Logging in last nights session. Work and family commitments meant that I had to train last night around 8pm instead of at lunch time. Everything went well but I didn’t warm up enough for my overhead work and my press showed it. Bench was fine though so I was warmed up enough for that. I added some chest supported rows in the mix to increase my back volume but I might replace these with DB rows instead as it’s hard to pause with your chest in the bench like that.
26 May, Thurs
Warm up
Deads: 3135, 225, 315, 405, 425, 465, 405, 405, 425, 425, 445, 445,
1 arm DB press: 830, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
RDL: 8225, 6275, 3295, 6275, 8*225
High box step ups supersetted with seated leg curls
3 sets of KB swings with the 62lb KB
Another night session but it was pretty good. I’m using deads and RDLs as my hamstring lifts. The high box steps, leg curls, and KB swings are there to add work volume into the mix. The 62lb KB is a beast and took me a few swings to get the rhythm down. I didn’t count the reps on those and simply stopped just short of having a heart attack.
Good work James. Do you always do so many sets? I count 11+ is that just what seems to work for you or are you just trying something out? I ask because 5/3/1 is getting a little boring for me and maybe a change is in order.
[quote]dday wrote:
Good work James. Do you always do so many sets? I count 11+ is that just what seems to work for you or are you just trying something out? I ask because 5/3/1 is getting a little boring for me and maybe a change is in order.[/quote]
dday - with the triples I tend to do a lot of sets. As long as the reps feel explosive and not grinding them I’m OK. It seems to be working well for my upper body pressing and I’m seeing some strength increases from it. According to Thib’s HP Mass I should also be adding squats using the same rep scheme but that makes for a really long session and I don’t get any size out of squats.
[quote]DarrylLicke wrote:
Do you find it difficult to add muscle at your age? I read that Test starts to lower and you lose about muscle around the age of 35. [/quote]
Not to hijack, but that is a bullshit excuse. 1st, it is difficult to add muscle at any age. If this were not the case you would see a lot more people walking around jacked. In some test levels might drop at this point, but that doesn’t make it impossible to build and continue to build. Since I turned 35 I have added about 30lbs LBM. And some not so lean, but that is a different issue. I have several friends in their 40s and 50s who compete in BB and PL that continue to add substantial amounts of muscle. Easy, no, but adding muscle is not easy at any age.
28 May
Warm up
OHP: 3bar, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 180, 200, 180, 180, 190, 190, 200, 200, 180
Chins: 510
Pendlay rows: 6*135, 185, 205, 225, 245, 245
Ab work
Front raises: 4 * 10 * 65
A bit different today. I wanted to stick to the one lift to allow me to increase my rest periods by about a minute. This made a HUGE difference in how the weight felt and it went up very strongly. This also allowed me to put some chins into the mix too.
29 May, Sun
Warm up
Lying leg curls - 220@60, 115@80, 112@90, 18@110, Drop set: 11090, 11080, 25 partials at 90
RDLs: 210225
Squats: 10135, 6155, 6185, 6205, 12225, 10255, 6*275
Leg press: Lots
Foam rolling and stretching
OK, so this looks a bit weird today but there’s a method to my madness. I’m going to spend the next 12 weeks or so trying this out in an effort to build mass. The article by Mountain Dog on leg training was part of the inspiration for this session. He really recommends hitting hams hard before you do squats or leg press. The squats were done with almost continuous TUT with barely a lock out except for the set with 275. Leg press were for sets of roughly 10 and were done starting with one plate per side and adding a plate with no rest between sets. The descent was done very slowly and I would try to explode up from the bottom. All of the lifts with the exception of the last set of leg curls were done with a full ROM.
Working hams first really kicked my butt and made the squats feel quite different. I did high bar this time with a shoulder width stance. I’ll film myself next time but with the boots on I felt really good on form. I could really feel my quads working which I normally don’t. The leg press gets a bad rap from a lot of people but if you use it right I think it can be quite effective. You need to follow the same squat cues though like “knees out” and I think many lifters simply get lazy on the machine.
I’ve got my before measurements so the after ones will hopefully make me smile.
[quote]atypical1 wrote:
29 May, Sun
Warm up
Lying leg curls - 220@60, 115@80, 112@90, 18@110, Drop set: 11090, 11080, 25 partials at 90
RDLs: 210225
Squats: 10135, 6155, 6185, 6205, 12225, 10255, 6*275
Leg press: Lots
Foam rolling and stretching
OK, so this looks a bit weird today but there’s a method to my madness. I’m going to spend the next 12 weeks or so trying this out in an effort to build mass. The article by Mountain Dog on leg training was part of the inspiration for this session. He really recommends hitting hams hard before you do squats or leg press. The squats were done with almost continuous TUT with barely a lock out except for the set with 275. Leg press were for sets of roughly 10 and were done starting with one plate per side and adding a plate with no rest between sets. The descent was done very slowly and I would try to explode up from the bottom. All of the lifts with the exception of the last set of leg curls were done with a full ROM.
Working hams first really kicked my butt and made the squats feel quite different. I did high bar this time with a shoulder width stance. I’ll film myself next time but with the boots on I felt really good on form. I could really feel my quads working which I normally don’t. The leg press gets a bad rap from a lot of people but if you use it right I think it can be quite effective. You need to follow the same squat cues though like “knees out” and I think many lifters simply get lazy on the machine.
I’ve got my before measurements so the after ones will hopefully make me smile.
I’m dust…time to eat!
james[/quote]
Love the mountain dog stuff. That leg press – 3 second negative is killer and your legs will certainly explode if you include them in there.
[quote]atypical1 wrote:
trying this out in an effort to build mass. The article by Mountain Dog on leg training was part of the inspiration for this session. He really recommends hitting hams hard before you do squats or leg press.
Working hams first really kicked my butt and made the squats feel quite different.[/quote]
I don’t think in twenty years lifting I’ve ever worked hams before quads. What did the article say the reason for doing it was?
I might have to give it a try.
I’m also looking to gain some leg mass so I’ll be following this closely.
[quote]atypical1 wrote:
trying this out in an effort to build mass. The article by Mountain Dog on leg training was part of the inspiration for this session. He really recommends hitting hams hard before you do squats or leg press.
Working hams first really kicked my butt and made the squats feel quite different.[/quote]
I don’t think in twenty years lifting I’ve ever worked hams before quads. What did the article say the reason for doing it was?
I might have to give it a try.
I’m also looking to gain some leg mass so I’ll be following this closely.
[/quote]
It’s the same premise of doing some form of brachio work before doing tri’s in order to get blood to the joint (knee as opposed to elbow).
Here’s how MD describes Hamstring work for muscle development:
Hamstrings
â?¢ Do high intensity leg curls before doing leg presses or squats, and you’ll improve hamstring development.
â?¢ Perform hams and quads together in the same workout â?? you’ll get more overall size and thickness.
â?¢ Do your stretching type movements for hams (stiff-legged deadlifts, Romanian deads, etc.) after your hams and quads are fully pumped.
30 May - 20 minutes of sled work including some sprints
31 May, Tues
warm up
OHP: 3bar, 65, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, 185, 205
Bench: 3135, 225, 255, 275, 255, 255, 265, 265, 275, 275, 255 all done with pause at bottom
DB rows: 8*80, 105, 115, 125 done slowly with a pause
Cable rows: 4 sets of 10 done with a pause and hold at the contract
Ab work
Good session but it took forever for me to get in the mood. All of my sets were done with a pause and the hardest point. I did the rows like this to contrast my explosive Pendlay rows that I do on my OHP day. Thib stresses that the back needs to be holding type moves so I figure it can’t hurt to try both methods. I used the OHP as a warm up for my bench today as I really like that method. I find that my shoulders feel quite strong when I do that so I’m not going to change it.
Thanks DDOT. MD has huge legs and I have tiny legs so I figure I’ll try what he’s suggesting. I’m hoping that his method works for me as it does mean taking a step away from how I typically train which puts me out of my comfort zone.
For the record, my legs are sore as hell if that’s any indicator.
Hmm maybe Ill start OH pressing then hit flat benching, I havent touched flat benching because of shoulder issues, I wonder if I do 3 quick 10 rep sets of OH presses will warm me up just enough so I can flay bench.
I had to hit the gym this evening as my day was packed. I always feel rushed at night as it cuts into my sleep. This causes me to skip some of my warm up which is never good. I went heavier than I had planned to. My original plan was to do more volume work but when you deadlift in my gym apparently everyone wants to watch. Then ego takes over and bad things happen. I went up to 475 then stopped when I got the first rep up. Something just clicked and I thought about the reason I was doing these and that I needed to dial down the intensity so that my Sunday leg session isn’t compromised. So I stopped, counted to 15, then put the weight down. I did some more triples and good mornings to round out my session.
I’m going to add KB work and step ups to the end of my next session.
