Frank (2/21): Squat, Volume 1

Back Squat
5x45, 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 3x275, 3x315
5x365 @ 9+
5x365 @ 10
These felt really hard, so I called it at two sets. I probably should have started a little bit lighter.

Deficit Deadlifts (Red + Black, ~3.5")
5x135, 5x225, 5x315, 3x365, 3x405
3x455 @ 8
3x455 @ 8
3x455 @ 9-
3x455 @ 9
Wow. I felt like I was pulling these a mile.

Back Squat: 4x8 @ 225
Good Morning: 3x15 @ 115
Ab Rollout: 3x6

Here are some random observations from the previous few cycles that had an impact on how I'm approaching this one:

• High rep deadlifts completely kill me. They destroy my ability to do the other lifts and don't even seem to help my deadlift much.
• I'll do more work at higher percentages of my max to get myself used to lifting heavy weights.
• I'm going to start using RPEs and fatigue stops more diligently in order to monitor my fatigue. I have a lot more to do at work and just a lot more stress generally, so my condition going into the gym is sometimes all over the place.
  
• Assistance work will be just that. None of these should be above an RPE of 7 or so. In the past, I'd occasionally push 8 or 9 (or sometimes 10 on the assistance squats on a deadlift day). I'll put that extra energy into the main lifts.
• My elbows are fine, so I'll only be using sleeves on squats as I've realized that they do make a difference on bench, which is bad for meet prep.
  

So, with that in mind, here's the plan. Italicized exercises are assistance work.

• Squat Day: Back Squat, Deadlift Variant (deficit deadlifts, reverse bands, mid-shin pulls, or whatever I feel like doing without using too much weight), Back Squat, Good Mornings, Abs
• Bench Day: Bench Press, Military Press, Barbell Row, Dumbbell Incline Bench, Biceps
• Deadlift Day: Power Clean (as warmup to), Deadlift, Pause Squat, Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Good Mornings, Abs
• Lockout Day: Reverse Band Bench, Pause Bench, Pullups, Dips, Biceps

The volume and intensity blocks will be laid out like so:

• Volume 1: Squat and Bench 5s @ 10, Deadlift 3s @ 9
• Volume 2: Squat and Bench 4s @ 9, Deadlift 2s @ 9
• Volume 3: Squat and Bench 4s @ 10, Deadlift 3s @ 9+
• Intensity 1: 1 @ 9/10 (stop at 10)
  
• Intensity 2: 2s @ 10
• Intensity 3: Max

As usual, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Frank: Plan

Here's my plan for the upcoming cycle. I'll pretty much be doing what I did for the last cycle with some adjustments to take care of what I thought were weaknesses in my previous plan. I'm still sticking to the RTS beginner's template.

Tuesday: Squat, Reverse Band Deadlift, Oly Squat, Ab Rollout
Thursday: Bench, Military Press, Barbell Row, Dumbbell Incline Bench
Saturday: Speed Squat, Deadlift, Squat, Ab Pulldown
Sunday: Reverse Band Bench, Close-Grip Bench, Pullups, Dips

Exercises in plain text are cyclic according to the progression below. Exercises in italics are assistance and will be done 4x8.

Volume 1: 5x5 (77%)
Volume 2: 6x4 (80%)
Volume 3: 6x3 (80%)
Intensity 1: 3x3 (90%)
Intensity 2: 4x2 (90%)
Intensity 3: Singles

Explanation of the few changes I made:

• Reverse band deadlifts instead of power cleans: I need to work my weakness. I may also consider replacing this with pulls from mid-shin/slightly below the knee. I'll probably still do some power cleans as deadlift warmup.
  
• More regular squats instead of front squats: Front squats did nothing for me, and I could use the slot to get in more work on plain old squatting.
  

The main question I have now is weight selection. None of my lifts moved up significantly last time (and deadlift went down), but the volume and intensity blocks weren't that intense (except for deadlifts). I'm thinking of just using my previous weights +5lbs under the assumption that my rep strength is a relatively high percentage of my 1-rep max (e.g. my 3RM squat is 95% of my 1RM instead of 90%). Suggestions? I'd appreciate any other insights you guys have as well, so go nuts.

Frank: Planning

Here are some quick thoughts about how I'm going to train after coming back. I'd appreciate any feedback from those who take the time to read it.

My main goal is still to train the big three. I'm hoping to hit Elite at 181 (1396) by the end of the year. A reasonable breakdown for that would be something like upper 400s, lower 300s, lower 600s (say 480, 300, 620, at least).

Based on the last meet, I think I need to do more heavy squats, more heavy bench, and more bench lockout work. The thinking behind squats is that based on my not-too-hard triple at 405, I should have been good for at least 440-450 or so and shouldn't have gotten stapled, as I did. For bench, the evidence is in the videos.

I'll kind of use the RTS template, but I'm going to deviate from it by quite a bit, as I will outline below. I'll explain the parenthetical notes in a second. I'm actually not sure what I'm going to do for the TBD portions, since it's been a while since I've done assistance work. One option is just to toss them and take up knitting in the extra time, or something.

Day 1: Squat 1
Back Squat (Starting Strength/RTS Volume -> RTS Intensity)
Deadlift assistance, TBD (Deficit deadlifts)
Squat assistance, TBD (Front squats, or skipped)
Abs (heavy, i.e. ab rollout)

Day 2: Bench
Bench Press (Starting Strength/RTS Volume -> RTS Intensity)
Military Press (Starting Strength/RTS Volume -> RTS Intensity)
Bench assistance (lower), TBD (Dips, though that's more lockout, maybe incline presses)
Lats (probably cable rows)

Day 3: Squat 2
Back Squat (Starting Strength/RTS Volume -> RTS Intensity)
Deadlift (RTS Volume -> RTS Intensity)
Squat assistance, TBD (Front squat...my quads are weak, or skipped)
Abs (light, i.e. ab pulldown)

Day 4: Lockout
Close-grip bench (Starting Strength/RTS Volume -> RTS Intensity)
More lockout work, TBD (band/board presses)
Even more lockout work, TBD (dips)
Lats (probably pullups)

I'm breaking up the months into volume/intensity months (3 weeks) with a deload week in between. For volume, I will try to milk linear progression for as long as I can (hence, Starting Strength), and once that stops working, I'll switch to RTS Volume. Intensity will be according to RTS.

I'll actually be incommunicado for a few days, but I'll come back to flesh this out when I can.

Gordon: 9/10

The current plan is to do another 8 weeks of Texas Method, since I feel like I have a better grasp of the amount of weights to use and my rate of progression. I will test 1RMs of the main lifts at the end. Depending on the results I may keep doing it, or try something else. This day's workout was still a conditioning one, as I gain back some of the weight I lost. Currently at 175.

Squat: 3x5@295 (slow, maybe going too deep on some reps)
Bench: 3x5@205 (medium)
Deadlift: sumo, 3x3@315 (slow getting off the ground, then medium)
Cable crunch: 3x8@120

I need to figure out what's the best sumo stance for me, still experimenting with stance angle and width.