Even Keel (sort of) update - 16 May 2014

Friday, 14 May 2014 
Even Keel A (sort of) 
70 min., 225 lb. 
MOOD: Felt stoked about working out, but also felt a bit insecure on the squat. It's a while since I did back squats on a regular basis, so I was tweaking a lot of little variables (foot width, toe angle, bar height, hinge vs. legs, etc.), trying for an Olympic squat but wanting a little more posterior chain support. 

SQ: 15, 12, 8, 6, 4, 3, 3, 2 @ 105, 145, 235, 255, 275, 305, 325, 345 lb.

db press: 10, 9, 7*, 11 @ 80, 85, 90, 70 lb.
[A little spotter help and a final negative on the third set.]

spider curl: 12, 12, 12, 9 @ 70, 80, 90, 100 lb.

pullover: 15, 15, 12 @ 70, 75, 80 lb.
[These left my triceps and forearms SWOLE and FRIED. I love old school lifting.]

+ + +

I'm pretty sure that 345 lb. is a squat PR, but, honestly, I didn't get very jazzed about it. Reading Perryman's Squat Every Day has, probably forever, changed my entire perspective on squatting. It's not a special challenge; it's a given. In so far as squatting heavy on a regular basis is a given for me now, it stands to reason that I will have that many more "good squat days". But still, a PR is a PR! I feel like I might have squatted around that weight back when I was in Taiwan, but a perusal of my records indicates I might never have gotten to 300 lb. So that's real progress, and not just on SQ but on all my major lifts.

However, whilst perusing, I see that my original FSQ goal was to get 285 lb. x 4 (how quickly we forget), so I'm not out of the woods yet. Summer break is almost here, so let's hope I can make some more real progress by being able to get some proper, full nights of sleep for a change!

Grip training + AYCE = WINNING!

Grip training
30 min., 225 lbs.
MOOD: felt groggy and a bit cranky when I got home; spent some time puttering in the garage and eventually felt ready

warm-up: space mace, ghetto gripper, stretching, Chin Na movements (10 min.)

CoC #1.5 - 6 closes

CoC #2 - LH 1 near-close, RH 1 close
[I squeezed so hard on my first LH attempt that at the release I got dizzy enough to have to brace myself on my heavy bag. Fun times!]

CoC #2 - LH 1 near-close, RH 1 close

CoC #2 - LH 1 body-English close, RH 1 close

CoC #1.5 iso-squeeze - LH/RH 15 sec./15 sec.
[used a piece of a thin metal rule to detect when the ends separated]

1.5" pinch block @ 24 lbs. - LH 47 sec., RH 55 sec.
1.5" pinch block @ 24 lbs. - LH 50 sec., RH 50 sec.
[This last set reminded me how grip training is intensely, perhaps uniquely, "mental" in its intensity. I could almost feel myself willing my fingers to clamp harder near the end of my first RH pinch. Then I did the same for my second LH pinch, yet, significantly, let my mind wander during my last RH pinch.]

+ + +

And then, boys and girls, I did a Bad Thing: I gave into the urge to SQUAT MOAR and drove up to the gym for a set of FSQ.

FSQ: 8, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2 @ 145, 195, 215, 235, 255, 275 lbs.

+ + + 

Hooray: I believe those two reps at 275 are a new PR for me.

I'm pretty certain that I could front squat 285, which was the figure I estimated was 90% of my back squat. Once I achieve that FSQ, I will reintegrate SQ into my regimen.

All such certainties aside, however, I am willing to wait until I actually FSQ a couple reps at 285 before bringing back the SQ, and even when I do so, I'll be opting for a high-bar, narrowish-stance, Olympicky SQ instead of the low bar powerlifting SQ. FSQ helps your liftoff on the DL, and my Kelso Shurg Rush program is intended to augment the back-extension phase.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This FSQ set was a perfect example of the benefit I got from Perryman's Squat Every Day. Just as some fellows tell their wives that they're headed to the store for some milk, I rather spontaneously told my wife, "I'm going to go squat, be back soon." I went in my Birkenstocks, shorts, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt, bee-lined for the squat rack, and got the whole set done in about 20 minutes. Before my very last rep, I took a long moment to collect my thoughts, assess my abilities, and then drove down for what turned out to be a second PR. ("How you feel is a lie.") Admittedly, I thought I was about to tip forward halfway up, but I pulled through, let out a small bark at the top, racked the bar, and stepped away, saying, "Well, wasn't that something?"

Felt. Totally. Awesome!

Speaking of "feeleens," I had some DOMS today in my thighs, and was of a mind to take it easy, but I keep coming back to the mysterious and too little known truth that it's extremely difficult to (really) "overtrain" squats.

Tomorrow is a Shurg Rush, and I will be throwing in a set of HSQ or ZSQ. Stay tuned.

---------------------

P.S. 

Almost forgot. I made my workout cards today, so I'm just as curious as you are what my Even Keel 1A workout is for next week. I've already got this week's 1B programmed. 

P.P.S. 

My first dino-db is complete! Turns out, lubricating the container actually makes it harder to extract the dried cement, since it forms a moisture lock with the plastic. It's about 34 lbs. and the handle ended up being a little longer than I wanted. The measurement I had taken of the first side of cement, and used for the second portion, was too high: once the water evaporated, the concrete itself finished "shorter away" from my intended handle width. Oh well. I laid the first half of my next, 60+ lbs dino-db today, which was a nifty wrist warm-up for my grip session, to boot. 

The new half is darker until residual moisture and silicone lubricant are gone. If you want to make one of these for yourself, here's a little heads-up: when setting the second half, you need to drill a small hole in the handle so that air in the pipe can escape and allow the fresh cement to fill the pipe. Oh, also, you should tap all around the bucket to get as many air bubbles out of the cement to the surface. Happily enough, this procedure splashed some of the cement onto the handle, which gives an otherwise smooth pipe some nice grit.

AYCE notes... (The plot thickens)

Friday, 11 April 2014 
43 min., 227 lbs. 
MOOD: felt very fun, felt energized, wore pants and hoodie 

Warm-up (3 min.) - movements, stretching

FSQ: 7, 5, 3, 3, 3, 2 @ 135, 155, 205, 225, 245, 265 lbs.

CLP: 5, 5, 5 @ 115, 125, 135 lbs.

HSN (hang snatch): 5, 4, 3* @ 115, 125, 135 lbs.
[Rule of thumb: if you're not sure that you're being explosive enough on Oly lifts, then you're not being explosive enough, especially compared to this beast. Not only did I not pull myself under the bar, at least not once I passed 115 lbs., but I also didn't really drop into a squat. Plus, my feet were kind of all over the place, rather like a flying squirrel. The * indicates that I only pulled off the last rep of the final set. Humble pie is quite tasty! Still, it was a fun lift.]

PNF: 5 min.

+ + + 

I've learned this much:

- Squatting every day is not only not impossible, but almost a given for strength and power athletes. 

- I believe in majoring on The Big Three (SQ, DL, BP) and using everything else for adding volume (esp. for myofibrillar synthesis), honing technique, and training assistance lifts for The Big Three. 

- I enjoy "hobby strength training" (i.e. neck, grip, hand balancing, tires-and-sledge-hammers, plyometrics, boxing, kettlebell, keg conditioning, mace, etc.) too much to commit my entire week to "mainstream" weightlifting.  

- The above axioms have been percolating in this blog for years; my constant fiddling with my regimen--without, I maintain, trying "a whole new program" every week or two--is my attempt to articulate and synthesize them. 

My biggest discovery of late is that Matt Perryman is correct that avoiding "overtraining" is more often than not an excuse to settle for mediocrity. I would, however, restate Perryman's thesis to read, "squat in every workout." Perryman himself admits in the introduction to Squat Every Day that the title is not meant to be taken literally; even three days a week of heavy squatting would just barely qualify as "squatting every day," as he uses the phrase.

Having said that, whilst reading McCallum's The Complete Keys to Progress last night, I was faced with the reality that, while the past few weeks of almost daily training have not "done me in," by any means, I do not currently practice a lifestyle which affords me adequate rest on a daily basis to see the benefits of such frequent training. Having a day off, plus a light weekend, is probably something I need, unless I discipline myself to get a full eight or more hours of sleep every night. That would be nice, but for now, between nightly feedings, bathings, prayers, and a rising time of 5:30 AM, it's really hard for this night owl to be asleep by 9:30 PM.

The upshot of all these musings is the following proposal:

Monday & Thursday: FSQ + BP + MP + PNF  

Tuesday & Friday: DL + HSQ + PU + PNF 

Wednesday or Saturday: hobby training [i.e. tongue press, neck bridging, mace, farmer walks, CoC]

Sunday: REST 

[NB: Warm-up: prone & supine scorpions + neck bridging + movements] 

As always, the above exercises can be swapped with other, related lifts. ZSQ or OHS instead of HSQ, guillotine or dips for MP, SDL or CL or SN instead of DL, rows instead of PU, etc.

It's a basic "squat every workout + push/pull" split. (As I've said before, I'm not going to use SQ until I can FSQ 285 lbs x 4.)

I'm not interested in parsing the rep scheme in great detail right now, but, following McCallum, I'll go for something like [UPDATE: Stupid me! Stick with 5x5!]:

a 12, 10, 5x5 scheme for FSQ, SQ, BP; 

a 10, 5, 3x3 scheme for DL; and 

a 12, 10, 5x5 scheme for MP and PU. 

The first two sets will be with light, warmup weight, and the final sets will be at roughly 70%, 80%, 90% 1RM. I will only add weight when I can complete all the reps with clean, slow form. I will start modestly next week and go from there.

Of course...

if I do finally decide to spring for Kelso's Shrug Book and Kubik's Dinosaur Training, ...

revisit and read Strossen's Super Squats in full, ...

and as I keep reading McCallum's Keys, Pavel's Power to the People, Zinchenko's Rough Strength, ...

don't be surprised to see yet more adjustments. [grin]

As long as I keep having fun, staying humble, and making gains, I figure I'm on the right track.

Stay tuned.

AYCE notes... HI-TECH EDITION!

Friday, 4 April 2014 
44 min., 225 lbs. 

Warm-up (9 min.) - shaking, stretching, OHS

FSQ: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 @ 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 275 lbs.

CL: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 @ 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185 lbs.

Abs (3 min.) - V-sits, Lateral crunches, hip crunches, bird dog

+ + + 

"How you feel is a lie."

I experienced this maxim today.

Today was the end of the third school quarter, so my stress levels were mildly higher than normal (I hate entering and verifying grades). Plus, it's tax season. I got home and felt pretty winded. Thought about taking a nap, but my wife's enthusiasm about some kb and core exercises I showed her, plus a little coffee, plus, really, the unblinking awareness that "I'm going to the gym," all gave me a second wind.

Or did it?

Even as I arrived at the gym, I felt a bit run down.

Meh.

"Gotta get it done."

Despite some aches and pains and the usual inertia, I ended up PR'ing on my FSQ, and felt satisfied for the first time that I'm doing the CL with basically correct form.

In other words, how I felt was a lie.





I'll be taking the weekend fairly easy; it's supposed to rain all weekend, so I might even get some reading done. Honestly, though, I feel a kb session in me, for Saturday, just to blow off some steam and grease the groove. "Healthy addiction," anyone?

Despite all this, I admit I felt a bit lost last night, pondering if I'm really grasping and following Perryman's ideas. I kept (and keep) wondering how to program AYCE better. I really like my... how should I say? Progress? No, it's more like putting on a nicely "broken in" pairs of shoes. I feel comfortable keeping up these daily sessions, don't feel dangerously run down, not at all--in fact, I feel very springy and vibrant. Yet, I still feel like I'm doing it wrong. My instincts have always been to do circuits of 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, but I know that if I don't keep a tight rein on my accessory exercises after DLing and (F)Sqing, I'll run myself into the ground. At the very least, as Perryman does warn, I need some time to get accustomed to such an increase in frequency; I need time to get, to recall my favorite expression in Perryman's book, "fatigue-hardened".

So, as I was trying to get the big picture of my goals, and not simply turn "Squat Every Day" into a random fetish (which Perryman would completely reject, of course), I tried seeing my year cut up into three phases:

power (low volume, high frequency - "AYCE" from, say, January to April);

bodybuilding (high volume, lower frequency - "Even Keel" from April to August);

and calisthenic/bodyweight/boxing/kettlebell conditioning (high intensity, high frequency - "Met-Con" from August to December)

Obviously, I'm off-track with this idea, as I have been doing bulking, Even Keel, and now AYCE, since January--and summer is looming. "They say that" summer is the time to cut and winter is the time to bulk, so.... Either way, for now, my primary goal is to hit a FSQ of 285 x 4, at which point I'll bring back back SQ (heheh).

Last night I also realized that the DL is too important a lift to marginalize. Be bold! Don't hide behind "overtraining" in order to gild your cravings for the cool shade of mediocrity. Thus, as I continue to explore AYCE, here's the forecast: squatty with a burst of deadlift.

Monday: DL, DBP, abs
Tuesday: HSQ, Guillotine
Wednesday: FSQ, PU, abs
Thursday: FSQ, Dips/MP
Friday: FSQ, CL, abs
weekend: rest, foam roll, stretch, kb, etc.

When I step back and look at my progress over the past 4 years, I realize I'm more interested in strength and power than in "getting ripped" or "looking huge." My goals are more like a powerlifter's than a bodybuilder's, so I need to filter the noise through those standards:

SQ of 405 lbs
DL of 485 lbs
BP of 315 lbs

Wish me luck! Meanwhile, I love being the antithesis of a weekend warrior!

AYCE notes...

Thursday, 3 April 2014 
37 min., 226 lbs. 

Warm-up (7 min.) - stretching, motions

ZSQ: 10, 8, 6, 4 @ 105, 115, 125, 135 lbs. 

HSQ: 10, 8, 6, 4 @ 135, 145, 155, 165 lbs.

Guillotine (Gironda) press: 10, 8, 6, 4 @ 135, 145, 155, 165 lbs.

Underhand db flye: 10, 8, 6, 4 @ 35, 40, 45, 50 lbs.

+ + +

Zercher squats were fun, but the bar wedging into my elbow crook was unpleasant. I smiled at the fact that I finally had a reason to use the bar pad that some people use on the SQ. Forget that pad for squats--build your traps up--but it did help on my arms for the ZSQ.

Hack squats were amazing! Superb quad exercise! I understand why the HSQ is said to help with the DL, too, as it activated lats on the eccentric phase. I would have liked to go heavier, but the whole point of today's workout was to be light and quick, almost like greasing the groove for my power lifts. I decided not to do any rows today, seeing as I DL's yesterday. 

I will try replacing the underhand db flye with underhand cable rows next time, lighter but for more volume. I'll also go for more more volume on the neck press.

Tomorrow I'll replace the DBP with the MP, thus: FSQ (4, 3, 2...), MP (4, 3, 2...), CL (3, 3, 3, 3, 3).

Also, while I'm certainly not looking to get "shredded," I do want to lower my body fat percentage by about 5%. I'll keep throwing in planks and kb swings in the evening. 

Stay tuned.

AYCE notes... (updated)

[4/1/14 - Projections for this workout....]  

Here's what I actually ended up doing:

AYCE Power 
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
50 min, 226 lbs. 

Warm-up (9 min.) - stretching, shaking, OHS

DBP: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 4* @ 225, 235, 245, 250, 255, 260 lbs. [* My spotter urged me to go past two, but they turned out to be forced/helped reps, anyway. Seeee?!]

FSQ: 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 @ 235, 245, 250, 255, 260, 265 lbs.

DL: 4, 3, 2, 2, 1* @ 285, 305, 315, 325, 335 lbs. [* With chalk and hook grip.]

+ + + 

A number of factors (from Perryman, Pavel, a buff Catholic dude at the gym, etc.) have combined to show me the advantage of doing a power/auxiliary split, which means that I'll do heavier lifts (BP/DBP, SQ/FSQ, DL/SDL/RDL) every other day, broken up by lighter "dynamically parallel" lifts, or even "just" kb or boxing on days I need a break from the gym. This does not mean I will do the DL every other day, of course! I'm not suicidal. I think doing the DL every fourth workout is a good policy until I discover otherwise. I may sometimes replace the DBP with db presses, flyes, or dips. On auxiliary days I'll do things like HSQ/OSQ/ZSQ/GSQ, CL, rows/PU, and presses.

SMILES: Going heavy on the DL was nice. Once I got home and ate, I nearly drifted off to sleep a few times, but I've got my second wind until bedtime. Also, DBP felt very good; a slightly wider grip works better.

FROWNS: I sometimes had trouble keeping my elbows high and tight on the FSQ.

AYCE notes...

AYCE Posterior
Tuesday, 1 April 2014 
40 min, 225 lbs

[I have no idea what's up with my weight. I've just taken too many inconsistent weighings over the past few months. I guess I should ratchet all my estimates down by 8 lbs. I don't even know. I was over 230 in February, but I drop weight very easily, and the body always tends to its natural functional weight. On the bright side, this means I'm that much closer to cleaning my bodyweight and that much closer to a double-bodyweight back squat! I got pretty close to a double-bodyweight deadlift back in Taiwan, if I did not in fact hit it. And then if I used straps...!] 

Warm-up (6 min.): motions, stretching, shaking

CL: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2 @ 155, 175, 185, 190, 190 lbs

MP: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2 @ 135, 140, 145, 150, 155 lbs

Pendlay row: 5, 4, 3, 2, 2 @ 155, 175, 195, 205, 215 lbs

CLSQSQ: 5 @ 135 lbs

+ + +

Compared to my projections from yesterday, I did one set less volume. I think next time I will do six sets via 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 reps. "Large and low." I felt a bit distracted when I got started. Maybe I'd had too much coffee and vitamin B. Setting good form on the clean, however, is a great way to get focused. Posterior chain to the rescue! The "CLSQSQ" was something I threw on at the end, for kicks. I really liked the speed of banging out two FSQ after a CL.

SMILES: Felt good to go heavier on the row. I may have gotten a PR for the standing press. Meh.

FROWNS: I still struggled with getting my hips forward quickly enough on the CL. My years of rowing experience are helping me, though, since a clean is basically a vertical rowing stroke. Starting slowly from the floor actually helps (good video, great music). I was annoyed to find that no bar at the gym has freely rotating sleeves. That makes the plates stick and totter at times. I think I'll need to curtail my urge for MOAR WEIGHT in order to focus on speed and tight hip-extension.

AYCE notes... and an epiphany or two...

Monday, 31 March 2014
AYCE Anterior
37 min, 234 lbs

[Rather than devote a separate time just for warming up, I used my "ramp-up" sets as the warm-up for each exercise. I may have been a little too hasty in that regard, but it wasn't really a problem. I'll try some usual stretching and shaking next time.]

DBP:
225 x 1, 2, 2
235 x 2
245 x 2
255 x 2*
[* my spotter was grabby, but I'm sure I could have gotten them without his overzealous pawing]
-
FSQ: 
205 x 4
225 x 2
235 x 2
245 x 2
255 x 2
265 x 2
-
Dip: 14, 12
PU: 10, 10
-
db supinated press: 100 x 10
[I'm not sure what to call this exercise. It's based on the idea of "scooping" to activate the pecs. Like a chicken press, bring the weights low, but then arc them upwards into a squeeze. Sort of a chicken flye, I guess. Very fun.]

+ + + 

Today was a very fruitful workout. Maybe even a sort of milestone. I think I PR'd on my FSQ (though I'm not concerned with a PR: my goal is to get 4 reps at 285 lbs, at which point I'll bring back squats into my routine).

A possible PR was nice, but the real benefit was the two-fold insight I had about AYCE. First, I need to do an upper-body semi-split (anterior/posterior or push/pull). Second, it's called "Squat Every Day", not bench press or row every day! The upper body simply cannot keep up with the rigors which daily leg work is meant to provide. My legs haven't really been sore for a couple weeks. This will not do. Happily enough, then, today I realized the problem: I am basing the intensity of my upper body exercises on the intensity I want for my legs (which is unsustainable), while I'm limiting the volume which my lower body needs based on a reflex for symmetry. Instead, I need to divert more volume to my legs and less to my upper body.

Lest I keep rambling, let me just lay it out:

AYCE Anterior
DBP / db press - 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2
FSQ / HSQ / OSQ - 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2 
neck press / dip / pullover / db flye / underhand BP - 5, 5, 5, 5, 5   

AYCE Posterior
CLSQ / DL / SDL / RDL / JSQ - 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2 
MP / one-arm press -  5, 4, 3, 2, 2
Pendlay row / Rope row / T-row / PU -  5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

(The slashes indicate options I can choose depending on how I feel or what I think needs more work.) 

The simplicity of this program, like Even Keel, but even more so, is among its most attractive features, so I don't want to over-think it. At the same time, I'm experimenting into a new approach to training, so it's enjoyable cutting out excess exercises and going for the essentials with heavy low-rep sets. It's too distracting right now to try to figure out what percentages to use for the above reps. I'm just going by feel these first few weeks--and today felt just about perfect. Nonetheless, I will use a ratcheting principle to guesstimate weights from one workout to the next. It's what Perryman calls your daily minimum: imagine right now what you could do on various lifts if you just walked into the gym and hit them cold. That's your daily minimum, your confidence-boosting warmup-baseline. By the end of the workout, you should have gone heavier than your baseline, of course, so you then use that number as your rule of thumb for a new daily minimum over the ensuing workouts. Mind you, this is different from a mechanistic, highly regimented planned progression scheme. Sometimes you'll simply perform sub-par and punch the clock based on your older baseline--and that's perfectly fine. Why should one bad workout--and they will happen!--derail your progress? Why should you shackle yourself to such a fragile and finicky regimen? Train your body, not a set of numbers. The key is to show up, get the lifts in, and keep developing a "fatigue-hardened" neuromuscular system.

Now, Perryman acknowledges the awkwardness of fitting the DL into a daily regimen like this. I have learned two things about the DL: 1) I go heavy when I do it, and therefore 2) I must not do it twice in too short a time (i.e. once a week is not a bad idea, as it worked out when I was doing Even Keel in Taiwan). I think I will execute the DL every fourth AYCE Posterior workout. I did one last Wednesday and Friday, and will do another tomorrow, so I'll go for the DL on Thursday.

Again, though, what makes high-frequency training counter-intuitive is that it focuses more on consistency than rigid programming. The goal is to develop athletic preparedness, with daily (perhaps sometimes even will-o-the-wisp) attempts for 1RM, so, unless you simply stop training, it's almost impossible to "derail" your program with a bad workout or more. By contrast, highly regimented programs only work like they are supposed to if you "conquer" every workout as prescribed. As Perryman notes, though, we've got to stop seeing the weight as the enemy, and see it simply as a tool for athletic improvement.