Give me strength, or give me death!

[red machine]

just watch thought the vids ur really smashing it bro :clap: , just one thing i noticed (as i do it myself hard) is on the deads when u start to pull you really pull that neck up skywards putting the spine really out of wack, have a go tucking ur chin and keeping it all inline in see what you think, i reckon it def creates a more efficient pulling position

[OnlyHuman]

Putting some quality work in Phed :clap:

Congrats on the increasing numbers!!!!!

[Monarchking]

how much of an improvement does the shoe make?

[Phedder]

Cheers again Red, will give it a shot tomorrow :nod:

Putting some quality work in Phed :clap:

Congrats on the increasing numbers!!!!!

Just need to make sure they keep increasing Hope you're making it in for the occasional session still?

how much of an improvement does the shoe make?

I wrote a little review of them here.

I don't think they really give me anything weight wise, maybe 5kg? but I definitely feel more stable and confident with them. They make hitting depth piss easy as well, and help my torso stay a little more upright.

[Monarchking]

Cheers again Red, will give it a shot tomorrow :nod:

Putting some quality work in Phed :clap:

Congrats on the increasing numbers!!!!!

Just need to make sure they keep increasing Hope you're making it in for the occasional session still?

how much of an improvement does the shoe make?

I wrote a little review of them here.

I don't think they really give me anything weight wise, maybe 5kg? but I definitely feel more stable and confident with them. They make hitting depth piss easy as well, and help my torso stay a little more upright.

nice the torso thing is what I'm after

[Phedder]

Cheers again Red, will give it a shot tomorrow :nod:

Putting some quality work in Phed :clap:

Congrats on the increasing numbers!!!!!

Just need to make sure they keep increasing Hope you're making it in for the occasional session still?

how much of an improvement does the shoe make?

I wrote a little review of them here.

I don't think they really give me anything weight wise, maybe 5kg? but I definitely feel more stable and confident with them. They make hitting depth piss easy as well, and help my torso stay a little more upright.

nice the torso thing is what I'm after

Try squatting in some heeled dress shoes, or just put some 1.25-2.5kg plates under your heels and see if that helps at all.

[Phedder]

Went for a swim again last night, beach front was a bit choppy so stuck to the estuary and probably did approx 1km of swimming.

Week 8 day 2

Weigh in: 94.5kg

Front Squats

2x5xbar

4x3x60kg - paused in the bottom for a good stretch.

Deadlifts

5x60kg

3x100kg

2x140kg (b)

2x1x180kg (b) - first rep was shit, felt the weight shift forward over my toes so had a little rest then did a second single, much better form wise but didn't feel as strong as I was hoping. Sign of what was to come :roll:

3x3x200kg (b) Rep and Volume PB - Ugly and slow. I've noticed my deadlift performance seems to alternate week by week. Last weeks 195s felt better than the previous weeks 187.5s, this weeks 200s felt shit, so hopefully next weeks 205s fly up :pray:

3x140kg - just some technical cue work

Overhead Press

8xbar

5x40kg

1x60kg (ww)

mx65kg :evil: So push pressed 3 reps.

2x3x60kg (ww) - just got 3rd reps.

Weighted Chins

5@bw

3@+37kg Rep PB

3@+32kg

3@+22kg

Extras:

Single arm DB rows

10x30kg

2x10x40kg

3x10x35kg

Overhead Press

barx30

Deadlifts set 2 - Rushed my set up for the 3rd rep and it definitely shows. Must have gripped the bar unevenly, bar torques to the left heaps and I lost it out in front of me too. Didn't touch the thighs at all until lock out :doh:

Deadlifts set 3 - Much better compared to set 2, but still not what I'd like.

I tried John and Reds advice in my lead up sets, wrapping the hands more around the bar and packing the neck back. As soon as I hit the 200s that flew out the window and I just resorted to what I was used to :oops:

[Phedder]

Approx 2km walk, 1km swim and 500m jog at Wenderholm again tonight. The jog cut the swim short as I spotted a mate coming in at the boat ramp and wanted to make it to him in time to see if I could score some free fish :pfft: No luck

Stunning evening though;

[drizzt]

Deads looked easy bro, good work!

[Phedder]

Deads looked easy bro, good work!

Hah! That second set felt like the worst set of deads I've ever done

I must say the biggest thing I'm noticing with videoing myself is that bar speed is actually a lot better than what I think it is during the lifts. It can feel terribly slow and I maybe doubt making the next set, then I watch the vid and it gives me a bit of a confidence boost Definitely going to keep up the vids, might look into sorting some kind of stand or support for when there's no one around to film.

[hjp]

I find that too Phedder! Seems to feel harder than it actually looks. Helps the confidence to see it I reckon.

Nice work on those deads bro!

[Phedder]

Todays felt hard and looked hard, so they must have been

Week 8 day 3 - I think residual fatigue is finally catching up with me, one week early damnit :evil:

Spent most of the day today at the beach swimming and walking around the rocks. Too much sun + not enough fluids and food + heavy weights (for me) = shit session.

Weigh in: 94.2kg

Squats

5xbar

2x5x60kg

3x80kg

3x100kg (b)

3x120kg (b)

3x135kg (b) - 3rd rep totally lost the groove, so dropped weight for form practice

1x120kg (b) - felt perfect

2.5x150kg (b) Weight and rep PB - I've never even touched 150 before, so was expecting it to be hard. It was. 3rd rep pretty much turned into a good morning, got a light spot from Panzer to get me into a better position and powered it up again. Got a vid.

Bench press

2x8xbar

2x3x60kg

3x80kg

1x100kg (ww)

2.5x107.5kg (ww) Third rep had to be spotted, flared elbows straight away and had to grind for ages. Really need to sort these damn elbows out :evil: Got vid as well.

3x107.5kg (ww) 2nd rep lightly spotted, 3rd totally spotted. Shit.

3x1x107.5kg - dropped it back to singles so I could at least make the reps count, actually paused the last 2 which is a paused PB.

Power Cleans

3x60kg

1x70kg

3x3x80kg Volume PB

Extras:

Tricep Pressdowns SS Face Pulls

3x15x35

Toast. I'm really going to have to step everything up to get through the 9th and final week. More eating, more sleeping, more stretching and more rolling.

Vids;

Squat

Bench

[hjp]

To get practically 3 reps at a weight you hadn't touched before is awesome bro. Well done!! :clap:

Go eat bro!!!

[Big john]

solid stuff bro...gotta be happy with the squats :nod: :clap: :clap:

[Phedder]

Cheers guys, I am happy with the PB on squats. Just a little annoyed that it's technique that's really letting me down, first 2 reps weren't too much of a hassle, then 3rd I just got lazy with tech. Same issues with bench, flaring elbows as soon as it gets difficult. After March 3rd novice I'm gonna run the Smolov base and alternate Benching with Overhead pressing + some back work after the squats. Hopefully all that volume will help me sort these issues.

Go eat bro!!!

Haha, done! Immediately post WO I had 500ml choc milk with 2 scoops of whey. Came home and had a massive plate of nachos with extra cheese and sour cream +1L of milk. Then a big bowl of ice cream, 250g cottage cheese and some mixed nuts. Damn I eat a lot of dairy :shifty:

[Monarchking]

nice Pbs man hit it hard

[Phedder]

Week 9 day 1 - Fatigue has set in hard, but only need to last the week! Shed was pretty busy tonight, plenty of suited action going on and everyone giving it heaps, great to see

Weigh in: 94.8kg

Squats

lots x bar

5x60kg

3x80kg

3x100kg (b)

2x1x120kg (b)

3x3x145kg (b) Volume PB vid of first set. 3rd rep on 3rd set I managed another good morning squat :roll: :evil: Really need to sort this issue out, plaguing me when I get fatigued. Must stay more upright. Hopefully the volume of the smolov base will help sort these out, if not I'll be hitting plenty of good mornings.

Bench Press

lots x bar

5x60kg

3x80kg

3x90kg

3x105kg (ww)

mx115kg (ww) - spotter jumped in a tad early, 50/50 if I could have ground it out

1x115kg (ww) - PB \:D/ Got vid, massive grind. Hoping I can hit this with a pause at the novice comp, after a much needed deload.

mx115kg (ww) - No chance.

1x110kg (ww) - bar speed was good, so added 2.5kg

mx112.5kg (ww) - Nope, toasted.

Close Grip BP

5x60kg

3x5x80kg

SS

DB rows

3x10x30kg

Couldn't be arsed with power cleans, felt like I had no explosiveness left. One of the guys was giving them a crack though so I gave him some pointers on technique and some demos so I ended up doing 3x70kg and 5x60kg anyway.

So yeah, stoked with the PB on bench, but a bit disappointed I couldn't hit 3 singles with it. Program called for 3x115kg, knew that wasn't happening so was hoping to at least hit 3 singles. Elbows flaring early still plaguing me.

Vids;

Squat

Bench - Can see how drenched in sweat I am in this vid haha, went through nearly 3L during the session.

[hjp]

Squat an bench PB's!! Awesome work! Always good when you hit a weight on the second go, mental game an you nailed it. Nice!!

[M.T]

Sup bro, 1st off great work on the Squats and Bench looking like some awesome progress in such a short time well done :clap:

Just want to point out something that I also struggle with so feel obligied to tell you in regards to bar travel (think you mentioned it earlier in your log?), not sure if it's a core instability issue or not sitting back in the hole enough or the shoes throwing you forward when you pop out of the hole perhaps but if you check out my high tech analysis ideally the bar should be straight down and up.

Something to be cautious of next time your under the bar and try to nail in the warm ups and as I say I have the same issue slowly getting back to straight just takes time.

[Phedder]

Awesome, thanks for that MT :clap:

It's definitely something I'm aware of, and have noticed it in a few of the vids. Chucking that line in for comparison makes it clear how bad it can get though :shock:

I think it's a combination of pretty much everything you mentioned; Core probably not what it should be and not sitting back/upright enough. Confidence probably plays a role too. I can feel the difference in the warm ups vs working sets, warm ups feel great, weight right back on my heels, torso quite upright and the body stays tight instead of hips shooting up a bit before the shoulders. Once the weight on my back feels heavy I think I loose a little confidence to sit back/upright enough (kinda feels like if I do the bar might slip off, even though I know it won't :doh: ) and to compensate for that I let myself lean forward more to keep the bar supported.

I've got 1 week after the program finishes before I'll take a deload for the comp, and I'm planning on doing a heap of singles for all 3 lifts with 85-90% to help build further confidence with the heavier weights and try trouble shoot a few issues. Just need to trust I'm not going to lose the bar and let my hips/legs do all the work instead of leaning forward and letting my back take some load.

[M.T]

Awesome, thanks for that MT :clap:

It's definitely something I'm aware of, and have noticed it in a few of the vids. Chucking that line in for comparison makes it clear how bad it can get though :shock:

I think it's a combination of pretty much everything you mentioned; Core probably not what it should be and not sitting back/upright enough. Confidence probably plays a role too. I can feel the difference in the warm ups vs working sets, warm ups feel great, weight right back on my heels, torso quite upright and the body stays tight instead of hips shooting up a bit before the shoulders. Once the weight on my back feels heavy I think I loose a little confidence to sit back/upright enough (kinda feels like if I do the bar might slip off, even though I know it won't :doh: ) and to compensate for that I let myself lean forward more to keep the bar supported.

I've got 1 week after the program finishes before I'll take a deload for the comp, and I'm planning on doing a heap of singles for all 3 lifts with 85-90% to help build further confidence with the heavier weights and try trouble shoot a few issues. Just need to trust I'm not going to lose the bar and let my hips/legs do all the work instead of leaning forward and letting my back take some load.

Yeah I mean your looking great under the bar very hard to fault besides that slight imbalance but even then it shouldn't stop you from getting 3 whites just one of things that would be ideal to eliminate as you start getting more pps. You may even find with wraps it could take all that away and sync up with your body personally I feel that way a bit uneasy until I wrap up and gives me the confidence boost if anything.

Bench is faultless trying to find something don't think I can :pfft: then again I am no expert just a bum.

[Phedder]

it shouldn't stop you from getting 3 whites just one of things that would be ideal to eliminate as you start getting more pps.

It'll just stop me from adding those extra pps, I'll get bent in half instead :pfft:

I feel that way a bit uneasy until I wrap up and gives me the confidence boost if anything.

Unsure of how wraps would go, not really looking at trying them yet as I'm wanting to compete in Classic. They could certainly be fun to play around with a bit, and even help get used to heavier weights on the back. Like you say confidence can make a big difference.

Bench is faultless trying to find something don't think I can :pfft: then again I am no expert just a bum.

I'm mostly happy with bench, just need to work on keeping my elbows tucked a bit longer. In some vids, once the weight is off the chest and I start grinding I flare my elbows out too early. That's again a mental thing, just need to remember to really squeeze the bar and try bend it apart. Something that'll be even more important when I'm pausing the reps as well, too lazy/weak to pause the last few weeks

Cheers for the insight and help MT, much appreciated :nod:

[HarryB]

Good work Phed... nice to see some vids. You are shifting some decent weight and making good progress.

Would agree with MT about where you lose it in your squat, coming down the popping up and forward, maybe a wider more toes turned out foot stance? So you are dropping your hips more stright down and less back, with knees travelling out as well as forward instead of just forward and perhaps a lower bar position? Quite a few slight changes but gee you are progressing well and strong as hell on deads.

Bench is great set up and push from the the pause position, you are really starting to get your body under the bar from the initial push.

[Monarchking]

Im having the same prob as Phedder with the squats, I can manage to thrust the hips 4wrd and get a lock out. How do we fix this in our training? more practice, but I assume there is a muscle weakness aswell that can be targeted with assistance.

Should the shoulders move b4 the hips?

Edit, I guess a lower bar would help.

[I Declare War]

Good work Phedder! Looks like you are progressing!

Im having the same prob as Phedder with the squats, I can manage to thrust the hips 4wrd and get a lock out. How do we fix this in our training? more practice, but I assume there is a muscle weakness aswell that can be targeted with assistance.

Should the shoulders move b4 the hips?

Edit, I guess a lower bar would help.

IMO the best assistance exercise is the exercise itself. Don't be afraid to do some higher rep sets with lower weight every now and then. It'll help develop the mind muscle connection.