haha, I'll be there, but I don't think I'll be doing any lifting. Probably just enjoying eating and drinking. Nor am I really qualified to coach anyone!

dunno actually, maybe I will feel up to some deads or oly lifts for full body explosive work

DO you normally lift when you travel to poker tournaments? I don't do many so I tend to just take time off.

well, i only started lifting for the first time in my life a month ago, so no i don't normally . i dont go to many big live turneys either btw.

if atlantis has a nice gym i figured i would at least try to maintain my ss workouts but who knows if ill stick with that. even if u arent a certified coach, it would be nice to have someone with experience actually physically see what i'm doing.

haha, right I forgot

well then, if they have a decent gym and I decide to log a session or w/e, I'll send you a PM. I think if I end up doing anything I'll probably be deadlifting or doing some cleans/front squats or just clean/snatch pulls. Who knows.

Hotel gyms tend to be horrible for a barbell driven workout.

I can remember about 5 hotel gyms. None of them had a squat rack, most of them didn't have a standard 45 pound bar, and I think the ones that did probably had much less than 200 pounds in plates.

I would say the best you can hope for is some good dumbbells, but I don't think they would have them in high enough weights for you to use for any compound exercises.

Alright, so i decided to take it easy on squat and just try to get some decent video, which was kinda difficult by myself.

i did (wasn't trying to do a normal workout or nething)

3x5x45
1x5x65
1x5x75
2x5x95
1x5x115

there wasnt any serious pain as the weight progressed but still some pain/discomfort which i think is just from before but idk. i wouldn't imagine that it would be painless even if i did a perfect squat.

here's some videos.

just the bar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHj4gBlxeDU

65 lb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynef-ZhgNBk

75 lb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynef-ZhgNBk

95 lb - was on my heels a bit too much lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u04XgGRLOd0

95 lb - meh angle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNYjQ0JK6mw

115 lb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNYjQ0JK6mw


Press

1x5x45
3x5x75 -- very tough on the last few reps but did it

DB Rows

3x6x50

i've decided to scratch the warmup on the rows because by the time i do them i'm pretty warmed up already. another thing, how am i supposed to see/know if these rows have done anything?

I don't understand what you mean.

Just keep adding weight and pulling the db as high and explosive as possible. Better to cheat than continue not getting full retraction imo.

This is just how I do them. It's up there with power snatch and incline db press for my favorite lift. I like the chinese style recently. But you've gotta make those things fly

i mean like what muscles should be getting bigger or more defined etc. idk might be a dumb question.

any comments on the squat videos? angles aren't very good i know.

That's gonna take a while. It will work the lats, some of the upper back musculature, and the biceps and forearms to a smaller degree. If you do them standing chinese style you get some obliques in there too.

You aren't doing an arrangement on this lift particularly conducive to maximal hypertrophy. If you want you could consider doing something like 1-2 higher rep sets, check lasers log for more info.

Deads and Squats plus the other work will eventually slather a ton of muscle all over you. Most important, are you gaining weight though?

I haven't looked srry. I'll check it out tommorow

last time i checked i was a lil more than 148 lbs. might be up to 150 now not sure. ill have to check on saturday. i started at 141.

last time i checked i was a lil more than 148 lbs. might be up to 150 now not sure. ill have to check on saturday. i started at 141.

so going to the gym later tonight after 2 finals (ugh), and i'm not really sure what i should do for squat. any suggestions? is it better to just rest than do some lighter weight sets?

WHy can't you do them as normal?

i mentioned earlier in my log that i was feeling a little knee pain while squatting/ sometimes when i walked. then up a few posts i explained how while squatting 150 lb my knees were really hurting so i just quit on the 2nd post because i didnt wanna seriously mess up my knee. so i must be doing something wrong with my form, and i'm trying to fix that now before i keep adding weight.

i don't think i seriously hurt my knees, but they definitely don't feel as stable/strong when i plant my feet so something must be wrong..

stupid day today

i experimented with the low bar squat, and it actually felt fine up until 95 lb. for some reason it started hurting my back at 95?

still not sure what i shud do about the whole knee thing.

deadlift

1x5x45
1x3x75
1x105
1x5x135

i meant to post a vid of this but forgot

everyone in the world was benching when i was at the gym. i don't normally go at this hour but had to cuz of finals. im just gunna bench tomorrow morning.

Where on your back did it hurt? If you're worried about knee pain I'd go light and I'd keep reps per set low to stay fresh while practicing form with a decent amount of volume.

upper-middleish

oh and

Bench
1x5x45
1x5x65
3x5x95

bleh

i did some lightweight squats trying to use perfect form, but that's unlikely. sometimes they felt good but sometimes i felt a little pain. idk.


Press
1x5x45
1x5x80
1x4x80

i was kinda expecting to fail on this. ill have to get something to microload first.

DB Rows
3x6x55

im back home for christmas break, so i went to the nearest Y today and they didn't have a squat rack lol. guess i gotta look for another gym. i did bench and dead lift tho

bench
1x5x45
1x5x75
3x5x100

deadlift
1x5x95
1x5x145

my squat's still all out of wack

db rows

3x6x60

press

3x5x75

microloading stuff shud be here by tuesday

bench

so i planned to do 105, but thanks to my ******edness, i did 1x5x115 to start lol

it felt unusually heavy and then i realized the mistake. but then i figured i could probably do 2 more sets of 110 instead of 105.

so

1x5x45
1x5x75
1x5115
2x5x110

i guess ill do 115 next week

squat

still doing lightweight stuff

deadlift
1x5x45
1x3x95
1x5x155

on maybe the 2nd rep, i felt like the weight of the bar took me down wayy too fast. probably wasnt good for my back. i think the other reps were good. but i had to take a few seconds in between each rep. is this fine?

On the DL descent, it doesn't really matter how much you control it. If your equipment allows, you can drop it after you are at the top position. I can't do that at a 24 hr fitness without getting kicked out, So what I usually do is start the descent by pushing my hips back, lowering it till it passes my knees and then kinda following it down with my hands attached (but very little tension in my body). So it kinda bangs the ground but not too bad and I don't have to worry about ****ing my back up lowering the DL. Also, the active lowering part of the lift is accomplished nearly 100% by pushing the hips back and changing my back angle. No knee bend till the bar is past my knees.

^^^Honestly, the dl descent is soooo much about the hips. USE EM.

db rows

3x6x60

oh press

1x5x45
1x65
3x5x77.5

knee pain is still there throughout the day. i guess i shud consider seeing a doctor about it.

bench

1x5x45
1x5x75
3x5x115

left wrist kinda hurt while benching.. idk

deadlift

1x5x45
1x5x75
1x115
1x5x165

i wudn't be surprised if i hurt my back today on the descent of a couple of the 165 reps. gotta work on using those hips.