Chasing Hippolyta

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

I haven't posted to an official training log in probably over a year. I track my training using Google sheets and Instagram, but I miss having a log and being actively a part of a training community - I was previously logging session in the SS forum.

I am a broke graduate student, so don't have a coach or pay for any templates. I design my own programming based largely on what I have learned from reading the Scientific Principled of Strength Training.

I compete about twice annually. USSF Fall Classic in Chicago was my most recent one and I am hoping to compete again for the Spring meet.

I am entering the third week of my current mesocycle. The goal of this mesocyle is to cut body fat while preserving strength. To achieve this goal, I am training with hypertrophic volumes, but keeping my calorie intake on the low side. Thus far, I have not seen any significant weight loss on the scale, though my hips are slowly shrinking. However, this morning I finally had a big (2.5#) drop in weight, so maybe my efforts are finally starting to pay off.

Today's Session:
Saturday
25-Nov
BW: 140.6

Low Bar Squat
Weight 255 200 200 200 200 Tonnage: 6855
Reps 1 8 8 8 9
RPE 8 8 8.5 8 8.5

Wide Grip Bench Press
Weight 102.5 102.5 102.5 102.5 Tonnage: 3587.5
Reps 8 9 9 9
RPE 8.5 8.5 8.5 8

Stiff Legged Deadlift
Weight 210 210 210 210 210 Tonnage: 6300
Reps 6 6 6 6 6
RPE 8 8 8 8 8.5

Bent Over Barbell Row
Weight 80 80 80 80 80 Tonnage: 3680
Reps 10 10 10 8 8
RPE 8.5 9 9 8.5 8.5

Comments: Work capacity was pretty low today. Form on Squats and SLDLs was modestly sloppy.

[Wilhelm]

Welcome, @DoubleBreastedAmazon

I read the part about you gauging your RPE based on motivation this session.
I saw the kind of head shake before the last rep on the set of 9 squats.
I think i know that feeling.
They looked snappy to my minimally trained eye.
I'm glad you posted your log here.

I'm looking forward to observing your programming.
I'm kind of patching mine together at this point.
I read The Scientific Principals of Strength Training too.
Hopefully i can learn some things from your application of the information.

[TimK]

Welcome to Exodus! I actually lifted at the fall classic in Chicago too. So did another member here, @omaniphil . We did not place as well as you, lol.

[PatrickDB]

Welcome, fellow grad student!

I read through the Scientific Principles book and liked it but felt it overplayed the more esoteric training principles a bit. IIRC, once volume and intensity are controlled for, there's little difference in the efficacy of programs (at least in the population of college-aged somewhat trained males these studies are done on...). I can post citations if you're interested. A fun read in this direction is Kiely 2012, "Periodization paradigms in the 21st century: evidence-led or tradition-driven?"

[omaniphil]

Welcome! I saw a bit of the morning session at the USSF Chicago meet. You killed it!

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

I saw the kind of head shake before the last rep on the set of 9 squats.
I think i know that feeling.

Hahaha! Yeah, I had to talk myself through the final reps of each set across the session. Only 3 weeks into a 6 week cycle - doesn't bode well.

Thank you for the welcome!

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

Welcome to Exodus! I actually lifted at the fall classic in Chicago too. So did another member here, @omaniphil . We did not place as well as you, lol.

Thank you for the welcome! Glad to see other locals are on here too!

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

Welcome, fellow grad student!

I read through the Scientific Principles book and liked it but felt it overplayed the more esoteric training principles a bit. IIRC, once volume and intensity are controlled for, there's little difference in the efficacy of programs (at least in the population of college-aged somewhat trained males these studies are done on...). I can post citations if you're interested. A fun read in this direction is Kiely 2012, "Periodization paradigms in the 21st century: evidence-led or tradition-driven?"

Yay! Another grad student! What's your discipline?

I agree that in terms of pages, the volume of text dedicated to the lower ranking principles was not proportionate to their importance. I still regard it as cannon, though... ! I am a huge fan of Israetel, and for my recent cycle, I drew a lot of information from his hypertrophy articles on Renaissance Periodization. Sort of melding in some physique building principles into my programming.

I'll check out Kiely, 2012, thanks for the recommendation.

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

Welcome! I saw a bit of the morning session at the USSF Chicago meet. You killed it!

Awww, thank you! It was a fun meet.

Now onto important things, like figuring out how to shrink a JPEG for my avatar! Any tips? I have wasted an embarrassingly long amount of time trying to do this in photoshop, but all I get is horribly pixalated barely discernible images.

[mgil]

If you’re on a windows machine, MS Paint should suffice.

On iOS, a free app called “image size” (much creative) allows you to resize easily.

HTH!

[PatrickDB]

Yay! Another grad student! What's your discipline?

I'm in math!

[chromoly]

Hi @DoubleBreastedAmazon ! Glad to see you here

I've already been following your training on IG, but it'll be nice to see it laid out in chronological order (damn IG and their non-chronological ordering of posts in my "feed".)

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

I'm in math!

Theoretical or applied?

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

Hi @DoubleBreastedAmazon ! Glad to see you here

I've already been following your training on IG, but it'll be nice to see it laid out in chronological order (damn IG and their non-chronological ordering of posts in my "feed".)

Hey there! Nice to see you here too! Glad to have found this new forum, which you seem to be an early pioneer of!

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

Today's Session: Accessory Work
Sunday
26-Nov
BW: 141.2

Pull Ups
Weight BW
Reps 3x2; 2x9
RPE 8 8 8.5 8 8.5

Lying Tricep Barbell Extensions
Weight 47
Reps 10x3; 8x2; 5x1

Thumbs Down Lateral Raises
Weight 15
Reps 8x7

Comments: For Pull Ups, I did AMRAP in 7 min. The past two weeks I have done AMPRAP per set for a given number of sets with 2 min rests. Not sure which version I will do next week. For Lying Tricep Barbell Extensions, I am still working out my form on these. My husband helped me out a bit with these today and the final sets looked a bit better. I may drop the weights next week, because with the form modifications I made today, I don't think I can get multiple sets of 8-10 at 47. Lateral Raises were my prettiest accessories today.

This cycle I have been doing a lot of accessory work - these are mostly new movements to me. I never thought that technique in accessory work would be especially difficult to master, but I have a new found respect for body-builders and the like who regularly employ these movements in their sport. I've been struggling to figure many of these movements out. Perhaps this is more a reflection of my proprioceptive weakness/ my innate non-athleticism, but still RESPECT!

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

If you’re on a windows machine, MS Paint should suffice.

On iOS, a free app called “image size” (much creative) allows you to resize easily.

HTH!

Thanks! Wish MacBooks had Paint (it's such useful program), I ended up using a PC from work to do it.

[mgil]

If you’re on a windows machine, MS Paint should suffice.

On iOS, a free app called “image size” (much creative) allows you to resize easily.

HTH!

Thanks! Wish MacBooks had Paint (it's such useful program), I ended up using a PC from work to do it.

A program that was delivered with Windows 3.1 is still incredibly useful. Ironic? Maybe.

[DoubleBreastedAmazon]

Today's Session
Monday
27-Nov
BW: 141.3

High Bar Squats
Weight 175 175 175 175
Reps 8 8 7 8
RPE 7.5 8 7.5 8

Overhead Press
Weight 80 80 80 80
Reps 8 8 8 8
RPE 8 8 8 9

Low Bar Good Morning
Weight 115 115 115 115 115 115
Reps 6 6 6 6 6 6
RPE 8 8 8 8 8 8

Close Grip Bench Press
Weight 105 105 105 105
Reps 8 8 9 9
RPE 8 8 9.5 9.5

Comments: This cut is starting to suuuuuck! I have been feeling really beat-up, achey, and tired. I developed a headache mid-day which lasted into my evening training session. I was feeling pretty horrible at the start of the session, but squats went pretty well; OHP and Close Grip were pretty brutal. Good mornings felt fine, in fact I accidentally jumped 10#s from last week - I had planned 5#s. I think the range of motion on these might need to be a bit deeper.

[Shane]

Good mornings felt fine, in fact I accidentally jumped 10#s from last week - I had planned 5#s. I think the range of motion on these might need to be a bit deeper.

That's about where mine get to when I do them - torso parallel to the ground. Any further and it feels like I'm going to say goodbye to a hamstring or two. @hamburgerfan programmes some pretty insane good mornings - he'd might have an idea on optimal ROM. I envy your squat form. Like a machine!

[Hamburgerfan]

Those good mornings are textbook imo, or they would be if anyone ever wrote a textbook on good mornings.