Saturday 14th-
Hack RDL, new lift I thought of (did this once months ago)-
up to-
410 x1
440 x1 (5# PR) VID-
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That hack RDL is the greatest lift in the world.
I’m so stoked on other plans I have for that.
Absolutely GOLD!
So many will let their ego hold them back. I myself am mad that I never did regular RDLs in the past. “RDL IS Betta, Louise!!!” - @FlatsFarmer credit goes to Flats for regular RDLs, I was missing out on them.
Sunday-
pullover lying on ladder with hammer bar -
up to-
102 x4
117 x1 (2# PR)
floor press-
up to-
153 x37 (1# and 1rep PR)
2 Likes
Been doing high rep stuff and finding some cool things to do, especially with arms/shoulders.
So, I did re aggravate my distal tendon strain attempting a one arm wrist curl with my 75# 3” bar, however after the two days my arm was in bad pain, the arm actually got strong again and is recovering well. It seems to me I’ve got tendinitis which can lead to a tear if not careful.
I got lucky and I look at this as a blessing because during this period I have discovered that doing various angled hammer curls with a thick handle dumbbell for high reps is really one of the best ways to build mass arms.
I don’t see any point in doing stuff like preacher curls at least heavy which really exposes that tendon and very heavy supinated curls only really targets a limited part of the arms. Biceps are actually useless in many strength areas, the exception is support for heavy press, but the braci (whatever that’s called) is a bigger player.
So instead of doom and gloom, it’s a blessing. I don’t think the weight I was lifting is enough to fully tear it anyway, I think I’d need over 100# for that, and this little setback was a teacher for me. Good stuff! Looking forward to utilizing my new knowledge!
But here’s a good workout I did today-
Saturday-
Weighted pushups with loaded book bag gripping dumbbells stacked on a plate for deep ROM-
25# x10
50# x11
75# x11 every rep was loud grunting and intense-
Load and lift - 85# x2
Holy BUCKETS!!!
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Monday-
Weighted wall Sits-
Top sets-
240 x42sec (PR of 8# for 40sec)
320 x15sec (PR of 10#)
Bicep is getting better everyday, the thick bar lift probably helped strengthen it, even though it tore some scar tissue in the process. I can fully flex a bicep muscle now, took about 3-weeks to be able to do so.
It’ll come back stronger than ever!
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Friday 12-27-24
Warmed -up with deficit stiff legged deads standing on 1-plate DOH monkey grip-
220 x10
235 x10
250 x14
Jefferson Deadlift-
270 x2
300 x1
340 x1
375 x1
400 x1 PR, 410 x1 PR
These are PRs for my left leg in front. I also adjusted my form as to not squat up the weight. I did that the last time and tweaked my right hamstring.
Arm is improving all I feel now is some achy mild tendinitis. It went from more sharp pain to just a dull ache now. Whew, I got lucky, tearing the distal bicep is not worth it, tearing nothing should be the goal but the distal tendon is so unnecessary and that will be a hard road to come back from, and surgery will be even slower. Some people get sold on surgery with partial tears in which you won’t be using the arm for like months once they cut the arm.
The distal tendon generally tears with men in 40s, so beware of them preacher curls fellas, don’t ever do them heavy cause that’s what exposes that tendon. So much better arm stuff to do anyway.
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Sat
Gym- discovered the ultimate strength and conditioning combo ever!!!
At the end of this.
Seated partial behind the neck presses off the power rack super wide grip-
Up to
135 x10
145 x5
150 x4
Awesome shoulder and side delt mass builder.
Here’s the combo I did because I was out of time for stienborn squats but I’m gonna progress on this-
Arthur lift / 20 nonstop squats / press behind the neck- 135#
10# PR for Arthur lift.
I made a vid but the music in the back ground blocked the vid globally. WOW, what a joke. These greedy bastards can’t even see how a vid could actually promote the artist. Bring back the record stores, but none of these geeks in todays weak society can even see how they are being screwed, they will sell their own family out for their instant porn, weed, alcohol, music and games.
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This probably caught my attention because I just finished doing preacher curls tonight lol. Don’t preacher curls maximize stability and therefore motor unit recruitment? Because of the angle, preachers create a mechanical disadvantage in the bottom that has a potential for injury–but isn’t this injury potential really only maximized with bad form, too much weight, or not avoiding fatigue/overuse?
If strength is built up gradually, isn’t the tendon able to grow stronger as well? I’m curious what caused you to reaggravate your tendonitis—poor fatigue management/overuse, form, too much volume? Or something else?
I’m curious as to what is better than progressing on supinated curls for biceps–I could understand preacher curls given the potential for injury (which I do not think is very high given that the form is clean, progression is sufficient to build tendon strength, and fatigue/overuse is managed properly) but what about other supinated curls like barbell and EZ bar curls?
@Moonflower i was attempting a heavy wrist curl with my 3” bar that weighs 75# and rehurt the injury, but at the same time might of really helped the area get stronger because thick bars build better tendon strength overall.
The initial injury happened doing a rigged seated preacher style curl with EZ bar using my knees as support, none the less many have had the distal tear from a heavy preacher curl. In fact I would say the unorthodox style I used could have been good thing really. I’ve seen vids of the perfect form tearing BOTH tendons at once. Sometimes perfect form isn’t a good thing. Perfect (so called) form on deadlifts with an arched back can F your back up in time.
There is no perfect form in a grappling match, yet rolling is the latest trend, it’s more highly respected than lifting, it seems, like it gets a pass regardless of the risks, yet lifting does not. Just look at how I get lectured about my minor strains. My old lifting partner does Ju Jistu and is nursing an injury every time I see him from that.
I agree on strengthening the tendon and specifically stated not to do preacher curl heavy. With the exception of arm wrestling what is the point of them really?
Your arm is being supported by a pad, there’s no real world use for that.
The biceps are very small muscles, the rest of the arms are much bigger. Training the triceps, hammer curls, reverse curls do not put as much risk on that tendon and those will build the overall mass. Having a huge looking biceps on a smaller framed arm is not a good look and doesn’t support “power”.
Take a look at Scott Steiner from the side you can see the actual arm foundation. When he flexes his biceps appear very larger because they sit on slabs of mass.
I don’t see the point in training the biceps supinated heavy because the risk to a useless muscle like that. Light weight blows them up and heavy can be done for the rest of the arms.
The road back from a distal tear is at least full year and that’s when one starts back Is that worth it?
Summary
Lifting and grappling are very different. As someone who has trained BJJ, they’re not the same and I’m not even going to discuss perfect vs. imperfect form for grappling because it’s not relevant to the points at hand. Still, I will advocate for fatigue management, minimizing overuse, and good form as possible in both lifting and grappling alike.
Hypertrophy. Better stability and a mechanical disadvantage at the bottom gives worse leverages meaning you can get more out of less weight and not have to go as heavy as other curls to reach failure.
More stability → more motor unit recruitment → more gains (strength and size) → stronger muscles → bigger arms and better 1 rep maxes on curls and chinups
The triceps do make up 2/3 of the upper arm; however, biceps and other related muscles make up the remaining 1/3. I think both are important. Training hammer curls and reverse curls are typically done to target smaller muscles than the biceps (such as the brachialis) that make up less overall mass in the upper arm than the biceps so the argument to train muscles that make up the overall mass means triceps and then biceps before hammer curls according to your explanation. I’m not a huge guy and I guess that makes my arms smaller framed but as a torso-dominant lifter I want as much arm size as I can, hence attention given to triceps and biceps.
Pretty sure it’s more so that his biceps look big to begin with is because he has big biceps…which I wonder how he got? Probably not heavy curls…
(To be honest I find it intriguing that you advocate for no heavy curls and then use Steiner as an example of what muscles to train instead for arm mass when I easily found documentation that he does the very thing to build his arm mass that you advocate against).
Biceps definitely help on weighted chin ups, even though they’re not the primary mover. I’ve also found them to be quite a good muscle to focus on to get a true one arm chin up as well.
Honestly, if heavy can be done for the rest of the arm (the more useful muscles) then why not also train heavy on a useless muscle?
I never want to tear anything in my arms, hence fatigue management/minimizing overuse, no ego lifting, and using good form while prioritizing progression. Then you can go heavy and max out with minimal worries of how long the recovery time is.
There is.
Because he isn’t very good and without knowing him, I can confidently say he doesn’t listen and therefore doesn’t learn.
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@Moonflower one thing you keep missing is I said “beware of the preacher curl” “heavy” and men in 40s.
Scott was a horse when he was young, of course he did heavy curls. He also used plenty of momentum when doing those thick bar curls which is less risky on the distal tendon, those might strain the upper tendon connecting to the shoulder. That injury is not as bad as tearing the distal tendon.
BTW, I been doing high rep 1-arm reverse curls with an empty exercise bar and I must say, when you go high reps like over 30 those things nail the biceps, bigtime.
My biceps are bigger and more peaked now not doing any heavy barbell curls , only hammer curls both heavy and light with a thick handle dumbbell from various angles and reverse curls, 1-arm. It’s too painful to use a barbell on my distal tendon.
I’m about 47 years old. Scott started loosing his look after age 50 due to his wrestling injuries. I shouldn’t have that issue as I don’t wrestle and put my body through that risk.
@Moonflower and fellas, since I’m misunderstood here, let me point out I’m the last guy who’s against doing any movement, I’m the opposite of that, if it hurt me I’m probably gonna do it more, but here’s the caveat-
I’m going to do these rigged preacher curls again, however I’m not going to use close to the weight I was using that tweaked my arm, it’s not worth it.
It is worth it to use a very light weight and do more and more reps and do them for more time and vary the tempo etc.
It just goes to show that “perfect” strict form is not the thing to do all the time, with the case of preacher curls testing a heavy weight will get ya hurt due to the strictness of the movement. Cheating a heavy weight by using body English can be safer in some instances, like doing curls, but you can’t do that with preacher curl bench, it’s an arm isolatation.
I did something similar with my pec flyes, I used strict form with my arms straight on light weight only, then when I did heavy weight, I held my arms like I was hugging a barrel. Why risk popping tendons trying to keep my arms straight??? That is stupid. Use that on light weights and as I progress the heavier weights will become light.
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New Years Day-
RDLs
Deficit standing on 1-plate-
220 x10 DOH monkey grip
240 x10 DOH monkey grip
255 x10 DOH monkey grip
No deficit, starting off 17" height-
290 x2
340 x6 no belt
380 x1
410 x2 (15# PR) VID
I love these, so much better than jacking my back up starting from the floor.
Not too hard, I can remember recently 385 x1 was tough.
2 Likes
Saturday-
The Ultimate Giant Set Combo- looking to up this 10# every 1-3 weeks-
145# Arthur Lift / 20 nonstop squats / press behind the neck.
Video above until the post gets approved. Good commentary on the reasons behind it.
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Monday 1-6-25
One arm lying press with hammer bar (using a ladder as a bench).
This is a side pullover with two arms and press to lockout position then use 1-arm to press-
30 x12ea.
45 x15ea.
60 x10ea.
72.5 x5ea. (PR 1-rep)
85 x 1ea. (2.5# PR) maxed!
Doing as much arm work as possible. Today I did 1-arm barbell curls with the empty standard bar. Got 30 reps with my bad arm, 40reps with my good arm.
Hit a few reps with the 45# Olympic bar using momentum to protect my tendon.
There is still pain when doing curls and rows but it’s getting less and less painful.
It’s been like 6-weeks. There’s basically no pain or aching doing everyday non resistance activities. I felt it shoveling snow etc.
2 Likes
Tuesday 1/7/25
Weighted wall sit-
242.5 x51 sec. (PR)
330 x17sec (PR)
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Wednesday 1-8-25
Distal Tendon has significantly improved, all of a sudden almost no pain when doing curls!!! Interesting as this week I’ve been eating leftover homemade mac and cheese and ham daily (this was our holiday meal made over the weekend) and my wife a ton of rasberry perserves cookies in which I add a scoop of natty chunk PB to them and been eating them every day. This is not binging, I eat this stuff, then do a set, eat more cookies, then do another set. I’m getting leaner and thicker. I haven’t had any eggs all week. I did get in 1-can of tuna this week and had chicken breast for dinner every night.
Homemade powerpole/weighted book bag push ups gripping dumbbells-
50# x10
75# x5
95# x6 VID (PR 10# and 4 rep)
2 Likes
Thursday 1-9-25
Hammer bar Farmer Dead Lift-
Deficit on 1-plate-
220 x10
280 x10
330 x10 (PR for deficit)
no deficit-
420 x1
461 x1 VID 21# PR
TOTAL MISLOAD!!! I was originally supposed to hit about 450, in fact after 420 I only wanted to go 441 to break my previous best. Oh well!!! I didn’t even realize this until 10 minutes after the lift, so I wasn’t even all that excited about it, LOL.
2 Likes
I did preacher curls today during my workout and remembered I never replied to this
Interesting, since progressive overload on curls is usually needed to keep gaining size and that progressive overload is typically measured by:
- Increasing tension on the muscles (which can be done with #2 and #3 in addition to other methods such as tempo, pausing, etc.
- Adding more reps (after a certain point we typically reach the point of diminishing returns and have to add more weight to avoid plateaus or overuse/fatigue problems and increased risk of overuse injuries)
- Adding more weight
Now, we know that higher rep sets work IF taken to failure (although we do have to keep progressive overload as a priority over time). That is something we seem to agree on. But as far as stimulus is concerned, what’s the difference between a set of 10 taken to failure and a set of 45 taken to failure?
So preacher curls are an arm isolation but barbell curls aren’t? Either they both are an arm isolation (in which case you shouldn’t be able to use body English for either by your reasoning) or one is an isolation and one isn’t, which is intriguing because they both involve a supinated concentric and eccentric of the primary elbow flexion muscles such as the biceps performed in such a way as to bias the biceps in both movements and are therefore extremely similar aside from small details like elbow bracing and positioning relative to the body and small variations in the resistance curve between the two.
Honestly I really don’t like cheat curls. When I cheat on curls momentum takes over and I never get good tension on my biceps throughout the movement since the body English takes it away from the arms–which, if this is true for you as well, would explain why your arms seem to do better when not heavy curling if you never curl heavy with strict form. If it’s not ego lifting, you work up to weights you can manage, and you avoid fatigue/overuse, injuries aren’t a huge concern to be honest. If you have to use momentum to cheat on heavy curls in order to save your tendons I think that indicates that you’re going too heavy.
@Moonflower i never said I wasn’t doing progressive overload. I only said I wasn’t doing barbell curls.
I’ve been doing 1-arm hammer curls with a thick bar from different angles, 1-arm reverse curls and 1-arm curls mostly with thick bar.
The thick bar adds much more overload to it also.
But now that my arm is almost healed finally I did do a set of light barbell curls for 100reps and my biceps were since and sore the following day!!!
My theory is the hammer curls and reverse curls added overall mass to the arms, in return this put a peak on my biceps PLUS me resting on the barbell curls helped. I do believe in resting but I also believe in training the area beyond what the so-called experts say to and then rest for growth (I don’t believe in experts in this game at all, I believe we all have expertise but there are NO experts in training).
NOW, my last point, once my arm is very very healed which might take another week or two, I will begin adding back heavier cheat curls. I will NOT maybe never ever do a heavy isolation curl ever again. Only light to aid in strengthen the distal tendon.
Also regarding cheat curls and not getting a good feel in the biceps, cheat curls are one of the best trap and back builders like the romboid muscles in the back. Even if you don’t feel it in the arms, it’s a arm mass builder, it may not be a great biceps as in the ball of the bicep, but it still hits that area and I feel doing a super high rep set of barbell curls with some swinging and backing off the swinging at times is the greatest! I say ego lifting is trying to do ever rep perfect, to me that is ego. There is nothing wrong with strategy in momentum, start strict in the set, then use swinging, then try to get the last few reps strict again, etc etc.
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