Aidan's Training Log (just weak strongman) - Page 6

Are you leaning forward a lot on the rightmost pic, or do you just have insane APT? Pretty sure you have some hefty APT either way, but looks fairly psycho in the third pic.

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05-27-2012 , 08:35 PM

#127

Evoken

2014 Golden Loco

Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 10,302

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spenda

idk we make fun of bench monkeys all the time, should we extend the same lolz to squat monkeys?

Yes.

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05-27-2012 , 10:00 PM

#128

Aidan

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Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 24,320

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soulman

Are you leaning forward a lot on the rightmost pic, or do you just have insane APT? Pretty sure you have some hefty APT either way, but looks fairly psycho in the third pic.

insane APT. trying the corrective exercises, but i sit so much that it isnt having much effect

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05-27-2012 , 10:18 PM

#129

loco

The First Golden

Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 14,843

Back width looks decent. Hope its not genetics and you built that.

Chest + shoulders need massive work. Looks like you have decent natural shoulder
width. So thats good. I've had some decent results this year on both chest and shoulders
and my brothers have confirmed. I attribute it all to preexhaust training. Its unconfirmed broscience but it cant hurt to throw in a set of dumbell side laterals followed by a set of military presses once in a while at the end of your workout. It takes less than a minute. Throw in flyes/crossover before bench once in a while also.

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05-28-2012 , 09:51 PM

#130

Aidan

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Warmed up for today's squats by getting hibachi for lunch. A japanese chef with mad blade skills would pour sake into my mouth on demand. Got to the gym to find out it was closing early, and only had an hour to workout.

May 28th 2012: Volume

Squat: 345x5x3
Bench Press: 170x5x3
Pullups: BWx6x3

Mentally hard given the compacted schedule. Wasnt able to focus as much as I wanted, but got through some work anyway. Right wrist is bothering me somewhat.

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05-28-2012 , 10:26 PM

#131

HalfSlant

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Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 6,022

I wear my wrist wraps sometimes for very heavy squats, because sometimes the bar likes to roll down just a bit. Enough to make your wrists sore from pushing against it.

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05-29-2012 , 03:32 AM

#132

Soulman

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Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 31,657

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aidan

insane APT. trying the corrective exercises, but i sit so much that it isnt having much effect

Right. Are you trying to be conscious of your posture? I found that it helped quite a bit. You know, just stand up straight as much as possible. At first you need to remind yourself constantly, after a while it gets to be a habit. I don't think it's as easy as Rip says (whose philosophy on APT is "stand up straight goddamit"), but it certainly helps to focus on it. Hopefully you're doing this already though.

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05-29-2012 , 09:47 AM

#133

Aidan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by HalfSlant

I wear my wrist wraps sometimes for very heavy squats, because sometimes the bar likes to roll down just a bit. Enough to make your wrists sore from pushing against it.

I should probably start doing this. Prevention is better than cure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soulman

I can't say that I'm trying, but I'm trying to try. Seriously though, when I remember I stand up straight, and its starting to become more common. I find it hard to be corrective while walking or doing things, and I spend very little time just standing. I work through some exercises as part of my SMR routine, but like everything Im sure I would see better improvement if I was more diligent at both.

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05-29-2012 , 11:07 AM

#134

Aidan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Douglas Funnie

+1. Probably needed the rest anyways.

On the whole what does "weights get hard" mean thing: If you are a beginner/intermediate and you aren't failing squat/bench/press reps on the regular then the weights are not yet hard. I'll leave deadlift out because intermediate deadlift programming should probably avoid failing reps because of CNS fatigue and beginner deadlift programming should probably avoid failing reps because of injury concern.

I've talked about all this before, though maybe it was a year ago or longer. A big part of the beginner stage is learning how to grind through the tough reps. If you are a beginner/intermediate, especially one who lifts alone, you absolutely should be recording work sets every week to keep an eye on bar speed. Your perception of how close you are to failing is almost guaranteed to be wrong, and video evidence that the bar barely slowed down should be enough to convince you to slap another 5 lbs on the bar next time.

And there are a lot of threads where people say "I'm squatting 1-1.5x bodyweight and I'm about to stall, what should I do?" You should add 5 lbs and man the **** up. Prove that you're actually stalling with a video. Prove that you're missing reps because you are not strong enough and not because you quit mid rep. Get mad, get everything tight, unrack that bar with fury, and violently attack every rep. If you still fail, then rest 5 minutes and try it again. Until you've truly missed a significant number reps for 2-3 workouts in a row, you haven't earned a reset or a change in programming, so don't take what you haven't earned.

Just about everybody gets to a bodyweight squat without any issues. But you know what the best part is about getting to where things are hard? That's when you start to see more of the physical adaptations. The first time I did SS I ate lots of protein, slept a lot, and got my 5rm squat from 135 to 255 and my bodyweight increased by around 5 lbs. From 255 to 295 my appetite increased and I gained 10 lbs. From 295 to 335 I gained 15 lbs.

If you think there's a chance that you'll fail the 5th rep, then the weights aren't hard yet. When the weights are hard you are all but positive that you're going to fail the 3rd rep.

Just gonna put this right here for future reference

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05-29-2012 , 01:18 PM

#135

The Yugoslavian

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Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 25,040

Re: APT - not positive this will be helpful but when I find myself all loose and APTy (not sure I have much APT if any though, but sometimes seems like I do) I remember to keep my glutes engaged. I'm so used to not using them from sitting...but really, they should be like other muscles when you walk around - engaged the whole time.

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05-29-2012 , 01:24 PM

#136

HalfSlant

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Quote:

Originally Posted by HalfSlant

Gl sir. I'll race you to 405x5

You should have made me put money on this.

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05-29-2012 , 01:36 PM

#137

Aidan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by The Yugoslavian

Glute activation is key, definitely a problem for me. I really have to make a concerted mental effort to engage them (sitting, standing and walking), though it is tiring and easy to forget. Bracing abdominals and activating glutes while I type this

Quote:

Originally Posted by HalfSlant

You should have made me put money on this.

Maybe, maybe not. Still a few weeks of progress to be made before I'm there, and Im just saved by you switching program

Quote

05-29-2012 , 03:31 PM

#138

ano666

banned

Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 580

I do not recall ever seeing a deadlift video from you. Can you deadlift without rounding your back? My APT is pretty bad (probably not as bad as yours) and I think this (along with tight hamstrings) is why I cannot get my back in extension when deadlifting. The geometry just doesnt work out with my hip angle.

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05-29-2012 , 03:34 PM

#139

Aidan

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Its not as locked in as I would like, and I can't really get it any tighter. But i can hold it in that position throughout the lift.

Here is an old deadlift vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=a7S-ARiz6mg

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05-29-2012 , 04:20 PM

#140

Soulman

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Not even close to jdock's assani DLs.

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05-29-2012 , 04:38 PM

#141

ano666

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Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 580

Do you still deadlift that upright? It seems like you have long legs/short torso, but even then it seems it would be hard to get a lot of back into your deadlifts with your torso so upright.

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05-29-2012 , 04:42 PM

#142

Aidan

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I just follow the Rip set up, but hips are probably higher now. Perhaps not the optimal way, and Ive been toying with sumo during warmups lately to see how I'd adjust to that. Eventually I'll get around to working solidly on deadlift technique, and take some more videos.

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05-29-2012 , 05:57 PM

#143

The Yugoslavian

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Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 25,040

I'm with SM - I don't see much back flexion either. Not even in the vicinity of jdock or Assani. The scale my g/f and I use (1-3 in terms of "how much rounding was there?") would have what you're doing at .5-1, so nice to know you're not perfectly tight but not a big deal. "3" on the scale means it's close to the dangaaaaazown and we don't have numbers for what I saw Assani do in one video.

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05-29-2012 , 07:56 PM

#144

Aidan

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Thanks! That vid is from October last year, so a bit old now. I'll record my workset this weekend and hope to get as low a score on the jdockometer

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05-30-2012 , 09:48 PM

#145

Aidan

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May 30th: Recovertensity

Squat: 275x5x2
Snatch: complex, snatch balance up to 95 (hard stuff!)
Powerclean/pushpress: 135x3, 155x1, 175xf, 175x1, 185x1
Pendlay row: 155x5x3

Finished off with some back ext and planks.

Bodyweight was 171 flat this morning. Sick of this cutting, want to get hyooge. Soon, precious. Maybe one more month. Will try a caliper test this evening out of interest.

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05-30-2012 , 10:31 PM

#146

Aidan

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Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 24,320

Bodyfat measurement. Did a very scientific self administered skin fold test, says 15% which i don't believe, so i'll ignore it.

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05-30-2012 , 10:41 PM

#147

Spenda

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Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 15,314

you need to get fatter so I don't feel so bad about you squatting so much more than me

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06-02-2012 , 10:53 AM

#148

Aidan

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Weighed in at 170 flat this morning. Played tennis with my wife last night, goddamn is my conditioning awful. I can juggle a tennis ball with my feet with relative ease, but why is hitting the ball with an enormous racket so f-ing hard? Hand-eye co-ordination, how does it work.

Off to the gym later today for intensity day.

Just putting this link here so I don't forget it for cleans on monday:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArsenalGunners1

this is what you should be working on. the easiest way i think is to learn muscle cleans from the hang. your hip drive really isnt too bad, you just leave the ground too soon with an unnecessary jump.
work on not jumping at all. meaning your feet never leave the ground, except your heels, you basically rock forward on your toes at triple extension, like this

and then right back down. you might try just the bar.
you should also widen your grip a little bit to make the bar hit higher and maybe try just a little more knee bend at the beginning, like at :33. might as well start using the hook grip if you aren't already.

another thing to work on is hang clean pulls, like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNceI7ylFLI , go from a dead hang tho, not the down and up quick motion. and really focus on brushing your hips with the bar, even if you overexagerrate it a little.

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06-02-2012 , 11:59 AM

#149

loco

The First Golden

Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 14,843

Why are you cutting? We need to get big bro, not small. I've lost weight myself. Probably down to 172. Let me know if you want to race to 180 lbs. Or race to 300 lb bench? I will skip out on any racing on the deadlift or squat.