Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Cardio:

S.Bike 45 minutes- First 15 minutes HR 145-155, last 30 mins HR 135-145

I was pretty far off the pace I had yesterday, the HIIT probably did that. Didn't have near the same stamina and had to take it down after 15 minutes. I was planning on going in tommorow, however I will need to be careful. I may end up doing something lighter such as 20 minutes at 140 and then a light swim/sauna. Maybe I'll have recovered though.

I've had carbs for breakfast the last two days, kind of a mental break. The omlette in the morning was starting to drag a little. I may stick with this or alternate between omlette and what I'm having now (my old breakfast). I'm at the stage now where I need to fine tune a little. Adding in the green tea should help a bit, but I reckon it's the carb ups that need to be reduced. I was doing pwo carbs twice a week in the 100-150 range and a carb meal/day on Saturday which was even more if it was the full day. If I'm having carbs in the morning, which I will on some- at least for now, this will negate the need somewhat to carb up as much/at all pwo/saturday. I'll decide soon. I'm also going to add in HIIT 1-2 twice a week. I reckon the carbs were a little high/too dirty on the carb ups though, and this was slowing things down a little. I've still been seeing progress, but at a slower pace than I should. My waist was around 34" this morning, maybe a touch over. My weight was 179.4 after having a carb day on Saturday. Pretty happy to be heading below 34", need to keep it going.

That's all for today, until tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Quote IA:

"Unless you are 270-300 lbs and train volume there is rarely a reason to go over 70 grams PWO carbs. 40-60 grams is more than enough for most lifters. I learned this lesson the hard way with myself and clients."

Oops. Time to dial down those pwo numbers

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

I've been a little off the last day or two. Went a little hard at the start of the week I think, that HIIT killed me, especially after the other cardio. I have a bug but my immune system is handling it pretty well, hardly any symptoms. Hopefully a slightly higher temperature will burn some fat

I've been having more carbs over the last few days as well. Not going overboard, just more moderate. If I'm being honest, I don't think I see much difference between carbs and nocarbs for losing fat, I actually think I may have lost better with some carbs. This is compared with a few months ago when I lost the 7lbs at first. This is of course moderate carbs and not a huge amount. Who knows.

I went for a 30 minute walk yesterday and today so I haven't done nothing, just going a bit lighter. Pushing it would be a bad plan right now. I'll be 100% in a few days, taking in more calories for a bit.

I might go for a walk tommorow, but that will be about it. Diet will be whatever. Today was 40 days no drink and that will probably be coming to an end in the next week or so, not a bad run though. I must drink less than I was though.

That's about all. Happy holiday's and all that...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

I declined a little at the weekend, I'm guessing because my vitamin d level is not where it should be. Hit the sunbeds on Sunday and immediately improved somewhat. Ate whatever from Thursday-Sunday, eating cleaner again now. I actually looked leaner, I guess the carbs filled me out. Waist and weight didn't really go up any, I reckon my metabolism needed the boost. Went to the sunbed again today for another vitamin d boost. Here is what I did today:

Squats 100x5 110kgx5- This wasn't that challenging and I was planning on going into the 120's, but I had pain in both legs so left it at that, more on that in a bit.

Bench 85kgx8 75kgx10- Strength was down a little here, 85x8 was pretty hard. I was planning on using 85 for two sets, 8 reps will do for week one. Up to 90kg next week, should be 100% by then.

S.Bike 20 minutes HR 130- Went light.

That was all. I was expecting to have a bit more energy than this, but it doesn't matter. Get this: My goddam week off last week I get a cold. Not only that, I wake up late last week and my right glute is in pain. It was actually pretty bad pain if I was in an awkard position, and it could flare up when I moved. How retarded is that? You squat and dead etc and you get an injury on your week off? Who knows. It improved over the next few days and was only kind of there this morning. I started the warmups and it was alright. After the 110kgx5 my left leg around the top of the quad now starts to feel funny. I debated whether to go to the 120's but I decided to leave it at that. I actually got a similar pain in the right leg a few weeks back after the 137.5x5. I reckon some stretching is in order. I should be good by next week, at least I got a little done today.

Not an ideal week one, but probably a heavy enough to start. Should be able to hit it hard next week. Weight was 179.8lbs and waist was 34-34.25".

Not sure about deads on Thursday, will probably go in and see how the warmups go. Not sure about cardio tommorow, maybe something light. Until then...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Not a bad day today. I would say I was near to 100% energy wise, maybe fully. It's either that or my ohpress is just down a bit. Here it is:

Oh press 55kgx8x6- Not great. Could be I've just lost strength, could be coming off the cold, could be that low calories affected things a little. Maybe my body likes lower reps on this as well. I actually have never done to well with higher reps on oh press, maybe time to pack that in. It just feels uncomfortable.

Chins Bwx5 Bw+10kgx8 (22lbs) PR- I don't know where the f*** this came from, but I'm not complaining. Bw was 179.8 on the weekend.

Deadlifts 155kg 5 setsx2- Ammonia on the last set, it was the easiest. Was going to do 6 sets but the gym was closing. So quickly:

Sumo deadlift 100kgx25 (220lbs) PR?- This was pretty brutal. I'll count it as a PR. I've done 120-125 for reps before but I can't remember how many. This was a really quick set, if I had more time I could have rested more inbetween and ground some more out. Good challenge. Andy Bolton has done 200kgx26. They are only allowed to rest at the top in that challenge.

That was all. Gym closed at 4pm, I was last out. I was meant to be there around 2.45 but the bus passed me and I didn't get there to 3.15, so I did less than I intended. I would have done more deads, rollouts, and some cardio.

Anyway that is all for today. Until next week...

Quagmire

PS- Talked to a guy I see quite a lot, a light guy. I see him benching and we are pretty much equal. Saw him dead for the first time today and he did 170kgx3. So we are pretty close with me slightly ahead. Difference is he's 66kg and im 81-82kg. He'll be very close to a 3x bw deadlift- 198kg. Pretty cool. He's only been doing it a year too, good genetics.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Thursday

Not a bad day today. I would say I was near to 100% energy wise, maybe fully. It's either that or my ohpress is just down a bit. Here it is:

Oh press 55kgx8x6- Not great. Could be I've just lost strength, could be coming off the cold, could be that low calories affected things a little. Maybe my body likes lower reps on this as well. I actually have never done to well with higher reps on oh press, maybe time to pack that in. It just feels uncomfortable.

Chins Bwx5 Bw+10kgx8 (22lbs) PR- I don't know where the f*** this came from, but I'm not complaining. Bw was 179.8 on the weekend.

Deadlifts 155kg 5 setsx2- Ammonia on the last set, it was the easiest. Was going to do 6 sets but the gym was closing. So quickly:

Sumo deadlift 100kgx25 (220lbs) PR?- This was pretty brutal. I'll count it as a PR. I've done 120-125 for reps before but I can't remember how many. This was a really quick set, if I had more time I could have rested more inbetween and ground some more out. Good challenge. Andy Bolton has done 200kgx26. They are only allowed to rest at the top in that challenge.

That was all. Gym closed at 4pm, I was last out. I was meant to be there around 2.45 but the bus passed me and I didn't get there to 3.15, so I did less than I intended. I would have done more deads, rollouts, and some cardio.

Anyway that is all for today. Until next week...

Quagmire

PS- Talked to a guy I see quite a lot, a light guy. I see him benching and we are pretty much equal. Saw him dead for the first time today and he did 170kgx3. So we are pretty close with me slightly ahead. Difference is he's 66kg and im 81-82kg. He'll be very close to a 3x bw deadlift- 198kg. Pretty cool. He's only been doing it a year too, good genetics.

Heck, he's even lighter than me. It just proves that you don't have to be heavy to be strong.

 

[Fuglydude]

Sup bro... read some of your past posts, and gotta say impressed w/ the progress you're making on your deads! The 429 is probably quite close to my max right now. I haven't deadlifted heavy in over a month, but I'll do a max day sometime this week and let you know how I did.

Good progress on the chins as well. What grip are you using again?

Just to fire you up a bit... I tried doing chins w/ 20 kg (well... a 45 lb plate) and got 15 reps... I'm confident you can do 10 reps w/ 20 kg shortly given the progress you're making. Soon you'll be doing 100 lbs+ ...

Keep it up man!

 

[Quagmire911]

Hey, good to see you making a post!

On the chins I'm using palms facing me. They are going well.

On another note, I got smashed on Thursday after 6 and a half weeks off. I've only been that drunk a few times. Yesterday was spent recovering and eating little. I'm nearly back to normal today and should be 100% tommorow. I didn't intend on having so much, but it happens. I will not go back to what I was doing though, drinking heavily 3 times a week. F*** that.

Still need to lean up a bit but my midsection is better than it was. Another few pounds and I should be good. Then it may be time to gain again.

Will maybe walk tommorow, gym on Monday. Jarred my left thumb on Thursday, don't remember how, but it should be alright by then I think.

Until then...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Did a bit of walking yesterday, not much. Buses were off yesterday so I decided to go today instead. Odd session today, here it is:

Bench 90kgx9x6 (198lbs) PR- First set was a 1 rep PR. I wasn't really expecting this after last week, but it had been a few days and was only one day. Good stuff.

Squats 100x3 115x3 130kgx3- This was awful, I barley made the last set. My PR here is 8 done maybe a month or so ago. I have an idea about what is going on, more on that in a minute.

Leg press 200kgx10- Legs felt weak again.

Incline DB bench 22kg'sx15x15- Meh. Need to grow the upper pecs .

Hip machines- 3 sets

S.Bike 15 minutes- HR 140-145

That was all. I've done quite a lot of walking today as well. Now on the squats. I noted that I have been using my back again too much which was my problem in the past. It has started to creep back up on me again. This means a lack of hip drive; my glutes aren't activating in the lift. I think it has shown up now because my last two sessions were 137.5kgx5 and 150kgx1. The 137.5 I used my back a lot, not so much on the 150. After that was a week off and then lighter last week (pain in right glute, left quad). I think this has allowed the problem to rear itself further. There is of course the drink which I don't think it is, since bench went well. I also did that 100kgx25 sumo dead, but I don't think that is it.

The hip machines are through in the other gym where the cardio machines are so I decided to go on them, which I should do preventatively anyway. The first set on each was really bad. All sorts of aches and pains. After that I loosened up tremendously and range of motion was better, strength increased significantly, and the pain went away. So something is definitely up with that. So I definitely need to start working on the glutes or at least keeping them active so as they fire in the squat. I actually remember this happened with deads once. My sumo dead tanked and I went on the hip machines and a week later it was a lot better. I think I want to start strengthing though rather than just keeping them active. All the good glute exercises look really gay, but I suppose you have to suck it up. Need that 400/500 ehh?

Well that is all for today. Bw was 178 the other day, waist still 34-34.25" last I checked. Time to get the six pack fully through, it's kind of there. Was out tonight, had one ****tail which is what? 2-3 units at most, so that won't cause any problems. Cardio tommorow, until then...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Nice job on the bench! Good analysis on the sub-par squatting performance. The 150 x 1 is probably a little bit more than my current 1 RM... I'll have to match it soon! Are you doing any accessory olympic lifting? Good powercleans will really help your CNS learn how to actively incorporate rapid hip thrusts into explosive movements.... and it really helps when you're pumping the crap out of a girl too! This will hopefully translate into a heavier squat.

As far as training glutes. My ass was kinda sore from doing Zercher squats the other day. I think it might have been because my stance was pretty narrow, but I'm not sure. I don't like to have a really wide stance for squats as my form starts to falter. Have you thought about incorporating zerchers or maybe a wider stance for helping your hip drive? I think your sumo squats (crazy reps by the way!!!!) will also help, but like you said all that work prior to squatting more than likely left your hips/glutes and nervous system kinda tired.

What exercises are you planning for training glutes?

Oh by the way... did 445 (~202 kg) for my max DL yesterday. Failed at 450, but I think I could get it if I hadn't done so many sets leading up to it.

 

[Quagmire911]

I've not done a lot of olympic stuff, I should incorporate more of it.

Those were sumo deads btw, not squats. I've never really thought about zerchers, they look painful haha.

There is this gay exercise I know of for glutes, barbell glute bridges:

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_...raining_performance/dispelling_the_glute_myth

I did the hip machines the other day and the doms in my inner legs are some of the worst I've had. I'll do that as a minimum as a preventative exercise. I think as long as I incorporate them though, they are active and then they come into play on the squats and deads anyway.

Anyway, workout to follow.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Still not feeling 100%. Drank last night, I was made an offer I couldn't refuse Didn't go overboard though. I've been having the feeling I need to go easy on the squats and deads for a few weeks or something anyway, at least until I'm feeling 100% again. Still had some residual effects from the cold, the 31st didn't help that. Here it is:

DB oh press 30kgx6x6- Not bad. A little down, but these feel better than oh press at the moment. I think I'll follow a similar strategy to bench.

Chins BWx5 +15kgx5- Equals my best. Pretty happy considering I'm not 100%.
Bwx10

Deads 100kg 2x5- Nice and light. Even this got my HR and probably bp weigh up. Squats/deads really are stressful on the body!

External rotation 12kg DBx10x10- Not bad. I'm wondering if some rotator work may help the oh press and bench.

Bi curls 16kg DBx8
Barx15- These weren't as strong as they could have been, but it was after heavy chins, so that will be why.

Hanging leg raises- 2x8

Hip machines- 1x50- Light

S.Bike 15minutes HR 140-145

That was all. I was pretty much trying to get some strength work done, without killing myself, and all this means is taking the deads/squats down a notch. I could push everything else quite hard, but if I had done it with deads I would have felt fuc*ed today. My CNS just needs a little recharge I think and I need to get back in top form. A couple of weeks of this style of training should accomplish that. Strength should stay the same and maybe even improve in some areas. I may even get a boost on the squats/deads .

Did quite a lot of moving about yesterday, but it was under the influence mostly so it doesn't mean much. I ate less to compensate so it shouldn't really have set fat loss back except that I won't have burned anything.

I mentioned in the last post about the doms in my hips. I've only had it this bad once or twice. This was obviously an issue, which is now being resolved as I write this. I did one set of 50 to get the blood flowing to try and expedite their recovery. I had to use 10kg on one of the machines it was literally that painful. It got better towards the end as I loosened up.

Anyway, maybe some cardio tommorow but I may have to get to the hospital (family member) so we will see. I've still got the last few pounds of fat to lose but I'm not so worried about that until I feel 100% again. It shouldn't be too long. That is all...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Hope you get back to 100% soon... Thanks for the link. I should really start incorporating glute/abductor/adductor work into my regimen as well. I just wasn't sure where to start. That link will help get me started. I've heard abductors/adductors are actually larger than quads in many untrained individuals. I'm sure strengthening them along w/ doing accessory glute work will help squats/deads.

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio:

S.Bike 30 minutes- First 20min HR 150, last 10min HR 140.

Took a 12.5 minutes to actually reach 150, then I maintained that till 20 minutes. Felt pretty good today, maybe back to normal.

Back in on Monday, until then...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Felt pretty good today, didn't push too hard though. Here it is:

Bench 95kgx6 PR (209lbs)- 1 rep PR, would have liked 8 though My form is getting a little off on the last rep or two, I think my right is taking more of the weight. Need to watch this.

80kgx10- Downset

Squats 80kg 2x5
Front squat 100kgx1- This felt like a near max. Which is interesting, because I think I've done 100x3 and that was when my full squat was quite a bit lower. This suggests an imbalance of some kind I think. Maybe I just need to do it for a few weeks.

Leg press 200x10 220kgx15 (484lbs) PR- Good, but I have done comparable sets.

Glute bridges 60x10 100x10 120x10 140kgx10- Apart from looking really gay and hurting my abs, I didn't see much point in this. Clearly there isn't a lack of strength. I think the hip machines did more to be honest, different muscles though. I think abb/adduction is my problem.

Incline press 60kgx5- Didn't work right.
Db press 28kgx10- My DB work is s***. I couldn't get the barbell out the rack properly so I switched to this.

Treadmill 12.5mph 4x45s- All I had time for, wanted to get something done. It felt productive but didn't kill me. 75s between sets.

And that was all. Felt about back to normal today. I think after the run I have had on squats I need to take a step back before I can progress again. Might do some single or some other stuff for a while and work on other moves for reps. I'll think of something, but I've been on 5/3/1 for a while with them and it has worked well. I intend to do 20 reppers in the not to distant future when I start to put on weight again.

Not much else to report, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

I refuse to believe your 1 RM max on front squat is 100 kg... I'm doing 100 kg x 5 ATG for front squat, and your 1 RM for back squat is more than mine... somethings' not adding up... Maybe try and post a video and we can help you correct whatever form issues you're having. Are you using a powerclean grip? How wide is your stance?

Good job on the bench. Are you finding the leg presses are helping your squat/deads?

 

[Quagmire911]

I doubt my form is great. It could be that it is the first time doing them in a while, but I reckon there is an imbalance there. It would make sense; in the full squat I lean forward to much and overuse my back, you can't do this in the front squat.

Last time I worked on front squats there wasn't much carryover, however I think this time I will incorporate both into the same workout and keep the neural pattern for the full squat up to par.

I use a clean grip yes. My stance is probably just wider than shoulder width.

Leg presses do seem to help somewhat, I think I should include them most weeks. I've noticed that when they go up squats/deads seem to be going up.

On another note my glutes hurt today. Whether the glute bridges did anything I don't know. I actually think it might have been the leg press, I feel that them in my legs quite a lot.

Of to the gym to do cardio...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Felt good today, pushed it hard:

Treadmill- 12.5mph 45sx5- It takes about 15s to get up to 12.5mph (from 3.5mph) and about 15s to get back down. I maintain that for 30s. I then do a minute walking at 3.5mph and repeat. So 5 times took about 10 minutes. This felt about right in terms of pushing it hard and doing interval training, without killing myself.

S.Bike 15 minutes- HR 145-150- After the intervals I didn't have to keep much of a pace to keep my heart rate up.

I was drenched in sweat after the runs, I guess this is a good sign the old metabolism was on fire. Good stuff. The first interval I did on an incline of 6.5 or something, but that wasn't happening. I know Wendler does hill sprints, but the treadmill is too unstable to be messing around.

My waist was 33.5-33.75" this morning, haven't taken weight in a while. I'm definitely under 34" now though. Which is rather strange, because I've drank over the last few weeks and eaten more carbs. Go figure. I do think I was eating too little at one point, especially with the amount of cardio I was doing. Overall I seem to do better with some carbs in there, just not stuffing myself with them. There is a difference between 4 slices of bread, and 4slices of bread, pasta, potatoes, crisps and everything else a lot people have- this is why they are fat. As long as the carbs are kept in check and you're working hard in the gym, fat loss can happen. For me anyway.

So close to the six pack, it will be mine! I can see it in good lighting, but it's not really there up close.

Maybe a walk tommorow or a moderate session of cycling. Can't push the runs to much. Until next time...

Quagmire

Ps- I have added in green tea, maybe it is helping

 

[Fuglydude]

One of the secrets of front squat is to keep your triceps as parallel to the floor as possible... effectively try and choke yourself with the weight. If your arms stay nice and high (triceps parallel to the ground) then your trunk will stay upright, and you'll have no issues lifting the weight. A heavy front squat in my experience is a great movement for the abs.

Maybe try that next time you're doing fronts and let us know how it goes?

 

[Quagmire911]

I remember that, I'll focus on it next time!

Looking back, I didn't feel stable at all during the rep. It felt like the bar was going to fall forwards. Which means I wouldn't be able to use as much power/strength.