Brik City's Training Log

[Briks42]

I already have a log over at Strengthvillain.com, but I figure I'll start one here since I can't get on that site at work. This way I can just copy and post my entries over there when I'm home.

Boring Background Stuff:
I did upper body lifts since high school bodybuilding style on and off but never ate to grow and never did any lower body so I remained real skinny. As of 2009 I was 6'3", 160pounds but decently strong in the upper body. I started actively trying to gain weight around that time but still didn't know about SS or anything. In 2010 I began SS along with GOMAD and got my weight up to about 200 with a little gut. My squat at that time was about 265x5x3, but I had hurt my back deadlifting with awful form.

In October of 2010, I went to a SS sponsored deadlift seminar at Greyskull (Sheaffer's last seminar affiliated with Rippetoe), got my deadlift form straightened out, my diet straightened out, and was introduced to the Greyskull LP. A week later though, I partially tore my right patellar tendon. Then, in early 2011, I had a scope on my left knee to clean out bone chips from multiple dislocations. That meant the whole beginning of 2011 was back to being all upper body workouts. I made good progress there and then by July was able to start deadlifting and playing sports again. Squats were still out because I was playing basketball and the resulting pain was too bad to do both. I chose basketball. I had a solid run on the deadlifts though before partially tearing the right patellar tendon again this past November. I took about a month and a half off the deadlift but have been able to start up again in January. I still don't know when I will be able to squat again though.

Current Program:
I am running a quasi-Texas Method program right now. Here is what it looks like:

Monday- Presses 3x5
Weighted Chins 3x5

Wednesday- Bench Press- 2 sets to failure (choosing weights where I should get 4-6 reps on first set and 8-12 on second set)
Curls- 2 sets to failure (8-12)
Deadlifts- 1x5

Friday- Presses- 2 or 3 sets to failure (1-3), (4-6), (8-12). I sometimes skip the 1-3 if I want a break from going heavy.
Weighted Chins- 2 sets to failure (4-6), (7-10)
Assistance work (a tricep exercise or shrugs)- 2 sets to failure

This program is set up to give priority to the press over the bench obviously, and the reason is that I ran Smolov Jr for Bench at the end of 2011 and got a lot out of it, so I am not as worried about my bench right now. For weighted chins, I always go by total weight, meaning my bodyweight plus the belt weight.

Stats:
30 years old
6'3"
193 pounds
Squat- 265x5x3 (Oct, 2010)
Deadlift- 345x5 (November, 2011)
Bench- 320x1 (December, 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Xv2-SqhpE&feature=plcp&context=C3ee37feUDOEgsToPDskIKe25ENDcgJn75AM7PYm2-&noredirect=1
Press- 190x1, 165x5 (Feb, 2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvjO16F2kq4&feature=plcp&context=C388d4cdUDOEgsToPDskJvVEh1tYdqeOEOvQy0bmIW
Weighted Chins- 266.1x5 (Feb, 2012)

Goals by end of 2012:
- bodyweight of 215 pounds, with bodyfat staying around the same (approx 15-17%)
- begin squatting again (hopefully March) and get new PR's there
- 500 pound deadlift
- Press 215
- Bench 345
- Weighted Chins of 300x5

I am involved with bet concerning the bodyweight. Each quarter I owe money if I am not at certain levels. They are:
3/31- 198
6/30- 205
9/30- 210
12/31- 215

I gotta step my game up there or I'll owe a lot of loot.

[Briks42]

Also, I will be making frequent references to a few things here that I should probably define:

-BBC- BROcklehurst Barbell Club- This is my parent's basement (and backyard and bedroom) where we work out. Its called BROcklehurst because its on Brocklehurst Street and because me and my crew are Bros.

I know Bros has a negative context around here, but thats because no one understands what it really means. It basically means being really really ridiculously good looking and tough and cool and funny and humble. Not sure why anyone would hate on that.

Anyway, BBC is most known for its leather reclining couches, big screen Plasma TV, great sound system, and my Dad playing freecell on the computer shirtless while we lift. It was built to replicate the old Bulgarian lifting team's gyms. They swore by Plasma Tv's. Also, we press outside because the ceilings are too low. Neighbors think we are gangster. We also cook on the grill immediately following every workout. Steak chicken and hot sausage are the norms. Frank's red hot BBQ sauce on grilled chicken is titties.

-Coys- He is one of my workout partners. He has a big body and a small head. He can't bench press because he has a gay shoulder and cant curl because he has gay elbows (or something) so he just deadlifts squats presses and does upper back. Here is his PR deadlift set. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNEGJ4cxu44&context=C383ffc3ADOEgsToPDskJgQpFNpA80sRD_FyuvJvWF He also loves Valentine's day and can't go to Chickie's for March Madness this year.

-Doys- Another workout partner and newest member of the gym. He's a former soccer player, but not as gay as you'd think from that decription. He has a self proclaimed 80% success record with chicks. I'd guess its more like 27% in actuality. I think he counts orgasms that aren't from straight banging. He's getting pretty strong but won't listen when I tell him to stop doing situps and he keeps hurting his back from them.

Madge- Madonna. Her Immaculate Collection album is a staple at BBC. Coys sets PR's almost exclusively to La Isla Bonita.

Cougs- John Cougar Mellencamp. Another go-to PR cd. Coys used to always deadlift to Madge and squat to Cougs, but lately he's just been trying to listen to nothing but Madge. But I'll be damned if Cougs is gonna get the shaft like that.

GAB- Gay as Balls. Any Acronym that ends in AB means something "as balls" and any acronym that ends in AS means "as shit". So if I say "Pressing was rough tonight because it was WAB" that means it was windy as balls. If I said "CAB", that woulda meant Cold as Balls. You should be able to figure it out if you are a good detective.

Jawn- literally means anything, but most frequently used to mean girl. So a YJ is a young jawn (young girl), a OJ is an old jawn, a BJ is a black jawn, a BTJ is a big tittied jawn. But in other cases, it could mean anything so if someone say "how was that pep steak", I could say "that Jawn was money". Which leads me to.....

Pep Steak- A peperoni cheesesteak from Steve's Prince of steaks. I get my pep steaks with american, but wiz is good too. Tourists and shit talk about Gino's or Pat's cheesesteaks, but Steve's shits on them. Pep Steaks are also a common denomination used in bets. I think Coys owes me like 8 pep steaks right now.

[Staci Rudnitsky]

Madge- Madonna. Her Immaculate Collection album is a staple at BBC. Coys sets PR's almost exclusively to La Isla Bonita.


Halftime show - fab or geriatric Gaga impersonator?

[Briks42]

I loved the halftime show. Like a Prayer is her best work (edging out La Isla Bonita but you can't play that at halftime of the Superbowl). She's an old British-accented weirdo with deformed looking arms now, but her music is still fire. I actually even liked her new song.

[Staci Rudnitsky]

Her music is great (though Ray of Light and newer is not really my thing). The "performance", for me, was akin to a train wreck. But far be it for me to get between a man and his pop star :-)

[Briks42]

Yeah, you are treading on dangerous ground right now. Next you'll be going at Jo-Jo's neck or something.

[Briks42]

Monday 2/13/12

Bodyweight- 194.4

Presses- 152.5x5x3

Weighted Chins- 50 (244.4 total)x5x3


Monday workouts are pretty easy right now until I can start squatting again. They still get me some good work though and I think they are doing their job in spurring on new PR's on Fridays.

Well, this week it will be Saturday actually cuz I got my first game of my 7 game Sixers season ticket plan on Friday night. I gotta stay sober though cuz of the workout the next day, which kinda sucks. At least if the Sixers woulda picked a god-damned mascot yet, I'd have some more entertainment during timeouts and shit. I miss Hip-hop already.

I'm hoping the halftime show is the chinese lady who rides the unicycle and flips the cups up on top of her head. That gets me every time and the music they play while she's riding is flames. I found a video of her doing it at a college game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv2Rq78sI4Y

Shit is Koresh.

[Staci Rudnitsky]

OK I'll bite...Jo-Jo?

[Mr_Rogers]

I'm willing to let the Madonna thing slide, but I draw the line at Jo-Jo.

Glad to see you have a log here Briks.

[Briks42]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggWyUEuGcWY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfbz2nwMkKg

She blew up in the early 2000s. Always used to play these on the Judy down the shore in Wildwood.

Thanks Mr_Rodgers.

[Briks42]

Wednesday 2/15/12

Bodyweight- 194.2

Bench Press- 280x3
235x9

Standing Curls- 11x40s
7x35s (shorter break than normal between)

Deadlifts- 335x5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FD-2Nwypx8&feature=plcp&context=C388d4cdUDOEgsToPDskJvVEh1tYdqeOEOvQy0bmIW


Good workout tonight. Last week I tweaked my shoulder a little bit on the bench warmup so I only did a set of 3 with 280. This week the shoulder felt ok warming up so I repeated the 3x280 (almost got the 4th), then did a backoff set as well. I can still feel the shoulder a little bit, but its much better than it was last week. I don't think its anything serious at all.

I'm pretty happy with my deadlift form. My hips could stand to be a little higher at the start, but as long as I keep my back set when they rise a little before the pull, I don't really care.

I have been making 10 pound jumps on the deads since coming back from my knee tear and was going to switch to 5s for last night's workout, but fucking Coys said "I'd make 10 lb. jumps until 5 was really tough, but that's me. Those 5 you did last week looked simple."

So of course i made another 10 pound jump and it was TAB. It actually pisses me off though, cuz when I watch the video it didn't look that tough. So it makes me feel like I'm bitching about something being tough that really isn't. Whatever, I'm switching to 5 pound jumps now, so I'll be at a new 5-rep PR in 3 weeks.

Listened to the first 35 minutes of the new StrengthVillain podcast this morning on the way to work. I had never listened to one before. It was pretty funny that the first question of the podcast was from SquatsforDinner, which is Coys handle on SV.com. And Sheaffer and Pete and them were talking about him and described him as having a big body and a little head, exactly the same way I do. I guess when something's that obvious, everyone's gonna talk about it. Evidently they get to my question for Bony a little later in the podcast, so I'm gonna have to listen to the rest of it at some point.

Definitions
Tax- verb with 2 meanings. Either "to like" or "to fuck". Some examples:

-I was at 5 guys yesterday and there was this fat indian dude in there with a banging moustache and a bowl cut with only the top highlighted yellow. I was taxin it. (true story)

-Yo, remember that hot YJ I was dancing with at the Yic-yac the other night? I ended up taxing that late night. (not a true story)

Snake- A hot chick. This one causes confusion because for most people snake has a negative connotation, so if I ask a girl whats up with her friend because I think shes a snake, the girl might think I am insulting the friend, but its really a compliment. When we were younger we used to hiss at girls walking by on the beach or whatever if they were snakes. They didn't respond well to that generally.

[Briks42]

Saturday 2/18/12

Bodyweight- 194.4

Presses- 185x2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnZcaZnDC_Q&context=C31955d6ADOEgsToPDskJ2-ggIU97vASPUSfU1kFPg
155x7

Weighted Chins- 75 (269.4 total) x 4
35 (229.4 total) x 10

Rope Tricep Extensions- 50 x 12,8

Good workout Saturday. A double with 185 might mean I could get a bodyweight press. Maybe I'll give it a shot next Saturday. 195 at 195 would be nice.

My back is kinda fucked up. After my deadlift workout on Wednesday I was in pretty bad pain the next 2 days and its still lingering. I'm taking IB and hoping I will be able to deadlift this week (thursday). I don't know how it happened since my form looked fine to me and I felt nothing bad while doing it. Who knows? Just gotta fight through it.

Sixers played like shit in the 2nd half Friday night and blew the game. The gameplan I bought is called the "Big Game Plan" and its matchups against all good teams, Chicago, OKC, DAL, MIA etc. I was real excited to get it to see all those teams, but now I'm thinking about it and the part that blows is that because I got that package, I'm probably gonna see a lot of losses. Oh, well, its still worth it. And if they win against those type of teams, it will be bangin.

Being off for President's Day is a good call. Its one of those holidays you never think about so you never even realize you are gonna be off until like the week before, which is a comeup. Already watched the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and a MLB Network special about Ricky Henderson and its still the morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Urnzz-eXO8

[Briks42]

Tuesday 2/21/12

Bodyweight- 197.0

Presses- 155x5x3

Weighted Chins- 47.5 (244.5 total) x 5 x 3

Hang Cleans- 45x5
65x5
65x5

Powecleans- 135x1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85AYG4XxKC4&context=C3597cfbADOEgsToPDskJ2-ggIU97vASPUSfU1kFPg

Pretty decent workout. Mondays are usually fairly easy.

I decided I want to start doing powercleans if my knee can handle it. My first step was to do some light hang cleans just to practice catching in the rack position. After I felt I was decent at that, I just did a single powerclean with 135 to get a form check before I start doing them for real. I didn't want to just start doing them if I am doing them wrong and then ingrain bad habits.

I also want to ease into them so I can be sure my knee can handle the jumping. Its a little sore today, but not horrible. If it feels ok Saturday, I will do some more. I have to make sure I keep the bar against my legs the whole way and keep my arms straight for longer before I make the second pull. Also, I have to catch the bar in a slight crouch instead of with my legs straight like I did last night.

That weigh-in was pretty bangin. I was probably carrying a little fake waterweight from drinking over the weekend and wouldnt be surprised if I don't gain anything from last night through Saturday, but even that would be fine. My 3/31 bet goal is 198 pounds, and I'm only a pound away with 5.5 weeks left. So far I have gained 7 pounds in 7.5 weeks, which is a good pace. If I am at 200 by 3/31 I only have to gain 5 pounds per quarter after that to get to my end of year goal of 215. Shouldn't be a problem if I stay disciplined.

Coys is sick again. I guess thats what happens when you are still just getting over being sick the first time and do 430 pound deadlifts. Your immune system can't handle that shit.

I better not get sick from that dope or anyone else. Everyone I know is, but I've managed to duck it so far. Being sick is the worst.

[Staci Rudnitsky]

I love that you're doing powercleans in the middle of the room. I would invariably break something. How does the knee feel today?

[Tamara Reynolds]

We have been doing a lot of lifting to JoJo at my place lately.

[Briks42]

I love that you're doing powercleans in the middle of the room. I would invariably break something. How does the knee feel today?

Hahaha, yeah, there is actually no real good spot for them at the BBC, and we don't have bumpers so there's definite breakage possibility. I was gonna do them where I do my deadlifts but my dad randomly wanted to beast some trap-bar deadlifts so he got the prime real estate.

Knee is hurting, but nothing I can't deal with. I'm sure it'll be fine to get at some powercleans again on Saturday. Looking forward to using some of the form tips I got.

[Briks42]

We have been doing a lot of lifting to JoJo at my place lately.

Now thats a gym environment I could fuck with. We have to educate the masses on good lifting music.

[sking1001]

Well alright, another log to follow. This one looks like fun, and since your bench press is SAS on the back burner, I'm going to pass you up eventually AND continue to press more than you as well.

Seriously, that 200 should be yours for the taking very, VERY soon, and you could easily beat me there since my focus is bench. BTW, ever try pressing to Metallica? I find it's easier to get really pissed off as opposed to Cougs.

[Briks42]

Well alright, another log to follow. This one looks like fun, and since your bench press is SAS on the back burner, I'm going to pass you up eventually AND continue to press more than you as well.

Seriously, that 200 should be yours for the taking very, VERY soon, and you could easily beat me there since my focus is bench. BTW, ever try pressing to Metallica? I find it's easier to get really pissed off as opposed to Cougs.

Haha, you are gonna pass me in the bench soon if things keep up. Once I hit my bodyweight press though, the bench will get its proper attention again and you will be in trouble. Especially when I'm 215 by the end of the year.

I do my presses outside actually with no music (low ceilings and 6'3" don't miss on the press), so it doesn't matter. I am a weirdo though about music and lifting anyway. The type of music does nothing to fire me up. Thats all internal. So I just go with stuff I like and stuff thats appropriate to blast in my parent's basement.

[sking1001]

...Especially when I'm 215 by the end of the year.
Well, IMO nothing helps the bench AND press like packing on more weight!

[Briks42]

Thursday 2/23/12

Bodyweight- 197.4

Bench Press- 285x3
240x9

Deadlifts- 355x1
385x1 (PR) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bb9klgCFKw&context=C3597cfbADOEgsToPDskJ2-ggIU97vASPUSfU1kFPg

Standing Curls- 45s x 8
40s x 10

Well, this was a pretty fun night. I decided at some point yesterday that I was gonna go for a 1-rep max deadlift. The plan was 385, then hopefully 400. I did my bench work first and crushed it, so I was very confident going into the deads.

During the 385 set, as you can see in the video, I had crazy hamstring spasms, which made it a bitch to get up (it would've been tough regardless). It's pretty funny looking though. Im kinda taxing it. I decided not to even attempt 400 since I figured a lift that made my hammies do that had to be very close to a limit lift. Here is the explanation of what was going on with the hamstrings from a Q&A a month ago at 70sbig (2nd question down) http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2012/01/qa-14/. Of course Coys, after seeing the lift on video because he's sick and wasn't there, said I definitely woulda got 400 if I tried. He always tells me I coulda done more. I like that and hate it at the same time.

The issue for me personally is probably just that doing 1 set of 5 deads a week and no other leg work work isn't enough to prepare the hamstrings for a heavy lift like that. So my plan is to start adding Rack Pulls to my program. I'm thinking maybe Powercleans on Day 1, Deadlifts on Day 2, and Rack Pulls on Day 3 each week. In the beginning I'll probably do the powercleans on days 1 and 3 actually, but that just because I am still learning how to do them. Once I get the technique down and the weights start climbing fast, it'll affect recovery more and I'll just do them once a week. Any opinions from anyone on this plan???

All in all, even though I didn't go for the 400 lift, I was still happy with the night. I would've liked to set my back a little better on the 385 pull (I think I just got anxious to lift and didn't concentrate hard enough), but it wasn't TOO bad. And even though I couldn't accomplish it all right now, that 385 gives me a 1005 lifetime powerlifting total (300,320,385), which certainly isn't special, but it's something. I still think I'll get a 500 deadlift by the end of the year.

Some other news, notes, and opinions:

-Mom Dukes is back to crushing the weights again. Getting near her PR's in almost every lift. Shes kinda ridiculous. Her PRs are 145x5x3, 127.5x5x3, and 210x5 in the 3 powerlifts, plus I think shes pressed 75x5x3 and does like 8 chins. And yeah, she is a 5'4" 128 pound, 54 y.o. woman who only started lifting seriously about 2.5 years ago. Nuts.

-The fucking Sixers have lost 5 straight since I bought my gameplan. Makes sense. They gotta get healthy quick.

-Kanye West has to stop rapping and just make beats like he used to. His verse on the song "Niggas in Paris" is unbearable, but his god damn beats are out of control. He just needs to make the beats, and let good rappers like Justin Bieber (here over Otis) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBVXPYTzczU and Joe Budden (here over No Church in the Wild) do the rapping http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzQbrLRfxc

[bob g]

...
-Kanye West has to stop rapping and just make beats like he used to. His verse on the song "Niggas in Paris" is unbearable, but his god damn beats are out of control. He just needs to make the beats, and let good rappers like Justin Bieber (here over Otis) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBVXPYTzczU and Joe Budden (here over No Church in the Wild) do the rapping http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzQbrLRfxc

There must be a generational thing going on here. I can read your words but I have no idea what you are talking about. ;-)

[Briks42]

There must be a generational thing going on here. I can read your words but I have no idea what you are talking about. ;-)

Hahahaha, yeah, without a doubt. Though I bet there are a lot of people my age or younger who have trouble understanding me too.

[sking1001]

I usually make fun of Justin Bieber, but that was an incredible rap. Respect.

[Briks42]

Yeah, Biebs will win you over if you give him a chance. Although I think me or you could sound good over that beat.

[Briks42]

Saturday- 2/25/12

Bodyweight-195.8

Presses- 195x0 (fail) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOmVFYJrxfk&context=C3597cfbADOEgsToPDskJ2-ggIU97vASPUSfU1kFPg
185x1
165x4

Weighted Chins- 75 (270.8 total) x 4
40 (235.8) x 9

Power Cleans- 135x1x2
145x1x2
155x1x2
165x1 http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=29246

Up and down workout. I worked hard, but missed my big press attempt and struggled with powerclean form. On the press, I almost always get any rep that clears my head like that, but I let my left elbow flare out and once that happens I'm fucked. It was fucking CAB and WAB outside, which was annoying, but that doesn't change the fact that I shoulda had that lift. I weighed in at 195.8 preworkout in shorts and a t-shirt too, so that was basically a bodyweight attempt. Woulda been nice, but oh well. A year from now I'll be laughing at bodyweight presses, so in the long run its no big deal.

Did well on the chins. They are moving up slowly but surely. Might try a 300 pound weighted chin single sometime soon. I think I've got that.

Powercleans are a little bit of a mess but I worked hard and at least I'm trying. I gotta just pop my hips to get the weight up instead of arm pulling. I did some light hang cleans yesterday when I was at BBC spotting my mom, and I feel like I am getting the hang of it a little.

My plan is going to be to cycle the pulling movements like this: Rack Pulls, Powercleans, Deadlifts, Powercleans, repeat. I need more than 2 days between rack pulls and deads, and since I am still using light weights on the powercleans, they should be easy enough to recover from. My knee is a little sore but nothing I can't deal with, so I think this plan will work. I will now be deadlifting every 4 workouts instead of every 3, which will slow progress, but having the rack pulls in there should allow me to get stronger faster and not stall on the deadlift for a LONG time. I'd like to move up slow and steady to at least 405x5.



Last year on Facebook (I had Facebook for exactly 1 year, June 2010 through June 2011), I did something called the Bobscars. This was my own personal award show based on any Oscar eligible movies I had seen during the year. I can't remember all the winners but I think these were some of the results.

Best Lead Actress (best boobs)- Alice Eve (She's out of my League)
Smoovest Kid that'll run up in your baby's mother (best talk game)- Matthew Goode (Leap Year)
Best Comedic Duo- The Rock and Stephen Merchant (Tooth Fairy)
Best Supporting Actress (best ass)- Amy Adams (The Fighter)

There were a few more. I'm pretty sure The Expendables won for something, and I think Dinner for Schmucks got Most Disappointing. I actually think I bitched on picking best film because I couldn't decide between Tooth Fairy and The Expendables, but now that a year has gone by, Tooth Fairy would be the easy pick.

Anyway, so this year people keep asking me if I'm doing the Bobscars on Twitter. @briks42. I told them no, for 2 reasons. 1 is that Twitter simply isn't a good outlet for them. I like to do long writeups about the choices and 140 characters ruins that. 2 is that I only saw 3 Oscar eligible movies last year and one of them was Fast 5, so it would just be a clean sweep anyway. The only categories I could see not giving to Fast 5 would be the actress ones, which would probably have gone to that babysitter from Hall Pass for lead actress, and the Australian chick from Hall Pass for supporting actress (though Ann Heche was surprisingly close for supporting actress based on the pool scene in Cedar Rapids).

So no official Bobscars this year. If social media changes and I'm on Google+ next year or something, they could be back in 2013. We will see.

[Briks42]

Tuesday 2/28/12

Bodyweight- 199.4

Presses- 157.5x5x3

Weighted Chins- 50 (249.4 total) x 5 x 3

Rack Pulls- 365x5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMeuFKUixs8&context=C3597cfbADOEgsToPDskJ2-ggIU97vASPUSfU1kFPg

This was a good night. Bodyweight is steadily climbing up. I was 190.4 on December 29, so I'm up 9 pounds in almost 9 weeks. That is a perfect pace to start the year.

I had never even gotten to 157.5x5x3 on presses on LP, and tonight I did it easily as part of my "volume" day (even though its only 3 sets). With my bodyweight up, I should be stronger obviously, but its nice to see it actually working.

I posted my rack pull video in Rip's Q&A http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=29330. He said my back is unlocking and to de-load 20 pounds so that is what I'll do. I actually thought my back looked ok, but he's the expert.

I was surprised at how tough those rack pulls were though. I figured the 8-9 fewer inches of ROM would make a huge difference, but that is offset by mostly taking the quads out of the equation. I still used more weight than I could have deadlifted, so they are a little easier, but not much. My hammies were sputtering a little again on the last 2 reps, but I see that as a good thing as it means they are being worked properly. That is the point, for them to get used to the tension so they are ready to deadlift.

Its nice to be hitting my lower body a little harder now, especially while I'm in bulking mode. Between the deadlifts, powercleans, and rack pulls, I should be able to gain some lower body strength and mass even without squatting. I am in a good groove right now all around and should be able to continue it for a while.

I don't really have much to comment on outside of my workout today, so I'll just leave you with some tips for any potential actors out there..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyoWmkhRyp8

[Briks42]

Thursday 3/1/12

Bodyweight- 199.2

Bench Press- 290x3
245x8

Hang Cleans- 75x3
95x2

Powercleans- 135x1
145x1x2
155x1x2
165x0 (F)
165x1x2
175x0 (F)
175x1x2 http://startingstrength.com/resources/forum/showthread.php?t=29378

Standing Curls- 9x45's
10x40s

Did well on the bench press. I have been making 5 pound jumps on the first set and have gotten 3 now from 280 up to 290, which I am happy about. And 245x8 on the backoff set is solid too. My right shoulder has been feeling a little weird, so I used a liftoff for these worksets which seemed to help. The sets themselves weren't bothering my shoulder as much as unracking the weight was.

Powercleans are another issue. If you look at the trainwreck from the link above, you will see how much of a disaster they are. But I'm now convinced that one (of many) reason for this is simply that my knee is not ready for these. I tried just doing simple jumps in my basement with no bar after my workout last night, and landing in a crouched position was very painful and my body was fighting hard against it. This (among other things) tells me I simply shouldn't be doing the lift yet. So I am putting them off for a while until my knee heals up. I haven't been pain-free in my knee in a long time and I would like to remember how that feels.

So my new plan is just to deadlift every other workout and do nothing else for the lower body. I'll be hitting the deads 3x per 2 weeks that way, which should get my hamstrings and low back enough work without being too hard on recovery considering I'm not doing anything else to wear out my lower body in between. The deadlifts don't really hurt my knee so hopefully they won't slow the healing process.

There are supposed to be T-storms all day tomorrow which could fuck up my press workout. We will see. I might just dealift and chin tomorrow and do the presses first thing Sunday morning if thats the case. We will see. I dont mind pressing in a little rain, but T-storms isn't happening for obvious reasons. The Sunday morning plan would make my Monday night press workout a little tough, but thats "volume" day anyway, which tends to be easier and I'm sure I could get through it on short rest.

I think I am gonna go to Pietros for dinner tonight. Its a coal-oven pizza joint and their shit is straight flames. I haven't been there in a while either. I'm pretty excited about that.

Also, March Madness day at Chickie's (AKA National Fight your Friends Day AKA "Enough is enough!" day) is officially 2 weeks away. Its probably the best day of the year. Last year Coys was fucking with some dude we didn't know's sister for a while, and eventually the dude just snapped and yelled "Enough is enough" and slammed an entire Chickie's pizza on Coys lap. It was probably the coolest thing that ever happened. Chickie's pizza is saucy as balls, so that shit was all over him. He tried to fight the dude, but we wouldn't let him. I hope that dude comes again this year, that would be a comeup on his part.

This is probably my favorite scene in The Wire. Avon is the fuckin man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j9DZWCDws8

[Briks42]

Saturday 3/3/12

Bodyweight- 198.6

Presses- 195x1 (PR) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-WpAJjtRcI&context=C3597cfbADOEgsToPDskJ2-ggIU97vASPUSfU1kFPg
175x3
155x7

Weighted Chins- 75 (273.6 total) x 4
40 (238.6 total) x 9

Deadlifts- 340x5

This was a great workout. Hit the PR press that I had failed last week. Not quite bodyweight because I weight in a few pounds higher, but I'm getting real close. I am going to attempt 200 in two weeks on that Friday morning. Since it will be a morning weigh-in, that is likely to be a bodyweight lift when I hit it. In November, I pressed 180 for a PR at a bodyweight of 192.4. 3.5 months later, I have added 15 pounds to my press while gaining 6.2 pounds of bodyweight. That is a great ratio and its great progress from a pure strength view too. Its a pace of almost 50 pounds on my press in 12 months. If my bodyweight gets to where I want by the end of 2012 (215 AT LEAST), I think a 225-235 press is definitely possible.

Deadlifts were real good too. I was in a good groove for this set and the weight exploded up. I tend to feel stronger when I feel I am over the bar a little more. I know most people try to feel like their weight is back for this lift, but for whatever reason that doesn't work for me. I have to feel a bit forward and out over the bar to get the proper leverage. The bar still stays right over my midfoot and drags right up my legs when I do this, so its definitely the way to go for me. This Wednesday I will be matching my 5 rep PR of 345 and starting next week, it'll be all new PR's going forward. I'm excited about that.

Sheaffer has requested me and Coys be on his next Strengthvillain podcast. Think I am gonna have to take him up on that. Fuck that cigar shit though. Thats nasty. I'll just bring a bunch of Bud bottles and get to the heart of a lot of important matters, like which is the best Saved by the Bell episode (tough choice).

Here's an important scene for you to think about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c

Maybe Jessie wouldn't have had that problem if she considered the life lessons learned in this classic ep. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO73-WlOHhM

[Staci Rudnitsky]

Nice work on that PR!

I wish you all the best in deciding upon the best Saved by the Bell episode - I'd be hard pressed to pick just one.

[Briks42]

Yeah, its a brutal choice, but the good thing is that you really can't be wrong (unless you pick a Tori episode).

[Staci Rudnitsky]

Or the episodes with Stacey. Definitely jumped the shark by that point. Too bad nobody told them, since they went on to film the college years and (gasp), the new class. Never works when it's a new class (not even for Degrassi).

[bob g]

Saturday 3/3/12

Bodyweight- 198.6

Presses- 195x1 (PR)

This was a great workout. Hit the PR press that I had failed last week. Not quite bodyweight because I weight in a few pounds higher, but I'm getting real close. I am going to attempt 200 in two weeks on that Friday morning. Since it will be a morning weigh-in, that is likely to be a bodyweight lift when I hit it. In November, I pressed 180 for a PR at a bodyweight of 192.4. 3.5 months later, I have added 15 pounds to my press while gaining 6.2 pounds of bodyweight. That is a great ratio and its great progress from a pure strength view too. Its a pace of almost 50 pounds on my press in 12 months. If my bodyweight gets to where I want by the end of 2012 (215 AT LEAST), I think a 225-235 press is definitely possible.


Very nicely done. Two wheels is very much on the horizon.

(We're sure not ready for outdoor lifting around here.)

[Briks42]

Thanks a lot Bob.

Yeah we've gotten so lucky with the weather this winter. Last winter we had a bunch of storms and the pressing area was a sheet of ice for a couple months. This year I haven't been affected yet. Couple of nights where it was cold and windy, but thats no big deal.

Wisconsin is a good amount farther north than phily though, so I'm not surprised you haven't gotten as lucky.

[Briks42]

Or the episodes with Stacey. Definitely jumped the shark by that point. Too bad nobody told them, since they went on to film the college years and (gasp), the new class. Never works when it's a new class (not even for Degrassi).

Yeah the college years were bad and the new class was unwatchable. I didn't mind the Malibu sands eps though. I didn't really like Stacey carosi, but the episodes weren't terrible overall. A guy I work with said yesterday he doesn't like them either though so maybe I'm the weird one there.

[Briks42]

Monday- 3/5/12

Bodyweight- 198.4

Presses- 157.5 x 5 x 3

Weighted Chins- 50 (248.4) x 5 x 3

I was a little tired for this workout but luckily it was a short one. I kept the weights I used the same as last week since I was switching from my recent Tues-Thurs-Sat schedule back to a Mon-Wed-Fri and only had 1 day off between pressing and chinning on Saturday. Next week I will bump it up a little bit.

ESPN's Grantland is running a bracket for the best character from The Wire. Its a trainwreck. For some reason they kept it at 32 instead of 64, which woulda been simple to get to. And then their seeding and accompanying articles are a joke. Bubbles as a #7 seed is insanity, and then the guy today wrote that he barely even made it in. The dude is an easy top 5 character. Bill Simmons and his weird little Grantland buddies are complete douchebags and they are ruining what should be a great idea.

[Briks42]

Wednesday 3/7/12

Bodyweight- 200.0

Bench Press- 295x2
250x8

Well, some sort of pretty bad lower back pain has crept up on me the last few days, which meant deadlifts were out for last night. I have no idea what has caused it, but I am hoping it will be gone by Friday so I can just move deadlifts back to then. I did bench press, and just missed the 3rd rep with 295. Would have liked to get it but no big deal. I was happy about the backoff set considering i had fought the 3rd rep on the heavy set pretty hard. I am going to do a "re-set" on bench back to like 275 for my heavy set, and shoot for like 5-6, then make 5 pound jumps again.

I also would normally do curls during this workout too but my back was fucking killing me and after benching i just didn't want to move. Its only curls anyway.

Assuming i can deadlift Friday, it will still only be 6 days from last deadlift workout to the next which isn't too bad. Then assuming no further issues going forward I will start the every other workout deadlift schedule.

Doys informed me and Coys yesterday that he wont be able to work out with us for a while cuz he just got new responsibilites at work and has to work long hours and cant make it to BBC when we are there. Sucks cuz he was making damn good progress. Shoulda explained to his boss that he was in PR territory on his LP, and the new responsibilities can take a hike. Thats what I wouda done. Instead, him and his crewcut/slickback head probably just said "Yes Master" and took it on the chin. Just like he was gonna do when they threatened him to have to move to Canada for work. My friends are a bunch of bitches with their bosses.

[Briks42]

Friday- 3/9/12

Bodyweight- 200.0

Press- 180x3
165x5

Weighted Chins- 70 (270 total) x 6
45 (245 total) x 7

Deadlifts- 345x5

I did this workout down at Greyskull. It was a good workout overall. No crazy PR's or anything, but solid all around. 180 is a 3 rep PR on presses, and I think it puts me in good shape to get a 200 single this Friday. And 165x5 matches my 5 rep PR, which is pretty good since I did it after the heavier triple.

Deadlifts were a little tougher than I had hoped, but I got them done. They match my 5 rep PR that I got in November before injuring my knee, so the injury essentially set me back about 3.5 months on the deadlift. Not too bad. Its all PR's now going forward.

It was a good crowd at Greyskull working out. Then afterward we went back to John's place and recorded the Strengthvillain Podcast 16. I met DBT, Tyler and Drago for the first time. They were all good guys and fun to hang out with. The podcast was interesting. It was basically a bunch of dudes bullshitting. We probably wasted a lot of good material with the conversations we had before the podcast started actually. After a while, I kinda forgot the microphone was even there and that the stuff I was saying was gonna be heard by a bunch of people, so I hope it comes off ok. I really didn't have much to bring to the table from a training aspect (especially compared to dudes like John and Tyler), but hopefully I at least helped make the show entertaining.

Ill post a link to the show when it goes live.

[Briks42]

Monday- 3/12/12

Bodyweight- 198.4

Press- 160x5x3

Weighted Chins- 52.5 (250.9 total) x 5 x 3

Pretty easy workout tonight. The presses went up real fast and easy. I'm in such a good groove on them right now. Chins were also fairly easy at this weight. I really like how this program is working. I am making weekly progress with no problem. After I get my bodyweight press though (it better be Friday), I am going to switch things up a little and start benching more often again. I have an idea for how to program my bench and press that seems like it might work pretty well to keep both lifts moving quickly.

Mom dukes has been crushing it lately in the gym. She is 54 years old and 5'4" 128 pounds. On Sunday she set PR's on presses (77.5x5x3) and deadlifts (210x5). She will also be be attempting to match a PR on bench (127.5x5x3) this Thursday. Her squats aren't real heavy at this point in the cycle, but shes getting rep PR's there. I think she did 5,5,11 with 137.5 last week. She also uses the safety squat bar, which is a little tougher than traditional low bar squats. On top of that she can do like 8 or 9 deadhang chins. Her commitment has been ridiculous. She never misses workouts and she goes at it hard. Its great to see.

[coil1979]

Or the episodes with Stacey. Definitely jumped the shark by that point. Too bad nobody told them, since they went on to film the college years and (gasp), the new class. Never works when it's a new class (not even for Degrassi).

chill. i'm a big fan of the college years.

[Briks42]

Nah, the college years were hurtin, dude. So were the Ms. Bliss eps. Though technically they werent even Saved by the Bell. They were "Good Morning Miss Bliss". Then later when they were shown as re-runs they were branded as Saved by the Bell.

[sking1001]

The pressing really is looking good. That 200 is yours, man.

Impressed with Mom dukes! That's some good stuff there.

I'm not familiar with the Greyskull or the guys there. Glad you're posting the link, because I was going to ask. So is Greyskull one specific gym, or do they have gyms all over the country?

[Briks42]

Thanks Sking. I'm pretty confident I'll hit that press Friday.

Greyskull is just one gym, located just south of Philadelphia about a half hour from where I live. The owner, John Sheaffer, used to have a nutrition Q&A here on SS.com and then branched off and started Strengthvillain.com. I've become pretty friendly withJohn and work out down there whenever I get a chance.

They do podcasts every few weeks for the strengtvillain site and he asked me and my buddy Coys to be on this one. The podcasts are partly answering training questions from his forum and partly just bullshitting. I contributed heavily to the bullshitting. He also had Tyler Minton on this one, who is a pro MMA fighter, so there is a lot of good discussion of his training methods, which is probably a lot more interesting to most people than hearing me talk nonsense.

[Staci Rudnitsky]

chill. i'm a big fan of the college years.

You have to admit that tall Screech is kinda creepy. But I'll concede that at least they didn't bring back ALL the characters.

Do you ever watch White Collar? Seeing Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as an adult (and sans the Amber) makes me feel so old. As does the fact that I remember when she won the model search of Teen Magazine. I was so jealous.


Nah, the college years were hurtin, dude. So were the Ms. Bliss eps. Though technically they werent even Saved by the Bell. They were "Good Morning Miss Bliss". Then later when they were shown as re-runs they were branded as Saved by the Bell.

Now that is some impressive useless knowledge.

[Briks42]

Wednesday 3/14/12

Bodyweight- 200.2

Bench Press- 275x4
250x6

Deadlifts- 350x1
350x4

This was a pretty interesting workout. I have been pretty sick with a head cold since Monday night. I have been pounding Dayquil and Nightquil but it didn't really work. All day yesterday I was 50-50 about whether or not I should work out. I HATE missing workouts, but I also didn't want to extend my sickness time by draining my body. In the end, I decided to go for it.

Bench Press was rough. I should have gotten 5 or even 6 reps with 275. Instead I struggled to a rough 4. Then on the backoff set I got 6 with 250 after getting 8 with it last week. I mighta had 7, but didn't even attempt it (rare for me, I always go to failure). I think the struggle on the bench and the fact that the sickness probably had me legitimately weak really got in my head.

On deadlifts my warmups felt a little tougher than normal but nothing crazy. I finally got to my workset and just flat out quit after the first rep. I went to pull the 2nd, and it was hard, and I was weak, and I quit. I stood up and said "I've got nothin" to my mom (who I was working out with) and walked away. But then I got all mad at myself for quitting and figured I couldn't do that. So I took a pretty short rest (about 3 minutes) and attempted it again. It still really sucked and I still felt weak, but I basically just wasn't a pussy the second time around and I got 4 reps. I legit failed the 5th rep, which is fine. At least I tried it.

So 350 would have been a PR weight for a set of 5 had I actually done a set of 5. But I didn't, so no PR. But at least I feel glad I got the work in on a night where I didn't feel good at all. I am still going to go up by 5 pounds for Monday's deadlift workout for 355. I am very confident that I will have no problem with it assuming I am feeling better. I think I will be as I already feel better today than I have the last few days.

Next up is my 200 pound press attempt Friday, which should definitely be over bodyweight since I'll be working out and weighing myself in the morning instead of at night like usual.

Then after the Friday morning workout, I'll get my wig busted then head to Chickies and Petes for an all day March Madness drink and eat fest. I can't fucking wait. Its my favorite non-vacation day every year. $40 for all you can eat and drink from 12-4. I'd easily get my moneys worth just from the drinking, and when you throw in Chickies bangin food on top of it, its just out of control. Afterwards, we will head to the Deaner, then get kicked out of the Deaner. Anne the bartender hates us on that day.

[Rob Israel]

Alright dude, I'm tracking your new pressing program. Post away!

[Briks42]

yeah, fuck. sorry. i havent been updating. i will catch up on the past few workouts now.

[Briks42]

I haven't logged my last few workouts so I'll catch up now. Might not be 100% accurate on some stuff cuz im doing it off the top of my head, but whatever.

Friday morning 3/16/2012
Bodyweight- 197.8

Presses- 200x0 (fail) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm5-4nq_iwY&context=C4821586ADvjVQa1PpcFNA59ol41kAoIzhxiqBbBaA 9VSIQwk0jGw=
200 x 0 (fail) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbPq1tg3vnM&feature=channel
170x4

Weighted Chins- 80 (277.4 total) x 4
45 (242.4) x 8


Tuesday night 3/20/12 (Beginning of new program)
Bodyweight- 196.2 (dehydrated and light after rough weekend)

Bench Press- 245x5x3

Standing Curls- 45s x 8
40s x 9

Deadlifts- 355x3 (f) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arp6hjVEFzk&feature=channel


Thursday Night 3/22/12
Bodyweight- 197.8

Presses- 160x5x3

Weighted Chins- 52.5 (250.3 total) x 5 x 3

Abs- 1:00 plank, :30 side-side touches, 1:00 plank, :30 side-sidetouches.
(1 minute rest between each)




So I am on the new program now. Upper body will rotate through the following 4 days: 3x5 bench, 3x5 press and chin, "intensity" bench, "intensity" press and "intensity" chin.

The first bench weight was very conservative for 3x5. I will make 5 pound jumps for a few workouts there. Eventually I will get to a point where I am with the press and chins where I might not even up the weight every 3x5 workout. "intensity" days are where my true progress will be measured, not the 3x5 days.

I will also be curling and deadlifting on every bench day and doing some ab work on every press and chin day.

Deadlifts are obviously getting tough as I move up. My new rule is going to be that I attempt 5 reps each workout, but continue to increase weight as long as I get 3. If I fail to get 3 reps with a weight, I will consider a new plan of attack on those.

I also plan on cutting back on drinking drastically, if not totally, going forward. This should make weight gain and performance in the gym much easier. Im excited about that.

[DV]

How have I not discovered this log before? I'm in for random references to 90's tv and musings on hiphop. Glad I'm not the only one who desperately stops N*ggas in Paris as soon as Kanye starts. It's impossibly bad.

I wish he would just make beats for Jay - greatest of all time.

How's your knee doing? Some squatting coming up?

[Rob Israel]

My Deadlift on Tuesday looked exactly the same. Exact same reps and weight. Later, I thought about doing another triple or a double... Any thought of that?

I'm with you-- I'm going for 3-6 reps. I'm going to take a 5 pound jump but also alternate with haltings....

[Briks42]

How have I not discovered this log before? I'm in for random references to 90's tv and musings on hiphop. Glad I'm not the only one who desperately stops N*ggas in Paris as soon as Kanye starts. It's impossibly bad.

I wish he would just make beats for Jay - greatest of all time.

How's your knee doing? Some squatting coming up?

whats up Danish, glad you like the log. I follow yours actually but never commented on it. I'll try to keep it as entertaining as possible...... yeah, dude, kanyes verse in that is so awful. im willing to cut him a break after thinking more about it though. He's so hit or miss with rapping, but he blows up sometimes (like his run this town verse). but yeah, in general he should be concentrating way more on making beats.

Dont know when ill be squatting again. Hopefully not too far now, but im still having knee pain. I want to get fully healthy and painfree for the first time in a long time before slowly working them back in. We will see.

[Briks42]

My Deadlift on Tuesday looked exactly the same. Exact same reps and weight. Later, I thought about doing another triple or a double... Any thought of that?

I'm with you-- I'm going for 3-6 reps. I'm going to take a 5 pound jump but also alternate with haltings....

I don't know about doing another set of deads, since I am deadlifting every other workout. I am going to keep making the 5 pound jumps, and if i fail at some point, i am considering another "texas method" iteration where i would do a set of 5 with a weight I KNOW I won't fail one workout, then do a heavy double or triple the next and keep alternating. Sort of a medium/heavy/medium/heavy plan. We will see. First I am just going to keep going as far as I can with linear 5 pound jumps until I can't get 3 though.

Speaking of my deadlift, do you think I have any glaring form faults or do you think I am just a weight that is real heavy for me? My legs are really weak and I know that kills me on the deads.

[Briks42]

My Deadlift on Tuesday looked exactly the same. Exact same reps and weight. Later, I thought about doing another triple or a double... Any thought of that?

I'm with you-- I'm going for 3-6 reps. I'm going to take a 5 pound jump but also alternate with haltings....

Why haltings for you instead of rack pulls or something else? Just curious? Also, where did you fail? Similar spot as me?

[Briks42]

Also, here is the link to the Strengthvillain Podcast I was on a few weeks ago.

http://strengthvillain.com/?p=1146

Its insanely long, but I thought it went pretty well, aside from the awful feeling of hearing your own voice and accent.

[DV]

Dont know when ill be squatting again. Hopefully not too far now, but im still having knee pain. I want to get fully healthy and painfree for the first time in a long time before slowly working them back in. We will see.

There comes a time where working out, though painful, is actually conducive to being painfree long term. I wouldnt sit around waiting for no pain what so ever you might wait a long time - maybe forever.

That said, you can usually tell yourself by how the pain is. Maybe get Johns input, I've had success with the things (though not injury related) he's recommended for me.

I don't think that Kanye ever "blows up". Sometimes he is not horrible, but that's as far as it goes. And most of that non-horrible stuff is on college dropout, if you ask me. I really liked that album.

[Briks42]

There comes a time where working out, though painful, is actually conducive to being painfree long term. I wouldnt sit around waiting for no pain what so ever you might wait a long time - maybe forever.

That said, you can usually tell yourself by how the pain is. Maybe get Johns input, I've had success with the things (though not injury related) he's recommended for me.

I don't think that Kanye ever "blows up". Sometimes he is not horrible, but that's as far as it goes. And most of that non-horrible stuff is on college dropout, if you ask me. I really liked that album.

Yeah, i know what you mean about the pain thing. When I had tendonitis, I squatted through the pain. This is an actual injury though (partial patellar tendon tear), and one that I've re-injured multiple times in the past couple years. Now that was all from sports, not squatting, but I kinda want the thing to heal completely, and from what I know, tendons are just slow healing. You are right though, it might not be smart to wait until I am pain free to start squatting again. The squats might help the process. But they might hurt it. I'm not sure.

Yeah, College Dropout was definitely his best work by far, but I still thinks he hits sometimes now. But I definitely agree with you in general.

[DV]

Yeah, i know what you mean about the pain thing. When I had tendonitis, I squatted through the pain. This is an actual injury though (partial patellar tendon tear), and one that I've re-injured multiple times in the past couple years. Now that was all from sports, not squatting, but I kinda want the thing to heal completely, and from what I know, tendons are just slow healing. You are right though, it might not be smart to wait until I am pain free to start squatting again. The squats might help the process. But they might hurt it. I'm not sure.

Yeah, College Dropout was definitely his best work by far, but I still thinks he hits sometimes now. But I definitely agree with you in general.

I've only heard good things about squats for knee rehab. As you said - sports is what will fuck them up (football, american football, handball etc.) where a controlled, loaded movement can actually spur the healing. Maybe post in the Q&A, or search, I think it's been mentioned before.

I agree that he makes some excellent songs still now. But he is a horrible, horrible rapper. And then he is contrasted with the best rapper ever - makes it even worse.

[Briks42]

I've only heard good things about squats for knee rehab. As you said - sports is what will fuck them up (football, american football, handball etc.) where a controlled, loaded movement can actually spur the healing. Maybe post in the Q&A, or search, I think it's been mentioned before.

I agree that he makes some excellent songs still now. But he is a horrible, horrible rapper. And then he is contrasted with the best rapper ever - makes it even worse.

Yeah, good points. I might have to start up again light and see if the pain is tolerable or not.

[Briks42]

Saturday Night- 3/24/12

Bodyweight- 197.4

Bench Press- 275x4
250x7

Standing Curls- 45s x 9
40s x 9

Deadlifts- 360x4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DpDZJkN5cM&context=C4ac120bADvjVQa1PpcFNA59ol41kAoEbzfEy0winl-fSY6okP21U=

Good workout. I had attributed my 275x4 bench press last week to being sick, but maybe thats all I have in me right now because I was fine this week and still got 4. I will make 5 pounds jumps on the first set of "heavy" day going forward as long as a I get 3 or more reps. For the second set I'll probably stick to 250 until I can get 10.

Deadlifts went pretty well. After getting 350x4 and then 355x3, I was pretty happy with this 360x4. As long as I keep gaining weight slowly and steadily, I think I should be able to take these up a good amount with my new 3+ rep scheme. It would be nice to get to at least 385x3 since that is my current 1 rep PR.

Other news and notes:
-Back to a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule for the foreseeable future. I have 2 Sixers games left in my package, but only 1 I can make, and its on a Saturday night, so I should get some consistency in my lifting schedule now. Of course, once the playoffs start its gonna be chaos again.

-Mom Dukes had a great deadlift workout yesterday. 220x5. Next Sunday she will hit a big 2 plate milestone for 5. Great stuff. She makes deadlifts look easy. Crazy strong for her age and size.

-Novak Djokovic is gonna be in Expendables 2 beating people up with a tennis racket. Somehow it might top the first one.

-My new favorite person is Johnny Dang, who is a Jeweler and Grill Salesman from Houston. He accompanied Danny Garcia into the ring for his title fight (and win) against Erik Morales Saturday Night. He's boys with Paul Wall and looks like this:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ZuXhNPn_MXk/S9OaGIVq2cI/AAAAAAAAAD8/FERrPCx1mO0/s320/johhny+dang+sqaud+chains.jpg

So yeah, he should be your favorite person too.

[DV]

Looking good - deads looked quite reasonable. If you hadn't psyched yourself out, you might've had the 5th rep. I get that (psyching myself) on deads once in a while. In any case almost 2xBW deadlift for reps is pretty good.

I like the Grill on Johnny Dang.

[Briks42]

Looking good - deads looked quite reasonable. If you hadn't psyched yourself out, you might've had the 5th rep. I get that (psyching myself) on deads once in a while. In any case almost 2xBW deadlift for reps is pretty good.

I like the Grill on Johnny Dang.

Thanks about the deads. Yeah, i definitely pysched myself out there. Oh, well. Ill go for 5 with 365 on Wednesday.

Yeah, I looked for a pic of Dang when he was in the ring the other night but couldn't find one. He stole the show.

[Briks42]

Monday Night- 3/26/12

Bodyweight- 199.4

Press- 185x2
155x7

Weighted Chins- 80 (279.4) x 3
45 (244.4) x 8

Abs (1 minute rest between sets):
1:15 plank, :45 side-side touches, 1:15 plank, :45 side-side touches

I was a little disappointed in this workout. Presses matched my previous best with 185 of 2 reps, but they were real tough, and last time I got 2 I was 5 pounds less. Then on the chins I finally fell out of the 4-6 range on my first set. All in all, it wasn't horrible, just a little disappointing. I know my press progress will probably slow a little though now that I am only pressing every other workout instead of 2 out of 3 like I was the first few months of the year. As long as I keep my bodyweight trending up slowly though, I will be fine there. I might not get to bodyweight press until like 210 or 215 or so, but that is ok. Its more impressive to do at higher bodyweights anyway.

It looks like only me and Coys are going to hit our 3/31 bodyweight goals (mine was 198 after starting the year at 190), which means we will each win $25. The Meens bros both are going to come up a little short on their weight loss. They better get their shit together because it gets more and more expensive at each benchmark. I need to be 205 by 6/30, which should be a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if I hit my year end goal of 215 by then now that I am not drinking. Drinking was BY FAR the worst hindrance of my progress in the gym and with muscular bodyweight gains. Dropping it should make for some great progress.

Coys is also cruising pretty well. I think he is down around 20 pounds so far this year, with another 30 or so to go over the next 9 months. Should be no problem for him either.

[DV]

Drinking was BY FAR the worst hindrance of my progress in the gym and with muscular bodyweight gains. Dropping it should make for some great progress.

Are we talking zero alcohol, or just not drinking too often/heavily? Good wines, rums, beers and whiskeys is a big part of my quality of life equation. I know that cutting the booze works, I'd just have a very, very hard time doing it.

Good job hitting your BW goal, though. Adding BW has always been the hardest part of training for me.

[Briks42]

Are we talking zero alcohol, or just not drinking too often/heavily? Good wines, rums, beers and whiskeys is a big part of my quality of life equation. I know that cutting the booze works, I'd just have a very, very hard time doing it.

Good job hitting your BW goal, though. Adding BW has always been the hardest part of training for me.

Im talking zero alcohol for a while. The reason I'm cutting it isn't just for training though. Its because the alcohol has become more of a negative than a positive in my life in general. The hangover, bad decision making (driving drunk etc.) and other considerations. If I simply didn't drink heavily I'd be fine, but I have no confidence in my ability to do that. The training benefits that will come from this are more ancillary, but I'll take them.

Yeah, thanks on the BW. Always been the hardest part for me too, but its going really well right now. What do you weigh currently?

[DV]

Im talking zero alcohol for a while. The reason I'm cutting it isn't just for training though. Its because the alcohol has become more of a negative than a positive in my life in general. The hangover, bad decision making (driving drunk etc.) and other considerations. If I simply didn't drink heavily I'd be fine, but I have no confidence in my ability to do that. The training benefits that will come from this are more ancillary, but I'll take them.

Yeah, thanks on the BW. Always been the hardest part for me too, but its going really well right now. What do you weigh currently?

I get that. Once you get to my age, and have a a career you're really prioritizing the benders will become (a lot) fewer, believe me.

I'm 184 cm. (6'1 I think) tall and weigh somewhere around 195-200 lbs these days. I hit 210 a while back, but that was absolutely max, and with loads of milk, junk and other little tricks to add BW. I'm trying to get stronger at this BW currently, and then add BW from there. I have this idea that it will be less of a chore, as my training efforts will truly spur the weight increase, and my body will respond easier. No idea if it's true, though.

Long-long term goal is weighing 220.

[Briks42]

I get that. Once you get to my age, and have a a career you're really prioritizing the benders will become (a lot) fewer, believe me.

I'm 184 cm. (6'1 I think) tall and weigh somewhere around 195-200 lbs these days. I hit 210 a while back, but that was absolutely max, and with loads of milk, junk and other little tricks to add BW. I'm trying to get stronger at this BW currently, and then add BW from there. I have this idea that it will be less of a chore, as my training efforts will truly spur the weight increase, and my body will respond easier. No idea if it's true, though.

Long-long term goal is weighing 220.

Yeah, I hear you. I never drink during the week or anything like that because of work, but even just drinking on the weekends leads to bad things.

Ok, you have a fairly similar build to me. I have 2 inches on you but our weight is around the same. You crush me on the lower body lifts though. Thats my weakness by far. 220 seems like a great long-term goal for you at 6'1". Im thinking 235 or so for me, which would make sense with extra 2 inches.

[DV]

Yeah, I hear you. I never drink during the week or anything like that because of work, but even just drinking on the weekends leads to bad things.

Ok, you have a fairly similar build to me. I have 2 inches on you but our weight is around the same. You crush me on the lower body lifts though. Thats my weakness by far. 220 seems like a great long-term goal for you at 6'1". Im thinking 235 or so for me, which would make sense with extra 2 inches.

Business trips, weekend work etc. usually keeps me on the straight and narrow. If I just had a 9-5 job mon-fri I might have bigger problems.

And yeah, we are pretty similar, except I think I am a bit older than you (31). This might also explain why I'm better at (somewhat) controlling the booze - you know, old and boring.

[Briks42]

Business trips, weekend work etc. usually keeps me on the straight and narrow. If I just had a 9-5 job mon-fri I might have bigger problems.

And yeah, we are pretty similar, except I think I am a bit older than you (31). This might also explain why I'm better at (somewhat) controlling the booze - you know, old and boring.

Haha, well, I'm 30, so its time for me to become old and boring now too I think.

[Briks42]

Wednesday Night- 3/28/12

Bodyweight- 199.2

Bench Press- 250x5x3

Standing Curls- 50s x 5
40s x 11

Deadlifts- 365x4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN3UPwJKtPM&context=C4ac120bADvjVQa1PpcFNA59ol41kAoEbzfEy0winl-fSY6okP21U= (I mislabeled the youtube video as 360, but it was 365)

This was a good workout. Bench was easy. I will continue to make 5 pounds jumps on 3x5 day there. I should be able to take it to 265 or so before I might have to slow that down. I also bumped my first set of curls to the 50s, just to get used to the heavier weights. Its hard to move up in weight on dumbbells, but i hate barbell/e-z bar curls.

Deadlifts went reasonably well. I am dropping my hips though, which is pushing the bar forward a little bit. I have to make sure not to do that, since I can't afford to make the pull off the floor any tougher than it should be. That is my weak spot. I have no problems with lockout at all at these weights. That being said, I am happy with 365x4. Progress is going fine on them. Ill be doing 400 for reps within a couple months.


Discussion:
I posed a question on twitter last night. What were the 5 funniest movies you ever saw based on ONLY the first time you saw them? So re-watchability is not a factor at all. I'm pretty sure my top 5 in no order are: Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, South Park: The Movie, Austin Powers, and Old School.

I got a lot of good feedback from other people on twitter and some runner-up choices that just miss my top 5 are:
40 year old virgin, Superbad, Not Another Teen Movie, The Hangover, Anchorman, Zoolander, Caddyshack, Airplane, Naked Gun, There's Something about Mary, The Jerk, Team America, Night at the Roxbury.

What do you guys think about my top 5 and "other contenders"?

[DV]

The Hangover was great the first time I saw it. Zero rewatchability, though. Dumb and Dumber is one of the funniest movies ever, I've seen it many times over the years. 40 year old virgin and Superbad are in there too. For a 5th... For something less obvious, I actually really liked Just Friends, just because I think Ryan Reynolds is funny as hell - loved his part in that pizza-series they showed some years back.

Regarding training your bench is pretty damned strong. Your deads, however, looked a bit like a crane-lift. Maybe post them up in the technique forum to make sure it isn't criminal?

[Briks42]

The Hangover was great the first time I saw it. Zero rewatchability, though. Dumb and Dumber is one of the funniest movies ever, I've seen it many times over the years. 40 year old virgin and Superbad are in there too. For a 5th... For something less obvious, I actually really liked Just Friends, just because I think Ryan Reynolds is funny as hell - loved his part in that pizza-series they showed some years back.

Regarding training your bench is pretty damned strong. Your deads, however, looked a bit like a crane-lift. Maybe post them up in the technique forum to make sure it isn't criminal?

Hahaha, Just Friends is a funny choice. My girlfriend absolutely loves that movie. I think its funny too, but no where near my top 5 or 10. 2 guys a girl and a pizza place? Yeah, i remember that. After the first season they switched the name to 2 guys and a girl. Complete disrespect to pizza. No need for that.

What do you mean by a crane-lift? Do you mean how my hips shoot up, and THEN the pull starts?? If so, I definitely agree. If I start with the hips higher, everything will be stronger...............If you are talking about something else, please let me know what you mean. Thanks a lot.

[DV]

What do you mean by a crane-lift? Do you mean how my hips shoot up, and THEN the pull starts?? If so, I definitely agree. If I start with the hips higher, everything will be stronger...............If you are talking about something else, please let me know what you mean. Thanks a lot.

That, and your back bends a bit. You aren't at lobster-status or anything, but it does give a bit. As I said, some is to be expected at heavy weights, but I'd post it up in the technique section to be sure. Can't hurt anyway.

EDIT: And yeah, Just Friends is something of a chick-flick or rom-com if you will. But I watched it with my wife and my kid brother who was visiting us while we lived in a tiny room in Madrid, and we we're all crying from laughing so hard. I just threw it in there as a non-obvious one. It's one I actually would watch again. That's the series by the way, with the pizza place. His role, Berg, is just so incredibly funny. I should probably get the DVD's from that show.

[Briks42]

Gotcha, thanks. Ill wait until next workout actually though so I can correct the hips too low problem and then just see if my back is ok.

[Briks42]

Friday Night- 3/30/12

Bodyweight- 199.8

Bench Press- 235x3x15 (1:30 rests between sets)

Presses- 170x2x5
170x1x1
160x2x5 (did all these sets 3 minutes apart so about 2:45 rest between)

Lateral Raises/Upright Row supersets- 15s x 12 x 2
10s x 12 x 3 (all 5 sets with :30 rest between)

So I have decided to get programming from Jim Steel now. I kinda felt like I was in a little bit of a rut on the upper body stuff, plus I was jealous of the success I saw others having with Steel's programming, and I took the plunge. I told him my injury situation, goals, lifts, etc, and he will be providing me with the workouts.

This workout i was told to do 15 sets of 3 on the bench with 70% and only 1:30 rest periods. I am using 315 as my 1 rep max even though I have gotten 320 before because I don't think I could get 320 NOW. Even though I am not used to that kinda volume and short rest, the bench wasn't too hard.

For presses, he said to do 10 sets of 2 as heavy as I can with normal (2-3 minute) rest periods. I wasn't sure what to use because I again never do so many sets, plus I usually do presses first in my workouts and not after bench. I started with 170 and got 5 sets before failing on the 6th. I didn't count the fail set and did 5 more with 160. I was smoked after these.

But of course the fun wasn't over. I got to finish up with 5 cruel shoulder supersets. A total of 120 reps in about 5-6 minutes had my shoulders on absolute fire.

I know its only been one workout, but I'm real excited about this programming. Jim really knows what he's doing and his athletes all have great success. Plus I think his programming is going to be "harder" than most programs I've done before, and I think that's gonna be a good thing for me in general, and definitely during a bulking period. I'm planning on being strong and jacked as shit in a few months.

I did last nights workout down Greyskull, which is always a good time. Its just a great training environment and I always have a good time hanging with those dudes. I definitely plan on going down every 2 weeks or so going forward.

Tonight I'm heading to the Sixers game. They better bounce back after that embarrassing loss last night.

Figured I'd leave you with this clip from this week's South Park. Mighta been the hardest I laughed in a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrqJFHGVS10

[Mac Ward]

Found your log. Interested to watch Jim program a strong dude!

[Rob Israel]

Good luck with the Steel program. But now I can't follow your TM bench/press mashup idea...

I've been trying to figure out how he's programing Mac. All I've gotten is that it's brutal and it's some kind wild cross of high volume and high intensity.

Movies:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Harold and Kumar, Monty Python's The Holy Grail, Get Him to the Greek, Happy Gilmore, Wedding Crashers (there's about 5 Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler movies I would list)

(The Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, 40-year old virgin, SuperBad, There's Something About Mary and others, already listed)

[Briks42]

Found your log. Interested to watch Jim program a strong dude!

Hahaha, thanks, but you are being very generous with the word strong.

[Briks42]

Good luck with the Steel program. But now I can't follow your TM bench/press mashup idea...

I've been trying to figure out how he's programing Mac. All I've gotten is that it's brutal and it's some kind wild cross of high volume and high intensity.

Movies:
Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Harold and Kumar, Monty Python's The Holy Grail, Get Him to the Greek, Happy Gilmore, Wedding Crashers (there's about 5 Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler movies I would list)

(The Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, 40-year old virgin, SuperBad, There's Something About Mary and others, already listed)

Thanks Rob. Yeah, I abandoned the TM press/bench thing before it even really got started. Oh well.

Im not even gonna figure out what he's doing with the programming. I just know its gonna be a lot of hard work and generate great results. Maybe over time I'll sense a pattern, but Im not worried about it.

Some very good movie picks in there. I actually prefer Life of Brian to the Holy Grail, but both are awesome. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one that I didn't LOVE the first time, but it is very rewatchable. Although, the scene when he sings in the dracula voice at the bar was incredible when you didn't know it was coming. I actually never saw Harold and Kumar. Thats high up on my must-watch list after so many people have been listing it among their funniest.

[Briks42]

Sunday Night- 4/1/12

Bodyweight- 200.0

Deadlifts- 300x2x12 (1:30 rest between sets)

Bentover Rows- 135x6x5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXQ-Ew1PErE&context=C4ac120bADvjVQa1PpcFNA59ol41kAoEbzfEy0winl-fSY6okP21U=
115x12

Barbell Curls- 75x6x5
55x12x3

Steel workout 2 in the bag. Again, it was much higher volume with much shorter rests than I am used to.

Deadlifts were to be done with 75% of my 1-rep max. Even though my actual max done in the gym is 385, I used 400 as the number because I am very confident I could get that. These had my lower back really pumped up, but I was never in danger of missing any reps. My hamstrings are also pretty damn sore from them this morning.

This was my first time doing bentover rows, so I was a little conservative with the weight. The video above was a random set I taped to ask Jim if the form was good and he said it was. I just put my pinkies on the ring and pulled until the bar hit my body. I could really feel this lift in my rear delts. I guess thats the main muscle that get used in rows but not so much in the weighted chins I always do.

I also may have been slightly conservative with the curl weight, but again, i never really did barbell curls, only dumbbells, and seeing 8 sets on the agenda made me figure i should be safe with the weights used.

I did each of the row and curl sets 3 minutes apart, so approximately 2:30 minutes rest between sets.

Other notes:
- Saturday night I went out to the Sixers game, then a benefit for a friend with cancer, then another 2 bars after that & didn't touch a drop of alcohol. I can't even imagine how long its been since I did that. I was designated driver all night and still had a very fun time. It was tough to not drink when all my friends were and I was out at bars, but its doable, and Saturday night proved I can still have fun in that environment. I do know now that I won't be able to not drink AT ALL though. My plan was to try to make it through my buddy's bachelor party in Vegas next month without drinking, but thats not gonna happen. My revised plan for Vegas is to just use as much moderation as possible, partially by willpower, and partially by making sure to eat a lot. When I eat a lot, I am not able to drink a lot. Also, I am going to only drink on very special occasions. Bachelor parties, weddings, etc. Not just random weekend nights for no real reason.

- Speaking of the Sixers game, I checked out the new Xfinity Live thing they just opened down between the Wells Fargo Center and Citizens Bank park, and its absolutely insane. Tons of HUGE tvs, bars everywhere, an outdoor stage for concerts, and a bunch of food options. Seemed like it was reasonably priced for something like that too. Its probably gonna be nuts down there for the Phillies home opener next Monday.

- Watched Wrestlemania last night with my buddy Shay and his son and nephew. It was a bangin show, way better than last year. The Undertaker-Triple H, CM Punk-Jericho, and Rock-Cena fights were all fire. Its so funny watching with the young bouls too. They get so excited and run around all crazy when something cool happens. Its a good time.

[Mac Ward]

Interesting to watch someone move through Jim's programming, with roughly the same abilities...at least the Dead...I'm going for a PR of 405 on Thursday. I've not done 300x2x12 ever...but I've had some big DL days.

After time, you get used to the volume, and it becomes familiar. I no longer dread the volume, in fact, I enjoy it. Oddly, I have a calm sense about me when he programs...he said I could do it, so...I do. Stupid I know. Took about 6 weeks to get there. In the beginning I thought he was just trying to kill me.

Now I think he's brilliant.

[DV]

Jim doesn't have you start every rep from the floor? Or is he just not too concerned with technique for an accessory lift? In either case I agree with the guys, very interesting to see Steel's programming in action, on a guy with comparable lifts. He seems to get some awesome results for his trainees, which I think most people would like to emulate.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall was pretty funny in some places. My favourite is the flashback one on how he was just fucking around at home without doing anything, really. "You shall not pass!". I love you man, another one with the same dude, however was really funny the first time I saw it. Forgot about that one.

And life of Brian is funnier than the Holy Grail, IMO. But the Holy Grail has "Brave, brave sir Robin", so it's a close call.

[Mac Ward]

Jim does have all DL start from the floor, sometimes on dead days he'll program some "no touch" or touch and goes after the DL. They are a LOT easier than they look, he only does these as assistance from what he has programmed for me and Gillian.

[sking1001]

Viking, were you asking about the rows? I think Jim has his clients do them BB style. From what I've heard, he likes to put a little more meat on the back...maybe to help with deadlifts?

I'm seeing more and more people getting their programming from Steel now. Very interesting.

[Briks42]

DV,

Im assuming you mean the rows? I had never done them before. He presecribed "bentover rows", so I did them like that and when I told him how my workout went, I sent him that video as a form check and he said they are good. So I guess doing them from the floor is a different exercise.

Getting programming from Steel just makes sense for me right now. Im very early into it obviously, but the results I've seen others get (Mac, Gillian, the people he trains with at Penn, and others I've seen on SV.com) speaks for itself. And I know that harder doesn't necessarily equal better in the weight room, but I think I needed to step up my workload a little bit. Also, my goals are aesthetic as much as they are to get stronger, and I am in the middle of a bulk, so the added volume could be a nice help there too.

[Briks42]

Interesting to watch someone move through Jim's programming, with roughly the same abilities...at least the Dead...I'm going for a PR of 405 on Thursday. I've not done 300x2x12 ever...but I've had some big DL days.

After time, you get used to the volume, and it becomes familiar. I no longer dread the volume, in fact, I enjoy it. Oddly, I have a calm sense about me when he programs...he said I could do it, so...I do. Stupid I know. Took about 6 weeks to get there. In the beginning I thought he was just trying to kill me.

Now I think he's brilliant.

Thats certainly good to hear. Good luck with your 405 deadlift Thursday. Im sure youll smoke it.

[DV]

Im assuming you mean the rows?

Yep. Back when I was young I learnt that all pulls start and end at the floor. Other variations usually have names - Yates Rows for example, which I actually did for a while some years back. I was just curious as to whether Steel programmes Yates Rows (or close to it) or if he just doesn't sweat the small stuff. I have a feeling it is the latter.

I also think you'll get something good out of Steels programming. Looking forward to following along.

[Briks42]

Yeah, Im sure it doesnt matter much either way...... Thanks.

[sking1001]

I'm waiting anxiously to see how awesome your deadlift is gonna be after Steel finishes with you!

[Briks42]

I'm waiting anxiously to see how awesome your deadlift is gonna be after Steel finishes with you!

Yeah, im expecting big things. my goal for the end of 2012 is 500 pounds. i think hes the guy to get me there. Ill also probably weigh 215-225 by then, so its not like thats a monstrous lift, but it would still be awesome for me.

[LimieJosh]

I've had longish periods where I couldn't squat at all. I didnt do a very good job of improving my dead in that time so I'm interested to see how you do, and how Steel makes you go about it given your squatting limitations.

[Briks42]

I've had longish periods where I couldn't squat at all. I didnt do a very good job of improving my dead in that time so I'm interested to see how you do, and how Steel makes you go about it given your squatting limitations.

Ive already made pretty good progress deadlifting without squatting. I mean, I guess it depends on your definition of good, but I got up to 365x4 from basically scratch without squatting at all. That might not be considered good, but its solid I think at 6'3 200. Although, since I was building my dead from basically scratch, improvement was going to come from the novice effect anyway I guess.

[LimieJosh]

Yeah, that pretty much mimics what I was able to do. I went to the seminar last jan (2011) having just restarted squatting twice a week having just achieved 365 X 5 for the first time. It didnt really go any further than that until I started squatting again, but then that's the problem of trying to improve deads with a squat based program in which you dont actually dot he squats.

[Briks42]

Yeah, that pretty much mimics what I was able to do. I went to the seminar last jan (2011) having just restarted squatting twice a week having just achieved 365 X 5 for the first time. It didnt really go any further than that until I started squatting again, but then that's the problem of trying to improve deads with a squat based program in which you dont actually dot he squats.

Yeah, that makes sense I guess. Theres probably a base level you can build up to just from the novice effect.

When I was programming myself, I was deadlifting every other workout because I figured I could recover fast enough to do that since I wasn't squatting. Jim also knows I am not squatting so I wouldn't be surprised if the deadlift volume and/or frequency he gives me is greater than someone who is squatting.

Best case scenario is that I can start squatting again in a month or 2 and that will be a boost as well.

[Briks42]

Tuesday Night- 4/3/12

Bodyweight- 200.8

Bench Press- 252.5x2x5 (3:00 from start to start)

Supersets (all done for 10 reps each exercise)
V-bar Lat Pulls/Dips- 160/BW x 1
140/BW x 1
120/BW x 1
110/BW x 1
100/BW x 1 (all done 2:00 from start to start)

1 arm dumbbell rows/front raises- 50s/15s x 5 (all done 3:00 start to start)

Standing curls/pushups- 30s/BW x 5 (all done 3:00 start to start)


This workout was absolutely fucking brutal. Steel gave me the presribed exercises, sets, reps and said PUSH THE REST PERIODS.

The Bench Press portion was easy even going every 3 minutes (I always went every 5 minutes on SS and GSLP, etc.).

The rest of it was awful though. I had no idea what weight to use for the lat pulls, and the 160 i chose was tough to complete 10 reps on. The weight was pulling me up the whole time, so im guessing it acts heavier than 160. The dips weren't too bad AT FIRST. But doing these every 2 minutes meant only about a minute of rest time. I had to keep lowering the weight on the lat pulls and the dips kept getting harder and harder. My lats were on fire and I just couldn't catch my breath. It was like a conditioning workout for me basically.

I definitely eased up a little after those first 5 supersets. I was conservative with the weights used on everything else and I increased the rest periods by a minute. This allowed me to get through it, but it was still tough. I never really caught my breath and I felt like I was gonna puke.

This shows how out of shape I am. I mean, I knew this since I haven't done any conditioning or played sports at all since my injury, but it was still shocking. I don't really care about conditioning right now though. I'm sure the workout was good for mass building reasons as well, and the supersets came on the heels of doing 5 heavyish sets of bench too, so it was good overall. I've already gotten my 3 workouts for next week (off till then for a vacation) and none of them are like this. They are high volume, but not short rest.

As I mentioned, Im off the rest of the week. I'm going to Denver to visit my sister and brother-in-law and my new niece who I have never met yet, so I'm real excited for that.

Also, I believe my 200.8 weigh-in was my highest of all-time. I'm still trending upwards at a good pace. I won $25 for my 1st quarter weigh-in, and I only need to get to 205 by 6/30 to hit that goal. I want to be around 210 by that point.

[sking1001]

I am in the middle of watching The Hangover Part 2. I'm just now to the "Alan Town" song, which I thought was hilarious. I thought of your log and had to post this here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e92dxBRaiQs

[Briks42]

Hahaha, I haven't seen Hangover 2 yet but I'm definitely gonna check it out. I've been actually hearing good things.

[Briks42]

Tuesday night- 4/10/12

Bodyweight- 199.6

Bench Press (every 4 minutes)- 250x3x12

Incline Dumbbells (every 3 minutes)- 90s x 6 x 2
80s x 6 x 3
65s x 9 x 1
50s x 12 x 2

Pushups (every 3 minutes)- 25 x 10 x 5


My chest and shoulders are fried from this one. 25 work sets, mostly at heavyish weights. Thats a lot different than the 3 sets you do on SS or GSLP. I'll get used to the volume pretty quickly I bet though.

There were no time constraints on this one. The only specific weight I was prescribed was the 250 on the bench (with NO MISSES emphasized). That wasn't really a problem. For the inclines and pushups, Steel just gave me the sets and reps and I just tried to pick the heaviest weights where I could get the reps. The only one I messed up was the first prescribed set of 12 on the inclines. I tried the 65s, but I only got 9. Taking the shorter rests on the inclines and pushups was tough, but I just didn't want the workout to take an insanely long time.

I proposed to the YJ when I was in Denver over the weekend. She said yes after first screaming "Are you fucking with me!?" Planning on getting married in July 2013. As someone said to me on twitter today, one jawn in Northeast Philly is happy, and tens are disappointed. Sorry ladies.

I was out in Denver to see my baby niece for the first time. That was awesome. Gonna hate that I'll rarely see her though. Sucks they live so far away. Who the fuck moves to Denver anyway? Weirdos.

Fast 5 is now on HBO. I somehow forgot how good it was. Luda was saying there are gonna be at least 3 more. I really really hope thats true.

I also read the first 2 Hunger Games books and I'm on the 3rd now. And I went and saw the movie. The books are pretty awesome. Katniss is a great character. She kinda reminds me of Spider-man for some reason. The books as a whole have a comic book storyline actually. Thats probably why I tax them. The movie obviously wasn't as good as the book, but I thought they did well working within movie time constraints. I liked it. Jennifer Lawrence was on point as Katniss.

[Mac Ward]

I proposed to the YJ when I was in Denver over the weekend. She said yes

Congrats!

[Mr_Rogers]

Big congrats Briks!

All I got when I proposed was a "I can't believe you surprised me"...I don't think I got a verbal "yes", but she took the ring.

[Briks42]

Congrats!

Thanks Mac.

[Briks42]

Big congrats Briks!

All I got when I proposed was a "I can't believe you surprised me"...I don't think I got a verbal "yes", but she took the ring.

Thanks Mr. Rogers..... hahahaha, yeah, very simlilar. I actually had to ask a second time to get an official yes.

[sking1001]

Congrats!

Ditto! That's awesome news, Bobby :-)

[Briks42]

Ditto! That's awesome news, Bobby :-)

Thanks a lot, Steve.

[Gillian Mounsey]

Congrats on the engagement!

[Briks42]

Thanks a lot, Gillian.

[bob g]

So, this was me reading today:

Tuesday night- 4/10/12

Bodyweight- 199.6

Bench Press (every 4 minutes)- 250x3x12

-Bob G, reading, reading...


Incline Dumbbells (every 3 minutes)- 90s x 6 x 2
80s x 6 x 3
65s x 9 x 1
50s x 12 x 2

Pushups (every 3 minutes)- 25 x 10 x 5


My chest and shoulders are fried from this one. 25 work sets, mostly at heavyish weights. Thats a lot different than the 3 sets you do on SS or GSLP. I'll get used to the volume pretty quickly I bet though.

-Bob G, reading, reading...



There were no time constraints on this one. The only specific weight I was prescribed was the 250 on the bench (with NO MISSES emphasized). That wasn't really a problem. For the inclines and pushups, Steel just gave me the sets and reps and I just tried to pick the heaviest weights where I could get the reps. The only one I messed up was the first prescribed set of 12 on the inclines. I tried the 65s, but I only got 9. Taking the shorter rests on the inclines and pushups was tough, but I just didn't want the workout to take an insanely long time.

I proposed to the YJ when I was in Denver over the weekend. She said yes after first screaming "Are you fucking with me!?" Planning on getting married in July 2013. As someone said to me on twitter today, one jawn in Northeast Philly is happy, and tens are disappointed. Sorry ladies.

I was out in Denver to see my baby niece for the first time. That was awesome. Gonna hate that I'll rarely see her though. Sucks they live so far away. Who the fuck moves to Denver anyway? Weirdos.
-Bob G, reading, reading ....


Fast 5 is now on HBO. I somehow forgot how good it was. Luda was saying there are gonna be at least 3 more. I really really hope thats true.

I also read the first 2 Hunger Games books...
-Bob G, WTF?


... and I'm on the 3rd now. And I went and saw the movie. The books are pretty awesome. Katniss is a great character. She kinda reminds me of Spider-man for some reason. The books as a whole have a comic book storyline actually. Thats probably why I tax them. The movie obviously wasn't as good as the book, but I thought they did well working within movie time constraints. I liked it. Jennifer Lawrence was on point as Katniss.
-Bob G, what did Bobby just say?



I proposed to the YJ when I was in Denver over the weekend. She said yes after first screaming "Are you fucking with me!?" Planning on getting married in July 2013.

Awesome news, Bob. She's a lucky YJ. Much happiness to you both.

[Briks42]

Hahahaha thanks a lot Bob. I appreciate it. I also appreciate that you continue to try to decipher my log. I know it isn't easy for you.

[Rob Israel]

"are you fucking with me?"

Classic!

Congratulations!

[Briks42]

Hahaha yeah it was a great reaction..... Thanks a lot rob.

[DV]

Grats on the engagement. Being married actually is pretty cool, all things considered. It changes more than I would've thought, but mostly in a good way. July 2013 is a long ways away, though. I think we took 3 months from when I proposed to actually tying the knot. But then again, her family paid for and arranged everything for the actual wedding, all I had to do was show up, get drunk, sign the papers and say yes (in that order).

Also a pretty intense session there, no wonder you are fried.

[Briks42]

Grats on the engagement. Being married actually is pretty cool, all things considered. It changes more than I would've thought, but mostly in a good way. July 2013 is a long ways away, though. I think we took 3 months from when I proposed to actually tying the knot. But then again, her family paid for and arranged everything for the actual wedding, all I had to do was show up, get drunk, sign the papers and say yes (in that order).

Also a pretty intense session there, no wonder you are fried.

Thanks DV. Yeah, Im not sure how much will change, but I guess I'll find out. I've been with the YJ for around 6 years and we have been living together for about 6 months now, so I'm thinking it won't be a crazy difference.

Damn, 3 months seems real quick. Thats awesome that her family paid for everything though. I would love that. Im glad to hear its pretty cool either way.

Yeah, my deadlift session tonight is gonna really beat me up too. I like that though.

[DV]

Thanks DV. Yeah, Im not sure how much will change, but I guess I'll find out. I've been with the YJ for around 6 years and we have been living together for about 6 months now, so I'm thinking it won't be a crazy difference.

Damn, 3 months seems real quick. Thats awesome that her family paid for everything though. I would love that. Im glad to hear its pretty cool either way.

Yeah, my deadlift session tonight is gonna really beat me up too. I like that though.

I'm of the opinion that papers don't change anything, so I also thought that it wouldn't change much. But I was wrong. It's subtle, but theres a definite different from being "boyfriend/girlfriend" to having promised each other, in front of your families, that you're committing yourself to making a life together. It's mostly nice, though, I find.

I had her convinced that we should just go to city hall with 2 friends as witnesses, but in the end I changed my mind and told her it would be alright with a priest, party, big dress, the works - as long as I didn't have to arrange nor pay for anything. One of the best parties of my life to be honest, but then we did it in Central America, they throw some awesome parties.

One of my friends is getting married this summer in Denmark, actually. He's cheap as hell (he says so himself) so it will be an informal, toned down, barbecue+drinking binge. I'm actually looking forward to that, compared to the formal and boring weddings we usually have in the DK.

Looking forward to seeing what Steel has you do for deadlifts.

[Briks42]

Wow, that Central America wedding was sounds awesome. My sister got married in Mexico at a resort and that was incredible.

We have too many friends and too big of families to go away for ours though. We will be inviting over 250 people most likely, so its not gonna be cheap (or boring, Ill make sure of that).

[Mr_Rogers]

Damn, 3 months seems real quick.

That was my reaction too, but I also think July 2013 is quick...I'm working on the ten year plan from proposal acceptance to marriage (I think I proposed in '05). Why rush it? <-- that part is a joke.

Wedding size scares us, especially after what her oldest sister went through. We're strongly considering flying to Vegas just to make things official.

How are you enjoying the new program?

[DV]

Just remember that your wedding is for you guys, not your friends+family. Often it ends up being more about family expectations than the bride and groom.

250 people is insane. I think we were 150, but that was just her side, my best man and another friend. We then had a smaller reception in Denmark for my friends and family.

It might've gotten lost in there, but another piece of advice is to be at least slightly drunk from before events even start. No sane, sober man can sign a document, transferring 50% of his future income...

[LimieJosh]

You can if she is rich. Congrats, Bobby.

[Tom Narvaez]

Congrats!!!

[Briks42]

That was my reaction too, but I also think July 2013 is quick...I'm working on the ten year plan from proposal acceptance to marriage (I think I proposed in '05). Why rush it? <-- that part is a joke.

Wedding size scares us, especially after what her oldest sister went through. We're strongly considering flying to Vegas just to make things official.

How are you enjoying the new program?

Hahaha, so you are the opposite of Danish Viking I guess. 10 year plan, thats great.

I'm loving the plan so far. The volume is a bit shocking, but my body is handling it ok. I think the body is capable of a lot more than we sometimes give it credit for.

[Briks42]

Just remember that your wedding is for you guys, not your friends+family. Often it ends up being more about family expectations than the bride and groom.

250 people is insane. I think we were 150, but that was just her side, my best man and another friend. We then had a smaller reception in Denmark for my friends and family.

It might've gotten lost in there, but another piece of advice is to be at least slightly drunk from before events even start. No sane, sober man can sign a document, transferring 50% of his future income...

Hahahaha, I will definitely be slightly drunk that day, without a doubt.

The good thing about the big wedding size for us will be twofold. 1 is that I think it will make it more fun for us, as we both tend to be the type to enjoy huge parties. 2 is that we are lucky that most of the guests will be from around our area. People in Philadelphia generally, and Northeast Philly specifically, tend to be very very generous with stuff like wedding gifts. Its pretty standard for us to give $100 as a gift as a single person, or $200 as a gift from a couple. So we should get back a good percentage of what we spend on each additional guest. That makes it a lot more tolerable.

[Briks42]

You can if she is rich. Congrats, Bobby.

Haha, shes far from rich. Shes a city elementary school teacher......... thanks a lot.

[Briks42]

Congrats!!!

Thanks a lot, Tom.

[bob g]

...

I've been with the YJ for around 6 years and we have been living together for about 6 months now, so I'm thinking it won't be a crazy difference.
...

You are SO young. Being married will be awesome but believe me, it will be different. All of a sudden where you leave your socks will taken on cosmic importance. Even if you've been leaving your socks in the same place your entire life that place will no longer be an option. Just wait.

[sking1001]

...and when you have kids, they won't understand what a sock on the doorknob means either.

[Briks42]

You are SO young. Being married will be awesome but believe me, it will be different. All of a sudden where you leave your socks will taken on cosmic importance. Even if you've been leaving your socks in the same place your entire life that place will no longer be an option. Just wait.

Hahaha, I guess I just haven't gained your wisdom yet. Only life experience can give me that.

[Briks42]

...and when you have kids, they won't understand what a sock on the doorknob means either.

Come on, Steve. One thing at a time. Kids are still a LONG way away.

[Briks42]

Thursday Night- 4/12/12

Bodyweight- 198.4 (Not sure what thats about)

Deadlifts- 320x3x10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzDb201O5zA&context=C4ac120bADvjVQa1PpcFNA59ol41kAoEbzfEy0winl-fSY6okP21U=

Reverse Grip Bentover Rows- 155x6x5
135x12x1
135x9x1

Barbell Curls- 65x12x2
55x12x1

Dumbbell Curls- 25s x 12x 3

This was a pretty tough workout. Deadlifts were 10 sets of 3 with 80%. Even though my actual 1 rep max is only 385, I'm using 400 as my max for all percentages since I am confident I can get that. That meant 320 for these sets. Steel told me to take as much time as necessary to get all the reps. I did them every 4 minutes, so about 3:40 of rest between, which was fine.

After I was done deads, I really didn't feel like doing the other stuff, but I sucked it up and got it done. I did all those sets every 3 minutes. 72 reps of curls will leave you not being able to bend your arms.

My dad is complaining about the noise of me and Coys letting our deadlifts hit the floor, so we gotta do something about that. The mats we are currently using don't do much for the noise, though I think they do a good job protecting the floor. I'm going to have to build a platform in the next couple days I think. Hopefully Home Depot has everything I need for that. If I don't get it done before my next scheduled deadlift workout, I'll just have to go down Greyskull or something.

Fergie has been suspiciously quiet lately. She's due to drop some fire soon. She'll probably never touch "Big Girls Don't Cry" levels again, but I'll take something on par with "Fergilicious" or "London Bridge".

[LimieJosh]

Fergie has been suspiciously quiet lately. She's due to drop some fire soon. She'll probably never touch "Big Girls Don't Cry" levels again, but I'll take something on par with "Fergilicious" or "London Bridge".
You are a weird dude.

[DV]

Big girls don't cry was a horrible song that sounds just like every other cheezy pop song in Germany (I believe it was done by a German).

I'll take some of the Polow stuff, though - or even, though I hate him as an artist, Will.I.Am. I liked Clumsy the most out of all her tracks, and he did that one I think.

That's a lot of fucking curls, after rows which are bound to have tired your arms some. I am impressed, I hate curls.

[Briks42]

Big girls don't cry was a horrible song that sounds just like every other cheezy pop song in Germany (I believe it was done by a German).

I'll take some of the Polow stuff, though - or even, though I hate him as an artist, Will.I.Am. I liked Clumsy the most out of all her tracks, and he did that one I think.

That's a lot of fucking curls, after rows which are bound to have tired your arms some. I am impressed, I hate curls.

I need to start listening to German pop music I guess...... Clumsy, really? Clumsy was sub-par.

Yeah, curls are awful.

[Briks42]

You are a weird dude.

I just like stuff that sounds good. I don't discriminate.

[sking1001]

I just like stuff that sounds good. I don't discriminate.

In that case, I'll have to sing for you sometime..

[Briks42]

In that case, I'll have to sing for you sometime..

Steve, are you trying to seduce me?

[Briks42]

Saturday Afternoon- 4/14/12

Bodyweight- 199.6

Press- 150x5
160x5
165x5
115 x 12,8,6 (1:30 rest on these 3 sets)

Seated lateral raises- 20s x 15,12
15s x 15

Standing Dumbell Tricep Ext- 45x12x5

Barbell Shrugs (straps)- 275x5x3------->then dropped to 225x15 after last set with no rest

My shoulders were lit the fuck up during this workout. I was happy to get 165x5 (matches 5 rep max) on the presses since I haven't been pressing nearly as frequently lately and since it came after the other 2 ramping sets. Seems I haven't lost any strength there. The 3 sets with 115 on short rest were brutal. I could barely lift my arms above my head by the end.

The other stuff was fine. Just bodybuilding assistance type stuff.

For rest periods, I went every 4 minutes on the presses, and every 3 minutes on the assistance stuff.

I am back on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule this week, so hopefully my shoulders are recovered for my bench work tonight.

[Briks42]

Monday Night- 4/16/12

Bench Press- (215x3, 245x2, 275x1)x4

Incline Dumbbells- 60s x 10 x 5

Weighted Pushups- 45 x 6 x 5

This workout was pretty easy. I am quickly getting used to the volume in Steel's workouts. I went every 4 minutes on the 12 sets of bench, then every 3 minutes for the inclines and pushups. I was never really close to failing a rep on anything.

Wednesday night will be deadlifts, back, and bis at Greyskull. I found a dude selling horsestall mats on craigslist too who is located real close to Greyskull, so I'll pick them up too. Hopefully me and Coys will get a platform built by this weekend so the owners of BROcklehurst stop bitching about me lowering the weights onto their floor on deads.

[Briks42]

Wednesday Night- 4/18/12 (Greyskull)

Bodyweight- 200.0

Deadlifts- 305x5
330x5
350x5

Bent Rows- 155x10x4
155x9x1

Reverse Curls- 50x12x5

I was a little disappointed with this workout. My instructions were "305x5, 330x5, then 350x AMRAP (don't go to failure)". I was slightly confused about how to do AMRAP without risking going to failure. Anyway, during the workout, the 305x5 and 330x5 took more out of me than I had hoped. When I did the 350, the 5th rep was brutal. I was probably 50-50 to get rep number 6, so I didn't attempt it out of the instructions not to go to failure. In retrospect, I wish I had gone for it, even if it meant failing. Oh, well. 350 is actually a 5 rep PR for me so its not like it was a terrible workout. And I think if I just warmed up for a top set of 350 instead of ramping, I have 7 in the tank. So I'm definitely getting stronger.

The rows and reverse curls were fine. I probably should have gone SLIGHTLY heavier on the curls, but no biggie. Still had the crazy forearm pump you get from reverse curls. Now that I am getting used to the volume, I am liking doing the "bodybuilding" style assistance work. As long as I keep gaining weight, which I will, I should pack on a ton of good muscle.

South Park was disappointing last night. This season has been pretty hit or miss. The Faith Hilling episode and last weeks episode about bullying were very good, but the rest have been just ok. I wonder if they are just falling off a little bit. I hope not.

I picked up 2 2x4x3/4 horsestall mats last night for $30 total. It was a steal of a price. They are really sturdy and I am not even sure if I have to build a whole platform or if they will be good enough on their own to deadlift on and not get yelled at by the BBC gym owners. Gonna have to try them out next week and find out.

[simonsky]

Dude the episode about bullying sucked. The part where there was some sort of a bully inception was pretty clever but I just hate parts of movies or cartoons where they cut off and do a musical of some sort just like in family guy.

Thanks for the heads up on the ziplining it seems I don't need to bother watching it haha

[Briks42]

Dude the episode about bullying sucked. The part where there was some sort of a bully inception was pretty clever but I just hate parts of movies or cartoons where they cut off and do a musical of some sort just like in family guy.

Thanks for the heads up on the ziplining it seems I don't need to bother watching it haha

Ahhhh, i liked the bullying one. Both the musical parts of that episode meant something. The "make bullying kill itself" was a spoof of an actual video shot by high school kids. The whole one take thing was exactly the same. Here's the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waAqJ6727Hk&feature=related

And the whole naked and jacking it in San Diego, which was hilarious, was making fun of that Kony video dude Jason Russell or whatever who got caught masturbating in public in SD.

But yeah, the ziplining one was pretty weak I thought. I'd still watch it if I were you though. Even the bad episodes have a couple funny parts making it worth watching.

[simonsky]

So that's why I didn't find it funny. I knew some americans were doing this anti-bullying videos but I'm not American so I didn't get it right away. And I now find Stan's bit just because I found it was about that Kony video dude hahahahhaahha

[Briks42]

Friday Night- 04/20/12

Bodyweight- 202.0

Presses- 170x2x10

Lateral Raises/Kickbacks Supersets- 20s x 10 x 5

Barbell Shrugs- 255x10x5

I was pretty happy with this workout. My pressing strength is good right now despite doing it a lot less frequently than I had been the first 3 months of the year. Im sure the fact that I'm at an all-time high in bodyweight helps that a ton too. I did the press doubles every 4 minutes, then did the assistance stuff every 3 minutes.

Everything is in a very good groove right now training and diet-wise, except that out of nowhere my left knee has been really sore and swollen. This is NOT the knee I have twice torn (and the reason I am not squatting). Instead, it is the knee I have dislocated a ton of times in my life and that I had surgery on about 15 months ago to remove bone chips. It has been fine for so long post-surgery that I actually thought it'd never really be a problem for me again, and now it just started hurting pretty badly out of nowhere. Walking down steps is pretty painful. I am not even doing anything that would hurt it either. I guess it has to be the deadlifts that triggered it, but that seems odd to me. I'm really confused. I will just train through it as long as I can and hope it just goes away. Pretty annoying though.

[DV]

It might be rows too? Your knees sound very problematic. You should probably start squatting or something to strengthen the muscles around them more? What does Steel say?

Impressive weightgain. The hypertrophy stuff does help, I'm finding it easier to eat more as I am doing more "bodybuilder" assistance stuff than I usually do.

[Briks42]

It might be rows too? Your knees sound very problematic. You should probably start squatting or something to strengthen the muscles around them more? What does Steel say?

Impressive weightgain. The hypertrophy stuff does help, I'm finding it easier to eat more as I am doing more "bodybuilder" assistance stuff than I usually do.

You might be right about the squats helping the knees. I am going to Vegas in about 3 weeks and will probably attempt to squat after I'm back from that. I had actually been thinking about starting this week because my right knee was feeling better, but now the pain in my left is bad enough that I don't think I can do it. We will see though. But I definitely agree with you that it could be helpful.

I hadnt asked Steel about it yet because it was a pain tolerance issue so I knew I couldnt do it. But now it might be worth getting his opinion on it now that my right knee is feeling much better.

[DV]

I'm no expert, but I've heard good things about squatting for rehabbing fucked knees IF you take it slow, use perfect(ish) technique etc. What I do know is that these sort of chronic injuries suck a big one. It's so limiting inside the gym and out. Maybe even some leg-extensions and leg-curls? Starr recommended those for knee-health.

In any case I think Steel would be a great guy to ask.

[Briks42]

Yeah, thanks DV. I agree with you. I'm definitely going to ask Steel about it.

[Briks42]

Monday Night- 4/23/12

Bodyweight- 201.0

Bench Press- (225x2, 255x2, 285x1) x 3

Inclines- 60s x 8
65s x 8
75s x 8

Weighted Pushups- 45x10x5

Pretty easy workout. The format was similar to last week's chest workout, but the weights were all higher. However, they still weren't a problem to get the reps. The singles with 285 weren't crazy easy, but they weren't a struggle either. I feel really strong all around right now.

I was prescribed to do the 3rd set of inclines with 70s, but I don't have 70s, so I did the 75s and still got the reps without too much trouble.

The reason I don't have 70s is because the dumbbells that we have at my house that are marked as 70s actually weigh 75 pounds. When I was a kid, my dad and uncle used to do seated shoulder presses and I would watch them. We didn't have 65s at the time, so they would do high reps with the 60s, then whenever they would try the "70s", it was a real struggle to get even like 4 reps. I always thought that was odd. Years later, when they had blown through that point and I was getting strong enough to use those weights on the inclines and stuff, I noticed that going from the 70s to the 75s we had bought was an easy jump to make for me. So I weighed both and of course, they were all 75 pounds. It made sense. No wonder it was hard for them to go from the 60s to the 70s on shoulders. They were trying to make a 30 pound total jump. Anyway, I made fun of them for how quick I realized it after they didnt for years. Dopes. So we gave my uncle the "70s" for his home gym since we didn't need 4 75 pound dumbbells.

That story was probably pretty god damn boring, but got a kick out of it.

The NFL Draft is now 2 days away. Im starting to think the Eagles are going to trade down this year. Everyone is speculating they might trade up or stay where they are and take a D lineman with their pick, but I feel this is gonna be a trade down year for them. It actually wouldn't make sense for Reid to trade down in a "playoffs or fired" year for him, but he rarely makes the move you'd expect.

[DV]

That story was probably pretty god damn boring, but got a kick out of it.


Cool story bro! :)

In all seriousness, that's some big benching right there. 285@201 is quite good.

I'm trying to figure out the structure of what Steel has you doing, but it eludes me so far. It looks similar to the stuff he programmes for other people, but with changes here and there.

[Briks42]

Cool story bro! :)

In all seriousness, that's some big benching right there. 285@201 is quite good.

I'm trying to figure out the structure of what Steel has you doing, but it eludes me so far. It looks similar to the stuff he programmes for other people, but with changes here and there.

Yeah, well, since I am not squatting, it seems like he has me in a pattern of Chest day, Deadlift/Row/Curl day, and Press/Tricep Day. I haven't figured out the weight changes and structures, and I'm actually not worried about it, since I am hitting each bodypart group pretty hard each day, which resembles a bodybuilding type scheme with heavier top-end weights.

When I signed up with him, I gave him the very vague goal of wanting to get bigger and stronger, and told him I am planning on gaining weight up to around the 220-225 range over the rest of 2012. Im sure that is factoring into his programming choices.

Honestly, I'm not as concerned about numbers as I am about looks. The only reason I had given myself numbers goals in the past was because they gave me a focused goal to attack, and because I know that (for example) if I can bench 350, deadlift 500, and press 225 at 6'3" 225, I'll LOOK like someone who can bench 350, deadlift 500, and press 225 at 6'3" 225.

[DV]

Honestly, I'm not as concerned about numbers as I am about looks.

Heresy on these boards, but I feel you. And I agree, these things go hand in hand (lifts and looks). I didn't know you were 6'3. Then you can easily go up to 220-225 and hit some big weights, while looking good ;)

So he basically sends you a new programme with weights and all, weekly? And then you pay some sort of "subscription", or how does it work?

[Briks42]

Heresy on these boards, but I feel you. And I agree, these things go hand in hand (lifts and looks). I didn't know you were 6'3. Then you can easily go up to 220-225 and hit some big weights, while looking good ;)

So he basically sends you a new programme with weights and all, weekly? And then you pay some sort of "subscription", or how does it work?

Yeah, I'm 6'3 so I definitely have room to grow. I was 160 pounds up until like early 08 too. Really skinny.

Yeah, haha, it is heresy but I honestly believe it matters to people more than they let on even on these boards. But if it doesn't, thats fine. Its all about what each person wants for themself. I mean, I want to be strong too, but the looks matter more to me.

Yeah, I am paying him monthly, and then he gives me a program every Sunday night for the week. I then email him back just to let him know how the workouts went so he knows for how to program going forward. I also email him form checks and that type of stuff if it applies.

There is definite back and forth too. Its not like anything is written in stone. For example, this upcoming Wednesday he programmed me to do some backoff sets of deadlifts touch and go. I told him I have never done touch and go and dont feel entirely comfortable that I can maintain proper form throughout a set of touch and go and he said "Just do them deadstop. For high reps the touch and go is good, but no biggie." Stuff like that.

[sking1001]

Yeah, haha, it is heresy but I honestly believe it matters to people more than they let on even on these boards

Yeah, I was going to say, you are probably just more honest than most, haha!

[Briks42]

Yeah, everyones goals may be different, but I certainly don't see the point of lifting and not liking how you look as a result, unless it's for a sport that you are playing at a high level. I just think a lot of people want to pretend they don't care about the looks aspect because it's fucking hard to get big and strong AND lean. So then they'll just say they'd RATHER be big and not lean. And they'll make fun of people for doing curls or for caring about abs.

[Mr_Rogers]

Yeah, everyones goals may be different, but I certainly don't see the point of lifting and not liking how you look as a result, unless it's for a sport that you are playing at a high level. I just think a lot of people want to pretend they don't care about the looks aspect because it's fucking hard to get big and strong AND lean. So then they'll just say they'd RATHER be big and not lean. And they'll make fun of people for doing curls or for caring about abs.

I don't pretend to not care about how I look because I do care. If not wanting to gain a ton of weight means I don't get as far as others on LP, I don't get as far as others on LP. I've accepted the fact that my progress will be slower which is difficult some times because I'd love to get into the olympic lifts, but I know I'm not strong enough yet.

[Briks42]

I don't pretend to not care about how I look because I do care. If not wanting to gain a ton of weight means I don't get as far as others on LP, I don't get as far as others on LP. I've accepted the fact that my progress will be slower which is difficult some times because I'd love to get into the olympic lifts, but I know I'm not strong enough yet.

Exactly, but at some point you WILL be strong enough to get into the olympic lifts, even if its a little slower than others because you are concerned with your looks in the meantime. Its not a race.

[sking1001]

I didn't know there was strength prerequisite to olympic lifts. Just start where you are.

[Briks42]

I didn't know there was strength prerequisite to olympic lifts. Just start where you are.

I basically know nothing about the olympic lifts. I just think Rip has mentioned before building up a baseline of strength before moving into them. But Mr. Rogers might be fine to start them now. Its outside of my realm of knowledge.

[DV]

Yeah, everyones goals may be different, but I certainly don't see the point of lifting and not liking how you look as a result, unless it's for a sport that you are playing at a high level. I just think a lot of people want to pretend they don't care about the looks aspect because it's fucking hard to get big and strong AND lean. So then they'll just say they'd RATHER be big and not lean. And they'll make fun of people for doing curls or for caring about abs.

I agree. I think that the curl/abs-bashing has gotten less over the years, though. I think most people are looking to be strong and look it too. With exception of people who actually compete in PL, few want to look like the big PL'ers, I'd say.

I don't necessarily want "abs" but I am pretty vain anyway. I get sort of "moon face" when I gain weight, and that bothers me to no end. That said looks isn't my only/primary goal with strength training. That is only one of the things that motivate me, the others being strong for the sake of it, being healthy, blowing off steam from work, and that I actually enjoy lifting weights.

But pretty much anyone that say they don't care how they look are lying, I think. But I don't think that too many people actually say that.

[Briks42]

I agree. I think that the curl/abs-bashing has gotten less over the years, though. I think most people are looking to be strong and look it too. With exception of people who actually compete in PL, few want to look like the big PL'ers, I'd say.

I don't necessarily want "abs" but I am pretty vain anyway. I get sort of "moon face" when I gain weight, and that bothers me to no end. That said looks isn't my only/primary goal with strength training. That is only one of the things that motivate me, the others being strong for the sake of it, being healthy, blowing off steam from work, and that I actually enjoy lifting weights.

But pretty much anyone that say they don't care how they look are lying, I think. But I don't think that too many people actually say that.

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I'd like great abs, but I don't want to deal with the dietary restrictions necessary to have them. Im happy at 15-16%.

I dont think anyone actually says they don't care how they look really, but I do think people act like their strength is their MAIN goal, where Ill easily say its not mine. Looks are my MAIN goal, but all the other stuff does matter to me too to different degrees (strength, health, enjoyment, the challenge).

[Briks42]

Wednesday Night- 4/25/12

Bodyweight- 201.6

Deadlifts- 315x3
350x2
370x4 (PR)
275x9
225x10
225x8

Bent Rows- 155x10x3

Barbell Curls- 75x10x2
65x10

This may have been the hardest lifting workout I've ever done. Steel is a cruel man. I was prescribed 370 for 2-5, so naturally I wanted 5, but the 4th was really tough. I gave a half-hearted attempt at 5, but had nothing left. I was still very happy with 370x4 though, considering the most i've ever lifted was 385 for a life or death 1 rep max 2 months ago. I am clearly getting stronger.

After that though, it became torturous. I was in no way ready how difficult high-rep backoff sets are on the deadlift. I was prescribed 275x10, but only got 9. Maybe it was because I am so de-conditioned and because I am not used to high reps, but this was insanely intense. My low back was already pumped up from the 370, and about halfway through the 275, it just became ridiculous. I couldnt even tell if I was finishing the reps at the top because of the low back pump making it feel like I couldnt stand up straight. And it wasnt just my lower back. My hammies, lungs, arms, lats, traps and other muscles were all screaming at me by the end. Then to have to do 225 for 2 sets just wasnt fair. As light of a weight as that is, my body was just fried. I really really contemplated not doing those sets, especially the second one, but I forced myself to even though I felt like I was gonna throw up and my body was shaking.

After all that, I just went through the motions on the rows and curls. I know I coulda used more weight on the rows but I took it a little easy. Oh, well.

The great thing is that as bad as I felt DURING that workout, I felt that good later last night and today. There's a certain high that comes after fighting through something that hurts like that. I can understand why people get addicted to crossfit and those types of workouts because the feeling after fighting through the pain really is good. I don't do it because I know it won't help me meet my goals, but I understand why people do it. In my case though, I know last nights workout will help me to increase my deadlift, and get bigger and stronger, so this DOES meet my goals. I am feeling great today.

[sking1001]

BIG kudos for pushes through that brutal session! Nice job...VERY nice job :-)

[Briks42]

Thanks Steve. I don't know if it was supposed to be that brutal or if I am just THAT de-conditioned and not used to high reps, but it was awful.

[DV]

Just wait till 2nd day DOMS comes along. Solid work, and grats on the PR.

[Briks42]

Just wait till 2nd day DOMS comes along. Solid work, and grats on the PR.

Thanks DV..... yeah, i know, my lower back is already getting sore but I know my hammies wont hit until tomorrow.

[Tad_T]

It looks pretty damned brutal.

[Briks42]

It looks pretty damned brutal.

Yeah, and it was worse because I had a false sense of security going into it because the weights LOOKED so light. I mean, how hard can it be to do a set with 100 pounds less than the set before, right? And then drop another 50 pounds after that?Easy....................................Right .

[Mr_Rogers]

Yeah, and it was worse because I had a false sense of security going into it because the weights LOOKED so light. I mean, how hard can it be to do a set with 100 pounds less than the set before, right? And then drop another 50 pounds after that?Easy....................................Right .

I would have approached it the same way. I don't really know much about back off sets though. Kudos for fighting through it Briks, it shows a lot of determination!






I didn't know there was strength prerequisite to olympic lifts. Just start where you are.

I basically know nothing about the olympic lifts. I just think Rip has mentioned before building up a baseline of strength before moving into them. But Mr. Rogers might be fine to start them now. Its outside of my realm of knowledge.

I've seen a few people recommend getting the body used to them now and a few say finish LP then do them. I'm basically confused on how to program them along side strength training as I realize I won't get far without strength. I have a few ideas, but nothing I'm committed to right now.

[Dwayne_KONG_Wint]

Thanks Steve. I don't know if it was supposed to be that brutal or if I am just THAT de-conditioned and not used to high reps, but it was awful.

Loving the awfulness....that's what its all about.

[Briks42]

I would have approached it the same way. I don't really know much about back off sets though. Kudos for fighting through it Briks, it shows a lot of determination!





I've seen a few people recommend getting the body used to them now and a few say finish LP then do them. I'm basically confused on how to program them along side strength training as I realize I won't get far without strength. I have a few ideas, but nothing I'm committed to right now.

Thanks Mr. Rogers....... yeah, Im not sure about how to program the olympic lifts, but Im sure you could search the board and find something Rip has programmed for someone in his Q&A in the past.

[Briks42]

Loving the awfulness....that's what its all about.

Hahaha, true. It does feel really good....... after the fact.

[djl236]

Loving the awfulness....that's what its all about.

so true hahaha

[Mr_Rogers]

Thanks Mr. Rogers....... yeah, Im not sure about how to program the olympic lifts, but Im sure you could search the board and find something Rip has programmed for someone in his Q&A in the past.

I didn't mean to hijack your log, sorry for that. I found a few examples of programs so I guess I'm at the point where I won't know unless I try it. Worst case scenario I need to go back to more of a strength program for a while to build more strength. Not the end of the world as I mentioned.

I appreciate you're candidness.

[Mac Ward]

I Iearned some time ago that when Jim posts something, it's hard. Prilepin's table calculations really set it up so that no matter what the weight, it's hard. I respect each set, when it looks easy, I worry more.

Solid work, dude. I have also experienced what you described with the volume deadlifts...I feel good later. Working at volume at submaximal loads recovery is better than 5 max effort reps, at least it has been for me.

[djl236]

I Iearned some time ago that when Jim posts something, it's hard. Prilepin's table calculations really set it up so that no matter what the weight, it's hard. I respect each set, when it looks easy, I worry more.


Dead on the money. Sunday will be week 4 with Jim for me and I've already come to realize this.

But like other's have said, I feel great when its all over and done.

[Briks42]

I didn't mean to hijack your log, sorry for that. I found a few examples of programs so I guess I'm at the point where I won't know unless I try it. Worst case scenario I need to go back to more of a strength program for a while to build more strength. Not the end of the world as I mentioned.

I appreciate you're candidness.

Hey, my thread is here to be hijacked. I love it.

As far as the olympic lifts, go for it whenever you feel you should. The great thing about all this is that YOU get to determine your goals, and no one else.

[Briks42]

I Iearned some time ago that when Jim posts something, it's hard. Prilepin's table calculations really set it up so that no matter what the weight, it's hard. I respect each set, when it looks easy, I worry more.

Solid work, dude. I have also experienced what you described with the volume deadlifts...I feel good later. Working at volume at submaximal loads recovery is better than 5 max effort reps, at least it has been for me.

Great info to know Mac, thanks. Although maybe its just my own body, but I'd MUCH rather work at high intensities than lower intensities for higher reps. Just a personal preference. I read in Gillian's log how she was so good at doing high rep stuff. Well, I am the opposite of that. I am not good at it and I hate doing it. I'd much rather do heavy singles or something.

That being said, as far as recovery, hopefully the lower intensity from last night will be easier to recover from. But don't forget, I also did a 4 rep max too, and it was a true failure set.

[Briks42]

Dead on the money. Sunday will be week 4 with Jim for me and I've already come to realize this.

But like other's have said, I feel great when its all over and done.

Yeah, i am on cloud 9 today and looking very forward to my shoulder/tricep workout tomorrow.

[sking1001]

Well, I am the opposite of that. I am not good at it and I hate doing it. I'd much rather do heavy singles or something.

You and me both!

[Briks42]

You and me both!

Yeah, whenever I know its a heavy day, I get excited. I know itll still be hard, but its a better kind of hard to me.

[Briks42]

Friday Night- 4/27/12

Bodyweight- 202.6

Presses- 155x5
165x1
175x4
175x3

Front Raise/Dips Supersets (all 10 reps of each)- 25s/20 pound vest x 2
20s/bodyweight x 3

Shrugs- 280x6x4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday Afternoon- 4/29/12

Bodyweight- 200.0

Bench Press- 250x6x5

Inclines- 75s x 10 x 2

Pushups- 15x3


I had 2 workouts to log today. This upcoming weekend I have a Sixers home game Friday night, paintball all day Saturday, and another Sixers home game Sunday, so there will be no time to workout. That means I had to do a Sunday-Tues-Thurs schedule this week. I actually kinda like the Sunday workout. Makes me feel spiritual. I just blast the Creed and get at it. No spot necessary, got the Holy Spirit for that. Coys said he couldn't believe Creed was a christian band cuz they are so god damn hardcore. He busted out a nasty set of curls to "One".

Anyway, both workouts went well. The 175x4 on the presses probably matches my other best sets of 195x1 and 180x3. Im a little heavier than I was for those sets, but not much. My pressing strength is holding strong despite the frequency being WAY less than it was.

On bench day yesterday, I was prescribed 30 reps with 250. I broke it down into 5 sets of 6, which worked pretty well. Only the 5th set was difficult, and even that wasn't life or death.

My Friday night weigh-in was an all-time high. I am gaining weight at exactly the pace I want right now. Not too fast, not too slow. I should be able to keep bodyfat low and still end up getting up to 220-225 by the end of the year if I keep up this pace. That's pretty ideal.

It sucks that Derrick Rose got hurt cuz I like him, but its great for the Sixers. The Bulls are still tough regardless, but I think the series is now a toss-up instead of basically having no shot with Rose playing. And if they can win this series, I also think they would have a great chance against the winner of the Indiana-Orlando series. Eastern Conference finals would be really cool. Definitely getting ahead of myself there though.

[DV]

That's a pretty good bench right there. What do you do for diet? It seems you are doing quite well dialing in a slow "bulk".

[Briks42]

That's a pretty good bench right there. What do you do for diet? It seems you are doing quite well dialing in a slow "bulk".

Thanks on the bench.

My diet has been very consistent during the week so far this year. I always had the idea of what to do but would always skip meals and shakes and stuff. This year I havent skipped. Also, on weekends I would always be hungover and not really eat, but cutting out alcohol has helped a ton. I still don't drink enough water on weekends though which is why i weighed in a little light Sunday afternoon.

Anyway, here is what I do on weekdays:
7:30 AM- Shake (16 oz of whole milk, approx 1.5 tbsp pure olive oil, 3 scoops whey)- approx 830 cals, 88g protein
1:00 PM- Some kind of big, "unhealthy" lunch based around protein. Eg, 5 guys cheeseburger and cheesedog, or a cheesesteak, or 2 chick fila sandbos and a medium fries, or a burger and fries- approx 1000 calories on average, and about 40-50g protein
3:00 PM- Shake- approx 830, 88
8:00 PM- Usually a small to medum "healthy" dinner. Post workout on training days, this is usually grilled chicken we make while training. Other nights, its whatever my girlfriend makes me, usually some sort of chicken, cheese and veggie combo. Approx 500 cals, 50g protein on average.
10:00 PM- Shake- Approx 830, 88

So that usually comes out to about 3,800-4,000 calories and about 330-370g protein on average during the week. Obviously, it is very shake intensive, which just works better for me. I basically follow an "If it fits your macros" philosophy to dieting. I don't care about eating fast food and stuff as long as I get 3500-4000 calories and over 300g of protein. That gives me a lot of leeway.

On weekends I tend to have only 2 shakes and 2 meals per day, so I am usually around 3,000 calories instead of up near 4,000.

It has clearly been working. When I do everything right, I gain about 1-1.5 pounds per week, while on some weeks giving some back on weekends when I go on vacation or whatever. And my bodyfat levels have stayed the same based on my own eye test and strength levels. I am up about 13 pounds in 16 weeks for the year. I am going to keep with this diet until I need to adjust, either due to gaining fat or due to stalling on weight gain.

The one downside to this diet is that I spend a lot of money on whey and also milk. I am lactose intolerant, so I buy lactose-free milk which is very expensive. But I'm willing to spend that money. The extra I spend on whey and milk is kinda offset by only eating 2 meals per day.

[DV]

The one downside to this diet is that I spend a lot of money on whey and also milk. I am lactose intolerant, so I buy lactose-free milk which is very expensive. But I'm willing to spend that money. The extra I spend on whey and milk is kinda offset by only eating 2 meals per day.

I find that whey is one of the cheapest protein sources gramme-for-gramme. So I would think it is definitely offset by only eating 2 real meals per day. But cost etc. might be different in the States.

Your diet looks like mine, actually. I have whey in all my meals except for lunch and dinner, too. I eat a bit cleaner for lunch, though, but then dirtier and with more alcohol on weekends.

[Briks42]

I find that whey is one of the cheapest protein sources gramme-for-gramme. So I would think it is definitely offset by only eating 2 real meals per day. But cost etc. might be different in the States.

Your diet looks like mine, actually. I have whey in all my meals except for lunch and dinner, too. I eat a bit cleaner for lunch, though, but then dirtier and with more alcohol on weekends.

Yeah, sounds like we are both on the same page then, diet-wise. I do NO conditioning work though, which may be the difference in me gaining weight right now. If I was conditioning, I'd have to take the calories up a little probably.

[DV]

If I was conditioning, I'd have to take the calories up a little probably.

To be honest I haven't noticed much difference, even though I am doing conditioning now, and doing something physical 6 times per week with my current setup (vs 3 times/week before). I think it factors in, but obviously with all the other stuff you are also doing. I.e. the monstrous volume sessions you are doing lately will spur appetite and growth, I'd think, even if you did do a few sprints here and there.

[Briks42]

To be honest I haven't noticed much difference, even though I am doing conditioning now, and doing something physical 6 times per week with my current setup (vs 3 times/week before). I think it factors in, but obviously with all the other stuff you are also doing. I.e. the monstrous volume sessions you are doing lately will spur appetite and growth, I'd think, even if you did do a few sprints here and there.

Yeah, good point.

[Briks42]

Tuesday Night- 5/1/12

Bodyweight- 203.0

Deadlifts- 315x2
355x2
370x1
385x2 (PR) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSC876cITME&feature=plcp

Reverse Grip Bent Rows- 155x6
175x6
185x6x3

Dumbbell Hammer Curls- 50s x 5
45s x 6 x 4

Pretty good workout. Steel prescribed me 385x2, which was my previous 1 rep max. As you can see, it wasn't easy, but I got it, which is all that matters. It was nice to be done with deads after the heavy set too, with no backoffs.

For the rows and curls, I went every 3 minutes, and they were fine. I was supposed to do sets of 6 on the hammers, but when I tried the 50s I could only manage 5 so I just dropped down and got all the reps with the 45s.

Good night all around as the Sixers won later last night too. I think they are now favorites to win the series, which is gonna make it a fun crowd at the home games Friday night and Sunday. I can't wait for that shit. I just miss Hip-Hop. What a great mascot. He woulda loved watching this team.

[DV]

Your lower back gives just a bit on those deads before the bar comes off the floor. I'm sure you saw that yourself as well.

Apart from that your arms are going to be huge from all this rowing and curling. You are well on the way to bro-status :)

[Briks42]

Hahaha, yeah, i know. These workouts are very bro-centric.

Yeah, thanks, I definitely saw the give. I am not worried about it. I think its just gonna happen on the heavy ones. I sent the video to steel and he had no issues with it, so that makes me feel ok about it.

[coil1979]

somebody got a problem with bros in here?

"Affirmative may be justified
Take from one give to another
The goal is to be unified
Take my hand be my brother
The payment silenced the masses
Sanctified by oppression
Unity took a backseat
Sliding further into regression

One, oh one,
The only way is one"

[RussB]

Friday Night- 3/30/12

Bodyweight- 199.8

Bench Press- 235x3x15 (1:30 rests between sets)

Presses- 170x2x5
170x1x1
160x2x5 (did all these sets 3 minutes apart so about 2:45 rest between)

Lateral Raises/Upright Row supersets- 15s x 12 x 2
10s x 12 x 3 (all 5 sets with :30 rest between)

So I have decided to get programming from Jim Steel now. I kinda felt like I was in a little bit of a rut on the upper body stuff, plus I was jealous of the success I saw others having with Steel's programming, and I took the plunge. I told him my injury situation, goals, lifts, etc, and he will be providing me with the workouts.

Oh man, so much for using the search function. I found your discussion about a month ago about an interesting TM-ish sort of press programming (Bench volume, Press Volume, Bench Intensity, Press Intensity cycle) and really wanted to see how it had progressed. Then I came to the bolded text in the quote above, and man was I disappointed. Not that I blame you for getting programming from Jim Steel.

Good luck. I just might implement something like you had started doing, since I don't want to go full TM with pressing yet.

[Briks42]

Oh man, so much for using the search function. I found your discussion about a month ago about an interesting TM-ish sort of press programming (Bench volume, Press Volume, Bench Intensity, Press Intensity cycle) and really wanted to see how it had progressed. Then I came to the bolded text in the quote above, and man was I disappointed. Not that I blame you for getting programming from Jim Steel.

Good luck. I just might implement something like you had started doing, since I don't want to go full TM with pressing yet.

Haha, sorry. Yeah, you are the second person I disappointed by abandoning that idea before I could really guinea pig it. (Rob Is was also very curious).

Let me know if you do implement it. I think it makes sense in theory as you should see faster gains than traditional Texas Method. The issue is whether or not there is enough recovery time involved. I think there is, but who knows.

[Briks42]

somebody got a problem with bros in here?

"Affirmative may be justified
Take from one give to another
The goal is to be unified
Take my hand be my brother
The payment silenced the masses
Sanctified by oppression
Unity took a backseat
Sliding further into regression

One, oh one,
The only way is one"

Scott Staap is the ultimate Bro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0QOiv5XbWE

[Briks42]

Thursday Night- 5/3/12

Bodyweight- 202.6

Presses- 140x8x3

Lateral Raises/Dumbbell Shrug Supersets (all done for 12 reps of each)- 25s/100s x 1
20s/100s x 1
15s/100s x 3

Weighted Dips- 20x10x5

Upright Rows- 75x5x1
95x5x4

Pretty good workout. I was prescribed to get 24 reps with 140 on the presses, so I broke it up into 3 sets of 8. I know I couldn't get 2 sets of 12, so I figured that made the most sense. Was pretty easy though doing the sets of 8.

The supersets sucked as my shoulders were on fire.

Dips were easy. I shoulda used 30 or 40 pounds in the vest for the 5 sets. Or at least started up there took weight out if I needed to.

Uprights rows I hadnt done in like 10-12 years probably, so I had to figure out what weight to use. They are a little bit of an awkward movement, but no pain or anything so it was all good.

Goin to the Sixers tonight and Sunday, and going paintballing tomorrow. This is gonna be a great weekend. I am probably going to be awful at the physical part of paintball since running is a major issue for me right now. I am gonna have to make up for that by being a brilliant military strategist and by having pinpoint shooting aim. Shouldn't be a problem.

[Briks42]

Monday Night- 5/7/12

Bodyweight- 202.4

Bench Press- 225x5
250x3
270x6

Flat dumbbell bench- 90s x 10
80s x 10
75s x 10 x 4

Pushups- 15x

Solid workout last night. I was pretty beat up from the weekend. Paintball has my knees killing me from the running around and crouching down and stuff, and I have some pretty good welts from getting drilled. I also drank both Friday and Saturday nights. I didn't get very drunk either night though like I used to, which meant I was able to eat better than usual. I was still suprised I weighed as high as I did though. I thought I was going to be around 200.0, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, the workout called for AMRAP with 270, and I got 6 reps. I was happy with that. I looked back in my book and the only other time I saw myself do 270 in the last few months I got 5 reps. The dumbbells I had to do 6 sets of 10. I started with the 90s, but they were harder than expected. 10 was basically failure on that set, which tired me out and forced me to drop down twice.

On the first set of pushups, I tweaked something in my shoulder so I cut the workout short. It shouldn't be serious but I don't want to risk it. I think it will be fine by next week. I've never had any serious shoulder issues. Just tweaks like this from time to time.


It was a good sports weekend. Two Sixers wins and the Mayweather-Cotto fight was way better than I expected. I have never seen Mayweather get hit so much. After the fight he said he was trading with Cotto in order to give the fans an exciting fight, but I don't believe that. I just think he's 35 years old and doesn't have the legs he used to have. He still has incredible defense using the shoulder roll and all that, but without his movement, it definitely means he is going to start getting hit a little more. Either way, it was still a great performance by Floyd. His accuracy is incredible and he showed he can win a tough fight. However, if he keeps refusing to fight Pacquiao, his leagacy will never be cemented. It weird too, because he is a horrible style matchup for Pacquiao, who struggles with counterpunching (JMM). You'd think he'd take that fight in a second, win it, and go down as one of the best ever. Hes just got some nagging fear about it for some reason. Weird.

[DV]

Paintball is awesome. 270x6 on the bench is pretty awesome too. Good job. Any news on working that knee with some squats, extensions, leg-curls or something?

[Briks42]

Paintball is awesome. 270x6 on the bench is pretty awesome too. Good job. Any news on working that knee with some squats, extensions, leg-curls or something?

Gonna try to squat soon but I'm in a lot of pain right now. I am not going to wait until I'm pain free, but I know that in a couple weeks it will be less inflamed and more likely to respond positively.

[Briks42]

Wednesday night- 5/9/12

Bodyweight- 201.4

Deadlifts- 335x2
360x1
380x0 (F)
405x0 (F) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pIBo4ZvQ-A
275x10
225x10
185x10

Bentover Rows- 160x10x4
160x8

Dumbbell Hammer Curls- 35s x 12
25s x 15 x 2

Well, this workout sucked balls. Not only did I not get the 405 I was prescribed, I didn't even get the last warmup single at 380, which is awful. On the high rep backoff sets, I was supposed to do 15 with the 225 and 185, but that wasn't happening either. My lower back gets so pumped up that I cant even stand up straight after a certain point. I still got some good work in with those at least.

As far as my deadlift, I've gone from 370x4 to 385x2 to 380x0 the past 3 weeks, so definite regression. When I showed Steel my 405 fail video, he said what he has been saying to me for a couple weeks, which is that I have to sit back more. And I'm sure he is correct, but I actually did sit back more on all more warmups, and then when I failed 380 doing that, I went back to my 'old' form to try 405. And even though I agree with him that sitting back more would help, I didn't do that when I got the 370x4 or 385x2, so I don't think its a form issue that caused my 380 failure.

Most likely, I think I need to deadlift more frequently. Even though most people tend to need to deadlift less frequently when they stall, the fact that I am not squatting or doing anything else even resembling lower body work makes me think my recovery should be fine to do more deadlifts. I am simply don't think deadlifting once every 7 days and not squatting at all is enough to make my deadlift increase. Maybe I can see if my knee can handle trap bar deads and ask Jim to program them one day, and regular deads another each week.

All that being said, I'm not too worried or concerned about it. I know if I keep working hard it will sort itself out. And I think that with my main goal being simply to put on muscle, this programming is working fine. I am clearly getting much bigger without getting fat right now. All the volume is definitely doing the job there. That goes for everything, not just my deadlift. If I ever want to make lifting a big total my goal, I could simply start lifting more frequently and blow past old marks simply because I will be using so much more muscle. For example, right now I could probably manage a 315 or 320 bench press, which is the same as my old 320 PR that I accomplished at 190 pounds of bodyweight. So you could look at it and say I've gained 12 pounds of bodyweight and no strenght. But I look at it as that I am not training for a big one rep max now, and thats why it hasnt increased. I am very confident that if I ran Smolov Jr for bench again (like I did before the 320), I'd have great success with it since I have so much more muscle and just need it dialed in for heavy lifting. I have no doubt I could get 335 or so within a month if that was my main goal. So overall, I am not worried about the fact that my lifts arent getting real big right now since I am putting on a lot of muscle and that is my main focus. I am basically training like a bodybuilder, which is great for me right now.

In other news, I am going to take those bodybuilding efforts out into the field this weekend in Vegas for a bachelor party. We are staying at the Hard Rock, which is supposed to have the best pool scene ever (Rehab). And it is supposed to be 95 degrees all weekend. I tax a pool, so I am going to love life. Im not leaving that jawn all day Saturday or Sunday. I really hope the Sixers close out this series tonight so I don't have to worry about a game 7 on Saturday and have to leave the pool to watch it. I really hope they play a lot of "Call me Maybe" out there while Im in the pool. Will just make things even better.

[Mr_Rogers]

Would something like RDL's help in the absence of not squatting?

Enjoy the bachelor party!

[Briks42]

Would something like RDL's help in the absence of not squatting?

Enjoy the bachelor party!

Thank you..... Yes, they might, though I think i need to do a "main lift" more often, whether it just be deadlifting more often or maybe trap bar deadlifting (assuming my knee can take them). Also, as useful as RDL's are, I think quad strength is much more of an issue for me than hamstring strength, though neither are probably very strong.

[DV]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I think your reasoning on the BB/strength chronondrum is pretty solid. I am following a similar path myself lately with the 5/3/1 shit, so will be interesting to see if it holds true in the long run. It ought to - bigger muscle=stronger muscle.

[Briks42]

That sounds like a lot of fun. I think your reasoning on the BB/strength chronondrum is pretty solid. I am following a similar path myself lately with the 5/3/1 shit, so will be interesting to see if it holds true in the long run. It ought to - bigger muscle=stronger muscle.

Yeah, 5/3/1 is setup very similarly assistance-wise and also with doing the main lifts only once a week. We will both find out I guess.

[Mac Ward]

Sitting back more takes practice. Steel had me there at his gym and I had difficulty breaking the 400 barrier. I kept practicing what he told me to do, went to flat shoes and it suddenly clicked. To the tune of av385 PR to a 450 PR in a few months.

Stick with Steel's plan. Sometimes I wonder where we are going and why, but I do it anyway. Shoot, I figure I'm still lifting, getting bigger and stronger, and it will all work out, even of I don't fully understand everything. I've got him to worry about that for me. When I "failed" in the past he has said, "don't worry about it, log what you did and move on." I still get mad because I want to do better, and I personally feel like I let him down, but in the end, it's all just steps on the road to 500. Easy enough. You'll bounce back, and believe me, those misses at 380 and 400 are still work and money in the bank. I'm blown away that you went for 400 after missing the 380. I would have packed it in and had a protein shake.

[Frat Guise]

Hey guy, enjoy the log. I haven't read every page yet (so apologies if this has been covered before):

Have you given sumo DL a shot? You have fairly long femurs, it might be a good fit.

When I switched I lost about 40 lbs. off my max, but after a few months I'm right back to PR territory (while almost completely eliminating the absurd lower back pumps I got from conventional).

[Briks42]

Sitting back more takes practice. Steel had me there at his gym and I had difficulty breaking the 400 barrier. I kept practicing what he told me to do, went to flat shoes and it suddenly clicked. To the tune of av385 PR to a 450 PR in a few months.

Stick with Steel's plan. Sometimes I wonder where we are going and why, but I do it anyway. Shoot, I figure I'm still lifting, getting bigger and stronger, and it will all work out, even of I don't fully understand everything. I've got him to worry about that for me. When I "failed" in the past he has said, "don't worry about it, log what you did and move on." I still get mad because I want to do better, and I personally feel like I let him down, but in the end, it's all just steps on the road to 500. Easy enough. You'll bounce back, and believe me, those misses at 380 and 400 are still work and money in the bank. I'm blown away that you went for 400 after missing the 380. I would have packed it in and had a protein shake.

Yeah, I'm sure I am not going to be able to switch how I deadlift in one workout and not have an adjustment period. Thanks for your sharing your experience. It helps. Working out at Penn once or twice would probably be the best solution.

Hahaha, yeah, well, I went for the 405 mainly because I chalked the 380 failure up to the switched form. And I was probably partially correct, because 405 actually came up a little bit more than the 380 did.

Actually, talking about this reminds me that I actually tried 380 twice and failed. I failed it horribly with the "sitting back" method that I probably wasn't doing correctly anyway. Then I was all mad and tried it again like 45 seconds later (genius move) with my "old form" and predicatably failed again. Then I proceeded to 405 anyway.

[Briks42]

Hey guy, enjoy the log. I haven't read every page yet (so apologies if this has been covered before):

Have you given sumo DL a shot? You have fairly long femurs, it might be a good fit.

When I switched I lost about 40 lbs. off my max, but after a few months I'm right back to PR territory (while almost completely eliminating the absurd lower back pumps I got from conventional).

Hey FG,

I've actually never tried sumo and its probably a solid idea. I wouldnt want to abandon conventional deadlifts though, but maybe trying something like conventional on Monday and Sumo on Thursday every week could be doable, again because I am not currently squatting. Thanks for the good suggestion.

And I am glad you enjoy the log. I will check yours out too.

[Frat Guise]

I actually really, really love the sumo DL now that I'm (somewhat) more technically advanced. Conventional wrecked my back and I really couldn't do it more than once every couple weeks.

[Briks42]

I actually really, really love the sumo DL now that I'm (somewhat) more technically advanced. Conventional wrecked my back and I really couldn't do it more than once every couple weeks.

Yeah, sumo has always been something I've wondered about due to my build, but I actually don't have much of an issue recovering from conventional deadlifts (maybe just due to the fact that I am not strong enough yet). I get a ton of "pump" during the sets but even today, I already feel almost 100% after Wednesday's workout. But I think doing both conventional AND sumo makes a ton of sense, even if just for the variety. They are clearly both good exercies.

[Tom Narvaez]

I don't have any good advice to give you about the deadlift. I'm just here to share your pain.

On the topic of sumo, I think if you can pull more with that style than you can conventionally, without even training it, it is probably worth it to eventually switch to a sumo pull. I did have a friend like this. He added something like 150lbs to his deadlift in 2-3 months once he made the switch.

[Briks42]

Ok cool, thanks for the knowledge, Tom. Like I said, I've never tried Sumo at all, so I have no idea if that would be better for me. Certainly can't hurt to try.

[Briks42]

Tuesday night- 5/15/12

Bodyweight- 196.0

Deadlifts- 305x3x8

I was also supposed to be doing bench stuff this workout, but the tweak I felt during last week's bench workout was still bothering me during my bench warmups, so I shut it down. I still don't think its anything real serious, but I am going to take a few weeks off of benching and get back to 100%. I talked to Steel about it and I will probably just do 2 overhead workouts the next couple weeks, maybe one pressing and one push-pressing.

Also, besides talking to me about not getting too worried about misses (referring to my deadlifts last week), Jim also switched my programming around to include much more frequent deadlifting, at least this week. I am deadlifting all 3 workouts, which I love. I was a little tired and worn down last night after Vegas, and my bodyweight was very low from dehydration and not eating a lot while drinking out there, but that'll come right back.

Vegas was incredible anyway, so it was worth it. Staying at the Hard Rock was better than any other place I have stayed out there by far. The pool scene is ridiculous there. Plus, I won about 650 bucks gambling, which was more than enough to cover my spending money for the weekend. I actually managed to be reasonable with my drinking out there too. I definitely got drunk, but not to a ridiculous degree. It was pretty ideal. I am thinking that I am going to have my bachelor party at the Hard Rock next year. Its a little pricey overall, which might mean some people can't make it, but I still think I'll get 10-15 guys fairly easily.

[Briks42]

Thursday Night- 05/17/12

Bodyweight- 197.0

Deadlifts- 335x1
360x1
375x1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MzpfXet4PQ

Reverse Grip Bent Rows- 185x6x3 (bad form)
165x6x2 (good form)

Barbell Curls- 65x12x3

Good workout. As you can see in the video, the 375 single wasn't easy, but it wasn't life or death or anything. I think I was overthinking things on the deadlifts. I need to just explode off the ground with intensity. Thats most important for me. On the bent rows, Coys accurately pointed out that I wasn't really bent over. I was standing too straight up and doing them like Yates rows. I corrected this, which meant I had to lower the weight, but I immediately felt the difference in the lats with the better range of motion. Great catch by Coys.

MUST WIN game for the Sixers tonight. Should be a great crowd down there on a Friday night. I'm excited to be in the building. They better win though.

Im loving how the NBA is shaping up this year. Miami and the Lakers getting knocked out is a dream. Im loving this young Pacers team. They are big and deep. Larry Bird has built a team thats gonna be a problem for a long time. They are young and good and have a TON of cap space still. I have a feeling they could be like the Spurs, where they are always in contention for a long time. And out West, a Spurs-Thunder conference finals is a GREAT series. I think the Spurs take that though. They are just too good right now. Popovich is an incredible coach.

[Briks42]

Sunday Night- 5/20/12

Bodyweight- 196.0

Deadlifts- 325x1x10

Quick workout last night. I was supposed to do this on Saturday and there was also a press component, but I was pretty busy this weekend and the deadlifts got pushed back to Sunday night. I like doing a bunch of singles, as my setup for the first rep seems to be my biggest problem and this is great practice. The key for me, I have come to realize, is to remember the cue to "push the ground away with my feet". Whenever I focus on this, the weight explodes off the ground so much easier. Just have to make sure to do it every time.

As far as the shoulder part, I am pushing that back to Tuesday's workout. I am taking a week off of bench work, so I will do Shoulders on Tuesday, back on Thursday, and Shoulders again on Saturday. Then hopefully by next week I will be good to bench again. My shoulder actually isn't hurting me at all, but I am being precautionary about it.

So I deadlifted all 3 workouts last week and I am scheduled to do so again this week. I am enjoying this. Like I said, I think I need the setup practice, and without squatting, I am sure I can handle the recovery, since Steel doesn't program heavy stuff every time. Its a good mixture and its making me feel like I am working hard every time I am in the gym, and my body seems to respond well to frequency.

Starting next week, I am going to be starting to swim a little bit as conditioning work. I figure thats a great way to get conditioned without putting any pressure on my knees. I know how to swim as far as the stroke is concerned, but I am horrible with the breathing. Luckily, I am friends with a couple guys who are swim coaches and they are gonna build my breathing technique up from scratch (and probably fix mistakes I don't even know about with my stroke.). I will probably do this 2 times a week to start and see how it goes. In the beginning, it will probably be more learning than exercise actually, which is fine. I have to start somewhere.

My bodyweight is an issue right now. The week before Vegas I was lazy with my shopping and eating, then Vegas made it worse. I need to get on that. I ate a lot postworkout last night though and I'm confident I will be back at 200.0 by the end of this week. At a very minimum I need to be at 205 by 6/30 for my bet, and I'd like to even be a little higher than that. I just need to be disciplined and never miss meals, especially if I am adding the swimming, which will mean I need to even take in more calories to gain. Ill do it though. Not worried.

[sking1001]

Very smart to be preemptive about the shoulders. That's sound like a lot of fun to learn to swim properly from a coach...jealous :-)

[Briks42]

Yeah, Im lucky about that. Its gonna be frustrating at first Im sure, but itll be worth it. I dont know why I didn't think of this earlier.

[Briks42]

Tuesday Night- 5/22/12

Bodyweight-198.6

Deadlifts- 350x1
375x1
395x0 (F)

Presses- 160x5x4

So, I missed another deadlift attempt. I havent uploaded the video yet, but I was actually decently close on the 395 attempt. It was probably about knee high and I fought it, but it was just too heavy. Either way, the 375 I did was much easier than last weeks 375, and 2 weeks ago I failed 380, so my strength is definitely improving there, even if its not back to where it was about a month ago.

For the presses, I was prescribed 20 reps with 160. I hadn't pressed in 11 days and my bodyweight isn't where it should be, so I was very happy to get this done with 4 sets of 5. My triceps felt stronger than ever. I used to fail reps right above my head, but now I feel like its good once I get it there.

In other, better news..... My knee is feeling the best it has since I tore it, so starting next week, I am going to try to begin squatting again. Its been almost 2 years since I have done any type of consistent squatting, so I am going to be starting from scratch as a complete novice. Its gonna be pathetic weights to start. But that is fine as long as the knee holds up.

However, this means I have decided to not use Steel's programming while I build my squat back up. As I informed him, I was very happy with the results I got from him in 2 months, especially in amount of muscle gained, but while I am using linear progression to build up my squat, I am going to simply re-set my other lifts and do a little mini-LP with them as well. I havent decided exactly how I am going to do it, but I am thinking Greyskull LP with some additional assistance work thrown in and swimming once or twice a week makes the most sense. On my pressing exercises, it wont be long before I stall probably, and then I will switch to my experimental version of Texas Method for them.

I am finishing out this week with Steel's stuff, then beginning next week I am probably going to do something like this(Linear jumps on Squat, Dead, Bench, and Press):

Monday: Squat- 3x5
Press- 5,5,AMRAP
Weighted Chins- 3 work sets, not sure of programming

Wednesday: Bench- 5,5,AMRAP
Deadlift- 1 set of AMRAP
Rows- 3 work sets
Curls- 3 work sets

Friday:Squat- 3x5
Press- 5,5,AMRAP
Weighted Chins- 3 work sets
Weighted Dips or Lying Tricep Extensions- 3 work sets

Monday:Squat- 3x5
Bench Press- 5,5,AMRAP
Rows- 3 work sets

Wednesday:Press- 5,5,AMRAP
Deadlifts- 1 set of AMRAP
Weighted Chins- 3 work sets
Curls- 3 work sets

Friday:Squat- 3x5
Bench- 5,5,AMRAP
Rows- 3 work sets
Weighted Dips or Lying Tricep Ext- 3 work sets

So basically, I squat 3x5 Monday and Friday and Deadlift Wednesday AMRAP. For Pressing, I just alternate press and bench. Then I do chins on press day and rows on bench day. Lastly, I do curls on Wednesday and Tricep work on Friday. Swimming will fit in as time allows.

Any opinions about any of this?

[DV]

I also like the GSLP for people who have gained a bit of strength already. I think you will do well. A few thoughts:

1. I liked having chins/curls BETWEEN Bench/Press and squat/deadlift.

2. I liked doing my squats at the end of the workout - maybe not that important as long as you aren't squatting too heavy.

3. Even though I am rowing these days, in a setup like the GSLP I'm not sure I would bother. Lots of weighted chins and the heavy deads will get it done.

4. I would programme the extra assistance (dips, maybe some rows) for fridays, and keep mon/wed as written (i.e. only 3 lifts). You are sorta moving in this direction already. This would help you build the "intensity" John always talks about, because you have very little distraction outside the big lifts.

5. I think it's smart not to AMRAP the squat in the beginning. However I would consider it, if things come off as you hope they will. Working with higher reps sometimes helps my knees, almost feels like it "greases" them, even though it sounds weird.

Just some thoughts. It's great that you will be squatting again. Will make it a lot easier to hit that BW goal, too.

[Briks42]

I also like the GSLP for people who have gained a bit of strength already. I think you will do well. A few thoughts:

1. I liked having chins/curls BETWEEN Bench/Press and squat/deadlift.

2. I liked doing my squats at the end of the workout - maybe not that important as long as you aren't squatting too heavy.

3. Even though I am rowing these days, in a setup like the GSLP I'm not sure I would bother. Lots of weighted chins and the heavy deads will get it done.

4. I would programme the extra assistance (dips, maybe some rows) for fridays, and keep mon/wed as written (i.e. only 3 lifts). You are sorta moving in this direction already. This would help you build the "intensity" John always talks about, because you have very little distraction outside the big lifts.

5. I think it's smart not to AMRAP the squat in the beginning. However I would consider it, if things come off as you hope they will. Working with higher reps sometimes helps my knees, almost feels like it "greases" them, even though it sounds weird.

Just some thoughts. It's great that you will be squatting again. Will make it a lot easier to hit that BW goal, too.

Thanks for the feedback, DV. Ill address your well thought-out points in order:

1 & 2 combined- Yeah, when I had done GSLP in the past, I did the chins and curls the same way as you described. However, I did find that chins before my deadlifts affected my deadlifts negatively, so I was trying to avoid that as deadlifts are one of my focus lifts. And I know that the theory is that after an AMRAP set of deads, you are going to be wiped and want to get out of the gym, but after a couple months of Steel's stuff, I am used to going balls out on deadlifts and then having to do more stuff afterward.........Also, yeah, like you said, Squats at the end might make sense for me at some point, but in the beginning I am going to be using light enough weights where it doesn't matter much and I'd just as much rather get them done. That could change quickly though based on how I feel after squatting or as the weights increase.

3- You might be right here as well, as this is how I always programmed things in the past. My training partner made the same remark about the rows. However, I've come to like rows after doing them in Steel's stuff, and I'm going to try to keep them since I think they work the back a little differently than chins. But if I feel like I am doing too much at any point, the rows would probably be the first to go.

4- Yeah, I think you are pretty much right on point here as well. Friday might be the best time for all assistance (curls and dips, or maybe rows if I drop them as a "main movement"). Though I might be fine throwing the curls in on Wednesday as I wrote. They cant be too tough to do even after the other stuff. I am not sure on this one yet.

5- Yeah, I want to focus on form over anything on the squat to start, and I think the AMRAP might take me away from that if I do it before I feel my form is ideal. I would definitely consider doing it in the future though if I gain confidence. I could see how the "grease" idea might happen.

Thanks a lot for your points. They all make a lot of sense. I am excited to squat, and yeah, like you said, it should definitely help me gain bodyweight (and hopefully help my stagnating deadlift too).

[Mr_Rogers]

Good luck on the new program Briks. Hopefully learning to squat again doesn't take too long.


Edit:

I like your idea of squatting twice a week and deadlifting in the middle, it's very similar to what OCG (I think?) is doing. I'm finding doing front squats in the middle of the week gives my legs a bit more rest. I was actually surprised when Mark said they were prescribed in SSBT:2 as the "light" day.

[Briks42]

Thanks Mr_Rogers.

Id actually love to do front squats as I think my quads are quite weak, but I think they are supposed to be pretty rough on the knees. But I think the idea makes a lot of sense, especially for you since you are dooing olympic lifting.

[Mr_Rogers]

My knees are horrendous and honestly, they do very little to hurt them when I remember to get my knees out far enough. Poor form back squats have done far more damage. Check out Mark's front squat video, I followed his way of doing the front squat and no pain. I also marked out 30 degrees on my platform which made me realize I was about 15-20 degrees, which explained a lot on both front and back squat.

I don't need to tell you how to program anything lol You're way more advanced than I am, but I think you've got a very solid plan in place. Hopefully getting your squat up drives up that deadlift.

[Briks42]

My knees are horrendous and honestly, they do very little to hurt them when I remember to get my knees out far enough. Poor form back squats have done far more damage. Check out Mark's front squat video, I followed his way of doing the front squat and no pain. I also marked out 30 degrees on my platform which made me realize I was about 15-20 degrees, which explained a lot on both front and back squat.

I don't need to tell you how to program anything lol You're way more advanced than I am, but I think you've got a very solid plan in place. Hopefully getting your squat up drives up that deadlift.

Yeah, I've watched Mark's front squat video. Its very good. You have actually convinced me that my knees might be able to handle them. I am still going to hold off a little before trying them, but its helpful to know for the future since I'd really like to focus on my quad strength. Thanks a lot Mr_Rogers.

[Mr_Rogers]

I was actually really hesitant to front squat because of my left knee. I thought for sure it would load my knees so much I wouldn't be able to handle it. Thankfully that just hasn't been the case. I'm sure Mark covers this in SSBT:3 but honestly can't remember, I suck at reading retention. From my experience, I run into knee pain when squatting only if the bar gets forward of the midfoot. When I'm able to squat (front or back) without pain it's because the bar stayed where it's supposed to lol

I've been doing a series of stretches every night which has helped immensely. Icing the suckers has helped a lot too. Definitely listen to your body. You'll know if something's up, but I'm glad I gave you some hope.

[DV]

FWIW my knees have acted up from heavy squats (especially high-bar) due to a tendency to cave a bit. I've never, ever had a problem with them on front squats, and at one point I front squatted somewhat "heavy" (220ish or a bit more).

YMMV, and I would definitely hold off on them in either case.

Regarding my little points I agree on chins and deads. I used to do an A/B with squatting/pulling as well as Chinning/curling, so it wasn't an issue for me. But I can definitely see your point. About the curls I don't think 2 sets of curls will make or break anything, no matter where you put them. My point was just that it's mentally easier (for me at least) to go completely balls-to-the-wall when I know that I'm done afterwards. It's especially important on this auto-reg stuff, where your mind is often a hand-brake.

Again - just some musings, these are details. As long as you stick to it, you'll do great I'm sure.

[Briks42]

Thursday Night- 5/24/12

Bodyweight- 200.8

Deadlifts- 250x10x3

Bentover Rows- 165x6x3
155x6x2

Hammer curls- 45s x 6 x 3
40s x 6 x 2

Good workout. I hate high rep deadlifts but they make you feel good afterward. I'm pretty sore from them today. On the rows, I kept the form correct and had a good ROM.

Coys pulled an easy 435x1 today. He's got AT LEAST 455 in him for a single right now. Hes probably at his all time strongest on the deadlift despite losing about 25 pounds already in 2012. So much for the "can't get stronger and add muscle unless you're a novice while losing weight" theory.

Game 7 tomorrow. Enough said. Shirtless deck drinking at Gay Wit's house all day to pregame. Can not fucking wait. 11 years ago I was in the crowd for game 7's against Toronto and Milwaukee and it was 2 of my favorite games of all time. This one is on the road, but there's no reason we can't get the same result.

[Briks42]

Saturday afternoon- 5/26/12

Bodyweight- 199.8

Presses-170x4
170x3x2
170x2

Dips- 3 sets of 15

Barbell Shrugs- 275x6x3

Last Steel workout for a while and it went well enough. I was prescribed 12 reps with 170 on presses. I had hoped to get 3 sets of 4 but wasnt surprised that it didn't happen. Breaking it into 4 sets wasn't bad though.

Starting Tuesday I will be back to squatting and my tweaked version of Greyskull LP, plus learning how to swim correctly. I am going to try to swim post-lifting whenever possible to help with recovery, but if that doesn't always work out, it's fine. It's gonna depend on the schedules of the guys helping me. I'm excited but nervous about squatting. My legs are going to be insanely weak. I am going to start at 135 and hopefully make some 10 pound jumps assuming my knee can handle it. Pathetic weight but I have to start somewhere. On deadlifts I am thinking I will re-set to 315 and go from there. I think I can get 8-10 reps with that so it should be a good starting point. Hopefully my shoulder is back to 100% when I try to bench. I'm thinking I'll start around 235 there and make a few 5 pound jumps before switching to 2.5s. And on presses, I think 150 makes sense as a starting point.

[DV]

When I went back to squatting after injury I started at 65 lbs. Yes - a 10 lb plate each side. This was rather extreme, as my 5RM before the injury was 355, but I was really, really worried about messing up my pelvis again. It worked - I was squatting 315x5x3 after about 3 months I think, and - more importantly - with no serious issues then nor after. I added 10 lbs/session (i.e. 30 lbs/week) all the way up to somewhere past 225, so it wasn't *that* slow. This allowed me to really focus on getting form down correctly, and not being too worried about injuring myself (again), which would've taken focus from the actual lift.

YMMV, but if in doubt start LIGHT. With 30lbs/week you'll be up there soon enough anyway.

[Briks42]

When I went back to squatting after injury I started at 65 lbs. Yes - a 10 lb plate each side. This was rather extreme, as my 5RM before the injury was 355, but I was really, really worried about messing up my pelvis again. It worked - I was squatting 315x5x3 after about 3 months I think, and - more importantly - with no serious issues then nor after. I added 10 lbs/session (i.e. 30 lbs/week) all the way up to somewhere past 225, so it wasn't *that* slow. This allowed me to really focus on getting form down correctly, and not being too worried about injuring myself (again), which would've taken focus from the actual lift.

YMMV, but if in doubt start LIGHT. With 30lbs/week you'll be up there soon enough anyway.

Thanks DV. Yeah, its all a part of the process I guess. Getting healthy is first priority, and the lift strength will follow. Things went well anyway, as Ill detail below.

[Briks42]

Tuesday Night- 5/29/12

Bodyweight- 200.6

Squats- 135x5x3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL1GQEHNK8w

Bench Press- 235 x 3,3,9

Bentover Rows- 165x6 (4 touch)
155x8 (6 touch)
145x8 (7 touch)

Squatting again finally and it feels good. No knee pain during the sets and none as of today either. Thats very encouraging. I am hoping that this doesnt change as the weight gets heavier. As you can see in the video, this weight was very easy, but even still, I am probably only going to make a 10 pound jump for Friday rather than the 20 or 30 I am capable of. There is no rush. I know that within a few months my squat will be the highest its ever been as long as I don't suffer an injury, so I'm not going to push it early.

All that being said, anyone see any form issues that I should be working on now? Thanks.

Bench press went decently. I am doing 3,3,AMRAP instead of 5,5,AMRAP, but thats not a big deal. 9 reps on the 3rd set isn't great (I think I've gotten 8 with 250 before), but I hadn't benched in a few weeks due to my shoulder, so its still solid. The shoulder held up well, which is good. Still not 100%, but noticeably better than a few weeks ago. I should be able to train through it without making it worse I'd think. I'll make a 5 pound jump there for Friday.

Rows were fine. The "touch" mention in my log above is how many reps actually touched my upper abs/chest at the top of the pull. They are the only ones I should really count, but I like to bang out a few more reps as long as the ROM is still pretty long (ie., barely missing my chest).

It was a good night in BBC history last night too as my man Rigga Ross benched 225 for the first time. He hasn't lifted with us there since last summer but he came over for the spot last night on his max attempt. Hitting a 225 bench is a great accomplishment, especially since he only weighs 175-180ish. I think he can get up to a 250 bench by the end of the year if he stays consistent. He barely missed 230 after trying the 225 last night and would have gotten it if he hadnt done the 225 first Im sure.

I've been having a pretty brutal internal debate lately about whether I like the Kelly Clarkson or Britney Spears pandora station better. Kelly Clarkson mainly gives you songs by her, Pink, Avril, Adele, and Carrie Underwood. With Britney, you tend to get her, Gaga, Rihanna, JT, and other more upbeat songs. I really hate Gaga so that hurts Britney's case. But maybe after thumbs downing all the Gaga songs, they will stop appearing. I guess it probably depends on mood. But to be honest, "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood may be the greatest song ever regardless of mood. Thoughts?

[Mr_Rogers]

The squats looked solid (from the angle). I'd definitely stick with 10lb increases, you'll be back in familiar territory soon enough. No point in aggravating something needlessly.


I'm in no position to give anyone advice on music ;-)

[Briks42]

Come on now. Music is all opinion. You can't be wrong..... Thanks for the feedback on the squats. Yeah, i figure 20 pounds a week for 3 to 4 weeks will get me in the 200s in no time, then I'll back off to 10 pounds a week and watch it climb from there.

[LimieJosh]

Congrats on being back squatting again. Hope the DOMS isnt too bad tomorrow.

[Briks42]

Thanks Limie. Im excited about it. DOMS hasn't kicked in yet, but hopefully it won't be too bad since it was only a puny 135 pounds.

[Mr_Rogers]

Come on now. Music is all opinion. You can't be wrong.....

Fair enough hahaha

I like catchy hooks, I don't care who sings it (as displayed in my videos), the more emo the better ;-) I find the Mrs. likes Gaga, LFMAO, etc when she lifts so I just leave it on the same playlist. I don't really hear what's on for music once I get under the bar though. If I had to choose between the Kelly or Brittany channel I'd go with Kelly also, some of the songs are angry and I like angry when I lift.


edit:

I should say I try to block out what's on when I lift. Last week some Gaga came on mid-squat rep and I laughed. It was the complete opposite of what had just been playing and caught me by surprise.

[DV]

Thanks for the tip on Pandora. I'd go for the Britney station going by the artists you listed, but then I'm almost genetically programmed to like the Swedish pop music that they all do.

Squats looked VERY good, considering you are just getting back to them. From the angle I saw no kneeslide or looseness in the hole, which I guess would be your biggest worry. This must be quite encouraging.

I can see you squatting 3 plates within a few months.

[Briks42]

Fair enough hahaha

I like catchy hooks, I don't care who sings it (as displayed in my videos), the more emo the better ;-) I find the Mrs. likes Gaga, LFMAO, etc when she lifts so I just leave it on the same playlist. I don't really hear what's on for music once I get under the bar though. If I had to choose between the Kelly or Brittany channel I'd go with Kelly also, some of the songs are angry and I like angry when I lift.


edit:

I should say I try to block out what's on when I lift. Last week some Gaga came on mid-squat rep and I laughed. It was the complete opposite of what had just been playing and caught me by surprise.

I like your tastes!!!

Once I am in the middle of a set, I don't hear anything except cues. Thats why I am constantly messing around about having funny music on when lifting. It doesn't affect me at all one way or another.

[Briks42]

Thanks for the tip on Pandora. I'd go for the Britney station going by the artists you listed, but then I'm almost genetically programmed to like the Swedish pop music that they all do.

Squats looked VERY good, considering you are just getting back to them. From the angle I saw no kneeslide or looseness in the hole, which I guess would be your biggest worry. This must be quite encouraging.

I can see you squatting 3 plates within a few months.

Hahaha, you have some good genetic programming then.

Ok, im glad to hear that feedback on the squats. Yes, keeping my knees from sliding forward is my number one concern. I actually want to cut my depth a little higher though just to keep from getting loose at the bottom.

I'd love to get my squat up to 3 plates for 3x5 by the end of the year. That would be a great accomplishment for me.

[LimieJosh]

Thanks for the tip on Pandora. I'd go for the Britney station going by the artists you listed, but then I'm almost genetically programmed to like the Swedish pop music that they all do.

One word - Whigfield. God, what a sauce pot she was.

[Tom Narvaez]

I just want to say that my knees are a lot worse than that and I haven't exploded or died yet. Your knee movement was barely perceptible to me. I think if you want to get a halfway decent bounce that you have to accept a little looseness somewhere. In the future, try to film from a lower height. I usually prop my phone against something on top of a chair. Hip height ends up being a perfect camera angle to see almost everything you need to see.

Why 3,3, AMRAP? I apologize if you've already explained this.

[Briks42]

Thanks for the filming advice, Tom. I had my buddy tape that. In the future I'll just have him sit down to tape it which should be a much better angle.

As far as the 3,3,AMRAP, there are a few reasons. I'm not sure if they make perfect sense, but they do to me. First is simply that I want to take each cycle a little higher then just to when I can't get 5,5,5. I like lifting a little heavier (as a % of one rep max) sometimes and waiting until I can't get 3,3,3 before re-setting will allow that.

I considered removing the first 2 sets completely and just doing 1 AMRAP set like is done with the deadlifts. Sheafers theory is that the AMRAP set is where the stimulus is created and he only has the sets of 5 ahead of it as a "volume blanket" for those who can't go balls to the wall on the AMRAP set with enough weight to create enough of a stimulus (generally novices). I probably don't need that "volume blanket" at this point and a balls out set of presses or bench for me would probably be enough at this point in the cycle. However, I am keeping the first two sets mainly for later in the cycle when I think I'll need a little more volume. For example, when I get to the point where my press is in the 180-185 range, I don't know that 1 set of 4 with 180 would be enough. I'd rather do 3,3,3 at that point. Same with a 290 bench or whatever. At that point, I'd rather do 9 tough reps than 4 in one all out set.

Does any of that make sense?

[sking1001]

Yeah, I know what you mean with the triples. The 4th and 5th reps are what always seem to gas me out. I'm considering switching to triples myself.

One bit of advice on the squats. Hip drive usually comes more naturally at heavier weights, but I always like to really focus on driving with my hips when I'm warming up with the lighter weights, because this reinforces the proper mechanics necessary when it gets heavy. Since you have the knee position down so well, this may be something to focus on next.

Congrats on getting back to squatting. That has to be exciting. Good job on taking it slowly. I know that's not always the easiest thing to do, but we all know it will pay off big!

Now you've made me go and listen to that Carrie Underwood song. That was pretty funny.

[Briks42]

Yeah, I know what you mean with the triples. The 4th and 5th reps are what always seem to gas me out. I'm considering switching to triples myself.

One bit of advice on the squats. Hip drive usually comes more naturally at heavier weights, but I always like to really focus on driving with my hips when I'm warming up with the lighter weights, because this reinforces the proper mechanics necessary when it gets heavy. Since you have the knee position down so well, this may be something to focus on next.

Congrats on getting back to squatting. That has to be exciting. Good job on taking it slowly. I know that's not always the easiest thing to do, but we all know it will pay off big!

Now you've made me go and listen to that Carrie Underwood song. That was pretty funny.

Thanks Steve. I think you make a great point about the hip drive. In the past, tts always been a struggle for me to get proper hip drive while also keeping my lower back from rounding. However, I now have much better control of my lower back than I ever did back when I was squatting in the past, so it should be easier now. I will try to concentrate on the hip drive going forward.

Yeah, we will see how the triples go. As of now, they are almost like warmups. Im interested to see how it works later in the cycles.

Haha, I love that Carrie Underwood song. I am not a country person at all, but that is more like Pop-Country.

[Briks42]

Thursday Night- 5/31/12

Bodyweight- 202.8

Presses- 150x3,3,10

Deadlifts- 315x9

Chinups- 50 (252.8) x 5
25 (227.8) x 7
bodyweight (202.8) x 8

Standing Curls- 40s x 8
35s x 9
35s x 8

I was very happy with this workout. I wasn't sure what to expect on the Press AMRAP set, but it certainly wasn't 10. I will make a 5 pound jump on these to 155 next workout.

On the deadlifts, again, I wasn't sure what to expect, but 9 reps seems solid. I felt good on these and Coys said my form was real good. I will make a 10 pound jump to 325 next week. I am hoping that squatting again will really help my deadlifts. Maybe not at first, but once I get up to some respectable weight on squats.

My chins were very weak but thats to be expected. First of all, it has been over 2 months since I've done them. Secondly, I did them after deadlifts, which I have never done before. My best set ever was 6x270 total, and I only got 5x252 last night, so thats a decent drop-off, but I should be back up there in no time now that I am going to be doing them regularly again. Also, I'm starting to think that the fact that I wasn't chinning may have led to my shoulder issues a little bit. I've had shoulder issues randomly in the past even when I was chinning, but they never lingered like this time. So I'm hoping the chins help me out there. Ever since I was young, my dad always told me that I had to chin and do shoulder presses just as frequently as I benched to keep my shoulders healthy, and it has proven to be insanely valuable advice. I have never had a significant shoulder injury despite benching on and off for about 15 years. So I have to make sure that I don't stray from that again and not chin.

I am reading "The Professional" by WC Heinz right now and its an insanely good book. Its incredibly well written regardless, but the fact that I tax boxing makes it that much better. I am only 3/4 done, so if any of you has read it, don't spoil the ending for me, but if you haven't read it, I am definitely recommending it.

[DV]

One word - Whigfield. God, what a sauce pot she was.

She's actually Danish, believe it or not. In local media there's been a "where did Whigfield go" segment lately, can't say I've read or watched any of it, though.

But I like the Swedes better. Ever since Denniz Pop started producing back in the early nineties, and the guys who followed in his footsteps.



I'd love to get my squat up to 3 plates for 3x5 by the end of the year. That would be a great accomplishment for me.

I'm sticking to my guns. You'll be squatting 3 plates for reps by 1 September. There is absolutely NOTHING to worry about, judging from how you say your knees feel, and how the vid looked. Just stay humble with 5 lb increases and you'll be fine.

[Briks42]

Thanks DV. I like that encouragment. I will stay humble and take things slow, and I expect a big 2nd half to this year.

[LimieJosh]

She's actually Danish, believe it or not. In local media there's been a "where did Whigfield go" segment lately.

Largely the reason I mentioned her...that and her being a sauce pot.

[Tom Narvaez]

Makes sense. I'm not entirely sure that I subscribe to the idea that the AMRAP set alone can drive adaptation. That's not what Wendler found with his initial 531 experiments. Without delving into the calculations, 3,3,AMRAP just seemed a bit low volume. I do like the idea of trying to extend cycles and I did lots of similar things to extend LP for various lifts. I'd probably wait until I couldn't do 5,5,5+ and then switch to 3,3,3+. As long as it is working, it really doesn't matter.

[DV]

Largely the reason I mentioned her...that and her being a sauce pot.

Right, I'm a bit slow lately. Here she is 10 years later (give or take): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5URG80n8pA

Interview is in Danish, unfortunately, on the youtube channel of one of Denmarks largest banks(?!).

[Briks42]

Good point about doing 5,5,5+ until I can't do it and then switching to 3,3,3+. That's definitely something to consider.

As far as Wendler not finding the single AMRAP set to be enough stimulus, was that with frequency being weekly? Because on greyskull LP I am doing these bench or press workouts every 4-5 days each, which is a lot different. If I was only benching and pressing once weekly, I'd DEFINITELY be making sure to do more volume.

[Briks42]

Saturday morning- 6/2/12

Bodyweight- 201.8

Squats- 145x5x3

Bench press- 240x3,3,9

Bentover rows- 165 x 6 (5)
165 x 6 (4)
155 x 8 (4)

2nd squat workout in the books and the knee still feels good. I forgot my knee sleeve for this one too but it was still ok.

I went up 5 pounds on the bench and still got 9 reps which is always good. I will make another 5 pound jump there. I can still feel the shoulder but it's definitely getting better and chinning again should help that.

Bodyweight of 201.8 is great for an 11:00am weighing after only having a shake and a pint of water. My diet has been dialed in and I don't see gettin to 205 by 6/30 being a problem.

[John Bono]

I'm sticking to my guns. You'll be squatting 3 plates for reps by 1 September. There is absolutely NOTHING to worry about, judging from how you say your knees feel, and how the vid looked. Just stay humble with 5 lb increases and you'll be fine.

Given what he's deadlifting now, I wouldn't be surprised if he's tickling 3 plates by the end of July.

[Briks42]

Given what he's deadlifting now, I wouldn't be surprised if he's tickling 3 plates by the end of July.

Thanks a lot John. My legs are really weak though. The fact that I can even have a decent (far from strong though) deadlift is due to having a fairly strong back. My legs, especially quads, are pathetic. Hopefully getting a solid couple months of squatting in will change that but it's gonna be tough.

[DV]

Given what he's deadlifting now, I wouldn't be surprised if he's tickling 3 plates by the end of July.

I agree, but life tends to happen, and with the previous injury he's gonna have to be less aggressive with jumps, and in case of aches and pains. But yeah, I could see it happen within 2 months if everything comes off smoothly.