Do Meatheads Dream of Iron Sheep?

Congratulations on reaching your first goal! Great to hear all your waist line is smaller, while your chest is Hulktastic.

[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I’ve also wondered if I should think about taking my foot off the gas with pushing strength, but my body feels great and I keep getting stronger. I haven’t missed a workout all year and am probably due for a bit of a break. I figure life will give me a few de-load weeks as summer approaches.

Until then I suppose I will listen to my body…
[/quote]

Bingo. Listen to your body. The more hardcore crowd might tell you to throw caution to the wind and just try to PR every damn day, but IMO there’s a bit of a misperception that some of us “commoners” tend to have: many of the best athletes aren’t killing themselves in EVERY SINGLE WORKOUT, but rather they bust their butt in workouts when that is called for and, likewise, they back off when their body tells them to do so.

twojar, as I alluded to once on your other thread, you’ll learn when to leave a rep or two in the tank and when to really “go for it” on the big days for a PR. I’ve expressed that I tend to err on the conservative side and leave a rep in the tank rather than pushing to failure on most exercises. Everyone’s mileage will vary, but progress is made over weeks and months and years; any single rep is not likely to make or break your training. That’s my take :)[/quote]

What he said. Smart trainees out-last “hardcore” ones. Train hard, but listen to your body. If the joints are screaming for a break, listen.

LiftingStrumpet - Thank you! I’m not sure I’d call my chest “hulktastic” yet. If anything, it is my upper back that is contributing the most to the torso thickness, giving me the much-coveted “S” shape when viewed from the side. My lats are big enough now that I have developed the somewhat rare “X” taper front the front view, but my love handles are receding as well and I may someday have the V-shape. The man boobs continue their metamorphosis into pecs, and when that is complete I will post a shirtless progress pic for all of you sick weirdos who like to look at shit like that.

CalvertFitness - Thanks for the reminder, even though you are replying to a post that’s 7 or 8 months old. My joints have been fantastic and 5/3/1 has me staying away from max effort lifting. I feel like I am on a very sustainable path for my lifting now.

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I will post a shirtless progress pic for all of you sick weirdos who like to look at shit like that.
[/quote]

Make sure you’re good and pasty after a long Maine winter!

Friday 12/12/14

BW 292

Cycle 3, 5s week

Press - TM 185

125x5 set 1
145x5 set 2
160x6 set 3
135x10 FSL set

Lat PD, neutral grip

200x10
200x10
200x7
200x9

Mixed a few pullups in too

4 supinated
2 supinated
2 pronated

Low incline DB bench

5 sets of 75x10

Kettlebell swings, fifty pounder

5 sets of 20

30 min sauna
15 min hot tub

Still here, keep on lifting man.

(rehab for me at the moment after a knee reco - torn acl)

Just read some of your stats from the beginning of your thread and you’ve done incredible things with your self. Congratulations and may I add good energy towards your continued success.

raven78 - Thanks for following along. Me lifting is as sure as the sun rise at this point, and I’m hoping for another year of injury-free lifting in 2015 and I wish the same for you as you work on your rehab!

GV - Thanks for the kind words. “Incredible” is not a word that comes to mind when I think about myself. Maybe I’ll use that word when I’m squatting 600 in a meet at a bodyweight around 220 in my 40’s like you just did. That would be incredible. Or if I live past 70, that would be incredible too.

Some general developments, gym gossip and good news.

I told myself I was done, DONE I SAY, helping noobs learn the basics of barbell work. The kid I spent 30 minutes with learning how to squat had no heart at all, no willingness to meet the challenge and just a terrible attitude. His big thing now are decline weighted medicine ball pushups, because his chest needs more work and his wrists are impervious to sprains, brah.

My GF’s co-worker, on the other hand, is killing it. She is now running Stronglifts and REALLY running it, upping the weight and really throwing herself into the process and having a lot of fun. She has the fire, no doubt about it. After just six days working with me she is lifting independently, safely and productively, closing in a full month of consistent barbell work. I find it incredibly rewarding to share this lifestyle with eager and motivated people.

We don’t lift together except for a bit of overlap on Mondays, which makes for some amusing interactions in the gym. She is now dealing with an awful lot of unsolicited advice from weak men who do not press, squat or deadlift yet have a sudden impulse to be some kind of white knight to her. She is a solid squatter, good depth, knees out, flat back, straight bar path centered right over the middle of her foot. Not perfect, but very good for her first month. That didn’t stop some skinny guy from sowing the seeds of doubt in her mind by giving her unfounded critiques and advice from straight out of his ass.

That shit makes my BLOOD BOIL, but she’s a strong lady and I suggested that she smile, nod and say “thanks” while she emasculates the chest and bis crowd with technically-sound squats and deads. I imagine she’ll be getting a LOT more of those encounters as she continues to progress.

On the subject of technical execution, I am VERY pleased to have made contact with a very legit strength coach in the Portland Area named Matthew Israelson, owner of DYNA-MAXX gym. 1900+ total, decades under the bar, strength coach for the University of Southern Maine, Bachelor’s in some kind of sports science, seems like exactly who I need to be learning from.

My new lifting lady friend and I will both be spending a full Saturday at his gym in January, righting whatever wrongs I’ve inflicted on the both of us and having a good time learning from a barbell master.

I am very, very excited for some long-overdue technical instruction and very excited for my GF’s co-worker to have this opportunity so early in her lifting career. And we get a t-shirt!

Monday 12/15/14

BW 291

Cycle 3, 3s week

Squat - TM 440

135x5
225x5
255x3 paused all warmup reps
305x3 set 1
350x3 set 2
395x4 set 3
315x10 FSL Set

Romanian deadlift

5 sets of 205x10

Leg press

5 sets of 380x10

Quick kettlebell finisher with the fifty pounder

20 swings
5 clean+press per arm

New squat video

Here is 350 for an easy triple.

Here is my top set of 395 for 4.

A note on wraps. I now wrap VERY loosely as to approximate a knee sleeve, which I should probably buy soon. I don’t want to get anything out of the wraps except knee warmth and a bit of support.

Some of my earlier heavy sets on video like 385x5 and 405x3 from this summer had much tighter wraps. The difference out of the hole is significant for me, and the acceleration you get from the wraps makes the whole movement much easier.

For now I defer to Wendler, who suggests nothing more than knee sleeves. I feel like it will make me stronger overall.

As always, comment and criticism is most welcome.

Love the new tittle …I’m such a geek I get it

[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:
Love the new tittle …I’m such a geek I get it[/quote]

Thanks bulldog9899! I’m glad someone got it. Let it be known that I am hereby laying claim to the following future log titles:

A Squatter Chalkly
Deus Ferrum
Flow My Tears, the Form Police Said
I Hope I Shall Arrive Swole
The Minority Rep

Tuesday 12/16/14

BW 292

Cycle 3, 3s week

Bench Press - TM 280

135x5
155x3
195x3 set 1
225x3 set 2
250x5 set 3
195x10 FSL set

More back cramps on top set. I beleve squat fatigue to be the culprit. I will be rearranging things for cycle 4.

DB Row

100x10
100x10
100x17

DB bench

85x10
85x10
85x9

Thursday 12/18/14

BW 290

Cycle 3, 3s week

Deadlift - TM 530

135x5
225x5
315x3
370x3 set 1
425x3 set 2
475x6 set 3

Kneeling ab wheel rollout

6 sets of 5

These were alternated with various kettlebellery with the fifty pounder

Swings, set of 40, 30, 30
Goblet squats, set of 12, 10
Two sets of 10 cleans per arm

20 min sauna
10 min hot tub

been catching up on your recent posts and such…very nice looking numbers, sir

very nice, indeed

[quote]ErikM wrote:
been catching up on your recent posts and such…very nice looking numbers, sir

very nice, indeed[/quote]

Thanks ErikM. I just try to keep adding weight to the bar and take it off the scale. I’m definitely better at the former.

Here’s some video from last night’s top set. 475 for 6. I need to keep working on my setup, but these felt really good.

You are so grizzly.

Grinding out that last rep after a dead-stop was impressive.

Keep up the good work.

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:
Love the new tittle …I’m such a geek I get it[/quote]

Thanks bulldog9899! I’m glad someone got it. Let it be known that I am hereby laying claim to the following future log titles:

A Squatter Chalkly
Deus Ferrum
Flow My Tears, the Form Police Said
I Hope I Shall Arrive Swole
The Minority Rep

[/quote]
LOL…OUTSTANDING

Friday 12/19/14

BW 290

Cycle 3, 3s week

Press - TM 190

95x3
135x3 set 1
150x3 set 2
170x6 set 3
135x12 FSL set

DB low incline bench

5 sets of 60x10

Seeking the MMC, I feel like I am getting closer.

Lat Pulldown, various grips

3 sets of 200x10

Mixed in with these were some pullups, various grips

5 - FIVE!!! Possibly a Southern Maine fat man record.
4
4
2

Bicep curls with the curvy curl bar and 40 pounds of plates

3 sets of 10-12

Monday 12/22/14

BW 290

Cycle 3, 5/3/1 week

Squat - TM 440

135x5
225x5
275x3
330x5 set 1
375x3 set 2
415x4 set 3
330x7 FSL set 1
315x6 FSL set 2

Romanian Deadlift

3 sets of 205x10

Leg Press

3 sets of 380x10

Things are clicking, even in the face of Holiday diet pitfalls. My PR sets (set 3, for those unfamiliar with 5/3/1) are actual PR’s now and the scale is moving in the right direction again. I’m very excited for cycle 4, where I will be prioritizing bench a little more to get that moving too.