Home Gym Extravaganza

Piece by piece, the home gym is coming together. I have the rack set up and it comes with a pullup bar and a removable dip attachment. Have been cranking out dips and pullups twice per week.

I ordered a bar and bunch of weight plates, but they are arriving slowly. Right now I have enough for overhead presses and stuff like curls and rows.

The idea is to get up to 400+ lbs. of weights so I can train most of my lifts at home. I'd still hit the globo gym once per week for heavy squats, shrugs, and pulls. Something about 500+ squats done at home scares the shit out of me, and heavy pulls are likely to cause floor damage, so I'd rather beat up someone else's equipment/facility if I have the option.

Dumbbells of the selectable sort were also purchased. I only ordered up to 50 lbs. as I don't anticipate ever going heavier than that on DB exercises.

I'm not following any particular program right now. Squats and pulls are strong, but my bench press strength has been all over the place. I've been experimenting a bit with setup, grip, and tempo. But it may be time to start another official training cycle and get back into the groove of things.

Squat - 485 lbs. x 3, followed by 505 lbs. x 3, which went smoothly.

Deadlift - pulled a massive 535 lbs. x 3 with a slightly messed-up back.

Bench press - usually a few sets of 315 lbs. x 5, have not gone over that number in a while.

Seated shoulder press -190 lbs. x 4. Weak.

Treading Water

Training volume has been low lately due to several reasons. One of them was 10 days of vacation, during which I lifted, but only sporadically. The other one was a mild bout of the plague.

It seems almost like defeat, having avoided getting sick for the past 4+ years. But all it meant is that I took some time off from the gym until my symptoms cleared up and used isometrics/bodyweight movements. Squatted 485x3 and 500x3 on my first day back, so I suppose that worked out all right.

I also moved houses about two weeks ago and my lower back and legs are still beat up from it. All I've been doing since the move are maintenance workouts. On the plus side, I'm finally realizing my lifelong dream of setting up a home gym. Rack, bar, and plates, nothing fancy. Keep your eyes peeled for the headline "man gruesomely mangled by barbell in own home".

Squat: 500 lbs. x 3, 525 lbs. x 1

Deadlift: 515 lbs. x 1

Reactive Slingshot bench press: 365 lbs. x 1, 385 lbs. x 1, 405 lbs. x 1, 415 lbs. x fail

Seated military press: 205 lbs. x 3, 215 lbs. x 2

Busy Time

Another squat/deadlift cycle down. This time I matched my all-time squat 1RM goal, but did not feel like trying for a deadlift record. Things have been hectic lately, but I'm still getting all scheduled workouts in.

My pressing is progressing nicely. Looks like I'm on track for a 390-395 lb. bench press at the end of this cycle.

Seated overhead press: 200 lbs. x 3 sets x 5, 205 lbs. x 4

Bench press: 335 lbs. x 3 sets x 5, 345 lbs. x 2 sets x 3, 350 lbs. x 4

Squat: 495 lbs. x 3, 550 lbs. x 1 (PR)

Front squat: 370 lbs. x 1 (PR)

Deadlift: 500 lbs. x 3, 525 lbs. x 2, 555 lbs. x 1

A Few New PRs

A pretty strong month of lifting overall. Isometrics are continuing to yield decent results, even in lifts I no longer train dynamically. A miracle for aging lifters who need to baby their joints a little.

Squat: 490 lbs. x 3, 505 lbs. x 1, 525 lbs. x 1, 545 lbs. x 1 (tied all-time PR)

Front squat: 275 lbs. x 3, 315 lbs. x 1, 335 lbs. x 1, 355 lbs. x 1 (PR)

Also had a close front squat fail with 365 lbs.

Seated overhead press: 190 lbs. x 2 sets x 5

Bench press: 320 lbs. x 3 sets x 6, 385 lbs. x 1

Of course I gave 395 a shot. Of course I didn't make it.

Incline bench press: 265 lbs. x 5, 310 lbs. x 1 (PR)

Deadlift: 520 lbs. x 2, 535 lbs. x 1, 570 lbs. x 1 (PR)

I made some adjustments to this 12-week bench press cycle. Substituted seated for standing overhead presses, and will be using these exclusively as my bench press assistance exercise. So instead of:

Day 1: standing OHP + close-grip BP

Day 2: regular BP + incline BP

I'll be doing:

Day 1: seated OHP (heavy) + CGBP

Day 2: regular BP + seated OHP (light)

Not 100% sure, but back when I did both seated and standing presses regularly I recall them being about the same. E.g. my all-time best standing press in 245 lbs. for a single, and I may have gotten 255x1 on the seated press. So I'm curious to see how it goes this time round.

I can't tell if the close-grip bench presses are doing anything for me. I use them as a light second BP day, but lately I've been wondering if they're just useless volume and if I wouldn't be better off dumping them altogether, focusing on going heavier on my regular BPs. Adding volume in general has been pretty much of a crapshoot for me when it comes to strength gains - sometimes it works, mostly it doesn't. I'll probably stick with CGBP for another training cycle at least.

Pulling

 Another squat/deadlift cycle down, another (significant) deadlift PR. I did not expect to improve much on 550, but 5 weeks later I've added another 15 lbs. After years of zero pulling progress, it feels almost too good to be true, but I'll take it.

I'm still working on the 12-week progression for the bench press. It's going mostly according to plan, I've started missing reps here and there as the weights get heavier, but that tracks with my previous experience with the program. Moving into two low-rep weeks, working up to a max single day on 13 August. If I had to predict a 1RM, it would be 380-385 lbs. We'll see how close I get.

Squats went okay, but I just couldn't hit the groove with front squats, so those were a bit disappointing. An abominably ugly 325 lb. single was my best effort.

Squat: 475 lbs. x 3, 495 lbs. x 2, 500 lbs. x 1, 510 lbs. x 1

Front squat: 325 lbs. x 1

Bench press: 350 lbs. x 2s x 3 (plus a double), 355 lbs. x 3, 365 lbs. x 2

Incline bench press: 270 lbs. x 2s x 5

Standing overhead press: 190 lbs. 3s x 5,  200 lbs. x 3

Deadlift: 505 lbs. x 2, 545 lbs. x 1, 565 lbs. x 1 (all-time PR)

Bodyweight was at 216 lbs. this week, lowest it's been in a while.

RIP Wei Ruis

On Monday morning, I put on my weightlifting shoes and headed over to the power rack to do some squatting. Immediately I tripped over something and stumbled. Looking down, I saw that the bottom of my left Wei Rui lifting shoe (rubber sole plus raised heel) had come almost entirely unglued and was hanging by a patch under my toes. Glad it didn't happen while I was walking out a heavy barbell from the rack. So the Wei Ruis went into the trash, marking the end of an era.

They had a good run. I bought them in October 2011, almost 11 years ago, and they're the only weightlifting shoes I ever owned. I might buy a replacement pair, but squatting in my thin-soled, $10 Everlast gym shoes actually felt better and way more solid. It even eliminated the knee pain I've been dealing with for a while. Maybe this is the year I discover that elevated-heel squats are not for me.

Lifting has been going well. I changed up my press training program and am not deloading (doing singles) every fifth week like before. Squat and deadlift, I follow the usual cycle of 4 weeks regular training, then one week of heavy (submaximal) singles.

Squat: 465 lbs. x 3, 485 lbs. x 2, 495 lbs. x 1, 505 lbs. x 1

Front squat: 275 lbs. x 3, 300 lbs. x 1, 320 lbs. x 1, 340 lbs. x 1 (PR)

Bench press: 325 lbs. 3 sets x 5

Incline bench press: 270 lbs. 2 sets x 5

Standing overhead press: 180 lbs. 2 sets x 6

I widened my grip a bit on overhead presses. For the past decade, I've been pressing from the rack or from stands, but have stuck with the narrow grip I used in my clean-and-press days. Which seems unnecessary. A wider grip lets me use more shoulder strength and less triceps, and alleviates some of the shoulder pain I've been dealing with on and off. All fairly basic logic, but it's funny how we tend to stick to ingrained patterns.

Deadlift: 465 lbs. x 3, 500 lbs. x 2, 510 lbs. x 2, 530 lbs. x 1, 550 lbs. x 1 (PR)

Back when I started lifting (seriously) for strength, I set 550 lbs. as my lifetime squat and deadlift goal. It was encouraging to finally hit this number on one of the lifts. Squatting 550 is not a realistic goal anymore, but I feel like I have a few more pounds to squeeze out of the deadlift. Either way, it feels good to still be setting PRs at this geriatric lifting age.

Interrupted

Won't get to complete this training cycle, as I'm taking the next three weeks off for travel.

I've decided to tweak my bench and overhead press training a bit, and will move to a more sets x reps approach when I come back. It's a 12-week routine I've used with decent success in the past, going from sets of six to a 1RM in a gradual progression. Squats and deadlifts will be trained as usual, with regular deload/low volume weeks.

Some recent highlights:

Squat: 485 lbs. x 3, 490 lbs. x 3

Standing overhead press: 150 lbs x 11, 170 lbs. x 9, 190 lbs. x 4

Bench press: 325 lbs. x 8, 345 lbs. x 2

Incline bench press: 240 lbs. x 2 sets x 6

Deadlift: 475 lbs. x 2, 480 lbs. x 2, 500 lbs. x 2

It feels like I'm getting better at reps on the bench press, but my heavy sets have stalled almost completely. This new routine should shake things up a bit.

Lifting Weights and Ruminations

First full cycle down after I restarted weight training in March. There are some strength losses across the board, but nothing dramatic.

I also took some time to assess my training goals going forward. Not ready to give up working toward PRs yet, but it's no longer the focal point. For me, a personal record is the maximum weight I have ever lifted for a single complete rep. I.e. not adjusted my lifts for age, bodyweight, speed, or number of repetitions (e.g. "three-rep max"), as I don't see the point in that. However, I also no longer see a point in basing my workouts around glacially slow 1RM increases. Progressive resistance is the name of the game, but max singles are not the only progression in town.

"Getting older" is often blamed for slowing/ceasing gains, but that's never made much sense to me. A seventy-year-old who takes up lifting weights for the first time ever will build considerable muscle size and strength. It seems to boil down to reaching one's "genetic potential". After 10-12 years of correct, hard training and decent nutrition, you'll have built all the strength and size your body has the ability to build. From there, you have two options: anabolic steroids, or getting sloppy-fat to keep lifting heavier weights (and deluding yourself the lard gain is really muscle). Neither of those options seem particularly attractive to me.

Without formulating any kind of bullshit theory or philosophy about working out (BTW anyone who uses the term "weight training philosophy" ought to be slapped upside the head), here are some general guidelines I have settled on. None of these are new or different - I've been working out like this for the past 5-6 years at least.

• Base the workout around compound barbell lifts with a strength focus.
• Assistance exercises are done for high reps - I use a modified version of DoggCrapp sets, i.e. try to hit 20 reps with two rest-pauses. When I can do more than 20 reps, I increase the weight by 5 lbs., but am not slavish about the weight progression.
• Add some pump work at the very end, as applicable.
• Pullups get their own day, and are paired with biceps.
• Isometrics are done as a warmup, for assistance work, and sometimes as stand-alone sets.
• Focus on low-intensity cardio - daily walking, jogging once, and sprinting/jumping once per week.

PRs are welcome when they happen, but no longer the focus.

The cycle itself went well. My shoulders seem to have magically healed, or maybe it's just that the pain has migrated into my right knee. I've brought in my grip for close-grip bench presses, and now lift considerably less weight, but feel like I'm hitting the triceps more.

Squat: 405 lbs. x 5, 425 lbs. x 5, 475 lbs. x 3, 500 lbs. x 1.

Front squat: 275 lbs. x 3, 320 lbs. x 1

Overhead press: 165 lbs. x 10, 185 lbs. x 4, 205-215-225 lbs x 1

Deadlift: 405 lbs. x 5, 470 lbs. x 2, 505 lbs. x 1, 525 lbs. x 1

Bench press: 320 lbs. x 9, 340 lbs. x 4, 355 lbs. x 1, failed with 365 and 375 lbs.

Close-grip bench press: 315 lbs. x 1

Incline bench press: 275 lbs. x 1, 295 lbs. x 1

At least now I know that I can fail heavy bench press attempts safely in the rack?

Bodyweight dipped slightly to 218 lbs. this week, and stayed fairly consistent.