Staiki's Weightlifting TM Log

[Staiki]

Hi guys,

After messing around in the gym for about 6 months and following no program in particular, I have decided to start a weightlifting program based on the Texas Method. I'll be training 4 days per week (most likely Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday-Sunday) with the following routine:

Tuesday: 5x5 back squats, some sort of snatch complex/volume, box/depth jumps, accessory exercises (back extensions, wrist curls, abs)
Thursday: 3x3 front squats, some sort of clean & jerk complex/volume, clean pulls/deadlifts, accessory exercises (knee extensions, shoulders)
Saturday: 1RM snatch, 1RM clean & jerk, box/depth jumps, accessory exercises (back extensions, wrist extensions, shoulders)
Sunday: 5RM or AMRAP back squats, some sort of snatch pull/deadlift, military/BTN press, accessory exercises (knee extensions, abs)

Current PRs:

Back squat: 110kg x 5
Front squat: Not sure, probably around 105kg x 1
Clean: 80kg
Clean & Jerk: 75kg
Snatch: 60kg

I'll be trying to progress my back squat as much as possible as that seems to improve my lifts the most. First port of call is probably improving overhead strength (jerk/snatch) and then clean recoveries. I'm just coming off a cold and a bit of a sore quad, so I will be starting lighter for the volume day. I also need to get a belt (I have weightlifting shoes already.) I'm happy to receive any critiques on the program as well.

[Staiki]

Tuesday, 23/10/18

Back squat
5 x 90KG
5 x 90KG
5 x 90KG
5 x 90KG
6 x 90KG (lost track of reps)

Snatch 1+1+1
1 x 40kg
1 x 40kg
1 x 45kg
1 x 45kg
1 x 50kg

BTN snatch press
5 x 35kg
5 x 35kg
5 x 35kg

Comments:

Squats felt light in terms of weight but my quads were jelly by the end of set 5. I was only taking short amounts of rest (2-3 minutes) between sets because my overall fatigue didn't seem so bad, but my legs were fatiguing a lot - it felt like I was getting a serious quad pump or something. By the end of the snatches, I had no leg energy left; dropped the last 50kg behind me and had zero speed. I still need to work on my snatch technique a fair bit so I might not progress the weight much and stick to EMOM sets...I just felt I didn't have time for that tonight. Since my legs were tired, I did some pressing to build up the strength in my elbows. Ended the session with knee and back extensions and some sit-ups.

[Staiki]

Thursday, 25/10/18

Clean & Jerk
2+1 x 60kg
2+1 x 65kg
2+1 x 70kg
2+1 x 70kg

Clean
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg
2 x 70kg

Romanian Deadlift
5 x 75kg
5 x 75kg
5 x 75kg

Clean Pull
3 x 80kg
3 x 80kg
3 x 80kg

Comments:

I decided to skip the dedicated front squat session and just add some more cleans in, since the weight I was planning to use wasn't that much higher. After the 2nd set at 70kg, I started to fail to push the bar up high enough/split under it fast enough, so going to have to work on that. My form wasn't great during the pull: I was initiating the second pull too early and bouncing it away from myself, so I decided to do some clean pulls at the end. They felt heavy, much harder than the squats on the Tuesday. I think my legs are stronger than my back/hips, so I might do some more dedicated posterior chain/back exercises, like good mornings.

I prefer to do the dynamic movements at the gym, as my home gym doesn't have the most suitable flooring and ends up making my knees sore after awhile. I've been a bit strapped for time due to work so I have been doing everything at home...I will definitely head off to the gym to do Saturday's session. There's a decent Crossfit-style gym near my workplace, so I am thinking of signing up there and maybe splitting some of these sessions up into morning and night, or even taking on a few more for light work or technique.

[Staiki]

Saturday, 27/10/18

Back Squat
10 x 100kg

Clean Deadlift
5 x 100kg

OHP
5 x 45kg

Box Jumps
5 x 24'' box
5 x 24'' box
5 x 30'' box
5 x 30'' box

Comments:

My knee was a bit sore this morning, so I decided to do my strength day rather than the 1RM classic lifts day. However, I did a long warm up of stretching/foam rolling and some knee/back extensions and it felt much better. I did AMRAP for squats and stopped at 10; they were all pretty fast and clean. I'll bump up both the VD and ID by 5kg, and continue to do so until the VD becomes too punishing. I moved onto deadlifts because I want to strengthen my posterior chain and back, and they were pretty tough. I warmed up to the 100kg set with clean pulls, and did the final set as just a deadlift. I struggle much more with deadlifts than squats; I can't seem to get my knees out of the way well, and it just feels more uncomfortable and exhausting.

My OHP is pretty bad, another lift that just feels uncomfortable and awkward to me. Push presses feel much more comfortable for me; any thoughts on just doing them instead? I don't want to overload my legs too much though. Lastly I did some box jumps, working up from 24'' to 30''. I was doing my best to land with straight legs, which was permissible on the 24'' but I had a bit of bend on the 30''. Finished up with some more extensions and stretching.

My takeaway for this week is more posterior chain/back work, and probably two sessions of pressing too. Squats are comfortable and are my favourite strength lift by far, and I will keep pushing the kilos until they slow down.

[Staiki]

Sunday, 28/10/18

Snatch (1+1):
2 x 40kg
2 x 45kg
2 x 50kg
2 x 55kg

Clean & Jerk
1 x 50kg
1 x 55kg
1 x 60kg
1 x 65kg
1 x 70kg

Good Morning
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg

Comments:

Not much volume today, but I got lots of technique work in and tried to analyse what my weak points were. I definitely need to work on my pulling more, and I worked out that pushing my knees and heels out more for the snatch made it easier for me to keep a straight back. I struggle a little bit with hip hinge movements, as even these good mornings felt pretty awkward for me. I've gotten much better and launching the bar upwards rather than knocking it forwards, especially as the weights get heavier, so that's a plus. I prefer snatches as I think my technique is a little bit better at the moment, and it's just a great feeling to fly under the bar, even at these weights. I also realised how much easier it is to hold a snatch in the receiving position if it's put in the correct spot above...so much more difficult when I was knocking it forward and putting pressure on my elbows.

Did my usual warm down with foam rolling, stretching and some accessories (wrist extensions, calf raises, the usual knee and back work. Rest tomorrow and then back in the gym on Tuesday for my squat (and possibly deadlift) volume work.

[Staiki]

Tuesday, 30/10/18

Back Squat
5 x 100kg
5 x 100kg
5 x 100kg
5 x 100kg
5 x 100kg

Clean Deadlift:
5 x 105kg

Military Press
5 x 45kg
5 x 45kg
5 x 45kg

Comments:

I have been suffering from poor sleep this week, so I wasn't too optimistic about my performance today. I decided to skip the classic lifts and just do a strength day. Fortunately, everything felt pretty good, even the deadlifts. My belt arrived today, and I was amazed at the difference it made. I don't feel like I was any quicker or stronger, but I felt much more upright, protected. Even though I was tired, I decided to bump up the volume day squat weight 10kg instead of 5kg; but only 5kg for the deadlifts and kept the OHP the same as the 5RM last week. I read that wearing a belt tends to bend people over moreso than not wearing one, but I actually felt the opposite.

I used the belt for the deadlifts, as well as straps (I generally use straps for everything except cleans) and they went pretty well. During the warmup, I was trying to lower them slowly, akin to Romanian deadlifts. I could see the belt getting in the way during snatch deadlifts, so I will probably take it off for them. I don't think my grip is a limiting factor, especially not for what I am doing, but I do include wrist curls after every wide grip exercise, and I might start doing plate juggles as well. When I first started doing wide grip stuff, I would get sore wrists, and wrist curls fixed that right up.

Thursday will probably be both snatch and cleans, since I did deadlifts today. I was outside in the sun today, which was pretty tiring, so I will try to get into the actual gym this week instead.

[Staiki]

Thursday, 1/11/18

Clean & Jerk
2+2 x 60kg
2+2 x 65kg
2+2 x 70kg
2+2 x 75kg

Snatch
1+1 x 40kg
1+1 x 45kg
1+1 x 50kg
1+1 x 55kg

Comments:

Still sleepy from this week. Don't think there's much point in front squatting when I am already doing cleans around the mark my front squats would be at anyway, so I skipped them. Cleans felt easy, but jerks shaky as always. Snatched afterwards, bit of a mistake due to fatigue. I'm hoping to get some good rest tonight and tomorrow, so I can do heavier stuff on the weekend, but we'll see.

[Staiki]

Saturday, 3/11/18

Back Squat
8 x 105kg
5 x 110kg

Snatch Deadlift
5 x 80kg
5 x 80kg
5 x 80kg

Push Press
2 x 50kg
2 x 50kg
2 x 55kg
2 x 55kg
2 x 60kg
2 x 60kg

Comments:

Still recovering from the week. 105kg was pretty quick so I decided to do 110kg afterwards, so pretty happy with that. Snatch deadlifts don't work well with a belt, and 5 reps are pretty exhausting, even with straps. I decided to mix it up and do push presses instead of military press. I struggle to get under the jerk quickly, so I am not sure if doing push presses is going to make that worse and if I should do more jerks. However, I did them on Thursday and I will do them tomorrow.

Overall I am pretty happy with the strength portion of the week as I have been very tired. Leg extensions pretty much every session have been helping my knee recover too, though it's still a bit still during the warmup.

[Staiki]

Sunday, 4/11/18

Snatch EMOM
1 x 40kg
1 x 40kg
1 x 45kg
1 x 50kg
1 x 50kg
1 x 52.5kg
1 x 52.5kg
1 x 55kg

Clean & Jerk EMOM
1 x 50kg
1 x 60kg
1 x 65kg
1 x 70kg
1 x 70kg
1 x 75kg
1 x 75kg

Good Morning
5 x 55kg
5 x 55kg
5 x 55kg

Accessory work
Knee extensions, back extensions, wrist curls, calf raises and snatch grip BTN presses

Comments:

I decided to do a little bit less volume today, as I was pretty sore from yesterday. Pretty early on, a callus on my hand tore and my calves started getting really tight, so I didn't really move well. I'm pretty happy with my snatch technique, and my clean technique is getting better too. I tweaked my elbow either with a snatch or a poorly-caught clean, so I decided to do some calf raises and BTN presses to strengthen what was sore. Need to investigate accessory movements for them, as my knee feels great. I've got flexible hips which protect my back, so I don't really get any problems there...mostly minor stuff.

Take aways for next week: elbow and calf work, maybe give straps a go for cleans as well, and more jerk/overhead work. Snatches feel better but need to work on keeping the bar even closer to the body. Probably do RDLs instead of GMs.

[Staiki]

Tuesday, 6/11/18

Back Squat
5 x 105kg
5 x 105kg
5 x 105kg
5 x 105kg
5 x 105kg

BTN Push Press + Snatch Balance Complex
2+1 x 40kg
2+1 x 40kg
2+1 x 45kg
2+1 x 50kg
2+1 x 50kg
2+1 x 55kg

Romanian Deadlift
5 x 60kg
5 x 60kg
5 x 60kg

Comments:

Finally getting my sleep pattern reset. Squats took about 20 minutes to wrap up; not particularly hard or tiring. Decided to do snatch grip presses to help my elbows. I find it easier to snatch a weight than to overhead squat it; just feels unstable in my hands on the way down. Finished up with RDLs; finally getting the hang of the hip and knee movement for pulling exercises. Did plenty of knee, back and wrist extensions, as well as some calf raises. I don't get any wrist soreness from overhead work anymore, and I don't bother wearing any wrist braces either.

Month end is a bit of a busy period for me, but this week seems to be shaping up well. Hoping to get some snatch and clean & jerk work in on Thursday, as well as front squats. I'm consciously trying to squeeze as much volume in as possible, an in effort to shorten gym sessions, though I do like long warmups and plenty of stretching afterwards.