Does my bum look big in this squat rack?

Log fail

Keep leaving my logbook in my shed.

Here's a real quick look at what's been going on:

14/8 Sumos: pulled 225 for a single. Band pullaparts, shoulder work and curls.
18/8 Bench: 132.5 for a single and a few lighter singles after that. Did some wide benches to the neck for d'auld chest. Wide NG chins and Shoulder presses. Kroc rowed the oly bar with 40k on it. Was different. Did some tricep exts with my shotput/expensive door stop.

Lived/worked from New Ross for a few weeks while kitchen ws being gutted. Got in some sessions there. Mainly DB benching, squatted 212.5 for an easy single. Pulled 240 x 1 conventional, lost a 2nd rep with it above the knee. Flew off the ground though, thanks sumos.

29/8 Foam roller bench: Worked up to 140 x 2 then di 100kg for 3 sets. Shotput triceps, weighted chins (10kg), rows and shoulder death complex.
31/8 Squat. Missed 215kg for a single. Just felt crap. Did wide GM's in oly shoes with 100kg for 5 sets. finished off with abs and curls.
2/9 Bench 120 x6/5/3 and some more wide benchs to the neck.
5/9 Sumos. 230 x 1, 220x1, 220x2. Rack pulls below knee up to 240 x and 260 x miss. abs.
6/9 Bench. Foam roller bench. worked up to 145 x 1. Regular bench 100 x 3 sets. Weighted chins (10kg). riceps and shoulder work.
8/9 Squats. worked up to 215x2. Which went easy enough. More wide GM's with 100kg and curls.
13/9 Bench. 132.5 x 1, 130 x 2, 125 x 2. JM presses, front raises, weighted chins (10kg) and inverted rows.
15/9 Sumos 232.5 x 1 which might be a sumo PR? Rack pulls below knee up tot 250 x 1. Abs.
20/9 Foam roller bench.150 x 1 easy but missed the second rep. Thought I had it but arms just went limp. Wide bench to neck, weighted chins, unweighted chins and shoulder complex.
27/9 Squat. 220 x 1, 210 x 1, 200 x 2. Box squats to bench. 130 x 5sets. Abs and curls.

Tonight. Bench: 135 x 1, 130 x 2. Seated BNP up to 80kg x nearly dies getting it out of the rack. Did 70 x 2, 60 x4/3/2 then 30kgx11. Follwed up with tricep work and lots of BB rows.

So you can see the ME theme throughout here. Not training as regularly so making the %'s higher. Everythings going up anyway. Squat feeling natural again and hopefully I can keep getting 2.5kg added as often as possible. Sumo's are flying, have a nice rounded upper back arched lower back technique. Can feel all the right muscles working and my lower back is sitting idly by which is great. Bench is higher than what I'm lifting but I'm trying to just add weight and hopefully glide up to 150kg.

I'm still 97kg so lb for lb I'm stronger than ever. Also started to run......

Took a fit of madness one day, downloaded the Runtastic App on my phone and just went for a run. I ran 5k.

So there's my C25K program. Get of your fat hole and run 5k. below are my runs so far. Ran just under 10k on my 4th run so expect to win some kind of olympics in about 7 weeks. Feels good to run actually, kind of simple.

Run 1

Run 2

Run 3

Run 4

Hanley wrote: »

Running? IDIBISHDI

Still up the road from me so yah?

Yeah! We..... should....... go for a run together? What's happened to us?

Hanley wrote: »

Wanna come do the Crossfit Level 1 cert with me? Seems like the next logical step?

The Crossfit level 1 is not the next logical step to anything. It exists in a realm of it's own. In the flowchart of fitness it is an island.

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

I don't know what has come over this forum. Hanley's doing Crossfit and Jiu Jitsu and now you're Moses Kiptanui.

More paula radcliffe barry. What with the gentle soiling of myself while running I think she's a more appropriate comparison.

Tonights training. Deadlifts.

Sumo: worked up to 235x1 pr. Checked back and my best sumo pull before this cycle was 225 so these are all prs.

Rack pull (just below the knee): worked up to 240x4

Left it at that

Hanley wrote: »

So does that mean more running = bigger sumo DLs?

Yes. In keeping with the fitness tradition of looking at small niche examples and drawing broad and wide ranging conclusions from them, I think it's fair to say that.

Right just to update that I am in fact still training etc.

Started Smolov several weeks back and completed the attached smolov base cycle which culminated in the below squat test. Depth issues as per usual but I think I've sorted them a little since (pointing my feet outwards more, in case you're wondering how).



Cracked into the attached Intense cycle afterwards. Pretty much skipped the switching phase.

Smolov Intense is completely nuts. As you can see I'm underestimating my 1rm for it but it's kicking my ar5e. Today was the Friday of week 2 and the first time I missed anything rep or set wise. I round everything to the nearest multiple of 2.5kg so I was supposed to hit 4 sets of 5 with 210kg. Fock that! I managed 2 sets of 5 but I only got 4 in the 3rd set and blacked out at the top of that rep. Couldn't walk it back in so I just crumpled and let it hit the pins. I was missing the first half of the rugby match so I just left it there. I should be in one of those motivational Youtube vids.

The physical trauma of this is really kicking in. Feel properly overtrained and I'm sure someone was stabbing me in the inner thighs while i lowered every squat today. In a couple of days time I need to get 210kg 5x5. How is that even possible? I'm not being critical of Smolov I'm amazed that it IS even remotely possible but I do foresee the next few weeks of this being set to some kind of Benny Hill or other calamitous physical comedy music.

Hoping to hit 250kg to proper depth in competition at the end of all this, prob the IDFPA nationals. That or end up a vegetable. But WHAT a vegetable. Like a marrow or something.

In fairness today I broke my rule of being out of bed for at least 6 hours before squatting. I always feel like I'm going to fall apart if I squat or deadlift when the sun is up to be honest. Babypants woke us at 5:30 crying and when we went into her room we found her sitting in her cot and both her and the cot and her teddies were covered in puke. TGI Fridays kiddies meal, we decided to see if she liked BBQ sauce. She did... but shes never getting it again. Was up for a while and then went back to sleep at about 10am so felt groggy and stiff starting this at about 1:30.

Back to evenings from Tuesday. EVENINGS OF PAIN!

Da Za wrote: »

Nice 240 Kev.
Very relaxed taking it.

Still pulling sumo and will you when you compete?

I haven't deadlifted in months. And I've no idea what my numbers would be like conventional or sumo post-Smolov. I'm not that bothered about bench or pull rihgt now. Probably a 6 month project to get each of them up. My squat may well overtake my deadlift soon. Only 10kg in it as it stands.

Hanley wrote: »

Smolov's working then?

Last night took 2 hrs and I spent 1hr 55 mins of that in the recovery position between sets. Barely made the 5th rep on set 1 but I wasn't leaving until it was done. I'm in a heap today. Wifepants asked if I needed an ambulance when I came up from the shed. I was genuinely close to tears.

15th Feb: worked up to 4x3 with 220kg

Tonight: worked up to 210kg for 5x5. This is officially my least favourite rep scheme of all time. I am just not conditioned to handle the mix of medium reps with medium heavy weight. Came down with a severe case of pukehausens-by-proxy but managed not to actually throw up and got through it. Tonight's session was done in Woodbine gym down in new ross and the only nice narrow 20kg bar is smoother than Sean Connery and is pure chrome so chalk won't stick to it. The net result is a bar that slipped down my back repeatedly and destroyed my elbows. The left in particular.

There was a mirror in front of me for the first time in 2 years squatting and I noticed my arm/elbow angle is different on my left and right. I think I have a scap retraction issue. Really wouldn't mind having that looked at by someone.

The excruciating elbow pain between sets led me to a total nerd eureka moment. No one who isn't involved in IT or Comms will get this (so me and drifter basically) but I've discovered that the neural pathways in your arm are running QoS!

If thou are having bad elbow pain from too much squatting simply hold something rough or dimpled in the corresponding hand and roll it around. The pain will reduce hugely. Basically the signals from the nerve rich and very important hands are given precedence and the pain signals from the elbow are held back. Like email packets being held back to allow for voice packets across a WAN. Its QoS!

Tested tonight.



That lift is the culmination of every session in the last 4 years, that number has been my goal since I realised this is what I wanted to do. I doubted I'd ever lift it at times, now it feels like a stepping stone.

I also now have the same raw squat as raw deadlift. Imbalances FTW!