Eddie's Intermediate Log

[holyinstantrice]

Hey everybody, I'm a 19 y/o, 5'9", 165-175 lbs track cyclist from CA currently attending Swarthmore College.

I'v been lifting since early December 2009 at a starting weight of 152. I'm taking this season a little easier with cycling than seasons past to turn myself into a more well-rounded, explosive athlete before reapplying that to the bike, having lost a shot at a national title last year to a dude who beat me with nothing but brute strength and tactical saavy. I figure I can take care of one of those in the weight room.

Current PRs, all done between 165-175 BW:
Squat -- 385x1, 365x2, 335x5, 345x4
Box Squat -- 315x1
Front Squat -- 335x1
Bench -- 230x1, 205x5
Deadlift -- 445x1, 405x3, 385x5
Press -- 165x1, 145x3, 140x5
Push Press -- 195x1
Power Clean -- 200x1
Clean -- 220x1
Power Snatch -- 140x1
One-arm DB snatch -- 100x2, each arm
Chins -- 90x5, BWx25
Dips -- 90x3



After today's workout, I've finally decided to progress from the advanced novice program to a full-on Texas Method.

4/26/2010--last day of effing around between advanced novice and Texas

Squat
45x5
135x5
225x5
275x2
315x1; belt
330x5,4; belt--Tried for 3 sets, but the second set was uber-sloppy; almost took out my spotter when I started to tip backwards halfway through the 4th rep. Decided to stop there for both our sake. Next week I'll bump it back down to 315x5x5.

Bench
45x5
135 6x6 -- I'm Smolov Jr.-ing my bench for the hell of it. Heh.

Deadlift
Warmed up with cleans up to 155
225x3
275x3
315x2
335x1; belt
335x1; belt
355xmiss; belt--I'm just not able to get 355 off the ground, though I completed last Monday's 345x5, if not with great difficulty. It seems as if the first two inches come fine, then my back unlocks and things go to hell. With 335 my back came out of lock just a tad, but not to the point where things didn't feel tight. Reattempting 355x5 on Friday.

Wednesday will be light and Friday I'll go for triples.

[famendoza]

Deadlift
...
355xmiss; belt--I'm just not able to get 355 off the ground, though I completed last Monday's 345x5, if not with great difficulty. It seems as if the first two inches come fine, then my back unlocks and things go to hell. With 335 my back came out of lock just a tad, but not to the point where things didn't feel tight. Reattempting 355x5 on Friday.

Wednesday will be light and Friday I'll go for triples.

I had this exact same thing happen to me early in January. 345x5 was alright week A, week B 350x1 is atrociously difficult. Eat and sleep probably had alot to do with it. Had to learn to accept failure, and keep going anyways. I changed my programming from 5/3/1 from then on, so I can't give any advice about staying on 5x5 programming for linear progression.

[holyinstantrice]

Thanks for the input famendoza. I read through your log (awesome progress on 5/3/1, by the way) but evidently you started it after you'd fixed your deadlift issue. What did you do to get past it?

[holyinstantrice]

4/28/2010 Light day

Squat
45x5
135x5
185x5
225x8

Bench
45x5--dislocations right after
95x5
115x5
140x5,5,5,5,5,5,5--Smolov Jr.

Chins
BWx5,5,5

One-arm DB Snatch
65x5
80xmiss--weird, I should've gotten this, so I bumped it down to
75xmiss--also weird, I always get this. First sign of fatigue...

Cleans
135x5

[famendoza]

Thanks for the input famendoza. I read through your log (awesome progress on 5/3/1, by the way) but evidently you started it after you'd fixed your deadlift issue. What did you do to get past it?

I have no idea - this is how my deadlifting (still fresh in my memory after 4 months) went

week A: 345x5
week B: 350x1
week C: 350x0, 335x1, 315x3 (crappy mac crapster)
week D: took a few days to rest (3 days I think) and then deadlifted 315x1, 335x1, 365x1, 385x1, 405x0, 395x1 (establishing 1RM), 400x0, 400x0
week E: 5/3/1 cycle starting at 302 lbs for a 5 rep effort.

It remains to be seen how wise this decision was. On my 5/3/1 days the past two deadlift days have been atrociously difficult. 355 and 365. I do note those weeks (and those months rather) I deprived myself of sleep. I'm trying to avoid little sleep for the next two cycles, to see if that makes a pronounced difference, or whether I need to take a new approach.

[holyinstantrice]

Wow, that's really interesting. Was it a surprise to you to make a fifty pound jump from 345 to 395 all of a sudden? For me it seems as if the primary limiter in my deadlift is the pull from the floor--if I can get one, I can get five, so my 1RM might as well be my 5RM.

[famendoza]

In the 1st week of November 2009 I pulled 383x1, week prior 374x5, week prior to that 365x5, week prior to that 365x4. Working backwards in the last week of July 2009 I had pulled 365x5 with hook grip. Between 3rd week of November and Jan, my pulling was no where as good and I was going up by 5 pounds. Right now it's not amazing, and infact probably worse in terms of performance, but I've been able to at least touch 365 again. It may be a detraining issue - we'll see this cycle as I'm expected to do 330x5+, 350x3+, and 375x1+.

[holyinstantrice]

4/30/2010 Intensity day

Squat
45x8
135x8
185x5
225x5
275x2
315x2; belt
340x3;belt--ugly ass set. My form's deteriorated and I'm falling backwards on the last rep. I realize I'm much more effective with a more controlled descent
315x2;belt--reteaching myself form with the last weight I felt solid with, not very successful
135xpissedoff

Bench
45x6
105x5
135x3
150x4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4--still Smolov Jr.

Deadlift
135x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
335x1;belt
355x3; belt--felt solid, still had 2 reps left in me. Learned the importance of starting with a locked back
365xmiss--same problem as with 355 last week, got an inch off the ground but the rest didn't come. No need to be greedy though

Power clean
135x6--felt solid now that I'm starting my second pull later, as opposed to before it's even at my knees like I had been doing
185xmiss--I should've tried for 175. 185 came up very high though, right below my nips. Might've been able to get there if my CNS hadn't been feeling fried lately

I've lost a lot of speed to my lifts lately, especially my squat, and my jumps aren't nearly as high as they used to be. I've lost maybe four inches off my vertical. Time for a rest week?

I've also decided on a template for once I'm done Smoloving my bench:

Monday [High Volume/Moderate Intensity]
Squat 3x5 (continuing with my SS numbers. When I feel like it I'll drop the weight and go to 5 sets)
Bench Press 3x5 (same as with squat)
Power Clean 5X3 or One-arm DB snatch, depending on how much fun I want to have
Weighted Dips 3X5

Wednesday [Low Volume/Low Intensity]
Front Squat 3X3
Press 3X3
Weight Back Extension/GHR 3x8
Weighted Chins 3x5

Friday [Low Volume/High Intensity]
Squat 1X3 or 2 or 1
Bench Press 1X3 or 2 or 1
Deadlift 1X3 or 2 or 1

[holyinstantrice]

5/1/2010 Smolov Jr. Bench Day

Bench
160x3x10

Chin-ups
BWx8
45x5

Bike (rollers)
30 min--spin-out, 2 min @ LT, spin-out

[holyinstantrice]

5/3/2010 Bullshit day

Squat
45x8
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x5,4--failed on my second set! Was aiming for five sets, didn't happen. Definitely time for rest week

Bench
45x5
135x1
140x6,6,6,6,6,6--Still Smolov
200x1--maxed out for the hell of it. Pretty sloppy, bounced the bar off of my chest. But very pleasing too

Clean & Jerk
135x1x8
145x1x3
155x1x3
135x1x5--just having so much goddamn fun doing all these CJs.

Power clean
185x3 SO MUCH POWER. Tight form, too. Felt amazing.

In sum--squats felt like shit, especially failing on a weight fifteen pounds under what I was doing last week. Could this be due to my deadlifting on Friday, or am I just suffering from accumulated systematic fatigue? Also, my vertical is suffering like mad, yet I set a PR in the power clean by 10 pounds. What is going on!

Edit--nevermind, my vertical is actually improving. I just checked it a few seconds ago. Heh.