Oh my god I’m considered “older” now !! I’m almost 34
Ahhhhh
3 Likes
Fuck, I don’t even remember 26 and it was “only” 7 years ago.
2 Likes
5/27/20 - I started posting here when I was 18. Crazy realizing how young I was. Cool to see the influx of younger ppl posting, in particular, @strongmanbrett. The circle of t-nation-life carries on.
In other news, death via front squat bw 229
Front Squat (no belt)
45x10,10
135x3,3
185x3,3
225x3
275x13
275x12
275x20 was planning to only do sets of 12 but I fell under the influence of dissatisfaction of my current self. I suppose these kind of things are necessary. Just as one feels the pull to attempt a big lift, due to extenuating circumstances, I felt the need to see how far I could push myself mentally.
This occurs typically after failing to hit a strength goal or standard I have set for myself. If it’s unwarranted, I generally do not attempt mindset challenges, but in this case, the push press bomb workout really bothered me. It was a fluke, but I’ll take any excuse to test my balls.
It hurt. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought 
Farmers Figure Eights
125/hand x 200’
125/hand x 300’
170/hand x 300’
Total asskicker of a training session. Simple but effective.
6 Likes
Instagram links don’t seem to be working, this happened to me too. Maybe @Chris_Colucci knows why ?
1 Like
This kind of embedding hiccup happens every once in a while. I think it has to do with changes on IG’s side of the technical stuff about how their videos are embedded, so the forum system needs to find the issue and sort out a fix. I think it just takes a while to roll through everywhere and sink in.
1 Like
Does this mean in a few days it will fix itself !
1 Like
5/29/20 - bw 229
Pause Axle Deficit Deads
45x15,15
135x3,3
185x3,2
235x3
275x2
315x1
340x2 felt great (although felt slow), looked even better on film. Grip was a bit slippy on the second but held up fine.
Nordic HS Curl (doing these as my 1st accessory, and ONLY doing them with hip hinge)
x5
x5
x5
x5
x5
x6 very tough, i prefer these to a straight torso. I feel like the hip hinge carries over more to …hip hinge lifts, obviously.
Bent Row (axle, dead stop from floor)
185x8
225x8
225x8
185x8
Forgot to do the rest of my deadlift work…not happy LOL
280x6x3 90 sec rest periods ok these felt better fatigued
Staggered Single Leg DB RDL
40x12
40x12
55x6
90x6
Suitcase Carry
90x a loooot
90 x a looot
90x a loooot
3 Likes
6/1/20 - bw 229. Not gonna lie, the failure from last week just kinda lingered in my head up until now. I had a double programmed at 90% and I was afraid I’d miss the first rep. The warm ups felt ambivalent. My form felt off…so I couldn’t get a gauge. Also forgot to film my warm ups, so I really had no idea where my strength was. I made a last minute change on the 280 set to bring my grip in a bit. This seemed to pack my triceps better. Might opt for this set up on push press too. Felt tighter, though was worried the narrower grip would hinder my mobility.
Strict Overhead Press
45x8,5,5
135x3,3
185x2,2
225x1
255x1 seemed to have flown up
280x3, last rep was such a grinder but i fuckin went for it. a double would only be trumped by my previous 275x3, so I changed that.
205x3x3 90 sec rest
Banded Overhead Rack lockouts (bar slightly above crown)
135+Green x 3
185+Green x 3
235+Green x 2
265+Green x 1 sick
250+Green x 2
235+Green x 4
200+Green x 6
185+Green x 7
Block Close Grip Floor Press
135x10
185x8
235x6
275x5
275x5 grinder
Seated DB Shoulder
100x5, easy 5, immovable 6. tris=done
100x4, okay im done LOL
55x10
55x10
Skullcrusher
95x8
95x5
95x4
Rotator Cuff SS with Pull Up
x15/x10
x15/x10
x15/x10
8 Likes
Absolutely nuts dude. Great work, as always.
1 Like
Thanks man.
6/3/20 - bw 230
Front Squats (no belt)
135x3,3
185x3,3
225x3,3
275x3
315x10 easy
315x10 feeling really strong, all reps are very conservative, tight and biomechanically aware
315x10 added a short pause on final rep, stoked on this. PR for beltless volume especially considering exertion wasn’t maximum. Could have forced reps out to 13-14 if I absolutely had to.
Front squats are insanely strong atm. I will work with 315 for 10/12 rep ranges and sets without a belt for another 3 weeks or so. After, I may do more volume work in 8 rep ranges with 345-355 before adding a belt and working moderate rep ranges with heavier weights.
Farmers (drop and repick at half)
120/hand x 140’
210/hand x 140’
260/hand x 140’
300/hand x 130’ (did not drop and repick, the repick the other way is at an angle backward, so it severely reduces my knee bend/ankle bend on the pick, turning it into a back lift. dont feel like doing that with this much weight)
Farmers felt sturdy for how much volume I got from squats. I will definitely dial back farmers a bit in the next coming weeks, I will need it.
315x3x10
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-yqCzgeJm/
sluggish 300 farmers
4 Likes
Geez dude…
2 Likes
6/5/20- bw 231
Deficit Paused Axle Deadlift
135x3,3
185x3,3
225x3
275x3
325x3
370x2 I don’t like how after the pause, I raise my chin/pull head back and kinda trust into the weight instead of employing a steady tempo throughout the entire pull.
300x3x3 90 sec rest, cleaned up my form big time on these.
Staggered Single Leg Dumbbell SLDL (literally fuck these)
40x10
55x10
100x6 no straps, jesus
100x6 ok straps
Dialed back on the DB sldl’s. Back is kinda banged up from last workout, giving it a break.
Nordic HS Curl (hip hinge variation)
x10
x8
x8
x6
non-hinge
x5
x4
Hip Thrust
185x10
185x10
225x8
225x8
Opted out of rowing today. Elbow and lat are very sore from farmers. Today was quality anyhow.
Deads
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEeGo2AyJA/
Nordic w/ hip hinge
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEllLMg3U4/
3 Likes
6/8/20 - bw 232
Push Press
45x3,3,3
95x3
135x3,3
185x3
225x3
275x2
belt on
330x2 smoked this. I stopped trying to be a brute and remembered how important technique is with any kind of press, not just jerks.
belt off
275x3x3 90 sec rest, technical work here. Last set was probably the best, though fatigued.
Overhead Rack Lockouts (no bands, straight weight)
135x3
185x3
225x2
255x2
275x2
245x5
Seated DB Shoulder Press
55x10
100x8
100x7 gah, these are hard to get better at
100x5
Block Close Grip Floor Press
135x10
185x10
235x10 failure
Skullcrusher
65x12
65x12
65x12
Lateral
x12
x10
x10
x10
Band Pull Apart
x12
x12
x12
BB Curl
65x20-30
330x2 push press
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBLtg-ig1hF/
5 Likes
6/10/20 - Bw 229 Vinny goes to war with front squats, again.
Front Squat (no belt)
45x8,5,5
135x3,3,3
185x3,2
225x3
275x3
315x10
315x10
315x14 I wanted 15, but then again I also wanted 16, or 20. This is PR volume work regardless. 315 for 3x10 with a belt used to be brutal work.
Stone to shoulder
175x3,3,3
250x3
250x3
250x3
Stones today were not fun but yet very smooth considering post FS and how long it’s been. My hamstrings feel so powerful atm. I want to be more consistent with stone training. I may rotate them weekly with farmers/yoke in the future. It’s difficult to do atm with the huge volume of FS I’m undertaking,but as FS get heavier and less taxing, I will be able to afford some more event work.
Block Power Cleans
135x5,3,1
185x2.2
225x3,2,1
275x2
300x2
335xf, after reviewing video, I could have easily done this if I dropped an inch more. I have no business attempting this much weight on cleans at the moment. Guilty.
This is how I’d like all my sessions to be for squat days. I’ve never been able to utilize quad isolation anyway, my ankles are so severely restricted that I end up torquing my knee and it gets inflamed. Generally, the quad work from the tremendous squat volume lends itself to enough hypertrophy. I am a glute/adductor dominant squatter anyhow.
Squat
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBRBE3bAoN6/
Stone
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBRJBXYgzHi/
Power clean
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBRMppIAy78/
3 Likes
6/12/20 - bw 231, felt unmotivated and honestly quite depressed about deadlifts. I had a weird resurgence of memories of my injuries and how scared I am of conventional deads. I’ve put in a lot of work in the last 8 weeks on my deadlift.
Deficit Paused Axle Deads (2.75ish inch for anyone wondering)
135x5,3,3
185x2
225x2
275x2
325x2
390x2 never thought I’d see the day a 400lb axle paused from a deficit and beltless would be easy for me. My hamstrings and glutes actually strained under the load. It made for an incredibly smooth looking pull and bearing of the weight, but my muscles were really working.
285x3x3, 90 sec rest
Nordic HS Curl
x8
x7
x8
x4
x3
x3
x3
Single Leg DB Staggered SLDL
40x8
40x8
40x8
40x8
DB Bent Row
40x8
40x8
40x8
Hip Thrust (slow tempo and pause)
185x8
185x6
185x6
185x5
Volume was intentionally a bit lower today but work quality was higher if anything. Things feel great.
1 Like
6/15/20 - bw 231
Strict Overhead Press
45x8,5
135x3,3
185x1
225x1
255x1 easily fastest this has moved. Looked like i had 8 or 9 reps in me
290x1 decent single. speed was actually good for over 95%, just not happy, also pinched nerve FML
205x3
205x3
Overhead Rack Lockouts (no bands, straight weight)
185x3,3
235x3
275x1
300x1 ok near death grinder and i blacked out at the top from holding my breath
275x5 slowest final rep ever, blacked out again, I need to seriously avoid redlining on these, I’m using normal J cups so if the bar falls back it’s not catching on anything but me, or the floor behind me
245x5
245x5
245x5 man these are fucking great on the tri’s. I intentionally paused on the final rep mid-way. Feeling strong. These really help boost confidence on pressing.
Seated DB Shoulder Press
40x10
55x10
90x16, zooooinks, 20 would be there fresh. tri’s are totally gone though.
CG Block Floor Press
135x8
185x8
225x3
275x3
315x3 felt good but honestly heavy on right shoulder so just gonna call it for this weight
275x5 way better than last sessions 275 set
Extra CG (hands probably 12inch apart, more of a true CG for me)
225x9
Skullcrusher
45x15
65x10
85x8
85x8
Seal Row (added these in as I’ve been doing so much pressing and anterior work that i suspect it’s responsible for my nerve pinch)
40x10
55x8
55x8 dont feel these in my lats at all, only the 40s can be felt it seems
40x8
40x8 lovely
Band Pull Aparts
x10
x10
x10
Rotator cuff shit
290 strict press
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBdwDOQg5n7/
2 Likes
6/17/20 - bw 230. A day leading up with awful anxiety and nerves. Front squat for volume is absolutely awful and as the weights get heavier and stretch past all time bests, I just don’t cope well. I suppose I cope just fine after all is said and done but I have just been so captivated by the prospect of this that it affected me physically. I literally had weakness and pain in both my legs that felt like ghost pain. It’s like my body conjures psychosomatic pains because I am so preoccupied by the session. I felt uncharacteristically lightheaded and fatigued for this workout, yet my diet has been better than ever and my sleep has been on point (usually it is not when I’m nervous). Either way, after pacing around and working myself up to a fit, I squatted weight. How underwhelming.
Front Squat (no belt)
45x8,15
135x3,3
185x3,2
225x3
275x2
315x3
345x10 adrenaline made this set look like a joke. It really was. Felt lighter than 315. Had probably 12-14 reps to failure. That is a big deal.
345x8 conservative, but hard
345x9, all in. Legs wanted more, rack position and upper back screamed for me to rerack it.
This sets the tone for the future of my squat work. I will deload (desperately) and start some peaking. I’ll be happy to trade beltless volume work for some heavier low rep stuff.
Yoke/Farmers Medley
185x50’/120x50’
275x50’/120x50’
365x50’/170x50’
455x50’/170x50’
455x50’/170x50’
455x50’/170x50’
Easy work. Felt good.
6 Likes
Crazy hard work in here Vinny. You sir should give yourself a big pat on the back. Quality.
@simo74 thanks man! I have been really focused lately, and the work is paying off. Can’t relent yet.
6/19/20- bw 233 ate a bit too much cake last night…when I cheat I cheat a bit excessively 
Deficit Paused Deadlift (no belt)
135x3,3
225x3 i upright rowed this to my shoulders on the last rep and strict pressed it (??? idk)
275x3
325x2
365x2
415x1 felt really solid. Crazy conventional deadlifting 400+ with no back pain or strain on the back. Normally for conventional deads, I stand way back from the bar and drive quads into it as an attempt to avoid using posterior chain. I changed that up a lot.
Doing these weights with a deficit and no belt is a huge confidence booster. It brings me joy to think of pulling normal with a belt. I will reset my training for deads now, normally I would probably just keep going up, but I think it’s important where I draw the line in the sand. I have to hammer technique and build GPP while destroying my post chain after the deads. I think this is where growth comes in.
240x2x3
Nordic HS Curl (hip hinge)
x5
x6
x6
x5
x8
Single Leg DB Stiff Leg
40x15
55x10
90x8
90x5
90x6 this hurts my back a bit, might have to avoid using this heavy of DB’s
Mule Kicks (green band)
x10-12 right, x15 left
x15-20 left
x15-20 left struggle to feel left glute so I mostly do reps on left
2 Likes