[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks FF.
I am not claiming to be a beginner. Just that the gains I have enjoyed over the past 5 months are very consistent with the gains that beginners often make. That being the result of not lifting seriously for over a decade.[/quote]
Hell, I wish I had your gains! I’ve only been lifting for the past 15 months, and have never lifted before. Your gains might be due to a previous lifting history. You’re just recovering what you had. 
[quote]mcl wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks FF.
I am not claiming to be a beginner. Just that the gains I have enjoyed over the past 5 months are very consistent with the gains that beginners often make. That being the result of not lifting seriously for over a decade.
Hell, I wish I had your gains! I’ve only been lifting for the past 15 months, and have never lifted before. Your gains might be due to a previous lifting history. You’re just recovering what you had. :)[/quote]
I think that is A LOT of it. Unfortunately, I can feel it grinding to a stop…
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
mcl wrote:
LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks FF.
I am not claiming to be a beginner. Just that the gains I have enjoyed over the past 5 months are very consistent with the gains that beginners often make. That being the result of not lifting seriously for over a decade.
Hell, I wish I had your gains! I’ve only been lifting for the past 15 months, and have never lifted before. Your gains might be due to a previous lifting history. You’re just recovering what you had.
I think that is A LOT of it. Unfortunately, I can feel it grinding to a stop…[/quote]
Bzzzzz! Wrong! Just means you gotta train a little smarter. At your weight you have a lot of potential you haven’t touched yet. Hell - it took me two years to go from 400 to 500 DL which you did in mere months. You haven’t hit near your top end yet.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
Bzzzzz! Wrong! Just means you gotta train a little smarter. At your weight you have a lot of potential you haven’t touched yet. Hell - it took me two years to go from 400 to 500 DL which you did in mere months. You haven’t hit near your top end yet.
[/quote]
Lol… I agree that I have untapped potential. BUT, my DLs have gone up 150# in just shy of 5 months, I don’t think it reasonable to expect that rate to continue.
That being said, I can DEFINITELY benefit from training smarter. I have gotten away with being hardheaded and not really training like I should because I already had much of the capacity to do what I am now, but my body just wasn’t accustomed to the stress. At least that is my take on it.
I took the time to do my own spreadsheet of 1RM percentage weights, for 285# through 550#. I am going to start using that, instead of ego, as the determining factor in how much I workout with. My want to continually work at near maximal weights is taking its toll.
I hope I can grow up to be as strong as you LS… Plus I need to figger out how to train smarter!!
NIce lifting, LS. Squats and Rack Pulls look great.
[quote]j_willy3 wrote:
I hope I can grow up to be as strong as you LS… Plus I need to figger out how to train smarter!![/quote]
Unfortunately, my smarts stop when I walk out of work. I need to find some, though, or i won’t be walking upright for very long…
[quote]JoeGood wrote:
NIce lifting, LS. Squats and Rack Pulls look great.[/quote]
Thanks, JoeGood. It is definitely time for me to pull back (no pun intended), though. My body is screaming from how close to 1RM I am using. It is so hard to pull back, though, with the rate at which the numbers have been going up.
I’ve been using the rule of thumb (AKA Prilipen’s chart of lift frequency) that I do from 4-10 similar lifts at 90%+ per week and the rest @80% or below. It’s hard, but I’m able to recover. Getting too near max too often always puts my lifts in retrograde after about 2 weeks of it.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
I’ve been using the rule of thumb (AKA Prilipen’s chart of lift frequency) that I do from 4-10 similar lifts at 90%+ per week and the rest @80% or below. It’s hard, but I’m able to recover. Getting too near max too often always puts my lifts in retrograde after about 2 weeks of it.[/quote]
What set/rep scheme would you use at 90%? That is another issue I have…gauging how many reps at a certain percentage. For instance, is 3x3 good for 85%? 90%? Or do you always climb between sets, like in 5/3/1…80%, 85%, 90%? In my head, I prefer the idea of sticking with a single weight for the exercise.
Are most people able to do 3x3 at 95%? or is that too much?
Your weights are moving up like crazy. What ever you’re doing keep it up LS. 3x3 at 95% may be a stretch. I would say itS more like 3setsx2reps.
[quote]ecogenx wrote:
Your weights are moving up like crazy. What ever you’re doing keep it up LS. 3x3 at 95% may be a stretch. I would say itS more like 3setsx2reps.[/quote]
Thanks eco! When I did rack pulls from the bottom pin, I did the last set of 3 at 95% and my back felt like one of those gelatin filled stress balls when squeezed…bulging.
[quote]ecogenx wrote:
Your weights are moving up like crazy. What ever you’re doing keep it up LS. 3x3 at 95% may be a stretch. I would say itS more like 3setsx2reps.[/quote]
Agreed. You might be able to do it but it would take the rest of the week to recover from it. Same for 3x3 (9 reps) @90%.
I do 1-3 singles per lift @ 90% or a little more. I then do a set of 5 @ 10% less. I’m trying to control the ‘a little more’ part right now and just take my 2.5 to 5 lb increases in each lift. If I feel raggedy like last night, I’ll just do a single and take two sets of something similar that I can get 5 reps of. Back work is the variable stuff. I’ll do anywhere between 3x3 to 8x3 depending on what I think needs work, would be fun, or the level of hate for exercise I have at the time.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
ecogenx wrote:
Your weights are moving up like crazy. What ever you’re doing keep it up LS. 3x3 at 95% may be a stretch. I would say itS more like 3setsx2reps.
Agreed. You might be able to do it but it would take the rest of the week to recover from it. Same for 3x3 (9 reps) @90%.
I do 1-3 singles per lift @ 90% or a little more. I then do a set of 5 @ 10% less. I’m trying to control the ‘a little more’ part right now and just take my 2.5 to 5 lb increases in each lift. If I feel raggedy like last night, I’ll just do a single and take two sets of something similar that I can get 5 reps of. Back work is the variable stuff. I’ll do anywhere between 3x3 to 8x3 depending on what I think needs work, would be fun, or the level of hate for exercise I have at the time.[/quote]
Makes sense and sounds good.
I have also been contemplating following a 5/3/1 of sorts on my leg work. Something like 5 at 80%, 3 at 85% and 1 at 90-95%…or maybe starting at 75%, 80% and 90%…and adding 5# to the weight for each set, each week.
Week 1 - 5 @ 75%, 3 @ 80% and 1 @ 90%
Week 2 - 5 @ 75% +5#, 3 @ 80% +5# and 1 @ 90% +5#
and so on…
I like the look of it, but would end up with some days of singles only in there.
I will agree with prelipins table they just work.
I would not call you a beginner at all- more like hoss and a half.
I just finished a good program- and it made allot of things clear
about how I train and how I am progressing but really it let me concentrate on the training vs the programming.
531 might provide the structure
that you need.
3x3 at 95% is too much for me, I can do doubles on most things not deadlits.
[quote]kmcnyc wrote:
I will agree with prelipins table they just work.
I would not call you a beginner at all- more like hoss and a half.
I just finished a good program- and it made allot of things clear
about how I train and how I am progressing but really it let me concentrate on the training vs the programming.
531 might provide the structure
that you need.
3x3 at 95% is too much for me, I can do doubles on most things not deadlits.
[/quote]
Thanks kmc. I think I am learning a bit about myself as well. Unfortunately, I don’t seem mature enough to employ much of it. That is also somethingI have learned about myself.
Bench Day-
Taking the advice of DCA and 63G, I made CGB my ME. Grip width was about 15 1/2" (thumbs partially on the smooth part. Any closer and it stresses the wrists and shoulders.
Started out with 2 cycles of YTWL and dislocates
Close Grip Bench - left elbow/tricep continues to tighten and hurt when under stress
barx20
95x15
135x10
185x5
225x5 - felt the slightest shoulder twinge in this set
245x5 - PR +2 Reps - twinge was a bit stronger on this set, but not painful
255x5 - PR +10# - no discomfort at all on this…go figure
275x2 - PR +30# - no shoulder discomfort on these, but felt like I strained my right side pec tie-in to the shoulder…it is still tight and sore…but no sharp or throbbing pain
Alternating with the last 4 sets of CGB were Seated Rows. Using rope, chain and plates, I FINALLY figured out how to add weight to my stack without hurting someone.
Seated Rows
185x12
195x12
205x12x2
Flat Bench alternating with Close Grip Pulls
Bench
225x10x2
Close Grip Pulls
205x8x2
I am MUCH stronger on seated rows than pulldowns. Is that common?
Supersets
Tricep Pushdowns - elbows in
80x20
90x15
Standing DB Curls
25sx20
30sx15
While this didn’t hurt the shoulder like heavier Normal Grip Bench, the CGB left my shoulders feeling much more fatigued and even slightly achy throughout the joint. Might just be that I am not used to them. I will definitely lead off with the CGB next Bench day.
Hey Strick, just found your thread, which is excellent. Had to jump through it a bit. Reminds me a little of my own first thread.
The most important thing I have learned in my comeback to heavy lifting after nearly thirty years without it was to forget about the limitations doctors or other medical "professionals" have imposed upon you. Similar to yourself, I was told in college to avoid the three main powerlifting exercises by my track and field team doctor..."full squats will ruin your knees, deadlifts will ruin your back, and stick with incline presses...they are the only safe way to build your shot put muscles."
Well, I can at least thank that doc for helping my love of powercleaning, which I did fanatically. However…even then, this “advice” was stupid and the only serious injury I had in college was a pec tear doing inclines.
Fast forward thirty years (I'm encapsulating my first LONG thread) and I have had five orthopedic surgeries and I am not supposed to come near a barbell. Little by little I have found my way into doing heavy benches, squats and deadlifts, even though I am trying to do Olympic lifts as my main goal.
I have been so “brainwashed” by my own profession of medicine that I thought I could do OL but that I still could not do heavy squats or DL’s. I have found the opposite…powerlifting strenghens the core muscles and although I have a good collection of aches and pains, my post accident back pain is LEWW now that my erectors, glutes etc are all getting strong and supporting my spine better.
Keep up your good flexibility work, and your great lifting. Accept no limits mentally as to what you can do. I think you probably have already figured this out but I thought you might enjoy hearing from someone who has done it too. Doc
HOLEE CRAP on the cgp PRs! Damn good work LS, I think you will work thru this soon!
[quote]Dr.PowerClean wrote:
Hey Strick, just found your thread, which is excellent. Had to jump through it a bit. Reminds me a little of my own first thread.
The most important thing I have learned in my comeback to heavy lifting after nearly thirty years without it was to forget about the limitations doctors or other medical "professionals" have imposed upon you. Similar to yourself, I was told in college to avoid the three main powerlifting exercises by my track and field team doctor..."full squats will ruin your knees, deadlifts will ruin your back, and stick with incline presses...they are the only safe way to build your shot put muscles."
Well, I can at least thank that doc for helping my love of powercleaning, which I did fanatically. However…even then, this “advice” was stupid and the only serious injury I had in college was a pec tear doing inclines.
Fast forward thirty years (I'm encapsulating my first LONG thread) and I have had five orthopedic surgeries and I am not supposed to come near a barbell. Little by little I have found my way into doing heavy benches, squats and deadlifts, even though I am trying to do Olympic lifts as my main goal.
I have been so “brainwashed” by my own profession of medicine that I thought I could do OL but that I still could not do heavy squats or DL’s. I have found the opposite…powerlifting strenghens the core muscles and although I have a good collection of aches and pains, my post accident back pain is LEWW now that my erectors, glutes etc are all getting strong and supporting my spine better.
Keep up your good flexibility work, and your great lifting. Accept no limits mentally as to what you can do. I think you probably have already figured this out but I thought you might enjoy hearing from someone who has done it too. Doc
[/quote]
Thanks, Dr.PowerClean. It is good to hear that from someone else. Especially someone who has lived through it and so much more.
Interesting thing about my doc (the last one I went to see about my Spondy)…he said that he saw no reason that I shouldn’t lift. Just to be aware of the symptoms that occur when it is aggravated. After looking at my back he said that I would likely need surgery in 10-15 years. He said that DLs and squats might shorten that time frame. BUT, he suggested that they might have the opposite effect. Not knowing how the body will react, the strengthened core, primary muscles and just working the area could, potentially, negate the need for surgery. In either case, I will go ask for a reassessment sometime in the next 6 months, just to see how it has responded.
What I have experienced so far is that, on a couple of occasions, the area has gotten inflamed and I have felt the twinges in my glutes. Aside from that, my lower back hurts less now than before, fatigue and DOMS aside. I used to wake up everyday with lower back pain…but that is much, much, much less frequent now.
Thanks for taking the time to check in!