2/26/2013

Some aspect of my programming is interfering with my squat, and I'm not sure what it is. Fortunately, I consider this a continuous experiment (which I expect will conclude/stabilize some time late in the summer) in what works best for me progress-wise, and am not quite as concerned about progressing as I used to. It's funny how much my attitude has changed since I started doing this.

Warmup

Squat -

5x 45 (x5), 95 (x3), 135, 185, 225

3x 275

1x 315 (x5)

I'm trying to identify what's changed since the 355 stuff.

The total number of squat sets over 90% has been consistent at 5, so unless benching heavy taxes my overall recovery capacity, the 5 singles thing is probably fine.

My old front squat days were always for 3 triples (and the one time I did 4 was a mistake, according to my log).

I was doing 3x10 GHRs so it's probably not that, though I'm probably going to drop to 3x5 for now and start working on REALLY getting them working.

Stuff that's changed:

1) I took time off

2) I started benching every day

3) I started deadlifting every day

I'm guessing those are in reverse order as far as likelihood goes. For #3 the weight may also be a factor, but again, all should become clear in the long run (especially after the meet - I have no idea what my numbers are actually going to look like).

Bench -

5x 45 (x5), 95 (x3), 135

3x 155

1x 175, 185, 195, 200, 205 (x2)

The first 205 was pretty rushed (racing to get finished before Costas set up to pull on the other end of the cage). The 2nd was a lot like my recent 355 squats - constant minor form deviations that I fixed almost immediately. It's good enough that I'm going to keep going for it; I'm thinking 165-185-205 in future.

Deadlift -

3x 135, 185, 225

1x 280 (x9)

Going to start doing the Wild Iron warmup for these as well - 5x5x135, 3x5x185, 1x5x225. Let's see how THAT damages my squat.

Pulldowns -

65x 5 (x5)

Can't strap up for these - it kills the lat recruitment because I can't bend the bar in.

In exchange, I'm switching to 5s. My grip can't take 10s and I usually lose the activation by the end of each set either way, so at least this way I can focus on it properly.

DB Protraction - 3x15x10lb

DB Retraction - 3x15x10lb

Sleeper Stretch - 3x15s

I'm also going to try switching GHRs to 5s as well, though probably sticking with 3 sets there.