CrossFatter LP

[Itchysoles]

So I'm feeling bad this afternoon about missing most of my upper body lifts the last two sessions due to this brachialis and brachioradialis[?] strain. Now that I have looked up a bit more on other discussions of this kind of strain and taking another look at my left wrist during LBBS, I'm thinking this is not from stretching into position (although getting narrower eventually may help), but from bent wrist resulting in too much weight supported by left arm....
So naturally, to make myself feel better, I head back to the gym for a second session--not sure if this one put me more or less off program.

More Press
185# x 5 -- yes, more than I had programmed and more than the set I did this morning. Maybe because I cut warmups short, maybe because I was trying to avoid forearm pain, but, as you can see below, I was over-extending back like crazy. Put me into spasms, and I had to roll it out before continuing. Keep in mind that I have a huge ass and I didn't put my head through early enough, so that makes the overextension look even worse. Should never rush these things!
185 x 3
185 x 2
185 x 1
205 x 1 -- Bad day, not maximal, very little layback, so I feel like my estimate of 225#+ for 1RM is pretty close. Maybe try 225 in a week.

Deadlift
Spasms from overextension aside, I felt pretty good in the back, so I went ahead with
335# x 5 -- like butter. Will stick with every other session rather than the 1x/week I was considering if they continue to feel this good.



At home:
5 BW tits-to-rings
5x3 ring pullups +25#

[Itchysoles]

BW: 203.5#

Squat
45, 135, 225, 315
335# x 5reps x 3 -- back to my top 5x3, felt much easier than last time despite following a couple days of harder than usual bike-commuting

Press
45, 135
183# x 5reps x 3 -- Trying to progress slowly on upper body after a couple weeks of fails. Straightening left wrist on squats may help more than anything.

[Itchysoles]

Light Squat Day == No Squat Day

BW : 205#. Body changing so fast it feels like a second puberty at 31 years old. Seriously, whole milk, loaded kale and fruit smoothies, paying closer attention to getting sufficient protein and leucine every 3 or 4 hours with minimal snacks in between, getting enough sleep. You will gain weight.

My schedule was off since I did day 1 on Tue instead of Mon this week. I was going to initiate HLH this week anyway, so I just went extra light with the time I had on Wed, i.e. no squats.

Bench
297# x 5reps x 3 -- Gave it one last shot after failing 2 or 3 times at this weight. Hopefully fixing my wrists on the squats gives me some more LP on bench at 1 or 2# increments going forward.

Dead
345# x 5reps

Chins
5 x BW, +25#, +45#

Several power clean to paused front squats @ 135# in between the work sets above. Just trying to stretch out the legs and front rack.

[Itchysoles]

BW: 203 -- With voided bowels

Started putting salt in my smoothies this morning. Put too much... not a good idea when you drink 60oz of smoothies in a morning.

Squits
45 x 10
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1
315 x 1
340# x 5 x 3 -- after three weeks, finally another 5 x 3 PR

Priiisss
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 2
185# x 5reps x 3 -- shakiest part is my legs, quaking on that third set, some left arm pain still, but much less than a week ago.

Out of time to PC.

[Itchysoles]

24 July 2017 : 6:15-7:35am

BW: 204#

Sleep: 6.5hrs ... heat kept me up.

Squat:
45 x 5-10 x 3 .... needed extra warmup this morn'. Typical following a <7.5hr night
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 1
345# x 5rep x 3 -- vid below. Knees still traveling too far forward. Need to adjust slightly narrower stance, maybe try TUBOW? My left arm pain is much less after straightening wrists, still there a bit in left brachialis, but better over last 3 or 4 sessions.

Press
Warmed up between squat sets
187# x 5reps x 3 -- difficulty is so very form dependent on these! 1st or 2nd set as the hardest is becoming pretty typical. sticking with 1 or 2# jumps

Dead
Warmed up between press worksets
355# -- thumbs still tingly an hour later! hook greep!

Guy beside me was doing some weird high pull thing with straps, got up to 335# or so though from the floor with around 10 reps, so I was impressed he didn't snap no shit up-- a healthy young body is a resilient thing.

Edit: PM at home: 7 or 8 sets of 10 ring pullups. Went with about 90 seconds rest between sets until I couldn't do a good set of 10 anymore.

[Itchysoles]

26 July 2017: 10:00-11:10am -- light squat day... means no squat day again.

BW: 204# -- so hard to keep gainin' after 20#!

Bench: (+1#) 298# x 5reps x 3

Dead: (+10#) 365# x 5reps .... did an extra deadlift day 'cuz no squats today

Well, I intended to get in a few sets of squats at 225# or 275# just to stretch into position, but I was hampered by my arm and lat fatigue from the ill-advised 70-80 ring pullups on Monday. The soreness made everything hard, the +1# on bench was terrible, felt the deadlifts in my lats and forearms more than anything, and a few attempts at stretching into low bar squat position were excruciating. 10 x 8 pullups is too many....says the CrossFatter.

[Itchysoles]

sorry, testing a Python script to write my updates into table form from a google sheet. I'll let anyone interested know when and if it's available.... bad git practices, trying to reform!

[Itchysoles]

Friday, 28 July 2017, 6:30-7:45am

BW: 204, so tired of eating

Sleep: ~7hrs

State of body and mind: stiff, tired, life stresses at RPE 7, only specific pain still in left arm--whole arm, especially elbow

Squat
45 x 3 x 10r
95, 135, 225, 315
(+5#) 350 x 3 x 5r -- probably some of the hardest 45s efforts of my life. LP will teach you new levels of effort

Press
Extra rest waiting for left arm pain to subside from squats. Not the worst it's been, but not comfortable.
45, 95, 135,
(+3#) 190 x 3 x 5r -- extra 1lb beyond what I planned since I was resting extra b/c of elbow anyway. May continue to slip some 3# jumps in as we go forward. I'd like to put up some singles at least 225#, but I'll wait for a day with less arm pain from squats.

Today is three months out from the Fall Classic, I'm thinking of of getting some heavier work at lower reps in, but I hate to stop something that's working. I've seen 8 weeks out as a recommendation for the highly specific practice, so the decision to switch off pure 3x5r LP isn't urgent for a few weeks. It's possible I reach the natural end by then anyway at around squat 380, press 210, dead 400 for my worksets-- a little more to put my workset total at what my optimistic 1RM total was at 2 months ago would be nice!

[Itchysoles]

odd day - 31 July 2017 : 2:00-3:45pm

Went in middle of afternoon. Wasn't sure I was going to lift at all today, contemplating extra rest or deload or switch to front squats for a week. Despite (because of?) soreness and being off the normal routine, everything actually felt pretty good once I got under the bar.

BW: 204.5# no gainz. too much weekend recreation.

Press --- for some reason went with +5# instead of the +1# I had planned.
195# x 2 x 5reps -- felt so good I tried for a dank single...
225# x 1 -- meh? went up, but didn't feel as easy as I though after the sets at 195#. Lesson is I need to start some intensity days just for the practice?

Dead -- warmed up between presses
375# x 5 -- not bad at all, I got some more +10# days coming up. If anything, my thumbs are the weak link (not difficult to grip but a little painful). Going to read a little more on the hook grip technique I've been using.

Squat - wasn't even sure I was going to try until I was actually finally under 355#
355# x 3 x 5reps -- have been dreading this because of the elbow pain I've had all weekend (including during a day of paddle-boarding on the ocean), but it felt easily better than any squats last week, maybe better than any squats since I deloaded to 315#. Concentrated on "breaking the bar over my back", got hands in a little bit narrower despite not thinking this was possible for me yet, and hardly experienced any elbow pain at all. The extra couple hundred mg of ibuprofen and caffeine probably had something to do with that as well.

I did sleep in a bit this morning (~8hr), so that may have something to do with the unexpected successes as well.

[Itchysoles]

So, most off the program week yet because of family in town, getting called away to work one day, prep for weekend events, et c., but eaked out some PRs, and I should be able to have a normal HLH day next week--maybe I'll even power clean for once.

Fri., 4 August 2017 6am

Press
195# x 3 x 5reps -- Same weight as Monday, but beltless bc I forgot it!

Dead
385# x 4 with 5 to 20 seconds between reps--basically 4 singles feeling out what my beltless capabilities are.
Then got called away to work anyway.
-----------------------------------------------

Sat., 5 August 2017 8am - 9:15

Squat
(+5#) 360 x 3 x 5reps -- felt fine despite the bad week. I softened up and tweaked my upper back on second set, feels muscular not spinal. Still having a little elbow pain, but better each of last few sessions.

Deadlift
Worked up to a single at 405# cuz it's Saturday and what the hell. That might be a lifetime PR? There was something left, but hard to tell how much since I'm not in the habit of max deadlifts, maybe have never done it at all in a well-trained state. Held it with hook grip at the top for several seconds and may have had a DOH-no-hook PR with a few reps at 365# 5 minutes before that, grip won't be the limiting factor for a while. Will resume DTP at 385# x 5 on Monday.

Press
210# x 1, just playing around, certainly didn't feel as easy as it should have, but I did press 3x5 beltless the day before. Just reinforcing even more that my body doesn't know what a 1RM feels like.

Some curls with 50s, a couple sets of ring pullups at home, some 3 generation pushups with my 61yo dad and my 3yo son on my back, lulz!

Let Monday commence 3 weeks of by the book HLH LP, then I'll do something to start training some singles, maybe some kind of somewhat early switch to Texas Method with an even lower rep emphasis on ID to get me ready to crush it at Fall Classico.