To Infinity.... and Beyond!

thank you. life has been crazy lately so i'm doing my best for damage control. I peaked at 260 x 5sets x 3 reps last month and haven't been able to get my training back inline. I usually struggle to get more than a 3x5 at 250lbs so that's kinda my sticking point I need to work through and figure out.
 
hang snatch
95 x 10
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 3
155 x 3

cleans
155 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 3
195 x 1
205 x 1

squats
205lbs x 3s x 5r

thrusters
95lbs x 3s x 10r

notes
felt good, could have gone heavier across the board. wanted to leave something in the tank while I get back to consistency.
 
bench
95 x 10
135 x 7
165 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
225 x 1
240 x 4
240 x 3
240 x 1

deads
135 x 10
185 x 10
225 x 10
265 x 1
295 x 1
315 x 5
335 x 5

conditioning
5 x 135lb power clean and push press
50 double unders
5 x 155lb power clean and push press
50 double unders
5 x 175lb power clean and push press
50 double unders
5 x 135lb power clean and push press

notes
bench is falling apart, but deads are starting to feel good again. generally speaking, things are good. I just need to fix my bench.
 
Morning Conditioning

wod 1
row 2000 meters
1 minute sprint
1 minute rest
time; 12:24
(so 6:24 working, 6:00 rest)

wod 2
"death by thrusters"
1 thruster @ 95lbs on minute 1
2 on minute two, etc.
Total: 10 rounds
total; 55 thrusters

notes
I feel like I'm going to puke. I forgot how much I need to hydrate for a 5am workout like that!
Buddy of mine started xfit and asked me how to improve his conditioning. I told him he needs to put in the work, so I offered to meet him before work this morning so some a.m. conditioning. It works well for me since the girlfriend and I are trying to lean up a bit before a Vegas trip at the end of September.

weight
175.5lbs post workout
wow, that's an 8lb drop since the last time I weighed in I think. but no doubt 3lbs of that could be water weight, I was sweating heavily.
 
At least it seems like you are able to do deads again consistently now, that is huge. Seems like bench is the main Big 3 effected most by weight changes and just a few pounds seems like it makes a big difference.
 
yeah its been great! I haven't had serious back pain in months now, and I dont even think about it when I sneeze (LOL). I still get an occasional twinge right in the middle of the butt cheek maybe while squatting or deadlifting but its not nearly what it used to be and its not hindering my lifts. My squats are super low but a lot of that is just rebuilding. I'm also squatting much wider than I used to, and its engaging my adductors like never before. Suddenly i know what an adductor cramp feels like.
 
Squats
95 x 10
135 x 5
165 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 5
225 x 5
235 x 5

WOD
5 rounds
5 x 95lb power snatch
7 x 95lb oh squat
9 x toes to bar.


Pretty out of shape. First round 50 seconds. Whole wod was closer to 10 minutes lol.
 
Deads
10 x 135
10 x 185
5 x 235
5 x 275
1 x 300
1 x 315

Block pulls
1 x 315
2 x 335
2 x 355

Wod
12 x air squats
9 x pushups
6 x 135lb hang power cleans
3 x 135lb push press
5 rounds
Time: 6:30ish


Went easy on the Deads, back was a little sore from yesterday's squat session but pushed through.
 
bench
95 x 13
135 x 10
175 x 7
205 x 5
225 x 3
240 x 5
240 x 5
240 x 4

dips
bw x 10
+45 x 3s x 8r

db curls
4 sets
 
bench
95 x 15
135 x 10
165 x 1
185 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 5
185 x 10

notes
gonna pull back a bit. I've been dealing with some pretty extreme fatigue that I can't seem to shake. I also ran out of creatine again about 2 weeks ago and I think its directly related to the lifts.
 
thrusters
bar x 10
95 x 5
115 x 5

back squats
95 x 10
115 x 10
115 x 10
115 x 15

bench
bar x 20
95 x 20
155 x 12
175 x 10
185 x 10
195 x 8

dips
bw x 3 sets x 12 reps

db curls
4 sets

hammer curls
3 sets

bar muscle ups
a few sets of a few reps just to see if I could still do them.

notes
just continuing with a 'taking it easy' approach right now. I think I'm fighting a chronic depression for a lack of a better word. Its not a word I like to frequently use since it sounds like feelings, emotions, and weakness, and as a man, I have none of these things. However I have noticed that when I go extremely hard at the gym the past month or two (or three) it leaves me really exhausted physically and drained mentally. and when my numbers don't hit my goals, it leaves me even further drained mentally.

so right now I'm just going at it a bit lighter, more of a bodybuilding approach. more movements, more fun. Less intensity. Keeping active, fit, and lean so that things don't get away from me until the fire is lit and i'm ready to set the gym on fire again. (in a good way)
 
Dustin07 said:
thrusters

notes
just continuing with a 'taking it easy' approach right now. I think I'm fighting a chronic depression for a lack of a better word. Its not a word I like to frequently use since it sounds like feelings, emotions, and weakness, and as a man, I have none of these things. However I have noticed that when I go extremely hard at the gym the past month or two (or three) it leaves me really exhausted physically and drained mentally. and when my numbers don't hit my goals, it leaves me even further drained mentally.

so right now I'm just going at it a bit lighter, more of a bodybuilding approach. more movements, more fun. Less intensity. Keeping active, fit, and lean so that things don't get away from me until the fire is lit and i'm ready to set the gym on fire again. (in a good way)
Click to expand...

Totally understand were you are coming from. Nothing worst than busting your butt to build up your strength/ make solid gains and only see it go side ways do to more than just over training reasons.
 
It always feels like the gym comes at me in waves. I'll have a really good training cycle for 2-3 months and set a PR somewhere, and then things crash a bit. I need to learn how to either not overdo it to the point of the crash, or how to minimize the downswings a little better I think. but knowing that it always comes in waves kinda keeps me in the game because I know that after every downswing comes another upswing.
 
Dustin07 said:
It always feels like the gym comes at me in waves. I'll have a really good training cycle for 2-3 months and set a PR somewhere, and then things crash a bit. I need to learn how to either not overdo it to the point of the crash, or how to minimize the downswings a little better I think. but knowing that it always comes in waves kinda keeps me in the game because I know that after every downswing comes another upswing.
Click to expand...
That is what keeps me going. Like you said too, need to do a better job of not having such peaks and valleys that go to extremes.
 
so last night I opted to decrease volume and see how much weight the back could take on squats. It went pretty well.

squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 3
255 x 1

press
95 x 10
115 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5

push press
155 x 5

notes
squats actually felt really good. I think 255 x 1 might be the most I've squatted in about 17 months so I'm pretty happy. and I think I actually had 275+ in me judging by how well it went, but my approach here was to get some heavy reps in and not overdo it, so good stuff.

I'm back on creatine and working on not killing myself at the gym, but moderate gains and more consistency if possible.
 
in the spirit of not destroying my CNS I worked back and arms hard yesterday but opted against doing deads.

db shrugs
65 x 20
75 x 20
85 x 20
95 x 20

superset with
ez bar curls
4 sets

seated rows
3 sets of 15

superset with
db hammer curls
3 sets

hang power cleans
95 x 10
135 x 3s x 10
155 x 5

superset with
strict pull ups
4 sets of 10

notes
so not a highly taxing day, but a decent back and biceps day.
 
i know that feeling pretty well, experienced something similar the last few weeks, decreasing volume, intensity(only for squats), and taking an extra day off did the trick for me, 2 weeks ago i did a 142kg squat with weightlifting belt, 5mm sleeves and had to grind hard, yesterday no belt, no sleeves 140 easy 4 reps, so sometimes a little de-load or back off week or whatever can really do the trick
 
I still get the back pain, but 3 reps or less seems to be a maintainable level where I can get a little progress and still stand up straight. whereas the 5 rep sets were making it difficult to stand up when the back pain kicked in. I'm also working on not going too deep. I'm hitting parallel, but careful not to go too much deeper.

squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
250 x 3
260 x 1

front squats
135 x 10
95 x 20

note
again the back squats went up. I'm pretty sure its the most I've done since January 2016! holy crap its been a long journey with this back pain.

Invalid Link Removed
 
last night;

bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
135 x 10
175 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 3
245 x 3
255 x 1

supersets:
10 x bw dips
10 x 185lb bench
10 x +25lb dips
10 x 175lb bench
10 x +25lb dips
10 x 165lb bench
10 x 25lb dips
10 x 155lb bench
10 x 25lb dips
10 x 135lb bench

notes
funny how hard those bench sets got at the end

closed grip bench
95lbs x 3 x 10. and still nearly failed the 10th rep every time, lol.

seated db overhead press
3 sets of 10

lateral shoulder raises
4 sets of 10-15

notes
that was last night and my shoulders and tris are still feeling it. fun little hypertrophy session.
 
sb shrugs
4 sets

bent over db rows
3 sets

lat pull down
3 sets

T rows
3 sets

db curls
4 sets

db hammer curls
3 sets

ez bar curls
3 sets
 
dapack said:
That super set the other day looks like a killer
Click to expand...

It was really something! Since i've sortra changed gears into more hypertrophy work and less CNS blasting its been fun and I recover quicker. I felt that in the pecks and tri's for days, lol. BUT my CNS recovered immediately.

spent the last 3 days in vegas doing basically nothing but sitting beside the pool and had a really nice steak dinner with the girlfriend saturday night. Looking forward to seeing where I am this week back at the gym.
 
squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
175 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 3
265 x 1

notes
felt like I had 285 in the tank. it was really hard to not keep squatting but this single working set of 3 has been helping me break through plateaus without hurting the back, so I feel like i'm making progress. my working set of 3 could have easily been 4. maybe even 5 reps. but I just didn't want to test fate. I hit my goal, then hung it up.
 
bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 1
195 x 1
215 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 3
250 x 3
260 x 1

dips
bw x 10
+45lbs x 5
+70lbs x 5
+90lbs x 5
 
Squats felt super heavy today but I pushed through for the gains. #rebuilding.

Slight back pain but pushed through cause I'm hunting this weekend so I have time to heal.

squats
Bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
175 x 1
195 x 1
215 x 1
230 x 1
245 x 1
260 x 3
275 x 2/3 I didn't bail, but nowhere near parallel
135 x 10
 
for the most part it seems to be doing much better! I went off grid for 4 days to go hunting so this week i'm trying to pick things back up.

bench
95 x 15
135 x 10
175 x 3
195 x 1
220 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 2
265 x 1

dips
bw x 10
+25lbs x 10
+45lbs x 10
+90lbs x 5
 
squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 1
265 x 3
275 x 1
225 x 5

front squats
135 x 10
95 x 10

hang power clean and push press
95 x 10
115 x 10
125 x 10
135 x 6
135 x 10

notes
super happy with squats. still moving up and feeling better and better all the time. 275 was 95% pain free. i'm squatting a little bit wider, getting my butt back a little bit more, and not going a single inch past parallel. all of these things seem to be working.

the power cleans were just me killing time waiting for the GF to finish her class.
 
bench
10 x bar
10 x 95
10 x 115
5 x 155
3 x 185
1 x 215
1 x 235
1 x 245
1 x 255
1r x 5s x 260

I wanted a low volume day that still challenged me. I think next session is Monday, so two rest days.
 
squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 10
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 1
270 x 2
280 x 1
225 x 8

notes
wanted 270 x 3 but overall i'm happy because each session so far the weight has gone up 5lbs and I'm squatting the most I've squatted since I believe 2015! I think this is the first time I've squatted 280 since december 2015 so almost 2 full years.

yup, found it. 290lbs Invalid Link Removed
on 12/3/2015.

still a bit sore, but getting better.

wod
5 rounds
9 x 20lb wallballs
6 x 135lb back squats
3 x 135lb front squats
 
nice, slowly getting there! got a cool breathing cue from china, they basically do this with everything, especially the squats, pulls and oly lifts, they don't try to push the stomache out or expand it, they breathe more into the chest and whole body, and tighten the abs or making the stomache small, maybe this might help aswell, would try it out with very light weight thoug since it goes against conventional teaching and needs some getting used to
 
that's actually pretty similar to what I do. tightening the abs/diaphragm and also curling my big toes seems to help keep upper body tight and activate the glutes.
 
bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 7
155 x 5
185 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 3
250 x 2
235 x 4, 3, 3
185 x 10

notes
things felt a little heavy today, no big deal though
 
squats
bar x 10
95 x 10
135 x 7
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 1
260 x 1
270 x 3
270 x 1

notes
back really wasn't having it, but I did add one more rep from last session so...progress!
 
last friday bench; (10/13/17)

bench
bar x 10
95 x 10
115 x 10
135 x 7
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
235 x 5
235 x 5
235 x 3
185 x 10

notes
squats are up and bench is down, lol.
 
squats
95 x 10
135 x 7
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 1
255 x 1
265 x 1
275 x 3

snatch
5 x bar
5 x 95
5 x 115
5 x 135

wod
5 rounds of
50 double unders
10 x 135lb hang power cleans
10 x pullups

notes
all warmup sets hurt
1st 275 rep was not deep enough by a long shot
after 3rd rep I felt like I had 2 more in me.
so all in all, decent day with a hard wod. i'm super unconditioned.
 
Its such a mental game for me. huge mental barrier with the pain. I honestly dont know if I have an injury or if its all in my head.
 
Dustin07 said:
Its such a mental game for me. huge mental barrier with the pain. I honestly dont know if I have an injury or if its all in my head.
Click to expand...

probably both, the body might say discomfort and the brain may send the signal, i was injured there, better back off make him feel pain
 
bench
bar x 20
95 x 10
135 x 7
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
240 x 3s x 5r

wod
25 x 20lb wall balls
20 x dips
10 x burpees
10 x 95lbs hang power snatch

I got 3 rounds + 25 wallballs and 10 dips before I had to call it and take off because I was out of time. but man am I out of shape! a wod like that probably wouldn't have taken me more than 15 minutes before tops, and this took 21ish. Still, feeling like things are coming along.



Warsheeper said:
probably both, the body might say discomfort and the brain may send the signal, i was injured there, better back off make him feel pain
Click to expand...

I have done a lot of reading and honestly it does seem totally plausible that many back injuries are in the head. It doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't hurt, but there seems to be a neurological connection where sometimes back pain can't be explained by a current actual injury but overly sensitive pain receptors that knew pain was there at one point, and now my possibly be working overtime to protect you from re-injuring the area....

which kinda makes sense to me for a lot of reasons. especially since sometimes if I work through the pain, I have zero repercussion the next day. I feel fine. but you'd think if I was truly irritating an actual injury i'd be miserable the next day. There are also those people who deal with back pain for a year or two then suddenly its gone and they dont know why.
 
row
2000m

RDLs
10 x 135
10 x 185
10 x 225

deads
3 x 5 @ 225

super set with

db curls
3x10

good mornings
2 sets

snatch grip bent over rows
2 sets

notes
was super rushed but wanted to get in some back work.
 
cardio
8 x 1 min sprint/1 min rest HIIT
21 mins total
2miles ish

db shrugs
3 x 15

lateral shoulder raises
3 x 10

seated db press
3 x 12

dips
10 x bw
3 x 10 +25lbs

push press
95 x 5
135 x 5
175 x 1
195 x 1
205 x 1

then, 1-10 method (no rest between sets, just the time of changing plates)

215 x 1
195 x 2
175 x 3
165 x 4
155 x 5
145 x 6
135 x 7
125 x 8
115 x 9
105 x 10

wod
3 rounds
10 x 95lb oh press
10 x pullups
10 x pushups
10 x snatch grip bent over rows
 
Friday 10/20/17

squats
95 x 10
135 x 7
175 x 5
205 x 3
225 x 1
245 x 1
265 x 1
272.5 x 1
280 x 4 singles

notes
the 280 was supposed to be a set of 3. First rep was way too shallow cause it was too painful on the lower back. second rep was closer. third rep was money. fourth rep felt great and I almost went for a double or triple, but then I was out of time. I probably had quite a few more reps in me. at that rate.

dapack said:
That push press drop sets looks like a killer
Click to expand...

It did the job!
 
row
3 x 500m

bench
10 x 95
7 x 135
5 x 185
3 x 215
1 x 235
4 x 245
4 x 245
3 x 245

weighted dips
10 x bw
10 x 45lbs
8 x 90lbs
5 x 90lbs
7 x 90lbs
15 x 45lbs

incline db press
3 x 12

wod
EMOTM - 10 Min
1 x 185lb power clean
7 x pull ups

notes
I'm sorta surprised I didn't get my 3x5 at 245 today, but I'll come back to that weight on my next session and try again. I'm making a bigger effort to do some heavier assistance work, such as the weighted dips. supplements seem to be on par, creatine is back in the system.

Also got a new inzer belt last night. It's not a lever, it's a single buckle.

I have one issue with my new belt though. my ideal setting for it is probably between two holes right now. I'm not sure what do do about that. I can't get the belt quite as tight as I want it. the tightest I can get it is a hair looser than I want. I'll keep practicing with it, but open to ideas if you have any!
 
they make really solid belts and my other other, lever kind, i had to start drill holes into it since i lost so much weight. that could be an option, though i don't know how well there regular belts are built.
 
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