cocaine deadlifts,
and,
heroin squats,
?
At Broward Barbell Center, where Pete and I are hosting a SQ/DL camp in a few hours.
Squat To Box: Tempo 2-1-0
95x3, 135x3, 185x3, 225x3x3
Notes: Too lazy to type it all out here but because of my knee issues, I've gotten too used to somewhat collapsing into the bottom and losing my tightness, esp low back (this is how I originally hurt my back in 2017, the same injury which still plagues me today - that is the root of it and why I stopped squatting). Some of this is inevitable at heavier weights due to the knee issue and the sudden sharp pain caused by it when squatting, but I want to minimize it to the extent possible and so did slow descent squats with a short pause on the box. I could really feel the improvement as I went on, but also the need for the work here - my first couple sets I all but "let go" of my low back and let it relax, since I've gotten so used to doing so.
I normally do leg press here but the gym has no leg press so decided to do something useful instead of skipping.
Deadlift
495x3 - EZPZ
Close Grip Bench Press
225x10, 250x10x2
Notes: Deadlift went really well. Was slated for 475x3 but feeling good and my back's been cooperating in general so went to 5 plates. Solid.
Slated for 110x10x3 DBBP but the gym's dumbbells stop at 90 or so, so subbed close grippers.
495x3 deadlift on IG
Lat Pulldown
180x10x3
Notes: No cable row either, so did pulldowns again. Tried to approximately match difficulty with what I usually do on the rows. This stack felt "heavy" - i.e. 180 felt harder than it does on the cable pulldowns at ignite.
DB Alt Curls
60x8x2
Notes: Wasn't scheduled for these till next week but DBs went from 50 to 60 with no 55s so decided to go to 60s here. Skipped planks cause I'm a lazy bum.
Assault Bike
15/45x10
Notes: The seat adjustement had rusted stuck so I had to do this with the seat 3 holes lower than usual. And the watts/speed counter was broken too, so no idea what my actual output was, which is how I usually keep track of my work. So I did them on the equivalent of a kids' bike, and blind. But at least I did them.
cocaine deadlifts,
and,
heroin squats,
?
At Broward Barbell again today.
Bench Press
Up to 405x1 in less than 5 mins.
Then 285x10 EZPZ.
Notes: This is the "down week" of my new 2 week cycle, so had some fun working up from 135 to 405 in less than 5 mins, including walking across the gym several times to grab a set of plates for the next set. If I wanted to do it in 3 mins, I'd have needed to bring the plates over beforehand, which I didn't think of. Still, fun little game for a heavy but relatively easy single.
Video of 135 to 405 bench in sub 5 mins on IG
Press: 3" belt
210x5x4
Goblet Squat
Up to 60x10, 70x10x2
Lat Pulldown
4x6 @240 after some buildup sets. 240 here is way harder than 225 at ignite, so not apples to apples. Nice to pull some heavier weights.
LTEs
90x10, 110x10, 130x10x2 (assuming the bar weighs 20)
Dang, I don't know that reference. Feels like I should. But I don't.
Last workout in Florida before returning home.
Squat: 3" belt + sleeves
Up to 405x3, 435x3
Notes: A little annoyed that my 435 depth was borderline, but I was REALLY focusing on staying tight and keeping my back in better extension after getting some chastising from Coach Darin Deaton on my last squat workout of 405. The truth is that, when I get the stab of knee pain about 1/2way down in the squat, it's extremely hard for me to stay tight and not lapse into relaxation and flexion. That was the cause of my initial back injury in Jan, 2017 and why I stopped squatting for so long - the root is my knee issue, which is permanent, but it led to continuing back issues due to inevitable relaxation on the squat.
However, I am determined to minimize this to the greatest extent possible so that I can squat once a week with low volume and at least get *some* squat training in. In my exuberance about returning to squats, I was letting myself get away with too much relaxation, so Darin called me out on it. Good thing. I focused hard and stayed much tighter for these 435s. Not perfect neutral extension, but MUCH better than I was doing previously.
Now to do that with 1 more inch depth next time.
435x3 squat on IG
Cocaine DL
135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 185x5
DB Seated Press
85x10x3
Notes: Solid.
Cable Row
210x10, 230x10x2
Notes: Also a different machine here so just tried to approximately match difficulty.
DB Strict Curls
35x14x3 - the pump was real. Stricties hurt.
Assault Bike
25/65 x8 - 83 calories
Press: 4" belt
280x1: + wraps
200x10: belt only
Notes: 280 was a little slower than last week's 275, but still not particularly slow. No real sticking point, just didn't shoot up. I was with Pete all week in Florida and he had some kind of cold or something - I felt a little blah today, so hope I didn't catch it. Could just be the fatigue from yesterday's travel and wrapping up my third trip/12th flight over the past 5 weeks. We shall see.
Bench
315x5x4
DB Sumo CDL
75x5x3
Notes: Bench was uneventful. For Dumbbell Cocaine DLs, I was kind of getting annoyed at how unwieldy the DBs are once they get past about 40 lbs, in terms of keeping them close, so I just used 1 single DB and did sumo style, between my legs, instead of having to deal with the large ends of the DBs sticking out from my shins. Hoping that #pullsumoeatbutt doesn't apply to rehab-only dumbbell versions.
280x1 press and 315x5 bench on IG
Lat Pulldown (Wide Grip Neutral)
180x10, 190x10x4
DB LTEs
50x10, 60x10x2
Notes: These got hard by the end, though I didn't rest long.
Finished up with some upper body stretching and mobility work. Not having squatted for so long while continuing to train upper body + 2 messed up shoulders has made it challenging to get into a good low bar position that I want. Need to work on it not just on days I squat to improve. Some direct work stretching in the low bar position with a wooden dowel, and some general stretching of those tight areas that prevent me from doing so.
Block Pull: 6" (3" belt)
515x3, 535x1
Notes: Moved fast, felt hard, as block pulls usually do when I haven't done em in a while. Not sure if it was the weight or the change in starting position or both, but I REALLY felt these a few hours later at and after the end of the workout.
Leg Press
545x8, 585x8, 635x8 (PR)
DB Bench Press
115x8x3
Notes: "635" is technically a leg press PR. Other than my head feeling like it's going to explode when I get to the bottom of the descent, these are still not very hard. Hard enough to be work, but not near limit. DB BP were fine, the 115s are big enough to be noticeably more unwieldy than the 110s.
Cable Row
210x8x3
Plank
30, 35, 35s
DB Alt Curls
60x8x2 - same as last week, was pretty tired by this point, wasn't up to adding reps.
Assault Bike
15/55 x10 = 85 calories.
Notes: Added 10s more rest and that allowed me to crank up the intensity of the intervals quite a bit.
Cooled off with some upper body stretching/mobility work targeted towards improving my low bar squat positioning.
Starting next week, I'm switching my 4 day split to M/W/F/Sat. I'll do all my pressing and benching on MWF, so will have the same 6 "pressing slots" but in 3 days instead of 4. However, this will allow at least 1 full day's rest between, instead of doing an assistance/supplemental version the day after both pressing and benching, which is getting very tough right now. I think I can continue pushing intensity up relatively quickly if I give myself that rest day between each upper body bout.
Mon/Fri will be primarily upper body work: press, bench, pulldowns/chins, and triceps, with a very small amount of lower assistance (cocaine DLs or goblet squats). Weds will be a lighter day for both benching and pressing, so I'll do my weekly squat there; Saturday will be for leg press and deadlifts. Rows, curls, and conditioning will also be done Wed/Sat on the days when I squat or DL.
Last edited by Michael Wolf; 11-23-2019 at 11:32 AM.
Been feeling increasingly under the weather over the last few days. Not sure if it's the start of a longer, bad cold or flu or the middle of a mild one. I went to the gym today prepared to do everything as originally planned but willing to reduce load and/or volume if necessary. I ended up reducing a bit, but got most of the main work in as planned.
Bench Press: 3" belt + wraps
395x3, 420x2, 440x1
295x10 backoff - no belt or wraps
Notes: All as originally planned. Moved a little slower than it otherwise would have but they all went up with no grinds. Very glad to be back at 440. I did a single at 440 in December or January with no belt, no wraps, no lifting shoes, and with 2-3 reps in the tank. Definitely wasn't there today, but still happy to be back at 440.
Press: 4" belt + wraps
237.5x5x2
225x5x2
KB Cocaine DL
20x5, 28x5, 36x5x4 (kilos)
Notes: Press plan was 237.5x5x4, so reduced the weight about 5% for the last two sets but kept all the volume - so this was pretty good all things considered.
440 bench and 237.5 press on IG
Lat Pulldown (narrow neutral grip)
195x10x3 - reduced volume and intensity here, but still did some work.
LTEs
90x8, 110x8, 120x8 - same as lat PDs
External Rotations
3x12 @2
All in all did a little less work than planned, but not much. Hoping this passes quickly and/or doesn't get much worse. It'd be real annoying to have my first good training in 10 months be interrupted by getting sick.
Last edited by Michael Wolf; 11-25-2019 at 08:03 PM.