Thread: Deadlift Dave's training log

Non-student pricing is insane, but the one near me is a pretty quality gym.

24 hour access is nice too.

It took me 1 1/2 hours to get to Lexen yesterday. I couldn't miss this one as it was the last heavy high box. I missed 785 but I only had briefs on and had much better control of it. Lynn got 860. Next week is deload then we put all the gear on for two weeks of free squats, no box, then we're done. Hopefully Worlds will be open tomorrow. Don't forget about the time change.

This snow sucks. I tweaked my left bicep shoveling. Too late to shut it down now. The goal is to rip the tendon on my last deadlift attempt

Well I guess that would literally be leaving it all on the platform.

I started toward Lexen but turned around after 45 min on 270 and was barely past Roberts. I was pissed as I need to get suited up and go heavy but figured you guys would be done by the time I got there. Now I have some time to make up. Sounds like you guys kicked some ass though, must've had Chuck breathing down your necks again.

Got in another lower back shovel workout this evening after lifting once the white shit stopped falling from the sky, so hopefully I can just get up and go in the morning.

Should have stayed with it. The highway opened up past I-70. We didn't start until 4:00

3/9 ME Bench

Bench press with fat bar:
275 X 3
315 X 1
Added 6" Foam Roller:
345 X 3
375 X 3
395 X 3
415 X 3

Pin presses:
315 X 5
365 X 5
415 X 5
465 X 5
465 X 5

Machine ab crunches:
3 sets of 10
1 set of 8

Foam roller press is similar to board press in that it works top part of bench range, but is a bit different in that it sinks into foam and then gives a bit of rebound similar to bench shirt. It seems to be slightly more difficult than board presses since it doesn't completely stop at bottom. This is first time I've done these, seems to be something useful to rotate with boards. Probably could've gone a bit higher that 415 but elbow was tight and didn't want to push it as we've got some heavy weeks coming. Ran out of gas by end of pin presses after long day yesterday. On a positive note, energy levels seem to finally be back up this weekend, couldn't have handled this weekend's workload earlier in the week.

Foam Press
Another

3/11 Deadlift

Deadlifts against mini-bands, choked twice over bar:
315 X 2
405 X 2
455 X 1
500 X 0 (miss)...Squeeze the fucking bar...
405 for 3 sets of 2

Straight leg deadlifts:
275 X 6
315 X 6
345 X 6

Barbell curls:
85 X 10
95 X 10
105 X 10

Standing ab pulldowns:
3 sets of 10

No comments today, pretty pissed about missing the 500 due to not paying attention to grip

3/13 DE Bench

Speed bench
225 for 6 sets of 3 (varying grip)

Seated dumbbell shoulder press
70 x 8
80 x 8
100 x 8

Chest assisted row
1 plate for 8
2 plates for 8
3 plates for 8
4 plates for 8
5 plates for 8

Rear delt fly
80 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 10
150 x 10
190 x 10

Went a little heavier on speed bench than I have been to see if speed was still good, which it was. Wanted to go against mini bands but forgot my bands. Last day for the db shoulder press for awhile, mainly wanted to see if I could get up to 100. Probably had 110 or so in me, but not sure that maxing out on accessory work is actually beneficial. First time doing rear delt flyes in quite awhile, will start to rotate these in more.

Dave, I've got a question for you. Why do I see so many people doing shoulder presses for accessory work? Now I know the front delts are really important to benching, but don't you think it's overkill to do shoulder presses in addition to all the heavy benching you guys do? I mean, I have an imbalance in my front delts compared to the rest of my shoulders, and I don't even bench nearly as much as you and the others, and when I get serious about my benching, I usually leave out the shoulder press and focus on more rear delt work.

Lets look at all the benching we do....bench press, close grip bench, floor press, rack lockouts, speed bench, incline bench, decline bench, etc....that's a ton of front delt work right there, especially if you are inclined to be a front delt presser.

I just wonder if it is that important, or if it's just something you guys like to do. I like overhead pressing as much as the next guy, but I feel all it does it further emphasize my front delts and further the imbalance between my delt heads.

good job on the 100s by the way!

Stewart, very good question and I tend to agree with you that it's easy to get caught up in front delts and neglect rears. Realistically, I should be rotating rear delts in a lot more than I do, and I'll change this. I used to do low stress shoulder work (raises, rear delts fly, etc.) on my ME Bench day, and then high stress shoulder work (presses) on DE Bench day. This is common on a standard Westside-based program. However, since getting with my current group on bench day, we don't do direct shoulder work on heavy bench day but rather hit some sort of pin press or lockout after heavy bench, which works the front delts pretty hard anyways. Meaning, I should not be hitting front delts exclusively on DE day as they're getting plenty of work with other movements.

Here's a pretty good article by Matt Wenning of Westside Barbell (formerly?) outlining important muscle groups for big bench press. Matt has a big bench, think he told me he's up around 600 raw, but more importantly knows a shit ton about strength development, so the man knows his stuff.

And thanks on the 100's. I've never really done heavy dumbbell shoulder work, usually focus more on the barbell presses, so wasn't sure how high I could go. Those hundreds just don't feel right sitting up on shoulders to start a set. But since I'm really not looking to compete in dumbbell shoulder press, I won't be going any higher. for now.

yeah I know what you mean about the dumbbells. The most I've ever used on a work set was 95s for a set of about 5, and man, it was the most awkward set of anything I think I've ever done. I mean, after you spend a "shit ton" (I liked that ) of energy just getting the damn dumbbells into position, you are already half spent, so the rest of the set is a double challenge.

I'll have to check out that article, thanks for the link. I mean, when I don't do overhead work, I feel like I should be doing it, but then I look in the mirror and I see how huge my front delts are compared to the back and sides, sure it looks good from the front, but a little weird from the sides. I was just getting my standing OH press pretty far up there too, I think I got 180 for a set or 2 of 5 the other day, but oh well, gonna give them up for a while and work on the bench press for now.

by the way, what do you guys think about the reverse grip bench? Tried them today and they were weird, but kind of cool too at the same time, I think I will continue to include them for a while.

3/14 ME Squat

Box squat
415 for 10 sets of 3
505 x 1
595 x 1
595 x 0 (miss, out of gas)

Pulldown Abs
4 sets of 10

Should've cut the work sets short prior to going heavy, but didn't do too bad. First 6 or 7 of the 415 were slightly below parallel, remainder including heavy sets were at parallel. There may have been a 555 set in there, don't recall if we jumped a full plate after 505 or not. Still have a lot to work on, but that's why I'm lifting where I am. I've usually been about 50 lb or so less on box than without, but we'll see if that's still true over the next few weeks. If I can break 600 in my upcoming meet, I'll be happy.

3/16 Bench

Flat bench
275 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 1
Added loose Inzer DD
405 x 1
455 x 1
475 x 1

Floor lockouts
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 3
495 x 3
545 x 3

Apparently the 545 lockout makes me the new lockout bitch in the group. Video was captured and sent to the old lockout bitch. Unfortunately, I can't find a meet where they do lockouts as an event. Shirted bench felt OK today, the 475 came down too high but adjusted at last inches and touched in right spot. Wanted to get in 2 sets in the 455 range as this might be an opener if I can get a bit more comfortable with it, have no problems getting this back up but still need more consistent groove.

Stewart, I missed your question above. To be honest, I've never done a rep of reverse grip bench, so I can't add much. I do know that it was made illegal in most federations awhile back due to safety reasons.

3/18 Back work

Speed deads
365 for 8 sets of singles

Lat pulldowns
3 sets of 8

Chest assisted row
1 plate for 12
2 plates for 8
3 plates for 8
4 plates for 8 (x2)

Pulldown abs
3 sets of 12

Hip Abductor/Adductor
worked up to full stack for 15 (each machine)

Wasn't feeling the deads today, body is still a bit wrecked from a heavy weekend. Hopefully this is just temporary, as I would've been lucky to pull 500 today. On a positive note, should have some new gear waiting at home tonight to play with, always fun to frighten the kids with this scary stuff.

speaking of gear, what would you say if I asked you if it were worth it for me to get some? is it pointless for someone who works out alone? I would be most interested in a bench shirt, I have heard that it can have some benefits to save your shoulders and such from heavy weights.

can you train alone in gear or is it dumb? I figure, maybe if I really get into it, even though I train alone, I might want to enter into a competition some day when my numbers get more respectable.

I would be hesitant to bench shirted alone, although if you search Youtube you'll see others doing it. I'm assuming you're in a rack with safety pins already, which would be absolutely necessary if you decide to try it. It's a very different movement than raw benching, and you'll see earlier in my log that I dumped a shirted bench with weight less than my raw max. You may want to look into an Inzer Blast type of shirt, which is a much less aggressive shirt that may offer the shoulder protection that you're looking for. This type of shirt isn't really used by competitive lifters, but it might be a place to start for your needs. To effectively use a top end shirt, you really need a lift-off in order to maintain your tightness.

Squatting with gear is much less of an issue if you're in a rack with safety pins. Squat briefs would be a logical place to start as these will provide hip protection. In general, I'd say it would be difficult to effectively learn the gear unless you're around people who already have a good amount of experience in it. It's nearly impossible to know what you need to change since you can't see yourself. And I say this from experience.

That's what I figured.

Oh well. Hopefully someday before I get too old to do this shit and the kids get older I can try to find a powerlifting gym around me and find some guys to learn from.

I would love to do a meet at some point in my life. Maybe for now I can try to find a raw meet and do that one, of course these are probably harder to find.

3/19 DE Bench

Speed Bench
8 sets of 3 at 185 + mini-bands looped under bench

Rear delt flyes
170 x 10
210 x 10
230 x 10
250 x 8

Face Pulls
100 for 3 sets of 10

Lat side raises
30 x 10
40 x 10
50 x 10

Tricep extensions w/ EZ-bar
95 for 2 sets of 12

Moved this workout up a day as I anticipate consuming large amounts of beer and watching basketball tomorrow. Dropped the direct front delt work as planned and focused more on rear delts. Elbow tightened up a bit on the tricep extensions, so took it somewhat easy. First time doing face pulls, I'll need to find a different pulley to do these on as I was doing the full stack.

3/21 Squat

Straight bar squat (no box)
415 x 2
Add Metal Ace suit (straps down)
455 x 1
545 x 0 (miss, depth)
545 x 0 (miss, depth)
545 x 0 (miss, depth)
545 x 1 (hit parallel)
595 x 0 (miss depth)

Standing Ab pulldown
4 sets of 10

Glute Ham Raise
3 sets of 10

Hammer Curl
25 x 10
35 x 10
45 x 10

The plan for today was to work up to a meet opener, which I was targeting 550, a weight that I should be able to hit pretty easily as I can get that raw as well as off a box. First time in a few months in the suit, still having trouble getting deep enough as the misses were all too high by an inch or two. Had no problem getting the weight back up, even the 595, just have to remember that when it feels like blood is about to spew from my nose, I have another inch to go. Knees still coming forward when suit catches, and the other usual issues to work out. The group overall didn't have a great day, but PetetheGreek broke parallel a couple of times with a good amount of weight.

Bench 7:30 am tomorrow at Lexen

Yep. 3 or 4 of us?

You, me, Erik & Lynn. We gotta get out of there before Chuck shows up at 8:30

Sounds good. My wife will have my ass if I'm much later than that anyways.

Dave:

I told CV you called him a pole smoker. You may want to see if BMW will transfer you to Germany

Thanks man. I listened to Sirius 3 the whole way home just for you. Nothing finishes off a heavy bench day like some "Sexual Healing", which oddly enough I heard coming out of some out of some dude's Ipod in the locker room at Lifetime yesterday. Yep, truly hardcore.

Bench:
275 X 1
315 X 3
365 x 1
Added new Inzer Double Denim
405 x 3 (2 board)
455 x 2 (2 board)
455 X 1 (no boards, sloppy)

4 board press, no shirt:
455 x 0 (miss twice, no clue what the deal was)

Floor pin presses:
405 X 5
455 X 5
495 X 3
515 X 3

Today was the day to see how many variables I could change so I'd have no idea what the problem was. Tried a brand new shirt, which turned out to be looser than I hoped. Also had new Convict wraps, which seemed to cause issues with controlling the bar as they're incredibly stiff. And we also benched at a different place, with bench a different height and width and a nice slippery floor that was impossible to get proper leg drive. And then we had a couple guys with 2400-2600 totals show up towards the end and watch us struggle with what is probably their speed weight.

Chuck, since I'm sure you're following this log, Pete had an issue with the shit you guys put on the radio and turned off our 80's pop station. You should discuss this issue with him.

Working late, can't get in today

OK, thanks for the heads-up. I may change up my pulling plan anyways since I'm still 19 days out, will see how things go today.