Quick Training Update

The week has come and gone. Some things to put in writing lest I forget.

Training This Week

Found a gym at Braddell Heights CC to train at. Ended up training there all week. Did week 5 for 531 to get back into the groove of things. Also added in DE squats. Starting next week I’ll run the full 531 cycle 1 beginning from week 3 together with DE bench and DE squat. Basically this will be a 6 day training week as follows. Hopefully things will work out.

Monday: 531 OHP

Tuesday: DE bench

Wednesday: 531 deadlift

Thursday: DE squat

Friday: 531 bench

Saturday: 531 squat

531 top sets will be pushed hard. Singles won’t be taken. Heavier assistance work will be done. Less volume per session due to time constraint but frequency will be increased.

Diet this week has settled down somewhat. Sleep even though slightly less still appears to be ok. Recovery overall is satisfactory. Will see how things go in the coming week when the intensity is ramped up.  

Another thing to note is the lack of caffeine before training. Since training is now in the evening, I avoid taking caffeine beforehand because I want to sleep after training. And normally it takes close to 6 hours before the effects of caffeine wears off for me. And I don’t have 6 hours to spare because training is at 1900hrs and sleep at 2200hrs. Unless I take caffeine at 1700hrs but then it becomes rather pointless because the full effects kick in approximately 30 minutes after ingestion. At the 2 hour mark, I’ll be stimulated no doubt, but not enough to train hard. So ironically, training has been hard because without any stimulants even the warm up is a bitch to do. But it’s good because I get to better gauge my training intensity and I can fall asleep when I get home.  

Smolov Evaluation

Tested squats on Saturday, 19/1/13, at Bishan gym in the morning. Took 4 scoops of ON amino energy and creatine prior to squatting. This was taken at 0945hrs, roughly 2 hours after breakfast which was at 0800hrs. Breakfast consisted of 2 scoops protein, 2 slices wholemeal bread, 1 slice cheese and 1 slice ham. Decided to skip the 4 eggs because I wanted quicker digestion so the stomach will be better able to absorb the PWO supplement whilst still having sufficient energy to train.

Did the shoulder savers warm up as usual followed by warming up on squats using 531 squats week 5. Belted for the set of 130kg for 5 reps and for the 3 singles taken at 140kg, 150kg and 160kg. Thanks to my training partner for pointing out my form on the 140kg single, which led to a fantastic 150kg and that gave me the confidence to take 160kg. Basically, I focused on controlling the weight even more on the way down (descending even slower than usual), getting tighter and tighter until I hit depth and then exploding right up. 160kg was a real grinder but I’m not complaining man. That was a solid 10kg PR with 3 weeks of smolov. And a span of only 5 weeks between my 150kg PR and this.

A few more points about smolov. It’s not for beginners, definitely, or anyone who is not proficient or confident in his/her squat.

 A minimum squat max of 150kg should be possessed because the base mesocycle calls for an increase of 15kg over the course of 3 weeks and if your squat 1RM is too low, the increase becomes too significant relative to your 1RM. Because bear in mind that all loads are taken as percentages of your 1RM but the 15kg increase is not. That one is an absolute value so relative to your 1RM it had better not be too large a percentage.

Another reason why it’s not for beginners is because the frequent squatting will probably lead to some injuries or strains here and there. And as a beginner, one might not have sufficient experience troubleshooting these issues. Of course, with the help of the internet and or other more experienced lifters, this problem can be negated.

The next point has to do with work capacity and recovery. Squatting 4 times a week is not joke. It is best to have prior experience with high frequency training.  

Smolov is a squat program and it has served its purpose in my opinion. However, this will come at the expense of your other lifts. For the upper body lifts, it is possible to train them in conjunction with smolov. This is important because your strength won’t decline and your technique will be further improved. Only trade-off I found with smolov was with my deadlift. Not deadlifting for 3 weeks left my deadlifting technique all rusty. But not to worry because now I’ll be tackling it head on again.

3 Things I've Learnt From Smolov

I’m worse at counting than I thought. I can only count up to 4 and this isn’t helpful on smolov because the reps range from 3 to 9. So I’ve learnt how to count in sets of 4. For example, 9 reps would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1. Previously, I would have went, “1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, shit how many reps was that man? I think I’ve just one more rep.” Clearly, this manner of counting was not conducive for achieving the desired training effect.    

Smolov is good for people of all attention spans. For those with a short attention span, smolov is excellent because you work for a little while, rest for a long time and repeat. For those with a long attention span, smolov works equally well too because you’re gonna be in the gym for a long, long time and you’re really going to need to focus because it’s depressing to share the power cage with 3 groups of people, one after another.

Smolov is really excellent programming. Whoever thought of squatting 4 times a week and even throwing in back to back sessions? Also, it’s really easy to follow smolov because you only need to perform a single movement and even the reps and loading parameters for the day’s session are fixed. How easy is that? 

My Smolov Experience

Recovery is the name of the game. Smolov is essentially high frequency training and this only works if you’re recovered enough for the next session. Perhaps one of the goals of smolov is accumulative fatigue followed by super compensation but I believe that if I didn’t take care of my recovery, I wouldn’t even be able to finish the cycle much less reap any of its benefits. This is an important takeaway for me because I love training. And to be able to train frequently and intensely, I need to recover fully between training sessions. Now, I look at my training program by first determining how much resources I have for recovery then working out how many training sessions I should have. The resources include diet and sleep. Diet meaning how often can I eat and what foods are available to me? Knowing this helps me to make adjustments and this is something that can be easily accounted for. Sleep is trickier because we all only have 24 hours a day and ideally I would require 9 hours of sleep at night and an hour for my afternoon nap. Obviously, this has little workaround and so once sleep is compromised, the training program needs to account for this.

Visualization is important when approaching work sets. Going through the verbal cues in my head, visualizing the lift beforehand, looking out for parts of the lift where I might run into problems and reinforcing the solutions. All these build technique, which makes me a better, stronger and safer lifter. On the other hand, this does not apply to accessory work. For example with curls, raises, rows, etc, I prefer to actively engage the target muscle and feel it working. Actually, if you need to visualize your accessory work, something is very wrong with your training program.

Stretching, foam rolling, prehab and rehab. This ties in with recovery and ensures that I am able to perform at my best at each training session. Stretching and foam rolling makes a positive difference for me and so I’ll continue to do them diligently. Prehab and rehab are slightly trickier. As a lifter, injuries are bound to occur and I have to troubleshoot them as they come. Most of the time, it’s just a strain and these are easy to rehab. Also, if I start to feel some pain in an area, before another major happens, I’d kick in prehab for that area. This was the case for my delts and forearms. For my delts, the shoulder savers warm up was a boon. For my forearms, change in form and exercises helped alleviate the pain somewhat.

Looking ahead, I probably won’t be revisiting smolov anytime soon. Rather, it’s back to 531 but now I’m all the wiser for it. 

Training Log 10/1/13

10/1/13; 0945-1245hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Great. Was looking forward to switching flat bench for incline bench and getting a good upper body workout in.

During: Drained. Incline bench irritated my forearms too. But mainly I just wasn’t in the zone. Physically I felt ok but mentally I just wasn’t there. Psyching myself up on smolov days is probably too mentally draining. Then again, I realised that the past 2 Thursdays didn’t go well either. It seems that by the time Thursday rolls around, I’m dead.

After: Good. Dug in, made adjustments to the training session and still got something out of it. Looking forward to smolov. It is becoming some sort of sick obsession, suffering under the bar.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. Already felt sluggish here but I pushed on of course. I’m not one to terminate a training session during warm up. At least not yet. Warmed up on the incline bench and at 60kg the forearms started acting up so I stopped it.

Work sets: Not done. This forearm problem is puzzling. It appears that as long as there is any horizontal plane involved in pressing, there is the onset of forearm pain. OHP does not cause this issue. Whether or not squatting has to do with it remains to be seen after this program.

Assistance: 5 sets of 10 reps standing db press superset with 15 reps wide overhand chin ups.

Accessory: This is what turned my mood around. So now I know, when things look bleak, train like a bodybuilder! Bodyweight dips superset with D handle rows on the lat pulldown machine. Today I went a little lighter, I think, and did more reps. Did these for 4 sets. Followed by front lateral raise to overhead extension superset with straight arm lat pulldowns for 4 sets. Reps were around 10 for both. And lastly, L-lateral dumbbell raises superset with face pulls for 4 sets. Took a lighter weight for the raises and did 20 reps for both. Brisk walk wasn’t done today because my lower body didn’t feel sore and I was lazy.

Miscellaneous

I learnt again today that knowing the purpose of training is very important. The current program is focused on squatting and this is my purpose. The squat sessions must be completed do or die. Anything else is a bonus. Being reminded of this today helped me re-evaluate today’s training session and realise that upper body strength just needs to be maintained on this program and carried out to ensure postural integrity. Bearing this in mind, I was able to adjust the training to meet this goal and to bring me closer to completing this program.

Diet

My appetite’s been pretty good this few days given that training hasn’t been all that slack. So it adds up. Coming off this program might require some changes to the diet but nothing concrete now. Just something for me to ponder about at the moment. Also, my diet thus far has ensured optimal recovery and also minimal body fat gain but that’s just guesswork going on.

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs and 2 slices of wholemeal bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein. Felt really weak and tired as if I was cutting but I’m not so carbs were in order. Lots of wanton mee.

Teabreak: 1 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder. Felt weak again too so I had 2 agar agar. I am lacking sugar somehow. Or not eating enough.

Dinner: Sweet potato noodle, lots of ngoh hiang, white rice, curry sting ray. 1 persimmon because fruits are important. 2 agar agar because I was still hungry.  

Supper: 1 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 11/1/13

11/1/13; 1000-1230hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to smashing weight.

During: Looking forward to not being smashed by the weight. F this shit man. Who squats at 87% of their max for 5 reps? Only to repeat it for 6 more sets? Clearly Prilepin’s chart doesn't really apply here. Today really sucked and I had to dig deep as usual to see it through. Again, it was all mental. Physically, when I was under the bar, the reps weren't that hard honestly.

After: F this shit. Tomorrow I've to squat again?? But seriously, I’m gonna crush it tomorrow.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. It’s a really nice warm up. Warm up squat sets went like this.

Bar for 10 reps. This was just to get used to the bar position.

60kg for 5 reps. This was to further get used to the bar position and also to reinforce technique.

80kg for 5 reps. This was to supplement the above.

100kg for 3 reps. This was to get used to moving heavier weight. Done for less reps to conserve energy for the work sets.

110kg for 3 reps. Same as above.

120kg for 1 rep. This was done just to get a feel of the weight and as a final form check. So a single was performed to conserve energy for the work sets.

Work sets: This went pretty nice, not the best session I’ve had by far but certainly not the worse. No real pain anywhere, just a general soreness in the back. Probably overdid it yesterday. I realised the triceps felt strained when getting under the bar. I didn’t know the triceps were involved in setting the bar. Going to need to focus on technique tomorrow. Knees were caving in a little today. Some reps were a real grinder, actually that was close to half. Belted for all sets, couldn’t really see myself doing it without a belt though. Low back felt sore. Was it because of the back extensions yesterday or the weight today? I’ll find out tomorrow I guess.

Assistance: Nothing done.

Miscellaneous

There are quite a few thoughts running through my head now but I need to sleep soon. Recovery is of utmost importance. So this will have to be done another day but I’ll leave some points here so I won’t forget. Things I've learnt this past 3 weeks. Diet, sleep, recovery, training, how they all tie in. I’m not a bodybuilder, I am a powerlifter and my goal is to lift heavy weights but I do want to look aesthetically pleasing too. Making use of short, intense cycles such as this to make some gains but there is a need to back off quickly as well; also how to hold onto these gains?

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs and 2 slices of wholemeal bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein. Carl’s Jr low carb thickburger without sauce, beef chili cheese criss cut fries and coke light. The burger cause there’s protein. The fries cause there’s carbs and it’s awesome and it’s not on the menu. Coke light cause I’m feeling healthy. Actually no cause I still like the taste of coke but I don’t really need those empty calories from sugar.

Teabreak: Costa coffee small cappuccino. Doesn't really do anything for my diet. It’s just milk and coffee after all. But it tasted decent.

Dinner: Felt hungry but the food wouldn't go in. Brown rice, white rice, green vegetable, pork ribs, egg and short bean, and ice cream.

Supper: 2 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder. 

Training Log 9/1/13

9/1/13; 1030-1300hrs; SRC Gym

Mood

Before: Great. Looking forward to squatting.

During: Great. 7 reps at 122.5kg felt easy. Just needed to keep the positive attitude going for 5 sets.

After: Great. Today was a good training session. Comparable to Monday. Maybe I’m adapting to the weight and volume of smolov?

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up as usual. Warm up squat sets were stiff as usual too. Kept my head on and didn’t get too worried about it. Final warm up set at 120kg for a single went smoothly. A little slow but I didn’t let that bother me. Focus was on setting the bar right and getting the technique dialled in.

Work sets: Rest times for the first 4 sets were around 7 minutes, didn’t feel the need to rest any longer than that. The 4^th set felt like a bit of a grinder so I took it that the rest time wasn’t long enough so for the last set I had 15 minutes rest and the last set went really well. Back of right knee is feeling sore but nothing to be overly concerned about at the moment. Mobility and flexibility are not affected. Only when squatting down do I feel a slight twinge at the back of the right knee but it is nothing major. Will keep it in view and see how it goes. Work sets felt easy. Focused on sitting back more to get the posterior chain involved. Bar placement was good. Need to actively spread the knees. At heavier weight, the need to spread the knees and activate the hip adductors on the way up becomes apparent because they really help in getting the weight up. Core and lower back felt good. I guess the core work helps. Slight soreness in the forearms but stretching them between sets helped reduce it.  

Assistance: Did 4 sets of 10 reps for hanging leg raises using bodyweight only. Will do the rest tomorrow at Bishan gym as there wasn’t a 45 degree back extension bench here.

Miscellaneous

Technique. Visualization. Time. Feeling sleepy again so I shall expound on the aforementioned some other time.

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs and 2 slices of wholemeal bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, beef fried rice from can 1. Didn’t finish all the rice though.

Tea break: 1 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder. Can’t bear to eat anymore eggs. It’s making me sick.

Dinner: Brown rice, chicken, eggplant, green vegetables and ice cream. Had more rice today. Felt weak after my nap, probably didn’t have enough for lunch and tea break. I realised I haven’t had ice cream for some time so here it is. Don’t really know if it helps recovery though.

Supper: 1 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 8/1/13

8/1/13; 1030-1300hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Feeling good. Looking forward to hitting the upper body.

During: Feeling better.

After: Feeling great. Looking forward to smolov tomorrow.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. Pull ups felt sluggish initially but that went away after a few sets.

Work sets: Missed on both 67.5kg and 75kg sets initially. Got the required reps the second time around so no biggy there. Felt a little weak when pressing though. Could it be lack of foam rolling or diet?

Assistance: Clean 60kg off the floor and OHP for 5 reps. Superset with wide overhand chin ups for 15 reps. Did 5 sets total. This felt good. Probably gonna keep it for the next few months in place of 5x10.

Accessory: This is where things got fun as usual. Kicked it off with bodyweight dips taken just before failure superset with D handle rows on the lat pulldown machine, did this for 4 sets. Managed around 12 reps on the dips and 9 reps on the rows. Followed by front lateral raise to overhead extension superset with straight arm lat pulldowns for 4 sets. Reps were around 10 for both. And lastly, L-lateral dumbbell raises superset with face pulls for 4 sets. 10 reps for the raises and 20 reps for the face pulls. Brisk walk wasn’t done today because my lower body didn’t feel sore and I was lazy.

Miscellaneous

I need to be diligent about foam rolling. Just take a little bit of time each day to roll. Don’t become lazy and neglect this.

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs and 2 slices of white bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, claypot noodle with mince meat and fish soup, 2 persimmons.

Teabreak: 4 eggs with 1 slice of cheese omelette.

Dinner: Swenson’s mega burger or whatever it’s called.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 7/1/13

7/1/13; 9000-1200hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Oh no here we go again. Still felt fluish in the morning. But I was going to squat and the only thing that would stop me was me passing out in the rack. Life happens.

During: Felt great. Must have been one of my best training sessions by far.

After: Looking forward to 531 OHP tomorrow and finishing smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up as usual before moving onto warm up squat sets. No shoulder pain or forearm pain. Managed to get flexible enough for the bar to get in place pretty quick.  

Work sets: Took a much longer rest for the first 3 sets, 15 minutes thereabouts. My goal was to finish the training session safely and properly, and I’m proud to say that my goal was accomplished. The weight felt surprisingly light and the bar was sitting right in place. Hit depth, was explosive out of the hole. Focused on staying tight throughout. This has been my easiest 4 sets of 9 reps. The best part was no forearm pain and the flu somehow went away.

Assistance: 4 sets of 10 reps for the hanging leg raise using bodyweight. 4 sets of 20 reps for the 45 degree side bends and back extensions on the back extension machine using bodyweight only. Got a really good pump in my lower back and hams. Didn’t brisk walk today. Will make it up tomorrow especially if I’m feeling sore.  

Miscellaneous

The attitude you carry is important. Starting this morning when I woke up, I just knew I had to train no matter what. Going into the gym, I got myself focused, started warming up and things just went great from there. It’s amazing what having the right attitude does. Looking ahead, this is the last training week and I want to make the most out of it. To train the hardest, to grind and strain each and every day.  

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs and 2 slices of white bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, Indian buffet. Lots of chicken, curry, briyani rice, naan and papaya. Fantastic bloat going on.

Dinner: Some rice, stewed pig trotters and intestines. Didn’t feel too hungry. 1 big and 1 small orange. Don’t see the significance of listing that but there it is.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 5/1/13

5/1/13; 1030-1230hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Great. Smolov again.

During: F this shit. Seriously. The intensity was high. Doable but I had to dig really, really deep. Gonna need to up my game to get through next week.

After: Relieved. I never felt so happy after a training session before. Then again I don’t think I’ve been this depressed during training before. Smolov took me to places I’ve never been to and I don’t think I had ever wanted to. And it’s still not over. F this shit.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. After squatting the day before I had a bit more experience approaching my warm up squat sets. I knew what to expect – the stiffness, soreness in the upper body, so I tackled them before they surfaced. Did more stretching with the broom stick to get the bar into position and I didn’t get too worried when the first few warm up squat sets didn’t go too smooth. It helps me to keep my mental game on track else I would go nuts before the work sets.

Work sets: First 2 sets were done unbelted and felt great. Tight, good form, and explosiveness out of the hole. But after the 2^nd set, the flu came in. And the forearm pain showed up too. The timing couldn’t have been better. Mentally I was done. Yes, throwing in the towel and calling it a day did cross my mind but somehow smolov was and still is so alluring that I couldn’t quit. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t and wouldn’t quit. And so it went on. 8 more sets with the belt on. I wore the belt more to get my head back in the game. The ritual of belting, getting into the zone, focusing. It all helped.

Assistance: Nothing done. I was totally smoked and just wanted to do nothing; which was precisely what I did.

Miscellaneous

Training partners are important. You may not like them, you may not talk to them outside of training but they are important during training. This point was driven into me on Friday and again today. If not for my training partners I might have just walked away, called it a day and quitted on smolov.

They will call you out, push you over the edge, talk shit with you, make you rage, spot you, belt you up, load the plates and you will do the same for them.

This is one of the wonderful things about training. You meet all sorts of people from all walks of life, everyone with a story to tell, some happy, some sad, some out of this world. But everyone is brought together with a common passion for training. And you just know who they are. Many people go to the gym but not all of them train.

Training partners come and go, and sadly I’ve had quite a number with whom I no longer train with already. Some became friends, some started as friends and the rest, well, remained as training partners. Bottom line is you need them and when you find them, treasure them. Treat them with respect; offer them the same level of help and dedication that they offer to you if not more. No man is an island.

Another thing to touch on is sickness. Today the dreaded flu bug came. Goodness knows from where but I’m hit. I used to think that flu meant that I had reached the state of overtraining such that my immune system was weakened and recovery compromised hence the flu. I also hypothesized that this occurs concurrently with a lack of calories. I still don’t know if these theories are valid but given my current training program and diet, it does seem plausible. So to counteract this flu, recovery has been made a priority since I squat on Monday, like it or not. Getting more rest and more calories is underway for the weekend.

Diet

Breakfast/preworkout: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices wholemeal bread. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein, 1L Magnolia chocolate fresh milk, some glutinous rice. Drinking so much milk lends itself to much flatulence. Best not to be consumed 6 hours before training.  

Teabreak: Was super hungry after waking up from my nap. Didn't feel like eating eggs or protein or anything that’ll remind me of training so I had glutinous rice, fried rice and guava.

Dinner: Indian food. The works. Can’t see the point in listing it here but here goes. 1 cup teh tarik, mee goreng, kambeng soup, roti prata, mutton murthabuk, some mutton briyani. Yup that’s about all. Had a great bloat going on after that.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder. Makes for great dreams but I keep waking up to piss.

Training Log 4/1/13

4/1/13; 1230-1430hrs; SRC gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to squatting. Did think about the weight quite a bit and was feeling apprehensive.

During: Damn this shit is crazy. Forearms were hurting. Shoulders were hurting. The weight wasn’t helping. Dug deep and finished it. Again more mental than anything else.

After: Tired. Relieved. Tomorrow’s gonna be a blast!

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. Right delt still hurting. Left delt seems ok now. Warm up squat sets were where things got murky. Couldn’t get the bar placement right initially. Also I wasn’t flexible enough to set my hands on the inside of the smooth rings while getting the bar to where it was supposed to be on my back. So the warm up squat sets were shitty and I got worried. Really had to pull myself together and focus. Finally hit my last warm up set smoothly and was good to go for the work sets. Warm up sets went like this:

1 x 10, 5 @ bar (Way too stiff, set up was shit.)

1 x 5 @ 60kg (Still too stiff plus now right delt started hurting.)

1 x 5 @ 80kg (Bad. Set hands out wide to at least get the bar in place.)

1 x 3 @ 100kg (Worse. Tried to bring hands in and bar went out of place.)

1 x 2 @ 110kg (Worst. Did some mash up of the above 2 and ended up muscling up the weight twice.)

1 x 3 @ 120kg (Finally got it right.)

Work sets: Depth was ok, speed was ok, form was ok. Lower back tightness needs to be emphasized. Don’t get complacent about it. Arch lower back, draw big air into belly and force it out. Around the 3^rd set forearms started hurting. Goodness knows why. Was it because of benching yesterday or that I’m tensing up my forearms too much?

Assistance: Nothing done. Was totally smoked by the time the last set was done.

Miscellaneous

Smolov is one badass routine. It will break you if you’re weak, ill disciplined or unprepared. I’m getting better at all 3 aspects as a result of smolov.

Diet

Breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine and 4 eggs.

Teabreak/preworkout: Can 1 kaya toast set. 2 eggs, 1 slice kaya toast and 1 cup yuan yang kosong.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein and 1L Greenfields chocolate fresh milk.

Dinner: Glutinous rice, short beans, egg plant, pork and 1 orange.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 3/1/13

3/1/13; 1030-1300hrs; SRC gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to 531 bench.

During: Maybe benching was a bad idea.

After: Looking forward to smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. Right delt still hurt. Warm up bench sets went ok.

Work sets: After last warm up bench set, forearms started hurting. Terminated bench training after 1^st work set. I think the forearm pain is a direct result of benching. Grip used for benching needs to have bar set on the fleshiest part of the palm. Cannot just grip and squeeze the bar as tight as possible. This may have led to improper weight distribution on the wrists and hence the forearm pain.

Assistance: Did some OHP and straight arm lat pulldowns. Basically took things very easy. The aim of this program is squats and not upper body strength after all.

Miscellaneous

Need to fix the forearm pain.

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices wholemeal bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein and lots of mixed vegetable rice.

Tea break: 1 roti boy and 1 small jcocinno.

Dinner: Lots of salmon, some curry meats, some rice, some deserts and some fruits.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 2/1/13

2/1/13; 1030-1300hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to smashing weight.

During: A little apprehensive approaching the work sets. But again it was all mental. Form today was shit to say the least. Had tonnes of issues with bar placement and that led to poor technique but I muscled the weight up mostly. Fought to stay in control even with the bar all over the place. Tried to correct the technique and sit back further, spread the knees, etc. Ok, form didn’t really go to shit but it could have been better for sure.

After: Felt great. Had a sense of accomplishment that I finished the session as well as relief that it was over. Looking forward to 531 bench and more smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up but today something went wrong. During the db external rotations I somehow strained my right delt. Plain stupid really. It was only 2.5kg. But it affected my squat form nonetheless. Lesson learnt here. Treat warm up with respect. The minute I begin my warm up it’s time to get serious. Stupid things like this are simply not worth it.

Work sets: As addressed earlier, form was bad. But somehow I still managed to handle the weights. I’m really quite amazed with myself. Previously I think I would have dumped the set long ago but today or actually since beginning smolov, the fear of the bar seems to have disappeared. Now it’s just plain determination. If I unracked the weight, I’m definitely going to finish the set before racking it. No excuses, nothing. If the bar placement was wrong, the descent was wrong, screw it. Just correct it as much as possible on the way up. This was how things went today. Not the best way to squat but there were important lessons learnt.

Assistance: Did the usual core routine which I’m finding to be effective now that it’s being performed with due diligence. 4 sets 10 reps of hanging leg raises using bodyweight followed by 3 sets 20 reps of 45 degree side bends and back extensions using bodyweight. Brisk walk wasn’t done today due to poor discipline. I’ll have to get it done tomorrow if I’m feeling sore in the morning.

Miscellaneous

Pay attention to details. The little things matter. Don’t let something as minor and as trivial as warm up screw your training session up. Focus, focus, focus. At the same time, even if things are going south, ask yourself how you’re feeling. You’re f-ing awesome man so get out there and fix things.

Diet

Didn’t really have much time to eat today but when I could eat I made the most out of it.

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices wholemeal bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, carls jr low carb thick burger, beef chilli cheese criss cut fries and coke light. Felt really swole after that.

Dinner: 4 eggs, 1 chicken thigh, lots of spaghetti with beef bolognaise sauce.

Supper: 2 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 1/1/13

1/1/13; 1030-1400hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Excited. Looking forward to 531 OHP and getting a good pump in the delts.

During: Work sets felt good. Probably because of the extended rest times.

After: Happy. Looking forward to smolov tomorrow.

Training

Warm up: Did shoulder savers warm up. This is one amazing warm up. After tweaking it a little, I think this warm up routine is a keeper. It starts really easy and eases me into the flow of things which gets me warmed up and limber at the same time. Plus the focus on target muscle groups also helps me to focus and settle down on the training at hand.

Work sets: Finally cleared OHP 67.5kg for 5 reps. Technique today was good. The upper back arch and overall tightness, the bar path felt smooth today and leaning forward to lock out the press. Everything went smoothly. As usual, all pressing sets were accompanied with a pulling set. Today was 12 reps of neutral grip chins for the 531 segment and 15 reps of overhand chins for the assistance work.

Assistance: Decided to reward my stellar performance with 5x5 at 62.5kg. Figured if doing 5x5 at 60kg last week played a part in today’s performance then it should be done again. And so it was done in the exact same fashion by cleaning the bar off the floor before pressing it overhead for 5 reps. All pressing sets today were doing with a full grip. I think the benefits of taking a full grip beat those from a false grip. The only thing going for a false grip is a smoother bar path but at heavier weights, I would rather have a stronger grip on the bar with a full grip because that means more muscle activation and that’s what’s going to get the bar moving. So it’ll most probably be a full grip from now onwards.

Accessory: As usual, upper body days always wind up becoming bodybuilding days. Today was 4 sets of dips superset with straight arm lat pull downs for around 10 reps each. Followed by 4 sets of 10 reps of L lateral raises using 10kg db superset with D handle rows on the lat pull down machine. And finally 2 sets of 10 reps for front lateral raise to overhead extension using the mini Swiss bar and 20 reps for face pulls. Sounds like a lot but I think I got everything done within 30 minutes. Rest times were minimal and the focus was on using the target muscles rather than the moving the weight. That said the weights used were probably good for the desired rep ranges with maybe one or two more reps in the tank.

Miscellaneous

Today was also spent coaching the squat for my cousins and friend and I learnt a number of lessons. Technique and muscular strength are 2 different qualities and both should be considered when coaching someone.

Technique is required to execute the lift correctly and safely and is also key to adding more weight to the bar. This involves coordinating the various muscle groups to work in tandem and also to have muscle awareness (mind muscle connection) to recruit the target muscle group to participate and execute the lift. Technique needs to be reinforced with verbal cues, physical demonstrations, theoretical explanations and variations of the lift.

These different styles will be applied to different extents for different people depending mainly on what they respond better too.

For the squat, verbal cues such as sitting back, knees apart, chest up.

Physical demonstrations such as executing the lift myself and having them replicate it.

Theoretical explanations such as using the concept of leverages and lever arms to explain the need to sit back, bar placement and stance width. This is also useful to explain how spreading the knees have a biomechanical advantage by recruiting the hip/groin muscles during the lift.

Variations of the lift such as box squat, goblet squats and free bodyweight squats.

Muscular strength can or cannot be an issue with new lifters depending on their background. Were they sportsmen previously or currently or have they been sedentary all their lives? This also ties in with muscle awareness. Bracing the abdominals, squeezing the glutes, arching the lower back and upper back. All these require muscle awareness first and foremost before muscular strength even becomes an issue.

That should be all for now. No injuries or pain experienced during today’s training. Left delt is still a little sore as usual.

Diet

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices white bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong kau before hitting the gym. The order was messed up hence no ti loh.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, ¾ small roast chicken from cold storage.

Teabreak: ¼ small roast chicken.

Dinner: Chicken, pasta, salad and soup.

Supper: 2 scoop protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 31/12/12

31/12/12; 1030-1300hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to smolov. Well rested and ready to dominate.

During: First set was daunting. More mental than physical. Forearms didn’t hurt with new arm placement. But slight change in technique. Made some adaptations along the way. New technique is improving.

After: Happy. Looking forward to 531 OHP and rest of smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did shoulder savers warm up. Tried squat warm up sets with new hand placement. Took awhile to find a comfortable position but no delt or forearm pain after that. Just need to get used to the new groove and grease it.

Work sets: As aforementioned, 4 sets 9 reps were more mental than physical. Sets went well. Technique must be further worked on. Bar speed was ok. Felt very much in control of the bar weight. Confidence was good.

Assistance: 4 sets of 10 reps for hanging leg raises using bodyweight. 3 sets of 20 reps for 45 degree side bends and back extensions using bodyweight. 20 minutes brisk walk.

Miscellaneous

New hand placement for squat has no forearm pain but there is a need to work on the new techniques. With the elbows up, upper body tends to lean forward more. Thus need to sit back further and longer. Lower back needs to work harder to fight the forward lean. Quads and lower back felt sorer today as compared to last week.

Diet

Appetite was good. Need to eat more to get through this week. Again this bears repeating, recovery is the name of the game.

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices white bread. Again breakfast was hard to get down. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Postworkout/lunch: 1 scoop protein, fish soup and 4 eggs.

Tea break 1: Hans dory fish, soup, bread, coffee, papaya, fries, salad. Tastes like crap.

Tea break 2: Gloria Jeans choc macadamia ice blend. Tastes like crap too.

Dinner: Pork belly, 2 eggs, green vegetable, cabbage soup, fake Buddha jumps over the wall, white rice.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and 1 scoop full cream milk powder.

Training Log 29/12/12

29/12/12; 1030-1300hr; Bishan gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to another day of squats. Time to dominate it. Was helped by the fact that I didn’t feel sore or tired.

During: First few work sets went ok till about halfway through when forearms started acting up real bad. Shut the pain out and finished it.

After: Felt good. Looking forward to smolov next week.

Training

Warm up: Did the shoulder savers warm up. It really helps loosen the shoulders up and the upper body in general. Warm up squat sets felt a little slow but no real issue there.

Work sets: Every set from start to end felt good and strong. Able to be focus more on technique when squatting instead of worrying about form or weight. Forearm pain was quite unbearable and after doing some research, I figured it has to do with the hand placement on the bar. Will try the new position on Monday.

Assistance: Felt drained after the tenth set. Brisk walk for 20 minutes for recovery and stretching then done.

Miscellaneous

Rest times were around 7 minutes. Seems about right at the moment. Not too cold but at the same time fresh enough to go all out again. Definitely need to sort out the forearm problem. Left delt still feels stiff. Can’t figure that one out though. Maybe it has to do with the hand placement too?

Diet

Appetite today was good too. Probably could have eaten more. Recovery after all is the name of the game.

Breakfast/preworkout: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 2 slices wholemeal bread and 4 eggs. Breakfast was had to get down again for some reason. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein, half small roast chicken from cold storage and some Japanese chicken.

Dinner: Curry chicken noodle, porridge, some fish and cuttlefish, ice cream.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and some low fat milk.               

Training Log 28/12/12

28/12/12; 1030-1300hrs; Bishan gym

Mood

Before: Looking forward to squatting.

During: Feeling good. Working sets felt great.

After: Feeling great. Can’t wait to squat again tomorrow!

Training

Warm up: Shoulder savers warm up. Left shoulder had some soreness during warm up squat sets but it went away. Forearms started acting up but stretching them between sets helped.

Work sets: Work sets went down easily. Really took the time to focus on technique. Control over weight was good. Focus on sitting back during descent, spreading knees in the hole to open up the hips. Getting a good bounce out of the hole from hip stretch reflex then using hamstrings to bring hips in line with body followed by powerful glute contraction and hip thrust to lock out. Hope to keep progressing on this.

Assistance: Resisted the temptation to do any even though I was feeling great. Quit while you’re ahead eh? Besides there is still smolov tomorrow.

Accessory: 20 minutes brisk walk to get the blood flowing and for recovery.

Miscellaneous

Apart from the forearm pain and some left delt soreness no other issues. Rest times were kept around 7 minutes thereabouts. I think not stressing rest times is better. But of course discipline is needed to ensure I remain focused and finish all the sets properly. I.e. don’t chit chat or joke around. When descending push hips back directly between both feet such that the drive back up will be equally distributed between both feet and not lopsided. This seems to have strained my right knee.

Diet

Appetite today was good. Packed a bit more carbs in, in view of tomorrow’s squat session.

Breakfast/preworkout: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 2 slices wholemeal bread and 4 eggs. Breakfast was had to get down again for some reason. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein, chicken breast, short bean with egg and 1 curry puff.

Tea break: Roast beef and 2 mangos.

Dinner: Lots of bee hoon, cabbage and curry chicken.     

Supper: 2 scoops protein and low fat milk.

Training Log 27/12/12

27/12/12; 1100-1300 hrs; SRC gym

Mood

Before: Woke up fresh and all ready to bench.

During: Felt good going into the warm ups but the forearms started acting up and the work sets were terminated.

After: Super tired for some reason. Looking forward to smolov.

Training

Warm up: Did a rather thorough shoulder savers warm up. No pain noted anywhere.

Work sets: During last warm up set, both forearms started acting up. Pain shooting through both forearms and numbness. Had difficulty gripping pull up bar. Pain in forearms when benching. Final work set was not done as I wasn’t able to get the bar off my chest. Pain and numbness in both forearms and just unable to extend the elbows with the weight.

Assistance: Not done. Decided not to irritate forearms any further.

Accessory: 4 sets 10 reps of straight arm lat pull down superset with L-lateral raises. 4 sets 10 reps of front plate lateral raise to overhead extension superset with incline rear lateral raise. Surprisingly elbow extension in this manner was fine but benching was painful.  

Miscellaneous

Upper body days are clearly not performing according to plan. Perhaps smolov is really so taxing. Will see how things go next week. As for forearm pain, will need to find the cause of it. I suspect it is due to the frequent squatting. Probably some direct soft tissue work is needed to relief the tension.

Diet

Appetite today was good too.

Breakfast/preworkout: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 2 slices white bread and 4 eggs. Breakfast was had to get down again for some reason. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Lunch/postworkout: 1 scoop protein, 4 eggs and curry meat rice at can 2. Didn’t finish the rice as usual, had about half of it.

Teabreak 1: 1 scoop protein with some low fat milk. Went to take a nap.

Teabreak 2: Some biscuits and 2 mangos.

Dinner: Pork belly, white rice and green vegetables. Ice cream.

Supper: 1 scoop protein with low fat milk.

Training Log 26/12/12

26/12/12; 1000 to 1230 hrs; Bishan gym

Mood

Before: Felt tired. Wasn’t looking forward to training. But all that changed in the gym.

During: Working sets felt light. Got more energetic as the training session progressed. It’s all mental man.

After: happy. Looking forward to 531 bench and more smolov.

Training

Warm up: Roughly followed Alwyn Cosgrove’s shoulder savers warm up. Tweaked things a little to suit my preference. Left shoulder started acting up a little during squat warm up sets but I didn’t let it affect it and it went away.

Work sets: 5 sets of 7 reps at 107.5kg. The bar went up real quick. Initially some soreness in the hips but that went away too. Certainly felt lots more confident under the bar. Core felt alot more stable too. The ab work helps?

Assistance: 4 sets of 10 reps for hanging leg raises followed by 3 sets of 20 reps for 45 degree side bends using bodyweight only. Followed by a 20min brisk walk and some stretching.

Miscellaneous

Take note of rest times between sets. I think 5 minutes thereabouts is good. 10mins seems to be a bit too long. Keep stretching and foam rolling. Get more sleep too. Things will only get tougher from here and recovery is paramount. No soreness in upper body; amazing. Probably didn’t push hard enough yesterday. No matter though; as long as I’m happy doing whatever it is while training upper body its fine since upper body is not the objective of this program.

Diet

Appetite today was good too. Didn’t have tea break though because I overslept. Squats make me really tired. With the intensity ramping up on smolov, I think appetite won’t be much of an issue. Just need to ensure I’m eating enough to recover for the next day’s training.

Breakfast/preworkout: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 2 slices white bread and 4 eggs. Breakfast was had to get down for some reason. 1 cup kopi o kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Lunch/post workout: 1 scoop protein. Some turkey and cake.

Dinner: roast duck, white rice, green vegetable and ice cream.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and some low fat milk.

Training Log 25/12/12

25/12/12; 1230 to 1530 hrs; Bishan gym

Mood

Before: Excited. Looking forward to 531 OHP and getting a good upper body pump.

During: A little tired before the top set. Seems to happen too often. Somehow adrenaline dips going into the peak of the workout. More rest or less sets before that?

After: Happy. Looking forward to another day of Smolov.

Training

Warm up: did some sort of abbreviated warm up with Euan. Bits and pieces of Alwyn Cosgrove’s shoulder savers warm up.

Work sets: as per 531 upper body days. Chin ups to go with every set of pressing exercise. Today was 12 reps of neutral grip chins. Missed the 3^rd rep on the top set because I didn’t get under the bar as it went overhead. Stalled at the forehead and I just stared stupidly at my reflection in the mirror wondering why the bar got stuck. Technique, technique, technique. I always don’t get under the bar aggressively enough once it clears my head. Need to practice what I preach. This issue was subsequently in the training session. Another thing was my right arm kept driving the bar up faster than my left. Made the lifts all look very lopsided. Need to focus on driving hard with both hands. Again this issue was subsequently addressed in the training session.

Assistance: Not surprisingly no shoulder pain because shoulder wasn’t put in the same position as a back squat. And thus some L-lateral raises were done at the end. Can’t resist hitting the delts. Instead of going with db presses for assistance, I decided some punishment was in order for the unacceptable performance in the top set. Missing the required reps is just unacceptable. So 5x5 of bb OHP with 1 plate per side was done with the bar cleaned off the floor at the beginning of each set for good measure. A full grip was used instead of a false grip. As usual slight variation in bar path though grip was more secure and I could really squeeze the bar. Again as usual, chins were done with each pressing set. 15 reps of wide overhand chins in a few sets. Some dips were thrown in for good measure to get a better pump in the triceps. Again nothing over the top, did around 10 reps, felt the burn and done.

Accessory: This is where things got spectacular. Given that there was a lot of time to kill and my shoulder wasn’t hurting; front raise to overhead extension superset with straight arm lat pulldown, L-lateral db raise superset with D handle cable row on lat pulldown machine, 20 minutes brisk walk and face pulls were done. Roughly 3 to 4 sets were done for each superset. Just getting a pump and feeling the muscles basically. Nothing too taxing.

Miscellaneous

Made it a point to sleep on my back after reading an article on sleeping positions on chaosandpain. It seemed to work because my left shoulder didn’t hurt today. Goodness knows what’s causing the pain. Oblique muscles feeling sore. Did more stretching.

Diet

Appetite gotten better today. I think yesterday’s smolov didn’t have enough volume.

Breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine and 4 eggs

Lunch/preworkout: kway chap with 1 bowl of yam rice and a cup of kopi ti loh

Postworkout/teabreak: 1 scoop protein. 1.5 polar curry puff and 1 charsiew bao. Felt really hungry. Amazing what having more training volume can do to my appetite.

Dinner: roast beef, ham, turkey, pasta, ice cream.

Supper: 2 scoops protein and some milk. Milk was low fat. Need to change to full cream or something that has the milk fat in it. Fat is what I want for recovery.

Training Log 24/12/12

24/12/12; 1030-1230hrs; Bishan Gym

Mood

Before: Excited. Looking forward to smolov.

During: A little tired after 2^nd set. 4x9 no joke. Next 2 weeks will be fun.

After: Happy. Looking forward to 531 OHP and rest of smolov.

Training

Warm up: Left delt still hurting. Did Alwyn Cosgrove’s shoulder savers warm up from t-nation.

Work sets: Rest approximately 10 minutes between sets. Squat to depth. Roughly ass to grass. Form was ok. Speed ok. Not much of a challenge. Finishing the sets was more mental than physical.

Assistance: 4 sets of 10 reps of hanging leg raises using bodyweight only. 2 sets of 20 reps for 45 degree side bends on back extension machine using bodyweight only. 1 set 20 reps and 10 reps bodyweight back extensions.

Miscellaneous

Left delt still hurting. Continue prehabilitation during warmup. Good to go for 531 OHP tomorrow. Low back slight soreness. Continue to foam roll and stretch. Brisk walk not done.

Diet
Didn't feel very hungry today.

Preworkout/breakfast: 2 scoops protein, creatine, 4 eggs, 2 slices white bread. 1 kopi O kosong ti loh before hitting the gym.

Post workout/lunch: 1 scoops protein. ½ small roasted chicken from cold storage.

Tea break: ¼ small roasted chicken from cold storage.

Dinner: Forgot what I ate because it wasn't written down.

Supper: 2 scoops protein.