Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

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ithryn
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Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#1

Post by ithryn » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:39 pm

As the kids say: A / S / L / ht / wt / sq / b / dl / thi:bi ratio / familial status?

37 / m / Chicago / 5'10" / 210lbs / 405 / 230 / 425 / 0.57 / married, six kids

I started lifting in 2013 when I was 33. No athleticism before that point. Lots of back pain in my 20's. No back pain now - I replaced it with full body DOMS.

My squat PR has been 405 for like...a long ass time. I just signed on to Andy Baker's Barbell Club to rectify that. I need some externally-imposed discipline. Plus it's like listening to a good radio show or eating at a restaurant, things are just better when other people who know what they're doing do them.

I'm jumping in at Week 37 on his program. I'm guessing he does a biweekly or monthly cycle to target different things. Looks like a fun variation of exercises after three solid years of just squat/bench/dead/press. I don't even really care to think about the program, that's the nice thing about getting programmed by somebody else, right?


Monday 11 Sept 2017

Deadlift
315 x 5 x 3 - last two strapped

Box squats on a bucket - ascending sets - first time doing these, they were brutal:
225 x 5 x 2
275 x 5 x 2
300 x 5

GPP: Light RDL 135 x 15 x 3, alternated with Hanging leg raises x 15...ish x 3


Wednesday 13 Sept 2017

Press
145 x 5 x 3

Close grip bench press
195 x 5 x 5 - 3 min rests

Seated dumbbell press
35 x 10 x 5

Standing tricep extensions with just the barbell x 10 x 3

some curls


Friday 15 Sept 2017

My delts & triceps are still pumped and engorged from Wednesday. Today I went to get the mandatory flu shot. I think the nurse had trouble squeezing my deltoid.

Andy Baker says it's leg day:

Squat doubles, 5 min rests:
335 x 2 - felt a smidge too easy (RPE 8 I guess? lololol RPE)
340 x 2
340 x 2

Deficit deadlifts:
295 x 8 x 2 - this is the worst thing anyone has ever made me do

Forward lunges:
100 for time / 50 each leg in at least ten minutes. Done in 4 min 30 sec, took a break after 50 and 70. I was wrong about the deficit deads: this is the worst thing anyone has ever made me do.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#2

Post by ithryn » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:16 am

Sat 16 Sept 2017

Andy programs pulldowns. Guess I'll have to do chins and pullups. I kinda hate these just for lack of progress.

Strict chins: x6, x4, x6, x3, x4, x5.... Well, that's better than normal

Banded pullups x a lot: yeah, these do literally nothing

Rows, 8 x 8-10 with 1 min rests, without putting the bar down, adjusting weight to keep strict form:
185 x 10
185 x 10
185 x 10
185 x 8
175 x 8
155 x 10
155 x 10
155 x 10

Well that was some GPP at least

Dumbbell curls 35 x a bunch

My youngest son saw me doing the rows and was unimpressed. Maybe because there's not a lot of movement and they're outside the rack? "Is that REALLY liftweighting?"
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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#3

Post by chromoly » Sun Sep 17, 2017 9:13 am

ithryn wrote: thi:bi ratio 0.57
Wow, your biceps are almost 2x as large as your thighs? Damn, you must forget leg day all the time.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#4

Post by ithryn » Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:48 am

chromoly wrote:
ithryn wrote: thi:bi ratio 0.57
Wow, your biceps are almost 2x as large as your thighs? Damn, you must forget leg day all the time.
Lol maybe that's why my toddler is umimpressed with me

Monday 18 Sept 2017

Bench, three sets of doubles: 235 x 2 x 3 PR!

Slow grinders. Pretty sure a rep or two stopped right over my chest but like a mom with an 11 lb baby (yeah, uh, this happened to my wife once) I just kept pushing.

My log says 225 is my PR. I feel like I would've thrown 2.5s on there at some point but maybe I just fantasized about it.

I'm really liking this program, with what I was doing I'd be doing fahves for a while and maybe get to 235 in a couple weeks, not counting failures.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#5

Post by ithryn » Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:27 pm

Tuesday 19 September 2017

Hoo boy.

Deadlift, heavy doubles
: these were supposed to be sets across, but:
  • 345 x 2 - kinda easy
    355 x 2 - hmmmm
    365 x 2
Nice. For me anyway.

Front squats - heavy triple then backoff sets - I don't train these so I didn't know what heavy would be. 225 is pretty darn heavy.
  • 225 x 3
    200 x 6
    185 x 8
Hey check my form?

GPP:
  • Right leg weighted step ups - 35 lbs x10
    Dumbbell RDLs - 70 lbs x20
    Left leg weighted step ups - 35 lbs x10
    Hanging leg raise x10
Immediately repeated all of the above x1. No rests.

Then I died.

A scene from today's workout and commentary from my coaches on my handwritten log
Last edited by ithryn on Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ithryn
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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#6

Post by ithryn » Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:34 pm

Off to New Orleans tomorrow for a business (ha) trip. I'm bringing the wife along.

I kinda like the flexibility of this Andy program. I'll be gone three days but still vaguely on track for this week. Not that you can't figure this out if you're smart and doing DIY programming, but I'm not smart, so...

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#7

Post by ithryn » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:18 am

Saturday 23 September 2017

Status post three days of a New Orleans diet.

This is a mess of a workout, it's all of Friday's workout and a couple of Saturday's extra exercises thrown on.

Press heavy doubles:
160 x 2
160 x 2
160 x 2

I might've been able to squeeze 165 out but wasn't sure if I'd get to that last set if I did that.

Press 10's with one three minute rest:
135 x 10
115 x 10 holy wow

Side delt raises (wut??!) - supposed to be whatever weight I can do to failure at 15 reps, and then do that weight for 75 total. Man, these are harder than you'd think. I settled for 50 total reps when I felt like my neck muscles were going to tear:

25 lb dumbbells x 10, 15 x 10, 15 x 7, 5 lb (!) x 25 more total in sets

Lying dumbbell tricep extensions 15 lbs x 75 total reps

One arm dumbbell rows - 55 lbs x 8 x 4 each arm

Shrugs for time: 135 lbs, 75 reps in 4 minutes. Never really done shrugs.

This is aerobics.

I wish I'd had two days to do this, and in retrospect wish I did heavier shrugs and much heavier db rows.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#8

Post by ithryn » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:18 am

Monday 25 Sept 2017

Eights, gross.

Squat, 5 min rests 275 x 8 x 3

Snatch grip deadlift, strapped, 5 min rests 225 x 8 x 3

SGDL had me laying down and just trying to breathe between sets.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#9

Post by ithryn » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:21 am

Wed 27 Sept. GPP: lunges / hanging leg raises / barbell curls / lunges / ab wheel / barbell curls

Thursday 28 September 2017

Andy is trying to kill me.

Bench 200 x 8 x 3

He wants incline bench. I should clean my bro incline bench off, or get a real one. Paused bench is the alternative option: 185 x 8, 180 x 8, 170 x 8 - each set ended up being pretty much amrap.

Seated barbell press (holy crap these are hard):
95 x 12 95 x 12 95 x 10 95 x 12 95 x 10

Dips: x6, x6, x3.

He says if you can't do more than six, do pushups or some tricep exercise. I selected pushups: x10, then x6 with a 6 year old on my back (she insists if she catches me ever doing pushups)

Arms smoked like a brisket.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#10

Post by ithryn » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:22 am

Friday 30 September 2017

Deadlift, sposed to be 8's:

315 x 7 - okay, I overshot. I had to try. I could've pulled another with strict form if someone was screaming at me. Andy wasn't screaming in the video.
300 x 8
300 x 5

Andy says pull some weight off the bar and go straight into a ball busting set of:

Straight leg deadlift
250 x 8

That was kinda ball busting but I've never done these before. I watched the Alan Thrall video on them which saved me from locking my knees like an idiot. I put the bench behind my shins to keep them relatively straight. These are pretty brutal, but I could maybe grow to like 'em.

Rows: 150 x 12 x 6 - yes six sets of 12. Two min rests.

Rear delt dumbbell raises - what the hell am I even doing: 25 lbs x three sets of I don't know how many

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#11

Post by ithryn » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:22 am

Monday 2 October 2017

Arm day got split over two days:

Press eights:
135 x 8 (weenie)
140 x 8
140 x 8

Chins/pullups. What was prescribed: 50 reps in no more than 10 sets. Hahahaha. Chins weren't cooperating: x4, x2, x3, x3, x3, x2, x4, Pullups x2, x1. Ten sets, 24 reps. He says if you can't do chins, kill yourself. Well he really said do bodyweight rows, but I'm reading between the lines. Anyway I put the barbell on about waist height did a ton of those for three sets. I haven't thought about these since reading Stronglifts about 7 years ago. Felt kinda unclean doing them but they do pump your arms a bit.

Tuesday 3 October 2017

LTE / Lying Triceps Extension for sets of 6. Never done these. Humbling.

95 x 3 - that's a bit much
85 x 3 - so that thing where they say the triceps fail suddenly is kinda true. Three reps were easy. Fourth rep went halfway and then fell to the floor with a crash.
75 x 6 x 2

Then two sets of 10-12: 65 x 10, 65 x 12

Curls for 10s: 95 x 10 (curl rep PR....shut up), 85 x 10, 85 x 10

Just for the heck of it: curl 65 x 20.

I can't touch my head, my upper arm is too swollen.

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#12

Post by Chebass88 » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:31 am

Awesome work. I'll bet you will see your strength levels increase quite a bit after a month or two on this program.

ithryn
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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#13

Post by ithryn » Sat Oct 07, 2017 7:51 pm

Thanks Bass. I'm already feeling gainz, man, which is what people always say, but it's nice.


~~
Thursday 5 October 2017

Squat
315 x 5 x 3

Rack pulls (I'm new to these)
390 x 5
350 x 8 wew

Shrugs (sets of 10)
315 x 5 well that's gonna be too much maybe
275 x 10 x 4

Kettlebell swings 45 lbs x ~100 (actually a dumbbell weighted mostly on one end)



Saturday 7 October 2017

Bench
211 x 5 x 3
(90% of my doubles the other day) (grinders)

Close grip bench press
185 x 7
180 x 8 x 2

ithryn
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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#14

Post by ithryn » Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:00 am

Monday 9 October 2017

This is week 41 in Andy's barbell club program.

Deadlift 3x5: 330 x 5 x 3.

Jumped up from 315 last time. Might've been able to go higher this time, they were feeling good, but I figured I'll play it safe, I blow deadlift workouts all the time.

Box squats 5x5 ascending:
225 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
285 x 1, then sat back too far and couldn't get back up at all, that was weird. Finished with 275 x 4.
305 x 5

Captains of crush "Sport" gripper: 5 x 5 both hands, then 10-count holds both hands x 5 each.

GPP tonight.

Feels good to be working hard again, where my body feels fatigued by walking around and carrying myself is easier. I vaguely remember this feeling from being a kid playing in the sand and the ocean all day and then you walk on regular ground feeling tired but it's effortless by comparison.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#15

Post by ithryn » Wed Oct 11, 2017 9:34 pm

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Press 3x5
150 x 5 not hard
155 x 5 x 2

Pin or Floor Press 5x5 - why not both?
Pins 2" off chest:
185 x 2,f holy crap
170 x 5 x 5

Floor, just to try:
135 x 5, 155 x 8 - that's intense

Dumbbell seated press 35 x 12 x 5

Standing barbell tricep extensions 65x10, 65x10, 55x10

ithryn
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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#16

Post by ithryn » Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:48 am

Friday 13 October 2017

Squat heavy doubles These are supposed to be sets across, but I'm kinda feeling out my maxes here after a summer of nonprogrammed lifting and breaks.
350 x 2
355 x 2
365 x 2

Immediately going in to:

High bar back squats, sets of 10 (!) (descending, "first set should be ball busting," dropping way below parallel, 5 min rests)
275 x 10
260 x 10
245 x 9

Holy crap, I have never done HBBS before. Don't tell anybody. I don't want my children to be ashamed.

These hurt my traps. Also, I can't walk down stairs now, my quads are dead.

Weighted step - ups
35 lb dumbbell x 10 x 3 each leg

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#17

Post by Mahendra » Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:02 pm

HBBS! Andy has those programmed? And he isn't being ex-communicated?

Funny enough, of all high rep work, I find HBBS the easiest to do. Even easier than benching...

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#18

Post by ithryn » Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:45 pm

These were the worst things I'd ever done in my life. I might've picked a heavy weight for 10 rep sets though. I mean 10 reps of low bar with 275 lbs would have me wheezing a bit. He said do 'em hard though. My legs are gloriously sore like the first day of LP.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#19

Post by ithryn » Sat Oct 14, 2017 10:45 pm

Saturday 14 Oct 2017

Bonus optional back day

Chins x 25 - in mostly triples/4s
Rows 3 sets heavier, 3 light, not touching the ground:
225 x 6 x 3
185 x 12 x 3
Good mornings* - totally new to me - 135 x 10 x 3
Ab wheel x 10 x 3

Andy wanted back extensions and ab stuff on Monday and I never got around to it. Then someone asked if they could sub GM's for the back extensions and he kind of agreed so I thought I'd give em a whirl.

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Re: Perpendicular to the Surface of the Earth

#20

Post by ithryn » Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:15 am

Monday 16 Oct 2017

Bench doubles

240 x 2 weight PR!
240 x 2
240 x 0 pinned....230 x 0 pinned....195 x 2

Pinned meaning the bar came down and then didn't go up at all.

There's a sticking point on the way down for me with heavy weights. Like six inches down from lockout. I can feel my arms want to stop right there and not let it go further or it'll plummet. I force myself to let the bar drop down further and then lose tightness at the bottom, I think.

It's possible 240 was just too heavy for three doubles. The fourth rep went up like molasses rolling uphill and it's possible my butt came off the bench a bit to push through. Maybe 237.5 would've been smarter but eh, wanted to try.

I'll do the rest of the workout this evening.

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