Limie Messes with Texas

[Tad_T]

It looks as of you are really getting into it now, Josh.

[LimieJosh]

Yeah, I'm creeping up to PR territory on some the lifts so the next month might be quite exciting. Its certainly the most regimented and organized my training has been for a long time and it's paying off.

Tue, Jan 7th
Sqt 290 X 5 X 5
Still keeping this constant until I can increase the I day a bit more. Got through most of these in relatively quick order - starting to prepare for the next set after 3 mins

Cleans 185 X 1 X 12 on the minute
plus 195 X 1 X 3 on 2 min intervals
These were the best yet. I'm finding the groove a lot better and more consistently making the final pull form the same place/position.

Abs
Hanging leg raises X 15 X 4
Plank +30lbs @ 30 secs X 2

[LimieJosh]

Well today was the day that the concern that had been in the back of my head became a reality. There is one fewer day in between the volume and intensity day on this programme than on the traditional 3 day programme, and I really needed that extra day today.

Thur, Feb 9th

OHP 172.5 X 3
Bombed. It wasnt just that I was unable to complete this set, but that I felt shakey and unstable overhead even on the 3 I completed.

Bench 257.5 X 5
This went fine. I suppose the incomplete recovery was cancelled out by the having done less work on the press before this attempt.

Given the lack of recovery I decided to give triceps a skip and just an extra 15 minutes of mobility work.


It seems I've increased my volume day too quickly, at least on the bench. Completing that previous workout was not particularly difficult, and without today's failure, I would think nothing of increasing weight again next time. I guess I just have to start rethinking the purpose of that volume day. Next monday I will microload from my previous weight on the press, maybe as little as 1lb and then retry 172.5 next thursday. The following week, when back to bench for volume day I'm thinking of dropping back to 237.5lbs, but maybe should reduce by 1 set as well.

[Briks42]

I agree that your volume days are too high on the bench. You are at 93% of ID. I have no reason to believe you wouldnt want the % to be in the same range as it is in the squat, which is discussed in that thread in the programming section. 85% seems to be a good number.

Also, as has been discussed a lot lately, 3x5 on volume day could be a consideration too. Then you could keep your % a little higher. I switched to 3x5 for my volume days for press and chins this week (I use these 2 movements each week and just do a couple sets of bench every Wednesday). I will let you know how it goes. To be fair though, I also do more than 1 set on intensity days, so the reduced monday volume was more necessary for me I think.

[LimieJosh]

It's certainly a consideration, but I think it's important to remember that on intensity day I bench after having already pressed. If I was to do it the other way around I think it's safe to say the number would be at least 5lbs heavier and so that warps the % calculation a bit. It's possible that even after taking that into account it's still too heavy to do for volume though.

[Briks42]

Good point, i hadn't taken the fact that you press first into consideration.

[LimieJosh]

Fri, Feb 10th

Sqt 335 X 5
The set finished strong, but the first felt so heavy I wasnt sure I was going to get it. This seems to be a common pattern on friday's squats. My warm up was
45 X some, 95X5, 135X5, 185X5, 225X5, 275X3, 315X1
I wonder if it wouldnt be worth doing that last single at the weight for the work set.

Deadlift 380 X 5
I might have lost extension on the last one. I'm going to go up to 285 next week and film it to see

Chins 57.5 X 5 X 3

Good mornings 45x10, 65X10, 85X10

[Tad_T]

Everyone seems to have a little different idea on what works best for warmups.

If it were me I would do it like:

45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 275x1, 315x1, 335x5.

For me, that is how I warm up to a heavy set and I feel that it is enough warm up while still saving energy for the all out set.

Getting the all out set is the purpose of Intensity Day, right?

Everyone has to find what they feel works best for them.

[LimieJosh]

Getting the all out set is the purpose of Intensity Day, right?

Yes. In retrospect I've always a bit of a volume warrior than wasnt great in translating that into maximal lifts. I think I just need to get used to heavier weight on my back.

Monday, Feb 13th
After the discussion on pushing the volume day too far I kept this session essentially constant from the one two weeks ago, only increasing the press weight by a total of 1lb, to see if a workout from which I fully recovered last time would enable me to make a 172.5lbs X 5 press this friday.

OHP 156 X 5 X 5
Rest limited to 3-4 mins, all without belt. Felt good, but the final rep was a grind.

DE Bench 180 X 3 X 8

Pull ups +5 X 12, 11, 8 (31 total reps= no improvement on this workout two weeks ago).

[LimieJosh]

Tue, Feb 14th

Sqts 285 X 5 X 5
Dropped back 5 lbs due to the discussion of Volume-Intensity differences, but will go back up to 290 if I make 340 on friday.

Cleans 187 X 1 X 12 on the minute
3 min rest then 195 X 1, 197 X 1 and 200 X 1

Abs