CDOG PL Journal

[cdog]

Well today went pretty good .I went in the gym with my shoulders still soar from last week .Last week I was feeling a little spunky so thought I would do some heavy shoulder work and messed something up in the delt nothing bad but still soar today .I had to hurry through my lift today cause I had someone waiting on me to use the rack so I wasent able to do 5brds or lock outs Other than that the weight was going up like smoke relly like the feel of this bench shirt from Karin .Peace CDOG

BARX15
125X5
155X5
205X3
245X3
275X1
Shirted up
300x3
315x1
325x1 went up like smoke felt strong
355xmiss went to low and lost it had to dump it on the racks !

6BRDS
315X6 Way easy
335x6 way easy
Had to stoped cause this guy was waiting to use the rack

Pull downs to stomach 4x8
shrugs 4x15

[cdog]

Well its been awhile took some time off from this however Ill be posting my lifts here again .Its nice to be able to look back 9mo and see how things are going with progress peace CDOG

3/22 ME Bench 3brds
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x1
315x1
325x miss

Lying tri ext 6x10
Push downs 3x10
side plate raises 3x20

[cdog]

3/24 DE sq

Low Box Squats
45x3x2
95x3x2
115x3x2
135x3x2
135 plus one set of chainsx3x2
These were very fast and easy just trying to focus on form and speed .

Bottom pin rack pulls
135x5
185x5
245x5
275x5
315x5

Pull throughs 4x8
BB shrugs 4x12
Had to stop there becouse of time . Ill will be throwing in 4sets of rows and pulldowns tonight ..Peace CDOG

[Kärnfysikern]

hey cdog are you still doing metal militia or have you switched to wsb?

[cdog]

I have switched to west side cause Iam really wanting to focus on all three lifts . Today was pretty cool I got my bands from jump stretch so this will be nice .Also I turned my garage into a powerlifting pit . NO MORE YMCA Thank you Jesus ! Ok this is what went on today 3/26 DE BENCH
Speed bench
Bar x alot
95x3
125x3
135x3
135x3x3plus 1set chains
135x3x2

Lockouts
135x5
185x5
225x2
245x5
295x5
300x5

Rope push downs 4x12
Pulldowns 4x12
BB rows3x8 sets worked up to 225

[cdog]

3/28 ME sq/dl
GM's
105x5
135x5
155x5
185x3
205x3
225x3
225x1 +1 set chains (my form got all kind of crazy on me on this set .
225x1 took chains off. felt real good
225x2 feeling better !(no chains)
225x1+1set of chains again got it and form was great!
135x8x3
I know alot of GM work but form is very important to me and if it doesnt feel right I just keep going until it does.

Dead lifts first three sets were done with one set minies.4th And 5th set done with doulble mines
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
300x5
Pull throughs 3x8
Spent

[cdog]

3/30
ME bench
Well things are geting better on the 3 brds last week I missed my 325 but today I almost had 325 plus 1 set chains so even though I missed it Im sure Ill get it next time .I think I would have had cause 315 went up like SMOKE ,However I needed my wife for a spot on the 325 plus 1set chains and lets just say I dident feel very comfortable with my wife spoting for me .She is small like 4'11 and kinda thin so she was worried about the lift I wasnt but she was and I just couldent focus on what I had to do .This should not be a problem to hit next week.

3brds
115x5
135x5
175x5
205x3
225x3
245x3
275x3
300x1
315x1 smoke felt nice
325 added chains x missx2

JM press 4x8
Push downs 3x8
plate raises 3x20

PM work out back
close grip front pull downs 6x12
BB rows 4x8
Face pulls 3x15
Abs 3x12

[samoth]

Few questions/comments:

1) You don't seem to be following the Militia bench program I am familiar with. Eg, why triples --> shirt -->max then skip to 6-board? Dunno about your arm length, but that's pretty close to lockout for anyone with a decent arch. Where were the 4,5, and optional 3-boards? Also for that day, where was your back work? Like some chest supported rows, etc.? Militia really stresses the back as an integral component in the bench.

Note: maybe you are training natural? That would more than explain the shorter workouts. LOL, I understand that all too well. I can't follow full MM workouts naturally without overtraining.

2) How much do your chains weigh per side? Do you have bands? If you don't, GET SOME! They work wonders... much better than chains for speed and lockout strength.

3) What is the pin height for your rack pulls? Just a suggestion, try right around knee level. TRY HARDER. You CAN pull 500 from your knee level... maybe you just don't know it yet.

4) What is your chain-suspended GM height? Try to vary it... hit your weaknesses. Unless you are around 36", you should have higher numbers. Try some HEAVY high (48" +) chain-suspended GMs with bands. You'll be locking out 500+ in no time.

5) Westside does not advocate training your deadlift very often... I don't know if you do or not, but just giving some input...

6) Seriously, get bands for DE B speed work. Your speed will shoot up. Remember, NOT TOO HEAVY on DE bench days. It's speed, not weight.

7) Your box squat numbers are too low. You can do much more than that. Get your form straight and start hitting heavier weight.

8) My opinion, but your shoulders should not need direct stimulation with MM or WS programs... whether they are a weakness or not.

9) I really think you need more back work. Rows. Chest supported rows are excellent. Remember, with your back, WORK IN THE SAME PLANE AS YOUR BENCH. Drop the lat pulldowns. You don't work in that plane; they are not needed.

You have decent bench numbers, but you aren't trying hard enough in your DL and SQ. It's there, but you just aren't hitting them heavy enough.

You are doing exactly what I did when I started PLing! That's why I'm writing all this... I can relate to what you're doing.

Keep up the great work!!!

[Farmer]

Wussup bro!

Still at it I see, good to hear bro and the weights look great! Hope everything is still good with you. I'll keep checking back in..

Peace

Farmer

[cdog]

Samoth thanks ....However I do have bands and chains and Im not training MM style anymore .Umm on the other stuff all try to answer chains are about 20 -25 Ibs each set ..The chains are 1/4 inch that hook into 5/8 as perscribed by westside its the same set up they use for there chains .Most of the time I will do some lat work with bench work however last workout I had to stop to soon and did not have time to finish my lat work with bench so I just did it at night ..I have everything I need in my garage so an am pm lift is no big deal for me ....Again thanks for the advice Ill use it ..

Farmer whats up brother long time no hear .Anyways went up to Vancover last few weeks ago to get my rack and weights and what not .You up by Vancover ?? Talk to ya later peace CDOG

[cdog]

Samoth : Also I havent done heavy Box work as of yet ...Westside say that they dont normally do Box squats for ME movments and that it would be better to do ME on different GM movements .Trust me I would much rather do Box squats than GM's anyday for ME movement LOL ..The last GM numbers I gave was all I had for a max 225 plus one set chains .This would come out to be about 275 and I went all the way down to like waist level ..These are really hard for me ..I will be changing to a different GM movement in about 2 more weeks maybe to suspended GM's not sure yet ...Anyways again feel free to let me know what you think anytime I got mad when you said I wasent trying hard enough and I liked it your right I need to pull harder !!!Peace CDOG

[samoth]

...I do have bands and chains and Im not training MM style anymore

Actually, WS advocates band use and speed day moreso than MM. Actually, I don't think MM even uses speed work at all. Either way, bands are supreme!

Umm on the other stuff all try to answer chains are about 20 -25 Ibs each set ..The chains are 1/4 inch that hook into 5/8 as perscribed by westside its the same set up they use for there chains

Seems kinda light, in my opinion. Mine are 35 lbs per side, total of 70 lbs, and I feel they are too light (our bench numbers are similar enough to compare). I got mine at a huge hardware store... just bought the whole box!

Most of the time I will do some lat work with bench work however last workout I had to stop to soon and did not have time to finish my lat work with bench so I just did it at night

Remember, work your back in the same plane as your bench!

....

[samoth]

Samoth : Also I havent done heavy Box work as of yet ...Westside say that they dont normally do Box squats for ME movments and that it would be better to do ME on different GM movements .

Yeah... lol... that's right. You're right. I was thinking of growordie.com, where they do box squats ALL the time. However, both are great movements!

..The last GM numbers I gave was all I had for a max 225 plus one set chains .This would come out to be about 275 and I went all the way down to like waist level

Yeah, that's pretty low. You should hit some very high numbers when you raise the chain height!

..I will be changing to a different GM movement in about 2 more weeks maybe to suspended GM's not sure yet

Wait... what kind of GMs were you talking about before??? I only know of one kind of GMs PLers do, and it's chain-suspended. I guess I misunderstood you?

... I got mad when you said I wasent trying hard enough and I liked it your right I need to pull harder !!!

MOTIVATION!! That's how we do stuff in our area... we totally rip on each other. We have a new kid we're training for comp... he's 16 years old, and around 240 lbs... in shape, but fat. His max squat was 225. I told him to come to my place to train. Worked on a wider stance form, cinched the bands, and he hit 395 x 2 with weight + blues from about 3-4 inches from parallel!!

I thrive on motivation... it's what sets my PRs!

[Kärnfysikern]

Is it realy needed to work the lats in the same plane of the bench? If I remember right even louie himself(or maby it was tate) said he had changed his mind about it in a article. Gonna try and find the article so Im not just talking **** now

Man I wish there were some big ****ing strong westside lifters here in my town that I could work with. Working alone sux

[samoth]

Is it realy needed to work the lats in the same plane of the bench? If I remember right even louie himself(or maby it was tate) said he had changed his mind about it in a article.

Really?! Please find it! I have gone by that doctrine since I started powerlifting... and, to me, it always made perfect sense. I would love to hear any new training theories.

[Kärnfysikern]

Il do my best to find it bro

[Kärnfysikern]

not the article I was looking for, but here Louie recomends pulldowns and chins and not just rows in the same plane as bench

Lats are next. Rows of all kinds are done as well as lat pulldowns with a wide variety of bars. We don’t do many chins, but they are a good way to work the lats also.
http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls21.htm

Im gonna keep on digging

[Kärnfysikern]

found it

http://www.t-mag.com/nation_articles/265eight.jsp

D) Lat Movement — I used to feel all lat work should be performed on the same plane as the bench press. In other words, all lat work should be rows. While this makes sense in theory, it doesn't hold up in real life. Too many lifters don't do this and many bench a hell of a lot more than me!

Yes, I do feel rows are a better choice but there are advantages to the pulldown and chin-up movements as well. I'd suggest mixing them up and doing one to two movements per session. The best of the best in this category include:

[cdog]

Samoth was almost right about me pulling 500 on pins I worked up to 480x5 but missed it..Thanks again for the tips on those .

Today DE SQ/DL 4/2
12 inch box squats I got way wide on these .I had to drill pin holes on the out side of my rack cause my stance is to wide for the inside .Also I bolted in clamps into my floor of the garage for bands its a sweet set up ..The bands go good under the rack for bench but on the Box squats I had to get something set up out side the rack .
All sets done with 1 set minines
bar x3
95x3
135x3x6

pin pulls (Thanks Samoth)
135x5
225x5
295x5
335x5
385x5
435x5
455x5
480xmiss (maybe next week )
SLDL 4X8
Green band leg curls 4x10

[samoth]

3/24 DE sq

Bottom pin rack pulls
135x5
185x5
245x5
275x5
315x5

Today DE SQ/DL 4/2

pin pulls
135x5
225x5
295x5
335x5
385x5
435x5
455x5
480xmiss (maybe next week )

THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!!!

500 is YOURS next week!!!

[cdog]

DE Bench 4/3
Today was good had a 15Ib PR on lockouts for reps .

All sets done with minines
bar x15
95x3x3
105x3x3
135x1
155x2x2

Lockouts about 8-10 inch I dont like doing these cause I have real weak wrist so Ill be doing them alot and doing grip work .
135x5
225x5
245x5
275x5
315x5 15Ib PR

Lying tri extensions 4x10,10,8,8

Plate raises with 45plate and minines 3x10
Back work tonight

Have a safe weekend Peace CDOG

[Kärnfysikern]

DE Bench 4/3

Lockouts about 8-10 inch I dont like doing these cause I have real weak wrist so Ill be doing them alot and doing grip work .
135x5
225x5
245x5
275x5
315x5 15Ib PR

Nice

How do you plan to strenghten wrists? My wrists are also very very thin and weak

[cdog]

Lots of grip work bro ,Bar holds ,wrist curls,reverse curls ect..... I think weak wrist really hold me back peace CDOG

[Kärnfysikern]

Lots of grip work bro ,Bar holds ,wrist curls,reverse curls ect..... I think weak wrist really hold me back peace CDOG

one awsome grip exercise is this

hang on a chinbar with both hands in a reverse grip, then switch grip with one hand then the other and continue switching grips in a rapid but controled pace until you cant do it anymore. Realy blasts the forearms. I started doing them 3 weeks ago(twice a week) and already notice a big improvement in grip strenght.

let me know what you think of it if you try.

[cdog]

ME sq/d 4/6

Well I got a training partner and the guy has not touched a weight in 10yrs and hit 370 on a 12"box today ..He used to lift in school but quit after he left .Anyways this is what went on today.
12"box squats wide stance
barx3
95x3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x1
300x1
315xmiss I needed help on this one .Hopefuly next week .

RDL's 225x5
275x5
315x5x3

pullthroughs 4x6

Peace CDOG

[cdog]

4/6 ME Bench
well had a PR on my 3 brds and my partner hit 400 plus 1 set of chains like smoke No joke he went for 420 but missed it but I would bet he will hit this soon. !And this is the very first time he has benched in 10yrs WOW !.
Anyways this is what went on
All sets done with 1 set chains
bar x15
95x5
135x5
added brds 185x5
225x3
245x3
300x1
315x1 old PR
325X1 new PR

JM Press 4x8
lying tri press with cable 4x10
lat raises 3x20
peace CDOG

[cdog]

4/8
DE SQ/DL
low box sq worked up to 155plus 1 set greens .Speed is coming along nicely.
GM's 4x6
Zsquats 4x6
That was it I really dident want to lift at all this day but made myself ..

4/10 Bench work
close grip pinky on rings
worked up to 275 x3
6brds worked up to 335x3
5brds worked up to 315x3
lockout worked up to Pulldowns 4sets
Tri work 4sets

Nothing heavy on this day as well just going through the motions ......Been taking it easy but thats about to stop .......CDOG

[cdog]

4/12 ME sq/dl

I had a 10 PR on below parallel box squats and a 10 PR on pin pulls .
Low box squats
barx5
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x1
300x1
315x1 (10PR)

Pin Pulls
225x5
300x5
315x5
385x5
435x5
465x5 (10PR)

GM's
4x8

BB Curls 4x8

[Kärnfysikern]

4/12 ME sq/dl

I had a 10 PR on below parallel box squats and a 10 PR on pin pulls .
Low box squats
barx5
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x1
300x1
315x1 (10PR)

Pin Pulls
225x5
300x5
315x5
385x5
435x5
465x5 (10PR)

GM's
4x8

BB Curls 4x8

Nice work bro. Do you do less volume on the first exercise and compensate by doing more volume on the first assistance? Do you pause betwen every rep in pin pulls btw?

[cdog]

Nice work bro. Do you do less volume on the first exercise and compensate by doing more volume on the first assistance? Do you pause betwen every rep in pin pulls btw?

Thanks johan :
Do you do less volume on the first exercise and compensate by doing more volume on the first assistance? I will pick something to max out on then go for a rep max on a assistance exercise. I will normaly rep max an assistance exercise on DE day But was feeling good so I went for a rep max on ME day as well as a 1 rep max ...So on DE day it would normaly look something like this ..Low box squats wide stance 8-10 sets x3 Then chose a assistance exercise and work up to a 5 rep max for a PR ....After studing westside's training logs I saw that they usualy will max out on rep work on DE days ....Hope this helps some

Bench 4/13
All sets done with one set chains .
barx10
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x1
315x1
330xmiss This would have been a 5 Ib PR but Debain said He helped with his index finger off the chest a bit .However it went right up I paused at the chest and then it was none stop to lock out .So I guess will count this as a miss .Next week let me pause Dbain lol .Have you ever had one of those reps where your arch is totaly perfect the bar bath was just right the pause was awsome you have stayed totaly tight through the movement and although the weight is heavy for you becouse of your form it just came up all the way to lock out ???This was one of those reps ..Everything came together .Iam really going to continue to work on my arch and set up it is making a change for sure ..I bought the Metal Militia training video a year ago and if you dont have it I would recomend it big time ....

Lat work 4sets x12
BB shrugs 4setsx 12

Peace CDOG