One Bourbon, One Squat, One Beer

Training Over 35 Lifter
461

Shoulders @ Y

Misc w/u stuff.

Rear Delt Cable raise: 15x15, 20x10, 25x10

Smith Mach. High Inc.: 1pps x 10, 2pps x 10, 2pps+10 x 10, 2pps+15 x 9, 2pps+20 x 7, x5

DB H.I.: 65x10, 85x9, 100x7

DB Lat Raise: 30x15, 45x15, 60x10, 60x12 + 25x10 Rep/Wrk PR, 50x10

Strict Inc. DB Lat Raise*: 10x15, 15x10

BB Upright Row: Bar x 20-something, 135x15, 185x10 (shoulder width grip)

BB Shrug: 135x30, 225x10(+15 w/straps), 315x20, 405x20 (several pauses, intermittent leg drive on some reps)

  • Got these from a Kai Greene vid. Very humbling, very targeted isolation.

Movement starts at 4:20 in the vid.

462

Friday 1/29 (Yeah, exciting, I know… Friday night at the gym…)

ARMZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Triceps Cable P/D (W shaped attachment): 100x25, 130x20, 150x25, 197.5 x17 (max stack)

BB Curl: Bar x 20, 65x15, 95x10, 135x4 + 95x12, 105x8

Dips: BW x 10, x12, x12, x13, x10

DB Alt Curl: 30x12, 50x10, 60x3 + 5 hammer, 60x5 + 10 hammer, " ", 55x5 + 25x5 + 5 + 10 (a little longer pause on last one)

Floor Deadstop Sk. Crush (EZ Bar): 70x10, 90x10, 100x5, x3

Smith Mch. Rev Grip Triceps Press (THANKS, MMEAT!) – with widest grip:
1pps x 20,
1pps + 50 x 15,
2pps x 10,
2pps + 20 x 10

These felt pretty good. Felt them a bit in my shoulders and I think that’s why I never did them having tried them a long time ago (but with a closer grip). I think the wide grip helped. They felt much better as I did more sets. Keeper.

PR on the standing db alt curls tonight. Dips are slowly coming up. When I can do 15-20 consistently, I’ll start adding weight.

463

i really like the reverse grip smith press as well. i felt them a bit in my shoulders at first too. what i did was take the grip out, positioned my body so that the bar actually came down right about the top of my stomach so that as i lowered the bar my upper arms were pretty close to parallel to the floor at the bottom. as i reversed the movement i push towards my feet to keep the tension on the triceps the entire time.

i’ll get a vid of how i do them next bench day.

have you done the power pushdowns yet??

464

I found that coming down near my stomach helped, too. Ditto pushing to feet. I had a moderate arch and was pretty tight in the setup.

Que es “Power Pushdown”? Please, describe!

465

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
I found that coming down near my stomach helped, too. Ditto pushing to feet. I had a moderate arch and was pretty tight in the setup.

Que es “Power Pushdown”? Please, describe![/quote]

here you go… and you get to look at my sexy self describe it. what a bonus. i know for a fact that Pete and Steve, both, rub one out to this vid.

466

Thanks, Meat-- good explanation (even the skinny kid behind you was listening…).

The only problem I see with those is finding a machine with enough weights. I maxed out the machine last night… I think Gilly’s has a heavy duty one. Will try those.

467

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Thanks, Meat-- good explanation (even the skinny kid behind you was listening…).

The only problem I see with those is finding a machine with enough weights. I maxed out the machine last night… I think Gilly’s has a heavy duty one. Will try those.[/quote]

i use the lat pulldown machine. our crappy commercial gym goes up to 300lbs. you could also grab a long pin from another pin and stick it through a plate and then into a section of the stack. i’ve done that plenty of times.

468

Sun 1/31

Rack Pulls/U.BACK

RP (532 C1W4 Deload): w/u, 185x5, 230x5, 280x5 (Form check vid to follow)

BB Rows (High Angle): 60kg x 12, 100k x 14 (Form Vid to Follow – attn: “FattyFat”)

DB “Kroc” Rows: 100x10, 135x15, 150x20, 172x20 Rep PR+8 (Vid to follow-- this was a near-puker)

DB Shrugs: 100x30, 150x30

Cable Low Rows (w/shoulder width, neut. grip attachment, hold at contraction):
160x20
200x15
230x10

Same w/Close Grip:
200x12
230x10

BLAH!! Almost heaved!!! LOL.

Couple observations-- BB Rows are still uncomfortable on low back, even w/ belt, short ROM, and high angle.

I “feel” db rows in my lats MUCH more if I lean on the ‘high’ db rack vs the low one. Also less strain on low back. I think I’ll stick with high angle. I really feel the stretch contraction in lower lats if I’m at a higher angle. I guess it more closely simulates a ‘row to the stomach’ vs ‘row to the chest’, at least that’s my theory.

*Edit: Db rows were 172#, not 174#

469

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Sun 1/31

Rack Pulls/U.BACK

RP (532 C1W4 Deload): w/u, 185x5, 230x5, 280x5 (Form check vid to follow)

BB Rows (High Angle): 60kg x 12, 100k x 14 (Form Vid to Follow – attn: “FattyFat”)

DB “Kroc” Rows: 100x10, 135x15, 150x20, 174x20 Rep PR+8 (Vid to follow-- this was a near-puker)

DB Shrugs: 100x30, 150x30

Cable Low Rows (w/shoulder width, neut. grip attachment, hold at contraction):
160x20
200x15
230x10

Same w/Close Grip:
200x12
230x10

BLAH!! Almost heaved!!! LOL.

Couple observations-- BB Rows are still uncomfortable on low back, even w/ belt, short ROM, and high angle.

I “feel” db rows in my lats MUCH more if I lean on the ‘high’ db rack vs the low one. Also less strain on low back. I think I’ll stick with high angle. I really feel the stretch contraction in lower lats if I’m at a higher angle. I guess it more closely simulates a ‘row to the stomach’ vs ‘row to the chest’, at least that’s my theory.[/quote]

Big training SD! Great work! BTW, going to B’s for a few chickens and 5 lbs of BBQ!

470

[quote]j_willy3 wrote:

[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Sun 1/31

Rack Pulls/U.BACK

RP (532 C1W4 Deload): w/u, 185x5, 230x5, 280x5 (Form check vid to follow)

BB Rows (High Angle): 60kg x 12, 100k x 14 (Form Vid to Follow – attn: “FattyFat”)

DB “Kroc” Rows: 100x10, 135x15, 150x20, 174x20 Rep PR+8 (Vid to follow-- this was a near-puker)

DB Shrugs: 100x30, 150x30

Cable Low Rows (w/shoulder width, neut. grip attachment, hold at contraction):
160x20
200x15
230x10

Same w/Close Grip:
200x12
230x10

BLAH!! Almost heaved!!! LOL.

Couple observations-- BB Rows are still uncomfortable on low back, even w/ belt, short ROM, and high angle.

I “feel” db rows in my lats MUCH more if I lean on the ‘high’ db rack vs the low one. Also less strain on low back. I think I’ll stick with high angle. I really feel the stretch contraction in lower lats if I’m at a higher angle. I guess it more closely simulates a ‘row to the stomach’ vs ‘row to the chest’, at least that’s my theory.[/quote]

Big training SD! Great work! BTW, going to B’s for a few chickens and 5 lbs of BBQ![/quote]

AWWW MAAAAN!!! I was just thinking about B’s. That place is AWESOME. You gotta get there just in time or they run out!! I think we may have another contract with our customer down there, so I may get down there again. Was on the phone with them Friday, said they might be gettin’ some snow!

By the way, they hyped me up about “Bojangles”, but I was underwhelmed. One week I was there and we ate at “Logans Steakhouse” a bunch of times-- free peanuts all night everynight, just throw 'em on the floor!

Tripp’s was pretty good too (Prime Rib)!

Thanks for the words!

471

Great job on the Krocs, Steely!

472

Mon 2/1

Bench/Chest

531 C2W1 “Five-zies”

Goal: 205x5, 230x5, 265x5
Actual: 205x5, 230x5, 265x10 Rep PR

CGBP (5x10, 3" foam press):
225x10
245x10
245x10
265x9
295x7 Wt/Rep PR

Inc. DB Press: 110x8, 110x6 (+1 spot), 110x3 ** This whole set is PR

Cable Flye: 25x20, 30x20, 35x18+2

PJR Pullover (EZ bar): 40x10, 50x12, 70x11 – These are the things “Cephalic Carnage” talks about. Looked interesting, felt good. Video below. I didn’t use so much ‘pullover’ as the vid. Kept arms back over head at an incline.

DB Lat Raise: 30#x25

Treadmill: Walk 15min @ 3.5mph

473

Steely D you are on a tear
great week…

265x10 and your looking kinda huge.

I think your almost dogcrapp material

nice work.

474

Thanks, man!

Back vids from yesterday.

Requesting form feedback on:

a) Rack Pulls (hopefully corrected for MMeat’s suggestions)

b) BB Rows – especiall FattyFat if you’re reading. These are high angle, short ROM rows, as that’s about all my lower back can handle. I felt them in the lats and rear delts (at least they were sore today which is not usual and BB rows are the only thing new yesterday)-- don’t know if these are even useful when done this way.

The DB rows are what they are. I accidentally learned some cool transition effects (last set in the vid. Shows the minute or so it takes to reconnect ‘the rig’ on the left side :slight_smile:

Tried to get a better camera angle for these, but I think the other way is better…

Rack Pulls (deload, form check)

BB Rows (form check):

DB Kroc Rows:

475

rack pulls look better but i’m not letting you off the hook yet. form always looks good with light weight. i would need to see a set with some substantial weight first:)

do you feel your lats working doing those rows that way? i find the more i bend over the more lat activation i get with a row. also, the farther i take my grip the more lats i get. when i do bent over rows i take my grip out to my competition bench grip. doing so activates my lats much the same way they are activated during my bench. i also do my pullups with that same grip.

476

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
rack pulls look better but i’m not letting you off the hook yet. form always looks good with light weight. i would need to see a set with some substantial weight first:)

do you feel your lats working doing those rows that way? i find the more i bend over the more lat activation i get with a row. also, the farther i take my grip the more lats i get. when i do bent over rows i take my grip out to my competition bench grip. doing so activates my lats much the same way they are activated during my bench. i also do my pullups with that same grip. [/quote]

Thanks Meatster.

I will vid next session at a better angle with more weight (this was deload).

re: rows – Well, lower angle is not an option for BB rows for me. I’ll ditch the movement altogether (as I have so far). I’ve tried/retried on several occasions and I always end up uncomfortable and tweaking my back. That shear angle agitates my injury more than anything.

Arm width-- yes, the wider I go the more I feel in the lats. In fact, sometimes I do my BB shrugs with almost a “snatch grip”, or do snatch-grip static holds just to stress the lats because I do feel them so much. The only downside is by going wider, I reduce an already short ROM (shortened because of high angle).

I’m open to any suggestions you have because it’s such a great movement and I hate to ditch it. Now, having said that, chest supported T-bar rows feel AWESOME because that stress is off my L5/S1.

Thanks for your input as always. What am I up to, like 20 cases of beer now?

477

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
rack pulls look better but i’m not letting you off the hook yet. form always looks good with light weight. i would need to see a set with some substantial weight first:)

do you feel your lats working doing those rows that way? i find the more i bend over the more lat activation i get with a row. also, the farther i take my grip the more lats i get. when i do bent over rows i take my grip out to my competition bench grip. doing so activates my lats much the same way they are activated during my bench. i also do my pullups with that same grip. [/quote]

Thanks Meatster.

I will vid next session at a better angle with more weight (this was deload).

re: rows – Well, lower angle is not an option for BB rows for me. I’ll ditch the movement altogether (as I have so far). I’ve tried/retried on several occasions and I always end up uncomfortable and tweaking my back. That shear angle agitates my injury more than anything.

Arm width-- yes, the wider I go the more I feel in the lats. In fact, sometimes I do my BB shrugs with almost a “snatch grip”, or do snatch-grip static holds just to stress the lats because I do feel them so much. The only downside is by going wider, I reduce an already short ROM (shortened because of high angle).

I’m open to any suggestions you have because it’s such a great movement and I hate to ditch it. Now, having said that, chest supported T-bar rows feel AWESOME because that stress is off my L5/S1.

Thanks for your input as always. What am I up to, like 20 cases of beer now?[/quote]

i can see how bent over rows could irrritate the lower back. when i do mine i set up and sit back much like if i was starting a conventional dead. i bend my knees a lot, and shift the weight to my hips and then pull the weight to my stomach. this takes all the stress off my lower back. another option would be ghetto rows with a straight bar in the corner or with a dumbell over one end. with those you can put your feet up farther and actually sit back as you row taking the stress off the lower back.

i know it’s hard but you have to really think about shifting the stress to your posterior chain during stuff like this and deads. always put the weight back on your heels and that should protect your lower back.

478

Thanks, Meat. I’ll keep working on shifting that weight to my heels. Will give me something to think about besides food and pain.

479

Tues 2/2: OFF

Opted for ‘off’ instead of ‘biceps’ last night. Ended up doing a lot of foam, mobility stuff, stretching, and about 20 minutes on the rec. bike.

Felt awesome.

I had the big wooden stick that you use to do dislocates (like a thick broomstick) and was doing deep BW squats and holds. Was working on staying back on my heels and found that if I squat deep, arms out holding the wooden bar straight out, it’s enough leverage to sit waaay back on my heels without falling back. I’m sure that’s not new, but discovered it accidentally. Felt great stretching in the squat like that.

Did hip stretches, a few sets of BW lunges stepping diagonally around the track in the gym.

I ended up ‘coaching’ a couple people who asked me to watch their squat, which is pretty scary. Basically, the same things that I hear from people who ‘coach’ me-- sit back, arch back, chest up, etc. – basic squat stuff.

One guy, who is all of a fat 350 or more was doing good mornings instead of squats. About 15 minutes with him and he was looking half decent!!! That felt pretty good.

Squats tonight. Eating…potatoes…

480

Potatoes and squats sounds like a perfect combo. Just add some steak, peas and pie for desert and you may have found heaven.