@throwawayfitness, @dagill2, @shaneinga, @oldnattychris - Thanks, guys! Felt really good to hit that 1-plate press goal as part of my programmed progression, rather than as a 1RM requiring gut-busting effort.
@jdm135 - Thanks to you, too! I’m quite happy with those Widowmakers, because they really did scare me. Get to do them all over again beginning next week, but at least now I know I can.
Unsure of my weight at the moment—haven’t weighed myself since late-June, shortly after a beach vacation. I was about 195 lbs at that point. Been trying to focus on how I feel and how I look rather than the numbers, which used to be a problem for me. I’d guess I’m still in the mid-190s, but it could be +/- 10 lbs either way—I’m horrible at estimating.
Was actually thinking of stepping on the scale next week, just so I can see where I stand as I move into the 5/3/1 PR sets, but I haven’t decided for sure. I’m in a pretty good place mentally, so I might not want to derail that. At the same time, I’m in a pretty good place mentally, so I’d probably be just fine putting a number on it. Might wait until the end of the cycle, too, or maybe just not even bother. But I’m happy to tag you if I decide to weigh myself…
Wow, that was a lot of rambling. You asked a great question there!
I like this. It’s such an easy way to simplify things. Remove the measuring and weighing and just let your body do its thing, and one less thing to worry or obsess over. I’m also planning on weighing myself in a few weeks, but maybe I won’t? If you do weigh yourself, is it really going to change anything?
BTW- to add to the praise, you are consistently destroying the workouts man. Are you planning on doing the T-ransformation this year?
Thanks for the praise, my man. And you raise a great question here, too: I’m not sure knowing my weight would change anything at all. I’m not really looking to be a 225-lbs monster crushing triple-bodyweight lifts, you know? Though I was close to that weight as a complete slob just a few years ago—ugh!—my hunch is it still wouldn’t be healthy for someone my age and height even if all that weight was lean mass, anyway.
So, yeah, what difference does it make? Gonna have to think more carefully about that. Probably it’d just be curiosity, more than anything…
re: 2022 T-ransformation challenge—absolutely! Lurking around in the 2021 thread and seeing the cheerful banter, the camaraderie, and the support is what ultimately convinced me (with my introvert tendencies) to bite the bullet and join the forum. So, so glad I did: I’m honestly a better person for it!
Same, I also like seeing BW to weight on the bar ratios. I’ve been lucking out on that front lately (I think… Last time I weighed myself was a month ago I think?) but it won’t last forever.
Awesome, man. There was a great crew in 2021 and I’m guessing even better competition this coming year. Seems like everyone is in a nice, steady groove right now. It’ll be interesting to see who flips the turbo switch on and pulls ahead of the pack.
Decent work today. And so far, feeling better than I have been. Deadlifts moved pretty well; first rep of 315 felt a little slow off the floor, but the rest were solid. Grip started failing around rep 3 or 4; managed to eke out all 5, but the last eccentric was rushed—didn’t drop it, but I let it down more quickly that normal. Was planning to start doing more Farmer’s Walks starting next week anyway, and that may help, but I might have to look into straps sooner rather than later. We’ll just see how things go…
Conventional. Or double-overhand? I’m not really sure about different grips and whatnot—I even had to look up hook grip recently, because someone mentioned that in their log. (@boilerman, maybe?) I’m not using that one, for sure. I’m pretty naive… I just grip the bar and go.
Edit: I think I’m wrong about the boilerman—now I’m thinking that discussion was actually about TnG v. deadstop.
I found a massive, massive improvement from switching to mixed grip. I’m not telling you to do that, because apparently it causes unspecified bad things, but i’ve never had the slightest issue.
Grip strength is massively affected by CNS stress (apparently). I’m led to believe that grip strength is a reliable test for stress and fatigue by smart people. Certainly matches my experiences
Good to know. I’m hoping it was just an anomaly—315 isn’t that heavy, and I’ve pulled far more reps in recent workouts, albeit at lower weight (but not much lower!), so maybe I just didn’t setup quite right from the start.
I’ve heard that before, actually. Interesting that it aligns with your experience.
Can’t say I’ve experienced that before, however. Maybe I just haven’t been pulling heavily enough!
I do know I’m not 100% right now, even if I’m feeling better today than earlier in the week (and even if I don’t know exactly what ails me). I suppose it could be CNS fatigue from all those Widowmakers the past 3 weeks… But that feels kind of like a cop-out at this point.
Honestly, my first point of call would be to just move away from double overhand. People like Wendler and Dan John recommend double overhand as a way to reduce your poundages by keeping yourself limited by grip.
Interesting. I would’ve guessed using straps would be the first move. (But as I said, I’m pretty naive when it comes to things like this.) I think I’ve still got some machismo wrapped in the fact that I don’t use straps… I’ve actually been dialoging with myself all day about how deadlifts aren’t a grip exercise!
Yeah, last deadlift day was my first attempt at hook grip and I hit 375x6 with minimal issues… Started losing my right thumb at the end of rep 6, though.
I used to do mixed grip but it seemed to have messed with my forearm issue so I switched to straps for DW due to the amount of time I’d have the bar in my hands. IMO, hook grip seems to be the most promising for my particular situation.
If grip is an issue and you don’t want to stop adding weight, I’d definitely look into some straps or start practicing another grip. It’d suck to have a huge total body movement limited by how much you can hold in your hands.