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To Infinity.... and Beyond!

Balthazar said:
i'm quite frankly jealous as i believe that you naturally have quite a bit more explosive power than i do. you really have barely worked at the o lift stuff in comparison to before you started having chronic back pain and you're already catching me again.
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thanks man, but.... even before my back issues I was never a good squatter. my strengths and deficiencies are so weird. For instance, at one point these were my simultaneous maxes:

back squat 320
deadlift 450
snatch 205
power snatch 185
power clean 260
jerk 255
clean 235
front squat 245
bench 250-ish
Press 183


so its kinda weird. I had really trained hard and saw unusual gains, my pulls were always much much stronger than my squats and I still squatted 2-3x's a week. Guys like Dapack watched me chase a 300lb squat for probably 2 years!
 
last night:

front squat
95 x 10
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
210 x 5
185 x 5

db curls
3 sets of 10-15
superset with
deadlifts
2 sets of 10 @ 225lbs

notes
my only focus was squats again. that 210lbs x 5 for a front squat is quickly approaching PR territory cause as I mentioned even when I was back squatting 320 I think my front squat was only 245. I've just never had a strong squat! still at it though. last night I finally got 7hrs of sleep, i've been living off 4 1/2 to 5 lately and I know that kills the gym progress.
 
so my back issues have been there since early January 2016 (right when my ex wife and I separated, so I wonder if its stress + new bed etc). but at some point when I couldn't even deadlift 135lbs anymore without feeling like puking from pain I took about a month off from all squats and deads and I moved over to work on just my bench. My thinking was I needed heavy weight in my hands to stimulate testosterone and growth hormone, 2 things that would help my body recover better. my bench grew substantially. To help offset all the pushing, I did pulling movements mostly on machines until my back allowed me to do rows, and eventually some OK rack pulls. then I just started squatting and deadlifting "through the pain" as much as I could. then one day I kinda discovered that RDL's really seem to make my back feel amazingly strong and healthy the next day.

so the last 8-12 months have been recovery and the 6-7 months prior to that were all downhill injury. right now I'm chasing PR's I had established back in 2015. My only PR i've had in the last year was when I was Bench focused and I hit 275 and then 280. I'm still chasing that elusive 300 / 315 bench, my weight is super steady at 180 (actually 177 tuesday night post workout) but my focus and strength in the gym is starting to dial back in to where it once was.

All of my old goals still stand but I'm taking it in different way than I used to. My number one goal is that 300lb+ bench, and I'm 5 repping my way there.

My secondary goals are always the 500/400 deadlift/squat, a 300+lb clean and jerk, a 225lb+ snatch (just cause i want to see 2 plates) and unlimited overhead press. But these things are me doing my best to maintain a linear progression in their training. the Bench is the key focus that's kept me sane in the gym the last week and its the movement I try to never miss no matter how bad my life gets during a week.

before the back issue, my approach was the same on squats and deads. so I've just had to make that change to my lifestyle, but it feels good to have a focus.
 
glad to see that things are moving back in the right direction, i wouldn't sweat the squat and deadlift to much, i know where you are coming from with the squat/pull ratio but honestly focusing on the oly lifts and doing squats at the end of the workout helps for some weird reason, maybe because the legs are fatigued from the lifting but the core is still strong? not sure but anyway whichever aproach you choose you'll be back in no time!
 
Warsheeper said:
glad to see that things are moving back in the right direction, i wouldn't sweat the squat and deadlift to much, i know where you are coming from with the squat/pull ratio but honestly focusing on the oly lifts and doing squats at the end of the workout helps for some weird reason, maybe because the legs are fatigued from the lifting but the core is still strong? not sure but anyway whichever aproach you choose you'll be back in no time!
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thanks man. i've been trying to have a oly-centric session with full snatch, full cleans, and front squats. But i know after all that work my front squats are a little weaker. so then my next squat day that week I try to make it SQUAT focused. so I have one day that all my fresh energy goes into the Oly lifts, and another day where all my fresh energy goes into the power lifts.
 
bench
bar x 20
95 x 15
135 x 10
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 5
245 x 4
245 x 4

weighted dips
bw x 15
+45lbs x 10
+60lbs x 3s x 8r

superset with

db curls
4 sets

notes
felt pretty good. should have taken a rest day today but tomorrow and saturday are forced rest days by way of schedule so i figured I'd try to get one more hard day in. My shoulders need the rest though before I can go heavy again. I'm happy to just about be at my 245 x 3x5. very very close. I think my best was 250 x 5 so I'm right in that territory for gains again on the bench.
 
hang snatch
95 x 10
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 4
165 x 4
175 x 2
185 x 2 misses

the first miss I failed to jump under the bar, the second miss I caught it in the squat, almost had it, then dumped it behind me.

cleans
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 3

front squats
205 x 3
215 x 1


notes
had strong energy during snatch then kinda petered out. back was kinda sore for the cleans. so I'll maybe start where I left off on that session again.
 
cleans
95 x 10
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 4

front squats
185 x 5
195 x 5
210 x 2sets x 3 reps

second set was stronger than the 1st. went for a 4th rep but dumped it. honestly I had a third set of 3 in me.

snatch grip bb rows
135lbs x 3sets x 10reps

trying to get more pulling in to offset all my pushing

weighted decline situps
25 x 25lb plate
3x10 with 45lb plate

notes
creatine. for some reason I always forget i'm a non responder at 5g. I really need 10-15g to do anything. my main supps right now are just arginine, c4 pre-workout, 10-15g of creatine, and Modern BCAA+.
 
I literally just bought c4...it's been over 2 years since I took any preworkout...so this upcoming Thurs should be fun...and some ppl just don't respond to creatine...I respond amazing to green mag daily (my only supplement other than protein)...I just remember reading something along the lines of close to 50% of creatine is wasted once you reach .1g per kg of BW.
 
Yomo said:
I just remember reading something along the lines of close to 50% of creatine is wasted once you reach .1g per kg of BW.
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I've heard plenty of people say that anything over 5g is pointless and I love science but I also know application and results. I only weigh 177-180lbs and anything less than 10g of creatine in me has always been pointless. This is many years of trial and error. at 10-15g or more, i see results. at 5-10g I really notice nothing.

for some people, that 5g may be worth it, but for me its never accomplished anything. I have a friend who weighs 40lbs more than me and religiously takes just his 5g every day. he swears by it and believes it helps him. just 5g. But for me, I dont see any difference at less than 10g.
 
creatine is more like a long term thing, it doesn't really help unless you take it for months or years on end anyway, right now i'm at around 8-10 weeks i think
5g on off days, 10g on training days, 5 g in the morning and 5g post workout
 
I never implied your trial and error being wrong...just that some people don't respond well, if at all....at some point why even bother with creatine, unless your drop in strength is that extreme, as is mine...oddly enough, my work capacity still remains the same without.
 
Yomo said:
I never implied your trial and error being wrong...just that some people don't respond well, if at all....at some point why even bother with creatine, unless your drop in strength is that extreme, as is mine...oddly enough, my work capacity still remains the same without.
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I fluctuate a lot in both strength and work capacity. since hurting my back my deadlift fell from where I thought i was going to pull 500lbs, to not even 400lbs in the last year. my bench is in all new territory though.

work capacity for me is also all over the map. but when I buckle down and work on conditioning my capacity comes back fast. its the brute strength that I'm constantly needing to rebuild.
 
Warsheeper said:
creatine is more like a long term thing, it doesn't really help unless you take it for months or years on end anyway, right now i'm at around 8-10 weeks i think
5g on off days, 10g on training days, 5 g in the morning and 5g post workout
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if it takes anyone more than a month to see any positives from it, than it's usually not worth it for that individual...normal response, without any sort of exaggerated loading phase should take no longer than 3-4 weeks...add any sort of lean red meat (let's say 2 lbs daily from different sources), and creatine totals should be easy to hit without wasting money on more than 10g a day...
 
Dustin07 said:
I fluctuate a lot in both strength and work capacity. since hurting my back my deadlift fell from where I thought i was going to pull 500lbs, to not even 400lbs in the last year. my bench is in all new territory though.

work capacity for me is also all over the map. but when I buckle down and work on conditioning my capacity comes back fast. its the brute strength that I'm constantly needing to rebuild.
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yeah man, was reading on your rough times...good stuff on getting to where you are now...

and for whatever reason the only lift ever really noticeably affected by no creatine for me is bench...I hit an easy paused 345 last fall, went off for almost 2 months, and getting back to that number has been a pain ever since...hit it TnG not too long ago
 
What I notice on creatine is that I'm able to make linear progression in all my lifts. That's the main thing. When I'm off creatine it's really impossible for me to know if I'm going up in the gym today. My sleep, rest, and food can all be dialed in but once the creatine has cycled out, my lifts are just hit and miss and I can't always figure out a rhyme or reason. When I'm loading back on with that 10g+ I notice predictable linear progression again.

now there's always a plateau or peak and I still need to eat, sleep, rest and stick to my training. but I just see more consistent improvement when I'm on creatine. its weird because over the past 6 years or so of logging workouts (I had two other logs before joining AM) I mentioned a dozen times when I was on and off creatine so I dont know why I let myself go months at a time without it sometimes.
 
Yomo said:
yeah man, was reading on your rough times...good stuff on getting to where you are now...
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thanks, the back issues are really obnoxious. I still get them daily but I'm starting to be able to lift some weight again through the pain. I always saw people plagued with back issues and didn't understand them. now that I have them its a constant hindrance. But if I do my RDL's after big lift days I have zero back pain the next day. sometimes deadlifting mid 300s is enough to spur a sore left leg for the next 2 days. back squatting is totally hit and miss. but its still down 100lbs. I haven't back squatted more than 250lbs in over a year.
 
I don't know if it is just in my head but for me creatine seems like it gives me a slight edge is explosiveness. Seems like it goes down when I don't take any.
 
dapack said:
I don't know if it is just in my head but for me creatine seems like it gives me a slight edge is explosiveness. Seems like it goes down when I don't take any.
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I feel like my experience is the same. it makes me feel a bit stronger and thicker. instead of killing myself and grinding out reps, I usually feel stronger through my sets.
 
I decided to drop 5lbs on bench today and go for more reps since I've been failing my 5s at 245.

bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 1
215 x 3
240 x 6 (reps pr)
240 x 6
240 x 5

i think i had a third set of 6 in me, and i think 7 the first set, but without a spotter i didn't want to risk it

preacher curls
5 sets

hammer curls
3 sets

db curls
3 sets plus 3 drop sets
 
try to switch up the reps every workout in a range from 2-6 but more like random switches, a non linear approach usually works best when someone starts to stall out
 
thanks!!

deads
135 x 10
185 x 10
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
340 x 5
365 x 3

the most I have pulled in the last 14months or longer is only 335 one time. So 340 for 5 would have been a good place to stop but I wanted more. my back (well, really its the periformis area. high glute into slower back) was a bit irritated but I gave 365 a try anyways and was happy. I easily had 5 reps in me, but stopped at 3 because I was a little worried about form. Either way, 365 x 3 is a PR over the last 14 months easily. Well on my way back to 400s.

RDL's
225 x 2 sets x 10reps


barbell rows
95 x 15
115 x 15
135 x 3sets x 10

db rows
3 sets

pull ups
2 sets bw
1 set +25lbs

lat pull downs
3 sets

notes
back feels surprisingly good! after my deads and RDL's my GF met me at the gym and I went through her shoulders and bench routine with her to help on form and spotting here so I had a little work out a.d.d. but I had hit my big stuff for the day so the rest was kinda just for fun anyways.
 
Thanks!!!! I ate like a freaking horse yesterday. My back is a little sore today but I'm 90% sure it's cause I made a bad bed purchase and need to try a new one lol.

Pumped to see my Deads chasing grown up weights again.
 
bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
115 x 10
155 x 5
195 x 3
225 x 3
240 x 7 (reps PR)
240 x 7
240 x 6

cable/tri push downs
4 sets to pump/fatigue

notes
short but sweet. chasing that 240 x 8 before I move up in weight. I kept stalling at 245-250 for my 5's so I dropped a few lbs and added reps. making gains.
 
thanks!

yesterday was a bit rushed so i'm hoping tonight to hit cleans and front squats again.

snatch 1 power snatch + 3 hang snatches
95lbs x 1 set
115lbs x 1 set
135lbs x 1 set
155lbs x 1 set

snatch
165 x 3
175 x 1 (+3 failed attempts)

front squats
175 x 5
190 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 3
220 x 1

notes
had a hard time waking up last night, lots of distractions too. going to try the meaty part of this session again tonight before I move back to my next pressing session.
 
cleans full/squat
95 x 10
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 1
175 x 1
185 x 1
195 x 1
205 x 1
215 x 1
220 x 2

back squats
225 x 5


notes
super short on time again. wanted a 5 rep clean but just thought i'd test 220 to see where I was. back squats were just a test too because I haven't tried them in a long time now. there was a little back pain, but i felt like i had 10 reps in me at 225 so I'm happy.
 
jerk
65 x 5
95 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 1
185 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 1 (PR)
260 x fail

OH press
bar x 20
95 x 10
125 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5r x 3s
155 x 1
165 x 1
175 x 1
185 x fail (PR attempt)

push press
185 x 5

wanted to work up to 210+ for reps but was just out of gas

notes
I had to leave the gym for 2 hrs between jerk and press so my mojo was gone but overall I'm pretty happy. I hit 250lbs for a jerk in november of 2015 I think, so to PR that after so long was pretty exciting. truthfully I think I have 270 in me, its all form.
 
deads
135 x 10
185 x 5
235 x 5
285 x 5
325 x 1
365 x 0 x 2 attempts
315 x 3s x 5r

so I thought for sure today was a 5 rep day at 365. I broke the ground with it and died both times. Its all in my head, trying to push through the pain still. I hit 365 last week easy so I know i have it, I'm still just a headcase.

squats
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3s x 5r

notes
all in all a good day. if 315 x 3x5 is where I am for deads, that's fine. next session I'll attempt smaller jumps and work on a linear progression. squats went really well, but slow as I'm still mentally struggling with the prior back pain. they really weren't that bad though.
 
"so I thought for sure today was a 5 rep day at 365. I broke the ground with it and died both times. Its all in my head, trying to push through the pain still. I hit 365 last week easy so I know i have it, I'm still just a headcase."

Just a bad day. Deads seem to be the one lift that can either go really good or really bad. For me there is no in between.
 
dapack said:
"so I thought for sure today was a 5 rep day at 365. I broke the ground with it and died both times. Its all in my head, trying to push through the pain still. I hit 365 last week easy so I know i have it, I'm still just a headcase."

Just a bad day. Deads seem to be the one lift that can either go really good or really bad. For me there is no in between.
Click to expand...

yeah you're probably right. I haven't really "trained" deadlifts now in probably over a year really so I'm having to get back to consistency.
 
bench
65 x 20
115 x 115
155 x 10
195 x 5
230 x 1
240 x 8 (reps PR)
240 x 7
240 x 6

front squats
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 5
195 x 5
215 x 5
215 x 4+1
215 x 3 + 2

notes
on the front squats, I racked it after the 4th and 3rd rep (2nd and third set) and finished my 5 rep in under a minute. I wanted my 3x5 even if I wasn't consistent yet. I'm still moving really slow through the whole squat nursing the back pain which is kinda centralizing to just periformis area.

on the bench, I hit my 8 rep goal so even though its not 3x8, I think next session I'll move up 5lbs.

weight
181.5lbs
 
dapack said:
Congrats on your PR!!! Things seem to be going really good lately with your bench.
Click to expand...

knock on wood!



power cleans + press
95 x 10
135 x 5

power cleans
165 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 3s x 5r

hang power clean + push press
160 x 2s x 8r

power snatch
95 x 10
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 3

notes
a little short on time tonight.

weight
180
 
bench
bar x 15
95 x 10
135 x 7
175 x 5
205 x 3
230 x 1
245 x 3sets x 5reps

front squats
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
215 x 5
215 x 3

wod
5 rounds for time:
9 x 115lb power cleans
6 x 115lb push press
time: i don't remember but it was fast. probably 3-5 minutes. we hammered through it. Just the GF and I at the gym.
 
bench
bar x 20
95lbs x 10
155lbs x 7
195lbs x 5
215lbs x 3
235lbs x 1
247.5lbs x 3s x 5r

db shoulder press
3 sets x 10 reps

dips
10 x bw
10 x +25lbs
2sets x 10 @ +50lbs

db curls
4 sets

pull ups
3 sets of 10

mini wod
3 x 60lb DB push press
200m sprint
5 rounds

notes
I was feeling really tired yesterday so I made a small micro plate jump on the bench because I figured gains are gains even if I dont get a 5lb jump. I'm happy. 250 x 3x5 is my best so hopefully I hit that on the next session.
 
cleans
bar...
95 x 5
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 1
195 x 1
205 x 1
215 x 1
225 x 2


back squats
bar...
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 3s x 5r

front squats
185 x 3s x 5r

front rack lunges
95lbs x 16r x 2s (8 per leg)

weight
179

note
The 235 was easy, but slow because I'm still fighting that back pain. made a 10lb jump this week so things are moving back up finally. The cleans are actually only 10lbs shy of my old PR of a 235 clean (although my power clean PR is 260. was just never a good squatter)
 
it seems like your back to where you left off before this last episode of severe back pain with the squatting. nice work in here.
 
thanks! squats seem to be moving up finally again!

bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
155 x 7
195 x 5
215 x 3
230 x 1
240 x 1
250 x 3s x 6r

dips
bw x 10
+45 x 10
+70 x 7
+90 x 7

db curls
3 supersets

ez bar curls
3 sets

cable flies
3 sets

notes
I had a guy I dont know spot me on the bench and I feel like he spotted every rep so I'm going to hit 250 x 3x5 again on my next session, I dont feel like I earned these at all. I definitely got worked and had a killer chest pump, but I feel like his finger was on the bar every rep and since i've been making micro plate jumps, even just fingers are enough I think to take away from the progress. It just felt way too easy.
 
always give the spotter instructions, especially when you are used to a spotter and then need a different person :D
always fun when someone asks for a liftoff but i don't know the guy, so i don't know when he is actually ready haha
 
I always say when asking for a spot I don't need a lift off, don't touch the bar and I am not doing forced reps so if I can't get it pull it. It never works out most of the time even though I lay it out pretty good.
 
I usually say that exact same stuff. I always say no lift off, and don't jump in unless I need you to save my life. It's always worked well but this time I should have communicated more. It's OK though I'll come back to my 250 this week and earn it.

Still a day letter my pecks and arms are more tight and sore than usual so it was a good workout, just wasn't the PL session I had in mind.
 
jerk
95 x 5
135 x 3
165 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 1
215 x 1
225 x 2

press
135 x 5
145 x 5
150 x 5
152.5 x 3s x 5r

wod
4 rounds
100ft sled push with 80lbs
5 x 135lb thrusters
1 round
100ft sled push with 90lbs
5 x 155lb thrusters

notes
felt like an off/weak day. the jerks were way too hard at 225. but the press was OK and the wod was fun.
 
Dustin07 said:
I usually say that exact same stuff. I always say no lift off, and don't jump in unless I need you to save my life. It's always worked well but this time I should have communicated more. It's OK though I'll come back to my 250 this week and earn it.

Still a day letter my pecks and arms are more tight and sore than usual so it was a good workout, just wasn't the PL session I had in mind.
Click to expand...

still a very strong session...it's funny when I think about it, but I've never received a handoff for bench or utilized a spotter...ever...lol....even during my younger years when I did fail a rep I went with the infamous swing the bar to the side and let all the plates slide off the bar and cause an earthquake move...ha...frustrated that I haven't hit a paused PR single since last Fall, smh...
 
yeah I'm a little concerned about how to move up from here without gaining a lot of weight. weight gain I'm not afraid of, but I've never been able to get my weight above 183 without starting to put on noticeable bodyfat. that 250 x 3x5 even with spot felt harder than it should have, and last night the jerk was WAY harder than it should have been. I've been eating and sleeping, so I'm at a really difficult point trying to decide what's most important in my training right now, and the right way to approach it.
 
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