Gamechanger: Gain 30, Pull 500.

My best flat bench ever was 265, but I am not going to be doing heavy benching anytime soon. This was just a foolish fling.

I am however very pleased with my 45 Incline Bench PR. I managed 195 for 3x5 last workout, so I am going for a new PR today... 200x5. Also, my Versa-gripps came in yesterday, so I will be testing out my Rack Pull strength today also. I am ramping up nicely for everything.

Bodyweight was 202 this morning. Its weird, last time I was getting PRs, my weight jumped tremendously in 1 week, then I had stress at work, and only managed to maintain bodyweight for a few weeks, but now that I am getting near PRs again, the weight is spiking again. Its almost like my appetite-bodymass is directly linked to my strength levels.
 
Cable Rows: 200 x5,5,5

Rack Pulls: 225x5, 315x3, 405x1, 445xfail, 405x1, 315x10

Definitely overreaching with lower back, the last 3 dead/pull sessions I have actually been weaker than normal. Last time this happened, I took a week to recover, did a lighter session, then pulled a PR off the floor. Classic dual factor training theory.

45 Incline Bench: 200 x5,5,3 PR!

Chin-ups: 210 x5,5,5

Dips: 260 x5,5,5

Leg Press: 500 x5,5,5

Seated Calves: 160 x7,7,7

All lifts are very close to PR territory. My body is looking bigger than ever! Going to go for PRs for a few weeks, then SD, which will coincide with a minor surgery I am having.
 
Totentanz said:
Minor surgery?
Click to expand...

Yeah, getting a vasectomy. I don't want any more kids, and my wife and I want a permanent birth control method. So I will be getting "fixed" on June 21st. I won't be able to lift for about 9 days, which is perfect for my SD.

Please spare me any humorous comments. ;)
 
Woah, definitely feeling those rack pulls, entire back was so tender last night, I could hardly sleep. Had to keep getting up to drink water, even had to scarf down some midnight calories and do some stretching.
I have been putting down food like crazy, already got down 1500 calories for breakfast, the hunger and thirst are relentless.
 
Well I'm glad the surgery isn't something bad. How long do you have to rest after that?

Yeah rack pulls are great... a sorenesss like no other.
 
Surgery on friday, I'll be back at work by Tueday, I will have to take it easy that week and no heavy lifting, but should be back to normal in about a week,
 
All the best with the op, Sci. Your lifting is going really well so I hope you can enjoy your rest and recuperation.

I think I might try doing some pulls off my high-blocks soon. I'm not keen on dumping a heavy bar on my rack safety-bars; I bent them a bit last time I did rack pulls. Using the high-blocks will definitely be kinder on my O-bar too. If it wasn't my own gear, I might not mind so much. :)
 
I hear that Lol, quality Olympic bars are not cheap!!!
My commercial gym uses sh!t bars that are expected to be abused, so obviously I don't care. :D
 
I have to say that bulking truly is just as hard as cutting. It sounds easy to overeat, but when your metabolism is all jacked up and you are trying to add lean mass, it takes a huge amount of food.
My wife is getting annoyed with the amount of groceries I am going through lately, and I feel like I am barely gaining weight. Of course, when cutting, the metabolism drops and things get difficult too. I remember Lyle McDonald writing about how the body is incredibly efficient at homeostasis, and he's right. Try to cut, the body drops metabolism and increases appetite, try to bulk up lean mass, and the body increases metabolism and shuts the appetite down, bodybuilding would be easy, if diet wasn't such a major factor!!!!

I still plan on bulking to 220, I just hope I can afford all the groceries for me, a nursing wife and two growing children! :P

Ps: I have resorted to spoonfuls of peanut butter to fill in the gaps, as a cheap source of calorie dense food. Thanks for the tip Alex. ;)
 
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9 weeks into my bulk cycle:

From 190 lbs to 202 lbs. net gain of 12 lbs and still gaining.
 

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I wonder how effective rack pulls are for muscle growth. Those are essentially deadlift lockouts. From what I know, exercise done in that last bit of ROM (where muscle is in a contracted rather than extended state) is more conductive towards strength gains, whereas the opposite portion is better for muscle gains. Think rack pulls done off the floor and start lowering the BB midway through. Or even full motion DL. Of course loads would be lower in both. Doing rack pulls as you do them may be straining your tendons and such more than the muscles. Nothing wrong about that if all you want is to become stronger.

Also see this: http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?18950-Partial-Reps&p=99410#post99410
 
HST_Rihad said:
I wonder how effective rack pulls are for muscle growth. Those are essentially deadlift lockouts. From what I know, exercise done in that last bit of ROM (where muscle is in a contracted rather than extended state) is more conductive towards strength gains, whereas the opposite portion is better for muscle gains. Think rack pulls done off the floor and start lowering the BB midway through. Or even full motion DL. Of course loads would be lower in both. Doing rack pulls as you do them may be straining your tendons and such more than the muscles. Nothing wrong about that if all you want is to become stronger.

Also see this: http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?18950-Partial-Reps&p=99410#post99410
Click to expand...

Have you ever done rack pulls? Most of your post here is nonsense. (Training for strength and mass is not opposites, but closely related, and tendons attach muscles to the bone, they don't "do" anything. The muscles do all the work)
Try loading up a bar with 200 kg, lay the bar on some racks with the bar just below the knees, then grab the bar and pull it up. Then ask yourself if you are straining your muscles or not to lift that weight?
 
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Doing what you propose would be ineffective for sci's goal of increasing mass and strength in his erectors, since doing the bottom half of the deadlift instead would reduce stress on the back to a minimum and focus primarily on legs.
 
Totentanz said:
Doing what you propose would be ineffective for sci's goal of increasing mass and strength in his erectors, since doing the bottom half of the deadlift instead would reduce stress on the back to a minimum and focus primarily on legs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, rack pulls are mainly for increasing my back strength and mass. Though I will be doing more regular deads, maybe romanian deads and leg presses to focus on my glutes and thighs which are critical to the lower portion of the Deadlift as you mentioned.
 
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