Thursday, November 15, 2007

Training Log: Entry 499

ME upper day

Flat bench
Barx3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x1
335x1
345x1 (+10 New PR)
345x1
335x1

Notes: Prolly had enough in me for 350, but my set-up for the first set of 345 was really bad (right hand spacing was in, left hand was out), so wanted to try it again to get a feel for the weight.  By that point, was pretty exhausted.  Don't want to fail on ME day, want to keep the "training, not testing" mentality strong.  Gripped the hell out of the bar, kept tight, didn't bounce off the chest.  Still pushing the majority with my triceps, shoulders and chest a little weak, maybe some incline work is in order.

Olympic bar skull crushers of 95
10,9,8,6

Notes: Much easier on my elbows this time by keeping my elbows tucked in.

Pull-ups of bodyweight
13,5,4,3

Notes: Should probably invest in a weight belt, the high numbers aren't really doing anything for me.  Felt a big pump in my arms and forearms, not so much in my lats.

Kelso lat shrugs of 135
10,10,8,6

Notes: Still don't quite know how I feel about this exercise. Lots of different angles and positions, would be better if I could do it from an incline bench.  Definitely gets my lats pretty strong, not so much my upper back.  Might try some conventional shrugs next week with some bent over lateral raises thrown in.

Unilateral hammer curls of 40
10,7,5

Notes: Think I'm training biceps too frequently, not really seeing any progress here.  Maybe cut down to once a week, or do a barbell movement one day and a DB movement the next.  Just hate the clicking feeling I get in my shoulder when I do these.  Always afraid I'm grinding away my tissue.

 

Did some overcrushes with the 2 and negatives with the 2.5 yesterday.  Grip has gotten weak, not managing full sets, but should be strong again soon.

5 comments:

  1. I fashioned out a weight belt out of strong rope, it works great. Also, I've heard good things about camping backpacks.

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  2. not to sounds like one of those guys, but i find Lat pull downs better for hypertrophy for the lats than pull ups. unless i come io a dead hang, fully extended, perfect form, the pull downs are superior to the pull ups. but i still keep them in every now and then just to make sure i can still do them lol.

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  3. Yeah, I think I need to get to the gym one more time a week to use their lat pulldown sadly.

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  4. What helped you move onto the crush gripper #2 ? I'm on the #1 now and have been for quite a while, what program did you follow ? at the minute I'm doing 5 sets of 5 reps of holding the #1 for 25 seconds in each hand.

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  5. If you're holding the 1 for 25 seconds per rep per hand, you should be more than able to get to the 2.  If you're still having problems, some of the things that have helped me are
    RE/ME workRE:1 day a week, use the trainer and try for as many reps as you can per hand for 3 sets.  Total these reps up, and the next week, try for more total reps.ME: One other day a week, much like you've been doing, heavy working sets with a high resistance gripper.
    Higher volume workStart closing the 1 for 10 reps, working up to 5 full sets.
    And currently trying overcushing/negativesOvercrushing: Much like you're doing now, hold a rep for 10-12 seconds in the closed position, for 5 repsNegatives: Take the 2, forced it closed with 2 hands, and hold/slowly release it under the control of one hand
    Switch off between overcrushing negatives every other set.

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