OK, so I’m back to posting again. Last month I competed for the first time (USPA) and I’ve been training using the EFS Basic Training Manual and Wendler’s Max Effort e-book since then. The first month was more about getting my feet wet and figuring things out and as I learn I add more or take away more.
I train three days a week using the main template but I try train six. Three of those days might be spent in the gym or they might be dragging the sled. In any case I use the extra days to do extra work on my weak areas which are triceps and hams.
Let the fun begin and any feedback is welcome as I stumble through this.
My meet was pretty conservative but I got 405, 280, 535. The squat and bench were pretty easy but I really didn’t know what to expect at all and was happy with both the squat and dead.
Snap, next meet is Jan 12. This meet is actually close to me am really looking forward to it. No vids from the meet as I went up there alone. I should be able to get vids from the next one though.
24 Nov - Extra day
Shoulder warm ups
Box squats with wide stance: 2*bar, 95, 115, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, 225
Leg curls
Bad girls
15 minutes incline treadmill work
Extra session today. Box squats were to get extra practice and ham/glute work in. Really concentrated on form and pushing my neck back against the bar in particular. Amazing at how much tighter this makes your upper back. In fact it’s sore from yesterday’s session.
Floor press: 5bar, 95. 2115, 135, 155, 175, 185, 195, 205, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265. 1275, 285, 295, 305
JM Press - Worked around the 135 - 155 range for a bunch of reps to work on my form
Cable tri o’head ext: 38140
Cable rows: worked up to 6240
Ab stuffs
Made some radical changes on my form after watching the “so you think you can bench” series. I brought the bar path down lower so that it ends up at the bottom of my rib cage which made my shoulders feel good. Matty reminded me to do this a while ago but I forgot about it. I also made a conscious effort to get my wrists straight so the bar rested lower in my palm. The result of these changes was my first pain free training session of the year. This was a huge shift in my technique.
I also made sure to pull my shoulder blades together on the rows and I was amazed at the difference in both how my shoulders felt and in how much more I felt back working.
Its why I went with a false grip with my bench it was easier to hold the bar in that position, with full grip the bar would drift towards my fingers on the heavier loads.
Numerous extensions
Shrugs - worked up to 6*475
Front raises
Incline treadmill work
Couple of thoughts, I can see that my triceps are growing - yay. I also am paying a lot more attention to shoulder position during my training and this is quite the revelation. I really noticed the difference when I was doing front raises and they felt a lot better when I squeezed my shoulder blades together while doing these.
Treadmill sucks but I’m getting better at it. I find that if I actively engage my core my lower back lasts longer on the incline part and I can go farther. I can actually picture a day when I will be able to do the full 20 minutes at max incline.
27 Nov DE Lower
Box squats - w i d e stance: 3bar, bar, 95, 95, 135, 155, 185. 102205
Step ups: 6bw, bar, 55, 65
Deficit sumo deads: A ton of singles as I was filming myself
GMs: worked up to 33225
Ab work
Your arms do look bigger in that video. Excellent work as usual.
Interested in following along here, looking for a new program for after the first of the year.
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
Its why I went with a false grip with my bench it was easier to hold the bar in that position, with full grip the bar would drift towards my fingers on the heavier loads.[/quote]
x2 on the false grip keeping the bar in the proper position while benching. I wasn’t smart enough to figure this out on my own but based on Meat’s suggestion I switched to a false grip bench about six months ago. My shoulder pain from benching went away almost immediately and keeping my elbows from flaring was also much easier. I think the grip also helped somewhat with staying tight.
