Adarq.org

Training
FS 3x115 (PR), 4x110 (PR)
BS 6x111 (PR), 6Fx111
DJx4x5
DUNKS ~ 30 total
BP 2x6x75, 6x70

---

FS notes:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdO8P-uTY2I" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdO8P-uTY2I</a>
Got the 115 triple PR, it was controlled, smooth and deep. All you can ask for in a heavy 3RM attempt. Owned my goal! Next up was the 110 fiver - this was ambitious considering my 5RM two day ago was 108.5kg - but I went for it. I got the 4th rep ok. But I knew if I went for the 5th rep, i'd either grind out a very difficult 5th, or fail it. So i racked it and saved it for another day. Next time I attempt the fiver it will be my top set for the day, so I will probably get it then no dramas. 5x110 will be legit when it happens.

BS notes:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBvegOVrw_E" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBvegOVrw_E</a>
After the FS PRs i moved on to BS. felt real strong warming up, like it was light as a feather. But the workset PRs were nevertheless quite challenging. I got the first set ok. But didn't have a 6th rep on the last set. It's ok. 6x111 high bar is pretty good! Starting next week focus will be on backsquat, and i'll be moving this lift along with aplomb. I want 6x115 before melbourne - that will be my main squatting goal.

Jump notes:
Went back to dunk again, found my tripod, woot! So tired now.

---

Crazy training day and week for that matter. Exhausted.

I was studying the front squat for the first time in forever and I ended up watching johnymnenomic on youtube. I remember watching his video when I initially started front squatting and I was very impressed with the way he maintained a vertical back.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRmdtSvmQQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NRmdtSvmQQ</a>

This time around I noticed how wide his stance his. I bet if I had such a wide stance I could have nicer form with less violent movement into the bottom position. But I think at some point I decided I liked a narrow stance because it felt more comfortable and strong, and because it was more applicable to athletic endevours. I looked at my stance just before a jump and I pretty much have the same sort of stance in my squats as well.

I was also browsing pendlays forum and came across this post by one of the guys theree

Oly squats you DO NOT WANT TO DIVE BOMB IN TO THE SQUATS. This WILL RUIN YOUR KNEES IN THE LONG RUN. Not a question of IF BUT WHEN.

NO COACH will tell a lifter to dive bomb in to the squat. Descent should be controlled and fast up. You want to get STRONG and not use the bounce in the squat to squat more.

Your knees will take a huge amount of a beating in the OLifts as it is.

This will hurt the smaller guys A LOT MORE. The smaller guys will have less muscle/ fat around the joints and will be able to get deeper and this will ruin your knees if you drop from a greater height in the squat. It really is a recipe to injure yourself longer term.

Ask Glenn/ Don about this. You do not want to drop in fast in the squats to get strong/ get use to the bounce. Practice the bounce by lifting and getting the timing. You will use less weight and you will be dropping from a lower height.

Koing

And it got me wondering, am I doing what Koing describes above? I really should get those knee sleeves as well.

Training
FS 3x114 (PR), 5x108.5 (PR)
BS 2x6x109 (PR)
OHP 4x57, 4x56, 7x50

---

FS notes:
Got the PRs but they were crazy hard. I've never come so precariously close to failure on the last rep nevertheless completing the set. Damn. These are 3RM and 5RM, at least for today. I wanted the PRs to come easy after I ate a lot of food yesterday.

BS notes:
I dunno if i'll be able to manage the BS pr today after grinding out the PRs on front squat, but we'll see, give a shot. Update - got it! And this isn't just a high bar PR, it's a lifetime backsquat PR for 6 reps including lowbar. Feels good man. I love high bar backsquatting now. It feels so comfy. Don't get me wrong, i'm not going to cheat on my first love or anything, but it's growing on me.

---

For the first time my BS worksets are higher than my top front squat fiver. Haha. About time, even if only by 1/2kg. Full squat video below, hyperlinked references linked above.

Time to talk the dog for a walk, and then i'm going to shoot around, throw a coupla dunks down, have a quick conditioning session and begin recovery procedings.

I'm looking forward to smashing the last front squat PRs of the week on sunday. The big 3x115kg and 5x110kg front squat milestones are finally here!! I'm going to be ready. I'll sleep perfectly, kingfisher style, lots of rest, lots of chicken breast. They will fall and then front squat goes on maintenance while I focus on my new found adoration for highbar backsquats.

Damn, hamstrings are nice and sore today. But nothing in the glutes Some faint late soreness emerging in glutes also!

I remember when the only part of my body that was sore post squats was glutes. That was when I had a big strong ass from really heavy sets of dangerously ugly belted lowbar backsquats of questionable depth. I wish I still had that strength and glutetrophy, I bet i'd be a lot faster on my jumping approach. I'd probably be a complete athlete then, with decent acceleration in general, sprinting, basketball and dunking. Also feel fat today. I should eat perfectly for the rest of the week.

I like what i'm getting out of lowbar assistance work. I want big firm strong buttocks that accelerate me from 0 to 100km/hr very rapidly. But i can't do 3x6 assistance every session can I?

---

Rough plan for the next 2 weeks before the basketball tournament
This week - FS 3x115 (PR) and 5x110 (PR). I'm confident about the 115 but not so much on the 110 - considering 107.5 was a 5RM yesterday. But 2.5kg in 2 sessions might be doable. I might go 108.5 tomorrow, if I get it, then go for broke sunday for the 1.5kg PR. High bar BS I'll keep going up in 2kg jumps, I did 6x107 last time, 6x109 tomorrow and 6x111 on sunday. That will be brutal im sure, but i'll pysche myself up for it.

Next week
If I get FS 5x110 and 3x115 then I'll put that lift on maintenance and focus on backsquat.  I would like my HB around 6x120 but I don't think that's doable before I leave for melbourne (26th). So. A realistic target is 6x115 - that will be challenging in itself. If I get it, then my 1RM ought to be around 300lb - which is not bad for a beltless highbar fullsquat, especially at my bodyweight. My quads will be strong.

Now that leaves hams and glutes. I'll keep doing LB assistance, maybe every session while it's still light. But dunno, maybe i'm biting off too much than I can chew. On the other hand I think there are newbie gains (esp memory gains) to be had there easily, but i have to be careful and not overrun my recovery needs.

And the one thing I haven't mentioned which is very important.. conditioning. No point being athletic as fuck when you run out of breathe within a few minutes. So i'll alternate HIIT and longer aerobic cardio (20-30mins) conditioning on training days.

And i need to work on my skills as well.. shooting, dribbling, etc. Do that every day I reckon. Aim for 10 more shots made each time. I did 45 last time, go for 60 today and then from there 10 more per session.

I'd also like to lose 1kg of fat while getting myself into top shape. So on rest days, diet. On training days, eat slight surplus. Yes i'm doing a recomp and I don't believe in them for most people (too fat, too slow a process), but I think I'm in a position to do it now.

Damn I left it last minute..  but lets see how close I can get.

So I've been doing the drop jumps and lots of dunk practice. So far so good. Today  I noticed I could do for the first time,  one leg squats. I didn't go deep but in the past I couldn't do them at all. Has the rvj training you guys have me doing been responsible?

Training
FS 5x107.5 (PR), 5x102.5
BS 2x6x107 (PR)
FS 5x97.5
BS 3x6x82.5 (LB)
BP 2x6x73.5, 6x68.5, 6x63.5

DJ 3x5 (18-22" drops - next time measure this just to be sure!)
5 SVJ dunks, 8 RVJ dunks.

FS notes:
I was going to repeat the 107kg I only got 4.5 reps last time. But thought, why not be ambitious and go for 107.5 instead? Got it! It was super hard. This must be my 5RM - it was a max effort 5th rep. Imagine my surprise when I put it into the 1RM calculator and found it equates to 121kg! I usually do a lot better than the 1RM calculator suggests on the FS - so I think my 1RM might be around 125kg now. That's nuts. Hard work paying off.

BS notes:
Better than last time. But the last rep was a grinder. These must be lifetime PR 6s, at least for highbar. I've used way more weight using lowbar but you can't really compare them can you, so i'll just call it a PR since it's my defacto backsquat variant now.

KF, t0dday & LBSS whatdathink, does my form merit your approval?

I'm also using Raptors advice to use LBBS for backsquat backoff sets - 3x6x82.5 today. I like. I'm quite pleased with form also. Raptor happy?

---

I used Lance's advice to intersperse FS & BS to avoid fatigue biasing one lift over the other. Seemed to help. I'll stick to it. I started with two heavy FS worksets, followed by 2 heavy BS worksets. Then i'll do the remaining front squat sets before finishing with BS assistance sets. It's a pain alternating the weights for FS & BS, as well as the safety bars but you know what, at least it's not waiting at some sweaty public gym while you share equipment with other ppl.

I will say that the RDL is a great grip exercise, having to hold on to a bar continuously for the whole set is by far the hardest part of doing them