The bench eludes me. Arrgghh. Reviewing my form again I just realized that I flare my elbows out. This time I brought my grip in a bit and concentrated on keeping my elbows closer (I am tall so this is not as easy). I definitely felt the work less in my shoulders and more in my chest this way. Given that it is a new position I should not be surprised to be weaker, but it is frustrating. I will keep this new form for the next few cycles. If I don’t progress soon I will de-load until I can hit the weights.
Have a friend coming in a month to do some ‘epic bike rides’. Okay, so not epic but at least a few hours of high intensity. And we do have these things called hills out here on the west coast. Seeing as I have not ridden in over a year (I used to cycle and run exclusively) it is time to start putting a few miles in.
It is crazy to me that I can squat and dead lift hundreds of pounds with no issues on my joints at all but just 40 minutes on the bike and my hip flexor, knee and lower back all scream at me. These are all the same problem areas I remember from when I was cycling all the time. At least now I have my trusty rumble roller and other rehabilitative techniques.
Barbell Row - 135 x 10, 4 sets
T-bar row - 100 x 12, 4 sets
Pull/ups - BW 10 x 5, 5 sets
Good lifting day. Dead lifts were fast enough. I will stay at this weight for at least another cycle as I want them to be faster/crisper.
I went with a narrower grip on barbell rows and I felt my back activated and the movements were cleaner. I am ready to up the weight on the T-Bar rows by 5 lbs.
Pull-ups were a good weight. I will leave as is next cycle.
Press - 105 x 1
Press - 90 x 8, 5 sets: 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
all pressing in 9 minutes and three seconds.
SGHP - 170 x 3, 6 sets; 155 x 3, 4 sets, 30 seconds rest
BTN Press - 85 x 5, 3 sets
Snatch - 85 x 3, 3 sets
OH Squat - 85 x 3, 3 sets
OH Hold - 105 x 30 seconds, 3 sets
YES! At least I hit all the pressing reps. Time over all was faster by 12 seconds as well. Still not down to 60 seconds rest (only for the first two sets then upped to 75 seconds).
BTN felt easy. I will up to 90 next cycle. SGHP was from the floor today (we have guests staying with us and I did not want to crash the bar down on the pins early in the morning). I lasted 6 sets before dropping the weight. This is also the ‘cardio’ section of the workout as I only rest 30 seconds between sets.
Squat: 240 x 1
Squat: 255 x 1
Squat: 270 x 1
Squat: 185 x 5, 8 sets
Deficit SLDL: 225 x 8, 4 sets
Front Squats: 135 x 10,10,10,12
Same template/weight as last cycle. This time I added the deficit SLDL’s back in. 16 minutes total time for all squatting. Everything felt pretty crisp and light. Not ridiculously easy like Carter calls for but it moved right along.
Normal heavy breathing on the SLDL’s and front squats (I super-setted by doing two sets of each at a time).
I am starting cycle 16, which is about two month of the base building template. I do believe that this is working well for me - no injuries; can train five to six days a week without burnout. Strength seems like it is improving. But I am getting the normal itch to do something different. So rather than fight it, I am thinking that I will complete this cycle and then take a week or three to ‘test’ my maxes again to gauge progress. Also contemplating a week or two of CT’s built for bad circuits. I really enjoyed that last time I did it – I just ran it far too long and burnt out. So perhaps just run it for 2-3 weeks and then return to base building. Still thinking this through.
Bench 170 x 1
Bench 155 x 8, 155 x 8, 155 x 5 + 155 x 3, 145 x 5 + 135 x 3, 135 x 5 + 135 x 3
12 minutes for bench
Incline Press 3 sets to hit 50 reps in 5 minutes: 18, 15, 13 (up 3 reps)
Floor Press 135 x amrap, 4 sets: 5,6,6,5 (down 3)
Dumbbell Press 45 x 10, 45 x 12, 45 x 12, 45 x 12
hanging leg raises - 3 to 4 sets of 8ish.
weak weak weak. What a mess the bench was today. I don’t know if I can blame it on being sick. My incline press actually went up. I did switch to a narrower grip (hands just inside first markers).
Snatch 95 x 3, 3 sets
OH Squat 95 x 3, 3 sets
OH Static Hold 105 x 30 seconds, 3 sets
SGHP 105 x 5, 6 sets
Failed on the last rep of the last set on pressing. However, I performed with strict 60 seconds rest (total time 8 minutes 30 seconds). So continuing to make micro improvements.
Went up 10 lbs on snatch and OH squat. Plan to add 5 lbs next time.
BTN is still a good weight. Will stay the same.
For SGHP, left the weight light but went from the floor and much higher with the bar than I usually do. Concentrated on keeping the hips/legs the primary drivers.
Bike ride (road bike) on relatively hilly loop around the house:
35:40 total time
9.92 mile distance
Average speed 16.7 mph
Top speed 28.33mph
Thus begins my month of conditioning emphasis. I am preparing for a friends visit where we primarily road bike as well as do some running (usually 5 miles or less). Need to spend time in the saddle, running and overall conditioning. Due to my limited schedule I plan to use a lot of hiit style training utilizing sprints, barbell circuits, kettle-bells, jump rope, etc.
I also plan to keep the strength going and change it up from the base building a bit by using CT’s 20-minute strength routine. I will use the trap-bar to do ‘dead-squats’ rather than deadlifts.
In preparation for CT’s 20-minute strength routine, I will assess my 1RM on the major lifts over the next few days. Today was Squat.
For reference, my 1RM as the start of 2014 was 290. I had subsequently set a max of 300 a few months back. My goal by the end of 2014 is 3-plates per side. In fact my goals for press, bench, squat and dead are 1,2,3, and 4 plates per side respectively.
Warm/up: Used decreasing reps of 45, 135 and 225
Heavy lifts: 295 x 1 - good, 315 x 1 - good!, 325 x 0
315 was slow but not a total grinder. For 325 I just could not get it out of the hole.
Then: 225 x 20. Ouch - that left my legs and my cardio spent. Sucking wind bad starting around 14 or so reps.
So very pleased - hit a major 2014 goal a few months early. And the Base building template seems to be working well. I have not tested my max in many months and have not lifted over 275 (and only one rep of that) for three months.
OK, so after the elation of hitting a 2014 goal on the squat yesterday, it was time for some humble pie:
Bench:
warm-up: 45 a few times, 95 a few times, 135 3 times
Ramp: 185 x 1
215 x 0
205 x 1 - but was not a PR
reps: 120 x 20
So why is my bench not moving? I have worked on form and it feels good; though I recently moved to a narrower grip.
I am just tall and it takes time? But there are plenty of tall people who progress faster.
Not eating enough to grow? I am still at 3000-3200 calories per day. Weight is around 206.
There are so many possibilities. I know that sometimes you have to just grind away. I just don’t want to be spinning my wheels. For the next 4-6 weeks I will be hitting bench 3x per week so I will be able to see if more volume helps.
Warm-up: 135 x few, 225 x few, 315 x few
Ramp: 365 x 1, 385 x 0, 375 x 0
reps: 225 x 20
So not only did I not add any weight to the bar in months, but I have regressed 10 lbs. This is so frustrating. I just could not break the bar off the ground. Form was tight and I actually felt strong today. 225 x 20 was work but not as difficult as 20 reps of squat.
Anyway, I did not want to wallow, so to take my mind off of it:
Farmer walks w/trap bar:
300lb x 220’ x 2 sets
230lb x 220’ x 3 sets
140lb x 220’ x 4 sets
back, forearms - done.
OK, just when I was really getting frustrated, ended up hitting a PR. Perhaps two out of the four movements progressing is not bad. And my next 4-6 weeks will bring more volume to bench and indirectly to dead lifts. I will use the trap-bar dead/squat and that should hit my quads decently. Given that I am weak off the floor on deadlifts hopefully that helps there.
So, I have the 1 plate per side for press and the three plates per side for Squat. Just need the ‘evens’ before the end of the year.
Conditioning: 1hour 10 minute bike ride. Some nasty hard climbs as well as some nice long straight drags along the ocean. On the climbs I was going as slow as 8mph and on the straights as fast as 24mph.
Met the family at the beach for a nice end of summer (kids start school on Monday).
My current PR is 85kg (187 lbs) at a BW of 68kg (150 lbs)
But I must admit my bench of late has plateaued too. I have steered away from heavy bench work of late, hitting more DB bench work, inclines, etc. And now weighted dips etc.
Then in a few months will look to hit traditional bench again, likely in the form of 531 still.
Maybe take a ‘break’ from the bench, and look to hit surrounding muscles might be of some benefit? 3x a week might be too much? OR go one session strength then go for a pump the next session (possibly even the next day - CT’s latest article as an example)
[quote]Alpha wrote:
I really dig the work you are doing in here, brother! I wish I would have checked this out earlier, I am definitely following.[/quote]
Alpha - thanks for stopping by. Also, I appreciated the response to my question regarding the timing of conditioning and strength training. It made a great deal of sense to me.
My current PR is 85kg (187 lbs) at a BW of 68kg (150 lbs)
But I must admit my bench of late has plateaued too. I have steered away from heavy bench work of late, hitting more DB bench work, inclines, etc. And now weighted dips etc.
Then in a few months will look to hit traditional bench again, likely in the form of 531 still.
Maybe take a ‘break’ from the bench, and look to hit surrounding muscles might be of some benefit? 3x a week might be too much? OR go one session strength then go for a pump the next session (possibly even the next day - CT’s latest article as an example)
Relative newbie post above, but just my 2c here.[/quote]
Hey Raven - Thanks so much for the input. I really appreciate it. Your bench is really impressive to me - 25% above body weight. In contrast I am only right at 1x body weight.
I think that there is a lot of merit to your suggestions - give the body a break and build up the infrastructure. And I have not been doing an appreciable amount of hypertrophy work for some time.
I actually am just starting the 3x per week. For the past 2-3 months I was on a four day cycle with intermittent days off. So I was hitting bench just over once per week. The focus over the next 4-6 weeks is conditioning while limiting strength to 20 minutes per day and only two movements per day (including warm-ups). Focusing on frequency over volume. So I will see how that goes. It is a change anyway.
Conditioning:
Jump-rope warm-up
Kettle bell swing Tabata. 53lb KB.
Strength:
Bench: 155 x 5, 175 x 1, 180 x 1, 115 x 21
Barbell Row: 130 x 5, 145 x 1, 150 x 1, 100 x 22
Total strength time 13 minutes.
Started this routine with the ‘B’ day based upon previous body groups worked. Barbell row is ‘pendlay’ style: 90 degree bend, strict form, using straps to take the arms out as much as possible.
All strength movements being done with compensatory acceleration - attempting to move the bar faster as the leverages improve through the range of motion.
All strength movements being done with compensatory acceleration - attempting to move the bar faster as the leverages improve through the range of motion. [/quote]
I’ve been focusing on this as well. If you have access to bands or chains, doing a few sets with those on ‘lighter’ sets REALLY teaches you to push all the way through and accelerate. Also, congrats on the OHP PR. You’re probably stronger than me on Pressing now lol
My current PR is 85kg (187 lbs) at a BW of 68kg (150 lbs)
But I must admit my bench of late has plateaued too. I have steered away from heavy bench work of late, hitting more DB bench work, inclines, etc. And now weighted dips etc.
Then in a few months will look to hit traditional bench again, likely in the form of 531 still.
Maybe take a ‘break’ from the bench, and look to hit surrounding muscles might be of some benefit? 3x a week might be too much? OR go one session strength then go for a pump the next session (possibly even the next day - CT’s latest article as an example)
Relative newbie post above, but just my 2c here.[/quote]
Hey Raven - Thanks so much for the input. I really appreciate it. Your bench is really impressive to me - 25% above body weight. In contrast I am only right at 1x body weight.
I think that there is a lot of merit to your suggestions - give the body a break and build up the infrastructure. And I have not been doing an appreciable amount of hypertrophy work for some time.
I actually am just starting the 3x per week. For the past 2-3 months I was on a four day cycle with intermittent days off. So I was hitting bench just over once per week. The focus over the next 4-6 weeks is conditioning while limiting strength to 20 minutes per day and only two movements per day (including warm-ups). Focusing on frequency over volume. So I will see how that goes. It is a change anyway.
Thanks brother.
[/quote]
Glad to be of help.
If its any conciliation, my DL’s and Squats are seriously lagging but gradually improving.