Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 242

5 minutes warmup on the bike. (Light Day)

Bench Press: 175 for 6 sets of 2. Narrow grip and done fast.

Squat: 135 for 3 sets of 6.

Power Snatch: 105 for 3 sets of 3. Form gradually smoothing out.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 244

Woke up feeling creaky in the back and right shoulder. The back is probably from getting adjusted by my chiro on Friday. Getting the chassis realigned can have that effect. So I decided to think through my warmups more carefully today. With variable results.

5 minute warmup on the bike. (Heavy Day)

Bench Press: 270 for 2 singles. I tried for a 3rd but made it only halfway up. Thank God for a good spotter. Since the last few heavy sessions have been a little wobbly, I did fewer reps in the warmup sets and went to singles at 225. I think I have milked these singles for as much as I can. I'll take a run at 280 next week and recover with a 5-3-1 for a while.

Pull Ups: Bodyweight for 5 sets of 3.

Deadlift: Sets of 3, 135-185-225-275. Singles, 315-365. I went for 405 today with high hopes especially after 365 went up without much effort. But I think I did too many warmup sets and should have done my last one at a lower weight. Because I broke 405 off the floor and that was it. Pissed me off, and I waited a little and tried again with the same result. I think it was mainly in my head, but what with my back feeling creaky I decided to try again week after next.

[BillBrownley]

Re:dead lift--definitely too much warm-up IMHO. With deads, if I am going for a record--135 x 5, 50% of anticipated max x 2, 75 % of anticipated max x 1. Then go get it. Thanks, Bill

[Mark E. Hurling]

Yeah, normally its more like 135-225-315 and then a filler with the top effort. I was testing my back on the way up and I tested myself right out of 405.

[JohnRoman]

I'd make sure I was warmed up good before maxing. Especially with no other back and/or leg work before doing deads. Better safe than sorry. It does seem to be a balance between pre-exhaustion versus jumping too far and overloading your CNS. This seems to be worse with deads than the other lifts for me.

I think some of these younger guys are maxing too often and I think that can drive you backward on your deads. I'm sure that would probably happen for me. After I got above 400# my body start feeling like I'd been in a car wreck for days after max deads so I space them fairly far apart.

[Mark E. Hurling]

The funny thing is in spite of my creaks this morning, my lower back feels fine now. In fact it feels better now than it did when I got out of bed. But anyone who might have lingering doubts about the effect of deadlifts on the lats? Mine feel rather crispy just now. All the years (decades!) I have lifted I think I felt my lats get even slightly sore maybe twice. But the last month what with the heavy deadlifts and bent over barbell rows have them feeling cooked at least once a week.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Our daughter hit me up to go lift again this afternoon. I finally convinced her that her clogs were not the best thing to squat or deadlift in so she dug out some chucks she had had since high school last week. Her squats have been improving ever since and her knee complaint vanished. Now if I can get her to get religion on breathing and the valsalva with pressing moves it'll be another minor victory. But I learned my lesson in middle and high school with the hard core overbearing approach. So I'll just wait and let her hear it from me in a relaxed low key manner and eventually she may get the message.

She is getting more aggressive in adding weight than I would have done myself so as not to push her to the point of failure or so much soreness it would wipe her out. No race here, just slow and steady additions that keep her motivated to challenge herself some more. She told me to add a 20 lb. jump to her deadlifts which pleased me no end and while it was hard for her she hauled 'em all up. Likewise with her bench press when she had me add more than I expected. Her one problem seems to be the squat and I think it's because of the shoes earlier and the shorter bar that constricted her shoulders. But she seems to be getting the mental groove of those now too. Her form is probably better than mine is.

I asked her if at some point she might be interested in going to the gym to lift as the weights keep increasing. This is a Big Deal for her because she is really self conscious about her weight and size and all the "other people" there judging her. She didn't reject it out of hand and said "Let's see how it goes Dad. But for now I'm happy out here in the garage lifting with you coaching me." Warms my heart.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Weight: 243

5 minutes warmup on the bike. (Medium Day)

Standing Overhead Press: 150 for 5 sets of 4.

Barbell Rows: 240 for 5 sets of 5.

Pinch Grip: 142 for 30 seconds.

I'm finding all the signs of overtraining are dragging me down. I no doubt tapped an artery too many times with max singles especially in the deadlift. It has taken a major act of will to drag my butt out of bed for at least a week to get in the gym and lift and I've had trouble falling and staying asleep. So I'm taking a little time off from lifting and restarting with a 5-3-1 routine. I'll see how well I muster the energy for jujitsu tonight.

On a brighter note, our daughter was hard the iron last night and is now overhead pressing as much as she bench presses. Odd that, and I told her so but she just considers it her unique badge of honor.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

So I'm taking a little time off from lifting and restarting with a 5-3-1 routine. I'll see how well I muster the energy for jujitsu tonight.

This sounds exactly correct, Mark.

On a brighter note, our daughter was hard the iron last night and is now overhead pressing as much as she bench presses. Odd that, and I told her so but she just considers it her unique badge of honor.

This is way cool. The weight ratios will even out over time; the most important thing is that she keeps coming back. Awesome.

[Carlos Daniel]

Just don't stop lifting. Do some light stuff to keep the groove greased and then come back when you're recovered.