Dwayne's Training Blog - Team Franco Bodybuilding Forum: Competition and Fitness Board

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

RE: Dwayne's Training Blog

Yoster · The Truth!

winflex wrote:

ME SQ
1. SQ: bar/12 135/12 155/10 185/8 225/4 255/2 275/2 185/10 135+chains/10 12
2. Step lunge: 65/8 85/6 8
3. Lying ham curls: 3 sets of 10-12

Squat 275/2 was actually a PR since it was the first time I did it for two reps.
I learned something new but also old today....go down slow : )

Good job on the new PR!!� Nice progress.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Dave.

RE Bench (reps today...not feeling very powerful today)
CGBP: 155/12 175/12 195/12
DBBP: 90/12 95/6 stopped there due to started feeling it in the joint and I didn't need to go any further.
Face Pull: 200/10 14 210/15
Parallel Grip Chin: 20 20 10
Prone T Raise: 8/2X20
Paint strippers: bar/ 20 20

It was a long day today. Started with babysitting when Jen went to the gym. Followed up by a lot of Christmas shopping. Then, we all went to the TFB Holiday Gathering which was a little different that what I had expected. We didn't stay too long. I didn't know there would be smoking there and I probably shouldn't have stayed because I felt really guilty after taking the baby there and smelling the smoke on her winter suit when we left. Well, I'm a newbie dad and lesson learned. Won't do that again.

�

But other than that, I had a good time. I met a new TFB'er and saw some of the TFB standby's. I had a burger and a half and two platefuls of fries and a salad. Joe had a trivia gift give away which was fun!�

Came back home...ran to the gym for a quick and unexciting workout since the gym was closing and then I went grocery shopping for the week. �

NOTES: Prone T Raise is just a rear delt raise laying on a bench. �Paint strippers are military press in a rack that you press the bar up and against the rack as if you were to strip the paint. �I also did one set of box squats with just 95 lbs for 20 reps just to stretch out the fascia and get some blood in there as I am really sore today from squatting yesterday. �I suck at squats but I love doing them because I feel I'm getting better each time.

fitmom726 · Guru

It was great to see you, Jen and the baby yesterday Dwayne!� I didn't even notice the smoke until you just mentioned it.� That stinks (literally!)
Olivia is so darn CUTE!!!�

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

Yeah, sorry about the Dwayne.�� I didnt even think of us being outside to allow them to smoke!� Next year, I will rent the room.�

Great to see your family as always.�

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Its all good Joe.
Good to see you to Robin!

DE SQ
1. Box SQ: 150/6X2, 175/3X2, 180/2, 185/2, 195/2, 205/1, 225/1, 245/1
2. SQ no box: 135/15
3. Dimel DL: 215/25 225/25
4. Seated Leg Curl: 50/25 100/10 10 10
5. Pulldown Abs: 130/10 10 10
6. DB Sidebend: 70/10 10 10 each side nonstop

A good workout. On the boxes, I paused on the bottom for a "1-missipi, 2-missipi". Added the 135 repper for practice and pump. I was doing Dimel DL and Hang DL's but I decided to just keep it to Dimel DL's today and do an iso on the hams with Seated Leg Curl. My obsession with squatting better and squatting more is continuously growing.

Another note...

For some reason, my bodyweight is jumped up rapidly. Just weeks ago, I was continuously waking up to 182-4 on the scale. But recently, I've been waking up to 188-190 each morning. Don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing. I'm still in relatively good condition according to pictures and all my clothes still fit the same (still gotta use the belt to keep the pants up). I haven't been cheating anymore or any less than usual. Maybe I'm actually getting bigger. Maybe its my "polar bear" reaction to the winter weather. As long as I keep my pullups and chins strong, I know I can handle my weight.

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

I know how we talked about doing box squats, but I think it would be more beneficial for you to focus on regular squats and go all out before the box squats. Meaning, do the box squats second.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Yesterday was the dynamic day for squat so I was really just focusing on development of power off of the bottom. On the the Max effort squat day, I do some form of squat without a box.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

ME Bench
1. CGBP: 150/5X3 205/5 235/3 260/2 285/1 320/1PR
2. DBBP: 50/9 60/6 80/5 95/8 8 9 10
3. Can't name this exercise:
100/12 140/12 210/15 230/10 250/10
4. Bent over T raise: 10/5 20/5 25/15 15 15
5. BB Shrug: 225/10 8 275/15 15 15
6. Strict BB Curl: bar/10 65/5 75/10 switched to alt seated DB curl due to some wrist pain: 35/10 10

Hit a PR on narrow grip bench at 320 for 1. It felt easy. When I take the normal grip again, I will definitely have a PR on regular bench. Exercise#3 it is a cross between a row and a pulldown with a rope. I did it at Joe's studio once last summer. what you do is grab a rope connected to the overhead pulley and sit on the ground and pull it to your chest at that 45 degree angle and hold it for a sec and then release slow. I don't know a name for it other than a "sit on the ground 45 degree pulldown/row". Anyway, it felt great in the lats, mid and upper back. For shrugs, I didn't rep out; what I did was go slow and controlled getting the peak contraction and continuous tension. Same went for curls instead of my normal cheat form with swing. DB curls hit the belly of the muscle without stressing my wrist.

Can't wait for another max squat day on Saturday.

-- Edited by winflex at 22:41, 2008-12-18

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

ME SQ
1. SQ: bar/15 135/10 135/5X5(form tweaking) 185/ 5 3 225/5 3 3 255/2 135/25
2. Step up: bar/15, 95/10
3. DB Swing: 30/15, 15
4. Knee to elbow: 10 10 10

So this morning, I made the long trek from Robbinsville, NJ to Glenolden, PA to work out at Ironsport Gym. There I was learning the low bar squat from the "SQUATMASTER" himself, Bill Shiffler. He gave me a lot of pointers on my squat that i will practice and use towards making my squatting goals. The cues that seemed to work for me were to keep my elbows up, don't let my wrists get under the bar, always think up even when I'm going down, push the knees out, and fast on the bottom. I also learned that I've been doing my step ups way too low to get the effect I'm going for...and picked up a few good other exercises at the end in DB Swings and Knee to Elbow. Knee to Elbow is a leg raise but you bring your knee to your elbow. It feels great at the end of a heavy leg session on your low back and it works your abbas really good too.

Other than that I got to help out in the Overhead Anyhow competition, I did the time and I also counted off Bill's lifts. In one half hour, Bill did 256 Overhead presses with 80% of his bodyweight. The man is a machine. I realized how sucky my conditioning is and maybe I need to do some cardio or conditioning of some sort to get my work capacity up. Then I might be able to push myself a little harder in the gym by lowering my percieved rate of exhaustion.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Another knockout workout today:
RE BP
CGBP: 135/10 10 160/15 15 190/12 15
Chins: 15 12 12 11
Side lateral: 10/8 15/8 15/15 15 15 15
Face Pull: 2105/15 15 15 12
BHB Shrug: 135/10 185/10 10 10
Strict Standing DB Curls: 25/6 6 35/10 10 10

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

About to do some squats tonight. I'm definitely fueled up since I went out to lunch today and had plenty of rice : )

I'm still sore from this weekend at Ironsport but I'm really excited to practice some of the cues that I learned. I will do a RE (rep effort) type workout today instead of DE (dynamic effort) so that I can try to train myself through the motion with repetitive action. The weight will be lighter but that so the form will be perfect....that's what I'm aiming for tonight. Perfect form on every rep. Lets do this!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

RE SQ
SQ (no box this time): bar/20 10 135/15 155/15 15 12 felt strong 205/5 5 3 drop 135/15
Reverse lunge off a platform (for extra range on the low end): bar/10 10 75/10, 85/10 10
Dimel DL: 225/20 20
Pdown abs ss DB Sidebend: 140ss80/10 10 10 10 (no rest in b/w sets)

Heck of a squat workout. Hammies and glutes were still sore from Saturday but after a good stretch and warmup I was good to go. I felt strong after three sets with high reps around my 55% of 1RM; so I upped it to about 70% for a few sets. Looking back I should have pushed more reps but I was focusing on perfect form. Next time I'll push the reps up.
Afterward, I had a bodybuilding thought. Are my calves going to shrink if I don't do some calf work? I measured them tonight...They are still the same size. No worries.
I'll stick to worrying about the big muscles (hams, glutes, and quads) right now with my squat and dl's. That's where the most muscle is.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Here's a vid of one of the sets on Saturday with 225. Sorry for the sideways:

-- Edited by winflex at 00:42, 2008-12-24

-- Edited by winflex at 00:43, 2008-12-24

Bill · Member

Good stuff Dwayne.� And very good idea to work the squat the way you did too in this w/o.� A few weeks with low bar squat and you should be moving past your PR's.�

Bill · Member

We're so hardcore at Ironsport that even the laws of physics do not apply! biggrin

Yoster · The Truth!

NICE - you the man!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Squeezed in a workout between morning "gift attack" and "afternoon dinner":

ME Bench
1. CGBP: 160/5 5 190/5 225/3 255/1 295/4
2. DBBP: 100/10 10 8 8
3. 45 deg seated rope pulldown?: 230/10 240/10 250/8 7
4. bent T Raise: 25/15 15 15 15
5. BB Shrug: 225/10 295/15 15 15
6. Hi incline curl: 35/10 10 8

That's the end of the my first round of PL exercises. I will switch to different exercises but stay within the same structured plan with ME, and DE or RE days. I might start to incorporate a little cardio on off days so that I kick my cals up on those days a bit so I can stay anabolic. Goal for CGBP when I get back to it will be 315 for 4 reps. I wonder what my new regular grip BP is now. Time will tell. I'm definitely motivated for the new year. as I think my glutes and hamstrings have come up and will be able to work together to help my squat improve in the first couple months of the year. It will all come together soon....but now ITS TIME TO EAT!!!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I asked Santa for a few gym gifts and I got them. Yay!!
I put them to use today. Here's what I got:
New wrist wraps
A big rubber band for stretching
A foam roller...Man I love these
And most importantly a new lifting belt (this one was a big help today)

ME Lower
1. DL (PL style conventional):205/5 5 265/5 305/3 325/1 345/1 365/1 385/1 415/1**PR by 10 LBS
2. Reverse Lunge on a platform: 85: 2 sets of 15
3. 45o hyper (using glutes only): no weight: 2 sets of 20
4. Ab circuit (situps/sideups/knees to elbows on the floor): 3 sets of 15

Haven't done max effort DL's a in while. I have only been doing other versions of the DL as assistance (like RDL's, Hang DL's, Sumo DL's, Dimel DL's)..but I was happily surprised with the PR of 415 after getting 405 and not being able to budge 410 about a month or so ago. It actually came up off the floor like butter. That's usually where I fail. Right off of the floor. This time not a problem. My new belt is so much better than my old one. I felt a lot more support which helped keep my form nice and tight. I think that and the emphasis of squatting wider and back more helped to build up the posterior musculature in the last couple weeks or so. I got the gym late so I had to go lighter than I wanted on the assistance exercises but I pushed the reps instead. I had to do my ab circuit when I got home because the gym was closing when I finished the 45 deg hyper. Oh on those, I really focused on squeezing the glutes at the top and really pushing the hips forward and posteriorly tilting the pelvis, stretching the hip flexors. I must say my glutes were on fire after this workout. It was great!! Day off tomorrow, I'll be back at it on Sunday night.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Had two days off this weekend. Was supposed to train Sunday but travel plans made that impossible so I'm going to double up today..split into two workouts. This morning was rep effort upper, tonight will be an extra workout for posterior chain. Tomorrow I'll be back on schedule for Rep effort on lower.

So here's the workout today:
BP: bar/10 135/10 175/15 185/15 190/15 200/15
Parallel grip Chin: 15 15 10 10
Seated DB Cleans: 10/10 15/10 20/15 15 13 15
L-lateral: 15/ 15 15 13 15
BB Shrug in rack: bar/10 135/10 225/10 275/15 15 15 12
BB Curl (no swing, start at the top): bar/10 65/ 15 12 9

So, I switched back to BP instead of CGBP. Chins are now para grip. Seated DB cleans is a new exercise. L laterals are just there for variety in lateral raises. BB Shrug in rack is basically BB Shrug singles (pick it up, shrug it, put it down, repeat. For BB Curls, I changed it so I'm starting out at the top instead of the bottom...so the motion starts with a slow negative. It also helps with getting the hand position right for a good supination at the top.

I woke up this morning at 191 lbs. This is the leanest meanest 191 I've ever been. Feeling strong all day long!

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

Awesome stuff Dwayne!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Joe.

Went back tonight for a quick workout:
Pullthroughs: 5 X 15 with 100lbs
Knees to elbows Hanging abs: 3 X10
10 minutes on incline treadmill

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Lower Assistance
1. SQ: bar/5 95/5 135/5 155/5 175/3--work: 205/5 215/5 225/5 205/7 7
2. DB reverse lunge/one leg deadlift: 50's/ 8 8 8
3. One legged hip extension: 20/12 40/12 60/12
4. P'down abs ss p'down side abs: 100+40/15 110+60/15 110+80/15 15

I call today an assistance day because I didn't go for maximum grindage with the weights and I didn't go maximum reppage either. It was all about getting used to my good form under moderately heavier weights than last time. I stopped the work sets at five reps or so to maintain I had perfect form. I noticed that when I focused on maintaining the proper form under heavier weights on a five rep range I was able to correct myself when my old habits came back.
There were three critical things I made sure to focus on:
1. Do not lose the stretch on the hams and adductors.
2. Keep my elbows up, neutral wrist, and thumb over the bar not under.
3. Push my abs out to get a wider base. (This one is big because my midsection is not thick.)
I did a decent job on each of these today and I am happy with the results. As the sets went on I kept the cues in my head and corrected it everytime my body wanted to let up. One thing I think will help during the warm up for SQs will be to stretch out my chest. I noticed my form improving as my chest stretched out more.

fitmom726 · Guru

Happy New Year Dwayne!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Robin..same to you!

Happy New Year to everyone @ TFB!

I missed the gym today. I slept in and it closed early. I'll go tomorrow.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

...bout to go on a posting rampage once my rice is ready to eat...be back soon!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

First I'll start with tonights workout. I wasn't feeling particularly motivated but once the jets were rolling I hit a bunch of nice PR's. Thank goodness my gym switched to being 24hrs or else I wouldn't have been able to fit this entire workout in.

ME Bench
1.BP: bar/5 135/5 175/5 205/5 235/3 265/2 295/1 330/1 350/1**PR
2.Military Press: 45/10 95/10 115/10 125/8**PR 135/5**PR
3.BB Row: 135/10 165/10 195/10 205/10**PR 10 8 8
4.Incline T Raise: 15/15 15 10 10
5.BB Shrug:275/15 15 13 13 (raw hand no strappage no alt grip med thick bar)
6.Strict Incline DB Curl:25/4 sets of 12

So for a workout that was destined for failure, I was able to eek out some good PR's. 15 more lbs to the 365 bench goal. �I looked back in my log book to see the last time I did Militaries (barbell, standing, no leg drive), I was only able to get 125 for 6 and that was after not as many fatiguing sets as today. But this time I still got a nice 8 reps PR. �I know can do more but I think burnt myself on the preceding sets. �I will work on that in the upcoming weeks but a PR nonetheless. �I've been working mostly 1 arm DB rows and cable rows in the past couple months but coming back to BB Rows was nice..especially when I got the 205/10 PR. �The last time I attempted 205, I think I could only do 6. �I can do a whole lot more when I do the more upright version of the BB Row (like Dorian Yates 70 degree underhand pull to the belt rows) BUT this row was a true bent all the way over row with a pull to the sternum and probably only like 5-10 degrees above parallel with the floor. �The forearms were massive after pulling shrugs with the medium thick bar with no straps and the biceps were punished with some high repper incline curls.

Another note...

I have this funny pain on the inside part of my left elbow forearm area. �Well, I got this really good training book this Christmas called Basic Barbell Training by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore. �Well up until a few weeks ago when I trained with Bill I had been putting my thumb and wrist below the bar during squats. �Bill helped me to change that. �Well, I read in this new book that I got that the weight of the bar during squats should be supported totally by the upper back �(duh!) and when the wrists are under the bar, they tend to want to help out.....this leads to the funny elbow pain that I described before. �So now, I'm happy I know that and look forward to this pain in the elbow to go away with the new technique. �Every little bit helps. Now I take Bill's advice and the books advice seriously and never put my wrists under the bar during squats.�

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Here's why I like taking pictures in the offseason...you can see what you were like then and what you are like now. �I have some pics from Jan 2008 that I took and I have some pics that took yesterday. �I am happy with the progress. �Just have to keep getting stronger. �Strong will lead to big.

here are the 08's:

Here are the 09s:

I have no clue why these came out side ways and I apologize ahead of time for that. I'm ready to continue the offseason in 09 �and I can't wait to squat big.

Joe · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

nice progress Dwayne!�

And thanks for asking me to workout with you guys

Just busting chops.

Yoster · The Truth!

Dwayne,

This is what you look like in the off season?� Holly crums!!� I'm dieting my @ss off and I WISH I was cut like that.� Great progress as well!!