Dec 31, 2014

 ** Barbell Bench Press **
- 45.0 lbs x 10 reps
- 95.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 155.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 155.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 155.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 155.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 155.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Dumbbell Shoulder Press **
- 30.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 40.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Dumbbell Row **
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 60.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 70.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 70.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 70.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Pull-up **
- 3 x 10 reps

Dec 30, 2014

 ** Barbell Squat **
- 45.0 lbs x 10 reps
- 95.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 3 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 7 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 7 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 7 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 7 reps

 ** Sumo Deadlift **
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Ab Wheel **
- 3 x 10 reps

Worked out approximately 3 hours after waking up and without eating.  Actually felt really good and smooth, significantly better than yesterday's 3x9.  could be because of time of day or that I rested a solid 9 hours last night, regardless, this suggests that working out earlier might be a possibility.

Dec 29, 2014

 ** Barbell Bench Press **
- 45.0 lbs x 10 reps
- 95.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 145.0 lbs x 6 reps
- 145.0 lbs x 6 reps
- 145.0 lbs x 6 reps
- 145.0 lbs x 6 reps

** Dumbbell Shoulder Press **
- 30.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 40.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Dumbbell Row **
- 50.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 60.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 70.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 70.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 70.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Pull-up **
- 5 x 10 reps

 ** Barbell Squat **
- 45.0 lbs x 10 reps
- 95.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 3 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 9 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 9 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 9 reps

Felt good doing all the upper body work in the morning, and that left me open to do squats at night.  This is the second consecutive day of squatting, which I figure I can get away with since it's still "day 1" of sorts, working at 70%.  I wanted to compare the Smolov Base mesocycle set/rep scheme with the Smolov Jr. set/rep scheme, the main difference being that the Smolov Base uses a more pronounced daily undulating periodization scheme, working through a range of 3-9 reps over the 4 workouts, whereas with Smolov Jr., it's 3-6 reps.  I gave the 9 reps a try and I found that it was indeed, anything past 6 reps that I started to feel more gassed...possibly because besides the one or two sets of widowmakers I did with 155 (bodyweight), I never worked above 5 reps.

I also closed my squat stance slightly (from ~130% shoulder width to about 115%; this stance is basically just the stance I naturally go to when I step back and it feels comfortable), and did a lot of distraction work with the band, doing child's pose and letting the band just provide distraction force backwards (so it imitates the bottom of my squat, just with me lying down instead of standing up.  With a combination of these two things, my hip felt fine and I felt powerful pushing through the sets, so I'm pretty happy the impingement I felt yesterday was not there today.  I also focused more on screwing my feet as I initiate the squat, which hopefully "opens the groin" and pushes my knees further apart than yesterday, which should also help minimize the risk of impingement.

Dec 28, 2014

 ** Barbell Squat **
- 45.0 lbs x 10 reps
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 3 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 6 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 6 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 6 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 6 reps

 ** Sumo Deadlift **
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 3 reps
- 210.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Ab Wheel **
- 3 x 10 reps

I hopped straight into day 1 of the Smolov Jr 24 program right after getting off the car after driving back from Delaware.  Needless to say I was tired, didn't sleep well all week (and haven't trained at all) but was really rearing to get back into it and figured it wouldn't be too bad, starting at 70%.  The lifts felt light, but my right hip started to feel impingement.  I was afraid of that; whenever I wait a while, even if it's the same stance, I start to get some impingement.  Anyhow, I'm going to try to keep with the same stance and just try to do more stretching and warming up...etc.

Modified Smolov Jr 24 Routine

Was planning on doing a modified russian squat/power routine, which is a 6 week program where the first 3 weeks you are consistently working at 80% with increasing set/rep schemes, then dialing down the volume and increasing the intensity the last 3 weeks.  This is meant to be a 6 week program that should increase the lift(s) by 5%.

Instead, I am going to try (at least to start with) a modified Smolov Jr routine.  I call it the Smolov Jr 24 because instead of the original Smolov Jr, which has about 35 reps per workout, I've cut it down by 1/3 so it's about 24 reps per workout.  One reason for this is because it brings the total reps more in line with Prilepin's Table (which, yes, detracts from the whole point of Smolov routines which is over-reaching with ridiculous volume), however, because of this reduced volume, I'm hoping to be able to run through the cycle multiple times, at least for a while.  Additionally, because I'm reducing the volume, I am going to try to throw a set of deadlifts in after the squats are done.  This way they are not being completely neglected.  I'm going to be trying to do a semi-sumo squat stance, with my stance width being exactly the same as my squat stance width (~130% shoulder width).  I liked the undulating periodization set/rep scheme of this more than the repetitive 6 sets of 2 reps that is programmed in the Russian Squat/Power routine.  I am hoping that after 3 weeks of this, I can increase each lift by at least 5%.  If I can run this twice by the time Jon Wang comes, I hope to peak with each lift being ~10% higher than what it is now (so squatting 330).


Since I will squat and deadlift on the same day, 4x a week (with an optional 3x10 on the ab roller), on bench days, I will throw in the accessory movements (pullups (3-5x10), shoulder press (3x5), and optional dumbbell rows (3x5)).  I think this program can run decently, as long as my hip doesn't start acting up again.

Dec 23, 2014

 ** Barbell Squat **
- 45.0 lbs x 10 reps
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 3 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 1 reps
- 255.0 lbs x 1 reps
- 285.0 lbs x 1 reps
- 300.0 lbs x 1 reps

Wasn't planning on it but went for 285 today and felt it go up pretty smooth and quick so decided to just go for broke and try to hit 300 to close out the year.  The form wasn't the prettiest and the hips shot up a bit faster than the rest, but I managed to hit 300 without too much of a grind so that felt great.  Now that I've hit the 300 I'll be looking for a program to start with this new 1RM.  Going to do some research for the next week or so while I'm traveling and visiting the in-laws in Delaware.  Since I can't train, I figure it'll be a good rest/recovery week while I plan for the next step.

Dec 21, 2014

 ** Barbell Squat **
- 45.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 95.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 135.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 185.0 lbs x 3 reps
- 225.0 lbs x 2 reps
- 255.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 255.0 lbs x 5 reps
- 255.0 lbs x 5 reps

** Pull-up **
- 5 x 10 reps

Got back from NYC tonight and was quite tired, but couldn't resist squatting with the SBDs again.  Initially was going to do a top set of 5 with 255 again and then do drop down sets at 225, but after the first set of 255, I just decided to stick with it and do 3 sets of 5 with 255.  Was good too because it helped me make some necessary adjustments to my form which seemed to help a lot.

As mentioned in my previous post, I'm now squatting in flat chuck taylors instead of my oly shoes.  I find that this helps dramatically in terms of letting me push off my midfoot instead of just the heel, and also because of this (and the flatness of the shoes), I don't get pushed forward, which keeps the bar path quite straight, which I am happy with.  I also naturally squat wider (130% shoulder width) in these shoes with a moderate toe flare (~30 degrees).  With the SBDs, I can screw my feet into the ground and not worry about my knees dying from the torque, which did bother me somewhat last week.  I also feel very comfortable with this stance and the squatting in general.  Better than I ever have to be honest.  I feel very stable and powerful in this stance compared to the rest, and I also don't seem to have an issue with hip pain or impingement (so far).  I think part of it may be because the SBDs help limit my depth, and because squatting wider may just be better for my bone structure.  Also, my previous best was 275 for 4 reps, and the whole time working up beyond 255, it was when I was squatting barefoot with a wider stance.  However, squatting in the shoes is much more stable since it lets me screw my feet into the ground a lot more, whereas barefoot (esp. on carpet), I don't get much traction or stability.  I think with the wider stance, I'm also able to utilize the glutes a lot more, so I'm able to use a lot more power.  With this stance, I also don't need to worry or overthink about the eccentric (what to do with the glutes, flexed or relaxed, does my torso angle change, does the bar path move, do my hips rise early...etc.).  I just tighten everything and then screw my feet, opens up the knees to initiate, and drop straight down with the torso as upright and tight as possible.  I noticed in one of my first sets that my hip crease is only slightly below parallel, which, given current IPF standards, might be a problem, so in my later sets, I actually purposely do a controlled rebound in and out of the hole and upon watching the videos, this makes depth VERY convincing.  Plus, the rebound is helpful and builds confidence since I don't need to worry about whether depth was hit.  I also found that packing the neck and simultaneously cuing full upper back tightness at the same time makes for 1 solid cue to keep the upper back from rounding upon the ascent, and this was fantastic for keeping the bar path straight.