Tossing Weight With Torobestia: Powerlifting Log

[PaulBlack]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, it was nice to hit a PR so soon into my training. But this does make me want to go back to the drawing board and readjust my %s for my deadlift. More specifically, I clearly forgot how much lower wieght I use for deficit pulls when I designed the cycle, or at least the day I went to lift this. I might use this %s for block pulls and the first week's % for deficits. That should work out better.

Might be a good point dude.
I got stuck and ran into a wall a few months ago starting my 2" defs to heavy by using a % number from floor work. Ooops

 

[Torobestia]

Some nice pressin there.
I hope to get up that high some day, im no expert but form looked good in the vids looked as thou u could have done a few more

Thanks man. Well one of the things Wendler is a stickler for is training with good form and not going to failure on work sets for the main lifts. It's sort of a new thing for me, as I like toting the line rather than saving a rep or 2 in the tank, but I'll tell you it's a great thing I did yesterday because otherwise my real work set of 270 would have sucked if I had gone ham with 240.

270x8 is pretty solid toro.

Great work...

Thanks man. I got all excited when I was repping that 240, thinking I had gotten 12 out of that. But 8 ain't bad, especially not for a 5/3/1 week.

Don't you just hate when people you really count on don't come through and spike your nutrition with DS?

Yeah, but on the bright side my liver gets to live another day (I know, exaggeration).

Might be a good point dude.
I got stuck and ran into a wall a few months ago starting my 2" defs to heavy by using a % number from floor work. Ooops

Haha yeah, that sucks. I definitely don't want that to happen to me either.

 

[Torobestia]

09/24/13

SQUAT 5/3/1

Super squat hip mobility pre, PVC upper and lower back, lats, ITB and adductors, hamstrings, LXC upper body.

SQUAT
145-5
235-4
285-5
325-3
365-6
285-8,8,8

SPEED DEADLIFTS
370-12x1 <-- 20 seconds between singles

RUSSIAN KNEE CURL
BW-5,5,4,2,3

Called it a day after this. Subbed GHR for Russian Knee Curls because honestly these feel like comparing a 700lb bench to a bodyweight pushup. There's no comparison, one is clearly on a different level than the other. Plus I figure, if I'm doing 60lbs on the GHR with a sub 500 squat, it's time to do something different.

The squat was not great today. I hit depth, and I was tight on the way down, but my knee kept bugging me throughout all of my squatting. This is from the hill sprints I did yesterday. At my top working set with 365, I subconsciously tried to squat in a way to not aggravate my knee/the muscles around my knee and lost my balance twice. Thus, I ended it at 6 reps even though I had 8 in me. I have video of most or all of my squatting today, but I dont feel like spending bandwidth to upload it. It was ugly, but it was to depth. Deadlifts were great, russian knee curls were great, but I got some really bad cramping in my glutes, I suspect around my piriformis, so I stopped the session and skipped abs. I'll try to do them tomorrow.

 

[Torobestia]

Video from my last squat:
[video=youtube;aF9rAjeQL7g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF9rAjeQL7g[/video]

As I said, I was not on my A game in part because I did hill sprints for the first time in forever the day before. But one thing I didn't mention was that I went back to a setup I was experimenting with before. Having read the article here http://www.jtstrong.com/articles/2013/09/04/squat-101/ I wanted to give this setup one more shot. I didn't like the execution, and to be frank I think it's totally pointless at this stage to try to fool around with this without a coach with expertise on raw squatting who can give me real time feedback. So for now, I will stick with my ribcage-flared, arched lower back, sitting-back squat.

-----


In other news ....

09/26/13

OHP 5/3/1

PVC upper and lower back, lats, LXC upper body, band dislocations, band pushdowns 2x15, facepulls 1x20, pushups 2x10 (having a hard time warming up left side of body recently)

BALLISTIC BENCH (pause 1" off chest)
95-3
135-3
185-3
215-4x3 <-- 45 seconds between sets including setup time

OHP
115-5
130-3
145-5
115-15

PULLUPS superset BAND FACEPULLS
BW-5x10
red bands-5x20

GIANT SET: DB SCAPTIONS, EZ CURLS, BAND PUSHDOWNS, DECLINE CABLE FLIES
30-4x12
110-4x12
high, wide choked average band-4x12
80-4x12

Crazy day today. Had some crazy GI problems mid-workout, first with the sensation I was about to experience diarrhea, then after a productive bathroom break with the sensation of nausea. Perhaps that preworkout cottage cheese actually got bad sitting in my backpack all day for the first time ever? Who knows. But other than that, happy with my workout and with my progress on the OHP.

 

[Torobestia]

Ugh, I just realized that I actually lean too forward when I squat like that. I'm actually destroying my leverage by leaning forward. Silly.

I don't know how I'd be able to avoid that. I kind of think that in my head I'm still stuck between styles instead of doing it strictly like CWS suggests.

Also, looks like I wasn't fully locked into position before I began my first rep. I was leaning so far forward.

 

[jimbuick]

Ugh, I just realized that I actually lean too forward when I squat like that. I'm actually destroying my leverage by leaning forward. Silly.

I don't know how I'd be able to avoid that. I kind of think that in my head I'm still stuck between styles instead of doing it strictly like CWS suggests.

Also, looks like I wasn't fully locked into position before I began my first rep. I was leaning so far forward.

It might've been the distance but they looked shallow too.

 

[Torobestia]

It might've been the distance but they looked shallow too.

Some of them were a bit shallow.

I've always had somewhat of an issue hitting depth and is something I'm always looking out for. It's actually hard for me to hit it properly even without weight on my back. I do my mobility work so I'm not sure what else I can do other than work on my form or positioning throughout the movement.

 

[Duramaxhd]

I have the same problem, I blame it on my big thighs from when I was fat seems my calves hit my thighs early but im sure u dont have that problem ive been really trying stretch a lot at work at home basically squat down as far as I can and push my knees out seems to be helping

 

[Torobestia]

I have the same problem, I blame it on my big thighs from when I was fat seems my calves hit my thighs early but im sure u dont have that problem ive been really trying stretch a lot at work at home basically squat down as far as I can and push my knees out seems to be helping

I'm having a hard time figuring out my problem. A couple of guys at my gym noted how my hips seem to rise before my chest does. That's at least 1 thing I need to work on, among other things.

 

[Torobestia]

09/27/13

DEADLIFT 5/3/1

Super squat hip mobility pre, PVC ITB, SMR adductors, PVC upper and lower back, lats, LXC upper body, band dislocations 2-3x10

DEADLIFT
135-3
225-3
315-3
405-2
455-1
495-1
535-3 <-- +10lb PR, cleaner than my last triple, too
395-4x4

SPEED PAUSE SQUATS
265-6x2 <-- 45 seconds between sets

SSB GOODMORNINGS
285-5x8 <-- brutal sets, last 2 sets knees unbuckled now and then causing me to semi-squat a total of 3-4 reps

STRAIGHTARM CABLE AB CRUNCHES
100-5x10

[video=youtube;kLhiQ0q7J0M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLhiQ0q7J0M&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Another decent session. Pretty happy with my deadlift. I might try to experiment at least once with deadlifting and not doing the thing I do with my hips. I like to do this, though, because even though my back looks like it's in a slightly suboptimal position my hips feel really strong and secure out of the hole. When I first started doing it back in April/June it was night and day how my hips felt. As I said, I'll think about it.

 

[PaulBlack]

09/27/13

DEADLIFT
535-3 <-- +10lb PR, cleaner than my last triple, too

Big pulls there guy...! Strong low back pullin'
Oly shoes!? Do you feel you get better leverages from them and or do you switch to a flatter shoe going to a single max?
I pull almost exclusively in shoes with about a 1/2" heel, but switch to an Adidas flat wrestling shoe for a true max.

 

[Torobestia]

Big pulls there guy...! Strong low back pullin'
Oly shoes!? Do you feel you get better leverages from them and or do you switch to a flatter shoe going to a single max?
I pull almost exclusively in shoes with about a 1/2" heel, but switch to an Adidas flat wrestling shoe for a true max.

I only started training in the oly shoes in June. I got them for my squat, and since some federations say you have to wear that same shoe throughout the three events I decided to start training the deadlift in them. I will say though that since I started pulling in them I've cleaned up my form and corrected APV in my deadlift which has made my lockout so much stronger. Whether that's related to the shoe or because all the mobility work I've been doing started showing itself in my deadlift, I don't know.

 

[Torobestia]

09/29/13

BENCH 5s

PVC upper and lower back, SMR lower back with peanut and PVC, PVC lats, LXC upper body, band dislocations, band pushdowns 2x15, facepulls 1x20, pushup 2x10

BENCH
135-5
185-5
205-5
235-5
270-8
295-1 <-- slow
315-1 <-- very slow

FLOOR PRESS
265-4,4

CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS
205-15

BENT OVER BB ROWS superset BAND PULLAPARTS
245-5x15
red bands-5x20

ROLLING DB EXTENSIONS superset HAMMER CURLS superset BAND FACEPULLS
50-3x15
50-3x15
red bands-3x20

[video=youtube;3QFYYEVGcew]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QFYYEVGcew&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Well, I'd say this session was average to good, a B. It's more if I include lessons learned.

Right now, I've lost explosive power on the bench. When I go to rep out like I do on the bench, my bar speed drops, and it just becomes very hard to apply a whole lot of force to the bar and develop compensatory acceleration. This makes a bit of sense because traditional 5/3/1 wants you to hit rep records to build strength, instead of apply more and more force as the bar weight is lighter and lighter.

Well, if I want to develop this skill, and I do, I need to switch off this program. This can mean moving on to the advanced 5/3/1 for instance, or the beyond 5/3/1, or a whole other program altogether. All of these ideas sound good, and I may do so after a full 1 or 2 cycles of 5/3/1. The other thing is taking joker sets after rep sets both sucks and doesn't make sense. IF I do jokers I think I'll do the jokers first, then drop and do rep records. This would allow for PAP from heavy work to make the lighter weights feel lighter and maybe help with my explosive power.

That's all for reflections right now. Ass came up a bit on the bench, but I think that was compensation for not being able to stay as tight as I normally do due to the crazy DOMS in my lower back, which feels almost 100% now FWIW.

 

[Duramaxhd]

Could u work on explosiveness on lighter sets thats what somewhat do on sets working from heavy to light I try to put them up as fast as I can since I know I cant with heavier stuff not sure it that's not right thou

 

[Sean1332]

Technically, every rep should be explosive/fast as possible. You cant move heavy weight purposely slow. The issue with AMRAP sets, is that your bar speed begins to deteriorate on that one set. With the Advanced 5/3/1 template, there's no AMRAP set and you work off one single percentage for 5 sets. It's loosely based off of Pripelin's Chart, which was a Russian study of Olympic lifters. It says at XX%, at (x)reps x (x)sets, you'll maintain optimal bar speed/form and will be more conducive for strength gains.

That's not saying that the original 5/3/1 AMRAP set does not work. It still does.

 

[jimbuick]

Technically, every rep should be explosive/fast as possible. You cant move heavy weight purposely slow. The issue with AMRAP sets, is that your bar speed begins to deteriorate on that one set. With the Advanced 5/3/1 template, there's no AMRAP set and you work off one single percentage for 5 sets. It's loosely based off of Pripelin's Chart, which was a Russian study of Olympic lifters. It says at XX%, at (x)reps x (x)sets, you'll maintain optimal bar speed/form and will be more conducive for strength gains.

That's not saying that the original 5/3/1 AMRAP set does not work. It still does.

When I do DE work I plan to loosely follow Prilepins chart.

 

[herderdude]

If maximal force is applied to submaximal weight, there's no way you're going to set a rep record. Rep records are set by putting the minimum amount of effort necessary into each rep. TUT and force production both have their place, but the original 5/3/1 seems to miss out on the force production aspect entirely, except for your first two sets of the main movement when you can afford to blast the weight. I think you've made an eye-opening (for this guy) and important discovery Toro.

 

[Sean1332]

Toro, you also mentioned Joker sets after AMRAP sets. I think those should really be saved for 3's and 1's week, like Wendler's 3/5/1 Strength template. No AMRAP then go for heavy ****.

 

[Duramaxhd]

My question is how can it miss out on producing force? to me I have press it with max effort drive not sure how to explain it is that not producing force? with something approaching max weight I would think it would never move as fast as u would like it too or were u saying that u were losing speed across all weights?

Not trying to be smart this is a ligit questions I have

 

[herderdude]

My question is how can it miss out on producing force? to me I have press it with max effort drive not sure how to explain it is that not producing force? with something approaching max weight I would think it would never move as fast as u would like it too or were u saying that u were losing speed across all weights?

Not trying to be smart this is a ligit questions I have

If you're using true max force on your 5/3/1 sets, you're not going to set a rep record, your body will fatigue after five or six reps and you'll be done with your set with no rep record. If you truly go all out on each and every rep, you can't follow the program as written. Not possible.

5/3/1 is a great program, it even works for many competitive strength athletes. But it doesn't work for all of them.

 

[Torobestia]

Could u work on explosiveness on lighter sets thats what somewhat do on sets working from heavy to light I try to put them up as fast as I can since I know I cant with heavier stuff not sure it that's not right thou

I do, but that's insufficient for me. That's the right way to warm up, but the issue is that I dont do that with my last AMRAP set because then technically every time I'd do that I'd only be good for 1-5 reps and the program would look pretty weird at that point.

Toro, you also mentioned Joker sets after AMRAP sets. I think those should really be saved for 3's and 1's week, like Wendler's 3/5/1 Strength template. No AMRAP then go for heavy ****.

Yeah, when I jump on the advanced template I'm definitely going to do that, heh. I did want to get in a 315 this week just to acclimate myself to 90% lifts again.

My question is how can it miss out on producing force? to me I have press it with max effort drive not sure how to explain it is that not producing force? with something approaching max weight I would think it would never move as fast as u would like it too or were u saying that u were losing speed across all weights?

See below

If you're using true max force on your 5/3/1 sets, you're not going to set a rep record, your body will fatigue after five or six reps and you'll be done with your set with no rep record. If you truly go all out on each and every rep, you can't follow the program as written. Not possible.

Yes, exactly. This is the issue, and for me I'm at the point with my strength (at least on the bench and deadlift) where power is of extreme importance.

I dont feel bad about doing this version of 5/3/1 though because it's certainly a nice break from what I was doing before. But moving forward, after this cycle I'll go on the advanced and give that a shot. And if I want to do the beyond program I'll do it; if not, then whatever.

 

[PaulBlack]

Yes, exactly. This is the issue, and for me I'm at the point with my strength (at least on the bench and deadlift) where power is of extreme importance.

I dont feel bad about doing this version of 5/3/1 though because it's certainly a nice break from what I was doing before. But moving forward, after this cycle I'll go on the advanced and give that a shot. And if I want to do the beyond program I'll do it; if not, then whatever.

I think too, pausing has a lot to do with your AMRAP ability. If I keep constant tension on a lift, (like T&G deads or no pause BP's and squats) I can always get more reps and don't necessarily need the extra force enlisted at start for say speed/dynamics of even certain lighter weights.

 

[Duramaxhd]

I guess I still have a lot learn any recommendations for a book on this subject so I can understand a little better

 

[Sean1332]

Elite FTS and Juggernaut Training websites have a massive amount of articles to read.

Here's a decent one on CAT
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/compensatory-acceleration-training-maximizing-each-rep-each-set/

 

[herderdude]

I guess I still have a lot learn any recommendations for a book on this subject so I can understand a little better

Westside barbell dot com, like Sean said with Juggernaut and EFS, powerlifting stickies here and bb dot com, and such. You'll understand it soon enough, it just takes a little time to take it all in. Last year at this time, I had nowhere near the book knowledge I do now. Then, it's about getting the knowledge that actually matters: under the bar.

 

[Torobestia]

Elite FTS and Juggernaut Training websites have a massive amount of articles to read.

Here's a decent one on CAT
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/compensatory-acceleration-training-maximizing-each-rep-each-set/

Yeah, Josh Bryant is definitely a great resource on CAT. Dr. Hatfield / Dr. Squat still has some good articles somewhere on the internet about it as well, though most of the stuff I find these days is on programming more than anything.

 

[rob112]

Damn, I didn't realize you started a new log until now. Definitely in!

 

[Torobestia]

Damn, I didn't realize you started a new log until now. Definitely in!

Thanks, and welcome, Rob.

 

[Torobestia]

Man, there are no words to describe my utter frustration with squatting now. I hate squat days so much I almost want to give up powerlifting again. I can't stand this ****ing yo-yoing with my squat max. It doesnt happen for any of my other lifts so why in hell does it do so for my squat?

Anyways, here's todays workout. More below

10/01/13

SQUAT 5s

Mobility stuff.

SQUAT
145-5
235-5
285-5
325-5
365-5
400-1

REVERSE BAND SQUATS
400-5
440-3

RUSSIAN KNEE CURL
BW-7, 7 rest pause 3 (+1 assisted) rest pause 1 (+1 assisted)

HANGING V-UPS
BW-3x15

This 400lb squat sucked ****. Even though it was fast on film the bar felt so absolutely heavy on my back it was crazy. It also felt like hell coming back up with it. After working out for almost 4 years I still have no idea what drives my squat. General volume clearly makes me lose all my gains on my squat, and maxing all the time doesn't do anything. I am sort of at a loss here. I'm just going to give up 5/3/1 for my squat today and do more or less what I did for today, which is more higher intensity squats, more squat variations, and less straight bar, straight weight squats. Because clearly just squatting is doing nothing for my squat. RB squats felt alright.

I have videos for the 365 squat and 440 reverse band squat. The angle for the 440 RB squat is really bad and it looks like I'm doing a side lunge with it, lol. Anyways, I'll post them when they upload.

 

[napalm]

The above post sounds like a man that needs some time off. Take a week toro, do some reading and look at some film. The answer to what drives your squat is out there...

 

[jimbuick]

When was your last deload?

 

[Torobestia]

Last deload was about 3.5 weeks ago. And I feel pretty good otherwise, and in the gym deadlifts and benching is going well, so I dont think I'm due for a deload.

 

[herderdude]

You hit two deadlift PRs two weeks in a row. I would say it's a natural thing that your squat is suffering a little at the moment. If it was fast on film, then it WAS fast, it might have felt heavy because it's the first time you've had it on your back in awhile. My squats are the same way. I could barely walk out 425 one day and a month later I smashed the life out of 465. Don't panic, it's not meet day yet.

 

[Torobestia]

You hit two deadlift PRs two weeks in a row. I would say it's a natural thing that your squat is suffering a little at the moment. If it was fast on film, then it WAS fast, it might have felt heavy because it's the first time you've had it on your back in awhile. My squats are the same way. I could barely walk out 425 one day and a month later I smashed the life out of 465. Don't panic, it's not meet day yet.

You're totally on point. Sorry for not responding earlier when I first read this last night, but thanks. The message made me feel better.

 

[Torobestia]

10/03/13

OHP 5s (I can't keep straight what I'm calling this day, speed bench or ohp day, whatever)

PVC upper and lower back, lats, band dislocations, band pushdowns 2x15, facepulls 1x20

FLOOR PRESS
135-10 slow for blood flow, 3 explosive
185-6x3 <-- 45 seconds between sets

OHP
100-5
115-5
130-8 <-- having a problem leaning back 7th rep, hard to remember to engage abs
100-15

PRONE PULLUPS superset BAND FACEPULLS
BW(260)-5x8
red bands-5x20

GIANT SET: LATERAL RAISES, EZ CURLS, BAND PUSHDOWNS, CABLE DECLINE FLIES
20-4x20
95-4x15
high choked average band-4x20
75-4x15

Man, I love these days. It's a lot of fun doing the whole upper body gig. Kind of reminds me of DC training.

 

[PaulBlack]

Just adding in big guy...

130-8 <-- having a problem leaning back 7th rep, hard to remember to engage abs

Have you tried pushing your head thru at lockout?
Got a cue from an oly guy on another board and this did help my finish-L/O.

Glad you are having fun too, good motivation...!

 

[Torobestia]

Just adding in big guy...


Have you tried pushing your head thru at lockout?
Got a cue from an oly guy on another board and this did help my finish-L/O.

Glad you are having fun too, good motivation...!

Thanks, Paul. Well I push my head at lockout. The back thing became an issue at the beginning of the rep, as I pressed the weight off my chest. I leaned back. It's no issue in terms of damage but I'd like to fix this to make sure it doesn't become an issue later.

 

[Torobestia]

Here's video from my squatting the other day. It has my second and third working set on the squat, followed by the 400# and last reverse band squat with 440. Sorry, the angle on the 440 is atrocious. And yes that's parallel/below - it's just that my big ass makes it look like it's part of my hip and that I'm way above. Some of the other squats earlier, though, are high.

[video=youtube;K4XT4xGKPRM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4XT4xGKPRM&feature=youtu.be[/video]

My immediate impression is that I'm leaning over way too forward, causing the bar to be above the ball of my foot instead of the center or over my heel. There might be a slight angle to the video but I think this is in fact happening. This of course is a disadvantageous position, like a JM press compared to a close grip bench press. I need to work to fix this. On the other hand, and I have vids, today, during my speed squats, I ducked my feet out more than normal (I usually hold mine at about 10 degrees out). Oh my goodness, reaching depth was so easy with this. I may shoot myself if this is the key to squatting for me; yet I'm very happy at the same time if this turns out to be the case.

 

[Sean1332]

Hopefully that's the case for you. Just watch out for any possible knee cave by externally rotating your feet out more.

You're definetly leaning forwards too much. Your hips stop in the hole and your chest keeps going down. Like you said, hopefully that's the fix you needed.

How tall are you, you bigolsunofabich. just curious

 

[Torobestia]

Hopefully that's the case for you. Just watch out for any possible knee cave by externally rotating your feet out more.

You're definetly leaning forwards too much. Your hips stop in the hole and your chest keeps going down. Like you said, hopefully that's the fix you needed.

How tall are you, you bigolsunofabich. just curious

I may consider also either squatting with the SSB more or squatting with a band attached to a KB in front of me such that it pulls me down towards the floor. It may help to combat this forward lean. And/or, I may tie a band to the back of the rack and attach it to my hips, and maybe that'll help me learn to use/load the hips better because right now it's like I dont trust my hips and so I load the lower back?

 

[Torobestia]

10/04/13

DEADLIFTS 5s

PVC upper and lower back, lats, ITB and adductors. Limber 11. LXC upper body<-- winded and sweaty bere, wtf

2" BLOCK PULLS
135-1
225-3
315-3
405-1
455-1
505-3 <-- +15lb PR 1 or 2 left in tank

CAT DEADLIFTS
355-4x4

SPEED SSB SQUATS (PAUSE IN HOLE)
280-8x2 <--45 sec rest between sets

SSB SUSPENDED GMS
250-12,12,12,10,10

STRAIGHTBAR STRAIGHTARM AB CURNCH
75-15
85-4X15

[video=youtube;BUIZELYbl2g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUIZELYbl2g&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

[Sean1332]

Another deadlift PR??? I like how you roll!

 

[bolt10]

Nice deadlifts. I grabbed some mats to cut up yesterday so I can finally do some elevated deads.

 

[rob112]

Another deadlift PR??? I like how you roll!

X2

And all those pause squats...looks like a brutal session

 

[PaulBlack]

Another deadlift PR??? I like how you roll!

Yessir strong El Toro
Hook gripping them too. I have tried those, as I do think pulling with both hands over, gives you a tad of an edge. (Peoples always pulled with a hook grip)
My thumbs just get a bit eaten up doing reps with those. Maybe I should just rinse the sand from my pink lace panties and just stick with them a bit longer and break my thumb bones in more!?!?

 

[Torobestia]

Another deadlift PR??? I like how you roll!

Thanks man, felt pretty good. And surprisingly zero DOMS. Didn't even need to do stretching or a feeder workout. I simply felt fresh after. I did lose 4lbs though, so I will make that up again this week.

Nice deadlifts. I grabbed some mats to cut up yesterday so I can finally do some elevated deads.

Nice man. As I may have mentioned somewhere making the transition to varying my pulls between block pulls, deficits, and floor deadlifts has been great. It's also kind of fun, too, and you can hit lots of PRs (more exercises, more chances to PR), which never hurts one's ego.

X2

And all those pause squats...looks like a brutal session

Yeah it was pretty brutal at the time. Every set after squats of either GMs or abs I felt like quitting but pushed forth.

Yessir strong El Toro
Hook gripping them too. I have tried those, as I do think pulling with both hands over, gives you a tad of an edge. (Peoples always pulled with a hook grip)
My thumbs just get a bit eaten up doing reps with those. Maybe I should just rinse the sand from my pink lace panties and just stick with them a bit longer and break my thumb bones in more!?!?

Hook grip is definitely the way to go. I can pull with an over under, and sometimes I do that depending on my fatigue, but it helps with alignment. You have to be really conscious of how your body is positioned with an over under grip or else you can creating imbalances. This is actually what led me to quitting using an over under grip. I got up to deadlifting 500 at some point in time, and when I did I realized my lats were way disproportionate. Now they're about symmetrical.

Dude, just work up to as heavy as you can with the hook grip, then change it up as necessary. Eventually you'll get there. I don't know if you ever deadlifted with straps (I did), but I had to make a transition with that, too. Same thing here. You should do it.

 

[Torobestia]

10/06/13

BENCH 3S

PVC upper and lower back, lats, ITBs (was feeling stiff yesterday from deadlifts/GMs), LXC upper body, band dislocations, band pushdowns 2x15, facepulls 1x20

BENCH, PAUSE LAST REP
135-5
185-5
225-3
250-3
285-1
300-1
315-2
285-6 <-- PR

FLOOR PRESS
265-6,6,6

CGBP (done with 40lb bar)
220-14

BENT OVER BB ROWS superset BAND FACEPULLS
265-5x12
red bands-5x20

ROLLING DB EXTENSIONS superset HAMMER CURLS superset BAND FACEPULLS
55-12,12,12,10
55-12,12,12,12
red bands-15,15,15,10

[video=youtube;O36FkRBSjYw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O36FkRBSjYw&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Man, what a stellar session today. Everything felt great, had some good pumps. Workout did take a really long time, though. Between warming up, chatting with some folks at the gym, and finding spots, I was there for about 3h. Woops.

 

[herderdude]

That is quite the excellent session, Toro. 285x6 after all that pressin? Amazing. The video isn't on mobile for whatever reason.

 

[Torobestia]

That is quite the excellent session, Toro. 285x6 after all that pressin? Amazing. The video isn't on mobile for whatever reason.

Thanks, herder. Btw, I made my post before the vid was uploaded. Should be good now.

 

[Sean1332]

Good stuff Toro