Phil's Log Of Extraordinary Mediocrity

[omaniphil]

10/3/2017

Deadlifts (410x5)x2
Squats (335x5)x5

After failing my deadlift sets last Sunday, I thought I'd switch it up a little bit, and do the deadlifts first. Its amazing how much easier something is when you are doing it fresh and not in a fatigued state. So deadlifts were easy, and the squats were not bad either. As hard as deadlifts are to do, and I do think they fatigue more than squats, per rep at least, they don't sap energy the same way squats do. At least I've noticed that. It would probably be different if I were doing 4-5 sets of deadlifts.

[omaniphil]

10/5/2017
Bench Press (230x5)x5.
OHP (165x4)x5
Lat Pulldowns (190x6)x5

Well, I was supposed to Press 165x5x5, but couldn't get more than 4 reps in each set. I tried each set, but the 5th rep got to the sticking point about a 1/3 of the way up and then stopped. I was short on time and had reduced rest time to 4 minutes, which might have had something to do about it. Also, having a pretty high volume BP workout before might have affected this too. I should have switched and done the OHP while fresh - don't know why I didn't - strengthlifting meet is just a few weeks away.

[omaniphil]

10/8/2017

I really didn't want to lift today. Come to think of it, I really didn't want to lift yesterday, so I didn't. Or the day before for that matter. I need a break, but I will just power through till the Fall Classic in a few weeks. I'm out on vacation the two weeks following the meet, so I think I will just take it off - not even attempt to find someplace on vacation to lift.

Anyways, today I did
Deadlifts (430lbsx3)x3
Squats ((350lbsx3)x5

[omaniphil]

10/9/2017

Bench Press (240x3)x5
OHP (167.5x4)x5

Tried again to get 5, but only had 4 reps in me.

What exactly is the purpose of the short sleeve hoodie?

A gaggle of old teenagers came into the gym today wearing things like this with the hoodies all up. It looks stupid.

[augeleven]

The hood functions as a security blanket. It creates a safe space. I take the time to explain this to all the middle school boys who wear them in my class

[omaniphil]

The hood functions as a security blanket. It creates a safe space. I take the time to explain this to all the middle school boys who wear them in my class

Clearly.

[omaniphil]

Preworkout to the rescue! I love Mr. Hyde - the stuff's got 300mg of caffeine which is pretty much guaranteed to get me a good workout. Anyways, everything felt light today. I'm not entirely sure about RPE, but I'd judge my squats today were somewhere in the 7-7.5 range, and the deadlifts were about the same. Pretty different from last week when I couldn't even budge the deadlifts off the ground at 5lbs lighter.

Squats (360x2)x6
Deadlifts (440x2)x3

[omaniphil]

10/13/2017

Started focusing on singles for the SS Fall Classic in a couple of weeks. Did OHP singles at 175, 185, 195. Failed at 205 (twice). I probably should have made smaller jumps. I finished off with (175x2)x5 Did nothing else, since I had to get back home and finish some work off.

[omaniphil]

10/14/2017

Squat singles today. Probably should have done other stuff, but I was on a time limit since I was smoking a pastrami at home, and didn't want anything bad to happen while I was away. Turned out that I ran out of propane probably right after I left. Crap. The pastrami was in the middle of the stall at 153, and when I got home the smoker was cool, and the meat was 130. Shit. Hopefully I didn't lose too much on it.

Anyways,

Squat singles, did 355, 365, 375, 385, 395, and 405. I have video of the 365, 385, and 405 below. The 405 moved slower than I would have liked. 405 was my previous PR set back in May, but I was really hoping this programming would get me a mid 400 squat. I don't think thats going to happen. I'll probably end up with a 420-425 during the meet. Who knows though, I just squatted a couple of days ago, and taking it easy the next couple of weeks may allow enough fatigue to dissipate to get above 440lbs.

[omaniphil]

10/15/2017
Deadlift singles did 405, 425, 435, 445, and then failed 455. Wow. This was not expected. I'm going to blame this on squatting heavy the day before. I don't think I'm going to deadlift heavy again before the meet on the 28th, since I apparently have all sorts of fatigue built up.

10/17/2017

OHP singles 185x1, 190x1, 195x1, 200x1, and then 205xf. Looks like there's a hard limit on 200lbs. I've missed 205 now a few times. Looks like I'll shoot for 91-92 kg as my 3rd attempt and hopefully get it.

Also did beltless LBBS (275x3)x4 as a nice light greasing the groove session.

[omaniphil]

10/21/2017

Wow - has it really been 4 days since I last trained? Longest gap in quite a while. I guess coming as it is a week before the meat, it could be worse.

Hit openers today. Built up to a 385lb Squat, 185lb Press, and a 445lb deadlift. All easy. I'll lift light on Monday and Wednesday and then will be in Chicago a day from today.

[omaniphil]

10/28/2017

Meet Report

Ended up with

Squat 193kg (425lbs)
Press 86kg (190lbs)
Deadlift 220kg (485lbs)

So, ended up with 20lb squat PR, and a 10lb deadlift PR. Was hoping for more, but it wasn't there. A little disappointed at the press, as I had done 200lbs as recently as last week, and have done it a few times, but my timing was off a little bit, and the bar got out in front of me. No worries, still a 10lb meet PR, so I'll take it.

The meet was fairly well run, and a lot of lifters were able to compete with almost no slowdowns or delays. I heard Abdemoulaie had run good meets before, and this was no exception. Wasn't happy that there was only one small bathroom, and then portapotties outside, but I guess if thats my biggest complaint, thats not so bad. Also got to meet Tim, which was great.

During the rules briefing they explained the judging criteria for the lifts, and I almost asked Karl Schudt how much layback was allowed for the press (I remember him being active in the press 3.0 thread at Egypt) but thought better of it. Probably best not to prejudice the judges against you from the get go

[RdC]

Congrats on your meet! You achieved some great numbers and I know your PRs make you especially proud and worth all the hard work that you did in order for you to do so well! Bravo!

[TimK]

Congrats on the PRs! You're off to Morocco soon right? Have fun!

[omaniphil]

Yep - in a couple of days. Looking forward to my tagine gainzz.

[omaniphil]

11/12/2017

Well, haven't touched a barbell since the meet two weeks ago, and it was nice to take some time off. I feel a lot more motivated than I was toward the end of the last cycle. Haven't totally figured out which program I'm going to do next, but it will probably be more of an RPE style one where you hit a single @8, and then back off sets @8, as seems to be the new normal round here. I have no experience with RPE, so that should be an interesting learning period the next few months...

Just got back from vacation last night around midnight and hit the gym this morning, feeling jet lagged and tired after a 24 hour travel day, but it was nice to get some light work in. Nothing too heavy - hopefully the DOMS won't kill me too much tomorrow.

Squat - worked up to 355lbsx1, and then (275lbsx5)x3
Bench - 225lbsx1, then (205lbsx5)x3
Deadlift 385lbsx1, then (315lbsx5)x3

[omaniphil]

11/12/2017
Nothing too heavy - hopefully the DOMS won't kill me too much tomorrow.

Lol... Can barely move today. Between that and jet lag, feeling pretty crappy. Wife asked if I had a mancold.

[omaniphil]

11/14/2017
Week 0 Day 2

Deadlift
365x5 @7
385x5 @9?

Press
150x5 @7
155x5 @8
160x4 @10

So, I've ended up deciding to follow Barbell Medicine's 12 week intermediate template. The intro week is a little bit of a light week with doing sets of 5 @7, @8, and @9 on the competition lifts. Today is Week 0 Day 2, so we going to do three work sets each of Deadlifts and Presses. Turns out that my work capacity is pretty awful right now, as I went straight from @7 to @9 with just a 20lb jump on the deadlifts, and from @8 to @10 with a 5 lb jump on the press. Either that or I actually have no freaking idea what RPE anything is - which is totally believable. From now on, I'll err on the side of making more modest jumps and keeping the RPE low to ensure that I get the volume in, which is probably more important in the long run.

[omaniphil]

11/16/2017
Week 0 Day 3

Beltless Squats
225x5 @6?? (Who the hell knows - this was supposed to be a 7, but it felt really really easy. Honestly, who can tell the difference between an @5 and an @7?
245x5 @8
265x5@9

Slingshot Bench
205x5 @7
225x5 @8
245x5 @9

Pin Press*
95x5 @6
115x5 @8
135x5 @9

* This slot is a press accessory slot. Given my issues with my press having a sticking point somewhere around the middle of my face, I figure doing Pin Presses or Pause Presses would be helpful here. I tried a pause press and turns out I'm not coordinated enough for it, and consistently forget to pause. So, pin presses.

[omaniphil]

11/18/2017
Week 0 Day 4

Rack Pulls
365x5 @7
385x5 @8
395x5@9

CGBP
185x5 @6.5
195x5 @8
205x5 @9

RDL
225x10 @6
245x10 @7
275x10 @9

Regarding Rack Pulls, I've never done them before, and I always thought that you could do more weight with them then deadlifts, due to the partial range of motion. Is that not true for everybody? Because I found 395 pretty dang hard. If it makes any different, these were set about 2-3 inches below my knee, on the upper half of my shin. I probably should set them midshin, but this is the lowest safety bar setting on the rack I'm using.

Well, the nice easy intro week is over, and I look forward to ramping up the volume. It was nice to ease into it again after a couple of week layoff.