My Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
741

Week 2, Day 2

Deadlift
1x3x265 (50%)
2x3x320 (60%)
2x3x370 (70%)
2x2x425 (80%)
add suit
2x1x475 (88%)
1x1x460 (85%)
3x1x475 (88%)

DB Triceps Extensions
1x10x20
1x10x25
2x10x30
3x10x25

1-arm Cable Row
4x10x50

This seemed to be plenty, I am feeling a bit under the weather.

The first set in the suit was kind of crappy, and the second was shit, so I dropped the weight and did it cleanly. From there i hit 3 good reps in a row with 475. I made some set-up changes that seemed to help. I will put video up later.

742

[b]Here’s a mild-mannered buddy pulling 600:

Here’s my deadlift training from yesterday:

Note: On the second suited pull I tried to start the pull slower and build up speed, what a clusterfuck that was (got that idea from a Pavel article).[/b]

743

Week 2, Day 3

DB Incline Bench (paused, neutral grip)
1x10x32.5
1x10x42.5
1x10x52.5
1x10x62.5

Squat (cambered bar, beltless)
1x4x220 (50%)
1x4x265 (60%)
2x3x310 (70%)
5x3x330 (75%)

Pendlay Rows
3x15x110

Floor Skullcrushers (EZ-bar)
1x10x45
3x10x65

Hammer Curls
1x10x30
1x8x30

Lat Pulldowns (V-bar)
1x12x80
3x12x100

Squat (cambered bar, beltless)
1x3x240 (55%)
1x3x285 (65%)
3x2x330 (75%)

Side-lying external rotation
1x8x5lbs
1x6x5lbs (holy shit I suck at these, they’ll be a mainstay)

Sumo Good Mornings (beltless)
5x5x185

Leg lowering
3x10

DC Lat Stretch

An interesting workout. I felt exhausted as I was heading to the gym (had put about 15 hours into a paper on Saturday and today). And as I started my workout I could tell that I was still a little sick. I had some nausea and was dizzy several times, made things more interesting.

When I started warming up for the good mornings I realized my back was pretty trashed, so I kept these really light.

I was glad that I was able to do the squats without a belt, they felt pretty darn good.

The DB benches are progressing pretty well. Hope it has a little carryover to my bench press.

744

side lying external rotations, eh?

i usually do rotator work on my weaker (left) side first, do whatever until i slow/tire, then match that number of reps on my stronger side.

that theoretically should help my bench a lot, but i’ve found that the theoretical gains haven’t realized yet.

all the best in your meet- crush some weights!

745

[quote]bearshark wrote:
side lying external rotations, eh?

i usually do rotator work on my weaker (left) side first, do whatever until i slow/tire, then match that number of reps on my stronger side.

that theoretically should help my bench a lot, but i’ve found that the theoretical gains haven’t realized yet.

all the best in your meet- crush some weights![/quote]

In Cressey’s newsletter he talked about how side-lying external rotations engage more rotator cuff musculature than any other single exercise. So they got thrown in. I thought for sure I’d be stronger with my good shoulder but was definitely wrong.

Here’s to us both increasing our benches dramatically in the next year!

Well the meet isn’t for 10 weeks, but I shall hold onto your well wishes until then :o)!

Thanks for checking in!

746

[quote]mrodock wrote:

Shoulder felt pretty shitty on bench but this morning it feels great (I iced it after the workout). It is really odd but right around the anterior deltoid hurts quite a bit in my warm-up sets. It almost feels like it is just really weak through the bench ROM. Not entirely sure though.

[/quote]

same here man. right anterior delt hurts during warm ups and often towards the end of the session. it’s hard to troubleshoot for sure. have you tried soft tissue work (a.k.a. rolling on a tennis ball or lax ball)?

747

[quote]grettiron wrote:
mrodock wrote:

Shoulder felt pretty shitty on bench but this morning it feels great (I iced it after the workout). It is really odd but right around the anterior deltoid hurts quite a bit in my warm-up sets. It almost feels like it is just really weak through the bench ROM. Not entirely sure though.

same here man. right anterior delt hurts during warm ups and often towards the end of the session. it’s hard to troubleshoot for sure. have you tried soft tissue work (a.k.a. rolling on a tennis ball or lax ball)?[/quote]

Odd . . . I have tried some self-administered soft tissue work. I’ve been really busy with school lately, otherwise I would have gotten some ART by now. Good luck with the shoulder and keep me updated on how you figure things out.

748

Week 3, Day 1

Bench
1x7x110
1x7x130
1x7x150
1x7x170
1x6x190 (6th rep was a grinder)

Squat (beltless, cambered bar)
1x4x220 (50%)
1x4x265 (60%)
3x3x310 (70%)
4x3x350 (80%)

Floor Skullcrushers (EZ bar)
1x8x45
1x8x65
1x8x75
1x7x85
1x8x75
1x7x75

Lat Pulldowns (V-bar)
1x10x80
1x10x100
1x10x120
1x6x140
1x11x130

Squats (cambered bar)
1x4x220 (50%)
1x4x265 (60%)
4x5x310 (70%) [belted]

Sumo Goodmornings (beltless)
2x5x205

I think the shoulder is progressingly well, even though it is painfully slow (pun intended). It is interesting that it felt quite good today benching and I did very little upper back work last week . . . hmmmmm . . .

Now I am about to say a bunch of stuff that is going to probably sound cliche, so if you aren’t into that, probably best not to read below.

First, I want to say some things because I think of the people that have contributed to my lifting as brothers, and sugarpie if you are reading, sisters. So the purpose is not because I am fishing for compliments but rather to let people into the world as I see it. Not that I am compelling or anything, but because I figure if you bother to read my ramblings you must care a little bit . . .

The last few days have been pretty shitty. If I were mentally tougher they probably wouldn’t have been a big deal but they had really taken their fucking toll on me. A lot of stupid shit started to accumulate and really stressed me out to the point that I felt like punching a wall (of course I wouldn’t, that would mean longer until I get good at bench press). I had a shit load of work to do for school (maybe I thought getting an MPH would be easier), I got sick, dealt with the dry heaves the last few mornings, fell behind on my work, asked for my first extension in 5 years as a college student and did not get it, received my worst score on an exam as a college student (and studied hard), and still have incomplete homework that was due Tuesday that I have to finish tomorrow. I haven’t eaten as much as I should, see dry heaves, and I haven’t slept as much as I should, see lots of work. And the fact that I was going to have my third hardest session of my 12 week cycle (35 sessions in all) was stressing the shit out of me. Was I going to miss my first squat in a workout? Was bench going to be a huge clusterfuck? Was I going to hurt my hip which was tight as shit from not having time to stretch?

No, no, no, and no. I got to the gym after trying but failing to finish an already late assignment all day, and I just started overcoming. I warmed up very slowly, I got everything in good working order, then I started killing squats. I knew it was going to be exceptionally hard, but I was ready for the challenge. Fuck the sleep, fuck the diet, fuck the stress, fuck the pain, fuck putting this session off a day, I go down with the weight, then I come right back up with it.

I have trained under less than ideal circumstances before, we all have. Many have trained under much worse circumstances that I did today. But all I wanted to say is the iron is such so amazing, so compelling. You can push yourself to hit a maximal weight or a small PR, or even push yourself to be smart enough to quit an exercise when it is just too much (see 2 sets of good mornings). This was the single most satisfying session that I have had in the weightroom to date (even better than squatting 600). Not becuase I hit any ridiculous PR, but because I said fuck everything, I’m going to will myself to a good session.

Good lifting friendos!

Matt

749

Some sumo deadlift “notes:”

Contract spinal erectors as you descend to grab the bar, this will keep the chest up, stay contracted as you pull.

10/19/09, in regard to 10/18/09 “Test Day” video

It looks like you are bringing your hips down too much. This shifts your knees forward, and means that your hips are not coming through to lockout during the entire lift; making the lockout pure hip extension, plus the knees being forward shifts the bar a bit further away, making lockout even harder.
The main reason behind this is either:
*Trying to get more out of the suit, as it feels like it gives more the lower down you take your hips or
*Trying to use your quads to get the bar moving off the floor, like you would in a conventional deadlift.
Your hips should be shifted back, like in a good morning. It should be so that if you let go of the bar, you would lose your balance falling back. This is unlike a squat, where you are balanced and stable at the bottom. Ideally you should feel your glutes tighten as you sit back and they should “feel” like they are what starts the lift. Forcing your knees out and trying to push your arse back a little bit more immediately before you start lifting can help with this.
Naturally your hips will go back and down, but you really shouldn’t be making an effort to bring them down as opposed to sitting back. You may need to move your feet out wider to reach the bar while maintaining this form\

you “tuck” your tailbone at the bottom, like you’re hitting depth in a squat. Once you see that, look at how your knees come forward when you do this, again like the bottom of a squat.

11/24/09 in regard to 11/22/09 deadlift video:

Take the slack out of the bar and sit back (if you shift your weight back while pushing your knees out you should find you’re taking the slack out naturally anyway) and then pull as fucking hard as you can.

All I’d have you worry about is two things:

  1. Making sure you don’t do any silly stuff with your knees before you start the pull. You did this with your first 2 suited pulls, but the rest were good. It shows you have worked on it and can fix it.
  2. Once you’ve taken care of 1, make sure your weight is on the middle of your feet or your heels (it’s up to you to find out which works best), push your knees out and shift your hips and torso back so you’d fall back if you let go of the bar, and start the lift.

2 is a bitch to get right, but it’s the only way to get yourself in a position where you are balanced through the pull and heavy weight doesn’t pull you forward. Practice with a light weight, and if you get it right you’ll have 225-260 starting to break off the floor before you start pulling, and you’ll find that lighter weights than that make you unsteady since they don’t “pull” you forward enough while lifting.

Your main priority is to make sure you don’t have that knee drift; it will fuck up your pull and lockout majorly. The weight-shifting-thingy is also affecting the lift in the same way, but it’s less dramatic and hence less of an immediate problem. It does, however, explain why you may feel like you are off balance or the weight is falling forward despite starting with the bar close to you.

750

Week 3, Day 2

Deadlift
1x4x265 (50%)
1x4x320 (60%)
1x3x370 (70%)
7x3x425 (80%) [video below]

Leg lowering
3x10

DB Tricep Extensions
1x10x20
1x10x25
1x10x30
1x10x32.5
1x10x27.5

Side-lying external rotations
2x8x4lbs (hahaha)

Face Pulls
1x10x70 (these felt shitty on my shoulder, abort!)

I really think I am starting to tighten up my deadlift technique (have a long way to go though obviously). Hopefully it translates to my suit work next week. My lockout is improving dramatically from improving my technique, not doing 50 special exercises, go figure.

I was originally planning on doing 4-6 sets of 1 at 450 (85%). But this morning I thought a little lower intensity with much higher volume is what week 3 is supposed to be about in Sheiko (at least the programs I have tried), let’s stick with that basic philosophy. So I went for 6-8 sets of 3 at 425 (80%). I got 7 sets and hope to get 8 sets in 4 weeks when I try it again. I ripped the shit out of a callous on set 6 and at that point 7 sets seemed like enough. No way in hell I was quitting after 6 though.

751

I’m glad to hear that the shoulder is healing up. Can’t wait to see what you can do with BP after watching you Squat and Deadlift.

You make it look easy

752

Awesome deadlifting, you make it look so easy, damn.

How’s your shoulder so far??

and a little question, why the sumo deadlift?? any reason you chose it in stead of a traditional??

i’m thinking about giving sumo’s a try (low back issues).

Best of luck Matt

753

[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
I’m glad to hear that the shoulder is healing up. Can’t wait to see what you can do with BP after watching you Squat and Deadlift.

You make it look easy[/quote]

I think I have some really good things to try out on bench that I have a lot of confidence in, so hopefully I can make some quick progress.

Just saw your post in training personal records, you are making some awesome progress, way to go man! A 440 deadlift for as long as you have been training is really awesome.

754

435 is a shitload of weight! Nice work man.

755

[quote]tuchavito wrote:
Awesome deadlifting, you make it look so easy, damn.

How’s your shoulder so far??

and a little question, why the sumo deadlift?? any reason you chose it in stead of a traditional??

i’m thinking about giving sumo’s a try (low back issues).

Best of luck Matt
[/quote]

Shoulder is getting there, it gets a little better each week. I am hoping it is 100% in about 3 weeks.

I switched to sumo deadlift because I absolutely hated my conventional deadlift, especially near my max. Here is an example of how fucking ugly my conventional deadlift was:

THIS VIDEO IS OLD

Thanks Tuchavito!

756

[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
435 is a shitload of weight! Nice work man.[/quote]

Just trying to chip away at a 600 suited pull

757

Week 3, Day 3

DB Incline Bench (paused, neutral grip)
1x10x35
1x10x45
1x10x55
1x10x65

Squat (beltless, cambered bar)
1x5x220 (50%)
1x5x265 (60%)
1x5x310 (70%)
4x4x330 (75%)

Floor Skullcrushers (EZ-bar)
1x10x45
3x10x65

Pendlay Rows
3x12x110

Sumo Goodmornings (beltless, cambered bar)
5x5x225

Leg Lowering
3x12

Lat Pulldowns (medium grip)
1x12x80
3x12x100

Hammer Curls
1x11x30
1x9x30

Side-lying external rotation
2x8x4lbs

Band Pull-throughs
1x20xpurple band
3x15xpurple bands (2)

Squats were pretty hard today, not surprising after a tough deadlift session on Friday. Still was able to do them all beltless with good stability.

The dumbbell incline bench is going up each week, that is cool.

I cannot believe how hard of a time I have doing the side lying external rotations. Just weak as hell, especially with the right shoulder.

The band pull-throughs are no joke. They are hard as hell and I absolutely hate doing them. I sincerely wonder if I forgot to do them last week on purpose. Either way, they are staying and I hope they positively contribute to my deadlift. If they are good enough for Brian Siders, haha.

Looking at the video of my deadlift from a few months ago makes me want to vomit. I’m so glad I have switched to sumo and cleaned up my technique quite a bit. I started working out at a gym that didn’t allow video cameras, so when I first watched myself deadlift on video I was horrified. I obviously had a lot of trouble fixing all the damage that was done as evidenced by the video above.

758

Damn I don’t know how you do it.

You have it all in this workout. It’s like TBT, but more intense.

I was thinking about getting some bands to do like pull throughs and leg curls with (Since I don’t have a GHR)

Thoughts, comments or questions on that?

759

[quote]ALKoHoLiK wrote:
Damn I don’t know how you do it.

You have it all in this workout. It’s like TBT, but more intense.

I was thinking about getting some bands to do like pull throughs and leg curls with (Since I don’t have a GHR)

Thoughts, comments or questions on that?[/quote]

Since I have 3 days off until I train again I figure I might as well do a bunch of stuff (I workout Wednesday, Friday, Sunday). You may have noticed Friday’s (mid-week) I don’t do a whole lot of exercises.

I have two mini-bands, two monster mini-bands, and two light bands. I think they are really great and there are a lot of productive exercises that can be done with them. Those band pull-throughs are serious freaking business. There are lot of band exercises on elite.

760

[quote]mrodock wrote:

I cannot believe how hard of a time I have doing the side lying external rotations. Just weak as hell, especially with the right shoulder.

[/quote]

That is a little troubling that you are struggling with 4# on the rotations, but it should be a clear sign that you need to beef up those itty-bitty rotator cuff muscles. When I rehabbed one of my shoulders I had to start out with the 2.5 pound dumbbells (I can’t believe they even bother making them that light) and my shoulder felt like it was hit by napalm. Keep at it, they will improve and you will be surprised of the positive spillover effect on your bench.

There was one main thing with your form that would’ve made that lift a lot easier - don’t let the bar roll away from you at the start. You should go back and check out your conventional pull strength once in awhile for the heck of it.