Fell way off the update wagon, but did not miss a workout. I had to chill on compound quad moves for a few, but I tested it Saturday on the ps300 with nearly no weight and it was okay. Going to try to work it back into rotation tomorrow with a bit more weight and not be a moron about this time. Yeah right.

Can't remember most of this **** because I waited too long to log it. I did get a chance to do barbell bench for the first time in forever. I am disappointed in my performance. I peaked in strength on flat dumbbell bench a few weeks back with 14 reps on 100s and fell off to getting only 12 the last few sessions, but I still expected to break my previous rep record for 225 which was 9 or 10, I'd have to look it up. I wanted 11 to be sure. Got only 8 plus fail. Oh well. Not ready to throw in the towel and take up running yet.


Weight-157
Booze-some beers, n scotch some nights
Sardines-no
Steam-yes

Thursday
2 Push/Quads
DB OHP-drops'n'myos
WU
55sx6
65x6
65x6, 55x8, 45x6 plus myos i forget how many

PS300-6/8/10
skipped

pec deck-6/8/10
110x10
140x8
150x6/130x8/110x10

rope tricep extension--6/8/10
Can't remember leaving this as a marker
80x6
90x5
85x6, 60x8, 40x10

Seated donkey calf raise
140x8
80x8 5-second negative, 10-second stretch
80x8 5-second negative, 10-second stretch

Friday
A3 Pull/Hammies
Dumbell RDL-mTor reps all sets
WU
80sx10
90x6
90x8

reverse close grip lat pulldown-6/8/10 drop set(60-90s)
WU
190x6
190x6
190x6, 140x7f, 110x10

chest supported incline reverse db flies/swings-
25x6/6
25x6/6
22.5x10/10

incline db curl w/fat grips-myos
can't remember


Saturday
B3 Push/Quads
bb bench-6/8/10
45x25
135x10
185x6
225x8+f
235x6, 185x8, 135x5,5

Incline Dumbbell front raise-M-Tor(2min)
30x6
30x6
22.5x8-mTor

reverse grip tricep pulldown-6/8/10 (outside stack)
50x8
80x6
80x6,60x8,40x10

ps300
150x10x3

It's crazy humid here for some reason. My feet swoll up, and I only know because my shoes were tight for the first time ever yesterday.

Decent workout with wifey. That is all, I guess.

Weight-158.5
Booze- no
Sardines-N
Steam-Y

A1 Pull/Hammies
seated row-6-8-10 drop (2min)
130x10
220x6
210x6
210x6,190x8,140x10

weighed pull-ups myo
bwx6
+10x6
+20x6
+20x6,3,3 drop to bwx3,3,3

GHR-mTor
Level1x10
level2x8
level2x6
level2x9

fat grip incline curl-drop/myo
fg25x10
fg25x8
fg25x6,3,3 drop fg, 3,3,3

Steated Calf Raise-all sets mTorish
100x10
100x8
100x8, 55x?

Johnny reading the last ~150 posts really rustled my jimmies:

-Mrs. T missing the Bro-Off. I was just getting over the garage door too.

-The 5:30 hoarders

-The oblivious scrawny asian kid walking through your video dilbertly saying "excuse me, excuse me, are you using those 5's beep boop..."


I laughed. I cried. I punched my monitor: 3.5 on the Rustle Scale.

Is the Rustle scale out of 4 or 5 gorillas? I didn't even tell you the trials and tribulations I went through trying to retrieve the swim trunks my son and I left in the locker room. You'd be vexed af, if you knew.

Yesterday was posed to be push day b2 but it got all kinds of ****ed up. I ended up abandoning the program and just going with some random machine **** because nothing was cooperating otherwise. Still hit all movements. I have really lost control of this program with the substitutions and such. Time to re-think. My hip flexors still feel awful tight but not aggressively agitated so I will cautiously re-enter squats tomorrow, but my dreams of moving onto the strength version of this program as prescribed with squats (although I always knew it would be lol weight) are not going to come to pass as soon as I wanted. Don't know, bros. maybe a few weeks of my old body part bro split to cleanse the pallet then run this push-pull again.

No point in recording the weights I did this workout. Instead, here is a food post.

Mrs. T makes this ****ing delicious variant of the bro meal. We eat some kind of chicken, veg and rice usually around 4 times a week and even though she throws down and it is always tasty, it gets boring. This one is a nice change up and it keeps well for leftovers for lunch the next day. Highly recommend. I used to have the macros mapped on it but I can't be arsed to look it up. They were good.

It's this brown rice, (relatively) high protein ramen. Expensive in most places but when Costco has it it is cheap and it keeps well so buying bulk is no issue.




Boil them then stir-fry with veggies (we use carrots, cabbage, and broccoli) and chicken. It is good with tofu too, and I am sure beef would work well also for you cow-eaters. The kicker for us is to take a handful of shelled pistachios (also from Costco) and crush them and sprinkle liberally on top. Then we mince habanero and soak it in a lemon-juice/soy sauce mix to spoon on top as well. That's the orange in the pic. ****ing. Bomb.





Weight-157.5
Booze- no
Sardines-Y
Steam-Y

Costco shelled pistachios are the devil. I've eaten an entire bag in under two days before.

Not really a ramen guy, but my wife likes it and we could buy it for easy lunches for her when I'm out of town. Thanks for the tip.

I'm not a ramen lover either, not the soup anyway. Partly because I don't eat pork based broth or pork so the options for me are limited I think, but it always seems over-rated and that leads to disappointment on my part. Anyway, this dish is nothing like ramen soup, if that's what you mean. You may be surprised.

Yeah, I love those pistachios too, but I don't even think of them as a viable snack.

Troi oi. Update fu is way off. I have been using this log to keep track of overload during workouts but I may switch to a new system cuz I'm losing track and have had to adjust moves more often than not lately anyway. Last two days, best of my memory.

I like the hammer strength chest supported row machines better than t-bar row. I just feel the contraction/rom more. Think I'm going to switch it up for good.

The hips are feeling okay. I did the ps300 hack squat thingy and kept the weight low again but feel fine. creepin'.

Weight-157.5
Booze- N
Sardines-y
Steam-y


A2 Pull/Hammies
Lying Leg Curl-6-8-10 drop set (60-90s)
WU
120x6
140x6
150x6,110x6,4,80x8,2

Hammer Strength low row plate loaded-6/8/10 (2m)
45sx10
90x6
95x6
95x6,70x8,55x10

Straight-Arm Pulldown-stack-free motion-6/8/10(60-90s)
WU
9x10
11x6
13x6,11x8,9x10

standing bb curl w fat grips-myo
70x6
70x6
70x6,3,3 drop fat grips 70x3,2


B2 Push/Quads
incline Dumbell Bench-6/8/10(2min)
55sx15
80x6
100x6
90x6, 65x8, 50x10

incline Dumbbell front raise-mTor (2min)
25x6
25x6
20x8,3-mTor

rope tri extension-6/8/10
70x6
70x5
60x6/40x8,20x10

ps300 straight sets
150x10
240x10
240x10
240x14

Well, I have been flailing at the end of this block for too long at this point. In my dreams I was going to be ready to start a program that included squats and DL after this one, but I am not ready to program squats in any kind of real way yet. I think I am going to re-run this one with some different movements for another 8 weeks or so, keep babying the squat pattern and reassess.

There was a 15kg bar in the rack yesterday when I went to do OHP. I have never seen it before, but I may use it for DLs if I can find it on DL day. It for sure felt good in the hand. PITA for figuring out weights on OHP, though, so I will avoid it for that move next time. I also tried the false grip on ohp and it seemed good.

The gym was dead on Friday night but LOL! someone was using the trap bar when I was warming up, was unloading it right as I finished my warm-up, then some dude came out of nowhere and grabbed it right as I started over toward it to set up his GI-joe compound circuits with monkey bars, battle ropes, burpees, that tire flip on a hinge thingy and whatever else. ****ing ****. So I went with block pulls instead. Frankly, I am tired of being frustrated with conventional. I have not done any leverage diagram analysis of my limbs but I think I will follow loco's lead here and say **** it and stick to TB which I enjoy and seem to be able to make incremental form improvements on without falling apart entirely and hating my life. I have enough of a challenge with squat right now and I don't really want my two heaviest work days to actually be cerebral heavy and weight light for the whole summer. I go to the gym to turn off the brain a bit, not for another opportunity to prove to myself I over-think everything.

Weight-157.5
Booze-some tequilla on the non-training day.
Sardines-no
Steam-y/no


Friday
A3 Pull/Hammies
Block pull off red plate.
WU
95x10
135x6
225x7
295x6,3



reverse close grip lat pulldown-6/8/10
WU
190x6
190x6
185x6, 130x8, 115x10

chest supported incline reverse db flies/swings-
25x6/6
25x6/6
22.5x10/10

standing hammer curl-6/8/10
40x6
40x6
40x6,30x8/25x10


Sunday
B3 Push/Quads
OHP-drops
WU
85x15
123x6
163x2,143x4
153x4,123x8,103x10

PS300
150x10
240x10
330x10

low cable cross-free motion-6/8/10
9x12
11x10
13x8,11x10,9x12

bent over cable tricep extension free motion--6/8/10
6x6
7x6
8x6,6x8,4x10

How thick are those plates, about an inch and a half to two inches?

Your optimal deadlift height is probably 11.5". You can find it exactly on deadlift off pins. Just look for that height where your hips naturally want to pull from AND you can keep a straight back.

These pulls are an inch too deep.

Sure sure, you can work on all types of imbalances and mobility issues to deadlift off floor with solid form. But that takes years and what for? And when the weight gets heavy, your brain just takes you back to your anthropometry's optimal hip height and says fack it to your rounded back.

The only reason we deadlift from 8.75" is because that's the bar height that won't crush an Olylifter's skull after dropping a heavy snatch on himself. One of the stupidest things in lifting is that 8.75" off the floor height. There are many squat and deadlift variations, you do what your body was born to do.

But goblet squats are a pussy exercise, so I would look for another variation.

I think the blocks are set at a reasonable height and that 295 set looked easy. It's a cueing issue and you're not lifting a weight that is heavy enough to snap your back. Just keep doing that and I think you'll improve your rounding. There's not enough rounding here IMO to be worried.

Thanks, guys. On the one hand, I like loco's feedback because it means I do not have to do it. On the other hand, I like Renton's because I forget that I don't like doing it after a day or two and want to try again. I think I will keep waffling for another two years about it. All bs aside, I really see the logic in both arguments. I am probably overblowing my snap city fears, but I also don't like it when my lower back is sore after doing DLs. Gives me the creeps.

Loco, the plates are about 2 inches I think. The issue with 11.5 inches for me is I am basically fully extended and on tippytoes already at that bar height.

Renton, you are correct, that weight felt ridic easy, but I am concerned with adding weight when I am already losing form. It falls into that RPE discussion Monte and loco had in his log. By fatigue/strength I would say that the first subset of 6 was an RPE 6 or even 5, but by form (and I mean by the actual form I am shooting for and have been able to keep before) it was past failure. That I have done better before means it likely is cueing **** as you say.

I decided to change up my exercise selection and keep running this program for a while. Yesterday was just stupid packed beyond compare and it meant I did not get to do my first OR second choice for hamstring move which were TB dl or bb RDL, so I went with dumbbell RDLs. Went heavy and really emphasized the stretch again. Feeling it, boy.

The bump in the whiteboard thread brought me back to about 10 months ago when I hit 165 for 1 rep at 155.5lbs on press. I can hit that for an easy 2 repper at 157.5lbs with less WIM on the second than that single now. Is that a big deal? IDK, but realities of natty training or not, I am happy with it.

Weight:157.5
Booze-N
Sardines-Y
Steam-Y

Dumbell RDL-slow negative, long stretch, mTor last set
55sx15
85x6
100x6
100x8 mTor

Hammer Strength high row-mTor
70sx10
90x8
90x8
90x8mTor

seated pullover machine, myo
125x10
170x10
125x10,3,3,3,3

EZ bar preacher curl-mTor
25x10
45x10
45x10 mTor

Standing calf raise-DC reps-alternating
35x6
25x8
25x8

Being sore in the lower back is standard with any heavy dl and squat work, IMO. Regardless of the amount of rounding, the spinal erectors do a lot of work. I think it's a bit of a fallacy that the deadlift should be a pure glute/ham exercise. The lower back is part of the posterior chain and getting it strong is probably an effective injury prophylactic measure.

On a different note, have you ever tried a SLDL? Use a light weight like 225 and see if you could SLDL from those blocks with a flat back. I find that doing the SLDL pattern practices setting the back way more than a normal DL pattern does.

I think I am doing a kind of hybrid between an SLDL and an RDL. I really try to keep my hips as high as possible so I am getting a hard stretch in the hammies. As for the lower back, I think you are correct about some muscle soreness, but that's not exactly what I am talking about. Days following my worse rounding I get more muscles soreness with some that feels like it is more centered and spinal. Nothing terrible but it is not present at all on days that I have gone heavy with minimal rounding. I do not get it from TB at this point. I guess it could still be what you are saying where the ROM that causes my back to round is also working my lower back more.

I had a good day yesterday. I decided to try zercher squats and liked them a lot better than back squats. I felt like I could keep more upright and there was only minor winking on some reps. Still working out the pattern but it seems similar to goblet squats with the ability to go heavier and for some reason is a tough-guy move where goblets make the macho men talk **** to me. =( It obviously has more overload potential than goblets. I feel a lot less flexor irritation in the hole, I am assuming because I am not bending forward so far as in BBS. The Mrs. and I are going to try it for this cycle. vid below. A little bit of the wiggles on the first few reps as I got used to the difference in bracing.

Also, another weird gym anecdote. I was about to hit the shower in between the weights and the steam room, so I hung my towel on one of the hooks next to an open stall. There is a big bank of showers on one wall and a hook that goes to each beside the doors. I decided to hit the urinal real quick before I jumped in and then washed my hands and went back to start the shower. The door was still ajar on the stall next to my towel, but when I went to step in there was someone in there showering. This dude was in his trunks (as was I pre-verts, I'm not old enough to walk around the locker room freeballing yet) and my height, but ****ing rocked. Like G4S almost. He must weigh like 175-180 but lean and ripped. He looked at me and I felt this weird moment of recognition as we made eye contact and I realized it was UFC fighter Chad Mendes. I just stepped back, grabbed my towel and walked down to the next open shower stall. Weird series of events all around from getting my stall swooped which has never happened, to him not closing the door to the stall which is also unusual, to it being by a famous fighter. In the last few months, I have been on a seaplane with Frank Mir and almost took a shower with Chad Mendes. Don't know why these guys are encroaching on my space.

Def was a reminder of the sobering reality of natty training, too. I was just mirin my own reflection on the way to the shower from the sink, making some gainz still, looking biggish, and this dude who is my height exactly made me look skinny AF in like one second.

Weight-156.5
Booze- N
Sardines-Y
Steam-y

B1 Push/Quads
Flat Dumbell Bench-myo
WU
80sx10
100x12
90x6,3,3

Zercher Squat
45x10
95x6
115x6
135x6


Dumbbell lateral raise-myo
25x10
25x10
seated 25x10,3,3,3,3

incline tricep dumbbell extension-mTor
25x8
25x8
25x?mTor

Either the scale calibration is funky or I lost 2 lbs overnight. Meh. Whatever.

Tried the standing ham curl and it was okay, but doing unilateral AND drop sets on it takes too long, myo also. Might try a Myo back and forth pattern with heavier weight, but if that is no good I'll just try seated instead of prone for the changeup. Also going for a higher rep range this block--8-12. Nothing else. Feeling good.

Weight-155.5
Booze- one pacifico on draft in a frozen glass with my mex food that was deeeeeeeelish
Sardines-y
Steam-y


A2 Pull/Hammies
Standing Unilateral Leg Curl- (60-90s)
WU
40x10
55x10
65x10,3,3,3

close parallel grip lat pulldown-mTor (2m)
90x10
170x10
170x8-mTor long iso stretch

Seated row-myo
WU
190x10
190x10
190x10,3,3

incline DB curl-mTor
25x10
25x10
fat grip 20x8 mTor

I gained 2 pounds overnight Wed but lost 1 last night so you should get one of them back tomorrow.

I got both pounds back. I think it's the scale.

My buddy came with yesterday so I took advantage of the spot but did not want to do flat bench again. Opted for reverse grip. Liked it. Was an easy day, really. It is pretty nice how bumping the rep range from 6 to 8-10 and swapping out some movements has breathed life back into this split for me.

Maybe skipping today as one of my literal gym buddies, meaning a buddy I made at the gym, is having a surprise birthday party tonight that Mrs. T and I will attend. It is at the sushi spot across from the gym so I may try to sneak in a workout and walk over depending on how early I can get off work tonight, but Fridays are always hit or miss. He and his girlfriend are the couple I deadlifted with a while back.

Weight-157.5
Booze-a double white russian
Sardines-y
Steam-n


B2 Push/Quads
DB OHP-myos
WU
55sx8
55x8
55x8,3,3,3

unilateral leg extension/alternating cluster
40x10
60x10
80x3,3,3,3 both legsx6

reverse grip bc bench--myo
WU
95x10
165x10
165x10
165x10,3

V handle tricep extension--myo
80x8
85x7 (long rest here)
85x8,3,3


unilateral Seated calf raise-DC reps
45x6
35x8
35x8 5-second negative, 10-second stretch