A Scrawny Lifter's Redemption Song

[Gary Gibson]

8/24/2009

What a horrible, horrible mistake...

SQ 45x10, 135x5, 225x3, 275, belt 315, 335x3, 315x3
Paused BP 45x5, 135x3, 185, 205x3
DL 365x2x6

I'm so mad at myself. I really overestimated my capabilities on SQ and BP. 335x3 was horrible. This was truly a 3RM and the last rep got pretty bent over. This is just under 90% and I really don't know what I was thinking by trying to triple it. I had nothing left afterward and 315x3 nearly ended me. And I just did 315x3x10 with energy to spare a couple of weeks ago! MCL was snapping like crazy on just about every rep.

Apparently I'm experiencing the requisite drop in strength after a peak. So the plan is altered to make things easier. SQ will stay between 275 and 295 this week, or ~75% for triples. BP will stay between 175 and 195. I may go as high as 315x3 SQ and 205x3 BP again, but not this week. Just an easy work set of triples for a while. Got to give my SQ and BP time to regroup.

That works out well because the six set of doubles with 365 DL today were pretty brutal. They didn't push me to my limit, but I can say with confidence that I am nowhere near conditioned for 6x6 with this weight. If I can get that in two weeks, I will definitely be stronger.

So take it really easy on BP and SQ for the next two weeks while pushing the pedal on the deadlift. At this point, I just want to score at least 165 kg on the squat and 105 kg on the bench. If I can just get a little over my DL record with 205 kg, I'll be happy. My ambition has diminished after today's session. I just want to break my SQ and DL records and get the record for the total. No more dreams of totalling over 1100 right now.

[Gary Gibson]

8/25/2009

Man, I wish I weren't so dumb sometimes...

SQ 45x10, 135x5, 225x3, 275x5
Paused BP 45x6, 135x3, 185x5
DL 225x2, 315, 365x3x6

OK. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. I'm still learning and that means I'm going to be experimenting and making some wrong turns.

That 275x5 was done without a belt. So I started getting bent over on the fourth rep and the fifth rep was just ugly. I should have worn the belt for the work set. And I'm thinking I should have just tripled 275. These are supposed to be heavy but EASY. I'm not supposed to be straining and burning myself out.

So. Easy 54321 or 53214. 185x5, 225 for the four-set and 255, 275 and 295 for triples, doubles and singles respectively. Same sort of set up for the bench: 135, 155, 175, 185, 195. In both cases, I'll be putting up just 80% for a single. That's sounds about right for now.

BP form not dialed in at all. I feel like a goddamn fish flopping around on the bench lately.

DL was brutal, but just on the grip, not so much on the muscles. But the grip is a window to the CNS, so I'm really pushing my luck here. Hook grip used and thumbs really were angry about that by the last set. No belt, but kept knee sleeves on. Going to keep going, but next week I'm stretching this out to M, W, F, Sunday instead of the MT ThF I'm doing this week. I don't think I'll be seeking a max after that, just resting the pull completely 13 days from the meet. Such it must be with the deadlift, especially after that last session with 36 (!) reps with 80%.

And it looks like 80% will be my ceiling for these next two weeks. Just a single each time with SQ and BP, but with increasing RSR volume on the dead.

Edit: Down below 166 today... Ominous or promising?

[Mr.City]

Your log is inspiring as always, Gary.

[Gary Gibson]

Your log is inspiring as always, Gary.

Thanks much, Mr. C. And I love that avatar.

It's nice to think there are actually readers getting some use or entertainment out of this.

I posted my training plan on Dragon Door in hopes that Jack Reape would see it and get back to me. He did. http://kbforum.dragondoor.com/kettle...erlifters.html

G,

First read this:

Peaking on Demand: A Strength Training and Powerlifting article from Dragon Door Publications

Second, a DL emphasis program is not optimal for a 3 lift PL meet. If your goal is to break the DL record then that may work, but 3 lift Pl is about maximizing your total, which is different form pushing one lift.

With your example i think you can get away with your plan to an extent. 85-88% would be better for singles in the squat, and i owuld feel free to work your bench a bit more as it is the squat work that hurts the DL and DL that hurts the BP. So BP a bit more within your comfort range volume wise. BP requires the most volume by far.

Three weeks of hard work then a two week taper is what i do in the peak/taper phase.

Good luck.

jmo

So I'm going to bump up the squat to 85-88% which is 315-330 for me. 2-3 singles there after a triple and double on the way up, maybe with 275 and 295. Looks like 32111.

I'm not sure about volume on the BP right now, but it doesn't feel like this lack of volume is working. It would be a little crazy, but I could do an RSR on the BP, too! I was going to work the bench hard a few days after I stopped deadlifting anyway. My initial plan--back when I'd planned to gain weight for this meet--was to do a Bear volume protocol for bench.

DL will continue as it is. It's starting to scare me a bit, but I'm actually looking forward to the pain. I've missed deadlifting so much. My back really got neglected during my SQ and BP focus.

[Gary Gibson]

8/27/2009

Gary's gettin' his groove back...

SQ 45x10, 135x5, 225x3, (belt) 275x3, 295x2, 325x1x3, 275x1
BP 45x5, 135x5, 185, 195x2x6
DL 225x3, 315x2, 365x2x6 (amazingly effortless)

Kept SQ at about 87% today on those singles. Slowed plenty at sticking point, but reps were far from tiring. Did 275 as a backoff to check my speed and was still slow as molasses through the sticking point. Not a huge deal, but I would like to be moving more quickly with these percentages. Didn't get bent over except on last single with 325 and even then it wasn't egregious.

Decided to use RSR for BP too! I'm starting slightly out of phase with the DL RSR so after I wrap that up next week, I'll still have a couple of sessions to go with the BP RSR in week three. Weight got easier with each set and I really had to force myself to rest between sets because it was so easy. Don't know if I'll be singing the same tune on the 6x6, however. I did my DL warm up between last two BP sets.

DL was amazingly easy. I mean, I was struggling a little bit on the first day with x2x6, but today I had to force myself to rest between sets. Lumbar region go a little bit tired on last two sets, but this really wasn't even close to challenging. My hook grip seems to have achieved good conditioning overnight. Confident about x4x6 tomorrow. Next week, however, I will be doing Su-Tu-Th-Sa, one full day of rest between DL sessions. Feeling good about getting to x6x6, but I doubt I could do it right now. I will rest the DL entirely for two full weeks prior to meet and I'm feeling confident that I will pleasantly surprise myself on my second and third attempts.

Weighing about 170 today. I ate quite a bit in my travels yesterday. Couple of McD's hamburgers, Beef Negamaki, various cuts of the swine and cheese, then a McDouble on the trip back to NY Penn. I'm sure I can get down to 165 within a day. It happens every now and then and I need to figure out what I do that makes it happen. But I want to keep training around 170 till the last rest week so I can train strong. Dehydrated, small and weak is no way to train.

Injury Report:
I walked back and forth to Baltimore Penn Station (twice!) and all over NYC and Sunnyside yesterday. Slept the entire way on both train rides. I was really worried that this would mean plenty of refill and plenty of opportunity for it to happen...

...But this morning, the knee was looking only the slightest bit puffy and I could only get 18 very clear cc out! This is a definite improvement! I've been squatting and pulling personal record weights, deadlifting for ungodly volume and pounding the pavement aplenty; normally this would mean ROM-limiting effusion and multiple draws over 30 cc. But not this time!

[Gary Gibson]

8/28/2009

SQ 45x10, 135x5, 225x4/5, (belt on) 275x3, 295x2, 315x1, 335x1, 315x1, (belt off) 275x1
BP 45x6, 135x3, 185, 195x3x6
DL 225x2, 315, 365x4x6

Feeling very strong today. Squat warm ups all felt good. Kept a much higher back angle today. Still enough to allow for plenty of hip extension, but I didn't get bent over at all like I do when fatigued. Pushed up to 89% with 335, but was smart enough just to do it for one set. Average intensity with the singles was just 321 lbs or almost 85%. Stuck a bit at sticking point with 335, but nothing too worrying. Backed off with an easy beltless single with 275.

BP has been producing numbness down my left forearm since that little Bear session in the last back off week. I let my wrists roll back a millimeter today and the numbness went away. I think I might have been overcompensating the other way in an attempt to keep wrists straight. Hard to judge from on the bench. BP just doesn't wipe me out like SQ and DL so I have to force myself to rest long enough to ensure strength has returned for the next set.

DL! Still feeling good with 6 sets of 4. My muscles are more than capable; it's the grip that wants to call it quits, particularly my battered left thumb. Today on the very last rep, my index and middle fingers started to splay apart across my thumbs on both hands. I think the grip is getting conditioned, but each new high in volume is a new challenge. Forgot to take off Chucks on first two sets...so first two sets were an extended pull!

Weighed 170. My only intake today was a couple ounces of milk and the gourmet pizza pie with pork, which I'm consuming as I type this.

[Gary Gibson]

8/31/2009

My last squat and pull session till the meet

SQ 45x10, 135x5, 225x4, 275x3, (belt) 295x2, 335x1, 335x1, 315x1, (belt off) 275
BP 45x6, 135x3, 185x5x3
DL 225x2, 315x2, 365x2x2, x1

I haven't slept. And I've been pushing my luck with these volume deadlifts...coming off a freakin' Smolov no less.

Everything felt so heavy today. That second single with SQ 335 nearly buried me. I felt slow and weak by the third set with DL 365 and just didnt feel like continuing after one rep of the third set. That's not supposed to happen. But I just added 40 lbs to my squat and 30 lbs to my pull and this is what I get for trying to reach for another 20 lbs to the latter in just a month. I may actually see some gains from this bout of overreaching...but only if I give myself time to supercompensate. No more heavy squats or pulls till the meet. Now I really wish I had one of those kettlebells that I just sold so I could do some swings.

I may take two or three more light squat sessions every four or five days...or I may not. Right now I just want to rest and give my body a chance to pull itself back together. I'm getting slower and weaker right now in my lower body and that's not good. It would be a real shame to have hit 375 in the gym and not be able to hit 345 at the meet.

Maybe jump squats and barbell snatches. Speed, speed, speed just to deload and practice moving fluidly again.

Benches will probably continue for a little volume.

I said before that if I felt that I was running into the wall with this protocol, I would stop. So I'm stopping.

Weighed 170 in socks, knee sleeves, shorts and t. That's about 167 nekkid. I should be able to come in at 165 if I cut carbs and water load the last week.

[Gary Gibson]

Supplemental entry

I slept several hours today (my sleep schedule is floating around again) and went back to the gym to see how my sumo deadlift is doing.

Sumo 225x5, 315x4, 405x2, 445x1, (belt on) (475), (465)

The bar seemed welded to the floor on those failed attempts.

Here's the thing: I tested a new SQ max at 375 and the next day a new conventional DL max at 445. As of today my SQ ~88% or 335 felt like my max or very close to it while 80% DL put me down after a couple of doubles. I'd say that represents a 10% loss of strength. Distressing, but that also likely means that my sumo (which is sort of a cross between my squat and my conventional deadlift) is down 10% since it uses all the same muscle groups.

Well, if 445 were only 90% of my sumo, that would be fantastic! I know with near certainty that I couldn't pull 445 conventionally right now. I may even have trouble with 405 in that manner.

Right now I want to think that with a couple weeks of rest, my strength levels would rebound to SQ 375, DL 445 and perhaps sumo 475.

Yeah, that would be nice...

I'll probably do something really stupid like continue to pound that RSR protocol this week with sumo DL at 365. Yep, in fact I can say with great conviction that that will likely happen starting tomorrow.

Of course, using sumo means that I can back off of squats. Maybe pick them up again the week of the meet for a quick and easy session to reestablish the groove.

Not sure what this will mean for BP. Maybe I'll count today as a fluke and continue with the staggered RSR programming for that.

Oy. This is getting ugly.

On the plus side, my knee held up great on those heavy sumo pulls. This is a great improvement; just a few weeks ago, sumos caused worrying discomfort in that knee. Now they seem to be no worse than heavy squats, a little better even.

The knee looks fine and works as well as it has in months, but I did a precautionary aspiration tonight and got an easy 20 cc. Clear as crystal. No blood, no shredded up chunks of connective tissue. Muscles of the right leg still smaller, but I think I see some improvement, especially at the quad insertions which were so horribly wasted away under the old effusion.

[Gary Gibson]

9/1/2009

Second day of rest from the barbell. Thinking of resting again tomorrow, too. Hamstrings were singing yesterday. Not in pain, but sort of quivery and tired. Felt slow.

When I do go back, it will be for 65-70% done for doubles and speed. I will only deadlift twice more this week and then rest that lift till the meet.

The amazing news: I did numerous pistols with my right leg yesterday. They were mostly pain-free except at the bottom. I'm just amazed that I had the strength, considering how wasted the quad still is, especially above the patella. I just got frustrated with how weak I felt when going up stairs. I think the conventional deadlift volume had a lot to do with getting some quad strength back.

I did ding the capsule a bit and my MCL didn't seem too happy about those pistols either. Knee looked fine, but felt a little full. Drained 20 mostly clear cc last night. Only saw one tiny spec of material floating in there. It was a tiny bit cloudy, too. Could still read through it, but it wasn't crystal clear.

[Gary Gibson]

9/2/2009

SQ 45x10, 135x5, 185x3, (sleeves on) 225x2x8
BP 45x6, 135x2, 165x2x8
DL 225x3, 275x1, 295x2x8

Feeling froggy again.

First day back since Sunday's burn out. 65% across the board today. Each rep was faster than the last. I only really slowed down on the last bench press set. Otherwise, speed increased till the fifth or sixth set and held.

Thank you, Jack Reape.

Any over reaching or maximal training protocol taps very deeply into the bodies Recovery Ability (RA). After any training bloc or peaking period 10-15% dropoff is the norm.The best way to recover is to do speed work at around 65%. bar speed is what matters. It may take some reps. When i do speed work it takes me 3-5 sets to get it right. The rep should take under 1 second on the concentric and the way to do this is speed up the eccentric.if speed comes back at some weight until the speed slows notably. Some days you may just not get any speed so go home, eat and rest.

I kept the rests very short, about a minute or less. The only time I really slowed down was on that last bench set, but I thought it best not to keep going with the squat and deadlift. Eight sets seemed plenty.

I really dive bombed those squats (sped up the eccentric). But I kept really good form. Stayed tight and still managed to explode with those deadlifts, too.

On the low side of 65% with the squats...but I'm calculating from my current ability which is about 10% off my recent best. I was tempted to go straight to 315 on the deads today, but held off with just 295. Next time. I have one pull session left before I retire it for two weeks. I'll do the 315x2x8 then. I'll up the SQ to 245 next week.

Weighing about 170 naked lately. A little worried about making weight. Going to start cutting back carb calories next week Monday.

Edit: Did a little reading and decided to refine this further. Singles for deadlift at ~70%, doubles for squat at ~65% and triples for bench at around 60%...

Friday
SQ 245x2x8
BP 145x3x8
DL 315x1x8

Next week M-W-F
SQ 225-245-255 x2x8
BP 134-145-150 x3x8
NO DL

Meet Week
M) SQ up to 315x1, Paused BP up to 195
Th) Paused BP up to 195

Meet kg/lbs
SQ 150/330, 165/363 (new record), 170/373 or 175/385
BP 100/220, 105/231, 107.5/237.5 or 110/242
DL 185/407, 205/454 (new record), 215/473 or 225/495