Helton's Log

[JohnHelton]

nice pull. looked quick and solid. i like your training style now. lots of sets for practice and volume but staying far away from failure to avoid excessive fatigue. smart

That pull looked too easy to rate! It looks like @JohnHelton gets perfect full body tension pulling slack with his quads. I wonder if he would agree or if there is something else going on.

I try to pull the slack out using my entire posterior chain. I think first about my shoulders and my traps and then think about tightening my spine, setting my lumbar such that it is not compromised. Then I think about pulling my hips into place such that my spine is at the right angle, and I use the tension on the bar to accomplish all of that.

[Skid]

That pull looked too easy!

[JohnHelton]

That pull looked too easy!

Thanks, Skid.

[JohnHelton]

Friday 9 Feb 2024, 12:26

Squat (Barbell)
Set 1: 425 lbs × 1 @ 5.5
Set 2: 455 lbs × 1 @ 10.0
Set 3: 355 lbs × 2
Set 4: 355 lbs × 2
Set 5: 355 lbs × 2
Set 6: 355 lbs × 2
Set 7: 355 lbs × 2
I decided to do heavy singles today. Crazy. I need practice. The 425 lb squat told me that my e1RM is 504 lb. Thus, I thought 455 lb was safe. I guess not. A heavy squat is certainly technical. I'm just going to call 455 lb my 1RM and work up from there. Heavy singles will be easy starting at that weight. I cut the back-offs short because of the strain from the 455 single.



Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 215 lbs × 10 @ 6.0
Set 2: 215 lbs × 10 @ 10.0
Set 3: 215 lbs × 4 @ 8.0
Set 4: 215 lbs × 4 @ 8.5
Set 5: 215 lbs × 4 @ 8.0
I set my VBT device to alert at .30 m/s. That was too slow, causing me to crater on the second set. Hitting @10 on that set ruined the subsequent sets. I then set the alert at .35 m/s, which worked better.

Didn't do accessories again since squat took so long.

[cole]

Based on how fast your 425 was, I would guess that you just got a little off of mid foot for that 455 try.

[JohnHelton]

Based on how fast your 425 was, I would guess that you just got a little off of mid foot for that 455 try.

I think you are right. I need the practice. I sometimes lose focus when the weight feels heavy.

[slowmotion]

I'm not sure, but did you go sideways a bit instead of up, just for a moment? Once you got over that the rest went fast. Nice work! Heavy singles can definitely mess with your head when you are not used to them. The next time you feel like doing 455 it will probably be all right.

[KarlM]

Damn John, 425 flew and your form looks great. Strength is totally there. A little practice with the big weights and you’ll be hitting 500+ in no time. Even if you do keep up with all this running nonsense!

I do hear you. Cardio is a non negotiable at our ages. I listen to financial podcasts while gerbil-ing away on the elliptical. How freaking lame is that?

[cole]

I watched this DDS video yesterday. It made me think that I need to be clearer in my approach. Am I trying to build strength or size with a particular lift? If strength then lots of sets with low reps and low RPEs with the intensity in the 75%-85% range. If size then fewer sets with higher reps and high RPEs with less intensity. Today was strength for bench and deadlifts, with the face pulls being hypertrophy focused.

I rewatched this and revisited your thoughts. "Am I trying to build strength or size with a particular lift?" Josh mentioned the importance of having a polarized approach, having certain slots be strength oriented (high load, low volume) and certain slots be hypertrophy oriented (high volume, closer to failure, low load). I think the beauty in this approach is that you can do both in the same session by using this polarized programming. A lot of people have made the mistake of hitting a top single @92% then 5x5 backoff work which doesnt really increase the strength past a certain degree after diminished returns and simealtaneously doesnt really maximize hypertrophy since its too heavy to perform close enough to failure for 25 reps without fucking yourself in the ass.

[MarkKO]

I watched this DDS video yesterday. It made me think that I need to be clearer in my approach. Am I trying to build strength or size with a particular lift? If strength then lots of sets with low reps and low RPEs with the intensity in the 75%-85% range. If size then fewer sets with higher reps and high RPEs with less intensity. Today was strength for bench and deadlifts, with the face pulls being hypertrophy focused.

I rewatched this and revisited your thoughts. "Am I trying to build strength or size with a particular lift?" Josh mentioned the importance of having a polarized approach, having certain slots be strength oriented (high load, low volume) and certain slots be hypertrophy oriented (high volume, closer to failure, low load). I think the beauty in this approach is that you can do both in the same session by using this polarized programming. A lot of people have made the mistake of hitting a top single @92% then 5x5 backoff work which doesnt really increase the strength past a certain degree after diminished returns and simealtaneously doesnt really maximize hypertrophy since its too heavy to perform close enough to failure for 25 reps without fucking yourself in the ass.

I have to disagree somewhat. I've had some of the best growth as well as strength progress following something almost identical. The only caveats to that are in the same sessions I was doing two other exercises after for high reps close to failure but usually with bodyweight; and the 5x5 was always completed in under 10 minutes using CAT. I imagine it's possible that the two caveats are the main reason I got the results I did though.

[JohnHelton]

Thanks, @slowmotion @KarlM.

@cole @MarkKO this stuff is a terribly inexact science, where everyone seems to differ somewhat. I have found that my strength responds to high intensity with lower RPEs. I don't really know about hypertrophy as I have never really worked on it.

[JohnHelton]

Tuesday, Feb 13th, 2024

Bench Press
255lbs x 1 @ 4.5
265lbs x 1 @ 5
285lbs x 1 @ 7
295lbs x 1 @ 8 (e1RM = 145 kg / 319 lb)
260lbs x 2 @ 5
260lbs x 2 @ 5
260lbs x 2 @ 5
260lbs x 2 @ 5
260lbs x 2 @ 5
260lbs x 2 @ 5
Total x Stress: @ 2.99,
Central x Stress: @ 3.49
This was what I was hoping for last week. Good session.

Leg Extensions
110lbs x 10 @ 7
110lbs x 10 @ 7
110lbs x 10 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.73,
Central x Stress: @ 0.79

Leg Curls with Seated
110lbs x 10 @ 9
95lbs x 10 @ 6
95lbs x 10 @ 9.5
Total x Stress: @ 2.05,
Central x Stress: @ 0.63

Face Pull
120lbs x 15 @ 9
110lbs x 15 @ 8
100lbs x 15 @ 8
Total x Stress: @ 1.87,
Central x Stress: @ 0.36

I was going to do deadlift today, but I didn't have the energy for it. Thus, I did some hypertrophy leg machine stuff. Not the same, but better than doing nothing.

[cole]

now your making me want to use the RTS app again to track that stress level

[JohnHelton]

now your making me want to use the RTS app again to track that stress level

I don’t know if it is 100% accurate, but it is better than my intuition. For bench, I was shooting for a 3.0 on total stress. That seems to be a good spot for me.

[JohnHelton]

Bench Press - Hypertrophy
215lbs x 7 @ 3
215lbs x 7 @ 5
215lbs x 7 @ 7
215lbs x 6 @ 9
215lbs x 4 @ 9
Total x Stress: @ 2.2,
Central x Stress: @ 0.65

Leg Press
340lbs x 10 @ 6
340lbs x 10 @ 6
340lbs x 10 @ 7
Total x Stress: @ 1.45,
Central x Stress: @ 0.63
Notes: Excludes weight of sled.

Pull Down
120lbs x 12 @ 7
120lbs x 12 @ 8
120lbs x 9 @ 10
Total x Stress: @ 2.08,
Central x Stress: @ 0.57

[JohnHelton]

Not a huge loss yet on a weighted average basis, but I was gaining weight so fast that it is like turning the Titanic. The trend is going in the right direction now. Waist down to 34.5". I think I have lost about 4 lb of fat in the last 3 weeks while putting on a little muscle.

[JohnHelton]

Tuesday, Feb 20th, 2024

Bench Press
265lbs x 1 @ 3.5
290lbs x 1 @ 6
310lbs x 1 @ 8 (e1RM = 152 kg / 335 lb)
270lbs x 2 @ 5
270lbs x 2 @ 5
270lbs x 2 @ 5
270lbs x 2 @ 5
270lbs x 2 @ 5
270lbs x 2 @ 5
270lbs x 2 @ 5
Total x Stress: @ 2.83,
Central x Stress: @ 3.14
Bench strength is all the way back.

Cable Row
110lbs x 10 @ 6
110lbs x 10 @ 6
110lbs x 10 @ 6
Total x Stress: @ 1.37,
Central x Stress: @ 0.63

Leg Extensions
110lbs x 11 @ 6
110lbs x 11 @ 7
110lbs x 11 @ 8
Total x Stress: @ 1.62,
Central x Stress: @ 0.57

Leg Curls with Seated
95lbs x 11 @ 6
95lbs x 11 @ 7
95lbs x 11 @ 8
Total x Stress: @ 1.62,
Central x Stress: @ 0.57

Face Pull
110lbs x 10 @ 5
110lbs x 10 @ 5
110lbs x 10 @ 5
Total x Stress: @ 1.1,
Central x Stress: @ 0.52

[JohnHelton]

@cole The DDS polarized training has definitely been working. Because of running, I am concentrating on bench as a comp lift. A couple of weeks ago, @8 was 280, then 295 last week, and 310 today. Now that I’m back to more previous strength, we’ll see what happens from here.

@MarkKO For my hypertrophy bench, I think I am going to try to get 50 reps in 10 minutes. If I get it, then the weight goes up. You are the only person I know that uses the clock as an autoregulation tool, but I love it. I will probably have to drop to 165 lb to start. That will be on Friday.

[MarkKO]

@cole The DDS polarized training has definitely been working. Because of running, I am concentrating on bench as a comp lift. A couple of weeks ago, @8 was 280, then 295 last week, and 310 today. Now that I’m back to more previous strength, we’ll see what happens from here.

@MarkKO For my hypertrophy bench, I think I am going to try to get 50 reps in 10 minutes. If I get it, then the weight goes up. You are the only person I know that uses the clock as an autoregulation tool, but I love it. I will probably have to drop to 165 lb to start. That will be on Friday.

It's something else isn't it? As close to perfect balance between too hard and hard enough as I've ever found.

[JohnHelton]

Friday, February 23, 2024

Bench Press - Volume
165 x 5 x 10
EMOM

Leg Press
350 x 5 x 6
< 10 min, every 1:40

Lat Pulls
110 x 5 x 10
EMOM

Weights go up next time on each lift. This went pretty fast since I was on the clock for each lift.