Blut Wump - Korte 3x3

[blut wump]

Comp phase is de facto deloading, correct? You've cut your volume and kept intensity high, increasing it as it were. Or would it have been better to do a 'Week 5 Madcow' and cut your volume while keeping the weights the same as Week 4 for proper deloading?

As far as warmups go I too will be interested to see how you approach it as you approach 100% 1RM. I feel the same way in that I like to be within sight of my top weight just for the confidence thingy.

Today a guy I know was deadlifting and he said 405 x 10 was 'easy' (touch 'n go, but still his first went up no problem) and he slapped another plate on (he'd never done it). He had his hands on the bar and it didn't budge at all. he tried 2 more times and nothing, I think mentally he was gone already.

It's a mixture of both increased and reduced intensity since two of the three workouts on any exercise are at the 60% weight, down from last week's slugathon. The heavy days for each exercise are at a higher intensity but only for singles. I recall Super Rice considering the likely need for a designated deload week but when he got to this stage found that it wasn't needed.

I'm still not sure about warmups. I should throw less energy at the lower end, for sure. Do enough pure warmup to be warmed up and then get quickly into some serious sets. The heavy day calls for 1 or 2 singles but I have to bear in mind that this is my full workout for that exercise. It makes sense to me to be getting in some more singles at 90%+ of my target weight. Yesterday, for example, the 150Kg was 90% and the 160Kg was 95% of the 167.5Kg. It's not as though the 167.5 was an all-out 1RM attempt and the extra sets should be going towards strength building rather than trying to get my top single in and calling it a day. I might view week 8 a little differently.

The CNS and mental fortitude play a big part in lifting heavy. Sometimes it's just a matter of refusing to allow the weight any kind of vote. I've read that grip can cause a lift to fail and not just for the obvious reason of letting go. The mind knows that your grip won't survive a lift and then sends the signals to the back that the lift is impossible. Net result being that the weight is glued down or you fail after just breaking the floor. I've had in the past weights suddenly seem easy after switching to a mixed grip and I've read that often people can lift way more with straps due to the proprioceptive feedback of a secure grip.

I'll try to remember to note in my posts when I switch to using a mixed grip.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Hmm just thinking out loud I probably would've tried 143 x 1, 152 x 1 and then 168 x 2 x 1...but that's just me since those are easy increments to add to the bar

But the intensity phase does seem strange, maybe because I'm just used to 5 x 5 layout - I also would've thought more sets at the target intensity to build strength e.g., it's not clear to me how only 1 x 1 at 80% and a bunch of sets at 60% for the week is ideal...but it seems like Korte would've specified something like 80%-85%-90%-95% x 3 x 1-3 if that's what he wanted...

I've read that grip can cause a lift to fail and not just for the obvious reason of letting go. The mind knows that your grip won't survive a lift and then sends the signals to the back that the lift is impossible.

I've read the same. I know when I was working on my grip that as I reached my grip limit the lifts were pretty hard. Then I'd go mixed grip or strap and it would fly up.

But then I read that gloves (not that I use them) may 'deaden' the proprioception and not give proper the neural input for, say, a monster bench attempt. I thought it might also apply to straps for a pull...

 

[blut wump]

Well, he definitely specifies singles. That's reasonable since it's a proper PL routine and you never get asked to lift a double or triple in a meet.

It is odd that he makes no recommendations on getting to those singles.

 

[blut wump]

Week 5 Day 2

Today was the first day of the program that I had a feeling of 'Is that it?". Not too surprising since it was my first heavy bench day which meant that my legs were able to take a rest.

Lower back, hamstrings and thighs were aching as I began the Squat warmups but that mostly went away. Nothing else to report on Squats. I hope my legs feel another healthy chunk better by Friday.

Bench was fine. The lift felt a lot easier than the Deadlift on Monday. That could be a mixture of the jiggling I've done with the target weights and that I'm a couple of days further into deloading. The original projections would have had me doing 112.5Kg which would have been just too light. Even the two singles at 120Kg had me feeling that I should be doing a 3x3. Still, Korte knows best.

Nothing much to say about Deadlift either. I practiced dropping a warmup set.

Finished off with some hamstring stretches and five sets of Needsize's 5x5.


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

ATF Squat: 20x10, 30x10, 50x8, 60x5, 80x3, 100x3x3
Bench: 20x10NS, 40x8W, 60x5W, 80x3N, 100x2W, 110x1W, 120x1WW
Deadlift: 60x8, 90x5, 110x3, 125x3x3

 

[Jim Ouini]

Nice to hear. For some reason I have a feeling Week 6 is going to be a monster (as in Mothra) week.

 

[blut wump]

Let's hope I don't just end up opening a can of Wump-ass.

I don't yet like to think about week6. I'm not yet emotionally convinced that I can be hitting an old PR in Squat and coming to within 5Kg of my Deadlift PR and still have two further weeks beyond. As with much of this program, it's a case of head down and just do it. I'm waking up from the stress of the Volume phase and starting to think and it's not appropriate for this blood and guts program. I'm very much hoping that the Friday Squats feel comfortable. It'll be a big morale booster.

That aside, though, I'm feeling stronger and the only way to determine the improvement is to get in and lift some ever heavier iron.

 

[Guinness5.0]

I haven't chimed in much as I'm basically a spectator for now. Just wanted to holla atcha. Good job so far B-Dub.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Just as an aside, a guy at the gym asked me about my routine when I was doing 5 x 5 since he saw me squatting all the time. I kind of described Korte to him and he said he wanted to do it with me.

I've seen him train and he does the 1 bodypart/week workout and lots of machines, occasionally I see him dead and he has a pretty good bench. But he's admittedly never squatted much less 3 x week and I'm not sure about his conditioning.

Anyway, whaddya think, he'll get buried the first week (hell I might get buried the first week)? It actually might be OK since I'm not real keen on a training partner right now

Or worse he might even get hurt?

 

[blut wump]

I'd suggest thinking back to your first 5x5 and how that felt. The Korte is worse.

Here's a post from madcow2 where he mentions the Korte several times in awe.
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4798263&postcount=6

Still, if the guy is commited and has the mental fortitude to ignore the fatigue then do it. If the weights are slightly underestimated and not ramped so aggressively for him as Super Rice goaded me into then it might be a manageable cost in exchange for having a training partner if you want one.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Well I'm not really hankering for a workout partner right now - getting to the gym at a certain time, the idle chit chat, the jealous glances when I spot somebody else...

Seriously though, I don't know how you go from never squatting to Korte but like you said I guess if the weights are manageable for him and he has the desire to see it through it's possible.

*watch as I drop out after 2 weeks*

at MC2:

...it's pretty hard and no offense but it's not something I'd usually mention to a girl. That said, you are already deadlifting, you are committed, the choice is yours whether or not you want to use it. Personally, I'd be impressed. You'd have my vote for hardcore woman of the year because it has made weeping children out of more than a few hardened men.