[quote]Alpha wrote:
I liked it man! Keep them coming[/quote]
Thanks man. That means a lot coming from someone as accomplished as you.
[quote]ericbyrnesjr wrote:
great thread, definitely going to keep following this one. great work, amazing progress.[/quote]
Thanks bro. I appreciate that.
Daily Squat Progress (+60lbs in 29 Days)
I made a little video detailing the progression of my squat during my meet peak, leading up to the 525 I hit in the competition. I thought it was pretty cool. I was working up to max 5 times a week and ended up making some pretty solid progress along the way to a 20lbs lifetime PR.
I’m currently out of commission with a stomach virus, but my older sister was in town for Christmas and we decided to see how much she could deadlift. She ended up pulling 235lbs weighing like 110 or something. But the real kicker is she doesn’t even deadlift or really train for strength. She does figure shows so she’s more focused on trying to put on muscle, but I think she should ditch the shows and go for pure strength haha.
Ever want to know how to do a proper sumo deadlift?
It seems like the popularity of the sumo deadlift is soaring these days, but for every dude pulling something huge there are 100 who want to know how to do it but don’t know where to start. Seeing as how I love the sumo deadlift I figured I’d remedy that discrepancy with a little tutorial vid! Take a look at it and let me know what you think. If you’re interested in giving sumo a shot hopefully it helps you out some. Also do me a favor and throw the video a like on YouTube and subscribe to my channel if you feel so inclined. Thanks guys.
Alrighty. Just a regular old training session. No squats or heavy pulls for a while because every time I do one or the other I re-aggravate this stupid thing in my glute and I need to let it heal in earnest finally so I can start training for real again. Until then there will be lots of hang cleans and lots of shrugs to keep my back and legs somewhat strong at least. I will also be doing 3 upper body sessions a week and actually doing some triceps isolation work to try to get my bench moving again.
Anyway the session went:
Hang clean- 95lbs x 6
135 x 6
155 x 6
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 6
195 x 5
205 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 5
195 x 2/3
205 x 1
Power shrug - 315 x 3
405 x 3,3,3,3,3
I’d like to get my power clean back up over 250. That would also be a PR of sorts because I’ve never done more than 225 from the hang I believe, and I will be doing them from the hang exclusively herein.
Close grip bench/assistance work
1/8/15
CGBP - 215lbs for 10 triples. Then singles with 230,240,250
Barbell curl(100lbs)- 8,7,6,5,4
Tricep extension(100lbs)- 6,6,5,5,5
I had some sort of stomach bug a few weeks ago and lost about 8lbs. Somehow I’ve only managed to put back on like 2-3lbs so far. As such, my upper body strength is down pretty significantly at the moment.
More power cleans and more shrugs
1/10/15
Hang power clean- 95lbs x 5
135 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 6
205 x 3
185 x 3
190 x 3
195 x 3
185 x 3
190 x 3
195 x 3
200 x 1,1,1
Power shrug- 405 x 3
455 x 3,3,3,3
My back is fried today. But soon it’s gonna be strong. Body weight is still way down.
Bench Training 225x8x3
Did some work on the bench yesterday using my competition style. Also threw in some dips/curls for accessory work. This is the first time I’ve done dips in years, but I’m going to try to them consistently this cycle, along with a few other accessory exercises, to try to finally take my bench to the next level because it is severely holding back my total. Also, I’m tipping the scales at a whopping 153lbs right now. I lost about 10lbs from that stomach bug I had and I’ve only managed to put about 3 back on somehow even though I’ve been stuffing myself lately. But this has greatly reduced my upper body strength for the moment, so I’m going to have to put that weight back on soon.
Bench(225lbs)- 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (8 sets)
Barbell sort of curl(105lbs)-10,9,8,7,6
Dips(body weight + 90lbs)- 6,7,7,5,5
Weak power cleans, heavy shrugs
Tried squatting today, don’t really know why. I went up to 405, which hurt pretty badly. Stupid idea. I need to just not do this again until I’m truly healed. I keep letting my ego get the better of me. Anyway…
Hang power clean- 95x5
135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5
185x5 meh, done
Power shrug- 315x3
405x3
475x3,3,3,3,6
If nothing else I’m gonna have a big ass yoke in a few months.
Aggregate PR Total + Today’s Training
Someone on Reddit Powerlifting made a little site that organizes the lifters who post there by Wilks, so I made a little video compilation of my current PR’s as proof of my lifts. Check it out!
Today’s training was more power shrugs and power cleans. Cleans were ok, shrugs were pretty solid. They’re starting to get more powerful even as I add weight to the bar.
Power shrug- 135x3, 225x3, 315x3, 405x3
Hang power clean- 95x5, 145x5, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5, 195x5, 175x3, 180x3, 185x3, 190x3, 195x3, 185x3
Power shrug- 315x3, 405x3, 495x3x3x3x3x3, 405x10
Close grip bench/assistance work
CGBP(paused)- 220lbs x 5,4,4,4,4,3,3,3
(205) x 8
Dips(bw + 90)- 8,7,6,5,4
BB Tri. ext.(100)- 6,6,5,5
Well the bench was substantially improved from last week where it took me 10 sets to reach 30 total reps with 215lbs. This week I got to 30 reps in 8 sets with 220lbs. Hopefully this trend continues so I can get my strength back to where it was before the sickness. We’ll see how benching in my comp setup goes on Sunday.
Ever since I discovered that I could do dips on top of 2 barbells in my power rack last Sunday I have fallen in love with them. They weren’t a planned part of yesterday’s session and they weren’t a planned part of Tuesday’s session, but I did them both days for a total of 3 times this week. I should probably tone it down to once or twice a week tops with these because I can see how they will possibly start to aggravate my shoulders o_O
Stupid Training
Hang PC- 135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5
185x5
195x3
205x3
215x2
Power shrug- 315x3
405x3
495x3,3,3,3
495x5,5,5
Drop set- 495x5/405x5/315x5/225x5/135x5
Upper back will be sore tomorrow.
Bench/Dips/Curls
Comp Bench(paused) - 230lbs x 5,4,4,4,4,3,3,3 (30 reps)
Dips(bw + 100lbs)- 5,5,5,5,5,7
BB Curls(110lbs)- 8,7,6,5,5
Last week I did 24 total reps with 225 in 8 sets on the bench. This week I got 30 reps with 230 in the same number of sets. Strength seems to be returning somewhat. I added 10 more pounds to the dips as well and they didn’t really feel any harder.
Grinding
Hang power clean- 95lbs x5
135x5
155x5
165x5
175x5
185x3
195x3
205x3
195x3
185x3,3,3
190x3
Power shrug-315x3
405x3
455x3
475x3
495x3
515x3
475x5
455x5
405x10
Without doing anything to aggravate it for the last week or 2, my hip/glute is feeling a bit better. Though I still have no plans of doing any real training any time soon because I’ve fallen for this trick before and knocked myself right back into shitsville several times. It may or may not be a labral tear coupled with some sort of muscular strain because I kept pushing through the original injury for far longer than I should have. Labral tears are iffy at best and I’ve been trying to deny to myself for a long time that this may be the major injury I’ve been dealing with. At this point I’ve already lost so much time that I could have actually used productively and my prospects for healing to 100% in a reasonable time frame are out the freaking window. All I want is to be healthy again so I can train hard and start threatening the world record, but I’m not getting any younger. I guess eventually we all have to pay the piper.
Press Training
Overhead press(160lbs)- 5,4,4,4,4,4
Dips(bw+100lbs)- 6,6,6,6,6,9
Lateral raise(60lb DB)-5,5,5,5,5
Face pull w/band- 20,20,20
Not too shabby. Pressing strength is returning slowly but surely.
Hang cleans and shrugs + new Youtube video
Training was pretty good yesterday. The hang power clean is increasing slowly but surely. I hit 225lbs for a single very easily yesterday. This was easily the highest I’ve ever pulled that weight. I’m also getting back into beast mode on the power shrugs. Those things create a level of tension in the mid to upper back like nothing else you can do. It’s crazy. Not even a maximal deadlift can compare. My lower/mid/upper back and even my glutes and hamstrings are incredibly sore today. I realized that this injury isn’t all bad. It’s forcing me to really work my back/posterior chain hard to keep myself occupied, whereas in my normal training those areas tend to get neglected. Still wish I could squat though! New video is also up on my Youtube channel. People always ask me about my diet so I made an entire breakdown of a typical day. Let me know what you think. And I woud really appreciate it if you could throw me a like there/subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already. Thanks guys.
Hang power clean- 95lbs x5
135x5
155x5
165x3
175x3
185x3
185x3
195x3
185/195/205/215
195/205/215/225
I did these last 2 sets as ladders where I would hit the rep, add 10lbs, and immediately hit the next rep. So there were 30-60 seconds rest between lifts.
Power shrug- 315x3
405x3
455 x 3,3,3,3,3,5
Bench Training / Little Sister Pulled 300 for a triple
Last night I hit some decent work on close grip bench. Threw in some dips and curls to end the session.
CGBP(paused)-225lbs - 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,4 (28 total reps)
Dips(bw + 110bs)- 5,5,5,7 (22 total reps)
DB curl(60lbs)- 10,10,10,10
My little sister was doing some deads. Starting last week we altered her training cycle to where she will be ramping up to a max triple on the squat/deadlift every week to give her a bit more intensity and see if can drive some new strength gains that way. Last nigh she pulled 300 for a PR triple. In the coming weeks we’ll be chasing that big 3 plate triple, and then hopefully she’ll be able to pull 350 next time we test!
Easy 235lbs Hang Power Clean
Sill cleaning and power shrugging like mad. Hit 235 pretty easily yesterday and then did a bunch of shrugs with 495. Glutes, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, and traps are beat to shit today. Feels good though. It’s a different kind of soreness. Power clean is climbing up nicely also. There was still plenty in the tank after the 235 from yesterday. Right now these are less about strength for me and more about not letting the bar fling out 5 feet in front of me lol. I’m starting to remember how to move under the bar again though, which is nice.
Hang PC- 95lbsx5
135x3
155x3
165x3
175x3
185x3
195x3
205x2
Wave ladder clusters
Ladder 1- 185/195/205/215
Ladder 2- 195/205/215/225
Ladder 3- 205/215/225
Ladder 4- 205/215/225/235
Power shrug- 315x3, 405x3, 495x5,5,5,5,5
Bench Going Up?
Yesterday I got in a solid upper body session. My bench is still progressing. I hit 235lbs for a paused set of 5 in my first. I’ll continue to add 5lbs each week as long as I can keep hitting 5 reps on the first set. Perhaps the dips are helping me out a bit?
Bench (paused)- 225x1, 245x1, 255x1
(235)-5,4,4,4,3
(225)- 5,5,5
Dips(bw+110lbs)- 6,6,6,6,6
BB Curls(115lbs)- 7,7,6,5,5
I believe my PR set of 5 on the bench is 245 touch and go, so maybe I can make a run at that in the next few weeks paused. All I know is I better hit 3 fucking plates soon or I’m gonna lose my shit. Can’t squat. Can’t deadlift. Can I see some goddamn bench progress.