Death can have me when it has earned me

[lheugh]

II've reduced the number of sets I typically do but I need to push harder on the sets I do have to do. Not a terrible effort though.

Been ruminating on this lately. My general approach is long rests and balls deep sets, but I’ve seen / heard a few things that caused me to stop and think on just how deep and where I’ve been pulling back. I’ve found a tendency to stop at 1RIR on a perfectly safe movement with zero chance of injury (say chest supported t-bar rows) as opposed to taking that last rep and hitting 0RIR. I’ve also found a tendency to lazily let a first set dictate the following sets. Say for example I get 7 reps on the first of three sets across, and it’s hard - say 1RIR or even 0RIR. On the second and/or third sets, due to the groove being greased or whatever, I may have 8 reps in me, but I’ll stop at 7 because after the first set I’ve mentally become satisfied that that was hard enough.

Now that I’m conscious of these things, I’m trying to push harder.

Yeah, I set an alarm on my phone for either 2 or 3 minutes between sets that I try to adhere to if my body permits. I like how you phrased it, "pulling back". I definitely temper my relative intensity to attempt to maintain consistent performance across all sets, and while I strive to aim for 2RIR to 0RIR, I'm also cognisant of how many more sets I have to get through, so I subconsciously tend to, to a small degree, modulate the absolute load a smidgeon too much. I'm more mentally amenable to pushing myself a bit harder since I don't have to maintain it for as many sets, but the sets I do are subsequently milked a lot more in terms of stimulus. I acknowledged that today with the hammer row contraption. Last time I was at 80kg for 12s which at the time felt tough, but today I managed 85kg for 15s, with more in the tank (ergo why I did 5 sets instead of the planned 4). I have mixed feelings about that occurrence, since on the one hand I performed better, but on the other it seems I have a larger magnitude of effort potential that I haven't been capitalising on. It'll work out though since I now adjust the loads on a set-by-set basis based on rep performance (within my target range for a given exercise), and if subsequent sets fall short, then I only increase the load on the sets that I did hit the top end of the rep range on.

[lheugh]

I definitely left nothing on belt squats today. I'll see how some weight added to the first 3 sets and keeping the last the same turns out next time.

Theme Song/b]: Word Up (Korn)

Belt Squat: 160kgx12,12,12,10
Weighted Back Extension: 4(60kgx10)
Leg Extension: 3(68.5kgx15)
Lying Leg Curl: 3(50kgx15)
Hip Adduction: 3(97.5kgx10)
Hip Adduction: 3(62.5kgx10)
Standing Calf Raise: 133kgx12,12,10
Cable Rope Crunch: 65.5kgx15,12,10
Cable Side Bend: 3(10x15)

[lheugh]

I hit the rack on the 10th rep of the third set of cam work which threw me off a bit and made it pretty grindy! Thankfully, the 4th and last set was a lot smoother. The neck work today was probably the toughest part of the session though.

Theme Song: Power (Kanye West)

Incline Cambered Bench: 4(80kgx10)
Leverage Chest Press: 80kgx12,10,10,10
Machine Lateral Raise: 3(50kgx15)
Machine Dips: 4(71kgkgx15)
Pec Flyes: 3(59.3kgx15)
Tricep Pushdown: 3(60kgx12)
Rear Delt Flyes: 3(56kgx15)
Snatch-Grip Prime Shrug: 3(80kgx15)
Neck Flexion/Extension: 3(15kgx15)

[lheugh]

I managed to tweak my neck during the second set of pullovers which was distracting enough for me to cut the sets short a bit. Thankfully, I still managed to get other work in.

Theme Song: Only You (7 Days Away)

Rotary Lat Pulldown: 4(20x12)
Cable Flexion Row: 3(56kgx15)
Machine Preacher Curl: 4(25kgx15)
Machine Pullover: 68.5kgx12,10,8
Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 10kgx15,15,12
Hoist Shoulder Press: 3(8kgx12)
Rear Delt Flyes: 57kgx15,12,10
Ivanko Super Gripper: 5(10x12)
Dumbbell Wrist Curl: 10kgx12,12,10

[lheugh]

Theme Song: Hell (Disturbed)

Hip Leg Press: 5(130kgx12)
Weighted Back Extension: 62.5kgx10,10,8,8
Leg Extension: 4(71kgx12)
Seated Leg Curl: 4(120lbx15)
Hip Adduction: 3(97.5kgx11)
Hip Abduction: 3(62.5kgx11)
Standing Calf Raise: 3(133kgx13)
Ab Wheel: 12,12,10
Cable Side Bend: 16x12,12,10

[lheugh]

I got some strange looks for doing my neck work at the gym rather than my garage, but the plates keep hitting my sternum so a cable variant was much more comfortable. Considering I tweaked my neck the other day, it was good to get some neck work in.

Theme Song: Cherry Pie (Warrant)

Cambered Bench Press: 4(92.5kgx8)
Hoist Incline Press: 11x15,13,12,12
Machine Lateral Raise: 52.5kgx15,15,12
Machine Dips: 4(73.5kgx15)
Tricep Pushdown: 3(60kgx15)
Pec Flyes: 3(61.5kgx15)
Rear Delt Flyes: 3(57kgx15)
Snatch-Grip Prime Shrug: 3(85kgx15)
Cable Neck Flexion/Extension: 3(12.5kgx15)

[DCR]

Theme Song: Cherry Pie (Warrant)

Grossly underrated lyrics on that one (mostly because no one knows them except for the chorus. Jani Lane was (is) by far my favorite hair metal singer and a superb songwriter - if you’ve never ventured beyond the two classic records, I highly recommend doing so. Things got much more interesting. Very sad what became of him.

[lheugh]

Theme Song: Cherry Pie (Warrant)

Grossly underrated lyrics on that one (mostly because no one knows them except for the chorus. Jani Lane was (is) by far my favorite hair metal singer and a superb songwriter - if you’ve never ventured beyond the two classic records, I highly recommend doing so. Things got much more interesting. Very sad what became of him.

I always thought he had an astounding vocal range! It reminds me that I saw the second to last Linkin Park concert in 2010/2011 before Chester Bennington died. I'm always grateful I got to see them live before that happened.

[lheugh]

This was a really good session. I added 15kg to the hammer row and I still need to be a bit more aggressive with loading it. I'm not hating how my back is looking these days.

Theme Song: Eikonoklasm (Masayoshi Soken)

Neutral-Grip Hammer Row: 4(100kgx15)
Machine Pullover: 3(68.5kgx15)
Cable Curl: 40kgx15,12,12,12
Cable Flexion Row: 3(63kgx12)
Dumbbell Preacher Curl: 3(10kgx15)
Hoist Shoulder Press: 3(9x12)
Rear Delt Flyes: 3(58kgx15)
Dumbbell Wrist Curl: 5kgx15,15,12
Cable Neck Flexion/Extension: 3(15kgx15)
Ivanko Super Gripper: 5(10x15)

[DCR]

I'm not hating how my back is looking these days.

Nor should you be.

[lheugh]

I'm not hating how my back is looking these days.

Nor should you be.

Body dysmorphia can be one cold hearted bitch with a 14-inch strap-on

[DCR]

I'm not hating how my back is looking these days.

Nor should you be.

Body dysmorphia can be one cold hearted bitch with a 14-inch strap-on

Actual lol

[lheugh]

Astute observers might notice that rectus abdominis work was missing today. I attempted to do some ab wheel work, but my lower abs were still sensitive after the last time I did them, so I opted for an additional oblique set.

Theme Song: Dani California (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Belt Squat: 4(165kgx12)
Weighted Back Extension: 2(65kgx10), 2(63kgx10)
Leg Extension: 4(71kgx15)
Seated Leg Curl: 4(125lbx15)
Unilateral Leg Press: 4(81kgx12)
Standing Calf Raise: 133kgx15,15,12
Cable Side Bend: 4(40kgx15)

[lheugh]

Training was good today. Dynamic double progression (with impromptu triple progression depending on how I'm getting on) is definitely allowing me to focus more on the effort factor of each set.

Theme Song: Fire Inside (Victor Borba)

Incline Cambered Bench: 82.5kgx10,10,8,8
Leverage Chest Press: 4(83kgx12)
Machine Lateral Raise: 54.5kgx15,15,12
Machine Dips: 4(75.5kgkgx15)
Pec Flyes: 3(64kgx15)
Tricep Pushdown: 3(65kgx12)
Rear Delt Flyes: 3(59kgx15)
Snatch-Grip Prime Shrug: 3(90kgx15)
Neck Flexion/Extension: 3(17.5kgx15)

[lheugh]

I may have cut my finger open with a shard of glass yesterday, but today's session went really well in spite of it.

Theme Song: Bury the Light (Victor Borba/Casey Edwards)

Rotary Lat Pulldown: 5(20+5kgx12)
Cable Flexion Row: 3(63kgx15)
Machine Preacher Curl: 4(26kgx15)
Machine Pullover: 3(71kgx15)
Cable Hammer Curl: 4(25kgx12)
Hoist Shoulder Press: 3(10x12)
Rear Delt Flyes: 3(60kgx12)
Ivanko Super Gripper: 5(11x8)
Dumbbell Wrist Curl: 7.5kgx12,12,10
Cable Neck Flexion/Extension: 3(20kgx12)

[lheugh]

Those sets of leg press were pretty hard! I still need to bump up the weight though.

Theme Song: The Invisibles (Tendril)

Hip Leg Press: 4(140kgx12)
Weighted Back Extension: 68kgx10,10,8,8
Leg Extension: 4(73.3kgx15)
Seated Leg Curl: 3(130lbx15)
Hip Adduction: 3(97.5kgx12)
Hip Abduction: 3(62.5kgx11)
Seated Calf Raise: 3(40kgx15)
Ab Wheel: 15,15,10
Cable Side Bend: 3(45kgx15)

[lheugh]

Today was rough, but I managed to eke out 2 extra reps. The hoist incline contraption was stupendously difficult during the first set, and then it just became significantly easier, so I added another set. Neck work is still the most difficult part of the session, but aiming for a tree trunk for a neck keeps me consistent with it.

Theme Song: No Risk, No Reward (Masayoshi Soken)

Cambered Bench Press: 92.5kgx9,9,8,8
Hoist Incline Press: 5(12x10)
Machine Lateral Raise: 57kgx15,12,12
Machine Dips: 4(77kgx12)
Cable French Press: 3(15kgx15)
Pec Flyes: 3(66.3kgx15)
Rear Delt Flyes: 60kgx15,13,13
Snatch-Grip Prime Shrug: 95kgx15,12,12
Cable Neck Flexion/Extension: 3(20kgx13)

[lheugh]

Theme Song: Take Me Away (7 Days Away)

Neutral-Grip Hammer Row: 5(110kgx12)
Machine Pullover: 3(73.3kgx12)
Cable Curl: 45kgx12, 3(40kgx15)
Cable Flexion Row: 3(70kgx8)
Dumbbell Preacher Curl: 12.5kgx12,10,10
Hoist Shoulder Press: 3(11x12)
Rear Delt Flyes: 60kgx15,13,13
Cable Hammer Curl: 3(30kgx12)
Ivanko Super Gripper: 5(11x12)

[lheugh]

Theme Song: Change (Deftones)

Belt Squat: 170kgx12,12,12,10
Weighted Back Extension: 4(70kgx8)
Leg Extension: 4(75.5kgx12)
Lying Leg Curl: 55kgx15,12,12
Unilateral Leg Press: 3(91kgx12)
Seated Calf Raise: 3(45kgx15)
Hanging Leg Raise: 12,12,10
Cable Side Bend: 3(50x15)

[DCR]

Lying Leg Curl: 55kgx15,12,12

This isn’t a comment on your particular training but more a thought that I’ve had a hard time shaking lately. Just taking this one movement, everyone, no matter what they squat/deadlift, no matter the particular machine, seems to work somewhere in this range of strength after a bit of work. I can’t count how many times I started around 70 or so lbs, worked up to 120 or so, and then moved on. What if we all prioritized it and worked up to 200 lbs?

Play that out with any number of movements. I mean how fucking many dudes are out there curling the 35 lb DBs? It’s endless. What if we made it a hard goal to curl the 60s and did whatever it took to make that happen, as we approach the powerlifts?