Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Today's session was great. Mixed things up a little with the upper stuff. Here it is:

One arm DB oh press 26x5 30x5 34kgx7 PR (75lbs)- As I said I'm going to continue 5/3/1 with upper, but I'm going to change the exercises. I made my best progress on the press doing this exercise, so I'll see how I get on. I think I'm slightly stronger on this than the full press, as this would be 68kgx7. My best press is 70kgx4. This also carried over well to my full press.

Deadlifts 120x5 137.5x5 155kgx10 (341lbs) PR - Very happy with this. This is 3 extra reps on two weeks ago, and it felt a lot better today. I feel my form was better this week, on the initial reps anyway. I set up a little lower and focused on keeping the back straighter. I also had an mp3 for the first time in a long time, so I had much better music to listen to. I see a 200kgx1 soon, and I'm going to rep 182.5kg. Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrbZXWjVBmI

It takes me a while to get started, thats cause I was waiting for a line in the song and I couldn't really see the bar very well becuse of the ammonia Reps 9/10 took a while cause my hands were sweating like hell and my grip was struggling cause of it. I really need to improve the lockout, its definitely the big problem. Getting it off the floor isn't an issue.

Chinups +7.5kgx5x4
BWx6-Grip couldn't go on.

That was all. I was going to do some bi curls, but my grip couldn't manage. I was lucky to be able to do some chins because of it. My left forearm was swollen to hell, it was pretty cool.

Didn't bother with a leg press or anything since I went hard on Tuesday. I'm very pleased with how lower is doing, I feel like I'm about at a new level. 400 for reps will be that new level. Hopefully my grip will keep up, but it wasn't as much of an issue last week with the heavier weight.

I think I'm going to sub flat bench for incline. I got carryover in the past, and its easier to maintain form. I've not really done anything different for a long long time, probably too long.

Not much else to say, time to eat. Need to keep it going, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Was going to post this yesterday, but there was maintainance going on: No cardio on Monday, my ankle is clicking. Was taking a bed up the stairs, I think that's when it happened. Only minor though, got through the squats alright. Here it is:

Bench 72.5x3 80x3 90kgx6 PR (198lbs)- Instead of switching to incline I brought my grip in. It's now about shoulder width, maybe a touch more.

72.5kgx10- Downset.

A2G Squats 92.5xx3 105x3 115kgx7 PR (253lbs)- Very pleased with how these are going. 5/3/1 has been just what I needed for squats. Maybe it'll slow down soon, but I'll try my best to hammer on. My sticking point is actually really high on these, which I find odd. I come out of the hole quite easily then get stuck quite a bit above parallel.

Bi curls 37.5kgx8 20sx3- Meh.

Hanging leg raisesx8x8x8- Doing these with legs straight. I can nearly hold my legs straight at the top, need to be able to do that soon.

That was all. I was doing a lot of thinking about bench over the weekend. Too much thinking. Had all sorts running through my mind. I came to the conclusion though that I haven't really gotten anywhere simply because of inconsistency. So I decided the best thing to do, was to keep on with it. If I'm keeping my weight around 180-185, it's also going to take longer and be harder to reach decent numbers. I shouldn't be trying to compare myself to guys that are 200+, just beating my own PR's. I might add in some rack work on top of the full rom. The reason I brought the grip in is that it feels more natural, and I don't like my elbows going so low with the wider grip and stressing everything. I'm going to have to get spotters more often as well. Had I not today, I wouldn't have gone for a 6th, and there wouldn't have been a PR.

Well that's all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

Ps- Weight was 183.5lbs, waist 35.5".

 

[Quiksilver]

Keep it up Quag

 

[Colossus]

Hey Quag-

I'm also doing the 5/3/1, tailored for strongman. I really like it so far, it keeps me from overworking myself.

For the bench, a few things will help:

Do bottom-position benching exclusively for a month. Set up the pins in the power rack so that the bar just barely grazes your chest when you are in your bench form. Simply start all of your reps from a dead stop at the bottom, no bouncing or touch-and-go. This works with 5/3/1.

After 1 month of doing these your regular benches will FLY off your chest. These are hard, and you wont be able to do as much, but dont worry, just compliment them with some heavy lockouts and the rest of your chest routine, and you'll be fine.

 

[Quagmire911]

Yeh, I'll have to see what these racks can accomodate; they are god awful.

I think they only have 4 pin holes, with very wide spacing. I might try and use the athletic steps again, but people don't like that.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Not a bad session today, here it is:

One arm DB oh press 28x3, 32x3 36kgx4 (79lbs) PR- This was a little higher than it should have been weight wise, but there are no 35's. Felt good.

Deadlifts 130x3 145x3 162.5kgx5 (358lbs) PR- Got 4 last cycle. It may sound funny, but this didn't feel great even though I hit a PR. My lower back wasn't liking it, I think my form wasn't as good as last week. Comparitivley I don't think this is as good as the 155x10 I did last week. Should have taken a video. It is probably time for a deload as well. Not bad though.

Chinups +7.5kgx5x5
BW+8- Bw is around 183.5lbs.

External rotations DB 14kgx8x8- My left side was noticeably weaker than my right, which is interesting. I'm still well above Poliquin's recommendation for weight on this versus bench press though.

That was all. No leg presses as I didn't think my ankle would like it. It still isn't 100%, so I don't know about cardio tommorow. Maybe something lighter will do.

Anyway time to eat, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Took last week off, ready to get back into it.

Did about 70 minutes walking at varying intensities today.

Until tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

You sure are a workhorse. Good thing you took last week off Quaggy. I'm back btw

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Lol a workhorse at bending my elbow. Good to see you back.

Right theres something up. I think its the drinking, well I hope it is. If it isn't something else is wrong. Basically I slept for 11 hours last night and woke up tired as hell. I last drank Saturday and it was a lot. I then slept 7.5hours yesterday. Now today 11 hours and I needed two strong black coffees to get going. So the drinking needs to come down now, I can't feel like this. I'm hoping that I've just overdone it a bit and my adrenals are a little tanked. I bring it way down and I'll be good as new. Basically last week was, Wednesday 13 units, Friday 13.5 units, Saturday 22-24 units. Something like 45-50 overall. I'm thinking this has completely fuc*ed my sleep cycle and hence the feeling like shi*. I don't feel ill, just tired as hell. So I'll see how cutting it down goes- here's hoping well. My work capacity was awful today, here it is:

Bench 70x5 77.5x5 87.5kgx5- Didn't get a spot and I didn't want to push this. Would have got 1-2 more had I had a spot and ammonia. This is more a close grip. My pointer fingers are an inch or so outside the smooth part of the bar.

A2G Squats 90x5 100x5 115kgx10 (253lbs) PR- This was probably a mistake, but I bloody wanted to hit 250+x10. The set actually went well, but I started feeling sick after it. I'm glad I did it though. I can't be sure the reps were a2g, but they were still way under parallel. The only way I can be sure is if I took a video, but I didn't have the camera today. I'll get a video of these soon. Good though.

Paused rack bench 92.5kgx5, 85kgx7- I did these on the first pin on the rack. The rack only has 4 holes= ****. It looked 3 or so inches above the chest. I was feeling really cra*py by this point, don't know if I should have bothered with these this week.

Not a terrible session, but as you can see the number of sets wasn't high. The last squat set was really hard so I can't be sure how much that affected things, but I still feel my work capacity could be a lot better.

I'll hopefully get this sleep thing sorted in the next week or two. Anyway time to eat, until next time...

Quagmire

P.s.- Got some rhodiola rosea which should help with stress and stuff. I feel it has helped with some things, but its been a few days and I've drank way too much, so I can't expect much.

 

[Fuglydude]

Drinking totally affects gains man. I hardly ever drink, and when I go hard it puts me outta commission for a good 2-3 days. I do on occasion smoke weed prior to working out. I know it affects my top line strength, but in many ways it helps me to concentrate and focus to get me through the higher rep ranges. I also find I feel more when I'm high... mind-muscle connection thing I guess.

Anyways, great 10 rep squat!!! I did a similar weight and only got 5 reps yesterday.

The rhodiola should really help. I've taken it a few times before and had good results.

 

[Quagmire911]

Well I know drinking isn't good. Everyone will have a limit as too how much they can get away with, and I reckon I've gone well past it. My overall training volume is really low, and that's probably the only reason I see any kind of progress, however small. I didn't have any problems in the past getting drunk once a week, but that's a bit different from what I do now.

I had 4 units of rum tonight or about 100ml. I get irritated mid-week now when I don't drink which is a bit sad to be honest. So my reasoning is a small amount like tonight will stave this off and prevent a heavier session, and maybe I can eliminate it in time. I also don't think this amount will affect sleep greatly or stress the body too much. I aim to do something like 4 midweek and then maybe 12 on a weekend day, which may not be optimal but is far better than what I have been doing. It's a work in progress.

Quagmire

 

[Colossus]

Drinking totally affects gains man. I hardly ever drink, and when I go hard it puts me outta commission for a good 2-3 days. I do on occasion smoke weed prior to working out. I know it affects my top line strength, but in many ways it helps me to concentrate and focus to get me through the higher rep ranges. I also find I feel more when I'm high... mind-muscle connection thing I guess..

Yeah I second the drinking effect. I don't drink often, maybe once every week or two, but if I exceed like 3 beers my training will suck the next day. If I get hammered, I'm not right for at least 36-48 hours.

I love my weed, but I never smoke prior to lifting since I train for strength. When I was bodybuilding I'd sometimes blaze before arms or cardio and found it enjoyable, but now I just blaze after the gym. It's my reward.

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Took an extra day off because my legs had really bad doms. It was better today, but not completley gone. Have done some walking this week of varying lengths, nothing too strenuos. This week has been one of the lowest amounts I've drank this year. Only had a little on Tuesday that I recorded. I plan on not going overboard on the weekend, and continuing this pattern. I had my best nights sleep in a long while last night and felt pretty sharp today, so it's looking like the poison was the problem- who'd have known Work capacity was much higher today as well. Here it is:

One arm oh press 26x5 30x5 34kgx5- Had a few more in the tank, 8 would have been a PR, not sure if I'd have made it. Decided not to go balls out.

Sumo deadlifts 125x5 140x5 160kgx5- Decided to switch to sumo, as conventional was feeling funny the last time. 6 would have been a PR, this was pretty difficult though. Lockout is a big problem, need to get it fixed. I feel I could do quite a bit more otherwise.

Sumo rack lockouts (mid-top knee) 182.5kgx10- Really felt this in the upper back.
1-2" below the knee- 170kgx6- Used straps for both of these sets.

Dips BW+10kgx8
+15kgx8- Not bad. I'm sure this is a lot better than when I did these two years ago. Maybe I'm of those people who gets carryover between bench and dips. Here's hoping. Bw was 183.5lbs.

Chins+10kgx4x4- Must get these up.

That was all. As I say I felt able to do quite a lot more today. Probably cause my ATP and hormones and whatever else were up to the task for a change. As I say above my weight was 183.5lbs and waist was 35.25". I think I've put on a bit of muscle, my legs are looking a bit bigger. The squats have come quite far in the last few months. Time to finish the job and get to 10-12%.

Nothing else to say, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Not a bad day today, here it is:

Bench 75x3 82.5x3 92.5kgx4- Meh.

A2G Squats 100x3 110x3 120kgx8 (264lbs) PR- Good stuff.

Rack bench (3-4") 80kgx8

Speed bench 50kg 4x3

Getting bored of benching to be honest. The racks and benches are awful, and know one can spot properly. I think dips might be a welcome change as the main exercise, and then bench as assistance maybe. I'm not progressing on them at all, and I don't feel like I will with the equipment. The bars always roll in my hands, I think thats a problem with them, not with me although I might be wrong. The benches are truly awful.

Squatting is going well. I'm aware that I am starting to use my back more, but that is to be expected I suppose with the heavier weight. Will need to watch it though. My knees also want to come in. I'm also becoming more and more aware about the weight and if something goes wrong. The racks are so shi* that they won't save me, the first hole sets the pins above parallel which is useless. It is frustrating that some monkey who doesn't even work out designed the gym. I suppose it is great for the majority of users though! :cuss: Also, I wouldn't even be able to dump the bar because of the way the racks are designed- great.

Rack benching just feels weird and unnartural, I think boards would be better. I'm not going to start trying to introduce new stuff when I have other problems to worry about (see above). So who knows, I don't know of any decent gyms I can use in the Glasgow area. Glasgow uni gym had an alright power rack, but it's for students only and is miles away. I don't really have the cash for the travel either. I need a fuc*ing home gym. Apart from that everyone else is pissing me off with there stupidity. I need to move out.

Anyway rant over, bugger everything. Until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Not bad today, here it is:

One arm oh press 28x3 32x3 36kgx5 (79lbs) PR- Happy with this. Slightly harder with the left side, it was pretty much maximum effort.

Sumo deadlifts 135x3 150x3 167.5kgx4 (369lbs)- This equals my conventional PR. I wanted 5, but it wasn't going to happen today.

Sumo rack deads 1-2" below the knee 150kgx10x10- Didn't go all out with weight, trying to focus on quality. These were done strapped double overhand.

Dips BW+20kgx6, +25kgx8 (55lbs) PR- I'm much better at dips than I thought. I don't know how good this is, not great, but not completley shi*. I think I'm going to sub these in for bench. They have gone up a lot in the last two years without me doing them at all, so maybe there is carryover between the two for me. I feel I can add quite a bit off weight over the coming weeks if I stick to them. The only problem is I don't think my bag can take much more weight, and I can't afford a dip belt at the moment. Bugger.

Chinups BW+12.5kgx3x3 (28lbs)

And that was it. Was going to do some weighted sit ups, but I ran out of time. Might do them now actually. I'm seriously considering what I want to do with my weight. I'm about 183.5 now, probably around 178 lean. It is very tempting to go for 190-195 and lean, just to get things into a different ballpark. I can't afford the food at the moment anyway, so this is only a thought at the moment. I've never been about getting huge, but I think 195ish would actually be alright. Height is around 5ft 9".

Anyway, that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quiksilver]

Eh, a dip belt makes it so much easier to add weight.

You don't need the full getup though, all you really need is a length of chain. Wrap the chain around you like a belt and make a loop at the end. Use a carabiner to secure the chain around yourself and make the loop for weight.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Went in a day early because it suited. The workout went fuc*ing brilliantly. My CNS must have been in a good mood, god knows why. I only drank twice last week, but I got pretty smashed on Saturday night. I also got less sleep than usual last night. But hey, who am I too argue with the results. I did drink less overall, but still way over what would be considered acceptable for conducive lifting. Anyway, here it is:

Dips Bw+30kgx5x5 (+66lbs) PR- I gotta say I'm loving these. I had no idea I'd be able to use as much weight. Hopefully this will put my bench up. I can't believe I've neglected these for so long. Too worried about my bench- pathetic. It would be apt if I bench less and that's what gets it stronger. Will need to get a dip belt, the bag is really struggling with 30kg in it. My bw was 183.5lbs last week for reference, and won't be far off this week*.

A2G Squats 100kgx5 110kgx3 127.5kgx7 (281lbs) PR - This was great. I guess it was just one of those days. I did the first rep and wondered if I had put the right amount of weight on- but I always double check. It literally felt like it was the bar so I knew it was going to be good. The big guy was in, I wish I had asked him to spot me so I could have gone for 8. It was meant to be 115kgx3 on the second set, but I felt 110kg was better.

Bench 70kgx10x10- This was pretty moderate, just getting in some benching to make sure it doesn't go down if the dips don't help.

50kgx3 40kgx3x3x3- Don't think I should have bothered with speed work, my upper body didn't want to do it after the heavy dips and heavier bench.

Kneeling rolloutsx5x5

Leg press 200kgx10x10- Didn't go all out, just trying to get some more leg work.

And that was it. I'm in a damned good mood from the squats. It's almost been like newbie gains, I guess it has. I didn't squat for 9 months or something last year/this year, and they have taken off since I added them back in. I just about smell a 300+x5, I reckon this will be in the bag before the end of the year. I wish I'd gotten a video today, but I will get a video when I go for broke. I may even make it 3plates/308. Just for reference, I am doing these without a belt or anything else. My legs are noticeably bigger, even though my weight has gone down over the last few months. I think that the 2lbs I put on recently was probably in my legs rather than my stomach. I'd also like to add my method was squatting once a week doing heavy sets of 5 until things started to slow down, then I switched to Wendler's 5/3/1 for a more structured approach. So pretty much 3 heavy sets of squats and then some days 2-3 sets of one assistance exercise such as leg press, hip machine, and that's it.

I've been thinking about deads. I think that maybe my grip is holding them back. My grip is fine on the first few reps when I'm over 160kg/350lbs, but then it doesn't feel as solid. And if my grip is struggling and not solid, the power transfer to the bar might be diminished. So I'm thinking to warm up and do the first two main sets normally, and then use straps on the last set and see what happens.

Something else I'd like to mention. I didn't really know how to warm up for a heavy set of dips so I did this:

Bench 20kgx5
30kgx3
40kgx1
Dips BWx5
+10kgx1
+20kgx1 then the work sets
+30kgx5x5.

It seemed to go alright, if anyone has a problem with that and thinks there is a better way, please let me know.

Also of note, I mentioned the big guy was in today. He got me to spot him on a legit 160kg/352lb bench, not to big a deal but it was pretty cool and much heavier than the usual 70-80kg I usually have with people in that gym.

Anyway this one is turning into an essay, I write a lot when I'm psyched from the weights I guess. The only way is up, until next time...

Quagmire

*PS- I think I've decided when I've got the cash I am going to go for the 190's at 10-12%. Roughly 183.5 at an estimated 14-15% atm.

 

[frenchbeauty]

Amazing squat

 

[Just a Shot Away]

Sorry, don't mean to distract the topic...but does anyone know why EFFORT was banned? He was a really cool guy and always gave sound advice. Seems odd.

 

[Quiksilver]

Sorry, don't mean to distract the topic...but does anyone know why EFFORT was banned? He was a really cool guy and always gave sound advice. Seems odd.

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=166678