starting strength gym
Page 7 of 32 FirstFirst ... 5678917 ... LastLast
Results 61 to 70 of 312

Thread: Once More. From The Top.

  1. #61

    Default

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    2014-07-31
    midday
    Paused/Competition Bench Press

    45x12
    105x6
    135x4
    165x2
    175x1
    180x3
    185x3
    190x3

    late night
    "fun" warm up
    power clean 135 and put on back for 6 squats
    power clean 185, 195
    vertical jumps to ~30" (got my chin level with the 8-foot top of the cable crossover/universal machine

    Low Bar/Competition Back Squat
    225x3
    255x2
    275x1
    (belt)
    295x3
    305x3
    275x3

    Paused/Competition Bench Press
    135x4
    155x3
    175x2
    185x3
    175x3x2

    I've settled into a Bench-Squat-Bench alternated with Squat-Bench-Deadlift daily routine! On the bench-twice day I like the idea of benching first in the morning. Separate the sessions as much as possible to get make sure I'm fresh.

    It seems to be working. I feel like I'm getting strong by getting "good" at these lifts.

    There was some quarter squat faggotry going on for about half an hour when I got to the gym for the night session. I was so bored and full of beans that I started playing around with power movements: cleaning and vertical jumping.

    I power cleaned as much as I ever have with a sloppy 195! I think that is my best ever after lots of practice..! My best clean and jerk was 205, I believe (and I have it on a video on my Facebook account).

    I also jumped as high as I ever have. I got my chin equal to the top bar of the cable crossover/universal machine. That means my chin got to about 8 feet! The top of my head got to about 8'6. Since the top of my head is only 5'10" when I'm standing, that means a vertical of at least 30".

    I really should get more exact with my measurements, but it makes sense given my squat and power clean numbers at ~160 lbs.

    Things may have to take a step back tomorrow. I've ramped up pretty quickly.

    But I'm still pretty far from where I want to be for the meet. I would like to get to a 325 triple for low bar this week and a 200 triple for paused bench. By the end of next week I want to be doubling 355 on low bar and 220...more than my current maxes...

  2. #62
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    11,272

    Default

    Playing any piano lately?

  3. #63

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ColoWayno View Post
    Playing any piano lately?
    Living situation right now doesn't allow it.

    I don't know what I was thinking not using wraps and upping frequency. I think I need to start competing in gear just so I can stop fucking around with unwrapped squatting. My right knee is swelling up today.

    I took the day off because I was feeling beat up. I had to work till almost 10 pm so it worked out. Bummed about my knee and really should have seen this coming.

  4. #64

    Default

    2014-08-01
    Low Bar/Competition Back Squat

    45x12x2
    135x8
    225x4
    275x2
    305x1
    (belt)
    325x4,3,2
    335x1
    345x1

    Paused/Competition Bench Press
    45x10
    105x6
    135x4
    165x2
    185x1
    190x3,2,1
    195x1
    200x1x3

    Sumo Deadlift
    315x3
    365x2
    395x1
    (belt)
    415x2,1

    Dumbbell Row 100x10x3
    Russian Leg Curl negatives/partials

    My knee was much improved this morning. I did a power liniment therapy of Tiger Balm, Ben Gay Ultra and DMSO. Twice. Wore my knee sleeve to bed with all that gunk on. Effusion was much reduced when I woke up and knee felt fine for squatting.

    The knee feels a bit crunchy right now, but I'll do the treatment again tonight and probably take tomorrow off again before diving back into 2-3 days in a row.

    My squats are taking off again. They are probably benefitting from the overreaching of three days in a row followed by a day of rest. I hope to take advantage of this pattern a couple more times as I get closer to the meet.

    30-lb improvement on squats, going from 305x3 to 325x4,3 and 2 today. The single with 345 was "meet depth" as in I didn't dunk it like I usually do. I was just out of juice at that point. Still, it's as well as I did in my first meet at a slightly higher bodyweight in the same squat style (347 low bar with belt and sleeves @ 163).

    Didn't continue my streak of bench improvements. If I do anything tomorrow, it will be bench and with the hope that not squatting first will mean more progress.

    Deadlifts were great at first. The weights were flying up on warm ups so I put 415 on for the work sets. Then I couldn't manage a damned triple.

    I did DB rows because I figure I don't want to eliminate a rowing motion entirely. Saturdays are a good time for them. Got a new PR with that 100-lb dumbbell. I really need heavier dumbbells.

    I was 162 this morning.

    Next week I go down to 3,2,1 on squats and then 2,1 on my meet week. I hope to put 20 lbs on my low bar squat by the end of next week and then at least another 10 for the meet. That would get me to 375 and beyond the 369 I got at 165 in my second meet. I'm also hoping to nail the 474 on deadlift that I just barely missed at 165 five years ago.

    Bench hopes aren't that high. I don't plan to beat the 231 I got at 165, but hope to beat the 209 I got at 163.

  5. #65

    Default

    2014-08-04
    midday
    Paused Bench Press

    45x10
    105x6
    135x3
    165x2
    185x1
    195x1
    200x2x2

    late night
    Low Bar Back Squat

    45x10
    135x5
    225x3
    275x2
    315x1
    (belt)
    335x1
    345x1

    Paused Bench Press
    45x10
    105x5
    135x3
    165x2
    195x1 (hard)

    Back Squat, high bar
    135x5
    225x3
    275x2
    315x1 (big stall at sticking point)

    The afternoon bench session was so encouraging. But I had a huge spaghetti and meat sauce and garlic bread all-I-could-eat meal before the night session and the digestion took something out of me.

    I was only able to squat because I bought a couple bottles of Absorbine horse liniment and bathed my right knee in it all afternoon and kept it covered with my knee sleeve. It worked wonders. The knee felt very solid by the evening, as if it had spent the afternoon pulling itself together.

    I actually think low bar is kind of fun till I start to lose form at around 95% and start to good morning it a bit. But I was hoping that 345 would feel easy by now and it was still slow. At 335 the squat was segmented. At 345 it was just getting very good-morning-y.

    Then I was exhausted for benching and struggled with 195 for a single. So to feel better about myself I worked back up to 315 in the high bar squat. The high bar position felt very easy after the low bar. But 315 very nearly buried me. I got stalled for at least three seconds at the sticking point and really had to grind to push through.

    Interestingly, I never got bent over. I was able to keep my high bar back angle even when it got tough. That's part of the reason I like high bar better for training. I just don't get bent over and can keep my quads in the lift.

    Also my low bar isn't THAT much stronger than my high bar this time around. 315 without a belt was very near my max low bar tonight. I might have been able to do 325 low bar without the belt, but it would have been bent over. Even after I was wiped out I was able to fight very hard and match the 315 in high bar without a belt. And that's after not having done high bar for over a week!

    I really thought I was going to get 40 to 50 lbs more out of low bar. But I'm getting only about 10 to 20. I'm getting 345 on low bar with a belt and about 330 or so on high bar with a belt. I'm not sure it's worth taking the stress off my legs (knee extension) and throwing it onto my lower back and hips.

    Granted, low bar is much easier on my knees...but by the same token it's much easier on my quads which is not what I want.

    I guess I'll stick with some low bar doubles for the rest of the week, but I think I should keep in a few high bar squats after benches. It's a balancing act. The high bar keeps the low bar strong, but I don't want high bar exhaustion to limit low bar performance.

    At the same time, it is worth the 10-20 lbs not to specialize on the lift that gives me more overall athleticism?

    After that huge meal tonight I'm up over 166! Not sure how I feel about that. I was hoping to have a high bar squat closer to 400 than 300 at this bodyweight. But I need to get growing again. I'm must not going to hit my bodyweight multiple lifting goals at 5'10" as a 165-lb lifter. I need to work my way up into the 90-kilo class.
    Last edited by Gary Gibson; 08-04-2014 at 10:10 PM.

  6. #66

    Default

    2014-08-05
    The universe is forcing a week of rest before the meet.

    My job is sending me out of sate to a Wisconsin town on Lake Michigan. The nearest Fitness 19 is an hour away. I drive back the day before the meet so I won't have a chance to bench or squat till then.

    I need the time to let my knee calm down and to let fatigue dissipate. I will practice the lifts the night before the meet when I am back in the Twin Cities. But only to about 60%. I will be conservative in my called-for poundages and raise them if the openers feel light.

    My weight got up to 167 after that all-you-can-eat pasta dinner, but now it's back to 163 upon waking. Right now I'm just hoping to beat those first meet numbers (347/209/440@163)...which I've already gotten in the gym (345/205/445@161).

    Note: Even low volume squatting done daily can be problematic for me. I probably should have eased into it...but the squat still strikes me as the lift that really needs a break more than the others.

  7. #67

    Default

    2014-08-16
    Bench Press, touch and go

    45x12x2
    105x6
    135x4
    165x3
    185x2
    205x1
    215x1
    225x1
    190x3x5

    DB Row 100x5x3

    The meet was today, but I didn't go. I volunteered for a work assignment that took me out of state for a while. I'm back for the weekend, but I was too pooped to compete. Plus my knee is just now starting to feel solid again now that I've rested it for over a week.

    Today I was almost as strong on bench as my peak last month. I benched 230 for one then and 195 for 4x4. Today was 225 and 190 3x5. Just five pounds away from that peak. My bench fell apart after that as I was ready for a deload. But this time I'm starting near that strength and think I can advance quite a bit this cycle.

    Got to start taking these unloading phases more seriously. They are vital for keeping joints healthy and reigniting progress.

    I don't know if I'm going to compete raw ever again, by the way. Taking the wraps off always leads to knee trouble. Those few extra pounds of "cheating" are worth it for the protection from chronic injury.

  8. #68

    Default

    2014-09-16
    I have really been that busy. Living and working in the towns on Lake Michigan. Working a minimum of 12 hours each day, often 14 and more. Six days per week, and driving 12 hors round trip to get back home to Minneapolis for a day trip.

    I know I've lost a lot of strength so despite my exhaustion and limited time I got to the local 24-hour powerlifting gym just a mile from my temporary housing by Lake Michigan.

    There was no scale at the gym and there is no scale at this house. But I am probably around 155-160.

    BP, touch and go
    45x20
    95x10
    135x6
    165x4
    185x3
    195x1
    155x5x4

    BS (no belt, suit, wraps, sleeves)
    45x10
    135x5
    185x3
    215x2
    225x1
    235x1
    245x1
    205x3,4,3,3

    DBR 90x5x2

    Weaker, but not as bad as my last long layoff.

    My left knee still has something sliding to the left under the patella when I get to the bottom of the squat. This is despite my constant work on foot strength and holding up arches when I squat. My squat form, however, is overall very good.

    I need to incorporate back offs more. Instead of pounding myself into gravy, getting injured and being forced to take a back off. It's pure ego that keeps me training at my peak instead of taking a week or two off and rebooting.

  9. #69

    Default

    2014-09-19
    BP (touch and go)
    45x20
    95x10
    135x5
    155x5
    165x5x2

    BS (no belt, no wraps or sleeves, narrow stance, regular heels)
    45x10
    135x8
    185x5
    205x5
    225x3x2

    DBR 95x8

    A short one tonight. Finished with a couple sets in the tank on bench for sure. Less so on squats.

    As I continue to work on foot strength I am able to squat with a narrower stance, with less of a heel rise (used the VS Athletics tonight) and with less knee trouble.

    What I work on every single day, throughout the day, is my ability to get into a very close stance squat with heels on the ground, arches up and hands as far over my head as possible. It's a real challenge for my tibialis anterior muscles and the small muscles atop my feet. But it's working. My knees are feeling great and my squat form is improving.

  10. #70

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    2014-09-21
    DBR
    (semi-supinated)
    70x5
    90x5
    100x5x3

    BP (touch and go)
    45x20x2
    95x10
    135x5
    165x5
    175x5x2

    Coming back fast. I'm surprised that I got another 10-lb jump on the bench. The third movement generally sucks so I'm only doing two per session. It works out that each movement gets a chance at being first, i.e. bench/squat, row/bench, squat/row, etc.

    I've been reading Ryan Lingenfelser's site again all weekend. So much good stuff there. I'm still not sold on the HIT-style one all out set, but I'm doing much less volume these days and with much reduced frequency. My joints haven't felt this good in years. I love the way he's relentlessly cut away ALL the bullshit in strength training and has come up with what I've felt has been right for years: bench, squat, row, jump, sprint. I HIGHLY recommend his site. I don't think it's good form to put an actual link in here, but I think I'm allowed to make a hearty endorsement.

    For now I'll be going to the gym twice a week and this means each move twice in one week and then once in the other. As usual these 10-lb jumps on the bench will be cut in half soon. My goal for October is reps with 225 on the bench and reps with 315 on the squat. My joints have been feeling so good that I'm hopeful that I can get there without a belt or wraps this time.
    Last edited by Gary Gibson; 09-21-2014 at 09:48 PM.

Page 7 of 32 FirstFirst ... 5678917 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •