[quote]ecogenx wrote:
skidmark wrote:
2008-10-2
Feeling tired and beat up. Taking it easy to day.
Everything feels heavy today. That buffalo bar yesterday would have been very disappointed in me.
Maybe you have to kick back this weekend and relax. Have a couple mixed drinks and howl at the moon.[/quote]
I wish - have to travel up north (6 hour trip) to help my mother move some furniture.
Gonna try and catch a workout at the old gym I used to go to up there.
[quote]Ironmantrw wrote:
Skid, check this out. Seems kind of expensive for a piece of plastic and a strap. But it might be a good solution to shoulder problems.
http://www.liftinglarge.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=187[/quote]
I liked the look of this. Can make one in about 5 minutes. Gonna try it. Thanks iron.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
2008-10-2
Feeling tired and beat up. Taking it easy to day.
Deficit Deadlifts (-2")
215x3
265x3
315x2
365x2
415 4x1
Deep squats
115x3
165x3
215x3
265 6x2
Everything feels heavy today. That buffalo bar yesterday would have been very disappointed in me.[/quote]
I’m going out on a limb here, Skid, but your “taking it easy” and my “taking it easy” are worlds apart. 
Nice Deads.
Skid, you are a proponent of hangs for grip strength:
pronated or supinated;
thumbed or thumbless grip;
wide, regular or narrow grip;
smaller- or larger-diameter bar;
all of the above?
Thanks in advance.
[quote]1Geech wrote:
Skid, you are a proponent of hangs for grip strength:
pronated or supinated;
thumbed or thumbless grip;
wide, regular or narrow grip;
smaller- or larger-diameter bar;
all of the above?
Thanks in advance.[/quote]
Yes.
Actually 2 hand thumbless hangs grdually working up to one-hand thumbless hangs on a fixed bar really helped deadlift grip. Friction helps a lot so you have to hang for a while to really get the benefit.
2 and 1 hand hangs from a rotating bar with thumbs works every aspect of grip, pinch, supporting and crushing grip. You have to pinch and crush like crazy just to stay on. Once you can get a fair amount of time hanging using the thumbs, take the thumbs off and try to work back up. You’ll find that your inner forearm does a heck of a lot of work trying to keep you hooked on the bar
Pronation/supination doesn’t make much difference in my opinion. The hands have to do the same work regardless of position. Pronation/supination is important for muscles further up the arm and in the shoulder as in rows or chinups. And in one handed training, you’ll just spin to neutral regardless of starting palm orientation.
A larger diameter bar makes everything listed above much harder and so is a good progression to do once the above becomes doable or even easy.
2008-10-3
Assistance
Standing BB Overhead Press
145 3x5 (PR Sets)
Seated 1-arm cable rows
130 2x3 (using a rotating D-handle. Very hard to hang onto)
Bent over BB Rows
185 2x15 (PR Reps)
Strict Hammer Curls
50’sx7
Straight DB curls
55’sx5
Cheat Hammer curls
55’sx7
Cybex Leg Press
180x15
270x15
470x10
560x8
650x6
740x4 (legs cramping now, stopped)
Shrugs w/straps
225x10
315x10
405 2x10 (reps PR +2)
225x15
That leg press was the oddest one I’ve ever used. It’s a lever-action press much like the hammer strength machines. The moment arm of the section holding the plates is shortest at the bottom and top of the movement, allowing you to speed through the hardest part. I was able to fully pause each rep and I got a lot of good work out of it, but it doesn’t feel like a PR at all as I know I can’t do that weight on a standard leg press. The angles are so advantageous that I could have gone for more reps or raised the weight quite a bit more before getting the same training effect as a regular leg press. I quit because dehydration was causing cramps.
Glad about the PRs. I need to stop rotating exercises SO much though, so I can get a “real” PR instead of a bunch of baselines.
I’ll have to give those hangs a go. Great work skidmark, always making us all look bad.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
… 2 and 1 hand hangs from a rotating bar with thumbs works every aspect of grip, pinch, supporting and crushing grip. You have to pinch and crush like crazy just to stay on. Once you can get a fair amount of time hanging using the thumbs, take the thumbs off and try to work back up. You’ll find that your inner forearm does a heck of a lot of work trying to keep you hooked on the bar
…[/quote]
Good tip about the revolving bar. I’ll have to see what I can arrange.
2008-10-5
Upper Push
Floor Press
65’sx8
75’sx5
90’sx5
100’s 3x5 (PR Reps)
Illegal Wide Bench (paused)
205 3x5 (these are feeling more solid)
Close Grip Bench
185x8 (?!)
195 2x5
DB Flies
45’s 2x5 (pathetic - do more of these)
Right tricep work
Tricep Angled Pressdown
40 2x10
drop set down to 20
Cable French Press
40x12,10
Weighted Planks
105x60 count
Head-High Leg raises
10,12
Straight Arm PullDowns
80 2x10
Floor press is feeling more solid. My new weakness is chest. Illegal Wide and Close Grip bench presses shouldn’t be this close together in weight. The DB flies really showed where I need to work. My shoulders and tris are doing all the work and the pecs are just along for the ride. That needs to change.
Worked on mental setup for the main movements. Really got a good visualization of each set before performing it which I’m sure contributed to the form improvement.
Good session today.
I think I better build my home gym back up…
[quote]skidmark wrote:
…
The DB flies really showed where I need to work. My shoulders and tris are doing all the work and the pecs are just along for the ride. That needs to change.
…[/quote]
How are you going to approach that? More wide benching, wide-grip dips?
[quote]1Geech wrote:
skidmark wrote:
…
The DB flies really showed where I need to work. My shoulders and tris are doing all the work and the pecs are just along for the ride. That needs to change.
…
How are you going to approach that? More wide benching, wide-grip dips?[/quote]
I’ll keep benching illegal wide every other week for 4-5x5 and pushing the poundage up, but I think DB flies will bring that along faster. I want to push reps first getting between 8-12, then work up in weight.
I’ve been implementing some of Christian Thibaudeau’s recommendations for the Easy-Hard Gainer (which I seem to be)
:
No more than 8 sets per muscle group, not more than 6-8 reps per set.
For each major area being worked I like to do a 3x3 movement followed with a 3x5 and then a 2xwhatever.
DL days are exempt from this. On DL days I’m going to stick to singles and doubles for 3-10 sets. This seems to make me stronger without wrecking my back. If I do multiple reps in DL I will drop the weight to squat poundages or just above as this seems to have beneficial effects on back health as well.
I really like the way I felt after doing leg presses on my assistance day, so I think I may stick a lower body assistance exercise on that day. We’ll see. If my lower body training goes well today, I’ll count that as a positive indication for adding leg press or leg curls on assistance day.
My plan for today is:
squat 315 low box for 3x3-5 (indicator lift)
Speed DL with quadded mini-bands 305-315 for doubles or singles
Zercher squats 2-3x5 @ 245 (may be optimistic here)
If I can get 315 off a low box for one set of 5 that’s a PR and a good sign. This is also a test of how well I can estimate my own capabilities.
2008-10-7
Box Squat
135x8
225x5
225+Avg Bands x 3
245 + Avg Bands x 3
315x2,3,2 (Damn!)
335x1 (PR Weight - I was gonna get a PR outta this)
Speed Deads (Standing on the minis)
225+Quad Minis 2x1
245+ " x1
295+ " x0,0
275 + " x 1,0
245 + " 2x1
Zercher Squat
245 2x5 (PR Reps/Sets,+2 and +1)
245 1x3 (lost balance on last set)
Dimel DL
225x8,12
Farmers Walk
120’s x 120 ft
edit:
forgot to put in ab work!
Hanging ballistic Knee ups 12,12
Droopy, truncated side flags 2x5
/edit
Okay - no more leg press on assistance day.
I felt I could have done 265 + Avg bands though, strangely enough, but the glutes weren’t up to doing heavier weights for reps today.
The extra 2 inches on the mini’s from standing on them made the speed deads a little harder. Couldn’t lock out 295 nohow.
I did farmers because I had to carry the 120’s back across the gym anyway to put them back. I had been using them as stanchions for the bands. Didn’t work on deads, pulled 'em right off the floor.
My mass gainer powder came today.
I’ve downed 2 glasses of it and I can say for certain it makes the difference. I was feeling pretty knocked out after training but now I feel normal and have an energy surplus.
Not sure about the quality, but it tastes good.
Good to hear the energy levels are back up. Hope it carries over to your training. I have to add box squats. Nice PR.
[quote]skidmark wrote:
2008-10-7
Box Squat
135x8
225x5
225+Avg Bands x 3
245 + Avg Bands x 3
315x2,3,2 (Damn!)
335x1 (PR Weight - I was gonna get a PR outta this)
Speed Deads (Standing on the minis)
225+Quad Minis 2x1
245+ " x1
295+ " x0,0
275 + " x 1,0
245 + " 2x1
…
The extra 2 inches on the mini’s from standing on them made the speed deads a little harder. Couldn’t lock out 295 nohow.
…[/quote]
Congratulations on the PR.
Are the bands attached to a platform or anything else? I am only finding such pictures, which are not applicable to my gym situation. Have you got a picture of how you used them?
Great stuff skid. I am in the same boat with you on the DL training. I never do more than 3 reps on any of my DL training. This seems to be the balance point for getting stronger versus hurting myself.
[quote]ecogenx wrote:
Good to hear the energy levels are back up. Hope it carries over to your training. I have to add box squats. Nice PR.[/quote]
Thanks eco. I think it will.
[quote]1Geech wrote:
skidmark wrote:
2008-10-7
Box Squat
135x8
225x5
225+Avg Bands x 3
245 + Avg Bands x 3
315x2,3,2 (Damn!)
335x1 (PR Weight - I was gonna get a PR outta this)
Speed Deads (Standing on the minis)
225+Quad Minis 2x1
245+ " x1
295+ " x0,0
275 + " x 1,0
245 + " 2x1
…
The extra 2 inches on the mini’s from standing on them made the speed deads a little harder. Couldn’t lock out 295 nohow.
…
Congratulations on the PR.
Are the bands attached to a platform or anything else? I am only finding such pictures, which are not applicable to my gym situation. Have you got a picture of how you used them?[/quote]
Unfortunately, there was NOTHING to attach the bands to at my current gym. I tried to use dumbbells this time, but I chose too lightly and ended up yanking them up off the floor with the bar. Just about crushed my left pinkie setting the bar down because the DB had traveled in when it hit the floor. I’ll use the 135’s next time and see if they’ll stay put. I was too lazy to get a heavier set - so I just kicked them aside and stood on the bands.
Last time I did these I was able to loop the bands around a power cage base since I was at a 24 Hour Fitness that day. My gym has no power cage, unfortunately. The owners seem content to let the equipment slowly break apart, which may explain their low membership. Who wants to use that sort of stuff? I won’t be renewing my membership, but I need to scramble and build my home gym back up.