Author Topic: Prep for - nothing, really. (Read 175126 times)

Overload · « **Reply #75 on:** September 18, 2008, 02:25:25 PM »

Good stuff!

Strong triceps make big benchers. Ask mike wolfe!

The stronger your triceps get, the more you will bench, and vice versa.

Everything is coming together, good work.

Overload · « **Reply #76 on:** September 18, 2008, 02:29:56 PM »

Quote from: Zach Trowbridge on September 12, 2008, 01:07:58 PM

BTW, for the guys who are familiar with the Westside template, how is this for a lower body ME day? I could probably have thrown in some more assistance work like glute/ham raises or reverse hypers, but other than that, any comments? Number of sets, reps, rest periods? Anything that can be improved (other than the weights I'm lifting)?

Quality over Quantity.

As long as you are busting ass, there usually isn't a need to add anything to what you are doing currently. just change up the order of exercises every now and then, instead of adding more, just sub one in for another. make a trade.

I'd like to hear everyones opinion, i think you are right on track.

As long as cals/carbs/fats(good) are up, you should be growing like a weed.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #77 on:** September 18, 2008, 04:36:10 PM »

Quote from: Overload on September 18, 2008, 02:29:56 PM

As long as cals/carbs/fats(good) are up, you should be growing like a weed.

I'm up about 9 lbs since I first PM'd you. Pretty good gain for about 2 1/2 months.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #78 on:** September 19, 2008, 07:16:11 AM »

For anyone who's interested, I started doing a full Westside-ish split at the end of last week, set up like this:

Monday: Upper Body ME - bench press, 1-2 chest/delt assistance, 1 tricep, 1 upper back, 1 biceps, 1 abs, rest periods 60-120 seconds

Tuesday: Lower Body DE - box squats at various heights, 1 deadlift-type movement, 1-2 additional posterior chain exercises, 1 calf exercise, rest periods 30-90 seconds

Wednesday: off/occasionally cardio or prehab

Thursday: Upper Body DE - bench press, 1-2 chest/delt assistance, 1 tricep, 1 upper back, 1 bis, 1 abs, rest 30-90 seconds

Friday: Lower Body ME - 1 squat-type lift, 1 deadlift-type lift, 1-2 posterior chain assistance, 1 calves, rest 60-120 seconds

I probably won't do any particular lift more than 3 workouts in a row other than the bench presses on M/Th and box squats on Tuesday at various heights. No workout lasting over an hour. Yes? No? Seems like a good beginner Westside/pl'ing setup to me.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #79 on:** September 19, 2008, 02:08:22 PM »

Week 9, Friday 9/19

Lower Body ME

14" Box Squat (2 min rest)
45x10
135x5
185x3
185x3
205x2

Deadlift w/ 4" deficit (90 second rest)
135x3
185x3
225x3
275xMissed
275x1

Standing Arched-back Good Morning (60 second rest)
45x10
95x5
135x5
155x3
155x3

Pull-through (90 second rest)
120x20
130x15
140x12

Seated Calf Raise (90 second rest)
90x12
110x10
130x6

I definitely figured that I'm weakest off the floor after doing deads on a platform today. Everything to the 225 was a piece of cake, and I couldn't believe I couldn't even budge the 275 the first time around. I got it once the second time, but I was shooting for a set of 3. I will have to do these more often, maybe on DE day as well to get used to driving harder off the floor. Everything else seemed pretty decent.

I taped my quads and calves for the first time since April, and the thighs went from 21.5" to 23.5", and calves from 15" to 15.5". No great numbers, to be sure, but at least I'm making some progress there as well.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #80 on:** September 22, 2008, 01:14:35 PM »

Week 10, Monday 9/22

Upper Body ME

Bench Press (2 1/2 minute rest)
45x10
135x6
180x2
180x2
180x2

Incline Dumbbell Press (2 minute rest)
75x10
75x8
75x6

1-Arm Grappler Press (90 second rest)
45x10
70x10
95x6
95x10

Floor Lying Dumbbell Extension (60 second rest)
25x12
30x12
30x8

Machine Reverse Flye (45 second rest)
115x12
130x12
145x10

Came back to incline dumbbell presses after a couple weeks and am still getting stronger. Good stuff.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #81 on:** September 22, 2008, 07:06:41 PM »

Just got home from work - I got rear-ended at a stoplight and my back and neck are destroyed. Going to the hospital now to get a quick checkup and some medical documentation for insurance. Hopefully the damage to my back is minimal, but it's screaming as we speak, and my vision is a wee bit blurry. Woo-ha.

Overload · « **Reply #82 on:** September 23, 2008, 06:03:01 AM »

Quote from: Zach Trowbridge on September 22, 2008, 07:06:41 PM

Just got home from work - I got rear-ended at a stoplight and my back and neck are destroyed. Going to the hospital now to get a quick checkup and some medical documentation for insurance. Hopefully the damage to my back is minimal, but it's screaming as we speak, and my vision is a wee bit blurry. Woo-ha.

Damn bro! Sorry to hear that!

Hopefully it is just a mild case of whiplash.

Any idea how fast they were going when they hit you?

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #83 on:** September 23, 2008, 10:25:38 AM »

Got home from the ER at about 4am this morning, after spending about 5 hours in a neck brace because they were worried I had some head trauma - I had a headache and some blurry vision for a few hours after the accident. But it seems like all I have are muscle strains in my lower back and neck. I got some Vicadin for the pain and Flexerol for some low back spasms I was having. So definitely no lower body work today, and we'll see how I feel for Friday. Hopefully i won't have to skip upper body Thursday - it's just speed work mostly so it shouldn't bother me too much.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #84 on:** September 25, 2008, 01:31:04 PM »

No workouts today or tomorrow. Neck and back are still pretty tweaked, I'm trying to get a chiropractor visit set up for tomorrow so I can go back full steam on Monday. In the meantime the heaviest lifting I'm doing is picking up my 1-year-old son.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #85 on:** September 29, 2008, 10:02:05 PM »

Week 11, Monday 9/28

Upper Body ME

Bench Press (2 1/2 minute rest)
45x10
95x6
135x3
185x2
185x2
185x2

Incline Dumbbell Press (2 minute rest)
80x7
80x5
80x3

JM Press (60 second rest)
45x10
95x10
105x8
115x6

I saw my chiropractor right before my workout. My neck is worse than my lower back - maybe an 8 on a scale of 10 while my back is maybe a 6. For legs for at least the next week I'm probably just going to do extensions and curls plus calves, until my spine gets back to 100%. Now I have to deal with settling with the insurance company - they want me to settle already, but I still can't train a good amount of my clients because I do a lot of athlete training using powerlifts and olympic lifts, and there's no way in shit I can think about doing those yet. Any advice on dealing with these insurance guys? I'm still on painkillers and can't stand for more than an hour at a time and they tell me that because my car wasn't all that damaged that I must be trying to take them to the cleaners because I'm greedy.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #86 on:** October 02, 2008, 02:51:45 PM »

Week 11, Thursday 10/02

Upper Body DE

Bench Press (30 second rest)
45x10
95x6
8x135x3

45-degree Incline Bench Press (60 second rest)
95x10
115x8
135x6
155x3

Tate Press (60 second rest)
25x12
35x10
45x8
50x6

Getting better slowly. Still shying away from anything relating to back or legs because my spine is still tweaked in a few places, and everytime I get an adjustment done to fix one thing, something else starts to creep up. Hopefully I can start getting back to some light rows and lower body work by Tuesday and start getting back on track.

On the bright side I haven't lost any weight and my strength seems to be about the same for pressing movements, except pretty much any sort of overhead pressing is out because it makes my right trap seize up.

thewickedtruth · « **Reply #87 on:** October 03, 2008, 01:29:20 PM »

not bad buddy..how you liking the tate presses?

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #88 on:** October 03, 2008, 10:17:04 PM »

Quote from: thewickedtruth on October 03, 2008, 01:29:20 PM

not bad buddy..how you liking the tate presses?

Pretty good. Triceps were pretty sore both days this week, if nothing else from having 2 new exercises in JM presses and Tate presses to rotate in with everything else. My coordination with the Tates kind of sucks right now though.

Stubborn · « **Reply #89 on:** October 05, 2008, 09:44:00 AM »

Good weights, good program, great advisor (Overload). Keep it up!

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #90 on:** October 06, 2008, 09:22:13 PM »

Week 12, Monday 10/6

Upper Body ME

Bench Press (2 1/2 minute rest)
45x10
95x6
135x3
190x2
190x2
190x2

Incline Dumbbell Press (2 minute rest)
80x8
80x5
80x4

JM Press (60 second rest)
95x10
105x8
115x6

Rope Pressdown (60 second rest)
30x20
30x15

Dumbbell Lateral Raise (60 second rest)
20x12
25x12
30x8

Pulldown Crunch (30 second rest)
70x20
70x20
70x15

Pretty decent day. Neck and back didn't give me too much trouble, but I still stayed away from rows for accessory stuff today. I'm going to give my lower body DE day a shot tomorrow and keep it light and short.

I have also come to the conclusion that the reason my bench sucks is because my triceps suck.

Ursus · « **Reply #91 on:** October 07, 2008, 11:59:37 AM »

Triceps are so so important at the bench.

My chest sucks though bench is ok cos my tris and shoulders do most of the work.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Was a long time since i looked at your thread. hope all is well again now. Nice progress btw

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #92 on:** October 08, 2008, 05:05:18 PM »

Week 12, Tuesday 10/7

Lower Body DE

13" Box Squat (30 second rest)
10x135x2

Reverse Hyperextension (60 second rest)
3xBWx20

Cable Pull-through (60 second rest)
100x20
100x15
100x12

I talked with my chiropractor today about starting serious leg and lower back training again, and he basically told me that for the next 3-4 weeks he wants me only using 20-30% of my normal weight for anything involving my posterior chain. Talk about a kick in the nuts. Pretty much the only things I can do that don't bother any of my injuries are bench work and upper body accessory stuff. Fuck.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #93 on:** October 09, 2008, 06:19:08 PM »

Week 12, Thursday 10/9

Upper Body DE

Bench Press (30 second rest)
45x10
95x6
8x145x3

Floor Dumbbell Extension (60 second rest)
35x10
35x8
40x6

Rope Pressdown (60 second rest)
30x25
30x20

Incline H-Roll (60 second rest)
10x20
15x20
20x10

Wide-Grip Pulldown SS with Pulldown Crunch (60 second rest)
100x15 and 70x20
110x12 and 70x20
120x8 and 80x10

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #94 on:** October 17, 2008, 07:21:16 AM »

I haven't updated this thing in a week, so here goes with my last few workouts:

Week 13, Monday 10/13

Upper Body ME

Bench Press (2 1/2 minute rest)
45x15
95x6
135x3
195x2
195x2
195x2

45-degree Incline Barbell Press (90 second rest)
95x6
135x6
155x4

Lying EZ-Bar Extension (90 second rest)
80x8
90x6
100x6

Barbell Front Raise (60 second rest)
30x10
40x8
50x8
60x6

Close-Grip Cable Row (60 second rest)
100x12
120x10
140x10

Farmer's Walk (60 second rest)
60x100 steps
60x100 steps

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #95 on:** October 17, 2008, 07:25:14 AM »

Week 13, Tuesday 10/14

Lower Body DE

13" Box Squat (30 second rest)
45x6
95x3
10x115x2

Rack Pull (3rd pin from bottom) (60 second rest)
135x6
225x3
275x3
315x3
405x2

Weight Plate Leg Curl (60 second rest)
25x10
45x6
45x6

Cable Pullthrough (60 second rest)
150x10
150x10
150x10

Farmer's Walk up stairs (60 second rest)
60x60 steps
60x60 steps
60x30 steps (2 steps at a time)

I have to say that I like the leg curls with the weight plate simply because there's no eccentric loading on the hamstring. It feels like I could do those a couple times a week for accessory and recovery without any issues.

Also, definitely doing ridiculous amounts of foam rolling and stretching. Things feel ok the day or so after an adjustment, but by the time I go back for the next one things are getting pretty vicious again.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #96 on:** October 17, 2008, 07:28:44 AM »

Week 13, Thursday 10/16

Upper Body DE

Bench Press (30 second rest)
45x10
95x6
8x125x3

Reverse-Grip Bench Press (60 second rest)
95x6
115x6
135x6
155x3

Rope Pressdown (60 second rest)
30x30
30x25
30x13

H-Roll (60 second rest)
3x10x20

1-Arm T-Bar Row (60 second rest)
3x45x10

I like the 1-arm T-bar rows as well for two reasons: one, having to grab the bar sleeve seems like it would benefit my grip considerably, like rowing with a fat bar; two, I did them with a bar in the corner, but instead of facing away from the wall I faced toward it, so the bar kind of rowed up and behind me before coming forward a little bit at the contraction. It's also good for my back issues because I can brace one arm on a leg for stabilization. Felt pretty damn good, these will see regular rotation now.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #97 on:** October 17, 2008, 10:00:10 PM »

Week 13, Friday 10/17

Lower Body ME

Seated Good Morning (2 minute rest)
45x10
95x6
115x3
135x1

Zercher Squat (2 minute rest)
95x6
115x6
2x135x6

1/2 GHR (90 second rest)
BWx12
BWx12
BWx10

Question for anybody with the seated good mornings - I did them with a bench inside the squat rack, and I basically came forward until the bar racked on the side safety supports, then did the concentric phase from a dead stop. Good? Bad? Anybody?

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #98 on:** October 21, 2008, 12:39:12 PM »

Week 14, Monday 10/20

Upper Body ME

Bench Press (3 minute rest)
45x15
95x6
135x3
3x200x1

Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press (2 minute rest)
5x70x5

Barbell Front Raise (60 second rest)
3x50x10

Close-Grip Cable Row (60 second rest)
4x140x10

Everything felt pretty decent, I am hoping that in 2 weeks when I try for a new bench max I can tag on another 30 or more pounds from what I did this workout, but we'll see. Focusing on the triceps has been helping, and I think I need to start adding more rowing work, as my lats are basically nonexistant when viewed from the front. I did cable rows yesterday, I think I might throw in some chest-supported rows for higher reps or lying scapular retractions at the end of today's lower body DE stuff. My sticking point is the bottom 1/4 of the rep, and I know my lats are fucking me over big time.

Zach Trowbridge · « **Reply #99 on:** October 21, 2008, 01:35:12 PM »

Week 14, Tuesday 10/21

Lower Body DE

13" Box Squat (30 second rest)
10x125x2

Zercher Squat (2 minute rest)
45x6
95x6
135x6
2x185x5

55cm Stability Ball Hamstring Curl (60 second rest)
3x20

Bodyweight Row (60 second rest)
BWx12
BWx12
BWx8

A couple things - I tried going using a rack-to-rack stance, pulling from the front pins on the squat rack that are about 2 feet or so off the ground, then squatting until my elbows hit my mid-inner thigh. It felt good, better than regular squats because of the lack of spinal compression. My adductors and glutes got killed from those. I threw in the swiss ball leg curls because my back was tired from all the squatting and just went for a good contraction at the top.

I've been also wanting to do reverse band pulldowns for lat work on bench day but don't have any bands to do it with. One of the other trainers here suggested doing bodyweight rows on the Smith machine to simulate the movement. I racked the bar right where it would be at chest level if I were doing flat bench, then moved the bench back so only my lower legs were resting on it, then just rowed up. Probably not the exact same but it'll do. I really don't think my chest is the weak point on my bench anymore - I've seen guys with smaller chests but better backs and delts bench a lot more than I can.