Sweetlou's training log

[SweetLou321]

Sucks to be injured. I'm in the same boat right now. Do you use lacrosse balls at all, on your forearms, etc? It helped a lot when I jammed mine up last summer. I roll it around with the opposite hand, and also press against the wall with it and roll.

Ill give this a try, and no just ice and foam rolling

[SweetLou321]

2/17/12-DE Squat/Deadlift
Workout:
DE Squats
245x2x8
Speed Pulls
225+60lbs chain at the topx1x10
Glute Ham Raises
Bwx12,10,10,8
Leg raises
Bwx10,10,8,8
Notes: Ok well the experienced powerlifter saw how wide me and my partner squat as told us to squat more narrow. Well We tried it and it looked awful. Now mind you we squat wide bc our form looks good, we are faster, and naturally we just squat wide without thought. We would be perfect for gear haha. But we moved in and the weight felt heavier and my back was rounding out and my quads had to fire to get off the box. Now if anyone has any articles or opinions on raw squat stance Id love to read them over. Bc we both squat in chucks and train out abs, hips, glutes, and hams as assistence work. And hit great PRs at the meet with no pain or major form break downs. Personally I wanna just keep squating the way I am since it feels so natural tho.

[SweetLou321]

2/18/12-DE Bench
Workout:
Chins warm-up
10,10,6,7
DE Bench
125lbs bar weight+2 mini bands doubled up, 35-40lbs band tension at top
9 sets of 3 reps, close, med, comp grips. Felt super fast today, things are coming along!
Standing Oh BB Press
75x10
105x10
135x7, been awhile since ive done these or dedicated delt work. So I will be focusing on delts for a lil to bring it back up
Rolling Tricep Ext
35x15,11,10,8,6
Med Grip Cable Rows
110x12,10,10,10, heavier then my old gym. Ive been doing a lot of chest supported rows lately, may try a kroc row or reg bb row to see if ive lost back strength
BB Shrugs+4 way neck+shoulder horn
225x10
275x8, 30, 10x20
275x8, 30, 15x15
Notes: I went ahead and wrote up a basic template I will be following from now on and doing all my lift in 3 week waves unless I start to stall on the me work then it will become 2 week, then 1 week.

[Torobestia]

Sh1t, how did I miss this log? I was looking for one of yours around here, but I guess that was before sh1t hit the fan here which was mid January, kind of before you started the log.

I didn't know your squat before, but you got a pretty strong one for sure. What's your bench at, do you know? Because a 245x6 JM press is pretty ridiculous. I know I can bench 315 fast with bicep tendonitis, but I couldn't do a JM press for that much weight, haha.

Anyways, I wanted to address a few issues and I hope you may find what I say helpful. I hope you're not saying the forearm thing with the rope ab work is bothering you even after you do it ... because I can't really help you there besides pointing out obvious things to do. What I can say is that I do rope ab work as well. The way I do it is I explosively pull the rope down before I begin such that the nubs are on the sides of my chest, nestled basically between my pecs and shoulders. In this configuration my arms are flexed completely, as in my forearms are mushing up against my biceps, and my wrists are kind of turned inwards to hold the nubs against my body. When I bend down like this, it's almost as if the nubs of the rope are digging into my body, and so it's like my body is helping my hands hold the weight. I feel like this explanation may be somewhat poor, so ask away if you don't understand (and I may be able to put up a video, we'll see). Hope that can help the issue.

The other thing is when you do a narrower squat, your knees have to bend and come forward after you sit back to allow the bar to be centered (something you avoid with a wide stance), otherwise you're going to basically be doing a good morning. So that'll require loose calves. I still squat with chucks, since it's easier to have only 1 pair of lifting shoes, so doing stuff like DC calf work really helped my calf flexibility which allowed me to better squat to depth with a narrow stance while keeping my back straight. You should also make sure you have proper hip mobility since this can be a source of problems (Zir Red has posted about this somewhere, definitely in some DerickVon threads).

With that said, I don't know how narrow you're actually talking about, and squatting wider will definitely be better for moving heavier weight than squatting narrower. It's simple physics, you have an increased foundation, better support, and more leverage that way. But if you're sinking like 5 inches between standing straight and setting up for the squat you probably should bring it in, haha.

Anyways, I'll definitely be revisiting this log.

[SweetLou321]

I get what your saying for the rope crunches, and yea its still a lil flared up. Not bad tho I can still do all my work. Ill try it that way the next time I do them, will be a month or two tho unless things just get much much better.

And I did some research and im not gonna move my squat in unless its apart of my ME work for the day. Mostly bc I prefer to squat the way I do and it fixed a hip issue I had awhile ago. My calves and hips are good I do alot of up keep and stretching.

And my in gym PR was 315 but my meet PR was 275, a meet is a new world compared to training and I didnt realize how much a 475 squat PR took out of me. But I have since addressed some form issues in the bench. Also JM presses are great yet for raw strength they wont have the same carry over as it would for a geared lifter of course.

And I had another log but I lost track with it so I decided to start a new one with my current training.

[SweetLou321]

2/20/12-ME Squat/Deadlift
Workout:
Suspended GMs, still trying to figure out proper bar height for these.
275x1
285x1
315x1
335x1
365x1
Reverse Hypers
135x10
160x10
180x10
Chest Supported Cambered Bar Rows
135x10
185x8
205x6
Romain Chairs+Walking Abductors or Adductors idk
Bwx15, short monster mini
Bw+Mini Bandx15, short monster mini
Bw+mini Bandx10, short monster mini
Notes: I dont like suspended goodmornings, idk how to set them up right yet haha.

[SweetLou321]

2/22/12-ME Bench
Workout:
Chins w/ mini bandx8,6 Bwx6,5
Floor Press
185x3
225x1
245x1
275x1
285x0,0 My tendons were hurting some making it impossible to get in the groove, ill get it next time. I hate floor presses no groove on them, any tips would be great.
Flat DB Press
55x10
65x10
75x8,8 Felt super heavy after the floor press
Iso Hammer High Row
180x20,20,20
Light Band Oh Ext+Face Pulls
20/10
15/10
15/10
15/10
4 Way Neck+External Rotators
35 for 2 sets, 10x15,15x12
Notes: I hate floor presses but I love them. I dont know for sure yet but I feel they will help my bench. I find it hard to find my groove on the lift and tuck into my back right. Its all a learning process. I did floor press my meet PR tho. Also I need to make sure I have no more joint flare ups while pressing.

[SweetLou321]

2/24/12-DE Squat/Deadlift
Workout:
DE Box Squats w/ Monster minis
225+Bands for 6 sets of 2
Speed Sumo Pulls w/ Mini bands
225+Bands for 6 sets of 1
GHR
Bwx8,8,8
Land Mines
barx12
bar+10x12
bar+15x10
Notes: Tried sumo pulls today and my partner said I was ever faster then conventional which I all I usually pull. So I will be doing speed work this way for now. Im giving a shot out to rodja for him explaining that ppl with lower center of gravity being better for sumo and power squats. Well im gifted with the huge legs and glutes so imma try it out. Its gonna take some time to learn form. Wrecked my hams, glutes, and low back. Was gonna do conditioning but my partners hams cramped up on ghrs haha.

[SweetLou321]

2/25/12-DE Bench
Workout:
Chins warm-up with fat bar
8,8,6,6
DE Bench w/ Doubled up mini bands
135lbs w/ bands for 9 sets of 3
OH Grappler Press
50lbsx12
60lbsx8
70lbsx8
Oh Band Ext w/ Light Bands
10,10,8
Iso Hammer Low Row
270x8,8,8
DB Shrugs+4 way neck+Shoulder horn
60x12/35lbs/15x15
80x20/35lbs/15x15
Notes: Good session, even faster on bench then before.

[SweetLou321]

2/27/12-ME Squat/Deadlift
Workout:
Box Squat
315x1
365x1
405x1
425x1 PR
Reverse Hyper
140x15,15,20
Pendlay Chest Supported Cambered Bar Rows
135x5
155x5
185x5
205x2
185x5
Roman Chairs
Bwx12,12,15
Notes: Good session. Hit a sticking point off the box then I fired my glutes and blasted it up. Some ppl just piss me off, im not gonna go into it here lol.

[Torobestia]

Nice Box Squat PR, Lou.

[SweetLou321]

Nice Box Squat PR, Lou.

Thanks man, its 50lbs from my raw squat PR, about right.

[Torobestia]

Thanks man, its 50lbs from my raw squat PR, about right.

What do you mean? Is your box squat supposed to be about that much lower from your raw squat? If so, I don't think I have a 455lb raw squat yet by any means. It might be only +5-10lbs higher than my box squat. Where do you think the discrepancy comes from?

EDIT: to clarify, I've always known and understand why box squats are harder than regular squats ... it's the same reason pause pressing/floor pressing is harder than bench pressing. The dead stop releases tension built up in the muscle, and you don't get the extra power from the stretch reflex (is that what it's called? it's been a while) to help you push more weight.

[SweetLou321]

What do you mean? Is your box squat supposed to be about that much lower from your raw squat? If so, I don't think I have a 455lb raw squat yet by any means. It might be only +5-10lbs higher than my box squat. Where do you think the discrepancy comes from?

EDIT: to clarify, I've always known and understand why box squats are harder than regular squats ... it's the same reason pause pressing/floor pressing is harder than bench pressing. The dead stop releases tension built up in the muscle, and you don't get the extra power from the stretch reflex (is that what it's called? it's been a while) to help you push more weight.

Well westside says that ones max box squat is about 70% of their meet squat, but they train in gear and I do not. But both me and my gym partners box squat is about 50lbs less then out raw squat. Your raw squat should not be that close to ur box squat. That means you train your box squat to much and your not getting carry over. Id have a good 50/50 mix of raw and box squats since the form is also slightly different. You may be groove squating too.

[Torobestia]

Well westside says that ones max box squat is about 70% of their meet squat, but they train in gear and I do not. But both me and my gym partners box squat is about 50lbs less then out raw squat. Your raw squat should not be that close to ur box squat. That means you train your box squat to much and your not getting carry over. Id have a good 50/50 mix of raw and box squats since the form is also slightly different. You may be groove squating too.

I think I do train box squat too much. I've pretty much done that movement almost exclusively since I had so many problems drilling the motor pattern into my muscles. Now I can actually do a full squat with pretty good form for most of the set (and achieving full depth is no problem anymore by any means), but I guess as you said without having trained it for all this time I dont get much carryover. Thanks for bringing that up.

[SweetLou321]

I think I do train box squat too much. I've pretty much done that movement almost exclusively since I had so many problems drilling the motor pattern into my muscles. Now I can actually do a full squat with pretty good form for most of the set (and achieving full depth is no problem anymore by any means), but I guess as you said without having trained it for all this time I dont get much carryover. Thanks for bringing that up.

Of course man, unless you squat in gear the box squat should not make up all your squating.

[SweetLou321]

2-29-12-ME Bench
Workout:
Chins
Bwx7,7,7,7
Camber Bar Bench, about a 2-3 inch camber with a 1 board since I dont the have gut my partner does haha.
225x3
245x3
255x3, doing triples. Stopped here as it was pretty hard and I got 2 more weeks of this.
Incline DB Press
60x10
70x12 PR b 3 reps
80x7 PR
Neutral Grip Cable Rows
100x20
110x20
120x20
Mini Band Pushdowns w/ Rope Face Pulls
100 pushdowns
60x12
70x12,12
Conditioning: 4 100meter sprints with 90lbs on the prowler. Very out of shape. Went home sick from this and laid down for 2 hrs before moving again lol.
Notes: Will start building my conditioning back up.

[SweetLou321]

3-2-12-DE Squat/Deadlift
Workout:
GHR
Bwx5,5
DE Box Squat with straight weight
235x12x2
Speed Sumo Pulls with monster minis
225 w/ bandsx8x1 Tore up my legs but form is getting better.
GHR
Bwx10,10,10,15
Land Mines
barx12
10x12
20x10
Notes: Tired, but fast session.

[SweetLou321]

3-3-12-DE Bench
Workout:
Chins
Bwx7,7,7,7
DE Bench with straight weight
135x9x3, 3 different grips
Grappler Oh Press
50x10
60x10 PR
60x10
Oh Band Ext with light bands
12,10,8
Chest Supported Wide Grip T-bar rows
90x10
135x10
170x6
90x10
Incline DB Shrugs+4 way neck+External Pre-hab
60x15/40/8x15
80x15/40/15x12
90x12
Notes: Forgot to do cardio, oh well fast session. It felt like cardio anyways haha.

[SweetLou321]

3-5-12-ME Squat/Deadlift, my 21'st bday too!
Workout:
Box Squat
315x1
365x1
405x1
430x1 PR, it felt heavy but came up faster and easier then 425. Very happy with a PR regardless if its just 5lbs lol
Reverse Hyper
135x15,20,20 PR for 2 sets of 20
Chest Supported Cambered Bar Pendlay Row
135x5
185x5
205x5,5,5 PR's
Roman Chair
Bwx15
Bw+mini bandx15
Bw+monster minix12 PR
Notes: Felt like ass coming into this session, really had to get my mind right to kill this session. But I got 4 PRs today and felt great about them. Mind over matter today. 430 felt like it was gonna crush me coming out of the rack and on the way down but easy up.