Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Squat 31st October 2012

Smolov - Base Meso - Week 1 Session 2

Squat
127.5kg * 7 for 5 sets

Pull ups
5 sets of 10

Standing Abs
41 * 17 for 3 sets

Woke up this morning with my legs sore as hell. Talk about DELAYED onset muscle soreness lol. The ache went away as I warmed up towards the working weight for the session, but it's back now (son of a bitch!). Squat performance was decent. Again, lower back became the limiting factor, but I managed to maintain a decent arch, so only a couple reps suffered. Ironically, it was the 2nd and 3rd set that wasn't so good. The 4th set improved in terms of technique and performance, and the 5th set blew it out of the park. Probably because I psyched myself up quite a bit for the last two sets. Everything else was pretty standard. Trying to stuff myself silly now before I head to bed (early morning class tmr fuck).

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Everyone has those days..


Haphazard training session. In fact, it was crap.

Press
60kg * 5, 70 * 5, 80 * 9

Incline
75 * 10 for 2 sets

Pause benching
90 * 3 for 5 sets

Lateral raises
17.5 * 12 for 3 sets
then did a dropset which consisted of 10 * 30, 7.5 * 30, 5 * 40 just to get some blood in the shoulders

Anyway, during my morning class, I came to the realization that we had to start smolov this week, since max would be flying on the 24th of December (what am i doing not paying attention?). The plan is to do the base meso (including the testing week), then skip the 2 week switching phase, then hit the 4 week intense phase. As such, the training week will look like this for the 1st 3 weeks of the base meso.

Monday - Squat
Tues - Pressing + chest accessory
Wed - Squat
Thurs - Pressing + shoulder accessory
Fri - Squat
Sat - Squat
Sun - Arms (or Rest day if I need it)

- pull ups will be done on squat days for spinal decompression as well as back work
- Volume for pull ups will be anywhere from 30 to 50 reps
- Ab work will be done on squat days as well
- Squat sessions will follow the smolov template
- Pressing sessions will consist of:
  • Press
  • Incline bench
  • Flat Bench
  • Chest/Shoulder accessory
- Pressing exercises progression will consist of cycling around a 3 rep working weight (i.e 80, 75, 77.5, 80, 75 - this is one cycle)
- First week, one cycle; second week, two cycles; third week, three cycles
- Chest accessory will likely be flyes, and shoulder accessory will likely be lateral raises

For the testing week, template will be as follows.
Monday - Squat
Tues - Pressing + chest accessory
Wed - Rest
Thurs - Press + shoulder accessory
Fri - Test Squat max
Sat - Arms
Sun - Rest

For the intense phase, the training weeks would likely look similar to the base mesocycle.
Monday - Squat
Tues - Pressing + chest accessory
Wed - Squat
Thurs - Pressing + shoulder accessory
Fri - Squat
Sat - Arms
Sun - Rest
- Pull ups will be done with the squat sessions as per previous, but volume might be adjusted upwards (or downwards)
- pressing template will continue

Nutrition wise i will continue doing carb back loading, and my macros will be as such (Carbs/Protein/Fat)

Squat days - 300/350/100
Pressing days - 250/350/100
Arms day - 200/350/100
Rest day - 100/350/100

Plan is to eat protein and fat up till training time, then smash the carbs post workout all the way to bed. Keep it simple.






Ok, fucking long post, but I think it's necessary to lay out a basic template so that I know what I gotta do. Small things like accessory work might change depending on feel, but the meat and potatoes of the training sessions are laid out already. Don't plan to do much lower back or leg accessory work since the squatting itself will be pretty tough on these parts already. Looks daunting, but I hope to really bring my squat up by the end of the year.

As the Russians would say, 'Udachi!' I'll need it.


Monday, October 29, 2012

Legs 29th October 2012

Squats
110kg * 5, 125 * 5, 140 * 11

Paused squats
100 * 5 for 3 sets
- pause was 4 secs

Step ups
50 * 10, 10, 10 (per side)

A1: Seated Hamstring Curl
80 * 10, 10, 10

A2: Lying DB hamstring curl
17.5 * 10, 10, 10
- A1 and A2 were supersetted

Leg Extensions
80 * 20, 20, 20

B1: Standing Abs Crunch
41 * 17, 17, 17

B2: Modified reverse hyper
BW * 17, 17, 17
- B1 and B2 were supersetted
- reverse hypers were done with a hard arch at the top

So-so squat session. I miscounted wrongly on my last set of squats, so i ended up only doing 11 when i was gunning for at least 12. Was kinda hard to focus into squats today, but at least performance was decent despite the lack of focus. Paused squats were a bitch to do. Unlike pause benching, where i relax the weight on my chest, then tense and flex hard to accelerate it off, we don't get the same luxury being in the bottom position of the squat. So the isometric tension at the bottom really made 4 secs seem like an eternity. Still had pretty good acceleration out of the hole. Step ups were actually heavier than they should have been, so this means we gotta get stronger on those. I had a good rhythm going though, will aim for one plate next week. Overall, there was quite a lot of lower back work done (from all the isometric holding) that even though the squatting was sub-par, I felt it was a decent workout because I ended up hammering my weak point.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Chest + shoulders 27th October 2012

Incline Bench
85kg * 5, 95 * 3, 107.5 * 6

Paused Benching
100 * 3 for 5 sets
- 5 sec pause

One arm Machine bench
30 * 15, 15, 15

Machine Flyes
61 * 15, 15, 15

Lateral Raises
17.5 * 12, 12, 12
- after these 3 straight sets, we did one giant set surfing up and down the rack. 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 12.5, 10, 7.5, 5 DBs
- each weight was done for 20 reps
- total set was 160 reps

Did a warm up consisting of a superset of 8 pullups and 10 dips, for 4 sets. I like the feel of these warmups and I think I will continue to use it and see what other exercises I can add in to get the whole upper body moving and ready for the training. I think I will start by adding in standing Abs and maybe bodyweight reverse hypers too.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Arms 25th October 2012

Pushdowns (Straight Bar)
31kg * 15, 15, 15

Close grip decline
130 * 6, 6, 6

Over DB extension
20 * 12, 12, 12

Lying DB extension
12.5 * 15, 15, 15

Dips (tempo 42X0)
BW * AMRAP for 1 set

Standing DB Curl
22.5 * 8, 8

Hammers
30 * 10, 10

DB Preacher
12.5 * 15, 15

A1: Standing Abs
41 * 16, 16, 16

A2: Reverse Hyper
BW * 16, 16, 16

-A1 and A2 were supersetted.

New PR on the decline CG bench with a slight pause in the stretched position. I forgot how good this movement was for my triceps, since it allowed me to lower the bar much lower without engaging the chest, unlike the flat CG bench. Kinda shagged by the time I finished triceps, so I did more intense sets for my biceps, hence cumulative number of sets are quite low. Tempo was controlled throughout all exercises.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Back 24th October 2012

Deadlift
150kg * 5, 170 * 3, 190 * 1

Deadlift (speed pulls)
140 for 8 singles

Pull ups
5 sets of 10
- done on the assisted pull up machine, with a pause at the top

Machine Rows
45 * AMRAP for 2 sets

Power shrugs
80 * 8, 8, 8

Overhead shrugs
40 * 20, 20, 20

A1: Standing Abs
41 * 16, 16, 16

A2: 45 deg Back extension
BW * 16, 16, 16
- A1 and A2 were supersetted

Modified reverse hyper
BW * 15, 15, 15

Deadlifts were light and moved pretty fast. Had pretty good acceleration on the speed pulls. Decided to put in more low intensity lower back work to bring  up my core sterngth. Figured out how to use the GHR for reverse hyper movements. Now only thing is to figure out how to attach some weight to my legs. Everything else was standard. Good squeeze through all sets as per standard back training protocol.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Shoulders 23rd October 2012

Press
67.5kg * 3, 77.5 * 3, 85 * 5

Pause Presses
60 * 5 for 3 sets
65 * 5 for 3 sets
- pause was 4 secs

Seated DB press
35 * 12, 12, 12

One arm seated laterals
15 * 20, 20, 20

Face pulls
21 * 30, 30, 30

One arm Rear Delt machine
54 * 25, 25, 25

Turning out to be a pretty good training week so far. Was tempted to work up to 45s for the DB press, but decided that I'd rather get in more volume instead. I guess it's always good to remember that sometimes you can get more out of a light weight than half-fucking your way through the heavy stuff. On a side note, I like training the shoulders unilaterally, and it feels way better. Shall continue it in the coming weeks and see how it turns out.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Legs 22nd October 2012

Squat
120kg * 5, 137.5 * 3, 152.5 *4

Step ups
40 * 10 per leg, 3 sets

Leg press
3 pps * 15, 15, 15 (tempo 51X0)

Seated Leg curls
75 * 10, 10, 10

GHR
BW * 10, 10, 10

Calf press
3 pps * 12, 12 (tempo 5X21)
2 pps * 12 (tempo 8X21)

A1: Standing Ab crunch
41 * 16, 16, 16

A2: Hanging Leg raise
BW * 16, 16, 16

A1 and A2 were supersetted.

I actually did a 5th rep for the last set of squats, but it was really horrible and ugly so i didn't count it in. Actually looked more like a good morning than anything else.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Arms 20th October 2012

Straight bar push downs
41kg * 10, 10, 10

Close grip Bench
100 * 8, 7, 8

Overhead dumbbell extension
20 * 10, 10, 10

Dips
BW * 10, 10, 8
 - done with a tempo of 042X

Standing DB curls
17.5 * 12, 12, 12

One arm preacher cable
8 * AMRAP for 3 sets

Reverse BB curls (36ers)
15kg for 2 sets

Back 19th October 2012

Deadlift
140kg * 3, 160 * 3, 180 * 3

Pull ups
10 sets of 10

One arm cable rows
28 * AMRAP for 3 sets

Overhead shrugs
40 * 25, 25, 25

A1: Standing Abs
41 * 15, 15, 15

A2: Hanging leg raises
BW * 15, 15, 15
- A1 and A2 were supersetted.

Finally have a proper cast on my finger, which limits my ability to grip fully with my right hand. As usual, kept the deads to the bare minimum reps required. 180 moved fast, so happy with that. Pull ups were done on the assisted machine and every rep was held at the top.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Squat redemption

18th October 2012

Squats
110kg * 3, 130 *3, 145 * 8

Step ups
40 * 12, 12, 12

---

Incline Bench
85 * 3, 95 * 3, 102.5 * 7
60 * 30, 20

One armed machine press
27.5 * 15, 15, 15

Machine Flyes
54 * 25, 25, 25

Cable Laterals
8 * 15, 15, 15

Standing Abs
41 * 15, 15, 15

Rested about 20 mins in between the squat training and bench training because I waited for Max to arrive. 145 is actually a post injury PR for me (post march injury that is).

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Shoulders 16th Oct 2012

Press
62.5kg * 3, 72.5 * 3, 80 * 10

Paused Presses
60 * 5, 5, 5

Seated DB press
25 * 15, 13, 12, 12

Lateral raises
12.5 * 20, 20, 20

Rear laterals
68 * 20, 20, 20, 20

Standing Abs
41 * 15, 15, 15

Normal shoulder session. Decided to go light on DB presses, still working around tightness in my left shoulder. Rest time was kept short.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Despite what you've heard, sleep is for the strong.

Oct 15th
Didn't sleep from sunday morning till monday night, and really paid for it when it came time to train legs. Couldn't focus into my squat and everything felt heavy. Cut my squatting halfway in the end and did light recuperative work instead. Plan to redeem myself on wed.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Back + Triceps 13th Oct 2012

Deadlift
130kg * 5, 150 * 5, 170 * 5

Sterum Pull ups (on the assisted machine)
8 sets of 5 with assistance weight at 33kg

Cable row
6 sets of 15
*can't remember how heavy it was*

Wide grip shrugs
60 * 15, 15, 15

Close Grip Bench
100 * 10, 10, 10

Low incline DB extension
15 * 12, 12, 12

Rope pushdowns
20 * AMAP for 2 sets


Feels good to deadlift again. The weights were very light, as expected. Usually for 531, I don't do more than the prescribed reps for the final set of deadlifts, as opposed to the rest of the lifts, because I tend to burn out fast on deads. Actually come to think of it, this is the first time I'm deadlifting since Feb.

Was weak as shit on the sternum pull ups though. Held the top position for 2 secs and squeezed the fuck out of my back. Felt all sorts of back muscles activating that I haven't felt in a LONG time. Same performance method with the cable rows. The variable resistance on the machines aren't measured out in nice whole numbers so it's a bit annoying recording it down. haha OCD

Decided to play it safe and not go heavy on the close grips since I was pretty guessed from the back work. Everything else was merely pump and go so nothing special there. I think I would like to keep a dedicated arm day in, or train triceps with chest. Was too gassed after back to really hit the triceps well.

Takeaways from today are that my back is weak as shit. lol Time to hit it hard!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Chest & shoulders, 12th Oct 2012

Incline Bench
75kg * 5, 85 * 5, 95 * 12

Machine Flyes
54 * 20, 20, 25

Low incline DB Press
25 * 20, 20
30 * 16

Cable rear laterals
3 plates * 30, 30, 30

Seated lateral raises
10 * 20, 20, 20

Incline pressing took a while to get into the groove and still didn't feel 100% even by the last set. Still a decent effort I suppose. Shall use heavier bells for the low incline next time and aim for 20 reps each set. Seated laterals done with a pause at the top.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Back in business!

9th Oct 2012 Shoulders

Military press
60kg * 5, 67.5 * 5, 75 * 12

DB Lateral raises
10 * 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

Rear Lateral machine
54 * 25, 25, 25

Hammers
30 * 10, 10, 10

DB Preacher curl
15 * AMAP for 2 sets

Was supposed to do seated db shoulder press after mil press but strained the left shoulder so skipped it and did high rep controlled lateral raises instead.

11th Oct 2012 Legs

Squats
105kg * 5, 120 * 5, 137.5 * 10
100 * 5, 5, 5

Single-leg leg press/Lunge superset
110 * 15/30 * 30ish steps x 3 sets

Seated Ham curls/Lying DB ham curl
75 * 10/15 * 10 x 3 sets

GHR
BW * 10, 10, 10

Calf presses
2 plates per side * 12, 12, 12

Squats could have gone for more reps on the last set, but felt the bar rolling on the left and my left shoulder tightening up so decided to rack. Also, shall do higher reps on the back off sets for squats. Calf presses were done with a 3 second contraction and 5 second hold in the stretched position every rep.

Ok, that's about it. Figured that it's a good time to get the training blog up again since i'm starting 531 again.