Max day bombout

I don’t know if I was too weak that day or the exercises were just too tough for me right now. The routine was (planned)

Low start deadlift 5x5 at 100kg

Dumbbell Romanian deadlift 5x8 @ 50lbs.

Bent over rows 3x10 @ 60kg

Good Mornings 3x10 @ 50kg.

The workout went this way

Drank a glass of choco milk 30 mins. with half a scoop of whey before the workout. Rested for a few minutes (~20 mins.)

Low start deadlift 5x5 at 100kg. I took 2 to 3 minutes rest between sets. It was tough. I stood on 2” plates and was using 20kg plates. I was taking a few second rests between reps. But I completed it as planned. Noticed numerous things during the lift. Setup is very vital. If the setup is wrong either the lift took too long to takeoff or my hands feels the pain. But generally in 95% of the reps my form is good, I know my form is good when I feel the effort to lift the weight comes from my lower body (pushing off the floor). I really felt drained. I felt that I could not get past the Bent over rows.

The next exercise was the Dumbell Romanian DL 5x8 @ 50lbs. I did not have enough plates for my dumbbells so I used 40lbs and used the same number of sets and reps. No problem with the routine. Took 1.5 to 2 minutes rest. I noticed during the exercise while resting that I was yawning and felt sleepy.

The third exercise was bent over rows 3x10 @ 60kg. This time things got a little more tough. I managed to finish the first set but just barely. My grip was giving out, it was just too painful. Could it be the gloves pinching the skin of my palm and fingers? Just to complete the routine I lowered the weight to 50kgs and added 2 reps for the last two sets. By this time I was still yawning and really doubtful that I could complete the workout. Around this time total time elapsed for the workout was around 50minutes.

I took about 3 minutes of rest and try to give the good mornings a try. I was able to unrack the barbell and setup for the good mornings. As soon as I was about to perform the first rep I did not feel I can push it back up. I was just too drained. Decided to stop the workout. I got frustrated in not finishing the workout but then again I also felt glad that I nailed the major exercise for the day. So I would rate the day at around 9 for toughness and around 7 for effort. Drank 8oz of chocomilk and half a scoop of whey to round out the workout.

Bench focus

The workout today focused on the upper body for the bench. The routine for the day were

Speed Bench (cg) 30/3/3

Speed Bench (mg) 30/3/3

Speed Bench (wg) 30/3/3

Close grip 2" off chest 30/6/5

Close grip 4"-6" off chest 30/3/9

one arm dumbell rows 40lbs./10/3

reverse grip bicep curls 20/10/3

The entire workout took about 46 mins. For the first 5 exercise I used 45 seconds of rest between sets and 2 mins rest between exercise while for the last two I took 2 minutes. Practiced my arch all through the bench routines.

Second day of second cycle

I can’t come up with a better title for this post so please cut me some slack. Anyway the workout was really tough. We are addressing my weakness in the Bench Press. First we did board presses or something similar to it. We did it on a smith machine. Coach asked management if they would allow the use of boards, the request was turned down. I did poorly in that exercise, it was pathetic. Then we did tricep lockouts. We also did excercises for the lats. Coach also taught me how do the bridge, it was tough but I guess a few more weeks of doing that I would gain more flexibility. We also focused on correcting my arch for the bench. The major exercises I would be doing on weekdays would still be the same but the accessory work would focus on body building (hyperthropy). The logic is that to be able to lift more I need the equipment (muscle mass) to be able to do it. So for this cycle more time would be given to that activity.

Next Cycle

I just started a new training cycle today. It would be another 8 week cycle. After this we would try a 12 cycle and then a 6 week cycle. We are trying to find what cycle works for me. It was a good training day today. We did low box squats. It was 8 sets of 2 reps each of 60kg. the last time I did box squats on dynamic effort day I lifted around 50kg. After the squat we did speed deadlift. This time we tried sumo style. It was different. Different muscles were being used in the deadlift as compared to the conventional. I’ll give it a shot. We are trying to determine if I would be stronger in the conventional or in the sumo deadlift. After the deadlift we did speed shrugs. The speed shrugs was targeting the upperback for deadlift lockouts. Next was reverse hypers followed by 21’s (7 reps each of a variation of the bicep curl, low, high, and full). We did ab work last.

Targets for next cycle

This week was rest week. My first training cycle was an 8 week cycle. For the next one I would make it a 12 week cycle. Haven’t discussed my targets for the next cycle with my coach but I guess they would probably be 140kg DL, 120kg SQT, 70kg BP. If I get to reach those targets I would be hitting above 300 total. I am raring to go training again. My guess is, coach would be focusing on the BP since it is the weakest among the three. My long term plan is to bench press 100kg by December.

For the coming month of September I would definitely get me a power cage. I have some ideas and pictures of what the rack would be. At the least it should be 7ft high, >3.5ft internal width, 3 to 3.5ft depth. Hole spacing should be at the most 2”. If ever I would need to set the pins somewhere in between, I would just use a platform to put the bench on for BP or to step on for DL. Aside from the power cage I would be needing a sturdy box for my box squats. I would need at least three, below (10-12”), parallel (14”), and above parallel (16”). I would design it to be stackable. The base would be, let’s say 10” then 2” cover (which serves as the seat). In between the base and the seat we could stack sections (2” thick) to get to parallel and above parallel. For the next cycle I would probably need additional plates, at least 2 20kg plates more from Ensayo.

New PR!

Okay, I was quite satisfied with the new PRs I got today.

Squat = 100kg (70kg)

Bench Press = 57.5kg (42.5kg)

Deadlift = 120kg (90kg)

I am happy with the gains so far. That was a solid 75kg total over 8 weeks. But again we can attribute those gains to “beginner gains”. For the following week would be a rest week. I would be doing cardio work and resume training the following week.

The Squat:

10 reps @ 20kg

5 reps @ 50kg

3 reps @ 60kg

1 rep @ 70kg

1 rep @ 80kg

1 rep @ 90kg

1 rep @ 100kg we ended here since I was starting to lose proper form.

I was not satisfied with the depth on the previous lifts starting at 70kg and ending at 90kg. But on the 100kg squat I tried to hit the correct depth and got it.

The Bench was not that fancy but still I had some gains. Among the three lifts my bench is the weakest. We would be focusing on it in the next cycle.

10 reps @ 20kg

5 reps @ 40kg

3 reps @ 45kg

1 rep @ 50kg

1 rep @ 52.5kg

1 rep @ 55kg

1 rep @ 57.5kg

I don’t think that the previous squat diminished my capability in the bench. Coach asked me about my estimate on what would be my 1RM prior to today, I said 60kg. I guess I was short on that J I don’t feel I have the proper form to effectively lift more. We haven’t pin pointed it yet. It’s probably my arch, or the speed, or setting up too long, failure to use legs to help with the lift, or my upper body isn’t that strong yet. We’ll know two weeks from now what the new program would be.

I was satisfied with the deadlift. It went like this…

10 reps @ 40kg

5 reps @ 60kg

3 reps @ 70kg

1 rep @ 80kg

1 rep @ 90kg

1 rep @ 100kg

1 rep @ 110kg

1 rep @ 120kg! (two plates!)

1 rep @ 130kg -bombed out

Seeing those 4 25kg plates on that bar and was able to lift it was really satisfying! The last lift at 130kg, I managed to lift it about 3 inches but gravity won out this time. It was just too sticky. Coach identified the sticking point at around 3 inches above the floor. My personal estimate was at 110kg, I guess I was wrong. Am I underestimating myself too much?

My total now stands at 287.5kg from 212.5kg 8weeks ago! Hope to hit 300 in the next cycle!

The light workout I had yesterday was quite good. I was done in about 35 minutes. I would be resting for the next two days in preparation for my PR attempts (it would be a raw attempt) on Saturday. My coach's assessment is that I am progressing above expection in my deadlifts, just about average on my squats, buy my bench is lagging. The likely explanation, which I think so myself is because of my body structure. I am what is called an A-frame or bottom heavy. My lower body is bigger than my upper body. After the PR attempts on Saturday (we would be simulating competition conditions) we would be revamping the program for the next training cycle. I will be posting the results of the PR attempt next time.

speed squat: 35kg x 8 x 2
speed bench: 20kg x 12 x 3 (three sets each for close-, mid-, wide grips)
speed deadlift: 40kg x 8 x 1