I might agree, my bench is 30lbs. ahead of yours

miles, ya, was doing well then I decided not to lift at all for the first 3.5months of '09 and then hurt my knee first week of May.

Tuesday, 6/23, Tues, B workout

Today was kids to work day, fueling me with rage at all the little kids wasting their precious summer days to hang out with daddy in his cubicle. I was also partially fueled with shame as there were a few pieces of jailbait roaming about as well that I really shouldn't be having naughty thoughts about, especially my buddy Bobby the Black Guy's daughter. Perfect workout prep.

Squat
45x5x2
90x5
135x3
180x2
230x5x3

These just about killed me. Had 1 or 2 bad reps. On the 3rd set, the 2nd or 3rd set I lost the weight forward a little and it made me go up on my right toes for a second. I tried to really focus on knees out, but as I got exhausted I could feel my knees buckle in some. Is there some assistance work I should try doing to strengthen my adductors?

I also think I exaggerate my hip drive a little and have a tendency to raise my hips slightly before my shoulders. I read a dave tate article on squatting (box squatting actually), and he mentioned to think about driving your chest up then immediately your hips next. I don't quite do it that way, but when I really focus to come all up at once, there's a nice hard sticking point about halfway up.

Also, how does one tighten one's glutes during the squat? I couldn't really do it. Just at the top?

Press
45x5x2
60x5
80x3
95x2
115x5x2
115x1
115x3

so close! I was really proud of myself after the 1st and 2nd set. I had to really fight the final rep of set 2 up. I focused hard on keeping my glutes, abs, and thighs tight, but I still have a tendency to loosen up a little at the top and need to re-tighten. On the start of the 3rd set, just something felt off right away after the first set, so I just racked it, took a short break, and tried it again. Failed on the 4th rep. 1 more shot before a reset. I gots dis.

Power Clean
45x5x2
60x5
75x3
90x2
110x3x5

Not much to say. I'm not thrilled with my rack position, but overall went well. I think my 2nd pull could be more explosive. Need to record these next time.

finished up with 5x3 NS situps, BW. Sorta failed the final rep.

also, my diet needs work. I think I need to eat more. When I cut out most of milk drinking, I think my daily intake is somewhere ~2200 cals, and I'm 200 lbs. I'd like to get to around 175, so a deficit is fine, but I think I should be closer to ~3k. I'll have to figure something out. Probably means more cooking. puke.

skipping my workout today, mostly cuz I'm a bitch, but partly because we're in crunch time for stuff at work. I'm checking out a new gym, though, and if it's good I'll probably resume there tomorrow. Next couple weeks are going to be a little hectic due to the 4th of July (going down to SD), and then the following weekend I'll be in Vegas for NBA Summer League. As long as I don't regress and just manage to tread water I'll be fairly pleased.

This is the gym I'm trying out: http://www.powerhousegym.com/

It looks kinda cheesy, but I think there will be lots of strength equipment (i.e. multiple racks), and hopefully they got bumpers. And the guy I talked to on the phone said it'll be ~20 a month, which is half what I pay for a pretty dilapidated YMCA.

This will change my schedule though. Right now it's breakfast -> work -> home for dinner -> work out ~7-7:30 pm. This place is next to where I work 20 miles away, so I'd be going straight from work. One benefit to that is I don't have to feel rushed if I'm stuck at work later, but it means I'll have to bring dinner/pre-WO food to work. No big deal.

you look like less of a pc than i imagined

little depressed tbh

kid, what camera are you using?

for the past weeks have you been achieving fat loss and strength gains simultaneously?

awesome,

I need the suit to pull it off.

ss,

canon power shot A620 digital camera.

renton,

I don't know? I think I lost maybe a little fat but it had only been a couple weeks and I don't weigh myself often. I've even like poo the past couple of days so none of it is relevant anyway.

not working out again today because of work. suck. BUT, I did get a chance to check out the new gym I'm trying out, and I'm pretty geeked about it. In the normal huge area they have 1 power rack + a couple squat racks. They also have a "strong man" room in the back, though, with no ****ty music playing, plenty of bumper plates, heavy stones, kettlebells, sleds, platform, power racks, chalk stands. And it's cheaper than the Y. Plus the front desk girl who showed me around looked sorta crossfit strong and is pretty hot. I'm pumped.

FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU

Nice setup

goddamn it new gym's website says it closes at 10 on saturdays, I roll up at 7:45 and the door says its hours are until 7 on the weekends. I'm a workout failure lately. I got some ice coffee on the way home to cheer me up. The girl complimented me on my Atom & His Package t-shirt. I guess I'll go tomorrow. But I was hoping on doing today, Monday, Weds, then I'm flying to San Diego Thurs night for the whole weekend. I guess I'll do something like tomorrow, Tues, and maybe something light on Weds? I have no time Thurs night, I'm going straight to work. Or maybe during lunch on thurs I'd have enough time to do just a squat workout. We'll see.

I did eat a lot better today, though, after a few days of crap (a relapse, if you will).

Breakfast: 4 eggs scrambled with onions, spinach, peppers, and a little bit of cheddar cheese (which is a little too sharp for my tastes, which means it's very sharp). 1/2 grapefruit.
Lunch: small salad of spinach, cucumbers, tomato, half an avocado, olive oil. about 1/2 lb of ground round with onions and peppers, a clove of garlic, and some olive oil.
pre-(non)-workout: about 1/2 can of salmon (bigger can than normal.. says it has ~3.5 servings, so I had somewhere between 1.5 and 2). It was gross though because it was "wild salmon" and there were bones and ****. live and learn. also had a bunch of broccoli with olive oil, a little sea salt, and pepper. Had the other 1/2 of the grapefruit for dessert.

Later I'll have some sorta protein shake.

6/28/09, Sun, A Workout

fml. easily the worst workout yet. I guess not working out since Tuesday and eating like crap a couple of those days really set me back. Really bummed about this.

Squat
45x5x2
80x5
125x3
165x2
210x5x3

I decided to back off on these and focus on form. I recorded them and will have some vids up later. My knees look a little out of control. Once the vids are up I'd really appreciate some advice. These were actually fairly hard but not a total killer. On my very final rep I hit a nice sticking point.

Bench
45x5x2
75x5
105x3
135x2
150x5
150x2
135x5

Well, it was an improvement over the last time. I have a vid of the 150x2 and 135x5. I did these in a power rack. The 150x2 vid is pretty funny because it's the first time I ever got out from under the bar and I did it super awkwardly.

Deadlift
111x5x2
160x3
225x2
270x0
270x0
250x1

wtf. These absolutely slayed me, and the last DL workout of 260 was relatively easy. Jesus I was just smoked. I noticed when doing 225 it was really hard. The new gym has a platform I tried out, but the matted part for the weights sags a little. I thought maybe that was increasing the ROM slightly so I moved off the platform for 250 and still got killed. Guess I just need to eat right and sleep. But since I'm gone for the 4th of July weekend, I won't be DL'ing again until Monday. Maybe I'll do PC's light on Tuesday (I'm definitely not increasing the weight based on today's results) and DL on Weds? I dunno, we'll see.

for some reason youtube is mega slow but here's a couple of the vids. The lady at the front desk said she was gonna turn the music off in that room for me. She lied . Thank god for headphones.

Squat - 210x5, 2nd set. View from the back. Obv I didn't realize the 2.5 lb plate was way the f out there. I put collars on after that.
Squat - 210x5, 3rd set. I tried to really focus on knees out. I'm not sure if that's what keeps my knees from flying forward. fwiw, I don't have any major knee stiffness right now, whereas when it's at its worst I start to feel it shortly after the workout.

And for comedy's sake: Bench - 150x2, 2nd set. I laughed really hard just watching this. Afterwards I realized I could just suck in/tighten my stomach and roll it over that. Failure's the best way to learn.

Also I kinda hurt my left shoulder pulling that one from the rack. I like benching in the rack more but I wish I had a hand off. At the very least, I should set up closer to the j-hooks so I don't have to pull as far.

Your stance is a little too wide. Knees are caving but you know that.

LOOK DOWN!

Edit: use collars all the time!

lol ya you effed that up, if you dont suck in the stomach fast enough you'll catch a nice bruise from the bar hitting it, otherwise it's all good.

Here are the deadlift videos.

111x5

225x2

250x1

ugh.

I also just tried a contrast shower. I got through the 1st cold part fine, then the hot, then right as I was reaching for the knobs thought "**** that noise" and turned off the water.

I feel like I had a post before that last one in reply to smiley. Maybe I just forgot to click submit.

With regards to the wide stance, I did that on purpose as I thought it helped me force my knees out. If you watch earlier vids, I think my stance is more normal.

As for the knees caving, is there any good way to stop this other than trying really hard? Should I drop weight? Assistance exercises? I'm all ears. Also, will this fix my knee flaring past my toes issue?

And yea I should really be looking where the floor meets the wall, or even closer. Sometimes my pasty whiteness is too alluring.

You could try some glute activation work. But, I don't think it's bad enough that you should significantly drop weight or anything. Just try and focus to push the knees out hard as you drive with your hips. The worry is that if you allow it to get worse (ie; continue to go heavier without addressing it) you could end up with some sore knees from strained tendons.

Knees going forward isn't that bad, provided you fix the caving. Use the SS recommended stance and just practice - if you keep them over your toes then things should be good. They come forward a little at the bottom because your hamstrings are relaxing a little. Try and stay tight. Looking down should help with this if I remember correctly.

I position my head so if my eyes are neutral I'm looking at about where the mirror hits the floor. Then just watch your feet, if you feel compelled you can still look with just your eyes at your reflection. See if that helps.

thanks. I have been dealing with knee stiffness, though it's noticeably better today than when it was at its worst. It's most notable when sitting or squatting down to pick something up.. it feels like a stretch right near the top of the knee, even over the top of the knee. I'll just focus and try really hard to keep those knees out.

The new gym has a glute ham raise.. I kinda want to try it just for fun but I think I'm well before the point where I need assistance work.

Haha, yeah this is definitely one thing I won't bother trying.


btw, wtf aren't you in the NBA auction?

time suck

This vid needs more love. Also, with your squats, you aren't extending all the way up and through at the top

explain please. Are you saying knees should lockout, hips in extension? Just knees locking out?