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Top sets for '3' week (kg, 1-2 RIR generally):

Bench Press - 95 x 6

Sumo Deadlift - 122.5 x 6 (+ Joker: 127.5 x 1)

Incline Bench (couldn't get on the rack for Strict Press) - 85 x 5

Squat - 110 x 9

(backoff wise, I did FSL (First Set Last - a 531 term) work on the upper bodylifts, with BBB (Boring But Big, 531 term again) style work on the Squat and SLDL - in addition to other accessory work)

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Benching was a mild disappointment but throat was still affecting me, and Incline Bench felt easy on rampup but then the top set felt really hard. Deadlift remains pretty embarrassing, Squat remains pretty money.

Got two weeks left of my 30 day pass, so I have a bonus week with which to get my strict pressing days in and focus on weak areas. Then I will take 2 sessions of and begin again.

On Squat Day of all day, I actually threw in some Machine Rows having watched:

Very nice, very evil - 2 sets smoked my back.

Doing a lot of this too:

 

 

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Where is everybody?

531 top sets for '1' week (kg, 1-2 RIR generally):

Bench Press (medium-close grip) - 100 x 4

Sumo Deadlift - 127.5 x 4

Strict Press - 52.5 x 8 (3 week, as didn't Press the week before)

Squat - 115 x 6 (Joker set - 120 x 3)

(I switched to BBB for all lifts this week - except Squat where I used Hip Thrust Machine as the accessory lift and Deadlift where I used SLDLs)

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- I picked up a little tendonitis in the right bicep last Sunday and this was very evident in my benching, I actually thought I might fail the first rep of the top set; I was happy with the 4 but my benching hasn't really clicked this cycle - need to get my groove back. Will probably move to CG Bench as my Press accessory next cycle, and widen my grip a bit for the main Bench day - to that end I will probably set a training max on the wider grip this week.

- The tendonitis was there in my deadlift too but probably didn't cost me any reps; I think it has mostly passed now. I think the plates I've been using have created a small deficit and I will switch to the bumpers. Weakness is on the lockout, glutes I think - I intend to do more Hip Thrust Machine and high-rep Step-Ups for this.

- On Press Day my upper back was still sore from deadlifts, and whilst I still got a decent number on my top set nothing went up fast and my triceps were having to do a lot of work. I think I will do Press after Squat day next cycle to get round this. I've got one more Press day to do but I've set up a spare week to do it.

- Squat Day, my right knee was a bit unhappy and I misgrooved a couple of reps in my topset. My right shoulder was/is also unhappy. I'd love to go back to the Safety Bar tbh, but I I'll try to run at least 2 more waves with the straight bar first. Fortunately won't have to get under it for a couple of weeks.

More generally, I'm trying to work with Wendler's 531 as an entire system. So I'm doing the box jumps and ball throws beforehand, and I'm beginning to incorporate the 50-100 reps each of pushing, pulling and abs/single-leg work in every session. This means for now, a lot of presses and rows with the empty bar in between other sets - as well as some things I'm quite bad at (hanging leg raises, lunges - I absolutely hate lunges and am terrible at them but my squat will probably go up if they improve). Over time, it may evolve into more of a full-body template but right now it's more conditioning and perhaps 'greasing the groove' (no I don't believe in nucleus overload bro theory!).

This week, I will mostly eschew heavy work in favour of volume. Moving forward the basic plan is to do 1 wave of 3 weeks followed by 1 1/2 weeks of weakpoint/hypertrophy specialisation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I don't know about others, but I was in a bomb shelter. Well, no, except that there actually is one at work, right near where we change clothes. I had a week of due to long shifts and a couple of days on a trip to another city. Over the weekend we saw my sister my nephew and my younger brother and helped my dad and my brother's mom to move some of their stuff to their new home. 

There was a bunch of walking through the city and the moving involved some carrying, but nothing like an actual workout. I did do a few pump sets of curls and presses with my sister's 22 lb kettlebell, but that was the extent of it.

This week, I've been busy with AEW and trying to avoid people since there has been a whole bunch of COVID at work so I haven't gone back to the gym yet this week, either.

I did hear that the pair of attachable chains that we ordered for the trapbar and other lifts had just arrived today, so there's that to look forward to, once I get back.

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I just haven't felt like talking about my workouts because A) I hate life anyway and B) my workouts are just...there.  I'm doing them, my lifts are getting stronger, my weight is right on 190 for the last 2+ months, but...I dunno.  They lifted mask mandates around here and now I just spend half my mental time in the gym wanting to chew out all the selfish pricks who think things are just going to go back to normal now.  No, idiots, we're going to live with this forever because you're idiots.

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I was already being a bum, then ended up running a ringside camera for both Impact shows in Louisville this past weekend. It totally wrecked me. I haven’t shot in five years, so my body wasn’t ready for it. I got in a decent bench workout yesterday, so that was nice. 

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My week 1 bench last week was kind of a disaster.

I thought after the first month went so well, I could bump my 1RM calculation from 200 to 210, instead of 205.  Then I actually tried getting 5 reps of 180 and my shoulders said, "lol no".  Lesson learned.  Bumping up 10 on OHPs went just fine, though, which is strange.  Then again, my OHPs are relatively out in front instead of straight overhead, so there just seems to be less jankiness with the joints during and after.

Saturday is going to mark the beginning of Week 3 with DLs, and I think I'm slated for 325, which will be a PR.  Actually, every Week 3 1-rep/AMRAP lift next week is going to be a PR except for squats, if I get them.

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Ok, got one workout in this week. Weather has turned roads into slushy hellscapes so the last couple of days have sucked.

The workout was typical upper body demolition with extra 66lbs and after 3 sets, 55lbs, 35lbs and 22lbs one round of sets with each weight. This was followed by the usual resistance band stuff, a set of curls and shrugs with a pair of 33lb plates and some ab work.

Hopefully next week will be better.

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While watching Dynamite this week, I was informed by my son that I need to "start working out every day" so I can "beat every wrestler" and become AEW champion.  I turn 44 in a few weeks, so I guess I'd better get on that.

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11 minutes ago, Log said:

While watching Dynamite this week, I was informed by my son that I need to "start working out every day" so I can "beat every wrestler" and become AEW champion.  I turn 44 in a few weeks, so I guess I'd better get on that.

You heard the young man, best of luck to you! Keep us posted!

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Top lifts of the week:

Strict Press - 67.5kg x 1 (RPE 8.5)

Pinkies inside rings Bench Press - 105kg (RPE 9) (this is a wider grip than I usually do, was curious where I was with it after using it for BBB rep work)

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This week was theoretically weak point training. I don't really know if that happened. But I actually trained 5 days this week, and will now deload until Saturday (I'll do some band-work at home).

- I finished my 531 week for Press, but cocked up the numbers and ended up only doing 3 reps for my 1+ weight because I thought it was a Joker set. My training max was 58.5kg but I actually hit a pretty clean and easy 67.5kg yesterday (my all time PR is 75kg with a belt) without any serious effort.

- Work is pretty stressful right now and I think it's affecting my recovery. For that reason among others (my bicep tendons aren't still inflamed), I think I'm going to take most of the deadlifting out in favour of getting in Good Mornings on Squat Day and then doing speed pulls, and maybe a few singles at around 70-75% to keep it fresh (I'll probably just use a deficit conventional stance for all of this), then some RDLs. I wanted to run 531 programming on sumo deadlifts for at least another wave and then switch to conventional, but I don't think it's a luxury I can afford. I'd rather spend more time working on conditioning. As long as I am doing heavy back squats once a week I think I'll be fine, and we'll be doing those on Saturday where I can sleep well either side.

- I'm also not convinced that 531 for press is super necessary. It's actually pretty quick to go to a training max as long as you're already warm. As I say, I did this yesterday after speed benching. As much as I wanted to only bench once a week, I think I need at least to do speed work on a second day - this is at circa 40% so it's a big nothing recovery wise but it helps me get/stay in the groove. Also switching the main bench day to the weekend where I'm more recovered and more relaxed - this also gives me the option of doing Floor Press which I am considering as an accessory lift, it may also mean I can put my gf on another bench rather than us sharing one!

- So to some extent, I'll be doing heavy days at the weekend and lighter days during the week, where there will be more emphasis on conditioning.

Some of my thoughts were echoed in a recent video from Alex Leonidas:

Going to cook a big steak. I've found a good value butcher and there will also be more steak!

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After a week of recovering from the number shooting video did on my body, I've gotten back to it this week and hit two PRs.  I got 175 lbs on the overhead press and a 330 squat.  Pretty good since I was alternating ice and heating pad on my back last Friday.  I'm still a little tight, but feeling pretty nice.

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Three workouts so far this week. They have been alright, but nothing special. Monday bench. We used the attachable chains for extra weight at the top of the move. Can't really say how much it added, but all in all the pair of chains adds 53lbs when entirely off the ground. I'd guess the top set was around 285. Took a lot out of the basic sets that came after.

I skipped Tuesday, because I stayed at work for three extra hours and was pretty beat afterwards. Wednesday was trapbar. We got the extra pair of 55 lb plates, so after a couple of warm-ups it was 3x405 without Versas, but the third one was about to slip, so it wasn't complete. Then 3×471 and 3x2x515. Then we took one pair of plates off and attached the chains I did 2 sets of 5 with a weight that was 409 at the bottom and 427 at the top. Then shrugs.

Today was a very mixed upperbody pump, but I was definitely feeling everything that came before, so it was nothing too heavy, or interesting.

I'll see if I can do some squat machine and calves tomorrow?

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I said "fuck my calves" and decided to do free squat for the first time in way more than a year. The whole workout was as follows 5x132, 5x220, 3x264 3x286, 3x308, 3x330, 3x352, 4x264, then quarter squats (top quarter) with 220 and (bottom quarter) with 132. Then calf raises with 132, because I'm not a monster and I'd hate to make my calves feel neglected.

308 went deeper than I usually make it, 330 and 352 were about parallel. I actually paused at the bottom (well, at the parallel) on the last rep of 352 for a second-ish, in order to make amends for not being able to go deeper.

Better week that I thought it would be, going in.

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A couple weeks ago, my knee buckled a bit on deadlifts.  It was weird because it was on the down motion when I'm setting the weight back down.  I took it easy for a couple days, and got back to lifting normally.  I even hit a PR in my squat after that.  Well, Monday, on my squats, it started happening again.  It only happens on the way down.  Coming up is fine.  There's a twinge of pain when it happens, but no lingering pain.  It just feels like something is wrong in there.  And this time, it's not going away.  It still feels weird two days later.  I've got a doctor's appointment scheduled for Apr 12.  I'm pretty bummed to have to put my squat and deadlift on hold for a while.  I was progressing nicely on them.  I think I've figured out a way to keep working out in the meantime without risking any more damage.  Damn old body.

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Top lifts of the week:

Back Squat - 107.5kg x 8

Bench Press - 92.5kg x 8

Double Overhand no chalk, no nuttin, 2' Deficit Deadlift - 130kg

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So starting a new mesocycle with an adjusted gameplan - 531 heavy days for squat and bench, a lightish day for Deadlifts, and a light day for speed bench and other upper body work. More abs, more conditioning all round.

Squat Day left me with adductor doms for days - far from ideal. Truthfully, my work capacity is lower than it needs to be - that is something that I am going to have to work on and around. Squats themselves were okay, but my shoulders don't like having the barbell on my back very much fair to say. I really don't want to retreat back to the SSB so quickly, but I think I may find a way to program a few heavy reps and then do backoff work on the SSB. I think my squats were also deeper than maybe they need to be, but then again if you're not competing that's pretty subjective (and even if you are, that can be down to the judges to a large extent).

Bench Day....is definitely going to suffer from being after Squat Day. It was ok. Primary assistance is close grip 3-2-1 tempo bench, which is just nasty...but good more out of less weight exercise.

Deadlifts I've decided not to pressure myself too much on. I'll do some nice violent speed pulls, mostly on a deficit, then probably work up to an easy but heavyish single of some kind, then do a little bit of backoff work and RDLs....trying to increase the volume over the mesocycle but not beating myself up with it or about it. And tbh, this week felt good and the aforementioned 130kg double overhand is actually a PR for a double overhand of any kind - my sets of 10 on SLDLs seem to have really helped my grip. Basically Squats are the work and deadlifts are for fun - weird flex I know! We also did some barbell complexes for GPP - this is also how I can sneak some shoulder press in.

As mentioned, today was speed bench with chins and dips as assistance. We then did two giant sets of supplementary 20s and...omg...15 minutes of LISS cardio.

Not going to lie, it has been a tough week, and my sleep has been suboptimal, but I feel I am coming out of it fitter than I went into it.

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My workouts have still been garbage and my sleep has been even worse; that's what I get for getting hip-deep in Fallout New Vegas again.  But, a brief aside.

There's a relatively famous scientist who shares our wing of the building with us, a little old Japanese lady.  And when I mean "little" and "old" I am talking, "lucky she survived catching COVID".  Her last name starts with an O, and you'd swear the O stood for "osteoporosis".  I don't have a lot of specific lab work to do anymore, so I'm only in for a few hours a day at most, but any time I see her, I have always been struck by the urge to just pick her up and lift her over my head!

Well, now that I'm OHPing 120 and on the way upward, I can more than do that!

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Only two workouts this week, on Wednesday and Thursday nights before work. I'll join the suboptimal sleep club as well. Last two sleeps felt better, but my fitness watch disagreed, hard.

Wednesday was bench and other upper body stuff. Mostly lat pull downs with the resistance bands.

Bench was as follows: 5×132, 5x220, 5x264, 3x286 (ugly as shit), two even uglier partials with 297 which counts for nothing, then 3x275, 2x275, 3x264, 4x253, 4x242 ( had to stop at 4, since halfway through pushing up the weight just stopped, I was able to push it up, but for a second there, I thought I would not be able to), 7×220 (I did 10, but the last 3 were sooo ugly) and 24×132. Not my finest bench day, no.

Tonight, before work, it was Trapbar. And it went a little bit like this: 10x140, 5×196, 5x306, 5x332, 5x416, 4x462, 2x515, 2x526, 3x449.

After being able to add 11 lbs to last week's top set, I tried to use the maximum possible weight, by adding the chains to 515 lbs. Whatever that would have been, I failed to even get off the ground. Same with another attempt at 515, so the 2x526 really took it out of me. I finished the night with shrugs and abs. I put one of the chains around my neck and do hanging knee raises with an extra weight along with the usual hanging upside down ab work.

I was happy to continue inching towards my previous Trapbar max of 561, which is still 35 lbs away, but  I think I will be able to get pretty close to that sometime not very far off from now. Yeah, not a good week as a whole, but 2x526, I'll take it and smile.

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I have been sticking with full-body calisthenics/TRX/kettlebell training 3 times/week, for the most part. 

I tend to hit the gym in the early afternoon. Fits my schedule and it usually isn't busy then. 

I see a lot of the same people. There are sometimes two or three people at that time who train really hard on basic exercises, a few who mostly do cardio, one guy who uses every machine with terrible form, a couple of ladies around my age who are remarkably flexible and spry... Not all of them are there every day, but I see all of them at least once a month.

My favourite guys are the "Every Day is Arm Day" guys! There are three of them. I don't think they are friends. They definitely don't train together. But, they are already into their 1980s Muscle & Fitness arm workout when I arrive at the gym. Set after set after set of various curling bar and dumbbell and cable isolation exercises for biceps and triceps. Pausing only to flex in the mirror.

I do my squat, my hinge, my push, my pull, my accessory work, and my foo foo "inner muscle" training, and they are still going when I leave!

Do these guys have "massive guns"? Are their sleeves in danger of exploding? Would Adam Cole be envious of their upper arm development?

I think you can guess the answer.

Do dudes like this exist in your gym?

Edited by Gordlow
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19 hours ago, RunningFromAmerica said:

Obviously good you are planning to see the doctor. Is it happening even with light weight?

Yeah, it sometimes happens with no weight added.  If I squat down, the knee wants to buckle.  When this happened before, it went away after a couple days, so I thought it was just a temporary thing.  This time, it's stuck around.  I don't think it's anything too bad, but it's something.

@GordlowWould you mind posting/sharing your workout plan?  I have an adjustable kettlebell here at home and am thinking about getting some TRX straps.  

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12 hours ago, Gordlow said:

Do dudes like this exist in your gym?

I live in Central Europe, so not *so* much. There's definitely some guys emphasising Upper Body and if not entirely skipping leg day, then definitely rarely doing the compounds. There's an old-timer bodybuilder who trains people in the evening, he has his own locker and stage-ready photos of himself at various ages - we don't speak eachother's languages but we are on Szia terms. His guys do squats and block pulls sometimes but not super regular fair to say. We also have some kickboxers who do a lot of cables mostly.

There used to be a guy who would load up the heaviest weights on cable machine and do really short ROM stuff, making a dreadful racket. He's not been around in a while though.

Mostly everyone is super friendly, occasionally some younguns even ask me a couple of questions - most recently about calves lol. There's one scary dude who is not very friendly, he's on kissing terms with the old-timer though - real old school dudes. I can be mean though, I ate the goldfish of one guy who claimed 'I'm using that' on the best bench when he was over the other side of the room doing crunches....and he had been doing curls on the bench.......on a Monday. ON INTERNATIONAL CHEST DAY THIS IS WHAT YOU DO??!

Haven't seen him since. I feel a bit bad about it tbh, but ffs.

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Edited by RunningFromAmerica
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