Lunch-Hour Log

Training Over 35 Lifter
61

Thanks for the encouragement, hel320; agreed, Skidmark.

I must acknowledge I have been increasing the bench-press weight recently in advance of my actual ability to handle it adequately for a sufficient number of reps: putting on the bar what I wanted to do that day and not necessarily what I should have considered reasonable on the basis of the previous week’s performance. I shall regroup by taking the weight down a couple of notches and getting more reps in, and may just concentrate on that for the few weeks remaining in the rest of this program cycle.

Form, I think, has stayed fine throughout in all areas, but it is always a good idea to check it again.

62

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Deadlift:
15 sets x 100 x 1 rep (= speed, 30 seconds pause @ 59% current 1RM)
Barbell shrug:
2 sets x 190 x 7 reps (in rack, straps)
Bent-over row:
3 sets x 100 x 5 reps (reps from the floor)
Hyperextensions:
1 set x 15 x 12 reps

The session went quickly, and I threw in another set of rows. By the end, however, my lower back was quite tired, hence there was not much left for the hyperextensions.

63

My favorite days now are the pull days. I love the feeling when your low back is spent. Excellent work.

64

Yeah, there is that good tired feeling that lets you know you’ve accomplished something.

Thursday, 22 May 2008

Close-grip bench press:
70 x 12 reps, 3 x 102.5 x 4 reps
Weighted dip:
BW + 35 x 5 reps, BW + 35 x 4 reps
Hanging straight leg raise:
BW x 6 reps
Bicycle crunch:
60 L / R reps

Nothing remarkable today. Took the weight down only a bit on the close-grips and dips, maybe should have taken off another 2.5 kgs. to get the reps back up here, too.

65

Excellent work. But do you think you may be a little over trained? Maybe take a few days off. After many of my (usually unplanned) breaks I come back stronger and more motivated.

66

Great log Geech! Some very strong work.

67

Thanks, fellows. I think it is my shoulders and front delts in particular that are a bit tired (legs and back feel fine). I am going to skip the ab wheel this weekend to give them a bit of rest, and maybe do a bit less in some pressing movements next week.

Friday, 23 May 2008

Squat:
10 sets x 70 x 2 reps (= speed, 1 minute pause @ 54% current 1 RM)
Lying leg curl:
80 x 6 reps, 80 x 5 reps
Weighted chin-up:
BW + 17.5 x 6 reps, BW + 17.5 x 5 reps

Same routine and numerical results, as last week, except I am getting a good feel for the chest up, shoulders back low-bar squat position, and the squats felt – dare I say – explosive on hip drive.

68

Nice work Geech! Do you rack the bar during your pauses on the squats?

69

Yes. Then I sit down, look at the second hand on my watch, and think about trying to move it faster or otherwise better the next time. I also like the pause because that way I get to practice my set-up and step-back each set, trying to make them more effective and efficient.

70

Monday, 26 May 2008

Squat:
70 x 12 reps, 100 x 8 reps, 2 x 125 x 5 reps
Walkout 145 once, hold 10 secs.
105 x 20 reps
Lying leg curls:
2 x 80 x 5 reps
Weighted chin-ups:
2 x BW + 17.5 x 5 reps

Another good squat day; these are feeling fine lately. A little good morning action in the high-rep set towards the end, but on the other hand I went through the set pretty quickly.

My shoulder was twinging a bit over the weekend, so I decided to follow through on an inclination from last week or so and switched the power cleans from today to next Friday as a warm-up to speed squats, taking on for today the leg curls and chins.

71

Great stuff Geech. Nice to see the weights going up across all the exercises and rep ranges. Strong stuff.

72

Smokin’ Geech! Keep it up!

73

Keep it up Geech! You’ll be having to walk around your own thighs pretty soon at this rate.

That squat routine looks like something from DC training. Were you inspired by that or did you think it up independently?

74

Geech,

How do you do your lying leg curls? Based on the weight you are using, I am guessing that you are doing them on a machine. We do not have a lying leg curl machine in our gym, so I end up curling a DB between my feet. This works, but if you don’t have a spotter to help it can be a little tough to get the weight in position.

Impressive overall improvement!

mday

75

Thanks, fellows, the encouraging words mean a lot.

I thunk up the squat routine by my lonesome, Skidmark, but after a lot of reading around, after I realized in March that I had to get a lot more work in with the movement. (I had also been doing some front squats then, and believe I allowed the FS form to make my back squats too quad focused). While the idea of a 20-rep squat program appealed to me, I wanted to keep up with everything else, and so put the 20 reps on one day only.

Appreciate your looking in, Mday. The leg curls, as you supposed, are indeed on a machine. That is an inventive approach you have to the same. Have you tried glute-ham raises? They are on my short list for the relatively near future.

76

Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Bench press:
70 x 12 reps, 120 x 6 reps, 112.5 x 3 reps, 110 x 3 reps, 105 x 4 reps
Press:
60 x 4 reps, 60 x 4 reps
Hanging leg raise:
BW x 7 reps
Seated crunch machine:
Superset 23 reps total

The bad news is that my bench press continued to nosedive today. The good news is that I really think this time I have figured out why.

On looking through my autumn logs, I noticed that after I had eliminated a lighter incline bench session then included during the week, my flat bench press soon went down also; and it only started to climb again when I incorporated close-grip presses on a separate day beginning in January.

Starting in April, however, I moved my hands in a few inches on the close-grip benching. I also relocated my dips to my flat bench day, and my pressing to my close-grip day. As a result, I believe that I de-emphasized my chest enough on the close-grip day that I have not been getting the extra muscle stimulation that on the whole I probably need there.

Of course, a combination of things may be playing a role here: Perhaps I have also not been executing the bench speed sets well enough, and was in truth moving up the bench weight even when I was only barely covering the lower spectrum of the desired rep range. But I have a gut feeling that if I get back to my earlier close-grip form, coupled with the dips on that day, I can get back on track.

Wednesday, 28 May 2008

Deadlift:
70 x 12 reps, 100 x 8 reps, 2 x 165 x 4 reps
Barbell shrug:
2 x 190 x 9 reps
Barbell row:
2 x 100 x 6 reps
Hyperextension:
15 x 13 reps

I put up videos – the first I have ever made – of the second sets of the deadlifts and rows on my T-page here:
http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/myTNation.do?id=195498

The DLs on that set did not go up with any ease at all, so at least the feeling I had, even as I was sure I would get all of them. The videos should give an indication of what I need to work on, although this low-resolution version (couldn’t figure out anything better) makes my lower back appear rather rounded where the original high-res tape seems really not to convey this (but where there is smoke …). I never was aware until now just how far back my head was, for one thing, in both lifts – a physical cue I have always used, or better over-used, to set and keep my lower back arched. I am concerned that I am getting my hips up too high too soon on the DL. Comments, criticism and suggestions most welcome!

77

You’ve hit the exact problem I’ve run into. Just flat benching won’t do it. You’ll stall out eventually.

I’ve incorporated dumbbells into the mix and changed angles and heights at which I bench. Many people like to bring them together at the top, which is a tricep builder to an extent, but it will rob you of strength off the chest as a raw bencher. Close benching will do the same. If you keep the 'bells out in bench position at the top, the pectorals have to work through the whole range of motion.

So you’ve hit it - a full range, wide grip chest movement plus something to really hit the tri’s and that gets the bench moving again. Don’t be afraid to change the main movement either. The body adapts and will stop responding on the max effort movement if it stays the same too long. Little changes can have big effects like changing hand positioning, benching high (like floor presses) or even pause benching.

Regarding the DL: Set up looks good and you’re getting your hips to the bar good. The bar gets out in front of you, though, and then starts oscillating as the lats try to reel it back in. I’d check glute/ham strength, because your hips are shooting up first to get better leverage and making your back take more of the load which is what puts the bar out in front of you.

But, y’know, that’s just damn heavy weight for reps and form isn’t going to be perfect on the last ones.

78

You looked strong. Butt may have been a little high but I think the lifts looked great. If you keep the rear to low you’re going to bang the shins. There was an article on here somewhere by one of the gurus about whether you should look up or not. Think a neutral head position was recommended. Personally I look up just like you. If I can find it I’ll shot you a reference. The bent rows looked really good. I didn’t see any problem with them. I do the bent rows from a hang, though, and don’t put them down between reps. I’m going to try them you’re way. Looks like it makes for a longer pull. Great progress.

79

Much obliged, Skidmark and Hel320.

The tips on mixing it up for the bench are great. Benching has always been a bur in my saddle, and more genuine variation makes sense as a way to work it out.

In the six months or so of really focused training since I got back in the gym, my bench press reached 96% of my PR, while squat and deadlift lagged at 81% and 77% respectively. Probably my old-newbie gains on the bench have come to an end, and it is time to be more creative.

In that vein, glutes/hams are going to have to be a priority to keep going up in DLs. The bar is indeed way out there on the last video rep: I had no idea it was oscillating like that. By the way, I haven’t banged my shins in quite a while … maybe too long for my own good?

Here is an article (the one meant?) that turns up by Cressey referring to cervical hyperextension:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=2009577

and here are remarks on the topic by Thibaudeau:
http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=2121429&pageNo=6

the latter stating that this would be among the least of worries.

80

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Close-grip bench press:
70 x 12 reps, 2 x 102.5 x 4 reps, 102.5 x 3 reps
Weighted dip:
BW + 35 x 6 reps, BW + 35 x 5 reps
Hanging straight leg raise:
BW x 8 reps
Bicycle crunch:
60 L / R reps

I moved my hands out a bit on the close-grips, and my wrists, which have been a bit sore, thanked me for it. No great shakes in the rep department, but maybe the bleeding has been staunched. Dips felt better than they have in several weeks. After the session I played around a bit with a few singles at 100 of wide- and wider-grip bench presses: feels like a different planet.