[quote]Matt McGorry wrote:
9/24/07- Monday- ME Squat AND Deadlift
A)Wide Stance Low Bar Squat (wearing chucks)
365x1 (stuck halfway up for about 3 seconds)
B)Snatch Grip Deadlifts (barefoot, as always)
425x1 (10lb PR- 30lbs in 2 weeks)
[/quote]
Good job Matt! Staying strong AND hitting a PR while cutting weight! Whoever said one has to lose strength while cutting?! 
Meat,
Saw your post in the SRC thread. Was this another encounter with the father/son duo that you laced into about the rack lockouts or a different tag team? Also, nice jedi mind trick with the chalk. Had me rolling after an aggravating day at work.
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
9/24/2007: ME Bench
A. Paused Bench Press
135 x 8
155 x 5
175 x 3
185 x 1
195 x 1 (baseline PR)
185 x 1
185 x 1
165 x 5
B. Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral High Row
270 x 8
270 x 8
270 x 8
270 x 5
C. Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls
50 x 4 sets x 8 reps
Since Iāve been failing my bench at the bottom, I felt that doing some paused work would help me there.
I didnāt get much sleep last night and have been tired all day today, so I didnāt expect much. Looking back at the session, Iām a bit surprised that my paused bench was only 10 lbs less than my regular bench. I donāt whether to be happy or disappointed. Iām happy because I did better than I thought. But at the same time, Iām a bit disappointed because thatās that much less room for improvement in this exercise.
What are your carryover between paused bench press and regular bench press, if your weak point is also at the bottom? What is this result telling me? Is there something else I should be trying to improve my pressing at the bottom?[/quote]
Whatever my paused bench is, I can usually get 20-30 lbs more on a touch-and-go. Iām usually able to get the weight off my torso, but tend to stall out at about a 2- or 3-board height. I really like bottoms-up bench press, because I get no stretch reflex advantage in pressing the weight up. With a pause, depending on the length of the pause, some of the eccentric tension stays in the muscles.
Good job on identifying a weakness. Iām pretty sure that after a cycle of this exercise, youāll find that your reg. bench is much higher.
And thank you for helping me rediscover that Iām working a movement I like, rather than one I needā¦
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
Since Iāve been failing my bench at the bottom, I felt that doing some paused work would help me there.
I didnāt get much sleep last night and have been tired all day today, so I didnāt expect much. Looking back at the session, Iām a bit surprised that my paused bench was only 10 lbs less than my regular bench. I donāt whether to be happy or disappointed. Iām happy because I did better than I thought. But at the same time, Iām a bit disappointed because thatās that much less room for improvement in this exercise.
What are your carryover between paused bench press and regular bench press, if your weak point is also at the bottom? What is this result telling me? Is there something else I should be trying to improve my pressing at the bottom?[/quote]
Iām no expert on raw benching, but you donāt want your paused bench to be a lot weaker than your touch-and-go bench max. You might have good starting strength from the bottom, which will keep your pause and touch-and-go in close proximity, but your reversal strength is probably lagging a bit. In that case, a 10# difference isnāt that bad. For me, my touch-and-go is about 15# above my paused bench.
My failure point, unless the weight is just too damn heavy for me, is between 2-3 board area. I find things that work the best for me, and I emphasize for me, are throwing in occasional speed bench with or without chains (bands hurt too much), board presses w/ or w/o pauses, floor press, cambered bar bench (once every 8-12 weeks), reverse band bench, and low pin presses.
Every 8 or 12-week cycle, Iāll pick 4 or 5 exercises and just rotate between them each week, sometimes will do one 2 weeks in a row if I feel I need a little more work with it. The only full range benching I do is on my speed/assistance day and I donāt go really heavy unless I want to work up.
[quote]PGA wrote:
Well, I hit a PR today. I got 415 from the knee with a rack pull. Thatās the most weight Iāve moved. Iāve been doing a strict 8 keys Westside/Tate template for the past 2 months or so.
On the pull there was a tad bit of fear that crept in in the middle of the lift. Like āOh my God I shouldnāt be going this.ā But I said screw it and pulled through it. I nailed it.
It was good because I needed that fear and I needed to get through it.[/quote]
Damn fine work and way to cross the mental block thats a biggie
Phill
[quote]Matt McGorry wrote:
9/24/07- Monday- ME Squat AND Deadlift
A)Wide Stance Low Bar Squat (wearing chucks)
135x5
185x4
225x3
265x2
315x1
365x1 (stuck halfway up for about 3 seconds)
335x1
315x2
B)Snatch Grip Deadlifts (barefoot, as always)
275x3
315x1
365x1
425x1 (10lb PR- 30lbs in 2 weeks)
340x4
340x4
340x4
Notes: Definitely starting to feel a bit beaten up and slightly run down. Knees bothering me a little bit which is very unusual, and hips too a little. Already felt fatigue in the quads from before the session began.
My best free squat is 385 at probably 215 and this was 365 at 201. Comes out to 1.79xBW and 1.91xBW respectively, so I guess thatās alright, haha. Still probably would have been more with a deload. Got a video for depth, Iāll post it in a bit.
Decided to max on SG DLs as well since I couldnāt make up my mind on which to do, haha. Nonetheless, I got the 425 in a VERY slow lift. Back rounded once again. Iām not sure exactly what to do about that, in the back of my mind Iām worried and know I should be more careful. Jimmyboomās back injury was a bit of a wakeup call as well.
I have a video of the SG DL as well that Iāll get up later.
-Matt
[/quote]
Damn bro 30 lbs in two weeks thats killer. I thought I was kicking ass with 20lb in two months 
keep it up
Phill
Total body Lower ME/ Upper RE Sept 24th 07
Notes. Still going to work on triples I think if I feel the moons aligned may go for a single but think the triples at this point is doing me the most good.
Right quad has deep bruise from hitting the tire Saturday.
Super sets
1A) Back Squat (touch and go to 14 inch box to assure depth)
Bar x some
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 5
405 x 3
435 x 3
460 x 3 (5 lb PR) add loose belt, DOG FIGHT!!! Nailed it popped my ears again No blood
405 x 4 this and the rest no belt again
315 x 10 nice increase here
225 x 20 got bored stopped LOL should have added more load, not that these didnĆÆĀæĀ½??t suck
1B) DB Bench
Let right arm be the limiter
40 x 20
60 x 10
80 x 10
100 x 10
100 + blue band x 5, 5, 3, 3
80 x 12
Right arm was still dieing before the left on these was a fight to lock a few out. I wish I knew what the blue added as for load I just know its quite a bit heavier
1C) Chins
Bw x 5 (3 sets)
Bw +25 x 5,5,5,4 small increase
Bw x 6
Giant set
2A) GMĆÆĀæĀ½??s High bar to parallel pins
315 x 5
365 x 3
315 x 5
thatĆÆĀæĀ½??s all I had left for these, going down to where head is level with hips is damn low limitĆÆĀæĀ½??s the loads but Nice
2B) DB OH press strict / Push (right/left)
60 x 11/9
80 x 7/5, 3 / 4
My tris were done from the banded flat DB pressing
2C) DB rows ( right / left)
80 x 7 / 10, 8/8, 7/8
2C) Abs Decline weighted
3 sets
Pretty good day was very happy with the fight I gave to get the 460 x 3 thatĆÆĀæĀ½??s last one was a fight. Popped ears twice today once on the 460 x 4 second on the 365 x 3 GMĆÆĀæĀ½??s. in general felt strong think the mass quantities at the buffet I had yesterday helped
Phill
9/24/2007 ME Bench
Right pec was a little tight today from supporting my bodyweight during, ah, amorous activities last night, but it went away as I worked up on the DB presses.
A)ME DB Press
20 x 5
40 x 3
60 x 3
80 x 3
100 x 3
115 x 3
130 x 8 baseline PR for one set
B)H.S. Chest-Supported Iso-Row
90 x 3
380 x 6 x 4 PR + 20 lbs.!
C1)H.S. Seated Iso Bench Press
90 x 3
260 x 6 x 3 paused but still weak sauce
C2)Bent-Over DB Rear Delt Fly=30 x 12, 10, 10
D)Pulldown Abs=123.5 x 12 x 2
E)Russian Twists and Barbell Crunches super setted with 7 sets of 30 rep crunches
NOTES: Switching from the incline Hammer Strength iso-press machine to the flat version, I thought Iād be stronger but 'twas not the case. Boy, the ROM on that machine is crazy thoughāso deep I can barely get my hands on the handles. It was harder for me to keep my right elbow in a good path compared to the incline version, which tells me this is exactly what Iām looking for right now.
āOh, itās a deep burn. So deep! I can barely move my arm. I donāt know if you heard me but I did over a thousand. Tuesdayās arms and back. You have your upper ubulus muscle, which connects to the upper dorsimus. Itās boring but itās my life. Just look out for the guns, theyāll get yaā¦ā
[quote]skidmark wrote:
And thank you for helping me rediscover that Iām working a movement I like, rather than one I needā¦[/quote]
Um, right, whatever I can do to help. 
I think itās more like the other way around, thanks for your feedback/advice.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
You might have good starting strength from the bottom, which will keep your pause and touch-and-go in close proximity, but your reversal strength is probably lagging a bit. In that case, a 10# difference isnāt that bad.[/quote]
What do you mean by āreversal strengthā? Are you referring to the stretch reflex when the weight gets to the bottom and changes direction? Are there things that I can do to work on that specifically, i.e., maybe speed benching and some DE work?
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
novaeer wrote:
You might have good starting strength from the bottom, which will keep your pause and touch-and-go in close proximity, but your reversal strength is probably lagging a bit. In that case, a 10# difference isnāt that bad.
What do you mean by āreversal strengthā? Are you referring to the stretch reflex when the weight gets to the bottom and changes direction? Are there things that I can do to work on that specifically, i.e., maybe speed benching and some DE work? [/quote]
Yep. Bar speed is a big factor in building your rate of force production in the bottom half of the bench. I used to think that was BS, but changed my opinion after several mini-cycles of speed benching. You donāt have to go crazy with the speed bench because form can sometimes go in the crapper and you can overtrain by using too much weight or working up too often. I put it in every 3rd week as a way of maintaining it and avoiding tendonitis flare-ups in the elbow.
[quote]novaeer wrote:
Meat,
Saw your post in the SRC thread. Was this another encounter with the father/son duo that you laced into about the rack lockouts or a different tag team? Also, nice jedi mind trick with the chalk. Had me rolling after an aggravating day at work.[/quote]
one in the sameā¦ iām glad i could help you out:) i catch them watching us and then shaking their head. i donāt get itā¦ they are small and weak. you would think they would say- āhuh, maybe i should give some of this stuff a try.ā but noā¦ they want to continue to do partial reps of everything in the smith machine and hammer strength machines.
you just gotta say WTF!!
meat
ME Lower
Front Squats
135x3
155x3
175x3
195x3
215x3 - This was hard
225x1
I felt like I needed some triples today. I just did 225 to top things off.
All this sucky front squat sh&t made me feel like I needed to pick up something heavy.
DL
315x2
365x1
405x1
455x1
475x1 PR + 10lbs. Sweet. I was so close 2 weeks ago. It felt good to nail it this week. I even nailed after front squats. Maybe I am good for more fresh.
GHR Assisted Natural
3x10
Ab-PullDowns (Made sure my heals were on the floor today)
105x3
110x3
115x3
120x3x3
DONE!!
[quote]Phill wrote:
Total body Lower ME/ Upper RE Sept 24th 07
Notes. Still going to work on triples I think if I feel the moons aligned may go for a single but think the triples at this point is doing me the most good.
Right quad has deep bruise from hitting the tire Saturday.
Super sets
1A) Back Squat (touch and go to 14 inch box to assure depth)
Bar x some
135 x 8
225 x 8
315 x 5
405 x 3
435 x 3
460 x 3 (5 lb PR) add loose belt, DOG FIGHT!!! Nailed it popped my ears again No blood
405 x 4 this and the rest no belt again
315 x 10 nice increase here
225 x 20 got bored stopped LOL should have added more load, not that these didnĆÆĀæĀ½??t suck
1B) DB Bench
Let right arm be the limiter
40 x 20
60 x 10
80 x 10
100 x 10
100 + blue band x 5, 5, 3, 3
80 x 12
Right arm was still dieing before the left on these was a fight to lock a few out. I wish I knew what the blue added as for load I just know its quite a bit heavier
1C) Chins
Bw x 5 (3 sets)
Bw +25 x 5,5,5,4 small increase
Bw x 6
Giant set
2A) GMĆÆĀæĀ½??s High bar to parallel pins
315 x 5
365 x 3
315 x 5
thatĆÆĀæĀ½??s all I had left for these, going down to where head is level with hips is damn low limitĆÆĀæĀ½??s the loads but Nice
2B) DB OH press strict / Push (right/left)
60 x 11/9
80 x 7/5, 3 / 4
My tris were done from the banded flat DB pressing
2C) DB rows ( right / left)
80 x 7 / 10, 8/8, 7/8
2C) Abs Decline weighted
3 sets
Pretty good day was very happy with the fight I gave to get the 460 x 3 thatĆÆĀæĀ½??s last one was a fight. Popped ears twice today once on the 460 x 4 second on the 365 x 3 GMĆÆĀæĀ½??s. in general felt strong think the mass quantities at the buffet I had yesterday helped
Phill
[/quote]
great job on the squat!! as if having a big deadlift isnāt enoughā¦ now you have to whore it up on the squat. i havenāt used that word in awhile:)
the good mornings aināt too shabby either!!
meat
Thanks for the props jthsiao and Phill!
Btw Phill, I think I need some Power Drive and a PWO recovery drink just after reading your workout, haha. Nice work there, that work capacity is damn high.
I think it was Justin Harris who said in a video that his buddy (also a BBer) didnāt lose strength when he dieted simply because he didnāt know that you were āsupposedā to. I found that quite funny, but possibly pretty true.
Itās amazing seeing trainees who never work with maximal weights actually gaining strength quite easily while dieting, but of course itās not so drastic for those of us used to it.
-Matt
Yeaaaa buddy. Aināt nuttinā but a peanut! Nice job on the DL. Deadlifts and front squats go together like 5 year olds and poop jokes.
Isnāt there something humbling about having to use less than 2 plates a side doing a squat variation? I hate that shit to be honest and feel like I shouldnāt be doing anything under 2 plates a side if my back squats is 3 plus. And then thereās the real worldā¦in which my front squat sucks enough that I should be using less than 225.
Keep at it, pal.
-Matt
[quote]Pemdas wrote:
ME Lower
Front Squats
135x3
155x3
175x3
195x3
215x3 - This was hard
225x1
I felt like I needed some triples today. I just did 225 to top things off.
All this sucky front squat sh&t made me feel like I needed to pick up something heavy.
DL
315x2
365x1
405x1
455x1
475x1 PR + 10lbs. Sweet. I was so close 2 weeks ago. It felt good to nail it this week. I even nailed after front squats. Maybe I am good for more fresh.
GHR Assisted Natural
3x10
Ab-PullDowns (Made sure my heals were on the floor today)
105x3
110x3
115x3
120x3x3
DONE!![/quote]
[quote]Pemdas wrote:
ME Lower
DL
475x1 PR + 10lbs
[/quote]
Dang, youāre almost there. I finally got into the territory of the 400ās and youāre already well on your way to 500. Iāve got lots of work to do and a lot of ground to make up!
[quote]Matt McGorry wrote:
Itās amazing seeing trainees who never work with maximal weights actually gaining strength quite easily while dieting, but of course itās not so drastic for those of us used to it.
[/quote]
Well, I wouldnāt say āamazingā, but yes, the mind is definitely interesting like that.
This is exactly how I got into powerlifting. In a temporary state of insanity, I went on the V-Diet because I felt like a fat slob after trying to add as much weight and as fast as I could (16 lbs in 2 months). Chris Shugart had prescribed some heavy triples in his training so I changed from the 8-10 rep range to do heavy triples. During that month when I was on the V-Diet and doing triples, I dropped 10 lbs. and my deadlift went up from 225 x 3 to 315 x 2. I also got addicted to lifting heavy so started my turn to the dark side.
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
one in the sameā¦ iām glad i could help you out:) i catch them watching us and then shaking their head. i donāt get itā¦ they are small and weak. you would think they would say- āhuh, maybe i should give some of this stuff a try.ā but noā¦ they want to continue to do partial reps of everything in the smith machine and hammer strength machines.
you just gotta say WTF!!
meat
[/quote]
LOL, I get a lot of the same staring/head shaking/smarmy comments from the toothpicks at Lifetime, as you would expect. Thereās this one guy (about 5ā3 and chunky, always wears this one hat that looks like it probably smells like a dead skunk) who always stares at me when Iām doing some āunorthodoxā exercise then walks over to one of his nutswinging pals and point and snicker. Well, during one DE squat session Iām setting up the average bands to use with I think 275 bar weight.
Nothing real crazy for me, but something that would staple his weak ass to the box. Well, anyway, I set up to do my first of 8 sets of doubles as prescribed. Heās about 20 feet away from me and the pussy music they usually blast in there wasnāt too loud that day and I donāt think he realized that little detail so he proceeded to tell his greasy-haired pal āThat guy is always doing stupid stuff, but what heās doing today is just plain crazy. I wouldnāt be surprised if he killed himself doing that stupid shit.ā
I nearly spit out my water and laughed; went back to my sets and could just feel the stares on me the whole time. I racked the weight and just went over to him and said āDonāt criticize what you donāt understand, and let me assure you that your little midget ass canāt do one single repā. Of course, he didnāt know what to say. He then muttered the typical āI canāt squat because my knees are bad.ā Ignore the fact that I saw him doing hack squats about 10 minutes earlier. I couldnāt help but laugh in his bloated little face. Havenāt had a problem with him since.
Matt, Damn dude some fast progression in the snatch grip
Phill, that squat is getting up there!
Pemdas, uh ohā¦ getting awfully close to 5 plates! You know it doesnāt count unless you pull 500 conventional right? haha just kidding man
Lots of other good lifting today to, to much to remember all of it.
Oh yea Happy Birthday AlphaDragon.