Jswain's training log for powerlifting

The RTS high frequency stuff is most suited for the youth and those genetically gifted for recovery. Look who trains that way: younger IPF lifters who come in and out of competitive powerlifting in a few years. Guys like Tuscherer are exceptions. Mike was/is a phenomenal lifter, better than most on drugs even. To take nothing away from his programming or worth ethic (as they’re exceptional), most folks cannot hold up to that stuff forever.

You get the best results from the hardest, most specific & frequent training you can recover from/keep up with. It’s up to you to figure out whatever that is.
 
Hyde said:
The RTS high frequency stuff is most suited for the youth and those genetically gifted for recovery. Look who trains that way: younger IPF lifters who come in and out of competitive powerlifting in a few years. Guys like Tuscherer are exceptions. Mike was/is a phenomenal lifter, better than most on drugs even. To take nothing away from his programming or worth ethic (as they’re exceptional), most folks cannot hold up to that stuff forever.

You get the best results from the hardest, most specific & frequent training you can recover from/keep up with. It’s up to you to figure out whatever that is.
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No doubt. There are multiple reasons why I’m not even close to considering moving to that style of training. One - i couldnt handle it physically. Two - theres no chance I have enough time to get one of those types of sessions completed. Three - its way too specific for where im at in my training journey (eg. No sights on a comp anytime soon).

I do think if i ever reverted back to that I’d be ultra conservative with the technique work...like 3-5 sets of 3 between 60-70%. Literally JUST for really dialing in technique.
 
M3w5d1

Rd x fly: micro x30x2
Looped pushdown: mini x20x2

1. Bench (pinky on ring)
45/95/135/185/225/265x5
300x2x4
[email protected]

2. Cg 2bd - strict 2m rest
215x8x4, +5

3a. LR
22.5x15x2

3b. Rd x fly
Choked mini x15x2

3c. Spider curl
22.5x12x2

12-14 day microcycles haven’t stalled me out yet...that time between sessions isnt intentional but it has* been very consistent.
 
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M3w5d2

WU:
Dynamic stretch
LM RFE SS contralateral load: 45x10x2
Ss/
Pallof: mini for 2 sets

1. MB squat
45/x8-12
95/135/185/225/275x5
315x3x5

Belt for 275 & 315

2. LB 2-3 ct pause squat
255x4x4 (vid last set)

All belted

3a. NG LM standing bench supported row
90x10x3

Ss/

3b. Stomps
Heavy x20x2

Ss/

3c. Ab rollout
x8x2

Pauses felt good.
 
M3w4d3

1. FP + ER
Choked micro x35x3

2. BB Push press
45/95x8
120x5
145x6
165x6
[email protected]

Last 6s week i got 180 x9@9 sooo today was a good day. Today was probably a PP rep PR with 185 but i cant say for sure. Gonna record this as my PR for now though since i havent kept PRs for this in years.

3. Band pushdowns
Looped mini x25x3 Neutral grip

Ss/

Hammer curl
45x15x2
 
M3w5d4

WU:
Dyn stretch
Bw stomp march x45-60s
Palloff
Side bend: 45x20x2

1. Sumo DL
135/225/275/320x5
370x3x2
420x1 (all the weight i have - still waiting on my 2 pairs of deep dish 45s to ship from the order I placed 3 weeks ago).
420x1 conv
370x3x3

420 sets weren’t great. Im a long way off from hitting 405x20 again . Would be tough saying if i could pull 5 at this moment, I’ll get there.

2. Unil LM RDL
110x10
100x10x2

RH/LL combo is soooo much harder than vice versa. These hammer the imbalance(s) in my posterior oblique sling.

Ss/

3. Spud pulldown
Vs mini
120x10x4

4. Pull through
Avg x25x2

Ss/

5. Ab rollout
Bw x8x2

Once I get those plates in ill have more weight than i could even think about touching right now. Half of me thought it was dumb to buy the second pair, the other half said fuk that get strong enough to use that much again. You now know which half won out. If nothing else, ill have an old shiît pair of plates to keep on the back of the yoke.
 
You can never have too much weight in your gym.

Eddie Hall and Hafthor could have a deadlift off at my gym without using even half of the plates, and I would still buy more if the right deal came along.
 
M3w6d1&2 - deload

L triceps tendon has been bugging me so i just kept pushing the upper deload back to just combine it with the squat day.

1. Bench (comp grip 2 bd)
185x5x3

Ss/

2. Band PA
Mm x20x3

3. Mid bar squat
225x5x3 - 90s rest

4. 1-2 ct Pause squat (x1@8)
225/275x1
[email protected]?
365x1@8 (video)

Invalid Link Removed

This has to be one of the heaviest squats of any variety that ive done in close to 2 years. Still have a long way to go but this was totally pain free and moved great so im optimistic. I know it seems strange to have done that on a deload but, to reiterate what Israetel & CWS state, it’s really total volume that hinders recovery. Pounding out a ton of reps is way less of a productive deload than 1 rep at 92% of a specialty max that is just hardly over 80% of one’s likely true 1rm. There’s more than one way to skin a cat though...people have undoubtedly made progress for years & years dropping the weight and pounding out a zillion reps for a deload session.

5. Supported bent over Landmine row (3x10)
90x10x3

Ss/

6. RFE SS
Bw x10x2

Ive got tomorrow off then work friday-sunday so im not sure how im gonna work in the last deload session. I might not even do the deadlift session and just do a recovery day with some cardio, stomps, & dead bugs one day then start back up with M4 next week.

The rogue deep dish plates arrives yesterday, theyre perty. Truly high quality, precise machining. They fit like an absolute glove in the sleeve of the barbell. I still dunno if paying that much for a piece of metal that i put on another piece of metal to move around is worth it, but they do look great and are extremely well made.
 
Post a pic of your new gym beauties!

Maybe try 100-rep band Pressdowns with a micro or miniband for that tricep tendon a few days a week, on off days even? Just flushing blood to help recover that tendon and clean it out. Not muscle work, just getting blood in tendons.
 
Hyde said:
Post a pic of your new gym beauties!

Maybe try 100-rep band Pressdowns with a micro or miniband for that tricep tendon a few days a week, on off days even? Just flushing blood to help recover that tendon and clean it out. Not muscle work, just getting blood in tendons.
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Yup, need to bring one of my micros back up into the room. I can do them when i wake up when waiting for the shower to warm up. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Them are nice. They're based on the old school York deep dishes, I think.

I want a pair of the Yorks to display, but they cost hundreds of dollars for a pair.
 
I like that Rogue is in the plate business now, though. I still prefer the old vintage Yorks (I'm a history major, I like lifting with history lmao), but I'd have bought those Rogue deep dishes if I were starting from scratch.
 
Got a new mattress delivered yesterday. It’s one with an adjustable frame - i slept in zero gravity for the first half of the night then went flat for the last half of the night. Today was the first day in probably 3 years i didnt wake up with lower back stiffness/borderline pain in my L lumbar.

Hopefully it wasn’t just a one off and that becomes a consistent thing.
 
YEAHHHHH BUDDY!!!! My back absolutely improved when I got a new quality mattress. It matters so much! Glad you enjoyed the first night man.
 
Hyde said:
YEAHHHHH BUDDY!!!! My back absolutely improved when I got a new quality mattress. It matters so much! Glad you enjoyed the first night man.
Click to expand...

Make it back to back nights of good sleep and painless wakings. Man...i could get used to this.
 
M4w1d1

WU:
Tri set - Mm band PA x30 -> micro SA pushdown x25 -> mini SA fly x20 for 2 rounds

1. Comp bench
45/95x8
135/185/225/255x5
285x2x4
[email protected]

2. Comp grip 2bd
280x3x3@6/7/6

3a. Lateral raise
22.5x15x2

Tri/

3b. RD x fly
Choked mini x15x2

Tri/

3c. Spider curl
22.5x12x2
 
M42qd2

-2/16-
Wu
Dyn stretch
Standing Fire hydrant
Bw squat x10x2
RFE SS: bwx10x2
Rear delt x fly: mini x20x3

1. MB squat
45/95/135 x some #
185x5
225x5
(+ belt)
275x5
315x3x5 felt more difficult than i was expecting or it should have been. Think i fell into the trap of having my stance too wide for the first two sets. In the Olys that doesn’t work out well for me - in flats i’m what most would consider a pretty wide stanced squatter but i have to bring it in some when i put the olys on or else it messes with the medial aspect of my knee and cuts my power out of the hole.

2. LB 3-4ct = 1-2s pause squat
265x4x4

3. BO bench supported landmine row
95x10x3

-2/17-
Rear delt x fly: mini x20x2

Ab rollout: bw x8x3

Band stomp: heavy x20x3 straight through alternating

Yesterday afternoon’s session finished this morning. Back and hips feeling good after the stops, was a little stiff (not pain) this morning.
 
M4w1d3

WU:
Dyn stretch

1. FP + ER
Looped micro x35x3

2. BB PP
45/95/115x5+
135x8
155x8
165x8+ —> x12

3. SA Tri ext
Sup: Looped micro x25x2
Pron: looped mini x25x2

Ss/

4. Hammer curl
45x15x2
 
Hyde said:
Do you feel like the band stomps make a pretty big difference in leg recovery?
Click to expand...

I do, yah. They really stretch out the lumbar at the top and then give a good glute contraction at the bottom.
 
M4w2d1

WU:
Band PA: mini x30x2
SA pec fly: mini x20x2
SA tri ext: mini x20

1. Comp bp
45/95/135/185/225/255x5
290x2x4
290@[email protected]

2. 2bd BP (comp grip)
280x3x3

Tri set/

3. RD X fly
Mini x20x3

Tri set/

4. Spider curls
22.5x12x2

All comp bench sets were on strict 2m rests aside from the rest period prior to the amrap which was a strict 3m, so there was some cumulative fatigue that went into that top set. However, the top set reps have been down from last meso and it’s going to be a grind to not fail out on bench this meso it seems. The 3/4/5 tri set was straight through without rest between exercises or sets - i needed to blaze through it to get the whole thing in (aside from laterals...whatever) before work.

On Thursday I did 355x5x5 on deads, alternating between sumo (3 sets) & conv (2 sets). Sumos continued to feel like ****. Somehow just that had my lats and traps sore...the detraining is real.

BW is holding steady between 250-255. Physique feels a little puffier.
 
Nice bench numbers!

It sucks when you're getting sore pulling numbers that were once early in the warm-up regime, but you're trying to recover, not build, so you are kicking goals by just being consistent. Nice work.
 
M4w2d2

WU:
Bird dog
Bss: bw x10x2
Lateral pallof

1. M/LB Squat
45/95/135/185/225/275x5
(+ belt)
320x3x5 (did 3x3, [email protected] - running short on time)

2. 3-4ct LB Pause Squat
270x4x4 (did 1x4x 2x6 - short on time as noted above).

Finish tomorrow. Takes me a touch longer to get up and moving than it used to, plus i had to fight my morning poo out this morning so that battle took a little longer than expected.

Thinking of pivoting and making deadlifts my technique lift instead of squats. Things have been consistently moving forward in squats whereas that is most definitely not the case on pulls.
 
M4w2d2 accessories

1. Band stomp
Heavy x30x3

Ss/

2. BO Gnarly handle LM row (1 set pronated, 2 sets NG)
100x12x3

3. Ab roll x8x2

Credit to Hyde for the push to up the stomp reps. 15-20 is good for me as a warmup/prehab but if im gonna use them in an actual accessory slot I need to push the reps more than I was.
 
M4w3d3

Wu:
Band tri ext
BSS: bw x10
Bw squat: x10

1. FP + ER
Looped micro x35x3

2. BB PP
45/85/115x5
140x3
155x8
185x6
195x3+ -> [email protected]
[email protected]
245-250x - skipped

I slept with my neck in a jacked up position last night and on the 6th rep at 185 it locked up on me. I tested it out on 195 and as long as i didnt extend my neck on the eccentric it didnt bother me too bad. I cut the amrap a couple reps shy and skipped the final joker i was gonna go for. Will get the PR next meso.

The kid woke up earlier than i thought he was going to so i had to cut the session here. Ill get the bi/tri work in this afternoon during a nap.
 
M4w3d4

Made the switch to deads as my technique lift. Fukked around with some singles first to establish a legitimate 70% for where im at right now.

Wu:
Dyn stretch
Hip airplanes

•Conv DL
135x10, 185/225/275/315x5
(+ belt)
365x1
405x1
455x1@9

455 was my 1rm in Feb-March 2014...

I will say that technique was the prohibitive factor here. I could tell i had more juice but the technical proficiency just isnt there right now.

455x0.7 = 320

320x3x5 technique protocol

•SL LM RDL (3x10)
100x10x3

Ss/

•Spud cable 45 degree pulldown/row
100x15x4

Might get around to pull throughs and abs tomorrow morning before work, might not.
 
M4w3d1

WU:
Band X rear delt fly: choked mini x20x2
SA band tri ext: choked mini x12x2
SA band pec fly: choked mini x20x2

1. Comp bp
45x10, 95/135/185/225x5
265x5
[email protected]/7.5/8/8
295x5@9

WUs ss/ w/ Monster Mini Pull aparts: x20x5

2. 2bd Comp Grip
290x3x3@9/9.5/9

Ss/

3. Db rd fly
25x10x2

Ss/

4. Hammer curl
35x15x2
 
M4w3d2

Switched squat to 5th set lower lift

WU:
Dyn stretch
Band distracted couch stretch x30s each leg
RFESS: x10x2
Wall glute activation with block x5 count x2 rds
Dead bug off bench x8 reps

1. Comp squat (flats, low bar)
45/95/135/185/225/275x5
(+ belt, straps)
325x2x4
[email protected]

Oddly enough, the next weight on my progression for technique work was already set to be 325. So instead of 15 total reps (325x3x5) i got 18 total reps in this rep scheme. I used 405 as my e1rm based on a triple i did last November. I figured that would be conservative and leave me room to continue building momentum. Won’t lie im feeling okay about that top set given the fact its my first week back. I think i may be able to squat more than I can deadlift for the first time in my life.

2. 2-3 ct pause squat
275x4x4

3. Stomp
Heavy x30x3

Ss/

4. Box supp LM Gnarly Handle Meadows Row
105x12x3

Ss/

5. Ab rollout
Bw x8x3
 
jswain34 said:
Thanks Mate. Rpe scale is 1-10. It’s tougher to predict well the higher the reps get, for me at least.
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Ah yeah me too. Saw something on insta the other day about how RPE is supposed to be 1-12 but I've always scaled it 1-10 myself (seems far more intuitive) but wanted to clarify.

Nice final set of squats!
 
BennyMagoo79 said:
Ah yeah me too. Saw something on insta the other day about how RPE is supposed to be 1-12 but I've always scaled it 1-10 myself (seems far more intuitive) but wanted to clarify.

Nice final set of squats!
Click to expand...

Thats interesting...I’ve read a lot of RTS stuff over the years and never once heard anything about it being 1-12. Tuscherer & RTS are the ones who really popularized the RPE scale so imma go ahead and stay with what they say on it.
 
jswain34 said:
Thats interesting...I’ve read a lot of RTS stuff over the years and never once heard anything about it being 1-12. Tuscherer & RTS are the ones who really popularized the RPE scale so imma go ahead and stay with what they say on it.
Click to expand...

I’m convinced Mike T is a wizard.
 
jswain34 said:
Thats interesting...I’ve read a lot of RTS stuff over the years and never once heard anything about it being 1-12. Tuscherer & RTS are the ones who really popularized the RPE scale so imma go ahead and stay with what they say on it.
Click to expand...
I think Meadows uses 11 and 12 for RPE scale to denote intensity techniques that go past failure. Can't remember if he uses 12, but I know he uses RPE 11 in his programs for sets that end with drops/partials/etc.
 
jimbuick said:
I think Meadows uses 11 and 12 for RPE scale to denote intensity techniques that go past failure. Can't remember if he uses 12, but I know he uses RPE 11 in his programs for sets that end with drops/partials/etc.
Click to expand...

Ah, so each # over 10 would indicate a forced rep beyond the point of failure. That makes sense to me then.
 
Can you drop a link for the band stomps? I’ve searched YouTube “band stomps” or a variation of and I’m not finding anything (or I don’t think it’s what I think it is lol). Thanks I’m advance!
 
tyga tyga said:
Can you drop a link for the band stomps? I’ve searched YouTube “band stomps” or a variation of and I’m not finding anything (or I don’t think it’s what I think it is lol). Thanks I’m advance!
Click to expand...

Its in donnie thompson’s “post squat day” video. You literally just choke a band on a crossbar (i use the yoke xbar, but have used pullup bars in the past), put your foot in the loop, and stomp down to the ground. Like when fit chix in commercial gyms use the assisted dip stations to work their glutez.
 
jswain34 said:
Its in donnie thompson’s “post squat day” video. You literally just choke a band on a crossbar (i use the yoke xbar, but have used pullup bars in the past), put your foot in the loop, and stomp down to the ground. Like when fit chix in commercial gyms use the assisted dip stations to work their glutez.
Click to expand...

BroTip: Those are great tricep pressdown machines too. Do your dips to fail, then flip the assist pad up and finish smoking off the side tris with pressdowns.
 
M4w3d4

Skipped OHP because it was a deload & my L AC has been kinda shît for a few weeks. Like crepitus with shoulder circles and the like. Didnt really make the association somehow until things started feeling better this past week after didnt push OP much last week. Totally removed the movement this microcycle and ill put in a mesocycle with the log starting next micro.

Deads felt good today. I was getting much better pre-tension in the hams than I had been getting and this helped my wedge a ton. Gonna move to 15x1 EMOM starting next week - my technique on singles is what I need to improve on the most. Historically if i could pull something once i could pull it twice maybe 3 times.

1. Conv DL (tech)
135/185/225/275x5
325x3x4
325x5

2. LM SL/unil RDL
105x10x3

Ss/

3. Spud 45 degree seated pulldown
105x15x4
 
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M4w4d1

Wu:
45 degree spud pdown: 105x15x2
Tri X extension: choked mini x20x2
Unil band decline fly: choked mini x20x2

1. Comp bp (pinky on ring)
45/95/135/185/225/265x5
300x2x4@8/8/8.5/8.5
[email protected]

2. 2 bd wider than comp grip bp (ring on ring)
295x3x3@8/8.5/8.5

3. RD fly
25x10x2

Sa/

4. Hammer curl
40x15x2


The fam and I are planning on enjoying the nice day and going for a nice long trail walk this afternoon. I hope everyone has a good one today.
 
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