You guys hit any PRs or milestones lately?

TurboRocket · 06-01-2008, 08:04

I certainly haven't, and haven't tried. Just wanting to see if you guys have any mid-year progress reports. Maybe it would be motivation for the S&C community - definitely motivational for me. BCR, I'd bet you have.

California Jack · 06-01-2008, 20:53

I'm 2 to 3 weeks away from a milestone (DL 350x20). I could get it sooner but I want to make sure I get it this time, so I'll pace myself. I did 330x20 Saturday.Weds. I'll try 340, than I'll back off a little before I make my attempt.

What are you gunning for TR?

BCR · 06-01-2008, 21:55

Great pulling Jack! Good stuff. High reps are my weakness. I should work them in from time to time.

I actually haven't set any PR's lately.

My shoulder it quite messed up and I'm doing rehab, very light benching for 15-25 reps.

Squats have taken a back seat as it is riding season for me, and if I squat real heavy I am usually too sore to ride. Just trying to maintain for now.

Hopefully a new DL record will happen within the next month. I'm 3 weeks away from a projected 435x5. A little over a month ago I pulled 425x5 and 445x3.

DBradD · 06-01-2008, 22:31

Man, you guys are awesome. Those are some strong DLs.

Nah, no PRs for me. I'm just now getting up to 5-6 hours of reliable sleep / day, usually in two chunks, so I might get back at it now. I've lost about 6-7 lb lately and am feeling especially puny. Our boy needs beefing up also. He's the classic lanky build desperately in need of squats + milk. Yesterday, I took him to the gym and restarted SS and we're going back tomorrow. I'll at least start the program, but realize that I could be sucking egg quickly if a baby or two start sleeping less...

I was able to do 3x5 pullups without any golfer's elbow problem, so I think I'm now able to do those. That took @#$# 11 months!!! I'm thinking of tacking on 3 sets every other SS workout, adding weight when I get to 3x15. Actually, I'm not sure why those aren't in the standard program--no pulling at all?--and two pushing movements? I might have to search his forum's archives for an answer to this.

TurboRocket · 06-02-2008, 05:23

CJ - I third it... great pulling. Like BCR, I've been maintaining for the past three months, due in large part to being busy with life. I am happy that I've been able to maintain my workouts but I've made no strides towards PRs. At this point, probably hitting my PRs again would be sort of a PR for me. And now that summer is upon us, I am thinking of switching to more conditioning. Although I may plan one PR attempt for each big lift for June.

BCR - hope your shoulder heals up soon.

DBrad -cool to hear your elbow is healing. 11 months? WOW.

DBradD · 06-02-2008, 09:14

Yeah, 11 months. I've read of people taking 18 months to heal and there is usually some tissue loss.

I think golfer's elbow must have the longest recovery for a minor injury that I've ever heard of. Even at its worst, it's not really that painful. When it developed, I was doing lots of pullups and had just moved to towel pullups and was adding weight to my regular pullups. The towel pullups were idiotic--my grip *was* very strong, so I had little to gain by doing them. When the GE came on, it felt almost completely like regular "good" pain during a good workout. THere's very little warning, especially considering how long it takes to heal.

BCR · 06-02-2008, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboRocket

CJ - I third it...

I third it through the grape vine

California Jack's pulling is so fine!

Everyone sing along!

Ok...................I'm lame.

California Jack · 06-02-2008, 18:30

Thanks guys.

BradCR-- I think there is a bi9g difference between strength endurance and maximal strength. And, while there may be some carry-over from one to the other, you definetly need to practice whichever you are trying to improve.

BCR · 06-03-2008, 01:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by California Jack

Thanks guys.

BradCR-- I think there is a bi9g difference between strength endurance and maximal strength. And, while there may be some carry-over from one to the other, you definetly need to practice whichever you are trying to improve.

I couldn't agree more!

That is why I stick with 5's usually. It appears they are best for building actual strength.

I haven't done singles on anything in a long time. Back when I was doing Westside and always working up to a 1RM, I found out my strength endurance went into the crapper. Low rep warm ups, and then a few real heavy singles just wasn't my thing.

Even my 5RM's sunk to new lows back then.

It is very hard to find a happy medium. I like the idea of mixing in 8's, 5's, 3
's, and singles.

Your 20's are CRAZY! (in a GOOD way)

California Jack · 06-03-2008, 19:54

Quote:

Actually, I'm not sure why those aren't in the standard program--no pulling at all?--and two pushing movements? I might have to search his forum's archives for an answer to this.

I disagree with you Brad. In fact, I think SS has the 2 most imprtant pulling exercises.

DBradD · 06-03-2008, 20:43

Good point.

LOL, how 'bout:

"No movements with pulling *downward*?"

California Jack · 06-03-2008, 21:02

I guess, but the same thing could be said about pressing downward. There are no dips or decline bench. I realize it is all preference, but to me no p-ups in SS is OK. I mean, if my squats, DL, BP, and press are all going up, I don't really care how many chins I can do. They're secondary to me.

YMMV.

Jack

DBradD · 06-03-2008, 21:14

So do we think that presses are proving enough external rotator work to balance out all of the internal rotator work from the bench presses? I thought one of the major ailments among athletes nowadays was excessive internal rotator work (i.e. monkey hands) leading to injuries. Perhaps I'm wrong.

I think bench presses are close enough to dips to justify their exclusion.

Actually "because Rippetoe said so" is 99% of the way toward good enough for me, LOL.

California Jack · 06-04-2008, 20:23

Ah, I see our difference now. You are suggesting thta pull ups be some sort of prehab, right?

Well, it has been a while since I read SS, and when I did read it I did not read in the depth you have. But here is where I'm coming from. I believe the SS workout is for beginners. If I remember right he says that intermediate and advance people should follow a different program, no?

Well, if I'm right about that, than I say raw beginners are not going to injur their shoulderws following SS. Now if you get to the point of benching 250 or so, than perhaps some other shoulder work as prehab would be appropriate, perhaps chinups or maybe even l-flys and other rotator cuff exercises.

How far did I miss by?

DBradD · 06-04-2008, 21:20

I don't know if you missed at all. I think you might be right about it being a raw beginner program, so there's little danger of developing imbalances. I hadn't thought of that. It's gotta be either that or presses adequately balance out bench presses.

Still, I'm adding pullups to the program earlier rather than later. Part of my reasoning is that I think it's good to be able to climb up things and pullups are Step 1 to getting better at that. The boy also has to do pullups for PE tests and it would be fun if he was very good at them.

proactive · 06-04-2008, 21:34

No milestones to speak of here, but I have been making some forward progress. My pants are way loose at the waist, but the next size down makes the pants too tight on the thighs. I suppose that's a good thing.

I did a circuit of ring dips and pullups today followed by chins and incline pushups and felt like I had a ton left in the tank after 20 minutes.

The wife bought a decent recumbant exercise bike, and I finished my workout with 15 second sprints/15 second rest for 5 minutes total. Good stuff.

California Jack · 06-04-2008, 22:40

Quote:

It's gotta be either that or presses adequately balance out bench presses.

I don't think that is my experience.

DBradD · 06-05-2008, 20:05

I don't think it's mine either. Then again, in the gyms I've worked out in, most folks do seated behind the neck press instead of presses. Of course, I had a day that had trivial amounts of pullups and bentover rows. That's what I did back in the day and I think I was pretty unbalanced.

I'm actually thinking of dropping bench press for a while. My right shoulder has perpetually hurt, at least a little, when doing those. Rip says point blank that presses are the best shoulder rehab. I'm thinking of doing pullups in place of BPs on Day 1 and then do Day 2 as prescribed.

My gym is actually turning into a pretty cool place now that I'm about to leave. I don't know who's working out in there, but somebody has brought in a giant tire, a couple of steel pipes with internal handles, and a bunch of other strongman equipment. I guess it's always been pretty cool because of the PLing team. There are even a few Olifters in there nowadays.

California Jack · 06-05-2008, 20:24

Brad,

You may want to try pressing every workout. Quite a few people can handle that. Or you could alternate press and push press. Or perhaps an overhead heavy-light-medium week using jerks from the rack/press/push press. One other option would be weighted dips instead of BP.

Back when I considered myself on OLer my shoulders always had little nagging pain. Too much overhead work; presses, push presses, jerks, snatches and overhead lunges. THe odd thing was that BPing , made my left shoulder feel better and made my right feel worse.

I think you'll find a cool gym in Ky. But the one you're at now sounds great.

When are you moving? What;'s the status of youre PhD?

California Jack · 06-05-2008, 20:26

Quote:

The wife bought a decent recumbant exercise bike,

Yeah, and I suppose the Tony Little tapes are hers too.

DBradD · 06-05-2008, 21:01

I like the idea of doing presses both days. Thanks for the idea. I had thought of it in passing, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea. My only concern is that my linear progression will probably stall out earlier. Maybe at that point, my shoulders will be solid enough to re-introduce BP without any pain.

I'm at a bit of a standstill. I charged through writing Chapters 1-4 outta 6. I've written about 160 pages out of 200. Now my professor has acquired an ultra high profile vibrations project that I really need to work on. I'm taking the month of June off from my dissertation and working on that. I will write Ch. 5 and 6 in about 3 weeks total, but that'll probably end up spilling into August, after we move to KY. I really don't have to have it finished until later in the fall, so the only risk is that others will publish papers that make my work less and less significant. At some point, that's fatal. I think the added risk from 6-8 weeks isn't much, though. If I was risk-averse, I don't have any idea how I'd sleep at night.

proactive · 06-05-2008, 21:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by California Jack

Yeah, and I suppose the Tony Little tapes are hers too.

Like there's something wrong with Tony Little. You can DOEEEET!

BCR · 06-12-2008, 12:48

I guess I'll throw you guys a bone. LOL

Got another DL record today, I pulled 435x5.

And Sunday I squatted 345x1, for 2 sets. Not a max effort, but the most I've ever done before. Good weight for me, since I abhor squats.

Slotback · 06-12-2008, 20:40

No personal records, but my wife has bought me some kettlebells. I'm certain that some kind of PR will be coming in the future.

DBradD · 06-12-2008, 21:20

Brad(CR), that is some strong lifting!! Makes me look forward to heading back to the gym tomorrow for SS Day 5.

Slotback, I hope you keep up posted about how the KB workouts go. What program are you going to follow? What's the goal?