Jonathan (4/13) Sheiko40:w1d2

OH MY GOD, Sheiko #40 is TOUGH. Only the second day of the cycle, and I already hit sets of 85% on Deadlift, then a huge bench pyramid up to 85%, and then 100% of Deadlift max on rack pulls. It probably didn't help that my working maxes are likely inflated some relative to my actual maxes. Took approx 2 hours, and that included some super-sets. This is going to be a hard month. If you are starting Sheiko, don't start on #40.

Deadlift
warm ups: 225*4*1, 270*4*2, 315*3*2
360*3 @ 8
360*3 @ 9
380*2 @ 9+
380*2 @ 9
380*2 @ 9+
380*2 @ 10

Bench Pyramid
warm ups: 135*8*1, 140*7*1, 155*6*1, 165*5*1, 180*4*1, 190*3*2
205*2 @ 8
205*2 @ 8
220*1 @ 8+
220*1 @ 8+
220*1 @ 9
205*2 @ 8+
205*2 @ 9
warm downs / burn outs: 190*3*1, 180*4*1, 165*6*1, 155*8*1, 140*10*1, 135*12*1 <- effin hard! so exhausted...

Rack Pulls
warm ups: 270*5*1, 315*4*1, 360*3*2
405*3 @ 8+
405*3 @ 9
445*2 @ 9+
445*2 @ 10
445*2 @ 10

There was other stuff like flys, lunges, and abs on the plan, but there was no way in hell I was doing any more after this routine...

Jonathan (3/9) Sheiko37:w1d2

Program maxes have been updated:
Squat: 325
Bench: 256
Dead: 447

Deadlift
warm ups: 225*5*1, 270*5*2
315*4 @ 8
315*4 @ 8
335*3 @ 8+
335*3 @ 9
335*3 @ 9
335*3 @ 9

Incline bench stuff, (135-160)*4*6

Rack Pulls
warm ups: 225*5*1, 270*5*2, 315*4*2
360*3 @ 8
360*3 @ 8
360*3 @ 8
360*3 @ 8+

Abs and crap

Brian - 6/23 Sheiko week 1 day 2

Deadlift to knees (w/ 1 second pause @ knee);
200x1x3
240x2x3
280x2x3
300x2x3
275x1x3
225x1x3

Incline Bench;
135x4x6

Rack pulls f/knee;
220x1x4
260x1x4
300x2x4
340x4x3

Dips;
BWx5x5

Lunges;
25x5x5

Deadlifts.... oh deadlifts. It seems so natural for some people, yet no matter what I do I can't make it work. I have trouble getting into position without a slightly rounded lower back even before I start pulling. This has to be a flexibility problem right? Or maybe my deadlift geometry just sucks. Either way when I get up to around 300ish my lower back rounding increases a bit. I try to solve this by focusing on not decreasing my torso-thigh angle as the lift starts. I try to envision a rope tied to the back of my shoulders pulling me up. I even try to do Frank's "extend your spine" visual. Nothings working for me at the moment. Because of this I'm going to do low weights and just keep stressing technique as much as I can. The sheiko program anywhere near what I can pull (without regard to perfect form) is WAY too high for me to be able to do while trying to keep acceptable form.

In other news, despite the deadlift problem, I'm still loving this program.

Brian - Max Squat Singles (1/12)

Squats w/ Gordon's Belt;
Warmup - 45x10, 95x5, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3
Working - 185x2 @7, 225x1 @8, 255x1 @8.5, 275x1 @10 (+10PR), 285xfail, 285x1 @10, 285xfail

Warmups were interesting today. For some reason my hips were so tight that I actually couldn't go deep enough in a squat no matter how hard I tried. I took a ton of time to stretch and warm up. After I put on a bunch of weight (185+) that problem didn't exist anymore. 275 set was wayyyyyy too deep causing me to grind a bunch more than I needed to, but Pat said my form stayed true and no knee buckling in at all. First attempt at 285 I went way too deep again, but this time too much weight to be able to pull that off. Second attempt I decided to try and hit parallel and I cut it a little bit high, so I guess I can't count it :(

It seems I'm now having a problem finding parallel on the really heavy sets. I typically go a good bit below parallel and I need to stop that, especially on max attempts. Not sure a good strategy other than doing lots of at-depth sets during volume training and then hope it translates to the heavy sets.

Either way, a very satisfying day. 285 didn't "feel" heavy when I walked out which makes me optimistic, and getting one rep even if it's a little bit high makes me confident that I can hit my 300lb squat goal for the competition.

Rackpulls;
135x5, 225x3, 315x1, 405x1, 505xfailxbackfriedxgohomeandeatfood

Also, I don't know if Kik will post because he sucks, but he finally got the 405lb squat monkey off his back last night. That's a huge monkey btw. And he crushed it. I think he could have had 410 or even 415 but he refuses to speculate with me or end the day by being crushed under the bar. Kudos.

One last thing. I'm bringing a tape measure to the gym on thursday. Kik claims he's 6'1.5" and I claim to be 5'11.5", yet if we stand back to back we are literally the same height. Shanker also claims to be 5'11" yet I can see over his head. This must be solved.

Patrick: 1/12/2010 Max Squat

Squats
Warmup: 3x135, 3x135, 3x185, 2x225
Working: 1x245, 1x255 (PR), Failx265

The 265 attempts felt very close, but I guess weren't quite there today.

Rack pulls:
3x135, 3x225, 1x315, 1x405 (PR), Failx435

I'm very pleased with my improvement on both of these lifts. Guess I just have to keep at it.

Brian - Max Squat Triples (1/05)

Hey all! I haven't posted in a little while due to the craziness of end-of-semester + some holiday volunteering that took up 12 hours of every day + being away from my computer during vacation for 2 weeks.

But that doesn't mean I haven't been lifting! I worked volume with PBJ+Kik before leaving and at home I lifted with the wrestling team. I tried to keep things on schedule w/ our volume training but I also ended up doing some of their stuff (olympic lifts, 5x5 workouts, and tons of awful awful awful cardio intensity workouts).

Yesterday was the first day back to normal schedule. Max effort triples.

Squats;
Warmup - 45x5, 135x5, 135x5
Working - 185x3 @6, 225x3 @7.5, 245x3 @8.5, 260x1, 260x3 @10 (3 rep PR)

First set at 260 failed pretty hard on rep 2. I think I'm not completely used to grinding out multiple heavy squats yet, but I'm getting better. On the second set I convinced myself that it was light enough to get it and the first 2 reps were solid. #3 was a bit ugly but I gutted it out. Felt nice to do multiple reps on the edge. Was a big mental step for me.

Rack Pulls, first peg;
Warmup - 135x5, 225x5
Working - 315x3 @6, 405x3 @7, 455x3 @8, 500x2 @10

Back fatigue on rep 3 of 500. I've never done rack pulls over 405 so getting something with a 5 in front of it was nice.

Pause Squats (3 count pause);
Working - 135x6, 165x6, 185x6

The 185 set was so satisfying. This was my best leg day maybe in forever. I think the 1 week break prior to starting back up really helped.

Today I'm going to the MIT wrestling club workouts for the first time. I'm a little worried about going at it with a really really tired lower back, but oh well. I might start working out with them Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if I like their practices. This will help me get ready for tournament season in march and it's great for endurance strength, power, and cardio.

Gordon: 12/14 & 12/15

Weight is still 170.

12/14/09 Random day that doesn't screw up the next volume day

Press: 2x3@135; 3@145; 3@155; 2@165; 1@175 (PR)
I wanted to see if I can press my own body weight since I'm such a lightweight now. 175 took about 10 seconds to lock out =/
Bench: 3x3@185; paused, worked on keeping arch through set.

12/15/09 Volume day

Squat: 5x5@350 (slow, ~40% above parallel)
Thanks to Shanker taping there's videos:
Set 4
Set 5

I think only the first two reps of these two sets were at parallel, I need to squat deeper next time. Also, on the last few reps of the sets I'm 1) letting my knees shift back and 2) raising my hips faster than my chest, which leads to a half good morning and a slower bar path. Will go up in weight until it's uglier though.

Rack pull: 2x4@315; 3x4@365; 4@405 (ok, sumo stance, from at knees)

Brian - Volume Squats and Bench

--Tues 12/8--

Squats w/ gordon's belt;
Warmup - 45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 135x5, 160x5
Working - 185x4, 205x4, 205x4, 225x4, 230x3

Rackpulls (from first index);
Warmup - 135x5, 225x5
Working - 315x4, 365x4, 405x4

Pause squats;
Working - 135x6, 135x6, 155x6

--Thurs 12/10--

Bench w/ pause;
Warmup - 45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 160x5
Working - 185x4, 185x4, 195x4 @8, 195x4 @8, 195x4 @9

Close grip bench w/ black pad;
Working - 205x4, 225x4, 225x3

Military press;
Working - 95x5, 95x8, 95x8

Brian - Volume Squats

First day back on volume. Brought a camera so that we all could check our form. I have videos of Kik, Gordon, Rob, Pat, and Shankar... now I just need to figure out the best way to distribute them so they can post on here. Anyone have any ideas? I uploaded mine to youtube after rotating them in imovie. Should I do the same with the others? It would be nice if a program could do this in a batch.

Back to lifting.

Squats;
Warmup - 135x5, 135x5, 160x5
Working - 185x4 @6, 205x4 @7, 205x4 @7, 215x4 @8, 225x4 @8, 225x4 @8

My first attempt at using RPE's. I felt that 215 was in the 8ish rep range and 225 was in the 6-7 rep range for me, and I did 4, so I believe that makes them both an 8 (using chapter 2 RTS). I think this is my best squat day ever. Bar placement finally felt good. No elbow pain.

Rackpulls (from knees - first safety pin index);
Warmup - 135x5, 225x5
Working - 315x4 @7, 405x4 @8, 405x4 @8, 405x4 @8

Shankar noticed on the first set of 405 that I was jerking my upperbody quickly at the start. In the subsequent set I tried to pull in a much more controlled and smooth way ("pull like frank").

Pause Squats (2 second pause);
Working - 135x4 @6, 155x4 @7.5, 165x4 @8 (longer pauses)

Links go to a video for that specific set. Advice appreciated.

Brian: Light Chest Singles and Intensity Squats

Sunday I was going to do some light doubles but then my elbow ended up hurting me, so I did light very slow singles instead.

Bench w/ delay;
Warmup - 45x10, 95x5, 135x3, 135x3, 160x3
Working - 185x1, 205x1, 205x1, 205x1, 205x1, 185x1, 205x1, 205x1

Medium grip w/ delay w/ white pad;
Warmup - 135x3
Working - 185x1, 205x1, 205x1, 215x1, 215x1

Narrow grip w/ black pad;
Warmup - 135x3
Working - 185x14, 185x12

The sets were all slow and very controlled except narrow grip bench sets. I scared Kik by putting the bar back before locking out on #13 of 185 on my last set, and I shouldn't have done it. But I was 95% locked out for about 10 seconds and I couldn't move so I just put it back... won't do it again cause Kik nearly needed a heart transplant afterwords.

Today (11/17) I did some max squats and rack pulls.

Squats (w/ Gordon's belt);
Warmup - 45x10, 95x10, 135x5, 185x3
Working - 225x1, 245x1, 265x1 (10LB PR), 275xFAIL, 275xEPICFAIL, 275xFAIL

Technique felt great. 10lb PR was a real grinder but I stayed w/ good form and nailed it. 225 and 245 felt FASTTTTTTTTT. I'm really excited about the progress I'm making and can make on squats. Just Saturday I failed 265 three times on box squats and my 255PR was only 1 week ago (also a real grinder). I was controlled on the 275 sets and started it moving up but just kept failing after I pressed it out of the hole. #2 failed horribly because I tried Nathan's 3 step walk back for the first time and went down on my heels. Will do it in the future though.

Rack Pulls;
Warmup - 135x5
Working - 225x3, 315x2 (double overhand - grip fail #3), 345x1, 365x1, 385xFAIL

Back rounding is improving a huge amount. Pretty straight up to and including 345. Starting pulling it into/up my shins and that forces my shoulders back. 365 rounded but Nathan said it wasn't horrible for a near-PR so I'll take it.

Did one set of good mornings (45x10) before I decided I hate good mornings and called it a day.

Gordon: 11/3 - 11/9

Weight is still 170. New 13mm leather belt came this week, which helped with 5x5 squats immensely. Started adding more back exercises this week to improve my deadlifts, but probably added too much at once because my lower/mid back were sore the whole week.

11/03/09 Medium, Deadlift assistance
Good morning: 5,5,4,4,4@235 (slow)
Deficit deadlift: From 2 green plates; 5x4@275 (medium)

11/05/09 Medium
Squat: 3x3@225
Bench: 8x3@155 (fast); 2@255 (slow, failed on 3rd rep) Added a heavy set at end of speed sets

11/07/09 Volume
Squat: 5x5@330 (slow) With new belt, all reps were at or below parallel. Gonna start wearing wrist wraps again for squats >315, left wrist felt sore after.
Rack pull: 3x4@285; 8@225 (fast) Back was really tired, so called it early and did a back off set instead of 6 sets of 4.
11/08/09 Volume cont.
Deadlift, sumo: 3x5@285 (medium)
Bench: 5,4,4,4,5@225 (slow) With wrist wraps.

Gordon: 10/24 - 11/1

10/24/09 Volume
Bench: 5x4@220 (slow)
10/25/09 Vol cont.
Squat: 5x5@320 (slow)
Deadlift: 2x2@385 (slow, rounded lower back, very rounded upper back, wanted triples but couldn't lock out 3rd reps; PR+10)

10/27/09 Assistance
Good morning: 5x5@225 (slow)
Rack pull: 6x4@275 (fast)
Ab wheel: 4x11 from knees

10/29/09 Medium
Squat: 5@335 (SLOW, paused on reps 4 & 5)
Bench: 1@255; 1@275 (SLOW, PR+10)

10/31/09 Volume
Deadlift: 3x5@275 (medium)
Bench: 5x5@220 (slow)
11/01/09 Vol cont.
Squat: 5x5@325 (SLOW, ~1 rep per set above parallel)

Weight is still 170. New deadlift and bench PR's this week, but my deadlift isn't progressing as well as I'd hoped. I think I will drop the weight some, and add more sets/reps to volume days. I'm also going to add good mornings and rack pulls once per week to help strengthen my pull.

5x5 squats are getting more difficult, it is harder getting depth and good speed out of the hole. The last couple reps are almost paused at my sticking point now. Hopefully I can continue adding 5lbs/week for a couple more weeks.

Gordon: 10/6 -10/12

10/6/09 Light
Squat: 3x5@185
Press: 3x5@155 (slow)
Pull up: 8,8,6@+15

10/8/09 Speed
Box Squat: 8x2@185 (fast)
Bench: 8x3@155 (fast)
Rack pulls: 4x4@275 (medium) These felt ok, going to try to add to training.

10/11/09 Volume Splitting up squats and deadlifts seemed to help last week, so I kept doing that.
Squat: 5x5@310 (SLOW)

10/12/09 Volume cont. Didn't have enough time to finish bench
Deadlift, sumo: 3x3@365 (slow)
Bench: 3x5@210 (slow)

Kik - Sept 15 - Squat - Intensity

During the last 3 weeks, I did volume, always sets of fours. My last 2 squat sessions consisted of 6 sets x 4 with 315 @9-10, and rack pulls of 5 sets x4 with 405 @8-9.

I am back on intensity now, with doing max triples this week, i.e. working up to a max triple and moving to another exercise.

Squat:
275x2 @8
315x1 @8
365x3 @10 PR

Rack Pulls:
315x3 @8
365x1 @8 pseudp-pr (grip) thanks to double overhand
405x1 fail (double overhand gave in)
455x1 @9 felt somewhat heavy off the pins
500 fail - came up 1 inch then dropped back, felt awkward
500 x2 @10 FAIL, could not get the third one.

Leg Press, 4-5 sets, never really know where work sets start and warm-ups end.

Nathan : 9/10 & 9/11

▼ 1. 9/11/09 - Fri - DEAD

Time: 1:30.

  Still keeping things light. Called it early so Dee and I could make Octoberfest.

• Warm-up bike x 10 min

• Conventional deadlift 135x5x3, 225x3x2, 275x3, 315x4 @ 8, 335x4x5 @ 8

Main deadlift movement. It has been a very long time since I used this as a primary movement, so I thought I would rotate it in. Since I had grip issues at my last meet, I decided to go with double overhead, no chalk for all of this. I think I am capable of 4x6 at 405, so this was definitely light.

• Squat w/ chains 45x5x3, 135x5x2, 225x3, 225+80x2 @ 7, 275+80x2x5 @ 8

Lockout squat movement. I have seen great success from Dave and Brent using chains on their squat, so I decided to give it a try.

• Sumo rack pull from 2'' below knee 225x5, 335x5, 365x5x4 @ 7.5

Deadlift assistance. This tends to be my weak point with a real deadlift bar, not sure that working this as-is will help much, but its the best I got. On most of these sets, I only got 3 reps before having to switch to alternate grip for the remainder.

▼ 2. 9/10/09 - Thu - CARDIO

• Bike 30 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc, soleus, adductor on leg press, hamstrings, hip flexors, seated groin

Kik - Aug18 - Squat - Volume

I realized today that I will probably not manage to make the meet next Sat. However, I don't count myself out yet, and Nate convinced me that I can still fit things. We will see. If anything, the meet prep has make me more focused and stronger.

Anyway, I started a new meso-cycle with RTS, my third. Next 3-4 weeks will be volume work. I stayed very conservative with RPEs of 8 tonight, never being on RPE 9 territory.

During the next days, I will have to figure out my exercise rotation. In terms of reps, I will do an easy week of 6 reps for around 4-5 sets, depending on fatigue. As for squat day, I will stay with regular squats and rackpulls, both have helped me so far:


Squat:

275x6 @8
275x6 @8
275x6 @8
275x6 @8

Rackpulls (1st pin, as always)

315x3 @7
365x6 @8
365x6 @8
365x6 @8
365x6 @8

Abs...

Kik - Aug11 - Squat - Intensity - Max Triples

In order to not wear me out any further, I decided for max-triples this week. Basically, the plan was working up to the very one work set, then moving on to the next exercise. Quick and painless!

To reveal the end result right in the beginning, I did not triple any weight that was larger than 225...

Squat:

315x1 @8
365x2 @10 (failed on the triple)


Rack Pull

315x2 @7
405x1 @8
455x1 @8
495x2' @9.5

Abs, Foam Roller, Sauna.

First of all, I am happy with the doubled squat. The first one was very fast (for that weight, anyway), the second one was still ok, though my form was a little bit off. I went down for a number three believing it was in the realm of possibilities, but it turned out that it was not. Still, the first one made me confident that my squat has improved a little bit. I doubled 365 two months ago, but back then the second rep was a struggle. Still, I owe myself a better indicator of improvement over the last 5 weeks.

After I failed the triple squat, I decided it would be doubles week. Flexibility is king in my training. Actually, Tuchscherer suggests to decide for the week's set structure not before the beginning of a week. There we go...

Rack pulls went very well. I was still contemplating a triple at 455, but since I doubled that comfortably last week, doubling 495 seemed to be a better feat - and would also be more in line with my squat double. I think I rounded my back on the first a little bit, the second one came up "easy" without any form issues felt. Clearly, my CNS needs to get used to those weights.

This Thursday I will do doubles on presses, then take the weekend off to heal a little bit more. Next week will be the start of another volume cycle, then the meet.

Kik - Aug04 - Squat - Intensity - Doubles

This workout seemed to be sliding into a disaster at several occasions.

Squat:

315x2 @8
345x1 @9 (failed the second by falling backward)
345x2 @9 (still slightly off, but safe)
355x1 @10 (did not even try the second, too heavy)
355x2 @9.5 (went fine, with slight form issue on the first)

In retrospective, I was overconfident on the second work set, just lowering myself without being all contracted. I fell backward, caught the fall, then had to rest the weight on the safety pins. One issue I had with several sets was thinking about where to fix my eyes. I never really cared about that, but after reading Wendler's stupid pamphlet I wondered how to do it (squats were way better when I did not care for that). The double on the last set felt very safe, probably with one rep left.

Rack Pulls:

405x2 @8
455x2 @9.0
455x2 @9.5
455x2 @9.5

Danny diagnoses rounding of my middle back on all of these. I have no clue what to do about this. All pulls came through easy...

No time, no paused squats, no abs - bad...