Tu Str Week 2 (10/21/12 late) (1st log)

[Deleted]

my routines require a partner (spotter)
weight class 165
body fat 21%
weight- 174

monday - str bench 1 + (chest)
tuesday - back
wednesday - shoulders
thursday - cardio or rest (im pretty lazy)
friday - str bench 2 + (arms)
saturday - legs
sunday - cardio or rest

str bench program - pretty decent (i made it)
deadlift - i dont train it ( im assuming it goes up with squat )
squat program - testing it out ( its not perfect yet )

monday
elbow warmup ( 2 sets of light tricep )
bench warmup progressive sets
6x45
6x95
6x135
6x225
str routine bench 1
5x355
4x365
3x370
5x315
4x335

Friday
elbow warmup ( 2 sets of light tricep )
bench warmup progressive sets
6x45
6x95
6x135
6x225
str routine 2 bench
3x365
2x385
1x405
neg x425
3x325
2x345

Saturday
warm up (2 sets of lunges)
squat warmup progressive sets
6x45
6x95
6x135
6x225

str routine squat
4x305 - 3x325
3x315 - 2x335
2x325 - 1x345

yes, my squat is embarrassing, my new leg routine should blast the roof. i only train deadlift during my break from bench. 2 weeks only. gotta start doing 1 under 1 over grip since i cant use the wrist straps.
I didnt post my support training since thats boring stuff. my leg days does have a quad and hamstring heavy lift + stretches for both.

[Rosario-546]

Welcome aboard, nice benching!

[Deleted]

thanks bud.
sad. i have to do shoulders tomorrow by myself.

[Deleted]

Next Week 3
Monday bench
5x360
4x370
3x375
5x320
4x330

Friday bench
3x370
2x390
1x410
Neg x 430
3x 340
2x360

Saturday squat
4x315 3x335
3x325 2x345
2x335 1x355
I can't do negs by myself

Side note
Being lactose intolerant, I should stop eating chimichangas and yogurt.
I drop the bomb at the squat rack and wow.
I had to move to another area and do alternate lift.
That squat rack area is done. No longer safe.

[Deleted]

I messed up. Struggled hard today
Did
5x370
4x380
3x385 today

Instead of
5x360
4x370
3x375

Doesn't help that ate a lot of bacon over the weekend

[Deleted]

next week 4 schedule

Monday Bench
5x365
4x375
3x380
5x325
4x345

Friday bench
3x375
2x395
1x415
neg x 435
3x345
2x365

Saturday Squat (leg is almost at original PR)
4x325
3x345
2x365
1x385
neg x 405
4x285
3x305

[buckeye2010]

Great bench especially for someone your size. Welcom aboard.

[Deleted]

Thanks. I'm pretty chubby for my hieght too. Haha

[Deleted]

I upped the shoulder strength lifts today. Up by 20 lbs but down 1 rep on each set.
Incline BB press.
4x245
3x265
2x285
4x185(mess up, suppose to be 205)
3x225

30 lbs more and then I can rep the big 3 plates on shoulder press. Yay
8 to 10 week from now. Maybe

[Deleted]

Nect Week 5

Monday bench
5x370
4x375
3x380
5x330
4x350

Friday bench
3x360
2x380
1 or 2 x420
3x320
2x340

Saturday squat
4x335
3x355
2x375
1x395
Negx415
4x295
3x315

I failed to get the last inch on 415 bench today. I couldn't straighten my arms.

[Deleted]

next week 6. final str week

Monday bench
5x375
4x385
3x390
5x335
4x355

Friday bench
3x365
2x385
1x430
3x325
2x345

Saturday squat
4x345
3x365
2x385
1x405
4x305
3x325

i couldnt pause yesterday on 420 on bench. had to touch and go on 420x2 on bench

[Deleted]

yay 3 week of break
week 1
Monday bench
8x335
7x345
6x350

Friday bench
8x340
7x350
6x355

Saturday squat
4x350
3x370
2x390
1x410
4x310
3x330

touch and go on 430. rawr.
only gonna up 5lbs weekly on squat since it is break week on bench.
in 2 more strength cycle im gonna aim to break the 181 class from 165 class.

[buckeye2010]

Boy you have me green with envy with your bench.Great job!

[dopar66]

What's up SuperTu.
Just caught your log, I don't get on here as much as I once did. Insert smiley emoticon. Since it's obvious you're quite familiar with the bench press all I will say is WOW! But back to the deadlift: before you flip your grip, research the grip Brad Gillingham uses. I used to turn my left palm out, and tore my bicep tendon that way. The doc I had worked with the Olympic weightlifting team, so I kind of trust what he told me about the grip. He said it is next to impossible to tear your biceps tendon with the double hook grip.

It took 9 months from the injury until I made a successful deadlift on the weight I hurt myself on. A big part of that was accustoming my CNS to the hooking of the thumbs. That dagonnit hurts. The good side was now I wouldn't tear my biceps tendon deadlifting again. The bad side is the following March or April I tore the other one in the Lowe's parking lot. Oh well.

Again, nice benching.

God Bless.

[Ryan]

Nov 27, 2012 9:31:02 GMT -5 dopar66 said:

What's up SuperTu.
Just caught your log, I don't get on here as much as I once did. Insert smiley emoticon. Since it's obvious you're quite familiar with the bench press all I will say is WOW! But back to the deadlift: before you flip your grip, research the grip Brad Gillingham uses. I used to turn my left palm out, and tore my bicep tendon that way. The doc I had worked with the Olympic weightlifting team, so I kind of trust what he told me about the grip. He said it is next to impossible to tear your biceps tendon with the double hook grip.

It took 9 months from the injury until I made a successful deadlift on the weight I hurt myself on. A big part of that was accustoming my CNS to the hooking of the thumbs. That dagonnit hurts. The good side was now I wouldn't tear my biceps tendon deadlifting again. The bad side is the following March or April I tore the other one in the Lowe's parking lot. Oh well.

Again, nice benching.

God Bless.

This is true, but hook grip is incredibly painful.

Might be a good first course of action to switch your grip from "right-out" to "left-out" from one training session to the next, or even during warmups to work sets in same workout in order to minimize one-sided back torsion and potential for assistance muscles to try and overcompensate, then strain or tear themselves.

Just saying, hook grip is safer than staggered grip, but it's not the only option for staying injury-free.

-Ryan

[Deleted]

I prolly won't be training deadlift for a while. Focusing on legs at the moment. I'm trying to get it above bench.
I have what they call chicken legs hehe. I got my quads solid now. Just working on upping the squat max and hamstring.

I do do both underhand grip on deadlift on reps between 3 to 6.
I stop the one over and one under. I feel unbalance with it.

If you guys like these bench numbers, wait till next year's world competition. I'm aiming for Paul bossi's record but from the 165 class.
I might go as a cartoon character. Would they stop me at the door if I had a paper sword...

[zekester]

I use the hook grip without pain, maybe its because I only deadlft around 500lbs or its a genetic thing?

[Deleted]

Maybe your just awesome.
I think with the hook grip, people are over flexing their arms. Like trying to curl it

[Rosario-546]

IMO Being able to use the hook grip is all about the size of your hands, my power bar 1-1/8" I can't painfully work with singles all day long, and my 1-1/4" bar I can't even crack the floor with 50%. I've been using straps myself for that last few months, even out some unevenness.

[Ryan]

Nov 28, 2012 11:34:10 GMT -5 @supertu said:

Maybe your just awesome.
I think with the hook grip, people are over flexing their arms. Like trying to curl it

Flexing arms? I think you're misunderstanding what the hook grip is. Look it up on YouTube, actually search Brad Gillingham and watch him DL.

The hook grip is where both palms face your body, with your fingers gripping the bar while wrapped around your thumbs. So, your thumbs are actually clamped between the bar and the palm of your hand by your fingers. The thumbs take on the role of a "hook", hence the term "hook grip".

If it sounds painful, it is to most, but not all.

This grip was actually adapted from OLY lifting by powerlifters. Those who use it swear by it; I'm just not one of those guys willing to endure the thumb pain. lol

-Ryan

[Deleted]

I know what hook gripis. It's just that the hook grip forces your finger to grip tighter, which makes some people flex their arm more. Like their bicep or forearm.

Its similar to the bench press, where people grip the bar so tight that they flex their forearms. They exhaust themselves from holding the weight instead of from doing the lift.

[dopar66]

The way Gillingham hook grips it's the weight of the bar that basically smashes the thumbs into the hook, so you really aren't flexing that much. I used that grip for 2+ years and I can pretty much vouch for that aside from this being anecdotal and not empirical evidence. Which could also be said of the some people that flex their forearms more.

If you're set on an alternating grip just be sure your arms are straight before beginning the lift, no bend in the arm where the palm faces out. I have two cool scars and $32,000 in (paid off) surgery bills to show for lapses in form.

God Bless.

[Ryan]

[/quote]Its similar to the bench press, where people grip the bar so tight that they flex their forearms. They exhaust themselves from holding the weight instead of from doing the lift.[/quote][/b]

Dopar is on the money re: hook grip mechanics. There's no forearm flexion above or beyond what you experience with staggered grip because the thumb bares more of the brunt of the grip than your fingers do in locking the thum against the bar. It's almost like using straps which if you've used them, you know the straps actually let you slightly release your grip tension without losing the bar. Only difference here is that your thumbs become the straps! lol

Also, Supertu: Not sure what you're talking about here where you say NOT to flex forearms when benching?? If you're only trying to get a chest workout then you're spot on; just press with using your chest, and try to elminate grip tension if you wish. However, that's a bodybuilding/muscle isolation principle and this is a PL forum, so...... lol

If you're talking strictly PL, the fact is every one of the big-3 lifts are designed to be total body movements. When you bench, you should be squeezing the bar as tight as you can (to activate triceps and forearms) and you should actually be trying to pull the bar apart as well, to further activate triceps.

If you don't believe me (or agree with me, which by the way is fine!), go to EliteFTS.com and have a look at some of the commentary and/or videos there about how to bench for powerlifting. Also, Dave Tate is not the only to espouse this mindset for benching; this is all common knowledge throughout PLing, and is methodology that's used by Raw and geared lifters alike. The point I'm making is that purposely working to eliminate the recruitment of assisting muscle groups in training makes plenty of sense to a BBer, but makes literally zero sense in PLing.


-Ryan

[Deleted]

I am gonna try to compete in the Vegas meet. It's just all the other smaller meet is on the east coast.

Well I'm trying to eliminate the ideas of using your whole body to bench.
I see it through a physics angle.
Weight is on arms. Chest shoulder and back are support. Nowhere is weight on legs.

I did pause on 415 for my 1 rep
I attempted pause 420 but I failed. So I touch and go on 2x420 and 1x430.
I usually only pause on weights that is in my 3 rep zone. I have no clue why I pause on 1x415, I just did it.

My touch and goes aren't bouncing. It's almost a pause but not as long since I leave it on chest. I just avoid bouncing or jerking because its unsafe and it looks like it hurts.

It also has to do with my form. I don't go wide grip.
Elbow as close as possible to ribs. Wrist above elbows. This gives the longest rom.
If my lats gets bigger my elbow gets push out. And then my grip moves out a little.
It's almost a close grip but not.
I only use wide grip when I need to stretch my chest to get bigger chest. It's a bodybuilding secret to wide grip neck press. Wide grip isolates to the chest development.

[dbunch]

@ Rryandelman, I'm with you. I'm to big a baby to use hook grip!