I spent about 2 hours going over bench technnique and squat technique with my training partner.
I finally figured out how to squat with a low bar position, I think this will help out tremendously, and will start working that tomorrow for my ME squat work.
I will be doing back bridges to help become more flexable in my back. I got a pretty good feel of how I should set up my bench now.
Right now my arch isn’t much maybe an inch and a half or two inches at most, but every little bit helps.
[quote]Matt McGorry wrote:
10/2/07- Tuesday- LB?- DELOAD
A)Front Box Squats (NIKE Frees, narrow stance)
Barx6
135x5
155x3
Notes: Cut the workout off. I’m clearly sick, my throat is swollen and everything is achy; knees, shoulders, neck, hips, etc. I’m going to the doctor tomorrow and finding out what it is exactally.
I started sweating and getting really hot during the warmup sets and figured “why bother?”
I’m going to take this week very easy.
-Matt[/quote]
Good call on that one, rest up.
10/2/07 ME Lower
4" Deficit Deadlift
135x8
225x5
315x1 (Double overhand PR +20 or 40lbs, not sure)
335x1
385x0 couldn’t keep my air in so had to take a break…
pooped
385x1 PR+20lbs
335x1
I widened my deadlift stance out a good bit, I think this helped, for some reason the past while I think I have been using a very narrow stance, I went back to how I used to pull. Didn’t even mean to be pulling with that narrow a stance I just was.
Front squat Close Stance ATG
135x5
185x3
205x3
245x3 PR+10lbs
lat pulldown
70x10
90x4 (bicep acting up so I stopped, I should have just dropped the weight back down and did them nice and slow but doing 70lbs is hard on the ego.)
Done… Good day overall I am getting better at grinding lifts out, not giving up on them and just keep pushing/pulling until it is locked out. Good sign.
[quote]Phill wrote:
Training today. Friggin concrete 
had to mix, carry by bucket, pour and now finish 1200lb of dry mix how much it weighed mixed I have NO damn clue but I do know I finally am going to have a HUGE man type shower and bench
ALso nothing concrete yet (LOL pun intended) but I went in a few weeks ago aced the entrance exam for the sheriffs dept. got my application in to them last thursday they said it would be 6 weeks to 6 months for a reply etc,. Well after 4 days they called me yesterday and want me to come in for the next available interview next thursday Sweet.
Have my show opening friday. Got an email from another gallery that saw my ad and now they want me for a one man show in 2008 in a LARGE space and one other new gallery as well.
its friggin raining all the sudden
Back to the concrete
Cheers
Phill[/quote]
Hey Phill,
Congratulations on everything. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Diana
10/02/07
Squat
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
315x5
385x5 5lb PR
Deadlift
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1
455x1
Decline Sit-up
BW+25x3x11
BW+25x10
45 Degree Back Extension
BW+25x3x11
Ugh. I was playing with my Blobette (a loadable York Blob replica) the other day at home and I forgot to put my chalk back in my gym bag. With no chalk and already having set the squat PR, 455 felt much heavier than it should have, so I decided to make a tactical retreat.
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
C. Glute-Ham Raise
BW x 4 sets x 8 reps
[/quote]
Solid workout. So does your gym have a GHR machine or do you do like I must and use either the “reverse on the Lat Pulldown” or the old “someone sit on your legs while your knees are on a pad and on the row machine?”
[quote]skidmark wrote:
10-2-2007
ME Upper Pull Deload Cycle
Neutral Close grip Pullups
+90x4,5,2 (Rep PR +1)
1 Arm DB Row
155x3,3,3 (weight PR +15)
[/quote]
Nice PRs there, skidmark! What’s even more impressive is, you go to a place that actually has 155lb dumbbells? 
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
ME bench
full ROM
315x28 (paused)
[/quote]
So, assuming you did a 3 second pause, that set took nearly a minute and a half?! I think I’d die pressing with just the bar by itself for a minute and a half.
[quote]Kalle wrote:
10/2/07 ME Lower
4" Deficit Deadlift
315x1 (Double overhand PR +20 or 40lbs, not sure)
385x0 couldn’t keep my air in so had to take a break…
pooped
385x1 PR+20lbs
I widened my deadlift stance out a good bit, I think this helped, for some reason the past while I think I have been using a very narrow stance, I went back to how I used to pull. Didn’t even mean to be pulling with that narrow a stance I just was.
Front squat Close Stance ATG
235x3 PR+10lbs
[/quote]
Good job Kalle! Nice call on the pooping in the middle of a session. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to keep that air in the gut.
Since you’re widening your stance on the deadlift, how far apart is it now? I mean, would it be more of a in-between conventional and sumo width? And if so, isn’t your grip moving more towards a snatch-width grip? I suppose if your grip isn’t failing, it’s fine. My grip sucks so I try to keep my grip as narrow as I can.
[quote]AlphaDragon wrote:
C. Glute-Ham Raise
BW x 4 sets x 8 reps
Solid workout. So does your gym have a GHR machine or do you do like I must and use either the “reverse on the Lat Pulldown” or the old “someone sit on your legs while your knees are on a pad and on the row machine?”
[/quote]
I do GHRs on the seated calf raise machine. Since I box squat for my squatting session, I just take the aerobic steps that I use for squatting to the seated calf raise machine and lay it behind the chair. Then, I get into the machine and face backwards and fall on to the steps. I can’t quite do the whole ROM yet, so I’m trying to do as much of the negatives as I can before pushing myself up from the steps. When I first started, I’d fall on to the steps half way down. Now, I can lower myself down to the steps and touch gently, and come back up. Maybe by the end of the year I’ll be able to actually do a good rep of a GHR without the help of the steps.
Give it a try, it’s a load of fun. 
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
AlphaDragon wrote:
C. Glute-Ham Raise
BW x 4 sets x 8 reps
Solid workout. So does your gym have a GHR machine or do you do like I must and use either the “reverse on the Lat Pulldown” or the old “someone sit on your legs while your knees are on a pad and on the row machine?”
I do GHRs on the seated calf raise machine. Since I box squat for my squatting session, I just take the aerobic steps that I use for squatting to the seated calf raise machine and lay it behind the chair. Then, I get into the machine and face backwards and fall on to the steps. I can’t quite do the whole ROM yet, so I’m trying to do as much of the negatives as I can before pushing myself up from the steps. When I first started, I’d fall on to the steps half way down. Now, I can lower myself down to the steps and touch gently, and come back up. Maybe by the end of the year I’ll be able to actually do a good rep of a GHR without the help of the steps.
Give it a try, it’s a load of fun. :-D[/quote]
I do them in one of the 2 aforementioned ways. My gyms seated calf raise machine can’t accommodate my legs, it’s so small. I’m not big or anything, but even then, the crossbar that goes over ones thighs is so small that I can’t even wedge into it.
And I’m in the same boat as you with them. Although I’ve not done them in a while, I needed some “breaking” power to get from the bottom, but once moving (with a gentle push)…you get the idea.
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
Kalle wrote:
10/2/07 ME Lower
4" Deficit Deadlift
315x1 (Double overhand PR +20 or 40lbs, not sure)
385x0 couldn’t keep my air in so had to take a break…
pooped
385x1 PR+20lbs
I widened my deadlift stance out a good bit, I think this helped, for some reason the past while I think I have been using a very narrow stance, I went back to how I used to pull. Didn’t even mean to be pulling with that narrow a stance I just was.
Front squat Close Stance ATG
235x3 PR+10lbs
Good job Kalle! Nice call on the pooping in the middle of a session. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to keep that air in the gut.
Since you’re widening your stance on the deadlift, how far apart is it now? I mean, would it be more of a in-between conventional and sumo width? And if so, isn’t your grip moving more towards a snatch-width grip? I suppose if your grip isn’t failing, it’s fine. My grip sucks so I try to keep my grip as narrow as I can.[/quote]
Its not even wide at all, for some reason I was standing with my legs closer than shoulder width. REALLY close, now they are at about shoulder width. I still grip the bar pretty damn narrow.
[quote]Phill wrote:
Training today. Friggin concrete had to mix, carry by bucket, pour and now finish 1200lb of dry mix how much it weighed mixed I have NO damn clue but I do know I finally am going to have a HUGE man type shower and bench
ALso nothing concrete yet (LOL pun intended) but I went in a few weeks ago aced the entrance exam for the sheriffs dept. got my application in to them last thursday they said it would be 6 weeks to 6 months for a reply etc,. Well after 4 days they called me yesterday and want me to come in for the next available interview next thursday Sweet.
Have my show opening friday. Got an email from another gallery that saw my ad and now they want me for a one man show in 2008 in a LARGE space and one other new gallery as well.
its friggin raining all the sudden
Back to the concrete
Cheers
Phill[/quote]
Nice Phill, great to hear you have so many options opening for you.
Thanks Diana and Sick Puppy things are looking up for sure now its just staying on top of them all. Going to have to add in a bit of conditioning as well so if I make it to the academy im not dieing the first few runs
Phill
[quote]Kalle wrote:
10/2/07 ME Lower
4" Deficit Deadlift
135x8
225x5
315x1 (Double overhand PR +20 or 40lbs, not sure)
335x1
385x0 couldn’t keep my air in so had to take a break…
pooped
385x1 PR+20lbs
335x1
I widened my deadlift stance out a good bit, I think this helped, for some reason the past while I think I have been using a very narrow stance, I went back to how I used to pull. Didn’t even mean to be pulling with that narrow a stance I just was.
[/quote]
That’s a sweet PR Kalle! It’s good your finding the best stance for those. There’s so many variables in the DL I think. But one thing I learned, once something works, go with it
[quote]
Front squat Close Stance ATG
135x5
185x3
205x3
235x3 PR+10lbs
lat pulldown
70x10
90x4 (bicep acting up so I stopped, I should have just dropped the weight back down and did them nice and slow but doing 70lbs is hard on the ego.)
Done… Good day overall I am getting better at grinding lifts out, not giving up on them and just keep pushing/pulling until it is locked out. Good sign. [/quote]
And put your ego aside and lift smart till your all healed up.
awesome w/o.
c.
Hey guys I’ve been reading this thread for a while now and just started doing a westside set up 2 weeks ago. I figured it’d be good to start posting here now.
A little background on myself:
I’m 20 years old. I was a competitive swimmer from age 10 till this past February. I started lifting seriously and consistently at the end of February when I started swimming. I’m 5-8. I started off at about 160 and I’m now up to 185-190. The past two weeks i’ve gotten some baseline max lifts in.
Bench: 240
Squat: 285 (think i definitely had some more in me here, 315 happening soon)
Deadlift: 355 (more room here too)
When I started my bench was about 195 and I had never really squatted or deadlifted before. I’m hoping to learn a lot from you stronger guys and enjoying posting workouts. Anyways, here was todays workout.
ME Lower
A. Deadlift
135x10
185x8
225x5
275x2
315x1
335x1(PR + 20 pounds)
355x1(PR + 40 pounds)
315x3(PR + 2 Reps)
275x10
B. Front Squat
95 x5
135x5
155x5
175x4
175x2 (bar slipped)
C. Good mornings
135x8
155x8x2
D. Leg extensions
110x20x2
Pretty happy about the deadlift. First time I’ve maxed in a while. Wish I had gone for 365 instead of 355 but oh well, next time. I was dead for the front squats and watned to take the good mornings fairly easy as I haven’t done them in a while. Well, sorry for the long post guys hope you all have good training days.
[quote]toroman wrote:
Bench: 240
Squat: 285 (think i definitely had some more in me here, 315 happening soon)
Deadlift: 355 (more room here too)
ME Lower
A. Deadlift
135x10
185x8
225x5
275x2
315x1
335x1(PR + 20 pounds)
355x1(PR + 40 pounds)
315x3(PR + 2 Reps)
275x10
B. Front Squat
95 x5
135x5
155x5
175x4
175x2 (bar slipped)
C. Good mornings
135x8
155x8x2
D. Leg extensions
110x20x2
[/quote]
Welcome toroman!
I can definitely see you making a lot of progress in your deadlift in the future. You’re making such a big jump on your PRs that you’re making it looks like you haven’t tapped into your real max yet on those lifts. I bet it sure feels great to be hitting two weight PRs followed by a rep PR in the same session.
Great job and keep it up!
[quote]jthsiao wrote:
skidmark wrote:
10-2-2007
ME Upper Pull Deload Cycle
Neutral Close grip Pullups
+90x4,5,2 (Rep PR +1)
1 Arm DB Row
155x3,3,3 (weight PR +15)
Nice PRs there, skidmark! What’s even more impressive is, you go to a place that actually has 155lb dumbbells? ;-)[/quote]
Yup it’s a great place. It’s right outside of my kitchen as a matter of fact. My gym is in my garage. I have some plate loading db handles and about 450 lbs of standard weights. 155 is all I can get on the handles unfortunately, but it should hold me for a while…
[quote]c. wrote:
Kalle wrote:
10/2/07 ME Lower
4" Deficit Deadlift
135x8
225x5
315x1 (Double overhand PR +20 or 40lbs, not sure)
335x1
385x0 couldn’t keep my air in so had to take a break…
pooped
385x1 PR+20lbs
335x1
I widened my deadlift stance out a good bit, I think this helped, for some reason the past while I think I have been using a very narrow stance, I went back to how I used to pull. Didn’t even mean to be pulling with that narrow a stance I just was.
That’s a sweet PR Kalle! It’s good your finding the best stance for those. There’s so many variables in the DL I think. But one thing I learned, once something works, go with it
Front squat Close Stance ATG
135x5
185x3
205x3
235x3 PR+10lbs
lat pulldown
70x10
90x4 (bicep acting up so I stopped, I should have just dropped the weight back down and did them nice and slow but doing 70lbs is hard on the ego.)
Done… Good day overall I am getting better at grinding lifts out, not giving up on them and just keep pushing/pulling until it is locked out. Good sign.
And put your ego aside and lift smart till your all healed up.
awesome w/o.
c.
[/quote]
Thanks C., and yea I will put the ego aside next time.
10/03/07 - Upper (ME) - Triples
A) Flat Bench
barx30
95x15
135x12
185x8
225x5
275x3
315x3
335x2 (just wasn’t there today)
315x3
315x3
315x3
B) Rack Lockouts
Pin #8
315x3
Pin #9
315x6,315x6 (baseline PR)
Pin #10
405x6 (PR)
405x4 (shoulder twinge)
C) Hang Cleans
135x6 (shoulder twinge)
D1) Face Pulls on Seated Row
50x8
50x8
50x8
D2) Band Pullaparts (light band)
x10
x10
x10
Alright, I hate to say it, but Bench definitely suffered with all the travel this summer and the missed workouts.
Time to buckle down and bring those numbers back up.
Lockouts were going well, but I felt something in the front of my right shoulder on the last set, so I stopped at 4 reps. I felt the same thing on the first set of hang cleans, so I just did some prehab instead. This is one of those minor annoyances, and wanted to live to fight another day.