To add to flap’s comment about arching and effective upper pec work - I do 1.5 reps on barbell Incline. It’s brutal. I use a wide grip - index fingers on rings. I keep my elbows wide so I’m almost making a T with my upper arm and torso. Down, half way up, down up. 3 x 10 is the goal and when I get it I add weight. It’s the best Incline movement I’ve found.
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Yes. 1.5 reps are beast. I did a program called hell raiser training back in the day and it was super effective. Every exercise is done for 12 reps - 8 normal reps and 4 1.5 reps. Horrible. I recall seated B.B. OHP was the worst. It had incline bench too and getting 2x the chest work (with the bottom half of the rep being the most chest heavy).
It looks like the full program is now a paid program, but I found a sample and kind of want to go back to it now! Was super effective.
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The triceps ext is a typo - everything is 2x8+4.
I think an entire week of that would be brutal. You’d probably like it!
Alright, I’ve had 4 days off from the gym - couple super late nights at work followed by this stomach flu. I am definitely not 100%, I feel groggy, a bit weak, and I know my endurance will be shot, but I’m gonna get back on it. The scale also dropped from 230-223 in 2 days of vomiting and shitting.
I’m gonna hop back on the hellraiser training. I wish I had a partner - the original program calls for you to do 8 reps, then half of a negative with your partner pushing down on the bar, then you go back up, then you do a FULL negative with someone pushing down on the bar, then your partner assists you all the way back up. That’s 1 of the +4 reps. The SOLO program calls for you to do 8 normal reps followed by 6 5-second negatives. Still brutal. The volume isn’t super high, but if I remember, it sucks ass. I’m gonna run it as prescribed but may switch the 2 sets to 3 depending on how I feel.
Hellraiser Solo Training - 12 weeks
Not logging any of my warmup sets from now on, so the volume might look there but this shit was pretty brutal.
Week 1, Day 1 - Arms
CGBP
2x8+6 155lbs
One arm cable pull downs
2x8+6 3 on the stack
Lying DB Tri Ext
2x8+6 20s
100 band tri ext
One arm DB hammer curls
2x8+6 each arm 35
One arm cable preachers
2x8+6 each arm 3 on the stack
Reverse curls
2x8+6 40lb ezbar
Wrist curls
2x8+6 10s
Reverse Wrist curls
2x8+6 15s
The first 8 reps are normal tempo, the +6 are reps with a 5 second negative, which makes for 14 brutal reps. The partner training only has 4 reps because you have a spotter pushing on the negatives for 1.5 reps, and you’ll need help with the concentric to finish 4, so the solo has 6 to compensate. Sucks ass. Glad I started with light weights and arm day, I definitely felt sick the whole time from that damn stomach bug.
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Do you ever use
Gym buddies laugh at me when I pull out the grip strength device until they shake my hand and get there fingers crushed lol I use it between forearm sets. I’d pump at it for 30 reps or so and then complete my set. It’s really improved my grip and the forearm pump is crazy.
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I’ve been wanting to get a captains of crush for a while. I definitely don’t have anything against training grip strength. Also, big forearms are fuckin sweet. They’re like the calves of the arms.
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Had to look up captains of crush, wasn’t aware. Seems that’s the gold standard. It’s something extra to through into the mix. Mine was a cheap adjustable one goes up to 40kg, very much like that picture.
HRT Solo Week 1, Day 2
Wheels
Leg Press
2x8+6 340
Leg Extension
2x8+6 130
Hack Squat
2x8+6 2 plates per side
Plate Loaded Hip Thrust
2x8+6 2 plates per side
Single Leg Curl
2x8+6 50
Definitely still run down as shit. Haven’t drank enough water, was dizzy the whole time. It helps that there’s only 2 sets but they’re not much different from 20 rep sets with the additional TUT from those long negatives, so it’s like every working set is a 20 rep set.
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Best Damn uses five second negatives on the mTor sets and it’s done on every rep til failure. I hate it and don’t choose that option very often. I always seem to do more reps than I anticipate. I can feel the pain of those leg press sets…
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The leg Press was miserable but tolerable since it’s the first. It’s coming out of the hole on hack squats once the negatives start, after the leg presses and extensions that hurts.
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Chest
Started by working up to a heavy triple before jumping into the program because it seemed light on volume for chest. I dunno why I thought this, every other day has sucked, but I did it and half regretted it.
Incline Bench
225x3
2x8+6 135
Smith flat bench
2x8+6 155
Cable Crossovers HTL
2x8+6 65
DB Shoulder Press
2x8+6 40s
Lateral Raises
2x8+6 15s
Shrugs
2x8+6 135
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Hey, you found a legitimate reason to bench in the Smith!
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Hahah I actually kind of like benching in the Smith. Flat bench has always been a triceps and shoulders movement for me, with my chest getting nothing out of it. All the things that people hate on the smith for - locked ROM, no stabilizers - are the things that make it great for working the chest.
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Yesterday- back day
Pull-ups
2x8+6
One arm cable rows
2x8+6
Rope lat pulls
2x8+6
Pullover machine
2x8+6
Lateral Raises
3x30
Calves, conditioning, legs fluff
Standing calf raise
40, 80, 120, 160, 200x6
Seated Calf Raise
2 plates 5x10
Donkey calf raise machine
170 3x20
Front squats
135 3x10
Back squats
135 5x10, 4 second eccentric, no lockouts
5 minute quad finisher
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Yeah dude. 1 minute jumping squats, 1 minute jumping between wide and close stance squats, 1 minute squats, 1 minute pulsing from below to just above parallel, 1 minute parallel hold. Miserable.
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