Programming Changes:
So, after stalling out on deadlifts again, and nearly doing so on bench, I'm going to make some important changes to my program. I wrote a post elsewhere that I'll copy here for anyone interested:
Okay, I think I've got some programming that I like.
I'm going to write this out as Monday, Wednesday, Friday for simplicity's sake, but my actual schedule is Sat/Mon/Wed.
Monday (in order):
1) Bench/Press 5x5 ramped, starting at 235 and 152.5 respectively
2) Deadlift, 531 programming, no deload week, starting at 355
3) Chinups 3x5+, full range of motion, rep out on the last set, if I get
8 or more then add 5lbs next week, starting at body weight
4) Squat 5x5 ramped, starting at 355
Wednesday (in order):
1) Bench/Press 5x5 ramped
2) GHR 3x5+, when I can get 8 or more on the last set then I will add
5lbs next week, starting at body weight with no assistance, I'm going to
push these HARD
3) Power Snatch 7x2, sets across, starting at 40kg (90lbs)
4) ATG Front Squat 3x3, @ 75% of Monday's squat, starting at 265
Friday:
1) Bench/Press 5x5 ramped
2) Power Clean 8x3 ramped, starting at 200x3
3) Dips 3x5+, when I can get 8 or more on the last set I'll add 10lbs the next week, starting at body weight
4) Curls 3x5+, when I can get 8 or more on the last set I'll add 5lbs the next week, starting at 65lbs
5) Squats 5x5 ramped, starting at 355
Overall Thinking:
Pulls:
I wanted at least one "deadlift centric" workout. My squat has long
dominated my other lifts and it is time to fix it. I like the 531 idea
because my primary problem is getting the bar off the ground. Reps give
me more opportunities to do that. Kind of similar to the reason haltings
are done for 8, I suppose. When I have days where my deadlift is just
complete shit, like today, I'll still probably be able to get the
minimum reps. 531 takes advantage of the whole good day/bad day thing. I
particularly like that for my deadlift because it seems to be effected
so greatly by things.
Squats in general:
I want to keep trying to get PRs twice a week while I still can. I'm
putting squats at the very end of each workout so that: A) they don't
have the opportunity to sap me of energy for my other lagging lifts, B)
don't take away my desire to do assistance, and C) I can get a
consistent read on what my "fatigued" squat is. I'm resetting because my
fatigued squat is obviously going to be less than my fresh squat and I
have some latent form things to work on anyway. I figure that resetting
deadlifts and squats at the same time is going to provide an awesome
boost.
Upperbody stuff:
I didn't want some days where they were first and some days where they
were second, which is why they are ahead of pulls everyday. As weak as
my pulls are, my upperbody is even worse in comparison to my squat. As
such, they get precedence. After getting some advice from SR, I'm going
to start doing some serious assistance to balance out the discrepancy in
workload between upper and lowerbody that exists in the basic
SS/Advanced Novice template. I'm going to take things easy at first
until I get acclimated, but I'm excited to give this a shot.
Changes will be implemented starting on Monday. As always, feel free to
criticize and ask questions. I appreciate input and feedback.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Starting Strength, Workout B, 3/31/12
Squats:
Tom: 395x5x1
This wasn't even a hard set. I'd put it @8 RPE. I was going to post this video, but now I'm not. I missed my deadlifts and deflated/10 ensued.
Tony: 275x5x3
Finally fixed his tendonitis issue only for him to aggravate some kind of rib injury that he got while dancing. It was hurting for him to breathe so he didn't do anything else today.
Bench:
Tom: 230x5x3
Yay. I guess. I missed my deadlifts. Last rep was the grinder from hell. I feel that it is very unlikely I'll get 235x5x3, but we'll see what happens. If I miss, I'll move to 1x5 like my squats and press.
Deadlifts:
Tom: 405x0
What is this fucking madness? I haven't pulled in 10 days and, last time I did, I got 180kgx5 (396lbs). So, I went for the real 4 plates todays and got zero. I need to reevaluate my deadlift programming. There's a few of us for whom this style of programming just doesn't seem to work for. Everyone else has deadlifts that are +50lbs on their squats and now my squat has probably passed my deadlift. So tired of this shit.
Here's some of the things I'm considered:
1) I'm resetting to 365 and I'm going to work on my form as much as I can.
2) Next time I miss a squat set, I'm going to reset and squats are being moved to the end of my workout. I think this is pretty much set in stone as far as I'm concerned. I need to prioritize my deadlift. I'm tired of prioritizing squats when they're my least favorite lift and, at this point, pretty fucking overdeveloped compared to all my other lifts.
3) I'm probably going to move to 5x5 for Deadlift Madcow style. I don't think I will move it to the middle day of my cycle because I know I won't be able to squat for a PR on the last day if I do that. Maybe I need a little bit more volume.
4) I'm considering alternating between sumo and conventional on a weekly basis. A lot of short guys end up being at their best pulling sumo. I figure this will save my lower back a bit, still allow me to pull 1x/wk without doing halting/rack pulls (which I don't believe works very well), and possibly result in my sumo pull passing my deadlift.
That's all I got right now. This really sucks. What a buzzkill.
Oh yeah,
Chinups: 225x5x3 /w 1 orange band
Hey, at least I'm gaining weight again. These were terrible form. I was so frustrated that I didn't focus and the reps ended up being sloppy and stuff. Just chinups. Who cares?
Squats:
Tom: 395x5x1
This wasn't even a hard set. I'd put it @8 RPE. I was going to post this video, but now I'm not. I missed my deadlifts and deflated/10 ensued.
Tony: 275x5x3
Finally fixed his tendonitis issue only for him to aggravate some kind of rib injury that he got while dancing. It was hurting for him to breathe so he didn't do anything else today.
Bench:
Tom: 230x5x3
Yay. I guess. I missed my deadlifts. Last rep was the grinder from hell. I feel that it is very unlikely I'll get 235x5x3, but we'll see what happens. If I miss, I'll move to 1x5 like my squats and press.
Deadlifts:
Tom: 405x0
What is this fucking madness? I haven't pulled in 10 days and, last time I did, I got 180kgx5 (396lbs). So, I went for the real 4 plates todays and got zero. I need to reevaluate my deadlift programming. There's a few of us for whom this style of programming just doesn't seem to work for. Everyone else has deadlifts that are +50lbs on their squats and now my squat has probably passed my deadlift. So tired of this shit.
Here's some of the things I'm considered:
1) I'm resetting to 365 and I'm going to work on my form as much as I can.
2) Next time I miss a squat set, I'm going to reset and squats are being moved to the end of my workout. I think this is pretty much set in stone as far as I'm concerned. I need to prioritize my deadlift. I'm tired of prioritizing squats when they're my least favorite lift and, at this point, pretty fucking overdeveloped compared to all my other lifts.
3) I'm probably going to move to 5x5 for Deadlift Madcow style. I don't think I will move it to the middle day of my cycle because I know I won't be able to squat for a PR on the last day if I do that. Maybe I need a little bit more volume.
4) I'm considering alternating between sumo and conventional on a weekly basis. A lot of short guys end up being at their best pulling sumo. I figure this will save my lower back a bit, still allow me to pull 1x/wk without doing halting/rack pulls (which I don't believe works very well), and possibly result in my sumo pull passing my deadlift.
That's all I got right now. This really sucks. What a buzzkill.
Oh yeah,
Chinups: 225x5x3 /w 1 orange band
Hey, at least I'm gaining weight again. These were terrible form. I was so frustrated that I didn't focus and the reps ended up being sloppy and stuff. Just chinups. Who cares?