Adarq.org

Sat
Dec 24, 2011

Daily Squats Maintenance - Paused Reps
[150,200,250,300x4][350x2][400,410x1]

* surprisingly strong today considering i did high rep contrast sled drags yesterday. will most likely max at 430x1 paused with this explosiveness but not enough to get 440-450x1.
* i like how my lower 1/3 of my calves are tight right now. i really digged into the floor yesterday with the heavy sled drags. i usually do 3-4 sets of heavy drags but only go near max explosiveness on the last 2-3 after i get a very good warmup. i have gorilla hands now from pulling because the harness.
* added BSN aminox (BCAAs) to my supplements. don't really see any big improvement IMO, but with the heavy sled drags and the daily 400s, anything to help me recover is good. i got a 10 serving free from a NO xplode order. ordered more aminox for the taste and the amount of water it takes to serve it ~ 32-40oz. green apple and fruit punch is win. recommended BCAA ~ 10g/day. i do 10-30 in the morning, another 10-20g during workout and 10 before sleeping. damn 50g a daily. it could be just a waste but it taste so good and lets me enjoy drinking lots of water to keep my liver happy even with my very heavy protein consumptions. 

* same weight, reps and sets for the paused squats as last mondays. will stick to that now or even go lower with  max 400x1 if the sled workouts require it.

* i am improving my weighted sled sprints nicely. the 2-3 weeks of GPP type adaptation should have done its job and im now really pushing (pulling that is) some challenging loads - 3-4plates.

* glutes and quads get beat on the 10 yr max sled sprints. i am not feeling any soreness on my calves. i could use a lot more weight, probably max at 6 plates on the heavy side, and 3-4 for the light contrast.

* SVJ has been surprisingly maintained even if my squat strength went downhill (-20 to -30lbs).

Yes kingfish I like front squats, it's hard to lean forward but the same thing does apply. Your pelvis really should not be moving backwards once above parallel. Squatting to just below or exactly at parallel is definitely better for power development in the long run imo since the amortization is challenging the correct musculature in the correct way. In atg squats the amortization and muscle involvement is way different. I notice how atg or below parallel is almost easier than just parallel, or half-squats with the same weight, adarq talked about that before.

Edit: I'd like to congratulate Kingfish actually, good job. Squat form is heel-to-toe and you can see the difference in his knees, they don't move so much in the horizontal plane compared to the toe-to-heel squats, and the hips move forward above parallel. That's what I'm talking about. It feels better and works better.

i do not shift the load (toe/heel) in my squats. that is very unsafe and can really get somebody injured. 

i focus on keeping the load distributed evenly with a little bias to the front 2/3s. i have size 12 shoes. everybody's form will be different. i also have a good amount of dorsi flexion ROM at the bottom.

Dec 11 - Dec 17

- daily paused rep squats maxed to 410-420-430x1 for strength maintenance

- short sprint contrast loaded sled drags

- front squats to 300-310-320

* less trauma to the body doing daily paused rep squat singles. the 2 weeks of daily non-paused 440s drained me a bit. had weak days of 410-420lb max (-30lb) for the longest time.

* can hit 400-410 even with tight / sore glutes and quads from the sled training.

* sprinting is getting respectable.

* SVJ still in the high 30s/low 40s. can feel more glute involvement right now. sleds effect IMO.
 

too lazy to update all missing entries - i have a manual back up from a wall calendar..

anyway - heres whats up from the last 14 weeks and a few days

- 12 week of daily paused rep squats from 400-440 with some peak days of 445x1 paused.

- 2 weeks after that of non-paused rep with 400-410-420-430-440.. 2 straight weeks of 440x1 top set non paused. (5 singles at 400+ up to 440x1)

- lower quad soreness spread/moved up to mid thigh after 2 weeks of these daily 440x1. my usual recovery routine of  foam roll and stretching did not cut it anymore.

- quad lock is so strong that sub 250lb weights did not push me down enough. it only starts to get comfortable at 300s-410. 420 is always the hardest and after this mental block at 420, 430-440 gets easier again. even if the 440 is explosive, controlled and a sure lift. adding 5-10lbs over that gets me pinned. i have just enough strong for 5 singles at 400lb i guess..

- backed up a bit on the 15th week - 430 top set and try to see if the tightness goes away. did not work and just used 440 again the following day. SVJ 2 hand dunks still there on a strong day.

- skipped my first squat day yesterday after 102 days of continuous daily squats. got annoyed with this quad stiffness. its not hurting or anything but i really have to put an effort in bending my knees to squat all the way down if i have nothing on my back. surprisingly, my jumps did not go down - it even got better.

- decided to skip a day just to see if all this tightness can ease up a bit. the quad lock is just getting more severe lately while doing the 440s.

- skipping a day did not do anything with the tightness - i just detrained myself. this was not a good idea at all but it doesn't hurt to try. i just don't want to injure myself..i would have lifted better if i didn't skip a day - i should have just stopped on the ramping weights at 400-410 daily and do more frequent stretching.

- i stopped at 400x1 today because i did not have it in me today to lift anything heavy. i will go apeshit tmrw if i can. then ease up a bit with 400-410..

- new routine now is still daily lifting but focus on 2x a week of 440s with the rest just maintenance of 400-410. i did not expect this quad tightness / lock. felt like im doing high intensity plyos. will do 4 reps on the deload days.

- new years goal is 455-475 repeatable near-max 2x a week.. while keeping BW at low-mid 170s. 

- sled drag for acceleration is awesome btw.. the waveload style of heavy sled drag + short sprints is making me run faster and faster.

 

I don't want to say it's unrealistic, because I've def seen people do more improbably things, but let's just say it's not a given like I believe your front squat goal is.  Also, I assumed the 6.5-6.8 sec 60m goal meant that you want to run at the slowest 6.8 FAT.
FAT means fully automatic timing.  Basically, you go to a real meet get in the blocks, react to the gun, and get your torso across the line and then they stop the video and record your time.   Understand there is a WORLD of difference between getting in the blocks and running a 6.75 FAT and covering 60 meters in under 7.0 seconds using a handtime or even a video-time device like speed-trap.   

But back to your question.  It's not so much that's it's an impossible task, it's just that you probably wont be able to accomplish it with the same formula you have used for vertical jump (lean + strong).  Standing two-foot vertical has tremendous carryover from relative squat strength provided the reps are not very slow.  I think you will be disappointed to find that the same isn't true in sprinting.  Even when Usain bolt ran his 9.58 in world record time he came through 30m in 3.8.  Meaning even if your relative strength allows you to accelerate to 30 meters at the speed of the greatest sprinter of all time, you still need to maintain 10 m/s speed for another 30 meters.  I'd say whether or not you can achieve it is more dependent on where you are starting now than anything else. Sprinting technique will surely help you express that strength you have on the track.  However, the improvement to your top end speed will be far less than your acceleration.  What do you run now in the 60 meters?  Have you ever tested your sprint times over any distance?  I will most definitely be rooting for you!

yes. front squats were easier than i thought.

here's the sprint details:
all sprints shoud be on a track surface and must be measured by a laser of infrared timing system. to start, the athletes must have at least one foot within one meter of the first timing eye (heel on one meter line). The first timing eye should be 15 inches off the ground while the rest of the timing eyes should be set up at least 36 inches fromt he ground

i have no official time for my 60 meters or any sprints in general. i can say numbers cause i've been doing some short sprinting but its not going to be an accurate time unless i use some form of automatic timing.

i've been doing heavy-low rep full squats + mid-high reps with moderate resistance on the GHR/back extensions for the p-chain. something like a 135lb x12-16 on back extensions and 45lb weighted GHR. if this 60meter sprint is not really an all out push the floor using mostly the quads, would it make sense at one point to dedicate some heavy hamstring work like an RDL? or do i just go movement mastery and just do a lot of high quality sprinting to get good at it?..

again, appreciate you sprinting advice.

^ get the most basic micronized creatine by higher power. put in hot water/coffee to solubilze/dissolve. then mix with cold whey protein shake. load 5g/day for a week. maintain 2g/day. win