Slowjoe's SS Training Log

[ThunderRabbit]

Nice to be able to sit in a deep squat with 85kg on my back and essentially not notice it.

Ain't it a nice feeling to be practically air squatting a weight that might have been a work set when one first started lifting?

As for your question on presses, I'd recommend just keep going. Up your calories if necessary and repeat same weight for up to 3 times before any resets.

My CF box did a strength cycle a while back and I am ashamed to not have made as much progress as I had, being conservative and resetting when it might not have been necessary. In contrast, another dude made some seriously nice gains by aggressively increasing the weight even if he didn't necessarily make all the reps on the worksets by just making a smaller jump and eating more.

[slowjoe]

Arm didn't feel right tonight (STILL!!!). Was debating a DE day on the way to the gym. After the squats, left arm felt significantly worse, which made my mind up?

Chinups? Hell no, they're for healthy people. I'll cut this short because it's 4am now.

Squats:
20 x 5
60 x 5
100x 5
125x 5
147.5x5

DE Press
30. X 3 x 4
32.5 x 3 x 5
Started each set on the minute.

DE bench press
50 x 3 x 9
Started each set on the minute. 3 each at narrow, medium and wide grips. Left arm very weak

[slowjoe]

Ain't it a nice feeling to be practically air squatting a weight that might have been a work set when one first started lifting?

As for your question on presses, I'd recommend just keep going. Up your calories if necessary and repeat same weight for up to 3 times before any resets.

My CF box did a strength cycle a while back and I am ashamed to not have made as much progress as I had, being conservative and resetting when it might not have been necessary. In contrast, another dude made some seriously nice gains by aggressively increasing the weight even if he didn't necessarily make all the reps on the worksets by just making a smaller jump and eating more.

Thank you. The squats were funny, because I had read that paused squats where almost dangerously tough. Instead I'm just sitting there, then jumping. It'll have to be tougher at 90 or 100 or something, but I'm wondering why no-one else is trying them on advanced novice. I just don't have that sticking point halfway up on the squats that I used to.

Regarding the OHP, that's the way I'm thinking. Unfortunately, I also a problem with my left upper arm I need to manage. I feel it during squash and on pullups, presses and squats at the moment, and it was definitely weakening me yesterday on the DE presses. I've had it before and it was due to overtraining on pullups and dips.

I don't think I'll be making any progress on OHP while that hangs around

[ThunderRabbit]

Instead I'm just sitting there, then jumping. It'll have to be tougher at 90 or 100 or something, but I'm wondering why no-one else is trying them on advanced novice. I just don't have that sticking point halfway up on the squats that I used to.

Did these pause squats get rid of the sticking point halfway up? Or was it something else like DE squats. I'm curious since I always fail at that sticking point.

[slowjoe]

Did these pause squats get rid of the sticking point halfway up? Or was it something else like DE squats. I'm curious since I always fail at that sticking point.

That's my impression. The pause squats are normal down, DE on the way up (but obviously without any band magic, just weight.) I think the theory is to isolate the leg power, by removing the stretch reflex bounce. It just seems to fit the tough Monday/easy Wed/tough Friday squatting program of the advanced novice program. I'm in no rush to get stuck of squats, because I dislike getting pinned intensely.

[slowjoe]

I now know what is causing the problem with left arm: it's the work sets of squats.

Warmup:
Squats: 10 x BW
Pullups 5 x BW-26kg
Dips 5 x BW - 26kg

Squats:
20kg /44lbs x 5
60kg /132lbs x 5
100kg/220lbs x 5
125kg/275lbs x 5
150kg/330lbs x 5 x 3 (=5RM PR)

Bench Press
20kg/44lbs x 5 x 2 (Rereading BP chapter of SS. Focussing on shoulder position.)
50kg/110lbs x 5
75kg/165lbs x 5
100kg/220lbs x 5 x 3 (=5RM PR) (with spotter lifting off)

I should be over the moon now. I've just matched my pre-SS PRs on BP and Squat for sets across. Unfortunately, it's tarnished by injury. My left arm felt good coming in. First work set of squats, it flairs again. Pain localised to bicep and hurt quite a lot on the Bench press (mainly on the way down), but I stil took care of business. Bar speed much better after DE on Friday.

One of the staff at the Globo gym gave me a spot. I'd earned points with him when I stripped the squat bar before benching (not that I'd noticed him around). Had just reread the bit in SS where Rip says there's a chapter's worth of skill in spotting well. This guy could probably write that chapter. Asked for a lift off, he got the bar out and stable at the top before I took much weight. Last rep of each set, he waited for the lockout, and racked the bar smoothly and rapidly. He was so quick, I wasn't sure if I'd completed the rep for a moment.

He told me that he used to work in a Powerlifting gym, and it was nice to finally see someone benching properly. Very pleased to hear that. He also told me a few horror stories about bicep injuries. He then got me an ice pack for my sore bicep. Bicep very grateful.

Kharma, she like empty squat bars, I think.

[slowjoe]

Skipped yesterday's workout, spent the time searching the forum, looking at arm/bicep/elbow pain.

Looks like the view is to train through it if it isn't sharp pain, and work on squat form (keeping elbows back and high on squatting in particular).

Having been refered to as "the stiffest man in the world" in the past, that could be a challenge. Whatever.

[slowjoe]

My plan going into tonight was to see how things went, but ideally, to go squat/press/dl.

Hit the gym around 1830, busier than usual. There's the worst case scenario: a personal trainer + client in the squat rack. So I walk up, thinking they could be here for an hour. I watch carefully. Client is box squatting with an empty bar onto one of the benches that they use for dumbbell benching. It's above parallel. And being as client has got that marathon runner/famine victim look, is probably 5' 6", and maybe 150lbs at a push, I'm not thinking this is a long way below his work sets.

So I'm looking at some joker taking the squat rack up for an hour to do empty bar squats? That would make me unhappy.

Slowjoe: How many sets have you got left?
PT: Oh, 4 or 5
(Ah, so, that's however long it will take to finish the booking. Let's fuck with them.)
Slowjoe: So long? Do you mind if I join in?
PT: No, you can't. We're doing a circuit...
(Ah, so you're not even fucking squatting most of the time?)
Slowjoe: Do you need the safety cage for empty bar squats? Cos I need the safety cage when I squat 150kg...
PT: <Gulp> Um, we can move out.
Slowjoe: Thanks, that would be great.

A few moments later, he made me get my own bar (perfectly reasonable) and wanted to have both bars in the hooks on the rack. I skilfully avoided removing the top of my head on my first set with the empty bar, then asked the PT to help put on the first wheel (blocked by the end of his bar). At which point I had my rightful territory all to myself.

And it was to the good, because later he gave the worst demonstration of the rack ever, simply handing a green trainee a bar, and asking him to rack it. No concept of weight on shoulders, no concept of hands outside shoulders, nothing. He was slowly explaining moving the grip outside the shoulders, when I just demonstrated on the bar in the rack. Trainee was no fool, so he got a pretty good rack position after that.

Workout:
Squats:
20/44 x 5
60/132 x 5
100/220 x 5
125/275 x 5
152.5/335 x 5 x 3 (legit PR)

Kept my elbows more to the rear, after a thread I'd read here. Arm problem is still there, but noticeably better. Actually left the tension decrease on the problem area as I started putting the elbow further back. Thank you, forum!

First squat PR on SS. My back was tight down around my right kidney, so I thought I'd take a break, especially as I hyper-extended last pressing workout getting the last rep. Went and played a bunch of squash, and my back was really bad, even my right buttock lit up at one point. It was so bad that a couple of games I just kinda gave up, came out and foam-rolled the hell out of it.

After this, I decided not to press or dl, so I talked one of the little guys into spotting/working with me on bench.

Bench press:
20/44 x 5
40/88 x 5
102.5 x 4

This was really heavy, especially as I took Wendlers advice and didn't ask for help with the lift off. Got the last rep 3/4 of the way up, might have locked it out, but my friend "helped" me. Might not have got it, definitely wouldn't have got 5x3, spotter wasn't going to hang around for 10 minutes for 2 more sets, so I called it a night.

[slowjoe]

Warmup:
2 minutes skipping inc DU ladder to 5.
15 situps
10 back extensions
5 x pullup (bw - 19) - Stopped due to arm.

Squats:
20/44 x 5
60/132 x 5
100/220 x 5
130/286 x 5
155/341 x 5 x 3 (PR)

Squats were hard. First time I thought I might not finish the sets. Aggravated left arm again (didn't remember to hold the elbow high and back)

Press:
20/44 x 5
40/88 x 5
55/121 x 5 x 3

Decided to reset while my arm is screwed up. Will take 2.5 kg jumps back 62.5, and 1.25 after that. The arm aches on the negative. Kind of strange.

Interesting that the gravitron pullups upset my arm. Have a done a number of sets of chinups at home without this problem.

[slowjoe]

There was a PT + woman client beside the squat rack as I arrived. She was outside the rack, leaning on it as she did a set of bent-over rows with a 5kg plate. As she was outside and there was no kit in the rack, I scanned the gym, found no-one, and walked into the rack. PT says that they're using it, so I back directly out of the rack about three paces, stand at ease a foot from a fixed barbell tree.

It takes PT guy 30 seconds to realise that I'm not going anywhere. He turns to me and says "Are you squatting heavy?"

"Um... That's the plan." (Little white lie...only DE day today.)

"Ah ok, you can have the rack then."

"Cheers."

DE Squats:
20/44 x 5
60/132 x 2
90/198 x 2 x 10 (started every 60 secs).

Bench Press
20/44 x 5
50/110 x 5
80/176 x 5
102.5/225 x 5 x 3 (first bench pr on SS)

Deadlifts
60/132 x 5 (hooked for the first time)
100/220 x 5 (DOH)
145/319 x 5 (DOH)
175/385 x 5 (Switched right arm)

Squats got at my left arm again. Very annoying, esp since the weight was light, and I tried to keep my elbow high and back. Lower half felt powerful. Hopefully, will give my legs some pep for Friday. Still love the idea that I can descend to a full squat with 90kg on my back, and sit there with essentially no consciousness of the weight.

Bench was iffy. Arm giving a bit of gyp on the descent. Needed spotter, didn't take a lift-off, last rep in each set could have failed on work sets. Felt powerful on the 80kg set.

Was worried about deadlift, since I missed it last week. Went back and forth in my head, decided not to progress the DOH, and push on the work set. Both sides of back (unusually: normal is just right side) were in spasm after the work set. C'est la guerre...

As I was leaving, another PT guy (young, short) came up to me and asked me what my 1RM squat was. Guess I must be attracting attention.