Cube Week 1 Deadlift Reps 29th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, Lower back, IT bands, Quads
Hip distractions 2 sets each leg
Warm up: Band Good mornings/Walking lunges/band abductors/band adductors, 2 rounds, 15 reps, no rest

1 inch Deficit Deadlifts
87.5kg * 5
110 * 5
130 * 3
152.5 * 8 for 3 sets

4 inch block pulls
172.5 * 3 for 2 sets

SSB Squats
95 * 8 for 3 sets

GHR
BW * 10 for 4 sets

Back extension
BW * 10, 20, 20

Good training. First day of the cube and i really enjoyed it. Only complaint is the SSB squats should be heavier. I will probably increase the weight the next time. Rolled and stretched a shit load after that, with come direction from Cheryl.

Big Meat 27th April 2013

Squat - 180kg
Bench - 142.5kg
Deadlift - 227.5kg

Missed my opener of 180kg and I guess that really messed me up mentally. 200kg felt light on the shoulders, but I got stuck halfway up out of the hole.

Bench was rather shit too, grinding through the elbow pain.

Deadlift was crap as well. Pulled my lower back on 235kg.

However, as crappy as the performance was, it was a good learning experience. Incidentally, I weighed  in at my lightest weight in the past half year ~ 97.5kg. All the fever and diarrhea really lightened me up haha.  Anyway, on to the cube (starting monday). Targets by the meet will be a 220kg squat, 145kg bench and a 250kg deadlift. Meanwhile, I think I need to incorporate a more comprehensive mobility drill.

Hope my back heals by monday. Time. To. Get. Stronger.

Deload session 25th April

Foam rolling: Back, IT Band, Quads, Lower back, chest, shoulders

Squat
70kg * 5
90 * 5
110 * 5

Deadlift
70 * 5
100 * 5
130 * 5

Bench
60 * 5
70 * 5
80 * 5

Lat pulldown
65 * 20 for 3 sets

Seated Lateral raises
10 * 15  for 3 sets

Band tricep pushdowns
4 sets of 30

Band curls
4 sets of 30

Lower body 23rd April 2013

Foam roll: Back, IT band, Hams, Quads, Lower back

Lat pulldown
3 sets of 15

GHR
3 sets of 10

45 deg Back Extensions
3 sets of 20

Leg press
3 sets of 15

Reverse hypshers
3 sets of 15

GHR crunches
3 sets of 20

Band pushdowns
4 sets of 25

Band curls
4 sets of 25

Fell sick on sunday and had a fever, which escalated to a high of 38.7 deg monday night. Luckily, it came down and the headache subdued enough for me to get in a little recovery workout. Might squat and deadlift super light on thursday. Hopefully will be fully recovered by then. Was planning to get in a little more food and sleep over the week in order to be well recovered for sat, but falling sick put a wrench in my food plans. Barely ate on sunday and monday. Hopefully I recover fully by saturday.

DE Upper 20th April 2013

Foam rolling: back/chest/shoulders
Elbow distractions: 4 sets
Warm up: Lat pulldown/klokov press/face pulls/GHR crunches, 3 rounds, 10 to 20 reps, no rest

Bench
112.5kg * 3 for 3 sets (80%)
115 * 3 for 3 sets (82%)

127.5 * 1 (91%) (paused 2 secs)
Bench technique tightening up. Getting my set up much faster. Slightly more elbow pain than before. Hopefully it'll clear up in time.

Lat pulldowns
75 * 25 for 4 sets
1 sec pause at the bottom. rest time 1 min.

V-bar Band pulldowns (large band)
3 sets of 20
1 sec pause at the bottom. rest time 1 min.

Seated Laterals
20 * 12 for 3 sets
1 min rest. Slow negatives

Seated BB presses
40 * 30 for 2 sets
These were done just short of lockout and with control. Really burned up my shoulders. Haven't had such a pump from pressing in a while.

Tricep cable overhead extension
3 sets of 12
Can't remember the weight, but these were done with a hard contraction at the top such that by the 12th rep, it was burning up. One of only a select few tricep exercises I currently can do with minimal elbow pain.

Tricep pushdown with a band (med band)
1 rest pause set of 100
Don't remember how many sets it took me to hit 100 reps, but this was MUCH tougher than I thought it'd be.

DE Lower 19th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, hams, IT band, Quads(these were very tight)
Hip distractions: 2 sets each
Warm up: Machine row/GHR/Hanging leg raises, 3 rounds, 10 reps, no rest

Squat
140kg * 2 for 4 sets (76%)
145 * 2 for 4 sets (78%)
Dialing in technique. Weights feel really light and good. Everything seems on course.

Paused Squats
140 * 3 for 2 sets
each pause was 3 secs. The 'paused squat theory of relativity' - The speed of which time passes is inversely correlated with the weight held in the bottom position of the squat.

Deadlifts
150 * 2 for 4 sets
Nice and fast.

GHR
20kg plate * 4
20 * 4 - BW * 10 (dropset)
Starting to bring up the weight for GHRs. 

GHR crunches
BW * 20 for 3 sets
These were done on the GHR. Focus was on constant tension on the abdominals. Rest time was 1 min.

45 deg Back extensions
BW * 20 for 2 sets
Getting some blood into the lower back. Rest time was 1 min.

Pretty good workout. Everything feels light and moves easily. Looking forward to the mock meet!

Mock Meet Targets
Squat - 200kg
Bench - 142.5kg
Deadlift - 235kg

ME Upper Body 17th April 2013

Foam rolling: Back, chest, shoulders
Shoulder distractions: 1 set, 2 mins
Elbow distractions: 4 sets

Warmup: Lat pulldown/klokov press/face pull/toes to bar, 3 rounds, 8 - 15 reps, no rest


Bench (1 board and 2 board)
40kg * 5
60 * 5
80 * 3
100 * 2
*Add 1 board*
100 * 1
120 * 1
140 * 1, 3(PR)
*Add 2 board*
142.5 * 1
145 * 1
All board presses were done with a pause on the board. Glad for the PR even though my elbow was feeling crap today despite the distractions. Did 4 reps for the top set on the 1 board, but Weiquan assisted on the 4th rep too early. Felt like I could have strained that one out. Still glad for the PR though, previous one was 140 * 2, and I remember grinding out the 2nd rep like a mofo. Switched to a 2 board just to get some heavy singles in, since after this session, bench work will be light up till the minimeet. Paused for a second on the board. Lockout for the 145 was clean and smooth, but still too slow for comfort. 

Lying DB tricep extension
15 * 10 for 2 sets
Did these controlled but it bothered my elbow too much after the 2nd set, that I decided to head over to the bench and do some BB extensions instead.

Skull crushers
40 * 20 for 3 sets
For some reason, this is one of only two extension movements that don't make my elbow hurt. Rest time was about 1 min.

Seated Lateral raises
10 * 30 for 3 sets
Done with a controlled negative, and constant tension on the delt. Burned like hell. Rest time 90sec in between.

Lat pulldown (leaning in)
75 * 20 for 3 sets
Did these sort of leaning in, with my legs trailing behind me so I wasn't sitting on the seat. This really made my entire lat and upper back area fire up as I couldn't use the legs to cheat the weight up. Rest time was 1 min. 

Shrugs
100 * 15
130 * 15
160 * 15
180 * 10
200 * 10
Used straps from 130kg onwards, as my grip was giving way. Haven't done some straight on trap work like that so kinda refreshing haha Rest time was roughly a minute.

Rear delts machine
75 * 15 for 3 sets
Rest time 1 min.

Incline DB curls
10 * 15
12.5 * 10, 10-8-6
By this time I was running out of energy, but I promised myself I'd do some bicep work today. So here it is lol Negatives were slow and controlled. Even though it was only 3 sets, my arms felt pumped (kinda ashamed to use such douchey terms)

ME Lower Body 15th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, Hams, IT Band, Quads
Hip distractions: 2 sets, 2 mins
Warm up: Lat pulldown/GHR/Standing Ab crunch, 3 rounds, 8 - 15 reps, no rest

Squat
100kg * 5
120 * 3
140 * 1
162.5 * 1 (88%)
170 * 1 (92%)
175 * 1 (95%)
180 * 1 (97%)
All percentages are calculated upon a 185kg max. Starting to get the hang of the tweaks i made to technique. Brought my feet in slightly closer, allowed a little forward drift to prevent excessive forward lean, and focused on bringing the hips under the bar on the way up. 170kg moved rather slow, but I felt ALOT of forward drift on it, so it almost felt like I was leg pressing the weight up. However, 175 and 180 moved really fast, and I exploded out of the hole even faster than I imagined. 180 felt more like 90% rather than 97%, which hypothetically means that 200kg might be in the bag. This is the final 'heavy' squat session, so after friday's DE session, next week will have no weights above 70%. Lower back gets pumped up way too quickly though, so just something to note and have to plan my warm ups accordingly. Hopefully more heavy lower back work will strengthen it up.

SSB Squats
120 * 8 for 3 sets
Each rep was done with a semi-pause in the bottom position, and a concious arching and head drive backwards out of the hole. Rest time was 2 mins between sets.

SSB Good mornings
80 * 5 for 3 sets
Each rep was paused in the bottom position. Lower back was conciously rounded at the bottom and flexed to bring the weight back up. Lower back was super pumped after. Rest time was 2 mins between sets.

GHR
10kg plate * 6 for 2 sets
Rest time was 1 min.

Toes to Bar
BW *10 for 3 sets
I think I will swap this into the warmup instead of the standing ab crunches. Left shoulder actually feels abit loose when I hang from the bar. Rest time was 1 min.

Overall good session. (y)

DE Upper 13th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, chest, shoulders, quads

Shoulder distractions: 2 sets 2 mins

Warm up: Machine row/klokov press/face pull/standing ab crunch

Elbow distractions: 4 sets

Bench
110kg * 3 (78%)
112.5 * 3 for 3 sets (80%)
115 * 3 for 2 sets (82%)
127.5 * 1 (91%)
130 * 1 (93%)
Focused on form, I feel much faster off the chest now, and I think i'm really accelerating through. All weights moved fast. The singles were done paused for a second, since I had no one to give me a press command today. 130kg practically flew off my chest. Elbow pain was very slight at the bottom position, but lesser than previous week.

Lat pulldown
95 * 20 for 2 sets

Kroc row
30 * 50
These were much harder than I imagined they'd be. My grip was dying after the lat pulldowns, so these were hell on the grip. 

Seated laterals
10 * 10 for 3 sets
These were done with about 5 second negatives, even up till the last rep. Rest time was 90s.

Power Shrugs
Worked up to 150 * 5
Used straps for these.

Overhead DB extension
10 * 15 for 2 sets
These were done very controlled. Minimal elbow pain so that's a good sign.

Rope pushdowns
2 sets AMRAP
Can't remember the weight on these, but it was very light.

Band pushdowns (small band)
2 sets AMRAP

DE Lower 12th April 2013

Foam roll: back, hams, IT band, quads
Hip distractions: 2 sets 2 mins

Warm up: Lat pulldown/GHR/Standing Ab crunch, 2 rounds, 15 reps, no rest

Squat
142.5kg * 2 for 3 sets (77%)
147.5 * 2 for 4 sets (79%)
152.5 * 2 for 3 sets (82%)
Adjusted the technique a little more. I realized a little forward drift actually works better, but I still tried to keep the hip as close under the bar as I could. Practised coming fast out of the hole and the bar pretty fast today.

Paused Squats
120 * 6 for 2 sets
These were pretty awesome to do. Felt like my head was gonna explode. Lowered the weight till the hip crease was just below parallel, and held it there. This was different from the paused squats I used to do, where I'd literally sit on my hams and calves. Had to maintain the tightness in my torso as well. All reps were paused for 3 seconds, and I got Bruce to count for me, and boy, does that mofo count slooooow. 3 Seconds seemed like eternity haha Rest time in between was about 1 min, but I think I probably should take a longer rest time the next time I do these. Did these in place of front squats.

Sumo Block Pulls (4 inch)
60 * 3
100 * 3
140 * 2
170 * 2
200 * 2
220 * 2
230 * 2 (grip failed on 3rd rep)
Did Sumo pulling cos my lower back was shot up from the squatting. Grip failed on the 3rd rep of 230kg, so I guess I have to start getting used to holding more weight in my hands. Bar speed was slower than I'd have like, but still smooth. Practiced keeping the hip close to the bar from the start all the way through.

Block pulls (4 inch)
200 * 5 for 2 sets
These were tougher than they should have been. Grip was barely holding up.

GHR
BW * 8 for 2 sets
Done as ballastically as possible. rest time 1 min

Hanging leg raises
BW * 10 for 2 sets
Rest time was 1 min.

Lat pulldown
105 * 15 for 2 sets
Rest time was 2 mins.

Rather frustrated with the progress as it's moving along so slowly. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but compare my current strength with my pre-injury levels and feel so weak. Even though progress is progress, but there are just some days where you really feel like you're hitting the wall, and just barely chipping it. Need. To. Get. Stronger. (end of rant)

ME Upper body 10th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, shoulders, chest
Shoulder distractions: 2 sets each arm, 1 min
Elbow distractions: 4 sets

Warm up: Machine Row/klokov press/face pulls/standing ab crunch, 3 rounds, 15 reps, no rest
Decided to add in ab work as part of the warm up, just more overall volume for the abdominals.

Bench
Bar * 10
60kg * 5
70 * 5
80 * 5
90 * 3
100 * 1
*Add 2 board*
100 * 1
110 * 1
120 * 1
130 * 1, 5 (PR)
*Add 3 board*
130 * 1
140 * 1
150 * 1 (PR)
152.5 * 0, 0 (both were assisted)
New 2 board PR today. Pretty happy with it. All reps were paused on the board. Decided to do a little heavier tricep work with the 3 board after that. 150kg was clean, but 152.5 was crap on both attempts. First one drifted and i lost the groove, good thing xianglin was there to save me. Second attempt was super slow off the board. Tim was spotting and let me strain for a bit, but in the end he had to help me through the sticking point. Elbow pain was minimal, which is a good thing. Only exception was during the first 152.5kg attempt, i think cos the bar came out of groove. I love the boards btw, big shoutout to SAM for getting them done up! 

Close grip bench
100 * 10
110 * 5 for 2 sets
Some additional tricep work since they felt pretty healthy today. Rest time 1 min.

Dips
20 * 20 for 2 sets
 Rest time was 1 min.

Shoulder row
15 * 20 for 3 sets
Rest time was 1 min.

Rear delt machine
61 * 20 for 3 sets
Rest time was 1 min.

Karwoski shrugs
100 * 8 for 3 sets
Rest time was 1 min. Thumbless grip. Hold at top position for 1 sec.

Band pushdowns (med band)
4 sets of 25

Elbow distractions: 4 sets

Lower body Supplementals 9th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, hams, quads, IT band
Hip distractions: 4 sets, a minute each
Warm up: Lat pulldown/GHR/Back extension, 3 rounds, 10 - 15 reps, no rest

Squat
100kg * 5
110 * 3
125 * 3
140 * 3
Just some light squats to try a few new things with regards to technique. I mostly tried to bring my hip under the bar as much as possible, and used a slightly wider stance than usual. Felt really good and tight in the hole, and actually couldn't get down very low. Only thing is I'm not sure if the hip strength can handle it, cos the weight was too light to know. Shall test it out further on fri's sesh.

SSB Squats
110 * 10 for 3 sets
Slowly bring up the weight on these. Went low. Rest time was pretty short, cause I was training with Sam the man, so it was i go you go. I do these with a close stance (one foot inner than shoulder width)

SSB good mornings
60 * 10 for 3 sets
Went super low on these, letting the lower back take most of the stress. Again, short rest time, roughly a minute.

Lat pulldowns
85 * 20 for 4 sets
Rest time was roughly one minute plus. I like high rep pulling movements for the extra grip work. Economical lol Hate actually doing it though.....

No headache today thank god. I guess the GIANT Shake last night helped haha

ME Lower Body 8th April 2013

Foam roll: Back, hams, IT band

Hip distractions: 2 mins, 2 sets

Warmups: lat pulldown/GHR, 3 rounds, 10 - 15 reps, no rest

Squat
160kg * 5 (86%)
165 * 2, 2, 2 (89%)
170 * 2 (92%)

GHR
BW * 15
slow and controlled.

Massive headache today and body feeling weak. Decided to just get the main lift done and get out after. Happy that I didn't miss a rep. 165kg felt much heavier than usual, but surprisingly, 170 felt easier. WTF is going on. 

DE upper body 6th April 2013

Foam rolling: back, lower back, chest and shoulders
Shoulder distractions: 2 sets, 1 min
Elbow distractions: 4 sets
Warmup: lat pulldown/klokov press/upright row/high face pull, 3 rounds, 10 - 15 reps, no rest

Bench
110kg * 3, 3 (78%)
112.5 * 3, 3, 3 (80%)
115 * 3 (82%)
125 * 1, 1 (89%)
Technique and speed work today. Focused on moving the bar really fast off the chest and NOT slowing down near the top, as is my habit to do so. Worked within 78 - 82% range today, and did singles at roughly 90% today. Everything felt light and moved fast. Minimal elbow pain at the bottom, but slightly more than last week.

Kroc Rows
35 * 10
40 * 40 (PR)
Hate kroc rows. My grip held up very well though.

Bradford press
50 * 10 for 3 sets
These were done very slow and controlled. Rest time was 2 mins.

Shoulder rows
17.5 * 15 for 3 sets
rest time was 1 min.

Lying Tricep extensions (BB)
40 * 20 for 3 sets
rest time was 1 min.

Upright row/shrug hybrid (karwoski rows?)
100 * 8 for 2 sets
Done thumbless, with a pause at the top position and a hard flex.

DE Lower body 5th April 2013

Foam/lacross ball rolling: Back, Lower back, hams, glutes

Hip distractions: 2 mins each side, 2 sets

Warmup: Lat pulldowns/GHR/back extension, 3 rounds, 10 - 15 reps, no rest
*lower back feels good after the rolling, but gets tight again after the warmup. Probably might consider changing the warm up.*

Squat
140kg * 2 for 3 sets (76%)
145 * 2 for 4 sets (78%)
150 * 2 for 4 sets (81%)
Total lifts within the range is 21, so I think it's still pretty safe. Lower back started getting pumped and sore after the back extensions. Since the 150 is barely past 80%, I think it's alright to count it within the 70 - 80% range. Worked more technique today, but on the 150kg sets, kept drifting forwards still! Work more on sitting back. I was trying to be fast out of the hole, but I think my quads start activating first and my hips never really joined in the party. Technique technique TECHNIQUE!!!

Deficit Deadlifts (3 inch deficit)
100 * 2
120 * 1
140 * 1
160 * 1
180 * 1
200 * 1, 4 (PR)
Did deficit deadlifts and decided to go for a rep PR. Was actually aiming for 5, but felt too much lower back in the 4th one, so decided to play it safe and called it there. The funny thing was they felt pretty easy off the floor, but in the video they didn't move as fast as I thought they were.

Front squats
100 * 5 for 3 sets
These were supposed to be heavy sets, but I decided to get in a little more volume instead, so stuck with 100.

GHR
10kg plate * 6 for 2 sets

A1: Standing Ab crunch
stack * 15
A2: Toes to bar
BW * 8
A1 and A2 were supersetted. rest time 1 min. The toes to bar were tough to do after the standing ab crunches.

 Lat pulldown
75 * 15 for 4 sets
Rest time was 1 min. I did these with my legs pointing backwards, so all the stress was to the upper back area.

ME Upper 4th April 2013

Foam/lacrosse rolling: Back, chest, shoulders

Shoulder distractions: 2 mins each

Elbow distractions: 4 sets

Warmups: Lat pulldown/klokov press/upright row/high face pull, 3 rounds, 10 - 15 reps, no rest

One board (actually it was a book) press
Bar * 5, 5
40kg * 5, 5
60  * 5
80 * 3
100 * 3
*add board(book)*
100 * 1
110 * 1
120 * 1
130 * 1, 3(PR)

Close grip Bench
100 * 8 for 3 sets

Shoulder row
12.5 * 15 for 3 sets
15 * 15 for 5 sets

Used my TAX workbook as a one board today cos SAM HASN'T MADE THE BOARDS YET!! ok sorry sam, I'm just kidding, no rush. New 3RM PR on it. Each rep was semi-paused on the book. However, since the book wasn't as stiff as a board would be, i still had to sorta hold the weight even when touching the board, although I think with a one board, I could let it rest more on the bored (obviously without losing tightness). Did some close grip bench after that. Initially started with JM presses, but then my elbow starting feeling a little strain, so switched to CG benching. The reps were all controlled and smooth, and I made an effort to lock out each rep instead of stopping short of lockout like usual. CG presses were done about 2 inches shy of the chest. Also tried out the shoulder row movement upon Abel's recommendation. Stuck with the light weights cos I was still learning the movement, and initially couldn't get the left shoulder (problem one) to feel the movement like the right. Hence stuck with the light weights and higher volume. And that's it for today! Pretty short workout tbh haha

Back + bis 2nd April 2013 (support work)

Foam rolling: back/shoulders

BB rows
80kg * 15 for 3 sets

Lat pulldowns (behind neck)
75 * 15 for 3 sets

Straight arm pushdown
3 sets of AMRAP

Shrug/half-row (don't know how to describe this)
100 * 10 for 3 sets
Sort of a karwoski row, but not exactly sure if it's the same. Did these thumbless. Hit my traps, and upper back area, as well as trained my grip a little.

Hammers (single arm)
25 * 10 for 3 sets

Incline DB curls (fat grips)
10 * AMRAP for 3 sets

Short workout. Moderate intensity and high(er) volume.

ME Lower body 1st April 2013

Foam rolling: Back, hams, quads, about 15 mins

Hip distractions with large bands: 2 mins each side

Warm ups: Machine row/GHR/back extension, 3 rounds, 10 reps, no rest

Squat
Bar * 3, 3
60kg * 3, 3
100 * 3, 3, 3
120 * 2
140 * 2
160 * 1, 5, 5 (86%)
162.5 * 2, 2, 2 (88%)
Decided that I need alot more regular squatting work. Playing around with the percentages. Figured I needed alot more heavy technique work. This weeks percentages were supposed to be 85 - 88% range, with next week's going up to 92%, and the following week up to 97%. Volume is in reference to prilepin's chart. Lower back felt good after rolling, but starting getting tight and pumped up after doing the back extensions. Still, had Bryan there to help me spot technique and critique. Thank god for him. Kept the rest time relatively low, and I hope the lower back will adapt to it. Average session, and save for a few reps, I am relatively satisfied with the form work today.

SSB Squats
60 * 10
100 * 10 for 3 sets
I like SSB squats cos they stress my upper back and quads at the same time! Economical training haha the 3 sets of 100kg served to remind me how weak my quads are lol This will be a staple after heavy squatting. 

SSB Good mornings
80 * 5 for 3 sets
Did these slow on the negative, and almost stiff legged. Also allowed my lower back to round out, then flexed it to bring the weight back up. Not the usual arched back good mornings that I usually do, more of a lower back focus.

Toes to bar
BW * 10 for 3 sets
These were pretty tough today, for some reason, and I could feel my abs cramping up. 1 min of rest in between sets. Had to slow the negative portion down so the elbows didn't receive any strain. Need to get stronger on these.

Overall, I realized I need to squat more and work the technique to get up squat stronger. Hence the Squat days will be one ME and one DE, followed by SSB squats and Front squats respectively.

ME Lower body 
Heavy Squats
SSB Squats
Lower back/hamstring movement (good morning or GHR)
Ab work

DE Lower body
'Light' Squats
Front Squats (heavy)
Deadlift variation(s) (might sub in weighted back extensions in place of a deadlift variation)
Lower back/hamstring movement (good morning or GHR) 
Ab work