All Eyez On Me 2.0

[adamsz]

Merry Christmas Zach! I hope your mum left enough food in the freezer to last you for the 3 months

SH!tty week for the finances but good news on EPC. Pretty cool that you can train on Xmas Day and it sounds like the perfect set up for you.
Dips are awesome ---- I'm so jealous of your shoulder mobility and the depth of those dips
Ring pull-ups look great ---- I like the range of work of those and you can really see the whole of your back working sequentially. You're looking pretty well defined in the vid as well. My trainer always uses some ring work and having to stabilise your shoulders and arms to use them is a big challenge. The ring dips are hard work but I manage by first actively keeping my elbows tight at my side so my rear delts, rhomboids and traps are activated before I start to use the tris/pecs to control the dip. With the ghetto GHRs I make sure that the glutes are tightly squeezed throughout -- that seems to keep the hammies and lower back tight and keeps the quads out of play

Great work Zach, and Im looking forward to seeing what you can achieve for 2013

EPC is definitely great but there's plenty of stuff they don't have - they don't have many of the cool machines that a commercial gym has for example. And the isolation machines they do have are pretty old and don't feel the same. They also don't have consistent DB's from 5-100lbs for example. They do have some monster DBs though like some 140's etc. Just gotta get creative with the workouts I guess.

I'm definitely gonna have to play around with the ring dips to try and figure them out. I think one of the problems might have been I had the rings set too far up so I kinda had to jump up to them if that makes sense.

EPC sounds just like what I'll have when I open my own gym. Probably 2 more years

Jambalaya and Lasagna is holiday food for you... What? What are you

Any idea where you might open your gym? Definitely keep me posted man.

Lol my parents are weird - we definitely don't do traditional Christmas food at all. Not really religious at all, and my dad was a vegetarian for the majority of my life (he eats some meat now) so we always come up with some random chit at my house on the holidays.

[adamsz]

12/27/12

20 minute warmup - incorporating Joe DeFranco's Upper body warm-up routine

7:35PM - 9:05PM Lifting

CGBP
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 3
275 x 3
add left elbow sleeve
275 x 3
280 x 3
280 x 3
280 x 3

Incline Pin Press pins set about a fist above top of chest
135 x 5
155 x 5
185 x 5
185 x 5
185 x 3.5 - bad setup
185 x 5
185 x 5
185 x 3.5

Band Pressdowns
blue band - 100 reps in 4 sets

Band Pull Aparts
black and purple bands - 100 reps in 4 sets

Roman Chair Leg Raises
10 reps x 5 sets

Ez-bar Curls
100 reps in 2 sets

GPP
prowler sprints: sled+95lbs, high handles down, low handles back, 30-60 second rests, 11 sprints

9:40PM - 10:40PM Stetching, rolling, physio work

Thoughts

Still just kinda doing programming by feel at this point until around mid-January when I'll get my work schedule switched around so I can go to team training 3 times a week. I'm pretty much basing my weights off what I was doing in my Sheiko sets and just doing 5 rep days and 3 rep days with random accessory/GPP work.

During my heavy CGBP sets my left elbow started bugging out. Put on an elbow sleeve to help with it and just lifted through it, but it's still bothering me a little. Hopefully it's nothing serious I tried doing some DB hammer curls in between my sets to get some blood flow to the area, but I'm not sure if it really did anything...

Tried some incline bench pin presses for the first time because I had seen other people doing them at EPC. They felt pretty good and didn't seem to bug my shoulders at all. I really tried to make a "shelf" with my lats to sit on and use to push the weight off the pins in the first half of the rep. Pressing off the pins is pretty hard, considering I can do around 225 x 5 x 5 or so on regular incline press.

There were some strong ass dudes there tonight: a couple guys were pulling 6PPS+ for reps off a 4 inch box. Definitely never seen that IRL before...

[GinjaNinja85]

Subbed man. Just reading this makes me wanna join a powerlifting gym. I have one about 90 minutes drive from me. I should probably go there once a month at least. Looks inspiring as hell.

[nwskier]

incline bb pin press? that sounds pretty sick! (and difficult)

and FUUU repping my current 3RM for 5 sets on CGBP

[fittofattofit]

Strong work on the close grip benching and the pin presses sound good if they're not giving your shoulders any grief
It's good to see the band work and the prowlers in there --- has someone given you a programme yet or are you going be feel at the moment?
And cool to see someone pulling 6pps ..... that could be you by the end of the year. I've never seen anyone in any gym I've been in ever pulling more than 4pps (sad gym I know )

[adamsz]

Subbed man. Just reading this makes me wanna join a powerlifting gym. I have one about 90 minutes drive from me. I should probably go there once a month at least. Looks inspiring as hell.

Welcome man. It might be worth joining that gym even if you only get to go train there once a week like on the weekends or something. There's a few people at my gym who do that.

incline bb pin press? that sounds pretty sick! (and difficult)

and FUUU repping my current 3RM for 5 sets on CGBP

Hehe what's new? Been doin that for awhile now

Strong work on the close grip benching and the pin presses sound good if they're not giving your shoulders any grief
It's good to see the band work and the prowlers in there --- has someone given you a programme yet or are you going be feel at the moment?
And cool to see someone pulling 6pps ..... that could be you by the end of the year. I've never seen anyone in any gym I've been in ever pulling more than 4pps (sad gym I know )

Shoulders have been feeling good for the most part - I think the sled face pulls are helping to strength the rear delts/traps a lot.

If you had read my thoughts on the sesh you would have seen that for the time being I'm just kinda doin 5's and 3's workouts until I can start doing team training 3x a week.

[nwskier]

Hehe what's new? Been doin that for awhile now

fukn' punk

been busy. lots of work stuff. trying to get over a cold now. stupid flu is going around town, everyone's had it. last few days have been my turn FTL

still recovering from that car incident in Nov (that whiplash caused a bulging disc - so no DLs, Squats or SOHP for me). Thankfully bench hasn't been affected and getting back to my old numbers, which is nice

[adamsz]

12/29/12

20 minute warmup

8:50AM - 10:50AM: Lifting

Deadlifts warmup
135 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5

Block Pulls 11.5" blocks, about mid knee cap
315 x 5
405 x 3
405 x 3
455 x 3
495 x 3
545 x 1
add belt
585 x 1
635 x 1
675 x 1 (vid below)
725 x fail (vid below)





Lat Pulldowns
5 sets

DB Rows
80's x 12 per arm
80's x 12 per arm
80's x 10 per arm
80's x 10 per arm

Glute-Ham Raises on a real GHR
6
5
5
5
5

Ab Wheel
10
10
10
10

GPP

The gym owner had this huge rig thing he made in his garage but is un-drivable. He needed to move it from his house to his rental house around the block to put it in storage, so he rounded up 5 of us to help him push it there. Holy chit it was hard... You would think that once you got momentum it would be easy, but not at all. The mechanics are different than a regular car, and basically we had to push on the wheels instead of the frame to get it to move. Brb front delts were on fire. We had to take multiple breaks lmao.



40 minutes stretching / rolling / physio work

Thoughts

Had a little friendly competition at my gym yesterday to see who could pull the most off blocks relative to their regular deadlift PR. I won I've actually never done block pulls before - I've done rack pulls in the power rack but never these, and the feel is way different.

Failed on 725 but I managed to get all the plates off the box except the last 45. Usually as soon as I get the last plate off the weight would shoot up to lockout is what some other members observed about my pulls. After failing 725 I witnessed a guy tear his bicep repping the 725 That scared the fuk out of me, serious. Brb scared to try heavy pulls without a double overhand grip now.

Had one of the coaches teach me how to properly use the GHR machine finally, so that should become a staple in my workouts now I imagine.

[nwskier]

That block pull is fukn' Boss!

cool chit, you gotta be loving that PL gym

[fittofattofit]

If you had read my thoughts on the sesh you would have seen that for the time being I'm just kinda doin 5's and 3's workouts until I can start doing team training 3x a week.

Ouch....that sounds like a slap on the wrist
I always read your 'thoughts' but I was reading it on the phone and somehow missed that part

Great lifting with those block pulls! It looks like it should be the same as a 'rack pull' with the bar at the same height, so in what way did it feel 'different'?
You really made that 675 look easy for you. I've watched the vid a few times to look at your positioning and stance and you seem to have got it ground in now so that it looks perfect.
Bad luck for the guy with the torn biceps. Scary sh!t. Was it the distal or proximal biceps? How big was this dude and had he pulled 725 before?
It's a good reason to use a DOH grip, but my massage guy managed to rupture his distal biceps just blocking a basketball pass. Sh!t happens

[Jstamp]

Damn nice workouts. You already have stepped it up! haha

[adamsz]

fukn' punk

been busy. lots of work stuff. trying to get over a cold now. stupid flu is going around town, everyone's had it. last few days have been my turn FTL

still recovering from that car incident in Nov (that whiplash caused a bulging disc - so no DLs, Squats or SOHP for me). Thankfully bench hasn't been affected and getting back to my old numbers, which is nice

Man I absolutely HATE getting sick now. Now that I work out a lot I feel like my immune system is much better than it used to be, so when I do get sick (about 2-3x a year) it really affects me a lot more than it used to That also really sucks about the car accident and how you're still not 100% over it I guess since it's ski season again it's not too big of a deal to not squat or DL, but you were finally starting to make some progress on SOHP again so that's a damn shame. Gotta keep the body in good shape though so definitely take it easy.

That block pull is fukn' Boss!

cool chit, you gotta be loving that PL gym

Thanks man! I am really enjoying it. Although I gotta admit I do miss having a cushioned section of the gym devoted to stretching like they do at 24 - at EPC it's the hard gym matting and it's never cleaned so by the time I leave after stretching I look like I've been rolling around in a dust pile. Brb more laundry to do and gotta put towels over the seats in my car. lol.

Ouch....that sounds like a slap on the wrist
I always read your 'thoughts' but I was reading it on the phone and somehow missed that part

Great lifting with those block pulls! It looks like it should be the same as a 'rack pull' with the bar at the same height, so in what way did it feel 'different'?
You really made that 675 look easy for you. I've watched the vid a few times to look at your positioning and stance and you seem to have got it ground in now so that it looks perfect.
Bad luck for the guy with the torn biceps. Scary sh!t. Was it the distal or proximal biceps? How big was this dude and had he pulled 725 before?
It's a good reason to use a DOH grip, but my massage guy managed to rupture his distal biceps just blocking a basketball pass. Sh!t happens

Haha sorry man I hope I didn't come off as a huge dick in that post man You know I got nothing but love for you and you probably read more of my posts than anyone else, which I really do appreciate.

The main way the block pulls felt different than rack pulls was when doing multiple reps. On rack pulls when you set the bar down on the rack it always bounces and there's a certain amount of reverse momentum which there isn't on block pulls. Also I imagine having the weights sitting on the blocks vs only the bar sitting on the rack affects the weight distribution slightly which makes it feel different.

It's funny, 2 of the coaches commented on how my rack pull set-up looked pretty much perfect and once I got into the groove the weight would just shoot right up. If only I could get my deadlift form to be like that

The guy who tore his bicep is about 240-250, pretty much pure muscle. He had pulled 725+ on block pulls tons of times before which really threw him off about the whole situation, I think it might have been from him not warming up enough and just jumping into relatively higher weights, but then again what do I know. Not sure if it's distal or proximal tear or whatever, he said he wasn't going to go to the hospital until Monday because he wants to get surgery basically immediately and the place he goes for that kind of stuff is closed on the weekends apparently. It's a really chitty situation I think I should probably strap up for heavy pulls like that in the future just in case.

Damn nice workouts. You already have stepped it up! haha

Thanks Joey. You gotta come train at EPC sometime man

[fittofattofit]

Haha sorry man I hope I didn't come off as a huge dick in that post man You know I got nothing but love for you and you probably read more of my posts than anyone else, which I really do appreciate.

I always enjoy your log and the analysis you do of your lifting. It's also been good to see how much progression you've made over the last year

The main way the block pulls felt different than rack pulls was when doing multiple reps. On rack pulls when you set the bar down on the rack it always bounces and there's a certain amount of reverse momentum which there isn't on block pulls. Also I imagine having the weights sitting on the blocks vs only the bar sitting on the rack affects the weight distribution slightly which makes it feel different.

]
That makes sense ---- I figured it would be something to do with the way the bar flexes, which has to be different when the stationary points are at the wheels as opposed to the supports on the rack

It's funny, 2 of the coaches commented on how my rack pull set-up looked pretty much perfect and once I got into the groove the weight would just shoot right up. If only I could get my deadlift form to be like that

Those rack pulls looked beautiful ( no homo ). In my mind's eye that's how I want to set up for my deads ..... the reality is so different. You know what should happen, but making your body obey instructions under load is a different matter

The guy who tore his bicep is about 240-250, pretty much pure muscle. He had pulled 725+ on block pulls tons of times before which really threw him off about the whole situation, I think it might have been from him not warming up enough and just jumping into relatively higher weights, but then again what do I know. Not sure if it's distal or proximal tear or whatever, he said he wasn't going to go to the hospital until Monday because he wants to get surgery basically immediately and the place he goes for that kind of stuff is closed on the weekends apparently. It's a really chitty situation I think I should probably strap up for heavy pulls like that in the future just in case.

It is enough to make you want to strap up and go DOH though

[Jstamp]

Thanks Joey. You gotta come train at EPC sometime man

I will eventually when I'm not as busy. Right now I manage every week day, personal train before, after and on weekends. So when it slows down in the summer I can

[GMagicMoney]

I'm new to this forum but your log is very helpful man! Got a lot of helpful answers to questions I had and love the thoroughness and explanations of your plan. Keep it up!

[adamsz]

I always enjoy your log and the analysis you do of your lifting. It's also been good to see how much progression you've made over the last year

Thanks man I've definitely been working my ass off

That makes sense ---- I figured it would be something to do with the way the bar flexes, which has to be different when the stationary points are at the wheels as opposed to the supports on the rack

Exactly.

Those rack pulls looked beautiful ( no homo ). In my mind's eye that's how I want to set up for my deads ..... the reality is so different. You know what should happen, but making your body obey instructions under load is a different matter

I know this feel too well...If only deadlifts were as easy to set up for as rack pulls!

in bold

I will eventually when I'm not as busy. Right now I manage every week day, personal train before, after and on weekends. So when it slows down in the summer I can

Hell yeah man. I hope you're enjoying your transition into the "real" world. Would love to hear some personal training stories sometime

I'm new to this forum but your log is very helpful man! Got a lot of helpful answers to questions I had and love the thoroughness and explanations of your plan. Keep it up!

Welcome brah. If you have any questions, feel free.

[adamsz]

20 minute dynamic warmup

3:05PM - 5:15PM: Lifting

Squats with 55lb squat bar (bar is longer than normal bars)
145 x 5
195 x 5
235 x 5
255 x 5
add belt
285 x 5
300 x 5
300 x 5 (vid below)
300 x 5
300 x 5
300 x 5



Band Pull-Aparts EFS black band
25 reps x 4 sets

EZ-Bar Curl
Bar x 50 x 2 sets

3 sets rotator cuff work

Bench Press Supersetted With DB Hammer Curls
135 x 5
20's x 15
155 x 5
20's x 15
185 x 5
20's x 15
225 x 5
20's x 15
250 x 5
250 x 5
250 x 5
250 x 5
250 x 5

Sled Face Pulls 1 lap = 130 feet
Sled + 50lbs x 1 lap
Sled + 60lbs x 1 lap
Sled + 55lbs x 1 lap
Sled + 55lbs x 1 lap
Sled + 55lbs x 1 lap

this chick who was being coached on oly lifting kept wincing when I was doing the sled face pulls because they're loud as fuk so I stopped early lol (no wk)

Band Pull Aparts EFS black band
25 reps x 4 sets

afterwards 30 minutes rolling / stretching. Skipped the physio work and a lot of the stretching today because I just wasn't in the mood and the cycling team came in which is like 20 people so I wanted to leave

Thoughts

Long session was long. Wasn't feeling very motivated at all today - went out and drank last night, but not too much - but just wasn't really feeling it today. Rest times were definitely longer than they should have been and trying to set up the safety chains on the monolift took a little bit of time to figure out. Definitely not the same rush to get sets done like I would at 24 Hour Fitness because I was worried about people waiting for the equipment and what not - today there was only 1 other person in the gym for most of the time I was in there.

Since my left elbow was giving me grief last benching session I decided to take a few extra precautionary measures today: I wore elbow sleeves on both arms, did 100 reps of ez-bar curls before starting benching, and did quite a few DB hammer curls inbetween bench sets to get the blood flowing to the area. The affected area felt fine today luckily. I guess the test will be on Thursday when I do my 3's.

I miss the leg press at 24 Hour Fitness TBH. I was thinking about going there today just to use it but I figured it would be a mad house with New Years Resolutioners and what not so I decided against it. The leg press @ 24 is like one of those angled ones that is at about a 45 degree angle, whereas the one at EPC is pretty much just horizontal and the seat doesn't adjust forwards or backwards at all so the ROM is much shorter

Hope everyone had a good New Year's Eve, let's kill it in 2013 yamean.

[RyouBakua]

huge block pull the other day man

(almost like the high box squats i did )


light it up this 2013

[fittofattofit]

Great session Zack ..... you're lucky to be able to spare two and a half for a workout .... of course that is one of the advantages of working unsocial hours in your job. I looked at those squats over and over and couldn't find anything to fault. Your feet were flat throughout, your back position was very solid (slight tendency to 'good morning' the bar up but it's so much better than most I see), great depth and the bar travel was pretty mush straight up and down. You're also looking really good in the last two vids --- calves, arms and chest are looking really thick and you're looking lean

Good job on the benching and the rehab wrk to keep the elbow pain at bay. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your benching in 2013
I saw a guy doing band pull-aparts at the gym today and they'd be a good exercise for me, so I'll have to follow your example
Great way t start the New Year
I'm expecting big things for you

[adamsz]

huge block pull the other day man

(almost like the high box squats i did )

light it up this 2013

Thanks my man. I saw that 6 plate box squat you did in your journal (I think it was 6 plates if I remember correctly), but was disappointed you didn't at least get a vid

Great session Zack ..... you're lucky to be able to spare two and a half for a workout .... of course that is one of the advantages of working unsocial hours in your job. I looked at those squats over and over and couldn't find anything to fault. Your feet were flat throughout, your back position was very solid (slight tendency to 'good morning' the bar up but it's so much better than most I see), great depth and the bar travel was pretty mush straight up and down. You're also looking really good in the last two vids --- calves, arms and chest are looking really thick and you're looking lean

Good job on the benching and the rehab wrk to keep the elbow pain at bay. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your benching in 2013
I saw a guy doing band pull-aparts at the gym today and they'd be a good exercise for me, so I'll have to follow your example
Great way t start the New Year
I'm expecting big things for you

Thanks Fit! I'm glad someone is watching my videos lol The one thing I noticed is that it looks like my knees were traveling forward a bit more than they used to, so I wonder if I'm not "sitting back" as good I used to be able to. I wonder if I need to return to box squats to work on this at some point...

Not sure about looking lean, I've definitely gained a few pounds over the holiday from all the extra food lol. I'll take the compliment though

And as for the bench, I plan on benching 365 by years end without a doubt!

[adamsz]

*It should be noted that I pretty much hit ALL of these muscle groups yesterday also lol*

1/2/13

20 minute dynamic warmup

10:25PM - 12:25AM: Lifting

Leg Press toes hanging off top of platform, knees touch chest on every rep
1PPS x 10
2PPS x 10
3PPS x 10
4PPS x 10
5PPS x 10
6PPS x 10
7PPS x 8
7PPS x 8
7PPS x 8

Seated DB Shoulder Press have only done these like once in 8+ months, PR is 90's x 7-8 I think
22.5's x 10
35's x 10
50's x 10
65's x 10
80's x 7
80's x 6

Chin-ups
BW x 5
+25 x 5
+45 x 3
+25 x 5
+25 x 5
+25 x 5

DB Lateral Raises 30 second rest times
15's x 12
15's x 12
15's x 12
15's x 12
15's x 12
15's x 12
15's x 12
15's x 12

Seated DB Curls 30-60 second rest times
17.5's x 12
20's x 12
20's x 12
20's x 12
20's x 12
20's x 12
20's x 12
20's x 12

Hyperextensions
BW x 10
+45 x 10
+90 x 10
+135 x 5
+135 x 5
+135 x 5
+135 x 5
+135 x 5

Reverse Crunches
10
10
10
9

12:30AM - 1:05AM: Stretching + PVC Rolling

Thoughts

The closet bodybuilder in me came out... Tomorrow is the Oregon vs. K State bowl game so I'm not gonna make it to the gym after work so I decided to head in today to hit some accessory type work. Since I squatted at EPC yesterday and I'm not a huge fan of the leg press there (see yesterday's workout thoughts) I decided to hit the leg press at 24 tonight. Worked up to 630 for 8, which is a tie for a PR, but then did it for 2 more sets. I don't know if I've ever felt so much pressure in my head/had my face turn so red during a lift, except maybe a max effort 1RM deadlift lol.

Between the squats and benching I did yesterday I pretty much hit all the same muscle groups again today, so I'm sure I'm gonna have major DOMS tomorrow or Friday. My glutes were definitely already sore as fawk by the end of the hyperextensions.

So apparently I now hold the Oregon state record for the United States Powerlifting Association 220lb open deadlift in the "classic" raw division. When I first heard this I was like is this real life???? Surely it must be higher, but apparently the "classic" raw division is pretty new so most of the records are still pretty low. I guess the difference between the "normal" and "classic" raw divisions is the "classic" allows knee wraps (which I didn't even use when I squatted in the comp lol).



I'm sure the record will be broken pretty soon, but for now I'll take it Feelsgoodman.

Can't wait to see the Ducks crush the Wildcats tomorrow. Go Ducks!!!

[AirForceV]

skimmed through sessions pretty solid ****.

And yeah dude don't bother doing switch grip on the heavy pulls. Seriously too risky man last thing you need is a serious injury like that lol. Stick with wrapping up and working on double overhand.

[fittofattofit]

Thanks Fit! I'm glad someone is watching my videos lol The one thing I noticed is that it looks like my knees were traveling forward a bit more than they used to, so I wonder if I'm not "sitting back" as good I used to be able to. I wonder if I need to return to box squats to work on this at some point...

Not sure about looking lean, I've definitely gained a few pounds over the holiday from all the extra food lol. I'll take the compliment though

And as for the bench, I plan on benching 365 by years end without a doubt!

I noticed that but you are going deeper so it's the tradeoff. You certainly weren't 'shooting' forward or going too far so it still looked good.
It doesn't hurt to throw in the box squats again though

Thoughts

The closet bodybuilder in me came out... Tomorrow is the Oregon vs. K State bowl game so I'm not gonna make it to the gym after work so I decided to head in today to hit some accessory type work. Since I squatted at EPC yesterday and I'm not a huge fan of the leg press there (see yesterday's workout thoughts) I decided to hit the leg press at 24 tonight. Worked up to 630 for 8, which is a tie for a PR, but then did it for 2 more sets. I don't know if I've ever felt so much pressure in my head/had my face turn so red during a lift, except maybe a max effort 1RM deadlift lol.

Between the squats and benching I did yesterday I pretty much hit all the same muscle groups again today, so I'm sure I'm gonna have major DOMS tomorrow or Friday. My glutes were definitely already sore as fawk by the end of the hyperextensions.

So apparently I now hold the Oregon state record for the United States Powerlifting Association 220lb open deadlift in the "classic" raw division. When I first heard this I was like is this real life???? Surely it must be higher, but apparently the "classic" raw division is pretty new so most of the records are still pretty low. I guess the difference between the "normal" and "classic" raw divisions is the "classic" allows knee wraps (which I didn't even use when I squatted in the comp lol).



I'm sure the record will be broken pretty soon, but for now I'll take it Feelsgoodman.

3 hours in the gym at midnight = dedication!
Nice work on the leg press and hitting PRs after a big day squatting yesterday
And congratulations on the state record Zach! More of those to come!

[adamsz]

skimmed through sessions pretty solid ****.

And yeah dude don't bother doing switch grip on the heavy pulls. Seriously too risky man last thing you need is a serious injury like that lol. Stick with wrapping up and working on double overhand.

Thanks brah. I just saw in your journal how you hit a new rack pull PR. U r 1 cheeky kunt m8 I swear... as soon as I finally start to catch up to you boom another 50lb PR. Fuker...

I noticed that but you are going deeper so it's the tradeoff. You certainly weren't 'shooting' forward or going too far so it still looked good.
It doesn't hurt to throw in the box squats again though

3 hours in the gym at midnight = dedication!
Nice work on the leg press and hitting PRs after a big day squatting yesterday
And congratulations on the state record Zach! More of those to come!

Thanks Fit. I guess I didn't think about the relationship between depth and knee travel: good insight as always.

And yes, I hope there will be more state records in the future

[AirForceV]

Chasing the dragon brah :-)

[adamsz]

1/5/13

20 minute dynamic warmup

9:05AM - 11:10AM: Lifting

Deadlifts
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
365 x 5

Block Pulls 5.25" blocks
405 x 3
455 x 3
495 x 2 @ 9.5

Deficit Deadlifts 3.75" deficit
315 x 5
315 x 12
everyone else was only doing sets of 3 with 3PPS lol. But pretty much EVERYONE else pulls sumo though so I smashed on these.

Bentover BB Rows
135 x 10
185 x 12
185 x 12
185 x 7

Trap Bar Shrugs
225 x 10
315 x 8

back was too spent by this point so I stopped

Ab Wheel
10
10
10
10

Glute-Ham Raises
5
5
5
5
5

11:30AM - 12:30PM stretching / physio work / rumble rolling

Skipped GPP today because I fell down a couple steps at work the other day and almost rolled my ankle, and since then my ankle has been a little fuked up. Been wearing an ankle compression sleeve the last few days but didn't wanna risk aggrevating it by doing prowler sprints. Despite skipping the GPP I was still in the gym for 4 hours. Strong life lol.

Thoughts

Had 10 people in rotation pulling today so the first 3 lifts took a really long time. After the main movement and it's variation of the day people generally have a tendency to break down into 2-3 smaller groups and hit different accessories so the accessories go much faster.

Out of the 10 people only one other person pulled conventional lol. After doing the 12 reps on the deficit pulls one of the coaches noted that since it looked so easy for me that conventional was probably my "natural" pulling style. I felt like the block pulls were relatively much harder for me since I was pulling conventional so the ROM is longer (last week when we had the block pull contest everyone pulled conventional). For example there's a kid who's max DL is 12lbs less than mine but he pulled 545 off the same blocks and I don't think I would have been too if I tried because of the longer ROM.

Saw Chris Duffin hook grip 715 or some crazy chit from the blocks, and then hold it for a solid 10+ seconds. Strong wtf... I can't even begin the imagine holding that much weight crushing my thumbs.

I've noticed that after the lifting pretty much everyone immediately leaves whereas I stay for another 30-60 minutes everytime to work on stretching / physio stuff etc. Since the sessions are team-oriented it's definitely hard for me to stay motivated to stay that extra hour by myself instead of just getting up and leaving with everyone else. I know this will pay dividends in the long run though and that I am in effect outworking my competition

Been trying some wall squats recently. They're hard as fuk, but really help to open in the hips and groin and help to engrain the necessity of pushing your knees out while you squat in order to have the bar track correctly:



I definitely would recommend them as a good squat mobility exercise.

[fittofattofit]

Sprains ankle and takes it easy so does 365 x 5, block pulls 495 x 2 and deficit deadlifts 315 x 12 ..... yeah right

Great session there Zach and it sounds you're loving the team work. Still, with the warm up and stretching you're in there for 3 and a half hours
It's good that you're getting useful advice already (like you look natural with a conventional deadlift)
I've never seen those wall squats before --- it looks hard to keep balance but that looks like a great way to improve your flexibility and also grind in good spine positioning during the squat. I'll be giving them a try --- and expect to be falling flat on my @rse

[AirForceV]

Well i thought sumo deads were for females so i HOPE conventinal deads are your one and only :-) :-) good work beating them. Your extra work will pay off loads. Keep it up man!

[fittofattofit]

Well i thought sumo deads were for females so i HOPE conventinal deads are your one and only :-) :-) good work beating them. Your extra work will pay off loads. Keep it up man!

^^^^^ this

Plus I assume you can only do those wall squats with consenting walls

[RyouBakua]

wall squats look interesting


why not just hit the club

gotta say, thats pretty badass right there