So, this happened...862 at 198lbs, which took down ed coan's record. I'd venture to say Belyaev is hands down the best sumo deadlifter of all time.
Here are the videos of my close grip stuff:
My accessory work today went well. I'm pumped that I have been able to move my close grip bench as much as I have and it is continuing to move with ease. My 5x5 reps today felt great. I am purposely trying to descend as slow as I can for a few reasons:
I stay tighter
It allows me to feel my biceps in the movement (weird, I know)
I can touch in the same spot every time
I can touch higher on my chest
I can focus well on driving from my feet when I press
Now, I wanna touch on two of the points I just made. I can usually press really well with my legs benching like this, but today for whatever reason I was having trouble getting my feet set right because of how tight my hips were after squatting the previous day. The other thing I'd like to mention is that focusing on my biceps when I bench and descending relatively slowly are the best things I've done for my bench. I literally think about folding on to my bicep and almost like doing a reverse curl.
Close Grip Bench slow and controlled
Barx10
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
245 5x5
slingshot for fun:
275x5, 225x4, 185x3, 135x2 all one set
Today, my goal was to work to something around rpe 6 and do 5 doubles there, while moving the weight down and up as fast and explosively as possible. I'm pretty happy with the speed of today both set-wise and in concerns to rest time as well. I kept my rest times at a minute or under for all of my speed sets.
The reverse band sets are awesome confidence builders and I encourage anyone doing some speed work to increase the weight a little at the end of your sets, slapping reverse bands on, and smashing some weight. They allow you to move so much quicker than plain straight weight. I do not think this is a result of the bands taking a ton of weight off absolutely. The way I set them up, they weren't taking anything off at the top
The highbar paused squats felt tough today, but totally manageable. I am trying to stay as tight as possible and descend slowly to really build that eccentric part of the motion. I've also noticed that whenever I add in these heavier highbar squats, especially paused, my deadlift moves well, too--something to think about
Squat
Barx10
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x3
335 5x2 @6
reverse band 365x2
reverse band 405x2 @6
Another great day in the books with a PR off a one-board, and not a max attempt at that. I left a little gas in the tank today and worked up to an RPE 9. I tried to get a lot of sets in today to build some significant volume with some heavy weights. The last set could have probably been done for a double, which I am very pleased about. After, I threw on 10% extra, added a slingshot, and did a triple there. Once again, the slingshot is awesome when used sparingly.
I can't speak highly enough about this tool at the present time. Like I've said before, the slingshot's merit doesn't exist in letting you handle more weight, but rather it exists in letting you handle more volume at more weight--double whammy. I don't care that I can slap more weight on, but I do care that I can slap more weight on, rep out, and do it for a few more sets without burning out too badly. My close grip sets afterwards felt awesome again today too, no complaints there. All this being said, yes I am making progress. All my lifts are moving, but I go back and look at these videos and think...what in the world?? It looks like I am not even trying on sets that I perceive to be rpe 8 or 9. Am I just being a puss? What's going on here? I need to push...period. It's time to up the intensity and make some real progress.I've been told this over and over too, but I'm not getting it. My set from tonight looks like a 7...not a 9.
1 Board Bench
Warmed up with the bar, 95, 135, and 175lbs all for 5 reps off my chest
205x5
225x5
245x3
265x3
275x2
290x1
300x1
315x1
325x1 @ 9 add slingshot
355x3
Close Grip Bench
245x3
255x3
255x3
Lat Pulldowns 3x15
Cable Press down w/ straight bar 4x15
DB Military 3x10
BB Shrugs 4x15
Abs: 3 sets hanging leg raise, 3 sets land mine twists
In this video, I have my last set of deadlift warmups, my working sets, and one of the sets of snatch grip pulls.
Back to training today after being away for the weekend and my deadlifts felt good, I just felt somewhat out of position. I felt like I couldn't get my hips close enough to the bar; as a result, my torso was more over the bar than normal. I have been having good success with trying to get my bodyweight behind the bar before I start the lift. The mental cue of getting my chin behind the bar has proven to really work for me. Unfortunately, tonight I set up with my hips way too far back. Yea, the reps look easy, but this is what will staple me when it gets heavier.
I worked up to a double at a level 8 rate of perceived effort. I would estimate that this was right in the 83-85% range, which means I should be good for 550 off the floor. I'm quite happy with the progress that my deadlift has undergone.
The snatch grip sets off blocks were brutal--not fun one bit. I definitely haven't ever done them that heavy for that many reps before. Once again, like clockwork, my lower back was shot again. No surprise there. My highbar squats today really suffered as a result, and on top of that I moved my stance in even more. My feet were probably 6 inches apart by my estimation.
I woke up early this morning to go get some accessory work done before leaving for the weekend. Considering that I never train in the morning, and often feel weak when I do, this went really well. The close grip reps went well and I felt strong. I'm really happy that I've been able to keep pushing the weight week to week and still have the my benching, and the rest of my training, go amazingly.
The snatch grip complex is something I came up with and it was actually a ton of fun. I will definitely keep them in my accessory day. The way it works is: you do a high pull, then a row, then a stiff leg dl all with a bar and a snatch grip. You just keep repeating those three for as long as you can. Try it
Squats are hell--they totally suck, but I love them. Seriously, no other movement is as satisfying.
I felt pretty decent going into today and I ended up working to a personal record of 405x6. Honestly, I wanted more, perhaps 425-445x6, but my lower back hasn't been able to recover the last few days. After pulling a big PR off of blocks the other day, I was just beat. My back was completely shot after that last set...just done. You can't ever argue with progress though, ya know.
Afterwards, I decided to add insult to injury and kept squatting for a total of an hour and a half. The highbar squats felt alright today, and I have been able to keep pushing the weights or reps higher. Eventually, I just got beat up enough that I called it a day.
Competition Style Squat
Barx10
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x5
365x6 @8
405x6 @10 The video is deceiving in this case. I really didn't have more today due to my lower back
Highbar Close Stance
315x5
335 4x5 @8.5-9
Wide Stance Pause Squats
225x10
225x5
225x5
Single Leg, Leg Press
3x15
Video of the day goes to Igor Lukanin and a 639lb front squat. No big deal...
The video of the day goes to Alex-Edward Raus and his 705.2lb squat in the 231lb weight class this past week at IPF Raw Worlds. Sick.
As promised, here is a clip back from December of me squatting 150lbs for 45 reps. The squats themselves were pretty easy, but it was impossible to breathe. These serve no purpose other than awesome-ness
I was doing my usual mid-morning Wednesday sled pulls with Skursky today and we were discussing programming. How far are we dragging this thing? Are we using enough weight? Should it be harder? Should it be easier? How many trips should we do? This got me thinking. It doesn't matter...
Challenge:
Yesterday, I wrote about increasing tonnage through warmup sets. That's great and all, but those ideas are beginner ideas, albeit applicable to even higher level athletes.
I am challenging myself and anyone who's reading this to stop thinking about sets, reps, percentages, and all that other crap. Just take one day--just sacrifice once--to go into the gym, pick 5 or 7 exercises, and give yourself a complete hypertrophy day. Don't worry about how many sets you're doing. Hell, don't even count the reps when you're doing the movement. Yeah, that's right don't count.
Ok, then what am I supposed to do? Easy, just go by feel, kick your ass, focus on the muscle not the movement. Work up to a heavy weight, do some work there, and work back down (or don't, who cares). Arbitrary enough? Good. Maybe if you don't have someone telling you to do this many sets at this many reps maybe you'll learn more about how to train your body. So how long am I supposed to do this, what if it takes me over an hour to feel "done," won't big bad Mr. Cortisol attack me? Forget that noise and learn to be awesome.
Perhaps, in time, you can learn to lift for strength in a similar regard. Perhaps, you can come into the gym knowing you're going to squat, then pause squat, then do some other accessories, but nothing else. Teach yourself to feel what it's like to get work done and know that you are becoming better. I've begun my own migration with the inclusion of RPE scales. I'm moving away from the technicality and just kicking ass.
First of all, if you haven't seen this, check it out:
Thoughts for the day regard improving strength through warmups and pure tonnage:
You may realize it or you may not--either
way, it'll get you thinking. Not only do we get better and increase our 1rm on
our lifts by becoming technically proficient and consistent, but also we get
stronger by increasing our work capacities and what our bodies can handle. Let
me define that for you as tonnage. Tonnage refers to the amount of weight moved
over various sets and reps. In my opinion, this is very similar to the physics
principle of work: f•d. Now, over the course of a
program, tonnage progresses in some manner, whether it be linear, undulating
wave-like, or some other form of periodization. When your body is able to
handle more tonnage from week to week...you get stronger.
Dinner post training: 1lb ground turkey
When you combine that
with technique and consistency, you have a program and you cannot fail unless you get hurt, do dumb stuff, etc. While
not all the sets and reps are ever set in stone, they are should be laid out in such a
manner as to increase your total tonnage from week to week in a manner that
allows you to handle more weight, raise work capacity, and do so all in a way
that isn't too much for your body to handle in a short time. This is why it is so important to include a progression
of the warmup sets to your top weight. If you keep the same warm up weights
from week to week, your total tonnage might only increase if your top set or working sets increase.
Now, imagine increasing all your sets working up to your highest weight. Say you normally take the bar, 135, 185, 225, 275, etc. What if you start taking the bar, 145, 195, 225, 285, etc all the way to your working weight. Some people might say that those light weights are negligible because they such a low percentage. What if you're working in the 90-95% range for the day and you increase all those weights in the 70-85% range warming up too? We know that the 80% range is where peak force is produced and it is my belief that you get the most bang for your buck here. This is exactly why you'll see me doing things like:
1x5 (5rm) @ RPE 10 3x2 @ RPE 8 4x3 @ RPE 8 These rep schemes all allow you to train in that 80-85% region
Now, because you are increasing all of your warmup sets, your work/tonnage can easily increase by 300lbs from week to week for a single
day...aka over 1000lbs a week. That means that in 10 weeks, you increase your
bodies ability to do work by over 10,000lbs. THAT is strength. All in all, think about what you're doing, why you're doing it, and how to be better.
Today was a down day of sorts. I'm definitely beat up from yesterday
After posting my heavy deadlift training from the other day, I got some questions about why I am block pulling and it made me start thinking about why I really am. So, let me address some thoughts I have about it and why I do what I do.
Historically, I fail my competition style deadlift right around my knees. I put about 50lbs on my deadlift in the last year just by working on technique. My coach, Dustin, convinced me to start my pull off the floor slower, get to my knees, and then explode. That idea, coupled with pushing my knees straight out and going down to the bar, has proved to be successful. I used to push my hips back first and really load up my hamstrings, but now I think more about sitting down on to the bar.
I started adding in block pulls when I started the cube method. I thought: "Great, I'll get to overload an area that I suck at." Many people might wonder how these are different at all from rack pulls. Well, let me tell you that they are very different. Rack pulls serve more as an ego lift for me, and I think it's safe to say many of you agree. A major difference that I have found is the way that the weight is spread over the pins in a rack pull makes it so much more...well, stiff. Rack pulls just don't simulate a deadlift from the floor like block pulls--block pulls allow for that natural feeling of being able to pull the slack out of the bar.
So now I'm thinking: "Nice, I've got a lift that will let me overload my sticking point in the lift and strengthen the weak parts." On my max effort days, I'll hit something heavy off of a high block, then next max effort day hit something off a lower block, then on a third max effort day hit something off the lowest block in my training cycle, then finally I will take a heavy deadlift off the floor. Naturally, I would expect to hit the heaviest weight off the highest block and work down from there until I get to the floor. Whats puzzling, yet pleasing to me is that I was able to hit 550 off a 4" block @rpe 10, and 565 off a 2" block @rpe 9-9.5.
Range of motion is increasing, and so are the numbers? I'll take that. I also am really attributing the increases to a ton of volume in high bar paused squats that I have been doing lately. I wonder if anyone has had similar experiences with range of motion training like this, too?
Today, I felt a little sluggish, but ended up pr'ing nonetheless. My bodyweight has been hanging right around 201.5 in the am. I felt really slow, but strong today--I just kinda drug through and didn't have the intensity that I had last week. I ended up working to a 565 pull off of 2" blocks, and seeing as just three weeks ago I worked up to an rpe 10 550 off of 4" blocks, I'm quite pleased with the progress. A range of motion pr + weight pr combined is awesome.
I'm continuing working on adapting the cube method for me to use no percents at all. I've been lifting totally based around an rpe scale, similar to what reactive training systems use, and my numbers for all three lifts have been moving very well. I expect some decent competition style pr's at the end of this cycle
My high bar squats have been progressing well, too. I haven't been pushing the weight hard, but rather I've been increasing reps, then hitting that same weight all paused reps, then lowering the reps and increasing the weight, working back up to higher reps, and progressing so forth.
High Bar Close Stance Squats
135x5
225x5
275 3x8 all reps paused
Conventional Deadlift
365 8x2 @6-7
I worked on some conventional deadlifts today too. I definitely have trouble getting into position and rounding my lower back. I don't know if it is just because I'm not used to the movement or if it is a hamstring flexibility issue or what. All I know is that my erectors are fried
Barbell Shrugs
225 3x15
DB Rows
100x20 each arm
100x10 each arm
50x10 each arm
445x1 @8.5-9 So the issue here is something that Kev and I have been talking about recently and that is my perceived feeling on the set versus what they really look like or what someone else would rate them on an rpe scale when they see the lift. I decided to shut it down at this weight, as far as raw squatting goes. My goal for the day was to work up to a single at rpe 9, however, going back and looking at the videos indicates to me that this was more like a 7-8. Nonetheless, it was a PR...I haven't raw squatted above 415x3 since aug 2012...retarded.
Reverse light band squat
475x1
500x1@8.5-9
High Bar Close Stance Squat--tight and slow
225x10
245x10
275x10
275x5 @10 goal here was to hit 6rm, I mis-grooved and missed the last rep
285x2 @8 perfect, this is what I wanted to do
225x12 paused with slingshot
really happy with all this benching. my goal was to hit anywhere from 250-265x6 and I ended up getting 275x5. PS...the slingshot is awesome for dropsets and repping out. It doesn't give me any more than 10%, but it allows me to handle way more volume
Military Press
95x10
115x10
115x10
Deadlift
135x5
225x5
275x5
325 6x2 @ 6 started slow off the floor to stay in position and exploded to lockout. these felt awesome today
Snatch grip pulls off 2" block
225 1x20
Close Stance High Bar Squats
135x5
225x5
315 5x6 I started out trying to slam down and rebound up hard and they felt so-so. It wasnt until sets 4&5 that I started descending slowly and staying tight/in a good position that they started feeling great. I think I made a little breakthrough on my squat tonight. Abs and lower back are fried
CG Bench
Barx20
95x5
135x5
165x5
185x5
205 5x5 These felt really good today. I focused on touching higher and folding onto my bicep as I came down. This seemed to work really well
