Sweetlou's training log

SweetLou321 said:
Thanks man. I'll give it a shot on Saturday and see how it goes. If this works I'll be stoked. I've tried using a squat bar and grabbing outside the rack (which I can) but my back just isn't big enough to create a good shelf that wide. Or maybe I don't know how to?
Click to expand...

I dunno. My back isn't excessively large or shelf-y, and that wide is awfully wide. I get my hand grip and then stand up past where the bar will sit and "grab" the bar with each rear delt one at a time, just to make sure I'm well shelved.
 
8/21/15-bench assistance
Warmup
Usual stuff plus extra lower body rolling and stretching
Comp bench to 1 board
135+160lbs chainx5
155+160lbs chainx5
175+160lbs chainx5 (felt my pec so shut it down)
Incline tricep dominant db press paused
60x5x10
Sohp
135x3x10
135x8, technical failure
Pullups various grips
40 total
Unilateral mini band oh ext/front raises/side raises/mini band face pulls
25/15x15/15x15/20, 4 sets
Notes: pec didn't really hurt. Just felt off and unstable on the top set. All moved well though. The db didn't bother my pec as I really kept the elbows tucked and used my Tris. Good day for just hurting my pec. I will start developing a plan to move forward now.
 
Just read a piece by Chad Aichs about tearing his pec and how he wishes he would have waited a few more weeks after he "felt good" before really testing it. He basically kept tearing it over and over because he would go after it every time it felt good instead of waiting just a few more weeks. When he finally did that he stopped retearing stuff. I think you're smart to shut it down early. I'm sure Herder could say it better right now; he's been coming back awesome since his meet.
 
Hyde said:
Just read a piece by Chad Aichs about tearing his pec and how he wishes he would have waited a few more weeks after he "felt good" before really testing it. He basically kept tearing it over and over because he would go after it every time it felt good instead of waiting just a few more weeks. When he finally did that he stopped retearing stuff. I think you're start to shut it down early. I'm sure Herder could say it better right now; he's been coming back awesome since his meet.
Click to expand...

Today was more to see what was really going on and what I felt and what I didnt. See what I could and couldn't do.

So the next few weeks will be lighter and more planned work to slowly ease it back in.

I'm already ahead of where I was the last time I hurt it.
 
That Chad Aichs thing is so true, Hyde. Feeling good and being better aren't the same, and my dumb ass has had to play around for ten months with this bastard. I'd like to think my bench would be closer to 420 if I hadn't kept injuring it.
 
It's funny how we all read how people **** themselves up then they say I should have waited to get after it again. But then we hurt ourselves and completely ignore this advice
 
Duramaxhd said:
It's funny how we all read how people **** themselves up then they say I should have waited to get after it again. But then we hurt ourselves and completely ignore this advice
Click to expand...

Edit:the only person I've read that actually followed this advice and didn't even test it was swim
 
8/22/15-comp deadlift/squat assistance
Warmup
Usual stuff
Comp deadlift
525x5, new training max of 610. Rpe 9.5-10
Pause comp squats
70ish%-315x5x5 1s pause
Ghrs
Bwx2x10
Avg band GMs
3x15 (knee was hurting on ghrs)
Planks
4x30s
45s
Notes: very ready for a deload. I'm pretty worn out now. Not my best rep out on pulls but I feel a set of 5 is more accurate then 10 reps. I tried herders method to squat in a rack and it worked perfectly. Thanks man. My squats looked and felt perfect and depth was no problem. Ready to deload and regroup. Time to rehab my pec and get things going in the right direction
 
liftandswim said:
Nice session, Lou. I agree a heavy set of 5 is a good benchmark. Rest up
Click to expand...

Thanks bud!

Now time to take what worked from the last 12 weeks and make my next twelve week plan. I'm not sure how much I got out of the cat for time work honestly. I feel something more straight forward would have yielded similar or better results.
 
SweetLou321 said:
Thanks bud!

Now time to take what worked from the last 12 weeks and make my next twelve week plan. I'm not sure how much I got out of the cat for time work honestly. I feel something more straight forward would have yielded similar or better results.
Click to expand...

Yeah, man. It's all about finding what works for you. What're you going to keep/change?
 
liftandswim said:
Yeah, man. It's all about finding what works for you. What're you going to keep/change?
Click to expand...

I'm going to keep myself in a volume/hypertrophy phase and keep my total working sets high. I'm also going to try and keep my lifts closer to variants of the main lifts.

Change will be not to do the cat for time work. I may use it as a way to get back down volume in on my main movements however.

I'll also need to change my bench work so I can rehab my pec and still make progress. Ohp will take a front row seat for now.

Squat and deadlift might change to a 5/3/1 variation for simplicity sake but I'm very undecided on that. I'd need to watch CWS video on programming before I decide on anything concrete.

I wish I could get a look at more of josh Bryant's programming honestly.
 
liftandswim said:
Cool. Interested to see what you come up with. I'm going to experiment on myself after this training cycle
Click to expand...

I'm also curious to see what you come up with also. I tried the cat stuff. I felt good deff helped my conditioning. However that increased conditioning didn't stick around to long. So I'll try some other stuff now.
 
I'll post everything in my log when the time comes. Getting away from two a days because I'll be busier. Returning to full body workouts, mostly.

And yeah, conditioning is good for you. Health-wise. But for our current concerns, total work capacity (being able to tolerate and recover from a heavy, voluminous workload) wins.
 
Awesome to hear. My training squats Got so much better when I figured that out.
 
So I watched the CWS video. I like his style a lot. My only question how does he set PRS or new training maxes? Does he really only set new maxes in meets? Or does he use the numbers for all blocks then peaks even if there is no meet to set new maxes?

I guess what I'm saying is waiting till a meet to set a new max can be a long time and I'm a touch impatient. Lol
 
But, the weight could be worth it. I remember an article he posted on JTS, talking about how he programs with %, but how the %'s are never entirely accurate or something. I'll try to find it.
 
SweetLou321 said:
So I watched the CWS video. I like his style a lot. My only question how does he set PRS or new training maxes? Does he really only set new maxes in meets? Or does he use the numbers for all blocks then peaks even if there is no meet to set new maxes?

I guess what I'm saying is waiting till a meet to set a new max can be a long time and I'm a touch impatient. Lol
Click to expand...

He doesn't peak unless he has a meet, from my understanding. So yes all his best lifts are from meets. All his assistance lift training maxes are estimates or based off rep PRs.

You gotta realize one reason he may do this is because he can't really expect to his new 1RMs once or twice a year, if that. I don't see anything wrong with hitting a heavy lift (could be a double or triple) and using that to move forward if you don't plan on peaking anytime soon.

Edit:
And yes to what sean said. CWS is to the point where he said he knows what numbers he needs to hit and when, to improve upon his last meet. The percentages are there, but he reserves the right to bump the weights up or down on the day.
 
Diet update.

I feel like a bloated sob.

Current macros
275g pro/575g carbs/145g fats. 4700 cals.

Current weight is 218.5

I'm up 4.5lbs in 3 months since the meet. I gained the last 2.5lbs last week lol.

I'm genuinely sick of eating. I eat so much ice cream and so many pop tarts its stupid.
 
Sean1332 said:
He burns the cals off fast with repetitive spoon dives into tubs of ice cream. If you eat with intensity, you can't get fat. Science.

I'm jealous of those carbs, Lou!
Click to expand...

I lol'd so hard

Been doing the CAT squat for time Lou but been using the SSB beltless w the same straight bar %s and been slowly bumping 5-10lbs/wk as long as performance improved. Been following Base Building for off-season stuff with some personal tweaks but the big thing I like about Carter's approach to CAT work is he has several %/set/rep schemes to toggle to keep progressing if you stick, plus I've been slowly autoregulating the loads over the last 2 months as well.
Went from 242 on 5x5 in 12 min after last meet to 312 in 7:45 min last week. Moving to a slightly heavier scheme tomorrow. Very strange to not feel anything over 402 in a while but my SSB numbers are def improving. We'll see if it translates in time.
 
Hyde said:
I lol'd so hard

Been doing the CAT squat for time Lou but been using the SSB beltless w the same straight bar %s and been slowly bumping 5-10lbs/wk as long as performance improved. Been following Base Building for off-season stuff with some personal tweaks but the big thing I like about Carter's approach to CAT work is he has several %/set/rep schemes to toggle to keep progressing if you stick, plus I've been slowly autoregulating the loads over the last 2 months as well.
Went from 242 on 5x5 in 12 min after last meet to 312 in 7:45 min last week. Moving to a slightly heavier scheme tomorrow. Very strange to not feel anything over 402 in a while but my SSB numbers are def improving. We'll see if it translates in time.
Click to expand...

Curious to see how this works out for you. That is some good progression!
 
I'm a big fan of CWS style of programming. Except I'm not a fan of doing high reps on the comp lifts. I find it very hard to maintain technical proficiency while doing so. Anyone else find this or am I just getting lazy on the higher reps?

Edit: I guess my background in conjugate and gear shows in this regard lol.
 
This is something I drew up quickly. I will likely write several 12 weeks plans and tweak each until one fits the bill with what I want to a t

Goals: improve technical proficiency in the squat and deadlift, hypertrophy, and work capacity.

Day 1-bench
Day 2-squat/deadlift
Day 3-bench
Day 4-squat/deadlift

Day 1
Bench rehab
1-1 board bench 155 8x3 add 40lbs chains every 2 sets
2-1 board bench 175 8x3 add 40lbs chain every 2 sets
3-1 board bench 195 8x3 add 40lbs chain every 2 sets
4-deload
JM press
5x10
Seated oh db press
4x10
Rows
5x10
Tris/bis/upper back 4x10

Day 2
Comp squat 5/3/1 (technique based squats)
1-5s, 70%x4x3 cat emom
2-3s, 70%x5x3 cat emom
3-1s, 70%x6x3 cat emom
4-deload
Rdls (hypertrophy based pulls)
5x10
Unilateral adductor leg press
4x15
Abs
5x10

Day 3
Press 5/3/1
1-5s, 4 back down sets of 10
2-3s, 4 back down sets of 10
3-1s, 4 back down sets of 10
4-deload
Incline triceps db press
4x10
Pull ups
1-40 total
2-42 total
3-45 total
4-deload
Front/side raises
4x10
Triceps
100 total reps

Day 4
Comp deadlift 5/3/1 (technique based pull)
1-5s, 70%x6x1 cat emom
2-3s, 70%x8x1 cat emom
3-1s, 70%x10x1 cat emom
4-deload
High bar squat (hypertrophy based squat)
5x10
Ghrs
4x10
Abs
5x10

This was just something easy to write up that fits my goals and training philosophy. I will continue to spend the next week exploring other options and learning. That is 1 4 week hypertrophy block. I have another written up and a 4 week strength block also. The volume is very high and I may have to autoregulate sessions as I continue to build myself over time.
 
I think it's part laziness because I'm like that too but like you also, I feel the big 3 should be trained for performance, every rep being technically sound. I can use a big 3 variant or assistance lift to build work capacity and size. I think that's one of the reasons why I've stuck with 1020 for far over a year. No more than 5 reps on comp lifts/peak only for meets/but still acquire new maxes after offseason training.

CWS is high frequency with his lifts, right?
 
Sean1332 said:
I think it's part laziness because I'm like that too but like you also, I feel the big 3 should be trained for performance, every rep being technically sound. I can use a big 3 variant or assistance lift to build work capacity and size. I think that's one of the reasons why I've stuck with 1020 for far over a year. No more than 5 reps on comp lifts/peak only for meets/but still acquire new maxes after offseason training.

CWS is high frequency with his lifts, right?
Click to expand...

Yes he is high frequency in his hypertrophy and becomes less frequent as he passes through strength and into peaking.

Ie
Hypertrophy-3 squat days
Strength-2 squat days
Peaking-1 squat day

But yes I think its part laziness. But I notice I lose my maximum force output when going for high reps. As I have to pace myself to not gas out early. The major reason I keep cat work around so much. As this is not something I'm naturally good at but I've noticed huge improvements in my top end performance maintaining this skill.
 
Sean1332 said:
I like your template. Reminds me a bit of Clint Darden's 531/Westside template.
Click to expand...

This is just something simple. I may go with something more traditional like CWS to simply try it and see how it goes. My only thing is I don't have the time to toggle frequency like he does with his intensity ranges.
 
SweetLou321 said:
I'm a big fan of CWS style of programming. Except I'm not a fan of doing high reps on the comp lifts. I find it very hard to maintain technical proficiency while doing so. Anyone else find this or am I just getting lazy on the higher reps?

Edit: I guess my background in conjugate and gear shows in this regard lol.
Click to expand...

I agree. That is why in the mean time I kept the comp lifts in the EMOM stuff for right now. Now high bar squats, sldl, yes I like them at higher reps. I've honestly, from a feel stand point, never really liked more than 5 reps on the big 3.
 
Yes, to what sean and rob said. You could always keep the competition lifts in a lower rep range and bang out more reps with a variant.

And from a physiological standpoint it's impossible to have "max force output" on anything more than one rep. Rep number two you can push as hard as you want, but it won't be the same as rep one. And so on. So should we only train singles? And remember, technical proficiency under heavy loads in something developed in the strength and peaking block. It's not to say that you should let your technique go to hell otherwise, but I don't think you should get caught up in what you could do under a heavy load while in a hypertrophy block. My 2 cents.
 
I just want to say who needs to buy a book when all this great information gets passed along here I love these forums
 
liftandswim said:
Yes, to what sean and rob said. You could always keep the competition lifts in a lower rep range and bang out more reps with a variant.

And from a physiological standpoint it's impossible to have "max force output" on anything more than one rep. Rep number two you can push as hard as you want, but it won't be the same as rep one. And so on. So should we only train singles? And remember, technical proficiency under heavy loads in something developed in the strength and peaking block. It's not to say that you should let your technique go to hell otherwise, but I don't think you should get caught up in what you could do under a heavy load while in a hypertrophy block. My 2 cents.
Click to expand...

More food for thought. I like it. I will keep reading and toying around to find something that's fits my needs and training philosophy.

Edit: have you ready josh Bryant's bench e book? I'd love you thoughts on the research he covers for cat work ect.

If not send me your email and I'll send it to you.
 
liftandswim said:
Thanks, bud. I got it. I'll read over it when I get the chance. Back to school tomorrow. I'm a statistics teaching assistant this semester so I'll be pretty busy
Click to expand...

Cool man. It's a good read so I'm sure you will enjoy it when you get to it. All research based pretty much
 
Donating blood and db is still 140/80 and resting heart rate is 95. So it came down a touch.

Anyone know the best type of cardio to reduce resting heart rate and bp? I'll add it in a few days a week and see if it helps. Why not?
 
8/24/15-bench deload
Warmup
Change hammer swings for band shoulder dislocations. Treat me better.
Usual stuff with extra lower body work.
Bench rehab, 1 board
135x4x3 comp grip paused
135x4x3 close grip paused
JM press paused
135x3x10
Seated oh db press paused
60x2x10
Seated wide grip cable rows
135x3x10
Side raises/db curls/bb shrugs
20x10/30x10/225x10 2 sets
Cardio: 20min on bike
Notes: adjusted set up on bench to save my back which is feeling better after some dedicated work. Comp grip feels good but close grip feels completely normal. The rest was good work and felt great. Cardio will be done 2xpw on whatever days I have extra time to bring down hr and bp.
 
Personally I like the initial layout a lot - you get exposure to each of the big 3 still but the bulk of your volume is coming from more volume-friendly movements. Not sure how truly CAT the squat is gonna be in a fairly fatigued state after an AMRAP, coming from someone using that right now, but the steady increase in volume squatting at 70% certainly can't hurt. When in doubt, you're still squatting with a steady progression. You could do a lot worse.
 
Hyde said:
Personally I like the initial layout a lot - you get exposure to each of the big 3 still but the bulk of your volume is coming from more volume-friendly movements. Not sure how truly CAT the squat is gonna be in a fairly fatigued state after an AMRAP, coming from someone using that right now, but the steady increase in volume squatting at 70% certainly can't hurt. When in doubt, you're still squatting with a steady progression. You could do a lot worse.
Click to expand...

Thanks man. Unsure if I will amrap or use a cap with repeating sets. It'll depend on how everything feels I guess. I did a similar layout before and the cat work is tough but I will be diligent and may even drop the percent if need be. It'll be much easier to do now that my squat is unwrapped also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top