How sytennison un-plateaued himself [Archive] - Page 4

Stenn

03-19-2008, 06:50 PM

Hmmm, I guess I have been doing barbell presses as opposed to military then.

I guess in the end the BB presses are really a good exercise also... so maybe I shoudln't be too concerned. I must admit that I feel compelled to do some "real" military work now!

I've never tried military presses and couldn't tell you what their advantages or disadvantages would be. I'd guess, however, that the stricter form of the mil press would reduce the amount of weight a person could lift.

One problem with the regular press occurrs when folks use too much layback causing an overhead press to turn into something more like a standing bench press as the lifter tries to recruit the pecs (been there, done that). According to Rippetoe, the layback problem caused the press to be taken out of the Olympics because it became too difficult to judge "increasingly weird presses." Excessive layback is great for lifting lots of weight, but not so great if your intention was to work the delts.

dartol

03-19-2008, 08:47 PM

Yeah, OK, T-bar, Pendlay, or dumbell rows will work for me. Just don't make me do barbell rows! :)

Awww, why do you hate them so much? Remember when I was getting frustrated at a stall around 100 lbs? I am doing 135 with ease now. :D

Hmmm, I guess I have been doing barbell presses as opposed to military then.

I guess in the end the BB presses are really a good exercise also... so maybe I shoudln't be too concerned. I must admit that I feel compelled to do some "real" military work now!

Read Rippetoe's chapter on the press, he seems to get insulted when someone calls a regular press a 'military press'... hehe

Darren

Stenn

03-20-2008, 06:45 AM

Awww, why do you hate them so much? Remember when I was getting frustrated at a stall around 100 lbs? I am doing 135 with ease now. :D

The barbell row is one of those exercises I avoid because it messes with my elbows. Pendlay rows work OK for me which makes me wonder what's the difference? It could be that setting the bar on the floor between reps keeps me from accidentally hyperextending my elbows with a lot of weight hanging off of them.

The other thing I hate about barbell rows (and most other rows) is the ill-defined reps. You can say that a rep is good only if it touches the chest, but what about that rep that came to within an inch of the chest? I gotta count that one, it was so close! And if I pull like a sonofabitch and only get to within three inches, that's gotta count too, right? Eventually, my desire for reps and weight increases has me counting crap that only comes up half-way or reporting reps as "good reps" and "weenie reps". If I get 8 weenie reps in a set, can I increase the weight for next time? I dunno, gotta call my lawyer.

Blah!

There's no such problem on deads, squats, and benches where the rep is either good or it's on the floor, on the safety pins, or crushing the life out of your chest. No need for a laywer, failure is obvious, case closed. :D

Stenn

03-20-2008, 08:50 PM

Dartol went and rubbed my nose in his awsome SLDL numbers (no straps, no chalk, overhand grip, sheesh!) so I just had to show him up some. I'm not sure if I succeeded. Read on...

I felt low on steam this morning, probably because I forgot to have my green tea. Caffein realy makes a difference. I also ran into a problem with my lifting belt. It shrank. I used to be able to buckle it at the second to last holes but today I had to use the last holes. No matter how much I sucked in my gut and danced around like a sugarplum fairy, I just couldn't get the pins into the usual holes. Stupid belt...

BB Squat: 45x10,10 135x5 185x5 225x5 275x5 295x3,3,1
DB Bench Press: 45x10 55x5 65x5 75x4,4,4
SLDL: 135x8 185x5 225x3/5,7,6

I was a mess at squats today. My form felt like crap at both lite and heavy weights. I think the problem (other than no tea) was thinking too much. It's good to monitor one's form, but I was way too much in my head and not in tune with my body, if that makes any sense. I got 2 more reps than last time in spite of myself, but they weren't pretty. :(

I rocked on the dumbell presses getting 4,4,4 whereas last time I only got 3,2. My right side still felt flakey as hell, but my mind/muscle connection is starting to improve. I even fatigued on my left side first on one set. I'm excited! :)

Ok, now the SLDLs. Darren got 225x5 with no straps, no chalk, and an overhand grip. I didn't even get through my warmups before running to my locker to get chalk because the bar felt so damn slimey. At 225 I started with an overhand grip and only got 3 reps before I had to stop, flip a hand, and continue with an alternate grip. Oh well... I got two more sets with chalk and an alternate grip and completely fried my lower back (in a good way.) So, I lose to Darren over the chalk and the grip, but I win on volume. Take that! :D (Uh oh, Darren's gonna go get some chalk now and kick my ass... :eek: )

dartol

03-20-2008, 10:13 PM

The barbell row is one of those exercises I avoid because it messes with my elbows. Pendlay rows work OK for me which makes me wonder what's the difference? It could be that setting the bar on the floor between reps keeps me from accidentally hyperextending my elbows with a lot of weight hanging off of them.

Ahhhh ok, elbow pain bad! I know I have to work around that from time to time. Doing alternating pullups/chinups has really helped mine it seems, since you are working both sets of forearm muscles. I know, that darn balance thing again...

The other thing I hate about barbell rows (and most other rows) is the ill-defined reps. You can say that a rep is good only if it touches the chest, but what about that rep that came to within an inch of the chest? I gotta count that one, it was so close! And if I pull like a sonofabitch and only get to within three inches, that's gotta count too, right? Eventually, my desire for reps and weight increases has me counting crap that only comes up half-way or reporting reps as "good reps" and "weenie reps". If I get 8 weenie reps in a set, can I increase the weight for next time? I dunno, gotta call my lawyer.

Blah!

There's no such problem on deads, squats, and benches where the rep is either good or it's on the floor, on the safety pins, or crushing the life out of your chest. No need for a laywer, failure is obvious, case closed.
LOL ok I get it! I have started counting if it gets close to my shirt at least! No, 8 weenie reps does not call for an increase. ;)

Dartol went and rubbed my nose in his awsome SLDL numbers (no straps, no chalk, overhand grip, sheesh!) so I just had to show him up some. I'm not sure if I succeeded. Read on...

Heheh glad I could be an inspiration! :D

I felt low on steam this morning, probably because I forgot to have my green tea. Caffein realy makes a difference. I also ran into a problem with my lifting belt. It shrank. I used to be able to buckle it at the second to last holes but today I had to use the last holes. No matter how much I sucked in my gut and danced around like a sugarplum fairy, I just couldn't get the pins into the usual holes. Stupid belt...

Weren't you just giving Mike some fat loss advice...

BB Squat: 45x10,10 135x5 185x5 225x5 275x5 295x3,3,1
DB Bench Press: 45x10 55x5 65x5 75x4,4,4
SLDL: 135x8 185x5 225x3/5,7,6

I was a mess at squats today. My form felt like crap at both lite and heavy weights. I think the problem (other than no tea) was thinking too much. It's good to monitor one's form, but I was way too much in my head and not in tune with my body, if that makes any sense. I got 2 more reps than last time in spite of myself, but they weren't pretty.

I rocked on the dumbell presses getting 4,4,4 whereas last time I only got 3,2. My right side still felt flakey as hell, but my mind/muscle connection is starting to improve. I even fatigued on my left side first on one set. I'm excited!

Ok, now the SLDLs. Darren got 225x5 with no straps, no chalk, and an overhand grip. I didn't even get through my warmups before running to my locker to get chalk because the bar felt so damn slimey. At 225 I started with an overhand grip and only got 3 reps before I had to stop, flip a hand, and continue with an alternate grip. Oh well... I got two more sets with chalk and an alternate grip and completely fried my lower back (in a good way.) So, I lose to Darren over the chalk and the grip, but I win on volume. Take that! :D (Uh oh, Darren's gonna go get some chalk now and kick my ass... :eek: )
NICE work Steve!!!
Don't worry, that grip will come up there. :) I wouldn't say you lose at all. Let me know how the low back feels tomorrow! :D

Humm, chalk you say...

Darren

Stenn

03-20-2008, 10:45 PM

Weren't you just giving Mike some fat loss advice...
Everyone's giving Mike advice on fat loss lately so I couldn't help but throw in my two cent's worth. But what does that have to do with my lifting belt shrinking? :D

NICE work Steve!!!
Don't worry, that grip will come up there. :) I wouldn't say you lose at all.
Thanks Darren. I think we're both doing well on the SLDLs. I don't know what's happening to my grip lately. I had trouble the last time I did regular deads too.

Let me know how the low back feels tomorrow! :D
Will do!

My back felt so fried after my last set that I felt like hiring someone to put away my 45's.

Humm, chalk you say...
I'm tellin' ya, it makes a WORLD of difference. Once you've tried it, you'll understand why Rippetoe says, "If you belong to a gym that doesn't allow chalk, you need to reconsider your priorities."

dartol

03-21-2008, 08:11 AM

Everyone's giving Mike advice on fat loss lately so I couldn't help but throw in my two cent's worth. But what does that have to do with my lifting belt shrinking? :D
Ah you must have put it in the DRYER! ;)

Thanks Darren. I think we're both doing well on the SLDLs. I don't know what's happening to my grip lately. I had trouble the last time I did regular deads too.

Will do!

My back felt so fried after my last set that I felt like hiring someone to put away my 45's.

I'm tellin' ya, it makes a WORLD of difference. Once you've tried it, you'll understand why Rippetoe says, "If you belong to a gym that doesn't allow chalk, you need to reconsider your priorities."

LOL you just need a young hottie to follow you around the gym, hand you your water bottle, put away your plates... :D

Well... OK maybe I am gonna have to try it. I hate seeing the mess people leave with it around the racks though. I'm sure your right, people use it for a reason. I found that just getting a better grip on the bar as described in Starting Strength really helped my bench as well. I would not have thought that. Heck, I saw someone squatting with bended wrists and wrapped thumbs the other day, I almost went over and started coaching... hehe.

Darren

Stenn

03-21-2008, 09:11 AM

LOL you just need a young hottie to follow you around the gym, hand you your water bottle, put away your plates... :D
I like the way you think. :)

I hate seeing the mess people leave with it around the racks though.
Chalk can be messy even when you're being careful. If your gym doesn't have chalk, one decent solution is to buy rock-climber's chalk which comes pre-packed in a little pouch. When you rub the pouch, chalk comes through the material and gets on your hands. You can keep the pouch in a zip-lock bag so it doesn't mess up your gym bag. You can probably get a rock-climber's chalk pouch (not the same as a chalk bag which one would hang from a climbing belt) at the climbing gym in League City.

I saw someone squatting with bended wrists and wrapped thumbs the other day, I almost went over and started coaching... hehe.
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. :) I've yet to offer advice to anyone who didn't ask for it. Remember the guy who approached me when we were squatting together? That's the way I operate. I let them initiate and then I give them the full lecture with demonstrations. :D

Stenn

03-21-2008, 07:01 PM

Let me know how the low back feels tomorrow! :D

It's tomorrow and my lower back feels pretty good. My hamstrings are starting to ache though. Sometimes I don't get DOMS until 48 hours after the workout.

dartol

03-21-2008, 07:24 PM

It's tomorrow and my lower back feels pretty good. My hamstrings are starting to ache though. Sometimes I don't get DOMS until 48 hours after the workout.

Thanks for the tip on the chalk! :)

I think DOMS is by definition second day soreness (hence 'delayed onset'), though people throw that term around a lot. Day-after soreness is more likely from lactic acid buildup (or so I have read). That's why I usually do some cardio after lifting, to burn up some lactic acid. It's funny, lactic acid is a byproduct of anerobic activity, but it is a fuel of aerobic activity. Cyclists learn to 'spin' going down hills to flush the lactic acid out of their legs that they got going up the hill. I digress... hehe

Anyway, glad you are feeling good! I am back home now, eating my cottage cheese & protein pudding. From the looks of the weather tomorrow I need to go kayaking! So I think I am gonna head down to Galveston. :)

Darren

Stenn

03-21-2008, 09:18 PM

I think DOMS is by definition second day soreness (hence 'delayed onset'), though people throw that term around a lot.

In my experience, DOMS can set in any time between 12 hours and 48 hours after a workout. After a hard legs day, my quads, hams, and glutes all get sore at different times.

From the looks of the weather tomorrow I need to go kayaking! So I think I am gonna head down to Galveston. :)

Sounds lovely. Here's what I have planned:
* Meet with plumber to fix broken sewer line behind my house.
* Finish working on my taxes.
* Change the oil in my car.
* Find my car's coolant leak.
* Pay bills

Wanna trade lives? :D

SR800

03-22-2008, 04:46 AM

Has a new mosque opened in your area? That could explain the shrinking belt, part of a much wider and more sinister conspiracy, I would be very careful :eek:

Stenn

03-22-2008, 06:51 AM

Has a new mosque opened in your area? That could explain the shrinking belt, part of a much wider and more sinister conspiracy, I would be very careful :eek:

I don't get it...

dartol

03-22-2008, 07:59 AM

In my experience, DOMS can set in any time between 12 hours and 48 hours after a workout. After a hard legs day, my quads, hams, and glutes all get sore at different times.

Sounds lovely. Here's what I have planned:
* Meet with plumber to fix broken sewer line behind my house.
* Finish working on my taxes.
* Change the oil in my car.
* Find my car's coolant leak.
* Pay bills

Wanna trade lives? :D
That does not sound like a fun Saturday. I need to finish taxes tomorrow and work on my wife's car. It probably needs rear brakes. I have most of my bills on autopay now, but I do need to check those as well. So other than the sewer thing I am almost there with ya... hehe. But the sewer thing really stinks! ;)

I don't get it...

Perhaps the terrorists are sneaking into your house at night to go through your gym bag and secretly shorten your belt... :eek:

Darren

Stenn

03-22-2008, 08:49 AM

Has a new mosque opened in your area? That could explain the shrinking belt, part of a much wider and more sinister conspiracy, I would be very careful :eek:

Oh, good grief! I've known and worked with Muslims and found them to be decent, intelligent, hard-working people who love God and America as much as any Christian. Folks shouldn't judge all Muslims based on the actions of extreemists and religious fundamentalists any more than Christians should be judged by the actions of Jim Jones or David Koresh.

I appreciate that you meant your comments to be humorous, but stuff like this bugs me. It perpetuates the notion that the world currently has an Islamic problem when instead it has a religious extreemist problem which is pretty well shared equally among Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and others.

dmangiarelli

03-22-2008, 10:18 AM

Hey bro!

I went and checked out your before picture yesterday (no homo). You have made some excellent progress! Keep up the good work ...

Stenn

03-22-2008, 01:00 PM

Hey bro!

I went and checked out your before picture yesterday (no homo). You have made some excellent progress! Keep up the good work ...

Thanks! Yes, I've come a long way from the bespectacled, hippy scarecrow of my college days.

SR800

03-22-2008, 03:25 PM

Ok then, has a new house of worship for extremist Christian, Muslim, Jews, Buddhist, Hindus, or others, opened in your area? That could explain the shrinking belt, part of a much wider and more sinister conspiracy, I would be very careful :eek: :D

Stenn

03-22-2008, 04:54 PM

Stenn

03-23-2008, 11:26 AM

I like to go to reastaurants on Superbowl Sunday because I know I won't have to wait for a table and service will be fast. I'm not that fond of crowded Easter Sunday services so I decided to hit the gym instead. To my surprise, there were quite a few of us heathens at the gym. This was a little embarassing for me because I had the worst case of bed-head I've ever had. I should have worn a hat. :(

Misc. Shoulder Warm-up
DB Bench Press: 45x10 55x5 65x5 75x5,5,5
DB Row: 75x8 85x5 90x5 95x4/1
BB Back Squat: 45x10 135x20,16,10
Leg Press Calves: 0x20 90x20 180x20,12,10

I'm getting pretty good at blasting through my shoulder warm-ups. It's just 3 exercises with 8 lb dumbells and only takes about 3-4 minutes.

I decided I wanted a PR on DB bench press and ended up getting one more rep per set at 75 than last time. Time for more weight! My right side still fatigues first, but it's getting better.

I decided to do some rows because Darren says so. :D The last time I seriously did DB rows, I got up to 90 lb. This time, 90 was easy but my grip was starting to go. I grabbed some hooks and some 95's and got 4 good reps (touching the chest) and 1 weenie rep. Clearly, something I've been doing has been working my upper back. Could it be the deadlifts? :rolleyes:

I was in the mood for some torture so I did a few sets of high-volume squats that left me feeling pumped and a little queezy.

Being a little queezy wasn't good enough so I knocked my calves around a bit on the leg press and ended up queezier. Good enough! Time for a shower and some conditioner for my hair. :)

alkell

03-23-2008, 05:53 PM

Congrats on the PB.

Bad luck about the hair ;)

Are your DB bench press weights total or each side?

Stenn

03-23-2008, 06:06 PM

Congrats on the PB.

Bad luck about the hair ;)

Are your DB bench press weights total or each side?

Thanks! Any time I mention the weight for a dumbell exercise, the weight is per dumbell. So, when I say I've done 75x5,5,5 that's me hoisting two 75 pounders into the air.

My hair is much better now. At the gym, my left side looked ok, but my right side stuck out at a right-angle to my skull. Not sexy at all...

alkell

03-23-2008, 06:48 PM

That's good strength for DB bench press, IMO anyway.

Stenn

03-23-2008, 06:52 PM

Yeah, benching 75 lb dumbells is not too far from my max barbell bench of 176 lb. It may be lite compared to others, but it feels good to me. :)

EMISGOD

03-23-2008, 07:05 PM

I was in the mood for some torture so I did a few sets of high-volume squats that left me feeling pumped and a little queezy.

My torture has been walking up and down the stairs in the townhouse here...

smitsky

03-23-2008, 08:00 PM

Yeah, benching 75 lb dumbells is not too far from my max barbell bench of 176 lb. It may be lite compared to others, but it feels good to me. :)

Any strength is good strength ;)

I just benched 281 lbs in competition. I came in 4th. The 1st place went to the #2 ranked bencher in the nation. He benched 501 lbs.

I may bench lite compared to him :D

Getsum

03-23-2008, 08:31 PM

Hi Steve. Good to see that you're still going strong man. Your workouts look good man.

Stenn

03-23-2008, 09:18 PM

My torture has been walking up and down the stairs in the townhouse here...
I know how you feel. When I'm in Ireland, the bathroom is upstairs and the kitchen is downstairs. To avoid the pain I have a choice of either starving to death or... :eek: :)

I just benched 281 lbs in competition. I came in 4th. The 1st place went to the #2 ranked bencher in the nation. He benched 501 lbs.

I may bench lite compared to him :D
Yikes! Not exactly a photo-finish, eh? :) Congratulations on your 4th place win! You bench heavy in my book.

Hi Steve. Good to see that you're still going strong man. Your workouts look good man.

Thanks! I've beeing doing the intuitive training thing lately. I keep telling myself that I'll start a regular workout soon, but as long as I keep making progress on my bench press and hit a squat or deadlift PR every now and then, I don't see why I need to.

dartol

03-24-2008, 05:40 AM

I decided to do some rows because Darren says so. :D The last time I seriously did DB rows, I got up to 90 lb. This time, 90 was easy but my grip was starting to go. I grabbed some hooks and some 95's and got 4 good reps (touching the chest) and 1 weenie rep. Clearly, something I've been doing has been working my upper back. Could it be the deadlifts? :rolleyes:

And that is a darn fine reason to do so! :D But that is some awesome rowing my friend. You strong like bull! Hehe

My hair is much better now. At the gym, my left side looked ok, but my right side stuck out at a right-angle to my skull. Not sexy at all...
:eek:

Darren

smitsky

03-24-2008, 05:42 AM

Yikes! Not exactly a photo-finish, eh? :) Congratulations on your 4th place win! You bench heavy in my book.

Thanks Man.

Let's get you there as well!

Stenn

03-24-2008, 07:18 AM

You strong like bull! Hehe
Hey, I recognize that quote. It's from Something About Mary and the speaker wasn't talking about upper back strength. :D

Let's get you there as well!
Ok!

Stenn

03-25-2008, 09:41 PM

Remember back when I worked my calves on the leg press waaaay back on Sunday morning? Well, my calf DOMS is finaly reaching its peak this Tuesday evening. Amazing! I'm walking around the house while trying not to straighten my knees. I look like some sort of primative primate. :)

I never know what I'm going to do in the gym these days. Today's workout came to me as I was falling asleep the previous evening. I thought to myself, "Bench press, press, deads! Zzzzzz..." So, I only ended up doing three exercises but they took over an hour to complete and I got a hell of a good workout from of them.

Misc. Shoulder Warm-up
DB Bench Press: 50x8 60x5 70x5 80x1,1 75x5 65x5 55x6 45x8 40x4
BB Press: 45x5 65x5 85x5 95x3 105x5,5,4
BB Deadlift: 135x5 225x5 275x5 315x5,5,5

I started out with the solid hexogonal dumbells till I hit 80 and had to use the plate-loaded ones. 80 lb on a plate-loaded dumbell looks HUGE compared to the solid ones. I only got 80 a couple of times, possibly because I was feeling intimidated. :( Still, that's a PR for me even if I only got 1 rep per set. :) My right elbow is starting to feel a little crummy. It's not tendons, I don't think. Feels more like joint stuff. I'll keep an eye on it and try to baby it. After the 80's, I drop-setted down to 40 and looked like a weenie trying to squeek out 4 reps. :rolleyes:

Last time I did presses, I got 105x5,3,3. I got 3 more reps this time. Good enough! :) I wanted 3x5 but one of my last reps got too far away from my face as it went up which took a lot out of me.

I didn't feel strong enough to shoot for a deadlift PR today so I just ramped up to 315 and went crazy. 3x5 at 315 is probably a working set volume PR for me (4,725 lb), but I'm too lazy to go back through my journal to check it. I had a hard time putting my plates away because my lower back was toast.

EMISGOD

03-25-2008, 09:43 PM

I know that feeling...lol

Being intimidated by weights still strikes me as weird after all this time, even though it still happens...lol

Stenn

03-25-2008, 09:49 PM

I know that feeling...lol

Being intimidated by weights still strikes me as weird after all this time, even though it still happens...lol

Yeah, I don't know what it is, but 160 lb of dumbells seems a lot more intimidating to me than 315 lb on a bar on the floor. Being a recently-recoverd skinny weakling doesn't help. It's like my brain is still telling me, "You can't lift that, your a computer-programming nerd for chrisakes!" :D

EMISGOD

03-25-2008, 09:53 PM

Yeah, I don't know what it is, but 160 lb of dumbells seems a lot more intimidating to me than 315 lb on a bar on the floor. Being a recently-recoverd skinny weakling doesn't help. It's like my brain is still telling me, "You can't lift that, your a computer-programming nerd for chrisakes!" :D

To get over it, I either move on to berating myself or go to the "Ronnie Coleman here we go, light weight, baby" type mental conversation, which tends to distract me enough to get the reps going... :D

I'm at a loss why it happens, though...maybe you just have to lift it over and over again before it sinks in to your mind that your body is capable...maybe some sub-conscious thing...hopefully not as that would be further (unnecessary) evidence that people who are this far into this whole thing are headcases... ;)

Stenn

03-25-2008, 10:02 PM

To get over it, I either move on to berating myself or go to the "Ronnie Coleman here we go, light weight, baby" type mental conversation, which tends to distract me enough to get the reps going... :D
LOL!

Before I deadlift, my inner dialog runs something like this: "Kill, kill, kill! Rip the bar off the floor! Rip, rip, rip! Kill, kill, kill! Here we go, AAAAARRRGG!"
That seems to help. :D
I need to work on something similar for bench press.

I'm at a loss why it happens, though...maybe you just have to lift it over and over again before it sinks in to your mind that your body is capable...maybe some sub-conscious thing...hopefully not as that would be further (unnecessary) evidence that people who are this far into this whole thing are headcases... ;)

Lifting weights is 90% half-mental (as are the people who lift them.)

jtroster

03-26-2008, 04:34 AM

Before I deadlift, my inner dialog runs something like this: "Kill, kill, kill! Rip the bar off the floor! Rip, rip, rip! Kill, kill, kill! Here we go, AAAAARRRGG!"
That seems to help. :D
You might try, "Must lift car off chest."

Stenn

03-26-2008, 06:04 AM

You might try, "Must lift car off chest."

LOL I like it! It has a sense of urgency to it.

BergMuscle

03-26-2008, 06:22 AM

Yeah, I don't know what it is, but 160 lb of dumbells seems a lot more intimidating to me than 315 lb on a bar on the floor. Being a recently-recoverd skinny weakling doesn't help. It's like my brain is still telling me, "You can't lift that, your a computer-programming nerd for chrisakes!" :D

Sometimes for me the bigger DB, especially one loaded up with plates, really gets me motivated. "Hey, I'm a strongman bodybuilder and I can handle these big boys!" (said with all the ego I can scrape up :rolleyes: ).

And switch that statement up to "a computer-programming nerd with big muscles". :D

Stenn

03-26-2008, 06:58 AM

Sometimes for me the bigger DB, especially one loaded up with plates, really gets me motivated. "Hey, I'm a strongman bodybuilder and I can handle these big boys!" (said with all the ego I can scrape up :rolleyes: ).
Oh, I admit that it's an ego-boosting thrill to hoist those big, bad boys off the rack one at a time (cuz they're heavy, dammit!) and lumping them down in front of the bench. It's only when I'm sitting with them in my lap and they're nearly touching my chin that I start to doubt my sanity. :eek:

And switch that statement up to "a computer-programming nerd with big muscles". :D
Sounds like I have some re-programming to do. :D

BergMuscle

03-26-2008, 02:25 PM

Sounds like I have some re-programming to do. :D

Now that's a good attitude! :)

Stenn

03-27-2008, 10:28 AM

I was supposed to have a workout today but I decided my time would be better spent fixing the coolant leak in my car. I'm currently waiting for some gasket pookey to cure before I can put everything back together.

I've had a couple of fun strength related experiences lately. First, I have a HUGE toolbox in the house that is full to the brim. When I need to work on my car, I have to carry this beast all the way out to the garage. In the past, it has taken two hands and multiple stops. This time, I grabbed it in one hand and walked it straight out.

Earlier, I was at the apartment complex and some lazy tenant left a lounge chair beside one of the dumpsters. I cleaned the chair to my chest, pressed it over my head, and threw it into the dumpster with a loud BOOM as it hit bottom. My business partner who was watching said, "Wow, you really are strong!" :)

dartol

03-27-2008, 07:48 PM

It is definately cool when you discover a use for your newfound strength outside the gym! :)

Darren

Stenn

03-27-2008, 08:07 PM

It is definately cool when you discover a use for your newfound strength outside the gym! :)

Yeah, and since a large part of my motivation to workout is vanity, it's especially cool when I get to show off a little. :) There was another arm chair today beside the exact same dumpster as before. I thought about pitching it like the last one but it was in such good shape I knew someone else would probably sneak it back into their apartment. :D

BergMuscle

03-27-2008, 08:43 PM

Sounds like some cool opportunities to show off your strength. Especially nice that someone else noticed and commented. Heck, that stuff can pump me up for a week! :D

Stenn

03-27-2008, 08:59 PM

Sounds like some cool opportunities to show off your strength. Especially nice that someone else noticed and commented. Heck, that stuff can pump me up for a week! :D

In addition to satisfying my vanity and stroking my ego, I had an ulterior motive with the chair throw in front of my business partner. He's very overweight and keeps telling me that he's going to join a gym and work off some fat. I'm hoping that he'll end up lifting weights rather than spending all of his time on the cardio toys.

dartol

03-28-2008, 04:29 AM

In addition to satisfying my vanity and stroking my ego, I had an ulterior motive with the chair throw in front of my business partner. He's very overweight and keeps telling me that he's going to join a gym and work off some fat. I'm hoping that he'll end up lifting weights rather than spending all of his time on the cardio toys.

Cool way to motivate! :) Now drag him in and introduce him to Mr. Squat... :D

Darren

Stenn

03-28-2008, 06:08 AM

Cool way to motivate! :) Now drag him in and introduce him to Mr. Squat... :D

I've been wanting to do that for months.

Stenn

03-28-2008, 07:14 PM

I don't know what the deal was, but I just felt like crap this morning. I even felt a little nauseous during breakfast. I didn't want to go to the gym at all but drug my ass in anyway promising myself that I'd take it easy and I did, for the most part.

I had an interesting thing happen. I finished my last set of heavy DB bench presses and started to get up to put down my dumbells. At that same time, a personal trainer walked in front of me to put her client's 25's back on the rack in front of me. I was too exhausted to do anything fancy to avoid clobbering her and ended up letting my 75's down onto my lap where they commenced to crush Mr. Dongo and the coconut twins. :eek: I decided that was a poor alternative to clobbering the trainer so I dropped the dumbells off to the side onto the floor with a loud thud. The trainer went on her way seemingly without noticing that anything had gone wrong. I sat on the bench for a while waiting to feel normal again and considered my alternatives. I wanted to yell at somebody. :mad: When the trainer was done with her client, I calmly approached her and discussed the safety issue in which we were involved. She acknowledged the problem, admitted her mistake, and appologized. I wish she had appologized in the moment, but having her say, "Yeah, and you were lifting some very heavy weights too. " mostly made up for that oversight. :)

Anyway...

Cardio: Elliptical 6 minutes
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
DB Bench Press: 50x10 60x5 70x5 80x1,1 75x4,2
WG Pullup: BWx9,5,3
Dip: BWx12,12,6

I got the same number of reps at 80 as last time. I think I need to back off to 75 and see if I can get 3x5 before moving on. I learned that if I angle dumbells into more of a hammer grip (about 45 degrees each) that they bother my elbows less. That's good because my elbows are starting to grumble at me about all the heavy DB work I've been doing lately.

I felt really good on the wide-grip pullups and liked what I saw in the mirror as did them.

I'm not sure if I've ever done two whole sets of 12 dips in a row like that before. Cool! :cool:

BergMuscle

03-28-2008, 07:20 PM

Nothing lame about the lifting, but that was a p*sser what happened with the trainer. At least she appologized, but that don't heal where you hurt. :(

dartol

03-28-2008, 07:38 PM

ended up letting my 75's down onto my lap where they commenced to crush Mr. Dongo and the coconut twins. :eek:

DOH!!! And she didn't offer to kiss the booboo?

Darren

Stenn

03-28-2008, 08:19 PM

Nothing lame about the lifting, but that was a p*sser what happened with the trainer. At least she appologized, but that don't heal where you hurt. :(
I felt like the session was kinda lame because I only did 3 exercises after my warmup and two of them were bodyweight exercises. I've got this crazy notion that unless I leave the gym half-dead from exertion and exaustion that I didn't get my money's-worth. :rolleyes:

DOH!!! And she didn't offer to kiss the booboo?
LOL! Ya know, for a personal trainer, she wasn't that attractive. All I wanted from her was tha she learn to pay attention and to stay the feck away from folks who are lifting heavy weights.

This raises an issue that I have with Houston Gym. I have yet to run into other heavy lifters in the gym so I feel a little out of place. Also, it seems like about half of the folks in the gym are accompanied by a personal trainer. It just seems like there are a whole lot of people in the gym not doing much of anything. The gym proudly displays dozens of trophys and pictures of bodybuilding competitors, but I've yet to run into them except for the occasional female fittness model. I miss the astmosphere of my gym in Ireland where deadlifters and squatters are commonplace and trainers are rare.

Stenn

03-29-2008, 01:36 PM

I was out at the apartment complex yesterday. A contractor and I were inspecting some balcony repairs we had done last year when we noticed a momma dog and four or five puppies pouring through a break in our new wooden fence. We watched as the dogs raced down the back of the property.

"Are those pit bulls?" I asked the contractor.
"They sure are." he replied nervously.

One of our tenants, a middle-aged Indian woman dressed in a beautiful blue sari, walked out of her apartment toward her car but was intercepted by the bitch who started circling her, lunging and barking at her all within just a foot or two. The woman was terrified. It didn't look good...

I stomped my feet on the ground and yelled at the bitch who, as I had hoped, diverted her attention to me and then sorta wandered in the general direction of the hole in the fence where her pups were meandering. I wanted her back through the hole so I hollerd some more and stomped my feet taking a couple of steps in her direction. She didn't care for that and came bolting back toward me at a run, barking like mad, and ready for action. I stood my ground, bared my teeth, yelled, and raise my booted foot up between me and her. If she wanted to tangle, she was going to get a face full of boot before anything else.

She chose not to engage and backed off slowly before her owner started calling her and the pups back through the hole in the fence. The bitch went to her pups on the other side of the fence. I climbed up the fence and had a short heart-to-heart talk with the owner to let him know how serious I was about not having his dogs on my property. Later that day our maintenance guys fixed the hole in the fence which, according to witnesses, was created by kids on the owner's side.

Facing down a full-grown female pit bull with pups may not have been the smartest thing to do, but my resident got away safely (no lawsuit) and I don't have to worry about my testosterone levels being too low anymore. :D

EMISGOD

03-29-2008, 01:42 PM

Facing down a full-grown female pit bull with pups may not have been the smartest thing to do, but my resident got away safely (no lawsuit) and I don't have to worry about my testosterone levels being too low anymore. :D

LOL...such fun you have...

Not sure on the test levels, but you definitely should not have to worry about whether the adrenaline levels are available... :D

Stenn

03-30-2008, 12:01 PM

I got motivated by Emisgod's adoption of timed sets of squats so I bought a stopwatch and came to the gym ready for a little experimenting.

During my workout among the usual "I don't want to get too big" crowd, I noticed that there was one other person in the gym who was lifting heavy. The odd part, though, was that he was working out in jeans and carried his gym bag wherever he went. Perhaps he was squeezing in a workout between appointments?

I'm still mulling over my squat form and I think I may have gotten a clue today. My knees looked too far forward. Although Rippetoe doesn't see this as much of a threat to the knees, it is symptomatic of a problem that limits hip drive. I'll have to do more research...

BB Back Squat: 45x10 95x6,5 135x5
BB Back Squat: 135x60s (26 reps)
BB Back Squat: 135x60s (19 reps)
BB Back Squat: 135x40s (10 reps)
BB Bench Press: 45x15 95x5 135x14,7,5
DB Bent-Over Row: 50x5 70x5 90x5 110x3
DB Shrug: 110x8,8,3
Dip: BWx16,8,8

I wanted to go over 1 minute on squats but I failed to pace myself and was pooped after just 45 seconds. I think I got about 20 reps in my first 30 seconds and 6 reps in the final 30. :rolleyes: I probably could have continued but decided that my pace was rediculously slow and to rest instead. I got a second set of 60 seconds and a third of just 40. Whew! Good enough!

To be kind to my elbows, I decided to do high-rep bench press instead of heavy dumbells. 135 was fun for squats, so I stuck with it for the bench press and put on a pretty good show. I was realy feeling it in my chest, although more on the left side than on the right.

135 lb dumbell rows were out of the question. :D I ramped up to 90 lb and wanted to try 100 next but they were missing. Someone must have walked out with them in their gym bag. I had to skip all the way to 110 and could only get three weenie reps per side.

Just to show the 110's who was boss, I used them for shrugs and got two sets with straps and a short set without.

I got more dips today than I think I have ever gotten in a single set or session. Cool. :cool:

alkell

03-30-2008, 01:23 PM

Make sure you show those weight's who's boss ;)

EMISGOD

03-30-2008, 01:41 PM

I wanted to go over 1 minute on squats but I failed to pace myself and was pooped after just 45 seconds. I think I got about 20 reps in my first 30 seconds and 6 reps in the final 30. :rolleyes: I probably could have continued but decided that my pace was rediculously slow and to rest instead. I got a second set of 60 seconds and a third of just 40. Whew! Good enough!

The pacing is interesting and something I discussed at more length in the AMP2 Log...I'm usually well over the minute mark before I start to feel gassed, but the pacing stays relatively the same. It averaged out to about 4 seconds per rep, though I'm not sure if that is an appropriate speed or not, since Squats are not something I've used beyond Warm-ups for a very long time...I think the upper time limits in the article are intriguing and I'm curious just how close I can get before I stall out.

A friend of mine that trained at the same gym as me long ago used to have a certain number of reps he would do in a minute and a half. As soon as it got too easy, he would up the weights. I thought that was an interesting (though somewhat useless) way to train and so I throw it in here and there to break the monotony and kind of change things up from time to time.

Stenn

03-30-2008, 05:05 PM

Make sure you show those weight's who's boss ;)
:D

The pacing is interesting and something I discussed at more length in the AMP2 Log...I'm usually well over the minute mark before I start to feel gassed, but the pacing stays relatively the same. It averaged out to about 4 seconds per rep, though I'm not sure if that is an appropriate speed or not...
Four seconds per rep (15 reps per minute) sounds like a good pace to me.

EMISGOD

03-30-2008, 06:15 PM

Four seconds per rep (15 reps per minute) sounds like a good pace to me.

I'm really curious to see if that will hold in the coming couple of weeks...

Stenn

04-03-2008, 09:29 AM

I missed a workout because of work. :( That left me well-rested and ready for some new PRs. :)

I finaly saw some big guys at the gym this morning. One of them was Bruce the trainer. We sat around and talked after my last set of dumbell presses. Bruce is a friendly guy and likes to talk. One of the things we talked about was how goofy it was that so many folks come to the gym and just hang around talking. :rolleyes: We also talked about elbow pain and Bruce recommended a supplement called Liquid Joint Replacement that I'll have to look into. I won't get any now because I'm about to leave for Ireland and would rather not try to sneak sups through customs.

I wore a pair of soft cotton warm-up pants pants to the gym in anticipation of some deadlifting fun. I had an eentsie-weentsie scab on my right shin from the last time I did SLDL's and I was hoping the pants would protect it. No dice. During my set of 315 I could see in the mirror a large dark stain forming on my right pants leg. Oh well. When you've got over 300 pounds on the bar, a little blood is the least of one's worries.

Misc. Shoulder Warm-Up
DB Bench Press: 50x10 60x5 70x5 80x3 75x5,4,3
BB Deadlift: 135x8 225x5 275x5 315x5 365x2
Dip: BWx15,10,6

I think I mentioned before something about dropping back to 75 lb on the dumbell bench press, but I was feeling good and cocky this morning so I gave the 80's a try again. Last two times I tried the 80's I only got two sets of one rep each. :eek: This time I got one set of 3. Hot dog, I'm glad I tried the 80's! I then dropped back to 75 and got three good heavy sets.

I was a deadlifting machine today. I had a can-do attitude and my form was perfect. All of my warm-up reps popped up like there were springs under the plates. After the set of 315 I wondered what intermediate weight I should lift before attempting a PR at 365. Finaly I said, "Feck it!" and slapped 365 on the bar and got busy with a good, clean set of two. I thought about doing another set but, like a good gambler, I collected my winnings and moved on.

I got one less dip than last time, but I'm not complaining. Any workout with two PRs in it is good enough for me.

ectoBgone

04-03-2008, 11:19 AM

Congrats on the great workout. The missed rep on the dips isn't surprising at all given the extra energy you put into the previous parts of your workout. Nice numbers on those deadlifts!

alkell

04-03-2008, 11:36 AM

Congrats on the 2 pb's, when you go back to a weight and get extra reps it really gives you a boost in confidence doesnt it? Solid dead-lift weights too mate.

dartol

04-03-2008, 11:49 AM

I won't get any now because I'm about to leave for Ireland and would rather not try to sneak sups through customs.
...
When you've got over 300 pounds on the bar, a little blood is the least of one's worries.

Oh why not? Don't want to make the news like Sylvester Stallone? :D

Well shoot, sorry we didn't manage to get together for a workout this time! This weekend is shot for me again. My wife is training for the MS150, so I am watching the kiddo a lot lately. LOL

Congrats on the PRs, nice work!

Darren

bodyhard

04-03-2008, 11:54 AM

Misc. Shoulder Warm-Up
DB Bench Press: 50x10 60x5 70x5 80x3 75x5,4,3
BB Deadlift: 135x8 225x5 275x5 315x5 365x2
Dip: BWx15,10,6

NICE!! Killing it on the deads man!

Stenn

04-03-2008, 05:44 PM

Thanks guys! Since none of my family or real-time friends lifts the way I do, it means a lot that I get support and encouragement from y'all here in my little ol' journal.

Congrats on the great workout. The missed rep on the dips isn't surprising at all given the extra energy you put into the previous parts of your workout. Nice numbers on those deadlifts!

Thanks. Yeah, I don't worry a whole lot about my finishing exercises like dips and pullups as long as I put on a good show during my main lifts. I keep telling myself that someday I'll go into the gym and do dips first just to see how many I can really do, but it always seems like a waste of energy that I could be using for compound lifts so I don't.

Congrats on the 2 pb's, when you go back to a weight and get extra reps it really gives you a boost in confidence doesnt it? Solid dead-lift weights too mate.

Yeah, it's a great morale boost when a weight that used to intimidate me suddenly starts to cooperate with my wishes.

Oh why not? Don't want to make the news like Sylvester Stallone? :D

Well shoot, sorry we didn't manage to get together for a workout this time! This weekend is shot for me again. My wife is training for the MS150, so I am watching the kiddo a lot lately. LOL

Congrats on the PRs, nice work!

Darren

Bummer, this next weekend will be my last in Houston for a while. I'll be back in about two months so we can try again then. I wish your wife well on the MS150.

What happened to poor Rocky? I must have missed that one on the news. I was talking to a guy in Ireland who got his DHEA confiscated by customs. He told me that France has already outlawed creatine (of all things) and Ireland is considering a ban on creatine as well. What is the world coming to? Will governments start banning WPI next?

NICE!! Killing it on the deads man!

Dude, I have to in order to keep one step ahead of you for as long as I can. :)

I've got my eye on 400 and I want it real bad. Since I squatted 315, I've stopped heavy squatting for the moment to focus more on bench press and deadlifts. Those numbers keep going up so I'm a happy man. :)

jspirate

04-03-2008, 06:24 PM

I think I mentioned before something about dropping back to 75 lb on the dumbell bench press, but I was feeling good and cocky this morning so I gave the 80's a try again. Last two times I tried the 80's I only got two sets of one rep each. :eek: This time I got one set of 3. Hot dog, I'm glad I tried the 80's! I then dropped back to 75 and got three good heavy sets.

Thats awesome! I much prefer DBs, but the 5 pound increments can make increases tricky. I just can't see myself taking magnets into the gym. You just proved you don't need no stinking magnets!

Stenn

04-03-2008, 07:00 PM

Thats awesome! I much prefer DBs, but the 5 pound increments can make increases tricky. I just can't see myself taking magnets into the gym. You just proved you don't need no stinking magnets!

No magnets for me, thank you. :D

I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. With barbell bench press, I can add two 2.5 lb plates for a 5 lb increase no matter what weight I'm at. With dumbell bench press, the least I can add is 5 lb per dumbell for a total of 10 pounds. It gets worse with the heavier dumbells because they increase by 10 lb each per step for a total of a 20 lb increase. With that in mind, I may have to just live with getting only 1 rep per set for a while when I increase the weight.

dartol

04-03-2008, 07:30 PM

Bummer, this next weekend will be my last in Houston for a while. I'll be back in about two months so we can try again then. I wish your wife well on the MS150.

What happened to poor Rocky? I must have missed that one on the news. I was talking to a guy in Ireland who got his DHEA confiscated by customs. He told me that France has already outlawed creatine (of all things) and Ireland is considering a ban on creatine as well. What is the world coming to? Will governments start banning WPI next?

Well bummer, next time though! And thanks!

Rocky got busted with HGH... LOL
http://ww.tmz.com/2007/03/12/stallone-charged-with-importing-steroids-down-under/

Darren

Stenn

04-03-2008, 10:00 PM

Rocky got busted with HGH... LOL
http://ww.tmz.com/2007/03/12/stallone-charged-with-importing-steroids-down-under/

Oops! These days, I'm nervous about bringing soap and toothpaste on a trip, let alone hGH.

Stenn

04-05-2008, 10:14 AM

I went to the gym today not sure at all what I was going to do. The gym was busy as hell, but the pressing bench was free. What luck! I decided to take advantage of my good fortune by shooting for some barbell bench press progress. I just finished reading the Bench Press chapter of Starting Strength (2nd Edition) so I had plenty to think about while I was slaving away. I managed to do some good work anyway.

Misc. Shoulder Warm-Up
BB Bench Press: 45x12,12 135x5 155x5 165x5,5,5,4,3
WG Pullup: BWx8
DB Fly: 45x10,7
DB Pullover: 60x12 70x8 75x5
WG Pullup: BWx4

The main thing I focused on with bench press was keeping my chest high and my scapulae retracted. I did really well considering the last time I benched 165 I only got 5,4,2. This time I got twice as many reps. Woo hoo! :D This puts me 11 pounds shy of the PB I got a couple of months ago before my shoulders and elbows blew out on me.

No flailing on the pullups, just slow, clean reps with my elbows out and my shins crossed behind me.

I stayed slow on the flys and went to exhaustion on my sets.

Last time I did pullovers, I did 50x5 60x5 and then drug 70x5 across my face. :eek: I did much better today except that the last rep of 75 tweaked my upper-back and neck a little. I rolled around on a medicine ball to massage the muscles and feel mostly OK now.

A few more wide grip pullups and I was outta there.

EMISGOD

04-05-2008, 10:31 AM

Stenn

04-05-2008, 10:50 AM

I keep thinking about re-adding Pullovers...do you do yours declined? I normally would load up an EZ bar (even though the ones they have at the gym are ****) and get on one of the decline benches, but the bars are balanced so poorly, I found it too distracting, which is definitely NOT a bonus at the higher weights...I was debating DBs, but same problem there...extremely unbalanced ****. I'm kind of surprised there is no pullover machine...I really liked the one Hammer made...anyway, lol...back to the question...are yours flats or declines? :)

Interesting... I've never thought of doing pullovers with anything except a dumbell. I grab onto the bar with both hands at one end of the dumbell and let the other end dangle down like a pendulum just like this guy:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBPullover.html
The only difference is that I lay on the bench long-wise instead of cross-wise. I scoot back far enough that my upper back is right at the edge of the bench. My head hangs over the edge unsupported. I keep a big arch in my lower back while keeping my butt on the bench. With one dumbell and two arms supporting it, it's like 2/3 of a tripod (more like an A-frame) and feels very stable and balanced as long as both sides of the body are equally strong.

But to answer your question directly, I do my pullovers on a flat bench.

EMISGOD

04-05-2008, 11:07 AM

Interesting... I've never thought of doing pullovers with anything except a dumbell. I grab onto the bar with both hands at one end of the dumbell and let the other end dangle down like a pendulum just like this guy:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBPullover.html
The only difference is that I lay on the bench long-wise instead of cross-wise. I scoot back far enough that my upper back is right at the edge of the bench. My head hangs over the edge unsupported. I keep a big arch in my lower back while keeping my butt on the bench. With one dumbell and two arms supporting it, it's like 2/3 of a tripod (more like an A-frame) and feels very stable and balanced as long as both sides of the body are equally strong.

But to answer your question directly, I do my pullovers on a flat bench.

I've seen a few people doing those...I tried that a couple times, just to see why those people were using it, but didn't like it very well overall, so I went back to the other way. I used to do mine on a flat bench with double DBs (more often the EZ bar), but it takes decently balanced DBs to do those. Mine on flats were more like a French Press, I guess, in terms of starting position, then lower and go to a Pullover maneuver...since I've moved to a gym that actually has then, I use the decline benches for this pretty exclusively...

Stenn

04-08-2008, 10:17 AM

I felt pretty crappy this morning and didn't want to go into the gym and then I read about BodyHard's visit to the doctor with his squat photo. That got me out the door and into the gym. Still, I thought about doing a lite workout and calling it a day. I strolled over to the treadmills to warm up and they were all busy except for the two on the end. Those were broken. I started to get angry and decided, feckit, if I can't do cardio to warm up, I'll do squatio. And that's when the fun started. :)

Treadmill: None! Bah! :(
BB Back Squat: 45x10,10 95x5 135x5 185x5 225x5 275x3 315x3
BB Press: 45x10 95x5 115x5,5,5
Leg Press: 90x8 180x8 270x5 360x5 450x5 540x2

The last time I tried for a squat PR was on 2/23. I got 315x0. That's right, zero, zip, nadda! Before that I got 315x1. :rolleyes: It's been a month and a half since I attempted a squat PR and even longer since squatting 315 so of course I just had to blow away my past record by getting 3 solid reps. Woo Hoo! :D I failed on the 4th rep but I didn't care. I sat on the bar and clapped my hands with glee. On-lookers probably thought I was nuts.

I was psyched up by my squat success and decided to throw 10 lb more than last time onto the bar for overhead presses and ended up getting one more rep than I got at the lighter weight. Woo hoo! :D

I had to get myself onto the leg press to burn up some energy. I had heard that a narrow stance would help me to build my inner quads which need help. I started lite because this was a new stance for me. I usually leg press with the same stance as my squats. I found that my, uh, torso (yeah, that's the ticket) got in the way of my massive quads at the bottom so I had to limit my range of motion to keep from squeezing my breakfast out like a tube of toothpaste. On my 1st rep at 540 I felt a short, sharp pain from the rib I injured a couple of months ago as I failed to properly limit my range of motion with the heavy weight. Oops! :eek: I tried a second rep and did better, but the rib still hurt so I racked the weight, put away all 12 plates, tucked tail between my legs and headed for home. Still, I'm calling this one heck of a workout. Woo hoo!

alkell

04-08-2008, 04:20 PM

Lol, I like reading your journal, a bit of fun as well as some good lifting :)

Stenn

04-08-2008, 04:57 PM

Lol, I like reading your journal, a bit of fun as well as some good lifting :)

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy it. I like writing and telling stories so this journal is a good creative outlet for me. I also try to keep my tabulated workout in one, easy to find block for those who want to skip the crap and focus on the numbers.

SR800

04-09-2008, 06:05 PM

Great squat increase. My goal for this year is 1 rep of 300!

bodyhard

04-09-2008, 08:36 PM

dartol

04-09-2008, 10:26 PM

Wow, increases all over the place in here holy cow! Awesome work Steve!

On the leg press I think you have that backwards though... wide stance stretches the inner quads more so I think that works them harder. I remember something in Starting Strength about wider position on squats for that reason. Or am I all screwed up? I just remember that the more something is stretched, the more it contributes to a lift.

I definately need to focus on working my inner quads too, or more specifically the 'VMO' or teardrop on the inner front. Since my kneecaps want to go outward, or at least the one that has not been surgically corrected, keeping those guys strong will help keep me from having knee issues says the doc.

You are sure gonna impress the Irishmen when you head back over!

Darren

Stenn

04-10-2008, 11:54 AM

Great squat increase. My goal for this year is 1 rep of 300!
I look forward to it! Breaking 300 is a big deal.

Glad I could motivate you dude! Nice leg workout! Strong..
Thanks, man!

Stenn

04-10-2008, 12:11 PM

Wow, increases all over the place in here holy cow! Awesome work Steve!
Thanks, buddy! I just keep on lifting and the weights keep on going up. Fun stuff!

On the leg press I think you have that backwards though... wide stance stretches the inner quads more so I think that works them harder. I remember something in Starting Strength about wider position on squats for that reason. Or am I all screwed up?
Maybe... :D

In SS, Rippetoe talks about how a wide squat stance engages the adductors so that they help in the lift. That's probably what you're thinking of. I was trying to hit my inner quads which seem much less developed than the rest of my legs. I heard someone say once that a narrow stance would do the trick. I don't know if that's true or not. I know that a narrow stance will engage the quads more because the adductors can no longer help, but I don't know if it favors one quad muscle any more than another.

I definately need to focus on working my inner quads too, or more specifically the 'VMO' or teardrop on the inner front. Since my kneecaps want to go outward, or at least the one that has not been surgically corrected, keeping those guys strong will help keep me from having knee issues says the doc.
Sounds like squats, front squats, leg press, and leg extension should do the trick. Hit 'em hard and hit 'em often and you can have all the quads you want.

You are sure gonna impress the Irishmen when you head back over!
I doubt it. When I get back to Galway City Gym, I'm sure that Clem and Mel will still kick my ass. :D

Stenn

04-10-2008, 12:17 PM

I usually leg press with the same stance as my squats. I found that my, uh, torso (yeah, that's the ticket) got in the way of my massive quads at the bottom so I had to limit my range of motion to keep from squeezing my breakfast out like a tube of toothpaste. On my 1st rep at 540 I felt a short, sharp pain from the rib I injured a couple of months ago as I failed to properly limit my range of motion with the heavy weight. Oops! :eek:
Well, I'm sad to say that my lower left rib is back to hurting every bit as much as it did right after I jammed it with my belt during rack deads a couple of months ago. The pain is not bad during the day, but it gets worse at night when I'm trying to sleep on it. I'm bummed.... :( Still, I got it most of the way healed once, I can do it again. I just need to be careful of all narrow stance work and, of course, lose the belt during any and all deadlifts.

Stenn

04-10-2008, 12:19 PM

Speaking of Ireland, I'm getting on a plane around noon tomorrow to go back for a couple more months. So, I'll be out of touch for a while till I get my European legs back under me and get out to the gym. See y'all in a few days!

jspirate

04-10-2008, 03:58 PM

EMISGOD

04-10-2008, 04:32 PM

Have a good flight, man!

Stenn

04-10-2008, 04:52 PM

Nice! I envy you :)

We will see ya when we see ya :)

Have a good flight, man!
Thanks guys. I'll give a full report when I'm back in Ireland. Getting there may be tricky, though. I'm one of those unfortunate souls whose American Airlines flight got cancelled because of the whole MD-80, FAA violation thingy. I'm on the phone with Travelocity right now trying to get an alternate flight. Wish me luck...

EMISGOD

04-10-2008, 04:56 PM

Thanks guys. I'll give a full report when I'm back in Ireland. Getting there may be tricky, though. I'm one of those unfortunate souls whose American Airlines flight got cancelled because of the whole MD-80, FAA violation thingy. I'm on the phone with Travelocity right now trying to get an alternate flight. Wish me luck...

Good luck, man...I think I'm going for 3:00 tomorrow... :eek:

Stenn

04-12-2008, 10:49 AM

Still no flight to Ireland yet. I keep calling Travelocity and they keep telling me they're working on it. The good news is that I probably won't have to pay any extra money to take a later flight. I decided to sneak in a workout while I'm waiting for my turn to cross the Atlantic on an FAA-approved plane.

The gym was a zoo this morning. I hate working out on Saturdays and almost turned around and left when I saw that there was no room to workout near the dumbells. I stood by a wall and watched the mayhem when I noticed a guy leaving the bench press bench. I jumped on it even though I wasn't planning to do BB bench press today. Eventually a regular flat bench opened up and I was in business.

BB Bench Press: 45x20,15
Some DB Bench Press: 55x8 65x5 75x3 80x3,2
More DB Bench Press: 70x3 60x5 55x3 45x5 55x3 45x5 40x5 35x5 30x9
DB Row: 50x8 60x6 70x5 80x5 90x5 95x4/1
Dip: BWx12,7,5

I started out on BB bench press mostly to waste time and warm up till a space opened up in front of the dumbells. Once the lady with the 3 lb medicine ball and her trainer left, I made my move leaving the BB bench press bench for another guy so he could do his concentration curls. :rolleyes:

Once on dumbells, I quickly ramped up to my old max of 80 and squeezed out 3 and 2. Last time I only got 3 and gave up. Sounds like progress to me! :D My right side felt MUCH weaker than my left side and my rib hurt enough to make it hard to take a deep beath. In fact, I spent this whole workout without taking a single, proper, deep breath. Not fun... :(

I hated to leave the bench because there was no telling when I'd find another piece of useful equipment. I decided to do dumell bench press drop sets to exhaustion. I reduced the weight depending on my last set and tried to keep things moving fairly quickly. I only rested long enough to put away the dumbells, get my next pair, and log my numbers. This is the sweatiest I've ever gotten from just doing dumbell bench press work. Fun stuff! When I hit 30 I started feeling silly and quit.

Still keeping the bench, I moved onto dumbell rows. My gym is missing their 100 lb dumbells so I maxed out at 95 instead of jumping to 110 like I did last time. I got in four good reps (touching the chest) and one weenie rep (not quite touching the chest.) No straps this time. My rib hurt like a son-of-a-bitch during these, but it didn't seem to hurt any more as my weight increased which I took as a sign that I should lift more weight. :D

Half-way through my rows, my business partner called to say he needed my help. I needed to wrap things up so I toddled over to the dip station and blasted away every last bit of chest, tricep, and shoulder that still functioned. Good enough!

Getsum

04-12-2008, 11:13 AM

Hey Steve, just dropping by to say hi. My gym is jam packed on Saturday mornings as well but it's a ghost town Saturday night. Keep up the good work man and have a good trip.

dartol

04-12-2008, 02:11 PM

Hey Steve, I hope they get your flight thing worked out soon and you have a good trip. Looks like you managed to squeeze in a good workout, that is always good!

Soon, the waves of people will part before you as you walk into the gym... ;)

Darren

Stenn

04-12-2008, 07:34 PM

Hey Steve, just dropping by to say hi. My gym is jam packed on Saturday mornings as well but it's a ghost town Saturday night. Keep up the good work man and have a good trip.
Thanks! Hmm... Saturday night you say? I'll have to remember that. I kinda like gost towns.

Soon, the waves of people will part before you as you walk into the gym... ;)
Only when I eat beans.

dartol

04-12-2008, 07:43 PM

Only when I eat beans.

DOH!

Darren

Stenn

04-13-2008, 10:21 AM

Well, it looks like I'm going to Ireland after all. After five unsucessfull attempts to get the problem resolved through Travelocity, I finaly took the advice of an Aer Lingus agent and called American Airlines directly. They got me a new flight from Houston to Chicago within minutes. I just confirmed my Chicago to Ireland flight with Aer Lingus so I'm good to go.

All of the airline agents I talked to expressed frustration in dealing with Travelocity because their people don't seem to know what the hell they were doing. It didn't help that everyone at Travelocity sounded like they spoke English as a second language and were difficult for me to understand. The only reason why I chose to resolve this problem through Travelocity was because when the crisis first hit, I was on two phones, one in each ear, for twenty minutes on hold with both American Airlines and Travelocity. Travelocity answered first. What rotten luck.

Anyway, I'll now be in Ireland by the 15th and as soon as I'm un-jet-lagged I'll head out to Galway City Gym for a nice, metric workout with Mel, Clem, Aric and the rest. I'm looking forward to it.

EMISGOD

04-13-2008, 10:22 AM

Sounds good...love them stairs! :D

Stenn

04-13-2008, 11:50 AM

Sounds good...love them stairs! :D

Aw man, I forgot about the stairs! Maybe I'll stay in Houston after all... :D

SR800

04-14-2008, 06:35 PM

Enjoy the flight. I am sure they miss their Yankee friend.

dartol

04-14-2008, 07:22 PM

All of the airline agents I talked to expressed frustration in dealing with Travelocity because their people don't seem to know what the hell they were doing. It didn't help that everyone at Travelocity sounded like they spoke English as a second language and were difficult for me to understand.

I had a similar take on them after my last experience... I will never use them again!

Darren

Stenn

04-15-2008, 10:52 AM

Enjoy the flight. I am sure they miss their Yankee friend.
I just got to Galway. The flights weren't that bad, but the bus ride was miserable. I had a nice nap and if I can get some food into me I may head over to my wife's gym and fiddle with the machines (their free weight area sucks) just to get my blood moving again.

I had a similar take on them after my last experience... I will never use them again!
The only reason why I used Travelocity was because Aer Lingus didn't fly directly to Houston. Rather than contacting two airlines to arrange a trip, I had Travelocity take care of it for me. However, I just found out that Aer Lingus has partnered with a couple of other airlines to provide service out of Houston and that I can arrange a whole trip through Aer Lingus' web page. Sadly, they did this after I arranged this, my last, trip to Ireland for a long time.

Stenn

04-15-2008, 01:41 PM

I tried to sneak past the front desk with my wife's scan card at her gym but got busted on the way out of the locker room. Fortunately, the guy was reasonable and let me workout anyway. It felt odd trying to weasle my way into such a crappy, over-crowded gym. To be fair, I only call Crunch Fitness at NUI Galway "crappy" because it doesn't have the equipment I need. They have a nice machine circuit, a set of dumbells, smith machine, a few benches, and all the cardio equipment and Swiss balls you can eat. There's not a single Olympic bar in the whole joint and if they did have one there'd be no place to use it.

Anyway, I decided not to take things too seriously and to just hop from one machine to whatever was available next. My goal was simply to work up a sweat. Mission accomplished! Here's more or less what I did:

Leg Extension (almost did the whole stack)
Lat Pull-down (wide and narrow grip)
Dips (14 reps on 1st set)
Leg-ups
Knee-ups
More Leg-ups
Standing calf raise
Chest Press
Tricep Machine

I looked around for something, anything, to work my lower back. There was no machine for it. I could have done dumbell goodmornings, but that would have entailed crossing the over-crowded 15'x15' free weights area to retreive the dumbells. Screw it! I'll just do deads on my next real workout at my regular gym.

When I got home, I had a severe energy crash. Lack of sleep and bad food don't mix well with circuit training. Tomorrow I'll go shopping and get proper food in the house (and toilet paper!) and I'll try to get in a real workout on Thursday or Friday morning.

dartol

04-16-2008, 10:21 AM

Couldn't make your regular gym there Steve? Glad you made it back OK.

Darren

Stenn

04-16-2008, 10:52 AM

Couldn't make your regular gym there Steve? Glad you made it back OK.

Nope. It was my first day back in Ireland, I was still jet-lagged, it was 8:00pm, and I didn't feel like making the long, 1.5 mile trek out to my regular gym. I'm gonna hit my regular gym tomorrow although I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.

Stenn

04-17-2008, 06:35 AM

I'm back in Ireland and got my first opportunity to workout at my old gym, Galway City Gym. The place hadn't changed much since I was last there two months ago. I looked around for Clem and Tony but I guess they don't work or workout on Thursdays. I look forward to seeing them on Monday.

I had planned to do some sort of bench press and overhead press workout, but couldn't resist wandering over to the squat rack for a little warm-up. I needed to re-assert my presence there like a dog marking its territory. As I stepped into the rack, I noticed a picture on the wall right in front of the rack. It showed a nice, young blond girl taking a picture of herself in a mirror. Nothing was unusual about her except that her quads were huge. Beneath the picture it said, "SQUAT: Because somewhere out there is a girl who is warming up with your max." I got a good belly laugh out of that one and decided, right then and there, that I'd squat 3-plates per side or die trying.

Oh, by the way, my workouts in Ireland are in kilos. I'll convert just enough stuff into pounds to satisfy the metric-challenged. (A quick and dirty conversion can be done if you realize that an Olympic bar weighs 20kg and plates also weigh 20kg. So, for example, a bar and 2 plates per side weighs 100kg or 220 lb.)

Ready? Let's go!

BB Back Squat: 20x12,12 40x5 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x5 140x2 (308 lb)
BB Bench Press: 20x12,12 40x5 60x5 80x3,4 (176 lb)
BB Deadlift: 60x8 100x5 140x5 180x0 140x3 (308 lb)
Dip: BWx15,10,5

The girl in the picture kept me motivated so that I was able to get a couple of reps with 3 wheels per side before failing on my 3rd rep. One of the guys offered to help me re-rack the bar, but I decided that I had made my point and stripped the bar instead.

The last time I tried to bench 80kg (176 lb), I only got 3 and 2 reps. A subsequent attempt yielded 1 and 1 because my shoulders and elbows were starting to fail. Today, I got 3 and 4 and I'm as pleased as peaches about it. :D

Deadlifts were nothing spactacular except that I got goofy and decided to make an attempt at 180kg (396 lb). My max deadlift is 365 lb. What was I thinking? I made two attempts and just barely broke the bar from the floor. Sometimes you have to try stuff just to see what'll happen. :rolleyes:

I finished off with dips and did well with them considering that they followed a bench PR.

dartol

04-17-2008, 06:49 AM

Wow nice work man! See sometimes a little break does you good. :)

Darren

Stenn

04-17-2008, 07:37 AM

Wow nice work man! See sometimes a little break does you good. :)

Thanks! I'm going to get another break since I won't be working out again till Monday. It's for the best. I can feel my legs seizing up already.

jspirate

04-17-2008, 04:15 PM

It showed a nice, young blond girl taking a picture of herself in a mirror. Nothing was unusual about her except that her quads were huge. Beneath the picture it said, "SQUAT: Because somewhere out there is a girl who is warming up with your max." I got a good belly laugh out of that one and decided, right then and there, that I'd squat 3-plates per side or die trying.

Oh, by the way, my workouts in Ireland are in kilos. I'll convert just enough stuff into pounds to satisfy the metric-challenged. (A quick and dirty conversion can be done if you realize that an Olympic bar weighs 20kg and plates also weigh 20kg. So, for example, a bar and 2 plates per side weighs 100kg or 220 lb.)

Ready? Let's go!

BB Back Squat: 20x12,12 40x5 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x5 140x2 (308 lb)
BB Bench Press: 20x12,12 40x5 60x5 80x3,4 (176 lb)
BB Deadlift: 60x8 100x5 140x5 180x0 140x3 (308 lb)
Dip: BWx15,10,5

The girl in the picture kept me motivated so that I was able to get a couple of reps with 3 wheels per side before failing on my 3rd rep. One of the guys offered to help me re-rack the bar, but I decided that I had made my point and stripped the bar instead.

The last time I tried to bench 80kg (176 lb), I only got 3 and 2 reps. A subsequent attempt yielded 1 and 1 because my shoulders and elbows were starting to fail. Today, I got 3 and 4 and I'm as pleased as peaches about it. :D

Deadlifts were nothing spactacular except that I got goofy and decided to make an attempt at 180kg (396 lb). My max deadlift is 365 lb. What was I thinking? I made two attempts and just barely broke the bar from the floor. Sometimes you have to try stuff just to see what'll happen. :rolleyes:

I finished off with dips and did well with them considering that they followed a bench PR.

Thats good stuff :)

alkell

04-17-2008, 04:29 PM

Congrats on the bench PR, that's good progress,

I like the squat rack story, lol

You are right on the deadlift, sometimes you don't know what you can do until you try

Cheers Al

SR800

04-17-2008, 05:22 PM

Very solid work. You should list those numbers and have that crazy skinny photo as your avatar:D

Stenn

04-18-2008, 12:40 AM

Thats good stuff :)
Thanks! It certainly felt good at the time. My posterior chain is in an up-roar today.

Congrats on the bench PR, that's good progress,

I like the squat rack story, lol

You are right on the deadlift, sometimes you don't know what you can do until you try
Thanks! It feels good to finaly be making progress on bench press. I think I'll do 176 one more time and shoot for 5. Then next time I'll hunt for the smallest plates I can find for my next weight increase.

I think the reason I tried for 396 on deads was because 365 was a surprise. I had only done 350 (or was it 355?, 345?) before and just decided to slap on a little something extra just for fun. I wasn't expecting it to go up, but it did. No such luck this time. I got away with a 15 lb increase, but not 30.

Very solid work. You should list those numbers and have that crazy skinny photo as your avatar:D
LOL, that's a neat idea. I'd probably get banned for bogus e-stats.

dartol

04-18-2008, 05:59 AM

I like Blake's idea! :)

Darren

Stenn

04-19-2008, 02:27 PM

When you're a true muscle-head, you can get in a workout even at your kid's friend's birthday party. The celebration was Ellen's 5th birthday party and was held at Monkey Business, Galway's premeir kid's party and play joint with loads of inflatable jumping toys and a huge, 3-storey climbable maze thingy.

But, daddy is my daughter's favorite toy and when she got bored she decided that she needed to climb up onto my shoulders which she does without my help. I don't even lean over for her, she just climbs right up and sits on my shoulders as proud as can be.

To make the ride more interesting, I squatted down low and then jumped way up and forward 4 or 5 feet. My daughter was delighted and hollered, "Again!" over and over again. I hopped all the way accross the front of the climbable maze (10-12 reps) with my 50 lb kid on my shoulders before falling over sideways. Both of us were giggling hystericaly even though I was also gasping for breath.

My daughter took off to chase a friend around as another parent asked, "Do you need to undergo special training to be able to do that?" "Yes," I explained, "you need to do lots and lots of squats." :D

dartol

04-19-2008, 03:05 PM

Showoff! :D

Darren

Stenn

04-19-2008, 03:07 PM

Showoff! :D

Cute, young girls bring that out in me. :D

dartol

04-19-2008, 03:09 PM

Cute, young girls bring that out in me. :D

Oh yeah all the moms! Hehe.... understood! ;)

Darren

IronIc

04-19-2008, 05:07 PM

ROFL! Cute story with your little girl :)

Stenn

04-20-2008, 04:36 AM

Oh yeah all the moms! Hehe.... understood! ;)
It doesn't matter who's watching, moms, dads, kids, pets, houseplants, whatever. I'm easily inspired by an audience.

ROFL! Cute story with your little girl :)
Here's a picture of my daughter on my shoulders. I just stand there with my legs crossed and hands on my hips and she does the rest.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=972953&ppuser=244556

dartol

04-20-2008, 05:03 AM

It doesn't matter who's watching, moms, dads, kids, pets, houseplants, whatever. I'm easily inspired by an audience.

Well like I said... ;)

I still need to try that with my daughter. Hehe.

Darren

jspirate

04-20-2008, 04:05 PM

To make the ride more interesting, I squatted down low and then jumped way up and forward 4 or 5 feet. My daughter was delighted and hollered, "Again!" over and over again. I hopped all the way accross the front of the climbable maze (10-12 reps) with my 50 lb kid on my shoulders before falling over sideways. Both of us were giggling hystericaly even though I was also gasping for breath.

My daughter took off to chase a friend around as another parent asked, "Do you need to undergo special training to be able to do that?" "Yes," I explained, "you need to do lots and lots of squats." :D

Haha - great story :)

BergMuscle

04-20-2008, 04:18 PM

Terrific story, Steve. I just want to know if any of the kids have gone to their dads and asked to do the same thing. :)

Stenn

04-21-2008, 05:09 AM

Terrific story, Steve. I just want to know if any of the kids have gone to their dads and asked to do the same thing. :)

I may have made myself unpopular with those dads. :rolleyes:

Stenn

04-21-2008, 06:02 AM

I was happy to be greeted by Clem as I entered the gym today. He was interested in hearing how my training went while I was in Houston. I told him the good news about my squat and deadlift PRs and how my elbows and shoulders seem to be doing better. I also told him about my stupid rib and he said that if you're going to lift weights, you have to tollerate being injured every now and then. Sound familiar?

I told Clem I was doing some shoulder warm-up exercises taught to me by Bruce the trainer at Houston Gym. Clem proceeded to show me his own shoulder warm-up exercises and they were almost identical to Bruce's. That was very reasuring.

Wouldn't you know it, soon after discussing injuries with Clem, I went and injured myself. :( I was picking a 10k plate out of a rack on the floor with my thumb and fore-finger. The 10k was right next to a 20k and as I freed the 10k from the rack, I caught the base of my thumbnail on the inside lip of the 20k plate. I dropped the 10 and hollered, "Ouch, it bit me!" to the amusement of a fellow lifter. I now have a huge, painful purple spot under my nail. I hope I don't lose the nail.

Mel is away on holiday in Spain, I'm told. Clem says he's deadlifting 200kg now (440 lb). I look forward to seeing him next week.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Misc. Shoulder Warm-Up
BB Bench Press: 20x12,12 40x5 60x5 80x5 82.5x3,2 (181.5 lb)
DB Fly: 12.5x8 15x8 17.5x6 20x8,8,5 (44 lb)
BB Press: 20x8 30x5 40x5 50x4,2 (110 lb)
Dip: BWx15,7,4
Pullover: 10x12 15x12 20x12 25x7,8,6
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I had planned to only go for 80x5 on bench press, but that went up so easily that I decided to go for my 1st bench press PR in months. I got it in style. Woo hoo! :D I'm now within a mere half pound of benching my weight.

I did about as well on the flies as I did last time. Good enough.

I did lousy on the presses. Last time I got 115x5,5,5 but then last time I did them after squats instead of a bunch of upper-body work (including smashing my thumb.)

The dips were pretty average as were the pullovers. I was putting a lot of effort into them, but not making much happen. That's OK, because I got my new bench press PR. :)

namtrag

04-21-2008, 06:15 AM

Congrats on the PR.

Will you be in Ireland in summer of 2009? I may be coming with my wife for our 25th anniversary, if I can talk her into it! lol

donnainhouston

04-21-2008, 06:22 AM

I also told him about my stupid rib and he said that if you're going to lift weights, you have to tollerate being injured every now and then. Sound familiar?

The pain always (eventually) goes away and leaves you feeling better for a lifetime!

Donna

Stenn

04-21-2008, 08:07 AM

Congrats on the PR.
Thanks!

Will you be in Ireland in summer of 2009? I may be coming with my wife for our 25th anniversary, if I can talk her into it! lol
Nope, the summer of 2008 will be our last in Ireland for a while. I hope you're able to talk your wife into a visit. It's well worth the trip. Try to spend a couple of weeks here if you can so that you can fully recover from the jet-lag. Also, I highly recommend a day or two in London since you'll be within a short, cheap flight of the place.

Stenn

04-21-2008, 08:16 AM

The pain always (eventually) goes away and leaves you feeling better for a lifetime!

Hey Donna, it's good to see you!

Yes, the relatively small amount of pain I've experienced from lifting has been well worth it for all the improvements I'm seeing and feeling in my body.

Speaking of pain, my thumb is doing better. I've heard for years that you can treat a smashed fingernail by pushing a red-hot pin or paperclip through the nail to release the painful pressure from the trapped blood, but I've always been too chicken to try it. That is, until today. Man, I wish I had tried this trick earlier. It's a lot less painful than it sounds and would have saved me a lot of suffering.

jspirate

04-21-2008, 09:26 AM

Hey Donna, it's good to see you!

Yes, the relatively small amount of pain I've experienced from lifting has been well worth it for all the improvements I'm seeing and feeling in my body.

Speaking of pain, my thumb is doing better. I've heard for years that you can treat a smashed fingernail by pushing a red-hot pin or paperclip through the nail to release the painful pressure from the trapped blood, but I've always been too chicken to try it. That is, until today. Man, I wish I had tried this trick earlier. It's a lot less painful than it sounds and would have saved me a lot of suffering.

The only trick that works better than that is to NOT smash the finger in the first place ;)

Stenn

04-21-2008, 10:36 AM

The only trick that works better than that is to NOT smash the finger in the first place ;)

I'm still working on that one, ya wise guy. :rolleyes:

Stenn

04-23-2008, 06:07 AM

I had a hankering for some deadlifting today since my back was feeling good and my smashed thumb felt well enough to hold a few hundred pounds. While I was stripping the bar after deadlifting, Mel showed up at the gym and said, "Put 'em all back on!" He also was kind enough to tell me that I looked "bigger". At least, I think he was being kind...

Later, I was at my favorite post-workout cafeteria getting my regular dose of salmon and eggs. I had no cash so I asked the woman behind the counter, "Do you take credit cards?" The cook, who had just come out of the kitchen to replentish the selections chimed in, "Oh sure, we take 'em all right, we just don't give 'em back."

Anyway...

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
BB Deadlift: 60x8,6 100x5 140x3 160x2 170x0,0 150x4,2 (330 lb)
Wide Grip Pullup: BWx7,5,3+Static Hang
T-Bar Row: 20x8 30x8 40x8,8,8 (88 lb)
DB Row: 25x6 30x5 35x5 40x3 (88 lb)
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I had hoped to get a new deadlift PR today. My max is 365 lb so I tried 170kg (374 lb). I got the bar up to about mid-shin when everything stopped. I waited 2-3 seconds to see if the problem would resolve itself before dropping the bar. Oh well. My 2nd attempt just barely got off the ground. So, I backed off to 150kg (330 lb) and got in a couple of good sets before calling it quits.

I started as wide as I could go on my 1st set of pullups and went a little less wide on the next sets. I ended the last set with a static hang (static cling?). I did all this in the power rack using my usual open-handed grip (no thumbs.)

Galway City Gym has a new setup for T-bar rows that I hadn't tried out yet. It's a hinged cylinder mounted low on a wall. You stick an Olympic bar into the cylinder, put a handle and plates on the other end, and away you go. It turned out to be a great setup, but the rows hurt my rib so I didn't go too wild on them.

My rib hurt on the DB rows too. I worked up to a set at 35kg (77 lb) before trying 40kg (88 lb). For some reason, the 40kg dumbell felt twice as heavy as the 35kg dumbell and I was only able to get 3 weenie reps per side. Time to go home!

dartol

04-23-2008, 06:11 AM

Nice work man! Wow that is some heavy DB Rows. I haven't done those in a while.

Darren

Stenn

04-23-2008, 06:17 AM

Nice work man! Wow that is some heavy DB Rows. I haven't done those in a while.

Thanks! DB rows are the only rows that I (and my elbows) like so I've gotten pretty good at them. My max is 110x3, but the reps weren't pretty.

Stenn

04-25-2008, 05:07 AM

I had a terrible attitude this morning and wouldn't have gone in to the gym if I hadn't already told Mel, "See you Friday!" Harumph! To make matters less appealing, it was a drab, rainy morning. Blah! But, my mood improved once I got to the gym, got into The Zone, and got busy in the squat rack. There's no room for foul moods in the squat rack.

After my death-defying squats at 140kg, I motioned to the bar and told Mel, "Ok, your turn!" He jumped in and breezed through 3 reps like they were nothing and then resumed his normal routine. :rolleyes:

I'm getting tired of my rib hurting all the time. Like a typical rib boo-boo, it's getting better, but slowly. I belted up for my 120kg set of squats and could feel the belt pushing hard on the rib as I unracked the bar. I walked out of the rack anyway but had second thoughts with visions of punctured lungs in my head. I walked it back in, re-racked the weight and went belt-less for the rest of my sets. I was surprised at how well I did without the belt. My form stayed good even at my PR weight and I didn't feel vulnerable at all. I LIKE wearing my belt for heavy sets, but I don't HAVE to wear it.

Cardio: 2.5km nasty, rainy walk to the gym.
BB Back Squat: 20x10,10 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x3 140x3,2 (308 lb)
DB Bench Press: 17.5x10 22.5x5 30x5 35x4 30x6,4 (77 lb, 66 lb)
Dip: BWx15,5,4
Cardio: 2.5km brisk, windy walk home.

In The States, 3 plates per side is 315 lb. In Ireland, 3 plates per side is 140kg (308 lb). I could have put on a couple of 1.25kg plates to get closer to 315 lb but I just couldn't be botherd with it. My old PR for 140kg is 2,1 reps. For 315 lb, it's 3 reps. So, I'm gonna call 140x3,2 a new PR. Why not?

The labels on the dumbells at GCG don't include bar weight (about 2kg) so I'm counting my 4 reps at 35kg (77 lb) as a PR over my previous lift of 80 lb x3. Yippie, progress! The rib said, "Less weight!" so I obeyed and dropped to 30kg for my last sets.

The dips were dips. I did 'em and that's good enough.

donnainhouston

04-25-2008, 05:38 AM

The dips were dips. I did 'em and that's good enough.

On some days, especially when it's a challenge to be there, "good enough" is great!

Donna :)

dartol

04-25-2008, 10:23 AM

In The States, 3 plates per side is 315 lb. In Ireland, 3 plates per side is 140kg (308 lb). I could have put on a couple of 1.25kg plates to get closer to 315 lb but I just couldn't be botherd with it. My old PR for 140kg is 2,1 reps. For 315 lb, it's 3 reps. So, I'm gonna call 140x3,2 a new PR. Why not?

The labels on the dumbells at GCG don't include bar weight (about 2kg) so I'm counting my 4 reps at 35kg (77 lb) as a PR over my previous lift of 80 lb x3. Yippie, progress! The rib said, "Less weight!" so I obeyed and dropped to 30kg for my last sets.

The dips were dips. I did 'em and that's good enough.

Close enough for government work! Oh wait, you don't do that do you? well, I do and I am deeming it close enough! ;) Awesome work!

On some days, especially when it's a challenge to be there, "good enough" is great!
I agree, at least you went!

Darren

Stenn

04-25-2008, 01:25 PM

On some days, especially when it's a challenge to be there, "good enough" is great!

I agree, at least you went!

Thanks guys. One of the more important things I learned in college was how so many people do lousy simply because they fail to show up. I learned that an easy way to perform better than average at almost anything, including exercising, is to simply show up when you're supposed to. If you fail to show up (at the gym, to class, at work, for your family, etc.) then there's not much that can be done for you.

Close enough for government work! Oh wait, you don't do that do you? well, I do and I am deeming it close enough! ;) Awesome work!

Thanks for giving me the Government-Inspected, Grade-A seal of approval. :D

SR800

04-25-2008, 06:25 PM

There is a certain security with the belt. I even like wearing sweat pants and knee wraps, it just makes me more confident.

EMISGOD

04-25-2008, 08:10 PM

There is a certain security with the belt. I even like wearing sweat pants and knee wraps, it just makes me more confident.

Confidence can definitely make all the difference...

Stenn

04-26-2008, 02:57 AM

There is a certain security with the belt. I even like wearing sweat pants and knee wraps, it just makes me more confident.

I could never squat in sweats. I can't stand the feeling of fabric dragging up my legs or bunching around my knees. If I worked out a home, I'd probably squat in my underware. I'm too impatient (lazy?) to fiddle with knee wraps although that'll change, I'm sure, as my knees age. :rolleyes:

Confidence can definitely make all the difference...

I do get some confidence when wearing a belt. I feel like, when the belt goes on, things are serious and with the perceived additional support I'm willing to push a little harder when things get desperate. I'll go back to wearing a belt when my rib is better, but maybe not the one I have now. I've had my eye on one of those fancy lever-action doo-dads. It would be cool if I could get one that was a little more forgiving on the ribs.

dartol

04-26-2008, 06:07 AM

jspirate

04-26-2008, 06:20 AM

On the knee wraps, I wonder if that keeps the natural knee muscle stabilizers from developing as well... necessitating the use of knee wraps more in the future.

That reminds me of a story I read about a big Russian lifting heavy with no belt... someone asked him about that, and he slapped his stomach muscles and said "this is my belt!"

Food for thought...

Darren

Thats exactly how I view the issue. Although sometimes it might be necessary to use wraps to get through some period of recovery, constant use is not a good idea. At least not in my mind anyway.

Stenn

04-26-2008, 10:05 AM

On the knee wraps, I wonder if that keeps the natural knee muscle stabilizers from developing as well... necessitating the use of knee wraps more in the future.

Thats exactly how I view the issue. Although sometimes it might be necessary to use wraps to get through some period of recovery, constant use is not a good idea. At least not in my mind anyway.

From what I've heard, there are two kinds of wraps, the kind that hold your knees together and the kind that let you lift more. Some folks genuinely need the first kind like my friend Clem, a 75-year old powerlifter. For him, no wraps means no squatting. Heck, as bad as his knees are, he should probably use them for walking as well. Since I'm not a competitive powerlifter, I don't realy understand why folks wear the 2nd kind. They're like squat suits for the knees.

I have no idea what unneccesary wrapping does other than constrict blood flow to the knee and lower leg.

Stenn

04-26-2008, 04:01 PM

I think I've had enough of intuitive training for now and I'm ready to start a planned workout again. Here's what I have in mind:

I want to put emphesis on bench press since I'm still relatively weak at it and can probably get away with bench pressing 3x a week if I'm smart about it. I also want to give a special day to deadlifts and squats. What I've come up with does that while mostly conforming to a classic 3-day split.

Monday: Back
Deadlift, 1x5
DB Bench Press, 3x10
DB Row, 3x5
Pullup, 3x5

The deads, rows, and pullups make a nice back workout with high-rep, moderate-weight bench press thrown in to work the chest without going heavy. I'll use a dip belt on the pullups if I need to.

Wednesday: Chest, Shoulder, Tricep
BB Bench Press, 2x5
BB Press, 3x5
Dip, 3x8
Rev Fly, 3x8

I'd love to do 1x5 on bench press, but probably shouldn't because of my elbows. I'll start at my last PR and only add 1.25kg plates to progress. I've added the rev flyes to work the posterior delts and to help balance all the work I'm getting on the anterior delts from the bench pressing. I'll use a dip belt for the dips if I need to.

Friday: Leg
Squat, 1x5
DB Bench Press, 2x5
SLDL, 3x8
Smith Machine Calf, 3x12

Heavy squats, SLDLs, and standing calf raises don't hit the quads all that hard, but my quads are good for now. I want to attack my hams and calves. I haven't trained calves in quite a while. There's some heavy DB work to keep the chest busy. I get the weekend to recover from legs day so that I can be fresh for Monday's deadlifts.

That's it! Only 4 exercises per day with lots of compound lifting. I have till Monday morning to decide if this is reasonable or not. If it still looks good then, I'll forge ahead and only make changes as necessary.

My concerns with this workout are, of course, that it may be too much for my chest and/or elbows. If I start to feel overtrained in my chest or trouble in my elbows, I'll need to back off from 3x a week bench pressing and try 2x a week. I'm trying to make up for lost ground on bench press, but it may not be possible. We'll see...

dartol

04-26-2008, 07:49 PM

Stenn

04-27-2008, 02:46 AM

Howdy Steve! Interesting looking plan... hope you don't join me in rotator cuff heck... but I think you should consider doing as many days of rows as you do bench. Wait, didn't you know I was going to say that? LOL
Yeah, it sounds like the sort of thing you would say. :)

I've got the DB rows and rev flyes in there for active posterior work and the deadlifts and SLDLs provide static work. Plus, I'm doing BB press and dips so my shoulders are getting a pretty good all-around workout. Also, considering that I'm in the 90-100 lb range for my dumbell rows and only bench about 180, I'm guessing that I can tollerate a little imbalance of front-to-back work, probably till I'm benching 200. That's just a guess, though. Is there any study that says what one's bech/row weight ratio should be?

Also, I forgot to add that I'll be doing my usual "Misc. Shoulder Warm-up" before each workout.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot that I want to try glute-ham raises if I can find the equipment to do 'em. I so, I'll shoe-horn 'em into legs day somewhere.

dartol

04-27-2008, 03:58 AM

Is there any study that says what one's bech/row weight ratio should be?

I have read 1:1, but that may just be one anal guy's opionion... good question! Time for research. :)

Darren

dartol

04-27-2008, 04:31 AM

First research results, which I actually happened upon while reading about how to fix my shoulder... :)
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1053531

Scroll down to Shoulder Saver #5 Structural Balance in Training (though I recommend reading it all!)
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1053531

Darren

Stenn

04-27-2008, 01:34 PM

First research results, which I actually happened upon while reading about how to fix my shoulder... :)
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1053531

Okie dokie, here's what the author recommends followed by what I'm doing in each area:

1. Avoid what hurts.
I've been doing this for a while now and it's why I avoid straight bar rows and curls. It's also why I prefer DB bench press over BB bench press.

2. Serratus Anterior Activation Work.
Maybe I'll do the goofy-looking pushups in the privacy of my own home...

3. Learn to bench press correctly.
I've read Rippetoe's bench press chapter a few times now. My form still feels less than perfect, but I'm always working on it.

4. Get up from your desk.
I don't work at a desk.

5. Structural balance in training.
- Scapular Retraction: DB Row, Rev Fly
- Scapular Protraction: Bench Press, Dip
- Scapular Depression: ....
- Scapular Elevation: ....
- Humeral External Rotation: Rev Fly
- Humeral Internal Rotation: Bench Press, Pullup, Dip, Press

So, I'm doing something for every prescribed motion except for scapular depression and elevation. However, if I do those shoulder dislocations described in your journal thread during my misc. shoulder warm-up, that should do the trick for depression (and other stuff as well.) I would argue that BB press covers scapular elevation because of the shrug at the top of the motion.

6. Ditching the "Shoulder Day"
I've never had a day just for shoulders. They always get hit along with chest and tricep.

7. Soft Tissue Work.
Yup! Once or twice a month.

8. Seated Cable Row.
I've never been a big fan of cable exercises, probably because there are fewer resource conflicts over at the dumbell rack. The author implies that bent-over dumbell rows will work as well as cable rows as long as you don't cheat. I can live with that.

dartol

04-27-2008, 01:43 PM

Hey Steve! Cool! Pretty good read huh? :D

Darren

dartol

04-27-2008, 01:45 PM

Oh and here are part II:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1055409

And part III:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1153915

Darren

Stenn

04-27-2008, 02:05 PM

Hey Steve! Cool! Pretty good read huh? :D

I must admit, learning about shoulders is about as much fun for me as learning about income taxes. I wish I could just lift weights and not worry about all this crap. Unfortunately, ignoring the shoulders and elbows is not an option for me. Thanks for the info and forcing me to think about this stuff some more.

dartol

04-27-2008, 05:48 PM

I must admit, learning about shoulders is about as much fun for me as learning about income taxes. I wish I could just lift weights and not worry about all this crap. Unfortunately, ignoring the shoulders and elbows is not an option for me. Thanks for the info and forcing me to think about this stuff some more.

Sure, anytime. LOL But don't get me started about taxes!

Gotta keep you benching in health now that you got going again :)

Darren

Stenn

04-28-2008, 05:08 AM

1st day of the new workout, woo hoo! Everything went well including the starting weights I chose.

I met Liam, a new guy at the gym. He's Australian and conditioning himself to get into the Australian Marines. He told me about the physical tests he'll have to pass and it just took my breath away and made me feel old. :( Liam is a talker in the gym which usually bugs me, but all he talks about is exercise so it's not so bad. I'm sure we'll learn much from each other. He's the first guy I've ever seen do one-armed dumbell clean and presses. They looked like fun.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Misc. Shoulder Warm-up
Deadlift: 60x5,5 100x5 120x5 140x3 160x4 (352 lb)
DB Bench Press: 15x10 17.5x8 22.5x10,10,10 (49.5 lb)
DB Row: 30x5 35x5,5,5 (77 lb)
WG Pullup: BWx5,5,3+Hang
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I added the shoulder dislocations to my misc. shoulder warmup. I do 15 reps of each exercise and it only takes a few mintues but I'm sure it's worth it.

My deadlifts were rocking today! I started to feel my back give a little on the 4th rep so I called it quits. Not bad for 13 lb off my max. I could have gotten a 5th, but I probably would have paid a terrible price for it. I heard Clem cheering me on during my set and when I finished and turned around, Liam gave me big thumbs up. I love Galway City Gym! :D Later, Liam told me, "You deadlift a lot for a guy your size." I agree. :)

The dumbell bench presses were a little light. Mel walked in during my 1st warmup set and complained, "Come one, you can do more than that!" I turned my head and said something on my behalf which only proved that I wasn't lifting enough. Next tme, 30kg (66 lb).

The rows were hard on my rib. Rather than increasing the weight, I'm going to do 3x8 next time.

I started out as wide as I could go on the pullups and then moved in a hand's width on each side. When I failed on the last rep, I hung with my arms bent for as long as I could and then hung with my arms straight for as long as I could. Good enough!

dartol

04-28-2008, 06:35 AM

Cool!

Next thing you know you will be doing these...

K1JqtbRPNps
(that's Timberwolf from here...)

Darren

Stenn

04-28-2008, 08:51 AM

Cool!

Next thing you know you will be doing these...

(that's Timberwolf from here...)

Cool, but I'd rather do these:

YGxbOFKvszY&NR

SR800

04-29-2008, 04:45 AM

Both of those are sooooo weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak. I need to post my one handed, chest slapping, back flip, 200lb, triple lindey pull up, now THAT is something! :)

Stenn

04-29-2008, 04:52 AM

Both of those are sooooo weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak. I need to post my one handed, chest slapping, back flip, 200lb, triple lindey pull up, now THAT is something! :)

:eek: Is that an exercise or a circus act? :)

donnainhouston

04-29-2008, 05:01 AM

dartol

04-29-2008, 05:25 AM

Stenn

04-30-2008, 05:02 AM

Blah! I got into some bad food around 4:30pm yesterday and got so bloated and queazy that I couldn't eat much more for the rest of the day. I managed to stuff down a regular breakfast this morning and hobbled off to the gym for a fairly decent workout, considering. I skipped my 2nd breakfast and it's now noon and I still feel like a walking garbage dump. The buzzards and flies are starting to circle...

Even with the queazy stomach and the sore rib, today's chest/shoulder/tricep workout seemed lite. That may be a good thing since it falls between deadlift day and squat day. I'm not sure if I'll change anything just yet.

I had a good talk with Clem about bench press progress. He thinks that I should be able to bench 90kg (198 lb) in a couple of months. That sounds reasonable to me as long as my shoulders and elbows cooperate.

Cardio: 2.5km walk to the gym.
Misc. Shoulder Warm-up
BB Bench Press: 20x12,12 40x5 60x5 70x3 80x5,5 (176 lb)
BB Press: 20x8,8 30x5 35x3 40x5,5,5 (88 lb)
Dip: BWx8,8 BW+5x8 (BW+11 lb)
Rev. Fly: 5x8,8 7.5x12 (16.5 lb)
Cardio: 2.5km slow, miserable walk home.

The hardest part about bench press today was leaning back onto the bench and getting back up because of the rib. 80kg was a good challenge for today. Next time, 82.5kg (181.5 lb). I've done 82.5x3,2 before. I think I can do better than that.

The presses felt very, very good today. I kept good form with my elbows up, minimal layback, and the bar close to my face both up and down. I must not have been lifting enough weight. :rolleyes: Next time, 42.5kg (93.5 lb).

I usually dip to failure and get something like BWx16,8,4. It was different stopping at 8 reps/set. I was able to strap on a little weight for the last set without much trouble. I'll do BW+5kg (BW+11 lb) for all three sets next time.

The rev. flyes weren't that much fun as I continued to bloat and gurgle. I got 'em done and got the hell outta there. Next time, I'll start at 7.5kg even though that's probably still too light. I'm in no hurry on these.

dartol

04-30-2008, 06:24 AM

Even with the queazy stomach and the sore rib, today's chest/shoulder/tricep workout seemed lite.

Sure didn't look lite! Nice work man!

At least you didn't try to do squats or dead with the queasies! LOL

Darren

Stenn

04-30-2008, 07:28 AM

Sure didn't look lite! Nice work man!
Thanks! When I was done with my last exercise, I didn't feel pooped enough to quit. That'll probably change once I get all my weights dialed in.

At least you didn't try to do squats or dead with the queasies! LOL
Ugh! If it had been squat or deadlift day, I would have stayed at home.

Stenn

05-02-2008, 06:14 AM

Once again, my sore rib kept me up last night and I was running low on energy because of crappy eating on Wednesday and Thursday due to the sinister gyro. So, how good of a legs workout can you get on a bruised rib, insufficient sleep, and no energy? Well...

My elbows are starting to get cranky on me. It's not the tendon problem that I've had in the past, it's the joint itself. Today I purchased some glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM capsules. The stuff cost me about 30 Euro (~45 dollars) for 90 capsules. I can get the same stuff for about 1/3 of that price on bb.com, but if I order it from Ireland I'll get reamed up the butt with shipping and customs charges (been there, done that, got a sore butt.) Ireland is a terrible place to buy supplements unless you have a Medical Card in which case, I'm told, you can get your glucosamine for free.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
BB Back Squat: 20x8,8 60x5 80x5 100x3 120x2 140x3,3 (308 lb)
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
DB Bench Press: 22.5x5 25x5 30x3 35x2,2 (77 lb)
SLDL: 60x8 80x5 100x8,8,8 (220 lb)
SM Standing Calf: 60x17,12,12 (132 lb)
Glute Ham Raise: Nearly Zilch
Cardio: 4.0 km brisk walk to shops and home.

The squats were going well till my working set. I dropped like a stone, missed the bounce, and had to muscle the bar back up from a near dead stop with a flat back. Not a great way to start a set. The next two reps weren't much better. I failed on the 4th rep and sat on the bar scratching my head wondering what had gone wrong. I decided I was dropping too fast and not keeping my hamstrings tight. I tried another set with that in mind and all reps were prefect, but I couldn't get 5 of them. I learned my lesson and I'll try for 140x5 again next Friday. Oh, and because of the sore rib, I squatted belt-free today.

The 1st working reps of DB bench press left me feeling a little faint as if I was suffering from low blood sugar. The next rep was good, but weak. I got 2 sets of 2 this way. Blah! I'm going to stick at 35kg for next time because I think I can get 5 reps under better circumstances.

I finaly came around on the SLDLs. I did the 1st set with an overhand grip and the last two with an over/under grip. Had to yell a little to get the last couple of reps up. Next time, 102.5kg (225.5 lb).

Calves went OK although I could have pushed it a little harder. Next time, I'll do 70kg (154 lb).

It turns out that glute ham raises are a whole lot harder than I had realized. I could do about 1/4 of the motion and then had to assist myself with a hand on a bench. I need to read up on these and find out how folks work up to doing their 1st, unassisted rep. (They probably don't do SLDLs first, for starters.)

dartol

05-02-2008, 07:31 AM

I finaly came around on the SLDLs. I did the 1st set with an overhand grip and the last two with an over/under grip. Had to yell a little to get the last couple of reps up. Next time, 102.5kg (225.5 lb).

YES!!!! You'll thank me later looking at your forarms. :D

Wow nice work Steve! You are a squat-master! I would have just quit if I had started out like that... LOL

Belt free might have limited you some, but that means you are strengthening your back more too. :)

Darren

Stenn

05-02-2008, 08:04 AM

YES!!!! You'll thank me later looking at your forarms. :D
Yup, I've been inspired by your own overhand grip adventures.

Wow nice work Steve! You are a squat-master! I would have just quit if I had started out like that... LOL
Thanks! I would have quit too if I hadn't figured out what went wrong. I have a tendancy to drop fast hoping to save a little energy for the push back up. But when the weight gets heavy, you have to pay your dues going down or else there is no coming back up. Going down fast and heavy screws up the bounce and flattens the back. Also, Clem noted that going from 120kg to 140kg is too big of a jump in weight (44 lb). I'll add a 130kg warmup set next time. I already have it written in my journal for next Friday:

"20x5,5 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x3 130x2 140x___"

Belt free might have limited you some, but that means you are strengthening your back more too. :)
I don't think squatting belt-free made any difference. Even when my back flattened out for the 1st set I was thinking, "Whatever, keep pushing!" I deadlift over 350 lb without a belt so I wasn't worried about 308 messing up my back.

dartol

05-02-2008, 08:35 AM

I don't think I can quite get to the 'bounce', which will probably always limit my squatting. I can go below parallel now, but my right knee (the one without surgery) has some patellar tracking issues... and if I go completely ATG, the kneecap slips and pops a bit. Then it is sore the next day. Not good. I think I will have to be content with below parallel but short of ATG.

Darren

Stenn

05-02-2008, 08:54 AM

and if I go completely ATG, the kneecap slips and pops a bit.

Man, that's creepy. Makes me cringe just to think about it. My knees pop sometimes, but they don't end up sore the next day. If you're going below parallel, you're engaging the hamstrings for your turnaround and protecting your knees and that's the main thing.

I think you can still take advantage of "the bounce." The bounce is utilizing energy stored in the hamstrings just like when you dip down just before jumping up. You may not be able to go down far (storing less energy in your slightly stretched hams), but every little bit helps.

Stenn

05-05-2008, 11:32 AM

I got to the gym at my usual time and found that they were closed for another 2 hours because of a bank holiday. I bummed around town trying to find a place that was open where I could eat and kill a couple of hours. I ended up doing a whole lot of extra walking. Once I got back to the gym, I found that I had forgotten to pack my shorts. :rolleyes: I ended up doing my whole routine in blue jeans and ya know what? It wasn't that bad. :) Squats would have been out of the question, but deadlifting in jeans worked just fine. While pulling, I got a kick out of seeing my quads pump up and fill my pant legs to the point where I could see muscle definition through the denim. :eek: The only trouble I had was that the jeans made me sweat like a pig.

On the injury front, my elbows are only giving me mild discomfort. I've started taking a glucosamine/chontriton(?)/MSM supplement. My rib gave me no trouble this workout, which was a welcome blessing. I'm starting to feel some discomfort in my shoulders, but I'm hoping that it's just garden-variety soreness. It's hard not to be paranoid about any discomfort I feel in my shoulders.

Cardio: 5.0km brisk walk everwhere, eventually ending up at the gym.
BB Deadlift: 60x8,5 100x5 120x3 140x2 160x5 (352 lb)
Shoulder Dislocates: 15 reps
DB Bech Press: 17.5x8 25x8 30x8,4 25x8 (66 lb, 55 lb)
DB Row: 30x5 35x8,8,8 (77 lb)
WG Pullup: 6+,2+,0+
Glute Ham Raise: Nada
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

Wow, deadlifting went great today! All my warm-ups felt light and I used an overhand grip on my 60kg (134 lb) and 100kg (220 lb) sets. My 1st working rep went up slow, but the rest all went up without much trouble. I got my 5 reps and considered doing more but decided not to be stupid. Next time, I'll do 165kg (363 lb) which will be 2 lb less than my PR. I might even wear my jeans.

I didn't do my full shoulder warmup because the gym was very busy and I was anxious to snag a bench.

Jeepers, what was I thinking when I decided that I could bench press 30kg dumbells 3x10? I had to fall back to 25kg to keep from killing myself and that's where I'll start next time.

I was strong on the rows, keeping good form and bumping each rep into my chest. No weenie reps today! Next time, 40kg (88 lb).

I sucked at pullups but it wasn't for lack of trying. I hurried my rests because I was doing pullups in the power rack and the gym was busy. I finished each set with a static hang. On the last set, I couldn't do even one rep so I just hung there like a tired, sweaty dork in jeans.

There was no place to do the GHRs today so I skipped 'em. I feel a little guilty about that, but not much.

jspirate

05-05-2008, 03:38 PM

On the injury front, my elbows are only giving me mild discomfort. I've started taking a glucosamine/chontriton(?)/MSM supplement. My rib gave me no trouble this workout, which was a welcome blessing. I'm starting to feel some discomfort in my shoulders, but I'm hoping that it's just garden-variety soreness. It's hard not to be paranoid about any discomfort I feel in my shoulders.

I hear ya on this... I think I am a gym-hypochondriac :)

BergMuscle

05-05-2008, 03:55 PM

SR800

05-05-2008, 05:31 PM

(Remember one mark of a well-muscled man is looking big in clothes).

If that is the case, then I only look well muscled in very tight clothes:D

Hey before I read your opinion I thought awesome deads, looking very strong. It is early in the year and I think you will get very close to 400lbs by December.

EMISGOD

05-05-2008, 05:38 PM

I think it's a psychological thing, but the workout invariably feels all "wrong" to me if I attempt it in street clothes...I see you don't fortunately have that problem, though. :D

Stenn

05-06-2008, 01:41 AM

I hear ya on this... I think I am a gym-hypochondriac :)

Nice job taking care of the shoulder. Those injuries suck big time. I've been there.

Old shoulder injuries make hypochondriacs of us all.

My shoulders and elbows feel fine today. I was worried about over-shooting the wieght on DB bench press yesterday.

Stenn

05-06-2008, 01:52 AM

Good job, Steve. Good for you training in your jeans. Other guys might have said "Forget it" and left. And it must have been a big ego blast to see your quads muscles pumped through the denim (Remember one mark of a well-muscled man is looking big in clothes).

Since I walk 2.5km (1.5 miles) to the gym, I'm very reluctant to turn around and walk home when I forget something. As long as my body is there and the gym is open, I'll work something out. Also, since I got bigger and started lifting more weight, I find that I worry less about how I look in the gym.

I think it's a psychological thing, but the workout invariably feels all "wrong" to me if I attempt it in street clothes...I see you don't fortunately have that problem, though. :D

I think I do better in the gym when I get thrown off my usual routine. Wearing jeans, borrowing someone else's sweat pants, lifting in work boots, or visiting a new gym (been there, done all that) seems to shake me up a bit so that I do a better job of paying attention. It helps.

Stenn

05-06-2008, 01:57 AM

If that is the case, then I only look well muscled in very tight clothes:D
I know what you mean. Tight cloths and a good pump work wonders for me. :)

Hey before I read your opinion I thought awesome deads, looking very strong. It is early in the year and I think you will get very close to 400lbs by December.

Hmm... That gives me 8 months to put 50 lb on the bar. I ought to be able to handle that.

alkell

05-06-2008, 01:59 AM

Good luck with the deadlifts, I can smell a PR around the corner.

On the DB bench press, if you dont try you dont know, so good work.

Stenn

05-06-2008, 02:03 AM

Good luck with the deadlifts, I can smell a PR around the corner.
Yesterday may have been a volume/set PR, but I'm too lazy to check. I'll probably hit my next weight PR in a couple of weeks.

On the DB bench press, if you dont try you dont know, so good work.

Yeah, I guess so. Trying 10-rep sets at 30 was a genuine mistake, though. I must have had a brain-fart when planning that workout.

Stenn

05-07-2008, 06:23 AM

Today is the first day I feel like I'm over last Friday's leg workout, especialy the calf part. This Friday, I'll do it all over again. Oh boy!

I got another good night's sleep. I've been taking paracetamol in the evenings so that I don't get woken up by rib pain in the middle of the night. It's working and my rib seems to be healing faster now too. I hit the gym with a spring in my step and looking forward to making some good stuff happened. It did!

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
BB Bench Press: 20x12,10 40x5 60x5 75x2 82.5x4,4/1 (181.5 lb)
BB Press: 20x8,8 30x5 35x3 42.5x5,5,8 (93.5 lb)
Dip: BW+5x8,8,9 (BW+11 lb)
Rev Fly: 7.5x8,8,8/4 (16.5 lb)
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I put in decent show with the new bench press weight. Clem spotted for me on the 2nd working set. I got 4 clean reps and 1 with a little assistance. Somehow this doesn't seem like a PR but I looked back through my log and couldn't find anything heavier. Woo hoo? I didn't get my 2x5 so I'll try again next Wednesday.

I felt strong on the presses and got all my reps plus three victory reps on the last set. Next time, 45kg (99 lb).

I got all my dips but felt a little worried about my elbows. I'll stick at 5kg (11 lb) but increase my reps/set to 10. I'd realy hate to screw up my ability to bench press by doing dips.

The reverse flyes went well except that I'm bugged my inability to judge a complete rep from a partial. I'm calling them all good except for the four victory reps at the end so I'll do 10kg (22 lb) next time.

storm1507

05-07-2008, 05:22 PM

I know what you mean. Tight cloths and a good pump work wonders for me. :)

Hmm... That gives me 8 months to put 50 lb on the bar. I ought to be able to handle that.

You might be closer to a 405# deadlift than you think. In March I was repping w/ 355#...usually around 5. In April I just added 10# to my previous week's best for heavy singles and at the end of the month....405#/1. :)

Good luck.

SR800

05-07-2008, 05:57 PM

Damn storm, you have some serious lifts for your weight. Good stuff!

IronIc

05-07-2008, 06:02 PM

Hi Steve! Have a nice night :)

Stenn

05-08-2008, 12:34 AM

You might be closer to a 405# deadlift than you think. In March I was repping w/ 355#...usually around 5. In April I just added 10# to my previous week's best for heavy singles and at the end of the month....405#/1. :)

Good luck.

That's a good point. Since I'm getting 5 clean reps of 352, my 1RM is probably quite a bit higher.

Congratulations on pulling 405!

Stenn

05-08-2008, 12:36 AM

Hi Steve! Have a nice night :)

Thanks Penny, I did!

Stenn

05-09-2008, 06:27 AM

I had lots of fun today. While I was doing squats, a much beefier guy was squatting next-door. He did 200kg (440 lb) for 6 reps, a lot of friggin' work even if he did only go down to parallel. He mentioned to his buddy that he needed to get some proper squat shoes and I chimed in that my Chuckies worked great for squats. He replied, "Yeah, that's what I was wearing in my deadlift picture up there on the wall." Sure enough, the guy's picture is on the wall, deadlifting enough plates that the group of them was wider than it was tall, in his Chuckies. Doh! :eek:

The guy's name is Alan. He's the son of Tony, the gym manager. We talked about a ton of stuff while we recovered from our squats. He recommended a powerlifting program to increase my squats, but it sounded like something a more advanced lifter than myself would do. Basically, after getting a new 5RM, you drop back to 50-60% and start doing 5x8. Subsequent workouts increase the weight 5% at a time and slowly decrease the volume until you get a new 5RM. It's the sort of program I'll probably switch to once I'm squatting over 400 lb.

Alan said he tore a bicep doing dealifts. That got my attention. I asked him, "Do you use an alternate grip?" Yup, he did and it was the underhand side that tore. I also asked, "Were you always using an alternate grip, or did you warm up with a double-overhand?" He always used an alternate grip. I've heard a theory that warming up with a double-overhand grip makes bicep tears less likely. I'm hoping that's correct. Alan showed me his bicep later in the locker room. It looked groadie.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
BB Back Squat: 20x8,5 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x3 130x2 140x5 (308 lb)
DB Bench Press: 22.5x12 25x5 30x3 35x4,2.5 (77 lb)
SLDL: 60x8 80x5 90x3 102.5x8,8,8 (225.5 lb)
Smith Mach. Calf: 70x12,12,12 (154 lb)
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I finaly got my 5 reps at 140kg. Woo hoo! All reps were belt-free and of the finest quality except for the last which slowed down a lot and turned into a beet-red screamer. Clem yelled something incomprehensible and encouraging at me during the set. That always helps. Next time I'll do it all over again with 142.5kg (313.5 lb).

Now, what fool decided that I should DB bench press 35kg today? :rolleyes: I got two more reps than last time, but I felt like I was risking my elbows and shoulders to do it. In general, I need to do more reps and less weight on my DB bench press and save the heavy work for BB bench press.

My SLDL's were an experiment with different grips. My 1st working set used a hook grip which I've never tried before. It worked great but hurt my thumbs. 2nd set used a regular overhand grip and I barely made it through the set. 3rd set used an alternate grip which was, as usual, solid as a rock. I'd like to use the hook grip more if I can get it to hurt less. I got all my reps so next time it's 105kg (231 lb).

I hate Smith machine calf work. I'm gonna switch to seated calf raise or leg press next time.

Stenn

05-12-2008, 05:15 AM

We had an action-packed weekend over here. We spent Saturday night at a diner party where our fabulous host excelled at providing good food, fantastic deserts, and way more wine than I would ordinarily drink at a sitting. Sunday morning we all got up early for a trip out to Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. We spent the day treking all over the island in our 2-wheel pony trap. We saw the ancient fort Dun Aonghasa, played on the beach, and ate yummie, unhealthy food. Sadly, the last restaurant we ate at was out of Guiness. :( By the time we got home, we were all tired and crabby with nothing to do but to collapse into bed and sleep like the dead for a good 10 hours. It was just what I needed to finish off the recovery of my legs and back for deadlifting the next day.

Stenn

05-12-2008, 05:45 AM

I had a great sleep last night but didn't feel particularly motivated to go to the gym. That's always a good sign. My workout went well and I purchased a 6 lb container of whey powder afterwards which I had to lug all the way home with the rest of my crap. There are times when I miss my car...

I had originally decided to try glute ham raises with my latest workout routine but I've had second thoughts after Friday's SLDL workout. Also, I read Rippetoe's description of SLDLs and I can't imagine a better hamstring workout than SLDLs, especially the way I do them on a platform. So, SLDLs stay and GHRs go.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Deadlift: 60x5,5 100x5 120x5 140x3 150x3 165x4 (363 lb)
DB Bench Press:17.5x8,8 25x10,10,9 (55 lb)
DB Row: 35x5 40x8,4/3,4 (88 lb)
WG Pullup: BWx4,4,4
Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home with extra heavy gym bag.

165kg is within 2 lb of my PR weight at which I only got 2 reps. So, you can imagine my delight at getting 4 reps today. Tony was cheering me on with, "Come on, my boy! Lift it up! Lock it out! Roll your shoulders back!" After my set, he said, "If you're still around this time next year, we'll sign you up for a competition." :) He had me wondering what a 40ish-year old, 180 lb guy would need to lift to be competitive...

DB bench press was awsome today. I finaly got my weight and reps/set correct and I got a great workout. I fell one short of my desired reps which is good enough for me to consider 3x12 for next time. I don't want to increase the weight because I'm doing heavy (for me anyway) BB bench press on Wednesdays.

The DB rows were friggin' hard. My 1st working set was all good reps, each touching my chest. The last two sets were a mess with weenie reps and desperate attempts. I did 35kg (77 lb) with no trouble last time. I wish there was a set of 37.5kg (82.5 lb) dumbells, but no.

I was in no shape for pullups after the deads and rows but I did what I could. I think I'm gonna wimp out and do my pullups next time on the assist machine so that I can get some more volume here.

I forgot to do my misc. shoulder warmup before bench press. Oops! I did some shoulder dislocates after my pullups and hoped for the best. So far, everything feels OK.

storm1507

05-12-2008, 06:44 AM

165kg is within 2 lb of my PR weight at which I only got 2 reps. So, you can imagine my delight at getting 4 reps today. Tony was cheering me on with, "Come on, my boy! Lift it up! Lock it out! Roll your shoulders back!" After my set, he said, "If you're still around this time next year, we'll sign you up for a competition." :) He had me wondering what a 40ish-year old, 180 lb guy would need to lift to be competitive...

405# should be "easy" for you. Competive weights???... I have been wondering myself, but have no idea. I don't have the personality to be a competitive BBer, but do have it to compete in PL. I just don't know if my body would hold up to the torture.

Stenn

05-12-2008, 03:44 PM

405# should be "easy" for you. Competive weights???... I have been wondering myself, but have no idea. I don't have the personality to be a competitive BBer, but do have it to compete in PL. I just don't know if my body would hold up to the torture.

405 easy? I wish! :) I tried 374 not too long ago and failed to get it much more than a few inches off the ground.

I doubt that I will ever compete, even in powerlifting. If I tried, I'd probably get clobbered because of my lousy bench press. Still, Tony is the 2nd powerlifter to whisper the "C" word in my ear so it's hard to not be a little curious.

SR800

05-12-2008, 04:43 PM

Stenn

05-13-2008, 01:29 AM

I have very fond memories of my time on the Aran Islands, my twin brother's name is "Aran". Well maybe not so fond. It was over 30 years ago and there was barely any electricity, no motorized vehicles, you were lucky to just have a little grass in your milk and the cats were regularly killed by the rats or they drown in the cistern, everyone spoke gaelic, oh lovely days they were:D

That's funny! Our pony trap driver mentioned that they only got electricity and TV in 1976, but he didn't mention the rats. :eek: These days, the worst invaders of the island seem to be the tourists.

dartol

05-13-2008, 05:56 AM

Sadly, the last restaurant we ate at was out of Guiness. :(

What what what? Out of Guniess in Ireland? Man, isn't that a hanging crime there? :)

Darren

namtrag

05-13-2008, 09:52 AM

That's funny! Our pony trap driver mentioned that they only got electricity and TV in 1976, but he didn't mention the rats. :eek: These days, the worst invaders of the island seem to be the tourists.

I will resemble that remark in summer of 2009! Take it back or I will come over and kick your butt! lol

Stenn

05-13-2008, 10:13 AM

What what what? Out of Guniess in Ireland? Man, isn't that a hanging crime there? :)
That's what I was thinking... What made it worse was that they had plenty of Budweiser and Miller. I mean, they're able to stay stocked up on trans-Atlantic beer but can't manage a regular delivery from Dublin? I drank tap water in protest. :(

I will resemble that remark in summer of 2009! Take it back or I will come over and kick your butt! lol

I dunno man, I've seen thousands of tourists in Galway alone and only a single rat. It's OK, though. I'm pretty sure the Irish are more fond of the tourists than they are of the rats. :)

But seriously, have you figured out where you'll visit?

Stenn

05-14-2008, 06:37 AM

Another day, another chest workout. My shoulders and elbows are still holding together with only mild crankiness. I'm staying consistant with my soulder warm-up exercises and I've been hitting the fish oil and glutamine pretty hard. I'm considering adding post-workout shoulder dislocates to help relax the tendons and increase blood flow. It can't hurt...

Mel showed up today for a legs workout that started with squats in the power cage. He was too lazy to adjust the rack height and was planning to shrug and tip-toe the bar back into the rack. I recommended that he put a riser (the one I do SLDLs on) in the rack as a step up to the rack and that's what he did. It was freaky watching him step backward off the riser to start a set and onto it at the end. After watching him struggle to rack 160kg (352 lb) at the end of an exhausting set, I all but begged him to let me adjust the rack for him but that turned out to be his last set, thank God.

I had a great chest, shoulder, and tricep pump after my workout and couldn't help but break into some spontaneous posing. It was one of those, "Wow, this is working!" moments.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
BB Bench Press: 20x10,10 40x5 60x3 75x2 82.5x5,4 (181.5 lb)
BB Press: 20x8,8 30x5 40x2 45x5,5,5 (99 lb)
Dip: BW+5x10,9,6 (11 lb)
Rev. Fly: 10x8 7.5x8,10 (22 lb, 16.5 lb)
Assisted Dip: Drop Sets
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

My bench form wasn't solid but it was good enough. I got one more rep than last time and fell only one rep short of what I wanted. Good enough! I'm gonna stick at 82.5kg for one more week.

Presses where a breeze. Time for more weight! Next time, I'll do 47.5kg (104.5 lb).

I got 25 dips this time and 25 dip last time. Harrumph!

This was my 1st time doing reverse flyes at 10kg (22 lb) and it just didn't fly (pun intended). I could do my reps, but none of them were very high. I dropped back to 7.5kg for my last two sets. I'll stick with 7.5kg next time and up the reps/set.

I was feeling unfulfilled and decided to do some tricep push-downs to finish myself off. The push-down machine is right next to the assisted dip machine and I thought, "Why waste my time isolating triceps when I can get pecs and shoulders thrown in for free?" I started out at 0kg (0 lb) assist and kept adding weight each time I went to exhaustion till the weight got silly. Fun stuff!

IronIc

05-14-2008, 07:59 AM

Hi Steve! The Aran Islands sound wonderful :) I have always wanted to visit Ireland & Scotland :D

Stenn

05-14-2008, 09:04 AM

I have always wanted to visit Ireland & Scotland :D

Come on over! If you make it to Galway in the next month, I can show you around town and get you into Galway City Gym.

IronIc

05-14-2008, 09:35 AM

Come on over! If you make it to Galway in the next month, I can show you around town and get you into Galway City Gym.
That's right, you're coming back to the States soon, aren't you? :)

Stenn

05-14-2008, 11:44 AM

That's right, you're coming back to the States soon, aren't you? :)

Yeah, I'll be back in the states in a couple of months. For the last month, we'll be bumming around Dublin and London. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for exercise during that time. I'm not a big fan of bodyweight stuff but maybe I can do that and walk a whole lot and see if I can drop a pound or two of fat.

jspirate

05-14-2008, 05:33 PM

I had a great chest, shoulder, and tricep pump after my workout and couldn't help but break into some spontaneous posing. It was one of those, "Wow, this is working!" moments.

HaHa - thats awesome! Did you pose for any onlookers or was it some solo posing? :D

Stenn

05-15-2008, 12:28 AM

HaHa - thats awesome! Did you pose for any onlookers or was it some solo posing? :D

Mostly it was solo in the changing room, but I also did a quick tricep flex for Mel. He was impressed. :)

Stenn

05-16-2008, 05:59 AM

Yippie, legs day! I got in some great squatting and as I finished, Mel came out of the locker room and told me I was making too much noise. :rolleyes: Clem disagreed and said that I wasn't making enough noise. I guess you can't please everyone, eh? :D

After my workout, I found that the showers were only letting out a dribble of water. I was scooping up what little was coming out and splashing it on myself when Tony passed by and told me that the cold shower was still working. Great! I hopped in, hit the button and... "HOLY NEPTUNE'S NEPHEW, KILL ME NOW!" Tony says, "Aw, come on Steve, take it like a man." "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

Anyway...

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
BB Back Squat: 20x5,5 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x3 130x2 142.5x3 (313.5 lb)
DB Bench Press: 22.5x10 25x5 30x5,5 (66 lb)
SLDL: 60x5 80x5 90x3 105x8,8,8 (231 lb)
Seated Calf: 20x20 40x10,15,15 (88 lb)
Shoulder Dislocates: 15 reps
Cardio: 3.0km brisk walk home.

My squats were all good except that my lower back was a little cranky, probably from how I slept last night. My rib felt good so I tried the belt at 130kg and again on my working set and all went well. My last rep was a real squeaker and I was about to give up on it till Clem yelled out something encouraging. I got the rep, racked the bar, sat down and then almost blacked out. Yikes! I didn't get 5 so it's 142.5kg again next time.

I started my dumbell presses and was through my 1st work set when I realized I hadn't done my shoulder warm up. Bad dog! No biscuit! :( I got my reps so it's 35kg (77 lb) next time. I sure do wish the gym had 32.5kg (71.5 lb) dumbells...

I think I started out bending my knees too much on my SLDLs. I did my last sets slow, with straighter knees, and touching (not bouncing!) each rep on the floor while standing on a raiser. Done this way they're as hard as conventional deads. I finished sweaty and shaking. Next time, 107.5kg (236.5 lb).

To squeeze a little extra goodness out of my calf raises, I did a little double-bounce at the top of each rep. As usual, I went way past the burn to actual muscle failure on each set and then hobbled over to the railing for a good stretch. Mmm, mmm good!

I got in some shoulder dislocates on the way out of the gym in the hopes that all would be forgiven for not doing a proper warm up before my bench presses. We'll see...

SR800

05-18-2008, 05:56 AM

Steve, how are you feeling about this 3 way split?

Stenn

05-18-2008, 06:56 AM

Steve, how are you feeling about this 3 way split?

It's working well so far. I have squats/SLDLs and deads separated enough that they're not interfering with each other. Doing bench press 3x a week doesn't seem to be overtraining my chest yet because I'm not lifting that much weight. My elbows and shoulders are a little sore, but I'm not too worried about it yet.

I'm going to stick with this program until we leave Ireland in a month. It'll take us a month to get back to Houston via Dublin and London. That'll be my official break time before hitting it hard in Houston again.

I'm getting more serious about doing a cut some time soon. I'm starting to feel fat (don't look that bad though, IMO) and I'm on the last set of holes on my lifting belt. The lifting belt doesn't lie! :( Maybe when I'm in Houston I'll do some kind of light-weight, high-rep, fast-paced circuit style training to shed some fat while avoiding the dreadded treadmill. We'll see...

dartol

05-18-2008, 07:26 PM

I'm getting more serious about doing a cut some time soon. I'm starting to feel fat (don't look that bad though, IMO) and I'm on the last set of holes on my lifting belt. The lifting belt doesn't lie! :( Maybe when I'm in Houston I'll do some kind of light-weight, high-rep, fast-paced circuit style training to shed some fat while avoiding the dreadded treadmill. We'll see...

Hey Steve! Wow good work still going on here, cool!

LOL on the lifting belt. But the fat shed is more diet than your training style, you could do a whole lot without changing up your routine. :)

Darren

Stenn

05-19-2008, 12:53 AM

Hey Steve! Wow good work still going on here, cool!
Thanks!

LOL on the lifting belt. But the fat shed is more diet than your training style, you could do a whole lot without changing up your routine. :)
Of course you're right. Diet is the main thing and I'll need to start counting calories again. :( Part of the reason I haven't attemted a cut in Ireland is: no non-fat milk, no non/low-fat cottage cheese, no egg whites, no etc, etc, etc. In Houston, I'll have a car and better access to the kinds of food (including www.myfitfoods.com) that I'd want to eat on a cut.

It's my understanding that once you've got your diet in line, a little extra cardio helps. I'm unwilling to add more exercise time to my schedule, so I was thinking about picking up the pace of my existing lifting routine and turning it from a grunt-fest into a sweat-fest.

Stenn

05-19-2008, 05:45 AM

Today was not a great day for me in the gym. I wasn't able to get a single deadlift rep at a weight I lifted 4 times last Monday. I decided to back the weight off a bit and do straight sets of 5, but that ended up blowing my energy budget for the rest of the workout and I tore a callous off my right pinky. Oops!

I have a couple of theories about why I missed my deadlift reps today. First, I didn't eat as well as I could have over the weekend. Second, I had a mild case of the Hershey squirts on Sunday. (TMI? Sorry.) Finaly, I've got the words of lifters bigger and stronger than myself still ringing in my ears. They've all told me that I'm nuts to try for squat and deadlift PRs every week. I've always assumed that I wasn't lifting enough weight for that to be true, but maybe I am. Mel only goes for deadlift PRs every other week. Clem said that some guys only try for PRs once a month and do lighter sets in the mean-time. Hmmmm....

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Deadlift: 60x5,5 100x5 120x5 140x2 160x2 165x0,0 140x5,5,5 (363 lb, 308 lb)
Misc. Shoulder Warm-up
DB Bench Press: 20x5,5 25x12,10,7 (55 lb)
DB Row: 35x5 40x5,5 (88 lb)
WG Pullup: Skipped!
Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

Nothing felt right on my deadlifts today. My form seemed OK, but my kinesthetic sense was off so it was hard to tell. In a word, I felt awkward. 160kg felt very hard and 165kg didn't even make it up to my knees. I would have stripped the bar at that point, but Clem enouraged me to rest and try again. I only got as high as last time and that was that. To get my revenge for the bar's failure to cooperate, I trimed back to 140kg (308 lb) and did 3 sets of 5 that completely drained me but at some point the unruly bar tore the callous off my right pinky. Stupid bar.

I remembered to do my shoulder warm-up this time. Yippie!

I got the same number of reps on DB bench press as last time. Boo, hiss!

My dumbell rows were dissapointing. I had no energy for them and gave up after two short sets.

With my back fried, I saw no point in trying the pullups. I did some shoulder dislocates and headed back to the men's room with my tail beteween my legs and hoping for a better Monday next week.

dartol

05-19-2008, 10:46 AM

Stenn

05-19-2008, 12:31 PM

Hey Steve, you have the Practical Programming book right? In a nutshell it says the closer you get to your genetic potential, the longer it takes between PRs... maybe you have a long way to go still! :)

That's possible, although I just spent the last hour or so at the pub consuming pints of Guiness and Smithwick's while studying my log book. In particular, I was checking my PR trends for squats and deadlifts. I've nearly stalled on my squats, but my deadlifts are still coming along nicely. Knowing that, I believe that today's deadlift fiasco was a fluke.

I think my deads are still progressing nicely because I recently moved them to the begining of my workout. They used to be in the middle of my workout after heavy squats.

I've been nearly stalled at 3 plates on my squats since mid February. I say "nearly" because since then I've managed to get from 1 rep to 5. That's progress, I guess. Last year I made great progress with the routine where I did high-volume on Monday, front squats on Wednesday, and heavy on Friday (aka, the Texas Method). My knee-jerk reaction is to go back to that plan, but I don't think I can get away with squatting that much in a week anymore, especially with deads thrown in there.

So, what's a poor iron fool to do? I'm considering keeping my existing program of squatting and deadlifting once each per week, but alternating each between high-volume and heavy weight. That would be like the Texas method that worked so well for me, only in slow motion. I'll keep thinking about this some more, but that's the best plan I've got so far.

EMISGOD

05-19-2008, 05:28 PM

I have a couple of theories about why I missed my deadlift reps today. First, I didn't eat as well as I could have over the weekend. Second, I had a mild case of the Hershey squirts on Sunday. (TMI? Sorry.) Finaly, I've got the words of lifters bigger and stronger than myself still ringing in my ears. They've all told me that I'm nuts to try for squat and deadlift PRs every week. I've always assumed that I wasn't lifting enough weight for that to be true, but maybe I am. Mel only goes for deadlift PRs every other week. Clem said that some guys only try for PRs once a month and do lighter sets in the mean-time. Hmmmm....

When I was still bothering with PRs, I would do what Clem described, sometimes I would stretch out the attempt to 3 months...

SR800

05-19-2008, 05:33 PM

The Starr/Pendlay 5x5 advanced periodization program I am running has actually single rep maxes 9 weeks apart but they build you up by going through volume near the point of breaking over the first 4 weeks starting very light and building to ridiculous in weeks 3 and 4, and then back off and starting up with 3x3s for 5 weeks where you end up doing 3 sets of 3 of your original PR in week 9 and then go for new personal records on each lift, doing just one movement per day over about 1hr to an hour and a half day for squat, bench, dead, press, and row.

Yeah cutting sucks, i have been cutting by adding an extra hour of cardio everyday.

dartol

05-19-2008, 07:31 PM

Seems to me like I never make progress with anything I only do once a week. Everyone is likely different though.

Oh here is an article on lifting for fat loss that you might like. :)
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=517831

Darren

Stenn

05-20-2008, 01:51 AM

When I was still bothering with PRs, I would do what Clem described, sometimes I would stretch out the attempt to 3 months...

The Starr/Pendlay 5x5 advanced periodization program I am running has actually single rep maxes 9 weeks apart but they build you up by going through volume near the point of breaking over the first 4 weeks starting very light and building to ridiculous in weeks 3 and 4, and then back off and starting up with 3x3s for 5 weeks where you end up doing 3 sets of 3 of your original PR in week 9 and then go for new personal records on each lift, doing just one movement per day over about 1hr to an hour and a half day for squat, bench, dead, press, and row.

It seems that all the strategies I've been told boil down to doing PRs occasionaly and volume work in the mean-time. They differ only in how they transition between volume and PR work. The Texas method made the transition within a week (a period of one week) and worked well for me until it stopped working. That's why I think that a period of two weeks (PR one week, volume the next) might be the next logical step for me. I'd rather not stretch the period out too far because that would unnecesarily slow down my progress. If I keep lifting more weight, there will come a time when I can only expect a PR once a month or more.

Stenn

05-20-2008, 01:59 AM

Yeah cutting sucks, i have been cutting by adding an extra hour of cardio everyday.

I've never tried to lose weight so cutting should be an interesting experience for me. I'd rather not do cardio because A) I hate cardio and B) I'd rather not spend any extra time exercising. Since I've been a chronic under-eater all my life, I'm just going to lower my caloric intake and then mess with my lifting style to burn more calories.

At least, that's the theory. My greatest fear is that I'll end up like a person who started smoking thinking that I could quit anytime only to realize that the challenge of quitting (or cutting) is much greater than I had imagined.

Stenn

05-20-2008, 02:11 AM

Seems to me like I never make progress with anything I only do once a week. Everyone is likely different though.
As long as you do something more frequently than it takes for your muscles to atrophy and your CNS to de-program itself, you will make progress. For me, I liked squatting multiple times a week because it kept me from getting bored with the process.

Oh here is an article on lifting for fat loss that you might like. :)
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=517831

Thanks Darren, I'll read that later today assuming life (or the wife) doesn't intervene.

Stenn

05-20-2008, 03:11 AM

Oh here is an article on lifting for fat loss that you might like. :)
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=517831

Wow, what an eye-opener! Basically, I should continue to train as currently do and simply drop my calories. Here's how I currently compare to what this guy recommends:

1. Use mostly compound execises.
Done! Almost everything I do is compound.

2. Use a low volume of training.
Done! Low volume is my favorite.

3. Train at a high level of intensity.
Done! It's rare that I deviate from the 4 to 8 RM range.

4. Rest long enough to perform at your best.
Done! I rest till I'm ready.

5. Control the negative and explode with the positive.
Done! I always control the negative even when I don't explode on the positive.

6. Training frequency should be 3 or 4 times a week.
Done! 3x for me.

7. Limit advanced techniques.
Done! Since I have no idea what he's talking about...

8. Supersets are OK.
Since I workout in public gyms, I tend to not do supersets.

9. Go heavier.
Done! Always!

10. Use Power Drive and caffeine.
I use caffeine already. As for the Power Drive, whatever... :rolleyes: The product endorsement at the end was dissapointing and only reduced the credibility of the article in my eyes.

Stenn

05-21-2008, 06:18 AM

I've been an eating machine ever since Monday's deadlift extravaganza. I may not have hit my PR, but I reved my metabolism up big-time with the 308x3x5. All that food left me well-fueled for today's workout which blew by like a summer's breeze. At the end I told Clem, "I'm done, but I don't feel done!" I added some cable flies and Clem recommended ab work.

While I was doing my presses, a beefy looking guy came in to clean the mirrors on the walls. Two more big guys came in later and all three of them started an animated conversation with Clem about their various injuries. One had a trashed shoulder that needed physical re-hab and another un-shirted himself to expose a nifty scar that he got when the doctors re-attached the outside of his pectoral muscle. The thick Irish accents made the conversation hard to follow, but Clem told me later that the guy tore his pec bench pressing with an enhanced recovery system, if ya know what I mean. The guys at Galway City Gym play hard...

Mel made an attempt to squat 200kg (440 lb) today. I didn't see the attempt, but he proudly told me later that he got 1/2 a rep. :D

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym in the rain.
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
BB Bench Press: 20x10,10 40x5 60x3 75x2 82.5x5,5 (181.5 lb)
BB Press: 20x8,8 30x5 40x3 45x2 47.5x5,5,7 (104.5 lb)
Dip: BW+5x10,10,7 (11 lb)
Rev. Fly: 7.5x10,10,12 (16.5 lb)
Cable Fly: Ramp to 30kg, Dropsets down (66 lb)
Decl. Wtd. Situp: BWx15 BW+10x10,9 (22 lb)
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I got all my bench press reps at 82.5kg so it's time for more weight. Clem was spotting for me and although he has his fingers under the bar, he claims he wasn't helping any. Next time, 85kg (187 lb).

I excelled at my pesses again and even got a couple of victory reps at the end. Next time, 50kg (110 lb).

I felt stronger than usual on the dips but ended up getting about the same number of reps as usual. Whatever. As long as my bench and press numbers keep going up, I don't care.

The reverse flys felt easy. I'm gonna go back and try 10kg (22 lb) again.

This was my 1st time ever doing cable flies. My form kinda sucked. They're trickier than I had imagined.

I did one BW set of situps to test the rib. That went well so I grabbed 10kg (22 lb) and whipped off another couple of sets. The rib stayed happy so I stayed happy.

dartol

05-21-2008, 08:46 AM

Wow, what an eye-opener! Basically, I should continue to train as currently do and simply drop my calories.
I knew you would like that article! :)

Wow man you are on a roll these days!

Darren

Stenn

05-21-2008, 11:03 AM

I knew you would like that article! :)
It's fun reading articles that agree with everything you're already doing. :D

Wow man you are on a roll these days!
Yeah, thanks! I plan to keep on rollin' as long as the elbows and shoulders cooperate. They're not 100% pain-free at the moment. However, it's not injury pain I'm feeling. It's more like the ordinary outcome of doing lots of upper body work. I can live with that...

Stenn

05-23-2008, 06:24 AM

Wow, a lot happened at the gym today. Let's get started!

Adrian is back from college and working at the gym again this summer. I think he's studying physical therapy or some kind of exercise science so he's a handy guy to have around. He noticed me doing reverse flies (part of my shoulder warmup) with a rounded back and gave me a lecture on maintaining proper form at all times, not just when the weight is heavy.

Speaking of reverse flies, I notice Mel doing his (with 20kg DBs, no less) and saw that he didn't put much effort into keeping his elbows straight. It occurred to me that it might not be a good idea to keep absolutely straight elbows because they're a vulnerable joint for me. Hmmm...

Mel observed my working set of squats and saw that I was letting my knees cave in on the drive up. I was stunned and amused to hear this. I honestly had no idea that was happening. I always thought I was a good boy. I need to fix that problem before my knees go "Poof!"

I was also surprised to find that today's workout took two hours. I mentioned this to Clem and he said, "Just the squats alone can take an hour." I did 8 sets of squats. If each set took 7.5 mintues, that would be an hour. That doesn't sound too far from the truth.

Finaly, in the men's room, Paddy was telling jokes that he had heard from a Dublin taxi driver. (We'll get to the workout soon, I promise!)

Zeus was flying over the Earth one day and spied a beautiful woman down below. He flew down, made passionate love to her, and then told her, "In nine month's time, thou shalt have a son. Thou shalt name him Herakles." The woman replied, "In nine day's time, thou shalt develop a rash. Thou shalt name it Herpes."

Ok, one more...

The taxi driver told Paddy that he worked late hours. Paddy asked, "Is your wife asleep when you get home?" "No," replied the driver, "she waits up for me and we have a glass of wine together." "Oh, that's very sweet." "Yeah, it works well for us because by that time the other fellow has already gone."

Ahem...

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
BB Back Squat: 20x8,8 60x5 80x5 100x5 120x3 130x2 142.5x3 (313.5 lb)
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
DB Bench Press: 22.5x10 25x3 30x2 35x2,5 (77 lb)
SLDL: 60x5 80x5 100x3 107.5x8,8,9 (236.5 lb)
Seated Calf Raise: 20x30 40x12,15,6,8 (88 lb)
Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Cardio: 3.0km brisk walk home.

My best ever set of squats is 315x3 and today's effort didn't change that. I failed on my 4th rep, sat on the bar, and almost fainted. That's been happening more lately. I think I'm trying harder to complete reps that I usually wouldn't bother with.

I was all wobbly and spastic on my 1st working set of DB bench press. Being wobbly and spastic take a lot of energy. I got my **** together and nailed the 2nd set.

I seem to be on a roll with my SLDL's these days. I got all my reps plus a victory rep at the end. I was so fried, my lower back only barely supported my torso and my hammies were still trembling in the shower. Good stuff! Next time, I'll do it all over again with 110kg (242 lb).

I was motivated to hurt myself good on on the seated calf machine today. On the 1st set, I tried to make the plate jump up on each rep. The last three sets were with very little rest. Yeowza!

Stenn

05-26-2008, 05:38 AM

I had a great day at the gym today. I got my 165kg (363 lb) deadlifts back and finaly put in a respectable performance on my 40kg (88 lb) dumbell rows. As I was walking out of the men's room I told everyone, "Well, now I gotta find something else to do for the next 48 hours." I got a lot of smiles and chuckles from that one. :)

I've got about three more weeks left before I leave Galway and lose access to a gym for a month. That'll be a nice rest period for me. Before that happens, I want to set some new PRs on bench press, deadlift, and squats. To get 'em, I'm going to scale back and even eliminate some of my assistance work. I think I have a good chance of breaking into new frontiers on each lift.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Deadlift: 60x5,5 100x5 120x3 140x2 160x1 165x4,0 (363 lb)
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
DB Bench Press: 20x10 25x12,9,9 (55 lb)
DB Row: 35x5 40x8,8,5/2 (88 lb)
Ast. pull/chin ups: Stuff
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I was on the middle platform and Mel was on the one by the wall with the mirror. We were both doing deadlifts. I was trying to match Mel's warmup set pace for no good reason but it seemed to work well anyway. My back and hammies still felt unrecovered from Friday's SLDLs, but I got 4 reps at 165kg anyway just like two weeks ago. I failed to set my back properly on the 5th rep and when the lift stalled at my knees, I wisely decided to bail out. This Friday I'll drop the SLDLs and then shoot for 170kg (374 lb) next Monday.

The bench presses felt very good today and I got one more rep than last week.

I got three good sets of rows today whereas I gave up after two lousy sets last week. Much better.

I just fiddled around on the assisted pullup machine. I started at no assist and then added weight to do a couple of drop sets. I don't know if I got any stronger, but I gave myself a great bicep pump. :D

EMISGOD

05-26-2008, 08:11 AM

Ahhh, the joys of goal-chasing...sounds like you're having a good time over there...

Stenn

05-26-2008, 11:52 AM

Ahhh, the joys of goal-chasing...sounds like you're having a good time over there...

Indeed, I am. :D Small, believable, achievable goals like these are what keep me going to the gym.

SR800

05-27-2008, 05:17 PM

4 reps of 363 is very solid!

IronIc

05-27-2008, 06:23 PM

Nice deading, Steve! :)

Are you going to miss Ireland when you leave? :)

Stenn

05-28-2008, 01:27 AM

4 reps of 363 is very solid!

Thanks man! They felt solid too. I've been very happy with my deadlifting form lately.

Stenn

05-28-2008, 01:44 AM

Nice deading, Steve! :)

Are you going to miss Ireland when you leave? :)

Thanks! I'm off to the gym this morning to see what I can do on the bench.

What I'll miss about Ireland:
- Galway City Gym
- Clem, Tony, Mel, and the other strong, friendly people at GCG.
- Cool spring days.
- Flowers everywhere.
- Friendly people.
- Not needing a car.
- Houses built out of stone and brick instead of wood and sheetrock.
- The swans and ducks in the canal.
- The Corrib River running through town.
- Feeling safe day and night, at home or on the street.
- Open fire places in pubs.
- Fresh salmon at every restaurant.
- Our neighborhood butcher/grocer, a tiny shop that has everything.
- Well-behaved dogs that wander around without leashes.
- Feeling OK about sending my 6-year old daughter to the corner store with a Euro to buy herself a treat.

What I won't miss about Ireland:
- It takes $1.57 to buy 1 Euro.
- Roundabouts
- Stepping over vomit, broken glass, and half-empty curry boxes Monday morning.
- Grafitti
- Incredibly high supplement prices (for those that haven't been banned.)
- Gravy, mayonaise, and fried food.
- Packs of young girls in their school uniforms who smoke and swear like sailors.
- Tiny, ineffective laundry machines and vacuum cleaners.
- Living without a dishwasher and garbage disposer.

Overall, I've had fun over here in Galway and I'll miss it when I'm gone. But, there's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home... <click> <click> <click>

Stenn

05-28-2008, 05:41 AM

What could be better than hitting a bench press PR in style? How about hitting two bench press PRs in style? I was unusually strong in the gym today and that has me wondering why. All I can think of is that I've changed my diet a little. I've stopped eating peanut butter and instead get my protein from more fish and chicken. I'm eating fewer calories but more fruit and I'm getting more protein at bed-time. Could that be it? Maybe...

I saw something interesting in the gym today. A guy placed an incline bench on one of the lifting platforms and set up a barbell in front of it. He then cleaned the bar, sat down on the bench and then did incline bench press. How old-school is that?

Mel shared an interesting story with me today. He was born with a club foot and from birth to age 1 he wore a cast on his right leg which mostly corrected the problem. He still tends to walk with the foot turned under and pointed inward, but other than that it doesn't give him much trouble. His right calf is smaller than his left so he's had to do some clever posing in bodybuilding contests. The only thing I ever noticed is that his feet often seem unsettled when he's squatting. Yet another reason to stop whining about your genetics, eh?

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
BB Bench Press: 20x10,10 40x5 60x3 80x2 85x6 87.5x5 (187 lb, 192.5 lb)
BB Press: 20x8,8 30x5 40x3 45x2 50x5,5,4 (110 lb)
Dip: BW+5x12,10,6 (11 lb)
Rev. Fly: 10x8,8,15 (22 lb)
Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I kept a good, brisk pace on my bench press warmups and then asked Clem for a spot when I was ready for 85kg. As Clem climbed onto the spotting platform, Mel came out of the men's room and told me, "That's too light!" I replied, "Yes, but it's still more weight than I've ever benched in my life." Mel stuck around to watch the show as I got my 5 reps and then hit one more for good luck. Hot damn, I finaly benched greater than my body weight! On my next set, Clem suggested that I try 87.5kg. As strong as I felt, it would be a shame to let it go to waste. I slapped on a couple of those tiny drink-coaster plates and got 5 more reps. I'm now dangerously close to benching 200 lb before leaving Ireland. I was excited and very pleased with myself for the rest of my workout. Next time, 90kg (198 lb).

My presses went well but I think my max is 115 lb so no PR there. I rushed my last rest to let Mel have the squat rack and missed getting 5 reps. No biggie. Next time, 52.5kg (115.5 lb).

I got one more dip than last time, so that's cool. I'm gonna try 7.5kg (16.5 lb) next time and do 3 sets to failure. That should be fun.

For reverse flys, I followed Adrian's advice for my back and copied Mel's form for my ebows. It worked great! I may actually like reverse flies now. Next time, 12.5kg (27.5 lb).

SR800

05-28-2008, 06:50 PM

Great work on the bench! :D

I am hoping for 1 clean rep of 200lbs next week when I go for my PRs, I can do dirty reps with my ass off the bench, but have not yet hit a clean straight 200.

Stenn

05-29-2008, 01:41 AM

Great work on the bench! :D

I am hoping for 1 clean rep of 200lbs next week when I go for my PRs, I can do dirty reps with my ass off the bench, but have not yet hit a clean straight 200.

Thanks! It feels good to finaly be making some progress on bench. I've always felt very awkward at bench untill lately. During the last few weeks, benching has felt more like my squats and deadlifts. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I'm able to apply more focused effort to the exercise. I guess my CNS has finaly gotten its **** togeter with respect to my upper body.

We're both within spitting distance of 200. If you hit it next week, you'll get there a week before I do unless I pull a rabbit out of my hat next Wednesday.

BTW, I've never tried "dirty" reps, but I do tend to put a mighty big arch in my lower back when I bench. :rolleyes: I guess that's all a part of learning how to bench better.

jspirate

05-29-2008, 03:49 AM

We're both within spitting distance of 200. If you hit it next week, you'll get there a week before I do unless I pull a rabbit out of my hat next Wednesday.

Good luck... I bet you will get it no problem next week :)

Stenn

05-29-2008, 04:42 AM

Good luck... I bet you will get it no problem next week :)

That would be cool. :cool:

dartol

05-29-2008, 06:30 AM

Stenn

05-29-2008, 07:55 AM

Hey man! Wow, that is really getting close to 200 on bench, nice! I'd really like to do that this year... I just don't know how long it will take to get this shoulder back in shape for that now. :(

Darren

I probably should have hit 200 a long time ago but my elbows and shoulders kept getting in the way.

Here's my prediction about your shoulder. Your doc will tell you it's nothing serious, prescribe NSAIDs, and tell you to keep off it. When the prescription runs out, you'll be back in the gym trying stuff out with light weight and high reps before slowly getting back into the heavy stuff. While your shoulder is healing, you'll hit 200x5 on your squats. That's what my crystal ball says and it's never wrong. :)

dartol

05-29-2008, 11:01 AM

I probably should have hit 200 a long time ago but my elbows and shoulders kept getting in the way.

Here's my prediction about your shoulder. Your doc will tell you it's nothing serious, prescribe NSAIDs, and tell you to keep off it. When the prescription runs out, you'll be back in the gym trying stuff out with light weight and high reps before slowly getting back into the heavy stuff. While your shoulder is healing, you'll hit 200x5 on your squats. That's what my crystal ball says and it's never wrong. :)

Ooh! I just asked my Dogbert Magic 8 Ball if it could confirm your crystal ball and the response was 'you're doomed'. DOH! Wow, twice in a row... that can't be good.

Last time the doc prescribed NSAIDS before my knee surgery, I wouldn't take them. LOL

But I do like the idea on the squats! I will squat 200 soon!

Darren

Stenn

05-29-2008, 12:47 PM

Ooh! I just asked my Dogbert Magic 8 Ball if it could confirm your crystal ball and the response was 'you're doomed'. DOH! Wow, twice in a row... that can't be good.
Don't listen to Dogbert. He's evil.

Last time the doc prescribed NSAIDS before my knee surgery, I wouldn't take them. LOL

The last time I got prescribed NSAIDs for my elbow, I read the information paper that came with them and then threw out the bottle.

SR800

05-29-2008, 04:12 PM

BergMuscle

05-29-2008, 04:43 PM

Great work, Steve.
I'm also shooting for the 200# bench press mark. Let's all get there this summer! :)

Stenn

05-30-2008, 01:28 AM

I have prescription (tramadol)and over the counter (naproxyn sodium) NSAIDS and use them whenever I hurt, the anti-inflammation properties seem to speed minor irritants. I try to avoid them when possible but I believe in better life through chemistry:D

The stuff that I got was Naproxin which apparently is a close cousin to Vioxx, but that wasn't what bothered me. This was the 2nd time I had been to a doctor about my elbow and this doctor took exactly the same approach as the last one: NSAIDs and stay off it for 2 weeks. I told the doctor that the NSAIDs did absolutely nothing for me last time and asked if he could please try something else. He said that we had to do the 2-week course of NSAIDs because my insurance company would balk at other (more expensive) treatment unless the cheap, ineffective NSAIDs were tried first. Shortly after that, I read about Naproxin and the bottle went in the trash. I saw no point in taking ANY risk no matter how small when I knew the stuff would do nothing for me.

I actually keep a bottle of Aleve (same as Naproxen but lower dose) in my gym bag for special occasions. I think the last time I opened the bottle was when I broke my foot. But for the most part I avoid NSAIDs, and most other drugs for that matter, especially if they're being forced on me by an insurance company.

Stenn

05-30-2008, 01:33 AM

Great work, Steve.
I'm also shooting for the 200# bench press mark. Let's all get there this summer! :)

Heck, let's get there this month! :D

Stenn

05-30-2008, 05:19 AM

Mentally, I was out to lunch this morning but that didn't stop me from getting under the bar and trying new things anyway. I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but I did well enough. Maybe this whole mental thing is over-rated.

While I was resting in the squat rack between sets, I heard a loud "Ka-Bam" behind me. I turn around and saw the iso-chest machine laying on its side. The end in the air had no plates on it. The end on the ground had about six plates on it. Oops! Everyone wandered over for a look-see and finaly Clem said, "Well, it just shows to go you..." before helping an embarassed lifter tip the machine back up onto its feet. Apparently, I wasn't the only one off his mental game this morning.

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Back Squat: 20x5,5 60x5 100x5 120x3 140x1 145x2,1 (319 lb)
Misc. Shoulder Warmup
DB Bench Press: 22.5x8 25x3 30x2 35x4,2 (77 lb)
Seated Calf: 40x12 60x12,6,10 20x35,20,15 (88, 132, 44 lb)
Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

My squats didn't feel right today. I did a lot of fidgeting to get comfortable and that's usually a bad sign. My 1st working rep went OK, but my back flattened out badly on the 2nd. I stood there in mid-rep for way too long looking more like a piano mover than a weight lifter. I finished the rep on sheer will-power and racked the bar. Since my problem was bad form, I tried a 2nd set vowing to do better. My form was better, but my energy was gone. I left the 2nd rep on the safety pins. 145kg is a new PR, 4 lbs heavier than my prior PR of 315 lb. I'll try 145kg again next week to see if I can get it right the 1st time. (BTW, I'm told a small upright piano weights between 300 and 400 lb.)

I did one rep less on dumbell presses than last week which is understandable considering my new BB bench max two days ago. Why was I doing heavy DB work anyway? I'm going to back off on this weight for next time.

Since I was only doing three exercises this workout, I just had to go nuts on calves. At 40kg, I was popping the plates up in the air each rep. An extra plate fixed that little problem. Finaly, I backed off to just one plate and went for a few burn sets. Oooh, baby!

dartol

05-31-2008, 05:46 AM

The stuff that I got was Naproxin which apparently is a close cousin to Vioxx, but that wasn't what bothered me. This was the 2nd time I had been to a doctor about my elbow and this doctor took exactly the same approach as the last one: NSAIDs and stay off it for 2 weeks. I told the doctor that the NSAIDs did absolutely nothing for me last time and asked if he could please try something else. He said that we had to do the 2-week course of NSAIDs because my insurance company would balk at other (more expensive) treatment unless the cheap, ineffective NSAIDs were tried first. Shortly after that, I read about Naproxin and the bottle went in the trash. I saw no point in taking ANY risk no matter how small when I knew the stuff would do nothing for me.

I actually keep a bottle of Aleve (same as Naproxen but lower dose) in my gym bag for special occasions. I think the last time I opened the bottle was when I broke my foot. But for the most part I avoid NSAIDs, and most other drugs for that matter, especially if they're being forced on me by an insurance company.

I'm with you there Steve. I started taking Ibuprofin (Advil) during the day and Aleve at night for my shoulder, but it only helped a little. Ibuprofin seems to work better than Naproxin for me, but I took the Aleve to work overnight.

Those things bother my stomach if I take them for more than a few days.

The last time I had knee surgery, the doc prescribed Celebrex for a few weeks right before, but I wouldn't even take it, I didn't even get it filled. I know that has only been shown to cause heart problems if taken for a long time, but I don't want to mess with anything that might affect my heart.

I am seeing that doc on the 12th about the shoulder, I am sure he will probably do something similar. The main thing is that I need to find out if something is torn or just irritated though.

Wow I would not have tried a second heavy squat set at that weight, you are an animal!

Darren

Stenn

05-31-2008, 07:20 AM

I'm with you there Steve. I started taking Ibuprofin (Advil) during the day and Aleve at night for my shoulder, but it only helped a little. Ibuprofin seems to work better than Naproxin for me, but I took the Aleve to work overnight.

Those things bother my stomach if I take them for more than a few days.
BodyHard recently told about having his stomach scoped out by the doctor. On the way down, the doc saw "something" that could have been a result of either heavy drinking or taking Aleve. Yet another thing that makes you think...

Wow I would not have tried a second heavy squat set at that weight, you are an animal!

I wouldn't have done a second set either but since I knew I had a form problem that I could fix, I decided it was worth a try.

jspirate

05-31-2008, 04:15 PM

Stenn

06-01-2008, 02:07 AM

I see bench PRs right around the coner bro. You have the focus and it looks like you are dialing in the diet! Fun stuff! :)

Fun stuff, indeed! I've got a cold right now. It's not bad and I still hope to deadlift on Monday. We'll see...

Stenn

06-02-2008, 07:47 AM

It's a bank holiday here in Ireland. The gym didn't open till noon and everyone who would have ordinarily worked out in the morning was there in the afternoon along with the folks who ordinarily workout in the afternoon. The crowd was so thick that I almost turned around and left. Instead, I got my game cloths on, bought a bottle of water, and sat on the sidelines waiting for a platform to open. After a half a dozen other guys got their deads out of the way, a space opened up and I made my move...

Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk to the gym.
Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Deadlift: 60x8 100x5 120x3 140x2 160x1 170x2 (374 lb)
BB Bench Press: 20x20 40x10,10,10 (88 lb)
Pendlay Row: 30x8 60x5 70x5,5,5 (154 lb)
More Shoulder Dislocates: 15
Cardio: 2.5km brisk walk home.

I rushed all my deadlift sets to allow the next guy to do his thing. Also, I had to boogie to keep my setup from getting bird dogged. I just went to chalk up and found a guy lingering in my area. I boldly stepped up to the bar and showed him I was still busy. Because of limited resources, I had to use the Texas Chainsaw Massacre bar, the one with knurling so aggressive you could grate parmesan cheese on it. I got lots of red strawberries up and down my legs but no blood, thank goodness. 170kg is 5kg (11 lb) heavier than my last PR of 165kg. I got two clean reps and tried for a 3rd but it only went up a few inches. Good enough! Since I only got 2 reps, I'll only try for 172.5kg (379.5 lb) next time. I'm looking forward to it already.

I couldn't score a bench for dumbell work to save my life so I settled for a pressing bench instead. I kept these light to avoid messing with this Wednesday's bench press PR attempt.

Still no bench but a platform was open so I did Pendlay rows instead of DB rows. At one point, I was within striking distance of one guy doing curls, one doing DB bench press, and another doing squats. I kept 'em light to keep from blowing out my elbows. Did a quick 3x5 and got the hell outta there.

namtrag

06-02-2008, 07:52 AM

Bring a machete next time! lol

Damn, strong deadlifts, I am going to have to put my game face on and try to keep up with you!

ectoBgone

06-02-2008, 08:18 AM

Yeah, twice your bodyweight for reps on deadlift is really good. Congrats on the PR! Takes a lot of focus to pull it off when being rushed like that - props!

Stenn

06-02-2008, 09:17 AM

Bring a machete next time! lol

Damn, strong deadlifts, I am going to have to put my game face on and try to keep up with you!

Many of the guys were WAY bigger than myself, one bodybuilder for sure and at least a couple of power lifters. I would have needed more than a machete to clear that room. :D

You do a tremendous amount of volume work when you deadlift (bodybuilding style work.) If you lowered your reps/set and focused on reaching one heavy work set (powerlifter style work), you'd pass me up very quickly. Seriously, you're one strong dude and probably do 3x the total work that I do over 300 lb. Wait a minute, let me take a peek at your journal...

You did:
6/305 = 1,830 lb/set
6/325 = 1,950 lb/set
5/345 = 1,725 lb/set
Total Volume = 5,505 lb

I did:
308x2 = 616 lb/set
352x1 = 352 lb/set
374x2 = 748 lb/set
Total Volume= 1,716 lb

OK, I take it back. You don't do 3x the work I do, you do 3.21x the work that I do. :D So while you're impressed with the extra 30 lb I'm toting, I'm impressed with the jaw-dropping amount of work you're able to pack into a single workout.

Yeah, twice your bodyweight for reps on deadlift is really good. Congrats on the PR! Takes a lot of focus to pull it off when being rushed like that - props!

Wow, 374 lb really is 2x my bodyweight. I didn't even notice that. Thanks for pointing that out to me! :)

namtrag

06-02-2008, 09:27 AM

Stenn

06-02-2008, 09:52 AM

Thanks on the volume compliments. Don't think that I haven't seriously considered saying screw it on bbing, since I can't seem to lose the weight, and just switching to powerlifting type workouts and eating more.

Darren pointed me to a cutting article on T-Nation that basially said in order to loose fat while maintaining mucle, one should workout almost exactly like I already am.

Here's the article: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=517831

And here's a link to where I discuss the article: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=168382321&postcount=965

If you haven't tried this approach yet, it may be worth a go. If you don't get any thinner, you'll at least be the strongest fat guy in the gym. :)