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Thread: Wolf's Log: From Cub to Direwolf

  1. #4181
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Bench Press
    385x3, 415x2 - 3" belt
    445x1 - 3" belt+wraps
    305x10
    Notes: 445 moved a little slower than I wanted, a little slower than 440 moved 7 weeks ago, but definitely faster than 445 moved the first time I did it ~3 years ago. And that was towards the end of a hard training block, whereas this is towards the beginning, so I'm feeling good about bench. 500 by mid-March is still my goal, knowing it's so ambitious that it won't kill me if I don't get there, but possible enough that it's what I'm aiming for.

    385x3, 415x2, 445x1 bench press on IG

    Press
    210x5x3 - 4" belt, ezpz

    Lat Pulldown (wide grip neutral)
    202.5x10, 220x10x2 - 5 lbs more than last week on top set, moving up slow but steady.
    Plank
    45s x3

    DB LTEs
    45x10, 55x10x2

    As far as hammy/groin - very slightly today than yesterday. Still notice is doing many ADL movements, but less than yesterday. Goal for today was to ignore it and do all movements, both in and out of the gym, as normally as possible without adjusting or modifying them to avoid pain. And I succeeded there, including putting away and taking out all plates and DBs today. I could feel it a bit, but only a bit, and moved normally regardless. So I'm happy about that. Tomorrow, the goal will be to find a load and ROM I can use to resume pulling and leg pressing in some capacity.

  2. #4182
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    Hows that Cedar treating ya?

  3. #4183
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    Saturday, 1/11
    Warmed up with some RDLs and good mornings with a dowel and then empty bar to feel things out.

    Block Pulls: 8"
    135x10, 185x10x4
    Notes: Probably could've done 6" block pulls but started conservative here. No pain at this ROM, wanted to establish a good first time back.

    Leg Press - full ROM
    45x15, 135x12, 95x15x4
    Notes: Tentatively used full ROM with the empty sled ("45") and I could feel it a bit but it was ok. So went to 135 and it was right on the border but by about the 10th rep I could tell it was a bit too much, so went down to a 25 on each side and did 4 more sets of 15 with full ROM. Could feel the stretch and work in there a bit, but it felt like rehab, whereas 135 felt like pushing a bit too much.

    Cable Row - medium neutral grip
    210x8, was going to do 225x8x2 but getting into and holding position here required a little more work than was comfortable on the hammy, so went down to 180 and did 180x8x2 with a 2-0-2 tempo.

    DB Strict Curls
    30x15, 35x15x2

    Assault Bike
    45/75 x6 = 61 cals. Went fairly easy here, more about rehab than conditioning.

  4. #4184
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    Upper body lifts went well, and hammy (I'm pretty sure it's hamstring) rehab is mostly encouraging. It'll set me back a little, but it could be A LOT worse. When it comes to me, it usually is. Funny enough, I joke about how Wolf's Disease is contagious and totally randomly found out a guy from my gym who I'm friendly with, but who usually trains super early at 5am, also tweaked his hamstring today while squatting.

    Anyway, continued to warm up with RDLs and good mornings with a dowel, and do some more between press sets as well. While I won't be able to pick up right where I left off this Weds and squat 445x5, I will at least be able to squat full ROM with something, so definitely could be worse. My guess is it'll take another 2-3 weeks to build back up to where I was before the tweak, longer than I'd like but a helluva lot shorter than it could've been. If I can do it faster, I will; if it needs to be slower, I won't force it. But that's my guess. Now it's all about staying consistent with pushing it a little further each time.

    Press
    250x3 - 4" belt
    267.5x2, 285x1 - belt + wraps
    215x10 - belt
    Notes: 267.5x2 was the best of the bunch. I am getting lightheaded upon unracking heavier presses again - last time in the fall, it more or less went away on its own after about a month, so hopefully that'll happen again here, I didn't really change anything to make it stop. It really affected me at 285 and so it was a little harder than expected but still definitely sub-max. 215 backoff set was all over the place, bar path wise, so also harder than it should've been. Still got it all done.

    Since getting into position to low bar squat is still a challenge for me after nearly 3 years away from doing it regularly, I stretched out the squat position a little between press sets. Squatting only once a week improves my ability to get into position only VERY slowly; so I'm trying to start to be more consistent about stretching and improving that position.

    Bench Press
    365x5x4
    Goblet Squats
    BWx8x3, then sets of 6 at 20, 25, 30, 35, and 2 sets at 40.
    Notes: Bench was very solid for the first three sets, then 4th set hit a bit of a wall and it was much harder - not maximal, but closer. Tried BW squats and they were OK on my hammy at full depth, so did a thorough warm-up, then very cautiously added weight for sets of 6. 40s were fine but decided to stop there for today since it was already more than I expected to be able to do.

    285 press and 365x5 bench on IG

    Lat Pulldown (MAG grip)
    225x6, 250x6x3 (225=full stack+a 25 plate pinned on)
    Block Pulls: 4"
    135x8x4
    Notes: Switched from 3x10 on all pulldown days to 4x6 heavier days and will continue 3x10 on the other day. Block pulls at 4" were great. Could feel hammy slightly but felt manageable, and like the work was helping promote recovery. Tried one set with only 2" blocks and stopped after 5 reps, the hammy pulling felt a bit too much. I'm hoping to pull from the floor by Weds, we shall see.

    LTEs
    120x10, 130x8x2
    Plank
    50, 50, 45s
    Notes: I actually weighed the EZ Curl bar today and it's only 13 lbs - I was assuming 20. So these are actually only 113 and 123lbs - not sure if I should switch my notation or just continue the way I've been logging.

    External Rotation
    3x10-12 @2
    Last edited by Michael Wolf; 01-13-2020 at 09:20 PM.

  5. #4185
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    Hamstring took an unexpected turn for the worse last night: I try to do some form of blood flow/rehab each day, so did some straight leg hip extension (kickbacks) with just bodyweight and RDLs with a whopping 10 lb plate - extremely easy, light stuff. Seemingly much easier than the stuff I've been doing in the gym. Yet somehow, it was too much and the strain got noticeably worse afterwards - felt like it was no longer just a tiny strain near the origin but a bigger one down into the actual muscle belly. Annoyed, but I'll just have to roll with it. So all previous guesses are off, will just have to be patient and see how it goes.

    Anyway, all upper body for now. I didn't want to deal with the hamstring's role in sitting down and standing up with heavy DBs for DB bench, and getting heavy DBs up into position for DB press, so just did barbell variations today, which I was planning to start doing next week anyway.

    Strict Press (no hip bounce, no stretch reflex)
    185x5, 195x5x2

    Close Grip Bench: 1ct pause on 1st rep
    275x5, 285x5x2

    DB Row
    110x8x3 - a little easier on hammy than cable rows, but stayed lighter/easy just to make sure I didn't further irritate it.

    DB Curls
    50x8, 60x8x2

  6. #4186
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    Hammy rehab starts (again) tomorrow, but in the meantime it's doing much better. Tuesday night was very discouraging. Wednesday could still feel it even during simple ADL movements, but that was mostly gone by Thursday. Today I can still feel it when bending over to pick something up off the floor but otherwise not really at all. Not sure if that's commentary on the actual tweak or not but it's definitely a psychological boost to have it not nag constantly through the day or during simple movements like walking or sitting/standing.

    Bench Press:1ct pause
    375x2, 405x2x2
    315x10 back-off touch n go (last rep paused)
    Notes: No belt or wraps, went pretty solidly. Pauses were a bit short but still overall very happy with how the 405 doubles moved, especially since I haven't really done much paused bench for years other than random reps here and there.

    Press: 4" belt +wraps
    235x5x4
    Notes: First set I let the bar get away from me on the way down between 1st and second rep and that really threw the whole set off. Focused on it and the next three sets were much better. I used to have a really good, close, tight bar path on autopilot and didn't have to specifically focus on it. I somehow seem to have lost that touch in the spring/summer of 2019. I still do it well when I focus on it, but I didn't used to have to specifically focus on it. Not sure why this happened but I need to remember to focus on it now.

    405x2x2 paused bench and 235x5 press on IG

    Lat Pulldown (Wide grip neutral)
    225x10x3
    Notes: These felt easy today.

    DB LTEs
    45x12, 50x12x2
    Plank
    40s x4 sets

  7. #4187
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    Procrastinated too long and missed the gym's hours yesterday so had to do a lame substitution workout in my lame normie apartment gym instead. Womp womp. I almost just skipped it but decided it was better to do it even if mostly for keeping my habits consistent. I also wanted to re-start hammy rehab.

    Standing Cable Row
    3x12 - it's probably not even worth listing or remembering the weight here because I won't use this again. I thought the gym had a seated machine row which I would've used, DBs only go up to 50 in there. But nope. So used their standing dual cable thingy, I didn't quite max it out but almost - the challenge here was balance, more than the actual pulling, but I did it. OK.
    DB RDL
    4x8 @10, 20x3 sets (weight of each DB)
    Notes: RDLs felt totally fine. Went down to a few inches below kneecap, didn't feel hammy strain at all.

    DB Strict Curls
    35x15x3
    Glute Bridges
    2x8
    Notes: All OK here, curls felt a little harder than they do at the gym, maybe cause I usually do them after being more well warmed up by deadlifts, leg press or squats, and better rows. Whatever. Bridges went OK - wanted to do something else for hammy, tried the seated ham curl machine (they don't have a supine lying one) and it's just too ridiculous and awkward and contrived. These were OK, felt hammy a little but in a good way, I think.

    Cable External Rotation
    2x12
    Side Plank
    2x15s

  8. #4188
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    While my hammy is being very frustrating, I got my first press PR in a year and my first PR of any kind in 10 months, so that lessens the sting of the hammy situation a bit.

    Press
    257.5x3 - belt only
    280x2 - PR, 295x1 - belt+wraps
    225x6 - wraps only
    Hammy Rehab
    RDLs: DB 10s x8, 20s x8, then 45 bar x8x3
    Squats: BWx8x2, then 15x6, 20x6, 25x6
    Notes: Felt great to hit a press PR, and 280 was decently well executed too. I flubbed it a bit on 295 and got a little squishy on the bounce, so it was hard, but not absolute max. I think I could've managed about 302.5 or 305 as a 1RM today, so I'm just a few % away from my all time best, and climbing literally each week.

    Though almost unnoticeable during most day to day life activities, I can still feel my hammy when doing gym stuff, which is pretty frustrating. Every other time I've had a muscle strain or pull, it responded in the textbook fashion to higher rep/low weight rehab - feels better as I go, feels even better afterwards, and even better the next day. And responds extremely well to frequency too. This is the first case where that all isn't holding true, and it's starting to make me wonder if it's maybe something other than a simple strain. Not sure what it would be though, it presents as a strain in every other way.

    Bench Press: 1ct pause on 1st rep
    325x5x4
    Notes: Started last Weds, am now practicing pauses on some of my lighter days to get back in the groove of it. These were proper full 1ct pauses; my 405x2x2 on Friday were paused but probably not long enough for any meet, whereas these would be OK at most meets.

    280x2 press and 325x5 bench on IG

    Lat Pulldown
    - MAG grip
    235x6, 250x6x3 - top sets stayed the same but added 10# to the first set. Felt harder today for some reason.

    LTEs: Switching to actual weight (add 7 lbs to get what I would've called it before)
    83x10, 108x10, 118x10

    Then I posted some political stuff on my IG story and was DMd by someone I don't know and have never interacted with before about my white male privilege, so that was awesome!
    Last edited by Michael Wolf; 01-20-2020 at 10:53 PM.

  9. #4189
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    With hamstring showing no signs of improvement, just staying low-level annoying during day to day life but staying bad enough while training to prevent me from low bar squatting or deadlifting, I was getting into a mental rut despite my recent press PR. Today was a big win in that department. I went in determined to do SOMETHING in the way of lower body work, and hypothesized that maybe a front squat would work. I was able to do goblets soon after the initial tweak, and the idea I was thinking is that, at least theoretically, hamstring should be shorter in a FS than a LBBS, and it seems to bother me most when elongated. Problem is, I can't front squat heavy due to a combo of long-ish forearms, lots of upper body mass, and over 3 years since I even power cleaned regularly, much less nearly a decade since I front squatted regularly. So I used the Safety Bar and it worked like a charm. Felt a tiny tug at and coming out of the bottom but never enough to make me even question shutting it down. Stayed moderate but was able to do some work. Super happy about that

    Then guessed that pulling from 6" wouldn't bother it, and not only was that fine too, but I worked up to a very smooth 615 single with no hamstring pain or problems. That's the weight I would've done from 6" last week if everything had gone as planned, followed by 615x1 from the floor and then 645x1 from 6" this week. So I'm a little behind but less than I was before today. Who knows when the floor will be doable again, but if today is an indication, I'll be able to follow the plan from here on out at least WRT pulling from this height, which has me working up to 725x1 from the 6" blocks in a little over a month. So if all goes well, that'll still be fun.

    SSB Front Squat
    Sets of 5 @: 70, 70, 120, 160, 210, 250, 300, 340 -3" belt starting at 300.

    Block Pull: 6"
    585x1, 615x1, then 435x5

    615 block pull and 340x5 SSB FS on IG

    Then on to assistance work.

    DB Bench
    110x8, 120x8x2

    DB Standing Press
    80x6, 90x6x2 - normally would've done 8s here too, but dropped a couple reps to facilitate a little recovery for Friday's planned 455-465 bench.

    Cable Row
    195x10, 225x10x2
    Notes: Could still feel hammy here but a little less; also adjusted position to a little more flexed knee angle, which helped avoid elongated hamstring position.

    DB Curls
    50x9, 60x9x2
    Plank
    45s x3

  10. #4190
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    starting strength coach development program
    Awesome day of benching today!!

    Bench Press
    435x1, 465x1
    425x1 paused with commands - PR - all wraps + belt
    325x10 - PR
    Notes: Plan was 465 top single today and 435 moved freakin FAST so went right to it. 465 moved well too - 98% of my current 1RM, but based on bar speed here, not anymore. Plan is to go for a new PR @480 in 2-3 weeks.

    465 bench, 425 paused, and 325x10 on IG

    Press: 3" belt
    215x5x3 - EZPZ

    Lat Pulldown - wide neutral grip
    225x10, 235x10x2

    DB LTEs
    45x12, 55x12x2

    Ext Rot
    3x12 @2
    Plank
    45s x3

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