Westside/PLing Training Thread

Training Powerlifting
5971

Phill -
Congrats on the new toy and happy to read about your pull going up. Phill’s in da game again!

2007-7-23
Deload Upper #2

Flat bench
135x10
135x10
185x8
230x5,5,5

OH Press
barx15
95x10
125x5
155x4,4,4

Close Grip lockouts (4th pin,hands on smooth part of bar)
235x4,4,4

Cable row
200x5,5
215x5,5

Cable Face pulls
100x8,8,10

Notes:
Massive left hamstring cramp on the 4th rep of the last set. Right leg started to quiver in sympathy so I ended up flinging both legs in the air while holding the bar at arms length to stretch em out. Then did the the fifth rep. Whew! Wish I had a movie of that one… might have to back off on the creatine. Controlling the descent all the way to the chest/upper abdomen this time. Right elbow still wanting to wing out, but staying put. Pinging sensations in left shoulder near the top of the movement. Time to change angles.

OH Press - wanted more, but I couldn’t because of my middle, not the delts and tris. Couldn’t stabilize enough to get 5’s cuz my abs and obliques were a-shiverin’.

Close grip lockouts - these bastards are hard. Arms are bent 90 degrees so it’s full range of motion. I must be boosting
the weight with my pecs in bench press and praying that I get it high enough so my tri’s can take it the rest of the way.
Last two sets the fourth rep was a gut buster and the very last rep took a good 6-8 seconds to lockout. Thought for sure I was going to have to retrieve an eyeball from under the freezer. Good sets, but disappointing that the tri’s are so weak.

Cable row - pulleys have a lot of drag on them so I think the force needed to move the weight is comparable to what I’m using on the barbell. That’s what you get when you roll your own.

Face pulls - weird motion, but feels good for thickening upper back and doesn’t hurt my elbows like upright rows. Gee - maybe those westside guys are on to something here.

5972

[quote]Phill wrote:
Total body Lower ME/ Upper RE July 23rd 07

Pre Gym thoughts
I have to DL today. I realized im just in the wrong mind set. There are to many unanswered ?�??s. Im coming into this session saying �??id like to get�?? , or �??id be happy to get�?? when it needs to be on Max effort days �?? Im Going to the gym to Get�?? and go get it. So I need to pull today set a bar answer some of those questions and have a place to build from. That and just need to start hitting some heavy DL�??s again.

Post gym Thoughts:
and Im glad I did great day and heck of a start back on DLing

Super set
1A) DL
Bar x some
135 x 8
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 3
495 x 1 ( Knew it was going to be a good day after this pull)
585 x 1 (post Op PR)
605 x 1 (10 lb Conventional DL PR)
500 x 3 ( all I had left)

Felt great was thinking prior to the 5 plates Id go to 545 but the 5 flew up so went straight to 6 plates it was cake even the 605 it was hard, arm sure knew it was holding something but it wasn�??t one of those that was the final pound I could handle 15 second pulls think I had a good 10+ in the hole. Darn happy with the pull though and think that was a good test for the arm today so called it there more next time. Wanted to give Modi a chance as anyway : )

1B) Flat bench (Paused)
Bar x ton
95 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 10 (+2), 9(+2), 9(+4), 7(+2)
275 x 1 Just a single to feel it out
I really think these were a good idea taking it slow here. Everything is starting to feel right im setting up better, everything is tight nothing hurts. Great progress as well. Going to aim to get to 4 sets of ten then up the load maybe go for a 1-3 RM the week after hitting the 10 x 4

Giant set
2A) Leg press
12 plates x 5 (4 sets)
Kept it light and slow on these knees been aching a tad

2B) Chins bw / wide grip p-downs
6/8, 5/8, 5/8, 4/8

2C) 1 arm DB OH press
50 x 10 x 4 sets
Added 10lbs

2D) Abs Decline weighted
4 sets
.
Damn it felt good to DL really first time pulling heavy not since the surgery but the injury itself. Awesome being able to hit a all time PR in the conventional DL after not pulling as well. 7 plates here I come.

Phill
[/quote]

Nice DL PR! Great job Phill!

5973

Monday 07/23/07

Bench Assistance

2-board fat bar bench (comp. grip)

Bar x 10
120 x 8
160 x 5
210 x 5
250 x 5
280 x 3 (added 2 board)
310 x 3
340 x 3
360 x 3 (PR, easy lift)

Incline DB bench
80x8;90x8;100x8

Rolling DB extensions on floor
30#x3x12

Seated cable row
160x8;190x8;220x8

Hammer curls for the girlz
2x10

Seated DB cleans
2x15

Notes: Looks like a lot (well felt like it to me, esp. in a gym with no noticeable AC), but trying to keep the bench volume under control. I can handle higher intensity, but I’ve overtrained it in the past by going overboard on the volume. With my shoulder a little beat, I went with the fat fattie and matched it up with the 2-board. I like using the fat bar because it disperses the load more evenly through the arms and actually puts you in a better leverage position when you tuck the elbows. The weights went up easily on all but the top set, and it wasn’t all that hard. I know counting the extra weight of the bar (weighs about 70#) is cheap, but hey I’ll count it. Gives me a PR on the 2-board, hah!!

I tried doing the rolling DB extensions on the floor, started out with 30# just to see what kind of difference there would be. Damn, these were noticeably harder. The 30 lbers felt like 45s and they really hammered the tris moreso than when I do them on a flat bench. Hadn’t done seated cable rows for ages, and since the CS row was occupied (the good one, anyway), I gave ‘em a shot and realized why I stopped doing them - I just don’t feel anything from them. Finished off with some hammer curls and a little shoulder pre-hab then called it a day. Overall, have to say it was a pretty good workout–weights felt light and kept tempo up on all the accessory work. The sweat was rollin’.

5974

7/23/07 DE Upper

2" axle clean and jerk
100lbs 8x3

to light probaly but I havnt pressed an axle in over 2 months and it was good just getting used to it again

Dips
BWx4
BWX4
BWX4

looks like crap but I am happy with it, I will start adding dips in again on DE days on ME days my shoulders and tris are to taxed to do any ussally! I was only getting around 5-6 reps when I was 20lbs lighter so thats not to bad. Of course when I was 155lbs I could do 30

EZ bar curls
60x8
80x6
80x6

FOREARM PAAAAIN! I don’t know why curls seem to hurt my damn forearms so much, it got better by the 3rd set, I think when i don’t do BB curls for awhile it gets worse. need to do them every week.

Still sweating ALOT and I will start taking HRX tommarow? FUN!

5975

7/23/07
ME Upper

Bench Press
45x10
95x5
135x3
155x1
185x1
205x1
225x1
255x0
225x2
225x1

Pendlay Row
135x5
220x5x5

Dips
BWx5
BW+117.5x5,5,4,2,2

Chin ups
BWx10,8,6,6,6

Dips
BWx5x11

Was not feeling too strong today. Might have been slightly fatigued from 4+ hours at the shooting range yesterday. Added the bodyweight dips at the end for a bit of punishment for the lackluster bench and dip performances. I need to try something different with the bench press. Maybe a 3x3 or 5x5 for max effort day. Or maybe I’ll start subbing presses every other week. The form on the rows wasn’t good. Going too heavy on these probably hurt my dipping performance. I’m going to go ahead and pin the weight on them to my bench weight. So I’ll keep them at 205 for 5x5 until my bench press starts going up. Chins are progressing well enough. I’ll start adding weight back on to them as soon as I can consistently do five sets of ten or more.

5976

7/23/07- Monday- Strength Upper

A1)DB Bench Press
(70x7 90x5) 100x3 110x4 115x4 110x3

A2)Neutral Grip Chins
(BWx6) +25x5 +50x5 +70x3 +50x5

B1)Standing BB Military Press
(115x3 135x3) 150x5 150x5 (set PR) 140x6

B2)DB Row (knee on bench)
120x10 x10 x15 (5 rep PR?)

Notes: Took a pretty impromptu road trip to North Carolina this weekend. Every time we passed through Virginia, I thought of you, Meat. If only I was traveling with my training partners, I’m sure we would have took a detour for a kickass training session.

Anyhow, first day back in the gym in 6 days, and I’m up 5lbs in 3 days, haha. I definetly needed the time off, this endurance type training really beats the shit out of me. Looking forward to the first decent lower body workout in a few weeks coming up on Wed.

-Matt

5977

Nice work there, Matt - 3 PRs during weightloss!

5978

ME Lower

A. Conventional deadlifts
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3
425 x 3

B. Good mornings, arched back, wide-stance
225 x 4
245 x 4
265 x 4
275 x 4

C. Barbell shrugs
Did a shitload, heaviest set was 315 for 5 reps.

Comments:
Good workout today. I actually had planned to do front squat as my max-effort lift this rotation, but forgot when I got into the gym and did deadlifts instead. Whatever, doesn’t really matter I think. In any case, this went well. I think I’ll be able to set a deadlift PR next week.

5979

Thx bro feel;s good.

Man gotta hate/love those ham cramps when benching closest I feel ive came to tearing one is on the BP guess you know your getting leg drive LOL

Keep it up

Phill

[quote]skidmark wrote:
Phill -
Congrats on the new toy and happy to read about your pull going up. Phill’s in da game again!

2007-7-23
Deload Upper #2

Flat bench
135x10
135x10
185x8
230x5,5,5

OH Press
barx15
95x10
125x5
155x4,4,4

Close Grip lockouts (4th pin,hands on smooth part of bar)
235x4,4,4

Cable row
200x5,5
215x5,5

Cable Face pulls
100x8,8,10

Notes:
Massive left hamstring cramp on the 4th rep of the last set. Right leg started to quiver in sympathy so I ended up flinging both legs in the air while holding the bar at arms length to stretch em out. Then did the the fifth rep. Whew! Wish I had a movie of that one… might have to back off on the creatine. Controlling the descent all the way to the chest/upper abdomen this time. Right elbow still wanting to wing out, but staying put. Pinging sensations in left shoulder near the top of the movement. Time to change angles.

OH Press - wanted more, but I couldn’t because of my middle, not the delts and tris. Couldn’t stabilize enough to get 5’s cuz my abs and obliques were a-shiverin’.

Close grip lockouts - these bastards are hard. Arms are bent 90 degrees so it’s full range of motion. I must be boosting
the weight with my pecs in bench press and praying that I get it high enough so my tri’s can take it the rest of the way.
Last two sets the fourth rep was a gut buster and the very last rep took a good 6-8 seconds to lockout. Thought for sure I was going to have to retrieve an eyeball from under the freezer. Good sets, but disappointing that the tri’s are so weak.

Cable row - pulleys have a lot of drag on them so I think the force needed to move the weight is comparable to what I’m using on the barbell. That’s what you get when you roll your own.

Face pulls - weird motion, but feels good for thickening upper back and doesn’t hurt my elbows like upright rows. Gee - maybe those westside guys are on to something here.[/quote]

5980

[quote]cvb wrote:
Nice DL PR! Great job Phill![/quote]

Hey thx for poppin and Thx a lot felt great no on to some real lifting again :slight_smile: Im feeling less like the gimp round here

Phill

5981

Nice PR bro Ive grown to love triples as well

Keep it up

Phill

[quote]novaeer wrote:
Monday 07/23/07

Bench Assistance

2-board fat bar bench (comp. grip)

Bar x 10
120 x 8
160 x 5
210 x 5
250 x 5
280 x 3 (added 2 board)
310 x 3
340 x 3
360 x 3 (PR, easy lift)

Incline DB bench
80x8;90x8;100x8

Rolling DB extensions on floor
30#x3x12

Seated cable row
160x8;190x8;220x8

Hammer curls for the girlz
2x10

Seated DB cleans
2x15

Notes: Looks like a lot (well felt like it to me, esp. in a gym with no noticeable AC), but trying to keep the bench volume under control. I can handle higher intensity, but I’ve overtrained it in the past by going overboard on the volume. With my shoulder a little beat, I went with the fat fattie and matched it up with the 2-board. I like using the fat bar because it disperses the load more evenly through the arms and actually puts you in a better leverage position when you tuck the elbows. The weights went up easily on all but the top set, and it wasn’t all that hard. I know counting the extra weight of the bar (weighs about 70#) is cheap, but hey I’ll count it. Gives me a PR on the 2-board, hah!!

I tried doing the rolling DB extensions on the floor, started out with 30# just to see what kind of difference there would be. Damn, these were noticeably harder. The 30 lbers felt like 45s and they really hammered the tris moreso than when I do them on a flat bench. Hadn’t done seated cable rows for ages, and since the CS row was occupied (the good one, anyway), I gave ‘em a shot and realized why I stopped doing them - I just don’t feel anything from them. Finished off with some hammer curls and a little shoulder pre-hab then called it a day. Overall, have to say it was a pretty good workout–weights felt light and kept tempo up on all the accessory work. The sweat was rollin’.[/quote]

5982

[quote]Kalle wrote:
7/23/07 DE Upper

2" axle clean and jerk
100lbs 8x3

to light probaly but I havnt pressed an axle in over 2 months and it was good just getting used to it again

Dips
BWx4
BWX4
BWX4

looks like crap but I am happy with it, I will start adding dips in again on DE days on ME days my shoulders and tris are to taxed to do any ussally! I was only getting around 5-6 reps when I was 20lbs lighter so thats not to bad. Of course when I was 155lbs I could do 30

EZ bar curls
60x8
80x6
80x6

FOREARM PAAAAIN! I don’t know why curls seem to hurt my damn forearms so much, it got better by the 3rd set, I think when i don’t do BB curls for awhile it gets worse. need to do them every week.

Still sweating ALOT and I will start taking HRX tommarow? FUN![/quote]

Try SMASHING the bar when you do the curls really grab that some bitch in any move it gets everything all the supporting muscles etc tight and should help

Best of luck keeping the strength and getting down to contest weight

Phill

5983

[quote]skidmark wrote:
Nice work there, Matt - 3 PRs during weightloss![/quote]

I agree damn fine work

Phill

5984

[quote]Phill wrote:
skidmark wrote:
Nice work there, Matt - 3 PRs during weightloss!

I agree damn fine work

Phill[/quote]

To be fair, I had gained those 5lbs over the last 3 days, haha. But let’s hope they drop off pretty fast. And I much appreciate it guys!

-Matt

5985

Nice progress Matt, great job on the PR’s.

I had assumed that you had either fallen of the face of the Earth, or had just been spending too much time over in the Men’s Health forum. Good to have you back. :wink:

5986

[quote]Phill wrote:
Total body Lower ME/ Upper RE July 23rd 07

1A) DL
495 x 1 ( Knew it was going to be a good day after this pull)
585 x 1 (post Op PR)
605 x 1 (10 lb Conventional DL PR)
[/quote]

Great job Phill! You’ll get those 7 plates in no time! Ain’t no stinking bicep injury can keep you down!

5987

ME Lower

Last week I figure out everything I was doing wrong.

  1. Not pulling elbow forward.
  2. Hip coming up first.
  3. Didn’t have head back.
  4. Leaning to far forward.

I fixed all of these by doing one thing…wait for it…wait for it…I didn’t squat in front of a mirror today.

45x??
95x5
135x3
225x3 - Right around here I started feeling comfortable without the mirror.

275x1
315x1 - fastest smoothest rep I ever did at this weight.
345x1 - a little slower but still nice and smooth.
365x1 - went really deep. it was hard but it felt good. This
matches my last squat PR, but it was a much better lift than last time. I could have definitely hit 375 today, but I decided not to try it.
335x3x1 - just to get some more reps at +%90

Notes: I need to get used to getting under the bar without the mirror. I was sort of a little to the right sometimes causing the weight to tip down a little to left.

DL - Sumo

315x1
365x1
405x1
435x0 - Almost had it. I think that I would have if I let myself rest a little more.

Pull-Throughs

130x4x12

Done.

My hips and hammies were fired, but I felt good today.

5988

novaeer wrote:
360 x 3 (PR, easy lift)

Nice job…an easy PR…gotta love that.

I never got around to building my boards, not that I have a training partner to hold them right now. But I’m going to continue with the rack lockouts at my sticking point, and work on the close grips with light bands as well.

I just got my mini’s for DE day, but I can see how you can only use them for a few weeks before you beat your elbows up.

Anyways, nice work, makes me want to hit something heavy tomorrow.

5989

[quote]Phill wrote:
THX BRO!!! Man it felt good to pull; heavy again arm was like WTF!! are you doing LOL but not bad and just felt great no feeling like it. This and after not pulling heavy since March seems the box squats, Safety squat bar and GMs not did a hell of a job.

Hell yhea bro raise the bar brother. Let keep this shit going. I wont be pulling a max pull for a month. get that shit up there something thatll have me seeing stars and popping blood vessels.

[/quote]I’ll do my best. Anything to help you out man. lol[quote]

Now to get a good PR on squat next week

[/quote]Grrr…had to rub that one in, huh?[quote]

Thx again
Phill

[/quote]

5990

If you don’t make the boards too long (and don’t wear Under Armour…click clack), you can stuff the boards under your shirt. Since I only have a training partner on the weekends, and I do a lot of board presses on Monday bench sessions, that is what I have figured out works best. Before I was asking Joey the GymRat or Bobby Bicep Curls to hold the boards and I just got sick of instructing them how to hold it and what purpose they serve.

The funniest thing I was ever asked during a board press session was by Mr. Cell Phone in One Hand, Dumbbell in the other. There was absolutely no one else around so I was forced to ask him to place the 2-board on my chest while I benched, blah blah blah. Well the genius that he was thought I said to hold it on HIS CHEST while I benched. And then he gave me attitude after I kindly (honest) repeated what I said. Needless to say I told this 150# when soaking wet geek “Put down the board and go back to talking on your cell phone you fucking douchebag.” He actually narc’ed on me (geez, like this is grade school). Luckily, he happened to tell a personal trainer who I talked to a bit about lifting. The trainer came up to me about 10 minutes later and told me about it, then I told him what transpired and we just pointed and laughed at the little twit. Some funny shit. Needless to say, that kid looks the other way when he sees me at the gym.

[quote]Modi wrote:
novaeer wrote:
360 x 3 (PR, easy lift)

Nice job…an easy PR…gotta love that.

I never got around to building my boards, not that I have a training partner to hold them right now. But I’m going to continue with the rack lockouts at my sticking point, and work on the close grips with light bands as well.

I just got my mini’s for DE day, but I can see how you can only use them for a few weeks before you beat your elbows up.

Anyways, nice work, makes me want to hit something heavy tomorrow.[/quote]