DCR - Can you believe how much I am in heaven?

[DCR]

Thanks, @Hardartery and @EricK!

Spotter dude was a little too eager. Pro-tip to potential spotters: don't put your arms out til I've finished resetting my valsalva...

Tbf in this commercial gym maybe a dozen dudes can squat three plates or more even for a single. Less than half of those have ever been to the place called Depth. Of that fraction, only one is old and fat. So I get why he thought that shit might take a bad turn. It was satisfying to demonstrate otherwise.

[lheugh]

3/7/24

Squats 45,155x12 215x10 255,295x6 330x3
Pullups x7,6,5.5
Paused Bench 45x12 135x10 185x8 225x4 245x2



Notes: I’d been hesitant to say this after prior sessions because I currently don’t have access to my paper log from five years ago, but that top set unquestionably was a lifetime PR. Also was @10 so I may need to drop to a double. Not saying that for certain yet.

Left shoulder still pissed, sucked during pullups and bench and partially was the impetus for switching to a (very brief) paused bench. I’ve had the idea that my bench has gone to shit but this wasn’t that bad I guess. I dunno my sloppy tng 1RM right now. Sure as hell isn’t 300, maybe 285? I for sure had a paused 250, i.e. 88% of that, so could have sucked more.

Slacking big time on all the assistance that I’d gotten into over the past few months but the squats are grinding me. Just staying aware if it so that I can get my shit back together when this is done.

Soundtrack: Spectral Voice / Sparagmos

Sublime squatting indeed!

[xng]

VERY NICE looking awesome good work 100% 100% 100%

[DCR]

Thank you, @lheugh and @xng!

3/9/24

Squats 45,155,215x12 260x6 300x4 335x2
RDLs (doh) 145x9,9,9
Barbell Curls 45x12 85x5+3+3
Paused Bench Press 45,135x12 185x8 225x5 250x2



Notes: Six less than restful hours of sleep and a morning session did not result in great success. Completing the 12 reps at 215 was a good start despite feeling like shit, and 260x6 was pretty easy, but then it caught up with me. 300x4 was very disappointing, given that I recently hit that for 5 (although, granted, as a top set; if mentally I knew that it was today's last set, I proooobably could have gotten another rep). Still, the bottom line was a lifetime PR double, so onward.

As always there was body english on the curls, but today I ensured that that did not extend to my lower back. I held the brace hard in front, and as soon as I felt anything in my lower back, I put the bar down. Turned out to be very satisfying reps.

This squat thing has me totally lost in terms of wtf I'm doing otherwise, no plan at all, so I ended up benching for the second session in a row. Mostly because I ran my mouth and wanted to confirm that I still can pause bench 250 despite everything being a mess. Yup. Phew.

Soundtrack: Bruce Dickinson / The Mandrake Project. I'd been saving this because I was so excited about it. Liking it thus far, despite that it isn't The Chemical Wedding. (Nothing ever will be.)

[lheugh]

300x4 was very disappointing

Whenever you feel that way, remind yourself your quads are enviably well-developed.

[DCR]

300x4 was very disappointing

Whenever you feel that way, remind yourself your quads are enviably well-developed.

Haha legit brightened my grim mood; legs in fact were pumped to bursting this morning after the 12s, notwithstanding my unhappiness with what came after. Thanks!

[Renascent]

3/7/24

Squats 45,155x12 215x10 255,295x6 330x3
Pullups x7,6,5.5
Paused Bench 45x12 135x10 185x8 225x4 245x2

Very nice!

300x4 was very disappointing

Whenever you feel that way, remind yourself your quads are enviably well-developed.

I concur.

[FilmBuff]

Nice work. Squats look very smooth. I can relate to the entering the gym with zero plan at times lol.

I spent most of last year just doing such random stuff it would make people head scratch I’m sure.

[DCR]

3/11/24

Squats 45,155x12 225x10 265x7 305x4 340x1
Lying Leg Curls 55x15+5+5
Standing Calf Raises on box BWx30,30,30



Notes: I felt as shitty going into this session as I ever have when not actually sick. More garbage “sleep” last night and another evening gym session after a third straight business day of all-day depositions. Yet somehow I started out strong, adding 10 lbs to the third work up set (because loading 220 can bite the same part of me that 310 can), and then adding 5 lbs and a rep to the fourth set, barely breaking a sweat. Then I ran into a wall. The last work up felt awful and the top single - which I wanted to be a double - was trash. I mean it was deep af and went up, but somehow I ended up shifting well left and essentially squatting it on one leg. One might say that I’ve gotten away with being a meathead for weeks now and need to stop, but I’m not convinced. I’ll make a decision after Wednesday’s session, assuming that I get real sleep between now and then and can see how things move when I don’t come in a zombie.

The single was the most that I’ve squatted since early 2021, which itself was the most I’d lifted since PRing in summer 2019. So there’s that.

[EricK]

Nice PR is nice. We're like twinsies. I went into my session yesterday feeling like crap and I too wanted to double my top set. But the lifting gods have forsaken me... Hope you're feeling better next time, but don't sweat too much about dissipating some fatigue before going after another PR.

[DCR]

Nice PR is nice. We're like twinsies. I went into my session yesterday feeling like crap and I too wanted to double my top set. But the lifting gods have forsaken me... Hope you're feeling better next time, but don't sweat too much about dissipating some fatigue before going after another PR.

Thanks, dude. I recognize that the whole thing must look insane: "Wait, so you keep making the work up harder and harder and are surprised when you get crushed at the top? Bro how dumb are you?" So in the gym, extremely dumb, but this really is the only thing that's consistently worked for me over the years. I slowly titrate up how awful the work up is on a compound movement, and that "pushes the ceiling." Eventually I'm carrying so much residual fatigue that I hit a wall and that's the end, but hopefully I've managed a PR before that happens. Once it does, at that point I can back off slightly and try a one step back, two steps forward kind of thing, or just do something else entirely. Usually it's the latter, and then I spend months (read: years) accomplishing nothing because annihilating myself is the only thing that ever works. This time I'm gonna try the other approach of taking a step back and see what happens. Not sure precisely how yet, but one idea is to pull a set out. I had been doing four work ups and then a top set, and recently added a fifth work up before the top. I think that actually may have been when it went to shit.

[slowmotion]

3/11/24

Squats 45,155x12 225x10 265x7 305x4 340x1
Lying Leg Curls 55x15+5+5
Standing Calf Raises on box BWx30,30,30



The single was the most that I’ve squatted since early 2021, which itself was the most I’d lifted since PRing in summer 2019. So there’s that.

Nice work!

[lheugh]

The single was the most that I’ve squatted since early 2021, which itself was the most I’d lifted since PRing in summer 2019. So there’s that.

Strong single and plump quads - we're winning over here!

[MarkKO]

Somehow heavy squats and terrible sleep go well together. Nice work.

But seriously, I've had some of my best squat days on little to no sleep. I think it taps into the body's survival mechanism somehow.

[Bolder]

Time to ride the wave of the PRs. Congratulations.

Gonna try to eek out more PRs, or is that it?

Anyway, from the recent PRs I had. What helped me was tensing my legs before descending down and moving the bar as fast as possible during warm-ups (to wake up the "CNS"). Trying to move the bar as fast as possible is good for strength gains (there's even research that supports this).

[lheugh]

Somehow heavy squats and terrible sleep go well together. Nice work.

But seriously, I've had some of my best squat days on little to no sleep. I think it taps into the body's survival mechanism somehow.

Yeah a meta-analysis on studies comparing the effects of sleep restriction (early and late periods) and sleep deprivation acutely affected top end strength performance by 1-4%, but tanked strength endurance a lot more as I recall. It also mirrors my experience on both ends of heavier loads and moderate/higher volume work.

[platypus]

Somehow heavy squats and terrible sleep go well together. Nice work.

But seriously, I've had some of my best squat days on little to no sleep. I think it taps into the body's survival mechanism somehow.

This is my experience as well.

Nice work, @DCR! That was superb form, too, for a heavy single.

[DCR]

The single was the most that I’ve squatted since early 2021, which itself was the most I’d lifted since PRing in summer 2019. So there’s that.

Strong single and plump quads - we're winning over here!

Plump is the best I can hope for hahaha.

Time to ride the wave of the PRs. Congratulations.

Gonna try to eek out more PRs, or is that it?

Absolutely - I'm not going to fully back off of this until I knock off my lifetime PR single. I have to get something out of this since the rest of my training is junk right now.

Thanks also, @slowmotion, @MarkKO, and @platypus.

[DCR]

3/13/24

Squats 45,155x12 245x8 305x4 345x1 315x1
Bench Press 45,135x12 185x8 225x5 255x2
Barbell Rows 135x6,7,8



Notes: Took out one of the work up sets and things were better today - the final work up wasn't so brutal and the heavier than last time single actually moved better. I'm 10 lbs off my lifetime max now. I considered putting an end to it today but took a twenty-minute dump after the top single that took everything out of me. The back off single after was easily the worst rep of the session.

Benching actually felt great today. I removed the pauses nearly as soon as I introduced them, after being reminded that I hate them, and instead worked on control sans pause. That meant a pretty slow eccentric - but no tempo / count - and concentrating on feeling the bar in my hands, as opposed to my chest/delts/tris, keeping my chest as high as possible, and initiating the push the nanosecond that the bar made contact with my chest. The "feel the bar in your hands" thing is kind of hard to describe, but it comes from Rory what's-her-name from the old SS (I have no idea if she's still a coach or affiliated with the brand). She had a sick bench and it's a great cue once you get the hang of it. The point as I understand it - and experience it - is to avoid collapsing at the bottom because you're not even thinking of "accepting" the bar there.

Downside was that all of that control - and using my back to do it - led to the weakest rows that I've done in a long minute. I made a change on these - instead of stepping out of a rack and then bending to get in position, I began with the bar on the floor and pulled up into position. To be clear, these were (as always with me) hang rows, not Pendlay shit; I set up from the floor, but didn't row from it.

Soundtrack: Resin Tomb / Cerebral Purgatory

[DCR]

3/15/24

Squats 45,155x12 250x8 315x2 350x1 315x1,1
RDLs (doh) 150x10,6,6



Notes: Pressed for time as has been the case constantly the past two weeks. Next week I’m flying up to NY for a few weeks, which is something of a vacation from obligations no matter how bad work is. I plan to spend hours in the gym doing every damn accessory that I can think of. Anyway, I didn’t have the patience to fuck around with loading and decided that going forward, after my initial warm ups I’m not lifting anything less than 315. It’s dumb because that’s really heavy for me, but I’ll keep hitting it until it’s not. I know @EricK approves.

Soundtrack: Keres / Homo Homini Lupus