4/18/14

OHP: 127.5x5x2, 127.5x6 (same)
Weighted chins: 25x6, 25x5
Seated alternating DB curls: 40x12, 35x14
DB Farmer's Carry: 90x200 ft. 90x150 ftx2

Squats are being put on hold. There's something wrong around the outside of the hip area. I can feel it when sitting upright too and whenever I get up from sitting. Good thing I have a PT appointment next Wednesday.

That's no good - hopefully its easy to sort out.

I did some squats with just the bar today. It did not feel that bad at all. I hope it is a good sign to come.

4/21/14

Bench Press: 187.5x5x2, 187.5x6 (same)
Kroc Rows: 95x21
CGBP: 140x12, 140x10
Ab Wheel w/3 sec pause: 8x3

I need to figure out how to use leg drive when bringing the weight down. Tate says you should use 50% leg drive at the top and gradually increase it until the barbell gets to your chest. My leg drive is pretty much at 0 until the bar gets to my chest.

4/23/14

OHP: 130x5x2, 130x6 (+1 and a rep PR!)
Weighted Chins: 25x7, 25x5
Deadlifts: 290x8
EZ Bar Curl: 80x12, 75x12
Face Pulls: 60x15x3
RKC Plank: :50x2, :44

OHPs have felt great as of late. Time to transfer that greatness to bench on Friday.

At my gym, there is a new policy prohibiting using a camera to film your sets. Plus, they switched around where you can deadlift such that it is difficult to record your sets anyway. I am pretty sure I was bending my knees to much because my quads felt exhausted midway through the AMRAP set.

Nice pr on the press! Are you still having issues with your kyphosis when pressing?

For me, I've noticed it helps a lot to keep my feet flat on ground and try to drive thru my heels on the way down while actively pulling lats down and keeping core tight as possible

Wtf on that new gym policy. Are they worried about people creeping around taking videos of others?

Thanks! I think the only problems I have with overhead lifts are ones that involve being in the front rack position prior to the lift, i.e. push presses, thrusters, push jerk. On the other hand, I never had any issues when I used to split jerk. I think it has to do with not being able to keep my elbows high enough before the press (thanks kyphosis!). It causes me not to be able to lift directly overhead. Luckily, this is not a problem with strict OHP.

I am in the camp of keeping my heels flat on the floor while benching too. I think I do a decent enough job with your two latter suggestions, but I am having a difficult time driving my heels down as the bar comes down. I tell myself to do it, but I am having a lot trouble. Benching is tough yo.

One of the managers told me that there are have been a lot of people complaining recently about feeling intimidated, especially from new people that are getting a walkthrough of the gym. I think it is supposed to be one of the measures that will make them feel better. It seems to me that Gold's Gym is becoming a lot more like Planet Fitness.

4/25/14

Bench Press: 190x5x2, 190x6 (same)
Pendlay Rows: 155x8x3
DB Skullcrushers: 30x13, 25x15
DB Farmer's Carry: 90 x 200 ft x 2, 90x133 ft

The AMRAP set for bench was a pleasant surprise. After the third rep, I didn't think I had much of a chance at five reps. Then I somehow knocked out three more reps.

I decided to add an extra sets of rows. Doing three working sets of bench but only two sets of rows sounds too imbalanced. Also, thanks Rudikulous for the tip on using a belt for pendlay rows! My core felt much tighter. Since core tightness is paramount for OHP, I will give it a try tomorrow.

I think I may have tweaked my back (again) when doing the farmer's carry. If I do these in the future, I think I will use the special deadlift bar (don't know what it is called). I think I will be able to pick that up with better form than heavy dumbbells.

4/28/14

OHP (belted): 132.5x5x3 (same)
Weighted Chins: 15x7, 15x6, 15x5
Seated Alternating DB Curls: 40x12, 35x13
Ab Wheel w/3 sec pause: 9, 9, 7

The inconsistency continues with OHP and bench. The weight felt much tougher than last week. I almost failed the first two sets. I think I liked wearing a belt as I felt more stable and upright.

I figured that if I did three sets of rows, I should do three sets of chins. Afterwards, I thought about why GSLP has 2x5, 1x5+ for the big exercises and 2x6-8 for the secondary exercises. It's probably because it winds up being about the same volume. I'm still undecided on whether I will continue doing three sets for back exercises. It might help with chins because I have no endurance for those.

Since it looks like I will be failing at around the same weights as last cycle for bench and OHP, I think I am going to spice things up this time when I fail. In the powerlifting section of GSLP, it is recommended that after you fail in the 5+ AMRAP to then do 2x3, 1x3+. I'm going to give that shot. When I fail the 3+, I will reset to 10% less than what I failed at for the 5+ set. Maybe that will help with the stagnation.

4/30/14

Bench Press: 192.5x5x3 (-1)
Kroc Rows: 95x21
Deadlift (belted): 295x3
CGBP: 140x12x2
RKC Plank: :50x3

I didn't have anyone to spot me for the AMRAP bench set. I may have had one left in the tank. I hope 195x5x3 goes better than last time.

So I decided to deadlift with a belt. It felt really uncomfortable around my lower back at the start of the lift. It got so bad I stopped after three reps. What's weird is that my back actually feels better today than yesterday. I don't know what to make of it. In any case, I guess I will see how things to next Wednesday. If I feel okay, I will try 295 again, but no belt. If that does not work, I really need to figure out a way to make sure my lower back does not carry so much of the burden. I did a bunch of research for deadlifting with an anterior pelvic tilt and the best advice seemed to be to keep the abs super tight and not try to keep the chest too far up so there is no hyperextension.

I don't have APT but I'm always pretty concerned about keeping my core stable since I have a herniated disc. I always focus on core tightness, breathing into my lower back has always been a good cue for me. I never really use chest up as I think my abs aren't bracing as well and instead thinking about a combination of standing tall, pushing the ground away and shooting my hips forward from the very beginning. I think the last cue is pretty nice in that it's hard to shoot your hips forward if you're in a starting position where you're likely to start the pull with all lower back since if you were in such a position, you'd be in more hip flexion which kind of contradicts the cue in the first place.

Thanks for the advice! It sounds like the mental cues for deadlifting are similar to KB swings. I think my sticking point is getting the weight off the floor without putting undue stress on my lower back. I will definitely keep those cues in mind next time I deadlift.

5/2/14


OHP: 135x5x2, 135x4 (-1)
Weighted Chins: 15x5x2, 15x7
HBBS: 135x5 (paused), 135x5 (normal), 135x6 (3 normal/3 paused)
EZ Bar Curls: 80x12x2
Face Pulls: 60x15x2, 60x11 (wat?)
RKC Planks: :50x3

There was a guy doing weighted pullups in front of where I was OHPing so that was kind of distracting. I am going to give 135x5x3 another shot.

I decided that I am sort of going to do GSLP weighted chins, but not reset. I think the goal is that once I get seven reps in the AMRAP set, I will bump up the weight. I also have started doing dead hang chins. I realized that when I would do touch and go, my ROM would start getting wild at around the third rep causing me to use more energy than is necessary.

All pause squats felt fine. I would still get the same outer quad/hip pain when doing normal squats, though the pain would be number by the third rep. My quad/hip feels much worse this morning than it has so I guess the HBBS moratorium continues.

5/5/14

Bench Press: 195x5x3 (+1)
Pendlay Rows: 160x8x2
DB Skullcrushers: 30x12, 30x10
Ab Wheel w/3 sec. pause: 9, 9, 7

Brag/Beat: In anticipation of a dress event his week, I was trying off some of my blazers and suit jackets with new dress shirts I purchased over the weekend. A month ago, all of my jackets fit fine. Now, all of my outerwear is too short. All it took was the past month to finally see some physical gainz.

5/7/14

OHP: 135x5x3 (woot!)
Weighted Chins: 20x5x3
Deadlifts: 205x5x3
Seated Alternating DB Curl: 40x12, 35x15
RKC Plank: :50x3

Deadlifts felt much better today. I mixed in some pause deadlifts to make sure I feel it in my glutes and hammies instead of my lower back upon liftoff.

5/9/14

Bench Press: 197.5x5x2, 197.5x4
Pendlay Rows: 165x8x2
CGBP: 145x12, 140x10
Face Pulls: 60x15x2, 60x12
RKC Plank: :55x3

I was told today and Monday that I am chicken winging the bar. It's likely due to my past rotator cuff problems on my left side. I do my best to squeeze the bar, but I guess that is not enough. I normally put the end of my pinky on the rings. Maybe I should adjust my grip one way or the other? I will try to secretly film myself (stupid gym rule) next week and see if this is a problem for all sets or just the working sets. If it continues, I don't think I will continue on with heavy weights and do sets of 3, 3, 3+.

Congrats on the press pr!

ETA: 3x5x135 is a pr for you, isn't it?

Thanks! I was able to OHP 135x5x3 a couple of months ago. Then I crashed and burned at 137.5. I have a feeling that this time it will be different.

Are you thinking break the bar or just squeeze? Keeping your lats super tight might help. I think about pulling the bar down to me and keeping my lats tight through the concentric motion and kind of pushing the bar up and out and not directly up.

Thanks for the advice. What I try to do is squeeze the bar tight while trying pull the bar apart for upper back tightness. I thought I remember reading about keeping the lats tight. I will give that a shot next time. I think I just learned this past week that reps feel a lot better when pushing the bar away from you as opposed to straight up. Good stuff.

5/12/14

OHP: 137.5x5 (PR!), 137.5x4x2
Weighted Chins: 20x5x2, 20x6
EZ Bar Curls: 85x12, 80x11
RKC Plank: :55x2, :48

I was talking to a guy I used to do Crossfit at the same gym. I told him about my bench problems and he told me about some sort of suit you can put on that forces you into the correct position. I may have to check that out if bench goes poorly tomorrow.

Even though I got four reps on the last two sets, I am going to try 137.5 again on Friday. My shoulder warmup got thrown out of whack because I got caught up talking.

The pain in my left hip/TFL/who knows what still has not gone away. I think if it still persists by Friday, I am going to get it checked out. Along with my lower back since that still feels terrible, which isn't helped by sitting all day.

5/14/14

Bench Press: 197.5x4x2, 197.5x3
Pendlay Rows: 170x8x2
Deadlifts: 225x5x3
DB Skullcrushers: 30x12, 25x14
Ab Wheel w/3 sec. pause: 9,9,7

Oh well. I may have gotten the fifth rep on the first set, but I had no spotter. I used a spotter and the last two sets and he said the bar went up evenly. Given that, I will continue the linear progression, but with 3,3,3+ as long as I don't chicken wing. For the third set, I put my grip wider with my middle finger on the ring; didn't go too well.

Deadlifts were fine. I realize a problem I have is squatting the weight down. I have a huge bruise on my left knee. Another byproduct is that I set the bar down further from my body, which I think is a big reason for my lower back pain.

5/16/14

OHP: 137.5x5x3
Weighted Chins: 20x5x2, 20x6
Face Pulls: 60x15x3
Seated Alternating DB Curls: 40x12, 35x12
RKC Planks: :55x3

Much more focused today for OHP and it paid off. I hope I don't psyche myself out for 140x5x3. Dat's a lot of weight.

I squatted with the bar and had no pain, which was surprising because it hurt earlier in my left hip when I bent over. I was going to try and do box squats, but maybe I am okay now. I will try squatting light on Monday and see how it goes.

5/19/14

Bench Press: 200x3x2, 200x4
Pendlay Rows: 170x5x3
HBBS: 135x5x3
CGBP: 145x12, 140x12
RKC Planks: :55x3

Squats was a bit of a bust. I tried box squats the second set and it hurt more. I think I will try and not put my knees so far out to the side. Maybe that will help.

5/21/14

OHP: 140x4x2, 140x3 (old 1RM, meet new 4RM)
Weighted Chins: 20x5x2, 20x6
Deadlifts: 245x5x3
EZ Bar Curls: 85x6, 70x12

I had to work out at 5:15 am, which is hopefully the reason for the less than stellar lifting. I am also going to a different gym.

My wrists hurt a lot at the top of the curls. It was so bad, I had to drop the weight the second set, though it was still uncomfortable.

5/23/14

Bench Press: 202.5x3x2, 202.5x4
Kroc Rows: 90x25
HBBS: 155x5
DB Skullcrushers: 30x12, 25x15
Face Pulls: 4x15, 5x15, 6x15 (new settings)
RKC Planks: :55x3

Bench felt much better today than Monday. I may have been able to grind a fifth rep on the AMRAP set.

My left arm has been bothering me lately. Kind of like how it used to when I did burpees. I don't know if it has to do with pendlay rows, but I decided to some kroc rows today.

Squats suck. Not flaring my knees far out did not do the trick. I will try them one last time Monday, but will go with a narrower stance. I have no idea why that would work. Maybe I will get lucky.

Sucks that you keep having pain squatting. Hope you feel better. Nice work on the bench. Are you doing 2 sets of 3 + an AMRAP on the 3rd set now?

Yeah, I think having chronically tight hip flexors does not help. I just want to get the chance one day to be able to squat three plates.

I am doing 3,3,3+ for bench and OHP instead of 5,5,5+. I have been in a rut for bench and I am hoping it will get me accustom to doing heavier weight so that when I reset, the weight will feel lighter. It sounds good in theory.