Dream's...something or other log

It probably felt like a good morning... because it's a low bar squat. ;) :D

Realistically,belting up won't help you here (it might, from a psychological perspective) as you'll just have extra bracing in the belted position. You need to make sure your posterior chain is working to keep you in the right position (i.e. glutes, hamstrings) as well as quads to synergise...

Yeah.

I wrote synergise.

In a lifting forum.

You like that?

I bet you do. :D

In addition, you should NOT be using a belt to account for failure like this, particularly if you have pre-existing back problems (it will mask the problem and - potentially - build you up for a catastrophic break of form, rather than just a little "ouchy").
 
mrthingyx said:
It probably felt like a good morning... because it's a low bar squat. ;) :D

Realistically,belting up won't help you here (it might, from a psychological perspective) as you'll just have extra bracing in the belted position. You need to make sure your posterior chain is working to keep you in the right position (i.e. glutes, hamstrings) as well as quads to synergise...

Yeah.

I wrote synergise.

In a lifting forum.

You like that?

I bet you do. :D

In addition, you should NOT be using a belt to account for failure like this, particularly if you have pre-existing back problems (it will mask the problem and - potentially - build you up for a catastrophic break of form, rather than just a little "ouchy").
Click to expand...

Oooh synergise, you know I like that ;)

The only reasons for me saying to use a belt is because I've done this weight before with a belt and it was fine. And I had done 107.5kg x 3 on Friday and that was pretty solid too.

The eccentric part of the squat was strong and with good form, chest up, weight on heels, sitting back nicely and so on. It was only after raising up a bit that the form slipped. Any thoughts on the what could be causing the issue?
 
Dreamforger said:
Oooh synergise, you know I like that ;)

The only reasons for me saying to use a belt is because I've done this weight before with a belt and it was fine. And I had done 107.5kg x 3 on Friday and that was pretty solid too.

The eccentric part of the squat was strong and with good form, chest up, weight on heels, sitting back nicely and so on. It was only after raising up a bit that the form slipped. Any thoughts on the what could be causing the issue?
Click to expand...

You may have let your back soften a little, but I suspect it's more of a pattern issue at heavy weight: I notice it particularly when I forget to stabilise my hips properly.

The issue with a belt is you should NOT use it to correct an issue, but to improve an existing good movement. By the sound of it, your movement isn't quite right at these weights, so using a belt would just trap you in a world where you're reliant on a crutch rather than fixing the issue.
 
mrthingyx said:
You may have let your back soften a little, but I suspect it's more of a pattern issue at heavy weight: I notice it particularly when I forget to stabilise my hips properly.

The issue with a belt is you should NOT use it to correct an issue, but to improve an existing good movement. By the sound of it, your movement isn't quite right at these weights, so using a belt would just trap you in a world where you're reliant on a crutch rather than fixing the issue.
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How do you mean to let the back soften a little?
I'm going to work on stretching out and mobility as I feel that could have been an issue yesterday, the only chance I had was immediately before training since the last session.
From a little bit of reading many articles/forums seem to point the issue to an strength imbalance from the quads. If this is true would you suggest trying high-bar squatting or even front squatting on my Wednesday sessions when my squats are 'deloading'?
 
Dreamforger said:
How do you mean to let the back soften a little?
I'm going to work on stretching out and mobility as I feel that could have been an issue yesterday, the only chance I had was immediately before training since the last session.
From a little bit of reading many articles/forums seem to point the issue to an strength imbalance from the quads. If this is true would you suggest trying high-bar squatting or even front squatting on my Wednesday sessions when my squats are 'deloading'?
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The 'tip' forward happens because the push comes from the quads without the drive from the hamstrings/glutes. So the knees come back without any support from the posterior chain. This is effectively a leg extension (quad isolation exercise).

If you're saying the eccentric part was fine, then it's probably just the glutes shutting off at the bottom for some reason (I do it occasionally - no idea why my brain suddenly decides to forget what it's doing... probably lack of oxygen. Yeah. That must be it... :D ).

The easiest cue for this is probably something like "drive heels into the ground" or "spread the floor with your feet" which you know, I'm sure.

So the best thing I can say is sit back, chill out, rest up and get it right next time. It's probably just fatigue at the end of the day, so... :)
 
16/07/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

I worked out why my squats were bad yesterday...the universe allowed me to progress on OHP amd DL today instead.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5
32.5kg x 5
40kg x 5
47.5kg x 5 - Boooooooom

So much better than I thought it would be and I even potentially had another in me.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
85kg x 5
105kg x 5 - All feeling heavier than usual and slower too.
122.5kg x 5

Glutes are really starting to get involved as the weight is getting heavier. I'd love to get to at least 130kg x 5 before having to deload.

Chin-Ups

BW + 5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 7
BW + 5kg x 3

The was a bit rushed in terms of rest times but I was still pleased with the overall outcome.

OHP felt decent so I'll keep up with the mobility work and hopefully 50kg should go well.
Deadlifts were decent but they are getting tougher so I'll have to wait and see later down the line how it all goes.
Rather happy with this.
 
18/07/14 - Madcow - Friday

So much better than I expected and big improvements form Monday. Retook Squat and Bench weight, progressed on BOR.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5
107.5kg x 3 - Fast and strong
80kg x 8

Bench

Bar x lots
35kg x 5
42.5kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5
72.5kg x 3 - So much better
52.5kg x 8 - Strong and speedy

Shoulder treatment and mobility really paid off. Time to maintain it and keep the refined form.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 3 - Lovely
45kg x 8

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 15kg x 5

Shoulders feel better going for ramped sets.

Bro Curlz

EZ + 17.5kg x 8
EZ + 17.5kg x 8
EZ + 17.5kg x 6+1+1

Got to love fatigue kicking in with max 60 sec rests.

Tricep Pushdowns

21.25kg x 8
21.25kg x 8
21.25kg x 8

Easy enough.

New mobility stuff and stretches seem to be really paying off.
Squats felt so much better than last time. The monday session may still be a challenge but hopefully not.
Bench press felt a lot better too, so it may have been a mobility issue last time.
BOR, still going up nice and easy.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Nice work getting through that mini plateau :) What mobility drills are you doing? Might have to steal them!
Click to expand...

I've started to implement PNF/MET type stretching in with the existing stretches and combining that with mobility movements. As for the movements themselves I'd have to to hunt around for names and videos but I'm going to guess you'll be able to find them on MobilityWOD. I'll see what I can find and get back to you.
 
19/07/14 - Off-Day - Saturday

End of the first dynamic cycle. Hopefully I'll get another 3 cycles out whilst running Madcow.

Dynamic Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 5
95kg x 5x2

These are getting a lot quicker.

SDL

65kg x 5
75kg x 5
85kg x 5

Surprising what 5kg's make...

Kroc Rows

16kg x 25/25
16kg x 25/25
16kg x 25/25

Entirely unbroken sets so I'll up the weight.

Pull-Ups

BW x 4
BW x 6
BW x 4

Still rubbish at these but I think shoulder mobility is more of an issue here. More tlc and we shall see.

Happy with that. The next cycle should be quite fun starting with 87.5kg x 8x3.
 
21/07/14 - Madcow - Monday

Yay for squats. Boo for bench.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
92.5kg x 5
107.5kg x 5 -So much better!

Nailed it! Extra/better stretching and mobility, holding in the core properly and keeping the chest up did the trick.

Bench

Bar x lots
35kg x 5
42.5kg x5
52.5kg x 5
62.5kg x 5
72.5kg x 4+1
60kg x 3x3 (Paused)

Well that was disappointing. Strong, but not as strong as Friday but still failed. I've read that extra frequency is needed for benching so I'll be changing the program up slightly.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 5

Not as fast as usual but still easy.

Dips

BW + 5kg x 8
BW + 10kg x 8
BW + 15kg x 4

Not sure what happened there but I was focusing on not letting the shoulder roll forward, if it means fewer reps for better shoulder health then so be it.

Back Extensions

BW + 10kg x 12
BW + 10kg x 12

Nice.

I'm really pleased with the squats and 110kg x 3 should be in the bag.
I'm looking into increasing the benching frequency and the rep scheme too. I'm thinking of benching on Wednesday's too and dropping OHP or making it an accessory move.
If I increase bench frequency I'll drop the weighted dips on Monday's to save the shoulders.
 
23/07/14 - Madcow - Wednesday

Fixing tight pecs has seemed to have fixed tight shoulders. So to be on the safe side I didn't OHP tioday and only did bw chins.

Squats (Paused - 2-3 count)

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 2x5

Still nice and easy. Load posterior chain properly, glutes and hammies firing.

Deadlifts

60kg x 5
85kg x 5
110kg x 5
125kg x 5

Just not feeling it. I couldn't keep the bar into me properly, it fell away from me on a rep or two. My left hand grip lop-sided on 125kg and forced me to reset. Lats didn't seem to me kicking in properly and it was just a bit sluggish off the floor. Saying that form was solid except on the forth rep when there was a bit of rounding.

Chin-ups

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Easy.

It was nice doing paused squats for a change. I thought it would be worth while focusing on firing out of the hole.
Deads were ok, sluggish, and one iffy (but not bad) rep, but ok. Tightness, lack of food and a sore shoulder from a lot of stretching, mobility and tlc did not help anything either.
Quads, glutes, hammies and hips are dead.
 
25/07/14 - Madcow - Friday

And that's my shoulder healing nicely and my bench technique is fixed. Happy days.

Squats

Bar x lots
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
95kg x 5
110kg x 3 - Boom PB!
80kg x 8

Lovely jubbly. A lot nice than I was expecting.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
60kg x 3
45kg x 8

Adjusted wrist rotation, elbow positioning (was too tucked in) and how I brought the bar into me. Was absolutely fine.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x lots
30kg x 5
37.5kg x 5
45kg x 5
52.5kg x 5
62.5kg x 3 - Not bad, not great
45kg x 8

May be getting a smidge heavy. I couldn't row entirely with the lats and the elbows flared on top of the rep.

Bro Curlz

17.5kg x 8
17.5kg x 8
17.5kg x 8


Tricep Pushdowns

23.75kg x 8
23.7kg x 8
23.5kg x 8

Squats were decent. I am however going to try them without my high-heels on to see if I can load the posterior chain better.
Deloading on the bench seemed sensible and it allowed me to fix the issues. I'll be changing up the routine/frequency next week to allow for more benching and to constantly be improving the technique since I've removed the issues that were giving me shoulder problems.
I'll probably retake 60kg on Monday and then progress again to retake the weight. If it still seems off then I'll reload back to ~52.5kg and work back up.
 
For those who are interested, I shall be modifying my current routine to incorporate a higher frequency of benching.

My current routine is as follows:

Monday

Squats 1x5
Bench 1x5
BOR (Pendlay) 1x5

Weighted Dips
Back Extensions


Wednesday

Squats 2x5 - light
OHP 1x5
Deadlifts 1x5

Weighted Chin-ups


Friday (New PR day)

Squats 1x3
Bench 1x3
Rows 1x3

Weighted Dips
Bro Curlz
Tricep Pushdowns


Saturday

Dynamic Deadlifts
SDL
Kroc Rows
Pull-Ups

In order to do so an extra bench press session shall be added to my current Wednesday sessions and the OHP shall be moved to Friday. The current BOR on Friday shall be removed entirely and the progression for BOR shall alternate in the existing Monday sessions of 1x3 and 1x5. OHP shall follow the same format on Friday with some additional volume.

The new routine will look like this:

Monday

Squats 1x5 - Heavy
Bench 5x5 - Volume
BOR (Pendlay) 1x3/5

Back Extensions
Core Work


Wednesday

Squats (Paused) 2x5 - light
Bench (Paused) 2x3-6
Deadlifts 1x5

Core work


Friday (New PR day)

Squats 1x3 - PR
Bench 1x3 - PR
OHP 1x3/5

Weighted Dips
Bro Curlz
Tricep Pushdowns


Saturday

Dynamic Deadlifts 8x3/6x2/5x2
SDL
Kroc Rows
Chin-ups

In order to incorporate the increased volume of benching and save the shoulders, weighted dips on Monday have been completely removed and the chin-ups on Wednesday have been moved to Saturday and have replaced pull-ups.
The OHP replaced the BOR on Friday due to doing Kroc Rows on Saturday. Rowing 3x a week isn't necessary and I figured I'd see a better benefit with a break in-between rowing sessions rather than doing them back-to-back.

The benching progression will follow similar to the Texas method of having a volume day on Monday, a back-off and increased frequency on Wednesday and focus on intensity on Friday. The Monday weight will work at 90% of my current 5rm, starting at a reload weight of 55kg 5x5 (60kg being 5rm) and shall increase by 2.5kg per week. The wednesday session shall use a % or a warm-up set from Monday as the working weight. On friday I shall try a new 3rm pr and will add 2.5kg each time in the same manner to Madcow/Texas method progression.

OHP and BOR shall now have alternating rep schemes of trying 1x3 and then repeating the weight the following week with 1x5. Extra volume shall be added to the OHP.

Squats and deadlifts will use the existing progression method stated in Madcow.

Any/all comments and suggestions are welcome. I am aware that the program is far from perfect but I thought it would be better to modify the current routine where necessary whilst still trying to keep the fundamentals of it.
 
Last edited:
I'm far from an expert on routines but benching twice a week pushed my laughable bench into just "fairly poor" - happy days! Also, lots of compound lifts is never going do anything but make you stronger :D
 
Looks fine... just remember to keep a mind on what it is doing for you and the gains you are getting.

GSRV makes a good point: more compound lifts are only a good thing. :)
 
GSVBagpuss said:
I'm far from an expert on routines but benching twice a week pushed my laughable bench into just "fairly poor" - happy days! Also, lots of compound lifts is never going do anything but make you stronger :D
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mrthingyx said:
Looks fine... just remember to keep a mind on what it is doing for you and the gains you are getting.

GSRV makes a good point: more compound lifts are only a good thing. :)
Click to expand...

Cheers for the responses. I wanted to start to tailor the program to focus on Powerlifting rather than generic strength training so I figured having strong emphasis on the main lifts was necessary. I can't imagine that I'd lose any 'gainz' from what I have switched around and hopefully just see improvements to my weaknesses as I'll still be doing OHP once and Rowing twice as prescribed in the original program.
 
26/07/14 - Off-Day - Saturday

Everything quick. Everything speedy.

Dynamic Deadlifts

60kg x 5
75kg x 5
87.5kg x 8x3

First set or two weren't super explosive but the rest were.

SDL

52.5kg x 10
62.5kg x 10
72.5kg x 10

I'm far too used to lower rep ranges.

Kroc Rows

18kg x 25/25
18kg x 25/25
18kg x 25/25

I'll do the weight again to makes sure I'm using the back properly throughout the entire set. The last few reps aren't perfect but aren't bad either.

Chin-ups

BW x 5
BW x 4
BW x 3

Bicep pump and fatigue ruined these.

Rather pelased with my dynamic session as I'm starting to see a carry over to my 'heavier' deadlifts. Whilst the bar is moving up quicker I still need to focus on pulling the bar in nice and tight at the heavier weights.
 
Kroc rows are meant to be rubbish form: the whole point being Kroczawelski (or whatever his name is) would just walk into the gym, grab the heaviest dumbell and row it for as many reps as possible.

I am not sure it is a very effective form of rowing. :o :D
 
mrthingyx said:
Kroc rows are meant to be rubbish form: the whole point being Kroczawelski (or whatever his name is) would just walk into the gym, grab the heaviest dumbell and row it for as many reps as possible.

I am not sure it is a very effective form of rowing. :o :D
Click to expand...

I still like to keep as strict as possible if I'm honest, I just find it works better for me. I've kind of adapted the concept of the very high volume for grip strength that comes with it as well as the incline that they're performed at rather unlike standard dumbbell rows.
 
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