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Squat, bench, DL & occasional running


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Question: how do your knees feel after leg extensions? I was doing them for a while but cut them out of my routine because of how thrashed they make my knees feel. Tips, advice?

Thanks guys, firstly for all of the comments and the fact that I apprciate you stopping by to check out what I do

 

Leg extensions, I know what you mean although I have never (touch wood) experienced any knee pain or problems from doing them. Having said that I am aware of the stress that they can put on the knees, which is why I only really do them as a pre-exhasut/warmup exercise. You will notice that I never go above 100lb on them and the reps are always on the higher side; I like to do them as a warmup before squatting to simply get some blood into the quads and to try and prepare my legs a little for what they're about to endure.

 

Occasionally I'll do them at the end of the workout but again it would never be with heavy weights. Also with leg extensions I never emphasise the 'lockout' portion of the movement; this is where the stress of the weight is directly transferred to the knees, so I'll keep the reps fluid, always moving and this ensures constant tension on the quadriceps & vastus medialis.

 

So my advice to you I guess would be:

 

a) Do them as a warmup or cooldown exercise with light-moderate weight and higher reps

b) Great exercise to use with FST-7 training at the end of your workout

c) A good exercise to superset with, again keep the weight stack on the lighter side

d) Keep your reps moving ~ don't emphasise the 'lockout' when your legs reach the horizontal position

 

Hope this answers your question?

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You definitely answered my question. Definitely going to start using them as a warm-up for squats how described - makes perfect sense. Thank you kindly!

 

And, holy hell, mate, you're looking stacked and at 144lbs?! Incredible.

 

You look fantastic, mate - separation in your pecs is insane, which you can really see in the first picture, your biceps look beastly, you look like one giant "V" which means your pretty proportional. The only area that might be advantageous to improve would be your lats - though it could just be the angle that leads me to say that you might want to add some length to them. Even that, though, is a minor detail - your physique is the product of extreme dedication and intense work and it shows. You look exactly like what a powerlifter should look like - excellent work.

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I had a question by PM, thought I would address it here as I believe the information is useful for anyone that is thinking of doing a Powerlifting meet...

 

Hey MF, as I am getting more serious about doing a powerlifting meet I was wondering how your training changes to make sure you peak for the meet.

Do you cycle %, Dynamic/Max effort, Progressively increase load, etc..? What about making weight for weigh in, how do you apprach that? Thanks

Personally, I like to use an 11wk approach if it's a regular, 3 lift meet. 10 hard training weeks and then the 11th week (1 week out from the meet) will be pretty much no training, maybe a little light weights and/or cardio if I need to drop a few pounds. Training wise, I believe that if you are a more advanced trainer (have been in the gym for a few years and have a good grasp on nutrition) then you should probably be 'cycling' your poundages week by week rather than linear periodisation or just trying to go heavy every week. That is not how you continually gain strength; your body needs to work through varying rep ranges with different poundages so you develop a density and power to your muscle fibres, as well as engraining the movements into your neuromuscular system. This is why in 11 months I was able to progress from a deadlift PB of 308 to 418lb.

 

Bodyweight wise, through experience and trial & error I can safely drop 5-6lb in the week before without it seeming to affect my strength; I'll swap out my heavier foods for lighter ones, manipulate my water intake and then about 48hrs out I'll start drinking some Alpine Tea (senna/cascara) and take some herbal diuretics.

 

After weigh in you usually get a couple of hours before lifting, so I'll get stuck into the fluids, some salty food (helps to retain water) and just generally eat what I can whilst remaining comfortable. This will bring my energy levels back up and I'll probably gain at least 3 or 4lb in between weigh in and the start of the meet.

 

I've just entered a meet at short notice, it's only a push/pull but here's how I'm going into this one:

 

SIX WEEK PREP

 

WEEK 1: Medium (working at 80% max)

WEEK 2: Heavy (working at 100% max)

WEEK 3: Light (working at 70% max)

WEEK 4: Medium (working at 80% max)

WEEK 5: Heavy (working at 100% max)

WEEK 6: 1 week out from the meet ** DELOAD **

NORMAL WEEKLY TRAINING

 

MON: SQUATS

TUE: BENCH

WED: DL or DL VARIATION

THU: REST

FRI: LEGS w SQUAT VARIATION

SAT: CHEST w BENCH VARIATION

SUN: ASSISTANCE & ANCILLARY WORK

 

Hope this all makes sense? I have tried to keep it as simple as I could, it's written as a combination or experience, finding out what repeatedly works and yields the best results and is an optimal, safe way to a approach an upcoming competition

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Awesome stuff, buddy!

 

Keep after it!

 

Hard work and dedication = results. Nice to see you being a great example of that concept.

Thank you Robert, a real honour coming from someone such as yourself

 

So I'm having a good day of eating as it's my heavy training week and deadlifts are up tonight. Hoping that I won't be pulling too far off 200kg/440lb, we'll see what happens. Will be a late night session once the kids are up in bed, dinner was spicy mushroom balls with coconut rice and veges plus a banana and a nectarine. The mushroom balls is one of my favourite dishes from a local vegan restaurant close to my work.

 

Will type up the training session later, hope you all have a great Friday MF.

171675715_Spicymushromballs.jpg.01a40918ff08d695a0bd5731ab24212a.jpg

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That protein & greens below is the crux of my supplement combo right now, they blend up into a pretty tasty drink

 

The other combo that's on the menu this weekend is heavy deadlifts & bench press. One month out from the meet now so still a little time for strength to come up a fraction, will be aiming to hit a 429 DL and a 231 paused bench.

 

Will update my journal sometime this weekend, thanks for following MF.

 

http://forums.musculardevelopment.com/customavatars/avatar87309_36.gif

1895931848_Proteinampgreens.jpg.01603166516d7e5eac977f84f14672eb.jpg

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Awesome stuff, buddy!

 

Keep after it!

 

Hard work and dedication = results. Nice to see you being a great example of that concept.

Thank you Robert, a real honour coming from someone such as yourself

 

So I'm having a good day of eating as it's my heavy training week and deadlifts are up tonight. Hoping that I won't be pulling too far off 200kg/440lb, we'll see what happens. Will be a late night session once the kids are up in bed, dinner was spicy mushroom balls with coconut rice and veges plus a banana and a nectarine. The mushroom balls is one of my favourite dishes from a local vegan restaurant close to my work.

 

Will type up the training session later, hope you all have a great Friday MF.

 

 

Hey that food looks pretty tasty, good work!!

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Thanks Matt!.

 

Saturday today, I had the girls all day today, took them to the beach and they (and me) had a blast haha.

 

Gym wise, I took the deadlifts to the well. Never been that close to total failure on them... will leave it all until I put the video together on Monday. Should be up here by Tuesday at the latest, it's pretty raw but I've tried to make it interesting & informative by explaining what I do and why I do it.

 

Basically finished up attempting pulling 440lb off a couple of plates... carnage.

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That was a great set at the end there. I do the same exact thing when I do my max rep. It takes me a while to get my head and get focused. I am kind of scared and antsy when I am up on the big weights like that.

It was definately maximal, but with the training programme I follow it's something I only attempt once a month.

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NUMBERS FROM MY 'HEAVY' WEEK

 

Average bodyweight: 144

Best squat: 286

Best paused bench: 231

Best deadlift (pulled off 2 x plates) 440 *PB*

 

That was a good week Nutrition was decent, no problems with recovery and my mental & physical state was great. Only area that wasn't up to par was sleeping, I averaged 7hrs a night instead of my usual 8.5hrs.

 

Moving onto my deload week now, so just easier training and allowing my body to facilitate optimal recovery from last weeks heavy workload.

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THURSDAY 26th JANUARY

BODYWEIGHT: 145

TRAINING TIME: 4.15pm

DURATION: 50mins

COMMENTS: Again, another decent session. Strength was good, had more in the tank on squats

WEEK: HEAVY

RESTING PULSE RATE: 48

 

APPETITE: REALLY GOOD

PRE WO NUTRITION: 160g rolled oats & flaxseeds (soaked from the night before)

50g muesli

2 x scoops soy protein powder

1 x banana + handful of blueberries

450ml Alfalite milk (a milk substitute)

1 x tbsp organic blackstrap molasses & sprinkle of cinnamon

 

1 x double espresso (Inca FE organic coffee)

 

POST WO NUTRITION: Soy protein shake w 5g creatine, 3g Glutamine + 1 tsp greens (barley & wheat grass)

 

LEG EXTENSIONS

73 x 12

73 x 12

73 x 12

 

ATG SQUATS (SUITED)

BAR x 20

BAR x 12

88 x 10

110 x 10

132 x 6

176 x 4

220 x 3

242 x 1

264 x 1

275 x 1

 

SEATED CALF RAISES

0.5PPS x 12

0.75PPS x 12

1PPS x 12

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SATURDAY 28th JANUARY

BODYWEIGHT: 144

TRAINING TIME: 7.30pm

DURATION: 60mins

COMMENTS: BRUTAL. HANDS DOWN THOSE FINAL TWO SETS WERE THE HARDEST I HAVE EVER WORKED TO GET A LIFT.

WEEK: HEAVY

RESTING PULSE RATE: 46

 

APPETITE: GREAT

PRE WO NUTRITION: 600ml wtaer, 2 x nectarines, salad with a squeezed lemon, 1/2 cup of quinoa, onion + 3 x homemade vege sausages (see photo)

 

POST WO NUTRITION: Soy protein shake w 5g creatine, 3g Glutamine + 1 tsp greens (barley & wheat grass)

Large bowl of muesli, soy protein, 200ml AlfaLite + a banana

 

DEADLIFT NIGHT

 

8 x sets of DL's pulling from 2 x 20kg plates. Finished up on 440 which was a new PB for me. Pretty stoked with that, I wasn't leaving until I nailed that lift, even if it meant me being there until midnight. That's just the way I am.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35cGtqTRXkU

819149191_PreWO.jpg.d51db9f0cbf5a8c4a79e25a6113cfff7.jpg

Pre WO meal

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TUESDAY 31st JANUARY

BODYWEIGHT: 144

TRAINING TIME: 3.30pm

DURATION: 45mins

COMMENTS: No hanging around tonight. All very easy weight, no more than a minute rest between sets

WEEK: DELOAD

RESTING PULSE RATE: 48

 

APPETITE: REALLY GOOD

PRE WO NUTRITION: Lunch around 1pm, protein bar on the way to the gym and a double espresso (Inca FE organic coffee), served in my favourite cup

 

POST WO NUTRITION: Soy protein shake w 5g creatine, 3g Glutamine + 1 tsp greens (barley & wheat grass)

 

CHEST/ANCILLARY WORK

 

FLAT D.BELL PRESS

44 x 12

57 x 10

70 x 10

84 x 8

 

CGBP

88 x 10

110 x 8

132 x 8

154 x 8

 

CABLE PUSHDOWNS (ANGLED BAR)

44 x 12

44 x 12

55 x 12

66 x 10

 

BOTTOM POS. BENCH (SPEED WORK)

88 x 10

88 x 10

132 x 8

espresso.jpg.7b542d1a1503143a4da7d7f367657091.jpg

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THURSDAY 2nd FEBRUARY

BODYWEIGHT: 144.5

TRAINING TIME: 2.45pm

DURATION: 30mins

COMMENTS: Technique based session

WEEK: DELOAD

RESTING PULSE RATE: 46

 

APPETITE: CLYDESDALE

PRE WO NUTRITION:

 

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/forum/download/file.php?id=1436

 

600ml water, Spicey mushroom balls, vegetables, cashew nuts & coconut rice (from my favourite local restaurant)...

 

http://www.welcomecafe.co.nz/

 

POST WO NUTRITION: Soy protein shake w 5g creatine, 3g Glutamine + 1 tsp greens (barley & wheat grass)

 

SPEED DL's

110 x 8

110 x 8

132 x 8

132 x 8

 

** Really focused on driving through my feet and getting lots of drive from the quads in an effort try to take some of my lower back out of the movement

 

D.BELL SLDL's

57 x 10

66 x 10

 

LEG PRESS (CLOSE STANCE)

2PPS x 15

3PPS x 15

4PPS x 15

5PPS x 15

 

BAR HANGS

2 x 1min

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Got the latest issue of one of the mags I regularly read today, really informative and always has some good food ideas & recipes in there...

 

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/400031_10150535418178720_556433719_8936081_916825315_n.jpg

 

Looking forward to my parents arriving tomorrow from the UK, haven't seen them for nearly 3yrs! They're staying with us for 3wks, will be great. Shouldn't derail my training at all as I have 2wks off work from tomorrow woohoo

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Looking forward to my parents arriving tomorrow from the UK, haven't seen them for nearly 3yrs! They're staying with us for 3wks, will be great. Shouldn't derail my training at all as I have 2wks off work from tomorrow woohoo

 

Enjoy the time with your parents, mate! Three years is a long time.

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