Fugly's lifting journal...

[Jitterbug]

Likewise, I do front squat Olympic style with a clean grip as the reason I do it is to prepare for when I learn Olympic lifts later on.

The lifting shoes will really help, esp with getting your torso more up right, helping you push better from the ATG position and reducing pressure on your knees. There are some good Chinese ones in the market for about US$100 (converted from Australian price, should be cheaper for you). Not expensive when you're training so regularly with them. I have a pair with some ab wheels on order.

Personally I don't feel my abs much in FSquat (my abs aren't that strong) but I have to concentrate hard to keep my shoulders and chest up.

lol I wish I had your "poor" clean right now! I've only been doing cleans for 5-6 weeks though, and loving it!

 

[Fuglydude]

Likewise, I do front squat Olympic style with a clean grip as the reason I do it is to prepare for when I learn Olympic lifts later on.

The lifting shoes will really help, esp with getting your torso more up right, helping you push better from the ATG position and reducing pressure on your knees. There are some good Chinese ones in the market for about US$100 (converted from Australian price, should be cheaper for you). Not expensive when you're training so regularly with them. I have a pair with some ab wheels on order.

Personally I don't feel my abs much in FSquat (my abs aren't that strong) but I have to concentrate hard to keep my shoulders and chest up.

lol I wish I had your "poor" clean right now! I've only been doing cleans for 5-6 weeks though, and loving it!

Working w/ the clean grip will totally help your wrists become nice and flexible for doing cleans well. I've tried olympic lifting shoes before, can't say I'm a huge fan of the feeling, but its probably because I'm not used to them.

I've been cleaning for years man... 75 kg isn't bad for just starting out. I know I could get better if I had a coach, but having a massive powerclean isn't a high priority at this stage as I just use them to warm up.

 

[Fuglydude]

March 24th:

Push/Pull and other random shiiite... Lower/mid back is still VERY sore from deads the other day.

Warm up light core work, rotator cuff stuff.

Incline dumbell press:
...super-setted these w/ lateral dumbell raises. Was very vascular. You could have started a 18 g IV in my delt veins.

20 x 8
110 x 7 (PB for reps w/ this weight)
110 x 5
60 x 10 (quite fatigued for some reason)
60 x 10

Dumbell Row:
...super-setted w/ prosterior rows.

110 x 10
110 x 8
60 x 12
60 x 22

Weighted Dips:

(BW + 90) x 8 (was trying to stretch out my back here)

Weighted Chins:

(BW + 90) x 5 (same thing w/ stretching out back)

Hammer strength shoulder press:

25/side x 10 ... super-setted w/ 5 lb plates for lateral/anterior raises.
2 cycles of these.

I'm not sure what the machine was called... I think it was some sort of pec dec. Did 4 sets w/ a low weight to really feel pectoral contraction. Minimal rest periods.

Ballistic work:

Clean n Jerk

135 x 4
155 x 1
175 x 1 (felt kinda tentative as did these at the end of a long work out but went up fine)

Wanna get to a 200 lb (90 kg) Clean and jerk soon.

Post wo weight = 180.

 

[Fuglydude]

Rolling the weight seems to help me "lock in" better... if that makes any sense? Psychologically as well, when I'm locked in better I feel like I can pull better.

I apparently have a lot of scar tissue in my left hamstring from an old track injury. Gonna get ART done on it... hopefully break up that scar tissue and give me more power for squats and deads.

 

[Fuglydude]

Squat day (march 26th)

Got LOTS of sleep before. Only had around an hour to get everything done.

Warm up w/ core work, quad, hip, hamstring stretches.

Hang clean:

135 x 5
185 x 3

Back squat (below parallel)

225 x 3
315 x 5
320 x 5 (PB for 5 reps)
350 x 1 (PB at the time... felt heavy)
355 x 1 (New PB... was heavy but smooth)
175 x 20 (PB for 20 reps... not too bad actually)

Weighted narrow grip pull up

(BW + 90) x 6
(BW + 90) x 6
(BW + 90) x 6

Will try 365 on squats next WO.

Post WO wt: 181.

 

[ATP]

Oi grats on the squat PBs m8. Thought it seems a bit strange that you're pushing 355 for a single and 320 for 5 but "only" 175 for 20. Shouldn't you be able to do like 220 for 20s or sim? Maybe it's just another mystery like my deadlift :yes:

Anyways, looking forward to see if you get the 365. It's pretty exciting because our squats are pretty similar.

 

[Fuglydude]

I always have trouble w/ higher rep work... its like my nervous system is "designed" to lift in the low rep range w/ heavy resistance, but crumples when when I gotta push out lotsa reps. I've always felt 6 reps is a good number of reps per set for most lifts! With the bigger movements like squat, deads and cleans, I'm not even opposed to do doing 3-5 reps/set.

My 20-rep squats are slowly coming up. I've consistently added 5 lbs/WO for the past several weeks. Will get to 225 x 20 in time. Right now I'm happy just to get to approximately BW x 20.

 

[Fuglydude]

Plus you're doing it after heavy sets of 5. You'd be able to do more weight on the 20 reppers if you did those first.

I've tried doing 20 rep squats before my heavy work, and let me tell ya my heavy work stinks royally after!

Not sure what it is, but its as though the 20 reppers totally tax my nervous system and metabolic reserve, and when it comes time to push out heavy weight, my body's just like... "ya, we're not doing this..."

Again, I think my nervous system is just designed for low reps. I'm an ecto-mesomorph, and I've been told that many w/ my body type are this way.

 

[Fuglydude]

March 30th

Deads/dips... misc. other stuff...

Leaving for San Fran tomorrow AM for a few days, so had to go in and beat the crap out of my body tonight.

Warm up w/ core work, stretches, hang clean.

Hang clean:

135 x 5
185 x 3

Deadlift:

225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
470 x 1 (personal best)
420 x 3 (really messed up set up... could have done 1 more at least)
380 x 8 (felt explosive and strong)
365 x 6 (tired by this point)

Dips:

(BW + 135) x 5
(BW + 135) x 5
(BW + 145) x 4 (new PB... about time I started using more weight)
(BW + 115) x 6
(BW + 115) x 6
(BW + 90) x 5 (tired by this point!)

Pistols:

25/side x 6

Clean and Jerk

155 x 3
155 x 3

Sternum Chin ups:

BW x 8 (tough to be explosive this late in the work out)

Wide grip pull ups:

BW x 10

- Also did other misc. crap

Post WO Bodywt: 176. Deadlift coefficient of 2.67... almost at 2.75! Will attempt 475 on deads next work out.

 

[Quagmire911]

Sickkk!

Remember not to max out week in week out though.

Have a good trip,

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Thanx Quag. I make sure I have A LOT of rest prior to deadlift day, and it seems to be going ok so far. I'll have to rethink my strategy now that I'm off cycle, and my androgen levels fade a bit...

Update April 4th: Push/pull... misc. get back into it day

Ate lotsa crap in San fran, and didn't work out for 5 days... Did however, walk a lot.

Warm up:

core work, stretches, rotator cuff work.

Incline dumbell press:
super-setted w/ anterior and lateral dumbell raises. Used 5 lb dumbells.

100 x 7
100 x 8
50 x 10 (twist at top to contact pectorals)

Dumbell row:
Super-setted w/ posterior dumbell raises. Used 5 lb dumbells.

100 x 15
100 x 10
50 x 15 (twist at top of movement)

Reverse grip Bench:
Did these sets like speed work... very fast and explosive.

155 x 8
155 x 8

Hang clean:

155 x 5
155 x 5

Seated Dumbell shoulder press:

60 x 13
60 x 8

Sternum Chin ups:

BW x 8 (rough!)

Wide grip pull ups:

BW x 15

Finished w/ some kind of pectoral machine (not sure what its called) and seated cable row.

Looked very full and quite big and surprisingly vascular in the change room. Wish I could have taken a pic! Was definitely carb loaded after eating all that crap.

Post WO wt = 182.

 

[ATP]

It's awesome to have a crap food binge now and then because you'll come back and almost always do a good workout with insane energy. The workouts after a taco night are awesome for me at least

I was kinda wondering about the reverse grip benches though, I've seen a few people do it in the gym but I've never figured out why they do it. Seems like it works the front delts a bit more than normal benches but beside that I can't think of why? Does it help the normal bench?

Oh and I forgot to write congrats on the PR when I read your 470x1 dead a few days ago. It really is a sick lift. I hope you get the 475. :yes:

 

[Fuglydude]

It's awesome to have a crap food binge now and then because you'll come back and almost always do a good workout with insane energy. The workouts after a taco night are awesome for me at least

I was kinda wondering about the reverse grip benches though, I've seen a few people do it in the gym but I've never figured out why they do it. Seems like it works the front delts a bit more than normal benches but beside that I can't think of why? Does it help the normal bench?

Oh and I forgot to write congrats on the PR when I read your 470x1 dead a few days ago. It really is a sick lift. I hope you get the 475. :yes:

Thanks! I hope I can get the 475 as well... It will be tough, but I think I can grind it out.

I actually didn't feel 100% that work out as I didn't really eat any good, nutrient dense high protein food for 4-5 days! To give you an idea, the last day, before we were leaving I downed around a pound of buffalo chicken wings in 10 minutes! Nevertheless, the crap food definitely helped in some ways.

As for the reverse grip bench: I have shoulder problems that prevent me from doing bench and some overhead press variations. Its not that I can't do them, but they make my shoulders sore... and not a good sore either. I find I can tolerate exercises like incline dumbell press and reverse grip bench. I think the reverse grip bench helps to stimulate scapular stability muscles.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m91/Treydesmon/DSC03711.jpg

I have a fairly wide shoulder girdle. Although this is a blessing from an aesthetics standpoint, it is a bit detrimental when it comes to building upper back thickness and scapular stability that is important for having a heavy bench. I'm hoping my combining reverse grip bench w/ other back exercises I'll be able to improve my back thickness/scapular stability. It would be sweet to have a 275 lb reverse grip bench!

 

[Fuglydude]

April 5th: Squat, misc. phuck around day...

Warm up:

Stretches, core work, powerclean.

Powerclean:

135 x 5 (hang)
185 x 3 (hang)
205 x 3

Back squat (below parallel)
- I couldn't find the weight belt to hang weights off my waist for weighted chins/dips. This totally messed up my intermittent spinal decompression that I do between sets of squats. This totally affected squat performance. I would have attempted the 365 today as I felt quite strong, but decided not to w/o the belt.


225 x 5 (jump)
315 x 6 (personal best for reps w/ 315)
185 x 20 (tough! was shaky at the end, but a new PR for 20 reps)

Sternum Chin ups:

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Dips:

BW x 15

narrow underhand grip chin up:

BW x 15
BW x 10

Pistols:

30/side x 5 (tough!)
BW x 6

seated bicep curl:

30 lb dumbells x 8
30 lb dumbells x 6

Accessory calve and hamstring work.

Post WO wt: 180.

Still pissed about not having the weight belt as I felt strong today... ah well.

 

[Fuglydude]

April 5th: Squat, misc. phuck around day...

Warm up:

Stretches, core work, powerclean.

Powerclean:

135 x 5 (hang)
185 x 3 (hang)
205 x 3

Back squat (below parallel)
- I couldn't find the weight belt to hang weights off my waist for weighted chins/dips. This totally messed up my intermittent spinal decompression that I do between sets of squats. This totally affected squat performance. I would have attempted the 365 today as I felt quite strong, but decided not to w/o the belt.


225 x 5 (jump)
315 x 6 (personal best for reps w/ 315)
185 x 20 (tough! was shaky at the end, but a new PR for 20 reps)

Sternum Chin ups:

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Dips:

BW x 15

narrow underhand grip chin up:

BW x 15
BW x 10

Pistols:

30/side x 5 (tough!)
BW x 6

seated bicep curl:

30 lb dumbells x 8
30 lb dumbells x 6

Accessory calve and hamstring work.

Post WO wt: 180.

Still pissed about not having the weight belt as I felt strong today... ah well.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Nice 20 rep squat PR! Your making good progress on all your lifts Fugly. 365 is beastly, I hope you get it.

 

[ATP]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Have you ever tried rotator cuff work? It has cured the shoulder issue for both me and two of the people I train with. One guy had pain in his shoulder for about a year before he tried it and now he swears by it and do it almost religiously.

Ah fair enough, back is still looking good though, better than 95% of the people I'd say.

Grats on the squat PRs as well. You're ahead of me by one damn rep and one kg in the squat :cuss:

 

[Fuglydude]

I-tallion... I better get it! It took me long enough to finally get to a double bodyweight squat!

ATP, yeah, I always warm up my rotator cuffs lightly prior to upper body sessions. My shoulders often feel like they're "out". This often happens after I wake up. I have to "snap" them into place... they literally make a popping noise and feel a lot more stable afterwards. Not sure if I have rotator cuff connective tissue problems... but it all started when I first started snatching heavy. Got to around 70 kg, before I noticed that I was having issues.

I think I'll have to contend w/ shoulder problems for the rest of my life. Just gotta be able to develop a nice strong thick upper back to compensate I guess. I'm pretty weary of doing flat barbell bench, push press and overhead barbell work as these all cause flare ups in my shoulders. Dumbells seem to work better though, so I stick to them. Its definitely a lot better than it was in the past.

 

[Jitterbug]

Good to see you're over BW x20 in squat!

Next, 200lbs x20!


Btw have you ever looked into surgery to correct your shoulder issues?

 

[ATP]

Oh, that sounds horrible, yet another shoulder casualty for the damn olympic lifting. Talked to an olympic dude who is one of the best lifters in my country (he has set records) and he told me that nearly everyone had one problem or another with their shoulders after lifting for many years. Doing good form was just a way to extend the time you could lift injury free. It was a real downer to hear stuff like that.

I hope your shoulder doesn't give you too much grief though, it would be really sweet if you nailed that goal of yours.