Dirty cheating sumo guy is back at it

[simonrest]

Sounds like a plan.

[Sumo]

Monday, April 30	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Front squat	1	4	73
	1	4	91
	3	3	100
Bench Press	1	5	53
	1	4	63
	1	3	74
	2	2	84
	2	1	89
	2	2	84
Squat - w/ 1ct pause at half squat	1	3	91
	1	3	110
	1	3	128
	4	2	137
Lat Pulldown	5	6	25
Goodmorning - High Bar	4	5	50

Ugh, I highly recommend nto training at 10:30pm in the evening after a long day. Tired from a long day but I still felt like I really needed to get the session done.

SQUATS

• Overall, they sucked. I couldn't find my groove and it felt odd. It's probably just the fatigue from the day and everything else, but I do not like.
• On another note however, there's good news and bad news; my back strength has gone up, way up, but it has overtaken my leg strength. I shouldn't be surprised, seeing as I've hammered my entire posterior chain for the last 9 months. So now I I need to back off a little on posterior chain work and start adding in some quad work.

BENCH

• It felt good, really good. The groove was there, everything was coming together nicely and the bar was moving really quick.
• I've finally arrived at a variation of the bulldog grip which really work for me, and it works a lot better than a full grip. It's been a bit of a struggle to find a hand grip that allowed me to get tight and keep tight, and now I think I have it.

[Sumo]

Wednesday, April 2	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Sumo Deadlift to knees /w 2ct pause	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	161
Bench press	1	5	53
	1	5	63
	1	3	74
	1	7	74
	1	4	74
	1	8	74
	1	2	74
	1	6	74
Sumo block pulls - 2"	1	4	129
	1	4	151
	4	4	172
Cable Flyes	4	6	15
Ab Wheel	3	10

• Bodyweight holding steady at 69-70, one more week and I'll start a mini-cut down to 67kg that I'll maintain all the way into the September meet.

DEADLIFT

• Bar was flying, I'm resisting the urge to bump my training max. My left hip is not 100% after my injury from last year so I need to play this smart.
• Working hard to be more thoughtful and aware of my new set-up, it's a question of time until it'll feel natural.

BENCH

• I love me the bulldog grip, and I'm now able to replicate my grip set-up perfectly every time. I can't say the same about the lat groove that I find only after the first rep, I need to figure out a way of getting it on the first rep.

[Sumo]

Friday, April 4	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Bench Press to 1B	1	3	58
	1	3	68
	1	3	79
	2	2	89
	3	1	95
Squat	1	5	91
	1	4	110
	1	3	128
	5	2	146
Bench Press w/chains - bar weight + 10kg x 2	1	4	53
	1	4	63
	4	4	68
Lat Pulldown	4	8	30
Goodmorning - Seated w/ chains	4	4	20

Yeah, so I was up bright and early for a 5:30am training session, and all I can say is that morning training sessions are the worst, the absolute worst. I'm not a good morning person, so asking me to wake up and lift heavy things as well is a stretch, but it got done.

BENCH

• I am feeling the Bench this training cycle, the Bench and the Deadlift, it's grooved and moving really well.
• Bar grip is dialed in, now is time to hunt for that elusive lat engagement that I only seem to find after my first rep.

SQUAT

• Moved surprisingly well all things considered.
• Move grip in to be inside the rings and at first glance it appears my form has tightened up all over as a result. Too early to tell, but this is omething i'll explore now and see where it takes me.
• One more week will complete this mesocycle, I'll be throwing the sleeves on starting next meso

[Wilhelm]

Friday, April 4	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Bench Press to 1B	1	3	58
	1	3	68
	1	3	79
	2	2	89
	3	1	95
Squat	1	5	91
	1	4	110
	1	3	128
	5	2	146
Bench Press w/chains - bar weight + 10kg x 2	1	4	53
	1	4	63
	4	4	68
Lat Pulldown	4	8	30
Goodmorning - Seated w/ chains	4	4	20

Yeah, so I was up bright and early for a 5:30am training session, and all I can say is that morning training sessions are the worst, the absolute worst. I'm not a good morning person, so asking me to wake up and lift heavy things as well is a stretch, but it got done.

BENCH

• I am feeling the Bench this training cycle, the Bench and the Deadlift, it's grooved and moving really well.
• Bar grip is dialed in, now is time to hunt for that elusive lat engagement that I only seem to find after my first rep.

SQUAT

• Moved surprisingly well all things considered.
• Move grip in to be inside the rings and at first glance it appears my form has tightened up all over as a result. Too early to tell, but this is omething i'll explore now and see where it takes me.
• One more week will complete this mesocycle, I'll be throwing the sleeves on starting next meso

I have read some stuff about 6 to 8 hours post waking being when people's cortisol vs testosterone levels are most favorable for training.
I was following that for a while, but lately i start benching a little earllier since that's lighter loads, and then do my squatting or deadlifting nearer that supposed sweet spot.

But simply put, i agree. I don't think i've ever even tried to lift early.

Hope your training continues well.

[Sumo]

I have read some stuff about 6 to 8 hours post waking being when people's cortisol vs testosterone levels are most favorable for training.
I was following that for a while, but lately i start benching a little earllier since that's lighter loads, and then do my squatting or deadlifting nearer that supposed sweet spot.

But simply put, i agree. I don't think i've ever even tried to lift early.

Hope your training continues well.

Yep, I've read similar things as well but unfortunately training at those times are impractical for most people. For me personally I found evening, 7-10pm works best and I feel best around that time as well. Mornings are my worst, and I don't train in the morning unless there's a very good reason for it as was the case today.

I do make an effort to train ealier in the day during the last 6-8 weeks of my meet prep, the idea is that I get acustomed somewhat to lifting early and therefore less affected in a meet. That being said, I have learned to compensate on the day of the meet, I usually lower my first squat attempt and bench attempt, and make bigger jump to second. It has worked really well for me so far, it takes care of the nerves and the squatting early morning problem for me, then I go on with the rest of the meet.

Thanks mate, I hope so too.

[Sumo]

Saturday, May 5	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Sumo Deadlift w/pause 5-7cm above knees	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	161
Close Grip Bench Press	1	4	53
	1	4	63
	4	4	68
Sumo Deadlift w/ chains, bar weight + 10x2 chains	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	161
Overhead Tricep Extension	5	6	35
Reverse hypers - w/ chains	4	8	20

Deadlifts

• Starting to feel the hips a little more, it's getting to that time when i need to switch in conventional for a week.
• Everything moved well, bar speed was fast across all sets.

Bench

• Felt a little heavy for what it was but no biggie.
• Groove was a little off today, the massage I had yesterday left me all tender.

[Sumo]

Monday, May 8	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Front Squat	1	3	73
	1	3	82
	2	3	91
	3	3	100
Bench Press	1	5	53
	1	4	63
	1	3	74
	2	3	84
	3	2	89
	2	3	84
Squat	1	3	91
	1	3	110
	1	3	128
	4	3	146
Dip	5	6	20
Lat pulldown	4	6	30
Hypers	4	8	10

Argh! had a good set of notes to go with this but the forum decided to be a little bitch about it. Keeps prompting me to login almost every time I try to post something new!

TLDR: Everything felt amazing last night. WEight felt light, form was on point and everything was smooth. It seems like the few changes I implemented in my diet are coming home to roost, and the technique changes are making a big difference for my squats.

[Sumo]

Wednesday, May 9	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
1.5" Deficit deadlift	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	4	2	151
Bench Press to 1B	1	3	63
	1	3	74
	1	3	84
	1	3	89
	2	2	95
	2	1	100
Sumo Deadlift, 1.5" Blocks	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	2	3	172
	2	2	194
	2	1	210
Cable Flyes	4	8	15
French press	5	6	35

Another good day, the bench especially is lit!

DEFICIT SUMO

• I hate having to use straps, it really interfeeres with my set-up, but i don't have a choice because I hate mixed grip and I'd rather not abuse my thumbs needlessly with hook grip when I do volume..
• Took me a couple of sets to find my groove, then it was all vanilla.

BENCH

• This shit was lit! was the youngens says. Moving fast, felt strong, hitting all the right spots and everything just came together really well.
• How does one fail to count 1 rep, but does 2 reps instead on the top set?! Well, it felt so light I forgot I only needed to do 1 rep.

BLOCK PULLS

• Daily of silly mistakes just keeps on going. Instead of using 3" blocks, I used 1.5" blocks and by the time i realised I was almost at my top set...I simply couldnt find it in me to omve the bar off and raise the blocks and put the bar on.
• Vanilla work, I know it was blocks and all but that bar was flying.

[Sumo]

Friday, May 11	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Bench Press	1	5	53
	1	4	63
	1	3	74
	4	2	84
Squat	1	5	91
	1	4	110
	1	3	128
	4	2	146
Bench Press w/chains - barweight + 10kg chain per side	1	3	53
	1	3	63
	1	3	74
	4	2	79
Partial Rear Delt Rows + Single Arm DB rows	4	6	38/30
Standing cable crunches	3	10	30

Another late night session, finished ner midnight...ugh.

BENCH

• Moved fast, groove was spot on.
• I need something to help me stay on the bench, not enough grip and I'm damn almost pushing myself off the bench.Makes the set-up really annoying, I can't get tight enough.

SQUATS

• Starting to feel the squats a lot more, muscle memory is kicking in and session by session it keeps feeling better.

BENCH

• Even though I was tired and fatigue, this moved well.
• I'm loving the bench with chains, it's working wonders for my straight bench.

[Sumo]

Friday, May 12	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Deadlift w/pause below knees	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	2	2	161
	3	1	172
Bench Press	1	6	53
	1	6	63
	4	6	68
Deadlift w/chains - bar weight + 20kg in chains	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	161
Belt Squats	5	5	50
45 degree back extensions	4	8	15

First cycle is done! Volume coming out of my ears, but I aint seen nothing yet.

SUMO PAUSED DEADLIFTS

• I'm continuously surprised at how quickly my pre-insury strength levels are returning.
• Sumo form has clean-ed up a lot since, overall I'm just feeling things a lot more and I'm able to feel the entire movement a lot more.

BENCH

• It's been weeks and weeks of low rep work, that hitting 4 sets of 6 felt novel, and good.
• Reviewed my training clips and my form has really solidified! major improvement across the board, but mostly it looks really clean.

SUMO /w CHAINS

• I was really feeling the fatigue by this point. It doesn't look like much work got done before I get to these, but it's deceptive.
• I picked up on a touch of sloppiness during some of the reps here, I'll put it down to the fatigue but it's somthing I'll pay closer attention to going forward.

I might post up some visuals/charts of this cycle is anyone's interested.

[Sumo]

This morning at the arse crack of dawn	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Bench Press	1	5	53
	1	4	63
	1	3	74
	4	3	84
Squat	1	5	91
	1	5	110
	1	3	128
	1	7	128
	1	4	128
	1	8	128
	1	2	128
	1	5	128
Bench Press to 1B	1	3	63
	1	3	74
	2	3	84
	3	2	89
Lying Cable Chest Flyes	4	8	15
Ab wheel	3	10

Start of "yo! I heard you like volume" cycle, it's going to be a long, but productive 6 weeks.

BENCH PRESS

• The worst thing about training in the morning is that my body is half asleep. Everything just feels sluggish and no bueno.
• Cruisy sets and reps, I was worried about possible issues with my elbows because I've brought in my squat grip and it's been referring some pain in that area since.

SQUATS

• Is this muscle confusion or what?! Happy how this went down, even happier that I'm seeing a really big spike in strength, pre-injury level or more
• Noticed slight bar dip on my right side, looks like I need to attend to my left shoulder/pec/delts to get things even.
• Twas fun, solid form.

• Vanilla, except I keep slidding off the damn bench when I try to leg drive too hard. I'm going to loop a couple bands on the bench next session, hopefully I'll get a little better traction.

[Sumo]

Wednesday, May 16	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Sumo Deadlift 1.5" Deficit	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	4	2	151
Bench Press w/ chains, bar weight + 2x10chains	1	3	53
	1	3	63
	1	3	74
	4	2	79
Sumo Deadlift -block pulls	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	2	3	172
	3	3	183
Lat Pulldown	5	6	45
Dips	5	5	30
Close Stance, Straight Leg, Pullthrough	5	5	20

• Vanilla session, just hummed along and work got done.
• Nothing really stood out today technique-wise, but overall I'm feeling the fatigue from the previous cycle.

[Sumo]

Almost a week since last log. All sessions got done but I've just been too busy to log them here.

Wednesday, May 24	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Sumo Deadlift to knees w/2ct pause	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	4	2	151
Bench Press to 1B	1	5	58
	1	4	68
	2	4	79
	2	3	89
	3	2	95
Sumo Deadlift w/chains - bar weight + 2x10kg chains	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	161
Tricep extensions	5	6
Abs - ab wheel	4	10

• Things have been a little hectic lately and stress has been higher than normal. I've noticed significant fatigue accumulation, sure sign of under-recovery in light of everything else.
• Deloading this week by slashing my warm-up volume by 50% and removing accessory work completely.
• The beauty of front-loading so much volume through my warm-ups is being able to cut it when I need a deload or during phases of under-recovery

[Sumo]

Wednesday, May 30	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Sumo Deficit Deadlift 1.5"	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	4	2	151
Competition Bench Press	1	6	53
	1	5	63
	1	4	74
	1	3	79
	2	2	84
Sumo Block Pulls 1.5"	1	4	129
	1	4	151
	4	4	172
Single arm triceps extension(across the body)	5	6	16
Hanging straight leg raises	3	10

Life, life is busy but training continues.

Training

• Signed up for the meet in September, so it's on for real now.
• Bench and Deadlifts are humming along nicely, nothing to complain about and lots of things to be pleased about.
• My squat is starting to feel better, but I'm still finding it difficult to get into the groove. I'm not able to put my finger on why exactly Squats are feeling so off, but the likely explanation is as a result of my 4 months break with unjury.
• Deloading warm-ups and accessory work last week has dissipated fatigue senstionally. I'm feeling 100% again and my morning HR check is back in the right range.

Recovery

• I've started to put a really huge emphasis on sleep, and sleep quality. This means no coffee after midday, minimising electronic devices in the evening, making sure my last meal is 2-3hrs before bed, and minimising water intake in the evening.
• I've also stepped up my Yin Yoga game, doing 1-2 30mins session every day, and I've reintroduced DeFranco's Limber 11, 2-3 sessions every week.
• My nutrition and intake is on point, I've have been holding weight at 70kg for the last 2 months now, just about to start cutting for those last couple of kilos to get into weight class weigh-in range...4-5 weeks should get me right where I need to be.
• Added cold showers in the morning and every other evening -this is nuts but it's so awesome. Water is so cold it's painful, but the hot-cold effect in the morning is awesome, and the cold effect in the evening is amazing for inducing sleep.

[Sumo]

Friday, June 2	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Paused Squats - 2ct	1	5	91
	1	4	110
	1	3	128
Competition Squat	4	2	146
Bench Press w/chains -weight + 2x10kg chains	1	4	53
	1	4	63
	5	4	74
Paused Squats - 2ct	1	4	91
	1	4	110
	4	4	128
Lat pulldown- behind the neck	5	6	35
Reverse hypers -chains	4	8	20

• I had targeted September for my first meet this year, but after some thinking I changed it to a meet in November. The main reason for my decision was the fact that I'm not willing to push the envelope with max squats and deadlifts in my current condition.
• I'm able to deadlift and squat without any issues, but I feel the tenderness and tightness in the area where I injured my back in December last year. I'm one for paying close attention to your body, and that's basically what I feel is the best course of action. Take a little more time to heal, strengthen and build, I can't go wrong there.
• The amazing thing about the new meet date, I did the math and I can slot in 2 more block of training and come out on the exact date of the meet without breaking a stride. So as of now I'm working on writting up 2 training blocks, 6 and 4 weeks respectively, which I can tack onto my current plan.

SQUATS

• Brodins balls! Squats are feeling more natural by the day. I've decided to make a small change and add in Paused Squats, in the hole, something I've used in previous meet preps with great success.
• Strength levels are also on the up, paused squats at this weight are roughly in line with pre-injury strength levels, which I was doing with sleeves on. I'm heartened by the fact that I can hit these fresh and fatigued, without sleeves.

BENCH

• Absoutely nothing to complain about and quite a few things to be pleased about, namely my form and technique. Who'd a thunk it, benching 4 times a week really helps to dial in technique.

[Sumo]

Saturday, June 2	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
1 + 1/2 (x2) Sumo Deadlift	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	3	161
Close Grip Bench Press	1	3	53
	1	3	63
	4	3	74
Rear Delt rows	5	6	20
Single Arm Tricep Extension across the body	5	6	16
Reverse Hypers	4	8	20

Vanilla work, nothing of note other than a fun new Deadlift variation targeting lockout technique.

[Sumo]

Monday, June 6	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Pause Squats - 2ct	1	5	91
	1	4	110
	1	3	128
	5	2	146
Bench Press	1	5	53
	1	4	63
	1	3	74
	5	3	84
Incline Cable Chest Flyes	5	6	16
Dips	5	5	15
Pull Throughs	5	5	20

SQUATS

• Ohh baby! squat strength is roughly at pre-injury level, possibly even stronger. My previous best Paused Squat was 130, in sleeves, hitting this has me all kinds of giddy.
• Paused Squats are back in vogue, I missed them too much and they are so darn useful that I'd be an idiot to not have them in my program permanently.

BENCH

• SABO Goodlifts do not make good benching shoes, the soles are too stiff to bench on your toes.
• Bar speed was exactly where it needs to be.

[Sumo]

Wednesday, June 6	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Deadlift w/pause 5-7cm above knees	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	172
Bench Press to a 1B	1	3	58
	1	3	68
	1	3	79
	2	3	89
	2	2	95
	3	1	100
Deadlift up to knees -pause off the floor	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	4	2	161
Triceps - kneeling overhead tricep extensions	5	6	30
Lat Muscles - neutral grip handles	5	6	40
Abs - ab wheel	4	8

Vanilla, got in, got it done, and got out 2hrs later. Fatigue levels are low, spirits are high and work is getting done.

[Sumo]

Friday, June 8	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Bench Press	1	5	58
	1	4	68
	1	3	79
	4	2	89
Squat - 2ct pause	1	5	91
	1	4	110
	1	3	128
	4	2	146
Paused Bench Press 3ct	1	3	53
	1	3	63
	1	3	74
	3	2	84
Incline Cable flyes	5	6	16
45 deg Back Extensions -chains	4	8	20

---

Saturday, June 9	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Deficit Deadlift 2"	1	3	108
	1	3	129
	4	2	151
Incline Bench Press	5	3	65
Sumo Block pulls w/ pause above knees	1	3	129
	1	3	151
	1	3	172
	3	2	183
Lat Pulldown	5	6	40
Front Foot Elevated Lunge	5	5	20

• Having fun, shoveling volume all over the place, 2 weeks until this block is done and I finally start to hit some bigger weights.
• Sleep is on point, recovery is about as good as I can get it and generally it feels like I'm straddling that thin red-fatigue-line without any room for error.