[quote]flipcollar wrote:
Have you ever considered working with a real life coach/trainer? I think you could benefit from it.[/quote]
Well, I did during the summer of last year, but it was only an 8 week class. Also, I have always wanted to work with a highly qualified certified coach or trainer, but I’ve never could afford to pay for one and I still can’t.
It has been almost three months since I have been on the WS4SB version 2 program without having skipped any upper body workouts along with actually having done the entire lower body workout for the past three weeks. All of my assistance lifts have gone up at reasonable rates (even my seated dumbbell power cleans having finally progressed up in weight too). However, there are a couple of things that I gotta ask with regard to doing these exercises:
1.know that when doing a max-rep exercise on repetition upper body that it’s okay if the amount of reps you during the 2nd and/or 3rd working sets subsequently drops compared to the amount of reps you are able to complete on the 1st working set. Now apparently, this seems to happen sometimes with the other assistance lifts that I do. For example, on last Monday, I did the flat dumbbell bench press exercise with 42.5 lbs on each hand for 11 reps on the first set, then 12 reps on the second set (I don’t know why this set ended up actually being better than the 1st), and finally I could only get 8 reps on the 3rd set without risking going to failure. This drop in reps in subsequent sets even happened with this exercise on the Mon. before. So, is this okay or should I have used a lower weight on the exercise last Mon. in order to achieve the same amount of reps on all three working sets?
You’re good.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
You’re good.[/quote]
X2
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
You’re good.[/quote]
Okay, so I dont’t have to really worry about the reps dropping on each subsequent set on the assistance lifts. But pertaining to my second question, are you saying that I shouldn’t do the ab exercises to the end of lower body workout?
Btw T3hPwnisher, I now think that my sticking point on the bench press is somewhere from midrange to the lock out portion of the exercise. I am not totally sure if that means that my triceps are the weak link, because I am still a novice at the bench press. Therefore, according to a lot of advanced level weightlifters, this means that I wouldn’t be able to figure out by myself with full certainty as to what my weaknesses are, and even if I do notice I where during the exercise I am getting stuck they say that it doesn’t automatically mean that that is the portion of the exercise that I should focus on since I don’t have enough experience and/or guidance from someone highly qualified to personally identify correctly what muscles of mine is or are for sure the weakest link(s). So, I am not sure what to do with that.
As long as your primary lifts go up, you are good to go. If they aren’t, you need to address why.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
As long as your primary lifts go up, you are good to go. If they aren’t, you need to address why.[/quote]
okay, thank you.
In addition, it’s getting very close to 3 months of having not skipped any upper body workouts, and so I would like to make some changes with the routine that I am on. I am considering adding, on my max-effort upper body day, a tricep isolation exercise that would help to improve my tricep strength and mass. Also, I am thinking of adding in barbell curls while still keeping hammer curls in as well in the workout. For example, what if I did something like this on my max-effort upper day:
1. Flat barbell bench press 3x5
2. Flat dumbbell bench press 3x6-10
3a. Standing bent-over db rows 3x8-12
3b. Seated db power cleans 3x8-12
added tricep exercise -----> 4. Skullcrushers 3x8-12
added bicep exercise -----> 5. Barbell bicep curls 3x 6-10
6. Hammer curls 3x 8-12
7. Decided to move the abs exercises to end of my lower body workouts
Would this actually be too much for the bi’s and tri’s or is this fine?
[quote]Bull_Scientist wrote:
In addition, it’s getting very close to 3 months of having not skipped any upper body workouts, and so I would like to make some changes with the routine that I am on. I am considering adding, on my max-effort upper body day, a tricep isolation exercise that would help to improve my tricep strength and mass. Also, I am thinking of adding in barbell curls while still keeping hammer curls in as well in the workout. For example, what if I did something like this on my max-effort upper day:
1. Flat barbell bench press 3x5
2. Flat dumbbell bench press 3x6-10
3a. Standing bent-over db rows 3x8-12
3b. Seated db power cleans 3x8-12
added tricep exercise -----> 4. Skullcrushers 3x8-12
added bicep exercise -----> 5. Barbell bicep curls 3x 6-10
6. Hammer curls 3x 8-12
7. Decided to move the abs exercises to end of my lower body workouts
Would this actually be too much for the bi’s and tri’s or is this fine?[/quote]
No. Do the program as written.
For the past few weeks, it’s been hard for me to figure out what is the right weight for me to use for any of the upper back dumbbell exercises. Over four weeks ago, I was eventually able to progress on the seated dumbbell power cleans from using 15 lbs. dumbbell to 17.5 dumbbells at home. However, ever since I joined an L.A. fitness about 4 weeks ago -and have been going there regularly ever since- I have had to use 10 lbs., 15 lbs., and 20 lbs. dumbbells for the seated dumbbell power cleans as the dumbbells they have only go up in increments of 5 lbs. and not in 2.5 lbs. I superset this exercise with standing db or barbell bent-over rows like WS4SB says to do, but I can’t get at least 8 reps on any sets on it. So, I sometimes do drop sets with the exercise. For instance, a week and a half ago on thurs. this is what I was able to with standing db bent-over row/seated db power clean superset:
– standing db bent-over row
1st set- 50 lbs. dbs x 11 reps
2nd set- 50 lbs. x 11 reps
3rd set- 50 lbs. x 9 reps
– standing reverse db flyes
1st set- 20 lbs. dbs x 8 reps
2nd set- 20 lbs. dbs x 6 reps, then dropped to 15 lbs. dbs x 2 reps
3rd set- 20 lbs. dbs x 4 reps, then dropped to 15 lbs. dbs. x 4 reps
Also, since last week I have actually switched to doing standing reverse db flyes and the same problem happened. For instance, this is what I could do last Mon. for the standing barbell neutral grip bent-over row/standing reverse db flyes:
– Standing barbell neutral grip bent-over row
1st set- 115 lbs. x 6 reps (failure)
2nd set- 95 lbs. x 8 reps
3rd set- 95 x 8 reps
– Standing reverse db flyes
1st set- 20 lbs. dbs x 4 reps, then dropped to 15 lbs. dbs x 4 reps
2nd set- couldn’t even do 1 rep with the 20s, so dropped to the 15 lbs. again for 6 reps,
then had to drop to 10 lbs. dbs x 2 reps
3rd set- 15 lbs. x 6 reps, then had to drop to 10 lbs. again to complete the last 2 reps.
This is what happened with the superset last Thurs.:
– Standing barbell neutral grip bent-over row
1st set- 110 lbs. x 12 reps
2nd set- 110 lbs. x 8 reps (failure)
3rd set- 110 lbs. x 6 reps
– Standing reverse db flyes
1st set- 20 lbs. dbs x 10 reps
2nd set- I wasn’t able to do even to get 1 rep with the 20s and so I dropped the weight down to 15 lbs. dbs for 8 reps.
3rd set- 15 lbs. dbs x 8 reps
So, one question I have is if it’s okay for me to do drop sets in this case, even though I am still a beginner? Also, the next time I am ready to increase weight how do I increase the weight properly on this exercise, considering that the dbs at my gym are only in 5 lbs. increments? I was considering buying those magnetic hex plate for microloading onto to dumbells, but then I realized that it probably won’t work at the gym since all the dbs are coated with rubber.
Are your primary lifts going up?