Chebass88 gets stronger day by day.

[Chebass88]

Congrats on the 585x2, that's damn impressive especially following those failed attempts.

I was wondering what you meant about 90 reps but I looked back in the log and found this:

10lbs in 5 weeks works out to about 100lbs on your 1RM in a year. That's pretty great progress. I'm wondering how long you've been doing the Hepburn progression for deadlifts/what weight did you start at?

Thanks Tim! I'll have to hunt through my logbooks to give a better answer, but my recent maxes at 605, 615, 625, and 635 were done with this style of training. I usually do it for a few months, and then take some time off to pursue other goals for a while. I can't remember my training for 585, 575, etc. at the moment. There were a couple maxes earned with the Iron Sport Strength Method in there.

[Meshuggah]

Nice work.

[Chebass88]

Nice work.

Thanks Shug! That is a fun lift.

[Mr. Bingley]

nice lifts!

but I do miss seeing you lift in your "Fargo" hat

[Chebass88]

nice lifts!

but I do miss seeing you lift in your "Fargo" hat

Thanks! I knew something was missing. I'll have to get a good deadlifting hat for seasons other than winter.

[Chebass88]

Monday, April 17, 2017

Bro, did you take your preworkout?

Military press: 95x5, 135x3, 155x2, 175x2, (195x3)x5, (195x2)x3

Curls (strict): 95x5, 115x2, (130x2)x8

Viking Press (on calf machine): 280*x3, 300*x3, 280*x6 (* - see notes below)

DB Press: (45s x 10) x 4

Time: 69 minutes
BW: 268.5lb

This was a fun session. All the bros were in there today, so that usually results in a fun session, with some excellent ball-basting going on. In between curl sets, I decided to test the calf machine on a whim. This turned into a contest with the bros to see who could "rep out" with Viking presses on the calf machine. I won. The way it is constructed, the actual load is probably half of the notation on the weight stack, given the location of the handles and the hinge point. At any rate, it was a bit of fun for an impromptu contest.

I had a good chuckle to myself today while overhearing the bros. They were all discussing which "preworkout" they used, and how awesome it was to become "super amped" from all the caffeine. One guy was bragging about how his favorite potion lasted for 5.5-6 hours, and couldn't be sold in GNC or on Amazon. Hearing that, a few other bros asked to get in on the next order. They all think I'm crazy because I don't take preworkout. It is very funny to me that these guys will take bullshit to be able to do more on the pec fly machine, decline bench presses, cable crossovers, and other miscellaneous bro chest exercises. Yay! Let's take stimulants so we can't sit still at our desk later in the day, but we can totally rep out on the pec fly machine! Homemade sourdough bread and tea got it done for me today. Maybe I'm just jelly I didn't think of a way to fleece large sums of money from lazy bros.

[Bryan Dobson]

Sounds entertaining and like a future revenue stream for cardiologist.

[Tim K]

Maybe I'm just jelly I didn't think of a way to fleece large sums of money from lazy bros.

Just get a bulk order of smelling salts, remove the label, make up some bullshit about how it's an illegal black market super-stimulant, and sell it to them.

[Chebass88]

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

In & out to do the ups & downs.

Squats: 135x5, 195x5, 245x5, 295x5

Rows: 135x5, (195x5)x2, 235x5

Leg Press: 115lbs per side x 15, 15, 15, 15

Standing Abs: 85x20, 100x12, 85x10

Time: 46 minutes
BW: 268.0lb

Today is the "deload" week of the first 5/3/1 cycle I've run for squats (and rows). I got every set, though I didn't necessarily set new PRs on all of the top sets for several reasons. I'm okay with it though, as it is more important to progress the deadlift. I used the leg press as the accessory lift for squats, and started light, some might say annoyingly light. I adjusted for this by reducing the inter-set time to one minute. I think lighter squats or even front squats would be superior to the leg press, but I need to make sure I'm doing something that is helpful overall, but still presents significantly lower recovery requirements than simply doing a Hepburn progression with squats too.

Stay strong, people of the internet.

[Chebass88]

... I'm wondering how long you've been doing the Hepburn progression for deadlifts/what weight did you start at?

I was curious about this myself, so I spent my lunch break reviewing my training history instead of lounging around on a bench, smoking a pipe.

DATE / MAX / (TRAINING METHOD)

3/2011: 405x1 (first 1RM test, no real program, lots of futzing around)

7/2011: 455x1 (no real program for deadlift, more futzing around)

3/2012: 515x1 (some time with Hepburns 8x2-3, not really enough to be conclusive about it, spent remainder of year without a solid plan, including revamping my deadlift form to mimic Kirk Karwoski's setup, did Texas Method, etc.)

5/2013: 520x1 (after two cycles of Iron Sport Strength Method, ISSM)

6/22/2013: 525x1 (ISSM)

7/2013: Switched to futzing around with sumo deadlifts (lesson learned - sumo would take a lot of work to use well, conventional is easier, easier path is better, therefore, stick with conventional)

9/14/2013: 535x1 (ISSM)

10/2013 – 12/2013 – abbreviated training with higher rep work (following arrival of twin babies)

1– 2/2014: futzing around with Olympic lifts, due to misguided fantasy of doing OLY lifts well.

4/21/2014: 545x1 (following 2 cycles of ISSM)

5/20/2014: 555x1 (ISSM)

6/17/2014: 565x1 (ISSM)

7/2014 – 5/2015; more futzing with Olympic lifts; trying out double overhand / hook grip for deadlifts; high rep work with new PRs here, did TM for OLY lifts.

6/2015: return to ISSM

6/23/2015: 575x1 (ISSM)

8-9/2015: Hepburn add-a-triple (start with five triples, end with 8 triples)

10/13/15: 585x1 (no real plan, just make sure to do more reps at or above a given training weight)

11/2015: Cooked up a variant of ISSM intended to get 605 in January 2016, but cut out squats, got hurt (lesson learned - don't mess with something that works)

1/2016: Beltless deadlifts to be SUPER strict with form

3/2016: Got disgusted with my fatness, did high rep sessions alternated with cardio, inspired by Ken Leistner's The Steel Tip

7/22/2016: 605x1 (after a month of doing some random doubles / triples in lower 500lb range)

8/27/2016: 615x1 (after one cycle of Hepburns 8x2-3)

9/28/2016: 625x1 (after two cycles of Hepburns 8x2-3)

10-12/2016: futzing around with SGDL (got new maxes here)

1-2/2017: Again disgusted with fatness, trying to do some cardio, 5x3 on deads – also got rep & RAW PRs here

3/11/2017: 635x1 (after one cycle of Hepburns 8x2-3)

In retrospect, I've been able to get a 10lb increase in roughly a month with both the Iron Sport Strength Method and the Hepburn 8x2-3 methods. The Iron Sport Strength Method is somewhat similar to a 5/3/1 program using alternating rep maxes followed by backoff working sets. The Hepburn method is a little easier mentally - there is nothing above 80%, which is feasible on most days. It is also pretty clear that I change programming methods WAY too often, killing forward momentum. I've learned a lot in the meantime, and have set rep maxes along the way, so it isn't a complete waste.