Dirty cheating sumo guy is back at it

[Sumo]

It's not really an issue @Wilhelm , i've been pulling hook grip since I first started learning how to deadlift and this is the first time this has happened to me. I've tried using tape in the past but I must have done something wrong because it was more painful with tape, and near max deadlifts was tearing the tape off and making me miss the lift.

[Sumo]

Coming off a deload, nothing to write home about and will resume normal logging.

[Sumo]

Started a new block

W1D1
BW: 70.3 - kicking ass with the diet, steady and textbook rate of flat loss.

• So this is the start of my last bench specialisation block before I go into meet prep. I'll finish this block mid-April, and then go into a 20 week meet prep for September. Goal is to qualify for GPC Nats in 2019, although I'm unsure at which bodyweight I want to go in. I'd be competing for the podium at 67.5kg, or I can go where my body and Sheiko says I should and compete at 75kg and be a middle of the top10 pack....

WARMUP - Completed in 8:45

• Coming off a deload week, everything feels better and smoother.
• Noticeable fatigue dissipation, I blasted through the warmup.

WARMUP	SETS		REPS	KG	LBS
Seated DB Press	4	x	25	5	11
Lat Pulldown	4	x	25	40	88
Tricep Pushdown	4	x	25	15	33

MAIN - Completed in 1:08:20

MAIN	SETS		REPS	KG	LBS
Comp Bench	1	x	5	55	121
Comp Bench	1	x	4	66	145
Comp Bench	1	x	3	77	169
Comp Bench	4	x	2	85	186
Comp Bench	1	x	7	85	186
1B Press 1/2thumb from smooth	2	x	5	83	182
Side Raise -AW until 10RM	1	x	10	10	22
Side Raise -AW until 10RM	1	x	10	10	22
Rear Raise -AW until 12RM	1	x	12	7	15
Rear Raise -AW until 12RM	1	x	12	7	15

• Trying to arch a little less to increase the ROM.
• I've been doubting my grip width for some time, so I decided to do a front-on shot tonight and see where it's at, and it's good.
• I'm seeing some instability , but I think that's due to the bench I'm using.
• 1 rep shy of a rep PR on the AMRAP set. However, previous rep PR was done at a 5kg heavier bodyweight, and without the warm-up protocol I'm using now....so it is a a sign serious gains were made.

[Sumo]

This week could have abeen better. I was in a car crash last Friday, and although I only sustained minor injuries, it has still left me shook up. Spent all this week talking with the insurance and looking for a new car. Hoping to be back on the horse next week.

[cgeorg]

That sucks - hope you get everything sorted out and feeling better soon.

[Sumo]

That sucks - hope you get everything sorted out and feeling better soon.

Thanks mate, things are looking a lot better in the lift of a Friday afternoon.

[simonrest]

shit, that sucks. hope you get enough of a payout to cover yourself

[Sumo]

shit, that sucks. hope you get enough of a payout to cover yourself

That we did, insurance paid for a touch over half the price of our new car, and whatever the price of the other car is. Technically I was at fault because I hit her from behind, but things are not always as they seem, the other driver admitted to me while we were chatting on the side of the road that she wasn't paying attention to the road in front of her, but was looking at two cars in the break-down lane.... - also, lucky for her I hit her had enough and at just the right angle to push her into the break-down lane and not into the car in front of her, she didn't have any insurance.

We were fortunate in that our insurance policy for the crashed car rolls over in 1 week, and the agreed value was going down by $3k. Aside from the fact that I have sustained no major injuries and the other drvier wasn't hurt, this is a a nice silver lining to it.

[simonrest]

Plus now you get to go car shopping. Actually not sure if that's good or bad

[Sumo]

Plus now you get to go car shopping. Actually not sure if that's good or bad

It was, on the most, meh. Time consuming and stressfull because we only had the 1 car so time was precious to find and buy something. We've already bought, a new 2017 Honda Civic VTI-S Hatchback. Both my wife and I are very happy with the purchase, especially since we talked the price down from $28,448 to $25,700, with a few other extras trown in. I feel bad, but I don't, for the salesman.

[Sumo]

And I'm back.

3 big changes coming:

1. I'm giving up my gym membership in favour of going back to my garage gym.
   • The gym membership was a trial to see how things go for the family and my training schedule, and it's not meshing very well even though I went from a 4day/week to 3day/week training schedule. The time spent travelling to and from the gym, and the fact that unreachable to my wife while I'm there is simply not worth it for me.
   • I also wanted access to more equipment, but most of all I needed more weight. I wasn't able to train deadlifts at home because I couldn't fit enough plates on the bar, the bumpers were too bulky and with my working sets above 180kg/397lbs I simply couldn't fit any more weight on.
   • I sold off some extra gear, a bench, rack and all my bumpers, and I dropped the same cash on machined steel plates and the mono attachment that's coming. I'll start also investing the gym membership money I won't have to pay to the gym, into other things I need.
2. As far as training goes, this is the 4th and final bench specialisation block I'm running then I go into a 20 weeks-long meet prep.
   • Initially I started this because I wanted to add more mass to my upper body, improve technique, and the overarching reason was that I wanted to boost my lagging bench.
     The first goal I reached, my upper body is looking way bigger and jacked even though I'm 7kg/15lbs down in body weight as I near the end of my cut, the bulk appears to have gone really well.
   • Second goal is a bit more debateable, some things have improved, some things have changed, and maybe the better way of looking at the experience is that I’ve learned quite a few things that do and don't work for me, I’ll call it a win here as well.
   • Pushing my bench max, that's not something I can definitively say because I haven't tested maxes since I started, but all signs point to it. I'm matching, surpassing or hitting new rep maxes now, whilst 7kg/15lbs down in bodyweight, that I set when I was at the peak of my bulk.
3. Finally, and the one that I'm most excited about, is that my back rehab appears to have been successful, my patience has paid off.
   • I injured my lower back 2 days before Christmas last year, and I have not had a loaded bar on my back since then. After the injury happened I substituted BB Squats with Belt Squats, which has allowed me to keep squatting with intensity, train a new squat pattern, and get some serious work done on my lower body. The belt squat at the gym was an absolute godsend, having the ability to train squats and deadlift without the spine load.... if there was nothing else in the entire gym, I would have still paid the money to go there just for the belt squat machine.
   • It's been a little over 10 weeks now, and I took it for a test drive last night. I took it easy, lowered my planned volume by 50%, dropped intensity by 10% and instead of triples I went with doubles. I'll ramp this up slowly over the next 5 weeks, and provided everything goes as planned I should be at firing at 100% in 5 weeks’ time when I start meet prep.

Warm-up	SETS		REPS	KG	LBS
Belt squats	4	x	25	45	99
Ham Curls	4	x	25	10	22
Reverse Hyper	4	x	25	10	22

• I used the Low Row Pulley for my belt squats, I hooked on and stood up on a bench whilst holding onto the rack for - not quite as good as the gym belt squat but pretty darn close and good enough for my need.
• I used my brand new, used, 45 degree back extension instead of the reverse hyper and I modified the movement to hit the back and glutes, close enough.

EXERCISE	SETS		REPS	KG	LBS
Squat	1	x	5	96	212
	1	x	4	109	239
	1	x	3	128	282
	1	x	2	138	303
	4	x	2	140	308
2ct Pause Squats	3	x	3	100	220
Back Extension	5	x	10	63	138
Barbell Rows -overhand grip	1	x	12	60	132
Barbell Rows -overhand grip	1	x	12	60	132
Heavy DB Rows -to lower chest	1	x	15	30	66
Heavy DB Rows -to lower chest	1	x	15	30	66
Heavy Barbell Shrugs	1	x	15	60	132
Heavy Barbell Shrugs	1	x	15	60	132
DB Calf Raises	5	x	10	30	66

[simonrest]

how are you weighting your back extensions? bar on the shoulder? Bar in the hands? an intricate system of balancing plates on your back?

[Sumo]

how are you weighting your back extensions? bar on the shoulder? Bar in the hands? an intricate system of balancing plates on your back?

Loaded barbell, and I use straps so I don't need to worry about my grip. I also vary my grip width depending on how low I want to go, or simply raise the station on a couple of plates for extra height. I'm a small guy, so I don't need much to have the bar floating the whole time.

[Sumo]

• 3 Weeks to go until I'm done with my weight cut, 7kg/15.4lbs down.
• Strength holding steady, beating rep PR even though body weight is down.

Warmup	S		R	KG	LBS	NOTES
Bench DB - 45incline	5	x	4	5	11
Lat pulldown - wide grip	40	x	4	40	88
Tricep pulldown - narrow grip	15	x	4	15	33
Main
Incline DB Neutral Grip Bench-warmup	1	x	30	5	11
Wide Grip Bench	2	x	25	60	132	25,21
JM Press	2	x	10	35	77	Increase weight next week
Overhand Cable Tricep Ext	2	x	25	25	55	Up weight next week
Underhand Cable Tricep Ext	2	x	25	25	55
Band Pull-Apart	3	x	30	RED Band

[Sumo]

• Felt flat and devoid of energy, the diet really sucks now and im so over it, can't wait for it to be done.
• 1kg away from what I want my bodyweight to be at, seeing some really nice definition and bulk on the upper body which wasn't there before the bulk even.
• New weight plates are awesome, but I need to get used to my barbell at home as it feels slight off on deadlifts.

WARMUP	S		R	KG	LBS	NOTES
Ham Curls	4	x	25	10	22
Belt Squats	4	x	25	45	99
Reverse Hyper	4	x	25	10	22
MAIN
Sumo Deadlift	1	x	5	110	242
Sumo Deadlift	1	x	4	132	290
Sumo Deadlift	1	x	3	154	339
Sumo Deadlift	1	x	2	165	363
Sumo Deadlift	5	x	3	170	374	*cue - pull myself down.
Block Pulls- conventional below knee	3	x	3	152.5	336
Sumo 3" Block Pulls	2	x	5	157.5	347
45 Back Raise /w chains	3	x	15	40	88
Lat Pulldown	2	x	15	30	66
Chins	4	x	10	BW		10,10,10,10 - Add 5kg chain
Hammer Curls	2	x	15	10	22

[Sumo]

DIET DONE!

• Body weight @ 69kg and holding steady, going into maintenance mode now for at least the remainder of this year. Bloody hell but it's nice to have all my work clothes fit me comfortably again.
• Really feeling the increase in carbs and calories now, a few days into it and it's having a noticeable effect in training.
• Last few weeks have been OK, putting the finishing touches on the program I'm planning to run in the lead-up to my meet in September.
• I kicked off a trial run of new program this week, I want to get a feel for it over the next 3 weeks before competition prep starts. Using these 3 weeks to iron out any kinks now and hopefully keep tinkering to a minimum later on.

[/tr]

Wed, March 28	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Sumo Deadlift w/2s pause 5cm-7cm below knees	1	3	105
Sumo Deadlift w/2s pause 5cm-7cm below knees	1	3	130
Sumo Deadlift w/2s pause 5cm-7cm below knees	4	3	147
Medium Grip Bench press	1	5	51
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	5	62
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	3	72
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	5	72
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	7	72
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	4	72
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	6	72
Medium Grip Bench Press	1	8	72
Sumo Deadlift w/pause at knees	1	3	116
Sumo Deadlift w/ pause at knees	1	3	137
Sumo Deadlift w/pause at knees	4	2	158
Lat Pulldown	4	6
Good morning - Seated	5	5

DEADLIFT
- need to remember to push, not pull, after the pause.
- snap the knees and bring the hips in fast.
- keep pressure on the outside of the feet
- Work on getting the pressure through the heels at liftoff

BENCH
- Lat engagement is on point after the first rep, but I need to figure out how to get it from the first rep.
- felt like uneven extension on the left side, something to check out in the vids
- remember to bring the chest to the bar

[simonrest]

Congrats on finishing the diet while still training through. That's one thing I've never been able to do

[Sumo]

Congrats on finishing the diet while still training through. That's one thing I've never been able to do

Thanks, it wasn't that hard until the last 2-4 weeks. I keep my diet blocks at 2-3 months, and it's only in the last month that calories and lack or carbs starts to make me hate life. First two month I get enough carbs that I can keep training pretty hard, generally around I fall somewhere in the 200-300 range depending on the intensity/length of my sessions, and still see easy weight drop.

[Sumo]

Friday, March 30	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
Bench Press	1	5	51
	1	4	62
	1	3	72
	4	3	77
Squat w/pause at half squat position on the way down	1	3	90
	1	3	108
	4	3	126
Bench Press /w 1B	1	3	62
	1	3	72
	2	3	82
	3	2	87
Flat Bench Cable Flyes	4	8	16
45° Back Extension - with chains	4	8	15

• Looks eays, woke up today feeling like I was run over by a truck.
• Loving the mono attachments for benching, they make such a huge difference in unracking.
• I was expecting squats to feel heavy, seeing as I had a pretty big deadlift session on Wednesday, but they felt good. Volume and intensity on point, 4th set bar speed dropped and some slight form break-down.
• Bar speed and form was on point across all sets for bench, I'll see how this goes over the next 3 weeks before I decide if I can handle and should add more volume.

[Sumo]

Saturday, March 31	SETS	REPS	WEIGHT
2" Deficit Deadlift	1	3	105
	4	2	126
Incline Bench Press	1	3	50
	5	3	60
Deadlift from blocks, bar 5cm below knees	1	3	116
	1	3	137
	2	3	158
	3	2	179
Dips /w chains	5	4	15
Belt Squats	5	5	100
Reverse Hypers	4	8	20

• Nothing of note, except to say I felt surprisingly good and fresh on the deadlifts. All else was vanilla.