Meat and Barbells: The tales of a wannabee strength athlete

[monopoly]

So I have been on here a bit more lately and figured I would start a log. Not alot of people training for strength but I think we can all learn from each other.

As for me, I'm 31 years old, really started training when I was 20. At 20 I was 6"4 and 180lbs. As of yesterday I was sitting at 268lbs, still 6"4.

The last 5 years have been spent with a focus on strength/strongman training. Best lifts are as follows;

335 overhead
365 bench (sucks)
525 squat (wraps and belt)
650 dead (belt)
Other random stuff; 400 stone load, 900ish yoke, 385 farmers

As you can tell, my limit strength is not that great. I am pretty athletic and fast however and that has what helped me with the strongman stuff. All that said, I think my time in strongman is phasing out. I've had several injuries at L5-S1 and at this point don't really have a disk left there, pretty much the entire last year was spent in rehab mode. My focus now is continuing to bring up my raw lifts and also start working with highland games. Short term goals right now are 275lb body weight and a 405 bench.

I'm working with Josh Bryant with regards to training and diet. I've been on HRT for the past 5 years, basically 250mgs 1/week. I've done on average 1 cycle per year on top of this but I may push it up a bit higher now. I'm getting older and if I want to accomplish anything I need to put my foot on the pedal. I'm currently running 750mgs test e with 600mgs EQ and I'll take this for 16 weeks. Below is my past weeks training;


10/22 heavy upper
Normal warmup/rehab/prehab stuff

Bench Press rest pause: warmups, 285x8,5,5 then 250x6,4,2. Basically max out, wait 30 seconds then max out again
Bench Press: 210x50lbs chains; 6 sets of 5 superset with
Chin ups; 6 sets of 5 - brutal
Ultra wide grip bench paused: 210x6x3
Incline db fly: 60lbs for 2 sets of 10 superset with
Lat pull downs, 2 sets of 10
Bicep work superset with more chins, 5 sets.
Ab work: 3 sets of 1 minute planks, ouch. Need to work more on this, I cannot make 1 full minute right now.

Another good day overall. I am developing an issue with my right forearm/elbow and I need to get it looked at. Have been trying to fix myself with not much luck so far.


10/25 Accessory Lower
Leg Press; warmups, 2 sets of 15
Sled drag; 2 pulls @ 30yards
Lying leg curl; 4 sets of 7
Reverse Lunge; 3 sets 12
GHR; 3 sets of 6


10/26 Accessory Upper
Big Z press; 115x10x5
DB Bench against mini band; 95x8x5
Superset with;
Rear Delt: 5 sets of 6
Decline push up with mini band
Face Pulls: 5 sets of 15
Tricep ext special exercise; 3 sets of 15
6 total sets of abs


10/27 heavy lower
Long warmup
Deadlifts; warmup pulls, 455 for 12 singles
Squat; 315 3x3
BB Row: 3 sets of 5
DB Shrug: 3 sets of 12
Seated Row: 4 sets of 8
Weighted Chins: 5x5
Ab work



10/25 Accessory Lower
Leg Press; warmups, 2 sets of 15
Sled drag; 2 pulls @ 30yards
Lying leg curl; 4 sets of 7
Reverse Lunge; 3 sets 12
GHR; 3 sets of 6


10/26 Accessory Lower
Big Z press; 115x10x5
DB Bench against mini band; 95x8x5
Superset with;
Rear Delt: 5 sets of 6
Decline push up with mini band
Face Pulls: 5 sets of 15
Tricep ext special exercise; 3 sets of 15
6 total sets of abs


10/27 heavy lower
Long warmup
Deadlifts; warmup pulls, 455 for 12 singles
Squat; 315 3x3
BB Row: 3 sets of 5
DB Shrug: 3 sets of 12
Seated Row: 4 sets of 8
Weighted Chins: 5x5
Ab work

 

[monopoly]

Last week was a deload and it was needed. Back finally loosened up a bit and was able to get an adjustment which for me is a great sign.

11/5 Upper

Long warmup. I try to spend at least 10 minutes before every workout doing something lower back related

Benchy; 285: 7,5,4 reps. Do 7 reps, wait 30 seconds, do 5 reps, rest 30 seconds, etc
Benchy; 250: 8,4,3 reps. Same as above
Floor press; 260: 8,5,4 reps.
Floor press; 225; 9,4,3 reps.

Wide Grip Bench, paused; 225 for 3 sets of 6

DB Fly: 60's for 4 sets of 10 superset with
Chins: 4 sets of 5

DB Hammer Curl; 4 sets of 10

Planks; 3 sets of 1 minute

My weight was the same today as last Monday, 268. I did not eat enough so no real surprise here. Overall I'm happy with the day. Trained by myself and have previously had a partner for the past 4 of these workouts, numbers were still good.

 

[monopoly]

11/7

Accessory Lower
Warmup stuff

Leg press: warmups, 550 for 15, pause at full stop bottom of each rep
Hack Squat: warmups, 300 for 20
Sled Drag: 2 trips of 20 yards
Step ups with 60lb db's: 4 sets of 8
Leg curl: 100lbs, 4 sets of 8, raise weight with both legs, lower with single leg for a 5 count. This blew me up!
GHR: 3 sets of 6

Here are a couple of pictures. First one is after I had been training for about a year and had GAINED 20lbs, right around 200 here.

Second pic is from a year ago, about 255lbs about a month before I got hurt.

 

[cal]

Keep posting I'd like to hear about your training with Josh Bryant... need more strength training stuff on pm. Hardly ever anything on the powerlifting forum...

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[cal]

What are benchys?

how do you like the z press? did strength from that transfer to military presses?

Suprised how hard it was to do them...humbled by even light weights...

Bryant from What I've read seems to like very high volume stuff.

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[monopoly]

Benchy is just regular bench, nothing special there.

Love the Z Press. For me, any time you can make a movement harder by using LESS weight, that's a big bonus. Plus my static strength is low so if this lift goes up, my jerk is going to go up.

Josh does like the volume for sure, the workouts are tough. This is my second time to work with him. Last time around he took me from a 330 bench to 365, 450 squat to 525 and 600 dead to 650. So I put over 150lbs on my raw total in 12 weeks.

What are benchys?

how do you like the z press? did strength from that transfer to military presses?

Suprised how hard it was to do them...humbled by even light weights...

Bryant from What I've read seems to like very high volume stuff.

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[cal]

How do you feel floor press transfer to flat raw bench? Tried them in past thought they were marginal and figured more for equipped...but maybe worth a try...

It appears you are lifting within your limits...ie not missing reps? I am more and more concerned not missing reps key to strength...avoiding grinders seems to be key...other that once in blue moon. ..

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[monopoly]

Floor press will help your top end/lockout. How much carryover does it have for me? Not sure but you can't really ever get strong/big enough triceps. It's a great altertative movement to just the normal bench.

I try not to miss reps. His stuff is pretty laid and I just do what he tells me. This has been a HUGE help in training. I feel I got to a pretty decent base on my own but having someone that knows what they are doing is far superior. Grinders build strength IMO. You don't want to miss reps all the time but I'm never afraid to try something that is above my limits.

How do you feel floor press transfer to flat raw bench? Tried them in past thought they were marginal and figured more for equipped...but maybe worth a try...

It appears you are lifting within your limits...ie not missing reps? I am more and more concerned not missing reps key to strength...avoiding grinders seems to be key...other that once in blue moon. ..

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[monopoly]

I am starting week 6 of 750 test and 600eq, I think both are starting to kick in. Hunger is going up and lifts are starting to feel easy.

11/9 Accessory Upper
Savickas Press: warmups, 125, 4 sets of 8
Dead bench superset with reverse fly: 280lbs, 25lbs: 1, 15 reps. 5 sets
Special Tricep exercise; 4 sets of 12
Face Pulls; 90lbs, 3 sets of 15
Dips superset with overhead rope ext: 25lbs, 90lbs. 12, 12 reps, 3 sets
5 total sets ab work

11/10 Heavy Lower

Got a OK warmup in today. Overall I felt pretty good and was ready to get lifting. I ate like a house the night before and got some calories in before this workout which I normally do not do.

Squat: warmups, 315, 365, 405, 375, 350 all for sets of 3. Felt really strong. Tweaked my left knee warming up and ended up wrapping on the 365, 405 and 375 just to be safe. Couple of days have passed now and I think it's okay. I had a LOT more in the tank today but this is a PR squat since my injury.

Speed Deadlift; 365, 6 singles. Felt very fast and explosive

Pause squat against mini band: 275lbs, 3x3. This killed me.

BB Row: 225, 3 sets of 5
DB shrug: 120, 3 sets of 15
Meadows row superset with 1 arm db row: 100, 100lbs, 10, 10 reps. 4 sets. Go ahead and give this a try, it was nasty!
Wide grip pull ups; 3 sets of 5
Ab work; 4 sets

This was a brutal session and by far the most amount of work/load I've put my back under in over a year. It remains very tender today but not hurt so this is great progress. I'm excited to get on the scale today, I have a feeling a good number is going to pop up.

 

[monopoly]

HAHA, 270lbs biotch! 5lbs away from my short term goal and 25lbs away from a lifetime goal. 3 bills is within sight and I see it happening sooner than later.

Benchy; 290: 9,4,3 reps. Do 9 reps, wait 30 seconds, do 4 reps, rest 30 seconds, etc
Benchy; 255: 9,4,2 reps. Same as above
Floor press; 270: 7,4,2 reps.
Floor press; 235; 7,5,3 reps.

Wide Grip Bench, paused; 230 for 2 sets of 6

DB Fly: 70's for 4 sets of 10 superset with
Chins: 4 sets of 2 with 25lbs

DB Hammer Curl; 4 sets of 10

Planks; 3 sets of 1 minute

My first sets feel cock strong, after that I'm toast. I felt like I could have done maybe 12 reps on that first set with 290. I missed my third rep on two of those movements, triceps just died. Another very good day. Just ate my face off for dinner and will finish the night off with a big shake and some Oreo's This is why I love strength training

 

[Bad Fox]

At your weight.... the guys in that class are monsters!!!!!!!!! A 2000lb total is absolutely nothing for those guys.

I would think that if you can bench 290 for 10 reps..... you should single at about 390

 

[monopoly]

At your weight.... the guys in that class are monsters!!!!!!!!! A 2000lb total is absolutely nothing for those guys.

I would think that if you can bench 290 for 10 reps..... you should single at about 390

Ya, you are right. I'm way behing in terms of powerlifting and I'll never be a great powerlifter, just not what I'm good at. I think for me a 1,700 raw total at 275 or 308 would be a great number. That would put me at elite and make me "happy".

I can see a 700lb deadlift, 600lb squat and 400lb bench, or somewhere around those numbers.

Right now I'm trying to drive my limit strength up for a transfer over to the Highland Games. We'll see if it works.

 

[monopoly]

11/14 Accessory Lower

Leg press: warmups, 575 for 15, pause at full stop bottom of each rep
Hack Squat: warmups, 320 for 15
Sled Drag: 2 trips of 20 yards
Step ups with 60lb db's: 4 sets of 8
Leg curl: 100lbs, 4 sets of 6, raise weight with both legs, lower with single leg for a 5 count.
GHR: 3 sets of 6 with 5lb plate

Not really feeling it today, back was still really tired and sore from last weekend. Sample diet for the day;

8 eggs (4 whole, 4 white), 2 servings of grits, 2 slices of toast, 2 slices of cheese

Shake - 2 scoops syntha 6 with 16 oz whole milk

8oz ground beef with spinach, tomatoes, baked potato

Shake - Same as above

12oz steak, veggies, tons of white rice

Shake - Same as above

 

[monopoly]

11/16 Accessory Upper


Savickas Press: warmups, 130, 4 sets of 10
Dead bench superset with reverse fly: 300lbs, 25lbs: 1, 15 reps. 5 sets
Special Tricep exercise; 4 sets of 10
Face Pulls; 90lbs, 3 sets of 15
Dips superset with overhead rope ext: 25lbs, 90lbs. 12, 12 reps, 3 sets
5 total sets ab work

11/17 Heavy Lower

Pretty good warmup

Deadlift: warmups, 480x1x10, rest 90 seconds between reps
Squat: 300x5x2
BB Row: 235x5x3
DB shrug: 130, 3 sets of 10
Meadows row superset with 1 arm db row: 110, 110lbs, 6, 6 reps. 4 sets. Wide grip pull ups; 3 sets of 5
Ab work; 4 sets

Considering 500lbs was my max pull 10 weeks ago this is great progress. I need to make sure not to jump to high to fast. All the pulls were good up till number 8 then I really started rounding and today (the day after) I can tell. I was in alot of pain this morning. Otherwise another good day/week in the books.

 

[monopoly]

11/20

Bench; 305: 6,4,4 reps. Do 9 reps, wait 30 seconds, do 4 reps, rest 30 seconds, etc
Benchy; 265: 8,4,4 reps. Same as above
Floor press; 275: 6,4,2 reps.
Floor press; 240; 8,5,3 reps.

Wide Grip Bench, paused; 235 for 2 sets of 6

DB Fly: 80's for 4 sets of 10 superset with
Chins: 3 sets of 5 with 25lbs - Could not finish with the 80's, had to drop back down to 70's

DB Hammer Curl; 4 sets of 10

Planks; 3 sets of 1 minute

Weight was the same today, 270. I had a really poor week of eating so honestly I was happy to maintain.

 

[monopoly]

I just don't care enough right now to go back and log the missing workouts. One week was a deload and I have hit all of the numbers Josh gave me. On to last nights workout

12/3 - Heavy Upper

Bench; 320: 5,3,3 reps
Bench; 280: 5,3,3 reps

Incline db press: 60x10, 80x10, 110x10 - supposed to max on the 110's, this is a weak lift for me and it felt pretty strong

Wide Grip Bench, paused; 240 for 2 sets of 6

Chain Fly: 80's for 4 sets of 10 superset with
Chins: 3 sets of 5

Incline db curl superset with
Incline hammer curl: 30lb's, 3 sets, max reps each movement each set

Planks; 3 sets of 1 minute - These are finally getting stronger

Bodyweight, ug, 273. Still not eating enough. I have been very busy and work and when things get like that I tend to just plow through everything and then I realize it's been 4 hours since I last ate. Very happy with 320 for 5. I had 6 for sure and maybe 7 in me. I have to eat my face off if I have any chance in hell of hitting 405 at the end of this run with Josh.

 

[monopoly]

12/6 Accessory Lower

Leg press: warmups, 645 for 2 sets of 15, pause at full stop bottom of each rep
Sled Drag: 2 trips of 20 yards - these have gotten heavier every week
Step ups with 70lb db's: 4 sets of 8
Leg curl: 110lbs, 4 sets of 6, raise weight with both legs, lower with single leg for a 5 count.
GHR: 3 sets of 6 with 5lb plate


Ugg, not feeling it all tonight but got the work done.

12/7 Accessory Upper

No warmup today.

Savickas Press: warmups, 145, 4 sets of 3 - This is too easy right now with lower reps
Dead bench superset with reverse fly: 315lbs, 40lbs: 1, 15 reps. 5 sets
Paused tricep ext off pins; 4 sets of 10 with 75lbs
Face Pulls; 90lbs, 3 sets of 15
Dips superset with overhead rope ext: 45lbs, 1000lbs. 12, 12 reps, 3 sets
5 total sets ab work


12/8 Heavy Lower

Again, very little of my normal prehab/rehab warmup routine. I did do alot of light pulling first and I did some expolsive work with cleans before moving over to deads.

Deadlift: warmups, 510x1x8, rest 90 seconds between reps
Squat: 365x2x2
BB Row: 250x5x3
DB shrug: 140, 3 sets of 10
T-bar Row: 6 plates, 4 sets of 12
Chin ups: 3 sets of 8

Fuck, another day with no gas in the tank. Getting pissed off at this point. The 480 2 weeks ago moved very fast, the 510 today did NOT, no way 500 should be this hard right now. The squatting afterwards was also terrible so I am just going to chalk it up to a shitty session and move on. I tore another massive callus (sp?) off my right hand which was fun. Best part of the day was that I got to do some coaching with some crossfit chick who is working on bringing up her oly lifts and limit strength. She only has one year in the sport but is pretty strong and has good form, but she has massive potential to get better. Plus she is hot, so it's a win win situation.

 

[monopoly]

12/10 - Heavy Upper

Bench; 330: 5,3,3 reps
Bench; 290: 9,4,2 reps

Incline db press: 60x10, 80x10, 115x5 - If I had any energy left I would have thrown a 115lb dumbbell across the gym. Mother fucker, I barely got it racked and into position.

Wide Grip Bench, paused; 260 for 2 sets of 6

DB Fly: 60's for 3 sets of 10 superset with
Chins: 3 sets of 5

Incline db curl superset with
Incline hammer curl: 30lb's, 3 sets, max reps each movement each set

Planks; 3 sets of 1 minute

Something funky is going on here. I'm not getting excited to train, my energy at the gym is dogshit, everything is feeling heavy and I JUST came off a deload. Also, I was DOWN 2lbs this week, back to 272.

Granted, I am not eating enough right now but still, this is 4 out of my last 5 workouts that have sucked. Seeing that I am in week 10 of 600 test/600 eq I should be killing stuff right now. I honestly was making more progress on week 4. I am going to get my food back on track starting tomorrow to see if I notice any changes, if nothing happens then I either have an issue going on with bloodwork or gear, and I don't think it's the gear.

 

[monopoly]

12/14 Accessory Upper

Savickas Press: warmups, 155, 4 sets of 3 - This is too easy right now with lower reps
Dead bench superset with reverse fly: 320lbs, 40lbs: 1, 15 reps. 5 sets
Paused tricep ext off pins; 4 sets of 12 with 85lbs
Face Pulls; 90lbs, 3 sets of 15
Dips superset with overhead rope ext: 65lbs, 100lbs. 12, 12 reps, 3 sets
5 total sets ab work

12/15 Heavy Lower. Hungover as hell and no food in me. This workout was powered by caffine and will.

Squat: Lots of warmup sets, 365x2, 405x1, 430x2, 455x2. Very strong today, could have put up alot more.
Squat: 315x3x3
Deadlift: 365x1x6
BB Row: 255x3x5
Shrug: 140x15x3
T-Bar Row: 180x12x3
Pull ups: 3 sets of 10
Weighted Roman Chair: 3 sets of 12 with 25lb plate

12/17 Heavy Upper

Bench; 340: 5,3,3 reps - 340 for 5 has to be a rep PR
Bench; 300: 7,4,2 reps
Incline db press: 60x10, 80x10, 120x4 - I've got nothing for these right now after shooting my wad on the flat bench. In any event, as sad as it is 120 for 4 may be a PR for me on that lift.
Wide Grip Bench, paused; 265 for 2 sets of 6
DB Fly: 70's for 2 sets of 10 superset with
Chins: 3 sets of 5
Incline db curl superset with
Incline hammer curl: 40lb's, 3 sets, max reps each movement each set
Planks; 3 sets of 1 minute

Feel like it was an okay workout at best, finding it hard to complain though as PR's are tough to come by. Of of the guys in our crew squatted a HUGE 605 for 5 tonight, belt and knee sleeves. Very impressive to see and I'm happy for him.

Next week the goal is 350 for 5, then a deload then max time. No clue where I am at right now but probably less than 405. I'm going to have to bloat like a mofo if I have any shot of hitting it.

 

[waterpolo]

Nice log - good strength gains so far