Journey to Elite

Bought one of these last night:
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Have been able to work out adhesions in ways I've never been able to previously. Tightness in midtraps and scap when I flex is instantly taken away, albeit briefly. With more consistent usage, I expect it to be gone completely.
 
10/3

Flat Bench
135x3x8

Incline DB Press
70x10
75x2x10

Lat Pulldowns
200x3x12

T-Bar Rows (supinated)
135x3x12

Cambered Curls/Tate Press
95x3x10/40x3x10

Prone DB Shrugs/Rear Fly
70x3x15/25x3x15

After using my little knobber thing for the past couple days, I decided to give bench a go. The first set with 135 was crap and I racked it after a rep. My setup was off and I touched too low. I found that to squeeze my entire trap and lat areas, drive my heels down as hard as possible, and touch about 3" higher than my old groove. This helped me to keep external rotation of the humerus and keep the pain at bay. I only wanted to do a few sets and work on the set up instead of even thinking about moving some real weight. Everything else after that went well and I'm getting ready to ramp everything up for December.
 
liftandswim said:
Great to see you flat benching again. Even if it's with 135. Every road has to start somewhere.
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I was apprehensive after the first set with 135 as it hurt like hell. I racked it and then started over with a tighter trap position and touched much higher on my chest. I'm usually at the bottom of my sternum, but this was more mid chest.
 
10/5

Squat (46 Ace brief)
415x3
465x3
505x2
535x1
560x1 PR

Unilateral Leg Press
270x3x15

Hypers
BW+45x3x15

Today could not have started off much worse. I was literally having to eat as I was warming up as I was running really late to train. I maybe spent 3 minutes doing any mobility/MFR/band work and just had to start training. 235 and 325 felt off and my knees were cranky. I started to wonder how it was going to turn out and then, at 415, everything flipped on. I was able to get my technique down and bury my squats. I planned on working up to just the 535, but decided to go for a higher number. From the unrack to rerack, everything was solid. I sat back perfectly and knees were tracked the entire way. The depth felt right and looked low from my vantage in the mirror ahead of me, but no tape to confirm. I'm definitely getting lower than my previous meet training cycle, though.
 
jimbuick said:
I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure, but I'm pretty sure they allow whatever you want to wear (depending on the promoter, but the high level comps usually allow suits for DL.)
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I only ask because I THOUGHT I heard single ply only. I'm probably talking out of my ass though.
I got my shirt from Inzer's bargain rack for cheap. They always have cheep suits.
 
Rodja said:
I want to say that some Titan suits have them. I can't remember which model, though. NXG, maybe?
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I only ask because I've seen guys wearing the suits with velcro staps in strongman.

I was trying to use that to figure out if multiply was allowed lol (I thought only multi had the Velcro)
 
jimbuick said:
I only ask because I've seen guys wearing the suits with velcro staps in strongman. I was trying to use that to figure out if multiply was allowed lol (I thought only multi had the Velcro)
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I know they have single ply suits with Velcro, but I'm not sure which ones they are since I skipped ahead to multiply.
 
Usually they say deadlift suits allowed, not specifying single or multi ply. One guy in my comp had a metal ace squatter, two ply and Velcro. I would say get yourself one with Velcro so you can make the adjustments if you want. If you get a regular one You can always have Velcro put on the straps as well.
 
10/6

OHP
135x12
155x8
155x9

HS Row (pronated, concurrent)
170x3x12

Incline DB Press
70x2x10

DB Pullovers
70x12
80x2x10

Band Facepulls/Pressdowns (light
2x20/2x20

I found my TENS unit the other day and have been using it at least 2-3x daily on my upper back. Why I didn't do this months ago is beyond me as its paid immediate dividends. I've even used it for my biceps to get out some of those adhesions. Incline was painless and I was able to get some great lat contractions since I was able I keep the humerus in the proper position. I'm quite happy right now because of this change.
 
I am unaware of this thing. When life stops Fing my A I will will look into it. Maybe a Christmas gift to bobby :D
 
10/8

Speed Pulls (+short monster minis)
325x2
375x2x8

SG SLDL
235x10
285x2x8

DB BSS
25x3x10

Standing Cable Crunches
120x3x15

Still kinda struggling with my positioning from the floor. I know that I'm not sitting back enough and that's what I need to correct. I probably hit the right groove only 70% of the time, which is an awful percentage for me. I'm feeling strong and when I get the right hip and rib position, the weight flies off of the floor.
 
10/9

Speed Bench
135x2x3
155x2x3
Add mini band
135x2x2
155x2x2
165x2x3

Incline DB Press
70x2x10

T Bar Row
135x2x12

Blast Strap Row (supinated to neutral)/Extensions
3x8/3x12

Machine Preacher Curls
80x15
100x12
100x12-drop-60x12

Prone Incline Rear Fly
25x2x25

Band Pressdowns (light)
1x40

This was a great day. I hit the spot (giggity) in my mid traps that I need to completely tighten during my setup and was able to hold it. As a result, completely pain free benching. I can't say when the last time that happened, but I was able to nail it today. The next month or so will be telling as to what I'll be able to do, but I'm going to switch my training around to having speed bench my first lift instead of OHP to build up the endurance of the area and to keep practicing my technique.

This weekend is a first for me as well. I've been training a chick for about 10 weeks now for a meet and I'm handling her as well. I've done both of them separately, but never for the same person. The goal is to set a national raw record for her weight class (204@148) and a mid 700 total.
 
Rod, I notice sometimes you say you are unable to get a good contraction in the pecs. Lately, I'm unable to get a good contraction on the left side of my back when rowing. My right scap contracts much harder and efficiently than the left. Any thoughts?

Btw good to see you benching even if it's just dynamic. I'm sure it will help maintain a mechanical groove until you can start increasing intensity
 
throneof said:
Rod, I notice sometimes you say you are unable to get a good contraction in the pecs. Lately, I'm unable to get a good contraction on the left side of my back when rowing. My right scap contracts much harder and efficiently than the left. Any thoughts? Btw good to see you benching even if it's just dynamic. I'm sure it will help maintain a mechanical groove until you can start increasing intensity
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It could be a couple of things. It could be that your upper trap is locked up and causing anterior tilt of the shoulder or the RC/mid-traps being knotted up.
 
Well, meet yesterday didn't go as planned. First, she wasn't able to make weight. I got her down to within a pound, but her body didn't want to let go of the water and I shut it down. I decided to just have her compete at 165 and aim to get the record in a couple of months. That being said, she beat her previous total by ~76# and that's with some, ahem, questionable judging on the day. I'm not sure if any of you guys have done USPA, but I am not a fan of theirs. They have some wacky ass rules (you can't center someone on squats or cue them during the lift) that make no fracking sense.
 
No centering and no coaching? They must enjoy the publicity from catastrophic injuries. I especially like going to a meet with no up call. Like wtf.
 
She was pretty pissed at some of the red lights she got on squat and missed the bench because I couldn't cue her (she requires a lot of verbal cueing to stay right in the lats and leg drive at max weights).
 
10/12

Squat (Ace briefs and suit, straps down, Overkill wraps)
505x2
555x2
605x2
645x1 PR

Walking DB Lunges
50x2x20

Rolling Hypers/HS Abductor
BW+45x3x15/135x3x15

Hanging Leg Raises
2x10

Exhausted. Absolutely exhausted by the end of this day. First time I've had this much gear on in about 3 months and I made sure to really hit depth on the last three sets. The 645 wasn't the prettiest thing I've ever done (knees collapsed far more than I like), but it was a PR with straps down. Assistance work took a lot of my gas tank, but I definitely needed to do it.
 
10/13

Speed Bench (+monster mini band pulled under the bench)
135x2x2
155x2x2
185x2
195x2
205x2 bar speed finally slowed on this set

Bench
225x5 (2-board)
245x5 (2-board)
Add Ram
275x3 (1-board)
295x3

HS Rows (pronated)
180x3x12

V Handle Pulldowns (pulled to low sternum to emphasize lower traps for bench)
180x10
200x2x8

BB Curls/Side Laterals
105x3x8/35x3x12

Prone Rear Fly
25x35
25x25

Yes, the order was all out of whack for today, but I nailed my benching. The original plan was to do just the speed bench and then some board for triceps. That slowly turned into actual benching and they felt great. The 295 was a tad slower than I'd like, but that was likely due to my triceps being taxed from the speed benching. My assistance work has become almost BB'er like with long TUT and deliberate contractions. Overall, it's payed off with some good growth in the lats and triceps.

I got the Ace shirt from one of my training partners and it's not nearly as big on me as it was in July. I should get some great pop out of this shirt as it's been used maybe 12 times and never taken lower than a 2-board.
 
I've been doing the same on my assistance and it's paid off. Great news on the benching. A monster mini under the bench is a good amount of tension, nice work there as well.
 
herderdude said:
I've been doing the same on my assistance and it's paid off. Great news on the benching. A monster mini under the bench is a good amount of tension, nice work there as well.
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I'm guessing it's around 80-90# at the top. It feels good to still have some good speed even at that weight.
 
throneof said:
How are you eating these days, rod? Bulk, recomp ?
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Maintenance, which I need to change. I'm only in the low 220s at the moment and need to add 6-8# to that number. I don't expect it to be muscle, but I need to bloat up a little more since my gear is a little loose.
 
10/15

Speed Pulls (Jack suit)
405x2x7

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Front Squat
225x2x8

Hypers
BW+45x3x15

Ab Wheel
3x10

I think I've solved my positioning woes of the past month or so. It was such a simple fix: rib positioning and torque. Derp.
 
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