@TrainForPain Definitely one of those things that pulled me away from powerlifting. I don’t like getting good: I like getting strong, haha. Also what had me pulling away from strongman: I had gotten to the point where I had tapped out strength for a bit and needed to start focusing on technique, and it just doesn’t gel with me. Trap bar pulls are another great example of this: you can really just go for broke on them. I’m always fantasizing about the movements I’d pick if I didn’t care about competing, and the SSB and trap bar always show up.
That said, as far as making LEGS stronger, I don’t get the return on investement with the SSB as I do with the buffalo bar. Since the SSB allows me to fold over so much to get in the rep, I’m basically deadlifting my squats up. It’s all hamstring. The buffalo bar will fall if I try that, and it forces me to stay more upright, which hammers my legs. It’s the only reason I keep using it.
@dagill2 Good mornings are a different animal with the SSB too compared to a barbell. VERY upper back intensive, whereas the barbell makes it more lower back/hamstring focused. And that sensation of the bar wanting to rip your head off can’t be replicated, haha.
@zeptrey For me, it’s always torched my upperback. I developed what my wife affectionately refers to as my “back brick”, in the area between my shoulder blades. It almost looks like a set of abdominals, and it protrudes to the point of looking like caveman postures, haha. But it’s a very valuable bit of musculature if you want to have some “real world strength”. Plus, the last time I was stung by a wasp was right in that spot, and I’m pretty sure it blunted that f**ker’s stinger, haha.
Forgive my stupidity, but what is the purpose of pulling on the SSB handles? I’ve seen this advocated before. Strengthen the upper back all around? At my gym, we have an OLD SSB with the handles missing. So really I can only use it for Hatfield Squats, which truth be told, I fucking love.
For me, it makes the movement much harder. Pushing up on the handles honestly feels like cheating, because it pushes the weight back behind you and shortens the angle of the lever (I got a D in physics in high school, so I most likely screwed that up, but you get what I mean). Pulling on the handle puts the weight forward, which forces the body to have to correct it to get the rep.
This style of squat also carries over VERY well to stones and sandbags. You’ll note my posture at the bottom of the squat is very similar to the posture one will take when picking up a stone.
Great, great points about technique vs. strength. As an aside, it’s also what makes the “who is strongest in the NFL” threads stupid - I never missed a cut because I wasn’t strong or conditioned enough; now when it came down to just not being good enough…
Anyway, SSB and trap bar are good choices! I love the trap bar, but doesn’t your point about just squatting the weight up there mirror deadlifting the SSB? So if those are your two movements, you’re covering your two bases, so what does it matter?
Assuming I understand your question correctly, for me, I can deadlift the SSB AND the trap bar up, so I’m basically just becoming super awesome at hip hinging and still not getting much for legs. I’ll notice the difference in leg size real quick when my focus drifts too far away from the buffalo bar.
Got it, that makes sense then. I feel like folks think they are more of a trap bar squatter than deadlifter, so that is where we differ there. I have never really pushed the trap bar, so I don’t know enough to speak on it.
@TrainForPain The trap bar definitely affords that opportunity. Similar to the SSB: you can focus on how you want to execute it or just grip and rip. I’m just such a bad squatter that, given the opportunity, I’ll deadlift everything, haha.
@kdjohn Hah: thanks man! That’s the back brick I’m talking about. Hard to develop without picking up a lot of heavy stuff off the floor.
That’s 1.5 chicken and apple sausages (apologies to my German audience for calling that a sausage), half a can of french cut green beans and 4 sliced mushrooms mixed with zero sugar BBQ sauce. Very satiating and low call. The sausages are 160 calories each, with 20 grams of protein and only ingredients being chicken, apples and water. The mushrooms take on a meaty flavor on their own, and mix in with the sausages enough that it feels like a LOT of food.
Secondly, since I’m getting new floors put in, my bathroom sink was taken out and I got a full body photo this morning
I am hoping that I just took a photo that is the leanest I’ll ever be in my life, one, because I want to document that, but 2 because that should mean I’m going to gain weight soon, haha.
I just saw that video of you doing the car deadlift simulation and that makes so much more sense than how I did it, with the plates in front of me haha. I feared for my toes greatly every time I trained it.
Yeah, I know Kalle has been big on moving the plates out in front, since it requires fewer plates/makes the strain greater, but it just never settled well with me. I like them placed behind.
The tear drop vmo, awesome quads. Go for the off-season training then shoot for a bodybuilding comp next year. How much more strain do you think it would be on your family considering how fairly easy you seem to drop weight. You already put the time in the gym and at the table.
@alex_uk Glad I can keep giving some goods out in the log. Two landmines is so worth it for that movement. And yeah: that squat is gnarly, but it makes you strong, haha.
@zeptrey Much appreciated dude. Once I have to start eating on a schedule and bringing my food with me wherever we go it’s a no sale. This week, for instance: we’re getting new floors put in and eating out for dinner every night because we don’t have kitchen access. I like having the flexibility to do that vs worrying about screwing up my prep. My kid might want to go out for ice cream some night or a pizza buffet or something, and I don’t wanna shut them down over that. To say nothing of the hours of extra cardio I’d have to put in.
When the kid is away at college, I might do it. I don’t think it’d be hard to endure at this point. But right now, especially with me focusing on my health, it’s just not really the best idea.
@Voxel Appreciate it dude. I can already recognize the unhealthiness in my pursuit of health too, haha. Doc says “eat less red meat and reduce saturated fats” and it suddenly becomes a competition to eliminate all of it. My obsessiveness is a blessing and a curse. But I’m hoping I come out of these past 3 months better than I started and can move on to new goals.
Hill sprints didn’t happen this morning: stayed up late getting the house put back together somewhat. Did scout a good hill earlier though, so I may tackle it this afternoon. Got 15 GHRs and 34 chins this morning. Felt the left hamstring twing a little on rep 8 of the GHRs: need to be mindful.
Notes: Found a hill closeby. Did a slow warm-up run to it and proceeded to run up and walk down it. On lap 9, I “timed” myself by counting how many seconds it took to go up and down, and it was around 7 seconds up and 13 down, so 20 second rounds. Did 45 rounds to get in 15 minutes of interval training. Go meathead math. Did hills this week because the treadmill is currently put away while the floors are being installed in my house, and I don’t want to run off of it in fear of screwing up my stride/pacing. I’m too junior a runner to groove in bad reps at this point. This was different enough to drill some weakpoints and still get in some running.
My cardiovascular system wasn’t taxed as much as I’d have wanted, but my legs were certainly not happy. It was almost prowler-like. I like how low tech it is if nothing else.
Do 20 chins, then 1 dip
Then 19 chins and 2 dips
Etc etc (both numbers add up to 21, hence "Blackjack)
Time: 39:38
Notes: Got up at 0330, had to leave for work at 0500 for a 12 hour shift and figured I’d get in some upper body volume. I’m light enough that I can pull this one off finally. I’ve tried it a few times in the past and always had to tapout. Rest pausing was a must. I employed a style where I’d take a break from the chins and take as many deep breaths as per however many reps I had just done. Seemed to workout well. Starting with the chins as the high number and dips as the low works well for me, as I’m a much stronger dipper and could rely on that toward the end of the workout while letting the chins fade.
First set of chins I just knocked out 20, next set was like 12 and 7, and then, from there, stuck with a pattern of 6-rest pause-4-rest pause and then chip away until done. Only needed rest pausing on the dips toward the last 4 sets.
Blew up the upper body fairly well, and totals 210 reps for each. Not a bad way to get in some extra volume.
Now I’m on a 12 hour shift. Packed a fair amount of food. Breakfast before the workout was a slice of keto bread with a light spread of almond butter, poster workout was 1/2 cup egg whites and 1/2 cup fairlife skim with a scoop of protein and amazing grass, then 15 minutes later had the 3/4 cup fat free greek yogurt with PBFit. Looking at a giant almond butter sandwich as my final meal of the day, combing dinner with supplemental fats, and in between will be combinations of chicken, eggs and veggies. Also have broccoli and zero carb beef jerky for snacks. I’m pretty happy with how well I’ve gotten nutrition dialed in with my schedule.
Not mentioned in the ungodly amount of caffeine I’ll take in today. I’m allowing myself that for 12s.
