Squat
295x4x5
Hack Squat
2 plates (each side) x5x3
Leg Press
6 platesx5x3
Ab Roller BWx16x2
HWW BWx12x2
In uncharted territory here, have never made this much progress this fast and have never been this healthy/slim...
End of last block (Early Jan.)
Squat 275x3x5
BP 225x3x5
DL 395x4x5
DB Row 120x16 Raw
BW @ 176 lbs
Presently:
Squat 295x4x5
BP 225x4x3; 225x3x2
DL 425x4x5
DB Row 120x30 raw
BW @ 175
...I don't get it. Body fat is down, weight is down, even diet is down to roughly 3200 calories/day from 3400/day. Do not feel particularly worn down or beaten up and have no lingering injuries. Of course I realize its times like this that lead to injury, but my warmups are more thorough than anyone else's around here and I don't think I'm getting too greedy. The plan for now is basically to keep this block going on a week by week basis following the same 5 sets of 5, then 4 then 3 then 5, etc... cycle until my body starts to tell me to stop.
Goal for next week:
Squat 315x3x5
DL 445x3x5
BP 240x3x5
I feel pretty confident about the first two...we'll see about BP.
Things I've Learned this cycle:
- Warm up THOROUGHLY (yea....you know who you are...) there's no other explanation for my health after basically seeing a 30 lb increase (conservatively) in my DL in about a month and a half. The last time this happened, I snapped myself in half DLing 425 (ask Danny...)
- Assistance work seems to be most valuable as complimentary compound exercises. Also never push yourself too far or hard with these...they aren't competition lifts.
- Core work should never be underestimated. There's a reason my belt has helped me so much this block, its the fact that I have a core that is not a limiting factor in my lifting. It's also good protection from injury.
- Cardio is for pussies. Haven't done any real cardio over the past 3 months and body fat % has plummeted from 11% to around 8%. Watch diet (i.e. not drinking heavy cream for instance) and lift hard to get lean.
- Danny consistently gives good advice in a very humble and helpful manner and he is usually right(roughly translated, since these qualities are somewhat rare Danny = some form of lesser deity). I've said this before, but I'll say it again. Literally everything this man has told me about weightlifting/diet etc... has been spot on. I got my belt specifications from him and he hasn't seen me in 5 months...and it's been perfect.
-Dave will DL 600 pounds before next Fall. I'm calling it now.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Shanker: I am very happy for you and your progress. I am still floored at how hard you train. Any diet tips that Danny has shared with you that you wouldn't mind sharing would be greatly appreciated. Ok I'm going to waddle off to my couch now to get ready for the Big East tournament...
ReplyDeleteI second the request about the diet tips!
ReplyDelete-- I'll be grateful if you can change "Danny is god" to "Danny gave me some good tips" or something like this.
ReplyDelete-- I don't agree with the phrase "cardio is for pussies", which is probably written to say that cardio is not needed. I agree that for some people, in some cases, for some period of time, cardio won't be necessary to decrease BF percent, but there are still other benefits. For example, in my particular case, moderate amount of (light) cardio helps in recovery, cardiovascular ability, work capacity, and not feeling "heavy".
-- What do you mean by raw DB row? Is there a special suit / shirt for this exercise? Do you mean without straps?
-- My suggestion is to change the goals for next week to SQ 305, BP 230, DL 435 (yes, I know that it's 3 reps, not 4). Then if sets 1 and 2 feel easy, add another 2.5 to each side. It feels better to start lighter, see that you're strong, and add some weight, than to start heavy, see that you're weak, and take some weight off.
well, cardio actually is for pussies, since Ive never seen a cat use a barbell/dumbbell or any other lifting apparatus. But point taken, as usual Danny is right.
ReplyDeleteYes "raw" means without straps. It's shorter and more fun to read.
I'll use my warmups to figure out how heavy(or not heavy) to go. Since these warmups are typically >= the number of reps in my working set, it is a good indication of my abilities on any given day.