Thatonedude_808: The Road to 1400+ @ 165

[geneswest]

In Raven. Let's race to 1400 :3

[thatonedude_808]

October 21 | Lower Heavy
Squat: 300x1, 365x3, 315x3 (paused)
Deadlift: 405x1, 455x2
Iso-Lateral Leg Extension: 45s 3x5
Iso-Lateral Prone Leg Curl: 25s 4x8
Seated Calf Raises: 90 5x12
Hip Adductor Machine: 90 3x10


Thoughts: Getting back into my groove finally Today was another easy session. Taking things nice and slow from here. Upper Heavy tomorrow

Video

In Raven. Let's race to 1400 :3

You got it. First let's race to 1300 doe lol.

[thatonedude_808]

October 22 | Upper Heavy
Bench: 220x2, 265x5, 245x5
DB Rows: 110 3x5
DB Incline Press (15°): 115x4, 100 2x5
Lat Pulldown: 160x5, 140 2x5
Standing OHP: 135 2x5
Hammer Curls: 30 2x8
Tricep Pushdown 35 3x20
Face Pulls: 25 3x10

Thoughts: Great day again. Now that I have a decent idea of where I am, I'll be lowering the weights for certain exercises and be a bit more conservative. Will be dropping Bench to 250 for 3x5 next week and work my way up from there.

Video

[thatonedude_808]

October 24 | Lower Light
Squat: 275 3x8
Iso-Lateral Prone Leg Curl: 35 3x8
Iso-lateral Leg Extension: 25 2x12
Leg Curl Machine: 90 2x12
Hip Adductor: 90 3x10
Seated Calve Raises: 100 5x12

October 25 | Upper Light
DB Incline Press (15°): 105 2x6, 100 2x6
DB Rows: 80 3x10
Cable Crossovers: 30 2x10
Low Rows: 140 2x8
Front Laterals: 30 2x8
Lat Pulldown: 85 3x10
DB Overhead Tricep Extension: 80 2x10
Incline Seated DB Curls: 15 3x12
Face Pulls: 40 3x8

Thoughts: Lots and lots of volume for light days. It's a nice change of things, and I'm feeling better every day. Only a matter of time until I'm ready to break rep PRs again!

[NZninja101]

crazy strength

[wwe101]

Nice work Raven, looking forward to seeing your progress.

How is the rumble roller? I just bought an ordinary foam roller, as before i could only use the ones at my gym.

I have a request, can you please make a video on recovery and mobility work as i know you have used mobility successfully.

[thatonedude_808]

crazy strength

"Soon to be" crazy strength***


haha, thanks man!

Nice work Raven, looking forward to seeing your progress.

How is the rumble roller? I just bought an ordinary foam roller, as before i could only use the ones at my gym.

I have a request, can you please make a video on recovery and mobility work as i know you have used mobility successfully.

The rumble roller feels great! Was a bit tough at first but much better than the foam roller I have.


I do a whole bunch of stuff for mobility, so rather than reiterating it in a video, here is the list of resources I use (:

Upper body mobility
Previously compiled in old thread of mine: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=154252571

Lower body mobility
I do something like this for warm up


and these nearly every day pretty much




Hope this helps!

[thatonedude_808]

October 28 | Lower Heavy
Squat: 315x1, 370x3 (PR!)
Front Squat: 225x5, 185x8
Pinned Goodmornings: 115 3x8
Iso-Lateral Leg Curl 45s 3x5
Iso-Lateral Leg Extension 70s 3x5
Seated Calf Raises: 105 5x10
Hip Adductor Machine: 97.5 3x10


Thoughts: Awesome session! Last rep on the squat felt easier than the first two. Set was around a 7 RPE scale, and I felt like I had at least two more reps in the tank! Going to just add one rep each week. Once I get 370x5, I'll add 5lbs and drop down to a 3 rep set again to work my way up to 5 reps. Also decided to throw back on my belt for heavy sets. Been training beltless for a few months now for the fun of it, and time will tell if that helped much.

Still have to work a bit more on flexibility and motor control to reduce that buttwink but it isn't as exaggerated as it used to be at least (: had no lower back problems when I was done so pretty satisfied.

Video

[fittofattofit]

Thoughts: Awesome session! Last rep on the squat felt easier than the first two. Set was around a 7 RPE scale, and I felt like I had at least two more reps in the tank! Going to just add one rep each week. Once I get 370x5, I'll add 5lbs and drop down to a 3 rep set again to work my way up to 5 reps. Also decided to throw back on my belt for heavy sets. Been training beltless for a few months now for the fun of it, and time will tell if that helped much.

Video


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Great depth and that third rep you really got the drive up out of the hole = great speed. If you get that form on every rep then the x 5 will come easy

[SmallLats]

Good job on the PR raven! Like someone else already said you got great drive on that last rep, realistically if you grooved all your reps right you probably have 6-7 reps in you cause that looked effortless. Also, how do you like your adipowers?

October 28 | Lower Heavy
Squat: 315x1, 370x3 (PR!)
Front Squat: 225x5, 185x8
Pinned Goodmornings: 115 3x8
Iso-Lateral Leg Curl 45s 3x5
Iso-Lateral Leg Extension 70s 3x5
Seated Calf Raises: 105 5x10
Hip Adductor Machine: 97.5 3x10


Thoughts: Awesome session! Last rep on the squat felt easier than the first two. Set was around a 7 RPE scale, and I felt like I had at least two more reps in the tank! Going to just add one rep each week. Once I get 370x5, I'll add 5lbs and drop down to a 3 rep set again to work my way up to 5 reps. Also decided to throw back on my belt for heavy sets. Been training beltless for a few months now for the fun of it, and time will tell if that helped much.

Still have to work a bit more on flexibility and motor control to reduce that buttwink but it isn't as exaggerated as it used to be at least (: had no lower back problems when I was done so pretty satisfied.

Video

[wwe101]

Thanks for taking the time out to give me that advice bro.

gj on the pr, repped

[thatonedude_808]

Great depth and that third rep you really got the drive up out of the hole = great speed. If you get that form on every rep then the x 5 will come easy

Thanks! I really need to get form down to be the same in every rep. I usually tend to screw up my first rep all the time in squats...lol.

But going to take Thursday's light day to play around with form and try to keep it all the same speed/drive out the hole

Good job on the PR raven! Like someone else already said you got great drive on that last rep, realistically if you grooved all your reps right you probably have 6-7 reps in you cause that looked effortless. Also, how do you like your adipowers?

Yeah I definitely need to work on having the same groove between all reps. Going to try and focus a lot more on squat days hehe

And as for the Adipowers..it's a love/hate relationship. They help me reach depth with less lower back rounding, but to be honest (as opposed to other people's views) I personally find it harder to keep the power on my heels as opposed to wearing my good old chucks. I feel much more stable (and even stronger) in flat shoes, but considering my form is cleaner with elevated shoes, I'll keep on using them for the sake of less risk of injury.

That's just me though. Everyone else who uses oly shoes always say they feel way more stable in them doing high bar squats. I just need to practice more on keeping the power on the heels.

Thanks for taking the time out to give me that advice bro.

gj on the pr, repped

No problem. I'm always glad to help. And thanks bro

[thatonedude_808]

October 29 | Upper Heavy
Bench: 225x2, 280x4 (PR!), 225x5 (paused)
DB Rows: 80 3x8
DB Flat Press: 115 2x5 (PRs...I think?)
Low Rows: 140 3x6
Lat Pulldown: 120 3x6
Arnold Press 55 2x8
Hammer Curls: 25 2x12
Tricep Pushdown: 42.5 3x14
Face Pulls: 25 3x10

Thoughts: I said I was gonna do 250 3x5 bench lol. Felt real good today though, so I threw on 280 and got four reps. Measly 5lb PR, but I'll take it :P. Switched to my toes midset to see if it makes a difference. Not sure it did though. I've gotten 315 keeping my heels on the floor, so I think I'll stick with heels, but I need to work on loosening up my lower back a bit prior to benching so I can get my chest up just a tad higher.

The 115s for DB flat press were stupidly easy. I felt I had 8-10 reps on the first set, so I'll bump up to 120s next week.

Feels great to finally hit PRs again. I'm feeling more and more confident to break through these numbers easily.

Video

[thatonedude_808]

October 31 | Lower Light
Squat: 285 3x8
Iso-Lateral Prone Leg Curl: 37.5 3x8
Iso-lateral Leg Extension: 72.5 2x8
Leg Curl Machine: 97.5 2x12
Hip Adductor: 105 3x10
Seated Calve Raises: 100 5x10

Thoughts: Good sesh. Trying out a bit of a wider stance with less feet angle. Feet are just right outside shoulder width apart. It was really uncomfortable and caused pain to my hip flexors each time on the bottom of the squat, but I'm going to stick with this it to see if it helps overtime in strengthening my hip adductors and such.

Video

[fittofattofit]

Congrats on the benching PR ... very solid arch in that vid and looking strong. Nice work with benching the 115DBs as well
Great speed and form on the squats. It still looks like a pretty narrow stance anyway compared to most people I see squatting heavy

[thatonedude_808]

November 1| Upper Light
DB Flat Press: 120x8,x5,5 (All PRs!)
DB Rows: 80 3x11
Cable Crossovers: 25 2x12
Low Rows: 140 2x8
NG Lat Pulldown: 85 2x8
Front Laterals: 25 2x11
DB Overhead Tricep Extension: 85 2x10
Incline Seated DB Curls: 20 2x12
Face Pulls: 20 3x10

Thoughts: tfw getting stronger

Video

Congrats on the benching PR ... very solid arch in that vid and looking strong. Nice work with benching the 115DBs as well
Great speed and form on the squats. It still looks like a pretty narrow stance anyway compared to most people I see squatting heavy

Thank you! My stance is usually very very narrow so even going outside shoulder width by a few cm is a big change for me lolol.

[vitornoob]

In
















op is a *******

[thatonedude_808]

In

op is a *******

OP is always a *******


will rep once on recharge.



I mean neg






notsrs

[ForeverPulling]

What modifications have you made?

I can't really tell, looks like you've just added in a bit more arm work and can't quite decide what day you wanna do OHP on, or even if you are going to do OHP? Also, do you do incline or flat on the Upper Light day?

Subbed by the way, only log I'm subbed to :P

[thatonedude_808]

What modifications have you made?

I can't really tell, looks like you've just added in a bit more arm work and can't quite decide what day you wanna do OHP on, or even if you are going to do OHP? Also, do you do incline or flat on the Upper Light day?

Subbed by the way, only log I'm subbed to :P

Appreciate it :P

& honestly I’m still playing around a bit with this routine and the exercises.


I just changed incline on light days to db flat press and plan on moving db incline to the 2nd chest exercise on light day(or alternate). Other than that I’ve:

-Added arm work on heavy days to get a more balanced progression in the other heads of bis/tris
-Removed Deadlifts entirely (for now) and replaced with front squats to ensure faster recovery and sped up progress for squats. Will more than likely replace with Stiff Legged Deadlifts for hamstring development
-Recently replaced OHP with Arnold Press for more shoulder development
-Added face pulls end of upper body days for shoulder health
-Became less restrictive with specific sets/rep range. It now varies depending on how I feel that day

I do want to use this bulk to work on my weaknesses in size, which are my back, hamstrings, and calves, so I will start emphasizing more volume on those exercises while not doing as much for the others (which is actually great because that will allow me to do heavier weight and progress easier strength-wise on chest/quad movements..aka bench and squat)

[ForeverPulling]

Thanks. I would rep, but 0.5 rep is literally pointless so I wont bother haha, I always feel embarassed.

- I figured I'd just keep his 5th "fluff" day in and make it 10 sets of arm work, as it seems a little light on arms otherwise.
- I think I may also switch to flat dumbell, although I think Nunez chose to do dumbell incline in order to get a little more shoulder volume on that day so it's more of an actual "shoulder day".
- I'd also like to switch to Arnold Press, but whenever not doing OHP in a routine is mentioned everybody acts like you're committing a crime by skipping it out, although Arnold's are definitely better for the overall shoulder.

Good luck with deadlifts, I guess you're going for the improve deadlifts without deadlifting approach, it's a shame I was hoping to see a 550lb deadlift from you fairly soon.

[wwe101]

Hey man, Im needing some help with my programming atm.

I also do an upper lower split, and deadlift once a week.

However, i train 6 days a week, u,l,u,l,u,l,rest

(I can never stick to an actual routine like madcows as i always want to go to the gym more than 3/4 days a week. Obsessed with the gym haha)

I train pretty much purely for strength. What percentage of my max should i use for squats and bench, and what reps/sets?

Im at 2/3/4 plates and want to get to 3/4/5.

Any tips or advice? As i have seen your progress in your last log and it was pretty damn crazy lol

Thanks

[thatonedude_808]

Thanks. I would rep, but 0.5 rep is literally pointless so I wont bother haha, I always feel embarassed.

- I figured I'd just keep his 5th "fluff" day in and make it 10 sets of arm work, as it seems a little light on arms otherwise.
- I think I may also switch to flat dumbell, although I think Nunez chose to do dumbell incline in order to get a little more shoulder volume on that day so it's more of an actual "shoulder day".
- I'd also like to switch to Arnold Press, but whenever not doing OHP in a routine is mentioned everybody acts like you're committing a crime by skipping it out, although Arnold's are definitely better for the overall shoulder.

Good luck with deadlifts, I guess you're going for the improve deadlifts without deadlifting approach, it's a shame I was hoping to see a 550lb deadlift from you fairly soon.

You need to always consider your own strengths and weaknesses and what you feel is personally better for you in the long run. When taking any routine from a bodybuilder or powerlifter, look at it as a template and build/adjust from there to your own needs rather than following it to a tee.

While the OHP is a great movement, it is not necessary (nor is any exercise for that matter-unless you are a powerlifter and must compete, then of course the big three are).

If you can get closer to your goals by substituting certain exercises, then screw what others think and do what is best for you.

Anyhow, I may deadlift heavy once a month we'll see really but my back has been iffy for the past few weeks, so I'm playing it more safe.

Hey man, Im needing some help with my programming atm.

I also do an upper lower split, and deadlift once a week.

However, i train 6 days a week, u,l,u,l,u,l,rest

(I can never stick to an actual routine like madcows as i always want to go to the gym more than 3/4 days a week. Obsessed with the gym haha)

I train pretty much purely for strength. What percentage of my max should i use for squats and bench, and what reps/sets?

Im at 2/3/4 plates and want to get to 3/4/5.

Any tips or advice? As i have seen your progress in your last log and it was pretty damn crazy lol

Thanks

I can't really advise a specific percentage to work with, but below is some of my advice.

The first option—Use 5/3/1

I believe you can utilize Wendler's 5/3/1 with increased frequency. Basically you'll keep your upper/lower split but emphasize days for compounds without the rest days (or at least, less rest days)

Ex:
Day 1: Upper (Chest/tris emphasis-Bench 5/3/1)
Day 2: Lower (Quad emphasis-Squat 5/3/1)
Day 3: Upper (Shoulders/Bis emphasis-OHP 5/3/1)
Day 4: Lower (Glute/Ham emphasis-Deadlift 5/3/1)
Day 5: Repeat...

HOWEVER...This is just something tentative. And if you choose to do it, then I suggest eating a hella lot and also possibly incorporate the DLs every two phases (ever other glute/ham emphasis day) rather than every glute/ham day. Also play with how you feel. If you want a rest day in between, throw it in.

This is something a friend of mine (geneswest) has done and had great results.

The second option—Use another powerlifting program

If you mean what you say about training purely for strength, then it would be best to really to get rid of the obsession of lifting so often, understand that your body needs rest, and find a powerlifting program to work with (other than the suggested 5/3/1 that is)

The key phrase to remind yourself is "less is more," most of the time when it comes to strength training (but isn't necessarily always the case)

Being in the gym six times a week can be taxing unless you know your body well enough to know what volume to play with.

Consider researching on Smolov, Sheiko, Coan, Texas Method, etc. and decide if any of these interests you to take part in a full strength-oriented routine.

There's a reason why they are well known strength programs. They have been proven to work with the right amount of consistency and patience.


The third option—Use DUP training

Stick with a hybrid bodybuilding-strength routine. This is what I'm doing.

Size and strength will undoubtedly go hand in hand, but keep in mind you may or may not find as rapid strength gains than to that of a strength-specific routine, BUT you will make gains nonetheless.

Look up into DUP (Daily Utilizing Periodization) if you haven't.
Basically you’ll be using all sorts of reps/sets scheme each upper/lower day. Use the RPE scale for progression and progress by feel.

If you choose to go this way, I would still recommend lessening the amount of frequency you're currently doing so your body can adapt better. Some choices include

Staying with upper/lower (four days a week)
Moving to a PHAT oriented program (five days a week)
Moving to a PPL program (six days a week)

So rather than hitting the same muscle group three times a week, I’d look into training it two times a week instead. This way you have more time to recover. If you still enjoy lifting six times a week then I’d probably go into a PPL than Upper/Lower

The benefit of this is you get the best of both worlds in bodybuilding/powerlifting gains since you're using a split, but it may not be entirely optimal for strength only.


Conclusion
This is just all my opinion now. Some may have better advice, so continue doing more research and learning more about how your body adjusts and take what you will :P

[thatonedude_808]

November 2 | Lower Heavy
Squat: 315x1, 370x4 (PR!)
Front Squat: 205 2x8
Iso-Lateral Leg Curl 50 4x5
Iso-Lateral Leg Extension 72.5 3x5
Leg Curl: 97.5 2x12
Seated Calf Raises: 90 5x10
Hip Adductor Machine: 97.5 3x10
Hip Abductor Machine: 92.5 3x10

Thoughts: Great session. Used chucks today since its been awhile, and I figured the flat heels may benefit my new slightly wider stance. Sure enough, everything felt much more stable, and I was happy to see that my lower back looks nice and tight without any extreme rounding, so i'll continue with this. Also, no hip flexor pain whatsoever five reps next week imo.

Video

[fittofattofit]

Great looking squats. Good rescue for that last rep

[ForeverPulling]

I know you're following the RPE scale, which I'm probably going to hop on soon. Mainly because I go to school and my strength varies massively depending on the school day/how much sleep I had. For example I failed Madcows Week 4 today on 365lbsx4; whereas next week I'll probably be able to hit the 360lbsx5 as required but I need to redo week 4 now because of one shoddy session. Something like madcows doesn't allow you to make the most of your strength when you have it, and one those days where you're weak as **** it's brutal... Anyway rant over about madcows, I'm still gonna milk it out :P

WIth the RPE scale do you use back-off sets like many do? E.g. I hit 350lbx5 on the squats at RPE 9, now I drop the weight by 5-10% (20lb/6% in this case) and get 330lbs: 5,5,5 and keep going until I hit RPE 9 again? Or do you not bother with that?

[AestheticHunter]

Amazing strength in such a short period of lifting ( I noticed that you mentioned February 2012 as a point of time where you got into serious lifting regime). I guess, it's just a matter of little time before you crack your PR's Strong going brother

[wwe101]

Thanks so much man, you hit it right on the head.

I need to stop training every day!

Im thinking of going down the 3/5/1 for powerlifting route.

Also thinking of starting a cut, as i want to compete in a low weight class early next year. (Got about 25lbs to lose at least.)

Thanks man, been a great help

[thatonedude_808]

Great looking squats. Good rescue for that last rep

Thanks!

I know you're following the RPE scale, which I'm probably going to hop on soon. Mainly because I go to school and my strength varies massively depending on the school day/how much sleep I had. For example I failed Madcows Week 4 today on 365lbsx4; whereas next week I'll probably be able to hit the 360lbsx5 as required but I need to redo week 4 now because of one shoddy session. Something like madcows doesn't allow you to make the most of your strength when you have it, and one those days where you're weak as **** it's brutal... Anyway rant over about madcows, I'm still gonna milk it out :P

WIth the RPE scale do you use back-off sets like many do? E.g. I hit 350lbx5 on the squats at RPE 9, now I drop the weight by 5-10% (20lb/6% in this case) and get 330lbs: 5,5,5 and keep going until I hit RPE 9 again? Or do you not bother with that?

The RPE scale is awesome for that specific reason you mentioned. Madcow was amazing, but agreed that certain days where I didn't feel too well just seemed like they did way more harm than good. A lot of people (including myself) just get caught up with numbers on the spreadsheets too many times

HOWEVER, the RPE and fixed goal numbers all have their advantages in training. There were a few times where I've done amazing on days where I enter the gym feeling like absolute ****. It all depends

To answer your question, I do a few back-off sets, but more so on my bench than squats. I've been using front squats recently as back off sets instead, but my wrists just aren't dealing with it properly atm, so I'm going to probably going to go back to doing more back squats for heavy days.

PS crazy strength for your age man.

Amazing strength in such a short period of lifting ( I noticed that you mentioned February 2012 as a point of time where you got into serious lifting regime). I guess, it's just a matter of little time before you crack your PR's Strong going brother

Appreciate the feedback bro!

i was training with a brosplit (hitting muscle groups 1x frequency a week) for nearly an entire year until I finally decided to give higher frequency a try. Gains have been crazy since then

Thanks so much man, you hit it right on the head.

I need to stop training every day!

Im thinking of going down the 3/5/1 for powerlifting route.

Also thinking of starting a cut, as i want to compete in a low weight class early next year. (Got about 25lbs to lose at least.)

Thanks man, been a great help

No prob! Only suggestion is, since you'll be cutting, be a bit more cautious with the last plus sets on 5/3/1 by just leaving a couple in the tank With a high surplus, it's still pretty easy to just go to failure on the plus sets and make drastic gains. With a deficit, however, I can't say the same :/

Good luck man! Looking forward to your gains and your meet

[thatonedude_808]

November 5 | Upper Heavy
Bench: 225x2, 285x3 (PR!), 250x3 (paused), 250x5
DB Rows: 100 3x6
Hammer Strength Incline Press: 115 4x5
Lat Pulldown 140 3x6
Arnold Press: 60 2x8
Hammer Curls: 30 2x8
Tricep Pushdown: 50 3x14

Thoughts: Forgot to mention that I got really bad wrist pain from front squats the day before. Feels like more than just tendonitis and even small things like picking up my phone or driving aches it. Was hoping it would subside by the next day, but it didn't. Thankfully, throwing on wrist wraps during my pushes got rid of the pain just temporarily. Though, now I'm having wrist pain and elbow joint pain in my right arm

Anyway, 285x3 felt really good. Last rep was a bit of a grinder though. The hammer strength incline press felt awesome, and I'll be more than likely be keeping it in for hypertrophy gains.