You Better, You Better, You Bet.

[lehman906]

The gram is making me a lazy turd when it comes to logging. Here’s the run up to my contest plus a quick write up:

9/5
Log press
195x1x8 with 5-10 second holds at the top.

Front squat
295x1@9
265x2,2
245x3,3

DB Press
60s x 6
70s x 6,6,6,6

Leg Press myo reps
400x15/5/5/5/5/5

9/8
Log press
230xmiss, 1
Didn’t get it back over my head on the first one.

DB Press
70x6,6,6

Tire flip
500x10,10

Farmers
180x120’x2

9/10—low stress week heading into the contest
190x1,1,1 with holds

Seated pin press with log
Up to 185x1 with hold

SGDL
up to 405x1 with actual SG.

9/12
Log press
190x1,1,1

Front squat
250x1,1

The day before the contest our school celebrates the end of a charity drive by walking to a park and playing games for two hours. I meant to do as little as possible. What I actually did was sprint around playing free throw knock out and getting chased with a water balloon. I have the dumb.

CONTEST DAY
A lot of unfamiliar faces among the 16
Contestants, including two guys wearing the haircuts and face paint of the Road Warriors, which was completely awesome. Also a 6’5” 400 lb “novice” entered. Cool. Cool cool cool.

Log press. Max weight with three attempts. Jump in on the weight you want.

Right away they start miscounting the weight because the gym owner can’t math. Whatevs. Came down to “250” (actually 235). Two guys missed it and I ground it out, hearing some sweet Rice Krispies in my shoulder. Honestly, I think they missed it because it’s a slippery 8 inch aluminum log and I’m just used to it. Strongbad opened with it and then pressed “300” (285) to win.

2nd place

Farmers Walk: 200/hand for 150 feet w/turn

I was counting on this to pull the kinks out of my shoulder. I was pretty quick but my shoulder wasn’t strong enough to force the inside implement into the outside one and control the turn so I lost a few seconds. Meh.

3rd

Tire flip: 500(ish) x 75 feet
Abandoned the conventional wisdom about wide grip outside legs and decided to dance with who brung me. Hands inside, quick knee jab. Went pretty well, but like everything else in this
contest, it’s really light and there are alway fast young dudes.

4th. I’ll take it. Never my best event.

Arm over arm truck pull: “lol5000lb” truck 75 feet.

I’m pretty good at this because it’s about getting triple extension then fast hands. Beat the Juggernovice by 1 second to take the event.

1st.

Final result: 2nd overall. Not too shabby for someone 10 days away from 44. Now I’m gonna chase the pump for awhile, try to add some lower quads so my legs don’t look so Chicken-y and some delts to look Marvel-y. Then I’ll get balls deep in the Montana Method and try to get as strong as you smarty-pantses.

[Wilhelm]

Great result, @lehman906!

lol @ Juggernovice

[mgil]

Thanks for the write up! Sounds like a fun time.

[lehman906]

Thanks, guys. It was a good time....and I’m glad to be done with it for a while.

9/17
Low back hurts, and rotator cuff is angry, but my wife’s expert use of kinesio tape gives me range of motion. Bench is out. Overhead is out. Lateral raises are out. Deadlifting is out. So....chase whatever pump I can find.

SSB Squat
50x8,8
140x8
170x8
190x8,8,8

Oof. Clearly I’m still exhausted.

Leg Press
420x12,12,12

Cable pushdowns/cable curls
120-ish/80-ish
3x12

[lehman906]

9/19
Pretty much the same workout because it’s about all I can do right now. Two more sets on the leg Press than last time and less rest on the arm shit.

I hate this. I hate doing pump work for my arms and legs.....which is probably why they’re skinny and weak. Feh. Here’s a douchey video from Monday.

[lehman906]

9/22

Feeling better. Not all better, but better.

High bar squat. Almost no shoulder pain, but still getting a lot of fatigue from very light weights, which I hope isn’t just a sign of how out of shape I am. Hope it’s residual from the contest.

45x8
135x8
185x8
225x8,8,8

Tempo bench 4-0-0. Pain lessened as I went on.
45x8
95x8
115x8
135x8,8,8,8

Laterals. Super light but no pain and actually felt it in my side delts without my traps taking over.
8’sx20,20,20,20

Leg Press
400x15/5/5/5/5/5

Hopefully back to some semblance of normal next week.

[lehman906]

9/24. I’M NOT PATIENT.

Fuck, I just want to be healed. Here’s a list of exercises I can’t do right now:
Anything overhead. Even from high pins.
Any benching above 135 (and probably shouldn’t do that)
Incline bench
Any deadlifting
Front raises
Curls heavy enough that the shoulder starts to help
Front squats
Shrugs
Dips
Chins/ pull downs
....and probably other stuff.

Sooooo....I need to work on my attitude, be grateful for my overall health and strength on the day before I turn 44, and look at it as an opportunity to focus on the things I would neglect. I can and should do a shit ton of high bar and SSB squatting. I can and should do a bunch of lunges. I can and should do lateral raises. I can and should do isolation arm stuff. I can AND SHOULD do ab work. I hate most of this, and that’s why my strength sucks and my legs are skinny. Embrace the opportunity, dummy. Watch Jocko Willink’s “good” video again.

Tempo bench 3-0-0
135x8,8,8,8

WG seated cable row
120ish? X 10,10,10,10

Lateral raises
10’s x 20,20,20,20

Pushdowns and Barbell curl
120/67 x 12,12,12,12,12

Get your head back in the game.

[lehman906]

Damn, I used to read DR's log and think "why the hell does he take so long between entries." Now I'm becoming that guy. I was going to fill this in with the seven missing sessions, but honestly, the first few aren't very interesting with my limited movement choices.

10/5
Deadlift. First pulls in over a month.
Up to 405x1 easy with no pain.

Bench:
Careful 5's up to 155x5,5,5,5 with no pain.

Leg Press. 7:00 density block
400x15,10,8,8,6,6,6,8 (67)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BokT_AxBPtW ... hare_sheet


10/10. An hour after walking in the door from a 5 day trip to DC with 44 high-schoolers.

SGDL
345x4@7
315x4,4,4

Bench
5's to 165x5,5,10

https://www.instagram.com/p/BowyzM8BZWr ... hare_sheet


10/12

CGBP w/pause
185x10
175x9
165x10

WG Spoto press. Middle finger on ring.
135x10,9

WG Pulldown. 7:00 density block using all sorts of angles.
90x20,13,13,10,12,12 (80)

DB Press
40's x 10,10,10. No pain!

Some arm stuff.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo2ac0VB_st ... hare_sheet

Anyone know how I change the name of my log?

[augeleven]

10/10. An hour after walking in the door from a 5 day trip to DC with 44 high-schoolers.

Uggh

Anyone know how I change the name of my log?

Editing the first post in the thread.

Also, I hope you’re feeling better.

[lehman906]

10/10. An hour after walking in the door from a 5 day trip to DC with 44 high-schoolers.

Uggh

Anyone know how I change the name of my log?

Editing the first post in the thread.

Also, I hope you’re feeling better.

Feeling good, man. And thanks for the tip. The trip was fun, mostly because we have really good kids and keep them super busy.

[lehman906]

10/14
Front squat-beltless. No pain, even after banging the bar off the pins like a dummy.
205x8
195x10
185x8

Inc bench-no pain in shoulder. Well, no rotator cuff pain, anyway. My shoulders have always gotten cranky on inclines, so I’m super conservative here.
135x6,6,6

Leg Press
420x8
510x8
600x8
510x15
420x15

(Repping the Wolverines after their beatdown of WI last night)

[lehman906]

10/19
CloseGrip Pause Bench
205x8
190x7
175x10

WG Spoto Press
145x10,8

Pulldowns
90x83 reps in 7:00 w/various grips and angles

DB Press
60's x 9
50's x 13
45 x 9 (rested too much before the second set)

Chins
BWx 8,5 just cuz



10/20 Combining two days to get back on track.

Front Squat
225x7
205x7
185x10

SGDL
375x5
335x7

[lehman906]

10/22
WG Paused Bench. I'm starting to believe I can do these consistently without pain.
165x8
150x9
145x10

Seated Row. 7:00 min density block
90x 79 reps

DB Press
65's x 6
55's x 8
45's x 12

Curls and chins.

10/24. I hit for the excuse cycle, doing pretty much everything wrong, but it didn't really matter since I gave blood yesterday and had no pop at all.
Beltless front squat
240x5
215x5
195x5

Inc Bench 6-0-0 tempo. If I'm not strong today, I'll at least get a little hypertrophy work out of it.
95x4x4

Leg Press. Blah. Everything was just blah.

10/25. Feeling better, and hitting my garage day.
Press
115x12
105x12
95x15

Chins
BWx15, 9, 7. Not bad, and they got me called thirsty on the official Exograms. #exodusextrovert #THOTSandprayers

Push ups. Density block. 5:00 to see how it goes.
BWx 73
How it went was my schmeebs were about to burst. I had 90's porn star chest.

Facepulls w/band. 5:00 density block. I did 96, and actually felt them in my side delts, which is fine with me because I have a really hard time isolating those.




10/27. Ready to stop pussyfooting around and get back to work.
Deadlift. Only the second time conventional pulling in two and a half months. Figured I'd give 70% a whirl.
350 x 12@8 ....I'll take that.
350 x 8
350 x 4/4 (split the set up w/ 1:00 rest in between because I'm in pie-eating shape)
350 x 4/4

WG TnG Bench
175x10
160x9
145x10

Front Squat w/belt
225x8, 4/4 ...dead after these. Those DL's felt good but took just about everything.

Leg Press. Tried to do a myo-rep set. Tried.
510x15/5/5

[lehman906]

10/29
Bench:
190x6/6 (1min in between, then 3:00 after the second one)
175x6/6
160x16

Seated row with straight bar. 7:00 min density block
120x15,12,10,8,8,10 (63)

DB Press
55’s x 8,8,8

Facepull
60x15,15,12

Curls. Straight bar to @9 for a few.

[lehman906]

10/31
Squat (high-bar? I dunno. Bar is just over the spine of the scapula)
250x6/6 (1:00 rest in between)
230x6/6 (same)
210x16

SGDL
275x8,8,8

Leg Press
380x15/5/5/5/5/5




11/1 (Home)
Press. Keeping it as much of a traditional military with no lay back as possible. That over extension seems to aggravate that previous tweak.
115x6/6
105x6/6
95x16

Chins
BWx8/8, 7/7, 6/6

Push-ups. 5:00 density block
BW x 25,12,12,12,17 (78)'

Banded face pulls. 5:00 density block.
36, 20, 20, 24 (100)

Curls

So this shows how little I really know about powerlifting (or ever cared about the bench press). I had heard somewhere that the maximum grip width was 32 inches, but I had no idea what that was on the bar, and it didn't matter because I only close-gripped to help my overhead pressing. I was reading about it today and saw that it means your first finger touching the outside of the ring. Holy crap, that's my wide-grip bench that I thought was just craaaaazy wide. Huh. I'm going to have to film some sets and see how wide I can go while still keeping my forearms straight. This could be interesting.

[lehman906]

11/2
Deathlifting. Official Week 1. Lifting at 8 in the morning with all the old-men yelling across the gym about their medical problems.

350x12
350x4/4, 4/4, 4/4

Slight incline bench. Experimenting with grip width.
135x6
155x6
185x5,4,3

Front Squat. I took 20 lbs off to make sure I got all my sets. And because DLs kicked the shit out of me.
205x4/4, 4/4, 4/4

[lehman906]

11/5
Bench (trying to find a real grip width. Right now I'm using ring finger on the rings).
195x5/5 with 1:00 in between
180x5/5
165x12

Bent Row
135x12x4

Tried a bench single to try and gauge my strength at this width. Not gonna be all that accurate because of the previous reps, but it'll at least make me feel a little better.
255x1@9. Figure if fresh I could have gotten at least 265@9.

Pulldowns density block

DB Press
45's x 8,8,8

Curls

11/7
Squats felt weird, like I was shaky-tired after the first work set. Maybe I didn't eat enough?
265x5/5
245x5/5
225x12



RDL
315x8,10,5/5 (had to split this one up because I was so gassed. I don't get it).

Planks
Single-leg DB squats
40's x 10,10

Hopefully this has just been a rough week or two, because besides my comp DL, everything else is feeling like hot garbage.

[lehman906]

11/10
Deadlifts. Only lift that's feeling good, but it's feeling VERY good. Not "600 lbs good" like my e1RM would have you believe, but still.
375x10
375x6
375x3/3

I was supposed to do another 6 reps after this, but it just kills me too much. I read Nuckols' program and he suggests all of this PLUS 3-4 accessory exercises, and I just can't do that while keeping to the percentages and RPE that he prescribes. Not sure if doing something wrong or just a big wuss.



Pause bench. Getting used to a wider grip (rude finger on the rings).
Sets of 4 in 20 lb jumps from 45-175
185x4,4,4

Front Squats. Tried a top single here for fun.
295x1@8 or so. PR is 315.
225x5,5,5,5

[lehman906]

[media][/media]11/12
Bench stuff. I think I've figured out how to generate power with my ring finger on the rings. Tucking my elbows and touching a little lower.
Rows, DB presses, arms, leg presses. Blah.

11/14
Squat. I think I should be able to get 305x8+ next week.
285x8
265x8
245x8

Bench. Just need more volume, so using some Hanley slickness.
200x4,4,4,3,3,3,3

Stiff Leg DL
315x8,8,8. Sweet smell, etc.

Leg Press myo-reps
380x20/5/5/5

11/15
Press
135x8
125x8
115x10

Snatch-grip row, because I saw Bryce Lewis doing them. I've never felt rows in the way everyone else does, so I need to just work the shit out of them.
165-225x12-8, 135x15,13


11/17
Deadlift. Supposed to go for a 5RM, and my percentages said it should be 425, but I knew that would be too easy.
455x5@10. Could have gotten 465 maybe, but no more reps.
425x3
405x3

Pause Bench
4's up to 215@8.5
200x4,4

Front Squat. Deads KILLED me.
225x6
205x6,6,6,6,6

Step back lunges. Gross.
40's x10/10
40's x 20 (alternating)

[lehman906]

11/19-23: Deload Week

11/26
Bench
235x1
195x10
180x10
165x12

Bent Row (Woolam style)
6's from 135-245

DB Press
60's x8,8,8

Leg Press
380x20,20,20

11/28
Squat
335x1
275x5,5
255x5,5
235x12


Bench
205x4,4,4,3,3,3,3

SL DL
315x8,8,8

11/29
Press
125x10
115x10
105x12

Hammer grip chins
BW x 12/4/4/3/2

2 rounds of push ups, facepulls, and roll-outs


12/1 Return of the Montana Method. I've been growing more disenchanted with Nuckols' Average to Savage program, and noticed that I was slowly turning it into the MM anyway, so I might as well come back. Just picked a day to do today and I'll start proper on Monday.

Squat
Up to 330x1,1@7

Bench. Found my grip. Pinkies on the rings keeps my forearms vertical, and using some tightness cues from Dave Tate, it felt really good today.
Up to 235@1,1,1@6-7

Deadlift
465x1@9. Felt slooooowwwww
390x4,4,4 and had to cut out to get home. I'll hit it again next week.

Hustler shot of the top bench single: