Liftandswim's Log

liftandswim said:
Lol they do, but they're also one of the most satisfying lifts to dominate
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This is because they suck. I don't think happy thoughts after a good set of deadlifts, I think "Take that, you motherfúcker."
 
herderdude said:
This is because they suck. I don't think happy thoughts after a good set of deadlifts, I think "Take that, you motherfúcker."
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I concur.
 
herderdude said:
Sometimes I say it out loud...
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I try not to curse (don't always win that battle)..................but my facial expressions and how I don't the bar down nicely probably speak louder than my words could. ;)
 
8/28

Week 4, Day 4

Warm-Up
Cycle 1 mile
General stretching
Mobility

Standing Long Jump
15 total

Squat
(belt-less, 60 seconds rest)
255x5
255x5
255x5
255x5
255x5

Bench Press
(all sets paused until top set)
215x5
240x3
270x1+ (4, taped)
Invalid Link Removed

Pull-Ups
BWx50 total

Side Bends
80x25
80x25

Tricep Pushdown
3x25
3x25
3x25

Thoughts:
Accidentally did an extra 5lbs on squats, sounds trivial but today was a crap day. I had a long school day and was horribly dehydrated. Thinking back I've drank maybe 8 cups of water total ALL WEEK. That needs to change. My hammys were cramping to the point where depth was damn near impossible, not to mention everything felt like a billion pounds.

Got my mind right for bench (at least attempted to) and had a decent showing. My goal was 5-6 reps, but i'll take 4 on a day like today. Slugged through the rest of the workout, but I got it done.

Some more planning will go into next week's schedule with regards to hydration/nutrition. I knew the extra physical and mental stress of the semester would take it's toll on my training, but it's nothing a little more planning can't mitigate. Stay Strong AM.
 
Way to gut it out. I'd like to see you load your lats a lot more, your arm action is a lot like a bodybuilder, which will put a ton of stress on the pecs and anterior shoulder. Think about bending the bar toward your feet as you descend.

Also, your knees are above your hips, which tells me that if you apply any leg drive, your butt will rise off the bench. Try to get your feet under you some more to harness some lower body tightness and leg drive.

Your bench numbers are already good, a couple tweaks and you'll be moving three wheels in the near future.
 
herderdude said:
Way to gut it out. I'd like to see you load your lats a lot more, your arm action is a lot like a bodybuilder, which will put a ton of stress on the pecs and anterior shoulder. Think about bending the bar toward your feet as you descend. Also, your knees are above your hips, which tells me that if you apply any leg drive, your butt will rise off the bench. Try to get your feet under you some more to harness some lower body tightness and leg drive. Your bench numbers are already good, a couple tweaks and you'll be moving three wheels in the near future.
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Thanks herder. Bench is a lift I struggle with technically. And admittedly I haven't done as much as I should in the way of cleaning it up because I my numbers are already "good" (relative term). Got some work to do.

Question, and I know this is an individual thing, but how far down on my body should I bring the bar? Too, on the concentric phase of the lift should I be physically driving my feet into the ground? If so, what direction? (Towards my head or straight up and down)

Hope all that makes sense. I have big pecs and have relied on them for too long, so this style of benching is pretty foreign to me.
 
Herder will set you straight with the bench, very smart/strong guy there. But I hit at just about the peak of my arch, which if you arch your upper back you can find that spot. And you want to be driving the feet into the ground which will in turn move your hips slightly up the bench, but your knees gotta be below the hip to make that work. Your bench is already pretty darn strong, with a bit of form work you'll be pushing a lot more weight.
 
It really does depend on your arch and arm length and grip, but most people hit on the sternum as opposed to the pecs. Some people hit upper abs, as well. As far as how to push your feet, just think like a squat, heels down, knees out. Even if you're on the balls of your feet, it's heels down.
 
liftandswim said:
Thanks capo. Will I still able to remain flat-footed with my knees under my hips?
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Maybe, Maybe not. Some people get their knees under their hips by taking a wide foot position, like Casey Williams or Dan Green. They are flat footed and have a dynamic leg drive action. Others get their feet way underneath of them and drove their heels down in a more static manner.
 
herderdude said:
Maybe, Maybe not. Some people get their knees under their hips by taking a wide foot position, like Casey Williams or Dan Green. They are flat footed and have a dynamic leg drive action. Others get their feet way underneath of them and drove their heels down in a more static manner.
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Makes sense. I'll have to play around with what works for me
 
Good lifting info in here.

Nice pulls L&S!
 
Nice job, read and reread everything herder wrote he has been very helpful to me with my bench it's by far the most difficult for me to master
 
Duramaxhd said:
Nice job, read and reread everything herder wrote he has been very helpful to me with my bench it's by far the most difficult for me to master
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Yeah I think part of that, for me at least, is it's the lift I've been doing the longest.

And will do. Herder is a strong mofo
 
Would you guys say that the reebok power shoe (forget the actual name at the moment) fits true to size? Gonna hold off and try out a heeled shoe come Christmas time
 
Sean said go a ½ size smaller I believe and I would agree I got mine from him and the are 10½ which is what I wear but they are a bit lose has a wide toe box

Reebok Crossfit lite TR?
 
Duramaxhd said:
Sean said go a ½ size smaller I believe and I would agree I got mine from him and the are 10½ which is what I wear but they are a bit lose has a wide toe box Reebok Crossfit lite TR?
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Yupp those are the ones. I wear a 10.5 too so looks like I'll get 10's. Thanks dmax

Now the question is what color do I get? Can't decide if I want the all black or not
 
Just throw @ in front of the name.

Like so RegisterJr
 
I'd listen to herder because he benches a lot, but in general I believe you should aim to at least get the knees below the bench pad level once set up (that is probably easier with heels up and feet under the hips).

I think I am going to try and get those shoes too. Hmmmm...
 
bolt10 said:
I'd listen to herder because he benches a lot, but in general I believe you should aim to at least get the knees below the bench pad level once set up (that is probably easier with heels up and feet under the hips). I think I am going to try and get those shoes too. Hmmmm...
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You want to get these shoes in place of your adipowers?
 
liftandswim said:
You want to get these shoes in place of your adipowers?
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Naw in place of my chucks for Deadlifts. I was actually just writing about it in my post on my training today...which I'll finish shortly haha

Adipowers will stay for all squatting. :)
 
Great post by the resident bencher herder. I agree. It looked to me you weren't getting any leg drive really, so if you did I think the that could have easily been more reps. Very solid strength and way to gut out the squats!


I have the Rebox power shoe and I love it for bench(on my toes though) and deadlift. I personally like a heel better for squats, but that is totally subjective. I'd say if you have normal feet get a half size smaller. I have the exact size, but I have wide feet so it is snug on the sides, but I do have a little room at the toes. To give an example I almost exclusively bought skate shoes for the longest time because they were wide(I did used to skate, too :D )
 
rob112 said:
Great post by the resident bencher herder. I agree. It looked to me you weren't getting any leg drive really, so if you did I think the that could have easily been more reps. Very solid strength and way to gut out the squats! I have the Rebox power shoe and I love it for bench(on my toes though) and deadlift. I personally like a heel better for squats, but that is totally subjective. I'd say if you have normal feet get a half size smaller. I have the exact size, but I have wide feet so it is snug on the sides, but I do have a little room at the toes. To give an example I almost exclusively bought skate shoes for the longest time because they were wide(I did used to skate, too :D )
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Yeah my best rep performance has me at an e1RM of 322 with pretty much no leg drive whatsoever. So I imagine once I get all this bs down I'll be hitting big numbers.

And thanks for the anecdote rob. I used to inline skate (lame).
 
liftandswim said:
Yeah my best rep performance has me at an e1RM of 322 with pretty much no leg drive whatsoever. So I imagine once I get all this bs down I'll be hitting big numbers.

And thanks for the anecdote rob. I used to inline skate (lame).
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Agreed

And how did you kick flip then? Haha jk man
 
liftandswim said:
And despite bench being my best lift, it's the lift I find the least satisfying. I much prefer squatting (besides a day like yesterday) and deadlifting.
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I'm the same way. I've always squatted on Mondays or day 1 of my week. I like benching but unless it's PR level weight I don't get too into it. A heavy bar on my back just gets me feeling some type of way haha.
 
After some thinking I said screw it and ordered some do-wins. Worst case scenario I don't like them and I send them back, they have a 90 day money back guarantee. Hopefully they'll be here by tuesday. Looking at reviews, most of the negative comments were people complaining of wear and tear issues. Seeing as I'll only be squatting in them (not oly lifting, completing entire workouts in them) I think I'll be fine.
 
8/30

Week 4, Day 6

Warm-Up
Cycle 1 mile
General Stretching
Mobility

Med Ball Slams
15 total

Deadlift
(belt-less, 60 seconds rest)
285x3
285x3
285x3
285x3
285x3

Press
120x5
140x3
155x1+ (6, taped)
Invalid Link Removed

Barbell Curl
(doing my best to be super strict on these, it sucks)
75x10
75x10
65x10

Back Raise
BWx15
BWx15
BWx15

Facepulls
100 total

Thoughts:
Deadlifts felt smooth, really got some leg drive going. Had trouble replicating the leg drive every rep, but when I got it, it felt great. Speed off the floor was much improved.

Press went well too. My AMRAP set was actually really easy with the head through quicker tweak. I honestly don't know why I stopped, I had about two reps in me. Oh well, still a PR.

Stay Strong AM.
 
You made those presses look weightless.
 
Great log and strong #'s! l'd ove to follow along! :)
 
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