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Blut Wump - Korte 3x3

Another option you have to tone it down for him are to use ramps instead of flat weight selection for the sets. I guess to some extent it might depend on how gentle you need to be with his ego. The first week should be fine. It seems hard but that's really just the shock of the volume. When he complains, you can suggest the ramps.
 
Hmmm... seems to me that 5x5 would be more appropriate in terms of adjusting to volume. Plus it would seem easier to swallow than doing just the big 3 for so long. It took me a while to see that 5x5 wasn't insanity- I can only imagine what my reaction to Korte would have been about 6 months ago :)
 
My glutes, lower back, thighs and hamstrings are still aching six days after ending the Volume phase. I'm keen to know when I'll feel genuinely deloaded or whether that's now just the ghost of workouts past.

I've enjoyed having the simplicity of just the three lifts. They cover everything between them so no worries about imbalance. I expected my lats to lag and maybe they have lost some hugeness but they were aching the first week which I put down to the odd grip widths on Bench. I was starting to feel tempted to do some rowing after the last workout.

I've been wondering how I'd approach another 5x5 mostly how much I'd try to compress the ramps after the Korte and how it would feel to be deadlifting only once a week and benching just twice a week. How can people hope to grow benching just twice a week for only 5x5? That middle squat is hardly worth turning up for either.

Jim, your soon-to-be-ex prospective workout partner will love the Korte. You could run a sweepstake at the gym on how many sessions he survives before making an excuse to miss something. I'll put 50 Karma on 4 sessions.

Edit:
In case it's not clear, there was some flippancy intended in the paragraph on the 5x5.
 
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Yeah I'm thinking 5 x 5 would be more appropriate but I'm not doing that til after Korte.

Funnily enough I saw him at the gym today and he told me he did legs today: squat, machine hack squat and leg press. I think he's got the fever...

As far as his intestinal fortitude he told me he wrestled a bear cub into submission back a few years back so that must mean something... :rolleyes:
 
Get him on the single factor 5x5. It's my mission to convert everyone :)

Edit: I should have added a bit of justification. If he's never squatted before, he should get some good gains from the single factor as he gets used to it. And then when that stops, he can start manipulating volume, i.e. follow the transition into dual factor.
 
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Week 5 Day 3

Ever less to report. I got a cramp/twinge in my right thigh during Squats warmups which I had to stretch and massage to continue.

My lower back also gave me a bad twinge but it had the grace to wait until I was about to do abs. I must be missing some minerals.

The 130Kg Squats were uneventful and completely solid. I wore my belt since it was in the instructions but don't believe that I had any need of it.

Deadlift has felt hardest both for the main lift and for the 60% lifts this week. I think I still have a lot more deloading to do but I'm improving.


All weights in Kilos
Bench: N - Narrow, S - Shoulder width, W - Wide

ATF Squat: 20x10, 30x10, 50x8, 80x4, 100x2, 120 x 1, 130 x 1 for 2 sets
Bench: 20x10NS, 40x8W, 60x5S, 90 x 4 for 5 sets WNWSW
Deadlift: 60x8, 90x5, 110x3, 125 x 3 x 3
 
I thought it worth a mention that my quads are aching today, Saturday. Presumably, the Squats yesterday were harder than I reported them to be or harder than I realised.
 
Good looking workouts Blut Wump, I am following along........as long as you're feeling banged up in a good way and not an injured way, I wouldn't sweat it.....it will take at least an entire week of deloading to feel good again.......I'd say by Monday you should stop feeling like death....although I've never done Stephan korte's routine, with deloading it takes me a good week to feel good again.......

On an unrelated note, I was wondering how you were eating on this program and your height/weight? are u looking to put bodyweight on?
 
My height is a shade under 6'2". I started the program at 117.4Kg having cut from around 122.8Kg. I've been weighing in on Sunday mornings for the past couple of weeks and expect to be back over 121Kg tomorrow. Here are the past couple of weight posts:
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5248666&postcount=54
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5273823&postcount=74

It seems I was 121Kg last week but I was probably retaining chips.

I'm looking to get stronger and I wouldn't complain to grow some muscle since I see it as inevitable. I'd like to get my ATF Squat and Deadlift to 400 and 500 respectively by the end of the year. I'd happily shed 20 or 30 lbs but I'm not really bothered enough to make an effort to do it and it would eat into my lifts. I'm almost certainly over 20% BF.

Eating is not something I worry about much. Here's my last post on eating. I wasn't trying to be vague:
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5268691&postcount=64

Banged-up wise, I'm fine: aches are good. I've learned to live with a bad back so I'm very sensitive to the wrong type of pain there. Despite the fatigue and soreness, my back feels the best it has in a long time. I know I seem to whinge about aches and fatigue a lot in this log but these are the things I won't remember at all well when I look back on the program.
 
Another Sunday weigh-in. The previous two are linked in the previous post.

120.2Kg today. (265 lbs)

I felt that last week's of 121Kg was a bit bogus due to poor sleep patterns. We had a new dog and I wasn't getting good sleep. Today's was after a particularly bodacious kip.
 
Week 6 Day 1

Oh, my, no back aches today.

The Squats felt kind of heavy but no big deal although I have a huge ache running down the front of my right thigh now that I'm back home. Maybe the Deadlift contributed more to that than the Squats, though.

Bench was comfortably easy. Bench definitely feels the easiest of the three exercises. Maybe I've under-pitched it. If I press the three plates at the end, though, I'll have no complaints at all.

Deadlift felt good and my back felt solid. The first of the two lifts at four plates went up very cleanly and I felt that I had plenty more in me. The second single failed. It kind of broke the ground ish and I aborted. I considered that maybe I'd felt my grip had been about to fail and wondered about switching to a mixed grip. I finally decided that I'd simply been out of position so just went for it again. I remember giving out a groan about half-way and up it went. I remembered to sit on the four plates between the sets. I think the two singles today actually felt easier than the two at 162.5Kg last week.

I finished off with 5 sets of 20 on the crunch chair.


All weights in Kilos
Bench: N - Narrow, S - Shoulder width, W - Wide

ATF Squat: 20x10, 30x10, 50x8, 80x4, 100 x 3 x 3
Bench: 20x10NS, 40x8W, 80x3S, 90 x 4 for 5 sets WSWSW - I was on the cruddy bench so Narrow was too much hassle
Deadlift: 60x8, 90x5, 130x3, 150x1, 165x1, 180 x 1 for two singles - needed two goes at the second top single
 
I reckon somewhere between the two. Think of it as a week6 in the 5x5 but with weights just short of my last-known 1RM. I expect the Bench on Wednesday to be little problem and then Squat is again my 1RM but I don't anticipate any problem there either. I'm already looking forward to next Monday. By then I'll be fully deloaded and testing my new-found strength.
 
I'm trying to save the mixed grip until I'm desperate. I reckon the mixed grip is worth another 10 Kilos on the lift. That way if I have any trouble in my last week I can believe that all I need do is switch grips over and it'll fly up without my having to get worked up about it.
 
Week 6 Day 2

Bad news: while Deadlifting I got a huge pain just below my lats on the right. The guy at the gym mumbled something about side erectors at which point I wished I knew more about anatomy than I do. After the second top single on Monday I had a brief ache there which struck me as odd since I couldn't think what my lats might have been doing to get so involved. Today on my first 125Kg rep I had a warning sensation which I ignored. On the second rep I got a severe warning pain which I couldn't ignore. I've taken Ibuprofen and am applying cold to it now before applying heat and then I'll apply cold again. There's no visible discoloration and I can move but have to be careful. It might be a muscle pull or a fascia tear. I don't know enough.

My Korte experience could be over.

I'll post up the Squat and Bench part of the workout later, probably, but there was nothing much to report. The Squats were straightforward. The Bench felt heavyish but not a problem. The Deads felt fine upto 110Kg but the 125Kg took me out.
 
Thanks, there's still no sign of bruising and I'm about to switch pack to a cold pack. I'll not be deadlifting on Friday, though, and I doubt I'll have had time for the necessary lobotomy to be attempting a new Deadlift PR on Monday.

How's your recovery going?
 
Blut Wump said:
How's your recovery going?
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Quite well, actually.

Starting Strength has been a BIG help- just when I think I'm squatting fine I learn something new. I squatted 335 for 3x3 yesterday, then did front squats and I feel good today. I think I was overdoing the whole ATF thing; I was jamming myself down rather than simply stopping naturally. Couple that with my 315 lb. deadlift marathons and I think that was the problem (and pulling heavy 2x/week before that- ugh I'm a dumbass sometimes).

I'm dieting though (down to 241 :)) and my fitness and strength are receding. I'm gonna run a standard DF 5x5 with one minor change when I feel that my back is close to 100% (should be a week or two at a guess). I'm going to row for 5x5 mon. and power clean for heavy triples (not sure on sets, but probably 6 or 7 for volume, but that may change) on fri. I love PC's and rowing and I can't bear the thought of skipping one for now.
 
Ouch, sorry to hear that BW. Best of luck.

Slightly off-topic, but for me running back to back 5 x 5's kind of beat me down. I really need to be dedicated to cycling in some higher rep/lower intensity phases throughout the year. I tried to do this but got carried away with the speed deads and flamed out.

Back on topic and mumbling out loud, you are very 'lower back aware', I seems, so I wonder if it was a compensatory type thing with your posterior chain being so much stronger than some of the other stabilizers. Obviously not an anatomy expert here and random speculation is pretty useless. But what are fellow forum members for ;)

Anyway, like Guinness said hopefully it'll pass and you can reap the rewards of busting your ass the past 5 weeks :)
 
Guinness5.0 said:
Quite well, actually.

Starting Strength has been a BIG help- just when I think I'm squatting fine I learn something new. I squatted 335 for 3x3 yesterday, then did front squats and I feel good today. I think I was overdoing the whole ATF thing; I was jamming myself down rather than simply stopping naturally. Couple that with my 315 lb. deadlift marathons and I think that was the problem (and pulling heavy 2x/week before that- ugh I'm a dumbass sometimes).

I'm dieting though (down to 241 :)) and my fitness and strength are receding. I'm gonna run a standard DF 5x5 with one minor change when I feel that my back is close to 100% (should be a week or two at a guess). I'm going to row for 5x5 mon. and power clean for heavy triples (not sure on sets, but probably 6 or 7 for volume, but that may change) on fri. I love PC's and rowing and I can't bear the thought of skipping one for now.
Click to expand...

Nice. Ya know I've taken the whole week off from lifting except for some sled dragging and light kettlebelling and I'm starting to feel good...not having to roll out of bed (well I may have to rock a little first ;) ), can walk down the stairs without leaning against the wall lol. I feel a lot better about starting another strength phase, although I have no idea where my squat is right now.

Guinness5.0 said:
(down to 241 :))
Click to expand...

You guys are monsters.
 
You could be right and thanks for any hogwash you might be hitting me with.

I was just remembering the Holy Grail "Bring out yer dead" scene: "I'm feeling better... I think I'll go for a walk, now" ;)

Anyway, I hate the thought of madcow popping in and having a chuckle at my failure to complete this bugger of a program so I need to see how much I'm injured asap. I'm glad it went with 125Kg on the bar rather than 180Kg. If I assume I actually hurt it on Monday, imagine if I'd gone for another single. Yikes.

If I assume that I really would be stupid to continue this one then I need to think in terms of recovery time. Maybe I can run a 2x per week deload for a couple or three weeks and then go back to week 5 and continue. Of course, MC2 will still give me red lights but I might get new PRs out of it.

G5.0, I hate that loss of strength on losing weight. I'm missing rows of late and keep thinking that maybe I should do some. The PC was enjoyable on the last 5x5.

Maybe it'd even make sense to take a week entirely off. I'm not happy.

Actually, it is feeling a lot better after the Ibuprofen and a couple of rounds of cold and hot. Maybe it'll all be fine by Friday.
 
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Thanks everyone, I feel like I'm receiving "Get Well Soon" cards.

I think I have to accept now that the program is over. I'm in state where I have to orchestrate any complex manoeuvre such as getting up out of a chair. I'm glad that I haven't had cause to sneeze yet since I think I'd resent it.

There's no bruising, for what that's worth. I just need to try and learn something from this and get on with recovery.

Maybe I just pushed too much too enthusiastically after the loading phase and maybe the new projected targets were too much too soon for a tired body. Maybe Jim's suggestion that I have some good stabilizers but not enough all-round support is correct. It's always the weakest link that breaks.

I'll hope for a light workout next Monday to see how I feel.
 
Sorry to hear that. Well I suppose it's just a bump in the road, pick it up next week and see how it feels.

Reflection ( :rainbow: ) : Ya know one thing that's different than the way I used to workout...I think of things long term now, workouts are in chunks and phases. Whereas before it was more immediate gratification. So I'd be scared to take a week off and lose my strength or whateve size I had :rolleyes: (and the pump is really really gone ;) ).

I guess my point is the effect of a (hopefully) minor injury is diluted when looking at your yearly plan.

Still sucks you can't measure your fitness gain from all that loading, though.

Blut Wump said:
I think one of my Japanese friends once told me to stop ogreing a woman.
Click to expand...
:laugh2:
 
I'm wondering whether the 60% weights were too high. I know that I commented sometime in week5 that they felt too light but that was when I was accustomed to 7x5 on everything. My legs are still aching as of not yet having deloaded.

I think overall I probably have to accept that depite what seemed to be a successful loading phase, I'm not yet adequately conditioned to run the Korte. At least not in the gung-ho fashion I was running it. I know that I'm stronger than when I started it and I've learned quite a bit about working out while tired. I've also had pots of squatting practice. I suspect that I'll still try to do a complete run again before the end of the year maybe after giving myself five or six weeks to be recovered.

I'm feeling quite a bit better now than I was even earlier this morning. It's still tender but I'm moving around freely. I just keep part of my awareness on it. I think that I'll be day-to-day practically healed by the weekend. I'll take a very light week in the gym next week and then try to think about what to work on for the following month.
 
Well, six days since my last workout and I was getting worried that it wasn't healing as fast as I'd like. It was still painful to do crazy things like throw a ball or blow my nose.

I thought of contacting the local GP but, in the expectation that he'd do little more than prescribe rest and Ibuprofen, I called the chiropractor instead.

He prodded around and assured me that I hadn't popped a rib. His opinion was that I had an acute muscle spasm. He said it was impossible to rule out a small trauma but the complete absense of bruising and pain from pressure indicates nothing more than spasm, probably due to overuse. He also found a couple of major muscle-ridges to which he applied some ultrasound, massage and ice-hot then sent me packing after a bit of mandatory back-cracking.

I think I might go in and do some, maybe, 50% weights tomorrow. I asked him whether I could consider getting back into the program and received the expected answer.
 
Well it's good to hear it's likely not serious.

So, a spasm is basically some involuntary contraction? Seems like you can just jump right back into Week 7 to me ;)
 
I could maybe consider going back to week5.

The muscle had knotted up and wasn't letting go. It still feels sore when I tense it but I've just been out running and throwing things for the dogs and it was pain-free. I didn't risk "letting rip" with it, though.

It certainly felt like something was separating when it happened and the fact that I'd had a warning sensation there when I did the 180Kg deads two days before leaves me very wary of diving back in whatever the paying public might want. It might be worth it, though, if it forces AB to buy more popcorn.
 
;)

Have you considered dropping deadlifts completely, until the end of the program, and trying to ride out the intensity phase with just bench and squat? Or even just bench? I know it's not ideal, but it might help avoid aggravating the injury and let you get something out of all the loading you did.
 
I think I'll go in tomorrow and do Squat, Bench, DL for 3x3 with 50% weights. Maybe then throw in some GMs, pullthroughs and hypers. Just give the body a basic spin around the block and see how it feels.

I'll not have worked out at all for a week so some detraining will have started to set in and I'll have doms on Thursday. :(

Regarding deads, I need to go through the motions and see what complains and also try to relive the moment in my mind with a weight in my hands. I'm pretty sure I hurt myself on the eccentric with the 180Kg rather than the concentric.

Regarding muscle/strength profit from the weeks I did, I think I already have that. I was pretty sure that I was stronger last week than I was six weeks ago. It's a reasonable way to train to run loading phases joined only by one- or two-week deloads and rarely running into a real Intensity phase. If I were to run some rehab and go back into a fresh program, that'd be fine. The main thing is to be sure that I don't have a major injury sitting there waiting to happen. I've tried to keep my eating up this past week.
 
I had an OK workout today. I went to 3x3 at 90Kg on Squats and 3 sets of 4 on Bench at the same weight. Squat and Bench were just fine with no aches, twinges, etc.

Deadlift I took to 100Kg and I know where I hurt myself. The lift was fine and I think I could easily have gone heavy on a concentric. I have a problem on the eccentric. As I lower the bar I seem to lean forwards which puts some load onto my lats and intercostals. Maybe the lack of rowing in too many months has introduced weakness despite doing the power cleans.

I did 3x3 and the lift was completely comfy while I made an effort to keep my weight back. A little swaying forwards to clear my knees was irritating the muscle. I think I'll drop deadlifting for a while.

I finished off with a couple of sets of 10 at 60Kg on Zerchers and then also on GMs followed by 3 sets of 5 on pull-throughs and a couple of sets of 15 with 6 'plates' on the cable row machine.

Well, that's pretty much it for my Korte and probably the last workout for this thread. I'm going to start rowing again. Maybe I could run a 5x5 with GMs and Pull-Throughs in place of the deads. If I make the Weds Squats be front squats, that might be pleasant. I'll see whether I still remember how to row and push-press on Friday.

Thank you all for watching.

Cue fading white dot.


Edit:
Thanks for the English lesson. ;)
 
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Well the cool thing is you made it through the toughest part of the program. Kudo's to you.

As far as your injury, I read most people get hurt on deads on the eccentric since they tend to relax. Although I think it was more lower back that was affected. I think I've felt that area twinge a few times too, right at the transition between lowering the bar to about knee level and my controlled drop. It's a real fine line between tight and loose, for me.

Kind of surprised you did the Zerchers although I'm no Zercher god. Seems like holding that barbell in front of the body would irritate the affected area but it's all good since obviously they didn't.

Anyway, I found myself reading your log again from the beginning just to see the mental/physical state as the days and weeks go by. I think I'll stop reading at around, oh, week 5 or so ;)
 
Yes, congrats on getting through the hard part. Do you think you'd do another Korte in the future, or is it too over the top for your level?
 
I'll do it again. I think I improved through the course of it and I can hardly progress to the Smolov Squat Cycle before finishing the Korte.

I could have finished this one if I hadn't been so gung-ho with it, I think. I can't afford to run through Christmas, since I'm not one of those people blessed with a home gym, but there's still time to be able to fit the program in before the end of the year.

I also really enjoyed the simplicity of doing just the three basic lifts.
 
Bust Wump, if you don't mind. I think I'm going back to proper training for a while. I'll get down to typing up my new split.

Should I train lower biceps on the same day as inner calves, do you think? Would I be overtraining?
 
Blut Wump said:
Bust Wump, if you don't mind. I think I'm going back to proper training for a while. I'll get down to typing up my new split.

Should I train lower biceps on the same day as inner calves, do you think? Would I be overtraining?
Click to expand...

I find that you really cannot blast the inner calves effectively once you're rocked from a killer lower bis workout. I'd do lower bis with inner pecs using the pre-exhaust principle, and outer calves with the left ass cheek to maximize recovery time and avoid overtraining. I'll PM you the FLEX article I read this in. The guy in the pics was big, so it MUST work!!!
 
I think I know where I used to go wrong: I'm sure I used to work both cheeks together. It's a classic beginners' error.

Today I went for what would have been this week's Bench were I still doing the Korte.
The 135Kg went up smoothly. I had the spotter under strict orders not to touch the bar unless I was either unconcscious or actually asked for help. He managed to restrain himself until after lockout at which point he snapped the bar back into the supports. I wasn't expecting it at all but I guess he had to feel needed.

That was my PR at the start and is 2.5Kg over the initial Korte projections for week 8. I'm looking forward to pressing 3 plates next week. This would have been week 7.

For a quick confidence booster, I did a back-off set of 225 for 11. I might have had another couple of reps in me.
 
Nice...so are you doing a curtailed Korte right now?

I had the spotter under strict orders not to touch the bar unless I was either unconcscious or actually asked for help. He managed to restrain himself until after lockout at which point he snapped the bar back into the supports. I wasn't expecting it at all but I guess he had to feel needed.
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I was spotting a guy awhile back for a max attempt and as he lowered the bar he yells 'FUUUUCCCK NOOOOOO!!!' I couldn't tell if he didn't want me to touch it (I had my hands ready) or if he couldn't make the lift. Turns out it was the latter, although I wondered if he'd used the energy for lifting instead of yelling he might've gotten it.
 
Well, I was at the gym and doing bench. I'd just done the 60% Squats and, as I sat there wondering whether to do a 3x3 or a 5x5, I thought maybe a 1x1 would be pleasant. I worked through the warmups and my side wasn't bothering me at all. On top of which I was only a couple of days out from where I would have been on the bench without the interruption. I thought go for it.

I'll probably try for the weights on Squats, too, but I'm more messed up with the scheduling on that. I might try for 140Kg on Monday. Deads are a complete no-no.

I did some rows today but got to 60Kg (135) and my side had the barest hint of a complaint. Rather than stress it, I did a very comfy 3 sets of 8 at the weight. It's been a while since I last rowed so I'm not unhappy with that. I started to mess around with some GMs but my heart wasn't in it so I did some abs and went home.

With a couple of PRs almost in my grasp it'd be shameful not to stretch for them if I feel I safely can.
 
I got the 140Kg for two easy singles. I think that equals my old PR so I could argue that that's a PR on sets at that weight. :)

I kind of bounced at the bottom on the first set and came up very quickly, mostly due to fear of failing. On the second single I made a deliberate effort to get a solid touchdown at the bottom with a momentary pause and still came up briskly. All in all, it's now just another weight that I'm passing through.

Edit:
In case it's not clear, this was for ATF Squats. Bench for three plates on Friday.
 
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Awesome congrats. Sounds like you were toying with the weight. When you can pause at the bottom and look around that's usually how I think of it :)

I wonder if getting rid of deadlifting is 'really really deloading'...
 
I miss my deadlifts.

I'm not entirely convinced at the chiro's diagnosis of just a muscle spasm. I still have to be careful with that side. Not unduly so but I can't completely ignore it.

I did some GMs up to 90Kg x 5 for 3 sets and some Push Press but kept that light since I plan to go a little harder on that on Wednesday. It felt kind of sinful to be having workout variety. Losing the deads would certainly remove a huge strain that would have been on my CNS. I think I'd have coped but...
 
Thanks. Just to be really clear, since I wasn't earlier. This was for ATF Squat. I think I could have taken the 150Kg today and saved a week in my pursuit of 160Kg.

It feels kind of bogus to continue this as my Korte thread but I see these workouts as realising my Korte gains which, I think, makes it appropriate despite failing the course.
 
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Sorry, I thought it was 3 plates on bench. I wondered when you said it matched a previous PR.

And if I thought about it, Wednesday is bench day for you. I guess I ought to wish you good luck for Wednesday then!
 
I'm planning for it to be Friday. I felt some doms in my chest while doing Bench today so, rather than jeopardize my lift, I'll defer it to Friday. It also makes sense in that it'll be a full week from my last heavy Bench. I'm starting to feel paranoid about going heavyish on Push Press on Friday now in case it tires my triceps.

I think I'll just wrap myself in cotton wool and stay in bed until Friday.
 
I failed the 140Kg Bench.

I almost had it, in fact, I was sure I had it. The bar came down smoothly and under control. It left my chest nicely and sailed through my sticking point. I cried "Yes!" in exultation and then the bar stopped and I had to be rescued.

I'm not sure whether I relaxed when I thought I had it or maybe I found a fresh sticking point. The Push Presses on Wednesday were probably a mistake. (and other spurious rationalizations)

I took a second attempt after a rest but the bar stuck at my usual sticking point.

I'll try again next week.
 
It's improving but not healed.

Despite what the chiro said, I'm still convinced that it was a minor tear. There were spasms but they weren't the primary issue.

It only bothers me in situations where my arms are dangling in front of me when I'm in a stooped-over position. I'm still planning to allow six weeks for recovery.
 
Was 140kg a PR attempt? At least it's nice to know you can get it past that old sticking point, that's a big mental block for me, like I can feel it approaching as I'm lowering the bar lol

EDIT: :FRlol: @ Guinness.

*Checks posture in the mirror* *stops laughing*
 
Yes it was a PR attempt. Before the Korte, I'd managed a very hard 135Kg.

I really felt I had this one today and eased off to squeeze out the top part, thinking it was done and dusted, and the bar just slowed to a stop. As the bar was coming down, I didn't feel at any stage that I was passing down through a sticking point. I think I just, simply, blew it.

That ape-walk position is exactly the one that hurts. I usually drift into it while playing with the dogs. Sneezing no longer hurts, which is good. I did rows today up to 100Kgx3x3 and they gave me no grief.
 
Sticking points are a funny thing - for me, for bench it's right at the bottom, for squat it's at parallel and dead is right off the floor. Mentally I feel like if I can get it past there I'll get the rep, I think I relax too.

God forbid I find I have two sticking points ;)

Anyway, sounds like you're a lot stronger from Korte, nice. I bet dollars to donuts you get your bench next week. Too bad you can't dead that would be a nice barometer too.
 
Someone said my arms were poorly. 'Sick' I think he said.

120Kg had to go somewhere once I'd evicted most of it from my abdomen. I just think I'm weak for my size, though. I guess it just takes time to develop the CNS side.
 
I got the 150Kg Squat.

It wasn't easy but I felt that it was easy enough that I'd go for 155Kg which I failed. I think I went down wrong or something with the 155Kg it didn't really feel like it was there and my heart wasn't in it when I came to push up. Who knows? I'll try for more next Monday.
 
Awesome, congrats!

Is that your Korte squat goal fulfilled then? You mentioned going for 160kg last week - was that a revised goal or are you just throwing that in for good measure?
 
I'm putting the belt on loose at around 100Kg which is my working '60%' weight. I tighten it after that. I don't typically wear a belt but my old 140Kg PR was in full gear (ie a belt) so I decided that the intensity phase should be belted for the squats on the heavy squat days.

I'm kind of keen to see where I am with wraps now. I should be comfortably over 400lbs with the wider PL style squat to parallel and wraps.

Still, that's 20+lbs gained on my squat and today, while heavy, didn't feel much like a max effort.

It's 5Kg over initial projections made in week zero and I'll get either 155 or 160Kg next week. The 160Kg was my revised figure after the end of the Volume phase. Just a stab in the dark for something to go for, really.

If I view this is being about a 95% effort then I made my basic 25lbs Korte gains plus 12lbs which is more than I'd expect from a run of the 5x5.
 
Firstly thanks to all 'you guys'. I made a long-term ambition today and it was easy.

The 140Kg bench came down sweet and, after last week's failure, I pushed with everything I had and the bar just sailed up. No hint of any grind nor sticking point. I racked the bar and my spotter asked why I wasn't doing any more reps. I had forgotten to tell him that I was just going for a single and that I was far from confident of getting it.

I removed a plate from each end and did 13 reps at 100Kg which was a new PR for reps at that weight and I had maybe another still in the tank.

I almost feel like I cheated, though, since I did no pressing at all on Wednesday. I did the usual light bench on Monday and worked up to some singles on Push Press and thought that four days with no pressing might work nicely. Woohoo!

I just have one more PR to squeeze out of the Korte for Monday's squat and that's my Korte experience over. I'm glad I decided to hobble on despite losing the deadllift.
 
Jim Ouini said:
Awesome, congrats! Get a vid next time :p

No temptation to keep going up on bench? Especially since it was so easy.
Click to expand...
When it went up I did have the temptation to go for another rep but it was fleeting and then I'd racked it and it was over.

I was so flushed with having done it that I reckoned that there was nothing to be gained at getting back under the bar and trying a second time and doing a back-off set was probably as beneficial overall.
 
Jim Ouini said:
Awesome, congrats! Get a vid next time :p

No temptation to keep going up on bench? Especially since it was so easy.
Click to expand...
Lol, I'm more tired than I realised. I guess, next Friday, I'll either try for a double at this weight or try for 142.5Kg.

Thanks, G5.0

I need to think what to do afterwards now. I recall after the last 5x5 I wanted to keep working at 1x3 and 3x3 weights and I'm in that same kind of mood now but I know it's not feasible. I might try the Tate 9-week Westside intro or I might take another stab at the Korte. I obviously still need deadlifting practice.
 
Awesome! Absolutely awesome! Congrats!

lol at your spotter wondering why you weren't doing any more reps :p

Why don't you think 1x3 or 3x3 is feasible? Why not just try it for a couple of weeks, see what you can get out of it with small increases? Single factor style :)
 
It's feasible for a while but you start to lose fitness and conditioning with so few reps. There comes a point when it's time to do higher rep-ranges again.
 
I got the 160Kg squat.

Not a drop left in the tank, I think. I came out of the hole and the bar was grindingly slow. I used my Mighty Yell superpower to change the gravitational constant and managed to stand up with the weight. I had entertained designs of using my wraps to see how high I could take the weight in belt + wraps but after the 160Kg I was drained. I struggled with 100x3 and then again with 60Kgx5.

I'm very pleased again and have to consider the Korte a success despite the deadlift injury. It looks like the one week gap did no lasting harm. I guess you could hardly call my last few weeks Korte although I have tried to work the basic template for squats amd bench.

Bench 135Kg (hard) -> 140Kg (easy)
ATF Squat 140Kg (hard) -> 160Kg (hard)

I'm starting to entertain thoughts of beginning afresh next week.
 
Blut Wump said:
In an earlier post I suggested that fresh targets of 160Kg for Squat, 140Kg for Bench and 200Kg for Deadlift seemed plausible. Looking at them, they now seem scary, especially the Squat. I'm going to project for them and if I seem to be out of my depth then I'll try to adjust.
Click to expand...

Not that I'm stalking you, but it's awesome you hit weights that were 'scary' about a month ago. Congrats BW.

How'd you warm up for your 160 squat? Just out of curiousity.

I can't wait to pupate. I mean I hope I do. ;)

Blut Wump said:
I'm starting to entertain thoughts of beginning afresh next week.
Click to expand...

You are a madman. I mean that in a good way.
 
Thanks. I recall that post. I guess it's having the mental arrogance to be able to ignore the anxiety. It helped when AB said the weights looked reasonable.

20x10, 30x10, 60x6, - Beltless
90x3 - loose belt
120x1 - a bit tighter
Fully tight belt -
135x1, 145x1, 160x1

That's from going into the gym and straight to the squat rack. No other warmup.

I've no real idea how much is deloading and how much is down to gains over the last month. I think getting loaded is over 75% of the battle, though. Fatigue-wise you seem to be paralleling what I felt so the prognosis is excellent. ;)
 
Funny, during my last workout trying to get through my deads I said out loud to myself 'I damn well better pupate or I'm gonna be pissed'
 
Woohoo! lol. Congrats on the squat.

Another Korte already? I thought you were like a kid in a sweet shop with all the other programs people have been mentioning recently. Is the injury sufficiently recovered for another run?
 
Thanks.

Well, if I start next week, that'll have been five weeks since I hurt myself and everyone knows that the first week is easy. I've been able to run and sneeze for a while now without pain or even discomfort. I might try some light deadlifts on Wednesday and see how I feel.

Starting next week will also give me enough time to complete the program before Christmas with a bit of slack. Opting for a nine-week program would be cutting it a little fine.
 
blut wump said:
I've been able to run and sneeze for a while now.
Click to expand...
That takes some serious coordination. Good work ;)

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Hopefully this'll be the end of it. My tweak (I refuse to call it an injury- not quite there yet) seems to linger on and on, but the higher reps seem to help. I'll know more once I've stuck with high reps for longer than two workouts though :).
 
blut wump said:
Well, if I start next week, that'll have been five weeks since I hurt myself and everyone knows that the first week is easy. I've been able to run and sneeze for a while now without pain or even discomfort. I might try some light deadlifts on Wednesday and see how I feel.
Click to expand...

*shakes fist at blut wump*
 
Ok just another final post. ;)

I failed at 142.5Kg on bench today. I had a spotter and he couldn't resist helping out with his fingers as I slowed at my usual sticking point. I think I'd probably have failed anyway. I did 120Kgx3x3 as a back-off which felt reasonably comfy.

I've been thinking that it'd be good to finish the year as I started it with a 5x5 so I took a stab at some deadlifts today. I did a couple of sets at 90Kg and had a slight discomfort in my side which went away so I went up to 125Kg. It was mostly but not quite ok so I think I'd be silly to do a program with deads in.

I'm thinking of running the 5x5 with front squats on Weds. along with GMs and pull-throughs in place of deads. The pull-throughs will be more of an optional assistance than a core exercise since I'm already using the full stack on the only suitable pulley. If the GMs don't quite do the trick I might be able to add shrugs or rack pulls to them. They should, however, serve to keep me in shape until I can do deads again next year.

I'm going to take another read through the Tate Westside beginners' routine before finally deciding what to start on Monday.
 
Damn, shame you missed the higher bench. Any idea why? You made the 140 sound easy last week.

It looks like your Korte is finally, finally over. If you're looking for a program without deads, I heard some bloke called Smolov has one ;)
 
Maybe coming off the creatine was enough to make the slightly higher weight unattainable. I also had a bad kip last night and had a headache. Having my tux at the cleaners didn't help and traffic getting to the gym was terrible not to mention the weather. Oh, the weather just gets me down sometimes, how can anyone lift with a wind blowing through the gym? The sunlight was catching in my eyes, too. I think I'd have had it on any other day.

Who knows? Some days it just isn't there. Maybe I would have had it had he not touched the bar, I neglected to warn him off. The Smolov? Hmmm...
 
Guinness5.0 said:
Just a thought....

GM's and powershrugs seem like a pretty complete quasi-deadlift combo.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same and that's probably what I'll do if I go for the 5x5.

I'm also now thinking of the Smolov which is only a partial program so I can still run some posterior chain and bench work alongside.
 
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