#drizzt

[drizzt]

I make a point of stopping by every now and then. But I'm not impressed with this last check-in. There's too much yummy food here, and I'm in full-on cut mode (stupidly made a bet with a mate to see who can get the leanest by Christmas).

Raspberry chocolate cheesecake?! You've got me salivating hard now, you bastard.

=P~ :evil: =P~

Haha, probably the reason I hit 105 :oops:

Saw you were doing a few cleans and what not.....

This kid is incredible. Flawless technique and unbelievable strength.

Holy crap, nice. His start is a bit different to what I've been trying to learn (for the Powerclean), he seems to start a bit behind the bar, then really quickly shifts forward and over it and the hips shoot up to lift. Had to slow it down a few times :pfft: Strong kid, cheers :think:

[drizzt]

M.T squatting... and Pablo with a bit of a malfunction caught on camera:

[drizzt]

M.T and our mate Pablo with some deads:

[drizzt]

[drizzt]

OK screw it, I'm back for the final week of my program. Have so much pent up logging inside haha.

01.11.11 - 5 x 5 W9/D1

103.3, bit lighter than the Monday trend has been for a wee while.

• Squats (sets, reps, weights)
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 8 @ 60kg
  1 x 6 @ 100kg
  1 x 5 @ 120kg
  1 x 4 @ 140kg
  1 x 3 @ 160kg
  1 x 2 @ 180kg (b)
  1 x 1 @ 205kg (b)
  Working
  3 x 3 @ 225kg (b/kw)
  
• Bench
  Warmups
  bar
  1 x 8 @ 60kg
  1 x 6 @ 80kg
  1 x 3 @ 100kg
  Working
  1 x 3 @ 110kg
  1 x 3 @ 122.5kg
  1 x 2 @ 140kg (missed 3rd)
  
• Powercleans
  2 x 3 @ 40kg
  1 x 3 @ 60kg
  
• Dips
  1 x 3 @ +25kg
  2 x 3 @ +50kg

Comments

• Good session! Felt pretty fatigued throughout, but it didn't seem to dampen my strength much (if at all)
  Wore the soft suit today, a) because I'm wary of another blowout and what it does (and has done) to my confidence, and b) may as well get used to it, as I'll be lifting in it at the comp. Felt really certain in it, as opposed to the usual shorts which can slip around. These stayed put so I just needed to worry about lifting, and not where/what I was sitting into.
  Raw warmups felt great, everything up to 180 was fast and snappy. 205 was a bit shady but was just keen to hit depth on it which I did.
  Introduced the new Inzer Gripper wraps right into the first top set. Silly me, probably should've used them for 205, but to be honest, I really couldn't be arsed rolling them back up for 4 sets :pfft: So after hearing great things about them, I decided to throw them straight into the deep end. They performed ok off the bat, as with anything new the feel of it takes a bit of getting used to. Still, first set was ok, just a little hesitant with my speed. 2nd set was the best, had a side on cam for depth and all looked slightly below. 3rd set was a wee bit dusty depth-wise, but arguably ok, at least for the final 2 anyways.
  Initial verdict on the grippers? Could be a good training wrap, but not good enough (yet anyway) in my eyes to supplant either the THPs or the Titaniums. The rubber is a nifty addition though, much easier to wrap, although it does "bite" the legs a little bit as it clings to you. Time will wear them in and they may get better, which would be nice, as they're up there already :nod: Can see why I've heard nothing but good things about them.
  
• Bench was awesome. Everything felt ridiculously fast, up to the 122.5s which flew off my chest. So decided to go for 140 x 3 instead of the prescribed 137.5 (wow, big difference you may be thinking :pfft:). First 2 flew up, and I think that caught me off guard a little bit, as I lost tightness/concentration/line/arch for the 3rd rep, and got it about halfway :pfft: Still, really happy with this, as the last time I got a 140 it was a grinder, so to get two really quick reps out shows how far the shoulder has come on this program. Also props to Quigley for pointing out my elbows coming forward/forearms going ahead of the bar before I touched my chest. This sapped a lot of my power off the chest. Thinking about keeping the elbows and wrist in line really helped today, along with thinking about the arch.
  Happy with the direction this is heading in! Hoping this easy double means I'll be good for the elusive 140 comp bench (touch wood).
  
• PCs are really improving, time spent at 40kg has paid dividends, as the technique seems to be on the money for the 60kg weights. Must record a few sets of these again, as I'd like to see what it looks like after working at it bit by bit for a couple of months!
  
• Dips were sweet, nice to be easily repping the +50 now. We "kiss" the bar in front of us too to make sure we're getting full ROM.

Roll on 3 x 3 @ 240 for Deads on Thurs :gunfire:

[drizzt]

Aaand some footage (excuse the editing, playing around with a new video editor):

[M.T]

Down low huh :^o

[drizzt]

Refers to my squatting BOOM

:^o

[PeterDolan]

Shit dude, haven't checked in for ages but you're squatting 225 now!? Mint. Big improvements all round really

[drizzt]

Hey bro, thanks, quietly pleased with the progress :nod: Squats in particular really took off once I started working at correcting my hip (mis)alignment with my Doc, and after Smolov the big improvements in technique gave me a cleaner power transfer. Really feel like I'm still finding my ceiling with squats, so a wee way to go yet... top set of 3 x 240 on Saturday which should be a good gauge of where I'm really at, as it's my previous 1RM/PB :nod:

[PeterDolan]

Tit's!!!!

So you had less focus on your dead since it was so far a head of your squat? If so then have the numbers still gone up?

[PeterDolan]

could check myself but I'm lazy

[drizzt]

Tit's!!!!

So you had less focus on your dead since it was so far a head of your squat? If so then have the numbers still gone up?

Yeah, for sure. With Smolov there wasn't a lot of room to Deadlift alongside it anyway with the 4x squat sessions a week. Recently though for this 5x5 program Deads have been getting just as much attention, and both seem to be improving at about the same rate. Got 3 x 3 @ 240 for Deads tomorrow, so it's nice to have the two at a pretty even spot :nod:

[PeterDolan]

Strong

[drizzt]

Cheers bro, just trying to catch up to you freaky strong sub 6-fters :grin:

[PeterDolan]

Cheers bro, just trying to catch up to you freaky strong sub 6-fters :grin:

Fucking LOL, you not read my journal lately brah, I'm friggin' weak at the moment. All the girls at the gym gettin' mad at me cause I'm using their 8kg DB's all the time

[HarryB]

Cheers bro, just trying to catch up to you freaky strong sub 6-fters :grin:

Fucking LOL, you not read my journal lately brah, I'm friggin' weak at the moment. All the girls at the gym gettin' mad at me cause I'm using their 8kg DB's all the time

So that's where they are!!!

Nice lifting as always Drizzt, going to be a big leap from your last comp to this one! Solid!

[drizzt]

You sub-6fters are all smoke and mirrors :pfft:

Cheers Harry, here's hoping a few PBs will fall eh.

[runveerun]

Found this on the first page in your journal, you've done this and more by the time Bbro rolls around!

Ok so summarising a massive spiel I had typed out :pfft: Goals for the year are (in rough order of importance):

Stronger squat, 200 in the near future, 230-240 by the end of the year. Squat responds well to mid-reps, high frequency, with regular progression as a focus, so that's what I'll do

You've surpassed this also! :pfft: 8)

All of the above while keeping bodyweight at or under 95kg - within quick-cutting distance of the 93kg powerlifting division

[drizzt]

Hey true, I hadn't looked back at that for a while

tempted to use mod powers to edit out the second part of Vee's quote :shifty: :pfft:

[soundsgood]

Admittedly don't venture into the strength journals as often as I should :oops:

Some epic progress Being made bro. When you're repping out former PBs you know you're doing something right!

Keep up the solid training :nod:

Looking forward to seeing a 6pps squat!

[bar-belle]

Hey Drizzt...Did you get your Grippers in the mail yet?

Hope so...SFS got his today.

[drizzt]

Cheers SG! 6PPS would be awesome, fingers crossed...

BB - yep, got 'em first thing yesterday morning, gave em a test drive on 225 yesterday (check vid on previous page) 8)

[drizzt]

03.11.11 - 5 x 5 W9/D2

103.5 today pretty standard.

• OH Pin Press (sets, reps, weights)
  Warmups
  1 x 5 @ 60kg
  1 x 3 @ 75kg
  Working
  3 x 3 @ 90kg
  
• Deads
  Warmups
  1 x 5 @ 70kg
  1 x 3 @ 120kg
  1 x 1 @ 170kg
  1 x 1 @ 220kg
  Working
  3 x 3 @ 240kg (b)
  
• Chins
  1 x 3 @ +20kg
  1 x 2(+1 assisted) @ +30kg

Comments

• Pretty good session, OH pin press was surprisingly easy. Very last rep was a bit of a grinder, but that was due to losing the line of the bar in front of me, as opposed to lack of strength.
  
• Deads were ok, felt fast for the first rep but deteriorated pretty quickly. Nearly hitched the very final rep, but locked it out with a big grind without resorting to a hitch, so I'm pleased with that.
  Hook is holding out well which is encouraging, pretty sure I'm going to use it for the comp, but skills next week will be the final confirmation I need for it. Never repped more than 230 before so this is some kinda PB, but I'm just gonna count the 1RMs as they're the PBs that matter in my eyes 8)
  
• Chins started ok, +20 went up without too much hassle, but 30 would barely budge on the 3rd rep, was assisted most of the way. First was ok, second was a grinder. Flagged the final set (was gonna be another 3 x +30) because we were pretty spent by then.

Video uploading now... one more session to go \:D/ Roll on a triple @ 240 for squats :jive:

[drizzt]

Vid: