Great work in here as always James.
Nice work James, how often do you max out on your deads?
Thanks Bulldog and Matty.
I max out every few months. I think I’m going to cycle between HP Mass for volume and singles for intensity. My deadlift only really goes up when I work with heavier weights than I’m currently using but I can’t train with those weights all the time.
4 Aug
Sled work
james
Those are some solid pulls James. And that’s a lot of pulling.
Great looking workouts and impressive numbers. I need to start dragging my sled around for time instead of pulling it for a set distance.
6 Aug
Warm up
OHP: 3bar, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, 195, 175, 185, 195. 1205
Pull ups: 3 sets to failure.
Weighted chins: +25, +50, +75. 2 @ +100
Pendlay rows: 5*135, 185, 205, 225, 245, 280
Dips:10 * bw, +25, +50, +75, +100
Foam rolling and stretching.
Solid session. I’m going to start throwing in singles from time to time just to practice with the weight. I did a double with 100lbs strapped on me during my pull up session. Last time I only managed to get that once. I added 5 lbs onto my rows to start advancing on them more.
james
Wow. Serious work on the weighted chins and dips.
,you mentioned the socks were “motor cross” do you race?
Thanks Snap. I have no idea if those translate into bigger lifts at all but they seem to help my muscularity and I think that they help strengthen my shoulders up.
Upscale - Thanks for stopping by. I actually ride a sportbike and those are my winter socks.
6 Aug evening
More sled work. I do a lot of sled work lately but it’s because my son loves doing them. Well, he loves riding on the sled while I drag him. I did some slow jogs with him him in the sled. He is a pretty good conditioning coach because he yells at me to run and when I stop he keeps saying “run daddy”.
He tried pulling the sled with just the 45 on there but could only move it a couple of feet. But when I took the plate off he took off.
james
Ah, a fellow sport bike rider! I have a Honda 600CBR F4i…nice chins and dips.
Love the vid of your boy!
Great video. It’s good to get them started young.
Love that gorgeous California sunshine, very jealous.
7 Aug
Warm up
Pull throughs: 310
Squats: 3135, 155, 185, 205, 230, 250, 230, 240, 250, 230
Static lunge holds.
Treadmill.
Foam rolling and stretching
I did low bar squats today (I usually go high bar). I found that low bar really allowed me to keep my upper body tight which keeps me from falling too far over or folding in half. This really made a big, big difference and my squats felt better than they ever have. I’m going to keep my weights increasing steadily but I’m not going to rush it. My knees felt great during these sets. I filmed them and will post up once I upload to youtube.
My lower back was hurting all morning so I was a bit concerned about my sessions. But I spent a lot of time getting my hips and glutes mobile and my back pain went away. Looks like I’ve found the cause of my pain so I’m going to work twice as hard on that area.
james
Cheers everyone. Here’s a better shot of him
Oldgoat - Those are nice bikes. I think that 600’s are perfect sportbikes because they reward skill and punish a lack of it.
james
I used to get a bit of lower back pain too, (I do a lot of squatting, DLing and GPP like you) and I found out that it was tight hip flexors. When they are tight they can pull on the lower spine. So I started doing this stretch. When I started I couldn’t do it at all, now I can sit it that position quite comfortably and I don’t have that lower back pulling feeling at all anymore.
I have the same issue, I think Im going to attempt this stretch that you mentioned FB, I think Ill video tape it for shits and giggles.
James that vid is a keeper! What an awesome little one!
9 Aug
Warm up
OHP:3bar, 95, 135
Good mornings: 36135
Bench: 3135, 185, 225, 250, 270, 290, 270, 280, 290, 270
Pull ups: 6 sets
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 205, 225, 245
DB Rows: 36140
Dips: 310*BW
Benching was tough today but I made it through all of my sets. This is new territory for me so one session at a time. The first set at 290 was paused but the second was touch and go. I wore a belt during this session and it helped with my tightness. I do these more bodybuilding style with minimal arch and full ROM. I supersetted Pendlay and DB rows to take advantage of the work capacity of my back.
I’ve been doing a lot of stretching for my hips and my back feels infinitely better. It’s amazing that there is so much tied into your hips and how much losing flexibility and ROM really impacts me. That stretch that Farmer Brett posted is a killer. I can do a modified version of it and it really, really helps.
james
Squat form check vids from last session. I think that my bar is tracking forward too much.
[quote]atypical1 wrote:
I did low bar squats today (I usually go high bar). I found that low bar really allowed me to keep my upper body tight which keeps me from falling too far over or folding in half. This really made a big, big difference and my squats felt better than they ever have. [/quote]
So true about the tight upper body with a lower bar position. I’ve dabbled with these but find that the strain on my shoulder is too much. The squats feel awesome with the weight of the bar more centered, though.
10 Aug
Warm up
Deads: 3135, 185, 225, 275, 315, 385, 405, 430, 385, 405, 385
Squats: 3135, 225, 245. 1275, 315
Front squats: 35*135
Stretching
I’m going to squat at least twice a week for the next few weeks. I’ll do a volume day and an intensity day. Today was a feeler to see how “heavier” weights felt with the low bar. I really want to get my squat back into the 400s only this time with low bar. I’m going to keep my deadlift sets short like they were today instead of adding volume because of the increase in squat volume. I’m not terribly concerned about losing deadlift strength because that’s a lift that I’m actually semi-decent at and know the weights will go up. I really need the squat practice though. I threw in front squats using a light weight in order to practice keeping my upper back tight and upright. I see them more for that purpose right now than as a strength builder. Hopefully I’ll nail my form sooner rather than later and I’ll improve.
I still think this is in the spirit of HP Mass as it really does call for a lot of lower body pressing. But I felt the need to modify it slightly for my needs.
james