[quote]Ogre21793 wrote:
Happy late grats on the anniversary, and on the Cake![/quote]
x2 My wife and I hit 11 years this July. Seems like yesterday.
Great work…all around.
Tues, Mar23 2011
Sumo Deads 5’s (These are beginning to suck!!!)
205x5
235x5
265x5x3
Shrugs
255x7x3
Scap Retracts
165x7x3
I finally couldn’t stand it anymore. I’m at the gym doing my thing and there is this young man doing some benching. Real young, and real new to lifting. So, I’m just observing, as usual, when two other young men, boys? come over and TRY to instruct him on proper bench technique. Needless to say, they were clueless as well. After another bad set, this time with his wrists bent back as he’s benching, feet moving all around, etc, I finally broke down and instructed the kid properly on hand placement, foot placement, and locking his wrists in place. I was afraid he was gonna drop that damn bar right on his neck. His final set looked a lot better. I also told him he may want to start with just the bar and work on his form first. For the record, he was doing ‘BADLY’ with 65#. I explained that if you start with bad form and keep working up, eventually bad form will catch up to you. I tend not to interject myself on others training, but for the sake of safety, maybe I should be a ‘little’ more intrusive. The employees sure aren’t. Even the ones who train don’t seem to teach proper technique, at least when it comes to using weights. Sorry for the early morning caffeine rant.
Nice work, Rug. What is sucking about the deads? The 5 rep sets at that weight or the back?
You did a good thing for the kid. They don’t always listen, but it is worth a try. If he was using only 65#, I would have agreed that he was more likely to be receptive.
I remember back when I was struggling with 65 on the bench, and would have given a kidney for some good advice. I paid a number of guys, up to and including a Mr Olympia, for advice on my lifting, but never got anything useful. Result: years of wasted effort.
As long as you were helpful and gave him the idea that things will work out well for him, I don’t see a problem.
[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
Steely - Thanks. Now a question…How do you big guys balance size and health. I have no problem going up to 225 in the winter (the biggest I’ve ever been was 235 right before bootcamp around 25yrs ago), strength goes up, happiness level increases, but for whatever reason, as soon as it starts to warm up, I start ‘worrying about my health’ and decide I NEED to drop a couple…20 lbs. I’m like the ultimate yo-yo, literally. I have perfected, over the last 7 yrs, the art of putting on and taking off the same frickin 35lbs. I look good thinner, but feel like crap. I don’t look as ‘good’ bigger, but MUCH stronger. Anyhooo…just curious.
[/quote]
HA @ “Big Guy”. I appreciate that because I don’t think I’m that big compared to some of the gorillas that hang out here 
Before I can answer, I have to ask what ‘health’ do you mean? You say ‘balance health and size’ and I really don’t know what you mean.
I mostly eat (a lot of) whole foods: meat (&eggs), dairy, fruit, grains, vegetables. I eat foods like pizza, PBJ, crackers, chips once in awhile (probably more than I should). I eat candy, pies, ice cream, etc sparingly. I don’t drink much at all any more, and when I do, it’s either a beer at a local brew pub if I’m traveling, or a vodka/ice if I’m not dieting, or when I visit my dad we usually put down a bottle or 4 of red wine
I get my blood tested twice a year for cholesterol and other bad stuff and I seem to be doing OK. I certainly wouldn’t eat like I do if I wasn’t hitting the gym all week. Blood pressure is fine.
In other words, I don’t really think about it, but I feel OK.
Sorry, rambling… lol.[/quote]
I don’t mind the rambling. by health and size I mean big, strong, and not a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen. I worry about 2 things primarily. Blood pressure, which has been creeping up over the last few years. I’m regularly around 140 over 85, and the fat that accumulates around the organs…I have no idea what it’s called, but that is where it is starting to accumulate when I go up in weight. I’m so anti-doctor I don’t do some of the things I probably should. What I really would like to do is hit 240-250, but not look ‘sloppy’. I tend to eat pretty good, mostly. I’d say 80-20 to the good, and I keep a food log for good measure. I just have a weakness for cookies and ice cream, at least at nite. See, now I’m rambling. Part of my problem is I’m volume-shy when it comes to lifting. My mindset is hit the primaries, do a little extra, and get out. I’ve just recently started adding in some more accessory work so we’ll see how that pans out. Thanks for the ear. Sometimes I just need to see my own shit written out before it starts to make sense, at least to me.[/quote]
I hear you. I think I am actually prone to ‘visceral fat’ (fat around organs). I have some outer fat obviously but I can feel my abs real close. I have to deal more with distention of the stomach. Not sure how to handle that.
I think in my training I’ve found a good balance between strength and volume. That makes me a weak powerlifter and a fat bodybuilder, but certainly getting bigger and stronger nevertheless
The volume sometimes works to counteract the fat gain (IMO) especially if you shorten the rest times. I’m a volume whore, but I feel OK even though I tend to work in the 4-6 top set rep range. I guess it’s just an individual thang.
One thing is for sure-- the junk food is the killer. It’s one of my biggest battles because we always have crackers and shit for the kids to snack on (as well as fruit). Never a lot of candy in the house, or ice cream for that matter (good thing for me), but I catch myself nibbling on fishy crackers or fig newmans once in awhile (washing down with a quart of milk lol). It adds up…
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Nice work, Rug. What is sucking about the deads? The 5 rep sets at that weight or the back?
You did a good thing for the kid. They don’t always listen, but it is worth a try. If he was using only 65#, I would have agreed that he was more likely to be receptive.[/quote]
Repping them!!! The first 2 are usually spot on, the next whatever are hurrying to get finished. As I work up closer to my max (335), I think I’m gonna do them as an extended set…ie 1 rep rest 15 secs, reset, another rep, etc. Because my back is slowly getting better, I have to pay attention, alot of attention, to form and I think doing them this way will be beneficial.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
I remember back when I was struggling with 65 on the bench, and would have given a kidney for some good advice. I paid a number of guys, up to and including a Mr Olympia, for advice on my lifting, but never got anything useful. Result: years of wasted effort.
As long as you were helpful and gave him the idea that things will work out well for him, I don’t see a problem.[/quote]
Here’s my take on ‘help’. Any and all suggestions beyond the basics are subjective. Sometimes people focus so much on the tree that they forget that they are in a forest. Proper form constitutes the ‘basics’ to me. Anything beyond that is what works for me but may or may not work for you. My basic suggestion, when I’m asked is this…“Work on good form, then work on increasing the weight. Once you do that, everything else is a bonus and completely up to you.”
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
I hear you. I think I am actually prone to ‘visceral fat’ (fat around organs). I have some outer fat obviously but I can feel my abs real close. I have to deal more with distention of the stomach. Not sure how to handle that.
I think in my training I’ve found a good balance between strength and volume. That makes me a weak powerlifter and a fat bodybuilder, but certainly getting bigger and stronger nevertheless
The volume sometimes works to counteract the fat gain (IMO) especially if you shorten the rest times. I’m a volume whore, but I feel OK even though I tend to work in the 4-6 top set rep range. I guess it’s just an individual thang.
One thing is for sure-- the junk food is the killer. It’s one of my biggest battles because we always have crackers and shit for the kids to snack on (as well as fruit). Never a lot of candy in the house, or ice cream for that matter (good thing for me), but I catch myself nibbling on fishy crackers or fig newmans once in awhile (washing down with a quart of milk lol). It adds up…[/quote]
Stomach distention is exactly what I was refering to. I’ve dropped 5lbs so far and that is where I see it right now. My stomach is a little less distended, which is my goal right now.
[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
[quote]LittleStrick wrote:
Nice work, Rug. What is sucking about the deads? The 5 rep sets at that weight or the back?
You did a good thing for the kid. They don’t always listen, but it is worth a try. If he was using only 65#, I would have agreed that he was more likely to be receptive.[/quote]
Repping them!!! The first 2 are usually spot on, the next whatever are hurrying to get finished. As I work up closer to my max (335), I think I’m gonna do them as an extended set…ie 1 rep rest 15 secs, reset, another rep, etc. Because my back is slowly getting better, I have to pay attention, alot of attention, to form and I think doing them this way will be beneficial.[/quote]
I am right there with you. Anything beyond the 2nd rep and form becomes harder to maintain. I am thinking of dropping to sets of 3. It may end up being doubles or singles. Although, I like the sound of your plan. I my give that a whirl as well.
As far as the sumo deads go by not do them as a five rep cluster of singles? Take just long enough to reet your form between pulls. Its still repping and you don’t get form creep.
[quote]JoeGood wrote:
As far as the sumo deads go by not do them as a five rep cluster of singles? Take just long enough to reet your form between pulls. Its still repping and you don’t get form creep.[/quote]
See, another person that thinks as I do. That is what I’m planning on doing 
Thurs, Mar24 2011
Incline Press 3’s
185x3
215x3
240x3x3
Chest Supported Rows
90x7x5
Standing Mils
165x1x5
Pullovers, Skulls, Curls
55x10x5…I felt like such a brotard doing curls!!!
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
I think in my training I’ve found a good balance between strength and volume. That makes me a weak powerlifter and a fat bodybuilder, but certainly getting bigger and stronger nevertheless ;)[/quote]
BWAHAHAHA!!!
No one will ever call you weak. And them’s some very SICK pipes, big guy.
[quote]ruglayer09052000 wrote:
Thurs, Mar24 2011
Incline Press 3’s
185x3
215x3
240x3x3
Chest Supported Rows
90x7x5
Standing Mils
165x1x5
Pullovers, Skulls, Curls
55x10x5…I felt like such a brotard doing curls!!![/quote]
Don’t let it bother you. One guy in my gym does tons of curls. He’s a huge guy, has benched 500 in competition. No one calls him names.
people have really gotten silly about not liking to do curls. do we need whole bicep days? no. but we should all be doing some for shoulder health and bench stability, and tendon health, if nothing else.
a couple of summers ago, after a long winter/spring with lots of board benching and other tricep work, my wife and I were sitting on the deck. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. ‘Wow your arms look really big, flex your arm’ (meaning bicep). I had not been doing any bicep work at that point. went to flex, an it looked a little silly.
[quote]PeteS wrote:
people have really gotten silly about not liking to do curls. do we need whole bicep days? no. but we should all be doing some for shoulder health and bench stability, and tendon health, if nothing else.
a couple of summers ago, after a long winter/spring with lots of board benching and other tricep work, my wife and I were sitting on the deck. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. ‘Wow your arms look really big, flex your arm’ (meaning bicep). I had not been doing any bicep work at that point. went to flex, an it looked a little silly. [/quote]
I know. It was just a little goofy. I was even FACING the mirror!!!
Heh, my biceps have always been half the size of the tri’s, Much more rounded on the bottom of the arm than the top when I flex. I really don’t care, but between all the pullups, rows, and such, I figure they are getting enough attention. Never been too vain. Guess it comes from being an ugly bastard all my life, heh. Eventually, I might do some curls, but not anytime soon.
Sat Mar26 2011
Box Squats 3’s
190x3
225x3
250x3x3
Walkouts to 315
Leg Press
3ppsx5
4ppsx3
4ppsx3
Some work on the 45` Back raise
Edit - So, I have my wife rub my lower back down with some Icy-Hot Sat evening and she tells me my ass is starting to get bigger. I said thanks for the compliment. Apparently I’m beginning to get a ‘squatters ass’. It seams to be getting less flabby lately. Not that I feel my own ass or anything
Sunday Mar28 2011
Some interval work on the treadmill and I’ve started doing that PLP? thing from the article consisting of chins, pushups, lunges, and a really crappy looking hindu squat. Did 6 of each today. Weight is slowly creeping down. At 216 going for 210.
Ahh another convert for the 60 day chalenge…