Ironmantrw's Path

09/12/08 DE Bench

Mobility Work

Speed Bench 225x3x8
Face Pulls 165x8x4
Close Grip 4Board 315x3 330x2 315x3
Pushdowns 125x15x4
Rotator work 10x10x4

Decided to add a little bit of rotator cuff work in my workout. Maybe it will help alleviate most of my shoulder pain.

Since i can’t seem to find a equipped meet nearby I’m thinking about a mock meet sometime in the next few weeks to see where my lifts are. I will be posting a video so you all can judge my lifts. If any one wants to join in they are certainly welcome.

09/15/08 DE Squat

Mobility Work

SSB Box Squat 300x2x10
Modified GHR bwx8x4
Hammer Low Row 500x6x4
Chins BWx8x4 alternated with
Rolling tricep DB press 25x15x4

Lower back tightened up on squats I have no idea why unless it was technique. I might have been leaning to far forward out of the hole. I was going to use the buffalo bar but my right shoulder cramped up on me when I got under the bar so I decided to use the safety squat bar. The GHRs were done on a 45 degree back extension with the back side jacked up on a 12 inch box.

Ironman, do you notice a big drop off in lifted weight when you use the SSB?

My back also tightens up a lot when I use the SSB. I think the back gets a lot more of a workout because the bar wants to pitch you forward and you are holding more tension in the lower back to keep your balance. I am not sure if this is correct, but my impression…

I’ve been using the SSB for some time now for squats because of the trouble I have getting my hands back on a straight bar. This is the first time my back has tightened up on me. I did have trouble reaching depth on my warmups. It might have been because I was overly tight elsewhere. I’ll do a little research and maybe I can find an answer.

09/17/08 ME Bench

Mobility Work

Bench (Shirted)315x2 365x2 385x1 405x1
4Board 405x2
Machine Laterals 130x10x4
Triceps Death 4board 225x3 3boardx3 2boardx3 3boardx3 4boardx3 x3sets

I didn’t max out on bench felt like I had another 20lbs in me. I fell out of the groove on my 2nd rep on the 4board so I left it at that. I’m thinking about a push pull meet in SC in October but it may be too far to travel. But it is the only meet I could find. We’ll see at the end of this month if my back feels good.

09/19/08 ME Squat

Mobility Work

Rack Pulls 585x1 600x1 585x1
Machine Squats 720x4x4
Hammer High Rows 470x6x4
Shrugs 650x5x4

Rack pulls were done with a close stance about 3 inches below my knees, the lowest setting in the rack. These took a lot out of me. I didn’t hit my rep goal on machine squats. Probably should have increased the weight on the rows.
600 rack pull - YouTube

Nice pull. I like how you walked away from it as if it was “just another pull.”

What’s your PR at that height?

[quote]skidmark wrote:
Nice pull. I like how you walked away from it as if it was “just another pull.”

What’s your PR at that height?[/quote]

I’m impressed he didn’t let the guys walking by disrupt his concentration.

Well done, thanks for sharing the video.

That was a PR at that height. I haven’t done rack pulls in almost a year and it was the first time that low in the rack. It was a lot tougher than it looked believe me. If you look a little closer you’ll see how red my face gets.

09/22/08 DE Bench

Mobility Work

Bench 225x3x8
Machine Laterals 140x10x4
Reverse pec dec 130x10x4
Triceps Death 225x3,2board,3board,4board 250x3,2board,3board,4board x3
Rope pushdowns 100x15x4
Rotator work

Bench felt really fast. I’m still feeling my way through triceps death. I’ll add a 5board next time. Gym owner wants me to put his gym name on my next youtube video. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t

09/24/08 DE Squat

Mobility Work

SSB Squat 300x2x10
Pull throughs 215x10x4
Hammer low rows 520x5x4
Chins BWx10x4 superset with
Rolling tricep press 30x15x4

I’ve been laid off from work for the week so I’m sleeping at night. Maybe I’ll get some strength gains out of it.

09/26/08 ME Bench

Mobility Work

Bench 275x2 Shirted 315x1 365x1 385x1 405x1 415x1
4Board 415x2
Seated face pulls 170x10x4
Close grip 4board 275x5 285x5 295x5 305x5
Rope pushdowns 110x15x4

A friend of mine was down from Virginia helped on my bench. He spotted some flaws in my bench and helped out.(He benches somewhere around 700 in a 2ply) 415 was easy, could have easily hit 430 or more but I decided to cut it off at that since 415 was a new PR.

I did have some trouble on the 385 when I pushed it too far out in front. Then on the 405 I touched too high on my chest trying to over compensate for the previous set. On the 415 I hit the groove and it flew up. I’d say it was a good day.

[quote]Ironmantrw wrote:
09/26/08 ME Bench

Mobility Work

Bench 275x2 Shirted 315x1 365x1 385x1 405x1 415x1
4Board 415x2
Seated face pulls 170x10x4
Close grip 4board 275x5 285x5 295x5 305x5
Rope pushdowns 110x15x4

A friend of mine was down from Virginia helped on my bench. He spotted some flaws in my bench and helped out.(He benches somewhere around 700 in a 2ply) 415 was easy, could have easily hit 430 or more but I decided to cut it off at that since 415 was a new PR.

I did have some trouble on the 385 when I pushed it too far out in front. Then on the 405 I touched too high on my chest trying to over compensate for the previous set. On the 415 I hit the groove and it flew up. I’d say it was a good day.

[/quote]

'Grats! on the bench PR. I look forward to the day I can bench half of what you just did.

Great PR Ironman

Holy Cow! What an awsome PR, congrats Ironman.

Thanks guys, I don’t think I could have done it if my buddy hadn’t been there to tell me what I was doing wrong. I reckon that’s what happens when you train with a guy who benches over 700lbs. I had been touching too high and when I moved it down everything seemed to fall in place. I guess I should be doing more videos and taking some of my own advice.

Iron, Where was “too high” and how far did you move down?

Thats a helluva pr…no matter what level you train at

I had been touching a couple inches below the crease in my chest without realizing it. I moved to about 6 inches below the crease. If I had been using video I might have spotted it earlier. My buddy is supposed to coming down again this upcoming Saturday. Maybe I’ll hit another PR.

[quote]Ironmantrw wrote:
I had been touching a couple inches below the crease in my chest without realizing it. I moved to about 6 inches below the crease. If I had been using video I might have spotted it earlier. My buddy is supposed to coming down again this upcoming Saturday. Maybe I’ll hit another PR. [/quote]

Thanks for the info. I’m hitting way to high I believe. I need to take some vid.

You’re pushing/pulling some great numbers. Keep up the strong work. How much do you weigh?