Bigger Stronger Smarter

[Dr Squat]

For the ME posterior chain day would you alternate squats one week and deadlifts the next? Incorporating say romanian deadlifts on squat week and a squat variant on deadlift week?

I usually either box squat, do good mornings or deadlift as my max effort exercise. I will choose one movement and stick with it for 2-4 weeks and try to break a PB. Once I feel as though I have gone as far as I can then I will change the movement.

ME exercises range from:

Cambered bar box squats;

safety bar box squats;

deficit deadlifts;

chain suspended good mornings.

There are many many to choose from. The key for me is to keep breaking new ground. As soon as I stall, I change the movement.

I may do speed deadlifts at the end of a session. For these I will do 6 singles on about 60% of my max and focus on speed.

[Darkmanx]

Hey Dr Squat... I too am looking forward to following your journal and progress. Checked out your blog...like your style :grin: . Ripped pec doesn't sound like fun. What sort of down time are you looking at?

Hey BB. Not too sure. I am supposed to have an MRI scan but I cannot fit in the scanner. :oops:

Seems to be responding well to ice and stretching so I am hopeful it won't be too long. :pray:

I hope for your sake its a minor injury dude. I tore my peck major in the start of this year and as a result had a major peck and shoulder surgery and i tell you its no laughing matter. I have lost all strength and build on the side that was operated on. I still have 12 weeks to go before i can even atempt lifting any kind of weight and my surgery was in august.

From your weight and height stats id say youd be able to fit the scanner but it will be a tight squeez. For me it was 40min of pure hell in the MRI scanner. Imagine 6'7 and 147kg. Anyway i wish you good luck with the injury and recovery. I do not wish upon any man to go through what i did for damn sure.

[Dr Squat]

I was a bit tentative about today but I was determined to have a light training. I felt little or no discomfort. Makes me feel more and more confident that my pec is not too serious.

Very hot day here and my shoulders blew up quickly. I felt a really good stretch on the smith machine. I believe the key is the bottom part of the movement. I really try to bottom out and feel the stretch.

Smith machine behind neck press- bar x15, 40x15, 60x15, 80x15, 100x10, 80x15

DB front raise- 20x10x4

Seated DB side laterals- 15x10x2, 20x8x2, 25x6x2

Cable side laterals (cable behind back)- 2x15

Machine shoulder press- 3x15 using stack.

The key is going to be restoring my pressing power slowly. Again, another day of successful active recovery. Arms tomorrow, nothing silly.

[Dr Squat]

I have had a few queries about what I eat. I have summarised a few initial thoughts in my blog. I will go into a bit more detail shortly. Basically, it's a pretty simple approach. Learning to eat is not easy. But if you want to be a successful powerbuilder it's a must.

http://biggerstrongersmarter.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/learning-to-eat/

[Dr Squat]

Friday 19 November- Arms

Friday is usually arms. I have already trained them once (usually). My approach on Friday for triceps is to start with a movement such as close grip bench and then mix it up with a variety of cables. For biceps I usually start with a barbell curl and then do a similar thing with the cables.

A bit of a change for the time being as I rehab. I started with tricep pushdowns doing 100 reps over 10 sets. The idea being to pre fatigue them and then hit a pressing movement.

I didn't record the weights again. The objective was to get some blood into the arms and not aggravate the area. Overall pretty light but some intensity. It's great to be back. Well sort of back.

Tricep push downs- 10 sets of 10 reps

Machine tricep press- 5 sets of 8-10

Rope pushdowns superset with overhead rope extensions- 3 sets of 15

Hammer curls- 4 sets of 8

Rope cable curls- 4 sets of 10

One arm cable preacher curls- 3 sets of 10

Really good pump in the bis and tris. Ready to step it up a notch next week. Heavy pressing still likely to be out for a few weeks.

[steak]

love the volume.

[Dr Squat]

Sunday 21 November- Quads

Leg press- 10 plates per side- 10 sets of 10 reps

Hack squats- 40 kg x 10 reps, 80 kg x 10 reps, 120 kg x 10 reps x 3 sets

Leg extensions- 3 sets of 20 reps.

Another step up in volume and intensity. I feel like my quads respond better to higher reps so likely to move the reps to 15. Mixing it up is probably the key. Parking the ego and focussing on working the muscle is what it’s all about.

Chest feeling okay but still tender to press. Not sure how to approach the workout tomorrow. Probably be more machine based.

[morattigirl]

Sunday 21 November- Quads

Leg press- 10 plates per side- 10 sets of 10 reps

Hack squats- 40 kg x 10 reps, 80 kg x 10 reps, 120 kg x 10 reps x 3 sets

Leg extensions- 3 sets of 20 reps.

Another step up in volume and intensity. I feel like my quads respond better to higher reps so likely to move the reps to 15. Mixing it up is probably the key. Parking the ego and focussing on working the muscle is what it’s all about.

Chest feeling okay but still tender to press. Not sure how to approach the workout tomorrow. Probably be more machine based.

I like that :nod:

[PeterDolan]

Parking the ego and focussing on working the muscle is what it’s all about

Don't drop your own expectations though Doc

[Dr Squat]

Thursday 25 November- Shoulders

I have still been pretty restricted over the past week. I was able to hit shoulders on Thursday with little discomfort. I am confident of being able to hit it at 90% this week with the exception of chest and triceps.

Smith machine behind neck press- 60x10x2, 80x8x2, 100x6x2

Front DB raises- 20x10x5

Seated DB side lateral raises- 15x10x2, 20x8x2, 25x6x2, 20x8x2, 15x10x2

Machine press- stackx15x3

I have updated some material on my blog for those who are interested.

http://biggerstrongersmarter.wordpress.com/

[Dr Squat]

Monday 29 November 2010- Chest

Progress! Today was a good day. Along way from 100% but definite signs of improvement. Still not pushing real hard. Some tightness still remains. Another 2 weeks of training within myself.

Lots of warm ups and stretching

Cable crossover 5 setsx15 reps (light)

Decline bench press, 60x10x2, 100x10x2, 140x10x2

Incline DB press- 40x10x5

Decline machine press- 100x10x5

Rope pushdowns- stackx10x10

Bodyweight is 112kg with clothes on. Not too bad considering I have been training light.

[Dr Squat]

I have been working on some mental strategies to get the most out of training. I have come up with a 1-5 scale around:

-Preparation

-Intensity

-Execution.

If you are interested in how I use this check out my post.

http://biggerstrongersmarter.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/rating-you-workout/

Potentially a useful tool to provide feedback and assist with future planning.

Let me know your thoughts.

[drizzt]

Nice idea, Doc :nod: I'll give it a whirl this week and see how it goes.

[Dr Squat]

Tuesday 30 November- Back

Another positive step forward today. Summary ratings:

Planning- 4. Well organised and set goals around each of my movements. Eating was good all day.

Intensity- 4. A step up today. Lifted a lot of weight and moved quickly. 27 sets in 55 minutes. Still room to improve.

Execution- 4. Pretty good. My lower back was pretty pumped which do impact on my form.

Neutral grip front pulldowns- 140x10x2, 180x8x2, stackx6x2, 180x8x2, 160x15x2

T-Bar rows- 1plx10, 2plx10, 3plx10, 4plx8, 5plx8x2

Cable rows- stack x10x2, stack+5 chainsx8x2

Straight arm pulldowns- 3 sets of 15

Behind neck pulldowns- 140x15x3

Back needs to be trained with intensity, lots of weight and good technique. Because you can’t see it, you need to make sure you are mindful of all of these things. I want a huge back to support a huge bench press. I also want huge lats that are part of my big arse bench physique.

I will do biceps in the morning. I ran out of time tonight as I was helping a group of rugby players at 6.30 pm.

[Dr Squat]

Wednesday 1 December- Posterior Chain

A good solid workout. First week back doing box squats since I injured my pec. No discomfort with the giant cambered bar. Kept it to about 90% tonight. I will hit a big number next week.

GC box squats- 65kgx5, 105x5, 145x5, 185+40kg of chains x3, 225+40kg of chainsx1, 265+40kg of chainsx1, 285+40kg of chainsx1.

Reverse hack squats- 40kgx8, 80kgx8, 120x8x3

Leg curls- 4 sets of 8 with stack.

Stiff legged deadlifts- 60x8, 100x8, 140x5

Rope Ab pulldowns- 4 sets of 15

Workout summary

Preparation- 4

Intensity- 4

Execution- 3.5

Box squats was easy. The set up was a bit ugly as it usually is the first week back.

The extra work on my hamstrings is going well. I really want to thicken my hams up over the next 6 months.

[Viking Power]

GC box squats- 65kgx5, 105x5, 145x5, 185+40kg of chains x3, 225+40kg of chainsx1, 265+40kg of chainsx1, 285+40kg of chainsx1.

:shock: Impressed brother keep it up, whats your best squat in gear in gym or comp doesn't matter DS?

VP

[Dr Squat]

GC box squats- 65kgx5, 105x5, 145x5, 185+40kg of chains x3, 225+40kg of chainsx1, 265+40kg of chainsx1, 285+40kg of chainsx1.

:shock: Impressed brother keep it up, whats your best squat in gear in gym or comp doesn't matter DS?

VP

Last competition I did was 280 in suits and wraps at 82 kg. My best raw comp squat is 285 at 100. I don't do power squats in training. My best raw box squat in training is 315 +40 kg of chain. I want to carry this over to a big raw comp box squat this year. I will probably wear wraps.

[Viking Power]

GC box squats- 65kgx5, 105x5, 145x5, 185+40kg of chains x3, 225+40kg of chainsx1, 265+40kg of chainsx1, 285+40kg of chainsx1.

:shock: Impressed brother keep it up, whats your best squat in gear in gym or comp doesn't matter DS?

VP

Last competition I did was 280 in suits and wraps at 82 kg. My best raw comp squat is 285 at 100. I don't do power squats in training. My best raw box squat in training is 315 +40 kg of chain. I want to carry this over to a big raw comp box squat this year. I will probably wear wraps.

3.4 - 3.5 x bodyweight great stuff thats competitive 8) , I would like to talk to you about those box squats though after I completed Auckland Champs as I have a in plan in place for the next 23 weeks would be keen to start learning about chains and bands so might need to pick your brain if thats ok.

stay strong

VP

[Dr Squat]

:shock: Impressed brother keep it up, whats your best squat in gear in gym or comp doesn't matter DS?

VP

Last competition I did was 280 in suits and wraps at 82 kg. My best raw comp squat is 285 at 100. I don't do power squats in training. My best raw box squat in training is 315 +40 kg of chain. I want to carry this over to a big raw comp box squat this year. I will probably wear wraps.

3.4 - 3.5 x bodyweight great stuff thats competitive 8) , I would like to talk to you about those box squats though after I completed Auckland Champs as I have a in plan in place for the next 23 weeks would be keen to start learning about chains and bands so might need to pick your brain if thats ok.

stay strong

VP

Be glad to help mate. I am convinced that box squats are the way to go. Nassive carryover for your deadlift also.

[Creatine]

Ridiculous strength! humbling to say the least

Whats your take on box heights for box squats and what each height improves on or carries over to?

[Dr Squat]

Ridiculous strength! humbling to say the least

Whats your take on box heights for box squats and what each height improves on or carries over to?

I generally squat on a 15 inch box which is about parallel, probably slighly above. Ideally I think it is good to be squatting to at least parallel. Not too deep but not shallow. You still need to be able to get below for comps.

This height gives me the best carryover. I am a borderline squatter in terms of depth. I have bombed only once but been close a few times. Mind you, my relationship with the blue coats has never been wonderful. :x

[Creatine]

Thanks for the reply

I want to incorporate box squats into my leg max day and have a question about technique

What technique do you generally favour? touch n go or slight rocking, if that makes sense, and what does this have an advantage over the other

hope this doesnt count as hijacking your journal? lol

[Dr Squat]

Thanks for the reply

I want to incorporate box squats into my leg max day and have a question about technique

What technique do you generally favour? touch n go or slight rocking, if that makes sense, and what does this have an advantage over the other

hope this doesnt count as hijacking your journal? lol

Mate, pleased to help. I don't care about the hijacking but I post reply in the powerbuilding thread under bodybuilding/powerlifting so others can "benefit". Chur

[Creatine]

cheers mate, appreciate it.

Stay Strong

[Dr Squat]

I did an interview with Spida Hunter, EHP trainer, for his website. The main theme was powerbuilding.

http://biggerstrongersmarter.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/my-chat-with-spida-hunter/