Dan's log

[elVarouza]

12/18/15 Friday

Deadlift (kgs):

60x5x3
100x5
140x2
180x1
170x5
170x1x2

Kept it really light, first time DLing since the meet. I was insanely sore from the squats Wednesday. I was also really tired today and the weights felt heavy. I did a couple singles at the end practicing a narrower stance with my hands on the edge of the knurling. I've never felt like I could straighten my back with a narrow stance but I glanced at the mirror and it looked good. I think I'll keep trying it, paying careful attention to my back position. I should start propping my camera on something to get real time feedback.

Seated press:

45x10x3
95x10
135x3
155x5x3

Again, lighter weight, but a little bit of volume. Weights felt heavy but only because I'm getting back into training.

[elVarouza]

12/21/15 Monday

Bench:

45x15x2
135x10x2
185x5
225x2
240x6x3

Really easy. Pec felt tight as usual.

Lockouts:

315x8
365x3
410x8
425x8

Would've gone up to 445 for another set but my pec was tightening up so I stopped there.

Triceps machine: 115x8, 175x10x3

[elVarouza]

12/22/15 Tuesday

Squat:

45x10x2
135x10
225x5
315x2
365x1
410x6x3

80% for 6x3, assuming 510 max. I was not thrilled about having to do these. Was pretty tired all day and was afraid of going to the gym, lol. I think that's my first time squatting over 400 raw in awhile, and I was still feeling the effects of helping move a gym on Saturday. Knees were hurting from crawling on a flatbed truck. I wanted to quit after every set. Actually, I wanted to quit during my warmups. Anyway, point is these sucked but I did them.

Ab wheel: BWx10x3
DB curls: 35x5, 45x10x3

[elVarouza]

12/26/15 Saturday

Wanted to go Thursday but it was Christmas eve so...fuck it, basically.

Deadlift (kgs):

60x5x2
100x5
140x2
180x1
200x1
220x1

Deficit (35mm):

140x5x2

Was working on my setup with a narrower stance and narrower grip. It just doesn't seem like I can get my back tight enough. It's pretty good, but I try to be careful with back stuff, and pretty good doesn't cut it. I should work on flexibility stuff some more but I don't really know what's limiting my DL setup. I know it's mostly a bullshit excuse but being tall doesn't help. If the bar is raised like 1 inch it's incredibly easy to get in position. Of course it's trivial to set up with a flat back pulling sumo but last time I tried that I tore my hamstring. So...

Seated press:

45x10x3
95x10
140x8x3

Chins: BWx8, 9, 10

[elVarouza]

12/28/15 Monday

Started breaking in the new super katana today. In other words, fuck my life.

Bench:

45x15x2
135x10x2
185x5
225x3

Shirted:

275x3 (couldn't even touch a 4 board. Maybe 5 board level?)
295x3 (4-board, barely)
315x2 (3-board, barely)
345x2 (3-board)
365x2 (3-board. Was supposed to get it to a 2 board but couldn't. Pressed it from about 3-board height)

Yeah, that was awful, lol. Hopefully it stretched out a decent amount and I can do more with it next week. It was nearly impossible for me to take the grip width I wanted to on the bar. My handoff guy had to push my hands out. Somehow I need to touch my chest in this in 6 weeks.

Chest press machine: 45x8, 70x8x3
Reverse fly machine: 90x10, 120x10x2, 140x10
Chest-supported row machine: 365x10x3

[Lakshmi Meadows]

You need PVC pipe and chop sticks.
Get a width that you can just barely slip the arm over and then take chop sticks and feed them through so as they go around the and create even more tension/stretch

[elVarouza]

You need PVC pipe and chop sticks.
Get a width that you can just barely slip the arm over and then take chop sticks and feed them through so as they go around the and create even more tension/stretch

Not a bad idea. I'm hoping the next time I put the shirt on (should be Monday) it'll have stretched enough that it's more usable. If not I might have to stretch the sleeves some. The plan is to have 3 more sessions in the shirt before the meet, and it'd be nice to hit a 2-board next, 1-board after, then finally chest in the last session.

12/30/15 Wednesday

Squat: 45x10x2, 135x10, 225x4
That's it. Legs felt really sore and tight and my low back felt bad so I decided to stop. My low back has been feeling unusually sore and tight ever since helping to move a gym a couple weeks ago. It was even hard to arch on bench on Monday. I needed to give it a break.

GHR: BWx10, red band x10, double red band x10x2
Curls: 35x8, 45x10x3

Pretty meh day. On another note, I've been working on my pec with a theracane I got a week ago. Laid into it Tues-Thurs. If I'm benching Mondays I should step it up to theracane/foam roller/etc. work Mon after lifting until Thurs or Fri. I'm hoping I can break up some more of the scar tissue in lieu of expensive massage work.

[elVarouza]

01/02/16 Saturday

Deficit deadlift (35mm, kgs):

60x5x2
100x5
140x2
165x8x2

Wanted to get in some volume but not too much or not too heavy since I have to squat Monday. Usually I'd deadlift on Thursdays, and I will now that the holidays are over. I did my usual squat warmup (about 15 minutes) before deadlifting and it definitely helped. It felt like it was much easier for me to get my back tighter, which is something I've been pretty concerned about. Also, I used straps for the 165kg sets and made sure to not pull my hand as close to the bar as I had been so it emulates my normal grip better. In other words, usually when I use straps I pull them tight and the bar sits in the palm of my hand, but when I grip it without straps it's down in my fingers and gives me another 0.5-1" on my pull. I want the latter with straps so it's not as hard for me to get my back tight.

Chins: BWx8, BWx10x2
One arm cable curls: 25x10, 32.5x10

[elVarouza]

01/04/16 Monday

Bench:

45x15x3
135x10x2
185x5
225x3

Shirt:

275x3 (couldn't touch a 4-board)
315x3 (4-board)
345x0 (3-board, pushed it at my face)
365x1 (3-board)
405x0 (2-board, pushed it at my face)
405x1 (2-board)

Butt was like 2" off the bench on that 405x1 but I'll take it, lol. Shirt felt much better this week. I could actually grab the bar at the max legal grip and it felt like I could get my shoulders back better. However, I still have a long way to go before it starts feeling decent. That said, there's no way in hell I could have done anywhere near 405 to a 2-board with the old shirt. I'll probably do next week raw then three straight weeks in the shirt before the meet.

Chest press machine: 45x5, 80x8x3
Reverse flies: 90x5, 130x10x2, 140x10
Triceps machine: 130x8, 160x8x3

My right elbow was killing me so I couldn't go heavy on the triceps machine. I think a seam on the shirt was pressing right up against my elbow bone. It's really painful to the touch.

[elVarouza]

01/06/16 Wednesday

Got the squat suit tightened up (legs + straps) and now I can't put the thing fully on. Gonna be a fun 4 weeks until the meet with that + the new bench shirt.

Squat:

45x10x2
135x10
225x5
315x2

Suit (all done with straps down):

405x3x3 (quarter squat depth)
495x3 (3/8 depth?)
545x3 (3/8-1/2 depth?)
585x2 (1/2-5/8 depth?)

Yeah, that was not fun. This suit had better stretch out fast. I was never able to get it fully seated. Also, that "workout" took nearly 3 hours. Probably took me 20 minutes to get the suit just mostly on. Didn't hit depth once. Well, there's no choice with the meet coming up in 4 weeks. Have to stay in the suit until the meet so it stretches out. At least I feel that if I hit depth with 600 it'll come flying up.