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When I was dating my wife during college years she saw me without a shirt. My chest and back were full of black hair. She loved it. Waxing ones back really is a stupid assed thing to do
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Agreed. I met my wife when the back was in control, but it was getting a little crazy. I thought it would remove the "pulling" feeling of the bar yanking on the hair...
I dunno, all I really wanted was the top of my shoulders and base of neck so it wouldn't stick out the top of my t-shirt, but the lady took "back" to mean anything above the crack... we live we learn, we make mistakes we learn faster.
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July 28, 2017
Weight: 390 lbs
Diet Compliance
Target Consumption - 2800 calories
Average Consumption - 2753 calories
Average Protein - 245 grams
Average Fat - 107 grams
Average Carbs - 220 grams
Notes: I've added more rice and lentils to the diet. Also added curry powder to the armoury of spice warfare. Everything eaten at home is pretty squeaky clean these days, work lunches are still something of a challenge.
Squat: 305
Bench: 145 [3,3,3]
Deadlift: 360
Beast-mode / light-work / EeZee
Squats felt good. I narrowed my stance slightly (maybe half an inch per foot and toe angle ~5 degrees less) and it really tightened up the pocket... pretty certain this is due to less room being needed for the stomach. (new pants are 4 inches less in the waist than the old pants, different brand so taken with a grain of salt)
Bench felt really 'tight' in the right shoulder... not so much painful, but tight like it needs a good stretch. I decided to use the weight from my last warmup set with long pauses to stretch it out. Its feeling really solid right now... we'll see how it feels tomorrow.
Deadlift flew up nice and easy. Super stronk like bull. I've been focusing on trying to keep my hips at the same pull height throughout the 'set'. I started rolling the weight out a couple of inches to get a good solid breath in and roll it in for the pull.
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July 30, 2017
Squat: 310
OHP: 115
Deadlift: 365
Squatting with the slightly narrower stance is feeling good... back angle and balance is solid. I paused on one rep... and the effort to push out of the bottom was significantly harder than the wider stance.
OHP was a little rough. I think I have the weight a little forward on the way up (I could feel the weight coming off my heels a bit). Next jump will be a 2.5 lbs.
Deadlift flew up again. Good breath is good.
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August 1, 2017
adidas Powerlift3 in 16US arrived. They are a little narrow in the toes, but nice and supportive around the heel. I put my DCs to the side for the night.
Squat: 315
Bench: 145
Deadlift: 370
Squatting in the lifting shoes felt pretty much the same. My heels might have been a little more planted... but we'll see how I feel in the morning.
Bench I deloaded. (175 -> 145) I think building and making progress is better than just stretching at looking at it with a sad face.
Deadlift felt super weird in the different shoes. During my second warmup (5x205) I felt like I would fall on my face, (3x245) felt heavy, (2x315) felt light, and (5x370) felt really solid. I think my setup is a little off. Alternate grips lifts felt really good and double overhand felt odd.
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August 4, 2017
Weight: 390 lbs
Diet Compliance
Target Consumption - 2800 calories
Average Consumption - 2675 calories
Average Protein - 250 grams
Average Fat - 91 grams
Average Carbs - 231 grams
Notes: Screw you scale! Lowest weigh in during the week was 388.6 but the three day average for the end of the week as 390.6. I blame too little sleep and some stupid early mornings.
Squat: 320
OHP: 117.5 [4,5,4]
Deadlift: 375
Good workout... the new shoes didn't feel odd at all. My back was a little stiff from the beginning of the workout... (silly soccer) (soccer update... I'm starting to understand the rules and making some plays.... I still block like it was rugby)
Squats felt really solid. No complaints.
OHP... do I love you? do I hate you? What the hell man! Set one... feels super heavy. Set two... feels super light. Set three... feels super heavy again. I definitely am having some sort of form issue. (also back starting to feel weak during sets and 'faster feels better'... dunno)
Deadlift felt good. I threw some chalk into the mix for the big grips. After the work set I pulled a couple of doubles with my 'pre-starting strength stance' (wider) The starting position feels much more comfortable and the pull feels less back focused... once I have problems with my standard lift I'll see if widening the stance a touch helps or post a couple of form videos for comparison.
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August 6, 2017
Squat: 325
Bench: 150
Deadlift: 380
Rushed workout is rushed - 90 minutes before doors close... gogogo
Squats felt good and somewhat heavy. Three reps lost upper-back tightness... these reps were randomly interspersed. I also had a walk-out / walk-in due to not setting up correctly (1 inch off-center). (Rushed workout is rushed.)
Bench felt good. Rebuilding meant lower rest periods meaning increased time gains on the rushed workout. Shoulder feels better post workout than pre... I'm starting to think its my bed that is causing issues. (I tend to sleep on that shoulder)
Deadlift... gogo gadget deadlift. Heavy, felt okay, rushed through the warmup. Only got one grip focused set before the clock ran out.
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August 8, 2017
My belt arrived... just as I was heading to the gym. I bought a Texas 4"x 4" Mahogany 3XL. I was really shocked at the build quality (my expectations were lower based on the price). Solid stitching, buckle is solid as all hell, and the leather is beautifully dyed. (bonus points for no staining of meh gym shirt) Only downside was shipping to Canada was fackin expensive.
Texas 4" x 4" Training Belt - Titan Support Systems Inc
Squat: 330
OHP: 117.5
Deadlift: 385 [4]
Interesting workout with belt mechanics in play. Post workout my back feels quite fresh we'll see what morning tells me.
Squats with the belt felt super tight at the bottom. The belt certainly helps with 'leverages' on a fatty. Squats felt pretty easy... I'm going to need to drag the wife to the next workout to give me a depth check to make certain my not doing something stupid.
OHP I 'let rip'. I only took two breaths per set and they felt quite easy. I think this approach will have limited usefulness, but I was tiring out my arms in the starting position. (my forearms are too long to rest the bar on my front delts)
Deadlift with a belt is odd. I pinched the shit out of myself on the last warmup set. Adjusted the belt for the workset... it wasn't bad. I could have ground out the last rep, but figured it would be better to give this set another go while figuring out this magical piece of leather... a definite balance needs to be struck on 'tightness' and 'breathing room'. On one set of squats I erred on tightness... and it felt like an err. (Huffing and puffing after the set)
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August 11, 2017
Weight: 387 lbs
Diet Compliance
Target Consumption - 2800 calories
Average Consumption - 2615 calories
Average Protein - 251 grams
Average Fat - 90 grams
Average Carbs - 214 grams
Notes: No soccer this week (replace soccer with some some physical labour at the jerb... move file cabinets, desks, and equipment across the building -- no problem), but diet was pretty good. I tried a couple of family recipes swapping ground beef with ground turkey... it worked quite well.
Squat: 335
Bench: 155
Deadlift: 385
Squats were nice and easy. Breathing in sink with belt. No pinching no problems... gogo fatty leverages.
Bench really felt dialled in after the first set. Tensing lats, touch point, point on the ceiling. I know I have a muscle (or a fat... lets be honest) imbalance in my back. The 'weight' feels even if I setup rotated with the left arm lower. This also takes a little stress off the right shoulder.
Deadlift belt position was much better. Lower in the front and tighter. Last rep had hitching... I've NEVER had hitching before... NEVER had a rep run out of steam at the mid thigh. It is a really weird sensation that I never understood before. I'm pretty certain it was a setup issue. I think my upper-back is more straight with the belt (I used to lift a lot of stones / objects strongman style so upper-back rounding feels VERY natural). I'm going to continue the LP and slow the reps down a bit and focus on setup.
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Update on Powerclean....
The full front rack is kicking my ass. I tried a few over the last week and ended up with a bruised ego and a sore throat. (I now know I can blast a 65 lbs into my throat with great force and 'shake it off') I'm going to keeping working on the shoulder, elbow, and wrist mobility.
After listening to Barbell Logic Podcast #5 (https://startingstrengthonlinecoachi...r-progression/) I will be alternating Lat Pulldowns with deadlifts starting next session.
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August 13, 2017
Squat: 340
OHP: 120
Lat Pulldown: 120 [8,8,8]
Farmer Carry: 315x4x50'
Squats went well. First two sets were easy. Last set I had the belt placed a half inch too high... pinchy pinchy problems... I just worked through the set.
OHP went okay with one extra breathe per set. I need to focus on timing small breathes to maintain stiffness.
Lat pulldown... well i'm too fat to chinup so this is what we have. This weight is a little low... next Lat session I will shoot for 12 reps per set then bump the weight.
Farmer Carry was added to the program for pulldown day for some grip strength and conditioning. Also fun... fun is a good reason to do something. I'm also going to remove the grip holds from deadlift days. My gym added a 50' faux grass track. So load up the trap-bar and go for a walk. 90 second rests.
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