Sets of faahve

Mr. CooL ICE

December 3

Very little movement over the weekend, aside from a 4.3km walk yesterday. Managed to be relatively nimble this morning regardless.

Had been planning on keeping my upper/lower split going until christmas. Had chosen to do this so I could be more productive in an overall volume sense, even if the layout was less than ideal. However, after looking back over logs, my overall volume was less than when I had a more frequency based approach. And my LB form was suffering... If I had a bad LB squat session on Monday, I had to wait another 7 days before I could try to fix what went wrong and that just sucked.

Squat:
20kg x 7
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
* belt *
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3
125kg x 3

90s rest, calibrated plates. One upper back cue I've been missing is externally rotating my arm to get a little extra tightness. When I do it, the rep is easier. Remembering to do it every rep is another thing though. Also, it's usually high rep stuff that leaves me a sweaty, lightheaded mess. But triples did it today.

Bench:
20kg x 10
60kg x 5
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
90kg x 1
95kg x 3
87.5kg x 3
87.5kg x 3
87.5kg x 3
87.5kg x 3
87.5kg x 3

90s rest, calibrated plates. Top triple was remarkably ok. Think I just zoned out and not overthinking helped. Rest were fine.

NG pullup:
x 2
x 14 (AMRAP)
x 7 (AMRAP)
x 5 (AMRAP)
x 6 (AMRAP)
x 5 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Grunts were, umm, grunted.

Sweaty day. In and out in 1h15. Graaand.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 4

Only a short walk last night. Good bit of doms this morning. Not crippled level but enough to make jumping out of bed to turn off the alarm painful.

Floor press:
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5

90s rest. Haven't done floor press in ages but remember not being able to rep far beyond 80kg before. Always hated floor press before but I applied the same fix as I have with incline and it felt more comfortable, at least. Grand.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
55kg x 3
40kg x 11 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Felt far stronger than last week and I finally got 5x3 @ 55kg, so am happy.

NG cable rows:
59kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20

90s rest. These are far tougher when I'm not fresh.

Chest supported reverse DB flyes:
5kgs x 8
7.5kgs x 8
7.5kgs x 8
7.5kgs x 8
7.5kgs x 8
7.5kgs x 8

45s rest. Not difficult at all. Should have upped weight or reps. Will do next week.

Walking DB lunges:
10kgs each leg x 12
15kgs each leg x 12
15kgs each leg x 12
15kgs each leg x 12

60s rest. Was a sweaty, panting mess after these. So unconditioned.

Grand day.

TRS30

Do you time your rest periods from the last rep to the start of the first rep on next set or from when you start your pre lift routine?

Alf Veedersane

TRS30 wrote: »

Do you time your rest periods from the last rep to the start of the first rep on next set or from when you start your pre lift routine?

Rest between sets so once you finish one set, you start the timer and rest period is until you do the first rep of next set. You're just timing the rest between sets.

TRS30

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Rest between sets so once you finish one set, you start the timer and rest period is until you do the first rep of next set. You're just timing the rest between sets.

So if you are doing 60 sec rest periods and say your squat routine is 15 secs from walking to bar to starting first rep, you walk to bar at 45 secs?

Mr. CooL ICE

If my rest is 60s, this is what I do. I rack the bar, pick up my phone and hit the timer that is set at 60s. When the 60s timer goes off, I unrack the bar and do my set. Rinse and repeat.

So technically, my times between sets would be longer than 60s. Racking the bar and unracking + setting up, plus actually picking up my phone would mean that the period between the previous set and the next set is longer than 60s and would vary depending on the lift.

There is nothing scientific about what I do and I'm not under any instruction to do this by any coach. I merely do this because I used to take the absolute piss with my rest periods. Some days, I'd be in the gym well over an hour and only have 8 working sets done and end up skipping accessories because I run out of time. I choose the rest periods per lift based on what I think the rest period should be.

Mr. CooL ICE

TRS30 wrote: »

So if you are doing 60 sec rest periods and say your squat routine is 15 secs from walking to bar to starting first rep, you walk to bar at 45 secs?

This post actually sounds like you think I'm doing EMOMs. I'm not. I'm merely using the stopwatch function on my phone.

That said, I have been planning on doing deadlift EMOMs at some point, but not yet (I have form issues to sort out first). I haven't figured out how to do things like set up on time etc but yeah, walking up to the bar at a given time sounds like what I will do. I have an EMOM app on my phone and there is a bleep 10 seconds away from the one minute timer.

Alf Veedersane

TRS30 wrote: »

So if you are doing 60 sec rest periods and say your squat routine is 15 secs from walking to bar to starting first rep, you walk to bar at 45 secs?

If I had a 60s rest period, I usually start getting under the bar at 50s and start on 60s. Or thereabouts.

TRS30

Mark Rippetoe wrote: »

There is nothing scientific about what I do and I'm not under any instruction to do this by any coach. I merely do this because I used to take the absolute piss with my rest periods. Some days, I'd be in the gym well over an hour and only have 8 working sets done and end up skipping accessories because I run out of time. I choose the rest periods per lift based on what I think the rest period should be.

This. I work our at home so plenty of distractions. Would suddenly realise I had taken 5 mins beeen sets.

Coincides with starting GVT so that 90 secs seems like a blink of an eye from about set 6 on. Legs like jelly!

Had to google EMOM, never heard that term before.

coffee_cake

Emom makes me a sad panda. It does mean you tear through the sets though

Dtp1979

Save me the bother of googling. What does it mean?

Alf Veedersane

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Save me the bother of googling. What does it mean?

Every Minute On the Minute.

Mr. CooL ICE

If you pronounce the acronym out loud you sound like roadrunner

Alf Veedersane

Mark Rippetoe wrote: »

If you pronounce the acronym out loud you sound like roadrunner

If you say it really slow, you sound like Eeyore.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 6

Had a 14 hour work day yesterday which involved 4.5 hours in the car. Stiff as a plank as a result. Having an early start today didn't help either.

530 tempo squat:
20kg x 10
50kg x 5
70kg x 3
90kg x 3
* belt *
100kg x 3
100kg x 3
100kg x 3
100kg x 3
100kg x 3

No timed rests, calibrated plates. Keeping light and slowing everything right down to see what's not right. Found that when setting my upper back, I sometimes hyperextend my lower back. 1 or 2 shoulder shrugs on descent for some odd reason. Elbow position is better than before but still has room for improvement. Bar path seems good at least. Also tempo was more like 420 on recording but FELT LIKE 990 (if that's a thing).

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
60kg x 8
70kg x 6
80kg x 6
87.5kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6

90s rest. Grand.

Lat pulldown:
53kg plate x 5
65kg plate x 12
65kg plate x 12
65kg plate x 12

60s rest. Had planned on 5 x AMRAP pullups today but had no time.

Grand day.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 7

No chance to walk last night and but was somewhat nimble this morning. Graaand.

Deadlift:
20kg x 5
70kg x 5
100kg x 3
* belt *
120kg x 3
140kg x 2
150kg x 2
160kg x 1
170kg x 1
180kg x 1
140kg x 4
140kg x 4
140kg x 4

No times rests, calibrated plates. Form was a little off. Wasn't locking shoulders or engaging lats properly. Back was straight and hips rose at same rate as bar, so not all bad. Still room for improvement.

Dips:
x 3
x 15 (AMRAP)
x 9 (AMRAP)
x 8 (AMRAP)
x 7 (AMRAP)
x 7 (AMRAP)

60s rest. New rep RP, so yay. Front of shoulder and bicep hurt a little after first set. Realised what I was doing wrong and remembered to push my chest up, which shifted my weight back and made the triceps work more, which was the point.

Cable rows:
53kg plate x 15
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20

60s rest. Fancied a change from barbell rows so used a straight bar here. Piece of piss tbh. Reduced ROM from the straight bar made these too easy to the point that it felt like a waste of time.

Lateral raise:
5kgs x 10
7.5kgs x 10
7.5kgs x 10
7.5kgs x 10
7.5kgs x 10
7.5kgs x 10

45s rest. These were tough (to do right).

Facepull:
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20

60s rest. Easy.

Grand day.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 10

Long, tiring weekend. Lots of driving. 3 hours of Christmas shopping on Saturday is definitely GPP. Legs felt better after a 4.3km walk yesterday. Was somewhat nimble this morning.

Squat:
20kg x 8
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
* belt *
90kg x 5
110kg x 3
120kg x 1
130kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 4
120kg x 4

105s rest, calibrated plates. Form was less than solid. Bar never felt comfortable on my back. I'd like to blame the crappy bar I used today but bad craftsman tools etc etc. Few reps went a little forward too. At least I felt strong (130kg = heaviest on my back since July) but I was still dissatisfied.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
75kg x 3
85kg x 2
95kg x 1
100kg x 2
85kg x 5
85kg x 5
85kg x 5

90s rest, calibrated plates. First time repping 100kg. Did 100kg x 3 before July's comp but they were fake weights (uncalibrated meant that was probably 95/96kg). There was room in the tank but ass rose in the 2nd rep.

NG chinups:
x 2
x 12 (AMRAP)
x 8 (AMRAP)
x 6 (AMRAP)

60 rest. Bad time management meant I cut these short. Was pooped by this point anyway.

Weird day. Could have been worse.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 11

Only a short walk last night. No doms this morning, but wasn't nimble either.

Pin press:
20kg x 10 (no pin)
60kg x 5 (no pin)
60kg x 3
75kg x 3
85kg x 2
95kg x 3
82.5kg x 3
82.5kg x 3
82.5kg x 3
82.5kg x 3
82.5kg x 3

75s rest, calibrated plates. Top set was horribly grindy. Form felt off; shoulders were locked but afterwards I thought perhaps I wasn't trying to 'bring my chest to the bar' or something. Dunno.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
57.5kg x 2
57.5kg x 2
57.5kg x 2
57.5kg x 2
57.5kg x 2
40kg x 12 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Feeling strong. Have never pressed more than 60kg but OHP is feeling the strongest it ever has right now.

NG cable row:
59kg plate x 15
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20

60s rest. Grand

Chest supported reverse DB flye:
5kgs x 10
10kgs x 10
10kgs x 10
10kgs x 10
10kgs x 10

60s rest. Form a little sloppy.

Walking DB lunges:
15kgs each leg x 8
20kgs each leg x 8
20kgs each leg x 8
20kgs each leg x 8
20kgs each leg x 8

60s rest. Urghghhgrrgh. Grand though.

Grand day.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 13

Very little movement over the last two days; just had no time. Expected to be stiff as a plank this morning but actually felt grand.

530 tempo squat:
20kg x 5
50kg x 3
70kg x 3
90kg x 3
100kg x 3
100kg x 3
100kg x 3
100kg x 3

90s rest, calibrated plates. Same as last week but sans belt. Trying a few things for upper back tightness. Last week, I was sticking the back of my neck back over the bar which did tighten the upper back, but I found it hard to do that and keep the lower back neutral. Today I tried pulling the top of my head away from the bar which made me pull the bar down and tighten the upper back. I liked it and need to practise it some more.

However, I felt tightness in the same spot in my hamstring that got injured recently from the 3rd set. Tried ignoring it but stopped after 4. Probably nothing but better safe than sorry.

Buffalo bar bench:
23kg x 5
43kg x 5
63kg x 5
73kg x 5
73kg x 8
73kg x 8
73kg x 8
* widened grip *
73kg x 5
73kg x 5

90s rest, calibrated plates. Had normal tng bench planned but buffalo bar was already set up and I was mad to try it for the craic. Didn't like it! Used a similar grip width as normal bench but felt pressure on the pinky side of my hand. Widened my grip a bit to change contact angle and it relieved that pressure, but made it feel heavier.

No harm done. At least I now know what it's like.

Pullup:
x 2
x 16 (AMRAP)
x 8
x 6
x 6
x 4

60s rest. Yay for rep PR. I need to record these because my form could be an absolute disgrace. Honestly not sure.

Grand day. Done in 1h5m.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 14

Only a brief walk last night. No significant stiffness this morning. Gave the hamstring a brief foam roll this morning as a 'just in case', even though conv stance doesn't affect this injury.

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 5
140kg x 1
145kg x 5
145kg x 5
145kg x 5

No timed rests, calibrated plates. Just some light volume. Form wasn't the greatest. Hips were set and lower back was fine but chest wasn't brought through enough. Kept bar close when lowering to ensure consistent position between reps.

JM press:
20kg x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
55kg x 8
55kg x 8
55kg x 8
55kg x 8

75s rest. Haven't done these in a while. Trying not to cheat them so pushing through the pinky side of my hand to engage triceps more. If I'm gonna do them, I'm gonna do them right.

Cable rows:
53kg x 15
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20
65kg plate x 20

60s rest. Used a v-bar so grip was only kinda pronated. Definitely made it harder than using a straight bar

Dumbbell lateral raises:
5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10
7.5kg x 10

60s rest. Grand. Form better than last week.

Facepulls:
41kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 12
41kg plate x 12

30s rest. Grand.

Grand day. Not sweaty though.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 17

Christmas shopping GPP over the weekend and a little garden tidy up yesterday meant there was plenty of movement but nothing you could call exercise. Was nimble enough this morning though.

Squat:
20kg x 3
40kg x 5
70kg x 3
90kg x 3
* belt *
110kg x 3
125kg x 2
135kg x 2
135kg x 2
135kg x 2
110kg x 8
110kg x 8

No timed rests, calibrated plates. Top sets felt solid AF. 1st reps moved fast while all 2nd reps moved slowly, but form stayed together. Felt like my legs were the limiting factor today rather than me feeling like I was balancing a barbell on my back while trying to hail mary it up so I don't need to wrecklessly dump it.

It seems like I'm changing form/setup every week but this week, everything felt solid. I realised my breathing had been wrong; I was pushing my belly into the belt but instead, I was pushing my belly down towards my ass. I also put my thumbs under the bar, which traditionally wrecked my elbows but it helped keep things feeling solid. Pushing my head upwards also helped things today.

Bench:
20kg x 5
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
75kg x 3
85kg x 2
95kg x 1
100kg x 2
90kg x 3
90kg x 3
90kg x 3

90s rest, calibrated plates. Goal today was to double 100kg but keep my ass down. No joy. Video wasn't clear but it felt like it went up.

NG pullups:
x 3
x 13 (AMRAP)
x 7 (AMRAP)
x 5 (AMRAP)

60s rest. Dunno. Just felt pooped. Weird because volume was pretty low today. Cut these short because of poopiness.

On paper, this looks like a meh session but I'm strangely happy about how squats felt. Might actually squat something that isn't completely lame some day.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 18

Only time for a 2.5km walk last night. Had some unexpected glute doms this morning. Bitta stretching, be grand.

Floor press:
20kg x 10
40kg x 6
60kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 6
80kg x 1+5

90s rest. Bottle was too near on last set and hit it, so reracked, moved bottle and continued. I find myself shrugging my shoulders on floor press for some reason. Guess my lat engagement in bench is second nature when I can use leg drive, which might explain why I need to really think about it for floor press.

OHP:
20kg x 10
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 1
57.5kg x 3
57.5kg x 3
57.5kg x 1
* increased rest to 90s *
57.5kg x 3
57.5kg x 2+F
40kg x 11 (AMRAP)

60s -> 90s rest. First two sets were soooo slow and grindy and was pooped by 3rd. Hoped giving myself an extra 30s might help and it kinda did, but not enough.

NG cable row:
59kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20
71kg plate x 20

60s rest. This was tough. Can't go any heavier now.

Dumbbell rear delt flye:
5kgs x 10
7.5kgs x 12
7.5kgs x 12
7.5kgs x 12

60s rest. Grand.

Dumbbell walking lunge:
0kg each leg x 8
15kgs each leg x 8
15kgs each leg x 8
15kgs each leg x 8
15kgs each leg x 8

60s rest. Lol conditioning. Kept it light and short as I wanted to leave time for some hamstring stuff.

Single leg hamstring curls:
17kg plate both x 5
17kg plate R x 5/L x 5
17kg plate R x 5/L x 5
17kg plate R x 5/L x 5
17kg plate R x 5/L x 5
17kg plate R x 5/L x 5

No rest, just going from side to side and keeping it slow and controlled. Wanted to do this out of fear of my injury returning. Hamstrings felt filled with blood and sweat was pouring out of me.

Grand day.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 12

3.5km and 1.5km walks yesterday, so stayed moving at least. Was loose enough this morning. Grand.

Pause squat:
20kg x 8
70kg x 5
90kg x 3
* belt *
100kg x 1
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3
110kg x 3

90s rest, calibrated plates. Keeping volume low; just working on my breathing and bracing. New setup is working really well for me because everything is feeling more solid than ever. But it's easy to make everything feel good when the weight is this low. But I'll tackle that after christmas!

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
80kg x 4
90kg x 4
90kg x 4
90kg x 4
90kg x 4

90s rest, calibrated plates. Plenty of ass rising. Goddammit.

NG lat pulldown:
53kg plate x 12
65kg plate x 12
65kg plate x 12
65kg plate x 12

90s rest. Area around pullup station was crowded so did these instead. Grand and easy. Close grip neutral pulldowns really set my upper lats on fire.

Really happy with squats today. I'm still weak but everything is clocking into place.

Mr. CooL ICE

December 21

Crazy day yesterday in work that resulted in not enough eaten and a terrible night sleep. Had planned on seeing if a YOLO pre-christmas break 200kg pull was on the cards today but I felt beaten before I even got to the gym.

Deadlift:
70kg x 5
100kg x 5
* belt *
120kg x 3
140kg x 2
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
192.5kg x F

160kg moved well. 180kg felt awful and I'm pretty sure I used far too much lower back. Knew 200kg wasn't gonna happen so went a little more conservative. Got it to my knees and just gave up.

Even under ideal conditions, 200kg wouldn't have happened today. Deadlift form has been too inconsistent lately and haven't been putting in nearly enough volume. Once a week is too low a frequency for me; practising more often usually results in becoming better at something so that shall be tackled in the new year.

Work crisis meant I had to run early so nothing else done.

Alf Veedersane

Mark Rippetoe wrote: »

Even under ideal conditions, 200kg wouldn't have happened today. Deadlift form has been too inconsistent lately and haven't been putting in nearly enough volume. Once a week is too low a frequency for me; practising more often usually results in becoming better at something so that shall be tackled in the new year.

Even adding in a variation like RDLs on one of the other days will help and won't take as much of a toll on CNS

Mr. CooL ICE

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Even adding in a variation like RDLs on one of the other days will help and won't take as much of a toll on CNS

Don't think RDLs would work for me. It's not a strength issue; just technique. My problem is general setup cues and getting tight before pulling from the floor so a variation starting from the top won't help. Either regular DLs, or deficits, or paused would be ideal.

If I have a bad deadlift day, I'd often realise what I did wrong a few hours later but then I have to wait 7 days before trying to rectify it. That's my main problem right now. I just need to practise more often.

Alf Veedersane

Mark Rippetoe wrote: »

Don't think RDLs would work for me. It's not a strength issue; just technique. My problem is general setup cues and getting tight before pulling from the floor so a variation starting from the top won't help. Either regular DLs, or deficits, or paused would be ideal.

If I have a bad deadlift day, I'd often realise what I did wrong a few hours later but then I have to wait 7 days before trying to rectify it. That's my main problem right now. I just need to practise more often.

Does it become an issue after a certain weight or is it an issue from the start?

Mr. CooL ICE

December 27

Very little done in terms of mobility over the last week. Somehow not stiff as a plank. Santa brought Power Perfect 3s so today was going to be based around having fun with them. No plan today other than greasing the wheel.

Squat:
20kg x 5 (with some pauses)
50kg x 5 (with some pauses)
70kg x 5
* belt *
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg x 5
120kg x 5
120kg x 1
120kg x 1

No timed rests, calibrated plates. Top sets felt like dog crap. Recorded second set of 5 and my head position was all over the shop. Set my upper back, then started looking down when I started the descent. I never do that. Amazing how bad I can get after being away from the gym for a handful of sessions.

Also, belt felt very tight. To be expected.

Front squat:
70kg x 1
80kg x 1
90kg x 1
100kg x 2
100kg x 1

No timed rests, mostly calibrated plates. Just for the craic because new shoes. Got a wave of light headedness after the very last rep which wasn't expected.

Bench (tng):
20kg x 10
40kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 3
85kg x 5
85kg x 5
85kg x 5

No timed rests, calibrated plates. Was going to go for 3x5 @ 90kg but felt pretty weak after not benching in a week. Grand.

Facepulls:
29kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20
35kg plate x 20

First set was too light because I smacked the middle of the rop off my forehead on the first rep. Bit too easy otherwise.

Relaxing session. Nothing too serious.

Alf Veedersane

Mark Rippetoe wrote: »

Santa brought Power Perfect 3s so today was going to be based around having fun with them.

You usually squat in Powerlifts, yeah?

Interested to see if you if you notice a difference with extra heel height.

Mr. CooL ICE

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Does it become an issue after a certain weight or is it an issue from the start?

Sorry, forgot about this.

I'm not sure, but it definitely becomes more apparent when the weight gets heavier. Which is to be expected of any technical breakdown, tbh.

I compared the one video I took of that session to videos I took from sessions where form felt spot on and noticed one big difference. When getting tight in the good ones, my ass moved backwards away from the bar slightly. In the bad ones, ass moved forwards. Everything else was the same*; shin angle, hip height, shoulder blade position relative to the bar, etc. And that kind of makes sense in my head.

Moving ass backwards is a cue I need to consciously remember. Without doing that, I end up rounding my lower back, which becomes more pronounced when the bar leaves the floor. When I do it, it flattens the lower back and it has stayed flat for the weights I have pulled when doing so.

* as far as the camera angles showed

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

You usually squat in Powerlifts, yeah?

Interested to see if you if you notice a difference with extra heel height.

Yep, Powerlift 2s. I compared the two shoes side by side and there seems to be a 1/4" difference. Need to break them in a bit before I make my mind up fully. I'll keep them anyway. At the very least, they'll be handy if I decide to do loads of quad hypertrophy.