muddy's Training Log

[muddy]

Sat 10/17 - Cycle 6 Day ? DE LB

DE BP: LN warmup, 10x45, 5x95, 2x5x135, 12x3x185 (4 narrow, 4 medium, 4 wide), 2x225, 2x245, 2x265
Dips: 30@BW+50lbs (7,6,6,5,6)
Kroc Rows: 1x20x140
French press: 3x20x70
DB front raise: 3x16x20
DB side raise: 3x12x20
DB rear raise: 3x12x20
Pullovers: 3x8x100

Next week won't be quite as bad. I should manage a Sun, Tues, Thurs session. But then nothing Fri-Mon, hopefully back Tues.

[muddy]

As promised, the Charles Dickens audition photos. Sorry, the towel is blocking the little plates strung on the chain looping between the two "sash" chains.

[sgi4950]

Hmmmm....I don't know if those pictures tell the proper story. I'm thinking we need some action shots. First glance I'm thinking bondage or bad jewelry.

[atypical1]

Damn those are solid Kroc rows! 20 * 140? F*ck. I've got a lot of work ahead of me. Do you think they are helping out with your bench or is it too early to tell?

james

[muddy]

@sandi: Fair enough! Yeah, I don't think those give the full flavor of it either. But if you're going for that insane look captured in photograph, nothing really beats dragging the sled down the road while the neighbors are out BBQing with some of their friends, and conversation stops while they all turn to stare. I would give a lot for a photograph of that.

@James: I was shocked at how hard I was breathing after those. It was much more like a heavy set of squats than a set of bench presses. I should note PRs for assist work too, I suppose, as that was definitely a PR for that lift. It's too early to tell what it's doing. The only obvious thing I've noticed so far is 275lbs on the bar for a tbar row used to be brutally hard (very challenging to keep the legs out of the lift), and now it's not bad at all.

[mpetry]

But if you're going for that insane look captured in photograph, nothing really beats dragging the sled down the road while the neighbors are out BBQing with some of their friends, and conversation stops while they all turn to stare. I would give a lot for a photograph of that.

absolutely, I used to train 6 walks with a heavy backpack (60-70lbs) and the looks I got were priceless.

like james, I'm wowed by those rows.

[muddy]

Sun 10/18 - Cycle 7 Day 1 ME LB + Coan week 4

DL: 2x3x245, 2x335, 1x425, 2x480 (2RM PR)
SQ: 5x45, 5x95, 5x135, 3x185, 3x225, 1x275, 1x315, 1x365, 2x3x405 (3RM PR)
SQ walkout: 3x545
DE DL: 6x3x405 (90s rest between sets)
3 rounds (90s between sets, 2 mins between rounds) of:
- 8x335 SLDL
- 8x90 step up (16" box, 2 45 DBs)
- 8x(bw+10lb) GHRs
- 8x150 SS yoke bar arched back GMs

Normally I would do the squats before going to Coan, but I wasn't sure about pulling 480 twice. It actually came up pretty easy, so I don't think order would have mattered at all today. Likewise, I had to restrain myself for going for more squat triples. There's no doubt when I test DL and SQ 1RMs again, things will go up. I was still energetic even after the DE DLs, but once again, the Coan superset stuff drained me completely.

One thing I was thinking about today was a not-so-obvious benefit of this Coan program. Since I found SL and started doing these kinds of lifts, I've never really done a lot of deadlifts in a session or even in a week. While I think that was entirely appropriate (especially when I was first starting), I can see it has led to a very different level of technical proficiency between my squat and my DL.

On my squat, I know my setup routine exactly. I believe I could sense if something were just a fraction of an inch out of place or different. I can automatically assume different stances to achieve a different emphasis without even thinking about it. My mind is automatically active and aware throughout the different stages of the lift to ensure I keep focus where focus is needed. On the deadlift, things are nowhere near so automatic and mindful. Sometimes my second or third lift in a DL set is stronger than my first. I still wonder about things I should long be past wondering about on the DL, and I don't think my setup has the same level of consistency as my squat. My deadlift feels a lot "fussier" and subject to moods. The Coan work is really showing this to me, and it is helping me improve that. Deadlifting a lot more may not be the only way to achieve this consistency, but it certainly seems to be one way.

Long story short: time to really step up my technical proficiency on the deadlift.

@mpetry: Thanks for stopping by my log! At what point do the neighbors start asking around if we're OK? Sandbag carries while dragging a sled? Hill sprints with weighted backpacks?

[atypical1]

Good stuff and those are good lessons. I'll have to read more about Coan and see if I can fit it into my training sometime next year.

james

[Kathy]

Hmmmm....I don't know if those pictures tell the proper story. I'm thinking we need some action shots. First glance I'm thinking bondage or bad jewelry.

I agree Sandi. Looks like a poor rapper's attempt at bling. Throw a few more chains on there and I can certainly see Dickens' ghost of Christmas past!
Thanks for the pics, Muddy! And thanks for posting your thoughts about the DL. I have often wondered if the infrequency of the DL in SL 5x5 was part of the reason I'm so lousy at it-just not enough "practice" for me. I followed H's Coan training and thought he was "nuts" for doing it but now I'm actually considering it for down the road. What AM I saying

[pagangoddess]

I followed H's Coan training and thought he was "nuts" for doing it but now I'm actually considering it for down the road. What AM I saying

That's the problem with this forum. It's hard not to get the wandering eye when reading about other programs.

[muddy]

Yeah, I hear ya PG. I suffer from the same thing. 5/3/1, Korte, 20 rep squat program, Coan, Smolov, try hill sprints, try sled drags, try sandbag carries, do some crossfit, etc etc etc.

I was watching a video by Kroc on Kroc rows, and he said something that -- in my admittedly very limited experience in this lifting game -- rings very true to me. Basically it was he started with one workout template (in his case Westside), and then slowly tweaked it here and there until now it doesn't even look like the Westside template at all anymore.

Going one step further, at the intermediate stage, I am thinking it matters less and less what program a person uses as a starting point, so long as it starts out suiting them and keeps them coming back for more in the gym. Over time, it's as Kroc says-- pay attention to what works and what doesn't, and tweak and adjust in a controlled manner that allows future evaluation of the change.

Maybe early on in the intermediate phase, tinkering with different programs for 10-20 weeks at a stretch is a useful way to learn what's possible in a program, how different approaches feel, and what effect different elements have. That seems like it would be useful later as an intermediate, to better know how to make useful tweaks rather than just making tweaks.

In 2010, I might allow myself to try 1 or 2 of the following: 20 rep squat program, Korte (with modified percentages during the volume phase), smolov. I could see that get a lot of the "try the new (to me) thing!" ya-yas out of my system, and then I'd settle into my program. Do, do, do, analyze, tweak, repeat.

Anyway, this is the video I was watching:

[pagangoddess]

Maybe early on in the intermediate phase, tinkering with different programs for 10-20 weeks at a stretch is a useful way to learn what's possible in a program, how different approaches feel, and what effect different elements have. That seems like it would be useful later as an intermediate, to better know how to make useful tweaks rather than just making tweaks.

I think that's where I'm at. I'm just making tweaks without really understanding what I'm doing. I think it's one of the reasons Westside was so difficult for me. A little wiggle room in the programming is one thing but don't give me that much. But I'm starting to get put some things together. In time I'll be more aware of what I'm doing and why.

Do, do, do, analyze, tweak, repeat.

I like that philosophy. Although I'm curious as to the time you allow during the dos before you start analyzing. That's where I got stuck. I couldn't tell if I was making progress with what I was doing.

[muddy]

Tues 10/20 - Cycle 7 Day 2 ME UB

BP: 5x45, 5x95, 5x135, 5x185, 3x225, 1x255, 1x285, 1x315, 5x225
BP Negatives: 5x345
BP off pins: 3x5x225
Kroc rows: 1x22x140
DB JM press: 12x35, 12x45, 12x50, 12x60

I've a new appreciation for concentric-only lifts and how hard a lift becomes when the stretch reflex is removed. The BPs off pins set just about where my elbow breaks 90 degrees were extremely hard. JM presses were more to get familiar with the form than solid work.

[guru]

Good workout as usual, muddy.

Thanks for the Dickens photo. Funny thing I noticed is that you sit in almost the exact box squat position. It happens with me too - even if I have to just sit on a couch, I inadvertently turn it into a box squat movement.

Need to try the BP off pins sometime.

[holvoetn]

Good numbers ...

I've a new appreciation for concentric-only lifts and how hard a lift becomes when the stretch reflex is removed. The BPs off pins set just about where my elbow breaks 90 degrees were extremely hard.

Sounds like me and my floor presses
That pause on the bottom is a real killer, isn't it