bean counter's Barbell Medicine Log

[bean counter]

Tuesday 10 January
Cycle 6
Week 7, Day 2

Bodyweight: 98.7 kg

LBBS
℞ 1 @ 8, -15%: 16 reps (fours or triples)
Wrist wraps, belt, knee sleeves
175 kg: 1 X 1 @ 8- [.39 m/s]
150 kg: 4 X 4 @ 6.5, 7-, 7, 7.5-
Totals: 17 reps, 2,575 kg

Great. SBDs were a bit sore on my wrapping bruises to start with, but I forgot about it by the end of the warmup. Bar speed on the top single was a significant improvement on the last few weeks and I definitely intend to move up next week. Equipped squat may have helped me stop thinking of my 1 @ 8 raw single as being heavy / a big deal. Sets were nice and straightforward. Didn't think this session was very taxing, but I woke up with DOMS, so that's something.

DB Seal Row
℞ 6 @ 6, 6 @ 7, 3 X 6 @ 8
30 kg: 1 X 6 @ 6
32.5 kg: 1 X 6 @ 7
35 kg: 2 X 6 @ 7.5, 7
37.5 kg: 2 X 6 @ 7.5, 7.5
Totals: 36 reps, 2,490 kg

Good. Added an extra set rather than push intensity, which just leads to trying to cheat this movement with momentum.

Reverse Grip Bench
Wrist wraps
70 kg: 3 X 8 @ <6
Totals: 24 reps, 1,680 kg

Elbow is feeling really beaten up and I didn't want to do any more heavy bench work this session after equipped bench the day before. So this was just a super-easy slot as opposed to doing nothing.

[Mahendra]

That's a really fast @8 single... what's your V@1RM?

I find it very hard to generate momentum with seal rows. I guess it's possible though.

[bean counter]

That's a really fast @8 single... what's your V@1RM?

Yeah, too easy for @8 really. I'm not sure on minV, I have no grindy singles to look at. Based on extrapolation from subjective RPEs, 0.18 m/s looks plausible.

I find it very hard to generate momentum with seal rows. I guess it's possible though.

You sure can't cheat them as you can with many other rows, but I find when the weight gets too heavy I focus too much on exploding out of the bottom rather than maintaining a controlled pull. And when that happens the latter reps in a set tend to lose the last part of ROM.

Thursday 12 January
Cycle 6
Week 7, Day 3

Bodyweight: 98.4 kg

Competition Raw Bench
℞ 1 @ 8, -15%: 16 reps (fours or triples)
Wrist wraps, belt
120 kg: 1 X 1 @ 9
102.5 kg: 4 X 4 @ 7+, 7, 7, 8-
Totals: 17 reps, 1,760 kg

Not good. Shoulder has been tighter again for the last couple of days after a few good days before that. I suppose the elbow not being too troublesome tonight was a win of sorts. Anyhow, my last warmup at 100 kg felt great, but then the 120 kg was disappointingly slow. OBV2 said 0.14 m/s, which I can't quite believe, but it definitely wan't @8. First and last set of four weren't great, but things were more tight and controlled for the middle two.

Deadlift
℞ 1 @ 8, -15%: 16 reps (fours or triples)
Belt
197.5 kg: 1 X 1 @ 8 [0.29 m/s]
167.5 kg: 1 X 4 @ 7.5
+Straps
167.5 kg: 3 X 4 @ 7.5, 8-, 8
Totals: 17 reps, 2,890 kg

Poor. Bar speed on the top single was the same as last week, but adding just 5 kg onto the sets made them seem so much heavier. Technique also lacking as the bar kept drifting off my thighs. Added straps early because of sore elbow. Hopefully today was just a bad day. A small thing to be happy about - my regular top single was > 2X bodyweight.

[bean counter]

Saturday 14 January
Cycle 6
Week 7, Day 4

Bodyweight: 98.4 kg

5ct Eccentric Bench to Pins
℞ 12 X 1, 81%
105 kg: 12 reps

Fine. I quit trying to do these EMOM, so it was more like 90 - 120 seconds between reps.

Equipped Squat
℞ 1 @ 8, 2 X 3 @ 9
Titan Superior Suit, Inzer Iron-Z Knee Wraps, Belt, Wrist Wraps
180 kg: 1 X 3 (straps down)
190 kg: 1 X 2, 1 X 3 (straps up)
Totals: 8 reps, 1,490 kg

Good? Triple at 180 kg seemed like a decent follow-on from last week, but I had a recurrence of calf pain. Straps up for the other two sets didn't seem to add too much extra complication, but I did fail to hit depth. The first set at 190 kg was super-intense and I was seeing stars after a double. The final set went much better and felt more under control. 190 kg is more than I've ever had on the bar before and the concentric phase was still the easiest part of the whole experience. 200 kg next week?

DB One Arm Press
℞ 6 @ 6, 6 @ 7, 4 X 6 @ 8
20 kg: 1 X 6 @ 6
22.5 kg: 2 X 6 @ 6, 6
22.5 kg: 2 X 8 @ 8, 8
Totals: 34 reps, 1,500 kg

OK. Supposed to do seated press for sixes, but couldn't easily find all the dumbell pairs I needed so went for some one arm work instead. RPEs are on the left (injured/weak) side, right arm was relatively easy. Added extra reps rather than weight for the last couple of sets.

Mobility / Rotator Cuff Work

Training Summary

[bean counter]

Monday 16 January
Cycle 6
Week 8, Day 1

Bodyweight: 97.9 kg

Another recent BW low. Programming is all my own foolishness from here onwards, although it didn't seem to get off to an auspicous start. My current plan is to take another four weeks in the current cycle, up to a test. Then I'll get a few more restorative weeks before preparing to compete again in May.

Equipped Bench

Nope. My troublesome elbow has decided enough is enough and has swollen up with a significant increase in discomfort since Saturday. Hopefully a few days of rest, ice and anti-inflammatories will help, but I'm kinda worried.

2" Block Pull
℞ 1 @ 8, 3 X 4 @ 9
180 kg: 1 X 1 @ 7.5
160 kg: 1 X 4 @ 7
170 kg: 1 X 4 @ 8
175 kg: 1 X 4 @ 8
Totals: 13 reps, 2,200 kg

Great. I've never done this before and wanted to see how I feel pulling from this position. It didn't actually feel as disadvantageous as a slightly higher block pull, although the technique was still more stiff-legged than a pull from the floor. But the good thing was the starting position felt like I could lock my back into a good position, so I was happy to lift relatively heavy. The only thing really holding me back was the fact I'm squatting tomorrow. If recovery seems fine this week then I can push this a bit harder next week.

DB Seal Row
℞ 4 X 6 @ 8
30 kg: 2 X 6 @ 8, 7
35 kg: 1 X 4 @ 9
30 kg: 2 X 6 @ 7.5, 7.5
Totals: 28 reps, 1,720 kg

Humbling. So, I figured out a setup where I could actually let the DBs fully dangle between reps (previously they rested on the ground). That seemed to take quite a chunk off of my strength, since last week I did 37.5 kg X 6 with the old setup, whereas 35 kg was clearly too heavy for me today.

[Gerhard]

Monday 16 January
Cycle 6
Week 8, Day 1

Bodyweight: 97.9 kg

Another recent BW low. Programming is all my own foolishness from here onwards, although it didn't seem to get off to an auspicous start. My current plan is to take another four weeks in the current cycle, up to a test. Then I'll get a few more restorative weeks before preparing to compete again in May.

Not eating enough #rippetoe. But seriously, you could do one of two things, gain up and maximise 105's, or cut down to 93's. You've always seemed pretty flexible on the bodyweight front.

[bean counter]

Not eating enough #rippetoe. But seriously, you could do one of two things, gain up and maximise 105's, or cut down to 93's. You've always seemed pretty flexible on the bodyweight front.

While I could conceivably do a competition at 93, it's a dumb place to hang long-term so I'm not really incentivised to get there. The tentative plan is to stay on a small deficit for a few more weeks (6-8?) to try and lean out a bit so I don't go full-on fatman when I subsequently make a more serious attempt at 105. Down about 3 kg now from my heaviest last summer and my squat and deadlift have moved in the right direction.

[bean counter]

Tuesday 17 January
Cycle 6
Week 8, Day 2

Bodyweight: 98.4 kg

LBBS
℞ 1 @ 8, -15%: 7 X 3
Knee sleeves, belt, wrist wraps
177.5 kg: 1 X 1 @ 8+ [.33 m/s]
150 kg: 8 X 3 @ 6, 6, 6, 6.5, 6.5, 7, 7+, 7.5
Totals: 25 reps, 3,780 kg

OK. Top single was a bit harder than recent weeks, but the weight was increased. This was my max prior to a few months ago, so it's nice that my weekly single has now got up to this level. Added an extra set because I knew I wasn't benching today to give the elbow a rest, so I'd have a bit more recovery resource available. Sets felt kind of sloppy and my right knee was squirming around, but were easy enough.

DB Press
10 kg X 10
17.5 kg X 10

Stopped because of elbow pain.

Lever Row
40 kg - 60 kg: 3 minutes

Stopped because of elbow pain.

DB Hammer Curls
6 kg X 25 X 4

Planks
30s on / 30 s off X 8

Dragon Flag Progression

Tried some stuff a guy showed me. It was hard. I tried and failed to do a full rep at the end. Hopefully I didn't obliterate my abs too much for later in the week.

Eccentric wrist curls / reverse wrist curls

1 kg

[Mahendra]

Dragon Flag Progression

Tried some stuff a guy showed me. It was hard. I tried and failed to do a full rep at the end. Hopefully I didn't obliterate my abs too much for later in the week.

Nice

They are hard, but gets easier in time. Best abdominal exercise I've ever done.

[bean counter]

Wednesday 19 January
Cycle 6
Week 8, GPP

Bodyweight: 98.4 kg

Brisk Walk
20 minutes

Elliptical
10 minutes

Rotator Cuff Circuit
X3 in 14 minutes

Mobility


Thursday

Back hurts for no apparent reason and I have to DL later. WTF?