#drizzt

[drizzt]

21.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W5/D1

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 120kg
  Working
  15 x 1 @ 175kg

Comments

• Back into the grind today. Decided to move everything back a day, so that I'm deadlifting Sunday-Thursday, freeing Friday up (hate lifting on Fridays). Also means I only need to get up pre-6 3x. Only 9 sessions to go anyway so not a massive difference.
  Little bit rusty today, tech was off slightly, but strength was pretty good, so the reps went up quick. Averaged around 26 seconds for a rep+rest today.

[drizzt]

22.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W5/D2

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 120kg
  Working
  12 x 1 @ 187.5kg

Comments

• Not bad today, reps were perhaps a little bit slower than I would've liked - I probably should've thrown another warmup set in there - but no biggy. Nothing was tough at all, and all rep+rest periods were pretty much in the 25 second zone.
  Got some decent beltless paused squats following this work, possibly even rep PB range (better than some belted stuff I've done), so I'm happy with that - especially following a deadlift session. I'm thinking that backing off the squat volume while doing this program is helping.
  Dreading going back to the early wakeups tomorrow. So I'm fully utilising the day off with the sun beaming down... to play games on my brand new 50" TV 8)

[OnlyHuman]

... I'm fully utilising the day off with the sun beaming down... to play games on my brand new 50" TV

Magic :clap:

[drizzt]

Magic :clap:

:grin:

23.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W5/D3

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 6 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 110kg
  1 x 3 @ 150kg
  Working
  10 x 1 @ 200kg

Comments

• Stayed up a bit too late last night, so shifted the session to the afternoon in favour of some extra sleep.
  Back was pretty fatigued from deads + heavy pause squats yesterday, so today was a little slow. Never quite in danger of failing though. Despite the reps feeling a little slow, all rep+rests were sub-30 seconds.
  Didn't have the platform (expected in the afternoons) so used Tutua + Trap's suggestion of oly plates on the inside with steels after, worked a charm. Chur fellas.
  Don't think I have it in me to do tomorrow's session in the early morning so soon after today's one with the back still quite fatigued, so I think I'll finish the week with afternoon sessions.

Today's times:

[drizzt]

24.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W5/D4

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 120kg
  1 x 2 @ 170kg
  Working
  8 x 1 @ 212.5kg

Comments

• Again, kind of average today. Not slow, not fast, just... average. Back was still a little fatigued, but not using that as an excuse, as it was probably my technique (or lack thereof) that slowed the reps today.
  Got a little GPP in afterwards helping set up for the Bench champs on this weekend.
  Hopefully finish this week without a belt, but next week, I'm thinking I'm going to introduce it from Day 1. Reason being; I want to get used to deadlifting in a belt again before I test my 1RM in a couple of weeks. I found last time I had a long layoff from deads, chucking the belt on again didn't feel at all comfortable. Happy I've been able to make it this far without using one, though, and I really do think it has helped my posture out - not only for squats, but simple things like not slumping in the office chair :shifty:
  6 sessions to go until test day 8)

Today's times, again, all rest+rep periods below 30 seconds, most around the 26-27 second mark:

[drizzt]

25.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W5/D5

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 3 @ 130kg
  1 x 1 @ 190kg
  Working
  6 x 1 @ 225kg

Comments

• Toughy today! Some reps were ok, some were pure grinders - the last one was a full on max effort. On the bright side, the hips weren't a sticking point, it was all pretty consistently slow reps, so it looks like some improvements have been made in the hips coming through better. Today was also the first time in the program that I can remember having quite a fatigued lower back, so maybe that had something to do with the slowness. Also slipped above the 30 second mark on two of the rep+rest periods which I haven't done for a while, but I definitely think I needed the extra little bit of rest today.
  Biggest issue was being just a bit slow off the floor. Once or twice I got everything right and they popped up a little smoother. After the 3rd rep, I was thinking I might chuck the belt on for the remaining 3 reps, but the 4th rep ended up sliding up quite well which gave me the confidence to see the last couple through. Plus, it was kind of an achievement I had in the back of my mind to beat the first 5 weeks without using the belt, and it would be a shame to lose that record in the last couple of reps!
  Final week next week, 5 sessions to go, looking forward to it! :grin:

Today's rep+rest times:

[drizzt]

28.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W6/D1

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @120kg
  Working
  15 x 1 @ 177.5kg (b)

Comments

• Very quick and easy today with the belt added. So much so, that I decided to aim for 20 second rest+rep intervals instead of the usual 25-30. Resulted in a lot more sweat, and started to slow a bit towards the end of the singles purely due to tiredness. Haha.
  Feeling a bit of discomfort in the lower back/tailbone area lately, Doc says my pelvic tilt is heading into bad territory again which is what I'm feeling. Just need to get on top of the stretches and subtle core stuff again.
  1 down, 4 to go. Now that the belt is in the mix, I'm hoping the week ends up very easy.

Times for today - first 2 rep+rest periods were very slightly over 20 seconds, the rest were 17-19.

Also because I'm feeling large and unfit at the moment, I decided to thrash the rower a bit. Wasn't necessarily out to set any records, but once I found I could get a pretty consistent clip going without blowing myself out too early, I decided to try and keep the 1min 45sec/500m pace up for 5mins. Ended up not bad for an out of shape powerlifter who does zero cardio :pfft:

[drizzt]

29.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W6/D2

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 120kg
  1 x 1 @ 170kg
  Working
  12 x 1 @ 190kg (b)

Comments

• Started off really, really fast today. To the point where I put enough force on the bar to get it above my usual resting point so the weight came out of the hands. This flew for all of the warmups, and until about 2 reps into the working singles, where I pretty much ran out of gas :pfft:
  Still, not a bad day, moved relatively quick for 190. Again, went with 20second rests today because I was feeling great, fatigued a little towards the end. Belt did help immensely though.
  2 down, 3 to go.

Today's times, most under 20 seconds, 2 or 3 crept up to 20.5ish:

Compared to Day 2 of last week, today was done more than a minute faster, happy with that. And reading back on that day's entry, today sounded easier too.

[drizzt]

30.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W6/D3

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 110kg
  1 x 3 @ 150kg
  Working
  10 x 1 @ 202.5kg (b)

Comments

• Not quite as fast as I had hoped/expected today. Never in trouble, just didn't quite get the speed on the bar I had hoped for. Did a fair bit of posterior chain assistance last night, so maybe that fatigued me more than usual. Ah well, got it done, that's the main thing.
  3 down, 2 to go!

Today's times - the first half were all approx 25seconds, the second is what you can see:

[drizzt]

31.10.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W6/D4

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 5 @ 120kg
  1 x 2 @ 170kg
  Working
  8 x 1 @ 215kg (b)

Comments

• Definitely thinking I'm beginning to hit the end of the rope in terms of fatigue, just didn't feel sharp at all today. Despite that, everything up until about rep 5 of the working singles felt pretty good, but the reps after were a bit slow. Didn't feel like the belt was right today, probably too tight.
  I think tomorrow (for the final session, woop) I might take the max allotted 45 seconds rest and see how that goes.
  6 reps to go!

Today's times, all 22-26:

[drizzt]

01.11.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, W6/D5 (FINAL DAY!)

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 3 @ 140kg
  1 x 1 @ 200kg
  Working
  6 x 1 @ 230kg (b)

Comments

• So, I was stretching last night, and ended up pulling something in the lower right back where I had been feeling a bit of discomfort for a couple of weeks (as I tried to stretch it out a bit too far). The irony isn't lost on me - I deadlift 5x per week for >a month no worries, but injure myself while stretching to prevent injuries :pfft:
  Woke up this morning (and multiple times through the night) with the back in really severe pain, so the outlook wasn't good for tonight's session. Took a few extra-strength nurofens through the day which seemed to calm the inflammation down a bit, and lessened the pain. Doc also worked on it which made a nice little improvement.
  So I went into this session not sure how it was going to go, or how the back would take the weight.
  Answer: it handled it like f*cking Rick Ross. Proud of it.
  I worked up a decent amount of anger at being careless enough to injure myself a day out from finishing the program I had worked so hard to conquer - including battling through a couple of weeks of nerve headaches from shingles - and really went hard at the bar. I wasn't going to let it beat me at the final hurdle. I added +2.5kg to make it a nice round 230 instead of the prescribed 227.5, just to show the weight + program who was boss.
  And I think given the circumstances, you could say I crushed it - I feel like I absolutely obliterated the weight today. As soon as I had the first rep locked out, I knew tonight was going to be a breeze. This was by far the easiest session of the week and the back doesn't feel any worse now the adrenaline has died down, although it is throbbing a little still. Reps were fluid - wouldn't quite say speed weights - but smoother and faster than >200 has felt for quite some time. I feel like I could have popped out 15 of the suckers today.
  Stoked at finishing the program on a high. Feasting now on a Trevor Special and a couple of nice, cold beers to celebrate the end :grin:
  Test day next Thursday.

To top the above off, all rest+rep periods were under 25 seconds (apart from the final one where I held it at the top for a bit to savour the end of the program). I started the first rest period waiting for 45 seconds, but began to get bored at about 15, so thought I'd see how 25s went. No probs.

[Northland Powah]

Congrats mate! It's been a good read

[drizzt]

Thanks bro!

03.11.2012 - Special Training

• Squats (sets x reps @ weight - RPE)
  bar
  1 x 10 @ 60kg
  1 x 5 @ 100kg
  1 x 3 @ 140kg
  1 x 3 @ 180kg - 8 (b) (paused)
  1 x 2 @ 200kg - 9 (b) (first paused)
  Add 48 Superior, straps down
  1 x 3 @ 200kg
  1 x 3 @ 220kg
  Straps up, add wraps
  1 x 2 @ 250kg - 7
  1 x 2 @ 270kg - 7
  1 x 2 @ 285kg - 8
  1 x 2 @ 300kg - 8.5 =PB

Comments

• I know I'm not really logging workouts anymore, but couldn't resist this one!
  One of my idols - Derek Pomana - stopped into The House today for a blast while he was in town. I wasn't actually planning to go in today - was going to take a week off before testing deads - so I was sitting on the couch gaming :pfft:... but as soon as news reached me I threw some gear on and raced over.
  I hadn't squatted at all for a couple of weeks, and haven't been in a suit, or over 180kg for a couple of months while I concentrated on Pavel-Simmons. But I was intending to do some form of squatting this weekend to start getting back into the groove, the visit of a legend just expedited it somewhat, haha.
  The pauses weren't feeling as good as the last time I did them, but they weren't too bad. 200 was the most I've ever paused on in the past for a single, so was good to hit a fairly comfortable single following the paused one. Still, not quite as fast as I had hoped.
  Then, just started climbing up in the squats. Always kind of intended to go for singles, but the first popped up well enough in each set that I ended up doubling everything.
  Was going to stop at 285 because the knees were screaming at me from the wrapping, but they were so smooth and quick that I decided to pump up to 300. Only wanted a single, but there was easily more in the tank, so doubled it. Probably another rep in there too, but I was hoping not to embarrass myself by failing with DP spotting me, so I left it there.
  The Superior I was using is a lot tighter around the legs than when I last wore it, but the straps still hover a few cm off my shoulders, haha. No harnessing on the old superior too, so I don't get as much out of it as the Centurion I squatted in at nats. Very keen to start taking some tighter stuff for a spin in the near future, as I think all the deadlifting I've been doing lately has really paid off for my squat.
  Aside from meeting a legend in the flesh, I'm happy with how the first outing in the suit for a while went. The 300 double felt a hell of a lot easier, and looked better/deeper on cam than the first time I tried it.
  Might test bench on Monday or Tuesday.

[Phedder]

Holy crap dude, that's some awesome squatting! A 300kg double in a superior is ridiculous, and you only gave it an 8.5RPE? Surely you must be tempted to jump in the centurion and give the BBro a whirl :wink:

The 300 double felt a hell of a lot easier, and looked better/deeper on cam than the first time I tried it.

Video, now.

And meeting Derek must have been awesome as well, any great words of wisdom from him?

[drizzt]

Holy crap dude, that's some awesome squatting! A 300kg double in a superior is ridiculous, and you only gave it an 8.5RPE? Surely you must be tempted to jump in the centurion and give the BBro a whirl :wink:

The 300 double felt a hell of a lot easier, and looked better/deeper on cam than the first time I tried it.

Video, now.

And meeting Derek must have been awesome as well, any great words of wisdom from him?

Thanks bro! Yeah for me a lot of it is confidence, and now with the improved posture from PS I'm feeling a lot safer under the weight. I just don't have any fear of 300 now - it is kind of a weight that I expect to be able to hit 9 out of 10 sessions when lifting in equipment - so I'm ready to leave it in the dust and start scratching further into the 300+ lifts :nod: Still, not really tempted for a hitout at BBro, haha. If it was squat only maybe!

Yeah it is incredibly humbling meeting a guy with such a legendary reputation, and also really scary knowing the greatest squatter (and IMHO - lifter) the country has ever seen is watching while you lift, haha. Kind of scared me into action though.

I did get some good words out of him. He had some good advice for my deadlifts, he seems to think we had similar strengths in terms of where we build muscle (although he has a lot, lot more of it :pfft:), so I got a couple of good pearls of wisdom there to work on :grin:

Also - OB1 has the vid, so not sure when that'll follow...

[drizzt]

Squats from yesterday with a legend spotting, very stoked! 8)

[drizzt]

10.11.2012 - Pavel-Simmons, Test Day

• Deadlifts (sets x reps @ weight)
  bar
  1 x 5 @70kg
  1 x 3 @ 120kg
  1 x 2 @ 170kg
  1 x 1 @ 220kg (b)
  1 x 1 @ 240kg (b)
  1 x 1 @ 260kg (b)
  1 x 1 @ 280kg (b) [+7.5kg PB]

Comments

• Decent day today, took the week off pretty much, besides going in for a bench test on Wednesday, so I was well rested.
  Had a minimum target of 260, and an optimistic max target of 280 today.
  Warmups felt ok, had to remember my cues and things though as the technique was feeling marginally off.
  Everything up to 240 were speed reps. 260 popped up pretty good, although I could tell the body didn't have a lot left in it after. The guys watching said it looked pretty quick.
  So I decided to have a crack at 280. Wasn't hugely confident, I thought 270 was more realistic, but with the new technique changes I was a bit more confident of grinding through it if need be. I took a decent rest, got fired up, and it flew off the floor - which kind of told me immediately that I had reverted to some bad habits (namely, hips high at the start). Lockout was good enough to grind through though, so I got there after a bit of a tussle. Maaaaybe 2.5-5kg more in there, but definitely not after expending so much energy.
  Happy with the results, after testing before starting the program with a grindy 240, I'm stoked that the technique has improved enough to make that a distant memory. It was also nice to lay the 260 demons of Nats to rest, and obviously hit a +7.5kg PB.
  Thanks to the guys (Tutua, PT, Wa, Pala and co) for the support today, managed to get me fired up enough for that final single. Will possibly follow with a vid later on if I duck back into the gym to grab the file off OB1.
  Back undercover until CDs next year, train hard all 8)

[drizzt]

Today's PB (thanks to OB1 for the vid):

Actually on watching this, I'm a bit disappointed in how much technique I threw out the window! Shoulders forward, hips high are the main culprits that made this lift harder than it should've been. Think when the weight gets heavier my body falls back into it's natural patterns. That, and I was a bit fired up so rushed the beginning of the lift a little - this was also because I felt the belt slipping out of position, so just wanted to get it done.

Will need to work a bit more at these higher weights to get more comfortable with the setup, as the heaviest I've done recently is 230.

[Gym rat]

good work mate on the 230 dead planing on stopping by the house when I am in Wellys for the sevens.

[drizzt]

good work mate on the 230 dead planing on stopping by the house when I am in Wellys for the sevens.

280 GR :grin: But thanks bro, probably catch you when you're in the House then mate.

[Big john]

Today's PB (thanks to OB1 for the vid):

Actually on watching this, I'm a bit disappointed in how much technique I threw out the window! Shoulders forward, hips high are the main culprits that made this lift harder than it should've been. Think when the weight gets heavier my body falls back into it's natural patterns. That, and I was a bit fired up so rushed the beginning of the lift a little - this was also because I felt the belt slipping out of position, so just wanted to get it done.

Will need to work a bit more at these higher weights to get more comfortable with the setup, as the heaviest I've done recently is 230.

nice work bro!, besides the shoulders being infront of the bar before the pull i dont think there were too many faults tbh...I dont really think it makes a terrible difference if your hips are higher or lower to the bar. Seemed like you're hips were in the right posisition when they engaged. but thats just my observation

abit hard to get your usuall/instinctive step up when your all fired up and the adrinaline is pumping through too. this feel...i know from time to time :oops: :shifty:

but its good to see you've adjusted and tweaked afew of the things i suggest after nats vid you're overall base looks alot better :clap: ...looking at the 2 theres been some solid improvement dude..kutgw

[drizzt]

nice work bro!, besides the shoulders being infront of the bar before the pull i dont think there were too many faults tbh...I dont really think it makes a terrible difference if your hips are higher or lower to the bar. Seemed like you're hips were in the right posisition when they engaged. but thats just my observation

abit hard to get your usuall/instinctive step up when your all fired up and the adrinaline is pumping through too. this feel...i know from time to time :oops: :shifty:

but its good to see you've adjusted and tweaked afew of the things i suggest after nats vid you're overall base looks alot better :clap: ...looking at the 2 theres been some solid improvement dude..kutgw

Cheers bro, thanks for the advices, definitely made a difference.

Throughout the program I was lifting with hips lower down and a little further back - I found this, with a bit of bar tension, helped me engage the glutes and hammies before starting the lift, and made it easier for me to thrust through at the end. Little bit slower off the ground, but with just the right amount of compromise between the two extremes it balanced out well. Also with the shoulders back at the beginning combined with the low hip start, my back made a nice straight line which seemed to give better power to the bar throughout the rep.

Hips higher give me a faster start, but as you can see above, I run out of steam when I hit lockout.

But yeah, I also threw the head positioning out as well for this rep, which has been pretty good lately too. Not bad overall but not as solid as I have been looking IMHO.

Cheers again bro :nod:

[drizzt]

Will revive this thread, I'm enjoying reading other journals so I thought I'd throw mine into the mix as well to keep me honest.

Probably won't log every single training session or an in depth analysis of my lifts like I used to do :shifty: But will chuck in the good parts (and the really terrible ones from time to time as well to motivate me).

Currently the squat is going pretty well, hit a 340 double a couple of days ago. Hip flexor is quite dodgy which refers as some pretty bad back pain - crippling at times (felt really bad on the day I hit 340, spent a good amount of time before and after the set lying down) - and I'm down about 8 kilo over the past month (was 101.7 for the 340s), so I'm happy these numbers are getting up there. Here is the 340 x 2 vid:

Deadlift has also been going ok, I switched to sumo initially because I wanted to decrease the loading on the back with the amount of volume that squatting was beginning to send through it... and then I found out I am probably better at sumo than conventional Haha. Yet to master the technique but the weights are above what I could ever do consistently with Conventional, and the body recovers very easily from the heavy sessions whereas I'd be inactive for a couple of days following near max conventional efforts. Weights feel easier and deadlifts are less taxing? Sign me up.

I hit a rough 300 a month or so ago belt only (locked it out but lost the grip at the top). Last week I got a nice 270 triple, will be going for a good double tonight. Here is the 270 vid:

Saving the worst for last... bench. A lot of factors are at play here, but the bottom line is my bench is atrocious. I had a couple of months off benching completely because I mangled my shoulder up pretty badly, and since going back to it I've reverted to some old bad habits. Before the injury it wasn't too terrible (still below where it should be though), I had hit a 140 double shortly before the shoulder popped out. I still get pain but nowhere near what I got initially which caused the bench hiatus.

So the past few weeks of benching have been starting from the beginning and trying to better my technique again, while also managing the shoulder and trying not to do further damage to it. Because it has been so woeful, I don't have any progress vids to show, but I will get onto that soon (just bought a new camera for recording trainings).

Bodyweight is about 101-102 at the moment, I have made a concerted effort to get below 105 and drop a lot of fat to put me in a better position weight-wise leading into the comp. Unfortunately this means the squat suit is a lot looser than it was when I bought it (first used it at about 106-107), so will be buying a new one soonish :-)

Next comp is CDs on April 27th, so training is beginning to peak and taper a little. See some of you there 8)

[Leeroid]

That squat is getting pretty crazy dude. Amazed at your progress.

How much are u getting from the suit?

[drizzt]

Thanks bro. Hard to tell at the moment as I haven't really raw squatted for a while, I'd estimate wraps only would have me up around the 290 region, so maybe 50-60kg from the suit? After quite a few sessions and the weight loss it is getting pretty loose, so I'll be ordering a new one for nats which will hopefully give me an extra 20-30kg