Welcome To The Pain!!!

[thewicked]

here's my last two workouts...


DE upper body

bench
barx20x2
added monster minis
135x3x9...with different grips every 3 sets

2brd presses

315x3x1
365x3x1
405x1x2 MAD!!! struggled with both of them... so i dropped the weight down and went at it!
365x6x1 new pr..and smoked them all and didn't give up on the last rep when it was looking like i was going to miss it. Getting my mental shit together baby!

close grip pull downs

5 sets pyramiding up to the whole stack

lateral raises
35x6x1
45x6x1
55x6x1
65x6x1

h-rolls 3 sets of 12 with 30's


not bad...

ME lower body

reverse band pulls

135x10x1
315x3x1
500x3x1
585x1x1
added mini bands instead of blue bands like most people...
675x1x1 smoked
765xmissed at the knees
725xmissed at the knees again...

...come to find out the mini's only picked up 50 off the bottom and gave out a foot off the floor. Felt good to hold something heavy again

good mornings

135x8x1
315x8x1
500x4x1 should've kept going..

hamstring curls

5sets of 20 pyramiding up

hammer curls

40x5x1
50x5x1
60x5x1
70x5x1
80x5x1
90x3x1

 

[thewicked]

ME upper body

bench

barx20x2
135x10x1
225x6x1
315x3x1
added blue bands
315x1x1
335x1x1
345x1x1 (est. 465 at the top)
365xmissed about halfway up.. smoked my old pr of 295 from the last time ever doing this. Bands are estimated 120 at the top.

inclines

135x8x1
225x8x1
315x1x1 just fucking sad right there...

power cleans

135x3x2
185x3x1
225x3x1 effortless...

cs rows

pyramided one plate from 1 plate up to 6 for sets of 8

alot of rehab/prehab...

 

[Triple Threat]

good mornings

315x8x1
500x4x1 should've kept going..

There's some amazing numbers in here, but I find these particularly out of this world. I've had 500 lbs on my shoulders before and just lifting it off the pins was enough for me. I think my back just tightened up imagining your lifts.

 

[PeteTheGreek]

Be careful doing full range max effort singles with bands unless you're wearing a bench shirt. You're taking an express train to an injury.

 

[Travis Bell]

Actually I've gone entire training cycles raw with band tension. All full range too, what hurt you Pete?

 

[PeteTheGreek]

A close grip mini band with 365 bar weight jacked my right rotator. Andre Henry told me this was a no-no. Too risky for a guy my age. I remember when I was 23........in 1989. Never had an injury until I hit 40. Now it's one after the other. Disc protrusion at L5-S1, partially torn bicep, partial pec tear in the last 2 years.

 

[Travis Bell]

ah, close grip can be a little tricky. I tend not to go any closer than thumb length from the smooth. If I do too many close grip workouts I actually have pec problems so what I do is the majority of my sets with my desired grip and then move it out for like the last single or two. I also do some reps at comp grip.

I also bench with my elbows really tucked when raw. I've found it really takes the stress off my shoulders

I take two days that are non bench days and do rehab stuff as well, light light dumbbells or very light pec deck for high reps to get the blood moving and I find my pecs feel tons better.

 

[PeteTheGreek]

My favorite injury was some kind of tear in the muscles around my collar bone and trap. I heard something pop in my collar bone trying to touch a heavy weight in a tight Karins shirt. I couldn't do any flat benching for about 4 months, not even high boards, but I could do inclines and overhead pressing. I remember setting the pins real high in the power rack and doing seated military pressing with a 2 inch range of motion to maintain my lock-out. I got up to 455 doing these. I also did a shitload of full range military pressing, seated and standing. When I came back to flat benching about 4 months later, I was pretty much where I left off.

 

[thewicked]

ah, close grip can be a little tricky. I tend not to go any closer than thumb length from the smooth. If I do too many close grip workouts I actually have pec problems so what I do is the majority of my sets with my desired grip and then move it out for like the last single or two. I also do some reps at comp grip.

I also bench with my elbows really tucked when raw. I've found it really takes the stress off my shoulders

I take two days that are non bench days and do rehab stuff as well, light light dumbbells or very light pec deck for high reps to get the blood moving and I find my pecs feel tons better.

that's the key right there!


yeah i'm going to find ways aroudn the bands.. or at least not choke the mini's.. bands can help but i don't want to get used to them and have them crush my cns like they did in my suqatting.

I'm also doing what travis suggested in doing alot of rehab and prehab work since my shoulders have been funky. I'm starting to watch my right side again because after working with teh bands it does feel a little off but nothing hurts..it just let's me know it's there.

 

[thewicked]

today was a good day... starting to get back into the squatting groove where squatting is actually fun!

parallel box squats

135x10x1
315x10x1
405x10x1
500x2x2
525x2x1
550x2x1 effortless
315x20x1
225x20x1
135x20x1

I'm finding the heavier i go the more I want to lean forward instead of getting my hips to go lower. Why is that you guys think? Maybe I'm fighting the knee wraps? Either way..today's squat session was a session of mental toughness and just plain fun like it used to be.

hamstring curls

5 sets pyramiding up to a new pr!

hammer curls

30x6x1
50x6x1
70x6x1
90x4x1 sloppy

shrugs

135x10x1
315x10x1
500x10x1
585x10x1
675x10x1
765x1...i unracked it off and was apparenlty leaning back.. shrugged once and started stubbling backwards so I let it go. I could've made a good set of it..but instead i made myself a new squat bar by bending the shit out of it. I did zero hip work because of all the box squatting I figured I didn't need any..pegg what do you think.

 

[PeteTheGreek]

I'm finding the heavier i go the more I want to lean forward instead of getting my hips to go lower. Why is that you guys think? Maybe I'm fighting the knee wraps? Either way..today's squat session was a session of mental toughness and just plain fun like it used to be.

The knee wraps don't have much to do with it. Make sure you're pushing your abs against your belt, like you're squeezing out a turd, hold your arch and push your ass back as hard as you can. It's hard to sit back when the weight gets heavy, you'll tend to want to go straight down instead of straight back. The best way to fix this is heavy high boxes, something about 100 lbs more than you can full squat. If a below parellel squat for you is on a 14 inch box, try loading up the weight and squatting off a 17 or 18 inch box. Once you get used to carrying heavy weight, it's easier to sit back.

 

[thewicked]

yeah...i think i'm losing my arch like you suggested. I can keep it tight when I do high bar squats but when I go heavy I leave the bar down deepr on my delts at legal depth..which I always wend up leaning foward iwth it to keep it from slipping around.

What I'm going to do is start squatting on a high box like you and others suggested with heavy shit AFTER I sit down with my usual squats just to a) get used to heavier shit and keeping form tight and b) help with my walkouts..

my hips kill me though...the heavier my squat goes the wider my stance gets and the more my hips KILL me! I'm thinking about picking up some briefs or a snug fitting single ply suit and just hitting it with the straps down for awhile.

 

[Travis Bell]

get some briefs, they'll really help out the hips

 

[thewicked]

first thing on the list buddy! well after the girlfriend's bday present...that tends to take prioritity over the well being of my hips. Y ou'd think they'd want to make sure those were always in working order.. HAHA but oh no..the prospect of a diamond necklace throws that out the window.

 

[thewicked]

DE upper body

bench press

barx20x2
bandsx3x1
155x3x8 juggling grips

3brd press

315x4x1
365x4x1
405x2x1
405x3x1 PR! Smoked the first two! And very happy about this since last week was a struggle..this week I brought it back with a PR!

bent over barbell rows

135x10x1
225x10x1
315x10x1
405x10x1
405x5x1

face pulls for 3 sets of 15

laterals

45x5x1
55x5x1
60x5x1
65x5x1

with rehab/prehab shoulder work

 

[thewicked]

YouTube - DieselCrew.com - Shoulder Rehab Protocol

stuff is INSURANCE FOR YOUR ROTATORS!!!


ME upper body!

floor press

barx20x2
135x10x1
225x3x1
315x3x1
365x3x1
405x1x1
420x1x1 SMOKE SHOW! 5LB PR AND WAS FASTER THAN 405!
430xmissed... I didn't explode off the bottom enough. Hit halfway up where I always stall and ofcourse started to stall..then my spotter just grabbed it instead of letting me fight through it. Asshole! Either way it was a badass session! Pressing strong for sure!

close grip inclines

135x8x1
225x8x1
315x3x1 gas'd

seated plate loaded rows

pyramided up a plate to 5 plates for an easy 10 per side...there wasn't room left for more.

dumbbell laterals

30x4x1
40x4x1
50x4x1
60x4x1
70x3xsloppy but still got 3...gotta work on them form wise with heavier weight!

alot of rehab and prehab! Shoulders are feeling like new money! I'm doing alot of rotator stuff daily to keep them that way!

BADASS DAY FOR SURE!

 

[thewicked]

DE bench

barx20x2
bar+mini bandsx10x1
8 sets of 3 with 155 juggling grips

3brd press

315x2x1
365x2x1
405x2x1
420x1x1 grinder..but got it! 3brd pr by 15lbs!

closed stance good mornings (feet touching)

135x3x1
225x3x1
315x3x1
405x1x1
added belt
500x1x1

pull thru's

whole stack x12x3

reverse power squat

6platesx10x1
12platesx10x1
18platesx10x1
23platesx6x1 getting a feel for it...(1035lbs)

sat down deep with these like i would at the floor on a deadlift. I did these to SIMULATE deadlifting and to power my hips up! Felt good!

 

[thewicked]

DE lowerbody

pulls off a 4" box

135x5x1
315x5x1
500x5x1
585x3x1...regripped and got 2 more for a total of 4 reps with 585 off a 4" box..which means I should be good for a 10lb gain on the box pulling when i retest it! PR RIGHT THERE!

reverse power squat

8platesx6x1
16platesx6x1
20platesx10x1
20plates + a small personal trainer (180lbs) x6x1
23 plates + a small personal trainer x6x1 effortless... I LOVE this exercise. I really feel it in my hips!

hamstring curls

3sets of 10 pyramiding up

grapplers

4 weighted sets

shrugs

135x12x1
315x12x1
500x12x1
675x12x1

hammer curls

30x6x1
50x6x1
70x6x1
90x2x1
60x12x1 straight set

good day! It's been too long since I've pulled.. the moment I felt 585 come off the ground I felt alive again. I LOVE PULLING!

 

[goob]

Dear lord those weights are nuts.

Whats a reverse power squat? Fuck it, while I'm at it whats a power squat compared to a normal squat? (Yeah, I'm an ignorant bastard, but hey who's caring...)

 

[thewicked]

it's a plate loaded squat machine..but i face the machine versus sitting in it and do my squats. It gets me down in a deep deadlift type of position and I drive it hard enough that I come up on my toes at the end of the press in hopes that it'll help my deadlift. LOL.. weird description but I hope that helps atleast a little.

 

[thewicked]

DE upper body

speed bench

barx20x1
155x3x9 juggling grips

3 brd

275x6x1
315x6x1
365x6x1 PR!
405x3x1 PR! HOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIT It's rolling right along!

bent over dumbbell rows

115x25x2 largest db's in the gym i was in.. and stopped after two sets because my biceps were hurting like hell and I'm not sure why.

cleans

135x2x1
185x2x1
225x1x1
245xmiss.. didnt' get under it quickly
135x15x1 for upright rows to finish

alot of rehab and prehab as usual for the shoulders!

 

[goob]

Congrats on the beastin' PR's dude.

 

[thewicked]

Congrats on the beastin' PR's dude.

thanks bro..been trying to put in my quality time, temper my training, and make smarter choices outside the gym to help me reach my professional goals. Seems to be picking up faster than i thought!

 

[thewicked]

ME lowerbody

banded deads

here's a picture of the setup... it's the only way we could figure out how to set up bands for pulling without a band platform. That's a 45lb rated monster mini under there. Estimated additional weight at the bottom was about 60 and 100 at the top..but it felt like more. No way of testing it. The band was stretched roughly 7 and 1/2 to 8ft at the bottom.

135x3x1
315x3x1
500x1x1
585x1x1
635xmissed at the knees...
615xmissed again at the knees..
610xmissed again and pretty much gave up the rest.. I was so pissed at myself I had to leave on a good note. Ditched the bands gave 635 a go.
635x1x1 smoked and held at the top to punish the grip for 45 seconds.. felt like an eternity..and I loved it!


here's a video of where I'm missing my pulls as well.. looking to get an idea as to where I should make some changes to progress further.



still damn near stiff leg'd pulling..

pull throughs for 3 sets of 12

hamstring curls

pyramiding up for 3 sets of 20 doing cross fiber training..10 reps superslow and 10 reps fast.

 

[PeteTheGreek]

weak glutes and hamstrings. get your ass down and your head up

 

[DLDave]

That wasn't a near stiff leg pull, it WAS a stiff leg pull Drop your ass! (I have the same problem, although not as bad)

You were pretty slow coming off the floor, the faster you are coming up the less resistance the bands will have. Getting those hips lower at the start should increase the speed, and get mentally focused on ripping that bar off the floor as fast as you can so that you pull faster than the bands.

 

[thewicked]

That wasn't a near stiff leg pull, it WAS a stiff leg pull Drop your ass! (I have the same problem, although not as bad)

You were pretty slow coming off the floor, the faster you are coming up the less resistance the bands will have. Getting those hips lower at the start should increase the speed, and get mentally focused on ripping that bar off the floor as fast as you can so that you pull faster than the bands.

i've pulled like this my whole life hahaha i told you guys I needed some work..and I'm knocking on the door of 700 doing this. 635 flew up like it was 500 after pulling against those bands. I'm doing alot of work for my glutes and hamstrings to bring them up because I know i'm pulling all back. Other than the exercises i'm doing..what are somethings you guys would suggest? That miss was 610+bands.

 

[PeteTheGreek]

glute ham raises, reverse hypers, glute ham raises, pull thru's and glute ham raises.

 

[thewicked]

I can't do them without feeling like my ham is going to be pulled in two.. seriously. NOR do i think I know how to setup a GHR properly...

however I've only since started doing hamstring work in the last 3 months or so directly other than good mornings or pulling... so hopefully it'll start picking up here soon


ME upper body from yesterday

2brd press

barx20x1
135x3x1
225x3x1
315x3x1
added 2brd
365x1x1
405x1x1
430xmissed at the usual sticking point
420x1x1 grinder but got it

floor press

135x4x1
225x4x1
315x4x1
405x2x1 and bombed the 3rd rep...

seated rows

wholestackx15x1 warmup
wholestack + a trainer x10x1 (275lb stack plus a 150lb trainer)
wholestack + a trainer x8x1
wholestack + a trainerx6x1 gas'd PICS INCLUDED!
wholestackx12x1

side laterals

30x4x1
40x4x1
50x4x1
60x4x1
70x4x1 sloppy but had a few good'ns in there


okay guys..all my bench specialists take a look at my log if you do't mind. Am I trying to handle 405 too much in my workouts and that's what's slowing down my progress? 420 isn't getting any easier and it's been a few weeks since I started moving it from time to time. Thoughts and Ideas?

 

[thewicked]

yesterday's ME lower body

pulls off a 5" box

135x3x1
315x3x1
500x1x1
585x1x1
635x1x1
645xmissed at the knees because I pretty much gave up. I'm still pulling up instead of back. I'm working on that. 15lb pr!

good mornings

135x10x1
225x10x1
315x10x1

leg press ( cross fiber development)

8platesx20x1 (10fast/10slow)
14platesx20x1 (same)
20platesx20x1 (same)

barbell curls (CFD)

barx20x1 (10slow/10fast)
135x8x3 (same)

hammer curls (CFD)`

40lbsx10x1
50lbsx10x1
60lbsx10x1...all CFD

shrugs

135x12x1
315x12x1
500x12x1 all CFD
585x12x1
675x12x2
725x12x1