StretchMediatedHypertrophy

I agree Miro is probably doing his usual troll game, I suspect Andrade is less happy. I am sure someone somewhere is wondering if they can trade someone to get Devitt. Quite possibly Finn Balor. Whilst it's possibly a bit non-solidarity of me, I don't think it's really tenable for AEW to sign people to guaranteed money contracts and then just let them walk when they want. They're then basically having to renegotiate constantly. If WWE wanted Miro, hypothetically, then they can deal with AEW. Tony Khan is probably open to that, generally if not specifically.

There are vague rumblings about Miro and Andrade being unhappy and thinking they might be better off in WWE now. But of course, not everyone can be pushed in WWE either - no matter who is in charge. To be honest I couldn't give two shits about Andrade, but the Miro thing has got out of hand. The sooner Punk gets back and either turns heel or loses to Moxley the better. edit: fwiw, Takeshita is wrestling for Progress in UK coming up this weekend. Maybe he is doing more dates in the UK.

That does sounds a bit like heel heat to me. I'm reminded of the early ROH fans chanting 'You're not over' at the 2nd ROH Champion Xavier. Tbh I do think the gimmick is a bit of an albatross around his neck, and indeed around Scarlett's. I think coming out with hair was the right move, and with the right opponents he can have good matches. Hourglasses don't tick-tock mind. I suspect HHH might be tempted to have Kross take the briefcase form Theory, probably would be the right move. Personally, at the risk of fantasy booking, I'd put the Raiders with Kross as well - preferably dialling down the Viking aspect of the gimmick.

Tbh I think ppl can make gains on PPL once a week. If someone can only train Tu-We-Th for some reason, then probably they should do that. My problem with such specialisation is that the muscles are probably going to be pretty tired going back-to-back-to-back on a muscle group, and we can probably get slightly better work in mixing it up a bit e.g. 1. (Squat): - Squat - Hamstring Movement - Squat Accessory 1 - Upper Back Movement (Shrugs?) - Squat Accessory 2 - Optional Bicep Movement 2. (Bench Press): - Bench - Vertical Pull - Bench Accessory 1 - Calves - Bench Accessory 2 or Shoulder Accessory - Triceps/Biceps 3. (Deadlift): - Deadlift or Deadlift variant - Rows - Leg Extensions/Squat Variation - Back Accessory 1 - Optional Hamstring Accessory - Optional Calves - Optional Back Accessory 2 or Shoulder Accessory - Optional Triceps/Biceps I put this together in 10 minutes, but it gives a general shape of how 3 days a week can be programmed with a basic PPL framework. If someone was doing this 3 days a week consecutively, I'd probably remove or at least dial-down the hamstring movement on Squat Day and make the Friday one non-optional and I'd probably dial-down the Vertical Pull a bit as well. But I'd gently suggest this is better programming than a strict PPL/LPP split.

I tried doing front squats not onto a box like 11 days ago and it was super hurty at like 40kg and I haven't squatted since to be honest. The room with the power rack is one of the hotter rooms in the gym. I have been leg pressing (carefully I might add), and tbh my legs look great as a result but I guess I'll get back under the SSB soon enough. I actually did the meme lift of 2022 today, by which I mean the Larsen Press. I was definitely able to get good pec activation with it, using a relatively low weight. I think I'll probably use it more for dumbell work though.

The problem with the PPL split is indeed that 6 workouts isn't really doable in a week, at least it's not sustainable. I think you also lose the opportunity to move between exercises antagonistically i.e. Do a push, then a pull, then a push, then a pull etc - I generally think that's more efficient. I also think doing legs the day after murdering the back is quite likely to keep you away from some of the better leg exercises. That being said, I think Upper-Lower splits do tend to put more emphasis on pushes (particularly the Bench Press) and I think the back does need some special attention sometimes. So I think a ULPPL, or some variation of that might be a solid compromise and some people do indeed do something like this - there's a Fierce 5 routine based on that, and Bald Omni-Man on YouTube does something similar (whilst also stretching his training cycle over 8/9 days).

I'm sorry but this is an appalling accusation based on rumour and innuendo. You might not approve of him dating an 18 year old in his mid-20s, but there's no evidence whatsoever that he actually 'groomed' her in anyway and that term gets thrown around by everybody way too much. Jordynne Grace has stated repeatedly that she pursued him.

It does sound like there's a communication gap there. To be absolutely honest, I don't really see why Christopher Daniels is working as a wrestler on TV; he needs to be a full-time suit-wearing mofo - and I say this as somebody who went to my first indy show to see the guy. I think it's pretty clear that Coach isn't really sentimental about the last few years of ROH, and let's face it - how many people are? Whereas Prince Nana can still get a pop despite being the very epitome of a midcard act. I remember Gresham from the Pure Title tournament but here's the truth, even if Claudio has spent the last 10 years down a well, wrestling fans would still give more of a shit about him than Jonathan Gresham because of his work in a more popular era of ROH as well as elsewhere.

I've now been in the gym 11 days out of 12, and I will be there with my gf tomorrow. It's been crazy, and I am looking forward to not going to the gym Friday. After some supported chins & dips, then some plate raises and plate triceps extensions (gf elected for us to do them seated, which lol she regretted), we finished with prone reverse flys and prone 'y's (see video) . They were killer. I did the first set with 2kg dumbbells but just went with nothing on the second set. Key to a high frequency approach is definitely 'more with less weight' - there's definitely a time and a place for throwing weight around, but I am really liking this block of trainings although the fatigue is nonetheless catching up. Trap pump was definitely there. (From 5m20s - N.B. Friends don't allow friends to do above-the-knee rackpulls)

I finished up a contract a couple of weeks ago, and do need some R&R. But it has meant a bit more time and energy for going to the gym. Upshot is I've done 8 workouts in the last 9 days, and am toying with doing a bit of back work & cardio today. At the moment, I'm not really focussing on directly working on big lifts - aside some speed pulls. It's all about hypertrophy and finding weak spots. I tried front squats the other day...my wrists can't handle the rack position and I really find the cross-arm form unstable so I tried it with straps, onto a box - omg, that was all kinds of nasty. I worked up to 1 plate for 6 reps and IT WAS HARD! Both on the quads, spinal extensions, and biceps. I definitely want to progress on this, and I suspect I'll get pretty good carryover to other squats. I'm also enjoying the opportunity to put certain exercises at the front-end of the workout - it's pretty difficult to progress a leg curl when it's the last exercise of the day. My left front delt, obviously a weak point, is also getting all kinds of destruction. So generally I think it's going well. I am not 100% sure whether I'll push for a 140kg bench, 180kg squat and 200kg deadlift this year - or whether I'll try to cut. Tbh I suspect I could cut and still get the 200kg deadlift, but it will also depend on what my life ends up being like the rest of the year as I may have to do a lot more flying around.

I took a contract job in Mechelen (the old capital, a 20m train ride from Brussels Centraal, a few years back, it started in December. It was snowy and cold af, and I was staying in Airbnbs. In the 3 weeks before Xmas, I don't even want to think about the amount of weight I put on. In the new year, I moved to an apartment in Brussels and I went on the slow carb diet - this meant I could have a fairly epic cheat day on Saturdays but had to rein it in rest of the week quite hard. I dropped about a kilo a week for 12 weeks, which was great, though I'm not sure I could face those early morning tuna, bean and broccoli bowls ever again. The alternative was more weight gain though, I can see this very clearly.

I worked in Belgium for a bit. The gym charged extra to use the showers. I actually mostly used the office gym which was buried in a corner of the car park and was basically a multigym, a reverse pec deck and 2 bikes. I had my first ever Mitraillette at https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eethuis+frituur+semi/@51.2008245,4.432632,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x207ac76d0edf83e9!8m2!3d51.2008364!4d4.4326027, I was being dropped off to get the train to Brussels and then London. I spent a few hours in Antwerp, I did walk through the Jewish District and it was indeed all diamond and paper plate shops.

Where are you going in Belgium? The frites are of course the real danger. I remember buying the family portion at a place in Mechelen. He asked me if they were all for me. I lied. I tried a Bicky Burger too. Never again.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED~! Overhead Press: 60 kg x 10. RPE 9.5 Edit/Additional: Was unplanned. After fairly light training on the weekend (wasn't super motivated after long day at powerlfiting gym tbh), I felt like I had the energy for a bit of arm and shoulder work. Started on the OHP, and just decided I was going to go for it. Tbh it was a pretty horrible set, I misgrooved rep 3, and then on rep 7 I started to feel my hips (probably due to the split squats the day before) and had to quickly adjust my leg positioning. Reps were grindy, but they didn't really stick either. I actually think I probably could have grinded out 1 more, but it wouldn't have been pleasant and my body was very relieved to dump the bar back in the rack. SymmetricalStrength.com thinks my OHP is weak, and ultimately I think increasing my Bench max is going to be about delts and triceps so I think OHP is going to remain a focus for a while.

I definitely think barbell presses are overrated movements, especially with wider grips. I tried to do some wider grip bench the other day...and I think I'm done with it for good. I'm well inside the lines. DB presses are still really good though.

TL;DR New Frog Semi-Sumo Deadlift PR - 185kg (PR any deadlift) [On reflection, stance was probably a cm or 2 wider than last time) New Frog Semi-Sumo Deadlift Rep PR - 140kg x 5 (Rep PR any deadlift) New "Snatch-Grip" Deadlift Rep PR - 110kg x 10 (Rep PR any deadlift I think) New Bench Rep PRs - 80kg x 15, 60kg x 25 New Cambered Swiss Bar Dead Floor Press LOL - 90kg --------------------------------- I was at the powerlifting gym today. Tbh I wasn't really feeling it, the Tibetan food I ate yesterday disagreed with me a bit (though obviously it may not concur on that point). But it was kind of the only day I could go so I went. I then got tempted by a really good piece of chicken cordon bleu at a nearby random office buffet, and some decent fries....Hungarian lunchtime places are often a bit inconsistent, but this was money and I don't regret it though along with fries and cheesecake it was probably far from optimal for performance lol. I decided just to mess with their Swiss Cambered Bar from the floor in a Power Rack, it isn't very stable so tends to tip - in the end I went with a dead bench from the floor which was super challenging. I went up to just 90kg and pulled 3 singles about 30-45s apart and they were all grindy...certainly enough to stimulate those high-threshold muscle fibres. I then decided enough with that nonsense and went to a bench with an Eliko Competition Bar (those cost moneys)....I kind of regret not trying to max out with it but I made a decision not to try a super-heavy max out....anyways, I hit 2 rep PRs - 80kg x 15, and then using a close-grip, a proper 'Shartnado Special' of 60kg x 25 (!). The bar definitely feels nice for benching...although not really designed to rep out on, I think the aggy knurling means the forearms don't get fatigued and it probably helps. I got a 5kg PR on the Frog Deadlift. Last time I was at this gym, I did a lot of work to prime the quads for this lift and today I....couldn't be arsed, partly because it was hot, partly because of the aforementioned, and probably also because last time I hadn't trained in almost a week, whereas I had trained legs on Sunday and they were still sore yesterday. I did 170kg as an 'opener'....felt it was pretty hard, and just went straight to 185kg and took a nice long rest in order to complete the PR. I pulled the 140kg x 5 and I was quite happy with that, which tells me I was maybe actually finding my groove..but then I started feeling my left hip just a bit so I decided to change up and I was super happy with the 110kg x 10 x 2 using a wide grip (I also wanted to use more upperback, bc I was feeling lower back). The 10s were really not ludicrously challenging and left me wondering if I wouldn't have hit a better PR on conventional today...the answer is 'probably' but it would have been more physically taxing. I think the Frog was doing better because I was squat specialising, now that I'm not I suspect conventional would be my better pull - though I don't think 200kg was on today and I guess that's the next goal. I then did Seal Rows for the first time (they're great), and then did the belt squat (also great - though the traction of the back, beneficial as it may be, is still kind of hurty at the time) - I got a set of 20 using the weight I got 12 on last time, but I have been doing more leg pressing and I think there is some carryover there. I think I may break the 10L barrier fluids wise today. (I also hit a beltless 70kg OHP recently, which is a beltless PR)

Given the brand split is effectively over, isn't Liv Morgan pretty much the Women's IC Champion?

Apparently he told Fightful that he felt like he was perceived as the bottom man in the group. I mean Max Caster and I thought that was more or less literally his gimmick, but seriously this probably was the best move for him - hopefully we'll see a new side to him on the Indys #boomtish.

Thanks dude. I'm happy because my bench wasn't moving and I got it moving. I was actually thinking I was going to go for an eleventh, but the 10th rep slowed down and I called it. Although I'm toying with visiting the powerlifting gym again to try to hit a deadlift PR in 10 days, I'm actually going to get away from chasing numbers for a little while and really focus on hypertrophy, work capacity and athleticism.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED~! Bench Press: 100kg x 10. RPE 8.5ish.

Just to update on above: I did pause SSB squats 100kg x 6 and I was pretty happy with that, but I think doing DB RDLs and some core movements caused me to strain my neck a bit and.....let's just say I am happy I own a massage gun. Will probably do deadlifts today instead of RDLs because not sure the weighted stretch is what I need right now. I'm probably going to go for the 100kg for 10 reps on Saturday but we'll see because I think there will be drinks the night before.

McDonut lol.

I got my 110kg x 5 - I just realised that is indeed 242lb. I think I'm a little bit off doing 5 sets of 5 with a couple of extra reps at the end - but it wasn't a complete struggle either. I got 20 reps at 62.5kg last week and would have tried it at 65kg this week but.... I actually appear to have restrained the left side of my upper back. It just appeared out of nowhere this lunchtime. I foam rolled the shit out of it and had my gf take the massage gun to it....and yeah I was able to successfully bench heavy ok. 70kg x 12 x 3 and then 70kg x 15 was plenty of backoff work. Actually my right shoulder was feeling a bit fatigued....and this reminded me of @Control's post some weeks back; the problem is not my right shoulder, the problem (probably) is my right shoulder overworking to compensate from a weaker left side due to my ongoing back issues. The shoulder is fine now, but I don't think I'll be pulling anything heavier than that 110kg in this mesocycle. I may try to get that 10 reps at 100kg next week though. I'm just doing RDLs instead of deadlifts right now, and the pause SSB squats. Tomorrow is ostensibly squat day, but it might have to be tweaked a little bit. Ho hum. My work contract is ending, which is irksome in some ways, but I am looking forward to having more time for cardio. I'll be honest, it's been tough to get a lot in as I usually train with my gf and well.....don't want to get too tired. Her bench is coming along too, she got 30kg x 3 and 32.5kg for a single today. She didn't used to be that into bench, but she noticed her breasts look bigger and now she quite likes it lol.