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It's not over until I beat Matty -- Castiel's battle log


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You must be new here. They're completely non-functional, can be replaced entirely with chin-ups, and only semi-retarded bros do them and always by occupying the squat rack. FFS dude, pay attention.

For a second I missed the sarcasm and grew concerned.

I stand firm that DB curls have allowed me to master the beer curl...the most important curl of them all.

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Curls are interesting. They are clearly valuable, and from a bodybuilding perspective, the best way to build big biceps (duh). That said, I think they are a waste of time for most beginners who would be better off starting by working on compounds and getting larger overall before specifically working arms. In my mind, all power starts at the hips, and the body is built outwards from there, which is why working specifically on arms comes later in the game. Then again, look at me vs someone bodybuilding and you will see what the result is (Rawr! I'm a dinosaur!).

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Yeah, gut reaction against curls because of bros. Also, up until a couple weeks ago, I didn't do them as they didn't really have a space in my program. I have only just started with isolation work to support the big stuff, and it's a bit of an adjustment.

Yeah I feel like so many people shun them because of curlbros and the such and fear of being labeled. But I think a whole workout shouldn't be dedicated to curls, but they are an important exercise to have as part of you program. Strong arms mean strong triceps and biceps and forearms. Strong all over.
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5/3/1 Week Three - Press

 

I start off week three, heavy singles, of my first cycle of 5/3/1 with a bit of an up and down workout.

 

Strict presses felt great, and I hit a PR of 145x2, which is great considering how much trouble I've had with this lift.

 

 

However, for some idiotic reason, I decided (as I have been) to save the Log for the very end of the workout, after 5/3/1 press, and after all my high rep assistance work. So, I was shot before I even started. I ran the same scheme as my presses, but with a higher weight, and flew through the triple at 160:

 

 

However, when I attempted to go for my PR of 190x1, I just could not lock out. My triceps, and to a lesser extent my shoulders were shot.

 

FAILURE VIDEO!! [edit: this was the second go round at this weight, and my phone was dying, apparently. Lemme get the first failure video]

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Lol that last failure attempt looked a lot like me this morning.

You're strong so you are muscling thru these, but your clean form needs some work. It looks like you curling the log up and then doing a barbell clean. Also in the rack position the log seems to be pretty far out in front of you. Again you're strong enough to still get the log up but I would check out Alan Thrall and Kalle Beck's How To Log Press videos

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Lol that last failure attempt looked a lot like me this morning.

You're strong so you are muscling thru these, but your clean form needs some work. It looks like you curling the log up and then doing a barbell clean. 

 

I'll keep working on that and watch some more form videos. 

 

 

 

Also in the rack position the log seems to be pretty far out in front of you.

 

This must be a bit of a trick of perspective and how small my chest is., because I keep hitting my neck in the rack position. There is nowhere else for it to go.

 

Thanks for the tips, and I'll keep working on it.

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I just kind of post them so they are there. Help with my form is always appreciated. It's interesting being on the other side of the strength vs technique.

 

The last time I thought about that was when I played football a decade ago. I had the best tackling and block-breaking technique on the team because I was the scrawniest and weakest and I couldn't stand being the worst. One of my favorite moments in my one season as a benchwarmer was the look on our star halfback's face as they him run against me time after time in the alley. I was the only one who could take him down consistently in tackling drills. Shame that didn't translate to being any good at football.

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In that case....rewatch the triple at 160. During the rack, look where your elbows are pointed and how your head is still looking forward. This is what I meant when I said the log is out in front of you.

Recent video about fixing the rack. Let me know if you see the difference I'm talking about or like you said it might just be the camera angle.

http://youtu.be/wFHkwTnkxMI

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5/3/1 Week 3 - Deadlift.

 

So I managed to get out of the house super late today, so I only had time to do my cleans and deads before work. Then I got called out of work, so I skipped my assistance work for nothing. Ugh.

 

That said, I had a pretty good workout. It's singles week in my 5/3/1, and instead of following my program like I'm supposed to, I decided to try and pull my PR. 

 

I hit 350 for a double, as dictated by my program (huzzah for that last set being 1+), but then I decided to go for 365. 

 

On the first try, my grip actually failed, which is the first time that's ever happened. It was very weird. I got the weight off the floor, and above my knees, but couldn't lock out because I couldn't hold on.

 

Not to be dismayed, and because I was still frustrated from failing to match my Log PR yesterday, I decided to give it one more try.

 

 

The form was a little off: I need to work on keeping the bar path closer to my body, and getting my back and hips a little better coordinated than they are, and I also got super excited and dropped the weight. However, it felt good, and that's a 15lb PR in the first cycle of 5/3/1. I felt like I might have been able to pull another 10lbs, but I had to go get ready for work (or so I thought).

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Missed a couple days on the log, so you get some cliffs notes.

 

 

5/3/1 Week 3, Bench.

 

Not much interesting here. Hit 225 for a double, and it felt great. Tried for a 245 and failed. Going for extra singles at the end of 5/3/1 is not easy, and I'm not sure why I keep trying to do it.

 

Speaking of questionable decisions, moving on to 

 

5/3/1 Week 3, Squats (FAILURE FRIDAY!!)

 

I managed to hit a double at 320, but then failed a single at 350. Not sure why I thought I could do 350, but it didn't come close. Need to work on getting out of the hole. My lockout is really strong, but I have some trouble at the bottom. Glutes, I guess?

 

As usual, at the end I worked on my dumbbell.

 

 

They felt smoother and better than last week, but I think I can still get the clean and rack more efficient.

 

Then I decided I hated myself and wanted to try to go for the Dumbbell with the caps on either end. 

 

 

Came surprisingly close. Going to keep grinding away at that.

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