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Jswain's training log for powerlifting

jswain34 said:
I am about as pleased how bench is going as I am frustrated with my lower lifts. As long as I keep something moving positively I will continue to take it as a W.

•CGBP (work up to [email protected], then 2x2 pin press with same weight)

Grip: thumb from edge

45/95/135/185/215x5
255x3
285x3
[email protected] (PR*) ~370-375 e1rm

CG Pin press ~1" off chest
315x2x2@8/9.5

•Comp (82.5x3-5x2, 290 = 355 x0.825) (355 was my starting e1rm for the training cycle)
290x2x2@8/7 (ring on ring)
290x2x2@7/7.5 pinky on ring)

I did band pull aparts and trx rear delt flys throughout those sets. Maybe not every set but probably 85% of them. I probably did about 100 reps for rear delts spread through there.

•NG PUs
Bwx12/10/8

Ss/

•Keisser station unilateral tricep pushdown (reverse grip)
20x20
20x15x2

•Spider curl
30x10
27.5x10x2

Ss/

•lateral raise
25x12x2

Another good bench day. Been a while since I set a bench PR so thats knifty. I seem to have found a bit of a groove with my cg, which means im due for a pr with my comp grip any day now.
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Dang dude 315x5 CGBP? Thats insane. Im jealous... Cant wait to get my bench back where it was
 
Thanks fellas. 'Twas a good benchin day. Im starting to get into a bit of a groove on that lift again finally.
 
Subbed! Holy smokes! I read the last couple of pages and learned a few things. Good stuff in here. You’re beastly strong too. Guess I’ll start from the beginning and try and catch up lol!
 
That grip literally is my comp bench grip now lol

Nice PR man. I’m not surprised. Idk if you remember the guy in the Orange deadlift suit that went for like 770 or something at the meet we did? Anyway, he was in a bad car accident that tore a hamstring and broke his other leg and he was in a wheelchair for like 8 weeks. Anyway, he’s been out of that for like 10 weeks and his bench & upper body is bigger and better than ever. With him only squatting 3s and pulling 4s the extra recovery has really let him specialize. Benched 480 recently.
 
jackedviking said:
Subbed! Holy smokes! I read the last couple of pages and learned a few things. Good stuff in here. You’re beastly strong too. Guess I’ll start from the beginning and try and catch up lol!
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Thanks brotha. I have been lucky with the people that have subbed to my log throughout the process. On top of the guys that still follow along, if you to back a ways when Herder, Lou, and Sean were here the knowledge bombs that were dropped from all of them and these guys was almost overwhelming at times. And it is definitely doable man, go back to the beginning of this log and it is proof that it can be done, I think I started the log with a bench of 315 for t&g and crap form (maybe like 295 paused), 525 dead, and I wanna say 430 squat? Considering it has been 3-4 years since it started i really havent made all that much progress honestly. The majority of it came within a 3-5 month time frame believe it or not.

Hyde said:
That grip literally is my comp bench grip now lol

Nice PR man. I’m not surprised. Idk if you remember the guy in the Orange deadlift suit that went for like 770 or something at the meet we did? Anyway, he was in a bad car accident that tore a hamstring and broke his other leg and he was in a wheelchair for like 8 weeks. Anyway, he’s been out of that for like 10 weeks and his bench & upper body is bigger and better than ever. With him only squatting 3s and pulling 4s the extra recovery has really let him specialize. Benched 480 recently.
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Lol, it used to be, mine which is why im so comfortable with it. The ring on ring grip isnt working out for me so im going back to pinky on ring for comp.

Yah, I remember him, maybe Brad was his name? And damn, that sounds like it was a doozy. Glad hes alright...sounds like it was rather high impact so im happy to hear he didnt have anything even more serious happen. Time for him to get into a bench only and lay somethin down on the platform!

I guess it is one good thing coming from the lower body pussalgia disease that I have right now ...neuro recovery isnt much of an issue.
 
jswain34 said:
Thanks brotha. I have been lucky with the people that have subbed to my log throughout the process. On top of the guys that still follow along, if you to back a ways when Herder, Lou, and Sean were here the knowledge bombs that were dropped from all of them and these guys was almost overwhelming at times. And it is definitely doable man, go back to the beginning of this log and it is proof that it can be done, I think I started the log with a bench of 315 for t&g and crap form (maybe like 295 paused), 525 dead, and I wanna say 430 squat? Considering it has been 3-4 years since it started i really havent made all that much progress honestly. The majority of it came within a 3-5 month time frame believe it or not.



Lol, it used to be, mine which is why im so comfortable with it. The ring on ring grip isnt working out for me so im going back to pinky on ring for comp.

Yah, I remember him, maybe Brad was his name? And damn, that sounds like it was a doozy. Glad hes alright...sounds like it was rather high impact so im happy to hear he didnt have anything even more serious happen. Time for him to get into a bench only and lay somethin down on the platform!

I guess it is one good thing coming from the lower body pussalgia disease that I have right now ...neuro recovery isnt much of an issue.
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Hey what happened to herder and sean? I just realized i hadnt seen em since coming back when you said something
 
Phew. So last week I had finals, consisting of 7 tests in 4 days, and then flew to Chicago to go to my buddy's bachelor party in Michigan. I didnt get to the gym a single time last week and honestly im gonna plan on deloading every finals week because that drained me even more than I expected. I couldn't even think about trying to get to the gym for more than a quick 30 min no nonsense workout. My buddy's bachelor party was fun but i drank far too much beer and was still recovering after an early morning flight yesterday (woke up at 2 to catch my 520 flight) and got in around 1030 after a brief layover in Baltimore. I basically slept all day yesterday when I finally got home. I had planned to go today but class ran over and I still had to run errands for the week so i ended up pushing squats back another day to tomorrow. I'll be back on here more consistently again starting tomorrow.
 
Hyde said:
That’s a wild week!
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Boy was it ever...i really needed the weekend to recover from being drained from finals but when youre the best man it your childhood best friend's wedding ya gotta nut up. Finally feel good to go again, and today it seemed like the break did me some good.

Oh, and i lost a lb (now at 234) but i have a hunch that will go back up once i finally eat normally again.
 
3/7 week 7 day 1 (really week 8 if you include the deload/off week but im not going to since this is week 7 of my program).

•Squat (4 sets of 5 up to @9 rpe) (flats, ssb, tempo = 21X1)
30/80/120/150/180/210x5 belt less
+ belt
240x5@6
270x5@8
285x5@9

Counted the final belt less set since it was also at about a 6 without a belt. I was taking 30 jumps because based on my e1rm calc from last time that was just under 10% increments.

•SLDL (beltless)
135/185/225x8
265x8@6?
295x8x3@7/7/8

Ss/

Banded dead bugs
Monster mini x10 per leg x3

•BB hip thrusts (4x20) (60s rest) note below)
135x20x4

•Unil cable row (hand pronated)
120x12x4 per arm

Note on the thrusts:

Found an article from AM showing an 8 week hip thrust program increasing squat 1rm in trained baseball players. That in addition to the fact that i feel I could use some direct glute training from sitting on my ass in class 5 days a week and then sitting while studying for hours on the weekends. Let me tell you what my ass was on fire after just 2 sets of these and it honestly felt numb when I stood up.

Here is the progression:
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I didnt think it was really necessary to find my 3rm but i was planning on working up to around 185-205....there is no way i wouldve gotten through at that weight. So im just going to work up to a tough set at the prescribed rep range and do that for the straight sets.

I dont know how it will work, but ive got no reason not to try right now when im not training for anything in particular.
 
Oh, and im going to start my recomp diet beginning today. Im 4-5 lbs short of my goal of 230 but fuk it ill set my cals to still be in a weekly deficit but at least 2 of the workout days I'll be in a 250-300 cal surplus. I always liked the slow and steady progress of the build/burn days i adopted from my time with IF so thats what ill be setting it up like.

Here is my plan, as you see I got my protein goals from a recent study from Aragon and others (this was from a discussion about it on his IG). Everyone has their opinions on him but I personally think most of what he does is for the right reasons.

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Ill go more towards the max on off days and more towards the min (around 200-215) on workout days.
 
I would expect literally any dedicated hypertrophy program for 2 months to improve performance for baseball players - they aren’t spending the bulk of their training time trying to accrue muscular volume work because they have bigger priorities. But that doesn’t mean that adding in extra couldn’t pay dividends.

Like when they take basketball players and have them bench for a few months and they can shoot farther - wow, you got them to lift consistently and they improved? No kidding
 
Hyde said:
I would expect literally any dedicated hypertrophy program for 2 months to improve performance for baseball players - they aren’t spending the bulk of their training time trying to accrue muscular volume work because they have bigger priorities. But that doesn’t mean that adding in extra couldn’t pay dividends.

Like when they take basketball players and have them bench for a few months and they can shoot farther - wow, you got them to lift consistently and they improved? No kidding
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Lol, very fair point. They did say that the athletes were trained but they didnt mention exactly what they were doing before the thrust program. They were compared to a non thrust group that did the same squat program but who knows if the results were just a product of an increase in overall volume or not.

Either way, my glutes are dormant and my ass has been sore af and not contracted like that maybe ever. Even if its just from waking my glutes up and letting them participate they should bring me some squat improvements. We'll have to see on test dummy Jared.
 
3/9 - W7d2 - comp bp

•comp bp (75%x4x3-5) (pinky on ring)
45/95/135/165/200/235x5
265x4x4@6/6.5/7/7

Ss/
Trx rd flys: x6x3
Band y raise: very light band x12x5

•Landmine OP
70x12x2
Didnt have that feeling of tightness with the ulnar nerve cubital tunnel today and used the wraps like Kleen recommended. Dunno if it was the wraps or the off weak but ill keep using em til i find out.

Ss/

•pull ups (bw = 232.5)
NG: x12/10
Pron: x8

•lateral raise
25x10x3

Ss/

•bent over db rd fly
20x12x3

•ohd rope ext myorep
120x20 activation
x4x4 last set @10

•chin up myorep
bw x7 activation
x4
x2.5 @F

Bench didnt feel great. Not too worried about it considering it has been close to 2 weeks since my last bench session. As you can see my bw went down again despite me eating 2900 cals on avg the last 2 days (wed 200 above maint and yesterday 400 below). Im a bit surprised by that from all the carbs i ate 2 days ago ive really filled back up so i was expecting to be around 236. Maybe ill get down to 230 in the first few weeks of the increased cals. Win win if that happens.
 
Let me explain I am for this bridge protocol and expect it to help; I just hate these studies that seek to prove the low-hanging fruit we already “know”.
 
3/12 w7d3

•trap bar deads (x7s)
135/225x7
+ triangled pro light
225x7
275x7
315x7
365x7
405x7
Tried 455 but on the first rep the band slipped off the plate so i just dropped the bands here.
455x10
495x7@6

The trap bar only holds 495. Im gonna start just draping a doubled band over top of the plates once i get to 315 i think.

•high bar squat (flats)
135/185/225/275x6

•ghr
Monster mini x15x2

Ss/

SL leg extension
50x15x3

Those pulls took a good bit out of me. I planned to do 3 sets of ghrs but my left hammy was cramping bad the second set.
 
Hyde said:
Yeah once the hammies cramp GHR is doneso! Nice pulling
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Yep pretty much. Ive had some cramping issues with them lately. A few times ive been able to grind through it by stretching them between sets. They werent having it that day though.
 
jswain34 said:
Yep pretty much. Ive had some cramping issues with them lately. A few times ive been able to grind through it by stretching them between sets. They werent having it that day though.
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Are you going into these sessions as hydrated as possible? For me, extra salt and potassium is a must
 
Hyde said:
Are you going into these sessions as hydrated as possible? For me, extra salt and potassium is a must
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I was thinking that after I wrote it. I do need to drink more during the day while in class. I think I get enough 'lytes from my tracking on MFP but something is lacking apparently.
 
Hyde said:
Hope you’re doing good brother
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Thanks buddy. Things are just fine. Just been focusing on school and havent been on here much. Ive gotten 3 workouts in in the last 12 days. 1 cgbp, 1 squat, 1 comp bench, next up is pulls and i plan to get that in tomorrow. Im gonna try to get back to logging but dont really feel like im providing much to the community anymore but id like to at least keep my log going for when i get more free time hopefully during rotations next year. I will say, im REALLY missing the environment/vibe of a real gym. Motivation to go to the gym has sort of been lacking lately, on top of feeling like i should be studying and i just dont seem to be getting those 50/50 workouts in. Thinking about making the hour drive to the closest "real" gym this weekend but feel like thatd be better used for a pull day since ive maxed out the trap bar at my gym.
 
I’d just use this as a workout log for reference. You put whatever time you can in but more importantly you have a log somewhere.
 
Today's workout:

Im not going to lot the others that ive missed. I did x8s last cgbp session. I'll start by saying that the bench progress i was making has disappeared over the last 2 weeks. The lack of consistency with my workouts is enough of an explanation for me. I also have been a little loose on calorie tracking and have probably been under eating.

Cgbp: x6@9; x2-4 sets of 3-4 (thumb nail from edge)
45/95/135/165/195/225x6
255x6@7
[email protected]
280x3@8/8.5

NG pull up
x10/x8+4 with pro light around knee/x6+4 same

Ss/

Prowler pusg (x25 yards (12.5 each way)
270x3

Machine low row
120x12x3

Ss/

Ghr
Bwx12x3

FP
30x12x3

I was supposed to pull today but after class i decided i wanted to do my x5 day at a gym where i could actually load a trap bar with enough weight, so im going to find the closest "real" gym off of PL watch and go on Saturday. I think theres one 45-60 mins away if I remember correctly. With that being said i didnt wanna do a full on press day today so i kind of just threw some random stuff together after the close gripped press.
 
Sometimes you just gotta hit the muscles like that - movements don’t matter as much as getting the stimulation.

One time I read an EFS article where Wendler & Tate were asking what their favorite pulldown handle was, and they replied, “Whatever’s on the pulldown station currently.” So then they were asked, “What if nobody has attached one yet, which then?” and they said, “Then we don’t do pulldowns.”
 
Hyde said:
Sometimes you just gotta hit the muscles like that - movements don’t matter as much as getting the stimulation.

One time I read an EFS article where Wendler & Tate were asking what their favorite pulldown handle was, and they replied, “Whatever’s on the pulldown station currently.” So then they were asked, “What if nobody has attached one yet, which then?” and they said, “Then we don’t do pulldowns.”
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Thats funny lol
 
Lol. Wendler and Tate have to be a fuggin hoot when they get together. About as no BS as it gets right there id think.

And it looks like im SoL on the powerlifting gym. Got in contact with the owner and they closed down a few months ago due to losing the lease. All the other decent gyms are 90+ minutes away and truthfully thats more than im willing to commit for travels. I know some people do it for a quality gym but i aint up for it since i want to get a lot of studying done tomorrow. A 90 min drive both ways makes it close to a 5 hour commitment and i dont really have time for that. So, guess im gonna top out the trap bar tomorrow and figure out a way to band it better.
 
jswain34 said:
Lol. Wendler and Tate have to be a fuggin hoot when they get together. About as no BS as it gets right there id think.

And it looks like im SoL on the powerlifting gym. Got in contact with the owner and they closed down a few months ago due to losing the lease. All the other decent gyms are 90+ minutes away and truthfully thats more than im willing to commit for travels. I know some people do it for a quality gym but i aint up for it since i want to get a lot of studying done tomorrow. A 90 min drive both ways makes it close to a 5 hour commitment and i dont really have time for that. So, guess im gonna top out the trap bar tomorrow and figure out a way to band it better.
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If he still has any of the equipment you can try to talk him into splitting a storage unit with you. They aren't too expensive, and that is how Marshall White, Travis Ortmayer, and Josh Thigpen trained to get their ASC pro-cards.
 
Problem is that I don't have time to drive an hour 3 days a week with school right now. I was really only going to go there on a Saturday every now and again. I like the idea if he could move all of his **** to somewhere within a 5 min drive from my school.
 
jimbuick said:
If he still has any of the equipment you can try to talk him into splitting a storage unit with you. They aren't too expensive, and that is how Marshall White, Travis Ortmayer, and Josh Thigpen trained to get their ASC pro-cards.
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I like the way you think, but you really don’t need any special equipment to train powerlifting or general strength besides a good bar and a gym that lets you train for real, with chalk. And gyms will often let you keep a bar there.

If he wants to hit events or is lifting in ply and needs a crew that’s different.
 
Hyde said:
I like the way you think, but you really don’t need any special equipment to train powerlifting or general strength besides a good bar and a gym that lets you train for real, with chalk. And gyms will often let you keep a bar there.

If he wants to hit events or is lifting in ply and needs a crew that’s different.
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I can definitely get by where im at, I just miss the atmosphere of a gym where 95% of the people that go there are strength athletes. I realize how rare that is but damn its nice when you find a place. The biggest issue is the maxing out of the trap bar but i figured out a way around that today (hint: thicker bands).
 
W8d4 - lower

•trap bar deads (high handles off rack base) (work up to ~5rm then 2 down sets of 2-3)
135x8
135x5 vs avg band (i set it up similarly to how i set up the light bands but i only have one side of the band working as resistance here).
225x8 no bands
225x5 vs avg band
Band from here on
275x5
315x5 (video)
365x5
405x5@9
405x2x2@10/9
Drop band
455x10

•Hatfield squats
30/80/120/170/210/240/270x6
300x10
330x6

Ss/

•cable low rows (NG)
130x12 wu
160x12x3

I was starting to feel hypo as fck despite shooting a scoop of gatorade powder about halfway through hatfields. So im gonna go back for an hour tomorrow and hit my ghrs, leg exts, and core work. This was my first time ever doing hatfields and they were great. It felt like all of the tension was on my quads and not on my lower back or hips were i typically feel squats the most. About to head out to devour a chinese buffet with one of my buddies. Nothing but nutrients for growth and recovery.

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Here's the 315 video, i wanted to get the heavier sets to evaluate but i wanted my headphones to play music more. As you can (sort of) see i just hooked the band onto the far left hook then ran it around the other side and hooked it back onto the left side, then just put one of the two options over the bar. I picked one side up and it felt like holding roughly a 70-80 lb db on a side but that is a straight guess.
 
So i drove to the gym and it didnt take long to figure out that they were closed. Kind of forgot today is Easter yesterday when i decided to just come back today. They did send an email out a few days ago so I guess i cant really be mad about it.
 
W9d1 - bench (order got rearranged since i switched trap deads and cg last week)

•comp bp (thumb from edge) (85%x2x3-5)
45/95/125/175/215x5
245/275x3
300x2x3@7/8/8

Ss/
Pull aparts x12x5
Upward external rotations x12x4
Ab rollout x10x3

•Pin press
300x1@8
320x1x2@8/9.5

Ss/
Ghr x15x3 (Bw only)

•lateral raise
25x12x3

Ss/
Batman/swede chest supported db row
50x12x3 w/ fat grips

•perfect pushup myorep set (neutral grip just outside shoulder width)
+45 lb bumper on back
x16 activation
x4x2
Drop plate
x4
x2@F

•Chin up myorep set
bw (234) x10 activation
x4
x2@F

•Face pulls
50x20x2
 
Did you warm up in the parking lot hoping they were just opening late?

Lol jk that sucks man. I’ve done that a couple times; very frustrating in the moment!
 
Hyde said:
Did you warm up in the parking lot hoping they were just opening late?

Lol jk that sucks man. I’ve done that a couple times; very frustrating in the moment!
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Lol nah i pulled up and was like "wtf" cuz all the lights were out and it just looked plain dead. I was initially pissed but then realized it was Easter and after checking my email I couldn't really be mad about it so it just was what it was. But yah, it is very frustrating initially.

jimbuick said:
Can't relate.
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Hyde said:
Shut up Jim - you don’t have to rub it in just cuz you have a monolift in your living room
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This. I have heard that it's been rumored he even eats cereal out of his chalk bowl when all the dishes are dirty.
 
4/4 lower

Bw - 228 (low carb day yesterday + post s*ît. And the only intake ive had is 2 servings of oatmeal with 3 oz blueberries and a serving of the pes protein for oats). Although i will say my belt has been looser the last 2-3 sessions.

•SSB 21x1 tempo squat
30/80/120/170/200/230x5
260x5
290x5 @9

Hatfields: 290x12 - was planning a true amrap but im too out of shape to go past 12 apparently. I was

•RDL
135/185/225/255/285/315/335x6

Ss/

Dead bug
monster mini x8 per leg x3

•BB glute bridge
150x15x4 1 min rest

•seated iso cable row
110 per side x12x3 (1ct pause in retraction)

Girlfriend is coming into town tonight and staying til Sunday evening so to say im excited for that would be an understatement. Her birthday is Saturday and we plan on going on a hike then to a nearby brewery to just hang out. Will probably go out to dinner at night so it should be a great week into weekend. Although i have a test first thing Monday morning...we'll have to see how that goes because i most likely wont be studying while she is here.
 
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Cornelius is fgn insane. Just nonchalantly repping 405x20 in his garage with his knees smacking against a tool chest.
 
Hyde said:
That 855x4 squat was pretty nuts too
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Yah he has been doing some absurdly strong shît lately...well even more so than usual it seems because he is always a brute.
 
Finally got back to the gym today, Brooke and I were planning on going last Friday but she was getting stir crazy just hanging out around a local coffee shop and at my apartment all day while i was in class so we just spent more quality time together that night and ended up going on a pretty nice hike Saturday. I forgot to buy the microspikes for our hiking boots (well we actually didnt think we'd need them - rookie mistake) so we only made it about a mile and a half before having to turn back. I fell on my ass 8 times on the trek down haha...she was getting a kick out of it. Here are a couple pictures.

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Week 9 day 3
•cgbp (thumb nail from edge) (work up to [email protected] then 2-4 repeats of x2-3)
45/95/135/165/195x5
225/250/275x4
300x4@9
300x2x3@8/8/9.5

Ss/
Trx rear delt fly x8x5
Band row to external rotation: light green band x15x5

•arnold press
55x8x3

Ss/

•NG cable low row
130x12
170x12x3
180x8x2

•Standing Zottman curl
25x10x3

Ss/

•rope pushdown - half kneeling
140x12
140x8 -> 120x4
120x12

Lateral raise
25x10x2
 
Looks like a fun hike! You guys definitely got out in the wild some.

How are your triceps so strong?? I need dis
 
Hyde said:
Looks like a fun hike! You guys definitely got out in the wild some.

How are your triceps so strong?? I need dis
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It was a great time. I was bummed we didnt get to peak but there was just no (safe) way for us to do that given the fact we didnt have boot spikes.

Hmm I dont think I do anything that special for them. When i first started lifting I benched, did both dip burnouts and higher intensity dips, and rope pushdowns (either straight pushdowns or overhead). Now i just bench and do overhead pushdowns or half kneeling pushdowns. I will say that my triceps have always been what responded best to training for me, they were always that part that always just seemed to grow and get stronger no matter what I did.

It's generally attribute the majority of it just to benching. You can pick your poison on the accessory/volume lift. Whatever keeps your shoulders and elbows pain free is the best tricep accessory when it comes to just cranking up volume. I wish i had some secret for ya man.
 
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