zen and the art of strength training

[kopp]

Week 13: Deadlift

Main Lift Deadlift DOH 1x315 335 375
Mixed grip 6x1x420

Assistance: Kroc Row 75pnds x 30reps

Decent lift. The DL reps were all quality. 445x3 seems like a tough goal to reach in the next month. On the other hand, tonight my legs were sore from squats on wednesday, and my back was cramping up due to the severe cold. And it was much later than when I usually lift. So a decent showing under less than ideal circumstances. The kroc rows are continuing to come along nicely.

[kopp]

week 13: Press

Main Lift: Press 140x1
7x1x160

Assistance: Lying Tricep Extension 4x7x65

The first 2 presses were without a belt. Added a belt for last 5 singles. For the most part they were smooth. My max is probably 165. Towards the end I was having difficulty with lockout. I would like to squat tomorrow and then maybe have a light day on wednesday before attacking 435 on the DL on friday.

[kopp]

Pressing since September---this is how I want to structure all my lifts over the next year. The main thing I need to work on is pressing more often, not having so many 10 day gaps

9/02 135x5 5 5 3 1
9/09 140x5 5 3 3
9/25 145x5 3 3 3
10/03 150x4 1 1
10/12 155x2 1 1

Cycle 2
10/21 135x 5 5 5 5 3 3
10/26 140x 5 5 5 3 3 3
11/11 145x 5 4 3 3 3 3 2
11/18 150x 3 3 3 2 3 1
11/28 155x 3 3 2 2
12/4 160x1 1 1 1 1 1 1

[kopp]

incline Bench 165x5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 (5x5 3x3)

Kroc Row 80x25 each arm

I had planned to squat yesterday but was completely exhausted and spent from studying for finals. Today I had a little time but partway through my squat warmups the back of my right knee got very tight. There was no way I was going to push through and risk an injury. I stretched it out, hopefully it will be okay. If I feel better tomorrow I might try and get the squat session in. If I can't then my next lift will be deads on friday.

I decided to do the incline bench for something new, that wouldn't stress my leg or lower back.

[kopp]

Deadlift DOH 375x1 410x1(fail)
mixed grip 1x410 5x1x435

Back squat (w/belt) 265x 5 5 3

I have been exhausted lately. Yesterday I nearly collapsed I was so tired. I don't know if it is stress or just spending so much time studying. I have been getting up at 6AM to prepare myself for morning exams over the next 2 weeks, which start at 7:30 and go until noon. Our first one is next wednesday. Fortunately, last night I went to bed around 8 and felt good today. The deadlifts went pretty well. My previous max was 425 from October 21. I could probably pull 445 for a single now, so 20 pounds over a 1 1/2 months is pretty good. Especially since I only eat 2 meals a day and am not recovering all that well. The squats were decent considering how tired I was after the DL. Now it is off to the library to spend the next few hours trying to figure out how personal jurisdiction works.

I am not going to try for 445 before the end of the year. I am resetting to 355

[kopp]

Last deadlift cycle:

10/28 375x3 3 3 3 2 1
11/9 385x2 3 3 3 2 1 1
11/16 395x 3 2 1 1 1 1
11/22 405x 3 2 1 1 1 1
12/2 420x1 1 1 1 1 1
12/9 435x1 1 1 1 1

[kopp]

Goals 2012
Squat
June 1--5x5x305
End of Year---5x5x335

Deadlift
June 1 5x1x465 (singles)
End of Year 1x500

Press
June 1- 5x1x170
End of Year 1x185

Program: Squat/off/press/off/deadlift/off/off for the next few months. I may eventually switch to Squat/off/press/off/deadlift/off/press/off/off in order to press more often and give myself more recovery between squats and deads. I may add light squats after presses for form practice

Deadlift Programming. I am resetting back to 355. I am going to knock out as many sets of 3 with perfect form as I can, similar to how they have been set up over the past few months. I should be able to continue getting stronger just by deadlifting, kroc rows, speed deads and squats. I may add defecit deads in a few months to help me at the beginning of the lift.

Press: Resetting back to 135. Doing as many sets of 5 as I can with perfect form, then a couple sets of 3. This will be similar to how I’ve been organizing these the last two months. Add 5 pounds per workout. Assistance will focus on lying tricep extensions in order to strengthen my primary weak point.

Squat: Much like the other lifts, I am going to do as many perfect sets of 5 as I can, followed by a few triples. I will add 5 pounds per lift. When the weight gets heavy enough that I can’t do a set of 5 on my first set, I will reset to 85% and restart. Assistance will focus on trap bar deadlifts or speed deadlifts.

Things to improve: There are two big things I need work on. The first is going to be consistency and not missing workouts. I should be pressing more than 3 times a month. The second is that I need to eat more. I am living on campus and have a 2 meal a day plan. I eat some oatmeal sometimes in the morning, but really I need to eat a big breakfast, and supplement my diet with protein shakes or something else throughout the day. I am not going to be able to meet these goals unless I eat more than I am currently.

[kopp]

Main Lift: Press 135x5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 (6x5 3x3)

Today was my best day of pressing ever. A 50% increase in volume over the last time I did this weight on Oct 21. I could have done a few more triples but my triceps were starting to cramp up. I was exhausted prior to going to the gym, and didn't get a great night of sleep last night. I am really happy with today's lift. The first 3 sets I nearly threw the weight through roof, I felt very strong and explosive. Really nice to have such a good lift

[kopp]

Back Squat 5x5x265

My right groin started tightening up toward the end, which prevented me from doing any additional triples or sets of 5. All but the first set were with a belt. I also had some random left elbow pain. Surprisingly I wasn't sore from all the pressing yesterday

Right now my plan for the rest of the week is to press on wednesday, then squat on friday and again on monday. I need to get up to 5x5x275 before I leave school next week, because once I go home I am going to be traveling and doing holiday stuff. So the schedule will be a little off for the next two weeks while I try and get my squat goals for 2011 before going home.

[kopp]

Main Lift: Press 140x 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 (5x5 2x3)

Assistance: Lying Tricep extension 3x7x65
Kroc Rows 30 reps x 80pnds

This morning was my first law school exam. Criminal Law. It went well I thought, it was 4 hours and I wrote about 18 pages. The first section I killed, the second section I wasn't as confident with, but it should be good enough to get a passing grade. At least it is over. Now there are only 4 more practice tests and 2 real tests before the semester finally ends. This afternoon I took a three hour nap. Ann Arbor is rainy and cold.

The lift went well. The presses felt very strong. All but the first two sets were with a belt. My triceps and elbows were getting a little tender. The kroc rows were a positive, they were a 5 rep RM over my last time at 80pounds. I should be able to press 1-2 more times over the next week before I go home.