Nice. I guess I should know it's different b/c it's what you've been doing (the 4x4 work) program.

5/30 log

Biking on the parkway and around the lake. Man, beautiful. Very happy with where we chose to buy a house, .

5/31 log

Watched Cha and Absolam pull earlier in the day. Definitely motivating although was later in the day and took longer than I thought it would. Gym closed at 8pm and only ended up having an hour or so to lift. Should have just tried to sneak in some squat sets while they were doing DL warmups below the meet stage, .

Squatterday

45x5, 95x5, 135x5x2, 185x5, 225x3, 250x5x4,x6

Went with KC's recommendation of pointing my toes out more. Not sure they are 25 degrees but at least 15 imo. And get in 5x5 type volume. Wasn't sure what weight to use. First set felt hard, . By the 4th and 5th though I felt I was able to push through better and even went for an extra rep on the last set. Was taking 5min+ breaks though.

DL 135x5, 185x2, 225x1x10 - 30-45s rests. Squatting took forever so I had to get these in quickly before the gym closed.

That's it. Went to Chipotle and ate double meat burrito in honor of Cha and Absolam.

5 min break is on the low side. I sometimes take 10 minutes between sets. I think it was dfii who made a post in the HC thread about why,depending on your goals, you should take whatever rest period enables you to hit your reps

Yeah, I've heard the same, not sure if it was from DFII, but if he says it too, then that's all the more reason to believe it. I take 8-10 min between heavy sets. The problem when doing this is that when you add warm-ups in a squat/press/DL day (if doing SS for example) takes around 2hrs.

Yeah, I do agree with that. I didn't have 40 minutes extra to just rest in between the 5 work sets though, especially yesterday when I only had a little over an hour for the whole workout.

If you're training for strength, I think you should take what you need. I use heart rate as a guide and mine usually gets back to normal within 5 minutes. I set a timer for 5 minutes and usually go within 1-2 minutes on warmups then 2-3 as weights go up then 4-5 on worksets. sometimes a minute or two past that if I am waiting for the platform.

Yeah, I don't see a problem with long rests...except that it takes too damn long, . At the same time, ain't nothin' to it but to do it if imma 5x5 squat.

6/1 log

Spent all day again cleaning and unpacking the house. Things are def better than pre-sale but not a lot of time being spent maxin' and relaxin'. Oh well.

Volume bench

45x10, 85x7x3, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 160x3, 180x5x4 - felt heavy. Felt a little off balance. 4th set felt better and went up kinda fast. I was experimenting with where on my hand/wrist I was having the weight sit on. I suspect I may angle my wrists "in" suboptimally when benching.

Anyway, AMRAP set was 180x9 to match last week. Didn't even try for 10, just happy to get the 9.

CGBP 135x8x3
Chinups (during warmup and cgbp) bw x 8 x 11

Standing cable rows 87.5x12x5
Face pulls 37.5x15x3
DB curls 30x10x5

Might be heading back to the cities this weekend, waiting to hear back from my brother, but if so can meet up and both go for 225!

Yeah? That'd be pretty cool. Maybe we can page Cha and see if he will host a bench H&F liftoff between us. I can't imagine I will outlift you given what I remember you doing. But perhaps it will push me to 225 which will be a big milestone for me, .

Good idea guys. Maybe after you can get out the lube.

like the lube wouldn't already be out

1/3 of Cha's lifting dungeon is just astroglide iirc.

What's great is all of this really is just gonna rustle him when he reads my log next, nicely done EV.

6/3 log

Hamsring SMR/voodoo mobility

DL 135x5, 185x5, 225x5

275x3:


315x1:


345x2,xf,x1:


275x8


I din't feel like I had "it" yesterday. Also not sure I'm getting into as good of a starting position as I was a couple months ago. I think the tight hammies and now still tight hammies may have contributed to me not quite getting back into a fully loaded/tight position with my back as flat/tight as it should be. I dno though but seems like I'm reverting back to old/worse setup and technique. I'm really not built super well for DLing I don't think. Not sure I should wait until I can pull 405 before switching to sumo (the initial deal I made with myself).

These seem a lot better than those abortions last week. But still, 345 should go up smoother without me fightin so much ugliness imo.

Wide stance box squats 155x3x8. Pretty fast but I'd like to get them faster from the box before moving up.

RKC planks

They look a little better then last week but still not great.

How far apart are you hands, they seem like they could be too far apart based on the chack on the bar but its hard to tell.

I would maybe fool around w/ foot and hand position until you can get in a good set up. If i were you i would try narrowing your stance, angle your feet more and narrow your grip.

I have the inside of my feet just outside the outside of the center knurling. For my hands, I have them on the other side of the smooth fully gripping the knurling.

I've seen guys DL with their feet pretty narrow but that at least feels pretty narrow to me, I'm not sure going narrower is helpful. But I guess I can try. Maybe my hands should move in, though, since on pendlay rows I do take a slightly narrower grip which maybe is more natural.

My biggest struggle with my setup is getting into a position where I have my back angled somewhat, have my shins relatively vertical, and the bar underneath my scapula while having everything loaded. I have very little margin of error since my arms are a bit short and my torso is long.

I have to make sure my shoulder blades are loose and can go forward while also keeping my chest up while also pinning my lats down hard and then of course keeping my low back set and tight. I used to just get everything tight together like for every other lift but this included squeezing my shoulder blades together and when I do that I lose maybe 2" in length off of gripping the bar. I need those 2" or my back starts completely parallel to the ground and I can't keep my shins as vertical.

This has lead to me struggling with extremely tight hamstrings, some neck issues as it's tough to keep my shoulders blades loose while still keeping them locked in place and not moving around during the lift. I dno, I feel to DL properly I either can't go heavy or have a really narrow margin of error in my setup/technique, or have ****ty form.

I dont really think you need to have your shins relatively vertical. the closer and more angled your feet, the less your shins will be vertical. Thats why i suggested it. I have a tough time getting into position with wider/straighter feet but it is easier if i angle my feet and push out my knees. Im not saying to deadlift like this but here is a super extreme example of matt wenning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iCwnQBqGtk

Nice shin guards, Sally!

Might want to get a front view video of one of your lighter sets so weasel can figure out if there is an issue with feet/hands. Looks wider than you say on the side view videos, but you can't tell due to the angle.

Same ones Cha uses, except a size smaller, .

Agreed. I think a front view is necessary for Weas/you/anyone to give me more specific advice. I hadn't realized you could use a stance as drastic as the one linked to above, though. Maybe it could make a much bigger difference than I think.

I think Phil Stevens uses a similar foot position, but not as extreme.

Knowing you, it is highly likely. Stay safe.

Phill Stevens

I think Phil Stevens deadlifts like that cause his legs are all messed up.

He has accomplished all this despite being crushed as a child having his pelvic structure shattered in 16 pieces, his femoral artery severed and replaced, being told he would never walk again, and having no cartilage remaining in his left hip.

His hip is all messed up. I think I remember him stating he will need replacement in the near future but is trying to hold off as long as possible. Seems to affect his squats more than deadlift.

What Weasel is saying is all fine, but what would help Yugo fix his DL is to do a few workouts up here so someone knowledgeable can give real time feedback. idk what has happened to your DL Yugo, but is not the same as it was. You're pulling it with mostly your low back, which isnt set before you pull. When you dont DL here, record every single set you do and watch it before doing your next set. Get in the habit of that.

Tight hammies are not the problem. Tight hammies help you DL more. Your core/low back at the setup is a big problem.

Your bench form is fine. The only reason to bench here right now is for a better spotter & bar than you have at your gym. Switch your bench & DL days imo, then we wont be getting in each other's way and you can use the DL bar & platform.

6/4 log

Probably should have done cardio today and not benched since it turns out Cha wasn't lifting (I would have lifted at his place).

The last few days my left shoulder has been sore. Right where the pump of the clavical hits the acromion? Whatever that bump is at the end of my left clavical. It has been sore/tender to touch and sleeping on it has been ungreat since the weekend. It was worse yesterday after DLing the day before but didn't really seem necessarily that bad.

During bench warm ups it didn't feel any worse and after my first work set, 210x2, it didn't feel any worse. The reps felt relatively powerful given the heavy weight. However, the second set was grindy and that area felt much more sore afterwards. But not necessarily like it was in that much pain. The 3rd set while unracking it bothered me and I felt it during the first rep. The second rep as I started to push real hard I just quit the rep as it was def hurting.

I tried to unrack 135 after that and basically couldn't without quite a bit of soreness/pain.

The motion that hurts the most is when when I try to roll my left shoulder forward, if that makes sense. I'm worried DLing is the initial culprit from keeping my shoulders too loose/rolled forward during setup and the heavy benching aggravated it.

Anyway, iced it last night and took ibuprofen. It was really sore this morning but felt a bit "better" if that makes sense. Took some more ibuprofen. May try voodoo banding it tonight.

Since doing any more pressing was a no go I did seated cable rows (didn't hurt) and tricep pulldowns (didn't hurt). Just doing normal things can hurt since it really is a specific motion that triggers it. I have full ROM with my arm but it's hard to limit the specific movement that hurts since it seems randomly involved in many arm movements I make naturally. Like, I don't *have* to utilize that part of my shoulder/traps or whatever, but I normally would.