The Jungle

[Motiviert]

das it mayne! Gotta get them kiddos in the fitness game early... even if it is as a piece of cardio equipment initially

Loled

[400Lb Gorilla]

[Woody-5]

hella fine first squat day back after the max test. I always found those to be the toughest.

Looked like you were ready to go for a 2nd rep of 410 with the bands before you racked it.

[Raigs]

Them weights!!! That’s so much weight moved. Very impressive!!

[400Lb Gorilla]

hella fine first squat day back after the max test. I always found those to be the toughest.

Looked like you were ready to go for a 2nd rep of 410 with the bands before you racked it.

Thanks Wood and yeah usually the week after test is a rough week back lol. The big pause before I reracked it was not me considering a second rep, just letting the heavy weight sit on my back a little longer. Not sure a second rep would have made it back out of the hole

Them weights!!! That’s so much weight moved. Very impressive!!

Thanks, getting back up there.

[400Lb Gorilla]

SST Week 1
Bench Day

Benchpress
Warm-up
45x12
95x7
135x5
185x3

Working Sets
210x3
240x3
270x3
280x1
290x1

Reverse Band
300x3
225x2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Z-Press
95x5
115x5
135x3
145x3
145x3

DB Lateral Raises
25x7, 7, 7, 7, 10

Floor Press
185x5
185(+75)x5, 5, 3
185x5

JM Press
95x7, 7, 7

DB Curls
25x12, 12

Not too shabby of a start for benchpress this run. Except for a form/technique issue on the 290 single, everything was smooth and had the proper amount of effort required.
Benchpress was solid. The reason there are so many doubles with 225 and bands is that is the speed work. I didn't feel like making a title line for it... cause I am lazy. Some of the reps today were paused, others not so much.
As usual the Z-Press/Laterals superset was a great way to smash shoulders and arms.
Floor press will be done with the chains from now on. I might not get as much bar weight on there, but the triceps were smoked after this.
JM presses were pretty good considering triceps felt like rubber
DB curls were just obligatory for bench day lol

[Motiviert]

Lol at last sentence

[Raigs]

Nice start on this run. Lots of accessory work there. Even though it lighter for you that still had to smoke you?

I like the addition of bands to the bench for speed work. I haven’t really thought about it that way.

You are making me itch to get back into real weights

[Motiviert]

Mirin those reverse band sets

[Woody-5]

225 reverse band must have been lightning speed for you! How did the 300 triple feel?

Great work all around, mirin dat accessory volume.

[400Lb Gorilla]

Lol at last sentence

A throw back to the bro days of lifting

Nice start on this run. Lots of accessory work there. Even though it lighter for you that still had to smoke you?

I like the addition of bands to the bench for speed work. I haven’t really thought about it that way.

You are making me itch to get back into real weights

I have tried chains on bench for the same effect but I do not have the proper set up for that. And yeah despite the relatively light weight of those accessories my triceps were blasted. I think the main reason my arms gassed out first is a combo of every exercise hit triceps and the fact that I probably need to adjust to waking up and working out... instead of waking up, going to work, then working out lol.

Mirin those reverse band sets

Thanks Mo, if you do enough of them they will wear you out

225 reverse band must have been lightning speed for you! How did the 300 triple feel?

Great work all around, mirin dat accessory volume.

Thanks Wood. The 300x3 was fairly easy. Felt like 225-240 at the bottom. Yeah the 225x2 sets went up stupidly fast. I try to do that 3 seconds down then explode back up tempo.



Thought I had gotten a video of one of the 225x2 sets but I guess not

[400Lb Gorilla]

SST Week 1
Deads Day

Deadlift
Warm-up Sets
135x5
225x5
315x3

Working Sets
340x3
390x3
440x3
455x1
470x1
435(+75)x1

Paused Squats
135x3
185x3
225x3
285x3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Romanian Deads
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5, 5, 5

Goodmornings
135x7
145x7
155x7, 7

Posterior chain is officially dead
Deadlifts were only difficult because I have decided to put myself through the effort of using hook grip. The only set I switched to mixed grip was the 435 with chains. By the time I had pulled 390, 440, 455, and 470 with hook grip my thumbs were destroyed lol.
Paused squats are one my favorite hated exercises. Program says do these at 70% of max so I stuck with it. I used a slightly narrower stance than I have been squatting with because I wanted to get more depth from these and really stretch the quads and hamstrings out.
Romanian deads and goodmornings both seemed to be on point for hitting hamstrings and glutes. A little lower back pump towards the end but mostly the muscles that were supposed to be working

[Raigs]

That’s the worst combo. Deads then squats going to wreck me you for a bit. Nice weights for the first week. Does it feel light?

[400Lb Gorilla]

That’s the worst combo. Deads then squats going to wreck me you for a bit. Nice weights for the first week. Does it feel light?

I used to do deads and front squats together pretty regularly. The deads felt pretty light. The squats felt a little heavier than 285 should have felt, but I was attempting a 3 second pause each rep so that might have made it seem worse

[Motiviert]

3 things

I like that music

What do you listen to while lifting

How's the temp in your garage?

[Woody-5]

deadlift volume then paused squats? No thanks, jeff

hella impressive volume on the PC, you're entire body must be wrecked.

How long did the whole session take you?

[400Lb Gorilla]

3 things

I like that music

What do you listen to while lifting

How's the temp in your garage?

lol thanks, That song is titled "Farewell to Erin" by a man named Ricky Mier. He is playing single string style banjo and bass.

If I have tunes blasting it is usually a wide variety of music ranging from country and bluegrass to rap and metal. Depends on the day I think lol. Deadlifts get bands like All That Remains, Parkway Drive, and Meshuggah.
But squats will usually have something a little more toned down like Skillet, Disturbed, or System of a Down.

Lately the temp has been fairly low. Up here in VA we have been getting it mild this week... well, mild for August in the south lol. Today I would guess the temp was around 80 outside. My garage is a few degrees cooler in the morning and early afternoon. Towards the late afternoon, when I normally work out, the sun is hitting that garage door behind my rack and it can get pretty damn intense quickly lol

deadlift volume then paused squats? No thanks, jeff

hella impressive volume on the PC, you're entire body must be wrecked.

How long did the whole session take you?

Yesterday's session took slightly more than an hour. The deadlifts, RDLs, and GMs together probably took less time than the paused squats. Glutes, hammies, lower back, and even the traps are feeling it today.

[400Lb Gorilla]

SST Week 1
Press Day
Weight: 199 pounds

Press
Warm-ups
45x10
95x5

Working Sets
135x3
155x3
175x3
185x1
195x1

Single-arm DB Press
45x5
65x5, 5, 5
70x5


Thats it for the day. I was going to put shrugs in today but the traps were already sore from yesterday and I could feel them working today. Feltgoodman.jpg
As you guys can see I have added press day back into the routine. This gives the lift more structure throughout the program and also keeps me accountable for my shoulder work. Also helps me not do something stupid like keep trying to press 225 every week
Presses were great but, much like the rest of this week, there was nothing that really stressed my strength on them.
SA DB presses are one of my favorite lifts. Done standing and one side at a time(obviously), this lift will usually tell me which arm is lacking in strength compared to the other. I kept the weight and reps moderate today because I wanted a starting point to build from.

[400Lb Gorilla]

SST Week 1
Front Squat Day
Weight: 197 pounds

Front Squats
Warm-ups
95x5
135x3

Working Sets
205x3
235x3
265x3
275x1
285x1

Chin-ups
BWx12, 12, 10, 10, 10

BB Calf Raises(standing)
275x15, 15, 15
225x15, 15, 15
135x20, 20


That was it. Despite the odd amount of volume in the calf raise sets, this was not a a prolonged workout. My boss called this morning and informed me I needed to be in two hours early for a meeting with his boss.
Front squats were, like the rest of the week, easy but not too easy. Felt good to get in there with some kind of plan and get the work done.
Cin-ups were nice. I can finally hit double digits consistently on them. Just need to get my pull-ups back to that level.
Calf raises were boring but lettuce beef reel tea, calf raises are never exciting My lower legs are on fire, so I guess I did something right.

[Raigs]

Nice work on this chin ups. The key to getting a lot of pull-ups is doing them a lot even on leg day. Like you are doing!

Calf raises are boring but the most satisfying when the ladies are mirin

[400Lb Gorilla]

Nice work on this chin ups. The key to getting a lot of pull-ups is doing them a lot even on leg day. Like you are doing!

Calf raises are boring but the most satisfying when the ladies are mirin

lol on the ladies mirin calves. If that were true there would be a lot more bros working legs instead of chest and bis all week

Yeah I kind of do chin-ups/pull-ups all day at work or home. any time I am wandering through my garage I will usually hit up 8-10 . If I pass something at work that looks like it can support my weight, I do the same thing. Gets me a lot of weird looks but oddly none of those weird looks come from anyone that looks like they workout

[Raigs]

Haha 😂 weird looks from the non lifters. I can only imagine what they are thinking.

[400Lb Gorilla]

SST Week 2
Squat Day
Weight: 198 pounds

Squat
Warm-ups
135x5
135x5
185x5
225x3

Working Sets
245x5
280x5
320x5

Box Squats
135x3
185x3
225x3, 3, 3, 3

Speed Deads(w/ Chains)
135x2
225x2
315x2
365(+75)x2, 2, 2, 2

BB Glute Bridges
135x7
185x7, 7, 7

Standing Calf Raises
135x10
185x10
225x10, 15, 15, 15

Hip and Knee mobility work

Good start to Week 2.
Squats were great. Slight form issue on the last rep of 320x5, but nothing too bad. Just need to keep it tight.
Box squats were done with a very wide stance and the "box" was above parallel. Got a video of one of the 225 sets. To be honest, I have never really clicked with box squats, and I dont think its gonna happen anytime soon lol.
Speed deads felt great today. I think 365 is a good bar bar weight for these. If I do anything else to these it might be adding some weight to the chains.
Gute bridges and calf raises were boring but they both hit their target muscles. I know 185 is light for glute bridges but it FELT heavy so

[400Lb Gorilla]

[Woody-5]

Bitchin work! speed deads w/ 365 and chains gives me wood (NH)

Fronts and back squats both looking strong. Love the double digit chins @ 200 BW. Lol I used to work with a guy who would grab anything he could and do pullups his entire shift- door frames, machinery, fork lift...

[400Lb Gorilla]

Thanks Wood. I think those double digit chins are the greatest accomplishment of 2020 so far

SST Week 2
Bench Day

Benchpress
Warm-ups
45x10
95x5
135x5

Working Sets
195x5
225x5
255x5

Speed Sets(Rev Bands)
245x2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Z-Press
95x5
145x5, 5
165x3, 3, 3

DB Lateral Raises
25x7
35x7, 7, 7, 7, 7

Floor Press
185x5
185(+75)x5, 5, 5, 5, 5

DB Curl
35x10, 10, 10

JM Press
95x7
115x7
135x7, 7

Killed it! Everything was smooth sailing today. Even threw in a paused rep at the end of the 255x5 set cause I was feeling it. Bench and speed bench work was just clicking today and strength was there to support it.
Z-Press and lateral combo felt good. I might bump the weight 5 pounds next week for Z-press. Lateral weight stays where its at. Floor press was solid. Last couple of sets had some grinding to it so might keep the weight the same next week since there will be heavier bench work ahead of it.
Curls and JM presses finished this one off pretty well.

[400Lb Gorilla]

Videos today:

Bench: 225x5, 255x5
RB Bench: 245x2
Z-Press: 145x5, 165x3
Floor press: 185(+75)x5

+a little older Flogging Molly

[Raigs]

Really nice work over the Past two days. Coming here gets me motivated for my lifts.

Especially speed dead’s at 365 I mean seriously strong.

I need to start looking at thing at work like oh I can do pull ups on that

[400Lb Gorilla]

Really nice work over the Past two days. Coming here gets me motivated for my lifts.

Especially speed dead’s at 365 I mean seriously strong.

I need to start looking at thing at work like oh I can do pull ups on that

Thanks, and yeah the deadlift has always been my favorite lift, which is probably why my deadlift to squat ratio is way off when you compare it to other powerlifting types.

Do it, everyone be mirin some pullups and chinups lol. You might even motivate a couple of coworkers to start!

[400Lb Gorilla]

SST Week 2
Deadlift and Front Squat Day
Weight: 198 pounds

Disclaimer: I got some car work coming up tomorrow or the next day, depending on when it stops raining, so I needed to combine a couple of my days.

Deadlifts
Warm-ups
135x5
225x5

Working Sets
315x5
365x5
415x5

Front Squats
Warm-ups
135x5

Working Sets
190x5
220x5
250x5

Paused Squats
225x3
295x3, 3, 3
225x3, 3

Romanian Deadlifts
135x5
225x5, 5, 5, 5

Goodmornings
135x5
145x5
155x5, 5, 5

Calf Raises
135x15
225x15. 15
275x15, 12, 12

Whooooo! lol my legs, lower back, and soul are all feeling this one
Deadlifts were easy. Getting back into the groove of using hook grip, which always makes it better.
Front squats were a little tougher but nothing too difficult.
Paused squats were a grinding bicth. Had to lighten them up by a lot. I thought the third set of 295 was gonna leave the bar on the pins.
RDLs were moderate weight but low rep. This has never been a lift I use a lot so I am trying to get the hammies to feel these. I got a vid on one of the 225 sets. Any feed back would be great. Its the last 20-30 seconds of the video to speed you along
Goodmornings were alright. Nothing heavy, but they definitely got the hamstrings and glutes burned out the rest of the way. 10-20 seconds rest on these.
Calf raises were thrown in because I made the mistake of watching my deadlift video Them calves look so terrible on video. I promise they are not that puny looking in real life