2023 Collaborative Training Log and Discussion

[EliKoehn]

Worked up to a 455 single on deadlift today to gauge unacclimated difficulty, with only one preceding deadlift session last week. It was fairly easy, though grip would have been the limiting factor if I had gone heavier. Now I have a training max I can base intensity ratios around for subsequent sessions. With dedication, 545 might be on the horizon of a solid mesocycle of regular intense training of this lift. Interestingly, 405 (which I hadn't done in over two months) caused me to see stars without feeling especially difficult, but 455 went up fairly easily without any kind of acute sign of difficulty outside of my hands starting to unfurl at the top. Time to get my forearms back in trim.

Conventional Deadlift (Mixed, Beltless):
135 x 8, 225 x 4, 315 x 2, 405 x 1, 455 x 1

[EliKoehn]

Lol

At an age where eligibility starts to appreciate, too. I'd still be incredibly cautious and reluctant to marry anyone the way things are today, though. Even if so, multiple years of dating are a minimum requirement.

Yeah, you can make it as much lower back dominant or hamstring / glute dominant as you want depending on form

The important thing is planting your feet on the platform tightly, locking in your ankles, and try locking in your knees asuch as naturally allowed to keep it constant tension on the posterior chain

It works the whole back side, and no need to go very heavy due to leverage weight being harder than a normal deadlift

My sprints have gotten noticeably faster

Somehow I missed this. I'll give this a try sometime soon! Even as auxiliary work for the deadlift, I'm thinking this could be useful for deloading the whole hinge movement pattern and otherwise for deliberate weak point training, particularly of the QL, which of course is at high risk of injury with heavy deadlifts, but not directly braced for this on its own in only being conditioned by them. I think I'm probably at the point where I really should wear a belt and it's stupid not too, but even still...

[SaviorSelfJT]

Just to give you guys some insight into how my diet is making me feel and look so much better.
Pros
Asthma gone
Arthritis pain and inflammation gone
Heart burn gone
Sciatica gone
Acne gone
Can eat my fill and don’t gain weight
Easily surpass protein requirements
Only thing I avoid is sugar/starch
Not hungry all day long like I used to be
Weight loss
Maintenance of muscle mass

Cons
Occasional craving for ice cream or pizza (I go Greek Yogurt/choc whey here) or make carb free “meatza”

Sometimes I get calf cramps
Less power? It’s possible


Today I cooked a pan of food that will last two days
3 pounds of lean ground turkey, carton of eggs, carton of whites, ham


Makes several meals. Simple

Really glad that you are liking the diet/cut

The more I read about it, it really sounds like the best thing you can do for your health is to restrict calories and be at a lighter weight. Which conflicts with lifting since we want to be big as possible. But sounds like we're all making good compromises here

Worked up to a 455 single on deadlift today to gauge unacclimated difficulty, with only one preceding deadlift session last week. It was fairly easy, though grip would have been the limiting factor if I had gone heavier. Now I have a training max I can base intensity ratios around for subsequent sessions. With dedication, 545 might be on the horizon of a solid mesocycle of regular intense training of this lift. Interestingly, 405 (which I hadn't done in over two months) caused me to see stars without feeling especially difficult, but 455 went up fairly easily without any kind of acute sign of difficulty outside of my hands starting to unfurl at the top. Time to get my forearms back in trim.

Conventional Deadlift (Mixed, Beltless):
135 x 8, 225 x 4, 315 x 2, 405 x 1, 455 x 1

Have you ever tried hook grip? Myron that you can just do 455 out of the blue


-----

Workout today, arms and really entire shoulder area are really sore from two days ago

Bench:
up to 295x2
275x5
245x7
225x7 + 185x5
185x15 (only the first 7 were full ROM, the next 8 were partials, doing as much as I can. The last rep was basically just bobbing the weight up off of my chest like half an inch lol)

Squat:
Up to 365x1
315x3
275x4

Deadlift:
up to 405 (tried hook grip)

I really like hook grip! 405 didn't hurt thaaaat much. And if felt so much stronger than mixed grip. And I can just go down and "grip it and rip it" immediately like I can with mixed grip


----------------


Another thing, I'm having a bit of an identity crisis over here with lifting if I'm using the right phrase. I've been watching some more of those Sam Sulek videos on youtube and he's turning my world upside down. I obviously know he's on a truckload of gear. But I've always believed in the dogma that machines are bad, bodybuilders look the strongest but are only mediocre because they are focused on low bodyfat, etc. But this Sam dude rarely ever does barbell lifts at all, but you can find a video of him doing easy reps with 405lb incline bench (without the cheater arch form), and easy reps with 6 plates squat with feet together, deep ROM, no belt, and heels up on plates. For someone that almost exclusively trains on machines and is that lean and trains by "chasing a pump", I'm actually mindblown that someone can have that kind of strength. And its making me re-evaluate how I train

But overall gist of his training
- training days grouped by bodypart eg chest day, arm day etc
- primarily train on machines, free weights are on the backburner
- 8 sets or so per bodypart per workout, spread between 2 or 3 exercises
- Doesn't have a particular weight/reps goal, is basically chasing a 'pump'
- Training to failure on most of these sets, and then doing partial reps or drop sets to go past

Overall gist of his dieting
- distinct cut/bulk cycles
- bulk phase mostly consists of junk food, like choc milk, cereal etc
- cut phase, very low calorie, fasted cardio in the morning, eliminate carbs (they make carb free breads, carb free condiments, pbfit instead of peanut butter, weighing portions

At first I kind of dismissed his channel as though he's just another roided out meathead showing off on social media. But his videos are chock full of useful advice/info for lifting and dieting. He deserves all the views he's getting

[EliKoehn]

@SJT, thank you, and I've experimented with hook grip on warmup sets just to see what it's like, but have never tried it on a serious lift. I have pulled 495 mixed and without chalk, though it was truly slipping by the time I locked out. With chalk, I've never had an issue with grip and my established max is only 10 pounds above that so I'm not sure it'd be useful at this stage. Plus, I really do like the grip and forearm aspect of the raw deadlift and want that to remain a factor. Probably not with anything I'm able to lift, but it seems like you could pull your fingers out of your knuckles if it gets heavy enough. Maybe that's unrealistic? I don't know.

That seems a little suspicious about that guy; not that someone on gear with a lot of training experience and dedication could become incredibly strong off of machines, but that that method is how he got there, or that there isn't some kind of other deception going on. Without having looked at his channel myself, my first thought would be that he might have many years of dedicated barbell training under his belt which can easily come back to the fore following a new approach, or maybe he doesn't actually train that way regularly but just for curated content which he has financial incentives to promote. Were it not that easy reps of 405 on the incline press is like the elite of the elite, I wouldn't be too hesitant to believe something like this with a more realistic outcome. Given that there's a huge viewership and industry around all of this, a content creator deliberately trying to capitalize on that is probably aware that they have to make their approach seem revolutionary somehow to maintain the popularity necessary for their channel's mainline success. But, if it's all real, power to him!

--

Today's session with my dad:

Bench (T&G):
315 x 1, 345 x 0*, 315 x 1 (failed on second rep), 275 x 5, 225 x 12 (all to failure)

A.S.
Supinated DB Curl:
2 x 4 w/ 60s
Dips:
2 x 8 at BW

*Since I got so many total reps of 315 on Monday, I decided to try again for a new max today after not benching in the intervening days. I got 325 fairly easily two weeks ago, but 345 was probably still too ambitious and I would have been better off retesting my max or maybe going just 5 pounds over. I got it maybe an inch off of my chest and failed, but it was a very intense attempt and I felt palpably drained afterwards and weak for the rest of the workout. I don't know if it was the failed max attempt or carryover from the deadlift yesterday, but that was taxing. It is new territory though and my body may be responding with more sensitivity for that reason.

[EliKoehn]

Brief upper session today. Unexpectedly evident that I am not fully recovered from that max attempt on Saturday (joints achy in a not strictly DOMS way). Cut it a bit shorter than originally intended.

A.S.
Flat Bench (T&G):
2 x 8 at 255 @9, 9
Chin Up
2 x 5 at BW

Dips:
1 x 8 at BW

[SaviorSelfJT]

Machine workout:

About 10 minute treadmill warmup

DB curls: 35sx6, 45sx6, 55sx7 (hammer style)
Hamstring curl: A bunch of sets at 6 reps, wasn't able to do full ROM on the last set, can't remember weight or how many sets
Quad extension: full stack x6, 8, 12, no failure
Chest press: up to full stack x12 + dropsets with lighter and lighter weight

I really wanted to use the incline smith again, but it was being hogged the whole time so used the chest press instead

Need to go later, these zoomer high school looking kids come in in packs of 4 and crowd the whole place up and its annoying as fuk
Or better yet join a better more expensive gym where it's not overcrowded

That seems a little suspicious about that guy; not that someone on gear with a lot of training experience and dedication could become incredibly strong off of machines, but that that method is how he got there, or that there isn't some kind of other deception going on. Without having looked at his channel myself, my first thought would be that he might have many years of dedicated barbell training under his belt which can easily come back to the fore following a new approach, or maybe he doesn't actually train that way regularly but just for curated content which he has financial incentives to promote. Were it not that easy reps of 405 on the incline press is like the elite of the elite, I wouldn't be too hesitant to believe something like this with a more realistic outcome. Given that there's a huge viewership and industry around all of this, a content creator deliberately trying to capitalize on that is probably aware that they have to make their approach seem revolutionary somehow to maintain the popularity necessary for their channel's mainline success. But, if it's all real, power to him!

It's definitely possible he has an earlier strength training background in the past, I don't think I ever remember him talking about how he used to train. I don't think it's likely he's using fake plates or anything, I looked about found multiple videos of the 405lb incline bench and they were at different gyms with different style plates which would make it harder to pull off

[SaviorSelfJT]

Holy chit boyos, I haven't felt this strong in a very long time. When I was warming up with 225 on bench, it felt like I could have thrown it into space

----

Bench:
warmups up to:
315x1 (I tried to do 2 but couldn't. But man, that first rep didn't feel hard at all)
275x6
248x8 + 225x3 + 185x3 + a few tiny partials with 185

Deadlift with hook grip
135
225
275
315
365
404
365x2
315x5

Thumbs have some discomfort, but man this grip feels solid. And I feel like it helps my starting position

About to do some cardio

[coachcalande]

Holy chit boyos, I haven't felt this strong in a very long time. When I was warming up with 225 on bench, it felt like I could have thrown it into space

----

Bench:
warmups up to:
315x1 (I tried to do 2 but couldn't. But man, that first rep didn't feel hard at all)
275x6
248x8 + 225x3 + 185x3 + a few tiny partials with 185

Deadlift with hook grip
135
225
275
315
365
404
365x2
315x5

Thumbs have some discomfort, but man this grip feels solid. And I feel like it helps my starting position

About to do some cardio

I definitely miss that feeling. I can only feel that way when I’m really pounding calories. Recall 138 PRS in like a month where I was eating 6x a day at about 5000 cals. Training was never more fun or more effective. To be honest, maintaining is boring as hell.

I’ve had a couple of lower volume sessions lately due to disinterest and boredom. The training weights/reps for me have been fairly constant since June. I have gained a little on leg press after initially losing strength there due to running and cal deficit.

Every once in awhile I get the urge to bulk and just have remind myself of all of the health benefits I’ve earned back.

[SaviorSelfJT]

I definitely miss that feeling. I can only feel that way when I’m really pounding calories. Recall 138 PRS in like a month where I was eating 6x a day at about 5000 cals. Training was never more fun or more effective. To be honest, maintaining is boring as hell.

I’ve had a couple of lower volume sessions lately due to disinterest and boredom. The training weights/reps for me have been fairly constant since June. I have gained a little on leg press after initially losing strength there due to running and cal deficit.

Every once in awhile I get the urge to bulk and just have remind myself of all of the health benefits I’ve earned back.

That's the thing, I haven't even been eating more than usual. The only thing I've really changed recently is alternating between these sam sulek inspired bodybuilding workouts and regular barbell lifts. I've used machine based workouts in the past, but not like this.

Also did hammer style dumbbell curls for the first time recently, maybe that helped bench particularly?

There's a crunch fitness opening up a couple town over to me soon, and I hear its going to be a massive one

[coachcalande]

That's the thing, I haven't even been eating more than usual. The only thing I've really changed recently is alternating between these sam sulek inspired bodybuilding workouts and regular barbell lifts. I've used machine based workouts in the past, but not like this.

Also did hammer style dumbbell curls for the first time recently, maybe that helped bench particularly?

There's a crunch fitness opening up a couple town over to me soon, and I hear its going to be a massive one

Enjoy it, maybe bodybuilding with volume and intensity is what you crave.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Another machine workout, had to sit down for a bit before leaving cause I felt sick again.


10 mins of brisk walking to get heart rate up
Hammer curls - up to 60s for 5 reps per arm
Machine preacher curl - 3 or 4 sets
Tricep pushdown with rope - 3 sets up to 85 x 12 reps
Lat pulldown - up to 180lbs, I should be able to do a lot more than this
Quad extension - up to whole stack x 15 reps. Might have to do like 60% with one leg next time
Chest press - 3 sets near the whole stack
Rear delt fly machine
Chest fly machine - went up to 205x6 reps, then a couple drop sets. 205 has never felt this easy


I wanted to do smith incline again, but those were being hogged the whole time again

Also bought some london broil at sams club, going to try to throw a little more beef into my diet

[SaviorSelfJT]

This was supposed to just be a day of cardio, but I noticed the smiths were open

So about 30 mins walking

Then 185x 3 sets of 8 smith shoulder press (may be less weight if its counterbalanced, idk, also only got 7 on last set)

Machine tricep push down, 3 sets of 12

Cable rows - up to 180x8 plus a lighter weight X 10 reps (drop set)

The cable rows have the same problem as when I do barbell rows with strict form, I basically only feel it in my biceps not my lats at all. I don’t get it, my biceps seem overdeveloped (and lats underdeveloped) if anything compared to my lats so I don’t see why they’re the weakest link? Or maybe my biceps are overdeveloped *because* they get used more during rowing movements due to an anatomical reason. Not sure what to do

[coachcalande]

Had a decent week of training after last weekend was disrupted a bit. Ran 3.5 miles yesterday, the prior day was legs/arms. My leg press is going back up in terms of gaining reps using the same weight since June. I got 13 reps on my first set and I think my previous best was 10. I did overhead rope ext and holy smokes my triceps are super sore this morning…they are great.

I’m supposed to train chest/back/shoulders today but if the weather is nice I’m going to the track again .

[SaviorSelfJT]

Cooked all that london broil steak and had some for dinner…just as I predicted it’s like trying to eat shoe leather. But it’s cheap and will work. Had a steak and two protein shakes along with food today. I’m not strictly tracking but probably around 200g today

I think I’m going to add some more stuff to my homemade pre. In total I’m thinking caffeine, creatine, vitamin B, beta alanine, citrulline, and taurine. Sounds like a lot of chit, but the only thing there that isn’t “normal” is caffeine and I’m only using 200mg. Like the steaks, it’s cheap and effective but tastes like ass. Need to find someway of making it taste good

Had a decent week of training after last weekend was disrupted a bit. Ran 3.5 miles yesterday, the prior day was legs/arms. My leg press is going back up in terms of gaining reps using the same weight since June. I got 13 reps on my first set and I think my previous best was 10. I did overhead rope ext and holy smokes my triceps are super sore this morning…they are great.

I’m supposed to train chest/back/shoulders today but if the weather is nice I’m going to the track again .

How are you doing overhead tricep extensions?

And where is everyone? CW, ECGordyn, y’all still here?

[CW47]

Cooked all that london broil steak and had some for dinner…just as I predicted it’s like trying to eat shoe leather. But it’s cheap and will work. Had a steak and two protein shakes along with food today. I’m not strictly tracking but probably around 200g today

I think I’m going to add some more stuff to my homemade pre. In total I’m thinking caffeine, creatine, vitamin B, beta alanine, citrulline, and taurine. Sounds like a lot of chit, but the only thing there that isn’t “normal” is caffeine and I’m only using 200mg. Like the steaks, it’s cheap and effective but tastes like ass. Need to find someway of making it taste good



How are you doing overhead tricep extensions?

And where is everyone? CW, ECGordyn, y’all still here?

Still lurking. Should be back at it sometime soon. I moved last week. Finally started going through lifting stuff today and may start setting stuff up tomorrow. I'm itching to get back to lifting.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Still lurking. Should be back at it sometime soon. I moved last week. Finally started going through lifting stuff today and may start setting stuff up tomorrow. I'm itching to get back to lifting.

Good to hear, and hopefully the moving isn’t too stressful

Itching to get back to lifting…sounds like you could be using beta alanine! (it makes skin itchy)

[coachcalande]

Cooked all that london broil steak and had some for dinner…just as I predicted it’s like trying to eat shoe leather. But it’s cheap and will work. Had a steak and two protein shakes along with food today. I’m not strictly tracking but probably around 200g today

I think I’m going to add some more stuff to my homemade pre. In total I’m thinking caffeine, creatine, vitamin B, beta alanine, citrulline, and taurine. Sounds like a lot of chit, but the only thing there that isn’t “normal” is caffeine and I’m only using 200mg. Like the steaks, it’s cheap and effective but tastes like ass. Need to find someway of making it taste good



How are you doing overhead tricep extensions?

And where is everyone? CW, ECGordyn, y’all still here?

I use my lat machine. I have a rope attachment for overhead ext. great stretch. What’s interesting is that elbow pain used to make these impossible. Curing bursitis and inflammation issus opens up new possibilities.

The mindset away from powerlifting to moderate heavy training , say 8-15 reps for triceps is probably helping too. No more heavy 3-5 rep sets on anything.

CW, I can relate to the moving…back in 2008-2012 we moved several times and my stuff was in storage and I’d have to train at the schools when I could. It was a big fat gain time for me as I ate like garbage, trained less often and moved my body little.

[CW47]

This was my second move in the last 2 years. It was quite stressful because the financing had some contingencies that I wasn't sure would be met up until about a week from the closing date. Had a few other hiccups and miscommunications along the way that made it unclear whether the closing would actually take place. It all finally came together though. But really the main thing is just that moving is a lot of freaking work. We have a TON of stuff (moving really makes you question why you have so much stuff and how you managed to accumulate it). Even if I'd had access to equipment to lift, I wouldn't have had the time or energy to do anything. Setting up of the workout space has been saved for last because I knew I wouldn't be using it until everything else was done anyway.

I haven't weighed myself, but measuring by my belt I'd say my weight is about the same. Even though I've not been getting the regular exercise through lifting, there's been lots of lifting and carrying things and lots of trips up and down stairs. In general, I've been more active than normal, and also eating worse since for about a 2 week stretch I didn't have a good setup for cooking and that led to a LOT of Chipotle, lol. Finally getting to some semblance of 'normal' again, which is really nice. The break from lifting was probably overdue anyway because I was getting pretty burnt out, so the timing was pretty good. But I'm eager to get back to it now.

[coachcalande]

3o min run with my youngest today…they love this stuff.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Did you hire movers? People tell me that I should hire movers next time but so expensive

But once your all setup I’m sure you’ll be glad about everything

———-


Low volume barbell workout today. Wish I took another rest day, still pretty sore/beat up

Bench:
Up to 315x1
Didn’t feel confident enough to try a 2nd rep

Squat
Up to 315x6

Deadlift with hook grip:
135
225
315
405
425
405x2
365

Ran out of gas

Did some light rows trying to focus on lats

On behalf of my thumbs: OUCH. The tips of my thumbs are getting a little discolored already and I’ve only used hook grip for 3 workouts I think

[EliKoehn]

Holy chit boyos, I haven't felt this strong in a very long time. When I was warming up with 225 on bench, it felt like I could have thrown it into space

Awesome. I have to smile reading stuff like this.

I have had 3 sessions in the meantime, just spent more time AFK to log them. I'm on an aggressive deficit at the moment for coming up on two weeks now which I intend to level off in a couple more weeks or once I've visibly made some progress. With all this heavy benching I've been doing, my chest looks great and is still prominent but I'm soft and puffy overall. Time to get back down to 250 or something where I looked pretty good and was still strong.

Saturday with my dad:

Flat Bench (T&G):
5 x 8 at 225

A.S.
Pullups:
5, 3, 3 at BW
Dips:
5, 5, 5 at BW

A.S.
Supinated DB Curl:
2 x 8 w/ 45s
DB Lateral Raise:
2 x 8 w/ 35s

Was feeling pretty weak this day and the lower numbers on the calisthenics reflect that. I still got a good amount of volume in at a medium weight which I think was starting to fall somewhat out of balance with the heavy sets I've been emphasizing. For running an aggressive deficit I'm happy with this.

--

Monday:

A.S.
Flat Bench (T&G):
3 x 3 at 275
Pull Ups:
3 x 5 at BW

Dips:
3 x 8 at BW

DB Curl:
1? x 8 w/ 50s
DB Lateral Raise:
1? x 8 w/ 35s

My ligaments still felt somewhat achy from Saturday on this and likely hadn't fully recovered, so the bench sets were fairly submaximal, just to keep handling heavier weight in trim while I am in a deficit. That said, the dips surprised me considering how much more difficult they were on Saturday. They felt submaximal too! I currently weigh 280 so that is decent weight to be doing as deep as possible dips in the "hypertrophy rep range." I can't remember if I did more than one set of the dumbbell exercises at the end but I was with another friend who squatted 405 just to see where he was at and I stayed later than I originally intended to witness and congratulate him on that, so I wanted to go home afterwards.

--

Today:

Long walk with some light jogging in the park with my friend. I ran a consecutive mile again in about 11 minutes and then another shorter stint which was primarily uphill for about half a mile at a similar pace. Over 2 hours total with the walking in between.

[coachcalande]

Trained arms this am….will either run or train legs later today.

https://youtube.com/shorts/EADa_zTDBKs

[CW47]

Did you hire movers? People tell me that I should hire movers next time but so expensive

But once your all setup I’m sure you’ll be glad about everything

Yes, I hired movers. Yes, it's way too expensive (was over $3k). But doing it myself wasn't an option for a variety of reasons.

I wish I could do hook grip. Fingers/hands are just too small though - I can barely get them to cover my thumb and they slide off easily. It's better than a normal double overhand grip for me, but not as strong as my mixed grip. I'm honestly fine with using straps though.

I started setting things up yesterday evening but had to call an end to it pretty quickly. I put together the platform and realized that the rubber matting on the sides is sitting too far below the wood. Will need to go buy some plywood to put underneath them, hopefully today.

Also realized pretty quickly that I overestimated how much space I have. It's quite a bit larger than what I had before, but a lot of the extra space isn't super usable. For example, it's giving me another foot or two around the rack on each side and in the back which is really nice, but it's not space that let's me add anything substantial as far as functionality/usefullness. The rack still ends up requiring about half of the total available space. Still thinking I'll be able to add at least 1 more piece of equipment (if I ever manage to save up enough money, lol), but I had it in my mind that I may be able to do up to 3 new pieces of equipment (one on the side of the rack and 2 more in the other half of the room).

My first choice for new equipment will probably be a leg press/hack squat combo machine. If I still have room after that I'll likely go for a GHR/Reverse Hyper Combo. A Smith Machine was my other want, but there are some options out there that should make it possible to incorporate that into my existing rack rather than needing a standalone machine and that seems like it will be a more logical route to take now. I also now have high enough ceilings to add the Athena Cable system onto my rack at some point. Looking at another ~$5k investment, so it will probably be a few years before I get everything I want. Feels real good to have room for growth for the home gym though.

[coachcalande]

Making progress on leg work.

Smith front squats
Smith back squats
Leg press.

Early on my legs couldn’t handle the runs and lifts….now they can.

[Camarija]

Got my elbow banged up, somewhere around the funny bone area, that back, inner side.

Some bruising and tendonitis

Might be a hairline fracture, but there's nothing to do but take it easy for 4 to 12 weeks depending on the severity

Zero tricep work, zero elbow extension pushes

Going to try to get my chest work done on the pec dec exclusively

Maybe get my back work done on a pullover machine exclusively

I'll just pretend I'm doing a leg specialization mesocycle

* edit *



My diet sucked this week, ate a lot of dessert and fatty carbs, going to have to diet it back down between now and Thanksgiving

Otherwise, this cut has been pretty good. I preserved a good chunk of muscle, saw good progress, still natty, eventually I'll get to another long bulk when I'm healed up

[SaviorSelfJT]

Machine workout today

Incline smith:
185x8
205x8
205x8
205x8

*last time I couldn't quite finish 185x8x3, so this is definitely an improvement

Machine chest press

Hammer curls with dumbells-
35sx8
50sx8 (perfectly strict form, except for the very last rep)

Machine preacher curl - 3 sets

Tricep pushdown with rope - 3 sets of 12


Hamstring and quad extension

After the tricep pushdown, my arms were really pumped. I mean the kind of pumped where you can barely even move your arms

I got that kind of sick feeling again after, had to drink a gatorade afterwards, plain water wasn't helping. Feels like a blood sugar thing?



===


@Camarija - Hairline fracture from working out?

Yes, I hired movers. Yes, it's way too expensive (was over $3k). But doing it myself wasn't an option for a variety of reasons.

I wish I could do hook grip. Fingers/hands are just too small though - I can barely get them to cover my thumb and they slide off easily. It's better than a normal double overhand grip for me, but not as strong as my mixed grip. I'm honestly fine with using straps though.

I started setting things up yesterday evening but had to call an end to it pretty quickly. I put together the platform and realized that the rubber matting on the sides is sitting too far below the wood. Will need to go buy some plywood to put underneath them, hopefully today.

Also realized pretty quickly that I overestimated how much space I have. It's quite a bit larger than what I had before, but a lot of the extra space isn't super usable. For example, it's giving me another foot or two around the rack on each side and in the back which is really nice, but it's not space that let's me add anything substantial as far as functionality/usefullness. The rack still ends up requiring about half of the total available space. Still thinking I'll be able to add at least 1 more piece of equipment (if I ever manage to save up enough money, lol), but I had it in my mind that I may be able to do up to 3 new pieces of equipment (one on the side of the rack and 2 more in the other half of the room).

My first choice for new equipment will probably be a leg press/hack squat combo machine. If I still have room after that I'll likely go for a GHR/Reverse Hyper Combo. A Smith Machine was my other want, but there are some options out there that should make it possible to incorporate that into my existing rack rather than needing a standalone machine and that seems like it will be a more logical route to take now. I also now have high enough ceilings to add the Athena Cable system onto my rack at some point. Looking at another ~$5k investment, so it will probably be a few years before I get everything I want. Feels real good to have room for growth for the home gym though.

3k ish doesn't sound bad at all. When I looked at getting full service mover quotes (where they pack and box and everything), it was tens of thousands of dollars. No thanks Jeff, I'd rather burn all my stuff in a bonfire and rebuy everything

And that sounds really fun, deciding on how to setup the home gym

[Camarija]

I got that kind of sick feeling again after, had to drink a gatorade afterwards, plain water wasn't helping. Feels like a blood sugar thing?

@Camarija - Hairline fracture from working out?

May sound silly, but are you breathing during your machine workouts or bracing with your breath held?

Just breathing normally helps avoid that vasovagal response

*edit* also, maybe in your case, increase sodium consumption before you workout if it's reocurring

Not sure exactly what caused the elbow injury, it's just terribly bruised and a mix of blue and green colors. I guess I shook off whatever happened and thought I was fine at the time. It's to the point I'm having issues driving using my right arm, so definitely taking time off to rest it.

[coachcalande]

Machine workout today

Incline smith:
185x8
205x8
205x8
205x8

*last time I couldn't quite finish 185x8x3, so this is definitely an improvement

Machine chest press

Hammer curls with dumbells-
35sx8
50sx8 (perfectly strict form, except for the very last rep)

Machine preacher curl - 3 sets

Tricep pushdown with rope - 3 sets of 12


Hamstring and quad extension

After the tricep pushdown, my arms were really pumped. I mean the kind of pumped where you can barely even move your arms

I got that kind of sick feeling again after, had to drink a gatorade afterwards, plain water wasn't helping. Feels like a blood sugar thing?



===


@Camarija - Hairline fracture from working out?



3k ish doesn't sound bad at all. When I looked at getting full service mover quotes (where they pack and box and everything), it was tens of thousands of dollars. No thanks Jeff, I'd rather burn all my stuff in a bonfire and rebuy everything

And that sounds really fun, deciding on how to setup the home gym

Lactic acid build up will make you feel nauseous. Perhaps longer rests between sets is necessary.

[SaviorSelfJT]

Lactic acid could be it, I was taking pretty short rest breaks

Salt also, I added some salt to my pre workout drink today

About the elbow. If your not seeing a doctor, sometimes you can get good results by doing a couple days of relatively high dosage of ibuprofen/acetaminophen just to break it out of the pain cycle and you can be on your way to recovery. Versus many days of a low dose

———

Barbell workout today

Finally repping 315 again on bench (2 technically counts lol)

Squat
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x3
315x7

Feel like I could have gotten a 4th rep with 365 but my right ankle was cranky (was wearing chucks and bottoming out depth)

Bench
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x2
275x7 plus 225x6 plus 185x5 plus a couple partial reps (one big drop set)

Deadlift
135
225
315
405
365x2

Absolutely gassed

Rows
225x6
225x8
225x8

Focusing on not activating my biceps as much as I can

[CW47]

Got workouts in the last 2 days. It was about a month and a half break prior to that. I'm extremely sore already, but that was totally expected.

October 14, 2023
Bench Press: Worked up to 165 pounds x 1 rep @7-8 RPE
SSB Squat: Worked up to 205 pounds x 1 rep @7-8 RPE
DB Row: 50 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Walking Lunge: 15 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
DB Pullover: 3 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Single Leg Curl: 35 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps

Pretty easy workout, though my work capacity is obviously horrible and I was breathing pretty heavy despite the ease of the weights.


October 15, 2023
Stiff Legged Deadlift: 225 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
Leg Extension: 65 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
Incline DB Press: 30's - 3 sets x 12 reps
Decline Crunch: 30 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Seated Press: 65 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Lateral Raise: 10's - 3 sets x 12 reps
Incline Curl: 20's - 3 sets x 12 reps

Everything in the 8-12 rep range - methodical reps. Had to break this into 2 separate sessions today. Probably a good thing because I don't know if I could've done it all in one go.

I wrote more detailed replies in my log thread if anyone wants to read more:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1691717973
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1691741953