splinterhands (quest for 300/400/500 at 181 by year end)

[splinterhands]

Keep it up man. Strong guy for your size.

Thank you.

[splinterhands]

box squat, just stack the reebok steppers and squat to that, should work for now.
just sneak chalk in your pocket in a samich baggie, chalk up in the bathroom, you know like a weirdo, its what i do!
just don't get invited to leave like rip!

You've played this game too I see.

[Stubborn]

Something wrong with chalking up in the bathroom?  I dont allow for any slippage at the urinal. 

[splinterhands]

Bench press ME

Regular benchpress

150lbs X 10 reps
150lbs X 5 reps
220lbs X 3 reps
270lbs X 1 rep easy as nothing
300lbs X FAIL!!!  All fugging most...
150lbs X 17 reps

I felt really good today.  I worked on technique and form and really do feel it in my lats way more than normal.  Can't believe I missed 300?? 

I'm going to the fitness center to do some cardio with my wife.  My weight is back to 199??  I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.  I lose 3-4 lbs and feel good then the next week it comes back, even though I'm watching diet and have been doing cardio.

[11venthhour]

You've played this game too I see.

yup i work out at the Y

Something wrong with chalking up in the bathroom?  I dont allow for any slippage at the urinal. 

i am half Asian so no worries there

Bench press ME

I felt really good today.  I worked on technique and form and really do feel it in my lats way more than normal.  Can't believe I missed 300?? 

I'm going to the fitness center to do some cardio with my wife.  My weight is back to 199??  I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.  I lose 3-4 lbs and feel good then the next week it comes back, even though I'm watching diet and have been doing cardio.

how long are you resting in between sets? resting a good bit even on the lighter sets early on will help with the final set, or at least that's what i find with my workouts.

scheduling you diet is also key, i know coming from a fat guy. but i know this has worked for me in the past, especially if you are still doing night work.

[splinterhands]

I do think I get in a hurry on my sets and don't recover enough between them.  I did feel a little fatigued before I attempted 300.  Honestly, the weight felt pretty light in my hands, I just lost it about 6 inches off my chest.  My only goal with the benchpress is to get 300 so my next day, I'll do a lighter, easier warmup and see what happens.

I'm on straight days M-F 8 to 5 playing detective for a few months so my diet has honestly been pretty damn good (for me anyways).    It may just be a natural fluctuation?  We'll see after a few more weeks.

I went to the fitness center and did my accessory work. 

2 sets of pulldowns
2 sets of crunches
2 sets of lower back hyper things
2 sets of machine rows
2 sets of rear delt things on a machine
25 minutes on a treadmill

I'm still trying to figure the machines out without looking really dumb...
I ran into a couple old buds there.  One of them is freaking huge!!!!!!!!  He was juiced then but he has gotten huge in the last five years!!

[splinterhands]

I worked out at the "fitness center" today.

Deadlifts

140lbs X 10
230lbs X 5
320lbs X 5
410lbs X 1
465lbs X almost  (no chalk, lost grip on my left hand)  The weight felt light and very liftable though

Rack holds to work on grip
500lbs X as long as I could hold it  3-4 times

leg press on machine
stack X 8 reps X 3 sets
leg curls 2 sets
hypers 1 set
crunches 2 sets
about five minutes on the stair climber.

probably a few things I'm forgetting...

[Zach Trowbridge]

Not bad.  The way you structure your accessory work could use some tweaking but your primary lifts are looking strong.

To give you an idea of how to progress your max effort warmup sets, here's what I would have done with your deadlifts:

135x5
185x5
225x3
275x3
315x2
365x1
405x1
435x1
465x1

Just an idea.

[splinterhands]

The way you structure your accessory work could use some tweaking but your primary lifts are looking strong.

What do you suggest for accessory work?  I really am open to any suggestions.

One thing I know I did wrong was doing back on bench day.  I started doing a few light sets of pulldowns and rear delts and kept adding weight to it.  I had a flashback to 20 years ago when I always did back after chest...  I could feel it in my lats and traps when I was deadlifting.

[Zach Trowbridge]

General Westside template, by no means set in stone but a good starting point.

DE Bench
Bench Press @50-60% - 8 sets of 3
Triceps (usually board presses, pin presses, JM Presses, floor presses) - 3-5 sets of 3-8
Lats/Upper Back (face pulls, rows, reverse band pulldowns) - 3-5 sets of 6-15
Delts (military presses, upright rows, front raises, steep incline db presses) - 2-4 sets of 5-10
Rehab/Prehab if needed (light tricep extensions, rotator cuff exercises) - 2-3 sets of 10-30

ME Squat/DL
Good morning, squat or deadlift variation up to 1-5RM
Supplemental (pick another ME-type movement) - 3-5 sets of 3-8
Hamstrings (GHR, reverse hyper, band leg curl, pullthrough) - 2-4 sets of 8-20
Lower back (band good morning, back raise) - 2-4 sets of 8-20
Abs (pulldown abs, decline situps, spread eagle situps, landmines, side bends) - 2-4 sets of 8-20

ME Bench
Bench press variation up to 1-5RM
Triceps (high rep incline db presses w/ elbows in, Tate presses, Patterson presses, Key presses, rolling db extensions, pressdowns, db floor presses) - 2-4 sets of 10-20
Lats/Upper Back (face pulls, rows, reverse band pulldowns) - 3-5 sets of 6-15
Delts (side, front, or rear raises) - 2-4 sets of 10-15
Rehab/Prehab if needed (light tricep extensions, rotator cuff exercises) - 2-3 sets of 10-30

DE Squat/DL
Wide-stance parallel box squats @50-60% - 6-8 sets of 2
Supplemental (pick another ME-type movement) - 3-5 sets of 3-8 OR
Speed deadlift - 6-10 sets of 1
Hamstrings (GHR, reverse hyper, band leg curl, pullthrough) - 2-4 sets of 8-20
Lower back (band good morning, back raise) - 2-4 sets of 8-20
Abs (pulldown abs, decline situps, spread eagle situps, landmines, side bends) - 2-4 sets of 8-20

I listed the movements that I use the most for each area.  You should be able to come up with some other variations based on that.  Most of your lat work on bench days should be moderate intensity, horizontal-pull movements and the only thing that should ever go to failure is your ME movement.  This should get you started.

[splinterhands]

Benchpress DE
150lbs + 62lbs chain (8 sets)  Very easy and never slowed down from start to finish.

off #8 pin (about 10" off chest)
320lbs X 1 rep
320lbs X 1 rep
350lbs X 1 rep (PR)   This beat my previous PR from June by 10 lbs and it was at the end of my workout.

Dumbell rows
55lbs X 8 reps (3 sets)

Front raises + tricep extensions
2 sets using 35lbs plate X 15-20 reps

Notes-starting to wonder what the weight limit is for my safety cage.

[Zach Trowbridge]

Stop maxing on dynamic effort days.  Trust me.  Your volume should be through the roof on DE day with moderate intensity.  Looking at your last workout I have more volume in my warmup then you have in your entire workout.  You can cut the volume back some on ME day to hit higher percentages but it's the volume overall that's going to give you better gains.

[splinterhands]

Stop maxing on dynamic effort days.  Trust me.  Your volume should be through the roof on DE day with moderate intensity.  Looking at your last workout I have more volume in my warmup then you have in your entire workout.  You can cut the volume back some on ME day to hit higher percentages but it's the volume overall that's going to give you better gains.

How does this look for tomorrows ME squat day?
Box squats 5reps, 4reps, 3reps, 2reps, PR attempt
SLDL- 3 sets X 8 reps
Ham curls on machine 3 sets X 8 reps
lower back hypers- 3 sets X 10 reps
crunches- 3 sets X 25 reps

I think I have a mental block about high volume and running outta steam halfway through...or something.

[Zach Trowbridge]

For box squats start with the bar for 5-10 reps, then 95 for 5, 135 for 5, 185 for 3, 225 for 2 or 3, then start taking 15-30lb jumps for singles until you're at or over a PR.  And if you hit one PR shut it down, don't get greedy and go for a 2nd.

Everything else looks good, just leave a rep or 2 in the tank on everything, nothing else goes to failure.  Since you're training in a commercial gym and they probably don't have reverse hyper or glute/ham machines, check these out:

Improvised Reverse Hyper

Improvised Glute/Ham Raise

And for abs you may want to do straight-leg situps instead of crunches - you want to get the hip flexors involved to help with your squats, not exclude them like crunches do.

[splinterhands]

We do have a reverse hyper machine.  I didn't know exactly what it was called though.

Also I do several warmup sets that I don't include on my entries.  Usually I start with the last warm-up/first work set.  Thanks Zack, I'll let you know how tomorrow goes after my workout.

[splinterhands]

Fugging gym is closed!

Worked out at my house and I just wasn't feeling it.  My groin starting aching with the light squats and finally forced me to stop before I got anywhere near a PR.   Not my best effort but at least I got something in.

Box Squats
150lbs X 10reps
150lbs X 5 reps
200lbs X 3 reps
220lbs X 3 reps
250lbs X 1 rep
270lbs X 1 rep
290lbs X 1 rep
320lbs- groin hurt so bad that when I hit the box I just sat it on the bars.

SLDS- even my back never got completely loosened up and felt like my ribs were trying to separate again.
150lbs X 6 reps
150lbs X 6 reps
150lbs X 6 reps
170lbs X 6 reps

Gave up!!  I'm not sure I can handle two lower body workouts a week, or else you guys are right and my CNS needs a break.  I think I've hit a major plateau.  I'll give it another month or so and probably go back to a 5 X 5 (starting light and working up every week)

[Stubborn]

Two workouts for lower body a week requires some serious calories to recover properly. That and a lot of GPP work.

[splinterhands]

You know what?  I'm going back to a 5 X 5, starting tomorrow.  I don't ever remember feeling tired and rundown using it.  Plus it's structured so that you make controlled, incremental gains.  I think my problem is that I push too hard every workout until my body starts pushing back. 

I've made very good gains since I stopped the 5 X 5 but I think most of the gains were the result of the
5 X 5 that I simply cashed in after I stopped using it. 

Day 1
Box Squats 5x5
leg press-3-4 sets
leg extensions 2-3 sets
Abs-2 sets
Calves-2-3

Day 2
Benchpress 5 X 5
tricep extensions 2-3 sets
dumbell laterals side and rear- 2-3 sets
Abs-2 sets

Day 3
Deadlifts 5 X 5
SLDL- 3-4 sets
Very heavy (500+)lbs rack pulls holding as long as I can. 2-3 sets
leg curls 2 sets
Pulldowns 2 sets
curls- 2 sets

Day 4
Closegrip Benchpress 3-4 sets
tricep extensions (lying and standing)- 3-4 sets total
light dumbell presses-2 sets (I wish I could do the heavy overhead presses like I used to but I can't risk my shoulders)
dumbell laterals- 2 sets
Abs-2 sets

Starting weights (5 sets of 5 reps) I increase the weight every week until I can't hit even one set for 5, then I back it down and start over again.
Squats-200 (increase by 20 each week)
Deads-260 (increase by 20 each week)
Bench-200 (increase by 10 each week)
 

[Zach Trowbridge]

Frankly I think you're not willing to step outside of your comfort zone and do things that you don't like to do. You get better by doing things you suck at, not the things you like doing.  You being run down is your body's way of telling you you need to get in better shape.  Don't put a band-aid on the problem by switching programs after less than 2 weeks, fix the problem by getting in better shape.

[splinterhands]

Alright!!  I'll stick it out a while longer.  But if this doesn't work out you're getting a big  ------------>

Tonight-

30 minutes treadmill
3 sets of abs
2 sets of lower back hypers

10-15 minutes fast paced shooting basketball.

[Zach Trowbridge]

PM me your bench/squat/deadlift 1RM's.  I'm going to write your workouts for the next month to show you this shit works.

[splinterhands]

PM sent.  If you'll write a month out, I'll follow it exactly for that entire month.

[splinterhands]

I did about 45 minutes of machines.  I did leg presses, pulldowns, tricep pushdowns, bench on a machine, leg curls, leg extensions, overhead presses, incline benches, curls, hypers, situps, pec deck and probably more.  Then I shot basketball for about 10 minutes.

Just a nice, easy, high rep workout.  Starting Monday, I'm going to be a Zack's mercy for a month so I'm just trying to stay loose until then.

[Zach Trowbridge]

Copying and pasting your first week's workouts:

Sunday or Monday: DE Bench
Tuesday: ME Squat/DL
Thursday: ME Bench
Friday or Saturday: DE Squat/DL

Week 1
DE Bench
Speed Bench Press - 45x10, 95x5, 135x3, 8x155
Close-Grip Pin Press (5-6" off chest) - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5
Lying Dumbbell Extension - 3x30x8
Barbell Row - 4x135x10
Alt. Overhead DB Press - 3x35x10

ME Squat/DL
Rack Deadlift (just below kneecaps) - 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, then if you think you can, do 1-2 more sets adding 15-20lbs per set and going for a 3RM (be conservative, DON'T GET GREEDY!)
Low Box Squat (close stance, 12-13" box) - 3x165x10
Back Raise - 3xBWx15
Hanging Knee Raise - 4xBWx8
Farmer's Walk - 3-4 sets of 200' with 45lb dumbbells, 30 sec rest btw sets

ME Bench
Close-Grip Bench Press - 45x10, 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, then 10-15lb jumps for a 3RM
45-degree DB Incline Press w/ palms in - 3x45x15
Cable Row - 3x10 (pick a weight that you could get 15 with and stay with it for 3 sets of 10)
Side Dumbbell Raise - 3x20x10
Dumbbell Hammer Curl - 2x25x20

DE Squat/DL
Parallel Wide-Stance Box Squat - 45x10, 95x5, 135x2, 8x175x2
Stiff-Leg Deadlift - 3x185x10
Hamstring Curl - 3x15
Decline Situp - 3x8
Farmer's Walk - 3-4 sets of 200' with 45lb dumbbells, 30 sec rest btw sets

Report back to me after each workout and I'll send you your next week when you need it.  Do nothing but accessory work the rest of this week and give your CNS a break.  Do anything that doesn't involve a barbell in your hands or on your back.  Take it easy and keep your weights at 60-75% of what you think you should use.  You should leave the gym barely breaking a sweat.

[11venthhour]

i got stronger just reading that