crt1530's Training Journal

[crt1530]

2008.02.04

Sheiko #32 Week 4 Day 1

Bench Press
135x3x1
160x3x2
185x2x2
200x1x4

Deadlift
265x3x1
320x2x2
370x2x4

Hanging Leg Raise
BWx8x2

Notes
Clean grip on deadlift for 265 and 320lb sets. A lot of people at the gym when I got there. They must have been feeling guilty about all the chips and salsa from yesterday. Even redhead yoga chick was there (she usually only comes on Wednesdays) and was wearing an engagement/wedding ring...lame. I think that from now on I'm going to stay with preparatory phases and save peaking phases for times when I actually intend to compete. This reduced volume isn't doing it for me, but this is the last week and I'm goign to finish it out.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.09

Testing at end of 16 week Sheiko cycle

Squat
235x3x1
280x3x2
325x2x2 Belt on
375x2x1
420x1x1
475x1x1 Video
480x1x1 10lb PR Video

Press
90x3x1
110x3x1
125x2x2
145x2x1
165x1x1
170x1x1 10lb PR

Deadlift
265x3x1
320x2x1
370x2x2
425x1x1
480x1x1
535x1x1 Belt on
545x1x1 15lb PR Video

Pull-up
BWx3x1
BW+25x2x1
BW+45x1x1
BW+70x1x1
BW+90x1x1
BW+115x1x1 Video

Chin-up
BW+115x1x1 Video
BW+135xNope

Notes
My right shoulder has been feeling a bit wonky in general and in particular on the bench press for the past two weeks ever since I slept on my side and woke up with my shoulder slightly out of place. So, I decided to swap out bench press and replace it with a standing press for my max today. Thus, this will be a "Crossfit Total" instead of an unofficial powerlifting total. The squat and deadlift felt like I might have been able to eek out a few more pounds, but I was satisfied with those numbers for today and wanted to finish the lifts on a high note. The press was pretty difficult. I might have been able to get 175 if I'd done the warm up sets differently, but it wasn't going to happen after that 170 attempt. At the end of the deadlift, I had some time to burn and figured it had been a long while since I tried maxing out on weighted pull-ups. The BW+115 is a 5lb PR on the added weight, but I weighed 20lbs less when I did the BW+110, so a 25lb PR on total weight, but not as good of a bodyweight multiple. All-in-all, a great evening of lifting.

So, my "Crossfit Total" = 1195.

 

[paulxcook]

Fantastic PRs, congratulations. I forgot you were maxing again so soon. That squat was nice and deep. Now that this program is over, what are your plans?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Do you think you could've gone heavier with that squat? It didn't seem like you had to struggle too too much with it. I'm just curious 'cause I force myself to do a weight that I really have to crunch out. Either way, your CFT is awesome

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Do you think you could've gone heavier with that squat? It didn't seem like you had to struggle too too much with it. I'm just curious 'cause I force myself to do a weight that I really have to crunch out. Either way, your CFT is awesome

Yes, I believe I could have done more weight. I'm pretty conservative with max attempts in the gym for a few reasons:

1. I don't have a spotter (aside from the power rack pins).
2. I loathe missing lifts.
3. I like leaving something on the table for the next time I go for a max.
4. On the squat, I decided not to go for a third attempt because I wanted to conserve some energy for the deadlift.

I view weight lifting as a war of attrition. That's one reason I like this Sheiko routine. None of the individual reps or sets are extremely challenging (such that you should be missing reps), but the volume combined with the right amount of intensity IS difficult and ends up getting the job done. I'm fine taking small gains every month and avoiding the big injuries that often accompany overreaching.

That being said, I'm going to defend my intensity by mentioning the fact that I have a bunch of red spots on the skin all round my eyes from broken capillaries sustained during last night's lifting.

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Fantastic PRs, congratulations. I forgot you were maxing again so soon. That squat was nice and deep. Now that this program is over, what are your plans?

I'm going to start another Sheiko routine. Depending on how quickly my shoulder heals up, I may end up subsituting overhead press for bench press for a few weeks.

 

[paulxcook]

Originally posted by: crt1530

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Do you think you could've gone heavier with that squat? It didn't seem like you had to struggle too too much with it. I'm just curious 'cause I force myself to do a weight that I really have to crunch out. Either way, your CFT is awesome

Yes, I believe I could have done more weight. I'm pretty conservative with max attempts in the gym for a few reasons:

1. I don't have a spotter (aside from the power rack pins).
2. I loathe missing lifts.
3. I like leaving something on the table for the next time I go for a max.
4. On the squat, I decided not to go for a third attempt because I wanted to conserve some energy for the deadlift.

I view weight lifting as a war of attrition. That's one reason I like this Sheiko routine. None of the individual reps or sets are extremely challenging (such that you should be missing reps), but the volume combined with the right amount of intensity IS difficult and ends up getting the job done. I'm fine taking small gains every month and avoiding the big injuries that often accompany overreaching.

That being said, I'm going to defend my intensity by mentioning the fact that I have a bunch of red spots on the skin all round my eyes from broken capillaries sustained during last night's lifting.

Freaky.

I like what you're saying about the Sheiko routine. Given your progress, I think I'll give it a shot in a few months/years. What level of experience would one need to be at to get the most out of this program?

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Freaky.

I like what you're saying about the Sheiko routine. Given your progress, I think I'll give it a shot in a few months/years. What level of experience would one need to be at to get the most out of this program?

People tend to look at more advanced/complicated programs as something to look forward to. The only reason to move to a more complicated program is when your less complicated program stops working. Needing more complexity just means that your gains are slowing down. To steal Coach Rippetoe's analogy, increasing program complexity is like having to move over out of the fast lane when you're driving on the highway. Right now, I'm looking for 5lbs of gains per lift for every four week training cycle. You're still making 5lb gains nearly every workout. Even if you're only increasing your lifts by 1lb per training session, that's still huge. This Sheiko program has me doing twelve days of benching, eight days of squatting and four days of deadlifting just to meet my goal of a 5lb increase.

I'd say that the Starting Strength program should work for you until your lifts are well into the intermediate categories as specified on http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf. After you've come to an end with the SS program, you could move into one of the basic Sheiko programs (like what I'm doing).

The most important part of progressing with weight lifting is persistence.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: crt1530

Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Do you think you could've gone heavier with that squat? It didn't seem like you had to struggle too too much with it. I'm just curious 'cause I force myself to do a weight that I really have to crunch out. Either way, your CFT is awesome

Yes, I believe I could have done more weight. I'm pretty conservative with max attempts in the gym for a few reasons:

1. I don't have a spotter (aside from the power rack pins).
2. I loathe missing lifts.
3. I like leaving something on the table for the next time I go for a max.
4. On the squat, I decided not to go for a third attempt because I wanted to conserve some energy for the deadlift.

I view weight lifting as a war of attrition. That's one reason I like this Sheiko routine. None of the individual reps or sets are extremely challenging (such that you should be missing reps), but the volume combined with the right amount of intensity IS difficult and ends up getting the job done. I'm fine taking small gains every month and avoiding the big injuries that often accompany overreaching.

That being said, I'm going to defend my intensity by mentioning the fact that I have a bunch of red spots on the skin all round my eyes from broken capillaries sustained during last night's lifting.

Fair enough. I figured as much, but I also figured it didn't hurt to ask. Preventing injury and staying fresh for the other lifts are main priorities and I can respect that. Once again, congrats on the PRs.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.11

Sheiko #30 Week 1 Day 1

Press
85x5x1
105x4x2
120x3x2
135x3x6

Squat
240x5x1
290x4x1
335x3x2 Belt on
385x3x5

Press
85x5x1
105x5x1
120x5x5

Chin-up
BW+20x5x5

Squat
265x5x1
315x4x1
360x3x5 Belt on

Good Morning
145x5x5

Notes
Brutal. The last four weeks had less than half the volume of this routine. The last time I ran Sheiko #30 was twelve weeks ago and my squat max for the percentage calculations was 30lbs less. I am considering switching to a program with slightly less volume (possibly #37) for these first four weeks. I substituted the press for the bench press today because one (or more) of the external rotators in my right shoulder are mildly strained and it is making benching painful. We'll see how it goes.

 

[spamsk8r]

That is an awesome CFT score. My last one was a pathetic 670 lol. Which is 3x my bodyweight. 6x bodyweight is elite level strength (for your weightclass, obviously), and I hope to get there one day. Again, superb work.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.13

Sheiko #37 Week 1 Day 2

Deadlift
275x5x1
330x5x2
385x4x2
410x3x4

Press
115x4x6

Dip
BWx10x3

Hanging Leg Raise
BWx12x3

Notes
I decided to switch to #37 from #30. #37 has 1112 reps of the three main lifts vs. 1296 for #30. The peaking program I did for the last four weeks had about 550. I think it would be wise to work back up to the volume in #30 instead of jumping in with my newly increased poundages.

This session had rack pulls scheduled after the dips, but I took them out to make up for overdoing it on Monday. Was very sore this morning but did some foam rolling prior to going to the gym and felt fine after the deadlift warm-up sets. The dips felt fine at first, but my shoulder felt like it was getting a bit fatigued and I didn't want to push it. I was supposed to do lunges, but getting under the bar made my shoulder hurt, so I gave myself a pass after one set.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.15

Sheiko #37 Week 1 Day 3

Press
85x7x1
95x6x1
105x5x1
110x4x1
120x3x2
130x2x2
120x3x2
110x4x1
105x6x1
95x8x1
85x10x1

Bench Press
45x25x3

Squat
240x5x1
290x4x2
335x3x2
360x3x5

Notes
Dropped some of the accessory work since I got to the gym a bit late last night and was pressed for time. My shoulder just isn't feeling right. I may stop all pressing activity and sub in chins as my main upper body movement and start doing some shoulder rehab. The 25 rep bench sets felt fine.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.17

Recovery

Bench Press
45x25x1
50x25x1
55x25x1

YTWL Shouler Exercise
5x8x2

Tabata Squat
BWx4

Stretching and Foam Rolling

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.18

Sheiko #37 Week 2 Day 1

Squat
240x5x1
290x4x2
335x3x2
385x2x5

Pull-up
BWx5x1
BWx4x2
BWx3x2
BW+25x2x5

Bench Press
45x25x1
55x25x1
65x25x1

Squat
265x3x1
315x3x1
360x3x4

Good Morning
170x5x5

Notes
My legs felt pretty fresh after the bodyweight squats from the previous day.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.19

Recovery

Bench Press
45x25x1
55x25x1
70x25x1

YTWL Shoulder Exercise
5x10x2

Chin-up
BWx8x5

Stretching and Foam Rolling

 

[paulxcook]

Lots of volume on bench. With the low weight do you feel fatigued much at all?

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Lots of volume on bench. With the low weight do you feel fatigued much at all?

No. Those sets are meant to get the blood flowing to the muscles and help with my shoulder recovery. They are significantly lighter than a bodyweight push-up.

 

[paulxcook]

Are they working? I read Mark Rippetoe's sticky on the strengthmill website about rehabbing an injury, kind of similar to what you're doing.

 

[crt1530]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Are they working? I read Mark Rippetoe's sticky on the strengthmill website about rehabbing an injury, kind of similar to what you're doing.

We'll see. I actually took the idea from Rip's post. This is my third consecutive day of the 25 rep sets and you're supposed to do them for 10 days straight.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.20

Sheiko #37 Week 2 Day 2

Deadlift to Knees
275x4x1
330x4x2
385x4x4

Bench Press
45x25x1
60x25x1
75x25x1

Deadlift
275x4x1
330x4x1
385x3x2
410x3x5

Notes
That's it. I'm done with partial-ROM deadlifts. I am sure that Boris Sheiko has more powerlifting knowledge in his little finger than I do in my whole body, but I just hate deadlift to knees and rack pulls. I'm going to start substituting power cleans.

I spent WAY too much time socializing today. My pacing was completely off.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.22

Sheiko #37 Week 2 Day 3

Squat
240x4x1
290x4x1
335x3x2
360x3x6

Chin-up
BWx7,7,6,5,4,4,4,4,4,5

Bench Press
45x25x1
60x25x1
80x25x1

Squat
265x3x1
315x3x1
360x2x4

Good Morning
145x6x5

Notes
My back felt a bit stiff this afternoon, but was fine during the training session. The first two squat sets of 360 felt a bit heavy and then from the third set on they felt fine. I haven't been too good about eating and sleeping enough this week. Need to work on that.

 

[paulxcook]

Good squats as always. How is the bench rehabbing going? Is it working?

Also, how long would you say it took you to really get your form down on squats? Do you feel like you effectively engage your hams and glutes and get good hip drive on the majority of your lifts? If so, how long did that take?

 

[crt1530]

I'm not sure how much better the shoulder is. I'm just going to give it the full two weeks and then evaluate.

My squat form has improved in just the last six months. If you watch the video from my powerlifting meet, you can see my knees coming in on the squats. I've found that taking video of myself helps me evaluate my form issues. Making sure that you force your knees out will help you activate your posterior chain. If you allow your knees to buckle in, you shift the weight to your quads and put your knees in a bad situation.

 

[crt1530]

2008.02.23

CoC Grippers
Tx10x1
1x5x1
1.5x5x5

Notes
I didn't feel like going to the gym just to do shoulder rehab stuff this evening. Did some gripper work while watching boxing. Will do some foam rolling.