Archives for workouts (page 28)

Tried close-grip inclines for the first time (i.e. with elbows tucked in). Used a fairly steep incline and felt a little weak, but a nice exercise it is.

Another first timer was face pulls. Did them in a lat pulley sitting down on the floor (on a step board actually, as the weights hit the top otherwise).

Think I set the box height correctly this time. Will need to start carrying a measuring tape to make sure the height is indeed consistent and at the height I state in this blog. I sure miss my own 13 inch box.

Watched Monday’s taped deadlift session. The reps did indeed look pretty much like stiff-legs owing to my adductor soreness; by the time the bar was halfway up my shin my legs had already finished their push and the lift from there was strictly lower back. Might go for another deadlift session next week to see what happens when I don’t have sore legs.

As I’m still waiting for a proper power rack I opted for doing floor presses in the powersmith. With a powersmith I am referring to a smith machine that has a bar that can also move sideways since the pipes along which the bar travels are also on a pipe at the top and the bottom. Consequently, it does not lock you into the straight up-and-down plane of motion a normal smith does. Hope you understand what I’m getting at; please e-mail me if you know the proper name for this kind of smith.

I don’t know how much the empty bar in the powersmith weighs. I guestimated it at 35 kg/77 lbs since it is basically a normal bar with heavy duty attachments that attaches it to the pipes. I guess it could also be 5 kg/11 lbs lighter or heavier. On the last set with 95 kg/210 lbs my training partner had his fingers on the bar, which might have contributed slightly. He is my training partner in the sense that we train together although using completely different routines (he bodybuilds, I powerlift); if he needs assistance with his sets I help him out and vice versa. It is indeed good to have a spotter handy and someone who can give instant feedback on my form. Not to mention someone who owns a video camera…

Once I got to the inclines I felt like breaking the mold a little and do a little heavier inclines to test my strength. After doing a triple with 70 kg/155 lbs I switched to singles. Got 75 kg, which is decent for me, although still a little short of my bodybuilding best.

Did a first short session on the Captains of Crush grippers I received yesterday. Cranked out as many as I got with the Trainer (45 kg/100 lb), next time I’ll see how many I get with the number one. Great grippers, with great handles.

My adductors were still killing me to the point were it didn’t feel very comfortable to squat down. My lower back felt great though, and since there was a video camera available I decided to go for a max deadlift anyway to establish a baseline (first attempt on Westside). The last lift stopped at 130 kg/287 lbs, which also coincided with my grip limit. I could have locked it out easily, but left it a few centimeters short as I preferred to put it down instead of dropping it (no, I don’t mind dropping bars, but this floor couldn’t have taken it very graciously). As usual, it was the left hand that went. Interesting how little the weight difference is to tip the scale: 120 kg/265 lbs was easy to hold on to, but 130 kg/287 lbs not. 140 kg/309 lbs got off the ground easily enough, but as it felt like I wouldn’t be able to lift it without rounding my back severely I let it go (don’t think it would have come anyway, and my back is too valuable to mess around with).

As for form, I will get back to that as soon as I’ve seen the tape. I can tell you this though: the red skin marks on the shins/quads that usually appear after deadlifting were absent. Think I pretty much tested my stiff-leg maximum off the floor.

Rounded off with partial deads off two benches, i.e. just under knee-height. 130 kg/287 lbs was a lot less than I expected, but then I was pretty fried after the deads. Capped off with the normal stuff. As the video camera slowed everything down I shaved off some sets to keep it roughly within 60 minutes.

Ouch! Last workout produced very sore adductors and biceps (the former might be evidence for the shrinking box theory, the latter stems from holding the rope in kneeling cable crunches). Deadlifting tomorrow with sore legs will be interesting, but since I got offered to get it videotaped it is a golden opportunity to get my form on tape.

The speed bench felt slow today. Perhaps it isn’t such a good idea to take complete weeks off; might try doing some light work on my off weeks to keep the mental and physical groove.

Had to cut the last two sets of pulldowns a little short as my grip couldn’t keep up. I find it hardest to hold on to parallel bars, with V-bars being the easiest. Started thinking about getting some chalk to at least avoid the extra sweat which surely doesn’t help. Ordered a couple of Captains of Crush grippers from ironmind.com last week which should help.

First workout after my rest week. Went fairly well, except that the box felt lower than normal. I might have rigged it differently this time around (plates under a stepboard is the current setup), or then I was just very sluggish and slow today. Ah well, good work all the same.

Started doing speed deads with lighter weights according to plan. Felt really light, almost like I was doing them with no resistance. Next ME SQ/DL day I will go for a single to see where I stand.

To get a closer look at what my left elbow is up to and my technique I had this workout videotaped. Something is definitively working as I did 10 kg/22 pounds more on the bench today compared to last time I went for a single a month ago.

I don’t know if I’m imagining things, but the benches felt a lot more explosive this time around. I worked up to a fairly easy 85 kg/188 pounds; it slowed down significantly nearing the lockout, but it was never a struggle. Still, after adding two tiny 1.25 kg/3 pound plates it did not go much anywhere anymore. Pretty much the same experience as last time that is. I have a feeling I might have nailed the 87.5 kg/193 pounds had I skipped the 85 kg/188 pound set, but that is just speculation. Some of the improvement probably stems from somewhat improved technique. How nasty my benching technique actually is will become clear as soon as I get my hands on a VCR player (we used an old analog recorder).

And now… a full week of well-deserved rest. Especially my hamstrings will be thankful. Contrary to what I expected, it is the hamstrings, not the erectors, which are having the most trouble recuperating between workouts.

This week my hams and erectors were in better shape than last week. Consequently, I did deeper reps and went heavier on the good mornings. A triple at 90 kg/199 pounds was about as much as I dared to do without a power rack. With Gold’s Gym Helsinki reopening in August, it looks like my rack needs will be satisfied in the near future.

Working at another gym than last week, I had to resort to doing pull-throughs with a stack of only 75 kg/165 pounds. The nasty silver lining was that the cable was plastic coated, and those are always stiffer at higher weights; went 15 kg/33 pounds lighter than last week for pretty much the same reps. I can see where the idea of plastic coated wires came from, but the loss of smoothness just doesn’t justify the lower noise levels. Most emphatically not.

Did 3x30 in ball crunches; time to add resistance next cycle. Ditto for the reverse-hypers as soon as I hit 3x30.

More reading material

Forgot to mention this earlier. The Eight Keys, Part II: A complete guide to maximum strength development by Dave Tate is out at T-mag. A really nice up-to-date introduction to the strength aspect of the Westside protocol. With as much authority as I can muster, I hereby declare it required reading.

Added 5 kg/11 pounds on the speed bench; still flying. Also added 5 kg to the pulldowns as they were really light last workout. Pretty light today too, but only had time for five reps before my grip failed me on the last set. Sounds like a job for Captains of Crush! Next cycle it will be revealed how much I can deadlift without straps.

Decided to go easy on the supplementary hamstring exercise to have my hams and erectors in good order for a heavy good morning session on Monday. After next week’s ME workouts I will take a full week off to give my body some extra rest and recharge my batteries for a new cycle. Since I plan to go for a deadlift max during the next cycle I reverted back to speed deadlifts. Ball crunches for 3x25; once I get to 3x30 I will start to add extra resistance.

Link department

Home made Reverse Hyper bench for power rack: The title says it all. Haven’t tried it, but a modified non-rack version would undoubtedly be a good addition to Toffe’s gym.