Trying to get as strong as possible

[Jennifer Williams]

Great work on the LP!

"So my friend insisted that I was doing advanced techniques [the bridge] too soon."

I can see why your friend would have thought that. As I understand it, the rationale for the bridge is a) to build work capacity to tolerate higher volume, and b) to introduce techniques (RPE) and variations (pauses, partials etc.) that will be useful going forward.

Full disclosure: I glanced at it and decided it wasn't for me either.

However, I did agree with Jordan et al. that what I need post-novice is more volume, so I've got started on a program with much more volume but fewer variations: I'm focussing pretty much just squats, deads and bench. Press and chins are ancilliaries, I just do them in a couple of density blocks.

Switching from 5x3 to 5x2 is less volume. You might peak a bit, and I expect you'll benefit from practice at doubles (that's a distinct and valuable skill -- within the context of my higher volume program, I practice heavy singles once a week), but I don't expect it to help you build strength over several weeks.

I appreciate the thoughtful feedback. In truth, I think the same as you. I believe that some volume in the 70-90% (or whatever) range would be better. I also think that it would help to stave off accumulated stress which could negatively impact my progress. I’ve thought all of these things. I will probably revisit the issue. I’ve been picking his brain for too long to just blatantly ignore his recommendations, so I decided to go along with his recommendations. Our conversation was basically that I read too much, question everything, and need to just focus on a program. He didn’t say “don’t read”, he said “continue to read, but try to do what I recommend for awhile”. So, I’m doing the best that I can. I am seriously considering spending one day mid-week incorporating volume. See there, I’m already questioning his recommendation. I feel bad, but I’m a terrible student. It’s a lot of effort though, so you want to get it right. I do agree with him that some of the techniques in the other program would do better if saved for later when I’ve really hit a dead end. In the end, I think there are a 1000 ways to skin this, and we’ll never know the perfect course.

”he recommended that I do bench as follows: 10, 8, 6, 4, and 2"

might be a good way to get more volume in, but I would ask him a) why not separate out the high volume / moderate intensity 8-10 rep work on a separate day from the high intensity doubles? and b) why not warm up to a heavy double first, then get the high rep volume in descending sets? I'm always keen to do heavy sets without fatigue, my instinct is it's better for training (apart from anything else, I can lift heavier that way) and less prone to injury.

Ha, I thought some of the same. I’m not sure what I’m going to need to do to get my bench up. I have read up on some other successful female lifter programs and saw substantial volume on the bench. So, I believe that doing more reps over all would be helpful. Doing all of my sets as close as possible to max capacity, again I’m concerned about accumulated stress inhibiting progress. For this one, I’m just happy that I’m doing more volume. My journal will likely reflect more of a train wreck of changing approaches. I do think that regular lifting and dedication is the one real thing I have going for me. I am extremely consistent and disciplined to an obsessive degree. It’s a benefit and a flaw, but it’s how I’m built. .

Thank again.

[convergentsum]

Like you say, it's a lot of effort. I'm all for giving a program a fair chance, but for me it has to be a program i find at least plausible, ideally it would be appropriate to my goals too. I get the social pressure to comply with your friend's advice, but it's your training not his!
From what you've mentioned here, i recommend you seek out john hanley. His programming style addresses a lot of your concerns. He is developing some quite useful tools for dosing stress across the week in recoverable bouts, with anecdotally encouraging results - not sure how many women he's tested it on yet.

[Meshuggah]

John Hanley no longer posts on this forum. There are many good coaches and methodologies available here on the SS Forum.

[Jennifer Williams]

Today’s workout included the following:

Squat- bar @3, 125@2, 175@2, 205@2, 213x5x2
Bench- 85@2, 120@10, 130@8, 140@6, 147@4, 152@2
Deadlift- 125@2, 195@3, 260x2x3

I’m sorry if the format is wrong.

The squats were great, so I was happy about that. I plan on going up in small increments (2.5) and doing a lighter volume day mid-week (altogether 3x week).

The bench was fine. I could have benched the last set a little higher. Not that this is remarkable or anything, but I chose not to because I thought I was too tired. Doing as heavy as possible 3x week will be too much, I think. I was also thinking about flipping the order on one of the heavy days so I’m going lower to higher in reps/heavy to light weights. (Like convergentsum above recommended)

Very pleased with the deadlifts. These are still fairly new to me since I just started them a few months ago. I avoided them during the years that I was crossfitting. I thought that repping heavy deadlifts for time was a bad idea, so I just stopped doing them entirely. Anyhow, I am using straps on the heaviest sets, but my grip has improved considerably since I started. I’m pleased about that as well. Deadlifts are hard for me. Well, everything is really.

[Jennifer Williams]

Following a weekend of celebrating the good news of my husband’s upcoming promotion, I’m unhappy to report that I have added nearly three lbs to my body weight.

So, this morning I did 4x10 strict, deadhangs pull-ups with a four lb weight. But I submit to anyone who might be reading this that I was really pulling an extra 7 lbs this morning. I want full credit for that! 😛

To address and cope with my ill-gotten “gains”, I followed the pull-ups up with an hour of elliptical. Yes, I realize that sprints are better, but I needed to sweat out the poison! 😛😝.

Anyhow, I hope everyone has a great week of PRs!

[Jennifer Williams]

Today’s workout:

BW-121
Squat-bar, 125x2, 180x2, 205x2, 217x5x2.

Bench-85x2, 122.5x10, 132.5x8, 142.5x6, 150x4, 154x2.

Deadlift-125x4, 195x2, 262.5x1x3
-2nd set didn’t happen. My first failure. I think I’m going to reduce deadlifts intensity (ie, adding weight) work down to 1x week and use the other days to do more volume work in the 75-85% range.

My goals:
Squat-2x my bodyweight (about 240-I know I can get there since I’ve squatted 240 before at a bodyweight of 116.)

Bench press-170-cannot imagine breaching 160 (my PR) at this point, but I’ve never focused on bench with any volume, and I’ve read that this helps.

Deadlift-2.5x bodyweight (295-this will be the hardest one for me. Pulling ugh!)

Press-bodyweight (120 on average-planning to drop a few lbs though)

I think all of the above is reasonable. Time will tell.

[Meshuggah]

Very nice work!

[Jennifer Williams]

Very nice work!

Thank you. None of it was easy. I kept hitting the safety bar on the left side of the bench during my set of 8. I should have just racked it and started over, but instead I wasted a LOT of energy trying to shift the lift to avoid hitting the bar so that I could complete the set. Stupid, lots of energy wasted! And the deadlift was a let down. Looking forward to volume Thursday!!

[Jennifer Williams]

Bodyweight-121

4x10 strict chin-ups with 4lb.
Ab pull-downs- 35@ 35 lbs, 35@ 40 lbs, 30@ 45 lbs

One hr on elliptical

[Jennifer Williams]

TGIF!!!

BW-120.8

Squat (2 ct pause squat on working lifts)-bar x3, 125x2, 185x6x4 (based on 85% of 217 lbs my prior lifts)

Bench-85x3, 115x2, 140x6x4 (90% of 154 lbs-prior lifts)

Deadlift-125x2, 195x2, 225x6x4 (85% of 262.5 lbs-prior lifts)