Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

Hmmm. Not that I had a bad day today, it is just that bench doesn't want to get past around 80kgx3. It is quite happy just to sit there like the lazy ***** that it is. Here it is:

Flat bench 3x3-75kg, 80kg, 82.5kg(PR?)(181.5lbs)-First set was easy. Second set was pretty challenging. Third set? I don't know. I got stuck somewhere I was fighting it, may have won. The spotter did what I told him not too and did a very brief one finger touch onto the bar. He was going on about how it was psychological and that the lift counts. His "finger" was the mental boost I needed. I don't know. I don't think it counts cause his skin made contact with the bar. There was a chance I would have got it, I'll put a question mark infront of PR anyway. It's on the fence.

Hammer grip D.B. floor press-2x10-20kg(PR)-This felt good. Quite challenging. Will try and up the weight next week.

Military press-2x5-45, 50kg(PR)-The last set was HEAVY. Made it an no more. Might go for six instead of an increase in weight. Could use my wrist weights I suppose and move up 2lbs.

Kroc rows-2x10-42.5kg(PR)-This weight was noticeably lighter and easier than 2 weeks ago. Seem to have made a lot of progress here very quickly. Moving it away from deadlift day might have been the trick.Will up the weight next week.

Chinups-1x10-Need to do some form of this. Went for as many reps before form started to break down.

Have to say I was pretty wiped after this. Didn't help that the gym was like a furnace, very draining. Bench is getting pretty sad now to be honest. Like the squat did it has a problem. On the 3rd of October I hit 80kgx3 and here I am now questioning whether I can do 82.5kgx3 four months later. That is piss poor. I also notice that my left shoulder was giving me bother on the last two sets today and my mid back on the last set. I was doing some deep massage on those areas so it could be something to do with that. Will see how it feels next week.

To be honest the weight didn't feel that heavy off the chest, there was a certain point it just became a ton. I will need to get a video of me doing a near max set to see where that point is. Unfortunately the last time I tried rack pressing my bottom end strength suffered. I think this is because I was using db's for lower end strength and my db numbers are quite a bit lower than barbell numbers. I am thinking perhaps a combination of full rom and rack pressing may be in order. Maybe some rack/board and then some full rom close grip. Will need to get a video though. I am thinking speed may be an issue as well. It would make sense there is a weakness somewhere. That would explain why 75kg seemed quite reasonable yet only a few kg more is so much harder. For reference, I seem to have weaknesses off the chest and somewhere around mid point, but the second is the biggest problem. Also, my left side is a bit weaker than my left side on a lot of lifts.

Here is me doing 70kgx1, please let me know what you think of the form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeiiX98g9JY

Will try and get a near max set next session on video, then hopefully this plateau can be torn apart. I f****** need to be over 200+ dammit.

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

Quagmire

 

[Drum&Bass]

I can't really tell if your form is bad or not..I don't think anyone can..your shirt is to baggy so I can't see your shoulder blades, but you shouldn't need anyone to tell you about your form. How did your shoulders feel ?? did you have the bar across your nipple line ?? Was your chest pumped ??

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Wednesday
The spotter did what I told him not too and did a very brief one finger touch onto the bar. He was going on about how it was psychological and that the lift counts. His "finger" was the mental boost I needed. I don't know. I don't think it counts cause his skin made contact with the bar. There was a chance I would have got it, I'll put a question mark infront of PR anyway. It's on the fence.

its psychological trust me...that finger there makes you work harder. For me though its only when i'm struggling i want the finger there. others hands in front of my face distract me when i'm trying to lift. Plus I have a buddy i work out with (lifts weight as you at 155 lbs) give me a lift off. Helps save energy for the rep.

*
For form...it looked decent to me. I go as explosive as i can on my reps when pushing up - probably a bit faster than you (obviously i have to get a video up of me doing it to show you haha)...but its hard to accomplish when its so friggin heavy. You look good dood to me.

btw...the music and guy with the cheese shoes in the background would seriously distract me from working out

 

[stronglifts]

bar needs to be lower in the rack. you're losing tension when taking the barbell out of the rack. Put the upright one position lower next time.

 

[Quagmire911]

Yeh man, you see what I have to put up with :cuss: He was actually a bit better, the other guy in there today takes his top of sometimes and poses in the mirror. *Sigh*

I didn't really need a lift off for the 70kg, that was my last warm up set. When I am doing my worksets I get a lift off though. I think speed may be an issue...Some of the guys on IA's thought the form looked good too.

Anyway, thanks for the input. Will need to get a set where it is 80kg+ now that I know form is good. Then I can see the what the problems are.

Edit-Mehdi, I am aware of this as well. This is why I get a lift off on all worksets. Thanks for the input.

 

[Mad Manic]

Next time you do Bench, warm up to and including 70 kg for a double. Then try 85 kg and see how many reps you do. Do 2/3 sets on 85 then another on 80 and another on 70 to finish off. On all sets, do 1 extra rep with your spotter.

MM

 

[Quagmire911]

Saturday

Everything felt heavy today. CNS probably having an off day. Here it is:

Sumo deadlifts-1x3-155kg-This felt like I ton. Was having problems locking the weight out. Was leaning over the bar too much. Tried to fix this in set two.

1x2-160kg-Weight still felt very heavy. Lockout felt a bit better as I tried to stay more upright. Think my legs are stronger than my back in the movement.

1x1-165kg-Again this felt quite heavy. I am thinking to perhaps incorporate some rack deads in the next few weeks to help with lockout. I seem to be able to get the weight off the ground quite well just nearish the top it becomes harder.

Wide stance low box squats-2x3-95kg-Felt like a ton. Very slow reps.

Squats 1x3-105kg-I was aiming for five here but I called it a day at three. The same problem I have been having where the weight goes forward happened again. After the box squats and sumo's I won't have been in peak condition anyway not to mention everything feeling heavy anyway. I lowered it to 100kg and felt the hamstrings come into play better, so I will probably do a set with 100kg next week and see how many reps I can get. Probably better to keep the weight a bit lower here because of all the other low rep stuff.

Assisted GHR's-3x5-Not much to say, challenging as ever. Will just keep bashing away.

Grip work-Brought my Captains of Crush No.1 along:
Right hand:1x5 1x5 1x4
Left hand:1x4 1x3 1x2

And that was it. Tore a callous on my left hand doing sumos. As I say everything felt really heavy but I expected it too coming off a deload. I feel like squats have potential again but doing them after deads will limit them. Will probably use a lower weight and go for more reps. Not much else to say, hopefully that 400+ dead is on the horizon but I don't see it in 3 weeks if I have more sessions like today. However I will wait and see how next week goes before jumping the gun, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

And that was it. Tore a callous on my left hand doing sumos.
Quagmire

ah god that happened to my friend. Very gross and looked painful. Screwed up some of his other lifts the following week.

 

[Quagmire911]

Wasn't too bad, would be able to lift on it at the moment. I was lucky.

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Had a good today today, felt strong. Today was the second time I have not eaten my usual 3 slices of toast+4eggs+oj+whey before a workout and both times I have felt more productive and stronger. Today it was 6eggs+mayonnaise+oj+whey. I am going to continue to try this out on workout days to see if it has something to it. Anyway, here it is:

Bench-80kgx3(176lbs)-Nearly had the 4th rep and It was touch and go whether I would have got it or not. The spotter took away that possibility though...I have a video of this set. To me the 4th attempted rep suggests my right side was weaker here, which would be strange. Not sure though. Edit-Having watch it a couple of times I am now thinking that what is happening is: When the bar comes up my right is stronger so it slants right so that that side can take more weight to compensate for the weaker left side. This would make sense.

92.5kgx0(203.5lbs)-Didn't like the last video so much for showing my sticking point so I thought I would try this out. Got it off the chest this time and I feel I am a few weeks away from being able to do it. This shows the sticking point a lot better than the other video. I reckon I am at 90kg or thereabouts for a 1RM, I wasn't fresh for this either. A few weeks and it is mine...

65kgx12(PR)-Following SB's 80% downset here to see how it works for me. Started really killing at 8 reps but I kept going. I had another one or so in the tank but SB says to go until technical failure and I reckon any more reps would have been sloppy. So I left it at that. I also wouldn't usually have attempted the 92.5 before this so I may have got another one or two.

40kg 5x3-Speed work.

Military press-50kg 1x5-I feel this is too heavy after the benching so I decided to go with seated DB pressing.

Seated D.B press-15kgx12-Not done these in a long time and I loved them when I did. Will probably use this and go for something like 2x10. This is near my PR on this set.

Kroc rows-47.5kg-1x6, 1x5 (PR)-I think these are the heaviest dumbbells in the gym. So I will have to start going for rep PR's and may switch to t-bar rows. Pity.

Chinups-1x10-Just as hard as last week. Nearly failed on 10 and it was probably more of a cheat rep if I am being honest.

And that was it. Here are the bench videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1XbTaUTacU -80kgx3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=napS3dG9CtY -92.5kgx(f)

Let me know what you think guys. Too me the sticking point seems to be 3-4" above chest level. So I will need to train accordingly for that. Some kind of rack pressing coupled with full rom to maintain off the chest. Will need to be careful not to do too much though. I'll think about it in the next few days. Something like bench 1x3, then the downset and then rack pressing 2x5(small pause), then the other stuff. I think that would work. I have worked out how to make a ghetto rack using athletic steps and squares and I think I can make it work for both full rom and sticking points. Hopefully this will mean I don't need a spotter anymore as they irritate me when they help too much. I am also going to use this setup for good mornings from now on, tried it today and it worked perfectly. This way I'll be able to push more as I know if I were to fail it would be alright.

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

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Okay that spotter reallly got on my nerves...you could have had it on your own but he immediately pulled the weight off of you on both videos at the end. Tell him next time its okay to put your hands underneath the bar but don't push. Usually mentally i can get it because of that.

Interesting diet before you workout...why toast as your pre-carb? And why just Oj as your precarb today?

Other than that congrats on a good day. Gotta love those

 

[Quagmire911]

Okay that spotter reallly got on my nerves...you could have had it on your own but he immediately pulled the weight off of you on both videos at the end. Tell him next time its okay to put your hands underneath the bar but don't push. Usually mentally i can get it because of that.

Interesting diet before you workout...why toast as your pre-carb? And why just Oj as your precarb today?

Other than that congrats on a good day. Gotta love those

I'd probably have got the 80kgx4, wouldn't have got the 92.5x1 though. I told him specifically only help if the weight is going down. Hopefully I'll be able to use that ghetto rack setup whilst doing full rom bench.

I have toast and orange juice because they taste good heh. I think the toast is the biggest problem as it is processed and ****. The orange juice is 100% non-concentrate nothing added etc. And usually I work out after the first meal so that is usually my first meal.

 

[stronglifts]

Common craig, you could have done that rep without help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htg0qTalGYk

 

[Quagmire911]

MM, it's hard to tell just from watching the vid whether the bar touches Quag's chest or not because he's arching, so you can't actually SEE his chest. So why are you sure it doesn't touch mate?

Looks good to me, I have all confidence in you quag

Thanks.

He is right though it doesn't touch my chest, it touches right at the top of my upper abs...

To say it is 4" from full ROM is just being a f***** moron. It is full ROM. Excerpt Dave Tate:

"Try to push the bar toward your feet. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, right? Then why in the world would some coaches advocate pressing in a "J" line toward the rack? If I were to bench the way most trainers are advocating (with my elbows out, bringing the bar down to the chest and pressing toward the rack) my barbell travel distance would be 16 inches. Now, if I pull my shoulder blades together, tuck my chin and elbows, and bring the bar to my upper abdominals or lower chest, then my pressing distance is only 6.5 inches. Now which would you prefer? If you want to push up a bar-bending load of plates, you'd choose the shorter distance."

EFFORT, XX, Tate, etc must all be wrong of course.

Keep on badgering MM, discrediting yourself further with every post you make.

 

[Quiksilver]

Dude, get into the power rack for benching, rack the bar a little bit lower, put the safeties just below chest height, and kiss goodbye to lousy spotters.

 

[Quagmire911]

Dude, get into the power rack for benching, rack the bar a little bit lower, put the safeties just below chest height, and kiss goodbye to lousy spotters.

Oh and yeh I ain't stupid heh. Gym doesn't have a power rack...Although as I say, I think I figured out a way the other day to make a ghetto rack.

 

[Quagmire911]

Common craig, you could have done that rep without help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htg0qTalGYk

Yeh I know didn't have a choice, as I said he jumped in. It is ghetto rack time...

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

F****** strong day today. I think there is something to this new preworkout meal. Think the bread was f***** me up beforehand. Anyways, here it is:

Good mornings 90kg(198lbs) 1x5, 1x6 (PR)-Felt very good on these today. Was a 5kg pr. I am doing these off a ghetto rack to about 10-20 degrees above parallel I think. Pretty sure form is good, will get some videos soon hopefully. Doing this to strengthen lockout on deads.

Assisted GHR's-3x5-Horrible as ever Can't really tell with progress on these, I think I am doing more of the ROM on my own every week however. I did these before squats because I think they help my hamstrings "wake up" so to speak. Will probably have to steer clear of that as they become unassisted, whenever that may be.

Squats 100kgx8(220lbs)(PR)-F*** yes. This was a murderous set. Felt good though. Not sure off what I will do next week. May stick at this and go for 10. Hamstrings still need to adapt a bit before I start doing lower reps with squats again. The 105x3 showed that last week. Shouldn't be long however.

Speed sumo deadlifts 5x3-80kg-Not much to say. Feel like doing some kind of dead just to keep the rhythm of things.

Leg press 160kgx10(352lbs)(PR)-Another murderous set. Quite pleased with this. I am doing this to maintain/strengthen deads from the floor. Something I have noticed is that my leg press seems to be pretty consistent with my deadlift. If deadlift goes up, so will leg press.

Weighted situps-20kgDB to chestx15
25kgDB to chestx15 (PR)-Last set was quite hard, think I will be able to do it with a 30kgDBx15 next session though.

Grip work-Captains of crush No.1:
Right hand:1x8, 1x6, 1x6 (PR)
Left hand:1x6, 1x5, 1x4 (PR) ---What can I say, my forearms are a big asset. They see progress very quickly. I am looking to get a No.2 pretty soon, I can see my right hand being able to close it in the next 6 months. One of my longer term goals is to close the No.3. That is a long way off though.

All in all one very good day. Felt I could push it better on the gm's using the ghetto rack. I also feel that going to parallel is unnecessary and would put you at greater risk. Watching elitefts video's etc, I don't really see them going too close to parallel.

On another note, I could go out and get hammered tonight as I am going to a party. I am not going to have a drop however, will maybe have 6-8 drinks tomorrow night. I seem to be quite lucky in respect to alcohol and lifting and I have said that before, however I don't want to push my luck.

Cardio wise I have been trying something new out. The burpees got boring pretty quickly. What I am doing now is a circuit of deads/mp/squats doing 5 reps a piece using 20-25kg. I quite enjoyed it, however we shall see if it lasts. Really got the ticker going and it obviously didn't affect today's performance.

Anyway, until next time where hopefully I can use the ghetto setup for bench and hit that 80kgx4...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Well f*** me, something I have been doing differently in the last few weeks is doing me good. I reckon this new format of working up to a 3-5 rep max and then doing a downset is working well for me. The results speak for themselves:

Bench 80kgx5(176lbs)(PR)-F****** yes. The video from last week shows me struggling with the 4th rep on 80. I would probably have got it, however this week I got the 5 where I was going for four. After the four I decided it was merited to have an attempt at a 5th as it felt possible. Today was the first day using the ghetto rack setup and it was so good knowing that I didn't have someone standing there ready to take a PR off me. If I had had a spotter I would probably only have done 3, maybe 4 and then they would have jumped in.

67.5kgx10(148.5lbs)(PR)-2.5kg more than last week and two reps less. Will probably try and do 70kgx10 next session I do this.

Rack bench (2"-3")(1-2s pause)-80kg 1x5 1x3-I knew that I wouldn't get the 5 on the last set. I wasn't expecting to use much more than this, especially with the pause and considering it is a rack and not a board press.

Speed bench 5x3-42.5kg-Not much to say, speed work.

Seated D.b press-17.5kg 1x12 1x10-Not much to say, quite challenging. My PR here is 17.5kg 3x10, so next week I will expect to PR. Expect to do well on this in the coming weeks.

Kroc D.b rows-47.5kg 1x8 1x6 (PR)-Not much to say, very challenging. Happy to PR.

Chinups 1x10-Not making any progress here. However, I have put a few pounds on and considering all of the work before this I think that it is fine. Fresh I reckon I'd get 15 or thereabouts. I'll maybe put this in earlier in the routine after the deload/maxing, just to keep things fresh.

And that was that. Very pleased with how today went, especially such a big PR on bench. Considering that I got pretty drunk on Saturday as well, things couldn't really have gone much better.

Next week I am going to max out on bench, will be shooting for 200+. I would like to attempt 400+ on deads, but I am not sure if I would get it yet. I think It may be more productive to train on and try it in 4-5 weeks. I'll have a think about it over the coming week, perhaps I'll go in next week and begin the warmup for it and see how I feel when I hit 330+. Decisions, decisions.

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

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

As usual you have a great workout, congrats Glad you got that friggin no good spotter out of the way. Good for you.

I was drunk as all hell on Saturday too haha...Edward forty hands - i don't recommend it with a malt beer called Steel Reserve haha

Goodluck with your PR's dude. I'll be looking forward to see what you can do!