Really effing lazy, but want to help get volume of posts up, so just the essentials:
9 week cycle (for explanation see previous posts) based around the following 3 maxes
Squat: 415
Bench: 290
Deadlift: 580
Results from week 9 test week:
Squat: 335x8
Bench: 235x8
Deadlift: 495x6
Maybe this is strong, maybe it isn't, make of it what you will.
Showing posts with label shanker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shanker. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Shanker Paul Carter's Strong-15 week 6
The Strong-15 template (which I encourage you all to MTFU and buy, go visit Paul Carter's blog to get it, it's a measly 15 bucks. Given the amount of information he disseminates for free, this is ludicrously cheap) is a 9 week meet prep routine structured around hitting each of 3 attempts. It's broken up into three 3 week micro-cycles, the first of which builds up to the equivalent of hitting your first attempt, the second your second attempt and so on...
The workouts themselves follow a 5/4/3/2/1/1/1 backoff template structured around hitting increasing percentages of the attempt for that respective cycle, followed by a backoff set at a lower percentage done to failure. The idea is that you work up to 95% of the attempt in the final week of your micro cycle, then perform the backoff set to, or in excess of the number of reps you would need to feel comfortable to hit that weight. (This utilizes the same formula/judgment that 5/3/1 uses to assess progress). The program can be structured any number of ways around this basic philosophy, personally I isolated the lifts on their own days, so this ends up being a 3 day a week program with 2 days of conditioning (hill sprints).
I started the program 6 weeks ago with the following attempts programmed in for each lift. If I were going to actually do a meet, these would be my target lifts. Firsts are easy, seconds are small PR's and the thirds are lifts that would be really kickass to hit.
Squat
365
385
405
Bench
255
275
285
Deadlift
515
555
575
I just finished the second micro-cycle in the program and the following are the results from this second test week.
Squat
up to 365x1
backoff: 315x10
Bench
up to 255x1
backoff: 220x10
Deadlift
up to 525x1
backoff: 475x7
The thing I'm particularly proud of here is that after week 6, my backoff sets indicate that I should be able to hit my third attempts with relative ease. All of them are PR's (some are small, like bench where I've hit 225x9 in the past couple months and some are quite significant, as the squat for 315x10 was easy, given my previous PR of 315x8).
The intensity goes up from here over the final 3 weeks (parts of which I will be in Boston for), so it's time to buckle down and hopefully hit some more PR's.
Other relevant information:
BW: 192
BF: approx 10-11%
Conditioning: I define really good condition as being able to run 20 hill sprints of 40 yards without stopping for a rest apart from walking back down. It's been posited that that's roughly the level of conditioning required of an NFL running back (20 touches in relatively quick succession). As of right now I can run 12 sprints with ease. Note, that this isn't a priority as I'm trying to hit my attempts here so my focus is on strength. I do these following a leg day as quasi recovery and because they make me feel really fucking good.
Cheers!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Shanker Random Ass Training Update
Slightly ironic that I post this on eve of coming back to Boston for a week, but I've got time to kill. First a little background on my situation. I've been in NY for about 7 weeks now and have yet to move in to my actual permanent apartment. I say this primarily because it implies that I haven't had a kitchen for 7 weeks and have had to lift at this place called Club H (yes, there are greco-roman statues, colored lights and club music, but they have a power rack and platform, so I can't be picky. Also, sadly, I'm 99% sure I'm the only person there who routinely moves anything more than 3 plates, so they pretty much let me do whatever the fuck I want.) Eating out all the time + no cardio - prowler = fatass Shanker. I'm probably anywhere from 188-192, to put that in perspective when I left I was about 182. Actually I've embraced this 7 week period for exactly this purpose...adding mass, since as soon as I'm able to cook again I'll get too anal and obsessive that putting on weight will become the pain in the ass it's always been. Burgers (usually 4/day), pies (no, not slices, we're talking whole pies), etc... It's been fun.
The following is a testament to lifting consistency. I've had some REALLY shitty days. I'm talking days when deadlifting 445 or squatting 315 felt heavy to the point where I could barely hit my allotted lifts. I don't travel well, and the first 2 weeks down here were really tough, physically speaking. I was stiff as a board and weak as hell. But I got my lifts in and before long we had the following highlights. Keep in mind this is over the course of basically 1.5 cycles of 5/3/1 after a 90% reset, which I implemented my first week down here.
All of the following are rep PR's:
Squat:
315x8
335x6
Bench Press:
230x7
240x6
Deadlift
450x8
475x6
Military (I just started these again after not doing them for about 5 months, so they really suck)
140x5
Since this has been a reset of 5/3/1, I'm dealing with suboptimal circumstances and I was basically looking at this from a mass gaining perspective, I put all my assistance work in the 6-12 rep range. For instance on squat day I'll do 3 sets of 245x8 then 3 sets of 275x6 in addition to my 5/3/1 sets. Same with dips/incline on bench day and deadlifts on DL day. It seems to be working...or I just got really fucking fat. We'll see.
The following is a testament to lifting consistency. I've had some REALLY shitty days. I'm talking days when deadlifting 445 or squatting 315 felt heavy to the point where I could barely hit my allotted lifts. I don't travel well, and the first 2 weeks down here were really tough, physically speaking. I was stiff as a board and weak as hell. But I got my lifts in and before long we had the following highlights. Keep in mind this is over the course of basically 1.5 cycles of 5/3/1 after a 90% reset, which I implemented my first week down here.
All of the following are rep PR's:
Squat:
315x8
335x6
Bench Press:
230x7
240x6
Deadlift
450x8
475x6
Military (I just started these again after not doing them for about 5 months, so they really suck)
140x5
Since this has been a reset of 5/3/1, I'm dealing with suboptimal circumstances and I was basically looking at this from a mass gaining perspective, I put all my assistance work in the 6-12 rep range. For instance on squat day I'll do 3 sets of 245x8 then 3 sets of 275x6 in addition to my 5/3/1 sets. Same with dips/incline on bench day and deadlifts on DL day. It seems to be working...or I just got really fucking fat. We'll see.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Shanker 5/3/1 Cycle *** Postmortem/Next Steps Plan
I'm back to write a postmortem of the last few cycles of 5/3/1 for, to use my new favorite phrase, a confluence of factors. First, I haven't done this in about 3 months because I've been running 5/3/1 non stop/non deload for basically that same length of time. Second, I'm at a crossroads in my lifting. Third, I wanted to throw something like this together so that some of the newbies understand what we mean when we say they should write up a "postmortem" of a particular cycle.
First the set up of this series of cycles has been based on a few fundamental practices that I wanted to implement.
1) Pause presses as the main press.
2) Replacement of overhead pressing as bench assistance with dips, specifically weighted dips in the range of BW + 50-70 for volume sets of 8.
3) Mid-shin/Low-shin pulls as primary deadlift assistance.
4) Pause-sqaut as primary squat assistance.
5) All assistance work done for volume (5 sets) at roughly 70-85%, depending on the lift.
Second, the environment.
At this point, I am very close to stalling out on 5/3/1. This isn't anything to be upset about as its something like my 8th or 9th cycle and to be expected, in fact given that I'm taking 93-95% of a consistently increasing training max I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Anyway, as I recently watched Chris pop out 7 reps in his "3" week, I figured I'd throw in that caveat to make myself look slightly more respectable.
Bodyweight has gone from 184 in January, down to 178 in February back up to 180 in March. Shit happens, and when I get stressed my appetite goes out the window. Body fat percentage is still 10ish, maybe a little more as I've added cheese puffs to my post prowler snacking.
Third, the highlights.
Squat: 340x4 in 3 week.
Deadlift: 505x3 in 3 week, nearly had a solid 535 double in the 1 week, but alas.
Pause Press: 240x2 with a full 2 second pause in the 1 week. Attempted a third.
Fourth: Did any of this shit do any good?
My squat form is back on track (thank god) at this point I need more volume to get it to the second nature status of my deadlift and bench form.
Deadlift has stagnated, in my mind, primarily due to weightloss.
Bench keeps moving up little by little.
Answering the question of why I'm stalling at this point is pretty much impossible. There are too many moving parts, not the least of which is the fact that I haven't done a true deload since December. Why didn't I do this earlier? Just never felt it was necessary, the important thing is recognizing that it's necessary now, maybe a cycle too late, but whatever. Eliminating this factor as a potential reason for stalling is the primary motivation behind my decision in my next steps.
Fifth: What's Next?
So, here's where it gets interesting. First things first, I need to get bigger. Yea, don't we all? But dicking around in 181 is a complete and total waste of my time if I ever hope to approach any level of competitiveness. I thought I was well into leaving that god forsaken weight class behind back in January, but such is life, and I'm right back here. So what to do, what to do, what to do?
I contemplated implementing Paul Carter's 5/4/3/2/1 Backoff program for mass building (its new and sexy, plus I really do buy into the vast majority of the man's philosophies) but decided against it because I don't think I've exhausted progress on 5/3/1 completely and, if I do want to do the May 7th meet, the intensity will be far too low for proper meet "prep."
Then, I contemplated Paul Carter's strength program, but that is a 9 week buildup to a meet and I don't have 9 weeks. When I do try it (and I will at some point) I want to make sure I give it a fair shake.
Soooo back to 5/3/1 we go, but with the following tweaks.
1) We'll turn this into 3/5/1 for powerlifting. For those who don't know, the only major difference here is obviously the 3 week comes first, and the 5 week is just a "hit the reps and get out" week.
2) For my deadlift assistance, I'm gonna take a break from mid-shin pulls and implement more squatting. This is less about problems with my deadlift and more about adding a second squatting day, albeit at a lower intensity, again for volume (5 sets) at something lighter, 70%ish.
3) Bench pressing is back.
4) I'm doing exactly what Wendler prescribed when you start stalling. Take 90% of your training max. So this cycle will actually be slightly less intense than the previous one. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Depending on how this cycle feels I may take it back up to 93-95%.
And that's how you write up a postmortem. Enjoy.
First the set up of this series of cycles has been based on a few fundamental practices that I wanted to implement.
1) Pause presses as the main press.
2) Replacement of overhead pressing as bench assistance with dips, specifically weighted dips in the range of BW + 50-70 for volume sets of 8.
3) Mid-shin/Low-shin pulls as primary deadlift assistance.
4) Pause-sqaut as primary squat assistance.
5) All assistance work done for volume (5 sets) at roughly 70-85%, depending on the lift.
Second, the environment.
At this point, I am very close to stalling out on 5/3/1. This isn't anything to be upset about as its something like my 8th or 9th cycle and to be expected, in fact given that I'm taking 93-95% of a consistently increasing training max I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Anyway, as I recently watched Chris pop out 7 reps in his "3" week, I figured I'd throw in that caveat to make myself look slightly more respectable.
Bodyweight has gone from 184 in January, down to 178 in February back up to 180 in March. Shit happens, and when I get stressed my appetite goes out the window. Body fat percentage is still 10ish, maybe a little more as I've added cheese puffs to my post prowler snacking.
Third, the highlights.
Squat: 340x4 in 3 week.
Deadlift: 505x3 in 3 week, nearly had a solid 535 double in the 1 week, but alas.
Pause Press: 240x2 with a full 2 second pause in the 1 week. Attempted a third.
Fourth: Did any of this shit do any good?
My squat form is back on track (thank god) at this point I need more volume to get it to the second nature status of my deadlift and bench form.
Deadlift has stagnated, in my mind, primarily due to weightloss.
Bench keeps moving up little by little.
Answering the question of why I'm stalling at this point is pretty much impossible. There are too many moving parts, not the least of which is the fact that I haven't done a true deload since December. Why didn't I do this earlier? Just never felt it was necessary, the important thing is recognizing that it's necessary now, maybe a cycle too late, but whatever. Eliminating this factor as a potential reason for stalling is the primary motivation behind my decision in my next steps.
Fifth: What's Next?
So, here's where it gets interesting. First things first, I need to get bigger. Yea, don't we all? But dicking around in 181 is a complete and total waste of my time if I ever hope to approach any level of competitiveness. I thought I was well into leaving that god forsaken weight class behind back in January, but such is life, and I'm right back here. So what to do, what to do, what to do?
I contemplated implementing Paul Carter's 5/4/3/2/1 Backoff program for mass building (its new and sexy, plus I really do buy into the vast majority of the man's philosophies) but decided against it because I don't think I've exhausted progress on 5/3/1 completely and, if I do want to do the May 7th meet, the intensity will be far too low for proper meet "prep."
Then, I contemplated Paul Carter's strength program, but that is a 9 week buildup to a meet and I don't have 9 weeks. When I do try it (and I will at some point) I want to make sure I give it a fair shake.
Soooo back to 5/3/1 we go, but with the following tweaks.
1) We'll turn this into 3/5/1 for powerlifting. For those who don't know, the only major difference here is obviously the 3 week comes first, and the 5 week is just a "hit the reps and get out" week.
2) For my deadlift assistance, I'm gonna take a break from mid-shin pulls and implement more squatting. This is less about problems with my deadlift and more about adding a second squatting day, albeit at a lower intensity, again for volume (5 sets) at something lighter, 70%ish.
3) Bench pressing is back.
4) I'm doing exactly what Wendler prescribed when you start stalling. Take 90% of your training max. So this cycle will actually be slightly less intense than the previous one. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Depending on how this cycle feels I may take it back up to 93-95%.
And that's how you write up a postmortem. Enjoy.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Zcenter Decorum
I realize some may chuckle at the fact that this post is coming from me...
but given some of the recent rumblings I've been hearing from some of the desk staff I'd just like to remind this general group of the decorum that we as powerlifters try to adhere to as a sort of compromise for all the rules they let us break and stuff we can get away with.
-Try not to yell. We all get it, that PR feels great, but if you're training properly in 6 months you'll look back and realize that it was nothing. So just relax and generally try to keep it down.
-In the vein of keeping it down...dont drop crap unnecessarily. Put some effort into the negatives on your deadlifts, use the bumper plates if you really see the need to just release from the top. This will always be a recurring problem as long as we have platforms on the 2nd floor, but there have been complaints...so be mindful.
-Clean up your goddamn chalk. This one comes from me. I make it a point, every night after I finish, of going over all my weights, the floor around where i lift and my bars with a wet rag. We're not supposed to have chalk and the fact that the staff looks the other way is a favor to all of us. Don't abuse this situation. Too many times over the past month I've been cleaning up other peoples chalk residue and I'm getting tired of it.
Other than that, great progress all around. I'm glad to see this group keeps growing, just remember that powerlifters are not always the most accepted group of people in the world and we should make any effort we can to grease the wheel.
but given some of the recent rumblings I've been hearing from some of the desk staff I'd just like to remind this general group of the decorum that we as powerlifters try to adhere to as a sort of compromise for all the rules they let us break and stuff we can get away with.
-Try not to yell. We all get it, that PR feels great, but if you're training properly in 6 months you'll look back and realize that it was nothing. So just relax and generally try to keep it down.
-In the vein of keeping it down...dont drop crap unnecessarily. Put some effort into the negatives on your deadlifts, use the bumper plates if you really see the need to just release from the top. This will always be a recurring problem as long as we have platforms on the 2nd floor, but there have been complaints...so be mindful.
-Clean up your goddamn chalk. This one comes from me. I make it a point, every night after I finish, of going over all my weights, the floor around where i lift and my bars with a wet rag. We're not supposed to have chalk and the fact that the staff looks the other way is a favor to all of us. Don't abuse this situation. Too many times over the past month I've been cleaning up other peoples chalk residue and I'm getting tired of it.
Other than that, great progress all around. I'm glad to see this group keeps growing, just remember that powerlifters are not always the most accepted group of people in the world and we should make any effort we can to grease the wheel.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Shanker 5/3/1 Week 1 Bench Press
was gonna procrastinate this til I finished the week, but I'm bored and have scar symmetry blasting right now, so what the hell...
Elbow sleeves came in, wore them the whole time, I'll keep them on for Bench and Squat days for this cycle and see where I'm at after.
Bench Press
165x5
195x5
225x8
This was a pretty easy rep PR, by at least 2... after a month of doing jack shit and on a bum elbow. So apparently the sleeves give me a pretty good pop.
DB Rows
112x16
135x16
135x16
135x16
core shit.
In other news, I'm not going to push my prowler for a little while, concerns about stressing the elbow too much...so I bought a harness. Works pretty well. As for the meet, I'm not doing it. I'll come, be a cheerleader, etc to those who are doing it. As long as I have a chance to put up a pretty damn good total as a junior (before March of 2012) I'm happy, no need to rush things. Honestly, at this point my goal is simply getting big enough and strong enough to be able to train with Danny this summer.
Elbow sleeves came in, wore them the whole time, I'll keep them on for Bench and Squat days for this cycle and see where I'm at after.
Bench Press
165x5
195x5
225x8
This was a pretty easy rep PR, by at least 2... after a month of doing jack shit and on a bum elbow. So apparently the sleeves give me a pretty good pop.
DB Rows
112x16
135x16
135x16
135x16
core shit.
In other news, I'm not going to push my prowler for a little while, concerns about stressing the elbow too much...so I bought a harness. Works pretty well. As for the meet, I'm not doing it. I'll come, be a cheerleader, etc to those who are doing it. As long as I have a chance to put up a pretty damn good total as a junior (before March of 2012) I'm happy, no need to rush things. Honestly, at this point my goal is simply getting big enough and strong enough to be able to train with Danny this summer.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Shanker 5/3/1 Cycle 4 Deadlift & Squat Days and Postmortem
Squat
345x3
Lots more squatting after this, probably another 10 sets at 225, 275 and 315.
Deadlift (dug up my camera, will take video of squats too next cycle. Links to vids)
505x3
(grip didn't fail, that was me realizing I didn't have the velocity or the lower back positioning to lock it out without hitching, so I bailed.)
Mid-Shin Pull
135x10
225x10
315x5
(belted)
405x5
455x3
(videos)
495x1
545x1 (yes, that really is 545...didn't really feel like it though)
Postmortem:
There are only two things that I want to address.
First, saw the orthpedist, my left elbow problem is basically severe tendinitis, a combo of both tennis elbow and golfer's elbow. I'm still not entirely sure that this 100% of the explanation, but I haven't pressed in 2 weeks and won't try until I finish this deload week. I'm icing on anti-inflammatories and doing rehab stretches as told my doctor. Let's see... I'll probably start with the weight from 1 or 2 cycles ago and just see how things go. Also, I'll be doing away with military press day (haven't MP in over a month anyway because of this) for the short term future. I bought elbow sleeves as well, as they seemed to have helped Frank. I guess it'll just save wear and tear, and they kinda look cool.
Second, I basically took this cycle as a sort of squatting exploration, and have come to the following conclusions.
1)Widen stance, slightly wider than shoulder width. Now I don't have to go ass to grass to hit depth, I'm not sure how my stance got so narrow...but there it is.
2) I'm a low bar squatter, pretty damn low, as in just below the bulge of my rear delts. I do believe this was my original bar placement, but when I widened my grip, I lost upper back tension and hiked the bar up to compensate. Either that, or I lose tension, the bar slips and I miss my rack in spectacular fashion (2 weeks running now...) For now, I'll keep my grip wide until I go above 315, then bring it in about 2 inches and judge if any of the pain I used to have comes back.
3) Nike Romoleos rock. If you have giant freak feet (specifically size 16.5 and above) you might be able to find a pair on the cheap (like 60 bucks) and they're completely worth it.
345x3
Lots more squatting after this, probably another 10 sets at 225, 275 and 315.
Deadlift (dug up my camera, will take video of squats too next cycle. Links to vids)
505x3
(grip didn't fail, that was me realizing I didn't have the velocity or the lower back positioning to lock it out without hitching, so I bailed.)
Mid-Shin Pull
135x10
225x10
315x5
(belted)
405x5
455x3
(videos)
495x1
545x1 (yes, that really is 545...didn't really feel like it though)
Postmortem:
There are only two things that I want to address.
First, saw the orthpedist, my left elbow problem is basically severe tendinitis, a combo of both tennis elbow and golfer's elbow. I'm still not entirely sure that this 100% of the explanation, but I haven't pressed in 2 weeks and won't try until I finish this deload week. I'm icing on anti-inflammatories and doing rehab stretches as told my doctor. Let's see... I'll probably start with the weight from 1 or 2 cycles ago and just see how things go. Also, I'll be doing away with military press day (haven't MP in over a month anyway because of this) for the short term future. I bought elbow sleeves as well, as they seemed to have helped Frank. I guess it'll just save wear and tear, and they kinda look cool.
Second, I basically took this cycle as a sort of squatting exploration, and have come to the following conclusions.
1)Widen stance, slightly wider than shoulder width. Now I don't have to go ass to grass to hit depth, I'm not sure how my stance got so narrow...but there it is.
2) I'm a low bar squatter, pretty damn low, as in just below the bulge of my rear delts. I do believe this was my original bar placement, but when I widened my grip, I lost upper back tension and hiked the bar up to compensate. Either that, or I lose tension, the bar slips and I miss my rack in spectacular fashion (2 weeks running now...) For now, I'll keep my grip wide until I go above 315, then bring it in about 2 inches and judge if any of the pain I used to have comes back.
3) Nike Romoleos rock. If you have giant freak feet (specifically size 16.5 and above) you might be able to find a pair on the cheap (like 60 bucks) and they're completely worth it.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Shanker 5/3/1 DL Week 2
Deadlift
375x3
(belted)
425x3
460x6 sooo...funny story...thought this was 480, got all jacked up that 6 reps, (new PR!!!!, not) felt so easy. Strutted to go get water and came back to realize that I left 10's off. What a dumbass.
480x4 probably because I was so psychologically crushed.
Mid-Shin Pulls
135x10
225x10
315x5
(belted)
405x5
455x3
495x1
535x1 (PR)
core shit.
375x3
(belted)
425x3
460x6 sooo...funny story...thought this was 480, got all jacked up that 6 reps, (new PR!!!!, not) felt so easy. Strutted to go get water and came back to realize that I left 10's off. What a dumbass.
480x4 probably because I was so psychologically crushed.
Mid-Shin Pulls
135x10
225x10
315x5
(belted)
405x5
455x3
495x1
535x1 (PR)
core shit.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
01/03 Shanker 5/3/1 Squat 2
Broke in my new Nike Romoleos, couldn't find a negative review anywhere and apparently witth good reason. They're far and away more stable than my old do-wins.
Squat
(belted)
255x3
295x3
330x3 (bar slipped too damn low and resulted in a fairly spectacular racking fiasco)
295x3
255x3
Box Squats (slightly below or at parallel)
225x5
(belted)
255x5
275x3
295x3
315x1
335x1
Squats (belted)
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x5
core shit.
booyakasha.
Squat
(belted)
255x3
295x3
330x3 (bar slipped too damn low and resulted in a fairly spectacular racking fiasco)
295x3
255x3
Box Squats (slightly below or at parallel)
225x5
(belted)
255x5
275x3
295x3
315x1
335x1
Squats (belted)
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x5
core shit.
booyakasha.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Shanker: 5/3/1 Crap Week
Not a good week. Maybe its all the extra holiday crap I've been eating, the break in my usual routine, the longer than average do nothing period (thanks retarded holiday hours). Also elbow problems are back in full force. Fuck.
Got in, hit my sets for my reps, didn't push anything.
Squat
310x5
then did box squats, pause squats, more squats until I couldn't move. Played with stance and brought it out a good 8 inches or so (I've been super narrow, basically a DL stance, to this point). Let's see how this works over the rest of this cycle.
Bench Press
230x5 (got help on #6)
Fuck radial neuropathy.
Also did Rows up to 160 again.
DB Presses up to 80x5, but had to rest for a while to let elbow cool down first. Once that happened, these were actually alright.
Deadlift
455x5
Mid-shin pulls
up to 525, easy. I need to start taping these so I can see just how much my upper back rounds.
Pause Squats
up to 315 for a single.
Fuck radial neuropathy again.
As for lifting at the meet, that is still very much in the air right now, because of the elbow. I am not going to risk making this worse.
Despite the fact that this may come off "raw" or impolite, spare me the armchair doctoring on radial neuropathy. I'm just sharing here for the record, not asking for advice. I've seen or talked to 3 different orthopaedists, the problem has gone away with certain changes and come back. Right now this cycle is as much about figuring out what lets me lift without pain as it is about making progress.
Cheers.
Got in, hit my sets for my reps, didn't push anything.
Squat
310x5
then did box squats, pause squats, more squats until I couldn't move. Played with stance and brought it out a good 8 inches or so (I've been super narrow, basically a DL stance, to this point). Let's see how this works over the rest of this cycle.
Bench Press
230x5 (got help on #6)
Fuck radial neuropathy.
Also did Rows up to 160 again.
DB Presses up to 80x5, but had to rest for a while to let elbow cool down first. Once that happened, these were actually alright.
Deadlift
455x5
Mid-shin pulls
up to 525, easy. I need to start taping these so I can see just how much my upper back rounds.
Pause Squats
up to 315 for a single.
Fuck radial neuropathy again.
As for lifting at the meet, that is still very much in the air right now, because of the elbow. I am not going to risk making this worse.
Despite the fact that this may come off "raw" or impolite, spare me the armchair doctoring on radial neuropathy. I'm just sharing here for the record, not asking for advice. I've seen or talked to 3 different orthopaedists, the problem has gone away with certain changes and come back. Right now this cycle is as much about figuring out what lets me lift without pain as it is about making progress.
Cheers.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Shanker 12/22 More Prowling
I did this primarily because the high I got last time lasted about 36 hours...I haven't felt that good after a workout in a looong time.
Again 30 yard trips low handles one way, vertical bars back, intervals were slightly longer this time, primarily because I had to lug weights into the track and back. Whatever, a good farmer's walk never hurt anybody.
3 trips empty
3 trips 90 lbs
3 trips 140 lbs
3 trips 160 lbs (almost died here)
annnd thas bout it.
Again 30 yard trips low handles one way, vertical bars back, intervals were slightly longer this time, primarily because I had to lug weights into the track and back. Whatever, a good farmer's walk never hurt anybody.
3 trips empty
3 trips 90 lbs
3 trips 140 lbs
3 trips 160 lbs (almost died here)
annnd thas bout it.
Monday, December 20, 2010
12/20 Shanker Prowling Awesomeness
Had to do this without my partner in crime...
Prowled on the indoor track for the first time, by far the most difficult surface to prowl on that I've tried. Given that its a rubber surface I suppose that's to be expected, it's more or less like trying to push the damn thing through molasses.
The pattern for each trip went as follows,
sprint one way, 45 second break, sprint back, writhe on floor in pain, get up, repeat.
3 round trips of 30 yards with no weight.
3 round trips of 30 yards with 90 lbs.
3 round trips of 30 yards with 140 lbs.
4 round trips of 30 yards with 90 lbs.
1 round trip of 30 yards with no weight.
I'm still riding the high from this 3 hours later...feel amaaaazing
WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!
Prowled on the indoor track for the first time, by far the most difficult surface to prowl on that I've tried. Given that its a rubber surface I suppose that's to be expected, it's more or less like trying to push the damn thing through molasses.
The pattern for each trip went as follows,
sprint one way, 45 second break, sprint back, writhe on floor in pain, get up, repeat.
3 round trips of 30 yards with no weight.
3 round trips of 30 yards with 90 lbs.
3 round trips of 30 yards with 140 lbs.
4 round trips of 30 yards with 90 lbs.
1 round trip of 30 yards with no weight.
I'm still riding the high from this 3 hours later...feel amaaaazing
WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!
Shanker 5/3/1 BP, Squat and Postmortem
12/16
Bench Press
240x4 (got a little bump from Mark on #5)
My elbow has been acting up recently (radial nerve in left arm again) so I cut out any significant extra bench volume, did 1 or 2 sets of easy triples at 225 then a few sets of light dumbbell press.
DB Rows
62x16
112x16
132x16
162x10 ( left grip would appear to be catching up)
112 x 34 (why? because I can)
core shit.
12/18
Squat
335x4
Elbow was a concern, but turned out not to be a major factor. My squat sucks right now. First/second rep always feels really good, but after that my hips start shooting up and turns the whole damn thing into a GM. I'm not entirely sure what's causing it...weak erectors? weak glutes? (it's sure as hell not a weak core) lack of discipline? Need to figure this out...and fast....
Pause Squats
225x5
255x5
275x3
315x1
Core shit.
Never
MP
0x0
Due to elbow acting up I'm gonna relax for a little while. It's just MP after all, and that's progressing just fine.
Postmortem
1) It's been 3 cycles, my DL and BP have progressed significantly and my squat has either remained stagnant or made minor progress.
2) With the target of being ready for the February 12th AAU meet, I'm going to stay on 5/3/1 for 2 more cycles, albeit (after discussing with Danny) at a higher intensity.
3) Next cycle I will make the normal 5 and 10 lb progressions but I will take 93% to calculate the training max instead of 90%. Depending on how this cycle goes I'll up that % to 95 or more for the following cycle, the idea being peaking right before the meet.
4) DL workouts will stay the same
5) Squat workouts will swap in box squats for pause squats. At this point, I need to build confidence in my sitback...I think I have a tendency to keep my weight significantly forward of center in the hole during pauses. Might throw these in for extra volume as well.
6) Bench workouts I'll swap out additional volume with DB presses to save wear and tear on my elbow.
7) MP workouts will stay the same.
When I started 5/3/1 in September I was 180 lbs at roughly 10% bf, now I'm 184 lbs at roughly 10% bf. So, physically the gains are exactly where I want them to be, 1 pound or so a month of mostly lean mass. Keeping in mind my longer term goals I'm not going to make any effort to get back into the 181 weight class for the February 12th meet, I'll just do my best as a very light 198.
And here is the plan for the next cycle, to be started next mondayish....(I'd start it sooner, but this whole holiday crap wreaks havoc with gym hours...maybe next year we'll do Christmas with Louie or Ed...) Yes, Danny, I'm stealing your jokes now.
Oh, and in the general spirit of the holidays, I leave you with an obligatory Euro-Death Metal clip:
Bench Press
240x4 (got a little bump from Mark on #5)
My elbow has been acting up recently (radial nerve in left arm again) so I cut out any significant extra bench volume, did 1 or 2 sets of easy triples at 225 then a few sets of light dumbbell press.
DB Rows
62x16
112x16
132x16
162x10 ( left grip would appear to be catching up)
112 x 34 (why? because I can)
core shit.
12/18
Squat
335x4
Elbow was a concern, but turned out not to be a major factor. My squat sucks right now. First/second rep always feels really good, but after that my hips start shooting up and turns the whole damn thing into a GM. I'm not entirely sure what's causing it...weak erectors? weak glutes? (it's sure as hell not a weak core) lack of discipline? Need to figure this out...and fast....
Pause Squats
225x5
255x5
275x3
315x1
Core shit.
Never
MP
0x0
Due to elbow acting up I'm gonna relax for a little while. It's just MP after all, and that's progressing just fine.
Postmortem
1) It's been 3 cycles, my DL and BP have progressed significantly and my squat has either remained stagnant or made minor progress.
2) With the target of being ready for the February 12th AAU meet, I'm going to stay on 5/3/1 for 2 more cycles, albeit (after discussing with Danny) at a higher intensity.
3) Next cycle I will make the normal 5 and 10 lb progressions but I will take 93% to calculate the training max instead of 90%. Depending on how this cycle goes I'll up that % to 95 or more for the following cycle, the idea being peaking right before the meet.
4) DL workouts will stay the same
5) Squat workouts will swap in box squats for pause squats. At this point, I need to build confidence in my sitback...I think I have a tendency to keep my weight significantly forward of center in the hole during pauses. Might throw these in for extra volume as well.
6) Bench workouts I'll swap out additional volume with DB presses to save wear and tear on my elbow.
7) MP workouts will stay the same.
When I started 5/3/1 in September I was 180 lbs at roughly 10% bf, now I'm 184 lbs at roughly 10% bf. So, physically the gains are exactly where I want them to be, 1 pound or so a month of mostly lean mass. Keeping in mind my longer term goals I'm not going to make any effort to get back into the 181 weight class for the February 12th meet, I'll just do my best as a very light 198.
And here is the plan for the next cycle, to be started next mondayish....(I'd start it sooner, but this whole holiday crap wreaks havoc with gym hours...maybe next year we'll do Christmas with Louie or Ed...) Yes, Danny, I'm stealing your jokes now.
Oh, and in the general spirit of the holidays, I leave you with an obligatory Euro-Death Metal clip:
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | |||
| Military | Military | Military | |||
| 180 | |||||
| Reps | Reps | Reps | |||
| 5 | 110 | 3 | 120 | 5 | 130 |
| 5 | 130 | 3 | 135 | 3 | 145 |
| 5 | 145 | 3 | 155 | 1 | 160 |
| Deadlift | Deadlift | Deadlift | |||
| 570 | |||||
| Reps | Reps | Reps | |||
| 5 | 345 | 3 | 375 | 5 | 400 |
| 5 | 400 | 3 | 425 | 3 | 455 |
| 5 | 455 | 3 | 480 | 1 | 505 |
| Bench | Bench | Bench | |||
| 285 | |||||
| Reps | Reps | Reps | |||
| 5 | 175 | 3 | 190 | 5 | 200 |
| 5 | 200 | 3 | 215 | 3 | 230 |
| 5 | 230 | 3 | 240 | 1 | 255 |
| Squat | Squat | Squat | |||
| 390 | |||||
| Reps | Reps | Reps | |||
| 5 | 240 | 3 | 255 | 5 | 275 |
| 5 | 275 | 3 | 295 | 3 | 310 |
| 5 | 310 | 3 | 330 | 1 | 345 |
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The Insufferable 12/14 PROWLER
Pushed the prowler with Mark (who was between studying for finals) outside in the blistering cold (12 degrees w/ wind)...1000 man points.
8 trips of 25 yards low handles forward, vertical bars back with 90 lbs.
Breaks couldn't have been longer than a minute, mostly because we were afraid of freezing.
Seriously...prowler is awesomeness...I feel great, my resting hear rate is down 5-6 bpm, stamina is better, lifts are strong...prowler is god.
8 trips of 25 yards low handles forward, vertical bars back with 90 lbs.
Breaks couldn't have been longer than a minute, mostly because we were afraid of freezing.
Seriously...prowler is awesomeness...I feel great, my resting hear rate is down 5-6 bpm, stamina is better, lifts are strong...prowler is god.
Monday, December 13, 2010
12/13 Shanker 5/3/1 DL Week 3
Posting has been sporadic, and if you look at my recent history it looks like I'm becoming one of those guys who only posts good workouts. Nevertheless, I'll do a full recap of this cycle at the end of week, hopefully alleviating this.
Felt like I could run through a brick wall today, and apparently with good reason:
DL
135x10
225x10
315x5
380x5
(belted)
430x3
480x5
Got 5 without any doubt, thought I might have 6 in me but wasn't feeling it off of the floor, so stopped there.
Mid-Shin Pulls
135x10
225x10
315x5
(belted)
405x5
455x3
495x3
515x1
Contemplated 545, but I think I was rounding on the 515, so decided against it.
Leg Press (Knees In)
4 plates x 8
5 plates x 6
6 plates x 4
core shit.
rawr.
Felt like I could run through a brick wall today, and apparently with good reason:
DL
135x10
225x10
315x5
380x5
(belted)
430x3
480x5
Got 5 without any doubt, thought I might have 6 in me but wasn't feeling it off of the floor, so stopped there.
Mid-Shin Pulls
135x10
225x10
315x5
(belted)
405x5
455x3
495x3
515x1
Contemplated 545, but I think I was rounding on the 515, so decided against it.
Leg Press (Knees In)
4 plates x 8
5 plates x 6
6 plates x 4
core shit.
rawr.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Power That Is: 12/02 5/3/1 Bench Week 1
Bench Press
215x8 (Tom gave me a little bump on #9)
215x4
215x4
215x4
215x4 (?) not sure, lost track of sets.
DB Rows
up to 160x12 RH 6+2+2+2 LH
Core work.
Might as well document some of the conditioning as well:
Tuesday Ran the green building once. Unfortunately the air in there is fucking awful. Mark and I were hacking up phlegm for about 15 minutes afterward. So....decided to push the prowler from DKE to Tang and back, alternating with Mark. Probably a total of 400 yards for each of us.
Every Saturday for the past month Mark and I have been pushing my prowler with weight in the Z center parking lot. Usually do 8-9 total "sets" with the last 4 or more with 50lbs plus for 30 yard sprints on low handles, then 30 yard sprint back on vertical bars. This will be continuing as long as possible. Already what had us nearly vomiting and afraid stand up is getting reasonably easy.
Also (since Danny asked) the top sets for this cycle of 5/3/1 are:
Squat
295
310
330
BP
215
230
245
DL
430
455
480
MP
I forgot, have to look at the sheet.
215x8 (Tom gave me a little bump on #9)
215x4
215x4
215x4
215x4 (?) not sure, lost track of sets.
DB Rows
up to 160x12 RH 6+2+2+2 LH
Core work.
Might as well document some of the conditioning as well:
Tuesday Ran the green building once. Unfortunately the air in there is fucking awful. Mark and I were hacking up phlegm for about 15 minutes afterward. So....decided to push the prowler from DKE to Tang and back, alternating with Mark. Probably a total of 400 yards for each of us.
Every Saturday for the past month Mark and I have been pushing my prowler with weight in the Z center parking lot. Usually do 8-9 total "sets" with the last 4 or more with 50lbs plus for 30 yard sprints on low handles, then 30 yard sprint back on vertical bars. This will be continuing as long as possible. Already what had us nearly vomiting and afraid stand up is getting reasonably easy.
Also (since Danny asked) the top sets for this cycle of 5/3/1 are:
Squat
295
310
330
BP
215
230
245
DL
430
455
480
MP
I forgot, have to look at the sheet.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Shanker Deadlift 5/3/1 Week 1
Deadlifts
330x5
380x5
430x9 (belted)
Mid Shin Pulls
315x5
365x5
405x5 (belted)
455x5
495x2 easy peasy
Core shit.
Giddy-up.
330x5
380x5
430x9 (belted)
Mid Shin Pulls
315x5
365x5
405x5 (belted)
455x5
495x2 easy peasy
Core shit.
Giddy-up.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Shanker: Updates on 2nd Cycle of 5/3/1
It's been a while since I posted, due in part to how busy I am, in part to how routine these workouts have been. Overall progress has been steady, at least I think it's been, it will take another 1 or 2 cycles to really judge this. I have to say that at this moment I am not a huge fan of 5/3/1, I just don't think it creates enough of a workload. In reality, the highest intensity that you achieve at any point in the cycle is 90% of 95% which is something like 85.5% of a real max. It appears to be ok for steady progress, but I would NEVER touch 5/3/1 inside of 6 weeks from a meet. Anyhoo, I committed to this for 3 months which should give me a chance to complete at least 1 more cycle, more likely 2 more. I will reassess at that point.
In addition I have been pushing my prowler with a few friends of mine on a regular basis now, at least once a week if not more. The added conditioning hit my lifts for a week, but my body appears to have adjusted for now.
Anyway, here are highlights from the last week.
MP Day
150x4 (cheated #5)
130+ dips in 6 sets
DL Day
475x4 (blasted #5 to above the knees and then hit the problem that's been well documented by Frank)
Mid shin pulls: worked up to 455x5; 475x3; 495x1. I love these, 495 was barely @8. I think these may help my lockout issues.
BP
240x4
225x3 for 4 additional sets, no liftoff.
DB Rows @ 160
Squat
325x4
So, there it is. Things will be the same for the next cycle. The only thing up for debate is what kind of assistance I want to do for my squat. More 5x5's @ 75%? Pause Squats? Box squats at a higher intensity to acclimate myself to meet caliber weights? Not sure yet.
In addition I have been pushing my prowler with a few friends of mine on a regular basis now, at least once a week if not more. The added conditioning hit my lifts for a week, but my body appears to have adjusted for now.
Anyway, here are highlights from the last week.
MP Day
150x4 (cheated #5)
130+ dips in 6 sets
DL Day
475x4 (blasted #5 to above the knees and then hit the problem that's been well documented by Frank)
Mid shin pulls: worked up to 455x5; 475x3; 495x1. I love these, 495 was barely @8. I think these may help my lockout issues.
BP
240x4
225x3 for 4 additional sets, no liftoff.
DB Rows @ 160
Squat
325x4
So, there it is. Things will be the same for the next cycle. The only thing up for debate is what kind of assistance I want to do for my squat. More 5x5's @ 75%? Pause Squats? Box squats at a higher intensity to acclimate myself to meet caliber weights? Not sure yet.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Shanker 5/3/1 Week 1
Didn't really do a whole deload week, just took 4 days off and did nothing/slept/ate. But due to this week being chaotic as all hell the first "week" of the new cycle has taken something like 9 days, so there ya go.
Highlights:
Squat:
290x9
As "assistance" I have started "pyramiding" down, just to get some more volume in at a higher intensity. (For those who don't know I was doing "Boring But Big" which is 5 sets of 10 at 40-50%). For instance on Squat day after hitting 290x9, I proceeded to do 290x5, 275x5, 255x5, 225x5. I did this for BP as well. Of course this is in addition to the other supplementary work I do, all in all probably 15 sets not in including warmups. Not sure how people feel about this.
MP
135x7 (8th rep was cheated)
100 dips in 4 sets, new goal is 125 dips in 5 sets.
Deadlift (always have videos for DL)
425x9 (not counting #10 as it was clearly hitched. No, I didn't realize it was that ugly at the time, otherwise wouldn't have attempted to actually lock it out).
Mid shin pulls, sets of 5 up to 455, which was surprisingly easy.
BP
215x8
More DB rows at 160.
Side rant about this Diet thing:
There is ONE way and only ONE way to lose fat. Through discipline. Beyond understanding basic nutrition there are no secrets and anyone looking for it is just looking for the easy way out (not directed at JC). It's like anything else you do in this damn life, its just trial and error, figure out what works for you, but realize that just because it works for you doesn't imply it will necessarily work for everyone else. There are some of us who are damn lean for powerlifters, we all have our different reasons for being this way and we all got here different ways, with ONE goddamn exception. We have discipline. Nothing in life worth having ever came easy, so if you want something, make it a priority and figure it out for yourself.
Highlights:
Squat:
290x9
As "assistance" I have started "pyramiding" down, just to get some more volume in at a higher intensity. (For those who don't know I was doing "Boring But Big" which is 5 sets of 10 at 40-50%). For instance on Squat day after hitting 290x9, I proceeded to do 290x5, 275x5, 255x5, 225x5. I did this for BP as well. Of course this is in addition to the other supplementary work I do, all in all probably 15 sets not in including warmups. Not sure how people feel about this.
MP
135x7 (8th rep was cheated)
100 dips in 4 sets, new goal is 125 dips in 5 sets.
Deadlift (always have videos for DL)
425x9 (not counting #10 as it was clearly hitched. No, I didn't realize it was that ugly at the time, otherwise wouldn't have attempted to actually lock it out).
Mid shin pulls, sets of 5 up to 455, which was surprisingly easy.
BP
215x8
More DB rows at 160.
Side rant about this Diet thing:
There is ONE way and only ONE way to lose fat. Through discipline. Beyond understanding basic nutrition there are no secrets and anyone looking for it is just looking for the easy way out (not directed at JC). It's like anything else you do in this damn life, its just trial and error, figure out what works for you, but realize that just because it works for you doesn't imply it will necessarily work for everyone else. There are some of us who are damn lean for powerlifters, we all have our different reasons for being this way and we all got here different ways, with ONE goddamn exception. We have discipline. Nothing in life worth having ever came easy, so if you want something, make it a priority and figure it out for yourself.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Shanker 5/3/1 Week 3
This is the "1" week, namely the intensity peak.
Squat (Tues)
Link to video
315x5
meh. squat form varies from very good to sorta shabby based on how much time I can spend with my pvc pipe in the days leading up to squat day. In this case, clearly not enough. Cut this short as I realized this had turned into a set of GM's.
MP (Thurs)
145x4
Deadlift (Fri)
410x3
460x6
My tribute to Danny/Vogelpohl. Thoughts? (primarily concerned with the beanie, but DL critique is welcomed as well)
BP (Sat)
235x4
meh.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And just for shits and giggles, here is a link to my squat and DL circa Nov. 09. Good lord...
DL 335x5 (note the really skinny Chris doing squats in the background. hehehe)
SQ 265x5 (what is this crap?)
So this concludes the first cycle of 5/3/1. I don't know that I've had any epiphanies...
For my next cycle I'm going to change:
-my DL assistance to mid-shin pulls at a slightly higher intensity.
-higher intensity BBB bench assistance.
That's really it, as I abide by the same thing I've been yelling at JC and Aaron about.
Squat (Tues)
Link to video
315x5
meh. squat form varies from very good to sorta shabby based on how much time I can spend with my pvc pipe in the days leading up to squat day. In this case, clearly not enough. Cut this short as I realized this had turned into a set of GM's.
MP (Thurs)
145x4
Deadlift (Fri)
410x3
460x6
My tribute to Danny/Vogelpohl. Thoughts? (primarily concerned with the beanie, but DL critique is welcomed as well)
BP (Sat)
235x4
meh.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And just for shits and giggles, here is a link to my squat and DL circa Nov. 09. Good lord...
DL 335x5 (note the really skinny Chris doing squats in the background. hehehe)
SQ 265x5 (what is this crap?)
So this concludes the first cycle of 5/3/1. I don't know that I've had any epiphanies...
For my next cycle I'm going to change:
-my DL assistance to mid-shin pulls at a slightly higher intensity.
-higher intensity BBB bench assistance.
That's really it, as I abide by the same thing I've been yelling at JC and Aaron about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)