Smont
Legend
Good job
, crazy #'s
Hyde’s Strength Odyssey
- Thread starter Hyde
- Start date
, crazy #'s
Hyde
Legend
2/8/26
2 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Mace Swings
Band Warmup
DB Bench
Bench, Texas Powerbar
45 3x5
vs doubled minibands
45,89,133,155x3
177 4x3
221x1
DB Laterals
20,25 2x15 each
ss w/ Front Raises
20,25 2x15 each
DB Rear Delt Flyes
30,40x5
45x12
50x10
Rope Cable Pressdown
30x50
Man I was blasted after that big squat day; my bad ankle was destroyed by the evening and the banded squats annihilated my bad elbow. Getting things back in order with mobility work and daily Glow application, but things were garbage and painful coming into this session. Really happy with it though, because despite how bad my elbow and ankle were I finally got into good positions by the end, pain decreased, & power fired up to end strong. This was really good technique & setup practice, and my body ended much better than it started. 3 weeks out!
2 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Mace Swings
Band Warmup
DB Bench
Bench, Texas Powerbar
45 3x5
vs doubled minibands
45,89,133,155x3
177 4x3
221x1
DB Laterals
20,25 2x15 each
ss w/ Front Raises
20,25 2x15 each
DB Rear Delt Flyes
30,40x5
45x12
50x10
Rope Cable Pressdown
30x50
Man I was blasted after that big squat day; my bad ankle was destroyed by the evening and the banded squats annihilated my bad elbow. Getting things back in order with mobility work and daily Glow application, but things were garbage and painful coming into this session. Really happy with it though, because despite how bad my elbow and ankle were I finally got into good positions by the end, pain decreased, & power fired up to end strong. This was really good technique & setup practice, and my body ended much better than it started. 3 weeks out!
akboom87
Well-known member
Man I bet 650 on the back will take its toll on many things. Sounds like by the end though it was getting better.
Bench should be coming up Friday/Saturday?
Hyde
Legend
Yeah I have sprained that ankle a few times and then tore something in the top of it during a farmers run years ago when all the plates came off mid run. Now the bone is shifted to the inside of my heal and stresses the inside very badly when flexed under big weights. It doesn’t have the same flexion and gets tight often. It’s usually messed up after squat for some days, but this was the worse it’s been probably in memory. Which makes sense given that ankle popped when I walked out with 650. I adjusted my footing to test it, zero pain, so I proceeded since it didn’t seem injured. But that was a gut check moment for sure!
Gotta deadlift tomorrow & pull my opener (573) again, maxing out bench on Friday, then I need to squat 584-606 & pull 512 Sunday plus all the backdown work in a long combo session. That last one will be the most demanding session left of prep, because I’ll be beat up coming in, the weights are still pretty high, and the volume/time will be similar to a full meet. That will be 2 weeks out, and after that it’s just 80% bench and squats probably, then 55% a week out.
Hyde
Legend
2/10/26
BW 256.2 postWO
3 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
KB Suitcase Carries
KB One-leg DL
Hang from pull-up bar
Deadlift, Texas Deadlift bar
45x10 RDL
155x6 RDL
265x3
375x2
+belt
463,530,573x1
vs Average Bands
375 5x1 +hold
RDLs
+straps
419x9
Dimmel Deads
265 2x15
Pulldown warmups
NG Chin-ups
5x10
Pulled my opener, did a couple holds, & got the work done for my 90% deadlift session. Dropped one set of RDLs out to help taper, as I’m only 18 days out plus I’ll be doing my 80% deadlifts this Sunday following my 90% squat work. Did chins to hit lats & abs with one stone now so I can take tomorrow night off entirely for extra recovery. Glad to see I can still knock out fairly easy sets of 10 at this size without doing them for months.
100% effort bench on Friday! Final max out session of the prep.
BW 256.2 postWO
3 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
KB Suitcase Carries
KB One-leg DL
Hang from pull-up bar
Deadlift, Texas Deadlift bar
45x10 RDL
155x6 RDL
265x3
375x2
+belt
463,530,573x1
vs Average Bands
375 5x1 +hold
RDLs
+straps
419x9
Dimmel Deads
265 2x15
Pulldown warmups
NG Chin-ups
5x10
Pulled my opener, did a couple holds, & got the work done for my 90% deadlift session. Dropped one set of RDLs out to help taper, as I’m only 18 days out plus I’ll be doing my 80% deadlifts this Sunday following my 90% squat work. Did chins to hit lats & abs with one stone now so I can take tomorrow night off entirely for extra recovery. Glad to see I can still knock out fairly easy sets of 10 at this size without doing them for months.
100% effort bench on Friday! Final max out session of the prep.
gphagan1
Legend
I think this is going to be a very good meet for you. You’re in the zone, and everything has come together really nice.
Hyde
Legend
I’m still mid-flight; we’ll see how things look when the smoke clears after landing this thing!awesome to see the plan executed to the "t".
Segansational
Well-known member
Looking great in here! Can't wait to hear how the work pays off!
HokiePride
Well-known member
Good luck at your meet.
Hyde
Legend
Weighed 250.2 this morning. Need to get that up about 6-9lbs for tomorrow’s max bench.
I mentioned taking 50mg Anadrol preWO before all of my 100 or 90% sessions in the peaking block. Since I had the Drol Tuesday before 90% deads, I am doing 50mg Anavar yesterday & today to help gas up for bench tomorrow. Probably on Saturday too for extra recovery & horsepower before Sunday’s combo session. Then I’ll have 6 days off before adding orals back the week before the contest.
This is a strategy I heard from Dan Bell who learned it from the Lilliebridges, 8-9 days on and 6-7 off during peaking. Hatfield was a big proponent of waving orals strategically as well, albeit in a different more aggressive fashion. But this works well for getting a boost without having to tolerate them for very long.
Trying to bloat up good for tomorrow, 2 meals down so far. Taco Bell up next
I mentioned taking 50mg Anadrol preWO before all of my 100 or 90% sessions in the peaking block. Since I had the Drol Tuesday before 90% deads, I am doing 50mg Anavar yesterday & today to help gas up for bench tomorrow. Probably on Saturday too for extra recovery & horsepower before Sunday’s combo session. Then I’ll have 6 days off before adding orals back the week before the contest.
This is a strategy I heard from Dan Bell who learned it from the Lilliebridges, 8-9 days on and 6-7 off during peaking. Hatfield was a big proponent of waving orals strategically as well, albeit in a different more aggressive fashion. But this works well for getting a boost without having to tolerate them for very long.
Trying to bloat up good for tomorrow, 2 meals down so far. Taco Bell up next
Hyde
Legend
I probably should have mentioned this to you guys sooner, but there was a lot to process & ducks to get in a row first.
My 5 year old son broke his forearm Saturday evening at the trampoline park he always goes to. He was stacking foam blocks from the pit on top of the balance beam that runs across it, right by the edge. My wife thought he was going to kick the wall down he’d built, as kids do, but instead he tried to climb onto the foam! Which immediately shot out from under him, falling back right onto the edge of the pit. They have some padding there, but it’s not going to change all of his bodyweight coming down onto his forearm over a 90* edge.
So we spent Saturday night in the ER waiting to have them dope him up and straighten his forearm. Both forearm bones were partially fractured, with some obvious angulation & a bit of bruising where it cut inside. But they were able to do it as a closed reduction & both ER doctors felt confident it should heal well without surgery or hardware. We saw a recommended ortho Monday, who was less confident based on the bruising & pre/post reduction X-rays, but they cast him up and he’s been doing great. His pain seems largely diminished. We go back for 1.5 week X-rays this Wednesday, and that will be the deciding time for whether it’s healing okay or they’ll need to do surgery and start the whole process back over. We had to cancel the swim he was going to start back up Monday, the martial arts class he was going to get to try Tuesday, and this whole gymnastics semester. Nevermind he won’t get to go to the trampoline park for a long time. So it’s going to be tough for him the rest of winter.
Just trying to give him lots of good nutrition, sleep and praying his bones heals straight enough naturally.
My 5 year old son broke his forearm Saturday evening at the trampoline park he always goes to. He was stacking foam blocks from the pit on top of the balance beam that runs across it, right by the edge. My wife thought he was going to kick the wall down he’d built, as kids do, but instead he tried to climb onto the foam! Which immediately shot out from under him, falling back right onto the edge of the pit. They have some padding there, but it’s not going to change all of his bodyweight coming down onto his forearm over a 90* edge.
So we spent Saturday night in the ER waiting to have them dope him up and straighten his forearm. Both forearm bones were partially fractured, with some obvious angulation & a bit of bruising where it cut inside. But they were able to do it as a closed reduction & both ER doctors felt confident it should heal well without surgery or hardware. We saw a recommended ortho Monday, who was less confident based on the bruising & pre/post reduction X-rays, but they cast him up and he’s been doing great. His pain seems largely diminished. We go back for 1.5 week X-rays this Wednesday, and that will be the deciding time for whether it’s healing okay or they’ll need to do surgery and start the whole process back over. We had to cancel the swim he was going to start back up Monday, the martial arts class he was going to get to try Tuesday, and this whole gymnastics semester. Nevermind he won’t get to go to the trampoline park for a long time. So it’s going to be tough for him the rest of winter.
Just trying to give him lots of good nutrition, sleep and praying his bones heals straight enough naturally.
gphagan1
Legend
Oh man, poor little guy….one of the toughest parts for him will be having to hold back on all his activities that he is used to. The good thing is broken bones typically heal well for little kids. Hopefully he won’t have to have surgery and it mends up straight.
Dustin07
Legend
it sounds like you're talking about a clean break on at least one of the forearms with actual bone separation rather than "spider cracks" but a fully connected bone? I'm grateful he is young and I pray that he does NOT need hardware for his growing body. I have broken many bones in both ways and I'm certain his recovery will be lightning fast with or without surgery, but I'm definitely praying for no surgery. want to let that young lad grow those bones naturally as much as possible. is he casted up yet? did he get a cool cast color?
I'm optimistic for you guys!! when I opted for surgery for my clavicle it was because I was impatient, and 26 so I wasn't concerned about growth anymore but it was full separate very smilar to this xray below except I had actually one more floating piece of bone as well. even with my grim x ray the doctor felt there was a strong chance my bones would find each other and heal naturally with a butterfly brace (which sucked) so I'm really optimistic for your boy. I hope he is doing well and once you guys have a good direction that he'll enjoy all the little signatures, notes and pictures you can magic marker onto his cast!
I'm optimistic for you guys!! when I opted for surgery for my clavicle it was because I was impatient, and 26 so I wasn't concerned about growth anymore but it was full separate very smilar to this xray below except I had actually one more floating piece of bone as well. even with my grim x ray the doctor felt there was a strong chance my bones would find each other and heal naturally with a butterfly brace (which sucked) so I'm really optimistic for your boy. I hope he is doing well and once you guys have a good direction that he'll enjoy all the little signatures, notes and pictures you can magic marker onto his cast!
Hyde
Legend
You should probably just reread it; I mentioned they cast him at the ortho on Monday. And the fractures are partial on both of the bones in his right forearm, so not clean breaks but not just spidering. They’re like when you snap a small branch on a bush that won’t come off clean either.
He did get to pick a bright green he loves and all the kids at school signed it Tuesday, which he thought was cool. He basically won’t wear the sling
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Praying for a speedy recovery for little man!
akboom87
Well-known member
Poor guy! Hope it’s heals good and speedy! Kids are so tough and daring, no fear.
Dustin07
Legend
cause he's a boss stud!!
that part about angulation and having to straighten the forearm were the parts that had me concerned, that xray man speaks a thousand words though. praying for a thorough and fast recovery!! he's all boy thats for sure!
MrKleen73
Legend
First, I hate to hear the news about lil man... I hope he does not need surgery, even if so, as long as he has a full recovery that is what is important and at his age that is very likely.
Congrats on all of the PR's, and mostly the deadlift, it has been a hard 5 years fight for you and you stuck with it and persevered. You are an example to all of us what can be done in the face of adversity. Your discipline and tenacity is not only impressive, but honorable!
Congrats on all of the PR's, and mostly the deadlift, it has been a hard 5 years fight for you and you stuck with it and persevered. You are an example to all of us what can be done in the face of adversity. Your discipline and tenacity is not only impressive, but honorable!
Hyde
Legend
2/13/26
BW 250.2 yesterday / 258.8 postWO
2 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Reverse Arm Circles
Bird Dogs
Hip Stretches
Band Warmup
Mace Swings
DB Bench
Bench, Texas Powerbar
155,221,265x3
303,331,353,369x1 BW PR
374 MISS
vs 2 chains per side
221x3
vs 3 chains per side
221x3
Really pleased with this; lots of bumpiness in the last couple months of bench training so I’m glad to see the pain & effort finally bear fruit. I was a legitimate 250lbs without trying yesterday upon waking, and I’ve never benched 369 out of the 260s.
So max testing is completed and 3rd attempts determined for this prep. Still have to survive a 585 & 606lb squat yet Sunday, along with some chain squats & speed deads - THEN I will breathe easier.
BW 250.2 yesterday / 258.8 postWO
2 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Reverse Arm Circles
Bird Dogs
Hip Stretches
Band Warmup
Mace Swings
DB Bench
Bench, Texas Powerbar
155,221,265x3
303,331,353,369x1 BW PR
374 MISS
vs 2 chains per side
221x3
vs 3 chains per side
221x3
Really pleased with this; lots of bumpiness in the last couple months of bench training so I’m glad to see the pain & effort finally bear fruit. I was a legitimate 250lbs without trying yesterday upon waking, and I’ve never benched 369 out of the 260s.
So max testing is completed and 3rd attempts determined for this prep. Still have to survive a 585 & 606lb squat yet Sunday, along with some chain squats & speed deads - THEN I will breathe easier.
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Great job man! Know doubt you will get 374+ at the meet.
Smont
Legend
What's a day of eating look like for you right now.
Also, is the Texas power bar a no slack bar? And if so, how different does it feel without the bar flexing
Hyde
Legend
Yes, all “power” bars are designed to be stiff. For bench, this doesn’t really mean much different than using any bar you’ve ever used at any commercial gym, not unless you’re over 4 plates at least. But for squat, a powerbar will be whipping with bigger weights making it harder to stabilize, while for deadlift it will be stiff as heck with zero give (compared to a deadlift bar, which is thinner, has some slack at bigger weights, and no center knurling that would grind on your thighs otherwise).
I am not trying to gain or lose weight, as I wish to maintain my leverages but not make the weightcut any harder. So I eat for whatever I’m about to do. Yesterday was probably 5,000 calories of mainly dirty food to bloat up 8lbs for today’s max bench, which was special. Tried to hammer Fairlife milk, bagels with cherry preserves, Taco Bell, pizza and hot dogs at Sam’s Club, juice - there was only one meal of meat & rice, out of 5. The day prior to that was also a rest day and I’d be surprised if I broke 3,600 over 4 meals. Just ground turkey, rice, fruit, eggs, yogurt, a bagel.
gphagan1
Legend
Another great workout…..looks like you’re dialing it in for some big numbers.
Hyde
Legend
Took Mk677 last night & woke up at 255 still, which I’m thankful for so I don’t have to eat quite as hard today to be on point for tomorrow’s last seriously hard session. I mainly just want to know I have water weight on for the extra padding/joint stability. Off to a decent start on food, plus my body doesn’t feel jacked up from max bench. Yesterday my mind was absolutely blasted all day, but brain is recovered today & body feels good.
Hyde
Legend
2/15/26
BW 257.2
3 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
KB Suitcase Carries
RFE Split Squat
BW Squat
Squat, Rogue Squatbar
55,165x5
275x3
+Inzer Ergopro Sleeves
385x1
+belt
474,540,584,611x1
vs 3 Chains/side
385 2x3
Hang from pull-up bar
Deadlift, Texas Deadlift bar
265x3
375x2
+belt
463,507,518,529x1 + hold
396 5x1 short rests
RDLs
+straps
375x12
24” Box Stepups
BW 2x15/side
Dimmel Deads
242x20
Last heavy squat & final deadlifts combo session successfully in the books. Worked up to 90 & 93% of what I maxed on squat last week, then 80 & 83% on deads. Plus the chain squats, speed pulls, and lower accessory. This took over 3 hours, and it leaves me very well-prepared for the demands of the meet in 2 weeks.
Feeling great about this; ankle and knee that got pissy 9 days ago after 650 were no trouble at all & everything feels pretty dialed in. Just a speed bench, 80% squat, 80% bench, and then a 55% session for the big 3 left.
BW 257.2
3 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
KB Suitcase Carries
RFE Split Squat
BW Squat
Squat, Rogue Squatbar
55,165x5
275x3
+Inzer Ergopro Sleeves
385x1
+belt
474,540,584,611x1
vs 3 Chains/side
385 2x3
Hang from pull-up bar
Deadlift, Texas Deadlift bar
265x3
375x2
+belt
463,507,518,529x1 + hold
396 5x1 short rests
RDLs
+straps
375x12
24” Box Stepups
BW 2x15/side
Dimmel Deads
242x20
Last heavy squat & final deadlifts combo session successfully in the books. Worked up to 90 & 93% of what I maxed on squat last week, then 80 & 83% on deads. Plus the chain squats, speed pulls, and lower accessory. This took over 3 hours, and it leaves me very well-prepared for the demands of the meet in 2 weeks.
Feeling great about this; ankle and knee that got pissy 9 days ago after 650 were no trouble at all & everything feels pretty dialed in. Just a speed bench, 80% squat, 80% bench, and then a 55% session for the big 3 left.
akboom87
Well-known member
That’s a great session and great numbers, even better pain free!!
What do you have to weigh in at for the meet?
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Pretty sure he’s competing in the 242lbs weight class again.
Segansational
Well-known member
Catching up in here, but sorry to hear about your son! Hopefully that'll heal up quickly. I suppose that's the only positive about it happening at this age. The youngins are resilient unlike us old heads!
Great looking numbers. You're going to smash this meet!
Great looking numbers. You're going to smash this meet!
Dustin07
Legend
excellent PR!!!
I hadn't even really thought about how much that whip is going to double down on the timing requirement for the 500-600lb squats. its awesome to think about how heavy weights make some of these lifts so much more technical.
edit: now that I think of it I think my PR C&J was like 270 or 275 and I know for me, that was enough to learn how to time the whip so maybe it was cheaper bars we were using (I think ohio back then) but I definitely had whip in the bar at those lower weights.
This is what I was thinking about here, but I have noticed a little whip even at 275-315 for jerk. Do you really not notice an amount of bend that effects the bench under 400 on whippier bars?
I hadn't even really thought about how much that whip is going to double down on the timing requirement for the 500-600lb squats. its awesome to think about how heavy weights make some of these lifts so much more technical.
edit: now that I think of it I think my PR C&J was like 270 or 275 and I know for me, that was enough to learn how to time the whip so maybe it was cheaper bars we were using (I think ohio back then) but I definitely had whip in the bar at those lower weights.
Hyde
Legend
Thank you everyone for the encouragement!
As Sam said, plan is to cut under 242.0lbs for a 24-hour weighin. Then I’ll need to get back up to 256+ when hyper-hydrated to lift.
The initial plan was to break 1,600 at 242, but I believe I might break my 275 best of 1,653 even, at a lower weightclass.
My training maxes for SBD the last 2 weeks equal 1,655lbs.
I’ve never noticed whip on bench on any bar. Not strong enough for it to be a problem yet.
The Ohio bar from Rogue is a general purpose weightlifting bar, so it will flex sooner and there’s no center knurling. This is an ideal compromise for WODs because it’s better for weightlifting and the squats are light enough center knurling isn’t as important. The Ohio Power bar and other powerbars have center knurling for higher intensity squats, more stiff for less whip, and more aggressive knurling for grip. A powerbar is the best single bar you could have for slow lifts like SBD, rows, strictpress, etc. BUT a squat bar is longer and thicker to make it much more stable than a powerbar on squats, while a deadlift bar is a bit thinner with sharper knurling for grip. And no center knurling to reduce drag, plus it flexes a little giving you better leverage to start the pull. But those 2 bars are really just for comp squats & pulls; they don’t do anything else well.
The amount of whip on squats using a powerbar at 585 was awful. This is why Ray Williams 1,080 raw squat on one in the USAPL was one of the wildest world records ever. I’m not sure there’s ever been a bigger meet squat on a powerbar besides Blaine Sumner’s single-ply records, which he tore his hip from the whip with over 1,100lbs.
As Sam said, plan is to cut under 242.0lbs for a 24-hour weighin. Then I’ll need to get back up to 256+ when hyper-hydrated to lift.
The initial plan was to break 1,600 at 242, but I believe I might break my 275 best of 1,653 even, at a lower weightclass.
My training maxes for SBD the last 2 weeks equal 1,655lbs.
I’ve never noticed whip on bench on any bar. Not strong enough for it to be a problem yet.
The Ohio bar from Rogue is a general purpose weightlifting bar, so it will flex sooner and there’s no center knurling. This is an ideal compromise for WODs because it’s better for weightlifting and the squats are light enough center knurling isn’t as important. The Ohio Power bar and other powerbars have center knurling for higher intensity squats, more stiff for less whip, and more aggressive knurling for grip. A powerbar is the best single bar you could have for slow lifts like SBD, rows, strictpress, etc. BUT a squat bar is longer and thicker to make it much more stable than a powerbar on squats, while a deadlift bar is a bit thinner with sharper knurling for grip. And no center knurling to reduce drag, plus it flexes a little giving you better leverage to start the pull. But those 2 bars are really just for comp squats & pulls; they don’t do anything else well.
The amount of whip on squats using a powerbar at 585 was awful. This is why Ray Williams 1,080 raw squat on one in the USAPL was one of the wildest world records ever. I’m not sure there’s ever been a bigger meet squat on a powerbar besides Blaine Sumner’s single-ply records, which he tore his hip from the whip with over 1,100lbs.
Dustin07
Legend
OMG I totally forgot about the knurling. that thing would straight up shred the hands like a cheese grater. I can't remember which model Eleiko we had, only that my buddy had spent about $1200 on it. It did have a nice whip in that it was predictable and seemed to work with natural dynamics but it took us a full year I think to break it in. I don't really remember the difference in the sleeve/bearing system but I just remember that it was stiff for a long time, with 3 of us using it, but once it loosened up it was an amazing bar for oly. First few times I had enough weight on the bar to get a whip (during a jerk attempt) I remember it pinning me to the ground as the whip was coming down while I was trying to go up, thats the only reason I remember that some of the bars we had, did have a lower weight bend/whip in them cause that alone was a new PR just learning how to work with the whip instead of against it.
Hyde
Legend
2/17/26
BW 254.6 postWO
3 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Hip Stretches
Band Facepull/Band Pressdown/DB Incine
Giant set
2x25 each
Bench, Texas Powerbar
45 2x5
vs doubled minibands
45,111,155x3
177 2x3
199x3
-no bands
265x1
298 3x1 w/ commands
Did a lot of tissue work on myself yesterday on my forearm, bicep, lat, and lat tie-in on my bad elbow, which was nearly immobile prior. It definitely made a big difference, but I have still been in pain touching on bench for some weeks now & the ART I’ve had is missing something that is leaving me bound up. It could also be that using the straight bar for squats so much is causing a lot more tissue adhesions, even with all the mobility I’ve been doing lately between sessions to keep up on things while peaking.
So I was in a ton of pain during bench today, basically shaking by the end of speed work. The weights were moving well, and the pain in my ankle during setup was decreasing as sets went on, but every touch was a battle of will as my elbow declined through the session. Decided to get my 80% bench singles knocked out after speedwork so I can focus more on recovery. Despite the pain, I was able to lock in & really focus on what needed to be done. Finished strong with technique & precision I’m really satisfied with, so I am glad I chose to get it done. If anything, it made my mind stronger. 12 days out.
BW 254.6 postWO
3 min Assault Bike
Scap Pushups
Cat Camel
Bird Dogs
Hip Stretches
Band Facepull/Band Pressdown/DB Incine
Giant set
2x25 each
Bench, Texas Powerbar
45 2x5
vs doubled minibands
45,111,155x3
177 2x3
199x3
-no bands
265x1
298 3x1 w/ commands
Did a lot of tissue work on myself yesterday on my forearm, bicep, lat, and lat tie-in on my bad elbow, which was nearly immobile prior. It definitely made a big difference, but I have still been in pain touching on bench for some weeks now & the ART I’ve had is missing something that is leaving me bound up. It could also be that using the straight bar for squats so much is causing a lot more tissue adhesions, even with all the mobility I’ve been doing lately between sessions to keep up on things while peaking.
So I was in a ton of pain during bench today, basically shaking by the end of speed work. The weights were moving well, and the pain in my ankle during setup was decreasing as sets went on, but every touch was a battle of will as my elbow declined through the session. Decided to get my 80% bench singles knocked out after speedwork so I can focus more on recovery. Despite the pain, I was able to lock in & really focus on what needed to be done. Finished strong with technique & precision I’m really satisfied with, so I am glad I chose to get it done. If anything, it made my mind stronger. 12 days out.
gphagan1
Legend
Hope you get the pain straightened out before your meet. Glad you were able to get some good work in and still felt strong.
akboom87
Well-known member
Sounds like you still got good work and technique in despite the pain.
Do you take another heavy bench before the meet?
sammpedd88
Well-known member
Glad you got it done. Now work on your recovery. You’ve got plenty of time to get things loosened up. Have you ever had dry needling done?
Hyde
Legend
The cool thing about it is, as bad as it gets, it seems to go away rather fast once I stop. Like by the time I’m home I don’t think about it much - it seems to be directly tied to the ROM required to touch and each repetition. So it hurt way too bad to do accessories after, but if I had another hour I could just rest 20 minutes then get back to accessories.
So my thought is to warm my upper body with bands & dbs primarily at the meet and stick to minimal singles on warmups. 155, 221, 265, 303, then go open 331. There should be close to 15 minutes between attempts for it to relax too.
Then it should be a non-issue by deadlifts.
Yeah it was very good practice, all in all.
No, nothing I really have to bench at this point. I may bench a few singles at 265 Sunday, otherwise probably just 220 next Tuesday.
Yeah I think I can very likely improve things slightly before the meet yet - just the full deload next week should help even.
No, I’ve never looked into it honestly. Also probably wouldn’t try it now this close, but could be something for after the meet?
sammpedd88
Well-known member
I think you’ll like it but I wouldn’t try something like that before the meet like you said. I really like it and it has helped my shoulder and elbow tremendously. My wife used to be a big into running and developed plantar fasciitis. She was a few days out from surgery and was given the advice of trying dry needling and E-stim PT on a second opinion. After 6 weeks she was cured and that was about 11 years ago. It can leave you a little sore afterwards, but usually in 24 hours you have zero soreness at all.
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SkRaw85
Legend
Congrats on all these stacked PRs you big sweaty treat gorilla! Stoked for your meet.
Sorry to hear about the kiddo. If it helps any, I had a very similar green fracture in my forearm when I was 5 and jumped off the top row of those old school bleachers and took it straight to the arm. Surgery was mentioned but had a cast for a while and healed properly. Your kid has strong genes, I bet he overcomes it naturally.
Sorry to hear about the kiddo. If it helps any, I had a very similar green fracture in my forearm when I was 5 and jumped off the top row of those old school bleachers and took it straight to the arm. Surgery was mentioned but had a cast for a while and healed properly. Your kid has strong genes, I bet he overcomes it naturally.
Hyde
Legend
That is good to know; thank you! We find out this afternoon with X-rays if they’re happy with how it’s healing or not.
gphagan1
Legend
Dude you are looking huge….and I swear it looks like your abs are trying to peek out even at that body weight.
Hyde
Legend
Definitely a solid turtle shell under the layer of blubber. A proper powerbellyDude you are looking huge….and I swear it looks like your abs are trying to peek out even at that body weight.
Hyde
Legend
2/18/26
BW 251.2
3 min Assault Bike
Mace Swings
Lat Pulldown
80,120x15
160 2x15
DB Lateral Raises
20 3x20
HS CSR
180x6
270 2x15
Plate Front Raises
33x3
55 3x12
DB Rear Delt Flyes
30 3x15
Girl Pushups (for mobility)
Hip Stretches
Easy accessory session for lats and delts; just getting a pump really. 80% squat singles Friday morning.
BW 251.2
3 min Assault Bike
Mace Swings
Lat Pulldown
80,120x15
160 2x15
DB Lateral Raises
20 3x20
HS CSR
180x6
270 2x15
Plate Front Raises
33x3
55 3x12
DB Rear Delt Flyes
30 3x15
Girl Pushups (for mobility)
Hip Stretches
Easy accessory session for lats and delts; just getting a pump really. 80% squat singles Friday morning.