Training sesh 5/27: Into some new stuffs, herp derp, and new Crowbar

I can't remember if I had mentioned it here yet or not but over the past however long, as various lifts' progress has been slowing and feeling the need for a little more rep work, I had been contemplating switching up from the standard "fives" linear progression and diving into Jim Wendler's good ol' 5/3/1 for Powerlifting. I have done regular 5/3/1 in the past and liked it a good bit, made some decent progress on it.

Having come from the conjugate/block world fairly recently and then with the "fives" progression prescribed previously, however, I have been digging the "A/B" schedule concept, though, so of course I had to mess with the program a bit.

As Wendler would tell you, and I am pretty sure he wrote in the book- the program, then, is no longer 5/3/1.

And I concur. So much so that I didn't buy the book (chill the crap out, I bought the original and second edition) and ran forward with what I perused in a sample of the ebook I had on my Kindle.

Which is, of course, not the full program.

Ignorance being bliss, I went ahead with my programming concept, defiantly, and went to the gym for bench and deathlift day. Here's what occurred:

• Warm up, traction, etc - about 10min
• bench  - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 3x135lbs, 3x155lbs, 4x170lbs, 3x10x135lbs
• deathlift, sumo edition - 5x135lbs, 5x225lbs, 3x265lbs, 3x290lbs, 6x335lbs
• Tbar row, paused, high elbow - 3x8x55lbs
• Reverse hyper, HITO - 3x10x90lbs
• Shoulder series - x2

My grand plan, since I had neglected to make myself an expert at 5/3/1 for Powerlifting (but have no fear, I read the sample on my KINDLE!), the plan was to go for threes as I noted one of the main differences between standard 5/3/1 and 5/3/1 for Powerlifting was the 3/5/1 progression to allow for heavy singles afterward.

However, one of the philosophies of 5/3/1 is that you intentionally use a training max lighter than your actual one rep max so that you can really push and get more reps on the last working set. But one of the tenets of 5/3/1 for Powerlifting is that you do not push the last set on certain days so that you can push into heavy singles.

Keep in mind that I did not buy the book, nor borrow it, or in any other way facilitate the inclusion of all of the knowledge that makes up the program.

Hey! I'm not unusually proportioned, I'm big boned!

The result? I got half retarded in my head (don't get offended, Captain PC, it's a legitimate word when that is what describes the situation) on the last set of bench and did four, which is neither only getting the day's prescribed reps NOR going all out for max reps.

It would help if I read the book, but I'll get to that later.

Bench vid, last set:

Not bad, looking kinda sexy. Stability is decent at that weight, will push more later.

Deathlift vid, last set:

Not my best work, but certainly not my worst. As the reps go on, the form loosens up and I default to that almost stiff legged deadlift. Need to work on getting that back set and the hips down a little more.

Groovy.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooo like I said, I didn't read the book before I started programming which, of course, left me with the previously mentioned confusion on some of the programming.

What to do... what to do...

Oh yeah. Maybe buy the book and read it.

 Thanks again, Red. Always an inspiration.

So after reading a few reviews on it (because I obviously needed further convincing), I went ahead and dropped the ten whole dollars (American) on the Kindle version and read it in one sitting. The book is well worth it, Wendler's writing is almost always entertaining and the information contained therein, while pretty basic, is pointed and useful- it's not rocket surgery, it's powerlifting.

I won't get into the particulars of the program (go buy the damn book if you want the program, eh), but needless to say, even with my modifications, changes need to be made. My questions were answered, fallacies brought to light, etc. Was also reminded of some accessory work I can switch out from time to time.

Alles ist gut, we have time.

In the meantime, enjoy the new offering from Crowbar. This is "Walk With Knowledge Wisely" off of their new album, Symmetry in Black. Crowbar owns.

Go forth and destroy.

Quick training update, Memorial Day stuffs, etc

Howdy, y'all!

Been a minute but, yes, I'm still here and kicking. Somewhat unintentionally took the better part of a week off of training and got a little loose with the diet, but it has been a pretty decent week+ since last check in.

When last we trained, 'twas a bench sesh, so this last one on Saturday was about time to get to squattin'. Here's what occurred:

• Squat - 5xbar, 5x145lbs, 5x235lbs, 5x285lbs, 5x325lbs, 4x365lbs
• Good mornings - 10x145lbs, 10x195lbs, 10x215lbs, 10x165lbs
• Lat pull down, fat straight bar, wide grip, paused - 3x10x110lbs

Not awful coming off the deload, using Wendler's 1RM calculator we get a 414lbs 1RM. With wraps, that should be over 450lbs. With deathlift of at least 405lbs and the bench at a paltry 205lbs, looks like I might be able to get a little bit done by November. If I can pull and squat around 500 each and bench 250 by then, I would be reasonably happy with that. Time to start planning a meet cycle. If I can keep to 3x/week sessions then we'll call it a 16 week conjugate/block periodization training cycle, so July would be time to start kicking.

And after last night's diet tomfoolery, about 35lbs still to lose if I want to lift at 220lbs.

Let's do dis.

So last night's diet tomfoolery- we had a Memorial Day Eve grill for some family type folks and I somehow managed to gain (no shit) six pounds by end of day. Yeah, a lot of that was water weight from all the freaking beer (all four of those bottles) and, well, water, with the crazy amount of sodium involved, but I can't really expect to lose or maintain weight when I am taking in about 4500 kCals in a day.

You sure you want that many empty calories in your diet dere, brudda?

So speaking of Memorial Day... you know, today, Memorial Day... take yourself a hot second and remind yourself of what we are celebrating. I am sure if you are reading this then you have some sort of presence in social media, the internet in general, etc, so you have probably already been inundated with memes and posts, etc, but really, do yourself and those that made the "ultimate sacrifice" for our country a favor and just

remember.

If you don't do anything else today, just remember. Bear in mind that, regardless of your lot in society and how you feel about war, what our government spends on defense, how much you like or don't like Obama, or how much you admire Miley Cyrus or how cool you think you are, men and women have died to make sure you get to do what you do on a daily basis. 

And while I won't tell you to NOT thank a veteran for their service, remember that today is about the folks that didn't make it back home. As my brother, a retired Marine, posted on his Facebook page a few years ago- don't wish them into an early grave! Living veterans have a day coming up, too. Use this day to remember those that gave their lives in service of the United States of America.

Now get out there and do something good with yourself. Do something American. Honor our departed warriors with a little goodness in your life. That's what they died for.

The aftermath of a good day about town.

Go get it done.

Training Sesh 5/17: Bench, sumo deathlift mit PR, shoulder and back work, kaiju and burgers, metal

As discussed in a previous bench sesh, bench is somewhat stalled out, and as I and others have pointed out...

So I decided to switch things up a bit for the bench sesh. Yes, I intend to get in with David and start on back work with him to get this shit... fixed... but until then, here is what occurred:

• Stretch, warm up - about 10min
• Bench - 5xbar, 5x95lbs, 5x135lbs, 3x7-8x155lbs
• Deathlift, sumo - 5x135lbs, 5x225lbs, 3x275lbs, 3x315lbs (with shenanigans), 3x365lbs, 1x405lbs
• Straight fat bar lat pull down, wide, paused - 3x10x110lbs
• Shoulder series x 2
• Tbar row, high elbow (upper back -centric), paused - 3x8x45lbs
• Reverse hyper, heels together/toes out - 3x10x90lbs

As indicated, I have broken off the max 5s programming for bench as I need to get all the stabilizers and little shizzles stronger before I can really progress the bench from a numbers perspective, but I still need to train the lift and get a littel triceps work in. The 3x8 felt decent at that weight, pretty well fatigued the weak ass shoulders by the last set.

Good.

Moved on to el sumos, as they were neglected in the last sesh. Worked on Brian's cueing tips some more, as was described in a previous sesh, but still don't quite have it down. It's getting there, and set up is feeling pretty good.

Some visual evidence for that ass:

• 3x275lbs

• 3x315lbs w/shenanigans - this is what happens when you get out of position and drive incorrectly

• 3x365lbs

• And finally... first sumo single at 405, sumo PR. Go me.

All in all felt pretty good. Lock out could have been more solid on that 405, and as Christian pointed out, I did cue a little differently on it than my others. Don't know why exactly, but you will note that I didn't get my back quite as tight and had my hips starting higher than the other pulls, making it almost a stiff legged deadlift. 

Weird.

Need to set the back better and drop the hips a little to get the torso more vertical before the pull. As I get the back and shoulders strengthened I am sure this will get better, as well. Also going to keep pulling without a belt for as much as possible as this appears to be helping a bit and it seems to be easier to get into position without it.

Also, fat belly. Working on that, too. Should be under 250 in the upcoming week. Yay.

And yeah, I don't know exactly what happened in that set at 315, but shenanigans abounded. 

No, not the place with all the goofy shit on the walls...

At any rate, there you go. Moved on to back and shoulder stabilizer work as we know is needed and called it a day.

Afterward, hit the house, took a shower, and my wife lady and I went out to see the new Godzilla flick and grab a burger. Godzilla was decent, exactly what it needed to be- a fun summer movie with gigantic monsters battling it out gainst the backdrop of insignificant humans and their habitats, and the fact that they were there was largely humanity's fault. Definitely glad we saw it on the big screen. 

Puny humans LOL

Burgers were good, we took a trip out to one of Memphis's outlying towns, Arlington, and visited Off the Hoof Burgers. I got the Pat Lafrieda Chopped Steak burger, wife got the Kobe burger. Both were solid burgers, but the standout was really the Buffalo Bread - flat bread topped with mozzarella, bison meat, and wing sauce. Really tasty stuffs.

We grabbed some beer on the way home, daughter was in bed asleep already (bonus!), and watched some TV to wind the night down. I, however, was winding down too fast, as I was apparently busy cultivating some sort of virus. Didn't even think about beer after we got home and woke up this morning hacking up a lung with lymph nodes so swollen my tongue and molars hurt.

But on the bright side, Machine Head is apparently working on new stuff.

Shenanigans and Machine Head. Clever words and metal.

Go forth and destroy.