It looks like the pullups have really been blasting your traps and middle back between the shoulder blades, but not hitting your lats so much.
This is pretty common, Paul Carter even wrote an article about it a few years ago.
I think you’re right on track with the banded pullups. Slowing the descent and feeling the lats will put the tension (and size) right back where you want it.
This helped my lat activation a ton. I would do 3 rounds mixed in with my warmup sets. I swear it taught me to use my lats instead of my traps for row and pulls.
x2 on the pullups. I can definitely get lat out of my pullups if it’s bodyweight and especially with the smith machine. If I put weight on, my chest starts caving and it’s all traps.
Thank you my wonderful log friends! This is most helpful!
Look out November, you’re lat month! *roar
Imma goin’ with this—you look fantastic!
Thank you my fellow obsessive minded friend.
I guess I just got scared because I thought I regressed and that’s not allowed to happen, 
I just tried that lat activation…. WOW!
Today
Facepulls
27.5lbs x 20
Drop set
17.5lbs x 33
Really liked these today. I got the rope with the softer rubber on the ends, so my fingers didn’t feel pinchy
Cable rear delt fly
High setting x 25
Middle x 18
Hammer strength shoulder press machine
60lbs per side x 9 per arm
50lbs x 12 per arm
Barely made the 9th rep on my left side. Damn, that would have been annoying. I’ll have to tinker with my weights next time because I doubt I’ll be at 10. Maybe ill do 40lbs for some high rep hell
Leg ext.
100lbs x 9
70lbs x 10
Leg squisher
145lbs x 16
DB Lateral raises
I do these up high like dr. Mike showed. Held for a second and lowered slowly without losing tension at the bottom.
I drew a diagram
Barbell upright row
Bar raised to glasses level and controlled on the way down
30lbs x 15
30lbs x 16
Ez bar cable tri ext.
37.5 x 12
27.5lbs x 20
Ez bar cable bi curl
17.5lbs x 18
Great energy.
I did some banded pull-ups yesterday to get started on my mission, and for the second set, I added my versa grips. Wow, what a difference in feel! I have good grip from all of the hook grip DL’s I’ve done, but this completely eliminated any forearm tension and it became all back.
I can’t get lazy with using my versa grips anymore.
Like dr. Mike says, am I here to build a huge back or to impress people with my grip?
Gonna stock up and feeze a bunch of meat today to get ready for meal prep next weekend.
Whoo0p
Ta ta ~~~
Awesome!
Ok, what a spectacular back workout today.
Did some lat activation demonstrated by the wonderful late Mr. Meadows in the video above
Straight arm pull down- full stretch at the top
35lbs x 20
30lbs x 21
My lats were already on fire from this, heh.
One arm lat pulldown- focused more on driving the elbow to the hips and not back. A slight crunch to the side to really squeeze my lat and slow to full stretch on the way back.
27.5lbs x 19
35lbs x 12
Lats were screaming here. Couldn’t have done another set of these if I wanted to
Leg spreader- paused and squeezed side ass with each rep
85lbs x 23
Bent over row- over hand grip. Hip hinged and more like a stiff leg deadlift with a tight arch and big chest. All reps controlled on the way down to full stretch. Dr. Mike said i should be able to lift hundreds of pounds and become a literal fucking tank in this position, neither of those things came true, lol.
85lbs x 11
85lbs x 11
75lbs x 14
75lbs x 15
Hammer strength chest supported low row
40lbs per side x 12 per arm
30lbs x 20 per arm
Screaming lats again here, awesome.
Back was fried at this point.
Ez bar cable bi curl
25lbs x 12
20lbs x 19
Db hammer curls
15lbs x 15 per arm
15lbs x 15 per arm
Great. Feel so accomplished. I’ll save banded pull-ups for when I’m at home on my leg days.
Random uninteresting story time :
When I first started taking courses to become a 911 dispatcher, some people I talked to asked me if I would really be able to handle it mentally.
I’m 《obviously》very sensitive, and I will be talking to victims on the worst day of their lives on a regular basis.
This was also brought up during my psych assessment and I consistently stuck to the idea that my sensitivity would make me even better at this job than those who weren’t.
I started thinking about when I was working at legal aid. I literally talked to guys from the remand centre all day.
During one of my calls, I went through my standard verification process and I asked about his email address. I started reading it, and I began laughing asking if it was still foreskin (some random numbers) at Gmail. Com.
The guy started hysterically laughing and said “it’s forsaken!!!”
Oh… my bad. Well, it’s tiny fucking font, so whatever. We were cracking up and I felt good inside that I made someone from the remand laugh. That doesn’t happen very often.
I processed his file and it turned out he was a murderer with a “disrespecting a corpse” charge added on his file, and included were the gruesome details of the incident.
I felt like I wanted to throw up. Not because of the details, but because I was laughing and joking around with this person.
Having buddy, buddy small talk with a bunch of guys who commit assault like it’s a hobby wasn’t something I could handle.
I wished so often I was comforting the victims instead of laughing with the perps. In EVERY situation.
The material facts didn’t disturb me, the people did. And I still stand by what I told the shrink during my assessment. Sometimes too much empathy and sensitivity can be a gift if given to those who need it the most.
For the majority of my life, it’s gone to waste. I’m so eager to put it to good use for a change 
.
Ta ta ~~~
Winner winner, found your log! I must have been clicking on another thread link… will catchup on this one soon. In for the follow!
Today -
1 hour yoga/core &
Long walk later
I made a video compilation of the best leg exercises (for me) that I’ve added since discovering Dr Mike and the RP channel.
And yes, I will mention him every post, lmao.
Deficit sumo deadlifts- feel awful, so I know they must be effective.
Front foot elevated ssb split
squats- Best variation. Heavier dumbells were making it a tired arm exercise once I started getting stronger.
Ssb squats- I finally added f-ing heeled shoes back and I feel less tin can crushed with my ssb now
Deficit stiff leg deadlifts- slow and controlled. The second you can’t get anymore stretch on the hamstrings, you bend your knees and keep going to the floor. That final position lights up my glutes so well. Never felt a better variation.
Pin good mornings- The only good mornings I like, hahah
Honorable mention- elevated hip thrusts
Someone commented on my youtube video “terrible squat form”.
I freaked out and asked reddit for advice since I figured the last thing this place needed was another form video from me, HAHA.
It blew up into this huge thread where most of the comments were about my Con air poster, lol. But everyone said my squat was fine.
I thought, okay, I have a troll. His username was “boomroasted”, go figure.
Later, I told randoms on my channel I might try going back on IG. Out of my 270 subscribers, like 3 people seem to legitimately care…
Then this boom roasted person commented “insta thot origin story”.
That ho over there for any out of the know people.
Is it ho or hoe for that kind of ho?
Anyway, wtf?
My Instagram is 90 percent comprised of stardew valley pictures, that doesn’t sound like a thot thing.
Then he said it was a joke because I’m nothing like that and he also lifts alone in his basement.
Hmm, wouldn’t a joke have included “haha”? Insta thot origin story, haha.
I dunno, something seems fishy here. This boomroasted fellow is a troll or a hater or an admirer and I can’t fucking tell because it’s all over the place.
Oh well, until we meet again Mr. B. Roasted.
Ta ta~\
Killer session today!!
SSB squats
105lbs x 14
110lbs x 10
Front foot elevated ssb split squats
75lbs x 13 per leg
75lbs x 13 per leg
Elevated hip thrusts
165lbs x 11
110lbs x 16
X 16 bw glute bridge
Deficit sumo deadlifts
100lbs x 14
105lbs x 10
105lbs x 10
Banded pull ups with slow negatives
X 10
Gassed, no rep opportunities wasted.
Welp, I got enough chicken breasts, thighs, and pork chops in the freezer to last me until December now.
I’ve also started doing obsessive preparation like putting in new light bulbs that haven’t burnt out and changing my mouse battery that still works, hahaha. I just thought, ya, it would suck to come home after a 12 hour shift to a burnt out light bulb, LOL.
Good thing my kid is never around, so I can enjoy my disordered behavior in peace :-).
Shoulders tomorrow!! Wh0p
Ta ta~~~
Vid
Ok, bit of stuff on my mind…
But first, my spectacular shoulder workout!!
Facepulls
30lbs x 20
25lbs x 21
20lbs x 31
Got the good rope again with the more comfortable handles
Hammer strength shoulder press machine
50lbs x 14 per arm
40lbs x 15 per arm
Cable rear delt fly
X 30 higher setting
X 23 bit lower
Leg ext
100lbs x 10
Drop set 55lbs x 9
Quiver city, babbbay
Leg squisher
160lbs x 13
DB Lateral raises
12.5 lbs x 13
10lbs x 18
Ez bar upright row
35lbs x 9
Drop set
25lbs x 12 or 13
Triangle handle cable tri ext
30lbs x 18
25lbs x 16
Rope handle 15lbs x 17 or 18
Ez bar cable bicep curl x 18 or 19
Ok, clearly I ended up lost in another land not being able to remember the number of my reps immediately after completing the set, lol.
I really crushed it today. No questions of reps in reserve. There were none, heh.
Ramblings :
Let me see… what is the best way to word this, I wonder.
I caught up with hamburger train on IG and the first thing I wanted to say to him was:
“Well, I’m still the laughing stock of T-nation, so not much has changed”.
It may be a shocking perception to some that I feel this way, while others may understand perfectly.
I’ve been posting here for 13 years, and for 13 years I’ve felt like a joke.
I’m a joke when it comes to trying to date, and how I do nothing but fail with men.
I’m a joke that I got my driver’s license so late, which sturat so kindly announced to the board some odd years ago.
I was a joke with atrocious form and now I’m a joke who obsesses over every tiny imperfection in her squat.
I was a joke when I was ripped and lean AF and I was a joke when I could squat 225lbs.
Many times you hear that respect is earned, not given. But I will never earn it here. Not from most, anyway. It doesn’t matter what I put into things. It’s entertainment that I crash and burn more often than I ever succeed.
It really bothered me in September when someone in off topic mockingly told me to join a prepper community to meet someone, and that I should be going after guys who brag about homeownership in their dating profiles since going after the shitty people I have been hasn’t worked out for me.
It was like my past heartache was laughable. But what bothered me about it was that I was also lead on and manipulated by someone who did seem to have all the good traits that I’m “supposed” to seek.
None of it is relevant to my bodybuilding pursuits, and no, I shouldn’t be oversharing in my log in the first place because then it can come back at me and it would be my own damn fault.
I don’t think it would change anything though. I will be viewed how I’m viewed here regardless.
But it’s okay, because on the very off chance something amazing happens and I end up meeting a wonderful person, excelling in my career, keeping my brain together even when I’m sleep deprived, AND building the delts of my dreams, then I damn well want it all documented in this humble little log of mine.
~~ta ta
Hell yeah!
I haven’t been on very much in the last month or so but I come back to find your log, hells yea!
What resources did you use to learn about Mike Israetel’s training philosophy? Buy things? Recommended youtube videos? Not saying I want to do it, because I don’t really want to lift at all rn, but I’m thinking a semi-structured change of pace could do me good.
Hey buddy!! I feel like it was a total stroke of fate for finding Dr. Mike. There was a video of him making fun of Kim K’s workout in my youtube algorithm and I went down a rabbit hole watching all of his stuff daily for weeks, lol.
I subscribed to some tier one thing on his channel, but so much of his best stuff is totally free to the public!
I was in such a training rut before him. I had goals, but wasn’t attaining them, and there was almost too much information online. I wasn’t sure what was bullshit and what was awesome.
His stuff has been hands down amazing and I am so excited to train with all the new stuff I’ve learned. I’d binge watch his shoulder workouts and then try things for myself to figure out what felt the best for me. I did that for every body part day after day.
I still need to study some more for bi’s and tri’s, but I have no doubt about the progress I’m going to be making in the next 6-12 months.
Let me know if you end up toying with any of his training principals!!!
You do you! I just read plenty of strong consistent work here in your log btw. We’ve all got our own journey’s, hoping the writing down of the ramblings helps get it off your mind/shoulders, to then allow them delts to grow!
Not been following your log for that long but I’ve never considered you as a joke.
I enjoy seeing good people succeed, I’ve enjoyed seeing you find and prepare for your next professional challenge which btw I think is absolutely awesome and I fully respect anyone who goes down the path of public service. And I enjoy reading your log including the random thoughts, although I was cussing you in my mind this morning after doing that variation of split squats I’ve copied from reading your log.
Hello dears,
Today
Leg spreader
100lbs x 15
Drop set
85lbs x 24
Paused at full side ass position. Lmao I don’t really know how best to describe that.
Slow on the way away from full side ass position
Ahahahha
Anyway,
Straight arm pull down
35lbs x 21
30lbs x 22
One arm d handle lat pulldown
Pulled toward hip, paused, slow on the way back and held again at full stretch
35lbs x 13 per arm
27.5lbs x 20 per arm
20 reps per side doing movments slow AF is mental hell. Yes, I grunted, hahah.
Bent over row Dr. Mike version
85lbs x 15
85lbs x 16
Seated leg curl
55lbs x 15 slow neg held at full stretch
Hammer strength low row
40lbs x 14
Drop set
30lbs x 15
I am pretty certain I didn’t quite take this to failure. It wasn’t a mental discomfort thing, I was just hungry and tired by this point. It wasn’t like I stopped when it was easy, but I had more in me and I damn well knew it. :-/
Rope bicep curl
20lbs x 16
20lbs x 16
Ez bar curl
35lbs x 13 narrow
35lbs x 13 normal
Done and resting tomorrow.
Well, after watching roughly 4 episodes of Frasier a night for god knows how long, I finally finished the season finale.
I SOBBeD
I wept
I wanted a hug
Here is this perfectly wonderful man who suffered through years of rejection and disappointment. He made me feel less lonely.
I don’t know what I’ll do without my Dr. Crane!!! WaH
I started watching the reboot last night but now he’s not close to me in age anymore!!
His son is almost my age.
What a trip.
Actually, kelsey grammers wife is just a few years younger than me.
But that’s beside the point!!! His desperation and clingyness was the blanket that kept me warm at night!!
I’ll find something new, I guess.
I GUESS
I’ve been staring at that for the past 20 minutes trying to think of something to say.
Nope… still nuthin’