Strength in Interesting Places

[Endo]

^^^ That guy is fucking gross. I don't know why anyone would want that as a result from training.

 

[JauntyAngle]

^^^ That guy is fucking gross. I don't know why anyone would want that as a result from training.

Isn't he one of those guys who injects his muscles with some stuff to make them temporarily abnormally large? I can't remember what they call he practice or the substance. But yeah, it is fucking gross.

 

[Endo]

I have no idea. I know he's famous for his in handcuffs pic, but I wonder if he actually did any time for his use.

 

[Justice 4 All]

Probably thinking of Synthol Jaunty.

I remember watching a documentary about that dude. He was a steroid dealer, and injected some shit into his muscles daily. He said a couple of times he would re-use needles, or drop them on the floor and use them anyway. To no suprise one day his bicep got infected and really swollen full of puss. He tried to remove the puss himself with a scalpal, but failed miserably. Now he has a nasty huge scar on that precious bicep of his...

He's also in jail I think atm.

 

[Endo]

They had him in the movie Bigger Stronger Faster, where he discussed his use, and reuse of needles. The guy is a fucking moron for sure.

 

[JauntyAngle]

Kabul: Smolov Jr Bench Cycle, Week 2 Day 2

Warmup Sun Salutation Bx3, C2 Rower 2 minutes
Squat 94kg x5, x5, x4
Bench 71kg x5, x5, x5, x5, x5, x5, x5 (7*5@ 75% of 1RM+5kg)
Inverted rows x10, x10, x10, x10, x10
Abs Abs purgatory, upto 8 reps
Warmdown Some half-assed yoga to release the back, stretch hamstrings and shoudlers a bit.

Notes:

* Squats were better, as I suspected, I was leaning forward too much too early, and that was cutting off the squats only just below parallel. Today I kept upright a little longer, and got much better depth. Tiring though- the 4th rep of the final set was a real battle.
* Bench was fine. As with a lot of my benching during Smolov so far, it hasn't felt heavy going up, but especially for the first few sets it has felt somehow unstable. Don't know why.
* Overall, it was a lot like a proper workout today. Fun.

 

[dinpappa]

What is abs purgatory?

 

[JauntyAngle]

What is abs purgatory?

It's a silly name for an ab exercise I do sometimes: you do raised-leg crunches (knees are up, your thighs 90 degrees to the ground, shins parallel), do 1 crunch, then rest for one breath, without lowering your legs, then do 2 crunches, then rest for two breaths without lowering your legs, then 3... and so on until you can't go on. It is brutal. Once you get to higher reps, after the crunches when you sit back, your abs are screaming at you, wanting you to put your legs down. When I really push it, when I am finally done, I often roll over in pain and groan loudly. It's the lack of rest- the fact that even while recovering from the crunches your abs are partly engaged. I think it's the hardest ab exercise I know.

 

[dinpappa]

It's a silly name for an ab exercise I do sometimes: you do raised-leg crunches (knees are up, your thighs 90 degrees to the ground, shins parallel), do 1 crunch, then rest for one breath, without lowering your legs, then do 2 crunches, then rest for two breaths without lowering your legs, then 3... and so on until you can't go on. It is brutal. Once you get to higher reps, after the crunches when you sit back, your abs are screaming at you, wanting you to put your legs down. When I really push it, when I am finally done, I often roll over in pain and groan loudly. It's the lack of rest- the fact that even while recovering from the crunches your abs are partly engaged. I think it's the hardest ab exercise I know.

Sounds brutal, i love it, gonna give it a try

 

[LitteringAnd]

Smolov Jr Bench Cycle, Week 2 Day 2

I have read a little on the smolov for squats, but was unaware that it can be done on other lifts. Can this be done on any of the compound lifts, and is it done the same way as squats. I tried asking my friend google, but he did not seem to know.

 

[JauntyAngle]

I have read a little on the smolov for squats, but was unaware that it can be done on other lifts. Can this be done on any of the compound lifts, and is it done the same way as squats. I tried asking my friend google, but he did not seem to know.

For lifts other than squats, you do Smolov Junior. It is like the base cycle of Smolov, but easier. But yes you can do it with any of the compound lifts. Although probably doing it with DL would be a bad idea.

 

[LitteringAnd]

Although probably doing it with DL would be a bad idea.

My next question is answered.

 

[JauntyAngle]

Squatrack-a-go-go in Kabul

Great news!

The head of the firm I worked for here promised that he would get a squat rack for the gym in my guest house if we won a bid we were going in for (that I was down as team leader for). We won the bid, and true to his word, we got the squat rack- it arrives in a few hours. (I work for a good firm, obviously.)

This means that I can re-rack the bar safely (no walking backwards and sitting down onto the edge of the bench), and have safety bars.

Pics to follow!

 

[Bumbaclaat]

i

 

[Endo]

All of that benching volume is definitely going to pay off... Honestly, that's the one lift that I find higher volume typically leads to better gains. Same with higher volume repetitions; when I had my biggest bench, I would often bench 4x10, with the occasional low rep sub-maximal sets.

I personally, have my newest self-designed program running 3-4x8 @ lower intensities first training day, and sets of very heavy singles, doubles and triples on my 3rd training day. I imagine I'll see some pretty decent gains from it, but I haven't been back long enough to see the benefits, yet.

I'm hoping to be back in the 400's by this time next year.

 

[dinpappa]

Congratulations! Must be nice finally getting a squat rack

 

[JauntyAngle]

I'm hoping to be back in the 400's by this time next year.

400s! Holy Cow! I just want to bench 200+ for reps. Once I get to that level I don't really care what happens- I'll be pretty happy.

But, yes, I do think I need a lot of volume to increase my bench- or a lot of assistance.

 

[JauntyAngle]

Congratulations! Must be nice finally getting a squat rack

Yeah, it's great! Can't wait for my next squats.

 

[calvus]

Congrats on the Squat Rack, Jaunty!!

 

[Endo]

400s! Holy Cow! I just want to bench 200+ for reps. Once I get to that level I don't really care what happens- I'll be pretty happy.

200? Why stop there?

Yeah, I benched 410 several years ago, but I got injured because of stupidity, and stayed out of the gym for too long. So now, I can no longer do it. But, I can get about 300 now with a healthy wrist. I was doing 250 for reps before I crashed on my skateboard. Its been a month and a half, but its still not 100%. I should be good as new in about a month, and I'm hoping for a minimum of 375 by summer of next year.

But, yes, I do think I need a lot of volume to increase my bench- or a lot of assistance.

In my opinion, the best way to increase your bench, is to bench more. For me, it always seems like I make progress, and it just never ends. That's my lift that I've never capped out on. I've had slow times, but I've never really been stuck. Sometimes I restart my bench from 135 and work my way back up, but that's about the extent of it. Granted, I benched 3x a week more often then not, so my bench saw gains that most see with squats, because of their consistency, and drive to always have more.

For assistance work:
-If your issue is coming off your chest, then you could try rack lockouts. I've never personally done them, but I hear that they work. In fact, EliteFTS had an article dedicated to the exercise.

-If you're having issues with your lockout (and this is where most do have issues), heavy tricep work is a great way to overcome this. Weighted dips, tricep pull-downs, close-grip bench, OHP, board presses, etc.. Do them.

Fun fact: When I was pressing my strongest, I had a tricep PD of 120x4x10 all day, and could easily pull 150x4x6.