So I missed my 455 attempt and was about to sulk back to my car. Then I said wait a goddamn minute. I’m not gonna stand for this shit. So I did some Giant Cambered Bar Good-Mornings. First set I got 3 and the second set the bar felt like a billion pounds so I didn’t bother.
Then I realized that I had to start work at noon today, not 2pm as I originally thought.
All day I was haunted by this extremely vaginal workout. All I had done was proved to myself that I was a big puss who, when the going got though, I just skipped out and let myself have an “off day.”
Fuck that. So I went back to the gym at 9:30pm and did this workout…
I’m real happy with that. I would have gotten more reps on T-Bar Rows if the bar hadn’t flipped and ended the set early. Deads were a PR. The Only reason I did only 3 reps on 275 for Good-Mornings was that it felt so light and I wanted to be fresh for attempting 315.
I think I’ll get 315 next time. Everything else but Leg Press was a PR. And Leg Presses are gay so that doesn’t matter. I did 1,000 so I officially get to say they’re gay.
Pretty Pumped about getting 7 reps with 105.
I think I’ll be able to get 225X18 Rest-Paused on the 3-Board Press next time around.
I’m also pretty pleased with the speed I had on the Push-Press. The Skull-Crushers were hard because we’ve got these shitty EZ-bars at my gym that have very little knurling. It makes of a difference than you’d think.
I didn’t have much left for Pushdowns. Whatevz.
Sizeable PRs in everything except the Dumbbell Rows. After my warm-up set of 105X10 I was gasping for air. The strength was there but my lower back was still fried from all the stuff I did on the 13th. I was pretty pissed with myself for not having the balls to try harder on the Dumbbell Rows so I got my shit together for everything else. The DD Cable Row ties my best for Cable Rows and the Hammer Strength Pullover is a PR.
I’ve found that I’ve been able to do Hammer-Strength Shoulder Press the day after my main Pressing day so I’m going to continue to do this exercise until progress stops. My Pressing is so far behind my pulling that I think working in a little heavy lever machine work the day after my main pressing day will help bring it up.
I’m not going to do Dumbbell Rows until I get an Olympic Handle and can use more weight.
I’m considering replacing one of my two days for Back with a vanity day. If I do this I might also do a tiny bit of back work on my Squat/Deadlift days.
On my RE upper, I experimented with grip. I have long arms and had been doing pinky on ring. I mixed it up to index on ring. I was able to bust out more reps.
Today I was able to get 3 reps at +5lbs my last PR. I then proceeded to add 15lbs and push out a somewhat easy rep.
[quote]gabex wrote:
Hey I just got back from my ME bench day.
On my RE upper, I experimented with grip. I have long arms and had been doing pinky on ring. I mixed it up to index on ring. I was able to bust out more reps.
Today I was able to get 3 reps at +5lbs my last PR. I then proceeded to add 15lbs and push out a somewhat easy rep.
I don’t know. Maybe worth giving it a shot.[/quote]
[quote]gabex wrote:
Sorry, a bit confused. What’s not legal about it?[/quote]
I think in competition you need to have your pinky within the power wrings. But I could be wrong. And if someone asks “whatta ya bench” they probably don’t even know or care if your hands were collar to collar.
GCB GM: Worked up to 315X2
Dumbbell Walking Lunge: 65X10
GHR: 0X10 2X10 4X30 RP
Hanging Leg Raise: BWX20X4 BWX50
Captain of Crush: TX6 1X5X5
Dumbbell Curl: 60X20 RP
Woo Hoo. 315 on a Good-Morning. Actually it’s more than 315. I have no idea how much that bar weights.
The Glute-Ham Raise Numbers are in reference to how many 2X6s I had propping up the back end of the GHR. I’d say that 4 boards is about as difficult as doing these with a 35 pound plate hugged to your chest but without the inconvenience and awkwardness of holding a plate.
I saw THE functional trainer today. I think everyone was baffled at this guy. He wore a sleeveless Oakley T-Shirt. He was over 6 feet tall and about 155lbs. His workout consisted of Sumo Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts with a 35lb Dumbbell, 15lb Renegade Rows, Some Bosu Ball Shit, and some 1-Arm Tiny-Ass Brought-it from-home kettlebell swings.
Newsflash: I am not jacked enough to wear a sleeveless shirt. If I am more jacked than you, then you are surely not jacked enough to wear a sleeveless shirt. I’ll see how I look at 190. Maybe then. But defiantly not now.
I got 10 on the first rest-paused set of Push Press. On the very first rep I slammed the bar into my chin and chipped my left upper K-9. I finished my set and left to go make an appointment with my dentist. There’s a visible chunk gone but it’s still pointy and only 4 small flecks came out of my mouth. Still, I feel very fucked and will continue to feel fucked until I’m told how serious it is.
I see that Rest-Pausing my Dumbbell Curls got me from 60X12 Rest Paused to 60X20 Rest Paused the very next time I did Dumbbell Curls. I would be super-fucking-pumped if I made this kind of improvement between now and the next time I attack the Push Press.
If I can get 160X20 or more Rest Paused 4 days from now I figure I am good to move up to 185 8 days from now. Then if I could get THAT for more than 20 reps Rest Paused I’d be good to go up to 210 Rest Paused. THEN once i got 210 for 20 or more reps Rest-Paused I could go all the way up to 225. At this point my Bench would no longer suck and I would defiantly have some bigger shoulders. Maybe I’d even have hit 190lbs bodyweight.
I think that getting 160X20+ Rest-Paused is very, very doable if I avoid breaking my face again. Getting some wrist wraps would help a lot too since having my wrists slammed is really hurting the reps I could be getting on the second and third mini-set of the rest-paused set.
I’m planning on getting the JumpStretch Band Pack, an Olympic Dumbbell Handle, and the “Max Effort Method - If you Had to Ask You Wouldn’t Understand” T-Shirt off EliteFTS.com in addition to some wrist wraps.
My headcold was feeling a little more intense today. I think it’s time I dropped the extra deltoid work via Machine Shoulder Press. I went for more weight on High-Rows because I knew with the headcold I wouldn’t be able to stay motivated and push through 12-15 reps so this seemed like the smartest way to get a PR.
I could have done more reps on 45lb Weighted Chins if I didn’t do High-Rows before hand. I’m sure of it. I want to get 45X15. Last night I purchased:
Metal Black Wrist Wraps
1 Olympic Dumbbell Handle
Jumpstretch Band Pack
A Sweet T-Shirt
And everything should be arriving pretty soon except the Dumbbell Handle. But I think even that will be here in time for my next back workout. If not, I’ll just do Weighted Chins.
I’m somewhat worried about setting up Reverse-Band Bench Press in the only Power Rack that has bars overhead. It’s so small that when I was doing Chins today it felt like it was about to tip over. I think I’ll be safe if I weight it down with a couple of 100lb plates.
I didn’t shatter another tooth today. So that’s a small victory. I got the chipped left upper K-9 fixed with a filling and some dental shaving/cutting/whatever. It was painless.
If I feel better when it comes time to Squat I’ll probably punish myself with some T-Bar Rows on Squat day after I do Box Squats. Punishment for skipping a lot of stuff on today’s workout.
Push Press: 160X20 RP
3-Board Press: 255X3
HS Incline: 3 Plate Drop Set
Dumbbell Curl: 65X13 RP
Pushdowns: Did Some
I tried to do some JM Presses on a Smith Machine but the hooks on the bar weren’t really cooperating.
I’ll be moving up to 185 for Push Press in 4 days. Surely by then my wrist wraps will be in.
It’s pretty impossible to do Rest-Paused Board Presses with a spotter. I think I’m going to drop down to 245 and try to get 8 reps straight with that weight. I think that’s totally realistic and would beat the first mini-set of the rest-pause set I did with 225 a few days ago.
I’m not gonna try to think too much about this workout. Looks like my 3-Board went from 255X2 to 255X3 and my Push Press went up enough for me to justify putting 185 on the bar next time around. And whatever I do with 185 4 days from now will be a PR, even if it’s 3 reps rest-paused. and If I break that record later, I’ll still be making progress and that’s all that’s important.
I’ve been checking in on your log periodically. You put your heart into this shit and you’re making progress. Pretty badass.[/quote]
Thanks man. I see you’ve come from an endurance sport background like I have with your history in Cross Country. You gotta do what you love the most no matter what your body is better suited for.
I’ve been checking in on your log periodically. You put your heart into this shit and you’re making progress. Pretty badass.
Thanks man. I see you’ve come from an endurance sport background like I have with your history in Cross Country. You gotta do what you love the most no matter what your body is better suited for. [/quote]
Too true. I’d rather look imposing and have strength to back it up than barely be visible with the ability to blow away given a gust of wind. Also, my family has a lot of big dudes. I think my structure lends itself to picking up heavy stuff (deadlifts mostly), so I just have to play catch-up with the ground I lost by doing XC.
Yes he did close grip, and his numbers in close grip reflect that he is fairly decent at it relative to this bench.
He did machines, and his machines have gotten better. Same with dumbells.
But you can’t possibly expect to be better at a movement you hardly do just because you did a hundred other movements. At the end of the day whatever movement you want to be best at needs to be the foundation of your program.
Someone would easily pass his bench numbers with a simple as 123 program of 10 reps 3 sets 3 days a week.
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
for someone who wnats to bench more weight you really don’t bench.[/quote]
I’ve been failing at the 3-Board Height the last few times I’ve benched so I’m really trying to up my poundages on the 3-Board Press. I feel like I should be putting up a lot more weight on the 3-Board Press than I currently am and I think this board height is the weak link that explains why my bench is so low in comparison to my other lifts.
I also train alone so I’m always limited when it comes to benching. Doing 3-Boards alone has worked out to be easier than benching alone as well.
I’m also thinking about starting to do DE Bench once my band pack is shipped.
And even though I KNOW I said I need to be Benching more, I really want to hit some bigger numbers on Push Press right at the moment. I know this is pretty wishy-washy of me but I’d like to be able to just toss overhead what everyone else is benching in the gym.
So I’ve got lots of excuses and reasons for why I haven’t been benching much. They may not be very good but I got 'em.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
for someone who wnats to bench more weight you really don’t bench.
I’ve been failing at the 3-Board Height the last few times I’ve benched so I’m really trying to up my poundages on the 3-Board Press.
I also train alone so I’m always limited when it comes to benching. [/quote]
Understood, but repeatedly benching at the 3-board height is going to help your 3-board height the most, then maybe your normal bench a little. Think about it, if you have been benching regularly the 3 board height for the last 2-3 months, how much of a carry over do you think your going to have to a normal bench if your max goes up 30lbs?
Partials, board presses, chains are all mechanism to squeeze the most out of your max. However to make major jumps you have to get stronger at that movement. Nothing will do that like hypertrophy.
Choose a lighter weight and up your reps for a few weeks, you will be able to bench more than you can go into a power phase and you will be able to bench alot more.