solid work in here
on the front squats, are you facing the mirror?
Kev - Thanks. My back has always been my strongest link. I’m not really that tall but I have long legs which is great for running but not so great for squats. I will definitely try some goblet squats as a warm up. I also do the “squat to stand” move as a warm up. I’m going to try to move my arms out a bit on my back squats and see if that helps.
Pete - Thanks for visiting. I do squat in front of the mirror but do my best not to look at it. Do you think it would help to face the other way? I’ll give that a try if you think it would help.
james
What wraps did you end up buying? How tight do you rap them? So far I find them weird as hell, I feel like im losing sensation in my legs. My next squat day on friday is pretty light I might do one heavy set to break them in again…
Hey Matty - I bought a cheapy pair of Altus Red Strips. They were $17 total as they had a “20% off sale” at the Sports Authority that’s next to my work. When these wear out and if I still like them I might buy a better pair but I’m not sure I would know what the difference between the two are.
james
[quote]MattyXL wrote:
What wraps did you end up buying? How tight do you rap them? So far I find them weird as hell, I feel like im losing sensation in my legs. My next squat day on friday is pretty light I might do one heavy set to break them in again…[/quote]
You probably are losing sensation in your legs. With a good tight wrap you should go numb fairly quickly below the wraps.
Strong work James. Those Pendlay rows were nice.
Thanks dday!
24 Feb, Fri
Squats: 5280, 3315, 5355, 10315
DB Press: 31095
DB Rows: 3some140
Cable rows: 310230
I did a back off set with 315 at the end of my session and I think I’m going to keep that in the mix. I’ll aim for more reps with 315 instead of heavier weight. That ought to get me stronger. I’ll add weight onto my DB press next session as I was able to get all 10 reps per set. Funny, I did the first set without my fat grips and my shoulder bothered me but my fat grip sets didn’t bother it. I did the DB rows away from the bench this time and I liked that version as a change. I definitely got more core work from it.
The wrap talk is interesting. I don’t wrap tight enough to lose feeling in my legs. It might be because my legs are so skinny though. I do wrap them tight enough to help me out of the bottom and I think they really helped out with my back off set as they kept my rhythm going (hope that makes sense).
james
26 Feb
Front squats: 43225
Back squats: 3225, 275. 5315
Floor press: 5225, 3245, 3280
Pendlay rows: 55*280
Lying tricep extension: 4 sets
Ab work
I did triples with front squats today in order to get the volume in at heavier weight. I’ll post a vid later tonight when I get home. I used my belt for these sets and that also helped me out from what I can tell. I also did back squats to get the additional volume in but I didn’t go crazy with them. I used my wraps for the 315 set but not my belt as I want to get practice without it too (that’s a lesson from Juggernaut that I liked). Back squats went well and the sets were no problem.
Floor press was tough today and I went for 4 reps but couldn’t get that last rep. Luckily I’m doing floor press and it’s just a matter of putting the weight down and then shimmying out of it. Rows were OK but felt tougher than they should have. I did lying tricep extension to end things. For those curious:
Saw a female bodybuilder doing squats today which was motivating to see. She had her heels on plates and I asked her if she had tried weightlifting shoes and she said hers were on back order. It was funny because she was built totally opposite of me. She had really big legs and no ass whereas I’ve got no legs but a bigger ass. It’s interesting how we are all built differently and it’s interesting seeing the impact that different lifts have on our shapes.
I was riding my motorcycle out in the rural areas (believe it or not there are HUGE areas of San Diego that are very rural and agricultural). I had stopped at a local gas station for some beef jerky and water and one of them jokingly said that my boots were cute (they are white and black racing boots…not very subtle). I laughed and said that I really wasn’t going for cute and the other one made the comment that I could pull them off because I was “man sized”. I’m so glad that I was out by myself and not out with my buddies.
edit for grammar…
james
Those front squats looked spot on…nice work. Cute sneakers too!
I think I may try to not wrap my wraps as tight when Im squatting again but tight enough to get the bounce you alluded too. I dont like the lack of feeling of my legs, it makes me feel unstable. I have grown to like front squats so Im keeping in my rotation for now.
LOL…thanks Matty. Yeah, the chucks stay by my side just so they know I’m not abandoning them.
I’m also becoming a fan of the front squat and will keep it in rotation. They add balance to my training which I think was missing. I agree on the wrapping. I like having just enough support without that “where are my feet?” feeling.
james
DAMMIT! Why does everyone seem to be able to keep their elbows nice and pointed forward when then front squat but me?
Oh, hi, BTW. I am a random person who reads your log.
Hi Spock - You know, I don’t get the feeling that my elbows are staying up although when I look at vids of me from a long time ago to now I see a big difference. Keep at it, keep practicing, and eventually it will click. Thanks for visiting my log.
james
nice work- on those front squats
I am just starting with the 531 full body template
I see you rep out on the money set- I wasnt sure how that would work squatting 3x week
Thanks Kev, I rep out on my lift o’ the day but not the other ones. I like this template and find myself pushing myself harder using this template than I have previously. That might simply be because of my increased work capacity too though.
james
28 Feb
Squats: 3245, 275, 315
OHP: 5150, 3170, 4190
Rear delt flyes: 32010
Deads: 5370, 3425, 6475
Good Mornings: 35225
Sled drags: 450 yards w/ 90lbs (2 forward, 2 backward)
I’m pretty pleased with this session. I wanted to get my squats in but didn’t want to impact my deads and it would seem that I accomplished that goal. I didn’t list out my warm up sets but I did several working up. All of my reps were really explosive which is what I’m looking for out of these.
OHP went well and I did rear delt flyes in-between my sets to get the volume in. They were done strict and with high reps / light weight.
Deads went really well and I nailed 6 @ 475. I’m definitely getting stronger on these. I should have filmed them but the gym was pretty crowded and I didn’t have anywhere to put the camera. Next time I’ll just ask if I can put the camera down (politely) and film anyway.
It’s the return of the sled. Man, I’m out of conditioning for sure but I’ll get it back quickly.
james
6 x 475 is awesome. My lower back aches just thinking about its awesomeness.
And I’m with you on the conditioning. Cardio is a foreign word to me these days.
big deads nice work
and some solid pressing.
full body training at its best
Thannks Kev and ddot!
I’m really liking full body training now Kev. I don’t think that I could set PRs in every lift doing it this way though so I need to pick my battles.
james
Damn James! Straight beast mode 475x6.