[quote]Ramo wrote:
11/11/09 Bench
Bench
200x5
225x3
250x6
Bench
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
Pretty good…BW at 189.[/quote]
Nearly had you on bench today Ramo, 180x7 @ 200 BW
What do the kids say? FML!
[quote]mrodock wrote:
Ramo wrote:
11/11/09 Bench
Bench
200x5
225x3
250x6
Bench
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
Pretty good…BW at 189.
Nearly had you on bench today Ramo, 180x7 @ 200 BW
What do the kids say? FML![/quote]
You weigh 200 now? Good God!
Get that shoulder right…and who cares about your raw bench? Everybody knows nobody who uses cheater shirts can bench more than 225 raw anyway…
But in all earnest, isn’t that more reps/set than you’ve been hitting in a long time? It makes a difference…might not kill you to do something like what I’ve done and get a ton of reps in bodybuilding style at a low intensity. With the way you like to train with a ton of volume and frequency, it might help fortify you for more intense work down the road. It will definitely add some upper body muscle…I can’t even begin to describe how dramatically my physique has transformed over the past few months, without even having that as a goal. It’s absurd.
[quote]Ramo wrote:
mrodock wrote:
Ramo wrote:
11/11/09 Bench
Bench
200x5
225x3
250x6
Bench
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
Pretty good…BW at 189.
Nearly had you on bench today Ramo, 180x7 @ 200 BW
What do the kids say? FML!
You weigh 200 now? Good God!
Get that shoulder right…and who cares about your raw bench? Everybody knows nobody who uses cheater shirts can bench more than 225 raw anyway…
But in all earnest, isn’t that more reps/set than you’ve been hitting in a long time? It makes a difference…might not kill you to do something like what I’ve done and get a ton of reps in bodybuilding style at a low intensity. With the way you like to train with a ton of volume and frequency, it might help fortify you for more intense work down the road. It will definitely add some upper body muscle…I can’t even begin to describe how dramatically my physique has transformed over the past few months, without even having that as a goal. It’s absurd. [/quote]
Haha, yeah I haven’t been shy about gaining weight recently. Although the plan is to become a leaner 198 over the next couple of years, provided I can qualify for nationals in 2011.
Oh yeah, I forgot about how weak everyone is raw that uses cheater shirts! No worries then! Wait a second, I suck in the cheater shirt too!
Well here has been my approach as of the last couple of weeks. I take 20 pound jumps and try to work up to an 8 rep max. Example from last week:
1x8x95
1x8x115
1x8x135
1x8x155
1x8x175 (8 rep max, last rep difficult)
Then my idea was to add 5 pounds each week and then do as many reps as I can in the last set. Also, on the “warm-up” sets I will use the previous number of reps I got on the last set, example from this week:
1x8x100
1x8x120
1x8x140
1x8x160 (my shoulder felt pretty shitty on this set)
1x7x180 (this set didn’t feel so bad)
So then later in the week I hit some DB bench, and do a lot of triceps stuff throughout the week that doesn’t bother my shoulder.
I’m afraid doing something like the boring but big template, even if the intensity is really low, say 50% of my max, would bother my shoulder quite a bit, at least at this stage.
It has been 2 months since I injured it by the way, kind of shitty.
Meet is in just over 11 weeks. I am contemplating taking a couple more weeks off of bench, not sure how much it will help though.
Any suggestions/recommendations let me know!
[quote]mrodock wrote:
Ramo wrote:
mrodock wrote:
Ramo wrote:
11/11/09 Bench
Bench
200x5
225x3
250x6
Bench
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
195x10
Pretty good…BW at 189.
Nearly had you on bench today Ramo, 180x7 @ 200 BW
What do the kids say? FML!
You weigh 200 now? Good God!
Get that shoulder right…and who cares about your raw bench? Everybody knows nobody who uses cheater shirts can bench more than 225 raw anyway…
But in all earnest, isn’t that more reps/set than you’ve been hitting in a long time? It makes a difference…might not kill you to do something like what I’ve done and get a ton of reps in bodybuilding style at a low intensity. With the way you like to train with a ton of volume and frequency, it might help fortify you for more intense work down the road.
It will definitely add some upper body muscle…I can’t even begin to describe how dramatically my physique has transformed over the past few months, without even having that as a goal. It’s absurd.
Haha, yeah I haven’t been shy about gaining weight recently. Although the plan is to become a leaner 198 over the next couple of years, provided I can qualify for nationals in 2011.
Oh yeah, I forgot about how weak everyone is raw that uses cheater shirts! No worries then! Wait a second, I suck in the cheater shirt too!
Well here has been my approach as of the last couple of weeks. I take 20 pound jumps and try to work up to an 8 rep max. Example from last week:
1x8x95
1x8x115
1x8x135
1x8x155
1x8x175 (8 rep max, last rep difficult)
Then my idea was to add 5 pounds each week and then do as many reps as I can in the last set. Also, on the “warm-up” sets I will use the previous number of reps I got on the last set, example from this week:
1x8x100
1x8x120
1x8x140
1x8x160 (my shoulder felt pretty shitty on this set)
1x7x180 (this set didn’t feel so bad)
So then later in the week I hit some DB bench, and do a lot of triceps stuff throughout the week that doesn’t bother my shoulder.
I’m afraid doing something like the boring but big template, even if the intensity is really low, say 50% of my max, would bother my shoulder quite a bit, at least at this stage.
It has been 2 months since I injured it by the way, kind of shitty.
Meet is in just over 11 weeks. I am contemplating taking a couple more weeks off of bench, not sure how much it will help though.
Any suggestions/recommendations let me know![/quote]
Actually I like what you are describing with your bench training…a lot. You could go a long way with that approach, and just back cycle once in awhile. Why not just go with this up to the meet…
as you get closer, maybe have a shirt day and a raw day, doing your progression you described on the raw day, and follow w/ some lighter shoulder/db work and higher volume triceps, and then a shirt day where you just take heavier weights to acclimate to the shirt, and then some boards or whatever…just spitballing.
But I like where your head’s at.
[quote]Ramo wrote:
Actually I like what you are describing with your bench training…a lot. You could go a long way with that approach, and just back cycle once in awhile. Why not just go with this up to the meet…
as you get closer, maybe have a shirt day and a raw day, doing your progression you described on the raw day, and follow w/ some lighter shoulder/db work and higher volume triceps, and then a shirt day where you just take heavier weights to acclimate to the shirt, and then some boards or whatever…just spitballing.
But I like where your head’s at.[/quote]
I don’t want to crowd up your log, but we are definitely on the same page with all of this. I might ask you a question or two as I get a few weeks closer. Thanks man, always appreciate your thoughts in regard to training!
Youve come along way in the past few months Ramo, keep up the good work.
11/13/09 Squat
Squat
255x5
290x3
325x12
Squat
245x10
245x10
245x10
245x10
245x10
HLR
Bx12
Bx12
Bx12
Bx12
Bx12
GHR
Bx8
Bx8
Felt strong. I’m still doing everything beltless, in large measure because both of my belts are way too big now.
My diet is fairly modest in terms of calories, so I’m not gaining much weight but my body composition is shifting pretty dramaticallly. However, to any of you skinny fucks who read this log, I cannot recommend this approach highly enough for gaining mass. I have no doubt that if I was eating big the way I used to, I would be putting on lean mass at a ridiculous rate…the key is pushing the assistance. I know Jim Wendler says not to worry about the assistance much, but I don’t think anything is better than a high volume of big lifts for putting on size.
[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
Youve come along way in the past few months Ramo, keep up the good work.[/quote]
Thanks much buddy. I tell you, a couple months ago I would have sworn I was done even thinking about competing in any kind of strength sport, but I weigh about 185 right now and I have every confidence that I am surging towards and beyond my previous strength levels (weighing over 230 at my strongest). I might just jump in a meet next year…who knows?
What were your best lifts at 230?
From what I can remember your not to far off from those.
11/16/09 Military
Military
45x5
95x3
135x3
160x3
170x3
180x3
190x2
Pullup
Bx3
15x3
25x3
35x3
45x3
55x3
65x3
75x2
1-Arm DB Overhead Press
45x6
55x6
65x6
70x6
Chinup (grip inside shoulder-width)
Bx6
10x6
20x6
30x6
40x6
Because I expect to have about 5 days away from the gym next week, I am not doing a deload this week…instead, I am working to a 3-5RM on the big lifts, and playing around with some other stuff, just to see where I am.
I’m alright with the pullups and chinups, and I suppose the press is about where I would expect it to be, especially considering I haven’t handled anything nearly that heavy in awhile.
It is remarkable how easy a workout like this feels after I had been beating myself up with the high rep sets…not fatiguing in the least. My conditioning is far better than it has ever been.
[quote]BlackLabel wrote:
What were your best lifts at 230?
From what I can remember your not to far off from those.[/quote]
As I remember, best lifts were:
SQ 410x5, 475x1 (belt)
BP 290x5, 325x1
DL 480x3, 565x1 (belt)
MP 215x5
So not there yet, but I’ve been doing a bunch of rep work. If I slap on 5 pounds and get into a heavy strength phase, I think I could at least get pretty close to those numbers.
11/18/09 Deadlift
Deadlift
135x5
225x3
280x3
320x3
350x3
380x3
405x3
435x2
SSB Russian DL
45x6
95x6
135x6
165x6
195x6
215x6
235x4
Hanging Pike
Bx6
Bx6
Bx6
Bx6
Bx6
A little disappointed w/ the pulls. The second rep really drifted forward on me…just not used to the heavier weight w/ all the rep work I’ve been doing the last few months. But I am getting some ideas about where I want to go w/ my training over the coming months…
11/20/09 BP
BP
135x5
185x3
225x3
245x3
265x3
Incline DB Press
45x8
60x8
70x8
80x8
80x10
JS Row
135x8
185x8
205x8
205x8
205x8
I think adding in the DB work next cycle will help a lot. The JS Rows felt good too, have not done these in a long time. A great back exercise…
11/23/09 Squat
SQ
135x5
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3
335x3
365x3
385x3
BB Dynamic Lunge
45x6
70x6
100x6
120x6
120x6
Hanging Pike
Bx6
Bx6
Bx6
Bx6
Bx6
Heavier weight than I’ve had on my back in a long time. Legs have plenty of strength for this kind of weight, but stability without a belt is not great at this bodyweight (185 today). But I probably had another couple reps in the tank. However, I declined to try and take 405 for a triple, althuogh really, 405x3 beltless would be pretty nice in comparison to where I was a year ago (430x3 w/ a belt at 230 lbs.)
The lunges felt good. I’ve erred in the past w/ these increasing load too quickly. I’m going to go with these for awhile and treat them like an assistance exercise, which they are, and not like a ‘lift’, so I will take it easy w/ load…I think they will help.
Perhaps this makes me a dork . . . but putting in your old best numbers at 235 puts you at a 368 Wilks, and your current numbers at 185 puts you at about a 360 Wilks (I figured you could comfortably total 1200 now). Will be cool to see where you are in a few months!
[quote]mrodock wrote:
Perhaps this makes me a dork . . . but putting in your old best numbers at 235 puts you at a 368 Wilks, and your current numbers at 185 puts you at about a 360 Wilks (I figured you could comfortably total 1200 now). Will be cool to see where you are in a few months![/quote]
That’s interesting. Thanks for doing that.
I think at the beginning of the year I would have been good for 1400 at 220, but right now, if I let my weight drift up to 198, I think I could get pretty close to that. The deadlift is the main thing, I’ve got to find a way to train that lift better. The squat feels pretty good, and I would have expected the complete opposite with a huge drop in body weight.
Also, I always got a ton out of the belt, and I have not had one on in many months…not sure what kind of weight I’d get out of that. So I feel alright about where I’m at, especially considering I look and feel about 10 years younger.
[quote]Ramo wrote:
The deadlift is the main thing, I’ve got to find a way to train that lift better. The squat feels pretty good, and I would have expected the complete opposite with a huge drop in body weight.
Also, I always got a ton out of the belt, and I have not had one on in many months…not sure what kind of weight I’d get out of that. So I feel alright about where I’m at, especially considering I look and feel about 10 years younger.[/quote]
I have a few thoughts in regard to this, I am curious what your reaction will be.
I think the Boring but Big template was extremely effective for building your squat back up, but not necessarily your deadlift. I think the combination of squatting a lot and the GHR’s was a great way to build your squat quickly. The deadlift will likely start climbing faster as you aggressively hit whatever assistance exercises really push your deadlift, whether they be rows, Russian deadlifts, etc. I think it is possible that the Boring but Big template actually meant you were deadlifting with too much volume and may have even slowed your progress as a result But either way, I don’t think the deadlift breakthrough is far off.
[quote]mrodock wrote:
I have a few thoughts in regard to this, I am curious what your reaction will be.
I think the Boring but Big template was extremely effective for building your squat back up, but not necessarily your deadlift. I think the combination of squatting a lot and the GHR’s was a great way to build your squat quickly. The deadlift will likely start climbing faster as you aggressively hit whatever assistance exercises really push your deadlift, whether they be rows, Russian deadlifts, etc. I think it is possible that the Boring but Big template actually meant you were deadlifting with too much volume and may have even slowed your progress as a result But either way, I don’t think the deadlift breakthrough is far off.[/quote]
Yeah I think you are absolutely right. Squatting for a ton of volume has always done wonders for my squat, but it hasn’t worked that way w/ pulls or bench. Korte’s 3x3 was the best thing I ever did for my squat, but the bench and deadlift gains were not impressive. However, it was still worth it for the massive increase in my squatting strength.
The russian dls are a big piece of the deadlift puzzle I think. Probably cutting the actual pulling volume way down as well. I will probably go w/ JS Rows on bench day and some kind of shrug after the russian dls on deadlift day.
The same is true of benching…you know it’s interesting, I think it was C.S. Sloan who wrote something once about how every lifter responds best primarily either to low-volume linear progression (like a Coan-style scheme,) lots of variety (like the Westside Barbell approach,) or frequency and specificity (like most European lifters train, Sheiko, Korte, etc…) And he noted that the best approach for a liter can be different for each lift. For squatting, I know the high volume approach works best, and I can handle high frequency to get the volume.
Benching probably goes up best for me with a basic low-volume Coan-style approach. And I think w/ pulling, it’s a matter of pulling enough to keep the groove but working in the right assistance, heavy russian dl’s, rowing, ab work, etc…
So I’ll be making some of these changes…we’ll see how it goes.
11/30/09 Military
Military
135x5
145x5
155x12
Chinup
Bx6
15x6
25x6
35x6
45x6
55x5
Dip
Bx8
25x8
45x8
70x8
90x8
Not bad. Could have knocked out the sixth chin w/ 55 but the dumbbell slipped from between my feet…maybe I will give them a go w/ the dipping belt next time. As long as the dips do not irritate my shoulders I will keep them in there…gotta be careful w/ these though.
12/2/09 Deadlift
Deadlift
295x5
335x5
375x7
SSB Russian DL
135x6
185x6
205x6
205x6
205x6
205x6
Saxon Sidebend
10x6
15x6
15x6
15x6
We’ll see how this assistance pans out.