All Eyez On Me

[adamsz]

Great job Zack! That squat looked perfect to me - depth ,tempo, balance and strength all looked spot on!
You certainly had more in you and 405 is so close!

Nice job on the bench PRs and on hitting on those flat DB 120s as well!
I wouldn't worry about the deads --- trying to get the 1RM a few days ago and then following on after hitting a big squat PR is bound to take it's toll. You've got the strength to get that PR on the deads. I'm sure it will happen sooner than you think

Yeah - I think it's time to compete!

Thx fit! I would love to compete sometime in the near future, just gotta get off my a$s and do some research about meets in the area, and buy a singlet

awesome session.. stomped the PRs!!!

Thanks Scott! Appreciate you droppin in big guy. Love stompin some PRs

**** yeah bro!!!! Bench is looking awesome. And squat work too. You still around 200ish?

I'm gonna catch up to your bench buddy someday....

Ya been floatin between 200-205 for awhile now. Woke up at 201 this morning.

[ashylarryku]

Thanks Adam! Your deadlift has been hugely inspiring to me for awhile, srs.

Any critique on my form?

Pull the slack out of the bar (you went from 0% right to 100%. Apply just a little bit of tension to get your body tight, and then drive through those heels with everything you've got!!), and get those hips down.

EDIT: Also, pull back and up, not just straight up.

[adamsz]

New page bump!!!

Squats (no box)
135 x 5
170 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
240 x 2
240 x 2
275 x 2
add belt
305 x 1
335 x 1
355 x 1 PR
365 x 1 PR @ 9 - could have probably got 375 but I came to the gym hoping for 365 so I decided to call it good



Medium Grip Bench Press ALL reps paused for 1 full second.
135 x 5
170 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
240 x 2
240 x 2
270 x 2
300 x 1 PR for paused bench
310 x 1 PR for paused bench
315 x fail right above half way, right before lockout #soclose

Deadlift
135 x 5 sumo
225 x 3 sumo
245 x 3 sumo
290 x 2 sumo
340 x 2 sumo
340 x 2 conventional
add belt
390 x 1 conventional
435 x 1 conventional
480 x fail
455 x fail
lol

Flat DB Press for chits and giggles
80's x 5
100's x 5
120's x 4
tee hee

15 minutes stretching / 10 minutes rolling

Thoughts

Woke up today with really tight lowerback/glutes. Originally thought I was gonna wait till tomorrow to hit this up but I was just antsy and couldn't wait. Did like 30 minutes of stretching and foam rolling before dinner and the gym.

First time doing squats (without the box) since starting Sheiko a little over 2 months ago. Everythingwentbetterthanexpected.jpg Previous PR for parallel squats was 350 about a year or so ago, but considering i did olympic ATG squats all through 5/3/1 and I have been doing box squats for the last 2 months I'm really happy with the progress. Pretty crazy to think that I never even did more than 280 for sets of 2 on Sheiko, and yet here I am doing 85lbs more than the usual working sets. The last set was really only at about 90% effort and I think I could have done 375 but I wanted to save some energy for the bench and deads. Can almost taste that 405 squat.... soon.jpg

Benching also went fawkin AWESOME. There's an older dude at my gym who is a retired powerlifter who I asked to spot me on the 300+ sets. Since he competed for a long time I had him count the pause for 1 second like it was a meet, give the press command, and make sure than my as$ didn't come up off the bench. I think just having him spot me gave me a huge confidence booster. Never done more than 275 x 2 paused reps before, so hitting 300 and 310 is a pretty big milestone considering the most I've hit touch and go is 315. I really concentrated on trying to not really use too much leg drive at all so my a$$ didn't come up (which it didn't) which definitely gave me some confidence in my raw chest strength. 315 was SO close, just barely failed to lock it out. Dude gave me some super legit advice on how to bench properly, which is good because he's literally the only powerlifter IRL I've ever really met.

Deads.... went horrible. But I'm not surprised considering I tried maxing out just on Saturday. I played around with sumo stance for the warmup sets and I think it might have helped with getting more hip drive in the lift, so I might play around with that some more going forward. I also tried using my belt on the heavier sets which I never do, which I think helped a little bit. On my 435 set I let out a huge fart half way up which made me almost drop the weight out of surprise LOL. After that my strength was just done though, but I didn't fret over it too much. I've never tried maxing out on 3 lifts in 1 day like this before, so overall I'd say I did pretty good.

Overall the sesh really made me want to compete in a legit meet!

Food Porn

Preworkout meal: Spicy Thai Noodles with Jumbo Shrimp made from scratch with whole grain thin spaghetti:



Postworkout meal: Kimchi fried rice (takeout leftovers lol) with added broccoli and diced New York Strip steak

[adamsz]

Pull the slack out of the bar (you went from 0% right to 100%. Apply just a little bit of tension to get your body tight, and then drive through those heels with everything you've got!!), and get those hips down.

EDIT: Also, pull back and up, not just straight up.

Thanks for the critique Adam, good stuff. I've never heard the advice about "pulling the slack out of the bar," but thinking about it that makes a lot of sense to set up the pull. I wish we had more bendy bars at my gym - all those bars are stiff as hell and don't bend at all which I think makes it harder overall.

And ya definitely need to get those hips down! On the heavier weights I swear I always end up doing basically a SLDL.

As for "pulling back," that's something I've never really been able to do for some reason.

Man I really need to work on my DLs....

Glad to have someone point these things out though for real

[snrygo]

push the floor away worked better than pull back fr me

[ThruH1ker]

405 squat or plsgo.

[Jstamp]

I agree with keep the hips down. Once you get that down everything else will become natural

[The Shoeless Wonder]

damn, nice transformation!

[nwskier]

I'm gonna catch up to your bench buddy someday....

Ya been floatin between 200-205 for awhile now. Woke up at 201 this morning.

you're probably already there
mostly cause I can't do any paused reps w/ my shoulder

I need to add on another 10-15lbs so I can better compete with ya- this 185lb frame ain't gonna be able to hold you off much longer, lmao

but yeah man, srsly mirin' the progress. you're becoming a machine and adding some quality strength all around. really solid work ethic dude!

[adamsz]

push the floor away worked better than pull back fr me

Age: 16

plz go




(not srs )

405 squat or plsgo.

You said vid of 365 or negs, I got a vid in here, sup with some reps *******?

I agree with keep the hips down. Once you get that down everything else will become natural

Gotta work on that for sure!

damn, nice transformation!

Thanks man, although I'm not nearly as lean I was when I started this journal unfortunately

you're probably already there
mostly cause I can't do any paused reps w/ my shoulder

I need to add on another 10-15lbs so I can better compete with ya- this 185lb frame ain't gonna be able to hold you off much longer, lmao

but yeah man, srsly mirin' the progress. you're becoming a machine and adding some quality strength all around. really solid work ethic dude!

Ya I'm not really counting the whole paused rep aspect when I'm talking about competing with your bench though... your best touch and go is like 335 right? Gotta get my bench up there!

I think you'd look great/be strong as hell if you added another 10-15 lbs to ya. Just don't go AFV status and dirty bulk - just not the way to go for 95% of people not on gear IMO (not saying he is tho). Lean bulk FTW.

[nwskier]

Ya I'm not really counting the whole paused rep aspect when I'm talking about competing with your bench though... your best touch and go is like 335 right? Gotta get my bench up there!

I think you'd look great/be strong as hell if you added another 10-15 lbs to ya. Just don't go AFV status and dirty bulk - just not the way to go for 95% of people not on gear IMO (not saying he is tho). Lean bulk FTW.

I know man... I love the competition but i'm pushing hard with a broken down injured body, lmao. I cannot wait to get back on track. and thanks man- I have a hard time eating/bulking but if I can do a successful lean bulk- I will be able to go head-head with you. Until then, just mirin' and trying to do work!

switched over to try out IF and see if I can cut down on bf. sucks though- feels like I have lost some strength this week. I've always been a breakfast person. trying to tweak/adjust diet to compensate

[ashylarryku]

Thanks for the critique Adam, good stuff. I've never heard the advice about "pulling the slack out of the bar," but thinking about it that makes a lot of sense to set up the pull. I wish we had more bendy bars at my gym - all those bars are stiff as hell and don't bend at all which I think makes it harder overall.

And ya definitely need to get those hips down! On the heavier weights I swear I always end up doing basically a SLDL.

As for "pulling back," that's something I've never really been able to do for some reason.

Man I really need to work on my DLs....

Glad to have someone point these things out though for real

You don't need a bendy bar to pull the slack out of the bar. It really just means you need to apply a bit of force to the bar before you actually start the pull. Check out this article from T-Nation today. It is mentioned in it:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...e_the_deadlift

[adamsz]

I know man... I love the competition but i'm pushing hard with a broken down injured body, lmao. I cannot wait to get back on track. and thanks man- I have a hard time eating/bulking but if I can do a successful lean bulk- I will be able to go head-head with you. Until then, just mirin' and trying to do work!

switched over to try out IF and see if I can cut down on bf. sucks though- feels like I have lost some strength this week. I've always been a breakfast person. trying to tweak/adjust diet to compensate

Dude you are way up there with me on many lifts. You've still got me beat by far on touch and go bench and any sort of back work. Not to mention you're significantly older than me and you can still hold your own!

On the IF train eh? I've always been interested in giving it a shot but never have. I hope you detail it in your journal because i definitely wanna see how it works out for u.

You don't need a bendy bar to pull the slack out of the bar. It really just means you need to apply a bit of force to the bar before you actually start the pull. Check out this article from T-Nation today. It is mentioned in it:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...e_the_deadlift

Interesting stuff man. Thanks for the link - that was a great read and had some awesome assistance tutorials I should definitely try out.

BTW I really hope you post your meet outcome in your journal soon buddy! I'm really lookin forward to it.

[adamsz]

7/12/12 9:10PM - 11:10PM

Squats (no box)
135 x 5
170 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
240 x 3
240 x 3
255 x 2
255 x 2
255 x 2
255 x 2

Medium Grip Bench Press all reps paused
135 x 5
175 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
235 x 3
235 x 3
235 x 3
235 x 3
235 x 3
235 x 3

Incline DB Press (switched for DB Flyes)
80's x 5
100's x 7
100's x 8
100's x 7
100's x 7

Good Mornings
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5

Wide Grip Pullups
BW x 5
BW x 6
BW x 7
BW x 8
BW x 6

Wide Grip Seated Cable Rows
105 x 12
120 x 12
135 x 11
150 x 9

Preacher Machine
80 x 12
110 x 12
140 x 8
125 x 8

Alternating Hammer Curls
35's x 10 per arm
32.5's x 9 per arm
25's x 12 per arm

Ab Wheel on knees
10
10
10

Lying Leg Raises
10
10

10 mins stretching / 10 mins rolling

Thoughts

Been trying the squats without the box. Definitely puts some strain on the groin area, but my form has come a long way, which I think I can attribute to the box squats. Still not perfect and I have some work to do, but it's pretty solid.

Decided to throw in some back and bis in because I had to work all day the next day when I would normally go in for the extra back/bis workout.

Gave the ab wheel a shot for the first time. Holy chit it works so awesome. Really really felt it afterwards, and I was only doing it from my knees! Definitely wanna try and slowly work up to doing it from a standing position.

[adamsz]

7/15/12 8:55PM - 10:30PM

So I went out and got super yucky with the boyz last night and paid for it today. Woke up hungover as CHIT. Paid a coworker $30 to cover my shift at work because there was no way in hell I could stomach serving for 5 hours (lol). Felt like complete crap all day. Finally started feeling better around 8ish so headed to the gym after dinner. Got to the gym, did my warmups, realized I didn't have my head phones.

RAGE.

Did 1 set of squats and was like there's no way in hell I can stand to be here for another 2 and a half hours listening to the WORST generic gym crap radio. Decide to drive home and get headphones, which takes an extra 20 minutes total.

RAGE.

Squats (no box)
135 x 5
170 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
240 x 3
240 x 3
275 x 2
275 x 2
275 x 2
add belt
315 x 5 strong PR. Was easy as fawk too. Probably could have got another 2-3. Solid depth on em too. (was supposed to be another 275 x 2 set but said fawk it I wanna try it out)

Medium Grip Bench Press all reps paused
135 x 5
160 x 3
190 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3
250 x 3
250 x 3
250 x 3
250 x 3
250 x 3

Incline Cable Flyes in the cage, weight is both sides added together
100 x 12
120 x 10
140 x 8
140 x 8
140 x 8
left wrist kept fukin "clicking" though, worst feeling ever

Squats (no box)
185 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3
255 x 3
255 x 3
255 x 3
255 x 3

Ab Wheel extra exercise
10
10
10

Roman Chair Leg Raises extra exercise
10
10
10

10 minutes stretching / 10 minutes rolling

Drive home, realize my wrists wraps arn't in my bag and they must have fallen out on the walk out of the gym.

RAGE.

Drive back to gym, find them by the water fountain, drive back home. Another 20 minutes of my life wasted, and total of 40 minutes driving to and from the gym 4 fukin times tonight.

SO MUCH RAGE.

lol

Thoughts

Was really hard to mentally get into the right place for this workout, but once I had my music it helped some.

Definitely noticing solid progress on the squats. 315 x 5 is a pretty big PR and it felt pretty light despite how hungover I was. I'm really glad I spent 2 straight months doing box squats to work on my form - after the 315 set I had no knee pain or anything.

Bench is also progressing nicely. After taking some clips a few weeks ago and seeing just how much my a$$ was coming up I've really been concentrating on not really using leg drive to keep my arse on the bench and really generate all the power from my upper body. So far so good and I haven't lost any strength on the lift at all.

2nd sets of squats was hard to get done mentally. Definitely was a mind battle saying don't be a fukin pussy and just get it done. Same chit with the ab work. Abs were still sore from Thursdays sesh but I really want to prioritize bringing my core strength up so I want to throw in at least 3 sets of 10 on every workout. Holy hell does the ab wheel work your lower abs. Feels awesome.

[fittofattofit]

Huge sessions Zack!
2 hours of pure hell each time!
315 x 5 was easy with good form = great progress!
Congrats on the PR and getting through that sh!tload of volume after a night on the p!ss.

[ThruH1ker]

315x5 oh lawd I'll never catch up now haha. good work m8. headphones are so worth it at the gym too.

[ashylarryku]

I never saw the pictures on the first page of your thread until now. You've made some great progress!!

[adamsz]

Huge sessions Zack!
2 hours of pure hell each time!
315 x 5 was easy with good form = great progress!
Congrats on the PR and getting through that sh!tload of volume after a night on the p!ss.

Ha I don't know if I would call them "pure hell" - the percentages in these 3 or so weeks aren't too bad because its a meet prep cycle so it's relatively on the lighter side of things. Doesn't mean it's easy by any means tho

315x5 oh lawd I'll never catch up now haha. good work m8. headphones are so worth it at the gym too.

405 here I come in 1st place ya buddyyyy

I never saw the pictures on the first page of your thread until now. You've made some great progress!!

thanks man, I actually coincidently just looked through the first couple pages of your log and saw your before and after pictures. You went from skinny ******* status to having a lot of lean quality mass. Good job man.

[adamsz]

Deadlifts to Knees
135 x 5
185 x 5
245 x 3
290 x 2
290 x 2
switch to mixed grip
315 x 2
315 x 2
340 x 1
340 x 1
340 x 1
ez

Medium Grip Bench Press all reps paused
135 x 5
160 x 3
190 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3
250 x 3
250 x 3
275 x 2 <---these sets were supposed to be 270, but 275 just looks so much more bada$s
275 x 2
275 x 2
easy

Deadlifts sumo stance
135 x 5
245 x 3
290 x 3
340 x 3
340 x 3
385 x 1 fuk no, zero leg/hip drive, felt horrible
switch to strapped, conventional, touch-n-go
385 x 3
385 x 3
385 x 3
385 x 3
385 x 3

skipped the chest flyes

Pull-ups
BW x 5
25 x 7
25 x 6

High to Low Seated Close Grip Cable Row
150 x 10
195 x 6

Machine Preacher Curls
125 x 10
140 x 8
155 x 6

3 sets lying leg raises / 10 minutes stretching

Thoughts

I hate deadlift days on Sheiko... seriously. 1st round was easy today but 2nd round was torture. Tried out pulling sumo on the 2nd round which went alright up until the 385 sets, but I couldn't incorporate any leg/hip drive at that weight so I switched back to conventional touch n go with straps. Every deadlift workout theres a point where I'm ready to quit and I have to tell myself to stop being such a fukin pussy. Feelsbetaman.

Thinkin about maybe tryin to incoporate back/bis from the PHAT routine I ran last summer into my Sheiko, where I'd be hitting them both twice a week. It would basically be
Power Day (Tuesday)
- Assistance Pulling movement: Weighted Pull ups
2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Auxiliary Pulling movement: some sort of cable rows
2 sets of 6-10 reps
- Auxiliary curling movement: machine preacher curls
3 sets of 6-10 reps

Hypertrophy Day (Friday)
basically the same thing but in the 12-20 rep range

Yes I'm aware that 8-10 reps is still in the hypertrophy rep range lol. Made good gains of this scheme last summer, so might try it for a bit mixed in with the Sheiko and see how it works out.

[Jstamp]

Killer workout!

If you made good gains with it before then I say do it! Why did you change it? I always say don't fix what aint broken

[nwskier]

RAGE RAGE RAGE

haha

for fuksake, everytime you post it's the opposite time when I get a chance to get to the forums so don't see your new workouts til' later.

workouts looking strong, squats = killing it. 315x5 atg yeah buddy!

and bench continues to make steady progress. you've done a great job adding strength to all your big 3 lifts (and SOHP) across the board

[adamsz]

Killer workout!

If you made good gains with it before then I say do it! Why did you change it? I always say don't fix what aint broken

Thanks big J

I changed routines simply because my priorities and goals started to change. I made good gains on PHAT but eventually ended up stalling out on a lot of the lifts, and I became more and more interested in strength training. So from there I switched to 5/3/1 with bodybuilding accessory movements and ran it for like 6 months or something, and then started Sheiko 2 or so months ago because I got more interested in powerlifting and really getting my #s up on the big 3. Thing is there isn't a lot of balance in Sheiko since it's 90% the big 3 and versions of it, so there really isn't enough upperback work in my opinion. And I also just like having big biceps

But ya, I do agree with you about not fixing what isn't broken for sure.

[fittofattofit]

Strong benching session there Zack! 275 is bad@ss anyway, but 275 paused is uber-bad@ss

Huge volume on the deads. With the deadlifts to knee, I assume that's to help with getting leg drive activated and improving speed off the ground?
Do you pause at the knee for a count?
Nice machine preachers as well
I don't really see a problem with throwing in those back/bis exercises --- you're not having any trouble handling the volume and it looks like you can make the time to finish it, so why not!

[adamsz]

RAGE RAGE RAGE

haha

for fuksake, everytime you post it's the opposite time when I get a chance to get to the forums so don't see your new workouts til' later.

workouts looking strong, squats = killing it. 315x5 atg yeah buddy!

and bench continues to make steady progress. you've done a great job adding strength to all your big 3 lifts (and SOHP) across the board

Ya there was definitely a lot of rage in that workout, although I also felt like death from being so damn hungover lol.

I know what you mean about bad timing on the forums. I always browse the journals on my phone at work on my break, but almost never respond on the phone because its so hard to write up anything detailed on my iphone (hate typing on that chit). Then I'll come home and it won't show any new posts for the journals because I already saw them on my phone and I kinda forget lol... oh well.

and that 315 x 5 squat wasn't ATG - it was wide-stance to parallel. Haven't done ATG since 5/3/1.

[nwskier]

Dude you are way up there with me on many lifts. You've still got me beat by far on touch and go bench and any sort of back work. Not to mention you're significantly older than me and you can still hold your own!

On the IF train eh? I've always been interested in giving it a shot but never have. I hope you detail it in your journal because i definitely wanna see how it works out for u.

gotta say it's great to be inspired by you and your determination to kick ass. I might be a lot older but as long as you train smart and never lose your edge, it's possible to continue making gains. my mantra is pretty simple: when you stop being competitive with yourself (and others), you lose your edge- and give in to life.

oh and you'll probably catch up on bench this year, but i'll be damned if you ever catch me on rows ha

as for last post ^ you nailed it. same thing happens to me. hate posting from phone

there is a slight possibility I may end up in PDX for a day in November (have a couple clients in the area). Though it's a long shot, if it happens, we'll have to throwdown. And age won't be a factor

[ashylarryku]

If you made good gains with it before then I say do it! Why did you change it? I always say don't fix what aint broken

x2 I'd say go for it. I'm going to add in a back and biceps day of my own. And also an overhead pressing day somewhere, because I don't like how Sheiko doesn't call for any.

Solid work, Adam!

[Jstamp]

Thanks big J

I changed routines simply because my priorities and goals started to change. I made good gains on PHAT but eventually ended up stalling out on a lot of the lifts, and I became more and more interested in strength training. So from there I switched to 5/3/1 with bodybuilding accessory movements and ran it for like 6 months or something, and then started Sheiko 2 or so months ago because I got more interested in powerlifting and really getting my #s up on the big 3. Thing is there isn't a lot of balance in Sheiko since it's 90% the big 3 and versions of it, so there really isn't enough upperback work in my opinion. And I also just like having big biceps

But ya, I do agree with you about not fixing what isn't broken for sure.

Sounds like a solid plan. Experience is the best form of learning. You don't know if it will work unless you try it!

I love my arm day

[adamsz]

gotta say it's great to be inspired by you and your determination to kick ass. I might be a lot older but as long as you train smart and never lose your edge, it's possible to continue making gains. my mantra is pretty simple: when you stop being competitive with yourself (and others), you lose your edge- and give in to life.

oh and you'll probably catch up on bench this year, but i'll be damned if you ever catch me on rows ha

as for last post ^ you nailed it. same thing happens to me. hate posting from phone

there is a slight possibility I may end up in PDX for a day in November (have a couple clients in the area). Though it's a long shot, if it happens, we'll have to throwdown. And age won't be a factor

That's an awesome philosophy on life Tim, I really dig it.

And you're right, I'll probably never catch up to you on rows, ever lol. I'll probably deadlift 600 and squat 500 long before I even get remotely close to what you row buddy. Row-master-Tim.

That'd be awesome if you ever make over here to Portland, I would love to get in a sesh or 2 with ya (and some good eats too if you got the time). Keep me posted!

x2 I'd say go for it. I'm going to add in a back and biceps day of my own. And also an overhead pressing day somewhere, because I don't like how Sheiko doesn't call for any.

Solid work, Adam!

I feel ya man. Here's what I was thinking of adding for fridays:

SOHP 5/3/1
Reverse pec deck 4 sets of 10-20
Cable face pulls 3-4 sets of 10-20
Incline bench DB shrugs – 2 sets of 12-15
• Hypertrophy pulling movement: T-bar rows
3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Hypertrophy pulling movement: Seated high to low cable row
3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Hypertrophy pulling movement: Close grip pulldowns 2 sets 15-20
• Hypertrophy curling exercise: machine preacher curls
3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Hypertrophy curling exercise: Dumbbell concentration curls
2 sets of 12-15 reps
• Hypertrophy curling exercise: Spider curls bracing upper body against an incline bench
2 sets of 15-20 reps

(the back/bis part is pretty much straight off the PHAT program on simplyshredded.com)

Sounds like a solid plan. Experience is the best form of learning. You don't know if it will work unless you try it!

I love my arm day

Haha I used to love my arm days. Dat pumpppppp. Those were generally the days people would ask me if I was on steroids lol.


Didn't go lift today, but did some solid BBQin (despite it being overcast - fukin Portland in the summer for ya)

NY steak, lamp steak, shi****o peppers (shi-shi-to lol they censor it wtf), bell peppers, shallots, zuchini, Japanese eggplant and cherry tomatoes



Ready to go with the 2 different marinades: 1. Sake, honey, sweet chili sauce, ginger, and miso 2. Olive oil with rosemary, sage and parsley



The finished product! Delicious

[fittofattofit]

That is my type of food p0rn Zack --- lean meat shashlicks grilled on a BBQ and it looks like you've left the meat nice and medium-rare and juicy!
And LOL at shi-shi-to peppers being *******