Holy shit?
Oh, and apparently I’m decently strong with good mornings. I guess it makes sense because that’s how my squats end up looking when I get really fatigued.
I’m guessing this means I need to really get my glutes and hamstrings as strong as possible because they aren’t finishing the movement well enough when I box squat and front squat.
I need to work on hip drive and staying upright, which is why I’m doing some zercher squats for a little while on my second lower body day.
[u][i]1-20-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 205.0
Back Pain: 1 out of 10
After walking around moving boxes at work while wearing dress shoes I always have a slight amount.
Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Slight
[u][i]Upper Body 1[/u][/i]
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Bench Press Form Work
85X6X3
B. Pendlay Rows
45Xreps
95X3
115X3
135X1
155X1
175X8,7 PR
C. Bench Press and CGBP Form Work
85X6X7
D. Dumbbell Row
90X12/side PR
100X7/side PR
E. Standing Cable Rear Delt
65X10X2
F. Dumbbell Skull Crushers
30X5
25X6
G. Prone Internal Rotations
20X20X2
H. CoC
#1X10X2
#1X16 PR
I tried the unilateral triceps shit to balance out my triceps and avoid pec problems, but it only curbed the problem for a little while. Although the pain I am experiencing now is from a misloaded bar, I’m going to take this as an opportunity to rework my bench pressing form perfectly. I’m going to teach my body to bench with triceps as much as possible. That means elbows hella tucked and tearing the bar apart for every rep. I’m going to get 6X6 with light weight every time I go in the gym and after my maxing day in about a month I’ll push the weights back up with the improved form.
For right now, my main focus will be on push pressing and everything back-oriented.
On a side note, the 100X7/side was easy and I used strict form. My back got a lot stronger from those retraction first dumbbell rows. 
[u][i]1-22-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 203.0
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Slight
[u][i]Lower Body 2[/u][/i]
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Front Squat
45Xreps
95X3
115X3
135X3
155X1
175X1
185X1
205X5 PR
210X5 PR
205X4
B. Zercher squat from pins
45Xreps
95X3
135X5
155X5
C. Single leg RDL to low box (2 blue pads and one aerobic step)
BWXlots/side
45X12/side
45X15/side
D. Single leg squat variations
BWX20/sideX2
E. Glute Facilitation Pallof Press Hold
Black BandX30s/sideX2
F. Side Plank w/ hip abduction
BWX30s/sideX3
[u][i]1-23-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 203.8
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Slight
[u][i]Upper Body 2[/u][/i]
AM
Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Push Press
155X5X2 PR(+1 set)
160X5 PR(+ 5 lbs.)
B. Close Grip Chin Up
BWX6,5
C. Standing DB Overhead Press
60X5X2 PR(+1 set)
D. Inverted Row
BWX12X2
PM
A. Barbell Curl
90X5
80X5X2
B. DB French Press
25X9
25X8X2
Did half the reps with my left arm. Going to continue to iron out that discrepency
C. CoC
#1Xwarm up
#1.5X5L All attempts (1 mm away from closing, lawl)
D. Prone Internal Rotations
20X20X2
DB swings later tonight, for now my new split:
Monday; Lower 1
Power Snatch 3X5
Box Squat 3X5, 4X4, 3X5, 6X5
RDL 2X5,3X5,3X5,5X5
SLRDL 2X12,2X12,2X12,3X12
Birddog Holds 2X30s
Side Planks w/ hip abduction 2X30s/side
Tuesday; Upper 1
DB Overhead Press 2X12-15, 3X12-15, 3X12-15, 4X12-15
Pendlay Row 2X6-8, 3X6-8, 3X6-8, 4X6-8
Face Pulls 3X12
Reverse Grip Triceps Extension 3X6-10
Prone IR’s 2X20
CoC #1 3XRE
(If time, Barbell Curls 3X5)
Thursday; Lower 2
Front Squat 3X5, 4X4, 3X5, 6X5
Zercher Pin Squats 2X5, 3X5, 3X5, 5X5
SLRDL 2X12, 2X12, 2X12, 3X12
Mod. Single Leg Squats 2X20
Curl Ups 3X20
Friday; Upper 2
Push Press 3X5, 4X4, 3X5, 6X5
Close Grip Chins 2X6-8, 3X6-8, 3X6-8, 4X6-8
DB Rows 2X6-8, 3X6-8, 3X6-8, 4X6-8
DB French Press 3X6-10
Prone IR 2X20
CoC #1.5 4-6 attempts
(If time, Dumbbell Curls 2X8)
Conditioning
10 total sets of KB swings, Sprints, Burpees, Barbell Complexes, or whatever-the-hell. Keep this interesting so I am motivated to get out there and keep myself in decent CV shape.
The first four exercises of each work out will be done in AM, the assistance in PM.
If I have the time I’ll do everything at once and drink some carbs as I go through it.
If I have time I’ll do bench press form work for 6X6 on upper body days.
The sessions will be between an hour and two hours total per day. Conditioning will be twenty minutes of work followed by nausea and death. 
This cycle will be followed up by 6 days off. During that period I will do foam rolling and dynamic flexibility daily and 2 form-work sessions with 30% of my predicted 1RM for ~20 reps per exercise. On that last day, or on whichever day I feel like destroying something, I will bring a can of Spike, some chalk, and a camera to the gym to tear things up.
[u][i]1-24-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 204.0
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 1 out of 10
Slight
[u][i]Conditioning[/u][/i]
Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Dumbbell Swing
20X20
50X20X4
50X15X4
R10-15s
B. Fall on concrete
2 minutes
[u][i]1-26-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 203.8
Back Pain: 1 out of 10
Once, slightly, during SLRDLs. Must bear in mind the lumbar extension queue.
Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
Better
[u][i]Lower Body 1[/u][/i]
A. Power Snatch
45Xreps
65X3
75X1
85X1
95X5X3
B. Box Squat
45Xreps
115X3
135X3
165X3
190X1
215X1
230X1
245X4X4 PR
C. RDL
45Xreps
135X5
225X1
265X5,8,4FGrip/3FGrip/1FGrip
D. SLRDL
45X15X2
Only did left side. Did BW on right side to work on flexibility. I have some seriously fucked up hips.
E. Birddog Hold with Shoulder/Hip abduction
BWX30s/sideX3
I can’t wait to have some semblance of structural balance in my hips. The SLRDLs get me lots of soreness where it should be, but doing those for 2X12s twice a week won’t be enough by itself. I’m going to progress some of the movements in my dynamic flexibility routine and do some of CW’s bodyweight movements from “Better Body Without Weights?” daily.
Box squats weren’t so bad.
Power Snatches feel smooth enough to start progressing the weight. In retrospect I should just do them after box squats since they aren’t as important. Whatev.
On a side note, today’s nutrition was HORRIBLE. 5 meals. 5 hours between second and third meal. Very little water.
[u][i]1-27-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 203.2
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 1.0 out of 10
Once while waxing the floor at work.
[u][i]Upper Body 1[/u][/i]
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Pendlay Row
180X8X3 PR
B. CGBP
Warmed up, decided to ditch em’
C. DB Overhead Press
35X15 PR
40X12 PR
D. Rear Delt Cable Fly
70X12,10
E. Dumbbell Curl
25X12
35X10 PR
30X10
F. Reverse Grip Pressdown
55X12
70X6
G. CoC
#1X12,12,28F@29 PR
H. Prone Internal Rotations
10X20 Slow, slow tempo
Since I can’t do much horizontal pressing I’m going to go all out on the vertical pressing.
Decided to do dumbbell overhead press for 4X12-15 on Upper day 1 and heavy push pressing on Upper day 2. Did less volume for the db overhead press today because I did 2 sets of heavy overhead presses on upper 2 of last week.
So
U1 DB Overhead 4X12-15, Triceps assistance
U2 Push Press 4-6X5, Triceps assistance
That’s my pressing for the rest of this cycle and possibly onward.
I likes the new routine.
I had fun with this conditioning drill: 3x20 55lb DB Swings and Burpees. Don’t move onto the next exercise until the current one is completed.
I got 13:11 and nearly died.
[quote]IronAbrams wrote:
I likes the new routine.
I had fun with this conditioning drill: 3x20 55lb DB Swings and Burpees. Don’t move onto the next exercise until the current one is completed.
I got 13:11 and nearly died.[/quote]
Thanks!
So you do
set 1
20 swings
20 burpees
set 2
20 swings
20 burpees
set 3
20 swings
20 burpees
Is that what it looks like?
[u][i]1-31-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 205.8
Digestive. . .stuff
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
[u][i]Upper Body 1[/u][/i]
Dynamic flexibility
A. Front Squat
210X4
185X6X3 PR
B. Zercher Pin Squats
155X6X3
C. Single leg RDL
30X20X2 left side
BWX20X4 right side
D. Curl Ups
3X20
[u][i]1-30-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 203.8
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
[u][i]Upper Body 1[/u][/i]
Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Push Press
165X4 PR
170X4 PR
165X4X2 PR
B. Wide Grip Pullup
BWX6,5,6 PR
C. DB Row
100X6/side
100X5/sideX2
D. DB French Press
30X5F@6 Right arm PR
25X10
E. Barbell Curls
95X4
85X5X2
F. CoC
#1.5X5 attempts
[quote]Flow wrote:
IronAbrams wrote:
I likes the new routine.
I had fun with this conditioning drill: 3x20 55lb DB Swings and Burpees. Don’t move onto the next exercise until the current one is completed.
I got 13:11 and nearly died.
Thanks!
So you do
set 1
20 swings
20 burpees
set 2
20 swings
20 burpees
set 3
20 swings
20 burpees
Is that what it looks like?[/quote]
[u][i]1-31-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 202.4
Had waffle house last night too. Weird as hell.
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
Better!
[u][i]Conditioning[/u][/i]
Foam Rolling
Dynamic Flexibility
A1. DB Swings
55X20X3
A2. Burpees
X20X3
Rest as little as possible
Total Time: 7:00 (minutes:seconds)
I’m not sure if I did it right, but I performed the drill as described in my first response to IA’s post. This was brutal. I’m getting really good at falling down on concrete.
Do you train wearing a weighted outfit, like picollo?
[quote]Bloobird wrote:
Do you train wearing a weighted outfit, like picollo?[/quote]
Of course!
Damn, I never thought of taking the thing off.
Looks like I should be moving a lot more weight than I am.
Thanks for stopping by, Bloobird
[i][center]A Thinking Post[/i][/center]
These last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about where I am headed with training.
This post will be stream-of-consciousness-style ( - YouTube ). Just as a warning, I think all over the place at once, so it may become hard to follow.
My pec problem is something I can attribute to a few issues: my triceps strengh imbalance, my goofy upper arm length, and my minuscule benching arch. I’ll elaborate. I have nearly a six foot four wing span. I am six foot one inch and a half tall. That is a notable difference in arm length. With such an arm length in mind, my bench pressing becomes extremely awkward. When I am at the lowest portion of a bench press, my upper arm, without exaggeration, is nearly perpendicular to the ground.
You can imagine the stretch that puts my pec tendon under. This is not good for longevity. My pec problems will be difficult to curb, so I am going to focus on getting strong as hell overhead 90% of the time. I will do periods of heavy benching as my pec allows, but that won’t be my upper-body strength indicator lift. Instead I will focus on barbell strict and push pressing and wide grip chin up RE and ME as my indicators.
Given the absence of a bench-pressing focus, most powerlifting events will be out of the question. This leaves me with three things: Strongman, Highland Games, and Bodybuilding; all of which interest me a hell of a lot. I saw Mark Felix compete in a highland games event in Scotland, I was blown away by his size and strength. Absolutely awesome.
Going off this thought, I will now start to learn how to throw. I bought a discus learning tool and my younger brother is going to do field events in high school. Also, next weekend I am going to get my USATF level 1 coaching certification in Georgia.
I want to compete in the amateur strongman circuit one day as well. This is a long way off. I must add that there is some sentiment on this forum that talking about wanting to do something is stupid. I don’t agree. In fact, fuck that. We all have goals. We are working toward them. If you don’t have your eye at somewhere far off in the distance, then you are just walking toward something abstract. I don’t work with the abstract.
So, what will I do to accomplish these goals?
-Search for some oly lifting fellows nearby
-Get strong as hell in overhead pressing, deadlifting, back squatting, power snatching, grip strength, and everything else relevant.
-Learn to throw. This will be a work in progress
-Eat. lots. of. food.
Alright. Off to work, then Super Bowl PARTAY
Have a good one.
With regards to you bench issues, I realize that it might not be your focus, but have you messed around with a shortened range of motion or any variations?
Don’t be afraid to experiment with the Smith Machine just because people bad mouth it. I messed around with it this weekend and found that it’s one of the few chest movements I can do that doesn’t cause pain in the shoulder when I do it. Same with the neutral grip DB presses. My point is basically do what you can to train around your issues and stay healthy at the same time.
Along the same lines as AV’s post, have you experimented with a wider grip for benching?
[u][i]2-2-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 204.2
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
Even better!
[u][i]Lower Body 1[/u][/i]
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Box squat
250X5X3 PR
B. RDL
270X6X2 PR
245X10 PR
C. SLRDL
50X15X2 PR Left side
50X12X1 Right side
D. Curl Up with hands overhead
X10,7,6
E. Power snatch and clean form practice
Xnothing significant
Firstly, I really appreciate you two stopping by my log.
Vader, I haven’t tried shortening the ROM, but I do know that I could probably get away with floor presses now that you’ve mentioned that. Also, I may try doing smith machine partial bench presses. Thanks for the food for thought, man.
Pushmepullme, I have my index fingers on the groove when I bench nowadays. I think that is pretty wide itself, but I know I can take it out further. Thanks, I’ll experiment with widening my grip tomorrow!
So now I have one more great lower body session under my belt and a lot of solutions to consider.
Thanks again.
[u][i]2-3-09[/u][/i]
AM Weight: 202.2
Back Pain: 0 out of 10
Right Pec Pain: 0.5 out of 10
[u][i]Upper Body 1[/u][/i]
Dynamic Flexibility
A. Pendlay Row
185X7X3 PR
B. DB Overhead Press
40X15 PR
40X13
40X10
Rest was 60s between (really low for me)
C. Face Pull
140X15 PR
150X10 PR
D. DB Curls
40X8 PR
40X5
30X10
E. CoC
#1X12X2
#1X30 PR
F. Wide Grip bench
barXa few sets with high reps
I like the wide grip a lot. Thanks again, pushmepullme. I feel like I can pull the bar apart with my tris more and the ROM is much smaller.
I forgot the reverse grip tri extensions, so I’ll just do something small for tri assistance at home later today.
Have a good one
[quote]Flow wrote:
I like the wide grip a lot. Thanks again, pushmepullme. I feel like I can pull the bar apart with my tris more and the ROM is much smaller.
[/quote]
Yeah, I’m 5’5" and I have my ring or middle fingers on the ring. It’s kind of amazing how much a tiny move will shorten your stroke.