Lol, yes, 255. And, no, not kgs. If I was able to pull even 3 plates I think I'd just shut up and not whine incessantly tbh. Just a little bit .

My plan is really just to get to something like ~320 DL (in pounds) and then not care too much about how slowly or quickly it goes up after that.

Once I'm at "true" intermediate strength, I should be plenty strong for what I want to do imo and will experience both diminishing returns on getting stronger and on how it affects my basketball. At that point I think drills and translating my strength into usable power will provide the big returns instead of worrying about a 400+ pound DL, for example.

gotta be 255 - nice work

Thanks!

The 1RM for that is ~290, so even though I was struggling to get over 280, it seems the DL program did get me quite a bit higher, I just stalled when it became a 1RM program. Probably b/c I'm still just not able to get after 1RMs the way I will be when I'm even more experienced and comfortable. (or at your place when I have a somewhat silent cheering partner )

12/5 log

Some SMR, static mobility

Pickup bball today. There were tons of guys there - 29. So the first "crowded" day so far. There are two courts which means no one really has to wait too long. However, they have rules in place I guess that they've used over the years when there are so many people. Here are the rules (I think, I'm gonna rant on this in a minute):

1) If you win, you get to play only 1 more game, then you sit.
2) If you sit, you need to sign back up on the sign-in sheet
3) The next team to go on to either court is selected from the sign-in sheet.

My rant is later on, here is some brief bball notes:

Went 3-2, overall record is 26 wins and 11 losses.

My "best" play was setting an epic pic on this guy 2/3s up the court. He was harassing our guy who was bringing the ball down the court. He wasn't getting steals, but, meh, I usually try to set a pick or something to dissuade that and just cause some disruption. Usually guys see it coming or someone says something. This guy just runs into my shoulder full bore (I didn't move or lean an inch) and he went down like a sack of bricks. Our PG got into the paint and made a winning layup. I did check to see if the guy was okay.

I felt my defense was solid, my offense was good some times, other times not as good. I really need to just say "f it" and expend a ton of energy posting up, getting really physical and demand the ball, even if I then make some junky move some of the time. Only way I'll learn. My passing was quite good too and my shooting in shootaround was stellar but I barely took any medium or long shots. It's really stupid - I should just be shooting a ton and likely making a bunch.

Ok, now for my rantish thing just because:

So, ok, I play in the first game and lose, so I go stand on the sideline and dribble around, or zone out or whatever it is that I do. And several minutes later one of the guys older than I am says "did you sign in?" And I said "ummm, yeah, I was like the 7th person here." And he says "no, you gotta sign in again." Which, you know, makes no sense to me b/c I've gone to this several times and never had to sign in again.

So I say "no, I'm good" and finally he proceeds to tell me that it's working differently now with a system "they've used for years." The way he proceeds to explain it involves about 30 seconds of covering random scenarios and involves a lot of "if you win and then you lose" type ****.

So after the 30 seconds I stop him and ask "ok, so to sum up the new rule for this system, when you sit, you gotta sign up again?" And he sorta looks at me blankly and then launches into his explanation again, from the top.

I stop him after ~20 seconds and ask "ok, so the rule is, when you sit, you gotta sign up again, this is how new teams are selected the whole night, from the sign-in sheet - got it." He starts in a 3rd time on his explanation.

After ~10 seconds I stop him more abruptly and say "yes, yes, I know all that, I've been here several weeks. I need you to confirm the new rules. The old rule was winner gets to play 1 more game and we handled who went on next without a sign-in sheet. Now there is a sign-in sheet and the rule is if you sit, you gotta sign up again, right?"

After about 2 seconds into his 4th explanation I say "yes, the rule is if you sit you gotta sign in again, please just confirm that's the new thing, I appreciate your explanation but I think we're good."

After 1 second of the 5th explanation I turn to the guy next to him and say "can you please answer my question?" I assume he was trying to not be rude or something but he said "well, I guess to try to put it simply, if you go out now, you have to sign up on the sign-in sheet so we all know who is supposed to go in the next game." And the other guy pauses a second and says "yeah, that's right."

So obv I just say "THAT IS WHAT I JUST SAID ABOUT 7 TIMES IN A ROW."

Meh, I apologized to that jackass before leaving but @#$@#$ @%$$ @#$@$#$. I think he thinks I was trying to "be smarter than him" or some BS, but I'm not sure he even tried to listen to me for 1 second in the whole exchange.

/endrant

re the old moran: After I spent years training people at a former job (I hated training people after a while), its obvious to me that most people don't pay attention very well. Idiots gonna idiot. Don't let it get to you - its their problem, not yours.

He wasn't even that old and he plays smart basketball. I know I got frustrated but I kind of feel sorry for him. Logic can be really helpful in many things. It felt like we were arguing about politics or religion or something given how little he was actually paying attention, lol.

So you took down someone with a pick in the backcourt? lol i would have slapped my teammates for not calling out the pick if i was him

also lolz at signing at up after every game you lose. wtf never seen that before. unless you are playing beer pong.

Yes, yes I did. I've rattled guys before like that, but this guy just crumpled like a sack of bricks. Perhaps I have gotten stronger than I realize, .

To be fair to his teammates I'm not sure they really expected it. Also, I'm not sure they enjoyed playing with him. On one play he literally dribbled the ball the width of the court two times before driving to the hoop, getting blocked and calling a really weak foul. Probably had ~20 opportunities to pass on that play.

Btw, I'm not advising anyone else do that sort of thing in pickup games. I just don't really want to try to turn off the things I actually do decently, especially since it's hard to stop doing them.

I have a feeling I'm "that guy" who everyone hates but you kind of like being on his team. You know, like Joakim Noah or Doug Christie (fwiw I'm NOT comparing myself to that pussy-whipped bitch, but, you know, his teammates liked him afaik and no one really liked playing vs. him).

If I played hoops anymore, that type of play would be my primary worth to a team

epic.

why are you so determined to work the post so much? do you have a clear size/strength advantage on your opponent or clever moves around the rim? you said you were feeling your shot so I'm confused why you don't have that same determination when it comes to outside shooting.

nobody calls out picks in my pickup games or league except me. guess I just need to call out to myself when I'm going to get picked.

one place I go to they make you signup when you lose and you draw a card which determines where you get put on the list.

It seems the one thing I'm "good" at is rebounding, so it makes sense to be closer to the basket? Maybe not though, the more inside position I try to get before the ball goes up the more I struggle. I think I may simply be best at offensive rebounds when I'm coming in unexpected vs. carving out space down low ahead of time. I kinda wish someone could just audit my play style and tell me what to focus on.

My shot is fairly slow and I don't have confidence in it during games or my dribble while moving. I can dribble with both hands without looking but there are plenty of guys who have to look at their hands when they dribble who are *much* more effective at getting around their defender and getting to the rim.

I'm not sure a guy who can only shoot up to 18 feet, has a slow release, and can't be a triple threat is very effective. But maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps I just need to run around the court a ton and be a catch & shoot guy. Although I tend to feel best shooting in rhythm after dribbling.

12/6 log

SMR, mobility

Box squats
190x5 work set. No video but from my g/f's feedback and what I felt, it seems first 3 reps were fine, 4th involved a bit of knee cave, and the 5th involved both knee cave and back folding.

OHP
97.5x4 work set. Couldn't get tight for the last one. I then waited a minute and did 95x4 and then called it. I think I've gotten into a weird habit of destabilizing myself on the 3rd or 4th rep trying to take a really big breath rather than staying stable and taking whatever amount of breath I can without my tightness going to ****. I.e. I need to learn how to take good breaths without losing tightness

Pendlay Rows
125x7 - went for an 8th rep but didn't get it up to my chest

My g/f did:

LBBS
115x5x3

OHP
45x5x3 (WR) - She really got after it on the last set - her last rep looked even easier than the one before it.

DL
125x5 (PR?) - Good form and was able to maintain grip with chalk

12/8 log

I feel like I have a mild sinus infection (or maybe cold?) or the first stage of a bad sinus infection. So, I'm going to skip working out today and play video games instead. It'd be great to test myself easily to know if I have something that is bacterial or viral b/c irrc, working out shouldn't affect recovery from viral stuff much but man it prolongs bacterial recovery.

Maybe I'll do some SMR but maybe I'll feel kinda achey and not want to do it.

If I feel worse tomorrow I'll get some antibiotics. Maybe I should get some right away but I dno, I don't feel that bad yet, gonna try to sleep this one out.

/pityparty

12/10 log

SMR
Mobility

Box Squats work sets
190x3 - felt like I was still sick when I was doing this set. Was super out of breath and just gave up at the bottom of the 4th. My g/f claims my form was fairly decent.
190x2 - meh

Bench
155x5
135x8

Well, this went fine. I think sometimes on bench I just don't feel comfortable, maybe I'm trying to arch my back too much or dig in with my feet too much. Anyway, except for one warmup set, all sets felt natural and got a good groove on.

DL
260x3
240x3

I have video of these I think. I feel I did okay (not good or great) keeping my back tight, that's not why I stopped - I was just sucking in breath in both sets and felt dead. And afterwards I felt kinda dizzy for a bit.

I guess I'm happy considering I can't say I felt great when pushing myself. At the same time, if I don't feel great, perhaps I should keep taking time off?

G/f did:

LBBS
115x5x3

Bench
65x5x3

Pendlay Rows
45x5x2
45x8

Try to pay attention to your body, you're going to be the best person to decide if you need to take a break to let your body/mind recover, or make a deload or what have you. It's tough sometimes to ascertain if you are simply being a bitch, or if your body is legitimately saying no more right now, I needz rest. Try to focus on what factors may be holding stalling you back-form, stress on body or mind, monotony of your program, etc- and see what would be effective in remedying it.

yeah, dont push yourself when you arent feeling well. In the past, I've made myself much sicker by pushing too hard when I was a little sick.

12/13 log

Box Squats
work set 190x5

OHP
97.5x4 - ugh, still having trouble on my work sets getting a breath at the top and not just wobbling constantly. It's like I can't get tight after 4 reps when it's heavy.

Then I think I barely got 5 reps at 80 pounds.

pendlay rows
135x6 work set - 2 full plates, woot.

12/15 log

SMR, Mobility

LBBS work sets
205x5
205x4

Switched back to the last weight I tried before doing box squats for a while. I wasn't impressed with how my form felt. I can't figure out from looking at the video what's going wrong. My knee cave doesn't seem awful, but my back keeps pitching forward/folding no matter how much I think "big chest" or "lead with chest". Seems like something is still missing from my squats or there is a weak point nothing I've done has truly addressed.

Bench work sets
157.5x4 (ugh, really wanted 5 but never felt that stable on the set)
140x6 (something like this, I don't remember exactly)

DL work set
260x5 (PR)
For comparison, here is the work set I did 5 days previously when still probably a bit sick.

I'm very happy with this. The one rep calculator shows 293 at this weight, even though I was really struggling with my DL one rep maxes during the program - I think I did make decent progress. I expect to be able to get 270x5 and maybe even 275x5 without stalling at all or much.

I think your squats looked pretty good. Your legs look stronger and more stable than before and I can see some development in your hammies too. There's a little "good morning" movement going on, but its not bad imo.

The DLs look a little better, but your hips are still coming up before the weight does. You're basically doing a SLDL where your back is doing all the work. Also, you arent finishing the lift with your glutes.

http://www.wannabebig.com/training/d...ke-a-champion/

You have weak glutes if you:

• Round your low back during deadlifts to make the back conduct the lift rather than the hips and legs.
• Round your upper back during deadlifts. This can be acceptable, though…many strong powerlifters do this because they can’t push their conventional deadlift max up further if they kept their upper back arched.)
• Let your hips rise first in the squat thereby turning the lift into a “squat morning”.
• Suck at locking out your deadlifts.
• Stop short or hyperextend the low back during the deadlift lockout.
• Don’t have much power out of the hole when squatting.
• Let your knees cave inward during squats or sumo deads.
• Suck at hip thrusts, glute bridges, and pull-throughs and feel them all in the low back and hamstrings.
• Have minimal glute hypertrophy.
• Never feel your glutes turn on or don’t feel soreness in them from squats or lunges.

I know what miles said the other day about that list not being necessarily what's wrong when someone has form issues, but in your case, I think its clear that you have weak glutes. Several things on that list apply to you. Keep working on them - there is improvement going on, but you have a weak point.

But isn't the best thing for the glutes DL? And isn't that what I've concentrated on more than everything else?

It just seems weird that my glutes are lagging so much. Aren't they the biggest muscle? Shouldn't they have no problems getting primed to get stronger. (not sure thinking like that actually makes much sense but w/e)

Grrrr. My low back is "constantly" sore. Not injured but if I felt more confident about doing SMR on it, I'd concentrate on that area more than any other. Dr. K said I could probably roll it if I was careful of my spine and nor arching it - but, I haven't tried tbh.

Your low back is sore because those muscles are doing the work your glutes should be when you DL.

Yeah, DLs are great for the glutes, especially when you do them correctly. You're getting closer, but you arent there yet.

12/17 log

SMR, mobility - workout at Casa del Cha

Box Squat work sets
190x5x2

Cha had me really sit back and get my butt as far back as possible and "turn" my kneecaps outwards to activate my glutes. Definitely made them harder in certain ways and I felt off balance a bit, but I still was able to do my highest box squat weight - although I had to (imo at least) pitch forward to get out of the hole on a couple reps to bring my quads into it.

OHP work sets
100x4 - I didn't even complete 97.5 but at Cha's house I always put up OHP records so I went for it. I got the bar over my head apparently, I should have gotten my head under it but I didn't realize I had cleared it. Very close to 5

100x3x2 - I was pretty spent after that first set. I did these with a belt but not sure how much it ended up helping.

TRDL work set
310x1
330x1

Even though I did DL 2 days ago we decided I could do TRDL as it wouldn't be so hard on my back

I couldn't get 350x1 and fell over a couple times trying it. So instead of trying to eek out a higher 1rm, Cha had me do as many reps as I could in 12 minutes at 270+chainz (I think that's the weight I did).

270+40lbs chainz - 27 reps in 12 minutes

He thought I should shoot for 20, so yeah, I bossed it up. Seems like my DL program did help in a lot of ways.

I'm now convinced my glutes really have been the problem the whole time but now hopefully I can keep them move activated by "turning" out my kneecaps or w/e.

Reverse Hypers
Single leg, 50x10x3

I did some random chins up in there too until after OHP and TRDL when my traps seemed kinda shot - gonna be sore tomorrow.

Oh, and went to the Twolves preseason game. Rubio is already one of the best passers in the NBA. Forget in 3 years, he is right now, without any actual NBA experience.

+1 to Rubio!!