Chebass88 gets stronger day by day.

[slowmotion]

lol, yes, it was the

continue working hard with increased heart rate and huffing and puffing

I was thinking about.

[Chebass88]

Hold up, rowing, incline bench, and SGDL? What happened to the great press experiment?

It fizzled out. Over the last two months, I've had to spend every other week on travel, and for several of those weeks, the best time to train was 6AM, which is certainly not the best time for trying to press almost-max weights. It is easier, however, to do a hard cardio session or futz around with things like the incline bench. My deadlift progresses best when I'm able to do heavy squats at the same time (not at 6AM!), so I changed to snatch grippers as they are lighter (SGDL ~ 87-90% of DL), and I can still make quite a bit of progress with a different variant. It was also nice to drop back to only two days of lifting per week.

I'm sure I'll return to the press at some point, but probably with a higher rep range for a while. There's nothing wrong with setting a new 12RM or 8RM, so long as it is more than I did before (WINNING!!!). I was more sad about postponing a 700lb deadlift this year, but that also will happen in the future.

lol, yes, it was the I was thinking about.

Interestingly enough, shortly after I responded to your post, the following article popped up in my FB:

Avoiding Cardio Could Be Holding You Back ? Stronger by Science

[Chebass88]

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

To & fro, up & back.

Rowing machine: 7758m in 32:00, 5 min cooldown (1142m)

BW: 264.5lb

I decided to increase the length of the session a little just for some fun (32 instead of 30 minutes). The overall pace was pretty decent, with a very hard final minute, as there was no need to hold anything in reserve at that point. I didn't use my metronome today and ended up with the same rating (stroke rate) I've been doing with the metronome, 22spm. Excellent - this means my ability to produce a consistent stroke is improving, and each stroke no longer "feels" different.

Stay strong, people of the internet.

[Chebass88]

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Fighting gravity a little bit at a time.

Incline Bench: 95x5, 135x3, 185x2, 205x12, 215x7; PR - 12RM

Lat Pulldowns: 170x12, 190x8

DB Military Press: 35s x 5, 55s x 12, 65s x 4

DB Pullovers: 85x12, 95x6

Front Squats: 135x5, 195x12, 215x8; PRs - 12RM, 8RM

Decline Situps: (BW+10) x 16, (BW+20) x 8

Time: 47 min
BW: 262.5lb

Today was a pretty good session. I was able to move pretty quickly today, probably because I kept the chit-chat to a minimum. Today's front squat PRs are a little silly - it was the first time I've ever done a set of 12, and any weight would have been a PR. At least they are recorded in the logbook, so I know what I need to beat next time.

I enjoy performing almost all exercises. Each represents an opportunity for improvement, getting stronger, and eliminating weaknesses. Except for the front squat. I hate the front squat. It is goofy and awkward. I would MUCH rather add a couple hundred pounds and do back squats, where I can focus on moving the weight, not moving the weight AND trying not to pass out or drop it. Why am I doing it if I don't like it? Excellent question. The total load is less than what I'm capable of with back squats, leaving some gas in the tank for harder rowing sessions, while still being challenging for my legs and hips. Perhaps I just need to get a few extra hours of sleep and do back squats, albeit at a submaximal weight.

[manveer]

I enjoy performing almost all exercises. Each represents an opportunity for improvement, getting stronger, and eliminating weaknesses. Except for the front squat. I hate the front squat. It is goofy and awkward. I would MUCH rather add a couple hundred pounds and do back squats, where I can focus on moving the weight, not moving the weight AND trying not to pass out or drop it. Why am I doing it if I don't like it? Excellent question. The total load is less than what I'm capable of with back squats, leaving some gas in the tank for harder rowing sessions, while still being challenging for my legs and hips. Perhaps I just need to get a few extra hours of sleep and do back squats, albeit at a submaximal weight.

I hate front squats too.

What about beltless back squat variants?
-Normal beltless squats
-Tempo squats
-Pin squats
-Paused squats

The variants allow for improvement of different aspects of form.

You could also try holding the bar with straps in your hands (other end around the bar). I found a safety squat bar on craigslist because I hate front squats. I think fair market value is around $150-200. Not exactly the same, but similar effect (more focus on quads and upper back) while being easier to handle.

[Chebass88]

I hate front squats too.

What about beltless back squat variants?
-Normal beltless squats
-Tempo squats
-Pin squats
-Paused squats

The variants allow for improvement of different aspects of form.

You could also try holding the bar with straps in your hands (other end around the bar). I found a safety squat bar on craigslist because I hate front squats. I think fair market value is around $150-200. Not exactly the same, but similar effect (more focus on quads and upper back) while being easier to handle.

Thanks for the ideas. I've been using straps to hold it, described in a T-nation article by John Phung. I lost the flexibility to properly hold a heavy front squat sometime between 2013 and 2017. SAD!

[hector_garza]

Thanks for the ideas. I've been using straps to hold it, described in a T-nation article by John Phung. I lost the flexibility to properly hold a heavy front squat sometime between 2013 and 2017. SAD!

John Phung is the best! Forever bulk, brah!

Are you wearing a different kind of show now than when you found front squatting flexibility easier?

[Chebass88]

John Phung is the best! Forever bulk, brah!

Are you wearing a different kind of show now than when you found front squatting flexibility easier?

I assume you mean shirt - same cheap cotton T-shirts as before. The last time I did front squats seriously was in 2013, when I got up to a 355lb single. I was also power-cleaning relatively often, so I got a bit of practice with the clean rack position. I then spent a while doing a decent amount of OLY lifts, which helped with the flexibility. Since then, I did away with both front squats and OLY lifts in order to focus on pushing the big lifts higher. They are.

[hector_garza]

I assume you mean shirt - same cheap cotton T-shirts as before. The last time I did front squats seriously was in 2013, when I got up to a 355lb single. I was also power-cleaning relatively often, so I got a bit of practice with the clean rack position. I then spent a while doing a decent amount of OLY lifts, which helped with the flexibility. Since then, I did away with both front squats and OLY lifts in order to focus on pushing the big lifts higher. They are.

Typo.
Meant shoes.
Thought maybe you had transitioned into or out of WL shoes, maybe that was affecting your front squat flexibility.

[Chebass88]

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Intervals. Wheeeee!!!

Rowing machine: 8x500m with 2:00 rest, plus 3x30 very hard strokes (~1:37/500m) followed by 1 minute rest; 5 minutes warmup & cooldown

BW: 262.5lb

This began as a normal session, until the performance monitor crapped out at the end of the second interval. Dead batteries, perhaps? Whatevs. Without the monitor, I did 30 very hard strokes followed by a minute rest. After the third of these lovely heart accelerators, the monitor came back on (magic?). I resumed doing the 500m intervals, and did all that I had planned to do today. With the exception of the last one, I beat the previous session's average pace on every interval. The last one was ridiculously tough - there was nothing left in the tank. Even though I didn't beat the previous average on that one, I did beat it overall.

Last session's average: 1:44.9 (6x500)
Today's average: 1:43.6 (8x500)

Progress is being made. WINNING!!