Old Lardass

I forgot to mention. When I do natural GHRs. I use mini bands strapped to the top of my power rack to assist. Hell ya, those things are hard to do without assistance and hell ya those will really help your lifts as you strengthen up the hammies.

Sadly, I go to a Gold’s Gym, which is why there is no GHR or Reverse Hyper machines, no power rack, no bands or chains, and no heavy metal music.

Does anybody ever get strong there? …just sayin…

Train Harder,
john

ME Bench, 10/31/08
2-board press:
3x 95/135/185/225/255
1x 275/295/305 (305 was a close miss)
Lying Barbell Triceps Extension:
85x 10/10/10/10/10 ^
Push Downs
150x 8/8/8
One-Arm Press
40x 10/10/8
Farmers Walk
80x 83/55/55

Today is the first day that I ever tried a bench exercise with more than 300 on the bar. A close miss, but a miss just the same. Next week I�??ll pop through a mental barrier.

I feel physically good (like a fucking gorilla, to be truthful) but I�??m getting a little twinge in my left rotator cuff. More prehab work, I�??m thinking�?�

My weight is still 280 +/- 3 lbs, but my skin looks like a little loose. I figure I�??m either losing a little subcutaneous fat, or I�??m melting and about to catch fire. Stay tuned to see which one. And, have a great weekend.

Train Harder,
John

There is that mental thing about it. The first time I put 315 on the bar I was intimidated big time. Like you said I came back the next week and nailed it for a double. Its yours man, just do it.

thanks, G

DE Squat, 11/3/08
Box Squats:
200x 2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2
Reverse Hypers (no machine)
50x 8/8/8 ^
1-leg Squats:
Bodyweight x 10/8/6/5
Dumbell Rows
65x 6 / 70x 6 / 75 x 6 / 80 x 6
Barbell Shrugs
165x 15/15/15 ^

Because my form stinks so bad on 1-leg squats, I am actually dropping my right knee to the floor next to my left heel, then drop my left knee to the floor next to my right heel. I stole this from Chad Waterbury?s recent article on bodyweight exercises. He didn?t come right out and say it, but I think this exercise is designed exactly for big fat guys that can?t do true 1-leg squats. Once I can hit 4 sets of 12 on each leg, I?ll start with real 1-leg squats.

Does anybody else think that arguing with your wife is catabolic?

Train Harder,
John

DE Bench, 11/5/08
Bench:
185x 3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3/3
Lying DB Triceps Extension
40x 8/8/8/9 ^
DB Side Raises
35x 8/8/6
Bent Over DB Side Raises:
25x10/10/11 ^
Farmers Walk
90x 60/40/26 steps

Bar speed on bench felt so-so. The Westside guys say you?re always supposed to strain, but how much can you strain benching 60% of your 1RM? I guess it would be more of a strain if I tried to make the bar go faster, but when I go too fast, I feel a little twinge in my left rotator cuff. I start each workout with internal and external rotations and Cuban press.
Any suggestions from the gallery? Hello? Is this thing on??

Train harder,
john

The speed work on bench shouldn’t be a strain. You should be just as fast on the last set as you were on the first. If it feels too easy then increase the weight a little. But it can be hell on the joints especially it you don’t stay tight though out the lift.

Are you warming up thoroughly before the speed work? The max effort work should be when you do most of your straining. On the accessory work you may want to leave a little in the tank for each exercise. Hope this helps.

It does help, Ironman, thanks!

[quote]mjnewland wrote:

Does anybody else think that arguing with your wife is catabolic?

Train Harder,

John
[/quote]

I don’t argue with my wife any more. Mostly just nod my head and agree.

Like the old saying, do you want to be happy or right.

I only butt heads when absolutely necessary.

[quote]daudowen wrote:

I don’t argue with my wife any more. Mostly just nod my head and agree.

Like the old saying, do you want to be happy or right.

I only butt heads when absolutely necessary.

[/quote]

perhaps the best advice ever…sometimes i wish i could just strangle whoever the hell keeps opening my mouth. keep upt the good work mj.

you guys are right. My life would be a lot easier if I could keep my mouth shut (not just at home) You should see the shit-storm I stirred up on the politics forum. see under “Democracy in Action”. I don’t think they like me anymore…

[quote]mjnewland wrote:
you guys are right. My life would be a lot easier if I could keep my mouth shut (not just at home) You should see the shit-storm I stirred up on the politics forum. see under “Democracy in Action”. I don’t think they like me anymore…[/quote]

They don’t like anyone over there, including themselves. With so many experts it’s amazing we have soleved all the world’s problems yet.

[quote]mjnewland wrote:
I don’t think they like me anymore…[/quote]

I tested the water there a couple of times,it’s some kind of Internet Hell.

Never go there without a fire truck to back you up.

Yeah, I kind of learned my lesson. But its like a train wreck, you just have to look.

This Morning’s Fun and Games:

ME Squat 11/7/08
Good Mornings
3x 135/185/225/275/315
1x 345/375
2x 315/315
Natural Glute Ham Raise
Negatives only, 5/6/5
Reverse Hypers
50x 80/80/80
Pull Down Abs
110x 15/15/11/15/11

Skipped the straight leg raises and farmers walk today.

Its funny, I felt great getting to the gym. I started working my way up on GMs, confident that I would be hitting over 400 today. My shoulder is bugging me in squat position, so I?m experimenting with different hand positions, but its hard to stay tight. So, I waited way too long before I hit 375. My shoulder hurt, I cooled off, and lost focus. I ended up doing 2 partial reps at 375, and a couple doubles back at 315. GHRs went a little better, as did reverse hypers. Pull down abs kicked my butt ? my grip keeps giving out. Next week I?m going to use straps. I started to do straight leg raises by my back screamed at me. I still need to check my form on these. Since my grip was already fried, I totally pussed out on farmer?s.

Hey guys doing Westside-type workouts, I?m curious. I can?t get to the gym on Sunday for DE Bench, so I do it 3 per week instead of 4 per week. Since some of the accessory exercises are only scheduled once weekly I am actually going more than a week without doing them. Do you guys find that this affects you (assuming you are doing 3/week not 4/week)? I?m not sure if I?m getting too much recovery time, or not enough.

I also suspect that my pitiful lack of GPP is affecting my ability to train. I?m going to make a dragging sled this weekend, and start using it, so hopefully that will help.

Have an awesome weekend, and
Train Harder,
john

I feel like shit today, so I postponed ME Bench til Wed. I’m still having some rotator cuff tightness from my hand position for GMs, so I’m just doing light rehab work on the rotators. And trying to figure out where to put my hands for the squat.

train harder
john

ME Bench, 11/12/08
2-board press:
3x 95/135/185/225/255
1x 275/295/295/305 (miss)(again)(dammit)
2x 275/275
Lying barbell triceps extension:
95x 10/6/6/6/5/8
Push down (alternate with antagonist barbell curls at 80x 8/8/8 ^)
150x 8/8/11 ^
1-arm press:
45x 13/7
40x 11
Farmers Walk
90x 70/50/30

My left rotator cuff is still bugging me, so today I started with the mobility work that Dave Tate uses. Today was the first time ? I may try to do the mobility work every day, not just training days. My lower back was really tight this morning as well, probably from the extra 2 days layoff, and maybe from not being used to the mobility drills.

Considering how much my shoulder was bugging me, today was a pretty good workout. My tested max in the bench is only 275. Doing 2-board presses, I worked up to 295, but the bar was real slow. I rested 3 minutes and got another single at 295 and the bar felt a lot faster, so I found a 10-year old little girl to spot me at 305. I missed it again, but I felt like I came a lot closer than last time, so I hit a couple extra doubles at 275. Still a VERY LONG way away from my goal of 400.

My 1-arm press is lagging, primarily due to my left shoulder. By the time I got to this exercise, my left shoulder felt pretty weak. I could have done twice the reps with my right.

For the experienced Westsiders out there, I have yet another question: how much should I limit my rest between sets on ME days? In the vids I see most of the guys wearing a stop watch on DE days, cuz we?re supposed to keep it to 45-60 seconds. On ME days I?ve just been resting til I felt ready to go again, but I?m concerned about going cold between sets and not getting the most out of my training sessions. Any direction here would be appreciated.

Train Harder,
john

You rest until you feel ready to lift again. 3-5 minutes does it for me.

[quote]mjnewland wrote:
DE Squat, 11/3/08
Box Squats:
200x 2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2
Reverse Hypers (no machine)
50x 8/8/8 ^
1-leg Squats:
Bodyweight x 10/8/6/5
Dumbell Rows
65x 6 / 70x 6 / 75 x 6 / 80 x 6
Barbell Shrugs
165x 15/15/15 ^

Because my form stinks so bad on 1-leg squats, I am actually dropping my right knee to the floor next to my left heel, then drop my left knee to the floor next to my right heel. I stole this from Chad Waterbury?s recent article on bodyweight exercises. He didn?t come right out and say it, but I think this exercise is designed exactly for big fat guys that can?t do true 1-leg squats. Once I can hit 4 sets of 12 on each leg, I?ll start with real 1-leg squats.

Does anybody else think that arguing with your wife is catabolic?

Train Harder,
John
[/quote]

Arguing with the wife is suicidal …

Though, I have to admit, mine has been very pleasant so I don’t feel tempted to try my luck with the arguing.

On the squats, I’m glad to see someone else thinking about them. I’m doing a few here and there just to keep thinking about them. Eventually I should be able to do one right.