J-Madd's Training Log

[mikhou]

J-Madd, did you ever say how long you're going to run this cluster? I looked back, but I didn't see it. I'm asking because I would have a very hard time with not benching for awhile, but I could see moving away from BP to OHP for a cycle or two. I seem to remember on the "How often do you switch clusters" topic that someone suggested a 3:1 ratio for those lifts that you want to focus on vs. changing it up (as in run 3 cycles with BP and then run 1 cycle with OHP). Or would you schedule your clusters based primarily on what you feel that you need at the start of that cluster? Thoughts?

Thanks.

[J-Madd]

J-Madd, did you ever say how long you're going to run this cluster? I looked back, but I didn't see it. I'm asking because I would have a very hard time with not benching for awhile, but I could see moving away from BP to OHP for a cycle or two. I seem to remember on the "How often do you switch clusters" topic that someone suggested a 3:1 ratio for those lifts that you want to focus on vs. changing it up (as in run 3 cycles with BP and then run 1 cycle with OHP). Or would you schedule your clusters based primarily on what you feel that you need at the start of that cluster? Thoughts?

Thanks.

I'm not really sure how long I'll go with OHP instead of BP. Initially I thought of it in terms of a goal: 225. Right now I'm probably OHPing about 195 (my T-max is 180). I've pressed 225 before, but I weighed about 225 at the time. I want to give it a block or two to see whether making 30lbs of progress is at all plausible. The plan for now is to OHP until the New Year, and then take stock.

[J-Madd]

Today's fun:

Apex: (sprint up + 2H swing 48KG x 10 + jog down) x 12

That was really fun. At 6:00 on a Saturday morning I just sprinted right up the middle of the street. Even after the DL yesterday, the swings felt great. I shut it down at 12 just to be cautious at the start of a new block. Interestingly, I haven't done Apex for quite a spell, but I have been doing a lot of plain hill sprints up a much longer hill (about twice the distance of my regular Apex hill). Normally, the sprinting part is harder for me, and the swings are easy. Today, I really had a much easier time with the sprints than usual. The extra sprint work might have paid off.

[J-Madd]

Off day!

I'm focusing on drinking coffee, reading, and yelling at my kids.

I'll probably do some errands on my bike later, because I really don't sit still very long and the whether here is great today.

[Barkadion]

drinking coffee, reading, and yelling at my kids

I will have to master this one! I'm pretty good on doing first two at the same time! Gotta work on adding 3rd dimension into the mix

[J-Madd]

drinking coffee, reading, and yelling at my kids

I will have to master this one! I'm pretty good on doing first two at the same time! Gotta work on adding 3rd dimension into the mix

Your kids are pretty young. The really good yelling doesn't start until they are in middle-school. That's when you chance to be a really ogre arises.

[J-Madd]

Operator I/A 4/9 (80%):
SQ: 320/5x5
OHP: 145/5x5
WPU: BW+20/5x5
1H KB Swing: 40KB/50-30-20

This was a great Monday. I could've kept going on all three lifts, but I was happy with 5x5s across the board to start the week. When I used OP I/A last winter spring, I found that things went best for me when I hit about 10-13 sets of volume per lift/week (or in case of a "flex", a three day sequence at the same %), especially in the 70-85% range. Thus, if I can get fives sets in on the first day of a the week, I'm setting myself up to have a low pressure situation to hit my sweet spot for the rest of the week. Even if I only hit the minimums on Wed and Fri, I'm still getting the volume I want, so the pressure is sort of off as soon as I hit a good five on Monday, so I tend to quite while I'm ahead when I hit that mark. The 100 swings with the 40KG KB were a lot easier this week. I took some video so I could get form feedback on my swing form, but the glare from the sun in the background was really bad. I'll try again next week.

You might notice that I always lead with the SQ. There a few reasons for that. First, the SQ is always my highest priority lift. I find that the SQ is the key for my overall fitness. When I'm squatting well, everything seems to go right along with it. Second, I don't find that it tires me out for my other lifts. In fact, I find that I'm keyed in and pumped for the rest of the work out after my squats. This generally means I don't need to do as much warming up as I transition to my other exercises. Finally, I generally like to do the hardest task of the day first, and then coast. This goes everything in my life, not just pumping iron. Thus, I like to get those squats out of the way, and then chill out and do some press'n and pull'n up.

[Barkadion]

You might notice that I always lead with the SQ. There a few reasons for that. First, the SQ is always my highest priority lift. I find that the SQ is the key for my overall fitness. When I'm squatting well, everything seems to go right along with it. Second, I don't find that it tires me out for my other lifts. In fact, I find that I'm keyed in and pumped for the rest of the work out after my squats. This generally means I don't need to do as much warming up as I transition to my other exercises. Finally, I generally like to do the hardest task of the day first, and then coast. This goes everything in my life, not just pumping iron. Thus, I like to get those squats out of the way, and then chill out and do some press'n and pull'n up.

How do you feel about doing DL as your last move?

[J-Madd]

How do you feel about doing DL as your last move?

In Operator, I keep the DL as my third lift following SQ and whatever pressing I'm doing. I don't feel energized after DLing in the same way that I do after I squat. I also want to have a little breather between my squats and deadlifts, so that makes it the natural third lift. Generally, I find that after I deadlift, I'm pretty much done for the day. Your thoughts?

[Barkadion]

How do you feel about doing DL as your last move?

In Operator, I keep the DL as my third lift following SQ and whatever pressing I'm doing. I don't feel energized after DLing in the same way that I do after I squat. I also want to have a little breather between my squats and deadlifts, so that makes it the natural third lift. Generally, I find that after I deadlift, I'm pretty much done for the day. Your thoughts?

I am going back and forth with idea of having DL as a very first move with 1 set for every workout of OP. Using conservative TM.

So it would look like:

DL, 1 set
RI, 3-5min
SQ, #sets
RI, 2-3min
BP, #sets
RI, 2-3min
WPU, #sets
RI, 2-3min

More or less..I haven't decided if I go this road. But I'm tempted.. I think it might work well..

I'd have to force myself to do DL as the last exercise and I might not be able to pull at my best.

Just some thoughts...