Hard Work

Training Over 35 Lifter
761

Thanks, James. It’s tough, but as long as I eat loads of meat and get plenty of sleep, not too bad. Really fun to feel good and pumped.

Goat, the bar’s feeling pretty secure. Yesterday, tried to put more arm into it and actually seemed to help a bit. I took the weight up a bit over the estimated amounts, probably shouldn’t do that, but obsessed about getting my numbers up. Think the problem is thin arms, odd considering my arms are actually thicker now than before. I must be the only guy who’s lifted for years and still hoping for a 200 lb bench.

762

Ah yea 2nd cycle. Keep at that 200 you’ll get there.

763

Gaining on the bench is difficult without a spotter. It takes so much longer. This is the problem I have encountered, as a result my progress is limited. If I don’t feel strong on bench day, I just cap it at where ever I’m at and add extra sets. The progress is slow but steady and injury free. As long as we never quit we’re going to win the battle. Stay strong and dig deep!

764

[quote]kpsnap wrote:

[quote]cavalier wrote:
I’ve always had the problem of being weak in lifts and getting frustrated. I went through program after program, hoping to find the magic bullet that would make me as big and strong as everyone else. When said program did no such thing, I’d start thinking maybe this exercise was off or the frequency could be tweaked or this or that, and before you know, you’ve going completely OCD trying every possible combination. Something like the scene in “A Beautiful Mind” where the poor guy tries to find coded messages in magazines.

I’m sure my emotional state is affecting my workouts. I’m working hard, but when despair strikes, it’s like pushing the brake instead of the accelerator. Which leads to more despair, lather, rinse, repeat. If I can just let go, just do it, just enjoy it, then I’m sure my body will respond and get stronger.[/quote]

I can relate. Good advice.[/quote]

Yes , you need to get out of your head. It really happens to me with my skating. Like with my present quest. As soon as I started it my skating became labored, I got really fatiqued. It took a bit but I got out of my head and stopped worrying. Now my skates are fun again.

Just lift. Forget the goals, just do it and have fun while you do it! At this stage of life it should be about passion. Just doing it because it makes you feel awesome! So smilie while you push!

765

Thanks, Streamline! The Sheiko is carefully set up so you almost but not quite reach your limit in any lift, so for bench you don’t need a spotter. Convenient, but I can see where it might be limiting.

Your enthusiasm is really inspiring! I have no idea what my limit is - at this point, probably a safe guess I’m not a Kazmeier clone - but I do know if I don’t get the emotional brakes off, I’ll never get anywhere. Last couple of workouts I really toned down the depression, and actually started smiling. Is that because squats are so much fun, or because it feels so good when it’s over . . .?

766

[quote]streamline wrote:
Gaining on the bench is difficult without a spotter. It takes so much longer. This is the problem I have encountered[/quote]

Looking good CAV! Keep up the good work and keep moving forward my friend!

I tend to agree with streamline on this although I believe there is something you can do to help. For me, I found my bench began climbing when I introduced weighted dips into my routine. I tend to think it’s the way the dips hit the triceps pretty hard that has led to the improvement.

Just a thought on something that worked for me…

767

[quote]late2thegame wrote:

[quote]streamline wrote:
Gaining on the bench is difficult without a spotter. It takes so much longer. This is the problem I have encountered[/quote]

Looking good CAV! Keep up the good work and keep moving forward my friend!

I tend to agree with streamline on this although I believe there is something you can do to help. For me, I found my bench began climbing when I introduced weighted dips into my routine. I tend to think it’s the way the dips hit the triceps pretty hard that has led to the improvement.

Just a thought on something that worked for me…[/quote]

With a very weak bench i have been looking for any way to get mine moving forward and by coincidence have added dips, both bw and weighted and added a lot more press ups with wide and narrow stance and feet elevated.
Havn’t seen any change in weight yet although control at my higher weight seems better.

768

Whoa your hitting it hard! Youll be wearing the t-shirt with the “S” on it before you know it.

769

You are really killing it on Sheiko, Cav. Damn fine work.

770

[quote]cavalier wrote:
I’ll go ahead and do the program as is.[/quote]

Wise words. Glad to see you back on the horse.

771

Chris and Nurse, thanks very much. The problem with dips is that I’m so damn weak that ordinary dips nearly kill me. I can barely make it halfway down, and that’s an all out max effort. Weighted dips are out of the question, may just as well tie a grand piano around my waist as 25 lb. It’s been the same story whether I weighed 160 or now 217.

Upscale, that’s pretty optimistic, but I never turn down a compliment from a pretty girl.

Joe, thanks. I’ll consider it an accomplishment if I can get up to your numbers.

I’ll tell you, 2 hours of hard barbell action really whacks you, really need to eat your guts out afterward and sleep like a baby. Even so, not in a great mood, that has to recover as well.

Speaking of dips, that’s on the program:

Squats
95 x 5
115 x 4
135 x 3
145 x 3
155 x 3
165 x 2
175 x 2 . x 2 . x 2

that’s more weight than estimated, but if I can do it, I have to

Bench
95 x 5
110 x 4
125 x 3 . x 3
145 x 3 . x 3 . x 2 . x 3
wow, the 145 was so hard, almost lost it a couple of times, this was almost my all out max effort. When I calculated my max a month ago, I didn’t pause on my chest, now I am and think that’s throwing off everything.

Incline DB flies
25 x 10
35 x 10
40 x 10 . x 10

Dips
x 6 . x 6 . x 6 . x 6

program says 8 reps, but happy to get 6 sortof reps

Squat
95 x 5
115 x 4
135 x 3 . x 3
155 x 2 . x 2 . x 2
165 x 2

Don’t know if it’s a good idea to increase the weight over the estimates, but I have a problem if the weight doesn’t feel heavy enough - I just have to kick it up.

772

Cav–on dips : do you dip between bars ie one either side and dip between them or dip with hands behind on bench and feet out forward on a bench ?.

I ask because as yet i can’t do proper dips (bewteen bars) yet but can do quite a few between benches and can start to add some weight.

Hopefully i will progress to the in=between bars technique which seems a lot harder but for now i am using as many techniques as i can to progress with the easier method eg adding weight, adding pauses at the bottom etc.

773

I use the bars. Good point, I hadn’t thought of the bench. The Sheiko dips are the standard bar dips. Good heavens, I certainly would never admit to having problems on bench dips.

774

Hey Cavalier, Yeah, I’m still lurking your log, still impressed as all hell with your determination and stoked by your progress. I built full rom on bar dips by bending my legs up behind me and putting my toes on a chair. This also tilted my torso forward and brought the lower chest into the movement. I had to add weight to this before I could actually accomplish 1 rep at full rom without the damn chair. Happy Lifting.

775

Aha, the Stealth Squirrel surfaces! Thanks for the kind words. Good idea, using bench with dips. We have a Nautilus machine which assists on dips and chins, but that never seems to help me with the real thing.

Weird thing, I’m all torso and almost no arms. My pecs have grown from the Sheiko, but arms still thin, that’s probably the weak point in pushing and pulling. This is the last week of the cycle, would like to spend some time working on arms and shoulders. Sheiko doesn’t address those directly.

I just looked through my log for the two Sheiko cycles. I’ve gained about 5 pounds bodyweight in 2 months, even though eating stayed about the same. Before that, stayed the same for months and months. This volume stuff may be time-consuming, exhausting, inconvenient - but something’s working!

776

[quote]cavalier wrote:
I use the bars. Good point, I hadn’t thought of the bench. The Sheiko dips are the standard bar dips. Good heavens, I certainly would never admit to having problems on bench dips.[/quote]

Cav–i had sort of assumed that you would be on the full fat, high caffeiene, max effort version !!. We do have some sort of dips assist machine (think they call it the gravitron !!) but it feels really weird to use. I know they aren’t the best but the thing with bench dips is that i can do them, they seem to help progress and i can do variants of them not at the gym.

I have been thinking about trying to progress with them, i do some with a weight plate in my lap but was thinking about hanging a length of heavy mooring chai around my shoulders to get the weight more over my torso.
Any thoughts ??

777

Yeah, the assist machines never seemed to help me much. The bench dip is a good idea, much more like the real thing.

Tip: get your feet off the bench & put on floor. Keep hands on other bench. That should make it a little harder. Hmm, guess you could wrap something around your shoulders.

Check your bodyweight. When your bench gets to something like 70% or 80 bodyweight, you’ll do dips fine.

778

[quote]cavalier wrote:
Yeah, the assist machines never seemed to help me much. The bench dip is a good idea, much more like the real thing.

Tip: get your feet off the bench & put on floor. Keep hands on other bench. That should make it a little harder. Hmm, guess you could wrap something around your shoulders.

Check your bodyweight. When your bench gets to something like 70% or 80 bodyweight, you’ll do dips fine.

[/quote]

I didn’t know that about the bench %, i am stuck at around 60% right now which would explain things a bit. Funny that while the other lifts are getting stronger my bench is absolutely stalled.

779

Well Nurse, I don’t know the exact percentage, but the general rule is: you can dip more than you can decline bench, decline bench more than bench, bench more than incline bench, incline bench more than overhead press.

Today"s workout (warning: nervous breakdown ahead):

Bench
85 x 5
100 x 4
115 x 3 . x 3
135 x 3 . x 3
145 x 2 . x 2

these were so hard, I can’t believe I’ve gained any strength at all in bench. A normal guy warms up with 135, and after all these years it still crushes me. So angry, I lost it and:

95 x 25

that’s not a typo. Maybe it did me some good, I don’t know, it certainly wore me out.

Deadlift
155 x 4
185 x 4
215 x 3 . x 3

Another guy asked if he could squat in the rack while I lifted and I said sure. (We deadlift with the squat bar, so have to fuss to do both at once.) He did pretty good, got up to over 315#. He said he was following a program, I asked which one, he said “5/3/1”! He really likes it, even though this is his first cycle.

We got talking about bench, and he says all you have to do is bodyweight exercises and your bench goes right up. His is at 315 now. I said I’ve done tons of pushups and dips and chins and whatnot and my bench hasn’t budged a hair.

What is is? Do I have a body from Mars? How do other guys do the exercises and FOOMPH the muscles blow out? And when I do the same thing, for years and years, nothing?

Finish up the deads:
245 x 3 . x 3
265 x 2 . x 2
255 x 2

Bench
85 x 5
105 x 4
115 x 4
125 x 4 . x 4 . x 4

didn’t care, just did them.

Incline DB flies - did them different, really stretched out arms - ouch
20 x 10 . x 10 . x 10 . x 10

Good Mornings
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5 . x 5 . x 5

now this is strange, you wouldn’t think I could do this much, but body didn’t mind. Is all my strength in lower body and my upper is blah?

780

Everybody is different, for him to make a blanket statement like that is just false. I do tons of BW exercise for the benefit of that specific exercise, Weighted pushups weighted chins do nothing for my bench. I have learned with benching the only thing that will improve it will be benching. Everybodies different, everybody has strenghths and weaknesses. I was able to bench alot more 1o years ago, and had to start all over, and can tell for me the only thing that will bring up my flat bench will be pressing movements and its variations…

Out of curiousity why do flies if your frustrated about bench numbers, possibly tate or JM presses will be better suited IMO.