The Maximus Pact

Day 45:

Wow I’m sore today, I probably shouldn’t have gone to the gym at all but still did because I got off early and didn’t wanna be bored at home.

Tmrw is rugby so I won’t go to the gym.
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Do you guys ever feel like life gets too loud? Not literally but figuratively. Like you want to turn the volume and speed down on everything happening around you and just relax.

How do you deal with that?
 
its a common theme in western societies tbh. This is why many tech firms have created so many greenspaces, such as Amazons dome in the middle of downtown seattle for their imployees to meander. greenspace is huge for recuperation. its shown to boost creativity, lower stress, etc. Its not for everyone, but its one of the reasons I love golf, especially courses that aren't riddled with houses. usually by hole 3 I find my brain is resetting. I'll text my wife something nice, because something nice just popped into my head. I'm detached from work and the world and fully living in the moment of 2 great things: the peace of greenspace, and the enjoyment of competitiveness (be it against a partner, or my own scoring abilities).

take off your shoes, walk in the grass, read scripture. cook meat over fire, go fishing, watch birds. walk in the woods and watch your eyes and ears improve in strength. pet a dog. do sprints with a child. we are surrounded by fake things, take time to reconnect with real things and be more human, less machine.
 
Shadowblaze said:
Do you guys ever feel like life gets too loud? Not literally but figuratively. Like you want to turn the volume and speed down on everything happening around you and just relax.

How do you deal with that?
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First you gotta evenly divide your time between the gym and the bar, when the bar starts to win you go full steam and drink like a fish till your 34 and stay numb so you don't have to worry about anything. Then you get sober and try to put a giant bandaid on it by working 60hrs a week and hiding in the gym or on your couch. Once the gym starts getting redundant you gotta smoke pot until your too stoned to leave the house so by default your stuck home and it's quit. Except your brain is still racing about all the things you're supposed to be doing.... Oh I didn't figure out how to turn the volume down, I'm 40 now and it keeps getting louder 😂. I got the gym, my garden, a bunch of cats lol. Nothing works lol
 
Smont said:
First you gotta evenly divide your time between the gym and the bar, when the bar starts to win you go full steam and drink like a fish till your 34 and stay numb so you don't have to worry about anything. Then you get sober and try to put a giant bandaid on it by working 60hrs a week and hiding in the gym or on your couch. Once the gym starts getting redundant you gotta smoke pot until your too stoned to leave the house so by default your stuck home and it's quit. Except your brain is still racing about all the things you're supposed to be doing.... Oh I didn't figure out how to turn the volume down, I'm 40 now and it keeps getting louder 😂. I got the gym, my garden, a bunch of cats lol. Nothing works lol
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Damn I’m sorry to hear about all that, gardening seems like it would be pretty therapeutic, when I get my own house I’m starting a garden for sure.

I hope life gets quieter for you soon.
 
Dustin07 said:
its a common theme in western societies tbh. This is why many tech firms have created so many greenspaces, such as Amazons dome in the middle of downtown seattle for their imployees to meander. greenspace is huge for recuperation. its shown to boost creativity, lower stress, etc. Its not for everyone, but its one of the reasons I love golf, especially courses that aren't riddled with houses. usually by hole 3 I find my brain is resetting. I'll text my wife something nice, because something nice just popped into my head. I'm detached from work and the world and fully living in the moment of 2 great things: the peace of greenspace, and the enjoyment of competitiveness (be it against a partner, or my own scoring abilities).

take off your shoes, walk in the grass, read scripture. cook meat over fire, go fishing, watch birds. walk in the woods and watch your eyes and ears improve in strength. pet a dog. do sprints with a child. we are surrounded by fake things, take time to reconnect with real things and be more human, less machine.
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That’s some great advice. Currently my house has been under construction changing the siding so I can’t go into my own garden but once it’s done I’ll definitely spend more time out there. It’s hard during the winter though.

Thanks for the advice.
 
yeah winter can suck for us pnw folks. guys like @Hyde have much colder winters with more snow, but I believe they have a lot more sunlight vs the grey you and I see for 6-9 months. those days you still gotta force yourself out to find a way to enjoy the PNW's great outdoors. I have a friend closer to you > Kelowna who does a lot of snowshoeing, etc in the winter. he loves it. When I'm flying to mexico for sunshine, he's up in the mountains getting his snow hikes on. I used to snowboard and duckhunt a lot so I had activities from Oct-Mar pretty much. these days I don't do either, so winter can get a bit rough.
 
When life gets like that, it’s good to unplug from news, social media, apps and such and try to remember what matters is today. Think about what you are grateful for, what’s really important to you, and realize there is SO much that you have no control over - so why even think about it? Who cares what’s on the news? It doesn’t affect you until it’s happening to you, and if that ever happens you will still have to deal with it then, so don’t dwell on what is not immediately affecting you.

We spend so much time worrying. About how we have to do this, that, and sometimes it’s true…but remember you don’t have to. There are consequences for every action we take, for better or worse, but you do always get to choose. So that realization can also be encouraging: realize you only have control of your actions and responses to things, nothing else, so focus on making positive choices and not worrying about the future or news or anything else that wastes your bandwidth for no return.

You do have to work hard to keep up & feed yourself in this world - but it’s a lot easier than it was hundreds of years ago, not worse. We **** in clean toilet water and have to watch our food intake to avoid obesity in this country; it can always be much worse.

Dustin07 said:
yeah winter can suck for us pnw folks. guys like @Hyde have much colder winters with more snow, but I believe they have a lot more sunlight vs the grey you and I see for 6-9 months. those days you still gotta force yourself out to find a way to enjoy the PNW's great outdoors. I have a friend closer to you > Kelowna who does a lot of snowshoeing, etc in the winter. he loves it. When I'm flying to mexico for sunshine, he's up in the mountains getting his snow hikes on. I used to snowboard and duckhunt a lot so I had activities from Oct-Mar pretty much. these days I don't do either, so winter can get a bit rough.
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Yeah we do have pretty cold & icy winters here, but like you said we do get sunshine many days in the winter. I mean some days are just grey obviously, sometimes weeks at a time, but overall there’s usually several great hours of sunshine daily here often in winter. You have to find a way to get out in the middle of your workday, but it’s there.

We are really forced inside during our winters because the snow doesn’t melt until spring, and it’s just deep darkness all morning and by the time you’re off work, but it’s a good season to train your ass off (provided you wear 3 layers & boots to travel to the gym).
 
Hyde said:
When life gets like that, it’s good to unplug from news, social media, apps and such and try to remember what matters is today. Think about what you are grateful for, what’s really important to you, and realize there is SO much that you have no control over - so why even think about it? Who cares what’s on the news? It doesn’t affect you until it’s happening to you, and if that ever happens you will still have to deal with it then, so don’t dwell on what is not immediately affecting you.

We spend so much time worrying. About how we have to do this, that, and sometimes it’s true…but remember you don’t have to. There are consequences for every action we take, for better or worse, but you do always get to choose. So that realization can also be encouraging: realize you only have control of your actions and responses to things, nothing else, so focus on making positive choices and not worrying about the future or news or anything else that wastes your bandwidth for no return.

You do have to work hard to keep up & feed yourself in this world - but it’s a lot easier than it was hundreds of years ago, not worse. We **** in clean toilet water and have to watch our food intake to avoid obesity in this country; it can always be much worse.


Yeah we do have pretty cold & icy winters here, but like you said we do get sunshine many days in the winter. I mean some days are just grey obviously, sometimes weeks at a time, but overall there’s usually several great hours of sunshine daily here often in winter. You have to find a way to get out in the middle of your workday, but it’s there.

We are really forced inside during our winters because the snow doesn’t melt until spring, and it’s just deep darkness all morning and by the time you’re off work, but it’s a good season to train your ass off (provided you wear 3 layers & boots to travel to the gym).
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Thanks for the advice.

Where do you live?
The part where you said “it’s a good season to train your ass off” is so real. Every winter I get super excited because my workouts are usually much better in the winter. Also spending more time inside just gives me more time to sleep, recover, rest, read my bible and improve myself. That’s the one thing I absolutely love about winter, it really is the perfect time to work your add off. I just bought some stim pre workout because I’m gonna be hitting the gym harder this winter, we get 8 weeks off for rugby winter break and last winter break I made insane progress, hopefully it will be the same this winter.
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Batch 27 is such a good deal when it comes to pre workouts, I just got this one for like 50 cad. But I’ve gotten it in the past on Amazon for 35 cad, and it’s pretty well dosed.
 
I’m all alone the next 3 weeks, my dad is flying to Germany and my sister is rarely at home. I’m graduating tmrw aswell so I’ll just have time to focus on myself.
 
Shadowblaze said:
Thanks for the advice.

Where do you live?
The part where you said “it’s a good season to train your ass off” is so real. Every winter I get super excited because my workouts are usually much better in the winter. Also spending more time inside just gives me more time to sleep, recover, rest, read my bible and improve myself. That’s the one thing I absolutely love about winter, it really is the perfect time to work your add off. I just bought some stim pre workout because I’m gonna be hitting the gym harder this winter, we get 8 weeks off for rugby winter break and last winter break I made insane progress, hopefully it will be the same this winter.View attachment 255160

Batch 27 is such a good deal when it comes to pre workouts, I just got this one for like 50 cad. But I’ve gotten it in the past on Amazon for 35 cad, and it’s pretty well dosed.
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Central IL. It’s a lot of open farmland around here so the Chicago/Great Lakes wind just blows down the countryside, so in addition to staying in freezing temps the windchills can get wild. But the breeze sure helps in our humid summers!
 
I agree with the notion on winter training. I usually am either my most shredded or hitting my greatest PR's (and fatter) by Christmas. But either way, winter training always yields my best results.

What i said earlier about taking off your shoes and running with a child I actually meant. I literally will run with my dogs as though I'm a child in an effort to recapture the stress free mentality of youth and not allow myself to age. Even though I am a Christian and not a fan of most new age stuff, I have friends who are huge into Meraki, and breath work, etc who talk a lot about how our shoes are literally insulators separating us from the kinetic energy of the earth and do believe there is something to that. a man is most happy when he is most connected to his primal roots in my opinion. that means a woman, a fire, meat, training, etc. enjoying real life, not computer/machine life.
 
Dustin07 said:
I agree with the notion on winter training. I usually am either my most shredded or hitting my greatest PR's (and fatter) by Christmas. But either way, winter training always yields my best results.

What i said earlier about taking off your shoes and running with a child I actually meant. I literally will run with my dogs as though I'm a child in an effort to recapture the stress free mentality of youth and not allow myself to age. Even though I am a Christian and not a fan of most new age stuff, I have friends who are huge into Meraki, and breath work, etc who talk a lot about how our shoes are literally insulators separating us from the kinetic energy of the earth and do believe there is something to that. a man is most happy when he is most connected to his primal roots in my opinion. that means a woman, a fire, meat, training, etc. enjoying real life, not computer/machine life.
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Yeah there is definitely some truth to grounding having benefits. Doing anything that humans did 1000 years ago has a benefit. In Japan doctors prescribe patients to go on walks in the Forrest and in some parts of Europe the doctors prescribe patients to go out in the sun every day.
 
Day 46:

I had a long workout today bro, but it was good. I was supposed to train legs but they are sore from rugby and my upper body surprisingly isn’t sore at all so I am doing upper and giving my legs one more day so I can smash them tomorrow.

My workout buddy at my university gym is 65 years old and he pushes the same weight on most exercises that I do. He always benches with me and it’s insane what he can do at his age without trt or anything.

I had an insane rugby practice last night, my speed was great, I was popping off and making perfect passes so that’s great.

I had a doctors appointment today and I have tracked my weight with my biliary hyperkinesia and it’s gone up really well, since April I have gained 14lbs of muscle, that’s about 30lbs per year naturally with body fat maintaining the same. I’m almost back to my peak bodyweight and recently I have noticed my body fat go up a bit too so that’s huge for me.

Training is going pretty good but I have hit a small plateau on bench. For a while my bench was exploding and I went from 225 to 315 in 6 months. Shortly before my 315 pr I hit 275x5 and then I hit it again 2 weeks after my pr and in between that it took a dip. Since then it’s been going down a decent amount and just hovering at the same overall, I hit 280x3 today (almost for 4 reps) so it’s just hovering at the same for the past month.

I think I know what I’m gonna do to combat that. When I look back at one thing I did when my bench was exploding was heavy weighted dips. Without a doubt dips are the best accessory for increasing your bench. I still have been going dips for a while but not heavy at all, I got up to doing 115lb weight dips a bit ago for 5 reps and recently I haven’t been going higher than 45lbs weighted really. So I’m gonna do heavy weighted dips again.

On top of that my lockout is always where I fail my bench so I’m gonna do more close grip benching and training that lockout more.

My university gym has a white board with all the PRs of everyone at the gym and it’s called the wall of beasts. So since it was my last day at university I wanted to try the max pushups and dips. I tied the max bodyweight dips and hit 36, I would have broken it for sure but smashed bench before so I was fatigued. Pushups I did 41, but the most I have ever done is 56. Some freak did 102 pushups.
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Good work going for those records!

Dips can be an excellent accessory for bench, heavy or light. Or useless - it all depends on how you are built and what you need to increase the bench. For myself, I feel they’re better for hypertrophy than actual maximal bench strength. I might do a stint with them about every other year for a bit when I need more of the hypertrophy they can offer.

Many champion benchers never touched them, and a few swear by them.
 
Hyde said:
Good work going for those records!

Dips can be an excellent accessory for bench, heavy or light. Or useless - it all depends on how you are built and what you need to increase the bench. For myself, I feel they’re better for hypertrophy than actual maximal bench strength. I might do a stint with them about every other year for a bit when I need more of the hypertrophy they can offer.

Many champion benchers never touched them, and a few swear by them.
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Really? I had no idea they depend that much on your build, they are insane for overall upper body growth, easily the best exercise for that on top of barbell rows imo. I thought they are the best exercise for bench for everyone, that’s something new I learned.

Do you feel my plan to get through this small plateau is solid?
 
Shadowblaze said:
Really? I had no idea they depend that much on your build, they are insane for overall upper body growth, easily the best exercise for that on top of barbell rows imo. I thought they are the best exercise for bench for everyone, that’s something new I learned.

Do you feel my plan to get through this small plateau is solid?
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Yes. Over time and trial you will find things that work better and worse for YOU, as well as what works better contextually.

For example, if you are 250lbs and cutting down, doing dips for hard volume is going to probably only see your bench fall off - you cannot build any appreciable muscle cutting when experienced, mainly just maintain. That is energy you need to be spending in training keeping intensity & specificity up enough to help maintain neurological strength as your motor pattern has to adjust to your decreasing leverage on bench.

But if you are 170lbs, and you are hitting dips hard while slowly gaining several lbs over the training waves, you can be assured you are adding useful muscle in all the areas that support a bigger press. You do not see any raw 500lb benchers who aren’t jacked - bigger muscles will yield a better base, assuming the strength work doesn’t lessen for some reason.

Bodies are different. Needs are different. We see it with drugs, food, training volume, style, frequency. And needs at different places in time in a training “career” vary.
 
Also, yes - driving up CGBP and dips while keeping your bodyweight up or increasing it will definitely help comp bench strength.
 
I definitely love dips for hypertrophy as Hyde mentioned. I Find them to be an interesting hit on the lower pecs too and often move my body position around to try to find that perfect "spot" for my targeted stimulus. I can't speak to as whether or not they have a strong impact on my bench numbers though because I tend to go through waves where I'm doing very heavy weighted dips, or not even adding them to my routine. FWIW, My last two bench PRs (300 / 305 and 325/330 slingshot) I don't think I had any dips in my programming.


Shadowblaze said:
My workout buddy at my university gym is 65 years old and he pushes the same weight on most exercises that I do. He always benches with me and it’s insane what he can do at his age without trt or anything
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What you're doing now sets you up so you are in his position at that age! 🤘 🔥 💪
 
The air is dry and cold today even though its sunny, the season is really starting to change. Now its time to start the grind, that means putting my everything into this like I do every winter, working out with long pants and a hoodie on, taking pre workout and dialing in, and becoming better than I ever have been. But this time its a bit more personal, I have a goal and thats to make my buddy proud. We will see how far I can come.

I also just asked out this girl I have been talking to for a while so wish me luck.
 
Day 46:

Yesterday and today weren’t very productive, but I’ll give that to myself because it’s my first little bit being out of school. I haven’t been very productive when it comes to anything recently, I promised myself I would change for my buddy but I haven’t. I feel pretty weak when it comes to my mentality, like there’s someone inside of me who always wants to take the easy way out and never wants the best for me.

It was upper body day today and it was pretty good. I was in the gym for so long. My bench is up slightly aswell so that’s great. I’ve packed on so much mass recently it’s insane, gaining some fat too which for me is great.
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It’s natural to take the easy way; human nature for all. But you definitely don’t want to always listen to that, not if you ever want to do cool stuff or realize your full potential in life. Nobody is proud of themselves for doing something that came easily to them - doing things that challenge your comfort is where you will find empowerment & personal growth.
 
Day 47:

I would have had rugby practice today but I’m really not feeling too well, I may be coming down with something. My head is pounding and my inner ears hurt bad.

I have my last vaccination on Thursday and then I can start my treatment again. I’m not a big fan of vaccines in general but I feel that some of them are good, I’m getting my last HPV vaccine. The only vaccine I regret getting strongly is the Covid vaccine.

The first exercise is squat. I am loving these really deep ass to ankles squats. They are easy for me to push hard and feel good on my joints. I love intense biking aswell it absolutely kills your legs.

I’m feeling a bit more productive today but still not great.
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I have also packed on a good amount of mass recently. I weighed in at 175lbs at the gym earlier. My goal is 190lbs morning weight while being lean so I have about 20 more pounds of muscle to gain.
Do you think that’s a good goal?

I punched my measurements into a genetic maximum muscle calculator (obviously not gonna be 100% accurate but it can give me a rough estimate) and it says I can gain 35lbs more muscle. And given my exceptional genetics I think I could even go a bit above my goal but probably won’t since I want to stay athletic.

I do want a physique like the fighter I’m attaching to this post. Do you think with 20-25lbs more muscle I would look like him?
 

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I started laughing out loud at this lmaoo. I wanted to see what ChatGPT would think I look like with 20lbs more muscle so I could get a rough estimate. So i sent it my original physique and asked it to make me a new one with 20lbs more and this is what it gave me.

I don’t think it’s accurate, that’s way more than 20lbs of muscle. Do you think it’s somewhat accurate? I just can’t imagine myself looking like that at 190.
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Shadowblaze said:
I have also packed on a good amount of mass recently. I weighed in at 175lbs at the gym earlier. My goal is 190lbs morning weight while being lean so I have about 20 more pounds of muscle to gain.
Do you think that’s a good goal?

I punched my measurements into a genetic maximum muscle calculator (obviously not gonna be 100% accurate but it can give me a rough estimate) and it says I can gain 35lbs more muscle. And given my exceptional genetics I think I could even go a bit above my goal but probably won’t since I want to stay athletic.

I do want a physique like the fighter I’m attaching to this post. Do you think with 20-25lbs more muscle I would look like him?
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@MrKleen73 is a successful bodybuilder who took first on stage not too long ago and @Smont is a boxer, those guys both probably have good info for you tbh
 
Your goal is good, provided you understand that’s going to take a lot of time - you don’t just gain 20lbs of scale weight and it all be muscle mass, especially not if you do it in a short timeframe like only a year.

You’ll never look like that fighter; you’ll look like you with more muscle. And you won’t look like that with 20 more lbs on your frame, nor is that cartoon remotely accurate. It’s definitely not realistic.

You have to understand what a meme it is for young men to think they will be these colossal hulking bodybuilders as soon as they can somehow push the scale to 200lbs. Then they figure out scale weight never mattered for physique, and that growing lean tissue is a slow hard thing. It’s almost a right of passage.
 
Hyde said:
Your goal is good, provided you understand that’s going to take a lot of time - you don’t just gain 20lbs of scale weight and it all be muscle mass, especially not if you do it in a short timeframe like only a year.

You’ll never look like that fighter; you’ll look like you with more muscle. And you won’t look like that with 20 more lbs on your frame, nor is that cartoon remotely accurate. It’s definitely not realistic.

You have to understand what a meme it is for young men to think they will be these colossal hulking bodybuilders as soon as they can somehow push the scale to 200lbs. Then they figure out scale weight never mattered for physique, and that growing lean tissue is a slow hard thing. It’s almost a right of passage.
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I believe I will achieve it significantly faster than you may think I will, but we will see.

You have said that a few times, that I won’t look like another physique and instead look like myself but more muscular and I think you are taking it slightly out of context. I want trying to say that I will look like a copy of him, I was just asking if I would be roughly the same size in terms of measurements with similar proportions. I have been significantly larger than I am now before and I believe you may be suprised at what I will achieve and the pace I will achieve it.
My current goal is 17” biceps, 405 bench and 405x5 squat. I also want to gain back significant size of my legs but don’t have a number of measurement for that. After that I will purely focus on maintaining and getting more athletic rather than anything with strength and muscle.
 
Here is Layne Norton, natty, at age 29. he's 5'10" same as you and 196lbs, heavier than your goal with 17.5" biceps, bigger than your goal. the biceps in your picture look more like 18"+ to me. I think that your goal is doable but requires years of hard work. drugs help.

biolayne.com

2010 IFPA Pro International Results

As many of you know, I've spend the last 6 months preparing for my first natural pro show, the IFPA International. The show was this past weekend and went
biolayne.com biolayne.com

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Layne will be the first to tell you he does NOT have good genes, he has worked for it. I think compared to pro body builders who are NOT natural, the arms are the giveaway, although he has posed well at times and made them look huge.

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Laynes best squat is 668lbs
deadlift 725lbs
bench 380lbs +

these are the numbers that I know of. He has always claimed to be natural and I think even entered law suits against people who argued him on it. obviously I've never asked him to pee in a cup so I just trust him. If Layne is truly natural and you want to stay natural then I would think that his physique is pinnacle.
 
Shadowblaze said:
My current goal is 17” biceps, 405 bench and 405x5 squat. I
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I'd be curious for @Hyde 's and @SkRaw85 's arm measurements since these are two of the few dudes I know who have passed the almighty 400. I actually almost think 17"s is achievable before the 405 is but I have no doubt you'll hit your goals.

Shadowblaze said:
I also want to gain back significant size of my legs but don’t have a number of measurement for that.
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you're legs aren't big enough until you squash your balls every time you sit down. when you stop squashing your balls you realize you've neglected your legs. ask me how I know 😂

Shadowblaze said:
After that I will purely focus on maintaining and getting more athletic rather than anything with strength and muscle.
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I wish it worked that way and maybe it will for you. But we welcome you with open arms to the world of body dysmorphia where from now on you will never be happy no matter how diced you are 😂😂


allow me to invite you to the meme thread:

Dustin07

Post in thread 'Anabolic memes'

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  • Haha
 
Dustin07 said:
I'd be curious for @Hyde 's and @SkRaw85 's arm measurements since these are two of the few dudes I know who have passed the almighty 400. I actually almost think 17"s is achievable before the 405 is but I have no doubt you'll hit your goals.


you're legs aren't big enough until you squash your balls every time you sit down. when you stop squashing your balls you realize you've neglected your legs. ask me how I know 😂



I wish it worked that way and maybe it will for you. But we welcome you with open arms to the world of body dysmorphia where from now on you will never be happy no matter how diced you are 😂😂


allow me to invite you to the meme thread:

Dustin07

Post in thread 'Anabolic memes'

1758644136072.webp
  • Haha
Click to expand...
Biggest I ever had was slightly bigger than 16”

About the legs, my quads used to be so big it would be painful and difficult to use some hamstring curl machines since there was so much meat on my quads it would be difficult and a bit painful to fit under the leg clamp.
My quads are still big enough that when I am in the shower standing normally and look down I can’t see my kneecaps, since my quads are overflowing onto my knees💀

I know I will probably want more once I reach my goals but my body dysmorphia has gotten a lot better.
 
Dustin07 said:
I'd be curious for @Hyde 's and @SkRaw85 's arm measurements since these are two of the few dudes I know who have passed the almighty 400. I actually almost think 17"s is achievable before the 405 is but I have no doubt you'll hit your goals.


you're legs aren't big enough until you squash your balls every time you sit down. when you stop squashing your balls you realize you've neglected your legs. ask me how I know 😂



I wish it worked that way and maybe it will for you. But we welcome you with open arms to the world of body dysmorphia where from now on you will never be happy no matter how diced you are 😂😂


allow me to invite you to the meme thread:

Dustin07

Post in thread 'Anabolic memes'

1758644136072.webp
  • Haha
Click to expand...
I just hit the 18” mark. But that’s more tricep than bicep 🤣
 
Day 48:

My workout was good today, I’m progressing on most lifts. But my bench has hit a plateau. It goes up and down but never gets past that 315 1rm mark. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, I was making progress for so long.

I applied for 3 jobs today and had a much more productive day.

Do any of you put a stretching mat over the bench press for added stability? I’ve always done this.
 

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SkRaw85 said:
Bench only. Turned 40 recently and don’t have capacity to train/recover from all 3. So all eggs in the bench basket lol.

Pack on a little weight and more weight will come 😁
Click to expand...
Nice. I could probably only do bench only in a competition, I have a spinal condition which limits the ROM I can do on squat and deadlift and I wouldn’t feel comfortable one rep maxing with my condition.

I enjoy powerlifting and chasing numbers much more than bodybuilding but bodybuilding is just so much easier on my body which is why I would pursue it over powerlifting.
 
I’ve still been pretty insecure about my physique and strength and just overall mass. I feel like I get outclassed by most people I play rugby with and they just toss me around, I’m simply not built to carry the mass they do.

That’s why I chase the weights I want and the bodyweight and physique I want. Because I’m insecure and want to prove to myself I can be like the best. But I know that’s not the right reason.
 
Shadowblaze said:
Thanks brother, you do powerlifting right?
Click to expand...

you'll like this:

SkRaw85

Thread 'SkRaw85 Training Log'

1/3/18

Chest and tris

Flat bench barbell:
135x12 (close grip) warmup
135x10 (reverse grip) warmup
225x10x2 reg grip
315x3x3
225x8 close grip
225x10 wide grip
135x8 close grip

Dumbbell French press:
80x10x3
90x10x2
100x8x1

Tricep rope pulldowns:
90x10
100x10
110x6

Flat bench dumbbell:
110x12 crush grip
120x13 crush grip
130x10 crush grip

70x10 one hand press
80x10 one hand press
90x7 one hand press

60x10x3 dumbbell flys

Ended with machine pec flys.
200x10x2
200x5 (3 second isometric hold at peak of movement)
  • Like
 
I think that fighter you posted looks way bigger than almost anyone else at 200lbs, unless they’re 5’6” or less like all the Pro 212 class bodybuilders. Who take loads of drugs.

I also believe Layne is not natty, for the simple fact that he came up in the era of endless prohormone/designer steroids before they could test for them. It is entirely probable he used some at some point; he had the means and motivation (and he looked like it most importantly!). I do very much believe he is natty now, and did all his best powerlifting numbers clean. I think he puts out great informational content and is a great person to follow on training & nutrition. I just think it’s likely he dabbled when his physique was at its competitive peak in youth.

The yoga pad does help on a commercial bench. I never bother with it because I never do comp bench at the commercial gym hardly, but I always advise people to. Makes it slightly more like the standard comp width.

If you have muscle memory, you definitely will regain that lost size much faster with consistent effort - the nuclei are still there, just need to give the body a reason to pump them back up. But understand brand new tissue is TOUGH to build, and dry lean tissue isn’t the same as waterweight and fat. If you gain 20lbs and only look a tad fatter, you probably didn’t even gain half of that in lean mass. Bodyfat percentage even staying the same means fat was added, and there’s varying amounts of water in a muscle too. So saying I want to gain 20 decent pounds of scale weight is pretty different than saying I need 20lbs more muscle. Even just scale weight will help you a lot from getting pushed around as bad in rugby.

My arms & legs, respectively, are 17.5” & 28” flexed cold at the largest points (just did them out of curiosity). When I did 405, they were 18. But I was 270 then, and 238 currently.
 
Also, if you are going to get serious about numbers, I would start benching with my butt down at all times. Benches don’t count in any contest if you don’t touch your chest or if your butt comes completely off the pad. But more relevant to your progress, a lot of what you perceive as fluctuations in strength can simply be how much you are arching off the bench in a given set. This creates big inconsistencies with your ROM.
 
Shadowblaze said:
Nice. I could probably only do bench only in a competition, I have a spinal condition which limits the ROM I can do on squat and deadlift and I wouldn’t feel comfortable one rep maxing with my condition.

I enjoy powerlifting and chasing numbers much more than bodybuilding but bodybuilding is just so much easier on my body which is why I would pursue it over powerlifting.
Click to expand...
For sure. No reason to train in pain (actual pain not doms) as that is self defeating.
 
Hyde said:
I think that fighter you posted looks way bigger than almost anyone else at 200lbs, unless they’re 5’6” or less like all the Pro 212 class bodybuilders. Who take loads of drugs.

I also believe Layne is not natty, for the simple fact that he came up in the era of endless prohormone/designer steroids before they could test for them. It is entirely probable he used some at some point; he had the means and motivation (and he looked like it most importantly!). I do very much believe he is natty now, and did all his best powerlifting numbers clean. I think he puts out great informational content and is a great person to follow on training & nutrition. I just think it’s likely he dabbled when his physique was at its competitive peak in youth.

The yoga pad does help on a commercial bench. I never bother with it because I never do comp bench at the commercial gym hardly, but I always advise people to. Makes it slightly more like the standard comp width.

If you have muscle memory, you definitely will regain that lost size much faster with consistent effort - the nuclei are still there, just need to give the body a reason to pump them back up. But understand brand new tissue is TOUGH to build, and dry lean tissue isn’t the same as waterweight and fat. If you gain 20lbs and only look a tad fatter, you probably didn’t even gain half of that in lean mass. Bodyfat percentage even staying the same means fat was added, and there’s varying amounts of water in a muscle too. So saying I want to gain 20 decent pounds of scale weight is pretty different than saying I need 20lbs more muscle. Even just scale weight will help you a lot from getting pushed around as bad in rugby.

My arms & legs, respectively, are 17.5” & 28” flexed cold at the largest points (just did them out of curiosity). When I did 405, they were 18. But I was 270 then, and 238 currently.
Click to expand...
Not to mention all the supplements that were spiked with pro hormones and conveniently left off the label during that time
 
Hyde said:
Also, if you are going to get serious about numbers, I would start benching with my butt down at all times. Benches don’t count in any contest if you don’t touch your chest or if your butt comes completely off the pad. But more relevant to your progress, a lot of what you perceive as fluctuations in strength can simply be how much you are arching off the bench in a given set. This creates big inconsistencies with your ROM.
Click to expand...
Like a Larsen press?

One of my buddies told me that you can get similar results with keeping your body tight and like a spring as you can when you have your ass off the bench.
 
Hyde said:
I also believe Layne is not natty, for the simple fact that he came up in the era of endless prohormone/designer steroids before they could test for them. It is entirely probable he used some at some point; he had the means and motivation (and he looked like it most importantly!). I do very much believe he is natty now, and did all his best powerlifting numbers clean. I think he puts out great informational content and is a great person to follow on training & nutrition. I just think it’s likely he dabbled when his physique was at its competitive peak in youth.
Click to expand...

SkRaw85 said:
Not to mention all the supplements that were spiked with pro hormones and conveniently left off the label during that time
Click to expand...

I think a LOT of people who thought they were natty because they got their stuff at the vitamin shop were duped a little bit. I can't find anything about it right now on line but I could SWEAR that even GNC way back in the day had an IGF-1 product on the shelf among who knows what else. of course it all pales in comparison to some old school high quality 80g of sugar per serving celltech creatine. 😂
 
SkRaw85 said:
Not to mention all the supplements that were spiked with pro hormones and conveniently left off the label during that time
Click to expand...

That’s a great point - it really is entirely probable that he WAS natty as far as he knew. Absolutely tons of things were spiked, for at least some of their batches.

Shadowblaze said:
Like a Larsen press?

One of my buddies told me that you can get similar results with keeping your body tight and like a spring as you can when you have your ass off the bench.
Click to expand...
No, like a standard benchpress. A Larsen Press sticks the legs out straight, removing all of your support & legdrive.

Throwing the hips up is basically a highschool weight room thing.

Here’s John Haack benching 600 in training (which he’s also pulled off in competition):

 
Hyde said:
That’s a great point - it really is entirely probable that he WAS natty as far as he knew. Absolutely tons of things were spiked, for at least some of their batches.


No, like a standard benchpress. A Larsen Press sticks the legs out straight, removing all of your support & legdrive.

Throwing the hips up is basically a highschool weight room thing.

Here’s John Haack benching 600 in training (which he’s also pulled off in competition):

Click to expand...
When it comes to benching tips I’m so skeptical. I used to fall into the propaganda with all the benching cues like retracting your scapula, pressing the bar in a curve, having your arms at 45 degrees flare. I did this and kept straining my front felt, not making great chest progress and it was so uncomfortable. Then I saw some stuff about how retracting your scapula can stress some rotator cuff muscles and how everyone’s anatomy is different so I started getting with a close grip but flaring my arms out more suicide style and it’s so much more comfortable, I also never retract my scapula and I get much less strains now.

So I don’t know what to believe when it comes to benching tips and cues because most of them simply don’t work for my anatomy.
 
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