Hey guys, figured I would start a new thread to log my progress in since the focus of my training in the past month or two has shifted from getting bigger to getting stronger. I am not nearly as strong as I want to be and I think that of the two goals (getting bigger versus getting stronger-I realize that these are not mutually exclusive), I would rather gain strength than size.
I have been running Westside for Skinny Bastards for the past two weeks and have really enjoyed the workouts. I havent gotten my dad to finished welding my sled together (although this will get done before I head back to school in a few weeks) so I have been doing a normal DE lower body day on the weekends.
Here is yesterday’s DE squat day:
DE Box Squats- 8x3/225
RDL- 3x8/225
Back Raises- 3x25
Calf Raises- 3x25/230
Cable Crunches- 3x8/120
I felt really strong on the box squats…had the bar feeling like it was going to jump off of my shoulders at the top of each rep. The box was a little high because I had to improvise with the aerobics steps. When I get back to school, I will have a very low box with shims to adjust height that will work much better.
I am looking forwards to getting back to my gym at school and having a platform to pull from again.
Today’s ME Bench day:
Bench Press- 3/185; 3/205; 3/215; 3/220; 3/225; 2/235
Standing Military Press- 8/95; 8/115; 6/125; 5/125
Seated Cable Rows- 4x10/200
Fat Man Rows- 3x10
Cable Crunches- 4x6/140
Truth be told, I havent pushed myself on barbell bench press in about 8 months, so getting 235 for a double was a nice surprise. I was expecting to maybe get 225 for a single or double.
I need to get my shoulders stronger, the overhead presses make this glaringly apparent, but its ok, just something to work harder at. I need to work on my rear delts some more because I was having trouble getting the full range of motion on the fat man rows. In other news, I watched this bigass german guy pull 495 for 7 reps tonight. Damn.
[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
Today’s ME Bench day:
Bench Press- 3/185; 3/205; 3/215; 3/220; 3/225; 2/335
[/quote]
Dang, 335, nice work bro! Getting stronger by the day tiger.
haha…oops it was supposed to be 235, I fixed it. Maybe in the next year or so Ill be posting 335, haha.
[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
haha…oops it was supposed to be 235, I fixed it. Maybe in the next year or so Ill be posting 335, haha.[/quote]
HAHA ok, it’s all good, stay strong big tig.
My hamstrings are still really stiff from my DE day on Saturday. I am going to go do some rolling with the tennis ball when I get home from work and see if that helps some. Hopefully I will be able to push it pretty hard tomorrow. Might go for a single with 365 if Im feeling good.
Anyone know anything good for loosening up hamstrings?
[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
Today’s ME Bench day:
Bench Press- 3/185; 3/205; 3/215; 3/220; 3/225; 2/235
Standing Military Press- 8/95; 8/115; 6/125; 5/125
Seated Cable Rows- 4x10/200
Fat Man Rows- 3x10
Cable Crunches- 4x6/140
Truth be told, I havent pushed myself on barbell bench press in about 8 months, so getting 235 for a double was a nice surprise. I was expecting to maybe get 225 for a single or double.
I need to get my shoulders stronger, the overhead presses make this glaringly apparent, but its ok, just something to work harder at. I need to work on my rear delts some more because I was having trouble getting the full range of motion on the fat man rows. In other news, I watched this bigass german guy pull 495 for 7 reps tonight. Damn.[/quote]
I bet if you warmed up with say ten reps at 135, then hit 205 for one or two, rest, and then hit 225 for works sets, you would surprise yourself on bench.
D
Whets going on man?? Good to see your log on here! I’ve recently gone back to Westside training myself!
Just remember to watch the height of the box! I know that I use a parallel and one that is 2’’ below parallel, but I don�??t actually use a box! Haha my gym doesn’t have any BUT they have benches with an adjustable ass pad. On the lowest level its a few inches below parallel for me and on the second setting its right at parallel. Might be something to try!
Haha trust me, there is a larger difference than you would think between a box that�??s just above parallel and right at it!
Good work with the sled man! I need to purchase one of those still. This past weekend I just made my own 2, 3, and 4 board presses. Keep at it and let us know how it goes!
Pierce
Yeah man, honestly, I dont like doing box squats unless its off of a very low box. The 10 inch box at the Dungeon is great because its right at the bottom of my natural range of motion since Im a short guy.
Ah nice, I always had to ghetto rig something up at fike for a box.
Tonight’s ME squat workout:
ME Squats- 3/275; 4/315; 2/335; 1/345
DB Split Squats- 10/40’s; 10/45’s; 10/50’s
Pull Throughs- 8/90; 8/95; 9/100
Calf Raises- 3x10/270
Plate Pinches- 2 5lb plates/1 min per hand
Fat Bar Reverse Curls- 3x8/50
My hamstrings were still kind of stiff from Saturday but I dont think it affected me much as I felt strong once I got through a couple of warm up sets (185 and 225 lbs). I used my knee wraps on the heavier sets. I feel like Iv been put through a wood chipper right now. I think I am going to take a week to deload after next week since Iv been going at it non stop for about 10 weeks now.
wow, you do standing military press on me bench day?! your an animal! I cant mix those two…
[quote]matsm21 wrote:
wow, you do standing military press on me bench day?! your an animal! I cant mix those two…[/quote]
My shoulders need a lot of work, so I try to work them somewhat directly every time I work my upper body.
Holy shit my glutes hurt today.
Tonights RE Bench workout:
Bench Press- 135 lbs- 18 reps; 16 reps; 11 reps
Dips- 3x10
Chins- 7;6;5;5
Clean Pulls (from hang)- 10/95; 10/115; 10/115
BB Curls- 10/75; 10/75; 10/80
Face Down DB Shrugs- 3x8/55’s
Ab circuit- crunches, up-n-outs, russian twists, hanging leg raises
I want to increase the weight Im doing my reps at on RE bench, but didnt have a spotter tonight and repping out without a spotter gives me the heebie jeebies. The clean pulls felt good. I did some extra rear delt work because I feel like mine are lagging.
Had some of mom’s fried steak for dinner. Paying for it dearly right now.
I get a whole 3 days off. Going to visit my girlfriend for the weekend when I get off of work tomorrow so that will be nice and relaxing. Works been f’in crazy this week so Im going to need the rest. I might go run some 400’s when I get back on Sunday night. Not sure though.
My boss is a heinous bitch.
Just needed to get that off of my chest. back to work now.
[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
My boss is a heinous bitch.
[/quote]
You should tell your boss your glutes hurt. Maybe you can go home early.
Horrible workout tonight. Didnt get enough sleep last night because I was desperately searching for my credit card and didnt get to start my 2 and a half hour drive home until 11 pm.
Ill rest up tomorrow and be sure to kick some extra ass on wednesday.