Conventional Deadlift PR

Felt like I had at least 10kg more in me. Pulled 180kg on sumo a couple months ago. Conventional has always been a weaker pull so I'm definitely looking forward to a new sumo PR now that I've brought up my conventional numbers.

Plyometrics

Read "The Vertical Jump Bible" by Kelly Baggett and started implementing one of the programmes written in the book. I had a test day to determine which type of programme I should go for. My still vertical was 28" and running (3 steps) vertical was 31". Vertical from depth jump was similar to my still vertical which illustrated that my reactive strength needs to be improved.

So on top of my 5/3/1 programme which consists of 4 weight training days, I now have an addition of 2 days of plyometrics consisting of a lot of hops.

Here's one of the most important exercises for improving reactive strength:

5/3/1 Week 3 Deadlift

Deadlift's been going well. Forgot to bring my log today so I messed up with my calculations, ended up using about 10kg heavier for each set. Still it went pretty damn well but next time I'll remember to check my bag before I leave home lol.

Happy typhoon holiday

Deadlift PR and Thoughts

I think I had more in me since I wasn't sure how much I could go so I increased the weight really conservatively and did too much sets prior to this. It was encouraging and I'm certainly looking forward to a 200kg pull sometime this year.

I've also started implementing deficit pull since I noticed I'm rather slow off the floor:

Cheers.

Strength Journey - Genesis Gym London (Part I)

Off to England
After I retired from college swimming, I tried my hands on powerlifting. I've been training for a year now and I would say as a lifter, I'm far from being gifted and progress has been slow especially on my squat. Everything seemed to have fallen apart since my failed attempt at squatting 130kg which resulted in the bar rolling over my neck. I didn't pay much attention to it as I believe hard work trumps overanalysis. However the situation was in fact a result of incorrect technique which has nothing to do with work ethics.

So my numbers remained pretty much the same before I flew to England. Over there, I still get train 2, 3 times a week with my friend at the uni gym. My progress on the deadlift and benchpress have been steady, I deadlifted 105 x 15 @77kg which i felt was quite alright considering I have never really deadlifted before I started the 5/3/1 programme i.e. a month ago. However at one point my lower back had developed a sharp pain, either from the super soft mattress my friend lent me or from some unnoticed bad lifting form. The pain sustained for 2 weeks. Hell, I couldn't even bend down to tie my shoes (luckily I rarely tie my shoelaces, I just let them hang around loose. However I do tie them when I train). I couldn't pull conventional on the deadlift anymore with that pain so I tried to train around it and started pulling sumo. It felt great on my lower back and the weight seemed a lot lighter and I felt I was more explosive.

Genesis Gym - Wembley
4 days before I arrived London my back was still hurting like hell and I couldn't even squat 100kg for reps. I knew this was bad, not only because of the pain but the fact that I've decided to visit Genesis Gym in Wembley once I set foot in London. The reason for that is simple: I googled "Best gym in London" and I saw "Genesis Gym" everywhere. Genesis Gym is owned by world champion powerlifter Dave Beattie who holds the world record for squat in his weight class. It is located in the outer region of London so I was really lucky I got to stay with a family friend who lives just a couple stations away (Preston Road) or else I'd have to be stuck in the tube for quite a bit of time.

I took a bus to Wembley in the afternoon, walked into a Salisbury Superstore nearby to grab a meat pie and Redbull (later I was really glad as regards the Redbull, I seriously needed it). Genesis Gym is just around the corner of the Superstore. Like many british architecture, the bricks on the outer wall are in reddish brown and it seemed that the building used to be some sort of industrial warehouse. I tried the glass doors on the front only to find out later there's a notice "use the side door". So I went into the alley on the left and saw some rusty strongman equipment, tiers, famers walk stuff, etc - equipments I had never seen before. I knew I was getting myself into something hardcore.

"Bulldog"
I talked to the lady at the counter and got myself a student discounted price to enter (props to Genesis Gym for that). Then I made known my intention. "Is Dave Beattie here?" She looked at me with doubt, "What?" "I'm looking for Dave Beattie, I hope to be coached by him." She looked at me as if I was out of my mind and suddenly a huge figure appeared behind me. "How can I help you?" Asked Dave.

(To be continued)

Summer Update

Some updates: 
- I've finished my exams - my last exams in law school to be exact!

- I ran a 2 day split based upon Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 during the 3 week exam period: basically i do 2 main lifts (bench + squat/ shoulder press + deadlift) and 2 to 3 assistance exercises in one session. I was surprised that my strength was maintained, if not increased, regardless of the low training frequency. It shows how quality trumps quantity.

- Before I started 5/3/1, I was doing Defranco's 3-day "Badass" (I know it sounds lame) split. Experienced the slightest progression. I reckon its because of the low volume especially for the main lifts.

- I reckon as a novice I need a higher volume for the main lifts. It has to do with consolidation of motor memory, i.e. the simple notion of practice makes perfect. 3 worksets of 6 reps, 3 reps and 1 rep aren't enough to consolidate bar path and to strengthen the muscles activated in the main lifts. Hence when I started 5/3/1 I incorporated the Boring But Big regime which is essentially, for example, after u've done ur bench in accordance with the required percentages you do another 5 sets of 10 bench. that is a simple way to ensure you get enough volume for the main lifts.

Summer plans:
- I'm flying to the UK this Sunday to visit my sister and travel with my family. Gonna be staying there for 3 weeks. I have been contacting Dave "Bulldog" Beattie, owner of Genesis Gym in Wembley who can squat 1000+ lbs, hoping to get a training session from him. Definitely hope thats gonna happen.

- I do have some numbers in my head that I want to achieve by the end of the summer, namely > x2 bodyweight deadlift (~150kg/352lb); >130kg squat and 100kg bench. I had pulled a 130kg sumo more than half a year ago, squatted 120kg couple months ago so I think the goals are attainable if I continue to do what I'm doing and pay more attention to recovery and nutrition.

- Lately I have gained some insights into the mechanics of deadlifting which have been reflected in my numbers. I've never focused on training the deadlift before, until I started 5/3/1 a month ago. So it had been merely an assistance exercise as I only chose to squat on the only lower body day when I was running a 3 day split (2 upperbody + 1 lowerbody). But that would be another post.

Stay strong.

Building a Bulletproof Back

Contrary to most gymrats, I enjoy pulling exercises such as lat pulldowns and chinups over the bench press. I believe a back as thick as a gorilla's is essential to occupying more space in public transportations and protecting one from backstabbing. Sadly mine is still as thin as a sheet of paper but I'd say its getting stronger!

Here's what I did today:

1. Pull-up: Max + 2 sets of 80%
2. Barbell row: 3 sets of 8
3a. Lat pulldown: 3 sets of 12, 10, 8
3b. Single arm shoulder press: 3 sets of 12
4. DB pullover: 3 sets of 12
5. Incline DB delt raise: 3 sets of 15
6. EZ bar curl: 3 sets of 5
7. Hammer curl: 2 sets of 20 ea arm
8. Finisher: Barbell pushup descending from 20 to 1


As you can see, this is a long workout. The picture above is taken during my last set of Barbell pushup. I added chains to my last ten sets. Love the clanking sound.

That's it for today. Stay strong and get stronger.