My Training Journal

[ExtraMile]

Today was an intense leg session.

My mum showed me a new chicken recipe and when food tastes good I have a pretty decent appetite. So I had a pretty awesome pre workout meal and ate 25 ounces of chicken breast lol.

Got to the gym and felt like blasting legs really hard so did alot more volume than usual...

Squats
110 x 5
138 x 5
165 x 5
198 x 1
226 x 21

well I thought I hit 20 reps but watched the video back and did an extra one some how lol

Front Squat
121 x 6
132 x 6
143 x 6
143 x 6
still working on technique here

Standing Calf Raise
132 x 8
242 x 10-7-6 (rest pauses)

Seated Calf Raise
130 x 9-6-5 (rest pauses)

calf stretching

Lying Leg Curl
100 x 13 PR
dropset:
*110 x 5 was shaking all over trying to complete the 6th rep but didnt quite manage it
*80 x 3
*50 x 10

Walking DB Lunge
33's x 12/12
50's x 10/10
50's x 10/10

Abs
4 sets of 8 hanging leg raise
2 sets of 10 weighted side bend

20mins outdoor walking/limping lol

Video:
YouTube - Squat 226 x 21

yep once again my gym is rocking the gay music lol

training is going pretty well lately.

 

[Tblock1]

Nice man it definitely gets really hard to count past like 15 haha! That is literally like the worst gym music lol they should definitely change

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Wtf you guys talking about?

That music pwns. It's like some kinday funky afro-jungle-techno mix lol.

Nice job on the squats. Keep building them up. By the time you can do 315x20 you will have some pretty solid legs.

 

[ExtraMile]

Thanks guys, I wanted to keep going but on like the 12th rep the bar jumped a little and came up to high on my traps. By the end my upper back was starting to round and my neck was killing because the bar was in the wrong place... I guess that's just part on the challenge of a widowmaker

Sometime soon I wanna hit 154x50...

 

[moya]

takes a strong mindset to get through squats like that...
i know we couldnt see exactly how far you were going down... but those looked ATG from here...
i squat with the bar VERY low... but those high bar squats will work your core better...
form looks pretty damn good, even towards the end...

 

[ExtraMile]

Thanks moya. One of the things that helped me improve my form was not going full ATG. I found that as a force of habit I was bouncing out of the hole. I dip below parallel but not full ATG. I find low bar uncomfortable. I just need to work on pulling the bar down into my body to stop it coming out of place.

Moya do you use wrist wraps for squatting?

 

[moya]

no, my wrists have never had any pain from squats....
now, when i grip too narrow, or do a long heavy squat session i do get pain in my left shoulder...

i would like to try out some wrist wraps for benching though... at the last meet i was at i was noticing how they can be used to shorten the stroke...

 

[ExtraMile]

I never really understood why people would need wrist support when squatting... Since the bar weight is supported by your upper back its not like the bar is resting in your hands. I cant imagine how someone would get sore wrists from squatting unless the way you grip the bar is wierd with hands and wrists bent...

how do you shorten the bench ROM with wrist wraps?

 

[moya]

the way i saw this guy do it, he would let the bar roll back in his hands as it touched his chest... maybe took an inch or so off the stroke...
then the wraps help you 'wrist curl' the weight back up as you press... he use premium brand wrist wraps, the cheap ones probably wouldnt be strong enough...
im not sure it is somthing that every bencher would benefit from, but the fact that i have very long arms for my build, i would like to try it out to gain some leverage... probably work some wrist curls in for assistance...

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I would not recommend doing that Moya.

No serious bencher, I repeat NO serious bencher does that. I don't care if this guy benched 500lbs doing that it is assinine if I am interpreting what you are describing correctly.

I use wrist wraps because they keep the wrist inline and stable and prevent them from rocking back too much or moving side to side.

They don't really add any strength at all, but you feel stronger because your wrists are supported.

Not everyone is a good bencher Moya. You have a very strong squat and a super strong deadlift for your bodyweight. While your bench is nowhere near those lifts I still think it's pretty respectable considering you compete at 140ish lbs.

One of the powerlifters at my gym is getting close to squatting 650 and deadlifting 650 yet he is having a very hard time with bench. Over his last 2-3 comps he has not been able to bench more than 365 in comp in a single ply shirt at a bodyweight of about 229lbs. This is because he has the long arms, long legs and short torso with average shoulder width which makes him a great squatter and even better deadlifter, but not so hot bencher.

As a comparison right now I'm probably around a 345 max raw bench which is around 100lbs more than my bodyweight, which is only 20lbs more than you relative to our bodyweights.

And all the powerlifter's say I'm a solid bencher overall so don't knock your bench too hard bro. If you weighed as much as I do with your current strength you'd bench about 325 raw.

For further comparison you deadlift roughly 360lbs more than your bodyweight whereas I can pull about 280lbs more.

On squat I can do about 200lbs atg more than my bodyweight and you do about 280lbs more than your bodyweight.


Relative strength to bodyweight:

ME: Bench +100, Squat +200, Deadlift +280
YOU: Bench +80, Squat +280, Deadlift +360

In total for your bodyweight you are +140lbs stronger, yet the difference is bigger than that because I am much larger in size so you are actually stronger than those numbers imply. You lose only 20lbs relative to bodyweight on the bench and trash me on the squat and deadlift.

If you weighed 245lbs and your lifts were in the same proportion to your current you would bench 325, squat 525 and deadlift 605 all raw which would be very strong indeed imo.

All I can say is keep training hard and working that bench. If your sticking point is at your chest or 4-5" above it perhaps work on doing alot of paused benches or speed benching and developing more explosion off that chest in a simulated pause environment. IE, try to duplicate how you have to bench at a meet rather than doing more touch and go style.

Keep it up Moya.

Extra, looking good in your profile pic amigo. Nice job on the 21 rep squat.