John Phung

Dragon Flags

Foam Rolling

10 minutes on the black Rumble Roller and lacrosse ball.

Ab Wheel

Band Pull Aparts

A bunch of reps, multiple angles with the Voodoo Floss bands

Shoulder Dislocations

L-Sit Pull Ups

With Rogue Cannon balls.

Body weight (~200 lb): 6

Breathing Paused Low Bar Squat

45 lb: 10
140 lb: 10
230 lb: 5
320 lb: 3

Paused Low Bar Squat

Belted up at 460 lb.

410 lb: 1
460 lb: 1

Low Bar Squat

500 lb: 1

Low Bar Squat - Reverse Bands

550 lb: 1
- Black bands. About 80 lb of assistance at the bottom, so the weight throughout the entire range of motion is roughly 470-550 lb.

Low Bar Squat

405 lb: 3,3,3
- +5 lb from last week.

High Bar Squat

405 lb: 3,3,3
- +5 lb from last week.

Low Bar Squat

365 lb: 5
- +5 lb from last week.

High Bar Squat

365 lb: 9
- +5 lb from last week.

Face Pulls

70 lb: 12
90 lb: 10

Reverse Grip Bench Press

Paused until work sets.

45 lb: 10
140 lb: 5
230 lb: 3
320 lb: 1
370 lb: 1

Reverse Band Reverse Grip Bench Press

410 lb: X,1
- Black bands
- About 55 lb of resistance (assistance?) at the bottom. So the the weight ranges from ~360 lb at the bottom to 410 lb at the top.
- First try at this, I set the bands up so they offered less assistance at the bottom. Also I tried to pause the rep. Didn't get it.

Reverse Grip Bench Press

310 lb: 5,5,5
- +5 lb from last week.
- 3 sets instead of 5. Don't think I can't complete another set of 5 reps.

Some highlights of my training this past week, along with a new squat PR!

Dragon Flags

Started doing these at the suggestion of Greg Nuckols. He told me it would help me get a bigger deadlift, and I'm inclined to listen to people who have more experience and/or stronger than I am, so I started adding dragon flags to the beginning of my workout. I remember when I first started doing dragon flags a couple of weeks or so ago, my abs cramped up after 1 rep!

The form isn't as good as some of the people on Youtube who probably have a lower BMI than I do, but they're coming along.

Front Squat (to Zercher Squat?): 395 lb

Missed the front squat because it rolled off my shoulders, but I did stand up with it. Did a negative rep zercher squat after.

Sometimes I want to get one of those front squat harnesses, especially after the bar rolls off my shoulders.

Low Bar Squat: 530 lb (1RM)

I did this after doing a 550 lb reverse band squat. It was roughly 470 lb in the hole. The set felt easy, and the 525 lb squat that I done last week wasn't too bad, so I decided to try 530 lb.

It was a bit difficult, and it looked like the right side of the bar came up before the left side. But aside from that, it didn't turn into a grind or a squat-morning, so I'm happy.

Reverse Band, Reverse Grip Bench Press: 410 lb

The bands provided about 55 lb of assistance at the bottom, so the the weight ranges from ~360 lb at the bottom to 410 lb at the top.

I tried 395 lb right after, and just missed the rep. Dammit.

High Bar Paused Squat: 410 lb x 1, 460 lb x 1

Beltless at 410 lb, and belted at 460 lb.

These felt really explosive.

I like how the bar oscillates up and down on my traps after the 460 lb paused squat. Feels nice!

Hope that doesn't bend the bar though.

Stuff You Should Read

1. Q&A: Why Reverse Grip Bench Press?

Here's an answer to a frequently asked question: "Why do you do reverse grip bench presses instead of regular bench presses like a normal person?"

2. How To Deal With Calluses On Your Hands

Cool, my first article on Fitocracy!

Had some interesting responses on Fitocracy's Facebook page and Reddit to this article, ranging from how other lifters deal with calluses, to the typical internet tough guy response to "man up", "embrace them", "don't be a pussy", viewing them as a "badge of honor", etc.

I suspect that the internet tough guys (who probably didn't even read the article before commenting!) don't lift as much as those who actually deal with their calluses, but I could be wrong.

3. Seduced by the Illusion: The Truth About Transformation Photos by Andrew Dixon

Some before-and-after pictures are real (in other words, they're a result of training, dietary change done over some period of time), and some are not, like the one shown in the link above.