Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[spesmilitis]

self confidence? how does being strong make you confident?

opening pickle jar? wtf, you dont need to squat 300lbs+ to open a pickle jar!

of course im not wholly against being strong, but to be obsessed with it is idiotic! If you want to be the alpha male be big and have a good personality, not be stong..also if you want to give secuirty then learn how to fight!

For me, getting strong is an added benefit of getting big

Achieving things that take a lot of diligence, passion, and time are always rewarding and therefore confidence boosters. Getting straight A's is a confidence booster. Winning a championship is a confidence booster.

 

[kickureface]

hey quag, how hard/how long was the transition between 300-400 lb deadlift?

 

[Quagmire911]

I haven't actually done 400lbs from the floor, the above was a 407x1 rack deadlift from 2-3" below the knee. My highest floor dead thus far was 380ish in late January. I reckon it is around 390ish at the moment. The on going struggle from 300 to 400 has been hell, and I have probably made a ton of mistakes. But that is part of the fun!

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Had worked several days in a row and before I went in. I was feeling pretty drained but I got on with it. Here it is:

Bi curls 32.5kgx10x8 1x8 (15-20s) 1x2 (PR)-Only a rep more than last week but I got two more on the first set. I was feeling pretty drained though. Will see how it goes next week.

Front squats 82.5kg 5x3-Harder than it should have been, I was able to do it but I didn't really have much drive.

Deadlifts 145kg 5x3-Same deal as with the front squats. Although I think the last set felt the best; I took a hit of ammonia before it and it perked me up. Today wasn't a strength problem it was simply the fact I was feeling drained from work. Endurance was the issue; it was harder to get through it all.

Speed deadlifts 90kg 2x3

Pullthroughs 80kgx12x12x10 (PR)-Doing well on these since I have figured out the move. They work the posterior chain very well.

Well that was it. The first week on this system is the highest volume wise, next week is a 3x2 which will be easier from an endurance stand point. I actually woke up this morning and couldn't go into work as my back had been tweaked and had stiffened up. It is only a problem when I twist which there is a lot of in the job. I haven't had more than a day off in two weeks so I have at least 3-4 now so everything will be fine.

A bit on the diet front: I am around 172.5lbs which is about 3 lower than when I started 6 weeks or so ago. The abs are showing through now, so I reckon I will be around 12%. A few more weeks and everything will be spot on. I have set Pr's recently so strength is up, therefore there has been fat loss whilst still gaining muscle . The job has the cardio covered which was the biggest issue but I was losing fat before I started it.

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

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Not a great day today, didn't feel strong. CNS must have been on holiday. Some other stuff going on that I don't care to talk about that may be affecting things, not including the job. I'll say this; my stress levels probably have a very negative effect on lifting. Anyway, here it is:

Bench 85kgx2x2x2-Jesus. The last rep on the last set was one of the longest of my training career. Usually I would probably have stopped on a rep like this but I was pissed off at how ****ty the session had started out. Eventually made it. My best with this weight is 5 reps. Things to keep in mind are: I did CG for 3-4 weeks, it seemed to have no carryover at all for me. However I have been working that ****ty job. Also, whenever I have made progress on bench the majority has been when I have included reps in the 5-12 range. Whenever I have done triples my bench doesn't seem to do very much. Fibre makeup. Aside from that and what I mention above, it could just have been a ****ty day.

Chinups BW+17.5kg (BW=78kgish)-3x2-Harder than it should have been. Last set was really hard.

Laterals 10kg plates-1x7 1x6-Not much to say.

DB skulls 12.5kg db's-x6x5x5-Think I may have cheated a bit. Will need to watch this.

Grip work-Rack hold-185kgx5-6s, 170kgx7s, 140kgx16s-Need to get my grip stronger. It is at the stage where it will begin to hold my deadlift back, indeed it may be.

Well that is all for today. Hopefully things will improve towards the end of the week. Until then...

Quagmire

 

[MrS]

When you get stronger, you get addicted to it, and it becomes good fun.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Ah yes stress levels...they are a pain in the a$$. 2 weeks straight work sucks, glad you got a couple days off. ALSO...soon you'll be able to afford drinking that EFFORT mass shake haha

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Well.l I didn't go in and do what was scheduled. I have been feeling pretty beat up in the last few weeks, little niggling pains here and there. So I decided that I would take todays session light. I also got pissed last night and have started eating coco pops for breakfast, lets just say the 100kg deads felt heavy I feel I have hit a wall with training so over the next while (2 weeks? 2 months?) I am going to take it easy and not push anything too hard. By that I mean keeping the reps a little higher, maybe in the 6-8 range on the main stuff. I have been using 3's for a long time now and I just feel I need a break from it physically and mentally. I can't say how long this will last, I mean even get stronger on it. Here is what I did today:

Front squats 60kg 2x3-Keeping it light.

Bi curls 20kg 2x10

Deads 100kg 2x5-It isn't so much that these felt heavy, its just I wasn't feeling it at all today and couldn't be arsed.

Pullthroughs 90kgx12 100kgx10x10 (PR)-Felt pretty good doing these. Unfortunately the stack only goes to 110kg so I probably won't be doing these for much longer. My gym is ****.

Well there it is. Doesn't look good for hitting those goals but I couldn't give a toss at the moment. Just need a break from pushing it so hard. That may actually be part of the problem. Anyway, not sure how often I will log in here, I may or may not. Until whenever...

Quagmire

 

[EFFORT]

During your time off you should re evaluate everything around your training. Get your goals laid out and then figure out what its going to take to reach them. I honestly think that you need to add more weight to reach the current goals you set for yourself and follow a westside template for a routine.

 

[Quiksilver]

Sounds like you need a mental break bro!

Take some time off, go to the gym for fun instead of numbers for awhile. One sometimes forget that it's supposed to be fun.

Either that, or your mind is telling you that it should be taken to the next level. Enter in an amateur event, and give yourself a reason to push hard. Sometimes its easy to lose sight of the big picture when focusing on repetitions and 2.5hrs between meals.

Remember man, the core of a mans spirit comes from new experiences.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Rock climbing!

Felt great to be back on the walls. Not been in a year and a half or something. Not happy though. With all this weight training my functionality has actually regressed, more than likely on account of the weight gain. Although my strength to weight ratio is actually up; strength wasn't the problem, it was forearm endurance. I need to incorporate pinch grip work.

Best climb today: 6a+

I am a good stone and a half heavier than I was the last time. Last time I was there I did a 6b+ or 6c, can't remember which. Ach well, I have something to beat next time I am in, which will be soon. I intend to go in a lot over the summer. Not sure how this will tie in with weights, I don't really intend to put much if any weight on now. Maybe lean up a touch more and add half a stone. I am happy as long as I am relatively lean and above 12 stone. Long term I see myself in the 12-13 range.

Well that is all for today. Will probably hit the weights on Thursday but I will be mucking around over the next few sessions and just aiming for maintenance. If I am lucky I might get stronger, who knows .

Until next time...,

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Ended up not doing any weights. Work has been really s*** and I haven't been sleeping or eating well. I intend to leave the ****t* place soon.

What I did do was:

Grip training. I did,

Captains of crush No.1: Right hand 1x10 1x9 1x8 (something like that)
Left hand 1x6 1x6 1x5 (something like that)

I then held a penny in a hold with each hand, right lasted a bit longer than left.

I then attempted some pinch work with plates. The old plates I have are really thick and slippery and weren't really suitable for pinching. Instead I did a door grap with both hands.

That is all.

Will probably be benching/upper work on Monday, until then...

Quagmire

 

[JohnnyIrish]

Congrats on the rock climbing buddy. Sounds like fun.

 

[Quagmire911]

Congrats on the rock climbing buddy. Sounds like fun.

Thanks, you ever tried it?

 

[Rampage1]

rock climbing sounds, cool! theres a good facility for it in my university Gym, might give it a try some time

 

[JohnnyIrish]

Thanks, you ever tried it?

Many many years ago in my early 20s. There is this place in Vegas on the strip that has a rock climbing wall. I climbed it and reached the 3 story top ledge.. It then took me awhile to go back down because well.. from that ledge I looked down and was too scared too repel down.

Ive tried it at that same place a few times when I've visited Vegas in the past but never done quite as well as my first time.

 

[Quagmire911]

Westside!

Monday

And were back! Hit the weights today and it felt great; finally giving into Effort and going Westside, which I probably should have done a while ago. I had intended to do it I just wanted to do a traditional 4day. However, the 2day will have to do for now. If I get a home gym in a month I may move to the 4day, however it isn't definite whether or not I am yet. I will be following this almost exactly:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2666.

IA says that the volume is a bit higher than what he writes for most, so I am cutting the sets down a tad on the assistance work. This is probably better since I am choosing to do speed work as well. I can always do more if I have to. I am also subbing an exercise or two. I don't know what pulldown abs are, and I can't do lightened bench press. However I think my choices today were fine. There may be other changes, IA mentions that the program is tweaked to your strengths and weaknesses, however I don't think there is any real need to change much at all, it looks great the way it is set out. Anyway here it is:

Russian twists 3x10-15kg-New exercise for the abs. I have seen this on rosstraining.com and WSFSB, so I thought it would be fine to put in as an ab exercise. Ross Enamait says it is great for rotational strength, and I would agree having done them today. However, it pretty much cooked my whole midsection.

Bench press-1x95kg (209lbs) (PR)-F*** yes. Wasn't really intending on going full throttle today since I have taken it easy the last two weeks. However I felt the need to since the warm up sets were feeling light. I worked up to 1x90kg before this. Considering I have drank Friday/Sunday and then done this, I feel pretty good Two a side is going to be mine soon...

Speed bench 45kg 5x3-IA says in the article no more than 5-6 sets of speed work, and also that it doesn't matter if it is done before or after the ME work. I preferred after. Note-He says this in a different thread than the one above.

DB skullcrushers 3x8-Used 10kg plates and a hammer grip. Can't do rack extensions-no rack.

DB bench 3x8-25kgDB'sx5 Then dropped and did 20kgDB'sx8x8.

Lateral raise 3x8 8kg DB's-Right shoulder was clicking on the way back down which wasn't good. I had even done some dynamic stretching before the weights. Will see how this goes.

Pressups 1x20-I have seen this is good for shoulder health and I can easily do more so I shoved some in at the end.

HIIT-5 minutes-Did 1 minute easy/30s all out and alternated. Time to get conditioning way up. Used the rowing machine.

And that was that. Very pleased with the PR on bench. Normally I would take a few weeks to get into things, but I felt strong and decided to go for it. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me as I didn't expect to PR, I was thinking more like 85kgx1. Doesn't matter anyway, soon I will have the 100kgx1...I am around 170-171 in the morning so 4-5lbs lighter than when I made the 92.5kgx1. I am pretty confident it has mostly been fat, may even have put on a bit of muscle. Six pack is starting to show through nicely.

Anyway that is all for today. We will see how Westside goes, unfortunately with the summer coming there will be more partying than usual. I will try my best to not go overboard with the alcohol, if I do then it will be my own damned fault. However I have made strength gains in the past whilst drinking weekly so it may not be so bad.

Until next time...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Nice job!!

Going westside too huh This is going to get interesting.

I have the same problems with partying but I've managed to stay 'alcohol free' for the last 4 weeks...welll haha almost. Well keep it up dude

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Not a stellar day today. Had to work in hell unfortunately beforehand. I didn't expect much really, and it wasn't terrible. Here it is:

Pulldown abs 2x10-50kg, 60kg-I think I worked out a way to do them. I f***** hate my gym, lack of equipment. Impossible to effectively do abs.

Box squat (Roughly 4" below parallel and wide stance)-100kgx1 110kgx0-Not sure what to think here. I haven't really done wide squats and these were very low so I am not sure whether this is good for me. It should be higher, but I will see how I get on. I have done roughly 115kg/120kgx1 ass to grass, so I don't know whether this is regression or not. All that matters is that it goes UP on Westside. I am also not convinced about my squatting form, think there still may be some issues.

Speed squats 6x2-40kg-I don't like these. The difference between this and bench speed work is night and day. These feel horrible, whereas the speed bench feels smooth and I glide through it. I tried turning my feet out a bit on the last set and I am not sure whether that helped. Will see in the coming weeks. Unweighted feels a lot better and is A LOT more explosive. This also tells me there are form issues/imbalances.

Sumo SLDL-100kgx10-This fried my lower/mid back. Felt good. I did these sumo because the form felt a lot better. I have difficulty doing conventional sldl.

Pullthroughs 3x8-100kg-Not to bad. Going to have another problem soon, the stack only goes to 110kg so this will be ANOTHER exercise that I won't be able to do unless I can work something out. F***.

Dorian row 3x8-70kg-Not sure what to make of these. Not sure if my form was great. Will probably use straps for them next time, they fatigued my forearms more than my back. I think that may have been the issue. Maybe underhand would help, I did overhand today.

Chin ups 1x12-Just did bw. Pretty fried by this point.

Grip work-Crushing-COC No.1-Right hand-1x13 1x8 (PR) Left hand 1x8 1x6 (PR)
Pinching-Door grab with both hands.

And that is all. Covered pretty much everything above. I will need to get a Captains of Crush No.2 soon, should be able to close it within a few months with my right hand. My long term goal is to close No.3.

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

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Sunday

Went to the gym last night instead of this afternoon as I played some golf today. Following the lower workout on Thursday my hamstrings were toasted which felt great. I think it was the S.SLDL that did it, they felt like a great move. Had not a bad session yesterday, here it is:

Russian twists-3x10-15kg-I tried to do pulldown abs and then situps, but neither felt good at all. I managed to get a great way of doing these and they tore my midsection apart again which was good. I am holding the weight to my chest but eventually I will hold it at arms length and do the move as I saw Kerpal suggest. I attempted it for a rep or two but couldn't do a full rom with the above weight.

CG bench 90kgx1 (198lbs)(PR) 92.5kgx0-Wasn't feeling great in the warmups but I sniffed my ammonia and had at it on the 90. Hit the groove and it was a fast, explosive rep. I then attemped 92.5 but the rep was ****ty and I just set the weight down after struggling for a second or two. Pretty happy with the 90.

Speed bench 5x3-50kg-Weight felt about right.

DB skullcrushers-10kg DB's-x9x10x8(PR)-First set I actually used plates but they hurt my fingers. The second set I went into the gay cardio gym where they have light DB's and used them to complete the rest of the sets. I then got back to the other gym as quickly as possible, and was the only one there for the rest of the night.

DB bench-22.5kg DB'sx8x8x12-As I suspected there was a drastic improvement from last week. I don't know what it is but my DB numbers are low, but climb quickly. Maybe the stablizer muscles not used in the barbell move or whatever improve quickly.

Lateral raise-8kg DB'sx8x8x10 (PR)-A bit better than last week. My right shoulder still clicked a bit but not as badly as last week which is good.

Pressups-1x25-Did these again for the same reason as last week. Think I will continue to do it. A bw move which is good and it doesn't seem to impact on the weights at all. This set was easy.

HIIT-Rowing 6 minutes-A minute more than last week. Did the 1 minute easy/30s all out again. Nearly died at the end of it.

And that was all. The workout was reasonably productive. My conditioning is already up after the two HIIT sessions and will continue to improve. It is my birthday in under a month and I am getting a Captains of Crush No.2 which I am excited about (pretty sad ).

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

Quagmire