Herder's 2014 Log: All About the XPC Semi's

Just saw Animal's youtube video of Derek Kendall training delts. That was outrageous. And makes me think I should be OHPing more. So I've set a goal to hit seated OHP 275x5 by the end of the year. Not going low on reps, but I'll be pushing it.

Forgot to mention, upper body pump was just dumb in tonight's session. Just outrageous.
 
herderdude said:
Just saw Animal's youtube video of Derek Kendall training delts. That was outrageous. And makes me think I should be OHPing more. So I've set a goal to hit seated OHP 275x5 by the end of the year. Not going low on reps, but I'll be pushing it.

Forgot to mention, upper body pump was just dumb in tonight's session. Just outrageous.
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Not a bad goal Dude.
I actually respect a good OHP, PP, or PJ better than a big bench (but that is just me)
 
One HELL of a good session.

ME Benchin

Work Up work up
365x1 raw off chest
Add maddog
405x3
Add 2 board and Super F6
405x3
430x3
455x2 (1 board first rep, float second rep) holy dang that thing locks up.
Remove F6 add Rage X
455x1 off chest, PR any shirt.

Blew up 455. My learning curve on shirted benching has improved dramatically. Today I focused on staying flared until it locked up, and then tucking. I know I've been told that in the past, but today I managed to get it in my brain. Coming down flared made benching in the Rage X much easier as far as groove and keeping back tightness.

CG 2 board against doubled lights
185x3x5

Always brutal.

Catback Rows/30 degree prone shrugs
90x3x12/8

Lateral delt destroyer

Rear delt destroyer

OHP quarter reps (half reps, what have you)
135x15
185x8

And done. Fully drained today. Squatting tomorrow and then deloading. Absolutely cannot wait to deload. Also cannot wait to bench in a shirt again. There's a WABDL meet September 6 supporting Wounded Warrior, I'm gonna bench in it at the very least.
 
Weight was about 232-236 this morning. Didn't step on the scale then, but I did just now and I was 236 on my heavy scale. Had a glass of water, a liter of Dew, and a caffeine free diet coke (who the eff bought that shyt), so I'm VERY happy with my weight.

Ideally, I'd like to be in the upper-to-mid 220s by late August so I can up the calories as the intensity rises and still be in range to make the cut to 220.5
 
Nice work bro. Seated bike is my choice for LISS.
 
Thanks, guys. It was just a really good day and I had the shirt working fantastic. NomZ I'm going to have to try seated bike. I have a deep hatred for bikes, but I don't think treadmill (unless I walk) is an option.

Lou, that F6 is gnarly for certain. You were definitely correct when you said that anything can get to a 2-board, but touches will take some more work on my part, some 1-board work will help. Probably 495 will be good for a touch, but I'm not ready to handle 495 just yet. The F6 definitely taught me the importance of using flared elbows to keep support and then tucking to descend. 405x3 off the 2 was cake from that cue.
 
CincyKiller45 said:
Beasting in here per usual, Herd. Your bench is taking off. 4 wheels raw is ah comin'.
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Thanks, G. If I qualify for the Arnold, it will happen there. If I don't, I'll do it at the big push/pull in Da Burgh.

EDIT: That's my prediction, anyway. If everything goes well between now and then.
 
Duramaxhd said:
Nice work boss moving up quickly
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Thanks, man! That's equipped lifting for ya, struggle struggle, breakthrough, struggle, buy better gear, struggle, breakthrough, repeat.
 
herderdude said:
Thanks, guys. It was just a really good day and I had the shirt working fantastic. NomZ I'm going to have to try seated bike. I have a deep hatred for bikes, but I don't think treadmill (unless I walk) is an option.

Lou, that F6 is gnarly for certain. You were definitely correct when you said that anything can get to a 2-board, but touches will take some more work on my part, some 1-board work will help. Probably 495 will be good for a touch, but I'm not ready to handle 495 just yet. The F6 definitely taught me the importance of using flared elbows to keep support and then tucking to descend. 405x3 off the 2 was cake from that cue.
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Told you. Its neat poly shirt with some stopping power. 495 sounds right to touch. Excited to see what you do in it in the future. Good job again man. That cue also is how i eventually benched 529 in my jack. Saved my geared benching.
 
SweetLou321 said:
Told you. Its neat poly shirt with some stopping power. 495 sounds right to touch. Excited to see what you do in it in the future. Good job again man. That cue also is how i eventually benched 529 in my jack. Saved my geared benching.
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Before, I would tuck right at the top like a raw bench, and from what I've noticed, it causes the weight to gain leverage on the back of your shoulder as well as making it harder to find the groove. With the flare, the bar naturally follows the groove, and I had much more leverage to keep my scaps pinched and stay tight overall. A huge step taken today, now I need to be able to repeat the effort.
 
Sunday Morning Squat Sesh

SSB Squat

315x4x5
325x5 RPE 7 or 8 (that's not what it looks like on the tape, but it felt like I was going to die)

Two of us got done with our 5x5 in 20min, which is warp speed for me.

Pulls
Nope. 335 for like three triples.

GHR
3x5 easy setting

Sled Drags
3 down-backs with four 45s on the Prowler

Not a lot on paper, but the 8am RAWWR SSB 5x5 was the nail in the coffin to this training block. I am going to enjoy this deload. Next hard training session will be a strongman day on Saturday.
 
Them SSBs are deceptive. The pressure of staying upright makes reps that don't look slow feel hard as ****.
 
dam nice benching herder, always good to figure out something little that can give you big results. Im sure with gear the little things are even more important. that SSB is a pain man, i dunno why though but i feel i get better tightness with it, especially in the upper back. gotta figure out how to carry that over to my barbell squats.
 
herderdude said:
, and a caffeine free diet coke (who the eff bought that shyt),
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Ha! my parents always drank that crap when I was a kid at home - always remember those gold cans...

Serious benching buddy - solid shyte!
 
Deload Lower

Squat (low bar)
315x5x1
315x1 high bar

Felt so nice to squat with a straight bar again.

Speedy Buddy Pulls
385x5x1

And done. Made sure to take the squats as deep as I could, pulls were just okay. It will take some more practice.
 
I have to say fück what Brian Carroll said about not doing mobility stuff. My hips were trashed this morning. Time to get supple.
 
herderdude said:
I have to say fück what Brian Carroll said about not doing mobility stuff. My hips were trashed this morning. Time to get supple.
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Exactly. He's only like that because he wrecked his back. I've got my ass on a lacrosse ball twice a day.

I do agree with not doing super hard stretching right before a lift, but most will say that too.
 
He also says he can't squat parallel with lower weights on his back and gets it just perfect with 1180. I mean can't blame him if it is working, but the context is important.
 
Sean1332 said:
Exactly. He's only like that because he wrecked his back. I've got my ass on a lacrosse ball twice a day.

I do agree with not doing super hard stretching right before a lift, but most will say that too.
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I totally understand where he's coming from with the stiff core thing, man. That makes perfect sense, but yesterday I was butt winking something massive from tight PC muscles. How can I protect my back when I'm butt winking?

I'm not a guy who stresses over butt wink, but it has to be reasonable. And it took a good amount of glute and ham work to get the wink to IMPROVE to where it was reasonable.
 
I used to do all my rolling and smashing before I lifted now I reserve all that for the end/later in the maybe even the next day the point I belive he is trying to make is u can do your mobility work just don't mash and roll the **** out of something your going to need to be tight in the next 10 mins. also people are as different as there are stars in the sky so what didn't go so well for him may work great for u
 
I agree with the above. At an ugss he tried to get me to not do my minimal rolling and mobility work i do for my hips and shoulders. I said thanks for the info but ill keep doing what is working lol
 
I only address tight muscle groups before a workout that would affect ROM/movement patterns/pain.

Anyone got that new fluff and buff book? Isn't it Brian Caroll's?
 
NomZ I have Carroll's book.

I agree guys, it's different for everybody. At The Compound, everyone spends 30-45min prepping the hips and/or shoulders before training. I felt a lot better doing that stuff.
 
herderdude said:
@Invalid Link Removed I have Carroll's book.

I agree guys, it's different for everybody. At The Compound, everyone spends 30-45min prepping the hips and/or shoulders before training. I felt a lot better doing that stuff.
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Any good? E-book?
 
NomZ said:
Any good? E-book?
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I like it! Following his offseason programming right now. He has a detailed weak point index, assistance templates, and his main movement programming is simple, yet different from most of the recent popular ebooks.

He has two weeks each of 5x5, 4x4, and 3x3 in the offseason, and in the precontest phase, you hit your attempts fairly often. Openers with straight weight, seconds and thirds with reverse bands. He also advocates deloading every third week, which lines up with the workload and intensities recommended in his program.
 
Deload Bench sesh + Shirt technique work.

245x5x1

315x1 slingshot
365x1 slingshot
Add shirt (Rage X)
385x3 three board
425x1 touch

Band pushdowns
4x20

Poundstone Curls
Barx60,40

Pullaparts
5x20

Shirt technique today was a... learning experience. Lol. I got into the shirt with my palms up, so I had it jacked way WAYYY too much for easy play around stuff. That's good information for the future, but wasn't what I had planned today. Touching 425 took some work, and I didn't press it the way I needed to. So that was a fail.

Next time I want to work technique, I'll have the shirt fully loosened up, and I'll work down one board at a time. Still gonna get 475 in September.
 
herderdude said:
Deload Bench sesh + Shirt technique work.

245x5x1

315x1 slingshot
365x1 slingshot
Add shirt (Rage X)
385x3 three board
425x1 touch

Band pushdowns
4x20

Poundstone Curls
Barx60,40

Pullaparts
5x20

Shirt technique today was a... learning experience. Lol. I got into the shirt with my palms up, so I had it jacked way WAYYY too much for easy play around stuff. That's good information for the future, but wasn't what I had planned today. Touching 425 took some work, and I didn't press it the way I needed to. So that was a fail.

Next time I want to work technique, I'll have the shirt fully loosened up, and I'll work down one board at a time. Still gonna get 475 in September.
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Twisting the sleeves deff adds another level to the shirt. Nice job man.
 
SweetLou321 said:
Twisting the sleeves deff adds another level to the shirt. Nice job man.
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Yeah holy shyt I was not ready. I like the collar in my adam's apple, but I can tell the carryover is going to be huge once I get the twisted sleeve gig down.
 
Here's the vid:

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Three reds, I know. Harsh lumbar cramp got me good. Didn't flare hard enough, which robbed me of a lot of help, but it still moved well enough.
 
herderdude said:
Here's the vid:

Invalid Link Removed

Three reds, I know. Harsh lumbar cramp got me good. Didn't flare hard enough, which robbed me of a lot of help, but it still moved well enough.
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Looked decent man. You have to keep your chest and belly up the whole time. Try to flare from your back/scapula also.
 
SweetLou321 said:
Looked decent man. You have to keep your chest and belly up the whole time. Try to flare from your back/scapula also.
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Thanks, man. Not my best, I'm still working hard to improve. Can you go into a little more detail about flaring from my back?
 
herderdude said:
Thanks, man. Not my best, I'm still working hard to improve. Can you go into a little more detail about flaring from my back?
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Easiest way to put it is go through the motion of benching with someones finger between your lower traps. And try to squeeze their finger the whole time. Its as if as you flare your scapula retract and pulled downward as you flare. Let me know if you need more detail.
 
Oh, I see what you mean. Kind of use my back to expand my ribcage and press harder against the chest plate.
 
Rodja said:
It looked decent to me as well. How many times have you used that shirt?
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I wanna say four or five times. That was the first time I had the sleeves twisted that much, though. That made it feel like a completely different shirt. Harder to touch and a lot lower groove, and my back wasn't staying as tight as I needed it to. Last week I had it nailed down, so I was trying to ride the momentum this week.

Like I was saying, I really feel I'll need to work down the 3-2-1 boards to reinforce the groove. Once that's second nature, I'll go back to getting stronger raw and I should be able to hit 475-495 pretty handily.
 
herderdude said:
I wanna say four or five times. That was the first time I had the sleeves twisted that much, though. That made it feel like a completely different shirt. Harder to touch and a lot lower groove, and my back wasn't staying as tight as I needed it to. Last week I had it nailed down, so I was trying to ride the momentum this week. Like I was saying, I really feel I'll need to work down the 3-2-1 boards to reinforce the groove. Once that's second nature, I'll go back to getting stronger raw and I should be able to hit 475-495 pretty handily.
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For only that much usage, everything looks solid. There's some small things to work on, but you'll get that with more time.
 
4x4 Pulls

Roll quads, IT band, and adductors. Stretch hip flexors, hamstrings, and piriformis. Bird Dogs and one arm KB Swings.

^That's better^

Work up
335x4 raw (w/u)
425x3 raw (should be a PR)
Add Predator briefs
425x4x4

Tried to get more upright. My raw work did not like it. Moved my stance out a little bit each set in the briefs. Last set was nearly collar to collar and felt easy, though my lockouts were undisciplined/nonexistent in the last two sets.

Beltless Convo 6" Block Pulls
425x6
475x6
500x5 Hell yeah. Also shot my PC for Dimels.

Here are all the sumo pulls from 335 on up, along with 500x5:
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GHR
BWx6,5 Yep, done.

Hack Squat
2ppsx3x10

Controlled reps, no momentum, constant tension (no sitting on calves, no lockout). Wanted to get more reppage as I know quads respond better to higher reps, but the constant tension was difficult and my quads still BLEW UP.

Cable Rows
3x10

Started slow and controlled with pauses at top and bottom at beginning of all three sets. Then sped up the concentric and eventually it devolved into explosive rowing with some hip momentum.

McGill Pull Ups
BWx10x1

Two reps each at ultra wide, normal overhand, wide underhand, narrow underhand, and narrow neutral.

And done. Session took an hour and a half all told including mobility, which is blazing for me. Especially since I overStimul8ed this evening. I was sweating my ass off and sucking wind, but I still pushed the pace. Extremely happy with the beltless 500x5 block pull. I want to be up around 550x3 in my belt by the first week of October. That should get me my 600-610 pull to total elite.
 
Definitely need more lockout on all those heavy sets, also looked like some you were in front of the bar and thoracic more rounded than you needed to be judging by the speed.
 
NomZ said:
Definitely need more lockout on all those heavy sets, also looked like some you were in front of the bar and thoracic more rounded than you needed to be judging by the speed.
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I agree. Not on my A game tonight. I'm dangerously close to putting sumos on the shelf until 2015.
 
herderdude said:
I agree. Not on my A game tonight. I'm dangerously close to putting sumos on the shelf until 2015.
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Just use em as seconday accessory for weak-work.
 
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