Relentless 2009-2011: Eric Helms forging a physique that leaves no doubt.

[toddbz]

Was that coleslaw good or what!?
Fun time BSin over some good slaw

[JENerator]

Originally Posted by FATHER FLEX

Just talked with Eric.

We touched a bit on the being depressed, and a few other things. No worries folks, one thing about Eric is that he speaks his mind. There is such a taboo about having the mental sniffles in our culture. Basically you can tear you hammie and push through it, and that gets praise, but being mentally sick is taboo. You won't get much praise if you tell the people at work that you are going to see your therapist.

Just how we are not always physically healthy, be it a cold, a sprained ankle. We are not always mentally healthy, and its much more often than we all care to admit. I know with me it is way, but I am getting better at this.

I think considering the fact that Eric is quick to talk, and is in general very open about any mental limping he might be doing, he is very healthy. I think much of this has to do with the fact that he doesn't bottle things up, and understands that we fluctuate when its comes to out mental state. Instead of ignoring it, it addressed, and this key.

This is so true. For some reason I think people have bought that they should be happy and skipping thru life with a big fat grin 100% of the time or something's wrong with them. That's just not how life works though.

E, you've had more than your share of difficult times and loss this year and you've handled everything you've faced with such grace & strength. The fact that you have a mental hiccup and need an emotional holiday is understandable! Being a pillar of strength is exhausting! You'll find your glass-is-half-full mojo and feel like you're on solid ground in no time. At some point you have to trust that you are exactly where you should be on this little journey.

[Quelly]

Originally Posted by Squizzzer

dude...don't worry...it's gonna be ok...you'll get over it...








but remember that time i said it'll hit you about 5 weeks post show....

lol thanks bud
and yeah this is supposed to be the week I feel at least physically mostly normal right? I don't want to make a liar out of you lol

Originally Posted by visionz

Ditto.

I know what it's like to face depressive times and I've been under some hellfire times with different issues including death/money/sickness etc. in the past and present. All I can say is the dark times pass and the sun comes out again. Here for ya buddy. Always available to lend a helping hand or an open mouth for the overflow of food in your kitchen

Still gotta say thanks for taking all those post party goodies off my hands bro! And thanks for the support, really. I hope to see more of you and melissa you guys are good people, how is her cut going?

Originally Posted by FATHER FLEX

Just talked with Eric.

We touched a bit on the being depressed, and a few other things. No worries folks, one thing about Eric is that he speaks his mind. There is such a taboo about having the mental sniffles in our culture. Basically you can tear you hammie and push through it, and that gets praise, but being mentally sick is taboo. You won't get much praise if you tell the people at work that you are going to see your therapist.

Just how we are not always physically healthy, be it a cold, a sprained ankle. We are not always mentally healthy, and its much more often than we all care to admit. I know with me it is way, but I am getting better at this.

I think considering the fact that Eric is quick to talk, and is in general very open about any mental limping he might be doing, he is very healthy. I think much of this has to do with the fact that he doesn't bottle things up, and understands that we fluctuate when its comes to out mental state. Instead of ignoring it, it addressed, and this key.

I'd add to this but...no need

Originally Posted by rallyum

Damn what a year bro.. seems like everytime you try to get up life keeps beating you down.. point is you're still getting up bro!

Personally, i use to hate getting depressed but now i see that it's just a natural part of living and loving life.. you are meant to be sad when things aren't going right, when you're not where you want to be.. if you're not happy, you're meh or sad and everyone i know goes through life just being meh, not really caring about anything or anyone.

So i would rather be sad, reflect and be emo for a bit, reaffirm what i want so then i can get up, know what i'm doing, do have a plan etc.. so yeh, it's cool and all to be sad but remember, it feels even better to just be happy

And hey, at least you're not angry.. most people who are angry are the ones who can't see that their happiness, success whatever depends on them and not what the world does, it's not outta their control

All the best Eric

Well said, thanks for the words bro

Originally Posted by COZ999

Depression is not depression if you openly speak about it. I think if you can openly admit your feelings you are better off getting rid of it. If You bottle **** up, it eats away at you. Eric, your a real good guy that has had a tough year. Tough time dont last, tough people do and I am pretty sure you proved to all of us how tough you really are.

Once you snap back to your positive attitude, you will look back and realize everything can be overcome with time. Having a great wife and awesome friends can always make life better as well.

The friends and family are KEY, and you are right, its the bottling up of emotions that creates problems...hence this being the Yes Crying journal lol

Originally Posted by debrovnik

Got to say, your abs look amazing in that hanging position! Wow!

thanks chief, def not looking like that now though haha

Originally Posted by toddbz

Was that coleslaw good or what!?
Fun time BSin over some good slaw

yeah I def prefer that cole slaw to actual cole slaw, good times!

Originally Posted by JENerator

This is so true. For some reason I think people have bought that they should be happy and skipping thru life with a big fat grin 100% of the time or something's wrong with them. That's just not how life works though.

E, you've had more than your share of difficult times and loss this year and you've handled everything you've faced with such grace & strength. The fact that you have a mental hiccup and need an emotional holiday is understandable! Being a pillar of strength is exhausting! You'll find your glass-is-half-full mojo and feel like you're on solid ground in no time. At some point you have to trust that you are exactly where you should be on this little journey.

That right there was the biggest lesson I learned during prep this last season, and I so appreciate the reminder...things are only gonna happen the way they are supposed to happen...knowing that all is well is that breath of fresh air I need sometimes...thanks jen

[Squizzzer]

Originally Posted by Quelly

lol thanks bud
and yeah this is supposed to be the week I feel at least physically mostly normal right? I don't want to make a liar out of you lol

weeks 5-8 were pretty tough...

and considering the topic i'd prefer you did make a liar out of me

[Quelly]

Originally Posted by Squizzzer

weeks 5-8 were pretty tough...

and considering the topic i'd prefer you did make a liar out of me

ok...
so 2 month mark I'm gonna be ronnie coleman physically and ghandi mentally right?

[Whomper107]

I think we've all struggled with depression at some point in our lives, for one reason or another, it's horrible and not something I would wish upon anyone. But you truly are a soldier Eric, no doubt you will be back to the 'half full' attitude soon enough.

[Squizzzer]

Originally Posted by Quelly

ok...
so 2 month mark I'm gonna be ronnie coleman physically and ghandi mentally right?

buddy...you're overestimating my knowledge of ghandi....lol
but yes you're gonna turn into a big black dude with a little indian guy in your brain

[S.O.u.L.m.A.N]

Originally Posted by Squizzzer

buddy...you're overestimating my knowledge of ghandi....lol
but yes you're gonna turn into a big black dude with a little indian guy in your brain

You'll really fill out the white sash that Ghandi wore too lol.

[visionz]

Originally Posted by Quelly

how is her cut going?

lol about that..

She ended up having to move a few more times because of roommate issues and also work schedules changing around so her diet basically got lost in the mix. Just eating by feel right now pretty much until things are more stable.

[dfunk]

Originally Posted by Quelly

...
Sumo Deadlifts, Medium width stance
Last WO: 365 x 4, 4, 4
This time: 365 x 5, 5, 5

I meant to ask you closer to when you posted this but..... how is this different from say a conventional DL? From what I googled I didn't see any difference in terms of muscles used.

[Quelly]

Originally Posted by Whomper107

I think we've all struggled with depression at some point in our lives, for one reason or another, it's horrible and not something I would wish upon anyone. But you truly are a soldier Eric, no doubt you will be back to the 'half full' attitude soon enough.

its a day to day thing evan, its not deep depression by any means, but I certainly am down a bit, today is a good day, but hey...I know I'll come out of this good...I'm still loving my wife, enjoying my workouts and happy to be alive...but ****...I lost my pops, and I'm worried about my uncle and his family and I'm still regaining normalcy in terms of physiology and my relationship with food, it aint all roses and dafadils and I should be feeling this way...its ok

Originally Posted by Squizzzer

buddy...you're overestimating my knowledge of ghandi....lol
but yes you're gonna turn into a big black dude with a little indian guy in your brain

LMAO seriously laughed out loud

Originally Posted by S.O.u.L.m.A.N

You'll really fill out the white sash that Ghandi wore too lol.

LOL and again

Originally Posted by visionz

lol about that..

She ended up having to move a few more times because of roommate issues and also work schedules changing around so her diet basically got lost in the mix. Just eating by feel right now pretty much until things are more stable.

well that's probably a healthy thing right now, she seemed really stressed out about it all last time and down on herself, I hope she does well going by feel and when she does decide to cut (not that she needs to at all btw) I hope it is much more sustainable than before

Originally Posted by dfunk

I meant to ask you closer to when you posted this but..... how is this different from say a conventional DL? From what I googled I didn't see any difference in terms of muscles used.

a conventional deadlift you have a shoulder width stance with your feet forward, and you grip the bar outside of your foot position, in a sumo deadlift your feet are wider, normally externally rotated and your hands grip the bar between your foot position, sumo deadlifts utilize more adductor and medial hamstring, and for me, being tall with long legs, allows me to get into the dead lift position while keeping a stricter arch in my back...thus being safer on my lower back.

[Quelly]

Intro

Feeling much better today, trained 3 clients at work, and grabbed some grub at trader joes, and Alberto...you were right, that ranchero egg white salad is damn good! I apologize for downing it...but you have to admit mixing it with sardines is a little over the top...although maybe with tuna I could make that work...lol
ANYWAYS, today was cardio and abs, normally we do kettlebells, but honestly, I felt like it impaired my recovery ability on delts, and deadlifts and front squats and shrugs last week, I don't think I'll be doing kettlebells until I'm done with max ot...brad...you sir are the man for being able to.

Nutrition

Target F/C/P: 65/325/250
Actual: 2,861 64.1 321.6 249.6

Training
Periodization Mesocycle: Max OT

Abs and Cardio

30 Mins MISS split between treadmill, arc, and bike
10 mins stretching

3 sets Machine Crunches
3 sets Hanging Leg Raises

Misc

quads and calves tomorrow, front squats will be up to 245...225 wasn't crazy heavy last time...I have a feeling I'll be hitting 3 plates on fronts at some point in 2010

[ehlisl]

Originally Posted by Quelly

Misc

quads and calves tomorrow, front squats will be up to 245...225 wasn't crazy heavy last time...I have a feeling I'll be hitting 3 plates on fronts at some point in 2010

Good stuff Eric! Hammer'em

Do you use Olympic grip on fronts?

[Young9]

good by itself...also good as a sandwich spread with some laughing cow spread thrown in as well and heated up! Nom nom nom

[toddbz]

Originally Posted by Quelly

quads and calves tomorrow, front squats will be up to 245...225 wasn't crazy heavy last time...I have a feeling I'll be hitting 3 plates on fronts at some point in 2010

Yeah don't really see why you can't. Big thing that holds you back right now is a comfortable place to place the bar. Sort that out and BOOM!!
You may even benefit from some snatch grip rack pulls. I know, but for whatever reason that whole snatch grip thing does wonders for front squats. Not only with upper back strength but also in finding a home for the bar. Maybe try one ofthe fat bars to not have the bar 'fall' so deep into your collar bone area? That's just thinking out loud though

[FATHER FLEX]

I told you!

[toddbz]

Originally Posted by FATHER FLEX

I told you!

At least someone did! ;P

[Quelly]

Originally Posted by ehlisl

Good stuff Eric! Hammer'em

Do you use Olympic grip on fronts?

thansk! and yup

Originally Posted by Young9

good by itself...also good as a sandwich spread with some laughing cow spread thrown in as well and heated up! Nom nom nom

good call

Originally Posted by toddbz

Yeah don't really see why you can't. Big thing that holds you back right now is a comfortable place to place the bar. Sort that out and BOOM!!
You may even benefit from some snatch grip rack pulls. I know, but for whatever reason that whole snatch grip thing does wonders for front squats. Not only with upper back strength but also in finding a home for the bar. Maybe try one ofthe fat bars to not have the bar 'fall' so deep into your collar bone area? That's just thinking out loud though

Oh I found a comfortable place, it just bruises my collar bones lol...but...so snatch grip pulling helped you find a comfortable place for your fronts? that's kind of confusing can you explain that?

Originally Posted by FATHER FLEX

I told you!

you did!

[J_Bo]

Originally Posted by Quelly

Oh I found a comfortable place, it just bruises my collar bones lol...but...so snatch grip pulling helped you find a comfortable place for your fronts? that's kind of confusing can you explain that?

lol.

I thought it was just me and that that made sense to everyone else

[jked4life]

I'd like to see where you go with this because I've never had much luck with the front squat. I think the clean grip would help but I'm lacking the flexibility. There's a number of things that just make it an odd move for me. I'm curious. Maybe I can learn something

[Frankdaddy]

A suggestion I make to various workout partners that come my way every so often about front squats, and that is to turn up some music on your mp3 player and get fired up and just get under the bar, unrack and start squatting with some major adrenaline. The shoulders usually do not hurt until after you re rack if you are fired up enough. Front squats are in no way an exercise you need to hit the gym going, "MAN, I dont feel like lifting today" kind of attitude because it will hurt like a mother. Im sure all can vouch for this if they have consistently done front squats.

[italianplaya30]

how u liking max ot?

[Squizzzer]

well...i guess i'll join in on the wishing well here...


for me...front hurt for a while...but...your wrists get used to it..and the nerves in your skin right over the collar bone die(youll still bruise though)...soo...get over it...and deal with some pain for a few weeks...


but i do wanna say i'm pretty glad to see you can still ask for everyones advice E....

[aguy fish]

Hi eric,
i tried your single deadlifts wow! great feeling, more on the hammies than the glutes but great! How much do you use for this ? My gym only has some 90lbs and it was too light for 6-8 reps. may be I am doing it wrong.

I might ask you advice if I go into max OT off season.

I love your thread, it really boosts me. My comp is Dec 4th and i'm looking forward to it, it's really hard. You give me energy.

[Squizzzer]

Originally Posted by aguy fish

Hi eric,
i tried your single deadlifts wow! great feeling, more on the hammies than the glutes but great! How much do you use for this ? My gym only has some 90lbs and it was too light for 6-8 reps. may be I am doing it wrong.

I might ask you advice if I go into max OT off season.

I love your thread, it really boosts me. My comp is Dec 4th and i'm looking forward to it, it's really hard. You give me energy.

just remember...you can do single leg deads with a BB too...

[J_Bo]

Originally Posted by Frankdaddy

A suggestion I make to various workout partners that come my way every so often about front squats, and that is to turn up some music on your mp3 player and get fired up and just get under the bar, unrack and start squatting with some major adrenaline. The shoulders usually do not hurt until after you re rack if you are fired up enough. Front squats are in no way an exercise you need to hit the gym going, "MAN, I dont feel like lifting today" kind of attitude because it will hurt like a mother. Im sure all can vouch for this if they have consistently done front squats.

I don't know if Eric's problem is the pain, but for me, I just have issues keeping the bar in place. The pain isn't the issue, but rather getting it to sit in place, and not move. I've ended a few sets with the bar just rolling off my shoulders. I love front squats, but getting the damn bar to stay locked in just sucks.

[Squizzzer]

Originally Posted by J_Bo

I don't know if Eric's problem is the pain, but for me, I just have issues keeping the bar in place. The pain isn't the issue, but rather getting it to sit in place, and not move. I've ended a few sets with the bar just rolling off my shoulders. I love front squats, but getting the damn bar to stay locked in just sucks.

if you're elbows stay up it cant roll off

EDIT:
also i see alot of people trying to keep a full grip on the bar...not really necessary...just a couple of fingers...and keep the elbows up

[J_Bo]

Originally Posted by Squizzzer

if you're elbows stay up it cant roll off

I keep my elbows up as high as I can get them. And I know all the form, I just can't make it actually happen. Even going super light, I can hardly keep it in place. I'm defective at them, but I make it work.

[toddbz]

Originally Posted by Quelly

Oh I found a comfortable place, it just bruises my collar bones lol...but...so snatch grip pulling helped you find a comfortable place for your fronts? that's kind of confusing can you explain that?

Can I explain it? Let's see. For me at least I think there were multiple reasons why snatch grip helped. One of course being upper back strength/stability. The more you can sit upright the less the bar will have the tendancy to move around and grind into your collar bones. While for me the bar does sit right on my collar bones (like A-Bomb said) it doens't hurt while lifting and is barely ouchied the next day. I believe it's more a factor of the bar moving around and literally griding into your skin/bones that causes the pain.
For me I put the bar right where it's touching my throat. So much so that I have to look up while setting up to try and make my neck 'flatter' in the front to get the bar as far back as possible. I've found at that point the bar is locked behind my delts. I literally barely touch the bar with my hands. My hands provide little if any stability. It just gives me someplace to put them lol
I beleive the mid and finishing movement on snatch grip with how you retract your shoulders is actually very similar to the last 1/4 of a front squat. So for me at least it's like using a major exercise to prepare for another one.

Originally Posted by J_Bo

lol.

I thought it was just me and that that made sense to everyone else

That's pretty much the way I talk all the time ;P

Originally Posted by jked4life

I'd like to see where you go with this because I've never had much luck with the front squat. I think the clean grip would help but I'm lacking the flexibility. There's a number of things that just make it an odd move for me. I'm curious. Maybe I can learn something

While I think that a clean grip is the best one (simply because it translates over to other lifts) I personally can't do it. I have to use a cross grip because of old wrist injuries. So most important is find what's comfortable. Now that being said to prepare for a clean grip just use a empty bar at the beginning to stretch your wrists out. And like Adam showed you only need even one finger tip on the thing.
See most folks think that Oly lifters are actually holding onto the bar when they are squating like that. Not so. Like Adam's pic, your hands are completely open and the bar it resting on your collar bones. All that hand position is in preparation for the jerk.
SO really you don't have to hold onto it at all. Just touch the thing

Originally Posted by J_Bo

I keep my elbows up as high as I can get them. And I know all the form, I just can't make it actually happen. Even going super light, I can hardly keep it in place. I'm defective at them, but I make it work.

Practice some kettlebell snatches. That will help stretch the lats so you can get your elbows higher. That and OHS help stretch that as well.

[visionz]

Originally Posted by Quelly

well that's probably a healthy thing right now, she seemed really stressed out about it all last time and down on herself, I hope she does well going by feel and when she does decide to cut (not that she needs to at all btw) I hope it is much more sustainable than before

Yeah I definitely think it's the best choice for now with the stressful things going on..mostly with a couple of people at her job trying to start some issues against us both. Really annoying and cortisol-raising stuff.

I think the next time she diets and utilizes carbs the whole time the results will be ten times better and also much easy to endure. Thanks for writing up those notes for her at the potluck btw. I'll let you know when she goes for it again.