Well, a lot of things came together this weekend and the new bench is now ordered. It won’t be here in time for tomorrow’s workout, but should be for next weeks.
I just hope it feels right. Nothing worse than ordering something and it not being what you hoped…
Bench Day-
Shoulder still tweaky but, again, it is making me concentrate on form. I am not sure how much, if any, it is taking out of my strength/reps, but it is, nonetheless, annoying.
Did 15 minutes on the treadmill, this morning. I normally aim for 20-25 minutes, but ran short on time.
Bench
barx20x2
135x15
185x5
225x3
275x1
300x3 - This was like a wake up set. My muscles didn’t feel “awake” until after this set.
315x2 - PR +1 Rep
320x1,1 - The wife got a real kick out of this one. Thought it was going down, when stalled, then BAM!
Set 1 - - YouTube
Set 2 - - YouTube
Board Press - 2 Board - This is my 1st time ever doing board presses. I had no idea what weight to use. I like them. Similar to pin presses, but the lowering of the bar insures that you are on the correct bar path.
275x5
295x5
315x3
Standing DB Curls
40sx10x3
Tate Presses
60sx10x3
Supersets
Tricep Pushdowns
100x10x2
Incline DB Curls
35sx10x2
I put the vids up for both sets of Bench at 320# hoping to draw on the wealth of experience out there. It appears to me that I don’t have an issue right off the chest and am definitely good once I pass 4-5"?? From what you see in the vids, what would you suggest to hit this area? Pin presses and board presses obviously come to mind. But at what level? The 2-board presses felt pretty good, especially as fatigued as I was. Do you think 1-board is where I should concentrate? Any other exercises to suggest?
I think you’ve got a changeover problem. The weight comes off the chest good, slows for a few inches then speeds up again to lockout. So it seems like coordination and not main strength is the problem. I would work reps on boards with pauses right at the height where you slow down or stall. Keep a full range session in as well for control/testing purposes.
Meat is the real technician though. You might post this on his feedback thread.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
I think you’ve got a changeover problem. The weight comes off the chest good, slows for a few inches then speeds up again to lockout. So it seems like coordination and not main strength is the problem. I would work reps on boards with pauses right at the height where you slow down or stall. Keep a full range session in as well for control/testing purposes.
Meat is the real technician though. You might post this on his feedback thread.[/quote]
there’s nothing to fix. it’s just a case of fatigue. what was your goal for this session? was it to hit 315x2 or do singles with 320? if it was to get a rep PR then you should have stopped there. if it was to do singles with 320, then you shouldn’t have done a set with 315 at all, much less two all out reps with close to max weight. this goes back to what i was saying about having a plan going into your max attempts. you only have a small window to hit that PR. did you see how your elbows flared really hard at the top of the 320 sets? that’s a sign that your triceps were fried from the 315x2. you have to be careful, that’s how you injure yourself. that put a ton of stress on the shoulders…especially the rotator cuffs.
My goal was pretty much what I did. I had planned on the 3@300 to actually wake up the muscles. Wanted multiple reps at 315 and to finish with a couple of singles. My fall back was to stay at 315 for singles, if I didn’t feel the 320 was plausible. All of this was contingent on my shoulder being okay, though.
I do see exactly what you are talking about with the flaring. Does flaring like that move the emphasis from tris to delts? Hence the observation that my tris were fried?
Even at 300 and 315 I can feel the weight slow in that area (3-5" or 4-5" off the chest). I really thought the 2 board press would target that. But I was stronger on that then expected. That is why I was wondering about the 1 board. My thinking being that maybe I have enough speed/momentum coming off the chest to carry me through the initial part of the sticking point.
One other question… If the flaring issues at 320 were due to tricep fatigue, does that mean that 4 working sets is too many? Or just that I have the triceps of a pansy?
Thanks Gents!
Catching up with you peeps - I’d say you’re looking strong all around LS. Love that second effort on the 320 bench.
[quote]soldog wrote:
Catching up with you peeps - I’d say you’re looking strong all around LS. Love that second effort on the 320 bench.[/quote]
Thanks soldog. Things are progressing. Never as quickly as we would like, but progressing nonetheless.
BTW - good to have you back.
Looking strong LittleStrick. Real strong!
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
My goal was pretty much what I did. I had planned on the 3@300 to actually wake up the muscles. Wanted multiple reps at 315 and to finish with a couple of singles. My fall back was to stay at 315 for singles, if I didn’t feel the 320 was plausible. All of this was contingent on my shoulder being okay, though.
I do see exactly what you are talking about with the flaring. Does flaring like that move the emphasis from tris to delts? Hence the observation that my tris were fried?
Even at 300 and 315 I can feel the weight slow in that area (3-5" or 4-5" off the chest). I really thought the 2 board press would target that. But I was stronger on that then expected. That is why I was wondering about the 1 board. My thinking being that maybe I have enough speed/momentum coming off the chest to carry me through the initial part of the sticking point.
One other question… If the flaring issues at 320 were due to tricep fatigue, does that mean that 4 working sets is too many? Or just that I have the triceps of a pansy?
Thanks Gents![/quote]
IMO, you are doing too many sets in the top end of your max. by my calculations you did 7 working sets. 300lbs isn’t that far off from your max weight. Also, in my opinion, doing multiple reps with a near max attempt and then going for singles isn’t a good idea. if you look at your 315 set, the bar speed was pretty good and you can start to see some early flaring of the triceps. they are already almost fried at that point. you just did a triple with 300 and then a double with 315. DCA is really getting a handle on the concept i’m talking about- you want your working sets to be clean and crisp. you don’t want to go into them fatigued. you don’t have to train in that 95-100% range to make progress. below is what i would have done for that session-
bench
0x10
135x10- at this point you should feel pretty warmed up, if not do another set with 135… if you still don’t feel warmed up do another. 300lbs shouldn’t be the set that you feel warmed up.
185x2
225x1
275x1
at this point you start your working sets- choose between working up to a few sets of singles or if you want to do multiple reps keep the percentage in the 80-85% range and knock out 3x3. if you get all 3 sets of 3, add weight next week.
so… if you were going for singles go right to 320x1x3
if you wanted multiple reps, go for 300x3x3.
board work would be great for you, but IMO, the issues you were having in those vids were from fatigue, not a weakness.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
My goal was pretty much what I did. I had planned on the 3@300 to actually wake up the muscles. Wanted multiple reps at 315 and to finish with a couple of singles. My fall back was to stay at 315 for singles, if I didn’t feel the 320 was plausible. All of this was contingent on my shoulder being okay, though.
I do see exactly what you are talking about with the flaring. Does flaring like that move the emphasis from tris to delts? Hence the observation that my tris were fried?
Even at 300 and 315 I can feel the weight slow in that area (3-5" or 4-5" off the chest). I really thought the 2 board press would target that. But I was stronger on that then expected. That is why I was wondering about the 1 board. My thinking being that maybe I have enough speed/momentum coming off the chest to carry me through the initial part of the sticking point.
One other question… If the flaring issues at 320 were due to tricep fatigue, does that mean that 4 working sets is too many? Or just that I have the triceps of a pansy?
Thanks Gents!
IMO, you are doing too many sets in the top end of your max. by my calculations you did 7 working sets. 300lbs isn’t that far off from your max weight. Also, in my opinion, doing multiple reps with a near max attempt and then going for singles isn’t a good idea. if you look at your 315 set, the bar speed was pretty good and you can start to see some early flaring of the triceps. they are already almost fried at that point. you just did a triple with 300 and then a double with 315. DCA is really getting a handle on the concept i’m talking about- you want your working sets to be clean and crisp. you don’t want to go into them fatigued. you don’t have to train in that 95-100% range to make progress. below is what i would have done for that session-
bench
0x10
135x10- at this point you should feel pretty warmed up, if not do another set with 135… if you still don’t feel warmed up do another. 300lbs shouldn’t be the set that you feel warmed up.
185x2
225x1
275x1
at this point you start your working sets- choose between working up to a few sets of singles or if you want to do multiple reps keep the percentage in the 80-85% range and knock out 3x3. if you get all 3 sets of 3, add weight next week.
so… if you were going for singles go right to 320x1x3
if you wanted multiple reps, go for 300x3x3.
board work would be great for you, but IMO, the issues you were having in those vids were from fatigue, not a weakness.
[/quote]
Thanks Meat, for taking the time to look over the videos, dissect them and advise accordingly. That is exactly the type of advice I was hoping for. I will modify my plan to incorporate that…backing off the 1RM percentage and limiting working sets. I will also add in some board presses…probably with an emphasis on 1 board.
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks Meat, for taking the time to look over the videos, dissect them and advise accordingly. That is exactly the type of advice I was hoping for. I will modify my plan to incorporate that…backing off the 1RM percentage and limiting working sets. I will also add in some board presses…probably with an emphasis on 1 board. [/quote]
I’m no expert, but I like my 2 training sessions with 2 boards. Its a bitch putting the ace bandage around my chest, but I like how the boards work me.
[quote]j_willy3 wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks Meat, for taking the time to look over the videos, dissect them and advise accordingly. That is exactly the type of advice I was hoping for. I will modify my plan to incorporate that…backing off the 1RM percentage and limiting working sets. I will also add in some board presses…probably with an emphasis on 1 board.
I’m no expert, but I like my 2 training sessions with 2 boards. Its a bitch putting the ace bandage around my chest, but I like how the boards work me.[/quote]
I used 2 boards yesterday. I had 2 observations (with respect to me). 1) It didn’t hit that weak spot like I was hoping it would. I think it was a tad too high. 2) Despite that, I REALLY liked it at the 2 board level. It will definitely remain in the mix.
I am very lucky when doing these. I have conned my wife into holding the board in place for me. She is such a good wife.
Squat/Upper Back Day-
Light stretching beforehand, as my hips were still a bit tight from DL day. I also decided to limit my working sets to 3 on the to main exercises, since I am now doing squats and DL every week.
Squats
bwx10
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x1
315x3
325x3 - PR +1 rep for this weight to depth
335x3 - PR +1 rep - different shirt because the bar was pulling my hair out with the tank…yeah, I’m a wuss.
405x5x2 - walkouts with 1/4 ROM squats…actually a bit lower than last week. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2.
Zerchers - need to drop the bar 1 or 2 pins - sweatshirt because, again, I am a wuss.
275x3
315x3
325x3 - PR +10#
Wide Grip Pulldowns
175x10x2
190x7
Seated Rows
175x10x2
190x10
On the wide grip pulls and seated rows I was able to up the weight by balancing DBs on top of the weight stack. I think I can actually balance 2 20# DBs on it, to get it up to 200#, The 25 pounders might be a bit to big (press against the guide bars). The 20’s will add 40#, though.
Nice squats! Even if you had to wimp out with the hair. Go shaved and get a goatee. All the cool kids are doing it! 
(I can’t rock the goatee because of the impending CPAP machine. Won’t work with the mask.)
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Squat/Upper Back Day-
Light stretching beforehand, as my hips were still a bit tight from DL day. I also decided to limit my working sets to 3 on the to main exercises, since I am now doing squats and DL every week.
Squats
bwx10
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x1
315x3
325x3 - PR +1 rep for this weight to depth
335x3 - PR +1 rep - different shirt because the bar was pulling my hair out with the tank…yeah, I’m a wuss.
405x5x2 - walkouts with 1/4 ROM squats…actually a bit lower than last week. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2.
Zerchers - need to drop the bar 1 or 2 pins - sweatshirt because, again, I am a wuss.
275x3
315x3
325x3 - PR +10#
Wide Grip Pulldowns
175x10x2
190x7
Seated Rows
175x10x2
190x10
On the wide grip pulls and seated rows I was able to up the weight by balancing DBs on top of the weight stack. I think I can actually balance 2 20# DBs on it, to get it up to 200#, The 25 pounders might be a bit to big (press against the guide bars). The 20’s will add 40#, though.[/quote]
nice PRs LS!
to my inexperienced eye, the 325s hit depth and the 335s were a bit high
[quote]mcl wrote:
Nice squats! Even if you had to wimp out with the hair. Go shaved and get a goatee. All the cool kids are doing it!
(I can’t rock the goatee because of the impending CPAP machine. Won’t work with the mask.)[/quote]
Thanks, mcl.
See… If you can’t do the goatee then not ALL of the cool kids are doing it.
[quote]soldog wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
Squat/Upper Back Day-
Light stretching beforehand, as my hips were still a bit tight from DL day. I also decided to limit my working sets to 3 on the to main exercises, since I am now doing squats and DL every week.
Squats
bwx10
barx10
135x5
225x3
275x1
315x3
325x3 - PR +1 rep for this weight to depth
335x3 - PR +1 rep - different shirt because the bar was pulling my hair out with the tank…yeah, I’m a wuss.
405x5x2 - walkouts with 1/4 ROM squats…actually a bit lower than last week. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2.
Zerchers - need to drop the bar 1 or 2 pins - sweatshirt because, again, I am a wuss.
275x3
315x3
325x3 - PR +10#
Wide Grip Pulldowns
175x10x2
190x7
Seated Rows
175x10x2
190x10
On the wide grip pulls and seated rows I was able to up the weight by balancing DBs on top of the weight stack. I think I can actually balance 2 20# DBs on it, to get it up to 200#, The 25 pounders might be a bit to big (press against the guide bars). The 20’s will add 40#, though.
nice PRs LS!
to my inexperienced eye, the 325s hit depth and the 335s were a bit high[/quote]
Thanks, soldog. I have a really hard time judging because of the camera angle. I need to get it more from the side, but the room is small enough it is hard to swing that.
I will have to try to get her at a better angle…and add another inch to the depth
Those were great squats! That is a good example of working hard and grinding the reps out.
Nothing substitutes for having someone judge your depth and learning the feel for where it’s at. Personally I think almost all video makes squats look high, and when they look to depth on video, they are good and deep.
Keep up the good work. It is truly motivating.
PS, nothing hurts more than having your hair torn out.
You can set the pins of your power cage such that you you lightly tap them when you are at depth. This’ll give you an auditory cue to pay attention to the proprioceptive inputs (how it feels).
If you can set the camera at the level of your knees and vid the squat, you’ll see if you’re hitting depth or not (e.g - whether or not the crease at the hip is at or below the top of the knee.)
[quote]danjo228 wrote:
Those were great squats! That is a good example of working hard and grinding the reps out.
Nothing substitutes for having someone judge your depth and learning the feel for where it’s at. Personally I think almost all video makes squats look high, and when they look to depth on video, they are good and deep.
Keep up the good work. It is truly motivating.
PS, nothing hurts more than having your hair torn out.[/quote]
Thanks danjo. Squats have been a real struggle for me. Hating them doesn’t help 
I went from doing depth with only 185# to the weight really jumping (for me) but only going down to 1-2" above parallel. About a month ago I decided to really try to do them to depth. They are definitely a work in progress, but my obsession with breaking 400# is really overriding my disdain for them.
On the depth…I have no idea whether they were deep enough or not. I told the wife what to look for and she said 2 of the 3 were good. Of course, getting her to sit on the floor, and take the vid from knee level, as DCA suggests, is the only real way to tell.