Devyn's Training Log

[Geoff Bischoff]

You're in the zone, man. Those deadlifts look a lot better than just a couple weeks ago, and they are flying off the floor.

Squats: Those flew up! But those black pants are hard to read; are you sure on depth? Looks a fraction high on my screen.

Bodyweight: Dude, I know the pain. 7 months ago I had abs! Like eight of em, and I could count every one. I'm up 36 lbs since then, and I can vaguely trace a four-pack if I flex hard and squint. In general I like being stronger more than I like my abs. But I can see how, in another 10 lbs or so, I may want to actually endeavor to do a slight "cut." In my 485 DL vid (sidenote, I pulled 485 today ... humblebrag or something?) you can see that I'm starting to get Eddie Hall Belly. At least, looks that way to me.

My sober evaluation is this: Neither you nor I are fat. You and I are both becoming more usefully built, which has included the acquisition of adipose tissue. But our little bit of fat isn't the problem: Instagram ab-culture is the problem. You and I are finally, finally arriving at a useful weight, but we live in a culture that cares more about a *look* than about usefulness. Worse, they don't even know useful when they see it. They look at NBA players and call them "jacked." (I'm pretty sure I accidentally ate a NBA point guard for breakfast yesterday.) Problem is: We can look at how stupid our culture is and say, "that's stupid," but that doesn't mean we aren't impacted by it. Doesn't mean we don't still want to look like those folks who folks around us say are "hawt" or whatever you crazy kids say these days (get off my lawn!).

You've got your head screwed on right and tight: You've already said you don't plan to run end-stage LP at deficit. As your LP extends, come back to that post and read it and reread it when temptation swings in to steal you off to ab-land. Drive on and complete the patrol you're packed for before you pack for the next one.

My final couple pennies: You said you hope to one day thank yourself for doing this. Truth: If I had a time machine, two bullets, and a clear target to Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler ...

I'd let time and chance kill them both for me, and use the time machine to go back in time to 1997 and execute LP.

Blessings, brother. Keep killin'.

[Devyn Stewart]

You're in the zone, man. Those deadlifts look a lot better than just a couple weeks ago, and they are flying off the floor.

Squats: Those flew up! But those black pants are hard to read; are you sure on depth? Looks a fraction high on my screen.

Bodyweight: Dude, I know the pain. 7 months ago I had abs! Like eight of em, and I could count every one. I'm up 36 lbs since then, and I can vaguely trace a four-pack if I flex hard and squint. In general I like being stronger more than I like my abs. But I can see how, in another 10 lbs or so, I may want to actually endeavor to do a slight "cut." In my 485 DL vid (sidenote, I pulled 485 today ... humblebrag or something?) you can see that I'm starting to get Eddie Hall Belly. At least, looks that way to me.

My sober evaluation is this: Neither you nor I are fat. You and I are both becoming more usefully built, which has included the acquisition of adipose tissue. But our little bit of fat isn't the problem: Instagram ab-culture is the problem. You and I are finally, finally arriving at a useful weight, but we live in a culture that cares more about a *look* than about usefulness. Worse, they don't even know useful when they see it. They look at NBA players and call them "jacked." (I'm pretty sure I accidentally ate a NBA point guard for breakfast yesterday.) Problem is: We can look at how stupid our culture is and say, "that's stupid," but that doesn't mean we aren't impacted by it. Doesn't mean we don't still want to look like those folks who folks around us say are "hawt" or whatever you crazy kids say these days (get off my lawn!).

You've got your head screwed on right and tight: You've already said you don't plan to run end-stage LP at deficit. As your LP extends, come back to that post and read it and reread it when temptation swings in to steal you off to ab-land. Drive on and complete the patrol you're packed for before you pack for the next one.

My final couple pennies: You said you hope to one day thank yourself for doing this. Truth: If I had a time machine, two bullets, and a clear target to Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler ...

I'd let time and chance kill them both for me, and use the time machine to go back in time to 1997 and execute LP.

Blessings, brother. Keep killin'.

Thanks, man. I'm definitely feeling good about deadlifts. I was feeling great about squats too, but I do think you're right. I think the squats recently have been ever-so-slightly high. It's so weird because I used to completely bury my squats and have to consciously attempt to squat higher. It's a bit like how I used to be so thin and had to try so hard to gain weight. I guess when you go all-in on something you really can take it a bit too far. Anyway, I feel fully recovered today, so I'm going to forego my light day that I did last week and go ahead and give 340 another go while descending just an extra inch or two. I really don't want to have to nullify 5 PRs (over 315, my previous best), but if I can't get at least 1 good set of 5 today at correct depth, I may have to take a step back and humble myself a bit. My squat was getting really high relative to my deadlift anyway, so I guess that was a contributing factor.

On the "Eddie Hall" belly thing, I think you and I may be suffering from something similar. I don't think either of us is particularly vain and flexing in the mirror all day, so I see myself the most on my lifting videos. During those videos, I am normally wearing a belt really tight around my midsection, pushing some of my adipose tissue upwards. Add that to the fact that I take in a huge breath and hold it during my lifts, my gut looks big and distended while I lift. Funnily enough, the only lift where I don't wear a belt, the bench press, I arch my back and stick my belly out anyway. I guess the lifts weren't designed to look pretty. None of this is an excuse, but it is meant to say that we're probably not quite as fat as we look on our training videos.

I also don't mind too much what the girls at my college think is "hawt". I'm lucky enough to not have to worry about my "aesthetics" too much; I'm just worried about being healthy. I'm only worried that the weight I'm moving toward is less healthy, but, like you said, strength is the goal for now.

That's quite the sentiment you've got there! Gave me a good laugh. I'm glad I'm fortunate enough to not need a time machine. I think I'm more in the camp of people Rip once described in an article when he said something along the lines of, "Being young has its advantages for getting strong, but only if it is not an obstacle to learning how." Once I can get my ego in check on squats and get a little tougher mentally on deadlifts, I think I can grind out another good month or 2 (maybe 3 if I'm more gifted than I think I am) of LP.

Also, congrats on the PR, dude! It feels like you're making better progress than I am at 20 years older and a lot stronger! I'll have to use some of your progress as inspiration to finish those deadlifts here soon!

[Geoff Bischoff]

I was feeling great about squats too ...

I'm only worried that the weight I'm moving toward is less healthy, but, like you said, strength is the goal for now.

To the first part: Apologies; I didn't want to be a discourager.

To the second: Carrying "extra" fat (which different folks define different ways) is not likely to be unhealthy if it's for a relatively short time. If I decide to go all-in on strength and weight gain for two full years, say, with no cut, I'm still not too bad off: 2 years of being "fattish" out of 40-something is no big deal, compared to the rest of my life.

Similarly for you: If you get "fattish" for a year, or two, alongside getting massively strong, but thereafter do some cutting work, well ... when you're 80-something and starting to wind down, the doctor's not likely to say, "Well, your problem is that you were kinda fat for 2 years when you were in your 20s."

Long-term perspective helps.

[Devyn Stewart]

To the first part: Apologies; I didn't want to be a discourager.

To the second: Carrying "extra" fat (which different folks define different ways) is not likely to be unhealthy if it's for a relatively short time. If I decide to go all-in on strength and weight gain for two full years, say, with no cut, I'm still not too bad off: 2 years of being "fattish" out of 40-something is no big deal, compared to the rest of my life.

Similarly for you: If you get "fattish" for a year, or two, alongside getting massively strong, but thereafter do some cutting work, well ... when you're 80-something and starting to wind down, the doctor's not likely to say, "Well, your problem is that you were kinda fat for 2 years when you were in your 20s."

Long-term perspective helps.

It's alright. I had suspected that they were high as well, but I had been lying to myself. I'm glad you said what you did otherwise I may have continued with my bad habits. The depth change definitely did make a difference.

I see. That does make sense. That eases my mind a bit. I'm still sure that I'll be staying my slightly rounder "fattish" self for a good while longer as I finish LP and sink a few weeks into getting in the swing of things of Texas Method. With the issues I've been having, it's looking like LP might take longer than I want it to anyway.

10/10/2019

Squat: 340x5,5,3
Bench: 200x5x3

Notes:

I was incredibly discouraged today. I decided to go ahead and go for some squats because the light day last week was mostly predicated on the fact that it was a stressful week. Today, I felt fine, though, but clearly the weight was a little much. I attempted to go to full depth this time, and I think I succeeded. I can say that I'm 99% sure I got a pretty legit 2x5 with 340, which makes me happy. I had a bit of a panic moment and thought, "Maybe I'm not even stronger than last time. Maybe my true PR is like 315x5x3 and my high squats have tricked me!" It looks like that's not the case and I'm dangerously close to where I thought I was anyway. So, that's good, but I also remember why I started attempting to squat higher. I have a form issue where I really really lose balance forward near the very bottom of the squat. I just made a thread about it in the technique forum if anybody is reading this who wouldn't read that anyway; go there for the videos. I'm not sure what to do to fix it that I haven't already tried.

Bench was alright. I didn't feel like the form was great, but there's not too much you can do. It was honestly a formality at this point because I was so upset over squat and my back being so sore afterwards. I was ready to leave and not even bench press because of that and because of the throbbing tendinitis in my elbow that the squats aggravated. I decided not to do power cleans because it was already 7:15, and I just having a horrible day.

Praying that things can go a little better here soon. Also praying for some wisdom to show up in that technique thread.

[positronbomb]

I'll reply here.
I think if you get the nipples pointing to the floor more than you're doing at the BOTTOM of the squat, your hips will already be in a very strong position to get out of the hole, and your hips and torso will rise together out of the hole and you won't get off balance.

[positronbomb]

So the cue is "nipples to the floor" this will be made easier by having the right width stance, and toes pointed out at the correct angle.

[Devyn Stewart]

I'll reply here.
I think if you get the nipples pointing to the floor more than you're doing at the BOTTOM of the squat, your hips will already be in a very strong position to get out of the hole, and your hips and torso will rise together out of the hole and you won't get off balance.

Appreciate your help, positron. I think that today's testing might have shown that idea to be incorrect, though. Feel free to let me know what you think.

10/12/2019

Squat: 340x2, 340x2, 300x5
Press: 135x4,4,3
Deadlift: 365x5 (PR!)

Notes:

Squat may seem disappointing, and it was, but I feel I have gained some information, which is valuable. In the thread I mentioned last time about my technique, the generaly consensus was that I needed to focus on pushing my hips back and not allowing my knees to travel forward. Perhaps I implemented the cue wrong, but this was a horrible failure. It's very possible I have sustained some fatigue from the failure on Thursday, but not enough to justify 2 set of 2 of a weight that I previous did for 5. The "butt back, knees back, nipples down" idea just isn't working. I think that's because my back angle never changed on the videos of my last workout. My back angle is fine; I think it's the knee slide and losing the weight forward that's the issue.

Sooooooo, after thinking a bit more about my failures today and my failures Thursday, I came to the conclusion that my knees and my losing balance forward are probably both symptoms of the same problem, but not the problems in and of themselves. I realized that I was looking perhaps 2 feet in front of me as I squatted, so I tried looking out further and maintaining my gaze there. It's difficult at my gym because 6 feet in front of me is a bench, not a spot on the floor I can focus on. Either way, I gave it my best, and I think the third set of 300 was significantly better, in part because it was lighter, but the first rep looked much better than anything I've seen myself do in a while. It will take some practice, but I think that I can get there with this in mind. I also decided I was going to do a reset. It has been a long time coming, and I think it's justified. I just changed how deep I squat, and I am messing around with form and getting 2 reps when I should be getting 5 with my working weight. It may be a bit premature, but I'm going to start back up on 305 on the next workout, and I should be back to 335 in two weeks, given I can figure out my form by then.

Press sucked. Wasn't strong enough plain and simple. Gonna go for it 2 more times, and either way, I'll be switching to 5x3 after.

Deadlift was mixed. I'm glad I hit it, but I rounded my back too much. Mr. Geoff Bischoff mentioned that I should be looking for a B or better to move on, and I'm pretty sure any SSC would give my last rep a C, so I plan on repeating this on Wednesday (my schedule will be weird here while I'm transitioning from Tu/Th/Sa to Sa/M/W), hopefully with less rounding.

I'm trying to stay positive about this workout, but at the end of the day, I got, like, 0.5/3 lifts. I'll get 'er next time. feelsbadman.jpg

[Geoff Bischoff]

I'm pretty sure any SSC would give my last rep a C...

... But did you die?

https://media.giphy.com/media/lRZjlasctAcvu/giphy.gif

Kidding man. Seriously, first four looked really good. Even the last one wasn't as bad as you may think. Yeah, you had some bend, but you weren't full alley cat. Repeating 365 won't hurt if you need the extra go to really make it feel like you own it. But those were five white-light, IPF-worthy deadlifts, even if you're not stoked about the form on the last one. Good work.

Squats: I see that you're getting your 340s misgrooved. You've got the strength, and barspeed is good, so you've got that going for you. They're just coming out of squat. The 300s looked better; if you think eye gaze was the fix then cool beans (or whatever the kidz are saying this year). Here's hoping it holds through as you come back on your deload.

I heard your videographer (Caitlyn?) say "don't bounce." What's that about? Wasn't sure if she was saying "you're bouncing, stop it," or "you're not bouncing, make sure you don't start now."

There's good bounce and bad. Bad bounce is going butt-to-grass so that your hamstrings literally bounce off your calves. Good bounce is when you reach hamstring stretch-reflex and use that reflex-bounce to initiate hip drive. Of the two options: The bounce you're getting looks more like the good kind than the bad. You're not banging ham-to-calf.

[Devyn Stewart]

... But did you die?

https://media.giphy.com/media/lRZjlasctAcvu/giphy.gif

Kidding man. Seriously, first four looked really good. Even the last one wasn't as bad as you may think. Yeah, you had some bend, but you weren't full alley cat. Repeating 365 won't hurt if you need the extra go to really make it feel like you own it. But those were five white-light, IPF-worthy deadlifts, even if you're not stoked about the form on the last one. Good work.

Squats: I see that you're getting your 340s misgrooved. You've got the strength, and barspeed is good, so you've got that going for you. They're just coming out of squat. The 300s looked better; if you think eye gaze was the fix then cool beans (or whatever the kidz are saying this year). Here's hoping it holds through as you come back on your deload.

I heard your videographer (Caitlyn?) say "don't bounce." What's that about? Wasn't sure if she was saying "you're bouncing, stop it," or "you're not bouncing, make sure you don't start now."

There's good bounce and bad. Bad bounce is going butt-to-grass so that your hamstrings literally bounce off your calves. Good bounce is when you reach hamstring stretch-reflex and use that reflex-bounce to initiate hip drive. Of the two options: The bounce you're getting looks more like the good kind than the bad. You're not banging ham-to-calf.

Thanks, man. I'm definitely counting it as a PR since it was competition legal, but I really want to avoid the degree of rounding I see on the last rep, just for the sake of health. There was a tiny bit on the previous four, but probably not enough to worry about.

Yeah, I don't think I've really ever consistently "grooved" my squats. I think I've always lost it forward a tiny bit, especially when it gets heavy. I know that any good SSC probably wouldn't recommend that I do what I did this workout, but I went down to 300 because I wasn't getting any meaningful volume with 340, and I need a somewhat heavy weight to see if my hunch was correct about gaze. The first two reps of 300 are what I want, like, the first 3 or 4 of 340 to look like. And the third rep was lost a bit forward and had a bit of knee slide, that's what I expect the 4th or 5th reps of a very hard set to look like. But none of them are being lost 4-6 inches forward like before. Granted, this is a lot lighter of a weight and it still wasn't as good as I want 340 to be, but I think with practice during the reset, I can get it close by the time I get back up to 340. Also might have to work on a bit more subtly hitting depth, rather than burying it 4 inches too deep.

I don't think Caitlin was telling me not to bounce off my hamstrings/adductors, but rather to avoid doing the knee-forward springy type bounce that comes from relaxing at the bottom. And I think that our first prerogative was ensuring good form without knee slide. The quickness and "bounciness" can come later on in the reset once I've hit my stride with keeping the bar over mid-foot a bit better.

Things look a little grim atm, but the fact of the matter is that I squatted a legit 340x5 during LP, so I'm trying to stay happy about that. I'll be a lot happier, though, if the form changes can help me get there for 3x5 and maybe get to ~350x5 before switching to intermediate programming!

[positronbomb]

Appreciate your help, positron.

You already know how to squat. You don't present the same technique problems when you're not fatigued.
That indicates a weak link in the chain. To me it looks like your quad strength is breaking down first.
Your hips look strong and your lower back movement looks strong.
Either you can focus on increasing your quad strength (or other offending muscle group) with an accessory exercise or just be patient waiting for the offending muscle group to naturally catch up, while perforning the basic exercises.

Either way you're doing great. Enjoy your youth.