Doug wants to crush things

[VirginiaDoug]

Hello everyone. I’ve been lifting inconsistently for ages. Just got into grip training and figured I’d post a log. I’ll put my lifts in here too to hopefully keep me accountable. 
 

Like everyone, I’d love to close a #3 CoC someday but that seems like an impossibility right now. I can barely get my Heavy Grips 250 closed using my whole body! 

Most of my training will be with gripper and some bands for extension work. While implements are fun, I don’t want to short change other gains in the name of grip. That, and I’ve had really bad elbow tendinitis in the past - plate curls and punch holds legit hurt, so I will be avoiding them until I feel like my forearms are well conditioned. 
 

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the boards!

[VirginiaDoug]

09Apr20 - Bodyweight: 183 lbs

All grip work done symmetrically, left-to-right, with a moderate set to start the first rep.  Doing grip workouts at my desk since I'm working from home during this quarantine.

-Ivanko super gripper: (9&12) x10, Heavy Grips 150x5,5, HG 200x5,5,5, HG 150x20, HG 250 OCx2

-Neck harness extensions: 30x50,50, 53x50

Lunch lifting:

-Front squats: 50x10, 140x5, 230x3, 250, 270, 290 (just doing some testing.  This was my first time front squatting in nearly five years due to shoulder problems)

-Back Squats: 230x3, 280, 320, 370

-Good Mornings: 230x5, 280x5

-Glute-ham raises x10

[VirginiaDoug]

Closed the CoC #2 with both hands!  For what it's worth, it seems between my HG200 and HG250.  I can only get the HG250 to within 3/4" and can rep the 200 with both hands.  It was my buddy's, so I'll be interested to see if I can close a brand new #2 Monday.  Probably spring for the CoC 2.5 and 3 once I can close the HG250.  

10Apr20 - BW: 183

Lunch:

-Front Squat: 50x8, 140x1,3,3,3,3, 230, 250, 270, 270, 270 (Quads are smoked from yesterday, doing lots of singles in the upper 200s for a few weeks before I progress back into heavy territory)

-CoC #2 x 2 singles, left and right!  (Just testing)

Edited April 11, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Wrong date

[mcalpine1986]

22 hours ago, VirginiaDoug said:

09Apr20 - Bodyweight: 183 lbs

All grip work done symmetrically, left-to-right, with a moderate set to start the first rep.  Doing grip workouts at my desk since I'm working from home during this quarantine.

-Ivanko super gripper: (9&12) x10, Heavy Grips 150x5,5, HG 200x5,5,5, HG 150x20, HG 250 OCx2

-Neck harness extensions: 30x50,50, 53x50

Lunch lifting:

-Front squats: 50x10, 140x5, 230x3, 250, 270, 290 (just doing some testing.  This was my first time front squatting in nearly five years due to shoulder problems)

-Back Squats: 230x3, 280, 320, 370

-Good Mornings: 230x5, 280x5

-Glute-ham raises x10

Hey man. 

Looks like a good session. Its nice to see someone else into neck training like me. 

You are lucky man, I miss squatting with this quarantine.

[VirginiaDoug]

7 hours ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Hey man. 

Looks like a good session. Its nice to see someone else into neck training like me. 

You are lucky man, I miss squatting with this quarantine.

Thanks man. Used to rock an 18.5” neck at 180. Thinking I might try to get that back . And yeah, I count my lucky stars that I built this gym slowly over the passed few years. It’s gotten pretty awesome. I rarely used it before quarantine, but now I don’t know what I’d do without it!

[VirginiaDoug]

11Apr20

-swiss bar bench: 265x2,2, 235x5,5,5

-13” log clean and press: (180x1)x5

--Ivanko super gripper: (9&12) x10, Heavy Grips 150x5,5, HG 200x5,5,5, HG 250 OCx3, HG200x10 

Worked up to some ~bodyweight log work. Focusing on technique before I go nuts with the weight. However, I tried to limit the push-press to as strict as possible to get some good shoulder work in. 

Need to mow the yard later - which I count as cardio. Strap on a heart rate monitor and power-walk/jog it out, keeping the heart rate over 140 bpm. Adds a good 45 minutes of steady-state cardio to my routine 8 or so months of the year. I won’t do cardio otherwise and have BP issues that it (theoretically) helps. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Edited April 11, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Added gripper work

[mcalpine1986]

14 hours ago, VirginiaDoug said:

Thanks man. Used to rock an 18.5” neck at 180. Thinking I might try to get that back . And yeah, I count my lucky stars that I built this gym slowly over the passed few years. It’s gotten pretty awesome. I rarely used it before quarantine, but now I don’t know what I’d do without it!

Thats huge at 180lbs. You must of looked like a bulldog im aiming for that look. Enjoy it man. 

[VirginiaDoug]

12Apr20

Mowed the grass, 45 minutes +-140 bpm.

13Apr20

Two fingers on my right hand were achy in new ways when I woke up today.  No grip work yesterday, so I'm a little perplexed. Grip is weak this morning.  Lots of squeezing the mower and scrubbing some whiskey barrels that I picked up to build cocktail tables yesterday, but nothing that should have aggravated them.  Giving the grippers a rest today which is tough because my fresh CoC #2 came in already!  Doing some light Ivanko gripper and band expansion throughout the day to see if it improves.

Trying to maybe lift on lunch but with my kid home and both of us teleworking, it's tough to ignore him when I get a spot of free time.

Lunch:

-Front squat: 52x5,5,5, 140x5, 230, 250, 270, 300, 230x3
-Back squat: 230x3, 280, 330, 370x2
-Good Mornings: 280x10

1700:
-Standing barbell strict Press: 45x15,10, 95x8, 135x5, 155, 165, 185, 195(fail)
-Push press: 205, 205, 205

Edited April 13, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Added lunch lifting

[VirginiaDoug]

On 4/12/2020 at 3:40 AM, mcalpine1986 said:

Thats huge at 180lbs. You must of looked like a bulldog im aiming for that look. Enjoy it man. 

Need to find pictures at my most yoked. Here’s me at 180 with about an 18” neck and 210 with a 19”. Cutting to 175 for strongman season when the quarantines are lifted and hoping to get back to 18”.

 

[mcalpine1986]

17 hours ago, VirginiaDoug said:

Need to find pictures at my most yoked. Here’s me at 180 with about an 18” neck and 210 with a 19”. Cutting to 175 for strongman season when the quarantines are lifted and hoping to get back to 18”.

 

Looking beastly ive only beem back neck training recently. I mainly do neck harness extensions and neck curls with a plate on my forehead and forward neck rolls on my foam roller. Im limited to only 1 15lb plate, 2x 5kg dumbells and a 16, 20 and 24kg kettlbell. Ive been doing sets of 100 reps on neck harness extensions. Im going to have to add more weight but its kinda arkward hooking up more than 1 kettlebell at a time with my harness. What kind of neck training do you mainly do? 

[VirginiaDoug]

2 hours ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Looking beastly ive only beem back neck training recently. I mainly do neck harness extensions and neck curls with a plate on my forehead and forward neck rolls on my foam roller. Im limited to only 1 15lb plate, 2x 5kg dumbells and a 16, 20 and 24kg kettlbell. Ive been doing sets of 100 reps on neck harness extensions. Im going to have to add more weight but its kinda arkward hooking up more than 1 kettlebell at a time with my harness. What kind of neck training do you mainly do? 

I do exclusively neck flexion and harness extensions with up to a 24kg bell and go for volume.  I don't go heavier and just shoot for reps.  I'm at sets of 50 and will add sets until I'm crushing 50s x3 and will then start adding reps until I get to 100, which will take a while but reliably add inches.  I do that most days, limiting the volume and focusing on frequency.  Once I get to upping the reps, I back off the frequency. 

I treat neck flexion frequency like other exercises, mostly because it takes more time to set up but stick to high reps.  Stick my head in an ab strap and head bang on a high cable 2-3 times/week.  I'm going to do it more frequently now that I'm stuck at home and just have bands to work flexion with.  I'm not a big fan of adding weight to neck harness extension unless you're really crushing 53#/24kg x100.  Even then, there's something about loading your cervical spine that bothers me though in theory it's ok.

Occasionally, I'll do static lateral holds.  Stick my head in an ab strap sideways on a band , put tension on the band and hold for while.  I haven't done those consistently but want to add them in to accelerate my neck growth.  Sitting under 16" right now and trying to get back to 18" this summer - which means I've got my work cut out for me.  I don't like doing flexion with the lateral neck work as it invariably irritates my neck.  the holds are good though.

I try to do shrugs after I deadlift once/week but haven't been doing them as much since I have to strip everything and reload it in my rack at home.  Power shrugs are my favorite.  Really heavy.  Start from a high rack pull - above the knees - and pull like you plan to clean the damn thing and shrug aggressively.  Use straps.  More of a power exercise but my best cleans and trap development correlated with heavy doses of those power shrugs. YMMV.

TLDR: Keep it lighter on the extensions in the 50-100 rep range, use an ab strap for flexion and holds, do static holds for lateral neck work

Edited April 14, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
added notes, TLDR

[VirginiaDoug]

14Apr20 - Bodyweight: 183.6 lbs - Began dieting again yesterday.  Targeting 175 by June.  Hoping some localish strongman meets open up soon with 175 classes.

AM:

-Ivanko multi-gripper (9&12) x10,10 - All grip work is done in the left and right hands symmetrically whenever possible

-HG150x5,5

-HG200x5

-CoC #2x1,1,1,2 (BRAND NEW gripper - heavier than my buddy's, for sure.  My right hand wasn't quite closing all of the attempts, so I turned those into overcrush/negatives)

-HG250 OC/neg x1,1

-HG200x5

-HG150x20

-Neck harness extensions: 35x50, 50x75, 50

-----

Lunch:

-Front squat: 50x5,10, 100x5, 140x3, 190, 230, 280, 280, 310, 250x3

-Back squat: 230x3, 280, (320x1)x5 (Quad weren't contributing so I held at 320 and smoked a bunch of singles)

Edited April 14, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Added lunch work

[mcalpine1986]

1 hour ago, VirginiaDoug said:

I do exclusively neck flexion and harness extensions with up to a 24kg bell and go for volume.  I don't go heavier and just shoot for reps.  I'm at sets of 50 and will add sets until I'm crushing 50s x3 and will then start adding reps until I get to 100, which will take a while but reliably add inches.  I do that most days, limiting the volume and focusing on frequency.  Once I get to upping the reps, I back off the frequency. 

I treat neck flexion frequency like other exercises, mostly because it takes more time to set up but stick to high reps.  Stick my head in an ab strap and head bang on a high cable 2-3 times/week.  I'm going to do it more frequently now that I'm stuck at home and just have bands to work flexion with.  I'm not a big fan of adding weight to neck harness extension unless you're really crushing 53#/24kg x100.  Even then, there's something about loading your cervical spine that bothers me though in theory it's ok.

Occasionally, I'll do static lateral holds.  Stick my head in an ab strap sideways on a band , put tension on the band and hold for while.  I haven't done those consistently but want to add them in to accelerate my neck growth.  Sitting under 16" right now and trying to get back to 18" this summer - which means I've got my work cut out for me.  I don't like doing flexion with the lateral neck work as it invariably irritates my neck.  the holds are good though.

I try to do shrugs after I deadlift once/week but haven't been doing them as much since I have to strip everything and reload it in my rack at home.  Power shrugs are my favorite.  Really heavy.  Start from a high rack pull - above the knees - and pull like you plan to clean the damn thing and shrug aggressively.  Use straps.  More of a power exercise but my best cleans and trap development correlated with heavy doses of those power shrugs. YMMV.

TLDR: Keep it lighter on the extensions in the 50-100 rep range, use an ab strap for flexion and holds, do static holds for lateral neck work

Thanks for the detailed reply. Ill try the ab strap when my gym reopens. I had seen your reply on here first before the comment on my own thread which i also replied. I stop at 100 reps with my 24kg kbell. Well last session was 2 sets of 100 then 80 reps the last set. Next session i will do 3 sets of 100 them im going to add a 5kg dumbell to my 24kg back to sets of 30 maybe then work back.upto 100. Ive not done much lateral work. Sitting at 16.5" atm. Ive gained an inch since starting neck work on 11th of january. 

I miss doing shrugs and stuff at the gym. I cant do any heavy trap work at home. I might try upping the frequency a bit. Have you ever seen or heard of Mike the machine bruce?

He has a 20" neck at 200lbs and.does insane neck stunts like hanging himself and doing exensions with 300lbs! Shrugs with 1000lbs. A beast.

Edited April 14, 2020 by mcalpine1986

[VirginiaDoug]

1 hour ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Thanks for the detailed reply. Ill try the ab strap when my gym reopens. I had seen your reply on here first before the comment on my own thread which i also replied. I stop at 100 reps with my 24kg kbell. Well last session was 2 sets of 100 then 80 reps the last set. Next session i will do 3 sets of 100 them im going to add a 5kg dumbell to my 24kg back to sets of 30 maybe then work back.upto 100. Ive not done much lateral work. Sitting at 16.5" atm. Ive gained an inch since starting neck work on 11th of january. 

I miss doing shrugs and stuff at the gym. I cant do any heavy trap work at home. I might try upping the frequency a bit. Have you ever seen or heard of Mike the machine bruce?

He has a 20" neck at 200lbs and.does insane neck stunts like hanging himself and doing exensions with 300lbs! Shrugs with 1000lbs. A beast.

That's some good shit man.  Yeah, I've just been hesitant to use more weight in the past, but no reason not to if you're being conservative and using higher reps to achieve fatigue.

[mcalpine1986]

3 hours ago, VirginiaDoug said:

That's some good shit man.  Yeah, I've just been hesitant to use more weight in the past, but no reason not to if you're being conservative and using higher reps to achieve fatigue.

Thanks man. There is no reason to be hesistant as long as you are sensible. It can handle more weight that you can imagine if you train for it. Neck work can always come with self doubts but you also need to push for growth. I find the 24kg abit too easy now so need to up the weight. Its always smart to increase neck work very slow though as its a delicate muscle. Slow and steady wins the race. 

[VirginiaDoug]

15Apr20 - BW: 184.6 lbs - gained a pound.  Probably the cognacs I had last night   Not mad at a little gain.  It will trend down over the next few weeks as I tighten it up.

0800:

-Front Squat: 52x5,5, 102x5, 142x3, 192x2, 232x2, 252x2, 272x2, 302x2

-Back Squat: 232, 282, 320, singles

Sorry for the odd weights.  I use a buffalo bar for everything and it's 52 pounds which makes all the weights odd numbers.  I'll probably just record what the bar "looks like" (135, 225, 315, 365, 405, etc.) in the future and note that it's actually 7# heavier.

Evening:  Lots of manual labor.  Built a couple of "lamp post" planters for hanging some string lights over our deck.  Lots of lifting and maneuvering and mixing concrete with a heavy digging stick.

Edited April 16, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Added evening

[VirginiaDoug]

16Apr20

Doing some tile in the kitchen so no morning or lunch lifting to be had today.  Eye on the prize.  Got some fun stuff in this afternoon though.  Lots of gripper work up to singles with the CoC #2 and neck harness extensions and lying flexion with a kettlebell on my face.

1800:

Front squat: 52x8, 102x5, 140x3, 190x3, 230x3, 250x3, 270x3

Back squat: 230, 280, 320, 350x5

Edited April 16, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Added evening work

[VirginiaDoug]

17Apr20

0700:

-Front squat: 52x5,5, 102x5, 140x3, 190, 230, 250, 270, 280, 290, 300 (300 got dicey! Lost my rack on the right side! See video)

-Back squat: 230, 280, 320

300 front squat save!!!

Later that morning:

-Neck harness: 30x50, 53x50,50,25

-Lying neck flexion: 30x25,25,25

Lunch:

-Deadlift up to 435x5 (straps - elbow tendinitis gets lit up by more than a single over 315 or so)

-Shrugs: 135x20, 225x10, 315x10, 405x10 (planned 3 10s but ran out of time on lunch)

Edited April 17, 2020 by VirginiaDoug
Added lunch work

[VirginiaDoug]

18Apr20
-Front squat: 50x5,5, 100x5, 140x5, 190x3, 230, 280
-Back squat: 230x3, 280, 320, 340, 360, 320x3
-Swiss bar bench: 60x10,10, 110x8, 150x5, 200x3, 240, 270x2,2, 240x5,5,5
-Press: 135x3, 165x5, 135x10

My lower thoracic spine is bothered pretty good after nearly missing that front squat, then deadlifting yesterday. Pulled through though. When I started back benching in February, I could barely hit 250x1 with the Swiss bar. Planning two doubles at 275 and 245x5,5,5 next week! Press reps were flying up today. Might have managed 135x15 if I’d gone for it fresh. Good session

[VirginiaDoug]

19Apr20

Front squat to 230, back squat to 280 - just warmed up the squats to say I squatted everyday this week. T-spine was bothered again this morning and didn’t want to push it. 

[mcalpine1986]

On 4/17/2020 at 12:42 PM, VirginiaDoug said:

17Apr20

0700:

-Front squat: 52x5,5, 102x5, 140x3, 190, 230, 250, 270, 280, 290, 300 (300 got dicey! Lost my rack on the right side! See video)

-Back squat: 230, 280, 320

300 front squat save!!!

Later that morning:

-Neck harness: 30x50, 53x50,50,25

-Lying neck flexion: 30x25,25,25

Lunch:

-Deadlift up to 435x5 (straps - elbow tendinitis gets lit up by more than a single over 315 or so)

-Shrugs: 135x20, 225x10, 315x10, 405x10 (planned 3 10s but ran out of time on lunch)

Sounds a great session. You are strong on front squats. Lucky on that save . I use clean grip too but it is harsh on wrist so rarely do them.

Edited April 20, 2020 by mcalpine1986

[VirginiaDoug]

3 hours ago, mcalpine1986 said:

Sounds a great session. You are strong on front squats. Lucky on that save . I use clean grip too but it is harsh on wrist so rarely do them.

Thanks! I started using my buffalo bar to front squat and it’s been much easier on my wrists and shoulders. My shoulders were the reason I didn’t do them for years. Pretty much no labrum in either shoulder and really loose rotators. I wrap my wrists too, which helps tremendously. Last time I front squatted regularly, I had to get cortisone injections in my shoulders

[VirginiaDoug]

20Apr20

0800:

-Front squat: 50x5, 100x5, 140x5, 190x3, 230, 280x1,2,3
-Back squat: 230, 280, 320, 350x1,2,3

1400:

-Ivanko multi-gripper: (9&12)x12 + wrist circles and stuff
-HG150 x10
-HG200 x5
-CoC #2 x1,1,1
-HG250 10-second over-crush hold (left wrist/hand started hurting so I called it at one rep)
-HG200 x10

-Neck harness: 30x50, 53x50,50,65
-Lying neck flexion: 30x25,25,25

Edited April 20, 2020 by VirginiaDoug

[VirginiaDoug]

21Apr20

0600:

-2 mile trot in my plate carrier, 30:00 at 140 bpm avg

-Front squat: 50x5, 100x5, 140x3, 190, 230, 270, 290x1,1,1
-Back squat: 230, 280, 320

Felt the fatigue of that walk going straight into squatting. Did what I wanted to do, though I skipped the good mornings and a heavier back squat single. 

[VirginiaDoug]

22Apr20

-Front squat: 140x3, 230, 280

-Back squat: 230, 280, 320, 370

Just did a little something. Left hand is bothered and I’m knackered from building jerk boxes the passed two days. Coming along nicely though!