Halting Deadlift
5x135, 5x225
4x315, 4x375, 3x440, 3x440
2x500 @ 8
2x500 @ 8
2x500 @ 9
2x500 @ 9
Press: 5x45, 5x95, 5x135, 5x5 @ 160
Incline Bench: 5x45, 5x95, 5x135, 6x4 @ 185
Box Pulls (Red + Blue)
5x135, 5x225, 5x315
4x375, 4x440, 3x500, 3x500
3x565 @ 9
3x565 @ 9
3x565 @ 10
3x565 @ 10
Good Morning: 5x10 @ 135
Some random thoughts:
- Sheiko sessions take a long time. A really long time. Unless I really rush things, which is much harder toward the end of a cycle, I'm usually in the gym for 2-3 hours. At four times a week, this means an 8-12 hour commitment instead of the ~6 that I'm used to.
- Of course, if I actually make progress, then I guess it's worth it. At least for the short run. Long term, I need to be more efficient.
- I wish I didn't have to do the third exercise "group." If every session was just the first two (i.e. Squat/Bench instead of Squat/Bench/Squat), this would be much more manageable.
- From what I can tell, doing lots of heavy-ish sets at low reps helps me work on my form. My bench technique, at least, is much cleaner than it used to be (I think).
- The first week was easy. Accumulated fatigue really set in after a while, though, which I could tell mainly by how long my workouts became (1.5-2 hrs initially to 2-3 hrs by the end).
- This is the first time in my life that I've consistently gotten hungry in the middle of a session even when I eat beforehand. I'll probably need to start bringing stuff to eat.
- Doing assistance work is surprisingly obnoxious.
- I miss pressing.
- Bench was really easy this time around. Squat was just about right to a little light. Deadlift felt a bit heavy, but deadlifts always feel heavy.
- I'm upping my maxes from 452/287/628 to 462/300/631 to reflect the above. Looking at the spreadsheet plans, every session still looks very manageable.
- I'll be doing the CMS/MS Comp cycle next after taking a minor deload. After I use that to test my maxes, and depending on whether I've made any progress at all, I'll figure out what to do from there.
Hmm. Are all Sheiko cycles usually this time-intensive? Is there a more streamlined Sheiko cycle you can switch to?
ReplyDeleteNice write up Frank. I learned many of those same lessons, as I wrote up in my last detailed summary.
ReplyDeleteHow many minutes are you taking between sets?
@Chris: I think ranges within 1.5-2.5 hrs are pretty typical. Regarding more efficient programs, I could switch to one of the "numbered" programs which are only 3 days per week instead of 4. If Sheiko works for me this time, I will seriously consider it.
ReplyDelete@Brian: It depends on the exercise. For Squat, 2-3 minutes. Bench, 1 minute. Deadlift 3-5 minutes. Deadlift days take the longest, and I can definitely afford to cut down on the time there.
Assistance exercises also take a surprisingly long time because 10-15 sets at 2-3 minutes between sets, including changing weights and finding a free station, takes about 30-60 minutes. I can definitely afford to cut down on the rest periods there, of course, since most of the time I don't need to rest that long and just end up spacing out.
Also, I just realized that I haven't tagged my Sheiko sessions as "sheiko." My bad.