That makes sense, I know that you should be able to do 30s with the reps you put up with the 20s
Like I said, the chest goes on strike 
Thatās the beauty of being in control of your workouts. If you want to do rack pulls twice a week, go for it!
Frequency is my second favorite thingā¦ behind volume of course
[quote]kimbakimba wrote:
CBear, I am shockingly ill-read for all my fancy-ass edumacation. Canāt fool you ā yep, I am mentally unable to face squat rehab right now. Rack pulls are an effort to get my head right. And, the kicks in my ass ā they hurt so good.[/quote]
I cant say that my education has me well read. frequently, sure, but i end up dissecting stuff so much that i despise it. i have considered printing two copies of my papers. one to turn in, one with which i wipe my ass. aw hell. maybe just one copy.
when you get your head right, lemme know. iām losin mine again. come pick me up and weāll go look together!
Sometimes nature wants you to do really heavy rack pulls and who are we to argue with nature?
print, I like the way you think. And, Celtics only. No love for the football or the baseball 'round here.
Nikki, I equate you with both frequency and volume. You beast!
CBear, honestly thatās the best offer Iāve had in awhile. Iām picturing a thelma-and-louise-like spree where no-one and nothing is safe.
Joe, indeed let nature take its course.
Last nightās training was good. The after-work crowd had cleared out and there was yet another snowstorm starting up, further clearing the decks. I love an empty weight room ā except for the guy curling the bar in the squat rack. He did, however, have the grace to vacate the rack for me to use it thus redeeming himself.
Sumo Rack Pulls
3 risers ā bar slightly higher than mid-shin
135# 1 x 5 ā warmup
155# 1 x 5 ā warmup
190# 1 x 1 <āthis went well and I decided to add a little more weight
195# 1 x 1, 3 x 3
I think I added too much weight. 195 felt REALLY HEAVY to me. Next session I will work on three risers again with less weight, trying harder to not initiate with the upper body. My plan to do rack pulls twice per week is probably not a good idea for my foot (which I injured earlier this month on a sumo pull). My foot felt a bit āusedā after this session, so Iāll back off a bit.
Barbell Hip Thrusts (shoulders on bench)
135# 3 x 10
These were tough towards the end of each set to keep the movement controlled and to lock it out at the top. Glutes were burning.
Was debating whether to post this video since the angles are a littleā¦well, you know. But its nature of the exercise to be somewhat embarrassing.
Chinups (on the Smith machine)
5/4/4
Eh. I need to train these with more frequency.
Triceps V-bar Pushdown
40# 3 x 10
Then home for a dinner of turkey chili that I had already made and was on the stove, ready to eat.
Iām very guilty of focusing on one lift or two at a time, but I think (and hope) that a little singlemindedness has its place in training. Right now, Iām all about the DL and bench press. Squats and MP mehāthey donāt really have my attention. They get my leftover effort, which sometimes doesnāt feel like much. Itād be nice to be capable of across the board improvements, but I donāt seem to have that ability.
Cbear: Youāre reading or have read Tolstoy? Iām going to have to keep my eye on you. Yikes. Sometimes I finish an acclaimed book (for instance Gabriel Garcia Maqrquezās One hundred years of solitude) and I have that emperors new clothes moment, like reallyāthe nobel prize? It was about 200 pgs too long for me.
Oh! Glad you had a good workout. Love the hip thrust vid. Are you flirting with me?
Miss Kimba. You look about 17 in that hip thrust vid. And I must thank you for posting it since it gave me a really good idea about exactly how to do those.
Interestingly, Iāve never done either BB hip thrusts or rack lockouts. I think I could benefit from the first, but Iāve avoided the latter because my weakness on DLs is breaking the weight off the floor; not the lockout. But your lockouts look good. And they didnāt look that difficult for you. Nice little arch emphasizing your perky ass. Okay, I know thatās not what itās about. But I did notice.
Iām a big reader, Nadia, if you ever wanna talk books. Plus, I was an English major, among other things.
Arenāt you just as cute as a button!
Iām no Roman Polanski, but I thought the angles & the views of hip thrusters was perfect.
Rack pulls might of seemed heavy, but you didnāt pull it like it was. Actually you made it look kinda easy.
Vry good lifting. I know Iām going to sounds very special, in the very bad way, when I admit this but until that video I could never quite figure out how to set up for BB hip thrusts. Thanks.
kimba- would DEFINITELY be an interesting trip, and i get to be louise. Iām glad youāre listening to your foot, but sorry that itās talkin to ya. the rack pulls looked good from hereā¦ and no wonder 195 felt heavy. you ever pulled that much before? Also, I like that you used the Smith Machine for something worthwhile.
nadia- iāve read The Cossacks, War and Peace, and Anna Karenina. The Cossacks was too short for me. War and Peace, although long, still made me wish there was more. Anna Karenina ended at the perfect moment. Iām a nerd and tend to get involved with my characters, often speaking about them as if theyāre real people.
snap- English Major fist bump!!
/hijack. you can have your log back now, kimba.
Gonna have to agree with Cbear - 195 probably felt heavy because, well, its almost 2x your body weight!
Anyways, I like that your switching things up! Thereās no reason not to frankly. 5/3/1 will still be there, so will squat rehab, as will everything else. Sometimes its nice to switch things up and then see what happens when you go back to your regular routine. And its always surprising how training one thing might benefit something completely unrelated - itāll be interesting to see what happens thatās for sure!
And yeah, nice BB hip thrusts - I always feel like I do these wrong, so the vid is a nice reminder on how to do them the right way.
Nice stuff Kimba! Keep at it.
Nadia, I also can focus only on a few lifts at a time. Notably, bench and MP have gotten very short shrift here for a very long time. And, of course Iām flirting with you!
Snapper, arenāt you sweet! Perhaps I look 17 in good/fuzzy lighting, but Iāll definitely take that. I do think Bret Contreras has it right that the BB hip thrusts maximize glute involvement. They are definitely worth working into your training.
Iām not working the rack pulls for my lockout because like you, my sticking point is the floor. Iām doing it to address my back rounding issue. The idea is to lower the risers as I demonstrate the ability to pull with my posterior chain rather than my back. Because all still looks relatively OK, Iām guessing that my real problems will show up as I get lower to the ground. And I cherish every ass comment.
print, I would expect you to approve of the film-making.
Joe, you apparently have alot of company in being perplexed as to how to set up this lift. Wriggling under the bar will be the most challenging part of this lift, should you decide to do it.
CBear, no Iāve never held up 195 before. The most Iāve ever pulled from the floor is 185.
Maschy, be warned that I have no idea if Iām doing the hip thrusts the right way. Yep, it will be interesting to see where this little digression in training takes me. I do intend to return to 5/3/1 in a few weeks, but I guess ya never know what a crazy kimba unleashed on the weight room will do!
Geeze I always find my eyes drifting to your deltsā¦damn
Love hip thrusts ! I think they are responsible for some noticeable changes for me.
The burn is so unbelievable but I know they are worth pushing threw it.
(Crazy how that sting just lingers after)
You inspire meā¦
Youāre so sweet to me blush
Wicked workout, me gusta!
Oh, and I always forget to tell you that I always see a woman in my gym who looks just like you. Especially when sheās doing dips. I want to run over and scream āKIM!ā
But I know that Iāll look foolish because it canāt possibly be you pout
oooh. thanks for the hip thrust vid. i had no idea what on earth they were supposed to look like. i want to give them a shot, but suspect it will take me some time to work up to something i can fit myself under lol. i wonder if rack pulls will help me not use my back on deadliftsā¦ nice exercises.
I have nothing to add, accept to say HI!!
I hope the snowstorms stay away! You going snowshoeing this weekend?
Upscale, I know exactly what you mean about the unending BURN with the hip thrusts. This has just got to be good for the assal region.
Nikki, so I have a twin in FLā¦excellent. Frankly, Iād trade places with her right this minute.
alexus, you can always use steps or risers on each side of you to raise up smaller plates so that you can wriggle under. These really are worth the trouble.
Hi Betty! Maybe some snowshoeing out my backyard (plenty of snow there) or perhaps a XC ski. Canāt beat it, so trying to make it work for me!
sorry for the late response to your PM. T-Nation changed things and now it doesnāt show at the top of the page when you have PMās. you have to click on āyour accountā. anywayā¦sorry for that.
i watched both of your elevated pulls and you need to get WAY more explosive with the āhips throughā portion. the first video you were in a really good position and your upper body stayed uprightā¦ just need to be faster to the bar. from that height it should just be hips through.
in the second video it was lower and heavier and as a result the upper body came into play initially.
i would go back to the original height and work on getting more explosive with the hips. i would also get stronger at that height before moving down. i would like to see you pulling close to 225 from that height before moving down.
keep up the good work.
MM, thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. Now I CANāT WAIT to try again! Iāve never even held up 225, but surely I want it.
Your enthusiasm is so cute!