Magoo: The Quest for a 405 bench

[MisterMagoo]

hey, might as well make one of these. keep track of my workouts and whatnot, since i never do.

wednesday - bench day.

flat bench:
empty bar warmup
135x10
185x10
225x10
(all paused after this point)
275x3
295x3
315x2
335x0 - total bomb, lowered too far on my stomach
335x1
315x3
225x22 - not paused, obviously.

incline DB:
100x10
100x10
100x10

standing behind-the-neck press:
95x10
135x8
135x8
135x6

pullups:
4x10-12 - yes, i suck at pullups

rear DB laterals:
35x12
35x12
35x12

v-bar pushdowns:
3x15 - full stack, i forget how much the weight is

EZ bar curls:
85x12
125x12
125x12

THURSDAY - squat day

pause squats: full depth, pause for a quick two count.
135x5
225x5
275x5
315x3 - belt on at this point
365x3
365x2

sumo pulls: quick sets, no belt
315x5
315x5
365x3
365x3

glute-ham raises:
50 - worked my way up to 50 reps over the course of a few sets

db shrugs: way light, pulled the db's up along my sides high as i could
70x15
70x15
70x15

abs: on the GHR unit
3x20

SATURDAY: bench assistance

close-grip bench: just inside shoulder-width
empty bar warmup
135x10
185x10
225x8
275x3
295x3
295x3
315x3 - help on rep 3. probably a lot of help. 
225x12
225x10

standing behind-the-neck presses:
95x8
115x10
115x10 - still toast from the close-grip

underhand BB rows:
135x12
225x10
225x10
225x10

set of 10 pullups

db front raises:
35x12
35x12
35x12

dips:
3x15 with bodyweight

rope hammer curls:
65x12
65x12
65x12


bodyweight at this point is around 235. this is going to sound dumb as hell, but i was at GNC and the dude there gave me some crazy deals on nitro-tech that ended up making it the cheapest protein in the store. i swear on my life i put 6 pounds on in the past two weeks with this stuff without a single change in my diet. i can't explain it.

all righty, now we've got the ball rolling. let's get this shit started.

[The Squadfather]

good stuff, i'm thinking about doing both squats and deadlifts on the same day as well, i can't recover for either one when i do them on different days so i'm hoping the full week off will give my lower back plenty of recovery time.

[MisterMagoo]

good stuff, i'm thinking about doing both squats and deadlifts on the same day as well, i can't recover for either one when i do them on different days so i'm hoping the full week off will give my lower back plenty of recovery time.

i actually do a variant of each twice a week. however i've stopped actually heavy pulling every week. monday i went for heavy good mornings, and then a few triples on no-belt pulls while standing on a 5" block. i do something like that for 2-3 weeks, plus box or pause squats on squat day, and then go for a single on the lift itself one week to see where i'm at.

[The Squadfather]

i actually do a variant of each twice a week. however i've stopped actually heavy pulling every week. monday i went for heavy good mornings, and then a few triples on no-belt pulls while standing on a 5" block. i do something like that for 2-3 weeks, plus box or pause squats on squat day, and then go for a single on the lift itself one week to see where i'm at.

but you always do them together on the same day, right?

[MisterMagoo]

but you always do them together on the same day, right?

well, yes and no. i train a variant of each on both monday and thursday, so i'll be doing some kinda squat and some kinda deadlift in the same workout. but if i'm going for a 1RM, i split them up.

[haider]

how long do your workouts take? Whats the diet like? Any supplements?

Awesome journal btw 

[ripitupbaby]

Good stuff magoo!   

How about those glute ham raises?  do you have that piece of equipment in your gym designed for those?  That's pretty damn impressive that you can do them.  I find them to be one of the hardest exercises in the world.   

[MisterMagoo]

how long do your workouts take? Whats the diet like? Any supplements?

Awesome journal btw 

thanks man. most take about an hour and a half, more or less depending on how much time i waste sitting around. supps: white flood and green bulge (NO2/creatine), and whatever protein i get for cheap.

How about those glute ham raises?  do you have that piece of equipment in your gym designed for those?  That's pretty damn impressive that you can do them.  I find them to be one of the hardest exercises in the world.   

yeah we have a unit for it. they're a bastard, but absolutely fantastic for the muscles in question. a buddy of mine, if you can believe it, does them while holding a plate against his chest. no surprises, he pulls over 600. 

anyway...

MONDAY - deadlifts

regular old deadlifts: i didn't have my belt, it sucked. paused on the floor between reps.
135x5
225x5
315x5
365x3
405x3
455x1
475x1
485x1 - shitty chalk, too. i'm not sure if i'd count this rep since the bar slipped near the top and i had to put it down again. oh well

pulls off a platform:
315x5
315x5
315x5

pause squats: rock bottom, full pause
135x6
225x6
275x5
275x5

one-leg leg presses: easy stuff
345x12/12
345x12/12
345x12/12

sissy squats:
3x12

abs: various leg raises and crunches, 12-15 reps apiece for 5 sets.

today's weight: 233.

notes: i'm not sure i'd count today as my "regular deadlift" attempts, but i will anyway and go back to the good mornings for the next two weeks.

[thewickedtruth]

damn that's alot of volume man! SICK STUFF!

how come you're not pushign it with 3 wheels in the squats? if you're going to start pausing at the bottom..do box squats and get a shitload more benefit out of it. no joke!

[MisterMagoo]

damn that's alot of volume man! SICK STUFF!

how come you're not pushign it with 3 wheels in the squats? if you're going to start pausing at the bottom..do box squats and get a shitload more benefit out of it. no joke!

thanks man. i do love the volume. 

if i'm using the belt, i can usually get pause squats with 3 wheels for sets of 5-6. got that triple with 365 last week. but without a belt and after the pulls? hell no. 

i do like box squats pretty often though, i'll admit. i'll probably go heavy on those with 4 plates or so on thursday.

[PANDAEMONIUM]

Good to see your log on here.  Any more heart issues since the last scare?  I ask because it looks like you're hittin' the weights pretty hard and heavy with lots of volume.

[MisterMagoo]

Good to see your log on here.  Any more heart issues since the last scare?  I ask because it looks like you're hittin' the weights pretty hard and heavy with lots of volume.

nah, so far it's all good. i'm hitting it heavy, sure, but honestly the volume is pretty standard i think (though i might be overdoing the assistance). the way i look at it, you could always do more sets of your core lift. train the muscles by making them do what you want them to do. when i did a BB-type routine i might have four sets of my main lift, now i aim for at least 8.

[MisterMagoo]

i never work out on tuesdays, but i felt amped, so off i went.

TUESDAY - bench

flat bench: all reps paused
empty bar warmup
135x8
185x6
225x5
275x3
295x3
315x1
335x1
345x1 - BOO YAH!!!
315x3

incline DB:
85x12
110x8
110x8

pulldowns: underhand grip
180x12
190x12
200x10
210x10

front plate raises: a friend got me to try these in drop-set fashion. ouch.
45/35/25x10/12/14
45/35/25x12/14/16

DB rear raises:
35x12
40x12
40x12

DB extensions: two DB's, on an incline bench
45x10
45x10

DB curls: simultaneously
40x12
42.5x12
42.5x10

weight: 235

notes: first off, hitting 345 felt fucking awesome. and if you're wondering about my volume, realize that after i finish my two pressing exercises, the rest time drops and i'm not really going to failure and grinding out reps. at that point a lot of what i do is either getting blood into the muscles or "prehab" type work. so it makes my necessary recovery time go down as opposed to if i was killing myself on every set.

and as for why i do so much on my main lift, practice makes perfect, y'know? and here's a picture. a really stupid looking picture. hahaha epic tough-guy skullcap, did you forget your tap-out shirt?? 

[thewickedtruth]

nice build man! AND NICE PRESSING!

[MisterMagoo]

nice build man! AND NICE PRESSING!

thanks man!  maybe if i could get my pull up there, i'd be doing okay! 

[ripitupbaby]

Looking very good Magoo.   

[MisterMagoo]

Looking very good Magoo.   

thank ya.

how goes the prep for your meet?

[thewickedtruth]

thanks man!  maybe if i could get my pull up there, i'd be doing okay! 

then do exercises to HELP your pull..don't max on a pull for about amonth and do one day of heavy rack pulls, do another day of heavy good mornings..and then do alot of box squats on your squatting days and your numbers will fly. Anything less than 600 now just isn't working when last summer 550 seemed impossible. Plug away at the FREE WEIGHT HEAVY SHIT that helps your pulling. Box squats benefit more than just your squats. No amount of leg curls or bodyweight hypers is going to get you there.  If you want to make fast progress...you MUST get bands. CHains are nice but bands are GOLDEN!

[MisterMagoo]

then do exercises to HELP your pull..don't max on a pull for about amonth and do one day of heavy rack pulls, do another day of heavy good mornings..and then do alot of box squats on your squatting days and your numbers will fly. Anything less than 600 now just isn't working when last summer 550 seemed impossible. Plug away at the FREE WEIGHT HEAVY SHIT that helps your pulling. Box squats benefit more than just your squats. No amount of leg curls or bodyweight hypers is going to get you there.  If you want to make fast progress...you MUST get bands. CHains are nice but bands are GOLDEN!

haha, so far that's what i started doing! i don't do much on the rack pulls, but i'm using GM's as my main lift on pull days for 2-3 weeks between checking out where my deadlift is, and definitely on the box squats. i'll be on those tomorrow.

you really think the bands will help? that strikes me as odd since i'm not lifting in a suit and my lockout is all right. might piss around with them for speed work though

[thewickedtruth]

haha, so far that's what i started doing! i don't do much on the rack pulls, but i'm using GM's as my main lift on pull days for 2-3 weeks between checking out where my deadlift is, and definitely on the box squats. i'll be on those tomorrow.

you really think the bands will help? that strikes me as odd since i'm not lifting in a suit and my lockout is all right. might piss around with them for speed work though

haha they have no bearing suit or not... they build speed and explosive strength. The bands don't care what you're wearing..the resistance is all the same.

[ripitupbaby]

thank ya.

how goes the prep for your meet?

Kick ass, dude.  I got my training log on the PL board.  225 is not out of reach.   

[Hedgehog]

Got any meets planned?

[MisterMagoo]

Got any meets planned?

there's an ADAU single-lift meet in my hometown on Feb 23rd and I might hit that just for the heck of it (i.e. not really train to peak for it). at the end of march there's another full ADAU meet and i think i might go for that one. i'll have to start training to peak next week though, my left pec feels a little strained.

[ripitupbaby]

there's an ADAU single-lift meet in my hometown on Feb 23rd and I might hit that just for the heck of it (i.e. not really train to peak for it). at the end of march there's another full ADAU meet and i think i might go for that one. i'll have to start training to peak next week though, my left pec feels a little strained.

What's ADAU?  There are so many PL feds, I can't keep them straight. 
I'm competing Feb 23 too!   

[MisterMagoo]

What's ADAU?  There are so many PL feds, I can't keep them straight. 
I'm competing Feb 23 too!   

stands for the Anti Drug Athletes United. it's basically the only raw meets around here. i could be suicidal and do an IPA or IPF meet, but... nah.