Adarq.org

Sat
Feb 25, 2012

Daily Squats Maintenance - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400x1,425x0x0]

* the higher volumes of butt kicks / sprint drills is eating up my legs. the form on the paused rep lifts were smooth and perfect - i was just weak. tried to get 425x1 twice and did not even get to the midway point when my torso bends on the first attempt. legs just folded back down after the concentric slowed to a halt halfway up.
* weight did not feel heavy.. well, not until a few micro seconds after im pushing it up from the paused start from the hole. the start of the concentric was not that hard.. the decay of explosive strength is just too quick today.  tried another 425x1 and it was more explosive than the first attempt.. same result halfway up.. torso did not collapse. when the bar slowed down, legs just folded back down again. called it a day before i burn too much energy.
* no back up sets. will probably get 375x2 and it will feel like 20lbs heavier.. so why bother.. il just rest some more and back down a bit on the volumes of the sprint drills so i have enough strength to at least complete my 425x1 top paused daily lifts.

^ Paused Rep Squat = 92% Non-Paused

my paused squat is at most a full second when i can really handle the weight, not anywhere close to 2 sec IMO.

Wed
Feb 22, 2012

Daily Squats Maintenance - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]
- 375 4x2

* will end the back up volume sets tmrw. can't do too many things at the same time. will need to focus on sprinting and some front squat / powercleans. i got repeatable 425x1 in these 4 weeks of back up sets. not bad at all  - i was able to get all 425x1 paused even at my weakest / partially injured day.  i was hoping to get this repeatable paused to 440x1 but that can wait. will give body a few weeks to recover and do more speed/skill work at that time.
* will continue with the paused ramping weights for maintenance but will remove the backup sets after tmrw. its also a good idea to back off a bit now IMO since i can't even match my 3rd week strength anyway. 375x6 multiple times.. damn, im losing explosiveness on 3rep right now. at my strongest, the 5th rep was still explosive.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
Paused Warmups
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]

                      Fri    Sat    Sun   Mon   Tue    Wed   Thur
Week 1   350  8x2   8x2     8x1    4x2    8x1    8x2     8X2
Week 2   370  6x2   6x1     4x2    6x2    6x1    4x2     6|7
Week 3   375  6x2   4x2     6x1    6x2    4x2    4x2     4x2
Week 4   375  4x2   4x2     4x2    4x2    2x2    4x2

Sprint Drills
- high knees, butt kicks, forward/reverse/side ankle hops

Trick #3 Use Squats For Delayed Potentiation

maybe my squat before speed workout is not a bad idea after all. been doing it that way all this time. my self-reason for doing it is the effective "warmup" i get when i feel all the big muscles in my legs have fired already.

i don't do piston type continuous tension - bodybuilding reps where the whole set feels like a one big long rep. i'm more like 3sec on, 2sec off, repeat.. thats one set. could be the reason i dont tire much even with heavy weights.

^ no special genes here.. just a lot of consistency.

Mon
Feb 20, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]
- 375 4x2

* felt stronger than yesterday. the 425x1 starting to get up convincingly again. back up sets stopped at 375x4 to give recovery more time.
* trained at the combine prep facility and did sprint drills. will do these skill work as often as i can.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
Paused Warmups
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]

                      Fri    Sat    Sun   Mon   Tue    Wed   Thur
Week 1   350  8x2   8x2     8x1    4x2    8x1    8x2     8X2
Week 2   370  6x2   6x1     4x2    6x2    6x1    4x2     6|7
Week 3   375  6x2   4x2     6x1    6x2    4x2    4x2     4x2
Week 4   375  4x2   4x2     4x2    4x2

Sprint Drills
- sprint starts
- 2.5lb weighted/non-weighted armswings, seated / standing
- high knees
- high knees with front kick
- high knees straight leg
- forward / backward / side ankle hops

Sun
Feb 19, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]
- 375 4x2

* lowerback strain gone. judging from the explosiveness of the paused 400x1, the 425 would be impossible if i dont wake up some more. black expresso shots, and a strong war cry - 425 got up. the weight felt 20lbs heavier. good that the work week is done. time to get some serious rest and sleep and come back stronger next time.
* 375x4 was also heavy. no chance of a 375x6.  the 425x1 paused followed by -50lb for 375x milti reps is working well. i want to get the backup x6-8reps to 390 eventually so a paused 440x1 will be repeatable daily. give myself 8-12weeks for that. im at week 4.
* lifts are now taking me less than 90 mins. consistent on 4-6mins between warmup paused reps. 6min on first back up set, 12-14 on 2nd if im tired.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
Paused Warmups
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]

                      Fri    Sat    Sun   Mon   Tue    Wed   Thur
Week 1   350  8x2   8x2     8x1    4x2    8x1    8x2     8X2
Week 2   370  6x2   6x1     4x2    6x2    6x1    4x2     6|7
Week 3   375  6x2   4x2     6x1    6x2    4x2    4x2     4x2
Week 4   375  4x2   4x2     4x2

Fri
Feb 17, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300x2][350,375,400,425x1]
- 375 4x2

* lowerback strain at ~85% healed. walk out on the squats were not micro steps anymore. i can still feel something is not right in there so i did not really go all out explosive with the lifts - it made the 425x1 heavier than it needs to be today. also stopped at 375x4. hopefully this workout shoots up my recovery.
* will have a strong dinner of steak, eggs, brown rice, butternut squash soup and lots of whey protein shakes through out the night. 
* changed warmup set to see if it made the 400 lighter. didn't really helped that much. will do the usual ramping next time.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
Paused Warmups
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]

                      Fri    Sat    Sun   Mon   Tue    Wed   Thur
Week 1   350  8x2   8x2     8x1    4x2    8x1    8x2     8X2
Week 2   370  6x2   6x1     4x2    6x2    6x1    4x2     6|7
Week 3   375  6x2   4x2     6x1    6x2    4x2    4x2     4x2
Week 4   375  4x2

Wed
Feb 15, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]
- 375 4x2

* a piece of muscle in the lower left spinal erector area is strained - could be from the sleds/sprint, definitely not from the jumps.
* legs were feeling very strong so i did something i don't usually do - took NSAID. still hurting after 4 hours. it was painful to twist to get out of bed. painful to get into/out of my car. thing is, the pain is only there when the lower back is moving/twisting. no pain when im standing or squatting to pick up something from the floor as long as i dont bend the back. took a dose of fukitol. when to gym.
* spent time trying to figure out how to get 200lb to the starting spot.  micro steps worked. very uncomfortable but it got me there. had to ask 2 trainers to lift the 425 for me as i step back to the starting spot. i got 350/375 there by myself but spent too much effort doing it.
* stopped at 375x4. i don't think il get 6 anyway because i tire myself too much walking back putting most of the weight on the right side of my body. good thing i did not hurt anything doing it that way.
* il come back stronger tmrw when my lowerback gets better. the 425x1 was easy today. did not blast the concentric as hard as i normally do. im in somewhat on a protect mode. the 425 did get up smoothly. legs are boss. nice.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
Paused Warmups
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,425x1]

                      Fri    Sat    Sun   Mon   Tue    Wed   Thur
Week 1   350  8x2   8x2     8x1    4x2    8x1    8x2     8X2
Week 2   370  6x2   6x1     4x2    6x2    6x1    4x2     6|7
Week 3   375  6x2   4x2     6x1    6x2    4x2    4x2

* lower back strain/injury update - lead trainer explained that doing sleds with the hand harness puts more strain on the lowerback/glutes. i was only using light weights for the short sled drags but the repetition probably got me. a shoulder or belt harness should be used to minimize straining the lowerback/glutes, or i just have to adapt better to the hand harness setup i have now - more recovery / less intensity