Does my bum look big in this squat rack?

brianthebard wrote: »

Just curious, where are you finding the sticking point? have you thought about boards? (obv you bench far more than me so only thinking out loud here...)

Jesus man don't be afraid to make suggestions, I've done this wrong enough for long enough to think I've got better opinions than anyone else.

I did think about boards but then I have the same doubts as the floor presses, is it too much tricep work for a raw lifter?

To back this up and answer your first question, I'm sticking about 4-6 inches from my chest. I may be wrong but I think that's lat territory. Once I get it to tricep territory my lockout is good. This is why the pause benches popped into my head, would they help with strength, speed etc off the bottom to be able to blast through.

I'm working building my lats but they're a work in progress as you can see from all the rowing and pulling. They are a fairly underdeveloped muscle and I'm finding them tough to grow. They are progressing but they clearly aren't my strongpoint.

daveywavey08 wrote: »

What age are you now old man

28 and rising.

Friday 12/12/08 RE Lower

Front Squat
70kg
x12
x12
x12

Good Mornings:
100kg
x12
x10
x9
x8
x7

Pull Thru's:
87.5kg + 7.5kg
x 15
x 12
x 11
x 11
x 11

Standing Ab Pulldowns (Hanley Style)
112.5kg
x12
x 7
x 5
x 5
x 5

Front Squats were dong in that arms crossed stance rather than Weightlifter style. Right wrist doesn't ahve the ROM for it. They pretty much suck. 12 was the rep range that the bar started to kill my shoulders/arms so I don't think I got much out of them.

Hanley that foot position on the Ab PD's is savage. I still got 12 reps but really felt it in my abs, took any leg assistance right out of it. First time I've had ab DOMS in months also!

Monday 15/12/08 ME Lower

Deadlift

120 x 1 x 5 (sets x reps)
140 x 1 x 4
165 x 1 x 3
190 x 1 x 2 (with belt now on)
210 x 1 x 1
230 x 1 x 1 PR
215 x 1 x 1
205 x 1 x 1

Good Mornings
110kg
x 7 (made a fukc of that, grip too wide and bar rolled onto my neck...nice)
x 7
x 6
x 6
x 5

Hack Squat Machine (5 holes showing)
60kg
x 9
x 6
x 6
x 6
x 6

Standing Ab Pulldowns:
112.5kg
x 12
x 8
x 7
x 5
x 6

Early Xmas present with the deadlift. Didn't think I'd be able to do that for a long time but pulls seem to really suit me.

The belt is hard to get used to for pulling. It sometimes gets in teh wya and other times rides up. On the 210 lift it ended up around my ribcage????

the drifter wrote: »

excellent are you going doing any comps next year?

I will be yeah. No idea when exactly they're on, how to register etc but I'm really looking forward to it.

I see from your log you're looking at doing the same? I think the single lifts are on first? Feb?

corribdude wrote: »

BIG lift there, nice one, that's over 500lb!

Yeah it's a pretty sweet milestone. Onwards and upwards!

Wednesday 17/12/08 ME Upper

Flat Bench:

70kg x 1 x 5 (sets x reps)
80 x 1 x 4
90 x 1 x 3
100 x 1 x 2
110 x 1 x 1
122.5 x 1 x 1
132.5 x 1 x spotter deadlift
142.5 x 1 spotter ACTUALLY caught the bar on the way down and pulled it up.
142.5kg x 1 x miss Hanley arrives 5 mins too late to spot!

Pendlay Rows:
90kg
x 9
x 6
x 5
x 5
x 5

Military Press:
60kg
x 9
x 7
x 3
x 3
x 2

Chins
x 8
x 5
x 4
x 3
x 3

DC Curls
40kg
x 12
x 9
x 7
x 6
x 6

What a feckin circus of a bench routine. Gym was empty and the two guys I got to spot knew not what they did. The second one was actually hilarious, I got up from it and there's Hanley grinning like a cheshire cat.

Friday 19/12/08 RE Upper

Dumbbell Bench
37.5kg
x10
x 8
x 6
x 5

JM Press:
45kg
x 9
x 7
x 6
x 6
x 6

Seated DB Power Cleans:
12.5kg
x 13
x 9
x 8
x 7
x 6

Lat Pulldowns to nose:
67.5kg
x 18
x 14
x 12
x 13
x 12

Reverse Preacher Curls:
20kg Oly Bar
x 8
x 8
x 7
x 6
x 6

Right that's it, 2 week Xmas deaload. Turkey and Mince pies followed by trip to Paris with wifepants. God I need it I feel shattered.

Gonna use the time over Xmas to think about how I'm training. Westside has made a big difference for me but I can feel it starting to slow. Especially on the bench. The difference in numbers since 16/09/08:

THEN:
Weight: 100kg
Bench: 132.5kg
Squat: 160kg
Deadlift: 190kg

NOW:
Weight:104kg
Bench: 140kg
Squat: 190kg
Deadlift: 230kg

Really happy with the size gains also. Upper back is nice and solid and my thighs & glutes are much bigger and feel powerful in the lifts now.

Two things really forced this rethink, one was looking back through my log and realising the really big squat and deadlift increases came after I started incorporating 20 rep squats into my routine. This is not a "westside principle" but I think it may have been the difference. You can see this in the log with my struggle at 170 to my easy 190 7 weeks later, what happened in those 7 weeks? 20 reppers that's what.

Secondly I'm also a little sick of doing TONNES of assistance work. I miss doing the competition lifts often.

Rob Burkes thread here really pricked my ears up and I haven't stopped thinking about that type of program since (thanks Rob!).

Just thinking about pure balls to the wall powerlifting lift after lift day after day has me chomping at the bit!

The 20 rep experiment has me thinking lots of tough reps at the main lifts might result in better gains than my heavy singles followed by assistance lifts.

Any advice welcome or anyone's experience of programs that might satisfy my urge to squat, push and pull regularily that's not Sheiko... don't have the time!

Hanley wrote: »

It's one of the best things I've done for my training. I used to give up on reps quite a lot when I hit sticking points, but when I started to watch them back on tape, the "sticking points" were actually just normal reps which had slowed down a bit. Now I know that if a rep takes less than 4 or 5 seconds, there's nearly always another one (or two) there!

Ya know what it was like? I just couldn't handle the weight on my back any longer. I didn't re-rack it because I didn't think the next rep would go. I just couldn't handle even standing under it any more!

Okidoke back to it.

Had a good think about what I'm gonna do training wise for 09 and have decided on Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 program.

Seems a good fit for me. It's targeted at intermediate raw lifters who are using enough weight to make the %'s work (If the weight is too light there may be an issue with not being taxed enoug by this program). I looked into Rob Burke's soviet style communist powerlifting ideals but decided against it, though I will follow Rob's log closely to see how it goes. For my own personal situation 5 days a week would be a bit much even though they are short. Wendler recommends a 3 day week for this program. Sweeeeeeeet. Then there's a deload every 4th week! Back of the net!

Here's how it lays out (I'm doing this to remind myself of the %'s)

100% = 1RM
Wave 1. 75%x5, 80%x5, 85%x5
Wave 2. 80%x3, 85%x3, 90%x3
Wave 3. 75%x5, 85%x3, 95%x1
Wave 4. (deload) - 60%x5, 65%x5, 70%x5

They're called waves rather than weeks because there are 4 workouts per wave but you only do 3 per week. The 4 are Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Military press.

Really looking forward to going for heavy PR's on the military press, I hardly trained that lift all of last year.

I need to subtract 10% from my 1RM before I work it out. Apparently it's too brutal otherwise.

Squat night tonight

Wenesday 07/01/09 Cycle 1 Wave 1

Bench:
warmup
95kg x 5
100kg x 5
107.25 x 7

Chins:
x9
x4
x4
x3
x3

Seated DB Power Cleans:
12.5kg
x13
x13 (after a break to spot Hanley)
x6
x5
x6

Reverse preacher curls:
20kg fat bar
x 10
x 6
x 5
x 5
x 5

Stretching

Had to use the fat bar because all the nice Oly bars were being used so the bench was a bit uncomfortable. OVerall ok session.

Yeah sure watch this space and see how I find it.

It's all about working your way up gradually, Cycle 2 should be interesting looking at the numbers.

Just sticking this vid here so I can find it if I wanna watch it again. Great vid. Safety squat session at 2:42, if that doesn't make you feel like you need to up the intensiy nothing will.

Friday 16/01/09 Cycle 1 Wave 2

Bench:
warmup
80% 100 x 3
85% 107.25 x 3
90% 112.5 x 6

Accessory:

60% 75 x 10
55% 67.5 x 10
50% 62.5 x10
45% 55 x 10
40% 50 x 10

Stretching

Benching felt great. No elbow pain and 112.5 felt light as a feather. Once again it's great to get so much technique practice and I've corrected a few things I was doing wrong. The biggest being my technique in lowering the bar, so often I'd lose my tension on the way down and subsequently not make the lift. Now I'm concentrating on pulling the bar outwards as if I'm trying to pull the bar apart whilst keeping my elbows in and the bar just naturally comes down while you stay locked in. It feels great to finally get that right, I struggled so much lowering weight under control in the past.

Monday 19/01/09 Cycle 1 Wave 2

Deadlift:

warmup
80% 165 x 3
85% 175 x 3
90% 185 x 5

Accessory work:
60% 122.5 x 10
55% 112.5 x 10
50% 102.5 x 10
45% 92.5 x 10
40% 82.5 x 10

+ stretching

This session was the meaning of the term "lower back pump".
I've been carrying a slight lower back twinge since me 230kg pull just before xmas. Not overly uncomfortable but I can feel a little sore spot when I bend at certain angles. Left the heavy workset at 5 reps just incase I turned it into something worse but felt good for another rep.

Invested in a foam roller to try and alleviate this problem and build on my new years stretching resolution. Been tearing into myself with that the last few night so I'll see if it helps.

From my initial rolling it seems as though the problem is tight glutes, whihc would make sense as they limit my ability to keep my lower back strong in the bottom of the deadlift and squat. Better untighten them before someone writes a rap song about me or sumthin.

Friday 23/01/09 Cycle 1 Wave 3

Squat:

warmup

75% 127.5kg x 5
85% 145kg x 3
95% 162.5kg x 4

Accessory work:

60% 102.5 x10
92.5 x 10
85 x 10
77.5 x 10
67.5 x 10

Stretching

Happy with 4 reps at 162.5. Left a rep in the bag as directed.