Man...had a rough two weeks of only being able to hit the gym 4 times in those two weeks. Had to move places to live,,,then had to travel...Haven't been eating enough...

My first day "back" and damn....I've lost the edge.

Hopefully it bounces back quickly.

Look at the bright side...did what you could in a busy period. Could have made excuses to just not go. Sometimes the best we can do is maintain or minimize the small step back. You'll bounce back quickly!

10andBOUNCE said:

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Look at the bright side...did what you could in a busy period. Could have made excuses to just not go. Sometimes the best we can do is maintain or minimize the small step back. You'll bounce back quickly!

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Hope so! Im going to down steaks and baked potatoes a few times this week to get things back going in the right direction.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I think it a silver lining when life throws little bumps at you like that because it 1.) forces you to take a deload that you probably wouldn't otherwise ever take and 2.) reinvigorates the mind to want to attack the weights again.

Anytime I get off schedule or find my training slow down for a week due to vacation, sickness, or whatever, that first workout back is always a little rough but I find that mentally I am so pumped to get back to it. Whereas when you're in the grind for 6 months with no breaks, some days I have to just physically force myself off the couch to get it done. It also is a great reminder for why I force myself to get up off the couch even when I don't want to.

What's a deload?

10andBOUNCE said:

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What's a deload?

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that's that extra set you do putting all your **** up after a heavy set of squats, deadlifts or leg press...

Ah yes. I have been bugging my gym for the last year or so to get a deadlift jack to help improve my deload.

CC09LawAg said:

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Great work!

How long would you say you've been seriously training to hit that mark?

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Sorry I'm late on this. Maybe 3-4 years? I've been lifting for 11 or so total at this point but only started focusing strength within that semi-recent window. I was up to a 500 conventional before realizing my particular biomechanics just don't support it; it was causing so much lower back pain. I switched to sumo and took some time to clear the 585 mark, then another 4-ish months to get to 635, and it's been exploding since. I doubled 635 4-6 weeks after PRing with it and went from 650 to 675 PR in about the same length of time.

Mostly form clicking right now, I've got it down to the finite details and getting great drive through my mid-foot/heels/hips. Lot of supporting work - pull-ups, rows, stiff-leg pulls, arched back good mornings, belt squats, etc.

I still conventional in the 525 range but I just don't really do it often, not worth it to me.

Appreciate the feedback. So I've got 1 to 2 years to catch you.

That's interesting on the conventional vs. sumo. I tried sumo for a training block maybe about 8 months ago to give myself a little break, and it just felt so awkward that I haven't gone back to it. I felt like I was going to tip over every time I pulled.

I do agree with the form getting locked in - that impacts my deadlift more than any other lift. When I maxed out in February, I tried to pull 425 and failed miserably. Walked away, came back, locked in my form and it went up relatively easy. Other lifts I feel like I can kind of correct a misgroove or just muscle it up, but if I don't set my deadlift up right I can't even get it off the floor.

ETA: How do you program in your supporting work? Do you do it on DL day or on your other days?

Very impressive! What's your body weight?

That's awesome!

Currently at 210. Normally compete sub 200, but a little fluffy right now.

Last couple weeks have been a bit of a slog, however I am finding that I've been able to push through for the most part and once I get into my working sets the body is feeling pretty good. Just a reminder that even if motivation is low when the alarm goes off at 4:45, just getting to the gym is often the hardest part.

Never brag going 9/9 again. First meet I get it, but never again. Then again - I have bombed.

My philosophy was -
Lift 1 - something I know I should get. Usually my best from the previous meet or what I know I've hit in training.
Lift 2 - what I plan to get
Lift 3 - what I hope to get

Third lift should be a stretch.

10andBOUNCE said:

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Last couple weeks have been a bit of a slog, however I am finding that I've been able to push through for the most part and once I get into my working sets the body is feeling pretty good. Just a reminder that even if motivation is low when the alarm goes off at 4:45, just getting to the gym is often the hardest part.

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My alarm goes off at 4:15 am on workout mornings...sad to say staying in bed wins it's fair share.

CC09LawAg said:

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playing with the kids in the pool

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Winter and Spring my focus is all OHP so I can continue to toss around my son and nephews in the pool come summertime. Each summer is obviously more difficult.

Throwing kids around, huh? Interesting approach to progressive overload but I like it.

CC09LawAg said:

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Yep, that's the goal. Then all the other kids can look at their dad and frown when they realize he can't even lift them up.

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Glad I am not the only one who has these dad goals.

My son is only 10 months old, but I am not going to ever let him lift more than me without a fight.

I'm giving myself a nice head start for when the old age starts trying to take me down.

We have a shade sail over our pool and the kids like to make it high enough to touch that so i am right there with yall, need that shoulder and leg explosiveness.

Been trying to stay "on program" with my first template from 5/3/1 Forever and seeing good progress.

First month, I couldn't knock out my 15 rep set on bench without taking a couple of breaks. Last night I knocked it out and maybe had one or two more in the tank. My 15 rep squat set earlier this week felt easier too.

I'm getting in the sled work once a week - 5 forward and 5 backward drags for 40 yards each within 15 minutes. It has been pretty rough but I'm getting it done and it sure beats running. I started with 116 pounds and am adding 10 pounds every time I complete it successfully. Doing my 10 box jumps every workout for warm up too.

Going to switch up the workout in July to something with a little more volume, but I think the current workout I'm doing will prepare me well for it. If all goes according to plan, I'll almost be doing my February max for reps at the end of September and shooting for my 5 plate squat and deadlift end of the year. Goal is to bench 3 plates but I shouldn't have an issue with that after hitting 300 in February - I hope I can add 15 pounds in 10 months.

Big thing I've added is weighted pull ups and chin ups and an extra day of lat pulldowns and my back is noticeably wider after a month. Happy with that progress and hoping I can do the same thing for my shoulders the next training block.

Very nice! I think you'll crush your 315 bench much sooner than 10 months. I think the real question is whether you can hit 340-350 if you continue your progress?

I hate volume squats with a passion because they're so damn fatiguing. They work extremely well but I've found it difficult to accomplish much after them. So either that is 75% of my workout that day and just do accessory or isolation movements afterwards or I do them dead last.

I never thought I'd even bench 225 back before I started all of this, so me trying to make a goal beyond 315 seems kind of crazy and unbelievable to me. But I think I will set my long term goal at 365. That will be about 1.75x times of my goal bodyweight.

The squats are pretty brutal and I am always sucking wind after. My accessories are pretty low key afterwards. Definitely not something I want to try to do on a regular basis, but it's a good exercise in mental fortitude to know how far you can push yourself.

Tex117 said:

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Strong lifts on this page!

Just to follow up on a post I had maybe last week....For me...after not sleeping more than 5 hours a night, not eating, enough, and getting a stomach bug for 36 hours (all while traveling)...it took me about 2 weeks to get back to where I was on the squat (which isn't much), but still bouncing back on deadlift.

Do yall happen to piss off your intercostal muscle between your ribs alot? Ive done it 3 times...and it significantly slows down progress. Did it last night again and it hurts like hell.

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This happened to me recently either from lifting or golf. Not sure which, but it is a b****.

Doing a Ryan Humiston program called **** My Life. The first week is high reps. I'm in constant pain.

It's amazing to me how I can do the same weight for a 5x10 or a 10x5 and feel completely different during/afterwards.

If anyone is looking for a badass rack this seems like a great deal. In Boerne. I have no connection. Just popped up in my facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/share/LsVeZt7yEwMCvnp7/?mibextid=79PoIi

Feeling good with my progress. Maintaining body weight and just knocked out a 5x5 of 317.5 on squats after doing a 1x5 each of 277.5, 317.5, and 355. Felt like I still had a little in the tank too.

If I can keep this pace up for the next few months, I'm going to be feeling really good about 5 plates this year.

LOL - next try Smolov. You can hate me later.

Hoosegow said:

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LOL - next try Smolov. You can hate me later.

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Is that heavy squats 4 days a week?

No thank you!

I want nothing to do with squatting even 2x a week. My best strength gains have been from squatting 1x a week and I am nuked for 3 days after heavy squats. I get you're tweaking numbers and probably staying in ranges of 85% or less of 1RM, but it that just seems like a lot to recover from.

Maybe I'm just giant va-jay-jay though…