Fortune Favors the Bold

Training Over 35 Lifter
121

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:

[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
Nice solid work. Question…Why do you stop the bar at the chin instead of the shoulders? I’m not pickin…I’m just curious.[/quote]

Believe it or not, that is not a conscious decision. That is where it feels comfortable stopping, especially when I am tight and in a rhythm. Even when I unrack the bar, it sits up off the clavicle. When you look at my starting position, I am not working to keep it there. That is where it wants to sit when I unrack it. On the last rep (the deepest one) you can see how the body movement is less smooth, as I try to clear my big head. For that matter, the bar, when I have finished and am racking it, is still at about the same height.

I did some work with just the bar, oneday, and discovered that getting it to the clavicle caused my forearms to get out of position…meaning my hands were out in front, and my forearms no longer directly under the bar. The only way I found to combat this was to lean further back, which I am trying to avoid.

If I changed my hand placement, I think I could likely get it lower. But, I use this grip because 1) it causes the least stress to my elbows and 2) as a bonus, it seems to be one of the stronger positions for me.[/quote]

Before I went to work, I got under the bar again, just to see where it sat. I confirmed that sitting there, with my typical grip, the bar sits at the bottom of my chin. If I narrow my grip, same thing. The only way I could get the bar to go lower was to widen my grip.
Even then, with my thumbs on the ring, the bar sat under my 2nd chin :slight_smile: but didn’t touch my shoulders or clavicle. An even wider grip did allow it. But the grip was so wide that I was in discomfort just holding the bar and pressing would have been extremely awkward.

I’m just built funny, I guess.

122

[quote]OldGoat wrote:
The 1st 10 reps were like a hot knife in butter! Big time Millies Strick…I think if you supplement your millies with Glove Drops you can get 205x10 no problem!![/quote]

Yeah…glove drops. I definitely need to get those back into the rotation. And my littlest would be appreciative as well.

123

Those are some fierce milies, Strick.

124

12 reps with a weight I can do once. And I get a nice instance of grey-out bobble-head for my trouble. I think that MP’s are a lift you’ll be able to take a long ways

Any thing down to the ears has training effect and nobody competes in the press anyways.

125

Thanks, Joe. Militaries have always been a decent exercise for me. Not sure why, but I’m not complaining.

Tony, I would really love to be able to one day press 315#. Don’t know if it will ever happen, but that is my long term goal. Once I get it…well, then I’ll try to rep it :slight_smile:

Because of my tightness and form, to get the bar down to the shoulder/clavicle, I have to intentionally row it down, which still leaves my hands to the front and elbows to the back. In which case, I drop the weight. If that makes sense. If I relax enough to let it drop that low, I lose the bar.

Since it is not a competition exercise, I see no point in moving out of my comfort zone, and natural ROM, to accommodate that bottom bit. But, it does make me wonder if the same would be true in a seated press…since it would change the dynamics of the lift!? Not that I am willing to abandon the standing version.

126

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks, Joe. Militaries have always been a decent exercise for me. Not sure why, but I’m not complaining.

Tony, I would really love to be able to one day press 315#. Don’t know if it will ever happen, but that is my long term goal. Once I get it…well, then I’ll try to rep it :slight_smile:

Because of my tightness and form, to get the bar down to the shoulder/clavicle, I have to intentionally row it down, which still leaves my hands to the front and elbows to the back. In which case, I drop the weight. If that makes sense. If I relax enough to let it drop that low, I lose the bar.

Since it is not a competition exercise, I see no point in moving out of my comfort zone, and natural ROM, to accommodate that bottom bit. But, it does make me wonder if the same would be true in a seated press…since it would change the dynamics of the lift!? Not that I am willing to abandon the standing version.[/quote]

It saves my shoulders to stop just below chin level. I can bring it down more but at a price I’m not willing to pay. So I totally agree with you and the pale one.

127

[quote]soldog wrote:

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Thanks, Joe. Militaries have always been a decent exercise for me. Not sure why, but I’m not complaining.

Tony, I would really love to be able to one day press 315#. Don’t know if it will ever happen, but that is my long term goal. Once I get it…well, then I’ll try to rep it :slight_smile:

Because of my tightness and form, to get the bar down to the shoulder/clavicle, I have to intentionally row it down, which still leaves my hands to the front and elbows to the back. In which case, I drop the weight. If that makes sense. If I relax enough to let it drop that low, I lose the bar.

Since it is not a competition exercise, I see no point in moving out of my comfort zone, and natural ROM, to accommodate that bottom bit. But, it does make me wonder if the same would be true in a seated press…since it would change the dynamics of the lift!? Not that I am willing to abandon the standing version.[/quote]

It saves my shoulders to stop just below chin level. I can bring it down more but at a price I’m not willing to pay. So I totally agree with you and the pale one.[/quote]

I am right there with you. And, for me, to get it lower, I have to pull/row my shoulders back and down. It just won’t go there on it’s own.

Since it is easier to show this than explain it, I made a quick video. Please note that I am not fond of cameras…videos are worse…and if I have to talk…well, take it for what it is worth…
I would apologize for my accent but, as my grandfather used to say, “God talks like we do.” :slight_smile:

128

Vinnie Dizenzo, an Elite Fitness Systems sponsored lifter did a military press competition last year (405 I think he lifted) and he couldn’t get the bar any lower than that either. It’s the ‘curse’ of the barrel chest. Since I’m thick and wide like a tongue depressor I don’t have any problem touching my chest. In fact my problem is the exact opposite - I find it hard NOT to touch my chest.

If people want to bust your chops about it, tell 'em to sit on the bar endwise. Your presses are moving into strongman territory and most of theirs ain’t.

You sound like my gramma. My dad’s folks originated in Oklahoma-Kansas-Nebraska. My mom’s folks came from the moon, maybe.

129

[quote]LittleStrick wrote:

[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
Nice solid work. Question…Why do you stop the bar at the chin instead of the shoulders? I’m not pickin…I’m just curious.[/quote]

Believe it or not, that is not a conscious decision. That is where it feels comfortable stopping, especially when I am tight and in a rhythm. Even when I unrack the bar, it sits up off the clavicle. When you look at my starting position, I am not working to keep it there. That is where it wants to sit when I unrack it.

On the last rep (the deepest one) you can see how the body movement is less smooth, as I try to clear my big head. For that matter, the bar, when I have finished and am racking it, is still at about the same height.

I did some work with just the bar, oneday, and discovered that getting it to the clavicle caused my forearms to get out of position…meaning my hands were out in front, and my forearms no longer directly under the bar. The only way I found to combat this was to lean further back, which I am trying to avoid.

If I changed my hand placement, I think I could likely get it lower. But, I use this grip because 1) it causes the least stress to my elbows and 2) as a bonus, it seems to be one of the stronger positions for me.[/quote]

Makes sense to me. I was just wondering.

130

Aw shucks…no one was busting my chops over it. It was a very legitimate question. And quite honestly, I had never given it any thought. But since it had been brought up, it got me to wonderin’ if I was intentionally doing it, or if the bar was just stopping at or about where it wanted to.

If The bar wanted to go all the way down, and I was stopping it, I needed to correct that. No point in wasting ROM if it is offering itself up. And no point in pressing X pounds on a partials exercise and claiming otherwise. Besides, the video allowed me an actual look at what was going on.

That being said, I appreciate the question/observation. It gave a reason to better evaulate one of my lifts and learn something about myself. Steve made a similar inquiry on my squats and I am going to work with his and your (Tony’s) advice on that.

Heck, I hope that everyone feels free to point out things that they notice. I am an amateur at best, and can use all the help I can get.

As for the accent…I was born in North Carolina and raised in Georgia. Having worked in a University town, around folks from everywhere, I lost a lot of my accent. In fact, Georgians (North American, not former USSR-an) used to say that I didn’t have an accent. Since moving to Oklahoma, it has thickened again.

My wife used to pick at me because my accent would get really thick when I would talk with my family, on the phone.

But she is the one who burst out in loud laughter after hearing a local, just outside of Birmingham, AL, make an order at a Wendy’s. She just couldn’t believe that there were people who actually sounded like that. In her defense, it was a stereotypical southern accent, with heavy, heavy, drawl.

I did cut her a look, though, and told her that she wouldn’t be laughing so hard when we got to judgement day and God addressed everyone with “aight y’all”.

131

Y’all is singular. All y’all is plural. I know that thanks to Foxworthy.

132

[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
Y’all is singular. All y’all is plural. I know that thanks to Foxworthy.[/quote]

Yeah, but Foxworthy is a redneck. Proper Southern is “y’all” as in “you all”. Apparently I am of southern aristocracy. :slight_smile: Or just a high class redneck…

133

Cycle 1 / Week 3 / Day 1 - Bench (chest and bank)

Good day. Holding true to my reputation as an ingrate, I wish that I had gotten 1 more rep on the money set. Make no mistake, though, I am very pleased with it.

Dislocatesx10x2
Windmillsx10x2
Static Stretching

Bench
barx10x2
95x10
135x5
185x3
225x3
working sets
250x5
285x3
315x7 - PR +4 Reps … very pleased with this. That is +4 reps since Feb. 6th. Not sure how I managed the last rep, though. When I lowered the bar, I didn’t think it was going to go.

315x1 - extra set at prescribed reps

3 Board Press - Thank you Mrs. Strick for the assist.
365x4
385x3

405x2 - 2nd rep came down shallow. I was suprised that my tris were able to get it back up, since it was out of position.

Lat Pulls
160x10
210x10
230x7 - PR +1 Rep
230x6
230x5

Seated Rows
230x10
255x10x3

Face Pulls
140x12
140x10

So, my Cycle 1 bench is done. I need to decide if I am going just add 5# to my training max, or if I am going to add 10#. Tripling the prescrbed reps on 3s day and getting 7 on the single would seem to indicate that I am a bit low. I could just ride it out, but I am not very patient. Any opinions??

Also, I included the video of the board press to see what everyone thought. Is the ROM in the video what you would expect from 3 board? Or does my arch make it more like a typical 4 board press?

134

Awesome PR over just a few months ago Skip! I vote to stick with the program and only bump your max by 5 lbs. Take a couple heavier singles here and there to scratch that itch…

135

LS-- Just awesome pressing brother. Way nice. I have a 315 lined up for tomorrow, too, but I don’t think I’m gettin’ seven!!! GREAT JOB!

136

you are made of awesome

137

Nice work. I’d ride it out. You know how we get.

138

Thanks all.

Soldog/RL - I did set my bench training max properly. Actually, I set it a tad high, so that I could do 315 in the 1st cycle. I am willing to give it another cycle, at least, at the proper progression. I am bumping military by 10#, though, to get it to what my training max should have been for this cycle.

SteelyD - I have no idea if you will get 7 on regular grip bench. If you do it close grip, though, you’ll likely get 10. That still amazes me.

Tony - apparently “awesome” means something different there than it does here. Thank you for the compliment, though.

Anyone ever experience pain where the clavicle ties in to the shoulder. My right side is really stiff and achy. It has been for a couple of weeks, but after today’s bench it was the worst it has been yet.

139

Monster Bench Big Man…Monster! Do I have to pay extra for the video on millies?!! Great stuff!

140

Thanks, OG. No charge. I figure suffering through the video was payment enough…