Building Curves

[geek23ka]

i am still here and reading and absorbing and learning.

the guy who agreed to train me asked where i learned to lift, esp my bench, as he said it's better than most of what he sees, and i told him that there were a few women over at bb.com who i've learned from. of course i meant you. and b, and ham. so feedback from a long time lifter is me following along in your journal has made my bench decent!

i looked up giacometti a few days ago after you posted about him when talking about benchin. i love him. very cool stuff.

when is the last time you have had trouble with your hips when setting up for bench? seems like it's been a while. here's to it being one bad night, and next time you're gonna rock it!

[ilovethe80s]

i am still here and reading and absorbing and learning.

the guy who agreed to train me asked where i learned to lift, esp my bench, as he said it's better than most of what he sees, and i told him that there were a few women over at bb.com who i've learned from. of course i meant you. and b, and ham. so feedback from a long time lifter is me following along in your journal has made my bench decent!

i looked up giacometti a few days ago after you posted about him when talking about benchin. i love him. very cool stuff.

when is the last time you have had trouble with your hips when setting up for bench? seems like it's been a while. here's to it being one bad night, and next time you're gonna rock it!

Your bench does look really good. Bea and Ham are excellent people to watch for that, I try to emulate them too but sometimes I fail as I did this week haha.

I have not had hip trouble on bench in ages, so I know that things I were doing this week are not inline with what I do normally. It's like every few months I am forced to focus on these details in each lift that I never had to before, because I forgot what to do. I didn't make as many bench notes from times my bench were doing well, because I took to for granted, it just flowed. I can't just sit back and enjoy the flow I guess, must always be making careful notes.

I love Giacometti's drawing style, he also does these figures (sculpture) that are so cool. I had about a dozen or so that I copied when i was in high school by nailing wire to a board, forming figures and then wrapping with shreds masking tape and spray painting. They did not look as good as his haha. And my poor father was such a good sport, displaying these hideous things all over his beautiful country home. On the mantle, perched next to a bowl of lovely cut hydrangeas... everywhere you turned there was this nightmare before Christmas looking thing and he never once removed them when company came. Lol.

[ilovethe80s]

BEST DEADLIFT DAY EVER.

Prewo: Hip thrust
A. Pause squat 3 x 3 (173) 3second pause
B. Deadlift:
350 (opener) FAIL
350 retake - easy
380 with reverse elitefts light bands (2nd meet attempt)
400 with reverse bands
C. Reverse Band Deadlift, 10 second reset 350/5
Ran out of time for accessories, but given the workload today I think that's just as well

400 today was markedly smoother than my last one. Mission accomplished - no grinder! An 8 second pull down to 4


Practiced the lifter's wedge warming up. In warming up, 275 felt heavy and was very slow.

315
I forgot all about cues and it was fast and easy. But, I forgot all my cues.

350
my opener - I tried to do the wedge thing, balked several times and then failed like an inch off the floor. i couldn't believe it. I was going to call it a really bad day and throw in the towel. But failing on the floor means I was so busy concentrating on the upper, I lost my floor drive.

So that settles it. To hell with these cues. Dive bomb is in. I felt liberated lol.

350 Retake
Was very nervous but speed took care of that. Snatched the bar off the ground so fast it didn't know what hit it. Light as a feather . And now I am getting that fluttery excited feeling instead of nerves.

380 reverse band
I almost talked myself out of. I was alarmed that I failed 350. Even if that was not my normal pulling style, just the fact that I am capable of failing it...

I hitched up the bands and they only stretched a short distance to the bar. I know that was the same height I used last time, so why did it look so low now lol. Then I stepped into the bands to push them to the bar's height on the floor and my heart dropped in my stomach. These bands are old, stretched out and it took absolutely nothing to push them down. Which means they aren't giving me much off the floor. I got scared and was convinced I couldn't do it on this day.

The whole time I am setting up, I'm like 'this is a big mistake'. But committed to the lift anyway and it went well.

400
The moment of truth lol. What I felt happening was the bands letting off near the knee, and the fact that I had to accelerate no matter how much I wanted to slow down and grind. And how right at that time, it was imperative that my glutes fire FULLY, backing my pelvic tilt. A moment later on that gives the bar time to drag me down on top.

With the glutes coming in faster, I get a bigger window of time (though still very short) to straighten out the thoracic rounding.

350/5 out of bands
5 deads with at least 10 second reset. I thought my hips and glutes would slow down on me toward the end, but they fired fast every time. I haven't repped conventionals in like, years. I forgot what that drudgery feels like lol. Like it isn't hard muscularly, you are just fatigued and want it all to stop lol.


I was kind of hoping I wouldn't do this today, to take 400 again. But I got much more out of this session that having it be just a test. I can see clear as day now that I can in fact outrun the weight much better than I can muscle it up, and the sacrifices I was making with the new setup cost me more than they are worth at this point.

No more heavy pulls till the meet. Some very occasional moderate singles off the deficit, but it is speed from here on out. I need to make sure I can get that bar flying past the knee, now that I know for sure I can lock it out.

Here was last month's grinder for comparison, 400 at :56

[beatha]

Great work on smoothing out the 400!!!

[izzygrant]

that looked seriously great. you own that weight in March.

[MaliaBot]

Are you really 133lbs pulling all this weight? Really? Like, really?

[auntielingo]

Wow, sooooo awesome!!

[ilovethe80s]

Great work on smoothing out the 400!!!

Thank you! I am glad I tested it again, it definitely gave me some confidence. In my head, I can say 'I've done this before' so I feel a little better about attempting it at the meet. Except for the bands. I don't get as much out of the deadlift bar as I used to since my lockout has been the inadequate part of my deadlift... But I am wondering if that extra bend in the bar is similar to the bit of lightening at the bottom with the bands... A lot of people report they get 20+ out of a good bar, which is about how much the bands lighten off the floor. I just need some speed past the knee now that I know now that I can lock out from there. My 375 left the floor really fast last time but this will be a bit more weight.

that looked seriously great. you own that weight in March.

Thanks! I keep going back and forth with 400... Looking at my progress history with deads, I definitely hit a lull around 350-360, and had like 5lb PRs between meets. Granted I had some tech and training adjustments that needed to be made and things started moving again but still, a 25lb PR seems like a lot to ask. Will try my best not to whimp out lol.

Are you really 133lbs pulling all this weight? Really? Like, really?

Thanks! 135 today and starting a squat peaking program that literally melts me. so I shouldn't need to cut h20 to make the 132s. That is a big relief considering how awesome I did with a water cut last time I tried it (I was a disaster cutting like 4 pounds lol)

Wow, sooooo awesome!!

Thank you! The next day I was fine but having some seriously delayed onset muscle soreness now, haha. More from the set of 5 than the single. Nothing fries erectors like repping deadlifts, ESP when you aren't used to it!

[ilovethe80s]

Tonight is bench night. i don't want another disaster but i know how bad i suck late at night. i don't even need a clock to tell me when it is 9, my body just shuts down every night same time. Spent 10 minutes this morning just working on unracking and hoping that I can remember it tonight when I am a zombie.

Forgot to note that last DL day, I was squatting before the pulls and I kept hearing sounds, like hailstones? I kept going and eventually got pelted in the head in the hole of the squat. Then I look down and notice that behind the cage and around it are sprinkled with Legos.

There is a large closet the main floor, right above the squat rack. There is a small hole drilled in the corner of the floor. So the kids moved their rolling Lego bin to the closet, shut themselves in there and were pelting Legos through the hole.

Sad thing is I tried to live with it at first, because saying anything would alert them to my presence and everyone would immediately need me for something. Husband is relaxing with a beer watching Olympics, btw.

Finally called for them to stop it and sure enough, not a moment later, someone shows up with a snack they can't open. Then someone else filters in, wanting to know why so and so got the last one of those and now what can he have. Had to go upstairs and re-introduce them to dad like 'see this man? He does food. He wipes butts. See him!' Lol.

[geek23ka]

LMAO!!!!! omg the lego story has me in stitches! i am all about the putting up with weird things bc i don't want to alert them to MOM being around. MOM the opener of all things, the getter of all things, the maker of all sandwiches, and the one to solve all life's problems. i love those moments when i am invisible and therefore not doing a millionty things for everyone else.

you conquered All The Deadlifts!!

are you going to be doing the RSA program?

[jpfaherty]

Killer DL session! Eff it, just divebomb the hell out of it!

Smooth 400!! I gotta try some reverse band DL now

[ilovethe80s]

LMAO!!!!! omg the lego story has me in stitches! i am all about the putting up with weird things bc i don't want to alert them to MOM being around. MOM the opener of all things, the getter of all things, the maker of all sandwiches, and the one to solve all life's problems. i love those moments when i am invisible and therefore not doing a millionty things for everyone else.

you conquered All The Deadlifts!!

are you going to be doing the RSA program?

those rare moments when you are invisible, and you have to be perfectly still because the second you attract attention to yourself, it's back to work

I conquered all but one 350. but when I threw out all the tech fixes I've been working so hard on all month, it went up easily. That was a fantabulous usage of training time : /

RSA starts at the end of this week, kicking things off with 4 x 9 (dreading, but excited lol ). Going with a low max as always.

[ilovethe80s]

Brad Gillingham Bench Week 6
10 minute speed walk, straight arm pulldown, single leg hip thrust
A. Bench paused BARELY, panic at the chest for no reason - 155
5 x 3 (138)
B. Kroc Rows
C. Cable row to chest 4 x 10
D. OHP 4 x 8
E. tri extension

The walk helped wake up a little bit before lifting.

I did more work with an empty bar today then went straight to 95 instead of my usual 10lb jumps. I think that is a good tactic for me. With my zombie-like mental state at night, the smaller increases allow me to gently skate through warmups with sloppy technique. 95 is just enough to be a bit of a wake up call if something is off.

I was unreasonably nervous before each bench set. This is what happens when sloppy technique is allowed to take over for too long.

I did get my setup squared away, as in the same steps, every time, that lead to the same result - with the exception of my shoulder setup with the unrack. Was trying to bring scapulae together and down. I've had a hard time interpreting that in the past and I actually don't think I have ever actually done it in the manner described in bench articles everywhere. Unracks while squeezing together were unstable and waving all over the place, and giving me shoulder pain on one side. I didn't totally solve that issue tonight, but flaring lats against the bench felt more promising. I was panicking when the bar approached the chest, I had a hard time keeping a straight bar path and waving the bar around, so a crucial element is still missing. I have all next session to figure it out since the rest of the setup is ok.

Also the hip. If I arch onto the bench with a narrow stance, bring my feet back as much as I can and then push out, I get great leg drive. But realistically, I might need to find an alternative for that as my hip probably won't tolerate that plus RSA.

Lat annihilation back in effect. Upping the upper body volume as well. Looking over my bench progress, it does well when I am doing a lot of stuff. I usually try to lower accessory volume leading into a meet, but see now that that is wrong. It makes sense. My upper half loses size and shape within weeks of dropping off accessories, and with my spaghetti arms, I probably need to keep that on if I want to move any weight.

[geek23ka]

with the kroc rows, are you doing the super high reps? it's like 20-30, right?
thoughtful as always. thanks for sharing.

[ilovethe80s]

Killer DL session! Eff it, just divebomb the hell out of it!

Smooth 400!! I gotta try some reverse band DL now

Ninja post . Thank you, I was feeling a little guilty about abandoning the edit that I was so excited about, and even guiltier about telling the friend who suggested it to me. I don't want to be one of those people who asks for advice and then does the opposite lol. Getting close to the meet though, confidence is the most important thing so I'm sticking with what I have.

The reverse band deads are awesome. I like them much better than block pulls when it actually comes to training the pattern in the deadlift. I was a little worried about patterns from them leading me to be lazy off the floor, but really I feel the opposite with them, they teach you to accelerate. I use light bands on mine and it is just enough to ease some of the harshness of pulling a really stiff bar off the floor.

with the kroc rows, are you doing the super high reps? it's like 20-30, right?
thoughtful as always. thanks for sharing.

I did 20 reps with them, and I turn palms just a bit so it looks like a DB facing bench but as a row. You are supposed to start with a weight that you think you can get for 10 or so reps clean, and 'cheat' your way through a set of 20. By cheating, it means using momentum, kind of herky jerky movements. I was winded lol.

I really love them but I think I need to stay off anything where my abdomen is facing the ground, and stick to cable and inverted type rows. There are some rogue surgical materials that have surfaced in the middle of my stomach and they are really sharp, like pins. When I lean over, they push right up against the skin and you can see them coming through. There are 3 of them and one has been very irritated lately. I thought that all I had in my stomach was mesh but these things are definitely hard and sharp, like staples or something? Idk. I am turning into Hellraiser I guess lol.

[geek23ka]

when are you going back in for surgery? the surgeon should know about that, if s/he doesn't already.

(ill take off my bossy nurse hat now)

yeah, the kroc rows sound hard but kinda fun.

[ilovethe80s]

As soon as my toddler is out of the clingy stage, or needing to be lifted into the car and stuff, and/ or i can confirm that either an inlaw can come out or mom or husband can take time off, I'll do the surgery. its just figuring out someone to watch the kids while i am physically at the surgery, for the days i am in the hospital and weeks being hime not able to lift kids or move around much, and for the appointments and stuff after. The last round with it was when the older two were 2 and 3 and it was a nightmare. I couldn't be upright for very long so spent most of the time skating across the floor on my back, trying to do diapers and stuff from that position. And they were hell on wheels. Something changes about the pecking order of things when you are below eye-level and maimed with toddlers running around, lol. The older two *should* actually be able to help out now though.

I don't want to go back to the general surgeon for him to slice me up and stuff me with more mesh, staples, empty beer cans and heaven knows what else, lol. I want a plastic surgeon this time. Not that i want to have it look 'perfect' or anything, i just want it a little more normal.

Two surgeons refused to touch me. I saw one who seemed nervous. He says he can't make a belly button, but he uses this suturing technique that leaves a very tiny scar and he uses the same method to mend the split abs, and it cuts the recovery time down quite a bit. So it would at least be smooth skin and very small scar under bikini line, but no belly button either. He also wants a general surgeon present to help with the hernias since they are complex.

And another surgeon who is excited, wants to make a belly button with a pin (wtf, but beggars can't be choosers? Lol), is not sure if it is going to work but will do unlimited revisions. He comes from a general surgery background and isn't fazed by the work with the hernias. But with his method, he is slicing me straight across the midline, like above the jeans waistline, and his scar is going to go all the way around in back, too. I'm actually leaning toward him though, since he seems excited about the whole thing.

It will definitely be a relief to ge it fixed. A year recovery again though :/. But will be worth it

[jpfaherty]

There are some rogue surgical materials that have surfaced in the middle of my stomach and they are really sharp, like pins. When I lean over, they push right up against the skin and you can see them coming through. There are 3 of them and one has been very irritated lately. I thought that all I had in my stomach was mesh but these things are definitely hard and sharp, like staples or something? Idk. I am turning into Hellraiser I guess lol.

[NorwichGrad]

HAHAHA!


Laura,

You're turning into Sigourney Weaver. An alien wants to pop out of your belly, armed with hemostats..

[geek23ka]

yeah, recovery is gonna suck. when i finish the weight loss, i want to do the tummy tuck/possible body lift with hernia repair and diastasis recti repair. the thing that really bother me is not the pain, but kids, and training. i might wait till toddler is five. four is probably minimum.

you have lots of excellent surgeons to choose from in your general area. i hope you decide on one you feel really good about.

[ilovethe80s]

I'm shedding tears from laughing so hard lol

HAHAHA

Laura,

You're turning into Sigourney Weaver. An alien wants to pop out of your belly, armed with hemostats..

It sure feels that way sometimes!

yeah, recovery is gonna suck. when i finish the weight loss, i want to do the tummy tuck/possible body lift with hernia repair and diastasis recti repair. the thing that really bother me is not the pain, but kids, and training. i might wait till toddler is five. four is probably minimum.

you have lots of excellent surgeons to choose from in your general area. i hope you decide on one you feel really good about.

Yeah, the recovery is no joke. Not looking forward to having to re-learn how to squat and bench again after a 3 month layoff. Ugh, disaster lol.

[ilovethe80s]

I was really looking forward to the deload I had planned for this week, except I somehow miscalculated my program schedule AGAIN. I had to start today if I want to finish on time.

Last time I did this, I miscalculated and ended up having to do 3 RSA sessions in 1 week to catch up. That was my breaking point apparently, because the sh** hit the fan that week.

I am trying to tell myself that 4 x 9 with just 165 IS deload? Sort of? Lol.
I do an ok job of programming for myself until it comes to basic math and figuring out which day of the week it is.

RSA 1
Prewo: 15 minute speed walk, squat stretches, foam roll
A. Squat high bar 4 x 9 (165)
B. Glute Bridge 275/10 (x3)
C. FS hold / calves
D. McGill Pull-ups 10 x 1
Post-wo: 15 minute stretching + rolling

I decided on just a 235 max and am feeling really good about that. My squat gains aren't directly proportional to the load I am moving, I usually do best going for speed and perfection well under my max.

Squats felt great today. I was done with the squat portion in just under 15 minutes, squats were easy but I was dripping sweat by the end. I noticed in the last set I had more forward knee travel than normal as I wasn't opening my knees much. Hip is going to need a lot of tlc while doing this.

McGill pull-ups are here:
http://youtu.be/EdveLFrh9U8

I really loved them. They got stronger and faster as they went on. I felt really good after this session.

[ilovethe80s]

Brad Gillingham Light bench + tech work
Prewo: hip thrust, straight arm pulldown, plate holds
A. Light bench 8 x 2 (100)
B. unracks
165 - bad. jumped out of the rack too much on the unrack and lost stability
165/ good. retracted perfectly, just a smidge out of place after unrack and able to resettle/recover position
165/ fantastic, partial bench
185/1 (2x) fantastic, partial bench. The last one I held it at the halfway point for a while. 99% sure it wouldn't go for a full bench, but felt like I could at least put up a hell of a fight lol.
C. DB facing bench 3 x 10, triple pause
D. cable row to shoulder 4x10, plus retractions
E. Reverse grip lat pulldown 3 x 8, plus retractions
F. Skullcrusher 3 x 12

I don't love that I am throwing in heavy unracks on my light days regularly now, but it is the only way to see the tech updates i make are really holding up. My missing link to work on today was the shoulder setup and unrack, and I think I got it.

Term of the day was 'packing the shoulders'.
http://bretcontreras.com/guest-blog-...joe-sansalone/
The above is for overhead but applies for bench, too. I was misinterpreting how to retract and squeeze. Unlike 'squeeze' cues, which for a very flexible person such as myself, the possibilities feel endless, retraction has a definite ending point. Just push it into the socket. When i do a big jump to get out of the rack and am wobbly, i am out of the socket and can't get back. I am pinching soft tissue together, squeezing scapula so hard for the sake of squeezing but my shoulder isn't even packed into the capsule.

As long as I stay really tight in the socket, (so no flinging bar out of rack), I can sink it back in after unracking and get back into position. I should always re-sink the weight and let it settle in back regardless of how smooth of an unrack job I think I did. .

Other work today were retractions thrown in everywhere. This applies to my rowing and all other pressing work as well. Really basic but somehow along the way, I forgot how to retract properly. My rows and pressing moves have been sloppy. When I caught myself waving around with the weight today, would pause, retract, and everything is back in line.

Some other notes to self from today:

- Set up close to the bench, bring feet back, bring butt to shoulders, then angle out and test drive.
do not go wide (hip pain, and doesnt give me much more drive than just angling out)
and do not go too far back ( has me driving straight down (no good)
- Do take bar deep in hand and and squeeze
- Methods for when I get frazzled and can't remember how to retract (sh** happens lol) stretch then retract, retract against bar by straightening arms and pushing heels of palms against it, pushing shoulders into sockets horizontally.
- ALWAYS resink bar and let weight settle heavy after unrack. For that step, pulling down with bra strap back fat muscles seems to cue the right area
- Set up one thing at a time! Feet and drive get set, THEN pack shoulders. I fail hard when I go out of order or try doing everything at once.

I also loved
'Shoulders are a pin in a door hinge (not moving)'

Heavy day will be the test to see if it sticks, at which point i will log my steps and cues for when I inevitably forget how to bench again. Even though, last time I knew how to bench, my steps were slightly different. and next time it happens, things will probably be different again. I can't believe I had to totally rebuild my bench again. I mean, every single component - the whole damn thing fell apart lol.

[kaleida]

I like reading your mental cues, your cues always seem to make sense to me! I think I have the same kind of shoulder that can go any direction...

I came here with a squat question though. How on earth do you activate your hamstrings in a high bar squat without turning it into a mini good morning??
My body wants to do a hamstring contraction coming out of the hole, and the hamstring contraction pulls knees a few inches back towards the wall behind me ... and when my knees go back, my shoulders go forward, you know how it is. It almost makes me want to do a tiny mini-good-morning on every single squat on purpose because I'm not sure how to activate my hamstrings without that mini good morning.

[ilovethe80s]

I like reading your mental cues, your cues always seem to make sense to me! I think I have the same kind of shoulder that can go any direction...

I came here with a squat question though. How on earth do you activate your hamstrings in a high bar squat without turning it into a mini good morning??
My body wants to do a hamstring contraction coming out of the hole, and the hamstring contraction pulls knees a few inches back towards the wall behind me ... and when my knees go back, my shoulders go forward, you know how it is. It almost makes me want to do a tiny mini-good-morning on every single squat on purpose because I'm not sure how to activate my hamstrings without that mini good morning.

Bounce off your glutes instead like a straight drop between the knees, bouncing glutes off heels. Torso should stay pretty upright that way. I think the hamstrings are involved on the way out of a high bar, but not really the main mover? For me it feels like it is almost all glutes.

[kaleida]

Bounce off your glutes instead like a straight drop between the knees, bouncing glutes off heels. Torso should stay pretty upright that way. I think the hamstrings are involved on the way out of a high bar, but not really the main mover? For me it feels like it is almost all glutes.

That makes sense thanks!

[NorwichGrad]

That makes sense thanks!

Jane,

Are you thinking of experimenting with high bar?

[tina722]

tried to rep you, but can't.

Great notes - this is one of my go-to places when I need motivation and help.

[izzygrant]

I like the pin-in-the-door hinge cue too. my bench is off the rails again too, right on schedule! lol. I think you're right about allowing the re-settle - I always have the bad habit of freaking out like "omg the weight is above me, must start now before it gets heavier!!" or something equally silly.

[kaleida]

Jane,

Are you thinking of experimenting with high bar?

already am My deadlift loved the extra quad strength from prioritizing low bar and front squats equally, but I was starting to feel exhausted doing 2 different kinds of squats on every volume day...some of that exhaustion might be just winter hibernation blahs plus moving to NY and traveling every weekend ...but I do feel a lot less exhausted doing just one kind of squat

eh, I admit I'm curious if my deadlift will still love me after the switch to high bar squats...but then I just think to myself: Laura, Dan Green, Eric Lillebridge, they all do high bar squats in various amounts and their deadlift is doing just fine so I think any problems I run into will he solvable

Not sure yet if I'll compete high bar but definitely training it now