gphagan1
Legend
Really impressive strong bench workout…..
365, 405, 415 all with a pause, man you look like your bench strength is peaking just right.
What are you thinking you’ll get….you look like you’re probably all over 450 right now.
SkRaw85 Training Log
- Thread starter SkRaw85
- Start date
365, 405, 415 all with a pause, man you look like your bench strength is peaking just right.
What are you thinking you’ll get….you look like you’re probably all over 450 right now.
SkRaw85
Legend
Really impressive strong bench workout…..
365, 405, 415 all with a pause, man you look like your bench strength is peaking just right.
What are you thinking you’ll get….you look like you’re probably all over 450 right now.
Let’s see what next saturday bench session yields
SkRaw85
Legend
Benchblox is a staple in my bag, great triceps builder!
SkRaw85
Legend
Picked up someone’s cancellation appt for tomorrow for ART. That’s huge. My sciatic nerve is so pissed off sleeping has been not great. Hurt to sleep on back, so I trained myself to sleep face down with mask, that hurt so I trained myself to sleep on side with mask, that hurt. So now I pop 100mg THC and 100mg CBD before bed and I can at least sleep through the pain for 5 or so hours. Doing bird dogs has never been painful until now.
Dustin07
Legend
PolishHamm3r77
Well-known member
100mgs just to sleep…that sciatic nerve must be PISSED! Pain sucks. Sorry you r going through that!
I miss edibles. Can’t fit them in w work and training. The day after is usually a total wash.
MrKleen73
Legend
Dude some of my favorite sessions are edible powered! Drop edible with preworkout and go get it in! Mind muscle connection set to full on GOD MODE! Amazing sessions!
AnfoAjax
New member
That's very interesting. I would've thought it would interfere with your ability to focus... I'm purely Powerlifting and couldn't imagine trying to explosively deadlift or squat while high.
Do you prefer to take edibles before your sessions? Or a once in awhile thing? Does it help alot?
MrKleen73
Legend
It is a once in a blue moon thing. I found out kind of on accident once while in California I was going to go walking around the city after my workout and wanted to be feeling right when i left the gym. So I popped half a 100mg edible with my preworkout, and then when I finished my warm up I took the 2nd half. By the time I took the 2nd half things were already getting more visually stimulating, and I was really getting into my session. Then 30 minutes later, there was only me, the machine I was on, and perfect reps being completed. Now I will say that I do not try to track reps in a session like that because I am so focused on the muscle and each rep being and feeling perfect that I am not counting or forget to keep counting. So for those sessions I am simply working toward a target RIR, normal 1-2 reps in reserve.
Now I will say, I don't know if I would be so dialed in without the stims from the preworkout, and I also don't know that i could just start off high as a kite on edibles and get a productive workout in but the edible and the preworkout kicking in together and during the workout simply just intensifies the entire session for me. Other than that no way i could afford to eat an edible before I trained on a regular basis. I simply don't make that kind of money and also need to come down and be sober for other life situations most of the time and edibles last too long, it isn't like smoking a joint where you will be stoned out of your mind for 15 minutes then functionally high for a while.
PolishHamm3r77
Well-known member
Not a motivational smoker or eater in this case. I was never a “wake and bake” b4 work kinda guy. Between the unmedicated ADD and the dyslexia if I partake I’m about as organized as a fart in a wind storm. I use it to shut the “think machine” off mostly. Even cardio, I tried Dorian’s “hit a good concentrate and do your cycling or tread mill or what have you” and it was lack luster.
PolishHamm3r77
Well-known member
When I feel that way I think this is how I really appear. You must watch until the end
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SkRaw85
Legend
10/29
W10D1
BW: 238
Sleep: 7
Bird dogs
Side planks
Banded bullies
Banded dislocation/rotation
Banded triceps stretch
Scap pushups
Mini band:
Pullaparts x 15
Facepulls x 15
Lat push/spread x 10
Press downs x 50
3 sec paused bench, Elitecamber wide NG:
38x5
128x3
218x3
308x3
328x3x3 sets
Elitecamber paused bench, inner NG:
218x5
238x5
258x5
30° incline DB press:
80’sX15,10
DB shrugs:
40’sX20
50’sX20x3 sets
Light band hammer curls:
25x3 sets
DB lateral raise:
20’sX10x2 sets
W10D1
BW: 238
Sleep: 7
Bird dogs
Side planks
Banded bullies
Banded dislocation/rotation
Banded triceps stretch
Scap pushups
Mini band:
Pullaparts x 15
Facepulls x 15
Lat push/spread x 10
Press downs x 50
3 sec paused bench, Elitecamber wide NG:
38x5
128x3
218x3
308x3
328x3x3 sets
Elitecamber paused bench, inner NG:
218x5
238x5
258x5
30° incline DB press:
80’sX15,10
DB shrugs:
40’sX20
50’sX20x3 sets
Light band hammer curls:
25x3 sets
DB lateral raise:
20’sX10x2 sets
Hyde
Legend
I remember watching a 242 guy in ‘17 at the USPA meet at the Chicago Fit Expo tear his quad on his last squat. I wanna say something like 683. He was all fired up and smashing everything prior to that - he went on to bench 501 with his injured leg just laid out casually to the side. Pulled whatever he could token stiffleg with one good one to finish the meet.
His belt had, ‘Suck it up, Buttercup’ embroidered on the back, and he definitely lived by that!
MrKleen73
Legend
Oh, trust me when I need to do something that isn't tedious, and actually takes concentration THC is not an option. I get the same way, and often would never manage to get started because I would get distracted with other things before taking care of what I needed to do. However, small, or tedious tasks, I can do all day high, I actually prefer to be if it is tedium that just needs to get done.
With training there is no thought though, it is all feel once you are in the movement as a bodybuilder. So once I start lifting I get into a zone. I just don't do well with tracking any of it, because I am high and distracted from the logging of the session. I work super hard then by the time I am recovering from the set I forget to enter my weight and reps. When smoking it isn't a big deal to do because after the first 15 minutes of being stoned you become functionally high, or I do. However an edible will keep me one step above functionally high, where I can perform with excellence but can't remember to track it for chit! Most of the time these sessions are when traveling, at a new gym with different equipment, where I would be feeling out weights anyway, and likely using different resistance than my usual sessions so the tracking itself is less important than the quality of the work.
Some guys are just built different. I don't know if I am one of them or not. Would also depend on the severity of the tear. Either way, he was a tough mother!
Hyde
Legend
He definitely had this crazy look in his eye; for some reason I think he was a marine. I talked to him while he was icing his leg. He told me he wasn’t going to the hospital until he had finished the meet. Blew my mind! I had never witnessed anything like that yet.
MrKleen73
Legend
Yeah that is one of those crazy situations that just impresses you and makes you realize how tough people can actually be. I am relatively certain I would have been on my way to the hospital shortly after the tear. There would have to be something huge on the line for me to even consider trying to tough that out.
Hyde
Legend
This is the same meet where my training partner competing watched a bench-only guy eat a crushed ammonia capsule after he huffed it. “Did you just eat that?” - “Yep.”
I had also already seen Martins Licis do a skin-the-cat on gymnastics rings on a CrossFit rig that day at over 300lbs bodyweight, after single-handedly carrying the 700lb yoke over & over to reset it at the starting line for the strongman show, beltless. This is not very long before he went to his first World’s Strongest Man.
So at that point I was basically open to processing anything
SkRaw85
Legend
This is the same meet where my training partner competing watched a bench-only guy eat a crushed ammonia capsule after he huffed it. “Did you just eat that?” - “Yep.”
I had also already seen Martins Licis do a skin-the-cat on gymnastics rings on a CrossFit rig that day at over 300lbs bodyweight, after single-handedly carrying the 700lb yoke over & over to reset it at the starting line for the strongman show, beltless. This is not very long before he went to his first World’s Strongest Man.
So at that point I was basically open to processing anything
Hmmmm, so you’re telling me I need to EAT the ammonia….
Hyde
Legend
Really happy you went; knowledge is power & now you know what stuff to work on as well as what you are dealing with!
The tissue release from him plus some homework drills and mobility to keep muscles less bound/more active will help lessen the pain and get you heading back in the right direction day by day.
My wife has to use hers a couple times per week, fast & easy. Look out for a sale, psorite I think is the one she has.
SkRaw85
Legend
It’s going to be a process for sure but necessary. I can’t function in real life like this lol.
It’ll be nice to get this off the punch list and focus on forearms/elbows.
SkRaw85
Legend
Postponing bench test until Monday. For the first time in a long while I got 10 hrs sleep. All musculature around the glute slowly beginning to release. I want to give it a few more days to get a better test setting. I know it’s cutting a little close but I truly believe I can recover fully in time
Hyde
Legend
Glad things are going in the right direction! Because you have been dealing with nerve pain, when you do go to test, take your time but do extra warmup sets of very low reps. As the body realizes things are not causing pain, it will continue to ramp up the nervous system as it trusts the movement.
SkRaw85
Legend
Thanks man. This is quite annoying but I believe it to be manageable. I won’t get fooled a 7th time!
SkRaw85
Legend
Kicking around a few (too many) ideas post-meet. Might do a block in gear, might cut, might get a coach, might check out Swedes bench only program, and yeah. Basically I know nothing yet but it’s in the universe lol. I am ordering up a set of those elbow wraps @AnfoAjax has been rocking. Those look fun.
AnfoAjax
New member
Hell yeah man let me know how they are. They're a little awkward at first and take some practice like Knee Wraps but the learning curve isn't as big. They should benefit and contribute to your raw bench numbers too.
Hyde
Legend
You have some time to decide; focus on doing your best this meet for now!
SkRaw85
Legend
For sure. Not sweating it. Bench shirt does have a nice ring to it tho….
MrKleen73
Legend
Dude, trust me I know how this is. Things are going well, you start thinking of what you can do with the extra bandwidth once the task at hand is over. I didn't really have a clue what I wanted to do post show. I had 1000 things in mind from relaxing and just enjoying lifting for a while to going for broke on Open BB, or slowing things down, keeping drugs super low and focusing on classic physique. Unfortunately, I am still somewhat in between on the last 2, with an occasional maybe it is time for me to just enjoy myself and lift without pressuring myself too much. However in the end during prep, I was so super motivated I felt like I could take on the world, and no task was too big. That if I could suffer like that for prep I could do anything I set my mind too. Now, I still feel that way but setting my mind to something specific has not got any easier.
Agreed, so easy to get ahead of ourselves before we even arrive at our current goal, already making plans for the next.
SkRaw85
Legend
The nature of the beast! I’ll definitely be taking some down time with anabolics. Low test, 2iu GH and glutathione for sure, maybe some NAD. I think going equipped for a training block would be a good stimulus and save some wear and tear; and if I happen to find a meet around the time I’m peaking I’ll definitely do my first geared meet, but they are pretty slim around this state. Again, still thinking out loud.
SkRaw85
Legend
11/4
W10D3
Bench test
Banded bullies
Banded dislocations/rotations
Banded triceps
Scap pushups
Mini band:
PA’s X 20
Pressdowns x 50
Lat push/spread x 10
Facepulls x 20
Hammer curls x 40
KB side bends:
20x20 per side
KB bottoms up press:
20x15 per side
Paused bench, powerbar, comp grip:
45x10
135x5
225x5
315x1
335x1
365x1
405x1
425x1
445x1 PR (9RPE)
3 board press, slow tempo:
425x2x2 sets
Well hell, turns out you don’t need leg drive to PR bench. Super happy with this, I knew as soon as I pressed up 365 and it felt like 225 this was gonna be a good one. Comp day is gonna be lit.
Tried to do the goblet holds at end of workout but I could only quarter squat it with much pain and pausing was out of the question. I’ll try these again when I’m not out for blood.
W10D3
Bench test
Banded bullies
Banded dislocations/rotations
Banded triceps
Scap pushups
Mini band:
PA’s X 20
Pressdowns x 50
Lat push/spread x 10
Facepulls x 20
Hammer curls x 40
KB side bends:
20x20 per side
KB bottoms up press:
20x15 per side
Paused bench, powerbar, comp grip:
45x10
135x5
225x5
315x1
335x1
365x1
405x1
425x1
445x1 PR (9RPE)
3 board press, slow tempo:
425x2x2 sets
Well hell, turns out you don’t need leg drive to PR bench. Super happy with this, I knew as soon as I pressed up 365 and it felt like 225 this was gonna be a good one. Comp day is gonna be lit.
Tried to do the goblet holds at end of workout but I could only quarter squat it with much pain and pausing was out of the question. I’ll try these again when I’m not out for blood.
Hyde
Legend
It’s well-founded! Congrats, taking out the 200kg barrier is definitely something I’d love to do (and I’m nowhere close).
Keep doing your rehab work as you can, seeing your doc, and things will only improve come comp! Sounds like your second attempt will be a meet PR already, with 451+ being a likely third.
Also, Iconic Formulations has a cool-looking NAD transdermal beta-release available right now, if you’d be into a TD. Got some resveratrol in it as well, always a good health supp.
SkRaw85
Legend
Thanks! It did do a number on my nerve even without direct leg drive, the pressure on everything in there flamed it up. I’ll be very mindful of this the next couple weeks and be ready for some aftershock post meet.
Hmmmmm, I’ll give that a look. Curious how it stacks against inj.
gphagan1
Legend
Another congrats on the PR…..looks like you’re coming in hot right where you want to be. Good advice by Hyde on sticking to your rehab work and letting the ART Doc do his thang. You definitely don’t want to tweak any nagging injury before. You’ve got this brother…looks like you’re going to blast through the 450 barrier….awesome work.
Dustin07
Legend
I'm with @Hyde on this one, it's really great to have some feedback and know what you're working around. finding solutions for mobility and long term health will be huge for you. FWIW, and personal opinion my experience for me has been teaching my body that some injuries are life long and can be worked around without any pain. I thought I was down for the count with mine when we found a bulged disc, a burst disc at L5 (yes I am shorter now), a bone spur on the vertebrae rubbing against sciatica (imaging). All these things were thought to cause my back issues. A musculoskeltal specialist finally also located a torn ligament. Finally I just started doing heavy AF rack pulls, like 385 (this was heavy considering 135lbs from the ground made me puke from pain at the time) from above the knee to get used to heavy weight, and RDLs. I"m not saying your issue is the same as mine just that I still have that bone spur, busted up discs, etc and generally speaking zero pain....
I think the thing that changed my life was like my 6th or 7th PT or specialist that told me my body was trying to protect an old injury that wasn't there anymore. He said I had oversensitive pain receptors (Hyperalgesia?). I kinda took that as an indicator that I had to figure out a way to teach my body it was OK to do things like deadlifts again. right or wrong, who knows.... I just know I grow highly suspect of any back pain I develop after what I learned over those years.
hell yeah!!!
SkRaw85
Legend
Another congrats on the PR…..looks like you’re coming in hot right where you want to be. Good advice by Hyde on sticking to your rehab work and letting the ART Doc do his thang. You definitely don’t want to tweak any nagging injury before. You’ve got this brother…looks like you’re going to blast through the 450 barrier….awesome work.
Thanks! It feels real now. I have no doubt I could have taken 460 yesterday, might surprise myself meet day.
SkRaw85
Legend
I'm with @Hyde on this one, it's really great to have some feedback and know what you're working around. finding solutions for mobility and long term health will be huge for you. FWIW, and personal opinion my experience for me has been teaching my body that some injuries are life long and can be worked around without any pain. I thought I was down for the count with mine when we found a bulged disc, a burst disc at L5 (yes I am shorter now), a bone spur on the vertebrae rubbing against sciatica (imaging). All these things were thought to cause my back issues. A musculoskeltal specialist finally also located a torn ligament. Finally I just started doing heavy AF rack pulls, like 385 (this was heavy considering 135lbs from the ground made me puke from pain at the time) from above the knee to get used to heavy weight, and RDLs. I"m not saying your issue is the same as mine just that I still have that bone spur, busted up discs, etc and generally speaking zero pain....
I think the thing that changed my life was like my 6th or 7th PT or specialist that told me my body was trying to protect an old injury that wasn't there anymore. He said I had oversensitive pain receptors (Hyperalgesia?). I kinda took that as an indicator that I had to figure out a way to teach my body it was OK to do things like deadlifts again. right or wrong, who knows.... I just know I grow highly suspect of any back pain I develop after what I learned over those years.
hell yeah!!!
Discs are quite finicky and annoying lately. Hopefully bounce this back to normal soon. Moving forward I’m just going to keep training bench-specific. Legs will be machines, hiking, snowboarding. I accept these terms lol.
I’m getting up there in age to be chasing 3 lifts while maintaining family/work life, so full power does not even really appeal to me anymore.
Definitely keeping this ART guy though, he knows his stuff. Got my shoulders put back in place for yesterday’s bench and it showed.
Dustin07
Legend
you know whats funny is I'm not sure if it was snowboarding or BMX that caused my busted back issues, maybe both. I know I blasted my clavicle into 3pcs on my last BMX race, and blew out my ACL snowboarding later that year, lol. I'm shocked I still look like a functional human
bite your tongue
Hyde
Legend
It’s good to have a measure of acceptance on current limitations. It lets you focus easier on the things you can work at.
It’s not necessarily that you can’t ever try to incorporate some squat or deadlift variations ever again, either. You might find that eventually one of those might open up as more of a possibility far down the road. But maybe not in a capacity that you would bother to compete at or push, or maybe not for a long time.