The Syla5 Files

mrthingyx said:
Snatch grip front squats? Well that WOULD be interesting... :)

You still using plates under your heels? I can see bum-tuckage there... I apprecaite you're going for improving your mobility, but no point hammering your lower back if you don't have to. :)
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I am not sure what the correct grip name is, thought it was snatch, obviously not, at least it gives the oly lifts some chuckles :p

As for the plates, no I only tried them the once, the whole point of the front squats is the mobility, and so I am keeping the weights lower to really help me improve there, and not risk the back, and believe me I am paying very close attention to how that feels as I don't want to reboot this strength cycle again!

Captain Planet said:
Another HST question mate: on your two weeks recovery, how was your diet?
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If you mean the end of cycle Deload I never did 2 weeks, I used to do 2 weeks 15's 2 weeks 10's 3 weeks 5's and then a 1 week Deload where I would still train but not more then 60%, and I would do mobility work and stretching etc. Diet was the same throughout, it was a bodybuilder style eating 6-7 times a day diet and so was just habit not to adjust.

The other option was 2 weeks of 5's 1 week Deload and 1 week retesting cycle maxes for the next cycle :)
 
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last day of 4's at this point in cycle 1 i had to call it a day cause of back gate. This time around, no problems, feeling good :)

Deadlift, i brought my belt out with the intention of trying it out again as i havent used it in 5 weeks. Well, all it did was give me moral support from the sidelines, and just encouraged me to keep tight :D

Bar x20
RDL Bar x 10
40x10
70x5
100x5
120x3
130x4/4/4/4
150x2 First time anything over 140 beltless, pleased with this. Also first time over 140 since before christmas.
4th set of 130
and the 150's
Also head position is much better/closer to neutral through all my sets today :D

Dips
20x10
30x8
40x5
20x5

Standing Cable Rows (reps and weight per arm)
27x10
32x10/10

Goblet squats with pulse
12x10/10/10

DB Shoulder Press/Front BB Raise super set
18x10/10/10
10x10/10/5

Landmines
15x20
 
Cheers guys, yeah something to work on, 150 today was never the plan but my back was holding up really well so i wanted to see how i was beltless, and i was pleased that it wasnt that bad as it shows progress in my core strength.

Mrthingyx - noted and also spotted myself, need to engage glute bar humping, hip drive mode more. I think i was quite pre-occupied today with remaining tight. All in, some things to work on by happy progress is going to be made.

Working set triples next week. Might reintroduce my belt and see how things are, my plan was 135's but i may adjust that if things look good on speed/tightness/hipdrive front.
 
Nice work bud!

The problem with aiming for bar hump is that unless you're 100% flat backed it can actually mess up your lift. Keeping control of your hips as you come up is always good, but trying to cultivate the hump can make you do strange things with your back and knees.

There is a different between there being no bar hump because of a lazy lockout, and it not being there because of your positions.

I don't know if I've explained that in a coherent fashion :D
 
Cheers ice, that does make sense. I will keep focusing on it on my warmups and be controlled but powerful on my heavier lifts, and make sure I avoid the dodgy knee snap back that mrthingyx pointed out.
 
Week 4 and on to triples. Silly me no soft tissue work or mobility work since thursday and feeling tight, 1 hour after the session and i am feeling all kinds of wrong, gonna fix this with lots soft tissue work and mobility work at home.

Squats
Bar x 15
60x5
80x5
100x3(b) reintroduced my belt today, things felt really good
110x2(b)
120x3(b) first working set, felt super tight, quick, and easy.
125x3(b) felt great, was going to push it to 130 but decided to do the next 2 working sets without my belt instead.
125x3/3 a little slower, but tight, and good :)
125kg belted set
last working set 125kg unbelted

Inclined DB Bench SS with Flat DB Bench
22x10+10/10+10/10 didnt do the flat on the last set

Pull ups
15x6/6/5+ 10x1

RDL
Bar x5
70x10/10/10

DB Row Light (reps per arm)
20x10/10/10

CBL Update:
Weight pre pre 11st 11.5lb
First back load after prep week 06/01/13 weight 11st 4.5lb
Backloading a minimum of 3 times per week, often 4
Weight 24/02/13 (end of 7 weeks back loading) 11st 8.5lb
Having not used my weight lifting belt for the last 5-6 weeks I used it again for the first time today, and i have come in a notch. Trying to use this hole before was uncomfortable and over tight. This morning it was spot on.
Overall perception is, weight has gone up, strength is feeling very good, waist has dropped at least 1" and I am looking leaner in the mirror then post christmas. All in all i am pleased with how this diet is working out for me.
 
Squats look solid, will be good to see were you get to with triples.

CBL looks like it's doing the job. Got some pics for progress you can eventually post?
 
gonna give it another 4 weeks and take progress pics at the 12 week point, i have some from the start of the diet, so gonna get some more soon and do some side by sides :)

My targets for triples were 135, but that might be pushed a little higher, as today felt solid. If this tightness goes before next week then its on. Otherwise i will deload next week and then do it the week after :D
 
One of the biggest changes I noticed at the start of my CBLing was that my visceral fat seemed to evaporate. Waist got much smaller very quickly. A friend of mine recently got his bodyfat analysed in a scanner-thing (can't remember the name, but the most accurate one I think), and it found that he had something silly like 3g of visceral fat. It also found that his left arm was fatter than his right :confused: lol

Squats looking great, although the beltless set was predictably messier in places.
 
I must say, visually the difference isnt massive, but clothes wise there is a big difference around the waist.

Haha fatter left arm then right, does that mean you can call him fatty when you approach on the left side?!

Cheers, yeap the beltless were definatly not as tight, also more fatigued, but much improved even compared to my belted squats 5 weeks ago which i am pleased with. I am going to be doing more beltless work, as i think it is definitely helping bring my core up to speed.
I think another posative change to my squats has been my grip width, i am using a narrower grip to help me better activate my back and keep it all tight, it feels much better.
 
that feel when bench press just doesnt go to plan :(

Bench
Bar x 25
40x10 60x5 80x3
85x4/4/3+1
Drop sets, rest time was time taken to take weight off bar only
75x5 65x5 60x7

DB Rows
20x5
36x8/8/8

OHP
Bar x5
40x3
55x3
60x3
55x3/3
60kg set
55kg final set
overall not bad considering my rep max is 67.5kg on these

DBSS (weight per DB, reps per leg), back feeling tight again so skipped front squats and upped the weight on these to compenstate.
10x5
18x10/10/10

Face pulls ss with planks
36x10/10/10
30sec x1/1

Pallof Press
18x10

Back is tight this week after no foam rolling or stretching/mobility work from thursday-monday night, really stupid to slack on that, might mean deadlifts are left light on friday and deload is done next week instead of heavy triples. If i deload next week i may do the heavy triples the week after my deload.
 
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nah the bench was fine, I was supposed to be doing 87.5x3/3/3/3 today, but the warm up 80x3 felt stupidly heavy so i thought i would stick with 85x4/4/4/4 and improve on last week. Well that sucked as well, I think i need to check out my form as this could be a problem as i seem to be hitting a sticking point with bench and just not moving past it, where everything else is improving.
 
Ah okay, I have to wrap bands round the thing every session now, it's like an ice rink for me, need to take several tshirts and find out which is best :p :o

Try get some videos then of your bench, front and side. Granted your form is no doubt miles better than mine was, but since I was able to actually see what I was doing from both angles it's helped a lot. If I trained on Wednesdays I'd offer to help more.

could just be something as simple as hand positioning or elbows :)
 
i dont use the dedicated bench because it has the gap between the headrest and the back support, right where your shoulders need to go. I use the a bench in the squat rack as those benches dont have a gap in them. No slipping issues here i pin my shoulders back in to the bench. If you have slipping issues wear a proper vest, not a t-shirt with cut off sleeves.
 
Well first night of OAKG and although i slept for the same amount of time, i feel much more refreshed then normal. My lower back feels better today then yesterday, but its hard to know if this is a bigger change then normal. Interestingly though, since the cold/warm/cold weather spell we have had i have been suffering from really dry cracked skin on my hands, massive improvement in their condition over night. All in after my first night i would say OAKG was a success. A few more days continuous use to see make sure this wasnt just a one off and i will report back again.
 
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