Josh Trammell
Tuesday, 11/18/14
Still recovering from food poisoning, but I wanted to get in the gym and see what I could do. Wasn't going in expecting much - my goal was to come in, work up to 315-365, see how it felt, and if I felt like crap, leave, if I felt good, go a little heavier.
Low Bar Squats (Beltless)
- 365 x 1, 1, 1, 1 - was very out of the groove. A couple of adjustments plus just working at this weight loosened me up and things felt better. Felt good enough to move up.
- 385 x 1 - felt good, moved up
- 405 x 1 - felt easy
- 415x2 - new 2RM. No video, unfortunately. Wasn't prepared to set a PR after food poisoning.
Paused Low Bar
- 365x3
Called it quits. Who says you can't set PRs after getting sick and not eating much at all for 3 days?
Wednesday, 11/19/14
Low Bar Squats with a Belt
- 365 x 1 (add belt), 1,1
- 405 x 1
- 425 x 1
- 450 x 1 - PR +5lbs
Conventional Deadlifts w/ Belt
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 455x2 - PR 2RM - Not really KK/ Pete Rubish like. First time I've videoed these. Felt good though.
Sumo Deadlifts w/ Belt
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 455x3 - PR +1 rep
- 435x3
Thursday, 11/20/14
Felt very exhausted going on. That's why, typically, the day after deadlift days is a Pause squat to reduce absolute volume/loading and compression on the spine.
Pause High Bar Squats
- 355x1
- 375x1 - could've gotten 2, but it would've been a real grind. Decided against it.
- 355x3 - PR 3RM +10lbs I believe
- 315x3
Short ab/decompression/stretching circuit, and called it quits.
Friday, 11/21/14
4-second Eccentric High Bar Squats w/ Belt (That's a mouthful...)
- 365x1, add belt, 1
- 385x1
- 405x1
- 415x1
- 385x3
Not a particularly big fan of these, but I never work on the eccentric phase of the lift, so I figured it was time to do so. Plus, it is a nice change of pace.
Saturday, 11/22/14
Felt absolutely wrecked going into this session. Tired, worn down, not really ready to get a lift in, honestly.
Low Bar Squats w/ Belt
- 365x1 - add belt
- 345x1 - moved down to get my groove
- 385x1 - felt horrible
- 405x1, 1 - both sets felt awful. This is something I did earlier in the week, without a belt, with ease. Just called it quits here. Still got quality work in that 85%+ range, so it's all good.
Sunday, 11/23/14
Front Squats
- 315x1
- 355x1 +10lb PR. Haven't done these in like 6 or 7 months, so I was very pleased with the speed of this on camera. Also pretty obvious that there are some left-right differences in front rack flexibility from this video. Not very comfortable looking front rack, probably due to the fact that I just haven't done them in a while.
- 315x3 +40lb PR
'Speed' Sumo Deadlifts
- 345x 1 x 10 sets - about 60-90s rest between sets, focusing in on maximal velocity off the ground to lockout. Felt decent.
Paused Bench Press
Haven't been able to bench press due to elbow pain, but I got my compression cuff in, so I wanted to test it out.
- 225 x 3 x 3 sets - not too bad. Had a couple reps where the left elbow just gave out on me, but I'm still probably good for about 270 right now. Could've done all sets for 5 reps. Decently happy with that. Need to get my speed back, but everything else was fine.
Monday, 11/24/14
Remedial circuit and recovery work. Nothing of note to post about.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
The Great Squat Experiment, Week 6
Josh Trammell
Wednesday, 11/12/14
Wide(r) High Bar Squats w/ Belt
- 315x1 - Add Belt
- 315x1
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 415x3 - PR + 10lbs - around a 10 RPE though. Went a little too hard. Was pissed from the struggle all last week though.
- 385x3
Narrow Sumo + Belt
- 365x1 - Add belt
- 405x1
- 455x2 - ties previous PR at a narrower stance
- 425x3
Felt like crap, so I stopped.
Thursday, 11/13/14
Beltless Low Bar Squats
- 365x1
- 395x1
- 405x3 - Rep PR + 2 reps (also, PR + 20lbs)
- 375x5 - Rep PR +2 reps
Felt like crap, but it appears fast on video, so I'll take it.
Friday, 11/14/14
Birthday Pause Squats (low bar)
- 365x1
- 395x3 - PR + 40lbs (haven't done triples for weight in a while)
- 365x3
Saturday - Monday:
Ate at my favorite restaurant for my birthday, and managed to get food poisoning in the process. Thus, no training happened on any of those days.
Wednesday, 11/12/14
Wide(r) High Bar Squats w/ Belt
- 315x1 - Add Belt
- 315x1
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 415x3 - PR + 10lbs - around a 10 RPE though. Went a little too hard. Was pissed from the struggle all last week though.
- 385x3
Narrow Sumo + Belt
- 365x1 - Add belt
- 405x1
- 455x2 - ties previous PR at a narrower stance
- 425x3
Felt like crap, so I stopped.
Thursday, 11/13/14
Beltless Low Bar Squats
- 365x1
- 395x1
- 405x3 - Rep PR + 2 reps (also, PR + 20lbs)
- 375x5 - Rep PR +2 reps
Felt like crap, but it appears fast on video, so I'll take it.
Friday, 11/14/14
Birthday Pause Squats (low bar)
- 365x1
- 395x3 - PR + 40lbs (haven't done triples for weight in a while)
- 365x3
Saturday - Monday:
Ate at my favorite restaurant for my birthday, and managed to get food poisoning in the process. Thus, no training happened on any of those days.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
The Great Squat Experiment: Week 5
Josh Trammell
I will preface this log by saying I spent around 20 hours driving in a car from Monday - Wednesday afternoon. Hips were destroyed, didn't get any lifting in, generally felt like crap that first workout back. Anyway, here it is.
Thursday, 11/6/14
Beltless High Bar Back Squats
- 365x1
- 395 x miss (what the hell?) - hips shifted out behind the bar. Got pissed. Took another shot at it
- 395 x 1 - kept hips in a better position, less shifting, more lifting. Still pissed though
- 335 x 5
Friday, 11/7/14
Beltless High Bar Squats
- 365x1
- 385x1
- 405x1 - get recruited by powerlifting team, turn them down
- 365x3
- 315x3, 3-second pauses at the bottom of each squat, cause I felt like it
Conventional Deads (no belt)
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 405x5x3 sets - PR + 20lbs and 2 sets
- Starting to get the hang of conventional pulling. Took a while. Turns out my build favors a KK/Pete Rubish-ish type of pull. Almost enjoying conventional now, after hating it for so long.
Going to play around with 2 deadlift days: 1 conventional (for volume), 1 sumo, where the intensity will be upped. See how that goes along with all the squats.
Saturday, 11/8/14
Staying on the strugglebus...
Pause Squats - beltless
- 315 x 1
- 345 x 1
- 365x2 - PR +1 rep (cheap, I know)
- 335 x 3
Sunday
The strugglebus continues!
Beltless High Bar
- 365x1
- 385x1
- 405x1 - a little slower than normal, still haven't fully come back from that dang car ride.
- 365x3
- 315x3
Monday - Recovery/Pump Day
1A) Kossack Squat -> crossover Step-Up 3x12/leg
1B) Chest Flies 3x12 (5-10s eccentric for the stretch)
1C) Rear Delt Flies - 3x12
2A) Bar Hangs x a decently long time
2B) Bear crawls focusing on neutral spine and breathing
2C) Half Kneeling Chops - 3x8-10/side
Week 5 sucked.
I will preface this log by saying I spent around 20 hours driving in a car from Monday - Wednesday afternoon. Hips were destroyed, didn't get any lifting in, generally felt like crap that first workout back. Anyway, here it is.
Thursday, 11/6/14
Beltless High Bar Back Squats
- 365x1
- 395 x miss (what the hell?) - hips shifted out behind the bar. Got pissed. Took another shot at it
- 395 x 1 - kept hips in a better position, less shifting, more lifting. Still pissed though
- 335 x 5
Friday, 11/7/14
Beltless High Bar Squats
- 365x1
- 385x1
- 405x1 - get recruited by powerlifting team, turn them down
- 365x3
- 315x3, 3-second pauses at the bottom of each squat, cause I felt like it
Conventional Deads (no belt)
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 405x5x3 sets - PR + 20lbs and 2 sets
- Starting to get the hang of conventional pulling. Took a while. Turns out my build favors a KK/Pete Rubish-ish type of pull. Almost enjoying conventional now, after hating it for so long.
Going to play around with 2 deadlift days: 1 conventional (for volume), 1 sumo, where the intensity will be upped. See how that goes along with all the squats.
Saturday, 11/8/14
Staying on the strugglebus...
Pause Squats - beltless
- 315 x 1
- 345 x 1
- 365x2 - PR +1 rep (cheap, I know)
- 335 x 3
Sunday
The strugglebus continues!
Beltless High Bar
- 365x1
- 385x1
- 405x1 - a little slower than normal, still haven't fully come back from that dang car ride.
- 365x3
- 315x3
Monday - Recovery/Pump Day
1A) Kossack Squat -> crossover Step-Up 3x12/leg
1B) Chest Flies 3x12 (5-10s eccentric for the stretch)
1C) Rear Delt Flies - 3x12
2A) Bar Hangs x a decently long time
2B) Bear crawls focusing on neutral spine and breathing
2C) Half Kneeling Chops - 3x8-10/side
Week 5 sucked.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
The Great Squat Experiment: Training Log, Week 3 (or 4?)
By: Josh Trammell
*Note: This is a little over 3 weeks into the training cycle I'm currently in, experimenting with very high frequency, every-day max (EDM) style squatting. I won't go into the specifics of the plan here (future article will), but here's my log from the last week.
Previous videoed PRs:
385lb Belt Pause Squat x 1
Beltless, 415lbs x 1 High Bar Back Squat
Competition Stance Low Bar Squat 435lbs x 1 with a belt
445lbs x 1 Competition Stance Low Bar Squat, with Belt
Wednesday, 10/29/14
Beltless, Low Bar Back Squat:
- 365lbs x 1
- 395lbs x 1
- 420lbs x 1 - +5lb Beltless PR
- 385lbs x 4: +1 rep PR @ 385lbs
- 355lbs x 3
Thursday, 10/30/14
Beltless High Bar Back Squats
- 365lbs x 1
- 390lbs x 1
- 365lbs x 5 - +2 rep PR
Bench
- 225lbs x 1
- Elbow decided to crap out on me. Called it a day here. No use in aggravating it any more.
Friday, 10/31/14
- Beltless, Paused High Bar Squats
- 355lbs x 1
- 375lbs x 1 +10lb PR
- 385lbs x 1 +20lb PR
- 335lbs x 3 new 3 rep PR
Conventional Deads:
- 365x1
- 405x1
- Add belt: 405x5 (7 RPE)
Narrow Sumo:
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 455x1 - tied Beltless PR with a narrower stance. Oh, and I haven't pulled sumo in around 6 months
- 425x3 - 7 RPE
Sunday, 11/2/14
Safety Bar Squats
- 330x1
- 380x1
- Add Belt: 410x1 - +60lb PR
- 350x6 + 35lb PR
- no belt: 310x5
*Note: This is a little over 3 weeks into the training cycle I'm currently in, experimenting with very high frequency, every-day max (EDM) style squatting. I won't go into the specifics of the plan here (future article will), but here's my log from the last week.
Previous videoed PRs:
385lb Belt Pause Squat x 1
Beltless, 415lbs x 1 High Bar Back Squat
Competition Stance Low Bar Squat 435lbs x 1 with a belt
445lbs x 1 Competition Stance Low Bar Squat, with Belt
Wednesday, 10/29/14
Beltless, Low Bar Back Squat:
- 365lbs x 1
- 395lbs x 1
- 420lbs x 1 - +5lb Beltless PR
- 385lbs x 4: +1 rep PR @ 385lbs
- 355lbs x 3
Thursday, 10/30/14
Beltless High Bar Back Squats
- 365lbs x 1
- 390lbs x 1
- 365lbs x 5 - +2 rep PR
Bench
- 225lbs x 1
- Elbow decided to crap out on me. Called it a day here. No use in aggravating it any more.
Friday, 10/31/14
- Beltless, Paused High Bar Squats
- 355lbs x 1
- 375lbs x 1 +10lb PR
- 385lbs x 1 +20lb PR
- 335lbs x 3 new 3 rep PR
Conventional Deads:
- 365x1
- 405x1
- Add belt: 405x5 (7 RPE)
Narrow Sumo:
- 365x1
- 405x1
- 455x1 - tied Beltless PR with a narrower stance. Oh, and I haven't pulled sumo in around 6 months
- 425x3 - 7 RPE
Sunday, 11/2/14
Safety Bar Squats
- 330x1
- 380x1
- Add Belt: 410x1 - +60lb PR
- 350x6 + 35lb PR
- no belt: 310x5