Once More. From The Top.

[Gary Gibson]

2014-10-29
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20
135 x 6
175 x 2
190 x 5, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1

Back Squat, no wraps or belt
45 x 20
135 x 8
225 x 4
245 x 2
252.5 x 4 (misload)
260 × 3
265 x 2, 1

DBR 100 x 5 x 3

Fifth bench double was easiest. Left brachioradialis seized up on last squat.

I made a lot of bad choices this weekend. I will spare the details, but I lost five pounds of water in one night. Lost a couple nights of sleep, too. I skipped Monday and Tuesday in order to nurse myself back to normal health, weight, and strength.

Got a little more volume on bench, but failed to get a sixth rep on first set or fourth rep on second. Very tired for squats and failed to improve there. Did some filler sets on DBR while talking to a powerlifter who turned out to be a SS board member

I may go back and do a proper DBR session tomorrow. In a few days I'm going to go for broke on the squat and get volume with 260.

I'm weighing around 160 still (down to 155 this past weekend). I need to gain weight again. At 165-170 I will be repping 225 on bench and 315 on squat.

[Adam Skillin]

Did some filler sets on DBR while talking to a powerlifter who turned out to be a SS board member

You mean Callador? He's more than a SS board member, he's one of the strongest dudes 'round these parts and king of the cat memes (sorry Sean)

[Gary Gibson]

2014-11-01
Back Squat, no belt or wraps
45 x 20
135 x 9
225 x 5
255 x 5 x 3

It's been an emotionally exhausting few days. A significant relationship is finally over and it feels like someone I love has died. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've collapsed into tears several times today.

I had an unexpected day off which I spent at Applebee's with many beers, chicken, shrimp, and steak. I then gorged on gummy worms and bears. So I wasn't feeling my best coming into the gym. But I managed to master 255 on the squat, getting three solid sets of five. Could have gotten seven reps on the first set and six on the second.

I had it in mind to do a PL session today, but will save the bench and pull for tomorrow. Got nothing to do all day.

And Callador is strong like bull. It was fun watching his light day with beltless squats and pulls in the mid 400s and 500s.

[Gary Gibson]

2014-11-02
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20 x 2
135 x 7
185 x 3
190 x 4 1/2

DBR 105 x 6 x 2

I should not have taken those reps with 185. Too many "warm ups" within a couple pounds of my work weight. Just barely missed a fifth rep with 190, but then I was too burned out to do anything else on bench.

Time to bust out the old escalating volume with 80%. My probjected max is 220. So 175 x 3 x 6 to start, working up to 175 x 6 x 6. Mass counts most with bench and volume builds mass. I've been playing with too high an intensity. Time to back off the weight a bit and build volume.

No need to test maxes for a while either. I can start over with 185 once I get 175 x 6 x 6. With an uncharacteristic discipline I could keep this up till 225 x 6 x 6 in April. That would have me stronger on the bench than I've ever been.

Right glute started hurting last night and kept me awake. Was hurting this morning. Not hurting as much now but it kept me from doing deadlifts. Did DB rows instead with heavier weight. Form was less strict than optimal, but I will stick with 105 till it gets smoother.

I'm getting the urge to chib, but I know that would have my golfer's elbows acting up in no time.

[Gary Gibson]

DBR, semi-supinated
90 x 10
105 x 5 x 5

Back Squat, no wraps or belt
45 x 20
135 x 9
225 x 4
255 x 4 x 6

Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20
135 x 6
175 x 2 x 6

Right knee felt a little funny after third squat set. Might have drifted in a bit on the last rep. Medial pain. Put on my very loose Rehbands after that. Immediate increase in warmth and propioception. Fourth was easiest set yet. Got hard again and took 10 minutes before last set. But could have done another rep or two. Work capacity increasing.

The rule is 80% till 6x6. Heavy squat + light bench alternated with heavy bench + light squat. Rows as they fit.

[hbriem]

I really like the Russian for intermediate to semi-advanced lifters. I used it multiple times (about 6) myself for bench and added 2.5kg each round (after being stuck for 2 years). It's also good for squats.

I have my son on it now, he's been lifting for just over a year.

[Gary Gibson]

2014-11-07
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20 x 2
135 x 5
175 x 3 x 6

Close Grip Bench 135 x 5 x 3
Farmers Walk w 90-lb DBs
Short Sprints x 6
Vertical Leaps x 3

I was a little worried on the first bench sets. 175 for three shouldn't feel hard at all. But I got the groove by the third set. I had a lot of energy left after I finished the sixth set so I got a little more volume for the tris (and front delts) with close grip. Close grip revealed that my left elbow is still very crunchy.

Still a lot of energy left, but I resisted the STRONG urge to do my low volume squatting. My right knee felt a little tight last night and I know from painful experience that I need to listen to my knees and let them heal when I push them too far.

So I did the conditioning that I usually put off. Farmers walks and sprinting. Then some jumping. I obviously think sprinting and jumping are the basic athletic abilities that should round out a simple squat-bench-row program. But I also love the farmers walks because they are such a basic "real life" heavy conditioning activity. And they give that little bit extra to the grip and traps and even to the medial delts a bit. In a minimalist program that eschews the traditional detailing movements as useless, a man-maker like the FW is especially appreciated.

Re: Russian routine. I have always gotten good results by using its method of sneaking an extra rep in each set. Volume accumulation works when nutrition is good. I'm going to dispense with the volume attenuation intensification portion, however. Just add 5-15 lbs (5-10 for the bench, 10-15 for the squat) and start over with x 3 x 6. Probably take a slight break after hitting the x 6 x 6 volume target, too.

Oh, and I tried a few chin ups after the farmers walks. Reminded myself why I abandoned the chin up. Medial lateral ligaments in the elbow were immediately unhappy. Damned shame because I used to love the chin up and I got fairly strong on them. I've chinned strictly with over 100 lbs while weighing between 150 and 160. I think my best was eight years ago when I got to 125 at 145-150 or so. Managed a couple one-arm chins with my right arm and one with my left back then. I don't know if that will ever happen again.

[Gary Gibson]

Back Squat, sleeves, no belt or wraps
45 x 20
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 1
260 x 2 x 6

Chin, semi-supinated grip @160 BW
+ 20 × 5
+ 30 x 5

Deadlift, conventional, hook grip, squat shoes, no belt
315 x 3
355 x 1 x 3

Farmers Walk w/ 100 DBs x 15 yds x 3

Squat form is perfect these days. Staying upright and minimizing hip rise at the sticking point almost as well as a short-femured Chinaman. These doubles really were easy.

Did chins because I miss them. As I suspected, the pain I felt in my medial epicondyle last time was because the farmers walks had so fatigued my grip. These chins were light, tight and easy. A hint of pain in the right elbow with the 30-lb DB. But I think I will be subbing in chins for DB rows every other session.

Deadlifts bummed me out. 355 felt almost like a max. Don't know if I could have doubled it. So I just did three singles. My max is probably 370. Maybe 375. That lines up with my projected beltless squat max of 315. My sumo pull is probably around 400. I'll have to get my beltless squat up to 345 before I can pull 405 conventionally and beltless.

Farmers walk continues to embed itself into my heart as my favorite finisher.

And surprise: I'm still 160 lbs!

I honestly don't know if I should up my calories with milk or just let the gains come very slowly so I don't have my fat gains outstrip my muscle gains. The advice from this board is surely to go mad.

People mock GOMAD, but GOMAD got me up to a fairly strong 179-180 at which I low bar squatted 418 and sumo pulled 506 both with a belt in raw competition. I also high bar squatted 365 with just sleeves at 180 and conventional pulled 495 after those competition bests.

I have never been as strong as I was when I used GOMAD. I was a little "blurry" in the ab area, probably around 20% bodyfat. But lord, the gains kept coming when I got the surplus macro nutrients.

A snowstorm late tonight ushers in winter. Maybe it's my sign from the cosmos to add winter fat and get stronger.

[hamburgerfan]

do whatever man

[Gary Gibson]

2014-11-10
Bench Press, touch and go
45 x 20
135 x 5
165 x 3
175 x 2 x 6

Close Grip Bench Press 145 x 5 x 3
Dip @161 + 40 x 5

Vertical Leap x 3 x 3 to ~28"-30"

Didn't realize till I got to the gym that my bench session was scheduled to be a light one. I'm trying to exercise more self control as I'm getting older so I stuck to the planned session even though my energy levels were high.

Some would say I should have aimed for the bigger volume with the x4x6 target. But I feel like these low volume days do set me up for success most of the time. I get to keep the groove while managing fatigue. I feel even more ready to hit 175 x 4 x 6 in a couple of days than I did today.

I stuck with the close grips follow up again and they were smoother and heavier. My left elbow was hinging with far less clicking and crunchiness. I'm using this move as rehab and will not be pursuing excellence on it. In fact I'll most likely drop it soon. As it is I'm carefully managing volume and intensity on it so I don't interfere with the main movement.

Threw in the dips just to see if I can still do them with weight. I think my best ever was a single with 145 and sets of five with 90-100. I think dip gets me looking slightly more jacked. But who ever knows for sure?

Honestly, however, the dip has more in common with a close grip decline press and is inferior as the main upper body push. And significant loading on the dip means the shoulder joints alone are bearing the load of several hundred pounds of bone, flesh and iron throughout the range of motion.

The bench press is more stable, distributes the stress most evenly across joints and working muscles with a medium grip (the dip will always be closer grip), and has a better endpoint (chest to bar).

I still like the dip as an occasional supplement. Maybe a set or two short of failure. I may do the standing press this way, too. And one-arm pushups.

Still jumping as high as ever. As usual the top of the cable crossover machine is my marker. It's about 26" taller than I am and I jump high enough to get my eyes level with it. My eyes are about four inches from the top off my head. Still need another six inches or more to dunk a standard basketball from a standing position. That's another 100 lbs on my high bar squat without getting too much heavier.

Maybe 6x6 is a little ambitious for total volume. What about x3x5...x4x5...x5x5? Couple this with a more modest 3% jump and you have a classic approach: get to 5x5 and make a small but appreciable jump in weight, 5 lbs for bench and 10 for squat.

Truth be told, I'm sort of looking for an excuse to start over with 275 x 2 x 5 on squats and 185 x 2 x 5 on bench. It would be a lot more satisfying to have a wheel and a quarter on each side for bench than a wheel and two tens. Same for squat; two wheels and a quarter instead of two wheels and loose change.

In closing I'm back in the Cities and back to using Fitness 19. I got spoiled by the competition-grade benches in Sheboygan. The benches at Fitness 19 suck for many reasons, but mainly because they are so short and narrow. Feels like I'm benching on a bar stool.