Altitude. nwskier's 2011 lifting journal

[fittofattofit]

[b]
I've been avoiding deads for a long time due to having issues keeping my TA muscle contracted (due to past surgeries). I made a decision to bring them back modestly - and I can't believe I'm going to say this but they actually felt great today. Just don't expect any crazy #s


Deadlifts
(regular, not sumo)
135x15
225x8
275x5
315x5
345x4
365x2 (not quite PR but most i've done in 3 years!)
365x2
315x6
275x5
225x8

Here is the last 315 set - form not too far off. open for some constructive criticism

Very impressive volume on deads for not having done them for a long time!
365x2x2 is more than respectable!

As for form (I know what to look for, but I just can't get it together myself!):
Tempo looked good - strength was no problem at all.
Otherwise what Justin-27 said!
Much better looking than my deadlifts and impressive for your first time deadlifting for ages!

Surely you could feel lower back DOMS skiing that afternoon?

[nwskier]

Three things:

1. Those are some pretty great Deads for not doing them in forever!

2. I love how 225x8 BB Rows are "light sets"

3. I'm pumped to see your heavy chest day!

Thanks a lot man!

175x10, damn son!

Ah yes, the mighty Deadlift!

Awesome work put in on the deads today.

Since you asked on the vid, here's my advice. Careful yanking on the first rep, that's what I used to do and it puts tremendous stress on the low back. Reps 2, 3, 4 were pretty much perfect. 5 would have been the last one I'd have gone for, because 6 looked a bit rough on the back. With keeping safety in mind, I'd cut it at that rep 5 level of effort in the future. Overall, solid form though.

^ this is why J-Cat is awesome! great review, and appreciate the tips/feedback. It was my last working set so yeah- that 6th rep wasn't really even planned. just kind of felt like doing it, lol. Plan is to work some 5x5 on the deads and maybe alternate in some sumos. I'll keep posting vids because it's definitely helpful to get great feedback like this. Thanks bro!

Tim can deadlift??? when did this happen. Nice numbers, I'd hate to see where mine would fall after a year. You really lower the weight slowly, letting it drop quicker would spare you I bet (gym rules permitting)

yeah it happens, lol. once upon a time I used to DL regularly. As for lowering the weight slowly- it's a mix of gym regs (ie... who is working) and me overly concentrating on form

not bad actually

from what i can see, looks like ur sorta having a hard time trying to the find the hole (special spot where u have both arch + power) and its messing with ur hipdrive, timing and arch. would love to see a vid of u doing sumo because it automatically puts u in that position

just stand, hips forward and done instead of regular where u have to go around your knees, stay tight until u do then time when ur shoulders come up/hips forward. so what usually ends up happening is u either start the bar further away from u to get that arch but then zero power and it ends up being a reverse good morning with ur spine as the hinge or u start normally but then cat the weight up with ur upperback because u can't find ur arch/timing is off (shoulders come up first instead of insync with ur hips) which is sorta whats happening with u

but tbh its super minimal, was only on ur last few reps (like who doesn't) and will fade when deadlifting becomes natural again. all in all, sexy as **** deads mate! wish my ohh i haven't deadlifted for ages is three plates easy lol

thanks mate! i'll be rotating in some sumos so I will post vids of those later. strangely enough, conventional deads feel better to me on heavier sets- while sumos feel more natural on lighter sets

great feedback. I'll definitely try and incorporate those tips, but like you said- it'll take a while to get on point again.

Very impressive volume on deads for not having done them for a long time!
365x2x2 is more than respectable!

As for form (I know what to look for, but I just can't get it together myself!):
Tempo looked good - strength was no problem at all.
Otherwise what Justin-27 said!
Much better looking than my deadlifts and impressive for your first time deadlifting for ages!

Surely you could feel lower back DOMS skiing that afternoon?

thanks mate! yep, I did a good amount of stretching before I skied in the afternoon. And I also took it somewhat easy on the skiing.

speaking of which, time for some skiing now- then back for some chest destruction later

[nwskier]

Sunday, Jan 30: Chest/Arms (heavy)

I think I was too amped for this workout
Felt a bit stiff going into it - not sure, but feels like I lost strength
Especially after having a sick volume outing going up to 275 last week

BB Bench
185x8wu
225x7wu
285x5 (help on 6th)
275x5
295x1 (help on 2nd) WTF
275x4 (help on 5th)
265x4

Just a horrible outing on bench today.

BB Incline
245x4 again WTF? I usually rep 245x8 on this
225x5
235x6 better

my incline numbers have gotten so weak, going to have to move this back to 1st in a couple weeks.

Decline Weighted Crunch & Press
95x8
115x6
115x8 PR
105x8
105x8

Vid from 105x8


Pretty solid - took a vid. Picked these up from the vid posted by tim_wright
I felt like a pussy using 105-115, kid uses 135+ lol

BB Curls
115x4
125x5
135x6
135x6
115x7
115x7

Floor Skulls
140x4
130x5
130x5
120x5

Wrists were somewhat bothered today, had to cap the weight

Hammer Preacher DB Curls
50x6
45x9 Rep PR!

Weighted Dips- tricep focus
b/w x 25 wu
+45 x 15
+45 x 15
b/w x 25

Went cautious on these today - I love this exercise but my shoulder only tolerates so much. I miss the days of being able to do 3 plates... but i'd rather lift smart. I also use a more upright stance to keep my shoulder locked in place

DB Hammer Curls
60x5
60x5

Misc. Ab Work & Jump Rope
Spent about 15 minutes doing some misc ab exercises and some jump rope


Comments
Going to stick with the new bench approach and try to get 5x5 at 275 next time. Funny, I can rep basically 275x8 and then crank out crazy endurance reps w/ 255 or less but going 285+ I tend to struggle lately, even when pyramiding.

Still a good workout today, despite not hitting my target #s on bench. I'll have to regroup for the next session and up the intensity.

But hey, arms are about as big and cut up as they've ever been.

[MWheatley]

Man i have to say i didnt expect those kinda numbers right off the bat on deadlifts - great work there. Looks like i really have to step up my game on those since we seem to be around the same numbers right now The race is on!

That sucks the pressing power wasnt there for ya tonight, you said you were amped up for the workout but did you feel sore or worn out at all from the last session possibly?

[nwskier]

Man i have to say i didnt expect those kinda numbers right off the bat on deadlifts - great work there. Looks like i really have to step up my game on those since we seem to be around the same numbers right now The race is on!

That sucks the pressing power wasnt there for ya tonight, you said you were amped up for the workout but did you feel sore or worn out at all from the last session possibly?

I won't be 'racing' on the deads, lol. But i'll be upping the intensity for sure too many old lower back issues, etc... so i'll be keeping those relatively in check (though I would like to keep them growing)

yeah, I probably was worn out going into this session. oh well, it happens sometimes. just frustrating when I can normally hit 295x3+ and need help on the 2nd rep today. Even 285 felt 'heavier' than it typically does.

also I ended up taking shorter rest breaks today to maximize spots (friend was in the gym for a short workout so wanted to take advantage). probably 2 min between sets, when I normally like about 3-4 min between the heavy sets. I could be disappointed, but really it was a tough workout and I still put up some decent numbers. Sometimes we want progress to come yesterday, ha. So i'm sure my next chest day will be much better!

[MWheatley]

I won't be 'racing' on the deads, lol. But i'll be upping the intensity for sure too many old lower back issues, etc... so i'll be keeping those relatively in check (though I would like to keep them growing)

yeah, I probably was worn out going into this session. oh well, it happens sometimes. just frustrating when I can normally hit 295x3+ and need help on the 2nd rep today. Even 285 felt 'heavier' than it typically does.

also I ended up taking shorter rest breaks today to maximize spots (friend was in the gym for a short workout so wanted to take advantage). probably 2 min between sets, when I normally like about 3-4 min between the heavy sets. I could be disappointed, but really it was a tough workout and I still put up some decent numbers. Sometimes we want progress to come yesterday, ha. So i'm sure my next chest day will be much better!

Haha ya deadlifts are not something you want to rush into - your form looked pretty solid too. Only thing i saw was you seemed to lock out your legs a bit early which will cause you to not drive off your heels as much. I was having that problem until these past two sessions and now i feel like the weight is flying off the ground.

Like you said it wasnt a bad session at all but it always sucks when you get pumped up for a heavy workout like that and your body just doesnt deliver for ya. With the attitude you have your numbers by the end of the year will be worth the patience and hard work for sure.

[nwskier]

Haha ya deadlifts are not something you want to rush into - your form looked pretty solid too. Only thing i saw was you seemed to lock out your legs a bit early which will cause you to not drive off your heels as much. I was having that problem until these past two sessions and now i feel like the weight is flying off the ground.

Like you said it wasnt a bad session at all but it always sucks when you get pumped up for a heavy workout like that and your body just doesnt deliver for ya. With the attitude you have your numbers by the end of the year will be worth the patience and hard work for sure.

cool, thanks for the DL tip. I'll have to focus on that next time. I was pretty happy with the overall form for not doing them in basically a couple years (though I've dabbled somewhat into Sumos here and there or light weight DLs)

the way I look at this workout was that I still had to work for a number of reps, so that means despite the strength drop, I expect to gain from it. When your body doesn't respond entirely as you want it to, these are the grinder rep workouts that you just have to push through. I know I still gained from this session because i'm pretty sore all over. There will be some DOMs tomorrow that i'm looking forward to.

and thanks dude, attitude IS everything. sure i'm frustrated, but I know i'm progressing and getting stronger. I just gotta dig deep this week and respond with authority the next few workouts - and get my sleep & diet on point. appreciate the encouragement!

[wabeer1]

Tick, all comments covered with DL's and great to see you doing normal stance. Strong is strong given you are fresh at them but given your rowing and pulling ability - never doubt that you would not wash up a beast on these.

We all have our bad days at benching and next week you will be back to five thousand hundos.....I forgotten what it feels like to bench <insert tears and hissy fit>

Interesting variation with those decline weight crunch and press - deep ROM ftw!

[BleedCardio]

those decline weight crunches are pretty crazy lookin. If I glanced over and saw somebody doing those in the gym I'd be WTF! Strong core.

Deads have already been well covered, but triumphent return with 365 and reppin 315. I think my 1RM is 365 last time I tried.

Curls are strong as fuk too, 135x6 for 2 sets!

[Darkwatcher759]

Holy ****, those crunch presses look awesome. Definitely didn't expect that when clicking the video. I think 100+ is pretty respectable for that exercise. Would like to see someone hitting 2 plates...

biceps are looking good, you have a good bicep attachment without the gap at the elbow

[kopdog]

Damn bro! Awesome job on the deadlifts on your first time back! Those will skyrocket in no time! Your form looks awesome man keep it up! I still really admire your BB rows...I'm going to hit those up tomorrow and see how things turn out. One of these days I hope I can say that 225 is a light set haha.

Great job on the bench also man! It sucks sometimes when you have those off days but don't let it get to you bro...you're still tearing it up! Always good checking in on you my man! Really motivating and inspiring! Keep tearing it up!

-Keith

[SeanCC]

I kind of have similar bench issues where I can do a good amount of reps at X weight but increase it a bit and it plummets. Unfortunately my X weight is way below yours

[Justin-27]

A "bad" day for Terminator Timbo is like a PR on cloud nine for most of us. But I still know how you feel, it's never fun to miss a rep or two. But there's always next week, and if it happens again, you know what to do. De-load time.

Still an awesome session and kids looking jacked in the new avi! Batman latz!

[phal]

Did .... I stumble into the wrong log because I see DEADLIFTS!

^_^

I don't want to keep echoing what everyone else has said but one off day in the grande scheme of things is so minuscule.

[nwskier]

Tick, all comments covered with DL's and great to see you doing normal stance. Strong is strong given you are fresh at them but given your rowing and pulling ability - never doubt that you would not wash up a beast on these.

We all have our bad days at benching and next week you will be back to five thousand hundos.....I forgotten what it feels like to bench <insert tears and hissy fit>

Interesting variation with those decline weight crunch and press - deep ROM ftw!

ha, the Perch benchmonsta will be back heaving trucks and cars on the bench soon enough! I enjoy benching almost as much as you do, so I can understand missing it. Figured you would like that decline weighted crunch & press. that **** tore up my abs, i'm sore as **** today! i'm keeping that exercise in rotation

those decline weight crunches are pretty crazy lookin. If I glanced over and saw somebody doing those in the gym I'd be WTF! Strong core.

Deads have already been well covered, but triumphent return with 365 and reppin 315. I think my 1RM is 365 last time I tried.

Curls are strong as fuk too, 135x6 for 2 sets!

those crunches are fkn alpha, I love'm! ha
curls have made some significant progress, definitely happy there. and deads will be a work in progress. thanks

Holy ****, those crunch presses look awesome. Definitely didn't expect that when clicking the video. I think 100+ is pretty respectable for that exercise. Would like to see someone hitting 2 plates...

biceps are looking good, you have a good bicep attachment without the gap at the elbow

haha, we need to do those crunches if you're in miami again when i'm there later in the year. heckuva core exercise. short term goal is getting 10+ reps with 135 on those

thanks

Damn bro! Awesome job on the deadlifts on your first time back! Those will skyrocket in no time! Your form looks awesome man keep it up! I still really admire your BB rows...I'm going to hit those up tomorrow and see how things turn out. One of these days I hope I can say that 225 is a light set haha.

Great job on the bench also man! It sucks sometimes when you have those off days but don't let it get to you bro...you're still tearing it up! Always good checking in on you my man! Really motivating and inspiring! Keep tearing it up!

-Keith

thanks bro! i'm one of the more positive, motivated ppl out there so I won't let a crap day get in the way of progress. thanks for the feedback on the deads. they felt remarkably well for not doing them much the past 3 years. good to see i'm able to motivate you, cause your workouts have definitely inspired me.

I kind of have similar bench issues where I can do a good amount of reps at X weight but increase it a bit and it plummets. Unfortunately my X weight is way below yours

yeah it's kind of weird- hasn't been that drastic before but I guess my volume is finally catching up to my power reps. and we gotta work on your X weight. definitely wanna see you excel on this lift this year

A "bad" day for Terminator Timbo is like a PR on cloud nine for most of us. But I still know how you feel, it's never fun to miss a rep or two. But there's always next week, and if it happens again, you know what to do. De-load time.

Still an awesome session and kids looking jacked in the new avi! Batman latz!

haha, ur funny bro. and funny you mention the D word. I was just thinking that might be looming around the corner.

thanks on the avi though- but would trade you avi's in a second! kid is looking hell shreded in ur new avi bro

Did .... I stumble into the wrong log because I see DEADLIFTS!

^_^

I don't want to keep echoing what everyone else has said but one off day in the grande scheme of things is so minuscule.

ha! had a feeling you would comment on the deads ^_^

yep, not going to let that last chest workout get in the way of progress. I'm much too motivated


Monday: Legs
Did a quick lower session. More like a somewhat deload focusing on squat form
bb squats: 225x8, 245x8, 265x8, 265x5, 245x5, 225x5
bb lunges: 155x8, 135x8

also did some stretching - the skiing and work in the gym lately has left me kind of tight.

Tuesday: OFF/Rest
yeay a much needed rest day


oh and skiing? hell fkn no! weather forecast is even too cold for this cat!
check this out (and remember, these temps are in Fahrenheit)

Overnight: Clear, with a low around -18. Wind chill values as low as -35. North northeast wind around 9 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 12. Wind chill values as low as -35. North northwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.

thankfully it looks like a return to warmer weather (highs in the 20s) and a nice dumping of snow on Thursday through Sunday so that means I'll be getting my hike on again!

[SeanCC]

Lmao @ warmer weather being high 20s. How I do not envy you! Was a chilly 65 here today - how am I supposed to tan if its not at least 75!?

[foodpr0n]

Good call on the deload Timbo. Smarter not harder ftw.

Interesting movement there in the vid, pythons are looking hygooge too.

I'd say that inclining is still decent as hell lol.

[LockeLesnar]

Nice work with the deads and I really think the 5x5 approach will help ur bench

[wabeer1]

Rest up some snow beast - give us time to catch on some PR's

Good move to listen to the bod sometime.

Bicep mountains looking big bro - think they are at their biggest I have seen in the past 2 years of following your journals.

[The Shoeless Wonder]

wtf at that situp to press.

stellar benching

[nwskier]

Lmao @ warmer weather being high 20s. How I do not envy you! Was a chilly 65 here today - how am I supposed to tan if its not at least 75!?

haha, I lol'd. too bad I can't torture you with these temps. the snow on the weekend is looking quite nice though

Good call on the deload Timbo. Smarter not harder ftw.

Interesting movement there in the vid, pythons are looking hygooge too.

I'd say that inclining is still decent as hell lol.

deload is probably coming up next week. instinctual lifting FTW!

thanks mate- arms are growing decently. incline will be boosting much higher numbers again as soon as I put that biatch in first slot again (in a week or two)

Nice work with the deads and I really think the 5x5 approach will help ur bench

yeah for the heavy day i'm thinking 4x4 or 5x5. might opt for 4x4 to start, though also debating a 6x3. it's the lowest reps i'm needing the most help with

Rest up some snow beast - give us time to catch on some PR's

Good move to listen to the bod sometime.

Bicep mountains looking big bro - think they are at their biggest I have seen in the past 2 years of following your journals.

so called snow beast returned with some monster PRs today
thanks mate- means a lot

wtf at that situp to press.

stellar benching

decline weighted crunch to press is badass- I will be incorporating that A LOT MORE!

benching was off par, will rectify that on Saturday but thanks though!

[Justin-27]

so called snow beast returned with some monster PRs today
thanks mate- means a lot

Dude, did you see the mayhem in Chicago?!

All my fam/friends are sending me pics of that CF. WTH?! Weather is nutso!

And it's balls cold by you man, that's crazy.

[nwskier]

Wednesday, Feb 2nd: Back (heavy)

eased into this session and just ended up killing it.

BB Yates Rows
Superset into
DB Rows
225x7wu -> 65x15
275x5 -> 65x15
295x5 -> 65x15
315x5 -> 65x15 booyah! back to 3 plates
275x5 -> 225x5 (no db superset, just a drop set)

Had to make a statement today on the yates rows.
Normally for heavy days I'm capping reps at 7, but make exceptions for some supersets

BB Pendlay Rows
225x5
185x7
185x7

dropped the weight down after the high volume from the yates.
wanted to make sure I nailed good form on all the reps
this will make a return in a couple weeks to prime slot #1

Weighted Chins
I alternated these with uh med grip and close hammer grip
b/w x 5 chins
b/w x 5 hammer chins
+45 x 5 chins
+45 x 5 hammer chins
+100x5 chins Rep PR!
+100x4 hammer chins
+125x2 chins PR!!!!! **HUGE PR for me**
+125 x 1 Hammer chins
+100 x 4 chins
+90 x 4 hammer chins
+45 x 5 chins
+45 x 5 hammer chins
b/w x 5 chins
b/w x 5 hammer chins

holy cockadoodle f8ck! 60 REPS! slowed the tempo down on the last 4 sets to really burn the back
for killing rows before, strength was damn good on these today

Plate Raises
45x10
45x8
45x8

Close Grip UH Lat Pulldown
200x5 cake
260x5
285x2 lolz spent!
260x4 -> 200x5

pretty happy w/ these #s after everything else today

Low Seated Cable Rows - Paused
I pause at two points in the middle of each rep
1. After partial rep, then 2. at completion of ROM of full rep
140x5
180x5
220x4
180x4
140x5

Comments/Thoughts:
Damn fine workout! veins were popping and feeling strong on all the back work
Huge PRs on chins; i'm thinking about doing a couple 'pullup/chins only' workouts in the future

Next couple days look like this...
Thu: delts/traps/abs
Fri: off
Sat: heavy upper
Sun: off
M-F next week - deload
(hiking/skiing throughout the week, though)

excuse my while I take in some couch time now, haha...
W - O - R - K - E - D ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[The Shoeless Wonder]

those are huge chins! just like the crimson chin!

[DTrulez616]

Enjoy that couch time. Damn man, you deserve it. Those Chins are friggin amazing. Friggin 300lbs of gravity and you pull right through it like a beast!

[BleedCardio]

Weighted Chins
I alternated these with uh med grip and close hammer grip
b/w x 5 chins
b/w x 5 hammer chins
+45 x 5 chins
+45 x 5 hammer chins
+100x5 chins Rep PR!
+100x4 hammer chins
+125x2 chins PR!!!!! **HUGE PR for me**
+125 x 1 Hammer chins
+100 x 4 chins
+90 x 4 hammer chins
+45 x 5 chins
+45 x 5 hammer chins
b/w x 5 chins
b/w x 5 hammer chins

holy crap Tim, that's alot of chins! More then fat bastard!

those are huge chins! just like the crimson chin!

haha, why do I know who that is?

[fittofattofit]

Wednesday, Feb 2nd: Back (heavy)

BB Yates Rows
Superset into
DB Rows
225x7wu -> 65x15
275x5 -> 65x15
295x5 -> 65x15
315x5 -> 65x15 booyah! back to 3 plates
275x5 -> 225x5 (no db superset, just a drop set)

How can you row sets of 315??

BTW, arms (esp. tris) are looking huge in the new avi!

[phal]

YEAH BUDDAY!

Glad to see some bolded blue up in this workout!

[MWheatley]

Lol all the good chin jokes were made already

Good news is your absolutely killed it yesterday! Eased into it my ass - you were rowing 3 plates

14 fcking sets of chins!!! When i bump it up to like 6-7 sets im spent, great effort in there in there and that session is definitely going to pay off.

[wabeer1]

Great selection of lifts and similar rowing supersets - except mine was with a bb! Killa chins