To Infinity.... and Beyond!

MrKleen73 said:
Sounds like a great day. Nice work on the 250x5 on bench. How did the pork butt come out? How long did you end up smoking it?
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yeah man I'm at a tough point here trying to figure out my next step forward on that 300lb hunt. I don't think sitting at 250 and adding reps like I did at 225 is the answer so I might be chasing 265-275 for reps here soon.

we ended up doing ribs on Sunday and then a Beef roast on Monday rather than the pork. But turned out fantastic but in my opinion cooked WAY too fast. Part of that might be the smoker as I pointed out but part of it is also my fault cause I spent the whole weekend finishing up my fence project (90% finished). we have a puppy coming next month so I wanted our yard to finally be fenced in. I had quotes for a chainlink fence at around $4k, and ended up doing it myself over about 6 weekends for around $1500. now that it's done and I do that math I think had the other folks done it, they would have landed closer to $5-6k because of the additional hardware, length, and gate that was needed. I'm super happy with it though! HOPEFULLY it will keep the deer out of the yard, and keep the dogs in. it doubles the size of our garden and if it does work for keeping out the deer we can enjoy some plants that we coudn't really enjoy before...
 
Dustin07 said:
yeah man I'm at a tough point here trying to figure out my next step forward on that 300lb hunt. I don't think sitting at 250 and adding reps like I did at 225 is the answer so I might be chasing 265-275 for reps here soon.

we ended up doing ribs on Sunday and then a Beef roast on Monday rather than the pork. But turned out fantastic but in my opinion cooked WAY too fast. Part of that might be the smoker as I pointed out but part of it is also my fault cause I spent the whole weekend finishing up my fence project (90% finished). we have a puppy coming next month so I wanted our yard to finally be fenced in. I had quotes for a chainlink fence at around $4k, and ended up doing it myself over about 6 weekends for around $1500. now that it's done and I do that math I think had the other folks done it, they would have landed closer to $5-6k because of the additional hardware, length, and gate that was needed. I'm super happy with it though! HOPEFULLY it will keep the deer out of the yard, and keep the dogs in. it doubles the size of our garden and if it does work for keeping out the deer we can enjoy some plants that we coudn't really enjoy before...
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It is always a great feeling when it's done and you can stand back look at an say "I Did That" Be Proud !!
 
Rocket3015 said:
It is always a great feeling when it's done and you can stand back look at an say "I Did That" Be Proud !!
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for sure. the past couple summers I've been so busy I haven't had any time with BIG projects since I built our covid chicken coop and painted the house back in 2020 (I roofed it after this pic)

This year I'm adding additional fencing around the coop to give our new chickens extra room to run (My wife picked up 11 for us this year, 2 of which we think are roosters that we'll get rid of)


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Dustin07 said:
for sure. the past couple summers I've been so busy I haven't had any time with BIG projects since I built our covid chicken coop and painted the house back in 2020 (I roofed it after this pic)

This year I'm adding additional fencing around the coop to give our new chickens extra room to run (My wife picked up 11 for us this year, 2 of which we think are roosters that we'll get rid of)


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2 of which we think are roosters that we'll get rid of

Chicken Soup !!!
 
Dustin07 said:
my wife has gone from "we can't kill our pets" to "I don't need to know what happens to them" 😅😅 so I'm thinking beer can chicken!
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If you eat a rooster you have officially had cokk in your mouth, so does that make you gay?
 
MrKleen73 said:
If you eat a rooster you have officially had cokk in your mouth, so does that make you gay?
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I had a consultation a few weeks back for the vasectomy and I unexpectedly was required to drop drawers and attend to a thorough groping to ensure I was anatomically viable for the procedure. I told my wife I was slightly relieved to find that I was not even a little bit gay but I didn't need the turtle to go completely into hiding either 😅😅😅😅
 
Bench
10 x 95
2 x 7 x 135
5 x 185
2 x 205, 225, 245
2 x 3 x 260
8 x 225

Skull crushers
3 x 12 x 60lb ez bar

SS with machine curls
4 sets

Hammer curls
10 x 40s, 45s, 50s

21s
3 sets

SS with rope tricep push downs
3 x 20

Finished the month at 190.X lbs so less than a lb from the 189lb goal but PRd squats and bench press this month with a ten lb drop. So I'm not unhappy.

Finished a 36+hr fast today at 8:30am and lifted at 11:30. Considered pushing the fast until tonight but wanted to get my lifts in today and tomorrow.
 
went in feeling a little deflated after my fast so I said after bench I want a bro sesh to fill out the arms. was not disappointed. couldn't get my button down dress shirt back on over my arms post workout 😅😅😅
 
Dustin07 said:
went in feeling a little deflated after my fast so I said after bench I want a bro sesh to fill out the arms. was not disappointed. couldn't get my button down dress shirt back on over my arms post workout 😅😅😅
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Now that is a great feeling!
 
dapack said:
Just got caught of on your log. Congrats on the squat PR!!!
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thanks man! I think you and I were on each others logs back in the day the first time I hit 300 finally. its taken me forever to make progress but finally I can say that the 350 didn't feel like it was crushing my spine. I just gotta keep some momentum!

it's still the weirdest thing to me to think that I could pick up 465 off the ground but that squatting is sooooo much harder
 
Dustin07 said:
thanks man! I think you and I were on each others logs back in the day the first time I hit 300 finally. its taken me forever to make progress but finally I can say that the 350 didn't feel like it was crushing my spine. I just gotta keep some momentum!

it's still the weirdest thing to me to think that I could pick up 465 off the ground but that squatting is sooooo much harder
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Is it that weird, if basically all raw lifters are this way?
 
Hyde said:
Is it that weird, if basically all raw lifters are this way?
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Na I get it, just hard to wrap my mind around. Seems like if I leaned my back against something and pushed with my feet as hard as possible I'd be stronger than yanking something from in front of me. Your numbers are a hell of a lot closer together though you have a monster squat
 
Dustin07 said:
Na I get it, just hard to wrap my mind around. Seems like if I leaned my back against something and pushed with my feet as hard as possible I'd be stronger than yanking something from in front of me. Your numbers are a hell of a lot closer together though you have a monster squat
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To be fair though, he has seasons where he pushes squats harder, then others where he pushes DL harder. You never back off of DL, and it takes away from your squat. If you want to rectify then lower volume a bit on DL, to maintain it, and increase your focus on squats and I bet the squat starts catching up.
 
MrKleen73 said:
To be fair though, he has seasons where he pushes squats harder, then others where he pushes DL harder. You never back off of DL, and it takes away from your squat. If you want to rectify then lower volume a bit on DL, to maintain it, and increase your focus on squats and I bet the squat starts catching up.
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That's so true. Lately my dl has suffered while squats grow
 
Nice work on the fence and chicken coop! Bench looking strong, progressing nicely.

also I had to chuckle catching up on comments, I have noticed that when you say your going to back off a lift or de load you go even harder the next few sessions and sometimes hit a PR 😂
 
Dustin07 said:
Na I get it, just hard to wrap my mind around. Seems like if I leaned my back against something and pushed with my feet as hard as possible I'd be stronger than yanking something from in front of me. Your numbers are a hell of a lot closer together though you have a monster squat
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Like Kleen said, that’s a product of training/intention. I am not built to be a squatter - I am built for the deadlift. But enough low back/bicep/grip issues have presented themselves over the years that I put my eggs in whatever basket made sense at the time.
 
Deads

10 x 135, 185
5 x 225

Off 2 plates
3 x 275, 315, 365, 405, 425

RDL
10 x 315

+ Green band
3 x 8 x 225

BB rows
10 x 135, 155, 175
30 x 95 (supinated)





Notes
Last few dl sessions have been too light, and have felt too heavy. So decided on a block pull day to make sure I could get heavy weight in my hands. I think 405 could have been 6-10 reps. 425 felt much heavier. Really wanted to get more work in today but tend to be more rushed when lifting with my buddy. I sorta had to force him into the rows lol he bailed when I switched to RDLs to go hit pec deck and leg extensions.

pic for reference of plate size

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Thinking of flipping my lower priority and instead of having a squat day + a DL day, having 2 DL days per week.
One light weight/speed and accessory work (like banded deficit DL etc) with front squats as an accessory and one heavy day. Either from the ground or blocks.

May led to a long awaited squat PR but at the demise of my DL. With deads in theory only being 35lbs away from my lifetime goal, I feel like I should double down there and focus on it some more.

Thinking of doing the same with Bench. I can't linearly progress every session twice a week, but I'm starting to feel the benefit of "practice" (like DE/Conjugate style) on that second day.
 
Cashing a PR is always great motivation !!
 
Rocket3015 said:
Cashing a PR is always great motivation !!
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It's super motivating and I had a few sessions in May where I felt super awkward all the sudden when picking up the bar. Like I couldn't get into good position, it seemed heavier than it should, my thoracic didn't want to stay in position it was just awkward. It really made me want to fix my focus and give DL all my love and attention.
 
It's funny we were just talking about why your DL stays higher than squats. Then bam! More DL specialization. ;)
 
Dustin07 said:
haha I think that was the motivation because my DL's always did stay higher and lately they've felt like a laggard so I felt the need to double down 😅
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It's likely either not specializing enough, or so much it got stale and needs a break or cut in volume. You will find out shortly which of the two it was.
 
Last night I dreamed I had a hell of a time with a bad bench session. I was at some new facility, sort of a seminar, sort of a training session. 245 on the bar but with safety pins at the mid way part of the lift, and so narrow my hands could barely grip the barbell without hitting the pins. Struggled, struggled, then got into a groove with great explosive paused reps off the pins (?) Lol

That's when I woke up, with the most worked feeling chest, shoulders and arms like I finished a 2hr hypertrophy session


I told my wife who knows, maybe with enough focus a person can think themselves into physical progress
 
Not a restful sleep, but a free workout. Lol There are times where the bodies natural sleep paralysis doesn't quite work right which results in movement and contractions during dreaming. You were likely actually flexing the hell out of your muscles from the stimulus of the dream.
 
Dustin07 said:
Thinking of flipping my lower priority and instead of having a squat day + a DL day, having 2 DL days per week.
One light weight/speed and accessory work (like banded deficit DL etc) with front squats as an accessory and one heavy day. Either from the ground or blocks.

May led to a long awaited squat PR but at the demise of my DL. With deads in theory only being 35lbs away from my lifetime goal, I feel like I should double down there and focus on it some more.

Thinking of doing the same with Bench. I can't linearly progress every session twice a week, but I'm starting to feel the benefit of "practice" (like DE/Conjugate style) on that second day.
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Proven method!
 
MrKleen73 said:
Not a restful sleep, but a free workout. Lol There are times where the bodies natural sleep paralysis doesn't quite work right which results in movement and contractions during dreaming. You were likely actually flexing the hell out of your muscles from the stimulus of the dream.
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Is this why I wake up with a calf cramp and go running thru the house at 2am ?
 
Warm up
DB curls, laterals, forwards, hammer curls

Bench
Wide grip
20 x bar
10 x 95, 135
3 x 155

+ Green band
3 x 155

+ Green band & red band
9 x 3 (wide grip, comp grip, close grip)

No band
3 x 155 (haha so weird)

DB bench
8 x 70s
6 x 80s
5 x 90s, 95s

Lat pull downs
4 sets

Hammer curls
3 x 10-13

Hammer strength seated dip
3 x 15

Note
Actually conjugate would call for like 120lbs on the 9 x 3 but I couldn't get myself to go that light.
 
Rocket3015 said:
Is this why I wake up with a calf cramp and go running thru the house at 2am ?
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Could be, or maybe one of your meds throws off electrolyte balance a bit.
 
I was a little worried that workout wouldn't be enough and contemplated adding some isolation work to shoulders, and pec deck hypertrophy but I'm actually feeling pretty worked.

I think next upper session I'll go SS to 1rm and see where we are if recovery is on par.
 
Deads
8 x 135, 185, 225
3 x 255

+ Green band
3 x 255

One plate deficit + green band
3 x 3 x 255

EMOTM - six rounds - 2 plate deficit, green band
3 x 255
6 rounds

No deficit + green band
8 x 315

Bb rows
3 x 10 x 135

DB shrugs
3 x 15 x 80s

Notes
Historically when doing bb rows I do not lower the bar to the ground in-between reps, lately I've been taking a lower position and touching each rep to the ground. The response I'm getting from that longer deeper rep is incredible.


Pic for 1 plate reference;



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Yep, that extra ROM will get you for sure.
 
MrKleen73 said:
Yep, that extra ROM will get you for sure.
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I'm really excited to see what happens with my little experiment over the coming weeks. Being able to go in a thrash a light weight day, then go in and smash a heavy day sounds like so much more fun than my usual grind. My plan weds is to go full slingshot singles on bench and nothing over like 225 ish raw. sounds like such a fun day
 
Yeah, that does sound enjoyable. I enjoyed doing it for a while doing one session per body part a week for strength and another hypertrophy based session. Enjoy it!
 
MrKleen73 said:
I enjoyed doing it for a while doing one session per body part a week for strength and another hypertrophy based session. Enjoy it!
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I think 99% that's what I'm sorta trying to accomplish. My only concern is that if my hypertrophy sessions are too taxing then it might defeat the purpose but after a week or three I'll know what's working and what's not I think. for strength sessions I'm thinking just balls out heavy and hang it up.

the more I lift, learn and progress the more over and over I believe that strength is a result of practice (yes many other things too), and if I don't practice heavy, I won't ever lift heavy. I realize that it can be over done but if I get really good at 225lbs it doesn't mean I'll ever put up 300+ you know? on the flip side trying to train linearly every week destroys my recovery. so always always trying to self modulate and find that balance. Sundays DE style bench session was a BLAST!
 
Dustin07 said:
I think 99% that's what I'm sorta trying to accomplish. My only concern is that if my hypertrophy sessions are too taxing then it might defeat the purpose but after a week or three I'll know what's working and what's not I think. for strength sessions I'm thinking just balls out heavy and hang it up.

the more I lift, learn and progress the more over and over I believe that strength is a result of practice (yes many other things too), and if I don't practice heavy, I won't ever lift heavy. I realize that it can be over done but if I get really good at 225lbs it doesn't mean I'll ever put up 300+ you know? on the flip side trying to train linearly every week destroys my recovery. so always always trying to self modulate and find that balance. Sundays DE style bench session was a BLAST!
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Both your ME and DE days should have a lot of hypertrophy work.

ME is work up on a variation that will transfer and let you strain, then you do a strength builder (3-5 sets of 3-6 reps), then it’s all bodybuilding at hopefully a good pace. Once you finish the strength builder, it’s about volume with good execution on the accessories. Nobody cares how much you facepull, so do them with good intent for reps.
 
Hyde said:
Both your ME and DE days should have a lot of hypertrophy work.
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That just isn't the vibe I really got from reading Dave's articles on it or the template programming, BUT it's music to my ears. as you know I like to hit around 5-6 movements effectively in a session if I can (easier with upper than lower IMO from an energy standpoint). But these were a couple theoretical ME upper days from Dave that I had pulled:

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I mean for an upper hypertrophy day I'd probably be doing the same set/rep scheme but would likely add at least one more tricep movement, a shoulder focus, and either a chest hypertrophy accessory like db press or pec deck for the extra squeeze.
 
Dustin07 said:
That just isn't the vibe I really got from reading Dave's articles on it or the template programming, BUT it's music to my ears. as you know I like to hit around 5-6 movements effectively in a session if I can (easier with upper than lower IMO from an energy standpoint). But these were a couple theoretical ME upper days from Dave that I had pulled:

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I mean for an upper hypertrophy day I'd probably be doing the same set/rep scheme but would likely add at least one more tricep movement, a shoulder focus, and either a chest hypertrophy accessory like db press or pec deck for the extra squeeze.
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The first one looks pretty accurate, besides missing a secondary strength movement, but the second one looks like about half of a session.

For one thing, consider that it’s individual to the athlete’s current ability and needs. If they have low work capacity, there will be less movements. If the movements are easier, you can & probably need to do more. If someone is cutting, you won’t need or be able to handle as much volume either.

Consider also that Westside as a system has changed a lot over the decades, Lou’s thoughts & methods changed some, and of course plenty of lifters didn’t do what Lou advertised/advocated. Greg Panora never did speed work on Saturday; he would do 5x5 volume work because he felt the extra comp muscle and strength work had better transfer. George Halbert used way more band tension than most people - it’s what worked for him.

The biggest thing to consider is to really really think for yourself, critically, about what you think would work best for you, and tweak as you go. You want to take principles and ideas and make them work for you, and throw out what doesn’t, because it’s about you getting results by any approach possible.
 
Hyde said:
Consider also that Westside as a system has changed a lot over the decades, Lou’s thoughts & methods changed some, and of course plenty of lifters didn’t do what Lou advertised/advocated. Greg Panora never did speed work on Saturday; he would do 5x5 volume work because he felt the extra comp muscle and strength work had better transfer. George Halbert used way more band tension than most people - it’s what worked for him.

The biggest thing to consider is to really really think for yourself, critically, about what you think would work best for you, and tweak as you go. You want to take principles and ideas and make them work for you, and throw out what doesn’t, because it’s about you getting results by any approach possible.
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after all these years of butting my head against various ceilings that definitely seems to be the end solution.
My biggest concern is doing too light of weight on an DE day, or too little of volume on an ME day so I'm watching both of those (although Sundays "DE" banded bench day, which seemed too light at 155lbs + double bands, ended up being fantastic).

I think I'm a believer in the twice a week per bodypart (or lift) approach to what we do. If I don't do it often enough, I feel out of practice and seem to lose some level of form. So the secret seems to be for me, balancing those two sessions. I wish I had explored conjugate more seriously before, but as it unfolds I'm seeing more and more that really piques my interest and makes me think.
 
Dustin07 said:
after all these years of butting my head against various ceilings that definitely seems to be the end solution.
My biggest concern is doing too light of weight on an DE day, or too little of volume on an ME day so I'm watching both of those (although Sundays "DE" banded bench day, which seemed too light at 155lbs + double bands, ended up being fantastic).

I think I'm a believer in the twice a week per bodypart (or lift) approach to what we do. If I don't do it often enough, I feel out of practice and seem to lose some level of form. So the secret seems to be for me, balancing those two sessions. I wish I had explored conjugate more seriously before, but as it unfolds I'm seeing more and more that really piques my interest and makes me think.
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Most people, self included, aren’t knowledgeable or experienced enough to properly implement a conjugate style approach and have any success with it in earlier years of training. It’s usually something that takes a lot of time investment tweaking and tuning, and you will go down some dead ends, but you’ll grow as a lifter along the way.

Modifications I’ve seen that people who have had raw success with it include less drastic variation from comp, not boxsquatting or certainly not avoiding comp stance free squats very long (maybe every other week on speed day, or alternating 3-wk waves with the box, etc), doing more triples and 5s on ME Upper day since the bench muscles need more volume and the neurological strain isn’t so high.

Again, that secondary strength movement every day is important to shore up weaknesses exposed over time on ME days.
 
Ended my 20:4 fasting day yesterday with a 2 mile Jog/Walk interval with my doggo. a few times we sprinted intervals just because the sun was blasting, the music was good, and I loved watching her open up her full gait beside me. Today, I could barely get out of bed lol.

But that cardio has a pretty serious effect on my bf% and I really should get more in while the irons hot and I'm enjoying it again (at some level). ordered some new Saucony's today. Mine are YEARS old since cardio has not been a factor for me in a very long time.

Broke the fast with burgers again, they've seriously been my food of choice lately
I also realized that ranch dressing has half the fat of mayo, which works great cause I like ranch more. So I douse that burger up with some ranch, siracha instead of ketchup, little mustard, relish, the fixin's and next thing I know my plate is an empty mess and my wife is only like 2 bites into her burger lol


Oh yeah we get back from our jog and I'm unloading a yard of playground chips for my wife's garden when my dog decides to HERD a squirrel across the yard into a trap I had for rabbits lol. She was quite proud.

hmm attachments don't seem to be working today

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BOO! the pics ain't working.
 
Bench
20 x bar
10 x 95
5 x 135
2 x 175, 205, 225

+ SS
1 x 245, 265, 285, 300, 315 (PR tie)
1 x 325 (PR)

Raw
11 x 225 (reps PR by 1 rep)
17 x 185
20 x 135

Seated incline db curls
4 sets
Holy cow these are awesome

Superset with
Pull ups
3 x 8

Tri rope pushdowns
3 x 20

Again, I hmm'd and hawed about how I wanted to follow up the heavy 1rm work.
I likely would have been wise to AMRAP or 3x3 something like 250 or 260lbs but pressed for time a bit lifting with my buddy I figured I'd drop weight, rep out, become a meme before my time since I'd likely ask him for lift off, spot, and consume more time if I did heavier sets.

all that said, I feel like it was a great session, arms are thoroughly worked. PR'd slingshot bench, PR'd raw bench at 225, and those incline db curls lit up my biceps like crazy which I've been really searching for.



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