Here's my Korte

[Jim Ouini]

I knew that at one time. But I forgot, thanks for the reminder.

I'm actually really looking forward to starting this. I know it's grueling but I like having a plan and an end goal.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 1 Day 1

Uhm, OK I almost quit today. J/K But the workout was by no means a cakewalk Weights weren't particularly heavy but I think I was on my 5th set of squats and I was thinking '3 more sets AND I still have to bench and dead??'

But luckily it was just a fleeting thought which quickly turned into a 'you guys' moment and like the trooper I am finished the workout. I was sweating like a pig by the time I finished, though.

With that out of the way:

Squat
Bar x 10
95 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 1
183 x 8 x 5

Had to play musical chairs for the squat rack. 2 guys doing curls in the power rack so I set up in the squat rack. So a guy asked how many sets I had and I told him I just started. Next thing I know HE'S taken over on the power rack doing curls, too So I asked him to switch and he kindly obliged. Anyway, ATF form pretty good I think, I wore my oly shoes and really settled in my last 3 sets. Knees felt OK although I had a dull throb in the left one that went away quickly.

Bench
Bar x 10
135 x 3
155 x 1
171 x 7 x 6 (S-W-N-S-W-N-S)

I almost forgot to change up my grip, I think I would've started with narrow since that's my weakest. And I havent' done wide grip benching before so I went pretty slow since I was kind of worried about my shoulder, which I've had problems with. Still, this was probably the easiest of the 3 exercises today.

Dead
135 x 5
185 x 2
225 x 1
275 x 1
290 x 6 x 5

Deadlifted in my oly shoes and they felt just fine. 290 kinda felt heavy to be completely honest, though, especially at first. I was able to pull it pretty fast and by the end I was in a nice groove. Ashamedly I had to pull out the straps, but my wrist was giving me problems so I thought what the hell does Korte know and busted 'em out.

Overall, I'm a little surprised how tough the workout was, just the sheer volume. I'm interested to see how I'll do in 48hrs. I found myself looking at Week 4 weights for a reality check

 

[anotherbutters]

...sits back with popcorn (I had some left from BW)

 

[blut wump]

Congrats on getting under way.

Can you put in the Week and Day, please. It'll help with browsing back through the workouts in a few weeks or months time.

I recall finding that some extra very light warmups helped me with some of the lifts which had felt heavier than they should in the first two or three sets. It does stretch the workout out a little, though, and try to focus on the energy conserving method he talks about. You'll know what I mean soon enough. Still, be careful with anything I say lest you end up the same.

Overall, you seem to be looking at it the same as I did. A kind of "are we there yet, mom?" as you keep grinding out the sets. How did you find going up to 6 on the bench? It took me a while to get used to that. I was also cycling my grip through the bench warmups once I added a lot more warmups. Ack, I just noticed you stopped at 5 on the bench. Don't worry about it this once: the extra set you did almost makes up for the lost rep.

Bon voyage.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Edited for corrections, thanks for pointing 'em out. I actually did do 6 reps benching, I didn't find it too bad, maybe because I'd been doing 195 x 12 the previous few weeks. Good idea to warmup with alt grip too (except I forgot I was cycling grip til my work sets )

As I was planning my sets I actually had 7 written in the log I use at the gym - as I started lifting I kind of had 6-8 in my head, though.
Like when I hit 5 sets I thought 'OK I've done the minimum'. But I started thinking back to one of your posts (in fact I think I said out loud 'That damn Blut Wump') about total loading for the week so that kept me going for 8 sets on squat. On deads I stopped at 6 because I wanted to be conservative with my lower back. I may up this as I get used to the program.

Also I remember thinking about ESM...but I'm still not sure exactly how to apply it. He says to apply only the necessary energy to complete the lift no more no less. Sounds good, but for warmups does that mean more or less? Light or heavy?

 

[Jim Ouini]

Quick Post-Mortem:

Glutes/Hams are pretty sore. I wonder if it's from deadlifting in oly shoes. Of course it could be I'm coming back from a week off.

Lower back OK - a little tight but nothing concerning. I was careful picking up the cat, though

 

[blut wump]

For myself, the ESM was more a matter of not getting emotionally involved in the lift. Don't let yourself be straining at all at a 60% lift. Keep tight but just make the moves and rack the weight. I started to think about it sometime during the first week. I think I viewed the warmups mostly as warmup-stretches.

I know what you mean about getting to five and thinking you've done the minimum.

I recall planning to do extra for each different exercise on each of the three days until I kind of drifted into my steady sevens. It was always hardest to stop on squat since you still know you have energy for another set but you have to balance that feeling with having to get through the sets on the two foo-foo exercises.

I just spotted your post-mortem. Don't kill yourself in week1

 

[Jim Ouini]

OK, I get the ESM thing a little better now. More mental than anything else.
The good thing about this program, one doesn't have to wait long to correct any mistakes.

And I recall using ESM as a justification for getting the straps out

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 1 Day 2

Felt pretty sore and tight in the glutes and hams going to the gym but once I warmed up felt alright. Having completed Monday's workout I kind of got a mental roadblock out of the way so today was more a matter of just doing it.

Squat
Bar x 8
135 x 3
183 x 8 x 5

Had a buddy work in with me today so I kind of skimped on the warmups. I figured for ESM experimentation purposes it'd be alright. He pointed out to me my knees went over my toes, so even though that's not so concerning to me, I widened my stance just a bit.

Bench
Bar x 3 x 10 (W-S-N)
135 x 3
171 x 7 x 6 (W-S-N-W-S-N-W)

Mentally I almost think of these as 3 different lifts with the alt. grip so it's not that hard to get through. Also, I heard someone called me 'gay' for using my microplates

Dead
135 x 5 (RDL)
225 x 3
275 x 1
290 x 6 x 5

Changed up my technique a bit since the oly shoes kind of pitch me forward just a hair. I tried to bend my knees and sit back a little more, really concentrating on heel push. Worked out pretty well but gassed by the time it was over.

Overall, not too bad but again it's not a walk in the park. Looking forward to getting Friday's over with so I can relax. Dull throb in left knee walking to my car, started to think maybe 40+ yr old guys shouldn't be doing Korte...

 

[anotherbutters]

Also, I heard someone called me 'gay' for using my microplates