Sheiko #37 W2D1 - Impromptu Sub-max test

3/4/13

Weight 213.2

It's week 2 of #37 and everything is going pretty well. The elbow tenderness that forced me to reverse grip on bench press is gone completely, but I will continue to bench underhand for the rest of this cycle. Squats are going extremely well, with just a small recurrence of hip flexor tightness that reverberates pain throughout my right lower back region. After hitting 90% on squats and bench in week 3 of routine #29 I decided that I need to test my maxes to see how far they have gone upward (if at all). I don't really want to mess with the program too much though and won't go for a true 1RM. Instead I'll do something I picked up from when I interned for Boston College Strength and Conditioning and do a sub-max test!

Sheiko #37 has 5x2x80% for squat and bench on day 1. Instead, I'm going to adjust this to:
1x2x80%
1x2x85%
1x2x90%
1x max reps x 90%

If I complete more than 3 reps at 90% I'm going to up my training max numbers by 10 pounds (http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html).

The results are below in video!

Squats x 5 reps (and still had 1 or 2 more in the tank, but my back was yelling at me)

Bench Press x 5 reps

Eggplant fritters, Ensalada a la almoraina, Ensalada piparrada, Chicken Tagine with Eggplant, Olives and Raisins

Today's dinner was a birthday party for a family friend. Unique challenge is that she doesn't eat beef or pork! I've been feeling like making a return to Mediterranean/North African cuisine so I collected a few recipes out of a Spanish cookbook (Food and Wines of Spain by Penelope Casas) and looked up some Moroccan recipes online.

Eggplant fritters
Ensalada a la almoraina
Chicken tagine with eggplant, olives and raisins
Couscous with sliced almonds
Ensalada piparrada

 Eggplant fritters

1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced across thinly
Flour for dredging
1 egg beaten, milk added
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Honey and dates for dressing

First arrange the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Mix the flour and salt and pepper together. Dip the sliced eggplant in the egg and milk mixture, then lightly dredge in seasoned flour. Fry in hot oil until crispy brown. Remove from oil and place over paper towels to drain. Dress with honey and dates.

Ensalada a la almoraina

1 head of escarole
3 roma tomatoes, cleaned and diced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted (dry pan over medium heat for about 3 minutes)
Oil cured black olives
Soft-boiled eggs, 1 per person

Blend the tomatoes, garlic and half of the olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Add the rest of the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to mixture and blend again. Arrange the leaves of escarole on each dish and speckle with olives. Spoon dressing over the leaves and sprinkle toasted cumin seeds. Top with the soft-boiled egg and serve.

Chicken tagine

3 pounds chicken quarters, skin removed
2 large eggplants, cut in to 1" cubes
2 red onions, sliced thinly
1.5 cup Spanish olives with pimento
1 cup raisins
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup water
2 tbsp Spanish paprika
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tbsp cloves
1/2 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped finely
bunch of fresh flat leaf (Italian) parsley. chopped finely
Butter for frying

Place the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with salt, let sit for at least 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry with paper towel. Preheat oven to 300 (I like making stews in the oven rather than stove top). Take half of the spice mix and rub over chicken quarters. Heat butter in a dutch oven. Brown all sides of the chicken over medium-high heat then remove and set aside. Add onions and fry for 5-10 minutes. Add minced garlic and continue to fry for additional 5 minutes. Add eggplant, olives and raisins and continue to cook. Add water and bring to boil. Add remaining spices, cilantro and parsley, stir well, then add chicken. Cover and place in oven, cook for 30 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered or until the liquid has taken a thicker consistency.

Couscous
2 cups broken wheat (I prefer the texture of broken wheat to couscous)
4 cups water
dash of salt
1/2 cup of sliced almonds
2 tbsp butter

Add the water, wheat and salt to pot and bring to boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat and cover. After all the liquid has been absorbed and wheat is al dente, add butter and almonds and mix well. Let stand partially covered for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Ensalada piparrada
1 English cucumber, diced
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1 large green bell pepper, cut to 1/2" pieces
1 red onion, diced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together well and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Sheiko #29 Recap

So here is the end of Sheiko routine #29, just finished week 4 on Friday evening. The reason I wanted to try Sheiko training is because I wanted to perfect my technique on the three competition lifts and I have to say that the routine is providing a means to achieve this goal. I also needed to periodize my training so that I don't hurt myself going for maxes every week because I'm bad at keeping a leash on myself O:-

The program has definitely been a challenge both physically and mentally. The repetitive nature of the workouts and amount of work done on squats and deadlifts is enough to drive many people away, and with some of the lifts clocking in at over 2 hours my mental fortitude has been tested. Also having to squat while exhausted has been an interesting and torturous task. However, I feel more confident with my lifts and am looking forward to starting the second phase of training  tomorrow.

The next step is Sheiko #37, which is very similar to #29 except there is a 10% increase in volume across the board. If you complete 29 you will do 981 lifts combining bench, squat and deadlift. In 37 that number goes up to 1110. In addition I'm going to add in 2x3x90% in week 2, and 2x2x95% in week 4. If I can get more than 3 reps in week 2 or more than 2 reps in week 4, I'm going to increase my maxes. Trying to outperform the reps allows me to test if I have made any improvements without actually having to max out. Also, elbow problems in my right arm are frustrating the hell out of me. I'm dropping my max down 25 pounds and switching over to reverse grip for the next phase to see if this will help as the pain is only when my hands are turned over (pronated).

So here's wishing for the best - 12 weeks out from the next meet!

Pot-eu-feu - Sunday Dinner 2/17/13

Today was a cold and dreary February day, a perfect setting for a classic French one-pot meal! Pot-eu-feu is a traditional boiled dinner made with various cuts of meat and vegetables. Put together a basic charcuterie (mixed olives, white wine salami, cornichons with grainy mustard, and French bread with seasoned marrow) for appetizer and a roasted beet and arugula salad to complete the meal.

Pot-eu-feu

3 pounds beef chuck roast
1.5 pounds beef brisket
3 pounds oxtail
1 pound beef neck bones
1 chicken quartered
10 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
10 red potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 large white turnips, peeled and quartered
8 stalks celery, cut in chunks
3 large yellow onions, 1 cut in half with skin still on, 2 peeled and quartered
3 leeks, trimmed and split
1 green cabbage, rinsed and quartered
10 quarts water
12 whole cloves
1 head garlic, cut across
4 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons black pepper
6 bay leaves

First place the meats in a large stockpot. Bones and oxtail on the bottom, followed by the chuck roast and brisket, then with chicken quarters. Cover with cool water and bring to boil over high heat.  As the water comes to boil, scummy foam will collect at the surface. Use a fine wire strainer to skim the foam off and discard. Lower the heat and continue to boil gently for about 20 minutes. Stud the two onion halves with the cloves and add to pot once water has been skimmed clear.

Cover pot except for about an inch opening, and allow to cook until meats are tender - about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. In the meantime prepare the vegetables.

Once the meats are done remove from the pot and place in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil, or something else to keep warm. I put it in the oven on 160 degrees to keep warm while the veggies were cooking. Next add all of the vegetables to the stockpot and bring back to boil. Reduce heat to cook gently for about 40 minutes.

Once the preparations were finished I served the broth with vegetables as a first course, followed by the meats with grainy mustard and cornichons as a second.

Sheiko Experiment Part I - #29 W1D1

Ouch. That is all I have to say about what transpired in my first Sheiko workout.

Boris, I'm sorry that I doubted you, just don't hurt me - ok? Boris? ..............

Bench Press -all reps paused
1x5x205
2x4x245
2x3x285
3x5x305

Squat - all reps paused
1x5x265
2x5x315
5x5x370

Close Grip Bench Press - all reps paused
1x5x205
1x5x245
4x4x285

Dumbbell Fly
5x10x60's

Standing Good Morning
5x5x225

Duration: 1hr 45m

When I printed off the "beginner" Sheiko workout #29 I looked at the numbers and, like many before me, said to myself that this would be quite easy and I'm not sure if I would feel anything. Boy was I wrong! I did not touch higher than 75% of my max on bench or squat and my body is so freaking sore today I can hardly believe it. Thank you smolov (Manhaven Project) for giving me a heads up. I assumed that the "accumulation of volume" would be felt after a few weeks, not the first workout! I'm sure that this is a sign of things to come and it most certainly will only get harder as the weeks progress. I can do this. I can do this.

Sunday Dinner 1/27/13 - Piccata!

1/27/13

Pork piccata
Spaghetti with lemon cream sauce
Insalata Suzanne

No pictures today! My computer died last week and I'm waiting for a replacement, actually I'm getting an upgrade for the first time in 8 years!

Pork Piccata

3lbs center cut pork loin, sliced thinly and pounded flat
1 white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
High quality olive oil
1 cup sherry
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup capers
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped roughly
Salt and pepper
flour for dredging
butter for frying

At the grocery store I picked out a 3 pound center cut pork loin roast and asked the butcher to cut it in to 1/2 inch chops and run it through the cube machine twice. The cube machine is an apparatus that tenderizes the meat by running it through two gear-like blades, and the result is often the famous "cube steak." Most of the time these steaks come from tough cuts of meat and are therefore run through the machine several times. With small chops or a more delicate cut of meat one or two times through is more than satisfactory, and it saves you the trouble of pounding the meat flat at home.
First mix some all purpose flour with salt and pepper to dredge the chops in.  Next heat a mixture of olive oil and butter in a frying pan. Dredge the chops one by one and fry, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm. Once all of the meat is cooked scrape out any burned bits of food from the pan, but try to leave anything brown - that will enhance the flavor of the piccata sauce. I added a bit more olive oil for frying, then added the diced onion and garlic. That will deglaze the pan, and allow the onion to fry for 5-10 minutes. Next add the wine and allow to reduce down for an additional 5-10 minutes. After the contents of the pan has achieved a creamy consistency add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, chopped parsley and capers. Cook briefly, about 5 minutes, cover and remove from heat.

Spaghetti with lemon cream sauce
1 lb spaghetti
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup high quality olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

I love this sauce, it is the second time I have made it this year. So easy!

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest and set aside while pasta is cooking. Grate cheese and add salt and pepper. Once pasta is done cooking, drain and add back in to pot. Next add the liquid mixture, cheese, and heavy cream in to the pot and mix very well with the pasta. Allow to sit, covered for a few minutes to allow sauce to thicken and stick to pasta. If sauce is too thin, you can always reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water to add back in, the starch will thicken nicely.

Insalata Suzanna

Mixed greens
Hot house tomato, sliced
red wine vinegar
high quality olive oil
salt and pepper
shaved parmigiano reggiano

A throwback! Louisville favorite. Just a plain mixed green salad :)

Smolov Conclusion - Skills Test

1/25/13

Weight - 209

Today was an extremely busy work day, had clients running back to back from morning to night. Didn't eat a thing prior to working out, but still felt really good going in to this mock meet. I decided to max out bench press and deadlift as well as the squat so I had accurate numbers for my next phase of training. It was a successful session, and a great ending to the Smolov Experiment.

Squat - 525, which is a 25 pound beltless raw personal record

Bench - 405, went up semi-easily and very acceptable within the context of not having pressed at all for the last 6 weeks. Elbow felt good as well.

Deadlift - 585, also beltless PR

Now that I have these numbers I will be using them for training percentages, with the next step being the Sheiko Experiment (http://www.manhavenproject.com/sheiko-training-plan/)! Boris Sheiko is a Russian powerlifting coach who has come to fame by bringing elite competitors to the international stage regularly over the past 20 years. Sheiko wrote a book on powerlifting and also released a number of meticulously designed programs that he has used to prepare a number of lifters of varying skill. I will begin #29, which is an introduction to his training regimens, which could be summed up by one word - Volume. This will be a great deviation from anything I have done in the past 6 years as a powerlifter. My training in the past has been heavily influenced by powerlifting and strength coach guru Louie Simmons (Westside Barbell Club) and Ivan Abadjiev (Bulgarian national olympic weightlifting coach) and manifested by my frequent use of Intensity (High load, >85% of an absolute 1 rep max) during training sessions. As I developed this style granted me great results, and I broke personal records left and right for several years.

Since my injury in 2008 I have had substantial difficulty in maintaining this style of lifting for extended periods of time without incurring injury in some point or another.  This is what leads me to the Sheiko experiment. Sheiko uses a variety of sub-maximal loads (50-85% of true one rep max) with differing set-and-rep prescriptions to stimulate the body without exposing it to such high loads that injury is a high risk. Another characteristic of this training is that each training day is a whole body lift and the competition lifts comprise the bulk of the program. That means every day there will be squatting, bench pressing and deadlifting with room for little else. The repetitive nature is similar to Smolov in that the body must accustom itself to these movements and become very efficient. At least, that is the idea.... Several elite American lifters (Wade Hooper, Eric Talmant) have used these workouts as the basis for their success and I am willing to give it a try - just to see what happens.

Oh and by the way, I've picked a new meet. Actually two. The first is the Orange County Powerlifting Championships on May 17 in Pine Bush, New York and is a USAPL sanctioned meet. USAPL (USA Powerlifting) is one of the most accredited powerlifting organizations in the country, and this will be my first time lifting for them. The second meet is the Vermont Powerlifting Championships in November sponsored by 100% Raw Powerlifting.

Cheers!