Drudixon's See No Evil, Hear No Evil - Aesthetics Acquisition Log

[EB68]

Leg Day. Felt great. Decided to try and ratchet up squat strength, so I'm going wider and below parallel. Forgot how much easier squatting is this way. Reckon I'll do it this way till I pass 300, then maybe switch it up, or not.

Squats low bar wide stance
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6

SLDL (need to work on getting weight to floor every time w/o rounding)
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6

Single Leg Leg Press on Smith
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6

Leg Curls (30s rest)
70 x 15
70 x 11

Single Leg Leg Extensions (30s rest)
70 x 15
70 x 15

Single leg Calf raises on Smith
165 x 15
165 x 15

Nice session. Those are some serious SLDL's, you must have some really strong hams and glutes. I have never tried the single leg presses on my smith machine, but do use it for leg presses.

[cmoore]

So how'd it go?

[fittofattofit]

Deadlift day.

Kinda weird. Never really got off the ground energy wise. I was a tad crampy too, but I think I owe that to the 3 beers I had yesterday without enough water. I plan to try some flags again later, along with some planks to work on the supporting muscles for the flags. Did last week +5lbs on each lift.

140 x 10
140 x 10
230 x 8
230 x 8
280 x 6
280 x 6
320 x 4
320 x 4
370 x 2
390 x 1

That's a load of volume and strong lifting Dru!
And how are those flage going?

After a few rest days which consisted of some plants and getting better at human flags, yesterday was Week 4 of medium reps. I'm still debating on changing the rep scheme next pass to 15, 10, 5 with a goal of 30 reps each workout. We'll see though after the deload. Of course I could always rotate the 15, 10, 5 scheme with the current 10, 6, 4 scheme.

Yesterday's workout was abbreviated due to playing a round of golf and watching football in the afternoon. I'm pretty sore today, and because of the program's 90/10 rule, I don't feel compelled to make up the "pump" exercises.

Bench +5
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6

Pendlay Rows +5
175 x 6
175 x 6
175 x 6
175 x 6
175 x 6

Incline Press +5
175 x 6
175 x 6
175 x 6
175 x 6
175 x 6

Great work on bumping the bench, inclines and pendlays. Those are all strong lifts

Leg Day. Felt great. Decided to try and ratchet up squat strength, so I'm going wider and below parallel. Forgot how much easier squatting is this way. Reckon I'll do it this way till I pass 300, then maybe switch it up, or not.

Squats low bar wide stance
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6

SLDL (need to work on getting weight to floor every time w/o rounding)
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6
210 x 6

Single Leg Leg Press on Smith
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6

Leg Curls (30s rest)
70 x 15
70 x 11

Single Leg Leg Extensions (30s rest)
70 x 15
70 x 15

Single leg Calf raises on Smith
165 x 15
165 x 15

Yeah.....going wide really helps to engage the hips and activate the glutes for the lifting. SLDLs are heavy --- there's no need to get to the floor either. If you can keep your lower back arch that's the most important thing and if that means getting the bar to midshin then that's safer than inadvertently rounding in flexion under load
Strong session Dru!

[drudixon]

So how'd it go?

I need to go to Home Depot and get some 4' long 1.5" diameter steel bars. I'm currently putting my bottom hand on the safety, and top hand on the arm that the lat pull down comes off of. The issue is that the two are not aligned. I need the bars to put through the holes in the smith cage so I have something better to hold onto and is straight up and down. I did try using the lat pull down with the cloth handle grip (the one I use for cable crossovers, but getting the right amount of weight on the lat pull down is awkward. I'll keep trying. My best hold so far with knees in is 4 seconds, but I only seem to be able to do that on one side.

That's a load of volume and strong lifting Dru!
And how are those flage going?


Great work on bumping the bench, inclines and pendlays. Those are all strong lifts


Yeah.....going wide really helps to engage the hips and activate the glutes for the lifting. SLDLs are heavy --- there's no need to get to the floor either. If you can keep your lower back arch that's the most important thing and if that means getting the bar to midshin then that's safer than inadvertently rounding in flexion under load
Strong session Dru!

Thanks Andrew. Currently the bar goes about 2" below the big knob of bone below the knee. I feel like I can probably get more ROM, I'm just trying to sort it out while keeping the proper arch. We'll see how the SLDLs at 4 reps goes next week.

[drudixon]

Today's workout -

Fuark... Shoulder giving me trouble. I took my first set of OHP out of the rack (meaning off my chest, not off the equipment) and something got angry. I thought I was warmed up, but maybe not. It didn't feel better after set 4, so I dropped set 5. In all, I was kinda tired, so not a great workout. Kinda disappointed, but at least it's done. The only thing I was happy with was CGBP which I bumped up 15lbs from last week.

OHP (+5)
115 x 6
115 x 6
115 x 6
115 x 6

Straight Bar Curls (just couldn't get to 6, pissed) (+5)
105 x 5
105 x 5
105 x 5
105 x 5
105 x 4

CGBP (+15)
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6
165 x 6

Arnold Press (+5 / db) 30s rest
30 x 11
30 x 9

Zottman Curls (+5 / db) 30s rest
30 x 11
30 x 11

Dips slow, slow, slow
15
15

[Payton1221]

Shoulder giving me trouble.

Sorry to hear that. Are you consistently doing mobility exercises like YTWL's, face pulls, band pull-aparts, and towel dislocates? I may have mentioned this already, but I do 20 towel dislocates very day either before or after showering.

The only thing I was happy with was CGBP which I bumped up 15lbs from last week.

And happy you should be. Those stood out to me before I read your commentary. That's some serious weight if your hands are close!

[drudixon]

Sorry to hear that. Are you consistently doing mobility exercises like YTWL's, face pulls, band pull-aparts, and towel dislocates? I may have mentioned this already, but I do 20 towel dislocates very day either before or after showering.


And happy you should be. Those stood out to me before I read your commentary. That's some serious weight if your hands are close!

Thanks bud. They're both on the smooth part in the middle. I tried doing with them touching once, but the balance is a bear. They're about 4" apart.

I'm going to look into those other exercises. I have been doing the dislocates, but not as often as I should

[fittofattofit]

Those are all good lifts and they're all a challenge to the shoulders, so if the shoulders weren't painful at the end, and you bumped all your weights, then that's a good session!

[cmoore]

4 seconds is a long time. Good work.

[Bo_Flecks]

I took my first set of OHP out of the rack (meaning off my chest, not off the equipment) and something got angry. I thought I was warmed up, but maybe not.

I trained with an angry shoulder all through my contest prep. Just kept changing angles and grips to get through it with the necessary work, and the minimum amount of pain. Ultimately, it took some time off from shoulder work to fix the problem.

[drudixon]

4 seconds is a long time. Good work.

thanks. I'm still trying to get to Home Depot to get a real Flag set up. Stay tuned.

Those are all good lifts and they're all a challenge to the shoulders, so if the shoulders weren't painful at the end, and you bumped all your weights, then that's a good session!

Thanks Andrew. The shoulder's didn't hurt, but they nagged throughout.

I trained with an angry shoulder all through my contest prep. Just kept changing angles and grips to get through it with the necessary work, and the minimum amount of pain. Ultimately, it took some time off from shoulder work to fix the problem.

Steve, thanks for popping in!

You're right, it's a drag. I had watched a Rippetoe Push Press vid, and tried to do the same thing. I think it was the press from clean position that aggravated it. I have no issues with the press if I start the bar just below the chin, and I stop just short of lockout. Oddly enough, the little knee dip didn't help me do any more weight than military press (I'm sure it's a comfortability thing). I'm embarrassed of how sucky my press is, and would like it to be better so I can bench more. Reckon I'll just have to keep it in the ROM that I know is safe and never post a vid of it less I get crap for short ROM.

[drudixon]

Deadlift day
Had a good session today. I made a small change, but felt it was somewhat significant. I moved my grip 2" outside the inner rings, and bumped my stance 4" total wider at the heels and turned toes slightly outwards.

Several things resulted.
Made it easier to get my weight on heels
Made it easier to track bar up the shins and over the knee
Felt more all around power
Noticed less back
Notice more hams
Drawing a line vertically from the bar, it was easier to get hips close to that line
On the heaviest weight, it was just a hair harder to get the bar moving
Once bar was moving, it flew up!

Will do it this way again

(+5lbs everything)
145 x 10
145 x 10
235 x 8
235 x 8
285 x 6
285 x 6
325 x 4
325 x 4
375 x 2
2nd lamest weight in deadlifting (395) x 1

[induced_drag]

.
You're right, it's a drag. I had watched a Rippetoe Push Press vid, and tried to do the same thing. I think it was the press from clean position that aggravated it. I have no issues with the press if I start the bar just below the chin, and I stop just short of lockout. Oddly enough, the little knee dip didn't help me do any more weight than military press (I'm sure it's a comfortability thing). I'm embarrassed of how sucky my press is, and would like it to be better so I can bench more. Reckon I'll just have to keep it in the ROM that I know is safe and never post a vid of it less I get crap for short ROM.

I worked around angry shoulders for a while.

I have found several things with OHP movements. The kindest on my shoulders is a closer grip. (shoulder grip) When the weight comes down, it will actually rest on your lats. (the back of your arms will rest pressed up against your lats). This is a very natural position.

On the pressing movement, the elbows track parallel rather then coming out wide and then coming in at top of press. This is almost like a CGBP turned 90 deg overhead. You really hit the front delts like this with very little shoulder pain.


I have now built up my shoulders to where I can do a wider, more traditional press, or even hang clean and presses. I can always feel this is more stress on the shoulders though!

Good luck on progression forward! I'll be watching how it goes.

[Payton1221]

235 x 8
235 x 8
285 x 6
285 x 6
325 x 4
325 x 4
375 x 2
2nd lamest weight in deadlifting (395) x 1

Volume: 5 TONS! gjdm

[drudixon]

I worked around angry shoulders for a while.

I have found several things with OHP movements. The kindest on my shoulders is a closer grip. (shoulder grip) When the weight comes down, it will actually rest on your lats. (the back of your arms will rest pressed up against your lats). This is a very natural position.

On the pressing movement, the elbows track parallel rather then coming out wide and then coming in at top of press. This is almost like a CGBP turned 90 deg overhead. You really hit the front delts like this with very little shoulder pain.


I have now built up my shoulders to where I can do a wider, more traditional press, or even hang clean and presses. I can always feel this is more stress on the shoulders though!

Good luck on progression forward! I'll be watching how it goes.

I'll give that a try for sure. I gotta do something. Thanks for the advice.

Volume: 5 TONS! gjdm

Funny you mention tonnage. I just added it to my spreadsheet to make sure that even as I change reps/sets that the tonnage goes up. Next week will be tough as I change to 7sets 4reps. The weight for today was 13825. Kinda nuts when you look at it that way. Makes me wonder about the big time lifters, 50,000 lbs a workout, lol...

[Payton1221]

Funny you mention tonnage. I just added it to my spreadsheet to make sure that even as I change reps/sets that the tonnage goes up. Next week will be tough as I change to 7sets 4reps. The weight for today was 13825. Kinda nuts when you look at it that way. Makes me wonder about the big time lifters, 50,000 lbs a workout, lol...

Not sure how you're planning on counting, but I think most people don't count ALL the weights . . . only the somewhat heavy and heavier. They use a cut-off percentage (e.g., 50% or 60% of your 1RM), because extremely low intensities don't do much for the gunz and the gainz that we're all looking for Just like you can walk all day every day (low intensity albeit high volume) but that won't yield legs like a real squat program will.

[fittofattofit]

Deadlift day
Had a good session today. I made a small change, but felt it was somewhat significant. I moved my grip 2" outside the inner rings, and bumped my stance 4" total wider at the heels and turned toes slightly outwards.

Several things resulted.
Made it easier to get my weight on heels
Made it easier to track bar up the shins and over the knee
Felt more all around power
Noticed less back
Notice more hams
Drawing a line vertically from the bar, it was easier to get hips close to that line
On the heaviest weight, it was just a hair harder to get the bar moving
Once bar was moving, it flew up!

Will do it this way again

^^^^^^^^^ great work Dru! It's those little tweaks we make to our form that can make such a difference. I'm always playing around and still haven't settled on a good way to deadlift. And 395 is not lame........it's only one pound shy of 4 metric plates
It looks like you and I have pretty much the same deadlift at the moment!

Volume: 5 TONS! gjdm

Trust the OCD engineer

[cmoore]

Good work. GL on the shoulders. I wonder if the flags are irritating them? Flags at least for me load the bottom shoulder pretty hard.

[drudixon]

^^^^^^^^^ great work Dru! It's those little tweaks we make to our form that can make such a difference. I'm always playing around and still haven't settled on a good way to deadlift. And 395 is not lame........it's only one pound shy of 4 metric plates
It looks like you and I have pretty much the same deadlift at the moment!


Trust the OCD engineer

For sure! Thanks bud. 405 in 2 weeks. I think I could do it now, but am just letting the weekly progression take care of it. I'll vid when I get there for sure.

Not sure how you're planning on counting, but I think most people don't count ALL the weights . . . only the somewhat heavy and heavier. They use a cut-off percentage (e.g., 50% or 60% of your 1RM), because extremely low intensities don't do much for the gunz and the gainz that we're all looking for Just like you can walk all day every day (low intensity albeit high volume) but that won't yield legs like a real squat program will.

I count tonnage across, and down - meaning, sets * weight * reps = tonnage for the exercise. I take all those tons, and measure down as well, tho that's really just for grins. I think it's important to measure across so that when I change from 5 sets 6 reps to 7 sets 4 reps, the total tonnage for that lift still goes up. I'm a little concerned because I had to add an extra 5lbs over what InducedDrag's calculator said is the right weight to use for those lifts. I'm sure the workouts will take close to 2 hours, but I'm excited to be using heavier weights again.

I'm also trying to decide if the next time through I should do 2x15 3 x 10 5 x 5, or keep the rep scheme I have now. Most likely I'll keep the same rep scheme for one more cycle, assess gains, then change for the subsequent cycle.

Good work. GL on the shoulders. I wonder if the flags are irritating them? Flags at least for me load the bottom shoulder pretty hard.

I haven't been doing them as much lately because I still haven't bought those bars from Home Depot. I actually feel the flag a tad more in my elbow than shoulder, but that could be from the "locking" out of the joint. I did aggravate it a touch when my body planed backwards a touch doing them once (felt that in rear delt like crazy). There's so many body angles to be aware of. It really is a tough exercise.

[drudixon]

Got my new bodyfat caliper yesterday. Since I can only do it myself, I used single site, tricep. According to the caliper, I'm 20%... This is way ahead of schedule, and I didn't anticipate being 20% until March. Maybe I did it wrong? Here's a pic I took just now. Haven't worked out today.

Thoughts?

Diet now, or reverify bodyfat?

It doesn't really add up because I was approaching 160lbs lbm a few months ago, and if this is right, then I have somehow dropped to 153lbs lbm... Grr, lol

Today's weight, 192.

[Payton1221]

I count tonnage across, and down - meaning, sets * weight * reps = tonnage for the exercise.

Understood. I was only commenting that many don't count their warm-up reps and they use some minimum cut-off as to what gets counted.

Got my new bodyfat caliper yesterday. Since I can only do it myself, I used single site, tricep. According to the caliper, I'm 20%... This is way ahead of schedule, and I didn't anticipate being 20% until March.

Diet now, or reverify bodyfat?

I'd say that 20% might be close to the accurate number. I've had two hydrostatic tests before, and my midsection looked similar to yours and I measured 18.5% and 20% IIRC. Your squat numbers indicate that you have more mass in your legs, glutes, etc., so your number might be a little lower than that.

I don't think I would diet necessarily based on one 1-site test. Have you compared it to the measurement only estimations like those used by the Navy?

[drudixon]

Understood. I was only commenting that many don't count their warm-up reps and they use some minimum cut-off as to what gets counted.


I'd say that 20% might be close to the accurate number. I've had two hydrostatic tests before, and my midsection looked similar to yours and I measured 18.5% and 20% IIRC. Your squat numbers indicate that you have more mass in your legs, glutes, etc., so your number might be a little lower than that.

I don't think I would diet necessarily based on one 1-site test. Have you compared it to the measurement only estimations like those used by the Navy?

thanks for your thoughts. had never done the navy one before. just put it in, and that came up with 15%, so who knows. I really don't want to diet over the holidays, and I'd like to grow a bit more before dieting again. That said, it's looking like I'll have to diet come January instead of March... /sigh

[induced_drag]

Dru,


My experiences are all I can go on.

You know I feel that a true surplus (even if only mild) is the best way to grow. The key is finding that perfect balance. It took me several tries to get it right. I finally got to the point where I could "bulk" for 4-5 months and then "cut" for only about a month.

I would not think you want to put on too much more fat. (if you overall goals are what I think they are). Not venturing too far away from your ideal is the best way forward I believe.

For me, I have got to the point where I can judge this by midsection alone. A simple tape measure will confirm what your mind is telling you. I would measure first thing AM after doing my business. I measure lying down with a relaxed abdomen. (this takes any flexing of abdominals out of the measurement equation). I have found this to be the single best method of QUICKLY figuring out which direction you are headed. This measurement will change LONG BEFORE you will see it in skinfolds.

Just to check yourself, you could always do a quick 1-2 week cut. There were times where I thought my diet was out of check, so I would dial back cals for a week. This would allow me to shed the water and remove the bloat. I could then really tell where I was at. If after dropping the water, you still believe your midesection is getting too far out there, continue the cut. If not go back to a mild surplus.


Just out of curiosity, what do you think your surplus is right now?... How quickly is your weight going up?

[drudixon]

Dru,


My experiences are all I can go on.

You know I feel that a true surplus (even if only mild) is the best way to grow. The key is finding that perfect balance. It took me several tries to get it right. I finally got to the point where I could "bulk" for 4-5 months and then "cut" for only about a month.

I would not think you want to put on too much more fat. (if you overall goals are what I think they are). Not venturing too far away from your ideal is the best way forward I believe.

For me, I have got to the point where I can judge this by midsection alone. A simple tape measure will confirm what your mind is telling you. I would measure first thing AM after doing my business. I measure lying down with a relaxed abdomen. (this takes any flexing of abdominals out of the measurement equation). I have found this to be the single best method of QUICKLY figuring out which direction you are headed. This measurement will change LONG BEFORE you will see it in skinfolds.

Just to check yourself, you could always do a quick 1-2 week cut. There were times where I thought my diet was out of check, so I would dial back cals for a week. This would allow me to shed the water and remove the bloat. I could then really tell where I was at. If after dropping the water, you still believe your midesection is getting too far out there, continue the cut. If not go back to a mild surplus.


Just out of curiosity, what do you think your surplus is right now?... How quickly is your weight going up?

thanks for the reply. I'm between 300-600 over maintenance (depends on the day). I'm up about 6lbs in 5 weeks. I'd like to think 1-2lbs of that is muscle. The weights are moving up in the workouts, so that's good. I reckon I could add some hill climbs on off days for some HIIT, and see if I can simply rev up the metabolism a touch.

[induced_drag]

thanks for the reply. I'm between 300-600 over maintenance (depends on the day). I'm up about 6lbs in 5 weeks. I'd like to think 1-2lbs of that is muscle. The weights are moving up in the workouts, so that's good. I reckon I could add some hill climbs on off days for some HIIT, and see if I can simply rev up the metabolism a touch.

I am not sure if part of the reason I have managed to stay leaner while bulking is my use of carb cycling. My evidence is only anecdotal....but it seems to make sense, and more and more people are coming around to the idea of eating for your activity level of the day.

I have been doing carb cycling since returning to the gym. Even if it does not help, I always appreciated the variety in my intake. But I am coming to believe more and more that it works.

I am not sure if you are familiar with the concepts, but basically your fat and pro stay the same every day and you vary your carb intake and eat more on workout days. Your AVERAGE cals still workout the same for the week, but you eat more on workout days and less on non-workout days. I can give more info if you are interested in it.

[fittofattofit]

Dru, you're looking very solid in that pic --- big shoulders, arms, chest and lats. I'd guess 18% bodyfat in that pic, although we all carry fat a bit differently.
What ID said is a good guide though.......your waistline is as good an indication as any of how your bodyfat is changing. If you look at the calculators based on the US Navy charts, then, for an guy between 5'6 and 6' and between 10 and 20% bf, a half inch loss of waistline is roughly equivalent to losing 1% of body fat. So, drop 2lbs of fat and your waist should drop about half an inch.

[drudixon]

Thanks y'all. I think what I'll do is finish this meso-cycle, and one more, then it'll be diet time. I'll read up on carb cycling. I think I'd like that better than Keto or even CKD. My energy sucked so bad on keto. I may toss in some cardio, not sure. I really thought I had more time to plan for it... At current course and speed, I'll be 200lbs and 23% bodyfat by new years, so maybe I can live with that... /sigh

[drudixon]

Today's workout -

Good and meh... I blew my load on bench. Got myself super psyched up and blew bench up. Everything after that was anti-climatic. Shoulder's irritating me again, so I barely got incline presses going when my right shoulder said... "Nope".

Bench
230 x 4
230 x 4
230 x 4
230 x 4
230 x 4
230 x 4
230 x 4

Penlay Rows
190 x 4
190 x 4
190 x 4
190 x 4
190 x 4
190 x 4
190 x 4

Incline Press
190 x 4
190 x 2
DNF

Chin ups (feeling the fat on these... /sigh) 30s rest
13
6

Pec Deck 75
15
15

Hang Cleans 115
15
15

[fittofattofit]

Impressive benching

[drudixon]

Impressive benching

Thanks bud. It felt great. I over did it tho, and had nothing left for incline press. I'm trying to decide if next week I should do incline first, and see how the shoulder does. The DOMS today are crazy. Usually I don't get DOMS with low rep work, but I think the volume is what did it.