Lo/Rez Training

Training Training Logs
121

[quote]flipcollar wrote:

is that essentially how you do the breathing squats? full depth, 1 deep breath per rep for the first 9, 2 deep breaths for the rest? I’m impressed that you’re able to add weight every session. I feel like I should give it a shot if it’s that effective. Any idea where your 1rm is?[/quote]

Really have no idea where my 1RM is. Nor my 5RM actually.

But no, that’s not quite what I’m doing.

Load the bar on my shoulders, then three deep breaths in the chest, trying to fill the ribcage as much as possible, then squat. Then another three breaths, and again. Basically just do that for 20 reps, with a minimum of three breaths per rep. It draws the reps out quite a bit time-wise.

I had some trouble when I first started doing it this way with getting light-headed and numb in my arms, but that went away over time. Then I started getting fatigued in my mid-back, and that’s where the static holds helped.

I then follow with straight-arm pullovers with 30lbs or so. I just do them on the ground and focus on the stretch in the chest. Inhale filling the chest, lower, then back up. Keep your lumbar region on the ground, since this helps target the stretch to your chestplate.

I’m still not certain about the whole ribcage expansion stuff, but between the squats, pullovers, and weighted dips, there’s a lot of stretching of the costal cartilage.

Hope that helps.

122

Training-wise…

Took a break for the last several days, due to helping my girlfriend pack for her move, and just maximizing my time with her.

Over lunch today I got in a few sets of BTN Press. The BTN Press just makes me feel better for some reason.

BTN Press
100: 3 x 12

I’ll do more later.

Just for S&G, I felt like experimenting with the layer system tonight. I didn’t feel like my earlier BTN work was enough, and I really really didn’t feel like doing the rest of the workout. Didn’t start doing this until… 23:15 or something.

Ramp to 100
55x3, 65x3 , 75x3, 85x3, 95x3, 105x0, 100x1

Clusters
90x7, 90x4, 90x2
90x10, 90x3
90x11, 90x2

(I just realized I should have stopped at 7 on the last two sets. Oh well, there’s always next time.)

(And then I read some more, and I got really confused. So I guess it’s 10s between every rep, but not clusters in the traditional sense of 3-7 reps, then short rest, then 3-7 reps. Hm.)

HDL
80x5,4,3,2,1
80x5,4,3,2,1
80x5,4,2,1 (couldn’t get 3)

This was interesting. I definitely feel things got worked a lot more than my standard 3x8-12… but it was only an experiment.

123

yea that makes sense. that article did mention the pullovers as well. It sounds like it takes about 3 minutes to complete the set, does that sound about right? I can see why your arms would go numb, haha.

124

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
yea that makes sense. that article did mention the pullovers as well. It sounds like it takes about 3 minutes to complete the set, does that sound about right? I can see why your arms would go numb, haha.[/quote]

I timed it once, I think it was about 3:20 for the squats. I end up taking quite a bit more than 3 breaths between reps as it gets closer to 20. Someone, can’t remember who, described these as 20 sets of 1, rather than 1 set of 20.

Also, for progression, some other guy came up with a rule that if your heartrate is above 160 BPM when you finish, just repeat the weight for next session. When it drops below 160, then you can add another 5-10lbs next session.

125

Still experimenting with the layer system. Not really sure how to log things though.

Friday: Slight Incline Press (training 1RM of 155)
Sunday: BTN Press (training max of 110 – not sure if this was 2RM or 3RM or what)
Monday: Bicep Curls (3RM of 95); hours later, Low Cable Rows (3RM of 150)

I think for the next month, I want to do 20rep squats 2x a week, and layer system for everything else. Not quite sure how the split is going to pan out yet.

I’m thinking
1 Squat
2 BTN Press
3 Row Biceps
4 Decline Press (or Incline… or alternate each week)
5 Squat
6 BTN Press
7 Rest
repeat

126

Well, I’m not sold on that split yet, and the guys in CT’s subforum say I should give SGHPs a chance.

Picked up 6 5gal buckets today so I’d have some blocks to pull from.

SGHP
Ramp to 3RM: 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145 x 3
Clusters: 130 x 5, 4, 3 (ripped open my left hand here)
HDL: 105 x 3 x 54321

These were rough. I really had no idea what to expect, but kept improving my form as I went (I think). Toward the end, my leg drive got a lot better because there was no way I’d be able to get the bar up otherwise. My entire upper , shoulders, and lower back are on fire right now. Maybe not quite that much, but I definitely feel it there.

I’m not sure the buckets will work though; with metal weights, they’re already getting pretty beat up.

127

Over “lunch”:

Slight Decline Tilt Press from Pins
Ramp to 1RM: 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155 x 3; 165 x 0; 160 x 1; 165 x 1; 170 x 0
Clusters: 145 x 4, 3, 4
HDL: 115 x 3 x 5,4,3,2,1 w 45 sec breaks

Later at night:

Seated Military Press, no back support
55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105 x 3; 110 x 1

My whole back is sore from the layered seated rows layered SGHP. Feeling it along the entirety of my spinal erectors. There are muscles on my upper back that I don’t recognize that are popping out; covering the scapula itself. Rhomboids? They aren’t the traps nor lats.

128

In…where are your pins set at for presses?

129

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Over “lunch”:

Slight Decline Tilt Press from Pins
Ramp to 1RM: 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145, 155 x 3; 165 x 0; 160 x 1; 165 x 1; 170 x 0
Clusters: 145 x 4, 3, 4
HDL: 115 x 3 x 5,4,3,2,1 w 45 sec breaks

Later at night:

Seated Military Press, no back support
55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105 x 3; 110 x 1

My whole back is sore from the layered seated rows layered SGHP. Feeling it along the entirety of my spinal erectors. There are muscles on my upper back that I don’t recognize that are popping out; covering the scapula itself. Rhomboids? They aren’t the traps nor lats.[/quote]
That could be the infraspintus and teres major/minor.

130

So, yesterday. I was going to do squats, but my traps were still way too sore to support anything (from the SGHPs) so I decided to do rack pulls.

Could have done deadlifts; no really good reason why I picked these.

Had no idea where to start, so started at 135.

Rack Pulls

Ramp to 3RM: 135, 155, 175, 195, 215, 235, 255, 275, 285, 295 x 3. 305 x 0.
Clusters: 265 x 5, 4, 3
HDL: 205 x 54321 x 3

Turns out that was a little low to start ramping. In total, that was, um 87 reps. My back was dead.

131

[quote]chobbs wrote:
In…where are your pins set at for presses?[/quote]

For decline/incline, probably 2-3" about the chest? Something right around that.

For the BTN Press, I’m just unracking it from back-squat height. Clusters are from the traps up, but for anything involving multiple reps, I’m only lowering to basically ear level (after starting from the traps).

132

BTN Press

Ramp: 55, 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 110 x 3 (started from traps, lowered to ears only)
Clusters: 100 x 2; 95 x 4, 95 x 3
HDL: 75 x 5,4,3,2,1 x 3 (these were lowered all the way to the traps, so genuine dead-start reps. Rested the bar on the rack between each subset of reps; i.e., after the 5, after the 4)

Interestingly, my shoulder girdle loosened up after the ramp and clusters. I was going to lower only to my ears during the HDLs, but I figured I’d get the best training benefit if I lowered the bar all the way and did dead-start reps. It worked just fine. I’m still hitting my neck on a few reps, but it’s getting better.

I was surprised my training max was only 110 today, since it was the same last time (although, I think that was a 1RM last time, not 3RM). Either way, I expected a bit more. Maybe 115, maybe 120.

I was also expecting to have issues due to lower back soreness from the rack pulls, but that wasn’t the case.

Basically, as long as I set up tight across my back, and clench my glutes, these work really well. I also tried a slightly wider grip for a few sets… index finger on the rings, rather than ring finger. Not sure I like it, but it did help with the flexibility on a few reps.

Leaning-Away Overhead Cable Triceps Extensions (I need a shorter name than this…)

40x10
50x10
60x12, 11, 8

You know, because 75 presses wasn’t enough volume for my triceps. But really, I have skinny arms.

133

914×342 55.6 KB

Monthly progress photo. Will post measurements here tomorrow.

It’s so hard to get consistent lighting. The camera does weird things.

134

Chest and delts have filled out very nicely

135

Good progress dude, just gotta keep plugging away!

136

Measurement update. Last measurements were 7/6/2013, so just under a month.

Right upper arm: 12.25 was 12.25
Left upper arm: 12.5 was 12.75 (measurement error?)
Right forearm: 10.75 was 10.5
Left forearm: 10.75 was 10.5
Chest: 38 was 37.5
Waist: 29.75 was 29.5
Hips (at widest point… i.e. glutes): 36.5 was 36
Left thigh: 21 was 21
Right thigh: 21 was 21.25 (measurement error?)
Left calf: 13 was 13.25
Right calf: 13 was 13.25
Shoulders around: 44.25 was 45

Bodyweight: 151.1 was 146.3

–

So… bodyweight is up, chest is up. That’s about it.

It’s surprisingly hard to get consistent measurements too… not just the photos are hard.

I have good hopes for this upcoming month though. I’m training more; I’m training differently; and my diet has gotten more consistent and predictable.

137

@chobbs and RATTLEHEAD

Thanks guys. It just takes so long to make progress. A little bit at a time though, I guess.

138

I’ve been following your log for a while now, thought I’d check in and say good job and keep up the hard work!

I’m sorry if I’ve missed it somewhere, but what are your goals? Both short term and long term?

All the best!

139

[quote]furo wrote:
I’ve been following your log for a while now, thought I’d check in and say good job and keep up the hard work!

I’m sorry if I’ve missed it somewhere, but what are your goals? Both short term and long term?[/quote]

Thank you, and I don’t know if I ever put them in here.

Short answer: my goals are physique related. To get bigger and more proportionate, while staying lean.

I’m tired [er, self conscious] of being so thin, so I want to first get to the point where I feel “normal”. At this point, that mainly just means, thicker, wider, with bigger arms.

Longer-term, I’d like to look somewhere within 80-90% of the physique of a Golden Age bodybuilder. John Farbotnik is a pretty good example. I’ve seen plenty of measurement charts, so somewhere within those numbers.

But what I’m also realizing is that I need a bit more guidance with my training; it seems I think more as an athlete than a bodybuilder.

Athlete wise, I’d prefer a physique something like that of a gymnast specializing in rings, or that of a middleweight olympic weightlifter, before they took the press out of competition. Tommy Kono, as one example.

So, I think I want to start chasing some numbers, but within a structure that still focuses on hypertrophy. That’s where I think CTs training will help out.

I have this idea that if I just focus on getting my standing press to the mid 200s, while still staying lean and keeping within a training framework that still trains the rest of the body, that will get me most of the way there.

So, for now:

250# Standing Press
Bodyweight around 185-195 while staying relatively lean

Maybe a 450# squat. Really no goals with bench or deadlift or anything else.

Thanks. Same to you.

140

How long have you been training for dude?

And what programs have you run and for how long a period?