Rooks - Tracking the Daily Grind...

[Rooks]

Nope.  Switched from OHP days to Incline Press days in hopes to get more carryover to my bench for my upcoming competition.

[Rooks]

So finally got around to doing 2 projects that I have for the gym stuff.  First, I got the bumper stands built.  Still need to sand down some little knobs on the 90 corners, clean all the PVC, then glue it all together, but at least got the idea built.  Setup is for 3 45's on each side, 1 25, and the 15 and 10 together.  
 

 
Second, I finally got around to fixing my homemade foam roller.  I had a piece of 4" PVC laying around originally I had tried to make some 2" pipe foam that I got from Home Depot fit.  It turned out like crap.  It didn't sit flush and just didn't look great.  I like things to at least look nice when I'm done so I cut off all the padding and started looking for options.  Found some articles that said Walmart sold camping pads that work great.  Sure enough, it was exactly what I needed.  Put 3 pieces of duct tape on the inside with the sticky side up to hold it in place.  Then rolled it onto the PVC, cut the pad to length, and finished it off using some gaff tape I had laying around.  Turned out exactly how I wanted.  I ended up having to trim down the PVC about 4" on one end, but easily done with a hacksaw (making sure to take my time and cut it straight.  
 

 
Side shot.



Happy I got those 2 done. Progress on home projects is always nice.

[El Exorcisto]

Wrapping foam around a perfectly good piece of PVC pipe... pussy.

[Rooks]

4/19/2015

Total Time:  60 Minutes

 

LBBS

• 3 @ 135lbs
• 3 @ 135lbs
• 3 @ 185lbs
• 3 @ 225lbs

Notes:  First squats I've done since hurting my knee.  No real pain, although my knee felt pretty tired yesterday.  Not sure how else to describe it.  Anyway, knee feels great this morning (morning after).  Also, was experimenting with low bar.  Noticed some pretty severe butt wink which I don't have for high bar.  So yeah... I'll have to figure that out.

 

Paused Bench

• 5 @ 185lbs
• 3 @ 205lbs
• 2 @ 230lbs

Notes:  First 2 sets were stupid easy.  230 felt heavy, but got 2 reps without much of an issue at all.

 

TNG Bench (w/ Slingshot)

• 8 @ 230lbs

Notes:  So I picked up a Reactive Slingshot recently so figured I'd give it a try yesterday.  Wow.  230 felt like it was nothing.  Just started pumping out reps like crazy. 

 

Called it a day after this since had to get ready for church.

[matty_mcfly]

My list of lifting equipment/gear that I want just keeps growing.  How are you liking the Slingshot after one session with it?

[Rooks]

So here's a quick video showing the difference between the two sets.  Obviously one was paused and one was not, but honestly, it made 230 feel stupid light off my chest.  It just flew up.  So it'll definitely get me using heavier weights which from a mental perspective, I don't see how it'll hurt.  It'll get me used to unracking those types of weights and moving them so that'll only be beneficial.  But that said, I've done 1 set with it, so I have no real idea on the training benefit because it did do a lot of the work off my chest.  And this is just the Reactive version.  I can't even imagine how much the upper level Slingshots actually add.

 

And, yes.  I took my shirt of again as long sleeves don't work too well with the slingshot.  Beware of the glare off my pasty white belly fat.

 

[Rooks]

4/22/2015

Total Time:  80 Minutes

 

Paused Incline

• 5 @ 160lbs
• 3 @ 185lbs
• 2 @ 205lbs

Paused Bench (w/ Slingshot)

• 5 @ 225lbs
• 3 @ 245lbs (this set was more of a TNG set as I just sort of forgot to pause)
• 3 @ 245lbs
• 2 @ 255lbs

Close Grip Bench

• 5 @ 185lbs (for 3 sets)

Dips

• 8
• 3
• 4

Treadmill

• 1:00 @ 3.0 MPH
• 1:00 @ 5.0 MPH
• 6:00 @ 6.0 MPH
• 2:00 @ 7.0 MPH
• 2:00 @ 2.5 MPH

Ab Rollouts

• 5 (for 2 sets, tried a 3rd, failed on rep 1)

Overall Notes:  So there's a crew of people that do Beachbody videos over lunch here at my work.  Normally they have their own space, but it was being used today so they migrated down to the gym.  So I got to watch that all workout long.  Brought back so many bad memories of P90X.  That and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself listening to Shaun T bark out motivation stuff while saying they were going to get so strong doing their 800th bicep curl into a squat.  Don't get me wrong.  From a cardiovascular perspective, that stuff is brutal.  But I can't help but feel there's better ways to do it.  That's one thing I really remember from P90X was that I was losing weight, but damn if I never got to increase the dumbbells I was using or never started pumping out more pull-ups.  I remember struggling to figure out what the hell I was doing wrong since Tony Horton couldn't be just trying to get money from me, he really wanted me to get in shape!

 

Anywho, workout felt amazing.  Cold is finally subsiding and damn if I didn't hit it hard.  Threw in the overload bench just cause I wanted more time with the slingshot.  It's super fun.  It really is just a simplified bench shirt.  Going to be very curious to see what adding in weekly overload sessions actually accomplishes with my overall numbers. 

[matty_mcfly]

Haha yea, I, too, did P90X and Insanity.  I don't think I ever made it past week 4 or 5. And Tony & Shaun don't care about your money, they only care about your gains.  But the capitalistic society we live in forces them to have to charge for their DVDs....

 

Do you find that you get the same effect from te Slingshot when doing the paused reps versus touch n go?

[Rooks]

Haha yea, I, too, did P90X and Insanity.  I don't think I ever made it past week 4 or 5. And Tony & Shaun don't care about your money, they only care about your gains.  But the capitalistic society we live in forces them to have to charge for their DVDs....

 

Do you find that you get the same effect from te Slingshot when doing the paused reps versus touch n go?

 

Maybe even more so as with TNG you still getting a lot of natural rebound effect.  With paused, you lose a lot of that, but the Slingshot pops the weight off your chest so much.  I was slightly concerned 255 wasn't going to move, but that double wasn't really hard. 

 

Obviously still pretty limited exposure, but it's a fun little tool.  That said, for all I was talking about the Beachbody crew, they probably thought I looked goofy as hell slapping on my Slingshot and wristwraps for those heavy sets. 

[Rooks]

4/25/2015
Total Time:  60 Minutes
 
Low Bar Back Squat

• 1 @ 225lbs
• 1 @ 275lbs
• 1 @ 315lbs

Notes:  Just messing with my low bar form and seeing how well the knee holds up.  Low bar actually felt great.  275 flew up.  315 felt heavy but went up with no issues and watching the video, I have a lot left in the tank assuming my knee can hold up.  Given how this is the first time I've gone over 225 in well over 4 weeks, I was very happy.  We'll see how the knee feels tomorrow.  Might post up the video later if I can find some time.  Again, the knee feels "tired" post lifting, but not sore or anything like that.  It's a very strange feeling.  The only thing causes my knee any pain any more is extreme external rotation (think pigeon pose or pulling your ankle up on the other knee).  Been trying to find some ideas on what might be causing that, but have been coming up empty so far so might end up going back to the doctor one more time.
 
Bench / Curl Super Set (Warrior Mini-Challenge)
 

Didn't weigh in, but was 215 on Tuesday, so went with 220 to be safe. Also, don't own an EZ curl bar, so just did a straight bar. 165lb bench, 55lb Curl.

R1: 15/15
R2: 13/14
R3: 13/12
R4: 12/14
R5: 12/10
Total: 130

And the best double bicep I could manage.

[El Exorcisto]

It sounds like your knee pain is because of a lack of hip mobility, not just because your knee sucks. Try working external rotation of the hip in ways that don't bother your knees and see if the pain goes away. Once I got my glute working properly and my iliopsoas loosened up my similar sounding knee pain disappeared.

[Tankweazel]

So here's a quick video showing the difference between the two sets.  Obviously one was paused and one was not, but honestly, it made 230 feel stupid light off my chest.  It just flew up.  So it'll definitely get me using heavier weights which from a mental perspective, I don't see how it'll hurt.  It'll get me used to unracking those types of weights and moving them so that'll only be beneficial.  But that said, I've done 1 set with it, so I have no real idea on the training benefit because it did do a lot of the work off my chest.  And this is just the Reactive version.  I can't even imagine how much the upper level Slingshots actually add.

 

And, yes.  I took my shirt of again as long sleeves don't work too well with the slingshot.  Beware of the glare off my pasty white belly fat.

 

You are a brave man to try benching in a slingshot without a spotter.

I've seen people use slingshots and rams as a way of training for equipped bench without the hassle of a shit, and people who have used it to overload the lockout as it mainly helps off the chest.

[Rooks]

You are a brave man to try benching in a slingshot without a spotter.

I've seen people use slingshots and rams as a way of training for equipped bench without the hassle of a shit, and people who have used it to overload the lockout as it mainly helps off the chest.

 

Any reason why the Slingshot would be any different then normal benching sans spotter?  Hadn't even really crossed my mind that it would be issue, although now that you mention it, might be a bit more difficult to just un-arch and let go of the bar.  I think it's still doable. 

 

Either way, no real other options for me as usually no one around where I workout.  The life of a garage gymer.

[Tankweazel]

Any reason why the Slingshot would be any different then normal benching sans spotter?  Hadn't even really crossed my mind that it would be issue, although now that you mention it, might be a bit more difficult to just un-arch and let go of the bar.  I think it's still doable. 

 

Either way, no real other options for me as usually no one around where I workout.  The life of a garage gymer.

I've seen people put one on for the first time at their max or just over, then the slingshot throws them offline during the press.  Normal benching doesn't have that risk of being popped out of line for a failure so you're much less likely to drop something on your face.

I'd be scared of damaging my racks using them to spot in this situation.

But the benefits of using a slingshot for overloading are massive, so if you feel safe an confident there isn't any reason why you shouldn't be using it.

[Rooks]

5/1/2015

Total Time:  80 Minutes

 

Paused Incline

• 5 @ 165lbs
• 5 @ 175lbs
• 4 @ 185lbs

Paused Bench (w/ Slingshot)

• 3 @ 245lbs (for 3 sets)

Spoto Press

• 3 @ 210lbs (for 3 sets)

Close Grip Bench

• 3 @ 210lbs (for 3 sets)

Notes:  Great day as it's the first time I hit the gym in a long while.  That said, I got a bit too anxious and did my 2nd set of incline like 60 seconds after my first.  Got it done, but knew set 3 was going to be tough.  Rep 5 didn't even make it off my chest.  That said, everything else on the day felt great.  Just took a long while.  Probably need to axe at least one of the accessory lifts to be able to fit in my cardio and abs. 

[El Exorcisto]

[Rooks]

5/2/2015

Total Time:  50 Minutes

 

Deadlift

• 5 @ 325lbs
• 5 @ 350lbs
• 1 @ 370lbs

Notes:  Did literally like 30+ minutes of warm-up between trying out the below warm-up and doing probably 8 or 9 sets leading up to my working sets.  That said, I made a big gaff here.  I decided I was going to keep my working 1RM at 440 despite having taken a near 2 month break at this point.  Dumb.  Knew I probably wasn't pulling 370 for 5 after about the 3rd rep of 325.  Just felt super heavy.  Anyway, glad I got through as much as I did.  Will be backing off my working 1RM to 405 for this cycle and we'll see where things are after that.  Got some video of the whole thing so I'll try and get that uploaded and post a form check.  Think they are solid, but always good to double check. 

 

Anyway, as mentioned, the warm-up.  It's a Duffin / Mark Bell post.  Still haven't figured out the Hip Side to Side as I didn't really feel much there.  And the Airplanes things were just plain hard to balance.  And I didn't feel much of any hip "popping".  That said, the Goblets and the Single leg squats felt great and got a good sweat going. 

 

 

Ended up outside mowing the lawn and working on prepping the AC for the summer (did you know you are supposed to vacuum the radiators in an AC?).  Anyway, I'm fully wasted now.  It's only 8:30 and I feel just gassed.  Going to have get used to these hot days again. 

[Rooks]

5/4/2015

First, let's just get this out of the way. 

 

Was never a huge Star Wars guy, as I was born a bit too young to be engrossed in the first set, and the 2nd set never really caught my attention since they mostly sucked.  That said... I'm still a Nerd at heart. 

 

Total Time:  30 Minutes

 

Paused Bench

• 5 @ 175lbs
• 5 @ 185lbs
• 5 @ 195lbs
• 6 @ 210lbs
• 8 @ 160lbs
• 8 @ 160lbs

Notes:  I know what your thinking.  4 working sets?  That's not 5/3/1.  And you'd be correct.  I screwed up the weight and put on 175 for the first set.  It felt stupid easy.  So easy that I thought I'd better check my weights.  Yep... I was wrong.  But I was feeling great today to figured I'd see if I could punch through all 3 working sets even with a close to working set warm-up.  Wasn't an issue.  Last two sets were done with only a minute rest between sets.  Just to get a bit of burn going.  Overall, very pleased with how pressing went.  I went in about an 1/2 inch on each side from where I normally grip and it felt way more powerful.  Will definitely be sticking there for the time being.  Figured that out based on where my hands naturally wanted to go with the slingshot on.  Also, I messed around with doing some sledge hammer swings today as a warm-up.  My forearms and shoulders were definitely warmed up after a solid 5 minutes.  Felt pretty good although I will want to get some video in the near future if I want to keep doing them, just to make sure I'm not way off base. 

 

Ring Push-ups

• 5
• 3

Notes:  Planned on doing more, but just ran out of time.  Had to go pick the kiddo up from daycare.  Such is life.  Wanted to take today easier anyway as tomorrow is a Squat Day.

[Rooks]

Such is life.  Wanted to take today easier anyway as tomorrow is a Squat Day.

I should just stop making plans like that.  Work is having too much fun screwing with my schedule right now.  Haha.... and it's not even directives from work.  Yesterday, I found an issue that I really felt needed to be reported so I ended up staying late to work with the developers to get in there hands.  Such is life. 

 

5/6/2015

Total Time:  80 Minutes

 

OH Squat (Clean Grip)

• 3 @ 105lbs (for 3 sets)

LBBS

• 5 @ 260lbs
• 5 @ 275lbs
• 5 @ 295lbs

Notes:  All these weights moved very easy considering this was the first time I've done multiple heavy sets since I screwed up my knee.  No knee pain and Low Bar felt great. 

 

LBBS Tempo Squats

• 1 @ 225lbs (for 3 sets)

Notes:  7 second descent.  3 second pause.

 

HBBS

• 3 @ 225lbs (for 3 sets)

Notes:  Just cause I still like High Bar.  Might as well get the quads a bit more work. 

 

Overall notes:  I was gassed at the end of all this.  Only felt one little minor twinge in my knee while unracking the weight in the 2nd Tempo Squat.  Otherwise, it seemed to hold up fine.  The knee sleeves feel great.  Definitely keep things very warm, although, I went with the "tight" fit and it gets a little old after wearing them for an hour plus.  All this said, tomorrow will be the real indicator to me as far as my knee goes.  Was very happy with how the weights moved in my 5/3/1 sets.  295 felt heavy during the unrack, but once I get set the squats seemed fairly easy.  I'm not good with the whole RPE stuff but guessing, I'd have ranked it an 8.  Good to know that switching to Low Bar seems to have indeed left my Squat numbers relatively the same (as compared to where I was with High Bar pre-injury). 

[Rooks]

5/8/2015

Total Time:  60 Minutes

 

Incline Paused Press

• 3 @ 175lbs
• 3 @ 185lbs
• 3 @ 200lbs

Paused Bench (w/ Slingshot)

• 3 @ 245lbs (for 3 sets)

Close Grip Bench

• 3 @ 210lbs

Overall Notes:  Got to chatting with a co-worker and wasted a lot of time.  Simply ran out of time as I had to get to daycare and pick up the kiddo.  Such is life.

 

5/9/2015

Total Time:  120 Minutes

 

Deadlift

• 3 @ 330lbs
• 3 @ 350lbs
• 3 @ 370lbs

Circus DB Work

• 1 @ 55lbs

Kroc Rows

• 20 @ 80lb DBs (for 3 sets)

Ab Rollouts

• 5 (for 2 sets)

Overall Notes:  Got through my working sets just fine in my Deads, but again 370 felt heavier then it should have.  Next, I wanted to see how hard this Circus DB thing is that all the strongmen folk have been complaining about.  So I figured I'd take one of fat DB handles I made awhile ago that have been collecting dust and try it out.  That said, after spending 15 minutes hauling everything outside and getting it all setup, I realized that the "collars" I wanted to use where not going to work.  I got a pair of OFW SuperStrap Barbell Collars when we bought the bumpers, but frankly, they turned out to be just utter crap.  They slid all over the place on my DB handles.  Couldn't even keep a 25lb plate in place by itself.  One of them moved a solid 3 inches just in the 1 DB Press I did.  So yeah... spent another 15 minutes moving everything back in the house and downstairs.  Probably going to have to build my own collars for those.  Another thing on the list.  Anyway, that's why the workout was so long.

 

Plan on doing a test between all 4 of my sets of collars (since they are all a bit different) here soon just to see if these SuperStrap Collars are as truly craptastic as yesterday showed or if it's just the fact that I was using them on pipe instead of a barbell.

[El Exorcisto]

A fat DB is nothing like a circus DB. I tried training it with an Oly handle with a fat grip and it couldn't have been more different on game day.

[Rooks]

Yeah.... I figured, but it was the closest I had (or thought I had).  Figured you'd be excited to me trying some of that strongman stuff.

[The Most Loathed]

I have some 2 inch handles and spring collars that work on them that I'm not using if you want to try it out. I may still have my 3 inch handles is you really want to be humbled,

[El Exorcisto]

Yeah.... I figured, but it was the closest I had (or thought I had).  Figured you'd be excited to me trying some of that strongman stuff.

 

Oh I love reading about anyone doing shit that doesn't fit neatly into the usual. The circus dumbbell is just a hellish abomination. I have 5 days with an empty house coming up and I'll be making a Kalle Beck circus DB out of a pair of propane cylinders and a length of 2" sch 80. Put that monstrosity together in your head and you'll see what I mean.

[Rooks]

I have some 2 inch handles and spring collars that work on them that I'm not using if you want to try it out. I may still have my 3 inch handles is you really want to be humbled,

 

May take you up on that.  We'll see how soon I can get to actually finishing my handles.  I'm hoping to get out to my dad's (i.e. access to a welder) here in the next few weeks so might not need it.  But damn... 3" handles would rough.  I realized that

 

Oh I love reading about anyone doing shit that doesn't fit neatly into the usual. The circus dumbbell is just a hellish abomination. I have 5 days with an empty house coming up and I'll be making a Kalle Beck circus DB out of a pair of propane cylinders and a length of 2" sch 80. Put that monstrosity together in your head and you'll see what I mean.

 

How thick is the handle on a typical circus DB?  I can't really find solid info.  Rogue's monster bells list at either 2.5" or 3" handle.  The Monster Circus DB doesn't list what the handle width is.