Cole's HLM/TM

[Cole Gorton]

thanks fred!


10/23
Recovery Day


Squat(-20%)
275 x 5 x 2
i can objectively tell the difference in speed when i intentionally focus on hip drive the entire ascent ROM as opposed to when i just do what comes natural. lately whats been helping is thinking about hip driving up even when im descending.

Press (-10%)
140 x 5 x 3
super easy, but i have a pulled muscle in my upper rhomboid that has been bothering me lately. made it hard to keep the bar close to the beard on the way up

Chins
bw x 6, 6, 7



notes
continuing to try and get my macros in while the kitchen is being re done is tough. meals are mostly being fast food and easy frozen stuff. cant wait for it to be done. first world problems.

[Cole Gorton]

10/25
Intensity Day


Squat
380 x 5
first rep may have been a hair too high. all other reps looked good depth wise, and speed was excellent today. suprising bc ive been eating like shit and felt bloated and tired. and contractors and working in my garage and it makes it awkward. also forgot to set the safety bars to squat height. not smart on intensity day

Bench Press
295 x 5
pretty smooth on these. the wrist wraps dont seem to help and actually kind of get in the way. il try without them next time.

DL
420 x 5
fuck yea! i always get intimidated by dead lifts, especially for reps over 4 plates but these went really well, much faster than the last cycle of TM where this was my limit set of 5. next week i will for sure go for 425 top tie all time rep PR.



notes
real good session. now, to celebrate hitting 420 for reps, im gonna eat 5mg of sativa and go deal with a work emergency. does anyone want to buy my business please?? ill be nice and hungry later for some biryani

video
Squat - YouTube
Bench - YouTube
DL - YouTube

[Bill Anders]

Great work on that DL, Cole! I hear what you're saying on those weights. Mentally (and physically) reps at 400+ are mentally tough to get through. One day I'll actually get them done (singles above 4 plates are fine, 400x4 has been the wall. Perhaps over winter.

5mg of sativa is the chef's kiss. No impact on productivity. We found that waiting 2 hours or so and topping off with another 5mg really keeps things flowing well for the remainder of the day.

[Cole Gorton]

Thanks Bill! Im pretty much hooked on those damn gummies but youre right they dont affect productivity or judgement at all. 10mg is over the top for me though, even spaced out.

[Cole Gorton]

10/26
BW= 225
waist= 40

*vertical diet meals came yesterday. they look good. i had one meal last night for dinner and it taste suprisingly fresh for being a frozen meal. not salty, no sugar, no nasty sauces. yet it doesnt taste bland or dry like other frozen meals do. the downside is 1-cost , 2- not enough calories per meal. although maybe with a 40 in waist that is a good thing for me. ive been eating ~3500cal per day, which at this time last year on those macros i was weighing 240. now i cant seem to gain weight and i think its the TRT

[Cole Gorton]

10/28
Volume Day


Squat
345 x 5 x 5
easy. actually the descent was harder than coming back up, believe it or not. just all the effort focusing on mid foot balance, shoving knees out, back tightness and angle...coming back up was easy bc i didnt have to think about anything

Press
160 x 5 x 5
last rep of 4th and 5th sets were hard....i will need to change rest times from 4 to 5 minuites and probably go up 2.5lbs now instead of 5. tweaked my low back a little on one of the reps i think i leaned back too far. either way i need to focus on every singel rep. i tend to get lazy with press bc it seems more harmless of a lift. need to stay focused on tightness every single rep.



notes
i know ive been back and forth on the weight class i want to be (100kg v 110kg) and everytime i swear im gonna bulk to 242 and after a week i give up. it just sucks to over eat, i feel like shit - bloated and lazy and i start snoring worse which bugs my wife and probably wakes me up througout the night. honestly i feel better when i eat less, just enought to be satisfied. ill need a slight caloric surplus, which im sure wont be a problem. but 100kg seems more realistic even though im 5'10, and rip says you should be 275 at 5'10 lol

video
Squat - YouTube

[Cole Gorton]

10/30
Recovery Day


Squat (-20%)
275 x 5 x 2
super easy. movement pattern reinformcement. hip drive. tightness

Bench Press (-10%)
240 x 5 x 3
fine, no problems

Chins
bw x 6, 6, 6




notes
-felt good tghis morning. low back is awesome. i still have some strange upper-middle back tightness on the right side, like a muscle pull. kept me up a little last night as i was unable to keep my neck comfortable. not sure if its a lifting injury, sleep injury (for old people over 40), or from staring at a computer too much (FML i want my old job back, but then i would be complaining about having to work outdoors...cant be happy either way i guess).
-its taken me a long time, but i really feel very nuero efficient with my lifting as of late. like i concentrate very well on every rep, with complete focus. in the past, especially with "light" loads, i would just go through the motions just to get the work done. i do a better job now of using each session, each rep, as practice.
-ordered more vertical diet meals, its nice to know exact macro counts and the ease of it makes it impossible to skip or skimp on meals. my wife even approves since they are pretty health. now im off to chow down some arbys and root beer lol

[Cole Gorton]

11/1
Intensity Day


Squat
385 x 5
this was a good set. i was psyched up, but it went real easy and i think form was on. i could probably emphasize hip driving the whole ROM better.

Press
175 x 5
easy! next time i do a press on I-day it will be a PR set of 5.

DL
425 x 5
super pumped about this as it ties a rep PR. i checked back on my logs, ive done 430x3 and i even did 435x4 with a completed 5th rep that was disgustingly hitched and since im a powerlifter not a strongman, that shit dont count. so today ties my rep PR and it was easy! last TM cycle i had to go to triples at this weight so i know there is improvement and im wondering if its just that 1-ive had an extra year of training, 2-ive been on trt now for 10 months which has helped indirectly with better sleep and body composition, 3- ive literally only been pulling 5 reps per week this whole cycle, and last TM cycle i was doing backoff sets of SLDL after my I-day top set of DL. i think managing low back fatigue is the key to strength training.




videos
Squat - YouTube
Press - YouTube
DL - YouTube

[Cole Gorton]

bodyweight = 228
waist around navel = 41

blood pressure has been creeping up, my wife made me get an apt with my PCP. i need to get back to regular conditioning 2x/wk in addition to my strength training like Sully says. AND probably time to stop eating arbys and root beer. once my kitchen is done i wont be eating out or eating frozen vertical diet meals anymore and i can get back to cooking rice/fish and lean meats and veggies.

[Bill Anders]

Do y'all have an Instant Pot? You can make some pretty darn good Vertical-style meals with one of those. And you don't really need a kitchen, just a table top.