IDonutBeeleaf's Log

[AlacrityH]

Agreed. before when i was squatting ATG and i'd sort of bounce out of the hole which is good to some extent, but once the weights started getting heavier, whenever i'd bounce i'd lose all upper back tightness and turn it into a half GM squat. also used a super close stance which now i know wasn't good for me.

Yea the mechanics of your hips and femur play a huge extent in your power production out of the hole. All about what works best for you.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

Yea the mechanics of your hips and femur play a huge extent in your power production out of the hole. All about what works best for you.

very true. now i know why i've never seen tall guys with long legs in relation to their height squatting with a stance inside shoulder width. moved to probably 2 inches outside shoulder width on each side today and felt great. even though i'm not doing low bar, i know i'm utilizing my hips and adductors better now cause they're already sore. jonnie candito is my savior.

hoping that the increased hip/adductor involvement and how this stance cuts my depth a bit shallower will translate to more weight moved. hoping to hit a 315 squat in the next couple months.

[AlacrityH]

very true. now i know why i've never seen tall guys with long legs in relation to their height squatting with a stance inside shoulder width. moved to probably 2 inches outside shoulder width on each side today and felt great. even though i'm not doing low bar, i know i'm utilizing my hips and adductors better now cause they're already sore. jonnie candito is my savior.

hoping that the increased hip/adductor involvement and how this stance cuts my depth a bit shallower will translate to more weight moved. hoping to hit a 315 squat in the next couple months.

Jonnie's great for basic understanding of the fundamentals of lifts. I'm considering trying his routine out this summer since I'll have more time. I'm hoping to hit a 315 squat soon as well ;]. Just need to wrap my head around heavy squats and deads in the same day...

[IDonutBeeleaf]

Jonnie's great for basic understanding of the fundamentals of lifts. I'm considering trying his routine out this summer since I'll have more time. I'm hoping to hit a 315 squat soon as well ;]. Just need to wrap my head around heavy squats and deads in the same day...

good luck with that bro lolol, i can't imagine the transition phase into squats and deads on the same day. sounds brutal.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

may 27

laterals
arms

chest fly machine was taken so i said fuk it and didn't wanna wait. i'm having pressing withdrawl, i can just feel my already ****ty bench going down even further

[IDonutBeeleaf]

may 28

deadlifts: 320x5
front squats: 185x5
deadhang pullups: BWx6,5,5,5,5

- deadlifts were a lot easier than expected. very easy tbh.
- front squats felt like a warmup. been a while since i've done them so was seeing where i was at, and it felt like literally nothing. never had gone past 175 before either, so really happy with that. depth was good too, ass was probably 4-6 inches from the floor each rep, if that.
- pullups are geh

[Jaywalking]

pullups are god srs

[IDonutBeeleaf]

pullups are god srs

h8 em cause i suck at em

[IDonutBeeleaf]

may 30

squats: 260x5 then 235x8
pendlay rows: 165x7,7,7

- fuark yeah, 260 felt better than 255 last workout. bar path was straighter, form was more consistent, and upper back never loosened up. pitched a little bit forward on rep 4 but that always seems to happen a bit on my 4th rep. idk why. only maybe an inch though, so not gonna obsess about it. gonna attempt 265x5 next workout, so it'll either go well or put me in my place. we'll see.
- elbow was having a slight bit of pain after the 3rd set so called it there. nothing major and nothing that lasted, but i'm being extremely anal about it just so i can get back to pressing as fast as possible.

[PaintballMan]

Hope your elbow heals up fast

[IDonutBeeleaf]

Hope your elbow heals up fast

thanks man me too. haven't been able to progress any significant amount cause i keep getting injured around my elbow

[IDonutBeeleaf]

may 31

incline db: 80x7 then 85x5 NO ELBOW PAIN
laterals
arms

tried a bit of pressing today. physiotherapist said to do a bit of DB work then transition back into BB, so i may give that a try. i've never done 80's for more than 4 half reps (around when i first started) and got them for 7 full ROM today, and never even attempted 85's before, so i don't seem to have lost very much pressing strength which i'm thrilled about. hopefully my BB bench holds up too. stabilization was also no problem even though i thought it would be, cause haven't done any db chest presses on any angle in a few months. nothing but pleased with how this went. gonna transition back into BB bench in the next week or two.

[AlacrityH]

Whoa. Your incline DB is disproportionally dominant compared to your flat BB. Mirin.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

Whoa. Your incline DB is disproportionally dominant compared to your flat BB. Mirin.

i know right? i was very surprised.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 1

had to push my schedule forward a day last week so worked out again today to reset it to regular days

squats: 265x5 then 240 for 3x5
gym closed before i could do rows

ugly squats. not to make excuses, but i had 4 hours of sleep, drank last night and worked 8 hours before my workout. should have been conservative but when you're with friends you get carried away, so whatever. the 265 was better than the 240 sets for some reason in terms of form, but both were still chit. gonna start doing a 10% drop for 3x5 instead of 1-2x8 just do get some volume in without killing myself like i do on my peak set.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 2

laterals
arms

was so annoyed after this. i had a decent amount of pain in my other arm (not the one with the current elbow injury) and it was the same pain as i had a few months ago when i had my brachialis issue. looks like it's back. ****

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 3

was supposed to go in and do some pullups (cause deadlifting with my friends at a new gym on thursday instead) and also to mess around with some of the hammer strength chest and shoulder machines to see if they aggravated my injuries. so naturally i did squats and only squats.

low bar squats: 225 for 6 sets of 3, then 245 for 2 sets of 2, then 275 for 2 singles (within 3 minutes of each other)

i was beyond determined to get my low bar squat down, which is why i did so much volume, and i've certainly come close to doing just that. my problem before was that i wasn't driving my shoulders back into the bar so my chest was never up and would always collapse, but now that i made sure my head was up and i was driving my shoulders back i felt SO MUCH STRONGER in the low bar position. both singles at 275 had nearly a perfectly straight bar path, and only minor things wrong like my hips shooting up a bit out of the hole which can be expected since i've never in my life held 275lbs on my back and tried to squat it. i'm beyond stoked about this. definitely switching to low bar now.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 5

deadlifts: 330x5
front squats: 225x2 (could have squeezed out maybe 1-2 more. probably one)
3 sets of deadhang pullups
then 405x2 rack pulls (right below knee)

- was supposed to pull 325 but pulled 330 by accident. oops.
- front squats were hard for the first time ever. at least i know where i stand with them now. gonna stick around 205-210 next session for sets of 5 or so.
- friends were doing rack pulls and one of them was doing 405 so i did it too just to see what it felt like in my hands. wasn't too hard to hold on to. did a static hold of ~5 seconds after second rep without coming close to letting go. the reps were a piece of cake as well.

[AlacrityH]

deadhang pullups dont phuck up your shoulder brah?

Mirin 2 plate front squat. It's a goal of mine.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

deadhang pullups dont phuck up your shoulder brah?

Mirin 2 plate front squat. It's a goal of mine.

my shoulder isn't really a problem, its my elbow in my right arm and my brachialis in my left arm. there was some irritation in my left arm, but it was more uncomfortable than painful. and didn't you hit 205 for a 3x5? thats easily a 225 front squat

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 6

9 sets of chest flies lmao
laterals
arms

since my injury in my brachialis is back, can chalk up free weight laterals and any type of curl on the list of things i can't do. luckily i have a lateral raise machine in my gym to rely on for a bit. fuk biceps anyways always hated em. gonna give hammer strength chest machines a try in a week or two once i give the brachialis a rest. until then just gonna do a chit ton of chest flies on these days to try to preserve what little mass i have.

[AlacrityH]

my shoulder isn't really a problem, its my elbow in my right arm and my brachialis in my left arm. there was some irritation in my left arm, but it was more uncomfortable than painful. and didn't you hit 205 for a 3x5? thats easily a 225 front squat

Both your elbow when you do pushing motions along with your bicep are intertwined at your elbow. I recommend some days off srs. Joint issues shouldnt be aggravated. Let it heal.

And yea I did hit 205x5x3 but I dont wanna risk progression. Can't let ego get the best of me haha.

june 6

9 sets of chest flies lmao
laterals
arms

since my injury in my brachialis is back, can chalk up free weight laterals and any type of curl on the list of things i can't do. luckily i have a lateral raise machine in my gym to rely on for a bit. fuk biceps anyways always hated em. gonna give hammer strength chest machines a try in a week or two once i give the brachialis a rest. until then just gonna do a chit ton of chest flies on these days to try to preserve what little mass i have.

Get some rest days, srs. Don't even squat or deadlift. Just do bullchit knee extensions/leg curls/ anything that doesnt involve your arm or tricep/shoulder/bicep activation.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

Both your elbow when you do pushing motions along with your bicep are intertwined at your elbow. I recommend some days off srs. Joint issues shouldnt be aggravated. Let it heal.

And yea I did hit 205x5x3 but I dont wanna risk progression. Can't let ego get the best of me haha.



Get some rest days, srs. Don't even squat or deadlift. Just do bullchit knee extensions/leg curls/ anything that doesnt involve your arm or tricep/shoulder/bicep activation.

tricep pushdowns, deadlifts, rows, squats with minimal elbow flexion (wide grip), and the lateral raise and chest fly machine are all cool. no aggravation at all for any of my injuries that i've ever had in my arm/elbow from any of those movements. thankfully it seems like my elbow issue is healing up, but unfortunately my brachialis issue took its place and it's much worse than my elbow ever was. if anything deadlifts feel good cause its stretching my arms sort of, especially since i've always put a big focus on keeping my arms totally straight ever since i saw a video of some guy tearing his bicep deadlifting lmao. but cutting out any bicep, chest and shoulder movements apart from the two machines i mentioned above. and if any of those start hurting, i'm stopping instantly.

and surprisingly front squats never caused me any pain despite the insane amount of elbow flexion when i do it, especially cause i use a clean grip instead of cross arm. it might be because my hands are pronated idk, but gonna keep those in there too. if squats end up hurting down the line then i'll just focus on front squats for a bit, but i can't see that happening.

[AlacrityH]

tricep pushdowns, deadlifts, rows, squats with minimal elbow flexion (wide grip), and the lateral raise and chest fly machine are all cool. no aggravation at all for any of my injuries that i've ever had in my arm/elbow from any of those movements. thankfully it seems like my elbow issue is healing up, but unfortunately my brachialis issue took its place and it's much worse than my elbow ever was. if anything deadlifts feel good cause its stretching my arms sort of, especially since i've always put a big focus on keeping my arms totally straight ever since i saw a video of some guy tearing his bicep deadlifting lmao. but cutting out any bicep, chest and shoulder movements apart from the two machines i mentioned above. and if any of those start hurting, i'm stopping instantly.

and surprisingly front squats never caused me any pain despite the insane amount of elbow flexion when i do it, especially cause i use a clean grip instead of cross arm. it might be because my hands are pronated idk, but gonna keep those in there too. if squats end up hurting down the line then i'll just focus on front squats for a bit, but i can't see that happening.

My point was that even if it isn't aggravating it, it may be impeding recovery just because it is being used, after all. If it's a joint, it's not gonna heal faster like your muscle will with slight stimulation. It literally needs minimal to no stimulation for adequate recovery. But if your elbow is recovering and you notice a difference nonetheless, yolo lol. But my point for your biceps still stand. I know when I low bar squat, I feel it in my elbows sometimes. And if your wrist isnt straight, its a great way to get tendonitis, which is what looks like you have. Stay safe brah.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

My point was that even if it isn't aggravating it, it may be impeding recovery just because it is being used, after all. If it's a joint, it's not gonna heal faster like your muscle will with slight stimulation. It literally needs minimal to no stimulation for adequate recovery. But if your elbow is recovering and you notice a difference nonetheless, yolo lol. But my point for your biceps still stand. I know when I low bar squat, I feel it in my elbows sometimes. And if your wrist isnt straight, its a great way to get tendonitis, which is what looks like you have. Stay safe brah.

yeah i got what you were saying, but my joint doesn't seem to be a problem anymore since i laid off the pressing. and the exercises i'm taking some time off from because of my brachialis are also the exercises that hurt my elbow and then even some more, so i know that i'm giving my elbow as much recovery chances as i can without stopping squatting completely. the problem is mainly just muscular now, which is both good and bad i suppose. and agreed about feeling low bar in your elbow, i widened my grip a lot last time i squatted low bar heavy and also yesterday i messed around with 135 and 185 for a bit with a much wider grip and felt no aggravation, so hopefully that stays like that. and i definitely make a point to keep my wrists straight, i had another injury, apart from the ones i've had recently, in my wrist from high bar squatting with a bent back wrist (around when i first started lifting)

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 8

squats: warmup, 285x1, 300x1, 315x1

i knew this would be the last day i'd be back squatting for a while because of my brachialis as 135 hurt, and my friends had already planned on maxing out so i decided to give it a go, to go out with a bang i suppose. 285 was ugly and easy, 300 was pretty and easy. 315 was rough. hips shot up and my back angled very far forward, but not good morning status. i think it'd be comp legal. once i got through my sticking point right out of the hole the weight flew up. super happy about that, but now gotta stick to front squats for a while until this heals up.

[AlacrityH]

Fuarrkkkk you hit my goal. Mirin.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

Fuarrkkkk you hit my goal. Mirin.

thanks brah. if you hadn't cut for so long you'd be way past that now.

for reference my 315 squat looked a lot like this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNnqcaC9GgM

so not too pretty. i should say that my back ended up in the same position, not the squat looked the same cause i was much more upright than jonnie when i got into the hole and my hips shot up a lot as i ascended.

[IDonutBeeleaf]

june 10

deadlifts: 335x5

more discomfort in my brachialis than i expected. it'll have a full week to rest before i deadlift again and i've eliminated every other exercise that cause me pain in it, but if it hurts next week then i'll have to cut out deadlifts as well. i hate having to neglect so many exercises because of this, ****

also my belt felt extremely loose, so these were basically beltless.