Give me strength, or give me death!

[Monarchking]

Nice to meet you man. Sounds like you had a good session. I felt weak as hell and had a cronic shoulder niggle lol. But was all good. Will be down again this weekend I would say might see you round.

[Phedder]

Nice to meet you man. Sounds like you had a good session. I felt weak as hell and had a cronic shoulder niggle lol. But was all good. Will be down again this weekend I would say might see you round.

Yeah it definitely turned into a better session than expected. Using a tennis ball, and recently an Omni mini massage roller has done wonders for my shoulders. Awesome little gadget like this;

I'll probably be testing on Sat, so may end up asking you for a spot if you're around at the time

Semi-Deload week... Trained today and will go in again on Wed.

Bench Press

lots x bar

2x5x60kg

3x80kg

3x100kg

3x110kg - PB \:D/ Pleasantly surprised with how easy this was. Warm ups felt terrible, but I worked myself up a bit for the 110s and though the 3rd rep was a bit slow it was still fairly strong, possibly a 4th with a grind there. Pretty stoked considering 110 is my comp PB.

3x100kg

12x60kg

Squats - Wore terrible shorts today that made everything awkward, had to use a slightly narrower stance because they were tight around the crotch :doh:

lots x bar

10x60kg

5x100kg

1x140kg (LB)

Walkouts and unlocking hips/knees. 2-3inch ROM.

3x180kg (TB)

3x200kg (TB)

1x220kg (TB) - Just the walk out, hold for 10 sec then rack. Crap that's heavy on the back :shock: Much prefer in hanging in the hands

Full Squats again

3x140kg (LB)

2x10x100kg

Flat DB Press - Long pauses at the bottom of each rep

8x23kg

4x5x30kg

Tricep Pushdowns SS Overhead Cable extensions

3x10x60 SS 3x10x30

15x40 SS 15x20

Some more light Squats on Weds and some back work then rest up for test day.

[M.T]

220 Walkout must have felt good? I think my best was a 240 and I was glad it didn't snap me in half! Walkouts are a great idea just to get the feel for the weight on your back and an idea of where you could be in the near future.

[hjp]

Well done on completing the base. How you deadlift like that after the 10 by 3 day I don't know. Must have some great conditioning.

3 @ 110 on the bench too, making big strides man, so many PB's, miss a few days and theres so many to see in the log! :clap: :nod:

[Phedder]

220 Walkout must have felt good? I think my best was a 240 and I was glad it didn't snap me in half! Walkouts are a great idea just to get the feel for the weight on your back and an idea of where you could be in the near future.

180 and 200 felt good. 220 I was very happy to not be going down and trying to come back up with Ideally I'd like that to be my 3rd attempt at Raw Nats in November, so will keep the walkouts up every few weeks :nod:

Well done on completing the base. How you deadlift like that after the 10 by 3 day I don't know. Must have some great conditioning.

3 @ 110 on the bench too, making big strides man, so many PB's, miss a few days and theres so many to see in the log! :clap: :nod:

Felt good to compete the base properly this time, no combing sessions. Dunno where those deadlifts came from actually, I was just so pumped from completing the base I suppose haha. Hammys were feeling it the next day, that's for sure.

I am a bit of a PB whore, I mean C'mon...Rep and Volume PBs Helps keep me motivated I suppose, and with Smolov pretty much every session is a PB of sorts haha.

[Phedder]

Deload week

Weigh in: 100.6kg (with hoody)

Squats

lots x bar

2x5x60kg

5x100kg

3x120kg (very loose belt)

3x10x100kg (very loose belt) - Just a reminder for breathing really.

15x60kg

Kroc Rows

12x26kg

20x51kg - PB This was tough, and a big jump. Last week was 46kgs and 51s are the next DB up. Had to reset grip once on left side, and twice on right side :oops: Only 56kg and 61kg DBs to go \:D/ I may have to spend a few weeks on 56 before moving up to 61s.

2x15x38kg - Happy with these as well, Next week I'll be doing my 2x15s with my starting top set weight

Pull ups/Chin ups

6 - Pull ups

5 - Chin ups

4 - Chin ups

4 - Close grip chin ups.

I'm hoping my back was just fried, otherwise I've got some serious work to do. 15+ wasn't an issue when I was ~90kg.

Hanging Leg Raises

3x10xBW

SS

Push ups - Plank position contracting the abs and very slow controlled reps

3x10xbw

Rest up for the next 2 days, hopefully do some study, and test on Sat :twisted:

I scored a 600gram Sirloin for dinner tonight, gotta love the reduced for quick sale meat section =P~

[drizzt]

All the best for test day bro! Can't wait to see your results

[Phedder]

All the best for test day bro! Can't wait to see your results

Cheers bud, I suppose I should outline some numbers I'd be happy with...

Squat 190kg+ would be ideal, but I'll be happy with 185. Re-doing the smolov base was really just about getting myself back to and above where I was at the Otago champs when I tweaked my back a bit, and setting me up properly for the intense cycle again.

Bench, 117.5kg minimum. Given how the 110s felt the other day, I'm really hoping for a paused 120. If not I may just try TnG it anyway

Deadlift, I'd honestly be happy with 235kg again with better form and not tweaking my back But with how they felt after 10x3x155kg squats, I'm pretty confident of getting 240kg up.

Now to hope I don't fail those miserably :pfft:

[Phedder]

Test day - Good and bad :?

Weigh In:100.6kg

I'll just list what I have video of, I'll chuck the vid up later tonight or tomorrow.

Squats

160kg - Easy weight, but not the best form. Felt the weight shift forward a bit.

175kg - Easy weight again, but bar actually slipped a little on my left shoulder. Not sure how or why, but it made it a bit awkward coming up.

185kg - 5kg PB - Felt good on the shoulders, decent was a bit slow but it came up alright. Form still not quite how I'd like it to be.

190kg - 10kg PB - Felt like the best rep of the lot, faster decent and it came up well for a 10kg PB. Bodes well for 200+ at nationals

Bench - My left shoulder was a bit sore after squats, could even feel it with just the bar.

110kg - Came up well enough, but not as fast as I'd hoped. Probably similar to my 3rd rep with it the other day, so not looking good.

115kg - Equal PB but first time I've got on vid. Came up alright, but after checking the vid the pause was barely there :oops:

117.5kg - Nadda. Could tell as soon as I got it to the chest it wasn't going up.

I'm a bit gutted with bench, it felt so great the other day. Just not meant to be today I suppose.

Deadlifts

210kg - Came up well, but grabbed my thighs at the top. Wet my thighs a bit for the next attempt

230kg - Came up okay again on video, but felt like shit.

235kg - To match PB, got it off the ground and decided it wasn't worth the grind so dumped it.

So I'm stoked with squats, the 190 looked quite strong and if I can focus more on keeping my back tighter they'll be even stronger. Bench was just a bad day for it, and I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised at deads. Considering last weekend was the first time in 8 weeks that I'd gone over 200kg, the bodies just not used to heavy pulling. I'm going to stick with the conventional speed deadlifts, and then follow those up with alternating weeks of heavy sumos and heavy conventionals. I know I'm a better deadlifter than what today showed, but I have to actually deadlift to get better at it

Bring on the Smolov Intense cycle :twisted: I'm only going to do 1 week of the switching cycle to give myself a bit more time before nationals to really work on the heavy deadlifts and heavy squats. The most the intense cycle will have me squatting is 3x4x170kg, So I'd like to do at least a double at 190/single at 200 before Nats.

[drizzt]

Nice work bro :clap:

[M.T]

Dang bro nice hit out there gotta be happy with that? Squats are coming along nicely :clap:

[Monarchking]

Nice squat man. Didn't hit sky fitness today, was down but tweaked my back moving a dog kennel of all things. lol

You will nail the 120 bench soon bro, in time

[Phedder]

Today's vid:

Dang bro nice hit out there gotta be happy with that? Squats are coming along nicely :clap:

Very happy with squats yeah. Tech didn't look as good as it had been in training, I wasn't really focusing enough just wanted to smash the weight haha. Bench and Deads definitely weren't at their best today but still a good hit out and happy with the overall result. Can only improve aye :wink:

Nice squat man. Didn't hit sky fitness today, was down but tweaked my back moving a dog kennel of all things. lol

You will nail the 120 bench soon bro, in time

Cheers mate. Hope the back's nothing serious, it's always the little (or big) daily tasks when your focus slips aye.

120 will happen when my body wants it to, it's a whingy bloody thing when it comes to bench, always throwing hissy fits :pfft: I bet my next bench session will feel fantastic :roll:

[drizzt]

Distracted by guy in the

. Pause on 2.07 for O face :pfft:

Serious though good vid Phed :clap:

[M.T]

Distracted by guy in the

. Pause on 2.07 for O face :pfft:

Serious though good vid Phed :clap:

:shock: :crazy:

[hjp]

Strong Squatting!! Nice work. Like the plan leading to nats. Definitely agree that you will need some time under a heavy squat/dead, will make the prep a bit more ideal for nats. Looking good bro! Go hard for the intense cycle

[Phedder]

Distracted by guy in the

. Pause on 2.07 for O face :pfft:

Serious though good vid Phed :clap:

:shock: :crazy:

You know you're not lifting heavy enough when viewers are distracted by guys in the background :cry: :pfft:

Cheers guys, I'm excited to get the intense cycle underway and then hit some ME type stuff for 2-3 weeks prior to Nats :nod:

[Phedder]

Smolov Switching Cycle W1D1

Squats called for a negative only rep, but there's something in my head that doesn't like the idea of dumping a weight, even if it's planned. So I opted for some Pause Squats instead. Still gives the focus of a slow and controlled descent, but then reinforces even more a tight and strong position at the bottom and then keeping that with a nice and controlled concentric.

Pause Squats - 3-4 sec eccentrics, 2 sec pause (I counted 1 hippopotamus, 2 hippopotamus )

lots x bar

10x60kg - No pauses

3x100kg - Pauses from here

2x120kg (loose belt)

1x130kg (LB)

1x140kg (LB)

1x150kg (LB)

1x160kg (tight belt) - About as far as I was comfortable going.

Normal Squats

3x160kg (Tight belt) - Rep PB The 160 Paused felt good I figured I'd go for an easy double. 2nd rep popped up so well I figured I'd bank a 3rd rep.

5x3x100kg - Speed focus

Upper back/Arms Circuit. No rest between exercises, 1 min rest between circuits.

Blue Band Pull-a-Parts - 5x12

Tricep Pressdowns - 5x12x60

Face Pulls - 5x12x60

BB Curls - 5x12x30kg

240 reps in ~15mins. Felt awesome, decent pump and lactate build up.

[Android]

Awesome watching those tests mate :clap: very strong deadlifts and squats

Are you doing anything to get your bench up?

[Phedder]

Awesome watching those tests mate :clap: very strong deadlifts and squats

Are you doing anything to get your bench up?

Haha, I'm trying to get my bench up, It's a stubborn bastard. My focus at the moment is definitely on the squat, but yeah my bench is lagging way too far behind. It'll be the focus between Equipped Nats in Aug and Raw Nats in Nov.

I mentioned in the write up that it was a terrible day for bench, the week prior I'd hit a surprisingly easy 3x110kg, so to end up with only a 115kg was disappointing. I'm confident of 120kg on a good day...just don't get many of those :pfft: I'm currently using a semi-westside approach, 1 heavy day a week and 1 day with a speed focus. Probably needs more time, but I do feel like the speed work will be helping a lot as I tend to fail 3-4 inches off my chest. So if I can build up the speed, hopefully that momentum can carry me through my sticking point...or so goes the theory

[tinytraps]

Some very nice work their Phed, squats and deads are caning at the moment!

In regards to your bench I dont think speed is the issue. Most raw benches are missed either on the chest or that 3-4" off the chest mark. Thats not a factor of speed just not being strong enough. Do more chest arm and delt work and youll get those numbers cranking up I reckon!

[Phedder]

Some very nice work their Phed, squats and deads are caning at the moment!

Cheers Harley.

Thats not a factor of speed just not being strong enough.

Ego crushed :pfft:

Thanks for the advice, I'll still keep the speed work in as I honestly really enjoy it and it can't be doing any harm. I'm planning on following that with DB presses alternating between as heavy as possible (5-8rep), and still heavy but with a good pause at the bottom to work on strengthening the chest from a dead stop. Back off sets on ME day will also be paused. Some overhead pressing and arm work are desperately needed also, my press has been neglected and with 10kg bodyweight gained I think my arms are only up 1cm or so, likely just fat

[hhhh1]

i keep seeing the words 'cycle' and 'test' in your journal and i read you have gained 10kg. are you injecting creatine now too?

[Monarchking]

Dips. Get into them I vote 8)

[Phedder]

i keep seeing the words 'cycle' and 'test' in your journal and i read you have gained 10kg. are you injecting creatine now too?

:-$ The IPF will be knocking at my door soon :pfft: Having a part time job now has allowed me to increase my food budget, which means more meat :twisted:

Dips. Get into them I vote 8)

They've never really agreed with my shoulders, of course I did always lean really far forward to involve the chest a lot. I might have a play around with them tomorrow, could stay upright for maximum tricep involvement. But any complaints from the shoulders and they're out :naughty: