Brotherhood of Iron 2.0

Training Bodybuilding
941

Bug, I can tell you from my own experience, It sucked when i dipped back under 200. Like Shugart wrote, there seems to be some kind of stigma here(T-Nation, not the BOI) with some of the guys where if you arent over 200, then you aren’t work a shit and your advice doesnt mean anything.

I am very glad i leaned down a bit, my lifts are all up from when i was 20 pounds heavier, and for the first time in my life, I can actually see what my muscles look like, and i can see them working, which has seemed to help with my mind/muscle connection.

At 5"10ish and 190, people can still tell i lift, and im still eating for size, Hell, i just finished off a half gallon of milk post workout, so its not like i’m afraid of calories now, I just had to lose the fat, along with some bad habits, and its made gaining muscle that much easier, hell, i’ve seen the best progress of my life during and after losing the fat.

Ultimately its about whats gonna make you happy though, I feel like sometimes people forget that. Anybody who plans on doing this for life needs to enjoy that, if that means TBT,bodypart splits, powerlifting workouts, etc. You make this a part of your life that you enjoy. We all spend too much time on this to make it a chore, it should be fun, even when its so damn hard that you lose your lunch after a set of 20 rep squats, you should still enjoy going to the gym, and results that you’re getting.

If you don’t care about seeing your abs, and you wanna be a bit strong motherfucker, by all means, do everything in your power to get there. If you wanna make the choice to sacrifice a little size and strength for a while to lean out, and that will make you happy, then go full out in that respect too.

Because if you aren’t doing what you really want to do, and are just going through the motions, you will never get the results you want.

Just my thought.

–JB

942

[quote]WS4JB wrote:

Just my thought.

–JB [/quote]

943

Good post JB. I completely agree.

944

Week II

Workout #2
Deadlift 6x3x245
135x10
185x8
225x6
245x4,4,4,4,4,4

Clean and press
95x8
115x6,5

A1. Alternate DB curl
35²x10,9,6
A2. Incline DB overhead extension
60x12
70x12,10

Another good session tonight. Switched to clean and press for shoulders cause I feel i need to bring up my upper back.

Everyone’s looking good. I see new PR’s coming soon.

945

Nate, I’m haven’t ever tested my BF, just using experience and the mirror as a guide.

JB, et, al, I agree 100%.

Energy levels were low today but I had a solid back workout.

Wednesday - Back

Wide-grip pullups warmup

BWx6
BWx7
BWx8

Rack pulls (pins set just below knee level)

225lbs x 4
315lbs x 15
405lbs x 12
455lbs x 10
495lbs x 8
515lbs x 6 (had more in the tank)

Barbell rows (working on MUCH better and tighter technique… not perfect, but more bent over and more into my stomach than chest… I’ll get a vid in a few weeks)

225lbs x 12
245lbs x 8
275lbs x 6

DB Rows

75lbs x 6
90lbs x 6
100lbs x 30 (the powerlifting team had the heavy DB’s locked down, ugh)

Lat pulldowns, thumbless grip

160lbs x 15
175lbs x 12
stack x 10

DC lat stretch, hanging from pullup bar. I don’t feel like the straps helped enough or I did them wrong because my grip gave out first.

One set calf raises, but my hammies and glutes are super tight and it was hurting for some reason.

time to eat.

946

[quote]dre wrote:
WS4JB wrote:

Just my thought.

–JB

[/quote]

What Dre said!!! Well said JB.

947

I want to get your guys’ opinion on the use of rack deads to bring up the deadlift.

There was a discussion on the boards awhile back where everyone pretty much agreed that doing rack deads with over 100% or more of your 1rm made your regular deadlift go up.

I know DC guys use this exercise for their back training and I know they base their progress on how stronger they get on certain movements, but what do you guys say coming from a strength perspective?

I’m not too worried about size, because that will come in time with the strength gains and good food.

The only REAL issue I see is in the past when I have done rack deads I used a conventional stance at the time and it always would put my back in a weird position and I never felt “strong” from there.

Would using my sumo stance alleviate this feeling of uneasiness? Do you think I should switch in sumo rack deads into my deadlift training or keep pulling from the floor until progress ceases?

Another note I’ll make is the progress I have seen thus far with my deadlifting in the last few weeks definetly has to do with me not squatting. By keeping that extra stress off my back I believe that has helped me recover faster and progress faster on the lift. However backward sled dragging will destroy your quads, so I am still training legs via GPP.

I like this type of training because I still get stronger in the gym, get to lift heavy enough to feel like I’m doing work, and get to do fun DE lower body stuff and feel fresh and ready to hit PR’s when my ME lower body day comes.

Sorry this is so long.
Just trying to find out what works.

All the best.

-xb

948

[quote]xb-C wrote:
I want to get your guys’ opinion on the use of rack deads to bring up the deadlift.

There was a discussion on the boards awhile back where everyone pretty much agreed that doing rack deads with over 100% or more of your 1rm made your regular deadlift go up.

I know DC guys use this exercise for their back training and I know they base their progress on how stronger they get on certain movements, but what do you guys say coming from a strength perspective?

I’m not too worried about size, because that will come in time with the strength gains and good food.

The only REAL issue I see is in the past when I have done rack deads I used a conventional stance at the time and it always would put my back in a weird position and I never felt “strong” from there.

Would using my sumo stance alleviate this feeling of uneasiness? Do you think I should switch in sumo rack deads into my deadlift training or keep pulling from the floor until progress ceases?

Another note I’ll make is the progress I have seen thus far with my deadlifting in the last few weeks definetly has to do with me not squatting. By keeping that extra stress off my back I believe that has helped me recover faster and progress faster on the lift. However backward sled dragging will destroy your quads, so I am still training legs via GPP.

I like this type of training because I still get stronger in the gym, get to lift heavy enough to feel like I’m doing work, and get to do fun DE lower body stuff and feel fresh and ready to hit PR’s when my ME lower body day comes.

Sorry this is so long.
Just trying to find out what works.

All the best.

-xb

[/quote]

Would it be possible for you to submit a vid of you doing rack-pulls?
I’ve got the feeling that your setup and hence form were the issue… I remember having had some similar experience…

949

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
xb-C wrote:
I want to get your guys’ opinion on the use of rack deads to bring up the deadlift.

There was a discussion on the boards awhile back where everyone pretty much agreed that doing rack deads with over 100% or more of your 1rm made your regular deadlift go up.

I know DC guys use this exercise for their back training and I know they base their progress on how stronger they get on certain movements, but what do you guys say coming from a strength perspective?

I’m not too worried about size, because that will come in time with the strength gains and good food.

The only REAL issue I see is in the past when I have done rack deads I used a conventional stance at the time and it always would put my back in a weird position and I never felt “strong” from there.

Would using my sumo stance alleviate this feeling of uneasiness? Do you think I should switch in sumo rack deads into my deadlift training or keep pulling from the floor until progress ceases?

Another note I’ll make is the progress I have seen thus far with my deadlifting in the last few weeks definetly has to do with me not squatting. By keeping that extra stress off my back I believe that has helped me recover faster and progress faster on the lift. However backward sled dragging will destroy your quads, so I am still training legs via GPP.

I like this type of training because I still get stronger in the gym, get to lift heavy enough to feel like I’m doing work, and get to do fun DE lower body stuff and feel fresh and ready to hit PR’s when my ME lower body day comes.

Sorry this is so long.
Just trying to find out what works.

All the best.

-xb

Would it be possible for you to submit a vid of you doing rack-pulls?
I’ve got the feeling that your setup and hence form were the issue… I remember having had some similar experience…

[/quote]
Ya I can do that tomorrow. Before my deadlift workout.
Would you want me to setup conventionaly or sumo?

950

Wow, that was an awesome post JB.

It pretty much mirrors my past experiences. I started out at 135, zig-zagged my way up to 180, and then went all out to 200 (the dirty cake and cookie laden way to get there). I thought I only had 10-15 lbs to lose to get lean, so I was very surprised when I had to lose 30 lbs to reach a level of leanness that I was satisfied with. Since then I’ve been watching my bodyfat a little closer so it doesnt get out of hand again.

I still eat like a pig during my post workout meal, but try to stick mostly to clean food (pasta, milk, meat and fruits instead of the cookies, sweets and other crap I usually had) and the rest of the time I try to stick to meat, veggies and good fats (and I usually have carbs for breakfast on my workout days).

951

xb - I haven’t really done rack pulls for an extended period of time but I would have to believe that they would help your deadlift. Especially if you are working above your 1RM. I look at them a lot like board presses. On a 3 board press I can work with a weight that is a lot higher than my 1RM on bench. So, I would think that using more weight would have to help increase your 1RM.

The other thing is it gets your body use to handling heavier weight which also helps your confidence. I say go for it!

952

Training session from last night. Deads, 6x3

Deads
135x8
225x5
275x4
335x3
335x3
335x3
335x3
335x3
335x3

It was fantastic doing deads again last night. It’s by far my favorite thing to do in the gym. I still have some form issues that I need to work on. I think I straighten my legs too fast and end up finishing the lift with my back. Gotta work on that if I want to pull heavier weight.

953

I don’t have a lot of experience with rack pulls either but I love them! It’s nice to do a deadlift-esque movement without taxing my legs too hard (almost at all) so that I can really hit my back like I’m wanting to. I do them conventionally by the way.

P.S. and by the way, how do y’all do them? When I pull from the floor, I come do a full stop between reps, but on rack pulls I was doing more of a touch-and-go/bounce. I know this makes it somewhat easier but if felt very bodybuilder and I liked it plus I can use a lot of plates (for me) that makes people go “ooooOOoooo”. Ha.

954

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
I don’t have a lot of experience with rack pulls either but I love them! It’s nice to do a deadlift-esque movement without taxing my legs too hard (almost at all) so that I can really hit my back like I’m wanting to. I do them conventionally by the way.

P.S. and by the way, how do y’all do them? When I pull from the floor, I come do a full stop between reps, but on rack pulls I was doing more of a touch-and-go/bounce. I know this makes it somewhat easier but if felt very bodybuilder and I liked it plus I can use a lot of plates (for me) that makes people go “ooooOOoooo”. Ha.[/quote]

And it’s all about the “ooooOOoooo” factor man!!

955

[quote]xb-C wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
xb-C wrote:
I want to get your guys’ opinion on the use of rack deads to bring up the deadlift.

There was a discussion on the boards awhile back where everyone pretty much agreed that doing rack deads with over 100% or more of your 1rm made your regular deadlift go up.

I know DC guys use this exercise for their back training and I know they base their progress on how stronger they get on certain movements, but what do you guys say coming from a strength perspective?

I’m not too worried about size, because that will come in time with the strength gains and good food.

The only REAL issue I see is in the past when I have done rack deads I used a conventional stance at the time and it always would put my back in a weird position and I never felt “strong” from there.

Would using my sumo stance alleviate this feeling of uneasiness? Do you think I should switch in sumo rack deads into my deadlift training or keep pulling from the floor until progress ceases?

Another note I’ll make is the progress I have seen thus far with my deadlifting in the last few weeks definetly has to do with me not squatting. By keeping that extra stress off my back I believe that has helped me recover faster and progress faster on the lift. However backward sled dragging will destroy your quads, so I am still training legs via GPP.

I like this type of training because I still get stronger in the gym, get to lift heavy enough to feel like I’m doing work, and get to do fun DE lower body stuff and feel fresh and ready to hit PR’s when my ME lower body day comes.

Sorry this is so long.
Just trying to find out what works.

All the best.

-xb

Would it be possible for you to submit a vid of you doing rack-pulls?
I’ve got the feeling that your setup and hence form were the issue… I remember having had some similar experience…

Ya I can do that tomorrow. Before my deadlift workout.
Would you want me to setup conventionaly or sumo?

[/quote]

Conventional, for the vid.

956

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
I don’t have a lot of experience with rack pulls either but I love them! It’s nice to do a deadlift-esque movement without taxing my legs too hard (almost at all) so that I can really hit my back like I’m wanting to. I do them conventionally by the way.

P.S. and by the way, how do y’all do them? When I pull from the floor, I come do a full stop between reps, but on rack pulls I was doing more of a touch-and-go/bounce.

I know this makes it somewhat easier but if felt very bodybuilder and I liked it plus I can use a lot of plates (for me) that makes people go “ooooOOoooo”. Ha.[/quote]

I have a half-second or maybe one-second stop between reps. I shrug backwards after locking out.

That really helped with the upper-back thickness…

#Edit: My stops between reps grow longer as I fatigue, of course.

Floor deads are fine and dandy but I prefer rack deads simply because it’s much easier to keep your spine arched at all times… You don’t have to worry about that awkward (for me, anyway) position you’re in when pulling off the floor.

Then again, my low back and flexibility in the lower parts of the dl position have always been a weak point…

A life spent hunched in front of computers, game consoles (I’m talking NES, Snes and MUCH earlier ones here, not the new stuff… Amiga and such, too… good times :wink: and the tv (watching cartoon network, mind you, the only English channel that we could receive) has left it’s marks…

957

Here’s today’s ME deadlift:

215x5
275x3
335x2
385x1
440x1
500x1
455x1/1/1
(LIGHTWEIGHT BABY!)

GM Squats:
225x5

Weighted Crunches:
45x30

Hanging Leg Raises:
bwx14

Well, I hit the elusive 500 lbs before turning 20! Not much else to say in regards to that, except that the warmups were flying up.

xb, I’d suggest you just keep working on your low reps on deadlifts until those stall out for a while. Good luck either way.

958

H4M, nice pull! congrats on 500lbs!

959

Ok guys, I’m not sure if what I did today was a good thing or a bad thing. All I know is I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

Sumo Deadlift
135 x 3/3
185 x 3
225 x 2
245 x 1
275 x 1
305 x 1
added chain
315 x 1
340 x 2

I wanted to get 5 reps with 340, I was going to go with 335, but decided what the heck what is 5 extra lbs going to do. Either way that is a PR.

Sumo Rack Pulls
135 x 5
225 x 2
275 x 2
315 x 2
365 x 2
405 x 1

405 was heavy.
I got a video of all the top sets of today’s’ training.

Ceph sorry, but I went and lifted before I saw that you wanted me to do the rack deads conventional. But good news, doing them with a sumo stance dosn’t feel weird.

I’m just going to be sore, and am a little worried I might have fried my CNS good. I think next week I’ll take the weights down a bit and work on explosiveness. For only training my sumo dead for 4 weeks thats a 65lb improvement. And my grip dosn’t seem to lacking either so that is also a plus.

Here is the vid.

960

H4M, congrats on the PR, damn good lift.

Wow, i suck something awful when it comes to Dead Lifts. I just seem to fuck my back up everytime i make some progress and get to pulling decent weight from the floor.

–JB