I’ll keep my eye out for them. I’m pretty sure you can find those on your own, though 
Today’s video: 11.22.09 DE Bench - YouTube
(yes, I was going light. I’m still getting used to benching against the bands. It’s a very weird feeling, and it makes me a bit unstable.)
Great workouts MCL. And you workout with hot chicks.
[quote]ecogenx wrote:
Great workouts MCL. And you workout with hot chicks.[/quote]
They both just got elite totals (and a few world records) at WPL Worlds in Las Vegas.
11/24/09 ME LOWER
Wow. That killed my back, hams, and glutes. I declare this good work.
Warmup: BW squats, shoulder traction, band rotator cuff work, hip flexor stretching, tire pull (long route)
Safety squat bar to 12.5" box: 5@bar, 5@170
SSB to 12.5" box + foam: 3@170+90 lb chains, 2x2@260+ 90c, 1@280+90c (PR), MISS@290+90c, 2@260+90c drop set
Deficit stiff-legged DL on 4" box: 10@135, 5@225, 5@315
SSB good morning: 3x5@170
GHR: 3x8
Rev. Hyper: 3x12@250
Weight: 257.5. I was wondering when that’d start to fall back off.
Nice work, mcl. Glad to see you back at it full tilt.
Video from last night: 11.24.09 ME Lower - YouTube
MCL, have a great holiday. Great videos.
MCL, have a great holiday. Love the videos.
Looks like strong training. I am still waiting on a report on your thoughts about Westside-style vs. 5-3-1. Happy Thanksgiving!
11/26/09 ME UPPER
Warmups: band rotator cuff work, dislocations
Bench: 20@bar, 10@135, 5@185, 2@205, 1@225, 1@245 (PR), 2xMISS@255, 3@205
Fat bar floor press: 10@bar, 10@125, 5@165, MISS@185
cable row: 3x10@90
farmer’s walk: 1@230 (tore up my hands)
panora press 3x15 w/doubled monster mini
rolling H: 3x10@15
roman situps: 3x10
Weight: 256
My opinion of westside vs. 5-3-1? I don’t think I’m in much of a position to have a well-formed opinion, though I do think that the explosiveness work on DE days is really paying off. Also, having more and better equipment available and being surrounded by a bunch of much stronger people who all have the same goals is invaluable.
And hey, I just added 20 lbs to my 1RM bench in just over a month. Something must be working. 
Today’s video: 11.26.09 ME Bench - YouTube
I made 245 look easy. It felt easy, too. Weird that I missed 255 twice. I think by that time my lats and tris were just shot (as evidenced by the immediate failure on the fat bar floor press after some significant rest – I spent about 30 minutes spotting people after my bench sets).
I think if I’d gone straight for 255 I’d’ve had it. And, since 250 was my year-end bench goal, rest assured I’ll be trying it again in a month.
It seems I’ve got a sticking point about 2"-4" off my chest (found that on my 255 failures), so I’ll probably be doing some 1-board and 2-board work in the next month to get past it.
Nice PR, mcl. Great job!
I agree on the 255. It will definitely fall come next attempt.
I have the same issue 2-4" off my chest. I have tried 2 bd presses, but I think they are just a tad high for where I am weakest. I am going to try 1 bd. I’ll be very interested to see your take on them.
I have to say: It’s really nice to be able to do lifts to failure. I couldn’t possibly do that when lifting alone, at least not on bench. With squats, I could dump to the pins, and with deads, I could always drop it. But this is the first time I’ve had handoffs, or spotters.
The security of knowing that you can go all out and have someone grab the bar if you begin to screw up is something I’ll never underestimate again.
I also think I’ll get 255 in the next few weeks because I was repping it on reverse green bands two weeks ago, and while the bands were helping a bit off the chest, there was nothing near lockout. So if I can just get past that sticking point, I’ll be golden. Thankfully, boards and speed work are for solving just that sort of problem.
Oh, and a note to myself: roman chair situps are a hip/leg exercise, not abs. Now I’ve got to do some ab work before bed.
11/28/09 DE LOWER
Slept on my bad (right) shoulder wrong, and woke up with it absolutely killing me. Plus, the rest of my joints were joining in. Weird, I’ve never really had that problem before.
Got in to the gym and did a lot of traction, and some rotator cuff work. Even the band rotator cuff work hurt. Could be because I was doing them with a Monster Mini rather than the micromini bands…
Popped my last prescription anti-inflammatory along with a handful of ibuprofen.
Squat to 14.5" box + foam: 10@bar, 2x5@bar + doubled monster minis, 5@95+dbl mm, 3@135+dbl mm, 8x2@185+dbl mm. The squats were really killing my shoulders and elbows at lockout, with the bands pushing the bar down on them.
Stiff-legged speed deadlifts vs. quadded micro minis: 3@135, 6x3@225
Roman chair situps: 3x8
Tried to do GHR, but my quads were really tender. I only managed 4, then switched to seeated band leg curls (blue band): 3x8
Reverse Hyper: 3x8@320
Standing ab work: 3x15@50
Tomorrow I’m doing some copious foam rolling. I’ve got an ice pack on my shoulder right now, trying to get the tendons to relax a bit. I’ll keep it iced the rest of the night, see how it feels in the morning.
I should be good for benching tomorrow, since oddly the bench ROM is the only movement that /doesn’t/ tweak my shoulder right now. Anything lateral absolutely kills it though.
Weight: 257.5.
I can barely move right now, I’m so sore from everything. Hopefully I’ll get some recovery in tonight.
That band stuff can really make the bar bite the external rotators.
How much do you figger the quadded mm add to the bar on the DL?
I was getting about 200 out of my mini’s when I was still doing speed deads…for which there’s a funny story.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
That band stuff can really make the bar bite the external rotators.
How much do you figger the quadded mm add to the bar on the DL?
I was getting about 200 out of my mini’s when I was still doing speed deads…for which there’s a funny story.[/quote]
No idea. I’d be shocked if it was more than about 60 or so on those micro minis. Now, if it were the normal minis or especially the monster minis, I wouldn’t doubt 200 at the top at all.
Yeah, the bands on the squat were hitting my shoulders hard, but also torquing my elbows, which is entirely new, and my wrists (which is not new, which is why I wrap them when doing band work on squats. I love my EFS wraps, even if the rest of my team uses APT Convicts. ) I’m wondering if part of it’s because I like to get the bar low on my back, so my arms are supporting it more. With a higher bar position, more of my back’d be taking the strain.
I’m wondering if it’s not just a case of the workload being different and varied, and my body’s not accustomed to it yet. After I PR’d my bench, I looked at how long I’d been with them. I joined Team Wild Iron on Oct. 30, and I spent one week of the past month trying to train with my nose bleeding copiously, and spent another week doing absolutely nothing while I finally recovered from my surgery and my stubbornness.
So, in truth, I’ve only got 2 solid weeks of WSBB methodology under my belt. It’s not too surprising that I’m all achy from this stuff right now.
mcl, you’re doing great! Great work… Great progress… Keep tearing it up!
Thanks. I’m realizing I may have compressed a disc, though, since the outside of my right thigh is a bit numb (which is supposed to indicate L4-L5 compression, and nerve impingement). I’m going to try to do some stretching and hopefully decompress it.
Yesterday’s video: 11.28.09 DE Squats - YouTube