chewybaws

Basically I just mean peaking programs. The programs the guys do generally start at 80% effort and increase 2% leading upto competition (100%/1RM attempts). As far as reps go they'll generally start anywhere from 5-8 reps and over the 10 weeks (or however long the cycle is) they'll gradually work down to a heavy double then a week off before a comp. They take that for every 3% you take off your 1RM (100%) you should be able to do an extra rep (roughly). 100% - 1 reps 97% - 2 reps 94% - 3 reps 91% - 4 reps 88% - 5 reps etc. So say you're 1RM squat was 200kg. Week 1-3 you want to do sets of 5. 88% of 200kg = 176. And first week we're only doing 80% effort. 80% of 176 is 140kg. So you'll warmup and work your way to your first work set at 140kg. Do it for 3-5 sets. If it's easy add 2.5kg, or do extra reps on the last set. Week 2 - 82% effort - 145kg Week 3 - 84% effort - 147.5kg Week 4 - down to 4 reps (91% of 200 = 182, then 86% effort on this - 157.5kg) etc. It looks complicated but it's really quite simple and flexible. They only use this for the main powerlifts. This is just one way of training, and there's a million variations of peaking programs - this is just the one that most folk in our club use. I'm sure there's loads of old timers using different methods. The benefits are that after a competition (or peaking) you need some rest. There will always be a week off (or very light week) after it. And then you're only going back to 80% effort again. It allows a lot of time for recovery so you're not wearing yourself out. Jim Wendler who wrote the famous 5/3/1 program said as he got older when he switched from training 4 days to 3 he had tremendous success and more energy. He just needed more time to recover. Power (explosiveness, jumps, olympic lifts, sprints etc.) will go much quicker with age. Muscular endurance next. But pure strength you'll not peak till a much later age. Keep in mind as well of course after the age that your peak for bone density and maintaining muscle mass will reduce. BUT exercise and resistance training (weights) has been proven to slow the rate of deteoration.

Lol.... 2 of my coaches at 51 and 60 years old have been lifting since their teens. (at least powerlifting since early twenties, one of them done bodybuilding before that) Arthur (51, 100kg BW) is still hitting personal bests. This year he squatted 295kg, benched 195kg and deadlifted 267.5kg. Recently won the drug free worlds. Willie (60, 83kg BW) squatted 245kg (IPF world record), benched 165kg and deadlifted 232.5kg. All at international IPF competition, runner up. He's won the worlds/europeans multiple times in masters class. No injuries at least since I started with them and I can tell you their joints are strong as fuck. They've been lifting heavy all their days. You can't put this down to coincidence. We're a small club with not many powerlifters and it's not like we live in a huge area. They credit their longetivity down to percentage loading programs and consistency, and of course not using steroids. One thing that has went with age is training volume. They stick to the main lifts and only do a few assistance exercises. And do note that Willie isn't lifting quite as heavy as he was 10 years ago. But he's lifting heavy as he can, relatively. Someone else can't tell you to stop lifting, you can only do that yourself.

Nice eats! All looking tasty...getting hungry...

Just keep pushing man you'll get a rest on deload week. Normally on 5/3/1 squats when you do 5x10 after your main sets that's the "Boring But Big" template and there's normally only one more exercise after 5x10. So you're certainly doing a lot of hard assistance work it's no surprise that you're tired. Just do everything you can to maximise recovery. Looking huge man! How many years you been lifting for? And 233lbs bodyweight! You're over 20kg+ on me haha.

Mon 12th December 2011 Squats (with belt) 1x5x120kg 1x3x135kg 1x3x142.5kg 1x3x150kg Bench 4x5x65kg 1x10x65kg Barbell rows 5x5x70kg Weighted dips 3x5 +15kg Weighted planks 30s each with 35kg, 50kg, 65kg A satisfying workout. Not much shoulder pain (only on dips really). Although I've squatted 150kg x5 in the past, depth was questionable. Today's were all deep for a triple.

Your muscles will get used to it. Eat plenty, sleep enough but most importantly days your sore - stay active. Days I'm really stiff I'll do some squats with an empty bar or some band work to ease the stiffness, improve flexibility and get ready for the next workout.

Sun Warrior was the best tasting protein powder I've had but it's expensive. I also like http://www.hempnatural.com/Hemp-Protein-Powder-Strawberry-2500g.php that stuff but think they're UK based. To be honest just now I'm just using up some plain Pea Protein I've got. I hate the taste but just get on with it.

how you enjoying the strength training?

Make an account on photobucket.com upload your pics there, then copy the "direct link" in to the middle of some "img" tags like this [img=http://photobucket.com/blahblah] Solid lifting man keep up the work.

That is a serious amount of volume! I don't think I've got the cardio to do that many sets haha. Keep up the good work

You know I slowed down the descent a lot more on my DB bench this cycle and I always keep them tight to me (similar to close grip benching). Both of them seem to be going well, while my normal bench is sucking. Prob because I didn't do normal grip benching on Friday for a few weeks and I don't really do any chest work. My normal bench was at it's strongest when I was going heavy twice a week just for one heavy triple or set of 5. But then again I was packing on quite a few KG's bodyweight at the time. The shoulder's more offputting than it is affecting my strength. Got a weekend of recovery ahead, see how it is on Monday.

Fri 2nd December 2011 Axle Clean&Press 51kg 1 Clean, 5 Press 61kg 1 Clean, 3 Press 66kg 1 Clean, 3 Press 66kg 1 Clean, 3 Press 71kg 1 Clean 76kg Clean Fail Circus DB 22kg (Clean & Press) x3 each arm 27kg 1 Clean, 3 Press (right arm) 33kg (Clean & Press) x2 (right arm) failed 3rd Axle double overhand hold 90kg 32 seconds (smooth axle) Squats (no belt) 2x5x100kg Axle curls 1x5x31kg Chins 10 Barbell Rollouts 10 BW 5 +10kg Mon 5th December 2011 Bodyweight = 83.7kg Squat (with belt) 1x4x137.5kg 1x4x140kg 1x4x142.5kg Bench 2x4x72.5kg 1x3x75kg (failed a 4th, horrendous...narrowed my grip a bit as sets went on) Barbell Rows 5x10x50kg Weighted dips 3x6 +12.5kg Weighted plank 30s each at 35kg, 45kg, 60kg Wed 7th December 2011 Deadlift (with belt) 1x4x185kg 1x4x190kg 1x3x200kg (failed a 4th...was more a technical error) Close grip bench 1x7x67.5kg DB bench 1x7x32.5kg DBs Leg Press 1x20x155kg Pullups 5 Chins 10 Thu 8th December 2011 Speed Squats (no belt) 8x3x85kg Pushups 20,10,10 Fri 9th December 2011 Speed Front Squats 8x3x65kg (no belt obviously..) Speed Bench 8x3x50kg Chins 3x5 Pushups 3x12 So basically since last Friday my shoulders have been fucked (especially left, which has been a reoccuring injury since I started working out. It feels like tendons as it goes right down my bicep). Last time I got it from hang cleans...and it's no surprise it's started giving me bother since doing axle cleans and extra shoulder work. So quite happy with squats/deadlifts/planks, my strength's definitely coming back there. Squats are deep. With my deadlifts recently basically I take a deep breath, setup and pull, breathe on the way down and as soon as the bar comes to a rest pull again. I was only going to triple 200kg and hesitated going for a fourth. Spent too long on the ground, loosened up and took a couple of breaths. Couldn't get tight again before pulling and failed the lift about half way up. Loosening up at the bottom was an old problem that was solved my just taking minimum time between reps (all to do with staying tight) and I should've just left it. But hey, the first 2 reps were so fucking easy that it didn't totally kill my confidence. Squats on monday my shoulder blade was hurting (right) but this went away by the time I took my main sets. Bench was just uncomfortable. Close grip bench on wednesday was painfully uncomfortable on my shoulder, DBs weren't as bad but may still have been doing some damage. After this morning's workout (Friday) it feels a bit uncomfortable. Bench was the main culprit, but only when I was going fast on the descent. Loved doing speed work on Friday, it's always been a kind of light day. But this way it keeps the pace up and gets the heart going a bit too. Can see it sticking. Squats last Friday and yesterday were uncomfortable on the shoulders....dunno if I'll be doing much Monday. I was planning on peaking towards the end of the year but xmas is coming up and going to make things difficult. And the shoulder is making me just want to rest up.

Weightlifting club closed today because of the strikes, so home session and not able to deadlift. Afternoon; Wed 30th November 2011 Front Squat (no belt) 1x5x80kg 1x5x90kg 1x3x100kg 1x10x60kg Close grip bench 1x8x67.5kg DB Bench 1x8x29.5kg DBs Close grip Lat Pulldowns 1x12x60kg Then I got a text message asking if I wanted to deadlift at 5 at a gym in a town nearby. Evening Deadlift (with belt) 1x4x182kg 1x4x185kg 1x5x190kg Solid. Front squat was an easy triple. Don't actually think I've went above 80ish in it before, so was quite happy. It feels heavy on the shoulders but the actual squatting was easy.

After over a month of high bar squatting, back to low bar today Mon 28th November 2011 Squats (with belt) 3x4x135kg Bench 2x4x72.5kg 1x5x72.5kg Barbell Rows 5x5x72.5kg Weighted dips 3x8 +10kg Weighted planks 35kg for 30s 45kg for 30s 55kg for 30s High bar squats weren't too comfy as it got heavier. Felt like I was all over the place with them and starting to cut depth a bit. All reps today low bar were more than deep enough and the power from my hips/back was welcomed back. Pretty solid, last rep in the last 2 sets were a bit slow but not complaining.

Great to hear from you Mary!! I hope your training is going well Wed 23rd November 2011 Deadlift (no belt) 1x5x175kg 1x5x177.5kg 1x5x180kg Close grip bench 1x10x65kg DB bench 1x10x30kg DBs Close grip Lat Pulldowns 1x10x72.5kg Leg Press 1x30x150kg Deadlifts easy as fuck, again! Barely any rest at the bottom of reps. I normally get into gym about 5pm and warmup/setup for starting at 5.30pm. Today couple of guys were there already starting at 5 so I just joined in, warmed up between first couple of sets. Was rapid speed, but it worked really well. Was finished my deadlifting in about half the time it normally takes. Bench, surprisingly good today. Dunno where it came from cause it's been weak the last week or so. Matched my DB 10RM set earlier in year, get the 32.5kg DBs out next week Nailed everything else. Leg Press sticking to the plan, just adding 5kg a week for 1 max set. Got 30 reps again lol. They'll taper down eventually, can't add 5kg forever.

Okay so Friday the plan was to do light squats/bench in the morning and then go do some strongman stuff at night with a friend. Worked upto 100kg x5 squat and my back was so stiff between sets and getting worse that I decided just to call it quits. Done some light DB work later on. It's a shame because the squats were feeling like nothing. Mon 21st November 2011 High bar Squats (with belt) 1x5x127.5kg 1x5x130kg 1x5x132.5kg Bench 2x5x67.5kg 1x6x70kg Barbell rows 5x5x70kg BB Skull Crushers 3x10x15kg Ab Rollouts 3x10 Felt weak as shit during squats/bench. Got a video of squats, might upload later. Done this workout in the house rather than club. Skull crushers were mostly figuring out what I was doing and what grip to use. A narrower grip seemed to put less stress on my bad elbow.

23 grams of fat??? damn, I dont think I've never eaten that much fat in one meal. Lol...you could eat 50g of almonds and get over that much fat. Or one and half tablespoons of olive oil.

Wed 16th November 2011 Deadlift (no belt) 1x5x170kg 1x5x172.5kg 1x5x175kg Close grip bench 1x10x62.5kg DB bench 1x8x30kg DBs Close grip Lat pulldowns 1x9x75kg Leg Press 1x30x145kg Deadlifts were easy. 2 new beltless 5RMs. Didn't spend any more than 1 or 2 seconds at the bottom, enough for the weight to come to a stop.

Doesn't matter, fruit or sugars. In the grand scheme of things, stuff like this isn't worth worrying about.

Protein powder is just food that's high in protein. Really you need more simple carbs (glucose) immediately after workout more than protein . But that's already overcomplicating things. Just eat enough every day, that's the main priority.

3 weeks? Your focus should be eating enough calories to build muscle and exercise technique. In your initial few months you're going to make gains no matter what, so you'll notice nothing from supplementing. In my opinion just wait till you've hit a plateau months down the line, direct your energy into learning a proper stretching/recovery routine, but more importantly being consistent with your main workouts and eating big.

i didn't recognise him with a shirt on

Training for strength first thing fucking sucks in my opinion. I done it for a while a year or 2 ago. I always feel stronger late afternoon/early night. Sometimes Friday I do it and never enjoy it.

Haha it was good fun! Mon 14th November 2011 High bar Squat 1x5x125kg (no belt) 3x5x125kg (with belt) Bench 3x5x65kg 1x5x67.5kg 1x7x67.5kg Barbell Row 2x5x67.5kg 3x5x70kg (fighting over small plates, so I just went heavier lol) Weighted dips 2x8x7.5kg 1x10x7.5kg Weighted planks 30s each at 30kg, 40kg, 50kg First set of Squats were horrid. I went from not leaning forward at all to excessive leaning forward on the 4th rep. So, time to get the belt on (my beltless 5RM is about 125 if I'm not wrong so this is a good indication i'm back on track, and take into consideration the switch to high bar). The sets really did get easier to the end as I started getting used to the belt again. No problems with bench, barbell rows were suprisingly easy, as were dips/planks. Just got stronger and stronger as the workout went on. Monday/Wednesday's I lift at the powerlifting club with a bunch of lifters but I still have a training partener. He got run over at work on Thursday and has a sprained ankle/broken toes. Feel bad for him. As an experiment tonight (i.e. laziness) I skipped foam rolling and just stretched. Funnily enough, I felt way more flexible while stretching. Maybe my muscles get tired from holding foam rolling positions or some shit, but I might actually just start foam rolling on off days once or twice a week as necessary. See how it goes.

At OSG Manchester with JP, baldy & Talyn (from http://veganfitness.net) Sat 12th November 2011 Box jumps Worked upto; 1x 103cm 1x 105.5cm (41.5") (comfortable) High bar squats (no belt) 3x5x110kg Bench 3x5x60kg (pause at bottom) Chins 12, 10 Axle Clean&Press 2x1x35kg 2x1x45kg 1x50kg 1x55kg 1x57.5kg 1x60kg There was plenty of fails along the way, at first I couldn't even get 35kg up haha. Wasn't used to non-spinning sleeves on a bar. Farmers Walk (around 20m, maybe less) 52kg each hand 77kg each hand 97kg each hand 117.5kg each hand fail (lifted it and stumbled forward 2 inches) Tyre flip 3 fails then 1 successful flip, 370kg tyre Keg Loading 1x80kg (i think) Few fails at 100kg-ish Axle press 1x10x35kg