Hyde’s Strength Odyssey

[akboom87]

5/19/24

Hip/psoas stretch
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Cat Camel
Ankle Mobility
Lunge stretch
BW Squats

SSB Squat
60,110,150,200,250,280x8

3” Hi Handle Trapbar
95,145x25

Celebrated 5 years of marriage with the wife yesterday; it was an awesome weekend, and I am so pumped for the next 5 years ahead together with her!

So this song goes out to her AND the squat… it was so wonderful to find myself back under you both this weekend

View attachment 242325

Congrats on the 5 years and many more to come !!

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

5/19/24

Hip/psoas stretch
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Cat Camel
Ankle Mobility
Lunge stretch
BW Squats

SSB Squat
60,110,150,200,250,280x8

3” Hi Handle Trapbar
95,145x25

Celebrated 5 years of marriage with the wife yesterday; it was an awesome weekend, and I am so pumped for the next 5 years ahead together with her!

So this song goes out to her AND the squat… it was so wonderful to find myself back under you both this weekend

View attachment 242325

“Back under both of you this weekend”. Lmao. That was worth wakin up and reading!!!

Seriously, congratulations and the 5yr anniversary with your wife. The longer you are together the more you learn about each other. That includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. 5yrs later you are still side by each eh! And that is a win. It’s learning about each other and building a bridge together. Much like a squat after an injury, progress isn’t always linear, there may be set backs and times of massive growth. You have to listen and adjust accordingly.
It’s a milestone Brother! Congratulations!!!

 

[gphagan1]

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary, and glad you were able to get back under your wife and squat.

 

[Anabolic66]

Great to hear. Wife and I will be celebrating number 35 this year (married) and just hit 41 years as a couple.
Time flies by, enjoy each and every day together...

Good to also hear about the squat, everything falling into place..

 

[MrKleen73]

Congratulations, seems it was just yesterday we were talking about you leaning up for the wedding. Time sure flies by when you are busy with living it!

 

[Hyde]

When you bumped your gear from 180 to 480/wk, but you got a CPAP so your BP actually goes down 8-10 points instead

 

[Segansational]

Congrats on 5 years @Hyde!

 

[gphagan1]

View attachment 242350

When you bumped your gear from 180 to 480/wk, but you got a CPAP so your BP actually goes down 8-10 points instead

That’s actually really impressive…..just goes to show how important sleep is for blood pressure.

 

[SkRaw85]

5/19/24

Hip/psoas stretch
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Cat Camel
Ankle Mobility
Lunge stretch
BW Squats

SSB Squat
60,110,150,200,250,280x8

3” Hi Handle Trapbar
95,145x25

Celebrated 5 years of marriage with the wife yesterday; it was an awesome weekend, and I am so pumped for the next 5 years ahead together with her!

So this song goes out to her AND the squat… it was so wonderful to find myself back under you both this weekend

View attachment 242325

Congratulations on the first 5!

 

[Hyde]

5/21/24
BW 244.8 yesterday

Couch & Pigeon stretch
Band Pullaparts, Flyes, Tris, Presses
One-leg Deadlift
Lat Tie-in Stretch

Widegrip Benchpress
45x15,5,5
95,155x15
185,190x25

DB Rolling Tri Ext
35x15
50 2x15

Chin-ups
NG 12,10
V-grip 12,12

Rope Cable Tri Pressdown
40 2x25

Didn’t expect it, but happy widegrip volume was so darn easy today - can’t wait to break 200 on that. Added in Iconic’s All Out Ultra this morning, so that honestly could have been the difference in endurance (190x25 was not failure). I also successfully bumped my reps on rolling tris up as well.

I’ll drop a link to the log here soon for anyone interested.

 

[Hyde]

Hyde’s All Out Ultra Log - Sponsored by Iconic Formulations

Hyde’s All Out Ultra Log - Sponsored by Iconic Formulations - AnabolicMinds.com

Big thanks to Iconic Formulations for the opportunity to use & review their flagship preWO, All Out Ultra (Blue Hawaiian flavor). You know it’s going to be interesting when the serving size is a 24 GRAM scoop! This thing is loaded: Still, mixed up my very first serving this morning in 12...

anabolicminds.com

 

[Hyde]

5/22/24

Hip/psoas stretch
Bird Dogs
Cat Camel
Ankle Mobility
Lunge stretch
BW Squats

SSB Squat
65,155,205,255,295,205x10

Hi Handle Kabuki Trapbar
155x15
205 3x15 standing on 2, 4, & 5 mats

Band Pullaparts
Monstermini x35,25,25

Same routine as Sunday, but 3,400 more lbs of squat volume (8,400 vs 11,800). Went from 8 to 10 reps, added 5-15lbs on work sets, cut out a warmup but added a back off set. Also did more load on the Trapbar work & got my rear delts made up from yesterday. Very happy with tonight!

 

[Dustin07]

5/16/24 - Current Composition
BW 243.8

View attachment 242263

Last day of the Clear capsules Been about 6 weeks using them, mainly at 3/day. Wife is still using them morning and night, no problems either. We have both added in some PEDs, and between that and diet efforts have dropped a couple lbs and been recomping, so there’s no way to know what effect the Clear does have - but I can say we’ve both had the results we were after. The sole purpose of our testing was primarily to guinea pig if they would cause any GI issues, and they never did. No sides or noticeable feelings at all. Smooth as silk, and my bloodwork was very good too on it at the bigger dose (it had continued to improve as I would expect with more time on only TRT).

ART guy was as happy today as I was yesterday with my spinal mobility, lack of inflammation, & pain-free movements. The work has been off. I was cleared for some very light/easy SSB squatting and Trapbar pulling, and get to experiment with my feet on the floor for bench again. He also was very happy with my Widegrip push-up pattern now.

looking yoked dude. I swear pecs have actually built up and your lats make your waist look narrow, I can't believe how lean you look at this weight!

It also was a perfect opportunity to test putting my feet back on the floor & pressing with some arch. No pain during and no issues since, knock on wood.

that's awesome man, so glad to hear!!

So this song goes out to her AND the squat… it was so wonderful to find myself back under you both this weekend

Hyde’s All Out Ultra Log - Sponsored by Iconic Formulations

Hyde’s All Out Ultra Log - Sponsored by Iconic Formulations - AnabolicMinds.com

Big thanks to Iconic Formulations for the opportunity to use & review their flagship preWO, All Out Ultra (Blue Hawaiian flavor). You know it’s going to be interesting when the serving size is a 24 GRAM scoop! This thing is loaded: Still, mixed up my very first serving this morning in 12...

anabolicminds.com

Mine arrived this weekend while I was on that work trip, looking forward to giving it a go!

 

[Hyde]

ART doc was extremely happy with my back today - the way I can rotate everything, the full end ranges I can reach, and he’s seeing no signs of inflammation at all. Which jives with me having no pain & feeling like everything is moving correctly, but it’s nice to have a professional opinion back that up.

He said to keep the Trapbar height elevated a few inches for the moment and drive the load up instead of ROM, focusing on what I can do well beltless around the 10-12 rep range. I have no reason to argue with that!

 

[MrKleen73]

I am going to go see a new chiro this weekend. She is a bodybuilder/powerlifter, and was recommended by a buddy at the gym. She does some soft tissue work as well. Interesting on driving up strength from a partial compared to slowly increasing ROM with a lighter weight. Should help with retaining some strength.

 

[Hyde]

I am going to go see a new chiro this weekend. She is a bodybuilder/powerlifter, and was recommended by a buddy at the gym. She does some soft tissue work as well. Interesting on driving up strength from a partial compared to slowly increasing ROM with a lighter weight. Should help with retaining some strength.

Specifically with the spine here, he’s going with McGill’s assertion that most of the re-injury happens in the furthest end range of motion. So going back to that sooner is the most risky, not necessarily me lifting very well-executed sets of 12 partials. Better to use a bit more load in ranges we feel most safe, then when it’s time to increase ROM we will wave the weight back down and rebuild there.

 

[Hyde]

5/23/24

Band Pullaparts, Flyes, Tris, Presses
Band Cuban Press
Couch, Pigeon, hamstring stretch

Bench
45,135,185x5
225x3
255x1
280 4x3, 1x9

1-Boardpress
230 2x12

DB Hammercurls
25,30x12

Incline CS DB Rear Delt Flyes
30 2x12

Happy with today. Last time I did this weight 5 weeks ago, I got 8 reps. This time I got 9 and a bonus assisted rep (we both keenly knew there would be no tenth rep). Also lifting 10% more weight on the back off sets, to a 1-board instead of 2.

 

[SkRaw85]

Intrigued about these elevated trap bar pulls. Sounds genius really.

 

[Hyde]

Intrigued about these elevated trap bar pulls. Sounds genius really.

The old no-name one in my garage is your standard 3” elevated handle you typically see on one side of a Trapbar (over the normal 9” barbell height). But the Kabuki’s elevated handle on their Trapbar is 5”, and Rogue’s is a whopping 7”. We have the Kabuki at the barbell club, so I need to stand on mats to decrease the pulling height - 3” is already a huge handicap for me.

I pulled 705 after that Trest run in January on the Kabuki 5” handles, having not touched a Trapbar in months.

 

[Resolve10]

Ya driving some adaptations and strength in a partial rom is a pretty common and effective PT method nowadays.

I keep meaning to pick up a trap bar too.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Looking good mate. Happy to see you feeling good too!

 

[MrKleen73]

Nice to see the numbers are still going up on bench. Keep killing it!

 

[Hyde]

5/26/24
BW 246.0

3 min walk
Hip/psoas stretch
Bird Dogs
Side Planks
Toe touches

Copenhagen Planks
1x8

RFE DB Split Squat
BW,40,60,80,100x10 (total weight)

Pulldown Warmups

V-grip Chin-ups
BWx2,14,15

Didn’t get to do everything I wanted, but what I did I did well. Split Squats with the 50s and no left knee pain means things are getting better/stronger overall. But I went to hard/high RPE and could never really recover my heartrate, and/or blood sugar became insufficient. Had to pack it up after chin-ups.

 

[Hyde]

5/28/24

Band Rear Delts, Lats, Tris, Presses
Serratus Activations
Band Cuban Press
Bench Couch & Pigeon stretch

Widegrip Bench
45,95,135,165x15
195,200x25 PR

DB Rolling Tri Ext
30x10
50 2x18

Band Pullaparts
Monstermini 3x35

One-arm Cable Tri Pressdown
30 2x22 overhand
20,10x25 underhand

DB Ext Rotation
15x10 w/ 10 sec negative

DB Lat Tie-in stretch

I have benched 225x20 comp grip during the prep for 405, but I have never done Widegrip for 25-rep sets with 200lbs before, so this was still something I’ve never actually done. Starting to see my pressing muscles filling back out some.

 

[Dustin07]

that volume...

 

[akboom87]

5/28/24

Band Rear Delts, Lats, Tris, Presses
Serratus Activations
Band Cuban Press
Bench Couch & Pigeon stretch

Widegrip Bench
45,95,135,165x15
195,200x25 PR

DB Rolling Tri Ext
30x10
50 2x18

Band Pullaparts
Monstermini 3x35

One-arm Cable Tri Pressdown
30 2x22 overhand
20,10x25 underhand

DB Ext Rotation
15x10 w/ 10 sec negative

DB Lat Tie-in stretch

I have benched 225x20 comp grip during the prep for 405, but I have never done Widegrip for 25-rep sets with 200lbs before, so this was still something I’ve never actually done. Starting to see my pressing muscles filling back out some.

Nice PR! Some strong pressing for sure!

 

[Segansational]

V-bar pull ups, forgot about that variation. I find those super tough, but probably a good version for me to add in.

 

[Dustin07]

Ya driving some adaptations and strength in a partial rom is a pretty common and effective PT method nowadays.

I keep meaning to pick up a trap bar too.

I still 100% believe that is what led to my recovery back in like 2017.

 

[Hyde]

5/29/24
BW 246.6

Hip/psoas stretch
Ankle Mobility
Bird Dogs
Low back/hamstring stretch
KB Suitcase Carries
KB One-leg Deadlifts
BW Lunges & Squats

SSB Squat
65x10
175,225,265x8
305,285x6
265x8
225x12

Pallof Press

Body was feeling really well-prepared for this, but something about the 6th rep of 305 felt off - like I started to lose position momentarily but recovered it. But I racked it after to be safe. Took inventory of my body and continued on to get the squat work in, accomplishing 14,330lbs beltless volume.

But something in my back felt off after that. Empty reps with the Trapbar felt fine, but with something already bothering my back I chose discretion as the better part of valor and packed it up. Icing it now and will be seeing my ART guy tomorrow, which is good timing.

 

[Dustin07]

Good call, you'll know when to go ham and you got the work in.

 

[SkRaw85]

Nice pressing! Looks like recovery is going well for you too

 

[Hyde]

ART said my facet joint is fine, moving normally and inflammation seems minimal. He was able to loosen a ton of sticky spots all over my low back musculature and I felt much better after seeing him. Lots of cat camels and icing is the recovery plan, he said I can pull Sunday but lots of warmup (including cat camels for the facet joint prior).

We believe the extra ankle mobility I did prior let me squat deeper than I have been, so if I lost a little spinal position at that depth it seems like my muscles took the strain. But it is muscular, not the joint or connective tissue, so best case scenario for a back strain. We’re going to curb the issue by squatting to a 16” box for now (not boxsquatting, just a tap to ensure I squat high in a safe range for now). 14” is my comp depth.

That being said, he really assessed my left ankle/foot - the one that has been badly sprained several times and torn something on the top in an exploded farmers carry, plus the Achilles that has been nearly torn by a super heavy truck pull. He believes, specifically for me because of how my “arch” is collapsed out and doesn’t fire, that squatting in lifters so I have arch support to better hold things in place will allow me to avoid the left calf tightness, knee stress, and underutilization of leg muscle I have there. He thinks if I can find one with a low lift and wide enough toebox to accommodate my extra wide feet that it will raise the ceiling on my max potential squat strength (coming from a guy who squats in flats).

 

[Dustin07]

We believe the extra ankle mobility I did prior let me squat deeper than I have been, so if I lost a little spinal position at that depth it seems like my muscles took the strain.

this actually makes a ton of sense to me

That being said, he really assessed my left ankle/foot - the one that has been badly sprained several times and torn something on the top in an exploded farmers carry, plus the Achilles that has been nearly torn by a super heavy truck pull. He believes, specifically for me because of how my “arch” is collapsed out and doesn’t fire, that squatting in lifters so I have arch support to better hold things in place will allow me to avoid the left calf tightness, knee stress, and underutilization of leg muscle I have there. He thinks if I can find one with a low lift and wide enough toebox to accommodate my extra wide feet that it will raise the ceiling on my max potential squat strength (coming from a guy who squats in flats).

Dude, that is awesome. I'm glad you have an ART who is so driven to see you excel beyond even your current best. So many people in these fields try to get someone from couch to fridge, and call it a success. Finding someone who is so focused on helping you improve as an athlete is GOLD.

 

[Hyde]

this actually makes a ton of sense to me



Dude, that is awesome. I'm glad you have an ART who is so driven to see you excel beyond even your current best. So many people in these fields try to get someone from couch to fridge, and call it a success. Finding someone who is so focused on helping you improve as an athlete is GOLD.

He has been a big blessing, and he does not charge me anything - he takes whatever my insurance pays and voids the rest of it. He has so many patients that he doesn’t need to push the pay; it took months on the wait list to get in, even with a reference from a longtime patient who is a local bodybuilder. He definitely gets excited about his athletes - he went 10 minutes over my time slot today to help address the ankle stuff. And he is pumped for my wife competing at Nationals next week, as he has been taking care of her now too.

I can tell by his stories; he is always happy to get people out of plan, but it’s another level when you help someone achieve something they’ve never done.

 

[Dustin07]

yeah man that is absolutely a blessing. I have walked away from so many various experts in those fields over the years. As soon as they say something like "oh I don't think you should be doing such and such" anymore, I check out and either find someone new or try to find a solution on my own. having a pro that's performance focused is awesome.

 

[SkRaw85]

He has been a big blessing, and he does not charge me anything - he takes whatever my insurance pays and voids the rest of it. He has so many patients that he doesn’t need to push the pay; it took months on the wait list to get in, even with a reference from a longtime patient who is a local bodybuilder. He definitely gets excited about his athletes - he went 10 minutes over my time slot today to help address the ankle stuff. And he is pumped for my wife competing at Nationals next week, as he has been taking care of her now too.

I can tell by his stories; he is always happy to get people out of plan, but it’s another level when you help someone achieve something they’ve never done.

I need to seek this out in my life. Sounds like a game changer

 

[Resolve10]

Ya I think people underestimate how nice it is to have a professional like that available. Not saying you should need to go to them all the time, but it’s super nice when something does happen to have someone who knows you and knows a lot about these things to both ease the physical issues and the mental stress and worry.

 

[Hyde]

Ya I think people underestimate how nice it is to have a professional like that available. Not saying you should need to go to them all the time, but it’s super nice when something does happen to have someone who knows you and knows a lot about these things to both ease the physical issues and the mental stress and worry.

That second part, in my case, is as much the reason as I love working with him - he has earned my trust to the point I seek his input on acute training decisions. I look forward to bouncing things off of him to help decide between movement selection, things to avoid or lean into based on my current state.

 

[Resolve10]

Ya he sounds like a good guy with a great mindset towards truly helping people. Taking just the insurance is also crazy (like in a good way for you), I don’t think many people realize how much someone may bill insurance for only to get adjusted down and get not much, have to either be in it for the right reasons or you’ll see the crazy things clinics will do to try and make the money work better.

 

[Hyde]

5/31/24

Hip/psoas stretch
Cat Camels
Band Pullaparts, Flyes, Tris, Presses
Band Cuban Press
Couch, Pigeon stretch on bench

Bench
45,45,135x5
185x3
215,245x2
265x1
285 4x3, 1x8

1-Boardpress
235 2x12

Couldn’t manage to get in my proper position under the bar today; I thought my upper back must be too tight from getting locked up the other night. So all the weights felt crazy heavy; I had to take 3 attempts to unrack 285 on the second set.

Then we realized some bozo had removed the bench from the combo rack, but only slid it back next to it instead of putting it back into the holes. So my bench had been slid 6” forward under the bar & I was doing 285lb partial pullovers Upper back was fine, got in position, and finished strong.

Ran out of time for accessories.

 

[gphagan1]

5/31/24

Hip/psoas stretch
Cat Camels
Band Pullaparts, Flyes, Tris, Presses
Band Cuban Press
Couch, Pigeon stretch on bench

Bench
45,45,135x5
185x3
215,245x2
265x1
285 4x3, 1x8

1-Boardpress
235 2x12

Couldn’t manage to get in my proper position under the bar today; I thought my upper back must be too tight from getting locked up the other night. So all the weights felt crazy heavy; I had to take 3 attempts to unrack 285 on the second set.

Then we realized some bozo had removed the bench from the combo rack, but only slid it back next to it instead of putting it back into the holes. So my bench had been slid 6” forward under the bar & I was doing 285lb partial pullovers Upper back was fine, got in position, and finished strong.

Ran out of time for accessories.

Glad you didn’t injure yourself before you realized the bench had moved. I can’t stand when people are inconsiderate and just half a** do stuff that others pay for later. I totally agree with Resolve on how valuable a tool your ART guy is, and truly a blessing that he takes insurance. Sounds like you’re healing pretty good from that last injury.

 

[Hyde]

6/2/24
BW 249.6

Cat Camel
Bird Dogs w/ my son on my back
Lunge stretch

Seated DB Press
25x10
35 5x10 w/ 60 sec rests

Incline CS DB Rear Delt Flyes
20 6x10 w/ 60 sec rests

Buffalo Bar Squat to 16” box
55x5
+light bands
55,105,195x3
215,235,255x8

3” Hi Handle Trapbar
95x5
145,195,245x10
+30 chain x10
+60 chain x10

Incline Band Tri Extensions
Minis 4x15

Incline CS DB Curls
20 3x12

Cat Camel

Some low back stuff, shoulders & arm fluff, and partial range squats & pulls - long, excellent garage session. Mixed up some All Out, then enjoyed the perfect 70* weather. Definitely had a good sweat & pump going!

 

[Dustin07]

Glad you didn’t injure yourself before you realized the bench had moved. I can’t stand when people are inconsiderate and just half a** do stuff that others pay for later.

my main gym has these two guys I call the albino twins now. They're around 6ft tall, 165lbs MAYBE, and I'm guessing in their mid to late 50s. Doesn't look like they've seen sunshine in a couple decades. They walk around the gym organizing weights and putting them away. I'm not sure if they're members, owners, investors, or what. But their autistic OCD is sorta awesome in their awkward way.

although the last time I was there they had a couple DB's and a plate. like a 50, 90, and something else, that they started stacking precariously like those rock stacks by the river. so still a bit weird. that project had them distracted for most of my session.