[quote]nkklllll wrote:
Where’s pin 4 in relation to the ROM (upper arm parallel to ground, just above that, etc?)[/quote]
Since I’m on an incline bench, it can vary a little bit depending on how “tall” I’m sitting, but for the most part, it’s right at “upper arm parallel to the ground”.
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
You should post a video of your Squat form. Oly shoes take awhile to get used to, and sometimes even though you think you’re Oly Squatting, your still ‘Westside Squatting’ without thinking about it in Oly Shoes (at least that’s what I did/do sometimes accidentally). [/quote]
I didn’t find Oly shoes tough to get used to at all. I liked the stability so much, I hit a new 1RM the first time I tried them. But I can see how they might. I have a friend who’s a much better lifter than I who doesn’t like Oly shoes at all. He prefers squatting in chucks or even regular runners. So it can be a very individual thing, which is why it’s definitely best to try before you buy.
Thanks to everyone who commented.
Some notes, since then:
the heavier presses did in fact make my shoulders sore, so I pushed back my Wednesday workout to Thursday, and I’m rethinking whether I want to do 3x5 with presses at all; may just stick with my 3x12 and slow progression
weight training only 3x a week is a hard transition; once upon a time, I couldn’t imagine training more than 3 days a week, now I’m having trouble training only 3 days
the cissus I ordered for my shoulders (and just general joint pain) arrived yesterday. I have high hopes, but fully expect to be disappointed.
I tried mixing oats with whey for the first time… then spent the next 45 minutes grinding them up in a blade grinder. Strawberry and oats reminds me of bad oatmeal from a kid. It’s better with milk than water, but still.
I’m considering using the basic diet from SWOLE (the greyskull diet book). 6 meals, up to 3 of them shakes. Portions are “the size of your palm” for protein, and “the size of your fist” for carbs.
Meal 1: 1P 2C
Meal 2: 1P 2C
Meal 3: 1P 2C
Meal 4: 1P 1C
Meal 5: 1P 1C
Meal 6: 1P 0C
There’s some brosciency stuff (which he fully admits) in the carb cutoff and the 6 meals a day. This is just what he’s seen work best.
Shakes = 50g whey. Meal replacement shakes = 50g whey + 50g oats. Up to 3 meals can be shakes.
If that’s not enough to grow, then up the protein portion sizes. If that’s still not enough, add in olive oil.
I don’t have the habits in place to be that consistent about it yet, but I’m considering it since the layout seems simple enough as a starting point.
He also heavily emphasizes hydration. He has a “rehydration” protocol: Mix 1/2 gallon of gatorade with 1/2 gallon of water. Drink in roughly an hour. Do this 2x a day for 4-5 days; 1x a day for the next few days, then just get your water in. I started doing this.
Nutrition plan looks solid, could definitely do a lot worse. I’m sure you know this but to be sure make sure to get the “quick” oats and not the old fashioned ones. Also like you did just blend them up into a fine powder then mix them.
[quote]chobbs wrote:
Nutrition plan looks solid, could definitely do a lot worse. I’m sure you know this but to be sure make sure to get the “quick” oats and not the old fashioned ones. Also like you did just blend them up into a fine powder then mix them.[/quote]
Yeah. I didn’t blend them up into a powder at first, and that was a mistake. But I got the quick/instant 1min oats. Whatever they call them.
The best way to cook steel cut oats is overnight. I haven’t done that for awhile.
I don’t own a blender, but I have a blade grinder for grinding small amounts of coffee/spices. It took forever to grind, empty, grind, empty. My “real” coffee grinder wouldn’t do the job.
And in the end, I didn’t even like the way it tastes.
Does chocolate go better with oats? Any other flavors? I can see chocolate, peanut butter, banana and oats pretty easily, but that requires a blender.
Why no blender? Just don’t want one?
[quote]nkklllll wrote:
Why no blender? Just don’t want one?[/quote]
My girlfriend and I are combining households in a few months, so, we’re trying to avoid duplicating stuff.
She already has two food processors, a normal blender, an immersion blender, a hand mixer and a stand mixer… so I don’t really want to add another blender to the mix, lol.
When she was living here, her blender was at my place, but she took it when she moved.
The blade grinder did the job though.
20 minute fasted morning walk – I need to do this more often, this was a nice way to start out the day
BTN Press (w/oly shoes)
97.5 x 5, 5, 15
Chins
BW x 8, 8
Squat
180 x 5 (w/oly shoes)
180 x 5, 10 (no shoes, 5lb plates under heels 2nd set)
BTN Press was easier/better with the shoes. Going to keep doing it this way. Warmed up with some thoracic stretches/rolling, then some light band dislocates. Didn’t want to fatigue the RC, just open stuff up. 15 reps on the last set means I ought to jump up quite a bit.
Will be adding weight to chins next workout. The daily chin ladders have helped.
Did first set of squats with shoes. They’re just too small. Between sets 1 and 2 I ordered a full size up. I tried on some Nike Frees the other day, and 10.5 was the right size. No wonder the Romaleos in 9 and 9.5 felt small. Hopefully 10.5 is the right size. Basically my toes just are crumpling and trying to support the weight, rather than the balls of my feet and heels. It’s not the heel lift, since I actually lift fine/better with plates under my heels and barefoot… it’s the support through the rest of the shoe.
Squatting barefoot is still fine. Hip flexors are stiff, but that’ll go away. I think walking more will help with this too.
Otherwise…
Picked up 14 of the same mats from Menards that T3hPwnisher uses, and set it up last night, 7 a side. These are really solid and heavy mats. Based on his insights (namely, that high mat pulls are a better mass builder than deadlifts), I’ll be doing these instead of deadlifts. His personal preference is safety-squat bar squats and mat pulls for mass building vs regular squats and deads. Cost roughly $55 for the mats.
Either way, this is a better setup for the deads since my other gym floor tiles were breaking down. I think this is one of the reasons why most commercial gyms are against deadlifting.
Sunday Thoughts
Reg Park makes a better Hercules than Steve Reeves. Cheesy movies, but I watched a couple this weekend. I enjoyed the Reg Park ones.
I’m eager to try out the mat setup. I played with it a bit, with/without chains, snatch grip and regular grip, just with 225 on the bar.
Chains with mat pulls are interesting. It evens out the leverage curve I can see this being useful in certain instances. Basically… at the bottom, there’s more emphasis on the glutes and hams and spinal erectors, at the top, there’s more emphasis on the traps. For trap growth, chains are a good addition. Likewise, for increasing overall tension/TUT, chains can be useful.
Snatch-grip with chains puts a lot of emphasis on the lats too. One thought is warming up with these, then switching to normal grip for heavy work.
Overthinking and rambling to compensate for decreased frequency. Sue me.
Only had a short period of time to lift over lunch. 1 o’clock meeting.
Bench (moderate incline pin 4)
170 x 5, 5, 8
Curls
(bar + 40) x 2 x 12
Elbow was feeling meh on bench. Did several extensions with a plate to warm it up.
Squats after work.
Squats
185 x 5, 5, 10
5lb plates under my heels. 10.5 Romaleos should be in later this week.
Finally these are coming back to me. Honestly, I probably had at least 3 more reps in me without a break. My body’s just taking a bit of time relearning the movement pattern for some reason.
Training less frequently has me looking forward to the next workout. Interesting psychology.
I tried a high heal type of shoe for squatting. Since I have zero flexibility issues w. Olympic style squatting normally- the shoes over compensated and pitched me forward. I squatted twice a week for 4 weeks w. Them… im* better off w.o them.
@barbedwired Yeah, I hear you. Shoes should arrive tomorrow so I can use them Friday. I hope these just “work”.
–
BTN Press
102.5 x 5, 5, 13
I had some trouble keeping my lower back from arching on these, which made these a bit hard…
Mat Pulls w/Chains (~35lbs)
135, 185, 225 x a few
275 x 5 (this didn’t feel quite right, but I can’t explain)
295 x 5 (these felt pretty good, but I didn’t want to compromise my low back)
So, I like these a lot. I expect my back to be pretty sore tomorrow.
Also, I completely forgot about the weighted chins. I’ll do those tonight.
Hahahaha, dammit.
New shoes arrived. Just went home, picked them up, tried out a few squats.
And what do you know? They’re a touch too big.
… but they’re serviceable. I can actually use these.
You suck at buying shoes dude
[quote]ishinator wrote:
You suck at buying shoes dude[/quote]
I’ve never bought shoes online before, and I haven’t worn a pair of Nikes for 15 years. So, I mean, excuses?
[quote]tylerkeen42 wrote:
I’m a novice lifter (my 1RM is 495)[/quote]
[quote]LoRez wrote:
[quote]tylerkeen42 wrote:
I’m a novice lifter (my 1RM is 495)[/quote][/quote]
Hoisting five plates per side doesn’t mean you aren’t a novice.
I hit 495 in just over 4 months from my first deadlift. I still feel like I barely know what the fuck I’m doing, have less than a year experience with barbell training and thus consider myself a novice.
Some people just get stronger quicker for whatever reason. It can actually be a bit unnerving as you rapidly move up to poundages that can cause traumatic injuries in only a few months of lifting.
Not that I’m complaining 
Hey I didn’t realize I was posting in your log. I thought this was some other thread, I’m not sure how I ended up here. Brain not work so well today. So I poked around and you’re doing good work. I love compounds!
Hoosier living in Maine, BTW. Born and bred in the mean streets of Morgan Township.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
Hoosier living in Maine, BTW. Born and bred in the mean streets of Morgan Township. [/quote]
Valpo?