Quote: (12-12-2018 02:45 PM)sterling_archer Wrote:  

I agree with your whole post and my question about these routines is purely curiosity but I heard the same regarding steroid use in WWII era. At the same time it is countered by argument that steroids were weaker then and used exclusively for therapy. Seems like it was a decade later when bodybuilders "got idea" to use them actually.

Its a pretty interesting history actually, they've been in use for a lot longer than most people think. Test was first artificially synthesized in 1935. It was first mentioned in a bodybuilding/weightlifting magazine in the US in 1938. The Nazis experimented a bit with it during the war, but proper athletic testing was pretty much put on hold until after the war because there were no major athletic events in Europe.

It gets a bit murky for the next few years (as far as I'm aware) but by 1954 the Soviet athletes in the World Weightlifting Championships that year were on all kinds of gear, and had been for a few years. So steroids were definitely widely in use for weightlifting/bodybuilding by the early 1950s.

Schwarzenegger was only born in 1947 so by the time he was getting seriously into the sport they were rife (and he was very clearly on them). Colbert was born in 1933 and Eiferman was 1925, and both to my eyes look very much like they were on them too - but its hard to get accurately dated pictures, so they mightn't have been early on. Vince Gironda is the only one of the guys named in the article who was possibly natty given his age (born 1917) and how he looks in pictures (his lack of the give away upper traps is a big one). But theres no way to know for sure.

Quote: (12-12-2018 04:32 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Why skeptical about hitting same muscle groups every other day? The body does not need as much recovery as you think... unless maybe you're training extreme and leave it all on the gym floor every workout. If you're working within 95%+ I would recommend taking a few days in between working those same areas again, but hell I train bench press and all related accessories every other day and it works just fine. as long as you aren't destroying yourself every workout then 48 hours is plenty of rest to hit those workouts again.

It depends on your age, workout intensity, diet/sleep, and chemical assistance but 3 days is generally recommended as the minimum for natties in any studies I've seen, or workout programs I've been prescribed, for recovery from a reasonably intense weightlifting session. For some of the 50+ set workouts in that article 48 hours would definitely be way, way too short.

Sheiko powerlifting book has finally been translated into English (properly and officially), with some new programs and chapters he wrote recently. I'm going to get it

Quote: (12-12-2018 05:41 PM)zatara Wrote:  

Vince Gironda is the only one of the guys named in the article who was possibly natty given his age (born 1917) and how he looks in pictures (his lack of the give away upper traps is a big one). But theres no way to know for sure.

Vince Gironda! The 'Iron Guru'! I used to read his column every month in 'Musclemag' in the late 80's/early 90/s. At the time, me being an arrogant teen I just thought of him as a cranky old man who hated Squats, Bench Presses, trap work and situps.

But I gradually came to appreciate him more as I got older. Whatever people thought of him, they always read his column first like I did. I remember a particular interview he gave with one poor bodybuilding journalist where he (Gironda) absolutely destroyed him! Wish I could find a transcript of it.

This is more a self accountability post than anything but I've been a slack bastard the past couple of days at the gym, had a "R&R" day today so putting this here to hold myself accountable to smash out the next couple of weeks hard!

I am doing a basic split of push/pull/legs and then assorted supplement exercises at the end to keep thing interesting.

I enjoy doing neck curls and never see anyone doing these.

What unusual supplement exercises do you do?

I do neck curls and extensions (with a head harness) a couple times per week, and same as you haven’t seen anyone else do them. I’ve had some good growth from it, but you definitely get some odd looks.

Best supplement exercises are functional strength stuff in my opinion. Farmers carries, prowler push/pull, tire flips, strongman implements (stones, logs, yolks, etc.)

Has anyone ever done rack pulls and are they possible to do from the J hooks instead of pins?

Yes, thought it’s not as good in my experience. Foot placement when you first pull has to be more precise, or else you might miss one of the hooks when you set it down, which sucks and can be dangerous.

I can focus a lot better on the pull when I’m using pins because I’m not glancing down to make sure I’m in the hooks.

Quote: (12-19-2018 01:33 PM)sterling_archer Wrote:  

Has anyone ever done rack pulls and are they possible to do from the J hooks instead of pins?

I love rack pulls and do them every week. Usually slightly above the knee or right at the knee - great weight to overload and work on your lockout.

I would never use J-hooks to do this. Pins or straps only.

I am not yet at the level to incorporate them in the training but from what I hear, a lot of gyms have zero tolerance to them because they bend bars. That is why I asked about doing them from hooks, since the moment arms are differently distributed.

The bars are designed to have a little flex in them especially at heavier weights. Not a big deal at all. Just do it until someone who works there tells you not too.

Quote: (12-08-2018 09:00 AM)Fury Wrote:  

Quote: (12-05-2018 05:29 PM)General Stalin Wrote:  

Quote: (12-03-2018 03:33 PM)Fury Wrote:  

7 November 2018 PRs:
Bench: 140kg
Squat: 200kg
Deadlift: 205kg

Quote: (12-02-2018 05:14 PM)Fury Wrote:  

Bench: 160kg
Squat: 200kg
Deadlift: 220kg
Wilks score: 399.16

You added over 30 lbs to your deadlift and over 40 lbs to your bench in less than a month with half-assed training? I'm not saying that program isn't good or anything, but it looks like you can put on strength pretty easy with likely any basic program with any semblance of structure. Especially starting out with an over 1200 lbs. total at only 175 lbs... hell it took me a year to add 40 lbs to my bench and I'm still relatively a newbie.

Quote: (12-04-2018 02:42 AM)Jaxon Wrote:  

...

When did everyone here reach their physical peak? I'm curious.

I'm will to bet most people here will say the same thing: they have not hit their peak.

We are all making progress here and getting bigger better and stronger constantly. I started lifting in earnest when I was 27. I'm 30 now and I'm stronger and more fit than I was when I started, and I plan to be even better next year. At this rate, I plan to be in better shape when I'm 40 than I am right now at 30.

To be fair I didn't have a spotter when I maxed out at 140kg as opposed to having a good spotter when I maxed out at 160kg on the bench. I probably could have gone a little higher than 140 back in November.

I have been lifting since I was 11-12 and was already benching in the low 300lbs by the time I was 19 (weighing in the high 150lbs). But I spent years actually not doing bench press because of various injuries from sports/military. However, now that I have programmed bench press back into my workouts whilst following sheiko, I think I will have plenty of jumps in my bench maxes; not only do I have a strong baseline, I also have plenty of room for growth.



Earlier, there was a conversation about pairing PLing with other fitness regimes. My ultimate goal is to PL 3-4 days a week and do Brasilian Jiu Jitsu 1-2 days a week. I just have to figure out if my body will be able to handle the strain and if it will be able to recover throughout the week. In my opinion, BJJ and PL is a great combination that can have benefits in both sports. When I was rolling for a bit, I noticed that my strength was a huge factor in my effectiveness. Once more technique comes along, that will be a lethal combination. I imagine doing BJJ would be beneficial for PL as it can loosen us up, improve flexibility and be a source of cardio that doesn't have a ton of impact on the joints.

Anyone here a certified coach or BJJ instructor? Would be good to hear from someone that has expertise in both areas. Or at least someone that already has experience combining these both for a long period of time...

BJJ for sure won't improve your flexibility and isn't light on your joints. Is a great sports but extremely heavy on joints common injuries are: knee, profusion and herniated disks both neck and back, shoulder, ankles. Like all contact sports it is very heavy on your body.

Quote: (12-19-2018 04:20 PM)sterling_archer Wrote:  

I am not yet at the level to incorporate them in the training but from what I hear, a lot of gyms have zero tolerance to them because they bend bars. That is why I asked about doing them from hooks, since the moment arms are differently distributed.

This is true, especially when people use heavy ass weight (405+) and drop the weight down hard on the pins. J-hooks would not really alleviate this, the best way to do this without possibly damaging bars is to use rack-straps, or pull off boxes instead of pins in a rack. Bringing the weight down slowly and more gently is also a good practice but this can be difficult when overloading weight which is a large benefit of doing rack pulls.

Heavy ass rack pulls/block pulls are great for upper back and trap development and also glutes/lockout power. I don't see them as an "advanced" movement like using bands and chains or specialty bars for different leverages - beginners can incorporate them with much benefit I think. Great accessory to your deadlift.

I am also worried about pins as their endings stick less then an inch from the rack; which means if I slam weights down, they could slip out of the hole. Maybe this is what I am worried more than the bent bar.

Thats an irrational fear. The pins are designed to have a barbell land on them - thats the entire purpose of them.

I don't think this deserves its own thread, so I'll ask it here - For reasons I can't disclose, I won't be able to workout for 4 -6 weeks.

At most, I'll be able to run on the treadmill and do some push ups. I won't be able to actually lift weights though.

Does anybody have any idea of how much strength/progress that I'm going to lose in those 4 - 6 weeks? Is it going to be major, or can I probably get my previous strength/progress back once I start working out again for a month - month and a half?

If you do pushups and pullups especially, the upper body strength/mass loss should be insignificant. I've maintained that for months at a time doing nothing else. If you're squatting/deadlifting heavy right now though, probably going to have some noticeable losses there.

Pretty individual thing though. My bench press seems to be the one lift that really suffers during an extended layoff, whereas the # of dips I can do will barely change. Part of this isn't a loss of strength per say but rustiness lifting in that particular plane/chain of motion.

Quote: (12-21-2018 01:11 AM)Uprising Wrote:  

I don't think this deserves its own thread, so I'll ask it here - For reasons I can't disclose, I won't be able to workout for 4 -6 weeks.

At most, I'll be able to run on the treadmill and do some push ups. I won't be able to actually lift weights though.

Does anybody have any idea of how much strength/progress that I'm going to lose in those 4 - 6 weeks? Is it going to be major, or can I probably get my previous strength/progress back once I start working out again for a month - month and a half?

You will lose a bit after a few weeks, but it will come back very quickly once you start up again. As Trumpian said, pushups and pullups alone will preserve a surprisingly large amount of your upper body strength and size gains. For the lower body you can try doing sprints on the treadmill, or finding a raised platform of some type to do box jumps on. If you're more advanced you can experiment with pistol squats.

Quote: (12-21-2018 01:11 AM)Uprising Wrote:  

I don't think this deserves its own thread, so I'll ask it here - For reasons I can't disclose, I won't be able to workout for 4 -6 weeks.

At most, I'll be able to run on the treadmill and do some push ups. I won't be able to actually lift weights though.

Does anybody have any idea of how much strength/progress that I'm going to lose in those 4 - 6 weeks? Is it going to be major, or can I probably get my previous strength/progress back once I start working out again for a month - month and a half?

In my experience, 3 weeks of drinking and fucking off resting, will result in 50-100 lbs of weight drop on the bar. 4-6 weeks will result in larger reductions. Doing the linear progression should take you about 6 months to regain it.

Quote: (12-21-2018 01:11 AM)Uprising Wrote:  

I don't think this deserves its own thread, so I'll ask it here - For reasons I can't disclose, I won't be able to workout for 4 -6 weeks.

At most, I'll be able to run on the treadmill and do some push ups. I won't be able to actually lift weights though.

Does anybody have any idea of how much strength/progress that I'm going to lose in those 4 - 6 weeks? Is it going to be major, or can I probably get my previous strength/progress back once I start working out again for a month - month and a half?

Much too much gets made of the effects of a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months off proper training. My schedule at the moment means I have trained sporadically over the last 6 months. The odd 2 week period where I haven't trained at all, greatly reduced volume, often only managing to train once, maybe twice per week.

The effect has been that weights I could hit for a max 100% of the time 6 months ago I can probably hit 80% of the time now. The effects of not training for a period, if you have a solid lifting history and are not juicing, are greatly exaggerated in my view. You don't lose 50% of what it took you years to build in a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months.

Thank you to all who replied to my question.

So apart from MOSVM, who said it'll take me 6 months to get back to where I was, the consensus seems to be that I'll lose some progress but it won't be anything too too major and that I'll be able to regain it back in a reasonable amount of time once I start lifting regularly again when the 4-6 weeks are up. After reading your testimonials saying that push ups and pull ups can actually help lesson the amount of muscle loss in these upcoming 4 - 6 weeks for me, that makes me feel a lot better.

Is anyone here on keto diet while training with heavy weights?

In my powerlifting gym they told me that Keto diet for heavy weights training is a bullshit for them it can't work.

Quote: (12-22-2018 03:38 AM)ìlikegirls Wrote:  

Is anyone here on keto diet while training with heavy weights?

In my powerlifting gym they told me that Keto diet for heavy weights training is a bullshit for them it can't work.

I've experimented with variations on the keto diet over the past couple of years. Pure keto I found to be pretty bad for lifting. I had a lot better success with a cyclical keto diet doing two days of high carb on the weekends and strict keto during the week. That was enough to refill glycogen stores. There's also the targeted keto diet where you only consume your carbs in the pre and post-workout windows. It was decent but I preferred the cyclical carbing. That being said, if you're serious about powerlifting and want to add a good amount of size and strength, I wouldn't bother with keto at all. It's more of a weight loss/health optimization diet, it's not meant for bulking.