What training are you doing/have you done today? Vol.2

[deadmau5]

22s said:

deadmau5 said:

I've got Tough Mudder in 6 weeks which is a half marathon in a field with some obstacles thrown in.

Me too (on the Sunday)! Really looking forward to it.

We're doing it on the Saturday with a view to going out in Cardiff on the Saturday night.

What training have you done for it? I've done a mixture of longer distance and shorter distance with some light weights/body weight stuff in between. Have you heard about the 'one mile of mud' challenge? Sounds grim...

[TheBALDpuma]

Fairly happy today...

Squats
1 x 10 at 155kg
1 x 8 at 160kg - should have stayed at 155kg, wasn't supposed to go heavier but ego took over
1 x 7 at 160kg - lost stability and had to drop it, was feeling easier than set 2, I'm sure I would have got 8 at least. Bit annoying. I dropped the weight to 120kg, and did 4 extra, super slow/low reps.

Bench press
1 x 9 at 100kg
2 x 8 at 100kg

Dips (didn't leave long enough to recover from bench press)
1 x 6 at 40kg
1 x 7 at 40kg
1 x 8 at 40kg

Pull overs
2 x 10 at 40kg
Change technique so I don't use hip movement to help
1 x 6 at 40kg

[Regiment]

Don't know whether to be annoyed or not tonight.

Bench Press - Goal was at least 127.5kg for 1 rep, current is 125kg.

10 x 20kg bar
8 x 60kg
3 x 100kg - felt it in my armpit more than my chest
1 x 130kg (fail) - front of my shoulders and armpit was where all the weight seemed to be, lowered it down and didn't even get it moving back up.
1 x 125kg (current pb) fail.

So annoyed, I thought I'd try Deadlifts - Goal was at least 220kg for 1 rep, current is 215kg.

10 x 60kg
6 x 100kg
5 x 140kg
1 x 180kg
1 x 220kg (new pb) felt bloody heavy.
1 x 222.5kg (fail)
8 x 180kg

Then tried Overhead Press - Goal was 70kg, best is 62.5kg for 1 rep.

10 x 20kg bar
5 x 40kg
1 x 60kg
1 x 70kg (fail)

Very mixed, squats on Saturday and then try bench again and see what happens and then back to normal next week.

[deadmau5]

Regiment said:

Don't know whether to be annoyed or not tonight.

Bench Press - Goal was at least 127.5kg for 1 rep, current is 125kg.

10 x 20kg bar
8 x 60kg
3 x 100kg - felt it in my armpit more than my chest
1 x 130kg (fail) - front of my shoulders and armpit was where all the weight seemed to be, lowered it down and didn't even get it moving back up.
1 x 125kg (current pb) fail.

So annoyed, I thought I'd try Deadlifts - Goal was at least 220kg for 1 rep, current is 215kg.

10 x 60kg
6 x 100kg
5 x 140kg
1 x 180kg
1 x 220kg (new pb) felt bloody heavy.
1 x 222.5kg (fail)
8 x 180kg

Then tried Overhead Press - Goal was 70kg, best is 62.5kg for 1 rep.

10 x 20kg bar
5 x 40kg
1 x 60kg
1 x 70kg (fail)

Very mixed, squats on Saturday and then try bench again and see what happens and then back to normal next week.

I'm not criticising, but how come there is such a large discrepancy between your MP and bench? Natural imbalance or has your chest just developed more?

[Regiment]

I never trained shoulders for a good while, I think that's what's holding me back with my bench. It's the thing that's coming a long the fastest though.

[Juanco20]

Really enjoy doing dips and can shift far more weight on those than I can on other exercises. I keep twinging my shoulders though and pretty sure it is my form

Should you keep my shoulder blades retracted like you would on a bench press and also try as hard as possible to keep elbows pinned to side of the body? I'm sure I let my shoulders roll forward and elbows end up flaring out, could also be going a bit too deep

[deadmau5]

Juanco20 said:

Really enjoy doing dips and can shift far more weight on those than I can on other exercises. I keep twinging my shoulders though and pretty sure it is my form

Should you keep my shoulder blades retracted like you would on a bench press and also try as hard as possible to keep elbows pinned to side of the body? I'm sure I let my shoulders roll forward and elbows end up flaring out, could also be going a bit too deep

Be careful doing lots of dips. Yes, you should keep your elbows as tight as possible. You need to be careful not to go down too low, I've heard 90 degrees is enough and after having a shoulder injury (which has taken forever to go) from dipping down as low as possible with extra weight I have to agree. You also need to do some exercises to strengthen the rear of your shoulder or else you will have an imbalance leaving you more prone to injury. Reverse flies are a good exercise. Have a search for dips and shoulder injuries. Remember, prevention is the best cure!

[pilchardthecat]

deadmau5 said:

Juanco20 said:

Really enjoy doing dips and can shift far more weight on those than I can on other exercises. I keep twinging my shoulders though and pretty sure it is my form

Should you keep my shoulder blades retracted like you would on a bench press and also try as hard as possible to keep elbows pinned to side of the body? I'm sure I let my shoulders roll forward and elbows end up flaring out, could also be going a bit too deep

Be careful doing lots of dips. Yes, you should keep your elbows as tight as possible. You need to be careful not to go down too low, I've heard 90 degrees is enough and after having a shoulder injury (which has taken forever to go) from dipping down as low as possible with extra weight I have to agree. You also need to do some exercises to strengthen the rear of your shoulder or else you will have an imbalance leaving you more prone to injury. Reverse flies are a good exercise. Have a search for dips and shoulder injuries. Remember, prevention is the best cure!

I would add that the key to safe dips is;
- go heavy and use low volume - most rotator cuff and other shoulder injuries are from over-use, not from over-load
- drop slowly to parallel or just below (i actually go quite a bit below)
- and most importantly don't bounce at the bottom

I've been doing heavy dips (up to +50kg on a belt) for a while now and never had an injury..... however i have fked myself up doing flat bench. Dips feel like a much more natural movement to me.

[Juanco20]

pilchardthecat said:

I would add that the key to safe dips is;
- go heavy and use low volume - most rotator cuff and other shoulder injuries are from over-use, not from over-load
- drop slowly to parallel or just below (i actually go quite a bit below)
- and most importantly don't bounce at the bottom

I've been doing heavy dips (up to +50kg on a belt) for a while now and never had an injury..... however i have fked myself up doing flat bench. Dips feel like a much more natural movement to me.

What do you class as low volume?

3-5 reps x 1-3 sets?

[pilchardthecat]

Juanco20 said:

What do you class as low volume?

3-5 reps x 1-3 sets?

Yes, that's the sort of thing i would do. I like reverse pyramid for dips, eg
+50kg x4-5
+40kg x5-6
+30kg x6-7

[ViperPict]

Odd injury (Mondor's disease no less!!) means I have had to skip deadlifts this week. :-(

Bent-over rows: 6 x 180kg, 10 x 165kg, 15 x 155kg

Dumbbell shoulder press: 4 x 52.5kg, 12 x 42.5kg

Seated dumbbel bicep curls: 6 x 25kg, 10 x 20kg

Reverse, close-grip bench: 10 x 120kg, 5 x 130kg

Weighted dips: 12 x bodyweight+25kg

Really good spurt of gains these last few workouts! :-)

[22s]

deadmau5 said:

22s said:

deadmau5 said:

I've got Tough Mudder in 6 weeks which is a half marathon in a field with some obstacles thrown in.

Me too (on the Sunday)! Really looking forward to it.

We're doing it on the Saturday with a view to going out in Cardiff on the Saturday night.

What training have you done for it? I've done a mixture of longer distance and shorter distance with some light weights/body weight stuff in between. Have you heard about the 'one mile of mud' challenge? Sounds grim...

I haven't really changed my training that much, but I'm quite active anyway.

Usually do four days a week in the weight room doing a mix of power and hypertrophy stuff, then 2 days a week do hill sprints. Occasionally go for a longer run when I can be bothered, but don't really think TM will be that hard as I hear a lot of time is spent waiting around for obstacles. I have bought myself some Salomon SpeedCross 3 CS shoes especially for the occasion so will be trying them out this weekend on the hill sprints and will report back!

I haven't heard about the one mile of mud, but I can guess what it is! I haven't really looked up any of the obstacles as want it to be a surprise, but I have seen videos of the arctic enema and I am absolutely dreading that!

[didelydoo]

This morning's efforts>

C&J:
1x 80kg
1x 90kg
1,1,1,1,1,1 x 100kg
start of a build up.

Front squat (beltless):
1x 100kg
1x 140kg
1x 150kg
1x 160kg
F 170kg fluffed the descent
3x 120kg
3x 125kg
3x 130kg
3x 135kg
All done with little rest.

Dips:
3x BW
3x +20kg
3x +40kg
3x +50kg

Ok session. Eating my way back up in weight now.

[pilchardthecat]

Not sure what to do today - i usually never get soreness/doms but having had a couple of sessions after a 2 week holiday i am aching all over!

[deadmau5]

pilchardthecat said:

Not sure what to do today - i usually never get soreness/doms but having had a couple of sessions after a 2 week holiday i am aching all over!

Tell me about it! Training five times a week I never had doms. I did squats and lunges on Thursday, deadlifts on Sunday and my quads are still sore when I tense.

Shoulders tonight. I'm now below 82.5kg so I hope I can finally complete that elusive bodyweight military press.

[pilchardthecat]

deadmau5 said:

pilchardthecat said:

Not sure what to do today - i usually never get soreness/doms but having had a couple of sessions after a 2 week holiday i am aching all over!

Tell me about it! Training five times a week I never had doms. I did squats and lunges on Thursday, deadlifts on Sunday and my quads are still sore when I tense.

Shoulders tonight. I'm now below 82.5kg so I hope I can finally complete that elusive bodyweight military press.

In the end i did some core work, hit my calfs again (owch) and some assistance work that i never do like face pulls. I wonder if the soreness is due to coming off all the supplements for 2 weeks? (i normally take about 7 high strength fish oil caps, glucosamine, 1-2g creatine, and 20g bcaas every training day)

I tried to get a bodyweight standing barbell press (strict, knees locked) and got to within 5kg and stalled for onths, then hurt my elbow and havent been able to do them properly since

[AnonSpoilSport]

Lat Pulldowns - 180lb = 1 x 150 - building back up and the lower back is a bit easier now - half way there though :-(

Kneeling single arm dumbbell rows - 65lb = 1 x 15 per side, chest supported over a table, back parallel to floor; pathetic - same number of reps expected with 30lb+ more earlier this year

Face Pulls - 140lb = 1 x 15, pivot 6" higher than head

Kneeling single arm lateral raises - 22lb = 1 x 25 per side

Laying lateral raises - 22lb = 1 x 15 per side, flat on side lifting up and back, hits side and esp. rear delts quite well

Hyper-extensions = 1 x 15 then a choking fit so stopped!

Edited by AnonSpoilSport on Thursday 15th August 17:19

Edited by AnonSpoilSport on Friday 16th August 21:57

[TheBALDpuma]

Yesterday's session...

DLs (didn't go to plan)
1 x 7 at 180kg - too fatigued from squats the day before, so went lighter and did some speed work, lifting as fast as I could from the floor...
2 x 10 at 150kg fast

Leg press - 45 degree
1 x 10 at 200kg
1 x 10 at 250kg
2 x 10 at 250kg

Lunges
3 x 10 at 110kg

Nordic curls
3 x 8

[Fozziebear]

An hour of 30lb rucksack pt, had to carry the kids bike down a steep set of steps twice!

[DSharp]

deadlift session today, trying a narrow stance and grip.

Deadlift
60kg x10
100kg x5
140kg x4
531................
160kg x5
180kg x3
200kg x5 (rep PB!)
531 over....
220kg x1
200kg x2
180kg x4

Bit of fun trying out new stance, feels good for rep work an d feel it more in the hamstrings so guess that's a good thing? Hard to tell as have been up and down ladders all week and hanging out of windows a lot so body's a bit beaten up

Bent over rows
Pendlay: 100kg x5 - still irritating forearm
Yates:
100kg x5
110kg x5
120kg x5
120kg x5
100kg x8


18" rack pulls - main work superset with chins
140kg x5
180kg x5
200kg x3 - chins x6
200kg x3 - chins x5
200kg x3 - chins x4

Power shrugs superset with empty barbell curls
200kg x8 -> x20 curls
200kg x8 -> x20 curls
200kg x8 -> x20 curls

Hammer grip pull downs
100kg x8
110kg x8
120kg x5

Will continue with narrower stance for a few weeks and see how it goes.