Atypical1's Training Log

[LiftingNerd]

I also gained 4 lbs since I last weight myself. I'm not too concerned as my pants still fit

Well aren't you special. I came to the stunning realization a couple days ago that all my jeans feel like spandex, and I had to go buy a few more pairs, which I'm sure won't fit by December.

[dhw]

Great pull on that Deadlift!

Once I started doing step-ups, I could not get them out of my program. It will be interesting to see how much weight you can build up on them. Which level did you start on the platform?

[sgi4950]

Feeling better today?

Nice job on the DL PR. I too use your log as inspiration, but on a lower scale of course...no pressure!

[rere]

That's on of my long term goals as well to Deadlift 500lb.
Great pull. Interesting warm up too.

[atypical1]

Great pull on that Deadlift!

Once I started doing step-ups, I could not get them out of my program. It will be interesting to see how much weight you can build up on them. Which level did you start on the platform?

I use a platform that makes my leg parallel when I step on it. I started with 135 and will probably stick with that weight and go for higher reps as part of my accessory work.

Thurs 8/20

Short workout today.

OHP: Worked to 3*190. Tried 225 just to get a feel for it. It barely moved

Dips: Did 75. Working towards 100.

5 Minutes of bike Tabata.

Stretching.

james

[Vlad]

Hi James. Are you still doing the Bill Starr routine? Does not look like it anymore.

Vlad

[nburge]

OHP: Worked to 3*190. Tried 225 just to get a feel for it. It barely moved

!!!!!

That's some serious pressing! Monumental.

[atypical1]

Hi James. Are you still doing the Bill Starr routine? Does not look like it anymore.

Vlad

I am still doing Madcow but that's Mon, Weds, Fri. On Tue and Thurs I do OHP, dips, calves, and cardio. There were five lifts that I wanted to do and so I added an extra day. It's actually worked out OK for me so far.

james

[rere]

190...brilliant! You'll be in the 200lb Press league soon.
I weigh 8lbs more than you, your lifts are high. I suppose you have a decade ahead of me of lifting.
I wish you well in your quest for strength.

Goddam! 2*255 on the BBR, I need to bring that back into my training.

Peace.

[NotNowChief]

How long have you been on madcow and what changes have you made to it? Excuse my asking but you have 20 odd pages of log, I skimmed but didn't see a post outlining your whole program. mind giving a quick update showing the overview, or should I look harder?

I notice you have mentioned madcow didn't make your legs grow, shows how different programs hit different bodies, mine have never been as big as when I was on madcow last year. The second time I ran it I noticed I had lagging shoulders and swapped OP and bench in the lineup though (I ran it once as is for 2/3 months to get a feel for it first before thinking about tweaking it).

[atypical1]

190...brilliant! You'll be in the 200lb Press league soon.
I weigh 8lbs more than you, your lifts are high. I suppose you have a decade ahead of me of lifting.
I wish you well in your quest for strength.

Thanks and you'll far surpass my gains. I only really started tracking my workouts and sticking to a plan for the past couple of years. This year was the first that I really upped the intensity and got really serious about it. You've got a 10 year head start on being organized which is be best advice that I could possibly give.

james

[atypical1]

How long have you been on madcow and what changes have you made to it?

I've been on Madcow since March of this year. I had one setback when I hurt my back (deadlifting...not paying attention) and had to almost start from scratch. I've made a couple of changes to it.

I went to box squats for a bit in an effort to get my glutes to work harder and this worked pretty well for me. I don't have access to a box that fits me perfectly though so I wasn't as persistent with those as I might have been. But they did work. I also added GHR's and leg curls to attack my hams and glutes more effectively.

I also added OHP, Dips, and calves on Tues and Thurs. I needed the extra work and didn't have time to do them on my "regular" days. They are pretty adament not to add exercises on the plan but it didn't really impact my other lifts adversly.

I also stuck to the progression spreadsheet pretty diligently until this past month in which I really pushed myself in an effort to see just how much I could lift. Should I have done that? I dunno but I'm glad that I did.

I notice you have mentioned madcow didn't make your legs grow, shows how different programs hit different bodies, mine have never been as big as when I was on madcow last year. The second time I ran it I noticed I had lagging shoulders and swapped OP and bench in the lineup though (I ran it once as is for 2/3 months to get a feel for it first before thinking about tweaking it).

That's the beauty of training. There is no such thing as "one size fits all" and what works for me might not work for you and vice versa. Madcow has made me considerably stronger but not necessarily that much bigger. My next program is going to include some higher rep accessory work.

james

[NotNowChief]

Yeah has the seperate shoulder day helped your OP? I think OP is my worst lift but my dip is possibly my biggest (bodyweight+45kg for deep reps) so I couldn't add them in for me without overdoing it.

Also tweaked my back deadlifting this year. In a way it was the best thing that happened to me as I know have a deadlift technique I feel I can go on with rather than doubt every time.

True, but the more I lift the more I see the value in sometimes running a solid, old school program as is, for a while to really understand where it brings your deficiencies out into the open, then tweaking somethign to address them. Anyway good log, reads quite interesting.

[atypical1]

I wasn't doing OHP before so anything would have helped. Madcow has you either bench or OHP and I chose to bench but really wanted to do both.

[atypical1]

Fri 8/21

Squats: Worked to 3*330. Then decided to do a set with 350. Managed to get one up. Then a set of 8*245. That rep of 350 was tough but it was nice to move that much weight. I had a bit of an audience today so I really had to watch my form....

Bench: Worked to 3*275 then 8*205. Changing my grip around a bit while the weight is still relatively low. I went with a narrow grip and really liked it even though it made the weight a lot tougher to push. I also adjusted the power rack around a bit (yes, I bench in the power rack). I set the pins pretty low to catch the bar then set the lift offs pretty high so that all I had to do was flex a bit to get the bar off. Much better set up than the flat bench press station.

Rows: Worked to 3*235 then a set of 8*185. These are feeling tougher now for me. I haven't done pull ups for a while and that might be the cause. But my shoulder is still sore when I do pull ups so I'm hesitent to do them. But I could do chin ups.

GHR's: 3*5. I do these "natural" meaning I'm not at a GHR station. I do them on the lat pull down machine. I managed to lift myself up a couple of times and it was pain beyond belief. I am in awe of those who can do 5 up and down like that. I think I turned someone else on to these too.

*I was being used as a bit of a "model" today. There was a guy teaching his mom (pretty hot too...) how to squat. He was doing them pretty well and showing her how to sit back, go deep, etc. I just happened to be squatting at the time and they'd watch me then go to teaching. He was the same guy who I showed the GHR's to.

james