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Maximum Gazhole

Gazhole

Gazhole

SHRUG LIKE YOU MEAN IT
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IML Gear Cream!
I haven't been updating my old journal very much for some reason, and since my goals have changed quite a lot since i started that (way back in 2006!!!) i thought i'd start a brand new journal.

Right now my stats and PRs are:

Weight = 84kg / 185lbs
Height = 5'10"

Squat (x3) = 130kg / 286lbs
Bench Press (x1) = 110kg / 242lbs
Deadlifts (x5) = 150kg / 330lbs

These are just the weights that i have recorded at some time or another so im not sure how they relate to my current ability. I will be testing my 3rms for all three of the main lifts on wednesday so these will get updated and put on a level footing pretty soon.

Right now my goals are to compete at some sort of regional level powerlifting competition (raw), and maybe the british grip strength competition in 6-12 months.

From my current numbers there is a lot of work to be done! Not to say i'm not happy with what im lifting right now, but they're not at any sort of competition level.

Any advice/experiences anybody can give me regarding these goals will be welcomed immensely.

Had my first session back thismorning after some flu illness this last fortnight, so will post that in a few minutes! Lets do it!
 
Hang Clean & Press:
5 x 60kg / 132lbs
5 x 62.5kg / 137.5lbs
5 x 65kg / 143lbs

Single Arm Overhead DB Press:
5 x 30kg / 66lbs
5 x 32.5kg / 71.5lbs
5 x 35kg / 77lbs

One Handed Deadlifts:
5 x 60kg / 132lbs - Left
5 x 60kg / 132lbs - Right
5 x 80kg / 176lbs - Left
5 x 80kg / 176lbs - Right

Rack Pulls (Knee Height):
3 x 160kg / 352lbs
3 x 170kg / 374lbs
3 x 180kg / 396lbs

DB Static Holds:
30sec x 50kg / 110lbs
30sec x 50kg / 110lbs
20sec x 50kg / 110lbs
20sec x 50kg / 110lbs

***

Cleaning is getting better, the bar is moving a lot quicker and my form is smoothing out nicely. Shoulder press was slightly weak today. One hand deadlifts are awkward as shit with a barbell, will be investing in a loading pin soon. Rack pulls were tough but the grip held out for the most part. Static holds finished it off :p.
 
work out looks killer, i cheat on the rack pulls and use wraps!

any way hope things are going well and good luck with your new goal.
gotta have those to keep the desire up.
 
Maximum Gax? I'm not sure I can handle more of you...
 
the other half said:
work out looks killer, i cheat on the rack pulls and use wraps!

any way hope things are going well and good luck with your new goal.
gotta have those to keep the desire up.
Click to expand...

Thanks dude :)

My goals have been really scattered lately, and my training has suffered from me jumping ship from program to program. Hopefully i can stick to this one from now on, i need to force myself to focus on the one thing, haha.
 
T_man said:
Shoulder might have been slightly weak for you, but it's really impressive. My shoulders lack strength :(
Click to expand...

Thanks dude :).

I cant recommend one arm DB shoulder press enough for building pressing strength. A lot of overhead pressing is transferring force through the stability of your body, and because those are really un-even it helps a tonne. If you do them with your heels together you have to drop the weight a lot, but it works this aspect even more.

Give them a go!
 
Squats:
5 x 100kg / 220lbs
5 x 115kg / 253lbs
3 x 125kg / 275lbs
2 x 135 / 297lbs - Fail
3 x 130kg / 286lbs - Old PR

BB Bench Press:
5 x 60kg / 132lbs
5 x 80kg / 176lbs
3 x 100kg / 220lbs
3 x 110kg / 242lbs - PR

Deadlifts:
5 x 100kg / 220lbs
5 x 120kg / 264lbs
3 x 150kg / 330lbs
3 x 160kg / 352lbs - PR

DB Preacher Curls:
10 x 15kg / 33lbs
10 x 15kg / 33lbs

Blob Toss:
20 x 11.75kg / 25.85lbs
20 x 11.75kg / 25.85lbs
20 x 11.75kg / 25.85lbs
20 x 11.75kg / 25.85lbs

***

So squats were a little disappointing, as i failed on my target weight for today. Think i need to re-plan my warmup for those and start a little lighter. Will try 135kg for 3 again next week.

Bench press was great, considering i hardly ever use barbells anymore. 110kg was my previous 1RM so im really happy with that. It was pretty damned heavy so won't be trying to beat it next time.

Deadlifts were even better, the warmups were easy enough to give me a lot of energy for the heavy sets. May even go down to 140kg for the first triple, and try for 165-170kg next week, as the weight just flew up today. Deadlifts are really going well lately.
 
IML Gear Cream!
OKay I'll try them Gaz. What do you recommend for getting chest strength up? My bench press has stalled and I cant seem to go past this barrier I've been at for months. All my other lifts have gone up tremendously but my bench (which was previously my best) has stayed stagnant.
 
T_man said:
OKay I'll try them Gaz. What do you recommend for getting chest strength up? My bench press has stalled and I cant seem to go past this barrier I've been at for months. All my other lifts have gone up tremendously but my bench (which was previously my best) has stayed stagnant.
Click to expand...

Obviously, i don't know what your program looks like, but here are a few suggestions. I would stop barbell benching for the most part, and switch to either dumbells or incline for a while.

A good technique is doing a 'rack press' or 'dead bench', in which you lie on a bench in a power rack and set the pins as close to your chest as possible, but still allow about an inch of space between your chest and the bar (so if you dropped it onto the pins, you'd be fine).

Load up the bar but rest it on the pins. This shouldn't be too heavy. Now bench it from the bottom of the movement, off the pins, through a full range of motion. After every rep, lower it back onto the pins so you are taking none of the weight, pause, then do the next one.

You could implement a set or two of rack press as a warm-up, then do your heavier chest sets with dumbells or incline, or alternate dumbells/incline and rack press from session to session and go slightly heavier on the racks. The rack press will really strengthen your pressing because you are taking elastic recoil and momentum completely out of the equation.

However you go about it, laying off barbell benching for a while is the best idea.
 
Is that like the technique where you go really heavy first (like 95% of 1 rep max 2 or 3 times as a warmup) then when you go lighter to around your 70-80% to do more reps, it feels lighter? But I'll definately try the rack presses. I'm doing inclines now, I never used to do them much before, so maybe thats why.
 
Two Hand Pinch Holds:
15sec x 55kg / 121lbs
14sec x 50kg / 110lbs
12sec x 50kg / 110lbs
15sec x 45kg / 99lbs

Middle Finger Deadlifts:
6 x 50kg / 110lbs
6 x 50kg / 110lbs
6 x 50kg / 110lbs

Plate Curls:
15 x 5kg / 11lbs
15 x 5kg / 11lbs
15 x 5kg / 11lbs

Plate 360's:
50 x 1.25kg / 2.75lbs (CW)
50 x 1.25kg / 2.75lbs (CCW)
20 x 2.5kg / 5.5lbs (10CW, 10CCW)

***

Grip-only session today, and my forearms, wrists, and fingers are absolutely done in, haha. It hurts to squeeze my gatorade bottle right now! Pinch grip felt good, first set was heavy. Middle finger deads are regular deadlifts, but the only things gripping the bar are the middle fingers on each hand. Plate curls are just curls holding a plate in a pinch style without letting your wrist bend back. Plate 360's are done by holding a plate between your index and middle fingers and revolving them as you would a pen or pencil.

Tough stuff, will be doing two grip-only sessions a week from now on, in hopes of training up for grip competitions.
 
I tried this "dead Press" thing you outlined yesterday just for the hell of it.
Not an easy task to move that weight from that spot. I can see how this could help because thats the sticking point. I loaded the bar with about 80% of my typical bench weight but couldn't move it from the pins more than 4 times. Pretty neat technique.
 
FMJ said:
I tried this "dead Press" thing you outlined yesterday just for the hell of it.
Not an easy task to move that weight from that spot. I can see how this could help because thats the sticking point. I loaded the bar with about 80% of my typical bench weight but couldn't move it from the pins more than 4 times. Pretty neat technique.
Click to expand...

Awesome :) glad you enjoyed it!

I find exactly the same thing as you when i do that lift. The weight just does not want to move. I did a max attempt before and it took me a good ten seconds to get the bar moving at all, haha.

It definitely helps with stability and strength in the bottom of the movement, and is a good tool in getting a stronger bench press. The two areas most people have trouble with are the very bottom and the lockout.

I have a few tips for the lockout if anybody is interested.
 
Nice Journal :thumb: I'll try to get around more often.. I've been really bad about posting lately
 
Gazhole said:
Middle finger deads are regular deadlifts, but the only things gripping the bar are the middle fingers on each hand.
Click to expand...

Good idea. It's important to have a strong middle finger. :evil:
 
katt said:
Nice Journal :thumb: I'll try to get around more often.. I've been really bad about posting lately
Click to expand...

Lol, thanks Katt :)

I'm crap at posting in journals lately. I read the updates quite a lot, but i can't think of anything interesting to reply :p
 
FMJ said:
Always interested! Shoot.
Click to expand...

T_man said:
Yea please enlighten us.
Click to expand...

Lol, hardly enlightening but here goes :p

One technique that doesn't really require extra equipment (except maybe a rack or some spotters) is loading up the bar with a fairly heavy weight, unracking it, and just rolling your lats around to push the bar upwards for a few reps. A lot of the lockout is down to your back, so this trains that sort of element, while getting you used to holding heavy weights in that position.

The other ones are power-lifter style things using different thickness boards. Put a board on your chest to decrease the ROM and just train the lockout. Kinda like a 1/4 bench. You can train different parts of the bench this way by altering the thickness of the boards. You can do this in the rack too, setting the pins at different heights.

If you have two sets of pins for your rack, you can put the bar between them, and bench untill the top of the bar hits the top set of pins, and push against them as hard as you can. You can't lockout, but you're not only pushing the weight up, you're keeping it up at a very weak point. These are taxing as hell, so don't do them too often.

Few things to play with :p.

I may be making a series of videos/article on this sorta stuff soon so stay tuned to the website.
 
Breathing Squats (3 Breaths per Rep):
15 x 100kg / 220lbs
15 x 100kg / 220lbs
15 x 100kg / 220lbs

(Superset with pullovers, 15 x 10kg / 22lbs)

Dumbell Bench:
5 x 32.5kg / 71.5lbs
5 x 42.5kg / 93.5lbs
5 x 47.5kg / 104.5lbs - PR

Single Arm Dumbell Rows:
5 x 32.5kg / 71.5lbs
5 x 37.5kg / 82.5lbs
5 x 42.5kg / 93.5lbs

Kelso Shrugs:
10 x 40kg / 88lbs
10 x 40kg / 88lbs
10 x 40kg / 88lbs

***

Tiring but rewarding workout today. Breathing Squats were tough as always. Performed in the same style as the 20 rep squat program, by the end of the 3rd set i couldn't take in any sort of deep breath because my lunges just wouldnt expand enough.

New record on dumbell bench, which felt good. Never done that weight for 5 before. Rows were supposed to be pullups but the gym was busy and the dip belt and all pullup stations were being used. Kelso shrugs were, as always, pretty odd.
 
Are you doing the 20 rep squat adaptation or do you like to add in breathing squats as a shocker to your routine? How often do you do them?
 
I must admit I haven't visited your journal in awhile. Impressive PR's! Nice work.
 
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