DC Training Thread (Part 2)

Training Bodybuilding
401

[quote]JoshM wrote:
First post in this thread. I’ve been following this/the “trying doggcrapp training” thread for a while. Figured I’d share my experience now, having just finished my first blast. I’ve been somewhat familiar with DC for a while, but really began to research it thoroughly for about a month before I started it this June. I have my trusty 130 page word doc which I put together from IM, MM, and the DC threads haha…that’s helped a lot as I can CTRL-F any topic, and I’ll have some good tidbit or post in there. Thanks to the big posters here, you guys have helped me out a ton.

I lasted about 7 weeks, before I had to shut it down due to getting sick/general burnout. Pretty happy about the results–up about 8 lbs or so, with most of it muscle being muscle. Quads look denser, hammies are much thicker, my biceps definitely grew, and my shoulders are popping out more. Not 100% sure how my back progressed, need a picture of that. The parts that improved the most are they parts which I used higher rep ranges for…something to keep in mind for the next blast.

So I have 3 weeks before I go back to school and have access to a good gyms and adequate equipment. The plan is to keep out of the gym for most or all of this week. Next week, I’ll probably go in a few times and play around with some new lifts (PJRs and rack chins). Week 3, I plan on doing 3 or so intense non-DC workouts. After that, back to school and back to blasting! I’ll probably post the plan for the new blast in a couple weeks or so.

Things I learned from my first blast:

  1. Getting enough sleep was key to recovering quickly enough between workouts. There isn’t really a substitute for adequate sleep–you can’t make up for it by eating more. A bad night’s sleep usually meant I’d be much sorer than usual for the next day or two.

  2. Putting a small amount of effort into cooking makes getting down protein much easier…marinades made my life so much easier.

  3. When leg pressing, and you want to hit your quads more than your glutes/hams, try keeping your ass down on the seat[/quote] It should never come off the seat anyway, unless you want low-back trouble :wink: [quote], and try to pull yourself as far down the seat as you can, by pulling on the handles. This is much easier to explain by video I guess.

  4. The rolled up towel trick for HS presses works like a charm.

  5. Nothing is worse than getting something like 9 or 10 reps on a lift the first time you do it, and then having to fight your way up in reps/deal with very slow weight increases.

  6. Conversely, nothing is better than starting off with hitting a lift for 20-30 RP, and upping the weight drastically while keeping reps…for some reason, I was able to add 15-20 lbs a session, and even gain a rep or two when I kept the reps higher. [/quote] That’s what it’s supposed to be like, mostly. Especially during the first few blasts. [quote]

  7. You won’t be as strong as you think on forearm movements, as you’ve just put your biceps through hell. Choose your weight accordingly if you don’t want to have shit form/miss the rep range.

  8. The extreme stretched were hit and miss…there were some sessions were I’d be able to hit the shoulder stretch perfectly and really feel it, and there were some days where I’d get nothing.
    [/quote] Helps when the muscle-group in question is pumped. Also, smaller guys have trouble with the bi and tri stretches, usually. Try some alternative stretches if you want, there is one for delts involving a cable-station…[quote]

  9. If you’re using machines, make sure that they’re on the same “settings” every time(height, ROM, etc). This is easy enough with sometime like an old-school lat pulldown, but some of the newer machines have all sorts of weird settings–like dials and levels to change the strength curve, etc.

  10. Doing cardio isn’t that bad if you’re somewhat creative with it. After spending a winter in upstate NY, I have no problem whatsoever going for a stroll outside and enjoying a breezy summer night. Even the treadmill isn’t that bad if you grab a book to read/get some studying done.

  11. Seated DB Presses while facing the back pad are a fantastic shoulder movement. Got soreness/a pump from these guys like nothing else. [/quote] Thanks for reminding me, I used to recommend them on here a lot but for some reason I pretty much forgot about them afterwards… Going to do these again. [quote]

  12. If you think that the workouts are short, wait till you’re 6+ weeks weeks into a blast. The workouts were shorter for me at first, but as I began to push harder and harder as the weights went up and up, I needed much more time between sets. It wasn’t that I was so out of breath or winded(except for maybe thickness/quads/hammies), but just tired in another way from going all-out…kinda hard to explain.[/quote]
    Yes, feeling tired is pretty much it. Rest-pause and 5 big exercises plus stretches per session are all pretty draining.

FWIW my sessions usually last(ed) around 1.5 hours or so. Lots of warm-ups plus the time I have to take between exercises etc…

402

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
doubleh wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:

Ditch free-weight CGP imo. Or use a board to take out the bottom part of ROM and have a platform to “launch” the bar from via leg-drive and arch if you get stuck. JM Presses are also an option.

I get the same problem with full-range free-weight CGP due to the fatigued shoulders from chest and delt work, I come out of the bottom and suddenly my strength just evaporates or something.

IH press and SRGB work better, as you can keep the delts out somewhat when pressing towards feet as well as up.

Another thing: raise rep-range to 15+ RP reps. (15-20 or so) if you want to keep the exercise in and possibly do your chest and delt stretches after tri work, the chest one in particular can tire out the delts.

C_C, you are the man. The above is EXACTLY what happens, I drive out of the bottom clean, everything going great, then - brick wall. I never even thought about faitgued shoulders being the issue, but you know, now that I think about it, where I get stuck is pretty much the transition point, so that’s probably it.

I really like CGB, though, so I will add a 3-board and see how that goes. Thanks bro.

No problem, brother.
[/quote]

CC,

Just wanted to let you know the 2-board CGBP with the suicide grip has been working really well for me (if you recall I train in my garage, so no Smith Machine).

However, I do have one bone to pick with you. With your help adding components of DC style training into my program, I’ve added about about 5-7lbs of muscle (~10-12lbs in total) and now I have to tighten up my diet to stay in my weight class! :slight_smile:

403

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:

Just wanted to let you know the 2-board CGBP with the suicide grip has been working really well for me (if you recall I train in my garage, so no Smith Machine).

However, I do have one bone to pick with you. With your help adding components of DC style training into my program, I’ve added about about 5-7lbs of muscle (~10-12lbs in total) and now I have to tighten up my diet to stay in my weight class! :slight_smile:

[/quote]

the one downfall of dc training or at least applying some of its concepts to what you are doing.

404

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
doubleh wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:

Ditch free-weight CGP imo. Or use a board to take out the bottom part of ROM and have a platform to “launch” the bar from via leg-drive and arch if you get stuck. JM Presses are also an option.

I get the same problem with full-range free-weight CGP due to the fatigued shoulders from chest and delt work, I come out of the bottom and suddenly my strength just evaporates or something.

IH press and SRGB work better, as you can keep the delts out somewhat when pressing towards feet as well as up.

Another thing: raise rep-range to 15+ RP reps. (15-20 or so) if you want to keep the exercise in and possibly do your chest and delt stretches after tri work, the chest one in particular can tire out the delts.

C_C, you are the man. The above is EXACTLY what happens, I drive out of the bottom clean, everything going great, then - brick wall. I never even thought about faitgued shoulders being the issue, but you know, now that I think about it, where I get stuck is pretty much the transition point, so that’s probably it.

I really like CGB, though, so I will add a 3-board and see how that goes. Thanks bro.

No problem, brother.

CC,

Just wanted to let you know the 2-board CGBP with the suicide grip has been working really well for me (if you recall I train in my garage, so no Smith Machine).

However, I do have one bone to pick with you. With your help adding components of DC style training into my program, I’ve added about about 5-7lbs of muscle (~10-12lbs in total) and now I have to tighten up my diet to stay in my weight class! :slight_smile:

[/quote]

Come on, do the full DC routine for a month and you can compete 2 weight classes above your current one and still total equipped elite LOL

So… How’s your assistance template affecting your big three? Any good?
And what do you have planned, weight-class wise? Want to crack a few records in your current one before moving up?

405

[quote]MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
dropshot001 wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
Premature Forced Break: :frowning:

Thanks MHB!

By the way, why couldn’t you do Flat DB Presses in your DC lineup? I currently do them.

don’t know if it is an issue for mhb, but for me i have always had trouble with the flat db presses because getting it out of neutral took a lot of energy for me, more so than with other db exercises such as incline or db militaries.

I LOVE flat DB presses because they dont bother my shoulder and are a relatively safe chest ex for me to do. However, as most gyms, once you hit 100lb DBs, the DBs go up by 10lb increments afterwards. So, I got up to 100lb x 23 RP. However, going to 110 did NOT work lol. I got 8 on the first set, and knew I couldn’t RP them.

I only have one set of microplates, but even if I had two, i’d only be going up 2.5 lb each DB which seems real small of a jump.

In any event, keeping the microplates on the ends when you swing them up is a little annoying too as they can slide off (even the magnetic ones). So I stopped doing them.

Btw, I had a spotter push my elbows up for the first rep. I’ll definitely do that for the first rep of each set when I go back.

So anyway, now that i’m gonna do the 3 way for a while I can just do one all out set for 6-10 or whatever. [/quote]

Same issue at my gym. My fix: duct tape. Just tape 2.5 lb plates to the ends of the 100-110-120 DBs and, voila, 105s-115s-125s. Can also do it with 5 lb plates, and I even tried 10s too (if you max out the DBs).

406

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I’ll definitely be playing around with the cable shoulder stretch when I get back in the gym.

I’ve been tossing this around in my head for a bit, and would be interested in what you guys think: How would power shrugs work for back thickness?

My upper traps need work, but I feel that putting in 2 deadlift variations( as Dante has suggested) would burn me out fast, and would force me to sacrifice other movements I love(say goodbye to RDL’s, my best hammie movement). Power shrugs seem like a good compromise–they absolutely torch my middle/upper back, while being easier to recover from than something like a floor deadlift.

So what’s the verdict?

407

[quote]Sentoguy wrote:
I like Shelby’s shoulder stretch. Since seeing that video I’ve started implementing it into my workouts and I’ve liked the degree to which it stretches the medial delt.

I still use the stock shoulder stretch too though. I just alternate between the two depending on where I most feel the shoulder exercise that day.

So, for example:

SHIP’s- stock shoulder stretch
BTN presses- Shelby’s shoulder stretch[/quote]

sentoguy, 2 questions for you, first off the stock one is that the one where you put both arms backwards and hold onto like a smith bar and walk foward to the stretch? If it is then what would you do if someone was getting terrible forearm numbness to to that. also do you feel btn presses really do alot more than ships?

408

[quote]JoshM wrote:
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I’ll definitely be playing around with the cable shoulder stretch when I get back in the gym.

I’ve been tossing this around in my head for a bit, and would be interested in what you guys think: How would power shrugs work for back thickness?

My upper traps need work, but I feel that putting in 2 deadlift variations( as Dante has suggested) would burn me out fast, and would force me to sacrifice other movements I love(say goodbye to RDL’s, my best hammie movement). Power shrugs seem like a good compromise–they absolutely torch my middle/upper back, while being easier to recover from than something like a floor deadlift.

So what’s the verdict?[/quote]

i would say that they might work okay for the traps, but deads/rack deads would do better for overall development. the power shrugs may help the traps get huge, but deads and rack deads (especially rack) will hit the traps, build the thickness and also give you some nice rear delts from all the pulling. the traps will come in eventually. i had the same problem for almost a year and a half where my thickness was better than my traps, but now as i got my deadlift weight up the trpas are starting to come in

409

for the forearm pain, try doing the shoulder stretch on your knees and then scooting yourself more forward. the height difference might make a difference. it could be that you have your hands too far up while standing, but if you do it on your knees it may allow you to do the stretch at a more comfortable height

410

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Ruggerlife wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
doubleh wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:

Ditch free-weight CGP imo. Or use a board to take out the bottom part of ROM and have a platform to “launch” the bar from via leg-drive and arch if you get stuck. JM Presses are also an option.

I get the same problem with full-range free-weight CGP due to the fatigued shoulders from chest and delt work, I come out of the bottom and suddenly my strength just evaporates or something.

IH press and SRGB work better, as you can keep the delts out somewhat when pressing towards feet as well as up.

Another thing: raise rep-range to 15+ RP reps. (15-20 or so) if you want to keep the exercise in and possibly do your chest and delt stretches after tri work, the chest one in particular can tire out the delts.

C_C, you are the man. The above is EXACTLY what happens, I drive out of the bottom clean, everything going great, then - brick wall. I never even thought about faitgued shoulders being the issue, but you know, now that I think about it, where I get stuck is pretty much the transition point, so that’s probably it.

I really like CGB, though, so I will add a 3-board and see how that goes. Thanks bro.

No problem, brother.

CC,

Just wanted to let you know the 2-board CGBP with the suicide grip has been working really well for me (if you recall I train in my garage, so no Smith Machine).

However, I do have one bone to pick with you. With your help adding components of DC style training into my program, I’ve added about about 5-7lbs of muscle (~10-12lbs in total) and now I have to tighten up my diet to stay in my weight class! :slight_smile:

Come on, do the full DC routine for a month and you can compete 2 weight classes above your current one and still total equipped elite LOL[/quote] HAHA, I’m a LONG way off that!

The assistance template is working really well. I haven’t tested my big three raw yet, but I know the upper body assistance (especially the CGBP) is doing what I wanted since I was able to lock out 315lbs my first time in a bench shirt (single ply) and prior to starting the template (2 months ago) I was struggling to lock out 285lbs on a reverse band (so ~270-275lbs accounting for the band at the top).

As for the weight class, my short term goal is to get to the national level, which is doable but will require me to stay in this weight class for ~1 year. However as I practice my weight cut (fat loss leading up to and the water cut) and get more efficient with it, I figure I still have about another 10lbs of muscle to gain before I have to make any decisions.

411

[quote]crod266 wrote:
Sentoguy wrote:
I like Shelby’s shoulder stretch. Since seeing that video I’ve started implementing it into my workouts and I’ve liked the degree to which it stretches the medial delt.

I still use the stock shoulder stretch too though. I just alternate between the two depending on where I most feel the shoulder exercise that day.

So, for example:

SHIP’s- stock shoulder stretch
BTN presses- Shelby’s shoulder stretch

sentoguy, 2 questions for you, first off the stock one is that the one where you put both arms backwards and hold onto like a smith bar and walk foward to the stretch? If it is then what would you do if someone was getting terrible forearm numbness to to that. also do you feel btn presses really do alot more than ships?[/quote]

Yes that’s the one. If you are getting terrible numbness/discomfort then I either wouldn’t do them, or I’d try modifying the stretch to see if I could figure out a way to not get this sensation. I’ll sometimes get a little bit of tingling/numbness, but I’d never describe it as terrible.

I also don’t really walk forwards on that stretch, but instead set the smith bar to the 3rd lowest rung (you’ll probably have to play around with this to find the right height for you) and then either squat or kneel down and use my bodyweight to apply the stretch. I’ve found that this method produces less occurences of tingling/numbness for me.

About the btn’s/ships, I don’t really think that one is superior to the other. SHIP’s allow you to use a lot of weight, really hit the anterior delts well, and even call into play the very upper most fibers of the pecs. BTN’s better stimulate the medial delts and call into play the traps a little more. Both are good at what they’re designed to do.

412

SHIPS? = Shrug Dips?!

413

[quote]plateau wrote:
SHIPS? = Shrug Dips?![/quote]

Smith machine High Incline Presses

414

[quote]JoshM wrote:
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I’ll definitely be playing around with the cable shoulder stretch when I get back in the gym.

I’ve been tossing this around in my head for a bit, and would be interested in what you guys think: How would power shrugs work for back thickness?

My upper traps need work, but I feel that putting in 2 deadlift variations( as Dante has suggested) would burn me out fast, and would force me to sacrifice other movements I love(say goodbye to RDL’s, my best hammie movement). Power shrugs seem like a good compromise–they absolutely torch my middle/upper back, while being easier to recover from than something like a floor deadlift.

So what’s the verdict?[/quote]

Hmmmmm… I dunno, consider that you want to balance pressing with back work a little, and backthickness is what mostly does that… A real shrug isn’t so good for that particular thing.

If you want more traps, consider yates rows (supinated or not, mostly the angle is important), rack pulls (shrugging not up but to the back after locking out, retracting scapulae, shoulders back chest out etc, then reverse that when going down… a little like trying to get into PL bench position, just not overarching the low-back… Same thing you do on rows for backthickness),
SLDL, pinwheel curls even (with straps and when you go heavy on those, you basically don’t cheat through the hip joint but by sort of shrugging your shoulders up and then back), kroc rows on the DB rack, and you can try a hybrid of upright row and BO row for shoulders.
I described that last thing in the BBB thread. Doesn’t bother the shoulders like a regular upright row, and works the side-delts pretty well along with the (upper)traps.

415

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:

The assistance template is working really well. I haven’t tested my big three raw yet, but I know the upper body assistance (especially the CGBP) is doing what I wanted since I was able to lock out 315lbs my first time in a bench shirt (single ply) and prior to starting the template (2 months ago) I was struggling to lock out 285lbs on a reverse band (so ~270-275lbs accounting for the band at the top).
[/quote] I hope that the DB work fairly late in the session is enough for your off-the-chest strength though for your raw bench, we’ll see. I figure if anything then that’s the direction where trouble may come from (strength-wise, anyway). [quote]
As for the weight class, my short term goal is to get to the national level, which is doable but will require me to stay in this weight class for ~1 year.[/quote] Am I glad I’m not a powerlifter lol

[quote] However as I practice my weight cut (fat loss leading up to and the water cut) and get more efficient with it, I figure I still have about another 10lbs of muscle to gain before I have to make any decisions.
[/quote]
Well, you can still switch to some low-rep, moderate-set approach or whatever to keep your size roughly the same and get your relative strength up if all else fails. Not my first choice for the joints and tendons though…

Or you can say fuck it and compete in the SHW’s :wink:
(your ROM would be half an inch on any exercise you wanted to do lol)

416

[quote]plateau wrote:
SHIPS? = Shrug Dips?![/quote]

As sento already said, they are a shoulder exercise.

ROM is fairly short; I raise my chin and bring the bar down only that far. Can also keep short of lock out to keep tension on the shoulders.

This allows for pretty great progression and is easy on the shoulders, even for someone with many dislocations like me.

417

Btw while some of you guys are discussing DC stretches, I have always done another chest/front delt stretch in between a back extension machine.

My gym’s Back Exetension has two parrallel bars out in front. I set up the pad to roughly the height i’d use if I was doing an extension, then go around front and get into a deep pushup position. This really stretches the hell out of my chest and front delts. As with the DB chest stretch, slowly lower yourself deeper and deeper as the stretch goes on while keeping your chest up. Works great.

Not exactly on par with the DC standard shoulder stretch but thought i’d throw this out there.

418

[quote]MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
plateau wrote:
SHIPS? = Shrug Dips?!

As sento already said, they are a shoulder exercise.

ROM is fairly short; I raise my chin and bring the bar down only that far. Can also keep short of lock out to keep tension on the shoulders.

This allows for pretty great progression and is easy on the shoulders, even for someone with many dislocations like me.[/quote]

Thanks I know what the exercise is, and have been using on my 1st blast just didn’t know the abbreviation!

419

[quote]plateau wrote:
MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
plateau wrote:
SHIPS? = Shrug Dips?!

As sento already said, they are a shoulder exercise.

ROM is fairly short; I raise my chin and bring the bar down only that far. Can also keep short of lock out to keep tension on the shoulders.

This allows for pretty great progression and is easy on the shoulders, even for someone with many dislocations like me.

Thanks I know what the exercise is, and have been using on my 1st blast just didn’t know the abbreviation!

[/quote]

Oh ok. Someone in the BOI thread coined the abbreviation (can’t remember who). Some (won’t mention any names lol) hate the term; I like it - short and easy.

420

[quote]MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
Btw while some of you guys are discussing DC stretches, I have always done another chest/front delt stretch in between a back extension machine.

My gym’s Back Exetension has two parrallel bars out in front. I set up the pad to roughly the height i’d use if I was doing an extension, then go around front and get into a deep pushup position. This really stretches the hell out of my chest and front delts. As with the DB chest stretch, slowly lower yourself deeper and deeper as the stretch goes on while keeping your chest up. Works great.

Not exactly on par with the DC standard shoulder stretch but thought i’d throw this out there.[/quote]

Hadn’t thought of that one.

I’ve tried the pec deck version and using dip bars in much the same way that you are using the back extension bars, but have found that the DB versions work best for me (I say versions because I do an incline version when I do incline pressing motions).

I’ll have to try yours out though if I ever find myself in a situation where I can’t use the DB’s.