Squats, Squats, Squats

Thanks lads, was happy with how the day went. Deadlift was close, but at least I know I can do it

On the bench thing, not being built for it is one factor. I was also about a year into lifting before I started bencing, just never an exercise that I liked.

My technique is poor too, and I dont have much consistancy in my bench training, but those are 2 things which will change in the next few months, so hopefully I can bring it up to par

Pavel66 wrote: »

There is obviously nothing wrong with your squat and deadlift. Even though you are not perfectly built for benching , it is definitely your weakpoint.

I haven' t studied your log but you should think about ways to improve your bench. Regardless of arm lenght etc, your overall body Strength is so high that I reckon you can bench at least 130.

This would go some way to giving you the magical 600 total

Yep, my squat and DL have gone up alot lately, so bench is where I have the biggest room for improvement.

I dont think there is any magic to it - I just need to focus on it more and train it more consistantly

I will go out on a limb here - I am going to be more consistant and put more effort in to my bench training and I will bench 125kg by March!

- Today went well - I was mainly focusing on fixing some technique issues when squatting, which I mentioned on Friday. Warmed up well, and was happy enough the squats - kept knees out a bit better, and my chest stayed up too. Moved my hands in closer, which helped, but was extremely painful - you can see my wrists/elbows are all over the place at the end of the set

Squat
30kg x 3 x 6
60kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 2
175kg x 5
175kg x 3
140kg x 3 (Paused)
120kg x 3 (Paused)

Bench
20kg x 2 x 8
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 8
82.5kg x 6
90kg x 5
90kg x 5
90kg x 5

Pullups
3 x 5

Pushups
3 x 10

Ab Pulldown
2 x 20

- Great session today. Squats were good, only took 90 secs between sets, so I was pretty gassed by the end.
- Deadlifts felt good too, but today was my first heavy deadlift day in 4 weeks (apart from the comp), and my hands must have softened up a bit. I was struggling to hold the bar at the top, and on the way down. My hands were torn to bits, and I ripped open the mother of all callouses. Going to do sets with straight weight one week, then work up to a heavy set the next.
- The 1 arm presses are like those @ 30 secs in this vid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57pv_1j4dH0&feature=player_embedded#at=32), except I didnt use any leg drive. The weights listed exclude the bar

Squat (All Beltless)
20kg x 2 x 6
60kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 8
120kg x 8
120kg x 8
120kg x 8

Deadlift
60kg x 5
100kg x 3
140kg x 3
180kg x 1
205kg x 3
205kg x 3
205kg x 3
205kg x 3
205kg x 3

1 Arm Press
20kg x 15
30kg x 10
35kg x 8

Lat Pulldown
2 x 15

- Glad this session is over. Was at the doc. for a check-up, got some blood taken, and I've felt really drowsy and light-headed since then. Not sure if I should have lifted, but I did. Squats felt good enough - knees kicked in on a few reps, but they're definitely improving.
- Bench was easy, Ill be going a bit heavier next week. Didnt do any assistance b/c I was too tired. I'll try and get some done 2moro

Squat
20kg x 6
60kg x 2 x 5
100kg x 3
140kg x 3
167.5kg x 4
167.5kg x 4
167.5kg x 4
167.5kg x 4
180kg x 3

Bench
20kg x 8
20kg x 8
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
82.5kg x 5
92.5kg x 3
92.5kg x 3
102.5kg x 1


vid later

Ive decided to scrap my original plan for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I was trying to do too many things at once, and it was just too much. I think I have to realise I am not really a begineer anymore, so I need to take a bit of a different approach

Lately, I have been feeling great training on certain days, and on other days Ive felt really week. Chasing numbers has meant that even when I feel weak, I still try and stick to the plan. This is what happened on Friday, and I ended up feeling drained for days afterwards.

So I have decided to give Mike Tuscherers RTS system a go. I have read the manual and understand it. Heres an overview for anyone who is interested
http://www.reactivetrainingsystems.com/articles/training-articles/81-an-rts-overview
I think it will suit me well because I can squat, bench and deadlift regularly, and change things depending on how I feel.

I suppose the biggest difference between this are the RPEs which you will see after a set
Heres a breakdown
10- Maximal. No reps left in the tank.

9- Last rep is tough, but still 1 rep left in the tank.

8- Weight is too heavy to maintain fast bar speed, but is not a struggle. 2-4 reps left.

7- Weight moves quickly when maximal force is applied to the weight. “Speed weight”

6- Light speed work. Moves quickly with moderate force.

5- Most warm-up weights

4- Recovery. Usually 20+ rep sets. Not hard, but intended to flush the muscle.

http://www.reactivetrainingsystems.com/articles/training-articles/49-chapter-2

brianthebard wrote: »

Lol that's some epic weight gain you've achieved so far man, well done. I don't have any real ankle problems, but I have one or two drills I do before squats which loosen them out, otherwise I can feel a bit of stiffness. The other night my right heel was lifting slightly off the ground, first time that's happened. Anyways I reckon like foam rolling or whatever else, a week or so of working your ankle mobility will start to yield noticeable results.

Yeah, I think Im up about 30kg in 2.5 years, cant complain

I think I will work a couple of drills into my warmup too. Ive never really had problems with them before, but a little bit of extra flexibility can only be a good thing

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

im soo glad someone is doing mikes program! i was close to giving it a shot but i didnt have enough cash left over to buy his book, its like 50 bucks of lifting large!

Its a good book, hopefully I wont end up messing it up. What I like about it is the that there is some sort of structure to it, but I can work my own style into it

- V. happy with my squats today. It was the most comfortable I've ever felt with 180kg+. Think I could have had 7 reps on the first set.
- With the template I'm using, todays pressing was supposed to have a focus on my lockout, but I still wanted to use a full ROM, hence the reverse bands. Not sure how much they took off at the bottom, but with 22.5kg, the bar floated at chest height, so I'm guessing around 22.5kg? (I was never good at maths/physics, so this could be way off )
- Some of the estimated 1rms are a bit high, especially for pressing exercises, but I don't think thats a big deal for tracking progress

Squat - 1RM: 227kg
20kg x 2 x 5
60kg x 5
100kg x 3
140kg x 3

160kg x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE - 70% of 1RM
180kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE - 79% of 1RM
180kg x 4 reps x 2 sets @ 9 RPE - 79% of 1RM
170kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE - 75% of 1RM

Reverse Mini Press - 1RM: 160kg
20kg x 2 x 8
60kg x 5
80kg x 5

102.5kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE - 64% of 1RM
122.5kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE - 77% of 1RM
122.5kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE - 77% of 1RM
112.5kg x 42 reps x 2 sets @ 8 RPE - 70% of 1RM

Floor Press - 1RM: 125kg
60kg x 5

80kg x 6 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE - 63% of 1RM
90kg x 6 reps x 2 sets @ 8 RPE - 71% of 1RM

- Had to change my plans today. It was way too cold to lift at home - it was 0° for most of the day today, and there was a lot of freezing fog. I couldn't get warmed up at all, and I didn't think I would have had a very productive session. I ended up going to a gym, and couldn't do exactly what I wanted, but I got a decent bit done.
- Squats felt pretty good - I was using a bar with no centre knurling, and I had no chalk, so I had to go high-bar for today
- Also managed to win myself €50 worth of meat and a free massage at a pub quiz last night

Squat - 1RM: 226kg
160kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 7.5 RPE - 71% of 1RM
165kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE - 73% of 1RM
170kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE - 75% of 1RM
170kg x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE - 75% of 1RM

Incline DB - 1RM: 86kg
40kg x 8
52kg x 6

56kg x 6 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE - 64% of 1RM
60kg x 6 reps x 1 sets @ 7.5 RPE - 70% of 1RM
60kg x 6 reps x 2 sets @ 8 RPE - 70% of 1RM

BB Row - 1RM: 120kg
50kg x 8
70kg x 6

85kg x 6 reps x 1 sets @ 7.5 RPE - 70% of 1RM
85kg x 6 reps x 2 sets @ 8 RPE - 70% of 1RM

JJayoo wrote: »

Haha what a great prize.

yup, Free meat FTW!

It was actually 2 seperate prizes in a raffle - out of 200+ people, my tickets got pulled out twice in a row

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

podge, did you do 60kg dumbells for reps

I wish - it was the 30's. I just used the combined weight for logging purposes