Tossing one off: Hook grip
That sounds kinda painfull now that i typed it out.
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MarkKo, Thank you for taking the time to detail some information about Conjugate programing in Planet Cybertron’s log.
Right now I’m logging my training in a private journal, so I don’t have a log here but I did copy your posts there so I could refer back to them. Thank you. That was really helpful.
About Max Effort DLs off the floor. It’s always my sticking point. I have a 2x BW DL at 225 lbs, but I haven’t lifted anything heavy for many months. This week I got 205 lbs off the floor, but 210 was glued down. I wasn’t discouraged, considering I’ve been training much lighter wt. Off the floor is always my week point.
Upper Body lifts are always stronger for me.
But with hook you won’t have the problem where ou hand slips and you punch yourself in the face
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@anon71262119 I’m glad I could help. Just because your pull is weak off the floor doesn’t mean that’s where you’ll train it.
What you need to do is troubleshooting. Why is your pull weak off the floor? When you find the answer, you use an appropriate ME exercise to try and fix it. Depending on your setup and whether you pull conventional or sumo, the chances are you’re weak off the floor because your quads are weak; your abs are weak; or possibly your hamstrings are weak; or your hips are weak. Then there’s the technical side, which is way more important than any weak points. Are you executing the lift correctly?
For your DE work you might add some deficit pulls after your main lower body DE work. Pause comp setup squats are probably the best DE option for lower body, but there is no reason you couldn’t follow them up quickly with a few deficit pulls.
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Today’s training
Plate raises with 33 lbs for a bunch
Incline press, press grip
10xbar
8x88 lbs
6x132 lbs
2x10x165 lbs, 6, 8 RPE
9x165 lbs, 9 RPE
Called it here, left pec got tight pretty quick and right shoulder around the acromion is achy (might just be bruising from the front squats, but that’s no certainty). I could definitely have gotten another two sets of eight but didn’t see the point as they’d be 9-10 RPE a piece and my shoulders and chest don’t need that kind of aggravation right now.
Seated DB press supersetted with pull-ups
Press 3x10x50 lbs
Pull-ups 5 wide overhand, 5 wide neutral, 10 close neutral
Dropped the DB rows and chest supported raises to be safe.
Hammer curls
30 lbs for three sets to 9 RPE
All up some 40 minutes
I may or may not back off slightly next week. This has been a damn good week (actually, the last two have been) in terms of progression in the bar but it’s finally taken a toll.
Further to that, picked up munchkin on the way back and as we approached home noticed my perception was going funny, a lot like when the bar chokes me front squatting. Got home and that didn’t stop, plus I started shaking. Decided I’d carb feed again today - I think that’s a good decision as I’ve had two ciabatta rolls and the last of the wedding cake and I’m hungry again, although the dizziness and shakes have stopped.
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OK, took some shots - this is after a full day eating, maybe 40 minutes post meal. I’m sitting around 202 lbs give or take. Horrible lighting, but I’ll say I’ve added some chub but some lean mass too. I’m going to go ahead and tag the usual victims @BOTSLAYER @littlesleeper @IronOne @The_Myth
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Oh man that first pic I was like WTF!!! but then I read.
Definitely fluffier…that back is still pretty sharp though.
What are your plans going forward?
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Keep gaining lean mass. I need to remember the lean part though, so I have to have a think about what to do going forward. ATM how I’m training seems to need the amount of food I’m eating to recover so I’m obviously adding muscle but possibly a little too much fat along the way.
Possibly I’ll need to go back to something closer to what I was doing before (four days a week, back to the comp lifts) because I know I can recover doing that eating a bit less - nothing extreme, maybe down to 2600 cal/day from 2800 cal/day. I’ll have a think and see how I go when I take measurements on Monday morning, because I’ll also have my average weight for end of month.
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How many deloads have you had in this mass phase?
big as fuck mate, looking awesome and numbers looking impressive as always!
I think you’re right on point here. I think you and I have been following a similar path the last few months. Abs are less defined but definitely adding some size along the way. Just part of the process!
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#powerstroke
Yeah I agree with this. You’re still on path, as nothing is a surprise at this point. There may be a few tweaks though that will help you. Perhaps cleaning up the diet. You may not need as many refeeds, and they do not need to be dirty refeeds. A big, bad, dirty refeed can play big havoc. More so than just the immediate effects. I’ve noticed it messes with me mentally and can instigate small bad habits that add up. Honestly, I don’t like refeeds and feel that they’re useless, an excuse to binge and attempt to ‘Fix’ something that shouldn’t need fixing. Just my opinion.
You’re nearing that cross roads point. Gain more mass/fat? Let what you’ve gained realize, add in some conditioning perhaps, and very slow gain for awhile while slow recomping (it can absolutely be done)? Cutting would be just stupid honestly. Up to you brother, but either way you’re on a good track. Goals will set the direction.
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I got nothing to add. I think adding some fat is inevitable, it’s about balancing it and minimizing it; I think you’re doing fine with that.
Good job.
Thanks, MarKO. I think my hamstrings and abs are the weaker muscle groups. I experimented with deficit DLs this morning a little. I’m so petite, and have such a short wingspan, I figure just standing on a 1 inch riser is a good place to start. I worked up to 205 lbs, but it looks like I’m rounding my low back, and popping my hips up too soon. In short, a form/low back horror show! Haha.
Thanks for the advice. I’m think getting used to them maybe give me more power breaking off the floor, but I need to drop down to maybe 175 or 180 for now and work on form.
I’ll quit highjacking you and PCybertron’s logs now! Haha. Thanks. Youve made so much progress with both strength and physique. Nice work. And it sounds like a lot of good news in your personal life/ family. Congrats.
Puff
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Why do you refeed? I’ve been meaning to ask that and some of this reminded me to do so. Are you staying low carb on most days? I understood the occasional refeed during your cutting phase but I don’t understand it’s place in a gaining phase since you’re aiming to be at a slight surplus anyway.
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You all rock. Thank you
@IronOne you hit the nail on the head. The refeeds I’ve been doing have been largely clean apart from that one that wasn’t. Just more of what I normally eat, and almost entirely carbs.
This is exactly what I need to do, and was thinking of. No chance in hell of cutting. I’ll start adding in conditioning again next week, probably Monday and Friday - back to one lot of intervals and one lot of incline treadmill or something.
@Frank_C I was using the refeeds the day before my lower body training days because I found it helped performance. Might not be a bad idea to drop them to be honest, and see how it goes.
Going forward I’ll back off slightly next week as I think I need it - nothing extreme but just reduce total volume slightly while keeping the weight progression going. That’ll also work well with reintroducing conditioning. Then I’ll keep going with the mass training until mid January, because I don’t want to leave it just yet as it’s working well.
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Woke at 203 lbs again. Looking way better than last night (when I took photos). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s the first decent sleep I’ve had in a week. I underestimate how much sleep quality affects physique sometimes and to be honest, this last week has been rough AF in terms of sleep.
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OK, so you now have some idea of what to work on. Abs are an easy fix: you work on them doing repetition work. You then keep deficit DL for after your DE lower work, and focus on technique (sit back, ribs at the floor, keep hips down) using 60-70 per cent of your max (so 130-140 lbs or so). After a couple of three week waves you might swap it to snatch grip DL, because it’s another form of deficit. Your main DE lower - pause squats - will also help with your abs and hamstrings.
For your ME lower you might focus on hamstrings for three weeks, depending on what your squat needs. A wide stance squat would do this, for example.
Then with your repetition lower you would focus on hamstrings and abs along with one other weakness.
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You know what else helps with performance?
Eating like a maniac, all the time
Might not be the best option for body composition and staying in your weight class, though.
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