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Strongman + Powerlifting + Weightlifting = Squaggleboggin

Camaro:

Thanks a lot, man. I appreciate both your dropping in and your compliments and encouragement. I have a feeling I'd lose in that particular race though, haha.

Triple Threat:

That banana is kind of weird, but I guess it's the thought that counts. Happy New Year's everyone!

Annoying Thing: Every time I've woken up on deadlift day, I've had a sore back. Now, I'm not usually one to let the little things stop me from lifting, but last time I tried deadlifting (and this is going heavy) with a sore back, I was barely able to get up weights I typically can without a sweat. So, this is kind of annoying to me because I keep missing my deadlift workouts. Better luck tomorrow I suppose.

Another Annoying Thing: I did nothing fun (as always) for the 'holiday.' Of course, everyone else I know was doing something (with a girlfriend or with friends or something). So I sat at home and watched a movie by myself. I'm so awesome... Oh well, this is a training journal, not a whining log haha.
 
Another Annoying Thing: I did nothing fun (as always) for the 'holiday.' Of course, everyone else I know was doing something (with a girlfriend or with friends or something). So I sat at home and watched a movie by myself. I'm so awesome... Oh well, this is a training journal, not a whining log haha.
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Don't sweat it. Although i went to my friend's house and partied last night, i am not much of a party guy. In the past few years, i have at times stayed home by myself and just watched tv or surfed the web. I am pretty dedicated to what i do .. working, lifting, eating, sleeping and so forth. I do have a social life but not to the extent of what most people do.
 
Yesterday's Workout:

Deadlifts DOH 3x3 (185), 3x2 (350); Chin Ups 2x2

A very simply workout. I did the deadlifts with a DOH (double overhand) grip the whole way through and without gloves. I'm going to stick to doing it that way for now in an attempt to 1) improve grip strength; 2) have more carryover to my C&Js when I decide to start doing speed deadlifts and; 3) to trick my body into thinking this is the new intensity. These are just as hard for me as doing sets of 415 with a mixed grip would be, so I figured I'd work on the thing that's more challenging. Chin ups didn't go so well for some reason. I felt a little weak, I'm not really sure why. Right now I'm running on 2.5 hours of sleep, so I'm off to take a nap.
 
Damn man, that's nice with an overhand grip. I really don't think I could do that. Rock on.
 
Thanks. On the very last rep I was just barely able to get the bar all the way up, so I may refrain from adding another five pounds next week. I don't want to stay with too low of a weight though because I still want to recruit as many motor units as I can, and right now I'm working at about an 83% intensity (not exact, just off the top of my head). I did notice that my traps were sore from this and they usually aren't. Likewise, my hands were sore and they usually aren't. Hopefully I'll keep improving on the overhand grip.
 
Today's Workout:

Front Squats 3x3 (135), 2x2 (260)

I was supposed to do SLDLs and DB benches as well and do another set of front squats, but my sleep cycle is totally messed up right now. Going back to school has absolutely killed all of my normal patterns and turned them into their unnatural state. Wonderful. I've decided to take a week off so I can get back on track with everything else first. I'll be starting again on the second day of exams. Luckily I don't worry much about exams. Here's the plan for when I return:

Day One: Cleans 3x3 (135), 3x2 (210); Jerks 3x5 (125); Farmers Walks 3x2 (130); Chin Ups 2x2
Day Two: Off
Day Three: Deadlifts DOH 3x3 (185), 3x2 (355); Chin Ups 2x2
Day Four: Off
Day Five: C&Js 3x3 (115), 3x2 (185); Farmers Walks 3x1 (180); Pull Ups 3x4
Day Six: Off
Day Seven: FS 3x3 (155), 3x2 (225); SLDLs DOH 3x3 (185), 3x2 (315); Pull Ups 3x4
Day Eight: Off

I know there's something I'm going to change before I actually start it again. I always change my mind about my routines because I'm a bit OCD sometimes when it comes to certain things. This is one of them.

I decided to get rid of some more stuff and stick to just the really basic things to see how it goes. I really need to lower the weight for front squats so I can work on sitting back more - I keep leaning forward and it's putting much undue stress on my wrists and back rather than just letting the weight sit on my shoulders and squatting down and back.
 
Get some good rest and come back ready to kick ass. One question though, where are the curls? I recommend at least 3 sets of 6 variations for everyone serious about functional strength.
 
CowPimp said:
Get some good rest and come back ready to kick ass. One question though, where are the curls? I recommend at least 3 sets of 6 variations for everyone serious about functional strength.
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You're pretty new to this, huh? I do four sets of nine variations every single day. I didn't think anyone that looked at my journal was that unknowledgeable - it's practically a given for any routine... Noobs... Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
 
I'm back. Heh, heh, heh...

Today's Workout:

Cleans 3x3 (135), 3x2 (210); Jerks 1x5 (125), 1x2 (155), 1x1 (185 - PR @ 196 BW); Farmers Walks 3x2 (130); Chin Ups 2x2

This ruled. The cleans had really good form except for one miss. Since I'm trying to work on getting under the bar better, I didn't pull it up enough, got partially under it and then just dropped it forward - I was very bent over and close to the ground. Jerks went well. I decided to try 155 after my set of 125 to see if I could do it and it seemed really easy. I then decided to go for 185 and I got it with a bit of a struggle. I won't be going above 185 for quite a while or even attempting PRs, but I did up my weights to 155 for reps. Farmers walks were awesome as well. My grip had no problem throughout the entire thing (Gloveless of course!) and I was going a little slow for some reason. Chin ups improved as well. I was able to do my sets more easily and I may move up the time after next.

Well I'm definitely happy with this workout. It was great because I had to really try to get the cleans done, but I nailed the form on even more of them than last time. This week off was exactly what I needed. Too bad I didn't take it during exams since they started today, but this is more important to me than exams anyways. My goal of a 250 C&J now seems much closer for some reason...
 
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Squaggleboggin said:
This week off was exactly what I needed. Too bad I didn't take it during exams since they started today, but this is more important to me than exams anyways.
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:clapping:

Squaggleboggin said:
My goal of a 250 C&J now seems much closer for some reason...
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Good luck with it Squaggle ,you'll be there in no time :thumb:
 
A 250 C&J would be nice, especially if you maintain your body weight. Man, you have been cutting some fat there body. Very nice progress you have made at both ends of the spectrum.
 
FranktheTank:

Thanks for the encouragement. Luckily I know how the grading for the exams works, so I only need a C to get an A for the semester grade, which is all that really matters. Heh, heh, heh...

CowPimp:

Thank you very much. I plan on getting down to about 180 and then I'll see how I'm doing from there. I'm basically just trying to get down to a low BF% so I feel I'm as healthy as I need to be. Then I'll just let the weight do whatever it's going to do as long as I stay at a low BF. I've been very pleased with my results so far, specifically the fact that I've been losing BW while gaining strength. Is there anything better? I should think not.
 
Squaggleboggin said:
I've been very pleased with my results so far, specifically the fact that I've been losing BW while gaining strength. Is there anything better? I should think not.
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Getting a blowjob while you come to that realization.
 
Workout from 1/13/06:

Deadlifts 3x3 (185), 3x2 (355); Chin Ups 2x2

The deadlifts were sweet. My form improved from last time even though I moved up in weight. These were done with a double overhand grip as always. The chin ups seemed harder than usual for some reason. Maybe I'll need to go back to slow eccentrics again if they don't start showing more improvement soon. I'll be moving up in deadlifts to 360 with the double overhand grip though. Yay for me.

CowPimp:

No comment.
 
Seanp156 said:
Double overhand on 355 3x2... Good job Squaggle :thumb:
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Thanks a lot, Sean. I'm hoping to get my DOH deadlift up past my previous mixed grip record. Then perhaps I can try the mixed grip again and do much more weight. This is what happened when I went from DOH to mixed grip in the first place, so hopefully it'll work again.
 
You're going to have a monstrous grip from training like this. Ever thought of adding some additional grip-specific training into your routine?
 
Well I have the DOH deadlifts and farmers walks using both lower weights/longer sets and higher weights/shorter sets. I'd like to keep my grip work in the form of compound movements (just an obsession of mine) if possible. Do you have other suggestions? I'd try chin ups with towels or something like that, but I need to improve my chins more before I can try that. I suppose I would consider getting one of those Captains of Crush grippers though. Did you have anything in particular in mind or have you tried something that you thought increased your grip significantly?
 
Today's Workout:

C&J 3x3 (95), 3x2 (155); Farmers Walks 3x1 (200); Pull Ups 3x4

C&Js were fairly light. I can't jerk that much yet, so I'll be increasing those at about the same pace as my jerks. Farmers walks were awesome. I planned on doing 180 (90 pounds per DB) but the weights wouldn't fit. So I put four 25s on each DB and figured I'd try it. All went well and I'll be adding more weight next time. This was an important milestone for me, just the whole eight plate thing so I'm happy with it (PR @ 199 BW, gloveless of course). I also think that my farmers walks and DOH deadlifts have been complementing each other nicely and allowing me to develop my grip very quickly. Pull ups went quite well; I failed on the last rep of the last set, but I'll be doing the same rep scheme in two days, so I'll probably be able to complete it. This was a great workout.
 
Today's Workout:

Front Squats w/3s Bottom Pause 3x3 (135), 3x2 (225); SLDLs DOH 3x3 (185), 3x2 (315); Pull Ups 3x4

Front squats went well. I dropped my weight by about 40 pounds so I could use 3s pauses at the bottom of the movement at a complete stop. SLDLs went just fine as well. Nothing special there. I always move up in weight for that exercise. I'm not complaining though. I was really tired with the pull ups though. I did one good set then stopped. I'm going to be switching my second chin up location with my first pull up location to alternate them (don't know why I didn't before...). Grip strength definitely improved for the SLDLs too, so I know I'm doing something right. :)
 
Squaggleboggin said:
Well I have the DOH deadlifts and farmers walks using both lower weights/longer sets and higher weights/shorter sets. I'd like to keep my grip work in the form of compound movements (just an obsession of mine) if possible. Do you have other suggestions? I'd try chin ups with towels or something like that, but I need to improve my chins more before I can try that. I suppose I would consider getting one of those Captains of Crush grippers though. Did you have anything in particular in mind or have you tried something that you thought increased your grip significantly?
Click to expand...

There is a lot of great stuff you can do for your grip, and seeing as how you like functional strength, I think some dedicated grip stuff would be great. Yeah, farmer's walks and DOH deadlifts are good, but there is plenty more you can throw in.

Snatch grip deadlifts would be an example; these are also great for the upper back. Plate pinches are pretty good. Gorilla hangs, one armed deadlifts, soft bar lifting, etc. The nice thing about grip work is you can tack it on at the end without killing your CNS.

Just some food for thought if you get stuck.
 
CowPimp said:
There is a lot of great stuff you can do for your grip, and seeing as how you like functional strength, I think some dedicated grip stuff would be great. Yeah, farmer's walks and DOH deadlifts are good, but there is plenty more you can throw in.

Snatch grip deadlifts would be an example; these are also great for the upper back. Plate pinches are pretty good. Gorilla hangs, one armed deadlifts, soft bar lifting, etc. The nice thing about grip work is you can tack it on at the end without killing your CNS.

Just some food for thought if you get stuck.
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This is very true. That's one of the things I like about grip training - it doesn't have to kill you for a few days to be effective. I may start throwing in some random grip work twice a week or something. Gorilla hangs, plate pinches and one-handed deadlifts are the ones that caught my eye immediately. I read about the gorilla hangs in your journal. Did you find those effective? My grip is probably one of my strongest points, so why not take advantage of it and keep training it? Thanks for the ideas, CP.
 
Today's Workout:

Cleans 3x3 (135), 3x2 (215); Jerks 3x3 (95), 3x2 (160); Farmers Walks 3x2 (140); Chin Ups 2x2; Stretches (shoulders, back, hams, glutes, quads, calves)

Cleans went well (more on this later). 215 was my previous PR and I nailed every attempt, so I can't say I'm disappointed. Jerks went well... as well. 160x2 is a new PR. Farmers walks were good too. No problem with the 70s. Chin ups were completed, but I most likely won't be adding more reps just yet.

Now about those cleans. I was reading the Weightlifting Encyclopedia by Dreschler (of course!) and I read that if you don't go all the way into the deep squat position, you place a lot of undue stress on your knee joints (which is also what the advocates of the full squat say against the parallel squat). Even though I haven't actually seen myself do cleans, I'm absolutely positive that my knee never bends past 90°. Before, I thought this would correct itself when I added more weight - more weight, harder to stop, must go down farther to decelerate weight. I was wrong. I'm now doing 215 for doubles (obviously) and while this isn't exactly record-breaking weight, I thought it would at least be enough to correct what I was doing. So, is not going down very far to catch the bar going to possibly cause an injury? I know it's a lot easier to throw the bar up a shorter distance, but I keep yanking it up all the way so I don't need to go down very much. While this isn't the best habit, is it going to actually cause injury, or can it be left alone? Another note is that I typically catch the bar with a very wide stance. I believe this stance stuck with me when I used to do back squats with a very wide stance. I still do front squats like this, and when I start my cleans I'm narrow but end up catching the bar quite wide. I do the same thing when I jerk. I start off quite narrow but instead of doing a split, I do a wide squat (which according to Dreschler is acceptable, although he didn't specify how wide; in other words, the split jerk is not the only acceptable way). I know this was fairly long, but it had me quite worried when I realized that I was doing this. If anyone knows whether this will cause injury (and if so, if there is any way to cure it except to start from the beginning all over again), please let me know. I appreciate it.
 
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I've done gorilla hangs, yeah, but honestly it's hard for me to say how effective they are. I kind of just throw them in randomly, so I can't attribute my progress to one thing or another too well when it comes to grip.

I front squat with a fairly wide stance myself. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with it. I just try to find a comfortable groove. Also, if you watch people snatch, then you will notice that most generally widen up their stance as they go for the catch.
 
All right, I just wanted to make sure it was all right not to go into the deep squat position and to be fairly wide. You have help put my mind at ease. Thanks for stopping by, CP.
 
Squaggleboggin said:
All right, I just wanted to make sure it was all right not to go into the deep squat position and to be fairly wide. You have help put my mind at ease. Thanks for stopping by, CP.
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Well, I know you can catch more weight going into the full squat position, and more force should get absorbed by your downward movement as opposed to applied to the your joints. However, people do power cleans, where there isn't much of a squat at all. Nonetheless, it is probably a good idea to get in the habit so it isn't so alien when you get to the point that you have to drop in the hole.
 
Hopefully practicing these front squats with a three second dead stop will help with getting power from the bottom portion of the deep squat. I wasn't really that worried about strength, just whether it's degrading to the joints.
 
Yesterday's Workout:

Deadlifts 3x3 (185), 3x2 (360); Pull Ups 6x2; Stretches

Deadlifts were DOH grip without gloves as they have been for a while now. It still felt great and it was still a challenge, but I'm still moving up in weight next week. Pull ups were very nice. I'll see how those go later this week again and then I'll decide whether to add reps or maybe even try some weighted pull ups.
 
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