Getting My Butt In(to) Gear

Training Training Logs
261

Sounds as though you had one hell of an adventure the other day. In regard to getting the suit on all the way, do you have anything you can hook one of the straps onto and hang from? A friend of mine will hang from a dip bar. What I will do to get the suit on all the way is to get in a squat stance and squat toward one leg or the other, moving into different positions to force the legs up. Once you have the legs up pretty good if you can pull up on the back (essentially give yourself the best wedgie you can) the suit should be pretty well set. Then a few reps with ~70% of your max should do the trick. How tight is your suit?

Getting down to the bar might just take you some time. Anytime you have a few minutes you could put the suit on and try to get down to the bar in better position than the time before. You probably want to load at least 315 on the bar so when you are leveraging yourself the bar doesn’t fly up.

Equipment really adds an interesting dimension to the sport.

262

[quote]mrodock wrote:
Sounds as though you had one hell of an adventure the other day. In regard to getting the suit on all the way, do you have anything you can hook one of the straps onto and hang from? A friend of mine will hang from a dip bar. What I will do to get the suit on all the way is to get in a squat stance and squat toward one leg or the other, moving into different positions to force the legs up. Once you have the legs up pretty good if you can pull up on the back (essentially give yourself the best wedgie you can) the suit should be pretty well set. Then a few reps with ~70% of your max should do the trick. How tight is your suit?[/quote]

Since it’s not my suit it isn’t really customized for my body type. The legs are rediculously tight, the hips are good, but the straps are actually to long. I have cuts/shin torn off my hands on three of my fingers from trying to pull the legs up. They were still coming up when I squatted the 365!

I don’t have anything to hang on, but I did use the all angles squat technique. Previously with suit slippers this is all I needed to do.

[quote]
Getting down to the bar might just take you some time. Anytime you have a few minutes you could put the suit on and try to get down to the bar in better position than the time before. You probably want to load at least 315 on the bar so when you are leveraging yourself the bar doesn’t fly up.[/quote]

Anytime I have a few minutes? The damn thing took over an hour and a half to get on completely! :slight_smile: Actually with the slippers it was only like ten minutes.

I’m mainly going to work on my raw set up at the moment, then I’ll add in some suit work likely later this summer.

[quote]
Equipment really adds an interesting dimension to the sport. [/quote] Ain’t that the truth!

263

I figured I might as well upload the 405lbs attempt from Wednesday night. It doesn’t look as bad as I remember it. It is a little high and I never set up properly, but a good set up should take care of those problems.

264

420×560 37.9 KB

I was just going through our camping pictures. The eyes are explainable by a combination of a bright flash and sufficient alcohol.

Am I ever HUUUUGGEEE!

265

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
I figured I might as well upload the 405lbs attempt from Wednesday night. It doesn’t look as bad as I remember it. It is a little high and I never set up properly, but a good set up should take care of those problems.

that was pretty damn close to depth

266

[quote]mrodock wrote:
Ruggerlife wrote:
I figured I might as well upload the 405lbs attempt from Wednesday night. It doesn’t look as bad as I remember it. It is a little high and I never set up properly, but a good set up should take care of those problems.

that was pretty damn close to depth[/quote]

x2… but do you ever look like you are in pain, lol! Walkin’ like you have been ridden hard and put away wet… lol!

267

[quote]bunny7568 wrote:
mrodock wrote:
Ruggerlife wrote:
I figured I might as well upload the 405lbs attempt from Wednesday night. It doesn’t look as bad as I remember it. It is a little high and I never set up properly, but a good set up should take care of those problems.

that was pretty damn close to depth

x2… but do you ever look like you are in pain, lol! Walkin’ like you have been ridden hard and put away wet… lol!

[/quote]

haha!

268

Just realized I never updated Fridays session, so here it is…

[quote]Previous sessions:
Military Press Standing Training 1RM - 150lbs x 90% = 135lbs
Cycle 1, Week 1 - June 12, 2009 1x10x115 (85%)
Cycle 1, Week 2 - June 19, 2009 1x10x120 (90%) <— reps same, 5lb PR
Cycle 1, Week 3 - June 26, 2009 1x8x130 (95%)
Cycle 1, Week 4 - July 4, 2009 1x5x95 (70%) Deload

CGBP (2 board) - DC Rest Pause Style
June 12, 2009 1x8/5/3x185 (total 16 reps)
June 19, 2009 1RPx10/5/3x195 (total reps 18)<— 2rep, 10lb PR
June 26, 2009 1RPx10/4/3x205 (total reps 17) <— +10lbs, -1rep
July 4, 2009 1RPx11/6/3x205 (total reps 20) <— PR +3rep

Flat DB Press
June 12, 2009 1x11x70
June 19, 2009 1x12x75 <— 1 rep, 5 lbs PR
June 26, 2009 1x9x80 ← +10lbs, -2 reps
July 4, 2009 1x10x80 ← +1 rep.

Alt. Hammer Curls - DC Rest Pause Style
Previous best May 26, 2009 20 total reps w/40lbs.
June 12, 2009 1x12/6/4x40 (total reps 22)
June 26, 2009 1RPx13/7/5x40 (total reps 25) <—finally a PR on the night, +3reps

Pinwheels - DC Rest Pause Style
June 19, 2009 1x14/6/5x50 (total reps 25)
July 4, 2009 1RPx15/7/5x50 (total reps 27) <— +2 reps

[/quote]

Cycle 2, Week 1 July 12, 2009
Military Press Standing Training 1RM - 155lbs x 90% = 140lbs
1x15x45
1x8x65
1x5x90 (65%)
1x5x105 (75%)
1x9x120 (85%) <— Not happy with this. -1 rep with same weight.

CGBP (2-board)
1xa bunchx45
1x12x135
1x6x185
1x2x205
1RPx8/4/3x225 (total reps 15)

Called it a night.

Obviously wasn’t happy with the Military Press, so I’ll be gunning for improvement next week so that I can just right tonight off as a bad night.

I bumped the weight on the close grips for a few reasons:

  1. I did hit 20 reps last time and I plan to bump whenever I get somewhere around 20-25.
  2. By bumping the weight I wasn’t competing with last weeks reps, I was establishing a new base level of reps.
  3. Sometimes I question my ability with high rep sets. What I mean is that sometimes I wonder if it’s just the higher reps fatiguing me and not the weight. By pushing the weight up, I can test this as there won’t be much change in reps even with the extra weight. My recent experience with CGBP is an example of this. If I’m wrong it just means I got stronger…I’d be ok with that!

Squats Tonight!!!- There will be a PR

269

[quote]Previous sessions:
Back Squats - using 320lbs as 1RM x 90% = 288lbs training max
June 14, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 1 - 1x11x245(85%)
June 21, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 2 - 1x8x260 (90%)
June 27, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 3 - 1x9x275 (95%)
July 5, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 4 - 1x5x200 (70%) (Deload)

Pendley Rows
June 14, 2009 - 1x10x145
June 21, 2009 - 1x10x155 <— 10lbs PR from last week.
June 27, 2009 - 1x11x155 <— 1 rep PR

Good Mornings
June 14, 2009 - 1x10x185
June 21, 2009 - 1x9x205
June 27, 2009 - 1x9x205

Chin Ups
June 14, 2009 - 1RPx8/4/0 (12 total reps)
June 21, 2009 - 1RPx10/4/1 (total reps 15) <—3 rep PR.
June 27, 2009 - 1RPx9/3/2x10lbs (total 14 reps)
July 5, 2009 - 3sets of 5

Hanging Leg Raises
June 14, 2009 - 1RP (sortof)x 12/4/2 (18 total reps)
June 21, 2009 - 1RPx12/5/3 (total 20 reps) <— 2 rep PR.
June 27, 2009 - 1RPx12/6/3 (total 21 reps) <— 1rep PR

Zerchers
July 5, 2009 - 1x5x165[/quote]

Sunday, July 12, 2009 - Cycle 2, Week 1 (5/5/5+)

Back Squats - using 330lbs as 1RM x 90% = 297lbs training max
2x5x135
1x5x190 <— Doing your last warm up set just 5lbs of the first work set is an old Eastern block technique used to activate the nervous system through… a hell, I just misloaded the bar. :slight_smile:
1x5x195 (65%)
1x5x220 (75%)
1x14x250(85%) <— 3 rep, 5lbs PR over last cycle week 1!

I just realized that part of the reason I hit 14 reps is likely due to it only being a 5lbs increase. Even though I bumped my training max up 10lbs, by multiplying by 90% it only became a 9lbs increase and calculated out to 252. I decided to always round to the nearest 5lbs increment, so 252 became 250, if it would have been 253 then I would have used 255.

Front squats
2x6x155lbs

I was told I should add these into assist with a little extra leg development, flexibility, and upper back and core work. I’ll be keeping it stable for the cycle then adjusting the weight for Cycle 3.

Chin Ups
1RPx9/2/2x10lbs <— -1 rep.
These felt really hard for some reason.

Good Mornings
1x5x135
1x4x185
1x10x215 <— 1 rep, 10lbs PR.

Kelso Shrugs (lieing against incline bench ~30 degrees from standing)
1x10x135
1x10x185
1x7x235

EDIT: I forgot to include these when I posted.

Abductors w/ miniband
3x10xminiband (doubled)

I’m going to use these for this cycle instead of Pendley Rows.

Overall this was a good start for squats for this cycle, looking forward to similar happy times with bench on Tuesday night!!!

270

Nice training RL!

271

I’ve been bumping the training max number by 10lbs each week not the actual 1rm number. Won’t make much of a difference but it adds up over cycles. Also use the “ceiling” function in excel to always go up to the next 5lb increment. PM me your email if you want the spreadsheet mjnewland put together that programs an entire year of 5-3-1.

272

Thanks Bunny. So far I’m happy with my training, hopefully it turns into some bigger numbers come this fall.

[quote]soldog wrote:
I’ve been bumping the training max number by 10lbs each week not the actual 1rm number. Won’t make much of a difference but it adds up over cycles. Also use the “ceiling” function in excel to always go up to the next 5lb increment. [/quote]

Doh! Damn the simplicity of click and drag. :slight_smile:

273

Well due to two kids having a cold (and being nice enough to give it to me) then the youngest refusing to go to sleep until about 12:30am, I canned most of the assistance work to make sure I’d get to bed by 2:00am. I also said fuck it and came into work an hour late today.

Anyway, here’s how things went…

[quote]Previous sessions:
Bench Press
Used 230lbs x 90% = 207lbs for training max.
June 16, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 1 - 1x13x175 (85%)
June 23, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 2 - 1x14x185(90%) <— 1 rep, 10lbs PR!
June 29, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 3 - 1x12x195 (95%) <— +10lbs, -2 reps.
Took deload day off (max. deload!!!)

DB (slight) Incline Press
June 16, 2009 - 1RPx12/4/3x70 (total reps 19reps)
June 23, 2009 - 1x9x80 switched to straight set
June 29, 2009 - 1x11x80 <— 2 rep PR.

Pin Presses
June 16, 2009 - 1x17x175
June 23, 2009 - 1RPx14/6/3x205 (total 22 reps).
June 29, 2009 - 1RPx15/7/3x225 (total of 25 reps) <— +20lbs, +3 reps PR!

Barbell Curls
June 16, 2009 - 1RPx20/6/4x65lbs (total reps 30)
June 23, 2009 - 1x14/5/3x85 (total 22 reps)
June 29, 2009 - 1RPx15/5/4x85 (total reps of 24) <— +2rep PR. [/quote]

Tuesday, July 29, 2009 - Cycle 2, Week 1 (5/5/5+)

Bench Press
Training Max 212lbs for this cycle

1xa bunchx45
1x5x140 (65%)
1x5x160 (75%)
1x17x180 (85%)

Based on the Cycle 1 results this is pretty much what I would expect. So that’s good (I think).

Barbell Curls
1x15x45
1x8x65
1x2x85
1RPx10/5/4x95 (total reps of 19)
I’m not sure on this one. In hindsight I should have jumped to 90 rather than 95. My target rep reange is 20-30 for biceps. Well next week I should be back in that range, if not it will be time to swap this out for something else for a few weeks. If I break 20 then I’ll keep soldiering on with it until I plateau.

I realized after this session it was the ultimate Frat boy session bench and curls ONLY!!! And just to top it off, I curl in the squat rack! Unfortunately I didn’t have a mirror to check myself out or flash my “slightly” insulated abs.

274

Alright, it’s now about 2:30pm and…

  1. I feel like absolute shit.
  2. I definitely have a cold, maybe sinus (that’s what my daughter has).
  3. My quads are still sore from Sunday night.
  4. I can barely keep my eyes open.
  5. Two kids are still sick at home so it will be another late night most likely.

AND… I’m deadlifting tonight!!!

So, here’s my plan. I’m going to get wired on Spike and caffeine so that even if I feel like absolute shit I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went to bed and then I’m going to go lift.

Should be fun getting up for work tomorrow. :slight_smile:

275

[quote] Ruggerlife wrote:
Alright, it’s now about 2:30pm and…

  1. I feel like absolute shit.[/quote]check

[quote]2. I definitely have a cold, maybe sinus (that’s what my daughter has).[/quote] check

[quote]3. My quads are still sore from Sunday night.[/quote] check (apparently hamstrings too!

[quote]4. I can barely keep my eyes open.[/quote] check

[quote]5. Two kids are still sick at home so it will be another late night most likely.[/quote]12:30am the last finally settled.

[quote]
AND… I’m deadlifting tonight!!!

So, here’s my plan. I’m going to get wired on Spike and caffeine so that even if I feel like absolute shit I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went to bed and then I’m going to go lift.[/quote]check (2 Spike and 2 cups of coffee)

This could possibly be my worst deadlift session in months!!!

July 15, 2009 Cycle 2, Week 1

Deadlifts
a bunch of singles at 135
same at 185

5x250 (65%)
5x285 (75%)
6x320 (85%)

This started off bad, when I couldn’t get to the bar while staying tight in my warm-up sets. I tried some hip mobility work, stretching out the hamstrings and hips, but it was a no go.

Eventually as I got to my second work set (285) it felt rediculaously heavy. I actually thought I misloaded the bar, but no it was loaded correctly.

Last set, I was going to push it harder and shoot for 9-10 reps, but I could feel my form was off. Right now I need to work on technique and I don’t think doing extra reps with shit form is really going to help.

Called it quits.

Even with 2 Spike in me (1 w/ Yohimbine and 1 without) and 2 cups of coffee, I was out like a light in under 2 minutes when my head hit the pillow. Hopefully I’ll be better for my next session Friday night.

276

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
Ruggerlife wrote:
Alright, it’s now about 2:30pm and…

  1. I feel like absolute shit.check

  2. I definitely have a cold, maybe sinus (that’s what my daughter has). check

  3. My quads are still sore from Sunday night. check (apparently hamstrings too!

  4. I can barely keep my eyes open. check

  5. Two kids are still sick at home so it will be another late night most likely.12:30am the last finally settled.

AND… I’m deadlifting tonight!!!

So, here’s my plan. I’m going to get wired on Spike and caffeine so that even if I feel like absolute shit I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I went to bed and then I’m going to go lift.check (2 Spike and 2 cups of coffee)

Should be fun getting up for work tomorrow. :slight_smile:

This could possibly be my worst deadlift session in months!!!

July 15, 2009 Cycle 2, Week 1

Deadlifts
a bunch of singles at 135
same at 185

5x250 (65%)
5x285 (75%)
6x320 (85%)

This started off bad, when I couldn’t get to the bar while staying tight in my warm-up sets. I tried some hip mobility work, stretching out the hamstrings and hips, but it was a no go.

Eventually as I got to my second work set (285) it felt rediculaously heavy. I actually thought I misloaded the bar, but no it was loaded correctly.

Last set, I was going to push it harder and shoot for 9-10 reps, but I could feel my form was off. Right now I need to work on technique and I don’t think doing extra reps with shit form is really going to help.

Called it quits.

Even with 2 Spike in me (1 w/ Yohimbine and 1 without) and 2 cups of coffee, I was out like a light in under 2 minutes when my head hit the pillow. Hopefully I’ll be better for my next session Friday night. [/quote]

Well I think you did a damn good job considering all the circumstances. I think 5/3/1 is a very good program as long as a person puts form first, which you are obviously doing. Now get some damn sleep, get better, and keep doing cool stuff like 17 reps on your last set of bench press.

277

[quote]mrodock wrote:
Well I think you did a damn good job considering all the circumstances. I think 5/3/1 is a very good program as long as a person puts form first, which you are obviously doing. Now get some damn sleep, get better, and keep doing cool stuff like 17 reps on your last set of bench press.[/quote]

Thanks mrodock.

No lifting tonight so with a bit of rest (hopefully) I should be good to go on Friday with Military Press. Then I’ll be fully rested/recovered for squats Sunday night.

278

Hope your feeling better bro’.

279

I forgot to post this. Nothing spectacular but some overall nice consistent progress. I’m back to feeling myself so I shouldn’t need any further abbreviated sessions.

Although this is Overhhead press night, I’ll admit that the movement I pay the most attention to is the 2-board close grip. My CGBP is now up 40lbs and one rep from Cycle 1, Week 1 5 weeks ago! I’m really hoping that this has a nice carry-over to the shirted bench.

[quote]Previous sessions:
Military Press Standing Training 1RM - 150lbs x 90% = 135lbs
Cycle 1, Week 1 - June 12, 2009 1x10x115 (85%)
Cycle 1, Week 2 - June 19, 2009 1x10x120 (90%) <— reps same, 5lb PR
Cycle 1, Week 3 - June 26, 2009 1x8x130 (95%)
Cycle 1, Week 4 - July 4, 2009 1x5x95 (70%) Deload
Training 1RM 140lbs
Cycle 2, Week 1 July 12, 2009 1x9x120 (85%)

CGBP (2 board) - DC Rest Pause Style
June 12, 2009 1x8/5/3x185 (total 16 reps)
June 19, 2009 1RPx10/5/3x195 (total reps 18)<— 2rep, 10lb PR
June 26, 2009 1RPx10/4/3x205 (total reps 17) <— +10lbs, -1rep
July 4, 2009 1RPx11/6/3x205 (total reps 20) <— PR +3rep
July 12, 2009 1RPx8/4/3x225 (total reps 15)

Flat DB Press
June 12, 2009 1x11x70
June 19, 2009 1x12x75 <— 1 rep, 5 lbs PR
June 26, 2009 1x9x80 ← +10lbs, -2 reps
July 4, 2009 1x10x80 ← +1 rep.

Alt. Hammer Curls - DC Rest Pause Style
Previous best May 26, 2009 20 total reps w/40lbs.
June 12, 2009 1x12/6/4x40 (total reps 22)
June 26, 2009 1RPx13/7/5x40 (total reps 25) <—finally a PR on the night, +3reps

Pinwheels - DC Rest Pause Style
June 19, 2009 1x14/6/5x50 (total reps 25)
July 4, 2009 1RPx15/7/5x50 (total reps 27) <— +2 reps

[/quote]

Cycle 2, Week 2 July 18, 2009
Military Press Standing Training 1RM - 155lbs x 90% = 140lbs
1x12x45
1x8x65
1x3x100 (70%)
1x3x115 (80%)
1x9x130 (90%) <— +1 rep PR.

CGBP (2-board)
1xa bunchx45
1x12x135
1x6x185
1x2x205
1RPx9/5/3x225 (total reps 17) <— 2 rep PR

Flat DB Press
1x15x30
1x8x50
1x2x 70
1x11x80 <— 1 rep PR

Hammer curls
1x15x20
1x6x30
1RPx12/7/6x45 (total reps 25) <—5lbs PR

280

[quote]Previous sessions:
Back Squats - using 320lbs as 1RM x 90% = 288lbs training max
June 14, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 1 - 1x11x245(85%)
June 21, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 2 - 1x8x260 (90%)
June 27, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 3 - 1x9x275 (95%)
July 5, 2009 - Cycle 1, Week 4 - 1x5x200 (70%) (Deload)
Training Max 298lbs
July 12, 2009 - Cycle 2, Week 1 - 1x14x250(85%) <— 3 rep, 5lbs PR over last cycle week 1!

Pendley Rows
June 14, 2009 - 1x10x145
June 21, 2009 - 1x10x155 <— 10lbs PR from last week.
June 27, 2009 - 1x11x155 <— 1 rep PR

Good Mornings
June 14, 2009 - 1x10x185
June 21, 2009 - 1x9x205
June 27, 2009 - 1x9x205
July 12, 2009 - 1x10x215 <— 1 rep, 10lbs PR.

Chin Ups
June 14, 2009 - 1RPx8/4/0 (12 total reps)
June 21, 2009 - 1RPx10/4/1 (total reps 15) <—3 rep PR.
June 27, 2009 - 1RPx9/3/2x10lbs (total 14 reps)
July 5, 2009 - 3sets of 5
July 12, 2009 - 1RPx9/2/2x10lbs <— -1 rep.

Kelso Shrugs
July 12, 2009 - 1x7x235

Hanging Leg Raises
June 14, 2009 - 1RP (sortof)x 12/4/2 (18 total reps)
June 21, 2009 - 1RPx12/5/3 (total 20 reps) <— 2 rep PR.
June 27, 2009 - 1RPx12/6/3 (total 21 reps) <— 1rep PR

Zerchers
July 5, 2009 - 1x5x165[/quote]

Sunday, July 19, 2009 - Cycle 2, Week 2 (3/3/3+)

Back Squats
1x8x135
1x5x185
1x3x210 (70%)
1x3x240 (80%)
1x9x270 (90%)
This is an improvement over Cycle 1, Week 2 but not as good as Cycle 1, week 3, so meh… As long as I improve next week then I’m happy looking at cycle over cycle progress as opposed to just previous best.

Front squats
2x6x155lbs

Chin Ups
1RPx7/4/2x10lbs (total 13 reps) <— Flat. My body weight is up a bit (fat, not muscle) and I was setup to close to the wall. If i don’t progress next week, I’ll flip to pull-ups for a change.

Good Mornings
1x5x135
1x4x185
These weren’t feeling good so I stopped here. I don’t have the confidence in this movement yet to push it if it’s not feeling good.

Kelso Shrugs (lieing against incline bench ~30 degrees from standing)
1x12x135
1x12x185
1x8x255 <— +1 rep, +20lbs.
I’ll keep this weight flat for next week.

Abductors w/ miniband
3x15xminiband (doubled)