The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope

[El Exorcisto]

Morning weigh-in: 174

Bench press: 5s @ 140,150; 8@160

   superset with

Ring chins: 5x6

Log C&P: 5s @110,115; 8@125

Fat hammer curl: 12,12,15 @ 25

   superset with

Roll-out: 3x15

 

The cut is definitely starting to eat into my training capacity. Bench felt okay today but I was just running out of gas. Surprisingly it didn't seem to affect my log press nearly as much. My log is feeling really smooth and strong now and I'm looking forward to building it hard once I can eat again. Ring chins and hammer curls were both volume PRs so at least I'm making progress somewhere. I'm going to put a pair of chips on my DBs for hammers next week since I'm having no problem hitting more than my planned reps.

 

Roll-outs are weird. I really haven't felt them in my abs for the last month or so and chalked that up to getting stronger. I was feeling them more in my lats. I had been watching the wheel and not looking down. Today for some reason I started looking back at the floor and felt nothing in my lats and everything in my abs. Apparently I was overarching like a bitch and taking my abs out of the movement. I hate subtle form changes having such big impacts.

 

Eight more days... I don't know if I'll see 168 but I have no fucks left to give. 

[El Exorcisto]

Morning weigh-in: 172.4

Deadlift: 5s @ 265,285; 10@300

SSB squat: 5@135, 2x5 @ 185, 2x5 @ 195

DB Bulgarian split squat: 10@bw, 10@10, 10@20

GHR: 8,7,6

   superset with

Roman chair sit-ups: 20,15

 

It was no PR but it felt good so I'll take it. SSB squats were shaky on the second set but I brought my stance in and they got nice. I usually don't feel squats in my quads as much as I do my glutes but these lit my quads up. The only set with a belt was on my deadlift top set. I rely on my belt entirely too much and that needs to stop.

 

I'm 6 days out from being able to eat again so I figured I'd get used to this training block while I'm feeling weak and depleted as fuck. So many of the usuals that I read squawk about single leg work. I have an obvious imbalance in my hips and single leg work should be how I go after it. I hate single leg work with a fucking passion. Kalle Beck and Chase Karnes like walking lunges, DeFranco likes BSSes. Since it seems to be a hip flexor weakness, BSSes got the nod. They also feel better on my knees. I had a hard time walking after the third set.

 

I finished cleaning out my other house so I can get it rented and in the process got my hyper bench back. It's strange that such a similar movement would feel so different. No hip flexor pain on the hyper bench doing sit-ups compared to the GHR. 

[El Exorcisto]

Morning weigh-in: 174.4

Strict press: 5s @ 95,105; 8@110

   superset with

Ring chins: 4x6

3-board bench: 5@135, 3x5 @ 195, 5@200 - PR

Circuit x3:

12 Dips - volume PR

10 fat hammer curls @ 30

12 hanging knee raises

 

I hit a couple assistance PRs today but I'm falling off on my main work. Hopefully I can keep from fucking up hard with my diet for the next five days and squeak out whatever losses I have left to lose. A month is about my limit before I start having a really hard time not nickel and diming myself. I should have went back through my log before I started because I said the same thing at the tail end before.

[El Exorcisto]

Final weigh-in: 174.4

Squat: 3s @ 245,260; 6@275

SSB Good morning: 10@135, 2x8@185

DB step-up: 10@bw, 10@10, 10@30

Hypers: 20@bw, 20 with monster mini

   superset with

Roman chair sit-ups: 2x20

 

Squats are feeling worse and worse but my left hip was more stable today than it has been. Hopefully the extra leg work and being back to eating will help bring things up. I dropped the belt on GMs and dialed the weight way back. I squeaked out 8 reps before I started losing my arch. Step-ups were good but I can handle a lot more loading on them than BSSes. I'll work up slowly and see where I start feeling some work getting done. My hips and lower abs are lit up pretty bad.

 

I'm calling my cut off a couple days early because fuck that noise. I'll run til the first of November and cut again to Thanksgiving so I have some wiggle room through the holidays.

[matty_mcfly]

174 is still pretty impressive. Haven't seen numbers that low since last year when I did the triathlon

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[El Exorcisto]

I dropped 8-9 pounds in a month. I'm definitely not complaining. I ate so much shit today. It was awesome. I filled out quick and I feel awesome.

[El Exorcisto]

I hit 170 for 6 tonight on about 4 hours of sleep lat night. I tried the log but got shaky as fuck on 120 which shouldn't have happened. I called it early and I'm going to bed.

[matty_mcfly]

170 for 6 on press?

Nevermind...it was on bench. I was gonna ask where that press came from.

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[El Exorcisto]

Deadlift: 3s @ 280,300; 8@320

SSB squats: 5s @ 135,185,195,205,215

Bulgarian split squat: 10@10, 2x10 @ 30

Roman chair sit-ups: 2x20

 

I didn't hit a PR tonight but it still felt solid. Deadlifts are feeling good and it looks like I have a really long road ahead before I see a plateau or missed rep. SSB squats were all taken really deep and felt awesome. I'm working up slowly to a weight that feels right since there's a lot of grooving happening right now. BSSes were nasty, leaving me with the same difficulty walking as last week.

 

I'm dropping GHRs for now. I really like them and hate seeing the footplate and pad collecting dust but it isn't really demonstrating much carry over right now. 

[El Exorcisto]

Strict press: 5@105 (oops), 3@110, 7@115

   superset with

Ring chins: 5x6

 

3-board press: 5@135, 185; 2x5 @ 195, 5@200 - rep PR

   superset with

Hammer curl: 3x10 @ 30 and concentration curls: 2x8 @ 30

 

Dips: 3x12

   superset with

Roll-out: 3x15

 

I did my warm ups for 5s and fucked up into my first working set. It probably dropped a rep off my top set but oh well, volume is volume right now. Looking back it's two reps shy of a rep PR but with heavier feeder sets and superset chins added, too.

 

I'm feeling pretty good about my progress but I can't wait for some real rep PRs again. I'm done fucking with my template for at least another two months. This feels good and gets me done fairly fast. I'm working off Bastardized Block Periodization's accumulation block volume with some changes from reading Kalle Beck's thoughts on single leg work and Chase Karne's 5/3/1 for Strongman. Corey says to do 75 barbell reps each training day. I'm following 5/3/1 for the main lifts and log press and filling in the rest, or close to it, with supplemental work. Dips seem big enough to fit the bill and I'm rounding out the volume on squat/deadlift days with single leg work since I suck really bad at it. I'm doing abs every training day. The only thing that isn't in line with BBP is that I'm only hitting lats directly twice weekly although they are pretty wrecked from SSB good mornings and deadlifting.

 

Once I have the events for the Lift for Autism I'll plan out when to start into a transition/peaking phase. I know I wanted to run 5/3/1 all the way up until the contest but depending on the events it might not be all that practical. I'm probably only going to dedicate a 6 week block towards transition/peaking, maybe a little more if there's a particularly shitty event like a circus DB for reps.

[El Exorcisto]

Here I am, the same place I always end up when I run 5/3/1 for a few months and decide to start doing single leg work again because I'm so bad at it... Except this time, somehow, I fucked my right hip and lower back up. Not by squatting, oh no, but by getting the tightest setup I've ever felt on three board bench and breaking that PR. My lat cramped down at my right ilium and has been feeling shitty ever since. I can still walk and tie my shoes but things definitely aren't right.

 

Normally I'd say "El, you know what? FUCK SINGLE LEG WORK!!1!" but I know that not doing it is the reason that shit is so fragile. I am coming to the same conclusion that I have before with 5/3/1 though. It's just history repeating itself, over and over again. I think I'm done training. I'm sick of being hurt all the fucking time.

 

Pff. Yea fucking right. I need more volume and to stop forcing more weight on the bar. So with that, forced linear progression is dead to me. Forever. Forcing ten pounds every three weeks is just as bad as forcing five pounds per workout. I give the advice all the time. I need to start listening to it myself.

 

I'm taking a deload week even though I could probably work through this if I wanted to roll the dice on maybe making it worse. I'm dropping the 5/3/1 perodization and going full Bastardized Block with the same modifications. I'm dialing my squat weight back, putting the bar back on my traps, and sinking them to the floor. I think low bar squatting may have contributed to less stability through bigger ROM and set me up for deep SSB squats and single leg work to pull on something they shouldn't have.

 

Maybe I'll stop getting hurt someday.

[matty_mcfly]

Maybe I'll stop getting hurt someday.

 

I know the feelz. 

 

Left shoulder is all pissing this morning during a bench sesh.  At least you have a plan of attack though.

 

And while you're a stupid fuck for letting history repeat itself, you can stop it now.

[El Exorcisto]

Have you figured out exactly what is going o in your left shoulder? I had a hard enough time figuring out my pelvis, fuck, I can't imagine trying to dissect a shoulder injury.

[matty_mcfly]

Nah, It generally hasn't been such a pain in the ass, discomfort yes, but not limiting on bench even when I fucked them up with the farmers months back. 

 

When I get some free time and the want to, I'll dick on the interwebz and try to find out.

[Rooks]

Sorry to hear man.  Hope you that crap figured out and can get back to the fun crap.

[El Exorcisto]

Sorry to hear man.  Hope you that crap figured out and can get back to the fun crap.

 

Oh it's figured out and already on the mend. Like I said, I could have got through squat night last night if I really wanted it. Forcing progression and having training days that I can't miss for fear of fucking with said progression just isn't an a great choice for me.

[Disil]

It's a long road to truly being antifragile. You'll get there eventually.

[Hamp21]

Oh it's figured out and already on the mend. Like I said, I could have got through squat night last night if I really wanted it. Forcing progression and having training days that I can't miss for fear of fucking with said progression just isn't an a great choice for me.

I feel ya. It's hard for me to distinguish between just a shitty day in the gym or moving up in weight too quickly because [insert famous lifter name here] said so.

[El Exorcisto]

SSB squat: 3x5@45, 3x5@95, 2x5@135

Strict press: 5s @ 45,95; 3@135

 

I've intentionally been out of the gym and it was a bad call. I've been getting tighter every morning so today I went out and did some lightweight rehab work. My right hip flexors were hurting a little the whole time which is a new place for all this to be originating from. I'm feeling pretty good now, though. The strict press isn't a PR but it's the first time I've handled 135 in quite a while. I was hoping to hit it for 5 but it just wasn't happening. Soon enough.

[El Exorcisto]

Strict press: 5x5 @ 115

 

DB bench: 10@40, 4x10 @ 45

   superset with

Bar chins: 3x8, 2x6

 

Roll-out: 5x10

   superset with

Concentration curl: 5x10 @ 20

 

My low back and hip are still jacked up. I took damn near the whole week off due to convenience and family shit which is always a terrible idea. Hopefully I can have it ironed out in another week or so. Everything felt alright today but I wasn't strong enough on the strict press to add any weight next week. I'll bump up to 50s on DB bench and see where I am next week.

[Hermione Gainser]

Stumbled upon your contest reports, which lead to reading random training log entries, which lead to this comment. This comment serves only to make it easier for me to continue to watch you lift big stuff and try not to injure yourself. 

[El Exorcisto]

SSB pause squat: 3x5 @ 185

6" block pull: 5s @ 155,245,295,315

BSS: 3x8 @ bw

Lying leg lifts: 3x15

 

I'm in full on rehab mode with this right hip bullshit. It's getting better by the day but it's still grabbing me occasionally. I figured some pause squats might be the ticket to grooving a good squat again. They felt pretty awesome. Once I get patched up I think they'll be a pretty regular part of my training.

 

I hate block pulls. Somehow I'm always weaker 4-6" off the floor than I am either off the floor or at 18". I started rounding on the top set so I called them off there. I'm on the fence about whether I want to do them with any regularity. They just feel shitty.

 

I'm dropping the weight on BSSes for a while. I'm pretty sure they're what led to the injury this time. I need to do them but I have a lot of weakness to work through before I start loading them. Leg lifts were decent. I felt them in my hip flexors almost as much as my abs. Since my hip flexors are always being weak, DYEL assholes to me I think I'll keep them in the stable in place of sit-ups on one day.

[El Exorcisto]

Bench press: 4x5@165, 5@170

 

BTN press: 5 @ 45,65; 2x5 @ 95, 5 @ 100

   superset with

Ring chins: 5x6

 

One arm DB press: 3x10 @ 40

   superset with

EZ bar curls: 10,8,8 @ 65

 

Bench felt like dog shit. I touched all over the place and almost lost the bar out front a couple times. The work got done but it wasn't my best work for sure.

 

BTN presses felt way cooler than I remember. I haven't done them in a long time and even then it was Klokov presses on a couple days. Next week I'll lead with 95 and see where I land now that I have a feel for them. Ring chins were slow and grindy towards the end.

 

I needed another press for tonight and I still haven't hammered down an actual training template. I asked my wife and she said "I haven't seen you do one arm presses in a while." Yea. I know. You know why? Because I fucking hate them. I suck at them. They make everything hurt. So I did them. My abs hurt more now than from any direct ab work I do and the shoulder pump after BTN presses is fucking unreal. Throw some curls on top and fuck me running, my arms feel like Popeye's.

 

My left glute feels like it got gnawed on by one of Michael Vick's finest. I had the same sensation the day after I started BSSes. Everything else in my hips is starting to feel pretty decent again. 

[matty_mcfly]

Haha one arm presses beat you up that much?

 

I haven't done them in months either.

[El Exorcisto]

Strict press: 4x5 @ 115, 5@117.5

 

DB bench: 5x10 @ 50

   superset with

Bar chins: 4x6, 1x7

 

Concentration curl: 5x10 @ 20

   superset with

Roll-out: 5x12

 

Strict press felt really good today so I threw my fractionals on for the last set. I'll bump all my work sets up to 117.5 next week if I'm feeling good on warmups. I'm tempted to bump up to 7 for sets across on chins but I don't want to burn out quick and have to drop back to 5s or worse. I'll see how I'm feeling next week. DB bench felt shittier this week and the last reps on my last couple sets were kind of shaky. I'm sticking to 50s for next week and I'll see where it goes.