Notes: 3:05 between sets. Second day of the new set-up. Approaching bench after incline benching continues to prove interesting. Hard to get into gear of it as “THE” lift of the day, and more approaching it like assistance work in the head. Makes it a little difficult to stay tight. Also weird fatigue patterns. Work changed schedule on me, so I had to come into this earlier than usual, with fewer meals. Noticed burning out earlier than expected. That 9th rep on the close grip bench on the final set was nice though. Solid grinder. I’m actually going to stick with that weight now, and make it the plan for now that I won’t advance until I hit 3x10 no matter how close. Think advancing too often may lead to stalls.
Right shoulder has been super pissed off this past week. I actually dorked it up taking off my shirt after work one day. Life is a full contact sport.
@T3hPwnisher, I’ve looked at you log a few times and checked your blog, I’'ve really enjoyed all your articles about home gym set up and programming so thanks for all the information !
I was looking at your different articles about overcoming injury and read somewhere you took out deadlifts out of your program for a long period of time. How did you train in that time ? Squatting only ?
I aggravated a disc in February this year while deadlifting and I’m recovering slowly. I can deadlift but pulling off of the floor takes a few days to recover from. I was looking at your ROM progression mat pulls and it looks like a good approach, then I could train the lower portion of the ROM with lighter weights. I was also looking at the reverse band method that I saw in Kroc’s book which would allow me to train the full ROM but ease off the bottom portion.
If you have any tips on how you programmed around you injury I could use I am all ears! Thanks and sorry for hijacking your log
Appreciate you going through and reading it all dude. Good to have your readership.
Yeah, alternating between barbell, front squat, and SSB squats. And then a lot of back work as well. With all of that, I didn’t lose much on the deadlift. I had a 15lb drop off between the max I pulled before I got injured and what I pulled at my first powerlifting meet (which was the first time I started deadlifting again), but I’d also dropped about 20lbs of bodyweight in that period, so I’d say it’s a testament that I held out pretty good.
I think you have a great idea employing ROM progression and reverse bands. That’s actually the exact protocol I used for my squat after I blew out my left hamstring. I was squatting in my garage when it was -40 outside, and I was focusing on fast eccentrics, because I was convinced for some reason that fast eccentrics on squats would translate to fast concentrics. I dropped down and snapped my hamstring like a cold rubber band and couldn’t properly squat for 8 months, then 4 months later came back to a meet and finally squatted 500lbs after having missed it twice before.
I was doing concentric only bottom’s up partial squats and then reverse band full squats, so I was getting used to moving heavy weight where I had no pain and lighter weight through a full ROM. Worked well. I think it’d be viable for deads too.
Squatting feels definitely better and is coming back faster. I was thinking of using reverse band and walk out and holds in case it is needed to get used to heavier weights again, good to hear it’s worked for you.
I’ll also try to squat and pull against bands in the full Rom depending on how it feels, I haven’t tried it yet.
They released a photo of me and the Mrs crossing the finish line at the race. I cropped her out, since the internet is full of silly people, but still a cool shot
How did the difficulty of the run vary as you went along? I’m interested to know if it’s similar at all to 20 rep squats or something where (for me at least) it’s mentally most difficult around 3/4 of the way.
Also, do you think you’d have been able to do it if you were alone? I think it’s great that you tried out your wife’s sport and did it together.
@dagill2 Thanks man. If nothing else, goes to show she never left me behind, haha.
@mortdk Thanks dude. We were lucky to have met each other so early in life. Been great growing together.
@kdjohn If nothing else, at least my traps look big, haha.
@caesium32 The hardest part was the first mile, and part of that was just the huge chokepoint of other humans to deal with while having to overcome my inner drive to overtake them and get them out of my field of vision, while the other part was that rollercoaster going up the incline feeling of just wonder what the hell I had gotten myself into. The very last mile was also awful, but in a similar yet reverse effect to the first mile, that was more about knowing that the end was so close and I just wanted it to be done. My quads started to cramp after mile 10, and that was uncomfortable, but nothing particularly awful. It was easy to settle into a groove, and feeling my right leg go numb and come back a couple of times gave me something to focus on, haha.
I’m sure I coulda done it alone, but not too sure it would have been as successful. I imagine myself blowing out real early at the start and having to strugglebus it through the rest of the way.
Was good being able to do it with the Mrs. We honestly bonded over running when we first met, so it was a return to our roots.
The last time I did a “fun run 5k” I took the place of a coworker who couldn’t make it. It was through downtown Boston and I was placed in the fast group (she was a runner). I was at like 11:25 or so through the first 2 miles simply because I wanted to avoid the massive pack of corporate sponsored runners trying to swallow me, it was easily the fastest sustained running I’ve ever done. Hurt my hip stepping off a curb so there’s no cool ending to the story, but luckily I’ve avoided running races ever since.
I want to say good photo but after doing many of these and never having a good photo, I believe that a good photo of someone running is like a unicorn !! A myth!
I will however say Nice pic.
@mr.v3lv3t Completely get that. I always burn out for that same reason, haha. Woulda been an interesting story if the injury didn’t happen. Heckuva way to get a PR.
@simo74 Some dudes manage somehow, but that’s definitely not me, haha. I appreciate that for sure though dude.
@oldbeancam “Look in the mirror/say ‘Deep Water’ 5 times/turn off the lights/and I done puked 5 times” “Deep M X/ride or drown”. All I had going through my head reading that comment, haha.
PM WORKOUT
MAX EFFORT LOWER BODY
Top Down Deadlifts
5x135
5x225
3x315
1x405
1x495
1x585
1x640 (5lb PR)
1x645 (5lb PR…from that other one I just set)
GIANT SETS (dead-hyper-squat)
Low handle trap bar lift 415
3x10
Reverse hyper 360
3x10
SSB squat 230
3x10
Notes: 3:45 between heavy pulls, 2:00 between giant sets. Just a few small PRs 6 days after my race, like one does. The racking is really the most challenging part of the workout. I left it in for the second pull in the video, but it doesn’t represent how the bar pulled me forward onto my toes and I used all the power in my calves to get it back on track, and then did crazy shrugs and hip rotations to try to angle it back into the rack. I honestly think I’m getting a lot of training value from that part along with the topdown deadlift itself. I’m soon approaching the most weight I’ve ever pulled through a full ROM, and doing it starting from the top doesn’t seem to make it any easier than the bottom at this point.
The trap bar lifts were much harder than I anticipated. I have to remember it’s STILL over 400lbs. And the low handles are absurdly low picks on it. I imagine it’s getting me plenty strong. I’ve decided to keep the reverse hyper weight stagnant for now and focus on moving weight on the squats and deads. I feel like it’s the right call.
I don’t know whether or not you went through a period of extreme naïveté, but in a completely fucked up way, it does seem like your brutal lifting sessions are just you, cultivating your garden. Maybe it’s just me though.
If anything, I can point to the effectiveness of 20-30 minutes KB/BW metcon style workouts for getting into shape. Definitely the best conditioning base I’ve had in my life.
Silver lining about the hip thing: it was a recurring flare up from a football related injury that would happen now and then for about 3 years. I started lifting a few months after that run and I haven’t had any problems with that hip since. Credit it to building up the muscles around the joint. SL5x5 ftw haha.
