Beyond 1400: Kyle's Road to RUM VIII

I remember seeing this picture a while back. Mirin' dat back, even then.

Just catching up on some old log stuff:

Squats
315x1
365x1
405x0
235x15x3

Notes: Done on Thursday night. 365 felt much better than 350 did a few weeks prior, and 405 felt like a make-able lift that just didn't come together. I feel like I'm probably 30 lbs. behind where I used to be on the squat, so I haven't lost too much. The plan remains to reach 405 by the 16th of June, and I won't attempt it again until that date.

From Friday:

Paused Bench Press (w/ narrower grip)
240x9
240x13 (PR)
240x9
240x9
w/ slingshot (red one)
315x1
365x1
feet up, paused
225x8
225x8

Notes: There is probably a lot to say here, but I'm doing this quickly, so I'll be fast. We trained at Magni Barbell, a new powerlifting-focused gym in Iowa City, on this day, and the experience was great. I lifted in a small group of very strong benchers and deviated a bit from the focus of the day, but I managed to get in enough quality rep work to have a good session. 240x13 wasn't planned, but the first set felt easier than expected, so I went for it. That might be an overall PR, I believe, and not just a grip-width PR. I was burnt out by the time I tried the slingshot, and 365 mis-grooved bad enough to just call it there and do some lighter supplemental work. 225x8x2 with the narrower grip--and with my feet up--was probably harder than the main set work.

Mirin hair gains

KevinAlvy wrote:

Mirin hair gains

I think this is going to continue for a while.

From Sunday:

Sumo Deadlift
375x6x3
375x12

Notes: I have a lot to say about these sumo deadlifts, but the short of it is:

a.) Sumo feels much stronger now. I missed 375 three weeks ago and can now pull it for an easy set of twelve. That isn't all due to strength gains, but getting healthier and getting a bit more comfortable with the technique has helped.

b.) Two more weeks of sumo, then a deload, then I return to conventional. My back's close to 100% now, and this should get me back there.

c.) For some strange reason, my sumo sets get easier as they go on. 375x12 probably could have continued for a few more reps, and rep twelve felt easier than rep one. I have my theories about this, but I won't go into it here.



From Monday:

Squats
245x15x4

Notes: Squats feel good, but my body's starting to get a little achy, so it's time to reduce training volume and focus on recovery. The progress over the last month has been great though, and I feel like I'm getting closer to being back with every session.

I'm going to hate myself for saying this, but it might be worthwhile to look into keeping sumo as an assistance lift even after you refocus on your conventional pull. As I recall, you haven't done a lot of deadlift variations in the past year or so. Sumo, RDLs, deficit pulls, etc, I think they could help you a lot. You can do some high RPE work with variations you're weaker on and get a training stimulus without actually having that much weight on the bar, reducing overall strain and keeping you healthy. Continuing your progress in RE: injury recovery is the big picture right now, in my opinion, so it's at least worth a shot.

Chris Anderson wrote:

I'm going to hate myself for saying this, but it might be worthwhile to look into keeping sumo as an assistance lift even after you refocus on your conventional pull. As I recall, you haven't done a lot of deadlift variations in the past year or so. Sumo, RDLs, deficit pulls, etc, I think they could help you a lot. You can do some high RPE work with variations you're weaker on and get a training stimulus without actually having that much weight on the bar, reducing overall strain and keeping you healthy. Continuing your progress in RE: injury recovery is the big picture right now, in my opinion, so it's at least worth a shot.

For what my opinions worth: I agree. Clearly the combination of you becoming comfortable with the movement AND your back feeling better has allowed for significant improvements (ie pulling 375 12 times). Using it as accessory work could benefit you, as opposed to just keeping it at an ultimatum of just pulling one way or the other.

That makes sense, and I agree that it could be a really good idea, but ultimately I'll follow whatever Paul prescribes. I imagine we'll have a conversation about it, but the final decision will be up to him.

Paul...

Spoiler:

?

lol, no. God, NO. Paul Nguyen has been helping me out by doing my deadlift training. To put it simply, I felt like my issue training my pull towards the latter end of the year was that simply training harder was no longer producing progress, and I found his approach to training for February's meet to be really interesting (as well as something that I felt could really be valuable for me as an experience, provided I had someone to guide me through it).

lulz, I know. I just couldn't pass up the chance to post a picture of the McStud.

I swear, I'm going to update this tonight.

[waiting intensifies]

I'll just do a summary of the last week very quickly before I go beddy-bye:

For squatting, I did 245x15x4 and 255x15x4 last week, and the last day was pretty tough. I wasn't close to failure, but I was pretty wiped by the end of it. So, I took my early-week squat session off this week, and I'll probably jump into my next phase at the end of this week. That will probably be ~275x8x5; I'll keep progressing linearly, but I'll cut the reps down considerably to bring the exertion way down. I'd like to run this until ~325, keeping the same twice-weekly setup and taking five-pound jumps each training session).

Otherwise, things are feeling pretty good. The rest has helped my recovery and my mobility is improving all the time.

For benching, I benched 355x3 and 370x2 with a pause and the red slingshot on Saturday, then hit 225x12x3 for some extra volume. I floor pressed on Tuesday, partly because Janis was doing it, and partly because my left tie-in has been a little cranky these last couple of weeks, and I figured one limited ROM session would help me finally get rid of it. I used a slightly narrower grip and progressed up at regular intervals for singles; 225, 245, 260, 275, 290, 305, 320. 320 was a five-pound PR and was pretty easy despite not using my super-wide grip. I probably had 10-15 lbs. left, but that could just be post-lift hubris talking. It definitely feels like I was tucking my elbows more now, and I can tell that my triceps are way stronger (no surprise there) than pre-RUM. Other than that, it was 225x12x3 again, this time on the floor press, and a lot of extra shoulder work. I even did some pull ups.

For deadlifting, I did 365x5x5 on Sunday and felt pretty achy, but not squatting early this week helped for today. I did 365x4x6 and 415x4; the speed on the 365 sets was awesome, but I struggled a bit once I got to 415. Still, it's getting way better every week. I also pulled singles at 135 and 225 with conventional and felt like my bar-speed was a good deal better than pre-sumo, so it seems that the sumo pulls have helped rebuild my conventional a bit. I'm guessing that if my back holds up, I'll probably start out at ~540-550 for an initial conventional 1RM, and I'll build from there. Back's giving me no trouble whatsoever in training now, but I won't be convinced until I get in some real conventional pulling.

TL;DR version: first phase for squatting is done, and though the last session was hard, it's progressing nicely; floor-pressed a 320-lb. PR and feel like my benching is continuing to go well; sumo deadlifting's making big strides from week to week and I only have one session left before I deload and switch back to conventional.

Also, I weighed in at 166.8 post-cheat meal a couple nights ago. Weight's down to 162.2 this morning, but it is definitely time for Keosawa to make a conscientious effort to diet down a bit. I feel fat. I will put these here as a reminder until I have rounded back into shape...

(Note: More selfie/instagram-esque nudes. Tread carefully.)

Spoiler:

short hair keough makes me uncomfortable

Chris Anderson wrote:

short hair keough makes me uncomfortable

Unfortunately, I can't pretend that he is present-day me anymore.

From yesterday:



Sumo Deadlifts
315x4
365x4x6
415x4
405x2 (foot kept slipping; stopped here)

Thoracic Extensions w/ kettlebell, five sets

Standing Abs, five sets

Notes: Penultimate sumo session is in the books. Did this to show the improvements over one month:

Paused Bench Press
287x6 (PR)
w/ narrower grip:
255x7x4

Notes: I wasn't planning on doing much besides just collecting some narrower-grip volume on this session, but I decided sort of at the last minute to just rotate through my rep PRs and hit the easiest one possible. I've done 280 for a 4RM, so I figured I'd go for 287x4 to break that. I thought 287x5 was possible, but I didn't expect to hit 287x6.

For contest, I did 280x5 at the end of my final bench session before RUM; that was at the conclusion of Smolov Jr. So, I added 7 lbs. and a rep onto that mark. My two- and three-rep maxes tested out well a while ago, but it seems my strength continues to increase on the bench at a pretty steady rate. So, that's a good sign.

Anyway, things are going pretty well right now. Even though I'm still on the rebuild, my thinking, based just on how things are feeling lately, is that I'll be right around 490/330/550 by mid-summer, just as a not-too-optimistic estimate. There will still be a ton of work to be done, but that would put me in good position for next year. I do think that I'm capable (maybe) of 550/350/600 at next year's RUM if everything comes together and my back passes the next phase of training, but those are a lot of 'ifs'. If things really come together, I might go no-wraps and chase the unwrapped, drug-tested WR of 1415. My guess is that I'm going to be at least another year (if not more) away from being seasoned enough to think of such a goal, but who knows what the next nine months have in store. I'm forecasting very far ahead (and nobody reads this self-indulgent drivel anyway), but I guess that's because I'm feeling very positive at the moment about where training is headed.

Squats (alternating reverse-band singles and sets)
315x1
355x1
275x8
355x1
275x8
355x1
275x8
355x1
275x8

Notes: The plan for today was to jump 20 lbs. from 255 to 275 and to begin the next meso by reducing reps from 15 to 8. I'm still progressing linearly with the weight, but my RPEs have waved back down, due to the rep decrease far outpacing the increase in intensity.

The goal for today's session was to accumulate some low-exertion training as I acclimate to a higher intensity. 275x8x4 was projected to be a very easy series of sets, and it was. It was certainly much easier than 255x15x4. So, I was successful on that front. This meso will probably run for three weeks, and I'm thinking I'll continue 10-lb. jumps per session, up to ~325x8x4.

The singles were a late addition to this training phase--I decided it would be best to start regularly incorporating higher-intensity singles into my training. I'm not sure if I'll do these once or twice weekly, but on this session, I decided to alternate between the singles and the set work. I used reverse bands to give me a bit of stability and comfort dropping into the hole, but in all honesty the mini-bands did less than I thought they would (they took a 20-lb. dumbbell almost to the floor, so my guess is that I was getting 20-30 lbs., but probably closer to the 20, from them). I would probably be better off with a bit more assistance, but my thinking is that I'll keep it as is. I'll progress linearly with these, from 355 to ~395 over the coming weeks.

The bar speed on 275 was very comparable to my bar speed with 280 immediately following RUM, but I can tell the work is definitely a bit harder. My guess is that I'm probably ~30 lbs. off my previous best unwrapped squat, maybe even a little less, and that gap will hopefully narrow as this phase continues.

Overall, I was happy with this session as the first phase in this block. The work can always be performed better, and I need to continue to emphasize bar-speed on these sets. I strained my right adductor somewhere at or after the third set, and my right hip is also unhappy, which is very rare for me, considering my proclivity towards the narrow stance and my Ukrainian hips. I will ice regularly and begin working on right-hip external rotation (which is lagging, probably by 15 degrees). If I cannot get it under control, I'll train to capacity for as long as is necessary--not going to take any unnecessary risks right now with my health when it took me so long to return to form.

Quickly, before I head out to train:

Sumo Deadlift
375x5x3
405x10

Thoracic Extensions w/ kettlebell, lots of sets

Standing Abs, lots of sets

Notes: 405x10 is the exact line between self-loathing and acceptance for me, so I finally passed that line on the last day of sumo. Hopefully this will be the end of sumo. Goodbye, old friend.

I matched your slingshot 3RM today...thought about going for a 4th. This race to tree fiddy 'bout to heat up.

Chris Anderson wrote:

I matched your slingshot 3RM today...thought about going for a 4th. This race to tree fiddy 'bout to heat up.

lol, I'm not exactly moving quickly with my progress. I think I've probably got a long road ahead of me.

Man, I hope my sumo pulling progresses half as fast as yours did lol. Those look so much better than what I remember seeing even a week or two ago. Faster, and a lot less shaky. Great progress. Do you think you'll do a sumo cycle again, or was this just a one time Kyle hurt his back thing? It seems like it served you very well regardless. Also, are you going to continue having the same person do your deadlift programming now that you're starting to pull conventional again?

Andy Awad wrote:

Man, I hope my sumo pulling progresses half as fast as yours did lol.  Those look so much better than what I remember seeing even a week or two ago.  Faster, and a lot less shaky.  Great progress.  Do you think you'll do a sumo cycle again, or was this just a one time Kyle hurt his back thing?  It seems like it served you very well regardless.  Also, are you going to continue having the same person do your deadlift programming now that you're starting to pull conventional again?

Well, I think for me a lot of the "progress" was just starting to learn the movement. I was at such a low level that given my abilities with other variations, I was more than likely going to see a fast return. I don't think I'll do a sumo cycle again, but it'll be an option if it becomes, well, the only option.

And yeah, he's doing my deadlift programming up to RUM VIII next Feb. Besides being really good at deadlifting (717 at 165, I think), he has a style of training his deadlift that, I think, could be sustainable for me long-term. I don't have the confidence in running block-style programming for my pull, and I don't have any experience with higher-frequency deadlifting, so he's going to help me out a lot with that.