Falling Test Levels, A Run At Masters State Records, And A Country For Old Lifters

[Gary Gibson]

[Tuesday, July 28, 2015, 178 lbs]
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20 x 2
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 3
195 x 2
215 x 2
225 x 2
230 x 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (9)

Pull up
(177 + 10) x 3
(177 + 20) x 2, 3

One-Arm DB Row 100 x 11 x 3

I've been having very brief dizzy spells the last couple of days. I attribute this to higher blood pressure from taking 10 mg of LGD so today I scaled back to 5.

I didn't get to the gym this morning after my dose. I didn't have the usual oomph by the time I did get there after work hours. May be psychological, but my aggression was definitely down.

My goal was to get as much volume with 230 as I had with 225. So a double followed by a host of singles. I got it and the last three reps my technique and timing were spot on so those reps were the fastest. I was in the groove.

I was seriously bummed at 215 x 2 because that shit felt heavy. I rested and focused to get the target volume with the target weight.

I weighed just 178 again this morning. I am probably 20% bodyfat though and it's 13 lbs to the 165 class. Losing 13 lbs of fat would have my bodyfat at 12%.

Of course I'm way too tall to be competing as a 165. I guess my point is I really need to recomp beyond what 40-year-old ecto body is capable of. Hence interest in SARMs and PPARs. If I could shed 13 lbs of fat and replace it with 15 lbs of muscle, my raw numbers as a 181 would be something like 500/350/600. If I could continue to fill out to 198 at 13% bodyfat, we're talking 650/500/750!

But let's not pop the champagne cork yet. I got a long way to go, but especially on that bench. I'm motivated to drive it up over 300 in the next few months and I'm cheering inside with every session that shows any improvement.

That max front squat really fucked me up. I strained my lats and spent a couple days where the wrong moves would cause me to freeze up in pain. It's much better tonight. Also my golfer's elbows are responding surprisingly well to pull ups.

[Gary Gibson]

[Wednesday, July 29, 2015, 177.5 lbs]
Back Squat, high bar, higher heels, sleeves at 325, no belt
45 x 16 x 2
135 x 8
195 x 6
245 x 4
285 x 3
315 x 1
325 x 1

Standing Overhead Press 135 x 4, 3

Deadlift, conventional, no shoes, no belt
315 x 2, 3
365 x 2
405 x 1
425 x 1

I weighed a good bit under 178 this morning, which is a little weird. I drop calories and glycogen for just 48 hours and the weight just sloughs off. I need glycogen and water to do my best in the gym, however, and I hate to see gains slowing down. So I tried my best to load up today. I had also resolved to lower my LGD dose, but I think I'll be upping it on training days.*

First I lathered my thighs, knees, and elbows in DMSO and Absorbine Sr last night. For the first time in days I woke up nearly entirely pain free. I must have had some wicked inflammation.*

All for naught. Down on squat and deadlift. Fuck. Probably just time to reset the cycle. Plus I had to be in the sun a bit and was sweating a lot. I tried to keep hydrated though. Ugh. Maybe just time to start using volume.

Appetite is down and I'm down a couple of pounds. Got to find my appetite. Ugh. Hits can't come forever.

[Gary Gibson]

Sunday, August 2, 2015, 179 lbs]
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20 x 2
95 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 3
205 x 2
225 x 2 x 6

Back Squat, high bar, sleeves @ 315
45 x 16 x 2
135 x 8
195 x 6
245 x 4
285 x 3
315 x 2
325 x 2 x 2, 1

[Standing Overhead Press 145 x 1]

Much better. DMSO +Absorbine continues to rid me of old and new pains.

[Gary Gibson]

[Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 178 lbs]
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20 x 2
95 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 3
205 x 2
225 x 2
230 x 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1 (10)

One-Arm DB Row 100 x 10

later that day...

High Bar Back Squat, no belt, sleeves at 315
45 x 12 x 2
175 x 8
225 x 4
275 x 3
295 x 2
315 x 2
335 x 2 x 2, +1

Paused Front Squat 225 x 2 x 4

Honestly wasn't feeling too spritely this morning, but I'd gotten a good night's sleep, woke up early and had plenty of time for a devoted bench session. Warm ups weren't horrible, but they weren't nearly as energetic as they'd been two days ago. My goal was to get 230 for at least as much total volume as last time (9 reps), but to do it in less time, i.e. with as many doubles as possible.

In fact, that is the new method for me: get good at a weight with lots of singles and doubles. When I can get my volume target with doubles all the way through instead of having to resort to singles, then I've "mastered" that weight and can move up. Notice that I'm not even bothering with anything over triples anymore. It has occurred to me that the strongest athletes in the world (Olympic-level weightlifters) tend to accumulate volume with weights over 90% without going to failure. They literally just practice heavy weights till it becomes easier.

I'm a regular Hernan Cortes, I know. But I'm also noticing in my own training life that higher reps with lower weights are very unspecific to my goal of lifting limit weights for low reps. I am getting stronger faster than I ever have by practicing with heavy weights versus accumulating fatigue with lighter weights.

To wit, it is far, far smarter for me to use 225 x 2 x 6 than it is to use 185 x 5 x 5 or 205 x 4 x 3 if it s my goal to move my 1-rep max from 250 to 275 as quickly as possible.

One month ago I wasn't quite able to bench 225. I had been trying for months to accumulate volume with ~80%. Still couldn't break the 225 egg. No matter how good I got at enduring 185 for sets of 5, anything over 210 kept feeling heavy. So I started practicing with 210 just to get more comfortable with it. Before I knew it I was able to hit 215 for a couple of singles, then 220. I was so close to 225 at that point and just plain sick of avoiding the big boy wheels. So I played around with 225. Got two singles with the first looking a lot better than the second. I decided to keep practicing 225 instead of trying to accumulate volume with 80% again. The practice with 95%+ of 1RM moved my max up almost immediately.

Instead of hoping that I was building muscle mass with lower intensity volume, I got better at moving limit weights. I kept adding more singles with 225 to my total. Before I knew it I could do a double with 225, then a couple of doubles. Last time I used 225 the first couple sets of doubles were so easy, but I avoided going to failure and just kept doing doubles. I got to six doubles, the most volume I'd managed with 225 in years. 225 got to the point where it was heavy but comfortable.

Now I'm repeating the process with 230. I got three doubles with that weight today, but on my fourth set I knew anything more than a single per set would shut me down. So I kept at it with singles. Got more practice with ~95% without burning out. In a few days I'm confident I will be able to get a whole bunch of doubles with 230 and then be confident about moving up to 235 and starting off with at least one set of doubles.

I did experiment with moving to a heavier weight before getting all those doubles with 225. Did a session in which I hit 230 for a very difficult double. Realized I hadn't gotten comfortable enough with 225 and moved back down. This time when I went back to 230, I was able to do triple the amount of doubles and then follow that up with plenty of singles.

I think there is a tendency to lose sight of this. We aren't trying to increase the amount of reps we can do with a lower weight; we are trying to increase the amount of weight we can do just once or twice. It should be obvious that limit singles (99-101% 1RM) are a dumb idea. But singles at 94-96% that allow for multiple attempts at those singles...till they smoothly transition to doubles...now there's an idea. In fact, it seems to be how the strongest squatters in the world have been increasing their squats for about a century. Someone is going to point out that Olympic-level lifters do fives, too, but I see an awful lot of doubles and triples in those training videos with the triples usually starting to show a loss of form.

Also, a lot of people have gotten stronger using fives and more. But I think specificity rules more and more the closer one moves to one's ultimate potential. We all agree that for improving 1RM sets of 20 are pointless and sets of 10 and more are also kind of silly. Yet there is room for argument as we move toward the 5-rep range with many people believing that sets of 5 are "the perfect blend" for size and strength that will keep trainees progressing forever. I have my doubts. As trainees get stronger, it makes sense to lower the rep range even more while not getting so close to 1RM that form and overall volume is compromised.

Anywho, bodyweight is holding steady at a few ounces over 178 in the mornings...but my little spare tire (accumulated in a burst of eating when I first started SARMing a couple weeks ago) is leaning out. I am eating normally now and may actually successfully be recompositioning.

Addendum: I went to the gym later because I needed to blow off some steam and see conquer 335. I was supposed to "master" 325 first. But I've gotten a double with 335 before and I just needed to get two doubles with it. I did. I had had a couple drinks that afternoon so maybe I wasn't neurologically firing on all pistons. But I was amped up because my life is pissing me off these days. So I got the 335 x 2 x 2. I knew I didn't have another double left in me...and I really wasn't sure I had another rep at all, but I had to try to outdo my best total volume with this weight which was four (2,1,1). I got the rep, but it took everything I had. I wrapped up with some paused front squats with 225 doubles and they were really easy. I was winded, but these were not a strength challenge at all.

[bustermonkey2]

I enjoy following your log as you spend a lot of time analyzing your progress in the context of programming. We also have similar goals in that I'm hoping to hit the state records in the masters division, albeit I'm in the 100 kg weight class. I'm 42 years old (I didn't start seriously lifting until the very end of my 30's) and I recognize the futility of comparing myself to national level lifters in their prime.

I have had some success using heavy doubles and singles in the past, but I'm currently using a type of modified DUP programming using 8's, 6's and 3's and it seems to be working so far. I also have found that a long taper doesn't seem to improve my lifts on the platform, although I recognize that approach works for many lifters. I suspect that as we approach our genetic "ultimate" potential that we need to experiment with a variety of of different programming to figure out what works best for us as individuals. Beginning lifters do best with linear cookie cutter starting strength type program. Intermediates use texas method or HLM that incorporate more individualized programming decisions. Advanced lifters that have been at it for 4+ years have highly individual programming by necessity and we have to experiment to see what works best. If heavy singles and doubles are driving your lifts up, then you're doing something right.

[MeatPotato]

Gary,

What flavor of SARM are you taking? Been debating it myself. Have you noticed an appreciable difference in your body? Are you going to stay on indefinitely or cycle on/off with some kind of PCT?

Take care, keep kickin ass in your training.

[Gary Gibson]

[Wednesday, August 5, 2015]
Power Clean & Jerk185 x 1 x 2

Back Squat, high bar, sleeves @ 335
225 x 4
275 x 3
295 x 2
315 x 2
335 x 2

Paused Front Squat 245 x 2 x 3

I just had a lot of energy, lingering frustrations, surprisingly little pain thanks to DMSO and Absorbine tag team, and had spent the day watching Chinese national weightlifting team training vids. So I had to go train.

Of course I failed to improve performance with 335. And I still suck at the Olympic-style lifts.

At least I got the heavier paused front squats. 225 doubles had been easy. 245 was harder, but doable with immaculate form.

But now I'm thinking of using the higher reps I just bashed! I'm thinking of doing an RSR followed by Smolov base phase in prep for the* Oct 17 meet..

Based on a 350 conservative projected max...

RSR heavy days
275 x 3-6 x 6
295 x 5 x 5
315 x 4 x 4
335 x 3 x 3
355 x 2 x 2
375 x 1 .... maybe 385 x 1

Smolov based on 380 max
255...275...285... x 9 x 4
275...295...305... x 7 x 5
295...315...325... x 5 x 7
315...335...345... x 3 x 10

Projected new max: 415-435

I'm thinking this as a prescription for squats because I am a lot closer to my squat potential than I am to my bench potential. I can be all low-rep linear progression on bench. But squats are harder to progress.

Hell, it probably could work for squats, but I'm getting sick of that pulled muscle feeling in my quads with 90%+ weights.

[Gary Gibson]

Gary,

What flavor of SARM are you taking? Been debating it myself. Have you noticed an appreciable difference in your body? Are you going to stay on indefinitely or cycle on/off with some kind of PCT?

Take care, keep kickin ass in your training.

I just dedicated a log to my SARM experience here.

I think you'll enjoy the juicy details.

[MeatPotato]

I just dedicated a log to my SARM experience here.

I think you'll enjoy the juicy details.

Awesome, thanks for the intel.

[Gary Gibson]

[Thursday, August 6, 2015, @~180 lbs]
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 15
95 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 3
205 x 2
225 x 2
235 x 2, 2, 1 , 2, 1

Pull Up(180 + 20) x 3 x 4
One-Arm DB Row 100 x 12 x 2

235 for doubles!!!!