FightingScott's Log

Training Training Logs
141

8/14/2008

Light Band Box Squat:
BarX5
135X2
195X2X4
225X2X4

Box Squat:
275X1
315X3

Platform Mini-Band Speed Pulls:
235X1X8

Speed Deadlift:
315X1

Dumbbell Lunge:
60X3
95X6

Glute Ham Raise:
Green Band X 8 X 3

Decline Crunch:
45X8
70X6

Hanging Leg Raise:
50 Reps

Don’t ask me why I did 275 and 315 on Box Squats. Pulling 315 for speed was also a spur of the moment decision. It didn’t feel fast. I think the rep took about as long as it takes you to say “Grrr” because that’s what I said from floor to lockout.

Less than 2 seconds but more than 1 second. Maybe when I pulled 315 off a box with light bands it was slower, but I remember it being faster, but maybe that’s because I didn’t expect it to be fast.

My mind is fucking with me.

And I need to do more Quad Work fore sure.

142


8/15/2008

Speed Bench:
45X5
95X5
135X3X8

4-Board:
185X5
225X3
275X5

Dumbbell Press:
Failed to get the 85s up AGAIN.

Arnold Press:
65X15 RP
I think I’ll just stick to Arnold Press.

Incline Bench Press:
185X5

Flat Bench Press:
185X5

Tate Press:
65X13 RP

Dumbbell Fly:
Worked up to another set of 6 with the 65s.
Wasn’t as good as the last time I did them.

Straight Bar Pushdown:
Not Worth Writing Down

Incline Cable Crossover:
30X12X4
This is actually an excellent pure chest exercise.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise:
40X20 RP

I think I might integrate Seated Snatches into my Back Training. I’ve been playing around with a lot of ideas since I don’t think I’ll be able to continue pursuing super-heavy, strapped Dumbbell Rows nor do I think it’s the most effective thing for me to do at this point in my life.

I’m thinking right now the day after ME Bench would be Dumbbell Rows without straps and the day after DE Bench would be Weighted Chins with Wendler’s 5/3/1 Method followed by Pullovers.

Who knows? Maybe Seated Snatches will take center stage over Dumbbell Rows and I’ll use the 5/3/1 Method with that. Or Maybe I’ll do Power Snatches instead, and maybe do those on DE Bench. Who can tell? I’ll probably just do the first thing.

143

8/16/2008

No Upper Back Today. I’m planning to Deadlift tomorrow with some gentlemen who are much, much stronger than I.

Is there really any point to me keeping this log other than for my own record keeping purposes? Of course not.

144

8/17/2008

Deadlift off 4" Blocks:
Worked up to 495X1
Missed 505
Missed 475
425X8

Hands down, Narrow Stance, Low-Box SSB Squats
w/ Foam:
135X5
225X5X3

GCB Zercher Squats:
275X1
315X4

Apparently there’s a difference between climbers chalk and lifter’s chalk.

That’s seriously all we did. I won’t have an Safety Squat Bar anymore so I’ll need to work on my Low-Box Front Squats for sure. And actually handle some decent weight.

I was the only person not doing more than 300lbs on those and the only person doing more than 300lbs on Zerchers. So those probably don’t need any more work. I couldn’t do as much weight as I normally can on Zerchers because I couldn’t hold the weight as low and close to my body as I can when I do them in a rack.

I think my misses today were due to the fact that I wasn’t staying on my heels. I’ve been trying the technique of putting your hands up to the sky and quickly moving down to the bar, but I think a better approach would be the Andy Bolton style of grabbing the bar, building up some tension first and getting the hips low, then pulling.

I’m also going to start doing my Rack Pulls lower.

145


8/18/2008

Dumbbell Bench Press:
25X6
45X6
65X6
85X6
110X0X 4 or 5 attempts

Arnold Press:
65X6

I loathe my own weakness. I want to vanquish it. I want to annihilate it with efficiency and extreme prejudice. I want to slam it into the ground so hard that nothing but a smoldering crater is left. Fuck do I hate having days like this.

Making so many failed attempts to get up the 110s has left my forearms hurting quite a bit.

I’m not exactly sure what the problem is. The Arnold Presses were also weak as piss for me. I don’t know if this was due to the fact that I was totally wiped out after all my failed sets on Dumbbell Bench or if it’s because I was just weak all over today.

With both pressing motions today, I could pop the dumbbells off from the start but after 3 inches or so I hit a massive wall and the weight got too heavy.

I’ll try to do Dumbbell Bench with the 110s again 8 days from now. I really can’t afford to miss them. Of course, I couldn’t really afford to fuck up today either, but here I am.

The only upside of this day is that I am now the not-so-proud owner of an Arm Blaster. Don’t ask how or why. That’s all I’m going to say.

146

8/20/2008

DE Box Squats with Light Bands:
45X5
135X1
205X2X4
245X2X4

Box Squats with Light Bands:
275X1
315X1
340X1
365X1
This is the first time I’ve ever put more than 245 on the bar and worked up heavy with bands.

For those keeping score at home, I believe that the tension at the top caused the barbell to be somewhere between 420 and 430lbs given what little I know about bands.

Platform Speed Pulls:
135X1
235X1X6

Power Sled Rows in the Scorching Sun:
1 Trip of 8 Pulls with 90lbs
4 Trips of 8 Pulls with 135lbs

I saw this video of Jackass doing Sled Rows…

And I thought it looked cool so I gave it a try. I felt it most in my mid traps and my glutes, but more than anything I felt winded. I think I’m going to keep doing these since they’re pretty fun and I’ll see what comes of it.

Tate Press:
4 Sets

These are getting kind of stale. I think
I may switch to Skull Crushers for a brief while.

EZ-Bar Curls with the ARM BLASTER:
75X10
105X5
115X10

The Arm Blaster doesn’t make the exercise much harder, so I don’t really understand why almost all the pictures of pro bodybuilders using the Arm Blaster are using absurdly light weights given their massive arms. I was able to use what I think I could have used without the Arm Blaster, but I defiantly think that I got a better pump using it.

147


8/21/2008

Mini-Band Push-ups: 20X5
Upright Rows: LightX12 AverageX12

Tried to do some raises and extensions but it didn’t really work out. Here I am. Looks like I need more clavicle bone width (not that anything can be done about that) and pretty much more everything.

Driving back to Ohio tomorrow. I probably won’t train until Monday.

148

8/24/2008

Rack Deadlift:
135X5
225X3
315X3
405X1
475X1
545X2

Front Squat:
135X3
205X5
225X5
235X5

Sumo Deads of a 3" Box:
135X5
225X3
315X5
365X5

Leg Press:
8 Plates X 20

Weighted Crunch:
BWX10
90X8

149

8/25/2008

3-Board Press:
295X0
285X1

Push Press:
185X6
205X2

Weighted Dips:
90X5
115X4

Tate Press:
65X20 RP

Machine Fly:
150X14 RP

Need to get 295, but at least I know where I am now. Didn’t do so hot on the first set of Push Presses either so I went up in weight just so I could PR in some way. Dips need improvement. I will probably move down to 105 and try again…maybe I could rest pause it.

Big PRs on Tiny Movements. I hope to hit 285 on a 2-board next week. Or maybe 275X2. Probably the ladder. Or maybe just forgo the Max Effort and put it all on Push Press.

150

8/26/2008

Weighted Chins:
45X5
55X5
70X5

Dumbbell Row:
162X8

Short on time today. Used some shitty, rusted spring collars so the plates (which are entirely too large for 25lb plates) fell off a few times until I double clamped each side.

Still, a PR for strapless dumbbell rows.

I couldn’t do Sled Rows today since I couldn’t get into the place where I normally do them here.

151

8/28/2008

Light Band Box Squats:
45X5
135X2
225X2X8

Olympic Squats:
135X3
225X3
275X3
315X3

Sled Rows:
3 Trips of 8 Pulls with 135

Pulldown Abs:
5 Sets of 10

45’ Back Raise:
5 Sets of 10

I didn’t do as many Olympic Style Squats as I had planned to because I didn’t feel like the exercise was doing what I wanted it do.

I feel that I’m still weak off the floor for my Deadlift, and I’m trying to address this by strengthening my Glutes.

My Aim for this summer was to bring up my Hamstrings, and while I accomplished getting much better numbers with Hamstring assistance exercises such as GHRs, Leg Curls, and Lunges, I didn’t see a proportional jump of progress with my Deadlift.

So now I’m on the hunt to strengthen my hips, thinking that greater glute strength is the answer for both a bigger squat and a bigger deadlift.

I cut the Olympic Squats short today basically for two reasons: (1) They were too easy and (2) It felt incredibly Quad Dominant.

Not long ago I did some Box Squats at the end of my DE Squat session just with 315. I was so gassed after DE Squats that these heavier squats were slow as shit and felt awful. But Olympic Squats weren’t that bad.

Maybe I was just better today and the weights felt lighter, but I didn’t want to keep going at the risk of jeopardizing the quality of my next ME Squat/DL workout if I didn’t feel like this exercise would give me a payoff.

Since I never do Olympic Squats, I was expecting to suck, but really I just felt like I was doing an impossibly deep leg press or using a really well made hack squat machine that probably doesn’t exist.

I partly chose to do Olympic Squats because I felt like maybe I had been slacking off and avoiding a really hard movement, but now I can come back from today’s workout and say that Olympic Squats are not a weakness for me and they’re not what I need right now in my training.

Most likley I will replace Olympic Squats with Concentric Good-Mornings off the Safety Pins for sets of 5. When I lifted with the strong group and did rack pulls, one of the lifters who was only Rack Pulling 550 said that his Good-Morning was above 400 pounds.

I thought my Good-Morning of 3 plates on a Cambered Squat Bad was disproportionately high for someone with my Deadlift and Squat, but maybe it’s not.

The Sled Rows were much faster, but I think that may be in part to the fact that I was doing them on Pavement instead of Concrete. I had to dodge the sled and move my feet out of the way on every rep.

This was the last week of my DE Squat cycle with Light Bands. Time to Break out the Greens!

152

If you’re weak off the floor on DLs, assuming you’re conventional, quad/hamstring strength, and proper body positioning will do a lot more than would glute strength. Hips and glutes matter a lot more for the lockout.

I’m not saying not to work on the glutes, but the olympic squats, concentric good mornings, deficit and snatch grip DLs will help your strength off the floor immensely.

Also, don’t worry too much about the proportion of your good morning to squat/DL. When the weights get heavy on good ams, form tends to break down and you end up doing a quarter squat. Just track the lift and if it goes up and your squat and pull increase, that’s great.

153

[quote]novaeer wrote:
If you’re weak off the floor on DLs, assuming you’re conventional, quad/hamstring strength, and proper body positioning will do a lot more than would glute strength. Hips and glutes matter a lot more for the lockout.

I’m not saying not to work on the glutes, but the olympic squats, concentric good mornings, deficit and snatch grip DLs will help your strength off the floor immensely.

Also, don’t worry too much about the proportion of your good morning to squat/DL. When the weights get heavy on good ams, form tends to break down and you end up doing a quarter squat. Just track the lift and if it goes up and your squat and pull increase, that’s great. [/quote]

I think when you stick on the floor, Hamstring Strength is usually the most important thing to fix. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t really think Front Squats and Olympic Squats help Deadlift because of increased Quad Strength.

I think it’s the same reason why Loui Recommends Low Box Squats with an SSB Squat bar - it targets the lower back and resembles the deadlift.

I’m not ultra-concerned with having balanced proportions for the Good-Morning. It’s more of the fact that maybe the Good-Morning is one of those exercises I “Thought” I was going heavy on, but didn’t really have an idea of what heavy meant. You know, like when you speak to someone who thinks that a 95lb Behind The Neck Press is “Heavy.”

I’m already doing Deficit Deads, so I think Concentric GMs are next. Or maybe I’ll discover that they suck with a straight bar.

154

[quote]FightingScott wrote:

I think when you stick on the floor, Hamstring Strength is usually the most important thing to fix. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t really think Front Squats and Olympic Squats help Deadlift because of increased Quad Strength.

I think it’s the same reason why Loui Recommends Low Box Squats with an SSB Squat bar - it targets the lower back and resembles the deadlift.

I’m not ultra-concerned with having balanced proportions for the Good-Morning. It’s more of the fact that maybe the Good-Morning is one of those exercises I “Thought” I was going heavy on, but didn’t really have an idea of what heavy meant. You know, like when you speak to someone who thinks that a 95lb Behind The Neck Press is “Heavy.”

I’m already doing Deficit Deads, so I think Concentric GMs are next. Or maybe I’ll discover that they suck with a straight bar.[/quote]

Trust me, quad strength is important for the start of the DL. If not, take the word of a couple of guys who can pull more than you or me.

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=75473&tid=

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=77615&tid=

155

[quote]novaeer wrote:
FightingScott wrote:

I think when you stick on the floor, Hamstring Strength is usually the most important thing to fix. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t really think Front Squats and Olympic Squats help Deadlift because of increased Quad Strength.

I think it’s the same reason why Loui Recommends Low Box Squats with an SSB Squat bar - it targets the lower back and resembles the deadlift.

I’m not ultra-concerned with having balanced proportions for the Good-Morning. It’s more of the fact that maybe the Good-Morning is one of those exercises I “Thought” I was going heavy on, but didn’t really have an idea of what heavy meant. You know, like when you speak to someone who thinks that a 95lb Behind The Neck Press is “Heavy.”

I’m already doing Deficit Deads, so I think Concentric GMs are next. Or maybe I’ll discover that they suck with a straight bar.

Trust me, quad strength is important for the start of the DL. If not, take the word of a couple of guys who can pull more than you or me.

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=75473&tid=

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=77615&tid=[/quote]

No Doubt that Olympic Squats are good for Conventional Deadlifters, but I feel like it’s benefits aren’t from the increased quad strength. An Olympic Squat is a bit like doing a Super Deficit Deadlift. Your deadlift goes up because you’re struggling not to fall forward and you’re using similar foot placement to the Deadlift.

Maybe I should give Olympic Squats more of a Chance. It’s not like anyone in the history of Barbell Training has ever looked back on Olympic Squats and seen them as a waste of time.

I haven’t done them before for the fear of sucking at them and the fear that they’d tax me too much and take away from my Max Effort Days. I don’t know if they’ll be too taxing but at least I don’t need to worry about totally sucking with them.

156

8/29/2008

Speed Bench w/ Straight Weight:
155X3X8

3-Board Press:
225X5
235X5
250X10

Arnold Press:
70X5-1-0 RP (6 Reps Total)

Rope Pushdowns:
4 Plates X 20 X 2

Arm Blaster EZ-Bar Curl:
115X14 RP

Last Time I did the 3-Board for Reps I did 255 for 3, so 250X10 was a good PR. I didn’t know that my previous 3-Board was so pitiful, so 10 reps was actually goal today even though I only really needed to get 5.

Arnold Presses were kind of sloppy and too heavy for a proper rest-pause set. Still, last time I did 70s I got only 1 or 2 reps.

I think I’m on track for getting 295 off a 3-Board Pretty soon. This would be AWESOME. Then 4 weeks later, get 305. THEN, Oh God, then to get 315…just to get that on the bar and finally have it in my hands, that would just kick so much ass.

157

8/31/2008

Box Squat:
135X5
225X3
275X3
345X3
Finally 405X1

Front Squat:
135X3
225X3
235X3
245X5

Platform Sumo Deadlift:
135X5
275X3
385X2

Dumbbell Lunge:
40X6
100X6

Weighted Decline Crunch:
BWX10
100X20

Very Happy to finally get 405 for a Box Squat. Is that heavy enough that I finally need to specify the lift as Raw?

Front Squats were pretty good. They’re a weakness for me, so I’ll take what I got there as I put a lot into that set.

I never doubted that I’d get 385 off the ground, but I wish I got more reps, especially considering that I can do 405 with the light bands conventional style. As long as I get more reps next time I’ll have made progress.

Lunges were deep and easy. Crunches were easy as well. So I’ve got 6 reps for a 200lb Lunge. Once I get 30 reps I’ll find Matt Kroc and ask him what else I need to do in order to Squat 1,000. LOLZ.

158

9/1/2008

Incline Bench:
45X5
95X5
135X3
185X3
205X1
225XM
225XM
205X1

Fuck. I suck at these. I am SOOO slow. I really don’t know why I’m so bad with Inclines. Over 3 months ago I got 100lb dumbbells for 9 reps on Incline. Sure, that was a lower incline but still, WTF?

The first miss my partner gave me a spot with one index finger. The second miss my partner gave me a spot with two index fingers. These lifts were so close that, while I won’t count them, when I plan stuff for the future I’ll assume my Incline is closer to 225 than 205.

Push Press:
45X5
95X5
135X3
205XM

This pretty much confirmed that I was having a suck day. I think I’m gonna drop Push Press for a while.

Tate Press:
Worked up to 70X20 RP

This was the only good thing I did today.

Weighted Dips:
Worked up to…
105XA few ugly reps
90X6 Legit Reps

Machine Fly:
70X10
150X15 RP

Bench Days often make me wounder how the fuck so many people seem to just waltz into the gym and put up 250 without ANY effort or any sort of training method besides “I do Bench and Arms 3 days a week.” I’ve got much bigger dreams and goals for my Squat and Deadlift, but right now for Bench I just want to get 315 on the bar and just be stronger than all the people I see half-assing their ‘training.’

Half-assing. What do I mean? I’ve single handedly eaten so much smoked turkey and roast beef from my college’s cafeteria in the last few weeks that the staff has been instructed to not give extra portions to students because “some kid is getting a ton of meat and we’re running out of it way too fast.” This means what I eat, not a team or a small group of people - just me, between the hours of 11am to 5pm is so great that it has drastically affected the college’s food inventory.

Edit: So I’ve been thinking more about Inclines. It occurred to me that they kind of suck. Reading through some of Jim Wendler’s stuff, he’s said that the Incline Bench is very “prude at giving results.” Looking back at my training, in early May I pretty much had the exact same training day that I had today. I’ve concentrated heavily on Incline Barbell and Dumbbell movements in the past, and I’ve been perplexed as to why there hasn’t been a great carryover to my Standard bench press, or why Incline movements prove to be so stubborn.

The Incline Press also seems like a risky movement with the increased shoulder rotation.

But on the other hand it’s obviously a weakness for me. But would strengthening this weakness yield any results? Maybe it’s only “Prude at giving results” for Equipped Lifters. And the Incline will probably have more carry-over to my Bench, and be less stressful on the entire body, than the Push-Press is. That, and all this Bitching is probably me trying to let myself get out of doing Inclines in the future.

Maybe I’ll drop Dips. That’s something where no matter how strong or weak I am for Dips, it doesn’t matter.
Maybe I’ll do:

A. Max Effort Lift
B. Incline Bench
C. Push Press
D. Tate Press
E. Machine Fly

Why am I doing Machine Flys? I want a bigger chest. So Sue me.

159

9/2/2008

Lat-Pulldown:
1 Light Set

Weighted Chins:
BWX5
55X3
70X3
85X3

Dumbbell Row (w/ straps)
67X10
112X5
162X5
182X15

Barbell Shrugs (w/ straps)
135X10
225X10
315X10
405X8
495X15

DD Cable Row:
Half the Stack X 10
The Whole Stack X 20

The Dumbbell Rows were easy. Doing 150s strapless means occasionally during the set I need to rest the Dumbbell on the floor in order to re-grip. Even with two spring collars per side, setting the Dumbbell down causes the plates to shoot off.

But with straps and just 1 set of spring collars, 182 stays on just fine since it never touches the ground till the end of the set, and it’s also the Max Weight that this Dumbbell Handle will hold with the thickness of the Rubber Coated Plates here.

I want to get 30 reps with the Stack on Cable Rows. I did 20 reps back when school got out.

I’m gonna try to do some light Sled Dragging today. Start off with 45lbs 3 times a week and see how it feels.

160

You’ll get it with your bench don’t worry, just keep going at it like you are and it’ll come.

Maybe a 5x5 for some weeks on bench could help you out, just an idea. A basic way of putting more weight on the bar each week.