Staving off the decline, part deux

[slowmotion]

Nice work! I'll be following.

[JimRiley]

Nice progress, Jim.

Thanks, Wilhelm!

Nice work! I'll be following.

Much appreciated, slowmotion!

Tuesday, 11/7/2017

Cycled on the indoor trainer for 32 minutes. Did 6 cycles of 20 seconds on, 100 seconds off; gearing was 50x17,16,15,15,14,13. Cadence, based on no-tech revolution counting, was 120+ on the first four, 108 on the fifth one, and, well, I was too gassed to count on the last one, but it was definitely slower. I hadn't done these in a couple weeks, and could feel the layoff a bit.

[JimRiley]

Thursday, 11/9/2017

Body weight: 184.4

Squat (light): 45x5x3, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 165x1, 180x2x2
Press (medium): 35x5x2, 45x4, 55x3, 65x2, belt, 75x1, 83x2x3
Deadlift (medium): 135x5, 165x3, 195x2, belt, 215x1 (all DOH), 229.5x2x2 (alt.)

[JimRiley]

Saturday, 11/11/2017

I was in Portlandia, and just for something to do I walked on the treadmill in my hotel's "fitness" room for 33 minutes. Took it up to 4.5 mph (zero incline), and didn’t run any, so definitely LISS.

Monday, 11/13/2017

Body weight: 183.8

First workout of deload week prior to new 1RM attempts.

Bench: 45x5x2, 65x4, 85x3, 105x2, 115x1, 123.25x2x2
Squat: 45x5x2, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 165x1, belt, 191.25x2x2

My squat worksets - which were supposed to be easy - were pretty bad. The first set was a wobbly mess, and on the first rep of the second one I got so far forward I had to dump the bar onto the safeties. I re-started the set intending to really nail it, but it still ended up kind of lousy, like the first one. At least I won't be over-confident for my 1RM attempts in a week!

[JimRiley]

Tuesday, 11/14/2017

Cycled on the indoor trainer for 30 minutes. Mostly LISS, with a little faster riding to alleviate the boredom.

Thursday, 11/16/2017

Body weight: 182.0

Squat: 45x5x4, 75x5, 105x3, 135x2, 165x2, 180x2, belt, 191.25x2x2
Press: 35x5x2, 45x4, 55x3, 65x2, 73x1, belt, 88.25x2, 78.25x2

This went pretty well, except I was supposed to press 78.25x2x2. 88.25 was a misload, because 10's look so much like 5's, but of course an extra 10 pounds is but a rounding error.

11/18/2017

Back on the indoor trainer for 33 minutes. Did 3 cycles of 20 seconds on, 100 seconds off; gearing was 50x16,15,14. Just did a few because I’m fighting off a cold. Been going through zinc lozenges like leftover candy corn.

[JimRiley]

Monday, 11/20/2017

1RM tests to see what I've accomplished in the last 12 weeks of my HLM program.

Squat: 45x5x2, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 165x2, belt, 185x1, 205x2, 225x1, 235x1 (new 1RM), 245x0x2
Two-hour intermission
Bench: 45x5x2, 65x4, 85x3, 105x2, belt, 125x1, 135x1, 145x1 (tied 1RM), 150x0x2

Squats felt pretty good, but 245 just wasn't happening. I was hoping for 255, but that was out of the question. For comparison, my 1RM was 185 a year ago and 225 three months ago, so at least I've made some improvement.

Bench presses felt hard, and I all I could do was to equal my old 1RM. My 1RM was 145 a year ago, 145 three months ago, and 145 tonight, which is disappointing. At the risk of jumping to conclusions in a realm where I pretty much don't know jack, I think I needed more volume in the last month. On October 8 I benched 123x3x3 unbelted on a medium day, and it was so easy I paused the reps on the last set just to make it feel like a medium effort. By contrast, tonight one warmup rep at 125, with the belt, felt plenty hard. In the meanwhile, I had done a deload week, a two-week cycle of just doing sets of 2 reps, and another deload week, and it seemed like my bench press just got weaker during those four weeks.

On Black Friday I'll test my press and deadlift.

[Wilhelm]

Congrats on the PRs, Jim!

I wish i could offer any useful advice for bench.
Other than the common wisdom of bench more to bench more.
I've added a day and also drop sets after top sets, but that's only been in the last few weeks.

[chromoly]

WOO, new PRs!

I have to agree with Wilhelm. The common theme of bench more to bench more... although you might have to experiment with multiple rep ranges, including lower percentages at 6s, 8s, 10s, 12s, etc.

How's the riding going? Are you doing anything besides indoor training? I am experiencing my first rides in real rain. They are just commute rides, but I always avoided riding the few days a year when it would rain in Los Angeles.

[JimRiley]

Congrats on the PRs, Jim!

I wish i could offer any useful advice for bench.
Other than the common wisdom of bench more to bench more.
I've added a day and also drop sets after top sets, but that's only been in the last few weeks.

@Wilhelm
Thanks, Wilhelm! After I've assessed my 1RM on the press (tomorrow, if all goes well), I'll decide on my program tweak(s), which will I'm pretty sure will include benching twice a week instead of once. If I don't improve my PR on the press, I'll do the same with that lift. @Wilhelm

WOO, new PRs!

I have to agree with Wilhelm. The common theme of bench more to bench more... although you might have to experiment with multiple rep ranges, including lower percentages at 6s, 8s, 10s, 12s, etc.

How's the riding going? Are you doing anything besides indoor training? I am experiencing my first rides in real rain. They are just commute rides, but I always avoided riding the few days a year when it would rain in Los Angeles.

@chromoly
Thanks, Nanette. I will definitely fool around with that stuff. Earlier in the HLM cycle (mesocycle?) that I'm just wrapping up, I even was kind of craving more work on the bench. Andy's advice was to pause 'em and or use a narrower grip, and I did both at various times, but apparently that didn't do the trick.

Riding in the rain, eh? Pretty soon you'll be training on cobblestones, if you can find any up there. By the way, I hope the job is going well and offsetting the occasionally soggy commute.

My rule is to never start out in the rain, but if it starts raining during the ride to complete it as planned. So far this year I've scarcely ridden outdoors at all since the end of Daylight Savings, but am hoping to get out for a bit tomorrow. (Was going to say Sunday, but I see we have a 90% chance of rain that day, and I'm definitely not setting out in it.)
@chromoly

Wednesday, 11/22/2017

Cycled on the indoor trainer (as usual) for 37 minutes. Did 6 cycles of 20 seconds on, 100 seconds off; gearing was 50x16 for the first one and 50x15 for the rest. (Germ of an idea: put about a 52x15 on my track bike with one of my old sewup rear wheels. That baby would really roll.)

Friday, 11/24/17

Second round of 1RM attempts.

Deadlift: 135x5, 165x3, 185x2, 205x1, belt, 225x1, 245x1, 255x1 (old 1PR), 265x1 (1PR for 5 minutes), 275x1 (1PR)

I was pretty happy with 275. I didn't try anything heavier, as 275 was a shaky-leg grind, plus my wife and I conveniently had to leave for a movie (Orient Express, fun flick, 7.5/10). The DL was the last lift where I hadn't yet doubled the weight I started training with (135), so it was nice to get that out of the way. Must've been due to all the protein yesterday - I "forgot" to hop on the scales this morning, but that probably would have been a PR as well.

I hope those mention tags worked correctly.

[JimRiley]

Saturday, 11/26/2017

Body weight: 181.6 (down 3 pounds from two days before Thanksgiving!)

Last 1RM test.

Press: 35x5, 45x4, 55x3, 65x2, 75x1, 85x1, 95x1, 101x0x2

95 wasn't too bad, but 101 was going nowhere. My PR from August was 96, but that one was a desperate twisting mess, so I suppose a straightforward (or straightupward) 95 may represent some minor improvement. Just the same, I think I probably need more volume on the press as well as the bench press, seeing as I didn't move the needle on either one in 12 weeks of training. Back to the drawing bored...

Supplemental: Cycled - outdoors! with wind, hills, and rough surfaces! - for 36 minutes.

[JimRiley]

Wednesday, 11/29/2017

I just finished a mesocycle of the HLM program I've been on since August, with underwhelming results, so I'll probably program-hop. (That's always sounded like fun anyway.) I'm thinking of The Bridge, despite some apprehension about the RPE learning curve.

I also have a physical coming up next week, so I won't make a decision until after that. If my lipids or blood pressure or something like that sucks, I might need to shift focus a bit, as in more cardio and/or dropping a few pounds. That's happened once before.

So, while I figure out what to do next, I'm doing the transition week from the HLM program, which if nothing else is really easy.

Squat: 45x5x3, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 152.75x6x4 (65% of 1RM)
Bench: 45x5x2, 65x4, 85x3, 94.25x6x4 (65% of 1RM); paused, and with a narrow grip, so I could at least feel 'em a little

[JimRiley]

Thursday, 11/30/2017

Cycled indoors for 35 minutes, which I suppose would be considered GPP under The Bridge. Doctrine holds I should have done it at a LISS pace, but I went hard anyway for a while, because when you're riding a bike slowly in one place anything over 15 minutes feels like an eternity.

[JimRiley]

Saturday, 12/2/2017

Second workout of easy transition week.

Squat: 45x5x3, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 141x6x4 (60% of 1RM)
Press: 35x5, 45x5, 55x3, 61.75x6x4 (65% of 1RM)
Deadlift: 135x5, 165x3, 178.75x6 (65% of 1RM)

Also cycled on the road for 40 minutes. Did seven 20-second intervals with 100-second recoveries. Gearing was anywhere from 50x19 - because one interval was uphill - to 50x14, while suckage ranged from low to moderately high.

I think I'll start The Bridge this coming week and see how that goes.

[Wilhelm]

Saturday, 12/2/2017

Second workout of easy transition week.

Squat: 45x5x3, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 141x6x4 (60% of 1RM)
Press: 35x5, 45x5, 55x3, 61.75x6x4 (65% of 1RM)
Deadlift: 135x5, 165x3, 178.75x6 (65% of 1RM)

Also cycled on the road for 40 minutes. Did seven 20-second intervals with 100-second recoveries. Gearing was anywhere from 50x19 - because one interval was uphill - to 50x14, while suckage ranged from low to moderately high.

I think I'll start The Bridge this coming week and see how that goes.

Hope you do well with your new program, @JimRiley
I haven't been on my bike since the summer.
I'm planning on working canoeing in as an actual part of my 2018 program.
I was too busy with my first summer lifting to get out more than once in 2017.

[JimRiley]

Thanks for the good wishes, @Wilhelm!

On Saturday I wrote that I was going to start The Bridge this week, but I've decided instead to repeat my HLM program with a tweak or two, probably including more volume in the form of backoff sets on the bench and press. The more I've looked at The Bridge, the more I've realized it would take a lot of time to figure it out and execute it, and that isn't realistic right now with finals, grading, and the holiday whirl impending. So I'm planning to do one more HLM mesocycle and then reconsider the Feigenprogram. (I was delighted to find out the other week that physicists sometimes refer to feigenvalues.)

Tuesday, 12/5/2017

First workout of microcycle where heavy means 4x6 at 75% of 1RM, medium means 3x6 at 70%, and light means 2x6 at 65%.

Squat: 45x5x3, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, belt, 165x1, 176.25x6x4
Bench: 45x5x2, 65x4, 85x3, 101.5x6x3 (close grip and paused)

[JimRiley]

Wednesday, 12/6/17

I decided to add 7 minutes of upper back work and 7 minutes of ab work to my bicycling days, so that they'll resemble The Bridge's GPP days. After doing that tonight, it's clear I'm not generally physically prepared at the moment, but hopefully doing this will bring about some improvement over time.

Upper back: Mixture of bodyweight rows using straps, and negative chinups. I was hoping to do actual chinups, but couldn't do them at all after just one set of rows.

Abs: Mixture of alternate leg lifts sitting on a Swiss ball (!), forearm planks, and V sits.

Rode my bike indoors at a LISS pace for 33 minutes. Usually slow riding on a stationary bike is too boring to be endured, but fortunately The Right Stuff and then Vikings were on. I am Ivar the Muscleless! You can't kill me!!

To-do: order an ab wheel. Heck, how hard could those roll-outs be?

[JimRiley]

Had my physical, blood pressure is up - nothing drastic, but within the new guidelines for HBP. So my plan is drop some 12 pounds of body weight and, at least for a while, do more cardio. Those measures worked great about 18 months ago in a similar situation, except that my lifts all decreased by about 5-10%. I hope to avoid that effect this time, and will try to try and stick to my HLM program without any recalibrating, but of course the blood pressure thing is job one.

Saturday, 12/9/17

Body weight: 183.0

Heavy means 75% of 1RM in this microcycle.

Squat (light): 45x5x2, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 152.75x6x2
Press (heavy): 35x5, 45x4, 55x3, 65x2, 71.25x6x4
Deadlift (heavy): 135x5, 165x3, 195x2, 206.25x6 (all DOH)
Bench (ultralight): 45x5x2, 65x4, 85x3, 95x8x3 (last set paused and with narrow grip)

Sunday, 12/10/17

Cycled 36 minutes on the road. Not really LISS, more like BRISK (Breathing Rapidly, In Seventies Kit). Cut it short due to incipient knee pain; can't afford to let that get started now.

[Wilhelm]

BRISK (Breathing Rapidly, In Seventies Kit).

Ha! that should be added to the site glossary.

Here's to your success with all mentioned above.

[JimRiley]

Much appreciated, @Wilhelm. I'm sure gonna give it a try!

[JimRiley]

Wednesday, 12/13/17

Squat (medium): 45x5x2, 75x4, 105x3, 135x2, 155x1, 164.5x6x3
Bench (heavy): 45x5xmany, 65x5, 85x4, 97.5x4, 108.75x6x4

Earlier in the day I happened to watch one of Alan Thrall's bench press videos, and finally saw the light - I hope - on the whole grip width/elbow/bar position thing. (It's funny how things are easier to understand when they get explained via a few simple diagrams rather than 20 minutes of bloviation.) So when I worked out I did some experimenting and figured out a bench press setup whereby my forearms are perpendicular to the bar when it's on my chest, and they're aligned with the direction the bar needs to move in. What a concept! That required several changes to my usual setup, and it felt kind of weird, but I think it'll be better in the long run. I also still need to improve at keeping my shoulder blades squeezed together, arching my back, pushing with my legs, keeping the bar horizontal and on a straight path, &c., &c., so this will be a project for some time.