Hey man, I’ve been checking in on your log periodically. You’ve been making some great progress. Keep it up!
Question for you. How do you feel your bench is progressing doing the lift only once a week? 5 sets a week seems like pretty low volume, but you are doing quite a bit of OHP, so I’m sure that helps.
Nice to have you following, appreciate it!
I went from a 155 @ 5x5 to a 235 @ 5x8 in the past 2 years from maybe 95% of the time benching only once a week seems to work fine for me lol. It’s a slow build, but I’m ok with that.
I don’t really care for bench, but I do it for now because it’s a convenient way to get stronger pressing muscles. My main priority is OHP so bench is more of an afterthought that slowly just gets stronger. I mean I do a lot of dips, push ups, and occasionally laterals and db pressing so my shoulders/triceps/chest get plenty of stimulation overall.
I also do 10-20 total sets of OHP each week and my OH press has a direct carry over to my bench so I know that helps A LOT.
Plus I’d rather OH Press (whether strict or push) 315 than bench 315 
So when are you getting into strongman? 
I hear ya. My lower chest blows up if I just look at a flat bench. So, I’m thinking about lowering bench frequency to once a week like you’ve done. Incidentally, I feel quite a bit of upper chest activation on OHP. And, I don’t (think I) lean back excessively.
How have you been working this into your current programing? Current program seems very minimal in terms of exercise selection.
That would put you in a very exclusive club. I hope you get it!
When it starts taking me two trips to get all the grocery bags from the car haha!
I wish I had time right now, once my business is in more of automatic state, I’ll venture into that.
I feel a bit on OHP, but not enough to make it upper chest exercise. Trust me though, I feel like my chest looks MUCH better with a shirt on than without.
I just do them on my off days (if I even do them). Or I’ll quickly just do them at the end of my workout. I’ll shoot for 50-100 reps in a little time as possible. So all the “assistance” takes me less than 10 minutes. I lover BW stuff, it doesn’t really have much of a impact on my training in terms of recovery. Dips I will do either on a lifting day or the day after my last lifting day. It’s the only BW movement that does impact my recovery.
Thanks man! Yeah if I can do a 315 push press with a body weight under 185 I’d be very proud of myself!
You better be carrying these in overhead, circus dumbbell style!
Leaving for a weekend trip to the mountains tomorrow morning, so got in my workout today instead of tomorrow.
BACK SQUAT / AB WHEEL
245x10 / x15
245x10 / x15
245x10 / x15
245x10 / x15
245x10 / x15
OH PRESS / BB ROW
135x10 / 225x12
135x10 / 225x12
135x10 / 225x12
135x8 / 225x12
135x8 / 225x12
RDL / WALKING LUNGES
245x25 / x20
245x16 / x20
245x9 / x20
YOGA
20 Minutes
Now ready to go camping this weekend!
WORD OF ADVICE!
NEVER EVER DO 5x10 SQUATS THE DAY BEFORE A HIKE!
NEVER EVER DO 5x10 RDL OR LUNGES THE DAY BEFORE A HIKE!
NEVER EVER DO 5x12 BB ROWS THE DAY BEFORE A HIKE!
My hike was the worst going up. I took so many breaks because my legs and core were so fried.
#characterbuilding
BACK SQUAT
405x3
405x3
405x3
405x3
405x3
OH PRESS / BB ROW
155x8 / 245x12
155x8 / 245x12
155x8 / 245x12
155x8 / 245x10
155x7 / 245x10
BACK EXT / AB WHEEL
5x20 each
SPRINTS
6 - 40 yard sprints
SNATCH
135x3
135x3
155x2
155x2
155x2
185x2
185x2
185x2
205x2
205x2
205x2
225x1
225x1
225x1
225x1
185x3
@flipcollar I didn’t want to hijack the other thread, but just wanted to pick your brain on this.
I was thinking too much when reading and typing in the other thread lol, so my thoughts were all over the place.
I guess my real question not just for you but anyone reading along is everyone says that weight moves weight. I 100% agree that big legs will move big weights.
But how is it possible that REALLY lightweights can move such big weight? So someone at 150lbs can squat in the 400s. Everyone says “eat more”, “you need to gain weight” etc.
I’ll take me for example. I’m 5’7 and weigh 174 right now. Idk my bf% but my abs are visible. Here are my stats:
Back Squat - 405 @ 5x3
Front Squat - 315 @ 5x5
OH Press - 175 @ 3x6
Deadlift - 445 @ 3x5
Bench Press - 235 @ 5x8
BB Row - 245 @ 5x10
Chin-Ups - 5x10
I feel like I move pretty decent weight for a recreational gym goer for my size. That has been due to lots of hard work and genetics I didn’t know I had. I’ve under eaten a good chunk of the last 2.5 years.
Now if I want to increase all these lifts by 50lbs, can I do this with gaining minimal weight or even staying the same/losing some? Personally I don’t care about my size. I only care about the numbers I put up/performance in the gym.
Height is a factor. You can’t just say ‘150 lbs’ because a 5’4 guy weighing 150 and lean is MUCH different from a 5’11 guy. I competed against a 165 guy at nationals who can press 300+ over his head with a log. And he was maybe 5’3. And thick as fuck.
I’ve heard some people describe weight classes as height classes in disguise. That’s how I think of it.
Certain lifts have more of a direct correlation to bodyweight than others. Bench press is generally very highly correlated. BUT certain leverages can also factor in to maximal potential (IE short vs long arms). Then you also have some very lightweight guys benching a ton because of their extreme arch that essentially replicates the size of bigger guys.
So, to directly answer your question:
I don’t know how lean you actually are. But if you could lose 10 lbs of fat and gain 15 lbs of muscle, I’d bet you’d be in range of the numbers you’re talking about. Keep in mind though, gaining 50 lbs on a 5 rep max is harder than gaining 50 lbs on a single. That should be pretty intuitive. If my 5rm is, say, 100 lbs, then my 1rm may be around 130. If I push that 5rm to 200 lbs, my 1rm will probably be more like 250. I’m kind of rounding, but you get the idea.
Jesus, that was painful to read as someone that has 25lbs on you and none of those lifts haha
Thanks man. This makes a lot of sense. I’m 5’7 with short limbs so that definitely helps a lot of my lifts.
Cool man, I wasn’t even thinking of that. Since I’m a recreational lifter I never have really pushed or tried for 1RM (a few random occasions, but not a true 1RM) so I always think of 3RM, 5RM, 8RM, and 10RMs.
Thanks man, that all makes sense to me now. I wasn’t even factoring height. I could definitely probably lose 10lbs of fat and gain that back in muscle over the next few years to push those strength levels back up. It’s not that I’m in a weight class, but in the mid 170s my body feels REALLY good so I think that’s where I should hang around.
Haha it’s all good man. We all trying to make it! Just keep busting ass like you are and you’ll get there. Don’t miss days in the gym and eat Chipotle steak burritos after a workout. Plus if you are 5’7 it helps haha.
you don’t have to lose strength while losing fat. you could lose fat and basically maintain your strength levels, or if you’re fat enough (probably not in your case), continue to gain muscle in a calorie deficit.
But yea, even though I’ve always been a relatively low BF%, I’m stronger now at 200 lbs than I was when I was at 210. My strength gains come pretty slow these days, but I can keep getting stronger, even as lean as I am, without gaining bodyweight. It’s just very tough.
I’m going to disagree with the premise here.
When I started lifting, I got myself up to 155-160 lbs, and felt awful. Lethargic, bloated, slow. I thought my body wasn’t built to handle that kind of bodyweight when I first reached it. I’ve continued to have those feelings each time I push my weight up. Now, if I dropped to like 190 lbs, I would feel tiny. Perspective changes. Your body adapts. I know that if I pushed my weight up to 220, I would have those same feelings once again. Then I’d drop a little weight, and slowly make my way back up to 220 over a few months, and feel fine there. Your body can continually raise its ‘set point’ in terms of bodyweight. Just because a bodyweight doesn’t feel comfortable to you now doesn’t mean it can’t ever.
Thanks man! I did not know that. I just don’t think I have the will power to eat enough to get to 200lbs @ 5’7 even though I’d look beefy as fuck haha. I figure if I can hit my goals of a 500 squat/dl and 225+ OH press and do strict BBrows with 315 while running a mile under 7 min with my abs clearly showing I’ll be happy no matter what the weight is haha.
7/25/18 - 630AM
DEADLIFT
385x5
385x5
385x5
385x5
385x5
BENCH PRESS / CHIN-UPS
255x5 / x12
255x5 / x12
255x5 / x12
255x4 / x12
255x3 / x12
*I think it’s gonna be take me like 2-3 months to get to a 255 @ 5x8. The Heavy volume OHP on Mondays really take it out of me. But my body will adjust. My body seems to respond to really well to full body setups.
FRONT SQUAT
285x8
285x8
285x8
285x8
285x8
Going up to 305 next week and will stick with it until I can do 5x8 @ 305 w/ 1:30 rest between sets. Will probably have to start at 5x4 and work my way up.
RUN
1 Mile Run
it’s tough, that’s for sure. And that’s why it’s been so hard for me to push my weight up any farther than I have. I’m at the very top of the LW class in strongman, competing at 181. There are 2 middleweight classes, at 198 and 220. In national comps and higher, they basically get grouped together, so to become a middleweight champion or top competitor, I couldn’t just compete at 198, I’d have to go up to 220 (or 230 in NAS). So THAT means I’d have to walk around at 240+, basically. Adding 40 lbs to my frame to reach the level in middleweight that I’ve reached as a lightweight is a daunting task, to say the least.