Jswain's training log for powerlifting

Hyde said:
Back is doing good, tons of beltless work just rebuilding my technique. Squat 315 for 4x5 then 1x10, all beltless hi bar Tuesday. Today I literally did your prescribed JCube day. FS 230, 245, 265, 280, & 300 for 54321 reps first instead of last, then 365x9,9,10 on stiffbar w kilo plates and switched to shoeless deadlift bar w bumpers for 395 2x6 to simulate blockpulls. All beltless. My absolute lower strength isn't something I've gotten to work lately but my base is building up nicely!
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Awesome to hear. As long as we're moving in the right direction we're good to go. Good to hear you're getting ready for some push/pull fun - way to be diligent in your own rehab.
 
7/9/16 Jcube w3d4-p1w3d4

Upper #2

Wu - dynamic stretches & lunges, trx rows (2x10), trx reverse fly (2x10), banded external rotations

1. Comp bench (thumb from smooth) (230x3x8 - 60s rest)
45x-
95x-
135x5
185x5
215x5
230x3x8

2. Wide grip bench (265x4-6x2) (pause last rep)
--->cambered bar to 1 board
225x4
245x4
---> switch to wide grip with middle finger on ring
265x6@8
265x6@9

^i feel like the cambered bar to a 1 board is better for teaching me to drive off the chest whereas the wide grip lets me focus on the pecs more. In this hyper phase i elected to go with the wide grips over the cambered bar. Plus, i am stronger with the wide grip vs cambered, i would have only been doing reps of 4 at that weight with the camber.

3. Spoto press (comp grip, no pausing)
230x8x3
@8.5, 8, 9

4. Chins (5x5)
Bw (249.8) x5
+25x5x4
@8, 8.5, 8.5, 9

5a. Facepulls (seated) (3x30)
30x30
40x30x2

Ss/

5b. Standing cable vbar pushdowns (3x30)
100x30 (sucked after 25)
90x30 (paused at top for 10s after rep 20)
70x30 (same as above set)

Holy tricep pump.

Decent day. Wouldve liked 230 to feel like it was moving better than what it felt like (mainly the 3rd rep). They weren't the consistent speed you're after, rep 3 was def slower than rep 1.

Next week is a deload...dont really feel like i need one but i guess I'll follow the plan and move in to phase 2 afterward.
 
I'm very happy with how recovery has been.

Remember, concerning deloads: it's not just whether you need one right now, it's can you get through all of the next block without one, profitably?
 
Hyde said:
I'm very happy with how recovery has been.

Remember, concerning deloads: it's not just whether you need one right now, it's can you get through all of the next block without one, profitably?
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That's a really good point. Never thought of it that way.
 
Hyde said:
I'm very happy with how recovery has been.

Remember, concerning deloads: it's not just whether you need one right now, it's can you get through all of the next block without one, profitably?
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Great advice. Ive never thought of it that way either. Truthfully, i think i could; but i could use the extra time and recovery this week so I'm gonna stick to plan.
 
Psh...now, like 60-90 mins of work (former on upper, closer to the latter for lowe) + 10-20 mins warming up. I'm absolutely loving it.
 
Didnt go in for squat deload day #1 today. Went to the Renaissance Faire up in WI with the gf yesterday instead of doing my presentation and studying for my test for micro, both of which are tomorrow. So, I was working on that all morning and figured 1 squat deload day was enough.
 
7/12/16 Jcube w4d1-p1w4d1 upper deload (intensity deload - i went to LA fitness with the gf and just felt like chasing a little pump when she was on the stairmaster). I was supposed to be done after the rows, so i only added 10 sets overall.

1. Bp
215x5x3

2. Spoto
215x5

3. Cgbp
215x5

4. chest supported tbar row using 90 degree handles (3x10@7-8)

5. Pulls/chins
Pullup: x5
Chin: x5
Neutral: x5

6. Facepulls
3x15

7. Lateral raise
2x10

8. Tri pushdown
2x10

215 sets felt very light all around, even lighter than to be expected for a deload. Plastic plates were probably off or something. Had a solid little pump with Condense there. Upper body feels good so thats why i didnt mind keeping the accessory volume in there. Dead deload tomorrow.
 
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7-13 Jcube w4d2-p1w4d2 deload deadlift day

Everything was beltless

1. Deads
135x5
225x5x2
315x5
330x3x3

2. 2 3/4" blocks
330x3 sumo for no good reason, just wanted to.

3. Fronts (clean grip) (olys)
Doubled mini around knees up until final 2 sets of 230
45x5
95x5
135x5
175x5
205x3
230x3 (3 ct pauses just cuz)
230x3
230x3 long pause final rep

4a. GHR (feet elevated)
Monster mini x10x3

Ss/

4b. Facepulls (3x12)
70x12x3
 
Hyde said:
How you feeling after these deload days?
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In terms of how i feel after the deload sessions themselves, i feel like I'm not really doing anything during them so i somewhat feel like it was wasted time. I know it isn't, but it kinda feels that way when you aren't pushing yourself whatsoever.


Overall:
Upper feels great with the exception of some very mild right elbow issues likely due to overactive forearm flexors. Along with some pain in my wrists from typing all day work. Low back is stiff off and on for no rhyme or reason, its always just i wake up one day with it sore and another day totally fine, hips are the only thing that really cause me any pain during lifting - mainly with squats, kinda getting some anterior FAI again i think, hip flexors are stupidly tight. Ankles are tight but ive been x-wifing the gastroc/soleus/tib post as much as I can with my boss at the chiro. I've also been using the 85lber over the medial elbow and ventral forearm musculature to try and help release then wrist flexors since that seems to be the main issues there.
 
7/15/16 jcube W4d3-p1w3d3

Left piriformis is locking up again. Wtf.

Squat
55x5
105x5
145x5
195x5
235x5
235x5 (+olys from flats to see if it helped my hip a little - nope)
265x3
290x3 (still olys)
290x3 (in socks to see if i could grab the floor better- maye a tad).
290x3 (same)

Noticed i was coming down shifting toward my left leg and had a little rotation toward the left)

Pause squat (+lateral band pulling to the left)
290x3

RDL
135x5
225x5x3

BO row
225x8 @7-8 ish
used about 3-4/10 leg drive so not strict

That's it. These deloads are huge deloads. Its like not doing anything for lower body. I added the set of bo rows just cuz i wanted to see how many i could do.

Gonna do some piriformis stretching tonight. Rolled it out with the softball for a couple mins after the 145 set on squats to no avail. Pretty decent trigger points around the lesser troch so its my usual hip crap. At least it's nothing new and i know what i need to do. It's just bound up, nothing serious.
 
Just an FYI, my piriformis starts locking up when my back is in a vulnerable position.


I'm sure the body does the same with (possible) hip injury as a protective mechanism.
 
jimbuick said:
Just an FYI, my piriformis starts locking up when my back is in a vulnerable position.


I'm sure the body does the same with (possible) hip injury as a protective mechanism.
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Rodja said:
Look up myofascial stretching for the piriformis.
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Thanks for the info/recommendation guys. Will do.
 
Yeah, McGill doesn't recommend stretching those muscles when they lock up.


He says that they are trying to immobilize the vulnerable joint (or disc) and that loosening it can increase the likelihood of more serious injury while it's still healing.
 
jimbuick said:
Yeah, McGill doesn't recommend stretching those muscles when they lock up.


He says that they are trying to immobilize the vulnerable joint (or disc) and that loosening it can increase the likelihood of more serious injury while it's still healing.
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Hmm. Well I didn't do too much. Just 3 rounds of static stretching. It feels a lot better today too, as soon as i woke up it was a hell of a lot looser. Something i did on Wed during deads or fronts had to of flared it up.

Edit: i truthfully believe the majority of my piriformis issues stem from my glutes being turned off from tight hip flexors/sitting. I think the piriformis tries to compensate for that and thats what fcks it up. But, i dont know since its only my left one that gets screwy.
 
7/16/16 Jcube w4d4-p1w4d4 deload

Prehab/rehab:
Band ext rot: 2x15
NG cable row: 4x15
Avg band stomps: 2x20
Avg band SL "rev hyper": 2x15

Once i got the left glute firing better the piriformis loosened up even more. May try to start doing these for extra pre-squat/dead glute activation.

1. Bp
215x5x3

2. Cgbp (thumb from center knurling...was just messing with grip...)
215x5

3. Spoto
215x5

4. Pullup (as wide as i could go on the handles)
Bwx5x3

5. Fp ss/ kneeling rope pushdowns
80x15 / 120x15
80x15 / 130x15
80x15 (seated to try and limit thoracic extension) / 120x15

Added:
NG cable rows: 140x15x2
Rev fly machine: 90x15x2
 
7/18/16 Jcube w5d1 - p2w1d2

Prehab:
dyn stretching, monster walks, bw low box sq RNF (1 mon mini around knees and 1 around waist pulling me to the left), rolling plank 3x10sx2, avg band stomps 2x20, pallofs 1x30s.

1. Sq (low bar, flats, sleeves) (315x3x8 - 60s rest)
RNF with mon mini band around waist up to 275
55x-
95x-
145x7
195x6
235x5
275x3 (+loose)
-no more rnf
315x3x8
^squats felt alright. Not great, but alright. Felt like the rnf helped with the shifting to the left.

2. High bar (+olys, sleeves)
335x4x3
@7, 8, 7

My quads suck.

3. Pause sq (flats, sleeves)
290x6
290x5
290x5 +rnf

4. Pallofs
70x(15/5x2)x3

Just getting the work in.
 
What's a monster walk and a 30s Pallof?
 
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Then 30s pallof is just a pallof press done for 30s. I do 15s intervals of the extended lever with a 5s short lever.

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How many reps of the Pallof?
 
RegisterJr said:
How many reps of the Pallof?
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So this week on jcube it calls for 3 sets of 30s on core. So today i did 30s worth of the extended lever. So it goes
Extended lever: 15s
Short lever: 5s
Extended lever: 15s

Next week is 45s so ill just add one more short lever and 1 more extended lever to make up the 45s.

So i guess you could count each extended lever time block as 1 "rep" if you wanted.
 
7/19/16 jcube w5d2-p2w1d2

1. Bp (265x6-10x2-3) (thumb from edge)
45x10
95x10
135x6
185x5
215x5
245x3
265x8@8 (hit the hook on rep 5)
[email protected] (x10 pr i believe)

2. Cgbp (285x5-7x2) (pointer on edge) (start ss/ warmups for chest supp row)
285x4@9
-10lb
275x4@9
Add 1 set to hit volume range
275x3@8

3. Spoto (250x8-12x2)
250x8
250x6----15s rest pause--> +2 = x8
^might try a different pre next upper day. The pump is too real with condense.

4. Chest supp iso row (weight per arm) (elbows flared) (5x15)
45x15
65x15
75x15x5

2 sets of wrist roller extensions in there somewhere.

5a. Front raise (cable station w/ straight bar) (2x15)
50x15x2

Ss/

5b. Ohd tri rope ext (2x15)
120x15x2

Quick, fairly quality session. 45 mins in and out. Was sweatin like a dog. Bench isn't feeling too great but itll come back. Went with 2 of the 3 possible sets on comp and spotos bc it had to be a quick session. Had to sandwich it between getting out of class and catching the train for the cubs game.
 
Night of drinking at the cubs game with the little brother got to me. Hungover and sleep deprived. Deads are gonna be a bitch tonight.

Edit: yup, moving them to tomorrow.
 
capo180 said:
Nice work there dude! Painful loss for the cubbies last night..
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Thanks cap. Yes, yes it was. Too many runners left in scoring position throughout the night, especially early in the game. Got one back today at least.
 
So. Micro lab went over time and now i don't have time to squeeze them (deads) in before work. The plan now is to do deads tomorrow in place of the second squat day. Might add in a couple sets of squats but wont be doing the full prescribed work.

Also, Ive decided I'm not going to do that full meet in September. Motivation really isnt there, plus training hasn't been too great. It has been a crazy month for me as I'm transitioning to move back to Indiana (very happy to gtfo of Illinois, but bummed to leave the gf and Jakked behind).
 
Hyde said:
Did you finish school or something?
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Finishing PA prereqs that I didnt think j would have to do bc they weren't required for med school (what I originally wanted to do out of undergrad).

1. The lease on my apt is up on 8/4 and there was no point in signing another year long lease since i'll hopefully be in school.

2. If i have interviews and such i didnt want to have to take time off work then struggle to meet rent/utilities. Gf wanted to move back in with her parents to save money to pay off her student loans so she can hopefully go back and finish her last class and get her degree. It would've been really tough for me to get by with just my current income. So it was just a good time to take a step back (by moving back in with the rents...fck) to hopefully take a few steps forward for my future.

Hyde said:
Also, prepping for a USPA push-pull in 5 weeks as I log Hercules if you wanna follow:

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Following along brother. Hopefully see some good training. Btw, how close is Decatur to you? I'll be down there for a wedding on the 30th. If its close to you i could see if i could work in a training sesh on Sunday before we headed back up if you were down.
 
7/22/16 jcube w5d3-p2w1d3

1. Deads (conv) (465x2x3 or work up to 2rm)
135x5
225x5
315x5
365x3
405x2
435x2
465x2x3

Deads just feel absolutely ****ty as **** lately. Those were way harder than they shouldve been. My mind wasnt completely in it today, but it shouldnt of been as hard as it was. L5-S1 on the left felt like it was on the verge of getting real pissed off. Would get a real slight twinge about mid shin going to lockout.

2. I skipped block pulls of 495x1x2.

3. BO rows (5x8) - did seated cable rows with NG instead.
100x8
140x8
180x8x5

Thats it. Gotta pack tonight so I just said fck it and left. I'm thinking about going back to some sort of 4 day a week 5/3/1 variation. I cant seem to find any training that i particularly enjoy anymore so idk. Program hopping needs to stop though.

Oh yeah, once i move back home im going on a cut. Im sick of this gut.
 
jswain34 said:
Following along brother. Hopefully see some good training. Btw, how close is Decatur to you? I'll be down there for a wedding on the 30th. If its close to you i could see if i could work in a training sesh on Sunday before we headed back up if you were down.
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Gotta do what you gotta do my man; sounds like a smart move for the right reasons. Plus living w your fam again will ensure you keep moving forward w school/career. You will be sick of that in about 2 weeks so it will keep your fire going to progress. Worked for me lol

July 30th? If so yeah Decatur is like half an hour. You should absolutely come over to train; I love my new gym and can bring a guest too fo free. Plenty of good places to eat around here.
 
jswain34 said:
7/22/16 jcube w5d3-p2w1d3

1. Deads (conv) (465x2x3 or work up to 2rm)
135x5
225x5
315x5
365x3
405x2
435x2
465x2x3

Deads just feel absolutely ****ty as **** lately. Those were way harder than they shouldve been. My mind wasnt completely in it today, but it shouldnt of been as hard as it was. L5-S1 on the left felt like it was on the verge of getting real pissed off. Would get a real slight twinge about mid shin going to lockout.

2. I skipped block pulls of 495x1x2.

3. BO rows (5x8) - did seated cable rows with NG instead.
100x8
140x8
180x8x5

Thats it. Gotta pack tonight so I just said fck it and left. I'm thinking about going back to some sort of 4 day a week 5/3/1 variation. I cant seem to find any training that i particularly enjoy anymore so idk. Program hopping needs to stop though.

Oh yeah, once i move back home im going on a cut. Im sick of this gut.
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I've got a four day a week program I use, along with a need for a better spotter, AND a spare room.

Sounds like you should move to Texas man.
 
I think you need take some time to figure out why you enjoyed training in the first place, then get back to that in some way that also addresses your goals.
 
Hyde said:
Gotta do what you gotta do my man; sounds like a smart move for the right reasons. Plus living w your fam again will ensure you keep moving forward w school/career. You will be sick of that in about 2 weeks so it will keep your fire going to progress. Worked for me lol

July 30th? If so yeah Decatur is like half an hour. You should absolutely come over to train; I love my new gym and can bring a guest too fo free. Plenty of good places to eat around here.
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Lol. Yeah, trust me, im gonna be ready to get out of there within a week im sure. Should be good motivation.

I'll have to let you know about that day, it'd be the 31st since the wedding is on the 30th.

jimbuick said:
I've got a spare room lol
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jimbuick said:
I've got a four day a week program I use, along with a need for a better spotter, AND a spare room.

Sounds like you should move to Texas man.
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Lol. Sounds like it would work out great. If i cant take living with the fam any longer then i'll be there. I always liked Tx.

SweetLou321 said:
I think you need take some time to figure out why you enjoyed training in the first place, then get back to that in some way that also addresses your goals.
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I enjoy training for my health and strength. Id like to maintain more athleticism though and that's what I feel like I've lost. So, you're correct. I probably do need to re-evaluate what I'm doing, why im doing it, and how well/poorly it is working.
 
Yesterday's benching:

7/23/16 jcube w5d4-p2w1d4

1. Bp - paused (300x2x3 or up to 2rm)
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x5x2
215x5
245x3
275x2
300x2x3
Dont have my notebook but i think it was rpe @7, 6.5, 7.5

2. WGBP (320x1-3x2) (t&g)
300x2
320x2@9
329x2@9

3. Lat pulldown (fat bar) (5x8)
100x8
130x8x5

Ss/

3a. Lateral raise (2x15)
15x15
20x15

3b. Db shrugs (2x15)
70x15x2

4. Cable curl (straight bar)
100x15x2
 
7/25/16 JCube w6d1-p2w2d1

1. Comp sq (385x2x5 or up to 2rm) (+Tx Sq bar, rehbands, flats)
* = doubled monster mini rnf around knees

55x-*
105x-*
145x5*
195x5*
235x5*
285x5
325x4 (+ belt)
355x3
385x2@6
Decided to work up to x2@~9 since they felt decent at this point. Wasnt having any significant lower back pain and hips were feeling decent.
405x2@7
420x2@8
430x2@8
[email protected]
^truthfully, I'm fairly happy with this after how my squats have been going so far over the last 6 weeks. Obviously not quite as strong as during PM but this gave me some confidence in it (the lift) coming back around.

2. High bars (Tx Sq bar, olys -0.75 heel, sleeves) (prescribed weight was 410x1-3x2)
I dropped it down with the intentions of working back up to the prescribed weight
+belted
380x1@8
Due to rpe i just stayed there
380x1@8

3. Pause squats (3 ct, same stuff as comp) (360x3-5x3)
+Belted
360x3
360x3
360x3

4. Abs (ab wheel) (3x45s)
AMRAP in 45s x3
10
9
10

Fairly good day. I took a gallon of water with me today with 2 scoops of gatorade powder in it. That helped me fight through the heat/humidity although it wasnt as bad as it was wed-sat last week. I definitely need to get back to hitting my proper water intake on a daily basis, especially with these hot sessions. Gonna keep up with the gallon-o-water during sessions and that will help.
 
Impressive session. You are in Texas? It has been very hot and humid up here in Toronto and I work out in my garage so keep well hydrated too. That said, my brother in law is in Houston (Kingwood), so I know its a fair bit hotter there.

Edit: Maybe JimBuick is in Texas...
 
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