Back to my old stomping grounds. Find me there.

Better

Saturday:

Squat-

• 225 x 2×3
• 235 x 2×3
• 245 x 3×3

Pendlay rows and such.

 

Sunday:

Deadlift-

• 315 x 2×2
• 335 for 2, 1
• 315 for 2

Press 125 x 4, 4, 4

Back on track sort of…looking to succeed this time.

Not In Control

The past two weeks have been mostly shit…

I’m not in control of my own life.  Work, travel, work travel, other shit in my restless brain…yea…I’m living outside of my body.  Odd part is that the barbell has not been as front-and-center as it should be, despite my actual drive to lift.  It’s been a whole week since I’ve lifted, and I feel regression creeping up.  I’m so fucked up in the head right now, the barbell is the only real thing I want to do, and yet the rest of the shit going on is preventing me from even getting to the gym.

I’m bitching and whining, yes.

I want my weekday 5PM-9PM back.  I want my FUCKING WEEKENDS back.  I’m jumping through hoops and getting nothing in return.

Hitting the reset button on Saturday. Sunday starts anew.  Maybe.

 

Teh Squatz

Today did 5 doubles of 225.  Limited time to train and thus not able to do much else.  Felt good…Now to hammer away and reinforce good technique before I start moving on again.  Perhaps its not “the program”, or any real program for that matter, but I’m actually going to take my time and not fuck myself up.

 

 

Training Log is in the car

Whatever day I said I was going to squat, I did.

Ummm…more recently:

Saturday-

• Squat 215 3×5
• Bench 155 3×5
• Deadlift 315 for 1-1-1

Today- Sandbag and kettlebell walks.

My squat still sucks.  I’d like to get to that 225 and then stay there and hammer out my technique…then move up  again…repeat.  My deadlift just seems awfully shitty these days and I’m not terribly sure why.  Oh well.

The heavy walks with the sandbag of kb tend to work magic on my back…that aching I was bitching about last time went away after a session of heavy walks.

 

 

 

 

Lumbar

Sunday-

Deadlift 205 for 3,3,3,4,2

Last two were most difficult. Warmup was abbreviated since I got to the gym 35 mins before closing. I think I jerked the bar.

Monday I did nothing and felt fine.

Tuesday I had a very odd, yet strong soreness in my lumbar immediately above the top of the pelvic bone. This was different than the usual lumbar soreness I’ll get which is a few inches higher…this new one would flare if standing straight up and actively tilting my pelvis forward. Perhaps I slept wrong? Perhaps not warming up the deads compromised my back? I don’t know.

Rolled it briefly on my new Rumble Roller and it felt slightly better. Today it’s about 40% as sore as yesterday.

Squatting today. The rule is and must be to STAY TIGHT during the entire movement. As tight as humanly possible. I can feel the difference in my hamstrings by doing so.

In other news, my iPod is on shuffle and music from the Up! soundtrack comes on. I am immediately saddened. If I can turn that sadness into something more negatively energetic I may just squat well tonight.

again

Wed.

• Deadlift 5×3 275
• Press- 120 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 4

Sat:

• Squat- 195 5×5
• Press 125 x 4, 120=miss, 115x 5, 5, 5, 5

Somehow I manage to bring a bit of intensity when I’m in a small bit of pain.  Being screwed up in the head helps. I just can’t get distracted to the point of losing tightness in the squat.

There will be some undulation in those presses for each incremental gain.  Or, I may just need to gain more weight.

More

Friday afternoon was Snatch and C&J day.  Did snatch singles to 135…and had difficulty getting under the bar.  Worked up to a few reps of 165 in the C&J.  I somehow have a mental block against pulling myself under the bar in the clean whereas i can do so to a degree in the snatch.  I’m not sure why, so everything turns into a power clean.

Today was a simple 5×5 of squats at 185.  I was hungry and the gym was filling, so that was it.  I’m doing a better job at staying tighter with my chest up, and thus my bounce out of the hole is a bit more pronounced.  I thoroughly enjoy it.  My lumbar also feels better for as long as I’m tight.

Back at it

Back at strength training.  I have motivation flowing through me and knowledge of what NOT to do this time around.

Less 70′s Big, more Chaos and Pain.  My programming will be loosely structured but borrow a bit from SS:BBT, CnP, Dan John, EC and a bunch of other stuff I come across.  Obviously the basics won’t change…big lifts, regular (but not pre-programmed) progressions, etc.  Heavy on squats, deads, and presses.  Ancillary bench/db  bench work, intermittent carries, O lifts, things like that.  Sets/reps will most likely be 5′s or less, sets of 3-5 depending on how a particular lift is going.  For example, Today:

• Low Bar Back Squat 3x5x175 (felt ok, really trying to concentrate on tightness through the body, chest up)
• Press 5x5x115
• Rack Pulls 365 2×2 from right at knee.

I planned on pressing 3×5 but ended up doing this rather well so went for 5×5 that was oddly easy.  I can’t remember the last time I pressed 115 with little fanfare.   I thought there was something wrong with me.

Managing recovery will be a bigger challenge than actually lifting.  Going to stay with moderate carb; starchy carb mainly from potatoes and some rice.  Minimal, if any wheat products.  Otherwise, high protein-high fat.  The shit carbs did me in last time and made me a fat fuck, thus not going to even bother with that this time around.  No donuts, cookies, candy, sweets outside of the occasional splurge on a milkshake or something worth eating.  The less fat I put on, the less that needs to come off later.

Mentally, I’ll have no douche trainers to talk to, no jackasses taking up space in the squat rack…really none of that.  I’ve set myself up in an environment where I stay in the corner away from everyone else and people leave me the fuck alone.  It’s a few steps below training in a garage gym, but about as close to antisocial as i can get actually going somewhere to lift.  I thought about joining a second, more meathead-ish gym to feed off of the energy of gorillas and the muscular fitness chick types, but it hasn’t happened yet but may very well after the weather turns shitty and I’m feeling a desire to be around people.

Effeminate, corporate gyms are out.  Forever.

Pulling

1x 355 seems to be as good as i can do today.

Went for 370  but it wasn’t gonna happen.  45lbs off of 400.

Good bar speed and lockout, slight softness in the lumbar but nothing that was awful.  Perhaps not bad for taking MONTHS off from a serious lifting program, but 6 months ago i was pulling 355 and then some for 5.  Note to self: Next time, don’t starve yourself and totally quit the gym.

Going through Power To The People and I’m liking the whole basis of the program.  I’m not sure why its sinking in so well, but PTTP and Pavel’s commie explanations of cycles and such are doing a good job of getting into and bouncing around my head.   I think I can design a halfway intelligent program that can give me both progress and longevity.  SS:BBT works, yes, but at least for me takes a very large physical and mental toll after a few months of the program.

In the woods for a week, bringing 1.5 pood for some fun.  My workouts may consist of not much more than swings, snatches, and carrying the thing around.  I have a feeling that good things can happen when one carries around a heavy object for a while…no better time to try that out.