COLOSSUS' Iron Journal

[Colossus]

Legs, thurs

Warm ups

Power Squat
200x10
400x10
600x5
690x5
800x5,5
890x5,5
980x3

Seated leg curls
8 sets 6-20 reps


Shut it down eearly today because of some deep right arm pain. I think it is either nerve or deep tendon pain, but whatever it is it was strong enough to zap my will to be in the gym. This has happened to me once before with heavy power squats, and Im not sure if they just exacerbate some existing problem or if they are the problem.

 

[CaptainJ]

Holy sh1t, epic squat. You're on par with Jim Wendler in his glory days! Very impressive my man. Do you have a meet soon?

 

[Colossus]

Lol, thanks, but I should note that is not a standard back squat. the Power Squat is squat-like apparatus made by various companies. I cant say enough good things about it for back, hip, and glute development. If you youtube it I'm sure there are some videos. I dont know what the translation is to raw squat numbers, but my estimate is 2:1. In other words a power squat of 1000 lbs should translate to a raw standard squat of 500+.

I'm looking to do a meet in Feb, more or less as a tune-up. I am only interested in push/pull at this time.

 

[CaptainJ]

Ah ok I thought by power squat you meant the squat they do at a meet, still damn impressive.

 

[Colossus]

Shoulders and accessory, today

warm ups

Strict standing barbell press
bar x a bunch
95x15
135x10
185x5
205x5
225x5
245x1
255x1
265x1

Standing one-arm DB press
75's x 10/side
85's x 10/side

Shoulders felt like crap again after these. No more for a while.

Wide grip chins
BW x 15,12,10,8

Hanging leg raises
BW x 15,12,12,12

Barbell curls
95 x 10,10,10

Yes that is girly weight....havent done these in almost a year!

Shrugs
315 x 20,20,20


Post w/o weight: 247

 

[Fuglydude]

You're lucky that you're just a strong pusher as you are a puller. I don't think my pushes will ever be as strong as my pulls. Have you ever had rotator cuff issues with these kinds of push numbers?

 

[Colossus]

I havent. I think its because I never neglect proper warm-ups (including rotator exercises) and I always do something for rear delts. I do sometimes get inflammation with dumbbell presses, but the good ol' standing barbell press has been my best friend.

 

[Colossus]

Deadlift, today

warm-ups

Deadlifts from 2" deficit, double overhand grip
135x10
225x8
315x5
405x2
switched to alternate grip
495x1
removed deficit
545x1
605x1 (PR)

A small victory but man it felt good to pull 600 again. Rack pulls paid off.

Front squats
bar x 20
135x10
225x8
275x5
315x3
365x0 got greedy here, dumped it.
225x10

GHRs
5 sets with weight

Chins
BW x 12,12,12,10,10

 

[Paintballguy]

grats on 600 man. that is a sick pull.

 

[Colossus]

Thanks man.


Bench, today

warm-ups

Bench
135x15
225x8
275x5
315x3
365x6
405x2
365x5

Bench is back!! Hit a rep PR at 365 and a relatively smooth double at 405. 455 is on the horizon now.

Hammer Strength dips
3 plates/side x 15
4 plates/side x 10,10
2.5 plates/side x 25

Tate presses
60's x 12
70's x 12,12
40's x 30

Chins
BW x 10,10,10,7,7

Standing calves
5 sets

Weight holding at ~248

 

[Franky Four Fingers]

I havent. I think its because I never neglect proper warm-ups (including rotator exercises) and I always do something for rear delts. I do sometimes get inflammation with dumbbell presses, but the good ol' standing barbell press has been my best friend.

I hope I'm wrong but give those possible rotator cuff problems some time (years of heavy lifting) and they will show up. It's simple wear and tear of repetitive motions with heavy weights. You just can't get around that fact as the years go by even with proper warm ups unfortunately.

Believe me I know I've been lifting for almost 3 decades religiously. I can still lift heavy but I can feel it in the shoulders during and after workouts.

Wishing you well though.

 

[Fuglydude]

Congrats on the 605! That's a phenomenal pull. Your coefficient is almost 2.5 again, this is awesome for a guy who's close to 250 lbs!

 

[Colossus]

Thanks man! Feels good to be on the upswing again with my deadlift. I really enjoy training it and with heavy back squatting out of the picture now I can hit it even harder.


Legs, today

warm-ups

Squats
145x10
235x8
325x5
375x3
415x3

These felt like crap and I remember why I stopped doing them. Still, I will probably back squat once a month or so to keep the movement.

Front squats
135x10
225x5
275x5
315x3
335x1
345x1
355x1 (PR)

Pretty happy with this as I can definitely see 405 in the future. I feel that would be a pretty good milestone for front squats.

GHRs
BWx10,10,10,10,10

Single-leg curls
5 sets of 5

Chins
BWx20,10,10

 

[cuzza]

Out of interest, how do you warm up your shoulders prior to pressing movements? Including rotator exercises and such if you will. I'm starting to get slight shoulder niggles now, (at the young age of 20, dammit) and feel I should be doing more preventative type things. Thanks!

Keep up the (ridiculously) good work!

 

[Colossus]

I take a long broomstick (most gyms have them) and do shoulder swings to start. Basically just grip the stick as wide as you can and swing up and over your head. Ill do 2 sets of 20. After that I take a 10 or 12 lb weight and do external rotators...just google it and you'll see what it looks like. I do it from the top and from the side for a set of 20 each. Then I'll do a set of 30 or so presses with the bar. All this takes about 10 min.

 

[Colossus]

Press + accessory

Warm-ups

Strict press from the pins
135x10,10
185x5
225x5
255x1
275x1
205x5,5

Bradford press
135 x 3 sets
95 x 1 set

BB curls
95x10,10
135x10

Concentration curls
40 x 5 sets ea. arm

Hanging leg raises
BW x 5 sets 12

 

[Colossus]

Back

Warm-ups

Bent over rows
135x10,10
225x10
275x8,8,10,10,10
225x10

DB rows
190 x 10,10 each side

Chins
BWx8,8,8

Shrugs
315x10,10,10

Feeling run down and not in the mood for deadlifting today. I was pretty much done after the rows. Will pull later this week.

 

[Colossus]

Planned on doing just cardio today but I was listening to a podcast talking about 20-rep squats and got the itch to do a few sets!

Incline walking for 30 mins

Squats
bar x a few
145x10
235x20,20

easy weight, hard breathing!

Weight 249

 

[Colossus]

Bench

My arms have been feeling beat up lately so I just stuck with moderate rep work today.

Bench
135x15
225x10
275x5
315x12
275x10,10

Incline bench
135x15,15,15

Straight bar pressdowns
5 sets 15

One-arm DB extension
35x15,15
40x15,15

Standing abs
5 heavy sets

Standing calves
5 sets of 10-15


That's it. Weight 251 today.

 

[Colossus]

Deadlift

Pulls from floor against monster minibands
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x2
Removed bands
500x2

This felt heavy and when 500 feels heavy, it's time for a deload. I tried 2 singles with rack pulls that arent even worth recording---back felt like total crap.

GHRs
bw x 10
+25 x 10
+45 x 8,8,8

Tried single leg curls and pulled my hamstring. Sweet.

Chins
bw x 10,10,10,8,7

Done. Taking two days off and deloading my deadlift next week; maybe all my lifts.