Cliff's Log Discussion

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:50 am

stuward wrote:Anytime you resume training after a layoff you're going to experience that. You body retains most of the strength that it had before but it's deconditioned. This means that it's not used to doing work so you are going to have pain even with loads that seem light. That's why you should always increase loads and volumes gradually. The important thing is to not get discouraged and stop training. Do something on a frequent basis. As a rule of thumb, try to get a squat, push and pull every 3 days at a minimum even if it's a light body weight exercise. That's why I put one of each in my daily warmup.

Thanks Stu,

This is another reason why I opted more for a Full body workout this time around. Squatting or a single leg workout only once a week was way to painful for me (DOMS Wise). When I was previously, doing Starting strength, my body conditioned itself to the work and the DOMS weren't so bad.

Also, I'm not discouraged and want to quit. I am discouraged that I allowed myself to be out of the gym for so long and become this deconditioned, but that is life and it just got in the way of working out.

Often times, I think I just need to get at bar and some weights at home. Even without a bench, I could still do some of my workout.

Cliff

Post by **stuward** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:03 pm

A chin up bar is essential. Squats and presses you can use body weight.

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:17 pm

stuward wrote:A chin up bar is essential. Squats and presses you can use body weight.

I think I will be either buying one or making one very soon. I definetely need to work on chins and upper back strength.

I wish I could keep moving more today instead of sitting in front of this Computer screen..

Cliff

Post by **Jungledoc** » Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:53 am

I think what you've laid out is fine. Wendler says on a 2 day per week schedule to do press and DL one day, bench and squat the other. I think that would be hard with BBB for both lifts, but maybe do only one of them for the BBB. So maybe DL 5/3/1 followed by press 5/3/1 followed by DL 5x10. Then throw in some sort of pull to round it out. Next time bench 5/3/1 followed by squat 5/3/1 followed by bench 5x10 and then another pull. Maybe the next week you could switch and do DL and squat for your 5x10. Just thinkin.

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Wed Jun 09, 2010 8:57 am

Jungledoc wrote:I think what you've laid out is fine. Wendler says on a 2 day per week schedule to do press and DL one day, bench and squat the other. I think that would be hard with BBB for both lifts, but maybe do only one of them for the BBB. So maybe DL 5/3/1 followed by press 5/3/1 followed by DL 5x10. Then throw in some sort of pull to round it out. Next time bench 5/3/1 followed by squat 5/3/1 followed by bench 5x10 and then another pull. Maybe the next week you could switch and do DL and squat for your 5x10. Just thinkin.

I've been looking for Wendler's 2 day template, but can't find it on elitefts.com . I've seen him reference that it's in his logs, but must be failing at my search methods. Any chance you have a link to it?

Any thoughts on the "Possible" Third day if using his 2 day template? Should it be a lighter rep day, or a just the next 531 day?

I must say that adding the full 5x10 of squats is proving to be quite difficult. Especially since I've never squatted for reps. I've always had a lot of lifting respect for Erick (nygmen) but doing 20rep heavy squats is just amazing. I know it's about conditioning, and I know I don't have it yet..

Cliff

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 8:27 am

"Deadlift Notes:
I need to work on getting properly setup for consecutive reps. The first rep at each weight feels good, but the following reps aren't as good. Pretty sure it's just a routine thing, not a strength problem."

Seen this and thought I would offer some input. It's quite a common problem. What I cue is a re-set after every rep. When the bar hits the floor, use the bar to pull your chest up and arch hard, dig the heels in, take a breath and rip it up again. Then repeat.

So you get into the habbit of 'pulling yourself into position' after every rep.

Hope that helps.

KPj

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:29 pm

Thanks, I'll give it a shot. If that doesn't work, I just need to keep tweaking until I can find what does work. Obviously, the problem in form/setup seems to be irregardless of the amount of weight on the bar.

I tend to overthink things while at the gym also. This could be part of the problem. I think I'm doing something wrong or it's heavy, therefore I do it wrong, or the weight is heavy.

Cliff

KPj · Post by **KPj** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 4:10 am

It's good to have little routines when you're setting up weights. If you make your set up 'routine' then it'll become habbit and you won't need to think about it. For example on DL I stand up to the bar, shins pretty much touching. First I make sure i'm in the middle of the bar and not more to on side, then make sure my feet are how I want them. Then I shove my hips back - no knee bend - and grab the bar. Then I take a big breath and hold. Then I pull my chest up and arch hard and kind of 'fall back' a little - the knees bend forward at this point and touch the bar. This gets me in the optimal position to pull and also takes the tension out of the bar. Then I rip it up.

I don't need to think about the above. I've done it so much that I can't really lift without doing it but it's also just habbit. I used to think about this far too much until I realised how much time I spent down at the bar getting things right. So I made it a point of getting through things quicker - that's when I put a lot more thought into my set up(s).

In general I don't think people take their set up seriously enough. As well as getting all the right joints in all the right places, for me, it also acts as mental preperation for it. People I train with think I never psyche myself up. Truth is, my set up is my psyche up. I can literally feel my heart racing as I a go through my set up.

KPj

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 2:16 pm

School (daughter and wife), Softball, T-ball (my oldest daughter), have all led to me not making it to the gym. I don't see any of those items changing in the near future, so I picked up some used equipment to setup a small area at the house to workout after everyone goes to bed (Girls are all in bed by 9:00 each night.)

As I posted in the Random thoughts post.

I picked up some used (and slightly abused) equipment the other day. Gotta repair and modify it a bit for use.

Items:
Powerhouse Club 1950 Bench and attached rack (Incline, Decline, Flat)
CAP Barbell
Misc Weights (2x45 2x25 4x10 2x10) not all matched pairs , might be more, my memory isn't that great.

Not the best equipment, but the price was decent, even needing some repair and modifications.

Plans:
Convert Bench to free standing (nearly done)

Raise the Rack ~8" so that I can also use it for Squats.

Build some Safety bars which are adjustable for Bench and Squat.

Now for the down side...

When working out in my garage, I do not have enough overhead room for standing overhead work. Other than the Core Stability work, what else is lost with a seated overhead press?

I will likely need to grab some more plates soon. Obviously will need a pair of 2.5's for Bench and overhead work, but not sure whether to get some 45's, 35's, or 25's for DL and Squat work?

Keeping in mind my previous PR's are as follows, what plates would I get the most benefit from at first.
Previous PR's
Squat ~190
DL ~215
Flat Bench ~135

My DL 1RM should get to my max weight fairly quickly, followed by my squat 1rm, or at least I hope it does..

Cliff

Post by **Jungledoc** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 3:58 pm

Cliff, I don't think that seated shoulder presses are a big compromise, but if you're working out in the garage, why not just open the garage door and step outside when you want to do presses?

I'd just keep my eyes open on Craig's List for another pair of 45s. It'll make loading easier on DL and soon on squats.

pdellorto · Post by **pdellorto** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 7:30 pm

Maybe you can press while kneeling tall? I've yet to see someone do it, but it might be a fun experiment. I'd be ready to toss the weight away hard if it starts to go, though, if you don't have a rack to press in.

Just thinking crazy thoughts here. :)

Also, I'm with Doc - keep an eye out for more 45s. I scan craigslist like once a week at least to try to snag some. That's how I got the extra 6 I picked up recently.

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 8:12 pm

Doc,
Pressing outside is an option weather permitting.

Doc and Peter,
Craigslist is my friend and is actually where I found my current equipment. With some patience, I'll find some 45's and who knows what else.

Peter,
Kneeling presses sound down right nasty.. could be an interseting experiment for sure. What do you consider a "Tall Kneel".

Cliff

pdellorto · Post by **pdellorto** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 8:58 am

On both knees, up as tall as you can get.

wilburburns · Post by **wilburburns** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:19 pm

I think I'm going to do 5/3/1 for all my lifts and not try for more linear progression with my Squats.

Plan is the basic ABCD
A: Squat
B: Bench Press
C: Deadlift
D: Overhead Press (Seated while it's Cold and I have to stay in the garage)

I'm not sure on the accessories yet though.

I really like doing RDL's for some reason and I'm sure they will be an accessory to my DL's, but is there any reason I should not do them on Squat day and DL Day.

My thought is to rotate between the following in Squat days.
RDL's (As mentioned, I'll likely do these a lot)
Squats
Split Squats
Step Ups

Upper Body Pulling????
Should I only add this in on Pressing Days, or should I add some Chins, Pullups, or Rows in at the end of the 2 leg days also?

Cliff

Post by **Jungledoc** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:26 pm

wilburburns wrote:Sinlge Legged Cable Squat to Row
2 x 10

That has me curious!

Great idea on the 5/3/1!

Yeah, I agree that you need to put some effort into getting enough pulling. I feel like I should do some pulling that is heavy, and not just accessory. I have sometimes put in weighted pull-ups, and treated it as a big lift, even doing a 5/3/1 progression for a while. Most recently I've been doing pull-ups and chin-ups in 2 of my 3 days, 5 even sets with the last set to near-failure. In the past I did chins on press days, rows on bench days.