[quote]chobbs wrote:
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
Hoosier living in Maine, BTW. Born and bred in the mean streets of Morgan Township. [/quote]
Valpo?[/quote]
Yep, just a few miles south of town.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
[quote]chobbs wrote:
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
Hoosier living in Maine, BTW. Born and bred in the mean streets of Morgan Township. [/quote]
Valpo?[/quote]
Yep, just a few miles south of town.
[/quote]
Ne’er been there. I’ve lived here for about 4 years now, but barely know this state.
Pretty much just spend my time in Indy, with a couple trips to Bloomington and Terre Haute. I’ve passed through a few other places but never stayed long.
Found this:
[quote]zraw wrote:
Soooooooo
Im currently having some of the coolest/best arms workouts ive ever had… the pumps im getting is just ridiculous…
Decided to post ONE of them for you guys… enjoy… and report back if you do try it
Superset 1
Rope pushdown : 3 sets of 15. 4th set = dropset with 4 drops doing 8-10reps each time
with
Cable curls : 3 sets of 8 reps with a 2sec hold and squeeze at the top. 4th set = dropset with 4drops doing 8-10reps each time
Superset 2
Hammer curls (on side) : 3sets of 10 (squeeze the grip as hard as you can). 4th set = dropset with 2 drops doing 10reps each time (I did 30-20-10)
with
Reverse grip pushdown : 3sets of 12. 4th set = dropset with 3 drops doing 8-10reps each time
Superset 3
Decline lying extension/skullcrusher : 3sets of 8-10. 4th set = dropset with 2 drops doing 8reps each so 8-8-8
with
Any machine curl : 3sets of 8 with a hard squeeze. 4th set = dropset with 2drops doing 8reps each
HAVE FUN. THIS WAS FAST PACED AND BRUTAL AS HELL AND I NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH A MASSIVE PUMP, EVER [/quote]
There was a session last Friday I didn’t write down since I left for vacation.
Bench (moderate incline from pin 4)
172.5 x 5, 5, 7
EZ Curl
(bar + 40) x 2 x 12
Squat
195 x a few – left calf still hurting really badly
–
Today
Bench (moderate incline from pin 4)
175 x 5, 5, 7 – locked out first set, not the rest
EZ Curl
(bar + 45) x 10, 8
(ss/with) Decline DB skullcrushers (everything behind the head)
10s x 15, 15
20s x 8 or so
Squat
195 x 5, 5, 3
On the squats, I hurt my left knee on last set somehow. Still feels tender. Calf is pretty good though. I’ll bump to 200 next time anyway.
10.5 is good with the shoes, if I wear athletic socks, not dress socks. So, that’s cool. I had a few warmup squats that felt great, since I was able to sit back and down just right. Somehow, though, I lost that pattern when I got up to 195. And I’m really slow with these.
My feet cramped during the first squat sets. Very likely due to not enough electrolytes from my weekend of travelling and sweating and working on my parents house. I’ll watch this.
Bleh, complaining.
–
I watched/listened to the whole “so you think you can deadlift” and “so you think you can squat” series during my drive. Learned a few things.
Took an epsom salt bath for awhile.
Went out and did more squats. My earlier performance needed some fixing.
135 x a lot. 155, 185, 205, 225 x 2. Some tendon on the back of my left knee popped (back of the knee, not kneecap). 225 finally started to feel like I was doing something. Form is clicking back in and I’m starting to trust the shoes.
195 x 5; 195 x 3
Short rests between all the sets.
It’s hot out there. Sweating like a whore in church (I love that phrase). Knee felt fine after that pop. Still, [only] 200 next time.
Training thoughts:
-
Triceps need work. Biceps are making progress with the curls and chins. Presses and bench aren’t enough for triceps. Going to use decline dual DB skullcrushers after benching per something Stu wrote up awhile ago. Dips are just a pain to set up, so I’ll see what I can get with just 3x weekly pressing and 2x weekly DB work.
-
Shoulders are doing fine growth-wise. They seem to respond better to the 5, 5, 12+ formula with heavier weights than the light 3x12-15 earlier with the delt triad (giant set of lateral raises, front raises and presses with the same weight).
-
Chest is still noticeably lagging since I neglected it for ~the first year of training. Neglected because of shoulders and my damn right elbow. And then justified it with “the old strongmen guys never trained chest”… but really it was because it hurt. So, playing catch-up with this. Going to move my weekly format to Bench-Press-Bench rather than alternate every workout. I’ll assess in 2 weeks and decide whether to keep it this way.
-
I was thinking about longer-term training goals while driving. I’m now thinking 225 press, 315 bench, 405 squat… and 700 deadlift.
-
Found some Biotest Spike at a gas station. Recognized the can and never tried it. Stuff works. I was looking for VPX Bang, which is my preferred [serious] energy drink these days, and found Spike. First Biotest product I tried. It’ll take a bit to figure out when to use Spike and when to use Bang, but they’re both great products. 0 calorie, high caffeine, with extras.
I was a different person back then, but this was an interesting thread: http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/what_didnt_work?id=5491753&pageNo=0
I didn’t even know most of the posters back then. Kinda weird rereading it.
I’m going to be out of town tomorrow, so I did some lifting tonight.
7 Mat Pulls with Chains (~35lbs at top)
135, 185, 225 x a few
275, 295 x 2
305 x 1
315 x 5 (4 reps tng and a drop; last rep deadstop)
325 x 1
335 x 1
355 x 1
365 x 0
took a break, removed chains
365 x 1
385 x 0
Touch’n go is much harder than dead stop reps. Maintaining good back positioning on the eccentric is the hard part.
Plan A) If I get back early enough tomorrow, I’ll be pressing, and then Bench and Squat on Saturday.
Plan B) Otherwise, press and squat on Friday and nothing on the weekend.
I feel the same exact way about touch n go reps. Most people get a lot more weight/reps out of it but I always screw it up lol same as touch n go bench
Well, that was an eventful trip in the literal sense – good and bad. Slept on the couch while I was there and slept badly, then slept in my car last night for a couple hours. I managed to make it all the way to Indy, on the street to my house, and I was too tired to drive the last 5 minutes. So I took a 10 minute nap that lasted about 3 hours.
And then got about a 45 minute nap at work today. Still pretty tired.
–
I bought deadlift socks today. Just some Nike soccer socks, but now I have some athletic socks to wear with my shoes that aren’t 10+ years old. They fit ok in the shoes, but I think I’m still going to try a 10, just to see for sure.
–
BTN Presses in Oly shoes
45 x several; 65, 85, 95 x a couple
105 x 5, 5, 15 (could have done more)
ss/Band Pullaparts x several
Weighted Chins
10 x 8, 5, 3 (this was 5lb jump, clearly too much… these should be 8-10 reps each)
ss/Band pushdowns x several, and some sets of band overhead extensions (like rope extensions)
Jump Squats
65 x 8 x 3 (that’s 8 sets of 3)
Squats
95 x a few; 135 x 2; 155, 175, 195 x 1
200 x 5, 5, 6
–
Right elbow was hurting bad on the BTN presses (just like with the benching). I’m not sure what to do about that. I don’t know if this is going to get worse as weights get heavy. 15 reps on the last set, and still had several more in me. Going to stick with 2.5lb jumps though.
Took too big of a jump with the weighted chins. Did an extra set just to make up for it. I’ll stick with 10 next time.
The Jump Squats are new, and CTs suggestion when I asked for advice for my slow squats. Slow Squats, Fast Deadlifts - Christian Thibaudeau Coaching - Forums - T Nation My guess is my quads are 1) weak, 2) very slow-twitch dominant right now [or, in more useful terms, “not very explosive”]. I had to adjust my shoes a few times because they didn’t feel solid landing the jumps. Ended up cranking them down super tight, to the point where my feet cramped again with the squats.
Squats were ok. I can feel two things happening.
- Here and there my lower back wants to round and make my chest cave in. It’s still pretty fatigued from the mat pulls earlier in the week. I think next time I’ll just stick with the prescribed single set for those.
- On a couple reps, my body wants to shift to make this more posterior-chain dominant. Apparently my quads suck.
Given that, this is a good weight for me to be at with the 5lb/session increases. My body just has a few things to sort out since the movement pattern is a bit different and these are more quad dominant. I’ll just follow the program as is.
Just some naive math: a 285 1RM puts my 5RM around 245. So 4 weeks.
Next week starts the beginning of my 5 weeks of “leaning down” for July 4. I’ll discuss my plan in a separate post, probably tomorrow.
This was kind of a pain in the ass to pull together. “Flexed” is pretty much just abs and chest flexed.
Should be enough to compare against though.
These are hard to take and the color’s all weird and the glare etc.
I think speed could be a technique thing a bit. Something you need to learn abit w. Becoming explosive.
Are you still highbar? I find that an as fast as possible decent makes me more likely to pitch forward on the rebound/ascent…and it becomes more prevalent as the weight goes up.
I found a moreoverall controlled descent allowed for a cleaner rep each time. In fact my cleanest form is pause squats because when I know im pause squatting I get real tight and super control the descent.
With that said combining the two has worked a bit- controlled descent for about 2/3 down…then last 3rd let her drop n rebound a.f.a.p .
To fight lean. I take a big breathe, push out my abs as hard as possible as well as down, look up at the ceiling and go.
Any particular reason that you are leaning up before July?
[quote]trivium wrote:
Any particular reason that you are leaning up before July?[/quote]
For a threesome with my girlfriend and her best friend in Vegas over the 4th of July. At least to improve the odds of that happening.
Semi-srs.
Lol.
That weekend will be the next time I see my girlfriend, hence why July.
Basically, I just want to understand how to do it. I know some principles and ideas, but I don’t have any experience.
[quote]Does weightlifting make girls look manly?
There are two kinds of men in the world: Those who find women weightlifters attractive, and those who don’t find women attractive.[/quote]
- catalyst athletics
Training
Monday AM: fasted incline walking 20m
Monday PM: bench 5,5,5+; ez-curl 2x10-12; decline skullcrushers 2x8-10; squat 5,5,5+
Tuesday AM: fasted incline walking 20m
Tuesday PM: rower intervals 10m
Wednesday AM: fasted incline walking 20m
Wednesday PM: press 5,5,5+; weighted chins 2x6-8; band overhead extensions; mat pull 5+
Thursday AM: fasted incline walking 20m
Thursday PM: rower intervals 10m
Friday AM: fasted incline walking 20m
Friday PM: bench 5,5,5+; ez-curl 2x10-12; decline skullcrushers 2x8-10; squat 5,5,5+
Diet
Base Calories: 1687
MWF Calories: 2133
TR Calories: 1882
(These are per the “Lose It!” iPhone app. Seems low to me, but I’ll give it a shot.)
Protein: 1.2-1.5xBW, so 180-225g
Remainder in C + F, doesn’t matter how.
Goals
Progress assessed via photos. I want to hit a decently “chiseled” look. Not going to care about scale weight, because I’m planning on improving my lifts too.
Just google image search “fitness model”, and that’s the leanness. I feel dirty looking at half of those photos. I’m not going to post an example. But that level of leanness.
This may not take the full 5 weeks with everything I’ve got going on per that plan.
AM Cardio
20 minutes incline walking, 3.1 mph @ 6 degrees, HR around 130
[quote]The first time I heard of this was from a trainer back in Virginia Beach. She said start at 6.0 incline at 3.0 mph for 30 min.
when you can do it no sweat, increase the speed. when you can do 3.5mph for 30 min then jack the incline to 7.0 and start over at 3.0 mph. I hear it from a local guy who runs the nutrisport here in San Diego too. [/quote]
http://tnation.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding/incline_walking_how_fast_how_far
[quote]But what if he could prevent all muscle loss? He’d walk onto the stage with three to five pounds more muscle. At very low body fat, that has a dramatic visual impact. And it could mean the difference between first and fourth.
Lowery has tried several methods over the years to maximize this strategy, including pre-cardio glutamine and a small amount of whey protein powder. The results were hit and miss. He notes, “I was worried that whole proteins consumed in the middle of a workout might mess up fat mobilization and fat burning. L-leucine seemed like the solution, but it wasn’t readily available until recently.”
The final solution was this: a small dose of leucine-enriched casein hydrolysate consume during the cardio session.[/quote]
Given that. The plan is to start at 6.0 and 3.0 mph (did this yesterday). Increase the speed up to 3.5 while keeping heartrate around 120 (apparently it went up to 130 today). Drink 10g casein hydro with 3-5mg l-leucine intraworkout.
I used 200mg caffeine after my alarm first went off, and hit snooze twice (so 18 minutes). May use 300mg tomorrow. This is just walmart generic caffeine.
PM Lifting
Moderate-Incline Bench from Pins
45, 95, 135, 155, 165
177.5 x 5, (3+2), 5 – elbow failed in 2nd set
ss/band pushdowns
EZ Bar Curl
(bar + 45) x 12, 10
ss/Decline DB Skullcrusher
20s x 10, 10
Jump Squats
65 x 6 x 4
Squats
65, 95, 135, 165, 185, 195
205 x 5, 5, 5 – right foot cramped last rep
Overall good session. Elbow’s pissing me off though.
Fixed some form setup with the bench. Can’t really explain. Tried squeezing the bar hard the last set, and that made it much easier. I’d been holding it with a loose grip and pressing it with the base of my palm in order to control my shoulder angle… but squeezing it didn’t seem to affect my shoulders so will be doing that now. Irradiation works.
Figured how how to squat in my shoes a little better. If I start my descent by focusing on pushing my knees away from each other, actually rolling a bit onto the sides of my heels, it puts me in a much better position at the bottom. I’d probably twist my ankle if I tried this barefoot, but it works with the wider base of the shoes. This made things significantly easier and helped to keep on my heels.
Right foot cramped though. That really threw me off. Fortunately it was the last mandatory rep.
Very very hot and humid in the garage today. It was raining outside and cooler, but there was no airflow. Not that it makes any difference.
Literally PRed in every lift but squats today (since I’d done 210 or 215 for 20 in the past).
AM Cardio
20 minutes incline walking, 3.1 mph @ 6 degrees, HR around 138-145
300mg caffeine before; 10g peptopro, 3-5g l-leucine between
Heart rate was running high today. Could be because of the caffeine. Could be other factors. Actually got a bit sweaty. I’ll stay at 3.1@6 until I’m consistently in the 120-125 range or lower.
Calorie restriction may be too much. I’m hitting protein requirements fine. Lifts went up. So… we’ll see. Too soon to tell.