Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Drum&Bass]

the bar felt like it was falling forward because while your triceps should be parallel to the floor you may not have been bringing your elbows together and up.

Do the exact opposite as you were taught in a bench press..Protract your shoulder blades and bring your elbows IN and UP

 

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

I'll keep that in mind DB.

Tried to post this earlier, internet wasn't working right. Cardio:

Treadmill 12.5mph 45sx5

S.Bike 15 minutes HR 150-155- Didn't have to work hard to keep HR up. Sweat was pouring off me, much more than when I just do moderate cycling.

Not much else to report, need to get the last of the fat off. My appetite is up doing these intervals the last few days. Under 33" here I come, that has been a long time. On post no.34 of this log, june 14th 2007, I was 156lbs with a 32" waist and I had a decent six pack. That may have been when tensing right enough. I'm not far off...

Until tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

My intensity was high today. No drink since last Friday, that is why Here it is:

Db oh press 32kgx6x5- Noticeably stronger than last week. Good. I have done 34kgx7, not far off that.

Chins BWx5 +20kgx3 Bwx10- Got 4 the last time with 20kg, s*** happens. I think I need to keep it in the +10-15kg range at the moment and keep the reps in the 6-8 range.

Deadlifts 160kg 6x2- This was pretty hard. The good thing about this is that I could work on my form. In the later sets I really worked on keeping my back from rounding, I wasn't paying attention to that in the first few sets. Good stuff.

100kg 2x8- These were done after the power cleans.

Powercleans 60x3 70x3 80x2- Alright, but it will be a bit lower after deads. I should look up form on these again.

Bi curls 30kgx15 Barx10- I was surprised I got that many with 30kg, especially after the chins. Good.

External rotations 14kgDBx10x8- These were done as a kind of superset or whatever with the bi curls as I was running low on time. I did the first set on bi curls then the first set on this then back to bi curls and back to this.

And that was all. By the end my legs were shaking when doing the external rotations. There is no way I could do this kind of a workout when drinking heavily. Usually I'd do less and feel fuc*ed for hours, it is less than an hour later and I feel normal again apart from muscular fatigue. I think alcohol fuc*s with blood pressure and stuff like that, not a good combination with deads etc.

I was going to do some cardio but I ran out of time. To be honest I was sweating like crazy at the end so I think fat loss wise this will have done an alright job. I'm hitting the intervals pretty hard on off days this week so I don't think I needed it. I will be doing them tommorow again.

Good workout, need to get that 200kg deadlift and beyond, until tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio:

Treadmill 12.5mph 5x45s- This was noticeably easier today, will probably increase to 13mph next time.

S.Bike 15 minutes HR 150- Had to work harder to keep my heart rate up today after the treadmill. Fitness increasing again.

Hip machines Add/abb 2x10- Maxed out.

Kneeling rollouts 2x10- These were easier than I remember.

Did the hip and ab stuff cause I was going to do it yesterday but ran out of time.

My waist was 33.5-33.75" again this morning and my weight was about 176.8lbs, and that was with carbs all day yesterday. I'm still right on that verge of my abs coming through properly, mine are quite big so I can see the top ones at higher bf %'s. I'm at that stage where not a lot happens, 11-14% I believe it is. I think I am on the lower end of that. So the next two weeks should make a noticeable difference I think, especially with the intervals. We'll see. My arms and my face have all the seperation now, and I know the belly is last to go. It is noticeably smaller, just not as lined as the arms say.

Been hitting it pretty hard this week, 5 days in a row now. Will have the weekend off although I may go for walks, but I don't count that as CNS intenstive nor should I. Until next week...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Got another cold at the end of last week, bugger. I decided to do the sensible thing and drop all gym work. Low and behold it has gone away a lot faster than usual, who would have thought? Usually I go in, maybe lower the volume a bit and drag it out I think. Anyway, here is today's:

Db oh press 26kgx3x3
28kgx3
26kgx3
24kgx3x3

Chins BWx3 +5kgx3x3x3
Bwx3x3

Deads 140kgx2x2x2
130kgx2x2
120kgx2

Leg press 230kgx5 250kgx5 (550lbs) PR- Had more in me.

Kneeling rolloutsx5- Still not fully healed from last Friday.

External rotations 16kgDBx6 x6/4- Only got 4 with left arm on second set.

Bi curls 40kgx5x5- Bit heavy for the second set.

And that was all. Not a normal workout at all. I've been reading a lot this week and have become very interested in Christian Thibadeau's stuff. He has this article: http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_...le_anaconda/anaconda_protocol#the-perfect-rep

I'll not get into it, but I think I am going to try it for a while. The basic premise is that you shouldn't be killing yourself in the gym, grinding out reps all the time, especially on the big exercises. This makes sense to me. Today was only really testing the water with the method, it will take a few workouts to fully get to know what he is on about. It isn't hokis pokis though.

I've also been doing some reading on amino acids. I've been taking 5 htp for a few days and I took tyrosine this morning and feel great. This is going to be a regular thing. It is a piece of the puzzle that has been missing for me.

My waist was still 33.5-33.75". My weight was actually at 175.2lbs this morning, my lowest since 2008. My 4 upper abs are pretty much always there in good lighting. I'd say I stuggle with the umbilical region, and Poliquin says this is to do with cortisol issues which I definitely have been having over the last year or two. I don't know if this is bs or not. Regardless I intend to have better pre-peri-pwo protocol's in place which can only help with strength and will help with recovery/cortisol. Regardless, that will work or losing a touch more fat will. It is strange how that happens though. I did intervals 4 days last week and nothing happens, then over the weekend period is when the weight drops. Maybe retaining less water due to skipping Monday's workout. Who knows. I'll be back in the 180's soon though, just need to get this last bit of fat off.

Anyway that was turning into a novel, so I'll leave it there. Until tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Can you explain the modality for your 140 kg deadlift? Are you doing 2 reps, then re-setting, doing 2 more, etc?

I don't mean to preach, but I'm really gonna push for you to restrict alcohol intake if you're serious about getting lean. Unfortunately for most of us, alcohol and abs just don't mix. The only time I drink now is before stagettes, and by that time I've already cut a fair bit of weight. I notice I feel like absolute ass the next day as I frequently drink on an empty stomach, while I'm dehydrated.

If you're gonna have a vice, maybe smoke weed after training. This will contribute to your appetite post training. Make sure you have lotsa good food around your house!

Otherwise keep it up! Nice leg presses... Do you find your legs are growing at all because of them?

 

[Quagmire911]

In the article he talks about the max force point and bar speed. His method is basically using compensatory accelaration, which I have heard a lot about. I know Benni trains this way as does Bolton. Say your max is 200kgx1, you can rep 180kgx3. Instead you do 160kgx3 but act like 200 is on the bar. You also do more sets, say 4-8. It is actually what I have kind of been doing on the deadlift, but without the "auto-regulation" he talks about and not really paying attention to bar speed. It also ties in with prilipin's table, but he talks about the differences that occur at different levels of advancement.

I don't fully understand everything yet, I'm reading up on what he says about it. I actually think I may have gone a little light today. Basically though have you ever been working out, added weight, and that heavier set is actually easier than the lighter sets before it? I know I have. This is his aim, to get to that point every time you train. I did this a couple of week's ago with 155. I did 8 sets. Set 5-6 was by far the easiest. I've done it on max efffort bench as well. I press and it is like I am pressing the bar. This is the activation you are looking for.

Thib actually likes 5/3/1 for this reason. And Wendler has stated it before, you don't need to train with weights at your maximum or say a 5rm or whatever to get stronger. Enought on that for now though.

I've actually not drank in two weeks again. I had that 6 weeks off and only drank 3 times around new year and decided to drink less again. Right now I'm taking time off completely. I know I can drink say once a week if I'm already lean ( as long as I don't eat during), but getting really lean is probably a different story. I've actually got this friend that is ripped, you wouldn't believe his diet. No cardio either, it's insane.

My legs have always been large so it is hard to tell if they grow, especially cause I'm not putting on weight right now. I did notice a difference in them when I started squatting again and took it from around 115kgx5 to 137.5kgx5.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio at home:

Db swings 20-25lb dumbbellx15xeach arm+ 15 goblet squats- Did this 5 times over a 20 minute period. The squats really sucked. I think they are goblet squats. Regardless, I held the DB out in front of me and did a front squat. It sucked.

Messing around with some gay fly movement as well, my pecs suck. Apparently the pec deck is actually good for this. I might take a look at shelby starnes log and see what moves he does for it.

I'm really thinking about this next phase I'll move into shortly, when I plan on putting on some weight. It will be 8-12 weeks I reckon, leaving some time before summer to clean up any excess gained. But I plan on doing it to the T. I really need to find some money, I want to do some EAA's, especially around workouts but preferably everday. I'll need to get some whey as well. I've actually got some leucine and creatine on the way.

Need to get back in the 180's, I feel small Damn it, I've been infected by WBA's nonsense.

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

An ok workout. Here it is:

Bench 100kgx1 110kgx0- I wanted to try it, but it was pretty stupid considering I was off last week with a cold. 100kg went up pretty well. Soon.

Squat 100x3 110x3 120kgx3- My strength is way down here, probably because it has been a month or so since I did them properly. I had more there today but it was still hard. Going to add 5kg for a couple of weeks I think and get it back up.

Skullcrushers Ez+20kgx6 +30kgx5- These felt pretty good today, I think I'll do them more.

Leg press 260kgx5 275kgx5 (605lbs) PR- Cool, into the 600's Still had a little more there.

And that was all. Not much else to report. Until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Cardio:

Treadmill 12.5mph 5x45s
S.Bike 10 minutes HR 145

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

Had to workout today:

Db oh press 20x5 26x5 30kgx5- Had a few more.

Push press 50kgx15- Hard cardio wise. Will use more weight next time.

Chins BWx5 +10kgx5 Bwx10

Deads 125x5 135x5 145kgx8 (319lbs)- The second set was pretty easy. The last rep on the last set was quite hard, but I was going faster than I usually do and resting less between reps.

Rack pulls (mid-knee) 140kgx5x5- Slow and akward to get going, fast once I did.

Bi curls 35kgx10x8

External rotations DB 16kgx5- Will go down in weight next time.

Kneeling rolloutsx10

And that was it. Weight was 178lbs the other day and waist was still 33.5-33.75". That's it for today...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio:

Treadmill 12.5mph 45sx5
S.Bike 10 minutes HR 150

Weight was 178-179, waist still 33.5-33.75". That's it for this week, until next...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

Do you find the rack pulls help w/ your deads? I've heard of lots of guys using them, but I've never quite figured out a way to incorporate them into my routine.

I think you should starting more weight on those weighted pull ups... I can almost garauntee that you can get 6-8 reps w/ 15 kg on a day where you're fresh.

 

[Quagmire911]

I wouldn't say I've done them consistently enough to see a difference, so I can't really say yes or no. I think I might prefer heavy DB rows with a bit more hip involvement ala Kroc syle.

With the chins I didn't do them heavy for a few weeks and they dropped a little, should be better tommorow.

Forgot to mention I did 2x10 hip adduction/abduction on Friday after the cardio. I maxed out the machines, I think it is 70kg. I just need to keep doing this to keep them involved. It isn't much but it makes quite a difference.

Raring to go tommorow...

Quagmire

 

[CarlitosWay]

Do you find the rack pulls help w/ your deads? I've heard of lots of guys using them, but I've never quite figured out a way to incorporate them into my routine.

I think you should starting more weight on those weighted pull ups... I can almost garauntee that you can get 6-8 reps w/ 15 kg on a day where you're fresh.

Rack deads help if you have problems locking out mid-way or at the top portion. So you have to set up the pins to where you have a problem. Yet Matt Kroc has also sworn by heavy ass db rows for bringing up his dead lift a lot to. Issues off the floor look into deficit deadlifts/speed work ala west side.

Things like front squats, hyperextensions, glute ham raises, reverse hypers, stiff legged deadlifts, leg curls. Are going to help build up you're dead lift also.

 

[Jitterbug]

Do you find the rack pulls help w/ your deads? I've heard of lots of guys using them, but I've never quite figured out a way to incorporate them into my routine.

I'm doing some research on this topic.

Have a read:


http://forum.dutchbodybuilding.com/f114/a-different-approach-to-improving-the-deadlift-135300/

http://www.columbusweightlifting.org/forum/index.php?forum=1&topic=3

They all reference the same sources: the "No Deadlift" deadlifting program.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Good day today. Here it is:

Bench 70x3 80x3 90kgx8 (198lbs)- Good stuff. Could have done a 9th, maybe a 10th if I had a spotter which would be a PR. I didn't have the fake-rack set up, so I left it at a comfortable 8 today.

Squat 100x3 110x3 125kgx7 (275lbs)- Big difference on last week. Definitely had 8, maybe more. 7 was the first noticeably hard rep so I left it there again without the fake rack setup. I've been thinking about what I could 20 rep squat now, must be around 110-115kg (240-255). Need to get money for food and put on some more weight. My pr here is 8, although I have done 130x8.

Skullcrushers Ez+20kgx8 +30kgx5 +20kgx8- +20kg was noticeably easier than last week, +30 was a little too big of a jump. My shoulder got a little out of place on the 6th rep and I dropped it, but it should be ok. Will do +25kg next time.

Leg press 250kgx5 280kgx6 (616lbs) PR- This felt great. Will add another 5kg next week.

And that was it. Pretty good session. Not a lot else to add, met a guy today who actually knew a lot of stuff which was pretty cool, he's just getting back into it after a lay off.

Looking forward to deads+oh press. In for intervals tommorow, until then...

Quagmire

 

[Fuglydude]

130 x 8 for squats is definitely tough... I don't think I could get that. Benching 2 bills for 8 ... nice also. I've always said the bench is an over-rated movement, but mostly cuz I suck at it! Are you playing around w/ the width of your stance at all? Any narrow grip benching ?

Thanks Carlito and Jitterbug... cool pointers and those articles were great! I've been seriously stagnating on deads for the past 2 years... I think my absolute max right now is sitting at around 460ish... So I have been hovering in the 435- 460 range for the past 2 years, which is quite disappointing. Hope I can use these articles to break through this plateau.

 

[Quagmire911]

Pretty much all of my benching is with a narrorwer grip now. I do it with about shoulder width, maybe a little wider. My hands are just outside the smooth part of the bar on each side. I just feel more comfortable doing this and my bench is stronger than ever. Konstantin Konstantinov does this as well. I think it is better for raw benching, and it keeps pressure of your shoulders.

Same with squat, I just feel better with a narrower stance.

Of to the gym...

Quagmire

 

[Being_the_Don]

Pretty much all of my benching is with a narrorwer grip now. I do it with about shoulder width, maybe a little wider. My hands are just outside the smooth part of the bar on each side.

Quagmire

That's how I've done mine for well over a year now. I use my thumb for measurement: I place my thumbs at the edge of the smooth part of the bar. Then I use the distance from my thumb to the base of my hand to be the position where I grip the bar. I do this for flat bench, incline and decline barbell bench presses. It works. Yesterday I did 4 x 275 lb on decline.