Brotherhood of Iron 2.0

Training Bodybuilding
2841

[quote]josh86 wrote:
LiveFromThe781 wrote:
josh86 wrote:
Also Live, if it is truely stalling and time to swap it out…don’t freak out. You can build a big, thick back without deadlifts I promise. I haven’t done a deadlift or rack pull in about 5-6 months and my back width/thickness is still definitely my best feature.

Try some Yates Rows, T-bar Rows (chest-supported or not), HS Rows, Kroc Rows (if you gym has DBs heavy enough, mine doesn’t), Rack Pull + Shrug, etc…

Edit: Also, aren’t you a fairly lean 200+ lbs? Have you considered bumping protein to 400g/day?

getting up to 400 would be hard. doesnt mean i cant do it, just gonna cost me more, but i got all this money laying around so might as well use it for something. im already taking 3 gainer shakes of 60Protein a day lol at LEAST but hey gotta do what you gotta do.

Well its just an idea to see if it helps you continue packing on strength/size. Try moving some of your macro nutrients around, swap some carbs throughout the day for protein instead. I seriously eat very very little carbs all day until pre/post workout.[/quote]

all i hear anyone say is the faster your metabolism the more carbs you need to ingest. so i take in a ton of carbs, probaly doulbe my protein intake but i dont count so its hard to say, probaly highr than double.

2842

for you guys saying i should drop my worksets, do you think id be better off doing 3 exercises of two worksets? so 2 for flat, 2 for incline, 2 for decline then maybe 3 high reps for the pump?

right now im doing 10/11 sets + 3 pump sets for my chest day doing 2 only would take my to 6+ 3

2843

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
No josh ahhaahahah after your little rant… I DO use straps, I’m not dumb… and I’m prettttty sure I know how to wrap them correctly (strap goes under the bar and comes back up over the top)… the straps are usually fine though the ones I’ve been using are POS and tearing (I have some new ones from EliteFTS waiting for me at home) but I have some gnarly calluses on my hands that have been tearing so I’m in excruciating pain while I’m doing them. Does that make sense? And sometimes I get a better strap tightness then other times… idk. [/quote]

Ok man I feel you on the tearing, mine are tearing too and I actually just picked up some cheapo ones for today’s back session since I’ll be doing rack pulls + shrugs and don’t want them finishing the tear mid set. However, I haven’t had any issues with losing my grip even with my shitty tearing straps.

If these cheapos I just bought on my lunch break aren’t any good then I’ll probably order some from elitefts myself.

I feel you on the callouses, mine hurt like a mother sometimes. Especially when doing the lat stretch hang for 60+ seconds.

Dre - bug is right, you wrap under the bar then over.

2844

[quote]josh86 wrote:
bugeishaAD wrote:
No josh ahhaahahah after your little rant… I DO use straps, I’m not dumb… and I’m prettttty sure I know how to wrap them correctly (strap goes under the bar and comes back up over the top)… the straps are usually fine though the ones I’ve been using are POS and tearing (I have some new ones from EliteFTS waiting for me at home) but I have some gnarly calluses on my hands that have been tearing so I’m in excruciating pain while I’m doing them. Does that make sense? And sometimes I get a better strap tightness then other times… idk.

Ok man I feel you on the tearing, mine are tearing too and I actually just picked up some cheapo ones for today’s back session since I’ll be doing rack pulls + shrugs and don’t want them finishing the tear mid set. However, I haven’t had any issues with losing my grip even with my shitty tearing straps.

If these cheapos I just bought on my lunch break aren’t any good then I’ll probably order some from elitefts myself.

I feel you on the callouses, mine hurt like a mother sometimes. Especially when doing the lat stretch hang for 60+ seconds.

Dre - bug is right, you wrap under the bar then over.[/quote]

I know it’s not that economical but when I deadlift in my gym I wrap the bar with athletic tape. Since we can’t use chalk. I also use the liquid chalk from elitefts which helps a bit.

I’ve ripped callouses off my hands before, hurts like a mothertrucker.

2845

Live - maybe try something like warming up to your max weight avoiding any kind of fatigue on all warm ups then hit a heavy set of 6-8 reps (this should be all out max effort) and then rest until you feel ready and do a set in the 10-12 range (this should also be all out max effort).

I don’t believe more than that is really needed…try that for your main pressing movements? Then just make sure you are adding weight each week while still at least matching reps from the previous week if not beating reps as well.

2846

[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
josh86 wrote:
LiveFromThe781 wrote:
josh86 wrote:
Also Live, if it is truely stalling and time to swap it out…don’t freak out. You can build a big, thick back without deadlifts I promise. I haven’t done a deadlift or rack pull in about 5-6 months and my back width/thickness is still definitely my best feature.

Try some Yates Rows, T-bar Rows (chest-supported or not), HS Rows, Kroc Rows (if you gym has DBs heavy enough, mine doesn’t), Rack Pull + Shrug, etc…

Edit: Also, aren’t you a fairly lean 200+ lbs? Have you considered bumping protein to 400g/day?

getting up to 400 would be hard. doesnt mean i cant do it, just gonna cost me more, but i got all this money laying around so might as well use it for something. im already taking 3 gainer shakes of 60Protein a day lol at LEAST but hey gotta do what you gotta do.

Well its just an idea to see if it helps you continue packing on strength/size. Try moving some of your macro nutrients around, swap some carbs throughout the day for protein instead. I seriously eat very very little carbs all day until pre/post workout.

all i hear anyone say is the faster your metabolism the more carbs you need to ingest. so i take in a ton of carbs, probaly doulbe my protein intake but i dont count so its hard to say, probaly highr than double.

[/quote]

3 weight gainer shakes a day? That’s a lot man. Can’t you just eat more whole foods and use whole milk?

2847

[quote]dre wrote:
josh86 wrote:
bugeishaAD wrote:
No josh ahhaahahah after your little rant… I DO use straps, I’m not dumb… and I’m prettttty sure I know how to wrap them correctly (strap goes under the bar and comes back up over the top)… the straps are usually fine though the ones I’ve been using are POS and tearing (I have some new ones from EliteFTS waiting for me at home) but I have some gnarly calluses on my hands that have been tearing so I’m in excruciating pain while I’m doing them. Does that make sense? And sometimes I get a better strap tightness then other times… idk.

Ok man I feel you on the tearing, mine are tearing too and I actually just picked up some cheapo ones for today’s back session since I’ll be doing rack pulls + shrugs and don’t want them finishing the tear mid set. However, I haven’t had any issues with losing my grip even with my shitty tearing straps.

If these cheapos I just bought on my lunch break aren’t any good then I’ll probably order some from elitefts myself.

I feel you on the callouses, mine hurt like a mother sometimes. Especially when doing the lat stretch hang for 60+ seconds.

Dre - bug is right, you wrap under the bar then over.

I know it’s not that economical but when I deadlift in my gym I wrap the bar with athletic tape. Since we can’t use chalk. I also use the liquid chalk from elitefts which helps a bit.

I’ve ripped callouses off my hands before, hurts like a mothertrucker.[/quote]

Can’t use chalk at my gym either, but I do it anyway and no one tells me shit.

If you don’t want to be a rebel maybe try getting one of those chalk bags that pitchers use and keep it in your pocket or gym bag while you’re lifting…its a bit more stealth.

Bug - Out of curiosity which straps did you go with?

2848

Bug - Forgot 1 more thing to mention. Try getting a pumice stone and use it on your callouses when you take a shower…it really does do wonders. My issue is that I forget to use it until my callouses get to that super painful level or start tearing…but when I do use it it helps a lot. Especially with smoothing them out so my hands don’t scratch the GF.

2849

[quote]josh86 wrote:
dre wrote:
josh86 wrote:
bugeishaAD wrote:
No josh ahhaahahah after your little rant… I DO use straps, I’m not dumb… and I’m prettttty sure I know how to wrap them correctly (strap goes under the bar and comes back up over the top)… the straps are usually fine though the ones I’ve been using are POS and tearing (I have some new ones from EliteFTS waiting for me at home) but I have some gnarly calluses on my hands that have been tearing so I’m in excruciating pain while I’m doing them. Does that make sense? And sometimes I get a better strap tightness then other times… idk.

Ok man I feel you on the tearing, mine are tearing too and I actually just picked up some cheapo ones for today’s back session since I’ll be doing rack pulls + shrugs and don’t want them finishing the tear mid set. However, I haven’t had any issues with losing my grip even with my shitty tearing straps.

If these cheapos I just bought on my lunch break aren’t any good then I’ll probably order some from elitefts myself.

I feel you on the callouses, mine hurt like a mother sometimes. Especially when doing the lat stretch hang for 60+ seconds.

Dre - bug is right, you wrap under the bar then over.

I know it’s not that economical but when I deadlift in my gym I wrap the bar with athletic tape. Since we can’t use chalk. I also use the liquid chalk from elitefts which helps a bit.

I’ve ripped callouses off my hands before, hurts like a mothertrucker.

Can’t use chalk at my gym either, but I do it anyway and no one tells me shit.

If you don’t want to be a rebel maybe try getting one of those chalk bags that pitchers use and keep it in your pocket or gym bag while you’re lifting…its a bit more stealth.

Bug - Out of curiosity which straps did you go with?[/quote]

I’ve thought about that but this place is free and I don’t want to screw up a good thing. They are very strict about the no chalk thing. The football team can’t even use chalk for god sakes. How f*cked up is that? They have all these olympic lifting platforms and awesome equipment, but no chalk for you!

Anyways, between the athletic tape and liquid chalk I do just fine. When the liquid chalk runs out I’m going to try Grrrip gel.

2850

S29 W3 D2

Deficit Deads
225x3
225x3
275x3
275x3
295x3
295x3
295x3
295x3

Bench
145x5
175x5
205x3
205x3
225x3
225x2
225x2
245x2
245x2
225x3
225x3

Rack Pull
275x4
315x4
315x4
365x3
365x3
410x2
410x2
410x2

Incline DB Press
70x10
70x10
70x10

Notes: Deficits were good, bench was really good and smooth today. rack pulls where feeling better. Hit the 70 bells for 3 sets of 10 on inclines, instead of 10-8-6.

Worked out at the highschool, so I was laughing to myself the whole time. Just caught a reflection of my back in the TV just now, it looked cool.

I’m at home now, and I’m happy as can be. The next month will be awesome in terms of training and eating and sleeping. Slept 11 hours last night. My projected PR’s will definitely fall this cycle, no doubt about it. 295 bench, 385 squat, 475 dead. Call me on it.

Stress levels are about zero right now. Life is really, really good.

2851

[quote]dre wrote:
LiveFromThe781 wrote:
josh86 wrote:
LiveFromThe781 wrote:
josh86 wrote:
Also Live, if it is truely stalling and time to swap it out…don’t freak out. You can build a big, thick back without deadlifts I promise. I haven’t done a deadlift or rack pull in about 5-6 months and my back width/thickness is still definitely my best feature.

Try some Yates Rows, T-bar Rows (chest-supported or not), HS Rows, Kroc Rows (if you gym has DBs heavy enough, mine doesn’t), Rack Pull + Shrug, etc…

Edit: Also, aren’t you a fairly lean 200+ lbs? Have you considered bumping protein to 400g/day?

getting up to 400 would be hard. doesnt mean i cant do it, just gonna cost me more, but i got all this money laying around so might as well use it for something. im already taking 3 gainer shakes of 60Protein a day lol at LEAST but hey gotta do what you gotta do.

Well its just an idea to see if it helps you continue packing on strength/size. Try moving some of your macro nutrients around, swap some carbs throughout the day for protein instead. I seriously eat very very little carbs all day until pre/post workout.

all i hear anyone say is the faster your metabolism the more carbs you need to ingest. so i take in a ton of carbs, probaly doulbe my protein intake but i dont count so its hard to say, probaly highr than double.

3 weight gainer shakes a day? That’s a lot man. Can’t you just eat more whole foods and use whole milk? [/quote]

im on my 4th sloppy joe right now and theres fries too. its not easy getting in 5-7,000 calories a day from sandwhiches and shit alone.

i got 1400 today just from 2 things of Hood egg nog at school. this girl in my class who did a figure show (4th/15 i think) was like oooo thats too much youre not a bodybuilder. im like yea, but i will be. and theyll name a contest after me lol.

2852

[quote]josh86 wrote:
Live - maybe try something like warming up to your max weight avoiding any kind of fatigue on all warm ups then hit a heavy set of 6-8 reps (this should be all out max effort) and then rest until you feel ready and do a set in the 10-12 range (this should also be all out max effort).

I don’t believe more than that is really needed…try that for your main pressing movements? Then just make sure you are adding weight each week while still at least matching reps from the previous week if not beating reps as well.[/quote]

and what do you suggest for the other exercises on my chest day?

incline
decline
finisher

drop them in favor of a push/pull/legs split? or just do the same thing on each of them minus the finisher.

2853

has anyone here tryed low cable pulls with a pronated girp just holding like a pipe preety much with a hook to latch on. Im not sure what it is but when i do these opposed to the d cable i get such a nice contraction in the back. Its so sweeeeet lol

2854

[quote]LiveFromThe781 wrote:
josh86 wrote:
Live - maybe try something like warming up to your max weight avoiding any kind of fatigue on all warm ups then hit a heavy set of 6-8 reps (this should be all out max effort) and then rest until you feel ready and do a set in the 10-12 range (this should also be all out max effort).

I don’t believe more than that is really needed…try that for your main pressing movements? Then just make sure you are adding weight each week while still at least matching reps from the previous week if not beating reps as well.

and what do you suggest for the other exercises on my chest day?

incline
decline
finisher

drop them in favor of a push/pull/legs split? or just do the same thing on each of them minus the finisher.[/quote]

Oh man I wasn’t saying to change your split. I love a traditional bodypart split.

Use the rep ranges for your flat, incline, decline. What’s your finisher? That ones really totally up to you. It all is really, but it won’t hurt t try my suggestion. It’s all about trial and error.

2855

ive been switching up my finisher.

i usually do some kind of fly variation. lately its been inc/flat flys with a whopping 30 pounds.

i stretch the shit out of my chest with it though, my arms go way beyond parallel to the floor. i cant even get a chest stretch on the fly machine anymore, i let it go back so far that the plates are in place again and im just like shit, when did my chest become so loose?

what i think is interesting though is that even when i dont beat the log book in my workouts im still sore the next day. my chest is still sore from my Monday workout and its Wednesday night, im sure itll be sore tomorrow too. my back is sore, especially my traps and i only did 2 exercises on my back day.

2856

[quote]crod266 wrote:
has anyone here tryed low cable pulls with a pronated girp just holding like a pipe preety much with a hook to latch on. Im not sure what it is but when i do these opposed to the d cable i get such a nice contraction in the back. Its so sweeeeet lol[/quote]

I don’t think I’ve done these exactly like you described (sort of), but this did remind me of 2 years ago when I “invented” face pulls and was showing them to someone else, not knowing they were commonly used to avoid shoulder imbalances and hugely beneficial for shoulder health. I’d forgotten about that amusing event until now.

2857

Tonight’s Back

Wide-grip Lat Pulldown:

270x9, 5, 3 (17 RP)

Yate Row:

365x8, 315x12

Rack Pull + Shrug:

495x6, 405x10

*Not bad considering I haven’t touched a Rack Pull in a LONG time and last time I did I could barely get 1 rep with 495 and it was very sloppy and probably unsafe lol.

Side Note: My XL Testosterone and Red Tribal shirts just got here today…hope they are big enough. I got sick of stretching the shit out of my Larges every time before wearing them. :wink:

2858

you fucker haha. I fill out larges everywhere except the sleeves. :frowning: Sad day.

Good to see our back workouts are almost the same. What’s your reasoning for doing yates rows first? CC, DC people, any input here? I’d been doing rack pulls before them but I know DC people like to finish with that big movement so IDK.

As for the straps, Idk, I got some good ones hahaha, I don’t remember though. I’m picking them up tomorrow and let you know.

2859

Well the Rack Pulls destroy the lower back a lot more than the Yates Row. I’d rather do the Yates Row which doesn’t really cause my lower back to fatigue first rather than doing the Rack Pulls first and then having to endure the lower back pain throughout my next exercise. Basically I like doing the super painful exercise last so I don’t have to keep lifting while in pain for the rest of my session haha.

2860

i wish i could rack pull still.

doing them on the smith sucks.

before that though i used to do them on the preacher curl. id just steal a BB from the bench and place it on there and stand on a 45. it was a little awkward but you get used to it. then the gym mgmt. was like uh, thats too noisy, this isnt a powerlifting gym and thats not what that (the preacher curl) is for so you have to stop because our assholes are sore from fucking each other and we’re very sensitive today.