The Flywheel Effect.

[CW47]

March 30, 2021 - Dynamic Lower

16 inch Box Squat [Speed]: 150 pounds - 12 sets x 2 reps
Was a little out of whack today. Nothing major, but just didn't feel very comfortable for whatever reason. I did work through these sets very quickly - less than a minute between sets. Bar speed was pretty consistent all the way through.

Sumo Deadlift [Speed]: 215 pounds - 12 sets x 1 reps
Haven't done Sumo work consistently for the last couple of months as I've refocused on Conventional. I'm feeling very comfortable with conventional deads now, so I'm putting Sumo back in the mix again. As would be expected, there were some good and some not so good reps. More good ones though. The change from doubles to singles is for sure the right move. I'm putting much more attention on getting that first rep right, and while it's certainly not great yet, I'm seeing some good improvement. My biggest challenge with this lift is that I can pretty easily feel when I'm out of position, but I really struggle to figure out what exactly is wrong. I took video of most of the reps today. They look (to me) very good positionally, and very consistent. But they don't feel that way at all. On some of the reps I was noticeably weaker off the floor. This has really been the case all along on my sumo deads. I probably need someone who actually knows what they're looking at to point out where I'm going wrong...
But anyway, worked through these sets very quickly as well, and was pretty satisfied overall.

Barbell Hack Squat: 135 Pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Can't figure out if I love these or hate these. Suppose it's both, lmao. Video'd the first set and realized it was a mess. Reduced the weight and changed how I was doing it, focusing on lifting with my quads as opposed to my lower back. I'm probably still doing it entirely wrong, but I did have a very nice burn in my quads by the time I was done, so it was at least partially working the muscles I wanted it to. I think it's probably poor ankle mobility that's preventing me from really doing them correctly. I'll probably give them another shot next week.


Here's video of one of the Sumo speed reps:

[Filmbuff81]

Awesome job on PRs!

I vote for loving and hating all forms of hack squats.

I hate every leg day currently, but my leg development is so absurd from it I can’t even complain.

[CW47]

Awesome job on PRs!

I vote for loving and hating all forms of hack squats.

I hate every leg day currently, but my leg development is so absurd from it I can’t even complain.

For sure. Though it's not always true, in this case the pain will pave the way for the gain.


March 30, 2021 - Dynamic Upper
Major change in my approach here. Though I finally hit a PR on my last attempt, I'm extremely unhappy with my lack of progress on Bench over the last 4-5 months. A 5 pound increase is nowhere near enough considering how weak my bench is. So I'm going to transform this day from a speed day into a volume day for bench. This is following some basic guidelines that Westide has published - starting out with 6x6 at about 70% and increasing weight weekly until I stop progressing, then moving on to 8x8 until that stalls, and then 10x10 until that stalls, and then back to 6x6, and rinse and repeat. I'm also adding some higher rep tricep and back work.

Bench Press: 125 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps
Felt pretty good. I tend to struggle with anything above 3 reps, and this felt super light on the first set, but was fairly challenging by the end

Incline Skull Crusher: 45 pounds x 15/10/10 reps
Tricep Band Pushdown: Mini Band - 3 sets x 20 reps
Tricep Rope Pushdown: 25 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
Meadows Row: 25 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps

Kept the weight light to be sure I could hit the reps. I'll gradually increase on these moving forward.
Got a pulley system from Amazon and it arrived today. The cable is a bit too long, so I'll have to either figure out a better way to make it work, or I'll have to shorten it. It got the job done today though
The Meadows Rows hit the upper back hard, and I'm feeling some doms there already.

I'll be testing this approach out for at least a cycle or two to see how it works out.

[Anthony21]

10x10 bench is definitely a way to hammer volume. I like the set up of volume I'm following for my bench as well so I'm hoping the added volume pays dividends.

[CW47]

10x10 bench is definitely a way to hammer volume. I like the set up of volume I'm following for my bench as well so I'm hoping the added volume pays dividends.

Well, I'd say the odds are in our favor - added volume usually does the trick when progress is non-existent or slow. Time will tell...


April 3, 2021 - Max Lower

Conventional Deadlift: 375 pounds x Fail / 335 pounds x 2
Warmups felt great. Got to 315 and that went up very quickly. Feeling confident, I decided to jump right to 375. I ended up regretting it, lol. Got it about to my knees and then it stalled. I dropped down to 365, but had burned myself out trying to get the previous rep up, and failed this as well. Dropped further to 335, and did that for a double (at about an 8.5 RPE) - I believe that was a PR, so I at least had something positive to take away from this session. Should've learned from previous efforts that taking a big jump up to attempt a PR is a bad idea - hasn't worked yet. But I got caught up in the moment.

Wide Stance Wide Grip Deadlift: 255 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
10 pounds heavier than last week, but the reps were easier. Really happy with how this lift is progressing.

Kroc Row: 80 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps


I'm seriously considering changing up my programming. As summer nears I am going to be cutting weight. I put on almost 20 pounds over the last 8 months, and I'm heavier than I want to be right now. I'm at a point right now where I'm probably going to be frustrated if I'm falling short of my current PR's regularly (which is very likely). I'm going to take it one week at a time for now.

[CW47]

April 4, 2021 - Max Upper

Incline Bench Press (45 Degree): 155 pounds x Fail / 145 x 1 rep
I was soooo close to locking out the 155. Dropped down for another rep at 145, which was a struggle after pushing the previous attempt hard.

Floor Press: 140 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Good solid reps all the way through.

Close Grip Bench Press - 2 Board: 125 pounds - 3 set x 10 reps
Different story here - these were a grind. Got through them though.


Video shows the 2 reps noted on Incline Bench.

[Anthony21]

Looks like that incline bench had a slight miss groove that threw you off. My eyes could be wrong but that's how it looked to me. As you're pressing up it looks like the elbows are miss aligned with your forearms and wrist and are slightly behind at the 4 second mark of the video.

Valiant effort though bro.

[Filmbuff81]

Strong try, I definitely agree it looks like you got misgrooved a bit and threw the path off a lot more than you want.

I think lowering just a tad slower would be beneficial.

[CW47]

Looks like that incline bench had a slight miss groove that threw you off. My eyes could be wrong but that's how it looked to me. As you're pressing up it looks like the elbows are miss aligned with your forearms and wrist and are slightly behind at the 4 second mark of the video.

Valiant effort though bro.

Strong try, I definitely agree it looks like you got misgrooved a bit and threw the path off a lot more than you want.

I think lowering just a tad slower would be beneficial.

Thanks guys. Really appreciate the feedback. I see exactly what you mean.
On the positive side, I've made really good progress on this lift over the last several months. The misalignment was much more pronounced previously, and I was doing a poorer job of controlling the weight, specifically on the way down.
But yeah, still have some work to do to get the form dialed in. The bar is basically coming down on my collar bone, so I don't think I can bring the touch point in/up much more. My guess is that I'm flaring my elbows too much, and need to do a better job of tucking them. It's a work in progress for sure.


April 6, 2021 - Dynamic Lower

16 inch Box Squat [Speed]: 165 pounds - 10 sets x 2 reps
Pretty solid work here.

Sumo Deadlift [Speed]: 240 pounds - 10 sets x 1 reps
Still working on getting comfortable with this lift again, and it was predictably inconsistent again today. Had some really good reps along the way though, which is encouraging.

High Bar Close Stance Squat: 115 Pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Put this in over the Barbell Hack Squats, and it was definitely the right move. My flexibility (or lack thereof) prevented me from getting as deep as I want to, but it was still good quad work. Started out with a light weight just to get comfortable with the lift since I've never done it before. I should be able to make a decent size jump in weight next time around.

[Filmbuff81]

Great work per usual, and if your hitting high then probably an elbow flare issue as you mention.

Controlling it a tiny bit more will probably fix it right up.

Still great progress.

[CW47]

Great work per usual, and if your hitting high then probably an elbow flare issue as you mention.

Controlling it a tiny bit more will probably fix it right up.

Still great progress.

Yep, I'll definitely play around with elbow positioning.


April 7, 2021 - Dynamic Upper

Bench Press: 130 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps
5 pound increase from last week. It felt easier. I think I did 7 reps on a couple of the sets because I lost track and wanted to make sure I wasn't 1 short, lmao. I'll continue with the 5 pound increases for as long as I can.

Rolling DB Triceps Extensions: 20 pounds/ea x 12/8/5 reps
Triceps Band Pushdown: Mini Band - 3 sets x 20 reps
These were done as a superset. Weight was too heavy on the rolling extensions and I ran out of steam quickly. I will probably reduce to 15 pound db's next time and try to work my way up to 3 sets of 20 reps.

Triceps Rope Overhead Extensions: 20 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
Meadows Row: 27.5 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
Another superset here. Used a cheap cable system I got on Amazon for the Overhead Extensions. It's certainly not a perfect setup, but worked well enough (I'll get video of it at some point). I should be able to do cable rows now as well.

[400Lb Gorilla]

Solid work in here and loving your plans for the bench work.

On those box squats, how high up does a 16 inch box leave you(as far as parallel goes)? I have never been able to do that lift properly so major kudos for sticking with them and getting them correct.

Solid attempt on that 155 and great work on the follow up single with 145. That kind of fight feels like it takes 3x longer than it looks on video lol. The whole rep looked to be about 10 seconds but it probably felt like 30!

[CW47]

Solid work in here and loving your plans for the bench work.

On those box squats, how high up does a 16 inch box leave you(as far as parallel goes)? I have never been able to do that lift properly so major kudos for sticking with them and getting them correct.

Solid attempt on that 155 and great work on the follow up single with 145. That kind of fight feels like it takes 3x longer than it looks on video lol. The whole rep looked to be about 10 seconds but it probably felt like 30!

The 16 inch box is probably 1 or 2 inches above parallel. I still don't do them correctly all the time, but I still feel like I'm getting some benefit from them.
The grind is weird... Sometimes they seem like they take forever, and other times is almost like time stops and I don't really have a sense of how long it is. And the more often I do the grinders like this, the more comfortable I am with them.


April 10, 2021 - Max Lower

Front Squat: 185 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
I'm gradually getting more comfortable with this lift. It was still putting more pressure on my wrists than I'd like, but is consistently getting better. The weight moved quickly as I worked my way up, until I got to 175, where it stalled a bit, but I was still able to complete it. The 185 attempt was really strange. It didn't feel that bad, but then I watched the video back, and that was one UGLY lift, lmao! Don't think I've ever done a front squat that looked so awkward before. I guess some breakdown is to be expected since I had previously never Front Squatted more than 155 pounds.

Wide Stance Wide Grip Deadlift: 265 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Pretty good all the way through again today. The first set which is shown in the video below was with a belt, and then I had to tend to the baby for a bit and left the belt off for the remaining sets.

Kroc Row: 80 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Good lat work. They were a burnin'.


Video shows the Front Squat reps at 175 and 185 along with the first set of deads.


FYI, I saw a post from one of the mods a few weeks ago references posting errors like the ones I mentioned earlier where it wasn't letting me post. He said that one of the triggers seems to be parentheses. I've since been mostly avoiding using them, and have not encountered any issues recently.

[Filmbuff81]

Nice work as always.

I hate losing track of reps because I’ll add an extra 1-2 too lol.

[Anthony21]

Have you tried using the wrist strap method with your front squat?

[400Lb Gorilla]

The 16 inch box is probably 1 or 2 inches above parallel. I still don't do them correctly all the time, but I still feel like I'm getting some benefit from them.
The grind is weird... Sometimes they seem like they take forever, and other times is almost like time stops and I don't really have a sense of how long it is. And the more often I do the grinders like this, the more comfortable I am with them.

I think I remember Tate or one of the other Elite guys saying that is where box squats do the most good. You have definitely been bitten by the gym addiction lol. No one else likes or gets comfortable with struggling other than those into some kind of strength training! Where as most people want easy and effortless workouts, you would probably not feel good about a workout unless it required some fighting a weight up or leaving you feeling like you just got beaten.

That was an odd front squat rep but not too bad for a heavy single. Looks like the upper back might have given out first which made everything else compensate. Great work finish that rep. It is not easy to recover a heavy front squat like you did when the shoulders "cave down".

INRE to posting errors:
Yeah it seems to happen a lot when there are parenthesis. Sometimes it just happens because it doesnt like emojis lol

[CW47]

Nice work as always.

I hate losing track of reps because I’ll add an extra 1-2 too lol.

Yeah, I've stopped without doing the extra rep/s before, and it just bugs me. I feel like a fraud writing down that I did an amount of reps when I'm not sure I've actually done that amount, lol.

Have you tried using the wrist strap method with your front squat?

That's the one method I haven't tried. I have the most experience with the crossed arms method, but it's not stable enough for me to feel comfortable as the weight increases. I like the grip I was doing here because it helps force the upper body into a more correct position. I have had reps without a hint of pain when I do them correctly, so it's not really a problem with the grip, but more so a problem with my form which is resulted in the pain. It's actually really good feedback. But I'm for sure open to trying the strap method at some point if it needed.

I think I remember Tate or one of the other Elite guys saying that is where box squats do the most good. You have definitely been bitten by the gym addiction lol. No one else likes or gets comfortable with struggling other than those into some kind of strength training! Where as most people want easy and effortless workouts, you would probably not feel good about a workout unless it required some fighting a weight up or leaving you feeling like you just got beaten.

That was an odd front squat rep but not too bad for a heavy single. Looks like the upper back might have given out first which made everything else compensate. Great work finish that rep. It is not easy to recover a heavy front squat like you did when the shoulders "cave down".

INRE to posting errors:
Yeah it seems to happen a lot when there are parenthesis. Sometimes it just happens because it doesnt like emojis lol

For sure. I spent several years never really doing anything hard. I just didn't feel comfortable failing because of the equipment setup I was using. Now that I see the benefit of hard reps, I couldn't go back to that.
All of the front squat reps except that final one were pretty good. I'm sure doing it more consistently will help a lot. And to be honest, I'm more comfortable with it now than I ever have been. I was never comfortable going anywhere near failure before now. I'm much more at ease with putting it in my programming at this point.

Parenthesis and emojis are like half of my my posts, lmao! Don't know that I can survive without them, but I've been trying to keep them to a minimum since hearing about it.

[400Lb Gorilla]

I think most of us start out not really pushing ourselves for a while. Then we learn, get a little smarter, and start actually focusing the work and effort where and how it needs to be.

If your wrists are giving you any issues while holding the rack position, try a wider grip. I think my rack is pretty wide as far as the hands are concerned and only my ring, middle, and index fingers are on the bar. Any narrower and it puts a lot of stress on my wrists and/or shoulders that usually results in a strained muscle somewhere, especially if you accidentally lean into the squat at all and have to fight to get the elbows back up

[CW47]

April 4, 2021 - Max Upper

Close Grip Bench Press: 175 pounds x 1 / 185 x Fail
175 went up relatively smoothly. I really thought I was going to get that 185 once it got moving off my chest. Still, was a good effort.

Floor Press: 145 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Close Grip Bench Press - 2 Board: 15 pounds - 3 set x 10 reps

Added 5 pounds to the Floor Press and 10 to the 2 board over last week. Both were very tough towards the last reps, but was able to get through. I may have done 6 sets of floor press - lost track again. Who knew how hard it could be to count to 5, lol.

I'll be switching to all new Supplement/Assistance lifts next week.


Video shows the 175 & 185 close grip attempts.

[400Lb Gorilla]

lol at losing count. Effort does that. Easy to count the easy sets. Gets a little tougher to remember how many of the tough sets you did, especially because you seem to be fond 5+ sets. That is a good amount of volume.

Tough fight on that 185, I thought you were gonna get it even though I clearly read that you didnt before I even watched the video lol.
175 looked smooth and easy for you. You will get the 185 next time cause now you KNOW you can get it... you just need to prove it to yourself lol

[CW47]

lol at losing count. Effort does that. Easy to count the easy sets. Gets a little tougher to remember how many of the tough sets you did, especially because you seem to be fond 5+ sets. That is a good amount of volume.

Tough fight on that 185, I thought you were gonna get it even though I clearly read that you didnt before I even watched the video lol.
175 looked smooth and easy for you. You will get the 185 next time cause now you KNOW you can get it... you just need to prove it to yourself lol

The really high set lifts I typically don't have much trouble with because I use a clicker to keep track, lmao! It's mostly an issue counting sets when do 5x5/6x6, or counting reps when I get over 5. Kind of amusing how often I lose track though, hahaha.

After the 175 I thought for sure I had 185 in me. Just didn't quite happen, but it's there to be had for sure.


April 13, 2021 - Dynamic Lower

16 inch Box Squat [Speed]: 175 pounds - 8 sets x 2 reps
This was a bit too heavy for speed work. Some of the reps were still relatively fast, but I definitely ran out of steam as the reps added up.

Sumo Deadlift [Speed]: 255 pounds - 8 sets x 1 reps
Much more consistent result on this lift today. I had one poor rep, where I just rushed through the setup for no good reason. Aside from that It was great.

High Bar Close Stance Squat: 135 Pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
This felt much easier than last week, as expected. The weight was still too light, but it's all good because I'm still not totally comfortable with the lift. Reminds me why I struggled with squatting for so damn long - high bar squatting just doesn't seem to fit my body mechanics at all. But still it's a good quad focused lift, and I'll use it again in the future. I'm probably even wear my squat shoes or put a plate under my heels to make it even more quad focused.

[CW47]

April 14, 2021 - Dynamic Upper

Bench Press: 135 pounds - 6 sets x 6 reps
Good to go again. Used the clicker so I didn't lose count of sets, lol. I was playing around with the touch point a little bit to figure out what works best for me. Still need to refine it more because I have a tendency to touch too low and have my joints not be stacked. And when I try to bring it up a little higher the touch point is inconsistent.

Rolling DB Triceps Extensions: 10 pounds/ea x 20 reps
Triceps Band Pushdown: Mini Band - 3 sets x 20 reps
Cut the weight in half on the rolling extensions and was able to get in all the reps. I did these 2 as a superset with very little rest between exercises and sets.
I left out the third triceps exercise and the rows today because of time constraints.

[Filmbuff81]

Looking good as always.

Been lurking too but this week if work kicked my ass lol.

[CW47]

Looking good as always.
Been lurking too but this week if work kicked my ass lol.

Thanks man. I know the feeling, lol. Appreciate you stopping in to see how things are going.


April 17, 2021 - Max Lower

Sumo Deadlift: 355 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
10 pound PR. I was pretty sure it was there after 325 went up really easily. I made an attempt at 365 but couldn't even break the floor. That tends to be what happens with Sumo - if I can get it to break the floor I can usually lock it out. Really happy to be within 10 pounds of my conventional.

Paused Squat: 125 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Obviously a really low weight for this, but this is a major weak point for me. It's mostly positioning, because when I hit the groove it flies up, but when I don't it's a real struggle even at this weight. The pause at the bottom helps me put more attention on that position. In a normal squat I pretty much tend to pause off the bottom and not pay much attention to the positioning of my body at that point. I'll be keeping this lift in my regular rotation for a long time to continue to work on it.

Cable Row: 60 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Put that cable system to use. This was a low starting point but it's been a long time since I've done a cable row. You can see how I setup the cable system in the video below (1 pulley attached to the bar which is sitting at the top of my rack, and 1 pulley chained to the cross member along the back of the rack). Works relatively well.

Hamstring Curl: Mini Band - 3 sets x 12 reps
No video of this, but it's the same technique I've shown before where I'm sitting on a plyo box, wrapping a mini band around the lower cross member and putting my feet in it. Then pull my feet toward my body, trying to touch them to my butt.


Video shows the Sumo PR, along with a set of Paused Squats and Cable Rows.

[ECGordyn]

Paused Squat: 125 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Obviously a really low weight for this, but this is a major weak point for me. It's mostly positioning, because when I hit the groove it flies up, but when I don't it's a real struggle even at this weight. The pause at the bottom helps me put more attention on that position. In a normal squat I pretty much tend to pause off the bottom and not pay much attention to the positioning of my body at that point. I'll be keeping this lift in my regular rotation for a long time to continue to work on it.

Pin squats to full depth are really good for positioning, too. They force you to both descend and ascend in the right groove. I prefer them to pause squats because pause squats forgive you, if you descend to the wrong point you can just rock into position before ascending. Pin squats the bar is locked in place and so is positioning.

Great consistency man. Your numbers will continue climbing.

[Anthony21]

Congrats on the sumo deadlift PR.

[CW47]

Pin squats to full depth are really good for positioning, too. They force you to both descend and ascend in the right groove. I prefer them to pause squats because pause squats forgive you, if you descend to the wrong point you can just rock into position before ascending. Pin squats the bar is locked in place and so is positioning.

Great consistency man. Your numbers will continue climbing.

Appreciate it man.
Yeah, pin squats are freaking brutal. I just did them in my previous cycle, and fell on my backside the first time I did them, lmao! The Pin Squat are absolutely going to be part of my regular rotation for quite a while. Just trying to rotate through some different variants that will target that weak point for me. Another one that oddly seemed to help was close stance high bar squats. Even though it's a different position at the bottom, it forced me to be attentive to it, and seemed to help build some strength out of the bottom position. If you know of some others that might be helpful, definitely share them with me.

Congrats on the sumo deadlift PR.

Oh yeah! Felt really good to get that up.


April 18, 2021 - Max Upper

Banded Bench Press: 165 pounds + Mini Band x 1 rep / 170 + Mini x Fail
Tied my previous PR. I'm pretty happy with this because bench wasn't really feeling great today. Put up a good fight on the 170. I thought maybe I could get it moving again, but finally ran out of steam. Butt came off the bench anyway. But good result overall.

DB Bench Press: 60 pound db's - 5 sets x 5 reps
JM Press: 65 pounds - 3 set x 10 reps
T-Bar Row: 85 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Solid supplemental/accessory work today. Nothing much to say about it though.


Video shows the 2 reps I noted on the banded bench press.

[Filmbuff81]

If a 10lbs sumo PR can look “easy” that was it.

Awesome PR.

[CW47]

If a 10lbs sumo PR can look “easy” that was it.

Awesome PR.

See, yeah that's the weird thing about Sumo (or at least my Sumo). The problem is almost 100% in breaking it off the floor. If it gets off the floor I can almost always lock it out. But in this case I added another 5 pounds for my next attempt and couldn't even move it. I tried it 3 times total, thinking if I could just get in a slightly better starting position it would go up, and none of them budged. It either looks easy or it doesn't move at all, lol. But I was super happy to hit the 355.

[CW47]

April 20, 2021 - Dynamic Lower

12 inch Box Squat [Speed]: 125 pounds - 12 sets x 2 reps
Recorded a few sets to see what position this box puts me in. I was thinking it would be below parallel, but it's really not. It puts me almost right at parallel. This will probably be another good lift to help me improve speed/strength out of the hole, and I may use it as supplemental lift at some point in the future. The reps were okay today. One of the things I need to guard against is rushing through the sets on the speed days. I find myself tending to just go through the motions at times, rather than being very attentive to what I'm doing.

Paused Deadlift [Speed]: 235 pounds - 12 sets x 1 reps
This weight was fairly easy. The pausing point was inconsistent. As mentioned above, I want to be more methodical on these speed lifts and develop good habits. Will focus on that next week.

2.5 inch Deficit Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 225 Pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
This lift went really well. My calf started cramping up during the latter sets. but aside from that everything went very well. Though it seems like a super minor difference, the 2.5 inch deficit felt quite a bit better than the 3 inch deficit I've typically done. I'll stick with this for a while.