You are really rockin Cav, must be the Hard Work is paying off. Its cool to watch.
ManfromMass, thanks!
Brett, you’re very kind.
Dude, it may be fun to watch, but trust me, it was miserable!!!
Squats today. Tried getting the bar lower, and I mean lower. OUCH go the shoulders! Had to get the rack’s hooks down another hole for bar to be a good height. Work the shoulders, fuss with it . . . got it. Had to lean forward to make it work, remember arch back, arch back.
Seemed a bit easier than last time. Had gained a couple of pounds, hope it was muscle.
45 x 7
75 x 6
95 x 5 . not bad at all
115 x 3
115 x 3 . getting tough
125 x 3
125 x 1 . OMG this was absolutely just stuck in midair, took forever to get up, if a mosquito landed on the bar would have dumped
95 x 5 . racked this one and then burst into tears, the effort was so intense
Leg Press
130 x 12
160 x 10
190 x 10
220 x 8
Food. I need food!!
Golden Corral in your future?
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Golden Corral in your future?[/quote]
Always.
way to tear it up.
good work on the dead PR.
Hey Cav,
Quick question…how long are you resting between sets of squats? In particular, how long did you rest before that last squat set with 95?
Hey congrats on the PR, you’ll be at three wheels soon enough.
KM, thanks.
Joe, I’m working on it, thanks.
Git, for heavy squats like this, I’m resting several minutes between sets. It’s averaging 5 minutes each time. I sip water and stretch between sets.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
KM, thanks.
Joe, I’m working on it, thanks.
Git, for heavy squats like this, I’m resting several minutes between sets. It’s averaging 5 minutes each time. I sip water and stretch between sets.[/quote]
OK. I thought maybe you were rushing your sets since 95 was so tough after doing 125. But 5 minutes is plenty of recovery time.
Keep hitting it hard.
Oh, and I find stretching between sets actually makes me feel weaker.
To be honest Git, I can’t see that stretching between sets helps one way or another. A little at the beginning seems to help warmup, whatever.
If you thought I was rushing the sets, did you see something that indicated things were tougher than they should have been?
[quote]cavalier wrote:
To be honest Git, I can’t see that stretching between sets helps one way or another. A little at the beginning seems to help warmup, whatever.
If you thought I was rushing the sets, did you see something that indicated things were tougher than they should have been?[/quote]
I just found it curious that after a nearly 25% drop in weight (125 to 95), it was so hard to get 95 x 5. Granted your 125 set was all out.
If I did a top set at 365 (PeteS and MM I’m on your heels. Beware) and dropped to 275, the reps would be relatively easy.
I don’t know why it’s so hard, it just is. It’s always been that way. You should have seen me years back when I tried the 20 rep squat routine, you would have called 911. Never got over 95 lbs, but it flattened me.
I can’t believe long legs are the explanation, it can’t make that much of a difference.
It just kills me that everyone else squats hundreds of pounds without trouble but I can’t get over 100 without going through major torture.
My doctor recommended a psychiatrist, but out of work and med insurance ran out, I can’t afford it.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
I don’t know why it’s so hard, it just is. It’s always been that way. You should have seen me years back when I tried the 20 rep squat routine, you would have called 911. Never got over 95 lbs, but it flattened me.
I can’t believe long legs are the explanation, it can’t make that much of a difference.
It just kills me that everyone else squats hundreds of pounds without trouble but I can’t get over 100 without going through major torture.
My doctor recommended a psychiatrist, but out of work and med insurance ran out, I can’t afford it.[/quote]
I’m not sure what the explanation is either. Just found it curious.
The best thing that I ever did for my squat was pull sumo. The hamstring and glute work from sumo really helped. Now that I pull conventional, I notice a difference. I keep neglecting to add some sumo back in on deadlift days. It might be something for you to consider.
It’s been said before, but success is determined by progressing not the actual number. And you are progressing. If it was based on the numbers of others, I would go into PeteS’ log, look around and go “fuck it” I’m too small, too old and too far behind to ever kick his ass.
And please keep in perspective that, ultimately, it is just weight training. Yes it can be an obsessive pursuit with goals, achievements and failures but no one else cares what you lift.
Looking good Cav. What are your current goals?
Pulling sumo sounds interesting. The most rational thing I can think of is that there’s something in the low squat position that I never worked and that’s holding me back. Haven’t tried it because weights are going up on conventional DL, didn’t want to change, but didn’t think it could work squat… A very low sumo dead . . . will try it.
MJ, current goal is simply to build up. I know, you’re supposed to take it step by step, but my goal is to get as big and strong as possible. Deads are starting to reach immediate levels, will work them to get ready for another jump to 305 or 310. Bench and squat are still beginner’s levels, will just pound on them until something happens.
Nice work on the 300 pull! (just catching up)
Cav,great looking workouts. It’s odd that your squats lag so far behind your deadlifting numbers. You talked to DCA or Meat about form issues?? Always remember deadlifting is considered by a lot of people the true measure of someones strength. So you’re all set.
Thanks for dropping by, Ddot.
Ecogenx, several people have looked at my vids, including Snapper who had a lot of good suggestions. My squat form was so terrible that a few months ago had to start all over.
OK, last night tried some sumo deads. Put only 10 lb plates on so could really stretch to the floor. Shoved feet as far apart as possible and worked the low position hard. Really felt it in the groin area. Got up to 105 lbs.
Really fighting my emotion levels, got to the point eventually that was actually enjoying the lifts. Granted, my confidence took a beating watching another guy do dips with 135 lbs hanging off his waist, but got through it.
Oh, and discovered something else, sumo deads really kick up the T levels.
I just can’t pull sumo. I know it works for some people, but it feels so uncomfortable and awkward for me, I gave up on it.
To each his own…
MASSman, I wasn’t doing it to get my DL up, was doing it to work the low part of my squat, which is in dire need of help. The awkwardness was deliberate - and, I hope, effective.
In our last episode, I almost made a 165 bench. Resting up, working relevant muscles, eating, etc. And now the conclusion . . .
Bench
45 x 10
95 x 6
115 x 5
135 x 4
165 x 1 * * * PR * * * PR * * *
The spotter talked me into trying 175. . . .
175 x 3
175 x 3
He didn’t touch it going down, just helped going up. He said I should be doing 185 in a couple of weeks. I can’t wait.
135 x 3
135 x 3
Cybex Pec Dec
3 x 15
4 x 12
5 x 10
6 x 5
6 x 5
6 x 5
Rope Pulldown
50 x 12
70 x 10
100 x 8
130 x 6
140 x 5 . * * * PR * * *
140 x 5
The spotter and I started chatting, he used to squat and deadlift, but doesn’t do them anymore, just too hard, he’s too old for that stuff.
“How old are you?”
“48.”
“I’m 55!”