SeeMac's Log

[SeeMac]

Congratulations on the PR!

Thanks! They've been flying in lately.

[SeeMac]

Saturday 04/22/2023

Band Assisted OAC - purple x 1, black x 1 x 3, red x 1 (@9 lol), black x 1 x 2
Weighted Chin - +45 x 10 @ 8
Dips - + 45 x 10, 8, 8, 8 (all @ <= 6)
Incline Hammer Curls - 25s x 10, 9 ,6, 20s x 12
Lu Raise - 15s x 12, 6, 5
(superset no rest) Leg Raises - bw x 8, 6, 5

I think I'm going to aim for a one arm chin over the next 3 or 4 months. It's been a goal of mine for a while, and I've honestly been close for a while, just need to train the movement. Most online "guides" suggest getting a +50% bw weighted chin as a pre requisite, and seeing how I hit a 91% bw chin last year, I think I have the base to do it. Going to do a bunch of band assisted singles each saturday, and finish with a lazy man's 5/3/1 for weighted chins, just doing the amrap. I managed to do a single rep holding on to the red band, and given how little difference there is between holding a heavy band (purple) and the mini band (red), I don't think I'm getting too much out of it. Once I can manage like 7 or 8 singles with the red band, I think I can probably manage an unassisted one. We'll see.

[SeeMac]

Monday 04/24/2023

Front Squat (no belt) - up to 205 x 1 @ easy, then 155 x 5 x 5 in 7:45
Bench - up to 255 x 1 @ 8, then 245 x 1 x 2, 195 x 5 x 5 in 11:00
Weighted Pullup EMOM - + 20 x 8, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4
BSS - 40s x 10 x 2
Rolling DB Extension - 40s x 15, 12, 11

Stars aligned today in a weird way. Was planning on maybe deloading this week since my right elbow/forearm/bicep had been iffy on bench lately. Woke up with a spontaneous, substantial decrease in hip pain, easily the least I've had in 9+ months. Realized my mom will be on night shift the next two weeks, so if I want to train early, I can't be making much noise. Since the hip was feeling better, I decided I'd front squat rather than zercher slam the weights into my safety pins. Singles up to 185 were completely painless, and 195 and 205 were minorly uncomfortable. Compare this to 95-135 being agonizing a few months ago and this is a huge win. Elbow/bicep/forearm also didn't bother me at all on bench, just the usual shoulder fuckery.

[SeeMac]

Wednesday 04/25/2023

Conv. DL - up to 475 x 1 @ 10 (+10 PR), then 335 x 3 x 3 (paused), 275 x 5 x 2 (SG, no belt) in 11:15
Z Press - 95 x 10, 115 x 8,6, 95 x 10
Deficit Pushups - black band x 13,14,12
Incline DB Curl - 25s x 14, 12, 11
Single Leg RDL (3-1-0 tempo) - 35 x 10, 50 x 8, 70 x 6

This probably marks the end of my "deadlift PR every week" experiment, as least for the conventional pulls. This was a legit @10, video confirmed. At least now I have some data and corresponding videos on what an @10 feels and looks like. Probably going to keep the singles in the @ 7-8 range over the next few months, and focus on building up to more volume on the backoffs. The snatch grip deads actually felt amazing.

Press training is probably going to be less HVLF stuff and more effort on the lower intensity stuff. I am not too convinced the low fatigue stuff has been working for my OHP. A heavy single is just so mechanically different than a fast, lower intensity rep. Probably going to take 1 day (Fridays) to spam a bunch of singles/doubles at the 83%+ range, and then the second day do some Z press or klokov presses. Always loved those two movements.

[DCR]

Congratulations on the PR!

.

[SeeMac]

Thursday 04/27/2023
Squat (no belt) - 175 x 6 x 4 in 8:40 -> 1/10 hip pain
SB Bench - 255 x 1 @ 8, 185 x 7 x 7 in 11:20
90/90 Get Up (on pillow) - bw x 10,8, +15 x 8,8
Chest Supported DB Rows MYO - 75s x 10-4-3, 8-3
Band Pressdown - purple x F x 4
BB Reverse Curl - 65 x 11,9
BB Curl - 65 x 10,10

[SeeMac]

Friday 04/28/2023

OHP - 155, 165, 175 x 1 @ 9, then 165 x 1 x 2, 155 x 2 x 4 in 8:40
1H Standing DB OHP - 55 x 12
HH TBDL - up to 600 x 1 @ 7-10 ish (+55lb PR), then 415 x 3 x 5 in 8:20
Pendulum Squat - 205 x 15, 225 x 10
Nordic (to 12" box) - red band x 10, 6, 4
DB Facepull - 25s x 10, 7, 20 x 10

Pretty stoked about this. Last week I hit 465 on conventional and 545 on the trap bar, and I kind of combined the two in my head and thought I hit 565 last week on the trap bar. So, I worked up to 575 today and it didn't move too slow. When I went to log it, I realized my mistake and thought fuck it, going to add another 10 per side and then right before I went to pull it, I added another 5 because 600.

[Renascent]

...and thought fuck it

My favorite kind of PR.

Congrats!

[SeeMac]

Back from a brief logging hiatus.

Hip started to feel much better, so I ramped up squatting intensity/weights too quickly and ended up with left quad tendinopathy. Also was doing way too many chins/OAC training and got golfer's elbow. Then got sick (like hospital sick), moved into my new house and I'm back. I've still been training though. Not going to log all the time I missed.

Been doing a 2x per week rehab approach for the quad tendon. Day 1 is zercher pin squats with 225, lowering the pin height each week. Day 2 is 3-0-3 tempo front squats, adding weight each week. This week is the first in 5 or 6 where I feel almost normal. Should be good to go in 2 or 3 more weeks.

Also been using the flexbar daily for the elbow, and no heavy curls or chins for now.

Also for some more information. I now have a full squat rack with safeties, so my pin heights are different than before. Also made the unfortunate discovery that my swiss bar weighs 51 (will round down to 50) and not 55 pounds like I thought.

Monday 06/12/2023
Conv. DL - up to 405 x 2 @ 6-7, then 330 x 4 x 4 @ EZ in < 10 minutes
SB Bench - 200 x 5 x 8
Band Pull Apart (in between bench sets) - red x 10 x 8
DB Incline Fly (2s pause) - 30 x 12, 10
Hanging Leg Raise - BW x 5 x 2
SL Banded Hamstring Curl - black x 15 x 2
Lateral Raise -> Lu Raise - 30->10 x 13-6 x 2

Tuesday 06/13/2023
Z. Pin (#4) Squat - 225 x 8 x 3 (pain ~2,1,1)
ATG Split Squat (front foot on bench) - bw x 12 x 2 (painless)
Strict BB Row - 185 x 10, 8, 8 then 135 x 7 (DS)
Super Wide Grip Pullup - bw x 8, 7 (first painless chins in many weeks)
Neutral Grip Chins - bw x 8, 6
Poundstone Curl - 45 x 31

[SeeMac]

Wednesday 06/14/2023
RGBP - 190 x 7 x 4, 185 x 7 x 4
Banded Facepull - red x 10 x 8 (in between bench sets)
Lateral Raise -> Lu Raise - 30->10 x 15-7, 13-6
Banded Pressdown - red x 23 x 3
Spanish Squat hold (knee rehab) - bw x 45s x 3
Standing Ab wheel - bw x 4, 2

Don't have a scale but got weighed at the endocrinologist today and was shocked I was 187 pounds. Probably lost 5-10 pounds while in the hospital but that is way too light.

[SeeMac]

Thursday 06/15/2023
HH TBDL - up to 505 x 2 @ 7ish, 415 x 4 x 4 @ EZ but my back hurts
Yates Row - 135 x 20, 155 x 16
NG Chin (w/ straps) - bw x 10, 7 -> no pain
DB Incline Curl - 20s x 16, 12, 9
Banded Hamstring Curl - red x F x 2

[DCR]

Good to see you back, @SeeMac. Hope whatever put you in the hospital is fully in the past.

[SeeMac]

Good to see you back, @SeeMac. Hope whatever put you in the hospital is fully in the past.

Thanks! Just a gallbladder infection that is all sorted out now.

[SeeMac]

Friday 06/16/2023

Bench - 245x1, 265x1@9, 255x1x2, 250x1, 245x2,2,1
3-0-3 Front Squat - 95x8, 115x7, 135x6 (pain ~4,3,2 but went back to baseline immediately)
SB OHP - 120x10 @8, 140x8 @8, 150x4 @7-8
Touchdowns (6 in height) - + 70 x 20 x 2

[SeeMac]

Have not been sleeping or eating well at all, and my quad tendon is flaring up again. No biggie.

Sunday 06/18/2023 (1 day early)

Conv. DL - up to 415 x 1 @ 7-8, 315 x 5 x 3 (back sore as hell)
Bench - 205 x 5 x 4, 200 x 5 x 4
Band Pullapart (in between sets) - red x 10 x 8
Did this at 10pm so I skipped accessories.

Monday 06/19/2023
12 hours of cutting down and chipping trees. Brutal

Tuesday 06/20/2023
Zercher 3 Pin Squat - 225 x 6 x 4 (pain ~5,4,2,1)
ATG Split Squat (front foot on bench) - bw x 15 x 2 (pain ~1/10)
DB Chest Supported Rows - 75s x 12, 10, 9
WG Pullup - bw x 10, 10, 8
BB Poundstone Curl - 45 x 33

[SeeMac]

Wednesday 06/21/2023
SB Bench - 195 x 7 x 4, 190 x 7 x 4
Banded Facepull - red x 10 x 8
Lateral Raise -> Lu Raise - 30->10 x 16-8, 13-7, 12-5
Band Pushdown - red x 27,24,25

Thursday 06/22/2023
HH TBDL - up to 495 x 1 @ 8ish, then 325 x 5 x 5 fast
Neutral Chins - bw x 12, + 35 x 7, 6, bw x 10
Banded Hamstring Curl - 3 sets to failure
Toe-to-bar - bw x 6,5
DB Incline Curl - 20s x 17, 25s x 7 x 2

Finally got a good night sleep last night. Been feeling dizzy on deadlifts lately - probably a combination of the lack of sleep, back pain and the fact that I'm training in a 85+ degree garage with lots of humidity.

[SeeMac]

Dropping a few sessions here.

Training has not been going particularly well. Left knee, left elbow and my low back have not been feeling great. Took a deload last week.

Having a suspicion my left knee issue is not actually quad tendonitis but rather an inflamed bursa. There is a noticeable bulge right above my left patella, which is pretty much right where the suprapatellar bursa is. It is pretty painful to touch, and I can "move" it around a bit, which doesn't feel great. Funny because my previous quad/patellar tendinopathy protocols have been stupidly heavy training with stupidly slow eccentrics (talking >70% squat 1RM with 8+ second negatives), and that is likely making this worse.

Plan for a little while is to focus mainly on bench and KB swings. My shoulders have actually never felt better, and I really want to hit a 315 bench by the end of the year. KB swings always make my back feel great, and deadlifting has been hit or miss with my knee (trap bar especially) and back (conventional mainly). Got a great deal on 2 75 pound kettlebells, so a shortish term goal is 10x10 EMOM with those. Squatting will be very high box squats, which I will just keep adding weight to until either I can't or the pain increases (don't want any sets over a 4/10). Eventually will lower the box height and in time go back to regular squatting.

Also going to try to push my bodyweight up to at least 200, hopefully closer to 210. Never weighed over 200 which at 6'2 is embarassing.

Monday 07/10/2023
400 KB Swings
320 ish with the 50 (80ish of these 1 armed)
80 ish with the 70

Tuesday 07/11/2023
19 inch box squat - 95 x 15 x 3 -> These felt pretty manageable (pain ~2,1,1)
Swiss Bar Bench - up to 230 x 3 @ 7, then 180 x 7 x 5
Ring Pullups - bw x 5 x 6 (these feel fine as long as I don't supinate too much at the top)
Touchdowns (6 inch box) - 40s x 10 x 6 -> 0 pain
Seated Calf Raise - 75 x 25 x 2

Thursday 07/13/2023
Bench - up to 255 x 1 @ 7, then 195 x 5 x 6, 195 x 8 @ 7
Conventional DL - up to 405 x 1 @ 7, then 295 x 5 x 3 (easy, but back very sore. Knee felt completely fine though)
Ring Pullup - bw x 10 x 2
Hamstring Slider - 8 x 2
Deficit Pushup - bw x 22, 19

Friday 07/14/2023
19 inch box squats - 115 x 15 x 3 -> rpe 0, pain ~2,2,1
ATG Split Squats (front foot on 15 inch box) - bw x 5 x 6 -> painless (last week was on an 18 inch box with more pain)
Slow eccentric incline DB Curls - 30s x 8,6,5,5 -> painless
Standing Ab wheel - 3,2,1,1
BB Calf Raise (feet on 35lb bumpers) - 95 x 12 x 3
Tibialis Raise - bw x 20, 13, 10

[DCR]

Having a suspicion my left knee issue is not actually quad tendonitis but rather an inflamed bursa. There is a noticeable bulge right above my left patella, which is pretty much right where the suprapatellar bursa is. It is pretty painful to touch, and I can "move" it around a bit, which doesn't feel great. Funny because my previous quad/patellar tendinopathy protocols have been stupidly heavy training with stupidly slow eccentrics (talking >70% squat 1RM with 8+ second negatives), and that is likely making this worse.

… and deadlifting has been hit or miss with my knee (trap bar especially) and back (conventional mainly). … Squatting will be very high box squats, which I will just keep adding weight to until either I can't or the pain increases (don't want any sets over a 4/10). Eventually will lower the box height and in time go back to regular squatting.

…
BB Calf Raise (feet on 35lb bumpers) - 95 x 12 x 3

I had bursitis in both knees in my early 20s, so bad that I didn’t lift for a year. (Had to turn to swimming.) It returns now and then but I know how to snuff it out after two decades. All of this of course is my N=1, but:

- Conventional DLs only, and you absolutely must perform the eccentric portion fully with a hip hinge, not with any bending of the knee, until the point where you have no choice, but even then the weight must sit fully in your hips/ass. No more trap bar.

- No standing calf raises either, for a few weeks. When you bring them back, you’ll push off the front of the ball of your feet, never through your big toe, and make sure to be coming straight up and down (meaning your entire body), not letting yourself come forward on the concentric. Again, the weight must be in your posterior chain, out of your knees.

- I’m not surprised at all that the slow eccentrics didn’t help, because slowed down or not, they still were your squat, and something about your squat is fucking with your knees (presuming it’s not overuse, which I doubt because you seem on top of your programming). You need to figure out what that something is and stop doing it. The box squats may be fine because box squats generally are performed differently than one’s normal squat, intended or not.

- I would start the movement from scratch with goblet squats and pay close attention to whether any part of the “tripod” of your foot is moving during the movement, whether shifting, popping up, or ending up with the lion’s share of the weight versus the other two points. Every time that my bursitis starts to rear its head, it corresponds with my having gotten lazy with foot pressure.

[SeeMac]

Having a suspicion my left knee issue is not actually quad tendonitis but rather an inflamed bursa. There is a noticeable bulge right above my left patella, which is pretty much right where the suprapatellar bursa is. It is pretty painful to touch, and I can "move" it around a bit, which doesn't feel great. Funny because my previous quad/patellar tendinopathy protocols have been stupidly heavy training with stupidly slow eccentrics (talking >70% squat 1RM with 8+ second negatives), and that is likely making this worse.

… and deadlifting has been hit or miss with my knee (trap bar especially) and back (conventional mainly). … Squatting will be very high box squats, which I will just keep adding weight to until either I can't or the pain increases (don't want any sets over a 4/10). Eventually will lower the box height and in time go back to regular squatting.

…
BB Calf Raise (feet on 35lb bumpers) - 95 x 12 x 3

I had bursitis in both knees in my early 20s, so bad that I didn’t lift for a year. (Had to turn to swimming.) It returns now and then but I know how to snuff it out after two decades. All of this of course is my N=1, but:

- Conventional DLs only, and you absolutely must perform the eccentric portion fully with a hip hinge, not with any bending of the knee, until the point where you have no choice, but even then the weight must sit fully in your hips/ass. No more trap bar.

- No standing calf raises either, for a few weeks. When you bring them back, you’ll push off the front of the ball of your feet, never through your big toe, and make sure to be coming straight up and down (meaning your entire body), not letting yourself come forward on the concentric. Again, the weight must be in your posterior chain, out of your knees.

- I’m not surprised at all that the slow eccentrics didn’t help, because slowed down or not, they still were your squat, and something about your squat is fucking with your knees (presuming it’s not overuse, which I doubt because you seem on top of your programming). You need to figure out what that something is and stop doing it. The box squats may be fine because box squats generally are performed differently than one’s normal squat, intended or not.

- I would start the movement from scratch with goblet squats and pay close attention to whether any part of the “tripod” of your foot is moving during the movement, whether shifting, popping up, or ending up with the lion’s share of the weight versus the other two points. Every time that my bursitis starts to rear its head, it corresponds with my having gotten lazy with foot pressure.

Thanks for the tips! The calf raises feel completely fine, as does anything with very minimal knee flexion. The box squats also feel more or less fine. Previously when I was doing full range squats (I always squat basically ATG), pain would decrease set to set, but within the set the last few reps would be way more painful. This is actually the opposite of what I have experienced during my previous bouts with patella and quad tendinopathy. However, the pain doing box squats seems to feel more or less constant throughout the set, and it isn't much at all. I also do always keep a pretty solid foot connection, as I naturally have very high arches, and have always emphasized having three solid points of contact. I'll make sure I place even more of an emphasis on it, though.

[SeeMac]

Sunday 07/16/2023
SB Bench - up to 240 x 3 @ 8, then 185 x 7 x 6, 185 x 12 @ 8-9
1H KB Swings - 75 x 10 x 4
T Handle Swing - 110 x 10 x 2, 125 x 10, 8 (lost balance on 8th rep)
DB Chest Supported Row - 75s x 16, 12, 8
Strict DB Tricep Extensions - 30s x 11, 10, 8
Poundstone Curl - 45 x 40ish

Went into the session with my back in agony, and by the 3rd 1H kb swing set it felt completely fine. Love these things.