Gamedog's Training Log

[gamedog]

I've been doing barbell training since the last week or so in February, 2010. I was doing the StrongLifts 5x5 program, and after I began having difficulty recovering from workouts, I decided to de-load, and then start out with Rip's Starting Strength Novice Program instead.

-STATS-
AGE: 31
HEIGHT: 6'
WEIGHT: 219 lbs

-TODAY'S WORKING SETS-
SQUATS: 135 x 5 x 3
BENCH PRESS: 135 x 5 x 3
DEADLIFT: 135 x 5 x 3

-NOTES-
Good workout today. Last week I tweaked my lower back during squats, so I've been resting and missed working out on Friday. It was good to get back in the squat cage today, and I did fine. Today is the first day of doing Rip's Low Bar squat. Previous to this, I kept the bar high up on my traps. I noticed that I had a tendency to round out my back a little at first, when doing it that way. Today I did the Low Bar squats as Rip prescribes, and not only did it make it easier to maintain proper form, it also made my back feel tighter, and stronger. No rounding, and there was NO stress on my lower back (the kind that makes you feel like your lower back is going to split) at all.

I'm sore after working out, but not like I was when I was on StrongLifts. I still feel like I got a good workout, BUT, without all the extra work sets, and all the extra assistance exercises, I don't feel "dead" like before. On StrongLifts I'd finish up, and after my shower I just felt sore and tired, really tired. After my SS workout today though, I was pleased to note that I felt wide-awake, and (I know this sounds stupid) happy. I also noted that for the first time since I started all this, I felt hungry, almost ravenous, right after my workout. Never felt hungry before, though I'd eat anyway because I knew I ought to. After I returned from the gym I ate my spinach salad, two chicken breasts, and two scoops of whey blended into two cups of whole milk.

And I'm still hungry. Gonna eat some cheese now.

[gamedog]

Today I did Workout "B" for the first time. Never did Power Cleans before so I made sure to follow the instructions in the Wiki.

-TODAY'S WORKING SETS-
SQUATS: 140 x 5 x 3
OVERHEAD PRESS: 95 x 5 x 3
POWER CLEAN: 45 x 5 x 3

-NOTES-
I paid more attention to my knees today. I was getting a lot of pain just above the patella in my left knee last time. I spread my feet just a little bit further, and made sure to point my toes and knees out. Pointed them out further as well. And I've been stretching my hamstrings as well. No pain at all in my knees at all today, after working out, and any discomfort during my workout was minimal/barely noticeable

[gamedog]

Felt good, getting into the gym today. And the workout went well. Just went from one set to the next, feeling good and working hard. And every time the bar went up, it went up easy.

-TODAY'S WORKING SETS-
SQUATS: 145 x 5 x 3
BENCH PRESS: 140 x 5 x 3
DEADLIFT: 140 x 5 x 3

-NOTES-
No notes other than the above for today. I just need to remember to PAY ATTENTION throughout the exercises. So that's it for the day.

P.S.
I thought it'd be fun to attach some photos of my dog.

[mountainmatt]

Nice looking dog. Keep up the good work

[gamedog]

Thanks!

[gamedog]

-STATS-
WEIGHT: 222 lbs

-TODAY'S WORKING SETS-
SQUATS: 155 x 5 x 3
OVERHEAD PRESS: 100 x 5 x 3
POWER CLEAN: 55 x 5 x 3

-NOTES-
Good workout today. I felt like I could add 10 instead of 5, and it was fine. Form got a little wobbly on my last set of overhead presses, but I was able to fix it and complete the set without any slop, so that was good.

Still learning power cleans. Working on the movement with a broom handle for a few sets before going to the bar. It's hard for a tall, gangly motherfucker like me to get the sequence down, and I don't like doing them much, either. But I'm going to keep at it. When I was a kid -9/10/11 years-old- skateboarding, I couldn't ollie. Never learned how to. Always thought "I'm too uncoordinated to learn how" and gave up on skating. That sucks. I enjoyed it, but I gave it up because I wasn't learning the trick I wanted to do. Probably could have learned if I tried harder, but I never did...

So I'm going to keep working on the power cleans, and not give up on them.

Come to think of it, I've given up on a lot of other stuff, when shit got "too technical," too. Girlfriends, various activities, jobs... One long string of shit I gave up on.

I guess I've been a pussy for a while. Oh well. It can't be all bad, I was in the gym again today and I enjoyed it. I'll keep working on it, and get back in there tomorrow for cardio and then again on Wednesday for Workout A again. I enjoy dead lift day.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
75 lbs. x 5 x 1
110 lbs. x 5 x 1
145 lbs. x 5 x 1
165 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
70 lbs. x 5 x 1
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
120 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
150 lbs. x 5 x 1

Notes:
I tried to get in there today and just fucking kill it. Be an animal. I pounded out rep after rep, set after set as intensely as I could while keeping good form. 165 was where I'd stalled when I hurt my back, back on the 5x5 program. Now that I've been doing Rip's program, I was able to do a few 10 lbs. increases, and today, with 165 it felt as if I was barely lifting anything. Felt like I could have lifted twice that.

Bench Presses were good, good form but that last set was hard. 5 lbs. increases from now on, on the bench and over-head presses. I'll stick to the 10 lbs. increases on the squats and dead lifts as long as I can.

I almost shit myself when I stepped on the scale. It read 227 lbs. It read 222 on Monday. LOL Probably water weight.

[gamedog]

... and here's another photo of my pittie, this was taken while she was outside playing the day after we got that really bad snow back in February. Yes, I'm quite proud of my dog. Soon I hope to be in as good a shape as she is LOL

[Tim Lofton]

Today I did Workout "B" for the first time. Never did Power Cleans before so I made sure to follow the instructions in the Wiki.


Highly recommend you buy the book. It really is good reading...again and again. It's hard to get by just off of the wiki and you'll become more knowledgable in the process. If you are struggling some with power cleans, having the entire chapter in front of you can make a difference. Once you are a bit more form savy and start cleaning some more weight, they get to be pretty fun, in my opinion. Cleaning your presses also gets you some extra work with them. Also, it's a good show of support for the man providing this site and the information we've all come to put to good use. Good luck.

[gamedog]

The wife ordered it for me and it ought to be in the mail on its way out to me as we speak ;-)

[gamedog]

Got two wisdom teeth pulled today so I'm taking the day off. I'll hit the gym tomorrow instead. Normally Saturday and Sunday are days off, but I don't think working out on Saturday and then resuming the regular Mon, Wed and Fri schedule will be a problem.

[Smoke_Eater]

Just gota roll with what life gives you man. My schedule is never mon/weds/fri or tues/thurs/sat week after week becuase of my job. As long as you get your lifts in, thats what matters!

Ill follow your log, seems that Ive have the same sorta issues in the past. Doing the same Novice program as well so itll be cool so see how things progress since were starting at the same time. Cheers.

[gamedog]

Just gota roll with what life gives you man. My schedule is never mon/weds/fri or tues/thurs/sat week after week becuase of my job. As long as you get your lifts in, thats what matters!

Ill follow your log, seems that Ive have the same sorta issues in the past. Doing the same Novice program as well so itll be cool so see how things progress since were starting at the same time. Cheers.

Well you're certainly right about that, "Life (and sometimes shit) does happen" LOL Yeah man, by all means, follow me here and I'll follow you as well! I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym tomorrow, and I'm also looking forward to getting my book in the mail. Got the "The Aasgard company has sent you a package" email yesterday. Should be here shortly. That'll help me TONS, including helping me learn power cleans better.

Anyway, cheers to you as well, and I'll be seeing you around!

[Beltshumeltz]

... some stuff edited out...

skateboarding, I couldn't ollie. Never learned how to. Always thought "I'm too uncoordinated to learn how" and gave up on skating. That sucks. I enjoyed it, but I gave it up because I wasn't learning the trick I wanted to do. Probably could have learned if I tried harder, but I never did...

Come to think of it, I've given up on a lot of other stuff, when shit got "too technical," too. Girlfriends, various activities, jobs... One long string of shit I gave up on.

... some stuff edited out...


Man, I feel the same. I think this program is acting very much as a character builder for me. I have started approaching the bar on the squat telling myself I will either lift this &#$%$ or die under it, as opposed to before when I was too cautious and therefore rarely raised the weight.

I went from 160 to 225 squat at the rate of 5 per workout and to my surprise, it worked and it usually still feels a bit easier than when I did 180, as if I was getting 6-7 pounds of recovery per workout. It was just about having the right mindset.

It's building my confidence as I now realize that I too, can get that strength that I usually just admire on others. No need to settle for less.

I think now I should actually stop worrying about the technical aspects of the power clean and just do it uh? I've actually been doing chin ups and rows as I thought it was too tough to learn. Yet I never actually read the chapter on cleans...

[gamedog]

-STATS-
Weight: 228 lbs.

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
85 lbs. x 5 x 1
120 lbs. x 5 x 1
155 lbs. x 5 x 1
170 lbs. x 5 x 3

Overhead Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
65 lbs. x 5 x 1
85 lbs. x 5 x 1
105 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
60 lbs. x 5 x 1

Notes:
I ended up not going to the gym on Saturday, after having my wisdom teeth taken out Friday morning. My wife advised me against it. She seemed to think that it might not be a good idea to be recovering from oral surgery and from lifting at the same time over the weekend. So I took the 4 days and just hung out.

I was half expecting to go in there and kill it today, but to be honest, most of the workout was godawful. I never believed people who said they get joint pain when it's cool, cloudy and rainy outside, but today I was like a box of Rice Krispies, crackling and popping and my knees are sore again.

Bad sore knees on squats and my last set of presses sucked today, they were shaky on the way down once or twice. One good thing though, is that my power cleans were good today. I guess you have to take the good with the bad... One bad workout won't kill me.

Over-all, despite the pain and stuff, I was glad to be back in there, and I'll just do my best to go in strong on Wednesday.

Another good thing, is that my copy of Starting Strength should be delivered today, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

[gamedog]

Man, I feel the same. I think this program is acting very much as a character builder for me.

It is for both of us homey. It is for both of us ;-)

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
85 lbs. x 5 x 1
125 lbs. x 3 x 1
165 lbs. x 1 x 1
175 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
85 lbs. x 5 x 1
125 lbs. x 3 x 1
155 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
160 lbs. x 5 x 1

Notes:

Today felt great for several reasons. Firstly, because I went into the gym with a good attitude. I thought to myself "Sure, last time wasn't so great, but I'm here today, despite how bad it hurt last time, I've been studying my SSBBT book, I've eaten a lot of good food and I'm well-rested, and I have the raw power of Iggy and the Stooges cued up on my iPod. Today's workout will be a good one."

I mention Rip's book (Starting Strength BBT 2nd Edition) because it arrived in the mail on Monday afternoon. I read the chapter about The Squat, and then re-read it. I am pleased because I understand "hip drive" better now. I also understand now why the shoulder-width stance is the best one for the low-bar squat -I was keeping my feet far wider before. Coming up out of the hole I imagined that I was pushing up on a piston with the top part of where my ass connects with my lower back. Rising it straight up. My glutes and hamstrings were firing aces and I felt NO undue pressure on my knees at all. My knees weren't hurting a bit.

Beforehand I had made an effort to put more into warming up, too. I did 5 hard minutes on the rowing machine, followed by a moderate 10 minutes on the stationary bike. Followed that up with leg kicks, hip rotations, body-weight good mornings and then Rip's squat stretch.

That helped a lot, as well.

The only pain encountered was mild lower-back discomfort. I can fix this by "looking down" more, as opposed to looking straight into the mirror and MAKING SURE I keep my chest big and shoulders drawn together tight in the back. I basically just need to focus some energy on making sure my back stays tight, with a big chest the way described in the book. I can do this.

Bench Presses were great, save for a little slop on my last two or three reps of my last set... I got a little over-zealous because there was this HOT cougar-type broad doing plyos nearby...

Heh, hot plyo cougar stopped to towel off as I was starting my dead lifts. I brought up that bar like it was little more than a broomhandle, and she watched me the entire time. I chuckled to myself, because 160 isn't an impressive weight at all. Heh, maybe she was thinking "He's just warming up, I can't wait to see him get the HUGE weight on there! Perhaps, if he can break 500 I'll follow him into the showers!" ... and then she thought, as I unloaded the bar and put the weights back "Well THAT certainly was anti-climactic. I wonder what those nice CrossFit boys are doing..." LOL

I'll be reading the chapter on Power Cleans tonight, and tomorrow to prepare for Friday. Rip writes a good book. Glad I had "She Who Must Be Obeyed" buy it for me. OH! As a surprise, she also bought me new shoes. We can't afford the nice, weight lifting kind, but she did get me a pair of World Industries shoes. They're made for skate boarding, BUT, they have a flat sole that's hard as HELL, they're comfortable, and they work a lot better than my Chucks.

Today was a good day.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
90 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 3 x 1
180 lbs. x 5 x 3

Overhead Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
80 lbs. x 5 x 1
110 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
65 lbs. x 5 x 1

Notes:

I'm never going to the gym on 5 hours of sleep again. I did all my lifts, honest-to-God with good form, but I wasn't 100% today. And my left biceps is killing me after the presses.

When I was on the StrongLifts 5x5 program I was doing a lot of "assistance" work along with the compound lifts. I ditched all of them when I scrapped that program and starting doing Rippetoes' instead. Anyway, I'd been doing the pull-ups a while back and got a sharp pain at the bottom of my left biceps, near the ditch. It cleared up, but came back today. Blows.

Other than that, things were okay. Doing my power-cleans by-the-book now, took SSBBT into the gym with me so the info was handy any time I needed to flip to it, and that was that.

[Smoke_Eater]

Good to see you got the book man. If you read it and thuroughly digest the info it will make a world of difference on your lifts. Hip drive is a wonderfull thing with squatting and once you get it youll notice your knees will never really hurt. I wish I had of read the book and done this program properly in my late to early teens but such is life.

Look into Defracos agile 8 for a warmup. I do it religiously along with a good hard row before my workouts and I usually feel pretty primed for the workout.

[gamedog]

It was a wise investment. I don't think I've ever seen so much information about weight lifting in one book before. The detail Rip and Lon go into is astonishing. I'm glad I bought it too.

I'll check out the Agile 8 as well. Whatever I can do to promote longevity, you know?

[gamedog]

-STATS-
Weight: 234 lbs.

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
100 lbs. x 5 x 1
140 lbs. x 3 x 1
185 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
90 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 3 x 1
160 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
170 lbs. x 5 x 1

Notes:

I am now the heaviest that I have ever been. At my skinny-fattest, I weighed in at 225. All gut and man boobs. The gut is gone and so are the boobs. And I actually have ARMS now.

If you asked me "What made a believer out of you?" at this point, I would have to say "My arm growth" in light of the fact that I haven't done a single curl since I began barbell training, and I have not done any dips, pull ups or chins since I started Rippetoe's. I took Coach seriously when he said not to put in other stuff, and just do the program as it's written. And I was amazed today when I looked at my arms. They're growing, right along with the rest of me. Shit, it's not just the arms. EVERYTHING is growing. My back is thick. I have this bulging "T" look to me, across my shoulders with the traps forming at the top. Chest sticks out now on its own, with the ribcage held up firmly. And I need new underwear, too. The boxer-briefs my wife bought me for Christmas no longer fit. They're way too tight around my ass and my quads/hams.

A few co-workers have asked me if I've been using steroids. That has amused me to no end.

What's interesting, here, is that I do not, in any way, look like a body builder. I don't look like one of those Jersey Shore guys at all. I don't look "sculpted" or "chiseled" ... Rather, I look like a well-proportioned man, but HARD. I can't really explain it, except to say that I feel like I'm starting to look like a man is supposed to look, balanced, strong, hard, but not one of these pantywaist underwear models.

But that's just side-effects... Performance is what's important. I try to keep reminding myself of that. Yeah, my "new body" looks great, but performance-wise, man, it's great. Today was much better at the gym. The heat and humidity was getting to me at first, but by the time I was into my second working set with the squats, my bar speed was great, and once again, it felt like I wasn't moving any weight at all. Benches were solid, too. Good bar speed, no slop. Deadlifts, piece of cake. So weight room performance has increased, as had life performance, too. Had to move some heavy shit for the wife this weekend (help move out old washing machine to basement, help move in new washing machine, etc.) ... later on, she (the wife) started flirting with me a little bit ... ;-) ... it felt good to nail the wife like a viking LOL

Mentally, I'm still sharp as a tack, too. Calm, collected, happy, enjoying my new body and my new life. Enthusiasm is renenwed, even after a rough workout last week. No depression of any kind, no trouble sleeping since we moved our bedroom downstairs (it was too hot, upstairs. My upstairs bedroom is haunted by a wrathful ghost, who, among other things, makes it really, really hot, and likes to turn the closet light on and off so we moved downstairs).

Good day today. Still reading the book, too.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
110 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 3 x 1
190 lbs. x 5 x 3

Overhead Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
80 lbs. x 5 x 1
115 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
70 lbs. x 5 x 1

Notes:

A slight bit of knee pain recurred today. But the pain was only present during the sets, and I did not walk away from the rack with that "filled with fluid and loose" feeling. And the knee pain went away after the squats were through. Probably just my body bitching at me, as it likes to do sometimes.

The lower-back pain wasn't bad today at all, but my left biceps/triceps were real sore after squats, keeping the weight pinned to my back. Stretching of the pec, shoulders and arms should prevent that from happening in the future.

I feel like I'm going to stall anytime now on the presses. The last working set was hard. I almost lost it on my second to last rep. I was able to correct and complete the attempt, but that movement is getting real, REAL hard.

Still working on learning power cleans. It is quickly becoming one of my favorites, to do.

Things are good.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
120 lbs. x 5 x 1
170 lbs. x 3 x 1
195 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
100 lbs. x 5 x 1
145 lbs. x 3 x 1
165 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
180 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Juggernaut - Clutch
Pile Driver - Clutch
Marcha De Odio - Brujeria
Micha: Those Who Fear Tomorrow - Integrity
Jimson Isolation - Integrity
Honeypot - Melvins
Necromantical Screams - Celtic Frost
Dawn Of Megiddo - Celtic Frost
White Noise - Corrosion Of Conformity
Mine Are The Eyes Of God - Corrosion Of Conformity
Bacchanal - Clutch
[...]

Notes:
No knee pain what-so-ever today. Lower-back discomfort in-between sets during squats was minimal. Also, I wasn't as gassed after racking the bar when finishing up a set as I usually am.

I thought my bench press was about to stall, but I made it through another workout adding weight. The pain in the ditch in my left arm came back during squats, and made pressing more difficult, but it wasn't a show stopper. A buddy of mine was there, and offered to spot me, just in case. I agreed, but he never touched the bar, didn't need to. I will continue loading more weight on the bar next time out.

Last night was rough, didn't sleep enough, just like last Thursday. Good workout today, but I need to change some things about my evening routine at home. Last Friday was hard on too little sleep. I managed to pull a good workout out of my ass today, but I won't be able to do that forever.

[gamedog]

-STATS-
Weight: 239 lbs.

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
100 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 3 x 1
200 lbs. x 5 x 3

Overhead Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
120 lbs. x 5 x 3

Powerclean:
70 lbs. x 5 x 3

Playlist:
The album "Airshow 2012" by Der Fuckemos

Notes:

I squatted 200 lbs today. No pain in the knee. No pain in the back. No pain in the ditch of my left arm, no soreness in the hands either. Good bar speed, wasn't gassed after each set, felt really good.

Presses were hard as shit. My last set was sloppy as Hell, had to go real slow to keep the left hand and the right hand traveling up at the same time.

I'm finally comfortable with the whole powerclean movement, thanks to Rip's book and I did them by-the-book today. Felt good, too.

Good day today!

[gamedog]

copied a template into it by mistake...

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
105 lbs. x 5 x 1
155 lbs. x 3 x 1
205 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
105 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 3 x 1
170 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
190 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Religious Wars - Subhumans
Punk Is Dead - Crass
I Don't Need Society - D.R.I.
No Values - Black Flag
Nike A-Go-Go - Misfits
Devilock - Misfits
Henchman - Bad Religion
Dead Men Tell No Tales - D.O.A.
Chemical Warfare - Slayer
Guilty Of Being White - Slayer
I Don't Care - Black Flag
Search And Destroy - The Stooges
Out Of Step - Minor Threat
Gone Too Long - D.R.I.
Couch Slouch - D.R.I.
Cold Metal - Iggy Pop
Gimme Danger - The Stooges
[...]


Notes:

My left knee bitched at me the entire fucking time I was squatting today. I'd finish up my set and rack the bar, then walk away and the damn thing would feel fine.

These things happen.

Benched with good form today, kept my shoulder blades squeezed together, didn't arch my lower back up, kept the feet flat on the floor. Bar speed was terribly slow today though. I've been saying I feel a stall coming on, but once again I got the weight up and didn't miss any reps.

My dead lifts won't be behind squats much longer either. When I first started training I started out with dead lifts real, real light. I didn't want to hurt my back while I was trying to learn the movement, much less hurt it later on because I never learned good form. Kind of like how behind I am with the power clean...

Good workout today.

[grizzlybuck]

Good job Gamedog, keep up the good work.

[gamedog]

Thanks grizzly!

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
110 lbs. x 5 x 1
160 lbs. x 3 x 1
210 lbs. x 5 x 3

Overhead Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
100 lbs. x 5 x 1
125 lbs. x 5 x 3

Powerclean:
75 lbs. x 5 x 3

Playlist:
Prison Sex - Tool
Infected - Bad Religion
Stone The Crow - Down
Hail The Leaf - Down
Rise River Rise - Corrosion Of Conformity
Did You See What God Just Did To Us, Man? - Forensics
Junkhead - Alice In Chains
The Handshake - Bad Religion
Youth Of America - Melvins
Owlwood - Cult Of Luna
Eternal Kingdom - Cult Of Luna
Amrtasyaputra - Rudra
Hymns From The Blazing Chariot - Rudra
[...]

Notes:

It was good getting back into the gym this afternoon. I don't get "The Mondays" because I can go workout. It puts me in a good mood. I look forward to going into the office, getting all my daily tasks done early and then hitting the gym on my lunch break.

Squats were great today. Good bar speed, my knee wasn't bitching at me like last time --I put in more time on the exercise bike, and the dynamic stretches before I hit the weights, so that I'd have a better warm up and it looks like that did the trick. Once again, I didn't feel as though I had any weight on me at all.

Overhead presses, however, those sucked. My form was so bad on my last two sets that I am calling it a missed attempt, and I'll be de-loading 10% next time out, and then ramping back up from there on the subsequent workouts. I didn't drop the bar on my head or the pins or anything like that, but I can hardly call the movement "controlled" on those last two sets. So, a de-load I believe is in order. I've basically stalled on the press. No big deal, I can get un-stuck and be pressing more in no-time. I did start this with poor upper-body strength initially, after all. And so far the improvement has been great, so I'm not letting myself get frustrated. I'll break that plateau.

Power cleans, my favorite. They went very well today. That bar was flying up like it was nothing. Just barely touching my shirt on the way up, both arms doing their jobs acting as "straps," no problem racking the bar at the top at all. And I wasn't gassed at all at the end, either.

No aches and pains today what-so-ever. And even though I'm dealing with a nasty stomach bug, I feel alert, vigorous, and my appetite remains. I just ate half a roast and a huge spinach salad. I'm avoiding the milk today though, as, I think my milk here might have caused the stomach bug. I'll buy new milk later. In the meantime, I'm snacking on almonds and baby carrots till I leave work. And drinking my water too.

Good day today.

[MazdaMatt]

Game, I should have been paying more attention to your log as you seem to be in a similar position to me in some respects. Squats are just below mine and you're also dealing with left knee pain. Press is just above mine, but you've stalled and I think that weight will give me trouble. Your bench is way above mine, but I feel i'd be there if it were not for a sore shoulder.

Something I've had to bang through my skull is that on OHP if you just do the movement correctly, it is easier than not doing it correctly. Sometimes when I'm sure I'm going to fail I will do it wrong and I fail (or struggle and look rediculous, but get it up)... or I do it right and I don't fail. The hard part is mentally committing to putting that heavy bar over my skull. Are you sure that you're not fearing the strain and failing to move your body under the bar sufficiently? When you were putting up these ugly reps, what were you doing that was so ugly?

[gamedog]

Hey there Mazda!

For me, on the OHP, the left side is going up faster than the right, so I compensate, but over compensate, and then I have to even it out, all on the way up. That's how it starts anyway. And by the end of the set, it's a real struggle to get that bar up properly, and then it comes down faster than it ought to, like, my arms are giving up at the last second or two. That's how it seems, anyway.

So I guess you could call it "A shit-load of wiggling when there oughtn't be any" in my case.

What's funny about this is I feel like I'm ready to stall on the bench pressing too. BUT my form on that lift is better than ever. Seems like the heavier and heavier the weight got, the better my form got. Of course, bar speed has slowed significantly on that lift, for me. But there's no slop in it anymore.

What's your thoughts? De-load 10% on the OHP, throw in an extra warm-up set and make sure form is solid and perhaps even throw in a back-off set for form as well? That's what I was thinking anyway...

[gamedog]

OH! I forgot to mention the knee pain.

Last night I walked my dog about a half mile or so. There was a thunderstorm rolling in, so we didn't do our full walk. After we got back, I did some dynamic stretches, followed by a brief Yoga session, and some PNF stretches for my hamstrings. And then I did the extended exercise bike warm up today, 15 minutes or so, followed by the dynamic stretches. Worked like a charm. And it seems like the pain has been diminished in past workouts, when I stretched after walking my dog too, the night before.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
120 lbs. x 5 x 1
170 lbs. x 3 x 1
215 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
110 lbs. x 5 x 1
130 lbs. x 3 x 1
175 lbs. x 1
175 lbs. x 0 x bailout
155 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
200 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Rock N Roll Outlaw - Clutch
Hoodoo Operator - Clutch
Crosseyed Mary - Clutch
Open Up The Border - Clutch
50,000 Unstoppable Watts - Clutch
Piledriver - Clutch
Passive Restraints - Clutch
A Shogun Named Marcus - Clutch
Mice And Gods - Clutch
10,000 Witnesses - Clutch
Juggernaut - Clutch
Bacchanal - Clutch
Spacegrass - Clutch
[...]

Notes:

Today defines mediocre, for me. I went in there an annihilated my squats, one warm up set after the other pausing only to load the bar, then get back under it. Work sets went great, good bar speed, good form, no pain what-so-ever in the knees or back... I wasn't even gassed after each set, and only needed to rest for a minute and a half between each of them. Just pounded out one rep right after the other, no problem.

Bench warm-up was going well until my 3rd and last rep with 130. Then BOOM! me left biceps was in pain again, and, you guessed it, the ditch in my left arm, too. Fucking bloody hell. Finished that set, then rested for 5 minutes. Pain went away. Loaded the 175 pound working weight on there, and started up the set. Got through one rep to test the water. Felt fine. Racked the bar, to rest and prepare for the work sets. Thought it'd be fine... Hit it up again, barely got the bar half way up before I had to bail out. Pain came back, bad. Stopped, de-loaded to 155 and did my 3x5 with 155. I'm considering this an official stall, just like my over-head press. I've de-loaded to 155, and will jump to 160 this-coming Monday, when I bench again and work my way up from there. Should pass 175 two weeks after that or so.

Dead lifts went great. It's to the point now where it's starting to feel heavy. But I've still been making 10 pound jumps, with the weight on that one. Doesn't feel like a stall is imminent on that one yet.

Next time will be better.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
160 lbs. x 5 x 1
220 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
75 lbs. x 5 x 1
105 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
80 lbs. x 5 x 3

Playlist:
Metallica's Master of Puppets album.

Notes:

I've had an aggravating, shitty day on pretty much all fronts, work has been rough today, co-workers, family and friends are pissing me off... It's pretty-much the kind of day where instead of pressing the bar or squatting it you want to beat the Hell out of people with it instead.

The time spent at the gym was well-spent though. I'm glad I de-loaded and reset on my press, I was able to take the notes I took from reading the chapter on the press in there and work on my form. My left biceps was a little sore, but after the warm-up sets I got the bar up and over my head with good form, and there wasn't any wobbling. So I'll be pressing 110 over my head this-coming Wednesday.

Back to work for now though.

[MazdaMatt]

Sorry I didn't get back to answer you request for suggestions on the press. I would have said to repeat the weight but shoot he warmups up as hard as you can and FORCE a level bar. Since you feel that the deload was well worth it, continue as you are, but try to really fire the bar up hard and force it to go up level. The arms move in perfect symetry.

I suspect if you told Rip that one arm goes up faster than the other, he'd reply something like "Don't do that". I think that's what it comes down to.

But what do I know?

[gamedog]

Sorry I didn't get back to answer you request for suggestions on the press. I would have said to repeat the weight but shoot he warmups up as hard as you can and FORCE a level bar. Since you feel that the deload was well worth it, continue as you are, but try to really fire the bar up hard and force it to go up level. The arms move in perfect symetry.

I suspect if you told Rip that one arm goes up faster than the other, he'd reply something like "Don't do that". I think that's what it comes down to.

But what do I know?

You're probably right. And no worries man, it's all good. And I will do as you say, about firing the bar up hard and forcing it to go up level. I'll ice this left biceps too, this weekend ;-) fucking thing has been hurting.

[MazdaMatt]

Stupid persistent injuries make me want to kick puppies. (reference: my last bench "workout")

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
115 lbs. x 5 x 1
185 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
100 lbs. x 5 x 1
160 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
220 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Drink Deep - Rites of Spring
7 - Sunny Day Real Estate
Sort Of - Silversun Pickups
Future Foe Scenarios - Silversun Pickups
Invisible - Modest Mouse
Monkey Gone To Heaven - Pixies
Vlad The Impaler - Kasabian
Bigmouth Strikes Again - Smiths
Dream At Tempo 119 - Silversun Pickups
Cashout - Fugazi
Instrument - Fugazi
47 - Sunny Day Real Estate
Where Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie
Bone Machine - Pixies
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side - Smiths
Alala - CSS
Autumn Beds - Modest Mouse
Common Reactor - Silversun Pickups

Notes:

Dead lifting 220 lbs today was an accident. I was supposed to do 210, and instead of putting on the usual 10 pounds of extra weight for this one I loaded up 20 extra pounds instead. It didn't occur to me what I had done until my 4th rep and I said to myself "This feels a little heavier than usual..." Wasn't bad though. Will pull 230 on Friday, and then continue with the 10 pound increases as normal.

Bench was good today as well. Good bar speed, no pain in the left biceps at all. Will be using 165 on Friday, and 170 the Wednesday after that.

Squats were good too. No aches, no pains.

Yeah, I know ... a lot of post-punk, emo, indie and "indie,"and pop on the playlist today. I can't fucking listen to hardcore, thrash/sludge/doom metal, stoner rock all the time. It just seemed to work for me today.

[MazdaMatt]

Solid workout. Nice deadlift accident. I did the same last time I deadlifted but it put me out of 5-rep territory... loaded 290 instead of 270 :( (big difference for me!)

[gamedog]

Solid workout. Nice deadlift accident. I did the same last time I deadlifted but it put me out of 5-rep territory... loaded 290 instead of 270 :( (big difference for me!)

Oh MAN! I bet that was! Bench was definitely better today, and I hope this persistant injury of mine stays on the mend ;-)

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
120 lbs. x 5 x 1
190 lbs. x 3 x 1
230 lbs. x 5 x 3

Overhead Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
90 lbs. x 5 x 1
110 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
85 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Sci-Fi Crimes by Chevelle

Notes:

The way my quads, glutes and hamstrings felt today I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to up my working load to 230 on the squats, but after the warm-up I felt fine, did the work sets and it was all good. Well, ASIDE FROM MY LEFT BICEPS WHICH STILL FUCKING HURTS GOD DAMN IT. The reason it hurts, I believe, is that the way in which my elbows point back and up, when holding the bar on my back in the "low bar" position is ratcheting my arm in such a way as to cause this stress on it, when the weight is heavy. So I'll stretch the shoulders/chest/arms more, ice the shit out of it, and I should be good to go and on the road to recovery with that. Otherwise, squats were great, adding another 5lbs. on Friday for 235.

The Janitor asked me if I was using steroids. I laughed.

The CrossFit guy who was doing his cleans nearby while I was squatting watched with a look of horror on his face when I broke parallel and went ass-to-grass during my working sets. I used to look like him, a long time ago...

Everything else was good. Presses were strong and I'm on my way to breaking the plateau. Still having fun with the power cleans too.

[gamedog]

Hrmmm...

[JStrong]

Hi game

sounds like you have the same elbow tendonitis I did- it feels like a broken bicep right at the elbow. Don't let the bar slip at all on squats - what caused it for me was carrying too much of the weight on my arms- I let the bar slip one time and caught 270 with my arms -and keep those wrists neutral, even if you need to grip wider- that's all I found that keeps it from recurring.
If I'm wrong just forget it.

[gamedog]

Thanks for the advice, JStrong :-)

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
190 lbs. x 3 x 1
235 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
165 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
230 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
The album "16 Valve Hate" by Slapshot

Notes:

I walked into the gym full of piss and vinegar today. Things have been rough yesterday and today. Didn't sleep well last night because shit's been pissing me off. It's the kind of "pissed off" that isn't cured by breaking stuff. Been one of those week- no, months. It's like playing Whack-A-Mole. You think you have one thing handled and then two more things pop up and then comes three or four, and pretty soon you find yourself standing in the middle of a giant clusterfuck, swinging that mallet at everything you see, no matter what it is.

Squats were done before I knew it. And I didn't break a sweat. It was one of those days where you only rest for a minute and a half between each set. Then you just get back under the bar. I took JStrong's advice to heart, and made sure my wrists were neutral and that my arms weren't bearing a shit load of the weight, and sure enough, no pain in my left biceps at all.

My bench press felt a little heavy, but whatever. I probably only slept about 4 hours last night. No big deal. I just ate 3 döner kebab sandwiches (my homeboy Selçuk threw the third in for free because he's cool like that), I have the other half of my chicken still to finish, a steak when I get home and plenty of beer. I'll sleep in tomorrow, eat plenty this weekend as usual, take a nap or two and I should be golden for 170 on the bench this-coming Wednesday. I'm looking forward to it.

Deadlift was awesome.

[MazdaMatt]

Looks like you won't be 10lbs behind me in the squat anymore... I had a messed up week and I won't even be going back today... tomorrow I do 240 :(

[gamedog]

Looks like you won't be 10lbs behind me in the squat anymore... I had a messed up week and I won't even be going back today... tomorrow I do 240 :(

Aw man! What happened homie?

[MazdaMatt]

Wifey's car starter died and my gym time went to fetching her... then we went camping. Now today I'm tied up with a fundraiser after work so tomorrow is workout day. I'm falling behind :(

I might have to man up and put 10lbs on the squat next session :)

edit: at least I managed to chop a tree and carry it out of the forrest while camping... 80 yards uphill through the brush with a 200lb log... does that count as a workout? What if i was loaded on tequila?

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
240 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
115 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
95 lbs. x 3 x 5

Playlist:
Nervous Breakdown - Black Flag
I Don't Care About You - Fear
The Handshake - Bad Religion
Beat 'Em, Bust 'Em - D.O.A.
Used To Be Revolution - D.O.A.
Do They Owe Us A Living? - Crass
Holiday In Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
First Of The Last Calls - Hüsker Dü
I Had A Dream About Hockey - Two Man Advantage
War Birds - Daycare Swindlers
Let's Have A War - Fear
New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones - Fear
21st. Century Digital Boy - Bad Religion
Worlds Fall Apart - D.O.A.
Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Notes:

It was apparent in the gym today how much stress I've been under and how much various things have fucking sucked lately. At least it was when I got there. My knees bitched at me during my squats -warm-ups and my first two working sets. They started feeling better during my last set. The weight felt heavy at first, but I managed the first two sets with good form and decent bar speed. The last set was fine; better bar speed, no pain, and it didn't feel heavy.

The AC should be fixed by the time I get home today. So I won't be sleeping in a puddle of my own sweat tonight. That'll help recovery.

Presses felt fine. Remembered what Mazda told me about how it's actually easier to lift the weight when you do them with good form LOL ... So I made sure my form was by-the-book when I did them. No problem. I'd really like to get to 200 on the press by the end of December.

I upped the weight on the power cleans to 95 because I wanted larger plates on the fucking bar so I wouldn't have to bend over as far to pick it up. Yeah, I added more weight to the bar because I'm lazy.

[gamedog]

Wifey's car starter died and my gym time went to fetching her... then we went camping. Now today I'm tied up with a fundraiser after work so tomorrow is workout day. I'm falling behind :(

I might have to man up and put 10lbs on the squat next session :)

edit: at least I managed to chop a tree and carry it out of the forrest while camping... 80 yards uphill through the brush with a 200lb log... does that count as a workout? What if i was loaded on tequila?

camping!? Nice!

Whether or not that counts as a "workout" is wholly irrelevant. What it IS, is you being stronger, more useful and manly. Which will surely give the lady the burnin' undies for you. Right ON!

Dude, it sounds like you've had an enjoyable couple of days, probably did a lot of relaxing out there in the woods too. You probably could throw 10 pounds on that bar if you wanted to. I doubt it'd be a problem.

[MazdaMatt]

Yeah, nothin gets wifey's undies burning like me sweating and covered in dirt, rotted wood dust, sunblock and bug repellent for 3 days without a shower. :p

Depending on how I feel, I may just go ahead and add ten pounds.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Hey buddy, I've been following your log, very nice progression . I am in pretty much the same weights as you (even though I have done a couple more workouts), but I have been microloading the press, and will begin microloading the bench too. My elbow tendinitis made me stall for about two weeks, but Defranco's warmup, an elbow sleeve and a wider positioning of my hands have helped me a lot.

Keep on growing man!

[gamedog]

Depending on how I feel, I may just go ahead and add ten pounds.

Just get your rest and eat your food, and I have a feeling you'll do just fine with it!


Hey buddy, I've been following your log, very nice progression . I am in pretty much the same weights as you (even though I have done a couple more workouts), but I have been microloading the press, and will begin microloading the bench too. My elbow tendinitis made me stall for about two weeks, but Defranco's warmup, an elbow sleeve and a wider positioning of my hands have helped me a lot.

Keep on growing man!

Thanks Leonidas! That arm pain we've been talking about can indeed be a bitch. But don't be deterred, and keep it up :-)

[MazdaMatt]

Game, has your biceps pain been around longer than you've been powercleaning? I was just thinking that maybe you're pulling with bent arms and hurting your biceps. Could you get someone trustworthy to watch for that? Or perhaps the same with deadlifts - do you start the motion slowly or could you perhaps be jerking it with slightly bent arms to start?

[gamedog]

Game, has your biceps pain been around longer than you've been powercleaning? I was just thinking that maybe you're pulling with bent arms and hurting your biceps. Could you get someone trustworthy to watch for that? Or perhaps the same with deadlifts - do you start the motion slowly or could you perhaps be jerking it with slightly bent arms to start?

You raise a great point, Matt.

Regarding dead lifts, I have always made it a point to keep my arms straight when doing them. Ever since I started. heh, I don't want to tear a tendon, but more than than I'm just lazy, and I don't want to bend over farther than I have to ;-)

Now, regarding power cleans, I did notice that the pain first appeared in the same workout where I was doing power cleans. Only, it happened when I was unracking the bar. When learning that exercise up until now, I've been trying to think of my arms as "straps" -I like that analogy. But you know, bad form on that could indeed have tweaked the biceps and I didn't notice it until I brought the bar back down.

[mikeylikey]

Do you not warm up your deadlifts? Just go straight to your working sets?

I don't know if I could do that; gradually working the weight up helps me overcome a little bit of the shock of "good grief this is heavy."

[gamedog]

Do you not warm up your deadlifts? Just go straight to your working sets?

I don't know if I could do that; gradually working the weight up helps me overcome a little bit of the shock of "good grief this is heavy."

I never have before, no. I'm used to feeling pretty good and warm by the time I do my dead lifts. BUT when it gets much heavier, shit, probably even tomorrow I'll start doing lighter, warm-up sets because I just started getting the "good grief this is heavy" feeling ;-)

[borboski]

Just been reading through this - good work mate.

How happy are you with your power cleans now? What do you think are the main ways in which you've made improvements?

One comment about how people responding to the changes you've made reminded me of what happens when I go to the store every other night. I basically buy 8 pints whole milk, 6 pints skimmed milk, 12 eggs, a big pack of oats, turkey breast, bread,and bananas. Every two days the girl behind the counter gives me a funny look like "what the fuck?".

Heh, I love working out like this, makes me feel like everything before was just messing about.

[gamedog]

Thanks borboski!

Power Cleans ... Well, I was always the tall, spindly, clumsy guy. So when I started out with Power Cleans, oh man. I looked awful. Now, I certainly don't look pretty now LOL BUT, I try to keep my form spot on, and most of the time I do okay. I'll tell you, having a whole chapter in the book devoted to the in's and out's of every exercise we do really helped me. With all my lifts of course but especially the Power Clean. It's my favorite one to do, at the moment but it does get hard. Yesterday I was gassed after doing them... They're coming along, but I could still stand to improve.

Sounds like you're taking the "Big Eating" shopping list to the supermarket with you. And good on you, for that! I've experienced the same from store clerks and checkout ladies... My favorite was "How are you not fat!?" LOL Another, was, "I hope you're cleaning off those needles before you stick yourself." LOL Crazy shit! You can grow quickly if you lift hard and heavy, and feed yourself right ;-)

Heh yeah ... it sure does beat the hell out of bodybuilding splits, doesn't it?

[gamedog]

REST DAY!

I wonder ... if I started competing two or three years from now, if Kwiky Kebab would sponsor me?

[gamedog]

This is so frustrating. I won't make it in to the gym this afternoon because I didn't get home from work until 5AM. I slept until 10, then got up and came right back here. I might just be being a pussy, but, it doesn't seem like a good idea to lift weights after having been up for 23 straight hours, with only a 5 hour nap in there. Plus, I'll be working late tonight, and it appears that the issues that cropped up yesterday that prompted us to stay late, haven't been resolved. So there's no telling what time I'll be home tonight. It might just be better to err on the side of caution and move today's workout over to Friday. And in the meantime eat a lot and rest when I can.

Still sucks, though.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

This is so frustrating. I won't make it in to the gym this afternoon because I didn't get home from work until 5AM. I slept until 10, then got up and came right back here. I might just be being a pussy, but, it doesn't seem like a good idea to lift weights after having been up for 23 straight hours, with only a 5 hour nap in there. Plus, I'll be working late tonight, and it appears that the issues that cropped up yesterday that prompted us to stay late, haven't been resolved. So there's no telling what time I'll be home tonight. It might just be better to err on the side of caution and move today's workout over to Friday. And in the meantime eat a lot and rest when I can.

Still sucks, though.
Welcome to the 10 pounds a week period (as described in the Clarification article by Rip). It sucks, but actually having a full day job/girlfriend has this side effect...

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
145 lbs. x 5 x 1
235 lbs. x 3 x 1
245 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
170 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
245 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Juggernaut - Lotion
All I Want - Enkindel
The King - J. Church
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side - The Smiths
Cath - Death Cab For Cutie
Gimme Danger - The Stooges
Search And Destroy - The Stooges
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Unrequited - J. Church
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - Braid
Drink Deep - Rites Of Spring
Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie
Spectre Of Love - The Stranglers

Notes:

I didn't know what the Hell today was going to be like, after missing almost an entire night's sleep on Tuesday night, and not getting home and into bed until 1AM Wednesday, and the harm that that fucked up schedule did to my appetite. I slept in as much as I could on Wednesday and Thursday morning, but there's only so late your dog will let you sleep... Anyway, even though I slept like shit and in doing so my appetite suffered causing me to underfeed myself, I didn't lose any weight, and I was still able to reach my goals for this workout. I'm still disappointed that I couldn't have had this one on Wednesday and then 250 for squats today, but Monday will do just fine for that. My eating is back to normal as of today, and I felt great when I woke up today. Now I feel tired as shit, but its a good tired.

....Looks like I added too much weight on the dead lifts again. Fuck. Oh well, back to +10 next week.

[MazdaMatt]

Well it looks like you'll be catching me on squats if i slip up! I'm off to the gym now to do 255 despite 250 being a little ugly cuz I've had plenty of rest and food. 275 deads, I think.

What do you mean by "added too much weight on deads"? Too much for you to handle, or just more than you meant to? Are you generally trying to progress by 5's or 10's? (I see this time it was 15)

[gamedog]

Well it looks like you'll be catching me on squats if i slip up! I'm off to the gym now to do 255 despite 250 being a little ugly cuz I've had plenty of rest and food. 275 deads, I think.

What do you mean by "added too much weight on deads"? Too much for you to handle, or just more than you meant to? Are you generally trying to progress by 5's or 10's? (I see this time it was 15)

I only wanted to put 10 on there. That's what I'd planned for. I was just moving right along and didn't realize till I took everything off that I'd put 15 on there instead of 10. It felt a little heavy, but not too bad.

Good luck out there at the gym today with your 255!!!

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
215 lbs. x 3 x 1
250 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
120 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
100 lbs. x 3 x 5

Playlist:
Enkindel's "Some Assembly Required." A great hardcore/post-hardcore album.

Notes:

Today was the first time lifting with a belt... After reading the convincing arguments that our friends at 70'sBIG.com make for wearing a belt, found here: http://www.70sbig.com/?p=884, here: http://www.70sbig.com/?p=891 and here: http://www.70sbig.com/?p=1594, I gave it a try. Took a little getting used to, but it wasn't bad.

As for the workout, it wasn't a bad one. But I did notice that at first I didn't have my usual amount of mental momentum, coming into it. And when I got in there, everything felt heavier than it was. It was just one of those days where you have to stick to your guns and get under the bar is all, I guess. My first working set of squats felt heavy as shit. But the second and last weren't bad at all.

My form, on the presses felt a lot better. But that lift is still weak, it felt heavy, too, only, it felt heavy the whole fucking time. But I didn't fuck it up.

Power cleans ... those were difficult today. And I did notice today that I was trying to muscle that bar up there with my arms, instead of letting them behave like straps, like you're supposed to. I'll do better with those next time out. Now I know how it feels to do them right and I know what it feels like when I'm doing them wrong, and I know what to look out for. The more I thought about that today the more Matt's advice made an impression. And looking back, it occurs to me that I've probably been doing that the whole time, not to the degree that I was today, but enough to keep my biceps feeling sore. Fuck it, it's a hard lift to learn is all. Just takes more practice and that's okay by me. I'll do it better on Friday and it'll be good.

Sometimes it occurs to me how badly I'd let myself go, in my early to late 20's. And it also occurs to me how weak I've been, all along. Upper body-wise, anyway. My legs were always strong, I was always skateboarding and shit when I was younger. Never put too much thought into strength, though. Not until now anyway. Still have a long way to go.

[MazdaMatt]

So... how were the belted squats???

[gamedog]

So... how were the belted squats???

Well chief, the first working set was hard. But the last two were good. Good bar speed except on the last rep of the last set, that took some doin' to finish but that's because I didn't rest long enough before I started the set. I noticed that it was easier for me to keep a good, solid foundation, you know? My abs pressed against the belt, and everything felt sturdy, firm. Only thing was the buckle digging into my stomach, but that wasn't really bad or anything.

It was like "Good, it feels like your abs, and the muscles in your lower back, are pressing HARD against this thing, you're safe to squat, do it."

[MazdaMatt]

Sounds good... when my finances are back on track (window installers are rapists) I'll buy a belt. What kind did you get?

[gamedog]

Sounds good... when my finances are back on track (window installers are rapists) I'll buy a belt. What kind did you get?

Well, I'm on a bit of a budget myself, and the belt I used was just one that Ron, the dude who runs the gym had laying around his office. He'd bought it years ago for himself, but he hasn't lifted in ages. So he lent it to me. I have no idea who the manufacturer is. It's heavy, leather, about 4 inches top to bottom with a two pronged buckle. Said I could keep it as long as I needed to.

I said "...cool, Im gonna take the money I just saved and buy me some socks so that I can keep my shins in good shape!" And Ron said "Right on, because I'm getting sick of you bleeding all over the fucking bar."

[MazdaMatt]

Haha... well whatever works. There is a belt around my gym, but it is about 4 inches in front and 8 in the back.

Funny, i don't bleed on the bar. Are your shins hitting knurling? Mine are not. I get bruises and tenderness sometimes, but never bleeding.

[gamedog]

Occasionally I hit knurling, yeah ;-)

[gamedog]

REST DAY!

I started seeing a new psychotherapist. She told me that it might be good for me to keep a journal. "Ummm ... I kind of do already." I said.

The glorious culinary masterpiece you see before you is a foot-long steak, pepperoni and cheese sandwich from Bozelli Brothers' Deli. It's a typical cheesesteak, topped with provolone, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, hot peppers and about a half pound of pepperoni. If you need 2,000 calories in a hurry, you could do a whole Hell of a lot worse.

Lately my eating has been, admittedly, sloppy. Now, don't misunderstand, I wasn't "eating like a bodybuilder" before. Not by any stretch of the imagination. What I mean to say is that I don't normally eat fried food, bread or sugar of any kind, or processed foods. I'm a baked chicken with spinach salad and almonds for my first two lunches, and pot roast with more spinach, greek yogurt and fruit for my second two dinners, type of guy. But lately my schedule and routine at work has been disrupted and it seems like lately I've been too tired to cook my food for the next day's lunches. I've still been bringing in my salads, fruit, milk, yogurt and oats, but I've not baked any chickens or anything in the past few days. Been relying on the Turkish joint down the way (which isn't really "dirty" food when compared to the likes of burger King or Mc Donald's) and Bozellis.

Anyway, about the eating. I've been trying to eat good, whole foods because I got scared that I did a lot of damage to my body with the years of smoking, drinking too much and not exercising. And at first, I wanted six-pack abs and all the rest of it.

For a while I was tracking my calories on Fit Day, making sure to only eat 2,500 calories... This was when I was just "working out," I gave that up when I decided to do a barbell program. I started eating more later on when I dropped my gut. As unhealthy as it seemed like my gut was, it seemed almost as unhealthy to lose it in five weeks time. And what's more, it seemed like it'd be REALLY unhealthy not to give my body what it needs to recover from my workouts and build new tissue, too.

So I upped my intake... And that was fine.

But it did get to the point where I was, once again, obsessing about it. Always going to Fit Day and tracking everything, counting how many almonds I'd eat at a time, getting home and only eating 2 of the romaine lettuce shell tacos my wife would make (great beef tacos, with a huge lettuce leaf for the shell, for those of you who either have siliac disease, or just like to avoid corn and/or refined flour) instead of the 4 or 5 that I wanted.

It was almost like I had an eating disorder. And that kind of scared me, a little bit.

I've always been the type of guy who over thinks things. And that was largely to my own detriment. I just kind of stopped going to Fit Day all the time. I eat in the ballpark of 4,500/5,000 calories, and I don't beat myself up for going to Bozellis once in a while. And I don't care that you can't see my abs. I'm not obese, by any stretch of the imagination.

Incidentally, I did weigh in this morning at 245 pounds. And again, I'm not obese at all. It's probably silly, but I included one of those bb.com-style "this is me taking a photo of myself in the mirror with my cellular phone" pictures. I think that I look healthy.

I'm not sure how this is supposed to help me with my psychotherapy... But I am glad that I was able to get rid of my former obsession with being all skinny and jacked looking, and my relentless calorie counting and the stress that came along with that.

[MazdaMatt]

It's tricky to rock a rhyme

[gamedog]

Took a test to become an emcee and didn't fail ... I couldn't wait to demonstrate all the super-def rhymes that I create

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
255 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
175 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
255 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Random selections from both Fugazi's "The Argument" and Quicksand's "Slip..."

Notes:

Squatting 255 today was no problem what-so-ever. I was a little surprised because so far today I've been tired. That nagging "You should take the day off from the gym..." tired. I ignored it and tried to get in there and go as hard as I could on all my lifts By the time I was on my last dead lift rep I was totally gassed. Had to sit down for a few minutes before de-loading the bar.

My lower back was sore, too, after the dead lifting. It's not sore anymore though.

I'm back up to where I got stuck on the bench press before. Only this time, benching 175 felt easy. 180 on Monday will be fine, and then hopefully upward for a while after that.

[MazdaMatt]

Solid. I felt great after 255 as well, but I bombed 260 like Hiroshima. We'll how it goes again tonight!

Good going on the bench press. Are you going to start microloading soon? I would be doing that on my press, but I've been a lazy shit and I haven't bought micro plates. There's a Facca Fastener literally 2 minutes away from my work and a Fastenal even closer to my house... damnit.

[gamedog]

Well hopefully you have a good one, tonight! :-)

I've been considering micro-loading, in the event that I stall on the bench again soon. The press, too. My upper-body is weak, in that regard, and micro-loading might be my only option to keep those two moving up. But we'll see, I mean, today felt 110% better than it did the last few times benching. So who knows. But it's definitely an option that I'm not closed-off to.

Good luck tonight, get in there and fucking KILL IT! ;-)

[MazdaMatt]

I have read before htat it is wise to start microloading before you actually stall out. I'm REALLY flirting with that point on my press now. I failed 110 twice (by 1 rep), then I squeeked out 115 (i bumped it up despite failure because I didn't really squat that day). I don't see any hope of getting 120, especially after a proper squat session, so I probably shoudl have been micro loading since 105.

[gamedog]

Well you know, when looking at what an epic fail I had, back when I decided to de-load, that sounds logical. Both presses had been hard for me for a while before that, and even though it still felt like I was making progress ... BOOM! I screwed the pooch and had to de-load. Admittedly, I didn't consider micro-loading initially (when I got started) because of my Ego. Silly, I know. But you know how it is... in high school everybody wants to know "How much ya bench?" And it's no different when you're an adult. And I wanted mine to go up as fast as possible because I thought mine was too weak. I feel so stupid now, looking back on it... Here I was, starting out and benching 125, while the two bodybuilder guys in my office were talking about pyramids and super-sets and benching 265/270. I thought "I gotta fucking get there asap on Rippetoe's!" THEN I started reading folks here, and started looking at what the power-lifters bench ... And all I could say was "Fuck!"

It wasn't until I had to bail out and dump the bar that time that I started really considering it (micro-loading). Fuck. Maybe I oughta just buy the fucking plates now and get it over with! ROFLMAO

I don't care too much now, just as long as I can keep adding weight, to some degree or another, to the bar when I do my presses. And I'm thankful that my left biceps no longer hurts, too... fuck, that sucked. I'll have to find a place to pick those up.

[gamedog]

REST DAY!

I've gained 31 pounds in just shy of two months. I still can't believe that.

I woke up sore today, and I still am. Tired, too. I'm going to bed early tonight, in preparation for tomorrow's workout. My wife told me that she's making a roast tonight, so there'll be plenty more food for me tonight when I get home, and tomorrow, too. So I'll be well-rested and well-fed when I hit the gym.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
260 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
125 lbs. x 5 x 2
125 lbs. x 3 x 1

Power Clean:
105 lbs. x 2 x 1
105 lbs. x 3 x 1

Playlist:
Foreplay/Long Time - Boston
Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Barracuda - Heart
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Locomotive Breath - Jethro Tull
Hair Of The Dog - Nazareth
Peace Of Mind - Boston
Slow Ride - Foghat
Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Teacher - Jethro Tull

Notes:

I'd been working on compiling a "70's Big" playlist ... that's what I've come up with so far.

I was tired today, my lower back was sore -I think I slept funny last night, and I've had heartburn all day.

I owned 260 on the squats today, got through them easily. Then I missed 2 reps on my last set of presses. Then I puked right after my first two reps during power cleans. I was in position, came up, up comes the bar and BOOM! the roast beef I had for lunch was all over the floor. "Plyo Cougar" was the only other person at the gym with me and she dashed over to me and asked if I was okay. Not in like a maternal way or a naughty nurse way, more like in a "Camaraderie of the Iron" type of way.

"Good Times, Bad Times" was playing when it happened.

She went and refilled my water bottle and got me drinking and back up on my feet. I went to the locker room and discovered, lucky for me, that the janitor left his mop and stuff in there. I brought it all out, cleaned up the floor, and then tried to finish my sets. Didn't happen. I was done. Stomach was sore, back was sore...

Plyo Cougar said she wasn't feeling it today either. She hit the road and I hit the showers.

Bad day today. But at least I upped my squats again. Another 15 pounds this week. Fuckin' A.

Looks like its time to micro-load the press.... Just like Mazda suggested.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
260 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
125 lbs. x 5 x 2
125 lbs. x 3 x 1

Power Clean:
105 lbs. x 2 x 1
105 lbs. x 3 x 1

Playlist:
Foreplay/Long Time - Boston
Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Barracuda - Heart
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
Locomotive Breath - Jethro Tull
Hair Of The Dog - Nazareth
Peace Of Mind - Boston
Slow Ride - Foghat
Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Teacher - Jethro Tull

Notes:

I'd been working on compiling a "70's Big" playlist ... that's what I've come up with so far.

I was tired today, my lower back was sore -I think I slept funny last night, and I've had heartburn all day.

I owned 260 on the squats today, got through them easily. Then I missed 2 reps on my last set of presses. Then I puked right after my first two reps during power cleans. I was in position, came up, up comes the bar and BOOM! the roast beef I had for lunch was all over the floor. "Plyo Cougar" was the only other person at the gym with me and she dashed over to me and asked if I was okay. Not in like a maternal way or a naughty nurse way, more like in a "Camaraderie of the Iron" type of way.

"Good Times, Bad Times" was playing when it happened.

She went and refilled my water bottle and got me drinking and back up on my feet. I went to the locker room and discovered, lucky for me, that the janitor left his mop and stuff in there. I brought it all out, cleaned up the floor, and then tried to finish my sets. Didn't happen. I was done. Stomach was sore, back was sore...

Plyo Cougar said she wasn't feeling it today either. She hit the road and I hit the showers.

Bad day today. But at least I upped my squats again. Another 15 pounds this week. Fuckin' A.

Looks like its time to micro-load the press.... Just like Mazda suggested.
Don't worry man, it's jut a bad day, it happens. Try the press and p.clean weights again the next workout and you'll be fine. As for the microloading, I suggest you start for the press and the bench man, and don't fuck this up, keep on adding some weight every workout. I'm at 265 for the squat now (after 3 months), and I think I'll begin the advanced novice (introducing a light squat on wednesday), hoping to add 10lbs a week on the squat. You are ahead of me, so keep on getting big man!

[MazdaMatt]

Bad day? He nailed a new squat PR!

I feel sorry for you, but I must admit I laughed when I read that.

I hope your dignity didn't end up on the floor with your roast beef. Solid squats :)

[gamedog]

Matt and Leonidas, you guys rock :-D No homo.

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
265 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
180 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
265 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Start Today - Gorilla Biscuits
Can't Wait One Minute More - CIV
Crucified - Agnostic Front
Big Mouth Strikes Again - Slapshot
Sixteen Valve Hate - Slapshot
Pig Dog Killer - The Wernt
I Don't Need Society - D.R.I.
Part Animal - Beerzone
Decisions Made - CIV
Stay Gold - Murphy's Law
Can I Get A Witness - Warzone
Dead Wrong - Integrity

Notes:

Smashed 265 today while hung over. I drank 7 Rolling Rocks and all that was left of Barry's homebrew last night whilst celebrating our Independence, and I guess I over-did it a little bit.

I ate almost an entire roast chicken for breakfast, along with 2 cups of oats, 4 cups of whole milk and easily a gallon of water. Didn't have to wait to long to hit the gym today because I'm not officially on the clock... So I let my food settle so as not to have a repeat of last time, then headed on down there.

It's nice to be by yourself. You can grunt as loud as you want during dead lifts. I think I'll be alone more often now too, Plyo Cougar has probably switched up her schedule after my last performance LOL

Bar speed slowed on the squats during my last set, but it didn't feel too heavy or too hard to manage. Bar speed on the bench press was steady and I was able to put that 180 up in a smooth, controlled manner. Dead lifts were ... well they were what they were. Felt like my grip was giving in on the last rep. I'll work on that.

Otherwise, things were great. I needed a confidence booster after last time.

Oh! Incidentally, the wife took me shopping at J.C. Penny's for new polo shirts yesterday afternoon. I had to get the XXL size ;-) I came out of the dressing room, stood up on the platform thingy and looked at myself in the mirrors at all the different angles and started laughing. Jewels asks me "What?" and I said "In just a few short months I've managed to turn myself into a fucking tank."

Nice!

[MazdaMatt]

Fuck you! You're ahead of me now! I'm going for 265 tonight and I'm eating a pound of ham beforehand. I damn well better get it. I think I'm only going to get 2 workouts this week, too, so you'll definitely be ahead of me.

I can't believe you're just getting a little bit of barspeed slowing now. I've been slow on the last reps of set 2 and 3 for the past 20 pounds.

[gamedog]

Firstly, GOOD LUCK tonight! Eat your food, and get into the gym feeling good and make it happen!

As for missing workouts, I'm gonna be missing this-coming Monday as the wife and I will be visiting the folks in Pittsburgh over the weekend. So I'm only gonna get 2 in this-coming week :-(

I'll tell you this, shit does feel heavy. Definitely. Bar speed may be good, but seriously, I'm to the point where I have to try real hard NOT to think about the weight I'll be using next time, because it does worry me a little bit.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Yeah man, my last squats have been a real grinder. And yesterday I completely fucked up at 270 (got stuck on the hole, thank God for safety pins). But you're heavier than me so you have more progression left man. And congrats on the new XXL shirt, you're officially a tank now.

[gamedog]

Yeah man, my last squats have been a real grinder. And yesterday I completely fucked up at 270 (got stuck on the hole, thank God for safety pins). But you're heavier than me so you have more progression left man. And congrats on the new XXL shirt, you're officially a tank now.

I'm sorry to hear about your last set at 270, but I am glad you got out of it unscathed, thanks to the safety pins. That's a relief! I don't ever want to hear about a buddy of mine having a bar go rolling down his spine. Fuck!

You know what? The idea of getting stuck in the hole scares the living shit out of me. I try not to think about it, and just try to use that hip drive and get back up. And I think about what would happen if I have to get the bar on the safety pins and bail out. I know they're there to serve that purpose, but it still freaks me out.

Anyway, I'm glad you didn't get hurt, and I bet you're gonna kill 270 next time out, 275 even :-)

[LeonidasfromSparta]

I'm sorry to hear about your last set at 270, but I am glad you got out of it unscathed, thanks to the safety pins. That's a relief! I don't ever want to hear about a buddy of mine having a bar go rolling down his spine. Fuck!

You know what? The idea of getting stuck in the hole scares the living shit out of me. I try not to think about it, and just try to use that hip drive and get back up. And I think about what would happen if I have to get the bar on the safety pins and bail out. I know they're there to serve that purpose, but it still freaks me out.

Anyway, I'm glad you didn't get hurt, and I bet you're gonna kill 270 next time out, 275 even :-)
Yeah buddy thanks for the encouragement. Tonight I'm gonna try 270 again, so I hope to get it right, don't want another deload.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
275 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
185 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
285 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
The album "Fairy Tales Forgotten," by John Carpenter; arguably the best indie-rock band to emerge from L.A. in the last 10 years.


Notes:

Manhandled the weight on my first two sets of squats. The last two reps of my last set I felt like I was gonna lose it, but I pushed through it and made it happen. I think it was the result of only resting two minutes or so in-between the second and last set.

Bench was great, didn't feel like I was working up to stalling, form was good, bar speed was good... The last set was hard, but again, I just pounded my way through it banging out set after set, so I'm not surprised.

Yeah, I did 20 on the dead lifts instead of 10. I'm sick of it being behind/even-steven with my squats. I was fine, no back rounding, no bent arms, no giving in just before complete lockout.

The whole workout, from start to finish took 45 minutes. I was listening to John Carpenter the whole time. I actually thought it'd mellow me out, but it had exactly the opposite effect. I got real aggressive with it. That was odd. But they're a truly great group, and Joe and John are both real class acts, good guys --If you're reading this, go download the fucking record right now and then take it with you to the gym and set a new dead lift PR!

[LeonidasfromSparta]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
275 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
185 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
285 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
The album "Fairy Tales Forgotten," by John Carpenter; arguably the best indie-rock band to emerge from L.A. in the last 10 years.


Notes:

Manhandled the weight on my first two sets of squats. The last two reps of my last set I felt like I was gonna lose it, but I pushed through it and made it happen. I think it was the result of only resting two minutes or so in-between the second and last set.

Bench was great, didn't feel like I was working up to stalling, form was good, bar speed was good... The last set was hard, but again, I just pounded my way through it banging out set after set, so I'm not surprised.

Yeah, I did 20 on the dead lifts instead of 10. I'm sick of it being behind/even-steven with my squats. I was fine, no back rounding, no bent arms, no giving in just before complete lockout.

The whole workout, from start to finish took 45 minutes. I was listening to John Carpenter the whole time. I actually thought it'd mellow me out, but it had exactly the opposite effect. I got real aggressive with it. That was odd. But they're a truly great group, and Joe and John are both real class acts, good guys --If you're reading this, go download the fucking record right now and then take it with you to the gym and set a new dead lift PR!
Damn, 45 min? That's my buddy! It usually takes me 2 hours to finish my workout, but on the other hand I do more warm-up sets. For the deadlift, the last time I added 20 pounds, I couldn't lift the bar at all from the ground, that's when I sweared to myself to never add that much, even though my squat and deadlift are even-steven. My last week has been pretty bad, with PR in one lift and fails in the others. Anyway, I'm going on vacation for two weeks after that I'll have a reset and let's see how it goes.

[gamedog]

Damn, 45 min? That's my buddy! It usually takes me 2 hours to finish my workout, but on the other hand I do more warm-up sets. For the deadlift, the last time I added 20 pounds, I couldn't lift the bar at all from the ground, that's when I sweared to myself to never add that much, even though my squat and deadlift are even-steven. My last week has been pretty bad, with PR in one lift and fails in the others. Anyway, I'm going on vacation for two weeks after that I'll have a reset and let's see how it goes.

45 minutes. But you know something, it probably would have been in my best interests to slow down my roll a little bit, seeing as how after I left work that day I drove 6 hours to Pittsburgh. I arrived there around 1, and it wouldn't have been quite so bad had I gone right to bed, but my sister in-law, her husband, and my nephew were awake and chillin when I got there... So I stayed up until around 3 drinking beer with them. I slept in on Saturday, but still, my legs were still sore on the way home on Monday. I'm hoping that taking Monday off for traveling will give my recovery that little something extra.

I think Mazda is doing something similar, chillin for a week or so and then resetting. I think that a week or two of resting can be a good thing, if several lifts are stalling. Or even if you've just been busting your ass and have gotten really tired. You'll both smash those PRs and probably kick wholesale ass for several weeks after. Right on!

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
280 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
110 lbs. x 5 x 3

Playlist:
... I was listening to Warren Zevon the whole time.

Notes:

Missing Monday's workout because of travel wasn't optimal, but all things considered, I enjoyed being able to get up to Pittsburgh, hang out with the family and go golfing with my brother in-law and nephew.

Squats felt heavy today, they hurt and at one point felt like they could almost make me cry a little bit, but after the workout when I was in the shower I thought to myself "That wasn't so bad, actually."

And it wasn't. My legs were just stiff from so much time in the car, so much beer drinking, so much walking around the golf course is all. Bar speed was good, form was good, no wobble or slop.

Presses were great today. Put the bar up, no problem. I felt like I could have lifted 10 or 15 more pounds. So I'm getting stronger there, as well.

Power cleans are always great when your form is as good as you can get it and you don't puke.

Funny/encouraging things that happened recently:

- At the golf course on Sunday, a guy was giving us shit, well, except for me "Because he's BIG" so he said and pointed at me. "You're god damn right I am." I said back to him.

- Got asked if I was on steroids again. That's always funny.

- This afternoon I saw a guy at the gym that I'd not seen there before. I think he's a student here. Anyway, He had two 45's on the Smith machine and was benching them. I'd just finished up filling my water bottle and as I was walking past he said "I'd like to see you lift that twenty times." I honestly thought he was joking. I was finished warming up, and I just ignored him and did my first work set of squats.

Later on I was doing my power cleans. He had switched to presses in the Smith machine, and was finishing up, and talking to Plyo Cougar. I finish a set, grab my water bottle and head to the fountain to fill it up again. He tries to flag me down and says "Hey, I'm all finished here. You can go ahead and put these plates away for me." I kept walking and without breaking stride I said "Do it yourself asshole." And the gym was filled with the sound of Plyo Cougar cackling.

He started talking all kinds of shit, and I guess he got up to head to the lockers when they guy who runs the gym started shouting at him "Hey, you put all those god damned plates back where you found them!" Hysterical.

I don't think we'll be seeing any more of him.

[ivankannan]

Well this is my first post here and let me tell you that your journal is very inspiring. You baiscally went from 135lbs squat to about twice of it in less than three months. I had to travel a bit, deloaded etc and my squats went from say 160 around may beginning to 145 (by deloading) and now its 180lbs. I was also eating at maintenance/less in between trying to lose fat. Even though fat loss plan was a failure it just feels bad that my squats is so low at the end of three months.
I will be following your updates through your journal. Best of luck and wish me luck!

[LeonidasfromSparta]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
280 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
110 lbs. x 5 x 3

Playlist:
... I was listening to Warren Zevon the whole time.

Notes:

Missing Monday's workout because of travel wasn't optimal, but all things considered, I enjoyed being able to get up to Pittsburgh, hang out with the family and go golfing with my brother in-law and nephew.

Squats felt heavy today, they hurt and at one point felt like they could almost make me cry a little bit, but after the workout when I was in the shower I thought to myself "That wasn't so bad, actually."

And it wasn't. My legs were just stiff from so much time in the car, so much beer drinking, so much walking around the golf course is all. Bar speed was good, form was good, no wobble or slop.

Presses were great today. Put the bar up, no problem. I felt like I could have lifted 10 or 15 more pounds. So I'm getting stronger there, as well.

Power cleans are always great when your form is as good as you can get it and you don't puke.

Funny/encouraging things that happened recently:

- At the golf course on Sunday, a guy was giving us shit, well, except for me "Because he's BIG" so he said and pointed at me. "You're god damn right I am." I said back to him.

- Got asked if I was on steroids again. That's always funny.

- This afternoon I saw a guy at the gym that I'd not seen there before. I think he's a student here. Anyway, He had two 45's on the Smith machine and was benching them. I'd just finished up filling my water bottle and as I was walking past he said "I'd like to see you lift that twenty times." I honestly thought he was joking. I was finished warming up, and I just ignored him and did my first work set of squats.

Later on I was doing my power cleans. He had switched to presses in the Smith machine, and was finishing up, and talking to Plyo Cougar. I finish a set, grab my water bottle and head to the fountain to fill it up again. He tries to flag me down and says "Hey, I'm all finished here. You can go ahead and put these plates away for me." I kept walking and without breaking stride I said "Do it yourself asshole." And the gym was filled with the sound of Plyo Cougar cackling.

He started talking all kinds of shit, and I guess he got up to head to the lockers when they guy who runs the gym started shouting at him "Hey, you put all those god damned plates back where you found them!" Hysterical.

I don't think we'll be seeing any more of him.
Well first of all, you smashed that 280 even though your recovery for the weekend was suboptimal. Second congrats on the 1 big wheel on each side on the press baby!!!
And third, what the fuck was that little asshole trying to do, piss you off? Fuck that guy and the Smith Machine man! AAAAAaaaaa, this kind of people make me angry. Anyway I'm glad you kept your coolness man.

[MazdaMatt]

Well, so much for any sort of competition I was giving you. I deloaded after failing 265 and I don't see my presses matching your current weight for a year.

[gamedog]

Well this is my first post here and let me tell you that your journal is very inspiring. You baiscally went from 135lbs squat to about twice of it in less than three months. I had to travel a bit, deloaded etc and my squats went from say 160 around may beginning to 145 (by deloading) and now its 180lbs. I was also eating at maintenance/less in between trying to lose fat. Even though fat loss plan was a failure it just feels bad that my squats is so low at the end of three months.
I will be following your updates through your journal. Best of luck and wish me luck!

Firstly, GOOD LUCK TO YOU, TOO Ivan! And also thank you for stopping by and for the kind words.

I started out in a similar place, only, I was doing StrongLifts 5x5 and eating at or around maintenance. And that was a hard, hard road after not a very long period of time. I'd tweaked my back not too long into the program... I took a few days off, over-ate, and then started on SS, with 135 for all my lifts (I had to deload ;-)).

I'll be keeping up with you on here as well, and I'm looking forward to watching your progress :-D


Well first of all, you smashed that 280 even though your recovery for the weekend was suboptimal. Second congrats on the 1 big wheel on each side on the press baby!!!
And third, what the fuck was that little asshole trying to do, piss you off? Fuck that guy and the Smith Machine man! AAAAAaaaaa, this kind of people make me angry. Anyway I'm glad you kept your coolness man.

Thanks buddy! ... I'm definitely not trying to make weekends like that a habit LOL ... Things might have been different if I was putting up heavier weights. Fortunately, the horizon is less-busy for the next few months, so that's good.

So far as that dude is/was concerned, I think he was trying to front some kind of "alpha dog" thing with me. He very much had this "I'm the MAN" air about him. And he was hitting on Hot Plyo Cougar... What a douche LOL


Well, so much for any sort of competition I was giving you. I deloaded after failing 265 and I don't see my presses matching your current weight for a year.

Matt, buddy, if I lived up there in Canada I'd buy you a steak and a beer and a shot. I know shit's been rough. But I also know that you'll have no trouble breaking that plateau once the time comes. And I doubt very seriously that it'll take you as long as a year to do it ;-) Enjoy your time off, relax, have fun, drink plenty of good beer and get plenty of good rest. Then get back to the gym, do the de-load and ramp back up. I think you're gonna be fine and I'm out here rootin' for ya' buddy ;-)

Speaking of Canada and good beer ... I drank a metric ton of Labatt Blue while I was visiting my in-laws over the weekend. That's a pretty good beer for the price. A case of it is only 15 bucks. I was floored! Labatt and Moosehead. Not bad at all!

[...]

I am including a few photos of me and my niece. She's turning 3 in a few weeks. I like to visit the family and my niece. I don't have children of my own, I kinda decided, a while back, that raising American Pit Bull Terriers was my purpose, in the parenting department. BUT it's cool visiting with my niece, she's a very smart little kid, and she's hella fun to play with! She likes football and fútbol as well, she can already catch pretty well (we use a soft nerf ball) AND she likes being a goalie, gently kick a soccer ball to her and she's all over it LOL ... anyway, one is us while she talks to her dad on the phone and the other is breakfast time. I'd finished my breakfast, and I was helping to keep her motivated so she could finish her breakfast, because toddlers need to eat big, too ;-)

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Firstly, GOOD LUCK TO YOU, TOO Ivan! And also thank you for stopping by and for the kind words.

I started out in a similar place, only, I was doing StrongLifts 5x5 and eating at or around maintenance. And that was a hard, hard road after not a very long period of time. I'd tweaked my back not too long into the program... I took a few days off, over-ate, and then started on SS, with 135 for all my lifts (I had to deload ;-)).

I'll be keeping up with you on here as well, and I'm looking forward to watching your progress :-D



Thanks buddy! ... I'm definitely not trying to make weekends like that a habit LOL ... Things might have been different if I was putting up heavier weights. Fortunately, the horizon is less-busy for the next few months, so that's good.

So far as that dude is/was concerned, I think he was trying to front some kind of "alpha dog" thing with me. He very much had this "I'm the MAN" air about him. And he was hitting on Hot Plyo Cougar... What a douche LOL



Matt, buddy, if I lived up there in Canada I'd buy you a steak and a beer and a shot. I know shit's been rough. But I also know that you'll have no trouble breaking that plateau once the time comes. And I doubt very seriously that it'll take you as long as a year to do it ;-) Enjoy your time off, relax, have fun, drink plenty of good beer and get plenty of good rest. Then get back to the gym, do the de-load and ramp back up. I think you're gonna be fine and I'm out here rootin' for ya' buddy ;-)

Speaking of Canada and good beer ... I drank a metric ton of Labatt Blue while I was visiting my in-laws over the weekend. That's a pretty good beer for the price. A case of it is only 15 bucks. I was floored! Labatt and Moosehead. Not bad at all!

[...]

I am including a few photos of me and my niece. She's turning 3 in a few weeks. I like to visit the family and my niece. I don't have children of my own, I kinda decided, a while back, that raising American Pit Bull Terriers was my purpose, in the parenting department. BUT it's cool visiting with my niece, she's a very smart little kid, and she's hella fun to play with! She likes football and fútbol as well, she can already catch pretty well (we use a soft nerf ball) AND she likes being a goalie, gently kick a soccer ball to her and she's all over it LOL ... anyway, one is us while she talks to her dad on the phone and the other is breakfast time. I'd finished my breakfast, and I was helping to keep her motivated so she could finish her breakfast, because toddlers need to eat big, too ;-)
Uhhmm, Game, who is that big strong guy trying to eat your breakfast man? :)
That's my buddy, helping kids get 70s big!

[gamedog]

LOL she said "GIMME YOUR BACON AND EGGS OR ELSE IM GONNA BEAT YOU UP!!!"

[MazdaMatt]

Bleh, I hate Blue (not to say that I haven't drank hundreds of them). Moosehead is good. The various types of Alexader Keith's are good Canadian beers (I'm not a fan of the White, though, european whites are so much better but the Pale Ale and the Red are delicious). Generally Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian are the "staples" of beer in this country and I hate them both.

[gamedog]

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
285 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
190 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
135 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
305 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
London Dungeon - Misfits
Static Age - Misfits
T.V. Casualty - Misfits
She - Misfits
Nike A-Go-Go - Misfits
I Turned Into A Martian - Misfits
Bullet - Misfits
One - Metallica
Harvester Of Sorrow - Metallica
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Melvins Feat. Leif Garrett
The Bloated Pope - Melvins Feat. Lustmord
Honey Bucket - Melvins
Guilty Of Being White - Slayer
Scrum - Slayer
Zealot - Slayer
[...]

Notes:

Squats ... My work sets were the kind of work sets that make you stop and think about switching over to the SS Advanced Novice program. I had a great warm-up before hitting the weights, 2 mile walk from the office parking lot (to grab my bag from the car) to the gym, followed by dynamic stretching, but even with that, my quads and hamstrings bitched at me the entire time. I was sloppy as Hell getting the bar off the rack for my first set. I got it under control, and quickly, but it was a nerve-racking way to start it off.

My second set was great. No problems and the soreness had dulled.

Third set ... Almost got stuck in the hole on my last rep. There I was, ass to grass and I didn't have that "rebound" that I normally do coming out of the hole. I was just there, with this big, heavy ass load on my back. First I thought "STUCK!" ... next came "FUUUUCK!" -all in the span of about a half a second, followed by "Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Unnhhhh!" and the slowest rep you've ever seen. I got all the way up, racked the bar, and that was it, I was heaving, my face and neck were purple, my eyes were bloodshot. I was steadying myself on the rack when, laughably (looking back on it) Plyo Cougar came dashing over to me with a trash can LOL

"I thought you were gonna' blow ... again." She said. I was too gassed to laugh. And I was afraid that if I did laugh ... I'd barf.

The 190 lb. bench press was hard-won but I got that shit done. It was just hard to mentally regroup after that I think.

Dead lifts were great. Added another 20 pounds, got 305. Felt good. Can't wait to squat 300 this-coming Friday. Hopefully.

[MazdaMatt]

well, you're a fucking monster now.

And PlyoCougar is fucking hilarious.

[gamedog]

trying to be ... But I don't know, man. We'll have to see how this-coming week shakes out. I'm trying to maintain a positive mental attitude, but this shit is starting to get a little intimidating. I thought to myself "Okay dude, last time 285 was fine, this is only 5 pounds more, your body can't hardly tell the difference."

BULL SHIT!!!

Or maybe it was all just in my head.

What I wonder is, when looking at the stats of folks like Justin, gzt or KittenSmash, I wonder if they just did straight linear progression with PR's every day to get near 400, OR, if at some point they switched to the Advanced Novice program to continue linear progression to that point.

Hopefully Mon. Wed. and the big day Friday will go well. I'm hoping so. Shit, if not, PlyoCougar is gonna need a lot more than a trash can to help me out LOL ... we're talking saw dust, a shop vac and maybe even some amyl nitrate.

[MazdaMatt]

I BELIEVE that read somewhere that Zach's progress on SS novice took him to 305 and he was training directly under rip and taking care of the eating part. No shame in falling short of that, especially since we're not 18, not trained under rip directly and probably not eating the same.

We're always hard on ourselves for our failures (I felt like a bag of shit and told myself so when I failed at 265), but most people can't even dream of squatting 200+

[gamedog]

I know I'm hard on myself, that's for sure... Probably should be so. Probably goes for the both of us. I don't know how this week's gonna shake out, my pecs are sore and so are my quads... BUT I got 11 hours of sleep last night, woke up, ate two pieces of chicken and five pork chops for breakfast along with a pint of milk ... and been eating big ever since. Another 11 hours of sleep tonight, hopefully it'll be all good ;-)

[MazdaMatt]

HAHA, that's a a fucking man-breakfast right there. Shit, i thought I was doing well for having a guiness with my potatoes and sausage for breakfast, but you sure showed me up.

[gamedog]

I dunno man, I think the Guinness pretty-much trumps everything LOL ... Next time I think I'm gonna do pork chops, sausage, bacon and Guinness.

Actually, I have been toying with the idea of doing the Full English Breakfast (or the Full Irish Breakfast) one day here soon. Bacon, sausages, fried eggs, white pudding, black pudding, toast, sauteed, sliced potato, and fried tomato. And I'm gonna add a pint of Guinness to that.

[MazdaMatt]

Now you're just talking dirty to me :p

[gamedog]

Lol

[Megabreth]

If I'm having a Guinness, I'd much rather have an Extra Stout; I love the flavor.

Ditto on the full English breakfast...I'd like to try one soon.

[gamedog]

If I'm having a Guinness, I'd much rather have an Extra Stout; I love the flavor.

Ditto on the full English breakfast...I'd like to try one soon.

... after today's workout, I think I might try it when I get home LOL with SEVERAL pints of Guinness ;-)

-TODAY'S WORKOUT-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
290 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
140 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
115 lbs. x 3 x 5

Playlist:
The album "Systems Overload" by INTEGRITY

Notes:

The squats felt more solid than they did last time (no slop getting the bar off the rack, etc.) but fuck, they hurt. I was able to get through all three sets without incident, no getting pinned, no losing it coming out of the hole, they just hurt, in my hamstrings and glutes. Normal.

Press was fine. Felt heavy as shit, and uncomfortable but the presses themselves went one right after another just fine. I was a little surprised about that... Bar went up nice and even on both sides, didn't come back down too fast.

Power cleans were good. Had to break it down into five sets of three today. I was getting tired.

[MazdaMatt]

Squats, very fucking solid. Do you think your pain level is an indicator that you may want to start advanced-novice programming? ie, light wednesday to help recovery?

Press - that's strong, man... very strong.

PC - 5 sets of 3 is the prescribed scheme in SS novice routine, what were you doing?

[gamedog]

Squats, very fucking solid. Do you think your pain level is an indicator that you may want to start advanced-novice programming? ie, light wednesday to help recovery?

Press - that's strong, man... very strong.

PC - 5 sets of 3 is the prescribed scheme in SS novice routine, what were you doing?

Lets go back to front ...

Well my friend as you know, Gamedog is the laziest of the lazy. I was doing 5x3 on the PC's on occasions where I just wanted to get the Hell out of the gym faster. Kind of like a game I played, I'd bang out the 5 reps and then, after putting the bar down I'd think "FUCK YEAH! Only two more sets to go!" then bang out the next set of five and then the next.

Well, TODAY was different... After my third rep of the first set I was gassed. So I put the bar down, then retired to the incline bench to sip some water and chat with Plyo Cougar and UNC Bench Guy. Then, two or three minutes later, back to the PC's.

Thanks! Those presses definitely felt strong, even though they were uncomfortable. AND I'm STILL rocking pain-free biceps in the left arm, too! So here's to you and me man, being able to take care of business without that nagging injury bullshit!

Pain on Squats... You're raising a valid point. Last Friday, on that last rep when I almost got pinned, I kinda had to pit bull my way out of it, y'know? And even though my bar speed was good today and stuff, and form was good, I still felt like I was ignoring the pain and pushing through it. Trouble is, I have no idea when it goes from "Not being a pussy and just lifting the fucking weights" to "You're being a jackass, your fucking legs are on fire and your balls are gonna explode you need to deload right the fuck now!"

You know?

For me, what I did was ask myself "How's walking around feel after that set?" Didn't feel bad at all. Not on the legs, anyway. No pain in the knees, which is good, just the glutes and hammies. But the soreness is still here, in the glutes and hams. So it's all catching up with me, indeed.

I'm going to proceed this week with meeting my 300 pound goal on Friday. BUT I will be extra-mindful of what's going on with my body, and if it looks like shit is worse than it was today, I'll back off. I'm also upping my caloric intake as well, but not to an obscene degree. Just to make sure.

In terms of changing programming, I honestly thing that in another two weeks or so I will need to jump on either the Tejas Method or Advanced Novice, because it's definitely coming. I just want to make it through this week before I have to deload and switch ;-)

[MazdaMatt]

I don't want to sound discouraging, but we've seen what being greedy can do to people. If I were you I'd keep an open mind and if you're still a train wreck on wednesday, make it a light wednesday and hit your 300 next Monday. Keep in mind that it is about recovery, not pain. Hitting the wall is far worse than slowly approaching it. You won't even know that it took you an extra three days to reach 300 when you look back 5 years from now.

On the other hand, if you think you can take it, fucking kill it.

To be honest, I don't know if there are any other changes between novice and advance novice besides light wednesday squats. If there are, i'm only really suggesting that one change.

I see, I think you managed 3 sets of 5 because it wasn't heavy enough :)

[gamedog]

I don't want to sound discouraging, but we've seen what being greedy can do to people. If I were you I'd keep an open mind and if you're still a train wreck on wednesday, make it a light wednesday and hit your 300 next Monday. Keep in mind that it is about recovery, not pain. Hitting the wall is far worse than slowly approaching it. You won't even know that it took you an extra three days to reach 300 when you look back 5 years from now.

On the other hand, if you think you can take it, fucking kill it.

To be honest, I don't know if there are any other changes between novice and advance novice besides light wednesday squats. If there are, i'm only really suggesting that one change.

I see, I think you managed 3 sets of 5 because it wasn't heavy enough :)


No worries mate, you opinion is ALWAYS valid and welcomed here, believe me.

Now, as to Wednesday. Indeed, this is valuable advice. If I go walking in there with my legs feeling like they do now, it's gonna be light-ass front squats for me and an extra pint or two of milk and Guinness (or Murphy's) when I get home. Not at the same time, of course. Probably an extra steak, too LOL

In all serious, definitely. And you are indeed right, it doesn't do me any good to get greedy and rush things when it could, in a very real way, mean that I hurt myself and end up not being able to train for a long time, during recovery.

I'll DEFINITELY keep my eye on it and back off at the first sign of trouble.

Oh yeah man, my power clean is WEAKSAUCE, no fronting there ROFLMFAO!

[MazdaMatt]

Yeah, i never even considered injury, that's far worse than stalling and deloading. I just regret pushing like I did with 265 when I think it was my time to consider light wednesday. I think I may do that when I get back to where I was. I was greedy and shooting for 300, too, but I'm a fair bit smaller and weaker than you.

my PC's fucking suck now that I'm not reverse curling them. At least I'm actually jumping now... sometimes. Sometimes I wonder why these are in the program... they are just so different from everything else we do.

[gamedog]

I read somewhere where Rip said he added them in there to help the trainee learn to be "explosive" with the power he's building up. He also mentioned that it helps your dead lifts too, I think.

I'm jumping, but really, my toes are only making it about an inch off the ground LOL I might need to jump more if I was actually using heavy weight with it LMAO

Soon enough, soon enough.

What's interesting here, about the Advanced Novice Program, is that I've heard a lot of folks just do light "active recovery" squats on Wednesdays and don't change anything else, whereas others will actually switch other things up too. Still doing squat PR's on Mon and Fri, with the light squat day thrown in on Wednesday, but they're breaking their Bench and Presses, PC's and Deads down into a Week A and Week B, too. Saw that on the Wiki. That's what made me think of doing the Texas Method instead, because of the similarity and all.

[MazdaMatt]

I hate complicated. I'm really not looking forward to the day I need to punch numbers into a spreadsheet to know what to lift next. When I start to crap out again, I'm just going to go light on wednesday. Fuck the rest of the details.

[gamedog]

test

[gamedog]

... Yeah I know I fucked the date up in the subject line, I'm a little discombobulated today.

-Light Day Wednesday's-

Squats (approx. 70 percent of Monday's PR):
45 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
205 lbs. x 5 x 2

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
195 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
315 lbs. x 1

Playlist:
The album "Nobody's Cool" by Lotion

Notes:

Well folks, I sure do wish I had better news to report. Today was my first light day and you weren't kidding, those Squats still hurt like Hell. I got through them with good form and good bar speed, but the shit hurt. And my legs never did stop aching, after Monday's PR.

Dead Lifts was an EPIC FAIL. I knew there was a problem when I was done warming up and setting up for my first rep. I felt like there was no strength in my body. None what-so-ever. I got it up, poorly, and, well, I couldn't even get the second rep off the ground. Waited 5 minutes, no dice...

I know what the problem here is, too. I'm such a dummy is what it is. On two occasions within the past few weeks I increased my Dead Lift by 20 pounds instead of 10 or the even more sensible 5. That was an admittedly stupid move, on my part. I got greedy. I wanted to get into the 300's and start putting up bigger numbers. Heh, I guess maybe I should have asked myself "Well chief, after you bang out that 300, will you be able to do 325 next time?" ... and ... "What about the rest of the important lifts in your program, will you be able to recover properly from those, too?"

I believe that this idiotic error in judgment has also put a squat stall on the horizon for me.

Oh well ... No need to kick myself in the ass over this or dwell on the negatives. My bench press today was great. Felt heavy, but it wasn't hard-won, good bar speed, good form, good control. And so far as the rest of this bullshit is concerned, at least I'm still relatively weak and wasn't working with huge weight, weight that could really hurt you. Of course, on the other hand, I've known folks who've herniated discs whilst picking up shit that weighed a third of what I Dead Lifting. I didn't hurt myself, so that's a plus.

Okay .... well, the plan is, I'm doing to de-load the Dead Lifts, and de-load the Squats too because a stall on those is on the horizon. I'm going to keep Light Day Wednesday programmed-in, and I'm going to move on up from here, and I'm not going to make a silly mistake like that again.

Oh, I'm also up to 255 lbs. now LOL So that's good.

[MazdaMatt]

Woah woah, there cheif... don't let acceptance of light wednesday and a bad deadlift day get you down. You can get your 295 squats on friday. You are going to feel good by then because of the little work (relatively) that you did today and the amount of steak that you're going to eat in the next 48 hours (right? :))

ps - yes you're dumb for 20lb deadlift jumps. Knock it back a bit, but I wouldn't call it a "deload" in the sense that after 2 deloads you go intermediate. Just call it an "adjustment".

You got 305, so do 310 and stop being dumb from now on.

[gamedog]

Woah woah, there cheif... don't let acceptance of light wednesday and a bad deadlift day get you down. You can get your 295 squats on friday. You are going to feel good by then because of the little work (relatively) that you did today and the amount of steak that you're going to eat in the next 48 hours (right? :))

Well, I did just hammer down a 12" steak, pepperoni and cheese sub from Bozelli's after finishing the last of my chicken breasts and the leftover NY strip that I brought in with me, when I got back from the gym ;-)


ps - yes you're dumb for 20lb deadlift jumps. Knock it back a bit, but I wouldn't call it a "deload" in the sense that after 2 deloads you go intermediate. Just call it an "adjustment".

You got 305, so do 310 and stop being dumb from now on.

I don't know buddy... I did NOT like the way that shit felt. I may have to "adjust" it back a little bit further. Maybe, we'll see.

Oh, and yeah, I'm definitely going to stop being dumb from now on. I feel so stupid for this, but now I definitely realize how delicate a balance this process of training really is. You get in a groove, and things are working very well, but don't get over-confident and make a big jump when it isn't called for, because that could seriously fuck things up.

It's been etched in my brain.

Heh, all things considered I feel really good, man. I definitely feel good. And I will say, being able to finish my initial warmups and squats in 10 minutes and then jumping over onto the bench press, that was great! It was definitely a welcomed break to have that light day. Definitely.

[MazdaMatt]

Haha... if you read back over the past couple weeks you have this gradually ramping awesomeness and extreme happiness to gradual pain and soreness with extreme motivation, then bam... hammered. New records bring new confidence, and new confidence will crush and destroy. Bugger, isn't it? You're not going to deadlift again for 5 days, so I'm sure you'll be able to handle 310. Chalk up extra and make it happen.

[gamedog]

Haha... if you read back over the past couple weeks you have this gradually ramping awesomeness and extreme happiness to gradual pain and soreness with extreme motivation, then bam... hammered. New records bring new confidence, and new confidence will crush and destroy. Bugger, isn't it? You're not going to deadlift again for 5 days, so I'm sure you'll be able to handle 310. Chalk up extra and make it happen.

It's a fucking BITCH is what it is!

Hammered. Yeah, that's a very accurate way of putting it. I was feeling totally and completely hammered.

But I'm starting, lo-and-behold, to feel better. Quite a bit better, in point of fact.

I was starting to feel a bit sad, as I stared blankly at the empty aluminum foil wrapper that my pepperoni, steak and cheese sub came wrapped in. I was thinking to myself "Why am I doing this to myself? All this hard work with the lifting and the eating, I'm sore, I'm tired, I'm feeling 'a bit shagged, and fagged and fashed' as our friend Alex DeLarge, in "A Clockwork Orange" so aptly put it. But, reading your comment here lifted my spirits. Lifted them big time. I'm not being facetious, either. Right now I feel like Peter Griffin did in that Family Guy episode where he was going to sit down and play with Stewie, and he (Peter) did a bunch of crystal meth, and he was standing there, shaking, hair standing on end and he growled through his clenched teeth "I AM SO FUCKING READY!!!!" before he blasted off the floor straight up through the ceiling.

Today was just an off day, a bad patch that's all. Motherfucking 295 on Friday, then the big 300 on Monday (after my reflexology appointment on Saturday AND my Full English Breakfast with four pints on Sunday morning. With liberal napping and plenty of sleep at night, too!). And I'll be right as dodgers for 310 on the dead lifts this-coming Monday too!

I'm gonna make it happen!

[gamedog]

... My legs aren't so sore anymore, amazingly.

[MazdaMatt]

You're going to LLOOOOOVEE next wednesday's light workout :) Go at it!

edit - oh yeah, go buy micro plates. I dropped into Facca Fastener this morning. 4 2" washers (I don't know the exact weight of these, they aren't the zinc ones that everyone links to on the Fastenal website) was 11.07cdn after tax.

[gamedog]

Well friend, I'm pleased to report that I woke up this morning feeling great. Better than I have in a while. My legs feel good, and I didn't feel like I was going to nod off in the shower. I plan on taking a nap today at lunch and also I plan on going to bed a bit early tonight, in preparation for tomorrow. I've eaten plenty and continue to do so.

I think that mid-week light day really is a great idea. Made me feel 10x's better!

[MazdaMatt]

Oh Lord he hath seen the Light!

[Briks42]

Hey guys, I posted this response in TweakXC's workout log and figure it might apply here too (and maybe to you too Mazda):

You might not want to pull from the floor every workout. What I do is pull every other workout, alternating cleans and deadlifts. Then on the other days, I do weighted chinups (or any chinups). This template is in Practical Programming. So you are deadlifting every 4th workout. However, you can make bigger jumps from one deadlift workout to the next since you are still squatting every workout and the squat carries over to the deadlift (plus the lat work you get from the chins will help your deadlift indirectly too).

It looks like this:
Mon- squat, press, deadlift
Wed- squat, bench, chin
Fri- squat, press, clean
Mon- squat, bench, chin
Wed- squat, press, deadlift

etc.

[gamedog]

Hey guys, I posted this response in TweakXC's workout log and figure it might apply here too (and maybe to you too Mazda):

You might not want to pull from the floor every workout. What I do is pull every other workout, alternating cleans and deadlifts. Then on the other days, I do weighted chinups (or any chinups). This template is in Practical Programming. So you are deadlifting every 4th workout. However, you can make bigger jumps from one deadlift workout to the next since you are still squatting every workout and the squat carries over to the deadlift (plus the lat work you get from the chins will help your deadlift indirectly too).

It looks like this:
Mon- squat, press, deadlift
Wed- squat, bench, chin
Fri- squat, press, clean
Mon- squat, bench, chin
Wed- squat, press, deadlift

etc.


Now that's interesting... Hrmmmm

[Briks42]

Yeah, I mean, you are starting to move some legit heavy weights and we all know how much deadlifts fry your CNS, so this (along with the light Wednesday squats, which seem like they were the right move for you) could help keep you going strong for longer. Just a suggestion. I am at work now, and don't have PP here, but I remember Rip mentioning that pulling from the floor every single workout can get tough as you get more advanced as a novice. Plus, you get the chinup work.

[MazdaMatt]

Looks like a good model after simple light wednesday. I just LOVE deadlifts, though :)

[Briks42]

Looks like a good model after simple light wednesday. I just LOVE deadlifts, though :)


Haha, yeah, me too. I find myself looking forward to that workout more than the others. Its just a matter of recovery though. Deadlifts take a lot out of you. And so do powercleans for that matter. Chins are tough to do but I recover much easier from them.

[gamedog]

Guys, I'm kind of embarassed about this. Actually really embarassed...

I can't do a chin up. Or a pull up. I'm starting to put up respectable weights and all but along with SS has come a weight gain. A rather big weight gain and, well, yeah...

How does a dude like me get started, with the pull ups and chin ups? I don't have one of those counter-balance thingies at my gym, so how would I get started with those?

[Briks42]

Guys, I'm kind of embarassed about this. Actually really embarassed...

I can't do a chin up. Or a pull up. I'm starting to put up respectable weights and all but along with SS has come a weight gain. A rather big weight gain and, well, yeah...

How does a dude like me get started, with the pull ups and chin ups? I don't have one of those counter-balance thingies at my gym, so how would I get started with those?

No reason to be embarrassed at all............

I have trained a few heavier guys who couldn't do a chinup when they started and its a home gym, so we didn't have a counterbalance chinup machine either, which would make things way easier. And we have a chinup bar that isnt very high and low ceilings too, so jumping chinups are not possible either.

In lieu of chinups, what I do is have them do 1-2 sets of 3 negatives each workout. Negatives make you sore as balls of you do too many reps so you cant do much more than this. Then after the set or 2 of negatives, they do lat chindowns on a pulley machine. After that, 2 sets of dumbell curls. Its obviously not ideal since the pulley mahcine means not using the whole body in concert the way a chinup or jumping chinup does, but at least we are strengthening the muscles a little. That, combined with the negatives and curls, does get results, even if its not optimal.

And once you can get even 1 chinup, you are set. Because then you can just do sets of 1 all the time. Every workout, even if its not chin day, just do a couple sets of 1 interspersed throughout your workout. It wont take much out of you since its only 1. After doing this, 1 becomes easy, and you can do sets of 2 the same way. Once you can get to 3, you are fine to start doing them as your work sets instead of the negatives and pulldowns.

One thing I have noticed in the small sample size of people I work out with is that they can chinup roughly the same amount of weight as they bench press. For example, I weigh 195, and last night my I did 3 sets of chins 6,5,5 with a 40 pound vest. So I basically chinned 235 pounds x 6,5,5. This is almost identical to what I can bench. I have a friend who weighs 242 and can do 5 bodyweight chins. He can also bench 240x5. So basically, if you train your back and bi's a little bit, you should be able to get your first bodyweight chinup around the same time as you reach a 1 rep max with your bodyweight on the bench press.

[Briks42]

I know some people also use bands to help do chinups too, and it supposedly works well since it acts as a counterbalance the way that machine does, but I don't have any personal experience with that.

[gamedog]

Well Briks, that does make me feel better! It'll be a while before I'm benching 255. A long while, most likely especially since I intend to start microloading my bench soon. I;m going to start working on them (chin ups).

[mikeylikey]

Doing them with partial ROM has been working well for me.

When I started, I could do one (1) and I weighed 185 at the time. The assist machine didn't really help much, at least I don't think, because it's really a completely different exercise.

I got some good advice from someone else on here, which was to just do bw chins with limited ROM, whatever I could handle for a few sets. That's worked amazingly well. Like the other exercises it seems, you can make big jumps for a few workouts, and rather than increase the reps I've just increased the ROM. I still don't go quite to a dead hang, but almost, and I'm up to 6,6,4 @ bw 200lbs.

[Briks42]

Doing them with partial ROM has been working well for me.

When I started, I could do one (1) and I weighed 185 at the time. The assist machine didn't really help much, at least I don't think, because it's really a completely different exercise.

I got some good advice from someone else on here, which was to just do bw chins with limited ROM, whatever I could handle for a few sets. That's worked amazingly well. Like the other exercises it seems, you can make big jumps for a few workouts, and rather than increase the reps I've just increased the ROM. I still don't go quite to a dead hang, but almost, and I'm up to 6,6,4 @ bw 200lbs.


good point Mikey. I actually forgot about that. My buddy who is getting close to getting his first chinup now uses this too. First thing he does each chin workout is 1 or 2 attempts at a chin even though he cant do it, just getting as high as he can. Then he does the 2 sets of negatives. then a few sets of pulldowns. then the curls. The whole process is a pain in the balls, but necessary with what we have to work with.

[Briks42]

Well Briks, that does make me feel better! It'll be a while before I'm benching 255. A long while, most likely especially since I intend to start microloading my bench soon. I;m going to start working on them (chin ups).


Yeah, you gotta work at them or it will never happen....... and you aren't too far away from a 1 rep max with bodyweight on the bench. You are doing your work sets with 195, which means your probably at about 235 or so for 1. only another 20 pounds. Youll be there in 1-2 months.

[MazdaMatt]

Hey Game, I could always do chins and pulls, but not wide pulls. I trained by starting with negatives (fuck my life, they are masochistic. Days of pain.) Then I bought a band and I was able to do a couple wide grip pulls in a week. (i'm not saying bands are better than negatives, I mean do the negatives first, then the bands). Once you can do one, find a place where you can do a pullup at home and do 5 per singles per day.

The counterblance machines are stupid. Don't bother using them even if you have access to one. They aren't a pullup because your body is not hanging freely.

As for the chin/bench theory... no way. Before i hurt myself I could bench 155 for 3x5 weighing 185 and doing about 9,7,5 for chins. When I weighed 155 i could do the same chin count and benched only 115 for 3x5. You must have some good benching ability - did you by chance work bench a fair bit before starting SS?

[Megabreth]

You're going to LLOOOOOVEE next wednesday's light workout :) Go at it!

edit - oh yeah, go buy micro plates. I dropped into Facca Fastener this morning. 4 2" washers (I don't know the exact weight of these, they aren't the zinc ones that everyone links to on the Fastenal website) was 11.07cdn after tax.

Holy crap, you are a metric-humping Canadian! ;)

[MazdaMatt]

Yeah, and those are metric dollars. We have 100 cents in every dollar.

[Megabreth]

I actually was disappointed that you referred to your washer size in inches.

[Briks42]

Hey Game, I could always do chins and pulls, but not wide pulls. I trained by starting with negatives (fuck my life, they are masochistic. Days of pain.) Then I bought a band and I was able to do a couple wide grip pulls in a week. (i'm not saying bands are better than negatives, I mean do the negatives first, then the bands). Once you can do one, find a place where you can do a pullup at home and do 5 per singles per day.

The counterblance machines are stupid. Don't bother using them even if you have access to one. They aren't a pullup because your body is not hanging freely.

As for the chin/bench theory... no way. Before i hurt myself I could bench 155 for 3x5 weighing 185 and doing about 9,7,5 for chins. When I weighed 155 i could do the same chin count and benched only 115 for 3x5. You must have some good benching ability - did you by chance work bench a fair bit before starting SS?

Yes, I did bench a lot before starting strength, but i also always did pullups and chinups too. What I neglected was squats and deadlifts (typical young fool). But yeah, maybe my bench is just strong relative to my chins. Like I said, it was a small sample size so I wasnt sure if it was true.

[Briks42]

Although I do think my theory holds more true for the more "advanced" lifter. For whatever reason, bench press really takes people a long time to get good at, while chins can be done by a lot of light novices. But then they don't improve as much over time while bench will catch up.

[Sami]

I actually was disappointed that you referred to your washer size in inches.

Yeah, I wanted to see it as 508,000,000 angstroms.

[MazdaMatt]

Okay, everybody, get the heck outta Game's training log, move along, no loitering.

[gamedog]

Ya'll I got 9 hours of sleep last night, I've eaten 2,000 calories and change so far today, and my knees and quads are feeling great.

MAN, I AM SO FUCKING READY!!!!

[MazdaMatt]

Fuck you and your 9 fucking hours of sleep. God damnit, I am going to try sleeping in a tent in the fucking back yard. Maybe that'll help.

[gamedog]

Fuck you and your 9 fucking hours of sleep. God damnit, I am going to try sleeping in a tent in the fucking back yard. Maybe that'll help.

You might want to try saline nasal irrigation, e.g. a Neti Pot. Those things work WONDERS ;-)

[Moving_Target]

I actually was disappointed that you referred to your washer size in inches.

Blame the SAE or ASME for that, eh.

[gamedog]

Blame the SAE or ASME for that, eh.

LOL

You Canucks.

Heh, I've actually been thinking about moving up there to Canada. I've heard there's jobs for dudes like me (IT, Systems Admin/Programmer) in the major cities AND the fishing, out in the remote outposts, is supposed to kick wholesale ass, as well.

I just need to figure out the whole Metric System thing. I wrote a program that converts the shit for me, but I still don't "get" it.

[Sami]

I use google for my conversions.

Just type: 2 inches in cm
or whatever

2 inches in fathoms
2 inches in miles
2 inches in lightyears

etc

They do it for pretty much all units and even currency exchange.

[MazdaMatt]

How did I not know that you were an IT geek, too? I write embedded firmware for custom electronics applications. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver definitely have quite the IT sector. I'm in London which has plenty of tech (also, canada's medical technology town), but low wages and cheap housing for some reason (it is a nice city, I don't know why, just small, i guess).

There's definitely plenty of fishing to be had, too. Beautiful "outdoorsman" country. If you want to go remote you have to go far from here, but you'll definitely get your money's worth if you're into that sort of thing.

You can also go to Newfoundland where you'll have no trouble hunting moose and those buggers will fill a mighty big freezer.

[gamedog]

-PR Friday's-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
295 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
145 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
120 lbs. x 3 x 5

Notes:

295 was a hard weight but I killed it. My left knee started to complain (mildly) during my second set and I realized that I was pushing from the center of my feet and not my heels. I got through that set fine, and resolved that the third set would be better. My feet were a little close together on that second set, so I widened my stance just a bit, and made sure to plant my knees in the proper position as well (pointing out a bit with the toes). That did the trick, pushing with the heels all the way. Last reps were hard, but not bad, didn't feel like I was pushing to failure, didn't get pinned. Things went smoothly and most importantly, my knees didn't hurt on the third set and they don't hurt now. Good bar speed to, and the longest I had to rest between sets was long enough to listen to Clutch's song "Passive Restraints" ... about two and a half minutes.

What surprised me today was the presses. They felt easy today. Felt like I could have put up 20 more pounds on top of the 145.

Power cleans were weaksauce as-per usual. BUT, I jumped up better this time and I timed the jump and the pull properly, I didn't get whacked in the sternum/throat/chin with the bar, and didn't throw up. All-in-all, good day for power cleans.

Good day all around. My confidence is back, but not like it was before. It's back enough to keep me coming back and enjoying myself, but it's not strong enough to encourage me to do something as idiotic as try to jump 40+ pounds on my deadlift in two weeks. And that's fine.

I'm glad I listened to MazdaMatt and the rest of the gang here @SS and programmed-in light days on Wednesdays. And I'm also glad I listened to MazdaMatt specifically and stayed the course and made it happen. Had I de-loaded my squats, it just would have held me back worse mentally, later on.

[Briks42]

Great workout.....Quick question though. Why do you only take 2.5 minutes between squat sets? I think 4-5 minutes might be more appropriate unless its a scheduling thing for you.

[gamedog]

Great workout.....Quick question though. Why do you only take 2.5 minutes between squat sets? I think 4-5 minutes might be more appropriate unless its a scheduling thing for you.

Well buddy here's the thing about that. The gym where I workout is here where I work. I work for the DoD (contractor) and I'm working at a Gov't University of sorts, and there's a nice gym facility here on campus. All that being said, I work out during my lunch break. And I only get an hour. That's hardly enough time for me to get there, change, warm up on the bike, get to lifting, finish up, get a shower and then hit the Turkish restaurant across the street to pick up my post-workout feast ;-)

So I'm usually running a bit late by the time I'm out of the shower.

Now, my boss and the Govvies here are all really cool people. Great people. And they don't mind too much, provided I come in early on lifting days, or stay a little late so that I get my billable hours in that day. BUT, I don't like to push it, know what I mean?

So there's that... And there's also this weird momentum thing, with me. I haven't figured it out. It's like, I get all amped up, hit the bar and then afterward its like I'm dead while I catch my breath... But then I start twitching again and I get pulled back to the bar again. I seriously think that my subconscious is doing some shit with me in the gym that I don't know about.

Now, all that being said ... I will rest longer when I need to. Definitely. Heh, there's been times where I took 4 or 5 minutes because I had to. And they'll probably grow in frequency here, as the weights get heavier. So it'll happen. Heh and I'll have to come in earlier to compensate I guess LOL

[Briks42]

Gotcha. Makes sense. I figured it was something like that. Those extra 2 to 3 minutes can be a big difference, but if you are progressing so well now without them, keep it up.

[gamedog]

Right on!

[MazdaMatt]

Don't give me the credit, dude. You're the one lifting the fucking weight! I'm glad though, that we could all help you sort that out and I'm happy that I'm learning enough about this game to be of assistance.

300lbs is on the schedule. Eat a hearty breakfast!

[gamedog]

Don't give me the credit, dude. You're the one lifting the fucking weight! I'm glad though, that we could all help you sort that out and I'm happy that I'm learning enough about this game to be of assistance.

300lbs is on the schedule. Eat a hearty breakfast!

I have eaten and I'm feeling nicely full and round. I'm sitting here typing and my legs keep bouncing, and I have butterflies in my stomach. This happens every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. I start to get excited around 10 o'clock and hitting the gym is all I can think about.

I just ordered Practical Programming a few moments ago. I'll be looking forward to receiving it in the mail.

I'm fired up and ready to go.

This weekend was great. On Saturday morning I went to see the Reflexologist. My best friend Susan made an appointment for me and one for my wife, with her. I'm an open-minded type of guy, and I was looking forward to going. I believe that the body can help heal its self if it is properly centered and grounded. Don't get me wrong, if I had cancer you better believe I'd be seeking out the best medical treatment I could get, but I'd also being doing things like this, too, because hey, it's probably better to be in a calm, relaxed state when being treated for a serious illness, or just recovering from a workout.

So I went to the Reflexologist and thoroughly enjoyed it. She nearly put me to sleep a couple of times LOL The accupressure she did on my hands alleviated the numbness I've been experiencing in the fingertips of my index and middle fingers on both hands, and it also loostened me up, in my arms and shoulders. She also worked on my feet, and that was nice as well. After it was over I still had the DOMS from Friday's workout, but I no longer felt stiff and grouchy. Instead, my legs and torso felt, oddly, like they were completely weightless, and I was "floating" quietly and calmly along whilst walking.

I also took four of the most massive shits I've ever taken, after that appointment. Susan likened it to feeling totally purged from as high as the solar plexus on down, and she wasn't kidding! By the third go-round I thought "Awww geeez, gimme a fucking break here!" but by evening I felt totally "clean" if that makes any sense. And I slept like a baby. Didn't get up on Sunday until 11.

I ate PLENTY this weekend, and I've had plenty of food so far today, nearly 2,000 calories down already, will two whole chicken breasts, another cup of almonds and a huge salad still to go before weight-lifting. Then Turkish food afterwards.

My knees are a bit sore today but I'm not sweating it. It's not even a 1 on the pain scale. Everything ought to go as planned, and I'm feeling conservatively confident, and excited.

[MazdaMatt]

Awesome. Keep the weight on your heels and make it happen. I'm jealous of your massive shits. I've been dropping pellets for a week. :( Not enough milk, I think. I need to hit the RMT still, damnit. Never seems to be time.

[gamedog]

-PR MONDAY'S-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
300 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
200 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
130 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
275 lbs. x 3 x 1
300 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Leaders - Katatonia
Follower - Katatonia
Twilight Of The Thunder God - Amon Amarth
I Am The Black Wizards - Emperor
Gypsy - Emperor
Hvis Lyset Tar Oss - Burzum
Cataclysm Children - Dimmu Borgir
Dial 595-Escape - In Flames
A Blessing In Tragedy - Darkest Hour
Det Som En Gang Var - Burzum
Necromantical Screams - Celtic Frost
Dawn Of Megiddo - Celtic Frost
Horus/Aggressor - Hellhammer
Alle Gegen Alle - Darkthrone

Notes:

It occurs to me that I, along with many others, have graduated from the "World Of The Spectators." I don't know when it happened, I don't think anybody really ever does. We stop imagining ourselves inside the cage while watching UFC, or on the field when watching football or baseball. We stop projecting that part of ourselves on those sports characters, we cease living vicariously through them and we go off on our own, to do something.

I guess weight lifting was that something I needed. Why be an armchair quarterback? I don't think I've spoken to a single one of my co-workers about the up-coming NFL season... It seems like, when I get here the only thing I can think of getting to the gym. Today I buried myself in my work, which kept my mind off it and kept me from twitching too much, but as soon as 1:50PM rolled around I was out the door, beating the pavement down the block.

I squatted 300 pounds today. I still can't believe I got here. And the first two sets were about as close to cake as they could be, where respectable weight is concerned. The last set was hard-won, but I got it done. I could feel my weight traveling forward on my feet on that last set. I had to make a conscious effort (the proportions of which were nothing short of Herculean) to focus my attention on keeping that weight on my heels, while it basically tried to crush me. I must have done something right, because I felt nothing what-so-ever in my knees. No pain, no strain. The only discomfort was a tiny bit in my lower shins, on the sides, just below the calf muscles. No big deal. Good bar speed, good bounce at the bottom, good travel up out of the hole, no stuttering, no slop.

I never thought in a million years that I would ever be able to bench press 200 pounds. Every time we'd do that stupid Physical Fitness Testing in elementary and junior high school I'd always come away with the admonition: "You have below-average upper body strength. Work on it." I was always well below average in that department. I benched 200 today, it wasn't easy, but it was honest. I put that weight up smooth and controlled every single rep. No pain in the shoulder or left biceps.

Deadlift has been "adjusted" ... I didn't want to walk out of the gym < 300 on those, but I didn't want to be a jackass either. So what I did was, I worked my way up with a double-overhand grip, until it started feeling heavy. That was 275... I stopped, took a few minutes to breathe and then put enough plates on the bar to get me 300. Then, another minute or two to breathe. Then I banged out the set, with a mixed grip, one rep after another. I noticed that before, it was almost like I'd do 5 singles, like, 1 rep, then 10 seconds, or 20 and then the next. Not today. Today is was one after the other, pausing after each rep only long enough to inhale and apply the valsalva maneuver. After those, I couldn't see straight and my head felt like it was in a fucking fishbowl. But after that wore off, I felt right. I still do. And my legs feel great.

Over-all, I am very happy how today turned out. I'm shooting for 305 on both the squats and the deadlifts on Friday, and I'm stoked about a nice, easy light Wednesday coming up in-between. Putting that recovery day in there was the right thing to do and I'm looking forward to it.

[MazdaMatt]

300,200,300... wow.

[gamedog]

300,200,300... wow.

What's so crazy about it how energized I am right now. I thought I'd be dog tired but fuuuuuck! I'm amped. It's like, I seriously wanna go upstairs and like, find somebody who's got ripped off by the ghetto-ass vending machine up there and just fucking rock that mother fucker and pick it and smash it and take all the bags of mixed nuts.

I'm not gonna of course but shit!

[Briks42]

Great work, Game.

[MazdaMatt]

Do it. Just suplex the fucking vending machine oldskewl wwf style.

I wish I got that feeling. You're amped and I'm unplugged right now.

[ivankannan]

300, 200, 300! Awesome!
Next, the press is going to be 150?

[gamedog]

Great work, Game.

Thanks Briks!


Do it. Just suplex the fucking vending machine oldskewl wwf style.

I wish I got that feeling. You're amped and I'm unplugged right now.

Do you have any idea at all what a FUCKING AMAZING YouTube video that would be? I'd have to buy a 70sbig.com t-shirt to wear, and maybe even grow a beard for it, or better, a handlebar mustache, but fuck! That'd be awesome!

I was too amped. I didn't fall asleep till 11:30 last night. Went to bed at 10 but my mind was running circles around me LOL I'll be napping today at lunch and going to bed early tonight. I'm much more relaxed today.


300, 200, 300! Awesome!
Next, the press is going to be 150?

Yessir, tomorrow is light squats day, and I'm going to be pressing 150 also. And I'm looking forward to it!

[MazdaMatt]

Pressing 150 will feel like nothing after light squats. I hope that theory holds true on 300lb deadlifts for me tomorrow :)

Do you get an hour lunch? I only get 30 mins, so naps are not possible. I did that a few times at my previous job, though.

[gamedog]

Pressing 150 will feel like nothing after light squats. I hope that theory holds true on 300lb deadlifts for me tomorrow :)

Do you get an hour lunch? I only get 30 mins, so naps are not possible. I did that a few times at my previous job, though.

What's gonna happen is, your legs will feel great after your light squats, and you'll be all set and ready to go when the time comes for you to do your dead lifts ;-) And you'll be able to do them because, unlike me, you weren't a jackass about adding weight to them :-D You'll rock the house, no sweat!

Yeah, I get an hour. But my boss is cool, like, if I get here an hour early, I can take a longer lunch, just so long as I have my PTT with me in case he needs to reach me in the event of an emergency with one of my servers or webapps or whatever.

[MazdaMatt]

Are you using chalk? Are you using double overhand, mixed or hook grip?

[gamedog]

Are you using chalk? Are you using double overhand, mixed or hook grip?

No chalk yet. I do all my warm ups double over-hand, and I do my working sets mixed ;-)

[MazdaMatt]

Now, you're a big fella, so I'm guessing you've got bigger hands than my skinny ass... I'll be doing my 300 with chalk double-overhand. I've never done a single pull with a mixed grip before. BUY SOME CHALK. :) Seriously, i bought mine at a climbing store, pre-powdered in a sack for 3.50. I found out I can buy chalk blocks (size of a bar of soap) at GNC (nutrition store) for 3.00.

I would estimate that my 5rm would be 25lbs lower without chalk.

[gamedog]

I would estimate that my 5rm would be 25lbs lower without chalk.

Really!? THAT much!? WOW! I hadn't considered it before because my callus formations are where they belong and I don't have problems gripping the bar most of the time --rarely does it occur where I'm 'just fingertipping it'...

But what the hell, I'll pick some up. Speaking of picking shit up... Wifey ordered me some of them zinc washer thingies from fastenal. I'll be implementing them soon.

[Mr.City]

Good work

[MazdaMatt]

She sounds like a sweetie. Good for you.

Oh calluses... I have the hands of a piano player, even with all this chalky deadlifting.

My fourth rep on 295 was "all fingertips", I had to rechalk quickly before the 5th. I don't cake the chalk onto the bar like you see in the big youtube video lifts. I've tried the chalk block before and it makes a huge difference in the amount of chalk you can pile onto your skin. I'm hoping that tomorrow's light squats will leave me less sweaty and give me an eaiser time gripping. I want 3 plates double-overhand.

[gamedog]

Good work

Thanks Mr. City, I appreciate it! :-)


She sounds like a sweetie. Good for you.

Oh calluses... I have the hands of a piano player, even with all this chalky deadlifting.

My fourth rep on 295 was "all fingertips", I had to rechalk quickly before the 5th. I don't cake the chalk onto the bar like you see in the big youtube video lifts. I've tried the chalk block before and it makes a huge difference in the amount of chalk you can pile onto your skin. I'm hoping that tomorrow's light squats will leave me less sweaty and give me an eaiser time gripping. I want 3 plates double-overhand.

She is indeed. She believes that a man should be big, and take up as much space as possible, and be strong-as-all-get-out. Of course, she totally freaked the fuck out when The Good Lord saw fit to start transforming me into a behemoth LOL but anyway, on to brass tacks here--

3 plates double-overhand and you're a grippy BEAST. That's a kickass goal to shoot for! :-D

I didn't believe, early on, that mixed grip versus double-overhand made any difference. Boy oh boy WAS I FUCKING WRONG! Man! Seems like after I get past 250 or so the shit feels crazy heavy! And it's hard as Hell for me to keep a tight hold on it.

I'm swinging by the store tonight to pick me up a block of chalk like you use. The LAST thing I want is to drop that damn bar mid-pull ;-)

[MazdaMatt]

I've always had weak hands, so it is a really good personal goal of mine. A big bastard like you ought to be able to handle it :) I think I've really helped myself in the grip department by refusing to go to double-overhand or the gay straps. The first time I ever missed a deadlift was at 195 from grip. Last week I think i would have lost 295 on the 5th rep if I didn't re-chalk, but I blame sweat, not grip strength. I've been doing a little grip work (static holds) after my deadlifts, too. I don't know if they help yet, I just did them twice.

[gamedog]

-Light Day Wednesday's-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
215 lbs. x 5 x 2

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 5 x 3

Power Clean:
125 lbs. x 3 x 5

Notes:

Those 215 pound squats made my legs feel goooooood.

Those 150 pound presses almost killed me. I got that weight up, didn't miss any reps but it was difficult. Exceedingly difficult. Time to start micro-loading. My cheap little zinc washers will be here soon.

Power cleans were rough today... Not to be a whiny little bitch or anything, but it's like, 105 fucking degrees today. And I was having a new windshield installed in my car. Anyway, the repair man was an hour and a half late, and I didn't want to miss my Light Wednesday, and my PR press, so I just headed down to the gym and took my cell. So he calls me and I have to walk out to my car and meet him. Trouble is, the lot where I parked my car today is a looooong ass way away from the gym. Okay fine so it's not that long, quarter mile at the most. But in any event, by the time I got to my car, talked him through getting through the base gate and getting to me, handing him the money and then jogging back to the gym, I was spent. So my power cleans sucked. Big fucking deal, I still got in all my reps.

And the best part? When the repair man got out of his van he took a look at me and said "Damn son! You the biggest damn white-boy I ever seen!"

[ivankannan]

-Light Day Wednesday's-
"Damn son! You the biggest damn white-boy I ever seen!"

Damn. Whats your weight?
I have started to hear people say you look stronger (only those who knew me before as a weak kid) but no random guy would say I look strong. I have years left for that I suppose.

[MazdaMatt]

Good work on that press, man. Brutal. Microplates come in yet?

Light wednesdays are fucking beautiful, aren't they? Good news to report in my log shortly.

Very funny comment from the repairman. What was his size and ethnicity?

[gamedog]

Damn. Whats your weight?
I have started to hear people say you look stronger (only those who knew me before as a weak kid) but no random guy would say I look strong. I have years left for that I suppose.

6' tall, 257 pounds ;-)

And don't worry, it starts happening sooner than you think ;-)

[gamedog]

Good work on that press, man. Brutal. Microplates come in yet?

Light wednesdays are fucking beautiful, aren't they? Good news to report in my log shortly.

Very funny comment from the repairman. What was his size and ethnicity?

Arrived in the mail yesterday, as a matter of fact! So now I'm ready!!

You know what man, they're the FUCKING PROMISED LAND, they really are. It's like, when you get to the gym, you're tired, sore and they're a bitch. But when you leave, your legs feel better, you've nicely energized, you're hungry, and you're right as dodgers come Friday for more heavy squats. I'm so glad I programmed that in. I really am!

The repair man was like 5' 5" maybe 5' 7", black, and about 2 bills I'd guess. Had a thin build though, chest and shoulder wise, with a big belly. He could stand in my shadow and stay cool LOL

[250orBust]

Im jealous of your microplates. Your going to get the press on monday, new gear always produces PR's. I love it when people comment on my size too, Went swimming with some friends i havnt seen in a while and they were all calling me Brock Lesnar, Then my mom complained that "the muscles on the back of your neck are gross!" I guess my traps are growing.

[gamedog]

-EPIC FAIL Friday's-

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
305 lbs. x 5 x 2

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
205 lbs. x 2 x 1

Notes:

Yeah. I got pinned underneath 305 on the first rep of my last set of squats. That. SUCKED.

I noticed I'd been pit bullin' it on my second set, first rep of third I went down and then .... nothing. No bounce, nothing. I couldn't even get that bar up an inch. And the bad part was, I was ass-to-grass and the fucking pins were about 2 inches or so lower than the bar. Had to bail out. In doing so, I tweaked my knee. It feels okay now though.

I don't know if it was because I was rattled or what, but bench presses didn't go off without a hitch, either. Got stuck on my second rep. Managed to lock it out, but my arms were failing.

I couldn't even get the bar off the ground on the dead lifts.

I don't know whether to de-load and switch to the Texas Method, using the washers on both presses once I'm 10 pounds in range of my old PR's, or, de-load, use the washers and stick with the "Advanced Novice With Light Wednesdays" I'm doing now... Weird.

Bad day.

[MazdaMatt]

Bummer. Bad days happen. Same weights next time. 3 failures at a single weight to reset, remember. I'm going to grab a snack and go to the gym now. Will report later if i get a chance. 270 squats has me a bit psyched, but i'll get it.

Oh yeah - next time you're at the gym, figure out how to fail safely with a lighter weight. At the bottom I dno't touch the failrail either, I just lean forward till they hit and land on my knees.

[gamedog]

Shit's frustrating homie. But fuck all that. GOOD LUCK ON THE MOTHERFUCKIN' BIG 270!

[250orBust]

I wouldnt take a bad workout as a sign you have to switch programs. Give it another go next week and if you fail out then reset and use those washers. Fuck that barbell up!

[gamedog]

I wouldnt take a bad workout as a sign you have to switch programs. Give it another go next week and if you fail out then reset and use those washers. Fuck that barbell up!

You and Matt are, most-likely right. After taking some time to look at this thing objectively, I don't believe this is a case of "I just stalled on several lifts at once." Rather, I think I had a bad squat day, got crushed and then it pretty-much just took all the wind out of old gamedog's sails is all.

Will repeat 305 with the squats on Monday, and 205 on the bench on Wednesday. I plan to use the washers on the presses on Monday though, that'll be a necessity.

Gonna fuck it up! GONNA FUCK THAT MOTHERFUCKER THE FUCK UP!! I'm allowed a bad day once in a while. I know I can get back in there and make it happen.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Hey Game, I'm back from vacations baby, and I've seen you've made some progress, congrats on your 300/200/300/150! I was reading your log for the last two weeks, and I'm very proud on the progress you've made. Today I can't wait to get back to the gym. In the last two weeks, I've been eating pretty bad, I've lost all my water weight, and drank a lot of beer. So today I'll have a 20% deload on all my lifts and get back on track. As for the bad Friday, I'm with Mazda on this, you try the same weights again. Remember you can repeat the weight once. It was just a bad day, don't even think about switching to the TM since you can deload 3 times before you switch to Intermediate. Fuck that bar today man!!!

[gamedog]

Leonidas! First thing's first, great to see you back, thanks for the kind words and encouragement ;-) AND most importantly you sound like you've been having fun and that's great and I'm glad your travels were safe ;-)

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 2
305 lbs. x 3
305 lbs. x 2
305 lbs. x 0
260 lbs. x 5 x 2

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
152.5 lbs. x 4 x 1
152.5 lbs. x 2 x 1
135 lbs. x 5 x 2

Power Clean:
130 lbs. x 3 x 5

NOTES:

I wanted to nail that 305 today but Mean Ol' Mr. Gravity had other plans for me. And yes, I did unrack the bar on that last set, and got pinned in the hole again. I don't know, I was hoping I could at-least get a heavy single out of that last set.

I did two back-off sets with 260 and even that shit felt heavy as Hell. I'm deloading. I'm not Persius or Achilles. Ten pounds per workout (except for Wednesdays) until I break through that plateau.

Presses killed me, too. Even with the washers. Form on the back-off sets sucked, and it hurt like a motherfucker doing them.

On the up-side, I can power clean 130 pounds LOL

[MazdaMatt]

Bummer. Enjoy light wednesday :)

[gamedog]

Bummer. Enjoy light wednesday :)

I intend to!

So... My copy of Practical Programming arrived in the mail yesterday and I started plowing through it at dinner. Lots of good information in that book.

I was reading through the chapter about Training And Overtraining, and it's odd. According to the definition put forth in the book, I was experiencing "Overreaching" ... (depressed mood, decreased performance, sleep disturbances, fatigue, etc.). Now, the book says that a Novice won't experience this Overreaching on a properly constructed program due to the fact that he can recover from the stress of the loads he's using in the 24 to 72 hour time-window. I believe that I have indeed crossed the border into the Advanced Novice stage, and that I did indeed fuck up when I added so much to my dead lift so soon. Fortunately, this is okay and is easily recovered from (two weeks with a minor de-load). So tomorrow is Light Wednesday, and then 270 pounds for the squats on Friday. And I'll continue to ramp up by 10 pounds Mondays and Fridays until I reach that 305 pound plateau. Should be fine.

Also, I have started going to bed earlier as well. Before it would be a crap shoot... I could go to bed at 10:30 and sleep very well till 6 AM. But the next night, I'd wake up three or four times, either because I'd have to pee, or because I was so keyed up about training that I'd actually be actively dreaming about it, and that sleep wasn't restful. Went to bed at 9:30 last night, and woke up at 6:30 this morning. I woke up twice last night to use the bathroom, and my dog woke me up at 5, but I settled her down and went back to sleep till 6:30. Today I feel quite well-rested, so that's good.

My training outlook has changed some-what, from before. Before, I thought it'd be normal to smash 300 on linear progression and make it to 350, 360 or even 370 without having to do a minor reset. But now I don't think that's normal for a regular guy (e.g. a guy like me who isn't a genetic freak). When I have up to 190 pounds or so on my back and I'm squatting, it feels like I'm lifting a comfy down pillow, but once I get up in the mid 200's the shit feels heavy. I'm still adapting to loads in THAT range, I believe. And the 300/305 range is the end of my "working spectrum" if you will (I made up "working spectrum" to illustrate "Loads that I can lift, but have not adapted to 100% yet" ;-)).

So I'm moving right along, and things are, well, fine, for me. I'll break 300 again soon and I ought to be able to make more gains, on the Light Wednesday program, from there.

Of course, my understand of this could be completely wrong, in which case I'll learn and fix my mistake in understanding... This is, after all, a learning process. But I WILL break that plateau.

[MazdaMatt]

Sometimes it would be nice to just have an omniscient coach to tell you what to put on the bar and how many reps to do...

[gamedog]

Sometimes it would be nice to just have an omniscient coach to tell you what to put on the bar and how many reps to do...

Yeah.

The only thing The Buddha ever told me about it was "You can lift as much as your body will let you, as long as you're doing it to fcailitate becoming a more useful person. But the moment you let your Ego start driving up your weights, you're gonna start having problems."

I believe that the mindset is important... Had I deadlifted, say, 300 after making 10 pound jumps the entire way to get there, I'd have been fine. But I didn't do that *blush* ... and I got my ass kicked for it.

It's like Rollins said. "I spent a few weeks lifting weight I wasn't ready for, and spent a few months not lifting anything heavier than a fork."

It really is important to "Not fuck with the program." And the only way to insure that I don't, is for me to keep my Ego out of it.

My backoff sets at 260 hurt my knees like a son-of-a-bitch yesterday, after struggling to get that 305 up. But the pain went away and they feel better today. Tomorrow they'll feel even better. And on Friday, 270 will be great.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Yeah.

The only thing The Buddha ever told me about it was "You can lift as much as your body will let you, as long as you're doing it to fcailitate becoming a more useful person. But the moment you let your Ego start driving up your weights, you're gonna start having problems."

I believe that the mindset is important... Had I deadlifted, say, 300 after making 10 pound jumps the entire way to get there, I'd have been fine. But I didn't do that *blush* ... and I got my ass kicked for it.

It's like Rollins said. "I spent a few weeks lifting weight I wasn't ready for, and spent a few months not lifting anything heavier than a fork."

It really is important to "Not fuck with the program." And the only way to insure that I don't, is for me to keep my Ego out of it.

My backoff sets at 260 hurt my knees like a son-of-a-bitch yesterday, after struggling to get that 305 up. But the pain went away and they feel better today. Tomorrow they'll feel even better. And on Friday, 270 will be great.
Hey Game, I've been having some problems with the internet connection at work, and only today I say the monday workout. Keep on thinking positive, this happens. The deload will help ypu get the groove again, even though I suggest that as you near 300, you begin 5 pound increments (because trust me 300 will feel heavy). Also have you changed anything regarding nutrition? Try to milk the novice as long as you can, even though intermediate is an attractive option given the fact that you don't have to max out every fucking workout.

[gamedog]

Hey Game, I've been having some problems with the internet connection at work, and only today I say the monday workout. Keep on thinking positive, this happens. The deload will help ypu get the groove again, even though I suggest that as you near 300, you begin 5 pound increments (because trust me 300 will feel heavy). Also have you changed anything regarding nutrition? Try to milk the novice as long as you can, even though intermediate is an attractive option given the fact that you don't have to max out every fucking workout.

Good morning!

I was thinking the same. I'm scheduled for the light day today, and I plan on squatting 270 on Friday. Then 280 on Monday. Wednesday will be another light day, followed by 285 that Friday. Then 290 the following Monday.

I figure that'd be the best means by which to attack this plateau. It will give me 295 on a Friday, and then 300 again after a nice weekend of eating shit tons of barbeque and drinking lots of good beer. And THEN of course, the 305 after a light day that Wednesday PLUS, I will have my Vulcan knee sleeves by then as well ;-)

And of course, Lord willing, on to the 340/350/360 range in the weeks following.

Incidentally, I purchased Practical Programming recently and it arrived in the mail the other day. Reading the beginning chapters, as well as the "Novice" chapter has further re-enforced my desire to completely exhaust my novice progression and really make the most of it.

The first thing I did, at the advising of my friends here was add in the Light Day on Wednesdays. That was a Godsend. In point of fact, I WISH I did it SOONER. I really do. I was in a rush to squat 300, LOL AND pull 300 and I got carried away... Earned myself an overload event that I couldn't quite handle.

BUT no time for regrets, gotta move on, gotta keep lifting bigger, all that needs to happen is, I need to be smarter about it.

Anyway, I started with Light Wednesdays and I love them. The next move I'm making is altering the novice program as-per Practical Programming:

WEEK A:

MON: Squats, Bench Press, Back Extensions, Chins
WED: Light Squats, Press, Dead Lift
FRI: Squats, Bench Press, Back Extensions, Pull Ups

WEEK B:

MON: Squats, Press, Power Clean
WED: Light Squats, Bench Press, Back Extensions, Chins
FRI: Squats, Press, Dead Lift

Today I will be doing Wednesday, from WEEK B. I plan on taking the novice phase as far as I can go, with the above.

So far as nutrition is concerned, not much at all has changed. I still pretty-much "eat everything I see" within reason of course (I avoid candy, cake, white bread, junk food...). Lots of whole milk, lamb, chicken -fucking Hell man I'm so tired of chicken, steak, bacon, cheese, spinach, avocado, fish, nuts -LOTS of nuts, beer, etc. ;-)

I realize after reading more about this stuff, that at this stage in the game, dispite this minor de-load, switching to Intermediate-level programming would be a waste of time, for me. I'm not to the point yet where I need it. And that's OKAY. So I'm gonna ride this here train as long as I can!

[Briks42]

Anyway, I started with Light Wednesdays and I love them. The next move I'm making is altering the novice program as-per Practical Programming:

WEEK A:

MON: Squats, Bench Press, Back Extensions, Chins
WED: Light Squats, Press, Dead Lift
FRI: Squats, Bench Press, Back Extensions, Pull Ups

WEEK B:

MON: Squats, Press, Power Clean
WED: Light Squats, Bench Press, Back Extensions, Chins
FRI: Squats, Press, Dead Lift

Today I will be doing Wednesday, from WEEK B. I plan on taking the novice phase as far as I can go, with the above.



Hey, that looks familiar........................

I think this reset will be good for you and you will blow through your sticking point. Like you said, your body was probably just a bit over-trained, but I think you will be good to go now.

[gamedog]

Hey, that looks familiar........................

I think this reset will be good for you and you will blow through your sticking point. Like you said, your body was probably just a bit over-trained, but I think you will be good to go now.

I bet it does ;-) You guys fucking rock!

[gamedog]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
210 lbs. x 5 x 2

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
205 lbs. x 3 x 1
185 lbs. x 5 x 2

Back Extension:
5x3

Playlist:
Woodpecker From Mars - Faith No More
Midlife Crisis - Faith No More
Lunchbox - Marilyn Manson
Cake And Sodomy - Marilyn Manson
Monsters - Pushmonkey
Head Like A Hole - Nine Inch Nails
Wish - Nine Inch Nails
Last - Nine Inch Nails
Replica - Fear Factory
Non-Stop Violence - Acumen Nation
My Ass Is On Fire - Mr. Bungle

NOTES:

Squatted roughly 80% of what I did on Monday, all went well and my legs no longer hurt.

My bench has stalled, but that's not a surprise to anybody here, we all knew it was gonna happen and today's attempt was just a formality. I will say though, I'm happy that I got a nice, heavy triple. Bar speed was hella-slow, BUT other than that, form was spot-on, no slop, no stuttering, none of this "the left side is ascending faster no wait it dropped and now the right side is going in..." I didn't have anything left after the third rep though. I waited about 3 minutes or so for recovery and tried again... Nothing. So I did two back-off sets with 185 and even that shit felt heavy. Time to de-load, ramp up and switch to washers when plateau is reached. No problem.

BUT... While I was benching, I got that damn pain in my left biceps again. Came on sharp and abrupt, and this time the shit shot down into the ditch and then ran straight up my forearm into my left had, causing the left middle and ring fingers to cramp up and come off the barbell. They were still curled, just, drawn back a little bit. Weird. Will consult the physician.

Back extensions were a nice way to wind down. Didn't do the chins because my left biceps hurt like a motherfucker.

Looking forward to squatting 270 on Friday and the dead lifts then as well.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
210 lbs. x 5 x 2

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
205 lbs. x 3 x 1
185 lbs. x 5 x 2

Back Extension:
5x3

Playlist:
Woodpecker From Mars - Faith No More
Midlife Crisis - Faith No More
Lunchbox - Marilyn Manson
Cake And Sodomy - Marilyn Manson
Monsters - Pushmonkey
Head Like A Hole - Nine Inch Nails
Wish - Nine Inch Nails
Last - Nine Inch Nails
Replica - Fear Factory
Non-Stop Violence - Acumen Nation
My Ass Is On Fire - Mr. Bungle

NOTES:

Squatted roughly 80% of what I did on Monday, all went well and my legs no longer hurt.

My bench has stalled, but that's not a surprise to anybody here, we all knew it was gonna happen and today's attempt was just a formality. I will say though, I'm happy that I got a nice, heavy triple. Bar speed was hella-slow, BUT other than that, form was spot-on, no slop, no stuttering, none of this "the left side is ascending faster no wait it dropped and now the right side is going in..." I didn't have anything left after the third rep though. I waited about 3 minutes or so for recovery and tried again... Nothing. So I did two back-off sets with 185 and even that shit felt heavy. Time to de-load, ramp up and switch to washers when plateau is reached. No problem.

BUT... While I was benching, I got that damn pain in my left biceps again. Came on sharp and abrupt, and this time the shit shot down into the ditch and then ran straight up my forearm into my left had, causing the left middle and ring fingers to cramp up and come off the barbell. They were still curled, just, drawn back a little bit. Weird. Will consult the physician.

Back extensions were a nice way to wind down. Didn't do the chins because my left biceps hurt like a motherfucker.

Looking forward to squatting 270 on Friday and the dead lifts then as well.
Yeah it's time to microload the bench press too. Also you should consider resting a little bit more between sets. I remember from some previous posts that your rest is approx. 2 mins for squats. Try resting 5-10 mins and see how it goes. Also adding the chins will help you with the bench and the press, and you won't have to pull every workout. I suggest that you begin doing chins (which are easier than pullups because arms help more) and you begin doing one or two reps, even with a shorter ROM. You can increase ROM latter. As for the pain in the left bicep, I think that it has come from the positions of arms in the squat - the elbow tendinits maybe has reaprered, and the bench exacerbated it. That thing as you know sucks, and is a common injury apparently (even Rip had it some time ago).

[gamedog]

Man, I don't have a choice anymore (about how long to rest in-between sets). Like yesterday, it was light day and I was still resting about 4/5 minutes in-between my last warm-up set and my work sets... Rested awhile after benching too ;-)

It will be better, benching with the washers. The jumps will be easier to deal with and I'll be able to make progress for a longer period of time.

[gamedog]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
270 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
140 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
145 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
310 lbs. x 5 x 1

Playlist:
Spectre Of Love - The Stranglers
Bloody Murderer - Cursive
Days On File - Falling Forward
All I Want - Enkindel
Brandon - Enkindel
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out - Braid
Instrument - Fugazi
Bulldog Front - Fugazi
Drink Deep - Rites Of Spring
Gimme Danger - The Stooges

NOTES:

Squats felt great. Felt heavy but not unreasonably heavy like they did back when I was squatting 270 before. Bar speed was great, but I had to be more mindful of my knees. I noticed that they'd come out of the groove at the top. They weren't buckling, and they were fine on the way down. It was just at the top... So had to be more mindful of keeping them in line with my toes throughout the whole session.

The press was good too. Good form, good bar speed. No pain in the left biceps, thank God.

310 pound dead lifts. The reps were slower but I got them honest.

Today's workout was a good one. At the end of it I felt nicely energized and still do. I am recovering from the over-reaching, and building it back up. I'll remember to keep the hubris to a minimum, make conservative advances in weight workout-to-workout, and listen to my body.

Also, I didn't have any trouble sleeping last night at all. I slept the whole night and didn't wake up till my pit bull Begonia nuzzled me at 6. The only thing I did different last night .... I drank hot chamomile tea instead of beer.

No more beer on weeknights. I'll live with it. I'm gonna pound the Moosehead though, tonight ;-)

[Briks42]

Good workout game. The no beer on weekday thing might be a nice help for you.

[gamedog]

I think so too (about the no beer on the weeknights). I had more energy today, and I didn't feel like I had to "maintain intensity" ... the intensity was just there, in the appropriate amount. Nothing felt strained.

[MazdaMatt]

Good one, Game. You're working mixed grip on those deads, right? Do you think that you'd be able to handle this weight with double-overhard? A big fella like you needs a big grip :)

[gamedog]

Good one, Game. You're working mixed grip on those deads, right? Do you think that you'd be able to handle this weight with double-overhard? A big fella like you needs a big grip :)

Double overhand all the way homie!

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Double overhand all the way homie!
Damn, that's what I'm talking about baby! Nice workout, and DOH grip on 310!

[OITW]

Good on the double OH, I switched to hook at 280, and pulled 290 for 5 on Friday. Tighten up that grip, I'm right behind you and gunning for 400 by year's end.

[MazdaMatt]

Oh, good. I thought you were mixing it up now. I'm planning on DOH 315 on light wednesday. I'm REALLY looking forward to it. Good luck today.

[gamedog]

Oh, good. I thought you were mixing it up now. I'm planning on DOH 315 on light wednesday. I'm REALLY looking forward to it. Good luck today.

I had been, actually. I was doing warmups double overhand and then using a mixed grip for the work sets... I was surprised at what a difference the mixed grip made when it came time to do the work sets. However, last go-round it was basically like this "You know, I'm growing all-over, but my forearms don't seem to be... ...and that sucks!" So I figured I could get some good growth in there too if I got a super-strong grip. So there's that, but also I seem to get a better dead lift workout when I don't use the mixed grip, and that's cool too!.

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
280 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 10 x 1
95 lbs. x 10 x 1
135 lbs. x 10 x 1
175 lbs. x 5 x 3

Back Extension:
10x3

NOTES:

Squats were good today. Once again, I made sure not to drink any beer last night, because it was a week night, and I had a good time in the gym today. The 280 definitely did not feel as heavy as it did way back when I first squatted it, and bar speed and form were good. No pain in the knees or the back, a little in my lower legs but no big deal, it went away quickly. Will be doing 285 on Friday.

Bench was good, too. 175 was no problem at all. Good bar speed, good form, etc. Will keep adding 5 pounds until I get to my last PR and from there I'll add washers.

Back extensions were relaxing.

[MazdaMatt]

What made you decide to try 10-rep warmups? How did you find they affected your work sets?

[gamedog]

What made you decide to try 10-rep warmups? How did you find they affected your work sets?

My shoulder was "clicking" and my left biceps had a minor, dull ache. So I figured I'd blast them with more reps at low weight. I pounded out those reps fast, driving the bar up hard... And then, before the work sets I got up and did some of those "rolling shoulders" where your arms are out and you're moving your hands in circles. Then back to the bench. The working sets were great. No problem at all, plenty of energy, good bar speed, no pain what-so-ever in teh left biceps / left shoulder. Went just fine.

[gamedog]

Damn, that's what I'm talking about baby! Nice workout, and DOH grip on 310!

Thanks Leo!


Good on the double OH, I switched to hook at 280, and pulled 290 for 5 on Friday. Tighten up that grip, I'm right behind you and gunning for 400 by year's end.

Keep the grip tight and keep earning those PR's honest and you'll smash 400 by years end! ;-) And I'll be greatly looking forward to reading about it!

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Light Squats (80% of Monday):
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 2

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
145 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
145 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
315 lbs. x 5 x 1 (PR)

Playlist:
Downpour - Converge
Circling Bloody Animal Tracks - Forensics
Starve - Rollins Band
Youth Of America - Melvins
Love American - Give Up The Ghost
Towing Jehova - Converge
Did You See What God Just Did To Us, Man? - Forensics
How Soon Is Now - Quicksand
Since Always - Give Up The Ghost
Al Shifa - Ramallah
Illumination - Rollins Band
Moment Of Clarity - Enkindel


NOTES:

Squats felt light. Knocked them out quickly. Great hip drive and bar speed. 285 will be no problem on Friday.

145 on the press was good. Will commence using the washers on Monday when I press again.

Got the 315 pound PR on the dead lifts today, with the double over-hand grip a-la MazdaMatt. That felt good, especially when considering the fact that 315 totally kicked my ass last time. Not today. Today it went well, and I feel really good.

[MazdaMatt]

Got the 315 pound PR on the dead lifts today, with the double over-hand grip a-la MazdaMatt.

This hasn't happened for me yet :( I was planning on today, but sleep just didn't jive with that plan... TOMORROW!

[gamedog]

This hasn't happened for me yet :( I was planning on today, but sleep just didn't jive with that plan... TOMORROW!

Yeah I just read about it in your log. Man, that's a bitch. It really is. And I've had nights like that. Not so much because of allergies, but other things, mind racing, argument with the wife, you name it. It gets compounded by all the thoughts of "SHIT! I gotta workout tomorrow FUCK!" ... and spirals out of control.

Better luck tonight and tomorrow my friend.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Thanks Leo!



Keep the grip tight and keep earning those PR's honest and you'll smash 400 by years end! ;-) And I'll be greatly looking forward to reading about it!

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Light Squats (80% of Monday):
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 2

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
145 lbs. x 5 x 3

Dead Lift:
145 lbs. x 3 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
315 lbs. x 5 x 1 (PR)

Playlist:
Downpour - Converge
Circling Bloody Animal Tracks - Forensics
Starve - Rollins Band
Youth Of America - Melvins
Love American - Give Up The Ghost
Towing Jehova - Converge
Did You See What God Just Did To Us, Man? - Forensics
How Soon Is Now - Quicksand
Since Always - Give Up The Ghost
Al Shifa - Ramallah
Illumination - Rollins Band
Moment Of Clarity - Enkindel


NOTES:

Squats felt light. Knocked them out quickly. Great hip drive and bar speed. 285 will be no problem on Friday.

145 on the press was good. Will commence using the washers on Monday when I press again.

Got the 315 pound PR on the dead lifts today, with the double over-hand grip a-la MazdaMatt. That felt good, especially when considering the fact that 315 totally kicked my ass last time. Not today. Today it went well, and I feel really good.
Who got the groove again baby! Keep those PR's coming Game! I'm now going up from the 80% deload trying to have a good form on all the exercises, hoping to keep the groove too.

[gamedog]

Who got the groove again baby! Keep those PR's coming Game! I'm now going up from the 80% deload trying to have a good form on all the exercises, hoping to keep the groove too.

Man, I'm trying... This time it feels different, though. It's not as overwhelming and I've noticed, the last three or four workouts, that I don't have to put a whole lot into "maintaining intensity" in order to make it happen. What I mean is, I don't feel like I'm fighting to stay in the groove, or fighting to muster up enough energy to get the bar up. And I firmly believe this is due to the fact that I'm not drinking in the evenings (except for Fri. and Sat.) anymore. I seem to sleep better. Like last night, went to bed at 10, and just as I was falling asleep my dog woke me up. No problem, I just let her out of the bedroom, laid back down, and BOOM! I was out. Got up at 6:30AM, still a bit tired but after I got out of the shower I was wide-awake and ready to go. Yesterday was the same thing, and when I went to the gym I felt sharp, energized and ready to go. I'm gonna keep this teatotalling on the weeknights up and hopefully I've struck a balance that'll continue to yield good health and good performance.

By all means, keep your groove and do whatever you have to do to maintain it! Make sure to get good sober-sleep most nights, and keep eating lots of good-for-you food! OH, by teh way, where's your training log at? I been looking and I can't find it, but I can be kind of a dummy with forums... Do you keep one here?

[LeonidasfromSparta]

Man, I'm trying... This time it feels different, though. It's not as overwhelming and I've noticed, the last three or four workouts, that I don't have to put a whole lot into "maintaining intensity" in order to make it happen. What I mean is, I don't feel like I'm fighting to stay in the groove, or fighting to muster up enough energy to get the bar up. And I firmly believe this is due to the fact that I'm not drinking in the evenings (except for Fri. and Sat.) anymore. I seem to sleep better. Like last night, went to bed at 10, and just as I was falling asleep my dog woke me up. No problem, I just let her out of the bedroom, laid back down, and BOOM! I was out. Got up at 6:30AM, still a bit tired but after I got out of the shower I was wide-awake and ready to go. Yesterday was the same thing, and when I went to the gym I felt sharp, energized and ready to go. I'm gonna keep this teatotalling on the weeknights up and hopefully I've struck a balance that'll continue to yield good health and good performance.

By all means, keep your groove and do whatever you have to do to maintain it! Make sure to get good sober-sleep most nights, and keep eating lots of good-for-you food! OH, by teh way, where's your training log at? I been looking and I can't find it, but I can be kind of a dummy with forums... Do you keep one here?
No Game, I don't have a log here. The main reason is that in the beggining I didn't put it online, and now, after approx. 4 months, it seems to me that it's not that interesting for anyone to follow the log of someone after this much time. I mean, maybe I'll do it but I'm not sure.
Anyway, just as an update, yesterday my workout was (this is approx. 80% of my last workout before holidays):
Squat 232 lbs (5x3)
Bench 139 lbs (5x3)
Chinups (5+6+5)x BW
Back Extensions 10x3

The squat and deadlift strangely seem hard (but not that hard). I've apparently lost a lot of strength for 2 weeks. On the other hand the bench, and press feel much better.

[gamedog]

Ah, okay. I thought so but I wanted to ask because I don't want to be rude, and I like cheering on my friends.

Good numbers for getting back into the game after a holiday, right on. They will seem hard as you get back into the swing of things but believe me, it'll get better and things will start feeling "appropriately heavy" soon. Shit, the only time I've ever felt like the squats and deads were appropriately heavy and not "FUCK, this is heavy" was once I was in the groove and getting good sleep... The de-load that I did helped me with that, and I think yours will too. You'll be back up to your old PR's in no time at all, you're working your way up and you're working hard and that's awesome. Make it happen!

[gamedog]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 3 x 1
285 lbs. x 5 x 3

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 10 x 1
95 lbs. x 10 x 1
135 lbs. x 10 x 1
180 lbs. x 5 x 3

Back Extension:
15x3

PLAYLIST:
Israelites - Desmond Dekker
Classics Of Love - Common Rider
Dj, Dj - Transplants
Think - Aretha Franklin
Soul Man - Blues Brothers
Gal's Panic - Gal's Panic
Hypocrite - The Arsenals
Longshot - Common Rider
Bad Minded Woman - Laurel Aitken
Sound System - Operation Ivy
Here We Go - Bouncing Souls
Exodus - Anti-Flag
Killafornia - Transplants

NOTES:

Something felt off, during my first set of squats. The bar path felt like it was wavering forward and back just a little bit at first, but I was able to calm that shit down. The last two sets were great. No problems, other than the acid reflux I've had all day. Squatting with acid reflux sucks... But I got them done, knees felt good, legs and core felt good, good hip drive, good pushing from the heels.

I'm very much ready for the weekend.

[gamedog]

I've turned into a Giant Panda...

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 1
290 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 5 x 3 (Matches PR)

Power Clean:
135 lbs. x 3 x 5

Playlist:
The album "Suite XVI" by the Stranglers.

NOTES:

Today was a good day. 290 went up, and though it felt heavy, it did not feel unreasonably heavy. Bar speed was good, form was good, no significant problems. I'm also feeling better and better after each set, I don't have to try so hard to catch my breath. If I'd had known I'd be weight lifting at 31, I'd never have started smoking. It's been 7 months since I quit, and I know I have a long time to go before I've healed. But I am breathing easier, and I'm grateful for that.

Matched my old PR on the press and it felt great. I had energy to spare, there was no degradation in form, all went well. Will be using the washers now, and hopefully I can just keep driving that weight up.

Power cleans sucked balls today. It was herky-jerky form-wise... Just couldn't synch everything up properly. But fuck it, everything else went great, so who cares.

As you can see in the picture, my body has been storing some surplus calories as fat. My novice gains have started to slow a little bit. I'm not going to start "Cutting" or any of that nonsense, I actually like the weight that I'm at right now (260-263 pounds). I feel better about my body more now that I ever have, more confident, happier, just all-around better. So what I'm doing is the carb-cycling/carb-curfews that Johnny Pain recommends, and I'm continuing the "No Beer On Weeknights" policy. I have also moderated my food intake just a tad, as well but not drastically. It should never be drastic, I don't want to lose weight, rather, I'd like a nice, slow, steady re-comp. And I'm in no hurry. BP is still ROCK SOLID and my resting heart rate is the lowest it's ever been. So I'm happy.

[Briks42]

Holy shit, you are a monster.

Edit: And I mean that in a good way.

[gamedog]

Thanks briks :-) :-D

[MazdaMatt]

You should totally cut to an uberlean 170, dude.

I wish I could describe 290 as "hard, but ya know... not too hard". :p

[gamedog]

LOL Matt, oh man! But if I DID to that, I wouldn't be able to say "HEY! I don't have to take this kind of crap, from you scrawny weaklings!!!" to the kids on bb.com when they call me "fatty" ...

And please don't get me wrong ... I don't want to drop into the single-digit body-fat zone ever. I'd just like to get it to 12% - 15%, but no big rush, you know? Inside a year but no worries. Right now, according to the little thingy with elecrodes that the hot chick at the latest "Wellness Fair" hooked me up to, I'm at 20% body fat right now. Who knows if that's accurate of course, but I'd like to knock it down a peg or two, just enough to make it a little easier to tie my shoes, and keep my BP & triglicerides solid for the duration.

[gamedog]

You should totally cut to an uberlean 170, dude.

I wish I could describe 290 as "hard, but ya know... not too hard". :p

You will. You'll be crushing weight like that in no time. You'll make it happen.

[250orBust]

Your story about the guy calling you "the biggest white boy i ever seen" makes so much more sense now. Your a fucking tank.

[gamedog]

Your story about the guy calling you "the biggest white boy i ever seen" makes so much more sense now. Your a fucking tank.

TWOFITTY! I was just going to post you a congratulatory message on your squats for the day... SB1 OH! and thanks!

[MazdaMatt]

if you ARE 263@20, you'd be 242@12% and that, sir, is a tank.

I'm just a wee lad at 200lb @ approx 18-20 (by eye). I'd be a scant 184ish @12%.

[gamedog]

if you ARE 263@20, you'd be 242@12% and that, sir, is a tank.

I'm just a wee lad at 200lb @ approx 18-20 (by eye). I'd be a scant 184ish @12%.

You've still got a lot of growing in you, I believe. How tall are you Matt, just out of curiosity?

[MazdaMatt]

5'11".

I don't aspire to be gigantic like you, though. I plan on getting my 200/300/400 and moving on to more fast-paced activities than powerlifting. General athletics and some oly lifting are in my future.

[ivankannan]

If you cut some fat, may be you will appear bigger!
Gosh, I am 153lbs at 20% (5'8"), how worse will I look at 12% (no i am not cutting now)

[gamedog]

@Matt -- Your height, weight and percentages are great! You'll gain a bit more of course, but you're doing quite well. That's good!

@Ivan -- They do say "The easiest way to look like you gained 10 pounds of muscle is to lose 20 pounds of fat" LOL


... but for me, I'd actually like to stay between 250 and 265 ... So what I'm doing is basically just eating a little less -not much less, keeping the carbs to workout days ONLY, and seeing how that goes. I'm hoping that some fat can get burned while muscle gets built. I have no idea if that'll work though, but according to Rip's YNDTP essay it can. So that's where I'm at.

[gamedog]

.. But seriously Ivan, if you're still chuggin along with the novice gains, don't cut, just keep getting stronger :-D The fat will be easy to moderate later on.

[ivankannan]

No I am not cutting at all. I still have some novice gains left but its getting difficult to go above 200lb Squats at 153lb BW. I am trying hard to gain weight.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

I've turned into a Giant Panda...

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 1
290 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
150 lbs. x 5 x 3 (Matches PR)

Power Clean:
135 lbs. x 3 x 5

Playlist:
The album "Suite XVI" by the Stranglers.

NOTES:

Today was a good day. 290 went up, and though it felt heavy, it did not feel unreasonably heavy. Bar speed was good, form was good, no significant problems. I'm also feeling better and better after each set, I don't have to try so hard to catch my breath. If I'd had known I'd be weight lifting at 31, I'd never have started smoking. It's been 7 months since I quit, and I know I have a long time to go before I've healed. But I am breathing easier, and I'm grateful for that.

Matched my old PR on the press and it felt great. I had energy to spare, there was no degradation in form, all went well. Will be using the washers now, and hopefully I can just keep driving that weight up.

Power cleans sucked balls today. It was herky-jerky form-wise... Just couldn't synch everything up properly. But fuck it, everything else went great, so who cares.

As you can see in the picture, my body has been storing some surplus calories as fat. My novice gains have started to slow a little bit. I'm not going to start "Cutting" or any of that nonsense, I actually like the weight that I'm at right now (260-263 pounds). I feel better about my body more now that I ever have, more confident, happier, just all-around better. So what I'm doing is the carb-cycling/carb-curfews that Johnny Pain recommends, and I'm continuing the "No Beer On Weeknights" policy. I have also moderated my food intake just a tad, as well but not drastically. It should never be drastic, I don't want to lose weight, rather, I'd like a nice, slow, steady re-comp. And I'm in no hurry. BP is still ROCK SOLID and my resting heart rate is the lowest it's ever been. So I'm happy.
OK, baby, that's what I'm talking about, keep the progression steady! I know you will fuck 305 next week, just keep it tight and be agressive.

[MazdaMatt]

No I am not cutting at all. I still have some novice gains left but its getting difficult to go above 200lb Squats at 153lb BW. I am trying hard to gain weight.

My buddy's wife managed ;) Linear progression FTW.

[gamedog]

OK, baby, that's what I'm talking about, keep the progression steady! I know you will fuck 305 next week, just keep it tight and be agressive.

Thanks Leonidas! Imma annihilate that bitch.

[gamedog]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Light Squats (80% of Monday):
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
230 lbs. x 5 x 2

Bench Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
145 lbs. x 5 x 1
185 lbs. x 5 x 3

BACK EXTENSION:
10 x 3

CHIN-UPS
We're working on it-- STOP LAUGHING!

Playlist:
I'm not gonna lie ... I was listening to Lady Gaga the whole time.

NOTES:

Even though I fell right to sleep at 10PM last night I've still been tired all day. I paused and thought to myself "Lucky me!" when I took a look at my schedule for the gym today and saw that not only was it Light Squats Day, but also that this particular time bench press and back extensions had fallen on it. I don't think I could have dead lifted today.

The DOMS that had hunkered down in my quads, abductors and hams after Monday's workout are now gone, thanks to the light squats and once again, my legs feel light and springy.

Bench press was good, still working my way up to my old PR... I guess the shit will always feel heavy no matter what weight I use. Damn these long-ass arms of mine.

Assistance stuff is what it is...

Looking forward to Friday.

[MazdaMatt]

Yawn.

;)

[Tfin]

I think you will be real happy with carb curfews and carb cycling. Obviously you know that you've got to shovel in that protein. Johnny is spot on with his nutrition. Maybe not for if you wanna be a twilight fairy but if you wanna be a fucking beast in the weightroom (and bedroom) without being really chubby. Let us know how it goes. Goob job with the weights man.

[gamedog]

Yawn.

;)

I know good buddy. Doesn't get anymore weaksauce than that lemme tell ya. You wanna know what's funny? That time I benched 200 pounds it was hard, but I felt like I could have put up anything. Now, shit just feels heavy again, like I got something in my brain telling me to "STOP" for no good reason.


I think you will be real happy with carb curfews and carb cycling. Obviously you know that you've got to shovel in that protein. Johnny is spot on with his nutrition. Maybe not for if you wanna be a twilight fairy but if you wanna be a fucking beast in the weightroom (and bedroom) without being really chubby. Let us know how it goes. Goob job with the weights man.

'Sup Tfin, good seeing you and thanks! Indeed, I think that that adjustment will work out well, it'll help keep me from turning from an orca into a sperm whale LMAO ... or from a panda into, well, whatever bears get fatter than pandas.

I definitely don't want to be a Twilight fairy, and I don't want to look like a contest-ready body builder, either. I know this sounds ridiculous, but if I could wind up like this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2312838884_dbfb07ac1c_o.jpg

only, as a 6' tall, 260 pound white boy, I'd be happy LOL I don't think he's in single-digit, or even < 12% range in that photo. He's probably around 14 or 15 percent or so there ... can's see the six pack, but he doesn't have a belly. Plus he's a beast. I'd like to get there LOL

I need to send Johnny some $ and then call him to iron out the particulars. I've done a lot of reading and research on my own, regarding this, but he's the man in the know when it comes to these things, and I could use his help on it.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

I know good buddy. Doesn't get anymore weaksauce than that lemme tell ya. You wanna know what's funny? That time I benched 200 pounds it was hard, but I felt like I could have put up anything. Now, shit just feels heavy again, like I got something in my brain telling me to "STOP" for no good reason.



'Sup Tfin, good seeing you and thanks! Indeed, I think that that adjustment will work out well, it'll help keep me from turning from an orca into a sperm whale LMAO ... or from a panda into, well, whatever bears get fatter than pandas.

I definitely don't want to be a Twilight fairy, and I don't want to look like a contest-ready body builder, either. I know this sounds ridiculous, but if I could wind up like this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2312838884_dbfb07ac1c_o.jpg

only, as a 6' tall, 260 pound white boy, I'd be happy LOL I don't think he's in single-digit, or even < 12% range in that photo. He's probably around 14 or 15 percent or so there ... can's see the six pack, but he doesn't have a belly. Plus he's a beast. I'd like to get there LOL

I need to send Johnny some $ and then call him to iron out the particulars. I've done a lot of reading and research on my own, regarding this, but he's the man in the know when it comes to these things, and I could use his help on it.
Game, you know that whatever your diet is, you are never gonna become a Chinese, right? :):)

[gamedog]

Game, you know that whatever your diet is, you are never gonna become a Chinese, right? :):)

Not without some radical cosmetic surgery, no LOL :D

[gamedog]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
230 lbs. x 5 x 1
295 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
155 lbs. x 5 x 3 (PR)

Dead Lift:
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 1
320 lbs. x 5 x 1 (PR)

Playlist:
Fugazi's "The Argument"

NOTES:

Squats felt great today. I'm ready for 300 again on Monday, but, we do have a slight problem... Namely, I'm working late on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And the schedule is sketchy, too. In other words, I could be out at 9PM on Monday, or 4AM like I was last time... There's a LOT to do. So, worst case scenario, I'll work 9AM to 4AM Mon-Tues., then come BACK to work Tues. around 1PM, stay till the wee hours ... Man. That's a HUGE fucking monkey wrench to throw into my recovery. So 305 on Friday might not be a possibility. BUT who knows, perhaps we'll be out at 9PM every night, that puts me at home and in bed by 11, I can wake up and hour or two late, and there wouldn't be any problems. I'll hope for the best, but just roll with the punches.

The only reason I got the 155 PR on the press is because I forgot the fucking washers. I got it honest by my arms are fucking killing me.

Other than giving me a MASSIVE case of acid reflux, Dead Lifts were awesome. Just "POP!" and I'm standing up straight, yelling my bloody head off. Then gently lower the bar back down again. Then breathe, then pull again. That was it. Felt good.

[LeonidasfromSparta]

- TODAY'S WORKOUT -

Squats:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
230 lbs. x 5 x 1
295 lbs. x 5 x 3

Press:
45 lbs. x 5 x 2
95 lbs. x 5 x 1
155 lbs. x 5 x 3 (PR)

Dead Lift:
135 lbs. x 5 x 1
225 lbs. x 5 x 1
320 lbs. x 5 x 1 (PR)

Playlist:
Fugazi's "The Argument"

NOTES:

Squats felt great today. I'm ready for 300 again on Monday, but, we do have a slight problem... Namely, I'm working late on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. And the schedule is sketchy, too. In other words, I could be out at 9PM on Monday, or 4AM like I was last time... There's a LOT to do. So, worst case scenario, I'll work 9AM to 4AM Mon-Tues., then come BACK to work Tues. around 1PM, stay till the wee hours ... Man. That's a HUGE fucking monkey wrench to throw into my recovery. So 305 on Friday might not be a possibility. BUT who knows, perhaps we'll be out at 9PM every night, that puts me at home and in bed by 11, I can wake up and hour or two late, and there wouldn't be any problems. I'll hope for the best, but just roll with the punches.

The only reason I got the 155 PR on the press is because I forgot the fucking washers. I got it honest by my arms are fucking killing me.

Other than giving me a MASSIVE case of acid reflux, Dead Lifts were awesome. Just "POP!" and I'm standing up straight, yelling my bloody head off. Then gently lower the bar back down again. Then breathe, then pull again. That was it. Felt good.
So today is a big day - 300!!! I hope you will have enough time to recover and work out today - sometimes we have to face the fact that unlike professional powerlifters we have to work for 10 hours... Anyway hope that you nail 300 today!