Chasing Curls and Gainzzz

[Michael Wolf]

...perhaps I'll check PPST or add more ice cream to my shakes.

Yes.

I've been somewhat self conscious of my log of lies

Log of Lies would work pretty well for a garage band name.

[ChasingCurls69]

Log of Lies would work pretty well for a garage band name.

We would tell people that we play classic rock, then when we get on stage start playing a dubstep set.

6/5/16,

Squat- 305lbs x4+F
Press- 155xF, 145lbs x3
Deadlift- 455lbs x2+F
Maybe I'll do chins tonight.

Squats felt decent for the first 3 reps and 4 was a little forward, then I lost tightness and set the bar on the pins for 5. Press was shittier than last week, but bench was good, so I fucked up recovery-wise. Deadlift was done with a flat back, but I couldn't get the 3rd off the floor and didn't want to unleash turtle mode.

Recovery was fucked this week, but I just feel like I lost all my press gainz. Time to add more ice cream shakes back in and try not to throw up.

[ChasingCurls69]

6/6/16, tfw finally 2 plates and glorious return to curls

Bench Press- 217.5lbs x2+F, 2+F, 2+F
225lbs 2x1
Chin Ups- 12, 12, 11, 11
LTE's- EZ+75lbs 3x9
Curls- 95lbs 3x8

Benching is weird. Bar speed is ridiculously fast off the chest and slows a ton towards the top, but the rpe is a 10. First triple wasn't pressed to my shoulders enough, second triple hit the safeties on the right side, third triple got stuck halfway. Decided I could finally hit 225 for at least a single and the original plan got fucked anyway, and both singles were as fast as 217.5. Will repeat next week, but may switch to 5x1 plus back off and run that out if I don't get the triples. LTE's are hard after bench and chins, and I curled on the platform with bumpers after my friend finished pulling.

The Prodigy hadn't trained since Thursday, but today she did:

Squat- 165lbs 3x5
Bench- 100x4+F, 95lbs 2x5
Deadlift- 180lbs x5
20 chins- 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1

She picked up low bar really fucking fast. Mostly worked on knees out and making sure to get them forward in the first half of the descent so it's not a Westside equipped squat. We overshot bench based on her PR and recent DB benching; barbell has some technique stuff to work on. Deadlifts were real nahce. Going to get as much as we can out of every other workout for those.

[ChasingCurls69]

6/8/16,

Squats- 275lbs 5x5
Press- 140lbs 4x5, 4
SGDL- 355lbs x3 hook

Had to train a client right after presses and got to work up to a triple of SGDL but no time for chins. So I'll do those tomorrow. Squats felt really easy and knees stayed out better. Probably went from rpe 7.5 to an 8.5 by the end. Press was back where it should be, which is good considering it went to shit in a week where I missed Monday's heavy bench/bro session, and this week's bro day left my triceps still sore. SGDL's were fine, felt like I should've done 4 but there's always next week.

The Prodigy didn't get to train because of complicated social conditions in the gym, but she'll get it done while I am on shift tomorrow.

[ChasingCurls69]

6/10/16,

Fronties- 220lbs 3x3 beltless
Bench Press- 205lbs x4, 4, 3, 3
Power Clean- 215lbs x2+F, F, 205lbs 6x2
Curls- 95lbs x8, 9, 8, 8

Two days of curls in one week; is this what it feels like to be a person? Fronties were solid. Bench felt off and after taking a video I learned that if there's a sharp increase in rpe and i struggle to lock out, it's because I'm not pressing the bar back enough. Power cleans were off, so I just got the work done with what I could. Nutrition was low the past two days so I need to fix that. I'm not losing weight, but going back and forth is fucking up my SRA curve and making me stagnate.

[ChasingCurls69]

6/12/16, tfw I suck at lifting

Squat- 305lbs x3, 305x1+F
Press- 145lbs x1, 155lbs xF, 135lbs x5
Deadlift- 455lbs x5, 410lbs x5

Had an easier volume day, but got one less rep than last week. Gave up entirely on the second set and just put it on the pins. Missed 155 press and gave up even though 145 was ez. 135x5 was harder than 140 was on Wednesday. Deadlifts felt like shit, too, and I had to round for the last one. 410x5 was the only decent working set I had today.

I need to start gaining weight again, but even outside of that I am weaker than I was right after the meet at the same bodyweight. Texas Method isn't working, and it's not enjoyable outside of a good volume day every once in a while. For squats I can go back to ramping sets on VD and see if I recover better since it worked semi-well leading into the meet. Or I can program hop to one of the weightlifting templates in PPST. Somehow the weird upper body bro day works the day after I shit the bed with ID. Also it pisses me off that I have 2 lifters on Texas Method hitting weekly PR's and I can't fucking do it for myself.

[ChasingCurls69]

6/13/16, tfw pretending to be a weightlifter

Bench Press- 217.5lbs x3, 2+F, 3; 185lbs x9
Snatch- Two singles at 130, 135, 140, 145, 150
Curls+LTE's- 97lbs 3x8/EZ+75lbs x10, 9, 9
Chin Ups- 10, 10, 10, 3

Bench Press felt a lot easier than last week even though the performance was only marginally better. Today's cue was to get the bar back sooner, and if I get the bar back I have a much easier time grinding to lock out. I lost count on the back-off set so I'll trust the spotter, but 185 felt light and that's a PR.

Snatches were shitty to start but despite not doing them for at least 6 months I got within 10lbs of my PR and with much better technique. Most important cues were to wait longer to jump, and stay active at the bottom/cut depth. No point in getting lower to catch it if I am too loose to balance and stand. Also no more than 2 misses at each weight, which wasn't terrible.

Bro work was fine and chin ups were miserable. Cut the last set of chins short because my triceps are rekt and I am tired from drinking at one of the spots I work at in an effort to win over one of the bartenders.

[ChasingCurls69]

6/15/16, Crossfit Solace can get it.

Squats- 260, 270, 280, 270, 260x5
Press- 142.5lbs x5, 5, 4+F, 4, 3+F
SGDL- 350lbs x4*
Chin Ups- +55lbs 3x5

Trained at Solace today with Wolf, which was good for gainzzz. It will be the only workout in which I press more than him unless I go back next week, or like tomorrow. Switched squats to pyramid sets to see if it allows better recovery for ID, and ID will be 2x3 @310lbs. I also have to bounce better, but by the last set I was starting to get it.

Press was hard as shit, but a PR for fahve and for volume. Next week will utilize a lighter first/last set, so 140x5, 145lbs 3x5, 140lbs x5. Bench will drop 10% on Friday, then no more than RPE 8.5 for heavy triples on Monday. In a couple of weeks my squat and press should be back on track. SGDL was a shit show because my thumb got cut open and the bar was slipping. Very loose definition of a set of 4. Chin ups were at my gym and very easy.

One of Wolf's trainees also pulls 1rms with a round back even after training flat, and takes 5ever between sets, so I felt a sense of kinship with him.

[Michael Wolf]

One of Wolf's trainees also pulls 1rms with a round back even after training flat, and takes 5ever between sets, so I felt a sense of kinship with him.

I don't coach him directly (usually), he takes the morning strength cycle at the gym at 6am, which I most certainly DO NOT coach - 6am is no time to be anywhere but bed. I broadly oversee the whole program, but only coach him when he misses his morning class and comes later to make it up. That's happened a few times more recently but I never coached him at all during that first cycle he took last year that we were discussing.

What happened was, he had always pulled with no idea how to set his back, and had gotten up to around 400 that way. Hayden, who coaches the morning class, made him take a bunch of weight off, learn how to set his back, and pull weights at which he could keep it set. I don't recall exactly because this was around a year ago now (though could dig up the numbers if needed), but I don't think he touched more than 335 or so during the cycle. At the total, he hit a 440 single, which was a pretty big PR, but during which his back also rounded a lot. Getting his squat, and his erectors, stronger led to a big increase in his pull, without having trained his pull heavy (for him), at all.

[ChasingCurls69]

Ohhh, that makes sense. I thought he was part of the evening class you were about to teach. The only way I can be anywhere at 6am is if I stayed out all night there.

And his experience with the pull sounds pretty similar to mine after taking a lot of weight off during training but unleashing turtle mode for a max. Plus it's much easier to recover from deadlifts pulled with a flat back, even at similar loads. May we both one day reach King Koopa status.