Black_Spit's training Journal

[Black_Spit]

I probably walked 3-4 miles yesterday in the 97 degree heat for our towns July 4th celebration, so I thought I'd put my deadlift day off a day until tomorrow.

So I'm trying something new (and much needed for my pior shoulders) after reading the shoulder health thread. A shoulder rehab type of day with my monster mini bands. We'll see how it feels, but I might do this 2-3 times a week and see if it helps.

Just did it for the first time:

Band rehab
Behind the neck band Pulldowns- 3x10
External Rotators- 3x10
Face Pulls- 3x10

[martin_mathers]

wow im definitely in on this log. i've always wanted to give 5/3/1 a chance but good ol' Boris just wont let me go. your progress is amazing!

[B1GinNY82307]

smart on the delay. looking forward to tomorrow's #'s!

[ArchDukeOfTops]

man I drank on sunday like I was 21 years old, paid for it all day today. Had fun though. I participated in so many red neck stereotypes this weekend its not even funny.

And wtf on Tito man, he made me eat my words, what a great win for him.

[Black_Spit]

wow im definitely in on this log. i've always wanted to give 5/3/1 a chance but good ol' Boris just wont let me go. your progress is amazing!

Thanks. Yeah, it's worked pretty well for me so far. I started @ 350x5 Squat and Dead, and I just got 435x5 today, so 85 lb's for 5 reps is pretty big in 9.5 months. It would be different if it were for only 1 rep...

smart on the delay. looking forward to tomorrow's #'s!

Thanks.

man I drank on sunday like I was 21 years old, paid for it all day today. Had fun though. I participated in so many red neck stereotypes this weekend its not even funny.

And wtf on Tito man, he made me eat my words, what a great win for him.

I don't really drink, but, I ate many a hot dog and hamburger this weekend as evidenced by my video. Literally I had to move out two belt notches this morning LOL.

lol @ the reaction on the mma board to Tito winning as well.

[Black_Spit]

I hit a pretty solid 5 rep PR today. Pretty happy with it. It puts me in the 550 max DL range, which is good. I may try to hit that in a month or so. Who knows, maybe sooner. It puts me in striking distance of 600 pounds this year, which was one of my goals.

I got some good video, but for some reason I'm having the hardest time getting all of it from my iPod touch to my computer. So I'm trying right now to at least get one or two of my Speed sets up, and my 435x5 PR set. And lol @ the 435x5 set where I almost quit after the 3rd, and totally quit after the 4th, but, I thought, what the hell, may as well hit a PR. I wasn't being lazy, I had just only planned on hitting 3, so, that's what I was going to do until I realized I could do more.

Deadlift (Top set = 90% of 5/3/1 max; 485)
135x3
225x3
315x2
365x1

435x5 <<<PR>>>

Speed Pulls @ 55% of 1 rep 5/3/1 Max (485)
8x1 - 135 lb's bar weight + 4 Monster mini bands = 260

[B1GinNY82307]

ha! that's great...start walking away and then just like: well might as well do more!

and did I see correctly that you setup the bands, by setting them underneath your feet?

[Black_Spit]

ha! that's great...start walking away and then just like: well might as well do more!

and did I see correctly that you setup the bands, by setting them underneath your feet?

Yeah it didn't seem funny until I was editing it lol.

Yeah, under my feet. I guess the black shorts obscured the view.

But I saw a video if Dave Tate doing them that way, and it sure is easier than tying them up to a Power Rack with no pegs...

[martin_mathers]

lol'ed after the 4th rep

but they all look easy looks like you had 3 more in you...

[Black_Spit]

but they all look easy looks like you had 3 more in you...

People say that about my DL sets sometimes. Believe me, it was hard.

[B1GinNY82307]

Yeah it didn't seem funny until I was editing it lol.

Yeah, under my feet. I guess the black shorts obscured the view.

But I saw a video if Dave Tate doing them that way, and it sure is easier than tying them up to a Power Rack with no pegs...

awesome. And I agree, that it must be much easier to setup that way than getting into a rack, etc.

That was one of my concerns with utilizing bands...

[Black_Spit]

Still having a lot of anxiety about bench pressing. Dead serious, every single rep, I can still hear that tearing sound that sounded like a piece of construction paper ripping in my shoulder/pec insertion area... But, it doesn't seem to be injured currently. And, I'm doing shoulder rehab work, so maybe if I strengthen the joint, I can get back the confidence I had pressing before. I could have done 5-8 reps today if I wasn't so scared of hurting myself. I can feel the strength there... :/ Maybe I'm too conservative.

Bench Press-
45x3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x1

290x3 <<<Ties PR from 2 months ago>>>

Speed bench- 115 lb's bar weight + 2 bands = 180 lb's = 55%
8x3

Shoulder rehab exercises-
Face Pulls 3x10
External Rotators 3x10
BTN Band Pulldowns 3x10

First set of speed bench press I used only the bar + 4 bands, but, it didn't feel right... or like anything at all really, so I went with 115 lb's bar weight + 2 bands.

I'm starting to really feel like I'm getting the hang of these speed bench presses and pulls. I can really feel how they are improving my lifts, even from week to week. Squats, not so much... In fact, they feel like they are screwing me up, so I'm just not going to do them. I'll just be doing GM's instead.

[ArchDukeOfTops]

glad to see you back benching.

are those the short bands you're putting under your feet or the normal ones? I've been looking for a way to do deads with bands at the house.

[B1GinNY82307]

why do you think the "speed" squats are screwing you up? anything in particular?

[Black_Spit]

glad to see you back benching.

are those the short bands you're putting under your feet or the normal ones? I've been looking for a way to do deads with bands at the house.

They're the EliteFts Monster Mini's. Work perfectly for deadlifting imo. Yeah they're short compared to a lit of the ones I've seen.

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=SR&SearchPhrase=Monster+mini+bands

They claim that 2 bands is yhe equivalent to 65 lb, so thats how i use them and base my %'s. Eventually I'll get to where I might want more than 4 of them, but 4 is perfect, I can get exactly the % I want every time and vary it up some too. One time I'll use more weight with 2 bands, the next time less weight with 4 bands.

[Black_Spit]

why do you think the "speed" squats are screwing you up? anything in particular?

They kind of hurt my knee, and I don't have knee problems at all. They feel slow. The bands pull me out of my normal squat groove. But then I tried them last time w/o bands, and they still bothered my knee. So I think I'm just going to stick with regular Squats with 5/3/1 programming and Good Mornings as my Squat accessory.

[martin_mathers]

what happened to your shoulders? and how long did you lay off benching?
forgive my laziness of going through your log :P

[Black_Spit]

what happened to your shoulders? and how long did you lay off benching?
forgive my laziness of going through your log :P

Probably impingement. It's been on and off, but this time it's been a month.

I'm hoping I can correct this with joint strengthening exercises...

[Black_Spit]

I started out really stiff as the video will kind of show. But, as I progressed through my warmup sets, I was getting a little deeper and feeling a little better. I'm bummed bc I hit a 5 rep PR for Squat, but, instead of hitting the record button on the iPhone, I hit the picture button, so I didn't get the video. I considered for a minute doing the set again to get video, but, I figured why push my luck. The PR set was deep, felt good. I was able to get into a good groove. I wonder where this puts my max Squat right now. My 5 rep Deadlift usually lands me @ 79% of my max. (ie; 395x5 = 500 etc... /ocd) That's what happens when you're too fat. Your rep max #'s in relation to your 1RMax gets pretty low. So, that puts me pretty damn close to a 500 lb Squat if my Squat follows the same pattern as my Deadlift. Also hit a PR on Good Mornings. But, that's not too impressive as I'm still a n00b to those.

Squat-
135x5
225x3
275x3
315x3

385x5 <<<5 rep PR>>>



Good Morning-
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x5
215x5 <<<PR>>>

Shoulder rehab exercises-
BTN Band Pulldowns- 3x10
Face pulls with band- 3x10
External Rotators (10 lb plate)- 3x10

Other Thoughts
Seriously thinking about trying out 3/2/1 @ 90/95/100 next month for Squat and Deadlift instead of 5/3/1 @ 85/90/95. I've been thinking about it for a while. It might be time to pull the trigger next cycle.

I've also been thinking about when I want to do another meet. But this time a full meet instead of just push/pull. And with a real fed instead of a mom and pop joint. I'm looking into the USPA and USAPL meets in the ATL in Nov and Dec. Anybody in here doing either of those? That gives me enough time to set goals of a 1500 pound total. Which was my goal that I set out for myself at the beginning of this year. I may struggle to hit it due to Bench Press and my shoulder issue, but, it's a good goal.

Any critiques are welcome on the squats. I feel like I'm a pretty good deadlifter and bench presser, but I know my squatting form isn't so hot. High bar, butt-wink, hard time reaching depth sometimes lol. I'm still trying to learn how to squat like a powerlifter... I'm fairly certain I'll never be able to lower the bar any further on my back though.

[B1GinNY82307]

They kind of hurt my knee, and I don't have knee problems at all. They feel slow. The bands pull me out of my normal squat groove. But then I tried them last time w/o bands, and they still bothered my knee. So I think I'm just going to stick with regular Squats with 5/3/1 programming and Good Mornings as my Squat accessory.

Good Mornings are excellent accessory work.

Other Thoughts
Seriously thinking about trying out 3/2/1 @ 90/95/100 next month for Squat and Deadlift instead of 5/3/1 @ 85/90/95. I've been thinking about it for a while. It might be time to pull the trigger next cycle.

I've also been thinking about when I want to do another meet. But this time a full meet instead of just push/pull. And with a real fed instead of a mom and pop joint. I'm looking into the USPA and USAPL meets in the ATL in Nov and Dec. Anybody in here doing either of those? That gives me enough time to set goals of a 1500 pound total. Which was my goal that I set out for myself at the beginning of this year. I may struggle to hit it due to Bench Press and my shoulder issue, but, it's a good goal.

Any critiques are welcome on the squats. I feel like I'm a pretty good deadlifter and bench presser, but I know my squatting form isn't so hot. High bar, butt-wink, hard time reaching depth sometimes lol. I'm still trying to learn how to squat like a powerlifter... I'm fairly certain I'll never be able to lower the bar any further on my back though.

the 3/2/1 setups you mentioned, would that be just for a month (or two) to break up the "monotony"?

And hopefully by Nov or Dec, the shoulder rehab work will pay off...

And it was evident that you were a bit "stiff" and it happens...but why do you say you won't be able to go lower? low bar squats take time to get used to, but once/if you do...it's amazing.....

[Black_Spit]

the 3/2/1 setups you mentioned, would that be just for a month (or two) to break up the "monotony"?

Probably. I mean, if it's just the greatest thing I've ever done and I just love it, I'd stick with it.

And it was evident that you were a bit "stiff" and it happens...but why do you say you won't be able to go lower? low bar squats take time to get used to, but once/if you do...it's amazing.....

With my shoulder problems, it just hurts too bad... Maybe I'm a wuss.

That's another thing I'm hoping to accomplish with the shoulder work.

[B1GinNY82307]

Probably. I mean, if it's just the greatest thing I've ever done and I just love it, I'd stick with it.



With my shoulder problems, it just hurts too bad... Maybe I'm a wuss.

That's another thing I'm hoping to accomplish with the shoulder work.

word!!

[Black_Spit]

the 3/2/1 setups you mentioned, would that be just for a month (or two) to break up the "monotony"?

I think this is the exact reason 5/3/1 and I seem to get along so well. There is no monotony for me. Literally no two months have felt the same. I'm always making small adjustments and trying new stuff. So it feels like I'm satisfying my massive training ADD... But if you think about it... The program has stayed 90% the same for 10 straight months...

ie; 3 weeks of progressively heavier bench, squat and deadlift resulting in PR's. Week off. Repeat.

All I've done is tweak the details. Right now I'm using Westside parameters for the Dynamic stuff. But I might change that to Ed Coan's to see how fewer sets @ higher %'s treat me a cycle or two down the road.

Seriously I could see myself using 5/3/1 as the base and just go wild tinkering with the rest for as long as I lift...

[Black_Spit]

Just foam rolled for 10 minutes, and I just don't see what everybody sees in it.

I tried it for a month or two back 6 months ago or so and it just doesn't feel good and I can't tell that I'm getting any results from it. Plus it just sucks.

But I'm going to give it a second shot. Starting today. 2-3 times a week until I decide that it is or is not doing anything...

[martin_mathers]

Just foam rolled for 10 minutes, and I just don't see what everybody sees in it.

I tried it for a month or two back 6 months ago or so and it just doesn't feel good and I can't tell that I'm getting any results from it. Plus it just sucks.

But I'm going to give it a second shot. Starting today. 2-3 times a week until I decide that it is or is not doing anything...

i wouldnt say it sucks but i do feel a lot better RIGHT AFTER i foam roll. but the next day i feel the same as if i didnt foam roll.

[Black_Spit]

Oh and I just ordered 4 of the short, light bands since they were so cheap. For anyone who didn't know, EFS is running a sale on bands.

[Black_Spit]

i wouldnt say it sucks but i do feel a lot better RIGHT AFTER i foam roll. but the next day i feel the same as if i didnt foam roll.

Wasn't it you that was saying your chiro told you to lay off the foam rolling? Why do you do it if you don't see a benefit? Or do you just use it as a warmup or something?

[martin_mathers]

Wasn't it you that was saying your chiro told you to lay off the foam rolling? Why do you do it if you don't see a benefit? Or do you just use it as a warmup or something?

well he also told me not to deadlift and squat
no i dont do it as a warmup its too big to bring to the gym but i still do it because i believe it does help prevent injuries. i do feel the same way the next day but how you feel is a lie right?

[Black_Spit]

Really felt strong today. And it kind of solidified in my mind that I want to do that 3/2/1 idea. I hit a pretty big 3 rep PR today. And it was literally easy... Far easier than that 5 repper I did last week. Battery died on iPod after my 405 warmup set. I would have liked to have video of how easy that 460x3 was. I felt like I should have been deadlifting 495x3 today.

Deadlift-
135x3
225x3
315x1
365x1
405x1

460x3 <<<PR>>>

Speed Pulls (135 + 4 Monster Mini Bands)
10x1

Shoulder Rehab exercises with bands-
3x3x10

[Black_Spit]

Great workout today. I got my 95% set. I didn't push my luck, but, just got my 1 rep. Hopefully I can get past this sticking point and start moving that Bench Press number up again.

I did a lot of warming up of my shoulders with bands today in between warmup sets on bench. Then I did a bunch more sets after I finished my bench press sets. The bandwork just felt so good I just kept doing it. The cool thing about the bands is that you can work a muscle or strengthen a joint without it being hard on the joints at all. I did more sets today than I've probably ever done, but, since they were all bands, I don't feel like I did a bunch of sets.

Face Pulls (bands) 3x10
BTN Band Pulldowns 3x10
Rotators (5 pound plate) 2x25

Bench Press-
45x3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x2

310x1 95%

Dynamic Floor Press-
9x3

More Face Pulls (bands) 3x10
More BTN Band Pulldowns 3x10
Band Pressdowns 6x15


(video notes: 9x3. Didn't mean to aim the camera straight at the crotch. Sorry.

lol @ how loud I'm breathing. My wife hates that. )

First time doing this. The way I set it up, it had the bands very tense already from the start. I thought I was going to be putting a plate on there with the bands. LOL. I don't know how much tension it was, but it felt heavier than I've done any DE work I've so far.