The Ups and Downs of high-bar squatting

4/5/15 - Monday

Oh them squats, them lovely lovely squats.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 2 (I thought my working weight was higher, but this primed me nicely)
92.5kg(B) x 4x9

I only had 1 bad rep because I rushed it but all reps were fast and powerful.

Reverse Hypers

BW x 3x12

A little bit of glue work seems to be really effective.

The gym was only long enough to get that work in, so a nice quick in and out session.
 
5/5/15 - Tuesday

Benchhhhh. Strength is good but my setup was off, grip wasn't perfectly symmetrical. Just meh.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x 5 (Paused)
50kg x 3 (Paused)
60kg x 2 (Paused)
67.5kg x 4x4 - Rep/set pb so that's something

First 2 sets were really good. Third set was iffy. Fourth set was a tad better. Apparently I was a little twisted on the bench, but I had no idea. And apparently my grip wasn't perfectly symmetrical either but once again I couldn't tell.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 4
30kg x 10
28kg x 10
26kg x 12

Boom. New adjusted grip helped tremendously, felt strong and a lot more stable.

Single-arm Dumbbell Rows (Weight per hand)

14kg x 10
22kg x 8
24kg x 4x6

It was nice doing these for a change, I can't remember the last time I actually did them.

Tricep Pushdowns

41kg x 5x20

So much pump. I will stay at this weight for a while.

Surprisingly tired at the end of all of that, just a tad disappointed with the bench. At least the strength was there though so that's an up.
 
6/5/15 - Wednesday

Squats and bench. Horrible, horrible, horrible session. Previous squats killed squats. Squats killed bench. Bench made me grumpy.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 2
97.5kg(B) x 5x7

Fatigue kicked in towards the end. Holding the bar became difficult, bracing was difficult but the weight though wasn't too bad. But because of fatigue and bracing being hard, getting super obvious depth on the last set wasn't quite there. I know it was just fatigue causing the problem so I'm not fretting about the reps just hitting parallel.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x lots - already horrible
50kg x 2x3 - Not that much better tbh
60kg x 1 - easy but harder than it should have been
62.5kg x 6x2, I only had 2 good sets. The rest of the sets always had an issue.

Fatigue hit me hard, I couldn't focus properly, bar path was off, foot positioning wasn't even (not that really matters too much), lost leg drive on a few sets.

So much food and rest is needed. Thank goodness I have tomorrow off! Then just two more days and everything starts to simmer down!
 
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8/5/15 - Friday

Almost done with the crazy squat volume!

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2x2
90kg x 2
102.5kg(B) x 7x5

Oh I nailed this. Tomorrow will me hard though.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 2 (Paused)
67.5kg x 1 (Paused) - Rocketed off my chest!
72.5kg x 2x3 - Last rep was ropey
72.5kg x 2,f - Missed last rep due to wonky set up...

Annoyed about that. Turns outs I wasn't bring the bar down exactly straight (in terms of bar to elbow position, bar was behind the elbow slightly), I changed that and it became easier. The wonky setup made the last rep hell, I was grinding it out but spotter came in. I need to make sure I set up straight, get tight and remain straight so I can utilise full stability.

More squats tomorrow, and maybe some deadlift knee pulls for extra glute work.
 
9/5/15 - Saturday

Last day of squat volume.

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3 - Paused
80kg x 2 - Paused
90kg x 2 - Paused
100kg x 1 - Paused
107.5kg(B) x 10x3

I'm so pleased that's over with. Possibly the hardest session in the past 3 weeks but this time due to the weight rather than silly pump going on like I had with a few sessions.

Paused Sumo Deadlifts

60kg x 5 - Paused
80kg x 5 - Paused
100kg x 2 - Paused

Sumo Deadlift knee pulls

105kg x 2x4

Would have liked to have done a few more sets but unfortunately I had things to attend to.

Last of the crazy squat volume so I'll hit some at 85% for singles on Monday, 80% for doubles on Wednesday and then rest until Saturday to test where I'm at. I still have another 6 days of consecutive of training though, but with the reduced volume and intensity it should feel fairly straight forward.
 
10/5/15 - Sunday

Bench and OHP

Bench

Bar x lots x lots
40kg x 2 x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 1 (Paused)
62.5kg x 6x2 (Paused)

I put a lot of focus into my setup and making sure that I wasn't wonky and it helped dramatically.

OHP

Bar x lots
25g x 4
30kg x 2
35kg x 2
42.5kg x 1 - Yay!
47.5kg x 1 - Yay!
50kg x f - I didn't think it would go up but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

Really happy with that. Before I started this cycle I could maybe have grinded out 40kg and I managed a (tough) 47.5kg.

Chest Supported Rows

Bar + 10kg x 15
Bar + 20kg x 12
Bar + 25kg x 8
Bar + 30kg x 6
Bar + 35kg x 4x4

A lot easier than I expected.

Face Pulls

17.5kg x 12
23.5kg x 12
29.5kg x 3x12

Yay for rear dealt work.

Tricep pushdowns

35kg x 5x20

Pump.

Bro Curlz

Ez Bar + 15kg x 5x12

Much pump.

And that's me done. Quite a nice balance of heavy work on main movements followed by loads of volume. Thankfully from next week the intensity goes up and volume comes down in preparation for next Saturday. Should be exciting times.
 
11/5/15 - Monday

Squats and..... deadlifts :eek:

Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 2
102.5kg x 3x1

Nice and easy, almost no effort.

Paused Squats

85kg x 3x4

Nice and easy again. Focused on making sure I was hitting depth, holding it for at least a 2-3 count and then exploding up as quick as possible. Form and technique was fine but speed is something I really have to work on.

Sumo Deadlifts

60kg x 5
80kg x 3
95kg x 5
105kg x 5
115kg x 5

Surprisingly difficult but I have adjusted my form so the technique is almost spot on and also, no belt :D

Good Mornings

Bar x 3x 8-12

Back Extension

BW x 3x12

Good mornings and back extensions have been prescribed for medicinal purposes to help with glutes and to help stretch the hamstrings more.

Feeling good at the end of all of that, not worn out at all. Shame the deadlifts feeling tough but I'm still a bit fatigued from all the squatting over the past few weeks. One more light squat session on Wednesday and then rest until Saturday!
 
Nice work, particularly with deadlifting at the same time!

Not sure how you jeep your weight down, because I'd implode through calorie deficit with that kind of loading if I wasn't eating everything...
 
CNS destuction! That's cracking squatting at your BW.

Good mornings are great for hamstring stretch - you can do them at home with a band around your shoulders if you have one.
 
mrthingyx said:
Nice work, particularly with deadlifting at the same time!

Not sure how you jeep your weight down, because I'd implode through calorie deficit with that kind of loading if I wasn't eating everything...
Click to expand...

GSVBagpuss said:
CNS destuction! That's cracking squatting at your BW.

Good mornings are great for hamstring stretch - you can do them at home with a band around your shoulders if you have one.
Click to expand...

I'm actually a bit gutted that the deadlifts hit me in the way the did, although the new form and technique caused me to be quicker throughout the entire lift, even though it felt harder off the floor. It's a shame I'm still dabbing with baby weights but it was nice to do everything without a belt! I shall be trying to do that as often as possible.

On the upside, I'm now eating wayyy more than what I was and starting a bulk that will go on until the end of August. I've gone from 1800 cals to ~2900-3200 depending on how I'm feeling. There is no way I would have survived the past few weeks without upping the cals. The problem I currently have is that if I have a day with a large fluctuation, it now takes longer for the fluctuation to go. I'm trying to find that point where I'm gaining 0.2-0.5kg per week.
 
12/5/15 - Tuesday

Benchhhhh PB!


Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 3
67.5kg x 2 (Paused)
75kg x 2x2 - Boom, doubling my competition 1rm!

Realllllllly happy with that as I've always struggled with bench. Hopefully I should get a new 1rm on Saturday.

OHP

Bar x lots
25kg x 5(?)
30kg x 1
32kg x 8

Easy enough. Just needed something light to help the shoulders.

Dips

BW x 3x8

Found it a tad difficult to keep shoulders pinned back in first 2 sets. 3rd set was awesome.

Chest Supported Rows

Bar + 10kg x 15
Bar + 20kg x 12
Bar + 30kg x 6
Bar + 40kg x 4
Bar + 35kg x 6

That's enough. I want to save my back for the weekend.

Tricep Pushdowns

41kg x 8
47.5kg x 8
41kg x 3x8

Dropped the volume dramatically.

Hammer Curlz (weight each hand)

8kg x 8
9kg x 8
9kg x 10

Done.

Really pleased with the Bench and the how easy the OHP felt afterwards. Last heavy session. Bring on the weekend!
 
13/5/15 - Wednesday

Light Squats

Bar x lots
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 1
95kg x 3x2

All beltless and all warmups paused. I still seem to be quite slow coming out of the hole, but not because of lack of strength.

Good Mornings

Bar x 3x ?-12

Stretchy stretchy. I'll start adding weight after the weekend to get more of a benefit than just stretching.

Back extensions

BW x 3x some number

Followed with a lot of stretching. Nice and short, super light and legs feel relatively good.
 
14/5/15 - Thursday

Bench, mobility, and snatch technique?

Bench (Paused)

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 1
62.5kg x 6x2

Once my elbow stopped being funny these were super easy.

Single-arm dumbbell row

17.5 x 2x8

Tricep Pushdown

SomeWeight x 2x8

Bro Crulz

8kg x 2x8

And that's that. Short and simple, nothing really to it.

I ended up messing around with loads of weightlifting mobility drills and managed to full snatch a broomstick. Sounds odd but I used to only be able to power snatch it since I couldn't lower myself into a proper catch position. My mobility must have improved since last time.
 
16/5/15 - Saturday - Squat and Bench test day!

So it's test day, I was feeling pretty good at the beginning and had a pretty good turn out. Bench was no surprise at how rubbish it was.

Squat

Bar x lotsxlots
40kg x lots
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
100kg(B) x 1
110kg(B) x 1
117.5kg(B) x 1 - PB!
125kg(B) x 1 - PB!
130kg(B) x 1 - PB!

I can't complain with a 15kg high bar PB. I had another 2.5kg - 5kg in me but I wanted to save my energy for benching.

Bench

Bar x lots
40kg x lots
50kg x 3
60kg x 2
70kg x 1
77.5kg x 1 - 2.5kg PB!
80kg x f - slid on the bench, arms went wonky, I pressed wonky, waaaa.
80kg x 1 - 5kg PB!

Finally hit 80kg on the bench! It wasn't paused because I wasn't in a competition and it wasn't worth the energy imo. I could have paused all the prior reps before just fine, I just chose not to.

Called it there. This has given me some really nice numbers for the up coming training cycle! I'm going to give weekly progression a shot for squat and bench since now that I'm eating in a surplus I should actually make some gains.

For those interested:
 
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