Bench 16th December 2013

Bench
worked up to 117.5kg * 5
95 * 13/4/2 (rest pause set)
Slowly getting used to the minipause for all the reps in the sets, but it sure as hell makes a world of difference! Almost like doing deadlift reps touch and go vs deadstop, though not quite as intense. Expected to die out before 10 reps on the rest pause set, but surprised myself with 13 reps on the first round! That's probably a PR in itself. Also focused on pushing as explosively as possible, but still feel like my biceps are inhibiting the acceleration process. Couldn't film my lifts today as I was alone, so I couldn't measure the bar speed. 

Dead Bench
91 * 1
96 * 1
100 * 1 * 2
Rest time was 1.5 mins in between. Weight is still light, but approaching these with caution cos I remember lots of elbow problems the last time I rushed into these. Surprisingly the weight moves really fast when I do dead benching as opposed to regular benching.

Incline Bench
90 * 4 * 4
Was actually rather shagged by this point, so 90 for 4 reps actually felt like an RPE 9 HAHA weak shit man.

Weighted pull ups
28 * 4 * 5
BW * 12 * 3

Front raises
12 * 12 * 3

Elbows out extensions
14 * 15 * 3
All accessory work was kept fast, and I supersetted the BW pullups, raises and extensions. Rest time was less than a minute.

Groove was better today, though I still can't get as tight as I'd like to given the lumbar pain.

Press 13th December 2013

Press
worked up to 72.5 * 3 (can't remember the rest of the sets)
Basing my top sets upon my estimated max, which in this case, I took as 85% of my last 1RM. Lower back aches alittle pressing, but can be dealt with with some stretching.

Speed benching
90 * 3 * 6
Speeds (m/s): 2.48, 2.46, 1.87, 1.86, 1.87, 1.87
Benching with the feet down now, but still not as tight as I should be due to the lower back pain. Used a bar tracking app to measure the velocity of the benching, the speeds listed are all my peak velocities for each set. I realize I'm not conditioned to speed benching after not doing it for too long and too much cruise benching. So this is something I have to work on. Also, I didn't measure rest intervals, so I will have to do that starting from the next speed sesh.

Close grip foam press
110 * 3 * 3

Wide grip bench (paused)
90 * 6 * 3

Decent sesh, will get in my accessories tmr! Also, I started doing 150 to 200 pull ups on the off days, so this should give me about 800 reps a week. Will gradually increase this to 1000 a week, then start doing weighted. I think I will have to do these on the rings instead of the bar if not my shoulder's gonna give me problems haha

Squat 11th December 2013

3rd post injury squat session (1st one was with the SSB and a super high box that had me doing '851squats' [some of you might catch that reference], and 2nd one was to a lower box that was about 3 inches above parallel at swf)

Squat to box (~1.5 inch above parallel)

80 * 10 * 5

80 * 5 * 2 (tried out different foot positions and stances with Bryan's suggestion and watchful eye)

DB Hamstring Curl

10 * 12 * 5

Rack Pull (Knee height)

100 * 5 * 5

Reverse Hyper

BW * 12 * 3

Sled Pull

20/40/60/40/60/40/60

Pulled sleds with Bryan.

Lower back is starting to strengthen up. Squats are gradually becoming lower with minimal pain. Just above legal depth now, hopefully I can bring this down by the time I head to hk. Rack pulls are only at knee height, so still a ways to go. Slowly but surely though.

Bench 9th December 2013

Warm up: Face pulls, rotator cuff exercises

Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 5
60 * 5
70 * 5
80 * 5
87.5 * 3
100 * 3
110 * 3
115 * 3
120 * 3
122.5 * 3
Finally after 9 weeks of rehab, I can put my feet down when I bench! Yay no more faggotry. However, can't get tight cos it gets too painful if I try to arch, but am definitely feeling way more stable now with my feet down. I am still using the maxes and weights from my phaggot benching, as I slowly try to work back the technique. All the weights moved pretty fast today, so am very happy with that.

Dead bench (inch from chest)
85 * 1 * 8
60s rest intervals. Focused on trying accelerate the weight as best I could. Realized my weakness really is on not accelerating the weight as fast as I can. I tend to switch on cruise control whenever I get past the mid point. 

High Incline Bench
85 * 5 * 5

Weighted Pull ups
24 * 5 * 3
BW * 10 * 3

Front raises
8 * 12 * 3
Realized my front delts are actually much weaker than my triceps. Am including some additional work for them and gonna see what the results are like.

Programming wise, I'm gonna switch out the bench rep days for pressing, since now I can start doing presses without pain (as long as I wear a belt). The pressing will also follow the 352 format, and this will be followed by speed benching and heavy tricep (board) work. I will also include wide grip bench pressing as a supplemental exercise, since my chest and shoulders could really use the additional work.

Injury wise, rehab is coming along nicely, I am starting to squat even lower, gradually using lower and lower boxes. I'm almost at parallel with no pain, so it's major progress for me and only in 9 weeks. I must say I'm pretty stoked, considering how bad the tear was this time. 

More good news, I also experimented with a few exercises and realized that I can do lying leg curls (with a DB) and single leg split squats now without pain, in addition to my box squatting and sled dragging. Will be experimenting with rack pulls tmr to find the bottom limit range for my pulling, although I'm still miles away from the deadlift bar height.

As a result of all this, I'm gonna get back on diet and bump the macros back up to >350/320/100. Will bump up the carbs as needed. Step by step, I am coming back!

Max Bench 2 December 2013 & Reps Bench 5 December 2013

2nd December

Warm up: Face pulls, tricep pushdowns, rear delt machine, rotator cuff

Bench (feet up)
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 5
70 * 5
80 * 5
90 * 5
100 * 2
110 * 2
115 * 2
120 * 2
125 * 2
Easy double, but that was the goal today, so just stopped there. Rest time between sets was fast, not more than a couple minutes.

Incline Bench (speed)
90 * 3 * 8

Machine Row
75 * 12 * 4

Lat pulldown
65 * 20 * 4
Kinda hard to explain how I did the back work, but basically, the legs are sorta kept out of the movement so I can't arch as much due to the pain.


5th December 2013

Warm up: Face pulls, tricep pushdowns, rear delt machine, rotator cuff

Bench (feet up)
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 5
70 * 5
80 * 5
90 * 5
100 * 1
102.5 * 8, 10
Was supposed to get 10 with 102.5 today, but I took such short rests in between the sets, that I ended up only getting 8. So I rest about 4 mins, then gave it another shot and got the 10. Somehow my high reps really suck, although it could be the half second pause for each rep, that's why they are harder than I expected them to be.

DB press
32 * 8 * 3

Close grip foam press Paused
100 * 5 * 3

Super wide grip bench Paused
80 * 6 * 3

Tricep pushdowns
3 sets of 15, last set AMRAP


Injury update: Managed to bend over yesterday with lesser pain. Rehab is progressing relatively well, albeit slow. Constant rolling of my glutes has somewhat helped to alleviate the sciatica. Am aiming to be able to deadlift at the dead meet. Two weeks seems doable.

Injury Update plus training plans plus getting back on my feet

So the last time I updated was quite a while back. Anyway, my condition is slowly but surely getting better. Apparently, it's sciatica compounded with my lumbar tear that's been causing so much pain. Essentially it's a super horrible back sprain, but I'm actually glad to hear that, cos I'm just relieved it's not a disc issue, which would take me longer to get back from. 

Rehab is coming along well, plenty of stretching and deep tissue relief (self administered most of the time) and TVA/core exercises, as well as slowly getting back movement patterns. I can squat to a really high box now, which is sorta a quarter squat, but I can't bend over just yet. Still, progress is progress. My current target is to start squatting in January and hopefully be able to Deadlift by end Jan. 

Training wise, I've been all over the place, freestyling it mostly. For a couple weeks I trained my bench as and when I wanted, sometimes 3 or 4 days in a row, but there was no structure. I imagine cos this was mostly due to the fact that my 'rehab' had replaced most training time and all the energy I could muster after was just enough to bench. After discussing with Bryan, I decided to fix two bench days a week, one max and one rep day. The max day would follow a 352 format (instead of 531), whilst the rep days would be an 8-12-10 (although after one cycle, I might change this to 6-10-8). I am still phaggot benching (ie. benching with my feet on the bench), so I used a training max at 90% of my best phaggot bench 1RM. Also, I've changed my benching to 'pause' benching. Not a true competition pause, but just making sure the bar doesn't bounce off the chest.

Other days, aside from rehab, I will incorporate sled dragging for my lower body.

Nutrition wise, I did about 10 days of keto just to lower my BF abit, and am now carb cycling based on my macros. High days are 500/200/~, and low days are 100/300/120. High days are for the two training days, whilst the rest of the week are low days.

Ok, think I've babbled on enough! Here's an update from today's training, which is week 2's rep day.

Bench Reps Week 2 28th November 2013

Bench
Bar * 10, 10
40kg * 5
60 * 5
70 * 5
80 * 5
90 * 5
95 * 12
Looks easy, but definitely wasn't easy. I probably could have only gotten one more rep. The pausing really makes it so much tougher.

Seated DB press
40 * 8 * 4
Been forever since I last did these, but glad that there's some strength there still. Had to get someone to help me get the DBs on my lap, since I couldn't bend down to pick them up. Seriously phaggoty.

Lat pulldowns
4 sets of 10

Machine rows
4 sets of 10

Elbows out DB extensions
15 * 10 * 4

Tricep push downs
3 sets of 15

Preacher curls
3 sets of 15

All rest times were about a min.

Injury update: 11th November 2013

Just last week on thursday, I woke up in the morning with an insane pain in the lower back. Just when I thought things were getting better.. sigh.. I probably strained my right QL whilst doing a massage (rendering service, not receiving) because I can't think of any other instance that I might have strained it. It hurts like a mother and my mid lumbar area still spasms like a bitch. My whole hip area is locked anteriorly to compensate for the strain and I can't bend over without feeling like someone stabbed me in my back. 

Rehab will carry on as per normal, and I will now focus on easing off my QLs, psoas, Adductors (magnus), and Glutes (particularly the med). Also working on easing off the lats since I can only do pullups now so have to make sure they don't lock up too. In the off chance anyone out there (whoever reads this) feels lower back pain, give these areas a shot.

Ok, that's all the updates I have for now. Staying positive as I can! I'll be back!

Injury Update 2nd November 2013

Back is slowly but surely healing up. Still unable to squat, but rehab is done every day, and I try to minimize my movement as much as possible. The pain is not as intense anymore and some nights I don't have to take painkillers to sleep. I imagine I'll get more movement back within the next week and a half or so.

After finishing 2 waves of the pressing, I've just switched to doing bench sessions. I don't really plan these beforehand, but each session is typically the same. I work up to whatever the max is that day and do singles at that weight, then take the weight down and build up again with sets of triples. Occasionally if I feel like it, I go for rep records. Currently my benching is all still feet up on the bench due to my lumbar being unable to take the stress. I might bench two or three days in a row before taking a day or two day break, and typically don't plan the sessions. For back work, I just do a lot of pull ups. Pretty straightforwards and nothing fancy since I really can't do very much.

However, upon Bryan's suggestion, I have added in one sided db/kettlebell walks, in an effort to maintain some core strength. I never did these the past few times when I rehabbed this same injury, but it seems to make sense so I figured I'd give it a shot. Using around 10kg tends to hurt if I go too long, so I usually take some rests in between. Hope these will help speed up recovery.

That's all for now so I'll update again when I can finally get under the bar again. Hopefully in two weeks tops! Till then, keep training hard!

Update: 23rd October 2013

Been a while since I updated, so here's an update on my current condition. My musculoigamentous injury (what a mouthful) is still pretty acute in that there is a constant pain regardless whether i'm sitting or standing or even lying. I still have to take the painkillers before i sleep, and rub some analgesic on the back (or rather, get my mum to help). Squatting and deadlifting are still out of the picture for what I imagine to be another 2 weekish or so. I have been benching, and am doing roughly 3 sessions a week, still following the wave loading pattern detailed in the previous post. Have finished the 3rd phase waves for the movements already, so am going to increase the top weights by 2.5kg for the next waves. Am still doing all bench work with feet up (Siamand Rahman you are my current inspiration :']). 

Rehab is coming along fine, as with the past times that i've had this injury, it's really a matter of waiting out the healing process, and then rehabbing with the movement to work the muscle strength back once it can tolerate the stress. For now it's just a lot of stretching the surrounding muscles to ease off the pressure on the affected area. On a plus side, I actually see cuts in my quads lol.

Congrats also to Abel, Bryan and Sam for hitting pretty significant numbers in their training, as well as max, whose bench is coming along really well. I'm feeling so amped up just watching them progress and smash PRs that I wanna just jump in and squat and dead too but then I remember i'm currently handicapped and i get pissed. Lots of catching up to do when i'm healed up, but I'll be back! 

Pressing 17th October 2013

Upper body mob

Band warm up

High Incline
worked up to 90 * 3 (2 waves, 5kg) - 85, 87.5, 90, 85, 87.5, 90, 85

Moderate incline
worked up to 100 * 3 (2 waves, 5kg) - 95, 97.5, 100, 95, 97.5, 100, 95

Close Grip bench
worked up to 110 * 3 (1 wave, 5kg) - 105, 107.5, 110, 105

DB Flyes incline
12 * 10 * 5

Rear delt flyes
8 * 15 * 5

Lower back area still bluish and bruised. Pain has not subsided significantly, and the i feel highly irritable. Rather annoyed by this.

Smolov update

Before I go into any detail with regards to recent happenings, here's a back dated log of sunday's training, and monday's easy press session, as well as the tentative plan looking ahead.

13th October 2013

Squats

143kg * 7 * 5

14th October 2013

(70 deg) Incline bench

worked up to 90 * 3, 1 wave

(40 deg) Incline Bench

worked up to 100 * 3, 1 wave

Close grip flat bench

worked up to 110 * 3, 1 wave

Pull ups

BW * 10 * 10

So what happened is this, on sunday's session, I strained my right lower back pretty badly. It happened on the last rep of the last set. I was focusing on the acceleration since the weight was light, and popped up as fast as I could. On the last rep, the bar actually left my traps and bounced back down and I immediately felt this really sharp pain in my lower right lumbar. This is the third time I've injured this area. This round doesn't seem AS bad as previously, although there is still a bluish bruising and some swelling. The muscle belly itself hurts when I extend or flex it, which essentially feels like I've been stabbed. As such, I can't continue smolov since I can't even rack the weight across my back at the moment without intense pain. Squatting and deadlifting are out for the moment, till I can rehab this shit back in shape.

As such, the tentative plan is this:

AGGRESSIVE rehab every day and basically be able to air squat without pain. This means aggressive stretching and rolling of the surrounding muscles, plus stretching of the lower back when the pain has subsided.

Once air squatting without pain works, I will start rehabbing with the squat movement, and gradually load it back up. Same with the deadlift.

As for traning, probably will do the wave loading for pressing that I used last time. Used it twice before and made pretty good strength gains on it. Plus I could run it 3 times a week without much of a problem. Here's the basic workout: Choose 3 exercises that run in progressively higher loading order, for example, I'm using the high incline, moderate incline and close grip bench. All sets are done as triples and the aim is to move the weight as fast as possible, focusing on acceleration. I work it up to a good and relatively fast 3RM weight, then I will wave it there. For example, in the high incline, I work up to 90kg as the top set. I then remove 5kg, and do 85kg for one set. I then increase the weight to 87.5kg for another set, then back to 90kg for one more, and lastly end off with 85kg. Thus one wave is (85, 87.5, 90, 85). I then go to the next exercise and start off with the weight from the previous top set, and then work up to the 3RM for that exercise, then do one wave with that weight. This is repeated for the third exercise. Every subsequent session I will add in another wave for each exercise, contingent upon how the weight feels. After I reach 3 waves for each exercise, I will just up the top weights for each exercise by 2.5kg. 

The pressing exercises I'm using currently involve no support from the lower back, and I'm benching with my feet up since it hurts to put my feet down. As my rehab progresses and the healing works, I will change the pressing exercises to the press, moderate incline bench, and flat close grip bench. Back work (more lat work at the moment) will be done every pressing session and probably on rehab days as well.

So there it is, the revised plan. Hopefully I don't lose too much strength on the squat and dead. Really sucks since my squat was just starting to take off. On a side note, I am contemplating starting the use of belt. Let's go!

Smolov Week 1 Day 1 11th October 2013

Squat
133kg * 9 * 4

Close Grip bench
97.5kg * 6 * 6

Flight got delayed so only ended up back in spore at 8ish. Grabbed a quick bite at macs and headed straight to the gym. Unlike most, I tend to lose weight on a holiday and this time was no exception. Felt a little off groove for both lifts after 2 weeks of halved food intake and no training haha 

Squats were tougher than they should have been, even though my rest time was relatively long (at 3 mins). Bench was ridiculously 'hard', didn't have much control of the bar and was slow to lock out on the last reps. I also ended up puking in between the 5th and 6th set of bench. Gross. 

Made it through in less than hour (~50 mins), but hopefully getting back into 'diet' and just training in general will fix that. The numbers for this round of smolov are really daunting though, but it never gets any easier does it? 

Anyway, decided to do smolov instead of the 3s wave of juggernaut, due to a myraid of factors, but mostly because of a lot of personal issues happening all at once. I guess this is where discipline kicks in. Time to go full russian!

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 3 Press 24th September 2013

Upper mob + stretch

Press
Bar * 10
30kg * 10
40 * 5
50 * 5
57 * 3
66 * 2
71 * 1
76 * 1
80 * 14 (PR)
85 * 1
90 * 1
95 * 1
100 * 1
105 * 1 (PR)
100 * 3 (PR)
90 * 3
Today is apparently a PR day. All the PR lifts were done with wrist wraps though, in light of my recently sprained right wrist. Today the pressing groove was really good. The rep set felt really nice and light, but weren't super strict in that I dropped them faster and tried to get a fast tempo rather than go rep by rep. I would actually consider all the sets from 95kg onwards PRs as this time the reps were all strict. 100 moved relatively easy, but 105 was a grinder. My theory is that my super small baby wrists are a limiting factor. A bit lazy to go into detail so if you want to know more just drop me a text. Good press day, looks like the rep work did help a little.

Incline Close grip Pause bench
60 * 10
80 * 5 * 5
*add foam pad*
60 * 10 * 5
Rest time in between was 45 secs. All reps were paused for a second. These were much tougher than expected. My tris were really fried by the end.

DB overhead tricep extension
12 * 15 * 4
Rest time was 30s.

Rope pushdowns
3 sets of 15
Rest time was 30s.

Banded Chest presses (Med band + light band)
3 sets of 20
Rest time was 30s.

Talk about a pump. Triceps were burning up towards the end, and my chest was pumped up. I actually have a chest! My fever was gone by this morning, I think it might have been the deadlifting yesterday hehe Spent an hour and a half stretching out after training though. What an awesome session to kickstart my holiday and complete deload!! Update you guys in a week's time!

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 3 Deadlift 23rd September 2013

Deadlift
60kg * 5
100 * 5
130 * 3
160 * 1
180 * 1
200 * 5
225 * 1

Deficit Stiff legged Deadlifts (4")
180 * 3 * 4
Short rest time in between.

Wide Grip Pull ups (Weighted)
BW * 10
10 * 10
15 * 8
20 * 8

BB rows
60 * 8
100 * 8
105 * 8
110 * 8

Lat pulldowns
95 * 12 * 4

Wasn't planning to train today due to my fever, but when you have a young punk egging you on (SAM LIM KOK WEI I'M TALKING TO YOU), you have no choice but to man up and do it. Temperature was 38.5 and my whole body felt like it was run over by a steamroller. The deadlifts were fast though, and the 'top' set of 200 * 5 was easy. Mistakenly put 225 on instead of 215, but got it anyway. Shall cease to be so careless next time. Was thinking of going for a max, but my head was pounding pretty hard, so saving it for another time. Probably shouldn't have done the accessories, but my pride does not know when to say no, so as a result, I now feel like I got trampled on by bulls. DAMN YOU SAM! TRYING TO BULLY AN OLD MAN! haha but thanks for the push #365strong 

Popped two panadols and gonna crash. BOOM

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 3 Bench 21st September 2013

Upper mobility + stretching

Band warm up

Close grip Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 5
60 * 5
68 * 5
82 * 3
95 * 2
102 * 1
109 * 1
116 * 6 (lol)
120 * 1
125 * 1
130 * 1
133 * 1
135 * 1
138 * 1

Reverse Band (small bands) Close grip bench
120 * 5
130 * 5
140 * 5
145 * 3 * 3
150 * 3 * 2

Low decline Bench
90 * 10 * 2
80 * 10

Low incline Flyes
20 * 10 * 5

Overhead DB tricep extensions
20 * 12 * 4

GHR abs
10 * 20 * 3

Leg raises
BW * 20 * 3

Hmmmm apparently juggernaut isn't really working well for my bench. But then again I changed my bench to a close grip bench, so that might be the reason for the low reps. I feel like i need to do up my frequency on bench and push it harder if I want to move any decent weight on it. *coughSHEIKOcough*

Anyway, just got one rep past the standard today on the top set, so decided to just push my singles for close grip to see where I stood. Took smaller increments, but didn't go for 140kg because I was pretty shagged by then. Did more overloading work with the reverse bands, then some chest work with the low decline and flyes. These were done super controlled, hence the really low weight, but my chest is actually cramping up now. Ow. I think I probably will be finishing up the 3s wave for juggernaut anyway, since first two weeks of november I am going on course. Will reevaluate this again and see if running sheiko #29 will be better for oct or finishing up the 3s wave. 

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 3 Squat 19th September 2013

Squat
Bar * 10, 10
60kg * 5
95 * 5
112.5 * 4
132.5 * 3
142.5 * 2
152.5 * 1
160 * 11 (PR!)
160 * 2 * 4 Practiced slight pausing and then accelerating maximally

*Add medium reverse bands*
160 * 5
180 * 3
200 * 1
210 * 2

*Remove bands*
180 * 5 (PR!)

Paused Squats
160 * 1
150 * 3 * 3

Front squats
60 * 10 * 5

GHR
BW * 20 * 1

GHR abs
10kg plate * 50

Talk about a good session! Two massive PRs today! Went past my target of 10 reps for 160kg with 11 reps instead, and felt so good after the reverse bands that I decided to try 180kg for reps. My previous PR with 180 was only 2 reps. Rather stoked that I got 5 because this was done after previous work sets. Actually felt pretty stiff today, but ended up killing some good shit, and with no mobility or stretching warm ups 0_o Had to wrap my right wrist though, from the sprain on tues. Kinda lame, but oh well. Also, I don't think this was evident all this while, but all the lifts are done beltless and wrapless cos I had some ppl asking me if these were belted.

From a technical perspective though, my racking felt weird, and the bar felt uneven, even though the squat groove was smooth. Upper shelf could have been much tighter because of this and after analyzing my pictures, I realize that the bar seems to be unevenly biased towards the left. Funny thing is this actually made my squat groove better because my tendency is to drift to the right due to tighter right psoas, but this came at the expense of my upper back tightness. Definitely need to correct a shitload. Wanted to go slightly heavier on the Front squats, but by this time, my legs were so fried, I could only manage 60s for sets of 10, so I just cut the rest time for them (about 45s). Quads were pumped, but managed to really sit down. New respect to Abel because doing this with higher weight really means you have to have some fucking strong (and massive) quads. Thompson beast I'm coming for you!

I probably won't squat again for 2 weeks cos next week thurs i'll be in sydney, and that first week is a deload cum holiday in the moutains with my girl. Hopefully I can get back into the groove after that! Depending on how I feel, I might continue with the 3s wave week 1 in sydney, or just take another week off, and do sheiko #29 after i'm back.

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 2 Press 17th September 2013

Upper body mobility and stretching

Press
Bar * 10 million
30kg * 10
40 * 10
50 * 5
61 * 2
69 * 2
74 * 5 * 3
74 * 6

GHR abs
BW * 50 * 3

I sprained my wrist after the 3rd set with 75kg, cos I tripped and fell awkwardly on it. It swole up, but I wrapped it and went for the last set anyway. Only managed 6 reps cos the pain while pressing was just intense. Just did some abs after I wrapped an ice pack on it. Pretty bad shit. Hopefully it'll heal in time for squatting on thurs.

Juggernaut 5s wave Week 2 Deadlift 16th September 2013

Here is a rough time line of my 15 min deadlift workout:

Minute
0:00 - 60kg * 5 (Deadlifts)
4:00 - 100 * 5
6:00 - 140 * 5
7:30 - 150 * 2
8:00 - 170 * 2
9:00 - 180 * 5
10:00 - 180 * 5
11:30 - 180 * 5
12:45 - 180 * 12 (done with straps)
13:45 - Bw * 10 (pullups)
14:30 - bw * 20 (pullups)
15:00 - DONE

I kid you not. Went to eat maccas with Bryan around noonish, with the plan to train at ziklag, but some stuff came up and I had to train in school and only had less than half an hour to do so. Was so bloated and 'full' from the food, but somehow managed to get in the work sets without puking lol Gonna do a ton of back work tmr.

Bench Meet 14th September 2013

Close grip Bench
120kg * 1
130 * 1
135 * 1
100 * 12 (lol)

Farmers
45kg * 1
65 * 1

Today was the bench meet and it was really fun! Had to bench close grip, cos my shoulder didn't feel good. Couldn't push fast without it hurting, so had to take it slow. Still, this is a PR for me, since i've never paused closegrip my bench before. Played with the farmers handles after that with a bunch of the rest, was really fun too, but took my time with it cos every step my quads were aching from friday's squat sesh. Good shit. Am excited to finish up the 5s wave and hopefully move on to the 3s wave. Might not do the 3s wave and instead run a cycle of smolov for my squat and bench due to it's simplicity, and also cos it's about 1 year since I last ran the smolov meso cycle for my squat. We'll see how things go! All a matter of timing!

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 2 Squat 13th September 2013

Lower body rolling + stretching

Mobility drills for hip and ankle

Squat
Bar * 5, 5
60kg * 5
100 * 5
123 * 2
137 * 2
150 * 5 * 3
150 * 15 (PR)
Squats were feeling good today, after about 40 mins of mobility and flexibility work. I think I will have to do more of this on the off days instead of just flexibility. last 3 reps of the top set my hips rose much faster. I can safely say I roughly one more ugly ass rep left in me. Today's work set was a departure from my usual habit of stopping at technical failure, where I probably would have stopped at 12 according to today's performance. I guess I was too motivated by yesterday's shit bench sesh and wanted to make up for it with today's squats. No doubt pushing once in a while is good, but I think emotions should never drive the training per se. My lower back is feeling tight now but I think some mob and flexibility work will help ease it out. Still, with all that said, am pretty happy with the new PR.

Paused Squats
130 * 3 * 3
I didn't count the pauses. Also happy with the execution, because despite the lower back feeling it a little, I managed to keep my torso in position and not let the squat turn into a good morning. Am also not so concious of the knees, allowing them to drift a little in, but not collapse. Felt these in my quads.

Reverse Band Squats (small band)
160 * 3
170 * 3
180 * 3
These felt heavier than I thought they would, cos I usually use a medium band. I imagine the deload was about 20kg at most, cos i later tested the bands after and the bar was touching the safeties even after I loaded it on the bands.

Front Squats
100 * 5
120 * 2
130 * 2 * 5
60 * 8 * 2
Talk about a grind. These were hard, not just on the quads, but also on my T-spine. So glad I did the mob work for it with the dowel before the sesh. My front squats are still poor as shit, and I can't really seem to sit down straight the way Abel does. I will probably work them hard on their own seperate day in future programmin, maybe on deadlift days. Also, I think I will go up to a couple of heavy singles next week for this movement and follow it up with multiple sets of 10s just to work my quads more. I still have teardrops of sadness :(

A1: GHR
5 * 10 * 3

A2: GHR abs
5 * 20 * 3

A3: Wide grip Pull ups
BW * 10 * 3
A1 - A3 were done as a circuit. Not much rest time between each, just went from exercise to exercise.

Today was definitely a good sesh. Never underestimate what mobility and flexibility work can do for you. Also, as a departure from my regular habits, I rested forever in between sets. I guess that's why the top set still managed to surpass 10. But I know any of the top elites could easily smash my workout in half an hour or even less. So there's my motivation to work harder. Grind on!

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 2 Bench 12th September 2013

Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 5
80 * 5
88 * 2
98 * 2
105 * 5 * 3
105 * 10/2/2
Worst bench session ever. Everything didn't work, couldn't get tight and the bar felt heavy in the hands. Left shoulder also feels stuck and has a dull ache right where I tore my labrum. Just one of those days.

Bench Daddy Close grip bench
110 * 5
120 * 3
130 * 3
Wrists started hurting around this point.

Incline Bench
60 * 12
82.5 * 8 * 2
72.5 * 10
I have absolutely nothing to say about this.

Overhead DB extension
10 * 15 * 3

Lat pulldown
95 * 12 * 5

Rear delt machine
47 * 40 * 2

Horrible session. I suspect it's probably the lack of sleep and perhaps inadequate nutrition. I've been steadily lowering my macros over the past month. Started out at 400/370/100, then went to 400/370/80, then 370/370/60. Right about here is where I started feeling a little more achey and sore from trainings. I still lowered it further to 340/370/60 for the past week since last thurs (5th sept). Started to feel alittle more beat up over the week. I think the travelling up to KL and doing the seminar probably took away from my recovery too. Seems like this is already pushing it at the lower threshold. Probably will try upping the macros back to 400/370/80, that seems to be the sweet spot, at least for the next two weeks. I still need to push the training hard to earn my sept 26th deload with the gf.

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 1 Press 10th September 2013

Upper body rolling and stretch

Band warm up

Press
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
50 * 5
60 * 5
66 * 5 * 5
66 * 21/9/5
Pretty decent numbers on the press. Although I realize I tend to be able to get higher reps with anything below 70kg, so probaby have to see next week's session to gauge. This set was still relatively easy though and today's pressing felt really good.

Close grip bench
100 * 5 * 6
Last reps were paused. These feel much lighter than previous weeks, despite the rest pause set from pressing.

Bradford Press
40 * 15 * 3
Shag... 90s rest between. Sick lactic acid burn. I want delts like lionel's..

Farmer's walks
44.5kg * 4 trips along the concourse
Rest time 1 min. Did these with Eugene so we went one after the other.

Overhead DB extension
10 * 15
15 * 10
17.5 * 10 * 3
REst time 1 min.

Rope pushdown
2 sets of 15
Rest time 30s.

GHR abs
20kg plate * 20 * 3
1 min rest.

Juggernaut 5s wave Week 1 Deadlift 9th September 2013

Rolling and stretching Lower body, plus some drills

Deadlift
60kg * 5
75 * 5
100 * 5
120 * 5
140 * 5
160 * 5 * 6
Didn't go max reps on the last set. Had a little headache from the lack of sleep and horrible bus ride down from KL. Form still felt ok, but then again the weight is light. Rest time was generally low, trained with bryan and we mostly did you go i go with the warm ups.

Snatch grip stiff legged deficit Deadlift (4")
150 * 3 * 5

Barbell rows
105 * 5 * 5

Machine rows
75 * 8 * 6

Pull ups
3 sets of 10

Rear delts
68 * 20 * 3

GHR abs
20 * 15 * 3

So so session, physically was very tired from the lack of sleep and it was hard to concentrate. Still got in the basic work though, so can't complain. Time to nap!

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 1 Bench 6th September 2013

Band warm up

Bench
Bar * 10
60kg * 5
80 * 5
95 * 5 * 5
95 * 12

Close grip bench (With bench daddy)
120 * 5 * 3

Incline Bench
100 * 5 * 5
80 * 5 * 3 (last rep paused inch off the chest)

DB tricep extensions
10 * 12
15 * 12
20 * 8
17.5 * 10 * 2

Bradford Presses
30 * 40

Was in a rush today, so I cut short the rest times. My entire training felt like one GIANT rest pause set. Rest time started off around 20s during the flat bench, then went up to 30 - 45s by the time I reached the incline bench. Talk about a pump! The set of bradford presses were REALLY tough. My shoulders were burning. Off to KL this evening!

Juggernaut 5s Wave Week 1 Squat 5th Sept 2013

Lower body Roll and Stretch

Squat
Bar * 5 * 3
60kg * 5 * 2
100 * 5
132.5 * 5 * 5
132.5 * 17
Was aiming for 20 on the last set, but the 16th and 17th rep started to use the lower back so I stopped the set there. Today's squatting felt like a cardio sesh, and I felt a little slow, albeit smooth. I attribute it to the deep tissue massage Victor so graciously gave me yesterday, but lesson learnt: Don't tax your CNS with an intense massage the day before you squat. Still happy with today's squats because 8 weeks ago I hit only 14 reps with 135kg fresh before I started to feel the lower back tax, but today's rep set was after 5 sets of 5 with the same weight. 

Reverse band squats (med bands)
150 * 5
160 * 5
170 * 5
Just a bit of 'overloading' work.

Front squats (using straps as handles)
100 * 3
120 * 3 * 5
These were tough as I was pretty shagged out already. On Abel's recommendation, I rested longer between sets. Tended to revert back to  using the glutes rather than the quads with the last reps. But definitely much better than before. Quads were rather fried.

GHR
10kg plate * 6 * 5
Hamstrings were cramping up. Still too weak on this. The temporary goal is to hit a set of 10 with a 20kg plate.

GHR abs
20kg plate * 12 * 3

Pull ups
3 sets of 8

Today's session reminded me of Snowflake syndrome: Everyone thinks they work harder than everyone else, but it is in knowing that you don't, that you start to.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Deload Week Press 3rd September 2013

Upper body rolling and stretch

Press
60kg * 5 * 5

Incline bench
60 * 10 * 5

Low incline close grip
60 * 10 * 5

Push press
60 * 3
80 * 3
100 * 3
110 * 1
120 * 2 (PR lol)
Only did pushpresses because Abel and Max 'inspired' me to do so. Dammit, there goes my deload workout.... My push press form is so ugly, can be way more explosive. Also, really felt it in my triceps. 

Rope pushdowns
3 sets of 20

Overhead DB extension
10 * 20 * 2
12 * 20 * 2

GHR abs
3 sets of 20

So chill.. Gonna get a massage tmr morning, then it's back to squatting for realz on thurs! Good deload week!

Juggernaut 8s Wave deload week deadlift 2nd September 2013

Lower body roll and stretch

One armed Deadlifts
60kg * 5
70 * 5
80 * 3
90 * 1
*add straps*
100 * 1
110 * 1
120 * 1
130 * 1
140 * 1 * 3

Snatch grip stifflegged deadlifts
140 * 1 * 8

Barbell rows
100 * 8 * 3

Machine rows
65 * 10 * 3

Lat pulldowns
75 * 12
85 * 12
95 * 12

Rear delt machine
61 * 20 * 3

DB curls Standing
17.5 * 10 * 3

GHR abs
20 * 12 * 3

Deload session this week, so just decided to mess around with the deadlifts. Fun sesh all in all.

Juggernaut Week 8s Wave Deload Week Bench 20th August 2013

Band Warm up upperbody

Bench
Bar * 10
60kg * 5
80 * 5
100 * 5 * 5

Incline Bench (60 deg)
90 * 3
100 * 3 * 6

Incline Bench (40 deg)
90 * 10
70 * 10 * 3

Overhead DB tricep extension
10 * 15
14 * 12
16 * 10 * 5

Face pulls
3 sets of 40

Pull ups
3 sets of 12

Single arm lat pulldown
110# * 10 * 5

Hanging leg raises
3 sets of 12

Deload session, even though the incline bench seemed heavy percentage wise, it moved fast and felt light. Got a good pump going heh.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Deload Week Squat 30th August 2013

Lower body roll and glute stretch

Squat
Bar * 10
60kg * 5
100 * 5
140 * 5 * 5
Deload session today, so nothing heavy and strenuous. Gave me the opportunity to kinda experiment with centering the weight on my thighs, such that my arms had minimal involvement in holding the bar. Kept rest time pretty short (about a min). Also continued practicing the pulling of rib cage down cue, which I really like. Really gets me tight and braced. Realize that I don't need to deload at 50% because my recovery seems to be on point, and the diet is coming along well. 

Front squat
60 * 10 * 6
Focused on just sitting down as much as i could, realize my left ankle mobility is pretty bad so that's preventing me from really getting that sit down that I need with my front squats. Rest time was 1 min.

GHR
15kg * 4 * 6
These were heavy, but since they were on the GHR, not as stressful. Really felt the hams today. Rested about 1.5 mins between. Some of the last reps for the sets weren't fantastic.

Seated Hamstring curl
75 * 10 * 4
Just a little more volume in. 1 min rest.

GHR abs
20kg plate * 10 * 3
These weren't easy. 1 min rest. 

Bicep curls
3 sets of 21s
Just some curls to protect the bis....

Trained late today, and the gym was a haven. Peace, quiet and tranquility. In fact I was so taken by the placidity of the facility, I tried to train as silent as I could; like a ninja. Stealthy late night action heh

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 3 Press 28th August 2013

Roll and stretch upper body

Press
Bar * 10
40kg * 5
47 * 5
56 * 3
66 * 2
70 * 1
75 * 12/4/1 (PR)
New PR on the press today, although I think it's cause I never really repped out much over 70 last time. The bar at ziklag feels much thicker and heavier for some reason, but maybe it's just the fresh knurling. The press itself didn't feel fantastic, some tracking issues with my left shoulder, and my left AC joint still feels kinda stuck. I did banded face pulls between sets (between 20 - 30 reps).

Close grip bench
60 * 5
100 * 5
110 * 3
120 * 2 * 5
100 * 5 (paused in the middle)
120 feels heavier than it should too, or maybe it's the fatigue from the pressing. Really not too sure, today's weights seem heavier than they should be. Tried to accelerate the 120, but i seem to get lazy midway. Maybe should consider doing some chain work.

High incline bench
60 * 10
80 * 8 * 4
80 * 8/60 * 8/40 * 10 (this was a dropset)
Only thing that seemed to go well today. I acually felt the upper chest area pump up. Haven't felt that in a while. 1 min rest between sets. Bench angle was pretty steep, about 75 degrees. 

Tricep push downs
5 sets of 15
Face pulls
5 sets of 30
Supersetted the tricep pushdowns and the facepulls. Conciously tried to get the rear delts firing in the movement. 1 min rest between sets. Trying to concentrate on rear delts now because my traps are really tight and they tend to fire before anything else on my upper shelf. Trying to get the rest of the shoulder muscles stronger to combat this. 

GHR abs
5 * 20 * 3
1 min rest.

Meh training sesh. Based on the last sets for each lift in week 3 of this wave, the newly calibrated training maxes are as follows:

Squat - 188.6kg
Bench - 136kg
Deadlift - 230kg
Press - 95kg

Let's see how it goes next wave. Probably will still push it in terms of volume next week, but lower intensities, rather than a true deload. More like a bodybuilding week haha Considering how I have a planned week deload with my gf come end september hehe Grind on fellows!

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 3 Deadlift 26th August 2013

Lower body rolling + glute stretch

Deadlift
60kg * 5
110 * 5
132.5 * 3
155 * 2
165 * 1
176 * 16 (PR)
Deadlift PR today! Stopped at technical failure. Last rep felt slow locking out plus felt a little lower back starting to actively engage. Other than that, was gassed at the end but not lying on the floor dead, so I guess it's a good thing heh Really feel way more comfortable with the technique now, and conciously tried wedging myself against the bar before pulling.

Snatch Grip Stiff legged Deadlifts
170 * 2
180 * 2
190 * 2 * 3 (PR?)
Everything moved faster today, although the last set of 190 was slow. Took a narrow stance than usual, feet almost together; just trying to channel my inner klokov haha

Deadstop deadlifts
100 * 5
120 * 5
140 * 5
130 * 5 * 2
Shall try to bring this up. 1 min rest between sets.

Machine Rows
3 sets of 12
Just tried squeezing as hard as I could. 1 min rest.

Rear delt machine
54 * 20 * 3
1 min rest.

GHR abs
15kg plate * 10 * 5
ABS ARE ALWAYS NEVER STRONG ENOUGH! hahaha 1 min rest.

Good session, happy with the PR! Glad it went well despite the incredible soreness in my quads from yesterday's front squatting haha Front squat party on a sunday, deadlift party on a monday, now this is living it up! 

Weakness day 25th August 2013

Upper + Lower rolling and stretch

Front Squat
Bar * a bazillion
60kg * 5
100 * 5 * 5
110 * 5 * 2
120 * 4 * 2
130 * 2 * 2

Incline Bench
80 * 10 * 5

GHR abs (Abs are always a weakness!!!)
15 * 10 * 5

Was actually pretty nua today, but somehow managed to make a little breakthrough with my front squat. Widened up the stance such that it actually allowed me to stay more upright. For the first time, I actually felt my quads while doing the front squat, and they have a pretty sick pump going on now :') Incline bench was more bodybuildingish, since I got to build them chesticles up, and abs are...always too weak. Not too bad a day! I would have done some arms, but (insert a stupid excuse here). Sigh.. I guess being jacked isn't really at the top of my list these days :(

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 3 Bench 2013

Band warm up

Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 5
65 * 5
78.5 * 3
92.5 * 2
98.5 * 1
105 * 12/4/2

120 * 1, 1
*add in Bench Daddy*
120 * 1, 1, 1, 1
130 * 1
140 * 1
150 * 1
160 * 1, 1
140 * 1
Still have lots to work with for my bench. Really crappy but will figure it out. The good thing is, I'm getting more comfortable with keeping my head to the bench, even when grinding out the last reps for my rest pause sets. Used the bench daddy to break it in abit. Took a few attempts to touch at first, cos I played around with the bench daddy positioning. After I finally found the groove, it worked pretty well. Will continue using it for a bit more before deciding if i should spend the money to get a slingshot instead. Triceps got a good overload from using it though.

Overhead tricep DB extension
15 * 12
17.5 * 10 * 4
These felt much easier today. Virtually no elbow pain.

One arm barbell preacher curl
4 sets of 12
I supersetted these these with band pressdowns.

Band face pulls
5 sets of 40

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 3 Squats 22nd August 2013

Rolling + stretching lower body

Dynamic lower body stuff

Squat
Bar * 5
60kg * 5
91 * 5
110 * 3
128.5 * 2
137.5 * 1
146 * 14 (PR)
Tried to really lock in the tightness by using a new cue to brace the core (pulling the ribs down). Felt much tighter and better, and the weight was moving even faster than usual. Keeping so tight really took a toll though, and it left me sucking wind by the last rep. I went to technical failure, hips started shooting up around the last 2 reps. I counted 15 reps but i'm honestly not too sure, feels like I might have miscounted. Good part was I wasn't super dead after the squats, as would usually be the case with 'high' rep squats. Still feeling tightness in the right psoas, so gotta spend more time stretching that out.

Front Squat
60 * 5
100 * 5
110 * 3 * 7
Still can't sit down as nicely as Abel does, but am working on it. Rest time was roughly a min.

GHR
10kg plate * 5 * 5
These felt really good and strong today, even though I was pretty shagged by this point. Rest time 1 min.

Machine Rows
65 * 12 * 3
65 * 10
My lats actually feel sore from monday still 0_o but felt good anyway. Rest time 1 min.

GHR abs
3 sets of 20

Good session! Ain't nothing better than a PR! 

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 2 Press 20th August 2013

Rolling and stretching: Glutes, back, lats, traps

Band warm up

Press
Bar * 10
40kg * 8
50 * 5
56 * 3
63 * 3
68 * 8 * 2
68 * 14
Bar over here at Ziklag feels heavier. But the weight didn't feel significantly heavier. Just a very unfamiliar touch to the bar for some reason. Also, the knurling is much sharper. Either that or my calluses are tender from yesterday's deads... Ok, enough bitching.

Close grip
110 * 3 * 5
110 * 5/2/2
Rest paused the last set, but not really to failure.

Bradford Press
30 * 20 * 5
Supersetted with band face pulls. 1 min rest. This was SMB (SHAG MOTHER BALLS)

Face pull
5 sets of 20

Tricep pushdowns
5 sets of 12
Face pulls and pushdowns were supersetted. Rest time 30s.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 2 Deadlift 19th August 2013

Lower body rolling and stretching - focused on loosening up the glutes

Deadlift
60kg * 5
100 * 5
130 * 3
150 * 3
160 * 8 * 3
160 * 14
Program actually called for 3 sets of 8 with 160kg, with the last set being 8+ but not to complete failure. However, I forgot to do more than 8 for the 3rd set, so decided to go for a 4th and aimed to at least get 15. Kept getting pulled forward on the 13th and 14th rep, so decided to end the set there (technical failure). Surprisingly, my conditioning is holding up pretty well and these 4 sets didn't feel THAT tiring; although I still hate high rep deads.

Snatch grip stiffies (w/straps)
162.5 * 3 * 6
Loaded the lower back and hamstrings as much as I could, and I kept visualizing the way Klokov does them. Weight moved surprisingly fast so I was pretty happy with this.

Deadstop BB rows
100 * 8 * 4
Pulled the bar up to the sternum area, right where my bench touches, instead of pulling it to my stomach. Getting more heavy upper back work in this way. Rest time was 1 min.

GHR abs
10 * 12 * 4
Standard ab work. Rest time was 30s.

Good session overall, glad I didn't give in and be lazy with the deadlifts. Feel like the high rep deads are helping me keep my technique. I realize I don't have to lower my hip as much, as long as I can get myself slightly behind the bar. The focus for the past 6 weeks of contracting the lats before the pull's really helped to take the stress of the lower back, and my bar doesn't drift forward like it used to when the weight comes off the floor. So far so good! Grind on!!

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 2 Bench 16th August 2013

Upper body rolling

Band warm ups
Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 8
80 * 3
90 * 3
95 * 8 * 2
95 * 14

Incline Bench
60 * 10
97.5 * 3 * 5
97.5 * 8

Close Grip bench
80 * 12 * 3

Bradford press
45 * 12 * 2

Machine Rows
55 * 12 * 4

Rear Delts
54 * 25 * 3

GHR abs
3 sets of 15

pressing sets were supersetted with band face pulls and cable face pulls.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 2 Squat 15th August 2013

Rolling: Lower body, Back, lats

Pre-workout mob

Squat
Bar * 10, 10
60kg * 10
100 * 5
110 * 3
123 * 3
133 * 8 * 2
133 * 15
Squats were pretty shag today. Still feels rather tight on the right psoas. No lower back pain. Stopped the set before my lower back pain started creeping in.

Front squat
60 * 5
100 * 5 * 3
All front squats were paused. Still trying to learn how to load my quads more for the FS. Getting more comfortable with the clean racking. (y)

GHR
5 sets of 10

Single arm lat pulldown
5 sets of 10
Supersetted GHR and pulldowns. Virtually no rest.

GHR abs
35ib plate * 12 * 3

Pretty happy overall with the front squat progress. Think I'm starting to figure out the groove for it. Probably will front squat on sat as well. Other than that, so so session. Felt really tired today for some reason. Had slight food poisoning in the morning,i think from eating not so fresh eggs the night before.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 1 Press 13th August 2013

Upper body band warmup

Press
Bar * alot
40kg * 10
50 * 8
60 * 8 * 4
60 * 25/9/6

Close grip bench
60 * 5
100 * 5 * 4
100 * 10/4/2

Chest flies
22.5 * 12 * 3

Lying DB extension
17.5 * 10 * 2
15 * 10

Standing overhead DB extension
12.5 * 15 * 3

Shrugs
100 * 20 * 2

Rear delt flyes
47 * 25 * 3

GHR abs
15kg plate * 12 * 3

All sets of pressing were done supersetted with a set of 25 banded face pulls. For the tricep work, I supersetted the dumbbell work with banded pushdowns in between. Shrugs were done strapless, and held for a second count at the the peak contraction. Figured I should put in more high rep shrugs, since I don't really need much bigger traps since they grow pretty easily compared to the rest of the body. Need to get my grip up though. Decided to switch wide grip paused bench for close grip because my left AC joint is feeling alittle stuck and uncooperative. Probably will cycle this movement back in on the next wave.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 1 Deadlift 12th August 2013

Dynamic Warm up

Program:

Deadlift 

60kg * 8

100 * 8

142.5 * 8 * 5

GHR

10kg plate * 5 * 4

Lat pulldown

95 * 12 * 4

GHR abs

3 sets of 20

Super quick and short session today, barely 35 mins cos I was pretty packed today, BUT the high rep deadlifts made it INTENSE. All the sets were done conventional, because fuck sumo/hybrid that's why. haha Grip failed me halfway through the 3rd set, so switched from double overhand to my comp grip. Think I should include high rep/heavy shrugs so I can train the grip up more. Decided to hit the GHR instead of snatchgrip deads, cos my lower back was feeling very weird today, and my right ham felt a little strain from the 5th set of deads. Nothing serious though. 

Random weakness day 10th August 2013

Lower body mobility drills

Front Squat
Bar * 5
60kg * 5
80 * 5
100 * 5 * 5
110 * 3
120 * 3
130 * 1
140 * 1

Standing DB curls
Shitload of warm up sets, think I started from 7.5kg and went up in 2.5 increments, ending up at 20
20 * 10 * 2

Single arm Barbell preacher curl
3 sets of 20, can't remember the weight

Hammer curls
20 * 10 * 3

GHR abs
3 sets of 20

Pretty random day. Was supposed to do arm training, but went in and decided to condition myself to front squats with the clean racking position. Ended up testing the max to a technical failure. Upper back started rounding at 140kg, so stopped there. Still tend to try and sit back too much. Will work on that. Moved on to bizeps work after that. All sets were supersetted with band face pulls, just to get in some extra work for my rear delts and upper shelf. Nothing very exciting tbh, but still happy with the front squats, cos the racking is starting to feel more comfortable.

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 1 (BIRTHDAY) Bench 9th August 2013

Banded Upper body Warm up

Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 10
85 * 8, 8, 10, 8, 20/12/5
Rest time was about a minute. Trained as SSC, so had to keep the pace fast. Happy with the rest pause set, although I probably might have performed better if I had taken a bit more rest. Starting to get used to keeping my head down when I bench, which is (y)

Incline Bench
60 * 8
90 * 5 * 4
90 * 6/3/1 (LOL)
Rest time was really quick here. (about 30s) cos my training buddy and I decided to do a you go i go rotation haha

Bradford press
40 * 15 * 3
Good shit on the shoulders! Didn't feel as shag as the past three weeks though.. hope that means i'm adapting something fierce!

Lat pulldown
3 sets of 20
Cant remember the weight, but went by feel, Kept these really strict and focused on constant tension on the lats. Even though it was just 3 sets, it really got the lats pumped up.

Machine Shrugs
3 sets of 12
5 secs hold at the top of each rep. Focused on shrugging by keeping my shoulders back to really hit the lower trapezius area. 

Good birthday session! One of the rare occasions training at SSC was so quick!

Juggernaut 8s Wave Week 1 Squat 7th August 2013

Lower body foam roll

Dynamic warm up
Been trying out certain stuff inspired by Bryce Lewis

Program:

Squat
Bar * 10
60kg * 8
100 * 8
120 * 8 * 4
120 * 18
Had about a minute rest in between sets. After the last set, I had a massive headache, probably from dehydration. Had to wait close to 40 mins before it subsided and I could finish the training. Other than that, the squats were alright. Form definitely could have been tighter. Felt a lot of quads cos I kept drifting forward on some of the reps. None of that lower back good morning action though, so thankful for that, AND no lower back pain too. Was aiming for 20 on the last set, but perhaps I didn't take enough rest in between sets.

*40 min break*

Front squat
80 * 5 * 5
With the front squats, I'm still getting used to the front rack, but am very thankful to Abel for converting me to this style of racking the bar. I also tried to just dropping my butt down instead of pushing it back as I'm so used to. Still getting used to front squatting this way, so hope to be moving some real weight in the following weeks as I get more and more accustomed.

GHR
10 sets of 10
Rest time was 40s. Can anyone say hamstring cramp?

Single arm lat pulldown
45 * 10 * 10
Done on one of those cable machines with the pivotal arms. I think it's called a freemotion machine or something. 

GHR abs
25ibs plate * 12 * 3

Not the best training session, but glad to at least have gotten some volume in, and hit a decent last set on my squats. PRs are awesome to have, but keep in mind that there will always be shitty days -those really bad days that can break you if you let it. One training session does not make or break your training. In fact, embracing it is key to understanding what you have to do better next time to improve yourself. I will be stronger next time. If not next time, then the time after next. Whatever it is, never stop, never settle.

6th August 2013 Down with the sickness

...and I don't mean the song by Disturbed. Been having a bad throat infection since last monday and it's remnants are still annoying the shit out of me even today. The good thing was, this week was a deload week anyway, which gave me plenty of excuse to rest. The bad news was i only managed two deload workouts (i can't even call them trainings).

2nd August deload
Squat
100kg * 5 * 5

Front squat
70 * 5 * 5

Bench
60 * 5 * 5

Dips
3 sets of 10

6th August deload
Deadlift
120 * 5 * 5

Press
40 * 5 * 5

Dips
3 sets of 10

GHR abs
3 sets of 15

Pull ups
3 sets of 10

Felt really drained the whole week. Coughed like a mofo and had the voice of a Daft Punk synthesizer. Planning to squat tmr. Certainly looking forward to hitting the weights tmr!

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 3 Press 30th July 2013

Foam roll: Upper body

Warm up: Band pressdowns/Pullaparts/Flyes, 15 reps, 2 rounds

Program:

Press
Bar * 10
30kg * 10
40 * 10
47.5 * 5
57.5 * 3
67.5 * 1
70 * 18 (PR)
Hmmm.. Hit 19 reps on the last set, but the last rep was ugly as fuck so I don't feel like counting it. Still happy with the 18 reps. Maybe my press isn't too bad after all. Having a horrible sore throat and loads of phlegm (good luck with that mental image). Kept coughing in the gym and I imagine all the other users must have been cursing and swearing at me for spreading my germs to their immediate vicinity. 

Wide grip Bench
60 * 10
80 * 10
90 * 8
100 * 6 * 3
Did these controlled and every rep paused on the chest. Hoi Chuen assisted me on the last rep of set 2 and 3. Rest time was a min.

Bradford press
50 * 10 * 3
Last set I rest paused it 6/4. These were killer, 1 min rest time.

Incline DB extension
10 * 10
15 * 10 * 3
Rest time was 1 min. Think my left tricep is starting to fire properly ever since I starting doing more release work on my left trap. Interesting how everything's connected in the body.

Tricep pushdowns
Stack * 10 * 3
Rest time was 1 min.

DB shrugs
25 * 12 * 3
These were done with a 6 sec hold at the contracted position. Supersetted with Band face pulls for 20+ reps. No rest.

GHR abs
10 * 12 * 4
Rest time was 1 min.

Good session! Restoring my faith in my pressing. 

EDIT: Moving the maxes up for each lift based on the number of reps over standard that I performed (won't go into too detailed an explanation here). New working maxes are as follows:

Squat - 183.5kg
Bench - 131kg
Deadlift - 219.8kg
Press - 93.8kg

Looking at the next wave of weights has got me excited!! Deload week next week though. Doing 5 sets of 10 @50% for all the main lifts. Deloading the secondary lifts as well.

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 3 Deadlift 29th July 2013

Foam roll: Lower body

Warm up:

GHR - 3 sets of 8
GHR abs - 3 sets of 15

Program:

Deadlifts
60kg * 5
100 * 5
107.5 * 5
130 * 3
150 * 1
162.5 * 16 (PR?)
The only time I'm every proud to be conventional, is when I deadlift! Think I've sorta got a better feeling with my deads. Minimal lower back action, only towards the last rep, and my hip drive was killing it. Pretty happy with the set since MY LOWER BACK HAS ABSOLUTELY NO PAIN AND WASN'T EVEN PUMPED AFTER! Was feeling really full before deadlifting cos I just ate breakfast with the father, and I was scared I would puke lol Thank god I didn't. Shall work on seeing if a lower hip position will help me drive better. Next week is a deload anyway.

Snatch grip Deads Russie-style
170 * 1 * 3
Slow as fuck off the floor, but full overload on the entire posterior chain. Again, russian style meant that my hip was way higher than my chest. 3 'heavy' singles here. Doing these after all my main deadlift sessions, waving them from 5 * 5 in the first week, to 6 * 3 in the second, to 3 * 1 in the third, then deload and repeat. Wouldn't call this a grind yet though. These were done with straps.

Deadstop rows
100 * 8 * 4
nothing fancy here. rest time about a min.

Lat pulldowns
95 * 8 * 3
These were done with a 2 second contraction at the bottom position. rest time about a min. 

GHR abs
10kg plate * 12 * 4
Abzzzzzz for dayzzzzzz... Rest time bout 45s.

Overall good session, though I went into it feeling pretty crappy from eating so much lol Also felt a little sluggish tbh, but turned out well. Here's a video link! Courtesy of fatboyslimFIT, Sam and his HD camera. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SARlBWzRp0w

P.s: the little tapping on my lower back after the last rep was to indicate to Sam that my lower back was starting to actively come into the movement.

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 3 Bench 26th July 2013

Roll: Upper body

Warm up: Band pressdowns/pullaparts/flyes, 15 reps, 3 rounds

Program:

Bench
Bar * a billion
60kg * 10
66 * 5
80 * 3
93 * 1
100 * 16
Previous record was actually 100kg for 21 reps, but I think that was a pretty shit set with a lot of bouncing. This time it was fast yet more controlled, so happy with that. Still was expecting at least 18 but am happy with this! This was easily an all out effort though (maybe could have grinded out one more).

High incline bench
60 * 10 for 10 sets
Decided to do high incline benching instead of wide grip benching, and get more volume in to strengthen my shoulders and upper pec area. Paused the last few reps. Rest time was about 1 min.

Klokov presses
40 * 6 for 5 sets
Still relatively new to this movement, so need to start light and get the technique right. Rest time about 1.5 mins, didn't really measure. Focused on pressing apart rather than just up.

Rolling Tricep extensions
10 * 10
14 * 10 for 6 sets
Done one arm at a time.

Rope pushdowns
3 sets of AMRAP

Band pulldowns
4 sets of 25 with a large band

GHR abs
4 sets of 20, BW

Was originally disappointed with the benching performance, till I realized that it's actually a PR because the benching was way more legit than the previous time i did 100 for reps. I think the first wave has been decent so far, and the lower intensity is just what I need coming off the meet. Shall see how the next two trainings go. Probably not doing any arm work tmr since I have my whole day packed. Firmed up the template for my trainings too, as follows:

Squat day:
Squat
Squat variation
2 exercises for hamstrings
1 exercise for quads
Core work

Bench day:
Bench
Press Variation
1 - 2 exercise for Shoulders/chest
2 exercises for triceps
1 exercise for back
Core work

Deadlift day:
Deadlift
Deadlift variation
2 back exercises
Core work

Press day:
Press
Bench variation
1 - 2 exercises for shoulders/chest
2 exercises for triceps
1 trap exercise
Core work

Juggernaut 10s wave Week 3 Squat 25th July 2013

Roll: lower body

Warm up:

GHR
3 sets of 8
GHR abs
3 sets of 15

Program:

Squats
Bar * 10
60kg * 10
90 * 5
107.5 * 3
127.5 * 1
135 * 15
Pretty happy with the squats today. I think the high rep squatting over the last two weeks has helped strengthen my lower back. Today is the first day in a long while I'm doing "high rep" squats without any lower back pain. The last set was done to technical failure. Anything after that would have been more of a frankenstein squat. The last set wasn't shag and I managed to recover pretty fast too. Only problem now is I keep gearing towards my right as I squat. Something to fix.. Probably tightness in the right psoas.

Front squats
Bar * 6
60 * 6
100 * 6 (too much forward lean)
80 * 6 for 6 sets
roughly 1 min rest time.

GHR
5kg plate * 8 for 6 sets
roughly 1 min rest time.

Seated Ham curl
75 * 8 for 8 sets
roughly 1 min rest time.

Leg extensions
45 * 20 for 3 sets
1 min rest

GHR abs
10kg plate * 12 for 4 sets
roughly 1 min rest

Pallof press
2 sets of 10
3 sec out 3 secs in, 1 min rest

Pretty happy with this session. 

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 2 Press 23rd July 2013

Foam roll: Upper body

Warm up: Band upper body, 3 rounds, 15 reps

Program:

Press
Bar * 10, 10
40 * 10
45 * 5
50 * 5
55 * 5
60 * 23 (PR)
Hit a PR on the press and was pretty happy with it. Semi-paused each rep and had about 2- 3 reps left in tank. Maybe my pressing strength is starting to return. Shoulders and elbow felt good after the foam rolling and mobility. Rest time was pretty short (30s - 1 min)

Incline bench
60 * 10
80 * 10
90 * 6, 6, 6, 6, 9
Rest time was 45s.

Bradford press
40 * 10, 10, 12
Push pressed the last 3 reps of the last set. Rest time 45s.

GHR abs
5kg plate * 12, 12, 12
Rest time was 20s. These were tougher than I imagined. 

Pallof Press
8 * 10, 10
Done slow and controlled, 3 secs in and 3 secs out.  These were tough too, which indicates my weak anti-rotational core strength. Rest time was 20s. Decided to add these in cos I realized I've been neglecting this aspect of my core.

Juggernaut 10s wave Week 2 Deadlift 22nd July 2013

Foam roll: lower body

Warm up:

Pull ups
3 sets of 8

GHR
3 sets of 8

GHR abs
3 sets of 15

Program:

Deadlifts
60kg * 10
100 * 5
120 * 5
135 * 5
145 * 17
Weights are really light for the 10s wave, but experience tells me that high rep deadlifts beyond 20 do nothing for me but reinforce bad technique, so didn't push it. Practised bracing my lats to keep the bar closer to me and take the direct stress off the lower back. Wanted to stop at 15, but did two more since the form still hadn't broken down yet. This is a PR (since it was done deadstop), though not a particularly spectacular one. Still, it felt like cardio and i was breathing quite a bit after. Did all warm up sets DOH. The last set first 7 were DOH, then the 8 after was mixed.

Snatch Grip Stiff legged dead (aka SG Stiffies)
160 * 3, 3, 3
Done with straps. Was going for 6 sets of 3, but the straps snapped on the 4th set. Hence I changed it to...

Russian Deadlifts
160 * 3, 3, 3
Done with a hook grip for first 2 sets, then a mixed grip for the last set. For both this and the snatch grip deads, the hips were kept higher than the chest at set up, and the pull off the floor was eased into. Legs were kept relatively straight, but the focus wasn't on the straightening of the legs, but the feel of the hamstrings and the position of the hip to the chest. 

Deadstop Rows
100 * 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

GHR abs
10kg plate * 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Decent session.

Arms 20th July 2013

Foam roll: Upper body

Warm up: Upper body band warm up, 2 rounds

Program:

Rope pushdowns
4 sets of 15
45 secs rest. 31X1 tempo.

Close grip bench (pause 1 inch above chest)
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 10
80 * 10
100 * 10
110 *  8, 8
80 * 15/6/3
Had to use wraps cos my wrist was hurting slightly.
 
Lying DB extension
10 * 15, 15, 14, 13, 12, 12
Tempo was 21X1. Rest time was 1 min.

Overhead DB extension
7.5 * 25, 25, 25
Really pussy weight, but I wanted to go slower and get the mind muscle connection with the tricep, so had to lighten the weight up.

Fat grip DB curls
10 * 12
12.5 * 12, 12, 12
tempo was 5111. Really killed my biceps with these haha

Single arm barbell preacher curl
21 * 12, 12, 10
tempo was 4111. shag

Single Arm hammers
40 * 8
30 * 8
20 * 20
Haven't done heavy hammers in a while haha

GHR abs
5 * 12, 12, 12, 12

I can't seem to get the mind muscle connection with my arms very well. Need to work on that.

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 2 Bench 19th July 2013

Foam roll: Upper body

Warm up: band pressdowns/flyes/pullaparts, 15 reps, 2 rounds, no rest

GHR
BW * 8, 8, 8

GHR abs
BW * 15, 15, 15

Program:

Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 10
65 * 5
75 * 5
85 * 5
90 * 15
Paused last few reps on the chest, but was a relaxed pause. 

Wide Grip Bench
70 * 8, 8, 8
Paused on chest each rep. Rest time 1 min.

Incline DB press
35 * 10, 10, 8
Rest time 1 min. I've changed my style of DB pressing, making it more legit, going deeper such that the DBs come really close to the chest/delt tie in. Get more chest stimulation that way.

Machine Row
55 * 10
65 * 10, 10, 10
Rest time 1 min. Constant tension.

Lat pulldowns
115 * 10
105 * 10, 10
Rest time 1 min. Form on the 115 was crap, so decided to lighten up abit and focus on holding the contraction as much as I could. 

Face pull
3 sets of 30

Overall decent session. Nothing spectacular though.
 

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 2 Squat 18th July 2013

Mobility: Lower body + extra time on shoulder, trap and calves

Program:

Squat
Bar * 10, 10, 10
60kg * 10
100 * 5
112.5 * 5
122.5 * 20
120 * 3 (paused 8 seconds)

GHR
5kg plate * 10, 6, 6, 6, 6
Rest time was 1 min.

Seated Leg curl
75 * 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Rest time was 45s.

GHR abs
5kg plate * 12, 12, 12, 12
Rest time was 1 min.

Had to cut short my session due to a sudden change in schedule, so didn't get much assistance work in. Squats were alright. The high rep set felt pretty good, but I was a little gassed after. I was feeling rather bloated from breakfast/brunch, so was just praying that I wouldn't puke after the squats, which I didn't thankfully. Decided to do one set of long pauses for pause squats just to ease myself back into it. Actually felt comfortable pausing it in the hole. I held the position just below parallel for the pauses.

Just a little concern, although it come pretty early since it's only the second week of the program; not feeling some heavy weight on my back feels kinda weird and worrying. However, I'm sorta taking this first phase as a deload to sorta recover from the meet. Shall continue and hope that this stretched out linear periodization works. cross fingers

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 1 Press 16th July 2013

Foam roll: upper body + extra time on traps

Mobility: shoulder dislocates

Warm up: Band pull aparts/pressdowns/flyes, 3 rounds, 15 reps, no rest

Program:

Press
Bar * 10
40 * 10
50 * 10
57 * 10, 10, 10, 10, 15
Rest time was 45s. Shagggged. Need to do much more pressing to improve my pressing strength. Realized I have almost zero pressing in the past 2 months, mostly due to the elbow tendonitis. 

High incline bench
70 * 10
80 * 8, 8, 8, 8, 8/4/3
Rest time was 1 min plus, closer to 2 mins before the final set. Rest paused the last. Also played around with grip width. Last set was done with a regular grip.

Bradford press
Bar * 12
30 * 12, 12, 12
These were done really slow and continuous. Massive tension on the delts.

Standing overhead DB extension
15 * 10, 10, 10
Rest time was 1 min.

Lying Kettlebell extensions
8 * 15
12 * 15, 15, 15
Rest time was 1 min.

GHR abs
3 sets of 15 

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 1 Deadlift 15th July 2013

Foam roll: lower body + extra time on glutes

Warm up: Pullups/GHR/GHR abs, 12 reps, 2 rounds, no rest

Program:

Deadlift
60kg * 10
100 * 10
130 * 10, 10 (conventional stance)
130 * 10, 10 (hybrid stance)
130 * 10 (sumo)
 Played around with the stances today since the intensity was light. Still, these high rep deads really kicked my ass; much harder than I thought they'd be. Hybrid stance is sort of having my hands just inside of my thighs at the lockout, so the foot placing is not as wide as sumo. Off the floor it felt the same as conventional, but at the top, it allowed me to bring my hip in faster and easier than regular conventional. Might consider playing around with this stance abit more to see if it really works, since the weight was light anyway, so any stance would work. Still pretty set on pulling conventional cos REAL MEN DON'T OPEN THEIR LEGS TO DEADLIFT! hahahaha Did the first 3.5 sets DOH, but switched to mixed when my grip started giving way. Unlike the past two training days, I couldn't take short rests between the sets (took about 2 mins between sets). Last set of sumo was really easy, and I could sit better and get my hip down at setup, despite not doing any sumo work since the last deadmeet. Maybe it's the improved hip mobility... hmmmm To be honest I was gassed to hell after the deadlifts, and didn't feel like doing any accessories, but I knew I'd never forgive myself for being lazy, so......

Snatch grip Stiff legged deadlifts AKA Snatch grip russian deadlifts AKA Badass Klovkov Deadlifts
150 * 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Snatch grip, stiff legged (but with straps). Nothing much to say except that these were a bitch to do after the 5 sets of 10. By the time I finished this, I figured that would be enough for the day. So I did back extensions and Weighted ab work.

Back Extensions
3 sets of 20
3111 tempo. Bodyweight only, but my lower back was already nice and crispy.

GHR abs 
5kg * 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
Yes that is a 5kg plate. KAIZEN PRINCIPLE BITCHES.

Stretch and nomz. I think I should start recording my trainings, a la mr fat boy fit himself (sam).. but I don't have a good camera. :(

calves + arms 13th July 2013

warm up: upper body + roll calves

single leg standing calf raise
BW * 12, 12, 12
Tempo was 32X2.

Seated calf raise
105 * 20, 20, 20
Tempo was 31X1.

A1: Rope pushdowns
16/21/23/23 * 15
A2: fat grip BB curl
bar/30/40/40 * 10
A1 & A2 were supersetted. tempo for both was 41X1.

B1: lying BB extensions to forehead
30/40/40/40 * 12
B2: incline DB curl (fat grip)
10 * 12, 12, 10, 10
B1 & B2 were supersetted. tempo for both was 41X1.

C1: close grip bench
60 * 15
70 * 12
80 * 10
C2: preacher DB curl fat grip
10 * 10, 10, 11
C1 & C2 were supersetted. tempo for both was 41X1.

D1: straight bar pushdowns
stack * 10, 10
D2: hanmer curls
15 * 10, 10
D1 & D2 were supersetted. tempo for both was 41X1.

GHR abs
BW * 15, 15, 15
Supersetted with band pressdowns.

Decided to play around with tempo. some really killer shit. so many times during the sets i wanted to rush them, but thankfully i didn't give in. weights may have been light, but the incorporation of the tempo made it that much more difficult. Good stuff! minimal rest between sets as well, i just went from exercise to exercise, set to set.

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 1 Bench 12th July 2013

Foam roll: Back, lats, shoulders, chest, traps

Warm ups: Band flyes/pushdowns/pullaparts/upright rows, 15 reps, 2 rounds, no rest

Program:

Bench
Bar * 10
40kg * 10
60 * 10
75 * 10, 10, 10, 10, 15(yes my benching really is shit lol)
Really worked on keeping my head to the bench. What a foreign feeling. Weight was light enough for me to take 45s rests in between. Rested slightly longer before the last set, yet only managed 15 easy reps; anything after would have been slow and ugly. I also paused the last 2 or 3 reps of every set on my chest just to look badass (but actually I was secretly just catching my breath lol).

Wide grip paused bench (5s)
60 * 8, 8, 8
Tried to control the descent and not let these drop onto my chest too fast. Paused them for 5 seconds and really felt the stretch in the pecs and shoulders. Good shit. Rest time was 1 min.

Incline DB
30 * 15, 15, 10/5
Getting better? Still sucks though lol By now I actually had a chest pump going O_o Rest time was roughly a min.

Lat pulldowns
85 * 20, 20, 20, 20
Rest time was 1 min between. Biceps and forearms were a little shagged around the 3rd and 4th set.

GHR abs
BW * 15, 15, 15
Rest time was 1 min.

Putting 'Juggernaut' in the post titles makes me feel like a beast!.....then I look in the mirror :( hahaha

Juggernaut 10s Wave Week 1 Squat 11th July 2013

Foam roll: IT bands, quads, Glutes, hams, calves, lower back

Warmups:

GHR
BW * 8, 8, 8

Pull ups
BW * 10, 10, 10

Lunges
BW * 10, 10, 10

Hydrants
each side 10 reps, 3 rounds

Program:

Squats
Bar * million
60kg * 10
102.5 * 10, 10, 10, 10, 37(PR)
Squats were alright. Felt a little tight in the right hip flexor, but nothing really serious. Weight was light so decided to test myself on the last set. The program states to leave a couple reps in the tank, so didn't go all out. My lower back was just about starting to give way, so I stopped. Quads were on fire though, but the funny thing is, despite the lactic acid pain, as long as you keep pushing, the quads will keep up. Thank god I didn't cramp up after. Finished the first 4 sets in about 2.5 songs (~7.5 mins?), and took a 3 min rest before the last set. I must have laid on the floor for 15 mins after though haha

GHR
2.5kg * 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Yes it is a 2.5kg plate. Dat dere progressive overload and kaizen principle. HAHA Felt good though, hamstrings were cooperating yay! Rest time was about a min.

Good mornings
60 * 10, 10, 10
Tempo was 41X0. Rest time 1 min.

Leg curls
65 * 10, 10, 10
Tempo was 41X0. Rest time 1 min.

Leg Extensions
45 * 15, 15, 15 
Tempo was 41X0. Rest time 1 min.

GHR abs
BW * 15, 15, 15
Rest time was 45s.

Since this week is relative light, I decided to play around with the tempos. Pretty killer! But good shit!

Singapore Powerlifting 2013 (7th July)

SPO 2013 was quite the experience.

Overall, I felt really slow on everything. My acceleration was really bad on all my lifts and I put in just enough effort to get the weights through the sticking points. I find that I sort of get lazy as I push, so acceleration is one thing I really have to work on in my training.

Squats
I am glad squatting deep in training has paid off. Like I said though, my squats were slower than I'd have liked. Reviewing both 180kg and 190kg videos, I realize that I really do slow down too much mid way (ie. the getting lazy as I push). Shall work on the constant acceleration through the lift. Also shall do more rep work for squatting. I feel like squatting requires more volume for it to grow.

Bench
Bench was where everything really got downhill. Really my fault for not checking and confirming bench rules until 3 weeks before the com. Was really not used to the benching style required in the comp. Good experience though, cos now I know to keep my head to the bench when I train it. Kinda sad that my bench meet PR is only 130kg. My elbow tendonitis is much better now though, so I can finally get back to some heavy tricep training. Lower back was really painful in the set up though, and really took away from the energy I had for the lift itself. Have to keep working on reliving the tightness and continue strengthening my lower back.

Deadlift
Deadlift was shit lol Set up was rushed and I was using my lower back to muscle the weights up. Lower back was already hurting like a bitch by then, not to mention the whole sprinting incident before my 1st attempt. Started hitching the 2nd attempt, so just dropped it instead. This was my most disappointing lift. 

In general, I also realized that my posterior chain felt weaker than usual, especially my hamstrings. I suspect it's because of the lack of GHRs in my training. This is the second time that, after cutting GHRs from regular training, my lifts feel less powerful, most prominently my squats of the hole. Shall definitely start doing them as part of my warm up again, and as a progressively weighted movment. Shall set a short term goal to do 10 reps with a 20kg.

Plan now is to run the juggernaut training template and see how that goes.
Mon - deadlift
Tues - press
Wed - off
Thurs - Squat
Fri - Bench
Sat - Arms
Sun - Off
Yes I decided to add in an arms day because I want big arms. 
 On the nutrition side, gonna set my macros for training and non training days as such (C/P/F):

Training - 400/330/100
Non-training - 60/350/150

Using the myfitnesspal app to track in case anyone is interested lol.
 
Looking to put on some muscle this training cycle. Not really gonna worry much about actual weight, and see where these macros take me. My diet has been shit for far too long, no better time to fix it up than now.

That's about it! Time to get stronger!

Cube Week 9 bodybuilding day 29th June 2013

Foam roll: Upper body

Warm up: Band flyes/pressdowns/pullaparts, 2 rounds, 15 reps

Bench

Bar * 10

40kg * 10

60 * 5

80 * 5

100 * 5

120 * 1

130 * 2

Paused Wide Grip Bench presses

82.5 * 10, 10

Military press

40 * 10, 10

60 * 10, 15

Seated laterals

20 * 10 for 5 sets

Front raises

10 * 10, 15

Incline DB flyes

10 * 25, 25

BB shrugs superset with Rear lateral machine

3 sets, 12 reps each, 5 second holds

Lat pulldown

105 * 10 for 4 sets

Over DB extension

17.5 * 10 for 3 sets

These were supersetted with band pressdowns (large) for AMRAP.

All accessories were 1 min rest.

Last sesh before meet day, and feeling good about bench. Hit the opener for an easy double that was paused on both reps. The rest of the accessories were all mostly light pump up stuff. Did some heavy laterals cos I haven't done them in a while and today felt good. 

The whole cube cycle has been tremendous, and I must say that I really enjoy the volume put in, especially the high rep squat sets. It reminded me again how hard I have to train and brought me out of my comfort zone. Despite the injuries, I could still work around them and stick to the program as much as possible, and it really taught me auto-regulation, despite the structured approach. Hopefully, I'll see the results of the cycle next week! Can't wait for the meet! Time to rest and recover!

Cube Week 9 Squat reps 28th June 2013

Foam roll: Lower back, back, lower body
Warm up: Band GMs/walking lunges/band abductors and adductors, 15 reps, 2 rounds, no rest

Squat
Bar * 10, 10
60kg * 8, 8
100 * 5
140 * 3
162.5 * 2 for 8 sets
170 * 2
180 * 1 (RPE 8)

SSB Good morning
70 * 12 for 3 sets

Front Squat
100 * 5, 5
60 * 25

Banded leg curls (med band)
2 sets of 50

Hit my opener for squat and it went up pretty easy. Feeling good about squats. Lower back pain was at a high though (8.5), so I kept the training short. Time to bust the foam roller into overtime!!

Cube Week 9 Bench Explosive 26th June 2013

Warm up: DB tricep extensions, DB flyes, DB upright rows

Bench
Bar * 10, 10
60kg * 6
80 * 5
100 * 3
120 * 2 for 5 sets
*add slingshot*
130 * 1
140 * 2
150 * 1
140 * 3

Slingshot was fun to use, just it was too small for me so getting in took quite a bit of effort. Also, couldn't really set up well with the slingshot on, so set up was pretty loose and i had no leg drive at all. Speed sets were good, and I think the new bench groove and feet placement are working well. 

Wide grip paused bench
80 * 10, 10

Side laterals
10 * 20, 20

DB press (seated without back support)
20 * 20, 20

Tricep overhead extensions
15 * 15, 15

Lying tricep extensions
12.5 * 12, 10

All accessory work was done with minimal rest, and controlled tempos.

Got to train with Zenn today, so that was really cool. He let me have a go at his slingshot, which I thought was really nice of him. I'm definitely going to order one! Accessory was kept short and fast, I think the entire training from the first warm up bench set to the end was barely an hour. Dennisgym was pretty crowded and there was a little hiccup with the entrance timing and all, but nothing really major. Back pain was relatively moderate (6/10). Tried to get an arch with the bench set up, which seems to be working well now, just that i have to put up with the lower back discomfort. Elbow pain was minimal, more a dull ache than anything (1.5/10). Decent session! One more bench session this coming saturday before I rest up for the meet on the 7th! 

Cube Week 9 Deadlift Heavy 24th June 2013

Deadlift
60kg * 5
100 * 5
140 * 3
160 * 1
180 * 1
200 * 8

Squats
140 * 5
150 * 2 for 8 sets

BB Rows
100 * 10 for 3 sets

Lat pulldowns
5 sets of 10 with the stack

DB shrugs (fat grips)
20 * 12 for 3 sets
Each rep held for 5 secs at the contracted position.

Back extensions
one set of 60 reps

Hanging leg raises
2 sets of 12

Hamstring curls
2 sets of 20

Trained at SSC today. Stupid lady trainer at the gym was really annoying, as she kept coming to ask me to stop letting the weight down so heavily. I think i probably had a rep or two more in the tank for my deadlift work set, but I was controlling the eccentric cos she was standing there telling me to lower the weights lighter with each set! While I was doing my set!! Gosh, the stupidity of some ppl... Anyway, still happy with the 200kg * 8. Accordingly, that puts my est max at 253kg? Hopefully resting up for the next 13 days till the meet will help. Lower back is very tight, but pain is not so acute (4.5/10) guess from now till the comp I have to be diligent in my rolling sessions. Did speed squats after that. Was pretty fast out of the hole, but tends to slow down half way up. Still, weight felt light on the back so happy with that. Managed the lower back tightness as best I could, and no increase in pain even after the squats. Also really happy with my straight set of 60 reps on the back extension. First time I can actually do that with minimal pain! Rest of the accessories were pretty standard, rest time was short cos it was i go u go with my training partners. Overall good session, prob would have been better without the retarded woman, but I feel like I've redeemed myself from sat's crap sesh.

Cube Week 8 Bodybuilding day 23rd June 2013

Standard Band warm up

Wide Grip Cable rows superset with Close grip decline Machine press
5 sets of 12 reps each, 60 - 90s rest, both done with 21X2 tempo

V-bad lat pulldown superset with Close grip decline Machine press
5 sets of 12 reps each, 60 - 90s rest, both done with 21X2 tempo

Tricep pushdowns superset with Preacher cable curls
3 sets of 12 reps each, 60s rest, both done with 21X2 tempo

Lying cable tricep extensions superset with Standing Barbell curls
2 sets of 12 reps each, 60s rest, Triceps done with 21X2 tempo, curls done with 41X2 tempo

Trained at the condo gym today, so since the intensity wasn't high, I decided to play around with the tempo and focus on muscular contraction and control instead. Afterall, it is bodybuilding day isn't it? haha Haven't trained like this for a while, hopefully I'm not too sore tmr. Short and effective session, rest times seemed way too short. Probably need to improve my conditioning. Lower back still being a bitch constant 5/10 pain throughout the day.. Gotta pull tmr morning so rolling the shit out of it now.

Cube Week 8 Squats 'Heavy' 22th June 2013

Foam roll: lower back

Squats
Bar * a million
60kg * 10
100 * 5
120 * 5
140 * 1
160 * 1, 1
140 * countless singles
140 * 3 (paused 2 secs)
Lower back was really tight and horrible today. My hips kept shifting and I didn't feel good so decided to remain conservative. Figured getting injured now would be way worse. Tried to fix the hip shifting problem, so lowered the weight. Lower back pain was a 5/10 when I started, but by the time I finished squatting, it was close to a 7/10.

Good mornings
100 * 8 for 3 sets
Kept the weight moderate for the GMs. Somehow, I didn't really feel much of a strain on my lower back when I did these. 

Leg press
3 sets of 20
The leg presses really put a strain on my lower back! By the time I was done with the 3 sets, the pain was around a 8.5/10.  I couldn't even do the lunges after. 

Back extensions
2 sets of 10, 1 set of 20
Did the 45 deg back extensions, so the strain on the lower back was not as intense. Pain was pretty bad at this point.

Leg curl machine (seated)
2 sets of 50
These were alright.

Very bad session. My lower back still feels incredibly tight and painful now as I sit, and I have to shift around to alleviate the pain. Am trying to figure out how to handle this at the moment, been just stretching and rolling on a softball about 5 times now since I've been back. Think I need to make an appointment with the sinseh again soon.