_tim's Log

Start MC4...

Pause Bench: 190, 200, 215 x 5
The 215 set had a spotter-assisted +1 on top of the 5 - and it was max effort.

Repetition Bench: 170 x 10; 165 x 6; 155 x 5
Yep - the 215 set was max effort.

Kroc Rows: 65 x 25
Tough - felt very untrained.

Spiderman Pushups: 8, 6
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Mountain Climbers: 12, 12
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Pushup To Plank: 8, 1
A compound intended to punish - and it did.

Pulldowns: 195 x 6
Figured that was close to bodyweight, so...

Glad to be back.
 
_tim said:
Start MC4...

Glad to be back.
Click to expand...


I absolutely hate mountain climbers. I can't seem to get any sort of rhythm going on them. And I have a strong core. No core work eludes me like mountain climbers. I guess that means I should be working on mountain climbers!

I've never heard of MC4 - what is that? I tried Googling, but most results were for a pullup bar.
 
whistle - I'm doing a 12-month Wendler 5/3/1 experiment, and each segment of the experiment I'm labeling as "microcycles" so MC4 = microcycle 4. Sorry about the confusion! In regards to mountain climbers - I think you must be over thinking the movement. It's all about churning your legs with a nice, firm lower body. The more that you consciously engage your glutes, the easier the movement is as a whole. Now get your ass down and do 12! Don't think about it - just do 'em.

TR - I know. By now, though - you should know that I'm an impatient brat when it comes to my training efforts. I want to try to hit 85 for 25 before 2011, and I think I can do it. I wanted to be in the 30-35 range at 65 pounds.

OUTSTANDING DOMS today!
 
_tim said:
whistle - I'm doing a 12-month Wendler 5/3/1 experiment, and each segment of the experiment I'm labeling as "microcycles" so MC4 = microcycle 4. Sorry about the confusion! In regards to mountain climbers - I think you must be over thinking the movement. It's all about churning your legs with a nice, firm lower body. The more that you consciously engage your glutes, the easier the movement is as a whole. Now get your ass down and do 12! Don't think about it - just do 'em.
Click to expand...

Overthinking the movement - I've been known to do that! The problem I have with mountain climbers is keeping my butt down. I see some others do it and they keep their back and butt steady, but shuffle their legs back and forth. I can't seem to do it without looking like an oaf. And I can't do them very fast, either. I see some people kick out 8 - 16 reps really fast, but I just can't. Not yet, that is. I'll work on 'em. :cool:
 
Pause Squats: 200, 210 x 5; 225 x 7
All reps ATG, low bar.

Repetition Squats: 185, 175, 165, 155, 145 x 10
No clustering, very challenging. I'm wicked out of shape.

Bench Abs (triple reps): 2 x 10 @ 135
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Dips: 2 x 10 @ BW
Added dips to the mix this microcycle to see how it affects (or disaffects) my pressing and benching. I only had time to do 'em in a superset, but normally will be doing them as a separate lift with added weight. The bench abs were challenging, especially the second set.
 
finally...

Pause Standing Press: 120, 125, 130 x 5
Totally screwed up the loads - should have done 110, 115, 125... I guess time away from the gym means that I no longer can calculate loads as I load the bar. Fun stuff. Not sure yet what I'll do - I may split the difference a bit seeing as how I got through these loads just fine - but then again, Wendler progresses slowly for a reason - so I may just go back to my calculated loads. Still - pretty happy about the sets.

Repetition Standing Press: 90, 85, 80, 75, 70 x 10
Tiring! No clustering - but that 70 set was HARD.

Kroc Rows: 65 x 30
No clustering, either arm.

Pulldowns: 180 x 7; 195 x 2
Fun max work on tired biceps.

Mini-compound:
Pushup to Plank: 8, 8
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Mountain Climbers: 16, 16
Abs = destroyed.

Between the weather (near blizzards) and tight deadlines at work, my gym time has been compromised of late. Hoping that trend has come to an end.
 
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Totally screwed up the loads - should have done 110, 115, 125... I guess time away from the gym means that I no longer can calculate loads as I load the bar
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I did the same thing about a week ago. I get use to having 2 45s on the bar and thinking about 135 and forget the empty bar is 45 and end up adding 10 extra pounds.
 
_tim said:
Totally screwed up the loads - should have done 110, 115, 125... I guess time away from the gym means that I no longer can calculate loads as I load the bar. Fun stuff. Not sure yet what I'll do - I may split the difference a bit seeing as how I got through these loads just fine - but then again, Wendler progresses slowly for a reason - so I may just go back to my calculated loads. Still - pretty happy about the sets.
...

Kroc Rows: 65 x 30
No clustering, either arm.

...

Between the weather (near blizzards) and tight deadlines at work, my gym time has been compromised of late. Hoping that trend has come to an end.
Click to expand...

Wendler's philosophy would seem to be "start light and progress slowly". The faster you increase the weight, the faster you'll stall out.

Good Krocs!

No doubt Cleveland weather will amend itself to suit your needs...
 
_tim said:
Pausing results in more muscle recruitment in the change from concentric to eccentric movement; basically it does result in much better strength gains over the long term and by extension, hypertrophy. Thanks, fredh.
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Hey Tim, just stopping by to say hey, and that pauses are great stuff, as you know we're both fans. Hope life is treating you well!
 
grunt11 - No fun being absent-minded in the gym, no?

TR - You're absolutely right. I'm in no way going to push the loads unnecessarily - that defeats the purpose of the yearlong experiment. Still happy that I could press those loads without clustering - even though I was and idiot and couldn't do math that day.

Mike - Pausing is an incredible strength technique. I don't think I'll ever go back to conventional reps for sets that are strength-focused. Where the heck are ya?

Pause Deads: 245, 260 x 5; 275 x 7
Nice tight core, socks, hook grip throughout.

Repetition Deads: 225, 205, 195, 185, 175 x 8
Touch and go reps.

Hanging Leg Raise: 8, 6
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NG Chins: 6, 3
Grip was dead for these sets.

Happy to feel sorta like I'm back on track. Not sure if cardio will happen tomorrow or not - we'll see what DOMS I am dealing with and make the decision from there.
 
inconsistency sucks.

Pause Bench: 200, 215, 225 x 3
No spotter, so the all-out set was held at 3.

Repetition Bench: 185, 175 x 10; 165 x 9.5
The second and third sets were clustered 7-2-1 and 6-2-1.5 respectively. Still didn't have a spotter, so the fail at 165 didn't feel so good.

Kroc Rows: 70 x 25
No clustering, either arm.

Dips: 11, 5 @ BW
Seeing as I quit the repetition bench sets after my failure at 165, I wanted to do all I could to really wreck my tri's. Yep - angry I was.

HS Pulldown: 8, 3 @ 180
I was grip-assisted by my Versa Grips for these sets. Wanted the focus to be squarely on my biceps and lats.

As the title of this post suggests, my schedule inconsistencies are really hampering progress. I'm going to do all I can to stay engaged in the cycle - otherwise every lift is going to stall for sure. 225 for 3? Come on.
 
From Christmas Eve...

Pause Squats: 210, 225 x 3; 240 x 5
All reps ATG.

Repetition Squats: 195, 185, 175, 165, 155 x 10
These reps too were all ATG.

Bench Abs: 3 x 10(3) @ 135
The notation - three sets of triple-rep reps...

Dips: BW x 15, 10, 5
Next time I will add weight, and do sets across. Still not over the weak bench.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday - and that the new year treats you well.
 
Pause Standing Press: 115, 125 x 3; 130 x 5
Reps felt very, very strong. This is by far the strongest I have felt doing SP's. Perhaps the dip effort is paying dividends already...

Repetition Standing Press: 95, 90, 85, 80, 75 x 10
Not a single clustered rep. Progress, proven. Happy.

Kroc Rows: 70 x 25
Hook grip, not clustered.

Pulldowns: 175, 190 x 5; 205 x 3; 220 x 1
Based on my current bodyweight and taking wire friction out of the load puzzle, the last two sets were over my bodyweight. Pretty happy about that too.

My lats are quite happy right now. I got me some wings!
 
A first in a long time.... A workout as a single man. Divorce was final yesterday.

Pause Deads: 260, 275, 295 x 3
Socks, hook grip throughout.

Repetition Deads: 235, 225, 215 x 8
My low back was tired after the triples. After my last set of 8, it was cooked. These were touch and go reps.

Hanging Leg Raise (Knees to Chest): 12, 12, 12
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NG Chins: BW x 8, 5, 4
Nice finish to the workout.
 
Sorry to hear about the divorce. Sucked when I went through mine but at least there were no children and we didn’t fight over anything. In the end it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me but still not pleasant to remember. I hope all works out for you.
 
Thanks G11. Our marriage was over years ago - this was just the formalization of what has been for a long time. Regardless - it's nice to have it behind us and the kids are taking it all in stride.
 
Sorry about that marriage thingy. Divorce is harder than it looks (and it looks pretty hard).

Kroc Rows: 70 x 25
Hook grip, not clustered.

Doesn't the hook grip kind of defeat the purpose of Kroc Rows? I thought building grip strength was a big part of why people do them...
 
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