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Tossing Weight With Torobestia: Powerlifting Log

I think napalm is in the lead for winning the prize for correctly diagnosing my shoulder condition...

Anyways, bullheaded me went to the gym today to finish the workout that was supposed to happen on Friday. However, I was at least smart enough to both not do floor presses and to get rid of OHP. I also think that in addition to the floor press, OHP may have contributed to my shoulder impingement. It was always an issue, and it only went away/got better when I completely ditched the exercise. I'll put it back in rotation after not this deload, but my next, and see if it gets bad again. If it does, then it's out - FOREVER.

10/18/13

SPEED BENCH 531

Upper body mobility stuff

FLOOR PRESS
135-5,3 explosive
185-3
235-2x3
225-2x3
added slingshot
225-3
275-1
315-1 <-- very fast
shut down because of shoulder


10/20/13

SPEED BENCH 531... CONTINUED!

PVC upper and lower back, lats, LXC upper body, band dislocations, band pushdowns, facepulls

FEET ELEVATED PIN PRESS
135-5
185-5
225-3
added slingshot
275-1
315-1
345-1
365-1 <-- fast but a little hard
385-0 <-- stapled, wouldn't budge, lol
Deloaded weight on pins each rep. Called the exercise here due to aggravated shoulder on Friday/Saturday

HIGH INCLINE DB BENCH
65-10
90-6
Mechanical Dropset: 90x7 drop bench x2 drop bench x6
Second setting aggravated shoulder a tad

PRONE PULLUPS superset BAND FACEPULLS
BW-12,10,10,10,10
red band-5x20

GIANT SET: DB LATERAL RAISE, EZ CURLS, SLANTED-BAR PUSHDOWNS, CABLE DECLINE FLIES
30-15,14,14,12
105-10,10,10,8
85+26lb chain-10,10,10,8
80-10,10,8,8

Felt pretty pumped and huge after this (physically, as well as mentally). So glad I felt good during the workout. Bodes well for my training.
 
10/21/13

DEADLIFT 531

PVC upper and lower back, lats, ITB and adductor, LXC upper body and glutes, rocking frog stretch, hip circles x10 forward/backward

DEADLIFT
225-4 <-- bar was already loaded, no need to start with 135 lol
315-4
405-2
455-1
495-1
565-2 <-- +15lb PR

CAT DEADLIFTS
410-4x4

SSB SPEED SQUATS (narrow, paused in hole)
330-6x2 <-- hard as hell, got better as I progressed

SSB SUSPENDED GOODMORNINGS (as a reminder, I almost always do GMs suspended)
295-8,5,7 <-- second set problem with belt, and it just felt heavy as hell, third set looked great

[video=youtube;4Z8xRtUmbGU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z8xRtUmbGU[/video]
Forgot to use my new bracing technique on almost all my deadlifts working up to and including my 565, so in spite of this form still didn't look totally trashy.

I wanted to do 5 sets of goodmornings, but I had this ****ing awful experience on my way home today. Small town, I live close to work, and yet my 10 minute ride back on the shuttle took 45 minutes today because this guy decided to take this ****ty way back. Accident, traffic, and no way to back out and go a different direction, etc. Anyways, I got to the gym pretty late, around 715, so that combined with fatigue and combined with me not wanting to be there until 10pm made me cut the GMs short. Still got some good work in, overall. I almost didn't do them again - glad I did.
 
Monster pulls! And GMs! And a very focused training partner, too.
 
herderdude said:
Monster pulls! And GMs! And a very focused training partner, too.
Click to expand...

Haha, his name is Alex. We make a good team, despite never actually doing the same exercises.

My head was doing stupid things things while I was deadlifting. I need to work on keeping that neck packed and just pushing my head back into my neck almost instead of just lifting my head up like that.
 
10/23/13

DELOAD UPPER

PVC upper and lower back, SMR lower back, PVC lats. Band dislocations. Doggcrapp dislocations with pvc pipe (50 reps)

DB BENCH
50-10
75-25 (PR)

INCLINE DB BENCH
70-18

SEATED OVERHEAD PRESS
60-18

LATBAR TRICEP PUSHDOWNS (pause at contraction) superset SEATED DB CLEANS
80-14,14,14
25-15,15,15

SEATED CABLE ROWS (2x D-handles)
200-15,15 <-- really aggravated my sore front delt, I dont think this is a good sign...

Pumps!
 
10/25/13

SQUAT DELOAD

Lower body mobility stuff

SQUATS
135-5
185-5
225-5
275-5,5,14 <-- could have gone for more but I already had done 3 that looked like good mornings

That's it, lol.
 
Nice work in here, man.

Great pulls earlier, looked strong...plus training partner shenanigans. :D
 
Swanson52 said:
Nice work in here, man.

Great pulls earlier, looked strong...plus training partner shenanigans. :D
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Thanks man. Yeah that guy, alex, is quite a character.
napalm said:
Awesome, 14 w 275, great work toro...
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rob112 said:
I did a little throw up burp in my mouth and swallowed it back
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napalm said:
You kids and your volume, no habla...
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Thanks guys. Well the plan is that next week I'd like to add some volume to my squatting program in the form of both front squats/ssb squats and some unilateral work (I have a pretty clear imbalance in my hip strength again, and that put me out of squatting a year ago). Hopefully that'll help add some lbs to that sucker and break 5 bills.
 
Hoooge fickin pullin' Toro
Hey, remember how Bruce Willis was great in Die Hard, but truthfully, Alan Rickman (as Hans) stole the show out from under him.
Well the #565 x2 was great, but that fricking dance of your buddies stole the show...!
 
PaulBlack said:
Hoooge fickin pullin' Toro
Hey, remember how Bruce Willis was great in Die Hard, but truthfully, Alan Rickman (as Hans) stole the show out from under him.
Well the #565 x2 was great, but that fricking dance of your buddies stole the show...!
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Haha, I know. He thought I was going to edit that out, too. How could he think that!?

BTW, some really aggravating problems have surfaced up with my left shoulder recently. It went from only having sharp pain during certain movements like internally rotating my arm to being in pain at all times, now. I had an arthroscopic procedure/MRI done yesterday, so I hope to hear back from the doc in the next couple of days what's going on with the shoulder. In the meantime I'll be doing very little activity as anything seems to really bug it out. I'll start doing a lot more weightless upper back work at home to try and work on all those external rotators in case I have an impingement.

Once the doc comes back with a diagnosis I'll have a better idea with what I'm working with.
 
Doctor called back a little while ago. She said my MRIs showed that the tissues of my shoulder joint are fine and healthy (no tears) and that fluid had infiltrated my bursa. So following some advil + HC shot, I should be good to get back to being stupid with the weights. Hooray!
 
Nice to hear that man. :cool:


Get healthy and get back at it.
 
bolt10 said:
Nice to hear that man. :cool:


Get healthy and get back at it.
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Thanks man. I couldn't wait until tomorrow to squat, so I squatted today.

10/30/13

SQUATS REP 1

PVC upper and lower back, lats, ITB, adductors, LXC glutes, bent knee iron cross, rocking frog stretch, hip circles 10 forward/10 backward, cossack squats. I really like this warmup. Only thing I think I might have to start doing are piriformis stretches

SSB SQUATS
135-5
225-5
315-8,8,8 <-- I took vids for this, upper back collapsing for a couple reps second set, a few reps in third set

SSB PAUSE SQUATS
290-10,10,10

Both performed with my new narrow stance

RUSSIAN KNEE CURLS
1,5, 7+1 rest paused 3+1 rest paused 1+1 assisted
Had some trouble with my hamstrings and calves cramping first few attempts, lol

LUNGES
BW-15,15

My everything felt pretty wrecked after this. Squat work capacity is pretty low, so I'm glad I'm making an effort to bring it up now. I think in the future I'll play around with less reps/set on rep day and more sets/rep with short rest intervals. I tried to front squat, but there was literally zero I could do to have the bar sit where it needs to sit on my shoulders. I even tried with a PVC pipe and my arms literally straight in front of me, and the bar was still forward on my front delts. Real weird. So that's an exercise I can't do in the immediate future, although I could do them with the harness I suppose. We'll see. May not be worth the effort without proper coaching etc.
 
Sean1332 said:
So how is the new stance?
Click to expand...

Hard to say without putting some weight on the bar. The first few reps looked real solid, though. Calves feel like the little bitches they are ... maybe i'll put on a little size there, too.

Also, I hit a PR of sorts ... I weighed in at 269 today, lol.
 
Torobestia said:
Hard to say without putting some weight on the bar. The first few reps looked real solid, though. Calves feel like the little bitches they are ... maybe i'll put on a little size there, too. Also, I hit a PR of sorts ... I weighed in at 269 today, lol.
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Damn big man! I like it haha
 
Thanks, guys.

Well, today I went to the doc and got my cortisone shot.

Before, we sat down and spoke again about my MRI results. As I had mentioned, she mentioned that besides the bursitis all the other surrounding tissues appeared healthy and presented without even inflammation. I asked what she thought caused this, and she said that overhead activities cause bursitis especially without other symptoms.

So that's that, boys. I thought I had made a good decision before to nix standing OHP. It looks like I was right. Goodbye, OHP.
 
It seems like it's a structural thing with people. Can press, cannot press. Some people can press indefinitely with no issues, others can ruin themselves in less than a month doing it.
 
herderdude said:
It seems like it's a structural thing with people. Can press, cannot press. Some people can press indefinitely with no issues, others can ruin themselves in less than a month doing it.
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Yeah and what is funny to me, is the people who can flat BP or dip, but cannot OHP or PP. Even when I tore my cuff, I could OHP while rehabbing BP's.
 
Good news is it is overhead press and not bench. Great news is your shoulder will be alright.
 
PaulBlack said:
Yeah and what is funny to me, is the people who can flat BP or dip, but cannot OHP or PP. Even when I tore my cuff, I could OHP while rehabbing BP's.
Click to expand...

Agreed, when I get lazy with ohp and chins my shoulders begin to hurt. They are what keep my healty at my advanced age.
 
rob112 said:
Good news is it is overhead press and not bench. Great news is your shoulder will be alright.
Click to expand...
Yeah, definitely.

Well, I was looking at some vids by Eric Cressey as well as one of his latest books. It looks like he is saying I am in gross overextension, which is actually kind of funny considering my height and the fact I've spent most of my life sitting. You'd expect my problem would be more kyphotic, not hyperlordotic. But I fit all the symptoms - big arch in my lower back at all times, my scapula is depressed, and my shoulders always sit well behind my neck/head (don't you guys remember my complaints about not being able to front squat?)

It is very likely this has contributed to my recent problems, especially since I dont have 10 years of strengthening the shoulder and stuff like that before I got into powerlifting. So I will definitely make a more concerted effort to address this.

This vid doesn't have anything about assessing if you're in lordosis or kyphosis, but it has how to treat various problems causing hyperextended posture:
[video=youtube;fsEXmf1pzXA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsEXmf1pzXA#t=500[/video]
 
Squat vid from last training session
[video=youtube;psSIQxx-JDI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psSIQxx-JDI&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
That looked freaking brutal.
 
herderdude said:
That looked freaking brutal.
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Haha, it was a bit tough. I also suck squatting with that bar and always want to pull the handles into me rather than push them away from me.
 
11/02/13

DEADLIFT 5s

PVC upper and lower back, lats, ITB, adductors (not as sore because of day before), LXC glutes, upper body, rocking frog stretch, hip circles 10x forward/backward, bent knee iron cross

2" BLOCK PULLS
225-4
315-4
405-1 <-- heard a pop in my hamstring, hamstring was sore. But aint nobody got time for hamstring cramps.
475-3
515-2
555-1 <-- +15lb PR

CAT DEADLIFTS
365-4x4

Tons of foam rolling, rumble rolling, stretching, and this little torture device thing rolled by my hands across my hamstring. I managed to get to here and decided to stop and let the hamstring do its thing.

I have video of the last 2 block pulls. I had video of the first set of 475x3, but I found out Android isn't a full-proof OS and does some really stupid **** without safeguards (like if you are scrolling through videos and you drag a video "up," it gets deleted just like that, lol).

You'll see me wincing in the videos like I never have with deadlifts - that's just because of the hamstring pain, not because of anything else.

[video=youtube;H9yV2ekEORw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9yV2ekEORw&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Awesome work man. I can see you grinded that last bad boy out! Strong pulls.
 
Man awesome pulls!
 
Thanks guys. Pulling from the 2" block is really hard for me, much harder than from the floor. So I'm happy with it - it looked better than my 540 pull 2 weeks before my meet. A little bit of the struggle was due to pulling through the pain, but I managed.

11/03/13

DEADLIFTS 5s CONTINUED

No mobility work today, felt loose

SSB SPEED SQUATS
280-8x2 <-- narrow, paused. 30s between sets. Felt real good today, much less upper back rounding

SSB SUSPENDED GMs
260-4x10

This agitated the hamstring but not to the extent it was agitated yesterday. So I'd call it a success.
 
Torobestia said:
Haha, it was a bit tough. I also suck squatting with that bar and always want to pull the handles into me rather than push them away from me.
Click to expand...

That's gotta be just a natural reaction for back tightness and keeping the COG. I always pull down on that sucker hard. I actually pushed up on the handles today because of what I saw in your video. Curse you for that.
 
herderdude said:
That's gotta be just a natural reaction for back tightness and keeping the COG. I always pull down on that sucker hard. I actually pushed up on the handles today because of what I saw in your video. Curse you for that.
Click to expand...

What's COG mean? Yeah, I agree about pulling the handles. I mean it's like I'm trying to row, and rowing engages the lats, and you want to engage the lats in a squat to stabilize yourself. Also, it's a little bit like how you break a barbell over your back when squatting - you pull the barbell down.

I think the problem is that by pulling the handles down, because of the way the bar is constructed and where it sits on your body, that force is also pulling your upper back downwards in the same direction so it's counter productive. Plus I hope that pushing the bar up will actually help to drill me to both initiate the squat from the hole with my back (not legs) and to also push my elbows forward, something I haven't been able to do at all even on my good days this year.
 
COG should be Center of Gravity. :)

I always say this (lol) but I think with my next pay check I will actually buy a Safety Squat Bar. :cool:
 
bolt10 said:
COG should be Center of Gravity. :)

I always say this (lol) but I think with my next pay check I will actually buy a Safety Squat Bar. :cool:
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Ah, thanks for the clarification.

Well damn, if you have commitment problems just put it on the credit card and pay off the bill with your next check ;)
 
I always assumed that pushing upwards on the handles defeats the purpose of the SSB, since it pushes the pad lower on the upper back. I don't necessarily pull down on the handles, but I keep the pad high on my back. If anything, I pull outwards on the handles. Get lat activation and it still keeps the bar up high.
 
Sean1332 said:
I always assumed that pushing upwards on the handles defeats the purpose of the SSB, since it pushes the pad lower on the upper back. I don't necessarily pull down on the handles, but I keep the pad high on my back. If anything, I pull outwards on the handles. Get lat activation and it still keeps the bar up high.
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The bar doesn't move on my back when I push. I do wonder if it's a little counterproductive. All I can say though is that pulling it down was retarded of me and didn't help any.

What exactly do you mean you pulled the handles outwards?
 
Sean1332 said:
I always assumed that pushing upwards on the handles defeats the purpose of the SSB, since it pushes the pad lower on the upper back. I don't necessarily pull down on the handles, but I keep the pad high on my back. If anything, I pull outwards on the handles. Get lat activation and it still keeps the bar up high.
Click to expand...

Interesting...I also push up on SSB squats as i do Back squats too as per CWS(on the back squats). Maybe I'll try without.
 
Yeah, I pull down for tightness, but I like Sean's idea of pulling out on the handles for tightness, because I have definitely been bowed over from the SSB on more than one occasion.
 
So I decided to give the bench a shot today. Mixed results!

11/04/13

BENCH

PVC upper and lower back, SMR lower back, hips, LXC upper body, band dislocations, band pushdowns, facepulls.

BENCH, PAUSE LAST REP
135-8
185-5
225-3
255-3
285-3
300-3
315-1+1 <-- both hamstrings cramped up real bad, prob from yesterday's goodmornings and the pulled hammie
added slingshot
335-3 <-- felt like the set of 300 @ rpe 8

MEDIUM GRIP BENCH, PAUSE 1" FROM CHEST
275-5,5,5

CGBP
210-0 <-- shoulder was screaming here, didn't even put in 1lb of force when the pain set to prevent further injury

BENT OVER BB ROWS superset band pullaparts
255-5x14
red bands-5x20

That's all. It was late and I was out of groceries and needed to make it to the grocery store before it closed. Stupid, lazy ****s closed 10 minutes early. I'll do a short arm workout tomorrow.
 
Did some arm work on Tuesday. A great deal of challenging skullcrushers, hammer curls, facepulls, YTWs, and pushdowns with chains (accommodating resistance)

11/07/13

SQUAT DE1

PVC upper and lower back, ITB, adductors, LXC upper body, band stretch lat x 45s, PNF chest stretch x 35s, LXC glutes, rocking frog stretch, hip circles x10 f/b, bent knee iron cross

SSB SPEED SQUATS
290-8x2 <-- 30s between sets
pause on first rep no pause second rep -> makes for excellent speed and form for the 2nd rep

REVERSE BAND SSB SQUATS (doubled minis)
335-1 <-- way easy
425-3
475-3 <--- was like RPE 8.5 but third rep totally collapsed my upper back. Good speed still

SSB PAUSE SQUATS
290-3x8 <-- first two sets real good, third set was garbage after 4th rep.

RUSSIAN KNEE CURLS
BW-1 <-- stupid hamstring/calf cramp
BW-9 rest-pause 3+2 rest-pause 1+1 = 13 rest paused + 3 assisted

LUNGES
20-15,15

Everything felt so good today. Form felt good. Tablet died so I didn't take any film of my lifts. Happy with today. Glad I skipped working out yesterday, lol.

So, I'm having some real problems all of a sudden recur with pain under my knee. I asked the doc about it last week and she said it was likely hamstring tightness. I agree with this assessment. I need to do a lot more hamstring stretching on my off days to hopefully deal with this. It could become a serious problem. FWIW this is in the opposite hamstring from the one I dinked on Saturday.
 
11/08/13

SPEED BENCH 1

PVC upper and lower back, SMR thoracic spine, LXC upper body, PNF chest stretch, band lat stretch, band dislocations

CGBP (+100lb bands)
bar-3
95-3
135-3
185-6x1 <-- 40 sec rest between singles
Lots of nerve pain from shoulder to bicep to forearm to hand even, but I didn't let it interfere with my form or speed. Worked out well

3-BOARD BENCH (normal grip)
185-8 <-- shoulder felt like ****, so I stopped

DB FLOOR PRESS
95-12,12

PULLUPS superset TRIPLE THREATS
+20-5x6
red through black band-5x10 <-- such a huge TUT I couldnt do more than 10

DB SCAPTIONS superset EZ CURLS superset SLANT-BAR PUSHDOWNS
25-15,15,15
95-15,15,15
85-20,20,20

Great workout and had some good fun today. The pain in the shoulder is definitely improving. Instead of feeling muscular it feels much more nerve. I think that's an improvement, personally. The extra stretching I am doing I think is helping out. I definitely need to be more diligent with my lat stretching as that's a huge problem area for me anyways. I think the chest stretches are good, too, and dont seem to affect performance. I'll still try and keep them mostly to off days or hours before I lift.
 
that's a hell of a session toro, have you tried joint help?

i swear as much as i recommend this stuff iforce should be paying me...
 
napalm said:
that's a hell of a session toro, have you tried joint help?

i swear as much as i recommend this stuff iforce should be paying me...
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I dunno if you meet iForce's post count requirements, napalm. Not even close. When you start recommending joint help in cycle advice threads, then you'll be in like Flynn.
 
herderdude said:
I dunno if you meet iForce's post count requirements, napalm. Not even close. When you start recommending joint help in cycle advice threads, then you'll be in like Flynn.
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LOL!
 
herderdude said:
I dunno if you meet iForce's post count requirements, napalm. Not even close. When you start recommending joint help in cycle advice threads, then you'll be in like Flynn.
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Lol, I'm on trt and have never done a cycle, so I'm not sure you'd want cycle advice from me!

I peek into those threads once in a while and have no idea what those kids are talking about.

I'm not sure they do either...
 
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