Man 325 looked like butter! Deads are definitely your strong area.
Oh man Pioneer makes great belts did you get a custom paint job on it?
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Man 325 looked like butter! Deads are definitely your strong area.
Oh man Pioneer makes great belts did you get a custom paint job on it?
[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1624715651]Great work on the deadlift and max bench. Just a question, sorry if you already answered this, but why do you prefer sumo? I know you said you dont trust your lower back for conventional but you made that 325 look easy and right. Your chest may have come up a little faster than the hips, but overall that was a great looking pull![/QUOTE]Well, I prefer Conventional to be honest. There's something primal about just bending over and picking something up off the floor with brute strength. Sumo is okay, but much more technical.
I do prefer Sumo for programming purposes though, and it's for 2 main reasons. First is what you mentioned - having previously injured my lower back doing conventional, I'm really hesitant to go all out on it. At times, it even feels like my back may give out on the early warmup sets with 95/135 pounds. So I'm just not confident doing it.
Apart from that though, I changed to it (before ever injuring myself) because I recognized that some of the main muscles used in a Sumo Deadlift are weak points for me, and I needed to build up strength in those muscles if I wanted to get stronger at Deads, Squats, and a variety of other lifts. I've brought up these areas a lot, and as a result the gap between my sumo and conv has narrowed significantly, but relatively speaking the same muscles are still weak points, and doing Sumo is helping to build them up.
[QUOTE=Raigs;1624743531]Man 325 looked like butter! Deads are definitely your strong area.
Oh man Pioneer makes great belts did you get a custom paint job on it?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the Pioneer belts seemed to be rated really highly by nearly everyone that has used them. Plus they are cheaper than most of the belts out there, so it was a no brainer. I ordered an 'Untreated' belt, which means that it has no coloring at all. I'll for sure share some pics of it when I receive it. I'm excited to try it out. :)
[B][U]December 8, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Dynamic Lower: Box Squat - 20 inch Box[/U]
[B]145 pounds - 12 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Not done a 20 inch box squat before. This felt very light. Will have to take a decent jump up in weight next week.
[U]Dynamic Lower: Sumo Deadlift - Banded[/U]
[B]185 pounds + Light Band (65% of 1RM) - 10 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Felt good. Nice tight setup. Reps moved very smoothly.
[U]Reverse Lunge[/U]
[B]40 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]
[U]Block Pull[/U]
[B]205 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps[/B]
Started out with a light weight since I've never done these before. Should be able to do quite a bit more weight next week.
[U]Pullup[/U]
[B]Bodyweight x 6/5/5 reps[/B]
Damn thats quite the log, keep it up!
Nice workout i always like to read that the weights were easy!! Cant wait for the next time i see these. Box squats are great for that explosiveness
[QUOTE=Elucid99;1624950481]Damn thats quite the log, keep it up![/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Raigs;1624962551]Nice workout i always like to read that the weights were easy!! Cant wait for the next time i see these. Box squats are great for that explosiveness[/QUOTE]
Thanks guys. I like when the weights are easy too, lmao!
[B][U]December 9, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Dynamic Bench - DB Bench Press[/U]
[B]40 pound DB's - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]
[U]Incline DB Press[/U]
[B]40 pound DB's - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
[U]Tricep Overhead Extension[/U]
[B]Light Band - 4 sets x 10 reps[/B]
[U]Band Row - Underhanded[/U]
[B]Heavy Band - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
[U]Front Plate Raise[/U]
[B]25 Pounds - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
[U]Situp[/U]
[B]Bodyweight + 45 pounds - 4 sets x 10 reps[/B]
Man I love the DB bench! How did todays session feel?
[QUOTE=Raigs;1625077963]Man I love the DB bench! How did todays session feel?[/QUOTE]
It was a poorly planned workout. I somehow planned a band row twice this week, so I ended up doing yesterdays with a stronger band, different set/rep setup, and underhanded. I also didn't mean to schedule both flat and incline DB pressing for the same day (when I'm writing my programming, I kind of write the main lifts all at once, and then the supplemental and accessory lifts together separately. Usually then double check to make sure that the two make sense together, but I somehow failed to do so for this one.
That said, it was actually a really good workout, and I shouldn't be at all upset about the programming. The DB pressing felt fantastic, and it's something I'd like to do more often. It was refreshing to do a bunch of stuff that I haven't done in a long time. :)
Sounds like the poorly planned workout hit well though. Some of my workouts on my program
Actually have all three bench movements in one set. Sometimes it’s good to have both tire out on one and then hit the other one and activate the muscles
[QUOTE=Raigs;1625186743]Sounds like the poorly planned workout hit well though. Some of my workouts on my program
Actually have all three bench movements in one set. Sometimes it’s good to have both tire out on one and then hit the other one and activate the muscles[/QUOTE]
Wish I had done something different in place of the band row. The pressing was great though. The fact that one was a speed lift while the other was much closer to failure made them feel different enough. Good for me to know for future reference. ;)
Not too bad. I like the combo of DB bench and incline DB bench. Although the fact that you did more reps on the incline even though the flat came first is great. That is a good indication you did the dynamic work properly.
[QUOTE=CW47;1624752211]Well, I prefer Conventional to be honest. There's something primal about just bending over and picking something up off the floor with brute strength. Sumo is okay, but much more technical.
I do prefer Sumo for programming purposes though, and it's for 2 main reasons. First is what you mentioned - having previously injured my lower back doing conventional, I'm really hesitant to go all out on it. At times, it even feels like my back may give out on the early warmup sets with 95/135 pounds. So I'm just not confident doing it.
Apart from that though, I changed to it (before ever injuring myself) because I recognized that some of the main muscles used in a Sumo Deadlift are weak points for me, and I needed to build up strength in those muscles if I wanted to get stronger at Deads, Squats, and a variety of other lifts. I've brought up these areas a lot, and as a result the gap between my sumo and conv has narrowed significantly, but relatively speaking the same muscles are still weak points, and doing Sumo is helping to build them up.
[/QUOTE]
That makes a lot of sense, then. Good choice and good discipline in using a move you do not prefer in place of one you do to bring up weak points.
[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1625516863]Not too bad. I like the combo of DB bench and incline DB bench. Although the fact that you did more reps on the incline even though the flat came first is great. That is a good indication you did the dynamic work properly.[/QUOTE]Yeah, it went well enough that I'm going to do it again this week. I was just reviewing the remainder of this cycle and noticing that I have a ton of incline benching planned. My results from this cycle will tell me a lot about the value of incline benching in my programming.
[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1625517253]That makes a lot of sense, then. Good choice and good discipline in using a move you do not prefer in place of one you do to bring up weak points.[/QUOTE]I've come to the point where I feel like the main focus of my lifting is to do stuff I'm not that good at so I can then get better at it. The good thing is that I end up enjoying almost all exercises once I get some experiences with them. With the exception of planks and lunges/split squat - I think they will forever suck, lol.
[B][U]December 14, 2020[/U][/B]
Was out of town over the weekend and unable to lift. The partner and kids are staying with my parents through most of the week, so I should have some good, focused workouts.
My belt arrived, and I put it to use today. Seemed to make a really big difference on the max squats today. It's going to take me a few workouts to get used to it. Can't wait to see how it feels deadlifting.
[img]https://i.ibb.co/3mQ9nC5/IMG-3816.jpg[/img][img]https://i.ibb.co/kmk1d2P/IMG-3817.jpg[/img]
[U]Max Effort Lower: Box Squat[/U]
[B]235 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
Was hoping to hit 225, since I've never completed any kind of squat with that weight before. The rep at 225 flew up freaking fast. Almost jumped up to 245, but decided to be conservative. Glad I did because the 235 was a challenge. You can see in the video below that I got a little off balance, with my weight shifting forward. I'll gladly take the 20 pound PR though.
[U]Squat - Banded[/U]
[B]115 pounds + 2 Mini Bands - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
Added 20 pounds from last week. Still getting used to squatting with bands. It's still messing with my balance. Having trouble getting lined up so that the bands aren't pulling me forward or backward. Also, I didn't notice until I just watched the uploaded video that's posted below that I didn't reach full depth. That was a balance issue as well. With the bands pulling me forward/backward, I felt like I was going to fall over at the bottom if the bands lost tension, so I wasn't going all the way down. Will need to keep working on this lift.
[U]Romanian Deadlift[/U]
[B]255 pounds - 8 sets x 3 reps[/B]
[U]Pullthrough - Banded[/U]
[B]Average Band - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
[U]Helms Row[/U]
[B]40 pound DB's - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
Video shows the Box Squat and one of the sets of banded squats.
[youtube]K9kRUKRjlsU[/youtube]
[B][U]December 15, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Max Bench: Incline Press - 30 Degree[/U]
[B]160 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
This is about as close to a 10 rpe as I can get I think, lol. Did not think the bar was going to go up once it stalled. Glad I kept on pushing. I was feeling pretty fatigued going into this, so I'm happy to have hit a 5 pound PR. It's also worth noting that the form on this lift was much better than my previous 155 PR - much better control.
[U]Incline Press: 30 Degree - Close Grip[/U]
[B]100 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
I mentioned last week that I wasn't liking the Fat Grip, so this week I changed it to a close grip. I think this is a much better option for me.
[U]Kneeling Overhead Press[/U]
[B]100 pounds - 7 sets x 3 reps[/B]
[U]DB Tricep Overhead Extension[/U]
[B]40 pounds (20 lb DB's) - 3 sets x 8 reps[/B]
[U]Pendlay Row - Wide Grip[/U]
[B]135 pounds - 7 sets x 3 reps[/B]
Just tried a wide grip (close to a snatch grip width) on a whim. It actually felt fantastic, forcing me do use upper back muscles to move the weight. Also seemed to put less stress on the lower back, though I have no idea why that would be. Will definitely be doing these more often.
[U]Hanging Knee Raise[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 3 sets x 16 reps[/B]
Did these slow and controlled, and felt a good burn.
Today's video shows only the Max Incline Press attempt at 160 pounds.
[youtube]4FnLnJ0jTCk[/youtube]
That belt is sexy. That’s going to be a game changer. And can’t beat a kid free week. Very lucky. Enjoy it all
[QUOTE=Raigs;1625640573]That belt is sexy. That’s going to be a game changer. And can’t beat a kid free week. Very lucky. Enjoy it all[/QUOTE]
I am. The plan is to lift 4 days straight. I'll probably regret it, but gotta take advantage of the time alone. Family is back on Thursday. ;)
And as much as I enjoy my free time, I miss them already. Feels really weird being home alone.
I always feel weird when the wife and kid are gone.
It’s like after 2 hours I’m like “ok so where’s the noise at?”
Nice job grinding for that PR. That takes some serious fortitude to hammer through that sticking point.
[QUOTE=Filmbuff81;1625660303]I always feel weird when the wife and kid are gone.
It’s like after 2 hours I’m like “ok so where’s the noise at?”
Nice job grinding for that PR. That takes some serious fortitude to hammer through that sticking point.[/QUOTE]
I was going to keep pushing until the bar started descending. I fully expected that to happen, and was surprised and super happy when it finally shot up. The grinders like this are somehow more rewarding than the easy PR's.
And yeah, the peace and quiet is nice for a few hours, but now I've run out of YouTube stuff to watch and I'm suddenly not appreciating it so much, lmao.
Subbed in Brother! This is an outstanding log you have going!
I know sometimes I want a day alone then I get it and go and waste it by cleaning the whole place or something. I hope the 5th day is alone and you can just recover on the couch
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1625695723]Subbed in Brother! This is an outstanding log you have going![/QUOTE]
Thanks man! Glad to have you.
[QUOTE=Raigs;1625737213]I know sometimes I want a day alone then I get it and go and waste it by cleaning the whole place or something. I hope the 5th day is alone and you can just recover on the couch[/QUOTE]
No recovery days, lol. I'm missing them now, so it'll be really nice to have them back home.
[B][U]December 16, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Dynamic Lower: Box Squat - 20 inch Box[/U]
[B]165 pounds - 10 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Increased by 20 pounds from last week, and this still felt super light. I wore a belt for most of the sets, just trying to get used to it. After completing all the reps, I did a few full squats without the box to get some experience doing that with the belt. It felt very different actually. My balance felt off at the bottom of the lift. Felt like I was really struggling to keep my weight back. Not sure why a belt would cause that. I may throw in a few light reps on each workout until I get comfortable with it.
[U]Dynamic Lower: Sumo Deadlift - Banded[/U]
[B]195 pounds + Light Band (70% of 1RM) - 4 sets x 2 reps[/B]
I did only half of the scheduled 8 sets. As I was reviewing my programming for the next couple of week I realized that if I'm going to fit in another max attempt on Deads before the end of the year, it's going to need to happen this weekend. So I did just a few sets to, once again, get some experience doing this lift with a belt. Unlike the squat, it felt pretty simple to do deads with it on.
Nice that the weights on the box squat felt easy. On the belt some need some time to get broken in. So using them on warmups and such until its comfy is a good idea.
Nice lower body session! Looking froward to see your deadlift result.
[QUOTE=Raigs;1625804223]Nice that the weights on the box squat felt easy. On the belt some need some time to get broken in. So using them on warmups and such until its comfy is a good idea.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that's the hope. Wish I would've gotten it earlier so that I was comfortable using it for my end of year PR attempts, but oh well.
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1625804613]Nice lower body session! Looking froward to see your deadlift result.[/QUOTE]
Thank you sir! I'm looking forward to it as well, lol. After throwing out my back deadlifting 285 at the end of August, I thought it might be a year before I attempted a max lift. My back is feeling fantastic now though, so I'm ready to go all out. Should be fun.
[B][U]December 17, 2020[/U][/B]
Really solid workout today. This was the first time in a long time that I really just focused on getting through the workout quickly. One of the downsides of lifting at home is that it's easy to sit down at my computer between sets and lost track of time, or get pulled away to do something else. Got through this workout in less than an hour, which was really nice.
[U]Dynamic Bench - DB Bench Press[/U]
[B]90 Pounds (45 pound DB's) - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]
This was on the borderline of being too heavy for speed work. I'm supposed to increase again next week, but I'll have to see how it feels and adjust if needed.
[U]Incline DB Press[/U]
[B]90 Pounds (45 pound DB's) - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
I'm digging the DB work after not doing much this year. Left elbow was feeling somewhat tender/sensitive. It may be because of the slightly larger ROM with the DB's. Not too concerned about it though since I have just one more week of these exercises before moving on to something different.
[U]Banded Triceps Overhead Extension[/U]
[B]Average Band - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
I was feeling the burn here. I was worried that low rep work wouldn't be the best, but it was actually quite good. I really like bands for triceps work.
[U]Band Row[/U]
[B]Strong Band - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
Unlike the Triceps, the lower reps on this wasn't very good. Had to use a strong band to get enough resistance for 5 reps to do anything, but I'm not really strong enough to do them correctly, so it was too easy at the start of the rep and too hard for me to fully contract. I'll have to stick to higher rep ranges on this exercise for a while.
[U]Front Plate Raise[/U]
[B]25 Pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
Felt much easier than last week with the same weight. Not surprising since this is basically the first time I've ever done this exercise. Should be able to increase weight next week.
[U]Situp[/U]
[B]Bodyweight + 60 pounds - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
Easy peasy.
Nice job.
Realistically if your speed work was feeling like borderline speed work you would benefit from keeping the weight the same.
Or work up to the higher weight for a set then drop it down to this weeks weight for the remainder for a little potentiation effect and see if the slightly light weight moves even quicker.
Nice work! It can be tough with the distractions of home. Do you know what programming you will do after this template?
[QUOTE=Filmbuff81;1625881413]Nice job.
Realistically if your speed work was feeling like borderline speed work you would benefit from keeping the weight the same.
Or work up to the higher weight for a set then drop it down to this weeks weight for the remainder for a little potentiation effect and see if the slightly light weight moves even quicker.[/QUOTE]
That's exactly the plan!
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1625909413]Nice work! It can be tough with the distractions of home. Do you know what programming you will do after this template?[/QUOTE]
I've been struggling for years to find programming that actually produces good results for me. Now that I've finally found something I'm going to squeeze every bit out of it that I can before moving on to something different. Realistically, I should be able to continue to make good progress with the same basic approach for many years to come. I'll just be making small adjustments as I gain experience, learning what works and what doesn't work for me.
Having said that, if other commitments infringe upon my workouts to the point that they're not yielding results, I'd look into something like Bulgarian Lite programming, which I could probably complete in less time.
[B][U]December 19, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Max Effort Lower: Sumo Deadlift[/U]
[B]335 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
Did a PR rep at 325 before this that went up smoothly. This rep at 335 was a bit slower, but still pretty decent. Under different circumstances I would have attempted 345, but I need to be fresh for a max attempt squat next week and didn't want to go to complete failure and be wiped out. The belt definitely helped, especially with breaking the bar off the floor. Anyway, it was a 20 pound PR, which I'm obviously ecstatic about. :D
[U]Squat[/U]
[B]175 pounds x 3, 3
195 pounds x 2[/B]
Scrapped the banded squats I had planned in place of some normal back squats. I don't think I've done any normal back squats since my last max attempt (aside from some warmup reps), and needed to get some in to feel confident doing the movement. I think I'm going to need to start putting standard back squats in my programming more regularly to really get the movement grooved. It was pretty hit and miss today. Some good reps, some not very good. I'm blown away by how much a belt helps on squats. I did a set at 155 without the belt. Then I did a set at 175 with the belt and it felt easier than the 155. So weird...
I kept the reps low and just worked up to a moderate weight. I may try to fit in one more series of standard squats before my PR attempt next week. I believe I'm going to easily hit another PR on it based upon how the weight was feeling today. The reps at 195 weren't the cleanest reps by a long shot, but still went up pretty quick and easily. I'm thinking 235 is possible, maybe 245 if I'm having a good day. I'm definitely eager to see what I can do.
And for anyone that's new to the log, squats have always been a big challenge for me. At the end of my last 6 week cycle I hit a 10 pound PR with 215, so the 235 would give me a 30 pound increase over the last 3 months, and I think it's totally doable.
Left out the rest of my scheduled lifts for the day. My lower body is always much slower to recover than my upper body, so I took it very easy to assure that I'll be fresh for the upcoming squat PR attempt. The bench day tomorrow should feature a lot more volume.
Video shows the Sumo rep at 335 and the squat double at 195.
[youtube]3LJv9eE94Ig[/youtube]
Outstanding deadlift PR Bro!
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1626087233]Outstanding deadlift PR Bro![/QUOTE]
Thanks man! Always feels good to set a new PR. :)
[B][U]December 20, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Max Bench: 1 Board Bench Press[/U]
[B]165 pounds x 3 rep[/B]
Shot for a 3 rep max today. It was more of a grind than I really wanted, but I still had at least 1 rep in the tank. My previous max on this lift was 170x1 on September 26. Good progress.
[U]Incline Press: 30 Degree - Close Grip[/U]
[B]115 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps[/B]
[U]Kneeling Overhead Press[/U]
[B]105 pounds - 9 sets x 2 reps[/B]
Not sure why, but this totally wiped me out. Struggled to get through. I actually failed the first rep on one of the middle sets and had to reset and try again after a minute.
[U]Pendlay Row - Wide Grip[/U]
[B]145 pounds - 7 sets x 3 reps[/B]
[U]Hanging Leg Raise[/U]
[B]Bodyweight - 5 sets x 10 reps[/B]
The video shows only the Board Press.
[youtube]O4nofeZpNqw[/youtube]
Looking good!
Stringing together a lot of solid training.
Very effing nice on the 335 pull, the 195x2 squat, and that board press.
You made that whole 335 pull look like you had another 40 pounds left to go.
That squat double was fast as hell. You might have been "hit or miss" with your form that day but you damn sure got one of the "hits" recorded with that double lol. How wide is your stance for squats? it is hard to tell in the video but it looks like you prefer a narrow stance about shoulder width.
While I have never put much effort into board press I thought your 165 triple was pretty spot on as far as form and technique. Only in your third rep do you thrust up more with the hips than towards your shoulders. The first and second reps though you buried yourself into the bench and the weight flew up! Getting stronger and better, bro! Killing it!
[QUOTE=Filmbuff81;1626153453]Looking good!
Stringing together a lot of solid training.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! It's paying dividends. ;)
[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1626212343]Very effing nice on the 335 pull, the 195x2 squat, and that board press.
You made that whole 335 pull look like you had another 40 pounds left to go.
That squat double was fast as hell. You might have been "hit or miss" with your form that day but you damn sure got one of the "hits" recorded with that double lol. How wide is your stance for squats? it is hard to tell in the video but it looks like you prefer a narrow stance about shoulder width.
While I have never put much effort into board press I thought your 165 triple was pretty spot on as far as form and technique. Only in your third rep do you thrust up more with the hips than towards your shoulders. The first and second reps though you buried yourself into the bench and the weight flew up! Getting stronger and better, bro! Killing it![/QUOTE]
My squat is so weird... Those reps at 195 were okay, but still didn't feel quite right. There are just small shifts in balance that are mostly imperceptible on video, and they end up making a big difference. My tendency is to lean forward ever so slightly at the bottom, and if I do I feel a huge difference in my strength (or lack thereof, more accurately) out of the hole.
As far as stance, it feels most natural with my feet slightly wider than shoulder width, and I'm strongest when they're slightly narrower than shoulder width. My stance width varies a little bit from one session to the next depending upon how flexible or tight I'm feeling, but is usually somewhere close to shoulder width. I'm sure the inconsistency in stance, along with other things, contributes to my overall inconsistency with the lift. I'm planning to do a lot more standard squats next year so that I can really get comfortable with the lift. But even with how much I complain about my squat, I've been making fantastic progress on it. It's just the perfectionist in me coming out.
I'm really liking the low rep/high set work you are doing. Awesome job man!
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1626271373]I'm really liking the low rep/high set work you are doing. Awesome job man![/QUOTE]
Yeah, I've been doing stuff mostly in the 8-15 rep range for about 6 months now, and needed to change things up. I've never done work in rep ranges this low for most exercises, so it's been a good experience. I've learned which exercises it works well for, and which it doesn't.
After this week I'll be transitioning back to higher rep work again for a while. As I continue to refine my programming, one of the things I'm working on is building in waves for assistance work. I just need to figure out whether I'll be better off waving the set and rep ranges within each cycle, or waving them from one cycle to the next. I'm testing out waves within a cycle right now, so we'll see how that goes and adjust as needed.
[B][U]December 22, 2020[/U][/B]
Today's workout was all about just getting some reps in to be comfortable with the squat movement, while still making sure my body stays really fresh. It was a very minimalistic workout today, consisting of squats, squats, and more squats. ;)
I did a thorough squat warmup without the box. Worked up to doubles at 185 and 205 without a belt, and still had several reps in the tank at that weight.
[U]Dynamic Effort Lower: 20 inch Box Squat[/U]
[B]185 pounds - 8 sets x 2 reps[/B]
I'll need a very big increase in weight next time I do a 20 inch box squat. This weight was still extremely easy. Could've done speed work with at least another 20 pounds, maybe more than that.
After the box squats I did a couple of more reps at 185 and 205 with a belt on. I still feel more comfortable squatting without a belt, but I will definitely be able to lift more with the belt on, so it was good to get some reps in with it.
Overall, the squatting felt really quite good today. It's looking like I'm going to crush my current PR of 215 when I test this weekend. :)
Christmas PR gift to yourself coming up hopefully.
Squatting with a belt can certainly take some time to get used to, but it’s definitely worthwhile in the end.
Nice looking belt too.
Nice work on the squatting. Interested to see how you feel going from 8-15 to higher reps. Going to be a gasser at first.
Incoming PR for sure!
[QUOTE=Filmbuff81;1626311253]Christmas PR gift to yourself coming up hopefully.
Squatting with a belt can certainly take some time to get used to, but it’s definitely worthwhile in the end.
Nice looking belt too.[/QUOTE]
Yes, will keep working with it. I can already feel the benefits of it, and I'm sure it'll just get better as it gets broken in and as I get more comfortable with it.
[QUOTE=Raigs;1626320693]Nice work on the squatting. Interested to see how you feel going from 8-15 to higher reps. Going to be a gasser at first.
Incoming PR for sure![/QUOTE]
I actually meant that I will be going back to the 8-15 rep range after doing almost exclusively lower rep stuff for the last several weeks. I don't have much work over 15 reps, aside from a couple of exercises where I'll go up to 20. PR day is just a few days away now... :)
[B][U]December 24, 2020[/U][/B]
Wasn't able to get a workout in yesterday. Busy doing holiday prep stuff, and cleaning up snow. Also brought the little one to the doctor for his 2 month checkup and shots. He was not feeling too good afterward, so we were watching him closely (seems to be back to normal today).
[U]Dynamic Bench - DB Bench Press[/U]
[B]90 Pounds (45 pound DB's) - 9 sets x 3 reps[/B]
Tried one set with 55's, and it moved too slow, so I did them with 45's again this week.
[U]Band Row[/U]
[B]Average Band - 4 sets x 8 reps[/B]
[U]Front Plate Raise[/U]
[B]35 Pounds - 7 sets x 3 reps[/B]
Seems like a weird exercise to do low reps with, and while I probably won't do it again it actually wasn't as bad as I expected. I think a 5x5 would work reasonably well as a change up sometimes.
[U]Situp[/U]
[B]Bodyweight + 70 pounds - 4 sets x 6 reps[/B]
Left out Incline DB Press and Tricep Extensions because by left elbow and wrist are bothering me a bit. I initially thought it was from the DB pressing I've been doing the last couple of weeks, but I actually now think It's from holding the baby, lol. Not much I can do about that except use my right arm as the primary support more often.
I will take tomorrow off for sure. Saturday and Sunday are scheduled to be my Max Effort days, where I'll do my Squat and Bench Press PR attempts. Hoping to get some good food and good rest and be ready to hit it hard.
Merry Christmas Bro! Looking forward to the max attempts over the weekend!
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1626551743]Merry Christmas Bro! Looking forward to the max attempts over the weekend![/QUOTE]
Thanks brother! I was very low key, but good. Hope you had a good one as well.
[B][U]December 26, 2020[/U][/B]
Did my Squat PR attempt today, and it turned out better than I hoped and expected. I kind of dropped the ball on the warmup because I was psyching myself out. Did a full and pretty typical warmup up to 185 for a double. But then I was suddenly worried about what a weight higher than 225 would feel like on my back since I've never lifted it before. I changed over to a 20 inch box squat and worked my way up to 255 or 265. Then I wanted to do some standard squats with a belt on to get comfortable with it, but my energy was crashing because I drug the warmup out too long. I took like a 30 minute break, just sitting and relaxing. Took a couple of swigs of soda to get my blood pumping again, and then worked my way up from 135 with the belt on.
[U]Max Effort Lower: Squat[/U]
[B]255 pounds x 1 rep[/B]
225 pounds went up fast. 235 pounds went up even faster. 245 was a little slow. Finally ended up at 255. May have had another 10 pounds in me, but after struggling to unrack the 255, I ended it there quite happily. This was a 45 pound increase of my previous all time squat PR. Wowzerz!
[youtube]t_b0XsvUt9s[/youtube]
There have been times where I seriously questioned whether I'd ever squat 225 because of how much I've struggled with the lift. At one point a couple of years ago I was nearly convinced that I'd have to stop squatting because of knee pain every time I did it. I'm so happy that I stuck with it, and am now making progress. It feels good to not hate squatting, lol. Hoping I can get close to 300 pounds next year.
Anyway, I was pretty wiped after the squatting, and having another PR attempt planned for tomorrow I decided not to do the rest of the lifts I had scheduled today. Will try to stay rested so that my energy level is high tomorrow.
[B][U]December 27, 2020[/U][/B]
[U]Max Bench: Bench Press[/U]
[B]180 pounds x FAIL[/B]
No PR today. I got the bar off my chest pretty good, but then it just stopped dead about 4 inches up, and wouldn't budge. My tender left elbow probably contributed to this (can't remove the baby carries out of my programming, so I'll just have to work around this, lol). I struggled even to unrack a couple of the warmup sets because of the left elbow. But honestly, I don't think this is the reason I didn't complete the lift. It was most likely because I used supplemental & accessory exercises that weren't super effective for me, and I may have just fatigued myself with too much heavy and low rep work over the last couple of weeks. I'll take a closer look at the programming and learn from it.
Elbow is still tender, so I wasn't feeling up to doing any more pressing today. I will start fresh again on Tuesday, shifting to higher rep work (15's and 12's primarily)
This was still a really good cycle for me, with PR's on both Deads and Squats.
Great training cycle and congrats on the PRs.
Damn 255 is strong work on the squat. Seems like the programming is working.
I lol at the baby carries I know what you mean. Got to get them gun stronger. I carry my 3 year old around a lot just to work on stamina
Solid squat workout and very nice on the 45 pound PR on the King of Lifts!
You made 255 look fairly easy and fast! I think if you had made 20 pound increases you probably would have found 265 was yours as well but doing that many heavy singles so near your max can wear you out. But, on the other hand, those singles definitely count as strength training lol. So that is most definitely a win no matter what.
Sucks about the bench fail but if your elbow is giving you issues there is no surprise to the loss of strength on bench. Tendons in that arm are probably needing a break. Take a week away from any heavy presses and shoot for hypertrophy work or avoid press altogether. And I hear you on not getting rid of the baby carries lol, some lifts are just too important to take out of your program :D
Very productive & successful cycle! Gaining personal best on the deads & squats, not an easy feat.
[QUOTE=Filmbuff81;1626766843]Great training cycle and congrats on the PRs.[/QUOTE]
Thank you. PR's are always a good time. :)
[QUOTE=Raigs;1626811333]Damn 255 is strong work on the squat. Seems like the programming is working.
I lol at the baby carries I know what you mean. Got to get them gun stronger. I carry my 3 year old around a lot just to work on stamina[/QUOTE]
Lmao! So THAT's the secret to huge guns... 24 inch pythons here I come!
[QUOTE=400Lb Gorilla;1626823723]Solid squat workout and very nice on the 45 pound PR on the King of Lifts!
You made 255 look fairly easy and fast! I think if you had made 20 pound increases you probably would have found 265 was yours as well but doing that many heavy singles so near your max can wear you out. But, on the other hand, those singles definitely count as strength training lol. So that is most definitely a win no matter what.
Sucks about the bench fail but if your elbow is giving you issues there is no surprise to the loss of strength on bench. Tendons in that arm are probably needing a break. Take a week away from any heavy presses and shoot for hypertrophy work or avoid press altogether. And I hear you on not getting rid of the baby carries lol, some lifts are just too important to take out of your program :D[/QUOTE]
Yeah, can't drop those, and wouldn't want to even if I could. My weekday workouts this week are going to be relatively light as I pivot into a new cycle next week.
[QUOTE=JohnButz;1626892943]Very productive & successful cycle! Gaining personal best on the deads & squats, not an easy feat.[/QUOTE]
Yes, it was a fantastic cycle! I was expecting to hit personal bests since I really hadn't tried maxing out in over a year, but I was not expecting to improve them by as much as I did, so that was a pleasant surprise.
[B][U]December 29, 2020[/U][/B]
As I just said above, I'm taking it relatively easy on my next 2 workouts and then I'll transition into a new cycle. Going to just be doing some exercises I haven't done in a while, and keeping the weight on the lighter side.
I accomplished what I wanted today. I'll probably do something similar tomorrow (though for upper body).
[U]Dynamic Lower: High Bar Squat[/U]
[B]155 pounds - 6 sets x 2 reps[/B]
It's been a LONG time since I've done a high bar squat. It felt so weird, but got better as I did more reps. My main focus was on 'rooting' my feet, since that's something I've not been very good at. I could feel the difference immediately once I got it right. It helped with overall balance, and I was able to exert more force with my feet planted better. I'll continue working on this over the coming weeks to really ingrain it.
[U]Dynamic Lower: Deficit (3 inch) Stiff Legged Deadlift[/U]
[B]225 pounds - 4 sets x 2 reps[/B]
This turned out to be too much weight. Not because it lacked speed, but because my body just wasn't prepared. I used to do these pretty regularly, but it's probably been like 2 years since I last did them. Starting feeling it in my lower back after the second set. Probably should've stopped there or reduced the weight, but whatever. I will have a sore lower back tomorrow, that's for sure. But my lower back held up really well structurally. I just worked over the muscles good, which I haven't done lately.
I'll be making a change in my approach when I begin my next cycle this weekend. I'm using the same style of training, but I'm not going to plan out specific exercises ahead of time. I have a template with a list of generic exercises/body parts, and I'll choose them on the day. For example, my first workout of the cycle is a Max Lower day. The exercises will be: a Squat of my choosing for a 1 rep max, a lower body compound for 5x5, and then Glute/Hams, Low Back, and Lats for 3 sets of 12 each.
Knowing that I tend to be a slave to what I preplan, this still gives me some flexibility to adjust on a daily basis. I've also made further adjustments to the set and rep counts, waving them over the course of 2 cycles. But I will take those just as general guidelines as well, and change when I think it makes sense. I think this will be a good combination of structure and flexibility.
I was just listening to a podcast. They noted stiffness in pitchers elbows due to having more slow twitch muscles vs fast. And doing exercises and massages helped convert the muscles. I have to find the article for you. But this gives me a thought maybe you need to do some more fast twitch movements ie band work and see if that helps activate some muscles and release the tightness.
Excited for the new more flexible cycle
[QUOTE=Raigs;1626970093]I was just listening to a podcast. They noted stiffness in pitchers elbows due to having more slow twitch muscles vs fast. And doing exercises and massages helped convert the muscles. I have to find the article for you. But this gives me a thought maybe you need to do some more fast twitch movements ie band work and see if that helps activate some muscles and release the tightness.
Excited for the new more flexible cycle[/QUOTE]
Interesting... I was thinking it’s about time to do banded bench on my upper speed day. Let’s see if that’s helpful.
Thanks for sharing that insight. ;)