My deadlift session yesterday was awful but the bouldering session beforehand was great and I got my sets and reps done (70x6, 90x6, 100x3, 110x3, 120x3) so swings and roundabouts innit
I've developed some real bad tendonitis in my right elbow again. It's an on again off again thing but this time I think it may have been cause by bench pressing? It's annoying!
That said I had a good session today. I fuckin love chest supported T-bar rows. Nothing activates my rear delts quite as hard and every time I do them when I look over in the mirror I can see em pop and I get a brief rush of serotonin like "aw yeah lookit dem delts yeehaw"
I failed my last two OHP sets yesterday but I wanted to do something else in that space so I added 3 sets of Arnold presses to failure in between. I don't know if that's too similar of a focus but honestly I just always loved that one and it's a go-to, plus it felt good to have some sense of "I have pushed through this point" that might help translate to a better OHP next time.
Worked up to a solid two top sets of 305lbs for 2 reps on the deadlift. Still keeping my rep ranges hella low to focus on form, give me time to reset my breathing and bracing, etc.
My current working set tops out at around 275lbs if I'm going higher than four reps so my next goal is to get that back into the 300s and then get my one or two rep max back over 315.
Rep’s trap bar is available tomorrow. Swappable handles, round tubing, rackable, knurled body for cambered squats. $399 with free shipping.
Arg.
Someone hide my credit card.
My wife would stick my head on the sleeve and mount the bar in the front yard as a warning to other gym gear collectors if I bought it. Still tempted. If you don't mind losing out on the quick swap handles and the center knurl, you can preorder Giant's Northland V4 open trap bar. It's not as nice, with all the extra features, but it's $299.
In other news, I finally decided to check the slope of the garage floor where I've been working out. 1.44" drop over the 8 feet wide area I've been using! No wonder I always felt off in the mirror and my bench and deadlifts never felt even. I took the long weekend to finally build a lifting platform with leveling plywood underneath. It's a super nice addition to the garage, really makes it feel more gym-like, in addition to actually lifting on a level surface. If you lift in your garage, and you haven't leveled your lifting area, do so! It's worth it!
Damn, that’s awesome. I know the floor in my gym isn’t level, but I’m not remotely handy enough to pull that off. I do have a deadlift platform I built, but it was pretty simple to slap together the OSB, plywood, and horse stall mats. What you did requires actual…skills.
My lifting buddy decided to move to Florida and sell all of his gym stuff and that's how I got 20 through 100 pound rubber encased Rogue and Yolk dumbbells in 5lb increments for 2k. He paid $5,500 for them at the beginning of the pandemic, but I was like I'm not spending any more than that.
Damn, that’s awesome. I know the floor in my gym isn’t level, but I’m not remotely handy enough to pull that off. I do have a deadlift platform I built, but it was pretty simple to slap together the OSB, plywood, and horse stall mats. What you did requires actual…skills.
It really didn't! The first video has a link to their app that does the math for the boards and where they should be cut, and Home Depot usually has someone that can cut plywood for you. I have a circular saw, but their cutter is a giant rack with a saw on rails. Took them about 5 minutes to do all the cuts for the 8 plywood leveling boards. After that it's just spreading adhesive and lining up the boards.
So fiddling around with emailing pictures to myself I got them small enough to post.
Didn't feel like bothering with going to the gym today because I felt like a lazy piece of shit and today was my last day of the week anyway. So I just hit the lobby gym and did a bunch of drop sets. Hit the pull down and bent over cable row and my back is lit up oh snap.
I am finishing my eighth week of this diet and exercise. I've lost 20.6 lbs and gotten stronger, but I'm interested in switching things up.
I can't dedicate more than an hour to lift three days a week. When I use my timer, that ends up around five sets of 8-10 for six exercises.
Typically I divide this into three days.
Chest / Back - Bench Press, 45 Degree Rows, Incline Dumbbell Press, Bent Over Row, Diamond Press, Dead Lift.
Biceps / Trioceps - just three sets for each.
Legs / Shoulders - Squat, Upright Dumbbell Row, Calf Raises, Arnold Press, Step Ups, Shoulder Shrugs.
Basically I'm just looking for different exercises I don't currently do to switch things up.
Some caveats, I'd like to keep the Dead Lift. I'm also open to dividing the body groupings other than I like doing Legs with a minor arm exercise because I feel so burnt after Squats that I don't want another major compound lift.
Zercher squats/good mornings with a safety squat bar rule, I discovered today. I have to take the handles off because I'm short but it's so much more comfortable than doing them with a normal straight bar.
Zercher squats/good mornings with a safety squat bar rule, I discovered today. I have to take the handles off because I'm short but it's so much more comfortable than doing them with a normal straight bar.
Peak of this hypertrophy block starting with an eight rep PR on SSB (which I slightly undershot), but then five sets of backoffs…which…yay volume. RPDiet let me slip into a lower weight class, unintentionally, so I’m hoping the next block is easier with some more food.
0
eddizhereScrubber Than A SpongeScrubtown, USARegistered Userregular
I finally strengthened my grip enough to pull the 185 that I was stumbling on for a full set! Added barbell rows, farmer carries, dead hangs/pull-ups, and static holds throughout the week and it paid off relatively quickly.
I think the thing that is limiting my progress the most right now is not getting quality/consistent enough sleep. It’s a lot easier for me to get to the gym consistently right now than it is to have a disciplined sleep schedule so that’s the current hurdle
League of Legends: Plutoniumwombat
Smite: Plutoniumwombat
I finally strengthened my grip enough to pull the 185 that I was stumbling on for a full set! Added barbell rows, farmer carries, dead hangs/pull-ups, and static holds throughout the week and it paid off relatively quickly.
I think the thing that is limiting my progress the most right now is not getting quality/consistent enough sleep. It’s a lot easier for me to get to the gym consistently right now than it is to have a disciplined sleep schedule so that’s the current hurdle
No one ever warned me when I got addicted to this that the hardest part isn’t showing up to the gym, it’s the work outside the gym. Recovery is so important and it’s really hard to do properly if you have a lot of responsibilities. It’s also very hard to check your ego and understand when you haven’t recovered properly before a session, which is something I struggle with mightily.
On that note, my wife took our daughter when she woke up this morning and I slept in, leading to a nice PR on below the knee pause deads (410lbs for a set of five).
I finally strengthened my grip enough to pull the 185 that I was stumbling on for a full set! Added barbell rows, farmer carries, dead hangs/pull-ups, and static holds throughout the week and it paid off relatively quickly.
I think the thing that is limiting my progress the most right now is not getting quality/consistent enough sleep. It’s a lot easier for me to get to the gym consistently right now than it is to have a disciplined sleep schedule so that’s the current hurdle
No one ever warned me when I got addicted to this that the hardest part isn’t showing up to the gym, it’s the work outside the gym. Recovery is so important and it’s really hard to do properly if you have a lot of responsibilities. It’s also very hard to check your ego and understand when you haven’t recovered properly before a session, which is something I struggle with mightily.
On that note, my wife took our daughter when she woke up this morning and I slept in, leading to a nice PR on below the knee pause deads (410lbs for a set of five).
Rest and Diet are just everything. I'd say they make up 80% of lifting and the gym is the other 20%.
Getting enough sleep, enough water, and then eating a good diet.
Some days it's just luck? I almost know instinctively based on how the bar comes off the rack for my first rep how the day is going to go. Sometimes it feels light as hell and I'm like going to kill this workout. Other times it feels heavy as shit.
I got some toys for my birthday, here are my thoughts:
-Old heads will remember the red and black striped Inzer sleeves with the three straps that strongmen used to wear. I found these knock-offs on Amazon and my brother got them for me and I really, really like them. I like having my elbows wrapped pretty tightly right above the joint for any heavy pressing/extensions and these are great for that, I can line the middle strap up with my spot and really crank it down when it's heavy but pop the straps for accessories.
-I got a Kettlestrap and some of the Traveling Farmer's Walk straps from Spud from my parents and they're both really nice products. The way the strap rotates inside the kettlestrap handle makes doing swings a lot smoother than doing them with a kettlebell, I was genuinely surprised by how good it felt. The Farmer's Walk straps solve a specific "small basement gym" problem for me and they're sturdy and the handle's a good diameter, not too fat but a little bigger around than a standard barbell handle in a way that's nice, and I'm so happy to be able to do some heavy weighted carries without having to have big bulky implements around.
Peen on
0
webguy20I spend too much time on the InternetRegistered Userregular
That kettlestrap is neat. I have a bunch of Spud stuff but I hate buying from them because they have the most Boomer ass website. It is such a pain in the ass to navigate on mobile.
It’s funny y’all are talking about Spud because I’ve been strongly considering some gateway briefs and rather than the kettlebell strap looking at a power pin from MBPC or somewhere similar.
I am still fairly busted up but on the mend and in the meantime just doing circuits in the garage with one main lift adding weight each round and additional exercises. Sometimes I’ll do some gunshow stuff on the upper days after.
Examples include:
Lower 1:
KB Swings x 10
Box Jumps x 5
Zercher Squats x 5 add weight
Lower 2:
Jump rope x 50
Goblet squat x 10
Box jumps x 5
Deadlift x 5 add weight
Upper 1:
MB Slam x 5
Press / Push Press x 5 adding weight each set
Chin-ups x 5
GH Sit-ups x 10
Upper 2:
Bench Press x 5 adding weight each set
Pull-ups x 5
Shrugs x 10
Highest temp I’ve seen in the garage is 104, it’s mostly hanging around 100 while lifting. I’m lucky if I can make it past 7 rounds.
Basically set up for L/U/Cardio 2x a week with one off day.
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
So I've got a consistent 90kg 1 RM bench, which I feel is pretty solid at 75kgs body weight
How do I get that to 95kgs and then 100kgs. I can almost do 95kgs, there's just a little sticking point, but I think should happen soon. My improvement has slowed, am I best off just sticking with a sports conditioning sequence 75kgs 5x5 twice a week or should I start doing like 80kgs for 3 etc to push it?
It’s funny y’all are talking about Spud because I’ve been strongly considering some gateway briefs and rather than the kettlebell strap looking at a power pin from MBPC or somewhere similar.
one of us one of us
the Gateway briefs are a Good Product. I ordered mine (I got the 2 ply) according to their sizing chart and it was correct, which isn't always the case.
Posts
That said I had a good session today. I fuckin love chest supported T-bar rows. Nothing activates my rear delts quite as hard and every time I do them when I look over in the mirror I can see em pop and I get a brief rush of serotonin like "aw yeah lookit dem delts yeehaw"
My current working set tops out at around 275lbs if I'm going higher than four reps so my next goal is to get that back into the 300s and then get my one or two rep max back over 315.
Feels like a bit of a milestone since that's what I weigh! Ending my workouts with a set of 25 at 50% of my 1 RM has seemingly helped me push up a bit
Arg.
Someone hide my credit card.
My wife would stick my head on the sleeve and mount the bar in the front yard as a warning to other gym gear collectors if I bought it. Still tempted. If you don't mind losing out on the quick swap handles and the center knurl, you can preorder Giant's Northland V4 open trap bar. It's not as nice, with all the extra features, but it's $299.
In other news, I finally decided to check the slope of the garage floor where I've been working out. 1.44" drop over the 8 feet wide area I've been using! No wonder I always felt off in the mirror and my bench and deadlifts never felt even. I took the long weekend to finally build a lifting platform with leveling plywood underneath. It's a super nice addition to the garage, really makes it feel more gym-like, in addition to actually lifting on a level surface. If you lift in your garage, and you haven't leveled your lifting area, do so! It's worth it!
My lifting buddy decided to move to Florida and sell all of his gym stuff and that's how I got 20 through 100 pound rubber encased Rogue and Yolk dumbbells in 5lb increments for 2k. He paid $5,500 for them at the beginning of the pandemic, but I was like I'm not spending any more than that.
random but good video with a shopping list I copied
Alan Thrall's video showing leveling a built platform
It really didn't! The first video has a link to their app that does the math for the boards and where they should be cut, and Home Depot usually has someone that can cut plywood for you. I have a circular saw, but their cutter is a giant rack with a saw on rails. Took them about 5 minutes to do all the cuts for the 8 plywood leveling boards. After that it's just spreading adhesive and lining up the boards.
So fiddling around with emailing pictures to myself I got them small enough to post.
I can't dedicate more than an hour to lift three days a week. When I use my timer, that ends up around five sets of 8-10 for six exercises.
Typically I divide this into three days.
Chest / Back - Bench Press, 45 Degree Rows, Incline Dumbbell Press, Bent Over Row, Diamond Press, Dead Lift.
Biceps / Trioceps - just three sets for each.
Legs / Shoulders - Squat, Upright Dumbbell Row, Calf Raises, Arnold Press, Step Ups, Shoulder Shrugs.
Basically I'm just looking for different exercises I don't currently do to switch things up.
Some caveats, I'd like to keep the Dead Lift. I'm also open to dividing the body groupings other than I like doing Legs with a minor arm exercise because I feel so burnt after Squats that I don't want another major compound lift.
I think the thing that is limiting my progress the most right now is not getting quality/consistent enough sleep. It’s a lot easier for me to get to the gym consistently right now than it is to have a disciplined sleep schedule so that’s the current hurdle
Smite: Plutoniumwombat
So to do that I need to get my 55kg 1 RM up to 75kgs
So that's quite a lot of pressing to do...
this is a sign i need to lift again
No one ever warned me when I got addicted to this that the hardest part isn’t showing up to the gym, it’s the work outside the gym. Recovery is so important and it’s really hard to do properly if you have a lot of responsibilities. It’s also very hard to check your ego and understand when you haven’t recovered properly before a session, which is something I struggle with mightily.
On that note, my wife took our daughter when she woke up this morning and I slept in, leading to a nice PR on below the knee pause deads (410lbs for a set of five).
Rest and Diet are just everything. I'd say they make up 80% of lifting and the gym is the other 20%.
Getting enough sleep, enough water, and then eating a good diet.
Some days it's just luck? I almost know instinctively based on how the bar comes off the rack for my first rep how the day is going to go. Sometimes it feels light as hell and I'm like going to kill this workout. Other times it feels heavy as shit.
I got some toys for my birthday, here are my thoughts:
-Old heads will remember the red and black striped Inzer sleeves with the three straps that strongmen used to wear. I found these knock-offs on Amazon and my brother got them for me and I really, really like them. I like having my elbows wrapped pretty tightly right above the joint for any heavy pressing/extensions and these are great for that, I can line the middle strap up with my spot and really crank it down when it's heavy but pop the straps for accessories.
-I got a Kettlestrap and some of the Traveling Farmer's Walk straps from Spud from my parents and they're both really nice products. The way the strap rotates inside the kettlestrap handle makes doing swings a lot smoother than doing them with a kettlebell, I was genuinely surprised by how good it felt. The Farmer's Walk straps solve a specific "small basement gym" problem for me and they're sturdy and the handle's a good diameter, not too fat but a little bigger around than a standard barbell handle in a way that's nice, and I'm so happy to be able to do some heavy weighted carries without having to have big bulky implements around.
Find a semi truck, start pulling it and don't stop. Eat pasta and fish non-stop.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
I am still fairly busted up but on the mend and in the meantime just doing circuits in the garage with one main lift adding weight each round and additional exercises. Sometimes I’ll do some gunshow stuff on the upper days after.
Examples include:
Lower 1:
KB Swings x 10
Box Jumps x 5
Zercher Squats x 5 add weight
Lower 2:
Jump rope x 50
Goblet squat x 10
Box jumps x 5
Deadlift x 5 add weight
Upper 1:
MB Slam x 5
Press / Push Press x 5 adding weight each set
Chin-ups x 5
GH Sit-ups x 10
Upper 2:
Bench Press x 5 adding weight each set
Pull-ups x 5
Shrugs x 10
Highest temp I’ve seen in the garage is 104, it’s mostly hanging around 100 while lifting. I’m lucky if I can make it past 7 rounds.
Basically set up for L/U/Cardio 2x a week with one off day.
How do I get that to 95kgs and then 100kgs. I can almost do 95kgs, there's just a little sticking point, but I think should happen soon. My improvement has slowed, am I best off just sticking with a sports conditioning sequence 75kgs 5x5 twice a week or should I start doing like 80kgs for 3 etc to push it?
one of us one of us
the Gateway briefs are a Good Product. I ordered mine (I got the 2 ply) according to their sizing chart and it was correct, which isn't always the case.
Going to introduce barbell front squat, so what's everyone's tips for that?
I like to cue “elbows up” at the bottom and through the ascent. Front squats are hard.
I did find using just the ends of my index and middle fingers helpful for a bit.
I don't have the wrist mobility to do a standard front squat so I'm doing that cross hand version which feels new.