Calling anyone interested in a friendly strength competition for this spring/summer

[ECGordyn]

Eli, really good lifts man especially squat. Back angle stays tight even through the grind.

DL reps wouldn't count in competition because you wouldn't get the down signal. But in the vid you can see for a split second you fully lock out the rep before grip gives out. Isometric holds at the top would be my suggestion, the lighter the weight, the longer the hold.

Jade nice grind too.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Yesterday I iced my hip and the day before I foam rolled it pretty good. Feeling much better now

Presses-
175x3
175x3
175x3

Curls-
135x5 (pretty cheated)

Good mornings-
225x15

Standing calf raises
+135x10
+225x10
+315x10

[EliKoehn]

^^ Thanks EC, and glad your back is treating you better Savior

C6W Week 4, Friday

Flat Bench:
- 275 x 3, 285 x 2-4 (4 achieved ~@8), 300 x 1-2 (2 achieved @8!)

Pendlay Row:
- 225 x 10, 225 x 10, 235 x 8*, 245 x 6

Lateral Raise:
- 25s x 12, 25s x 12, 30s x 10, 35s x 8

Lat Pulldown:
- 150 x 12, 150 x 12, 170 x 10, 190 x 8

Optional Exercise 1 (Decline Sit-Ups)
- 3 x 8 at bodyweight

Optional Exercise 2 (Barbell Curl)
- 3 x 8 at 100

This ended up being one of those great sessions, despite walking in less than fully focused and motivated. I can hardly believe that 300 was so easy! I regret not filming it, and also probably should have AMRAPd it since I have two days of rest and that truly felt no more than @8. That bodes well for next week's bench, which will certainly be filmed.

Feeling more mind-muscle connection and contraction in the lats with the pulldowns, and the curls were cleaner than I was expecting, sans a couple of reps which were still in good shape if not fully strict.

*Topped the last rep just shy of my diaphragm, so I rested about 10 seconds and did another to compensate.

[jademonkey]

^^ Thanks EC, and glad your back is treating you better Savior

C6W Week 4, Friday

Flat Bench:
- 275 x 3, 285 x 2-4 (4 achieved ~@8), 300 x 1-2 (2 achieved @8!)

Pendlay Row:
- 225 x 10, 225 x 10, 235 x 8*, 245 x 6

Lateral Raise:
- 25s x 12, 25s x 12, 30s x 10, 35s x 8

Lat Pulldown:
- 150 x 12, 150 x 12, 170 x 10, 190 x 8

Optional Exercise 1 (Decline Sit-Ups)
- 3 x 8 at bodyweight

Optional Exercise 2 (Barbell Curl)
- 3 x 8 at 100

This ended up being one of those great sessions, despite walking in less than fully focused and motivated. I can hardly believe that 300 was so easy! I regret not filming it, and also probably should have AMRAPd it since I have two days of rest and that truly felt no more than @8. That bodes well for next week's bench, which will certainly be filmed.

Feeling more mind-muscle connection and contraction in the lats with the pulldowns, and the curls were cleaner than I was expecting, sans a couple of reps which were still in good shape if not fully strict.

*Topped the last rep just shy of my diaphragm, so I rested about 10 seconds and did another to compensate.

Bench is good and I'm sure feels great, but I'm more impressed by those rows if they are anything as strict as the earlier vids. When I do 225 pendlays it's after unloading deadlift and it's like 5 or 6 cheaty reps.

[EliKoehn]

Bench is good and I'm sure feels great, but I'm more impressed by those rows if they are anything as strict as the earlier vids. When I do 225 pendlays it's after unloading deadlift and it's like 5 or 6 cheaty reps.

Thanks! And yeah, I'm actually kind of amazed at how well I'm responding to these. I would say judging by my honest perception while doing them that they looked pretty much the same as the 225 x 8 I uploaded recently. My back is naturally strong I guess, even though I make up for that with weak legs.

[WolfRose7]

On deadlift grip

It looks like you are trying to grip really deep in your hand like a bench Eli? Rather than further down towards the fingers.

[ECGordyn]

Bench and OHP today. Almost had 6 reps. Anyway this feels like my upper limit for now so I'll pivot next week and continue lighter next block starting 13 or 14 June.

[EliKoehn]

On deadlift grip

It looks like you are trying to grip really deep in your hand like a bench Eli? Rather than further down towards the fingers.

Yeah, you're right. I forgot that you're supposed to hold the bar knuckle depth inside your hand. Have been focused on hip positioning with the cues (where it looks like I've made a lot of improvement) and forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder.

And... Well, I think I finally hurt myself.

Woke up and experienced intense pain while bending slightly just to spit out my toothpaste brushing my teeth this morning. Where the spine meets the pelvis on the left. Standing and walking do not hurt (nor any hip motion per se) but sitting and spinal flexion/extension is pain inducing. Iced it and spent the morning in bed and it's already feeling a little better (for instance, I am sitting down to write this and the pain is much better but still there). Hope to the Good Lord this is gone by Monday. Had something similar very early on deadlifting years ago, and it didn't last that long. What amazes me is I had zero pain for the 5+ hours I was awake last night after my workout. If there was an acute injury of any sort, I would think it would hurt pretty immediately after being inflicted.

Not going to stop lifting unless it's absolutely unfeasible.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Woke up and experienced intense pain while bending slightly just to spit out my toothpaste brushing my teeth this morning. Where the spine meets the pelvis on the left. Standing and walking do not hurt (nor any hip motion per se) but sitting and spinal flexion/extension is pain inducing. Iced it and spent the morning in bed and it's already feeling a little better (for instance, I am sitting down to write this and the pain is much better but still there). H

Lol sounds like my nagging aches and pains are transferring over to you. When my back was hurting, sitting seemed to bother it the most and standing didn't bother it at all



-----

Bench press-
295x6
295x6

These sets were pretty hard and according to a E1RM site, 295x6 is about 345.....das not it mane

Pullups-
BWx5
+10 x 5
+20 x 5
+20 x 8

RDL
315x5
315x5
(took these pretty easy cause I don't want to interfere with deadlifts next time)

Standing calf raises
315x12
315x12
(balls of feet on a board) 275x17 I think


Bloat life pics.

This one was from a different day


From today (you can see how bad I need to work on my calves):

[EliKoehn]

Lol sounds like my nagging aches and pains are transferring over to you. When my back was hurting, sitting seemed to bother it the most and standing didn't bother it at all



-----

Bench press-
295x6
295x6

These sets were pretty hard and according to a E1RM site, 295x6 is about 345.....das not it mane

Pullups-
BWx5
+10 x 5
+20 x 5
+20 x 8

RDL
315x5
315x5
(took these pretty easy cause I don't want to interfere with deadlifts next time)

Standing calf raises
315x12
315x12
(balls of feet on a board) 275x17 I think


Bloat life pics.

This one was from a different day


From today (you can see how bad I need to work on my calves):

Well if it's your situation at least it won't stop me from lifting lol. As long as nothing's functionally injured pain is not going to make me stop me just because it's unpleasant.

Dude, that is a humble brag... xD You look like Conan

[SaviorSelfJT]

Well if it's your situation at least it won't stop me from lifting lol. As long as nothing's functionally injured pain is not going to make me stop me just because it's unpleasant.

Dude, that is a humble brag... xD You look like Conan

I think you've got the right idea, seems like with back tweaks its always better to try and still train with it, but with lighter loads if needed

Thanks, maybe its cause I used to think I had good calve muscles but that was back when I was much lighter. I bet they are still the same size even though I'm much heavier now

[ECGordyn]

Savior your arms are trees man. Could feed a village with those. #StopWorldHunger

Eli, sucks about your pain man. I can't give medical advice but I've heard people who've had back injuries say that continuing to move is best because it prevents scar tissue from forming, although of course that depends on the injury. Cat/Camel is a good back movement, as are some rotational movements: windmills, bent press/side press, etc. Camarija had back pain last year he could tell you what he did.

[CW47]

Eli, super impressed by your rows. Sucks about the lower back. Maybe try mixing in some stretching. I've found that stretching my hips and hamstrings along with the lower back to be enormously helpful when I've had lower back issues in the past.

EC, great pressing work. You definitely had that 6th rep in you.

Saviour, strong benching. E1RM's are always sketchy, but especially if they're based off of more than 3 reps (at least for me).

[CW47]

Max Lower today.

Deficit Deadlift - 3 inches: 345 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
20 pound PR, and it went up easily. Was probably around an 8.5 RPE. Only issue was with the belt. I had to loosen it 2 notches from where I normally have it to be able to get down deep enough. It still wasn't really enough, and I ended up getting forward on my toes too much as a result. I almost feel like I'm better off without the belt on this lift. May just need to loosen the belt another notch though...



Front Squat: 125 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Started out with the same weight I ended on last time I did front squats. It was relatively easy. I shouldn't have any problem increasing to 135 next week.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Savior your arms are trees man. Could feed a village with those. #StopWorldHunger

Thanks, definitely not lean by any stretch of the imagination but feel like I've got decent size

Max Lower today.

Deficit Deadlift - 3 inches: 345 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
20 pound PR, and it went up easily. Was probably around an 8.5 RPE. Only issue was with the belt. I had to loosen it 2 notches from where I normally have it to be able to get down deep enough. It still wasn't really enough, and I ended up getting forward on my toes too much as a result. I almost feel like I'm better off without the belt on this lift. May just need to loosen the belt another notch though...

About the belt/deficit deadlift

There's an interesting article by rippetoe (before he went insane lol) about this: https://startingstrength.com/article...d_the_deadlift

Basically he thinks a standard 4 inch belt is way too much for most people to deadlift in, and to get a narrower one.

If money isn't an issue maybe something to try

[CW47]

About the belt/deficit deadlift

There's an interesting article by rippetoe (before he went insane lol) about this: https://startingstrength.com/article...d_the_deadlift

Basically he thinks a standard 4 inch belt is way too much for most people to deadlift in, and to get a narrower one.

If money isn't an issue maybe something to try

That is a great point. I totally forget that they make thinner belts. I'm definitely going to look into that. Thank you sir!


Did my Max Upper workout this morning.
Bench Press: 165 pounds + 2 Chains (37.2 pounds) x 1 rep [PR]
This turned into a major grind. 155 went up easily, and I was expecting 165 to be about a 9 RPE, but it was definitely a 10. Part of the issue was the setup, which wasn't near as tight as I wanted it to be on the PR attempt. My left hip started cramping up during the setup initially. I had to reset and start again, and wasn't able to get into the best position. In the video, I included the rep at 155 to show the difference in the stability of the setup.



Larsen Press: 125 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Only done these for 5x5 previously. I'm going to try out higher reps for a while. Hypothetically, it should help with building up the stabilizer muscles, so I think it makes sense. We'll see how it plays out...

[EliKoehn]

Max Lower today.

Deficit Deadlift - 3 inches: 345 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
20 pound PR, and it went up easily. Was probably around an 8.5 RPE. Only issue was with the belt. I had to loosen it 2 notches from where I normally have it to be able to get down deep enough. It still wasn't really enough, and I ended up getting forward on my toes too much as a result. I almost feel like I'm better off without the belt on this lift. May just need to loosen the belt another notch though...



Front Squat: 125 pounds - 5 sets x 5 reps
Started out with the same weight I ended on last time I did front squats. It was relatively easy. I shouldn't have any problem increasing to 135 next week.

Nice! I foresee a short road to 405, especially since that's a deficit.

Plenty of rest, icing and stretching is ebbing away the pain and I'm feeling good. Air squats cause me no pain and the same for the deadlift motion, only very slightly. I am ready to get under a heavy bar and fight it.

Enthused for High Intensity Week...

"... but in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel and left it on the battlefield, and we who found it... are just men; not gods, not giants, just men. And the secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan. You must learn its discipline; for no one, no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts - this you can trust."



I love this movie and its story. Better than any other I've seen, it conceptualizes the idealized pursuit of strength in a morally ambiguous world of hardship via this cryptic riddle of steel which has no immediate answer. Cheesy fantasy presentation aside, what a fascinating and inspiring concept.

[EliKoehn]

C6W Week 5, Monday

Squat:
355 x 1-4 (3 achieved @10)



Deadlift:
320 x 4, 335 x 4, 345 x 2

Optional Lower Body 1 (Seated Calf Raises):
3 x 6 w/ 115 added

Optional Lower Body 2 (Leg Extension):
3 x 6 at 200

Disappointed not to have gotten four reps on that squat, but considering it's 10 pounds above my previous 2RM, and only the following session since that, so not overly much. I need to control the eccentric better as you can visibly see I come down fairly fast and then lose some tightness at the bottom of the first rep. Looks like depth is there but I'm not sure about that back angle/posture. Seems improved over a couple months ago if still a little lacking.

Sobering thought that my next squat session is the max attempt...

[DoMoreWeighLess]

Got some trips

305x3 bench

365x3 beltless squat pr


peak sets today. felt strong, especially on squat. summer break starts tomorrow, I'm excited to hit this **** harder. Should have a max week coming up in about 2 weeks.

[DoMoreWeighLess]

Savior lookin good! Hope I look just a tiny bit like that in the future.

Tough squats Eli. Respect! if the weight is going up thats a plus, and there's going to be **** days. it's the nature od the squats. I used to neglect squats cuz I hated that ****. Now I still do but I make sure I'm gradually getting stronger.

Max week is where you will notice these hard days pay off. Then youl really have fun.

[ECGordyn]

C6W Week 5, Monday

Squat:
355 x 1-4 (3 achieved @10)



Deadlift:
320 x 4, 335 x 4, 345 x 2

Optional Lower Body 1 (Seated Calf Raises):
3 x 6 w/ 115 added

Optional Lower Body 2 (Leg Extension):
3 x 6 at 200

Disappointed not to have gotten four reps on that squat, but considering it's 10 pounds above my previous 2RM, and only the following session since that, so not overly much. I need to control the eccentric better as you can visibly see I come down fairly fast and then lose some tightness at the bottom of the first rep. Looks like depth is there but I'm not sure about that back angle/posture. Seems improved over a couple months ago if still a little lacking.

Sobering thought that my next squat session is the max attempt...

Great work man. What max will you attempt next week?

It does look a bit loose at the bottom, and also when you watch your video at half speed, you can see that you shift forward at the bottom, especially first rep, a bit better second rep, then third rep looks ok. Your upper back looks tight and locked, that's good.

Do you have time to do some pause squats or pin squats, or both, maybe on your DL day this week? Those squats can let you feel tightness at the bottom and maintaining tightness when you start to drive back up.

[EliKoehn]

Savior lookin good! Hope I look just a tiny bit like that in the future.

Tough squats Eli. Respect! if the weight is going up thats a plus, and there's going to be **** days. it's the nature od the squats. I used to neglect squats cuz I hated that ****. Now I still do but I make sure I'm gradually getting stronger.

Max week is where you will notice these hard days pay off. Then youl really have fun.

Very nice sets. Impressive depth on that squat, too. You seem to have a lot of strength coming off the bottom in particular. Does it help you to audibly count though lol?

Great work man. What max will you attempt next week?

It does look a bit loose at the bottom, and also when you watch your video at half speed, you can see that you shift forward at the bottom, especially first rep, a bit better second rep, then third rep looks ok. Your upper back looks tight and locked, that's good.

Do you have time to do some pause squats or pin squats, or both, maybe on your DL day this week? Those squats can let you feel tightness at the bottom and maintaining tightness when you start to drive back up.

Thanks - owing to your constructive feedback and others', it's encouraging to see some of these cues and points of form become consciously familiar, though that full process isn't over yet. So even though that was probably C letter grade form objectively speaking, at least I can easily see what specifically went wrong.

The program calls for the weight used for B/S/DL on week 5 to be multiplied by an additional 0.03 for each rep above 1 on the 1-4 set, so in this case: 355 x 1.06 = 376.3 l 375. So had I gotten four, I'd be attempting 385.

Regardless, it's exciting stuff to be adding 40 pounds to the total if I get it, and that in hardly more than a month.

EDIT: And yes, the two optional lower body slots on Friday, I should put to good use for tech work on the squat. Between pauses and pins, which of the two would be better for addressing this specific issue, you think?

When it comes to actually maxing, should I do one lift each on MWF, respectively? That might give me the best edge for all of them, but I don't like the idea of an entire week's training comprising only three working sets. Maybe do them all on the same day like a real powerlifter?

[ECGordyn]

Very nice sets. Impressive depth on that squat, too. You seem to have a lot of strength coming off the bottom in particular. Does it help you to audibly count though lol?



Thanks - owing to your constructive feedback and others', it's encouraging to see some of these cues and points of form become consciously familiar, though that full process isn't over yet. So even though that was probably C letter grade form objectively speaking, at least I can easily see what specifically went wrong.

The program calls for the weight used for B/S/DL on week 5 to be multiplied by an additional 0.03 for each rep above 1 on the 1-4 set, so in this case: 355 x 1.06 = 376.3 l 375. So had I gotten four, I'd be attempting 385.

Regardless, it's exciting stuff to be adding 40 pounds to the total if I get it, and that in hardly more than a month.

EDIT: And yes, the two optional lower body slots on Friday, I should put to good use for tech work on the squat. Between pauses and pins, which of the two would be better for addressing this specific issue, you think?

When it comes to actually maxing, should I do one lift each on MWF, respectively? That might give me the best edge for all of them, but I don't like the idea of an entire week's training comprising only three working sets. Maybe do them all on the same day like a real powerlifter?

Either one, honestly, or both. 2x3 @6-7 (around 300 lbs) of each would give you a decent sense, or 3-4x3 of one.

The slightly greater benefit to pause squat is that you create the bottom position based entirely on your body and movement pattern. Just pause long enough that the stretch reflex dissipates.

This vid explains it better than I can, especially what he says about rocking forward at the bottom needing pause squat.



I know you take your DL seriously, so you might do it on a separate day. Squat & bench on 1 day is fine. Real PL meets can last all day, so the lifters have a long time between squat attempts and DL attempts. Different from the usual gym day for recreational lifters.

Yeah 375 sounds good. F*kin do it!

[DoMoreWeighLess]

@Eli when **** gets heavy or hard I lose count lmfao.

I find the bounce to be one of the best features of high bar. Especially at such a large range of motion. I've been focusing on stability and form at higher reps, but heavy low reps almost require it. I approach my bench the same way.

What's funny about my form is my best progress was after getting out of shape. My old gym buddy thinks it's because my muscles atrophied, so I didn't have imbalances to fight anymore when I focused on the form training. I say that because I was squatting for years with struggling form. That **** is hard to learn man, but always try to improve it. It will save your back and joints.

Plus 1 on the pause squats. They help teach you where you should be when squatting, plus exploding out of the bottom. Dumbbell or plate pause front squats can help as well. Hip and ankle stretching never hurts.

[jademonkey]

Attempted sumo deadlifts yesterday and they suuuucked. My lower back seems to be perpetually a bit sore and I was feeling sluggish and unable to keep my back tight enough, kept getting out of position. Royally failed a 485 attempt, after which even 455 was too much of a struggle so just did a couple lighter singles and a deficit triple.

Pin press and all my accessories felt fine.

[DoMoreWeighLess]

Attempted sumo deadlifts yesterday and they suuuucked. My lower back seems to be perpetually a bit sore and I was feeling sluggish and unable to keep my back tight enough, kept getting out of position. Royally failed a 485 attempt, after which even 455 was too much of a struggle so just did a couple lighter singles and a deficit triple.

Pin press and all my accessories felt fine.

Sounds like it's time for a belt. If you are trying to stick with beltless, could just need some extra conditioning with your abs and back. I struggle keeping a tight upper body too.

[jademonkey]

Sounds like it's time for a belt. If you are trying to stick with beltless, could just need some extra conditioning with your abs and back. I struggle keeping a tight upper body too.

Yeah, I'm considering adding direct lower back work. It's helped in the past, might help again. Also maybe need more frequency or just more reps total. Lately only doing singles plus a couple backoff sets once a week. When I hit it it feels great but I'm really inconsistent with form lately.

[ECGordyn]

Yeah, I'm considering adding direct lower back work. It's helped in the past, might help again. Also maybe need more frequency or just more reps total. Lately only doing singles plus a couple backoff sets once a week. When I hit it it feels great but I'm really inconsistent with form lately.

Jade, do you foam roll, or do any prehab? A belt won't prevent injury. Try things like cat/camel, windmills, TGUs, and light rotational movements.

Camaro had a QL issue last year, maybe he'll chip in.

[Camarija]

Camaro had a QL issue last year, maybe he'll chip in.

It really depends how and where the pain is, but this works for me:







And whichever one feels the best, do it every day, multiple times a day... forever :P

I healed up fast, but because I wasn't consistent with my stretches, and I backed off of weightlifting altogether out of fear, I developed some phantom pains and my QL was just trying to protect me from hurting myself again. What really helped was consistently stretching and working my way back up the weight, pumping blood back into the muscles. Similar philosophy to Bill Starr's muscle belly rehab protocol I guess.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Good mornings (warm up for deadlifts):
95x5
135x5
135x5
135x5

Deadlift
135x1
225x1
315x1
405x1
445x4

weight almost fel out of my hands -- in my left hand it rolled down to my fingertips. Right hand was holding strong though. Still got all reps though thankfully

Good mornings (as an actuual exercise)
135x5
185x5
225x6
225x6
225x5

Shrugs-
135x10
225x10
315x10
405x8
405x8
405x8

not greatest form, but upper back annihilated so mission accomplished

Tricep extension
95x6
95x6
95x6
95x6
95x6