Logging this two days post workout, so it'll be brief.
Started with a bit of dynamic work and the usual bar work. Wore elbow sleeves and neoprene wrist support.
Floor Press, 3 sets of 3 reps to RPE=9 plus two sets at 93%: increased my RPE=9 set weight by 10kg and did AMRAP on the last of the 93% sets. It wasn't a lot (6 reps, I think) by that point.
Snatch-grip SLDL, 3 sets of 6 reps to RPE=9 plus 2 sets at 93%: raised the weight a good bit on this one and managed form -- glad to see progress here. Stuck to numbers to avoid destroying my low back.
Floor press, pinky on the ring, 3 sets of 6 to RPE=9 plus 2 sets at 93%: made it to about 90% of the weight above, which was surprising to me as toasty as my triceps were feeling. Got extra reps on the last set.
While I was working through the final floor press sets, I would sit on the floor and do push press (or military or whatever you want to call it) with my chains and a few plates on handles. Essentially, push press so that the last three or four inches bore all the weight, but lighter at the bottom for my old shoulders. I really liked these and will likely keep working them in. It was easy to initiate since I was already sitting on the floor.
Everything is still progressing -- very pleased. Little victories, guys, creeping toward big ones.
Have a great week. Next session is tonight.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
training PM wk 2 day 3 1/12
Long day, long week. Dark by the time I got to the room, and I ran the heater hard. Didn't need it, really, but wanted to get the sweat on. I did, pig-like.
Skipped day 2, a 4th-priority session, on purpose. I've felt beaten up and old all week, and I needed the rest. Hated to do it because I skipped push press, but I needed it. A man's got to know his limitations.
Started with a little dynamic work (should have done more) and a bit of bar work.
Deadlift: sets of 4, to RPE=9, plus two sets of 93% of RPE=9: gutted these out, no progress. Same weight, really, as my 2-count paused DLs, which kind of sucks.
Got the work in, and I took two Axcel after the first couple of sets. Shame they didn't kick in until later, because I could have used them. Also took 4 Advil, as my low-back has been sore since the last session, and I still had squats ahead of me.
Pin press: sets of 3 to RPE=9 plus two sets of 93%: Got 200kg, which is decent progress over last time. Felt okay about these despite the fact that I seriously gutted up the third rep off the pins.
For what it's worth, I rest the bar on the pins between reps and relax slightly, never letting go or relaxing my traps. I just release my triceps and pecs.
These felt good today, whereas my pecs felt a little spastic on the left side last time. Getting old.
2-count paused squats, to RPE=9, plus two sets of 93%: I went up by about 20kg this time. That's pretty frickin' huge, and I'm more than pleased. Felt great, got great depth, paused for a full two counts. The two 93% sets were brutal, but I wanted them. Hope I'm sore tomorrow.
I was a little concerned about jumping into volume, but it simply feels like another Sheiko routine. I have to say, I'm really liking this, and I feel very confident of PRs in the near future. Guess I'm another Tuchscherer convert.
Still hitting the carb backloading, still loving that. Everything is going pretty well on this front right now. Now to get the other fronts to be equally smooth, and I should be pretty content. Should.
Have a great night.
Skipped day 2, a 4th-priority session, on purpose. I've felt beaten up and old all week, and I needed the rest. Hated to do it because I skipped push press, but I needed it. A man's got to know his limitations.
Started with a little dynamic work (should have done more) and a bit of bar work.
Deadlift: sets of 4, to RPE=9, plus two sets of 93% of RPE=9: gutted these out, no progress. Same weight, really, as my 2-count paused DLs, which kind of sucks.
Got the work in, and I took two Axcel after the first couple of sets. Shame they didn't kick in until later, because I could have used them. Also took 4 Advil, as my low-back has been sore since the last session, and I still had squats ahead of me.
Pin press: sets of 3 to RPE=9 plus two sets of 93%: Got 200kg, which is decent progress over last time. Felt okay about these despite the fact that I seriously gutted up the third rep off the pins.
For what it's worth, I rest the bar on the pins between reps and relax slightly, never letting go or relaxing my traps. I just release my triceps and pecs.
These felt good today, whereas my pecs felt a little spastic on the left side last time. Getting old.
2-count paused squats, to RPE=9, plus two sets of 93%: I went up by about 20kg this time. That's pretty frickin' huge, and I'm more than pleased. Felt great, got great depth, paused for a full two counts. The two 93% sets were brutal, but I wanted them. Hope I'm sore tomorrow.
I was a little concerned about jumping into volume, but it simply feels like another Sheiko routine. I have to say, I'm really liking this, and I feel very confident of PRs in the near future. Guess I'm another Tuchscherer convert.
Still hitting the carb backloading, still loving that. Everything is going pretty well on this front right now. Now to get the other fronts to be equally smooth, and I should be pretty content. Should.
Have a great night.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Training PM day 1 week 2 1.9.2012
Alright, this one was hard. I don't have a lot of time to document this, so forgive the brevity.
Warmed up with some dynamic work and a lot of bar work. Used knee sleeves and elbow sleeves and not much else.
Water during, Dark Matter after. Was a little intimidated coming in, because I knew it would be hard and I did not stim up because I need the sleep tonight. Don't think that'll be a problem, and I shouldn't have worried.
Squat: sets of four to RPE=9, followed by 2 sets of 4 reps at 93% of my RPE=9 total. Hit 310kg on my RPE=9 sets. Pounded out the rest.
Comp Bench: sets of four to RPE=9, followed by 1 set of 4 reps at 95% and a second of AMRAP at 77%. Got what I had projected, though my left pec barked through most of it. 220kg.
2-count DL: sets of 3 to RPE=9 followed by 2 sets of 4 at 93% of the RPE=9 total. This sucked, though I got exactly what I had projected, which was around 660#.
As I said, this one was hard. Late in the day, mild stims seem like a good idea all of a sudden. Off to eat.
Warmed up with some dynamic work and a lot of bar work. Used knee sleeves and elbow sleeves and not much else.
Water during, Dark Matter after. Was a little intimidated coming in, because I knew it would be hard and I did not stim up because I need the sleep tonight. Don't think that'll be a problem, and I shouldn't have worried.
Squat: sets of four to RPE=9, followed by 2 sets of 4 reps at 93% of my RPE=9 total. Hit 310kg on my RPE=9 sets. Pounded out the rest.
Comp Bench: sets of four to RPE=9, followed by 1 set of 4 reps at 95% and a second of AMRAP at 77%. Got what I had projected, though my left pec barked through most of it. 220kg.
2-count DL: sets of 3 to RPE=9 followed by 2 sets of 4 at 93% of the RPE=9 total. This sucked, though I got exactly what I had projected, which was around 660#.
As I said, this one was hard. Late in the day, mild stims seem like a good idea all of a sudden. Off to eat.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
training PM day 4 1.7.2012
The carb backloading is still going pretty well, and my workouts are going through the roof. Great stuff.
I didn't do much dynamic work today -- mostly bar work to warm up. Been a nice Saturday.
Wore elbow sleeves and a Spud DL belt for the SLDLs.
Floor press, sets of 4 @7,8,9 RPE: Worked up to 220kg. Felt fantastic -- starting to love FP again.
Snatch grip SLDL, sets of 12 @7,8,9 RPE: Worked up to a decent weight, kept strict form, and felt these. I didn't push them as hard as I might otherwise, as I almost always leave them with low back pain. Not today.
Floor press, pinky on the ring, sets of 12 @7,8,9 RPE: hit 160kg and called it. With high-rep sets, the difference between RPE ratings can be 10kg or even how the previous set went. I didn't push all the way, but I'm sure I hit 8 for RPE and probably 9.
Got next week's workouts and have already hit up Bob for some smarts. I'm looking forward to it.
Have a great day, and thanks for checking in.
I didn't do much dynamic work today -- mostly bar work to warm up. Been a nice Saturday.
Wore elbow sleeves and a Spud DL belt for the SLDLs.
Floor press, sets of 4 @7,8,9 RPE: Worked up to 220kg. Felt fantastic -- starting to love FP again.
Snatch grip SLDL, sets of 12 @7,8,9 RPE: Worked up to a decent weight, kept strict form, and felt these. I didn't push them as hard as I might otherwise, as I almost always leave them with low back pain. Not today.
Floor press, pinky on the ring, sets of 12 @7,8,9 RPE: hit 160kg and called it. With high-rep sets, the difference between RPE ratings can be 10kg or even how the previous set went. I didn't push all the way, but I'm sure I hit 8 for RPE and probably 9.
Got next week's workouts and have already hit up Bob for some smarts. I'm looking forward to it.
Have a great day, and thanks for checking in.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
PM day 3 1.5.2012
Gorgeous day today. Very warm.
Warmed up the usual way, with a bunch of dynamic work and what ended up being a fair amount of bar work. Used knee and elbow sleeves and some loose briefs for hip support.
Deadlift, 2-count pause, 3 reps at 7, 8, and 9 RPE: reached 305kg and got 3 legit, paused reps. No one was more surprised than I was. Tried another 10kg and failed miserably -- got maybe an inch off the floor with the first rep and was done.
Pin press, 4 rep sets at 7,8,9 RPE: 190kg and was done.
Squat, 2-count pause, 4 rep sets at 7,8, and 9 RPE: Improved nearly 10% over last time. No idea where it came from. Depth was good, pauses were strict, and I felt great out of the hole.
Honestly, today was a fantastic effort. I felt like I could have approached a 1RM on squats, and my DL felt better than it has felt in recent memory. Everything felt good today. I was pretty well stimmed up (AtLarge Axcel, but I didn't take them until right before I hit the rumpus room, so it can't account for much.
Very pleased with the way this is going. I was starting to feel that maybe the volume was too low, but I went in today feeling a little tired. We'll see what I feel like tomorrow. I'm supposed to have another session tomorrow that I may move to Saturday.
Loving this. Off to eat.
Warmed up the usual way, with a bunch of dynamic work and what ended up being a fair amount of bar work. Used knee and elbow sleeves and some loose briefs for hip support.
Deadlift, 2-count pause, 3 reps at 7, 8, and 9 RPE: reached 305kg and got 3 legit, paused reps. No one was more surprised than I was. Tried another 10kg and failed miserably -- got maybe an inch off the floor with the first rep and was done.
Pin press, 4 rep sets at 7,8,9 RPE: 190kg and was done.
Squat, 2-count pause, 4 rep sets at 7,8, and 9 RPE: Improved nearly 10% over last time. No idea where it came from. Depth was good, pauses were strict, and I felt great out of the hole.
Honestly, today was a fantastic effort. I felt like I could have approached a 1RM on squats, and my DL felt better than it has felt in recent memory. Everything felt good today. I was pretty well stimmed up (AtLarge Axcel, but I didn't take them until right before I hit the rumpus room, so it can't account for much.
Very pleased with the way this is going. I was starting to feel that maybe the volume was too low, but I went in today feeling a little tired. We'll see what I feel like tomorrow. I'm supposed to have another session tomorrow that I may move to Saturday.
Loving this. Off to eat.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
PM day 2
Feel great -- no soreness from yesterday at all. In fact, I need extra work, so no heartburn at all about having a session today.
Warmed up the usual way. Wore elbow sleeves today and neoprene wrists.
Still figuring out matching weights to RPE, so in some cases I had lots of sets and in others got very close very quickly.
To it:
Bench + doubled monster minis, sets of 3 to RPE=9: 180kg plus the bands for the last set, which was pretty close to a 9, I'd say. Might go with Pro Light bands (one tougher) next time based on how the bands work with my rack. Good start today, though.
Front squat, sets of 6 to RPE=9: 160kg, got nowhere near a 9. I hate front squats (which likely means I should work on them) because I spend more energy on form than on the weight. Honestly, I struggled with cramping in my serratus anterior far more than quads. By the end, I was struggling to hold the bar up and not even feeling it in my quads. I may see if I can use the SSB instead, though I'll stick with whatever Mike wants. I'd rather do overhead squats than front squats. Hate 'em.
Incline, pinky on the ring, sets of 12 to RPE=9: Love these. 155kg legit to a true RPE of 9 (if not 9.5). I struggled with the last set, feeling them in my triceps after the benching.
Whining about front squats aside, a very good session. Over in a hurry, really, but that works out very well with today's schedule. Still very excited about this, and looking forward to session 3.
Great day, all.
Warmed up the usual way. Wore elbow sleeves today and neoprene wrists.
Still figuring out matching weights to RPE, so in some cases I had lots of sets and in others got very close very quickly.
To it:
Bench + doubled monster minis, sets of 3 to RPE=9: 180kg plus the bands for the last set, which was pretty close to a 9, I'd say. Might go with Pro Light bands (one tougher) next time based on how the bands work with my rack. Good start today, though.
Front squat, sets of 6 to RPE=9: 160kg, got nowhere near a 9. I hate front squats (which likely means I should work on them) because I spend more energy on form than on the weight. Honestly, I struggled with cramping in my serratus anterior far more than quads. By the end, I was struggling to hold the bar up and not even feeling it in my quads. I may see if I can use the SSB instead, though I'll stick with whatever Mike wants. I'd rather do overhead squats than front squats. Hate 'em.
Incline, pinky on the ring, sets of 12 to RPE=9: Love these. 155kg legit to a true RPE of 9 (if not 9.5). I struggled with the last set, feeling them in my triceps after the benching.
Whining about front squats aside, a very good session. Over in a hurry, really, but that works out very well with today's schedule. Still very excited about this, and looking forward to session 3.
Great day, all.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Project Momentum day 1
Started the latest Mike Tuchscherer project today. I suspect it will take a few swings before I make contact, as it were, though it isn't a complicated program. The trick is translating perceived effort to weights, knowing that RPE changes from day to day based upon any number of factors, such as stress, work, sleep, how much I ate, ...anything. So 90% RPE today might be 70% tomorrow, or vice versa. So it goes.
Still backloading, and it's going well. After the carb debauchery last weekend, I craved carbs for several days. Badly. It's abated a good bit, and I've substituted massive amounts of grassfed bison and sauteed vegetables, which I happen to absolutely love. And almonds. Anything to get to training time.
Started with a fair amount of dynamic work and way, way too many bar sets before figuring out where my RPE of 7 started.
Squats, 3-rep 2-count paused: got up to about 300kg and called it. Honestly, I think I had a couple of reps left (RPE=8), but pitched forward at the top and called it. Besides, I knew I had to DL later.
Depth was solid, pauses were strict. The weight came up super-fast. Next time.
Bench, 3-rep 2-count paused: climbed weight fast to avoid tiring, got over 200kg and was done. This was a legit RPE of 9, if I had another.
Deadlift, 4-rep 2-count paused: Got to 245kg and thought I was done -- RPE was high 8. Figured anything more would fail, so I took off 5kg and slapped on another 10 each side to go to 260kg. These came up more easily than the 245, but I wasn't going to do it again. I logged 500-something paused as RPE 9 and called the session.
These made me nervous, particularly after the squats. DL is the one discipline I expect to gain most on during this 8 weeks, frankly. The way I react to different lifts puzzles me, as I really thought I'd pull one and done, but the whole lot came up pretty well. I know I had one left in the tank, but don't know that I had two. I feel okay about it.
A good start. Next session is tomorrow, and I am very much looking forward to completing the course and seeing where it takes me. The upshot, of course, is that now I will have to start planning another comp.
Hope everyone had a great weekend, and I wish you all a great 2012.
Still backloading, and it's going well. After the carb debauchery last weekend, I craved carbs for several days. Badly. It's abated a good bit, and I've substituted massive amounts of grassfed bison and sauteed vegetables, which I happen to absolutely love. And almonds. Anything to get to training time.
Started with a fair amount of dynamic work and way, way too many bar sets before figuring out where my RPE of 7 started.
Squats, 3-rep 2-count paused: got up to about 300kg and called it. Honestly, I think I had a couple of reps left (RPE=8), but pitched forward at the top and called it. Besides, I knew I had to DL later.
Depth was solid, pauses were strict. The weight came up super-fast. Next time.
Bench, 3-rep 2-count paused: climbed weight fast to avoid tiring, got over 200kg and was done. This was a legit RPE of 9, if I had another.
Deadlift, 4-rep 2-count paused: Got to 245kg and thought I was done -- RPE was high 8. Figured anything more would fail, so I took off 5kg and slapped on another 10 each side to go to 260kg. These came up more easily than the 245, but I wasn't going to do it again. I logged 500-something paused as RPE 9 and called the session.
These made me nervous, particularly after the squats. DL is the one discipline I expect to gain most on during this 8 weeks, frankly. The way I react to different lifts puzzles me, as I really thought I'd pull one and done, but the whole lot came up pretty well. I know I had one left in the tank, but don't know that I had two. I feel okay about it.
A good start. Next session is tomorrow, and I am very much looking forward to completing the course and seeing where it takes me. The upshot, of course, is that now I will have to start planning another comp.
Hope everyone had a great weekend, and I wish you all a great 2012.
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