Zero interest in competing in any capacity, haha! My guess is that 136 will be smoother next week! It had been 6 weeks since I had lifted anything heavy for sets across. I'm very surprised that I got those 15 reps in 5 sets.
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Zero interest in competing in any capacity, haha! My guess is that 136 will be smoother next week! It had been 6 weeks since I had lifted anything heavy for sets across. I'm very surprised that I got those 15 reps in 5 sets.
Today was the heaviest day of my tentative program.
Squat
217.5 X 3, 1
My PR was 2 triples at that weight on 20 March, but my form was pretty nasty on those and, back then, my intent was to repeat that session before bumping up the weight.
Today's successful reps look much better, but I was unable to complete the second set. No biggie; I can reattempt next week.
I think there were two contributing factors for this:
1) Sub-optimal position during the second set; I adjusted between rep 1 and 2 and I think this threw me off.
I guess I could have attempted a third set, but I really dislike having to lay the bar on the pins during a squat. I don't mind relying on them when I bench, but this is not something I want to get used to when squatting.
2) I did my first bike ride of 2022 yesterday afternoon. It was not an athletic feat by any stretch of the imagination, but having not ridden my bike since last June, I suspect it took a bigger toll on me that one would expect. Kinda like the first time I shovel my driveway in the winter. It ain't that hard in and of itself but the novelty effect makes it surprisingly taxing the very first time. Anyhow, I will make sure I stay put the day before this particular training session in the future.
Volume press
86 X 4
85 X 4
83 X 3
81 X 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Another odd workout to figure out where I should restart my volume sessions. Fatigue from the bike ride might have been a factor, but this result is consistent with my training history and, on the bright side, this leaves me some room for progress. I don't think I have much runway left on those 5 X 5 sessions, so this will be an opportunity to get my groove back and work on my technique. I'm also considering adding a few singles on my second light day, to get extra practice with heavy weights. I am under the impression that my coaching experiment has left me rusty in that department (fewer days, fewer reps and sets, lower weights, less tonnage).
Deadlift
230 X 3, 3
I went with a somewhat conservative weight based on the above observations. After the squat and the press, today just didn't seem to be the right time for a PR attempt on my most uncooperative lift. That said, it was nice to do those in the garage; the summer setup is just wonderful. The only issue is that it complicates recording; the impact on the wooden platform causes the tripod to fall down. Both first reps (recorded before the fall) look pretty good, though I really need to pay closer attention to keeping my chin down.
An odd training session, but not a terrible one.
You are strong!
Hi Tiny
From the non-coaching perspective, just an outside observer looking in, but wow, that is a massive jump in the press from the 7th.
95 x 4 = 380lbs
90 x 3 = 270
91 x 4 = 364
90 x 12 = 1080
ttl reps 23
ttl tonnage 2094
86 x 4 = 344
85 x 4 = 340
83 x 3 = 249
81 x 25 = 2958
ttl reps 36
ttl tonnage 2958
You're absolutely right, and my arms and shoulders agree with you as well. Those were basically trials sessions to identify my next 5 X 3 and 5 X 5 weight.
Next sessions will be:
Intensity for 5 sets of 3 at 91;
Volume for 5 X 5 at 82;
Add 1lb and repeat.
Basically I am just going back to what I had been doing from December to March. It would have been nice to resume progression from where I was in the end (95 X 3 and 86 X 5), but I have regressed ever since. I didn't know how much, hence the oddity of my last two pressing sessions.
Another light day of training joy.
Front squat
127.5 X 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
The nice thing about front squats is that they are very easy to recover from, both between sets and between workouts. They are tough but they don't beat the crap out of me. Today I only needed 60 to 90 seconds of rest between sets. Warm-up sets included, I got this done in less than 15 min. That's a pretty good deal.
I also prefer triples to fahves on this one. I can finish the set with decent form before the bar starts to choke me. I'd rather focus on lifting the bar than on not passing out.
Volume bench
123 X 5 X 5
No cheating today! I know I've been saying this for a while, but I doubt I will be able to sustain this kind of programming for much longer. My arms were quite beat up by the time I was done with this. I'm sticking with it since it's still working and, to be honest, I'd love to fahve by fahve my bodyweight on the bench. That'd be pretty cool, and this arbitrary goal is only 2lbs away (BW has been fluctuating between 124 and 126 lately). So I'll milk whatever is left of this approach and then I'll scale back the volume and head into something more manageable, perhaps a 3 X 5, 3 X 3 and 5 X 1 type of program. I recover very quickly from bench and press sessions, and frequency is my friend for those lifts. I don't think I have a legitimate claim to the motor-moron throne, but I definitely belong to that kingdom. I still feel rusty from my low-frequency coaching experiment, so while this is a bit of a shock for the time being, I'm quite confident it will help me resume a normal progression on both upper-body lifts.
Snatch
40 X 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
This is not really training yet, more like practice. It's a bit tricky because until I get to 55lbs, the bar is not sitting on the ground (I'm using the Bella bar) and the weight is not very challenging. That said, I get to do this slowly and work through some troubleshooting. Today I realized that my snatch grip was one finger too narrow, and the adjustment made the catch much better. My feet and shins are not adversely reacting to the snatch and clean yet. I hope I will be able to keep this going and actually build some numbers on those two lifts.
Intensity press
91 X 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3
I'm very happy with how this played out. The warm-up sets were heavy, with 45lbs "feeling" like 65. Early into this session, CONPLAN 15 REPS TOTAL appeared likely to be activated. Yet I completed the first four triples relatively confidently, and set 5 was a misgroove occurrence (bad timing on rep 1), as confirmed by a strong 6th set.
In February, this session had led to 1 triple and 6 doubles. The following workout I had been able to get my 5 triples at 92lbs. So I guess today's results are encouraging.
Here's what those looked like. Can you find my husband?
Volume squat
197.5 X 5, 5, 5, 5
Again, this was harder than expected, but I hit my targets. Depending on how my next intensity session goes on Thursday, I will either repeat this workout with an extra set, or bump up the weight to 200 and shoot for 3 X 5 or 15 reps. That said, if I don't need to go all the way up to 5 X 5 anymore, I would rather stick with 3 to 4 sets of 5.
Snatch-grip deadlift
162.5 X 5, 5, 5
Still progressing pretty smoothly, even with the adjustment to my grip width following Friday's discovery. I'm curious to see whether the slightly wider grip will result in more upper-back soreness than usual tomorrow.
I'm keeping the weight jumps very conservative so as to keep doing sets of 5 for as long as possible. I have pretty much reached 70% of what I can deadlift for 5 and would like to bring this to at least 80%, or another 20-30 lbs.
The only downside to this workout is that it takes a while. I forgot to take note of how long this training session lasted for but my guess is that it was around that 90-minute ceiling that I'd rather not exceed. Less that 75 minutes is best, but over 90 minutes is just too much for me. I have a hard time remaining focused for this long. I need to make sure I keep track of this data next time.
They looked just fine. Even the mis-groove on set 5. I read yesterday on either Baker's or Sully's blog that you have to visualize breaking thick glass at about the forehead level as you drive off the bottom. That will keep the bar speed up through that common sticking point.
And thankfully B. was working on his underwear modeling skills. :D
Here's a bit of a late-night entry. My husband is out of town for work until tomorrow and this seemed like great timing for a girls' night with my needy friend.
Intensity bench
136 X 3, 3, 3 (PR)
So after saying this for weeks (months?), I finally did it: I cut the volume down on the bench and will start to treat it like a squat and see what happens. At this point I doubt the last 2 sets do much for me besides beating up my arms. And to be honest, I no longer have a goal for the bench press. Obviously I would like to keep progressing, but getting my press (back) up is a higher priority.
I think those reps were legit reps, unlike some of those I did last week at 135. See for yourself.
Press singles
96 X 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (PR)
Yup! Part of my rationale in reducing bench volume by 2 triples was to add a third press session in my cycle, ending up with 24 reps for today's workout instead of 25.
This technically counts as a PR since it's the heaviest weight I've ever pressed. It doesn't quite feel like it though; I am so used to measuring progress in triples for sets across that lifting something once doesn't seem like a huge accomplishment. Maybe I'll change my mind about that.
I wasn't too sure how this would play out. Ever with 2 fewer sets, the bench still beats the crap out of up my arms at this point. It's almost like my bones hurt by the time I'm done. On the bright side, I figured that I would be thoroughly warmed up for a few press singles.
I had never attempted anything like this before, but wow! This is fun! My only slight disappointment is the rest needed between "sets". 2 minutes was the sweet spot, but I was expecting to need less time than that.
Power clean
75 X 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
It is needless to say that I was in a pretty good mood after the bench and the press, so I got a bit greedy with the clean, adding 10lbs instead of 5. I'm not sure it was the wrong call since I struggle with this movement if it's too light. Next time I'll only add 5lbs though, and it shouldn't take long until I have to lower the jumps to 2.5lbs.