Feb '20 Photo/Video Check-In

This is an idea to improve the forum community, but this thread absolutely does not reflect any type of “official” T-Nation site membership requirement.

It’s a check-in, not a call-out. The idea is to improve the sense of community and remind us all that, no matter what we post about here and what initially brought us to the site, the one common trait that every forum member should have is a consistent drive to attack our training and see results, period.

I’m asking for all forum members to post a current snapshot of themselves. And let’s try not to get too distracted or off-topic with critiques of what gets posted. There should end up being more posts with images attached, than not.

If your goals are physique-based - you want to get bigger or get leaner or get bigger and leaner - toss up a current pic.

If your goals are performance-based - the powerlifter, the fighter, the Olympic lifter, etc. - you’re not excused. You’re invited to post a short video clip from a recent training session.

I’m just asking you to participate and play a role in improving the quality of the forum as a whole by reinforcing the idea that T-Nation members know how to do more than just rack up high post counts in the non-training-related sections of the site.

Concerned about staying anonymous? Sites like pixlr are free Photoshop-like websites that make it ridiculously simple to edit/blur/obscure your face, identifying tattoos, birthmarks, background detail, or anything else that might threaten your anonymity.

So, no excuses.

Previous check-in: August 2019

4 Likes

202.8 this morning. About a half-pound down from starting the T-ransformation challenge in January.

Been within two-ish pounds of the starting weight due to just getting back into a routine and sorting out the latest shoulder issue. Time to start doing real work and, like, effort.

4 Likes

Got this from last week. Set a lifetime PR on axle strict press with 6x231lbs

24 Likes

Congratulations on the big PR!

1 Like

Thanks! Press is really moving well right now.

1 Like

Not much to report for me. Down 8 pounds in January. Mostly Christmas/water I’m sure.

That’s pretty amazing.

1 Like

Nice pressing.

Is axle harder than a standard power bar?

1 Like

Somewhat, yeah. The weight gets out further in front of you. But it tends to beat up my connective tissue less, so it’s worth it.

I recall you mentioning you have monkey arms. I do too. I notice your grip on the axle is wider than I’d grip on a barbell. Is your grip width the same for a barbell press?

I haven’t pressed with a barbell since 2015, minus one workout in 2017 I did while traveling. Couldn’t really say what my grip would be on one. I use this width as it allows me to get the axle racked across my chest/collarbone, similar to how I would press out of a continental.

1 Like

Bodyweight pretty much the same from January.

Hit a 15 rep PR last night though, which I was pretty happy with. This might be the year I finally move my squat from shit to suck. Still didn’t film it though.

4 Likes

:unamused: You can do it!

1 Like

To be fair, if I’d thought of it yesterday, I would. I was trying all sorts of stuff to pressure myself into it (sorry @TX_iron)

2 Likes

Recently I’ve been setting PRs every week after being stagnant for a LONG time. I finally found that the secret to getting stronger is realizing that a heavy squat always feels like shit

This workout was a couple days ago. Squatted 365x5, bench 245x5, weighted chin 90x3 at 200 bodyweight. Gonna get that 405 soon

3 Likes

I recently heard this from another smart man. @mattjp

2 Likes

Dude it’s honestly an amazing realization. I was at a mental block because I thought that when you got stronger the weight was going to feel lighter. Now I realize that the weight always feels heavy and the lift always feels hard, and it’s supposed to. But the difference is that once you get stronger, your legs and back and abs are all strong and trained up for it and ready to do the work if you can will your body to move the weight

Another big game changer is that I had to completely disregard my perception of how hard the lift feels (because it’s always going to feel hard when you’re going for PRs). Instead of paying attention to how it feels, I started paying attention to how fast the bar moved and whether (based on my experience with my own body) I could get another rep

2 Likes

I stole it from a smarter, stronger man but yeah @muskratlifts nailed it in his post up there. It might feel horrible at the top but it can still move like lightning.

I still occasionally get the odd unrack where the brace is perfect and the movement efficient and three plates feels like one, but I can’t yet replicate that every time and maybe never will.

2 Likes

Weight is up nearly 15 lbs from the last check-in, when I was finishing a cut. Abs are much fluffier, definitely more fat on me, but more muscle too and all my lifts are up and my arms and shoulders have definitely grown. Plan on sticking at this weight for a long time, and hopefully the next time I cut, my goal is to reach the same level of leanness after a 10 lb cut that I was after 15 lbs last time. 5 lbs of muscle is a tall order though, I’d honestly be happy with 2 lbs.

16 Likes

ugh

Not allot to report in since the last check in…
Well was able to bloat myself up and get all gorilla gutted again… ugh
gorilla gut

Heres a pic of me and my youngest pre man pun for him.

Video of the oldest getting training from a IPF world medal winner… interesting to note she has a 405lbs raw squat at 148lbs

Ok on my end the only real improvement has been the ability to generate more explosiveness on squats which is pretty cool for my age.

Slight improvement on top end strength on squats… rebuilding back up Slowlyyyyyyyyy

Upper body progress has been mehhhh…

12 Likes