Westside/PLing Training Thread

Training Powerlifting
7391

Thursday, 9/20/2007: ME Overhead

A. Overhead Press
115 x 8
125 x 3
135 x 1
145 x 1
155 x 0
145 x 1
145 x 1
125 x 5 (PR +2 reps)

B. Bradford Press
95 x 6
95 x 6
95 x 5
95 x 4

C. Dumbbell Rows
80 x 4 sets x 12 reps

I kept the volume low today so I’d have to something left for tomorrow’s session. I missed my PR attempt at 155, so I did a couple more reps at 145 and at least got a rep PR for 125.

Since I stalled around the face level for OH press, I decided to do some Bradford presses to give the shoulders some more work. And, I haven’t done them since April or something, so it’s a lot of fun (read as, pain) doing that. But pain is good, so yeah, fun. :smiley:

I was finally able to complete 4 sets of 12 on the DB rows with 80’s. After hitting a plateau for a couple of months, my grip has been improving all of a sudden and I can finish my sets with 75’s and now 80’s. Next week, give me those 85’s!

7392

ME squat
low box squat - 12inch
0x10
135x4
225x4
315x4
405x4
495x4
545x4-stopped here…hips were screaming

zercher squats
0x10
135x4
225x4
315x4
405x2
455x1 PR my training partner told me that he has never seen me strain as hard as on this set.

good morning squats
135x10
225x10
275x8

abs

the lower back is getting stronger!!

meat

7393

[quote]Hanley wrote:
Here’s one for ya…

My best standing military press is 80kg x5 (176lbs)
My best incline bench is 100kg x5 (220lbs)
My best bench press is only 135kg x1 (300lbs)
My best dumbbell bench is about 40kg x10 (90lb)

Why does my raw bench suck so much??

I’m thinking it’s my chest strength.

I’ve put up 180kg (400lbs) in a medium to loose single ply F6 so I don’t think it’s lat or upper back strength.

[/quote]

Nice to see you in this thread. I followed a bit of your Sheiko training. How did that work out for you? Are you still using it (haven’t checked your thread for a while)?

Anyway, on to your question. I’m not a great bencher by any stretch, but it might be a function of staying tight in the bottom, bar speed and/or possibly chest strength. Staying tight in the bottom of a raw bench has been my biggest limiting factor in the past, and I’ve found a mix of paused reps (on chest or on 1-2 boards) and low pin presses seem to help. Bar speed, obviously speed bench would probably do some good. Off-the-chest strength for me is helped the most (at least for me anyway) by the evil cambered bench bar.

Meat’s a big raw bencher and he might have some different prescriptions, but these are the things that have lifted my raw bench from a paltry 275 to a decent 345 or so @ 220# in the past year.

7394

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
ME squat
low box squat - 12inch
0x10
135x4
225x4
315x4
405x4
495x4
545x4-stopped here…hips were screaming

zercher squats
0x10
135x4
225x4
315x4
405x2
455x1 PR my training partner told me that he has never seen me strain as hard as on this set.

good morning squats
135x10
225x10
275x8

abs

the lower back is getting stronger!!

meat[/quote]

Were you going with a wide stance on the low box squats? If so, ouchers…

Olympus Gym in Burke has a 10" box that I use for squatting. Usually I stack a 25Kg and a 10lb bumper on it to put me at parallel, but a few times I have used only the box and I’ll tell you I should’ve just squatted until my ass hit the ground. 315 felt like 500 pounds, very brutal.

7395

9/20/2007 RE Lower

squat
bar x 12
135 x 8
225 x 3
295 x 8, 8, 8 PR (+20 lbs)
*ouch happened

Leg press
6 plates x 10 no good

weighted situps
BW x 15
50 lb x 20, 20, 11

back extension
BW x 15
35 x 15, 15, 15

meat calves
40, 40, 40 PR :wink:

Notes: Uh oh. On my next to last rep on the squat, something in my upper right quad twinged. It happened at the very bottom of the lift and kinda just felt like it knotted up or I got a Charlie Horse. Can you give yourself a Charlie Horse while squatting? I think I did. I still tried leg press but after one warmup I knew the leg was not happy.

I think it might be time for a deload next week. I haven’t really taken a week off in a long time, and I’ve been lifting heavy for about 7 weeks straight. I’m not sure if I’ll do an easy week or skip lifting and let the leg heal. It feels more like a pull or knot than anything so I’m not too scared yet, but it still sucks. Anybody ever done something like this?

7396

9/20/07- Thursday- GPP/Active Recovery

Foam rolling lower body

A1)DB Alt Hammer Curls- 50x10/side x9/side
A2)Machine Lateral Raise- STACKx12 x12
A3)Pushups- BWx20 x20
A4)Wide Grip Lat Pulldown- 115x20 100x20 x20
A5)Band Pushdown- lightx25 x25 x25
A6)Blackburns- 5lbx15s/position x15s
A7)Band GM- lightx25 x25

30 min treadmill walking/jogging- 360 calories

7397

09/20/07

Bench Press
45x5
70x5
95x5
120x5
145x3
170x3
195x3
220x2
210x3

Chin-up
BWx5x9

3 Way Dumbbell Shoulder Raise Superset
10x3x12

Dip
BW+10x3x15

Needed some breaks in the shoulder raise supersets.

7398

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
ME squat

455x1 PR my training partner told me that he has never seen me strain as hard as on this set.

the lower back is getting stronger!!

meat[/quote]And thats a GOOD thing Bro thats some hefty zercher squatting. Itll be interesting to see what this does for your sqaut and DL

Phill

7399

[quote]Carnak wrote:
9/20/2007 RE Lower

squat
bar x 12
135 x 8
225 x 3
295 x 8, 8, 8 PR (+20 lbs)
*ouch happened

Leg press
6 plates x 10 no good

weighted situps
BW x 15
50 lb x 20, 20, 11

back extension
BW x 15
35 x 15, 15, 15

meat calves
40, 40, 40 PR :wink:

Notes: Uh oh. On my next to last rep on the squat, something in my upper right quad twinged. It happened at the very bottom of the lift and kinda just felt like it knotted up or I got a Charlie Horse. Can you give yourself a Charlie Horse while squatting? I think I did. I still tried leg press but after one warmup I knew the leg was not happy.

I think it might be time for a deload next week. I haven’t really taken a week off in a long time, and I’ve been lifting heavy for about 7 weeks straight. I’m not sure if I’ll do an easy week or skip lifting and let the leg heal. It feels more like a pull or knot than anything so I’m not too scared yet, but it still sucks. Anybody ever done something like this?[/quote]

Great PR and man honestly no telling from that descript what you did. When we are putting crazy loads on us any myriad of minor and major things can happen that normally wouldnt.

Feel it out if it hurts take some time off till it doesnt

best of luck and good work,
Phill

7400

[quote]novaeer wrote:
Hanley wrote:
Here’s one for ya…

My best standing military press is 80kg x5 (176lbs)
My best incline bench is 100kg x5 (220lbs)
My best bench press is only 135kg x1 (300lbs)
My best dumbbell bench is about 40kg x10 (90lb)

Why does my raw bench suck so much??

I’m thinking it’s my chest strength.

I’ve put up 180kg (400lbs) in a medium to loose single ply F6 so I don’t think it’s lat or upper back strength.

Nice to see you in this thread. I followed a bit of your Sheiko training. How did that work out for you? Are you still using it (haven’t checked your thread for a while)?

Anyway, on to your question. I’m not a great bencher by any stretch, but it might be a function of staying tight in the bottom, bar speed and/or possibly chest strength. Staying tight in the bottom of a raw bench has been my biggest limiting factor in the past, and I’ve found a mix of paused reps (on chest or on 1-2 boards) and low pin presses seem to help. Bar speed, obviously speed bench would probably do some good. Off-the-chest strength for me is helped the most (at least for me anyway) by the evil cambered bench bar.

Meat’s a big raw bencher and he might have some different prescriptions, but these are the things that have lifted my raw bench from a paltry 275 to a decent 345 or so @ 220# in the past year.[/quote]

For sure on the above and from the sounds of it its not the Tri’s if yo locked out 1400 in a lose shirt.

Coluld be like said above or even yes chest and shoulder strength. I mean look at your Incline and OH both Good yes but not near 300lbs

Phill

7401

[quote]Phill wrote:
JimmyBoom wrote:
9/19/07 - Upper Body

A1) Bench: 225 x 6, 255 x 2 (was gonna hit three but probably woulda missed it), 245 x 3, 225 x 5

A2) Neutral Grip Cable Row: 200 x 7, 7, 220 x 5

B1) Seated DB Press: 70 x 6, 6, 6
B2) Chins: BW x 6, 6, 6

C1) Seated Alt. DB Curl: 40 x 8, 8, 8
C2) Decline EZ Skullcrush: 90 x 8, 8 100 x 8

Cable Concentration Curl: 45 x 12
Reverse Grip Cable Pushdown: 65 x 12

55 minutes.

NOTES: Due to an insane work schedule my training and diet have been all over the place the last two-three weeks.

I am now on the road to trying to lose size in the upperbody. Keep in mind I am doing this based on several opinions in regards to modeling/acting work. I am 6 foot 4, had been sitting at around 225 for a long time, and am aiming for 200, possibly down to 195. I was 210 this AM.

The high volume for arm work is in there because I wouldnt mind if my arms got a little bigger, and my bench sucked really bad tonite–this was the first time I benched in two or three weeks.

Stay strong everyone,

Boom

Damn bro I know goals and work and all but 200-195 @ 6’4" you sure

Good work on the w/o id think HIGH intensity low volume on the upper body if looking to not add size at least you can save or maybe even get stronger

Keep it up
Phill[/quote]

Yeah, i know its light for my height but its what i used to be–but i plan on being much stronger than the last time i was sub-200 (which was, Christ, like two or three years ago).

If nothing else its a good career move for me and a challenge to see how far I can push my body in terms of strength.

To be totally honest, lifting is one of the great passions in my life–the other, and truthfully the first and most important one to me, is acting. And that dictated my decision. But it creates a new challenge for me with strength training, so I’m cool with that.

Thanks as always for your input bro

hartley

7402

9-20-2007

Plyo/Lower Assistance

Box Jumps (first time):
26": x3, 3, 3
44": x 2, x 1 (slight assistance on the land with my hands
x2, x 1 (smoked these, no assistance)
38": x2, x3, 3 (easy as hell)

Drove the gym for:
A. Leg Curl: 130 x 6, 160 x 6, 6, 180 x 6
B1) Self Suspended Leg Raise: BW x 15, +10 x 12, 15/ Cable Crunch 110 x 12
B2) Back Extension: BW x 15, 15, +20 x 12, x 15 plus hold at end

Thats it. Happy with the box jumps, that shit is fun.

Stay strong

Boom

7403

[quote]Phill wrote:
Carnak wrote:
9/20/2007 RE Lower

squat
bar x 12
135 x 8
225 x 3
295 x 8, 8, 8 PR (+20 lbs)
*ouch happened

Leg press
6 plates x 10 no good

weighted situps
BW x 15
50 lb x 20, 20, 11

back extension
BW x 15
35 x 15, 15, 15

meat calves
40, 40, 40 PR :wink:

Notes: Uh oh. On my next to last rep on the squat, something in my upper right quad twinged. It happened at the very bottom of the lift and kinda just felt like it knotted up or I got a Charlie Horse. Can you give yourself a Charlie Horse while squatting? I think I did. I still tried leg press but after one warmup I knew the leg was not happy.

I think it might be time for a deload next week. I haven’t really taken a week off in a long time, and I’ve been lifting heavy for about 7 weeks straight. I’m not sure if I’ll do an easy week or skip lifting and let the leg heal. It feels more like a pull or knot than anything so I’m not too scared yet, but it still sucks. Anybody ever done something like this?

Great PR and man honestly no telling from that descript what you did. When we are putting crazy loads on us any myriad of minor and major things can happen that normally wouldnt.

Feel it out if it hurts take some time off till it doesnt

best of luck and good work,
Phill[/quote]

Thanks man, it’s a bit sore, but I’ve been stretching it and it’s loosening up. I think it’s just a small strain. I’m still gonna take a break next week. I was thinking about it and I’m overdue for one. I need to make planned deload weeks from now on.

I’m totally psyched about my squat right now though. I’m feeling like I can hit 350 for 3 or maybe even a bit more which would be a 25 pound increase in a month.

7404

Did I read on here that someone did 70 sets of 30 reps of crunches? I hope that was a typo. If it wasn’t a typo, cut that stupid crap out and replace it with russian twists and WEIGHTED barbell crunch- hold a barbell in bench press style and use the abs to crunch it up toward the ceiling while keeping your arms locked.

Abs are a muscle like any other and need weight to make them come out. Don’t worry about a blocky waist you won’t get it unless u go crazy with the russian twists and use too much weights and the obliques blow up.

7405

Friday, 9/21/2007: ME Deadlift

A. Deadlift - Conventional
135 x 8
225 x 5
315 x 3
365 x 1
405 x 0
405 x 1 (PR +20 lb) (with straps on)
430 x 0
365 x 3 (PR +2 reps)

B. Front Squat
135 x 8
135 x 6
135 x 5
135 x 4

C. Strick Overhead Press
95 x 4 sets x 8 reps

Kalle came down to San Diego and we trained at a local LA Fitness here. I’m sure the “motivational” music we had in our gym is a welcome upgrade to his home gym. :wink:

Warmups went smoothly (don’t they always) and the real fun started when I got to my PR attempt. I failed my first attempt because of the grip on my left hand. My palms were too sweaty and the bar just slipped out, all the way to the fingertips.

So, Kalle lend me his straps and I tried it again. The weight moved up pretty easily and I think I still had some more left in me. Kalle was going for his PR with 430s so after he went, I gave it a try anyway. Stupid, I know, but what the heck, the bar was already loaded, so I might as well give it a go.

Well, the bar barely budged, so now I know that’s way out of my league for now. After the stupid deadlift attempt, I did a triple with 365 as a backoff and moved on.

Kalle taught me how to do front squats after our deadlifting. It’s a bit hard to get used to, mainly due to trying to keep the bar in place and using an olympic clean grip. I guess that means I’ll have to do more of this in the future. :smiley:

We also worked on strict overhead pressing. The tip of pushing my head through under the bar really helps as I tend to lean back too much. I’ll definitely keep that in mind in the future.

All in all, it was a lot of fun and nice to see someone else train hard in the gym, instead of seeing all the people sleep-walking through their workouts.

Kalle, you better make sure you keep busting your butt when you go back or I’ll catch you on the deads. :smiley:

7406

[quote]USNS physique wrote:
Did I read on here that someone did 70 sets of 30 reps of crunches? I hope that was a typo. If it wasn’t a typo, cut that stupid crap out and replace it with russian twists and WEIGHTED barbell crunch- hold a barbell in bench press style and use the abs to crunch it up toward the ceiling while keeping your arms locked.

Abs are a muscle like any other and need weight to make them come out. Don’t worry about a blocky waist you won’t get it unless u go crazy with the russian twists and use too much weights and the obliques blow up.[/quote]

Uh, thanks?

7407

[quote]USNS physique wrote:
Did I read on here that someone did 70 sets of 30 reps of crunches? I hope that was a typo. If it wasn’t a typo, cut that stupid crap out and replace it with russian twists and WEIGHTED barbell crunch- hold a barbell in bench press style and use the abs to crunch it up toward the ceiling while keeping your arms locked.

Abs are a muscle like any other and need weight to make them come out. Don’t worry about a blocky waist you won’t get it unless u go crazy with the russian twists and use too much weights and the obliques blow up.[/quote]

oh… that was little ol’ me. I really don’t want to get “that blocky waist look” i’m going more for a runner’s build with a little functional muscle.

i’ll give it a shot… i just don’t know if i can handle one of those heavy barbells when i’m doing crunches to my John Baistow DVD.

meat

7408

[quote]jthsiao wrote:
Friday, 9/21/2007: ME Deadlift

A. Deadlift - Conventional
135 x 8
225 x 5
315 x 3
365 x 1
405 x 0
405 x 1 (PR +20 lb) (with straps on)
430 x 0
365 x 3 (PR +2 reps)

B. Front Squat
135 x 8
135 x 6
135 x 5
135 x 4

C. Strick Overhead Press
95 x 4 sets x 8 reps

[/quote]

Chalk man Chalk…

Welcome to 4 plate land!! Now get working on 5!

7409

[quote]Pemdas wrote:
Chalk man Chalk…

Welcome to 4 plate land!! Now get working on 5!
[/quote]
Yeah, I wish I can use chalk. I asked my gym manager about using chalk and she said ‘no’. I really need to find a powerlifting gym around where I live. So for now, sweaty palms and occasional strap will have to do. :frowning:

Yep, the race to 500 is still on, right? :smiley:

7410

[quote]jthsiao wrote:
Pemdas wrote:
Chalk man Chalk…

Welcome to 4 plate land!! Now get working on 5!

Yeah, I wish I can use chalk. I asked my gym manager about using chalk and she said ‘no’. I really need to find a powerlifting gym around where I live. So for now, sweaty palms and occasional strap will have to do. :frowning:

Yep, the race to 500 is still on, right? :-D[/quote]

Ahh, the infamous chalk nazis in commercial gyms. One of the gyms I use has that rule. Guess what: I ignore it and use it anyway. I just don’t make a big mess with it so they cannot complain about my using chalk. I realize this stuff can be messy and a pain to clean up, but I see a lot more dirt on the floor now than chalk (assuming they allowed it).