Grant Voshell's Log

April 4, 2013

Squat:
Warm-Up: 135, 185, 240, 280, 320
3x 340

Smolov called for 10x3-340 but my left arm/elbow was just not having it. Yes, the brachialis pains are making a comeback. It was a little achy/sore during the warm up sets but immediately after the 340-set, it was a roaring pain and was enough that it caused me to be short of breath for a few seconds and I had to sit down. The pain was and still is somewhere between "oh shit, I broke it" and "just amputate the fucker." I am a little unclear on this but the bar just does not feel stable on my back/shoulders ever and I feel like I support a bunch of the weight with my arms.

Nonetheless, I am shutting down smolov for now to let it heal. As far as benching goes, usually this pain carries over to my bench press but I am going to bench tomorrow and see how it goes.

Other motions and movements that cause pain:
+ T-Rex curls with the EZ bar
+ Hammer Curls

I had a ton of elbow pain until I started megadosing fish oil and wearing elbow sleeves.

Chris Anderson wrote:

I had a ton of elbow pain until I started megadosing fish oil and wearing elbow sleeves.

It's not the actual elbow joint per se but I have been thinking a little bit, recalling the pain I used to get, as well as looking at some common arm/elbow problems associated with squat and the most logical answer is too much medial rotation and tightness in my chest and shoulders. just means more stretching and recording my form I guess.

In short, my form is similar to this with my elbows and neck at similar angles:

KevinAlvy wrote:

I'm a little late to this, but I think it depends on your motive. If you want to run smolov/smolov jr because you are impatient with you gains, this is a bad habit to start (especially since you have been progressing VERY fast). I've seen a very common trend of people getting impatient and hurting themselves. That said, there's nothing wrong with the program, just be prepared to keep your recovery protocols top notch

bump

May 5, 2013

Bench:
6x5 205

Bicep Curls
Tricep Extensions
Reverse DB Flyes

Not too much to say. Bench felt solid and did some work to tighten/strengthen my back as well as summer aesthetics.

I also just played around with a 25lb barbell and tried setting up for squats. I definitely noticed a huge difference between the meet and what I have been doing the past couple of days. The before and after photos are kind of ridiculous actually. I have so much medial rotation from the tightness in my shoulders and chest plus weakness in my scapula adductors that it is kind of bizarre. I think I will continue on with smolov but with some caution and preventative maintenance. This will include more stretching on my off days, stretching before and during squat warm-ups, and more rowing motions (probably pendlay rows). I am also going to start filming from side angles again to see when I am caving over.

Thoughts or concerns?

Upper back work is something you should be doing every day.

Chris Anderson wrote:

Upper back work is something you should be doing every day.

I usually do a couple of accessory upper-back exercises after I bench but it might not be enough. I might have to try doing things a little different but I am not sure if I should do higher weights/lower reps or lower weight with reps of 10-15

Why not both? I typically stick to higher reps, but I've been known to do triples up and down the stack on the cable machine for face pulls. The upper back is wildly important in powerlifting, for both strength and injury prevention reasons. It is almost always neglected, which is a shame, as it is very easy to train.

May 6, 2013 - "Revenge of the Sixth"

Cable External Rotations
Chest/Shoulder Stretching

Squat:
Warm-Up: 240, 280
4x9 300 (Failed last two on fourth set)

GHRx 20 (Just curious to see how many I could do at this point)

Squat is feeling much better and performing quite well. I did not have any arm pain today. This is undoubtedly from lots of stretching, warming up, and a better set up. I changed my set up to this cadence:
++ Place bar, head up, shoulders pinched, bend the low back, set feet, go++
As you can see, I start at my head and work my way down. By taking my time stretching and setting up before my actual squat, I was able avoid quite a bit of pain in my arm and I was able to finally wrap my thumb under the bar.

On my last set, I was cruising just fine but as soon as I started the 8th rep, my legs just said "that's all I got" so I failed the last 2 reps and this made a great and funny ending to the video.

May 7, 2013

OHP:
5x 95, 135, 135, 135

Incline Bench:
4x5 185

Arnold Press:
3x8 35

Front, Side, Rear Delt Raises

Today's focus was shoulders and pressing. My shoulders have become much weaker than they used to be. I have been thinking about it for a while now and I have made up my mind that I will be alternating shoulders with bench press days to really strengthen my shoulders which should lead to a bigger bench. OHP was paused between each rep and incline was paused on the first and last rep.

May 8, 2013

Chest and Shoulder Stretches
Cable External and Rotator Cuff Rotations

Squat:
Warm-Up: 135, 185, 240, 280
5x7 340 (failed 7th rep on sets 2-5)

This squat session was an absolute battle to the finish. It lasted about 2 hours and I honestly do not think it has taken me so long to do so few sets in my life. In short, around rep 6 or 7 my upper back would fatigue and I would fall forward a little bit. This required a significant amount of lower back and quads to bring the weight back up. Reps 1-5 were okay, and I could maintain posture just fine but around 6 or 7, I just could not stay tight.

Best save ever on that 4x9 video

You may want to take your max down ~5% for your work sets if it turns out you can't finish your sets the next two days.

Nathan Poage wrote:

Best save ever on that 4x9 video

You may want to take your max down ~5% for your work sets if it turns out you can't finish your sets the next two days.

It's hilarious, right? I was literally just thinking about dropping it 5% for next week. It's currently at 400. I just picked that because I was at just above 400, pure raw, a couple of weeks before the meet plus 400 makes percentages nice.

Was that with wraps though?

Nathan Poage wrote:

Was that with wraps though?

In one session, it was 3x365 with wraps followed by 3x365 without wraps

May 9, 2013

Bench:
Warm-Up: 45, 95, 135, 185
6x5 210 w/ varying grips

Bent Over Rows:
4x6 135

2 sets of pullups (might need Anderson to teach me how to do more since he is in basic and all)

Paused Floor Press:
5x 95, 135, 185

Set up felt pretty solid in bench today. It took me a little while to kind of get in the groove but around the 3rd or 4th set things started going smoothly. I need to remember to retract my shoulders because I always forget until I am at the bottom of the first rep. As always, the first and last rep were paused while 2-4 were explosive.

LOL @ the Army. Good thing they're using spotters!

Bitch I can do so many heel hooks. DYEfitness?

Bench Press Video from the 9th. I just forgot to load it up:

May 10, 2013

Squat:
Warm-Up: 185, 240, 280
2x4 320
3x5 320
2x6 320

Cable External Rotations
Cable Scarecrows

Bicep Curls
Dips
Hammer Curls

After looking through the video, I noticed that I cut a lot of squats a little short and I am pretty sure it was because I had DOMS in my quads and my lower back. I was also putting the bar a little too low. If you watch some of the earlier sets, you will notice it's a bit of a struggle. Around the 5th or 6th work set, you will see that the squat looks smoother and more explosive. This is definitely because I had the bar a little too low and after I moved it up, everything just felt better.

May 11, 2013

Squat:
Warm-Up: 185, 240, 280, 320
10x3 340

Squat started off pretty slow today. First, I was feeling really tight in my quads and adductors. I had to really stretch out and do some funny bends to loosen up. Second, I had a memory attack because I could not remember how wide I placed my feet. When I failed 340 the first time (as in the video), my stance felt way too narrow during the decent and I was still tight. In addition, I used my belt today and while it did break in, I have more bruises than a red headed step child. I would give Seth a run for his money from the bruises he had with his EliteFTS 13mm.

May 12, 2013

Bench (varying grips):
Warm-Up: 95, 135, 185
6x5 215

Hammer Row Machine (low grip):
8x 70, 90, 100, 100 pps

Floor Press:
5x 95, 135
4x6 185

Bicep Curls
Overhead Skull Crushers
T-Rex Curls

I worked with a new set up today and it definitely felt awesome. I was more stable, had a better arch, and was able to stay in position easier. Plus, it was actually easier to keep my heels on the ground and create more drive. Floor pressing felt pretty solid although my triceps would hit a wall on rep 6 for every set. I like incorporating these into my bench days just because it's more reps at a lighter weight.

What was the set-up like? Did you film it to upload to youtube? And thanks for pointing out my lack of hip drive in squats, I never really paid attention to that