Seated BB OHP, no back support
115x6
105x10
Standing BB OHP
115x9
NG pull-up at BW+25
x12
x11
x9
Incline chest supported DB retraction row
37.5x21
37.5x19
Unilateral banded tricep pushdown, red band wrapped 3x
x30
wrapped 2x
x30
x30
I went stupidly far past failure on these. The last 10-15 reps of each set per hand were coaxed along with my opposing hand. Probably going to regret these tomorrow.
High incline DB curl at 27.5lb
x16
x14
x12
A bit disappointed in how difficult benching felt- but after 100 dips yesterday it was kind of expected. It’s all good. Deadlifting either tomorrow or thursday depending on when I’m finished with a side job after work.
I had a conversation with my powerlifting buddy earlier, and he just straight up told me to eat more. I’ve known it forever, and I know it’s my true downfall when it comes to progressing. I just hate having to eat so much, but him saying that really lit a fire under my ass.
I’m getting pretty sick of having a bench and press I’m not proud of. I think my squat and deadlift are “ok” due to the fact that they have been slowly progressing regardless of bodyweight, but I want to be better everywhere. My issue is food- I need more of it. My lifts exploded with building the monolith, and I gained about 6-7 lbs while running it. More bodyweight=goals being reached, therefore, more food needs to be eaten.
I’m going to hit a bodyweight of 220 before spring time, and I’m also going to hit a 5 plate deadlift. That 3 plate bench is going to go down in 2023.
At this point, it might be less about eating more food and more about making the food you DO eat have more calories per bite. That was something Dave Tate emphasized with gaining.
I know you are already a frequent consumer of nutbutters, but they are a magic trick here. With that burrito, next time, before you put anything inside it, slather the shell with peanut butter/sunflowerseed butter/something. For one, it’s delicious, but now you’ve added an extra 200-300 calories into the burrito that doesn’t really add more “food” to the burrito.
Dipping that grilled cheese in ranch between bites would add up.
Basically, condiments and sauces. Swapping milk with cream in shakes/cereal/whatever. Mayo where applicable, etc.
IDEALLY, this would come from quality nutrition sources too, but for short burst-fire gaining, a little dirt can go a long way too.
Haha, definitely. Cleaning is for sure the unenjoyable part… And the last 3 or 4 bites of that burrito kind of sucked, too.
@T3hPwnisher thanks for the tips dude. I’ve kind of been drifting (quite a lot) from deepwater/low carb style eating for that fact alone- I can use bread, tortillas, bagels etc as extra calories to move more protein into my stomach.
I like the idea of a layer of peanut/sun butter as a base to the burrito or sandwich. I think you’ve said before that you mix PB and avocado together, which is what that burrito would’ve been if I had laid some PB down before adding the greens and beef. I’ll be utilizing that for sure. I also remember you recommending protein powder cereal a few years back, which very well may make a return. I’ve been drinking 1/4-1/2 a liter of kefir a day as well. Might have to buy some whole milk and drink some extra calories.
I know I’m not doing myself any favors before/during work either. I’m still getting used to my new schedule with work and getting into a new routine. There will be a bit of trial and error, but I know for a fact I can be way more consistent with smaller and more frequent meals. I hate the feeling of bingeing 2-3 times a day and feeling like garbage for hours afterwards. I have a refrigerator and can bring a toaster oven into my (badass) office, so the opportunities are there to eat throughout the day, I just need to capitalize on it. My old routine is so engrained in my brain that the old habits are very hard to break.
Cluster pause triple at 445 (~20-30 seconds between reps)
(straps)
405x4
405x4
405x4
Seated BB good morning
185x6
225x6
250x12
250x12
250x12
250x12
Unilateral band leg curl
x30
x30
x30
Unilateral band leg extension
x30
x30
x30
Close stance heel elevated goblet squat
45x23
45x19
Timed planks
1 min 22 seconds
54 seconds
Deadlift day sucks and I hate it. The CP triple was supposed to be around RPE 7, and I’d like to believe that’s accurate. It might’ve ripped my back in half, but I know I could get three more reps out at 445. That 5 plate deadlift may actually be closer than I think.
I want to send the vid to coach to see what he thinks, but he’s got a meet tomorrow a few hours away so I don’t want to bother him. I’ve been watching his prep on Instagram and he’s a fucking beast.
I think I remember you, @jdm135 and possibly @T3hPwnisher recommending it to me a few times- I’ll buy a gallon(?) of it this weekend and give it a shot, thanks dude!
Decided to dip my toes back into creatine and see how I react to it. It’s been a couple years since I’ve used it so it’ll be interesting to see what happens, if anything.
Also, the sugar free metamucil is being brought back in. Gotta keep the guts moving.
Did you know that Whitney Houston’s debut LP, called simply Whitney Houston had 4 number one singles on it?
It’s hard to choose a favorite among so many great tracks, but “The Greatest Love of All” is one of the best, most powerful songs ever written about self-preservation, dignity. Its universal message crosses all boundaries and instills one with the hope that it’s not too late to better ourselves.
Since it’s impossible in this world we live in to empathize with others, we can always empathize with ourselves. It’s an important message, crucial really. And it’s beautifully stated on the album.
Wow flats, it seems that the album is pretty near and dear to you- I’ll lead with with honesty and say no, I had no idea her debut was that well received. She was in her peak as I was getting out of diapers, unfortunately. Just recently I’ve been diving in a little bit here and there by my brothers recommendations. I’ll be sure to dig a bit deeper into the catalogue! I have heard “Greatest Love of All” but never really thought about the meaning behind it! Listening to it now, I can definitely hear it plainly spelled out.
I’m all for taking songs at face value (see my love for fifth harmony and the like) and being able to just enjoy a song because of the way it sounds, but there are certain songs or albums every once and a while where you can hear and feel the emotions coming from the artist. It doesn’t necessarily have to be lyrically spelled out. Those are the kinds of songs I truly enjoy, and the artist having a positive message is icing on the cake. I think Whitney is incredibly unique in that way. She has one of the most expressive voices I’ve ever heard, and she could sing just about anything and people would feel the emotion behind it.
I appreciate you recommending that album to me, and I can assure you that I’ll listen to it in its entirety. I love getting music recommendations from people because it’s a little trip into other people’s brains- usually recs are led with a “why I like this enough to share”, and I can go into a song or album with a frame of reference as to what the other person was thinking or feeling at the time of listening. Thanks for that post dude!!!
Moved grip on on squats slightly and tried to drop the bar down a bit more. Some reps felt outstanding, some felt iffy as far as strength is concerned.
Unilateral banded tricep pushdown, red band wrapped 2x
x30
x19
x23
High incline DB curl at 25lb
x17
x12
x10
Wowza. Really screwed up on this one. My strength and stamina wasn’t anywhere to be found, which is strange because I thought I felt relatively well rested and “good” today. Tried digging pretty deep on those bench sets but that was all I had.
Your squat looks a lot like mine. Are you fairly long limbed dude? Bench for me has been a nemesis for as long as I remember. I feel better in my shit ass shoulders when I use a medium/close grip which is great, but I believe for us longer armed dudes it is not the most advantageous.
Yep I have pretty long legs and a wingspan that’s fairly proportional to my height.
Same, 100%. I typically keep my ring fingers on the rings of the BB for bench, and much closer than that for OHP. Any wider and I feel it torquing my shoulders and forearms in a horrible, horrible way.
I don’t seem to have good proportions for any lift, haha.
