The lastime I plateaued was when I stuck to the 6x5 training method for months; that was last October/November. The 1RMs helped with multiple breakthroughs, for about a month or 2. My last 1RM deadlift PR was December last year and the 3RM (100kg) record was on January. I was being stupid to attempt 110kg today (I've been setting increments of 10kg ever since I started to include 1RMs into my training). Guess what? You guessed the obvious - it didn't budge. Then I attempted 105kg and I could tell that my CNS was too burnt out from previous lifts because it didn't budge too. I could try to push it if I really wanted to, but why risk the chance of getting a back or hamstring injury?
I've not been progressing through the deadlift.. for months now. It is finally confirmed - that's a green light to make some changes into my current training program. The squat was a different story. Hit 90kg @ 1RM 2 weeks back but ironically I could lift 80kg for 5 reps - a huge difference in weight between the 1RM and 5RM. I feel that 90kg was as far as I can go at the moment if I were to focus on 1RMs. That won't do.
On the front squat, my 1RM is currently at 60kg but I no longer see the point of doing 1-reps because I haven't solidify the smaller numbers ie. getting better at doing 5-6 reps for a few sets, yet (and then there's this whole stability issue). So my focus today was working up to doing 6 sets of 5 (50kg), which I had to water it down to 5 sets of 4 because it felt soooogodamn stressful like how it felt the first time I deadlifted. The fact that I'm front squatting less than my own bodyweight is another harsh reminder that my anterior chain is still. bloody. weak. Gonna attempt 5x5 the next week.. or maybe 5x6. Bench press on the other hand was terribly weak. Not only did it not improve, I've gotten weaker in the lift. In January, I was able to lift 70kg @ 1RM. The present? 60kg @ 3RM. I think the lack of overhead presses, push ups and dips (I've not been consistent with bodyweight workouts these days) may have attributed to the weakness. I'm okay with getting more consistent with bodyweight workouts. Afterall, dips are really going to help with the bench work, a hell lot.
Overhead press? I think I'll let it take the back seat for now - too damned lazy to work on it. Or maybe, just maybe, I might work on the 5-6 rep range just like what I'm currently doing for the front squat. Gah, how I wish I have access to the gym 4 days a week. Better yet, 6 days a week so I can train my deadlift, squat and front squat 2-3x a week. On chin up/pull ups, I think the number of reps I can do pretty much tells about my upper back strength. On the first set if I were to go all out (90% @ deadhang to spare some room for the joints), I can pull off 7-8 reps worth of moderate width pull ups; 10-11 reps worth of chin ups. On the second? I'd get 5 on a good day, but usually 4 reps; 6-7 reps of chin ups. It's evident enough that the upper back has been much neglected in favor of lower body strength as I spend most times working on the posterior and anterior chain. For a change, I'm gonna work on chin up/pull ups 4 times a week. I believe this change will help me reach my goal for the year - 20 solid reps worth of pull ups.
Well, that's pretty much it for an update. It's pretty much to remind myself to work in the 5-6 rep range the following 3-4 weeks and thereafter proceed to sets of 3s the next 3-4 weeks and then finally going back to working on the 1RMs for another 2-3 weeks. I'll be the first to admit that my training has somewhat become linear over the past few months, and it's not a bad thing that I have plateaud because it is times like these that make me realize it's time to review my training program. I think it's time that I start to play around with tempo/speed, techniques (supersets, pauses, static holds etc.), reps and sets instead of only sticking to progressive overloading with weights. Those aside, I came up with a new training program to work on my upper back 4 times a week and also train a total 6 days a week.. and not forgetting to spend less time completing workouts in the gym. That last one - yeah, I'm always guilty about it. It'd be ideal if I can complete my workouts within 60-75 minutes. As a closure for this entry, here's a motivational picture for all you serious lifters out there:
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