IG is temporarily being cooperative in Wi-Fi for one so
Bench joker set
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUYxBeUFqUV/
Third set of floor press
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I love how much chalk a true power lifter uses. There was NO WAY you were going to slide up the floor!
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One cannot be too careful.
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Woke at 183.9 lbs, looking good.
Wait till you see them crossfitters use chalk. Hell, strongman guys too. The amount of chalk they use for yokes and log can be pretty insane.
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Didn’t take long after waking to realise I was pretty tired and my upper/middle back felt trashed. Elbows mildly achy too. Adjusted my mindset accordingly.
Today’s training
Lazy lifter - hips seemed stiff initially, but loosened up just fine. I’m guessing this is mostly due to the longer sprints
Sumo DL, DL bar
TM is 495 lbs
Worked up from 132 lbs in 22 lbs in 3-5 up to 60%. Dropped pull-ups to five to just get some done. Elbow cuffs are a big help here.
Wore my Matflexes after DL slippers didn’t do much. Good decision. Much better, and better than Chucks.
1x346 lbs, under 6 RPE, straps
1x396 lbs, 6 RPE, straps
1x445 lbs, 6-7 RPE, straps
1x495 lbs, 9 RPE, mixed grip
No point in pushing past here today, but still wanted to do some kind of DL
Paused sumo DL at mid-shin, which feels a lot more fruitful than paused conventional
3x3x347 lbs, under 6 RPE across but got progressively closer to 6 RPE, straps, short break
DL bar doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference, but as I expected it is a little easier to stay in position at the start. I suspect the briefs, however little I used them so far, helped me get a better feel for my optimal positioning.
Impromptu change from 15x2 SSB squats because SSB was in use, and I figured I may as wrapless just use the squat bar. In three weeks I’ll just add pauses
Squats out of the mono
15x2x275 lbs in 11 minutes
Not exactly hard, but focused on controlling descent and making the concentric as fast as possible while maximising acceleration. Interesting. Kept it at the low end of the load window because it felt right.
What I did notice was by around halfway I was setting up much faster. I think this a good format to cycle for a TM or two.
45 degree back raises with squeeze at top and slow eccentric
25, foot pads high so fried my hams and glutes
25, foot pads low, fried my lower back
To save my elbows decided against either suitcase BB holds, ab wheel or STBs and opted for kneeling cable crunches with a medium band
25, 25 - these were fucking awesome, they’re staying for sure
Shoulder raise giant set, controlled eccentrics throughout
Side raises 37x10 lbs
Front raises 40x15 lbs
RDFs 25x20 lbs
Shoulders and upper back left begging for mercy by the end of this.
My upper and middle back is now absolutely cooked, but I’m quite happy. I think/hope I’ll see some good back growth.
Elbows I need to keep an eye on, but the Slingshot cuffs are being very helpful. I think mostly what I’m feeling is simply a result of four straight days last week of heavy gripping, carrying and rowing as well as slightly heavier direct arm work with a focus on slow eccentrics more than anything from pull-ups.
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Within a few years a group of strongmen will destroy the entirety of the White Cliffs of Dover purely for yoke walks.
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@Vincepac1500 have you gotten those wrestling shoes yet? I take back what I said about them not being good for sumo earlier. The only caveat I have is that until I’d pulled sumo in socks, I don’t think I’d figured out what to do with my feet. That extra feedback let me find out automatically, and now my Matflexes feel fantastic, because they mirror don’t change how my feet feel in the slightest.
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Upper and middle back is SORE. Triceps tender too, but as far as I can tell its just soreness, not anything related to tendinitis.
Yes, I’m paranoid about it. I do not under any circumstances want to go through elbow tendinitis again if only because it’d stop me doing pull-ups. Squat I could deal with, because I’d just use SSB.
Either way, I’ll keep a close eye.
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The more stuff you try, the more I learn. You log is getting really useful!
Now I want to see how you like and decide to use the low rep/high set set up. I’d say EMOMs, but you went way faster. I really enjoy training that way.
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I gave up on that game months ago lol i thought it was dead to many hackers
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@FlatsFarmer what I’m finding is it takes less time - which is odd because more sets - and I don’t waste mental or physical energy before I reach the top set. Then afterwards I can hit higher rep sets.
Edit: it now occurs to me that you’re referring to the 15x2. I’m broadly looking at it as a kind of dynamic effort setup. The idea is to run one or two TM cycles with it, then one or two with high reps, etc.
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Yes made a huge difference for me. Way better positioning and near vertical back. I picked up the matflexes as well. I now wear them to the gym for everything instead of dc s. Even benching helps me get a slight bit more arch.
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Woke at 184.1 lbs, for some reason looking a little soft. Back still sore but improving.
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Woke at 182.6 lbs, looking dry but not particularly flat. Tired from a 14 hour shift yesterday but otherwise feeling decent. Starting acetyl L-carnitine today.
I’d be looking dry and flat after a 14hour day! Didn’t even think that is legal 
Six and a bit hours overtime. I don’t often say yes, but I was free.
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Back still very tired. Feeling pretty tired too. So, because I wanted to give my back another day of no pulling decided to squat instead and do CGBP tomorrow. I’m feeling the effects of last week, so it’s just overreaching I think.
It’s now a good three plus hours since I finished and my elbows definitely aren’t as happy as they might be. It’s around the base of the tricep though, not right in the joint. I’ll have to be very, very careful with this. I think reverting to neutral grip pull-ups is going to be step one (bold for my own reference). Step two, if that isn’t enough, will be swapping to SSB squats until further notice. Hopefully it won’t come to that.
Today’s training
Lazy lifter plus shoulders
Squat
TM is 451 lbs
Work up from bar in 44 lbs to 60%, 10 facepulls between sets
Tuesday’s work on controlling descent and accelerating paid off, but GODDAMN did it take a few sets to get into any kind of groove.
Wraps go on
3x319 lbs, 6 rev (5, /), under 6 RPE
2x363 lbs, 7 rev (5, X), under 6 RPE
1x407 lbs, 7 rev (5, X), 6 RPE
1x451 lbs, 8 rev (5, X, 1), 6-7 RPE - couldn’t have cut depth any more and gotten white lights but this felt very nice
Around now elbows started complaining, I think mostly from the wrapping.
1x478 lbs, 8 rev (5, X, 1), 7-8 RPE - very encouraging. Moved well. Just on depth again.
Decided against going up because bar speed wasn’t quite fast enough, so figure I’d hit 478 lbs again and maybe even double it.
1x478 lbs, 8 rev (5, X, 1) and failed second so 10 RPE, almost destroying part of the gym in the process because I fell back and the weight pulled the mono off balance.
I’m really quite angry and confused. That first rep went up easily well enough I had no doubt I’d get the second, I’d have rated it an 8 RPE. Yet, I get to a point where I just fucking stop! No pitch forward, no chest cave, I just stop. Second time this has happened in the last two months. The only thing I can conclude is that my sticking point has changed. I’ve definitely put a lot more work into my lower back and abs, so I guess it makes sense that where I used to fail (falling forward early) doesn’t happen now.
I had a quick think on the spot and checked the video again. Where I stall looks a hell of a lot like part of a good morning to me: vertical shins, butt back. Also, all of my squat assistance for the last few months or more has been focused on volume and leg size. So I think it kind of makes sense that while my abs and lower back have gotten stronger, my hams, glutes and hips might have fallen behind to the extent I can’t grind like I used to.
TL;DR I decided for at least the next three weeks and possibly even until meet day my back off squat sets will be replace by SSB good mornings as close to the weight I’d use for my squat back off as I can handle for five to eight reps. This way, the intention is to acquaint myself with a degree of straining in that mid-way, shins vertical/butt back position.
SSB good mornings, squat stance
3x5x286 lbs with belt
Definitely challenged my whole midsection in ways it has not been challenged before.
Walking lunges, 50 - usual quad pump
DB RDLs
2x25 with 80 lbs - keeping my Romaleos on was a great idea, hamstrings on fire
Decided to leave shoulders alone for today but wanted to do some abs that didn’t involve ANY stress on my elbows.
Picked a winner
Doubled medium band side bends, 20/side
I think I may very well keep the banded kneeling crunches and banded side bends for a bit as my ab work.
Positives out of today: onto something good with how I wrap, pliers make it much easier. Also able to handle 478 lbs for a comfortable single despite being physically and mentally far from at 100%.
Negatives out of today: still haven’t got a handle on my rep capacity for heavier squats, almost destroyed part of the gym and my elbows are hinting they aren’t happy.
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Quick peek at squats today. I need various pairs of eyes if possible, so everyone please chime in - especially @Reed @corstijeir @Destrength @littlesleeper @BOTSLAYER @Frank_C
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Okay, so a few things. How comfortable is that squat style? Does anything hurt, feel tight, or insecure when you squat (or after a certain weight)? You look insecure in the hole in a few of the reps. If I were you, I’d work on either hip mobility or playing with foot position (maybe make them more neutral), and stance because it just doesn’t seem “right”. Maybe pause work. You also look like you are overarching just a tiny bit which can cause the weight to be back on your heels too much, though it doesn’t look like it is bad enough to cause you to fall on your ass.
The reason why you missed though is weight distribution/how you descend. You were all over everywhere in that set, first rep the bar swayed forward a tiny bit, second rep the bar swayed back a lot which you self corrected but the position that you got in to save it wasn’t something you could fight from. I don’t know if it’s that it’s mobility, (I was actually having the same issue not too long ago) or the weight just not being centered over your midfoot very well. If it was a midfoot thing, you are going to have to figure out how to move in a way that you can keep it midfoot, if it was a “I can’t move how I want to” thing then you are going to have to either work on mobility or foot and stance adjustments need to be made.
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