Just to be clear, I did not mean to start at the top. I just meant when I need to take a breath in the middle of a set, I take that breath at the top. I figure if I take my breaths at the top when I bench, I should do the same when doing OHP. YMMV.

If you breathe at the top and use a stretch reflex instead of pausing at the bottom, then is that not starting all reps after #1 at the top?

Sunday, March 5, 2017 Training
Deadlift Variant, C1W3 TM112 5x5 @72.5%

6cm Block Pulls:

20x10 rdl
20x10 goodmorning
40x6 rdl
60x4
70x2

80x5
80x5
80x5
80x5
80x10


2. Paused HBBS (kg):

40x5
67.5x7
67.5x7
67.5x7
67.5x7

2. Hanging Leg Raise:

12
12
12
12

3. Machine Seated Row (#):

85x12
100x12
100x12

3. Leg Curl (#):

70x12
70x12
70x12

3. DB Hammer Curl (#):

20x13
20x9
15x13

***

Form wasn't as smooth for block pulls this week. I think I was just focusing on too many different cues at once. Squats weren't particularly fun, either, but I'm happier with the form on those.

Week 47 Diet, Week 29 Cut



Another meh week. Basically, a lot of social stuff came up and it was hard to avoid eating out and drinking alcohol. Even still, I kept it pretty tight and consider the week largely a success. I dipped under 58kg on Friday and Sunday.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Chin-ups / Push-ups / Band Face-pulls / 2' rest:

6, 15, 20
6, 15, 20
6, 15, 20
6, 15, 20


It's been a while since I did one of these. Felt good.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 Training
Bench Variant, C1W4 TM70 6x6 @75%

1. Close-Grip Bench:

20x10
35x5
45x2

52.5x6
52.5x6 front view
52.5x6
52.5x6
52.5x6
52.5x9 @9.5 side view


2. T-Bar Row (kg):

55x8
55x8
55x8
55x8

2. Arnold Press (#):

30x8
30x8
30x8
30x8

3. Lat Pulldown (#):

115x8
115x8
115x8
115x8

3. Rope Triceps Pushdown (#):

45x12
45x12
45x12
45x12

3. Cable Lateral (#):

15x9
15x9
15x9
15x9

***

Solid day benching. I think my form was a bit better than last week, and I definitely gained some performance.

T-bar is still a work in progress. I tried to keep my shoulders back and hinge at the hips to set up, but it looks like I'm not going to be able to achieve a parallel torso. This way seems to work a lot more traps and upper back than lats, which I guess isn't the worst thing.

You don't want a parallel back with a T-Bar row because then you're just turning it into a landmine pendlay row, which would be awkward to even do because the weight would hit your chest before it moved any meaningful distance and is more upper back (rhomboid, scap retractors etc)

The reason for the 30-60 degree angle in a T-Bar row is because that's how you line the pull direction with the lat fiber attachment direction.

Your later reps in the video look like you're recruiting more trap and upward scapula movement - IE a shrug. I don't know if this was on purpose or due to fatigue and compensation occurring.

how are you doing those cable face pulls? i cant pull more than like 42.5lbs. can you record yourself doing that?

Any exercise involving a unidirectional standing pull or push of a weight is going to be dictated by physics more than raw strength - which means your own body weight. This has been talked about in other threads.

To pull more weight you need to modify the lever by leaning backwards or go into a partial sit. But if you lean backwards you in advertently end up adding in a shrug motion without meaning to. Nothing really wrong with that, other than it takes away from the normal target muscle group by adding in more trap.

Notice how Doc is in a sort of 'sitting' position in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=islfmamns-c

i do have a slight lean back when i do them but when the weight gets heavier it feels like im leaning back way too much, almost 45 degrees

or i just weak and need to work on my pull game

No, its physics. You're not as weak as the weight implies.

You've used a pec-deck, right? Can you do as much weight on a cable fly as you can the pec-deck even if you halve it?

"Yes" (maybe?) - but, you're probably leaning into it right? Try it standing straight up. You can't, can you?

Definitely not on purpose. I feel a bit lost when setting up to do these. Like, I don't know where my feet should be in relation to the plane of the V-handle. During the recorded set the bar was pulling me forward i.e. weight on toes. Youtube wasn't a good source for form on this lift either, as everyone does it differently. I think it was Scott Herman who advised doing it with a parallel torso.

I think I recorded this already once and posted in the thread, but I'm having trouble finding it. I definitely lean back a little as n500 said, out of necessity. I'll record a set on Saturday.

I have talked about this like a million times.

Cables either use a single cable and thus T or two cables like a pulley where T/2.

So obviously Renton using T/2 and number1 using just T.

Sometimes I wonder wether I am just a facking genius. But nah man it's your typical top5 aspy (nuclear) with the nonsense.

Dunno. I'll photograph the machine I use next time. But yeah, given the jackedness disparity between n1h and myself, it seems to me highly unlikely that I'm dramatically stronger at facepulls than he is.

Yea those cables with a pully are stupid. My gym has both, and on the one with the pully I have to use the entire stack which is "200 lbs" for pushdowns, on the other one I use like 50lbs.

Thursday, March 9, 2017 Training
Squat Variant, C1W4 TM97 6x6 @75%

1. HBBS:

20x10
40x5
60x3

72.5x7 (miscounted reps)
72.5x6
72.5x6
72.5x6
72.5x7 (miscounted again)
72.5x17


2. Romanian Deadlift (kg):

50x10
50x10
50x10
50x10

2. Cable Straight-Back Crunch (#):

115x10
115x10
115x10
115x10

3. Leg Press (kg):

145x8
145x8
145x8
145x8

3. Cable Curl (#):

55x11
55x11
55x11
55x11

3. Good Morning (kg):

30x10
30x10
30x10
30x10


***

Rough day. I was able to push the last set of squats a little harder than usual, but the bar speed on the last rep was still very fast, i.e. conditioning continues to be the limiting factor. I'm planning to add 8-10kg to the training max for this lift for the next cycle.

Vids are taking forever to upload due to ****ty cambodian internet, so I'll add those later.

hbbs 72.5x17

rdl 50x10

Cable pulley leverage is definitely something I didn't figure into my answer, but physics are facts. It's not nonsense that your own bodyweight will dictate the weight regardless of the pulley leverage.

Saturday, March 11, 2017 Training
Overhead Variant, C1W4 TM40 6x6 @75%

1. Press:

10x10
20x5x3
25x2

30x6
30x6
30x6
30x6
30x6
30x10 @9


2. Chin-ups (@58kg)

8
8
8
8 @10

2. Paused CGBP (kg):

47.5x7
47.5x7
47.5x7
47.5x7

3. DB Incline Press (#):

35x9
35x9
35x9
35x9

3. Cable Face-pull (#):

65x15
65x15
65x15
65x15

3. DB External Rotation (#):

10x9
10x9
10x9
10x9

***

One of my better press days in a while. I focused primarily on racking the bar higher on my clavicle, closer to my neck, and keeping tight and controlled during the descent. I think I have a problem with pressing the bar outward instead of vertically, and that was much improved today.

As for the secondary work, my chin-ups are getting better again. I'm only one rep away from the former volume PR for 4 sets. However, sadly, I'm 3kg lighter than then so definitely there's still some lost ground to cover.

Per the face-pulls/pulley discussion, I recorded one of those sets. Here and here are some photos of the machine. I'm not sure there's any T/2 thing happening here because the stack appears to move the same distance that I pull the cable. If there were pulley leverage, wouldn't that necessarily mean I would need to pull twice as far as the stack moves?

edit: Upon further examination, it looks like the stack might not be moving as far as I thought. Oh well.

Lol bro sick volume

I can't see the cable base in that video.

But I don't even have to. It's 100% that nimber1hater is doing his face pulls on a single cable attached to the weight (such as almost all lat pulldown machines). And you are doing yours on a pulley attached to the weight, such as a cable crossover machine.

Okay I saw pictures of the machine. See that circular pulley thing attached to the weight?
It divides cable into two and then pulls the weight up. Number1 is doing his on most likely a lat pulldown machine, which almost always just has the single cable attached to the weight.

Thanks.


Sunday, March 12, 2017 Training
Deadlift Variant, C1W4 TM112 7x4 @75%

1. 6cm Block Pulls:

20x10 goodmorning
20x10 rdl
40x6 rdl
70x3

85x4
85x4
85x4
85x4
85x4
85x4
85x13


2. Paused HBBS (kg):

20x10
40x5
60x1

70x6
70x6
70x6
70x6

2. Hanging Leg Raise:

13
13
13
13

3. Machine Seated Row (#):

115x8
115x8
115x8
115x8

3. Leg Curl (#):

80x12
80x12
80x12
80x12

3. DB Hammer Curl (#):

20x12
20x12
20x12
15x12

***

Actually not as bad as I thought today would be. I was still pretty sore from squat day, but it looks like these pulls are so light for me that it didn't gas me out too hard. Squats were way harder. I think my form for the pulls is improved over last week, and my strength as well.

Next week is deload. Now, time to determine how to adjust my training maxes. My amrap sets for Week 4:

Bench - 52.5x9 (after 5x6)
Squat - 72.5x17 (after 5x6)
Press - 30x10 (after 5x6)
Deadlift - 85x13 (after 6x4)

So I should increase the squat and deadlift by a lot while taking more conservative increases to the bench and press.

Bench - TM 70 to 73 (week 4 weight goes from 52.5 to 55)
Squat - TM 97 to 107 (week 4 goes from 72.5 to 80)
Press - TM 40 to 42 (week 4 goes from 30 to 31.25, too conservative?)
Deadlift - TM 112 to 123 (week 4 goes from 85 to 92.5)

Thoughts are appreciated. I think the goal is to still have some reps in the tank on the last set of week 4, just not an excessive number like with my block pulls and squats this past week.

Week 48 Diet, Week 30 Cut



I tightened things up considerably this week. I posted a new low weight this morning of 127.0 lb (57.5 kg) and I currently am having randomly alternating fits of diet fatigue and perseverance. A big part of me wants to suspend the cut. Another big part of me sees the steady, clockwork fat loss that has been happening for the last 2-3 months and thinks he should see this course through into definitely<15%ville. I still have no clue whether I'm close to that. I have quite a bit of fat around my midsection, but my arms and hands are becoming pretty vascular.

This is a little something I like to call "wrist pit":



It's a space in between the tendons of my thumb that is deep enough to store a couple of grams of cocaine in. Little things like this I've been noticing lately more and more.

Here's a current nude.



Obviously, it looks quite similar to the last one seeing as I've only lost 2lb since then. If I had to guess, this is still 17-18% minimum, but I'm not sure what the adjustment factor is for former fatties with abysmally low LBM. Note that the lighting is less than favorable. I have upper abs in lighting, and you can see veins running down my biceps if you look hard enough.

Unless anyone has any suggestions, this is the plan for the rest of the year.

1. Finish this cycle (the de-load week) and run one more cycle of the hypertrophy program while cutting. Suspend the cut at the end of this regardless of what the scale or the mirror says. Six more weeks of cutting.

2. Switch to maintenance calories and do another 5-week cycle.

3. Assuming weight stabilizes, increase to a 10-15% calorie surplus and run the program indefinitely until gains slow (10-20 weeks).

4. Design and be running a more strength-focused block by the end of 2017.

Great progress all around imo.

Are you doing anything to reach full depth on the squats? Looks to me like you are only barely hitting parallel, if at all.