Krabs works the claws

[SoaringSwine]

Pinching your shoulder blades is not good deadlift technique IMO. Sure you want to keep your upper back nice and tight, but pinning your shoulder blades is never going to work with a weight that's challenging for the rest of the muslces involved. Your upper back will still get worked keeping tight and pulling the shoulders back at lockout.

[Mr_Krabs]

Hmm good point,

maybe "pinning" is the wrong word to use here, the story behind this is that Ive got a bad habit of letting my shoulders drop forward (winging shoulder blades) if Im not careful, related to an old dislocated collar bone.

So maybe keeping my shoulders square would be a better way of describing it?

[SoaringSwine]

Hmm good point,

maybe "pinning" is the wrong word to use here, the story behind this is that Ive got a bad habit of letting my shoulders drop forward (winging shoulder blades) if Im not careful, related to an old dislocated collar bone.

So maybe keeping my shoulders square would be a better way of describing it?

So long as you're keeping tight it shouldn't be a problem. Some powerlifting intentionally let their shoulders come forward, but that's unnecessary for someone with athestic goals.

[Mr_Krabs]

So long as you're keeping tight it shouldn't be a problem. Some powerlifting intentionally let their shoulders come forward, but that's unnecessary for someone with athestic goals.

Man I just watched a vid on youtube of Konstantine Kostanov deadlifting 946 lbs with the technique you describe, dam that looks scarey/impressive!

Im strength training for sport, so Im somewhere in the middle of the two goals (PL vs BB), but Im not gunna lie though muscle mass is a nice side effect of the training :shifty:

[Mr_Krabs]

Thursday: Shoulders (have to drive up the mount tomorrow didn’t want sore shoulders for that)

Warm up: 10 mins on Bike (mod intensity, lvl 11, 10-15rpm)

DB mill press:

15kg x 10

20kg x 8

22.5kg x 7

25kg x 3F (not quite ready for sets of these yet)

20kg x 5

Triple superset of death :twisted: (front raise/lat raise/rear fly):

Front: 12.5kgBB x 10, 10, 10, 10

Side: 12.5kg x 10, 10, 8, 8 + 2C

Rear: 6kg x 8, 8, 10, 8

Calves:

235 x 10 shoulder width

215 x 3 toes in (had to abort, dumb ankle)

215 x 10, 10 + 5 “pulsed” narrow stance

Damn good workout today, I decided to man up and try 3 RPM caps and was pleasantly surprised, no troll-like freakout, insane pump though! Tried a set of DB mill press with 25kg DBs after the confidence of last weeks PB turns out I’m not quite ready for full sets with these yet. Its amazing the huge difference 2.5kg extra can make when you’re near your limits. The triple super set of doom was as fun and exhausting as usual. My back DOMs from yesterday are crazy prob the best back workout ever my lats are sore top to bottom, problem was the inverted rows must have worked my rear dalts a bit cos they were a little tender/weak today.

Tried the toes pointed in calf raise and had to abort after 3, my ankle was giving me some shit. A couple of years ago I tore all of the medial ligaments in my right ankle, normal calf raises (square stance) have really improved the strength in it but with toes in there was way too much lateral stress on it, stopped before anything bad happened though so its all good.

Chest tomorrow then a weekend of snowboarding which = a world of pain for the glutes/hams and quads!

[SoaringSwine]

So long as you're keeping tight it shouldn't be a problem. Some powerlifting intentionally let their shoulders come forward, but that's unnecessary for someone with athestic goals.

Man I just watched a vid on youtube of Konstantine Kostanov deadlifting 946 lbs with the technique you describe, dam that looks scarey/impressive!

Im strength training for sport, so Im somewhere in the middle of the two goals (PL vs BB), but Im not gunna lie though muscle mass is a nice side effect of the training :shifty:

What sport are you training for?

[Mr_Krabs]

Downhill mountain bike racing, so theres alot of shoulder/back and leg strength needed, but also need to retain power/speed and fittness.

More muscle mass also makes you bounce before you break to a certain extent as well :pfft:

[rose]

More muscle mass also makes you bounce before you break to a certain extent as well :pfft:

It's true, fat makes you a brittle binner :pfft:

[VampireChick]

Thursday: Shoulders (have to drive up the mount tomorrow didn’t want sore shoulders for that)

weekend of snowboarding which = a world of pain for the glutes/hams and quads!

\:D/

[SoaringSwine]

Downhill mountain bike racing, so theres alot of shoulder/back and leg strength needed, but also need to retain power/speed and fittness.

More muscle mass also makes you bounce before you break to a certain extent as well :pfft:

Ah you're one of those nutters! We have a couple of them at my gym. Do you know Alex Tashkoff(sp?)?

[Mr_Krabs]

Yeah I love it! we are all a little crazy though 8)

Nah sorry the name doesnt ring a bell :?

The Wellington scene is pretty dis-jointed Ive found

[rose]

The Wellington scene is pretty dis-jointed Ive found

In many respects :wink:

[Mr_Krabs]

Friday: Chest

Warm up: 10mins bike (lvl 11 low speed 100rpm)

Bench presses:

BB flat: Bar x 30, 60kg x 9, 10, 10F (worst effort in a long time)

DB flat: 17.5kg x 8, 10

DB incline: 17.5kg x 10, 10,

22.5kg x 7F, 5F

Incline fly:

10kg x 7, 9

12.5kg x 8, 6

Cable cross:

10kg x 12

Dropset from 12.5kg (2.5kg increments) x 7, 6, 6, 10, 15

Abs:

Dropset on weighted chair 35kg down to 5kg 6 reps at each

Hanging leg raise and hold + twists thingy:

2 sets of 10

Well that’s sure as hell the last time I leave chest till the end of the week. I felt really weak. So just tried to push through with lower weights. Was a shit workout for the ego in terms of the low weights but if I ignore that my chest got just as stimulated as it usually does as it didn’t have any assistance from delts and tris, they were fried from work earlier in the week. So physically effective just psychologically not the best workout.

Im kicking of my snowboarding season this weekend so next weeks routine will be quite truncated, probably run a 3 day block in the middle of the week or something otherwise Ill just be asking for CNS burnout to do a 5day split with a weekend of snowboarding either side.

To put it in physical terms for a non-snowboarder to understand the pain: a day snowboarding is like doing BW lunge-twists for 6 hours then doing it all over again the next day oh and every couple of hours throw in a run through a tumble drier that’s trying to yank your limbs off (crashes are not good for connective tissues at all).

[rose]

Hey you, did you die up on the mountain? :shock:

[Mr_Krabs]

Hey you, did you die up on the mountain? :shock:

Haha nah still alive, although work is trying its hardest to make me otherwise this week :?

Sick weekend on the mountain :grin: to be followed by more starting tomorrow \:D/

will post my journal entries for this week by lunch today (hopefully)

[Mr_Krabs]

Ok works been pretty hectic this week so a few days to log

Monday: Rest (after an awesome weekend snowboarding)

Tuesday: Chest and Back

Warm up: 10mins on the bike (110rpm watching the tour de france)

Pull ups:

BW x 3,3,3

Chin ups:

BW x 5,4,3

Negative pull ups: Used a bench to get up then slow on the down

BW x 4, 3

Negative chins:

BW x 4, 4

DB Flat bench press:

15kg x 12

20kg x 10

22.5kg x 8

25kg x 8

Inverted row:

BW x 8,6,5,5

DB Incline press:

17.5kg x 12

20kg x 9

22.5kg x 8

25kg x 8

DB one arm rows:

17.5kg x 8,8

So as I said last week I’m going to be changing my routine during the snowboarding season to avoid burnout. This was a trial week, I decided to give the legs a rest all together just to let them “reset” from the weekend and let them get used to snowboarding again. Only two days this week but from now on through the season it will probably be:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Chest and Back

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Shoulders and Arms

Friday: Rest (or throw a sicky and be up the mount as is the case this week)

Sat/Sun: Rest or snowboarding (maybe abs/calves)

Don’t know how this set up looks from an outside point of view but this week felt good so Im keen to keep it on for a while. Was fun to mix it up with the big opposing muscle groups chest and back on the same day.

Ive really enjoyed my 5day split over the last few months and its really helped with thickness and muscle shape/tone but if I was completely honest with myself I would have to say I was probably overtraining to an extent. I haven’t grown (on the scales) nearly as much as I did on the 2day split before this.

[Mr_Krabs]

Wednesday: Shoulders and Arms

Warm up: 10mins on the bike (110 rpm tour de france again)

DB Mill press:

15kg x 10

20kg x 7,8,7F

BB front raise:

12.5kg x 10,8,10

Incline hammer curl:

8kg x 10,6,7

Seated DB lat raise:

8kg x 10,8,7

Seated rear delt fly:

5kg x 6,6,7

Skull crushers:

(Ezy bar + 10kg) x 10

(Ezy bar + 15kg) x 10F, 8F

BB curls (high) super setted with skulls:

(Ezy bar + 15kg) x 10,10,10

Kept the weights low and did all the shoulder work seated and performed every rep slowly to really isolate each part of the delt, crazy burn exactly where intended every set.

Finally had something click with my BB curl technique and am finding them much easier and targeted on the bicep belly. So this would explain to a certain extent my lack of bicep peak development. Ive been curling the bar up on too wide of an arc making it much harder and putting more stress on the elbows and ends of the bi rather than letting the bi contraction bring the bar up with control.

[Mr_Krabs]

Tuesday: Back and Chest

Warm up: 10mins on the bike (med intensity, lvl 11, 110rpm)

Chin ups:

BW x 6,5,3,2

Bench press:

40kg x 12

65kg x 6

70kg x 3

60kg x 7

Deadlifts:

60kg x 10, 10

80kg x 4

Incline fly:

15kg x 10,9F,7F

One arm row:

17.5kg x 10ps

20kg x 8,8ps

Cable cross:

10kg per cable x 13

15kg per cable x 5,5

10kg per cable x 8

This is the first week trialling my new "snowboarding season routine" Ill give it a couple of weeks and adjust as necessary (I know chest and back together is probably a little strange but its to force me to keep the volume low on them)

Had another really good weekend up the mountain, I have really noticed that my recovery from snowboarding is much faster this season after all the weight training compared to my “untrained” body last season.

Chin ups were feeling really good today problem was I should have started with pull ups and moved to chins like I usually do. I went to do a set of pull ups after these chins and nothing happened, I had nothing left. During my cable cross breaks at the end of my work out I chucked in a couple of chins between each set. So the lats should be nice and sore tomorrow :oops: .

A little disappointed in the deads today but its not that surprising for where they were placed in my workout, had I started with them the weights would have flown up much higher.

My appetite has been crazy today so I must have torn something up good and proper this morning which should equal growth :grin:

[Mr_Krabs]

Work was a nightmare yesterday so didn’t get a chance to post, 2 instalments for the lucky readers today…

Wednesday: Legs

Warm up: 10mins bike (low pace 100-105rpm)

Squats:

Bar x 15 + 5 oscillatory isometrics (see squat Rx vids)

50kg x 10

70kg x 8, 10

90kg x 3

100kg x 1

Bar x 15 + 24 oi (15 10 sec reps with 8 oi reps thrown in every 5)

Stiff legged deads:

20kg x 12

30kg x 10,8,6

One leg press:

Sled x 10 per side

+20kg x 10ps, 10ps

Finish off high rep leg press:

20kg x 30

My leg workouts definitely revolve around the squat, will probably throw in some box squats next week. The separation in my thighs is really starting to pop now Ive been doing low weight slow/deep high reps. Every week I throw in at least one 90-95% max effort squat just so I don’t forget what its like to have that sort of weight on my back. That last set of squats was the closest I have ever come to ralphing in the gym I was actually looking for a receptacle to use but luckily it didn’t actually come up. Had to sit down for a breather after that so I didn’t loose my precious breakfast calories to the gym floor. :grin:

My hams are hating me today for the stiffs and oi squats, kept the weight nice and low on the deads and was really going for that long stretch after all the squating.

The last set of leg press was a real killer, got the sweat dripping that’s for sure :twisted:

[rose]

lucky readers

8)

ralphing in the gym

Nice work!

I recommend those air or sea sickness bags if you can't leave something at your gym... Plastic tends to get holes in it and paper bags just ooze after the sick makes contact etc.

[Mr_Krabs]

Instalment 2

Thursday: Shoulders and Arms

Warm up: 10mins on the bike (110 rpm tour de france)

DB Mill press:

15kg x 10 + 10 Arnold presses

22.5kg x 5

20kg x 8F ss Arnolds 6F

Incline hammer curl:

8kg x 12,10,8 (good slow reps, 10kg next week)

Triple set: DB front raise (10kg x 8)/DB lat raise (10kg x 8)/Rear fly (8kg x 10) all seated and slow to prevent cheating three times through the super

Skull crushers:

(Ezy bar + 10kg) x 10

(Ezy bar + 15kg) x 6F, 5F

BB curls (high) super setted with skulls:

(Ezy bar + 10kg) x 10

(Ezy bar + 15kg) x 10, 10

Weight good for skulls but too light for the BB curls I think Ill mix it up next week

Chin ups to waste the Bi's completely:

BW x 4,4,2

Over all good work out today, nothing too flash got a good pump on though, hopefully be pretty sore tomorrow.

This weeks routine has gone pretty well all of my body parts feel as wasted as they ever did on the 5day split so doesn’t seem like anythings missing out and I get to have 4 “rest” days to GROW before I start all over again next tues.

Tomorrow: MORE SNOW!!! \:D/ =P~

[autechre]

Nice shoulder workout.

Tomorrow: MORE SNOW!!! \:D/ =P~

Awesome :jive: Hope the weather's good!

[Mr_Krabs]

Nice shoulder workout.

Tomorrow: MORE SNOW!!! \:D/ =P~

Awesome :jive: Hope the weather's good!

Cheers

Yeah weather for the weekend could go either way at this stage (damn unpredictable alpine weather systems) so fingers crossed :pray:

[VampireChick]

Don't jinx it!

Bring on the snow whoop!

[Mr_Krabs]

Tuesday: Chest and Back

Well the snow was absolute shithouse in the weekend so Ive had four days of little activity so decided Id do a max effort day since my body should be pretty fresh.

Time to start pushing out my boundaries…

Warm up: 10mins on the bike (med/low intensity, lvl 11, 105rpm with 2 x 1min sprints)

Pull ups:

BW x 4, 4, 3.5

Chin ups:

BW x 6, 3, 2.5

Bench press: (2 x 15 press ups to warm up)

60kg x 5

70kg x 3

75kg x 3

80kg x 2, 1.5 PB

60kg x 5

Deadlifts:

60kg x 6, 6

80kg x 3

100kg x 2 PB

Incline DB press:

22.5kg x 8

25kg x 5, 3.5F (just couldn’t lock it out)

Finisher:

3 x BW chins

5 x BW negative pull ups

The pull up/chin up quest is continuing to progress nicely, quite happy on that front. Ive been having problems in the chest department lately both the weight on bench and the tape measure haven’t budged in a good 4 months so I decided to change tack on my chest work. Ive been doing a lot of 8-10 rep work on the bench followed by fly movements, this has definitely shaped my chest but hasn’t really upped my strength or over all size. So now Im going to shoot for 3-5 and do a 1 rep max attempt every week for a while and see if that busts this plateau for me.

Knocked out a couple of PBs today proving to myself that I can bench my current weight and my deadlifts are creeping closer to my squat weights all in all a good progression session today. 8)