tonight was week four of our four week cycle of bands. damn i’m feeling beat up now. i still hit a 5lb weight PR but i’m ready for a break. next week will be a “deload” of sorts and then the following week we will test out our lifts.
Reverse band bench
225x10
405x6
495x4
585x1
640x1x3
dumbell bench press
140’s x 15
close grip bench press- paused
495x5,5,4
abs and lower back crap.
So, that close grip bench was without bands? Mind boggling.
Quick question for you, if you don’t mind. I noticed on the video that you don’t seem to press straight up. I suppose at part, if not all, of that is due to the bands pulling the bar back over your neck, but what do you recommend? I read about pressing the bar straight up, but I have an easier time if I arc it back towards the neck. Or does that point to a weak spot somewhere?
At any rate, great lifting!
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
another great thing about a box is teaching tightness in the hole. when i teach someone to squat to a box, i teach them to not anticipate where the box is. i tell them to continually force the knees out on the way down until they actually reach the box. then once they reach it, they stay really tight and with all that built up tension, they should fly off the box. unfortunately most people don’t do these things when they box squat. they plop down and then rock to get off of it. then they wonder why their free squat sucks. a box squat should be done exactly the way you do a free squat.
[/quote]
Meat, just rereading this entry, and I think this is the single best paragraph I’ve ever read on how to do a proper box squat.
Thanks again for all the advice.
[quote]sfp wrote:
So, that close grip bench was without bands? Mind boggling.
Quick question for you, if you don’t mind. I noticed on the video that you don’t seem to press straight up. I suppose at part, if not all, of that is due to the bands pulling the bar back over your neck, but what do you recommend? I read about pressing the bar straight up, but I have an easier time if I arc it back towards the neck. Or does that point to a weak spot somewhere?
At any rate, great lifting![/quote]
those were set up reverse band as well. i wish i could do sets of five closed gripped with 495.
you definitely want to press back in an arch. this is the natural plane for pressing. but you can definitely press it too far back. i press back over my shoulders. if it’s going back over your face, that’s too far.
[quote]sfp wrote:
maraudermeat wrote:
another great thing about a box is teaching tightness in the hole. when i teach someone to squat to a box, i teach them to not anticipate where the box is. i tell them to continually force the knees out on the way down until they actually reach the box. then once they reach it, they stay really tight and with all that built up tension, they should fly off the box. unfortunately most people don’t do these things when they box squat.
they plop down and then rock to get off of it. then they wonder why their free squat sucks. a box squat should be done exactly the way you do a free squat.
Meat, just rereading this entry, and I think this is the single best paragraph I’ve ever read on how to do a proper box squat.
Thanks again for all the advice.[/quote]
thanks a lot! the fact that you appreciate it makes my efforts worthwhile.
meanwhile i have douchbags arguing verbage in other areas instead of seeing the information that i present from years of experimentation under the bar.
tonight was very very hard…
squats to box with minibands
135x10
225x10
315x10x5 sets- i hurled after set 4. the band tension at the top was well over 100lbs. each rep was paused on the box and exploded up as fast as possible.
ab machine supersetted with GHR’s
some x some
this was it. doesn’t look like much but the hard ones never do.
Holy crap, I hope my lifts can get insane like yours one day. What was that weight on that front squat in ur avatar?
Very inspiring btw.
[quote]trav123456 wrote:
Holy crap, I hope my lifts can get insane like yours one day. What was that weight on that front squat in ur avatar?
Very inspiring btw.[/quote]
thanks hoss!!
the front squat was 605lbs.
Respecta man that hurls. Most folks don’t have the nuts. Love reading your numbers.
[quote]barryjenkins00 wrote:
Respecta man that hurls. Most folks don’t have the nuts. Love reading your numbers.[/quote]
thanks hoss!! I have the opposite problem than most- I push too hard sometimes. throwing up and passing out, i don’t mind. it’s when i tear muscles. that takes time to get over.
funny story- at different times i train using more of a bodybuilder type of training to put on mass. this involves doing high reps, forced reps, drop sets, rest/pause. stuff like that.
one time i was doing drop sets on the leg press and i had a bad habit of blacking out on my last rep or so but would still stand up somehow. i would take a step or two and would fall flat on my face. arms at the sides… the whole deal.
well, one time i was doing the dreaded drop set and i apparently stood up and stepped out of the leg press just as a saleperson was bringing around a group of prospective members. they were pretty much all middleaged women. they stopped in front of me and the salesperson apparently said “looks like you’re training hard” I immidiately feel flat on my face right at their feet. my training partner just laughed as they all started screaming.
Meat, that was a story and a half…i laughed out loud.
I hope you don’t mind me picking your brain with a quick question about front squats. Any tips regarding not “tipping forward” on the way up. When i’m on or close to my limit it tends to happen and it slows my progress as i’m ultra careful with my back so i’ll tend to back off.
Simply a case of tight hips and pelvic area?
Cheers mate, great lifting.
[quote]FatPat wrote:
Meat, that was a story and a half…i laughed out loud.
I hope you don’t mind me picking your brain with a quick question about front squats. Any tips regarding not “tipping forward” on the way up. When i’m on or close to my limit it tends to happen and it slows my progress as i’m ultra careful with my back so i’ll tend to back off.
Simply a case of tight hips and pelvic area?
Cheers mate, great lifting. [/quote]
i’m glad that i could give you a laugh:)
about front squats-
i find that taking a wider stance, pointing the toes out some and really forcing the knees out on the way down and up keeps the bar more centered over the hips which in turn keeps it from getting out in front of you. also, consciously forcing your elbows up high and keeping them high the entire time will do wonders for keeping the weight positioned correctly. i use the crossed arms style and i force the bar against my neck and actually choke myself at first then i force my elbows up in the air and keep tension against them the entire time. much like when i’m doing a back squat, i force my elbows forward and up. i do the same thing with front squats.
a good variation for teaching proper position is to do front squats to a box, front squats to pins and also front squats off pins.
here’s a vid of one of my front squats. it shows how i set up pretty well.
Thanks Meat,
Great fuckin weight man, Jesus you’ve got some potential…
I haven’t used a box with front squats as yet, i’ll give it whirl and get back to ya. I’ll try a wider stance too, i’m relatively tall so i definitely find going wider easier for balance purposes on all squat variations…
Keep up the good work, you’re an inspiration mate!
Meat great story. Back at ya. I was at an artsy fartsy Bally’s once and did a 20-reo squat and was laying on the floor and a guy came up and wanted to call the EMTs. I laughed so uncontrollably they almost called the cops. I do zerchers with a box sometimes but I don’t lead with my fat ass enough. Going to try the 2X4 on the forearms. 315+ makes my forearms whine. A great day to ya from the Missouri Mule.
605! jesus. Hey quick question, do you have a strategy for timing your deloads, or do you just do one when you start feeling worn down?
[quote]trav123456 wrote:
605! jesus. Hey quick question, do you have a strategy for timing your deloads, or do you just do one when you start feeling worn down?[/quote]
i do 4 week cycles, then i take a deload week and then i tetest my lifts. my deload week is still pretty hard, just not heavy. i’ve found that moderate weight and higher reps help me recover better than just taking time off. I think it has to do with getting blood into the muscles which bring in nutrients to heal them while also removing waste products.
[quote]FatPat wrote:
Thanks Meat,
Great fuckin weight man, Jesus you’ve got some potential…
I haven’t used a box with front squats as yet, i’ll give it whirl and get back to ya. I’ll try a wider stance too, i’m relatively tall so i definitely find going wider easier for balance purposes on all squat variations…
Keep up the good work, you’re an inspiration mate![/quote]
no problem.
anytime i can help let me know.
[quote]barryjenkins00 wrote:
Meat great story. Back at ya. I was at an artsy fartsy Bally’s once and did a 20-reo squat and was laying on the floor and a guy came up and wanted to call the EMTs. I laughed so uncontrollably they almost called the cops. I do zerchers with a box sometimes but I don’t lead with my fat ass enough. Going to try the 2X4 on the forearms. 315+ makes my forearms whine. A great day to ya from the Missouri Mule.[/quote]
i fall down and puke so much at my gym that no one even notices anymore. i don’t know if that’s a good thing or not:)
i just put my mind in a happy place when doing shit like zerchers.
thanks hoss!!
sweet, thanks for the quick response! So you basically switch the ME days for RE days (correct me if I’m oversimplifyng it as I probably am), I’ve been reading on deloading strategies and I think I’m going to be trying to do deloads more often and not just take a week off completely like I used to.
i usually stick to the same ME movements for four weeks and then on the deload week i stick to machines that are plate loaded. it allows me to deload the spine while still getting a good workout.