Dream's...something or other log

If you are cutting to get into the 66kg category, and it is impacting your training, then you have to take a view for significant that impact is... Personally, my training suffers (and it normally does when hitting less than 3000cals/day), meaning the 85kg weight class is simply a step too far for me. I hut 90kg (ish) and it was miserable.

94kg is easy, on the other hand, with a training weight of 97-98kg. I can train much harder and get much better result, whilst competition weights are not too different, anyway. Which means that is broadly my category of choice. 105s next. ;)
 
mrthingyx said:
If you are cutting to get into the 66kg category, and it is impacting your training, then you have to take a view for significant that impact is... Personally, my training suffers (and it normally does when hitting less than 3000cals/day), meaning the 85kg weight class is simply a step too far for me. I hut 90kg (ish) and it was miserable.

94kg is easy, on the other hand, with a training weight of 97-98kg. I can train much harder and get much better result, whilst competition weights are not too different, anyway. Which means that is broadly my category of choice. 105s next. ;)
Click to expand...

So far, I haven't seen too much of a negative impact. The over extension with the hips on a squat has always been a fault that I've tried to fix (slowly getting there!). Hopefully some technique work over the next 3-4 weeks will sort that out.
I've always been terrible at the bench but it is slowly coming along.
Deadlifts are becoming much quicker than before but I'm starting to need to use a belt as the bodyweight is coming down but the lifts are still going up.

The competition is on 22nd November. I then have a mock competition at the end of January, followed by a push-pull in March. Assuming that I don't have to be too strict for the January competition, I feel it's a good chance to slowly get to 74kg. I only decided to cut for 66 since I was 71kg a few weeks ago when I found out about the competition and would have been absolutely humiliated in the 74kg class.

I think the main shock to the system was initially cutting on ~2.1k-2.2k cals was ok but now down to 1.9k to ensure I hit the weight category has been a bit harder to cope with. This being said however, my form, technique, and weights being lifted are better than what they were at ~72kg/73kg bodyweight in July.
 
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25/10/14 - Deadlift Saturday - Saturday

Knackered.

Dynamic-Effort Deadlifts

Bar x some paused stuff
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
90kg x 8x3

Not bad at all. Trying to keep time in between reis minimal, as well as trying to explode off the floor.

Snatch-Grip deadlifts

60kg x some
62.5kg x 6
77.5kg x 6
90kg x 6

Bar kept slipping from hip crease to upper thigh on the 90kg set, not sure if it counts as snatch grip but it was hell all the same.

BOR (Pendlay)

30kg x 5
37.5kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 3 - Not as explosive as warm up sets but decent
45kg x 3x8 speedy with good form.

Absolutely knackering.

Chin-Ups

BW x 8
BW x 7
BW x 4

Back is just fatiguing now but really happy with the first two sets.

Rather happy with this. I focused a lot on locking back the shoulders and really engaging the lats when deadlifting. Still not as explosive as I would like but I'm hoping that will improve over time.
Snatch-grip stuff is always fun until the bar slides from the hip crease, then it just hurts. Still felt awesome though.
 
27/10/14 - Madcow - Monday

Things are going in the right direction!

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
95kg x 2
107.5kg x 3x5 - Tiring but decent
115kg(B) x 1 - PB!!!

Really happy with that. I think Ii'll go for 110kg x 3x5 this friday and then swap from 3x3.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
62.5kg x 3x5
62.5kg x 4 - Not sure what happened.

Going to drop this to 3x3 as well just to keep the weight going up for the next 3 weeks.

BOR(Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
55kg x 5 - Boom!

Nice and easy. 57.5kg on Friday!

And that's the end of that. Overall rather pleased, annoyed about the bench, not too are what happened as all the reps felt really strong.
Going to start tapering off volume from next week so I can 'peak' on 22nd November. It shall be a good day!
 
29/10/14 - Wednesday - Madcow


Hips were tight so I was coming quite far forward in the bottom of the hole when lowbarring but at least it was a light day and my monday and friday sessions are typically a lot better.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 2x5

Easy enough and hips opened up a lot more during the working sets.

Bench (Paused 2-3count)

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 4
55kg x 3x6 (Paused)

Did not feel stable pulling the bar down into me. Time to work on more mobility and setup work.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 1
130kg(B) x 1
140kg(B) x 1 - BOOOOM!

Really happy with that. Didn't fly off the floor but went up with relative ease. Form was pretty solid and felt a lot better than the 130kg's last week!

Last single session before the end of November so I am very pleased I pulled my goal for the competition without too much struggle. Nice little confidence boost for the comp since 140kg may be my second attempt rather than my third.
Next 2 weeks will consist of 132.5kg x 3 and 135kg x 3. I'll back off on week 3 and maybe go for speed pulls.
 
31/10/14 - Madcow - Friday

Squats good, bench bad.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
110kg(B) x 3x5

Working sets felt brilliant.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
60kg x 3
72.5kg x 2+1 - seemed to be a lot of shakiness, but went up and easy enough.
77.5kg x f - No idea what happened, bar came high on chest and elbows cried.
50kg x 8 - Tried a wide grip. Felt odd.

Well there's clearly something wrong somewhere. Main thing seems to be stabilisation and grip. All grip widths feel odd. Close(ish) grip feels decent for a more touch-n-go style. Wide grip felt ok but I'm not used to it so it didn't feel as powerful as it should have been.

OHP

Bar x lots
27.5kg x 3
35kg x 3
42.5kg x 3 - Yays
32.5kg x 3x8

Knackered.

Dips

BW x 7
BW x 5
BW x 3

Not fussed about reps, just focusing on keeping shoulders pinned back.

BroCurlz

Ez + 15kg x 12
Ez + 15kg x 8+3+1
Ez + 15kg x 7+3+2

Tricep Extensions
~35kg x 3x12

Felt this more in my lats rather than triceps...

Happy with the squats but disappointed with the bench.
I'm aware it could be the cut but it seems more like a technique issue. I'll start by finding the better grip for me. I might try wide grip on a session each week to see if I can get used to it. It might have felt odd simply because I haven't tried to do it properly before. I'm also going to focus on wrist rotation and try not to let the wrists come back when the bar descends.
 
1/11/14 - Deadlift Saturday - Saturday

Deadlifts with benching instead of rows. Elbows feel terribad.

Dynamic-Effort Deadlifts

Bar x some
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
97.5kg x 6x2

Started off slow but got better as the sets went on.

Snatch-Grip Deadlifts

60kg x some
77kg x 4
90kg x 4
105kg x f - Couldn't get lockout
100kg x 3 - Much better

I may have over estimated percentages for this. Or it could be I was out last night, had little sleep, little food and dehydrated like a mofo.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
57kg x 8x4

Just focusing on technique. Used a slight narrower grip than what I'm used to and did not feel as strong off the chest from a full pause but was really simple to reverse. It didn't feel stable or strong but apparently it looked just fine.

Lefts things there as I didn't want to kill my elbows so I left rows and chins and called it a day.
 
3/11/14 - Madcow - Monday

Another good session. Squats are coming along nicely and the new bench setup (pinching the shoulders as hard possible) is working nicely. Still need to sort grip and keeping tight throughout the entire movement.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
112.5kg(B) x 3x3

Really happy with that. Threw ina few more stretches which seemed to work an utter treat as it made keeping the torso upright so much easier. The warmup sets are becoming really quick' and the working sets are at a decent speed too.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 1
65kg x 3x3

A lot less shaky than before and shoulders feel so much better. A definite improvement but will take a few more sessions to get used to.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 3 - awesomes
50kg x 8

Happy with that, lots of power.

Decent session. Squats are good, bench needs a lot of work. I'll be bench 4x for the next two weeks to groove form as much as possible
 
I thought you were a low bar squatter?

If so, what are you trying to keep an upright torso for (not saying additional mobility is bad, but this doesn't necessarily sound like a low bar movement...)?
 
mrthingyx said:
I thought you were a low bar squatter?

If so, what are you trying to keep an upright torso for (not saying additional mobility is bad, but this doesn't necessarily sound like a low bar movement...)?
Click to expand...

I do indeed train low-bar but when I say upright torso, it's not in the sense of a high-bar squat, it's just I was coming too far forward. I wasn'tquite folding but there wasn't enough of me under the bar when in the hole, which was making it an unnecessary struggle when coming back up. It's seemed to have improved my squat a fair bit as the higher weights are seeming easier than before.
 
5/11/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Not happy with that, confidence knocked a little.

Squats
Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
85kg x 2x5 (paused 2 count)

Decent, helps a lot with keeping braced.

Bench
Bar x lots
30kg x 5
49kg x 3
50kg x 3
60kg x 3x6 (paused 3 count)

Miles better than the other week. Really focusing on keeping shoulders pinned back and not letting the wrists bend back on the decent.

Deadlift
Bar x lots
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 1
132.5kg x f
132.5kg x f
130kg x f
120kg x 1
130kg x 1
132.5kg x 1
132.5kg x f

Well... That was incredibly disappointing. Maybe took too long in between sets and the gym being so cold that I could see my own breath didn't help anything. The failures however were within quick succession of each pull so even though I failed 3 in a row, I could have probably pulled it if I had waited properly. Annoyed but not too jipped since it did go up, and 132.5kg was better than 130kg. I'll pull 130kg next week for 1 and a back off of 125x5.

Squas and bench was decent but deadlifts disappointed me since I pulled 130kg and 140kg just last week.
 
Deadlifting at a maximal level puts an enormous strain on your CNS, which itself needs to recover. Ideally, between high output lifts and regular training you should leave a gap of at least a few days of very little.

Max attempts at squats/deads can become more "normal" but that kind of adaptation takes a LONG time.

So next time you head for a max, taper off your volume in the week preceding, and then taper it back up in the week to ten days after. As your adaptation to lifting increases, you can test 1RM lifts more often with less fallout, but this tikes time, and is subject to your own personal physiology.
 
mrthingyx said:
Deadlifting at a maximal level puts an enormous strain on your CNS, which itself needs to recover. Ideally, between high output lifts and regular training you should leave a gap of at least a few days of very little.

Max attempts at squats/deads can become more "normal" but that kind of adaptation takes a LONG time.

So next time you head for a max, taper off your volume in the week preceding, and then taper it back up in the week to ten days after. As your adaptation to lifting increases, you can test 1RM lifts more often with less fallout, but this tikes time, and is subject to your own personal physiology.
Click to expand...

Well that makes me feel a little better about not getting the lift first try. It was just annoying as I've pulled it for 5 before and should be pulling it rather simply by now. My deadlift progress has slowed down recently. My speed has improved a lot but my strength of the initial pull hasn't improved as much. I guess I just need to stay cool and not fret about it before the competition. I'll look into mixing up the deadlifts a little bit then as I don't want my training to go to waste.
 
Don't sweat it, buddy. :) A lot of people get their heads wrapped round puling heavy stuff every week which - depending on your experience and adaptation - will just ruin everything.

Essentially, your CNS decides it's far too much like hard work. This is why people who try and run two/three progressive (volume -> taper) routines (i.e. Coan w/ Smolov w/ Smolov Jnr.) never finish because the volume builds at the same time which will exhaust the individual, but then the tapering starts and the CNS gets butchered X number of sessions a week and simply cannot cope.

The Bulgarian Weightlifting system is built around daily maximum efforts, yes, but the lifts are quite different (first off) and secondly, the lifters that made the cut were the ones that could cope with the training rigors - this only became apparently after a few months of training. In other words: it's very hard to lift heavy all the time, for a professional athlete who is probably on assistance of some sort... so don't worry if you can't do it. :)

Regarding getting the bar off the floor, I'm not a deadlifter, but have you tried paused work before?
 
mrthingyx said:
Don't sweat it, buddy. :) A lot of people get their heads wrapped round puling heavy stuff every week which - depending on your experience and adaptation - will just ruin everything.

Essentially, your CNS decides it's far too much like hard work. This is why people who try and run two/three progressive (volume -> taper) routines (i.e. Coan w/ Smolov w/ Smolov Jnr.) never finish because the volume builds at the same time which will exhaust the individual, but then the tapering starts and the CNS gets butchered X number of sessions a week and simply cannot cope.

The Bulgarian Weightlifting system is built around daily maximum efforts, yes, but the lifts are quite different (first off) and secondly, the lifters that made the cut were the ones that could cope with the training rigors - this only became apparently after a few months of training. In other words: it's very hard to lift heavy all the time, for a professional athlete who is probably on assistance of some sort... so don't worry if you can't do it. :)

Regarding getting the bar off the floor, I'm not a deadlifter, but have you tried paused work before?
Click to expand...

Looks like a bit of a deload is needed then, and not just for the deadlift but also for the bench. I'll give the paused work a look rather than just the dynamic pulling and really focus on the hip drive.
 
7/11/14 - Madcow - Friday

Not too much time so just Squats and Bench.

Squats

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
107.5kg x 1
115kg x 3x3

Felt decent.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x some
55kg x 3 (Should have been 52.5kg)
65kg x 3
75kg x f
75kg x f
55kg x 8

Elbows started complaining as soon as the bar met the chest, cleared it a few inches but that was it.

Going to take the benching light but with some volume for the next 2 weeks and just keep things healthy.
Squats were decent, so 120kg should be in the bag providing everything keeps going this way. Benching is a bit over the place since now that I'm using better technique, the duration of not such good form has caught up with me. Sigh.
 
8/11/14 -Off day- Deadlift Saturday

Well my upper back seems to be rather week. Snatch-grip deadlifts are becoming hell to lockout.

Dynamic-effort deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
105kg x 5x2

Not super explosive but it was decent form work if nothing else.

Paused deadlifts
60kg x 6x3

Nice but maybe a smidge too light. Pull to mid shin (some were below knee) and then explode through.

Snatch-Grip deadlifts

85kg x 3
97kg x 3
112kg x 3

Last set were hell. Really struggling the lockout (just made it though!). Fortunately it's the end of the cycle so next week will be light. I'm tempted to maybe try these off blocks at some point purely for upper back and lockout development.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 10x3

Decent up until set 9-10 when my elbows ached a little but nothing like last night or the previous friday. All in all, rather pleased.

Rather happy with today's session. 112.5kg for dynamic deadlifts next week. I'll try 80kg for paused. Snatch grip stuff will be lighter to ensure proper lockout.
 
11/11/14 - Madcow - Monday (Tuesday)

Only enough for squats and bench, had to miss the rows again :(

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 2
110kg x 1 - without belt
117.5kg(B) x 2x3

Going for a 3rd set felt like it would have been suicide. I probably could have made the last set but fatigue was kicking in and I wanted enough time to bench too.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 3
45kg x 3
52.5kg x 6x6

My upper back feels rather taxed, never had this before, I hope this is how it should be.

Rather happy with that session. I know I'm getting close to my end of multiple sets for multiple reps with the squats so I'll go for 2x2 on Friday just to play it safe.
I slowed down the bench on the decent to focus on proper contraction and it worked nicely. Back feels more used than it has before since I've started to pull my shoulder blades together and then squish them on the bench.
 
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12/11/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Not bad, not bad at all. Dropped squats since I squared yesterday which left bench and deadlift.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
57kg x 7x5

I was hesitant before I started but absolutely annihilated them. Form is improving massively and starting to feel a lot more stable on the bench. Looked tight, felt tight, easy.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5 (Paused)
80kg x 3 (Paused)
100kg x 2
110kg x 1
125kg x 5

Went up with solid form, not as easy as I remember though. However, I am a lot lighter than when I pulled this last.

Rather happy with that.
Bench was brilliant so I'm rather looking forward to friday.
Deadlifts were decent, speed is improving slightly which is always a good sign. Thought I'd throw in some paused reps just for warmups to get everything firing. Hopefully the 130kg will fly off the floor in a few weeks time. Next week I think I'll I may just try 127kg x 5 and then go really light on the week of the competition. Not entirely sure the best way to taper. I just hope I still have 140kg in me.
 
15/11/14 - Saturday

Hip's still jaffed. Benching, rows and chins.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
60kg x 8x4

Easy, very easy.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots

40kg x 5
50kg x 3
57.5kg x 5 -meh
45kg x 3x8 - über easy


Torso was coming up as I couldn't stabilise properly due to hip not working. The warmup sets and back off sets were fine. Didn't do the hip much good though.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 5
BW x 5

Not fussed, just wanted to do more pulling since the bench volume is rather high atm.

Not a bad session but annoyed the hip isn't working. Really wanted to work on deadlifts but that may be delayed until next weekend to just allow the hip to get better asap.
 
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