J2K - Training Log

[J. Killmond]

Friday, February 4, 2022

Bench press

45x5x2
80x5
115x3
150x1
185x1
[219x0] (couldn't unrack it)
(rest: 5 min.)

Halting Deadlift

135x4
225x2
275x1
315x1
355x1
390x5
(rest: 10 min.)

Unracking the bench by yourself requires straightening the elbows. Straightening in that position can be painful, and I wasn't able to do it in this workout. In 2020, when we were locked out of the gym, I stopped doing pushups because they were too much for the elbows. They don't act up a lot, but there may be limits. I'm going to keep experimenting with the self-unrack, but I may have to accept that I need a spotter assist to get the bar out of the rack--"perfectly legitimate" according to the blue book!

[J. Killmond]

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Bench press

45x5x2
80x5
115x3
155x1
190x5x3
(rest: 7 min.)

Deadlift

135x4
225x2
275x1
325x1
375x1
420x0
(rest: 10 min.)

Practicing doing the lift-off myself on the bench, so I reduced the weight. Our racks have solid safety pins, so that's good, but the racks themselves are too close to the wall for spotters. The hooks also swivel out from the uprights, so it is tougher to get the bar lifted over the hooks. We'll see if I can make it work as the weight goes back up. It definitely helped to set up closer to the hooks and to put the hooks higher, but the hooks tend to catch, swiveling up and remaining hooked on the bar, as you try to lift the bar off them. Hopefully, I'll be able to get smooth on the lift-off.

Deadlift was again a zero on the work set. It feels like a slump, so I may try rack pulls to break out of it.

[Bill Anders]

I'd thought Coach Rippetoe had said haltings were good for a second pull, if you were not power cleaning. I'm checking back through a bunch of podcasts and I'm not finding it. Two years ago he said he was doing barbell rows himself, but at other times, if I'm understanding correctly, he has said that barbell rows are not a good substitute for cleans, since they are themselves a technical movement. Halting deadlifts are no joke, but so far they are a tiny bit more manageable than a full deadlift. I get the concept of totally swapping out deadlifts for the halting/rack pull combo, but I'm hoping to keep deadlifting for now (inspired by Barry Charles).

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Deadlift

135x4
225x2
275x1
325x1
375x1
420x0
(rest: 10 min.)

Deadlift was again a zero on the work set. It feels like a slump, so I may try rack pulls to break out of it.

Too much frequency? Coupled with your current run of Squat PR's?

Going back to our conversation last month (first quote) about haltings & deadlifts, I've kept up the search and I haven't found anything where HDL's would be a good light and/or medium day. Reduced tonnage via the x5 vs the standard x8 could do that to some degree, but when you look at the tallies below, your programmed tonnages for your HDL end up being only less than 200lbs from your programmed DL tonnages. Intensity is still high, with your HDL's being ~94% of your DL's (looking at successful sets), and you are still stressing your lower back and glutes to a high degree.

Looking back at your posted training history from 1/9 - 2/9, you attempted 7 heavy pull sessions during a period when standard HLM or even Advanced NLP would have you doing heavy pulls only 4x (ANLP) or 5x (HLM). That might have been manageable for a period, but you are simultaneously running a streak of Squat PRs at the same time. As you know, both stress the same muscles significantly. So both pulls are heavy days that you are, on average, pulling every 4.4 days while squatting PRs every session. Your posterior chain just isn't getting the recovery it needs for you to progress.

DL
1/9 DL 415x5 (? days) 2,075lbs
1/15 HDL 380x5 (6 days) 1,900lbs
1/23 DL 420x0 (8 days) 0 (2,100lbs)
1/26 HDL 385x5 (3 days) 1,925lbs
1/30 DL 420x3 (4 days) 1,260lbs (2,100lbs)
2/5 HDL 390x5 (6 days) 1,950lbs
2/9 DL 420x0 (4 days) 0 (2,100lbs)

SQ

1/11 SQ p 280x5x3 (4 days prior to HDL 380x5) 4,200lbs
1/19 SQ p 285x5x3 (4 days prior to DL 420x0) 4,275lbs
1/21 SQ p 290x5x3 PR (2 days prior to DL 420x0) 4,350lbs
1/24 SQ p 295x5x3 (1 day after 420x0, 2 days prior to HDL 385x5) 4,425lbs
1/27 SQ p 300x5x3 PR (3 days prior to DL 420x3) 4,500lbs
2/1 SQ p 305x5x3 (4 days prior to HDL 390x5; 8 days prior to DL 420x0) 4,575lbs

So maybe Rack Pulls aren't the answer right now, although it's enjoyable to pull weights that you can't pull from the floor yet. Since you want to pull multiple times a week, perhaps 70%x5 for your light deadlifts or 85%x5 for a medium day. Or higher intensity with lower reps.

BTW, I ran several scenarios for HDLs at x5 and x8 to keep the work set tonnage "light" relative to your deadlift tonnage, but the actual weight worked would be so low that it's essentially hypertrophy training at that point (e.g., 235x8 still ends up being 1,880lbs).

[J. Killmond]

Too much frequency? Coupled with your current run of Squat PR's?

I did get to the gym 13 times in January, which has to be close to a high for me.

Limited recovery capacity is a reality, and worse is the fact that maxing out that recovery capacity is not going to happen either.

Titrating down the sets and reps has been ongoing, but a more aggressive scaling-back may be required.

It would be great if it was sufficient just to swap in rack pulls instead of the weekly full deadlift session (keeping the weekly halting deadlifts), but maybe it will be necessary to limit any heavy pull to just once a week.

[Fred J]

Back fatigue...I feel your pain.


Also here's an unrack without a spotter...

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[Bill Anders]

It's apparent that you're getting in the gym when you can, so I wasn't concerned about that frequency, just the frequency of your heavy pulls (HDL's + DL's). Otherwise, everything looks great. Especially those squats, which will only help as they get heavier (properly balanced with your heavy pull, of course).

Perhaps swapping out those HDLs for 70/80%x5 (or 90%x2-3) DLs to keep your pulling frequency and I suspect that your 420 DL will be achievable in the coming weeks.

Keep at it!

[Bill Anders]

Back fatigue...I feel your pain.


Also here's an unrack without a spotter...

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Great x4, Fred!

[J. Killmond]

Also here's an unrack without a spotter...

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The competition bench in that video was pretty nice (we don't have any). The unrack was also good--minimal lift-off and minimal distance from the hooks.

[J. Killmond]

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Squat

45x5x2
95x5
135x3
185x1
225x1
275x1
315x5x3 PR
(rest: 8+ min.)

Overhead press

45x5x2
70x5
95x3
115x1
134x5x5
(rest: 7 min.)

Big milestone. Depth looked pretty close on video. Wasn't focused enough to get the pause in there (no worries).

Many thanks to the inventors of Starting Strength, Coach Delgadillo, [unnamed former SSC], Coach Horn, Coach Santana (this is an "Artificially Weak Deadlift" / Santana Strategy success story) and the whole Starting Strength community, especially in these forums.

[Bill Anders]

Excellent! Keep that PR train rolling!