I think this is a PR for the most PRs set in a week!
6 PRs:
Front Squat: 350 lb x 3 (3RM)
I tried this last week, but only got 2 reps before missing on the third. Got all 3 reps this week.
Low Bar Squat: 490 lb x 2 (2RM)
I've been trying to squat 500 lb x 2 for a while, but have always missed on the 2nd rep (I did get it wearing knee wraps however). My 3RM is 480 lb, so I figure 490 lb for a double should be doable.
Instead of trying to tackle 500 lb x 2 over and over again and risk missing a rep, I'm going to go conservative at 490 lb x 2 and work my way up.
Reverse Grip Bench Press: 330 lb x 5 (5RM)
Pretty happy that I got this, since I missed on the 5th rep on previous occasions.
I noticed that when I start to fatigue during the reverse grip bench press, my elbows start to flare out slighting making my palms rotate to a more neutral position.
I'm going to start adding a back off set after the end of my last set on my main lifts. They're going to be in the 8-10 rep range (maybe more).
The purpose is to build up some stamina, and get more jacked.
I usually rarely do more than 5 reps, and anything over gets me exhausted, especially in the squat.
For a typical Monday workout, I'm going to do a high bar squat with 300 something as a back off set.
For the bench press, I'm thinking of adding a light set of regular grip bench press after my sets of reverse grip. Hopefully this will hypertrophize my chest and get them closer to Bolo Yeung level pecs:
Bolo Yeung's magnificent pecs.
For my front squat, I'm going to add a set of high bar squats immediately after my last set and rep it out.
We'll see how this works out.
I'm also going to start doing dragon flags and incorporating breathing paused squats. Chatted with Greg Nuckols the other day (who, by the way, squats 700+, benches 400+ and deadlifts 700+ @242 lb at an age much younger than me and looking much older than I do) and he told me this is what helped him get a massive deadlift . I'd like to reach those numbers one day (at 200 lb however). If it works for him, it should work for me (more or less).
I have missed many attempts at this weight mostly due to slipping on the bench. This is my second attempt at this weight for that day. I slipped on the first attempt.
Looking at the video a few times, it does look like my body is sliding backwards slowly. (I look at the top of my head to see if it is moving backwards).
One thing that might have helped in minimizing slipping on the bench was that I tried to get the pressure on the back of my neck and traps prior to unracking the bar. I'm not 100% sure this is the case, so I'll have to test this out some more.
I mentioned the slipping on the bench issue on Facebook, and STG Strength And Power told me how he had all his benches in his gym re-upholstered with the material used on the seats of a personal water craft known as the Sea-Doo. Other well known brands are the Jet Ski and Waverunner. At this point I had only used an anti-slip mat, but the mention of some fabric used on the seats of Sea Doos (which is likely water resistant and anti slip) for use on a bench makes complete sense. I mean, if it's good enough to be used on the seat of a fast moving vehicle in the water that's constantly getting wet, then it should work fine for a bench used for the bench press!
H-hi...DYEL??
I'm really not sure where to get this type of fabric, or how I could apply it to my bench. It seems like it would be somewhat expensive and a bit of a pain in the ass to do it myself. I could take my bench to some upholstery shop to get it done, but I'm a frugal DIY kinda guy.
Well, a bit of searching lead me to "marine vinyl" which then lead me to "anti slip tape" and finally somehow I stumbled on "grip tape" that's used on the surface of skateboards.
My understanding is that this grip tape has a sandpaper-like surface that tapes onto a skateboard to prevent people from slipping.
So I ordered an 11" wide "Jessup" grip tape from eBay, and hopefully I'll be able to test this out within a week or so. It was cheap (about $15 shipped), and seems easy to apply (tape it onto my bench).
I hope this works.
I'm betting this will work better than that dollar store anti-slip mat. If I'm still slipping on the bench with the grip tape, I'll probably move up to something more expensive (maybe some industrial strength marine grade anti-slip tape/product).
Hook Grip Mat Pull: 600 lb x 1 (1RM)
One of my goals for this year is to deadlift 600 lb. I deadlift with a hook grip, so my thumbs have to be able to tolerate being squished by 600 lb of pressure.
I have found that developing and maintaining pain tolerance for the hook grip is essential for pulling heavy without having thumb pain get in the way and stop me from completing the lift.
If I can pull 600 lb off 6 1/4" mats with a hook grip, then I know my thumbs can handle this load. Now the trick is to pull this off the floor!
My plan is remove a mat every week or so until I'm deadlifting off the ground. I may alternate with sumo, conventional, suitcase and maybe deficit deadlifts every few weeks just to give my back and thumbs a break.
Slipped the first time (had a towel on the bench). Took it off and tried again with only the anti-slip mat. Got it! It was a bit of a fight, wasn't really happy with the rep, but got it though.
I think I need to try to get the pressure on the back of my neck instead of upper back to prevent slipping. Have to test this out some more.
330 lb: 4
Missed on 5th set. Slipped, but don't think I would have gotten it anyway.
Mat Pulls
8 mats, about 6 1/4" from the ground, or an inch or two below my knee caps.
Hook grip.
Wore my Chucks.
140 lb: 10
230 lb: 5
320 lb: 3
410 lb: 1
460 lb: 1
510 lb: 1
550 lb: 1
600 lb: 1 * PR!
Didn't budge on the first try, but that got me pissed off so I tried again and got it!
