I was humbled last week as well on BB benching after some DB benching. There might be more than one part to the pec but apparently all of them are used at the same time regardless of angle 
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You definitely see a big difference, especially if you’re pushing the db presses hard. In my case, it’s one set to failure, followed by another set to failure with a dropset (sometimes, depending on the week, 2 drops). So it’s very, very hard.
I initially thought it was a bad thing, but honestly I’ve come to look at it in a way similar to what @T3hPwnisher has described many times: there’s value to training under fatigue. It’s not just about pushing more weight. I figured, if I get better at benching under fatigue from having already done db presses, there is no doubt in my mind I’ll be better at benching all the time. And you also train yourself to be more resilient, which is never a bad thing (plus muscles don’t know how much weight you’re using, so using a lower load but under fatigue might be just as good for growth).
I also realize I sound ridiculous even discussing this with a sub-200 bench, so there’s that too. lol
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All of my sets were to failure. I think I’m going to employ a weekly rotation. One week it’s a focus on incline BB so that first, then another week is DB with like a 2” decline maybe… mix it up. It’s too hard to do it all all the time.
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The way I see it is that if your DB bench is going up and bench is staying the same that’s a net positive. If you’re really bothered I’d say swap the order for a few weeks and try to progress bench.
I had a similar thing where I was doing OHP to failure then a chest press and the OHP went up but the chest press didn’t. I swapped the order for six weeks and the chest press flew up while the OHP mostly stayed where it was. I feel like both were equally good hypertrophy wise because the effort was always the same just the absolute loads were different.
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That’s a good strategy. In the program I’m currently doing, Meadows basically has two push days: the first one you lead with a slight decline db press, then later in the week it has you do incline db presses.
After three weeks, you start your first push day with incline db presses. The second workout has you either do flat db presses or machine presses as your leading exercise.
Exactly who I got the idea from! Love me some Meadows
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The ebook Brutality of Mountain Dog Training goes into the nuts and bolts of why his workouts are designed this way.
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I’ll check it out
Lying leg curl 2 sets of 8 to failure, the second with 10 added partials and iso-hold
Leg press 660 x 10, 617 x 10
Trap bar Deadlift 400 x 8, 8
Yes! Hit 400 on the trap bar deadlift for two sets of 8. Some of you will remember me doing a single with this weight on the regular deadlift last Christmas. When the lockdown hit, I felt discouraged to the point where I doubted I’d ever do this weight again.
Now, I know that trap deads are “easier”, so it’s not as good as doing 400 on the regular deads, but heck I’ll take this.
Next week I want to go for 420, but the leg press will be done with a triple dropset which last time knocked me to the ground and left me nauseous and unable to walk (I still deadlifted afterwards, I don’t remember how much I did though), so we’ll see for that.
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Come on dude; own your victories. The whole world will give you sh*t: you don’t have to do it to yourself. This is a huge PR: I’m proud of you.
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Thank you buddy, it means a lot coming from you.
Yeah, I guess I gotta work on the fact that it’s hard for me to be content with an achievement. I always tend to look more at the work that’s ahead of me than that I have already done. But yeah, I need to get better at celebrating my own victories haha
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Good work!
Deadlift is strange like that. It happens pretty often in the logs; People make great lifts or hit PRs and instead of being happy they’re upset they didn’t do more.
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Also, fun story about today’s deadlifts: so basically, let’s say that I drew some attention doing those today, as the trap bar is for some reason very loud when it hits the floor (much more so than a regular barbell) and the gym was almost empty, and very quiet, as we were near close time.
So I hit this first hard set, metallic smashing sounds and me letting out a very loud “UUH” at the last rep.
This girl from the gym staff who was vacuuming the floor walked past me and asked:
“How much weight was that?”
“180 kg”
“HOOOLY FUCK”
Made my day
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Mostly lurk around in this log, but those are some solid damn sets man! Great work.
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Jeff has a DB high pull variation on the upright row that I love which adds a little external rotation at the top to alleviate the impingement issue. The basic point is that your hand/DB needs to travel above the level of your shoulder and elbow, so you open up a bit at the top of the pull as if doing a small flye.
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So, as I get close to the end of this training cycle, I’m starting to lay out what my plan will look like for this winter. I have gained a fair bit of weight so far, I’m currently hanging around 180 lb, and I think I can push 4-5 additional pounds before I get too fat. So I’m thinking of going for 6 more weeks, then switching to a caloric deficit.
This time, I want to get things very slow with my cut. I want to see how high I can get with the calories while still losing. I don’t want to lose any muscle and I want my gym performance to stay high for as long as possible.
For this reason, I’m thinking a 12-week dieting phase would be appropriate. I’d be starting it in November pretty much (late October, most likely), so I’d get around 8 weeks of dieting before the holidays. I can use the Christmas week as a diet break to buffer the negative effects of dieting even more, before going for 4 more weeks. I’d be satisfied if I managed to land at 165 lbs looking lean. Then I can start building again February-late May, and see how I’m looking for next summer at that point.
I am debating which program I should do for the next 6 weeks though. I’m wrapping up a second cycle of Project Colossus and there’s no way I’m doing it again three times in a row.
I am mostly undecided between two Meadows’ programs: Odin Force and High Evolutionary.
The latter is more high-intensity, low-volume, just like the one I’ve been doing. The reasons why I’m attracted to that one are the fact that apparently it’s his best program in terms of feedback it received, and it has a separate arm day (so it’s more of a “bro split” than a pull push legs), and I really want my arms (and delts) to grow.
However, I see how this training style tends to wear me out over time. Odin Force’s description reads: “For those of you who just wrapped up my latest Project Colossus low-volume program, welcome back to volume town!”
So it’d be a nice change of pace, and maybe I can compare the two styles of training better then doing a low volume phase followed by a higher volume one. For this reason, I’m gravitating more towards Odin Force, but I haven’t decided yet.
I will eventually do both of them, definitely.
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Yeah I think you should do Odin first (opposite training might be good)
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I just completed a round of the rear delt destroyer set. Man, can’t believe it’s already been a month and a half since the last time I did it.
Every time I do this fucker, my body keeps telling me, “stop stop stop you can’t do it stop,” and I’m proud of the fact that my brain always wins over and commands my body to keep going through the excruciating pain until the last rep. This time the pain was particularly bad for some reason, but I managed to “relax” and not let panic mode kick in as a response to the discomfort.
Can’t wait to do it again twice next week (and then die).
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For the win. Psyche up, not down.
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