Does my bum look big in this squat rack?

Fri 23/10/09 Coan Deadlift Week 4

Deadlift (90%): 1x2 @ 237.5 kg
Speed deadlift (75%): 5x3 @ 200 kg (120 sec rest b/w sets)
3 circuits (rest 90sec between exercises, 2-3 minutes between circuits):
Stiff-leg deadlift: 8 reps - 120kg
Bent over row: 8 reps - 60kg
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 8 reps - 75kg
Arched back good morning: 8 reps - 92kg

Bruuutality.

Delighted with the 237.5 for 2. 240 is my PR for a single so I'm confident 265kg is gonna happen by Xmas.

The race is on to 300kg Hanley, it's on like Donkey Kong!

brianthebard wrote: »

Niiiice. How are you finding that massive circuit, it looks like a complete bitch.

It's grand. 90 seconds is a fairly long time. I think Hanley was cutting down the rest periods, but if Ed says take 90 secs I'm taking every second.

The "Speed Deadlift" is the real killer. These were done stiff legged and with a rounded back. I was so shattered doing them.

Hanley wrote: »

That's serious deadlifting. Fair play bro!!!

The "speed deads" are SO incredibly hard afterwards. You look at the weight and think it's gonna be grand, but goddamn it ain't.

That was some good benching during the week too btw!

How hard was week 4 though. Jesus the speed pulls nearly ended me. The tiredness on Saturday after 9 hours sleep was weird. I was driving the car and kept clipping kerbs/dogs/pedestrians.

Dunno how you're doing this and all the crossfit.

Tonight 5/3/1 Squat C9W2

80% 147.5 x 3
85% 157.5 x 3
90% 165 x 8 (1 rep PR from fattest kev, 2 rep PR from pre-nationals...stoked)

Accessory squats:
155kg
7 sets of 3

Really delighted with that squatting. I really feel this extra accessory stuff I'm trying to put together as some sort of supplementary program to 5/3/1 is working.

Here's my theory though it is subject to change as it progresses and I tweak it.

I don't personally feel that 5/3/1 on it's own followed by ab work or light hypertrophy squatting is enough to really push up your lifts in the long term for the beginner and intermediate lifter. I just think it's a little light on intensity and volume. I think it's become an internet sensation based on Jim's profile and the fact that many lifters are going to benefit from simply lifting in a progressive organised program. Just to be clear, I'm not criticising Jim's idea, I'm sticking with it long term, I'm just toying with an idea I have about supplementing it.

What I'm doing is cycling volume based & intensity based accessory squatting as a supplement to my 5/3/1 set. I've picked two weights (180kg & 150kg) that fall at either side of the range covered by the top set of my 5/3/1 in the current cycle. Does that make sense? Basically 150kg is lighter than any top set weight in my current cycle and 180kg is heavier.

In one week following my 5/3/1 set I took 9 triples with the 150kg (volume but not balls to the wall volume a la Smolov). The next week I follow my 5/3/1 set with 7 singles with 180kg (intensity but not balls to the wall intensity a la Westside).

The following 2 weeks I add 5kg to each and drop the number of sets by 2. So 7 triples with 155kg and the following week 5 singles with 185kg.

The following 2 weeks I add another 5kg and do 5 triples with 160kg and 3 singles with 190kg.

This is one accessory cycle, it corresponds to 2 5/3/1 cycles (ie 6 squat workouts). In my head you would only deload every second cycle not every cycle so these are 6 consecutive workouts.

You then reset to the first weeks sets and reps scheme (9 triples, 7 singles) but you add 5 kg to these starting weights, this is a crucial junction and this may be revised down to 2.5kg, I think 5kg is better and more likely but it's the area I have the greatest doubt over.

There would be no other accessory work (abs, leg presses etc) with this. The workouts so far have lasted exactly an hour including warmups, 5/3/1 and accessory. I'm undecided on rest periods between sets. I've been taking an approach of allowing 2-3 minutes so I'm recovered but not 100%.

In my head this would last for an 18 or 24 week block by the end of which you would most likely need to change things up but I'll revise it as I go. So far the benefits I'm feeling after just 3 weeks are tangible. Having a relatively heavy bar on your back for a solid hour is conditioning me to become better at having a bar on my back, I think this is huge for a beginner/intermediate. I'm not sold on working on the individual muscles involved in the squat.

The progression here might change or I might overtrain but I'm going to follow this and see where it takes me. Hopefully deep, deep into PR country.

Thurs 5/11/09 Bench & MP C9W2 (skipped wave 1 due to drunkenness)

Bench
80% 105 x 3
85% 112.5 x 3
90% 120 x 4 Dodgy lift-off

Military Press
80% 57.5 x3
85% 62.5 x 3
90% 65 x 9

Defranco shoulders:
20kg plate & 9kg DB's
3 circuits

Vid of presses:

Squat 5/3/1 C9W3

75% 137.5 x 5
85% 157.5 x 3
95% 175 x 6 Rep and weight PR

Assistance squats

195 x 1. By mistake, put too much weight on the bar. Was easy though (not really)
185 x 4 singles. This was meant to be 5 singles but the 195 single obviously counts.

Ab wheel
50 reps

Wendler conference was great. He actually complimented my squat and deadlift technique in the practical. I'm not sure exactly what he said, I was too busy climaxing.

I think I was inspired by it all tonight. Squats felt really natural, instinctive. Hadn't felt like that since pre-weight loss really.

brianthebard wrote: »

cracked into place?

When he was looking at my squat I just had 60kg on the bar and sunk into the first rep, I'd been sitting on one of IP's finest chairs/interrogation devices all day so was a bit stiff.

Basically both my ankles, knee's, hips and possibly bottom 5 vertebrae made this crunching sound at the bottom of the squat. Everyone in the room just went "Ooooooooooooh".

BossArky wrote: »

Have you had to reset anything yet on your 531? After 9 cycles your top set on the squat seems pretty high rep-wise!

I guess that when you take 10% off your max and go up in 5kg each cycle it will take you longer to get back to PR levels that someone like myself taking off 10% and going up in 5kgs.

My 5th and next cycle will see me entering squat PR territory (hopefully). Have you already gotten there, maxed up and reset?

Yep I have reset. When I lost the weight I started to find the weights really heavy and missed a few military presses etc. There's no way to preserve strength (apart from maybe the deadlift) when you lose that kind of weight so I reset my max to Cycle 2 levels, ie 5kg heavier than my initial on lower, 2.5kg upper. It was almost like starting over.

This has worked great because it allowed me to compare the reps I was hitting after each session to what I hit back at the start. Initially I was weaker in everything but the deadlift. Things have swung back around now that I'm eating and not killing myself with conditioning. I'm still much lighter but I'm stronger. Body-weight isn't really going up either. It rebounded from 220lbs to about 223lbs and now it can be anywhere between 221lbs and 226lbs in the mornings.

I'm not too bothered about my weight really as the next while is about getting stronger, there will probably be some mass gains too. If the mass pushes me up to a point where I can't get below 100kg without cutting a stupid amount then so be it. Next summer I'll probably go through a big conditioning push again so it's all swings and roundabouts.

Remmy wrote: »

hi kevpants newbie question coming you're way..Were you on a westside template before this and was there a reason you moved to 531 in lieu of westside?Was it a case of your lifts not going up anymore or did you just want to mix things up?

I got ired/injured at the end of my Westside tenure.

Maxing out all the time just took it's toll.

Great way to go from noob to intermediate fast though IMO.