Journey to 600DL and 500SQ: First stop 405SQ - Team Franco Bodybuilding Forum: Competition and Fitness Board

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

RE: Journey to 600DL and 500SQ: First stop 405SQ

Yoster · The Truth!

Dwayne,

Sounds like they need to change the name of the gym

Presses are CRAZY man!!

Hey - thanks for the recent post on my workout - if I am on the same page as you and Carl I know I am in good company and moving in the right direction!!!

The Lioness · The Truth!

better to keep your workout focused then to feel discouraged by the stress of time....smart thinking Dwayne. Happy Birthday!!! are you gonna have cake? :)

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I had cheesecake (when I went out to dinner with the family), and egg-less cupcakes (daughter has an egg allergy).
_____________________

I HATE SAFETY SQUAT BAR SQUATS!!

SSB Squats: warms, 270 (really 295)/5 5 5
Bench: warms, 282.5/5 5 5
Litmus test>> regular squats with the bar: 1 set

Why do I hate SSB Squats so?
Because the SSbar hates Dwayne you know!

You can't sit back with the thing. If you sit too far back it makes you fall forward. And its way high up on your neck; so it forces you to use structures that are less capable to handle real weight. It pushes you forward due to the bent ends. It throws a lot of variables at you that a good ol' barbell does not. I'm sure it will make the barbell squats feel like cake when I get back to them but man for now, these things are hell. Talk about developing balance and coordination. Going to switch to 5 lb progression from here. So annoying. I can't wait for my forearm to get better SERIOUSLY!

On the bench I switched to the 2.5lb progression since that's where I'm at on press and I'm right about where I need to be proportionally to maintain healthy shoulders and keep growing that yoke.

I was going to do some hip extensions at the end but instead I did one set with just the bar on squats...and yes it was ridiculously easier than the SSB squats...but the reason I did these was to help stretch out the forearm...even though it was painful. I don't want it to heal without the proper range of motion...so I just did a bunch of reps up until I could bear with the forearm. I'll try to do this whenever possible to help with the flexibility there.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

DEADLIFTS TONIGHT...TIME TO SHOW 455 WHO'S BOSS!

Yoster · The Truth!

Bring it!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I usually don't like to start the training report with complaints but I'm going to anyway. I friggin despise SSB squats. I think I've said that over and over and over again in a past couple posts...BUT I continue to progress on those killers. Today, I took the liberty to put the safety squat bar on the scale in the gym. It weighed a whopping 73 lbs. I've been saying the real weight is 25 lbs more than a regular bar when its really been 28 lbs more than a regular bar....and all that weight is on my neck. High bar squats lay on the traps. Low bar squats lay on the rear delts. SSB squat lay way up on your neck. Talk about the lowest efficiency possible on squats BUT I am proud to say that I broke into the 300's today with this crappy form of squatting...which hopefully will be meaningful when I'm all healed up in the left forearm/elbow/bicep area. I've been testing it out and the bicep is just about 100 percent. The elbow and forearm still need more time though. Without further ado, here's how the thing went down:

SSB squats: warms, 275 (really 303)/5 5 5 (what a pain in the neck...literally)
Presses: warms, 190/5 5 5.5 :) (not great today on the repper...the bar got a little out in front and killed it..I was thinking to make the next jump be the last 2.5 lb jump and then go down to 1.25lb jumps and stop doing the last set repper outter. I think I've amassed enough volume to carry past my last PR of 201.25. When I hit 205X5X3, it will be televised).

And for the FINALE:

Deadlifts: warms (225/5, 315/5, 405/2), 455/5*PR GOTTEM..last rep was a little bit of a grind but broke the floor with ease. 465 is up next!

This workout was a pretty tough one for me. Probably one of the toughest so far. My protein was low today though and I think that was the reason. I had a really hectic day at work and my schedule was all over the place. I think it took a toll. I still hit the minimal numbers I was going for though which is a good thing but I have to be mindful throughout the day that I have to sneak out and get my protein (and other macros) even if I'm really busy. Sometimes its easy to forget about nutrition but when you are grinding your last rep, you regret not staying on top of it. Energy was low but strength was still there.

Actually since I started "stop trying to gain weight", I already lost about 3lbs in the first two weeks...without even thinking about it. I'm sure I have about 15-20 lbs to lose to be at my previous 8-10% lean body...but the muscle mass is definitely improved a whole lot. BUT alas, I'm not trying to lose weight right now, just maintain and see where I end up.

-- Edited by winflex on Friday 29th of January 2010 11:46:13 PM

The Lioness · The Truth!

nice with the 455 Dwayne!
I love how when people say "I lost 3lbs without trying" I always roll my eyes....because my body needs alot of work to drop weight - so I have nothing to say but that I'm hexed by your non-intentional weight loss. lol
great workout.....even if you hate ssb squats, so what your deadlifts ROCKED!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I'm a 29 year old "ectomorphic pretending to be mesomorphic" male flowing with testosterone. I think that has something to do with why I can drop weight easily. Believe me, its great when you want that, but a curse when you don't. The grass is always greener....

_______________________

NUTTIN BUT A PEANUT...well kinda

SSB Squat: warms, 285 (really 313)/5 5 5
Bench: warms, 285/5 5 5
RDL: skipped because I wanted to try out really squats to see how the left arm's doing
Squats: worked up to 275 for 5..had no pain and I think I'm going to make a programming change now.

As I push into the 300's with the SSB squats, I am starting to get good with it but also, I'm discovering new discomforts. Since the bar just sits on your neck and around your shoulders, it constricts the vein that runs from my left shoulder down to my left bicep. I can feel the pressure just build up throughout the set. My arm gets so tight even though its not involved in the lift at all. Weird...but its not enough to stop me from going up. I actually accidentally did a 10 lb jump on squats tonight...but it wasn't bad at all. I was really good with it. I'm going back to 5 lb jumps though.

Bench was nice and strong. I experimented with a belted squat. It felt pretty awesome. Not much different from an unbelted squat but there is a little difference, that will probably reveal itself when I get into the 300's with squat. I think tonight's bench was a PR. I don't think I ever did 285X5X3 before. I could be wrong. When I hit 300X5X3, it will definitely be a PR.

So I skipped RDL's because my back was still feeling the 455/5 effort on Deadlifts on Wednesday. I thought it was a great opportunity to do some "litmus test" squatting. I will do this every week now. Every Friday will be a litmus test and it will only be one set of 5 and I will try to progress it by 5 lbs a week. My left arm is at a point where I think I can start getting it back on the back squat and get it used to that position with weight little by little.

So all in all, a good week in training. I hate SSB Squats but there going well. DL's are my forte at this point...and I'm making strides to get back under a regular Back Squat. Pressing is also coming back to previous levels of strength...looking forward to the weeks to come!!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

SSB Squat: warms, 290 (really 318)/5 5 1+4*story here
Press: warms, 192.5/5 5 5
Hip extensions: 2 sets

SSB Squats were a cluster today. I messed up my pre workout meal so it was trying to revisit me during squats. So that wasn't pleasant. Then the last set, my right foot kept slipping..so it was kind of a disjjoint set. The gym was so humid and the floor of the power rack is metal. Not a good combo. I'm feeling a little beat up and its probably because of the bad food timing today and it was hard to get into it with all the slipping and people balancing on bosu balls today. Fridays and Wednesdays are the best...the silly balance ball people tend not to show up on those days.

Pressing went well...much easier this time around. 193.75 next...sticking to the sets of five and going to ride it all the way up to 205 and beyond.

Azbury · Guru

nice on the 455! feels damn good to lift heavy weight!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Yes it does...

And for deadlifts tonight I can smell the destruction of 465!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

SIYONARA 465!!!

Squats (regular bar..happy): warms, 250/5 5--really light today being gentle with the arm's comeback.
Bench: warms, 225/5 5 *needed a down day of pressing--a deload of sorts..upper body has been really tight lately, although I may be coming down with something.
Deadlifts: warms, 465/5*PR

Tonight's session I didn't want to SSB squat at all. My neck and collarbones are still bruised up from Monday's terrible session. So I went with a light regular bar squat. Happily there was no arm pain. Its still there but I didn't aggravate it. I think I may be getting close to doing these again full time. I should probably start icing like crazy and should have been doing that the whole time.

Bench took a "deload" day today. Shoulders, elbows, upper back, just need a break. So I went with about 80% of what I got up to last week on bench and did a couple sets there. It was really easy but I needed it.

So I had tons of energy going into deadlifts and 465 felt so light! I killed the first 4 reps and the last one I had to catch my breath because I was going so fast with it. It came up like paper.

Goal #4 (see post on January 9th) of the rehab period has been accomplished. I got up to 465 for 5 and now I'm going to exceed the goal because I'm still rehabbing the elbow. Only 2 press workouts away from hitting Goal #2. SSB squats are about 20lbs away from Goal #1; so about 4 SSB squat workouts for that one. Bench goal, goal #3, of 295X5X3 is not too far off as I have done 285X5X3 last week. So the rehab period is coming to a nice close and progress has continued on some major lifts.

Talked to a powerlifter at my gym today about injuries as he has just come off of shoulder surgery. He said to be smart and train around it and you'll be surprised how choosing different [full body] movements would translate into better competition movements. He asked what I had been doing instead of squats and I told him SSB squats and then he asked how has your deadlift been progressing. I said great. He said that's because the SSB squats carryover a lot to your deadlift. The SSB squat makes you want to fall forward and you are fighting to push back the whole lift. That is similar to what is happening on a deadlift..except you are much stronger on a deadlift due to the bar being below the torso instead of ontop of the neck. I never thought about it that way. He also said that I shouldn't be surprised if my squat actually went up after getting back to it because the SSB squats incorporate more quads because you are trying to stay upright the whole time. More quads, more back strength, more posterior chain, equals a bigger squat. Its a harder movement but its more secure than a front squat so even though it drops your forward sometimes, you can still muscle it out and get the benefit of the movement in many areas...which in turn makes you stronger overall.

I am stoked to see what I can do under a regular bar here in a few weeks. I may be happily surprised!

-- Edited by winflex on Friday 29th of January 2010 11:45:13 PM

the2ndoak · Beyond Nutrition - Co Owner

Nice work big guy, keep us posted

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I'M BACK...well almost!

Squats (you read that right..no safety bar): warms, 315/5 5 5 (very little pain...woohoo!)
Press: warms, 193.75/5 5 6.5*rep PR

Hip extensions: 2 sets of many many many reps

I decided it was time to ditch the SSB squats for the time being and see how it would feel to Barbell squat again. I did a ton of warmup sets to make sure that I wasn't going to bang anything up again. It was a very cautious workout on these but I was happy to bang out an easy 315X5X3 with minimal pain. I'm not 100% but I'm almost there. I'm going to take it slow because I don't want to re-injure anything but man it felt great to get in there and do these again.

I was so pumped from the squats that I decided to go for a rep max on Press on the last set. I should have gotten seven but I just gave up on the lockout. It was all my bad on that rep. So I'm taking credit for 6.5 and if I ever have to come back down to 193.75 again, I'm going to get that 7 or more. To think, I did 187.5 for 7 a few days ago...almost got that with 193.75 awesome! It really shows how an attitude adjustment can make you stronger: ) I love squats.

In the next couple weeks, I'm going to experiment with doing a down day on Wednesdays and keep SSB squats in the mix. So it will look like this:

Mondays:

Barbell Squat

Bench or Press

Hip extensions

Wednesdays:

SSB Squats

Press or Bench

Deadlifts

Fridays:

Barbell Squat

Bench or Press

Hip Extensions or RDL's or whatever I feel like.

I can definitely feel the positive affect that the SSB squats have made on my squat. My upper body is a brickhouse right now in the hole thanks to the SSB squats...and my speed off the floor on the deadlift is at an all time high...so I definitely want to keep them in. I hate'em so they must be doing something good for me.

That's it for now!

-- Edited by winflex on Friday 29th of January 2010 11:48:25 PM

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Quick and dirty:

Barbell Squats: warms, 320/5 5 5
Bench: warms, 287.5/5 5 5
Hip extensions: 2 sets of numerous reps

Left arm is learning all over again. I won't force it (too much). SSB Squats ("down"day) on Wednesday...ALSO, I have a battle with 475 on deadlifts.

Yoster · The Truth!

Only 287.5 on the bench? What the heck is wrong with you!!!

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Good thing I didn't weigh the bar and each plate separately...I would have had a few more significant digits in there! Maybe one Friday, when no one is there, I'll weigh a couple 45 lb plates to see what the standard deviation of the mean is.

290 next!!

Yoster · The Truth!

you are messed up - definately an Engineer!!! Wow 287 - I'll get there someday!!

The Lioness · The Truth!

weighing the bar and the plates....wowwwww you are no joke!
in all seriousness though....isn't it all about progress and progression anyway Dwayne?
i commend your commitment to success.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

LOL...Gina I was just kidding.

*****************************************

OFF NIGHT. OFF DAY. OFF WORKOUT....period.

Squats (backoff): warms, 255/5 5
Presses:warms, 195/5 5 5.5
Deadlift: warms, 475/4

I got to bed early last night but woke up around 3 a.m. and had a heck of a time getting back asleep. When I got up from bed to get ready for work today, I was just EXHAUSTED. The day was a total drag. Probably one of the boring-est days at work EVER. My shoulders also felt a little off all day. I must have slept on them weird throughout the night or something...and I was sore all over..especially in my hams and erectors.

Something is up with my recovery. I think its because this weekend I drank a little too much on two occasions...and for me, just the fact that I drank, it was too much. I usually don't drink at all. It must be the alcohol affecting my recovery. Well, I'll take it as a lesson and lay off the booze this weekend.

I couldn't budge the deadlift for the 5th rep. I was just too tired. It was a long boring day and by this time in the workout, I just wanted to go home. I'll get it next week.

I had a heck of run though 385 for 5 all the way up to 475 for 4. Its not over just a minor pitfall. I wonder what my max DL is now!

The Lioness · The Truth!

475 is pretty impressive....keep on keepin on Dwayne!

Oh...you WERE joking about weighing the bar and plates lol

BRICKHOUSE · The Truth!

Be careful, we don't want any setbacks.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

I'll hit it again next week with a little more fervor!!!

______________________________________________

Today's work:
Squats: warms, 325/5 5 5
Bench: warms, 290/5 5 5
Hip extensions: 1 set to failure

So, I realized that yes I was tired on Wednesday but I also have switched it up to hip extensions on Mondays and Fridays with super duper high reps. I think this is why my hams and erectors have been so sore. Duh!!! So maybe on Monday's I won't go to failure since I know Deadlifts are coming up on Wednesday. That and all the other recovery things like sleep will be taken care of.

No pain in the arm for squats...makes me happy. I'm really being stickler for form on these so as to not cause the elbow issue again. Not a very difficult weight yet...but I'm taking it slow still; long gone are the days of make 20 lb jumps per workout 3 times a week. I'm keeping it to 5 lbs twice a week with a down day in the middle. I'm recovering really well with this and I think its helping to stave off the arm pain.

Bench was extraordinary today. I really have gotten my groove back with these and I'm continuing to take it really slow with 2.5 lb jumps per workout hitting bench every 4 to 5 days.

Lesson learned is, slow and steady wins the race. Hopefully, I'll still hit the mini goal of either a 375X5 or at least 405X1 by Feb 27 as stated in my first post of this log for the first stop. When I achieve this, it will be time to make another mini goal towards to the ultimate 500 squat.

Yoster · The Truth!

Way to keep going - making awsome gains. I'm still having trouble getting unstuck with chest myself

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

Thanks Dave...I hope to hit my 475X5 deadlift this week. I'm going to transition from 10lb jumps each week to 5 lb jumps and just take it as far as it will go. I'm hoping that I can take it all the way up to 500 and then start up some more complex programming for that again. I estimate my Deadlift 1 rep max to be about 525-535 range right now. Just an estimation though, doesn't mean anything until I get it. The ultimate goal will be the "female moose deadlift" or 600 lb deadlift.

Don't sweat the bench presses. When you have more time, your going to have to put on a few pounds and just press heavy for a couple months. It will move up. I think that for lagging bodyparts, really its just a matter of forcing the issue with caloric overload and lifting overload. Something has to be sacrificed to make the gain, and I believe that for me, it was the squeaky clean eating all the time. Growing tree trunks for legs requires a lot more food than that. Chest probably won't be that bad but its going to be something more than you have done in the past...

BRICKHOUSE · The Truth!

Great job, and glad to hear about the slow and steady. By the way, thanks now I'm watching Layne Norton's videos.

Yoster · The Truth!

winflex wrote:

Thanks Dave...I hope to hit my 475X5 deadlift this week. I'm going to transition from 10lb jumps each week to 5 lb jumps and just take it as far as it will go. I'm hoping that I can take it all the way up to 500 and then start up some more complex programming for that again. I estimate my Deadlift 1 rep max to be about 525-535 range right now. Just an estimation though, doesn't mean anything until I get it. The ultimate goal will be the "female moose deadlift" or 600 lb deadlift.

Don't sweat the bench presses. When you have more time, your going to have to put on a few pounds and just press heavy for a couple months. It will move up. I think that for lagging bodyparts, really its just a matter of forcing the issue with caloric overload and lifting overload. Something has to be sacrificed to make the gain, and I believe that for me, it was the squeaky clean eating all the time. Growing tree trunks for legs requires a lot more food than that. Chest probably won't be that bad but its going to be something more than you have done in the past...

That is what I am looking forward to - just doing something different to make gains. Would really like to put on some goood solid poundage on the weight and on me both.

winflex · Beyond Nutrition Sponsored Athlete

KIcKiN ArSe and TAKIN NAMES...
yeah buddy...

Squat: warms, 330/5 5 5
Presses: warms, 196.25/5 5 7*PR

Hip extensions: 3 sets of moderate reps instead of two to failure-just getting the blood in there...trying not to burn out hammies for deads on Wednesday...its on!!!

Squats felt really good today, really smooth...nothing like the 20 reps with nearly double bodyweight that Lisa M did. Hey but I'll take it. Presses went extremely well. I really recovered well this weekend being locked up in the snow and sleeping. LOL! Maybe some of the shoveling helped the recovery too to get the blood flowing. I went for a rep max on the last set since I was feeling extremely strong with this movement today. I believe my last 7 rep Pr was with 187.5lbs on Jan 15th. Nearly a 10 lb increase there. Delts and traps all the way!!

The Lioness · The Truth!

nice PR on the presses Dwayne! the patience is paying off;)