The Ups and Downs of high-bar squatting

03/1/14 - Saturday

Bit of a bodge session since I still haven't had time to sort out my hip mobility so squats were dropped off from the routine for the day.

Dynamic-Effort Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
87.5kg x 6x2

Really focusing on glute and hip activation.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x lots
40kg x 5
50kg x 3
55kg x 2
62.5kg x 5x5

Last rep was a little wtf. I'll put this down to being tight and a horrid diet. This will be fixed over the weekend.

OHP

Bar x lots (9?)
27.5kg x 3
32.5kg x 3
35kg x 8
27.5kg x 10

Had to 'clean' it off the floor so I wasn't as tight as I usually would be but this was easy enough.

Not a bad session, just not amazing either. I'm just looking forward to getting all the mobility back, a proper diet and being able to train properly.
 
24/1/14 - Saturday

Well I have had an atrocious few weeks with work and haven't been able to train at all, diet has been way off, so sure enough today was dire. I did however plan to use this session as a warm up for starting properly on Monday. Down to 62.3kg too :mad:

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x some
60kg x 3x5

Knees felt like they might snap. Strength was fine but things weren't working properly.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x some
40kg x some
50kg x 3x5

Started off terrible but got better.

Dynamic-Effort Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 1
85kg x 3x2

Should have been 6x2 but I was wobbling and all sorts when lowering the bar.

Sumo-Deadlift Block Pulls 4"-6"

60kg x lots
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg(B) x 1
140kg(B) x 1 - That made me feel better
150kg(B) x f

That made me feel a bit better but still really disappointed at the state I'm currently in.

Chin-ups

BW x 7
BW x 5
BW x 4

Shall be doing these after every deadlift session.

Skipped tricep pushdowns as I was in a hurry and in a bad mood, just needed to get out.

Well that was shocking. Lots of mobility and stretching should hopefully fix the squats. I'll be running 3x5 every session with SS progression method. I'll have the numbers back in no time.
Bench will be fine.
Deadlifts should be fine after the stretching and what not.
Block pulls were epic. I shall be doing these a lot more from now on to practise pulling sumo.
 
26/1/14 - Monday

Much better session with a lot less knee funk going on. Bench is feeling better. Pendlays are deloaded because I've lost silly weight recently but I'm back to having full sessions again.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 1
62.5kg x 3x5

Not bad, still trying to work out if the form is right since I'm not used to high-bar but I'm determined to get it right. I'll throw in a video of my sets for people to giggle at.

Bench ss/w 10 band pulls per set

Bar x lots
30kg x some
40kg x 5
50kg x 1
52.5kg x 5x5

Coming along nicely. Strength is coming back and the form was solid.

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x some
30kg x 4
40kg x 4
50kg x 1
40kg x 3x5

So, so.

Back Extensions

BW x 4x12

These need to be weighted, I didn't get too much of anything from doing these unweighted.

Tricep Pushdowns

23.5kg x 20
23.5kg x 10
17.5kg x 10
17.5kg x 3x20

Lawd these were hell.

Nothing impressive but I'm happy with that. Things are getting better, diet is back on track and slowly increasing the calories each week so hopefully this is the turning point.
 
28/1/15 - Wednesday

Stretching and mobility is paying off nicely. Squats were miles better.

Squats
Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 1
65kg x 3x5

No hip or knee funk so rather happy. Squats were easy but I'm going to stick to the weight progression to hammer in the high-bar form.

Bench (Paused)
Bar x lots
30kg x 5
40kg x 6
50kg x 3x6 (2-3 count)

Fairly straight forward, not much difficulty at all.

Deadlifts
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
92.5kg x 3
105kg x 6

I had one or two more in the tank on the last set but I thought I'd save it to be on the safe side.

Chin Ups

BW x 7
BW x 4
BW x 5

Yay for chins. Odd forearm fatigue going on for the first set but went away quick enough.

Didn't have time for face pulls. I was rather looking forward to them.

The simple fact the hip is better made the session feel good. A smidge disappointed that I didn't get 1 or 2 more reps on the deadlift but considering the weight I've lost and the hip going through tlc atm I'm still quite happy.
 
GSVBagpuss said:
Strong stuff! What's the idea behind paused bench btw - just a change up?
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Helps improve drive off the chest and stability. The other reasoning for me doing it though is so that I can keep benching at a manageable rate that is also beneficial to improving strength. At the moment I'm working through a deload and adding weight twice a week. Adding it three times a week would work as I can push the weight but it'd escape the deload too quickly. And one I'm out of the deload I'd end up stalling very quickly. So by doing paused work mid week instead of adding weight it makes the pace more consistent. It also provides good practise for pausing in a competition too.

Steedie said:
Really like your workouts :) lots of volume
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Oh Steedie, you flatter me ;) I find volume works for me, especially where it's tiny weight all round atm.
 
30/1/15 - Friday

I found DeFranco's Limber 11 and it is utter voodoo. My mobility is getting considerably better a lot quicker than I could have imagine within 2 days of finding it. Everything went rather well tonight.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 3
60kg x 2
67.5kg x 3x5

No hip or knee funk! Lovely form too. Slow and steady progress is the way to go atm.

Bench

Bar x lots
30kg x 8
40kg x 6
50kg x 1
55kg 5x5 ss/w 10 band pulls per set

Should have 5kg in me before needing to switch to 3x5

BOR (Pendlay)

Bar x some
30kg x 6
40kg x 3
50kg x 3 - Miles better than last time!
42.5kg x 3x5

Lovely. Back is on fire.

Back Extension

BW + 10kg Bar x 2x12

Tricep Pushdowns

23.5kg x 5x20

These seem to really be aiding my pressing movements.

Done and finished. Super happy with that. Tomorrow is going to be hell though with so much deadlifting going on.
I was talking to an Oly coach that saw me squatting and he convinced me to come along to his training sessions to learn how to Snatch and Clean & Jerk as he told me I can powerlift when I retire but make the most of my youth and ideal body type to learn how to oly lift. I figured I'd give it a go; so next Tuesday I shall be learning to Snatch. Does this please you mrthingyx?
 
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Prepare for the first week or two to be terrible, or rather for you, hilarious. I'm curious as to how I'll find it with my spine injury. I did inform the coach about it, he is a fully qualified sports therapist and he's ex-GB weightlifting champion too so I have confidence that he'd know if it would be bad for me or not. I'll start off with the wooden dowels anyway before I try throwing weight in the air.
 
Your spine will cause you as much trouble with weightlifting as anything you're currently doing: I.e. Only if you do something stupid. :)

In fact, the shear stresses may well be lower due to the fact that you need to be more upright than ever before. And you with also get massive benefits from the explosive elements as well the additional mobility required.

You might also find that powerlifting becomes very dull afterwards. ;)
 
31/1/15 - Saturday

Well this was hell. Wonderfull, but hell.

Dynamic-effort deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 8x3

Fatigue kicked in from the 6th set. last two sets slowed down but I focused on perfecting form and hip/glute activation.

Sumo Deadlift Block-pulls 3"(?)

90kg x2
97.5kg x 4x4
110kg(B) x 2x2

My hands were on fire after this. The weight may not appear heavy but after the speed work and learning a new technique, these were shattering.

OHP

Bar x 8
25kg x 5
27kg x 5
32kg x 8
25kg x 8

Got to keep up the shoulder work, it's too easy to neglect it since it's not a main move.

Chin-Ups

BW x 4
BW x 5
BW x 5

Not fussed at all, especially with the volume of deadlifts I've just performed.

Face Pulls

18kg x 4x12

Awesome. Light, but awesome. I'll up the weight next time.

So pleased that's over! Absolutely shattered but hopefully I'll see some benefits from the work done today.
Sumo deadlifts were hard but fun. The fact my hands were on fire did not help anything.
So pleased I finally did the face pulls. I can't believe I've only just discovered them, they're absolutely brilliant.
 
mrthingyx said:
Pfft. Sumo deadlift from blocks and face pulls... :p

If only you know how much of a blast Olympic lifting is... ;)
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Hey, don't mock :p I figured pulling from blocks was the best way to learn the technique. And I've thrown in face pulls for good old shoulder health to stop them from crying when I bench. I'll be getting my first taste of Oly lifting on Tuesday, I'm sure I'll snatch the bar into my face though. You're just hating because sumo deadlift off blocks look way cooler than cleans, amirite? ;)
 
Now I'm just sad... and there's me feeling rather pleased about what I did today :( Nonetheless, they're on blocks to get used to the form and mechanics. I'll get rid of the blocks at some point, and at least I still pull conventional ;)
 
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