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Guest Bullitt

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Grippers in chokers are really coming around. Closed a much bigger gripper than I have EVER closed today. Did it twice choked slightly wider than parallel. Hopefully I can keep this progress up until Gripmas.

Tried the one arm, thumbless, oly deadlift tonight. 240# was my max. Big respect Ben! :bow . Pulled 280 with thumb, which is slightly down from my PR of 285.

Finished off with a bunch of sledge levering and deadlifting. Just hoping I don't embarass myself with these at Gripmas.

Great pull on your first effort Mike! 240lbs is serious stuff. 220lbs is considered a dang good lift actually. What was the calibration on the gripper you closed in the choker? Or are you keeping it close to your chest because of the contest? That's okay too. :D

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Guest Bullitt

Grippers in chokers are really coming around. Closed a much bigger gripper than I have EVER closed today. Did it twice choked slightly wider than parallel. Hopefully I can keep this progress up until Gripmas.

Tried the one arm, thumbless, oly deadlift tonight. 240# was my max. Big respect Ben! :bow . Pulled 280 with thumb, which is slightly down from my PR of 285.

Finished off with a bunch of sledge levering and deadlifting. Just hoping I don't embarass myself with these at Gripmas.

Great pull on your first effort Mike! 240lbs is serious stuff. 220lbs is considered a dang good lift actually. What was the calibration on the gripper you closed in the choker? Or are you keeping it close to your chest because of the contest? That's okay too. :D

Thanks Ben. I tried 295 with the thumb, but I barely hovered it before it spun out.

On the gripper, I'm having a little trouble remembering right now. Maybe 160 or so? :whistel:inno

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Mike, I gave the 300lb reps in one minute a shot yesterday....only pulled two reps and dropped it on the 3rd.

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Guest Bullitt

Nice job Chuck!!! :mosher

Hit 2HP today on the 54mm pinch block. Never felt right.

102.7 X 3 reps

137.7 X 1

172.7 X miss?, X 1

192.7 X miss?, X 1

202.7 X miss

One Arm Axle DL: Not bad.

110 X 3

180 X 1

200 X 1

205 X air, X air

230 X 2 negatives

Probably time to start chillin a little before Gripmas. My thumb skin where I tore it 3 times is still tender, my lower back is hurting, and I feel pretty overtrained at this point. With 15 days to go, I may just work grippers and sledge a couple more times and just hope I don't embarass myself. Not like I'm going to finish top 3 anyway. :laugh

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Nice job Chuck!!! :mosher

Hit 2HP today on the 54mm pinch block. Never felt right.

102.7 X 3 reps

137.7 X 1

172.7 X miss?, X 1

192.7 X miss?, X 1

202.7 X miss

One Arm Axle DL: Not bad.

110 X 3

180 X 1

200 X 1

205 X air, X air

230 X 2 negatives

Probably time to start chillin a little before Gripmas. My thumb skin where I tore it 3 times is still tender, my lower back is hurting, and I feel pretty overtrained at this point. With 15 days to go, I may just work grippers and sledge a couple more times and just hope I don't embarass myself. Not like I'm going to finish top 3 anyway. :laugh

Looks like it's time to start your taper - I always figured it was better to come in over rested than over trained.

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Rest up from that and you'l definitely be stronger. Tried the 300# DO Axle pulls on Wed at the end of the workout and didn't even get 1 Hahaha! I'll try them before I get into everything else next time and see what I can do. Those are pretty impressive 1 handed numbers. Good going!

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#160 indeed sounds like a wild guess. :laugh

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Guest Bullitt

Very good numbers all around Mike! Nice gripper numbers too man! I totally believe that 160ish guess. :laugh

#160 indeed sounds like a wild guess. :laugh

Yea, that was probably a little high. maybe 150. :shifty

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Guest Bullitt

Just grippers today. Pretty happy with it after the hard pinch and axle workout I did yesterday.

Lefty: worked up to a couple closes with my easy #3.

Righty:

Warmups, then...

3 attempts at the 178# 3.5 that I got from Sam Solomi. All between an 1/8th and a 1/4.

here was my best attempt:

Then I choked it to parallel and played with it there for awhile.

Then a triple BFN on it and called it quits.

Edited by Bullitt
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Just grippers today. Pretty happy with it after the hard pinch and axle workout I did yesterday.

Lefty: worked up to a couple closes with my easy #3.

Righty:

Warmups, then...

3 attempts at the 178# 3.5 that I got from Sam Solomi. All between an 1/8th and a 1/4.

here was my best attempt:

Then I choked it to parallel and played with it there for awhile.

Then a triple BFN on it and called it quits.

Nice attempt with that 178#3.5...You're heading straight for the 180 scale!

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Guest Bullitt

Thanks big fella!

Decided to start pressing again, or I'll never get to 300. Kept it light because I had nobody to spot me and I figured I needed to start slow again. Plus my bench sucks for liftoff. Very low pins and it is a pain to get heavy weight off there by myself. I would guestimate I'm back to where i was before the last bench cycle I did. Probably a 270 - 275 max.

BarX20

95X6

135X5

235X4

235X4

235X4

205X10

Seated press, dead stop reps from nose level:

135X10

135X10

Back is still acting up so I didn't do my usual barbell rows. Just did one arm rows with kettlebell. Way too light, but it was all I felt comfortable doing. Full, slow, stretch at the bottom reps with a squeeze at the top.

60X12 each arm

60X12 each arm

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Nice work, Mike. And, you're pretty good at laying off the back when you need to - that's not always easy to do.

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Aw Mike, c'mon man.... You gotta lift heavier than that man! No excuses about the bench, pins, liftoff points,etc.... :cool :cool

I do have one question for you: Why did you do a drop set of 205? Why not do a double/triple of say 255? Good lifts though, the only thing that matters is if YOU are making gains! Course nothing wrong with a little competition......

chris

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Guest Bullitt

Aw Mike, c'mon man.... You gotta lift heavier than that man! No excuses about the bench, pins, liftoff points,etc.... :cool :cool

I do have one question for you: Why did you do a drop set of 205? Why not do a double/triple of say 255? Good lifts though, the only thing that matters is if YOU are making gains! Course nothing wrong with a little competition......

chris

HAHA! I wish I could have. I had planned on doing a 5X5 with 235. That turned into a 3X4. :blush Just threw in the drop set to get some volume. My benching sucks. Period. I will get to 300 though. Good thing is i feel it in my pecs and tris this morning, so I at least worked the muscles i was aiming for. Typically, my shoulders just take over.

Nice work with the #3.5!!

Hope you will be better soon with a back totally healed.

Yea, it's getting worse by the day. Definitely a disk problem again. Sciatica pain shooting down my butt and legs. Weakness in the left leg. Going to go into debt and get an inversion table. I can't afford one, but I REALLY don't want to have to go under the knife again. 800 mg of ibuprofin 4 times a day is doing absolutely nothing for it. Not even sure when I hurt it. It just started hurting. My spine doctor in Michigan said that next time they would probably just go ahead and fuse the spine. I have a genetic thing where the vertibrae didn't form right and they slide back and forth because they don't meet correctly or something. My mom had the same thing and she had to have everything fuzed. She was out of commission for a long freakin time. I don't want to go through that. Plus they almost killed me with MRSA the last time they cut on me. I just need to suck it up and quit whining. :laugh Craziest part about it is that my lower back is stronger now than it has been in years. Maybe ever. Very depressed that I have messed it up again. :(

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I can understand your situation ! I also have a bad lower back, with osteoarthritis and hyperlordosis. I never had any disc which slept but I know how painfull a lower back pain can be. I was so happy when I trained in powerlifting but it's no more possible. I miss it. Hip belt squat can be an alternative. I really apppreciate it. But it's never easy to quit something you really like :cry

Now, I only train with kettlebells to keep myself in good shape but with great care.

Train safely!

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Mike I hope you get this injury straight. My advice take a little break, I watch your journal, your doing a lot, cause I know you want to do well at gripmass but not at the cost of your spine, you want to be there next year too. when I split 2 tendons and crushed a bone in my ankle last christmass I was payin. Now its hard to tie my shoes. But I had to take the time off to heal. I wish I could lift half as much as u do now, maby you could go a little lighter or do body weight squats or front squats to take the pressure off?

Rico

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Aw Mike, c'mon man.... You gotta lift heavier than that man! No excuses about the bench, pins, liftoff points,etc.... :cool :cool

I do have one question for you: Why did you do a drop set of 205? Why not do a double/triple of say 255? Good lifts though, the only thing that matters is if YOU are making gains! Course nothing wrong with a little competition......

chris

HAHA! I wish I could have. I had planned on doing a 5X5 with 235. That turned into a 3X4. :blush Just threw in the drop set to get some volume. My benching sucks. Period. I will get to 300 though. Good thing is i feel it in my pecs and tris this morning, so I at least worked the muscles i was aiming for. Typically, my shoulders just take over.

Nice work with the #3.5!!

Hope you will be better soon with a back totally healed.

Yea, it's getting worse by the day. Definitely a disk problem again. Sciatica pain shooting down my butt and legs. Weakness in the left leg. Going to go into debt and get an inversion table. I can't afford one, but I REALLY don't want to have to go under the knife again. 800 mg of ibuprofin 4 times a day is doing absolutely nothing for it. Not even sure when I hurt it. It just started hurting. My spine doctor in Michigan said that next time they would probably just go ahead and fuse the spine. I have a genetic thing where the vertibrae didn't form right and they slide back and forth because they don't meet correctly or something. My mom had the same thing and she had to have everything fuzed. She was out of commission for a long freakin time. I don't want to go through that. Plus they almost killed me with MRSA the last time they cut on me. I just need to suck it up and quit whining. :laugh Craziest part about it is that my lower back is stronger now than it has been in years. Maybe ever. Very depressed that I have messed it up again. :(

Good workout Mike!! Most people that bench never involve the tri's enough! You should try some 4/5 board presses and lighter floor presses to isolate the tri's more man. You'll be able to handle alot more weight on the boards which will give you alot more coinfidence handling heavier weight! Do you normally bench with a close grip med or wide?

Lastly, take care of your back!! Don't overtrain and listen here, at our age (well 35+) to bench as much as we do is a major accomplishment!! I just hope I can keep a 405 bench by 40 years old....... I'll trade you some of my bench weight for some grip strength? :whistel

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we sucked it up and bought an inversion table over the summer. It made a huge difference. I got away from it and am trying to get back. One of the things I found was that it's much better to go at a lower angle and truly relax than to push for a steeper angle. When we first got it I would hang 3 times a day. I'm trying to get back to a couple of minutes as soon as I come home from work. It made a big difference in my hips as well.

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Guest Bullitt

Mike I hope you get this injury straight. My advice take a little break, I watch your journal, your doing a lot, cause I know you want to do well at gripmass but not at the cost of your spine, you want to be there next year too. when I split 2 tendons and crushed a bone in my ankle last christmass I was payin. Now its hard to tie my shoes. But I had to take the time off to heal. I wish I could lift half as much as u do now, maby you could go a little lighter or do body weight squats or front squats to take the pressure off?

Rico

Thanks Rico. Right now squats and deads are out. Just going to work the grip a few more times before Gripmas and hope for the best.

Good workout Mike!! Most people that bench never involve the tri's enough! You should try some 4/5 board presses and lighter floor presses to isolate the tri's more man. You'll be able to handle alot more weight on the boards which will give you alot more coinfidence handling heavier weight! Do you normally bench with a close grip med or wide?

Lastly, take care of your back!! Don't overtrain and listen here, at our age (well 35+) to bench as much as we do is a major accomplishment!! I just hope I can keep a 405 bench by 40 years old....... I'll trade you some of my bench weight for some grip strength? :whistel

I have been experimenting with grip lately. I tried to come in more narrow, but the weight dropped off. If I go wide, it just turns into a shoulder exercise for me. I think my sweet spot is ring fingers or pinkies on the rings. That's what I used last night and it felt like I had more power there. So, medium grip width I guess.

we sucked it up and bought an inversion table over the summer. It made a huge difference. I got away from it and am trying to get back. One of the things I found was that it's much better to go at a lower angle and truly relax than to push for a steeper angle. When we first got it I would hang 3 times a day. I'm trying to get back to a couple of minutes as soon as I come home from work. It made a big difference in my hips as well.

Going to bite the bullet and order one today. Found one that can hold up to 300 lbs for around $100 on amazon. Not a great one, but it got decent reviews. I can't afford a teeter or one of the more expensive ones. Also found out just now that my insurance will cover chiropractic, so i may go see one of those as well. Not sure if they can do anything once your disks are shot, but I'm willing to try anything right now.

It's just really depressing. I have been doing much more stretching, warmup and mobility exercises and this happens. Maybe i just wasn't meant to be flexible. :trout I bust my butt getting ready for Gripmas and this happens two weeks before the contest. Maybe this is God's way of saying taper early for the contest. That, or maybe it's his way of saying, your an idiot for lifting weights with the back of an 80 year old. That's probably it. :cry

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Going to bite the bullet and order one today. Found one that can hold up to 300 lbs for around $100 on amazon. Not a great one, but it got decent reviews. I can't afford a teeter or one of the more expensive ones. Also found out just now that my insurance will cover chiropractic, so i may go see one of those as well. Not sure if they can do anything once your disks are shot, but I'm willing to try anything right now.

It's just really depressing. I have been doing much more stretching, warmup and mobility exercises and this happens. Maybe i just wasn't meant to be flexible. :trout I bust my butt getting ready for Gripmas and this happens two weeks before the contest. Maybe this is God's way of saying taper early for the contest. That, or maybe it's his way of saying, your an idiot for lifting weights with the back of an 80 year old. That's probably it. :cry

I think it's more about pushing too hard. watching your journal you seem to be trying to kill it almost every day. you have to get smarter about rest.

We ended up with a pretty nice inversion table but, I still had to add some padding to the ankle part. keep that in mind. no need to be in pain from that.

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Good workout Mike!! Most people that bench never involve the tri's enough! You should try some 4/5 board presses and lighter floor presses to isolate the tri's more man. You'll be able to handle alot more weight on the boards which will give you alot more coinfidence handling heavier weight! Do you normally bench with a close grip med or wide?

Lastly, take care of your back!! Don't overtrain and listen here, at our age (well 35+) to bench as much as we do is a major accomplishment!! I just hope I can keep a 405 bench by 40 years old....... I'll trade you some of my bench weight for some grip strength? :whistel

I have been experimenting with grip lately. I tried to come in more narrow, but the weight dropped off. If I go wide, it just turns into a shoulder exercise for me. I think my sweet spot is ring fingers or pinkies on the rings. That's what I used last night and it felt like I had more power there. So, medium grip width I guess.

Try(of course when you feel better) benching for a month or so with just a close grip(index finger in the smooth). If you're not able to do as much, don't worry, but it sounds like you need to isolate your tri's a bit more brother. When I do M.E day, I bench close/med grip to really hit the tri's, in the long run, when I widen the grip out, it's much easier for me.

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