KarlM: It's all about the log.

[KarlM]

10/18/17, Week 9, WO 1
I was supposed to do this Tuesday, but the alternator crapped out in my shitty car, so I decided to postpone it until the following day. That was probably a good thing, as this was the most difficult workout of the 13 week GGW cycle.

Squat (H, 90%)
315 X 4 X 4. 6 to 8 min rest. Stance a touch narrower as per d0uevenlift's recommendations. Below is video of set 2.

Forgot to cue elbows down for this session. I entered this as @9 in my log, but from the video it clearly wasn't. It did feel that way, but I suppose that that is because I was a bit psyched out dealing with 3 plates for some real volume. From video I suppose it may be @7 (though it didn't feel that way at all) based on bar speed. Really happy that I'm finally working with three plates as a regular part of my programming.

OHP (M, 85%)
150 X 4 X 3, 4 to 5 min rest. Felt good. Got under the bar better on these and felt like my balance was better.

Deadlift (M, 80%)
340 X 4 X 3, 5 min rest. Felt solid.

This was a challenging session. I'm happy with my progress at this point in the cycle.

[KarlM]

10/20/17, Week 9, WO 2
I'm sore from last session, but it's not too bad.

Squat (L, 80%), 5 min rest.
280 X 4 X 2
Decided to skip paused variation. Up to this point, I've done paused squats on light day. Today I felt that that would have been too much added stress. So I guess I did some auto-regulation.

Bench (H, 90%), 6-8 min rest.
230 X 4 X 4.
First and second sets felt @8. That puts my e1RM at 270 lbs. I don't believe that number is accurate (I used 255, which was a real 1RM for this cycle) as I seem to be a bit better at doing reps than at 1RM attempts for bench. My AC joint on my right shoulder is completely separated (collar bone pokes up; happened almost 20 years ago in a car accident), so that may play a role. Regardless, the important point is that even though I'm only benching once per week, the e1RM numbers are trending upwards.

Weighted Chin-Ups (H, 90%), 5 min rest.
EW = 206 lbs.
246 X 4 X 4.
These all felt @9-9.5. Not much of an upwards trend here, however that could be because I do these at the end of my workout. It will be interesting to see if I increase my 1RM on these when I test.

Hammer Curls
30 lbs DB X 13 X 3, 2 min rest (strict). Did these in front of a mirror, as they are supposed to be done. I guess when I get to three sets of 15 reps, I'll go up to the 35s.

[cole]

Squat (H, 90%)
315 X 4 X 4

Nice looking squats Karl. Keep it up

[d0uevenlift]

If it's moving that fast, don't keep it in your log @9 even though it felt hard. Just kinda psyched out but you could grind out more reps. That was seriously an RPE 7. Gotta keep it honest!

[unruhschuh]

Filming every work set (or the last one on sets across) helped me tremendously gauging RPE/reps in the tank. It always feels so much harder.

[KarlM]

If it's moving that fast, don't keep it in your log @9 even though it felt hard. Just kinda psyched out but you could grind out more reps. That was seriously an RPE 7. Gotta keep it honest!

I made a note of it in my log. It's definitely time to calibrate my RPE scale - I need to take regular video to get it dialed in.

[KarlM]

Filming every work set (or the last one on sets across) helped me tremendously gauging RPE/reps in the tank. It always feels so much harder.

Yes, I definitely need to get more video to get this RPE thing dialed in. At this point in my training, the difference between how it feels and how hard it actually is is quite large.

[KarlM]

Nice looking squats Karl. Keep it up

Thanks man! Your squats are looking real crisp and technical. I'd like to get to where you are in the next several months.

[KarlM]

A little late with this update:
10/22/17, Week 9, WO 3

Squat (M, 85%)
300 X 4 X 3, 6 min rest.

OHP (H, 90%)
160 X 4 X 4. First set was @8 (pretty sure). That's an e1RM of 188 lbs.

Deadlift (H, 90%)
385 X 4. Bar speed didn't slow down. So less than @7

Week 10 is sort of a deload. The program keeps the volume the same as week 9 (4 reps per set, same number of sets per workout), and drops the intensity (for example, heavy day is at 80%). I suppose you could call this a mini deload. The following week is singles/doubles at 95%. Week after that is a true deload, then I test the following week. First time I'll have done a taper for a true test of 1RMs.

[Les]

I agree with everyone else, those squats were solid and fast.

[KarlM]

I agree with everyone else, those squats were solid and fast.

Thanks Les! I feel like I’m finally starting to get the hang of squatting.

[KarlM]

Yesterday's workout:
10/24/17, Week 10, WO 1 (mini deload week)

Squat (H, 80%)
280 X 4 X 4. Last set was @7. Felt some fatigue from last week.

OHP (M, 75%)
140 X 4 X 4. Easy.

Deadlift (M, 74.1% - was supposed to be 70% but I didn't want to pull less than three plates. Ego math.)
315 X 4 X 4. less than @7

I used to slide my knee sleeves down to protect my shins for deadlift, but they were cheap, fell apart so I tossed them. Haven't replaced them yet and forgot socks. I cut up my shin on these and bled all over the bar. Need to put some socks in my bag.

[Les]

Heh, I bleed all over the bar too. My new thing is catching my knee on the way down and I seem to do it in the same place every time. I made shin guards out of a 2L Pepsi bottle and put them under my socks, but for high rep sets I still manage to bleed somehow. I knee sleeves seem to work the best to protect the shins. The rest is still a free for all though.

[KarlM]

...I made shin guards out of a 2L Pepsi bottle and put them under my socks, but for high rep sets I still manage to bleed somehow...

Resourceful!

[KarlM]

Yesterday's workout:
10/26/17, Week 10 (mini deload), WO 2
Morning BW = 199.2 lbs. Fatty!
Rest time 5 min for all sets except as noted.

Pause Squat (L, 70%)
245 X 4 X 2, second set @7

Bench (H, 80%)
205 X 4 X 4, all <@7. Got no idea how to judge @6.

Weighted Chin-ups:
EW = 206 lbs
218.5 X 4 X 4. All @7. It's pretty easy to judge RPE on these since you can easily tell if you are moving slower by how hard your chest touches the bar (at least at this weight).

Hammer Curls:
30 lbs DB X 14,13,13. 2 min rest.

[KarlM]

10/28/17, Week 10 (mini deload), WO 3
Rest time 5 min for all sets except as noted.

Squat (M, 75%)
265 X 5 X 3, less than @7. These were supposed to be sets of 4 reps. The habit of 5 is still in me, apparently.

OHP (H, 80%)
140 X 4 X 4. These were easy. Sets 1, 2 and 4 were less than @7. Set 3 was @8 due to technique - bar got forward on me.

Deadlift (H, 80%)
340 X 4, less than @7

DB Rows
70 lbs DB X 10 X 3.

Looking forward to heavy-ass singles/doubles next week (95%).

[KarlM]

Halloween Lifting (10/31/17, Week 11, WO 1)
I had dad/husband duties, so I had to break up my workout to get the work in.

6 AM: Squat (H, 95%)
335 X 2, @7
335 X 2, @7
335 X 2, @7
335 X 2, @8

Lunch: Deadlift (M, 85%)
360 X 2 X 3, all <@7

After work: OHP (M, 85%)
150 X 2 @7
150 X 2 @ 7.5
150 X 2 @ 7.5

We had a fire going in our outdoor fire pit and handed out candy to maybe 75 to 100 kids over the course of the evening while enjoying a couple of adult beverages. Kids raked it in. I usually confiscate the candy after a couple of days, otherwise it gets out of hand.

[cole]

my kids are addicts with candy, i have to throw it away too. nice squat doubles. i admire your tenacity getting it done in three sessions

[KarlM]

my kids are addicts with candy, i have to throw it away too. nice squat doubles. i admire your tenacity getting it done in three sessions

Thanks man! Yeah, It's definitely an inefficient way to get the work in, and I'm not sure how good it is from a recovery standpoint. But doing the work is better than not...

[KarlM]

11/2/17, Week 11, WO 2

Bench (H, 95%)
245 X 2 @? (bar path was all over the place, because I was amped up)
245 X 2 @8?
245 X 2 @9?
245 X 2 @9

Think I'll be able to get 265 on testing day.

Squats (L, 80%)
280 X 2 X 2. Super easy doubles.

Weighted Chin-ups (H, 95%)
EW = 207 lbs
259.5 X 2 X 4. All felt @9.

Hammer Curls
30 lbs DB X 14 X 3

Below is my first squat double at 335 from my Halloween workout. I think its an @7.