It is just so nice to decide "it's time to lift" and be able to get my deadlifts in!! I haven't missed my 4x a week lifts yet. Eager to see how much things change in a year aesthetics-wise since I'll be so much more reliably hitting my goals!
It helps that the Bells of Steel bumper plates just feel nice to lift/put down on my rubber mats/put onto the bar. Plus, I love the consistency of not having to adjust numbers based on whichever barbell was sitting on the rack today, and I don't have to worry someone else touched their feet and then the weights. Definitely a step up from my local gym in pretty much every way.
I'm gonna take this week and try working out after work instead of before. My thought process has been to get my workout in before a 12.5 hour shift so I'm fresh but I had to workout after a shift the other day and I had a MUCH better workout?
I think having been up and loose for the whole day and having at least two meals in me helped a ton. I'm at the gym now and I got here a little late so I'm already going to be cutting half this workout out so I can get to work on time and I just feel stiff and cold from not having had time to get up and get moving or having a warmup.
I either lose the sleep from getting up at 3am or going to bed at 9am. Six one way half dozen the other.
As it stands now I try to go to bed at around 8 pm, since I get off work at 7pm and have a 30-35 minute commute. I basically get in the door, microwave some food and then go straight to bed. I try to wake up at 3:15 am so in theory I get right at 7 hours a night. Usually it's more like 6.5 hours.
If I got home at 9pm and woke up at 4:45am to get ready for work I'd get maybe about 45 extra minutes? So not really a big savings on sleep but I feel like maybe the quality of my workouts would be better at least. I dunno, gonna take this week and see if it feels any different or if I'm just as tired at the end of the day as I am at the start.
What is a good starting squat routine, once a week then building to maybe twice?
I need to strengthen my legs. I keep taking big falls and getting minor injuries and occasionally bigger ones (sprained my knee on Saturday). Basically I need to get strong, flexible, impact absorbing legs
I'm thinking of starting at 60kgs for 5x5, and then building that up slowly, sticking with 5x5s, but I've never really worked legs before. Would I be better with 3x8? 5x3? 3x3? A combination of them all?
5x5 is always a good place to start, though I have a low attention span and always felt like it takes too long to do 5x5 of anything so I prefer 3x5 and then up the weight and do a few doubles and singles on top, not chasing a huge max every time or anything but definitely going for a weight I couldn't do 5 of. Then on the way back down a nice casual set of 20.
edit: my brother who actually does climbing recommends doing a fair bit of single leg/range of motion stuff as well if you're going to be working on leg strength, split squats/step ups etc
Single leg and range of motion is definitely good and that but what I need are strong legs that can take heavy impacts, sometimes at odd angles, and I don't have those. I'll do the single leg and ROM stuff but it's heavy squatting that I need to get to.
I dunno what your rep preferences are but a program I've run a few times with success in squats specifically is starting with 8 doubles (8x2) and adding a rep to a set each session so your next one would be 1 set of three and 7 doubles, until you're squatting 8x3 in the last session. Assistance work is 3 sets of 6 that you add a rep to each session in the same way until the end when you're doing 3 sets of 8. Bump the weight up 5 or 10 lbs and do it all again. It lets you start with a heavier working weight and really dials your form in for an 80ish% load, you can set an interval timer and zone out (I'd do 30 seconds per working set with 1:15 of rest), I really like it.
As it stands now I try to go to bed at around 8 pm, since I get off work at 7pm and have a 30-35 minute commute. I basically get in the door, microwave some food and then go straight to bed. I try to wake up at 3:15 am so in theory I get right at 7 hours a night. Usually it's more like 6.5 hours.
If I got home at 9pm and woke up at 4:45am to get ready for work I'd get maybe about 45 extra minutes? So not really a big savings on sleep but I feel like maybe the quality of my workouts would be better at least. I dunno, gonna take this week and see if it feels any different or if I'm just as tired at the end of the day as I am at the start.
45 minutes is quite a bit, the only downside to working out after your shift would be if you have a hard time falling asleep after.
Worth a shot.
@Solar in addition to squatting just doing some jumps and landing is helpful. I would start off with low level jumps —> box jumps —> depth drops. It’s less about how high you’re jumping but more about prepping yourself for the landing and that may be beneficial.
Obviously with a recent knee injury the key would be to start low and slow, but looking up line drills and doing two foot forward backward / side to side / bunny hops / pogos / single leg each variation as well. If you started with 2x10 for everything that would be something to tinker with twice a week.
Don’t know if you have access to plyo boxes, but you could start with depth drops by stepping off a bench and sticking the landing by only bending at the knees and hips as much as you need to. Save that for after you’re healed up. (You don’t need to go super high, 18-24” is pretty decent)
Dead Legend on
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
I dunno what your rep preferences are but a program I've run a few times with success in squats specifically is starting with 8 doubles (8x2) and adding a rep to a set each session so your next one would be 1 set of three and 7 doubles, until you're squatting 8x3 in the last session. Assistance work is 3 sets of 6 that you add a rep to each session in the same way until the end when you're doing 3 sets of 8. Bump the weight up 5 or 10 lbs and do it all again. It lets you start with a heavier working weight and really dials your form in for an 80ish% load, you can set an interval timer and zone out (I'd do 30 seconds per working set with 1:15 of rest), I really like it.
That Hepburn’s routine?
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
Yeah I couldn't remember the name when I wrote that post, which was infuriating at the time, but yes. I've never been able to run more than a few cycles of it because I get really bored and it's also hard to do much assistance work with that much heavy volume, but I really like it as a change of pace
Trying to get my ass back into the habit of working on linear progression. I realized I've been stalled for a while because I'm not making an effort to just up my weight by little bits at a time. It's helping with my mental block some.
Worked up to 215 pound bench for 5 reps today. Couldve probably done more but the program I'm on right now has a single heavy set for the first block so I'm trying to focus on adding as much weight as I can before I move to the next bloc. I used to warm up with that weight so I'm still not entirely sure where my upper body strength went over the last year since I've not really had any injuries. My right shoulder is fuckin weird and that's had me cautious but I can't remember any traumatic issues like I had with my back. Anyway, working on getting back to 225 as my base line.
Also I know I keep saying Larsen presses fuckin rule but they fuckin rule. I can put on a modest weight like 145 lbs and just rip em out and get an incredible connection with my chest. A+ bench variation.
As it stands now I try to go to bed at around 8 pm, since I get off work at 7pm and have a 30-35 minute commute. I basically get in the door, microwave some food and then go straight to bed. I try to wake up at 3:15 am so in theory I get right at 7 hours a night. Usually it's more like 6.5 hours.
If I got home at 9pm and woke up at 4:45am to get ready for work I'd get maybe about 45 extra minutes? So not really a big savings on sleep but I feel like maybe the quality of my workouts would be better at least. I dunno, gonna take this week and see if it feels any different or if I'm just as tired at the end of the day as I am at the start.
45 minutes is quite a bit, the only downside to working out after your shift would be if you have a hard time falling asleep after.
Worth a shot.
@Solar in addition to squatting just doing some jumps and landing is helpful. I would start off with low level jumps —> box jumps —> depth drops. It’s less about how high you’re jumping but more about prepping yourself for the landing and that may be beneficial.
Obviously with a recent knee injury the key would be to start low and slow, but looking up line drills and doing two foot forward backward / side to side / bunny hops / pogos / single leg each variation as well. If you started with 2x10 for everything that would be something to tinker with twice a week.
Don’t know if you have access to plyo boxes, but you could start with depth drops by stepping off a bench and sticking the landing by only bending at the knees and hips as much as you need to. Save that for after you’re healed up. (You don’t need to go super high, 18-24” is pretty decent)
This is great advice, thank you. I have access to plyo stuff and my knee is healing nicely. I'm going to do some goblet squats to ease into a full backsquat routine, and start with some light, easy plyo after that
Went to the gym at about 4 pm today instead of in the morning (day off) and I definitely feel warmer and more maneverable. Like, my knees don't twinge with things like leg presses and I feel like my hips are giving me a lot more range of motion. I guess I just need a lot more time to warm up than I used to.
Did deadlifts and instead of working up to one set of 2 high effort reps I just did 3 sets of 4 at 225 lbs. Hadn't really deadlifted since I tweaked my ass a week or so ago so I think for now I'm gonna have to deviate from the program slightly and do more working sets of both squats and deadlifts to build my strength back up. I may need to program in an extra squat day somewhere, too since those remain garbage.
As it stands now I try to go to bed at around 8 pm, since I get off work at 7pm and have a 30-35 minute commute. I basically get in the door, microwave some food and then go straight to bed. I try to wake up at 3:15 am so in theory I get right at 7 hours a night. Usually it's more like 6.5 hours.
If I got home at 9pm and woke up at 4:45am to get ready for work I'd get maybe about 45 extra minutes? So not really a big savings on sleep but I feel like maybe the quality of my workouts would be better at least. I dunno, gonna take this week and see if it feels any different or if I'm just as tired at the end of the day as I am at the start.
45 minutes is quite a bit, the only downside to working out after your shift would be if you have a hard time falling asleep after.
Worth a shot.
@Solar in addition to squatting just doing some jumps and landing is helpful. I would start off with low level jumps —> box jumps —> depth drops. It’s less about how high you’re jumping but more about prepping yourself for the landing and that may be beneficial.
Obviously with a recent knee injury the key would be to start low and slow, but looking up line drills and doing two foot forward backward / side to side / bunny hops / pogos / single leg each variation as well. If you started with 2x10 for everything that would be something to tinker with twice a week.
Don’t know if you have access to plyo boxes, but you could start with depth drops by stepping off a bench and sticking the landing by only bending at the knees and hips as much as you need to. Save that for after you’re healed up. (You don’t need to go super high, 18-24” is pretty decent)
This is great advice, thank you. I have access to plyo stuff and my knee is healing nicely. I'm going to do some goblet squats to ease into a full backsquat routine, and start with some light, easy plyo after that
There are some good resources online that can give you better ideas as to how many jumps you want to take and where to progress. I’m not a plyo expert and always implemented them in a time constraint setting so I probably did less than we should have but verticals typically went up (as did their lifts)
Stick to lower reps per set if you’re doing intense jumps (like depth drops for example or if you lined up boxes and did a depth drop / box jump / jump off box, rebound off ground onto box, etc).
Boxes I treat for 3-5’s, the line drills it’s lower intensity so I go for time (start with 10 seconds for single leg stuff) or like I said 2x10 reps per exercise.
I’m sure there is room for improvement on that.
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
I got someone (an oly weightlifter and crossfit coach) to show me how to do em properly because why not. Lots of great tips. High bar backsquats with the right form and full depth are definitely way more fun than shit form squats with no proper position!
Worked my way up to 65kgs for 5. That felt pretty easy, I reckon I could definitely do 75kgs and maybe even 85kgs for 5 but we agreed was definitely best to keep it low and make form improvements for now. Apparently my ROM is really good and I get into a really deep squat which is exactly what I want.
Did some jumping first too as per recommendations, 2m standing jumps (definitely fun), jumps off and onto boxes, not a lot just some activation really.
+4
Options
MrMonroepassed outon the floor nowRegistered Userregular
Having someone to spot on bench is so much more satisfying. I know where my actual limit is now! It is a babby number but I did like three sets at it that ended in "failure" aka my guy picked up the last like 1kg of force needed to re rack.
I expect I will be unable to do even a single pushup tomorrow, feels great lol
Jimmy Kolb benched 1350 (612.5 kg), breaking his own Biggest Single Lift in powerlifting history record. He keeps talking about how his ultimate goal is 1500 and that's not a real number, none of what he's doing are real numbers, none of it makes sense, and I hope he doesn't die under a bar at some point.
His 800 for 25 video really illustrates how much he's transformed his body into a machine for bench pressing that specific way, with that specific technique and gear, and even if you don't like it or think it's a real thing I don't know how you don't respect it.
Lol goosed my lower back yesterday setting down a 60 pound bucket of honey.
Blew my chest up today because I was mad about it. Worked up to a full set of 215 so almost back to my 225 bench. Hit two rager sets of Larsen presses at 155, mid chest cross body cable flyes and then finished off with two super sets of lower chest cable flyes and plyo pushups to failure.
Yes indeed, they are powerblocks. I got an insane deal on mine used so I didn't do an exhaustive comparison shopping session, I stumbled on them and then paid and ran out before they changed their mind.
That being said, I like them very much. They haven't been a problem for anything that I've tried to do, I've used them 2-3 times per week at least and they're holding up just fine, and honestly I'm not sure what more you'd want aside from maybe a slightly less cumbersome way to switch from 5 lb (5-15-25 etc) to 10 lb (10-20-30 etc) increments but that's a pretty minor gripe.
So this isn't weightlifting but it's by far my most impressive feat of strength ever; I hung the 20mm edge with a single straight arm (half crimp, no thumb) for like 3.5 seconds on the right and 2 seconds on the left today.
Massive PB for me, something I've consistently been working towards for over a year now and absolutely a concrete gain. Super psyched for pushing it further.
I'd be curious about what you didn't like. For me any dumbbells are a big upgrade over none so they're already getting graded on a curve and I haven't run into any real problems. They're a little bulky but that doesn't interfere with any of what I'm trying to do and for now I'm the only one using them so I'm not worried about durability.
Alright first workout after work more or less in the bag.
Did some back, lat, delt and bicep focused stuff so all in all an easier day than my usual push or pull days but man my back is pumped. I definitely feel like I'm having a much better mind muscle connection and despite being kinda tired from my shift I just feel it connecting more. My body seems to be operating better after a long day if work than first thing in the morning. Dunno why I'm so cold blooded but I'm thinking I maybe should've done this a lot fuckin sooner.
Alright first workout after work more or less in the bag.
Did some back, lat, delt and bicep focused stuff so all in all an easier day than my usual push or pull days but man my back is pumped. I definitely feel like I'm having a much better mind muscle connection and despite being kinda tired from my shift I just feel it connecting more. My body seems to be operating better after a long day if work than first thing in the morning. Dunno why I'm so cold blooded but I'm thinking I maybe should've done this a lot fuckin sooner.
I'm the same way. My wife's a morning workouter but I have to do it in the afternoon or evening or I'm useless.
I'd be curious about what you didn't like. For me any dumbbells are a big upgrade over none so they're already getting graded on a curve and I haven't run into any real problems. They're a little bulky but that doesn't interfere with any of what I'm trying to do and for now I'm the only one using them so I'm not worried about durability.
Personal use: constantly banging the bench on chest supported rows, no DB pullover action, no overhead tricep extension, rubbing during farmer carries, there may be more, but nothing that’s necessarily a deal breaker.
Coaching: athletes jamming the pin between two different weights, athletes putting the blocks back with the pin facing the 12.5 handles meaning they had to be flipped constantly, didn’t trust it for DB snatches which was pretty big for me “hey your other arm isn’t hurt, do this”, goblet squatting wasn’t impossible for me and I actually like the way it displaces the weight (hold from the bottom two bars on the bottom and it puts out in front of you, with a narrow grip) but with athletes it wasn’t worth the time or energy, no DB swings when kettlebells were otherwise unavailable, etc.
Individual use: probably great depending on the person. I get more out of my plate loaded dumbbells for heavier work and have 10-45# iron dumbbells Group use: fucking awful in my experience. Because people get dumber in groups.
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
I'd be curious about what you didn't like. For me any dumbbells are a big upgrade over none so they're already getting graded on a curve and I haven't run into any real problems. They're a little bulky but that doesn't interfere with any of what I'm trying to do and for now I'm the only one using them so I'm not worried about durability.
Personal use: constantly banging the bench on chest supported rows, no DB pullover action, no overhead tricep extension, rubbing during farmer carries, there may be more, but nothing that’s necessarily a deal breaker.
Coaching: athletes jamming the pin between two different weights, athletes putting the blocks back with the pin facing the 12.5 handles meaning they had to be flipped constantly, didn’t trust it for DB snatches which was pretty big for me “hey your other arm isn’t hurt, do this”, goblet squatting wasn’t impossible for me and I actually like the way it displaces the weight (hold from the bottom two bars on the bottom and it puts out in front of you, with a narrow grip) but with athletes it wasn’t worth the time or energy, no DB swings when kettlebells were otherwise unavailable, etc.
Individual use: probably great depending on the person. I get more out of my plate loaded dumbbells for heavier work and have 10-45# iron dumbbells Group use: fucking awful in my experience. Because people get dumber in groups.
Still coaching at TSU?
My teams small but I will always go with whatever equipment and lift reduces the chaos.
Posts
A 15 inch diamater neck would be quite something.
It is just so nice to decide "it's time to lift" and be able to get my deadlifts in!! I haven't missed my 4x a week lifts yet. Eager to see how much things change in a year aesthetics-wise since I'll be so much more reliably hitting my goals!
It helps that the Bells of Steel bumper plates just feel nice to lift/put down on my rubber mats/put onto the bar. Plus, I love the consistency of not having to adjust numbers based on whichever barbell was sitting on the rack today, and I don't have to worry someone else touched their feet and then the weights. Definitely a step up from my local gym in pretty much every way.
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
Then hit a backoff for 8x305. Feels good!
I think having been up and loose for the whole day and having at least two meals in me helped a ton. I'm at the gym now and I got here a little late so I'm already going to be cutting half this workout out so I can get to work on time and I just feel stiff and cold from not having had time to get up and get moving or having a warmup.
I either lose the sleep from getting up at 3am or going to bed at 9am. Six one way half dozen the other.
If I got home at 9pm and woke up at 4:45am to get ready for work I'd get maybe about 45 extra minutes? So not really a big savings on sleep but I feel like maybe the quality of my workouts would be better at least. I dunno, gonna take this week and see if it feels any different or if I'm just as tired at the end of the day as I am at the start.
I need to strengthen my legs. I keep taking big falls and getting minor injuries and occasionally bigger ones (sprained my knee on Saturday). Basically I need to get strong, flexible, impact absorbing legs
I'm thinking of starting at 60kgs for 5x5, and then building that up slowly, sticking with 5x5s, but I've never really worked legs before. Would I be better with 3x8? 5x3? 3x3? A combination of them all?
edit: my brother who actually does climbing recommends doing a fair bit of single leg/range of motion stuff as well if you're going to be working on leg strength, split squats/step ups etc
45 minutes is quite a bit, the only downside to working out after your shift would be if you have a hard time falling asleep after.
Worth a shot.
@Solar in addition to squatting just doing some jumps and landing is helpful. I would start off with low level jumps —> box jumps —> depth drops. It’s less about how high you’re jumping but more about prepping yourself for the landing and that may be beneficial.
Obviously with a recent knee injury the key would be to start low and slow, but looking up line drills and doing two foot forward backward / side to side / bunny hops / pogos / single leg each variation as well. If you started with 2x10 for everything that would be something to tinker with twice a week.
Don’t know if you have access to plyo boxes, but you could start with depth drops by stepping off a bench and sticking the landing by only bending at the knees and hips as much as you need to. Save that for after you’re healed up. (You don’t need to go super high, 18-24” is pretty decent)
That Hepburn’s routine?
Worked up to 215 pound bench for 5 reps today. Couldve probably done more but the program I'm on right now has a single heavy set for the first block so I'm trying to focus on adding as much weight as I can before I move to the next bloc. I used to warm up with that weight so I'm still not entirely sure where my upper body strength went over the last year since I've not really had any injuries. My right shoulder is fuckin weird and that's had me cautious but I can't remember any traumatic issues like I had with my back. Anyway, working on getting back to 225 as my base line.
Also I know I keep saying Larsen presses fuckin rule but they fuckin rule. I can put on a modest weight like 145 lbs and just rip em out and get an incredible connection with my chest. A+ bench variation.
This is great advice, thank you. I have access to plyo stuff and my knee is healing nicely. I'm going to do some goblet squats to ease into a full backsquat routine, and start with some light, easy plyo after that
Did deadlifts and instead of working up to one set of 2 high effort reps I just did 3 sets of 4 at 225 lbs. Hadn't really deadlifted since I tweaked my ass a week or so ago so I think for now I'm gonna have to deviate from the program slightly and do more working sets of both squats and deadlifts to build my strength back up. I may need to program in an extra squat day somewhere, too since those remain garbage.
There are some good resources online that can give you better ideas as to how many jumps you want to take and where to progress. I’m not a plyo expert and always implemented them in a time constraint setting so I probably did less than we should have but verticals typically went up (as did their lifts)
Stick to lower reps per set if you’re doing intense jumps (like depth drops for example or if you lined up boxes and did a depth drop / box jump / jump off box, rebound off ground onto box, etc).
Boxes I treat for 3-5’s, the line drills it’s lower intensity so I go for time (start with 10 seconds for single leg stuff) or like I said 2x10 reps per exercise.
I’m sure there is room for improvement on that.
rough
I like running outside while there's still some daylight and the only time for that is lunch
Ah, I understand. I’m actually about to go bundle up and walk the dog in the dark. At least the moon is bright!
I got someone (an oly weightlifter and crossfit coach) to show me how to do em properly because why not. Lots of great tips. High bar backsquats with the right form and full depth are definitely way more fun than shit form squats with no proper position!
Worked my way up to 65kgs for 5. That felt pretty easy, I reckon I could definitely do 75kgs and maybe even 85kgs for 5 but we agreed was definitely best to keep it low and make form improvements for now. Apparently my ROM is really good and I get into a really deep squat which is exactly what I want.
Did some jumping first too as per recommendations, 2m standing jumps (definitely fun), jumps off and onto boxes, not a lot just some activation really.
I expect I will be unable to do even a single pushup tomorrow, feels great lol
His 800 for 25 video really illustrates how much he's transformed his body into a machine for bench pressing that specific way, with that specific technique and gear, and even if you don't like it or think it's a real thing I don't know how you don't respect it.
Blew my chest up today because I was mad about it. Worked up to a full set of 215 so almost back to my 225 bench. Hit two rager sets of Larsen presses at 155, mid chest cross body cable flyes and then finished off with two super sets of lower chest cable flyes and plyo pushups to failure.
Some sort of dumbbell solution is the only missing piece of my home gym puzzle and I am trying to decide between bowflex and powerblocks.
That being said, I like them very much. They haven't been a problem for anything that I've tried to do, I've used them 2-3 times per week at least and they're holding up just fine, and honestly I'm not sure what more you'd want aside from maybe a slightly less cumbersome way to switch from 5 lb (5-15-25 etc) to 10 lb (10-20-30 etc) increments but that's a pretty minor gripe.
Massive PB for me, something I've consistently been working towards for over a year now and absolutely a concrete gain. Super psyched for pushing it further.
They may work great for your purposes, they didn’t for me.
Did some back, lat, delt and bicep focused stuff so all in all an easier day than my usual push or pull days but man my back is pumped. I definitely feel like I'm having a much better mind muscle connection and despite being kinda tired from my shift I just feel it connecting more. My body seems to be operating better after a long day if work than first thing in the morning. Dunno why I'm so cold blooded but I'm thinking I maybe should've done this a lot fuckin sooner.
I'm the same way. My wife's a morning workouter but I have to do it in the afternoon or evening or I'm useless.
Personal use: constantly banging the bench on chest supported rows, no DB pullover action, no overhead tricep extension, rubbing during farmer carries, there may be more, but nothing that’s necessarily a deal breaker.
Coaching: athletes jamming the pin between two different weights, athletes putting the blocks back with the pin facing the 12.5 handles meaning they had to be flipped constantly, didn’t trust it for DB snatches which was pretty big for me “hey your other arm isn’t hurt, do this”, goblet squatting wasn’t impossible for me and I actually like the way it displaces the weight (hold from the bottom two bars on the bottom and it puts out in front of you, with a narrow grip) but with athletes it wasn’t worth the time or energy, no DB swings when kettlebells were otherwise unavailable, etc.
Individual use: probably great depending on the person. I get more out of my plate loaded dumbbells for heavier work and have 10-45# iron dumbbells Group use: fucking awful in my experience. Because people get dumber in groups.
But I used the stairs wrong and crunched my ankle going down to my basement gym yesterday, I am so mad
Might just... do a few arm exercises the next 4 days to meet my arbitrary goal
3DS Friend Code: 0216-0898-6512
Switch Friend Code: SW-7437-1538-7786
Still coaching at TSU?
My teams small but I will always go with whatever equipment and lift reduces the chaos.