Medically Diagnosed with a Well Developed Appearance

[Allentown]

Apr 17
GPP
BW 218.4
DB row
75x12x5
Leg raise
10x7

EZ bar skull crushers
68x12x5
Pull up
4x9

DB concentration curl
27x12x3

[Allentown]

Apr 18
Bench
BW 218.2
Bench
225x1x4
177x8x4
Chain hammer curl
12x8

OHP
147x2
122x8x3

Goofed up on rep 2 of 225, failed it. Reracked, did three more singles as planned. Need to fess up to using PED this morning though (caffeine pill along with double espresso).

[Allentown]

Apr 19
DL
BW 217.8
Deadlift
475x3
380x5x4(+3 reps last set)

Box front squat
210x12x3(+1 rep last set)
CoC
#1x5x5
Tx23x3
3-1-3 tempo GM
95x12x3

Good. Solid. Top set was @9.5. Or possibly @10. But I've had harder pulls.

[Clearwater47]

Sounds like a very good session. I love (and hate) DL/Front Squat workouts. Love them because they just seem like a great compliment to each other. Hate them because of the physical and psychological discomfort. Always feels good when you get through the workout.

Help me out with some of your acronyms... CoC? What is the T in Tx23x3?

[Allentown]

Sounds like a very good session. I love (and hate) DL/Front Squat workouts. Love them because they just seem like a great compliment to each other. Hate them because of the physical and psychological discomfort. Always feels good when you get through the workout.

Help me out with some of your acronyms... CoC? What is the T in Tx23x3?

Captain of Crush grippers. T is the Trainer gripper, 100lbs of resistance.

I am 65% sure my best deadlift progress came when I was doing front squats in the programming. But also doing Prowler sprints, I think, too many variables, but I too love/hate front squats. Doing them off a box is nice, I think, let's it be a bigger quad stimulus because it helps take the low back and hamstrings out. Which is why I do good mornings too, but I dunno about those.

[Allentown]

Apr 20
GPP
BW
Grenade lat pull down
50x12x5

Standing triceps press down
57x12x5
BB row
150x12x5

Myo pulley curl
40x20, 40x5x11

Echo
1mi
2:33

Increased weight on all lifts, felt like the RPE was lower than last time anyways. Possibly going to bed 30 min early helped.

[DanCR]

I am 65% sure my best deadlift progress came when I was doing front squats in the programming. But also doing Prowler sprints, I think, too many variables, but I too love/hate front squats.

I hate them, period, but my experience is yours: my best (although in my case still sad) deadlifting has been when front squatting. Thinking about it, though, I don’t know whether that was as a result of the movement or that at those times front squatting was my only squat - meaning substantially lighter than my normal squat and with next to no lower back fatigue…

Doing them off a box is nice, I think, let's it be a bigger quad stimulus because it helps take the low back and hamstrings out. Which is why I do good mornings too, but I dunno about those.

… and further to that, curious as to this, in that the reason that I’ve had periods of doing this movement that I loathe was that I’d gotten hurt and needed a straight up and down squat that didn’t invite my low back and hips/hams to the party. I would think that sitting back to a box would send that invitation, but I may not be correctly picturing it, or different anthropometry, etc.

[Allentown]

Apr 22
Bench
BW
Bench
205x5
187x4x5
187x8

DB curl
25x13x3
Pinky grip tempo bench
147x8x3

So I totally just remembered (learned?) that you can kind of catapult the bar off your chest using your abs and ribs. Tempo bench was probably 1-2 RPE lower than last week with an extra 1lb (wow) on the bar, especially sets 2 & 3 when I utilized that technique.

[Allentown]

… and further to that, curious as to this, in that the reason that I’ve had periods of doing this movement that I loathe was that I’d gotten hurt and needed a straight up and down squat that didn’t invite my low back and hips/hams to the party. I would think that sitting back to a box would send that invitation, but I may not be correctly picturing it, or different anthropometry, etc.

Bar path is not vertical when I do them, and it doesn't need to be. More of a J. But I think the big change that reduces low back fatigue is that I'm not inducing a large force through my low back at the bottom of a squat where you need to stop the descent and reverse into an ascent- the box does that and lets you focus your brain parts on quads for the push.

If I had the space or money or interest I would use/set up a leg press, but for now I like (hate) doing these.

[DanCR]

… and further to that, curious as to this, in that the reason that I’ve had periods of doing this movement that I loathe was that I’d gotten hurt and needed a straight up and down squat that didn’t invite my low back and hips/hams to the party. I would think that sitting back to a box would send that invitation, but I may not be correctly picturing it, or different anthropometry, etc.

Bar path is not vertical when I do them, and it doesn't need to be. More of a J. But I think the big change that reduces low back fatigue is that I'm not inducing a large force through my low back at the bottom of a squat where you need to stop the descent and reverse into an ascent- the box does that and lets you focus your brain parts on quads for the push.

If I had the space or money or interest I would use/set up a leg press, but for now I like (hate) doing these.

I can understand that. If I wanted to essentially guarantee never getting hurt again squatting, I’d pause squat only, for that reason. I’ve committed (lol) to that change a few times but the ego always undid it in like a week.

[broseph]

But I think the big change that reduces low back fatigue is that I'm not inducing a large force through my low back at the bottom of a squat where you need to stop the descent and reverse into an ascent

I definitely think this is something. I’ve recently slowed my eccentrics down in the name of hypertrophy, and found; less joint pains and not a very big effect on rep count.

I really thought it was going to kill my reps per set. Maybe the sudden reverse in direction on a fast eccentric is just as taxing as a slower overall eccentric, but more so on the joints (and lower back with a squat).

[Allentown]

Apr 23
Legs
BW
LBBS
345x1
Raw pause LBBS
225x4x6
LBBS
315x2x2

SGDL
12x185,195,205,215

Decided to do pause, for the low stress.
Kind of aimless right now. I don't currently have any set goals for the year, and programming is mostly free from. Should probably pick SOMETHING so I don't get to Dec and find I am in a worse place than the year before...

[Allentown]

Apr 24
GPP
BW
DB row
130x8x4
Leg raise
17x4

EZ bar skull crushers
70x12x5
Pull up
6x5(+1 rep last set)

DB con curl
28x12x3
Rotator cuff stuff

Echo tabata
10::20x8
.91mi

[Allentown]

Apr 25
Bench
BW 218.4
Bench
225x1
215x1,1,1f,1
Bench
178x8x4
Chain curl
18x5

Arnold press
25x12x5

OHP
135x3

Wanted to do a double for the 4th set of top weight, got all wonky and almost dropped it.

[Allentown]

Apr 26
Deadlift
BW 220.2
DL
495x1
435x4x3
435x6

Box front squat
215x12x3

3-1-3 tempo GM
96x12x3

Slow (80min) but solid session.
Weight too high. But my knee sleeves felt really tight, so I'll just assume it's all muscle.

[Allentown]

Apr 27
GPP
BW
Lat pull down
122x15x5
McGill crunch
6x5

BFR triceps press down
62x12x5

BFR preacher curl
42x12x5

[Allentown]

Apr 29
Bench
BW
Bench
207x4
190x4x5
190x6f
190x3

Pinkey grip tempo bench
150x8x3
DB curl
30x12,12,13

[Allentown]

Apr 30
Legs
BW 220.4
Raw pause low bar
235x3x10

Heel elevated squats
25x20x3

I don't want to do squats any more. But I also don't know how to not do them.

[DanCR]

Raw pause low bar
235x3x10
...
I don't want to do squats any more. But I also don't know how to not do them.

Funny, awhile back there was a bit of back and forth upstairs about pause squats being less "mentally taxing" than regular squats, even when going very heavy on them. I don't know if it's the sense of greater control or what, but whenever I feel like you're feeling right now, I switch to pauses until the malaise fades. That usually takes a week or two before my ego gets involved haha.

[Allentown]

May 1
GPP
BW
DB lat row
76x12x5
Leg raise
11x7

EZ skull crushers
70x12x5
Pull up
4x10

DB concentration curl
28x12x3
Incline treadmill walk
15% incline speed 4
2:00x3

Fine. Nothing super easy, nothing super hard.