Adarq.org

Thur
Feb 9, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 370 +6+7

* not burned out after all. just the 2-3 day strength/fatigue curve.. 420x1 paused was very easy again. rests kept at 5-6mins all the way to the first set of 370x6. rep 6 was not very explosive so stopped there. rest 14mins for 2nd set of 370s
* 2nd set of 370s felt easier as always and i had enough explosion on the 6th rep and went for another. 7th rep slowed down. still not a grinding rep but i'm not happy with the speed of concentric. called it a day.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1] - paused warmups

                      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

Tue Afternoon
Feb 7, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 370 6x0

* slept 2-3hrs after a strong lunch and a couple of whey protein shakes/bcaa and creatine cocktail.. legs felt bloated. went to the gym again for a blitz lift. 4-6min between sets. did not even bring my laptop to keep myself occupied while resting.. i just blasted the paused rep warmup template.  i feel stronger this afternoon compared to the morning lifts. no back up set. might mess up my lifts tmrw.

Mon
Feb 6, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 370 6x2

* slept from 9pm - 7:30am. recovered well. 420x1 was very explosive. 370 rep 1-4 single breaths between reps. starting to lose a bit of explosion at rep 5-6. 8 rep possible from the legs, will kill lower back. did 2 back up sets.
* 2nd set of 370x6 took 22mins. lowerback still tense after 16mins. losing noticeable concentric speed at 370 reps 4+ really killing the torso stabilizing muscles. high reps squats to build larger muscles - explosion / concentric speed will be faster - lowerback will have just enough time to support the weight without tiring. whatever im doing right now is working. paused 420 today is the lightest it has ever felt.
* rests between sets all the way to 420x1 5-6mins. not bad. was not increasing intensity by cutting rest time. im just trying to figure out why on some days, short rests work better, some days it messes it up. IMO, if fully recovered for that day, 6min max rest will have positive effects on the next heavier set.  i have no intention of adding unnecessary intensity by cutting my rests short, but if id be stronger on the next set at 6mins compared to 24, il do the 6 mins.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1] - paused warmups

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

Sat
Feb 4, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 370 6x1

* 420 not very explosive. had to grind a bit midway up - no lowerback collapsing or form issues.. just weaker legs.  this is my 4 day week at work so il have to work tonight. sleep 8:30-2:30, lift 3-4pm.. still have to go back home to eat.
* 370 6x2 yesterday + 6hr sleep for the last 2 days slowed down recovery a bit.. 370x6 was heavy today, i already started taking 2 breaths between at rep 3-4. lowerback kept its form but was just supporting the weight longer than it should because the legs did not give the bar a good momentum from the hole. concentric was slower.
* would have been  better if i just did 370x4 and get a stronger workout tmrw.  after work tonight, i will get some good sleep and by sunday pm, il see how my lifts go.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1] - paused warmups

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

Fri
Feb 3, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 370 6x2

* lowerback held the weight longer than it should at rep 5-6. stopped at rep 6. could have gotten up to 8 by how my legs were still able to push the weight up, but losing some explosiveness at the bottom and getting a slower concentric means beating up the back at lot more than i need to.. can't maintain that pace and recover fast enough for a lift the next day.
* 2nd set of 6 reps felt easier but same loss of explosiveness due to fatigue at reps 5-6. i will continue doing 4-6reps of 370 for this week, eat a lot more and by next week, i will try 370x8. will keep top warmup paused single to 420x1.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1] - paused warmups

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

Wed
Feb 1, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 350 8x2

Jumps/Speed
- 4 rep submax jumps focusing on quick and smooth force absorptions - multi sets
- SVJ 2 hand dunks

* 350x8 back up sets were easiest today. body probably got accustomed already to the volumes from the last few days. will do another single 350x8 tmrw as a light workout and on fri, il go for 370x6 (430RM, 350x8=435RM). if 370 feels heavy, il break it down to multi sets of 4. one thing i learned is pushing and trying to complete a lift without an explosive start from the full bottom position really eats away the lowerback. not good if i only have less than 24hours of recovery.
* warmup rests are 4-6min for the sub 350, 8-12min for the 350+ (80%RM+). i can also get the same heavy lifts at 22-24mins but it will somewhat be a little less coordinated. IMO, with a good amount of strength still there after 24mins, this is a good thing during my testing. i can either go short or long rests without worrying about being used to it.

Volume Backup Sets Cycle
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1] - paused warmups

                      Fri    Sat    Sun   Mon   Tue    Wed   Thur
Week 1   350  8x2   8x2     8x1    4x2    8x1     8x2

Mon
Jan 30, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 350 4x2

Jumps/Speed
- 4 rep submax jumps focusing on quick and smooth force absorptions - multi sets
- SVJ 2 hand dunks

* 420x1 felt like 400. 100% i was going to get the paused concentric up by the way it felt light on my back. i was trying out how the 4-6min rest (that some people say will have some sort of strength carryover) works for me and it did well until i get to 420-440. 420 felt easy and i attempted 440 after 6mins. bad idea. got stuck halfway up, lowerback leaked energy. IMO - most likely the lower back is not as strong - being hammered from all the volumes of 350x8.
* day 2/2 of recovery workout and decided to just go 350x4 x2 to get the same volume - with less beating to the lowerback. i killed my erectors more than i need to today anyway with that 440x1 blitz crap idea. i did finish the 200-440 lifts in less than 45mins.
* i used to aim for 40 total reps per volume workout in the past, 2x a week. total of 80 total reps a week. with 8x1-2 back up sets, i only have to do 3 days of 8x2 back up sets a week to match that volume. i already did 2 days of 350 8x2 this week. will continue with this routine until 8-12 weeks and hopefully at 370-390 by then.
* i am 174lb wet BW, 172 in the morning. must be the 6lbs of dinner i had the other day. i won't mind being in the 174-176lb BW during this leg building routine.

^ power phase IMO is not really necessary to improve the SVJ. unloaded near-max jumps for skill work is so simple to do and gets results too.

about the supra-max half squats - aside from teaching me to handle some very heavy weights, it also emphasized the reversal depth and being really strong in that area.

Sat
Jan 28, 2012

Daily Squats High Rep - Paused Rep Warmups / Non-Paused Back Up
[200,250x4][300,350x2][400,420x1]
- 350 8x2

* 420 felt heavier today. 430x1 max. will do an easier workout tmrw to get recovery to catch up. the 2nd set of 350x8 was smoother but also got heavier faster at reps 7-8.
* 350x8 is just about right for my high rep back up sets for now. even if the reps 7/8 were heavy, they were not grinders. still explosive at the full depth reversal without slowing down to a crawl on the concentric.
* if i were aiming for a max rep, id probably get to 10-12 reps with 2-3 breath pauses per rep.. and all the way to 12+ if i stand there and camp again like i usually do at some point before - not efficient IMO because it takes me 2-3 days of skip squat days to recover. right now, even with just an 8x2.. doing them daily really gets the volume higher.
* had company dinner at work last night and i ate some serious volume of good quality beef - 30oz poterhouse with a side of 30z chicago rib steak .. 60oz of steaks with fresh vegetable sides and shirmps/oysters. killed them all. strong dinner + high rep = win