Road to Derby Cup Championships (Lizking’s 1st meet)

Nice to see you back man. I'd love either a GHR or RH haven't had the chance to use either one though :(
 
Thanks guys - Glad to be back!

On the GHR vs. Reverse Hyper - I'm thinking price alone is pushing my towards a GHR (then maybe I could get a decent incline bench - mine sucks). I've heard rumors of a combined unit, but yet to see it (probably couldn't afford it anyway).

Mid-November in the midwest - it's deer season... Keeping with tradition, I'll be sitting up in a tree freezing my butt off this opening weekend of gun season (basically the only time I get to deer hunt anymore). hoping to put some lean protein in my freezer - wish me luck!
 
Out of the 7 guys in deer camp, 5 deer down opening day: 4 bucks & a doe (the doe was mine). Some protein on its way to my freezer!

Upon recommendation from my buddy's dad, cooked up deer liver & onions - not my favorite, but not bad. Since there's a whole big pot, thinking this will get made into several other stews/pot pies/dumpling gravies/etc.

Snow in Kentucky in mid-November.... yesterday was the wife's b-day & she had a snow day, so I called in sick & took her out to a fancy dinner in the evening :)

Squats tomorrow!
 
Pro tip: don't demonstrate sumo deadlifts in dress clothes unless you really want to buy new pants.....
 
New cycle – 5s week

Slept in yesterday morning & postponed squats until the evening, after work. Throat has been dry/scratchy/etc – hoping I’m not getting sick & it’s just adjusting to cold temps & furnaces just kicking on for the season. Gas tank felt low – power was there, just no endurance. I had to rack it at 5 just from not having wind. Didn’t take full rests, just tried to catch my breath quickly & hit that second set – or in the case of squats, series of singles. I can always use setup/walkout work on squats, so I don’t feel altogether too bad about it. Just decided to toss in some bodyweight pistol squats – no real major reason, just something unilateral & not too taxing. I’ve never done them, so figured why not. Aiming towards illness prevention for a few days now, next will come some conditioning work. Camera died after squats, unfortunately no bench vids.

19-Nov-14
Squat
230x4.. wut? Lol Invalid Link Removed
265x5 Invalid Link Removed
300x5 Invalid Link Removed
300x1,1,1,1

Bench
165x5
190x5
215x5,4

Pistol Squat (each leg)
BWx5,5

-------------

20-Nov-14
Deadlift
280x5 Invalid Link Removed
325x5 Invalid Link Removed
365x5,4 Invalid Link Removed

OHP
110x5
125x5
140x5,5

Pistol Squat (each leg)
BWx5,15
 
Squat & Bench Accessory -

DB flat bench - neutral grip
45x20
45x20
45x20

Straight Arm Pull Down
30x20
30x20
30x20

Close Grip Bench
135x15
145x15
155x15
165x15

BB Row
145x15
145x15
145x15
145x15

Box Squat
135x10
155x10
165x10
180x10
205x5

Single Leg RDL
95x10
95x10
95x10
95x10


& Done - moving slow & pressed for time, but got the blood flowing. Fighting off a very mild cold - affecting my wind/endurance. Bringing in yoga, foam rolling, cardio, & some bodyweight exercises to help recovery/keep things moving as winter darkens & I get lazy. Planning on some Deadlift accessory tomorrow & some sort of something Thursday - get primed up for the holiday weekend eating season.
 
DL/OHP Accessory

Still feeling a bit under the weather (fall allergies?), but got myself moving (almost at full speed..) & managed to get a good pump today. Kept the reps high. Managed to double overhand grip Sumo DL up to 300 - only the last four reps of the last set did I switch grip.

DB OHP
30x20
30x20
30x20

Pull-Down
80x20
80x20
80x20

Incline Bench ss with CG Incline ss Pull-Ups
115x10, 115x10, 10
125x10, 125x10, 10
135x10, 135x10, 10
145x10, 145x10, 10

Sumo DL ss with HLR (BW x20)
135x10
185x10
225x10
275x10
300x10
 
I'm definitely no sumo pro, but it's a great change of pace. Yet to try anything near max with it. I've been having fun with beltless & double overhand grip - grip seems to be keeping pace just fine, only forcing me to switch to complete the set not actually grip failure
 
Getting some nice volume in here ma man. You trying to get all swole and joicy?
 
rob112 said:
Getting some nice volume in here ma man. You trying to get all swole and joicy?
Click to expand...

Tanks mang!

yeah - I'm finding I have a huge mental block with 6+ rep sets & also wanting to work on building a lil confidence thru volume (and a good sweat)
 
LizKing531 said:
Tanks mang! yeah - I'm finding I have a huge mental block with 6+ rep sets & also wanting to work on building a lil confidence thru volume (and a good sweat)
Click to expand...

One of the old timers at my gym swear higher rep work is a game of mind over matter, which goes right in line with what you are saying
 
I've noticed sometimes that I'll hit my prescribed 5 but nothing else, BUT I can usually rack it, quickly catch my breath & hit another set without issue at all....
 
another thing that happens to a lot of people(myself included) is if you have a set reps, say 5, and you do rep 4, you almost let up the ferocity a hair and do just enough to get the last rep. It's a total mind ****.
 
rob112 said:
another thing that happens to a lot of people(myself included) is if you have a set reps, say 5, and you do rep 4, you almost let up the ferocity a hair and do just enough to get the last rep. It's a total mind ****.
Click to expand...

Strong this. I've caught myself doing this. As soon as I know I have it, I let up on the gas pedal. Need to fix
 
Yes - seems like over time the strength grows - but day-in-day-out it's a total mind game
 
Turkey day - a little extra workout pre-eat a thon

DB Incline Bench (fatgripz)
31x20
50x20
50x20
50x20
50x20

Pull Down
80x20
90x20
90x20
90x20
90x20

Front Squat / hi bar squat / sit up
135x10 / 135x10 / 20
155x10 / 155x10 / 20
175x5 / 175x10 / 20
195x5 / 195x10 / 20

Just wanted to get moving before eating down. Got a good sweat before heading out for the feast. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving!
 
11/30 – 3’s Squat/Bench

Squat
250x3
285x3 Invalid Link Removed
320x4 Invalid Link Removed
320x2

Bench
180x3
205x3 Invalid Link Removed
230x4 Invalid Link Removed
230x3

Squats moved pretty well, at least I feel they’re getting better looking. Got a little forward on my 2nd rep at 320. 4th rep a bit high. Too much fiddling around wasting energy. Noticed I hadn’t put up a bench vid in a while… Definitely need to keep myself honest on the pause (metronome maybe?) Arch could probably use some work, doesn’t look like I’m getting much arch going in the vid. Moved my grip in a little, from outside edge on pinky on rings to around mid-knurling (with thumb extended, thumbnail on smooth). Noticing a difference with bar path – i.e. on the 3rd rep of 205



12/1 – 3’s DL/OHP

DL
300x3 Invalid Link Removed
345x3 Invalid Link Removed
385x5
385x2

OHP (ss w/ wide pull-ups BWx5)
115x3
140x3 (oops… should’ve been 130)
150x3
150x3

Deads went good – feeling tighter & just generally more proficient.

Hit myself in the kneecap during a performance Saturday night – I was nervous squatting/pulling (ie Brandon lilly). No pain during movement, except for one uncomfortable rep, but even then not exactly painful. Definitely tender in a spot. There’s a constant weird sensation like cold water dripping onto the top of my kneecap….
 
Squat
-looks like you are breaking at the hips a little more than you need to. First rep is solid, but as the set goes on I notice you break at the hips pretty far, this leaning you forward from the jump. I'd recommend breaking just a hair and dropping down. If you watch the first rep you didn't break as hard.

Bench and deadlift looked solid. Only thing I'd say is maybe you with breathing into the belt at the top when you are doing belted work. It gets you tight, and then going down gets you tighter. I feel like you caught that and reset and hit a smooth third rep. Just an idea.

Keep up the good work, don't drum on your knee, and I like the shoes :D
 
Another thing to try is hip hinge the weight out don't press it out with your legs. I take a narrowish stance hip hinge in out then take a step back into position
 
Felt like I was getting my back tightness in check & not goodmorning-ing the sh!t out of my squats, but well if not one thing, it's another... lol 2nd rep definitely had some issues, though. If I think too much 'down' & not enough 'back' - it'll go somewhere between what happened on that 2nd rep, or from past experience, I'll gm it. Definitely something to keep in mind/work on with the hip hinge - a lot relates to tightness in my book. Sloppy anything that gets loose - hinge, back, etc - rough lift.

On DL - I read Wendler talking about going for a couple reps with the same breath, so I'll try to hit doubles sometimes before breathing. Getting a much better feel of getting my air & getting tighter pulling.
 
DL/OHP Accessory

Half-Asleep Circuit (*patent pending)
Incline Bench ss CG Incline ss Pull-Ups ss Pull-Downs
115x10, 115x10, BW x 10, 70x20
125x10, 115x10, BW x 10, 70x20
135x10, 115x10, BW x 10, 70x20
145x10, 115x10, BW x 10, 70x20

Sumo DL ss with abs (incline board situps x10 & HLRx15)
135x10
185x10
225x10
250x10
275x10
300x10


...And then i puked in the sink... wasn't all there when I started this morning so just sorta ended up with that big @ss superset for upper work. The pull-up/down combo (being the pds were light weight) was getting great muscle activation that was helping more than hampering my Pull-Ups surprisingly enough. I need to get a sumo vid for y'all to drill me on but those seem to be moving well for me (granted i have yet to push those beyond 3). The weather has been cold and rain the past few days and I'm getting kinda tired of it... bout to get some calories in the form of a cold beer to tide me over for now ;)
 
Squat accessory work

Box Squats - beltless
Barx10
135x10
185x5,5
205x5,5
225x5,5
255x2,3,3
switched to hi-bar
205x10
185x10

ss w/ Single Leg RDL
95 x sh!tload

Forgot to add in Friday's partial work -
Close Grip Bench
135x15
145x15
155x15
165x15
185x10

BB Row
145x15
145x15
145x15
145x15
145x15
 
This popped up on reddit this morning - Metal will have to pay $62,000 to the IPF for their gear to be IPF approved

Invalid Link Removed
 
5-3-1

Squat
145x5
180x5
215x5
265x5
300x3
335x2

Bench
105x5
130x5
155x5
190x5
215x3
240x1

DL
135x5
175x5
215x5
260x5
325x5
365x3
410x1


Great night sleep & busy schedule thru weekend -> hit all 3 this morning... If I have time - maybe squeeze OHP in yet otherwise got the main work covered. Bar too low on squats, out of groove & in hands - bicep cramp that f@cked my bench. DL - went for a 2nd rep, mentally crapped on the lift - didn't beat myself up but learned something important about the head game of moving weight
 
Invalid Link Removed

Invalid Link Removed
 
Welp.... at least I got my big 3 lifts in this week - cut about 1/4" tip of my middle finger off this morning on a broken ceramic coffee mug....
 
12/16/14

Deload Squat

Front squat
115x10
135x10
155x10
175x10
185x10
195x10

Hanging Leg Raise
(BWx15)x6

Kneeling Cable Crunch
(50x15)x6

Worked all these cross-arm, bar across delts. Walked away with a wicked mid-back pump. Planning on focusing on front squats more this coming cycle. Yesterday hit a ton of light curls, flys, pec flys, tri-extensions & pushdowns. Not sure about handling anything heavy, as my finger is just barely staying closed (probably could've used a stitch, but not sure if there was enough meat for it & didn't want to pay the money via emergency to find out).
 
Went for some pressing today. Finger stayed (mostly) closed, took it easy & remind myself it's a deload week. Pulling was way worse than pressing, keeping a tight grip. I have to get a new incline bench before I can take these seriously at all - mine sucks a fat one. So until then... This was shoe-horned into a circuit workout since I didn't have much time anyway

Incline Bench - superset wide/close grip - same rep/sets
barx20
95x10
115x10
135x10
145x10
145x10

Pull-ups (loooong negative last rep)
(BWx5)x6

Cable Pull-Downs
(80x20)x6
 
Sucks about the finger man, I cut off the side of mine while working at a meat shop. Went to the ER and they put on this foam type thing on there. It stayed closed pretty good, just tried not to use it much. Did leak a little while lifting but healed okay.
 
Thanks man - it's healing, but unfortunately won't go away overnight. Just gotta take it easy & let it heal - balancing act between between able to use it vs. the cut reopening.

Yikes - that sounds like no fun at all....
 
More front squats today - getting the groove of cross arm/bar up on delts. . Noticed some just general improvements - noob front squat gains - Definitely keeping these around - probably neglected them too long thus far. Gas tank could've been better - felt like I hit a wall when I hit 205, hence the multi low rep sets

Front squat (ss w/ incline board ab twists & sit-ups)
115x10
135x10
155x10
175x10
185x10
205x4
205x4
205x4
205x2
 
Front squats are a builder so your multiple sets are fine we don't compete in front squats

You do yours with a narrow stance or wider stance I normaly do mine with my comp stance
 
Well - funny you mention stance. Was just going over some of that after watching a ton of vids (I've probably been too narrow all along, but my vid angle has never really shown it...). My comp stance is in the process of nudging out a bit wider currently. I used to do fronts pretty narrow, but they're getting a little wider the more I train them. Not quite comp stance, yet. As you mentioned them being a builder, I'm working on building them up as well as inch them out
 
Duramaxhd said:
I'd say your doing quite well that is an ass load of reps in your working weight range
Click to expand...

Thanks man - been reading a lot about big squatters loving fronts, so I figure why not. Already have a good sense these will definitely help clean up some of what's been holding me back to date.
 
Nice work man, I hit a wall at a certain weight in fronts as well. I do em cross armed and my elbows will just begin to fall. Doing em with sit ups and stuff will make those last couple sets a bit harder as well. The core/upper back fails me on em before the quads do.
 
capo180 said:
Nice work man, I hit a wall at a certain weight in fronts as well. I do em cross armed and my elbows will just begin to fall. Doing em with sit ups and stuff will make those last couple sets a bit harder as well. The core/upper back fails me on em before the quads do.
Click to expand...

I definitely have been feeling these all thru my core - that's the money spot for me I think with getting my squatting cleaned up. There's no room to lose tightness or else everything falls apart fast
 
Incline Bench - superset wide/close grip - same rep/sets
barx20
95x10
115x10
125x10
135x10
145x10
155x10
165x10
175x5 (there's a PR in here somewhere - I'll have to go back further to check, but recent past was only 145x10)

Pull-ups (loooong negative last rep)
(BWx5)x9

Cable Pull-Downs
(80x20)x9

Circuit to blow the arms out
Laying tri extensions - cable/rope handle
(20x12)x5
Concentration curls
(26x15)x5
Band pull-aparts x 15
Delt Raise
15x20


Good day - took some extra time & just went until I was completely finished. Was totally gassed at 175 - last couple reps got a little hazy... Taking the cable pull-downs lighter, reps done leaned back, hitting about same as where I touch benching. These felt like a mix between a normal lat pull-down & a face-pull - really felt it shoulders/mid-upper back. They seem to compliment pull-ups pretty well - I'll get gassed doing those, then switch into the lighter pull-downs for a good burn without throwing form to hell
 
Yeah... wasn't really the plan when I started, but fell into a groove & just kept rolling. I've obviously been underselling my own efforts - the previous incline session's 145 was a struggle...not today :) Helluva pump going too
 
Good way to start my Sunday - really getting into front squats - my comp squat is already thanking me. Then worked out some sore muscles via yoga this morning. Covering some extra ground leading up to the x-mas travels & time off. Weight has been holding 202 these past couple weeks. Finger has healed over, but way too tender to pull with yet - any pressure pulling towards the tip of the finger makes for some unpleasantries...yuck...

Front squat (ss w/ HLRx15 & roll-outs x 10)
115x7
135x7
155x7
175x7
185x7
195x7
210x3
210x3

Snatch Grip DL (3/4" deficit) straps
130x10
180x10
220x10
250x10
 
Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!
 
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