[quote]doubleh wrote:
That’s exactly what I did. The second set I hit 11 reps and it was brutal enough, then there I was staring at the weight for my widowmaker wondering how the hell I was gonna get through it.[/quote]
Lmao that’s hilarious!
EDIT: I would edit my post on the widowmaker but it hasn’t shown up yet in the thread so for the interim I’ll write that C_C in his above post explained the essential concept in how it is a semi-rest-paused set to answer you second question directly, Lock.
[quote]Lock wrote:
The point of not rest-pausing quad excercises is because of the potential of injury, correct? Ain’t a widowmaker fairly similar to rest-pausing?[/quote]
Correct. Same for back thickness and forearms.
A widowmaker is supposed to be a 20 rep (some may do 15) exercise that is your 10 rep max. You should be able to get through the first 10 reps, then grind out another tough 5, and for the last few reps you may need to take up to 5 deep breaths in between each rep in order to finish the whole set of 20. It should be absolutely brutal to finish the last few reps.
Pinwheeled the 70s today. 
[quote]esk221 wrote:
Pinwheeled the 70s today. ;)[/quote]
Nice job.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
esk221 wrote:
Pinwheeled the 70s today.
Nice job.[/quote]
Seconded!
So Sento, you reckon we move up to the 145’s tomorrow?
Doing 22 reps with the 140’s is getting so fucking tedious, I wanna do some lower rep stuff again.
[quote]kylec72 wrote:
doubleh wrote:
That’s exactly what I did. The second set I hit 11 reps and it was brutal enough, then there I was staring at the weight for my widowmaker wondering how the hell I was gonna get through it.
Lmao that’s hilarious!
EDIT: I would edit my post on the widowmaker but it hasn’t shown up yet in the thread so for the interim I’ll write that C_C in his above post explained the essential concept in how it is a semi-rest-paused set to answer you second question directly, Lock.[/quote]
Yeah, not so hilarious at the time. Or yesterday and today, with my quads experiencing DOMS like I haven’t since probably high school.
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
esk221 wrote:
Pinwheeled the 70s today.
Nice job.
Seconded!
So Sento, you reckon we move up to the 145’s tomorrow?
Doing 22 reps with the 140’s is getting so fucking tedious, I wanna do some lower rep stuff again.
[/quote]
My Pinwheels are teh suck 
[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
esk221 wrote:
Pinwheeled the 70s today.
Nice job.
Seconded!
So Sento, you reckon we move up to the 145’s tomorrow?
Doing 22 reps with the 140’s is getting so fucking tedious, I wanna do some lower rep stuff again.
[/quote]
I thought we agreed to skip right to the 150’s.
I wish I had 100+ers. Time to get a new gym.
[quote]esk221 wrote:
I wish I had 100+ers. Time to get a new gym.[/quote]
Yeah that’s really lame. The new gym I just signed up with only has DBs up to 110. WTF? There’s a lot of big guys in there too. I want to DB row!
Hi, really want to start DC but Idk if I am advanced enough for it. I have a good work ethic and I know how to push myself in the gym but i don’t know if my base is good enough. stats are:
Heigh: 5’10
Weight:165-170
BF%:11
Bench: 220
Deadlift: 385
Front Squat: 275
Best Back Squat(not current): 315x6
The hardest program I’ve ever done was smolov. If I’m “deemed” advance enough I’l post the exercises I want to do for critique. Honest opinions are what I want to hear.
[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
esk221 wrote:
Pinwheeled the 70s today.
Nice job.
Seconded!
So Sento, you reckon we move up to the 145’s tomorrow?
Doing 22 reps with the 140’s is getting so fucking tedious, I wanna do some lower rep stuff again.
I thought we agreed to skip right to the 150’s.
:D[/quote]
Fine by me, after all many say that there’s too little direct trap work in DC lol
[quote]leadben wrote:
Hi, really want to start DC but Idk if I am advanced enough for it. I have a good work ethic and I know how to push myself in the gym but i don’t know if my base is good enough. stats are:
Heigh: 5’10
Weight:165-170
BF%:11
Bench: 220
Deadlift: 385
Front Squat: 275
Best Back Squat(not current): 315x6
The hardest program I’ve ever done was smolov. If I’m “deemed” advance enough I’l post the exercises I want to do for critique. Honest opinions are what I want to hear. [/quote]
If I were you, I’d consider doing a different routine for a while, examples:
-The yates 3-way I posted in one of the recent ramping threads (“pyramiding or not?”)
-some 5x5 or 3x5 routine (starting strength etc), possibly a little altered.
-Some phil hernon stuff
-Some program by Sentoguy
-BBB 6 day or 4 day version
-Wendler 5/3/1
…
Get your bodyweight up to ~200 and lifts up so you’re repping 315+ on the bench, 475-500+ on the deadlift and 405+ on squats. Just a general guideline, mind you.
If you need anything else, just ask.
Thanks a lot. I’ll give 5/3/1 a shot and go from there.
Ok. thansk for the advice. one question tho, what’s BBB?
[quote]leadben wrote:
Ok. thansk for the advice. one question tho, what’s BBB?[/quote]
Big Beyond Belief. Forums - T Nation - The World's Trusted Community for Elite Fitness
I pulled off my first DC session this morning. It nearly took one and a half hours to get through it. I hope I can get more efficient over time.
HS Flat Bench
(108.5kg) 238.7 x 11, 3, 1 (15RP)
SHIPS (ghey lol)
(75kg) 165lb x 11, 6, 3 (20RP)
CGBP (Smith Machine)
(100kg) 220lb x 7, 3, 2 (11RP)
Chest, shoulder and tricep stretches (30 seconds to a minute. I will slowly increase it each session)
Close-Grip Pulldowns
(80kg) 176lb x 8, 4, 3 (15RP)
Lat stretch
T-Bar Rows
(80kg) 176lb x 10 I was going to do a backoff set but I ran out of time.
A few questions for the group if you don’t mind:
Anyone got any tips for getting the HS flat bench into position? I find it really hard to get the handles up for the first rep, which is why my second and third RP was so shit. I tried putting a 5lb plate underneath but it didn’t do that much.
Are my weights okay for the above RPs given it is my first session? I don’t mean are they a respectable weight but I am not sure if I should be dropping the weight on the HS flat bench (since I did nothing on the two RPs) and CGBP (since my overall RP was only 12 reps).
When I was doing SHIPs I suddently felt extreme tightness in my pecs (not a heart attack!) I have had this in the past occasionally when I did too much chest stuff in a row without stretching. It may be that the RP in quick succession on the HS flat bench caused it. Would it be okay doing some very light face pulls (which I have used in the past to resolve this issue) in between exercises or would doing the chest stretch straight away resolve the problem?
The lat stretch is fucked and I struggle to do it for more than 30 seconds as it feels like my arms are about to come out of their sockets. Would I be better off doing the doorknob stretch or should I just man up and get used to it?
Thanks
[quote]namor wrote:
I pulled off my first DC session this morning. It nearly took one and a half hours to get through it. I hope I can get more efficient over time.
HS Flat Bench
(108.5kg) 238.7 x 11, 3, 1 (15RP)
SHIPS (ghey lol)
(75kg) 165lb x 11, 6, 3 (20RP)
CGBP (Smith Machine)
(100kg) 220lb x 7, 3, 2 (11RP) [/quote] Possibly take a tad more time between ships and this. Might also be a good idea to lower the weight to 90 kg or even 85 and get into the 18-20+ range… Then you can add some weight almost every session and slowly bring reps down to 11-12. Much easier to progress that way. [quote]
Chest, shoulder and tricep stretches (30 seconds to a minute. I will slowly increase it each session)
Close-Grip Pulldowns
(80kg) 176lb x 8, 4, 3 (15RP) [/quote] Definitely lower weight so you can get 25-30 and then ride the rep range down. [quote]
Lat stretch
T-Bar Rows
(80kg) 176lb x 10 I was going to do a backoff set but I ran out of time.
A few questions for the group if you don’t mind:
Anyone got any tips for getting the HS flat bench into position? I find it really hard to get the handles up for the first rep, which is why my second and third RP was so shit. I tried putting a 5lb plate underneath but it didn’t do that much. [/quote] Try putting bigger plates under the lever arms or something else… Some hard rubber blocks or so if you can find any… Or wooden blocks maybe. [quote]
Are my weights okay for the above RPs given it is my first session? I don’t mean are they a respectable weight but I am not sure if I should be dropping the weight on the HS flat bench (since I did nothing on the two RPs) and CGBP (since my overall RP was only 12 reps). [/quote] Actually, your total amount of reps on the HS machine was ok… But with those issues you have on it, I guess you could raise the rep-range to 12-20. [quote]
When I was doing SHIPs I suddently felt extreme tightness in my pecs (not a heart attack!) I have had this in the past occasionally when I did too much chest stuff in a row without stretching. It may be that the RP in quick succession on the HS flat bench caused it. Would it be okay doing some very light face pulls (which I have used in the past to resolve this issue) in between exercises or would doing the chest stretch straight away resolve the problem? [/quote] Gotta experiment there. I also do YTWL or face pulls between pushing exercises sometimes if I feel that my shoulders (no chest problems here) start to rebel.
Also try bringing the bar down to the chin only instead of onto the upper chest on ships, especially if you don’t yet have a huge upper chest 
And check your seat angle… I’d have it one notch below vertical, but it depends on the bench model… Might be too many notches/holes down in your case? [quote]
The lat stretch is fucked and I struggle to do it for more than 30 seconds as it feels like my arms are about to come out of their sockets. Would I be better off doing the doorknob stretch or should I just man up and get used to it? [/quote] Well, do the doorknob stretch for now… The hanging stretch is a bit tricky. You sort of have to let yourself sink into the right position, I dunno how to describe that in English.
Do you have a training partner or friendly gym goer that can help you to the top on your HS presses? That’s the best option and have them do 100% of the work so you can start from the top instead of pressing from a very weak position trying to overcome inertia. There are some tricks people use(thick rolled up towels) to put the arms in a more advantageous starting position but if you have a person helping it’s much simpler.
Your weights are fine, with a solution to your HS problem I think that set would have been more like 11+4+2 which would put you above the normal rep range. Close grips you went a little aggressive with so you know you will have to go for reps next time.
If a light set of face pulls makes you feel warmed up for shoulders go for it. Also you might want to increase the amount of time you take between chest and shoulder work.
You are supposed to do the back stretch after your thickness move first off. Second you have to relax and not try to “pull” yourself up which is a natural reflex of the body. Lean back slightly and attempt to flair your lats and the strain on your arms should lessen. So yeah, man up lol .
[quote]namor wrote:
I pulled off my first DC session this morning. It nearly took one and a half hours to get through it. I hope I can get more efficient over time.
HS Flat Bench
(108.5kg) 238.7 x 11, 3, 1 (15RP)
SHIPS (ghey lol)
(75kg) 165lb x 11, 6, 3 (20RP)
CGBP (Smith Machine)
(100kg) 220lb x 7, 3, 2 (11RP)
Chest, shoulder and tricep stretches (30 seconds to a minute. I will slowly increase it each session)
[/quote]
I’d suggest doing each stretch immediately after finishing each muscle group.
Unless you’re going to do the alternative lat stretch using the seated row station, or some other extreme trap stretch, I’d suggest waiting until after your back thickness exercise to do the hanging lat stretch (especially if you’re doing some form of deads).
You could have a spotter help you get the handles up for the first rep (don’t count it as a rep though). Other than that I can’t really help, my gym doesn’t have a HS flat, only an HS incline, and I’ve never had a problem getting the handles up on the first rep.
If you can get a spotter to help with the HS flat you should be okay. I might drop it a little on the CGBP though as you’re pretty close to the bottom of the RP on those (meaning you’ll stall out quickly on them).
Yet another reason to do the chest stretch after the chest exercise, shoulder stretch after the shoulder exercise, and triceps stretch after the triceps exercise.
What kind of added weight were you using? Might want to tone that down a few notches until you can hold the stretch for at least 60 seconds. Then gradually increase (I usually wait until I can get 90 seconds, then increase the weight and start over).