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Mephistopholes's (bobby's) Training Log


Mephistopholes

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My name is Bobby, Mephistopholes to the internet world. I will start keeping a training log on here, probably today, but I thought I should provide a little explanation.

I started training because I wanted to be strong as hell. Still do. I start training grip specifically as a way to aid me in that quest, and currently it still very much holds that status... But, like most people on here, I've become a gripaholic, and so over the last year I've found grip work becoming more and more dominant in my training. I like it because it is hard, it is challenging, and it has a very old school feel about it. I started out after reading "Dinosaur Training" and that still forms the basic template of how I train.

I'm better at grip lifts than I am at grippers, particularly with odd, thick objects. But, just last week, I finally closed the #2.5, so I'm making progress.

I've only recently gotten into blobs but I really like them. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to get a big 50lber right now.

I just recently acquired an axle. I love it. haha

I used to do bending, but kind of got out of that after some injuries... maybe I'll get back into it sometime though.

Alright, that's enough of that, if you've got some questions, just ask me.

Stay Tuned,

Bobby

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Great to see you keeping a log here.

Thanks! I'll post some stuff later today.

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Oh, and I am 6'5" and currently weigh 210ish lbs.... Just thought I should put that up.

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Saturday, 10-27-12

Indian Club Warm Up

3" Dumbbell Alternating Clean and Press- 50 x 3, 60 x 3.

Keg Clean and Press (180 is a new weight for me, so did good to get it up once.)

180 x 1, fail on 2nd attempt

170 x 5 singles

3" Dumbbell Alternating Clean and Press- (work sets) 70 x 3, 70 x 3, 70 x 3.

Coc Grippers - (Good progress for me here.)

Left: T x 5, #1 x 5, #1.5 x 3, #2 x 1, failed 2nd attempt.

10 sec strap holds: (+5lbs) #1.5 x 2 singles, (+2.5lbs) #1.5 x 2 singles

Right: T x 5, #1 x 5, #2 x 3, # 2.5 x 5 singles (held for 5 seconds each.)

Attempt at #3: 1 past parallel. Good.

28lb Blob work (blob made to 30lb dimensions)

Cleans x 10, each hand

Face cleans x 10, each hand

Carry: (didn't do as much carrying as I normally would, the cleans left my hands sapped.)

regular: 1 around peremiter of yard, each hand.

face: 3/4 around perimeter of yard, each hand.

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Sunday 10-28-12 at YMCA

(did alot of 5 rep sets today... I don't know why. 3 really is my magic number.)

Oly Squats- 100 x 5, 140 x 5, 185 x 5, 185 x 5, 185 x 4

Axle DO deadlift and shrug- 165 x 5, 215 x 5, 255 x 5, 255 x 5, 255 x 3

Anvil Horn lift-

Left: 100 x 3, 115 x 3, 130 x 3, 145 x 3, 140 x 3, 140 x 3

Right: 100 x 3, 115 x 3, 130 x 3, 145 x 3, 140 x 3, 140 x 3

Carry: 90 x 1, each hand, down and back to end of gym.

Now, before you say anything about my squat numbers, they are embarassingly low right now. I previously was squatting in the low 400s from parallel, but my knees were starting to get kind of creaky, and my "parallel" depth was getting hard to judge. So, I thought I'd start doing Olympic style squats, and this is my second time doing them. On the upside, my knees actually feel great after this, but because I'm not used to going that low, my numbers are pretty low right now, and my legs are SUPER sore. But, I'll get the poundages back up there before too long, I know.

Also, I really wanted to do a death set with the DO Axle deads today, but again, the legs... They weren't going to let me go that long.

My anvil numbers are down a little bit too, but that's okay. For a long time I've only trained using singles, but I've started to burn out on those, so I'm dropping my weight back and training with low rep sets and static holds. Just gotta keep my momentum.

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The idea behind the deadlift and shrug was to A) get me doing shrugs again, because i don't have time to do them on their own, and B) to introduce a static component to the lift and force me to hang on to it longer.

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NOTE: those oly squat numbers should be 190, not 185. Forgot to adjust for the bar weight.

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Tuesday, 10-30-12, at the YMCA

Legs still really sore and stiff

Axle Military Press- 75 x 3, 105 x 3, 125 x 3, 150 x 3, 150 x 3, 150 x 3.

Deadlifts- 230 x 3, 280 x 3, 320 x 3, 395 x 3, 395 x 3, 395 x 3.

Axle Rows - 125 x 3, 160 x 3, 190 x 3, 190 x 3, 190 x 3.

Axle Curls - 75 x 3, 95 x 3, 115 x 3 (STOP. Wrist pain!)

Hub -

Left- 30 x 3, 35 x 3, 40 x 3, 45 x 3, 45 x 3, 45 x 3.

Right- 30 x 3, 35 x 3, 40 x 3, 45 x 3, 45 x 3, 45 x 3.

Carry: 40 x 1 across gym floor and back, each hand.

Today went well, considering my legs are still super sore. That made my last deadlift a real bear though. In all of these lifts, I have dropped back my weight and am working back up with 3 rep sets, as I found I was burning out on singles. My previous max with the Hub was 55lbs, so hopefully I'll be back there soon. The hub lifting went easy, so I think I'll work back up in weight quickly.I tried axle curling today, first time I've tried curling with any sort of barbell in a while (normally I use dumbbells) and it was no-go. About a year ago I hurt my right wrist, and ever since then, that underhand position just makes it act up and hurt, which sucks. But, it doesn't do that with dumbbell curls, so I'll have to go back to those. Same reason I don't do sledge levering anymore.

Edited by Mephistopholes
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Thursday, 11-1-12, at the YMCA

Axle Clean and Push Press- 75 x 3, 105 x 3, 135 x 3, 165 x 5 singles.

Oly squats- crap. Not even gonna post it. I'll explain at the end.

Rolling Thunder:

Left- 120 x 3, 140 x 3, 155 x 3, 167.5 x 3, 165 x 3, 165 x 3.

Right- 120 x 3, 140 x 3, 160 x 3, 172.5 x 3, 170 x 3, 170 x 3.

Carry- 97.5 x 1, each hand, down and back across gym.

I'm new to the Push-press (this is my second time doing it) but I really like the lift. I know I can do more, but I'm starting low and working up to get used to the form. I think that this lift is probably best done for singles, just like with the keg press, because there is so much involved in it.

Rolling Thunder went well, I'm working back up in weight with the 3 rep sets, and I think the carry work is helping.

I wanted to do Bottom position Axle benching today and axle cleans, but cut my workout short because of the time wasted doing crappy oly squats. My form with the oly squats is just so bad, I was leaning wayyyy forward when doing them. In order to get the form right, I'm going to have to drop my weight down with these way farther than I want to, and I'm worried that will result in loss of strength and mass. They were a fun experiment, but I think what I will do instead is start doing parallel squats from the bottom position. These will force me to squat from parallel, which was something I was having a problem with before. Of course, they will be harder, and I'll still have to drop my weight back, but I won't have to take it back as far, and I should be able to work back up relatively quickly, and keep good form doing it. And once I've got back up "in range" with the squats, I'll be that much stronger for doing them this way. Thoughts, anyone?

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Also, must've jammed my thumb or something. Not sure what happened, but it's rather sore.

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Saturday, 11-3-12, at home

Indian Club Warmup

3" dumbell alternating clean and press (warmup)- 50 x 3, 60 x 3

Keg Clean and Press-

FULL + 10lbs = 180lbs - 1 single, second attempt stuck at chest

FULL = 170lbs - 8 singles

Coc Grippers

Left- T x 5, #1 x 5, #1.5 x 3, #2 x 1, close on second attempt.

(10 second strap holds) -

#1.5 + 5lbs x 1,

#1.5 + 7.5lbs x 2 singles, 3rd attempt.

#1.5 + 5lbs x 2 singles, 3rd attempt.

Right - T x 5, #1 x 5, #2 x 3, #2.5 x 5 singles.

(10 second strap holds) -

#2 + 7.5lbs x 1

#2 + 10lbs x 3

Today turned out alright. Got that 180 up again on the keg, which is good, but I need to be doing more singles with it. What I need is to get another keg to fill with sand (this one is filled with water). Since the one I have currently is full, I've been adding weight to it by bungee chording/ duck taping plates to it, but this actually makes the lift even more awkward I think, because the plate isn't moving quite with the rest of the keg...

Skipped doing any blob work and any real work with the 3" dumbell today, my left thumb still hurts a little from whatever I did to it the other day and I that wide grip stuff was aggravating it. It will be better by Tuesday though...

Instead, I spent some extra time working with the keg and with grippers. My right hand wasn't feeling 100% today so I wasn't able to hold the #2.5 closed for 10 seconds like I was planning on today, I was only able to get it closed for a couple seconds, but that is still doing pretty good, and the strap holds went well.

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Right hand may have felt tired because it probably had to squeeze extra hard when keg lifting to make up for my left thumb deficit.

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Sunday, 11-4-12 at the YMCA

Bottom position parallel squats - 140 x 5, 190 x 5, 230 x 3, 230 x 3, 230 x 3.

DO Axle Deadlift and Shrug - 175 x 5, 225 x 5, 265 x 3, 265 x 3, 265 x 3, (just shrugs) 265 x 6.

Dumbell curls- 45 x 3, 50 x 3, 55 x 3, 55 x 3, 55 x 3 left and 2 right, 50 x 3 just right.

Anvil Horn-

Left- 100 x 3, 115 x 3, 130 x 3, 145 x 1 dropped, 142.5 x 3, 142.5 x 2.

Right- 100 x 3, 115 x 3, 130 x 3, 145 x 1 dropped, 142.5 x 2.5, 140 x 1.

Carry - 90 x 1, 100 x 1, each hand across gym floor down and back.

Went alright today. I like these bottom position squats and my form is much better with them, so I'll start working my way back up. DO axle deads went well. Thought I'd throw in some curls for the heck of it...

Anvil didn't go as well as I wanted, but it wasn't terrible I suppose. Yesterday I did more gripper work than I normally would have, and later in the evening, at the urging of some friends, I tried to roll up a frying pan... didn't complete it, but I think I did good for someone who has never tried it before haha. Anyway, my hands were pretty tired after trying that. Actually did better on the anvil carry then I have before though. Today I tried carrying the weight in front of me instead of to the side and it made it alot more manageable. Walking was a little weird, but the weight wasn't slamming into my leg like it does when I try and carry it on the side.

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Tuesday 11-6-12, at the YMCA

Axle Military Press- 75 x 3, 105 x 3, 130 x 3, 155 x 3, 150 x 3, 150 x 3.

Deadlifts - 230 x 3, 320 x 3, 370 x 3, 400 x 3, 400 x 3, 400 x 3.

Axle Bottom position Bench Press- 135 x 3, 160 x 3, 185 x 2, 175 x 3, 175 x 3.

Axle Rows- 135 x 3, 165 x 3, 195 x 3, 195 x 3, 195 x 3.

Hub-

Left- 30 x 3, 35 x 3, 40 x 3, 47.5 x 2, 45 x 3, 45 x 3.

Right- 30 x 3, 35 x 3, 40 x 3, 47.5 x 3, 47.5 x 3, 47.5 x 3.

Carry- 42.5 x 1 down across gym floor, back with the other hand. 40 x 1 the same.

Good workout today, working back up with my deadlifts, and doing the 3 rep approach again with the military press. I'll add a heavy set each time until I get three, and then add five pounds to the first set, and cycle like that. Same with the hub. My left thumb still wasn't feeling perfect, but I managed. I gotta keep moving if I'm ever gonna outlift Juha the Gripmonster on anything haha. And no, I'm really not the best at bench pressing, but for me it is an assistance lift at this point anyway...

At the grocery store today, some guy tried to start a fight with me over a parking spot. After I'd left the store. People. Ridiculous.

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Holy crap everybody, holy crap. I can now actually buy jeans that fit! Woooooo. Some of you may not understand how awesome this is, but up until now I've always been too slim for my height, forcing me to buy jeans that are too short. But now I've thickened up enough around the trunk to be able to buy a size that is long enough and fits at the waist. I'm just... So excited.

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Thursday 11-8-12 at the YMCA

Axle Push Press- 85 x 3, 110 x 3, 140 x 3, 170 x 5 singles.

Bottom Position Parallel Squats- 140 x 5, 195 x 5, 235 x 3, 235 x 3, 235 x 1.

Axle cleans - 170 x 3.

Dumbbell clean and press- 55 x 3, 65 x 3, 75 x 2, 70 x 3, 70 x 3.

Rolling Thunder

Left- 120 x 3, 140 x 3, 155 x 3, 167.5 x 1, 165 x 2, 165 x 3.

Right- 120 x 3, 140 x 3, 160 x 3, 172.5 x 2, 170 x 3, 170 x 2.

Carry- 105 x 1 down and back across gym floor, each hand.

Getting more used to the technique of the Push Press. I really love this lift, its just all brute force. Still under par with the weight, working up...

I need to figure out what to do about the squat situation. I can squat from the 3/4 bottom position just fine, but below that, my hip joints feel like rusty hinges. But I can deadlift just fine... So maybe either go back to 3/4 squats, or deadlift more? Thoughts, anybody?

Those axle cleans... Oof. Tough stuff. Of course, I probably shouldn't have tried to rep a weight that I normally only use for singles. haha... Next time I'll use less weight.

RT didn't go as well as I would have hoped today. I was running out of steam, and I think those Axle cleans didn't help the situation. haha.

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Saturday 11-10-12 at home

Indian Club Warmup

3" Dumbbell clean and press - 50 x 3, 60 x 3

Keg Press - 180 x nope

170 x 1, quit, super lightheaded and seeing spots...

3" Dumbbell Push Press - 70 x 3, 80 x 3, 80 x 5.

Coc Grippers

Left- T x 5, #1 x 5, # 1.5 x 3, #2 x nope. (strapholds): #1.5 (+10) x nope, #1.5 (+7.5) x nope, #1.5 (+5) x 1.

Right T x 5, #1 x 5, #2 x 3, #2.5 x nope. (Strapholds): #2 (+10) x 1, #2 (+12.5) x 1, #2 (+10) x nope.

Blob- 28lbs

Carry- once around yard, each hand.

Deadlift- (each hand) +10 x 1, +15 x 1, +20 x 1, +25 x1 (53lbs!) +30 x got air...

Card tearing- made a full deck!

Today was a work out of ups and down. Keg lifting went like crap. I got light headed on the press, and when that happens, I call it quits. It just saps me of energy for that lift and I don't want to get hurt.

The 3" dumbell push press was fun, but those cleans are brutal. I actually did better here than I thought I would (my left thumb is still sore for whatever reason, making this hard), and I feel like I could have done more weight, but I ran out of room on the handle. I need to drill more holes in it (it uses a nut and bolt to keep the weights in place... kinda sucks).

Grippers were crappy. My hands were real slow and sore today from what I did Thursday. Instead of letting myself rest, I was bored and experiemented with ripping up cards and phonebooks Thursday... so yeah, you live with the consequences. haha.

I just wanted to carry the blob to keep the feel for it, but I thought "what the heck" and decided to do some deadlift work with it, which I never do witht the blob. Actually went really well. Even though the 50lb blob is much bigger than the 30lb blob I have, I honestly feel that I could lift it, given the chance. This sort of stuff just comes very natural to me. Unfortunately, I don't have a 50lb blob...

On the upside, I was messing around with card tearing today, and after going through parts of 3 packs, I thought I'd give a full pack a go, and I was successful! Granted, it wasn't as fast or clean as it "should" be, but It was a first time, so I think it went well. Makes me feel good. When I can do the feat better, I will take a video of it.

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Strong work dude. Have you ever tried drop sets for grippers? I made my best gains using gripper drop sets. I over did them though and developed some elbow tendinitis so I only recommend doing them for a month at a time. The gains came so quickly that I just kept doing them. I cycle them into my training routine now and haven't had tendinitis since. I also do extensor work and I believe that has helped me be able to push myself while keeping tendinitis away.

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Strong work dude. Have you ever tried drop sets for grippers? I made my best gains using gripper drop sets. I over did them though and developed some elbow tendinitis so I only recommend doing them for a month at a time. The gains came so quickly that I just kept doing them. I cycle them into my training routine now and haven't had tendinitis since. I also do extensor work and I believe that has helped me be able to push myself while keeping tendinitis away.

Thanks man, I'm always trying to push myself :)

No I haven't tried drop sets... You'll have to excuse me here though, I'm not sure I know what they are exactly. Haha. Could you explain?

And yeah, I do extensor work like 3 times a day as rehab/recovery work. I just don't bother logging it.

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Strong work dude. Have you ever tried drop sets for grippers? I made my best gains using gripper drop sets. I over did them though and developed some elbow tendinitis so I only recommend doing them for a month at a time. The gains came so quickly that I just kept doing them. I cycle them into my training routine now and haven't had tendinitis since. I also do extensor work and I believe that has helped me be able to push myself while keeping tendinitis away.

Thanks man, I'm always trying to push myself :)

No I haven't tried drop sets... You'll have to excuse me here though, I'm not sure I know what they are exactly. Haha. Could you explain?

And yeah, I do extensor work like 3 times a day as rehab/recovery work. I just don't bother logging it.

Chez's workout log has a ton of examples...but here's an informative link.

http://www.dieselcrew.com/gripper-training-gripper-drop-sets

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start out by doing some warm up sets with lighter grippers. 4 or 5 sets of warm up sets pyramiding up in gripper strength and doing 3 to 10 reps depending on how easy those grippers are for you. Then jump to working sets.

For the working sets pick the hardest gripper you own that allows you to get 1-3 reps. Use this gripper for the first set and get 1-3 reps. Lets say you get 3 reps. Use it again for the next set. Lets say you get 1 rep this time. If you are unable to get 1 rep with this gripper for the next set, drop to your next heaviest gripper and get 1-3 reps for the next set and then drop down again when your unable to get this rep range with this gripper. Keep repeating this for your working sets. anywhere from 5-10 working sets depending on how much you can handle. Probably start with 5 working sets until your hands adapt to the work load. I treat gripper training like power lifting. 1-3 reps works best for me to gain power. 5 reps and above feels like more endurance to me. Everyone is different, but this works for me. Give it shot since it might work for you as well. There are other techniques that I use as well. You gotta experiment and see what your hands respond best to.

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Strong work dude. Have you ever tried drop sets for grippers? I made my best gains using gripper drop sets. I over did them though and developed some elbow tendinitis so I only recommend doing them for a month at a time. The gains came so quickly that I just kept doing them. I cycle them into my training routine now and haven't had tendinitis since. I also do extensor work and I believe that has helped me be able to push myself while keeping tendinitis away.

Thanks man, I'm always trying to push myself :)

No I haven't tried drop sets... You'll have to excuse me here though, I'm not sure I know what they are exactly. Haha. Could you explain?

And yeah, I do extensor work like 3 times a day as rehab/recovery work. I just don't bother logging it.

Chez's workout log has a ton of examples...but here's an informative link.

http://www.dieselcrew.com/gripper-training-gripper-drop-sets

Ooooh that makes sense. I sort of do that, but not as deliberately I gues... but today it really was a no-go. After the last failed strap holds I could barely even close the working grippers by themselves. I might try this in some form soon though. Maybe with declining weight on strap holds...

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start out by doing some warm up sets with lighter grippers. 4 or 5 sets of warm up sets pyramiding up in gripper strength and doing 3 to 10 reps depending on how easy those grippers are for you. Then jump to working sets.

For the working sets pick the hardest gripper you own that allows you to get 1-3 reps. Use this gripper for the first set and get 1-3 reps. Lets say you get 3 reps. Use it again for the next set. Lets say you get 1 rep this time. If you are unable to get 1 rep with this gripper for the next set, drop to your next heaviest gripper and get 1-3 reps for the next set and then drop down again when your unable to get this rep range with this gripper. Keep repeating this for your working sets. anywhere from 5-10 working sets depending on how much you can handle. Probably start with 5 working sets until your hands adapt to the work load. I treat gripper training like power lifting. 1-3 reps works best for me to gain power. 5 reps and above feels like more endurance to me. Everyone is different, but this works for me. Give it shot since it might work for you as well. There are other techniques that I use as well. You gotta experiment and see what your hands respond best to.

Interesting. Yeah I'll have to check that out.

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