Gary III: The Comeback

[Rezart Erindi]

I started a thread on this at IGx. "If My Knee Wraps Had Dicks..."

UberSmet: "Quite a few Russian guys I read recommend wrapping knees from the very beginning of training. Every time you squat, light or heavy. Faleev is one of them."

I can see the wisdom in this. The general interwebs advice is to put off any gear usage as long as possible, to let your body have a chance at adapting to the load. This leaves a lot to chance, however. People like me with thin builds and sensitive, tiny joints just can't take a beating the way natural lifters can. I've had tremendous benefit from using knee wraps instead. The wraps don't prevent adaption; they prevent damage. I get stronger with them and can squat more weight totally naked if necessary thanks to the wraps that allow me to train far more than I could without them.

So it's an art. You can play it safe and use wraps and compression shorts from the beginning. Or you could hold off till you feel you need them. Like I said in that thread, if you have robust joints and are of a thicker build, odds are you can get away with much less gear for much more of your lifting career. If you are especially reedy like me, and if you started the heavy stuff later in life, or both, you may want to start experimenting with supportive gear a lot sooner than later.

Don't look to the phenotypically perfect lifters who end up in the Olympics as your guides. They are suited to this shit in ways the rest of us will never be.

Thanks for the response. I have a similar structure to yours (I'm even shorter), so this pretty much applies. As for tightness, do you suggest the same tightness as described in Rip's video on knee wraps?

[Valhall]

This ladder system on the chin-ups are new to me, but definitly interesting.
Found this description of it: http://cbass.com/Pavel%27sLadders.htm

Definitely going to give it a go, glad I read your log :P

[Gary Gibson]

Clean Grip Overhead Squat from Clean Grip Snatch
45 x 5
95 x 3
115 x 3
125 x 2
135 x 2
140 x 1

Back Squat, high bar, no belt
135 x 6
185 x 3 x 6

Press out of rack
45 x 6
85 x 4
105 x 3
120 x 2
130 x 1
115 x 3 x 3

Jerk out of rack 135, 145, 155, 165 (pressout)

Pull Up ladders
x 1, x 2, x 3. x 4. 5
x 1. x 2. x 3
x 1. x 2.
x 1

Light squat day with fairly heavy pressing not to failure. Bar was popping off shoulders during squat and during one especially enthusiastic rep I started to attempt a jerk from behind the neck but missed and ended up bruising my upper back a little. Press with 130 was the easiest yet and I might have gotten 135 if I went straight for it. 115 triples were not to failure. Did some jerks after that because I wasn't going to get any jump training in tonight. Needed to do something explosive. And was curious as to how much I could jerk with a 300 1RM high bar squat. I was tired and 165 was shaky. I like to believe 175 is possible when fresh.

[Tiburon]

Welcome back motherfucker

[Gary Gibson]

Thursday 2011-10-06
Clean Grip Overhead Squat
from clean grip snatch 45 x 5, 95 x 4, 115 x 3, 135 x 2
from clean and push press 145 x 1, 155 x 1

Squat, high bar, no belt
45 x 12, 135 x 6, 185 x 4, 225 x 3
(knee sleeves)
265 x 2
285 x 1
305 x 1
320 x 1
(knee wraps)
335 x 0

Bench Press
45 x10, 95 x 6, 135 x 3, 175 x 2
195 x 1
210 x 1

Deadlift, conventional, no belt
135 x 3, 225 x 3, 275 x 2, 315 x 2, 355 x 0
(hook grip)
355 x 1
(mixed grip)
385 x 1
405 x 0
(hook grip)
315 x 3 x 3
335 x 3
355 x 3
365 x 3

Chin Up ladders
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4, x 5, x 6 (21)
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4 (10)
x 1, x 2, x 3 (6)
x 1, x 2 (3)
x 1, x 1
-----
42

Wind Sprints ~30 yds x 6, barefoot in parking lot

Weighed 178 nekkid. The extra weight helped add 20 lbs to the 295-300 I was struggling with the past couple of weeks at 173 on the squat. Bench sucked after that, but deadlift really disappointed with a mere 385. 405 felt stapled to the floor. Went down to 315 for triples and worked back up when that weight started feeling light and moving fast. Got to within 20 lbs of today's best, for a triple. Also got some practice with the hook grip at moderate weight. New volume record on chins and felt really fast on those untimed sprints. Like the idea of ending sessions with some wind sprints. Good for conditioning and for making sure I can still run (I really couldn't for a long while).

[K.Diesel]

I remember discussing gear for raw gains with you a while back. I've been thinking that maybe I should put some of my stuff on to help me get back to speed. Training in gear got me 3 raw PR's last fall, so it might be time for another run in it myself.

I'm sure you've explained this somewhere, so can you link me to threads explaining your switch to high bar squats?

[Gary Gibson]

I remember discussing gear for raw gains with you a while back. I've been thinking that maybe I should put some of my stuff on to help me get back to speed. Training in gear got me 3 raw PR's last fall, so it might be time for another run in it myself.

I'm sure you've explained this somewhere, so can you link me to threads explaining your switch to high bar squats?

Instead of linking I'll just explain...

I used to think the low bar squat perfectly balanced knee extension with hip extension. Upon further reflection and with a great deal of experience I've come to understand that the low bar squat turns the squat into a pull, that is that it de-emphasizes the quads and favors the hamstrings. Basically it is a good morning in which the hips break parallel. I think this is more true the more deadlift-favored or short-torsoed the lifter who can't even front squat perfectly upright.

I think the back squat should be primarily a knee extension movement that favors the quads and acceleration perpendicular to gravity (vertical jumping, Olympic-style weightlifting). The deadlift (a pull) is more of a hip extension that favors the hamstrings and acceleration parallel to gravity (sprinting, broad jumping). We already have a pull, so personally I would use the squat as a squat, not a pull.

The low bar squat is better for moving more weight and it's probably better for dedicated sprinters (who want their hams much stronger than their quads) than the high bar squat. Low bar is also probably better for adding mass than high bar.

For me it was also a matter of purity. High bar just looks prettier. And I knew a guy high bar squatting 405 without a belt and without getting bent over was stronger than I was low bar squatting 405 with a belt and with a pronounced forward lean.

[Gary Gibson]

2011-10-13, Thursday
Back Squat, high bar without belt, with knee sleeves
45 x 10 x 2, 135 x 6, 185 x 4, 225 x 3, 255 x 2, 275 x 2
295 x 1, 315 x 1
330 x 1

Bench Press
45 x 10, 95 x 6, 135 x 5, 165 x 3, 185 x 2,
205 x 1, 215 x 1,
220 x 1
185 x 5 x 3

Clean Grip Overhead Squat
from Clean Grip snatch 45 x 5, 95 x 3, 135 x 2, 145 x 1

Deadlift, conventional without belt
225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 2
355 x 1
385 x 1
405 x 1
415 x 0
335 x 3 x 3
355 x 3

Pull Up ladders
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4, x 5 (15)
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4 (10)
x 1, x 2, x 3 (6)
x 1, x 2 (3)
x 1
Total 35

Sprints x 10 yards x 4

Trained at Todd Christensen's place in downtown Seattle. Pretty sweet set up he has there for powerlifting and strongman. Squat got stuck on 330, but I ground it out without losing my back angle. Surprised that 215 flew on the bench and got a local PR (not my best ever, but best in a long time). 185 felt lighter each set after that. Most weight and volume I've done in ages. Did some cg snatch + ohs for the fuck of it. Deadlift surprised me too as I blew past the 385 that had given me trouble last time and to a fast 405. Went for 415 and it budged but not by much. Got less weight on volume this time around though.

Had enough room to sprint to almost 15 yards before having to decelerate. Weighed only 177 on what is supposed to be a calibrated scale. Yay for increasing strength to mass ratio, but I'm not sure I'm buying it. I may be a little dehydrated with all that travel and I haven't exactly been getting my gallon of milk for the past couple of days while I was in the hotel. In an apartment now and about to stock up on milk.

[Gary Gibson]

2011-10-16
Back Squat, high bar, no belt
(knee sleeves) 45 x 12, 135 x 6, 185 x 4, 225 x 3, 265 x 2, 295 x 1, 295 x 1, 315 x 1
(knee wraps) 245 x 5 x 3
Quarter Squat to pins
(knee sleeves) 355 x 5, 375 x 5, 395 x 5, 405 x 5, 425 x 5
Walk Outs + 10 second holds: 445, 465, 485, 495

Bench Press
45 x 10, 95 x 6, 135 x 5, 175 x 3, 195 x 2, 205 x 1
215 x 1
225 x 1
190 x 5 x 3

Chin Up ladders
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4, x 5, x 6, x 3 (24)
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4, x 5 (15)
x 1, x 2, x 3, x 4 (10)
x 1, x 2, x 3 (6)
x 1, x 2 (3)
x 1
Total: 59

Vertical Jumps x 3, x 3 w/ 2 bands, x 3 w/ 1 band, x 3

Weight: 174

I knew I wasn't going to get as high as my last squat session. Everything felt heavy. I took 295 twice in the hopes that strength was just taking a little longer to kick in. It wasn't. 315 felt very hard. I weighed myself and found that I'd lost 3 pounds. Equals 15 lbs of squat strength. This bodyweight-to-squat connection is clearly very linear for me. Each pound is a little more than 5 lbs of squatting poundage. This could have just been a natural lull, or maybe I'm still not recovered from my deadlift local PR (405 left me too burned to do volume as heavy as I had the last week), but I really think it's the lost bodyweight.

The quarter squats are actually being used as prehab. They are done with toes forward and knees going over toes. This is the bottom position of a powerful vertical jump and a position I've gotten extremely weak in. The popular advice for years has been to avoid knees over toes. But avoiding that position means strength is lost in that position. And I think that particular weakness is why my knees get so banged up. I think loading in that position could make them more resilient. Note that these are done to pins so my knees are working against the weight, but not supporting it at the bottom position. Not sure the walkouts helped anything, but I don't think they hurt either.

Bench moved up, which surprised me because it's normally more bodyweight sensitive than the squat. First 225 bench in ages and the last rep with 190 was just barely completed. Meant to finish up with high rep lying leg curls (more knee prehab), but just didn't have time. Ran to McDonald's and ate a bunch of burgers, had a Coke and then a vanilla shake. Scared to death of losing more weight before Thursday squat and dead session. Had sushi for dinner and am now downing milk.

[Cmanuel]

welcome back man!