450lb Deadlift PR

Muscle Recovery and Joint Recovery

Glenn Pendlay has said that if you think you are overtrained, you're probably not getting enough sleep and/or food. Sometimes your body is beat up, and injuries are on the horizon, yet still avoidable if the right precautions are taken. Mobility work seems to be a rather new concept in lifting. I was once under the impression and obsession with the idea that if you trained a muscle more than once within 48 hours, you wouldn't get your gains. Not all muscles are the same size, and muscles can be either slow-twitch or fast-twitch, so there are many variables.

When I was Deadlifting very heavy, I knew that I had to take many rest days to recover my Lower Back and that if I had just stopped Deadlifting, I'd be able to train other exercises more frequently. I held onto this idea and just kept it in my head far too long. At points I realized that I had been doing exercises on days back-to-back that used the same muscles, and it was working as far as strength and muscle gains. High frequency drills technique into you. Weight lifting is about technique and leverage. All the strength in the world misguided is for naught. Before I got into lifting, there would be times I felt or even commanded myself to harness and radiate energy, yet I didn't know what to do with this energy. I could punch walls, jump into walls, or some form of injuring myself, and flooding my mind with psychosis. Actually, it was a good source of intuition for writing creatively.

My current routine for transforming from a Mummy to an agile Werewolf is a series of mobility tools.

• The Stick
• Useful  for Calves and Quads mostly.
• Foam Roller
• The number one tool for recovery. Rolling out your lower back will get you lifting heavier quicker.
• Every major muscle can be rolled.
• Most active recovery tool. It can be considered ground work, and will build strength, endurance, and joint strength.
• Rolls out muscle knots, soft tissue, and helps ligaments and joints recover faster.
• Excellent for the hip muscles.
• Theracane
• Specifically designed for Trap relief. You can dig in very deep.
• Useful for Traps, Posterior Delts, Anterior Delts, Pecs, Glutes, Lats, Teres Major, Triceps, and Biceps.
• You can hit every inch of the Pecs, which is unlike any of the other tools.
• Voodoo Flossing
• Instant and lasting joint relief in any limb.
• Useful for Knees, Ankles, Wrists, and Elbows.
• A sense of power and stability comes from its use.
• Stretch-Out Straps
• Useful for Shoulders in all ranges of movements, Triceps, and Lats.
• Builds Grip strength.
• Good way to stretch your Pecs and Anterior Delts.
• Yoga
• Flexibility and Mobility.

Using all of these techniques or even some is night and day between neglecting them. For hand care, I love to hold and squeeze ice cubes, and to apply Bag Balm throughout the day. If any part of your hands gets very raw, tape it every workout. Lastly, water should always be within arms-reach. I really believe in eating several pieces of fruit a day as well. They bring me focus, clarity, nutrition, energy, and they help digestion. 

Pectoralis Extravaganza

I have been working towards enhancing my physique by focusing on developing my Triceps and Pecs. I've made good progress, and learned many things on this set path. I remember as far back as when I initially started. I would be doing pull-ups as I eyeballed the Bench Press across the room. I was proud of doing bodyweight exercises, and figured my muscles would develop through them, but I also longed for myself to attain a reputable Bench Press number. No matter the amount of Push-Ups, the chest muscles could only be under so much stress via bodyweight.

I began Bench Pressing, and scheduled it all wrong of course, and I used gloves nonetheless. It took me a very long time to build my Bench strength, and it took far more injuries than Deadlifting ever caused, and I would say more than even Squats. The Bench Press is particularly deceiving. What could be easier than laying on a bench and pushing something away? Well, it turns out, nearly everything is easier than the Bench Press.

Something I've noticed that applies for all lifts is that 'beginners', whilst lifting light weight opposed to a lifting veteran lifting heavier, is not braced for heavier weight. For example, if someone walks in the gym and can bench 180lb for their 1RM, you'll probably noticed that they're not braced to lift heavier. Lifting is about leverage, and when lifting lift, certain leverage doesn't or something can't be applied. I supposed I first witnessed this through the Deadlift. It's not easy to rep 135lb and make it look clean, whereas with 250lb, I find it easier to maintain form. I can sink my weight into the lift, whereas I'd fall over with 135lb. So instead of looking at other people and thinking that they're weak; make it a point to realize they are probably lifting as heavy as they can with their current technique, diet, rest, knowledge, etc. In this sense, people aren't weak or strong, they're intelligent or brute.

I believe my technique improves in any given exercise after I've researched the lift via watching form and tutorial videos, reading articles, reading controversial opinions on parts of the lift, studying the anatomical form and functions of the targeted muscles, and both thinking about the technique in my head and practicing it in the real word, and finally analyzing my results, predictions to fully understand why things are happening exactly how they're happening.

I've found much success in developing my back through Deadlifting 3x a week, and at times even more. I've also found success in Squats through adding variations and frequency. So now I'm applying this logic to the Bench Press - the last of the big 3. That Bench Press variation is simply Bench using dumbbells. Powerlifters frequently perform it as an auxiliary exercise.

In forgetting my Dip belt this morning for both Weighted Dips and Weighted Chins, I decided to do Muscle-Ups with 6 reps of dips atop the Pull-Up bar. I did 10 sets altogether, so that's 60 dips, and I realized that performing a dip on a single bar with a prone grip is like a Bench Press, but using your bodyweight as the weight. When you do a dip on the standard parallel bars, you're using mostly Triceps, although you can lean forward to utilize more chest. I believe even more of the Pecs are utilized in the single-bar prone grip dip. Another place you could do these dips is on a Smith Machine barbell. It would be a little tricky to setup with a Power Rack or Squat Rack, but could be done.

Bench Press Technique

In a search to improve my Bench Press technique, I spent the last month benching 2x per session 3x a week. This allowed me to drill technique with high volume. That's 24 Bench Press sessions versus 8, if you were to bench just 2x a week. I had been working Decline bench prior to focusing on Flat, and through that I learned to better engage my chest. It was driving me mad that leg drive is absent though. I've grown comfortable with Flat now, and it's my preference.

I use leg drive although I stay on my toes instead of planting my heals. I have long legs, and that may have something to do with it. I recently switched to a more narrow grip, and found it much less prone to injury. This also involved tucking my elbows on each rep. Since then it's become less of a conscious-based thought and more of technique.

I also learned about pinning your upper back, and having all of the weight there. Just today, I found an even better way of staying pinned. First is a tight setup. I saw Dave Tate using this method of grabbing the center of the bar with your thumbs, and raising your sternum towards the bar, adducting your shoulders, then pushing yourself back down. This keeps you very tight and in the right position for good leverage.

The last addition to the technique is to utilize the long head of your Triceps. Seen below as no.1.

I noticed that contracting the long head of the Triceps during lockout makes you prefer a wider grip, and I had been noticing that in videos I've been watching of heavy Bench Presses. Also, locking out the long head makes your wrists turn inwardly, which will hit the Pecs and Triceps better. Each rep should be driven up with leg drive. Let the bar glide down smoothly each rep, and harness its energy for an explosive contraction as you throw the weight up into lockout.

Front Squats

Front Squats are a great lift. It took me a long time to add it to my arsenal, but I see the immense value in it. For comparison, in a Barbell Back Squat, the weight is on the posterior chain (Hamstrings and Glutes), whereas a Front Squat places more of the weight on the Quads, which means there's less stress on the knee in Back Squats.

I have found the clean grip hard to employ, and so I currently use the cross grip. It looks awkward, but feels very secure after drilling the move a few times. You cross your hands near your neck, and grab the bar. It makes you look like Dracula a bit or someone trying to strangle themselves. The foot width placement is more narrow than Back Squats. It is shoulder length with straighter toes. It's much easier to hit depth than in Back Squat. The bar rests atop your Anterior Delts. This will probably be uncomfortable the first dozen or so times, but you'll get used to it. I was told to wear a shirt with sleeves, but I only workout with no sleeves, and although the bar marked me up a few times, I adjusted and became accustomed to it.

I also feel more hip flexion in the Front Squat. At the top of each rep, I contract my Quads. You get quite a bit of energy from the stretch reflex when you dip into the hole, which serves as power to drive yourself up. I've come to better my technique in timing that stretch reflex by doing reps of heavy weight in Back Squats.

The most important exercises are the Squat, Deadlift, and Bench Press, and I'm coming to realize that some of their variations are spectacular and are worth using. Front Squats, Hack Squats, Sumo Deadlifts, and the most recent inclusion I plan to have is the Dumbbell Bench Press. I have dumped my old routine, and created a new one titled Leg Snatcher, DB Powered.

The focus of this routine is on hitting my legs 3x a week, having one day of extra recovery compared to my 6-day Swole routine, introducing DB Bench Press while preserving BB Bench Press, having 5 days of Bench Pressing. Only having two upper body days a week help me focus on the leg workouts. When I began working my legs in my lifting career, I had 3x upper body days scheduled and only 2x lower body. I knew this was a problem, but I thought it was absurd to workout 6 days a week to evenly workout the upper and lower body.

With December's Return of the Swole routine, I my muscles hard and frequently. Everything looks good. My upper body is only lagging in my Pecs and Triceps, and so I have an onslaught on Bench Pressing planned via DBs and barbell. I removed the Trap-Bar Deadlift from the routine because I felt it very strange to have the weight centered like that. It's very unnatural compared to the other barbell exercises. I would rather get strong in barbell exercises because I feel they carry over more, and are more common than Trap-Bars, wherever the future may take me.

Auxiliary exercises have taken a backseat position in my mind right now. I feel I've been overworking them, and that I'm due for a break, and that they honestly don't matter as much as I've been treating them. In adding the DB Bench Press, I've taken out 2 sets of the Barbell Bench Press, so I'm really looking forward to experiencing the minimalistic routine that I created.

I've acquired a set of gymnastic rings, and have used them once now, but I'll wait until I have more experience with them before I comment on them.

Swole Routine Wk3 Wrap-Up

It was a tough week. There was rain, low temperatures, and it was the week before Christmas. I finished the week out strong on Friday. As I posed in the men's locker room in the mirror, someone exclaimed, "Perfect shape." This really said it all, and sealed the deal for a great finish to a hard week. The past two days I've been recovering, and I see a swole rising within myself. Arm thickness and chest mass have increased. I am also getting some definition in my legs. The Adductor muscles are beginning to show muscle isolation, and seem to correspond with how I contract my Quads and where I point my knees.

Injury-wise, my left elbow is feeling some tendinitis close to the elbow itself. I'm not too worried. My right hand has nerve pain on the bottom of it, which is irritating, yet doesn't prevent me from any exercises. My knees feel a little questionable, and deterred me from running this weekend. In the mail, I have coming Voodoo Flossing, which is rubber like that of a bicycle tire, and when you wound it near a joint such as the elbow, the compression causes the inflammation to disperse. It's hard to apply a similar compression. Many materials may not be comfortable to wrap around a joint, and simply using weight on that area may not be enough. Some places are hard to apply weight such as the Hamstrings.

I plan to use the compression wrapping on both sides of my elbows and knees, my ankles, and my wrists. I know it'll work, and that I'll have mobility immediately. I'll report back. I have also have some gymnastics rings (EFX) coming. I plan to use it for Dips, Push-Ups, Push-Up Flys, Pull-Ups, Muscle-Ups, Levers, L-Sits, and the Iron Cross. I'm a bit worried about how to set it up, and if I'll even have enough room. I don't believe I will for Pull-Ups or Muscle-Ups. These are rather expensive, so I want to get proper use. I may schedule a certain time to use it on a public park for more freedom.

The fitness/muscle-building/strength-building news outlets are desolate during these holiday times. I have my next week of workouts planned, and Wk4D1 starts tomorrow. I'll be working out a different gym, and hopefully it'll be accessible. I've very happy with the exercises in my routine. I'm thinking of adding Romanian Deadlifts, and dropping Good Mornings. I've been favoring Sumo Deadlifts in my head, and I'll be dropping Trap-Bar Deadlifts in exchange for having them every leg day.

I was quite sold on the Trap-Bar Deadlift at first, but it's shortcomings stared me in the eyes enough times. First is the awkwardness of loading the plates versus a standard barbell. Second, is that there's not enough room for weight on the Trap-Bar, making it ineffective past 405lb+, and even putting that fourth plate on is not easy. Third, there are both high and low handles, but only the high handles seem viable, and it forces you into a shorter range of motion before the pull is initiated. I disliked this, and attempted to remedy it by performing Deficit Trap-Bar Deadlifts, and I stood on a 45lb plate, which narrowed my stance more than I wanted. I tried standing atop two of those plates, and hit all my lifts, but decided it wasn't very practical or comfortable. Lastly, my last jab at the Trap-Bar, is that when you Deadlift, and stand up for hip extension, the bar isn't there to stop your back from hyper-extending, and it's an eerie feeling, which I overcame, and it was never really a problem, but I like the more secure feeling of having the bar there, and that's either in front or behind you like a Hack Squat.

I may still do low weight with the Trap-Bar, but one things I keep in my whilst choosing my exercises is that I want them to be replaceable. For example, if I get good with the Hammer Strength machine for Bench Press, and ignore the Barbell version, I may switch to a gym without that machine, and will have to start from scratch with Barbell technique. This is also why I enjoy bodyweight exercises, and why I took the time to learn the Muscle-Up, so that I could take it with me anywhere I go. I also think the Trap-Bar is a valuable tool as you can use it to Deadlift meanwhile taking your lower back out of the equation more so than a conventional Deadlift.

Swole Routine WK3 D4 Update

This week has been though with the transition of the weather. It's been raining and the temperatures are 50 F and below in the mornings with harsh wind at night. I live in Southern California, so we expect tolerable weather every day of the year, but Winter still exists - the Earth is still tilted.

Training has been going well. My joints feel better than the previous two weeks. I'm very grateful I turned down the volume. It made a lot of sense, and I don't mind having overtrained a bit at first. Being able to dial back gives you confidence. My Bench Press has finally improved. It's taken me longer to get Bench technique down compared to The Squat and The Deadlift. The Bench Press is so deceivingly simple looking. It's the go-to exercise for the average male, and yet technique is very complicated. I think I had trouble because of my Chest and Triceps were both underdeveloped and not strong enough. I have done thousands upon thousands Push-Ups, and thought it would carry over to The Bench Press, but it wasn't the case. In fact, I was lucky to have not seen more severe injuries from the volume of Push-Ups I was performing.

I used an apparatus for the majority of my Push-Ups, which were basically parallel bars. This probably saved me from a lot of joint pain, because it forces you to tuck your elbows a bit. I had wondered why normal Push-Ups on your palms was so much harder for me back then (it's not the case now), and it was because I wasn't tucking my elbows, and I wasn't relying on leverage enough.

Leverage is something I've recently added to my Bench. Training Handstands and Planks were beneficial for understanding leverage. When leverage is applied, the weight sits less on your muscles and more on your bones. This allows you to lift even more weight, and to hold isolations for a longer duration. I also believe that slowing my tempo on the Bench Press has increased my leverage, enhanced my technique, and has activated more of my Pecs' muscle fibers.