Coffee & Chalkdust

A chronicle of Matt The Destroyer's attempts at picking up increasingly heavy things while looking pretty doing it. users online

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/21/13 Squat Induced Euphoria

Squat

135# x 1 x 5

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 3

335# x 1 x 2

355# x 1 x 2

365# x 1 x 1

275# x 1 x 10

Deadlift

225# 1 x 5

275# 1 x 5

315# x 1 x 3

335#x 1 x 3

385# x 1 x 2

Ab Wheel

BW x 10

BW+25# x 8

BW+35# x 8

BW+45# x 8

I typically train alone but this fine Sunday I got my butt out of bed early to squat and deadlift with my friend Action Hero Dave.  Dave is a guy I've known for over a decade, originally because we have played on billiard league teams together many times. He knew me at the height of my sloth and obesity and has seen the transition into this gorgeous hunk of man you see before you. 

Dave is much more of a bodybuilder type and has only started squatting and deadlifting again in the last year or so. We see each other at the gym all the time, but usually we're just doing our own thing. 

As we got going, it became clear that something special was happening.  The warm-ups felt light and springy.  The squats started to feel like they were happening on their own, with little conscious thought or control.  We joked around and laughed a lot, between sets (even a couple of times during) but we kept the pace going and the focus was definitely there.  A few sets in I just started to feel so indescribably happy. When yoga people talk about things like "radiating joy from the oneness of creation" or whatever, I'm pretty sure this is the kind of thing they are talking about. 

The only other person in the weight room when we finished squatting was a guy named John Caldarelli.  John in his heyday was a PHENOMENALLY strong human being who competed in both powerlifting and bodybuilding.  John is an extremely opinionated (more than most people can handle, to be honest) and hilariously witty guy who started telling us all these great stories about his glory days, including lifting at Gold's in Venice.  My favorite quote, among a SLEW of gems: "...I told Milos Sarcev if he made the machine he was using rattle one more time I was going to rattle his skull."   I tend to think people who say things like this are usually full of shit, but if you knew John...well, you'd just know...

One of the more serious things that John said stood out to me.

"I wasn't like some of my friends who lived to compete. I started lifting as a teenager to stay somewhat sane. Anything I ever did whether it was bodybuilding or powerlifting was just the natural expression of doing what I loved to do in the gym.  Maybe I could have gone further if I had planned things out more diligently, but to me, a kid like me getting to sit in an office across the desk from  Joe Weider was enough.  This is just my lifestyle, this is who I am." 

Anyway this all added up to one of the most enjoyable times I have ever had lifting, or doing anything else really. 

I walked around the entire rest of the day just happy as a clam.  I finished up the day chilling on the back porch with a selection of fine craft beers, delicious grilled meats and a decent cigar while Bob Marley played softly in the background.

There is a time and a place to be "hardcore" I'm sure, but for now I'm good just getting stronger and staying mellow. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

If after your exercise, your bath and your rub-down, you feel fit to battle for a kingdom, then your schedule is right.

-Earle Liederman, Secrets of Strength, 1925

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/20/13

Squat

135# x 1 x 5

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

365# x 1 x 1 

375#  miss *

335# 1 x 2

* I wasn't sure if I should even try this, but 365 went up without much trouble so I figured I'd go for it.  First missed squat rep in a long time. I ain't even mad tho...

Bench Press

Bar x 1 x 10

95# x 1  x 3

115# x 1 x 3

135# x 1  x 3

185# x 1 x 2

205# 8 x 2

L-Sit Chins

BW x  2 / 3 / 5 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 2 / 3 / 5

Alternating Hammer Curls

20# x 8 ea.

25# x 8 ea.

30# x 5 ea.

35# x 3 ea.

 I've been getting some complaint from my right knee over the last few days and have been trying to figure out the right squat groove to not over stress the joint. Switching to a high bar squat has done much to get rid of the pain in my right hip that so greatly curtailed my squatting for most of last year, but I'm afraid I have just been transferring the stress down the chain to my knee.

As the supporting and connective structures and musculature surrounding the knee joint have adapted to the daily squatting they seem better able to keep the stress primarily off the joints, but I want to make sure my technique isn't working against this.  To that end I am actively working at finding the best mental cues for me to squat with.

Jeff over at http://deadliftsandsandies.blogspot.com/ and I had another one of our marathon bullshitting sessions on the phone the other night and we talked some about "tension" when lifting among (many) other things. This is a big distillation of the points he made, but it came down to not making too much of a conscious effort to "get tight" everywhere and rather let the achievement of the correct positions ensure the proper tension.  "You have to be tight when you're in the hole, otherwise you'd just collapse like a noodle.  Just let it happen."

The cues I'm working with now.

Toes, Air, Butt, Groin.

When I take the weight out, and get my balance I

1.) grip the ground with my toes ( let me be clear, the weight is NOT on the toes, it's more on the middle to the back of my foot.)  This seems to load the muscles of the leg with enough tension to keep me stable and safe without getting that hard locked-up knee that gets me in trouble. 

2.) take a big breath, I try to fill the circumference of my torso, not just push my belly out. 

3.) get my butt out of the way. For whatever reason, thinking about "getting my butt out of the way" seems to work better to get the right hip break than thinking about "sitting back." For a while I tried no conscious hip break at all, and while it did help keep me from overextending my lower back and from leaning forward too much i think I was getting too much stress on the knees.  I'm after just the right amount of hip break. Like Goldilocks. 

4.) groin.  Ed Coan and Doug Furnas talked about "opening the groin" as opposed to "pushing the knees apart" on the decent, and this seems to work well for me 

Anyway, this is where my head is at now.  I say all this stuff primarily for my own benefit.

Don't try any of this yourself, snap your shit up, and then try to send me the physical therapy bill because you tried some squat stuff you read from some nobody on the interwebz. 

I ain't havin' none of it. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/19/13 High Bar Squat PR

Squat

135# x 1 x 5

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

365# x 1 x 1

375# x 1 x 1*

355# x 1 x 1

315# x 1 x 3

*High bar squat PR

Behind the Neck Press

65# 1 x 1 x 5

95# x 1 x 3

115# x 1 x 1

125# x 8 x 1

Bent Over Row

135# x 1 x 5

185# x 1 x 3

205# x 4 x 3

Barbell Curl

45# x 1 x 6

65# x 1 x 6

85# x 1 x 3

105# x 1 x 3

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/18/13

Squat

135# X 1 x 5

185# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 2

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

Deadlift

225# x 1 x 3

275#  x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 3

335# x 1 x 1 3

Ab Wheel

BW 1 x 10

Antirotional band resistance 

1 x 10 (5 each side)

No oomph tonight. Just a punch-the-clock kind of session, but I got a little work in.  I think I may have approached the point where bw ab wheel rollouts are kind of pointless for me.   I like them enough that I'm sure I will still do them some, but It is kind of redundant when you're squatting with an upright torso this frequently imo. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/17/13 Lifting Weights as a Meditative Practice

Squats

135# x 1 x 3

205# x 1 x 5

255# x 1  x 3

295# x 1  x 2

315# x 1 x 2

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 2 x 1

335# x 2 x 1 

Mobiilty and stretching stuff for about 15 mins or so.

Squats were a little off tonight.  The weight never actually felt heavy, but some of the reps were a little off or a little grindy @ 355,  I just felt like I wasn't focused enough.  Actually... it was almost like I didn't start "trying" at the right moment out of the hole.  

One thing I am really starting to appreciate from this frequent squatting experiment  is how much "intent" effects the performance of each rep. It's not just while squatting either. I'm starting to notice lapses of concentration or little moments where something isn't as tight as it should be.  Sometimes I can make corrections on the next rep that drastically improve body position or bar speed.  Sometimes the same weight will have a substantially lower RPE from one set to the next because of a change in concentration.  

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/16/13

Squat

135# x 1 x 3

205# x 1 x 3

245# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 2

315# x 1 x 2 

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1 

Bench Press

45# x 1 x 20

95# x 1 x 3

115# x 1 x 3

135# x 1 x 3

185# x 1 x 3

205# x 8 x 1

L-Sit Chins 

BW x 2 / 3 / 5 / 2/ 3/ 5 / 3 / 3 / 2

Good session.  Benching feels strong, though it will take a while to get in the grove of this.  I think all that time spent with the close grips really helped improve my tightness, confidence and strength. All this squatting seems to have upped my leg drive considerably too. Maintaining upper back and rear delt tension has always been an issue for me, but my entire body just feels a lot more like it's one piece these days,  This tells me my training is accomplishing what I want it to. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/15/13

Squat

135# x 1 x 3

205# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 2

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 2 x 1

Hise Shrug

225# x 1 x 20

315# x 2 x 15

Behind the Neck Press

95# x 1 x 5, 1 x 3

115# 8 x 3

One Arm Row

110# x 1 x 8 L + R, 1 x 7 L + R, 1  x 5 L + R

EZ Bar Curl

65# x 1 x 10

75# x 1 x 5

85# x 1 x 4

65# 1 x 4

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/14/13

Squat

135#x  1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 2

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

Hang Clean

95# x 1 x 2

115# x 1 x 1

135# x 1 x 1

155# x 1 x 1

175# x 2 x 1

Bench Press

45# x 1 x 10

95# x 1 x 3

115# x 1 x 3

135# x 1 x 3

155# x 1 x 3

185# x 1 x 3

205# x 1 x 1

I want to start training the regular bench press again (I have only been doing close-grip with any regularity over the last few months) so I went in a played around with some technique modifications.

My primary goal here to is to UNLEARN most of what I [think I] know about how to bench press that has come from geared lifters. In a way, I feel like my development as a lifter has been impeded by never really having gone through a bench/curl monkey phase.  I am honestly not even sure if I have ever done a cable crossover in my entire life.  

That's almost sad, if you think about it. It's the training equivalent of never having gotten turned on by the underwear section of a JC Penney catalog as a pre-teen...

Anyway...

I'm making some mods to try to make up for lost time.  I've never seen a certifiably strong raw bench presser in real life (and I have met a couple) who benches anything like what you see from the big-time multi-ply lifters.  

I'm aiming for something more along these lines:

Johnnie Candito on how to bench press

Big E Langston's Huge Bench

(go to about 2:20)

World Champion Powerlifter Jennifer Thompson's Bench Press 101

I also re-read Jamie Lewis's "Stop Bitching and Start Benching" series on Chaos and Pain as well as starting working my way through a bunch of stuff on ditillo2.blogspot.com .

We'll see how turns out, but I'm pretty optimistic and enthusiastic to get this project underway.

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/13/13

Squat

135# x 1 x 3

205# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 2

295# x 1 x 2

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1 

365# x 1 x 1 

Reverse Grip Bench (smith machine)

135# x 1 x  3

185# x 1 x 3

Reverse Grip Bench 

95# x 1 x 3

115# x 1 x 3

135# x 1 x 3 

155# x 1 x 3

175# x 1 x 3

185# x 1 x 3

205# x 1 x 1

Neutral Grip L-Sit Pull-up

BW x 2 x 5, 1 x 3

L-Sit Chins

BW 1 x 5

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/12/13

Squat

135# x 1 x 3

185# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 1 

315# x 1 x 1 

335# x 1 x 2

Behind the Neck Press

85# x 1 x 3

115# x 8 x 2 

Bent Over Row

135# x  1 x 5

185# x 3 x 5

This little workout took like 2 hours to complete because I spent a good deal of time helping this kid who works at the Dunkin Donuts next door to where I work get his hips and hams into power cleans and kettlebell swings.  

I tried to make sure he knew this was definitely a case of the One Eyed Man leading the Kingdom of the Blind, but I think he gets that. He is a smart kid and a quick study, genuinely appreciative of any help people at the gym can give him.

 He's a track and field dude, hoping to set a state Long Jump record this season.  Really nice addition to the vibe of our little weight room. 

I have really grown to love all the characters at my gym. 

On this particular evening a well-endowed, slender young lady took her first tentative steps out of the cardiobunny area and into the intimidating dungeon of iron. Hilariously, the chatter and conversation ground to a screeching halt for a few moments as all the bros tried to make sure not to frighten her away, as though she where a unicorn wandering into a forest grove.

One of the guys, who used to be a CrossFit instructor (ask me how I know, ask me how I know...) finally took the initiative in greeting her and making her feel safe and welcome.  Within a few minutes he was teaching her how to deadlift.  I was cited as an authority (remember what I said about the Kingdom of the Blind?) for all of my "experience" with "Strongman and Powerlifting type-stuff."  

el oh el...

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/11/13

Squat

135# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 2

295# x 1 x 1

Every rep was grindy, slow and generally uncool, so I pulled the plug early on.  I was kinda overdue for a "meh" day with these, honestly.

Hang Power Clean

135# x 2 x 1

155# x 2 x 1

175# x 5 x 1 

Missed one rep on the hang cleans.  I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to keep these in, they are really fun, but I'm scared of snapping my shit up since my gym isn't really set up for this kind of wackiness

Deadlift

225# x 1 x 5

275# x 1 x 5

315# x 1 x 5

345# x 1 x 3

375# x 1 x 3

405# x 1 x 2

Deadlift is basically in maintenance mode -which is fine- but I'm not sure if what I'm doing to maintain it is the best thing.  May have to put a little more structure into things. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/10/13 Squats, CG Bench and Making New Friends with Rehbands

Squat

135# x 1 x 5

185# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 2

335# x 1 x 1

345# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 2*

335# x 3 x 1

*this made me pretty happy.  Not a PR by any means, but the fact that I can casually double this on some random mid-week day while I'm tired as hell and stressed out is encouraging. 

 Close-Grip Bench Press

Bar x 1 x 20

95# x 1 x 5

115# x 1 x 5

135# x 1 x 3

155# x 1 x 3

175# x 1 x 3

195# x 1 x 3

185# x 1 x 5, 1 x 4

L-Sit Chin-up

BW x 2 x 5, 1 x 6

So....

I got to the gym about an hour later than I usually go in after a day from hell.  Work stress, as well as personal stress from dealing with an illness in the family has been off the charts lately.  It's one of those nights where I showed up at the gym because I going to the gym after work is just what I do.

While I'm changing in the locker room, I can feel and hear a Jurassic Park-esque "bang! bang! bang!" coming from the weight room. I figure someone must be out there pulling with some intensity so that brightens my spirits some.  

On the weight room floor there's a lanky fellow in bright red wrestling shoes pacing back and forth intensely between his sets of sumo pulls.  I head to the squat rack and start to loosen up some.  The lanky guy walks by the rack, removes his earbud and his eyes brighten.  He points to my blue rehband knee sleeves and exclaims in a comically thick Eastern European accent "NICE sleeves! I LOVE those" .

"Thanks, yeah, they're great."

"YEAH!  So, You are POWERLIFTER?!"  

"Um, well... sort of, I guess.."

"NICE! I am not from here.  I am from Massachusetts." 

While I'm scrambling to figure out where in Massachusetts people speak like Ensign Pavel Chekhov, we start discussing the local powerlifting scene.  I inform him that the founder of one of the more prominent geared lifting feds is from this town.  He shares his opinions on multi-ply feds and I learn that he is an IPF man through and through. (The sport is still much more pure in Massachusetts, apparently.)  We talk some more between our sets about various things.

Meanwhile, some Bro-Dudes start deadlifting next to us.  

Alpha Bro-Dude eventually loads five plates onto the bar.  Five plate deads are not unheard of in my gym, but they are a rare enough event that people typically stop what they are doing to watch.   My new friend nods enthusiastically, and takes up a spectator's position behind Alpha Bro-Dude. 

Bro-Dude proceeds to strap on, YANK the bar ferociously as his spine curves into candy cane shape and the bar grinds excruciatingly to lockout.  Three feet from him Ensign Chekhov is making hilarious pain faces and looking at me in the mirror.   He curves his finger into a J shape and starts frowning disapprovingly.   

I'm no form nazi, but I find this all absolutely hysterical, especially since Bro-Dude is now muttering under his breath about people watching him and critiquing his technique. 

Meanwhile, Chehkov has moved onto rack pulls.  Things are falling off the rack, lunk alarms are going off everywhere.  It's just grand. 

Alpha Bro-Dude and his Beta-Sith Apprentice wander away, muttering all the while. I catch a CT Fletcher reference...

Chekhov is now benching and asks me to lift off for him.

 "1....2...3... Opa!" 

We talk some about programming.  He shows me his notebook. A lot of it is in Cyrillic script, but I get the general idea.  He makes sure I know that "the Bulgarians are taking LOTS of steroids" when I give him the rough outline of what I'm doing.  

We connect on facebook, so it's official that I have a new BFF. 

I am so glad I dragged myself to the gym this night. It was like an Internet Lifting Forum come to life. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/9/13 Squats and Behind the Neck Presses

Squat

135#  1 x 5

185# 1 x 3

225# x 1 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 2

335# x 1 x 1

345# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1

335# x 4 x 1

Press Behind the Neck

45# x 1 x 10

95# x 1 x 3

115# x 8 x 1

One Arm Row

100# x 1 x 8 R + L

110# x 1 x 8 R + L

120# x 1 x 5 R+ L

Hise Shrug

135# 1 x 15

225# x 1 x 10

315# x 1 x 10

Barbell Curl

45# x 1 x 8

65# x 1 x 8

75# X 1 X8

Backoff singles at 335 felt increasingly snappy with each rep. 

[coffeeandchalkdust]

"It's very hard for a weight lifter to ever really be overtrained. I know runners and cross country skiers who overtrain and are fucked up for months or years, but you can't really do that with weights."

Svend Karlsen

[coffeeandchalkdust]

4/8/13 Squats, Cleans and Deadlifts

Front Squat

135# x 1 x 3

Squat

135# x 1 x 5

185# x 1 x 5

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 1

335# x 1 x 1

345# x 1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1 

335# x 3 x 1 

315 # x 1 x 1 

Front Squat

135# x 1 x 5

Hang Power Clean

135# x 1 x 2

155# x 1 x 1

175# x 5 x 1

Deadlift

225# x 1 x 2

275# X 1 X 2

325# X 1 X 2

375# X 1 X 1 

275# X 1 X 2

325# X 1 X 2

Barbell Curl w/ Fat Gripz

45 # x 1 x 5

65# x 1 x 3

85# x 1 x 3

95# x 1 x 3

105# x 1 x 2

Deadlifts are sorta speed pulls but sorta not really speed pulls.  Hard to explain.  Google "Fun with quarters" + "Jack Reape" if you want to get the jist.

[coffeeandchalkdust]

Coffee and Chalkdust: 4/7/13. Squats and mobility thoughts.

Squats

135# x 1 x 5

205# x 1 x 3

225# x 1 x 3

275# x 1 x 3

295# x 1 x 3

315# x 1 x 2

335# x 1 x 1

345# x  1 x 1

355# x 1 x 1 

365# x 1 x 1

315# x 1 x 2

Ran out of time at the gym 

Went home and did ab wheel roll-outs

1 x 10, 2 x 12 

Spent about 10 minutes doing some Dick Hartzell style stretching with an avg band.  

Over the past few weeks that I have been doing the high frequency thing I have almost completely eliminated the dedicated mobility work I was doing.  Interestingly, I have found that I don't miss much of it. My shoulders and upper back actually feel better and move better without it.  I almost think In some ways getting under a heavy barbell racked in a high bar Olympic style can be like a mini chiropractic adjustment.

Legs are a different story.  I do feel the need to add in a few targeted things to maintain a good range of motion and the "springy" feel I like having, but I don't think it has to be as time consuming or draining as what I was doing previously.