Nice job getting 500 h4m.
How’d it go up h4m?
I love working arms haha.
Thursday - Arms
Standing EZ-bar curls
bar x 10
45lbs x 10
65lbs x 10
85lbs x 10
115lbs x 6
115lbs x 7 (kind of rest-paused)
Incline DB curls
35lbs x 15
45lbs x 10
50lbs x 8
Decline Close-grip bench (to neck kind of)
bar x 20
135lbs x 15
185lbs x 12
205lbs x 8
235lbs x 10 (easy)
Decline DB extensions
my tri’s were fried
30’s x 15
35’s x 10+2 (bad form for 2)
40’s for 6+1 (died on me)
40’s x miss
Hammer curls/rope pressdown
40’s x @12 / 13 plates x 15
40’s x 10 / 13 plates x 15
for the last set, I did 1 1/2 reps for curls and a rest-pause/dropset for tri’s
40’s x 6+2 forced / stack x 12+6/ 11plates x 8 / 6 plates x failure
finished with 2 sets of calves and got the fuck out. Got a great pump, felt great.
Steak and rice and milk awaits me.
[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
How’d it go up h4m?
40’s for 6+1 (died on me)
[/quote]
It was tough. Absolutely zero hitching, but I’d be lying if I said it was a fast pull. Probably took a good 5 seconds or so from start to finish, which for me is a very long time. You lied though. It did not feel light lol. I think you were trying to mess me up because if I was thinking it was light, I’d be more likely to give up halfway through. But 2 Spike pills saw to it that I stayed totally focused haha.
Isn’t it funny how one set you can get 7 reps of something when working arms, then next set you can’t even get one? They really do just give out on ya sometimes.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
bugeishaAD wrote:
How’d it go up h4m?
40’s for 6+1 (died on me)
It was tough. Absolutely zero hitching, but I’d be lying if I said it was a fast pull. Probably took a good 5 seconds or so from start to finish, which for me is a very long time. You lied though. It did not feel light lol. I think you were trying to mess me up because if I was thinking it was light, I’d be more likely to give up halfway through. But 2 spike pills saw to it that I stayed totally focused haha.
Isn’t it funny how one set you can get 7 reps of something when working arms, then next set you can’t even get one? They really do just give out on ya sometimes. [/quote]
coughpyramidingcough 
Congrats on the lift, brother.
[quote]xb-C wrote:
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.
- YouTube [/quote]
Good work (although I always cringe when seeing someone lift with a mixed grip 
The conventional rack-dead setup (especially if you shrug backwards at the top of the rep) should murder your upper/mid back area completely… But here’s the deal: You do ME work, I don’t, and I’m not sure if you should even use said setup then… The shrugging back and all…
Then again, if you like sumo, just keep doing things that way…
Imo conv. rack pulls with shrug-back motion are more of a hypertrophy exercise… Done for anywhere from 4-12 reps.
How do you manage to do both deads and rack deads on the same day, anyway? My lower back would give out
[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
How’d it go up h4m?
I love working arms haha.
Thursday - Arms
Standing EZ-bar curls
bar x 10
45lbs x 10
65lbs x 10
85lbs x 10
115lbs x 6
115lbs x 7 (kind of rest-paused) [/quote]<- someone’s learning [quote]
Incline DB curls
35lbs x 15
45lbs x 10
50lbs x 8
Decline Close-grip bench (to neck kind of)
bar x 20
135lbs x 15
185lbs x 12
205lbs x 8
235lbs x 10 (easy) [/quote] ← good stuff. [quote]
Decline DB extensions
my tri’s were fried
30’s x 15
35’s x 10+2 (bad form for 2)
40’s for 6+1 (died on me)
40’s x miss [/quote] ← try PJR pullovers instead [quote]
Hammer curls/rope pressdown
40’s x @12 / 13 plates x 15
40’s x 10 / 13 plates x 15
for the last set, I did 1 1/2 reps for curls and a rest-pause/dropset for tri’s
40’s x 6+2 forced / stack x 12+6/ 11plates x 8 / 6 plates x failure
finished with 2 sets of calves and got the fuck out. Got a great pump, felt great.
Steak and rice and milk awaits me. [/quote] And heavier weights next time. [quote]
[/quote]
H4M, nice fukin’ pull brother!
After pulling the other day I’m completely convinced that I need to work on my form. I think it’s really holding my progress back. Next time I pull I’ll try to get some vids so you fellas can critique.
Good afternoon, ladies! I had a spectacularly good session today. I’m not sure exactly what is responsible, but it is a combination of Rhodiola Rosea this morning and Power Drive + 1 Spike tab prior to my workout. Squats went up smooth and bench was basically speed work!
Squats
warmups
bar xlots
135 x10
185 x8
225 x3
275 x1
6x4 @235
Bench
warmups
135 x8
155 x6
185 x1
205 x1
6x2 @185
Nate said the 6x5, 6x6 and 5x5 weeks on this program get pretty brutal, so I figured this is as good a time as any to try out Rhodiola Rosea. I started taking it this AM and I figure I’ll run it for the next 6 weeks of this program. that would finish off the bottle (@ 2caps/day) and give me a decent idea of how/if it works for me.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
How do you manage to do both deads and rack deads on the same day, anyway? My lower back would give out
[/quote]
I dunoo how I did it. I just wanted to make up for my poor deadlifting.
What is your reasoning behind not lifting with a mixed grip?
Do you think I should switch my grip to a regular one? I’ve read that lifting with a mixed grip has the risk of tearing your biceps. But you risk tearing any number of things when you lift with enough weight. That and numerous powerlifters lift with a mixed grip.
Week II
Workout 3
Back squat 6x2x220
135x10
185x8
205x6
220x4,4,4,4,4,4
BB bench press 6x3x190
135x12
155x12
175x9
190x2,2,2,2,2,2
Good session tonight. Decided to play with the rest periods on the bench press by taking only 60 seconds as opposed to the two minutes for the working sets on the squats.
Seemed to move things along at a good clip and will be keeping this format for the next eight weeks.
I’m tired now, so good night all…and H4M, CONGRATS! on your PR.
[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 come to a full stop between reps on deads. I haven’t done rack pulls in over a year though, I might do them instead of deads as my heavy back movement soon though, deads burn out my legs a bit too much to do a few hours before my olympic lifting workouts.
Wow, good job on the pull h4m!
I had my chest and tricep workout today, switched out the isolation movements for more compounds, and it felt much better.
Flat DB bench
30 x 8
45 x 6
60 x 3
70 x 3,2,2
65 x 5,4
Incline DB bench
50 x 7,5,5,4
Decline DB bench
45 x 8,7,5
Tried doing dips, hurt my shoulders
Close-grip machine bench
200 x 8,5,3,3
Close-grip cable ext. (c.t.)
60 x 8,5,4
Wide-grip cable ext. (c.t.)
45 x 9,6,5
I felt stronger on the flat DB bench, I want to try out the 75’s next week. Didn’t like the machine bench, will most likely switch it out for BB extensions. I’ve been liking my workouts a lot more since I lowered the rep ranges on my big lifts.
And thank you, thank you all for the congratulations takes a bow
Dangit is that underthestar warming up with 585? What a loser lol.
[quote]xb-C wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
How do you manage to do both deads and rack deads on the same day, anyway? My lower back would give out
I dunoo how I did it. I just wanted to make up for my poor deadlifting.
What is your reasoning behind not lifting with a mixed grip?
Do you think I should switch my grip to a regular one? I’ve read that lifting with a mixed grip has the risk of tearing your biceps. But you risk tearing any number of things when you lift with enough weight. That and numerous powerlifters lift with a mixed grip.
[/quote]
Ano, Chains deadlift, 376kg / 436kg and biceps went brogen - YouTube ← That’s my reason, need to watch for a while…
The main thing is, people can DL crazy amounts, way before their bis/tendons are ready imo… You can DL more and more all the time, but the rest of your body has to keep up, too.
And if you don’t warm up properly, don’t get the protein in, have tight bis or do ONE LITTLE technique mistake (leaning too far back at the top while the weight “catches” on your pants or something like that…) on a ME pull, then one of your bi-tendons is gone faster than you can imagine.
How many bi tears do you hear of that happened during an all-overgrip pull?
Hey, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but it’s a little like the classic BB (elbows 90 degrees to body) style flatbench… At some point, it only becomes a matter of time until something gives. Yes, many big bbers still bench like that… And they’ve all torn a pec (or two) and blown a shoulder…
I don’t even want to get into an argument about these exercises/grips here, I just don’t want to see you guys hurt unnecessarily. Some exercises are just infinitely more risky than others (esp. past a certain point of strength)…
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
xb-C wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
How do you manage to do both deads and rack deads on the same day, anyway? My lower back would give out
I dunoo how I did it. I just wanted to make up for my poor deadlifting.
What is your reasoning behind not lifting with a mixed grip?
Do you think I should switch my grip to a regular one? I’ve read that lifting with a mixed grip has the risk of tearing your biceps. But you risk tearing any number of things when you lift with enough weight. That and numerous powerlifters lift with a mixed grip.
Hey, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but it’s a little like the classic BB (elbows 90 degrees to body) style flatbench… At some point, it only becomes a matter of time until something gives. Yes, many big bbers still bench like that… And they’ve all torn a pec (or two) and blown a shoulder…
I don’t even want to get into an argument about these exercises/grips here, I just don’t want to see you guys hurt unnecessarily. Some exercises are just infinitely more risky than others (esp. past a certain point of strength)…
[/quote]
I appreciate your concern, I’ll start using a regular grip when I deadlift now.
If it’s ok for Brad Gillingham to do it, I’m sure I can use it and not have too much trouble either.
Thanks for watching out Ceph!
[quote]xb-C wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
xb-C wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
How do you manage to do both deads and rack deads on the same day, anyway? My lower back would give out
I dunoo how I did it. I just wanted to make up for my poor deadlifting.
What is your reasoning behind not lifting with a mixed grip?
Do you think I should switch my grip to a regular one? I’ve read that lifting with a mixed grip has the risk of tearing your biceps. But you risk tearing any number of things when you lift with enough weight. That and numerous powerlifters lift with a mixed grip.
Hey, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but it’s a little like the classic BB (elbows 90 degrees to body) style flatbench… At some point, it only becomes a matter of time until something gives. Yes, many big bbers still bench like that… And they’ve all torn a pec (or two) and blown a shoulder…
I don’t even want to get into an argument about these exercises/grips here, I just don’t want to see you guys hurt unnecessarily. Some exercises are just infinitely more risky than others (esp. past a certain point of strength)…
I appreciate your concern, I’ll start using a regular grip when I deadlift now.
If it’s ok for Brad Gillingham to do it, I’m sure I can use it and not have too much trouble either.
Thanks for watching out Ceph!
[/quote]
Just trying to keep my brothers safe here man
Slightly frustrating ME Bench:
Bench Press:
125x5
175x4
225x2
275x1
315x0
235x8
Dips:
70x6/6/5/5
Lateral raises:
35x7/7/7/7
Pullups:
60x8/8/8
Didn’t hit the 315. Unless I can think of a good 3rd exercise to rotate on ME bench day, I’m considering deviating from the program and doing regular bench 2 out of the 3 sessions. One of those sessions I would stick in the 4-8 rep range though, rather than maxing out. Just thinking about it…as usual, any suggestions more than welcome.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
Didn’t hit the 315. Unless I can think of a good 3rd exercise to rotate on ME bench day, I’m considering deviating from the program and doing regular bench 2 out of the 3 sessions. One of those sessions I would stick in the 4-8 rep range though, rather than maxing out. Just thinking about it…as usual, any suggestions more than welcome. [/quote]
Have you been varying your bench movement every 2-3 weeks?
I think you might be making things too hard on yourself. Here are some ideas for ME pressing movements that I can think of off the top of my head.
Regular Bench
Close Grip Bench
Incline
Decline
Military (seated)
Foam Press
Carpet Press
Board press (1-5 board, lots of variety there)
Push Press
Wide Grip Bench
Reverse Grip Bench
Floor press- i think you said you can’t do these though
Fat Bar Press
Cambered Bar Pressing
Bench With chains
Bench with bands
Lots of stuff man, plus you can vary the grip in any of those movements too.
You can get a set of chains for 105$ at elite, or you can get some bands, I would get the mini and average bands.
Also instead of going for a 1rm try going for a 3rm. This way you might only make a 5 or 10lb improvement over the last time you pressed but you can still keep adding those small increments and still progress instead of just getting burnt out and disgruntled if you miss.
Thanks for the suggestions xb.
Here’s the thing; Westside calls for maxing out each ME session, but a lot of exercises just aren’t really the type where you can easily do a 1RM. Incline bench, for example. The other issue is that many of these movements just seem too similar to me. on ME squat/deadlift I’m cycling front squat/back squat/deadlift right now. Those all are pretty different. But regular bench, close grip bench, decline bench, etc (most of the stuff I can do) are very similar.
Definitely considering doing more than one rep every few session, as an alternate method of avoiding CNS burnout.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
Definitely considering doing more than one rep every few session, as an alternate method of avoiding CNS burnout. [/quote]
Thats what Joe DeFranco’s has his athletes do. 3rm and 5rm.
I was in your shoes a year or so ago when I was doing a westside template. I was just getting stuck and not being able to get any PR’s.
Based on my recovery abilities I decided to stick with working with less weight using 3rm and 5rm and adding 5lbs or so each week.
When it comes to training with that sort of intensity I think the westside guys have a lil’ something extra that gives em that edge.
If you are still having trouble you might want to shoot a question to either Jim Wendler or Dave Tate on their Q&A.
And you might also want to pick up these dvd’s if you are dead set on training westside.
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=274&pid=1013
http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?m=PD&cid=274&pid=16