[General Stalin]

Started back on my GZCL-based training I was doing over the summer and the first day was OHP. Felt great and had a decent amount of energy. Was still able to put up 6 x 2 x 135 for my working sets which felt great.

Downside is, a few gym bros of mine brought in some friends to show them how to lift and I was helping out showing some DL cues and tweaked my back again because I pulled 225 for a few reps with no warmup. It feels exactly like it felt 3 months ago. Pretty upset at myself and at the situation especially since I was finally pulling 315 last week with no back soreness. Good thing is I know what to do to recover from it so I should be feeling better soon enough.

[General Stalin]

Back to the gym last night after doing some travel for the holiday. Took it easy just easing back into it and given my back is still fucked from last week, but had a great work out. Treated it like coming back from a deload.

Stretches

Single Leg Eccentric Leg Curl - 3 x 10 x 35 >SS> Pull up - 3 x 7 >SS> Shrugs - 3 x 25 x 210

Deadlift - 1 x 8 x 95
3 x 8 x 135 (plus several warmup reps/sets)

Pendlay Row - 3 x 12 x 95 >SS> Tricep pulldown w/ rope - 3 x 12 x 80 >SS> Facepulls - 3 x 12 x 80

Bench press - 1 x 7 x 95
5 x 10 x 135

At 199 lbs. which is surprising considering all the eating I did the past few days but it is what it is. Today is bench day.

[General Stalin]

Had a great workout yesterday. Numbers aren't what they used to be since slacking off but they will get back up there quickly I'm sure.

Stretches

Single Leg Eccentric Leg Curl - 3 x 10 x 25 (dropped the weight but focused on holding contraction more as my hamstring weakness on my right side is especially apparent at the fully contracted state. I can barely fully contract my right hamstring.) >SS> Pull up - 3 x 7 >SS> Shrugs - 3 x 25 x 210

Bench Press - 1 x 8 x 95
1 x 6 x 135
1 x 4 x 185
1 x 2 x 205
3 x 4 x 185

Seated OH Dumbell press - 3 x 8 x 45 >SS> DB Flys - 3 x 10 x 25 >SS> Dips - 3 x 10

Last set of bench and OHP were failure. I put in good work and felt great after the workout. Weight 200 lbs.

[General Stalin]

Last couple of nights at the gym have been pretty good despite my back giving me problems again, but we'll get back their slowly but surely. Worked up to 4 x 3 x 235 on squat the other night, and 6 x 2 x 135 on OHP. I came down with a stomach bug Monday night after the gym and was out of commission yesterday, but feeling a little better today so might go in and hit DL but keep it really light. Last I weight myself I was 201 lbs. but that was before I shat my brains out all night and and the next day and hardly ate anything so probably sitting pretty lean right now...

[brokinetic]

(12-07-2016 07:48 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Last couple of nights at the gym have been pretty good despite my back giving me problems again, but we'll get back their slowly but surely. Worked up to 4 x 3 x 235 on squat the other night, and 6 x 2 x 135 on OHP. I came down with a stomach bug Monday night after the gym and was out of commission yesterday, but feeling a little better today so might go in and hit DL but keep it really light. Last I weight myself I was 201 lbs. but that was before I shat my brains out all night and and the next day and hardly ate anything so probably sitting pretty lean right now...

What I kind of back problem is it? I have on and off sciatic problem which came from bad deadlifting technique a few years ago. Hope its not too bad

[General Stalin]

Mine was also caused by bad deadlifting this past summer. It's square in middle of my low-low back area right above my tailbone. I was able to recover from it over a few months by doing some mobility stretches and taking it easy on DL and squat, but I re-tweaked it a couple weeks back by deadlifting moderate weight with no warmup. The only silver lining is that I know how to fix it now so hopefully my recovery period will be shorter than last time.

[General Stalin]

Had a light low-energy workout last night. Still recovering a bit from being sick and trying to nurse my lowback back to health.

Stretches

Pull ups - 3 x 8 (will need to increase reps next workout as 8 was easy) >SS> Shrugs - 3 x 25 x 230 >SS> Single Leg Curls (w/ 10 second hold) 3 x 4 x 25

Dead Lift - 1 x 8 x 95
2 x 4 x 145

Squat - 1 x 8 x 105
3 x 8 x 145

Facepulls - 1 x 13/12/11 x 80 >SS> Tricep pulldown w/ rope - 1 x 13/12/11 x 80 >SS> Seated Row - 1 x 13/12/11 x 100 >SS> Preacher curl - 1 x 13/12/11 x 42

Weighed myself for the first time since I got sick - 197lbs! Ouch. Unfortunately I didn't have a great appetite after the gym either. I drank my protein shake and went home and had grilled cheese with an over easy egg and a bowl of tomato soup.

[General Stalin]

Update: another inconsistent couple of weeks as I had been traveling. I'll tell ya I really admire any man's resolve who travels often and is still able to be consistently dedicated to hitting the gym. I spent a week in the midwest for work and went out everynight immediately after work either for company social event, dates with a girl, or drinking/catching up with colleagues. Did not leave myself anytime to hit a fitness center for a couple hours.

Anyway, benched lastnight was a pretty good workout.

Stretches

Pull ups - 3 x 10 >SS> Shrugs - 3 x 15 x 340 >SS> Single Leg Curls (w/ 10 second hold) 3 x 4 x 25

Bench Press - 1 x 10 x 95
1 x 8 x 135
5 x 4 x 185
1 x 7 x 185 (to failure)

OHP - 4 x 8 x 95

Tricep pulldown w/ rope - 3 x 12 x 80 >SS> Cable X-over (low to high) - 3 x 12 x 40 >SS> Dips - 3 x 10

Weight 197 lbs.

I'm going to the gym today tomorrow and Saturday as well. I need to get my lowback mobility back and return to consistency. Travel and social life getting in the way of training. I miss the shape I was in and progress I was making during the summer time.

[komatiite]

You are doing 3x10 on pull ups? Without reading the whole thread again I seem to recall you were doing pull-ups with assistance a few months ago... Bands? That's good progression man! Blew by me, I always ignored them but in May I chose to get serious and do a 5x5 type workout now with a max of 13. I don't have the endurance to get through 3x10. But I always "prioritize" pull ups over other lifts so I never do them at the end of a workout when I'm already gassed, I usually do them first as my high energy excersise for the day.

Has your pull up progression been a happy side effect of focusing on your Big 3 lifts (probably deadlift has the most effect) or do you hit the pull ups with a big priority? Or other Lat builders?

Or maybe I misread and you always could pump them out pretty good, and misquoted your assisted pull up comment with some other RVF user...

[General Stalin]

I think the biggest contributor to my increasing proficiency with pullups has just been doing them a lot. I while back I started doing the same 3 movements at the beginning of every gym session as a sort of warmup and to help strengthen some imbalances and areas I felt I was weak in. I do shrugs, pull ups, and leg curls right after I do my stretches.

You are correct in that when starting this I was lucky to get 6 solid pullups in a row unassisted. I was doing banded like 3x7. Now I'm doing 3x10 and will soon push past that I'm sure. Will have to move to weighted pull ups in the near future. Making sure you do them a lot and with good form will get your reps up. Like I said, I do them every workout with no exception. Even on "light" days I will at least do my warm up movements of pull ups, shrugs, and leg curls.

Last two workouts were squat and OHP and both went very well. I'll just outline the primary stuff:

Squat: 4 x 4 x 225 (which is great considering my back issues)

OHP: 3 x 3 x 135/2 x 2 x 135 (the 3x135 is also awesome progress getting strength back)

My back has been feeling a little better the past couple of days as well. Been staying off my ass a lot and it's been helping. Today is Deadlift but I will be keeping it light.

[komatiite]

Ok cool. I just sort of switched up my form a month ago by focusing primarily on scapular retraction and "trying to push my elbows in my back pocket" motion and I have really felt the Lats the next day, so maybe all along I was using bad form with too much arm domination. I'll start doing them more now as I was only hitting them max 3 days a week even though I bought a bar for my apartment.

Thanks!

[General Stalin]

(12-28-2016 11:35 AM)komatiite Wrote:  

Ok cool. I just sort of switched up my form a month ago by focusing primarily on scapular retraction and "trying to push my elbows in my back pocket" motion and I have really felt the Lats the next day, so maybe all along I was using bad form with too much arm domination. I'll start doing them more now as I was only hitting them max 3 days a week even though I bought a bar for my apartment.

Thanks!

No problem man. Using more arm will actually make them easier, but check out this video from Omar Isuf on good pull up technique and programming:

[General Stalin]

Pretty good DL session last night. Back has been feeling better lately. Been spending a lot of time on my feet and my pre-workout stretches gave me hardly any discomfort last night.

Also, since having this back and forth with komtiite about pull up form, I concentrated a lot on strict form and slow reps last night. Did 3x10 strict pulls up from a dead hang, though I did fail my last rep on the last set.

After all my warmup movements I deadlifted:

1 x 8 x 95
1 x 7 x 135
2 x 3 x 185
3 x 4 x 225

My back was feeling pretty good and I definitely could have pulled higher than 225 last night but I decided to keep it light for safety's sake. We'll see how I feel next deadlift day and I'll go up then if my body wants to. Weight: 197 lbs.

[General Stalin]

Consistent training and putting more food in my mouth and strength is coming back!

It's been several days since I've updated so I'll just highlight the important things:

12/29 I benched and working sets were 4 x 3 x 205. This is great progress considering 205 has basically been my 2 rep max since the end of summer.

12/30 Squatted 4 x 3 x 255 and back was feeling pretty decent. Got a killer leg day in and felt DOMS for 2 days after.

1/2 OHP 5 x 3 x 135 so finally getting the reps/weight back consistently.

1/3 DL 4 x 3 x 255. I did 1 x 275 and it felt heavy as fuck. Still need to ease up on DL and feeling my lower back today I'm regretting doing as much work as I did yesterday. I am contemplating really baby-ing my deadlift and only doing high-rep work going forward as with this particular lift I'd feel better and more confident working with weight I know I can do with robotic tight form. We'll see how it plays out.

Current weight is about 199 lbs. Pull ups are getting good and I have been starting to variate my movements. Last night I did 3 x 6 pullups doing slow reps really concentrating on form and full ROM. Still trying to workout this hamstring imbalance but it's getting there and I am seeing some progress from focusing on leg curls.

[youngblazer]

I've also had issues w/ deadlifting always exacerbating lower back crap. About 3 months ago I decided to stop doing deadlifts and substituted kettlebell swings. I think it works well and my lower back is feeling the best it has felt in a long time. I've considered trying DLing again but I don't want to risk that pain coming back so I haven't done it yet. Maybe in 3 more months. We'll see. I still squat.

[General Stalin]

Same deal here. I fucked up my low back deadlifting during the summertime and I stopped deadlift for a long time and really rolled back my squats. Took months but back was finally feeling better and was able to DL good weight again then fucked up my back again deadlifting. Both times were very preventable stupid mistakes.

[redbeard]

It looks like...your lifts are...Stalin

[General Stalin]

I just backtracked through this thread to back when I was sort of at my "peak" back in the summer and my strength in Squat, Bench, and OHP are pretty much back to where they were so for that I'm grateful. Especially considering I'm a few pounds lighter than I was at that time too.

[Maxzilla]

You're 200 lbs and can only bench 205 for a triple? Looks like you need to drop some serious pounds on the scale. Like legit down to 160.

[General Stalin]

I'm 6'2. If I was 160 I would be a fucking twig with hardly any muscle mass. I'm a slim dude as it is and the last time I was below 170 lbs. I'm pretty sure I was in highschool. I look great at 200 lbs. and moreover, dropping weight (especially 40 lbs.) would not do me any favors at all in gaining more strength in my lifts. The reason I'm not as strong as other lifters who are my size is primarily because I've been lifting for less than 1 year. I'm very novice and am still developing my strength and technique.

[Maxzilla]

(01-05-2017 01:39 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

I'm 6'2. If I was 160 I would be a fucking twig with hardly any muscle mass. I'm a slim dude as it is and the last time I was below 170 lbs. I'm pretty sure I was in highschool. I look great at 200 lbs. and moreover, dropping weight (especially 40 lbs.) would not do me any favors at all in gaining more strength in my lifts. The reason I'm not as strong as other lifters who are my size is primarily because I've been lifting for less than 1 year. I'm very novice and am still developing my strength and technique.

Do you have visible abs?

[General Stalin]

(01-05-2017 01:58 PM)Maxzilla Wrote:  

Do you have visible abs?

No.

I been ghost for a while and part of that has been me being a little ashamed to post in this thread since my gym attendance has been real dodgy since the new year.

I left the gym I was going to a little over a month ago because a new gym opened across the street from my house and the savings and convenience was too good to pass up.

Admittedly the power lifting gym I was attending was/is awesome and this place us much more of a big-box type of gym which makes it a little more difficult to enjoy myself and stay motivated, but it's only $10 a month, has the basics of what I need, and is in walking distance from where I live. Time will tell if the environment is really worth the extra cost and driving.

Anyway -

After taking far too much time away, I'm back at it and easing back into the routine. I've been doing my stretches and mobility exercises before every workout and my back is starting to feel better already. I'm starting off light as I want to practice good form and prevent regressing with my low back issue.

As expected, I've seen a loss of strength gains from so much time away but It will come back.

My first day back in the gym for nearly two months I went around and hit all the main lifts, but my low back issues affected me immediately. I worked up to 185 on squat and those two reps felt like shit. Went to deadlift after and felt sore and shaky just trying to get 115 off the ground so I figured I'd call it quits on lower body for the day. Benched 205 for two but it was tough, and was able to put up 130 OHP for 2.

Keeping my programming very minimal for the time being, just a 5 x 3 with lower weight to get back into the swing of it.

Bench day at a glance:
Stretches
Bench press - warm up - 5 x 3 x 185
OHP variation - Seated DB press - 3 x 8 x 45 or Barbell push press - 3 x 8 x 115
Assistance movements - Cable cross over 3 x 12/Seated row 3 x 12/Dips 3 x 12/Tricep pull down 3 x 12

Squat day at a glance:
Stretches
Squat - warm up - 5 x 3 x 185
Deadlift variation - Romanian Deadlift - 3 x 8 x 115
Assistance Movements - Leg press 3 x 15/Calf raise 3 x 15/Leg Curl 3 x 15/Walking lunges 3 x 50'

OHP day at a glance:
Stretches
Overhead Press - warm up - 5 x 3 x 125
Bench variation - Pause bench - 3 x 8 x 135 or Close Grip bench - 3 x 8 x 135
Assistance movements - Front lateral raise 3 x 12/Side lateral raise 3 x 12/Reverse DB fly 3 x 12/Pull-over complex 3 x 8

Deadlift day at a glance:
Stretches
Deadlift - warmup - 5 x 3 x 185
Squat variation - Front Squat - 3 x 8 x 115 or Pause Squat - 3 x 8 x 115
Assistance movements - Face pulls 3 x 12/Pendlay row 3 x 12/Pull up 3 x 8/Roman chair dips 3 x 12

Currently the weight isn't super important. The weight for the main movements just needs to be something challenging but not a grinder until I get my body used to lifting again and make back some of my losses.

Mad at myself for slipping so much.

Current weight is 200lbs. even.

[General Stalin]

Lower body workouts have been rough. Going to back off weight more and focus building stamina and time under tension. 5 x 3 x 185 Squat and DL are plenty doable but definitely feel a strain on my lower back afterwards. I can feel lots of tightness in my hams, glutes, and hips so will be shifting focus on increasing mobility in those muscles.

Looking back through this thread also when I recovered from this last time I replaced DL with lightweight RDL's and did lightweight front squats instead of backsquats for a while until my back was more stable. May do that again as well.

Been thinking about buying a lifting belt to help with support but also thinking if I used it then it may become a crutch and teach me bad habits.

[General Stalin]

Easing back into the routine has been fruitful so far. Been focusing more on getting sufficient warmup and am planning on booking a rolfing session to address my posterior chain issues. I've talked to a handful of people around the area who have done it an said it basically changed their life. for $120 it's worth a shot.

Highlights of the last week:

Squatted 5 x 3 x 185.

OHP 5 x 3 x 125

RDL 3 x 8 x 185 - decided to actually DL and kekpt it light 3 x 8 x 135

Benched today: 3 x 4 x 185 (I broke from my 5 x 3 rep scheme to increase time under tension but shouldn't have)

Feeling pretty decent. Stretches have been helping and workouts have been light. Current weight is 200.6 lbs.

[General Stalin]

Back at my old gym and progress is going well. I squatted today:

1 x 8 x 95
1 x 8 x 135
1 x 6 x 185
4 x 4 x 205

No back issues. Rest of workout was:

Rack Pulls:
1 x 8 x 135
1 x 8 x 185
1 x 8 x 205
1 x 8 x 225

Leg press: 3 x 12 x 290 >ss> Calf Raise: 3 x 12 x 290

Finished with a tricep/bicep workout to failure.

Feeling great. Lowback is still a little tight but no pain. Have been focusing a lot on stretching and mobility lately.