Chris Anderson's Training Log V3.0: RUM or bust

10/19-

Deadlift, all singles-
135x3
225x3

Belt on
315x3
365x1
405x1
455x1--this is where my hamstring went kaputt last week, no issues this week
495x1
525x1--planned opener (524)
565x1--planned second attempt (565)

Notes: solid deadlift day. I had about 800mg of caffeine--a Spike and three scoops of C4. Released a lot of anger and emotion this session. 565was tough but I got it. The lockout was questionable as my shoulders were a bit forward, but I was able to hold it at the top and it should pass in just about any meet. Multiple people said it was good and they had side views so I will trust them. My deadlift improves a good amount with the pre-meet rest week so I am feeling good about having a shot at 584.

562 is my competition PR.

10/21-

Paused bench-
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x3

wrist wraps on
225x3

belt on, handoff-
250x3
275x5

Slingshot on-
315x3
350x2--missed third about 2/3 up

Notes: warmups went awesome as the bar flew faster than ever before. Tightness was solid and thick and technique was joocy. Got in my own head on 350 and caught myself thinking too much about outside shit and personal issues beforehand. My mind was clear for the lift but the prelift stuff was missing. This falls on me--I cannot let outside shit affect my lifting. The bar is my therapist.

Another issue was the 20 minute break I had in between 275 and 315. I did an interview with Luke at Magni for a video he is putting together and I ended up not realizing I would be without a handler for nearly a half hour. Again, this falls on me.

I thought about retaking 350 but it just wasn't there for me. My technique was good, the barpath was right, I gave it all I had, and it just didn't go. C'est la mort.


Anyway, training outline for the rest of the week:

Wed- squat doubles up to about 85%, going by feel
Fri- same thing for bench
No more deadlifts

I will do a super light session next week about 4 days out just so I am not sitting on my ass for a week. The cut should be easy.

My apologies for being incapable of showing up to the gym on time.

DDaddyKane wrote:

My apologies for being incapable of showing up to the gym on time.

We all know what this feels like, Chris.

wut

Waiting on Dalton.

yeah that dalton guy is terrible

10/22-

Squat-
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x2

belt on
315x2
365x1

wraps on
405x1
425x1

Notes: Just worked up to something easy. Hamstring was a bit grouchy so I decided to play it safe.

So, now that I am getting into a period of downtime before my meet, I want to do a quick rundown of what the future holds for The Furnace:

Next meet--
NASA in March, or UPA in april. I want to wait until after RUM qualifying totals come out so I can decide what my best route is. I plan on doing wrapped, unwrapped, and single-ply meets this year; the order will depend on how much time I think I need to qualify. The NASA meet would give me roughly 16 weeks of training, and UPA would give me about 20. I want a long training cycle to address some of my goals, which will be:

1. fat loss/conditioning--I need to get leaner. Period. I really have no idea how to properly diet. I need to learn.

2. Ankle and hip mobility--particularly the ankle. I strongly believe that my fucked up left ankle is what is ultimately causing a lot of my hamstring issues. I can't move properly and that is affecting the way the weight is loaded on my muscles.

3. Hamstring and elbow health--the elbow is doing well, but the hamstring issue has got to be addressed. I'll never reach my goals if I have to continue training around this.

4. Unwrapped squat--I haven't done a max-effort unwrapped squat set in nearly four years. I want to be a good all-around lifter, and this means not being so dependent on the wraps. If I can improve my unwrapped squat, then that gives me one more way of making RUM IX.

Thankfully, these goals all compliment each other. Fixing my ankle will help the hamstring, which will help me work on my squat (as well as my deadlift). Losing fat will give me room to add muscle and become more competitive at 181.

While the thought is on my mind, I have also decided to put off my change in chemical use. I still feel like I am barely an intermediate lifter. I have a lot of things I have to address, and anabolics will not help any of the above goals (well, I could become leaner, but it wouldn't teach me how to diet). I truly believe I can total 1600 at 181 within three years. Within five, I could be well into the top-20 all-time list.

Anyway, to attack these goals, I have decided to run, for at least the first 6 weeks of my next cycle, a high-volume, low-specificity training block. This will involve a lot of lift variations, and not much competition lifts. This means stuff like close grip bench, floor press, safety bar squats, block pulls, deficit deadlifts, and no knee wraps. I will also likely do some Paul Cooter-esque training for a bit of this, using no belt or wrist wraps. This is all in order to artificially lower the training intensity and the strain on my body as I focus on the aforementioned goals.

I am not completely sure what sort of programming I want to use for this. I would like to train 4-5 days a week, with one--wait for it--cardio day each week as well. I will likely use a similar template to what I ran up to this meet, but with a few changes. More on this to come--I will write this up in the coming week.

Also, fuck it, I'm most likely doing Smolov for overhead at some point, too. Dalton is going down.

I think the plan for the next cycle is a great idea, and I think it's probably what you need just to get yourself past some of these nagging injuries. I think the decision on supplementation is a wise one, and it is something I have also been thinking a lot, since my issues with mis-managing training are well-documented and supplementation can be an enabler in that respect by allowing for more fuck-ups.

Well the entire thing is that I don't like I'm anywhere near my limit. I keep getting slowed down by my own hand. I barely feel like I'm out of the beginner stage of my training. Also, I haven't even trained for a decade yet. This is pretty early in my lifting journey, overall.

Oh, and I don't have any money to put towards the gear either.

Yeah, all of those things are true. You make great progress once you're just able to train injury-free for long periods of time. If you can just resolve yourself to find a way to make training sustainable, you'll get much stronger.

Chris wrote:

Also, fuck it, I'm most likely doing Smolov for overhead at some point, too. Dalton is going down.

Challenge accepted.

Dalton, aren't you in class right now?

Wut is class

When you guys are talking OHP are you talking strict or anything goes

KevinAlvy wrote:

When you guys are talking OHP are you talking strict or anything goes

What kind of anarchy do you think takes place in this club? Strict OHP or NOTHING

KevinAlvy wrote:

When you guys are talking OHP are you talking strict or anything goes

Lol strict is the only thing I am good at. I might get 10lb out of my leg drive. I am borderline retarded when it comes to anything other than a strict barbell press.

10/24-

Paused bench-
45x5
95x5
135x3
185x2

wrist wraps on
225x3
255x2
285x2
315x2

Deadlift, all singles-
315x2
365x1

belt on
405x1

Notes: last real session of the cycle. Bench is feeling solid. The double at 315 was easy and 3 would probably have been there, particularly if I hadn't napped after work (napping makes feel better but also saps my strength unless I have several hours of being awake before lifting).

I then did some light deadlifts just for the sake of not taking two weeks off of pulling. Luke also wanted to get some quick pics/videos for the video he is making. I actually feel like I have much better technique without a belt--I think I will do a lot of beltless pulling during my next cycle.

10/28-

Squat-
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x3

Bench-
45x5
95x3
115x3

Deadlift-
135x3
225x3

Notes: Just some really light work to keep me feeling ready. Everything should be good to go. I woke up at 186 today and my cut should be very easy. I'm finished water loading and I will start tapering off my intake starting tomorrow. The fast will start Thursday afternoon.

Plan for the rest of the week:
Wednesday- .5 gallon distilled water, no CHO/Na
Thursday- .5 gallon distilled water, no CHO/Na, fast starts after 2pm (or whereabouts)
Friday- fast until weigh-ins at 7pm.
Saturday- lifting at 10am.

Friday itinerary:
Work 6am-1pm
Leave to DSM ~2pm, arrive ~4pm
Check weight using Kyle's scale (I will likely check at the CRWC before I leave, as well)
Pick up a pizza and breadsticks on the way to weigh-ins, eat that and drink my recovery drink as soon as I step off the scale
Barbecue at Jethro's after returning from weigh-ins
Eat pringles, Uncrustables, etc, until bed time

Goal is to be 195lb before I go to bed

Saturday morning I will go to iHop for breakfast, and then eat chinese food or Bennigan's throughout the meet.

Just a video.

Went to bed at 186 last night and woke up at 184. Fast is supposed to start at 2pm today, but I can probably extend that out a bit and see how it goes. I have some pork to eat today and I will see what I weigh when I get home from work (14 hour shift today) and see if I can eat a bit of chicken.

Going to bed now right around 185. With me being a bit more dehydrated (32oz distilled water today, and that's it) and depleted, I will likely only drop to 183.5/184 or so. I will fast tomorrow then eat as I allow myself. Hopefully I can eat a bit of chicken and still be fine. I should be okay. No hot bath or sweatsuits should be necessary whatsoever. 

If I can aggressively go after some fat loss next cycle, I can *maybe* look at going 165

Chris Anderson wrote:

I can *maybe* look at going 165

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS!