Man, those looked easy James! nice work!
I was wondering…and i Apologize if you have mention it, since Im having a hard time keeping up with people in here. But do you have any plans on competing?
Cheers! And no plans to compete. It would be fun but I would have to move things around in my life and I’m not sure that I’m prepared for that level of commitment.
May 1, Sun
SLYMI warm up
OHP: 365, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, 195, 175, 185, 195, 175, 185, 195, 195
Pendlay rows: 6135, 185, 225, 245, 245, 245, 245
Bench: 3*135, 225, 235, 255, 235, 245, 255, 235, 255, 235, 245, 255, 235
Face pulls: 4 sets of 10
Weighted hanging leg raises: 4 sets to failure
Hypers: 4 sets of 10 unweighted
3 sets of 20 KB swings with 53lb KB
Press-a-poolaza. Took a day off of chins just for a break and because I wanted to make sure I had time to do ab work. Also I’m really liking Pendlay rows lately. Funny, I used to hate doing them and now I prefer them to more traditional rows. Go figure. Bench was done from a dead stop in the bottom. I think I start OHP triples with 200 this week which ought to be interesting. I think that I’ll have no trouble doing it but it definitely gets me into territory that I wasn’t sure I would ever be in.
KB swings were pretty tiring for some reason and I could really feel my glutes and hams working through these.
My son likes to drag things behind him now and when asked why he says that he’s exercising. I’m hoping that influence stays as he gets older. He also loves motorcycles (much to my in-laws chagrin) which I think is great. It would be fun to get him onto the track when he’s older. Between that and training I figure I’ll give him enough to do to keep him out of trouble. At least that’s my plan…
james
WOW that was a impressive triple. you made that look really easy.
I’ve been stupidly busy lately but have still trained. I’ll get my log caught up now.
2 May, Monday
SLYMI warm up
Box squats: 3* 135, 185, 225, 245, 275, 295, 315, 315, 315, 315, 225, 225
Dips: 610bw
BSS: 4630lbs
Ab work
Foam rolling and stretching
Quick session today as I had to catch a plane. Squats went OK and I really focused on my form and keeping my back straight. I should be frustrated about the squats but my legs are still growing because of the sled dragging and I’m getting stronger on my BSS sets so I can’t be totally pissed off. If I can correct my form then that will certainly keep me happy.
james
5 May, Thurs
Warm up
OHP: 345, 65, 115, 135, 155, 180, 200, 180, 190, 200, 180, 190, 200, 180
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 205, 225, 250, 250, 250, 250
Bench: 3135, 225, 245, 265, 245, 255, 265, 245
Weighted hanging leg raises: 45*20lb DB
Kneeling cable crunches
Short and sweet today. Upped the weight on OHP, bench, and rows. I’m looking forward to triples with 225 whenever that day comes. Bench was done with a pause as always and I filmed myself (vids to come later) to see my leg drive. It looks OK on my first rep but it’s hard to keep that up. I’m having a hard time even imagining holding that for 10 reps.
I upped the ab work and will do that for the next few weeks while I’m taking a break from chins. I’m trying to keep my training simple and focus on one area at a time and I think that my core in general needs more work than my upper back does which is why I’m doing the hypers and ab work.
james
6 May, Friday
SLYMI Warm up
Box squats: 3135, 185, 225, 245, 265, 275, 295, 315. 1335
Dips: 10bw, 6+25, +50, +75. +100, +100, +100
RDL’s 3*225, 245, 265, 275, 295, 315
BSS: 4 sets of 6 with 35lbs
I used a lower box today because the box I have been using was taken. I filmed myself again and I’m looking better than I have been. 335 really caused me to fold up though so I only did the single. I think I need to heed the advice and lower the bar on my back some. Because I’m working on my form so much I added RDLs in there just to add more work. The BSS sets are working out pretty well for me and I’m getting stronger on those now.
james
8 May, Sun
Warm up
OHP: 345, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, 195, 205. 1225, 0240, 0240, 0240, 0225
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 225, 250, 250, 250, 250, 225
Bench: 3135, 225, 245, 275. 2295. 1315. 1*320. PR.
Weighted HLR: 4 sets with 25lb DB.
I’m really putting out this week as I’m going on vacation next week and won’t have access to any gym. There will be some hiking though and I’ll bring the KB along.
Failed at setting a PR on my overhead. It gets halfway up then just doesn’t want to go anymore. It seems to be shoulder strength that I’m lacking in this case. I just need to stick with what I’m doing though and I’ll eventually get to where I want to go. I’m sorta upset about the press but I have time to make it better. I’m not stalling so no need to change.
Because I failed at my overhead I needed to hit bench hard which I did. Triples through 275 felt solid which is nice. I hit 315 again and then put an extra 5 on the bar and it went up. I’m pretty happy about that as my bench hasn’t moved in some time. I tried what Dave suggested regarding feet position and it did feel more stable. I also wore a belt just to help keep me tight.
james
9 May, Monday
SLYMI warm up
Box squats: 3bar, 135, 185, 225, 245, 275, 295. 1315, 335
Dips: 10 * bw, 8*+25, +50, +75, 6*+100, +110, +100
Deads: 3*135, 225, 315, 405, 425, 455, 485
BSS: 4 sets of 6 with 40lb’s
I think that was a rep PR on the deads. I went low bar today and it will take some time to get used to. But my back was more upright and straight and it felt better on my back. So I’ll stick with this even at the expense of going heavy. I’m sure I’ll get there. Deads went well and I did the first four sets without a belt and no chalk. I then put the belt on and chalked up for the next sets. The BSS sets went OK but I was having trouble with my balance it might have simply been fatigue from the deads.
james
On the Front Squats if I may offer some suggestions.
- Get your hips way under the bar when setting up the bar on your shoulders.
- Stay real tight and keep your elbows/chest way up the whole lift.
- You need to squat with some heel elevation (that will help alot with the forward lean)oly shoes or
constuction boots work goood as well. - Do not look into a mirror doing these. Keep your chin up and really flex your abs on these.
hope this helps and good lifts BTW.
Thanks for the tips. I’ll definitely incorporate those next time I do them. There are so many cues to remember…
james
10 May, Tues
Warm up
OHP: 3135, 155, 175, 195, 175, 185, 195, 175, 185, 195, 175, 185, 195, 175
Pendlay rows: 5135, 185, 225, 245, 265, 265, 265, 265
Bench: 3*135, 225, 245, 275, 245, 275, 245
HLR: 4 sets
Face pulls
Technically I should have taken a day break but I’m trying to really kill myself before vacation next week (I’ll be saying this for the next couple of days as reference for me). Shoulders are pretty wrecked from Sunday so I only used 195 as my top set. I did all of these reps from a dead stop just like I bench. I’m trying to build power from the bottom as that seems to be a sticking point for me. I wasn’t going to bench but I called myself a p*ssy and that made me angry so I went for it. I upped the weight on those and I was feeling it.
Good session overall.
james
[quote]atypical1 wrote:
Technically I should have taken a day break but I’m trying to really kill myself before vacation next week
[/quote]
Ha Ha. That’s exactly what I’d do. Really hammer it knowing you’ve plenty of time to recover next week.
nice work in here.
Good work James. The lower bar position does take some getting used to but personally works better for me. Then again my squats suck. Congrats on the PR.
11 May, Weds
Warm up
Squats: 3bar, 95, 135, 185, 225, 245, 275, 295, 315, 1335, 355
Dips: 6*10 @ bw
Lunges
Short session and a bit of experimentation going on. I kept the bar low and tried a variety of stances. I also wore a pair of workboots based on some feedback I was given. I know they are not oly lifting shoes but they seem to work and give me that “tough guy” image that a pair of oly lifting shoes wouldn’t. From the film that I saw of myself they seem to really help. They definitely help in the way that they make me feel and it was a lot easier to keep my knees shoved out and my back seemed to stay a bit more upright. But it’s hard to tell from the small screen and when I get home I’ll check it out. I will say that the sets felt a lot better and I really felt my lower body work.
I did lunges because someone said that they were “stupid” so I had to try them out. Hard to do in boots.
james
James those squats are movin up, Grip It and Rip IT.
Lifting in work boots reminds me of photo shoots in Flex magazine I used to read in the 90’s. Two guys in cut off jeans shorts, all oiled up, screaming in each others faces while one deadlifts 900 lbs of fake plates!!
Ahh nostalgia.
Great work on the squats btw.
Watched your back squat vid and it looks like you start with a nice arch but begin rounding your back almost immediately on the descent until you butt wink and start back up, reversing the process. I’d like to see a vid from the side if you can oblige sometime.
Good work james, I struggle with my squat and if high heels would help me with my form I would try’em!