T3hPwnisher's Log

Training Training Logs
321

[quote]lift206 wrote:
If you do switch to front squats, it might be a good idea to throw in RDLs to give the lower back and hams some work. I had the same issue when doing only front squat. I’ve never tried reverse hypers so I don’t have an idea how much work you get out of them. Maybe you can just up the reverse hyper work.[/quote]

My touch and go mat pulls are pretty much RDLs at this point, haha. I don’t think I’ll be lacking too much for lowerback and hamstring work between the reverse hypers, deads, and all the strongman related stuff, but definitely something to factor. I appreciate the contribution.

That said, the squat on this day is less about building muscle and more about straining. The real area for concern would be my higher volume work on my deadlift day.

I may end up making this day front squats and using reverse band squats on my deadlift day. I am painfree throughout the entire ROM, but it seems like I need to retrain my hamstring on how to handle heavy eccentrics, and I think being able to reduce the loading may help.

322

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
My touch and go mat pulls are pretty much RDLs at this point, haha. I don’t think I’ll be lacking too much for lowerback and hamstring work between the reverse hypers, deads, and all the strongman related stuff, but definitely something to factor. I appreciate the contribution.

That said, the squat on this day is less about building muscle and more about straining. The real area for concern would be my higher volume work on my deadlift day.

I may end up making this day front squats and using reverse band squats on my deadlift day. I am painfree throughout the entire ROM, but it seems like I need to retrain my hamstring on how to handle heavy eccentrics, and I think being able to reduce the loading may help. [/quote]

Haha, that is true that touch and go mat pulls are like RDLs. I didn’t really think about that. It’ll be interesting to see how it all turns out. Good luck.

323

Log clean and press (clean once) 235
2x2

Log clean and press (clean once) strict press 190
1x5

Notes: Though the reps aren’t higher on the 235, they were much smoother. Leg drive was improved and it was far less of a grind. I think I may need to press from the other side of the log, as my present set-up runs the risk of me throwing the log into my wife’s car on a failed rep, and it may be unconsciously holding me back.

Strict press is an improvement for sure.

(3) DB incline bench 105
1x10
1x9
1x6
(2) DB incline bench 105 w/reactive slingshot
1x4

superset w/

GB lat pulldown 110
5x10

superset w/

Band pull aparts
4x20

Notes: Actually lost a brief bit of consciousness on the third rep of the first set. Lost total control of the bells and ended up crashing them on my chest. After that, sets were good. Probably need to stop holding my breath on the first rep, as that seems to be the killer.

Axle curl drop set
25-20-20-20-15

Band pressdown
1x50

324

720×540 43.2 KB

Thanks for the hot tip, bruh. Tested it out today and its a beautiful thing.

325

[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
Thanks for the hot tip, bruh. Tested it out today and its a beautiful thing. [/quote]

I am equal parts happy and envious of you, haha. That looks awesome dude. Prepare for a future of people poking what appears to be a massive protruding tumor on your upper/middle back going “what the FUCK is that?”. My wife refers to it as my “back brick”, haha.

Yoke 500lbs/200lb sandbag clean

2x75’/1x1
2x75/1x2

Notes: Little confusing. Basically, took the yoke for a 75’ run and then immediately hit sandbag cleans. Goal for the first 2 sets was a clean and press, but by the time to bag got to my chest I was just plain out of gas. The cleans ended up being the easy part, so I started hitting them for more reps in the last 2 runs. Doing this to simulate the contest “Yoke/Tire flip” event. Basically, training to be explosive immediately post yoke run.

Once again, had to run through my HOA’s sprinklers during this, so I’m learning a lot about stability with the yoke. Very last set was super wobbly, but still no set downs.

326

(7) Mat Pulls 585+chains
18 reps total

Notes: 12, then 3, then 3. No hamstring pain whatsoever. All my warm-ups up to 405 felt terrible, but once I got 495 on the bar things finally felt decent. Got 9 in 1 breath on the first pull, felt like spinal fluid was leaking out of my nose. Still trying really hard to force a fast and hard hip drive.

DOH hold 405+chains
40 seconds

Squats 315
1x21

Notes: Started feeling a slight amount of pain at 225, so wrapped the hamstring with a wrist wrap and kept it light. Went slow and controlled on these, really blew up the quads. Figured out what I’m doing that torqued the hamstring before: when I get fatigued, I basically free fall to the bottom of the squat and then use my hamstrings to catch myself in the hole and propel back up. I’ve hurt myself before like this, good to be aware. Right hamstring is actually feeling a little pain, most likely due to 2 weeks of compensating for my left.

327

THOUGHT SALAD PART I, and II, some pretty cool shit, it’s good to know there’s at least one other person in the world that still uses common sense as part of his thought process. That said, I’ve been finishing my workouts with farmer’s walk step-ups for a while now, hope that doesn’t mean I’m blindly following some trend :slight_smile: just seemed like a logical finish for a leg / back workout

The real reason I dropped by was to pick your mind on GHR, I’m giving my place a face lift, and I’m thinking about getting one. The truth is I’ve never used one, and all the real strong guys I know are older than me, so most of them I asked haven’t even heard of a GHR ( true story) Anyway my equipment rep told me they’re uncomfortable, and all the gyms he sold them to, they end up gathering dust. haha These would be commercial gyms where people are excited to get something they see on the net, then realize it’s hard. With all this said I do have a commercial gym, but I push real lifting, and have some good kids who train for real. I value your opinion, and would love to have it. I only have so much space and money, and 500+ people to keep happy, my manger wants a hack squat. Thanks in advance, here or my spot. later !

328

Farmer’s walk step-ups don’t sound bad at all. You using farmer’s handles for it? Going to do some insane stuff for stabilizers for sure. Thanks for the comment btw, those are my favorite types of posts to write, just because it gives me a chance to let my mind wander.

In regards to the GHR, it’s a fine piece of equipment for sure, and in a commercial gym it can always get use as a roman chair and back extension along with a GHR, so it should make up for it’s footprint. You might even be able to remove some equipment due to it’s multifunctional capabilities.

That said, these days I don’t do a lot of GHR work. Can’t really find a place to fit it into my program, but when I was focusing more on powerlifting vs strongman it made pretty regular appearances in my training.

Anything in particular I could speak to on the GHR?

329

Random question: I’ve read somewhere that you round your upper back when you deadlift. Is this something you do consciously or is it something that happens naturally?

This may be something that I will discover for myself when I can pull 6 wheels.

330

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
Random question: I’ve read somewhere that you round your upper back when you deadlift. Is this something you do consciously or is it something that happens naturally?

This may be something that I will discover for myself when I can pull 6 wheels.[/quote]

It’s a bit of both. I recognize the benefits of a rounded upper back for heavy lifting, and as such I do not correct my upper back when it rounds. You still have to be able to control the weight, such that it’s not pulling you back down to the earth, but you’re also allowing it to stretch out the upper back to decrease the ROM.

For me, it’s a pretty natural posture, and I’ve also spent YEARS hammering the crap out of my upperback, so it’s suited for the abuse. I think it’s a valuable technique, but of course, everyone is going to have a different experience. Let me know how it works out if you give it a try, and if you want my perspective on your technique, feel free to send me a video.

Weighted chins 50lbs
25 reps total

Bench 285
5x6

superset w/

Band pull aparts
5x20

Notes: Focusing on gripping and squeezing the bar really paid off. Weight felt very light in my hands. Really focusing on my set-up everytime I bench. Had to rack before the last rep of the last set, but considering I’m pausing the first rep of every set, I’m ok with this. This program is always good at giving you just about as much as you can handle.

Shoulder circuit
3 rounds

DB rows
8x3
1x27

331

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
Random question: I’ve read somewhere that you round your upper back when you deadlift. Is this something you do consciously or is it something that happens naturally?

This may be something that I will discover for myself when I can pull 6 wheels.[/quote]

It’s a bit of both. I recognize the benefits of a rounded upper back for heavy lifting, and as such I do not correct my upper back when it rounds. You still have to be able to control the weight, such that it’s not pulling you back down to the earth, but you’re also allowing it to stretch out the upper back to decrease the ROM.

For me, it’s a pretty natural posture, and I’ve also spent YEARS hammering the crap out of my upperback, so it’s suited for the abuse. I think it’s a valuable technique, but of course, everyone is going to have a different experience. Let me know how it works out if you give it a try, and if you want my perspective on your technique, feel free to send me a video.
[/quote]

I haven’t consciously pulled my shoulders back since the guy who taught me to deadlift stopped watching, they just seem to stay back without any effort tbh. I may have to take you up on that offer if the weathers good enough to take my phone out next deadlift session. I haven’t trained much with anyone around for about a year so there may well be some glaring errors that would explain my weakness.

332

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
I haven’t consciously pulled my shoulders back since the guy who taught me to deadlift stopped watching, they just seem to stay back without any effort tbh. I may have to take you up on that offer if the weathers good enough to take my phone out next deadlift session. I haven’t trained much with anyone around for about a year so there may well be some glaring errors that would explain my weakness.[/quote]

It takes a while to pick up for sure. I imagine my use of straps probably helps, as I’m so connected to the bar that I can really let it pull my shoulders down without fear of ripping out of my hands.

Be happy to give it a look. I find that most deadlifts live and die by the set-up. Execution tends to be pretty simple, but if the set-up is jacked up, it’s a lost cause.

333

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
I haven’t consciously pulled my shoulders back since the guy who taught me to deadlift stopped watching, they just seem to stay back without any effort tbh. I may have to take you up on that offer if the weathers good enough to take my phone out next deadlift session. I haven’t trained much with anyone around for about a year so there may well be some glaring errors that would explain my weakness.[/quote]

It takes a while to pick up for sure. I imagine my use of straps probably helps, as I’m so connected to the bar that I can really let it pull my shoulders down without fear of ripping out of my hands.

Be happy to give it a look. I find that most deadlifts live and die by the set-up. Execution tends to be pretty simple, but if the set-up is jacked up, it’s a lost cause.[/quote]

I train totally raw. Not a “moral” decision or anything, it’s purely that I don’t usually feel my grip to be a limiting factor, I’m sure it’s something I’ll invest in when it becomes an issue.

That would be pretty awesome, thank you man. Be good to have some experience giving everything the once over.

334

Yeah, the mixed grip could actually be a slight hindrance to that approach, and could be why you experience a normal amount of upperback rigidity. With double overhand, you can let both shoulders sag pretty substantially, making the arms “longer”, but with a mixed grip, the underhand loses this, and the overhand will match to compensate. You could probably even observe this comparing the pulling styles of mixed grip lifters versus doubleoverhand ones (whether it be straps or hook grip).

On an unrelated note, just found out my work is putting on a 1 hour strongman competition 4 days after the one I’m training for. I think I’m going to drop in on it for some fun. Curious to see if they’ll post any events. I imagine it won’t be anything too exotic, but I also imagine there will be an expectation for me to compete, haha.

335

What the hell do you do for work that they are having a strong man comp??

Also, I was reading your blog and came upon your challenge set ideas. They sound fun :slight_smile: I was curious how often you throw stuff like that into your training??

336


LOL just joking dude! I found your thought salad very “filling and nutritious”,hahaha,thanks for taking the time to put good stuff like that up!

337

Lonnie: I’m an instructor by trade, but my employer provides us a pretty baller health insurance policy that hinges on preventative care, so fitness is a big part of our lifestyle. We actually are provided a fitness center, which will be hosting the event. It’s only slated for an hour, so I imagine it won’t be anything too intense.

In regards to challenge sets/finishers, ideally I perform them every week on my Saturday workout as my squat training. If you look through my log, my mat pull sessions tend to end with some pretty stupid squat workouts, ranging from 20 rep squats, drop sets, rest pauses, dumb volume games (6 reps, then 5, then 4, then 3, etc), pretty much anything stupid and high intensity. Anything upperbody related is more whenever I get a wild hair. I have 1 day every 3 weeks in my press workouts where I can fit it in should the need arise, and occasionally these might show up on my deload weeks or whenever I am short on time and want to hit something hard.

It’s all about listening to your body and knowing when it’s time to do something stupid and when it’s time to be smart. But honestly, I’ve been doing better being stupid as of recently, haha.

Farmer: Thanks for the accolades, along with the image, haha. At least now I can just tell people “I follow George Leeman’s program” when they ask how I train.

(15) Chain suspended safety squat bar squats
1x445+chains
10x245+chains

Notes: Hamstring is really coming along, but still not ready for full intensity. Partly physical and partly psychological, can’t really go full throttle yet mentally. Still, the 445 moved decently smooth, and the 245 felt light. Thankfully, none of my competition lifts are suffering, so I’m just going to keep plugging away at this.

Reverse hyper 5 plates
3x8

superset w/

GHR sit up w/25lbs
3x7

Car deadlift simulator 7 plates
1x6

Notes: Finally finding a weight that is challenging on this. Without the buggy hamstring, might’ve been able to eek out 2 more, but I’m actually starting to cap out here. I tried taking off a plate and repping out, but I managed just 1 rep from there. Future plan will be to work to this top set and then strip 2 plates and go from there. Need to get strong at a variety of rep ranges, as I have no idea how heavy the car will be in my next comp.

338

On vacation, training at a commercial gym

Dumbbell push press 100lbs
1x7/4
1x6/3

Notes: Indicating right/left hand numbers. Got some great leg drive here, actually felt like I managed a jerk a few times.

Barbell strict press
worked up to 225 for a single

Notes: Pressing with a barbell felt really weird. Actually tried to push press after this and it didn’t take. Pretty happy with 225 for a smooth single after the dumbbell work.

V handle lat pulldown
5 sets

Dips
5x20

Notes: This felt amazing. I missed dips, and this gave me a crazy chest pump. The very last set I managed 16 before having to take a rest pause. I might need to bring these backs.

Cable curls
65 reps

Notes: Was doing another drop set, but also just killing time waiting for the squat rack to open up. Once it did, I cut the set short.

Squats 325
1x20

Notes: Cheap barbell slipped down my back a bit, but otherwise this was solid. Hamstring’s got a little bit of pain, wrapped it with a wrist wrap, but it’s manageable. My deadlift workout is going to be short this week, so I threw the squats in today. Rehab plan from here on out is to keep adding 10lbs each week while sticking with the 20 reps. Want to get this up to 405.

339

(6) Mat Pulls 585+chains
18 reps total

Notes: Did this after driving 5 hours through LA. 10, then 4, then 4. Warm-ups felt like nothing, practically ripping the bar off the mats. Didn’t get a big enough breath on the first pull, only managed 7-8 reps, but made up for it with later pick ups. Might’ve actually had a 5th rep on the final set, but I could feel a callus tearing in my left hand so I shut it down. Was the smarter move, looked at my hand and all the chalk had worn away right at my ring finger. That’s what I tore in my 3rd contest. Gotta keep a watch on it.

340

I’ll reply regarding the belt in my own thread, but I’d guess you didn’t see Alpha’s question (in his training log) about whether or not to purchase an SSB. Just a friendly nudge that he was hoping for your input on that decision.