Sets of faahve

Mr. CooL ICE

April 20. W14D3+D4 pt1

Long winded title...

Missed gym yesterday due to work, so decided to do the main lifts for yesterday and today all at once. Realised it was a bad idea, so split it into morning and afternoon session.

Instead of squat/bench yesterday and deadlift/bench today, I made it a morning lower/lunchtime upper split instead.

Tempo squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 4
120kg x 4
130kg x 4

Up to x4 @9. Last rep was dodgy as feck.

Paused deadlift:
70kg x 5 (no pause)
90kg x 3 (no pause)
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
130kg x 3
140kg x 3
150kg x 3
160kg x 3

Up to x3 @9. Thought the 150x3 would have been a top set but it wasn't even an 8. Jumped up to 160x3 and it felt fine. Bar drifted forward on last rep and I fell out of position but aside from that, felt alright.

Once I started deadlifts, I realised paused deads after tempo squats was a ridiculous idea. Am I trying to kill myself or what?

Mr. CooL ICE

April 20. W14D3+D4 pt2

Realised after typing out the above that the 160x3 is probably the heaviest I've deadlifted beltless. And I did for a paused triple. Graaand.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
95kg x 5
90kg x 5
90kg x 5
90kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. Despite having all the food after this morning's session and a bit of coffee, I just didn't feel strong. I guess I expected my numbers to be a bit higher. But with my 90x8 @10 a few weeks ago, this was on par. Notions!

OHP/pullup superset:
20kg x 5
30kg x 5
40kg x 5/x 3
50kg x 5/x 5
50kg x 5/x 5
50kg x 5/x 8

Up to x5 @ 8. Had 60s rest between each exercise.

In and out of the gym in 40 minutes. Graaand.

Mr. CooL ICE

April 23. W15D1

Squat:
20kg x 5
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
* sleeves *
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 4
140kg x 2
150kg x 1
160kg x 1
152.5kg x 3
142.5kg x 3
142.5kg x 3
142.5kg x 3

Single, followed by 3 @9 followed by 2x3 @8 - 2.5%. 160 was more of an 8.5 than an expected 8. Lost some tightness and bar lurched forward, but was able to grind it up. Also, used 15s and 25s for warmup plates to try replicate comp conditions.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 1
95kg x 1
100kg x 1
105kg x 1
100kg x 3
92.5kg x 3
92.5kg x 3

Single, followed by 3 @9 followed by 2x3 @8 - 2.5%. The 105 flew up. Was expecting it to be a 9 but there was definitely more than 1 left. But what I'm happiest with is 100x3... Being able to rep 100 paused has been a short term goal of mine so I'm fckin delighted. Shame about my inability to get a good camera angle.

BTN press:
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
35kg x 10
35kg x 10
35kg x 10

Nothing specific. Just wanted a burn.

I'm no Ice Cube, but it was a good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

April 24. W15D2

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
130kg x 3
150kg x 2
160kg x 1
170kg x 1
165kg x 3
145kg x 5
145kg x 5

Single, followed by 3 @9 followed by 2x5 @8 - 2.5%. Was considering going up to 172.5 if warmups went well but bar felt heavy today. Form for triple @ 165 was all over the shop. I may have fatigued myself a bit with my paused triple on Friday. Dunno.

Floor press:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 4

Up to x4 @8. Didn't go to RPE 9 because I was afraid of aggravating my elbow. Was grand.

SSB squat/pullup superset:
60kg x 5
80kg x 5/x 3
90kg x 5
100kg x 5/x 5
100kg x 5/x 5
100kg x 5/x 5

Up to x5 @8.

Weird day.

Deano7788

There's no way that triple was a 9!

Alf Veedersane

Deano7788 wrote: »

There's no way that triple was a 9!

7/7.5

Mr. CooL ICE

April 26. W15D3

Pause squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 4
135kg x 3
122.5kg x 4
122.5kg x 4
122.5kg x 4

Up to x4 @9... well, it was supposed to be. 3rd rep on top set was all over the place and I lost all confidence, so reracked.

I've realised I'm not getting tight enough on my upper back and it's causing me to shift forward. I was trying a few different things today but for the top set, this resulted in me slightly hyperextending my back.

Also, my recent elbow pain might be down to my squat. Bar has felt like it's weighing down on my hands and I can't seem to get rid of it. For the last drop set, I widened my grip slightly and it seemed to help. But more practise is needed because today just felt awkward as hell.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 5
40kg x 8
60kg x 8
80kg x 8
92.5kg x 8
85kg x 7

Up to x8 @10. This was most definitely a 10, and a new 8RM. Didn't even finish one drop set as my triceps were fcuked.

OHP:
20kg x 5
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
50kg x 5

Up to x5 @8, repeat. Ran out of time.

Mixed day:

Alf Veedersane

One thing that helped me with upper back tightness has been to pull the bar apart when I'm bracing. It really helps tighten my sh*t up.

Also used get elbow/forearm pain from squats. Widening helped a bit but I also couldn't get as tight. Physio prescribed exercises that worked forearms more than anything and it seemed to help. Bringing in my grip does make it a little uncomfortable still though

Mr. CooL ICE

April 27. W15D4

Sweeping deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
130kg x 5
140kg x 5
152.5kg x 5
142.5kg x 5
142.5kg x 5
142.5kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. These felt tough. I realised that for some reason, I was being very careful with the barbell and lowering it really slowly, which probably made every rep more difficult. I never smash the bar down or anything. Maybe the bar being pulled away from me threw me off or something.

CGBP/facepull superset:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5/23kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20
85kg x 5/29kg plate x 20

Up to x5 @8, repeat. Triceps are fcuked after that. 29kg plate of the facepulls seemed light today so should go heavier next time.

In and out in an hour. Graaand.

Mr. CooL ICE

April 30. W16D1

Squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 3
140kg x 2
140kg x 1
* sleeves *
150kg x 1
155kg x 1
162.5kg x 1 (+2.5kg PR)
145kg x 4
140kg x 4
140kg x 4

Up to heavy single, followed by x4 @9 and 2x4 @8. 162.5 felt very much like a 9. Usually put my knee sleeves on for 100kg but forgot today until late. Guess that's probably a sleeveless PR or something.

Regarding form... I tried changing a few things and couldn't put everything together, which meant form was inconsistent. I've widened my grip by one finger, I've tried tucking my chin more and have tried not releasing my core tension from unracking to descending. Granted, a PR is a PR, but I'd rather have gotten the PR properly. Have lots to work on.

Will reintroduce pin squats from next week. They helped massively with my bracing cues in the past. Also, my lever belt is after getting fairly tight. Will loosen it a notch.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 1
95kg x 1
100kg x 1
107.5kg x 1
97.5kg x 3
90kg x 4
90kg x 4

Up to heavy single, followed by x4 @9 and 2x4 @8. Single was a 9. Head rose off the bench, so form breakdown/red light. Stopped the 97.5kg set short because 3 reps was a 9. The 90s were also tough.

BTN press:
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
30kg x 10

Was running out of time. Only had time for some high rep sets.

Was hungover yesterday and bad sleep last night. Just didn't feel strong today

Alf Veedersane

Noice

Mr. CooL ICE

May 1. W16D2

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
130kg x 3
140kg x 2
150kg x 2
160kg x 1
172.5kg x 1 (+2.5kg sumo PR)
162.5kg x 4
147.5kg x 6
147.5kg x 6

Up to single, followed by x4 @9, followed by 2x6 @8. Single moved slowly but form felt good. 162.5x4 scared me when I approached it but I felt like I nailed every rep and it could have been an 8. Happy.

Pin bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 4
90kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg x 2
102.5kg x 2
102.5kg x 2
102.5kg x 2?

Up to x2 @9. Usually do regular bench for early warmups to 60kg, but pins were set up at the right spot so was just lazy. Can't remember if I actually did the 3rd drop set or not.

SSB squat/chinup superset:
60kg x 6
80kg x 6/x 3
100kg x 6/x 6

Up to x6 @8, repeat. Find myself not going further than 100kg in the SSB, so am possibly in a comfort zone of sorts. Did chins instead of pullups because I haven't done them in a while. And I don't actually train biceps. Suns out, guns out etc

Good day. Didn't record my @9 set after the single cos somebody kept walking in front of where I put the camera.

Alf Veedersane

That single was lovely.

Mr. CooL ICE

Forgot to say; loosened my belt one notch and it's now as big as it can get. I am no longer an M-size

Alf Veedersane

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

Forgot to say; loosened my belt one notch and it's now as big as it can get. I am no longer an M-size

Powerlifting4lyfe

Mr. CooL ICE

May 3. W16D3

Tempo squat:
20kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
135kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3

Up to x3 @9. Kinda figured where in my setup I may have been going wrong. I pulled the bar into my delts while still racked, whereas recently I may have been holding the bar on my delts and not pulling it in until after it was unracked. Only a subtle difference, but everything felt a bit tighter.

Widened my stance slightly too. Narrowed it a few weeks back in response to my depth being iffy. Although depth is harder to reach due to crap mobility, everything feels stronger when wider.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 4
90kg x 4
100kg x 4
92.5kg x 4
92.5kg x 4
92.5kg x 4

Up to x4 @9. 100x4 was more of a 9.5, so dropped weight for dropsets by an extra 2.5kg as they would have been 95 if 100x4 was a 9. Felt good.

OHP/hammer curl superset:
20kg x 6
30kg x 6
40kg x 6
50kg x 6/5kgs x 20
50kg x 6/5kgs x 20
50kg x 4/5kgs x 20

Up to x6 @8. 50x6 was more like a 9 but I just stuck with it for lols, so failed in the last set. Decided last minute to do some light, high rep curls because my left elbow still gets a little achey so wanted to get blood flowing to the area. My biceps are weak as fcuk cos I was wrecked after them.

Good day.

Mr. CooL ICE

May 4. W16D4

Pause deadlift:
70kg x 5 (no pause)
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
130kg x 3
150kg x 3
160kg x 3
152.5kg x 3
152.5kg x 3
152.5kg x 3

Up to x3 @9. Could feel my back rounding slightly on last rep of top set. Set otherwise felt strong but didn't continue because form breakdown.

The great thing about paused deadlifts is you get to feel every single muscle in the posterior chain on fire for half a second before locking out.

JM press/dumbbell reverse flye superset:
20kg x 6
40kg x 6
50kg x 6
60kg x 6/5kgs x 10
70kg x 6/5kgs x 15
70kg x 6/5kgs x 15
70kg x 6/5kgs x 15

Up to x6 @8. 60s between each exercise Only lasted 3 sets because triceps had started to give up.

Prowler sprint:
+20kg length x 2
+20kg length x 2
+20kg length x 2

60s rest between rounds. Was waiting for friend to finish up, so decided to do this instead of my usual go-to filler (pullups). As expected, my conditioning is sh1te. Not on the verge of puking or anything, but didn't get my breath back properly for at least 5 minutes afterwards.

For the next month or so, I should do something like this on a Friday as with two days to recover, it won't hinder me. Besides, a lack of conditioning is holding me back when doing high rep anything.

Grand day.

Dtp1979

Are these paused on sumo or traditionl and where do u pause?

Mr. CooL ICE

Sumo. I just pause some time after breaking the floor to check if my form holds together or not, as sumo is generally harder off the floor. Bar would be below the knee. Anything above that would probably be pointless because anything close to lockout would be the easier part of sumo.

Alf Veedersane

Off the floor is usually where you'd pause with sumo since it's the place you'll likely lose back position if you're going to.

Off the floor works well on conventional as well but it will depend more on where form starts to go but it's usually going to be somewhere below the knees.

Deano7788

Or you could be like me and have to them twice a week, once at the knee and once off the floor! I’m convinced my coach hates me...

Mr. CooL ICE

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Off the floor is usually where you'd pause with sumo since it's the place you'll likely lose back position if you're going to.

Off the floor works well on conventional as well but it will depend more on where form starts to go but it's usually going to be somewhere below the knees.

I know there are variations such as 1” off floor, below knee, above knee, etc, but they'd mostly be for conventional. I don't aim for a specific physical point for my pause. I just aim to pause somewhere before my hips kick in as I've always had a problem disconnecting leg drive and hip drive.

Alf Veedersane

Dole Scrounging Vegan Crossfitter wrote: »

I know there are variations such as 1” off floor, below knee, above knee, etc, but they'd mostly be for conventional. I don't aim for a specific physical point for my pause. I just aim to pause somewhere before my hips kick in as I've always had a problem disconnecting leg drive and hip drive.

Oh yeah its dif for conventional and really just where, In the range of motion, you need to work harder to hold your position.

The principle is the same as what you're doing...It's not about specific points off the ground but where the pause make ypu work harder at the the weak part of the lift.

Alf Veedersane

Deano7788 wrote: »

Or you could be like me and have to them twice a week, once at the knee and once off the floor! I’m convinced my coach hates me...

When one of those days involves snatch grip, you'll definitely know he enjoys your pain.

Deano7788

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

When one of those days involves snatch grip, you'll definitely know he enjoys your pain.

Really hope he doesn't read Boards...

Mr. CooL ICE

May 7. W17D1

Aside from being somebody who doesn't cope well in hot weather, I spent all weekend painting and other DIY. Was dreading today.

Squat:
20kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
* sleeves *
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 3
140kg x 2
150kg x 1
157.5kg x 1
142.5kg x 4
130kg x 6
130kg x 6
130kg x 6

Up to single, followed by x4 @9, followed by x6 @8. Gym was hot and everything felt tough. 140 was horrible but I persisted. The 157.5 was slow, but form held. Squats were poor last cycle so have added more volume this mesocycle.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
102.5kg x 1
95kg x 4
90kg x 4
90kg x 4

Up to single, followed by x4 @9 and 2x4 @8. My head rose a tiny bit in the single so need to ensure this isn't some nasty habit creeping in. It moved well otherwise.

Was exhausted, so skipped the 2ct pause bench I had planned.

Mr. CooL ICE

Yesterday's important bits:

Mr. CooL ICE

May 8. W17D2

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
90kg x 5
110kg x 5
* belt *
130kg x 3
145kg x 2
155kg x 1
165kg x 1
175kg x 1 (+2.5kg sumo PR)
160kg x 4
155kg x 4
155kg x 4

Single, followed by x4 @9 and 2x4 @8. I felt weak today again and the 175kg was a RPE 9. Some days, the pull feels strong and I think "maybe today I could pull 200kg". Today wasn't one of those days.

Floor press:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 4
80kg x 4
80kg x 4

Up to x4 @8, repeat. Again, these felt weak.

SSB squats/pullup superset:
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 4/x 5
100kg x 4/x 5
100kg x 4/x 5

60s rest between each exercise. Pullups felt alright but the SSBs were sooo weak feeling.

Yesterday's session should have been followed by a restful day. Instead, it was immediately followed by a trip to Ikea and a day of making furniture. I'm feeling tired right now and I just need to get on top of my recovery.

Mr. CooL ICE

May 10. W17D3

Pin squat:
20kg x 5 (no pin)
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 5
110kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. First time doing these in ages and forgot how draining they are. I really have to brace hard if I want to avoid leaving the bar in the pins. And bracing properly is a problem I've been having recently. Bingo.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 6
90kg x 6
85kg x 6
85kg x 6
85kg x 6

Up to x6 @9.5. Will no longer go to RPE 10 every 2nd week, like I have been recently. I think doing reps to failure affects my ability to do heavy singles a few days later, so dropping the intensity a little.

Have done 90x8, 95x6 and 92.5x8 for RPE 10 in the last few weeks so was expecting 9.5 today to be around the 95kg mark. Not a hope. Last set of 90x6 was a long grind. Didn't record as I thought it was going to be a warmup.

OHP:
20kg x 5
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
50kg x 3
50kg x 3

Up to x3 @9. Heaviest I've pressed overhead in a while.

Still tired. Grand day otherwise.

Mr. CooL ICE

May 11. W17D4

Deficit sumo deadlift:
50kg x 5
80kg x 5
110kg x 5
130kg x 5
150kg x 5
140kg x 5

Up to x5 @9. First time doing proper sumo deficits. Have done deficits before with 0.5", but that's so small it hardly counts. These were done using 20kg vinyl plates, which are 0.5" smaller than the bumpers. My gym doesn't have a decent setup for deficits. Conv deficits can be done standing on a plate. Standing on two plates for sumos could lead to an accident involving no more manhood. Therefore, I used almost all the 15kg plates, which are 1" shorter than bumpers.

Found getting into position difficult and my back rounded a little, and I felt it, so stopped at one drop set. Hard to see from ass shot camera angle.

CGBP:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 6
80kg x 6
87.5kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6

Up to x6 @9. These felt stronger than yesterday's tng bench. Must have just been a bad day yesterday.

Prowler sprints/DB row superset:
Empty/25kg x 6
+20kg/30kg x 6
+20kg/30kg x 6
+20kg/30kg x 6
+20kg/30kg x 6

Throwing in prowler work because my conditioning is awful. Lack of aerobic capacity could be hindering my high rep work. Dunno. But no harm done with the weekend to recover afterwards.

Good day