More music and training shit

I'm right in the middle of exam season at the moment, though that hasn't stopped me from training 8 times in the last 7 days, (probably one of the densest week of training I've had).

A couple weeks back I had some weird flu-type illness, which completely knocked me on my arse. I had ridiculous temperatures and no appetite at all for two straight days. Over these two days, I lost around 3kg / 7lbs, hitting a low of 12st 5lbs / 79kg. Over the next week I struggled to regain my previous weight, and I'm only really returning to my previous weight now.

Periodic babes in this post. I can't imagine anyone minds.

An eating revelation I'd had after remembering a tidbit of info I'd read way back at the start of my lifting career, was adding double cream to stuff. I've started putting it in shakes and just mixing it into my cups of milk. It adds something ridiculous like 470cals per 100ml. I can easily put away 1000cals of this stuff without even thinking about it.

My shoulder work is going well as it stands. The other day I tried the uncle format for the military press, (detailed in Jamie Lewis' fucking cool blog here: http://chaosandpain.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/uncle-training-style.html)

I put on about 85-90% of my 1RM (between 65 and 70kg, embarrassing I know) and hit as many singles as possible in 20 minutes. I ended up getting 23 reps. I like this as a way to hit lots of heavy singles and keep the intensity as high as possible. Also adds a sense of competition, important for those of us who train alone. I am considering trying this for the deadlift after my current deadlift cycle ends.
One current medium-term goal is a bodyweight strict press (will have to be 82.5kg at the moment, current max on a good day is about 70kg). This would be fucking cool.

Going off on a tangent for a bit, I'd mentioned in one of my previous posts that I was going to plan out a decent deadlift cycle. It ended up looking like this:

If for some reason you can't see it, it alternates between rack pulls and deficit pulls, working up to progressively heavier RMs as the weeks go on.  It starts at a 6RM for rack pulls and an 8RM for deficits, going down to a 1RM for each. It also incorporates speed pulls each week.
I designed it like this to work on hamstring strength and leg drive from the floor (hence the deficits) and the sticking point at my knees (hence the rack pulls). I chucked in the speed pulls as an experiment really, plus they get me warmed up well for the heavier stuff later in the session. I usually finish these workouts with explosive Pendlay rows and shrugs. I'm currently in week 7 and will be working to a 3RM deficit pull in the next few days.

What a pair.

Another format I ran across for the squat comes in what I call the Bulgarian setup, though it's probably a long way from what they do (namely squatting everyday).
I essentially work up to a daily max (without killing myself - this might be anywhere from 90-95% of my competition max), then take off 10kg and do 3 doubles, then drop another 10kg and do 3 triples.
If your squat is higher than mine (which is likely as my best competition squat is 145kg), you might have to drop more weight between sets.

Now for the music:

I can't believe I haven't mentioned Black Pyramid yet in this blog. They just fucking crush. Every single one of their songs is amazing. I'll pick one of my favourites, Into The Dawn. This is a 15-minute epic riff-fest.

I also downloaded a couple more Hatebreed albums, which as usual, completely slay.

I bought the debut Pentagram album, which is just so badass.

And I've been listening to Jerusalem / Dopesmoker the last couple days, by the stoner leviathans Sleep.
These anthems are about an hour long, and are totally awesome.

And a smaller band I've discovered - Spelljammer. They have some large riffs that I rate so hard.

Christ, I could go on all day with music. One more - sludge godfathers Crowbar generally crush shit, and their latest album is certainly no exception. This particular song has one of the thickest riffs I've ever heard. 

I think that's all I've got for now, I really should try and write on here more often.

I think I've reached a turning point... at least in my squat

After remembering a snippet I read in one of Westside Barbell's articles (this one: http://www.westside-barbell.com/westside-articles/PDF.Files/04PDF/Box%20Squatting.pdf), I recall it said that basically as a lifter gets more experienced at a movement, their first rep will be the best, and subsequent reps aren't as good.
Conversely, lower-skilled lifters use the first rep as a body awareness tool, so their later reps are better.

Now I'm not for a second comparing myself to the Westside lifters in terms of strength, but I think that particular idea is quite interesting.

I feel that I've reached a kind of turning point in the squat, now that I've maintained the same form for quite a while with no injuries. In my last few squat sessions, I have been noticing that indeed my first rep is the best. I believe that I can attribute this to my love of low reps (3 and under) as this gives practice on the first rep. Obviously it's the first rep that counts in powerlifting.

I've also found what actually makes my squat increase - high intensity, high frequency and low volume. In fact, I believe that in the three weeks before my most recent meet, I put 10kg on my squat.

In other news, I really, really like this picture.

Something else I'm starting is behind-the-neck presses. Essentially, I had this idea today or yesterday. I found an old pool cue in a skip, so I salvaged it. And so for the next week, I'll be doing loads of behind the neck pressing with the cue, just to make sure I have the shoulder mobility when it comes to adding weight this weekend. I'm already noticing my traps working just as hard as my shoulders when I do them. Good sign, I suppose, that I'm doing them right and squeezing the scaps.

Woof.

I'll leave you motherfuckers with some music. I really rate Emmure, though they're not sludge metal. Either way, they get me ready to kick some major ass. I think they have an album coming out soon-ish, so look out for it.

Lift hard.

Meet Results - 22nd April

This post is pretty much lifted word-for-word from my log over on T-Nation.

MEET RESULTS - 22nd April 2012 

Arrived at just after 9am, and weighed in at 81.9kg. I could have been lighter, but I had a particularly stubborn dump that refused to move until after I'd weighed in lol. This is 1kg lighter than my last meet in November. This was an unequipped meet. 

Warmed up for squats at about 11:30-12:00. 

40kg x5 
60kg x3 
80kg x2 
100kg x1 

1st attempt: 120kg - fast and easy, 3 whites. In the meet. 

2nd attempt: 132.5kg - another fast and easy one, 3 whites. Opened up a new bottle of Nose Tork which was obnoxiously strong. 

3rd attempt: 145kg - actually decent, 3 whites. 5kg raw PR, 12.5kg meet PR. Very happy with this, moved quick without stalling. Had at least 5kg more in me. 


Bench 

50kg x5 
50kg x3 
60kg x2 
80kg x1 

The ref was giving extra long pauses, unfortunately. 

1st attempt: 90kg - miss, 2 red/1 white. I lifted my head off the bench, but the weight itself was easy. Just a technicality. Actually this is the first time I've ever missed an opener. 

2nd attempt: 97.5kg - fast, 3 whites. In the meet. 

3rd attempt: 105kg - good, 2 whites/1 red. Head just came off the bench but went straight back down, and luckily only one judge saw it. Weight itself moved great, no stalling. 2.5kg PR. Had about 3-4kg more in me. Shoulder work has paid off. 


Deadlift 

70kg x3 
90kg x2 
110kg x1 
130kg x1 

1st attempt: 150kg - good, 3 whites. No problems here. 

2nd attempt: 160kg - again, great. 3 whites. 

3rd attempt: 170kg - after liberal use of Nose Tork, ripped it up quickly without stalling for 3 more white lights. 5kg conventional PR, matched all-time PR. I had at least 5kg more in me. 


Total: 420kg (20kg raw PR, 17.5kg all-time PR). 

I'm buzzing with my performance today, went 8/9 with all good 3rd attempts. Unfortunately no-one was taking videos, so no videos to put up here. 

I had a caffeine + other stims shake in between each lift, so my energy levels remained sky high throughout. 

I'm going to have an easier week, then right back into heavy training.

I can take a few lessons away from this last training cycle: - High frequency, high intensity squatting is working well for me at the moment. Programming this over the next few months will be a lot more difficult though, due to lack of access to a bar through the week. At least I know what works now. - Olympic squatting has improved my strength out of the hole and general leg strength and size. - Heavy overhead work is da bomb. - I need to train my hamstrings harder and heavier, and plan out a decent deadlift cycle based on my strengths and weaknesses. - I also need more ab work - Especially with pulling, I notice a big strength increase when I put on my belt. - Finally I will incorporate more rowing movements in my next cycle, to put a bit of mass on the upper back. Apologies to my very few readers for not writing anything for a while - I pretty much had nothing to write about.

I HATE not training

I'm disgusted with myself. I haven't lifted in 8 days straight - irritating stuff like life and work got in the way, and consequently I've began to feel some effects of not training.
The most obvious and unusual one is that I start to get a lot more aches and pains - I'll wake up with my lower back, hips and shoulders killing me, and I've just effectively done a complete deload. AND I'M ONLY 18 YEARS OLD. I've got no excuse for this. I'm still not even strong.
I guess that when I'm regularly training, I'm like a well-oiled machine, everything works fine. As soon as I stop for a while, shit gets rusty and I start aching like a 50 year old. I need to get a better schedule - training at school takes the piss.

Music-wise, here's a fucking awesome sludge band called Unearthly Trance. These guys just sound the bomb, they are thick, slow and heavy, with killer riffs.
Check out this and 'God Is A Beast', from their album Electrocution, if you have the time. You won't regret it.

In other news, I often train alone. No surprise there, considering there is about as much knowledge of lifting in the school gym as there is about quantum chromodynamics. (i.e. I'm the only one with even a vague fucking idea of what it is).
Though recently I've trained with a couple of guys in quick sessions, and I love to throw down challenges to speed up the training and get in some competition. These always let you push yourself harder than you would, and we're all guilty of slacking off occasionally, taking a few extra seconds rest or (something I don't think I've ever done but see it all too often) skipping sets and reps.
So my point is, if you have someone similarly motivated, try doing your smaller work or assistance with them, and do it as a challenge for some added fun.
Often, a partner can just get in the way on the main movements, especially if they're training different exercises. Unless you're all doing the same thing, e.g. a powerlifting club. Hence why I often train alone - I know what the fuck I'm doing, and I'm not stripping the squat bar so you can do bent over rows between my sets.

Got to go, the Nazi internet filter is about to cut off seeing as it's approaching 11pm, so see thee later.

Crossing Disciplines, aka. getting generally STRONG

Recently, I seem to be tending away from pure powerlifting, and more towards getting super-strong in general. I'm drawn to both Olympic lifting and Strongman, as it seems that they both develop more athleticism than just powerlifting. Now I know that is pretty much based on how much conditioning and athletic shit you do in your training, and I'm not saying there isn't an athletic powerlifter anywhere, but guys from both of these sports are, for the most part, lean as shit, strong as shit and just awesome.

 A steady diet of fucking heavy ATG squats

This is why I've started to incorporate other movements from powerlifting stuff now in my sessions. I'm starting to do a lot more Olympic-style squats - you can go on about different movement patterns and not carrying over to PL-style, etc. but the fact remains that bigger, stronger legs will give you a bigger squat, and it just so happens that Olympic squatting is one hell of a good way to build the aforementioned legs.

I'm also looking to slot in more overhead work, and in the medium-term I'm looking for a bodyweight strict press, and a 100kg jerk. 'Cos big strong shoulders never hurt anyone. And they can only help the bench.

Zydrunas didn't get here by avoiding overhead work. And he can probably bench a house, raw, with tits in his face.

Speaking of which...

Well, it's getting on late now, and my birthday is tomorrow. I need to be prepared for the onslaught of alcohol in all its manifestations over the next 36 hours, so if you'll excuse me for a few days - I must battle the mother of all hangovers.

Until next time.

These are a few of my favourite things...

This post will be pretty much a haphazard mess of whatever's currently on my mind. I've just finished deadlifting and set a PR in the process (147.5kg x5 - contain your orgasms) and am now looking forward to a big ol' bowl of beef stew.
My training has been progressing fairly well recently - I'm getting stronger session to session, and seem to have overcome the plateau I had been stuck at for quite a few months through sheer hate and swapping to 5/3/1. I, as anyone, am occasionally guilty of going through the motions, and I've found I don't get stronger unless I literally leave parts of my body and soul when I train. So now, if I lift, I really go after it. We're talking loud metal (obviously), caffeine, sometimes ammonia, etc. Some bloke may come along with his studies spouting broscience about overtraining and burnout, but I'm getting results, plus it's just fucking fun to let out a hellish growl before tearing a deadlift off the floor, and again just for the hell of it.

I've just been listening to Evoken's 'Antithesis of Light'. This is thick, nasty and dark doom metal. Check it out.

I'm also really into Bell Witch's EP - this is just incredible and haunting. So much so that I've just downloaded the film that the intro track samples - The Masque of the Red Death. Get a copy of it here:

http://stonerobixxx.blogspot.com/2012/02/bell-witch-demo-2011.html

By the way, I highly rate that blog - it's got some awesome new and underground bands tearing shit up.

As far as other badass shit goes, I'm also a regular follower of BadassOfTheWeek.com. This is a sick website celebrating weekly all things manly and testosterone, and showcasing the hardest motherfuckers ever to walk the earth.

Well, I've run out of things on my mind at the moment - hopefully as this blog develops I may have some structure and some regular-ish features that will be fairly interesting.

Lift hard.

I'll start this blog by linking y'all to my training log over on T-Nation:
http://tnation.t-nation.com/free_online_forum/blog_sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_log/from_humble_beginnings_to_hopefully_powerlifting_one_day?id=4155252&pageNo=11

I've been lifting properly for just over 2 years now.
I'm currently sitting at about 82kg BW, with best competition lifts of 132.5kg/102.5kg/170kg.

I'm currently following Wendler's 5/3/1 with slight tweaks inspired by Chaos & Pain, namely that I like going fucking heavy on any day that I feel like it.

My training schedule is actually pretty fucked most of the time as I'm at boarding school with a shit gym and no bars. So some of my training sessions almost make me weep, but I get it done, and I'm making progress. I've got a basic home gym and am part of a powerlifting club.

As far as the heavy metal side of the blog goes, I'm real big on sludge/doom/stoner metal (hence the URL), and play as much as possible, as loudly as possible. I'll occasionally link to new albums or artists that I've found and want to share.

I'll also post other various awesome and badass stuff that I run across.

I'm not sure how regularly I'll post, but suffice it to say I should get at least 2 or 3 posts up a week.

Until next time.