it gets up heavy I am trying to manhandle the weight up, and that is keeping me too tight and preventing me from getting under the bar. I need to jump the weight up and let the bar float, focus on pulling under and getting my elbows around. 205 isn't bad though, I
m happy with that.

I was push jerking the weights, and had no problems, so after missing 215 I racked the bar with plans of jerking up heavier. However, I missed 215 the first time and barely made it the second, so I called it there. No point in being stupid.

So overall, a good fun workout. I definitely want to continue working on powerclean form, as well as work on learning full cleans, and snatch variations. However, I think next week I might focus on a less technical lift so that I can go heavier and do a strongman-type challenge. Lets keep at it.

Upper body pressing

Today was nothing too special, but solid. 

Mass on the mind

Started with Bench. Warmed up and hit 200 x 15 sets of 2, with 4 reps on the final set. I don't have much to say about this. It doesn't feel great, I still feel slow and the reps aren't easy, but truth be told I would say it feels better today than it did tuesday. I actually feel more optimistic about making progress today, just based on feel. I just hope progress comes soon, because of the way the progression is. I think I'm just going to ride it out, try and focus on getting in a lot of quality reps. If I end up needing to re-set, so be it. But hopefully I will start to make gains above and beyond the progression soon. We will see. 

Strict press was okay. Hit 120 x 3, 135 x 3, then 155 x 6. I really wanted 7, and thought I was goign to get it easy based on how the first couple reps felt, but then 6 slowed down and I missed 7. Still ties my PR, but not as good as I hoped. Pushed for 135 x 10, then got 120 x 9. 

Did some pendelay rows a little heavier today. hit 95 x 10, 135 x 8, 185 x 6, then 205 for 3 sets of 4. Felt good. 

Benched a little for my second pressing movement. I did long pause reps, between 2-3 seconds, and worked up doing a set every 2-3 minutes. Hit 135 x 6, 155 x 5, 175 x 4, 185 x 3, 195 x 2, and 205 x 1. Later sets were very hard. I kind of liked the long pause, really felt my chest working which I think is important for me right now. But I think doing lighter sets with more reps might be a better move, even if I did them with a regular pause and focused on speed. Heavy today was okay, but in general I think I need more easy reps to get my bench moving. 

Finally, did 25 pullups. FINALLY I have figured out how to kip them fast again hahaha. I have been doing them sort of one at a time, and today I got in the rhythm of banging them out, the down of one rep turning into the kip for the next rep. Hopefully I will be able to use this technique to better fatigue my muscles and make some more size and strength gains. 

So, alright day. Not great but solid. Just need to keep at benching, and hope strength comes faster rather than slower. Lets keep at it. 

5 x 10 Squats are awesome

Wow today was hard but awesome.

Started with 5 x 10 squats. warme dup, hit 135 for a couple sets, then 205 for a set of like 6 or 7, then right to 245. The weight was moving awesome. This was an awesome weight to attack - light enough so that virtually every rep had the potential to move fast and with perfect form, but heavy enough so that I had to FOCUS hard on every rep past 3 on each set. Overall, I kicked ass. There were a couple bad reps, but for the most part the reps were clean and fast. But man, my legs were TIRED. Just like last week, I felt strong - like I could handle the weight no problem - but the fatigue in my quads and all my stabilizers was something else. Just standing with my knees locked out, waiting to do another rep, my quads were quivering. And it was SO easy to just drop into the bottom and lose tightness because squeezing into the bottom was just plain HARD after about rep 5 or 6. But I focused and worked hard, and ended up with 90% good fast reps and only really 1 rep that REALLY sucked (I lost my balance, and I ended up re-doing that rep anyways). I think that I am really going to get SO good at squatting from this style of training. The 5 x 8 will be interesting next week, we will see how that changes the game.

Front squats SUCK after those back squats. My everything is just so tired and shaky, it blows to have to hold weight and control it down and try to catch a stretch reflex again hahaha. But I did really well. Hit 135 for a warmup set, then 170 x 2, 190 x 2, and 215 for 3 x 2. The weight moved maybe a little slower than usual, and on one rep I definitely let my hips sink back a little further than they should have which made my chest drop a little. But overall, the doubles were pretty much cake. Like I said, hard mentally and physically to do after the other squats, but I'm still strong enough to get them done pretty easily.

Deadlifts went awesome. Warmed up with 225, 275, 315, and then hit 365 for 3 singles wiht a perfectly flat back, even easier than last week and I was going fast on these too. Pretty awesome. Gonna take these up to 375 next week I think, keep working up towards that 405.

Finally, I was short on time but I did 1 set of 30 ghd crunches/situps, keeping constant tension.

Overall, it was a great day. I really think this high volume stuff is doing exactly what I want - building some serious muscle, and ingraining technique in my mind. And hopefully upping my work capacity too haha, I'm breathing hard after those sets of 10. Anyways, I'm excited to keep working and see where it leads me. Lets keep at it.

Rest

Full rest day today. Still not all better from being sick, hopefully resting all day today will help make sure I'm back on track.

Side note: as I've been sick, spent a lot of time on youtube, TNation, message boards, forums, whatever. God it is annoying sometimes. People are so whiny and opinionated and just plain dumb sometimes. I'm tired of seeing mediocre people feeding the even more mediocre people so much bs and watching them eat it up. It's sad. Problem is, right now I'm still undeniably mediocre. It blows haha.

I can't wait till I am bigger, stronger, and faster than all of them. Sure they probably still won't shut up long enough to listen, but it will feel good to be one of the only people to actually achieve what they want in a mediocre world.

PS. I'm excited for saturday. You'll see why, it's gonna be fun. Lets keep at it.

Bad Bench Press

Today was a bad day benching. It seems that my fears were accurate. With the tweaks I made to my form, I am just really slow off the chest, and even though I had a couple good workouts at 185, my ability to rep weight out drops exponentially as the weight goes up. I am a little disappointed.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Felt shitty at the start, but as I moved along, I felt better. 155 and 175 for triples were no problem. Then I went for 200 and managed to get 5 solid but tough reps, and that was it. Definitely a little disappointing. After the 10 reps at 185 I was really hoping for 7 at 200. Losing 5 full reps at only 15 lbs heavier sucks. However, I think that it is just a matter of me adjusting and it is going to take some time before my muscles start to get stronger. I am using my chest a lot more pausing in this way, and I think in time it will allow me to FAR surpass my old numbers. And I have to keep in mind that 200 x 5 isn't bad at all - my old PR is only 205 x 5, so I'm still right there. I just need to keep at it. However, next week is 210. If I don't get at least 3 reps, I think I may repeat this cycle, just to give myself more time and room to grow. But who knows, maybe it will go better.

Next, did 3 sets at 175, 9-9-and 8, failing the 9th. I actually am going to back off these sets starting next week. These were never meant to be sets to failure. Originally, I was just doing 3 relatively easy sets to practice pause work. My strength blew up so fast that I started chasing PR's and pushing these sets every workout, but now they are making my workout take forever, and are sapping all of my energy when I still have 3 movements left. I need to stop pushing these to failure, and instead do 3 moderately difficult sets, MAYBE pushing for an extra rep or two on the last set. It will be better in the longrun for morale and for the rest of the workout to not suck.

Finally, repped out 155 x 10.

Kroc rows hurt like a mofo. However, I rowed the dumbell more to my chest today than I have in the past (I tend to pull lower, to my ribcage), and I liked the way it felt better in my back. I have a feeling I'm gonna be sore tomorrow. 2 x 30 each side.

Strict press went alright. Started right at 145 and hit it for 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. First set of 5 blows and is super stiff, I think I should probably do a warmup set first. But the rest started moving pretty nicely, not super fast but fairly smooth and the weight didn't feel heavy. On the 6th set I got 7 solid reps, didn't push to 8 cause I don't think I would have made it. Not bad.

Finally, did 25 kipped pullups, but I was really pooped and these blew.

Overall, a rough workout. I am sad about my bench, it was progressing so nicely and I wish I wasn't having this setback. However, I really think that it is simply a matter of getting used to the slightly different angles, and my chest getting stronger. Which will simply take time. I may have to pull my numbers back even further in order to get my bench started moving again, but maybe not. And either way, I'm sure once it DOES start moving I will be able to make continual progress for a good while. And, I think that taking it easier on those backoff sets will make benching less miserable on tuesdays, and maybe even speed up my progress. Either way, lets just keep at it.

Squat new 10RM (300lbs)

Today, had an unexpectedly good day

I have been sick, and it blows. I've been coughing, had clogged sinuses, mild headaches, fever, body aches. I don't think it's the flu, I think it's just a very nasty cold that gets worse pretty much every time I do anything haha. However, even though I considered skipping lifting today, I really don't want to miss a workout if I can help it. I am just going to rest as much as I can on my off days, and train as hard as I can within reason.

HAHAHAHAHA

Today, I wasn't sure what to expect as I sat around all day yesterday and felt like I forgot how to move today. My first two sets of squats with the bar were crap and felt like crap hahaha. BUT, I did a nice long warm up, and put 135 on the bar. With some weight, it started moving a little nicer. Still didn't feel great, but at least I was squatting properly, and I did 2 sets of 10-12 to really try and get warm. Then I jumped to my first work weight, 230. That weight, and my next weight (265) really felt heavy on my back, but when I actually squatted them they moved very nicely. Triples feel really good for me. After those two sets, I went up to 300. Even though I didn't feel good, weight was moving nice, so I rested a bunch and tried to take 300 calmly and with a lot of focus. And Iended up hitting it for 10 reps, which is a big PR - 2 reps more than last time I repped 300 out, and 10 lbs more than my old 10RM. The set was really good too. Reps 1-6 were cake. 7 was where the weight started catching up to me, but 8 and 9 (although hard) still moved very nicely. On some of the reps I felt like I was maybe sitting back a little too far, a habit that I think I still fall into when repping out moderate weight for a lot of reps. But I tried to cue myself to get those hips forward mid set and from rep to rep, and overall all the reps except 10 were really good. On the 10th rep I was just tired and I let my chest drop, my hips shoot up, blah blah blah. But I can't complain about 9 good reps and a tenth okay rep. Honestly, I think it's just a product of my legs being strong, but my back and stabilizing muscles getting tired hahaha. By rep 9 my whole body was shaking from holding that weight on my back. Anyways, an awesome set. Really feeling strong and like I'm making some gains on squats.

Speed deads went alright. The weight was 295, for 10 x 1 from the ground, on the minute. The weight didn't feel heavy and it was moving pretty fast, but these were just a little off today. I felt like my positions were a little bit weird, and I wasn't squeezing my ass very hard (maybe I was just tired). Either way I stayed focused and the weight still moved pretty fast and easy. Hopefully they will feel better next week.

Snatch grip deads are growing on me a lot. I am really liking them, even though they kill my hands. I like that I am limited in how heavy I can go for now - they are relatively easy, but I still feel like they are really worth doing, and I feel like I will really be able to go up heavy as I drop the reps and my hands get used to the hook grip. Today, working up in 8's, I did 135, 165, 185, 205, and 225. Again, none of the weights were hard on my legs or butt or back, it's mostly just my hands. However, I think this slow progression is awesome. I'm excited to keep working up slowly, and to see where the weight finally starts being hard to actually lift/lockout. I think it is a great movement worth doing for it's own sake AND worth doing because I think it is going to help my deadlift strength and help me pack on some more muscle.

Finally, ended with 3 sets of situps, 2 sets of 20 and a set of 26 ( just to push myself a little more). One thing that I did differently today was to change my range of motion so that I was keeping constant tension on my abs and worrying about that more than reps. I kind of like training them that way. I already do so many heavy compound movements with my core locked in that I feel like training my abs with "reps" might not be as useful as training them for the burn, and really trying to exhaust them/cause hypertrophy. I tend to just get bored with reps, but maybe if I focus on a few movements where I keep constant tension and train for the burn/exhaustion, it would help me to work my abs in a differrent was AND add mass to my core. Plus maybe some definition. Who doesn't want well sculpted abs? Once I finally lean out, I don't want to have neglected any specific ab work and have a shitty 6 pack. I think maybe training my abs a little more traditionally might be a little more fun for me, and that is better than doing what I don't like and stopping halfway through the cycle.

Anyways, pretty awesome day. Excited and a little nervous for tomorrow, but really pumped for the rest of this week. Already this re-set of my weights has me making all kinds of gains. It's fun and it's working. Lets keep at it.

Too much

Did a little too much on this saturday, and now my shoulders are achey and I feel shitty.

Started with front squats, which didn't feel great, but I pushed up heavy anyways, and actually did very well. I hit 135 for a few sets, then 185, 225, smashed 245, and then hit 260 for a tough but solid rep, which is a new unbelted PR. Cool stuff.

After, I switched to strict pressing but this went less well. 175 went up, but with a bit of difficulty. After, I did some push pressing too which also didn't go well, and it made me exhausted and achey as fuck. I should have done less today, but oh well. Live and learn.

Gonna rest up tonight and get back at it hard on monday. Lets keep at it.

Upper body day

Today was a cool day. Solid, lots of volume, and a little experimentation.

Started with bench. I was trying to move quickly today so I warmed up fast, hitting the bar for a set, then 95, 135, and then going right to 185 for my ten sets of 3. I also kept my rest down to about 2-3 minutes between sets, which isn't my favorite thing to do but I still destroyed the workout, and managed to press it for 8 reps on the last set - all 35 reps paused and not allowed to sink into my chest. The new tweaks to my form have clearly made me weak off the chest - I used to be able to blast weight for about 4 inches, then hit a sticking point until I could lock it out. Now that has changed, and it is the first half of the press that is hard, and the lockout is solid. Even though I am getting a lot of really good reps and even rep PR's with this lighter weight, I am worried that, as I go up, the slowness off of the chest is going to make it exponentially harder to get to lockout, and I will have a WAY harder time at weights 200+ than I have had with 185. However, I'm gonna try not to worry about it too much, and just take my next few workout one at a time. If I can get 200 x 7 or so, and 210 x 4 or 5 (hopefully 5), then I know I am on the right track for sure. If, as I worry, these weights are a lot tougher than they were with the other style, I'll just have to take the weight back accordingly and build up strength in the bottom again. I'm going to keep hopeful, however. 185 has gone really well this week, and that is definitely a good sign.

Strict pressing went really well, however. Taking the weights back last time helped me make some serious progress, and I'm hoping to really take advantage of this light weight to build up my strength and form so I can smash some new Pr's soon. Today, I warmed up with 95 x 8, then hit 110 x 5, 130 x 5, and finally 145 x 10. That's a PR, and one I am very happy with - and again, I'm doing every set and rep with pauses now. After, dropped to 130 x 10, and then 110 x 12. A TON of volume, and a lot of fun.

Next, did some Pendlay rows, with somewhat awkward weights. Hit 110 x 10, 145 x 10, 165 x 8, 180 x 8, and 195 x 6.

Did some push presses just for fun. I was thinking of working up to a heavy 5, but I don't really like doing these for reps, and I kind of wanted to see how heavy I could get. At first I was doing amazingly well, and smashed 195 for a new pr sort of hahaha. I figured I would be able to hit like 245, so I made a big jump up to 225, and had a lot more trouble with it than I thought I would - missed it, then got it on a second rep but it was sort of a push-jerk, and then missed again on a third attempt. BUT, I had already done a ton of pressing and I worked up too fast. I think maybe next saturday I will try a heavy push press again when I am fresh and take more time warming up to make my technique nice.

Finally, did 25 pullups, kipped, in 4 sets.

Good day, not awesome but good. Lets keep at it.

Squats

Had a great day squatting today. Still sick, cough and sore throat and stuff but I actually slept well last night and I think I am on the road to recovery.

AWESOME jacked guy

Went in to the gym and got warm. Squats felt a little weird at first, I was a little creaky and the first set at 135 felt a little heavy. But the second set felt a LOT better, so I jumped right up to 225 and got started on my 5 sets of 10. The weight was pretty much no problem - the first set especially I destroyed, my form was great and the weight was moving fast and easy. Honestly, the 5 x 10 at 225 was almost no problem, the hardest thing was just the number of reps haha. I felt gassed because I'm sick and a little tired. But overall, this was solid. My form was pretty awesome, with only a couple bad reps toward the end because I was tired. Overall however, the reps were fast and easy. I think I can definitely get quite a few pounds more next week with some focus, and resting a little more (I was trying not to rest very much between sets this week).

Next, did some front squats. These were probably the worst part of this workout, probably partly cause my legs were tired and partly cause the bar placement + sickness = my head feeling like it's gonna explode. But I got 3 x 155, 185, and the a 3 x 3 at 205 which felt like crap, but wasn't hard at all really.

Finally, did some heavy deads, which actually went great. hit 225, 275, 315, and then 365 for 3 singles with a perfectly flat back. These moved well. The second and third one were tough, but my back stayed flat and I was really happy with that. Probably, I will do this weight again next week and then maybe move up to 375. We will see.

Ended with 4 x 15 ghd situps.

Overall, awesome day. I really feel like this new method of squatting is going to help me a lot, building up my muscle, perfecting my form, and then tapering so that I can hone that new muscle I just built. I think I will adjust to the new training style quickly, and then be able to really push the weights and make some serious gains. Lets keep at it.

Recovery

Today, took it easy.

I'm sick and it blows. My lungs hurt and I can't stop coughing, I'm no sleeping well. Luckily I don't have any fever, I'm eating a fuckload of vitamin c and trying to rest, stay warm, whatever. Anyways, I went in today and warmed up, and very slowly loaded 95 lbs on a bar and did 3 supersets of 16 rep overhead press, and 20 or so curls with a straight 45 lb bar. Got a little bit of a pump. Mostly I just felt shitty though. It was probably good to go in and move, but being sick blows. And I'm sore as fuck from the changes to benching and the kroc rows. Anyways, gonna heal up and hope tomorrow goes alright.

Benching

Today was pretty good

Decided to make some changes to my bench form, as I have talked about. The cliff notes are 1) Decided to do all of my bench work paused, because why practice touch and go when it tends to be less consistent AND I will never have to do it in competition, and 2) Decided to work on my pause, because I have a little bit of a habit of letting the bar sink into my chest and losing tension, so I'm going to fix that. I was a little bit nervous about making the changes, because it might have been a hit to my ego. BUT I actually did very well. Keeping the tension on the pause is definitely harder. I feel my chest working a lot harder than I have in a while, and it feels like I have less speed off the chest than before for sure. For example, I feel like if I tried a really heavy single, like 235, I might not have enough speed off my chest to get me through the sticking point right away. HOWEVER, I hit 145 x 5, 165 x 5, and then 185 x 10 really strict paused reps, which is a PR. Not bad at all. After, I did 3 sets of 10 at 165, and then a max set at 145 which ended up being 11 (a little sad). So right now, the changes feel a little harder and my muscles get tired out. But I think that after just a few workouts like this, my body is going to start responding right away and I will keep progressing. I'm a little antsy now because I want it to be fixed AMARACH but if I'm patient and put the work in I think it's going to pay off.

Next, Kroc rowed the 90 for 2 sets of 30 each side. Shit these were hard after not doing them for a while.

Thirdly, strict pressed. Started off with 135 and did it for a set of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, then did a rep out on the 6th set. I really like doing this. The first set is a little creaky, but overall I get 15 reps that are fast and  with great form, and then when I hit that rep out my form is on point and the weight feels light. Today, I only got 10 reps on the rep out but not bad considering I had a lottt of pressing volume already.

Finally, did a bunch of pullups, mostly kipping, and a couple heavier singles in between my sets - hit 155, 165, and 175 for solid singles, then 135 one last time.

Overall, nothing too thrilling today, but a lot of quality volume and a PR on that 185 bench even with the changes to form. Hopefully, next tuesday I'll be able to rep that 200 out for 6 or 7. We will see. Lets keep at it.