Patrick's Novice Log

[mgil]

Looked like about an @8 or slightly higher since the last rep got a little loose.

If you put a gun to my head and told me to do three more, I could've done three more.

I'm not quite sure how to rate RPE for squats, because my @10 is going to vary wildly depending on how much form breakdown you're willing to tolerate.

This is the first thing I found:

http://forum.reactivetrainingsystems.co ... auging-RPE

Mike T has said something similar in regards to RPE and form consistency.

[PatrickDB]

Wednesday, December 13.

Bodyweight: 158.

Deadlift 250x5 (beltless, straps)
Squat 185x2x5
Paused bench 150 3x1
Press 115 3x2

Beltless + straps is definitely the way to go with the deadlift for me, for now. Feels great. Work set was probably @9, maybe @8.

The rest was just regular light day stuff. I was still too conservative with the bench and press weights, probably by 10 pounds each.

Feeling good about everything. No loss of strength despite eating ad lib and losing 3-4 pounds over the past few weeks.

[PatrickDB]

It is 2 AM. I cannot sleep, so I pulled out my Captain of Crush Sport gripper to fool around with. According to my Amazon.com purchase history, I got this almost exactly two months ago, probably because I was concerned about my deadlift grip.

When it came, I couldn't close it with my left (non-dominant) hand, threw it in my desk drawer, and haven't thought about it since. After finding it now, I was able to do three fairly comfortable sets of 5. (I could push myself harder but ... it's 2AM.) Deadlifts work as advertised!

[PatrickDB]

Friday, December 15.

Bodyweight: 157

Squat: 245x1, 235x5, 205x2x5.
Bench: 160x3x3
Chins: 30 total, 10 in first set

Good workout. A friend texted me needing help with something so I skipped pressing.

Squat technique was bad. Bench technique was also bad. My shoulders don't like to stay retracted and depressed.

I also found out I'll have access to a decent gym while home, so I'll try to get some work in.

[PatrickDB]

No lifting today due to travel and poor gym availability. I will try to get in a few short workouts over he next two weeks and log these.

Regular lifting will resume January 1 with HLM programming, weight gain, and renewed vigor.

[PatrickDB]

Wednesday, December 20.

Press: 125x1, 130x1 @9(?) (lifetime press PR), 115x4, 115x3, 95x6 (all beltless)
Deadlift: 245x1, 205x5 (all DOH, no belt)
Seated Cable Row: 3x12 with 100 on weight stack

My deadlift felt really weak, probably from a combination of grip and setup issues. And not doing anything heavy without straps for a few weeks.

I had to lift in front of a mirror, which was really distracting. But it did make me realize I need a fairly narrow grip while deadlifting to make my arms hang vertical, with index fingers on the smooth part of the bar. (ETA: On second thought, this was probably what was causing the grip problem. I should go back to having my entire hand on the knurling.)

My elbows are also doing weird things while pressing heavier weights. I set up for the first rep correctly, but on the way down they flare out and get out of position (not vertical) for the remainder. I'll fix this later. I think I just need to keep my chest and (especially) elbows more up.

But, these are minor issues. Mainly I'm trying to prevent too much detraining over winter break.

[Wilhelm]

Congratulations, @PatrickDB!
Soon you can have that nice big 45 on there.

[PatrickDB]

Friday, December 22.

Press: warmups + 115x3x3
Bench: 135x5x5
Squat: 185x3x5 (beltless)
Chins: 2x8

It was a frustrating day.

I started with light pressing to see if I could fix the elbow thing from last time. I did. Great.

I went to bench but I didn't have a spotter, so I intentionally went pretty light. The bench I was using was built into a power rack, but it was crooked, so that made unracking the bar unpleasant. The supports at the far end of the bench were also flared in a weird way right where my feet would normally go, and the bench was made of some slippery plastic material that made it hard to set my shoulder blades back and down. Despite these issues, I muddled through.

Squatting was a disaster. I wanted to go up to "light" 205 or 215 but even 185 felt heavy. My last rep of the session was worryingly slow. This could be due to a number of things, including essentially not eating anything the past few days, not squatting for a week, and squatting without a belt. But in any case, an essentially 50 pound drop off in strength on both my squat and deadlift in the course of a week is worrying.

On the bright side: if I didn't suck it up and squat anyway today, the detraining would've gotten even worse. So I'll take that small victory.

[PatrickDB]

Wednesday, December 27.

Press: 100x5, 105x5, 110x5, 100x5
Squat: 165x5, 185x5, 200x3 (aborted mid-set due to corkscrewing)
Chins: 2x8
(everything beltless and in shitty shoes two sizes too big)

Pretty awful day. The local gym was only open in the morning so I ran over after breakfast, not having slept well. I couldn't really concentrate or brace at all. Not staying on top of diet and sleep really sucks. I did everything on short rest periods because I had to get out in about 45 minutes.

I felt weak pressing and couldn't keep my elbows from flaring out when descending (so I hit the bottom with them sticking out to the sides). I seem to have this problem a lot. Probably it's just volitional but I need to remember to be conscious of it.

Squatting was weird. I felt my hip pop when warming up with the bar, which has never happened before. Then I felt sort of off-balance as the weight went up and was wiggling around a lot. It was getting ugly so I just stopped.

This is immensely frustrating but I know it will be better next week when I'm back in my usual gym, am eating and sleeping correctly, and can video myself to diagnose issues. This workout is my last until then.

[PatrickDB]

Monday, January 1.

Weight: 158.5

Press: 100x5, 105x5, 110x3x5 (beltless)
DL: 185x5, 205x5, 225x5 (DOH, DLs always beltless unless otherwise specified)
Chins: 3x9
Squat: 165x5, 185x3x5 (beltless)
BB Curl: 55x3x10

I was pleased with today, considering I'm coming back from essentially 2 weeks of no training. Sleep and food make a big difference.

Presses and deadlifts moved well. I chose the weights conservatively, but given the bar speed, I'd guess I'm only minimally detrained with these.

Chins felt surprisingly good too. This was a comfortable PR for 3 sets -- the best I've done before is 3x8. I shouldn't have any problem hitting 3x10 soon. Curls felt good too and I need to up the weight.

Squats are still a problem. 185 felt too heavy to be 185. I don't know if it's the new shoes (which fit now!), lack of belt, or just that squatting is a relatively technical movement that takes longer to relearn. Bar speed was fine on video though.

Regarding programming, this is a "Week 0" where I relearn how to use a barbell. I'll start Week 1 of the BBM HLM template next week. (Mainly this is out of a desire to do more volume/less intensity/more variety, instead of a real need for post-novice programming.)

Regarding diet, I'm aiming for about 1 lb/week of weight gain. I just started loading creatine, so there will be an initial water weight spike.

[platypus]

I don't know if it's the new shoes (which fit now!), lack of belt, or just that squatting is a relatively technical movement that takes longer to relearn. Bar speed was fine on video though.

What kind of shoes?

Regarding programming, this is a "Week 0" where I relearn how to use a barbell. I'll start Week 1 of the BBM HLM template next week. (Mainly this is out of a desire to do more volume/less intensity/more variety, instead of a real need for post-novice programming.)

Good luck, Patrick.

[PatrickDB]

What kind of shoes?

Adipowers. They were on sale at the end of December, so I went ahead and got some. Previously I was using Powerlifts that were a size too big. Over break I was using Powerlifts that were two sizes too big.

I definitely like the new shoes, mostly because of the increased heel height and proper sizing.

Good luck, Patrick.

Thanks! I think I finally have a good idea of what I should be doing. Hopefully we'll see some major 2018 gains.

[PatrickDB]

Wednesday, January 3.

Bodyweight: 159.5

Squat: 165x5, 185x5, 205x5, 185x5
Bench: 135x5, 145x5, 150x5, 155x5
DB rows: 45x3x8 each side
1 minute plank

Squatting is feeling better. The weights felt subjectively much lighter today. I had technique issues on the set at 205 -- getting super bent over coming out of the hole -- so I dropped to 185 again which was quite easy. I'll think about how to sort this out. Probably it's the new shoes that are causing it.

Benching felt really smooth and comfortable, like I hadn't not benched for 2 weeks. Awesome.

DB rows were good. I think this is my preferred row variation now. Need to up the weight now.

Planking was too easy to be useful and I'll probably just not do ab isolation work in the future. Not worth the time.

ETA: I need to squeeze the bar harder when benching, like I'm going to strangle the thing.

[PatrickDB]

Friday, January 5.

Bodyweight: 160

Shovel: Snow approximately 3ft high, 20 foot path to gym door
Squat: 165x5, 185x5, 205x2x5 (beltless)
Press: 105x5, 110x5, 115x2x5 (beltless)
DL: 195x5 (DOH), 215x5, 235x5 (straps, beltless)
Chins: 30; first set x10, lots of small sets after that (beltless)
BB curl: 60x10, 55x2x10 (beltless)

A not too strenuous day. Squatting is not quite there but coming back really fast -- 185 feels light again, awesome -- and everything else is more or less back up to speed. Will start week 1 of a HLM program next week.

I pulled with straps on the DL not because I needed them, but because I recently ordered a pair of Ironmind straps and wanted to try them out. I don't like them! The nylon feels too slick in my hand and this caused some problems (had to reset after rep 4). Maybe I need to rub them against the knurling to wear them in, or coat them with chalk? If that doesn't work I'm going back to my gym's beat-up cloth straps (and probably ordering my own).

Using a press grip with no internal rotation seemed to fix the elbow flaring thing.

[PatrickDB]

Week 1: Low Stress

Monday, January 8.

Bodyweight 160.

Squat w/ belt: 185x5, 205x5, 215x2x5
Bench: 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 160x2x5
Block pull, 3": 225x4, 245x4, 265x4 (straps)
Chins: 30 total
BB curl: 55x10, 60x2x10


First day of RPE based training. This week is a low stress acclimation week, with a prescription of 2 top sets of 5@8 for the competition lifts.

I slept 5-6 hours last night and had some indigestion, so I was conservative with the weights. They were still too easy. The squats topped out at about 7 but should've been 8 (I wasn't even bracing at all because I wanted to keep my lunch down). The top set of block pulls were at best an 8 but should've been a 9. I used 4 mats to raise the bar, 3/4" inch thick. This felt too high and a little awkward. I'll probably just use 3 in the future, unless someone can give me a good reason not to.

Overall, I need someone to beat me over the head and yell "progressive overload" repeatedly.

I may have done OK hitting RPE for the bench. The last set felt like @9. But on video it looks easier. I think my brain confuses "heavy weight" with "high RPE." Any thoughts on what RPE this actually is?

I was a little "loose" in terms of technique. I think I could definitely try to get a bigger, tighter arch, and perhaps widen my grip by a finger. Even tucking my elbows, I don't have totally vertical forearms.

There's some bonus crotch shot action for @mgil.

[mgil]

Last set probably was @8.

Short heavy sets might be tough to gauge RPE simply because you’re not used to them.

[PatrickDB]

Last set probably was @8.

Short heavy sets might be tough to gauge RPE simply because you’re not used to them.

If that's the case, my squats were probably @6. Damn.

[mgil]

I’m guilty of sandbagging squats. There are worse things in life one could do.

[KyleSchuant]

What's causing the sleep issues, Patrick?

I think that's more important than exactly how you're holding the bar in the squat.

[PatrickDB]

What's causing the sleep issues, Patrick?

I think that's more important than exactly how you're holding the bar in the squat.

I agree. I'm working on it.